Monte cook's bard

Ancalagon · May 21, 2002

So...

it looks neat, but anyone tried it? how is it? Any big threads about it somewhere?

Ancalagon

Crothian · May 21, 2002

There are threads about it on the Wizards boards. I was going to try it, but it was so different from the PHB bard that it was to big a change for a character already in creation.

JLXC · May 21, 2002

It has replaced the "standard" PHB Bard in my game, and I actually have players interested in Bards now. Several NPC Bards have wowed my games, and as a DM they just work so much better. They are original and all around more interesting. I can't say enough about it!

Eternalknight · May 21, 2002

JLXC said:
It has replaced the "standard" PHB Bard in my game, and I actually have players interested in Bards now. Several NPC Bards have wowed my games, and as a DM they just work so much better. They are original and all around more interesting. I can't say enough about it!

I would have written something to help, but the above quote sums it all up

Xahn'Tyr · May 21, 2002

Umm, how about a link to this awsome bard thing? Wandering blind into montecook.com is like going into the Swamp of Eternal Stench...

novyet · May 21, 2002

Xahn'Tyr said:
Umm, how about a link to this awsome bard thing? Wandering blind into montecook.com is like going into the Swamp of Eternal Stench...

Sorry man, but it's not free. It's in the book of eldritch magic 2. highly worth it btw.

Setanta · May 21, 2002

The new Bard is really cool. I just hope Monte (or someone else if his new Bard is OGC) makes more spellsongs to really flesh things out.

Songwind · May 21, 2002

I love it

I have an MC bard in my campaign now - it's excellent. I've left the PHB bard in the campaign, renamed to "Dilletante", but the new bard rocks pretty hard. The spellsongs are interesting, and she's balancing out well with the rest of the party.

The bard and the rogue have got all manner of information gathering nicely covered as well.

The Sigil · May 21, 2002

I may be wrong...

Setanta said:
The new Bard is really cool. I just hope Monte (or someone else if his new Bard is OGC) makes more spellsongs to really flesh things out.

I may be wrong, but I believe the bard - and spellsongs - are NOT Open Game Content. Meaning even if they wanted to, nobody could make more spellsongs.

Originally posted by Crothian
There are threads about it on the Wizards boards. I was going to try it, but it was so different from the PHB bard that it was to big a change for a character already in creation.

That's really the only thing not to like about Monte's bard... it's SO different that it is almost impossible to "convert" an existing character... you have to start from scratch.

*Shameless plug...* if you're really interested in adding depth and flavor to your bard without the hassle of converting to a totally new system, consider the Enchiridion of Mystic Music (available at www.RPGNow.com ). You can find a brief product description and other goodies at http://www.cooleys.org/publishing/ - not as "radical" as Monte's revision, but is completely "modular" with the existing system (no converting from scratch).

It vastly expands the bard's abilities by focusing on their music, rather than their spells. If you're dissatisfied by the fact that bardic music essentially stops at 9th level, you just might want to check it out... imagine over 80 things your bard can do with his music instead of the 6 in the PHB (that's more than 10 times as much). Best of all, it's practically 100% OGC (the only things in the book that aren't OGC are the product name, publisher name, e-mail addresses, graphics, and graphics credits), so anyone can add on to the basic system presented.

--The Sigil

Setanta · May 21, 2002

*Shameless plug...* if you're really interested in adding depth and flavor to your bard without the hassle of converting to a totally new system, consider the Enchiridion of Mystic Music (available at www.RPGNow.com ).

The thing that has kept me from introducing a Monte bard to my campaign is your book. I haven't finished reading it yet (I'm waaay behind on D20 stuff), but it looks promising that I will be able to introduce a new bard character without having to go with Monte's interesting yet 'dead end' bard.