How/Can you roleplay a non-musical bard?

[deClench]

Spoken word rants... ala Henry Rollins.

Tell me you can't see Rollins as a D&D character!

 

[taliesin15]

I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating. The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded. They are modelled after the Dunedain from Lord of the Rings - in their veins runs the blood of a lost kingdom, giving them sorcerous abilities, deep insight into the ways of men, lore of legendry and forgotten myths, and the ability to stir the soul with their voice. They don't use music, but instead rely upon oration, heroic exhortations and an almost mystical insight into the soul to power their abilities. QUOTE]
so glad to see something like this suggested--clearly there are many example of bards in history reciting poetry that held people spellbound that didn't have to have music (think of the reciters of works like Beowuld and the Iliad), and even in fantasy literature

btw, I think some of the suggestions like rapping, Def Jam poetry and the St. Crispin's Day speech (that because of the William Shatner version) pretty ludicrous unless one's campaign is a spoof-campaign (more in keeping with Order of the Stick or Another Fine Myth). There is a hypnotic effect promulgated by poetry that is done well without music.

 

[sniffles]

I'm currently running a non-musical bard in a campaign in which one of the other PCs is a bard/marshal. The other bard isn't musical either. My bard does storytelling and poetry; the bard/marshal uses oratory. My bard recites heroic poems like 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', while the other bard gives inspiring speeches like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream".

It's unfortunate that the term 'bard' has become so associated with music. Traditionally bards were often storytellers rather than musicians - the type of lute-playing character many people think of when you say 'bard' is really a minstrel or jongleur.

Bards can do a lot of other things besides play a musical instrument. A bard could also be a juggler, acrobat, illusionist/magician (in the David Copperfield sense), tumbler, contortionist, knife-thrower, shell-game operator, gambler, dancer, actor, or even a stand-up comedian.

 

[Wraith Form]

I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating. The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded. They are modelled after the Dunedain from Lord of the Rings - in their veins runs the blood of a lost kingdom, giving them sorcerous abilities, deep insight into the ways of men, lore of legendry and forgotten myths, and the ability to stir the soul with their voice. They don't use music, but instead rely upon oration, heroic exhortations and an almost mystical insight into the soul to power their abilities. Some do sing (if the player is so inclined to reproduce something along the lines of Aragorn's bouts of elvish music) but this is not the focus of the class. It works really well and has done away with the "dude with a lute" image completely. If you use Arcana Evolved, they work especially well with The Voice feat and mirror the Bene Gesserit from Dune in this way as well.

Why, that's just bloody cool! *yoink*

 

[Wraith Form]

I've always liked the idea of a musician bard--no singing, just an instrument. I have no ability with any musical instrument personally, but I've had a fondness for a bard who performed funeral dirges with, say, a violin (a la Sherlock Holmes). Or one who wears all black, and does Gregorian chant type stuff, and is all melencholy.

Y'know. A Goth Bard. I think that'd be cool.

 

[Ranger REG]

Or maybe look at something like the haka.

Looks kinda awkward performing the maori war chant solo.

 

[Ranger REG]

I've always liked the idea of a musician bard--no singing, just an instrument. I have no ability with any musical instrument personally, but I've had a fondness for a bard who performed funeral dirges with, say, a violin (a la Sherlock Holmes). Or one who wears all black, and does Gregorian chant type stuff, and is all melencholy.

Y'know. A Goth Bard. I think that'd be cool.

A fiddling goth bard with angst?

Could be worse, like the lady in Spider-Man 2 singing the animated theme song on her fiddler.

 

[Wraith Form]

A fiddling goth bard with angst?

Could be worse, like the lady in Spider-Man 2 singing the animated theme song on her fiddler.

I was thinking more along the lines of the D&D version of Brendan Perry or Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance.

 

[Fat Daddy]

I played a Shugenja in an OA campaign who never told the other PC's what he was casting (ALA I cast fireball). Instead he had (really bad) Haiku written up that corresponded to each spell. You could do something similar with your bard concept (if you wanted an oriental flavored bard??).
I thought about posting some examples here but the ridicule and derision of my own gaming group is enough, I don't need it from the whole of Enworld as well.

 

[Wraith Form]

I thought about posting some examples here but the ridicule and derision of my own gaming group is enough, I don't need it from the whole of Enworld as well.

Bah. Wuss.


Oh, oooops.