about bards and their songs
element
Member Posts: 833
ok so i've recently decided to play through as a bard and built a couple of characters just because I couldn't decide which variant to play. This got me thinking about the vanilla bard song and how useful it actually is.
in game its description states it has these effects; restores morale to standard value, removes fear and protects from fear. Is this correct I always thought it was supposed to give a luck bonus as well? I was also under the impression it improved as you levelled up.
Assuming this description is accurate is'nt the song actually just pointless?. The effect is ok, but its pretty easily achieved through spells which have the added benefit of not of not removing an entire party member from combat. I cant really imagine many situations were I would be better off relying on the song rather then just casting a spell and using the bard more actively in combat.
Equally, doesn't the poor quality of the song just make the kits better then the vanilla bard in pretty much everyway? the jester has a better song and literally no disadvantages, the skald has an awesome song and bonus to combat skills in exchange for a loss of pickpocketing which is easily circumvented. The blade even gets the same song and fantastic combat advantages at a pretty meaningless loss to pickpocket and lore.
anyway any input on this matter would be welcome
in game its description states it has these effects; restores morale to standard value, removes fear and protects from fear. Is this correct I always thought it was supposed to give a luck bonus as well? I was also under the impression it improved as you levelled up.
Assuming this description is accurate is'nt the song actually just pointless?. The effect is ok, but its pretty easily achieved through spells which have the added benefit of not of not removing an entire party member from combat. I cant really imagine many situations were I would be better off relying on the song rather then just casting a spell and using the bard more actively in combat.
Equally, doesn't the poor quality of the song just make the kits better then the vanilla bard in pretty much everyway? the jester has a better song and literally no disadvantages, the skald has an awesome song and bonus to combat skills in exchange for a loss of pickpocketing which is easily circumvented. The blade even gets the same song and fantastic combat advantages at a pretty meaningless loss to pickpocket and lore.
anyway any input on this matter would be welcome
Post edited by SethDavis on
1
Comments
I suppose there is some degree of redundancy but his other bonuses are pretty solid and for a large part of the game the skald song is still good, considering the only loss is pickpocket
You could mod a replacement bard song that acts like the Lingering Song HLA (i.e., the effects last for a specified duration after you stop singing).
Edit: Whoops! Lingering Song HLA is from the Rogue Rebalancing mod. You play with certain mods so long and you forget what's mod and what's vanilla... :-P
http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/rr_core.html#Bard_High_Level_Ability_revisions
Obviously the Skald and Blade are both great at what they do however if you don't want to mainly sing to buff as a Skald or be a melee monster Blade or just want full lore/pick pocketing you still have a choice to make.
The Vanilla bard song might not be OP or game breaking but you might not want the Jester song. In that case the vanilla Bard if your best bet.
Disclaimer - I prefer Jester over the Vanilla Bard due to flavour and the ability to cast remove fear as a cleric spell
@kidCarnival that's a good way to look at it I think ill stick with the vanilla bard just for the flavour and see how it goes(i've played blade before) thanks to everyone who replied its appreciated
edit: the skald song is also of limited range
They can wear light armor and cast spells. Seperate spell list focusing mainly around healing, buffs and debuffs, with some direct damage. Also easily able to make use of Finesse fighting to be more effective in melee combat while keeping AC up and ranged combat.
yeh sorry that's what I meant I wasn't specific enough I guess
In other words, I like them all, and each has their own niche and play style.
A bard can also sing a counter-song in 2E to ward off magical commands or suggestions (e.g., sirine singing). The counter-song works differently that the regular bard song, in that it must be continually played to be effective.