Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Bard exists, now make YOUR Bard. (+)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 9258559" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>As for the "half-caster" question, above... For me, it is a combination of two things. One is flavor/concept for the class. One is simple meta-game design space.</p><p></p><p>One: Bard's started out as part druid, and should never have been made wizard/arcane casters. They got spells as druids, but that was after many (somewhere in the neighborhood of minimum 10-12, from what I remember) levels of something else. Making magic/being able to work magic or have magical knowledge is definitely a PART of the Bard. But it is not -and should never have been set up as- the primary part.</p><p></p><p>The second is, just, since WotC went that direction (of having the Bard be all Arcane-focused), it was an obvious missed opportunity, and asymmetrical in a game with FAR too many "full casters," where you have the: Cleric and half-(divine)caster warrior Paladin; the Druid and half-(nature)caster warrior Ranger (which, don't get me started on 5e's spell-slinging rangers); there was a BLATANT opening for there to be the Wizard(or Sorcerer) and the half-(arcane)caster warrior Bard. THEN, Bard could have been morphed into some combo/subclass of the greatest missed class opening for all of D&D's history - the fighter/mage combo-class... And they somehow missed (or ignored) it.</p><p></p><p>And for a third, as others have said, the Bard is really what is supposed to be the ultimate 'support" class. Need help fighting? Look to the Bard. Need help skulking/picking locks or pockets? Look to the Bard. Need help talking your way out of some trouble or negotiating a contract? Look to the Bard. Need some (emergency/little bit) healing? Look to the Bard. Need a spell? Decipher some hieroglyphs? Identify some magic item? A little bit of luck? A "Hail, Mary!"? Bard. Bard. Bard. In a pinch, the Bard can help do just about ANYthing that a party would need in a life of adventure. Can't do anything the BEST! Can't "out-fight" the fighter or "out-stealth" the thief or "out-heal" the cleric...A wizard is "the best" at magic/casting spells. The Bard , really, can not/should not be "as good as" a wizard at arcane magic.</p><p> </p><p>So, far as I'm concerned, half-caster is the BEST at spellcasting a Bard should hope to have. The class has plenty of other magical powers, mundane tricks, myriad skills, oh yeah, and there's still weapons to use when a bard's player is looking for something to do on their turn. "Full casting" has no reason to be in a Bard's very-well-packed quiver.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 9258559, member: 92511"] As for the "half-caster" question, above... For me, it is a combination of two things. One is flavor/concept for the class. One is simple meta-game design space. One: Bard's started out as part druid, and should never have been made wizard/arcane casters. They got spells as druids, but that was after many (somewhere in the neighborhood of minimum 10-12, from what I remember) levels of something else. Making magic/being able to work magic or have magical knowledge is definitely a PART of the Bard. But it is not -and should never have been set up as- the primary part. The second is, just, since WotC went that direction (of having the Bard be all Arcane-focused), it was an obvious missed opportunity, and asymmetrical in a game with FAR too many "full casters," where you have the: Cleric and half-(divine)caster warrior Paladin; the Druid and half-(nature)caster warrior Ranger (which, don't get me started on 5e's spell-slinging rangers); there was a BLATANT opening for there to be the Wizard(or Sorcerer) and the half-(arcane)caster warrior Bard. THEN, Bard could have been morphed into some combo/subclass of the greatest missed class opening for all of D&D's history - the fighter/mage combo-class... And they somehow missed (or ignored) it. And for a third, as others have said, the Bard is really what is supposed to be the ultimate 'support" class. Need help fighting? Look to the Bard. Need help skulking/picking locks or pockets? Look to the Bard. Need help talking your way out of some trouble or negotiating a contract? Look to the Bard. Need some (emergency/little bit) healing? Look to the Bard. Need a spell? Decipher some hieroglyphs? Identify some magic item? A little bit of luck? A "Hail, Mary!"? Bard. Bard. Bard. In a pinch, the Bard can help do just about ANYthing that a party would need in a life of adventure. Can't do anything the BEST! Can't "out-fight" the fighter or "out-stealth" the thief or "out-heal" the cleric...A wizard is "the best" at magic/casting spells. The Bard , really, can not/should not be "as good as" a wizard at arcane magic. So, far as I'm concerned, half-caster is the BEST at spellcasting a Bard should hope to have. The class has plenty of other magical powers, mundane tricks, myriad skills, oh yeah, and there's still weapons to use when a bard's player is looking for something to do on their turn. "Full casting" has no reason to be in a Bard's very-well-packed quiver. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Bard exists, now make YOUR Bard. (+)
Top