Hi :) 

So, I'm trying to decide whether I should be a Bard or a Rogue for a new campaign I'm joining.

Can you guys try to tell me which is better?

I also added a poll so that way you guys could vote.

Also, you can just tell me in general which you think is better.

*I won't be voting on the poll* 

Thanks guys :) 

"Better" is fairly subjective, especially with the variety of subclasses... but I will say that a Bard can use their spell selection to accomplish many of the same things that a Rogue can accomplish. A bard might not have Thieve's Tools on hand, but they could learn the Knock spell to just magically unlock things. They might not have the best stealth, but they could just cast invisibility on themselves. Then on top of that they're still a full spellcaster and can eventually pick a limited number of spells from every spell list, which can create some highly specialized builds.

Still, for the most part, Rogues will outclass Bards in damage output, and they don't rely on a resource for their features. A Rogue can hide as a bonus action every round, can dash to cover a ton of ground, and it's fairly easy to get a sneak attack. All you need is one ally standing next to your target. A bard whose been casting spells all day eventually reaches a point where they're almost useless in combat... with a Rogue, as long as you've got a dynamic environment to hide, dash, etc. then you're always ready for a challenge.

I think it depends on the kind of character you want to play. Base Rogue is a martial and as such has more all day available abilities (only limited by action economy), Combat can get a bit repetitive as you actions (especially as a ranged focused single class rogue), arcane trickster adds the blade cantrips to the damage routine and invisible mage hand utility. Bard is a full spell caster and  comes with that the general strength that comes from more limited options (spells/day). Combat rounds can be very busy with numerous options competing for your action, bonus action and depending on your choices reactions as well. 

So better is a bit subjective, especially as the play style are quite different. So what kind of character do you want to play?

Neither is “better,” they are both top-tier classes. It all comes down to which you prefer to play. I personally prefer Bards because they are more to my play style. Bards are excellent support casters who can still shine on their own as the party face and as skill monkeys when necessary. Rogues are a more center stage martial class with much higher DPR and no spellcasting. Basically, what’s your preference?

Why not both? Go Bard/Rogue back and forth. You end up with so many skill proficiencies and even a ton of expertise. It's a slow build and you're nowhere near as powerful a full bard with a slowed down spell progression but if you prioritize DEX and CHA, you can own so many skill checks.

I mean in 5e, magic classes typically are just flat out better than non magical classes.

If you are torn between the two, I'd go College of Whispers. Psychic Blades can be looked at as a form of sneak attack without dice/placement based restrictions(though now its tied to cha modifer die pools, which eventually recharge on short rests)if you really want to do some decent damage.  You still get all the skills of bard, some expertises and then full fledged spellcasting.  Take a custom background to get prof in thieves tools and you're basically holding down both niches at once.

They are both brilliant - in a campaign though, the Bard would persuade the party they would be better than any Rogue ;)

Quote from Bran >>

I think it depends on the kind of character you want to play. Base Rogue is a martial and as such has more all day available abilities (only limited by action economy), Combat can get a bit repetitive as you actions (especially as a ranged focused single class rogue), arcane trickster adds the blade cantrips to the damage routine and invisible mage hand utility. Bard is a full spell caster and  comes with that the general strength that comes from more limited options (spells/day). Combat rounds can be very busy with numerous options competing for your action, bonus action and depending on your choices reactions as well. 

So better is a bit subjective, especially as the play style are quite different. So what kind of character do you want to play?

 I think a character who is blocked off from the outer world... sort of. As in, doesn't really want to talk to anyone and hates socializing. But at the same time, has a really soft and kind heart. That's how I got torn between Bard and Rogue in the first place.

Personally I prefer rogue, but both classes have different strategies, and it depends on which one your able to play better.

I'll make the assumption you started your plan as a "skill monkey" as that is how I would wind up looking at these 2 classes together.  If I had been looking for damage, skirmisher type, I would have Rogue on my list, but if I was looking for a healer/buffer/debuffer/utility type, Bard would be a better option.  Rogue has the benefit of pretty reliable, consistent melee/weapon damage.  Bards do tend to face a fair number of save/suck spells, but have a myriad of ways to make their allies better and enemies worse, which kind of translates into damage, through proxy lol.

If you party seems to need or want a melee skirmisher to help with physical damage, Rogue is going to serve you better.  If you're magic light, a Bard can cover healing, buffing, debuffing, removing effects, protecting from them, and all kinds of handy utility magic too.  If you're looking at pure skill monkey, they are too evenly matched IMO to rate one better than the other.  Both get a lot of skills and expertise and both have a d8 hit die, so beefiness is equal.  One will likely fit your party a little better and offer a bit better synergy than the other, so I'd come at it from that angle, unless you have an RP reason to lean towards one.  If you find yourself more drawn to one, go for it.  They are equal enough that either should be a welcome addition to the group.

Thanks everyone for the advice: 

TransmorpherDDS

Bran

IamSposta 

Mairondil

Spideycloned

Lamoon01

BoringBard

Beardsinger

Falwith

All of your help was very much needed! I'll defiantly take in all the tips and try to decide soon, but so far it seems like most people think that a Bard is Better than a Rogue. I thank you all for the advice :) 

Peace out :) -MintyGreenGirl21

Bard, because they can win Unbeatable Fights with Social Checks. Need to beat an entire nation?, Bard seduces the Monarch, need to survive the Dracolich?, Bard tricks them into thinking your valuable allies, Need to negotiate with an unbeatable god?, Bard might be able to convince them to cooperate. Naturally, the DM isn't going to automatically grant players success just because the Bard rolls high, but many of those scenarios are impossible for most classes for most of the game, if not forever, and Bard can roll impossibility checks of 30+ with little difficulty, so there's a possibility that the players Bard rolls 50+ on performance and Lolth falls in love...

On the other hand, Rangers can naturally outmatch Rogue as a class by simply casting the spell Pass Without Trace... so yeah... not really useful >.>

Quote from Bahamut_Kaiser >>

Bard, because they can win Unbeatable Fights with Social Checks. Need to beat an entire nation?, Bard seduces the Monarch, need to survive the Dracolich?, Bard tricks them into thinking your valuable allies, Need to negotiate with an unbeatable god?, Bard might be able to convince them to cooperate. Naturally, the DM isn't going to automatically grant players success just because the Bard rolls high, but many of those scenarios are impossible for most classes for most of the game, if not forever, and Bard can roll impossibility checks of 30+ with little difficulty, so there's a possibility that the players Bard rolls 50+ on performance and Lolth falls in love...

On the other hand, Rangers can naturally outmatch Rogue as a class by simply casting the spell Pass Without Trace... so yeah... not really useful >.>

I hate it when people think of bards like this. Except for the College of Eloquence, rogues are arguably better at Charisma-based skill checks. They get Expertise sooner and more often(A face bard will probably need proficiency in Deception, Performance, and Persuasion, but only rogues can get expertise in all three without feats), and bards don't get Reliable Talent. And on the 50+ thing, a bard can't get above a 49 without Guidance or a Tome of +2 to Charisma, and they have to rely on good rolls on a d20 and their inspiration die. Then there's the complete stupidness of the horny bard stereotype(What about bards suggests that? I know quite a few musicians and actors, and most of the unmarried ones are permanently single.) And then the trope's reliance on rolling natural 20s often enough that the stories inspiring it probably are either hypothetical or involve cheating is stupid, and the fact that 20s are not automatic successes on anything other than attack rolls makes the whole thing basically invalid, especially when impossible tasks shouldn't be rolled for in the first place. 

And, now that my poorly written and confusing rant is over, here's a response to the OP:

Just play whichever one you want to, but a rogue probably fits the antisocial character you say you're going for better.

I voted on your poll, based on my personal preference, but I have to stress, as others have also said, that there is no better class. Not objectively at least. It depends on what suits your playstyle. So do not spoil your fun trying to find the "best" class, but rather find the one you will have the most fun playing.

I had a player on one of the campaigns I ran, who had chosen to play as a Ranger, because he felt it would make him powerful and useful in a wide range of scenarios. Almost from the start of the campaign, he had issues with the Rogue, as he found out how powerful and versatile they could be in combat (due to sneak attack, disegage, etc.). It got to a point, where he would spend more time questioning why the Rogue could do this or that, than trying to develop his character.
When they leveled up a bit, the Warlock, that had a weak start, mainly because the player did not know the class very well, started being strong in combat, with AOE spells and other skills. So then, the Ranger started complaining about how everyone was overpowered, but him.

The reason, I wrote this story, to show you that picking a class based on which is "better", could lead to the wrong choice as well as to not enjoying the game as much as you could and should.

So, in the end, just thing what would be more fun for you: A sneaking rouge, sometimes dealing massive amounts of damage, or a charming bard, captivating the minds and hearts of allies and enemies alike. To make things better, once you hit 3rd level you could make your character so much more unique, with the specialisations each class has to offer.

As evidenced in some posts on this thread, bards come with an awful lot of what I think of as "RP baggage." A bard that isn't the party face is unthinkable to many, so for a lot of people it's not just a class but also a role. Rogues tend to have baggage as well, trending towards being antisocial or straight-up criminal in nature. You can certainly play against type, but you may find yourself pushing back against the preconceptions of the party and even the DM for the entire campaign.

In combat, the roles of each class are less flexible. Bard excels at support and control, rogue deals damage. They play very differently. Even a Whispers bard runs out of their "Sneak Attacks" pretty quickly and has to fall back to being a typical bard. Similarly an Arcane Trickster's best spells are going to be disappointing when compared to a full bard of the same level. Since these restrictions are harder to overcome than how you behave out of combat, I'd make the choice based on how you want to fight.

I generally think that they both have their areas and there is a lot of overlap but you could always homebrew in and out the things you like or dislike about the classes. Bard has a lot of roleplay capability due to being a charisma caster and having a diverse spell list but the rogue gets early expertise and the AT subclass gives basically a weakened version of the bards spell list. Rouges get lots of ability that can help reduce damage they take and being dex based helps with the majority of saving throws but the bard can also do that with the valor or swords subclass. This probably doesn't help as I have restated everything with some examples.

It doesn't really matter what performers are like in real life, D&D Bards are magicians, and they have a player driven stereotype of being ridiculous. Meanwhile Performance is rarely a social convincing check, it's typically just Deception and Persuasion, as if that matters when they can supply Bardic Inspiration among other spells they use themselves, like Glibness, which is better than Reliable Talent.

But you can pretend the Rogue didn't take Expertise in Stealth if that makes sense to you.

Just go with what your gut says. If you don’t have as much fun as you expected, try the other next time. Although, I prefer Rogue. I made a character based of Westley from the Princess Bride. I put him down as Rogue.