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<blockquote data-quote="TheCosmicKid" data-source="post: 7849344" data-attributes="member: 6683613"><p>So, bards, basically.</p><p></p><p>Bards are solid characters in 5E, but I've yet to encounter a problem with one rendering the rest of the party obsolete. The primary reason for this is the action economy: even if a bard has the option to do anything, they can still only do one thing per turn. (This is also why the traditional multiclass gish build has usually been underwhelming in its performance across editions.) The flexibility they gain does not compensate for the premium they pay in effectiveness. If, say, a character can swing a sword 80% as well as a fighter and throw a fireball 80% as well as a wizard, then on paper it might look like zomg they've got 160% power, but nope, their output on any given round is still just 80% -- the party would be better off with a real fighter or a real wizard.</p><p></p><p>The exception to this pattern is when the features synergize. Usually this has meant self-buffing to become a monster (I'm looking at you 3E cleric). 5E, however, is reasonably carefully designed so that most combat buffs can be cast on other party members, and further incentivizes this with the concentration rules, so you're probably better off with a wizard-fighter team where the wizard buffs the fighter than with two gishes where each buffs themselves.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheCosmicKid, post: 7849344, member: 6683613"] So, bards, basically. Bards are solid characters in 5E, but I've yet to encounter a problem with one rendering the rest of the party obsolete. The primary reason for this is the action economy: even if a bard has the option to do anything, they can still only do one thing per turn. (This is also why the traditional multiclass gish build has usually been underwhelming in its performance across editions.) The flexibility they gain does not compensate for the premium they pay in effectiveness. If, say, a character can swing a sword 80% as well as a fighter and throw a fireball 80% as well as a wizard, then on paper it might look like zomg they've got 160% power, but nope, their output on any given round is still just 80% -- the party would be better off with a real fighter or a real wizard. The exception to this pattern is when the features synergize. Usually this has meant self-buffing to become a monster (I'm looking at you 3E cleric). 5E, however, is reasonably carefully designed so that most combat buffs can be cast on other party members, and further incentivizes this with the concentration rules, so you're probably better off with a wizard-fighter team where the wizard buffs the fighter than with two gishes where each buffs themselves. [/QUOTE]
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