D&D 5E Bards have an identity problem!

[Mort]

I don’t have the answer. Musical invocations would be really cool. Tone back the spell casting into half caster level maybe.

Kind of like the 3e bard? yuck - no thanks!

 

[FrogReaver]

Kind of like the 3e bard? yuck - no thanks!

Can we at least agree bards shouldn’t be a full caster like a cleric or wizard?

 

[FrogReaver]

Kind of like the 3e bard? yuck - no thanks!

Can we at least agree bards shouldn’t be a full caster like a cleric or wizard?

 

[GSHamster]

Maybe the bard is just a people-oriented wizard. Regular wizards focus on the world (magic, elements, etc). Clerics focus on the divine, Warlocks on the demonic, Druids on nature.

Bards focus on people and society. Musicians, poets, orators, prophets, judges, politicians, leaders.

 

[Cadence]

Maybe the bard is just a people-oriented wizard. Regular wizards focus on the world (magic, elements, etc). Clerics focus on the divine, Warlocks on the demonic, Druids on nature.

Bards focus on people and society. Musicians, poets, orators, prophets, judges, politicians, leaders.

What is the power source for each?

Druids = nature (or nature gods or nature spirits)
Clerics = divinities or the powers behind them
Warlocks = demonic
Wizards = the science of magic (?)
Bards = ?

 

[MarkB]

Can we at least agree bards shouldn’t be a full caster like a cleric or wizard?

Maybe we could have before, but now we have Artificers filling that role. We don't need another part-time caster class.

Personally I like that they're not the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none they were before. They could do with being more thematic, but weakening their spellcasting isn't necessarily the key here.

 

[Mort]

Can we at least agree bards shouldn’t be a full caster like a cleric or wizard?

No.

Removing full caster status won't necessarily help with class identity but will certainly introduce new balance issues.

I guess I just don't see they problem so don't see the need for any solutions (that will likely introduce problems).

 

[FrogReaver]

No.

Removing full caster status won't necessarily help with class identity but will certainly introduce new balance issues.

I guess I just don't see they problem so don't see the need for any solutions (that will likely introduce problems).

justify giving the bard as much magic as the wizard and cleric. Pretty hard to see.

 

[Tonguez]

Druids = nature (or nature gods or nature spirits)
Clerics = divinities or the powers behind them
Warlocks = demonic
Wizards = the science of magic (?)
Bards = ?

Bards = ‘The Muse’

imc Fae are made of ‘Phantasm’, the gestalt stuff of Mortal Dreams, and thus Fae are dependent of mortals for their form and existence. The legend of the Fairy Muse and the Fairy Fiddler arise because Fairy need mortals to be creative and whimsical and thus generate Phantasm.

Perhaps Bards have also learnt from their Muse how to not only generate phantasm but also to shape it in magic effects

 

[MarkB]

justify giving the bard as much magic as the wizard and cleric. Pretty hard to see.

Justify giving the cleric and druid as much magic as the wizard. There aren't much in the way of fantasy portrayals of them as full casters outside RPGs.