Question - Armor Proficiency for Bards?

[El Jefe]

You'd think this would have been picked up in some errata or something a long time ago, yet I can't seem to find a definitive answer. What is the proper armor proficiency for a beginning bard?

Look at the current online SRD: In the class description, it says that Bards have Light Armor proficiency.

But look at the feat description: In the classes listed for having Medium Armor proficiency as a bonus feat, Bard is clearly listed.

So, do you start with Light or Medium Armor bonus? One of these is clearly an oversight. But which one?

And yes, I agree that Bards must take the ACP (chance of spell failure) for casting spells with a somatic component when wearing Medium Armor. That's not the issue here, just whether they take a non-proficiency penalty for fighting in the stuff.

Apologies if this has been answered somewhere else before.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Bards are proficient with "light armor and shields (except tower shields)," for free. Of course a Bard can be proficient with any or all equipment with the proper feat expenditures.

The description of Medium armor is the oversight.

As an aside, ACP is the Armor Check Penalty. That would be the "non-proficiency penalty for fighting in the stuff". Armor check penaly is very different from arcane spell failure chance (ASFC?).

 

[El Jefe]

The description of Medium armor is the oversight.

Thanks, that's great. Just one last question...how do you know that the class description is correct and the feat description is wrong?

 

[FalcWP]

The special edition PHB fixed a number of errors, including Bards being listed as having medium armor proficiency as a bonus feat, so that would confirm it for me.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Core Prioritization.
When there is a conflict between rules one need only ask which is more core? The DMG is more core than the Monster Manual, and the PHB is more core than the DMG; however, this problem is inside the PHB. So, what's more core for the Bard, the class entry or the Armor Proficiency (Medium) feat?
( Just incase the answer isn't obvious to everyone, the class entry is more core. )
Since the class entry is more core than the feat entry, the class entry has priority and trumps all Bard-related information from other sources unless those sources specifically say "this supercedes the information found in the Player's Handbook."

"But, ValhallaGH," you ask, "how can I possibly accept that rambling junk as official?"

Easily!

Errata Rule: Primary Sources
When you find a disagreement between two D&D® rules
sources, unless an official errata file says otherwise, the
primary source is correct. One example of a
primary/secondary source is text taking precedence over
a table entry. An individual spell description takes
precedence when the short description in the beginning
of the spells chapter disagrees.

You can find this yourself by going to here and reading the first couple paragraphs of the pdf document that links to.

 

[El Jefe]

And that all wraps it up nicely. Thanks!

Odd, though, that they'd put out a print verstion of the PHB that was a revision ahead of the online SRD...

 

[Liquidsabre]

Looks like it's just an error oversight in the SRD is all. I'm sure WotC wouldn't mind if you emailed them pointing out the error so they might fix it.

 

[calypso15]

Looks like it's just an error oversight in the SRD is all. I'm sure WotC wouldn't mind if you emailed them pointing out the error so they might fix it.

The problem exists in the PHB as well. At least, it does in the copy I have.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Core Prioritization.
When there is a conflict between rules one need only ask which is more core? The DMG is more core than the Monster Manual, and the PHB is more core than the DMG; however, this problem is inside the PHB. So, what's more core for the Bard, the class entry or the Armor Proficiency (Medium) feat?
( Just incase the answer isn't obvious to everyone, the class entry is more core. )
Since the class entry is more core than the feat entry, the class entry has priority and trumps all Bard-related information from other sources unless those sources specifically say "this supercedes the information found in the Player's Handbook."

"But, ValhallaGH," you ask, "how can I possibly accept that rambling junk as official?"

Easily!

You can find this yourself by going to here and reading the first couple paragraphs of the pdf document that links to.

Not that I don't agree with you, but we must also remember...

The purpose of (some) feats is to "break" the standard rules. For example, normally you can only move and attack, or attack then move. But not both at the same time. However, there is a feat (Spring Attack) which allows you to move, attack, move all in the same round. This feat "breaks" the standard rule.

 

[Spatula]

Bards (and rangers) were proficient with light & medium armor in 3.0. 3.5 removed the medium armor proficiency from both classes, but there are a number of oversight errors like the one you found throughout the 3.5 books.