The primary restriction on joining the Bard's Guild is in who may become one. Only Wood Elves, Half-elves, Humans and Vah Shir may join the Bard's Guild. Once you've chosen what race to play, be sure to assign your extra points to whatever attributes you deem important.
While it would seem that a Bard's strength may lie in his charisma and ability to impress others, that is not the only prime requisite in this guild. Bards must also be fit and swift, so Strength and Dexterity are also important to a Bard. Other than those three, it is up to the individual Bard to decide what is important.
Humans who join the Bard's Guild may start in either Freeport or Qeynos, while Wood Elves must start in the forest city of Kelethin. Half-elves, enjoying the best of both worlds, may start in any one of those three towns. Vah Shir, naturally, begin their lives in Shar Vahl on the moon, Luclin.
Regardless of which town you start in, it's important to locate your guild and turn your letter over to your guildmaster. Once you've done this, and recieved a guild tunic, and small token experience bonus, you can begin on your life of adventuring as a Bard.
The most important thing to remember as a beginning Bard is that you are NOT a tank. Bards do not gain a lot of hit points, and without spells to back you up, you will be quite weak in the beginning. Take it slowly, and carefully, and try not to worry if you die., just get back to your corpse, restock, and jump back into it. Rats, small snakes, wolves and skeletons all seem to be local to the three starting towns for Bards. All of these make good beginner-kills, and most carry some kind of loot, which can be sold for additional profit, and believe me, you'll need every copper.
Unlike spellcasters, Bards do not start with any songs - you must earn the money for your first (and subsequent) songs. This means a lot of adventuring, or even Questing. Beginning Bards in Qeynos have the advantage of two Quests originating in the Bard's Guild, one for beginners, and one for someone slightly more experienced. Kelethin adventurers can take up Sylia's Quest, which requires level 3 or so, while as near as I can tell, Freeport residents are left out in the cold, Quest-wise. Jharin recruits in Shar Vahl have a nice series of quests that result in some armour and a new drum. Adventurous young Bards starting in any of these three cities of Norrath may wish to help the League of Antonican Bards by delivering mail. This requires picking up mail from one of the Bards that hang out in nearly every region, and delivering it to it's destination, recieving some gold and experience for each delivery. Regardless of how you go about it, it's important to be well-prepared for your adventuring.
Bards suffer few limitations on weapons and armour, being able to wear even the heaviest of plate, and wield nearly any weapon, except for bows and two-handed ones. (Note: Although Bards can use a few two-handed weapons, we can never train or gain experience in them.) This significant advantage means that the only hard part is finding something in your size. Since Bards can carry a shield, it's a good idea to get one as soon as you can.
Later on in your adventures, you will need to carry several instruments, so carrying capacity WILL be an issue. Backbacks, sacks and boxes are good to acquire, in addition to other important necessities. Elven and Half-elven Bards can get around the need for light for the most part, giving them a significant advantage over their Human brethren. If you are playing a Human, I recommend picking up a fire-beetle eye as soon as is convenient. They don't weigh much and don't have to be held to work.
Armour is a serious consideration for a Bard, all throughout your career. In the beginning, you are likely to only have cloth, perhaps patchwork. Eventually, though, you will want to upgrade - leather, banded, chain, even plate and beyond. This will all require deep thought in regards to the weight, cost, and effectiveness of each, as well as the apparent impact on roleplaying for each. Kitasi and Luti each had something interesting to say in regards to whether or not Plate Mail is appropriate for a Bard.
Finding a good weapon is also critical to success as a Bard. Fortunately, many creatures, such as skeletons and orcs, carry weapons which you can pick up and use, after relieving the previous owner of them, of course. Although these weapons are rusty, they can be sharpened, slightly improving the attack speed. Many towns have people offering to sharpen weapons, or you might even wish to take up blacksmithing on your own. Either way, some recommended weapons for beginning bards:
The Bard at higher levels, although capable of soloing, is still really designed for group travel. Most of the songs and skills a Bard gains are of benefit when in a larger party, and although this might mean gaining experience slower, the reduced incidence of death makes it all worthwhile.
One of the greatest assets an experienced Bard can bring to a party is the wide variety of skills and abilities the Bard can learn over time. In addition to the skills listed below, Bards are granted all of the trade skills (Baking, Brewing, Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Jewel Crafting, Fletching, and Pottery), at first level, and additional languages at higher levels.
The Bard has the potential to be one of the most interesting character classes to play in EverQuest, combining some of the more unusual skills and spell-like abilities of several classes. Although the Bard is not intended to ever be the master of any one thing, his all-around usefullness makes him an invaluable ally, and a really fun character to play.
