Hey everyone, got a question for ya: which of these bard archetypes is optimal from a purely power gaming standpoint? I'm trying to make a non-standard bard and I'm curious which one is the optimal choice, disregarding all flavor, etc. I haven't come up with a character concept yet but I won't let this decide for me. I'm gonna balance what character ideas I come up with with how optimized these would be.
The archetypes I have my eye on are:
-Arcane Duelist
-Court Bard
-Dirge Bard
-Sound Striker
I have no idea what anyone else in the party will be playing and I'm open to other archetypes if you have any suggestions. I've though about combining Dirge Bard and Sound Striker, since their ability replacements don't overlap. Interesting flavor too.
The 'optimal' archetype is dependent on a lot of factors, like the role you're hoping to fill and the abilities of the other party members.
A bard is capable of filling a lot of roles, so deciding on which you want to fill is a good first step.
Do you want to be a primary caster? Go with Magician, and take the Eldritch Heritage (Arcane) line.
Do you want to be a melee (or archery) striker? Then Arcane Duelist, perhaps into Eldritch Knight or Arcane Archer.
Do you want to better fill the sneaky skillmonkey role? Sandman, perhaps into Arcane Trickster.
Do you want to be the master of knowledge? Archivist, perhaps into Loremaster.
The list goes on. In my opinion, all of the bard archetypes are solid at filling their roles.
@SunsetPsychosis: True, that does make sense. Alright so Arcane Duelist is the better choice for combat. What are the others good for? Obviously Dirge Bard would be good for Carrion Crown or anything with a lot of undead.
Dirge is good for using enchantments on undead, causing fear, and also dazzling display.
Sound striker really isn't that good. DR just tears it up. DR 10 will basically negate all damage.
All the archetypes are awesome for the way they aid in creating a character to match your concept.
From a purely mechanical optimization perspective, you just can't beat Inspire Courage, however--it may not earn you glory, but statistically it's one of the most powerful buffs in the game (doubly so if your GM lets you use those Kitharodian feats from the Faction Guide). Pretty much all of the archetypes that lose Inspire Courage are thus weaker than the regular Bard from a pure number-crunching perspective, unless your party already has a regular Bard, in which case they are much much better than having a duplicate.
@Cheapy: I see what you mean about the Sound Striker and DR, but at at the lowest level you can use it (lvl 3) you average 3 damage to anything you want. No save, no AC, nothing. Just pure sonic damage damage. It doesn't give a range, so I would probably use longbow range. At low levels that's pretty sweet for a bard. Higher up, almost nothing is immune/resistant to sonic damage, and if you really expect to beat DR 10 as a bard you can do anything else you want like use a longsword, buff your allies, etc. The only cost? Losing Inspire Competence. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over that.
@Rogue Eidolon: First, I just wanna say that I LOVE your guides. The fighter one in particular was really helpful to me, so thank you for the effort. :) I also see what you mean about Inspire Courage being one of the best abilities of a bard, so I'll make sure I pick one that doesn't lose that.
I was talking about Weird Words. That's a ranged touch slashing/piercing/bludgeoning attack. From a purely optimization standpoint, Wordstrike can safely be ignored. At level 20, you can stop doing Inspire Courage to do a game changing...12 damage. On average.
Or, 3% of a Pit Fiends HP. Not worth it. At all.
@Cheapy: I see what you mean about the Sound Striker and DR, but at at the lowest level you can use it (lvl 3) you average 3 damage to anything you want. No save, no AC, nothing. Just pure sonic damage damage. It doesn't give a range, so I would probably use longbow range. At low levels that's pretty sweet for a bard. Higher up, almost nothing is immune/resistant to sonic damage, and if you really expect to beat DR 10 as a bard you can do anything else you want like use a longsword, buff your allies, etc. The only cost? Losing Inspire Competence. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over that.
@Rogue Eidolon: First, I just wanna say that I LOVE your guides. The fighter one in particular was really helpful to me, so thank you for the effort. :) I also see what you mean about Inspire Courage being one of the best abilities of a bard, so I'll make sure I pick one that doesn't lose that.
Glad you enjoy them! Despite writing those guides and loving to fiddle with the rules, I do suggest going where the muse takes you and developing a character based on roleplay first. Some of those archetypes that lose Inspire Courage are just plain cool. That said, I just made a bard myself for Kingmaker with no archetypes at all. Inspire Courage all the way, (plus Gallant Inspiration now that I hit level 4) for the win!
Good gaming!
~RE