Need help constructing a Bard

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I want to make a Bard who can handle the rogue class as well (from early on in my "newb party" thread).

I was thinking of using either a Human or Tiefling for this character. I plan on having him be a decent spellcaster, the Loremaster of the group, and to fire missile weapons while counting on that Lingering Song feat.

I know his first level will be in Rogue, maybe his second as well, but the rest I plan on sinking into Bard.

Since I really want DEX (skills and missile attacks), INT (skill points) and CHA (Bard spells), how should I assign stats? I don't think it's a good idea to drop STR or WIS much (carrying stuff and Will Saves are important!), and you really need CON to survive (no Hit Points = no character, and Fort Saves are based on CON).

There seems to be no dump stat, and IMHO the most important thing of all for this guy is to have a maxxed out INT stat (Skills make this character, as does the Bard Lore for IDing stuff). So, after dumping 8 of my 16 initial points into INT, do I split the remaining 4 between DEX and CHA? If I play a Tiefling, that means only a 12 CHA. If I play a Human, it means only a 14 DEX which I don't know if it'll be enough to be a good shot with a crossbow.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. You have all been wonderful and patient with all of my questions, inquiries, and rants on this board. TIA.

 

I'm not sure if tiefling is worth it, to be honest. I think it probably isn't.

Taking just one level in the rogue class is not a good idea because Evasion comes with level 2.

Next, if you're human, you can take 2 rogue levels and 1 ranger lever (free dual-wielding) and 1 fighter level (all weapon/armour proficiencies except exotic and tower shield) and perhaps a barbarian level (increased movement speed, some nice HP). If you want to solo a bard in the future, you could even try rogue(3)/ranger(3)/fighter(4)/bard(x).

If you want to cast spells, you pretty much need to do without armour, which means you're better off with decent DEX than without it. Which means you're probably better off relying on Finesse than STR. WIS isn't really needed so much.

Give up on crossbows and take a bow, I think. You get more attacks per round and you can also get Rapid Shot for one more attack.

As for skills, take a look on the paladin spell list and see if you're going to use a lot of offensive magic that deals elemental damage. If so, get the right feats (Spirit of Flame for fire, Aegis of Rime for cold etc). You may want Spell Penetration and Spell Focus: Evocation or Transmutation. Bards are more into transmutation but it's evocation which deals the real damage. Don't invest into elemental damage feats without first investing in improving your DCs (which means Focuses for the proper DC and Penetration for beating spell resistance). It's better to have your spells hit more often than to have an unsure +20% damage in case they do.

 

What skills do you want to give your Bard anyways?

Loremasters would need

• Knowledge (Arcana)
• Spellcraft
• Alchemy &
• Wilderness Lore (to some extent)

Add to that the skills required of a party talker

• Bluff
• Diplomacy &
• Intiminate

To this if you intend to add the typical Rogue skills of

• Search
• Open Lock
• Disable Device
• Hide
• Move Silently
• Pick Pocket

Decide what you want to do, coz a Bard/Rogue just does not cut it. At any rate, you might want to go with human since you get +1 skill point/level and won't have to worry abot any XP penalty.

Stick to Xbows, atleast initially. I am not in favour of taking 'Rapid Shot' early on. Your BAB sucks anyway. Adding a -2 to it only means that you miss twice per round. Now bolts also do more damage than arrows and so you have a better chance of doing real damage to the enemy.