“Priscus no novus” (40 bard)

[Mortis]

“Priscus no novus” (Old days made new)

I have been asked: “What happened to Carmen æ Singer of Death’s Hand.” So I decided to build a bard about 2 years ago. It was my first character to take to hells, it tagged all the way to Cania and was quite strong. Since 2 years have passed you can guess that this character/build was outdated. That post was the first (and only) post that I have written to make the wiki index and I am rather proud of it. The build you are about to read is NOT the revision of Carmen’s old build. The revision to that build is currently 49th level and will be that much stronger as a Shard versus Siren. The new version will post once it has tagged past Phleg.

This is the reincarnation of Carmen æ Singer of Death’s Hand. The build idea is multi-epic utility bard with high conceal and 60 Charisma at level 60 with gear. There are some significant changes of note on this build. First there is no auto-still in this rebuild. Second, it has a significantly higher charisma.

"Shard" (secret Beyond UltraRare)
- FC: Bard
- DEX +4, CON +4, CHA +4, free feat: Lasting Inspiration, free feat: Extra Music, free feat: Lingering Song, increased base movement rate - very fast


Human - Shard
Base/race/40/60/60 with gear
Strength 10/10/10/10/22
Dexterity 10/14/14/14/28 26
Constitution 12/16/16/16/28
Wisdom 8/8/8/8/20
Intelligence 14/14/14/14/26
Charisma 18/22/38/48/60

Progression: All bard.
Attributes: All Charisma
Skills: Concentration, Discipline, Lore, Perform, Spell craft, Tumble, Use Magical Device, Heal.
Book: Spell Penetration

1 Artist, Luck of heroes
3 Curse Song
6 Spell Focus Illusion
9 Spell Focus Transmutation
12 Spell Focus Necromancy
15 Greater Spell Focus Illusion
18 Spell Focus Enchantment
21 Great Charisma I
23 Greater Spell Focus Enchantment
24 Great Charisma II
26 Greater Spell Focus Transmutation
27 Great Charisma III
29 Greater Spell Focus Necromancy
30 Spell Focus Evocation
32 Greater Spell Focus Evocation
33 Great Charisma IV
35 Great Charisma V
36 Epic Fortitude
38 Epic Will
39 Great Charisma VI
----Legendary----Levels----
41 Book: Spell Penetration
42 Legendary Luck
45 Epic Spell Focus Illusion (Possums)
48 Epic Spell Focus Enchantment (Hear me roar)
51 Epic Spell Focus Transmutation (Unbent, unbowed, unbroken)
54 Epic Spell Focus Necromancy (Dirge of the Deathless)
57 Epic Spell Focus Evocation (The infamous bard cloud)
60 Legendary Spell Penetration

Saves at 60 geared, No buffs, No song:
F 58
R 59
W 60

I am not looking for feedback. This is a post for those whom have asked. Hope you like it.

See you in Hell!,
~Mortis Corpus

[Werehound Silverfang]

Wouldn't Dex only be 26 at 60 with gear? You have it marked as 28

[Mortis]

Indeed. Fixed.
Thanks,
~Mortis

[BigStick]

Why add the 2 points to STR instead of adding 4 to DEX or 6 to CON? Does starting with 10 STR give you a better chance at ability checks?

[Mortis]

10 base + 12 from gear = 22. The ideal Str base necessary to make Str checks in hell with gear is around 36-38. Most Str tanks scoff at anything less than 60 at 60. So to answer your question, no benefit.

Bards are a messy class to play. You have to know where to go and when to go there. You need to know your spells available and be completely dynamic with them. You need to know which epics are going to be best for a situation preemptively for the most part. The most successful bards I have seen are ahead of the game because they have played long enough to know when/where something is going to happen.

On a similar topic, If you like the idea of a Str bard I would recommend reading up on this thread.
highergroundpoa.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=builds&action=display&thread=9813

Cheers,
Mortis

P.S. Stygia ready, post reincarn has gone utterly smooth. This is a fun build to play.

[Rodon_]

What I think Bigstick means, is that you start with 10 STR, 10 DEX and 12 CON. Why not dump starting STR to 8 and pump those 2 points into either DEX for save/AC or CON for hitpoints?

[Mortis]

Ahh, "nit-picking” this is why I don't ask for feedback. As stated in the original post. Not that I mind questions or explaining myself.

Answer, I bank and could use the extra strength to carry stuff. I don't rank AC that high on caster bards, and 16 Con is enough for me.

18 Cha, 14 Intel, 12 Con, and you have 4 points remaining. Atypically from the average HG player, I'm not a "Min-Maxer" so I suppose you could have more HP or a bit more AC. Personal choice.

Cheers,
~Mortis

[chirikov]

putting the points into str wont help against pf checks, but it does help for the smaller checks like kyton chains and such. otoh, putting it into dex would help for small dex checks like advespas

from the munchkins perspective, dex is the best choice - you get bonus to checks, ac, reflex, and bonus to several skills (pp, tumble, parry) while str only gets you a bit more carry capacity and a couple points in disc

[Mortis]

DEMI! Woot. Muhahah. This one is deffinately a functional and feasible option.