Bard advice

[recklessfireball]

So, weirdly, I've never played a bard in 3.5 before... until now.  The class just never appealed to me before and none of the character concepts I've dreamed up every really seemed to fit the class (I don't play minstrels or singers and such).  But I came up with a new character based on an old 1st edition half-elf fighter/mage/thief I used to play waaaay back in the day, and the bard class actually seemed the best way to emulate this character.  Also, you guys have implemented changes to the class that address most of the things that I disliked about the class, so it's far more appealing to me now.

But... I don't really know how to build a 3.5 bard effectively.  My dude is DEX (16) /CHA (16) focused, with most everything else being relegated to dump stat status.  He's supposed to be a sort of corsair/buccaneer like fighter that uses rapier and dagger, supplemented with magic.  Presently he's a 7th lvl bard.  His main weaknesses are his poor damage (STR 10) and low hit points (CON 10).  I was thinking of taking him to lvl 12 as bard and then prestiging for 8 lvls of red dragon disciple.  I had also considered Eldritch Knight, but he can't learn new spells as a spontaneous caster, so I decided that route didn't appeal to me.  I also considered assassin, but it didn't really fit my character concept, so I threw that out too.

So, yeah, I'm thinking either I should just go straight bard all the way to 20, or 12 bard/8 RDD.  Any thoughts from experienced bard players out there?

Thanks for any advice you can give me.  

[Nokteronoth]

Bards in NWN can be incredibly varied. You can be a melee specialist, a support person, a ranged flanker that sings from the back. You can mix it with almost any class and be good. However, as a 'fighter/mage/thief' you might want to look into Arcane Trickster.

With your stats being as they are, you might want to just keep going for a majorly bard character. My elf Esyae does this:
Bard(27), Rogue(3), Sun Elf Back to Character Calculation

Abilies STR: 8
DEX: 14
CON: 13 (18)
WIS: 8
INT: 18
CHA: 14 (16)

0 30 Sun Elf: (Hardiness vs. Enchantments, Keen Sense, Low-light Vision, Skill Affinity: Listen, Skill Affinity: Search, Skill Affinity: Spot, Sleeplessness)
1 Ba 01: Bard(1): Lingering Song
2 Ba 02: Bard(2): {Uncanny Dodge I}
3 Ba 03: Bard(3): Curse Song
4 Ba 04: Bard(4): CHA+1, {Evasion}, (CHA=15)
5 Ba 05: Bard(5)
6 Ba 06: Bard(6): Extend Spell
7 Ro 07: Rogue(1)
8 Ba 08: Bard(7): CHA+1, (CHA=16)
9 Ba 09: Bard(8): Expertise
10 Ba 10: Bard(9)
11 Ba 11: Bard(10)
12 Ro 12: Rogue(2): CON+1, Improved Expertise, (CON=14)
13 Ba 13: Bard(11)
14 Ba 14: Bard(12)
15 Ba 15: Bard(13): Practicied Spellcaster
16 Ba 16: Bard(14): CON+1, (CON=15)
17 Ro 17: Rogue(3)
18 Ba 18: Bard(15): Toughness
19 Ba 19: Bard(16)
20 Ba 20: Bard(17): CON+1, (CON=16)
21 Ba 21: Bard(18): Armor Skin
22 Ba 22: Bard(19)
23 Ba 23: Bard(20)
24 Ba 24: Bard(21): CON+1, Lasting Inspiration, (CON=17)
25 Ba 25: Bard(22)
26 Ba 26: Bard(23): Epic Skill Focus: Perform
27 Ba 27: Bard(24): Epic Fortitude
28 Ba 28: Bard(25): CON+1, (CON=18)
29 Ba 29: Bard(26): Epic Skill Focus: Heal
30 Ba 30: Bard(27): Epic Reflexes


Statistic Hitpoints: 330
Skillpoints: 336
Saving Throws (Fortitude/Will/Reflex): 19/15/24
Saving Throw bonuses: Spells: +7, Mind Effects: +2
BAB: 19
AB (max, naked): 18 (melee), 21 (ranged)
AC (naked/mundane armor/shield only): 20/28
Spell Casting: Bard(6)
Alignment Changes: 0

Skills Appraise 33(37), Disable Trap 20(24), Heal 33(42), Listen 33(34), Open Lock 20(22), Perform 33(46), Search 20(26), Spellcraft 33(37), Tumble 33(35), UMD 33(36), remaining skillpoints 45

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Her CON is a lot higher because she uses the specific elven mithril armor that we have custom. I would suggest high Bard levels just because Song gets good at level 16. The Rogue is to be able to disable traps (And spot them) over DC 35, and Fighter for weapon/armor availability.

You can also learn spells as a spontaneous caster, as of recently. We've put in a fix since swapping to EE, though Bard doesn't have the best spells to use with it compared to their song.

You can go RDD, you can do Arcane Trickster with a wizard, you can run an Eldrich Knight setup. There's a lot of things you can do. I would suggest, perhaps, joining the Discord as we have a specific channel/room just for mechanics discussions.

~BR

[recklessfireball]

Hoo-boy.  Well, hopefully I haven't screwed it up!  Anywyay, thanks for your advice.  I'll have to give it some careful thought.  I'll hop on discord sometime and pick everyone's brain's about it.