Singing Sawbones

By Ralsu



The Singing Sawbones is a Bard
7/Cleric 3 who dedicates his entertainment skills to healing his party
members. He learns how to mend wounds and remove abnormal status
effects as a cleric. His bard training provides him with the gift of
Bardic Music and a few crowd control spells that can bail out a party
beleaguered by foes. The progression is cleric at Level 1, bard for
Levels 2, and cleric again for Levels 3 & 4. The Singing Sawbones
returns to bard for Levels 4-10.

Character Snapshot

Race: Dwarf



Starting Abilities:

Str 14

Dex 10

Con 10

Int 12

Wis 16

Cha 12 (+2 at Levels 4 & 8 = 14)



Hit Points: 98



AC:
14 (Base 10 + Dexterity modifier 0 + Mage Armor 4)



Damage Reduction: 1 (shield)



Saves (Ability modifiers
added):

Fort: 5 (7 against poisons or spells with a Fortitude save)

Ref: 6 (8 against spells with a Reflex save)

Will: 11 (13 against spells with a Will save)



Class/Race Features:


+2 constitution, -2 charisma: All dwarves are stout but can
behave
brusquely until befriended.



+2
saving throw bonus against spells: Dwarves have an innate
resistance to magic spells.



+2 saving throw bonus against poison:
Dwarves are hardy and resistant to toxins.



+2 bonus on Search checks: The
Stonecutting ability gives a dwarf a sixth sense about stonework.



+4 bonus on Balance checks:
Dwarves are exceptionally stable on their feet.



Dwarven Waraxes as Martial Weapons:
Dwarves do not consider dwarven waraxes to be exotic weapons.



Bardic Music: At Level 1, a
bard gains the ability to use songs to soothe the wild beast
(Fascinate) or motivate her party to greater deeds in combat (Inspire
Courage: +1 vs. charm and fear effects and +1 on attack and weapon
damage). At Level 3, she can
sing to provide a party member with greater success in using skills
(Inspire Competence; +2 to all skill checks). At Level 6, she can even
use song to turn a foe into an ally (Suggestion). The bard's ability to
sing is based on her Perform skill and, if planned incorrectly, she
could find herself unable to sing that new song.



Turn
Undead: Clerics can
channel the divine power of their beliefs into
energy to turn or destroy undead. The Singing Sawbones can use Turn
Undead (Charisma modifier +3 times) per rest period.



class="pn-content-page-body"> style="font-style: italic;">Weapon and Armor Proficiency:  The
Singing Sawbones can use all simple weapons, all armor, and shields
(except tower shields).



Feats (in the
order selected):

Empower Healing Spell, Mental
Toughness, Combat Casting, Toughness



Skills (includes Ability
modifiers, Enhancements, and armor penalties):

Concentration 17, Diplomacy 15, Heal 12.5, Listen 9, Perform 13, Swim
4, Tumble 6



Combat:

BAB +7



Attack and Damage: no specials



Spellcasting: DC 13 + Spell
Level for cleric spells; DC 12 + Spell Level when using bard spells



Spell Points: 558

Level 1 Bard Spells:
Hypnotize, Charm Person, Otto's Resistible Dance, Expeditious Retreat

Level 1 Cleric Spells Prepared: Cure
Light Wounds (CLW), Remove Fear, Doom, Summon Monster I style="font-weight: bold;">OR Divine Favor

Level 2 Bard Spells: Heroism,
Hypnotic Pattern, Soundburst, Rage

Level 2 Cleric Spells Prepared:
Cure Moderate Wounds (CMW), Lesser Restoration, Remove Paralysis

Level 3 Bard Spells: 
Cure
Serious Wounds (CSW), Remove Curse



Enhancements:


Energy
of Music VII, Improved Empower Healing I, Energy of the Zealot III,
Dwarven Faith III

Detailed Progression by Level href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=Site-Graphics&id=Dwarf&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="a dwarf"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/Site-Graphics/Dwarf.thumb.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 85px; height: 150px;" align="right">

-Character Level 1: Start as a
cleric. CLW will help you get through
the Goodblade quests even if you have to solo them, and your career
path is etched as a dedicated healer. By the time you emerge from The
Low Road, you should be almost Level 2.

• Class trained: Cleric
• Hit Points: 28
• Spell Points: 160
  
• Spells Prepared: CLW, Remove Fear, Summon Monster I
• Skills: Concentration x4, Diplomacy x4, Heal x4
• Feat: Empower Healing Spell
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot I, Improved Empower Healing I,
  Skill Tactics I, Skill Recovery I
  

-Character Level 2: Pick up
bard here to gain access to Bardic Music and
a very powerful crowd control spell in Hypnotism. The quests you do at
Level 2 will throw throngs of kobolds at you. Hypnotism will help slow
down the pace for your party. A well-placed cast of Hypnotism will save
you some spells points by reducing the number of times you have to cast
CLW.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 34
• Spell Points: 216
  
• Spell Learned: Hypnotism
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Perform x3,
  Tumble x1
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot I, Energy of Music I, Improved
  Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith I
  

-Character Level 3: Moving back
to cleric allows you to prepare a 4th
divine spell. Even though will only just now earn your first bonus to
Base Attack Bonus (BAB), Bardic Music will add a little boost to make
up for it. You should be able to melee as effectively as a pure bard or
cleric of the same level.

• Class trained: Cleric
• Hit Points: 42
  
• Spell Points: 279
• Spells Prepared: CLW, Remove Fear, Summon Monster I, Doom
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1
• Feat: Mental Toughness
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music I,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith I

-Character Level 4: It is
important to train as a cleric here so that
you can pick up CMW as you move into the tougher Market quests. All of
the spell points gained from Enhancements should allow you to use
Empower Healing Spell to great effect. Summon Monster I will be
losing it effectiveness against tougher foes, so you may
benefit more from Divine Favor. Place your Ability point into Charisma.

• Class trained: Cleric
• Hit Points: 50
  
• Spell Points: 332
  
• Spells Prepared: CLW, Remove Fear, Divine Favor, Doom, CMW,
  Lesser Restoration, Remove Paralysis
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music I,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith I

-Character Level 5: You'll be
focused on bard from here on out. Charm
Person will allow you to contribute a little damage to the party while
removing a foe at the same time. It is important that you place two
Skill points into Perform here so that you can gain the Bardic Music
Inspire Competence; your song could help a rogue disarm a major trap!

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 56
  
• Spell Points: 373
• Spell Learned: Charm Person
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x2, Tumble x1
  
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music II,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith II

-Character Level 6: With this
bard level comes another Level 1 bard spell. The choice of Otto's here
means that it will last long enough to be effective. It will help your
party face off against tough foes that resist your Charm and Hypnotism.
Pick up Combat Casting for your Feat to ensure your precious heals do
not get interrupted.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 62
  
• Spell Points: 414
  
• Spell Learned: Otto's Resistible Dance
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x1, Swim x1, Tumble x1
• Feat: Combat Casting
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music III,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith II

-Character Level 7: You finally
learn some second level bard spells.
Heroism will boost damage for its recipient, and Hypnotic Pattern is a
good emergency crowd control spell.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 68
  
• Spell Points: 455
  
• Spells Learned: Heroism, Hypnotic Pattern
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x1, Swim x1, Tumble x1
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music IV,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith II

-Character Level 8: You learn
your last first level bard spell, but you'll have little left to choose
from that you don't already have access to as a cleric. Grease will be
pretty ineffective this late in the game, so I would choose Expeditious
Retreat as a "just in case" reserve. For your second level bard spell,
Soundburst is a fun crowd control spell if you get surrounded. Place
your Ability point into Charisma to increase your modifier to +2. This
will make your bard spells harder to resist, and important thing as
your foes become fiercer.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 74
  
• Spell Points: 496
  
• Spells Learned: Expeditious Retreat, Soundburst
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x1, Swim x1, Tumble x1
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music V,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith III

-Character Level 9: You gain no
new spells this level, but you can gain a new Bardic Music: Suggestion.
This is a powerful weapon that can help turn a monster to your side for
a brief time, but you'll have to place two Skill points into Perform to
be able to use it. Selection of Toughness as a Feat adds hit points to
your total at a point where death is always just a room away.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 91
  
• Spell Points: 537
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x2, Tumble x1
• Feat: Toughness
  
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music VI,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith III

-Character Level 10: You learn
a fourth Level 2 bard spell here, as well as 2 third level bard spells.
Rage is a good choice for the Level 2 spell because you can use it on
party members to get extra damage from them. Level 3 spells should be
CSW and Remove Curse.

• Class trained: Bard
• Hit Points: 98
  
• Spell Points: 558
  
• Spells Learned: Rage, CSW, Remove Curse
  
• Skills: Concentration x1, Diplomacy x1, Heal x1, Listen x1,
  Perform x1, Swim x1, Tumble x1
• Enhancements: Energy of the Zealot II, Energy of Music VII,
  Improved Empower Healing I, Dwarven Faith III

Notes: class="pn-content-page-body">Unfortunately, DDO does not follow
pen-and-paper rules about Skills and multi-classing. More precisely,
Heal will still be a cross-class skill on levels you take in bard. The
finished product of the Singing Sawbones is a bard who focuses on
healing above all else. Training three levels as a cleric does not
reduce your BAB, and you wind up with the benefits of learning your
first two healing spells automatically. This means you can use those
precious bard spell slots on a few crowd control spells to keep your
party healthy longer. Feats and Enhancements are almost entirely geared
toward increasing your pool of spell points or the effectiveness of
your healing magic. The resulting high number of spell points enables
the Singing Sawbones to use the Empower Healing Spell Feat liberally.
The Feat also gives you the potential you to be more effective and
efficient than a pure bard with access to Cure Critical Wounds.