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

[Brandegoris]

The bard is not just the silly Lute Player singing, "Kill, Kill, Kill the Orcs!" like Elan from Order of the Stick.

No, he's the comrade in arms who knows just the right dark joke to crack when the party has been disparaged by adverse odds and feels crestfallen.

He's the badass fellow explorer who yells, "C'MON, YOU COWARDS! DO YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER?!?!" As he charges alongside you into the breach.

He's the party member whose magic through very Speech Itself can ease tired muscles or recharge your flagging stamina. The Bard can be thought of not just a charismatic compatriot, who is great to have around, but as a person who is a practicioner of truename speech and can rearrange the world just through naming it in the Primordial tongue. He is no less magical than a wizard, and using an art arguably older than wizardry.

That's a bard.

Maybe that is YOUR bard LOL
It has NOT been My experience

 

[Brandegoris]

Who in there right mind would bring singing, drums, horns, trumpets or anything musical into a battle? Sure it happened all over the world in history but everyone was silly back then. Now stand back so my wizard can wave their wand and say the magic words...

BOOM! I need you in my game ASAP. You are charged with slaying any Bard characters that try and tag along with the group

 

[schnee]

I love doof warrior, don't get me wrong, possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen that was bard related.

But did you notice how he didn't really DO much? Just sort of stood there doing his thing like a living hood ornament until the antagonist (from his perspective) got close, then he stopped existing.

He was casting buff spells, inspiring courage, and (if it were an older D&D version) boosting Morale.

You just couldn't see it past all the awesome.

 

[Brandegoris]

The koto players from Kung Fu Hustle. The Doof Warrior in Mad Max. There's also music magic mythology tied to instruments throughout many cultures in the world today. Bards aren't weird at all.


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Come on...They are a LITTLE weird.. LOLOLOLOOL

 

[JeffB]

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."

Perhaps it is shocking because of when you started playing. But when I started playing , Bards, Illusionists, and Rangers were just non-official weirdness from someone's home game that were lucky enough to be published in The Strategic Review/The Dragon.

Paladins, Monks, Druids, Psions, were officially published but completely optional and Thieves were somewhat controversial or for many of us just plain unnecessary (we are all stealing treasure to begin with, why we do we need this new class to pick a lock or look for traps? We already do that.)

 

[Brandegoris]

I always wondered why the 5e bars lost the bardic lore ability. To me, that's just central to the archetype.


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GREAT Point! That was in My Opinion the Most important, unique and Historically accurate power of the bard. bards were first and foremost repositories of Oral tradition and myths and legends.

 

[Brandegoris]

Watch a movie combat scene with the sound on mute.

Watch the scene again with the soundtrack playing.

The difference is bardic influence.

No. LOL
The difference is when its silent you can actually see how stupid it looks LOLOLOLOL

 

[Brandegoris]

Music to inspire is very real. One only need look at Drum & Bugle corps, Fife & Drum, etc. Yes, some of it was about communication (which in DnD might be advantage save against Fear) but it was also about maintaining espirit de corp

I get that But having a band a safe distance away and NOT actually fighting is Much different than a guy in combat strumming a harp and chanting. LOL
And also in the Army Bands don't travel into combat. They play at events. As the Bard should do. the bard should stick to events and taverns

 

[Brandegoris]

How are they sillier than most of the other stuff in the game?

Music magic has way more real world precedent​ than Magic Missiles.

Ive never seen music magic in the real world.
I have seen missles though
LOL
All kidding aside. I think the class is really good. Its just hard to visualize a dude acting like that in the middle of a fight

 

[Brandegoris]

You think Bards are dumb?

This is a Bard.

Bards are AWESOME.

And he is Dumb