Talk:Bard (4E)

Build Options

Dance Bard

The dance bard is a lightly armed combatant relying on speed and kicks.

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth
Weapon Proficiencies: Club, dagger, sling, shuriken, whip.

Class Abilities: Whirling Kick, Whirling Defense

Whirling Strike

You can make an unarmed attack. This functions as a weapon and replaces the normal values of the unarmed attack. Whirling Strike has a +3 proficiency bonus causing 1d8 damage and with the off-hand property. You can apply the enchantment bonus of an implement or weapon you wield as a an enchantment bonus to this attack and use any properties granted by the implement or weapon with this attack.

Whirling Defense

When wearing light armor you can use your Constitution or Wisdom modifier instead of your Intelligence or Dexterity modifier to calculate Armor Class. You gain Dodge and Two-Weapon Defense as a bonus feats.

Scoundrel Bard

The rogue bard is a lowlife and rogue, surviving by his wits on the shadow side of life.

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather, hide
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, short sword, simple ranged

Trained Skills: Bluff. From the class skills list below, choose four more trained skills at 1st level. Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Streetwise (Cha), Stealth (Dex), Thievery (Dex).

Class Features: Tough survivor, scoundrel strike. The Scoundrel bard does not gain the ritual casting class feature.

Tough Survivor

When wearing light armor you can use your Constitution or Wisdom modifier instead of your Intelligence or Dexterity modifier to calculate Armor Class.

Scoundrel Strike

When you attack an opponent with combat advantage, you gain an additional +2 bonus to hit.

Virtue of Grace Discussion

There are a lot of variables here. --Starfox 15:58, 23 March 2009 (CET)

• Once per round when an ally within 5 squares takes a move action to shift, you let that ally to slide a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier instead of how far they normally would.
• Once per round as a free action, when an an ally within two squares is hit by an attack, you can add your Dexterity modifier to the defense the attack was directed against. This only applies to that one attack.
• Once per round when an ally within 1 + your Dexterity modifier squares takes a move action, you can slide that ally one square at any point during the ally's movement.
• Once per round when an ally takes a move action to shift, you let that ally to slide a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier instead of how far they normally would.
• Once per round as a free action, when an ally hits an enemy within 10 squares of you, you can slide that enemy a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier.
• Once per round when an ally withing 10 squares moves, you can grant that ally a bonus to AC against opportunity attacks equal to your Dexterity modifier.
• Once per round when an ally takes a move action to shift, you can allow that ally to slide a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier.
• When an ally within sight spends an action point to take an extra action, you can slide that ally one square. (This is not like the other bardic virtues, who do not involve AP)
• Once per round as a free action, when an an ally within ten squares of you is hit by an opportunity attack, you can add your Dexterity modifier to all that ally's defense values. This bonus applies until the end of that ally's turn.
• Once per round, as a free action, you can make an enemy within 5 + your dexterity modifier squares that can see you reroll an OA against an ally.
• One per round, during an ally's turn and until the end of that ally's turn, you may count your position for the purpose of flanking as any single square within your Dexterity modifier squares of your actual position.
• Once per round, as a free action when an ally is hit by an opportunity attack, you can make an enemy within 5 + your dexterity modifier squares that can see you reroll the attack roll and take the worst result.

Requirements specification (not all are required):

• Be Dex-based
• Be reactive; work based on a hit or miss
• Only affect allies in a limited area
• The schtick of Virtue of Grace is moving enemies; this is preferably what the virtue itself should do too

What I'd like to see is something that's easily explainable as an effect of either charm, distraction or morale boost ("cheerleading") that passes some kind of Occam's Razor test, or a physical intervention. Yes, I like magic, but then it should feel distinctly magical, not just "spooky action at a distance"... :) --Mats 21:06, 22 March 2009 (CET)

As discussed during the evening walk, allowing an ally to shift dex squares 1/round works for me as distraction effect. --Mats 10:58, 23 March 2009 (CET)

I note that there are a Virtue of Grace specials even on Dailies. There are none for Rogues at all on Dailies. I haven't looked at other classes. The Dailies may have effects depending on an attribute that is preferred by one of the types but no special effect from it. Edit: E.g. suggesting that the effect should be included from the start... --TexaS 15:58, 23 March 2009 (CET)

Bards don't have Virtue specials on dailies either (for the 2 standard Virtues). --Markus 23:53, 24 March 2009 (CET)

Virtue special effects appear to exist for encounter attack powers only. I glanced through the the powers in PHB1 and PHB2, and this seems to be true for variants of the other character classes as well. --Urban 07:46, 25 March 2009 (CET)

Point well taken. I'll look at it. --Starfox 10:32, 25 March 2009 (CET)