Critique My Bard variants....

[Malik Gyan Daumantas]

So I've had an idea/conversion i've been working on for a while.
The basic idea is to have a Hslf-Elf Skill based Enchantment focused Thief type character that tends to get things done through more bluff, disguise and being the party face then stealth

Problem is Many variants came to mind when i first came up with this from Varisian Gypsy To Qadirian Belly Dancer

And So many Ideas Came forth that i had to literally split it up into 3 Different Builds

Lotus Geisha: Minkaian Temptress

Spoiler:

Skill Focus(Disguise)
Weapon Finesse
Spell Focus(Enchantment):Replaces Bardic Knowledge
Eldritch Heritage(Rakshasa)
Steadfast Personality
Greater Spell Focus(Enchantment):Replaces Lore Master
Spellsong
Spell Focus(Illusion)
Improved Eldritch Heritage(Rakshasa)
Greater Spell Focus(Illusion)

This is the Most caster focused build I could come up with using the Lotus Geisha as a base naturally this build specialises in Enchantment and Illusion Spells, Using a fighting fan and enrapturing performance when forced to fight close range
On top of being the single best liar in the whole bloody world

Sound Striker:Code Name Siren

Spoiler:

Ancestral Arms(Scorpion Whip)
Weapon Finesse
Steadfast Personality
Arcane Strike
Spellsong
Spell Focus (Enchantment)
Discordant Voice
Greater Spell Focus (Enchantment)

This one is IMO the most combat proficient the 3 i made, Specializing in enchantment and sonic based abilities, while still being proficient in melee combat due to inspire Courage and/or Blazing Rondo, Arcane Strike, Discordant Voice and the spell dance of 100 cuts.

Basically this is the most in your face out of all of them

Street Performer:The Street Urchin.

Spoiler:

Ancestral Arms(Scorpion Whip)
Dirty Fighting
Improved Dirty Trick
Arcane Strike
Spellsong
Quick Dirty Trick
Greater Dirty Trick
Steadfast Personality

This one just kind of came to me. While not having the stopping power of the siren, or the high end spell dc's of the Temptress

This one is a Debuffing Monster Between madcap prank and Dirty Trick with the whip, sure you won't be seeing it at it's prime until level 9, but once you do..you may find that enemies can't do much of anything too distracted by your..ahem...Carnal antics and gestures as the whole idea with this one is putting them Rather...akward sexual situations to throw them off...but i digress

Out of the 3 shown here which one would you say is the most reliable in multiple if not most foreseeable situations? I.E which one is the least likely to end up completely useless in a given scenario?

I'll be honest though I'm somewhat biased towards the Street urchin one In terms of damage it's easily the weakest of the 3 but i just see myself having so much fun RPing this character.

[Penumbra Bard]

I'd recommend both Sound Striker and Lotus Geisha. These archetypes stack with each other, so you may as well take them both. These archetypes keep Inspire Courage, unlike Street Performer, which is very important for your combat effectiveness. Also Madcap Prank while hilarious, only effects one target. Since there are very few ways to buff the DCs for performances, you target probably has a 50/50 chance of saving, increasing the chance you wasting your action.

A couple notes on your builds: enrapturing performance is not a particularly useful ability, since again it only affects one target. You'll piss off your allies by making Inspire Courage affect one person, and any debuff/CC performance you use on the opponent has a decent chance of being saved against, so its better to affect as many enemies with a slightly lower DCs.

Bards don't get any bonus feats, so most bard builds put most their feats towards 1 combat role (i.e. archery, Dex-to-damage, enchantment). The easy way to be good at combat is to have 14 or more Str, Flagbearer, Arcane Strike and Power Attack (maybe also Furious Focus). Also, always take Discordant Voice at lvl 11, your party will look at you as if you've grown an extra head when you explain to them that you took Greater Dirty Trick instead.

If you want to be good an enchantment spells, you may want to look at the archetype Negotiator. Replaces Inspire Courage with an ability that decreases enemies' saves vs charm and illusion spells, gets bardic knowledge to social skills, and gets rogue talents, which is a free Weapon Focus and combat feat if you don't see any talents you like. A dip into Sorcerer can give you abilities to boost your DC's of enchantment spells, like Fey bloodline. You may want to look at the following traits: Overwhelming Beauty, Domineering, Charming, Strict Judgement, and Honeyed Words. Remember, trait bonuses don't stack!

[Malik Gyan Daumantas]

Penumbra Bard wrote:

I'd recommend both Sound Striker and Lotus Geisha. These archetypes stack with each other, so you may as well take them both. These archetypes keep Inspire Courage, unlike Street Performer, which is very important for your combat effectiveness. Also Madcap Prank while hilarious, only effects one target. Since there are very few ways to buff the DCs for performances, you target probably has a 50/50 chance of saving, increasing the chance you wasting your action.

A couple notes on your builds: enrapturing performance is not a particularly useful ability, since again it only affects one target. You'll piss off your allies by making Inspire Courage affect one person, and any debuff/CC performance you use on the opponent has a decent chance of being saved against, so its better to affect as many enemies with a slightly lower DCs.

Bards don't get any bonus feats, so most bard builds put most their feats towards 1 combat role (i.e. archery, Dex-to-damage, enchantment). The easy way to be good at combat is to have 14 or more Str, Flagbearer, Arcane Strike and Power Attack (maybe also Furious Focus). Also, always take Discordant Voice at lvl 11, your party will look at you as if you've grown an extra head when you explain to them that you took Greater Dirty Trick instead.

If you want to be good an enchantment spells, you may want to look at the archetype Negotiator. Replaces Inspire Courage with an ability that decreases enemies' saves vs charm and illusion spells, gets bardic knowledge to social skills, and gets rogue talents, which is a free Weapon Focus and combat feat if you don't see any talents you like. A dip into Sorcerer can give you abilities to boost your DC's of enchantment spells, like Fey bloodline. You may want to look at the following traits:...

Is inspire Courage really so damn important? Especially that late in the game?

[Penumbra Bard]

Inspire Courage is perhaps the best party buff in the game. At lvl 13, you can start a performance as a swift, move or standard action. If you have Flagbearer, Banner of the Ancient Kings and Dervish Sikke, at lvl 13 you can Inspire Courage as a swift action to provide +5/+5 competence to attack/damage on top of +2/+2 morale to attack/damage from Flagbearer. Can you name a Wizard or Cleric spell that gives +5/+5 to the whole party as a swift action? If your DM allows the faction feats Master Performer and Grand Master Performer, your Inspire Courage goes up to +7/+7.

With the above feats and items, with Discordant Voice and a Lesser Quicken Metamagic Rod, then a round 1 buff routine could look like:
Swift: Haste (using metamagic rod)
Move: Inspire Courage
Standard: Greater Invisiblity
In total, you and your party all have one extra attack, +10/+9+1d6 attack/damage, +1 AC and Reflex, +4 Inititive, +2 resistance vs mind-effecting, +7 morale bonus vs fear and charm, plus Greater Invisiblity to one ally! All this in the first round!