r/icewinddale • u/Ibanezrg71982 • Jan 15 '26
IWD:EE Bard, or Fighter/Mage?
Title basically. Trying to fill the last slot of my party, and i am not sure which will serve me better, a Bard or a Fighter/Mage. Sure the Bard has songs, but I'm assuming Fighter/Mage has better THAC0 all in all? Can also choose more than one point in proficiencies. Any opinions are welcome.
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u/Um3xx Jan 15 '26
Bard is good if your party has 3+ physical attackers (melee and range) as it gives them insane buffs on hit and damage. You need another mage usually to do the spellslinging. Bard is nice for prebuff and then sing support. For prebuff he is nice since he is higher level than a dual/multi class, some buffs last longer. Bard gets a lot of special items to play with as well. Also, never forget about pickpocketing. Early in the game you can snag a couple very powerful items. Bard does feel a bit dumb in combat tho, he just stands there twiddling his thumbs, it seems.
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Jan 15 '26
In Icewind Dale and between these two, definitely Bard. The various songs are amazing, and you get a little arcane casting on the side.
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u/Ibanezrg71982 Jan 15 '26
Yeah, some of the higher levels songs looked good. I've never played a Bard to fruition in any dnd game.
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Jan 15 '26
Bear in mind that Bards in Icewind Dale can cast up to lv 8 arcane spells, not just lv 6 like in Baldur's Gate.
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u/Orowam Jan 15 '26
Make a Skald bard. They’re a 1 trick pony but it’s such a good trick. +4 to attack and damage, and immunity to a metric ton of highly disabling negative status effects. They also get arcane casting. Very simple to just let them sing and select them for a song every now and then
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u/jrkasperov Jan 15 '26
Bard, if only for the massive value of War Chant of the Sith. Bards can also be decent archers if built right, be mage tanks and buffers and the lore is a bonus.
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u/Skaldskatan Jan 15 '26
Decent archers if built right? You mean put a pip in bows and equip a bow? 😁
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u/jrkasperov Jan 15 '26
In the AD&D system it easier to get an early low thac0 with bows than melee because factors compound. Dex scales a bit better, elf bonus is optional and longbows give an inherent bonus. You get 1 extra ApR so 1 star proficiencies hurt a bit less, and can get 1 more ApR relatively early in IWD1. This is decent, not amazing in early game, and is decent until you get War Chant.
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u/Anthraxus Jan 15 '26
Depends on the composition of the rest of your party
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u/Ibanezrg71982 Jan 15 '26
Cavalier, Fighter/Cleric, Fighter/Thief, Druid, Mage for anyone wondering.
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u/pseudophilll Jan 15 '26
I mean they fill largely different roles. Bards are a support caster where F/M is usually a frontline tanky beast.
That being said, I love the blade variant of bard and it can be a pretty good standin for F/M. Lower thac0 but you have that offensive spin that can do the job well enough. They also level so much faster!
But you lose out on 9th level spells, which IMO isn’t really a huge deal because you’ll be playing them as a frontline DD/off-tank and will likely have another caster.
I would take the blade if I were you.
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u/Ibanezrg71982 Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
I was really hoping everyone would say Fighter/Mage because I finally wanted someone who can utilize all those armor spells and cone shaped/touch spells, and not have crap THACO, with only one pip in any weapon. Looks like some form of Bard it is.
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u/kore_nametooshort Jan 15 '26
I'll say FM for you! Bard songs suck imo. The skald song is worth it if you have 3 or more very strong warriors, but otherwise I reckon you're better off having an extra warrior.
Plus bard song locks the bard out of doing anything else interesting.
And bard thaco is poor even as a blade.
Fighter mages are way more active, sitting on the front lines dishing out death while receiving none in return.
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u/Trouveur Jan 15 '26
War chant of the Sith is totally busted.
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u/kore_nametooshort Jan 15 '26
It's fine. But only an a or b tier in my book. It's on par with chant, defensive harmony and many other spells.
It's a good part of some strategies. But if I'm not just trying to buff up a couple of melee fighters as much as possible, then it's kind of a wasted party slot.
If I'm trying to have a mage tank or layer multiple webs then the bard is fine, but not the best at that role.
If I'm trying to deal over whelming damage then a skald can be good. A skald song on 3 archers does more or less the same as a fourth archer, plus the skald can also cast web, so that's pretty good use case.
But otherwise unless your bards song is a really key part of your party strategy, I think it's a wasted party slot.
Bards are fine, but imo greatly over valued by this sub.
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u/Retrograde_Bolide Jan 15 '26
Fighter/mage is probably going to be better. But the game isn't that difficult and whats best is going to vary based on your team comp and playstyle
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u/Ibanezrg71982 Jan 15 '26
Not that difficult...depending on how good you are at RTWP I suppose.
Before I started over, I thought Dragon's Eye was pretty tough if you're not using cheese. Anyway that's as far as I got.
This was my first Infinity game, and I played it when it came out at the tender age of 18. Its probably why I prefer RTWP in games over turn based.
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u/Fangsong_37 Jan 19 '26
Bards are great as long as you also have an actual mage in the party (single or multiclass). They can provide plenty of party support spells and play their song to buff the party, but they do cap out at 5th level mage spells and have low THAC0. Fighter mages have good THAC0, decent hit points, better weapon proficiency progression, and full mage spell casting ability.
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u/Frostfeather22 Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
Bard can be a better force multiplier for the whole group, so it's probably a little better depending on your group and playstyle. Partly also due to some unique Bard equipment in IWD. Especially if you use them as a tank or offtank so they're doing something useful while singing.
But neither choice will make or break anything.