Why Are Bards...Bards?

[Zelgadas]

Oooh, I like this topic, particularly as it ties in well with what I'm doing in my campaign. I'm currently DMing an Eberron campaign with elements of Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed mixed in. In Eberron, most priests are not clerics; they're usually experts, or possibly adepts. Now, add to that the fact that AU introduces a feat called 'Priest' that gives social bonuses when dealing with people of the same religion, and now any class can be a priest. I can definitely see a bard making a very good priest, particularly if he has to preach a lot.

On a side note, I once considered making a bard character who was more a detective than a musician. In fact, I wanted to replace his musical ability with storytelling, instead. Sadly, the group already had a bard, so I made him a rogue, instead. I think he was poorer for it.

 

[Jdvn1]

Bards always remind me of the dude singing 'Brave Sir Robin...' so I tend to think they're necessary.

 

[Talonne Hauk]

James Bond? Bard.

Sure, he's got to have a few ranks in Perform (Dance), don't you think? He's danced many a girl in the movies.
See, I think a bard is a perfect class for a spy, also. One would think that the Perform skill means that a bard wants to call attention to themselves all the time. Not my bard. He's just particularly good at dancing. He's also good at finding out what happened to her majesty's "lost" jewels, and when the orcs plan to march next, or whether the neighboring archmage has come up with that dreaded "Final Spell". The Bard is perfect for picking up information, and thus, the perfect spy.

 

[pdkoning]

Bards can be anything you wish them to be. The archetype is more 'expert' than minstrel, although I also like the 'minstrel'. The jack of all trades master of none thing does really work!

I usually play bards: here are some roles that my bards played (usually not just one of them but often the bard was both healer, spokesman, source of knowledge and inspiration)

- spokesman
- healer
- wizard
- source of (obscure) knowledge
- source of inspiration (mostly oratory)
- support
- rogue-like
- archer

 

[The Shaman]

You touch on one of the key points though. Exactly why does a Bard have to be musical? Really, a Bard doesn't have to be. Perform (Oratory) is a legitimate Perform type.

I swear, one of the characters I'm going to run some day is a Bard with maxed-out ranks in Perform (interpretive dance)...

 

[Tonguez]

I had a goblin bard with a unique perform type (Mumble - making him a Goblin Mumbler)
I then created the back story that in Goblin society (as much as it exists) Mumblers are both spies and tacticians. They use their stealth and ears to collect information which they store as heurestic patterns which they access by mumbling. They can call upon these patterns later to provide inspiration and advice to other goblins when they go to complete a new task orr face a foe

 

[Hand of Evil]

I swear, one of the characters I'm going to run some day is a Bard with maxed-out ranks in Perform (interpretive dance)...

Bard - The Stripper!

 

[Brian Compton]

One of the uses I've had for Bards is that they may be the only literate people in a society. In that case, they're the lorekeepers and liasons with the outside world. I once played a barbarian/bard in a campaign where one of the cultures was a militant one whose members often hired themselves out as mercenaries. His clan was a barbarian clan, but someone needed to be able to negotiate deals with employers, so he took bard levels. He would also be responsible for recording the deeds of his people and telling their stories (his perform skills were in singing and oratory- side benefit was his hands weren't tied up with an instrument, so he could fight and sing at the same time). While any other class could easily grant literacy, in terms of character concept, I felt that the bard fit best. That was a fun character to play, until my computer died and my character sheet was lost .

The courtly knight (fighter or paladin/bard) is another use for the bard class. If you look at the code of chivalry and the ideal "knight," he should be as able a dancer and singer (and maybe instrumentalist) as he is a warrior. He must also deal respectfully with higher-ranking nobles, and be able to effectively woo women. While a paladin gives you some of the social skills, the bard is necessary for performance ability. A paladin also causes problems in court intrigue situations, so a fighter/bard might be best.

 

[pdkoning]

I had a goblin bard with a unique perform type (Mumble - making him a Goblin Mumbler)
I then created the back story that in Goblin society (as much as it exists) Mumblers are both spies and tacticians. They use their stealth and ears to collect information which they store as heurestic patterns which they access by mumbling. They can call upon these patterns later to provide inspiration and advice to other goblins when they go to complete a new task orr face a foe

I truly like this concept... 'The mumbler' I guess I will use in the near or distant future.

 

[mmadsen]

One issue with the Bard class is that it (the class, not characters of that class) is fairly rigidly defined; it includes more elements than any particularly concept might warrant: inspirational powers, music/performance, generic magic, rogue-like skills, etc.

A spy might have strong social skills, but he shouldn't be particularly inspiring -- and he shouldn't necessarily know magic. A great leader should obviously be inspiring, but why should he cast spells? A priest should be inspiring and cast spells, but the default Bard doesn't use divine magic.

Often a Bard PC can play any number of roles, but the Bard class doesn't perfectly mimic any one of them.