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Author's Introduction:
The purpose of this guide is not to be the definitive answer-all and be-all regarding everything there is to know about being a bard in Elanthia. Even were such possible, doing so would take away some of the fun in discovering things for oneself. In addition, this author does not claim to have such knowledge anyways. I have tried to be as objective as possible with this guide, but invariably, certain of my preconceived notions and prejudices regarding Elanthia will show through, so take everything in this guide as one person's informed opinion, and not as canon. If you note any factual errors (not disagreements of opinion), please let me know at devinc@aol.com.
Introduction:
What is a Bard?
Historically bards took many forms, from the medieval minstrel and jongleur to the Gaelic bard to the Norse Skald. As such, the generic term bard, as used in the Elanthian sense, covers a lot of ground. In Elanthia, bards are the master musicians, singers, and performers (i.e. jugglers, tumblers, actors et al). They are also, due to historical precedents (in Real Life many societies had their history contained in oral records only and songs were easier to remember than prose) and Elanthian history, bards are also keepers of lore and the teachers of the Realms. Because bards are expected to be the repository of lore, they are expected to know a bit about everything. In addition, their propensity to wander from place to place in order to gain new lore, learn new tales, and to perform to new audiences forces them to learn to fight, sneak, forage, et al. As such, bards are often referred to as "jacks of all trades but masters of none". Bards in Elanthia can tend to do everything a little bit but excel in very few things outside of music.
What to Expect?
Do not expect to be a mighty warrior or to make lots of money as a bard. If you are looking to kick butt, defeat the mightiest creatures, or make oodles of money you have come to the wrong guild. Bards are probably the poorest guild monetarily in the Realms, though Moon Mages have a claim on this title as well. This because none of a bard's premiere abilities allow him to make money directly and consistently. Bards can try to sing for money, but most player characters in Elanthia are notoriously unappreciative of a bard's efforts when it comes to tipping them for performing.
Bards can make money hunting, and this is the way most bards do so, but bards are certainly not the premiere fighters in the Realms (a 10th circle bard need have only 15 parry and 15 evasion...which is about the level of a 4th level barbarian). Many bards are hoping that the ability to craft instruments will be a bard only ability, allowing us to have a steady source of income in the Realms.
If you play a bard be prepared to role play. Bards make up their own songs, write and perform plays, make jokes, act as jesters, et al. Since bards are not combat and money-making beasts, and since their few special abilities are geared entirely towards role playing, persons seeking to become a bard should be the type who can role play heavily and in character.
Starting Out:
Rolling up a Bard:
Any race can be a bard, but the majority (I would say over half ) of bards are Elves. This is because Elves get bonuses to Reflex, Charisma, and Agility, the bardic characteristics. There are a fair number of halflings and humans, a sprinkling of Skra Mur, Dwarves, and Elotheans, and only a tiny number of Gor Tog bards. The new races of Elanthia are starting to change the mix of the guild demographically. Of the new races, prydaen's are the most popular, with gnomes second and the remaining much less popular.
How you initially allocate your TDPs varies with the type of bard you want to be (are you a fighter or a lover?) and the race you choose. I personally recommend that bards get a strength and stamina of around 10-11....just enough to not be a simpering weakling. Then intelligence and wisdom should be put to about 13. All the rest should go to agility and reflex (hopefully to around 15 each). This will gear the new bard to being able to defend well, play instruments well, and learn lore reasonably quickly. Combat ability will be lacking a bit under this setup, but a new bard should not be getting in more combat than is necessary anyways.
Buying Equipment:
Equipment is important for a bard because he has special needs above and beyond the rest of the guilds. A bard definitely needs at least one instrument. This should be a stringed instrument. Lyres are the cheapest, and a bard can get a crude lyre if he really wants to save money. Below is a list of equipment I would start with, the average cost, and the place found.
A few caveats though:
First: Do not go into the bard guild and beg for money or equipment. This is very annoying to the elder bards and reflects badly on yourself.
Second: Do not worry about your debt right away. Buy equipment. Pay off your debt later.
Third: At first circle you cannot be stolen from, so do not worry about thieves.
Fourth: When you go into a shop, read the catalog, BUY <Item> to get the first offer, and OFFER <amount> to make a lower offer. You can offer the same amount twice if you want to refuse further bargaining, or type REFUSE to end the sale.
Fifth: Where I list equipment that can be scrounged, be careful. Ask people already in that area if you can have the stuff before taking it, and if anything attacks you run back from where you came.
Item Price Location Reason
Lyre 200 Bard Shop To play music and gain skills
Rag 50 Bard Shop To clean your instrument
Backpack 100 General Store To hold stuff
Leather Sheath 50-100 General Store To hold a weapon
Target Shield Free Goblin Fields * For defense
Short Sword Free Goblin Fields * For attack
Leather Gloves 25 Armory For protection
Leather Breastplate 100-200 Armory For protection
Reinforced Helm 100 Armory For protection
Reinforced Vambraces 50 Armory For Protection
Reinforced Greaves 50 Armory For Protection
Reinforced Tasset 50 Armory For Protection
Reinforced Aventail 50 Armory For Protection
* Goblin fields are outside the West Gate. Once outside GO PATH and wander westwardly until you find the stuff.
The above will at least get you set. Once you get some new money, you will want to buy a percussion instrument, a wind instrument, a repair kit, cases for your instruments, and a missile weapon (usually light crossbow), and perhaps a heavier weapon.
Do also make sure you look on the SHELVES in the Crossing bard guild. There is often nice equipment there. Also check out the CHARITY CHEST in the cleric guild and the WEAPON RACK in the paladin guild. If you do take things from these free locations in the guilds, only take what you will use. Do not take things to sell or pawn. And when you are finished with an item, perhaps you might place it at one of the above locations so that newer folks may utilize them.
Navigating the Crossing:
New bards should not leave Crossing...it is a dangerous world out there. While in the streets of Crossing, typing DIR <location> will often give directions. To find the bard guild type DIR BARD. Type that each area you enter until you get there. The guild is a small building. Type GO BUILDING to enter it. You can also find the gates by typing DIR <gate name> (frex DIR WEST GATE).
The Bard Shop has no DIR command. The Bard Shop is 2 east and 3 south of the outside of the bard guild.
Joining the Guild:
To join the guild go to the guild and type JOIN and follow Silvyrfrost's directions. Listen to everything she has to say very carefully and do not leave until she tells you you can go, even if there is a pause between paragraphs in what she is saying. This is important because while she is talking to you she is also training you in certain skills!
Making Money:
The most effective way for a new bard to make money is to forage for branches. Exciting? No. Profitable and easy? Yes! To forage for branches, find the NE gate. Go through the NE gate and stop. Type FORAGE BRANCH. When you find a branch, put it in your backpack and do it over again. When you have a good number of branches, go back into the gate, and DIR REF until you get to the Bazaar. There you will see a person named Mags. GIVE BRANCH TO MAGS and Mags will give you some coins! Each branch gets from 6-24 coppers.
Some branches do not fit in your backpack. These should be discarded. You can sell them but you only have two hands to hold them in.
Foraging for branches raises your foraging and perception skills. While there ask some of the other foragers for teaching, or offer to teach them.
At best I made 1-2 gold per hour (1000-2000 coppers foraging). This was my upper limit, your mileage may vary. But certainly 3-4 silver per hour is not unreasonable. At that rate, inside of 3-4 hours you will have enough money to buy better armour, your instrument cases, your percussion and wind instrument, and maybe a better weapon.
Another good way to make early money is to go into the Vineyards and pick up warhammers. The Vineyards are, from the NE gate, N,N,N,Go Trail,Climb Hill. There are 3 levels to the terraces there, you have to look carefully at the room description to see places to CLIMB HILL to go up or down. Only go at night, because that is when the grendels come out and they are the ones that drop hammers. DO NOT ENGAGE ANY OF THE CREATURES! Most of them will be able to kill a novice bard. You must run if anything advances on you.
What you want to do is move fast and find rooms where lots of war hammers are on the ground. If someone is in the room, nicely ask them for permission to get the hammers. If no one is there, quickly pick them up. Place the hammers into your backpack and return to Crossing. Find the pawnshop (from outside the bard guild: W,GO BRIDGE,S,GO SHOP) and sell the hammers to the pawnbroker. They will fetch from 6-15 coppers each. A good Vineyard run can net you 15-20 hammers or 90-300 coppers!
The Bard Guild:
As of this writing there are three bard guilds in Elanthia. One in Crossing, one in Riverhaven, and one in Shard. Shard is very far away and very dangerous, so new bards can ignore this. Riverhaven is closer, and has some decent low circle huinting areas, but is still far away. There is also a new bard guild on a distant island called Aesry, but that is a dangerous trek and is best saved for more experienced characters.
The bard guild in Crossing has 3 rooms. The first is the Commons. Most bards do not spend time here because Silvyrfrost does not like bards loitering there. In the Commons you can ask Silvyrfrost about things. Most bards ask her about training, which tells you what skill you need to go up a circle.
The next room is to the east, the repair room. There is really nothing here, but it is a place for bards to meet with non bard visitors to the Realms.
The most important room is the Performance Hall. This is behind the magical mirror in the Commons. To enter it type GO PORTAL. Only bards may pass through this mirror unescorted. Non bards must be escorted by a bard over 5th circle or higher. The Performance Hall is where most bards spend their guild time. This is because the mana is great and because the mirror stops ruffians and thieves from bothering us.
Rules of the Guild:
There are some rules to be followed while in the Performance Hall, a place regarded as sacred by bards:
1. Be polite. Do not yell, whine, punch, kick, harass, or bother anyone.
2. Do not talk out of character (OOC). This means no talk about Real Life like telephones and college exams. It also means no talk about the game AS A GAME. Saying "Gosh AOL booted me twice today and I keep getting GPF errors on my PC because of the AOL Wizard" are OOC. If you must talk OOC with someone, whisper it to them. That way you at least do not ruin the role-playing experience for others in the same area.
3. Do not steal from anyone unless they give you permission to. You will often see bards stealing from one another in the Performance Hall. They are doing this by permission and are doing it to raise stealing and perception skills.
4. Do not sing scroll songs. There are scrolls that have songs bards can learn to sing. However, for some weird reason when a bard is singing a scroll song, no other bards can play their instruments. Well, bards use the Performance Hall to practice their instruments, and they do not want their practice interrupted by a scroll song. If you want to sing a scroll song you just learned, step outside. If you accidentally sing a scroll song in the Performance Hall, type STOP SING immediately.
5. You CAN sing nonscroll songs of your own making, but do not sing out of character songs, or nonsense lyrics like: FLIBBY FLIBBY LA LA!
6. Never attack anyone in the Performance Hall. It is wrong to shed blood in that room. It is wrong to fight in the Performance Hall even if by mutual consent or through the CHALLENGE VERB.
7. Never invite anyone into the Hall once you reach 5th circle unless you know them, will vouch for them, and are with them in the Hall at all times. You are responsible for your guests in the Hall; anything they do will be held against you.
8. When asking questions in the Performance Hall, please remember that the place is very busy and the screen is constantly scrolling rather quickly. Therefore, people may not notice your song you just sang or your question you just posed. Also, many of the elder bards get inundated with questions to the point that they cannot just relax and enjoy themselves in the Performance Hall. For this reason, never get upset if you seem to be ignored. Also never start doing obnoxious things like adding twenty exclamation marks to your questions in an attempt to be noticed. This will just get you labeled as a "snert". Instead, just ask your question calmly once or twice and then wait 5-10 minutes before asking again. Alternatively, you can WHISPER <Person> <Message> to try to get a single bard's attention. If you have many questions to ask, please spread them out over several days of playing so as not to completely exasperate the other players.
Bards and Stealing:
There are two aspects to stealing that need to be addressed viz a viz bards. The first is stealing within the guild. Bards should not steal from other bards in general. This is simply professional courtesy and recognition of the bond bards share with one another.
However, bards often do practice stealing with other bards within the guild Performance Hall. This should ONLY be done with the express permission of the bard being stolen from. What this permitted stealing does is gives the stealing bard experience in the Stealing skill and gives the bard being stolen from experience in the Perception skill.
Our guild leaders will turn you in if you are a wanted person by the local authorities and you try to talk to them. It is recommended that if you are a wanted person, you give your possessions to someone for safekeeping before you talk to the guild leaders, because when you are arrested your items get confiscated until you pay your fine.
Spell Songs, Scroll Songs, and Songs:
Enchantes:
Bards have magical songs called Enchantes. They activate these spells by singing them or playing them on instruments. To see what enchantes you know type SONG. You get more enchantes when you gain certain circles. All bards gain the same enchantes at the same circles. Once you start an enchante it lasts until it stops, either by typing STOP CHANT or by certain involuntary means. Enchantes require Elemental mana to power them. Elemental power varies from room to room. To check the power in a room type PERCEIVE or CONCENTRATE. If a room does not have enough power to support a chant it will stop. Also, you can have an enchante stop by fumbling the song. This happens when your skill in vocal or the instrument being used is low.
For most enchantes, only one bard per area can be singing it. The exception is Eye of Kertigen. If a bard is singing Eye of Kertigen, you cannot start another Eye of Kertigen in that area, but you can get up, leave the area, start the Eye of Kertigen, and then reenter the room.
To start an Enchante, if it is vocal type SING or CHANT <name of enchante>. If it requires an instrument of a certain type (if you see STR or PER after the enchante name when you type SONG then it needs that type of instrument, if you see SING or CHANT then you SING or CHANT) then you type PLAY <name of enchante> WITH <instrument> (and you may need to add WITH <tool> for certain instruments).
List of Enchantes up to Circle 75:
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Hodierna's Lilt |
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Restores vitality and fatigue (and some say concentration as well). Play it if someone is injured, poisoned, or hit by acid or if tired. |
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Eye of Kertigen |
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Increases perception slightly. At 10th circle the bard gets a magical eye on his forehead which can find hidden and invisible people. |
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Faenella's Grace |
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Increases the learning rate of the bard's students. |
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Rage of the Clans |
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Increases the battle prowess of all player characters in the area. |
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Redeemer's Pride |
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Removes the effects of fear (there are as of yet very few things that cause fear). |
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Drums of the Snake |
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Increases all Survival Skills by a considerable amount in the area. |
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Albreda's Balm |
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Lulls into a calm state certain monsters and player characters not in the bard's group. |
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Meraud's Blessing |
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Increases the harness ability of all in the area. |
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Nexus |
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Raises the mana in the area. |
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Eillie's Cry |
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When a bard dies, this cry sends a vision of the bard's place of death in order to summon aid. |
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Demerris' Resolve |
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Causes visions of fear to paralyze its victims. |
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Focus |
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Increases the casting powers of all listeners. |
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Naming of Tears |
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Increases the defensive ability of the singer and all in the singer's group |
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Morganae's Song |
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Increases the concentration of all listeners. |
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Aesthene's Bane |
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Decreases the concentration of all listeners not joined to the singer. |
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Wings of the Phoenix |
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This enchante is not yet devised. |
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Damaris' Lullaby |
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Puts all listeners not joined to the caster asleep on a failed will vs will contest. |
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Dreamweaver's Charm |
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Charms hostile intelligent creatures on a failed will vs will contest. |
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Little Blessings |
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Creates an illusory low-level creature. |
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Bigger Blessings |
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Creates an illusory mid-level creature. |
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Huge Blessings |
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Creates an illusory high-level creature. |
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Widow's Wail |
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Causes all listeners not joined to the caster to save vs the singer or run in fear. |
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River of Time |
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Cuts all round times of the listeners in half. |
In addition to their effects, enchantes have the added benefit of raising Primary Magic, Harness, Power Perceive, Music Lore, and either Vocal or Instrument skills....all simultaneously. For this reason bards should seek to have an enchante going at all times in the game.
Scroll Songs:
Scroll songs are found on song scrolls. They have no magic and are just songs for entertainment. Some are sad, some funny, some informative, some historical. There are currently 27 scroll songs. You can buy the scrolls from bard shops or festivals, or you can ask bards to trade or give them to you. Once a scroll song is memorized, there is no reason to hold on to the scroll, so many bards pass them on to younger bards.
To learn a scroll song type STUDY SCROLL after unrolling it. READ SCROLL will tell you the title of the song. You can only study a scroll song once every ten minutes or so. More often will have no effect. It can take many studyings to finally learn a song, so do not be discouraged. If you find you are getting a headache from studying, that means someone else was studying the scroll and never completed learning it. Unfortunately, only one person can study a given scroll at any one time.
When you do learn the song, you can type SONG to see what it is. To sing it type SING <name of song> or CHANT<name of song> depending on whether it is a song or a chant.
For reasons explained in guild rules, do not sing a scroll song in the Performance Hall of the bard guild. Also, keep in mind that most people in the Realms have heard these same 16 songs over and over and over again, so sing them to novices or ask permission to sing them first.
Original Songs:
Most bards sing their own songs or songs from other bards. To do an original song type SING <lyrics>. Separate lines in your song by semi-colon (;). Do not type too many lines into one sing command or you will gasp and cough for lack of breath.
Do not sing out of character songs or nonsense lyrics.
You can also sing in certain ways, like sadly, by typing SING SADLY <lyrics>. A full list of the ways you can sing accompany the SING verb onscreen.
You can take songs from other bards, but make sure to announce that the song was written by so-and-so. You can take songs from medieval poetry or folk songs or even current rock music, but make sure that all lyrics are in character. Do not claim such a copied song as your own. For example, I often sing a Genesis song called LADY LIES, about a warrior and a succubus. The lyrics are all in character. When I start to sing it I announce I am singing a song by APHIL KOLINDA (a play on Phil Collins), a bard from a far off land. This at least lets people know I am not taking credit for what is not mine. Also, even if a modern song is in character, if it is a very well known rock song do not sing it. For example, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin might be entirely in character, but is too well known and ruins the role playing atmosphere.
Also, those who devise really good original songs may submit them to the bard GM for possible inclusion as a future song scroll.
Experience:
Requirements:
Up to 10th level bards need the following per level (so multiply the number by the level you are trying for to figure out how many ranks you need). Round all fractions up. Only whole ranks count. For example, a skill with 3.50% and one with 3.50% = 6 ranks not 7 ranks.
Music Lore 4
Stringed Instrument 4
Mech Lore 2.5
Scholarship 1.5
Vocal 4
Teaching 2.5
Evasion 1.5
Multi-op 1.25
Parry 1.5
Shield 1.5
Primary Weapon 2.5
Secondary Weapon 2.5
General Lore 24
General Magic 10
The General requirements include the specific ones, so the 4 ranks of teaching count towards the 32 ranks of Lore. To find what skills are lore or magic, type EXP LORE or EXP MAGIC.
From 11th to 30th circle the requirements are:
Primary Weapon 2.5
Secondary Weapon 2.5
Any Instrument/Vocal 4
Any other Instrument/Vocal 4
General Lore 32 ranks
From 31st circle to 50th circle the requirements are:
Primary Weapon 3.5
Secondary Weapon 3.5
General Lore 32 ranks
After 50th circle...you will have to either ask a more experienced
bard, or wait until Therilliar advances that high.
Skills and Training:
Skills:
In general, you get skills by doing. Most skills can also be taught to you. There are exceptions. Multi-op cannot be taught. You must go out and have 2 or more creatures attack you at the same time to gain this skill.
Vocal and Instruments cannot be taught. You must play or sing to get these.
Music Lore can be taught, but it also increases simultaneously with Vocal or Instrument, so there is very little reason to train it directly (You might hear non bards asking for music lore training. This is because they have no instrument or vocal skills and must rely solely on Music Lore).
Scholarship can be taught directly. It is also gained by observing the sky, reading books in the library, and by learning scroll songs. In addition, you can get it by being taught ANY other skill, though it goes up slowly this way.
TDPs:
As time passes, as skills increase, and as circles are gained you will get TDPs. These increase your characteristics. How you increase them is up to you, but my advice is to get your intelligence and wisdom and discipline up to 15 when you can. This is because bards need more ranks to circle than any other guild, and these three characteristics speed learning of skills. Agility is also very nice because it affects how well you play.
Instruments:
Types of Instruments:
Bards buy instruments at bard shops in various towns. Instruments are many and varied and some are not available at some shops, but the instruments currently in the Realms include:
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Bow |
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None |
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Tipper |
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None |
To play an instrument you type PLAY <instrument> (add WITH <tool> if necessary) <style>.
Styles include: PLAYFUL, FLASHY, AIMLESS, SLOW, RAPID, FIERCE, and GENTLE.
Instruments can be customized. Those in Crossing can be made out of various materials, most of which cost more. In Shard instruments can be engraved with designed.
There are other instruments other than the ones listed above, but these are special ones sold only at festivals and by special merchants, or are sold on the islands of the fourth province, which are generally only recommended for more experienced characters.
Care and Maintenance:
Instruments need care. To determine when this is necessary, APPRAISE your instruments often. If they are not EXTREMELY clean then they need to be clean (CLEAN does not equal EXTREMELY CLEAN). Clean wind instruments by typing CLEAN <instrument>. Clean others by holding a rag or cloth and typing CLEAN <instrument> with <rag/cloth>. APPRAISE the instrument after cleaning to see if it needs more.
To tune an instrument type TUNE <Instrument>. If it is flat TUNE <instrument> SHARP. If it is sharp then vice versa.
Instruments can be damaged. Usually this is by dropping them or playing them in bad weather outside. To check the weather, type OBS SKY (which has a round time but gives scholarship experience) or OBS WEATHER. When an instrument is damaged, then when you APPRAISE it, it will say something other than FLAWLESS CONDITION. To repair an instrument you need an open repair kit. Type FIX <instrument> and then APPRAISE it to see if it is fully fixed. Repeat as necessary. If you run out of stuff in your repair kit, go to the Bard Shop and buy a Refill. Type FILL KIT WITH REFILL.
If you need to put an instrument on the ground, use the PUT verb not DROP. Do not drop an instrument just to get fixing experience (mech lore), as there is a chance every time you drop it it will shatter completely. Also, other bards will hate you for mistreating your instrument.
Sometimes instruments can lose their strings or skins. In this case you must buy a replacement at the Bard Shop and type PUT STRINGS/SKIN ON <instrument>.
A good bard keeps his instruments extremely clean and in flawless condition and in tune at all times. He never drops it and only plays outside in the rain in emergency. Furthermore, he keeps his instruments in closed containers when not in use.
Bonding:
Bonding is a mysterious process. It is certain that bonding is not yet fully implemented in the game. In other words, you can bond, but all of the benefits are not in the game yet. Only bards can bond. Bonding is a long process of becoming emotionally in tune with your instrument. In a sense the instrument becomes quasi sentient.
The bonding process occurs when cleaning an instrument. The process is fairly random. Bonding encourages bards to clean their instruments often and to maintain a loyalty to a given instrument. At some point in time, often not before 5th-7th circle, you will feel a strange attachment for with an instrument while cleaning it. Thereafter, from time to time, while cleaning, you will feel the bond grow stronger. Eventually, at some point in time, the instrument will vibrate or hum strangely and you will be fully bonded.
When a bard says "I have bonded" what they usually mean is that their bond started or grew a bit. The term for completely bonding is Fully Bonded.
My own experience was it took me about 30-50 partial bonds before I fully bonded. I fully bonded with 2 of my 3 instruments at 19th and 20th level, and I had those instruments since 6th level. You may go a month without any growth in bonding, and then might start to bond every time you clean. It seems random and variable, so be patient with it.
Once fully bonded, the only effects I know of currently are that if another bard APPRAISES the fully bonded instrument they notice something strange (but unidentifiable) about the instrument. Also, every time I clean my fully bonded instruments I feel a strange joy or tingle wash over me.
Finally, a fully bonded instrument will stay in your hands if you die while holding it.
Until bonding is fully implemented, it is still a nice role playing tool and a mark of distinction.
Teaching:
Teaching is not a bard only activity, but we need to do a lot of it. You teach people with skills lower than you. To teach type TEACH <name> <skill>. You can teach up to 5 students at one time.
If you teach someone of your own race or your own guild teaching is faster.
New bards should not try to teach in the bard guild, because the elder bards usually are the most desired teachers and because most of the bards will have higher skills than you. Instead, good teaching spots are the shipyards (new player hunting ground) or outside the NE gate where new players forage for branches.
Hunting:
What to hunt when is also variable depending on the character you have designed, your mind set, et al. Nevertheless, the following is my experience, and it assumes that you are not a combat monster, since if you were you would have probably been a barbarian or paladin:
Circle 1 Shipyard rats (solo/group)
Circle 2 Shipyard rats (solo), Goblins or Musk hogs/boars (group)
Circle 3 Goblins or Musk Hogs (solo/group)
Circle 4 Goblins (solo), Cougars (group)
Circle 5 Goblins (solo), Cougars or dryads/nyads (group)
Circle 6 Dryads/nyads (solo/group), Cougars (solo/group), Water Sprites/lipopods or Wood Trolls/grendels (group)
Circle 7 Dryads/nyads, Cougars (solo), Water Sprites/lipopods, Wood Trolls/grendels or Fire Sprites (group)
Circle 8 Dryads/nyads, Cougars, Water Sprites/lipopods (solo), Fire Sprites or Reavers (group)
Circle 9 All of the above solo (but Reavers and Fire Sprites are still best in groups)
Circle 10+ You should know what you can hunt by now!
The above are not too aggressive but not so passive either. If you find at a certain circle you have trouble with the above, move up a line or two.
Bardic Abilities:
Bards have several special abilities. These are listed below:
Instrument Skills - This includes vocal. Other professions only have music lore. Bards play much much better than non bards. This is almost to the effect that your instrument skill is added to your music lore skill. So a bard with 50 Music lore and 50 Stringed Instrument would play a Lute like a none bard with 100 Music Lore.
However, this Bardic touch goes away if Music Lore is kept inactive for any length of time. Then you play badly for a while until you warm up. I recommend all bards always do something to keep Music Lore at least in the Learning category.
Bards can appraise instruments and gain specific info on how much an instrument is damaged and whether it is out of tune.
Bards can sing scroll songs.
Bards of 20th level can, in a place with a menu and with an audience, do performances using the PLAYACT verb.
Bards can bond with instruments.
Titles:
Titles are available when you reach 4th level. Type TITLE and follow the directions. Titles give you a title appropriate to your profession before your character name. Anyone looking at your character or when you enter an area will see your title too.
Conclusion:
Well....no one said playing a bard was easy. In fact it is probably the hardest in the game, since most of its abilities are role playing predicated, and because the profession is the youngest and not fully developed. Bards are still trying to establish themselves in the Realms and find a niche for themselves.
That said, the bard guild is one of the friendliest and tightest knit guilds in the Realms, and I would never be a member of any other guild.
Good playing and good luck!
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