Good Bard Items

[Level 1 Commoner]

Last week I started a very similar thread regarding good Magus items. And now I'm at a loss again. Our Bard (Savage Skald 6) has a pretty boring Itemization: Keen Longsword +1, Heavy Shield +1, Chain Shirt +1 and a Plague Rat Belt. But outside the BIG 6 and replacing the Heavy Shield with a Light Shield I have no idea what to give her in terms of loot and rewards in the future. So I'd really appreciate some advice.

[Aeshuura]

Specifically for a Savage Skald, I would aim to eventually give her a horn of valhalla.

[Level 1 Commoner]

Yeah, I was pondering over that. But she gets it anyway at level 10 with Song of the Fallen.

[Ogadim]

Don't forget that there are a whopping 15 slots you can have equipment in:

Armor
Belts
Body
Chest
Eyes
Feet
Hands
Head
Headband
Neck
Ring (up to two)
Shield
Shoulders
Wrist

You've already got Shield, Armor, and Belt taken care of, but there are many more possibilities to fill out the character. My Bard is looking forward to a Circlet of Persuasion and Glove of Storing as her next big item purchases to complement her skill checks and let her use a Wand of Enlarge Person on our frontliners without needing 2 rounds to do it. I'm not sure if these would be as useful to a Savage Skald since my bard prefers to be well back from the swordplay.

[Drejk]

Intelligent singing sword? (or some other intelligent singing item?) :P

[Atarlost]

The big six are the big six for a reason. If you aren't investing most of your wealth in the boring but practical you're going to have vulnerabilities.

Elven Chain would be nice. (mithril chain that counts as light armor for proficiency)

A quickdraw shield might be nice (let him two hand during his turn and get a shield bonus outside it with a feat)

Everybody loves cloaks of resistance.

Combat bards are often built with the expectation that they will use headbands of alluring charisma to make up their casting stat. It's possible he will need that before level 7 if he's going minimum practical charisma.

Stat belts are nice. He probably wants strength and con most.

[Level 1 Commoner]

Yeah, those are good and over the time she will get them. But I'm looking for class-specific things like the Bracers of the Avenging Knight or the Ring of Arcane Mastery that have a unique feeling.

[Ogadim]

Level 1 Commoner wrote:

Yeah, those are good and over the time she will get them. But I'm looking for class-specific things like the Bracers of the Avenging Knight or the Ring of Arcane Mastery that have a unique feeling.

I'm not aware of many class-specific Bard items that center around combat. Most are instruments that produce effects when used in a performance such as the Harp of Charming/Contagion/Shattering, Horn of Valhalla, Lyre of Building, Pipes of Dissolution/Haunting/Pain/Sewers/Sounding, Doomharp, Drums of Advance and Retreat/Haste/Panic, and the Goblin Fire Drum. Maybe you could create a ring or amulet that lets him use the spell Virtuoso Performance or Allegro once per day. Take a look at the Bard spell lists and maybe you will recieve some inspiration for an item.

[Mordo the Spaz - Forum Troll]

Bard have 15 Charisma? No Cleric to cast Bless?

Put enemies head on stick and wave it around while screaming.

That what me nephew do.

[sk8r_dan_man]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is a lesser metamagic rod of quicken spell.

The ability to swift cast 3 spells per day up to level 3 is super great for a bard. Many of your best spells are 3rd level (haste, slow, good hope, exquisite accompaniment, confusion). If you fork out the extra dough for a medium metamagic rod of quicken spell, you can use it on any of your spells, but I think a lesser rod is good enough, and 2 would help you more than one medium rod.

It's hard to make metamagics work on a bard without rods because you only have up to 6th level spells, making level adjustments hurt. Other good metamagic rods include Persistent, Extend, Dazing, and Piercing. A glove of storing is a great way to keep your rod of choice handy.

As for a few other items, a tunic of careful casting will help with your concentration checks, and the usual ring of protection, amulet of natural armor, and cloak of resistance are great for any class.

[Level 1 Commoner]

Thanks a lot for your answers. The lesser Rod of Quicken sounds very nice. But outside the Big 6 good Bard items seem to be rare.

[strayshift]

Skill boosting items are also often overlooked and may be worth exploring also.

[Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan]

What's the banner that adds +4 levels to your Inspire Courage? Not a bad choice, although maybe not so great for a combat focused Bard as it might be for a more support one.

[Dieben]

Banner of the Ancient Kings