Bard v Wizard

As Dante posted a few days ago, we have reached the end of Keep on the Shadowfell, and having reached this goal, those of us running multiple characters have to decide which one would continue adventuring while the other retired.

First Contender: Rynna the Bard

Rynna was introduced into our campaign in our “test a PHB2 character” phase.  Rynna is a Virtue of Valor Bard, so she’s up in melee, inspiring everyone to greater glory.

Why She Should Stay: With the Bard’s Leader role, Rynna offers some nice bonuses that help everyone in the party, as well as granting temporary hit points and healing surges.

Why She Should Retire: Our party also includes a Warlord, who offers similar bonuses.  Plus, we’re a very melee-heavy party; with the Avenger, the Barbarian and the Warlord all melee fighters, we’re pretty well covered in the “hit you with a sword” category.  Both of these elements have, at times, made me feel as if Rynna was superfluous, which detracts from my enjoyment as a player.

Second Contender: Eaerenel the Wizard

Eaerenel is a fiery sort of Wizard, because Fire is always a fun way to eliminate your enemies.  She likes to stand back and toss her spells from a safe distance, and she takes great delight in killing off multiple minions with a wave of her wand.

Why She Should Stay: Eaerenel has proven very useful in the “hurting a lot of the bad guys at once” role of Controller.  And her cantrips and rituals have been very helpful on more than one occasion.

Why She Should Retire: Like most Wizards, once her big spells are exhausted, she’s not as effective in combat.  And when all you can manage is a couple d4 damage as the end of the battle nears and your companions fall to the big bad’s attacks, you feel pretty miserable.

And the Winner Is…

Eaerenel the Wizard.  Her fiery nature is a good complement to the rest of the group and its dynamics of combat, and I have a lot of fun playing her.

In the end, my determining factor came down to how much fun I had playing each character.  I always had a good time with Eaerenel and her fire spells.  Rynna just wasn’t as much fun this time around, and I think it’s because her skills were too similar to those of other characters.

So Rynna will retire from this group, quite happy to have enjoyed a rousing good battle against evil.  She’s too much of a free spirit to stay tied to one group for too long anyway, so she’ll take a short break from adventuring to write her songs about this experience, then move on to something new.