Leadership Millage

[Larrin]

yeah, warlords=bards really doesn't seem to be supported in any of the powers we've seen previewed for the warlord. He's not a song and dance man. He says "stab that guy" and "lets pin this guy" and "healing surge yourself. Warlord's a drill Sargent, not Barry Manilow....

While a bard could have said these things in 3.5, they would have had little to do with his default flavor and abilities. He's more "You can do it, yes you can, my song will lift your spirits". I don't see how this is somehow equivalent to "wolf pack tactics" or "iron dragon charge"

I think warlords will see a good spike of use since their sort of mechanics (i do stuff and then you do stuff) is relatively new, and has a lot of fun potential. Clerics will see steady use. And bards i think will be my main leader to use (once they come out), Bards were my first 3e characters, and I look forward to a new improved Bard. Shamans should they ever exist will always sort of be the "third party" leader, unless they're really crunchy in which case they could take over the clerics crowd.

 

[Family]

Inspiring cry---Inspiring song. One is off key but both have the same affect.

Both buff.

Both also know thier way around a blade and are good diplomats.

The "Inspiring Warlord" build in particular is rather spot on.

 

[Cirex]

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen Warlord healing spells...and I was expecting at least one from a leader class.

 

[Nightchill]

Well, from the Warlord excerpt:

Very early on in 4th Edition design, our work on character roles led us to the idea that any character serving as the party’s “cleric”—whether a bard, shaman, warlord, or whatever—needed to be as good at that job as the cleric or else we’d have yet another edition of D&D in which every party still needed a cleric.

The Inspiring (Cha-based) Warlord seems like it'll have some heals, such as Inspiring Word and Bastion of Defence (PRC 2.4). It's looking like we'll be having one of these Inspiring Warlords as the party Leader. Deep down, I'm slightly nervous at the thought of there being no cleric in my player's party

 

[Byronic]

Well, Bards do have the advantage of also having the Charisma to pull off a "leadership" roll outside of combat. Although this depends on the player of course...

 

[Dunamin]

Inspiring cry---Inspiring song. One is off key but both have the same affect.

Both buff.

Both also know thier way around a blade and are good diplomats.

The "Inspiring Warlord" build in particular is rather spot on.

Inspiring Word - Inspiring Song - Healing Word. All have the same effect.

All buff.

All know their way around a decent weapon and have a Cha-based build option.

Its just common traits for leaders.

The Inspiring (Cha-based) Warlord seems like it'll have some heals, such as Inspiring Word and Bastion of Defence (PRC 2.4).

Inspiring Word is actually a feature that all warlords get, not just inspiring warlords (source). However, the article seems to indicate that the inspiring warlord will be better at healing in general, whereas the tactical warlord will be better at enhancing the group combat potential.

 

[Voss]

Every bard I've seen has essentially been Elan from order of the stick. In the background, doing stupid things, and when he talks, the foot muffles any attempt at getting the NPCs to do something.

Well, except, Elan pulls off some moments of dramatic insight. Most bard player's I've seen don't manage that.

I don't see a lot of Bard in the warlord. A different kind of inspiration, and a character thats actually useful both in and out of combat. And far less silly. Which is unfortunate, because D&D took a serious and studious concept and made it walking joke, more a jongleur than a bard.

 

[Chibbot]

I don't see Bard in the Warlord, but I can easily see playing a Warlord and claiming/pretending to be a Bard.

The groups I'm in will probably have an even split of Cleric and Warlord for year 1.

I like the Warlord a lot, and will probably play it right up until the PHB2 is released, and he mysteriously retires and is replaced by a Bard.

 

[Dedekind]

The Bard and the Warlord are different: the Warlord sounds useful.

Joking aside, the 3e bard really suffered from the "Master of None" idea. It wasn't even second best at most things:

A second best offensive caster would be a druid
A second best healing caster would be a paladin or a druid
A second best sneaker would be a ranger
Everyone but sorceror and wizard are better at fighting.

Granted, the bard can do some of each of these, but why bother when they would be the third choice for any role?

How can a 4e bard, built to be a leader, fill a distinct role? Warlords are obviously tactically based while clerics seem based around buffs and healing.

A Bard could provide the leadership role by putting penalties on the enemies instead of bonuses the players. It's different from other leaders, but sounds more like a controller.

I'm not trying to be mean. I am full-fledged Bard supporter! I swear! I just think the "Jack of all Trades" idea stinks and I'm not sure how they can fulfill the leader role as defined in 4e.

 

[Chimera]

I'm playing a Bard (now 6th level) in a WotBS campaign, so I expect that he'll get the most mileage (and maybe someday Millage) in the campaign, unless someone else decides to play a Warlord.

The problem being the conversion speed, since 4e comes out in June, but the Bard doesn't come out for a year. So everything will depend on how soon everyone wants to switch over vs. How soon the GM is able to convert the encounters, etc. I have offered to have my Bard step aside for a few months, play a Warlord in the mean time, then resume playing the Bard when that book comes out. We'll have to see.