Armor
For bards, I generally recommend either light chain (LC) or leather armor. I used to be all leather, but my repair bills got to high to fast, and because I found this great pair of chain gauntlets I had to use. I recomend the lighter armors because we can train away more of the hinderence of these than the others, and with all the other things most of us carry, we don't need the extra burden.

I don't recomend light plate (LP) because that armor type is far and away too underdeveloped. It is almost impossible for a novice to put together a full suit of LP. If and when GMs ever really expand LP into a more useable armor type, I will gladly consider recomending it.

The proposed new reqs include the call for a second armor skill, starting at circle seventy-one. Even I'll admit that it's not that much of a problem, though I can see absolutely no reason for it whatsoever. There are a few ways to deal with it. You can go the full out, have two sets of armor method, but I can't in good conscience recomend such an ongoing tactic, it's just too much burden and effort for too little reward, but it could work if you train one steaadily up to a point, then switch. You can do the armor + shield technique, which should work fairly well. Due to changes in the nature of armor skills, you can put together a piecemeal combination of armor together and learn multiple armors at once (ie, LC torso with plate accessories).

Weapons
Bards are required to train in two weapon styles from the start. I generally recomend begining with a melee and a ranged weapon. A great number of the bards I know opt for either Medium Edged (ME) or Heavy Edged (HE) as a primary melee weapon. I'd recomend either, both for ease of use as a begining combatant in relation to damage done, and for the availability of both equipment and teachers.

If finding teachers isn't as important to you, I'd further recomend Light Edged (LE), Light Blunt (LB), and Medium Blunt (MB) as melee weapon styles for consideration. This is not to exclude other melee weapons, but rather as general advice for beginers. The majority of Bards tend more towards being light fighters than heavy sluggers (though I know a fair number of slugging bards, and am always grateful to have them at my back when the time comes). Those melee weapon styles I haven't mentioned are generally more difficult to practice and learn to handle well, thus lending themselves more readily to experienced combatants (even more OOC than most of this- those familiar with DR combat) to learn and use.

There are two groups of ranged weapons, launchers and thrown. Launcher weapons work on an escelating scale, weapons that have the fastest load time do the least dammage, the hardest hitting taking the longest to load. Launchers are further broken down into slings, bows, and crossbows. Of all the ranged weapons, I recomend Short Bows (SB), Longbows, or Light Crossbow (LX). These three are generally the easiest to start with, due to ease of use versus damage done.

I don't recomend starting with thrown, even though Light Thrown (LT) is one of my primary weapons, because LT has had a number of changes of late, making it a more difficult weapon to start with. Also, due to the lodging effects of edged thrown weapons, it can a much more expensive style to start. True, LB/LT weapons such as bolas negate this, but I don't really care for them that much.

Magical Devices
The proposed newer requirements call consistantly for magical devices (MD) skill training. There are a number of items that can be used to practice this.

Runestones are particuarly usefull for early training, and are generally plentiful. Ask around and I'm positive you'll find someone with an extra to give away, and there is almost always one on a shelf or in a chest for novices. At first, you will only be able to focus on the rune [focus my rune] to practice seeing what kinds of force lines the stone is imbued with. As you gain skill, you can try to manipulate these lines, changing the percentage of force is traveling through them. [focus my rune #]

There is some minor dispute as to the utility of cambrinth items to Bards. Plans are currently in place for us to be able to use cambrinth items to help power our enchantes, but until then we can only release mana stored in cambrinth is with a runestone or memorized scroll spell. However, this does not make them useless to us. Charging cambrinth teaches both harness and MD. As for being able to charge again, it is a simple fact that all cambrinth leaks, they are generally empty when you wake up. A rule of thumb is that the more mana is held, the faster it will leak. So a ring charged with only 5 mana will barely leak at all, but an orb filled with 100 mana will leak like a sieve. To use camb, [charge my (camb item) #], like [charge my ring 5]. To release the mana with a rune or scroll spell, [focus my (camb item)] and then cast the spell.

Gaethzen items are very similar to cambrinth, and are great for teaching bards. They charge exactly like cambrinth, but are used as a magical light source. To use their light, [focus my (gaeth item)] then [rub] it.
Warning! Do not charge a gaethzen item after focusing on it, or it will explode.

Instruments and Tools
Here there is a lot of conflict. What instruments should a novice bard start with? There are two main sources of contention on this point.

The first is as to what instruments should a bard learn. Currently, the reqs state at least two instruments up to 20th circle, and for the first few circles those two instruments are restricted to Strings and Vocals. The proposed req changes call for an indefinite extention of the two instrument skills. So, while a stringed instrument is a definite requirement for the first few circles, after that any others may be used for the two instruments.

Some bards only see the need to practice with a couple instruments. Others try to keep all instruments about equal. Myself, I keep two instruments signicantly higher than the others, but still practice the remaining two. Though, I must admit, Winds is currently the most difficult instrument type to learn consistantly, and is thus many bard's worst instrument skill. This is due largely to the fact that there are no Winds enchantes at the moment. Hard to say what is in store for the future though. The second point of contention is as to instrument difficulty. Bardlings should start with the easiest instruments and work their way up, but what are those easiest instruments? This is something we are all not clear about. For example, all merchants selling tambourines say they are the easiest percussion instrument. However, the current...

Song Scrolls
Song scrolls are scrolls that have songs written in bardic language upon them (ie, tablature). There is a wide variety of songs available on scrolls. You can usually find a few on the shelf in the performance hall of the Crossing guildhall.

Before I get into how to use song scrolls, a few things about them must be said. First, if you want to study a song scroll on the shelf, make sure you take it with you. Only one person at a time may study a song scroll. If you start to study a scroll, then leave it on the shelf before fully memorizing it, no one but you can study it further. Thus, unless you take it back and finish studying it, it is useless to all other bards.

Another thing you have to know about song scrolls is when and where to sing them. There are any number of places where doing so should not be done. The number one place to never sing a song scroll is the practice hall of any Bard Guild. For years, if someone started a scoll in there, no one else could practice instruments. This has changed, but that was only one reason not to do it. The practice hall is there for us to congregate and well, practice. Taking the oportunity to try out a new song you have written, or a performance of another bard's you are working on, is a totaly acceptable thing, just try to ask first. There may even be times when things are quiet and uneventful enough to ask if you can sing a scroll song, but should you do so make it clear that you are asking to sing a scroll song, rather than an original work.

Some might complain that this stance prohibits practicing vocals. However, the simple truth is that studing scroll songs teaches vocals more than singing scroll songs. (And yes, I rolled up a novice bard fairly recently to test this.) Thus, there really is no reason not to abide by this simple rule. The only other places where song scrolls are forbidden is in areas where there is too much scroll already, such as any area where Empaths are working to heal and/or Clerics are working on the dead. Pretty much everywhere else is fair game.

To memorize a song scroll, you will need to [unroll my scroll], and [study my scroll]. You will need to study a scroll a number of times to fully memorize it. With high scholarship, that may be as few as two, but for those first starting it can easily be a dozen or more. You must wait at least ten RL minutes between studies of a song scroll. Otherwise, all you get is a headache. [Roll my scroll] and stuff it in your pack between studies, do not put it on the shelf yet. Once you've fully memorized a song scroll, and you will be able to clearly tell when you have, go ahead and roll it up and put it on the shelf, or trade off, etc. At this point you can see what song scrolls you have memorized with [song scroll], and sing a scroll song by [sing (song name)], like [sing dam kiss].

To see what song scrolls are available and where, go over to my Instrument Catalog, Song Scrolls.

General Equipment
A list of some things you should pick up at your earliest convenience

Backpack -- The carrying container you start with is just too small for hard use, upgrade to a backpack from Berolt's or better.
Gem Pouch -- These are free wherever gems are bought, just [ask (NPC) for pouch]
Bundling Rope -- Also free, wherever skins are bought, just [ask (NPC) for rope]
Lockpicks -- No apologies Markhor, they should all learn some before leaning on professional locksmiths.
Carving Knife -- An extremely usefull item, and easy to get. You should get one before you leave the building you first arive in. If not, ask an elder to kill a madman for you and take theirs. It'll be better anyway, since it's less likely to need repair.
Skinning Knife -- Used to skin creatures, this is the best at it. However, in a pinch any LE will do, such as the carving knife above. Don't try to skin with a sword or whatever until you are very skilled.
Gweth stones or a Mortar/Pestle -- Mech practice! At least until things are split up, then I'll have to rewrite this.