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<blockquote data-quote="Theo R Cwithin" data-source="post: 5054413" data-attributes="member: 75712">Sorry, I have nothing to share regarding mechanics, just a little bit on how I view bards. Ymmv....To my mind, bards are sort of a philosophical counterpoint to nature-based classes like core druid, ranger or nature cleric.&nbsp; They draw their power from something that might be called the &quot;force of civilization&quot; or &quot;the human experience&quot;.&nbsp; They somehow embody &quot;socialness&quot;, things like art, communication, history, and the like.This is why they are lorists and story tellers: they simply tap into what civilization knows, and everything it has learned.&nbsp; Bards utilize arcane magic because imc &quot;arcane&quot; magic is&nbsp; more or less &quot;scientific&quot; or &quot;engineered&quot; magic, and is the fruit of study, collaboration, etc.&nbsp; In other words, arcane magic wouldn't exist with a history for people to have figured it out in.&nbsp; And bards typically express themselves via music because that's an effective and powerful form of human expression.&nbsp; Some bards might use oratory, including poetry, story telling, soliloquy, etc.&nbsp; And (though I hadn't thought about it til now) experienced bards may explore other forms of expression at higher levels for other magical effects (eg, enduring or empowered ones):&nbsp; dance, writing, architecture, visual arts, mathematics, or arts unique to the culture (shadow puppetry, mosaics, illumination, weaving, etc).Generally, I prefer to keep &quot;class&quot; a purely metagame concept, so a character is more a personality with background, and less a class.&nbsp; That said, characters with bard levels might be drawn from a wide range of&nbsp; occupations.&nbsp; Obvious ones are singer, actor, minstrel, artist, jester, chanter, crier, musician, poet, etc.&nbsp; Other possibilities include social or knowledge occupations: elder, politician, commander, teacher, priest, librarian, chronicler, coach, monk, professor, wiseman, etc.As for what to call them?&nbsp; Unfortunately, I don't know.&nbsp; Given the way I view them, they're inherently tied to the culture, so I'm having trouble thinking up a nice neutral word!&nbsp; I'll chime in again if I think of something.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Theo R Cwithin, post: 5054413, member: 75712"] Sorry, I have nothing to share regarding mechanics, just a little bit on how I view bards. Ymmv.... To my mind, bards are sort of a philosophical counterpoint to nature-based classes like core druid, ranger or nature cleric. They draw their power from something that might be called the "force of civilization" or "the human experience". They somehow embody "socialness", things like art, communication, history, and the like. This is why they are lorists and story tellers: they simply tap into what civilization knows, and everything it has learned. Bards utilize arcane magic because imc "arcane" magic is more or less "scientific" or "engineered" magic, and is the fruit of study, collaboration, etc. In other words, arcane magic wouldn't exist with a history for people to have figured it out in. And bards typically express themselves via music because that's an effective and powerful form of human expression. Some bards might use oratory, including poetry, story telling, soliloquy, etc. And (though I hadn't thought about it til now) experienced bards may explore other forms of expression at higher levels for other magical effects (eg, enduring or empowered ones): dance, writing, architecture, visual arts, mathematics, or arts unique to the culture (shadow puppetry, mosaics, illumination, weaving, etc). Generally, I prefer to keep "class" a purely metagame concept, so a character is more a personality with background, and less a class. That said, characters with bard levels might be drawn from a wide range of occupations. Obvious ones are singer, actor, minstrel, artist, jester, chanter, crier, musician, poet, etc. Other possibilities include social or knowledge occupations: elder, politician, commander, teacher, priest, librarian, chronicler, coach, monk, professor, wiseman, etc. As for what to call them? Unfortunately, I don't know. Given the way I view them, they're inherently tied to the culture, so I'm having trouble thinking up a nice neutral word! I'll chime in again if I think of something. [/QUOTE]

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