Provocation

Training

Good Bard Knowledge

Bard Masteries can be used to train Musicianship and other bard skills.
A musical instrument obtained from a Carpenter with less than 80.0 skill or an NPC-bought instrument adds no benefits.
A GM Carpenter created instrument adds 10% to your success chance.
A Slayer Instrument adds 20% to your success chance if the creature type matches, or removes 20% if it doesn't match.
With 100.0 Musicianship, you will have a 100% chance to pass the first skill check when Provoking or Peacemaking. With higher than 100.0, you will have an even better chance, but this may actually slow your training in the skill.

Method 1

I have and always will use the boat method for training provoke.

Line up your boats so they are all next to each other lengthwise. So now you can open the plank for all 3 and walk across. Get on the middle boat and move it back about 3-4 tiles. Stand on the middle and put your targets on separate ships.

0 - 30: Purchase Training from an NPC bard or provoke birds, rabbits and other low-level wildlife
30 - 40: Cows, Hinds, Sheep, most farm animals
40 - 65: Bulls, Scorpions, Great Harts, Polar Bears, Gamans
65 - 90: Giant Beetles (Best gains)
90 - 100: Hiryus work great to break the 90 skill barrier.
100 - 110: Cu Sidhes

Use a Crystal Ball of Knowledge to test the difficulty of each creature. Switch between NPC-bought, Slayer and Exceptional items to get the instrument that yields "optimal" difficulty. After 90, you will hit the skill barrier that so many skills have today. A workaround for this is to use a slayer instrument that is not for the type of creature you are targeting. This will lower your displayed skill rating 20% on the successful use on a creature if it is not the type of your slayer. The Giant Beetles will take you to 110.0 using this method.

Method 2

30 - 70: Use boats with Grizzly Bears
70 - 90: Go to one of the Plague Beast spawns near water, such as the swamp east of Britain or far west of Trinsic and place a boat. Move the boat out a little bit from the coast and lure 2 plague beasts to the edge of shore. Provoke them and they will fight as well as continue to make more and more spawn for you to gain on.
90 - 120: Move to Destard and work on Drakes, Wyverns and Dragons. This is VERY DANGEROUS as you can easily bring too much spawn towards you.

My thoughts, provocation is one of the most powerful skills in the game. At 120 provo and gm music, you have 100% chance to provoke 2 dragons. At gm provo and music, you only have a 60% chance. Provocation in combination with peacemaking is amazingly powerful, as creatures simply sit there until you provoke them.

Method 3

0 - 30: What? You can't afford to buy up to 30? OK, fair enough. Just head out to your local forest, Jhelom Farm or the Delucia cows area and provoke away, you should get there in no time.
30 - 40: Damwin Thicket in The Lost Lands will see you doing well sending headless against those strongbats, some of the tougher animals will get you gains too. If you want to move onto something with a bit more challenge, it's time to hit the cemeteries for those skeleton and zombies (watch the tougher undead)
40 - 50: The cemeteries are the place to be, wherever the lower level undead roam. Also those pesky Orcs (the footmen, watch their big bully commanders and elite warriors) and the annoying creatures that chase you around swamps will all help you gain at this level
50 - 60: Those cemeteries still look good, but aim for the wraiths, spectres etc now, and gains should keep coming. Also keep up with those orc camps, forts and caves, the swamps still look good, covetous level 1 has a good variety (but keep away from the gazers for now) and Despise Level 1 and 3 (although not earth el to earth el) and the ogres on level 4 should keep you amused for a while.
60 - 70: Covetous level 1, Despise Level 4 Trolls, Shame Level 1 & 2, The Ophidian Fortress and Terathan Keep (lower level Ophids and Terras are safest), Orc Forts, the City of The Dead, Fire Level 1and Ice Level 1 and even the Jungles. Just remember stay away from the upper level creatures, or at least provoke them onto small creatures, and you have a lot of variety here.
70 - 80: You can continue to work all the areas in the previous level, just go for the tougher creatures to keep the gains going. As well as those locations, add also Titan Valley and Wyvern Isle.
80 - 90: Titan Valley, Wyvern Isle, Shame Level 4 and 5, Wrong, The Lich Forest at Yew, The Trinsic Passage to the Lost Lands, Covetous level 2, Wind, Fire Temple, Ophidian and Terathan strongholds and Despise Level 4.

All of these places have good gain potential, just remember that many of the weaker creatures you are now just too good for, and you need to set them against the bigger creatures for best gain potential. Also, the sweet spot for gains is beginning to inch up, so start working the easier creatures around 90, and leave it till 100 before you work the hardest ones. Of course if you just want to have a good time, go try them all out and decide for yourself.

90 - 100: Time to start working the bigger stuff, although the best range for gains starts to climb from here, so you can keep working some of the previous level (creatures which are easier to provoke). Sure, you can go play with those lesser creatures that are yours to command, but you only learn my stretching your boundaries, so the time has come to train in places where the balance between who wins and who dies is always in doubt.

Wind and Hythloth Level 2 Daemons are not too hard, Fire Temple will keep you busy, and Despise Level 4 should see you touring Ogre Lord Isle for good gains in relative safety - also stop by the Titans there for some variety.

100 - 110: Well, you're a Grandmaster. Congratulations. What? You want to be Legendary? Sure, why not. The creatures of Brittania will bow down before you, although 1 or 2 may still wish to debate the issue when you ask them to do something. If you are determined on this course, wear your flameproof overalls - it's hot out there.

From 100 to 120, you can enjoy the challenge and provoke harder creatures, but best gains will see you staying basically in one or 2 spots. This is because the sweet spot for gains goes from about 60% at 100-105, up to around 85-90% at 115 - 120. So if you like, you can stand in Destard Felucca all day and provoke those dragons one after the other all the way to legendary. At least until 110, this is really the best place to be with a GM instrument most of the time.

110 - 120: If you're feeling a little squeamish, you can still get good gains on the 90 - 110 level spawn, although the easier ones will start to slow down after 110.

Go visit the Rotting Corpses and their undead mummy friends on Covetous Level 4 or in Ilshenar, Nox Tereg near the Humility shrine or in the Wisp Dungeon will take you all the way if you like. The Blood Dungeon will be heaven. Get those Daemons, Blood Els and Succubi into a big melee and you should have fun. Central Dungeon has all sorts of variety - I'm sure you can find some Blood Els or Lich Lords to keep you amused, or getting the Poison El and the Ki-Rin to play nicely could be good for you. Of course the Pass of Karnaugh will provide hours of endless entertainment, with just about every high level creature you can find. And finally, sorcerers dungeon has some interesting creatures for you to practice your skills on.

At this level, the world is your Oyster - go crack it open, see if you can find the pearl, or just get your fingers squashed. Good Hunting.

Method 4 "Great Provocator In The Boat"

30 - 60: Stand on a boat in Minoc and Provoke a Great Hart onto your Cu-Sidhe
60 - 65: You will get good skill gains Provoking a Giant Serpent onto your Cu while on a boat in the Fens of the Dead in Trinsic
65-84 - 90: While standing on a boat in ToKuno, Provoke a Tsuki Wolf onto your Cu.
82-90 - 110: While inside a house in Tokuno, block your Cu-sidhe in with boxes so that it can not move, then provoke a Lesser Hirue onto your Cu (Hirue to pet, not the other way around). At this point you can also stand on a boat near the Champ Tokuno, find a Spawned Hirue, and provoke the Hirue onto your Cu.
96-105 - 120 Guess what? I'm on a boat! In Tokuno find a Yamandon and provoke him onto your Cu-Sidhe that is standing on the boat with you. (With Exceptional Instrument and 115-120 Musicianship)