# Best(?) Second Level Bard Spell



## Artoomis (Sep 22, 2006)

Given that I already have Tongues, Sonic Weapon and Mirror Image, I'd like opinions on the best 2nd level Bard spell.  My DM is allowing me to replace Cat's Grace because I have not used it even once in many levels.

This is an Eberron campaign, and this character is a very intellectual and charistmatic bard.

Thanks for your help.  If you could, for non-core spells give me a little idea of what the spell does, please.


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## Thurbane (Sep 22, 2006)

It's hard to go past Invisibility, especially if you already have Mirror Image. Then again, I'm not that familiar with the non-core spells out there.


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## EvilGM (Sep 22, 2006)

Heroism, Invisibility, Invisibility (swift)

All very useful.


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## Nonlethal Force (Sep 22, 2006)

I really like Glossolalia (XPH).  It is only available to bard 2:

Basically, you utter shrieks of nonsense and jibberish when casting the spell.  The spell only works against targets with INT 3 or higher.Any creature in a 60 foot cone must save on Fort save or be:

Stunned for 1 round if their INT is 20 or greater,
Dazed for 1 round if their INT is between 10-19,
Shaken for 1 round if their INT is between 3-9.

If you are facing a psionic enemy, the enemy immediately loses its psionic focus and all creatures take a -4 to concentration checks (No save allowed).

Not a great damaging spell, but against enemy casters and other notoriously low FORT save characters it can give you a round where your guys can advance without fear of enemy spellcasting to worry about.  Besides, most spellcasters are going to either be Stunned or Dazed.  Both of those are very good things!


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## brehobit (Sep 22, 2006)

Suggestion is always at the top of my list...

Mark


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## Twowolves (Sep 22, 2006)

Definately Suggestion. Silence is good too. I was going to say Tasha's Laughter, but then I realized it was already 1st level for bards. Maybe an Extended Tasha's!


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## Felix (Sep 22, 2006)

_Shatter_.

_Suggestion_ is a good spell for bards, but come higher levels, you can do that every time you _fascinate_ someone, and I've always thought that a better tradeoff for bards since the text doesn't make it seem like it's all that noticable by anyone, and it gives you a great excuse to step into the limelight with your Perform(pole-dancing) skill.

_Shatter_, however, not only uses what should be the bard's mainstay, his voice, but also has a nice versatility to it. You may destroy most anything with only a Will save in your way, and that's if it's attended. Think, "Saruman, your staff is _broken_!" kind of cinematic cool.

Thricely, you're in Eberron. Not that I'm terribly familiar with the setting, but from what I understand crystals, or shards, or something of that sort arn't too rare. So it could come in handy.


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## R-man (Sep 22, 2006)

Whirling Blade is my personal favorite 2nd level Bard Spell. Throw your slashing weapon in a 12" line attacking only enemy creatures and bypassing Friendlies making one melee attack with your weapon on each of the enemies. You may substitute your caster stat for Strength for calculating hit and damage. 

Overall an effective low damage area of effect spell for Bards. 

Even better with a 24 enhanced str Bard weilding a Greatsword.

That Bard BAB is useful, remember that you are one of the best Gish classes in the game.


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## two (Sep 22, 2006)

The flat-out most powerful 2nd level spell you already have: Mirror Image.

Cast it in the first round of every battle and you will never die, barring massive area spell effects.  

VERY powerful.


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## Sirea (Sep 22, 2006)

If you want some offensive type of spell: _Glitterdust_ (PHB) or _Cloud of Bewilderment_ (first in MoF, then updated in PGtF, final version in SC). The former asks for a Will save, the latter a Fort save.


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## isoChron (Sep 22, 2006)

felix said:
			
		

> _Shatter_, however, not only uses what should be the bard's mainstay, his voice, but also has a nice versatility to it. You may destroy most anything with only a Will save in your way, and that's if it's attended. Think, "Saruman, your staff is _broken_!" kind of cinematic cool.




Shatter is actually really weak since:
Shatter creates a loud, ringing noise that breaks brittle, *nonmagical* objects; sunders a single solid, *nonmagical object*; or damages a crystalline creature.

Most items you want to shatter at your enemy are magic.

Suggestion could be used to great effect (and without the uncertain Fascinate). Even at higher levels it is a good spell.

Silence is a great spell to shut down spellcasters without a save, just move close. Near to broken in my opinion.

Glitterdust ist good vs. invisible and low level opponents.

Tongues depends on your campaign. May be very good or nearly useless.


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## Nail (Sep 22, 2006)

My votes would be: Alter Self, Glitterdust, Invisibility, and Silence.

Glitterdust stands out, because of that Will save or blinded effect.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Sep 22, 2006)

Our Bard has used Glitterdust to very good effect. Even some higher level opponents sometimes fail their save, and high level opponents that "hoped to be invisible but are now blind and perfectly visible" are really screwed. 

For Suggestion, he usually relies on Fascinate, not on the spell.


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## cmanos (Sep 22, 2006)

Sirea said:
			
		

> If you want some offensive type of spell: _Glitterdust_ (PHB) or _Cloud of Bewilderment_ (first in MoF, then updated in PGtF, final version in SC). The former asks for a Will save, the latter a Fort save.




Hmm...take both...one for the warriors and one for the mages


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## Artoomis (Sep 22, 2006)

Thanks, everyone.

I ended up going with:

Battle Hymn which lets PCs roll a bad Will save over again.  Very handy for the low Will save Barbarian who is VERy dangerous when charmed or dominated.  Goes along with one of the general theme of a Bard providing offensive AND defensive combat support.

However, events ended up with TWO spell choices for me.  I tentatively selected Dimensional Leap - a swift action (IIRC) teleportation effect = 10' per level only. 

Still not final on that one, though. 

I need to look at Whirling Blade.  That sounds really promising:  Cha bonus is +6, so +6 to attack and damage, very nice.  Enemies are not often lined up nicely, though.  Or maybe Invisibility - being able to get out of a bad situation could be very valuable to my low AC, low HP bard.

Or maybe I'll just stay with Dimensional Leap.  That gets me out of a bad situation fast enough (up to 70' at his current caster level - and then he can still move).


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## taliesin15 (Sep 23, 2006)

Agree with Invisibility & Suggestion--surprised nobody's mentioned Cure Moderate Wounds--also I think Whispering Wind is a great tactical spell for outdoor adventuring


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## MadJax (Sep 23, 2006)

Glitterdust

outlines invisible foes for the fighters, and has the potential to blind


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## maggot (Sep 23, 2006)

I'm surprised at the lack of love for Heroism.  Glitterdust is very good too.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Sep 23, 2006)

maggot said:
			
		

> I'm surprised at the lack of love for Heroism.  Glitterdust is very good too.



You don't need Heroismn with Inspire Courage.

_Battle Hymn_ should be easily replacable by the Bards Countersong ability, if IIRC. A _Protection from Evil_ or _Magic Circle against Evil_ on the Barbarian will also negate most dangers of domination or charms.

For bard spells, it is important to keep in mind the options granted by Bardic Music. 

In addition, buying a few scrolls of good bard spells (and, with Use Magic Device, any other good spell from a other class spell list). 2 Scrolls of Battle Hymn for example will probably last for a few sessions. 

The most important spells our Bard casts are often from scroll.


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## fafhrd (Sep 23, 2006)

I'm fond of _Grace_ from _Spell Compendium_
Swift spell, makes you glow in 60' radius, gives +2 sacred bonus to dex, an extra 10 feet of movement and makes your weapons good aligned for 1 round per level.


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Sep 23, 2006)

fafhrd said:
			
		

> I'm fond of _Grace_ from _Spell Compendium_
> Swift spell, makes you glow in 60' radius, gives +2 sacred bonus to dex, an extra 10 feet of movement and makes your weapons good aligned for 1 round per level.



Though this is only useful if the bard is commonly engaged in melee or ranged combat, isn't it? (Again, the bard in our group - A Shackled City Campaign, by the way - rarely engages in melee or ranged combat.)


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## just__al (Sep 23, 2006)

My bard makes extensive use of Alter Self.  Mostly it's been for the natural armor goodness that comes with being a Trog.  Eventually I'll explore the other forms but it's hard to pass up that THICK skin..


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Sep 23, 2006)

just__al said:
			
		

> My bard makes extensive use of Alter Self.  Mostly it's been for the natural armor goodness that comes with being a Trog.  Eventually I'll explore the other forms but it's hard to pass up that THICK skin..




Alter Self is good. It also gives access to swim speed, which can sometimes be quite useful. (My Fighter and the Bard where the only ones able to fight effectively in the waters around the Kua-To temple - or, better said, the Fighter was more effective thanks to the bard accomponying him, while the rest of the group had to sit back and hope we wouldn't stir someting up that would be to powerful for the two of us to handle  )


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## Nail (Sep 23, 2006)

Artoomis said:
			
		

> Battle Hymn which lets PCs roll a bad Will save over again.  Very handy for the low Will save Barbarian who is VERy dangerous when charmed or dominated.



The spell _Battle Hymn_ is quite limited. 

You have to cast it before "the low Will save Barbarian" is forced to make a save, not after.  That's a significant disadvantage.   :\   

And since it only lasts 1 round per level, you can't cast this well before an upcoming battle.   IOW, your bard will be stuck guessing when during the battle he should use one of his precious actions to cast this spell in the hopes that his barbarian friend will be targeted by a spell that requires a Will save.

"Should I use my first round's standard action to cast this spell, or should I start up my Bard singing instead?  Round 2 maybe?  Gee, I hope I get it off before my barbarian is charmed...."


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## Nail (Sep 23, 2006)

taliesin15 said:
			
		

> --surprised nobody's mentioned Cure Moderate Wounds--



I'm not.

The Cure spells are a great addition to the Bard's class list...but a lousy option for a spell known.  Wands are where it's at: cheaper and less of an opportunity cost.


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## Stormrunner (Sep 24, 2006)

Invisibility is reeeealy nice for a bard, because playing your bardic music is not an attack so it doesn't break the invisibility.  The enemy has a hard time even finding you, much less hitting you, and meanwhile you can stroll around the battlefield boosting your friends and positioning yourself to let loose a spell or attack at just the right moment to disrupt the enemy.

Tactical Precision is good - whenever your allies flank a target they get an extra +2 attack and +1d6 damage.

Bonefiddle is nasty against spellcasters - 3d6 sonic damage per round until they make a Fort save.  Plus the concept of playing someone's bones like a fiddle is just shivery-cool.


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## Pielorinho (Sep 26, 2006)

I'm a huge fan of glitterdust and suggestion.  Both of them are flexible spells.

Glitterdust has its two effects, which is very nice:  a great effect vs. invisible creatures, and a decent effect against noninvisibles.  Your melee buddies will love you for blinding the enemies, and will adore you for revealing improved-invisibility enemies.

Suggestion has only the one effect, but boy howdy is it a great one.  "We're really tough; you'd be surrender now!"  "Hey, wizard, our barbarian can't wrestle worth a damn, I sure hope you don't decide to tackle him, wink wink!"  "Oh, look at the cowardly blackguard, hiding behind his big armor and shield--why don't you take off that armor and fight like a man?"  And that's only the combat potential.

Sure, outside of combat, fascinate can cover the need for suggestion; but during combat, suggestion rocks.

Daniel


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## Patryn of Elvenshae (Sep 26, 2006)

Pielorinho said:
			
		

> I'm a huge fan of glitterdust and suggestion.  Both of them are flexible spells.




... and both of them mesh extremely well with Heighten Spell, allowing you to spend your higher level [spells known] on spells that do other things.


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