I haven't used a bard yet in the game...seems like a Mage kind of character to me...

What are they useful for? Has anyone played Final Fantasy Tactics? It had a bard class in there that was 1/2 way interesting...

Bards are useless in BG unless you have DSotSC were you actually get decent equipment for a bard. I might do a bard character later on just to see what they are like although I will have DSotSC so I will get all that neat equipment to use.

I actually shouldn't say they are useless because I have only played with the NPC bards in BG without expansions.

Bards are useful if you want a backup spellcaster who's also a decent archer. For instance, if you have a Specialist Mage in your party, you want want a Bard who can cast the spells that are off-limits to your Mage. Meanwhile, the Bard can be a good back-row character, using a Longbow and Halberd with the same THAC0 as a Thief.

In BG1, Bards have to be buck naked if they want to cast spells.
In BG2, the higher-level spells that Mages can learn (and Bards can't) make Bards look like fools in comparison.

Bards are useless in BG1, unless you really want to have another spellcaster that can use a bow. This isn't essential however, as you can get through the game without a mage. It just isn't as much fun. [img]smile.gif[/img]

*SPOILERISH*
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There are only two NPC bards in the game, which you probably won't bother with. Certainly don't waste your time rolling one up.

Bards are good for this: [img]graemlins/whipitgood.gif[/img]