Bard: Should I increase intelligence?


Advice


My bard just hit level 6 with about 10k+ gold and its time to buy new stuff...

He's a ranged bard with high charisma, and his combat role is mainly to cast buffs, crowd control and occasionally firing a bow. Out of combat, he's the group's skillmonkey.

Planning to buy the following at the moment :

+1 enchantment on the bow - 1k
+1 ring of protection - 2k
Cloak of elvenkind (would let me be the group's scout with decent stealth) - 2.5k

With the remainder i was thinking of getting a +2 headband of charisma, but i'm not sure whether i should get the +int one or saveup for a headband that will add to both int and cha. The extra skill points would be pretty useful, but then again its really expensive.

Any ideas?

P.S. Why aren't there any cloaks of charisma?


+2 to dex belt. There aren't cloaks of charisma for statistical balance purposes. Btw the dex is better because of the ac, bonus to hit, bonus to reflex, and bonus to stealth since you want to be the corpse(scout) in the party.


Cha>Dex>>>>>>>>>Int.


Wasum wrote:
Cha>Dex>>>>>>>>>Int.

Iconic, but buffers don't need a stellar CHA (still important though)


Crysknife wrote:
Wasum wrote:
Cha>Dex>>>>>>>>>Int.
Iconic, but buffers don't need a stellar CHA (still important though)

Yea, but he mentioned crowd control as one of his focusses


Ive decided not to get the cloak of elvenkind...turns out a party member already has a similar cloak and has ranks in stealth, but just never bothered scouting before.

Also we are getting 3 new party members, at least one of which has ranks in stealth too.

One thing that occured to me is that the ideal has scout has low/darkvision so light sources won't give him away...what's the cheapest magical item for that?

P.S. What "statistical balances"?


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Question wrote:
P.S. What "statistical balances"?

The idea was to assign certain types of bonuses to certain slots to prevent excessive stacking. Thus, boosts to mental stats are placed on headbands, and boosts to physical stats are placed on belts. You may observe other patterns if you look over the magic item section of the rulebook. Pathfinder is more consistent than 3.5 was in this area.


Question wrote:
Ive decided not to get the cloak of elvenkind...turns out a party member already has a similar cloak and has ranks in stealth, but just never bothered scouting before.

Stealing solo is dangerous. I would be glad to have someone with me that can heal, crowd control, talk himself out of sticky situations or run back to get help.


cloak of flash and shadow

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/c-d/cloak -of-flash-and-shadow

You can't afford it yet, but you might want to go for it.


+1 enhancement on the bow will cost 2 thousands unless you have access to someone with Craft Arms And Armors item creation feat that will make one for your at the cost of components only.

Enchantment in D&D, since the third edition, is form of magic that charms or compels minds (it was wider and more inconsistently used term in previous editions).

If you cast lots of spells and use lots of crowd controlling spells go for the headband of charisma, if you find access to someone with Craft Wondrous Items you will be able to upgrade it later to headband of mental prowess by paying the difference between the original price and the new one. You might want to consult your GM about the rarity of magic item crafters in his/her campaign before making that choice, however.

Dark Archive

Is this for PFS? Otherwise, the magic item creation rules allow you to attach a stat boost to any slot. You also have the ability to upgrade an item of +charisma to one that increases intelligence as well.


Good catch with the cost, i misread the table.

Its just a friendly game that has bene going on for a while...i could probably ask for a cloak of charisma, but i dont want to do that at the moment. Went for the headband of cha for now.

Whats the cheapest way to get dark or low light vision in pathfinder?


I don't believe enhancement bonuses to intelligence grant additional skill points.


Ciaran Barnes wrote:
I don't believe enhancement bonuses to intelligence grant additional skill points.

It does if your getting it from a Headband of Intelligence. To quote the Core Rulebook:

"A headband of vast intelligence has one skill associated with it per +2 bonus it grants. After being worn for 24 hours, the headband grants a number of skill ranks in those skills equal to the wearer’s total Hit Dice."


okay... so what happens if it removed?


never mind. got it.

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