In my first Rolemaster campaign, close to thirty years ago now, there was more than one character who - if they were to be statted up in D&D - would be a bard.
The more memorable one was a snow elf grey moon mage - he had modest melee and judo ability, quite good archery, good social skills, and a range of spells to enhance his schtick - illusions, disguises and shape changes, some charms, etc. He was also an expert athlete and skiier. And new plenty of languages. I don't think he did any singing or reciting of tales.
The idea of party face characters should die in a fire. Not just any fire though. Like a dumpster fire. The idea that an entire class of challenges that have a pivotal impact on the course of play and can be lengthy and involved should be entirely in the hands of a single player while the other players sit back and watch it happen is antithetical to what I consider good play.
Yes, and maybe also no.
Absolutely yes as far as the idea that a particular sort of situation should be the monopoly of a particular PC (either build type, or a particular PC at the table). I think that's acceptable for the most hardcore Advanced Squad Leader-style play, but that's not a RPG approach I personally have any interest in.
But I don't mind PCs whose specialty is the social sphere. Like the character I mentioned above, who was good at disguising himself and engaging in intrigue. In that campaign the players would come up with plans that relied on that PC, plus another who was a full caster with a similar but appropriately stronger spell load out (a mystic, for any RM fans out there), infiltrating enemy cities or citadels or whatever whether as the spearhead for an assault or to collect intelligence.
In my Prince Valiant game, the three primary PCs are all knights - two with Brawn 4, Presence 3 and one with Brawn 3, Presence 4. The former have doubled down on their Brawn with Arms 4, while the latter has Arms 2 but a greater range of social skills. Which have given him a different narrative trajectory from the others - it's not a coincidence that he was knighted in play by a NPC knight; that he was the first of the three to be married; and that when they needed to split the party into a "noble" contingent and a "commoner" contingent he was part of the second contingent (together with the travelling performer mentioned earlier) who infiltrated the village without letting on who they really were.
I am struck by the number of posts in this thread which frame
capability and also
group play primarily if not purely in combat terms. Especially given this is the General and not the D&D forum.
