In general, the Slith are not social creatures.
Their markets are open to any who wish to do business, but they seldom
seek out customers, or anyone, for that matter."
Hmmm... seems they wouldn't do what a bard does... go out and seek an audience/customers...
Regarding it's power. I agree that Sliths would be more powerful that Elves or Humans. And on the same scale as Avians. But still worse than Dwarves.
Avians are secretly the best bards in the game, with correct perk, cabal and alignment choices. Dwarves/Duergar are decent bards, and stronger than elves/humans/gnomes, but they would be weaker than autotrip, and so would avians.
Bards need a crap load of Hitroll to be effective in meele. Which gives dwarves an double edge.
Half true. Luck is more important for most of their skills than Hitroll.
As 21 STR means more +2 hitroll and +1 damrol over 20 STR races.
And the ability to focus more in hit/dam gear since they resist magic naturally.
Not even mentioning the HP disparity. And the super-easy vuln, the inability to handle weapons that make use of that Hitroll, combined with the low mana (too low for prolonged engagements considering the duration of a few key battle spells, and the reliance on several songs being cast mid-battle in essence turns dwarves into less effective throw-tanks)
Auto trip is what makes sliths interesting. But that does not makes them any more dangerous than slith thieves.
Entirely false. Slith theives don't get a built in curative, huge defensive boosts, AoE spells, pugil, or the possibility of a fourth attack
One could argue that you could steal flight consumables. But that is extremely easy to prevent vs a class that lacks pry or a reliable way to put you to sleep.
It is never hard to steal from people, it just takes patience. Giving them the ability to camouflage would mean even fewer safe havens.
Bards need a somewhat long preparation before combat. And their buffs are very short lived. It is common knowledge that bards are weak.
It is a class designed to look good, but with weak legs. More of nuisance than a PK power.
Bards suffer from a few things. Their mechanics are clunky at best, and they are extremely unforgiving of lag (hence the strength of avian bards). They're mana intensive in prolonged fights, and don't have a reliable way to lag an opponent. However, giving them that ability to autotrip would BREAK them. Uppercut, autotrip, vuln-damage throw, pugil, with all the -AC and saves they can obtain with their buffs is scary. No other melee class in the game can get as much -AC as they can without a shield.
They have the same protections as a DK
False. They have more.
Their only offensive buff is what? That battle song
False. Sun Tarot. Which actually puts them at more.
And then there's the weapon proficiencies. Sword, Dagger, Mace and Staff.
Not even spears. With both Parry and Dual parry relying so badly on the knowledge of your opponents weapon, that even being able to see you will mostly only dodge.
And unlike thieves, with zero bash avoiding perks.
First true statement in your post. Still irrelevant, though.
No. If someone thinks they would roll a Watcher slith bard and roll over the Player base they would be mistaken. The first giant warrior they meet is going to bash their heads in.
If anyone rolls a Watcher bard of any race they'll get rolled. Tribunal is way better, arguably the best in every situation.
And about your idea that bards don't get superbuffed minions... I'd try that one out yourself before saying it. Your songs benefit all group members, to include NPCs.
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