Bard variant?

[jeffhartsell]

Anyone have house rules for bards? They seem to be the weakest of the base classes. They are a decent support class, but they cannot hold up in a fight.

I've been mulling over HR for the bard:

• d8 hp

• can cast any arcane spell in light armor, not just bard spells

• bardic magic not tied to perform skill, just bard level

• Bardic magic requires verbal components, but not music, poems, etc.

This make the bard more of a knowledge class then a performance class and puts it more on par with a ranger; d8 and 2 good saves, but better magic instead of fighter BAB.

 

[DreamChaser]

I assume you mean "Bardic Music" when you say "bardic magic"

Overall, you make bard the #1 cherry pick class for sorcerers, and a great one for wizards, since they get to avoid spell failure.

You also remove all flavor for the class, making them demi-sorcerers rather than a distinct class of their own by allowing them to have "special abilities" rather than music (technically performance not music) related abilities.

if I were going to choose a d6 class to raise to d8 it would be rogue, not bard; rogues are much more combat oriented and likely to take damage.

I overall disagree with your conclusion. This would not make the bard more "knowledge based" it would simply free up skills that would otherwise be spend keeping one (which is all that is required) perform skill maxed out. all this would do is make bards a munchkiny dream by making a half-caster that gave up virtually nothing to be a half-caster and stacked almost perfectly with the full casters.

just my opinion of course, but I think it is a bad change.

DC