Help me build my halfling bard (PFS)

Warning this ended up being so long no one might ever get trough it (hope not :)

Playing a Halfling Bard, in society in less than 18 hours and have not made the Character yet. (typical me by the way)
I could really need some help on making decisions here got way to many things I would like to pick if I go archery build and to few ideas as what to do if I don´t.

Here is some of my thoughts so fare, want to build a character, based on the haflings strengths stat wise rather than trying to force the stats to much around, so relative highish dex and cha,and no supper str witch made me think that a archery build might be the only (good) option for when not casting spells,would love to use all my feat on
stuff like halfling luck well prepared and other fun halfling fluff feats or even spell ability feats,or some support or control stuff, just not sure really if it is, an option if you still want to have a playable toon.

"Afraid" I might end up having only worthless things to contribute with in combat, witch is a big part of the game after all.

what would be my best option as a bard with dex and cha as the best stats

also as I am in society it would be great to be some kind versatile, as you never know what your group consist off (realizing I will if realistic never be a supper front line combatant)
but of course don´t wanna spread myself to thin either, don´t need to be supper optimized but useless is no fun either, having played a bard (or maybe once in third) since 2nd edition (kind of new to Pf and mostly played Dm in 3rd)
I see first and forth most the Bard as a support character and a substitute (being able to fill in if another class is missing)
and want the build to if durable to reflect that.

for books that can be used to build: CRB, APG Halflings of Golarion
UC, (and the core assumption for Pfs but don´t got the field guide (yet))

Okay so the build thinking Vanilla Bard works best / is what I want
Inspire Competence is to cool to give up unless you got something very specific in mind, also like my knowledge check bonus abilitys alot
and versatile performance is nice to have, the rest is imo so so but overall i think vanilla bard seems nice, about 90 % certain I will go that way.

abilitys thinking some thing like (20 point buy)

str 12 (14-2)

dex 16 (14+2)

con 14

int 10

wis 10

cha 16 (14+2)

consideration am I offering to much on str/is my int to low.
should I offer a point in either con or str to raise int to 12 (or maybe offer 2 point in wis not sure about that one thou as missing will saves kind of sucks.) and then raise str or con at lvl 4 witch is cheaper than to raise my int latter.

whole other option would be to don´t offer anything in str at all save 5 point to be put in other abiltys raise int to 12 would still be one of the things I would like to do here, and then simply use a x-bow at range and accept that I suck in melee (and are no damage dealer)
or maybe someone have a better idea if I o low str.

the hard one feats and traits ( gets 2 traits in pfs )
considering following traits mainly if I go the archer/slinger way
kind of blank on what to do as to be at least some what use full
combat wise if I don´t. but would love some suggestions if anyone thinks it is durable playing on my highish cha could be probally alot more fun than (just) I shoot him yeah I hit next round I shoot again and so on
but not really sure how as I think I got to few spells to make it happen. so this is mainly based on what I might choose if I go range bard

weapon heritage: (is it called that can´t seem to find it ) anyway the trait that lets you pick a material weapon and you get it free and the profiency in it
(at least what it is doing in society after the erata)
would than get either the halfling sling staff ( material for halflings)
or maybe the longbow)
again that comes down to combat style when not casting spells and what feat(s) I end up taking (wanting to take latter on )
more on that in the choosing a weapon section.

helpful halfling +4 while using the help another action instead of +2
simply love this trait but not sure if it will come into its right if used on a character that most of the time would be better served to stay out of melee (no aid another in combat if at range)
but might still be good to have for versatile able to do something use full in close combat

vagabond child: class skill in and + 1 on disable device(+4 all in all) this one would be beyond nice when encountering locks and traps, again I like a lot to be able to fill in and even thou I can´t remove magical traps (that way)
this can help alot to partially fill in for a rogue ability

other ones Maestro of the Society (can´t find this one either where did all the traits go :( ^^ )
or one of the many ones giving + on ini might be worth considering (but) all ready got to many traits (to choose from)

Feats here I would like to plain ahead and have a general idea with one to choose Pfs end at lvl 12 so leaves me with 6 feats (whole career)
leaning strongly towards making my character ranged for combat option

following feats are on my list, but not sure witch to pick or in what order.again game ending at lvl 12 might make feat that are "only" worth it at low lvl more value able as it might quick be around half your career,

pbs: pretty much a request for every range feat

precise shoot: (is this one worth it unless I also get rapid shoot or choose a weapon that need a move action to load, not getting a second attack before lvl 8 maybe a lvl 9 feat in that case or lvl 7 if i go bow an want many shoot at 9)(again pfs ends at lvl 12)

rapid shoot: with so many (range) feat to choose from, is feats that give you a minus to hit worth it with a 3/4 bab one more attack of course mean massive dam increase but if you don´t hit anyways well ....

deadly aim: pretty much same considerations as with rapid.

rapid reload: this is only interesting if I go with a x-bow but then I guess it might be nice enough.

arcane strike: this at 1st glance seems like a must +1 to dam both melee and range, count as magic it scales nice and no minus to hit
but the swift action needed is a minus (one of my favorite spells being saving finale and there are some other nice once that feed upon your swift action up to) still might be to nice to pass up

Large target: (halflings of Golarion) + 1 dam with all kinds of slings pr size category target are larger than you.
so +1 m +2 l and so forth seems pretty nice to me if I go sling or staff sling.

many shoots: this ones seems like a most have if I go bow but can not take it before 9 (bab +6 request)

focus shoot: (apg) int to precision dam within 30 feet with x-bow or bow
could then be a real option to not invest in str at all, 8 str 14 int in build would give loads of bonus skill wise and actually more + dam wise on range than 12 str and 10 int
problem is needs both pbs and precise first and is says as a standard attack you can, .... witch I guess mean no full attacks and + to int
(again pfs seems so better take things litteraly )
also how much stuff are immune to precision dam and criticals witch both negate the dam bonus

weapon focus +1 to hit all ways nice if I go staff sling its even both on range and close. hitting are all ways better than not
(but are just so many feat to choose from)

imp ini this is not a must have by any means but very nice to go early when you buff.

spell focus and maybe even extra perform or skill focus perform could also be fare out contenders,well prepared could be fun and have its use to (probally more flavour full than use full ) and there are ton of defensive feats there would be gold to have mainly better cmd and saves.

(not sure I like lingering perform because you are not performing most of the time using it and therefor no saving finale or similare spells)
why are there so many feats to choose from my head hurts :)

range are so feat needy its crazy wondering at this point if its even worth it.

someone please help me choose some feats and the correct order to choose theme in I am going crazy here.

okay thoughts on weapon

sling: this one I all ready knows with war slinger alternate race abilty
I can reload for free, and I can all ways have a str bonus on it should it go up an down also can use large target feat with this one
and use buckler as it fire one hand.
minus won´t get many shoot but that is "only" useable so late that it might not be a deal breaker.

staff sling: will cost a trait witch is a minus but 1d6 + all ways str is as good as it get small size, also got free treat as my close weapon
(club 1d4 ) is part of the weapon, weapon focus cunt both range and close might be a nice versatile bonus, again one hand fire = buckler bonus, minuses many shoot are out and it will allways be a move action to load
(going total raw here and don´t assume that war slinger works with staff slings as this is pfs and I will need so many dms to agree with that is not worth it) this means only a 5 feeet step to get into position and no more than 1 attack pr round, but since none of this will matter before 8lvl anyway (by then I could i theory cast haste and attack twice anyway.) as long as i stay away from rapid shoot

then with rapid shoot given minus to attack and 8 lvl + being a very small portion of my career and haste option this might be a good option.

short bow: not much to say here 1d4 dam instead of 1d3 sling but can´t use large target feat and need composite to do str dam don´t have the flexibility of the sling and + str dam in case of + or minus to str score. + size got profiency free free action to load and can get many shoot at lvl 9

longbow: same as short only cost trait for more dam (not even sure if its worth it)

x-bow light: this one would be an option if I dropped str to 10 or even 8, also focus shoot feat int to precision dam within 30 feet could then be a real option 8 str 14 int in build would give loads of bonus skill wise and actually more + dam wise on range than 12 str and 10 int
problem is needs both pbs and precise first and is says as a standard attack you can witch I guess mean no full attacks and + to int also so much stuff are immune to precision dam and criticals
minus will need to take rapid reload if I want more than one attack pr round, but might be a okay option, after all given some of the considerations given under sling staff.

last option is ofcourse not to go range at all, or not focus so heavy on it this would likely ending up in me picking up a sling for back up, but even as I would in some ways love to drop range focus (hate it be so feat demanding) I think I got to few spells to build for those and a melee build seems very suboptimal
for my halfling bard,
having read just about every tread I could find on bard and both bard guides ( most likely to many times)
I would love to build a control (de)buff support character bard
or someone who toke equally advanced on his dex and cha
would be even better
I am just kind of "afraid" I will end up with a useless toon
and not really sure how to make suchs a build viable
is it posible to make a cha, dex combo bard decent
or will I simply spread my build to thin if I try be anything other than the clasic archer build when not having any great str.

(treants suggestions for the control build relied on high str and intimidate, witch don´t really play into my strengths also dazling display is at earliest at 5th lvl )
not even sure if this would work with high str and intimidate so not sure about trying it without either,

and before anyone ask yeah I am dead set on playing Halfling and you are most likely not convincing me to play another class either :)

Please share any advice would be much apreciated
(full or all most full build suggestions even more so)
think I have confused my self to the point where I having a hard time deciding anything :)

Ok, that's a long post. I'll admit that I didn't read the whole thing in detail. Read some of it, then skimmed the end parts.

First piece of advice: Don't panic! There's a rule Pathfinder Society that you can rebuild your PC up until level 2, so if you want to change something after initially playing him tomorrow, you can. So it's not crucial to get everything right immediately.

The big decision you need to consider is what you're doing in combat. I think it's generally acknowledged around here that archery is the best route for a non-archetype bard wanting to deal damage, but it's not the only option. If you want to focus on debuff/control, check out this thread I started about that sort of thing. If you do go for ranged attacks, as a halfling, you can go with the sling for flavor, or stick to the traditional bardic short bow (I don't think they get long bow proficiency).

Your stat array looks good for a balanced build. If you're focused on ranged attacks, you may want to see if you can up the dex a bit more. Maybe start with 17, and boost it to 18 at level 4. You could even start with 18 if you don't mind sacrificing points from a couple of other stats. And as you said, int would be nice for skill ranks and bardic knowledge.

You could probably get away with lowering any of the other four stats. Lowering str from 12 to 10 only costs you one point of damage per shot, so it's not terrible. You can get away with 14 cha if you're mostly casting buff spells, rather than stuff with saving throws that are cha dependent. And not being on the front line, you can get away with a 12 con instead of 14, though more HP is never a bad thing. Wisdom is generally considered the dump stat for bards, but I can understand if you don't want to go below 10.

But don't feel like you have to make any of these changes. Like I said, your array looks pretty good for a balanced build.

It looks like you've got a good handle on the feats you need if you go for ranged combat. For traits, I really think the Helpful Halfling trait is one of the best in the game. In PFS, you'll be aiding another a lot on skill checks, so it's not just for battle. I have two halfling PCs, and I took this with both of them.

I'm with you on Vagabond Child, too. I have an archer bard in PFS, and I took that trait for Disable Device, also. It's a good choice for when your party doesn't include a rogue.

Ok, that's a long post. I'll admit that I didn't read the whole thing in detail. Read some of it, then skimmed the end parts.

First piece of advice: Don't panic! There's a rule Pathfinder Society that you can rebuild your PC up until level 2, so if you want to change something after initially playing him tomorrow, you can. So it's not crucial to get everything right immediately.

The big decision you need to consider is what you're doing in combat. I think it's generally acknowledged around here that archery is the best route for a non-archetype bard wanting to deal damage, but it's not the only option. If you want to focus on debuff/control, check out this thread I started about that sort of thing. If you do go for ranged attacks, as a halfling, you can go with the sling for flavor, or stick to the traditional bardic short bow (I don't think they get long bow proficiency).

Your stat array looks good for a balanced build. If you're focused on ranged attacks, you may want to see if you can up the dex a bit more. Maybe start with 17, and boost it to 18 at level 4. You could even start with 18 if you don't mind sacrificing points from a couple of other stats. And as you said, int would be nice for skill ranks and bardic knowledge.

You could probably get away with lowering any of the other four stats. Lowering str from 12 to 10 only costs you one point of damage per shot, so it's not terrible. You can get away with 14 cha if you're mostly casting buff spells, rather than stuff with saving throws that are cha dependent. And not being on the front line, you can get away with a 12 con instead of 14, though more HP is never a bad thing. Wisdom is generally considered the dump stat for bards, but I can understand if you don't want to go below 10.

But don't feel like you have to make any of these changes. Like I said, your array looks pretty good for a balanced build.

It looks like you've got a good handle on the feats you need if you go for...

thanks for the reply your link however just go to the overview message board. but found tread anyway having a look,

I know that it is a populare opinion that bard only needs 14cha
normally I would agree, I did higher mostly because I could get a high
stat for cheap also there are some spells that benefit from a good save dc, putting anything higher than 15 are kind of exspensive, paying more than 2 point pr stat increase are steep doubt I would ever go over 16 before racial unless I got a seriously one ability build, and even then not sure, but considering lowering str to get int and maybe if i go range dex higher, wis I am not comfortable putting bellow 10 unless I can spend a feat on iron will most likely got other things to spend feats on, might consider dropping con, but only if it seems crucial to get a build to work or if it was a drop to 13 to raise int 2 point and then raise con at 4 kind of thing, like the hit points and fortitude are my weak save. but yea I could probally get by with 12.

now the real chalenge is to figure out combat mode an if range to decide on what not to take ( to many options) not sure what is best (to avoid) anyway will read the debuff bard tread now and see if it inspires me to make a combat build there are not or only partial range if not I guess its not all bad range have after all a very good rep so probally decent enough

might just go with helpfull as i like it flavour wise and if I don´t get to use it I can allways rebuild it away,

Maestro of the Society and all the Society traits can be found in the Pathfinder Chronicles: Faction Guide

I too just skimmed your first post.... its just too long.

I just want to draw your attention to multi-classing 1 level in to Oracle.
Get the Lore Mystery's Sidestep Secret (Su)

Or

Nature Mystery's Nature’s Whispers (Ex))

This could help you with wanting to play a high Charisma Bard.
Endure the fist 3 games and by lv 2 you can start walking around with a High AC.

More importantly you won't have to split up your stats too much.

As a high AC Bard you can walk right into battle and help the party out just by making sure they are all buffed. You can even think about getting debuff spells out without worrying that you can't take the hits.

Hope this helps!

I've also looked at the Helpful Halfling Trait and have noticed a problem with it when playing a Bard.

Bards are skill monkeys, even with out a INT modifier. So the issue with skill checks is that most of the time, the table will be assisting you. Which means your Helful Halfling trait will get little use.

It's still a very nice trait but there's other nice traits out there.

thanks alot for people contributing not sure about takin a lvl as oracle it delays the abiltys you are trying to improve get abit better dc and ac
than if you stayed with dex but you get all the spells latter not sure if its really worth the 1 better dc and ac but its an interesting alternative thanks for the suggesting regardless.

About helping halfling that is an interesting observation that actually could make sense, wanted the trait for the aid ability in combat in the first place anyway, but not sure how safe it is to use as a bard, might be better as a non high skill high ac class, but not rulling it definative out yet. like the support thing option for this build.

still thinking cha and dex starting out at 14 for end up at 16 split best stats my racial + stats and should both be usefull to the bard.
wis of 10 is good enough dumping it seems like asking for trouble.
this leaves me int con and str with 10 point yet to buy for.
this is here I have the hardest deciding as its here I get to decide how useless my character gets to be in combat, together with feats ofcourse.
feeling kind of tempted to put 14 in int and con and let str stay, at 10 for a finale 8, just allmost certain I end up regretting being useless in combat, as we most likely end up using half the time fighting stuff.

I'd say 10 after modifiers. You don't want to worry too much about encumbrance

Warning this ended up being so long no one might ever get trough it (hope not :)

what would be my best option as a bard with dex and cha as the best stats

The best option I beleive for a bard with high dex and high cha is a archer bard. Specifically, I beleive you should make an archer using the bard archetype arcan duelist.

Here is a link that shows you how to build a brad acrane duelist all the way upto 13th level. Go to Bard Archer God

The link is for a human bard. It is still useful. Your feat progession will always lag behind by one, but otherwise, it is a complete optimized bard archer build for you.