thecasualoblivion
First Post
This is conflating character niche with 4e's concept of combat roles. Party spokesman is not a 4e role.
Oddball classes might not fit into the 4 4e combat niches but have a strongly themed character/party role. A bard as the party's face man is a great example even if he did not fill a combat role well.
I would also say there is plenty of room in RPGs for characters to just be there to experience the adventure without having a niche role. Just roleplaying a normal type person going through an adventure is fine and can be seen in other games such as Call of Cthulhu or World of Darkness.
Plenty of room in RPGs, but that isn't really a D&D thing. As for the Bard, the 4E Bard is still the god of diplomacy, and for that matter skills in general. He just fulfills a combat role well.