Bard new player guide
This is a page for the Bard specific page for the Newbie Help Guide. Whenever possible, overlap with the general guide should be minimized.
For details, rules, and the other pages involved, see Category:Newbie Guide Contest.
Start
Welcome to the Bard's Guild!
Bards in Elanthia are often referred to as the "Jack-of-all-trades" guild, and for good reason. Whether you envision yourself as a performer, a fighter, a crafter, a mage, or even just an alcoholic - the skills and abilities that you will gain as you progress as a Bard will cater to any, or all of these paths.
Where is the Guild?
To locate the Bard's Guild in either Crossing or Riverhaven, use DIR BARD and follow the directions until you arrive.
To join, ASK <guildleader> ABOUT JOIN twice.
I joined the guild! Now what?
After the guildleader finishes his or her initiation speech, they will suggest to you that you ask them about Magic to learn more. So let's start there...
Magic
You can use the SPELL command to bring up a list of the spells that you have learned, an indicator of how many spell slots you have available, as well as an assortment of other options regarding spell stances and other casting options. Let's just focus on the spells that you have and the amount of spell slots for now, though.
If you've just freshly joined the guild, you should notice that you currently know no spells, and have 1 spell slot available. This is a perfect time to ASK <guildleader> ABOUT MAGIC.
Your guildleader will provide you with a list of spells which are available to you. You may ASK <guildleader> ABOUT <spell name> SPELL to learn more about any of the spells which they have listed.
Upon joining the guild, you should have the following spells available to you for learning: Caress of the Sun, Faenella's Grace, Eillie's Cry, Aura of Tongues, and Glythtide's Joy. Congratulations, you have your first major decision to make as a Bard. Which spells to choose?
Bards are fortunate enough to have one spell which will not cost you any spell slots, and will allow you to begin your magical training immediately - Caress of the Sun. It is recommended that this be every young Bard's first spell, so when you are ready, head to your guildleader and CHOOSE CARESS OF THE SUN SPELL.
If this is your first time attempting to use magic in Elanthia, it is a good idea to play around with this first spell a bit, and get a feel of the timing and nature of your newfound magical abilities. To do so, all you need do is PREPARE CARE, wait until you feel fully prepared to cast your spell, then CAST.
It should be noted that there are several types of spells that you will encounter as you progress: standard, ritual, battle, targeted, and cyclic. Caress of the Sun is a cyclic spell, which means that once you cast it, it will last until you either RELEASE it, or run out of mana to fuel it. You can learn more about the various spell types through the general Magic page.
As you move around with this spell active, you may notice that it will drain more or less of your mana depending upon your present location. You can use the PERCEIVE or CONCENTRATE command to take stock of how much mana is available to you in any given room. The higher the mana in that area, the easier the casting will be on your attunement.
Okay, I get it, I can cast spells. Now what?
It is recommended that you take some time to read over some of the general magic and casting information via the Magic page to further familiarize yourself with the basic tenets of spellcasting, as well as the options to utilize magical devices such as cambrinth in your training.
As for Bard-specific magical knowledge, let's move on to...
Bardic Spell Progression
If you haven't already, hop on over to the Bard Spells page to familiarize yourself with what spells are available to us, as well as the layout of our spell tree.
For your first twenty circles, you will receive 1 additional spell slot each time you advance within the guild.
Assuming you're still first circle, and have already picked up Caress of the Sun as your first spell, you should find yourself with 1 spell slot still remaining, and the option to choose between the following spells: Glythtide's Joy, Aura of Tongues, Eillie's Cry, Faenella's Grace, or Breath of Storms.
Since all of these spells have a learning cost of only 1 spell slot, you are able to choose whichever one you prefer. As you weigh your options, there are three primary factors to keep in mind:
- What is the spell's function, and is this something that I want/need?
- This is the most important part of planning your spells. Your magical abilities will help to define your character's strengths and weaknesses, potentially ease every day activities within the realms, and can help to shape and enhance your roleplaying opportunities as well.
- What other spells will this grant me access to down the line?
- Once again, refer to the spell tree on the Bard Spells page to plan out which spells you may also want as you progress. While one spell may not be your cup of tea, it could be the key to unlocking access to a much more desirable one in the future.
- What skill(s) does this spell train?
- This is something that will only need to be taken into consideration at lower levels, as eventually you will have enough spells to cover every type of magic. There are five major magical skills that you will utilize in your training, Augmentation, Warding, Utility, Targeted Magic, and Debilitation. Caress of the Sun will train the Utility skill, so it is a good idea to pursue spells that will encompass the other four types at early levels.
Example:
This is not intended to be an outline of how to shape your character, but rather a simple illustration of a Bard's potential spell progression through their first ten circles.
| Circle | Spell | Slot Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Caress of the Sun | 0 |
| Faenella's Grace | 1 | |
| 2nd | Glythtide's Joy | 1 |
| 3rd | Breath of Storms | 1 |
| 4th | ||
| 5th | Aether Wolves | 2 |
| 6th | Eillie's Cry | 1 |
| 7th | ||
| 8th | Hodierna's Lilt | 2 |
| 9th | ||
| 10th | Eye of Kertigen | 2 |
By the 5th circle, this Bard has access to five spells, and the ability to train all five of the magical skills as noted above. By the 10th circle, they have accrued three more useful spells, as well as having unlocked access to many more options within the Bardic spellbook for themselves as they further progress.
Outfitting Your Bard
Training
Other Resources
There is a plethora of helpful information for Bards throughout this Wiki, so here are some quick links to help ease the search.
Bard Specific:
General Magic:
General Combat:
General Crafting:
(Note: Work in progress. Feel free to edit/add/rearrange as necessary. I can also be reached via AIM @ lucidandsober if anybody wants to get in contact for ease of collaboration, etc.)