Bard level 5 feat advice


Advice


My Bard reached level 5! Yay! Only I have no idea what feat to pick.

My Bard is an extreme talky Bard. Or actually not a bard, but a politician. Words are his weapon, or I'd like them to be, and one time, I managed to stall half of our attackers by talking to them while the rest of the group mopped up the rest of the attackers (I was tied to a tree by my friends; definitely my finest hour).

We're playing Kingmaker, and with his political ambition and crazy high Charisma, my Bard is the ruler of our little kingdom. The rest of the group are a Fighter (just took a level of Cavalier, I think), a Paladin with crazy high charisma and diplomacy (though his roleplaying tends to lead to intimidate rolls rather than diplomacy rolls), and a travel domain cleric archer (unusual build, but remarkably effective with his high speed, though he sucks at channeling). So I'm also the only arcane caster in the group, which is going reasonably well. With Strength 14 I don't suck completely at melee, but with my light armour I tend to go down way too fast, so I try to stay away from the front lines these days.

The build started out inspired by Treantmonk's Controller Bard, but I deviated from that plan because some things didn't work out:

I wanted to go for Dazzling Display to intimidate all enemies at once, only unable to take Weapon Focus at level 1, that meant I could get Dazzling Display at level 5 at the earliest. I took Lingering Performance at level 1 instead, which is certainly a nice feat to have, but hardly essential or character defining.

Because we had plenty of time and nowhere to buy magic items, I took Craft Wondrous Item at level 3 instead of Weapon Focus (which, as feat tax, is not very appealing by itself). I may have thought the Blistering Invective spell would be a good replacement for Dazzling Display, only I think we're not using that book (which sucks; it's the most fantastic spell).

So if I now finally go for Weapon Focus, I can have Dazzling Display at level 7, but at level 8 I get the bardic performance Dirge of Doom, which does the same thing but better. So maybe I need something else. Besides, I want to take Leadership at level 7 (Just because. I'm already a leader, so I need followers).

So now I've got this hole at level 5.

Some ideas from Treantmonk's guide:
Exotic Weapon: Net - I actually have a net, but I rarely use it; its range of 10 ft, which is useless against opponent with reach. Also, the description sounds like nets are trivial to destroy with regular damage.
Combat Expertise (and then on to improved trip) - Bonus AC but even less likely to contribute anything in melee. Not sure if that's of any use to me. Also, I hear bad things about tripping.
Intimidating Prowess - actually a social feat that makes use of my Strength 14. But it adds up to only a +2, which doesn't seem worth it.

Another option would be to continue in the magic item creation direction, like Craft Magic Arms and Armor? Only despite owning a big kingdom, we don't actually have a lot of personal funds for item creation (I've created a few cloaks and stat boost items so far), and we don't want to loot the treasury. But magic item creation does seem feasible for a Bard.

So does anyone have any interesting ideas for feats for a Bard? Doing something fun with my high social skills would be great. Doesn't have to be combat oriented, but could be. I suppose something that makes my Strength 14 less pointless would be nice. Preferably Core or APG, maybe UM (I keep forgetting if we're using that). Something interesting and unique is better than a small bonus on something I rarely use. Something suitable for a ruler or noble would be particularly nice.

Any ideas?


Here's an insanely cool one I found: Battle Cry. Unfortunately from ACG, which I doubt is allowed. Tone is perfect, but perhaps a bit too powerful. Though it doesn't stack with Inspire Courage, I think.

And before anyone suggests Arcane Strike: I love the idea, but honestly, I just don't do a lot of damage. I've resigned myself to buffing and debuffing (as well as ruling the kingdom, of course!).


Dazzling Display has some advantages over Dirge of Doom: You can use it while maintaining Inspire Courage, and you can make it a combo with Intimidating Song later on. On the other hand, you could learn Blistering Invective as a second level spell and save yourself some feats.

Arcane Strike is an excellent way to boost your bard’s combat ability.

Improved Initiative means you’re more likely to get your buffs off before the enemy acts.

Spellsong allows you to disguise your spells as performance, which can be extremely useful, especially if you’re going to be a ruler who makes lots of speeches.


I still regret not going the Dazzling Display route, but two feats is very expensive. And if I take Leadership, 9th level is the earliest I can now finally get Dazzling Display.

I can't find Intimidating Song, by the way. Do you mean Intimidating Performance? That looks pretty cool, though it's a third feat I'd need, and it's from the wrong book.

Blistering Invective is a spell I really want, but I'm not sure it's allowed in our game. I'll ask.

Arcane Strike increases my damage (by +2! it scales with level), but not my to-hit or my AC. I'm too vulnerable in my experience.

Though if I did join the melee, I could also take Enforcer. Sounds a bit nasty for a ruler, but demoralizing on doing non-lethal damage is certainly nice. Non-lethal damage? This would work with my whip, from a distance.

You're right, Improved Initiative never hurts for a buffer, and I've had plenty of combats where I got in trouble in the first round due to bad positioning and acting late in the turn. It's a very unexciting feat, though.

Spellsong is brilliant! That might be exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. It'd certainly make spells like Charm Person a lot less conspicuous. UM might be allowed. This could be it. Great find!


One advantage of the Dazzling Display route is that Weapon Focus (whip) also opens up Whip Mastery. Not exactly a great weapon, but that would make it better. And it would allow me to fight while staying out of reach.

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