D&D 5E Bard as a subclass

[WhatGravitas]

I always thought the bard is a "magical rogue", a mix of general knowledge, some tricks and misdirection and some actual magic to augment the whole package.

 

[TwoSix]

+1 on that. I doubt the average D&D player even knows that word, let alone someone new.

https://www.google.com/#q=gish+site:www.enworld.org

The average D&D player might not, but the average D&D forumite does. If I know what I mean, and you know what I mean, any objections you have to the etymology of the word become trivialized.

I mean, I'm sorry it bothers you, but there's a long history of words that have a specialized meaning getting roped into a general usage, and I'm not sure what's to be gained by fighting against the tide. Grammar be descriptive, yo.

 

[Ahnehnois]

https://www.google.com/#q=gish+site:www.enworld.org

The average D&D player might not, but the average D&D forumite does. If I know what I mean, and you know what I mean, any objections you have to the etymology of the word become trivialized.

I mean, I'm sorry it bothers you, but there's a long history of words that have a specialized meaning getting roped into a general usage, and I'm not sure what's to be gained by fighting against the tide. Grammar be descriptive, yo.

There's also a long history of terminology fading out of use and becoming anachronistic, hep cat.

 

[TwoSix]

There's also a long history of terminology fading out of use and becoming anachronistic, hep cat.

If I come back here in 2023 and ask for a gish build, and no one knows what I'm talking about, I will bow to the salience of your point.

 

[Sadrik]

Based on this thread. It appears that there is not a strong consensus on what a bard even is. Some think they are not magical, some think they are magical, some think they should be arcane and some clerical, and I am sure someone think they should be more druid out there, some think they should be more fighter-like and others think they should be more rogue.

 

[Greg K]

Based on this thread. It appears that there is not a strong consensus on what a bard even is. Some think they are not magical, some think they are magical, some think they should be arcane and some clerical, and I am sure someone think they should be more druid out there, some think they should be more fighter-like and others think they should be more rogue.

Hey, then there are people like myself that think there should be variations to support each one of them (as I stated earlier in the thread). 3e Unearthed Arcana was on the right track with the bardic sage, divine bard, and savage (druid casting) bard variants. However, the designer, in my opinion, should have removed some of the default class spells and skills from each as well.

 

[TwoSix]

Based on this thread. It appears that there is not a strong consensus on what a bard even is. Some think they are not magical, some think they are magical, some think they should be arcane and some clerical, and I am sure someone think they should be more druid out there, some think they should be more fighter-like and others think they should be more rogue.

I'd like to see Bard focused on being the primary Interaction class. Subclasses can be Conman, Fey Enchanter, Telepath, and (just for the callback) Fochlucan Lyrist.

 

[Weather Report]

Except, of course, that now it IS a generic term for a hybrid warrior/caster.

So some people (no one I know, thank god) chose to glom onto a term and use it incorrectly, not really something to defend.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Alright, people. Have at it.

 

[Nellisir]

I agree that your poll is a little arbitrary. I picked #2, but mostly because "entertainer types" is too limited. I could see "Bard" as a class with a variety of weak spellcasting subs under it, but then again..I could also see "gish" as encompassing the cleric (has weapons, casts spells). So, whatever.