D&D 5E Anyone else think the Bard concept is just silly?

[akr71]

Watch best of Scanlan Shorthalt on YouTube.

I love Scanlan, but you aren't doing much to counter the 'bards are silly' argument. Silly can still be powerful.

I like that the 5e version has access to a wider variety of magic, as a lore master should. I do miss the bard is no longer rooted in fighter/rogue like the 1e version and the 'Jack-of-All-Trades' is missing the 'Master of None' component of that expression.

 

[Jubles]

I do miss the bard is no longer rooted in fighter/rogue like the 1e version and the 'Jack-of-All-Trades' is missing the 'Master of None' component of that expression.

I agree. I wish that bards did not get access to expertise. Speaking of Scanlan, I believe part of the player's recent motivation regarding that character relates to his near perfection in persuasion and deception. Persuasion in particular perturbs me with modifiers of 13+. It removes a component of free will from the game if the DM is willing to let them roll to persuade often enough. I wish it was still called diplomacy instead of persuasion. High persuasion can too often be inferred to mean that a good d20 roll will convince a new NPC to act against their own best interests because of a stranger's flowery rhetoric, regardless of context. It's simple to manage it as the DM but it's an occasional source of tension because the player can feel stymied.

 

[WarpedAcorn]

I hate Bards. The only bards I like are the ones that play music in taverns
Every time I think of a dude dancing and spouting poetry to " inspire " me while I am being attacked by trolls I just cringe.
If that happened in real life I would stop attacking the trolls immediately and bet the crap outta the singing useless weirdo..
The whole concept is just too silly to even visualize.
Even one that is fighting is silly. Some fighting, singing weirdo. I think players should have to write down what the dude is singing so we can all have an example of how it is " Inspiring". LOLOL

I maintain that the Bard should be renamed as "Adventurer", a generalist class that has picked up a variety of skills on the road. In old Final Fantasy terms, he is a Red Mage. He has learned how to wear armor and wield weapons, how to cast rudamentary spells, picked up a wide set of skills, learned a variety of languages and about different cultures, and developed skills to communicate with people from all walks of life. His "Bardic Inspiration" and "Countersong" skills simply relate to his Leadership abilities and inspire his companions.

I'm not a super big fan of the idea of someone strumming a lute to cast magic, but that is me. But I was always a fan of the Blade-Bard from 2nd Edition.

 

[SunGold]

[Strums angrily at the haters]

 

[Capn Charlie]

[Strums angrily at the haters]

*Fails Save* I can see now that I was entirely wrong, and there is nothing silly or lame about banjo-pickin' bards whatsoever.

 

[The Human Target]

It's always shocking to me how many people that are hardcore into D&D also seem to hate many of it's component parts.

"I love D&D! But I hate dwarves, monks, halflings, bards, dragonborn, bastard swords, vancian magic, dark elves, regular elves, color coded dragons, feats, pencils and paper."

 

[jrowland]

In my current campaign our Bard, William of Mays, carries a Megaphone (instrument). Vicious Mockery is annoying attempt to sell you something...with a Megaphone: "You call that a sword!? I have a sword here that never dulls! You can't even hit my companions with that unwieldy metal stick!". Bardic Inspiration is basically a cheer, such as "You got this Bro! No Pain, No Gain!", with a Megaphone.

Good Times.

 

[jrowland]

It's always shocking to me how many people that are hardcore into D&D also seem to hate many of it's component parts.

"I love D&D! But I hate dwarves, monks, halflings, bards, dragonborn, bastard swords, vancian magic, dark elves, regular elves, color coded dragons, feats, pencils and paper."

DMS, players, Published Adventures, Polyhedral dice...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

In 30 years of various versions of D&D I have seen one bard played, my current 13th level Bard in the 3.5 game we run when I'm not running my 5e game. He's the only thing making that edition fun to play for me. Plus he lets me use my great Bard mini.




He's not totally optimized since I have max ranks in two Perform skills when I only need one but with a +26 perform he's quite effective, and a +32 Diplomacy makes most fighting unnecessary. Though he does leave a wake of destroyed marriages when he leaves a town. Personally I have never liked Robin Hood much so I was not even aware of a bard in the story, I can only recall Hood and Little John. I think more of Gellor from the Gord the Rogue series, that was one bad ass bard. My bard tends to open with a buff song then wade in with his +3 flaming long sword.

My 5e group finds the concept of playing a bard silly though. I don't think anyone has even considered the class when looking at new PC. It disappoints me.

 

[Brandegoris]

Even if the bard concept might be a little silly, the bard class is simply too good not to use. That's why my next character is going to be a customized bard, built to mimic a stereotypical elf. A bard's specialties of illusions, enchantments, nature magic, and healing scream "elven" to me.

That's True and therin lies the problem for me. I have people that Play the Bard because its a good class, but have no idea how to ROLEPLAY the Bard so it definitely comes of silly