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Nerdarchy > Dungeons & Dragons  > Character Builds  > Player Tips – Adding more Class to your Class – Bard

Player Tips – Adding more Class to your Class – Bard

Player Tips Adding More Class to Your Class - Barbarian
Player Tips – Adding more Class to your Class – Fighter

BardLast week I started off a new series exploring new ways of looking at classes.  I started off with the barbarian and you can read that article here.  Today i am going to strut my stuff and talk about the most diverse class in the PHB. That is the bard.

Player Tips – Character Class Bard

Now I say that the bard is the most versatile class because it can technically do it all.  Strait out of the player handbook the bard gets expertise so he can be good at literally any skill or tool proficiency.  With the skill selection you be the parties rogue with no difficulty.  They are a full spell casting class with access to cure wounds.  So now you have just replaced the healer of the party.  That leads us to our actual choice.  Do you go valor or lore?  Which means do you want to be the party wizard or fighter?  If you go Valor you can technically be three different class slots for the party if you optimize your build.  Now as a valor bard you are not tanking the fighter position but you can certainly put the hurt on your opponents.  Besides what else is in your party?  If you go lore though you get even more spell casting but doing so probably will take away from your ability to heal the party after combat.

In all the editions of D&D, 5th nailed the bard down.  It is by far the best version we have ever seen and at times I feel it is just over powered.  It takes the right build and the right situation to see that, but when it does the phrase. “Yeah I got that!” comes to mind.

So with all these options how do you take it and make it different?  Well the trick is to think of the phrase. ‘I am not bardthat kind of Bard.’  In Daves game we have a bard who is very much not a bard.  The idea of this article series is to train your brain away from the stereotypical version of these classes.  So what comes to mind when you think bard?

You imagine someone who is pretty silly.  Probably has brightly colored clothes and likes to get in front of crowds and make people laugh.  That my friends is a clown.  Not a spell casting sword wielding adventurer.  So lets look at Torg the ‘bard.’  He is a half elf, I believe, and used his charisma as a low stat.  He is not about being personable.  He is not about making his spells more effective on his opponents.  He is a warrior.  He works for the town guard and is very good at putting clues together.  His expertise is in investigation.

With so much versatility you can really do anything with this class.  Tulwar my deep gnome bard in Dave’s underdark game also would call himself a warrior.  He is also college of valor.  He put his expertise in smithing because he cares more about what he makes.  He plans to make something truly magnificent.

Backgrounds do not define a class but define a character.  You have to know where you have been in order to know where you are going.  I fully believe that any class can have an interesting and fun build with any background option.  With Bard this is very simple.

Acolyte – Typically this means you served in a religion and you are probably very pious.  Well what if you are the exact opposite.  Your family encouraged or forced you into service and you finally rebelled and went your own way.  Since bard is one of those classes that is a Jack-of-all-trades your fleeing the service has forced you down a path of indecision and you are still trying to figure out where you want to go and your dabbling into all these options makes sense

Charlatan/Criminal – fits so easily with Bard.  How do you make it interesting you could be working for a government agency looking to get information or a certain someones whereabouts.  The Spy variant of criminal works well for that.  What if you are working for an outside influence and you need the cover to protect who you are or maybe not care about yourself but your loved ones.

Entertainer – This is another one that is too easy to play.  Bards entertain, right?  Here is where you take the gladiator variant.  Now that is a change up.  Rather than going after smiles and amusements you want the praises as you mercilessly beat your opponents into submission.

Folk Hero – Ok a real challenge.  You did something to warrant you being a hero.  So how about this.  What if it was a rouse or a mistake that lead to your being a hero.  By adopting the life of a bard or wandering minstrel you are hoping to either earn the glory you have already received or get away from the attention you feel you do not deserve.

Guild Artisan – My Deep Gnome I talked about above is a guild artisan.  So you can be a warrior or lore master seeking ways to improve your craft.  I would put my expertise in what ever tool prof you take from the background so you are the master of that one.

Hermit – This one fits well with bard, but in a weird way.  Bards tend to gather knowledge and Hermits tend to have Bardknowledge.  So I would go with college of lore and you are looking to prevent some grand disaster from happening.  Perhaps your isolation was all in contemplation of this or waiting for the right series of cosmic events.  You studied and played music just to pass the time.

Noble – This one is simple.  When you are noble you typically have access to culture, knowledge and sophistication.  Are these not the traits of a bard?  As far as I am concerned you could walk right out of your parents house a bard, of either college and walk right into a first level adventure.

Outlander – Here is one that takes some work.  Bards tend to be civilized and Outlanders typically not.  What if you are a wanderer.  You are sociable, as most bards tend to be.  You pick up information wherever you go and actually retain it.  But your love is for the outdoors.  You could be a caravan guard or even just personable guide in the area.  Your expertise could be knowledge nature and survival. You entertain those around a campfire with song and stories of your travels and the tales you have heard.

Sage – Here is one who cares at his core about knowledge.  This fits perfectly with the college of lore.  You could be looking for information for the library you work for or perhaps you are looking for books not currently there.

Sailor – Another easy one.  On a ship there is always danger.  Having someone around that is effective at fixing the ship, combat and/or easing the tension of those on the ship is a handy person to have around.  The bard can do all of those things with ease.  You can take expertise in whatever tools the DM thinks will help fix the ship.  You can take college of valor to inspire your fellow sailors into be awesome and after combat tell the tales and let them all benefit from your song of rest.  Why would you leave port without a bard?

Soldier – This fits with either college depending on how you want to play it.  Perhaps you want to go valor and the first time you get into combat it is more than you can handle.  You decide after your service that  gathering information is more for you.  Perhaps you liked the combat and want to actually study more but are not willing to give up the quest for knowledge either.

Urchin – You are the one left behind.  Forgotten.  Growing up on the streets you had a desire to rise above.  You pledged to get out of the slums and be someone.  Regardless of how you did it you are someone special and are now on a quest for greatness with fond and sad memories of your struggle to get rid of the cold and hunger that even now you can recall with perfect recollection.

So what do you think.  An eye opener?  Anyway thanks for reading.  Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!

 

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Ted Adams

The nerd is strong in this one. I received my bachelors degree in communication with a specialization in Radio/TV/Film. I have been a table op role player for about 20 years 17 of which with the current group. I have played several itterations of D&D, Mutants and Masterminds 2nd and 3rd editions, Star wars RPG, Shadowrun and World of Darkness. I am an avid fan of books and follow a few authors reading all they write. Favorite author is Jim Butcher I have been an on/off larper for around 15 years even doing a stretch of running my own for a while. I have played a number of Miniature games including Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Heroscape, Mage Knight, Dreamblade and D&D Miniatures. I have practiced with the art of the German long sword with an ARMA group for over 7 years studying the German long sword, sword and buckler, dagger, axe and polearm. By no strecth of the imagination am I an expert but good enough to last longer than the average person if the Zombie apocalypse ever happens. I am an avid fan of board games and dice games with my current favorite being Quarrios.

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