I happened to read Garth Nix's Abhorsen series at about the same time I got Ultimate Magic. The Dirge Bard is tailor made for an Abhorsen. If you're keen to read them I may accidentally spoil things. If you've already read 'em, all the better!
He (or she, it's an inherited title) has a bandoleer of bells, each with a name and a property. He also has a special sword and a white cat that is a very powerful entity conscripted to assist the Abhorsen.
The ability to affect the undead with mind-effects is very key to the structure of the class, so enchantment spells have a broader base.
So, to that end, I'd like to build an Abhorsen as true to the books as possible.
The bells:
Ranna, the Sleeper: Bards can do sleep spells, no trouble.
Mosrael, the Waker: Brings the dead back to life at the cost of the ringer's own life. The 10th level bardic performance suits here.
Kibeth, the Walker: Controls others (esp. undead) to make them walk where you wish. I think suggestion/dominate effects work here.
Dyrim, the Speaker: Lets things that are mute speak. Best I can think of is Speak with Dead and Magic Mouth. Speak with Dead isn't a bard spell, but thanks to the Witch class it IS an arcane spell, so I can pick it up at tenth level.
Belgear, the Thinker: Lets you rewrite memories. Memory Lapse is a bard spell. I think there's another spell later that lets you do more memory based jiggery-pokery. Not sure if it's for bards.
Saraneth, the Binder: Binds the listener to the ringer's will. Stronger than Suggestion, very similar to Kibeth. Geas/quest?
Astarael, the Weeper: Kills all who hear it, dead or undead. I don't know how to replicate this one.
Basic Build
Likely won't be point buy should I ever end up using it. Dice roll is common, to that end.
Human
Str: Mid-high
Dex: High
Con: Medium.
Int: Skill points are good, but not completely necessary.
Wis: Not sure. Fearlessness is a mark of an Abhorsen. It would be true to character but not absolutely necessary.
Cha: High. Lots of these spells are save/suck, and so require high save DC's.
Some feats for sure:
Skill Focus (Kn. Religion), Eldritch Heritage (Arcane bloodline)
This gets either a white cat familiar or the sword bonded item.
Skills:
The mandatory ones, a smattering of Knowledges, and Perform: Percussion (for the bells). Heal is probably another good one to take.
Spells:
Overall, I'm not that good at spells. I usually play get in close and hit them or stand back and shoot at them type guys with no magic whatever. My only other caster was a summoner. Advice on this point would be most welcome. Only caveat would be strictly no evil spells.
Roleplay: Self-sacrificing, hard working, and fearless. Good alignment, certainly. I wouldn't exactly be playing Abhorsens from the book, but from anywhere along the line.
If you aren't familiar with the Abhorsen, I do recommend the books. They're quite good and rich with character. I swear they inspired this archetype, but can't be too sure.
Yes, and (s)he would get all frost-covered while journeying into the waters of death to bring back lost spirits.
It's true with many books that great power comes too soon relative to a leveling system as with PF and other RPG's. However, in this case the really strong abilities, particularly those of the bells, are only used as relevant MUCH later in a story arc. So while in the story you get these "high level" abilities early, they don't come to use until the time is right. Very similar to a leveling system. That's one of the things I like about leveling up: more plot devices.
It would be too much to get it all at once, but it could scale to get there eventually. Getting the ability to mind-affect undead at 2nd level is the main thing that matters. Also, using the Big Bell is a last ditch effort anyway. You wouldn't need that until level 20 anyway, and even then the 20th level Bard power Deadly Performance does a decent mock up of that... without killing the whole party!
I think the Sword was the thing that allowed him/her to cross into death. (I should reread the books.) A Sword of the Planes would be very flavourful if largely unusable. And yes, a Horizon Walker like ability would be something to have.
I'll have to pick and choose which powers I'd most like to keep. Dimensional travel is right out for a bard without aid, unless I take the Samarsan {sp?} race and add a few dimensional travel spells to the Bard spell list. I would prefer to stay human and stay full Bard. If it comes to it, I'd prefer that at least each of the bells is represented with a token ability appropriate to level.
Just in general, what are some good feats for a bard to have, with a focus on enchantment and necromantic spells? Spell focus? More combat related feats? Any guide I can find on the matter is very out of date compared to the books available to me. {Core, APG, ARG, UC, UM, UE}
That's a 9th level spell. A bard could never get that.
Perhaps Magic Jar would be a good mock-up for Mosrael.
They do not need a sword to enter death. When they have the affinity for the 'dead', they can kind of feel the entrance to death and can pass through.
I love this series. I read this Series as a child and still love it years later. When I discovered PF, I immediately wanted to create Sabriel. Before I saw this post I used the dirge bard archetype.
Sorry about the typing, I'm trying to type on my phone super fast.
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Belgear, the Thinker: Lets you rewrite memories. Memory Lapse is a bard spell. I think there's another spell later that lets you do more memory based jiggery-pokery. Not sure if it's for bards.
You're thinking of Modify Memory, I think, and it's a bard 4 spell.