D&D 5E Bards Should Be Half-Casters in 5.5e/6e

[DEFCON 1]

Individual classes don't need unique spells in my opinion... but rather individual characters need unique spells within a party.

A bard that has Thunderwave is unique if none of the other PCs have it or prepare it. And this is where working with your fellow players to create a cohesive unit comes into play.

If a Sorcerer is deciding to make a pyromancer, I would hope that the Wizard would choose a different spell selection that doesn't include spells like Burning Hands and Fireball so as to differentiate the characters, both mechanically and narratively.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Individual classes don't need unique spells in my opinion... but rather individual characters need unique spells within a party.

Big disagree. Artificers should have spells unique to them that can enhance their specific class features and theme (like a spell that creates an infusion that you know for as long as you concentrate on it for up to an hour, or a spell that turns a PC's armor into a Mech-Suit that can take some of the blows for them, or a spell that can make constructs go haywire as you "hack" into their magical programming, or a spell similar to the Druid's Awaken that lets you create Artificial Intelligences for magic items and non-intelligent constructs), while Sorcerers should have their own spells that do the same for their class features and theme (maybe spells where you can expend Hit Dice to cast them at a higher level or do more damage, or a spell that's like an AoE version of Chaos Bolt, etc).

Druids have unique spells, Paladins have unique spells, Rangers have unique spells, Clerics have unique spells, Wizards have unique spells, and so on. All casting classes should have their own unique spells that enhance and embody their theme, IMO.

 

[Faolyn]

Individual classes don't need unique spells in my opinion... but rather individual characters need unique spells within a party.

A bard that has Thunderwave is unique if none of the other PCs have it or prepare it. And this is where working with your fellow players to create a cohesive unit comes into play.

Depends on how it's done. In one game I ran, we had two casters that both had ice knife. However, one of the players is big into describing how his spells are cast and what the visual effects are like, which prompted the other player into coming up with a completely different way of describing his ice knife. It lead to two people casting the same spell but in different ways, making them feel much unique.

 

[Scribe]

Individual classes don't need unique spells in my opinion... but rather individual characters need unique spells within a party.

Why not both though? Certainly there can be some overlap, but having unique spells within each caster class could be a good thing.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

The class unique spells of 5e tend to mostly fall into the camps of either forgettable and more obscure by dint of not being on multiple class lists, or else really good and/or flavorful and hence so iconic to the class that they become basically a tax on spells known/prepared and should probably have just been class features rather than spells. I'm not saying that's necessarily how it has to be, but that's WotC's track record in my eyes.

 

[Minigiant]

I don't see it. How exactly are those classes stealing the bard's thunder?

By stepping into the same roles and images as the bard. Especially if your goal was to build a character with a versatile list of "arcane" and "divine" spells. The bard had this concept for themselves when the edition started. Now many classes can attempt it.

This means you must be specifically looking for a bard-only spell combination or usage of Bardic Inspiration or Song of Rest to make the bard the undisputed best choice for your character.

What else do you expect Bardic Inspiration to even do other than the nice things it already does plus whatever additional stuff it can do based on subclass?

I can think of a lot. Other people can think of a lot. The ~8 official bard subclasses are not the only bard ideas that exist.

That is the flaw of the "What else do you expect/think up" question. Other people can imagine idea you might not think of.

 

[Minigiant]

The class unique spells of 5e tend to mostly fall into the camps of either forgettable and more obscure by dint of not being on multiple class lists, or else really good and/or flavorful and hence so iconic to the class that they become basically a tax on spells known/prepared and should probably have just been class features rather than spells. I'm not saying that's necessarily how it has to be, but that's WotC's track record in my eyes.

That is because WOTC...

(shields to full power)

are very conservative with imagination and wont pull ideas from outside traditional works unless stumped but need to produce a book. And in 5e, they have mostly pushed spell creation to 3rd parties.

There are many sound based magics for bards, man/beast and man/wood spells for rangers and druids, elemental and bloodline spells for sorcerers, etc that could be created from scratch or snagged from other media is just isn't funny.

 

[Gladius Legis]

This means you must be specifically looking for a bard-only spell combination or usage of Bardic Inspiration or Song of Rest to make the bard the undisputed best choice for your character.

So your solution is to nerf the Bard to a half-caster and make sure it is nobody's best choice for their character. Convenient.

I can think of a lot. Other people can think of a lot. The ~8 official bard subclasses are not the only bard ideas that exist.

That is the flaw of the "What else do you expect/think up" question. Other people can imagine idea you might not think of.

In my experience, when asking this question, nearly everybody comes up with answers that suck.

To wit, I have intensely disliked every single idea for a half-caster Bard anyone has ever come up with.

 

[Minigiant]

So your solution is to nerf the Bard to a half-caster and make sure it is nobody's best choice for their character. Convenient.

No, it's nerf the bard to half caster and make

1. Lore's Cutting Words
2. Valor's Combat Inspiration
3. Glamour's Mantle of Inspiration
4. Whisper's Psychic Blades
5. Creation's Mote of Inspiration
6. Eloquence's Unsettling Words
7. Hymn's Healing Inspiration
8. Dance's Song and Dance
9. Sculpting's Inspire Earth
10. Dirge's Danse Macabre
11. Color's Synesthesia
12. Battle's Diss Track

all base bard features

In my experience, when asking this question, nearly everybody comes up with answers that suck.

Maybe the ideas suck.
Maybe someone wanted the death metal bard to rock out and raise moshing zombies because "we are all equal in death so all can use a funeral song"

 

[Faolyn]

There are many sound based magics for bards, man/beast and man/wood spells for rangers and druids, elemental and bloodline spells for sorcerers, etc that could be created from scratch or snagged from other media is just isn't funny.

Or from D&D itself. I have all seven volumes of the Wizards' and Priests' Spellbooks from 2e. There are probably hundreds upon hundreds of spells that haven't been converted to 5e yet.