Character Creation — Bards and their kits
 | BARD Race: Human, Half-Elf Alignment: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE Description: Bards are entertainers, apprentices, and scholars, whose songs and tales can both cheer the morale of a party exhausted by marching, and inspire them with courage and fury in the heat of battle. They learn quickly and easily, absorbing skills from many different sources rather than focusing on a single direction—for this reason, Bards are the jacks-of-all-trades of the party, able to serve in a support role to many other members, but never exceeding in any one skill. Their songs grant magical benefits to all allied creatures within earshot, so the value of a good Bard increases with the size of the group: Almost all professional mercenary companies and standing armies employ Bards for this reason. |
STRENGTHS:
| » » » » » » » » | Can use any type of weapon except Composite Longbows
Can learn and cast all Wizard spells from Spell Levels 1 through 6 Can cast all Wizard spells from scrolls, and use Wizard-specific Wands Can use Bard Song at will, whose effects vary with the EXP level of the Singing Bard: Levels 1-14: Allied creatures within 30 feet of the Bard are immune to Fear and Morale Failure, and recieve a +1 Luck bonus Levels 15-19: Immune to Fear & Morale Failure, bonus to Luck increased to +2 Levels 20+: Same immunities, Luck bonus now +3 (equates to a +3 bonus on all To-Hit, Damage, and Saving Throw rolls) Shares the fastest rate of level progression in the game Gains 10 Lore per level Able to use the Thieving skill of Pick Pockets Guaranteed stats of at least 12 Dexterity, 13 Intelligence, and 15 Charisma |
| » » » » | Restricted to Proficiency (*) in any weapon proficiency
Restricted to Proficiency (*) in any Weapon Style Cannot wear Helmets, armor heavier than Chain Mail, or shields larger than Bucklers Cannot be combined with any other class |
| Notes: Version 8 of the G3 Fixpack includes a major bug in two Bard songs: The Blade sings the Song that should belong to the straight Bard, who in turn sings a Song that does nothing except protect
from Fear. You can either choose not to install the Fixpack component of "Optional But Cool: Bard Song Fixes," or, given some modding gumption on your part, correct the issue yourself. You'll need DLTCEP or Near Infinity to change two files: FJBARD.SPL should have its spell resource changed from FJBARDA to
FJBARDB, and FJBLADE.SPL should have its changed from FJBARDB to FJBLADEB. The Songs that I describe on this page are the corrected Bard and Blade Songs. The "Strengths" and "Weaknesses" listed for each base class are intended both as a general description of the class, and compared to the other classes of the same superclass. In the descriptions of the kits, however, the Advantages and Disadvantages are always directly relative to their base class. In the table to the right, the columns are as follows— Level: The Experience Level of the Bard. EXP: The Experience Points required for a Bard to reach that level. Hitpoints: The hitpoints that a Bard would gain at that level. "+CON" means the additional hitpoint bonus from having a high (or possibly low) Constitution stat. THAC0: The base THAC0 (before any modifiers) of a Bard at that level. ApR: The base Attacks per Round (before any modifiers) of a Bard at that level. Profs: The number of Proficiency Points a Bard would gain at the given level. Saving Throws: The Saves (given in this order: vs. Death, vs. Wands, vs. Polymorph, vs. Breath, and vs. Spell) of a Bard at the indicated level. PP: The base Pick Pockets score (before any modifiers) of a Bard at that level. Spells: The number of spellslots (of each spell level) that a Bard of the given level would have. |
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 | BLADE Class: Bard Race: Human, Half-Elf Alignment: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE Description: Many young scamps become Bards not because they're excellent musicians or enjoy memorizing ballads, but because they love the idea of being a dashing swordsman, winning a maiden's heart by dancing into combat with sword-hilts twinkling, a thrust here, a clever quip there, a dazzling display of weapon prowess everywhere. These are the Blades, flashy but effective, who a few times a day can burst out with the kind of weaponmastery that can turn even the most skilled Fighter green with envy. |
ADVANTAGES:
| » » » | Special Ability of Offensive Spin, usable 1x/day per 4 levels (first use gained at Level 1, then every 4 levels thereafter): For 4 rounds, the Blade's speed and lethality are greatly increased: They move at double their normal speed, enjoy a -2 bonus to THAC0 and +2 to Damage, gain an extra attack per round, and all hits do their maximum damage. The Blade cannot be Hasted or Improved Hasted during the Spin. Special Ability of Defensive Spin, usable 1x/day per 4 levels (first use gained at Level 1, then every 4 levels thereafter): For 4 rounds, the Blade becomes an immovable obstacle: He cannot move from the spot but can attack normally, and recieves a -2 bonus to AC for every 2 EXP levels (maximum of -10 to AC). May attain Mastery (***) in Two-Weapon Style |
| » » » | Base Lore score increases at only 1/2 the normal rate
Base Pick Pockets score increases at only 1/2 the normal rate Weakened Bard Song: Same as regular Bard Song during Levels 1-14, but never increases in power |
Notes: Offensive and Defensive spin do not stack with each other. To avoid certain bugs, Blades cannot cast Melf's Minute Meteors while Offensive Spin is in effect.
 | JESTER Class: Bard Race: Human, Half-Elf Alignment: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE Description: While other Bards may be considered the songbirds of the group, Jesters are more like mockingbirds, gleefully honing their expertise in satire, barbs, and insults of all kinds. Those who lack a thick skin and/or sense of humor typically find them very difficult to get along with, but they are tolerated because of their skill in broadcasting their personalities through their musical instruments, creating an audible wall of scorn that can stop an enemy offensive in its tracks. |
ADVANTAGES:
| » | Bard Song affects all Hostile creatures within 30 feet of the Singing Jester, with results varying by his level:
Levels 1-14: Enemies must Save vs. Spell with a -2 bonus each round or be Confused for that round Levels 15-19: Same chance of Confusion as above, plus enemies must Save vs. Spell each round or be Slowed for that round Levels 20+: Same chances of Confusion & Slow, must also Save vs. Spells with a -2 bonus each round or be knocked Unconscious for that round |
| » | Bard Song does not provide any bonuses to allied creatures |
 | SKALD Class: Bard Race: Human, Half-Elf Alignment: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE Description: Most Bardic repertoires include songs and tales of love, honor, comedy, and tranquility. Not so with the Skalds, most of whom specialize in research of only one genre: Ballads and epic poems about legendary warriors and mighty battles. These stories of combat and death can get old after a while, but one cannot deny the results when Skalds employ them to inspire their companions on the battlefield, as each creature allied with the party now fights with a level of skill and strength fit to do credit to the warrior-kings of yore. |
ADVANTAGES:
| » » | Base -1 bonus to THAC0 and +1 bonus to Damage
Bard Song affects allied creatures within 30 feet of the Singing Skald, with effects varying by his level: Levels 1-14: Allied creatures recieve -2 bonuses to AC and THAC0, and a +2 bonus to Damage Levels 15-19: Now grants bonuses of -4 to AC, -4 to THAC0, and +4 to Damage, and immunity to Fear & Morale Failure Levels 20+: Combat bonuses still -4, -4, and +4 respectively, gives immunity to Fear, Morale Failure, Stun, and Confusion |
| » | Base Pick Pockets score only 1/4th of its normal value |
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