D&D 5E Bards have an identity problem!

[Haldrik]

If you divide the spell tropes into three major themes, namely, Life, Mind, and Elements:

Bard = Life and Mind
Druid = Life and Elements
Wizard = Mind and Elements

Mainly, the Wizard feels like Renaissance protoscience. Hence the complex books.

There are a handfull of Life-trope spells in the Wizard class spell list, like Regeneration, Alter Self, Enlargement, even Find Familiar if the familiar is a natural beast. But the Life spells are rare, and can be easily deleted.

I would split off all necromantic stuff into its own class, mainly being death or undeath to Life, but also including fear, forgetfulness, and insanity to Mind, and void and erosion to Elements.

Probably leave the celestial/fiend stuff to the Cleric/Warlock.

The Feywild is very Bard-like, also emphasizing Life and Mind, even art, song, enchantment, and beauty.

Anyway this three-way pairing of themes keeps the three mage classes distinct from each other.

It also helps the Wizard focus better on a distinctive flavor, and explains why they dont normally do healing magic.

 

[Haldrik]

There is no historical Merlin. Just like there's no historical Arthur. Or Lancelot. None of these are historical figures.

There are several folkloric Merlins. Maybe the one you are talking about is mostly a prescient.

I mean historians who try reconstruct a historical Myrddin from the surviving literature and the archeological context.

If I recall correctly, there are reallife texts that are attributed to a Myrddin. Even the mythic Taliesin appears to correspond to a historical figure who lived in the 400s, with texts attributed to his authorship.

The folklores blur mythic tropes with historical events, and often are difficult to distinguish between which is which, if distinction can be made at all, since the paradigms of the times made no such distinctions. Much lore has a dreamlike symbolic quality. But modern historians try to see if they can puzzle out what "really" happened, according to modern paradigms and assumptions.

 

[Tonguez]

There is no historical Merlin. Just like there's no historical Arthur. Or Lancelot. None of these are historical figures.

There are several folkloric Merlins. Maybe the one you are talking about is mostly a prescient.

Yes, if you want to be technical about it.

Myrddin Wyllt in Welsh lore is accounted Chief Bard and Mad Prophet, where he fits into the British Traditions of Wild Man Prophets (the Two dragons under Vortigens tower is the most famous. Example of such prophecy). But he was most likely based on a real 6th Century Bard, born at the Welsh town Caerfyrddin (Myrddins Fort) who went mad after a major battle wherein he killed his own nephew and saw the king he served slaughtered.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Do 5e Bards have the identity they should have?

No. I would reinforce the dabbler in everything, master of nothing role. I see bard as able to fill any role, but never quite as good as classes whose focus is in a role, except perhaps in the social pillar. They should be good at combat, good at skills, good at magic, but not great at any of them.

IMO I would also restore bards to half-casters, but I would also allow them complete access to any spells for levels they can cast. I like the idea they pick up magic (divine or arcane or primal or whatever) wherever they find them.

Of course, we also don't allow Artificers into our games, so having another half-caster isn't a bad thing at our tables.

 

[Todd Roybark]

But Bards that cast spells like Wizards cast don't feel very Bard-like. They feel more like a Charisma Wizard

A Bard that tries to keep up spell slot for spell slot with a Wizard, winds up out of spells and reliant on Bardic Inspiration.

Arcane Recovery might seem small on paper, but the impact is noticeable.

Now the 2e Bard was a Charisma Wizard. Being on the Rogue XP chart meant a Bard was generally higher level then their Wizard companion, had access to the same level spells and the same spell list, but had a higher caster level.
Up to 7th level spells the bard was just as good, if not better then a Wizard in 2e.

The bard in 5e, plays like a bard should.

 

[cbwjm]

2e bard wasn't as much ahead as people think, early levels they have around 1 class level on the wizard (the gap does widen at higher levels though) but the bard also had less spells and they were often of lower level. By the time the bard gained their first 3rd-level spell slot, the wizard was getting their 2nd 3rd-level spell slot. They were also limited to 6th-level spells which they gained again when the wizard is getting their 2nd 6th-level spell slot. Admittedly at this point the bard the caster level disparity is more noticeable as they have 3 more levels than the wizard but still far less spells per day.

Not that it really matters now that we're playing 5e, but I always felt that the 2e bard should have had their xp requirements increased much like a paladin or ranger needed more xp to advance than the fighter.

 

[Wiseblood]

In 5e the Bard is as good of a caster as a Wizard or Cleric. But Bards that cast spells like Wizards cast don't feel very Bard-like. They feel more like a Charisma Wizard. That makes for a mechanically strong class but a thematically weak one. Do 5e Bards have the identity they should have?

No, and problem isn’t necessarily the bard here. The problem might be the idea of a support character in 5e. All of the characters in 5e are so strong that support is redundant. The things bards used to do aren’t needed anymore. On average a first level fighter can hit any monster in the MM. After an hour or eight the same character can heal themselves completely from HP damage. 5e stripped away the needs that the bard could fill and hammered the bard into a wizard shaped hole.

 

[Li Shenron]

I was just thinking yesterday that so far people have complained about every 5e class "lacking" except the Bard, and whether I should worry about it. Well it took less than a day to quench my fears!

The 5e Bard is in fact utterly awesome like all other 5e classes, and undoubtedly the best and most effective Bard of any edition.

This just proves my theory that the gaming community as a whole, given enough time, will complaining about anything.

 

[FrogReaver]

I was just thinking yesterday that so far people have complained about every 5e class "lacking" except the Bard, and whether I should worry about it. Well it took less than a day to quench my fears!

The 5e Bard is in fact utterly awesome like all other 5e classes, and undoubtedly the best and most effective Bard of any edition.

This just proves my theory that the gaming community as a whole, given enough time, will complaining about anything.

nit complaining about the bards effectiveness. Complaining about it’s wizard ness.

 

[Todd Roybark]

Admittedly at this point the bard the caster level disparity is more noticeable as they have 3 more levels than the wizard but still far less spells per day.

Yeah..I remember having around 2 less spells per level compared to a Specialist Wizard, and being 14th level when the Wizard was around 12th level.

Bards had a pretty useful list of class features, outside the spellcasting. Being able to Levitate more weight then the Wizard by being higher level, was probably not what was intended.