First play and I want choose Bard

[Mleko]

Hello. It's my first playthrough with BG and I would like to play as Bard. But I want use bow. So which kit I should choose?
Thanks for advice.
Have a good day.

[Hamish]

the only kit that will give any advantage to the bow is the Skald as they get +1 to hit +1 to damage with all weapons.

[Hopper]

Bards die fast if you don't manage them carefully. They can't use helmets or decent shields, they can wear leather or chainmail, but they can't cast any spells while wearing it. And to top it all off, the enemy will also get big attack bonuses whenever they get in melee range while you're using a bow.

The bard song is also clunky to use. Your bard can't attack or cast spells while singing, so they pretty much just stand back and watch the rest of the party hog the action. I wouldn't even bother using the song on most bard kits.

The Blade kit is best suited to an archer. The Offensive Spin ability will give you very nice attack bonuses with your bows and also help you keep at a distance.
Try to avoid using the Defensive Spin ability early on, it'll likely just get you killed.

Bards can use wands, so hog all the wands you can find and practice with them. Practice with your spin abilities too. Practice with every new spell you find.

Always keep a distance and nuke the with Offensive Spin, wands and spells.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

There's no great difference, take what you like more.
In the long run (BG2) blade is a better investment. Until then skald is a better fighter (expecially ranged) and has a much better song.
Anyway if you're not sure un unkitted bard will work: you get free pickpocket, so your thief is free to develop something else. For a first playthrough it's ok.

[Mleko]

Ok thanks. So I think about Skald with bow in BG1. And maybe in BG2 I exchange him on Blade :D.

[Sin]

While every build can and will beat the game (even for a first time playthrough) I feel obliged to say that a ranged bard is among the weakest choices you can make in this game.

You have strength which will not be apperent to a new player and the bard kit itself does not synergize well with ranged combat (or combat at all unless you are a blade who can be quite good at melee combat.. )

The bard song does nothing useful and locks out your normal actions so what you end up beeing is a mage who can cast level 6 spells at most (assuming you go to bg 2 and get the XP needed for that) with a bow that after BG 1 will rarely hit.

Playable but I wager you will devolve into a magic missile flinger and I don't know if that is very fun for you.

[Mleko]

Damn, and still I don't know nothing :D. I don't know which class is for me...
I prefer distance playstyle in every game. I think that dual wield can be intresting but I still prefer distance. I think that offensive spin is also good for bow. So I don't know... Maybe I will play as Skald with bow. Or I will try play as Druid Avenger... :D
I'm sick...

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Originally posted by Mleko:

Damn, and still I don't know nothing :D. I don't know which class is for me...
I prefer distance playstyle in every game. I think that dual wield can be intresting but I still prefer distance. I think that offensive spin is also good for bow. So I don't know... Maybe I will play as Skald with bow. Or I will try play as Druid Avenger... :D
I'm sick...

You need to think that best strategies changes between the very beginning and throne of bhaal.

You won't use offensive/defensive spins very much during your BG1 walkthrough, while in BG2 defensive spns is devastating in combo wth buffing spells in orser to have a solid tank.

Don't overthink to much, just start, you can always restart later or do a secon walkthrough. ONly playing you understand what you really want.

A ranger/archer can be a good choice for a first, but also skald or avenger can be nice, since you experience various aspect of the game. A blade at the beginning is a little more for expert player, but you don't need to go melee at the beginning and you can play him from range. It's weak but levels fast. Choosing classes that level fast is not bad: more HP, more abilities. Bards and druids do good.

But, I repeat, take what you like more and start, don't think too much.

[Dorok]

Why a bard? Did you checked options for Thief/Mage? Or perhaps fighter/mage as i doubt pickpocket is in your focus at least it shouldn't because it's a system not that great because of a too harsh consequence when failed.

I mean I also feel Bard attracting, but when investigating, many D&D editions screwed up the bard class design. I wonder if it's not only until 5e that bard became a really strong option.

[Hamish]

Originally posted by Hopper:

Bards die fast if you don't manage them carefully. They can't use helmets or decent shields, they can wear leather or chainmail, but they can't cast any spells while wearing it. And to top it all off, the enemy will also get big attack bonuses whenever they get in melee range while you're using a bow.

The bard song is also clunky to use. Your bard can't attack or cast spells while singing, so they pretty much just stand back and watch the rest of the party hog the action. I wouldn't even bother using the song on most bard kits.

The Blade kit is best suited to an archer. The Offensive Spin ability will give you very nice attack bonuses with your bows and also help you keep at a distance.
Try to avoid using the Defensive Spin ability early on, it'll likely just get you killed.

Bards can use wands, so hog all the wands you can find and practice with them. Practice with your spin abilities too. Practice with every new spell you find.

Always keep a distance and nuke the with Offensive Spin, wands and spells.

oh I forgot the offensive spin also applies to bows, this is way better than the skald. Also you get up to 3 points in 2 weapon style, which gives you the option to dual weild too if you wish. The penalty to lore is nothing to worry about and the penalty to pick poket is not game breaking either. Your Bard Song will be boosted later on - I played a blade recently and it was much fun! By far the best choice.

[philos3]

Yes, Blades are great. I use one in one of my current games. I know some dislike the bard stronghold with the theater but it is a lot fun (to me).

EDIT: Oops, forgot this was BG1, Still when your character gets to BG2 the fun continues.

[Mleko]

Originally posted by philos3:

Yes, Blades are great. I use one in one of my current games. I know some dislike the bard stronghold with the theater but it is a lot fun (to me).

EDIT: Oops, forgot this was BG1, Still when your character gets to BG2 the fun continues.

But when I would like to play as bow Blade in later game I will be still usefull? Whether I will have good spells or anything? Because I'm thinking if not then Archer is better way when I would like to use bow.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Originally posted by Mleko:

But when I would like to play as bow Blade in later game I will be still usefull? Whether I will have good spells or anything? Because I'm thinking if not then Archer is better way when I would like to use bow.

It's a long way from BG1 to ToB. Just start without thinking of late BG2. A blade will not be a good archer in late BG2 but will still be useful with a lot of spells, HLA, and going melee.

If you like bow, take an archer (or a fighter), play BG1, and then decide what to do at the beginning of BG2.

[Mike Garrison]

Bards were definitely role-playing classes in early D&D. They just sounded cool, and probably were great fun to role-play, but they were never terribly good from a pure min/max kind of perspective.

Since Baldur's Gate does not nearly give you the freedom to role-play that an actual game of D&D does, I think they are kind of a distraction.

[Dorok]

This tries make a quick summary for Bard in D&D:
https://dungeonsdragons.fandom.com/wiki/Bard

But for D&D video games, there was no Bard in Pool of Radiance, just Fighter/Cleric/Mage/thief. And Pool of Radiance 2 only added Paladin and Ranger.

I haven't the links, but from what I read all D&D editions screwed up Bard, only 5e achieved something. Same for multi class, only 5e achieved something coherent and flexible.

Moreover, min/max is no way a pure video game player aspect, but it's heavily in PnP focus. There are many articles on what are the stronger 5e classes and builds. That's what seems have killed 3.5e a lot too much garbage, and Pathfinder with ton of total derail of total OP holes.

[Sin]

Originally posted by Mleko:

Originally posted by philos3:

Yes, Blades are great. I use one in one of my current games. I know some dislike the bard stronghold with the theater but it is a lot fun (to me).

EDIT: Oops, forgot this was BG1, Still when your character gets to BG2 the fun continues.

But when I would like to play as bow Blade in later game I will be still usefull? Whether I will have good spells or anything? Because I'm thinking if not then Archer is better way when I would like to use bow.

One of the strongest picks in the BG series is a fighter mage.
Bard - Blade is a "bad fighter mage" which sounds terrible, but is awesome.
You level much faster due to the bards XP table and you become one of the best tanking characters in the second game.
First game you get to dabble in some magic and melee or range as per your choice. The kit itself is designe for melee, but it does not stop you from taking a bow. You are just as strong as any other bard when it comes to ranged combat.

The crux here is:
Bards don't come into themselfs during BG 1 - they are not bad but they don't become "great". In BG 2 it takes knowledge (or reading spells) and some time but a non blade bard is a decent magical tank, a blade bard is among the top 3 tanking classes in the game and has some offensive capabilitys. If you are playing on normal difficulty the offensive potential is more than enough even before enhancing magic. With Enhancing magic it goes to the moon.