Return of the Bard

[Kynn]

I really hope the AD&D bard doesn't come back.

 

[Skyscraper]

To the OP: nice description of the Skald-type bard, it indeed looks like a bunch of fun when worded that way.

(Although, as noted above, it's not the 1E bard.)

 

[Starbuck_II]

I really hope the AD&D bard doesn't come back.

I liked 2E's Bard. He was a wizard that leveled faster.

 

[Kzach]

(Although, as noted above, it's not the 1E bard.)

Yeah, you'd think I would've addressed this in my OP.

Oh wait, I did.

 

[Hassassin]

If you want a skald type bard, wouldn't it be easier to start with a cleric or druid and swap in some musical abilities? A skald could be sort of an urban variant of the druid (cf. urban ranger). Or you could simply reskin the spells as music.

I like the arcane bard in 3e, although I don't think I ever played the AD&D one. The settings are based on arcane jack-of-all-trades bards, especially FR which is supposed to be the first one they update, so I think they'll stick with that base.

 

[Skyscraper]

Yeah, you'd think I would've addressed this in my OP.

Oh wait, I did.

Okay, in re-reading I can see that you were meaning to derive from the 1E bard towards the celtic one. I can't say it was crystal clear, though.

Anyway, like I said I like your take on the celtic bard. As you mention, it's pretty close to a warlord, so if the warlord makes another appearance (which seems likely since they suggested that they would be lauching the game with all core classes from all editions IIRC), you can rename the warlord and the job will be done

 

[Umbran]

You never do.

Yeah, you'd think I would've addressed this in my OP.

Oh wait, I did.

Not nearly as clearly as you seem to think you did. So, maybe next time you'll hold off on the flippancy, and actually engage in conversation.

 

[Kzach]

Not nearly as clearly as you seem to think you did.

To someone who analyses information instead of leaping to worst-case assumptions I think it was pretty obvious. Which is ironic given your occupation.

So, maybe next time you'll hold off on the flippancy, and actually engage in conversation.

I'm happy to engage in conversation on the topic with people who understand the topic and don't immediately deride my stance based on false assumptions. I know you always think you're the good guy, but that doesn't make it true.

 

[Aeolius]

As awesome as the 1e bard was, especially if you used Unearthed Arcana in an unorthodox manner (Begin as a fighter, double-specialize in two weapons, change classes to thief and specialize as a thief/acrobat, then on to a bard under druidic tutoring, all the way to L23 with the expanded druid), I'm ready for something new.

How about a bard with an alternate magical system - Music. Games such as Loom and Aquaria were memorable because of the way they treated the Magic of Music. Those game were fun to play, thus I envision a D&D equivalent would also be enjoyable.

 

[WheresMyD20]

Now, as much as I'd like to see it be some sort of uber-class like it was in AD&D

This is a common misconception. The 1e bard is hardly an uber-class. At high levels, a 1e bard gets an absolute mountain of hit points, especially if he has a hp bonus from con. Aside from that, this to-hits pale in comparison to a fighter, his thief skills aren't all that useful at that level, and his spellcasting is second-rate compared to magic-users and clerics. Druid spells are generally weaker than their M-U and cleric counterparts and the bard doesn't even get to the top level spells that a true druid gets around 10th level or so.

I played in a high-level 1e campaign for years. We had a max level bard in the party. If anything, the character seemed under-powered. Aside from the mountain of hit points, he had very little going for him.