What makes a bard a bard?

[KidSnide]

Bards are really weird. I can't deny that music is at the heart of the class concept, and yet, I must have created or played with over a dozen or so Bards over 2E and 3E, and not a single one used music. Almost everyone I know who creates a bard orates, gives military orders or uses some other excuse for granting those bonuses. In my experience, bards are principally used by people who either want enchantery-gish, or want a "face" role at the expense of combat effectiveness.

To me having a character break out into song during combat is one of those things that jerks me out-of-character thinking: "What genre am I playing? Oh, yeah. It's not 'Heroic Fantasy', it's 'Bizarro-land D&D'."

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I LOVED Loom. It was one of the most original adventure games ever made.

If we think about the Bard as an arcane leader, I think we can say goodbye to mass charm type abilities. Otherwise why wouldn't it be a controller?

Just because a Bard could have mass charm, doesn't mean they can't be a leader because of it. It's already been stated that just because a Bard is an Arcane Leader, doesn't mean it plays exactly like a Cleric or Warlord.

 

[Aeolius]

2 parts perfume, 3 parts foppery... mix to taste.

93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple

 

[Ghaerdon Fain]

ya ya music, history, leadership... We've spent two pages saying the same thing. Does a party of 5 Need a Bard Leader in 4E?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

ya ya music, history, leadership... We've spent two pages saying the same thing. Does a party of 5 Need a Bard Leader in 4E?

No more than they need a cleric or warlord.

 

[Crothian]

D&D is one of the worst things ever to happen to the Bard. The games always tried but the results were always just not too good. I think core D&D of dungeon crawls and looting things is just a bit alien to what a Bard is. What a Bard should be able to do, the game doesn't care about enough to make worthwhile.

 

[Shroomy]

Since the bard is apparently an arcane leader, its primary abilities will be centered around buffing and healing just like the cleric and warlord. Now, what really matters is the flavor of their abilities, which will affect the specific crunch (the radiant-centered abilities of the cleric, the tactical-minded abilties of the warlord).

 

[pawsplay]

Music and Lore is the core of the bard. So I say an archetype combining the skald and the mage.

His music is his weapon, so he should get attack powers involving thunder damage, more powerful ones can deafen, daze, or slide enemies. Think of that cheesy scene from the first Back to the Future where McFly hooks up the giant amp and blasts himself across the room.

Least archetypal bard EVAR.

 

[pawsplay]

Bards are really weird. I can't deny that music is at the heart of the class concept, and yet, I must have created or played with over a dozen or so Bards over 2E and 3E, and not a single one used music. Almost everyone I know who creates a bard orates, gives military orders or uses some other excuse for granting those bonuses. In my experience, bards are principally used by people who either want enchantery-gish, or want a "face" role at the expense of combat effectiveness.

To me having a character break out into song during combat is one of those things that jerks me out-of-character thinking: "What genre am I playing? Oh, yeah. It's not 'Heroic Fantasy', it's 'Bizarro-land D&D'."

Kung Fu Hustle meets Slayers meets Rock N Rule.

 

[Aten]

I've always thought of a Bard as a singer and/or musician, who has many stories and songs of history and legend, with exceptional dexterity, meaning they're are very good with thrown weapons and such (slings, throwing knives, throwing axes) and a supernatural ability to talk through and around tough situations.