Does Garrick work for you?

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I have only used Garrick in a couple of games. In the early parts of the game he annoyed me because of his low hit points (9 in CON doesn't help much ). But later in the game he was extreamly useful and by the end stages he was awsome, he took down saravk and gang by himself . My only consistant problem with him is his dialogue, especily if my Rep was high.
What do you think of him?

 

Garrick's okay, but bards in general aren't particularly useful in BG1. Singing, picking pockets, and casting are about all they can do. Of course, soloing a bard becomes pretty fun.

 

I like to take Garrick for his song (immune to fear) and his lore and his pickpocket. With the levels, his lore becomes very useful, plus he can learn identify. With Garrick in your party, it's OK to have a conjurer.
As a NPC, he's very boring though.

 

I've toyed around with him but i haven't been the most into bards. As others have stated he has some uses though.

I think that the best choice might be making your own bard but he's a good secondary substitute since he's easy to get early on if your used to the game. If you have a spot your not sure what to do with he makes an interesting and different choice for filling it too. The increased caster level certainly helps in the low level game too once you get him really going.

 

Bards rock. Scroll back a few months to see the solo Bard thread!

 

I'm taking Garrick along in my current game. He's only just hit level 2, but he's kinda useful. Bard Song is proving to be well worth it. I'm just waiting for him to gain a couple more levels and get more spells, at the mmoment i've got him casting identify on everything.

 

Fiery another level or 2 you won't need identification ever again. It will be the rare item that bards can't identify even when mediocre. Hell I don't think there is an item in the game that you cannot identify with like a level 5 bard in BG1 and TotSC.

If you know where to find the Ring of Wizardry on the Friendly Arm Inn map. You might give it to him as well as like a magic missile spell or something. It can be a useful combination.

 

Bards can't use the Ring of Wizardry.

The only things you might have trouble identifying are cursed items. And when you get to a certain point, you'll know that you're better off ditching them than wasting the time casting Identify.

 

Yes, for some reason, to identify a cursed item, you need a lore of 100. So that only happens when your bard hits level 10, so very late game. Once you hit level 5 or so much of the standard magical items you find will be identifiable.

In BG1, bards are definitely useful. As mages do not get exceedingly powerful in BG1 (due in part to the XP cap) having a bard is an excellent choice. You get some arcane spells, and you also get someone who is much more competent in combat.

I like to give Garrick a proficiency point in bows, and then equip him with the bow from the bandit camp. Is he as good as someone like Kivan or Coran with a bow? No. But he is much better than any mage or cleric with missile weapons. Plus, since a bard can use the same wands as a mage, you can still access most of the more useful spells. I think having a bard in your party obviates the need for a mage in most cases.

 

Well said, Aldeth.

 

I thought they could. My mistake. As I said I don't play with them often.

Lore usage is one of the reasons why I like to make my own Bard. Boost up their intelligence to boost that Lore score higher earlier on. The less wasted spell slots when you really need them the better.

So many swear by groups of Ranged combatants in BG1 that giving them a bow always makes them a really good choice even if they are not as good as Kivan or Coran. Kivan and Coran can both use the bigger heavier bows and there are a bunch of bows and magical bows in the game. Not to mention the vast number of arrows to be picked up or bought. I think it's the quirkiness until you get used to them and the fact that they aren't UberDamageMeister's(Read twinkable to max damage potential) that keeps bards from being one of the most used classes.

 

Fel is the guru of BG, but I disagree with him on bards. Not the most powerful character in the game? No, I suppose not. But, properly handled, still quite a powerful character. And great fun to play.

I'm struck by B. Warbone's comments on Garrick, who is certainly not my idea of a powerful Bard. If Garrick can do what he claims, imagine what a proper Bard could do.

Bards should sing seldom, fire many missiles, melee as needed--which means frequently--and pick every pocket in sight. And be the back-up magic user, which does sometimes save the day. I haven't tried Aldeth's intriguing idea of making the Bard the only magic user.

Soloing? Now there's an idea! But he would probably not be as strong as an Elven F/M/T in this role.

[ April 23, 2006, 06:57: Message edited by: Cernak ]

 

If you look at my nickname you'll know how I feel about Bards. However, Garrick just doesn't work for me. I don't care how powerful or useful an NPC can be, if he's boring, I'm probably not going to stand it on my party for too long.

The one thing that makes BG2 so much better than BG1 is that certain NPCs are less obvious. Garrick's too... generic for me. I don't think it's a problem, since BG1 has much more of a responsibility in introducing new players to AD&D and Forgotten Realms (they're as important as the ones who were already used to other cRPGs or PnP players, right?). However, in comparison to BG2 NPCs, they seem kinda dull. I mean, look at Valygar. People think he's boring. He's way better developed than most BG1 NPCs, doncha think?

EDIT: I wasn't completely honest in my opinions regarding Garrick, so here it goes: Garrick sucks. And his portrait isn't cool at all. "Life... is glorious." You know what would be glorious? My Skald kicking your ass. I mean, come on! Learn how to woo a girl, too! You're a BARD, for Bhaal's sake. That high Charisma not working for you? If it wasn't for Ajantis, he'd get the title of Most One-Dimensional NPC ever.

Anyway... the only way I'd have a Bard in BG1 would be by playing with Hethan all over again. Which I am doing, but now as a Fighter/Mage!

[ April 24, 2006, 22:42: Message edited by: Hethan the Skald ]

 

Uh, I have been away from my computer for a couple
of weeks .I kept Garrick for the whole game.
he is very useful and powerful, But his personality is awful and dull. although he did take down Seravok in a one on one fight! Give this guy some wands, scrolls and potions, sit back
and watch your foes fall! I think Eldoth should be
just as good so I may take him along next time. If
I can stand the company of sky that is .

 

I only tried him once, with an evil PC. He got so annoying and then tried to ditch my evil ass...so I had to hack him into bits.

 

Useless ...

 

I think if you would equip him like you'd equip a PC Bard, he actually wouldn't be half bad. But since you can make a better bard in about 3 seconds of rolling stats, I don't waste my time with him as a lot of my play throughs are with a bard.

 

I've taken him this time through with a Cleric I'm going to put into BG2. I've got a question though. What kinds of armor can he wear and still cast his spells? Is he reduced to wizards robes or something because by the table top game it seems to me that bards could wear up to chainmail and still cast their spells just fine.

 

Bracers of Defense, and that's about it. Bards in 2e cannot cast spells in armor any more than mages (or rather, F/Ms) can, and this holds true in BG. Elven chain works, but that's it. (Of course, that doesn't mean you can't put on armor after exhausting your spells...) The real problem with bards in BG is that there is no good stuff for them. They can't use mage robes or the Ring of Wizardry, the two best arcane items in the game. And everything else that a bard can use, a mage or fighter or thief can use. There's nothing a bard can do that someone else can't do better, except for two things:
1. Bard song. Nice, but when archery rules you'd rather have him firing a bow.
2. Being all those things in one. A fighter and a mage take up two slots in your party, or a F/M takes about three times as long to power up. And the pickpocketing takes heat off of your thief.

 

Even though there are only a few advantages to a bard in BG 1, I still always try to have one with me anyway, I suppose I like having three characters kind of rolled into one. Also, I dunno if it works for all bards, but every PC bard I make can backstab through a programming flaw, I suppose. So that is a reason to take him if he's able. That is, if you enjoy exploiting the game.