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

[Garthanos]

Wouldn't be entirely surprised if a bandwagon of haters decide the bard is so silly it doesnt belong in D&D and troll the hell out of it till the next edition lacks the class. Ask any warlord fan if you think that is unrealistic scenario.

 

[hejtmane]

Wouldn't be entirely surprised if a bandwagon of haters decide the bard is so silly it doesnt belong in D&D and troll the hell out of it till the next edition lacks the class. Ask any warlord fan if you think that is unrealistic scenario.

Oh no the dread Warlord fight is back on

 

[Warpiglet]

No worries. I was a polly pissy pants about it.

Bottom line is I am glad there are people out there that enjoy the game. I would gladly play with another person who playing bard. These days I will take inspired play of any sort with nearly anyone.

All of these things are weird historical mashups from different periods of time. Same is true of weapons lists...best not to pull at any string too hard even the ones I like more!

 

[Sacrosanct]

Wouldn't be entirely surprised if a bandwagon of haters decide the bard is so silly it doesnt belong in D&D and troll the hell out of it till the next edition lacks the class. Ask any warlord fan if you think that is unrealistic scenario.

A while ago I created a thread with a basic list of criteria for class inclusion on a newer edition. One of the four things was how much of a history the class has embedded in the game. The bard has been part of D&D since the late 70s. I don't see it being omitted in a future edition. Especially since the people who don't like the class (like myself) are a pretty small minority.

Yeah, I said it. I don't like the bard. I don't think it's silly, per se, but I think it's a bit out of place and kinda lame (especially the aforementioned train wreck that was the 1e bard). But hey, that's just my opinion, so I don't play the bard. I'm not going to go around to people's houses and take away their books if they play one.

And on a related note, the argument "you can't call anything silly in a game where we pretend to be elves" is a really bad argument. Too bad it happens a lot. Yes, even in a game where we pretend to play elves can things be silly. If I wanted to play a man in a pink bunny suit who did nothing but dance and sing and make corny jokes, that would still be considered to be silly even in D&D land. It's related to that argument "why can't mundane classes have awesome superhuman powers in a world where dragons fly?" Because then by that logic, I could say, "Why don't you allow every PC to be able to teleport and read minds and shoot lasers out of their eyes, after all it's a world where dragons exist?" I.e., even in a fantastical world, things are still rooted in real world physics and laws.

 

[Garthanos]

A while ago I created a thread with a basic list of criteria for class inclusion on a newer edition
.

Oh I am sure your list was very inclusive and looked like

• tradition
• tradition
• tradition.

I would have thought being one of if not the most popular class of the previous edition would be on the list of reasons to include it but nope, expletive those 4e fans

 

[Garthanos]

Yes, even in a game where we pretend to play elves can things be silly.

The criteria for silly gets narrowed massively and anyone with a sense of community instead of wanting to piss in others cornflakes would notice that.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I cannot think of many instances of characters throwing flashy spells while playing an instrument and singing (not required, but is present in most artist representations of bard and you can use your instrument as a focus).

Orpheus, King David, the Dagda, Väinämöinen, the Pied Piper, Tom Bombadil, Kubo. And more.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Oh I am sure your list was very inclusive and looked like

• tradition
• tradition
• tradition.

I would have thought being one of if not the most popular class of the previous edition would be on the list of reasons to include it but nope, expletive those 4e fans

Well you'd be wrong, but don't let that stop you now:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?529445-Class-Inclusion-Criteria-(general-discussion)

And was the warlord the most popular class in 4e? Do you have any sort of poll or survey for that?

The criteria for silly gets narrowed massively and anyone with a sense of community instead of wanting to piss in others cornflakes would notice that.

Or, people can find things silly just because they find them silly and it doesn't mean they don't have a sense of community or want to piss in others' cornflakes. It's all a matter of opinion, and your opinion isn't more important than anyone else's, so you don't get to insult people or ascribe negative motives to them just because they don't agree with you.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Doesn't the word "wizard" come from the same root as "vizier"?

Sorry, not that one. Wizard is Middle English; vizier is borrowed from Turkish.

You seem like you're interested in etymologies, so let me show you a secret weapon.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Sorry, not that one. Wizard is Middle English; vizier is borrowed from Turkish.

You seem like you're interested in etymologies, so let me show you a secret weapon.

Thanks for the link!

wizard (n.)
early 15c., "philosopher, sage," from Middle English wys "wise" (see wise (adj.)) + -ard.

wise (adj.)
Old English wis "learned, sagacious, cunning; sane; prudent, discreet; experienced; having the power of discerning and judging rightly," from Proto-Germanic *wissaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian wis, Old Norse viss, Dutch wijs, German weise "wise"), from past participle adjective *wittos of PIE root *weid- "to see," hence "to know" (see vision). Modern slang meaning "aware, cunning" first attested 1896. Related to the source of Old English witan "to know, wit."

-ard
also -art, from Old French -ard, -art, from German -hard, -hart "hardy," forming the second element in many personal names, often used as an intensifier, but in Middle High German and Dutch used as a pejorative element in common nouns, and thus passing into Middle English in bastard, coward, blaffard ("one who stammers"), etc. It thus became a living element in English, as in buzzard, drunkard.

So, just as a drunkard is someone who drinks too much for his own good, a wizard is just too wise for his own (or anyone else's) good...
;P