D&D (2024) What is the 2024 Bard Power Source?

[James Gasik]

Charisma would make sense for some classes like the Warlock, where you might have to bargain with your Patron for magic. Though by that standard, Clerics should be Charisma-based, lol.

With Bards, their magic is tied into the way they express themselves, by word or music- the skills tied to that are usually associated with Charisma, so it powers their magic by default, even if other factors, like the ability to compose and memorize songs (Int), manual dexterity to play an instrument (Dex), or the ability to sustain a note or use circular breathing (Con) would be important as well.

Now Sorcerers...I couldn't tell you why Charisma is the ability score they landed on. Most explanations are half-hearted at best. My personal headcanon is that, after deciding that dragons would use Charisma as their casting stat, as not all dragon types are particularly intelligent or wise, but they tend to be charismatic (at the very least, because they are imposing and frightening), and making Charisma the "innate magic" ability, it just made sense for Sorcerers to follow suit.

 

[ezo]

I voted Psionics because Bards are just here to annoy us.

 

[Blue]

What is the 2024 Bard Power Source?

Anything that makes sense for the setting and character, exactly the same as Wizards, Clerics, Druids, Rangers, and Sorcerers.

The only classes that always have power sources are the Warlock (their Patron) and Paladin (their Oath). There is no "Arcane Power Source" any more than there is "THAC0". It's a concept that just doesn't exist mechanically. Sorcerers may have power sources, but aren't required to if you read the subclasses, and while that's 2014 I haven't heard the slightest that's changing in 2024.

Now, it might exist for a setting, in which case it's in that setting. Does music evoke the original hymns of creation that formed the universe? Then that might be it. And not it in other settings. Heck, it could be personal to each bard, just like one sorcerer will have a different source of power than another.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Anything that makes sense for the setting and character, exactly the same as Wizards, Clerics, Druids, Rangers, and Sorcerers.

The only classes that always have power sources are the Warlock (their Patron) and Paladin (their Oath). There is no "Arcane Power Source" any more than there is "THAC0". It's a concept that just doesn't exist mechanically. Sorcerers may have power sources, but aren't required to if you read the subclasses, and while that's 2014 I haven't heard the slightest that's changing in 2024.

Now, it might exist for a setting, in which case it's in that setting. Does music evoke the original hymns of creation that formed the universe? Then that might be it. And not it in other settings. Heck, it could be personal to each bard, just like one sorcerer will have a different source of power than another.

No, Arcane, Divine, Primal, ( and more rarely )Shadow, Elemental, Psion magic are IN SETTING concepts, they are not like THACO, they are things that characters in a novel might discuss and acknowledge, they are not just Out of Character concepts like THACO, Hit Points, CR, Subclass, Feats and so on.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

In pathfinder they use the 'occult' power source.

 

[Nikosandros]

In the actual game, it makes no difference, and it doesn't seem that theybare concerned with the lore of that.

In the bard video they mentioned arcane, divine and primal magic when talking about wizards, clerics and druids. I don't know if they give any actual weight to that. Personally, I would be fine without it.

 

[Parmandur]

In the bard video they mentioned arcane, divine and primal magic when talking about wizards, clerics and druids. I don't know if they give any actual weight to that. Personally, I would be fine without it.

The only weight is narrative, really, from everything we have seen the past decade, and the Spell Lists are how that plays out. There are no mechanics tied to those as monikers, as such

 

[Nikosandros]

The only weight is narrative, really, from everything we have seen the past decade, and the Spell Lists are how that plays out. There are no mechanics tied to those as monikers, as such

Yes, that's very likely. If I want the rules tied to the lore, I'll play AD&D (as I'm currently doing). For 5e, the freedom of reskinning the classes and the spells can be great.

 

[Parmandur]

Yes, that's very likely. If I want the rules tied to the lore, I'll play AD&D (as I'm currently doing). For 5e, the freedom of reskinning the classes and the spells can be great.

My main memory of it is from The Beginning, i.e. 3E, and the mechanics around Arcane and Divine casting there always felt...kind of odd? Not really in line with genre assumptions, and kind of random seeming.

 

[Nikosandros]

My main memory of it is from The Beginning, i.e. 3E, and the mechanics around Arcane and Divine casting there always felt...kind of odd? Not really in line with genre assumptions, and kind of random seeming.

Certainly not in line with the fantasy literature that inspired D&D. It seems to me that it was just a formalization of having magic-users and clerics (with illusionists and druids as sub-classes). Interestingly, Rolemaster took the idea and ran with it, having three distinct realms of magic (essence, channeling and mentalism) and having coherent rules for the casters of each realm.