Aiding the entire party's AC from range... on a Bard

[Greg Everham]

Hello!

So... this build is a little bit odd, so I'm looking for advice on rounding it out.

Human Bard X (potential 2 level dip into Cavalier for Order of the Dragon's Aid Allies)

Stats:
Str - 11
Dex - 14
Con - 12
Int - 15 (first level bump here)
Wis - 10
Cha - 16 (other bumps go here)

Traits:
Adopted (Halfling - Helpful)
Vagabond Child (Disable Device)

Feats:
H - Point Blank Shot
1 - Covering Fire (could retrain at 4th for Arcane Strike)
3 - Precise Shot (could retrain when +16 attack is reached)
5 - Collective Recollection
7 - Combat Expertise
9 - Harrying Partners
11 - Swift Aid

Other tricks:
Song of the People's Revolt - Masterpiece that shares a teamwork feat (Covering Fire)
Coordinated Effort - Spell that effectively shares a teamwork feat (Harrying Partners)

Gear:
Gloves of Arcane Striking (bumps Aid Another bonuses)
Benevolent Armor (bumps Aid Another bonuses)
+X Bow (to increase hit)

How it all works:
Covering Fire allows for aid another to be used at range. It also bestows the bonus to anyone with the teamwork feat. This can be accomplished by sharing it via Song of the People's Revolt. Coordinated Effort shares Harrying Partners withe the party, which makes every aid another performed count for an entire round, not just the first attack.

The bonuses for Aid Another can get rather high. 4 base from Helpful, +1-5 from the Gloves of Arcane Strike, +1-5 from Benevolent Armor and +3 from Aid Allies.

At first level, you aid one person against an attack and offer a +4 AC bump. By 4th level, you aid the entire party and can afford a +1 Benevolent Armor (+5 AC total). At 9th level, you can dump +7 AC (or more with Arcane Strike) on the whole party for the entire round.

Effectively, when you do Aid Another against an enemy, they are unable to hit with an attack that round. Aid Another should work against touch AC as well, so many of the particularly nasty effects are diminished.

What I am looking to gain here:
Advice on spells for a Bard. I'm not looking to dump out damage or control the battlefield, but I do like the idea of solving problems and buffing the party.

I'd like to sneak in buffs to my allies' saves. I do like the idea of Saving Finale, but I feel like it only works if I can get Lingering Performance into the build.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

[Cao Phen]

Remember that Aid Another, specifically with Covering Fire, is only for the opponent's next attack. You do not have the ability to make Attacks of Opportunities with your bow. You will need Snap Shot and Bodyguard.

If you are able to get that feat that will, your DEX is at 14, so you will only be able to Aid Another as an Attack of Opportunity twice per round.

Your build can work, but you just need a few more feats . =)

[Thunder_TBT]

Cao Phen wrote:

Remember that Aid Another, specifically with Covering Fire, is only for the opponent's next attack. You do not have the ability to make Attacks of Opportunities with your bow. You will need Snap Shot and Bodyguard.

If you are able to get that feat that will, your DEX is at 14, so you will only be able to Aid Another as an Attack of Opportunity twice per round.

Your build can work, but you just need a few more feats . =)

He actually dosent need those because of the feat Harrying Partners

Harrying Partners wrote:

Benefit: When you successfully use the aid another action to improve the Armor Class or attack roll of an ally who also has this feat, the benefit from aid another lasts until the beginning of your next turn.

Wich he is sharing via the spell coordinated effort

The main problem is that that is a lv 3 spell so he will have limited casting and he will have to spend An action to use it.

EDIT:
But for the build its self I suggest taking a 3 level dip into Caviler with the emissary archetype for another +1 and the body guard feat.
And For the bard I suggest the arcane duelist archetype
It gets you arcane strike at 1st lvl and gives you rallying cry which helps with fear

[Greg Everham]

Yeah, it's the combination of the two teamwork feats that opens the game up.

By the time I have Coordinated Effort, I should also have Swift Aid on this build. That means that for the first round of combat, I can neutralize one attacker. On the second round of combat, I can neutralize two attackers.

The leveling progression isn't terrible, when you think about how the game works. When I hit level 4, I still have a few levels until things regularly have multiple attacks. Even at that, the iterative attacks are often at a steep penalty and shouldn't be counted on to hit. Taking away the first attack, at full BAB, is harsh enough. Once I can share Covering Fire, I can remove an enemy attacker from combat effectively. As enemies develop an ability to hit multiple times, I'll be getting Harrying Partners and they're out for the entire round.

I think my main concern is hitting the AC 10 of aid another while using ranged combat while shooting into cover and into melee combat.

[Kazaan]

Cao Phen wrote:

If you are able to get that feat that will, your DEX is at 14, so you will only be able to Aid Another as an Attack of Opportunity twice per round.

Three times per round. You get one AoO standard, and combat reflexes gives one additional per point of Dex bonus. So with a +2 modifier, you get 1 +2 AoOs/round; three.