Wondrous items for bard.

[Heather 540]

I'm having trouble picking out some items to help out my archer bard. Right now, he has a Belt of Physical Perfection, Gauntlets of the Skilled Maneuver, Eyes of the Eagle, and a Tuned Bowstring.

I need to pick out items for the rest of his slots. I was considering Greater Bracers of Archery. But that's a competence bonus which he already gets from Inspire Courage. So it's a useless item for me.

Basically, he fights by buffing the party with Inspire and then shooting his bow. He had Ranged Trip and Ranged Disarm to debuff enemies.

The only item I know I what to get is a headband to increase all of his mental stats. (He's an orc so they take a hit.) Got no ideas for the rest of the slots.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[PCScipio]

Suggestions:

Cilclet of Persuasion (occupies head slot, not headband slot).
A metamagic rod of extend for use on Good Hope.
Buffering Cap (more for melee PCs).
Page of Spell Knowledge.
Quick Runner's Shirt (not as strong as it used to be, but still useful).

Niche Items:

Ring of Maniacal Devices.
Vest of Escape.

[Heather 540]

I am definitely getting Vest of Escape for my Captain Cold character. I'll consider it for my bard.

[Lelomenia]

What level?

Cloak of Resistance for sure.
I always push Scabbard of Pain.
Lots of other stuff if there’s any particular skill you are pushing.

Weapon (+ammo) and Armor should be big expenses as well.

[VoodistMonk]

Dervish Sikke if you like Inspire Courage.

Opalescent White Pyramid Ioun Stone keyed to the Orc HornBow... not sure if you actually end up with proficiency with that despite being an Orc Arrowsong Minstrel.

Orange Prism Ioun Stone always helps anyone interested in offensive magics.

Efficient Quiver.

Ring of Sustenance.

[Heather 540]

It's a gestalt game and I went with Fighter. So I do have proficiency with the hornbow. It's currently sitting at +2 enhancement.

He's level 8 and will be level 9 fairly soon.

Hm, an extra +1 is usually worth it, even without Bardic Knowledge. The quiver will certainly be helpful with carrying more arrows.

I don't think the scabbard would be very helpful here. While he does have Mythic Weapon Finesse and Empty Quiver Style in case he gets into melee, I usually never have him close enough for that to happen.

[Lelomenia]

Scabbard of Pain is for rerolling failed saves against mind-affecting. Don’t actually need a melee weapon for it, or even a slot.

Boots of Speed are a reasonable investment around ~10th level. Getting grappled is pretty bothersome for an archer; Talisman of Freedom (Lesser at low levels) is a lower cost solution (vs. the 40K ring you’ll eventually want or the 10k unfettered shirt).

[avr]

A handy haversack, ring of protection and an amulet of natural armor are standard.

Mnemonic vestments are more useful for a sorcerer, but still OK for a 6-level spontaneous spellcaster. You'll want to pick a scroll or five to use with it of course. Probably more useful than most pages of spell knowledge.

[VoodistMonk]

Gloves of Dueling for the Fighter side of things.

Combine the aforementioned Gloves-O-Dueling with the Gloves of Arcane Striking... if you have Arcane Strike... and why wouldn't you? Probably have feats to spare, unless you have taken Expanded Arcana a million times to make up for the Arrowsong Minstrel's diminished spellcasting.

The trick is to use the Gloves-O-Arcane Striking and special arrows/weapon blanches to blast areas at range with the exact right sort of damage. It's not a lot of blast damage, but it's always happening with every hit... a few more damages here and there can put someone down if they were struggling to hold on.

Plus, the Gloves-O-Arcane Striking add your Arcane Strike bonus to your Aid Another bonus... which, as a Bard, you can almost always offer a helping hand with skill checks.