Oct 26, 2010 -- 9:28PM, Dielzen wrote:

Fuel: A Bard|Ardent

"gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire"

The Build in Action

Fuel gives his party energy.  His primary attack is Energizing Strike (Ardent 1) which gives a nearby ally temporary hitpoints (THP) equal to Level/2+Cha mod.  In addition, Fuel has on-demand powers that grant saves and real healing, in addition to two normal minor-action heals.  In addition, whether Fuel pops the Action Point, or his ally does, all allies gain several benefits.  Top that off with Bard powers to use when you can't get into melee range and a variety of zones to empower your allies.

Leader Duties

Healing
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• Two baseline Minor heals (1 Bard, 1 Ardent)
• Rewarding Strike (Ardent 7) -- Heals all allies that hit the target (Augment 2)
• Vitality Transfer (Ardent 19) -- Heals all allies when a target drops to bloodied or 0
• Corona of Battle (Ardent 25) -- Sustainable zone of Regeneration
• Reactive Surge (Endurance 10) -- Spend a surge when bloodied
• Song of Sublime Snowfall (Bard 16) -- Sustainable zone of healing

Temporary Hit Points (THP)
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• Our primary attack grants one ally Level/2+CHA THP
• Virtue of Valor -- Grants one ally/round 1+Con THP (6+CON at 11, 8+CON at 21) if they bloody/kill something, also gets shared with you thanks to a PP feature

Saving Throws
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• Focusing Strike (Ardent 1) -- Grants 1 person a save (Aug2 to grant all allies within 5 a save)
• Ode to Sacrifice (Bard 6) -- Transfer a save ends effect to another person
• Song of Liberation (Bard 23) -- Ends movement-impairing effects on nearby allies

Nova Empowerment/Enabling
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• Four Warlord MC feats -- Shift 1, Bonus damage, bonus defenses, to all allies when they AP, THP if they miss
• War Chanter PP -- When you AP (and you can spend 2/enc if you want), all allies gain bonus to attack/damage for one round
• Several daily powers that grant bonuses to hit/damage, many are zones or sustainable
• Our Mantle of Elation grants neaby allies CON bonus to damage on Opp Attacks

Setting-Neutral

This build works in any game world, and can gain from the addition of various world-specific options.  In Eberron you could take Mark of Healing (although this should technically be limited to halflings).  In Darksun you can add a theme, I favor Noble Adept or Templar.  In the Forgotten Realms you can pick up a background that opens up a particular skill you want, or other benefit, like +1 initiative.

Mostly Item Neutral

I'm posting this build with a full complement of magic items, to show you how it should be ideally equipped.  None of the items are crucial to the build's function, but there are a few of higher priority, I'll address these.  What follows are what I consider the "integral" items, any item in the CB summary but not on this list is still of great use, but not required to make the build function at top level

• Shared Valor Chainmail (3/8) -- Gain half the THP you grant an ally
• Shield of Fellowship (15) -- When you gain THP, grant an adjacent ally that amount of THP plus 3 more (combo this with the armor to bounce THP all over)
• ANY Songblade Longsword -- You need one to utilize the Bard Implement powers, but any will work.  I favor Piercing, Lilting and Echoing

Thanks

As always, Auspex7 for being my sounding board, 133 for pointing out the shield, and various members of the ##4eCO chat who helped with item selection and offered fine-tuning opinions.  Also, a shout-out to LDB for assistance in naming the build.

Sorry, trying to wrap my head around this.  First of all, for the life of me, I can't see where the 8th skill comes from.

Level 1: 4 + Human Bonus = 5
Level 8: Insightful Leader (Intimidate Bonus Skill) = 6
Level 10: Resourceful Leader (*Athletics Bonus Skill) = 7

Where is number 8?

Level 10 Feat brings me to my second question.  In the Level 30 breakdown, you have athletics listed as an untrained skill.  Does this mean that at level 10 you meant for the build to pick up Acrobatics rather than athletics?

Thanks!  More questions to come, I'm sure.