BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
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BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Hello all,
Just a quick comment... Where are the bards, are they undesireable classes, are they too support orientated but not on the same level as a healer cleric? I love bards. I might even go ahead and play one just so that they exist more. I'm all for rare, not-often-seen classes and characters and personalities, but where are my bards? I want to hire one to follow me around but I meet like one every year.
Just a quick comment... Where are the bards, are they undesireable classes, are they too support orientated but not on the same level as a healer cleric? I love bards. I might even go ahead and play one just so that they exist more. I'm all for rare, not-often-seen classes and characters and personalities, but where are my bards? I want to hire one to follow me around but I meet like one every year.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Watch for IC performances to get scheduled and follow the music. There's plenty of bards!
Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
I've heard bards surface when it rains.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Many players think bards are a bad class mechanically while in fact they're probably the most powerful class in the game.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Lots of them about and doing things, just got to find them. Not all do the same kind of performances, or even music, so a nice variety of different kinds of bards too.
Also a very mechanically strong class
Also a very mechanically strong class
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Bards make some of the most powerful builds on the server and, next to the healer, probably the best support class in the game. You don't see a lot of them because A) metabuilt bards are just fancy fighters or paladins, so unless they're singing you'd think they're just another sword'n'boarder and B) bard builds suffer until midlate teens, so people tend to either give up on them or powerlevel with their buddies until they're demigods.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Adding on to this, gearing a meta bard usually takes more work - so people who aren't willing or don't think to do that see lower performance.Dalenger wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 2:41 pmBards make some of the most powerful builds on the server and, next to the healer, probably the best support class in the game. You don't see a lot of them because A) metabuilt bards are just fancy fighters or paladins, so unless they're singing you'd think they're just another sword'n'boarder and B) bard builds suffer until midlate teens, so people tend to either give up on them or powerlevel with their buddies until they're demigods.
Bards are extremely strong.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
There are some very prominent bards in circulation atm. Not necessarily the sort that want to do what you describe, but they still exist.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Sneaky bards.
Just leave out some sheet music that's never been played in an open field, and wait.
There's lots about. Some do performances based on song and prose, others in mortal combat.
Just leave out some sheet music that's never been played in an open field, and wait.
There's lots about. Some do performances based on song and prose, others in mortal combat.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
No one:
Builders: Bards are op!
Builders: Bards are op!
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Overpowered is usually a measure of how easy the class is to exploit, and whilst other classes may be really strong and still easy to play, Bard is, in my opinion, not one such class. If you don't know what you're doing or building for on a Bard, you'll be as usefull in this game as Dandelion is to Geralt.
But to answer opening post, There are bards around the island, but very few actually commit themselves to playing 'bards' as we know them, and some are simply 'bards' for the powerspike but act out as Fighters so you'll never notice them.
Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Also worth noting, there's a lot of bards around who won't fit the exact niche of "I follow adventurers around" and even the ones who do will probably be a bit picky about who they pursue and compose ballads about, your best bet is either to stick a notice up saying you want to hire one or doing some stuff which is so notable they start wanting to follow you for IC reasons.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Used to play champion of Corellon, Sylwyn Gallyn. Had 60 AC, crit rate of 13-20 (lower with green steel, which I never used)... and still spell in that heavy armor, to cast fear and other CC nasties in combat.
This was back in 2010, before artifacts arrived.
PS. Can't take credit for build, as Coar build it for me and I just tweaked minor things for my play style.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Yeah, I think we're kinda derailing from the OPs point. To answer the OP, I think you're going to have a hard time finding the perfect player of the perfect bard at the perfect level who'll have a schedule that matches yours so you can play together. Honestly, it does sound like a lot of fun though. I've got a surface bard in the early teens rn, send me a PM and we'll see if we can mesh play timesNinjimmy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:40 amAlso worth noting, there's a lot of bards around who won't fit the exact niche of "I follow adventurers around" and even the ones who do will probably be a bit picky about who they pursue and compose ballads about, your best bet is either to stick a notice up saying you want to hire one or doing some stuff which is so notable they start wanting to follow you for IC reasons.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
I play Zelos. He's a bard! But really there is a lot going against bard that makes people shy away from them, I think. The best things about your class is bard song and curse song. However, bard song doesn't become -that- incredible until 14+. And you'll need 20 Bard if you want your song to last more than 10 rounds (you do). Even when it's all said and done: you're there to bard song and curse song. That's the game plan. It can be a dull playstyle to some. Are the abilities absolutely broken? Yes. Yes they are. Where bards shine mechanically is against other players. PvP isn't and should not be the focus of the game, however.
And the other negatives? It's very painful to level on your own, you have AWFUL HP, and you simply don't get enough skill points per level. Additionally the caster level changes hurt Bard a lot. 16 Bard and 20 bard were very popular 'stopping points,' but now it's not recommended if you intend on having CHA > 10 because you will be absolutely annihilated by dispels. There used to be a workaround -- now there isn't. The weaknesses I listed sound simple, and they are, but believe me when I tell you it's the suffering.
Even RP wise there are a lot of expectations. People are of course free to play how they want, but Bards gotta bard! Come on! You're going to be hosting events, composing song/poetry, or doing -something- bard-like. These are additional commitments to the game that are kinda hard to maintain and require a certain kind of player who enjoys that stuff.
I'd enjoy seeing Bards with higher hit dice and more skill points. But only if Bard song/Curse song got smoothed out. Right now the scaling swings too hard from useless to absolutely broken. It should just go from useful to pretty damn good.
Arelith is not a game where Character Class = Character Identity. I'm not trying to sound facetious. I've played a lot of RP games where that very much is the case -- and I personally /prefer/ that approach. But Arelith has a lot of source material already to draw inspiration from. While I absolutely LOVED games where each class had a guild hall that you had to visit -just- to become that class, that is not what this NWN server is. There's a lot of people with bard TECHNICALLY as their class. But do they 'act' like bards? Probably not.
And the other negatives? It's very painful to level on your own, you have AWFUL HP, and you simply don't get enough skill points per level. Additionally the caster level changes hurt Bard a lot. 16 Bard and 20 bard were very popular 'stopping points,' but now it's not recommended if you intend on having CHA > 10 because you will be absolutely annihilated by dispels. There used to be a workaround -- now there isn't. The weaknesses I listed sound simple, and they are, but believe me when I tell you it's the suffering.
Even RP wise there are a lot of expectations. People are of course free to play how they want, but Bards gotta bard! Come on! You're going to be hosting events, composing song/poetry, or doing -something- bard-like. These are additional commitments to the game that are kinda hard to maintain and require a certain kind of player who enjoys that stuff.
I'd enjoy seeing Bards with higher hit dice and more skill points. But only if Bard song/Curse song got smoothed out. Right now the scaling swings too hard from useless to absolutely broken. It should just go from useful to pretty damn good.
Arelith is not a game where Character Class = Character Identity. I'm not trying to sound facetious. I've played a lot of RP games where that very much is the case -- and I personally /prefer/ that approach. But Arelith has a lot of source material already to draw inspiration from. While I absolutely LOVED games where each class had a guild hall that you had to visit -just- to become that class, that is not what this NWN server is. There's a lot of people with bard TECHNICALLY as their class. But do they 'act' like bards? Probably not.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
"Bard" brings to mind some half-elf strumming a lute and singing magical Renaissancey songs but it can cover a lot of territory, so I'd watch saying people aren't playing their class if they have bard levels.
For that matter you don't have to be a bard to be a performer or even a musician. You just need the willingness to perform.
Anyway bards are cool but I don't play them because I hate the clunkiness of the class. I know you get really powerful and can make a skald paladin who's one of the strongest builds in the game but the spells vs armor clash just doesn't do it for me and I find them very unfun at low levels so I always delete before their time. We all have our preferences I suppose.
For that matter you don't have to be a bard to be a performer or even a musician. You just need the willingness to perform.
Anyway bards are cool but I don't play them because I hate the clunkiness of the class. I know you get really powerful and can make a skald paladin who's one of the strongest builds in the game but the spells vs armor clash just doesn't do it for me and I find them very unfun at low levels so I always delete before their time. We all have our preferences I suppose.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Bards, the most powerful class on the server that no one wants to play.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
My bard will happily join you for adventures!
Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Except for Feylocks.Tarkus the dog wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:40 amBards, the most powerful class on the server that no one wants to play.
But no, Bards are fantastic, and exceptionally powerful. But leveling them is pain. And you need friends. But if you have friends, and hate yourself enough to level up to the epics as say, a CON Tank Bard with EDR III, Taunt, Curse Song and Bards song, you can play the game of "Really nice AC you have there, would be a real shame if I were to take 12 of it from you" with people.
If somebody tries to kill the bard they are doing it wrong and die.
If people don't kill the bard, then they are watching their stats vanish before their very eyes and die.
It's a very wholesome experience that takes 2-3 button presses (There is more to it than this but really the core of it) and getting to this point will probably make you question your mental stability.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
Ah that build was so so fun. Not sure it's really fun these days with wounding whispers being breachable and heal skill no longer enchantable in basin but it might be fun with that armor of immolation if it deals enough damage. Its one of my all time favorites.-slave wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2020 3:32 amBut if you have friends, and hate yourself enough to level up to the epics as say, a CON Tank Bard with EDR III, Taunt, Curse Song and Bards song, you can play the game of "Really nice AC you have there, would be a real shame if I were to take 12 of it from you" with people.
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Re: BARDS WHERE ARE THE BARDS
They're too busy being the center of the party and getting all the dungeons.