A few bard questions

[Shadowraven7]

I have a str based Drow warchanter trapper, who is currently 18 ( 16/2) which used the bard trapper build as a start point but molded it into a flavour of my own.

Despite it being extremely unoptimal I have probably enjoyed playing that char a lot more than several of my other ones, so it doesn't feel like it's been bad in anyway, but now I have just two levels to go till 20 I was looking back and wondering if I should tweak it a bit.

I have used a rapier/buckler the whole time.

I have mainly invested in the warchanter/drow racial trees, with just enough in swashbuckler to get to keep the swf bonus with buckler.

I was looking back at my feats and I seem to have SWF/ISWF/GSWF, Imp Crit Pierce, Extend ( for spell based buffs), Toughness and Evasion ( I guess I took those last two for the Rogue levels?).

Anyhow, I realise I don't even have Power Attack, should I have it?

So I was thinking, should I swap out any feats for different ones, or maybe take last 1 or 2 levels as fighter to get extra feat?

As I said, it's been fun playing it, just wondering if I could improve it just switching an odd feat that wasn't giving me much for a more usefull one, I don't want to change my actual spec in anyway.

[unbongwah]

Evasion is free from rogue lvl 2. Toughness is a taken feat, though.

If you're following the Bard Trapper but adapted to drow, you lose a feat (Magical Training) and the human Enhancements, but otherwise you stay the same. If you're going for T5 Swashbuckler, Precision is definitely better than Power Atk. Although I would probably trade Extend & Empower Heal for the two Shield Mastery feats somewhere (extra PRR & doublestrike). Although I notice he didn't take Quicken, which I would also want. Hmmm...

[Shadowraven7]

Evasion is free from rogue lvl 2. Toughness is a taken feat, though.

If you're following the Bard Trapper but adapted to drow, you lose a feat (Magical Training) and the human Enhancements, but otherwise you stay the same. If you're going for T5 Swashbuckler, Precision is definitely better than Power Atk. Although I would probably trade Extend & Empower Heal for the two Shield Mastery feats somewhere (extra PRR & doublestrike). Although I notice he didn't take Quicken, which I would also want. Hmmm...

As I said I only used the build as a start point, I don't even have Empower Healing to swap out, only Extend.

I was quite definite about it being a Str build, and had no intention of going the Dex for Damage route via Swashbuckler, so in that case would it be worth swapping something for Power Attack rather than Precision, or is it still better?

Is it worth swapping out Toughness for something else?

If I took Fighter for level 19/20 would this allow me to gain a couple extra of these feats?

Atm I only really have Toughness and Extend to swap, but ideally I would want Power Attack ( or Precision), the two Shield Masteries at least, and at least one Metamagic if possible.

[unbongwah]

The most popular splits for MCed Swashbuckler these days are bard 15 / ftr 3 / rog 2 and bard 12 / ftr 6 / rog 2. Both get you at least 2 extra feats and access to Stalwart D. defensive stance; 13 APs gets you +25 PRR/MRR and +20% HPs which is a big boost to survivability. The bard 15 builds get to keep lvl 5 spells and Inspire Excellence; while the bard 12 / ftr 6 split can take advantage of Swashbuckling and Strike w/No Thought stacking using handaxes or light picks. So: better party buffs or better personal DPS, basically.

However, since you're already bard 16 / rog 2, your options are more limited (unless you LR). If you did splash two ftr lvls, that would let you take both Shield Masteries; then you could either keep Toughness + Extend or swap them for something else if you wanted. Skills pts could be an issue though.

[Shadowraven7]

The most popular splits for MCed Swashbuckler these days are bard 15 / ftr 3 / rog 2 and bard 12 / ftr 6 / rog 2. Both get you at least 2 extra feats and access to Stalwart D. defensive stance; 13 APs gets you +25 PRR/MRR and +20% HPs which is a big boost to survivability. The bard 15 builds get to keep lvl 5 spells and Inspire Excellence; while the bard 12 / ftr 6 split can take advantage of Swashbuckling and Strike w/No Thought stacking using handaxes or light picks. So: better party buffs or better personal DPS, basically.

However, since you're already bard 16 / rog 2, your options are more limited (unless you LR). If you did splash two ftr lvls, that would let you take both Shield Masteries; then you could either keep Toughness + Extend or swap them for something else if you wanted. Skills pts could be an issue though.

Ok, so simpler approach, take two levels fighter and take both shield masteries, then decide on swapping feats.

I only have Extend and Toughness to play with, which is best to swap out if only swapping one?

You didn't mention Power attack ( or Precision above), should this be the feat to take, or does that come as an extra free one with fighter level?


More complicated approach, use my free minor heart to LR and go 15/3/2 as you mentioned.

If doing it this way what order of class by levels should I take and what feats at what level for each?

As for weapons, as I am Drow and have the boosts to rapier, thats why I have exclusively stuck to that.


Update: Ready to level up now, just hanging on for some advice about the above.