![]() ![]() You could, however, use that 6th slot to have another warrior or priest or wizard and still have a group that's more deadly/efficient overall. You can easily do that with 5 characters, so the bard's a natural choice for filling the last slot. They're meant to round out a party that's already got all bases covered (one or two warriors, a priest, a thief and a wizard). Their ability to identify most items is very convenient, their songs provide very useful buffs and being naturally charismatic/intelligent, they're ideal as a party's "face" - the one who talks to most NPCs and shopkeepers. Not that it matters much on the long run, of course.īards are essentially utility characters. War Chant of the Sith? 10 HP healed per round.ĭue to a few dialogue options exclusive to bards, having one around can give a party a small XP boost during the prologue. Tymora's Melody? +15 to saving throws and +5 to luck. Put another way, it's equal to +5 to saves, THAC0, and damage for ONE person. The level 1 song adds +1 to all saves, THAC0, and damage for five party members. Multiply their effects by your other party members and it's easier to see why songs are a big deal. The reason bard songs don't look that important is because the effects are passive bonuses with the exception of the Siren's Yearning. ![]() That does a lot to mitigate incoming physical damage, the primary threat in IWD. War Chant of the Sith adds 2 AC, 10% physical damage resistance, and heals 2 HP per round. Even with less luck, it's a big difference. A 75% reduction in the enemy's power, at will, is difficult to match. I remember using it in Dragon's Eye and reducing the number of enemy attackers from 8 to 2. Siren's Yearning stuns critters on a failed save. I only failed saves when that song wasn't active. I had a pair of bards in one of my previous runs and with Tymora's Melody, I knew the party would never get disabled. I'm guessing that those that say ANY bard is required/highly recommended in IWD EE are misguided, or maybe I'm missing something? I don't quite understand that as while the vanilla bard gets all the IWD-specific songs, the kits miss out. On top in a number of threads people have mentioned a Bard being essential to an IWD party regardless of kit (for instance a Blade), as long as there is a Bard of some sort. I've always seen him as a poor man's fighter/mage with less spells, worse fighting skills & pick pocket added in for measure. Yes I am aware about the vanilla Bard's amazing songs (particularly the War Chant of Sith - was this in the original? I can't remember.) but I don't see them as a deal breaker to make him an essential member of the team. ![]() I tend to like all my party members contributing directly in battle somehow. ![]() Plus I never really liked the fact he couldn't fight while singing. A handy character as could cast spells, use every weapon & identify for free, but tbh I didn't see him as anything particularly special as such. I originally played a Bard in the vanilla IWD from 2000, the only time I've taken a bard from start to finish in a AD&D computer game. I've searched around the forums to find the answer to this question but can't find a direct one so made this thread. ![]()
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