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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 9512736" data-attributes="member: 18">It has a mediocre to bad AC, very very low DPR and control - possibly the lowest real DPR of any class in the entire game, and has poor spellcasting capabilities.I mean, what else is there to say re: point of failure? Its single point of failure is that it's underpowered compared to other 5E classes. It's crap at all trades. 5E isn't a game that plays nice with that kind of design - it just leaves you worse at everything than other people in the party, and with nothing unique to make up for it. You didn't even bother giving them unique abilities or really enhancing the one they have - you just drafted in a rather random-seeming selection of minor abilities from other classes - most them ironically more magical than the magic you took away from it, just mechanically weaker.How would I fix it? You have to give it something no-one else can do and that's really good. Significantly buffing Bardic Inspiration would be a good way to do that. Making you able to burn spell slots to get it doesn't do that - in most cases a single spell of any level will do more than Inspiration - that should probably be a Lore Bard specific ability or something you get at higher levels. Instead give Bards more Bardic Inspiration, refresh it more often, and allow it to do more things - stealing stuff like Cutting Words from subclasses would be a good idea. Look at 4E Leaders and Controllers for examples if you want (the 4E Bard is a good example). Make it into a real class feature that's a serious distinguishing mark, not just a minor thing it can do. And allow Bards to self-buff with it more so they aren't just "the worst" in combat. You'd have to redesign the subclasses, but you'd obviously have to do that anyway.Starting magic at L1 won't make it necessarily much more powerful, but it will mean it's now a correct 5E 2024 design, rather than a 2014 one. It WotC designed like that people would literally never stop asking why. And you don't even have an answer - tradition isn't an answer when even half-casters get spells at L1 now. Only classes which solely get magic from subclasses have it delayed beyond L1.</blockquote>

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