Micro Medic (A build by request)

[sigtrent]

From Sigtrent's Build Request Thread

Build Name: Micro Medic
Author: Sigfried Trent
Requester: Quartzite
Last Updated:06/24/10

Key Words [Healing, Halfling, Dragonmark, Bard, Spellsinger, 28pts]

Objectives
The request was for a 28pt dragonmark Halfling bard that could rival a cleric in healing while maintaining a bard’s inherent versatility.

Design
Dragonmarks really chew up feat slots and bard is not a feat rich class. This narrows the range of what I can do unless I multiclass a fair bit and that slows down level progression and chews away at the already shallow mana pool. Speaking of mana pools, it was something I wanted to expand. Spellsinger was obvious but the single sorcerer level helps quite a bit, especially at the lower levels where it’s adding 200 mana and helps set up spellsinger without using a feat. Getting jump and shield is just a nice bonus. You could do the same with favored soul, and be a bit more in keeping with the theme, but as it’s a 28pt build, I wanted to avoid any use of premium classes and the difference in benefit is small.
In the versatility department, I made sure to take enough strength to put masters touch to decent effect. Inspire courage and greater heroism is often enough to keep a bard’s combat skills in the helpful range and give them some solo-ability. Since charisma is close to maxed out, DC values for control spells are workable until the very high levels at which point you rely much more on fascinate’s monster DCs and immunity to spell resistance. I also threw in a summon and a tiny bit of damage casting to round things out.
I can’t resist Halfling companion on bard builds. It’s really a very powerful buff to throw on a lead tank or DPS character that makes Halfling bards unique and sought after.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.34
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Neutral Good Halfling Male
(1 Sorcerer \ 19 Bard) 
Hit Points: 220
Spell Points: 1086 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 9
Reflex: 13
Will: 13

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             14                    14
Dexterity            12                    12
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             16                    24

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               5                    11
Bluff                 3                     7
Concentration         6                    29
Diplomacy             3                     7
Disable Device       n/a                   n/a
Haggle                3                    28
Heal                 -1                     1
Hide                  1                     3
Intimidate            3                     7
Jump                  5                    14
Listen               -1                     1
Move Silently         1                     3
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               7                    31
Repair               -1                    -1
Search               -1                    -1
Spot                 -1                    -1
Swim                  2                     2
Tumble                2                     2
Use Magic Device      7                    32

Level 1 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+4)
Skill: Jump (+3)
Skill: Perform (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Least Dragonmark of Healing
Spell (1): Master's Touch
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Bard Perform I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I


Level 2 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Hypnotism
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Extra Dragonmark Use I
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery I


Level 3 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Spell (1): Cure Light Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Halfling Hero's Companion I
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song I


Level 4 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (2): Blur
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I


Level 5 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Grease
Spell (2): Invisibility
Enhancement: Halfling Hero's Companion II
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery II


Level 6 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Lesser Dragonmark of Healing
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II
Enhancement: Extra Dragonmark Use II


Level 7 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (2): Rage
Spell (3): Haste
Spell (3): Cure Serious Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II


Level 8 (Sorcerer)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Spell (1): Jump
Spell (1): Shield
Enhancement: Bard Concentration I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II


Level 9 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Perform (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Dragonmark of Healing
Spell (3): Displacement
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Concentration II


Level 10 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Spellsinger I


Level 11 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (3): Remove Curse
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Spell (4): Otto's Sphere of Dancing
Enhancement: Extra Dragonmark Use III
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration I


Level 12 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell
Spell (4): Dimension Door
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III


Level 13 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic IV


Level 14 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (4): Hold Monster
Spell (5): Greater Heroism
Spell (5): Mass Cure Light Wounds
Enhancement: Extra Dragonmark Use IV


Level 15 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Spell (5): Summon Monster V
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage III


Level 16 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Charisma III


Level 17 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Detect Secret Doors
Spell (5): Mass Suggestion
Spell (6): Otto's Irresistable Dance
Spell (6): Mass Cure Moderate Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song III


Level 18 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Spell (6): Greater Shout
Spell (2): Glitterdust
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song II


Level 19 (Bard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (3): Crushing Despair
Enhancement: Halfling Hero's Companion III
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Incredible Song I


Level 20 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (4): Neutralize Poison
Spell (6): Mass Charm Monster
Enhancement: Halfling Hero's Companion IV

Play
Micro medic is a great spot healer and makes an excellent companion for a tank. It’s a great duo character of to assign to a raid tank. It is not an especially strong group healer though, and may not be able to keep a group standing that is getting hammered hard and fast. If you include their free heals the micor medic should make a very reasonable cleric substitute in most situations.
In combat you should take a no-agro approach, trying to avoid any unwanted attention and generally going in after throwing down a disco ball or the like to minimize danger. Neither your HP nor AC is capable of withstanding all that much abuse at higher levels.

Variations
A 32pt version is possible and you can certainly play around a bit with the stats. Further multiclassing is also an option, especially at higher levels. You could beef up combat with fighter or grab another 100sp with favored soul.

[Quartzite]

Interesting and definitely close to what I had in mind.

What would you say to taking a level of Cleric instead of Sorc? It would allow a few small DVs, access to lower-level Cleric wands and spells without UMD at the expense of some SP. If that were the direction I probably would lower Str and Dex to raise Wis some more, maybe even consider 18 Cha. It's definitely a good template, I'm just interested in some potential tweaks.

How do you think Maximise/ Empower would go as an alternative to Empowered Healing? It is less SP efficient than Emp Healing for SP based heals- but for Dragonmarked Heals it gives a "Free" boost. With Extra Dragonmark IV, that's a lot of heals able to be used for free before even needing to touch the SP pool. Just my ideas...

[spifflove]

I love the build idea. In practice though I think stacks of heal and mass cure mod scrolls are the way to go.

A healing barb could rock the house. Very fascinating.

[Freeman]

Your leveling guide lists Extend as your level 12 feat, but the feat list has Mental Toughness instead, so you should clarify which is correct.(I can see either one being used) I would take the sorc level earlier, probably second level. That way, you get the benefit of the extra spell points as soon as possible. Also, you could use some offensive sorc spells for a level or two at that point.

[geezee]

Dont you get more mana if you take sorc at level 1?

[Taerdra]

The sorcerer level is a waste IMO. You gain only SPs, but lose 1 BAB, an extra spell slot, and the next level of Inspire Courage.

Go Bard 14 and take Spellsinger.

[sigtrent]

What would you say to taking a level of Cleric instead of Sorc? It would allow a few small DVs, access to lower-level Cleric wands and spells without UMD at the expense of some SP. If that were the direction I probably would lower Str and Dex to raise Wis some more, maybe even consider 18 Cha. It's definitely a good template, I'm just interested in some potential tweaks.

Ya, I played around with some of those options.. I actualy almost made this character for another request, but it just didn't quite "work" the way I wanted. The need to have a decent wisdom really killed any possibility of doing any kind of combat and I always hate doing that, especialy with a bard and you had mentioned being able to do bard things. Being able to focus less on healing and freed up the build a bit to make it more well rounded.

So the thing is, cleric doesn't add nearly the SP that sorcerer does. If you don't mind that it works fine, and if takign cleric, I'd take that early. Generaly speaking cleric doesn't have a lot of wand access that bard doesn't already have. Lesser restore is the most noteable but you can UMD that one fairly easily and there are potions for it as well.

I think't its certainly a viable way to go. Don't be tempted to try both though, that really didn't work out well when I tried it.

How do you think Maximise/ Empower would go as an alternative to Empowered Healing? It is less SP efficient than Emp Healing for SP based heals- but for Dragonmarked Heals it gives a "Free" boost. With Extra Dragonmark IV, that's a lot of heals able to be used for free before even needing to touch the SP pool. Just my ideas...

I was thinking that Empower Healing worked with the dragon marks. If not.. then I'd probably go with empower... I think. I havn't actualy played with the marks of healing so my knowledge is just based on what I have read about them. I have played a WF who uses empower for repair spells (and everything else). That works pretty well for self healing, and with the new Meta magic system incoming it may be pretty decent with high level spells but less so with low level ones. Fortunately you could freely re-spec it so long as you have a shard depending on if it works or not. I wish I knew for sure. If EH doesn't work.. I might start with it anyhow, and then swap it for empower or maximize once you get the greater dragon marks.

[sigtrent]

Your leveling guide lists Extend as your level 12 feat, but the feat list has Mental Toughness instead, so you should clarify which is correct.(I can see either one being used) I would take the sorc level earlier, probably second level. That way, you get the benefit of the extra spell points as soon as possible. Also, you could use some offensive sorc spells for a level or two at that point.

I always make some kind of error.. lol. I was indecisive as to which and made the switch to extend towards the end.

Taking Socr early is definately a viable option. I don't think offensive spells would be usefull though.. I've had level 1 sorcereres and I usualy end up using crossbows for damage until I get to level 2 or 3 as it does more damage than their spells do.

[sigtrent]

The sorcerer level is a waste IMO. You gain only SPs, but lose 1 BAB, an extra spell slot, and the next level of Inspire Courage.

Go Bard 14 and take Spellsinger.

I appreciate the advice but I though I'd explain...

You get more than 100 SP from sorcerer which isn't insignificant.

I already have Spellsinger in the build.

I couldn't think of a usefull spell for the third level 4 spell.

There is no Inspire Courage bump at level 14 so far as I can tell (but correct me if I am wrong). You will note I didn't take the inspire attack line.. I was short on AP and decided that GH would suffice, so I took the cheaper damage line to full.

[Freeman]

I always make some kind of error.. lol. I was indecisive as to which and made the switch to extend towards the end.

Taking Socr early is definately a viable option. I don't think offensive spells would be usefull though.. I've had level 1 sorcereres and I usualy end up using crossbows for damage until I get to level 2 or 3 as it does more damage than their spells do.

If you took Sorc at second level, then Niac's would still be a decent spell until level 3-4. At that point, it would start to lose it usefulness, and it could be easily switched out for something more utility-oriented.

As for your feat selection, I don't think I'd recommend Empower Healing. First, without any enhancements to reduce the cost, empowered cure spells will burn through your spellpoints far too quickly to make it useful for most situations. At laster levels, your best burst healing will most likely be from Heal scrolls, so the feat won't help with that. Instead, I'd recommend picking either the Spell Focus: Enchantment to help you CC, or perhaps Skill Focus: UMD, to reduce the failure rate of Heal scrolls when you need them. They are DC 40, so it would reduce your failure rate from 20% to 5% of the time when using them.

Oh, and Inspire Courage gains +1/+1 at level 14. But if you don't have the enhancements for the song either, then it obviously isn't that important for this build. Although I would try to work some of the attack enhancements in if you can. Those are the most beneficial.

For those who are saying it is a waste, the level of sorc can be very beneficial for a bard focusing on healing. The additional spellpoints are a significant bonus if you are healing with your own power instead of wands and scrolls. Yes, there are drawbacks, but you have to focus on the purpose of the character, not solely the gains and losses.

[Taerdra]

I appreciate the advice but I though I'd explain...

You get more than 100 SP from sorcerer which isn't insignificant.

I already have Spellsinger in the build.

I couldn't think of a usefull spell for the third level 4 spell.

There is no Inspire Courage bump at level 14 so far as I can tell (but correct me if I am wrong). You will note I didn't take the inspire attack line.. I was short on AP and decided that GH would suffice, so I took the cheaper damage line to full.

Sorry... I keep forgetting where you put enhancements in your layout. My apologies. Every time I read one, I have to go back and look for them... I'll learn. Eventually.

I still think that including some of the attack and damage enhancements along with the additional 1 BAB and extra 5th level spell (Mind Fog would be my pick) are very worthwhile, more valuable to me than the extra SPs from Sorceror. The DMs more than make up for the lost spell points. Based on what I've read, that gives you ~ 800 free sps on its own.

Normally, I agree with you and Freeman here in terms of focusing on doing what you do really well. But a Bard with 1000 sps and 800 sps from DMs and burst healing from scrolls has more than enough healing. Going further by taking the 1 Sorcerer level, sacrifices the versatility of the bard that seemed to be one of your goals.

Anyway, my 2 coppers. It is a very thought-provoking build in that the Healing mark can be used to optimize a class's secondary ability very well or add a secondary capability to a class that cannot heal. I liked the cleric version someone else posted, but this use really opens my eyes to its potential (like say, a halfling ranger/monk w/ DMs, etc.).

[sigtrent]

Ahhh, yes I see in the compendium that there is a Courage bump at 14.. its different than in PnP and not in the DDO Wiki which I generaly find mroe accurate than the compendium :P

That does tip a bit more in favor of pure bard.. I'll consider changing the build here to reflect that.

BTW: The empower healing is mostly there to take advantage of the free dragon mark spells, the idea bening that they are effected by it without any real "cost". If that doesn't work for whatever reason then I probably would not take it or at least wait untill later levels to do so. Mana wise it should be efficient on most spells since the effect boost is proportional to the cost, at least according to the description. With the new system coming that will shift around a bit depending on the level of the spell. If I hear that it doesn't work I'll adjust the build a bit.

[A_Sheep]

If you take Sorc or Cleric, I'd take it at level 1 to get the "Magical Training" feat which is 80 SP for free I think.

[sigtrent]

If you take Sorc or Cleric, I'd take it at level 1 to get the "Magical Training" feat which is 80 SP for free I think.

You get that no matter which level you take it at. The deal is, you only get it once, even if more than one class is entitled to it, so if you are a Sorc/Wiz for instance you get Magical Training with whichever class you took at level 1, and not the one you took afterwards. I think this misconception stems from clerics who splash socerer. They have more SP "added" when they take sorcerer at first level, but what they don't realize is they are getting less from thier first cleric level because they already have magical training.

[Quartzite]

I actually like the splash of Sorc more than pure Bard. The build is meant to be an optimised healing Bard able to CC and buff, too (but not optimised for that). Melee is a last resort, I already have a Battlebard I use for buffing/ melee. Compare this build to a healbot Cleric. Heal Scrolls are great, but that is partially what the Greater Dragonmark is for you get 5 Heals per rest at no mana cost. You also get a whole heap of mana free of Cure Serious and Cure Light spells, too.

Wands will still be needed for restores and things. I did the maths on Cleric and you lose out on too many (about 70) SP by taking that over Sorc. I want to be able to group with people, when no Clerics are around and have them say by the end "I couldn't even notice we didn't have a Cleric". And I don't want to be spending millions of plat on healing wands just to heal well.

So endurance is important and efficiency is important, I'm not sure what caster level Heal scrolls are- but the Dragonmark is automatically caster level 14.

So basically I think the original template does very well for what it is intended to do. It's not the best, or most fun bard build in the world. It is specialised and narrow compared to a lot of bards, but that's the point. The DDO world needs more focused healers- groups are always looking for Clerics. I want to be able to fill that hole as completely as possible with this build.

I'll need to try Empowered Healing and see if it works on Dragonmarks like Maximise. I'll take Sorc at 2 to make the lower levels easier (go from 90 SP at level 1 to 310 at level 2). I'll also consider going 18 Cha and knocking down Str and Dex slightly. A 32 point build would basically gain melee compentency over this build. But overall even as 28 points it's very solid as a healer/ CC.

[hazur]

Greetings,

Why not try a level of cleric instead of sorcerer? You still gain some extra SP from magical training I believe (not nearly as much as from sorc) and you get easier use of divine scrolls I believe. Also, with MOD 5, the entire charisma modifier is going to be factored into DVs. So if you had say, 30 charisma, that would be +10 DVs. If you went as far as to spend a feat on the extra turns and the 1 point for the enhancement, you could end up sporting about 18 or so DVs. Granted they are DV1s, but that could give an average of around 300 SP to someone else in the party. That factored in with the cleric SP is more than the sorc will get you SP wise. Also the level 1 cleric spells seem a bit better for utility purposes. Let me know, I'd like to hear your thoughts as I am currently making a healing spec'd bard that is one level of cleric.

Regards,
Booser

[Quartzite]

Hmm... based on what you're saying about DVs it may well be worth it. Sorceror gives about 70 more SP than Cleric at level 2 (assuming I increase 12 Wis vs 18 Cha) and the gap would be even bigger with 18 Wis (+5 item, +1 tome) vs 30 Cha. But overall a level of Cleric does fit the feel of the build better. It just needs to be viable. With max UMD Scrolls and Wands won't be a probably past about level 7 (once I get the Golden Cartouche), but having greater wand usage until then is always a boon. I'll probably hold off until 1750 and Mod V to make this character and I'll quite possible do a 32-point build with a splash of Cleric for the DVs (I'd spend the enhancement but not the feat).

[FluffyDucky]

When deciding between splashing sorcerer or cleric for a healing bard is it worth considering access to repair spells? A healer that can handle both WF and fleshes would be a boost to many groups.

[Freeman]

When deciding between splashing sorcerer or cleric for a healing bard is it worth considering access to repair spells? A healer that can handle both WF and fleshes would be a boost to many groups.

With a bard's UMD, the repair wands wouldn't be much of an issue past level 7 or so. I always carry both Heal and Reconstruct scrolls on my bard, although most WF I run with are used to taking care of themselves. It does surprise them to get a full repair from someone else occasionally though.

[Quartzite]

When deciding between splashing sorcerer or cleric for a healing bard is it worth considering access to repair spells? A healer that can handle both WF and fleshes would be a boost to many groups.

What Freeman said. Also- my main is a WF, and I expect that most WF will spend 2 AP getting Healer's Friend I. Going from 50% healing done (hence 2x mana cost) to 65% healing done (hence 1.5x healing cost) is such a boost that any WF worth their salt takes it. 1.5x mana inefficiency isn't really that bad for a single group member that is immune to a lot of other forms of damage. I have no problems healing WF with Cure spells as long as they aren't a moron.