30 days nearing end on 01/24/2011 10:24 AM CST
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Level 0 Stats for XXXXXXX, Human Bard
Strength (STR): 60
Constitution (CON): 65
Dexterity (DEX): 62
Agility (AGI): 70
Discipline (DIS): 82
Aura (AUR): 62
Logic (LOG): 88
Intuition (INT): 63
Wisdom (WIS): 68
Influence (INF): 40


Looking for something between good growth and good cap stats. The character uses a base speed 6 THW.

Training plan is as follows.
1x Armor
1x Combat Maneuvers
2x Two-Handed Weapons
1x Physical Fitness
1x Dodge
1x Harness Power
1x Perception
1x Trading
1x Spells


Opinons welcome. Please be elaborate. I am mostly unfamiliar with the intricacies of bardlyness.



"The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" - William Shakespeare
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Re: 30 days nearing end on 01/24/2011 11:54 AM CST
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Alright, where shall I begin. There is a lot going on here, and a lot of your limitations are created by your weapon choice. I like THW, a lot, but it limits you early on because it sucks up massive tp's. Also, your CMANs are not going to enhance your THWness (mighty blow, etc). They will certainly help you in combat though.

Necessary changes:
Air Lore (lots) - what will make you strong later in levels is double flares and superior haste from Tonis. If you are going physical semi, and you are, then you should be getting this.

Mental Lore Telepathy - get some, it boosts song duration and boosts your AS from Kai's.

Perception and Trading - you need those mental tp's. Drop to whatever you must, but I'd consider going .25x in perception initially. Trading, get your three ranks for the influence boost and worry about more later.

As for your skills, I think your training has you quite maxed out. I wouldn't make any adjustments except for what I wrote above.


Stats...this is where the headache is likely to be. Balancing the growth versus immediate gratification versus necessary for training. Your INF is too low, regardless of how well it grows. You lose mana, lose song effectiveness and training points (all mental). Logic strikes me as high, but I don't know how well it grows for a human bard. It grows like garbage for a giantman bard. Even so, it is high. Aura, again, it's low. It will grow but it's a primary and you are losing early effectiveness. If you can handle that, well it is your call. DIS is high and grows mediocre at best. I think you are going to have to drop it, but do as you wish. STR/CON/DEX/AGI are all on the low side. If they give you enough ptp's then I guess you can possibly keep them there. You will run into encumbrance and speed issues early. If you are not concerned with under level 40 sacrifices for the level 60+ gains, then by all means leave them.

My general assessment is you have your stats set for growth with a possible nod to need. I'd probably cheat some points away from LOG/INT/DIS and try to boost INF/STR/DEX. In the end, you need a very specific amount of training points to do what you need. Obviously, you are not new and can likely supplement a lot of enhancive items to this guy. That will help in combat effectiveness but not in training, so get the points you need to do it.

~Galenok
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Re: 30 days nearing end on 01/24/2011 03:43 PM CST
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>>I like THW, a lot, but it limits you early on because it sucks up massive tp's.<<

It does indeed, but it's not negotiable, due to RP.

The CMAN use (aside from extra AS to combat the currently low strength) is for sweep, which is helpful.

Two factors I should say that I left out. One) This character will be hunting with a wizard most of the time, and Two) this character is in plat, not prime (where enhancives aren't quite as plentiful).

I dig the telepathy lore suggestion, and I've been aching to squeeze it in, and I just may at the cost of perception. The air lore is mostly irrelevant, since the character will be using a non-sonic weapon, and will have a wizard to cast haste when neccessary.

The stats are my major headache, really.

The DIS and LOG both grow really really poorly, so I set them high. Discipline I know is a factor in song renewal duration, and so I don't think I'll push that one any lower. I'm leery about pushing logic any lower, because then it likely won't max, and I am enjoying the faster exp gains at lower levels (miniscule as they may seem).

I'm not sure how much room I have to squeeze out of INT before it won't max, but it seems the least neccessary of the 3, you advised lowering.

Mostly though...

>>If you are not concerned with under level 40 sacrifices for the level 60+ gains, then by all means leave them.<<

This statement rings true. What I was mostly looking to find was whether or not I had set myself up for that, and it sounds like I have, with a few exceptions. I'd love for the AUR and INF to be a little higher, but I'm not sure where to take it from. I think at most I can squeeze about 5 poins out of LOG and INT each, before I run in to problems.

What about the wisdom, is that much really neccessary? I feel like I could lose a few there too.




"The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" - William Shakespeare
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Re: 30 days nearing end on 01/24/2011 05:45 PM CST
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>>What about the wisdom, is that much really neccessary? I feel like I could lose a few there too.

Nah, just keep the slight boost to spirit TD. It sounds like you have enough training points. If that's true, then it won't matter.

I think depending on a wizard being around to determine your training is unwise. However, in that case, I hope that specific wizard is WHY you are playing the character in the first place. The training is pretty plain but a necessary byproduct of your desired RP. SWEEP is a good cman. Good luck, I hope the bard works out for you.

~Galenok
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