Dungeons And Dragons Online: Beta Journal #6: A Not-So-Brief Guide to Creating a Well-Rounded Bard

I chose human as a solid all-around base. While all races have their own special advantages, humans come with a couple significant bonuses that really help a generalist like the bard: 1 bonus feat at creation, plus 1 bonus skill point per level and a handful of extra skill points at creation. If I'd wanted a more archery-focused or rogue-like bard, I might have chosen elf - their bonuses dovetail nicely with both of those concepts. If I'd wanted to focus a bit more on scouting, and cared less about being able to do damage in melee (or more about being able to dodge), I'd probably have chosen halfling. Remember, we're having this little talk in order to create a nicely rounded bard, and some choices have to be made.

Next thing you know, you'll find yourself choosing ability scores. Ability scores can be quick-assigned, or painstakingly picked out for maximum customization, and the advanced point assignment screen comes with plenty of description about each stat's purpose. Your ability scores are actually fairly important. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution play an important role in determining the longevity of your bard.

Dexterity is what you need to worry about most. While you can wear heavier armor, anything more than light armor is going to impact your casting, and that's bad for business. No one will pay for a bard who can't use a bit of magic on demand. Since you're wearing light armor, you'll want to spend some points improving your Dexterity. I chose a 14 in Dexterity, and I've been more than happy with it. Besides, if you want to actually hit the broad side of a giant with your bow, you'll want a few points stuck in here.

Strength is an area I see a lot of bards neglecting, which I shake my head at, for two reasons. First, regardless of how good an archer you are, there will always be times when you're going to need to get up close and personal with quarterstaff or blade. Second, you want to be able to cart off all that loot you find, right? Well, I gave myself a 12 in Strength and am doing quite well - my backpacks are full and I can still cart around a suit or two of armor without slowing down. Those poor fools with 8 Strength are really hurting when they're trying to cart around what I can with ease.

Constitution is a third area that you want to make sure you're not hurting yourself with. You get maximum hit points per level, so a bard will start off with 26 hit points. I think you'll probably want to give yourself at least 12 here - not really for the hit points, though more hit points is always nice, but really for the fortitude saves. There are plenty of nasty traps, and even the best rogue won't be able to find them all in time. Since bards don't get great fortitude saves to begin with, every little bit helps. I gave myself 12. This is one area where those elven-types need to take care. If you neglect this stat, you can wind up with negative fortitude saves early on, and that is very dangerous for a bard.

Your mental ability scores are also important. Even if you just want to swing your sword and sing a song or two, you'll need to focus on these ability scores a little. Too many of a bard's benefits rely on having quick wits to get them out of trouble where a quick blade cannot.

Wisdom is an area bards can probably not worry about too much,. You get nice Will saves already, so I gave myself a 10 in Wisdom. Enough so I wasn't getting punished for it, but still have to look to my cleric friends when I need real Wisdom.

A good bard is a smart bard. I gave myself a 14 Intelligence, and the extra skill points have come in handy. There are so many things in DDO to spend points on; more skill points are always handy. And besides, with bardic knowledge, more intelligence is always a good thing.

Lastly is Charisma. I can't say enough about Charisma for bards. I spent 14 points here, and I intend to spend quite a few of my bonus stat points here as well. Between your spells and skills like Diplomacy, Bluff, Perform, and Use Magic Device, every point spent here is worth it. You start off with 50 spell points, +10 times your Charisma bonus. Most level 1 spells cost about 10 spell points each, so you're looking at being able to cast 7 spells at most between rest areas.

Now, you've gotten to the part where you really customize your character - the skills, feats, and spells.

You get a huge range of skills, from Haggle to Diplomacy to Use Magic Devices to Perform. Again, the skill assignment screen includes a little background information about the bard's core skills. The three major combat skills here are Balance, Concentration, and Tumble. All are useful, and need maximum points early on. For scout-work, you'll want to put full points into Hide and Move Silently. Perform, of course, gets full marks. Use Magic Devices is another that needs 4 points worth of attention. Well, with 8 skill points left, you have some choices. Jump, Swim, Haggle, or a few cross-class skills. I advise putting 4 into Haggle, and putting 2 each into Jump and Swim. None of these three is terribly crucial, but you never know what the future will bring.

Now, when it comes to feats, you have to consider what you're likely to be doing most often, and don't listen to your friends. Your archery friends will tell you to pick up Point Blank Shot. Your caster friends will tell you to pick up Empower Spell, Empower Healing Spell, or Maximize Spell. I say: don't listen to either of them. With no bard-specific feats available early on, taking combat or spell-related skills may not serve you best. You should worry about reducing your vulnerabilities, not necessarily how to put out the most damage per swing. Considering the amount of hit points I had, I first chose Toughness, giving myself +3 hit points and +1 hit point / level. I then looked at my saves, and decided to take Luck of Heroes, giving myself +1 bonus on all saves. I originally considered taking Dodge and Combat Expertise (which is a very nice ability you can turn on and off at will) in order to help with a so-so armor class, but I decided to rely on my personal skill to keep my character from taking damage. The nice thing here is that you can count on personal skill in combat; reacting to your opponent (tumbling, dodging, etc) can help you avoid many bruises.

Now for spells. You get one - and it's a tough call. My choice was a little easier than most - I knew I'd find myself in groups without a healer, so I chose cure light wounds for my first spell. However, there are quite a few nice spells available. You can rest assured you'll be happy even if you choose spells like grease or cause fear. Later on, I intend to pick up detect secret doors, since I know I've missed a few in my explorations of Eberron, and it's been bothering me.

That, in a nutshell, is the creation process. An old rhymester like me can only talk for so long, and there's not much else to say. Give your bard a name, and you'll be ready to embark on a career of music and adventure. Welcome to Eberron!