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
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
...Mental note, weaponize headbutts to the groin on my halfling character at my PnP games.
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
...Mental note, weaponize headbutts to the groin on my halfling character at my PnP games.
Halfling Monk/Rogues, get that sneak attack modifier on lethal unarmed groin headbutts
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
...Mental note, weaponize headbutts to the groin on my halfling character at my PnP games.
Halfling Monk/Rogues, get that sneak attack modifier on lethal unarmed groin headbutts
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
...Mental note, weaponize headbutts to the groin on my halfling character at my PnP games.
Halfling Monk/Rogues, get that sneak attack modifier on lethal unarmed groin headbutts
Or go Fighter/Thief and wear a helmet.
And everywhere, every man in the world suddenly winced without knowing why.
but a halfling can scramble between the legs of any other PC race, gnomes included, and headbutt the crotch to buy time for a quick getaway no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
...Mental note, weaponize headbutts to the groin on my halfling character at my PnP games.
Halfling Monk/Rogues, get that sneak attack modifier on lethal unarmed groin headbutts
Or go Fighter/Thief and wear a helmet.
And everywhere, every man in the world suddenly winced without knowing why.
I doubt the wincing is restricted to men on that one lol
Skalds are glorified buff bots. They are the support character per excellence but I want to take a more active hand in combat when playing.
Blades are basically melee fighters with casting abilities. Whatever they do fighter/mages do better, and the kit looks like tailored specifically to Hear'Dalis. Yon raven doesn't like playing kits who already have NPCs fulfilling that role, though I had a great deal of fun when I played an RR modded blade through the whole saga.
Trueclass bards are interesting with IWDification mod. But Garrick and Eldoth made me leery to roll an unkitted bard, if their adventures are any indication, it's a recipe for disaster.
Jester with Rogue Rebalancing for the win. The HLA makes more sense and their song is a great crowd control. A good choice for an entertaining playthrough. Chaotic Neutral of course, he's a jester after all.
I like True Neutral Jesters, laughing at order and freedom as well as good and evil! A classic depiction of court jesters can be read as True Neutral, that of the fool who speaks mocking cynical truths to the idealists outside the court striving for freedom because of their insider's knowledge of the court's power, as well as speaking mocking truths to the law and order types at court, spurning both kinds of ideas for what is good for the kingdom as well as spurning villainous evils of both tyrannical and chaotic bents.
That said, CN Jesters are probably a more prominent and common modern depiction, reveling in silly chaos rather than maintaining a mirthful skepticism of every position to frustrate anyone who speaks to them. It seems like a subtle difference to some, but I find the "CN" depictions of fool archetypes in the last century of media are actually much less subtle than previous depictions that strike a mocking balance by dethroning every point of view including their own.
This is a personal peeve of mine, nothing really to do with Bards in-game, but with how they are perceived. I dislike when I see/hear people talking about how Bards are flighty little musicians, comical buffoons or some such other nonsense.
The Bard is one of my favorite PnP classes, yet they are so much more than mere musicians. They see music, song and dance as the universal language which binds all races & creatures together. They see the inherit power melodies and notations have on the very soul; the power to heal, inspire and bless. The power to stir hatred, fear and hopelessness. With those words and tunes they affect the very spirit of mortals, immortals and even nature itself. Even more abstract concepts like love, joy or anger can be molded and shaped by the thumbing of a string or the exact choice of words.
Bards are composers of the universe(s); ushering in the precise melody at the exact time to bring together the perfect symphony. Magic, too a Bard, is no mere divine blessing; a studious formulae to extract and memorize; not a simple expression of inner willpower. No, magic is the song of the soul and those skilled in listening to that song, knowing when to enhance it and when to alter it, are the true masters of the realm(s). Each thing in existence, whether alive or dead, whether a might god or a blade of grass, has a song. Those who can hear it, enjoy it, express it, are those who are most connected to the magic which binds all things to creation.
Of course, that's just my opinion on the matter. Love me some Bard!
There's a huge difference between BG and IWD here, but for me it's just as @semiticgod said it, having a passive CHARNAME is boring. The blade has it's weaknesses, but it's by far the most versatile of the classes. A vanilla bard just can't become offensive enough and skald and jester both have to specific songs that it feels like a waste to not having them singing all the time.
The only downside of a Blade is that you have to spend every single spell slot to buff you up so that you become almost as good as a F/M. But hey, that's part of the charm of the class; taking something inherently kinda weak and making her/him a demi-god of destruction (for a few rounds at least )
I finished my first BG (original 90s edition) playthrough with a bard. And I can't imagine an IWD party without some kind of bard in it. And while I consider vanilla bard to be the most versatile class my personal favorite is Jester. I especially like high level Jester song in IWD. Debuff all the way.
[SNIP]They see music, song and dance as the universal language which binds all races & creatures together. They see the inherit power melodies and notations have on the very soul; the power to heal, inspire and bless. The power to stir hatred, fear and hopelessness. With those words and tunes they affect the very spirit of mortals, immortals and even nature itself.[SNIP] Bards are composers of the universe(s); ushering in the precise melody at the exact time to bring together the perfect symphony. [SNIP] the song of the soul and those skilled in listening to that song, knowing when to enhance it and when to alter it, are the true masters of the realm(s). Each thing in existence, whether alive or dead, whether a might god or a blade of grass, has a song. Those who can hear it, enjoy it, express it, are those who are most connected to the magic which binds all things to creation.
**cue French horn solo**
Today I learned that Bards are Jedi, and music is the Force
Honestly though I agree with you, Bards are awesome.
(1) Dwarven Skalds (chanting sagas of ancient grudges and vengeance fulfilled) (2) Halfling Jesters (just being their annoying selves makes the enemy tear their hair out) (3) Elven Blades (damn pretty boy pointy eared gits. dancing around when they should be fighting, and always singing worthless songs that nobody wants to hear) (4) Human and Half Elf Bards (core class for the core races)
There you go, the best kits as they apply to each race (that should be able to use them)
1. Wander invisible into enemy hordes. 2. Activate combat protection of your choice. 3. Sing. 4. Cast chaos or confusion. 5. Sing. 6. Cast more chaos or confusion. 7. Alternate between song and casting spells. (I like to double up on confusion spells/status modifiers to maximize number of saving throws). 8. Throw in a sunfire for good measure.
Admittedly the risk of death is high and the correct timing between spells and song can be a pain in the ass, but it's definitely a more active way of doing battle than just singing in the back. Can be a lot of fun with a party of spell casters dumping massive amounts of area effect spells and status effects on enemy groups.
When the need arises, a good bow with dispelling arrows or a wand of spell strike works and you'll always be in range, since the effectiveness of the song depends on being in the thick of it. But you know what they say... The closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm. I heard someone say that somewhere, but when you see enemies pointlessly trying to attack your jester while slipping in and out of bouts of confusion and bouncing their swords off your stoneskin/weapons protection, you'll understand. I also heard another thing somewhere which I repeated to Bodhi: "I'm going to eat your soul and floss with your spirit" and I did that too.
Roleplay bonus for imagining lots of hammy one-liners.
Wait, you mean there's such a thing as NON-hammy one-liners?
Still, trying out the Jester in Icewind Dale, it is amazing. Even if confusion just causes them to stop attacking, it's like I just used a hold spell on a mass of enemies.
One of my favourite BGEE playthroughs was with a psychopathic jester (neutral evil with chaotic tendencies, complete crazy character). So many innocents slaughtered by my wands of fire. Man...if that guy had had the bards hat the Sword Coast would have never recovered.
One of my favourite BGEE playthroughs was with a psychopathic jester (chaotic evil, complete crazy character). So many innocents slaughtered by my wands of fire. Man...if that guy had had the bards hat the Sword Coast would have never recovered.
And Sarevok thought he could whip up a murderstorm. Leave it to a Jester to make a fool out of His Evil Highness' death toll aspirations.
I cant bring myself to actually play a skald but I love them in theory, was going to include one in a custom party when I get scs to work with patch 2.1 and LoB. My first playthrough of NWN2 and MotB was with an almost pure bard and that was a VERY strong build. Default bards in BG are not even Close imho. Skalds are Always fantastic however and Jesters also have their uses. I don't like blades though, maybe because I find that tiefling almost as annoying as Anomen. Plus I love the standard F/M and FMT builds too much.
I like the Skald class, in theory but ultimately, I've still never completed a whole run with a bard of any variant.
I love them in BG1, where wands are the primary use for my character (along with the song). The problem I have with that is, by the time I'm just out of Chateau Irenicus, I'm less enamored with that play style. Restartitis usually comes into play by then.
Blades are a wonderful fit for Half elves. It oozes flavor. The other kits would be super cool fits if the 2nd racial restrictions weren't so stringent. Dwarf skald and gnome jester sound awesome.
I'll agree to usually finding humans pretty boring, but for some reason, that's totally different on my sorcerer. And there's no mechanical benefit to being a human over a half-elf (or even an elf if you don't go dragon disciple.)
Blades hands down. Bards in general kind of suck in this edition of the ruleset, atleast Blades can hold their own with their amazing spin abilities and two weapon style point allocation while being able to self/party buff also. Hear'Dalis.
Worth noting that if the HLA improved bard song didn't exist, then my pick may have been skalds.. but yeah.. any bard can now do the party wide combat buffing, so the kit at its core and what it personally can do above the others is what matters to me.
Considering the amount of Bard and Jester specific gear in SoD, I am tempted to try one of them someday also.
Blades hands down. Bards in general kind of suck in this edition of the ruleset, atleast Blades can hold their own with their amazing spin abilities and two weapon style point allocation while being able to self/party buff also. Hear'Dalis.
Worth noting that if the HLA improved bard song didn't exist, then my pick may have been skalds.. but yeah.. any bard can now do the party wide combat buffing, so the kit at its core and what it personally can do above the others is what matters to me.
Considering the amount of Bard and Jester specific gear in SoD, I am tempted to try one of them someday also.</p>
I can understand that some players are biased toward bard class/kits based on their gaming experiences in BG games. I guess for the first couple of playthroughs it is not exactly fun to roll a Charname Skald and during battles just sing in the background while your NPCs do all the heavylifting. So I understand why Blade, being the most direct combat orientated kit, is the most popular kit of them all ( and with Hear'Dalis being the closest to the Fighter/Mage NPC in game). But IWD is a different beast alltogether. And Bards in IWD are just great. From their abilites to their specific gear, bards rock. Skalds really shine in meele heavy game. Jesters are great for crowd control. Vanilla bards get the Imperial March and Blades are F/M with a twist.
Comments
no one can scramble between a halfling's legs and do the same except other halflings
superior Jester tactics
Blades are basically melee fighters with casting abilities. Whatever they do fighter/mages do better, and the kit looks like tailored specifically to Hear'Dalis. Yon raven doesn't like playing kits who already have NPCs fulfilling that role, though I had a great deal of fun when I played an RR modded blade through the whole saga.
Trueclass bards are interesting with IWDification mod. But Garrick and Eldoth made me leery to roll an unkitted bard, if their adventures are any indication, it's a recipe for disaster.
Jester with Rogue Rebalancing for the win. The HLA makes more sense and their song is a great crowd control. A good choice for an entertaining playthrough. Chaotic Neutral of course, he's a jester after all.
That said, CN Jesters are probably a more prominent and common modern depiction, reveling in silly chaos rather than maintaining a mirthful skepticism of every position to frustrate anyone who speaks to them. It seems like a subtle difference to some, but I find the "CN" depictions of fool archetypes in the last century of media are actually much less subtle than previous depictions that strike a mocking balance by dethroning every point of view including their own.
The Bard is one of my favorite PnP classes, yet they are so much more than mere musicians. They see music, song and dance as the universal language which binds all races & creatures together. They see the inherit power melodies and notations have on the very soul; the power to heal, inspire and bless. The power to stir hatred, fear and hopelessness. With those words and tunes they affect the very spirit of mortals, immortals and even nature itself. Even more abstract concepts like love, joy or anger can be molded and shaped by the thumbing of a string or the exact choice of words.
Bards are composers of the universe(s); ushering in the precise melody at the exact time to bring together the perfect symphony. Magic, too a Bard, is no mere divine blessing; a studious formulae to extract and memorize; not a simple expression of inner willpower. No, magic is the song of the soul and those skilled in listening to that song, knowing when to enhance it and when to alter it, are the true masters of the realm(s). Each thing in existence, whether alive or dead, whether a might god or a blade of grass, has a song. Those who can hear it, enjoy it, express it, are those who are most connected to the magic which binds all things to creation.
Of course, that's just my opinion on the matter. Love me some Bard!
The only downside of a Blade is that you have to spend every single spell slot to buff you up so that you become almost as good as a F/M. But hey, that's part of the charm of the class; taking something inherently kinda weak and making her/him a demi-god of destruction (for a few rounds at least
And while I consider vanilla bard to be the most versatile class my personal favorite is Jester.
I especially like high level Jester song in IWD.
Debuff all the way.
Today I learned that Bards are Jedi, and music is the Force
Honestly though I agree with you, Bards are awesome.
(1) Dwarven Skalds (chanting sagas of ancient grudges and vengeance fulfilled)
(2) Halfling Jesters (just being their annoying selves makes the enemy tear their hair out)
(3) Elven Blades (damn pretty boy pointy eared gits. dancing around when they should be fighting, and always singing worthless songs that nobody wants to hear)
(4) Human and Half Elf Bards (core class for the core races)
There you go, the best kits as they apply to each race (that should be able to use them)
1. Wander invisible into enemy hordes.
2. Activate combat protection of your choice.
3. Sing.
4. Cast chaos or confusion.
5. Sing.
6. Cast more chaos or confusion.
7. Alternate between song and casting spells. (I like to double up on confusion spells/status modifiers to maximize number of saving throws).
8. Throw in a sunfire for good measure.
Admittedly the risk of death is high and the correct timing between spells and song can be a pain in the ass, but it's definitely a more active way of doing battle than just singing in the back. Can be a lot of fun with a party of spell casters dumping massive amounts of area effect spells and status effects on enemy groups.
When the need arises, a good bow with dispelling arrows or a wand of spell strike works and you'll always be in range, since the effectiveness of the song depends on being in the thick of it. But you know what they say... The closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm. I heard someone say that somewhere, but when you see enemies pointlessly trying to attack your jester while slipping in and out of bouts of confusion and bouncing their swords off your stoneskin/weapons protection, you'll understand. I also heard another thing somewhere which I repeated to Bodhi: "I'm going to eat your soul and floss with your spirit" and I did that too.
Roleplay bonus for imagining lots of hammy one-liners.
Still, trying out the Jester in Icewind Dale, it is amazing. Even if confusion just causes them to stop attacking, it's like I just used a hold spell on a mass of enemies.
I love them in BG1, where wands are the primary use for my character (along with the song). The problem I have with that is, by the time I'm just out of Chateau Irenicus, I'm less enamored with that play style. Restartitis usually comes into play by then.
I usually find playing humans boring.
Bards in general kind of suck in this edition of the ruleset, atleast Blades can hold their own with their amazing spin abilities and two weapon style point allocation while being able to self/party buff also.
Worth noting that if the HLA improved bard song didn't exist, then my pick may have been skalds.. but yeah.. any bard can now do the party wide combat buffing, so the kit at its core and what it personally can do above the others is what matters to me.
Considering the amount of Bard and Jester specific gear in SoD, I am tempted to try one of them someday also.
But IWD is a different beast alltogether. And Bards in IWD are just great.
From their abilites to their specific gear, bards rock.
Skalds really shine in meele heavy game. Jesters are great for crowd control. Vanilla bards get the Imperial March and Blades are F/M with a twist.