I am a simple dungeon master looking for reasons to play each class. (My players often ask why they should play “x” class and I was wondering what you guys think)
.. you want to be a team player and like helping your party mates to shine as much as you like shining in the spotlight yourself.
.. you like the social interaction pillar.
.. you want to stack the deck in your party's favor, but don't mind not pulling the high damage numbers.
.. like to have a bag full of tricks that can be useful in just about any situation, especially if you like getting creative or improvisational with your abilities.
.. you like spellcasters, but don't want to play the traditional Arcane or Divine caster as Bards sit comfortably outside that spectrum.
Edit: Also, not everyone who plays D&D is a guy, just saying.
It's very jack of all trades. You have a bit of everything. Spellcasting, support, martial. It's a versatile and fun class. It also has a quite unique playstyle. It's also unique as as said by another, it sits out of the basic arcane/divine stuff.
Also you are legally obligated as bards to seduce everything. JK lol
Bard is one of the better classes if you want to create a gish.
Er, I support everything else you said, but I'm not so sure about this one, at least not Bard by itself. Take it from someone who really desperately wanted to build a gish out of my Swords Bard. It took multiclassing out to Hexblade and Swashbuckler for me to feel actually like a gish and not a full spellcaster with some sword tricks.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I prefer to be the player in the party that establishes a relationship with the dominant NPCs in the DMs world. The Bard is the player that will have high Charisma and high Persuasion, so they are a natural to have the dialogue with the Sheriff, or the Mayor or ... so they are the "best foot forward" making the "first impression."
This supports my desire to overcome challenges without drawing steel. If we present ourselves simply as the thugs that can kill your enemies, then that's what we will be believed to be, thugs. But if we avengers of the good, defenders of the righteous, supporters of the duly constituted authorities, then we are not a threat to anyone except the evil forces out there that wish to stir up trouble and abolish civilization.
Bards get to do all this without even using spell slots, but just their basic skills. When they also add their skills, they either enhance RP or help the other players be the awesome killers they often wish to portray.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Jack of All Trades is cool. Bard I feel is the closest, Rogues second closest, in 5e to being the so called "skill monkey" allowed in 3/3.5 as well. Especially if you MC with rogue, and with the right feats you could literally have "all the proficiencies" I think.
But seriously, really, what is up with the seduction cliche? I mean I get the whole Romantic poet, rockstar, maybe even Shakespeare in love thing. But I just don't see the Beowulf poet, or Homer, or a bunch of other Bardic types (far outnumbering the loverfolk) really using their class features as a means to incessantly flirt with the hopes to score. Orpheus was a romantic love Bard ... but was monogamous to the "follow true love to the underworld" degree.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I don’t think it makes “the best” class, but I do love me my Bards this edition. I have been into D&D since 2e (skipped 4e), and this is the first edition in which I have ever played a Bard at all. I’m currently playing two in different campaigns and loving the class.
Like some of the others have said, it is an excellent support class that can be pretty darned good at pretty much everything, and excels as the party face.
If your players enjoy support casters then Bard is a fantastic pick.
If your players like being a skill monkey then Bard is a fantastic pick.
If they like getting to do lots of social interactions with your NPCs, then Bard is a fantastic pick.
If they like mostly always having something to contribute to any scene, then guess what… yup, Bard is a fantastic pick.
If your players want to play a performer of any kind, singer, actor, comedian, televangelist, (okay, almost any kind of performer) then Bard is a fantastic pick. (I would sugg at a Divine Soul Sorcerer for a televangelist.
If they like the idea of being awesome,^ then Bard is a fantastic pick.
Bards are extremely diverse in gameplay, and flavor as well! You could have your standard music bard, or maybe one who casts spells by making sounds, etc etc. As well as their very jack of all trades nature, they’re just fun to play (and very good if you want to play support but still do a lot of other things).
"Best" is subjective and I think the OP really means "what makes the class fun?"
Variety -- Bards are a renaissance class, AKA a "jack-of-all-trades". They don't master the areas in which they invest to the same degree as other more focused classes but they can be good enough in multiple aspects of the game to easily be worthwhile.
Customization -- Bards are one of the more customizable classes to match the character concept a person wants because of the spell and skill formats supported by backgrounds and magical secrets.
Support -- Bards are primarily a support class in the spell and skill selections, but also in bardic inspiration. Handing out inspiration dice increases the likelihood of success for the player who really wants to make that attack roll or saving throw.
Theme -- Bards can be the classic mythological bards, the magical musician bards, one of the gish styles, or something completely different. This is similar to customization but some of the other classes can be self-referential while the bard is based (more or less) on real world mythologies.
Types of players who might be attracted to the class:
Players who want to be the mysterious storyteller magician enthralling the audience in the tavern with tales should be bards.
Players who want to play a flute, lute, violin, etc and have the music produce magical effects should be bards.
Players who want to be heroic warriors on the battlefield terrifying their enemies or rallying their allies by reminding them of deeds of the past should be bards.
Players who want to be spiritual leaders in their communities who preserve their culture and heritage by teaching the ancient legends to their people should be bards.
That list goes on. The term refers to a specific historical role in history but the role applies to every culture at one point or another under different names to make term more universal and it covers a lot. The class is fun as comic relief in the party or a super-scholar who spent 20 years in isolation learning at an ancient college. It fits so many playstyles it's hard not to pick one and have fun.
I like bards in the sense that they can better fit the role of a person of a regular profession going into adventuring... I really like that bards can fit the role of so many backgrounds into their class.. you can play a poet, a writer, a dancer, a singer, a merchant, a knife juggler, a speech writer... so many different professions fit the bard and by picking the right subclass, your profession can shine through your subclass features... The bard is simply ideal for someone who wants to express their magical abilities themed around a civilian profession.
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I am a simple dungeon master looking for reasons to play each class. (My players often ask why they should play “x” class and I was wondering what you guys think)
Play a Bard if ..
.. you want to be a team player and like helping your party mates to shine as much as you like shining in the spotlight yourself.
.. you like the social interaction pillar.
.. you want to stack the deck in your party's favor, but don't mind not pulling the high damage numbers.
.. like to have a bag full of tricks that can be useful in just about any situation, especially if you like getting creative or improvisational with your abilities.
.. you like spellcasters, but don't want to play the traditional Arcane or Divine caster as Bards sit comfortably outside that spectrum.
Edit: Also, not everyone who plays D&D is a guy, just saying.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
It's very jack of all trades. You have a bit of everything. Spellcasting, support, martial. It's a versatile and fun class. It also has a quite unique playstyle. It's also unique as as said by another, it sits out of the basic arcane/divine stuff.
Also you are legally obligated as bards to seduce everything. JK lol
Er, I support everything else you said, but I'm not so sure about this one, at least not Bard by itself. Take it from someone who really desperately wanted to build a gish out of my Swords Bard. It took multiclassing out to Hexblade and Swashbuckler for me to feel actually like a gish and not a full spellcaster with some sword tricks.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I prefer to be the player in the party that establishes a relationship with the dominant NPCs in the DMs world. The Bard is the player that will have high Charisma and high Persuasion, so they are a natural to have the dialogue with the Sheriff, or the Mayor or ... so they are the "best foot forward" making the "first impression."
This supports my desire to overcome challenges without drawing steel. If we present ourselves simply as the thugs that can kill your enemies, then that's what we will be believed to be, thugs. But if we avengers of the good, defenders of the righteous, supporters of the duly constituted authorities, then we are not a threat to anyone except the evil forces out there that wish to stir up trouble and abolish civilization.
Bards get to do all this without even using spell slots, but just their basic skills. When they also add their skills, they either enhance RP or help the other players be the awesome killers they often wish to portray.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Bard is my favorite because I'm okay not excelling at any one thing if I can be pretty good at everything. I am a Bard main through and through.
Jack of All Trades is cool. Bard I feel is the closest, Rogues second closest, in 5e to being the so called "skill monkey" allowed in 3/3.5 as well. Especially if you MC with rogue, and with the right feats you could literally have "all the proficiencies" I think.
But seriously, really, what is up with the seduction cliche? I mean I get the whole Romantic poet, rockstar, maybe even Shakespeare in love thing. But I just don't see the Beowulf poet, or Homer, or a bunch of other Bardic types (far outnumbering the loverfolk) really using their class features as a means to incessantly flirt with the hopes to score. Orpheus was a romantic love Bard ... but was monogamous to the "follow true love to the underworld" degree.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I don’t think it makes “the best” class, but I do love me my Bards this edition. I have been into D&D since 2e (skipped 4e), and this is the first edition in which I have ever played a Bard at all. I’m currently playing two in different campaigns and loving the class.
Like some of the others have said, it is an excellent support class that can be pretty darned good at pretty much everything, and excels as the party face.
televangelist, (okay, almost any kind of performer) then Bard is a fantastic pick. (I would sugg at a Divine Soul Sorcerer for a televangelist.^Like walking out into the middle of a large group of “enemies” who would otherwise immediately attack the party. But instead of getting attacked they start to tell those enemies a really good story. And while those enemies are so engrossed in the tale your player’s Bard is spinning that those enemies never even notice the rest of the party sneaking around slitting their throats until they feel steel. And while the monsters are dying, their only regret is not getting to hear the rest of the story…. Good times.
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Bards are extremely diverse in gameplay, and flavor as well! You could have your standard music bard, or maybe one who casts spells by making sounds, etc etc. As well as their very jack of all trades nature, they’re just fun to play (and very good if you want to play support but still do a lot of other things).
"Best" is subjective and I think the OP really means "what makes the class fun?"
Types of players who might be attracted to the class:
That list goes on. The term refers to a specific historical role in history but the role applies to every culture at one point or another under different names to make term more universal and it covers a lot. The class is fun as comic relief in the party or a super-scholar who spent 20 years in isolation learning at an ancient college. It fits so many playstyles it's hard not to pick one and have fun.
The creativity! I love how versitile the personalities of bards can be, (and I am a sucker for musicans lol)
I like bards in the sense that they can better fit the role of a person of a regular profession going into adventuring... I really like that bards can fit the role of so many backgrounds into their class.. you can play a poet, a writer, a dancer, a singer, a merchant, a knife juggler, a speech writer... so many different professions fit the bard and by picking the right subclass, your profession can shine through your subclass features... The bard is simply ideal for someone who wants to express their magical abilities themed around a civilian profession.