Fanmade:Bard

The Bard is Melee / Ranged warrior that also uses his extensive knowledge of forgotten lore and ancient songs of power to battle the forces of Darkness. Music is the language of the universe and no one exploits this like the Bard. Even the Angels of Light are merely vibrations...

The Bard is not an official class: It's a fan class. Author(s) of the article are: Unknown

Background

Diablo III Class [e]
Bard  Fan-made Class
Role:	Melee/Ranged/Caster hybrid
Primary Attributes:	Dexterity Willpower
Class Skills
Skills and Traits
Background
Origin:	Western Kingdoms
Affiliation:	None.
Friends:	Commoners
Foes:	Demons

New, Darker Background

In his younger days, the Bard travelled the far reaches of Sanctuary as a poet, musician and storyteller. He quite the performer, able to rouse even the most dour soul. He had a restless spirit and lived off the people in the cities and villages through charm and wit until he wore out his welcome, then journeyed on. He was an expert at getting himself into trouble, and just as expert in getting himself out of it, be it through wit, cleverness, or muscle. If his stories were to be believed, he was a renowned hero that had experienced many tragic and comedic events in every corner of Sanctuary. He was also always interested in lore and history, and loved to spend a good amount of time learning the local histories and peculiarities of the places he visited and often, before he willingly or unwillingly departed, knew more about the local goings on than most of the locals did. He loved a good time, and was a regular feature at some of the seedier outfits around.

A small village he visited would change the course of his life however. He fell in love with a local girl, like he did in every town, but this was different. She was someone even his ego would allow him to consider an equal, and was completely smittin. He kept trying to think of excuses to move on, but could never find one quite good enough, so he stayed with her. She eventually became pregnant. His first instinct was to run, but he couldn't. This would become his new life.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. She died during childbirth, but he had a new daughter. She was his responsibility, and he took it with pride. He stayed where he was, practicing his arts to the enjoyment of the locals, and was able to hash out a decent and honorable living as a musician and teacher. He raised his daughter until the age of 6, when tragedy once again came to call. Monsters and demons roaming the countryside stumbled upon their village, razing it to the ground, and killing or abducting nearly everyone. The Bard fought well, but was overwhelmed and left for dead. When he came to, there was no sign of his daughter, and only a handful of villagers had survived. Desperate, he chased the monsters into the darkness for days. He found an abandoned camp of the raiders, and with it he stumbled upon a scene from a nightmare. Many of the prisoners had apparently been made snacks... and worse. He found the remains of his little girl there. She fell into the 'worse' catagory...

He never found that raiding party. Some say he went mad after that. He dissappeared and popped up from time to time around the land drunk and spoiling for trouble, never talking about his past. Some people were familiar enough with the local goings on and pieced together who he was, so they tolerated him out of symapathy. When he wasn't brawling in the local tavern, he obsessively buried himself in books and tomes wherever he could find them, the older and more archaic the better. He researched magics and demonkind and forgotten lore better left forgotten. Over a couple of years, he became somewhat more stable, but still very disconnected from people. He liked to spend a great deal of time out in the wild outskirts of towns, hunting and providing for himself, by himself. He privately practiced in the wilds at killing foul creatures up close and from afar. When travelling from town to town, he searched out any beasties he could find to 'practice' upon. At night, people would occasionally hear haunting sounds coming from the woods, and when followed, would reveal themselves as dark, forboding, and unnerving songs, some of which were sung in tongues no one had ever heard.

He knew that people would occasionally eavesdrop on him and something inside of him still missed . One day, a brave little girl came out of the woods that had been listening to his strange music and started bugging him with questions. He tried to run her off, but something about her couldn't let him resist answering her questions. Maybe she reminded him of 'her'. She asked him what those songs were he played, and he told her they were ancient, forgotten songs that had magical powers over the darkness. After other questions, she finally asked him why he was always out here by himself. He reluctantly told her a highly sanitized version of his story. He kept going, and as he did, he added more gusto and flair, with which she was thoroughly entertained. As he finished, the twinkle in her eyes almost made him break down and cry, but he held back. With the innocence only a child could have, she told him that his family wouldn't want him to be alone like this and that he should share his love of them with the world. With that, she left and he could hold back his tears no longer. He never saw her again. He always wondered if she might have really been 'her'...

After that, he finally was able to, no, he HAD to get back on his feet and do something. He was able to perform and again, but now he had purpose. Toughened by his experiences, he set about trying to really make a difference. As he travelled now, he helped people. If they were in trouble, he would give them strength and stand with them against it. If they were lost, he would guide them and see them through. He fought the darkness wherever he found it and inspired hope in the hopeless. He had the strength and abilities now to become a subject of songs, not just a singer of songs, but legacy never entered his thoughts. Perhaps those whose songs were sung never had those thoughts either. One day, hearing of the troubles in Tristram, be it by sword or song or spirit, he set forth to shine light upon the darkness once again. Perhaps he could stumble upon a particular group of nasties again. Now, he was ready for them.

Old, Lighter Background

The Bard is an incouragable romantic and braggart that has roamed the far corners of Sanctuary living off of his wit, charm, and deftness, and if his stories are to be believed, he is a renowned hero that has experienced many tragic and comedic events in every one of them. His gallant demeanor and careless abandon hide a tortured soul, however. Having wondered farther than many have dreamed, he has seen the darkness hiding in every shadow and the empty eyes of those who the darkness has touched. He is quite the studious one, having spent a great deal of time researching histories and arcane lore for his art and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. While he really isn't quite the unstoppable blademaster and marksman his bravado would lead one to believe, he is quite skilled in a variety of weapons. When your mouth can't get you out of a situation, your arm sure better do the job!

While living off the fat of the land for many years, it weighs upon him now more than ever. He felt that his job was to help people through the dark times by just elevating their hopes and spirits, but lately he feels that is not enough. He's grown envious of the Hero's of yore who didn't just bring a twinkle to darkened eyes, but stopped the light from going away in the first place. Whether he truly feels a sense of duty to aid the people of Sanctuary or has just listened to his own stories so much even HE believes them, no one knows but him... or maybe not. Regardless, hearing of the events unfolding in Tristram, the beginning of so much history, he's set out to test his mettle and put his gold where his mouth is. At the very least, he could probably get a good story out of the whole thing...

Class Design

The Bard is a hybrid fast Melee / Ranged warrior. He also utilizes music which he sings during battle, bestowing a variety of Aura-like effects to friend or foe. His wits and extensive knowledge base allow him to trick foes and manipulate situations to his favor.

Attributes and Skills

Bard songs are sung for a duration depending on Rank and Passive enhancements. Once started, they do not need to be maintained by the player. Any friends or foes within range are affected by the song.

Bard Skills

The Bard skills are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:

• Honor
• Glory
• Guile

All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.

Honor Skills

These abilities revolve around the "honor" of combat, both up-close and at range.

Tier I:

• Trick Shot: Active. Missile attack. Fires a missile that zig-zags in an ever widening cone away from character, increasing it's area of potential attack.
• Dual Wield: Passive. With two weapons equiped, both are used in the time frame of one attack with a speed average of both weapons. Higher Ranks increase accuracy and damage.
• Evasion: Passive. Increases the effect of Dex on defenses.
• Catch Missile: Passive. Has a chance of plucking or knocking a missile right out of the air, rendering them harmless

Tier II:

• Twin Strike: Active. Melee attack. Requires two weapons. Attack using both weapons simultaneously as one blow. All bonuses, damage ratings, etc. are added together and treated as one attack from one weapon.
• Strafing Run: Active. Missile attack. While character is walking/running, constantly fires missiles at the nearest foe. (Stolen from the Mentalist. )
• Parry: Passive. When equiped with two weapons, has a chance of parrying attacks.
• Shield Bash: Passive. When attacked, adds a chance to lash out with shield, dealing damage and knocking attacker back.
• Missile Mastery: Passive. Increases damage, accuracy, and speed of all missile attacks.

Tier III:

• Frantic Assualt: Active. Melee attack. While attack button is held down, each swing hits a different enemy in range, with increased attack speed..
• Split Arrow: Active. Missile attack. Fires a missile that upon impact, splits into several more missiles launched at nearby foes that do half original damage.
• Ambidexterity: Passive. Increases the attack speed and accuracy of Twin Strike and Dual Wield.
• Retort: Passive. When attacked, has a chance of very quickly counter attacking.
• Cower: Passive. If using a shield and standing still, the Bard can cower behind it very effectively, increasing shield blocking and absorbtion.

Tier IV:

• Dervish: Active. Melee attack. Spins very quickly, attacking a single target several times quickly, the number depends on Rank. When dual wielding, both weapons are used.
• Flurry: Passive. On hitting a foe in Melee, has a chance of quickly adding a second attack. That second attack could also trigger this again, causing a chain reaction. When dual wielding, this could result in a barrage of attacks at higher Ranks.
• Split Rebound: Passive. Increases the damage done by the secondary missiles broken off from Split Arrow.
• Agile Striking: Passive. Adds a damage bonus for Dex to Melee attacks using 1-handed weapons and increases the pre-existing Dex bonus for Missile attacks. Effect increases with Rank.

Glory Skills

These skills are glorious Songs, that when activated, are sung for a duration. They cost mana only when cast, and can cause a variety of effects on allies or enemies. Songs can be stopped by Silence.

Tier I:

• Enduring Chant: Active. Song. Stops the loss of stamina from running, etc. for the user and any friendly units within range. Also decreases the Fury cost for Barbarians skills and increases the speed of regeneration and healing from items/magic.
• Penetrating Voice: Passive. Decreases the chance that any Silence effect can affect the Bard.
• Silver Tongue: Passive. Increases the chance of effect success for all Songs.
• Virtuosity: Passive. Passive. Increases the power of the effects of all Songs.

Tier II:

• Aria of Disruption: Active. Song. Interferes with magical energies, decreasing the effectiveness of all enemy hostile magics within range.
• Soothing the Beast: Active. Song. Has a chance of randomly causing any foes within range to stop hostile activities for a time, entranced by the Bards singing.
• Enduring Vitality: Passive. Enhances Enduring Chant to provide some health regeneration as well.
• Counter Verse: Passive. Has a chance of knowing the proper short verse that can counteract the effect of a debuff cast on the Bard. Has a chance of reducing the length of any debuffs afflicting the Bard dramatically.
• Inspired: Passive. Decreases the Mana cost of all Songs.

Tier III:

• Furious Bolero: Active. A fast, harsh song that has a chance per x seconds of setting any targets within range on fire, causing fire damage for xx seconds. If a target is on fire and gets re-effected, the fire duration is added onto the end of the current fire. Creatures on fire have a chance of igniting those nearby.
• Haunting Melody: Active. Song. Increases the connection between this world and the Ether, increasing the effectiveness of allies' spells and decreasing mana costs for skills.
• Allegro: Passive. Enhances Furious Bolero, increasing fire damage and adding a chance to stun victims while on fire.
• Counter Chorus: Passive. Augments Counter Verse to apply to allies within a Rank dependent radius.
• Fortissimmo: Passive. Increases the range of all Songs.

Tier IV:

• Heroic Anthem: Active. Song. A song dedicated to glorious victories over evil by legendary heroes. Increases all damages and attack/cast speeds of friendly units.
• Hymn of Light: Active. Song. A powerful song from before time. Only affects undead and demons within range, but deals constant damage, slows them, and lowers damage and defenses.
• Noble Fortitude: Passive. For Heroic Anthem, adds to the max health of friendly units.
• Angelic Voice: Passive. Enhances Hymn of the Light. Has a chance of randomly stunning any applicable targets within range.
• Long-Winded: Passive. Increases the duration of all Songs.

Guile Skills

These skills are based on wit, knowledge, and cleverness. (Some of these skills, like Arcane Lore, depend on certain features being present in D3)

Tier I:

• Be the Beast: Active. Skill. The Bards extensive knowledge base allow him to emulate the bahavior of various dark creatures. By dragging a foot, acting abnormally, and making odd noises, he can behave in a way that allows him to blend in with enemies for xx seconds, causing many foes to ignore him at random. Special monsters and bosses are not fooled. Effect ends immediately if character uses any offensive skills. Other players might hate you for using this too much.
• Silence: Active. Spell. Silences any targets within area of effect.
• Bravado: Passive. The Bard presents himself with such gusto and self-confidence that foes hit by his attacks have a chance of being terrified and running away.
• Blinding: Passive. On critical strikes, this adds has a chance of blinding target.
• Item Lore: Passive. Has an increasing chance of Identifying items.

Tier II:

• Resonate: Active. Spell. Causes an intense sound vibration in an cone area starting at character that stuns targets and causes damage. This spell stays in affect while the mouse button is down and can be re-aimed anywhere. Causes increased damage on undead enemies.
• Rogue Element: Active. Spell. Enchants weapons for xxx seconds, adding a random element (fire, ice, or lightning) to each attack. (Idea inspired by/based on NASE's suggestion.)
• Barter: Passive. Allows the character to get better prices from vendors, buying and selling.
• Arcane Lore: Passive. Increases the effects of any scrolls or books used.
• Anatomy: Passive. Advanced knowledge of creatures' anatomies increases the chance of Critical Hits.

Tier III:

• Name of Power: Active. Spell. Through studies of ancient histories and texts, the Bard knows much about Demonkind and the power of real names. When used, calls a Demon by a secret name, stunning it or possibly outright banishing it. Bosses are too poweful to be affected by this.
• Sop Story: Active: Spell. Tells a story so sad even un-intelligent monsters understand, charming any non-undead/demon temporarily into defending the Bard, causing them to attack other monsters. Has a 4 second cast time and has a chance to effect any foe in range. Has a 20 second cooldown.
• Enhanced Resonance: Passive. Increases the width of the cone and the damage caused by Resonate.
• Dramatic Flair: Passive. Increases the chance that a foe is effected by Be the Beast. Also adds a smaller chance that special monsters will be fooled as well. Bosses are still unaffected.
• Monstrous Lore: Passive. Through close observation and study, the Bard gains a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of monsters. Enhances Rogue Element, giving an increasing chance of triggering the elemental effect that takes advantage of the creatures weakest resistance.

Tier IV:

• Accusation: Active. The Bards powers of persuasion are such that he is able to accuse a foe of... whatever... that causes other foes around it to become hostile to it.
• True Name: Passive. Has a chance of knowing a Demon's true name. When Name of Power is used, this provides a chance that it's true name will be called, requiring it to fight for the Bard for a period of time. Once this time ends however, the Demon will seek out the Bard, ignoring all other targets, determined to kill him.
• Make the Devil Cry: Passive. Adds a chance of also affecting Undead and Demons with Sop Story.
• Rogue Burst: Passive. Enhances Rogue Element, giving a small chance of triggering splash damage, affecting any foes adjacent to target. If any points are in this skill, Critical hits will always trigger this affect, assuming Rogue Element is active.

Development

The Bard was first posted on 30 June 2009 [1] by Technomancer on the Diii.net forums. It was posted as a wiki article by Technomancer on 17 August 2009.

Technomancer Notes

I know I'm certainly not the first to propose a Bard class for Diablo III, but I got on a kick to make my own Bard class cause of another thread, so I thought I'd try to finish it up and throw it up on here to see what people think. I didn't look at any other Bards posted on the forums because I wanted it to be as untainted as possible, but there's probably some accidental overlap. A Bard is a Bard. It appears that my Bard class is completely finished, skill-wise, so I decided to put it here on the wiki.