How do YOU play a bard?

I was thinking about the bard class this morning on the way to work. Aside from the fact that I hate the way the bard class is built (charisma-based casting versus int-based and the cookie-cutter musical effects), I started thinking about the actual role-play of the bard.

It seems to me that to really play a bard right, you have to practically be a bard in real life. At least, those people that have played really good bards, are already really outgoing, funny, bombastic people that are just really fun to be around.

I can't do that, since I'm really quite boring once you get to know me. Ask my wife.

So, that said, how do YOU play a bard? Are you a really fun, funny, outgoing person so playing a bard is really natural for you? Or, do you take some other angle to it that makes it a bit less showy and more down to earth? Because, I'd like to hear various role-playing suggestions on this class.

Or, do you just avoid the class like the plague? How have you seen others play the bard? Did they do a good job or not?

I bring this up because the last character I played, I started as a bard. And I really sucked at it. My character was a female human who played the fife (a flute) and I even had a fife at the table (that I can play), and I had some tunes written down to represent the magic effects. In the first game, I couldn't do anything. I played one song to no effect, and that was it. I was completely worthless. Furthermore, this character had a background that was somewhat criminal, and she had a thing for lying a lot. But she was young, and really naive. So, it was a complex character regardless. But, I could never get past the fact that I could not envision her singing in the middle of combat. The idea of singing while you're friends are being stabbed by orcs is a bit strange to me. I couldn't envision that. I mean, here is this really attractive 17 year old girl singing "glory glory hallelujah" while the party members are being attacked by orcs, just so they can get a measly +1 to hit? It just seems goofy to me somehow.

So, maybe I'm just trying to validate whether I really suck at the class, or there is something inherintly wrong with the concept that does not allow me to take a suspension of disbelief. Perhaps because there are no analogous movie characters that I can relate to. I can relate to a rogue, or a wizard, or a pious cleric, or even a paladin. But, I've always had problems relating to bards. But, even in 2nd edition, bards could be whatever you wanted them to be. But, in 3rd, they've really narrowly defined them.


And furthermore, I want to like the Bard class - I really do. I just can't get beyond the fact that every bard is built just like every other bard - high bluff, diplomacy; emphasis on enchantment spells, charisma is the most important stat, etc., etc., etc.

If you wanted to shoot for a bard that was less handsome, but more of a strict dex-based performer, but also had a thing for transmutation magic, that would be really hard to do. Or, heaven forbid, a bard that was a traveling sage, who was really homely, who wanted to put bunches of ranks into just knowledge skills.

Ok, I'm babbling now. Discuss amongst yourselves.

I've never played a bard, but a bard has been part of the group I've been in for a long time.

The things I've noticed is that the player of the bard enjoys roleplaying more then combat and that is a trait that I would guess would be good in a player who wants to play a bard.

The bard was mostly a support character in combat, singing an inspire cofidence, while fireing away with her longbow.

The bard used her spell slots mostly for curing spells (we lacked a cleric for a while) but sometimes sound bursts. But mainly these didn't get used as the bard was mostly singing.

Out of combat the bard shined, with gather information, diplomancy, bluff, and tounges.

What seems to help with the feeling of not being able to contribute in combat is to take leadership and be able to run a slightly more combat oriented cohort.

We had a bard NPC in a play-by-email game and the DM was great at it. He used to make up songs on the fly depending on the situation. (Most of which can't be re-printed here due to profanity. ) Regardless, I see a bard in combat singing something like "We Will Rock You/We are the Champions" by Queen. Or something equally as inspirational.

You are right though, bards do tend to fall into the cha-based skills trap because....charisma is their main stat (of course). I've seen a couple of different "builds" though.

Bard archer - The bard stays in back and sings while using his bow to pick off enemies. They are essentially the "standard" bard though.

Warrior Poet/bardic hero - a light-armored fighter that tumbles around the battlefield. All his songs are about how wonderful he is. "Heeere I come to save the daaaay!"

Deathsinger - Think Jim Morrison from The Doors who had a fatalistic view on life. "We all could die tomorrow so you might as well live life today!" Make your bard a complete drunk that wallows in self-pity and takes necromantic spells. He could be one who performs funeral dirges instead of ballads. I even made a PrC to support this type of character. It had a "song of sorrow" ability where the enemies just realized life was horrible and gave up.

You might also try looking into the variant bard in the Book of Eldritch Might II: Songs and Souls of Power . It is a bit less "cookie-cutter" and allows far more customization of the spellsongs. Essentially spells and songs are combined into one feature.

My current bard has perform oratory and only occasionally sings as a backup. her inspire courage is rousing speeches and she likes to tell (and gather) stories. She is basicly a private investigator, geared towards gather info, sense motive and looking towards divination type spells. She's multiclassing with ranger to get tracking and some spot/listen and also the favored enemy bonus almost applies to more good bard skills than ranger ones. Obviously bardic knowlege is one of the perks, and I'm hoping to get a dm who uses it a lot. (she's in LEW so she's been played under two different DMs and will be played under more in the future).

Anyway, she is friendly, but more inquisitive than self promoting. Outside of her adventuring, if she had a trade it would be translating and letter writing rather than being a performer - she thinks of that as just something to cheer the evenings. So an insanely curious rumor and lost tale chaser is as viable a way of playing a bard as the traditional performer motif.

Kahuna Burger

Kahuna Burger

My wife played a bard character in one of her first D&D games. In retrospect this was a really poor choice for a beginner as she was kind of unsure as to her abilities, and couldn't just say "I run up and hit it"... the result was that she kind of played an innocuous support role and didn't really get too far into the character.
She did, however manage to propel "The +1 Song", as we affectionately named it, to the top of the Faerun pop charts, without anyone knowing either the actual tune or the words.

Praeco said:

She did, however manage to propel "The +1 Song", as we affectionately named it, to the top of the Faerun pop charts, without anyone knowing either the actual tune or the words.

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I suspect this is probably the all-too-common method of playing the bard. The character will just say, "I sing inspire courage", and the DM just notes it, and everyone struggles to remember that "oh yea, I have a +1", just like Bless.

But, if you stop to think about it, you've got this person standing there, amidst a fight with *whatever* singing James Taylor ballads or whatever while it's going on.

It's just bizarre.

And I suspect that if you tried to duplicate such a thing in a movie, audiences would look at each other and go "why is that guy singing while his friends are being stabbed to death? I thought he was their friend?"

You've got a good point about the entertaining aspects of roleplaying a bard are more difficult to separate from the player than when we step into the shoes of other characters.

You look across the table at the guy playing a self-righteous paladin, for example, and all it takes is for that otherwise-shoddy shmuck to raise his chin a bit and speak down his nose with a certain haughtiness about doing "the Right Thing" ... and presto! He's playing the part and we're OK with that. We're willing to suspend our disbelief.

But because the bard is supposed to be entertaining above all else, and because we're sitting around a table in an environment where we're all entertaining each other already -- well, the bar is raised to a higher standard. Not on purpose, mind you, but everyone recognizes it.

Here's an alternative. Perhaps still a cliche of sorts, but a reversal on the cliche: Be the most boring, dull, depressive bard you can be. Sure, go through the actions and roll the dice for the highest values throughout the adventure, but allow your successes to be determined entirely by the mechanics of the game and not by your over-the-top efforts to be a Brilliant Performer. ...

"Well, OK. (sigh) I suppose I could hum some sort of blessing thingy as we march off to our doom... La dee da dee da whatever ..." (Perform skill +23 ranks, +4 for an 18 Charisma, +3 for feat, +etc. -- HAH!) "I guess if we're gonna die, it might as well be with a smile, huh? Anyone feel better yet?"

Alternatively, if you were to *remove* the musical aspect of the bard class, what would be a suitable replacement?

That is, if I wanted to shoot for someone based on Chaucer - a poet and laureate.

die_kluge said:

Alternatively, if you were to *remove* the musical aspect of the bard class, what would be a suitable replacement?

That is, if I wanted to shoot for someone based on Chaucer - a poet and laureate.

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(shrug) Recitation. An evocative, booming voice. A reasonable DM wouldn't require that you sling a banjo over your bard's shoulder.

My personal favorite variation involves juggling performances instead of singing. The magic of the 'weave', so to speak, as the objects spin through each other in intricate patterns. ... Makes for a nifty basis for a knife-thrower as well (bard/rogue combo).