Bard (Hellfire)

The Bard is one of the two unfinished classes in Hellfire, the other being the Barbarian. She could only be played after editing the Command.txt file in the Hellfire folder. She uses the Rogue's graphic, but could dual-wield weapons in lieu of a shield.

Characteristics

She has balanced attributes, so the bard excels at nothing. Possessing medium amounts of the three core attributes of Dexterity, Strength and Magic makes them weak at all of them. High dexterity is only good when using bows, but the bard's special skills make sword use more beneficial. Bards have the ability to wield two one-handed weapons. This combination of two one-handed swords is not as powerful as it seems. It is only slightly better than one two-handed sword. The only benefit is that there is the potential for an additional two magical modifications on the second item. Equipping a Civerb's Cudgel along with a good sword (preferably of Haste) will make the Bard a very powerful Melee character since the +200% damage bonus on Civerb's Cudgel applies to the whole damage and not just weapon damage. A fatal flaw in this character's design was that she had the melee attack speed of the Rogue. Rogues were never intended to be melee attacks, so they were given a slower melee attack speed than the warrior. The only saving grace of the bard's melee ability is her high dexterity. Having higher dexterity as well as being able to equip a second weapon for extra to-hit makes the bard more suited for Civerb's Cudgel than the warrior or barbarian, who will need to get the extra To-Hit from jewelry when wielding it. By hitting the enemy more frequently, she has the potential to stun lock her enemy. Because her magical ability was only second to the sorcerer, she could effectively use the attacking magical spells of Chain Lightning and Fireball. This made her effective in casting. However, the problem with bards is that they will never be as powerful or as specialized as all of the other classes.

Skills

Bards have one of the most useful skills in Diablo I. Bards can identify magical items without using scrolls of identify. This skill stopped the drudgery of going back to town, to get Cain to identify it, and selling magical items of little value. Compared to other classes' skills which seemed to actually hurt the hero rather than help them, identify is very beneficial.

History

Seekers of the Light once were common enough in Khanduras, but as the times changed, signs of this ancient organization have long since faded. Their legacy remains as many innkeepers remember the days that a Seeker entertained in the common room. Posing as common female bards, they would regale over countless adventures of the most daring kind, of great battles between darkness and light, and of magic, mystery, and intrigue. But one always knew that the bard was no ordinary bard when one saw the muscles toned from years of training, and the weathered hands from countless swordfights.

Searching for the Light, the Seekers always fought on the side of justice, swearing to end evil once and for all. Their purpose is to find darkness and destroy it, and once this was been done, they shared their tales to all that would listen. The woman warriors attracted many followers, and many was the father that wept as his daughter went to become a Seeker, for he knew that he would most likely never see her again. In recent days the Seekers of the Light have fallen into decline as King Leoric grew mad and many Warriors left to wage war in the North. Those that remain still travel the lands, telling tales, and serving the Light. They come to Tristram hoping to rid the world of evil once and for all.

Years of intense training make the Seekers exceptional at swordplay, as they are capable of wielding two weapons at a time. Yet unlike others, they prefer a balance of all skills, rather than concentrating on simply one trait, allowing them to conjure powerful magics as well. With the knowledge of the ages stored in their minds from hearing the endless tales of other Seekers, young bards learn to immediately identify any item that they find, no matter how obscure or foreign.