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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 9865528" data-attributes="member: 6796468">I like some stuff here, but I don't feel like they need all weapons and armor to feel like Bards.1) Bonus Action Economy at level 1. Call it something like "Dry Wit" and give them the ability to Help within 30ft with a Verbal component or cast Vicious Mockery on a given turn. This replaces Jack of All Trades at level 1.2) Half-Casting.3) Jack of All Trades replaces Expertise at level 3. Being at least half-skilled at everything is a stronger identity than being exceptionally good at a couple skills of your choice, which is where the Rogue excels.4) Countercharm needs to move down to 3rd level.5) Extra Attack at 5th level.6) Vicious Mockery deals half damage on a successful save at 6th level.7) Subclasses that get Extra Attack at 6th level instead gain the ability to deal more damage with melee attacks to creatures that have been targeted with Vicious Mockery in the past minute.This structure takes some of the sting out of spending your turn healing, since you can still bonus action insult the BBEG's mother and deal damage. It also essentially gives the Bard an "Off Hand Weapon" without needing one. For those Bards that take more melee/combat focused archetypes, they also get a better choice of how to spend their bonus action economy in a given situation.Do you help the Paladin land a smite, use a vicious mockery to try to reduce the chance of the next incoming hit landing while doing some (low) guaranteed damage, or do you -use- an off-hand weapon with weapon enchantments that do more damage than Vicious Mockery's 1d4?Yes, Vicious Mockery scales, but 1d6+Magic might wind up doing more than 4d4 damage, even if they fail the save, depending on the magic weapon in question. You -can- get a Flame Tongue Shortsword, after all, and dip Fighter for Two Weapon style.</blockquote>

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