Welcome the Skald to the ranks of musical combatants. This Bard subclass focuses heavily on performing "Songs of Battle", this new form of Bardic combat combines song, spell, blade, and arrow into multi-step combinations that culminate in a finisher.
Other user's assetsAll the assets in this file belong to the author, or are from free-to-use modder's resources
Upload permissionYou are not allowed to upload this file to other sites under any circumstances
Modification permissionYou must get permission from me before you are allowed to modify my files to improve it
Conversion permissionYou are not allowed to convert this file to work on other games under any circumstances
Asset use permissionYou must get permission from me before you are allowed to use any of the assets in this file
Asset use permission in mods/files that are being soldYou are not allowed to use assets from this file in any mods/files that are being sold, for money, on Steam Workshop or other platforms
Asset use permission in mods/files that earn donation pointsYou are not allowed to earn Donation Points for your mods if they use my assets
Author notes
This author has not provided any additional notes regarding file permissions
File credits
This author has not credited anyone else in this file
FIX - Battle Rage was not muting martials as intended.
Version 1.0.1.1
FIX - Treasure table missing some formatting that caused certain Skald vendor items to not appear in game.
Version 1.0.1.0
FIX - Typo while refactoring the Ranged Combo 2 ability. It was missing it's Force damage. CHANGE - Increase level scaling damage dice for levels 4-12. It starts at 1d8 at level 2 and increases to 4d8 by level 10. This is a net increase in damage output at levels 4+ and a slight nerf at levels 1-3. Which is what I intended.
Version 1.0.0.9
CHANGE - Scaled back the damage on the Ranged and Melee combo abilities. All abilities will scale with level but they lost their little extra bump (1d8 on Adagio and 2d8 on Scherzo). Overall you will end up doing more damage than you would have as you level up you just wont do as much at lower levels. If you feel too weak after this change I will consider changing the scaling a bit. CHANGE - All Adagio abilities now cost an Action Point instead of a Bonus Action Point CHANGE - Added additional dmg bonus that scales on CHA
Version 1.0.0.8
FIX - Song of Battle: Dazed and Confused - song was getting stuck in an endless loop.
Version 1.0.0.7
FIX - Song of Battle: Built For Speed - effects not applying to group members. FIX - Song of Battle: Built For Speed - missing status icons, names, and tooltips
Version 1.0.0.6
FIXED - English localization file was broken.
Version 1.0.0.5
Several things fixed and changed in this version. FIXED - Warhorn: Gods of War Arise wasnt granting Bardic Inspiration. FIXED - The single target spell heal was not completing the combo. FIXED - The 2h and versatile Axes had a bad description for the meleecaster ability. CHANGE - the level 3 slow song now only reduces movement speed. CHANGE - Changed ALL songs of battle to be auras rather than one shot spells. This means that the effect will be centered on the Skald and will stay with them wherever they go. With this change I am considering reducing the range of the song since you can move to where you need it to be. I am working on making a visible aura boundary, but these VFX files are giving me trouble. I should have it by the end of the week.
Version 1.0.0.0
Full release. Added 2 new spell finisher heals at level 6. One is single target, one is AoE. Made numerous changes to the code to clean it up and get it through Norbytes validators with flying colors.
Version 0.0.4.6
Main version - Updated casting costs to be more reasonable..
Alt modification - Released alt mod to revert back to just using Bardic Inspiration (on request), requires Main version.
Version 0.0.4.5
Sigh. Sorry. There was an extra ) that broke the ranged attacks. I need to take a break. Theres a bug with the first Song of Battle container where the spells are in the container and also outside it. That will be fixed next version. There is also a bug with the casting cost for Blade Ward, it will also be fixed next version.
Version 0.0.4.4
Changed level 3 Songs of Battle to do passive effects rather than damage/healing. The enemy passive is Slow, the friendly passive is Blade Ward. This brings them more in line with the other Songs and also makes them more balanced. Added LevelMap Values to the melee/ranged movements elemental damage (force). This allows the force damage portion to scale with your level. Level 3-6 1d8, Level 7-10 2d8, Level 11-12 3d8. Changed the way melee/ranged attack rollls are calculated to bring them into balance and to make them like other similar abilities in vanilla BG3.
Version 0.0.4.3
Minor work on the Skald Bows, they still werent showing their names right. Removed spell slot cost for melee/ranged finishers. Spell slot costs remain for spell finishers.
Version 0.0.4.2
Fixed a typo on the names/descriptions on the new bows.
Version 0.0.4.1
Added skald bows. Also available at vendors in Act 1-3.
Version 0.0.4.0
Big update. Added Skald Axes to the game, they can be found on vendors throughout Acts 1-3. They come in all three flavors; Handaxe, Battleaxe, and Greataxe. Added Skald Inspiration as an alternate resource to spend on Skald abilities. No more running out of Bardic Inspiration. Added a new legendary Skald Drum which is available from a vendor in Act 3. Added level 13-20 dummy progression. I plan to populate those with actual progression at some point. Made various improvements to the code.
More info in my 0.0.4.0 post.
Version 0.0.3.2
Adjusted ability use costs when dual wielding, it was costing too much Bardic Inspiration for the Scherzo moves. Added new subclass icons. They probably wont show up until I get them added to Plus Subclasses, if you use Plus Subclasses. If you don't then you should see it on this update.
Version 0.0.3.1
Another big update. Some balancing. Added new rage warhorn mechanic (read sticky).
Version 0.0.3.0
Another somewhat large update. Made small changes to the progression. Moved the Skald Drum to level 5. Added "Skald Battle Focus" (aka War Caster) at level 6. Named the level 6 and 9 Songs of Battle.
Version 0.0.2.1
Fix for level 3 Songs. They were applying improperly.
Version 0.0.2.0
Added level 9 and 12 Songs of Battle. Fixed mutilple typos and other mistakes.
Version 0.0.1.8
Fixed a typo preventing Initiate level (level 3) Songs of Battle from firing. Added a unique summonable drum.
Version 0.0.1.7
Big update. Added level 6 progression that comes with a new pair of Songs of Battle and adds 3 new spell combos.
Version 0.0.1.6
Further improved chain detection logic. Fixed damage type on ranged attacks. Added new status effects and emulated Swords Bard flourish on Adagio and Scherzo. Fixed a couple typos on tooltips.
Version 0.0.1.5
Improved chain detection logic. Fixed casting costs for dual wielding. Chain statuses should now properly remove after completing the movements.
FIX - Battle Rage was not muting martials as intended.
This mod is no longer being maintained, please get there-implemented Skald standalone class The standalone Skald class mod does not require any other addons or frameworks. Please carefully follow the directions in the sticky on the new page before installing.
If you prefer being a Bard Subclass you are more than welcome to stay on this version. Be advised that I will only be doing bug fixes on this version from here on out, no new content.
So what does a Skald do ?
The Skald has a unique combat system that consists of a song mixed with attacks of different types to form a combo. At level 3 you will get the first two Songs of Battle (which are also known as Overtures) and a selection of melee and ranged attacks and finishers that I call movements. You will also get one war horn ability that is not part of the combo and is used to cast a party wide Bardic Inspiration. Other war horn abilities come later as you level up.
You can choose to use other Bard abilities on your subsequent turns after starting a Song of Battle. It will be a balancing act for you to decide what you want to do each turn. Do you rush through your combo as quickly as possible to apply a finisher? Do you let the song run the full 10 turns while lazily weaving in movements so you can make full use of the 10 turns of passive AoE effects?
I recommend Concentration Failsafe to help you avoid interrupting your own concentration. A lot of Bard spells require concentration and I find that I often end my songs prematurely by using an ability that requires concentration.
This is how the combos work...
Overture: Song of Battle - Choose from one of two different AoE effects that either hinder enemies or help friends. The song runs for 10 turns or until your concentration breaks or the combo is completed. The song must continue to run in order to keep the movements unlocked and available. - Costs 1 AP, 1 BAP, LVL1 Spell Slot, and 1 Skald Inspiration at level 3
Adagio: Ability 1 - A melee, ranged, or spell attack that may affect more than one target, do additional elemental damage, and/or apply a status effect (prone/daze/fear/etc). - Costs 1 BAP
Scherzo: Ability 2 - A melee, ranged, or spell attack that may affect more than one target, do additional elemental damage, and/or apply a status effect (prone/daze/fear/etc) .- Costs 1 AP and 1 BAP.
Finale: The Finisher - A melee, ranged, or spell attack that could be single target or AoE. And could either do big damage or big healing depending on your level and what movements you currently have available. - Costs 1 AP, 1 BAP, and 1 Skald Inspiration. Spell finishers also cost a spell slot in addition to the other costs as they will generally hit harder.
Progression
Level 3
Song of Battle: Shield Wall - AoE Blade Ward
Song of Battle: Hand of Doom - AoE slow
Warhorn: Gods of War Arise - AoE Bardic Inspiration
Medium Armor Proficiency
Martial Proficiency
Shield Proficiency
Level 4
Summon Skald Drum - a special drum with bonuses for the Skald
Action Surge - same as Fighter ability
Level 6
Song of Battle: War Ensemble - AoE Bless
Song of Battle: Gates of Delirium - AoE Bane
Level 7
Runes To My Memory - places a rune on your companions, selectable by role - this works alongside the next ability
Warhorn: A Fury Divine - activates the rune and grants special abilities depending on their role
Level 9
Song of Battle: Built For Speed - 2 turn AoE full haste followed by 8 more turns of enhanced combat abilities.
Song of Battle: Dazed and Confused - AoE Daze
Level 12
Song of Battle: Victorious March - AoE Rally
Song of Battle: Darkness Within - AoE Blindness
I'd like to thank niroz85, munintarn, CYCL0NIC, GGGGGIIIIILL and Fargol who were all especially helpful with their bug reports and ideas. Even though I haven't been able to work all their ideas in, I hope that continued development will bring more great things in the future.
