D&D General What's Bardier than a Bard?

[Jack Daniel]

Quick question. (Well, quick to ask, but who knows how lengthy it'll be to resolve.)

If you were going to rename the bard class, what would you call it?

When I run bards and druids, I like to keep them tied to Celtic culture. But the modern fantasy bard archetype — the happy-go-lucky, charming rake who uses both actual magic and sleight-of-hand to pick unwary pockets, and uses music to bolster allies, sooth savage beasts in the vein of Orpheus, and seduce anything with a pulse (or not, if you count undead and constructs) — doesn't quite fit a more historically grounded bard (or skald or scop).

So: if you had to pick a new name for the fantasy archetype that we today call bard, what would be the best fit? Minstrel? Jester? Jongleur? Troubadour? Busker? Gleeman? Mountebank? Suggestions I haven't thought of? What even is this musical trickster-mage factotum in a world where D&D never came along to invent it?

 

[Yaarel]

Quick question. (Well, quick to ask, but who knows how lengthy it'll be to resolve.)

If you were going to rename the bard class, what would you call it?

When I run bards and druids, I like to keep them tied to Celtic culture. But the modern fantasy bard archetype — the happy-go-lucky, charming rake who uses both actual magic and sleight-of-hand to pick unwary pockets, and uses music to bolster allies, sooth savage beasts in the vein of Orpheus, and seduce anything with a pulse (or not, if you count undead and constructs) — doesn't quite fit a more historically grounded bard (or skald or scop).

So: if you had to pick a new name for the fantasy archetype that we today call bard, what would be the best fit? Minstrel? Jester? Jongleur? Troubadour? Busker? Gleeman? Mountebank? Suggestions I haven't thought of? What even is this musical trickster-mage factotum in a world where D&D never came along to invent it?

The 5e Bard really is a bard, like Taliesin and Merlin are.

I would rename the Druid.

I would create a Rogue archetype to be the Minstrel or Troubadour.

 

[Yaarel]

If I would be forced to rename the 5e Bard, I would call the class Shaman.

 

[steeldragons]

Troubadour was my first, knee-jerk...

but reading your description of what it is you actually want a name for... "muscial," "trickster," "picking pockets," "influencing/bolstering/seducing"...

I think what you're really looking for is "Jester."

Though that does conjure the image of needing to be assigned to a particular throne-room/liege/patron to whom your talents are all dedicated...and that doesn't really work for a roving adventurer game.

So, I think, maybe it is as simple and generic as "Trickster" is really what you want.

Then, you can make the subclasses things like "Jester" (more inspire by jokes/confound by riddles/acrobat-y dodger/combatant trickster), "Troubadour" (more music-y/bolstery/seduction trickster), annnnd...hm... "Mountebank" (more illusion magic/sleight of hand-y/confusion trickster)...

Yeah, I think that works.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

….. I think this thread should have a trigger warning.

Synonyms for Bard? This can really scar people.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Minstrel maybe?

LOL, too bad they can't spell...

 

[not-so-newguy]

H.R. Nightmare

 

[not-so-newguy]

Gleeman fits better in my honest opinion. Probably because I read WOT

 

[Tonguez]

Ive always gone for Troubador as the more generic term for wandering minstral,

bard or Griot for loremasters
jongleur for more physical knife throwing/juggler types
Jester and Mummers for Tricksters (and spies)

Mountebank feels more like a Rogue subclass

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I'd call it the Snarf Zagyg class.