...so even the Bard was solid, and 5e, while restoring the status quo ante in most cases, somehow got the idea that the Bard should be a genuine 9-spell-levels full caster. Maybe it was powering back up casters with such a broad brush that the Bard just got caught up in it.
It's because multiclassing structure precludes a caster between 1/2 and full. During playtest we were giving feedback that bards were clearly much closer to full casters than rangers and paladins in every edition.
That was easy to back up with spells available and progression. 4E structured classes similarly and bards were flavored magical.
3E had bard: caster levels as standard while rangers and paladins caster levels were at half level, bards had a large list and many spells, they went up to 8th level (releveled to 6th to meet bard spells), and more than enough magical songs to make up the difference. In the end, combining spells with songs into one mechanic is simpler and works better with the MC tables.
Whether casters were powered back up or not (we disagree on that) is irrelevant. Bards were fit into the mechanics adapted as best they could. They very near full casters by following full progression tables but not quite because they don't get abilities to improve spell casting like other spell casters do.
It was deliberate and I think well done.
I'm also never one to let flavor be imposed on my characters. That includes clerics and bards. They fit my concepts instead of dictating them.
I played a 2E bard from levels 5-11ish and I thought the character was extremely powerful. 2E bards had access to all wizard spells, and could add found spells to their spellbooks. That was pretty huge. Agree that 3E bards are pretty terrible
Bards were my favorite 3e class, lol. Sure, not CoDzilla but skills and spells and songs could definitely be strong, especially with PrC's 2e they were usually higher levels than the rest of the party based on the progression table and bonus XP system.
OT: It matters less what a person plays than how he or she plays it. I have joined groups and asked them what they want me to play and have fun with anything.
Cleric work fine for me. I prefer war, tempest, knowledge, and light. Spell-caster-in-a-can tends towards better durability at lower levels, healing technically isn't required but it is useful, and thete are plenty of wothwhile spells to work with.
I prefer better AC to shapeshift hp cushioning because I find the hit points can go too quickly without the armor, HAM can be applied, and beastform restricts spell casting.
Having domain spells added to spells prepped is a big advantage and works well with the way the class applies the ritual caster feat.
