How do YOU play a bard?

[Shadeus]

I suspect this is probably the all-too-common method of playing the bard. The character will just say, "I sing inspire courage", and the DM just notes it, and everyone struggles to remember that "oh yea, I have a +1", just like Bless.

You just described about 80% of the combat talk in my table-top campaigns:

Player1: I rolled a 10, so that's AC 22. Did I hit?
DM: No you just missed. Who's next?
Player2: Me. I cast--
Player3(cleric): Wait, did you remember my bless/prayer/aid spell?!?
Player1: Arg!

[Spend the next 15 min debating whether we go back in time or not and change the miss to a hit.]

 

[Praeco]

I suspect this is probably the all-too-common method of playing the bard. The character will just say, "I sing inspire courage", and the DM just notes it, and everyone struggles to remember that "oh yea, I have a +1", just like Bless.

But, if you stop to think about it, you've got this person standing there, amidst a fight with *whatever* singing James Taylor ballads or whatever while it's going on.

It's just bizarre.

And I suspect that if you tried to duplicate such a thing in a movie, audiences would look at each other and go "why is that guy singing while his friends are being stabbed to death? I thought he was their friend?"

The closest analogy in film might be a standard-bearer in an army - their job is to hold up the colors for as long as possible. This is somewhat plausible, but loses credibility when you're talking about maybe 5 people. With small numbers like those, every blade counts and it doesn't make sense to carry the standard so those five folks know the unit is still in the fight. After all,at most they just have to yell, "You still standing?" "OK!"

 

[Guillaume]

As for the singing part, I always envisionned the bard singing in combat a little like the drummer boy in the middle of the civil war battles, drumming away while people fell around him. His drumming an inspiration of standing stead fast against adversity.

That's the image I always had in my head anyway.

 

[shilsen]

But, if you stop to think about it, you've got this person standing there, amidst a fight with *whatever* singing James Taylor ballads or whatever while it's going on.

It's just bizarre.

"And as the horde of orcs charged into the outnumbered ranks facing them, Valdis the bard raised his voice, chanting a tale of death and glory, of swords sundered and lances shivered, of unsung lives lost for a forlorn hope. And even as his comrades fought desperately around him, the magical* words found their way into their minds and bodies, giving strength to their arms and lending bravery to their hearts. And incredibly, buoyed only by determination and the sound of a lonely voice, the line held."

It works for me. YMMV.

* It's a Su ability, after all.

 

[Trainz]

I am a very extrovert, and generally funny guy. All the PC's I play, I play like that, because I have a hard time going against the grain of my personality. Dark, brooding lone-wolves are not my thing. On top of that, I am a musician (keyboards, guitar, bass...).

That said, I have yet to play a bard. Since the advent of 3rd ed, no-one in my entourage ever played one. It just doesn't seem on par with all the other classes. I would love to play one, but it definitely needs something more special-powerful to be a viable option in our campaigns.

I even played a paladin that played the mandolin once, just for role-playing (cross-class skill). But the bard is just not worth it.

 

[Shadowdweller]

But, if you stop to think about it, you've got this person standing there, amidst a fight with *whatever* singing James Taylor ballads or whatever while it's going on.

I think of someone telling a clever or fatalistic story while the heroes are back to back, preparing for an ambush. Drummers drumming civil war troops forward. A dwarf singing marching or drinking songs as his troop tramps about some underground labyrinth. Something to drown out enemy battlecries, and present an hardened, apathetic face. Or to show the enemy what horrible things are going to happen to them.

Moving doesn't have to be melodramatic, anyway.

 

[orchid blossom]

Yeah, the picture of someone singing in a combat is weird. When I've played a bard, I tend to start the insipire courage effect and then stop. I only did it for one round and then let it go for the five rounds it lasts. So basically that cames down to a short speech or tune as the battle starts. Kinda like Geoffrey in "A Knight's Tale," giving his intro.

Outside combat, remember Charisma can be played in many ways. Sure, you can be handsome or beautiful, but you can also just have a personality that bowls people over. You don't have to be nice or even likable to have a high Charisma. People who are downright nasty can have a forceful presence. A high charisma just means that people don't forget you when you leave the room.

Take those bard skill points, sink them into knowledges and intimidate, and you have that curmudgeon sage.

 

[Emiricol]

I don't ask my clerics to know even first aid in real life, nor my wizard players to study witchcraft. I don't ask my fighters to know real fencing, nor my rogues to walk a tightrope before I let them in my game. I surely don't ask them to actually do these things personally during game play.

Well - same with Bards.

 

[der_kluge]

Going back to that original character that I made, when she moved from 2nd to 3rd, I asked the DM if I could change her classes, and he allowed me. I made her a rog1/sor2. Not only did she almost double the number of skill points she got (back in 3.0 when Bards only got 4 sp), I had twice as many spells as well. So, continuing down the bard path seemed quite ludicrous. It wouldn't be *as* bad now, since they've improved the bard, but still.


So, the musical aspect aside for a moment, what about the spellcasting abilities of the bard? No longer can a bard learn magic on the streets as he could in 2nd edition. This time, magic comes from the inside, like a sorcerer. Does that imply that he has dragon blood in him, since his spellcasting comes inately? If the bard meets a wizard, and the wizard offers to teach the bard a new spell, he now has to refuse citing, "oh, I'm sorry. Thanks for the offer, but I've already reached the maximum number of spells allowed to me by my level." WTF??

 

[Derulbaskul]

I had a bard in a group I've been DMing for the past year or so but the player ditched her when he got to about 12th level because she just didn't seem to have enough "oomph". Until that point, the +1 and then +2 song was literally the difference between disaster and victory but the rest of the party still complained about how weak the character was (her confusion and hold monster spells were also rather effective).

One problem: she had a light crossbow as her ranged weapon and had no ranged weapon feats. I think if she had gone the shortbow or longbow (she was an elf so had the proficiencies) with ranged weapon feats she may have been perceived as being a lot more useful.

One other problem: despite a very high Cha and Cha-related skills, the player, I have to admit, played her "stupid", so there were times when Cha-related skills would have allowed the party to deal with certain encounters but the player just wanted to "see what happened if I...".