Thomas Shey
Legend
Honestly, I think my biggest problem with the Bard is the name. If they had called it "Adventurer" or even "Scoundrel," I'd probably have a higher opinion of them. But instead they called it "bard," so now there's always a dumb lute hanging around, pasted over an otherwise cohesive character concept like a piece of Microsoft Word clipart.
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"Sure, I'm in combat and armed with a sword, but look at my lute, isn't it awesome?! I bet you thought I was a rogue but no, I have a lute and that means I'm a bard!"
Pbbth.
Historical momentum tends to have an almost overwhelming heft in the D&D sphere some times, and that one goes waaaay back.