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

[Alexemplar]

Double post

 

[Alexemplar]

Maybe that's because it is something that makes them unique and stand out against the other classes it sometimes resembles (fighters, wizards, rogues). Plus, you know, longstanding tradition in both history, fantasy, and D&D.

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And if THAT is the trait they decide is to define the class in D&D then some people are going to find it silly, as the term Bard and the popular perception if the wandering minstrel have changed over the centuries and D&D doesnt make them take it any more seriously when it tries to play into them for the sake of class identity.

 

[Aldarc]

And if THAT is the trait they decide is to define the class in D&D then some people are going to find it silly, as the term Bard and the popular perception if the wandering minstrel have changed over the centuries and D&D doesnt make them take it any more seriously when it tries to play into them for the sake of class identity.

And yet this "silly" class identity has been a firm and persistent part of D&D. But for the sake of these poor people who find the bard silly, we should just get rid of the bard entirely from D&D. Would that make you and others so offended by "silliness" feel better?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

That reminds me of a scene in the film The Longest Day where you see a soldier playing bagpipes during the fighting of the D-Day invasion.

An early Sean Connery role, if I recall correctly. Good stuff.

 

[Alexemplar]

And yet this "silly" class identity has been a firm and persistent part of D&D. But for the sake of these poor people who find the bard silly, we should just get rid of the bard entirely from D&D. Would that make you and others so offended by "silliness" feel better?

I haven't called for the removal of the class. I don't think OP did either. I think the concept could be executed better by taking cues from the classes in the other games I mentioned.

But I find that unlikely due to the fact that the minstrel flavored lore keeper/scholar/support class is -like you noted- a D&D tradition, and as such is unlikely to really change or be replaced any time soon for that reason.

My solution is to houserule the class in my own campaigns, ask DMS to let me run a modified version in their campaigns, and hope for a new official class/variant under a different name that fills a similar role without the overt musical bent baked into the art, mechanics, and description ...

And continue to agree when someone else points out how they find the class silly and asks others how they feel.

Like I and others do for lots of other D&D idiosyncrasies that we find silly but persist mostly due ro the inertia of tradition.

 

[Aldarc]

I haven't called for the removal of the class. I don't think OP did either. I think the concept could be executed better by taking cues from the classes in the other games I mentioned.

But I find that unlikely due to the fact that the minstrel flavored lore keeper/scholar/support class is -like you noted- a D&D tradition, and as such is unlikely to really change or be replaced any time soon for that reason.

My solution is to houserule the class in my own campaigns, ask DMS to let me run a modified version in their campaigns, and hope for a new official class/variant under a different name that fills a similar role without the overt musical bent baked into the art, mechanics, and description ...

And continue to agree when someone else points out how they find the class silly and asks others how they feel.

Like I and others do for lots of other D&D idiosyncrasies that we find silly but persist mostly due ro the inertia of tradition.

You appear to be contradicting yourself in your own post.

An early Sean Connery role, if I recall correctly. Good stuff.

Actually, from what I recall, Sean Connery is complaining that they got an Irishman to play the bagpipes.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Like I and others do for lots of other D&D idiosyncrasies that we find silly but persist mostly due ro the inertia of tradition.

i don't think that is the case. I can't speak for others, but I despise traditionalism. Nothing should ever stick around just because it's a tradition, ever, IMO.

The Bard persists because people enjoy playing Bards. People enjoy playing Bards because they enjoy being the character described by so many folks in this thread, including the music-as-magic and musical inspiration elements.

 

[Mike Daniels]

Well, your version of bard sounds kinda cartoony.

Most of the versions of bard I see are performers of one kind or another, and a couple of them make excellent spies.

It's not the bard that's limiting your enjoyment of the class, it's your stereotype of them. 5e Bards can do anything they set their minds to, pretty much. And I don't recall having one of those "I'm singing a song to enhance you types" in any campaign or one off in I've ever played in.

They're the butt of many a joke and meme, but if played right, they are the very best support class to have in any group. You could make an entire party of bards, in fact, and do quite well.

My current campaign encourages people to multi-class into Rouge or Bard, since they're working for a magical travelling carnival. Performance covers everything from Poems, (Short insult poems ftw with Vicious Mockery), Music (Singing or Instrumental) to acting or storytelling, or juggling, or trapeze artist, or trick shot artist if you want to make a range bard.

Broaden your horizons, no bard I know of is played like Elan' from OOTS.

 

[thewok]

Broaden your horizons, no bard I know of is played like Elan' from OOTS.

I'm not disagreeing with you here, because I have the same experience. But, I don't think Elan or Flynn the Fine would be the characters they are without enough ... flamboyant bards in the creators' past experiences. Stereotypes have to come from somewhere, even if the source is fairly old and outdated in the overall ideology of the game.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Speaking of Bards, I'm still waiting for the "Spoony" archetype to be made...