1. The damage chart is great, but so is damage of 9x40 mage avatars or any 9x40 pumped up avatar. Yet all bards get from 9x40 is their powered up cry of the avatars.
I know that some songs, such as sanc for body and reign, are already affected by charisma, but not others. Basically, anything that's not affected by charisma is removed from the "perks" list or is heavily diminished.
Let's try to test these assumptions of mine:
0. Charisma helps cry, sanc for body, reign, oghams, reprieve, luck gods, hymn of an artisan, haunted dirge, eye of the beholder.
1. Bards rarely use blast spells in groups (even if the mob is alone in the room).
2. Bards rarely use songs that require charisma in groups: sanc for body and reign are situational - still helpful, ofc. I have seen dirge used maybe 3 times, 1 myself. I don't see bards playing oghams either.
3. 15-20 charisma is enough to make the bard save against most mobs, you don't need 35 charisma to do it.
So what does it leave us with? Bards rarely use their charisma in groups, yet it's their primary stat. Imagine thieves rarely using stab dam or circle damage in groups.
This brings us to songs that should be also affected by charisma:
- gods of war, 3d most used song (tho if we sum up gods and lions, they come up first)
- song of the mist
- knight's blessing/prayer
- brothers in arms/valor, the 2nd most used song
- lion chorus - 4th most popular
- dreams of the castle
- rina cruinne
- march of the heroes, the most used song ever
- fare thee well, #5th most popular
For the last 5, you don't even have to be a bard to sing those - that's why anyone sings rina or march, and doesn't even ask the only bard in the group to do it.
Cry is the 6th most popular song.
Song statistics:
http://www.slothmud.org/wp/live-info/song-statisticsEssentially, find a way to boost those songs with scaling charisma.
2. Regarding gods of war and stab.
You could create the same sliding scale for stab bonus (as far as I know, it gives about 3-4 damage before multiplier atm). You could grant 1 dam that helps stab every 5 charisma or something, nothing to kill for, but it'll give bards a reason to wear charisma eq instead of -saves for blasting *with wind* in stab groups.
Though, I'll welcome any song that helps the stab as much as gods and arms do, and is cheaper.
3. I didn't say bard was weak, so maybe you are talking to Yang.
Bard does, however, lack a single-target damage move that'd make it more useful in solo, but bard isn't a monk or a thief, so there can't be any physical skill. Maybe a 15 avatar skill that'd allow the bard to focus an area song at a single target?
Such as:
- a skill that forms
a parametric array that allows sending the waves precisely. Expert singers can do it and not damage everyone in the room:
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythb ... ing-glass/You can name it a resonant frequency or resonant focus.
- a complex bard instrument,
an acoustic lense:
Scientific American wrote:Instead of using glass and mirrors, the researchers designed an acoustic lens made of 21 rows of stainless-steel spheres, with each row having 21 spheres.
a 5x40 forge, +1 charisma, -15% mana cost, -3 person affected, single-target.
I wonder, if you could set the number of ppl affected to 1 with an instrument, that'd achieve the goal.
- a held low item
a parabolic reflector, basically a deep dish
6x40 & 40ba to use, +5ma, single target.
More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon"Extremely high-power sound waves can disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation. "
My concern is that if it's only an instrument, it won't be known to new players, who would like to know, how is it to play a bard from the help files.