Wow. I guess I should have put on my flame retardant jacket before posting my opinion about the bard class.
Rather than the rather snarky post I had written, I'll try to reasonably address your points.
While I definately like alot of their abilities the thing I HATE about the 4e bard is that their music does damage. What the heck? My friend said "the song is so sad, you want to die" as the explaination, but that sounds crazy. It reminds me of the bards from various video game rpgs, like Edward in Final Fantasy IV (II originally here in the states).
Well... I can't let this one slide completely. Any time you bring up the dreaded WoW/Final Fantasy/Diablo/Other Videogame Comparisons of Doom, you're going to raise some hackles. Also, you're being kind of glib about this topic, and I don't know if you're trying to make it seem more ridiculous or actually trying to understand it - I'm not sure, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
So... the bard's songs are not actually killing things. Their music is not actually doing damage. Their voices are not setting up reverberations which shatter bones. Much like a Wizard, they are
casting spells. And, much like a Swordmage, they are magically enhancing their weapon attacks, too. It's part and parcel of being an Arcane class. They just evoke magic through song, rather than through a few "Abracadabra"s or a few "Dear-God-Please-Smite-My-Enemy-Amen"s.
I'll skip the Gambler class, because I don't think you were being serious. You evidently thought it would also be ridiculous, and maybe somehow show how ridiculous the bard is in your mind. I agree - the gambler would be ridiculous, so it's fortunate that we don't have one of those.
I think the bard would be better if they used regular weapons to attack and songs to only do special effects (buffs, grant actions to allies, dominate/slide foes, etc). I could picture one sort of charm spell "vs. Will: pull enemy CHA squares closer. Make a secondary attack vs. the enemy if they are within reach of your weapon". That'd be cool, and bardy, but not cause my brain to hurt. I just can reconcile the "music does damage" thing.
Well, hopefully you can get a different perspective. Just don't think of it as music actually doing stuff - it's
arcane magic doing the stuff, much like what a Wizard does, and really no more ridiculous. IMHO, if you can accept that a wizard casts spells with magic words and gestures, it's not much of a stretch to accept that a bard can cast spells with magic melodies and gestures.
If I ever GM, and someone plays a bard, all enemies have DR 50 to music damage.
I think this is another reason folks kinda reacted badly to your post - including myself. This is a very dismissive way to handle any questions; it's like you're not even engaging with the concept on a level where you can productively discuss it. Glib dismissals don't go over too well on teh intarwebs unless it's to a room full of like-minded folks for a few lulz. If lulz are what you were going for, I think it's a little crazy to assert you were "just stating your opinion" and hence ... I dunno, your ideas were immune to criticism?
-O
)
