I wonder if there are other possibilities for Bards than just being a charming musician...
The description of "An inspiring magician whose power echoes the music of creation " hints that bards are much more than this.
Where a Sorcerer IS magic and a warlock WANTS magic... my imagination of a bard is that they FEEL magic.
So they channel emotions through their magic. And as music is a great way to show feelings, it is a thing that resonates with them.
I could imagine a young person who lost someone he/she loved or was denied... they went away into the feywilds, got stuck there... and then got teached by the fey who were drawn to the to-be-Bard due to their emotions and the drama of being heartbroken. By the time the Bard learned the echoes of creation and how to channel them... They leave the feywilds again to live their life amongst others of their kind again... the adventure begins.
So Music would still be a part of the Bard but not the most defining aspect of them.
How do you feel about that? Is that a little bit too far away from the original?
That right there is a perfect College of Glamour Bard, I tell ya what!
College of Glamour bard inherently draw their magic from the Feywild, and their power centers around being charming or mesmerizing to other people...they can even command them to do their bidding, once they are charmed. The also assume a "majestic" appearance as they progress and gain skills.
For your background, perhaps they were rejected by their lover, and in their despair, fled into the forest, stumbling across the Feywild by accident (it happens).
So the fey spirits taught this individual how to be "majestic"...so that the bard could learn how to be irresistible, and never be denied the affections of others ever again. Their magic, then, is not music, but just them exerting their sheer personality.
I think expecting all bards to be flamboyant, singing minstrels is just too narrow. Sure, that's the traditional archetype, but we've moved away from the idea of sticking with the archetype with other classes; why not bards?
One area I rarely find touched is a bard with a talent in a visual area; sculpting, calligraphy, painting, etc. I get that that tends to slow down the character--spouting off a limerick or chanting a song seems much easier and faster than whipping up a quick picture of something, especially during combat. But I think there could be numerous ways around that limitation.
The backgrounds help a ton with that... "Folk Hero" let's you pick a tool proficiency, and that proficiency can help define your bard's style...painter, cook, or even brewer!
I had a Bard "Urban Bounty Hunter" background...he was a changeling, and so could charm and disguise his way into any tavern, fight club, or fancy noble party to find his target.
In his down time, though, he played tavern games, and was a beast at dragon chess. The background gave proficiency, so it everything clicked well.
I created a lore bard for a one shot who took his craft very seriously. He had studied at the most prestigious college of lore throughout the land, and considered Shakespearean tragedy and dramatic reenactments as the highest expression of art and emotion. Busted out my best Alan Rickman as Severus Snape impression for his voice and had a blast as the snootiest art snob bard ever to grace the land.
Bard with a specially-constructed bag of holding designed to allow for the transportation of a piano. Keeps you pretty immobile during combat, but if it's an upright, you can take cover while playing...
My last bard had a nervous stammer when not performing.
Of course many Bards would be poets and not adept musicians given to reciting moving ballads and epic poems. They may be very capable singers (vocalists) and very skilled with instruments. They may be fantastic percussionists but not exceptionally gifted with intonation. They may be very good with wind instruments and therefore not vocalists.
Not every Bard is going to be the front man in a Rock Band.
College of Lore - Poets
College of Valor - Singers
College of Glamor - Instrumentalist
… but not necessarily limited to these examples. There is no reason a vocalist couldn't be from the College of Lore or a vocalist could be in the College of Glamor. Lots of Bard types out there and tapping into that variety by making a few NPCs might add some nice depth to your urban centers.
I love that you're looking for something other then the traditional singing bard! Your concept sounds great!
There's also College of Swords Bards who I've seen run as everything from circus performers to Robin Hood style swashbucklers to samurai lone warriors. And several different Bards who used dance as their performance!
William Shakespeare is literally referred to as "The Bard." Musicality in language doesn't always depend on instruments. However, this brings up question of what kind of spell focus would work for non-musical bards. Quill pen? It also brings up questions of how to distinguish the verbal components of spells from other spell casters. Rhyming? Spells in iambic pentameter? Overall though, I agree with all of the above that pushing the bard away from the traveling minstrel is a cool idea with fun possibilities.
Sword Bards invite the potential for mock combatants, gladiators, duelists, and even knife tossers.
I actually am working on a Sword Bard whose family was dedicated to monster slaying, to which he is the only remaining one alive. He turned his back on the lifestyle, and joined a circus.
He still has two levels of Paladin, however, to reflect his youthful training. He can detect evil with Divine Sense, and is able to tap into "smites" with some effort. He is, however, technically the weakest of his family, and a bit of an oaf, but he means well.
He's also haunted by the memory of his dead family, who will frequently appear as spirits or ghosts.
One of the great things about Bards in this edition of D&D is that the use of music/performance is only loosely tied into their mechanical abilities. In previous editions, you had to be performing for your powers to be functional; good luck playing a stringed instrument and doing anything else in combat.
Since that's not the case any longer, you don't have to tie musical performance (or any other, really) to the character concept. If your GM is fine with a generous interpretation of the class fluff, then there's a lot of fun things you can do with a Bard.
I'm working on a Bard for the Waterdeep Dragon Heist to be more of comedian type who hurls insults and jokes at his friends and foes to inspire and enrage them. He grew up a weak street urchin so he honed his wits instead of his muscles... making coin by insluting townsfolk on street corners and taverns. Not that this is unusall I guess, just something that seems a bit more fun to me. Will have to see how it goes!
Odyssey of the Dragonlords on kickstarter has a new subclass for bards. Its an epic poet in the style of Homer. So basically you just write down your adventures.
I want to reference Relm Arrowny from the final fantasy series. She is a young artist whose portraits come to life and provide aid. One could easily reskin an existing college to focus on art(painting sculpting etc) rather than music. The important thing for bard is really that there is a performance; this is where the magic and the class are rooted. There is no need to limit yourself to instruments.
I'm working on a Bard for the Waterdeep Dragon Heist to be more of comedian type who hurls insults and jokes at his friends and foes to inspire and enrage them. He grew up a weak street urchin so he honed his wits instead of his muscles... making coin by insluting townsfolk on street corners and taverns. Not that this is unusall I guess, just something that seems a bit more fun to me. Will have to see how it goes!
Yeah, I've wanted to play bard who deals in insults and jokes. Hurling insults at the enemy is a great way to inspire your allies and make your enemies act out of anger rather than tactical sense.
I have a Changeling Charlatan Whispers Bard that's a essentially a 1 man heist team. Each personality (1 from changeling, 1 from charlatan, 1 from the bard himself, and 1 for gping unnotoced in a crowd) has a compleatly different play style. The changeling personality (a theif) plays like a rouge with expertise and sneak attack (psychic blades), the charlatan personality (a pompous nobel) plays like a paladin with concentration spells and smites (psychic blades), the bard personality plays like a regular bard with inspiration and partt face shenanigans, and the street urchin personality plays almost like an NPC where she is just slinking around and listening in on things while being completely unthreatening. Once i get mantle of whispers i essentially want to start adding the NPCs that die under its affect as personalities to my changeling. Bards are great because you can do so many things with them, each of the personalities favors a different instrument, has different beliefs, and in general i simply pick the playstyle that fits the situation.
My Lore bard (Kasmop) is trapped in Barovia, as a goof one of the other characters referred to the Blue Water Inn and made a Blue Oyster Cult reference so I added 1 level of cleric and said Kasmop joined the Blue Oyster Cult. This gave Kasmop two cantrips; Word of radiance, and Sacred flame because he needs to be able to lighten the mood and sing a creepy balad about burning for you while in combat. The grave domain also adds some useful features
As everyone is telling you, modifications are usually to be commended (providing they dont ignore rules / story) and your concept is a fun one.
Other styles of 'Bards'include:
The Herald - before newspapers these travelling living historians would carry and dispense news to communities. Words are an education
The Agitator - No music here, just the art of persuasion, a trouble maker for hire whose oratory is compelling. Words are a weapon
The Star - '(S)He moves like Jagger' The performances are dance related, be it ballet ballroom or mosh pit, verbal components being exhalations such as the Jackson 'Ow'.
The Beauty - Sometimes looks are enough. A smile, a head tilt or a smirk can launch a thousand ships - or grant inspiration.
The Evangelist - Your not a cleric, your the person who works for a living preaching to the folk, increasing church membership and filling everyone with zeal at your sermons.
The Emperor - Well maybe not to begin with, but magnetic personalities and broad understanding of the world will only need troops to begin your rule.
The Nemesis - A creature so cursed and reviled that their speech alone (spells / inspiration) inflame people. It fades from memory unless you hear its utterances.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey Guys,
I wonder if there are other possibilities for Bards than just being a charming musician...
The description of "An inspiring magician whose power echoes the music of creation " hints that bards are much more than this.
Where a Sorcerer IS magic and a warlock WANTS magic... my imagination of a bard is that they FEEL magic.
So they channel emotions through their magic. And as music is a great way to show feelings, it is a thing that resonates with them.
I could imagine a young person who lost someone he/she loved or was denied... they went away into the feywilds, got stuck there... and then got teached by the fey who were drawn to the to-be-Bard due to their emotions and the drama of being heartbroken. By the time the Bard learned the echoes of creation and how to channel them... They leave the feywilds again to live their life amongst others of their kind again... the adventure begins.
So Music would still be a part of the Bard but not the most defining aspect of them.
How do you feel about that? Is that a little bit too far away from the original?
That right there is a perfect College of Glamour Bard, I tell ya what!
College of Glamour bard inherently draw their magic from the Feywild, and their power centers around being charming or mesmerizing to other people...they can even command them to do their bidding, once they are charmed. The also assume a "majestic" appearance as they progress and gain skills.
For your background, perhaps they were rejected by their lover, and in their despair, fled into the forest, stumbling across the Feywild by accident (it happens).
So the fey spirits taught this individual how to be "majestic"...so that the bard could learn how to be irresistible, and never be denied the affections of others ever again. Their magic, then, is not music, but just them exerting their sheer personality.
I think expecting all bards to be flamboyant, singing minstrels is just too narrow. Sure, that's the traditional archetype, but we've moved away from the idea of sticking with the archetype with other classes; why not bards?
One area I rarely find touched is a bard with a talent in a visual area; sculpting, calligraphy, painting, etc. I get that that tends to slow down the character--spouting off a limerick or chanting a song seems much easier and faster than whipping up a quick picture of something, especially during combat. But I think there could be numerous ways around that limitation.
Whistler
Titus - V. Human Battle Master Fighter 3 - [Pic] - [Pic2] - [Traits] - in Shadowglass
Locke - V. Human Shadow Monk 3 / Undead Warlock 2 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in FOW - DMless West Marches
Flèche - V. Human Swords Bard 10 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in The Scarlet Mist
Sterling - V. Human Bard 1 - [Pic] - [Traits] - in Bards: Dragon Heist
>> New FOW threat & treasure tables: fow-advanced-threat-tables.pdf fow-advanced-treasure-table.pdf
The backgrounds help a ton with that... "Folk Hero" let's you pick a tool proficiency, and that proficiency can help define your bard's style...painter, cook, or even brewer!
I had a Bard "Urban Bounty Hunter" background...he was a changeling, and so could charm and disguise his way into any tavern, fight club, or fancy noble party to find his target.
In his down time, though, he played tavern games, and was a beast at dragon chess. The background gave proficiency, so it everything clicked well.
I created a lore bard for a one shot who took his craft very seriously. He had studied at the most prestigious college of lore throughout the land, and considered Shakespearean tragedy and dramatic reenactments as the highest expression of art and emotion. Busted out my best Alan Rickman as Severus Snape impression for his voice and had a blast as the snootiest art snob bard ever to grace the land.
Bard with a specially-constructed bag of holding designed to allow for the transportation of a piano. Keeps you pretty immobile during combat, but if it's an upright, you can take cover while playing...
My last bard had a nervous stammer when not performing.
Of course many Bards would be poets and not adept musicians given to reciting moving ballads and epic poems. They may be very capable singers (vocalists) and very skilled with instruments. They may be fantastic percussionists but not exceptionally gifted with intonation. They may be very good with wind instruments and therefore not vocalists.
Not every Bard is going to be the front man in a Rock Band.
College of Lore - Poets
College of Valor - Singers
College of Glamor - Instrumentalist
… but not necessarily limited to these examples. There is no reason a vocalist couldn't be from the College of Lore or a vocalist could be in the College of Glamor. Lots of Bard types out there and tapping into that variety by making a few NPCs might add some nice depth to your urban centers.
I love that you're looking for something other then the traditional singing bard! Your concept sounds great!
There's also College of Swords Bards who I've seen run as everything from circus performers to Robin Hood style swashbucklers to samurai lone warriors. And several different Bards who used dance as their performance!
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
William Shakespeare is literally referred to as "The Bard." Musicality in language doesn't always depend on instruments. However, this brings up question of what kind of spell focus would work for non-musical bards. Quill pen? It also brings up questions of how to distinguish the verbal components of spells from other spell casters. Rhyming? Spells in iambic pentameter? Overall though, I agree with all of the above that pushing the bard away from the traveling minstrel is a cool idea with fun possibilities.
Sword Bards invite the potential for mock combatants, gladiators, duelists, and even knife tossers.
I actually am working on a Sword Bard whose family was dedicated to monster slaying, to which he is the only remaining one alive. He turned his back on the lifestyle, and joined a circus.
He still has two levels of Paladin, however, to reflect his youthful training. He can detect evil with Divine Sense, and is able to tap into "smites" with some effort. He is, however, technically the weakest of his family, and a bit of an oaf, but he means well.
He's also haunted by the memory of his dead family, who will frequently appear as spirits or ghosts.
One of the great things about Bards in this edition of D&D is that the use of music/performance is only loosely tied into their mechanical abilities. In previous editions, you had to be performing for your powers to be functional; good luck playing a stringed instrument and doing anything else in combat.
Since that's not the case any longer, you don't have to tie musical performance (or any other, really) to the character concept. If your GM is fine with a generous interpretation of the class fluff, then there's a lot of fun things you can do with a Bard.
I'm working on a Bard for the Waterdeep Dragon Heist to be more of comedian type who hurls insults and jokes at his friends and foes to inspire and enrage them. He grew up a weak street urchin so he honed his wits instead of his muscles... making coin by insluting townsfolk on street corners and taverns. Not that this is unusall I guess, just something that seems a bit more fun to me. Will have to see how it goes!
Odyssey of the Dragonlords on kickstarter has a new subclass for bards. Its an epic poet in the style of Homer. So basically you just write down your adventures.
Mechanically, Strength-based grappler bards is a really fun concept.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
Check out my Expanded Signature
Best class to play a professional wrestler is a bard.
I want to reference Relm Arrowny from the final fantasy series. She is a young artist whose portraits come to life and provide aid. One could easily reskin an existing college to focus on art(painting sculpting etc) rather than music. The important thing for bard is really that there is a performance; this is where the magic and the class are rooted. There is no need to limit yourself to instruments.
Other performances that could be reskinned:
Ballet
Tap dancing
Military drill
Rap
Rousing political speeches
Chainsaw wood carving
Hypnosis / therapy
Massage
Storyteller
Teaching
Southern preacher!
And many more
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Yeah, I've wanted to play bard who deals in insults and jokes. Hurling insults at the enemy is a great way to inspire your allies and make your enemies act out of anger rather than tactical sense.
I have a Changeling Charlatan Whispers Bard that's a essentially a 1 man heist team. Each personality (1 from changeling, 1 from charlatan, 1 from the bard himself, and 1 for gping unnotoced in a crowd) has a compleatly different play style. The changeling personality (a theif) plays like a rouge with expertise and sneak attack (psychic blades), the charlatan personality (a pompous nobel) plays like a paladin with concentration spells and smites (psychic blades), the bard personality plays like a regular bard with inspiration and partt face shenanigans, and the street urchin personality plays almost like an NPC where she is just slinking around and listening in on things while being completely unthreatening. Once i get mantle of whispers i essentially want to start adding the NPCs that die under its affect as personalities to my changeling. Bards are great because you can do so many things with them, each of the personalities favors a different instrument, has different beliefs, and in general i simply pick the playstyle that fits the situation.
My Lore bard (Kasmop) is trapped in Barovia, as a goof one of the other characters referred to the Blue Water Inn and made a Blue Oyster Cult reference so I added 1 level of cleric and said Kasmop joined the Blue Oyster Cult. This gave Kasmop two cantrips; Word of radiance, and Sacred flame because he needs to be able to lighten the mood and sing a creepy balad about burning for you while in combat. The grave domain also adds some useful features
DND Beyond Legendary Bundle Holder
As everyone is telling you, modifications are usually to be commended (providing they dont ignore rules / story) and your concept is a fun one.
Other styles of 'Bards'include:
The Herald - before newspapers these travelling living historians would carry and dispense news to communities. Words are an education
The Agitator - No music here, just the art of persuasion, a trouble maker for hire whose oratory is compelling. Words are a weapon
The Star - '(S)He moves like Jagger' The performances are dance related, be it ballet ballroom or mosh pit, verbal components being exhalations such as the Jackson 'Ow'.
The Beauty - Sometimes looks are enough. A smile, a head tilt or a smirk can launch a thousand ships - or grant inspiration.
The Evangelist - Your not a cleric, your the person who works for a living preaching to the folk, increasing church membership and filling everyone with zeal at your sermons.
The Emperor - Well maybe not to begin with, but magnetic personalities and broad understanding of the world will only need troops to begin your rule.
The Nemesis - A creature so cursed and reviled that their speech alone (spells / inspiration) inflame people. It fades from memory unless you hear its utterances.