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What's your favorite bard kit?

JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
edited April 2016 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
Having a sudden urge to play through the story as a half-elf bard for reasons that escape me, I know instantly that I will make him a skald, without a doubt. The Skald song is awesome, and the lack of pick pocket doesn't phase me at all.

However, I got curious as to what the rest of you have as your favorite (or default) choice for a bard CHARNAME. So, in the vein of the "What's your favourite ranger?" post, I made a poll here.
  1. What's your favorite bard kit?75 votes
    1. Default Bard
        9.33%
    2. Blade
      46.67%
    3. Jester
      21.33%
    4. Skald
      22.67%
Post edited by JumboWheat01 on
«13

Comments

  • TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    "bad kit"

    Please die :angry:

    In all seriousness though, it's Blades or nothing for me.

  • znancekivellznancekivell Member Posts: 58
    I love bad kits. Bad kits are the boss!
  • matricematrice Member Posts: 86
    yeah the blade is super strong
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Artemius_I said:

    "bad kit"

    Please die :angry:

    In all seriousness though, it's Blades or nothing for me.

    znancekivell said:

    I love bad kits. Bad kits are the boss!

    :tongue: I should really not type so fast. Poor keyboard can't take it at times!
  • znancekivellznancekivell Member Posts: 58
    JumboWheat01 said:

    :tongue: I should really not type so fast. Poor keyboard can't take it at times!

    Too bad. I was hoping to vote on the best of the bad kits.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    I'm a huge fan of bards. Being an artist myself , it is easy for to understand why a bard wants to learn and experience everything . I chose blade as my favorite kit because a performer who swings blades in a sometimes splendid, sometimes intimidating way makes an amazingly dark hero.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I've never been a fan, thematically speaking, of bards who sit in the back and sing. I like bards who dance through the battlefield, leaving the enemy confused, amazed, and in ruin. Blades in BG are more brick walls than they are whirling dervishes, but that's close enough for my purposes.
  • PteranPteran Member Posts: 388
    edited April 2016
    @Jarrakul it sounds like you might like the Jester. RR does wonders for bards.

    Harry Badass is fun, and his swords (improved with Item Upgrade) are pretty cool. But honestly I forget to use his Spins most of the time. I feel like I'd have to solo as a Blade to really get used to regularly using the abilities.

    I've been having a ton of fun with a Jester in my IWD run. She leveled up and got an improved song a while back, meaning she can now Distract (causes 20% spell failure, -2AC, -2 THAC0) AND Confuse (per the spell) the enemy. She's pretty well capable of throwing the enemy hordes into disarray, and she's only going to get better at it once she hits level 18 and gets her final upgrade.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    While I think the Blade is super awesome, and effective, I prefer the roleplaying value of the original, vanilla bard.

    Garrick ftw!
  • mysterymeepmysterymeep Member Posts: 33
    I want my lore and pickpocketing!! I really like base bard. It feels like I give up too much with the others, particularly blade, even though what you'd get is pretty great too.
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Pteran said:

    @Jarrakul it sounds like you might like the Jester. RR does wonders for bards.

    Harry Badass is fun, and his swords (improved with Item Upgrade) are pretty cool. But honestly I forget to use his Spins most of the time. I feel like I'd have to solo as a Blade to really get used to regularly using the abilities.

    I've been having a ton of fun with a Jester in my IWD run. She leveled up and got an improved song a while back, meaning she can now Distract (causes 20% spell failure, -2AC, -2 THAC0) AND Confuse (per the spell) the enemy. She's pretty well capable of throwing the enemy hordes into disarray, and she's only going to get better at it once she hits level 18 and gets her final upgrade.

    Ya know, I've never really given the Jester a second thought. Maybe I should consider it, just for the silliness factor. Insulting and snarking my foes to cause them problems while my allies of any and all stripes brutally murder them.
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Bard is kind of a unique class in that it's supposed to be a support character. The only close comparison is to the Thief, but given that they're supposed to take point and scout/deal with traps, even they have more of a pretext to go solo than a bard. And for support, you can't do better than the Skald song.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Pantomime.

    Silence is golden. And monochromy is adamantine.
  • jesterdesujesterdesu Member Posts: 373
    I tend to look end game when picking a class which means skald is outdone by improved bard song... Another example of how hla's munchkin the game (but that's another thread).

    Blade wins me over as he is so strong, but jester certainly fits a niche of their own. I really want to love the skald, but again, once hla's come along many will wish they picked the blade.
  • GenderNihilismGirdleGenderNihilismGirdle Member Posts: 1,353
    the REAL question is: if they let more races be bards would you roll a halfling Jester or half-orc Jester?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    In vanilla, definitely Blade. With Rogue Rebalancing installed, on the other hand, it becomes a difficult choice between the Blade and the Skald, especially now that the Bard Hat exists, allowing the Skald to do something besides sing all day prior to getting HLAs.
  • marzbarzmarzbarz Member Posts: 187
    Ive never like the bard kits/classes at all. I liked the whole blade idea but honestly prefer any other figkit/thief combo as human, any thief/mage or thief/fighter or fighter/mage over a bard. And never understood the point of sitting around reciting poetry, dancing and singing while your friends are getting chopped to pieces lol. I do like how the blade kinda mixes acting/acrobatics in the mix and spells though but beyond the lore/description I cant do it.
  • justfeelinathomejustfeelinathome Member Posts: 353
    There should have been an option for IWD Vanilla Bard; I'd vote for that, and not given that option, I pick Jester, since it's the most flavorful to me and I played on one of my funniest runs, themed on picking up as many lunatics as I can. Worked out like a charm, in the first game, at least.
  • Sids1188Sids1188 Member Posts: 166
    Gotta be boring and go with blade. Through most of the game, it's arguably better than the rest. Once HLAs come in, it becomes better in basically every way.
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    Blades are barely Bards.
    Myself, I like the image of someone cavorting around amidst chaos and blood, the maniacal laughter haunting opponents as they draw their last breath…
  • GenderNihilismGirdleGenderNihilismGirdle Member Posts: 1,353
    booinyoureyes said:

    GenderNihilismGirdle said:

    the REAL question is: if they let more races be bards would you roll a halfling Jester or half-orc Jester?

    Gnome of the above
    yeah yeah, gnomes tower above halflings, we get it, gnomes are tally tall talls and halflings are little tiny things, gnomes of the above and halflings of the below

    yeesh halflings can't get a break, even gnomes crackin' wise about their height like the rest of the Tall Races (and even gnomes are among 'em compared to the True Small Folk)

    well my halfling rogue ONLY puts points into Detect Illusions so go ahead and weave your unrealities! her tiny eyes see right through them
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Beamdog's only mistake was not adding more bard kits
  • comebackhomecomebackhome Member Posts: 254
    Jester, give me those sexy debuffs :)
  • PK2748PK2748 Member Posts: 381
    GenderNihilismGirdle said:

    booinyoureyes said:

    GenderNihilismGirdle said:

    the REAL question is: if they let more races be bards would you roll a halfling Jester or half-orc Jester?

    Gnome of the above
    yeah yeah, gnomes tower above halflings, we get it, gnomes are tally tall talls and halflings are little tiny things, gnomes of the above and halflings of the below

    yeesh halflings can't get a break, even gnomes crackin' wise about their height like the rest of the Tall Races (and even gnomes are among 'em compared to the True Small Folk)

    well my halfling rogue ONLY puts points into Detect Illusions so go ahead and weave your unrealities! her tiny eyes see right through them
    For me it's Gnomes because Gnomes can cast spells. In PnP both Gnomes and Halflings can be Jesters BUT Halfling Jesters get spell resistances instead of spells cast. Gnomes get spells cast and shorty saves both
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