Build #332

[Xyfiel]

Rough Draft of a healing machine who uses Greater shout(max/emp). Feel free to comment on what is posted so far or correct math.

Halfling Bard 16

9str 16 +6item +1tome
13dex 22 +6item +3tome
13con 20 +6item +1tome
13int 14 +1tome
8wis
18cha 34 +6item+3tome+3enh+4levels

Feats: empower, maximize, emp healing, 3xDragonmarks

AC: 51 running, 55 self buffed, 61 full buff
10base+16KDS+2Chaos+4song+3ring+1haste+6shield+5de f+3Barkskin+1race=51
recitation and blocking=55
+4 aura +2 Ranger=61

Skills: Umd, perform, haggle, diplo, balance, jump, tumble, conc
UMD: 19base+12cha+2spellsinger+3/5item+1chant+4gh+2luck=43-46

Attack: 28melee/31ranged
12Bab+4IC+2IG+1haste+5weapon+3str/6dex+1race

Damage: weapon damage is low, Greater Shout on the other hand...
10D3+30 +100%maximize +50%empower +40% enhancement +50% potency =(10d3+30)*3.4
I come up with around 200 plus 1 round stun, 400 for crit for 75 mana.

Hps: 236
20feat+10DV+96Bard+80con+30Gfl

Sps: Too tired to figure it out right now

Enhancements:
Dragonmark III, Cha III, Conc II, EOTM II, Extra song IV, IA I, Lingering I, Lyric of Incredible song II, Lyric of song III, MOTD, MOTM, Song Magic IV, Spellsinger
Not enough points for them all, still working on improving

Spells: L1-3 spells don't really need CC, will look over later for better selection
Greater Shout, Ottos or charm mass
Cure Light mass, GH, mass suggestion
Break enchantment, Hold Monster, FOM, Ottos
Haste, Displacement, Charm Monster, Fear
Blur, Rage, Glitterdust, Hypnotic Pattern
Detect Doors, Hypnotism, Remove fear, Exp retreat

[Riorik]

Which Bardsong adds to AC?

[EinarMal]

Shout, Greater
Evocation [Sonic]
Level: Brd 6, Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, F
Range: 60 ft.
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial or Reflex negates (object); see text

This spell functions like shout, except that the cone deals 10d6 points of sonic damage (or 1d6 points of sonic damage per caster level, maximum 20d6, against exposed brittle or crystalline objects or crystalline creatures). It also causes creatures to be stunned for 1 round and deafened for 4d6 rounds. A creature in the area of the cone can negate the stunning and halve both the damage and the duration of the deafness with a successful Fortitude save. A creature holding vulnerable objects can attempt a Reflex save to negate the damage to those objects.

This is essentially like a fireball (DPS wise) (capped at 10d6) with a fortitude save instead of a reflex to half the damage and resist the stun. I don't think it will really work all that well as your main damage dealer spell. It will be ok, but you are going to get a lot of agro and not be able to kill things without 2-3 casts. Even if you hit 1200 spell points that is 16 casts of this with no other spells between shrines so really only about 10 casts if you use other spells.

I think you will find dancing ball to be still much more efficient use of spell points in a party that can deal good DPS. They will drop the mobs in the ball faster than the greater shout will kill them. I think you are going to have a hard time making this work to be honest.

It is a nice situational spell but I don't think you will turn into a nuker with it. It is a nice synergy with the dragon marks and makes maximize and empower not total wastes. I am just not sure if you will be able to cast it enough between shrines and with the sometimes massive fort saves on a lot of mobs you are going to be doing ~100 points damage with no stun if they make the save and they are going to come and pound you into the turf for annoying them!

[maddmatt70]

Yeah i agree I don't believe a bard can be an effective nuker.

A bard can be an effective healer though. I would recommend quicken spell instead of one of the feats you have listed - I would probably sub out empower (this is not the most efficient use of sp unless this has more to do with the dragonmarks then regular healing). I would also highly recommend cure mod wound mass as the combo of cure mod mass and cure lt wounds mass quickened is probably going to keep pace with nearly all the clerics out there especially considering you would have empower healing and maximize..

The +4 to ac comes from inspire heroics which will be the next bard song. I am not sure if you will be able to use this on yourself however?

[Xyfiel]

I agree will everything said. Main goal of build is playing main healer not nuker.
Mass heal UMD DC is 52, should hit 47+ with this char at 18.
Cure light and later cure moderate Mass will be decent mass heal spells with this build and the dragonmark heals for individuals. I find Bards do less healing due to the buffs we provide and the use of charms/fascinate.
We are still giving +7attack/+4damage/+1spelldc/-10%mana to the party. We still have MOTD/MOTM, and decent CC spells.

Greater shout fit into the rest of the build for the ability to have a decent nuke spell. Turn off emp/max and it is still very useful for the 6second stun. I expect something like this to happen later on:
You have higher hps/ac/saves, you run ahead and greater shout the mobs, arcanes follows with wail of banshee/weird combo, melee/ranged finish stragglers.

The days of having 4 arcanes, a char similiar to this for spellsinger and healing, and a melee with rogue skills is fast approaching.

[maddmatt70]

I agree will everything said. Main goal of build is playing main healer not nuker.
Mass heal UMD DC is 52, should hit 47+ with this char at 18.
Cure light and later cure moderate Mass will be decent mass heal spells with this build and the dragonmark heals for individuals. I find Bards do less healing due to the buffs we provide and the use of charms/fascinate.
We are still giving +7attack/+4damage/+1spelldc/-10%mana to the party. We still have MOTD/MOTM, and decent CC spells.

The days of having 4 arcanes, a char similiar to this for spellsinger and healing, and a melee with rogue skills is fast approaching.

You are definitely on to something here Xyfiel. I can tell you from personal experience. My bard is a healing bard first/ CC bard second. I did an elite scale run a while back with four arcanes, a fighter, and my bard and we beat it fairly easily for the most part and at that point I did not even have quicken. This bard is made to run as sole healer though - otherwise it is not as optimal unless you are running with a battle cleric or a very offensive minded caster cleric (those clerics are secondary healers with a bard like this - sometimes the hardest thing to get across to cleric types is that I will heal the party while you kill things.. lol.. I think that battle clerics would LOVE to run with this char). The only places where you have some trouble is a quest like the abbot raid because at this point we only have one mass cure spell which even with quicken is not enough, but two spells might be enough when cure mod mass comes out or in a place like the beholder pre-raid where the heal spell from a dps standpoint is very nice... I don't have a pure bard, but a bard 13/ 1 sorceror because of the sp. I would recommend that build if it were not for the cap raise to 16 which means I will not have cure mod mass and the other 6th level spells for the next mod . I will probably not be playing my bard until the cap goes up to level 18 as much for that reason..... By the way my bard is a drow, but the halfling dragonmarks are very nice....

[Naso24]

I love greater shout. I use it on my wiz all the time. Nothing better than tanks getting auto crits, or you ripping down enemies with dual puncture weapons (no feat required, lots of hits hasted). I usually turn empower and maximize off so I can conserve mana.

[CSFurious]

i am maxing out the healing/sonic enhancement lines & you can effectively spam sonic spells

however, i am a combat bard so i only cast one or two sonic spells as i run towards the enemy

shout works well on named bosses, i crit sometimes for 75 or more hitpoints