Bard guild

BARD GUILD HELP
----------------
A life as a bard is a very interesting and entertaining one indeed.  Bards
enjoy  knowing about all manner of things, and the best way to learn about
the world around you is to explore it!  Walking, flying, or breathing
underwater, the bard  will find a way to see that which he has not set his
eyes on before. So be prepared to get out your lute, warm up your voice,
and
sing a merry song as you explore the world! 

WARNING TO NEW BARDS : One of the requirements for levelling past level 15
in the Bard Guild is completing a set number of Level Quests, up to 14 for
level 20. Level Quests are quests assigned to a certain level. They must be
completed BEFORE that level to count, once you reach that level, it is too
late. Do not miss too many of the easy first few Level Quests, or you may
find reaching the requirement of 14 difficult. You will find a board 2
rooms north of the Stage, or in many fine bars across the 6 worlds. There,
you can "list" all the quests in the game and get "info" on any particular
quest.
The first quest being at level 5, don't level up at all until you've taken
a look at it and given it a try! When in doubt, ask on "bard say", and
above
all else, have fun with it!

BARDIC SKILLS/SPELLS (4-15)
---------------------------
PLAYING:  The most basic skill for you as a bard.  It is an automatic skill
but  effects just about everything you do.  The higher you train it the
more
benefits you'll see in other skills.

SINGING:  Like playing, it effects your other bardic skills/spells.  You
will not see as direct a result from this skill in your early levels, but
be
sure to train it while training is free.

ATTACK:  Most likely you will be doing more attacking with your songs than
with your hands. Not to mention that the lute is a two-handed held item and
you cannot attack while holding it anyway.  Useful when you have no choice
but to solo, but experience can be better spent once this skill is at 70.

EPITAPH:  Bards' way of cleaning up corpses.  Random chance of getting bard
points when using, but basically its main use is to keep corpses from
rising.

LIGHT/DARK:  Makes the room brighter or darker, check your race to see what
conditions you need.

GRACEFUL EXIT: Allows you to flee without panicing, which means you'll be
able to calmly go in the direction you chose.  Prevents you from running
into an even more dangerous room and also prevents you from losing bard
points.

REVERB: The first/only attack spell available until sonic strike at level
13.  Will be your main means of offense.  A quick and effective spell at
lower levels.


ESSENCE EYE:  Shows you how many rounds left on your spell casting.  Good
to
know when soloing and watching your hps drop.  The higher your ability in
the skill the more likely you are to see each round of casting.

MONSTER LORE: Shows you more about a monster than consider does.  You will
gain bard points when you are the first to lore your target.  So lore
everything you see as you explore, you never can tell what some other bard
may have missed.  A great perk for being the first bard into a new area,
since you'll be getting bps for both exploring and for loring!

PRACTICE:  A wonderful and vital skill that you find yourself using often. 
It converts EPs into SPs.  The higher your playing skill the more Spell
points you will gain.

WATER BREATHING/FLIGHT:  A Must-Have(TM) for every bard.  It insures you
the
ability to explore everywhere, underwater and in the air alike. Obviously,
races that can already do either of these things do not need to cast them
on
themselves.


MANA SAVE:  Reduces the spell point cost of failed spells.  The higher your
percentage trained the more likely you are to save on failed castings and
the more mana you will save.

HEROISM:  Essential spell for soloist and partying bards alike.  Increases
hit points (200max) and boosts str, int, wis, and agi temporarily.

SHMOOZE:  Increases your charisma, since bards are loved by all.  Helps
when
training/studying and when selling.  Hey, who doesn't want to look better
anyway?

SONIC STRIKE:  This is it.  The main offensive power until Sonic Blast at
level 20. Study it well.

RESONANCE BURST:  Area attack.  Useful when you have run out of spell
points
or in a room that doesn't allow spell casting.  Note:  needs a target even
when in combat and can't be used in melee.

HEARTY LAUGH:  Can startle your opponents and interrupt their
skills/spells. 
Uses eps though, which are useful for turning into sps with practice. 

SCREECH:  Area spell. Good for partying as it will hit every monster in the
room and will also help you keep your sps around a bit longer.  Same effect
as resonance burst except uses sps instead of eps.

MINSTREL SIGHT:  Tired of casting light/darkness a million times just so
you
can see in one room?  Well this spell is the answer.  Allows you to see a
variety of different things including all lighting conditions.

REMEDY:  Here is a great skill.  Recovers around 200 hps with each use on
the target. A great partner for the Heroism spell.

SPEEDSONG:  Train this skill to its max.  Can halve the casting time of
your
bard spells if trained well enough.  You MUST be wielding the lute for this
skill to work (the lute also has a bonus to this skill that you can embue).


MASTERS AND APPRENTICES:
------------------------
Any full level 20 Bard can take new Bards on as apprentices. HELP MASTERS
and HELP APPRENTICESHIP will explain all about it. Now, for the
apprentice's 3 spell and skill bonuses, it is usually recommended to boost
the 2 vital Bard skills, Playing and Singing. The last bonus is most often
given to Reverb, and switched to Sonic strike when the apprentice gains the
spell at level 13. But since we Bards are all about fun, it isn't rare to
see apprentices asking for bonuses to Seduce instead. Finally, Masters can
give their Apprentices titles (HELP TITLE), so make sure they get a good,
colorful one, we do have an image to uphold!

GETTING USED TO THE BARD GUILD:
-------------------------------
One main thing that sets the Bard Guild apart from any other guild is our
system of getting dues.  Unlike barbaric fighters that must craft their
corpses into warning signs or the enslaved fallen that must tirelessly work
to increase their fellblade, Bards must simply EXPLORE.  Explore and keep
exploring, then explore a little more when you're done.  Adventure, look
around, travel, and quest.  You will need to explore 45% of the retroverse
in order to advance to guild level 20.  You will also need to complete 14
levelquests to advance to guild level 20. Check in the nearest pub for a
list of all level quests available (Note: there are 9 quests completed with
exploring alone).  The easiest way to explore at first is to go to each
city
on each planet.  Walk up and down every street on the map and into every
store/building you can find.  Also ask your guide about newbie areas on
every planet and explore every room you can find.  You must be in verbose
mode and must be able to see (ie: can't be too dark) in the room in order
to
get the explore points for it.  Use 'Show Summary' to check how many new
rooms you have gotten each session, and 'score' to see your total
percentage
explored.  

It is commonly considered a wise choice to store up experience and horde
cash before advancing past newbie levels, although it is not a requirement.
I recommend saving at least enough experience and cash to advance quickly
to
level 18 and study the WORLD TRANSPORT spell. This will make travelling
much
easier after losing newbie transport devices.

THE AMAZING LUTE, BARD POINTS, and YOU!
---------------------------------------
Type 'instrument help' to get the basics on your lute.  Use 'instrument
status' to see what bonuses you have given your lute.  Ignore the fields
that weren't listed under 'instrument help' (ie: weapon class, hit bonus,
lighting value, regen) as these cannot be changed.  The lute is an
instrument, not a weapon.  It is wielded in both hands and cannot be used
in
melee.  The stat bonuses available to the lute are its main attraction. 
Using your bard points (you can see how many bard points you have
acummulated by typing 'bard points') you can embue your lute with different
bonuses.  You gain bard points for every new room you explore. (Note to
reincs: There is currently no way to get credit for rooms explored before
you were a bard) There is also a chance you will gain bard points when
using
monster lore or any bard song.  You can LOSE bard points when killing
another bard or when fleeing from combat (check out the skill Graceful Exit
to avoid this problem) though it is very rare.

NEWBIE AREAS
------------
Since the major way of gaining experience points is exploring, and bards
have the luxury of gaining dues from it as well, you should focus MORE on
exploration than on fighting. You can 'ask guide about newbie areas' when
you are on different planets in order to explore there. Don't forget
hurting
another bard can get you in trouble! If you happen to get the urge to
pierce
some eardrums, here are some suggested areas:

CRYPT
Gnome Pyramid
Kobold Area
Utopia

PERDOW
Goblin Lair
Newbie Village
Monastery
Warrenhome (don't kill bards!)

RAJI
Quarry
Sco'land

SOSEL
Drum-Filled Jungle
Kanku Village
Monk Training Grounds

WELSTAR
Azalin's Lodge
Fallen Fort
Necro Camp
Tsoda Pools

WYSOOM
Artist Retreat (don't kill bards!)
Trimer Area (lv 9 and under)
Warehouse (under merchant guild)

THE PLANETARIUM:
-----------------------
The planetarium is a great way to begin to learn the layout of the worlds. 
Inside are modles of all 6 of the worlds floating around the sun in their
orbit.  Simply navigate around the orbit of the planet you wish to see
until
you come upon the world. Then read map # (numbers range from negatives to
posatives and go with the elevations of the world) and read map legend. 
The
planets can also be asked questions about themselves.

GOOD PARTYING COMBOS:
---------------------
Here's the best part.  Bards make good party mates for any guild!!  There
is
no  align-restriction, we don't need corpses for dues, and have a good
variety of attack and helpful spells.  So be sure to speak up and volunteer
yourself for parties. Exploring alone can be dangerous you know!

SELECTING GUILD COMBOS:
-----------------------  
After reaching guild level 20, you will be ready to join secondary and
tertiary guilds. Type 'choices' to get a list of those a bard can join.  Of
the secondary guilds, Entertainer is made specifically for Bards.

Entertainer also gives you access to Songsmith, Spellsinger, and Harper.
These guilds are also designed exclusively with bards in mind. They offer
bonuses that complement your abilities. However, they are not easy to join,
because only the most well-travelled are accepted into their ranks.

If you choose something else, be sure to check if the guild is hermetic or
spiritual and also to check your racial spiritual and hermetic maxxes.

SEND OFF:
---------
A basic understanding of the guild does not compare with experience.  Go
out, test your skills and spells, and determine how to use the bard guild
to
best complement your character.  Most importantly, go have fun and pass
that
fun onto others (even if they don't seem to want it, it's like pulling
teeth
sometimes).  Remember, every new room explored, new battle fought, and new
trip to the Judgement Fields is simply another story to tell and another
song to sing!