What Should the Bard Be?

[CreamCloud0]

i do wonder why they decided to make him a bard specifically, like i get that they didn't want to confuse the more casual audience with why everyone was casting spells so they pulled back on the magic everyone but the sorcerer was using but if you want less magic why not use an explicitly martial class to begin with? i haven't seen the movie but from what i've picked up they don't sound like they did a ton of explicitly bard-y things?

 

[Laurefindel]

I work as a stage technician. We have riggers, sound engineers, lighting operators, production managers… I could go on and on. The bigger the production, the more specialized these jobs get. Days are long with extended periods of intense concentration, and deadlines are inflexible.

And then you have that guy or this girl who isn’t specialized enough to lead any department but knows enough about everything to be useful to anyone, who knows how you like you coffee, who remembers birthdays, who keeps smiling even when it’s difficult, who knows all the good jokes, and ultimately makes hard days much lighter just by being around.

That’s the D&D bard for me

 

[Tonguez]

i do wonder why they decided to make him a bard specifically, like i get that they didn't want to confuse the more casual audience with why everyone was casting spells so they pulled back on the magic everyone but the sorcerer was using but if you want less magic why not use an explicitly martial class to begin with? i haven't seen the movie but from what i've picked up they don't sound like they did a ton of explicitly bard-y things?

He was the face man, played a lute to distract guards and maybe inspired his companions with his ‘schemes’, he claimed to be good at making plans.
His official stat block gives him friends, message, charm person, disguise self and suggestion - all subtle ’talk’ spells that dont really have flashy visuals for a movie.

 

[bedir than]

Lore keepers, Internation men of mystery, new reporters out for a story

Please, please, please !!! I love this.

I want to play a D&D reporter that is a Bard now

 

[GMMichael]

Is "plays an instrument" enough to be a bard? Or does the instrument need to be a bard's main shtick?

What about the sing-songy elves (Tolkienesque?) that just sing all the time? Can they be bards, or does the music need to have metaphysical qualities?

This may be a good point to reinforce that we're after the "bard" class of adventurer, not the real world bard who is also known as a musician or playwright (there may have been only one of the latter).

 

[DrunkonDuty]

But, my joke answer above not withstanding, I like bards to be like their mythic inspirations. They are keepers of lore and law, judges, and heralds. But also entertainers and wizards.

 

[Tonguez]

Is "plays an instrument" enough to be a bard? Or does the instrument need to be a bard's main shtick?

The Bards main shtick is inspirational Lorekeeper even the base class gives the option of Oratory instead of Music as the Bards “mode”.

 

[Scott Christian]

For D&D, the bard should be a poet and singer, as per the definition. I like the weaving of magic within that. I also enjoy the scholarly bard, but really think their "powers" should really be laned into influence, which I think D&D did pretty well.

 

[GMMichael]

. . . They are keepers of lore and law, judges, and heralds. But also entertainers and wizards.

The Bards main shtick is inspirational Lorekeeper even the base class gives the option of Oratory instead of Music as the Bards “mode”.

Lorekeeper works. I think it has an interesting socio-economic aspect: lore is for the poor. The highborn are literate and educated, and have decent methods of delivering news. The lowborn have travelers, elders, and bards.

For D&D, the bard should be a poet and singer, as per the definition. I like the weaving of magic within that. I also enjoy the scholarly bard, but really think their "powers" should really be laned into influence, which I think D&D did pretty well.

Assuming you mean social influence, this is the niche of the bard: social warrior. With the possible exception of the priest, the bard is the primary character archetype for influencing people. Which I think answers my above question: "is it enough to play an instrument?" The answer is no: the bard must be a social influencer, first and foremost.

Fortunately for this thread, "social influencer" has way more interesting incarnations than "person who records itself doing mundane things and posts the recording to Youtube."

 

[Scott Christian]

Assuming you mean social influence, this is the niche of the bard: social warrior. With the possible exception of the priest, the bard is the primary character archetype for influencing people. Which I think answers my above question: "is it enough to play an instrument?" The answer is no: the bard must be a social influencer, first and foremost.

Yeah, more than an instrument player definitely. But is an instrument needed, no. I have seen too many good storytellers to negate the need for an instrument being a credential.