regular haired boy here with the mildest take WORLD ANVIL, 20% with code: XPTOLEVEL3: worldanvil.pxf... PATREON: / xptolevel3 MERCH: www.bonfire.co... TWITTER: / xptolevel3 DISCORD: / discord
Jacob: Has a whole recurring gag about how strong fireball is. Also Jacob: Makes a bard subclass with an ability that encourages the team to huddle up in fireball range. I see you.
This is actually the exact reason why I love bard They are a combination of everything since they are the jack of all trades If you're unsure of what specifically you want your character to be, go bard If your character makes sense to be a jack of all trades, go bard If you're insecure about your role in the party, go bard If there is a few people in your party that can't come frequently and you can, go bard Sometimes I forget they use music for more than just spellcasting tbh I always flavor my bards around being a jack of all trades who's there just in case someone is missing or fails at something The Paladin is down on his luck and can't hit the enemy? My rapier should meet their flesh soon enough The Rogue is stuck in jail for stealing the king's crown? Well, if it's that important to you I can pick it up for her The Wizard is too busy being at home because his mother breathed in a five mile radius of someone who has the 'rona? Magical secrets, baby! The (insert charisma caster here) can't think of anything? I got a good persuasion mod, I can do the talking here To me, this is what the bard is, the jack of all trades that likely (but not always) has a musical flair Not the dude with the lute who wants to bang the lich
*THIS.* The spell caster who's out to be the best helper they can be. The bard is only the main shot in the social role and in the skills department, but when it comes to combat and magic? You're a fullcaster that can spec for *any* situation. You want to be a buffer? Take from the cleric spells. You want to be a damage dealer, you've got options, more so with your Magical Secrets. You want to be a debuffer? Go for it? Anti-caster? Here's your options. You want to have a little of everything because your situation is unknown? *You're almost as good as a cleric in that respect just for sheer options.*
That's terrible class design. Having one class been a jack of all trades means that it can't do anything too well and it cannot have a core identity. It also means in small groups, you can't rely on the bard when you really needed that specialist. The bard you described only really gets to shine in large groups. But then you run the issue of the bard outperforming a specialist by pure luck! It's way better to give everyone something unique to them. If the bard had a unique identity, people wouldn't joke about how "horny" bards are.
@@kevinz8554 Theoretically, anybody can outperform a specialist by pure luck. Anybody can roll a 20 on a survival check the ranger failed, or a 20 on a religion check the cleric or paladin failed, or a 20 on an arcana check the wizard failed. A wizard could cast fireball and roll a bunch of ones while a bard can cast a fireball and roll a bunch of sixes. Luck is part of what makes the game fun. I like to think of bards as the mid-fielders of a party. They generally fill one roll, but have the flexibility to jump into others if you need it. They can defend when needed and attack when needed. They're skill monkeys with a huge arsenal of utility spells who can do a lot for the party both in and out of combat. The jack of all trades is a unique identity. It's not all concentrated into one specific area; rather, it's a role that can increase the elasticity and flexibility of the party. EDIT: Also, being horny is kind of a class identity. Of course any class can do it, but nobody can do it quite like a bard lol
I really agree with you here, this is exactly another core identity of the class. But I don’t think enough of the class is built or specialized towards this idea. Jack of all trades and magical secrets are the only two abilities that make Bards feel this way. One of which you don’t get until 10th Level. Maybe in your experience Bards have been very useful in your games, but in all of mine over the past couple of years my players typically cross-class them or are only playing one for the RP. It’s actually been more frustrating than anything because the bard characters tend to step on everyone’s toes instead of having their moment to shine or an ability different from everyone else. Bard might be the most useful in smaller parties with no “healers” The coolest bard character I can think of was a whispers bard, the abilities are so awesome. And even then they’re supposed to be the “subversive” “I’m not a really a bard” bard.... which is my whole point of the video. Having them be the Everyman is absolutely fine, but it would be great if the class reflected that and gave Bard more unique abilities tied to that idea. I think their spell list would be a great place to start, have a single spell available to choose for most situations. As it sits right now, bard spells are support, charms, and a little bit of damage.
Jacob:"The Bard isn't unique, at all. If the Bard can do it, another class can also do it." Puffin Forest:"But don't you see, that's their greatest strength. They're like a ball, perfectly round, with no weaknesses...because they're equally terrible in everything."
Except of course that an 11th level pure Bard is the second or third best class (out of 11) at just about everything, and might actually be the best at one or two things, while an 11th level Abserd is terrible at everything.
After playing a college of lore bard in a Saltmarsh campaign, I believe that it is the BEST battlefield control class. Cutting words + inspiration means you can help your party hit or stop them from getting hit. Additional magical secrets at low level let me cast conjure animals to swamp the enemies and again keep my party from getting hit. THE BEST battlefield control class and subclass. Countercharm is shit tho.
One of the reasons I wish they would bring the Dragon shaman from 3.5 players handbook volume 2 back. It had a dragons breath and a number of auras that could help the party in allot of different ways (Also had a touch heal ability similar to lay on hands) Pair it with a bard and bam your party is hitting quite a bit above their weight class.
tl;dr: "They can sing, dance, paint, prance, make a pretty dirt drawing with a lance. Plenty of ways to further enhance the battlefield if given the right chance." -JoCat
@CrownlessKing The Last Roy Main idk if if was intentional but your comment has pretty good flow, i sung it at a similar tempo to the song at the end of the video
Help action isnt viable most of the time, why can't some people settle with the fact that jack of all trades is good. When you don't have it, you miss it especially when playing some 4 skill proficency scrub
This video just made me realize Countercharm isn't some magical forcefield of bravery It's talking someone down from a panic attack You can't make someone stop freaking out but you can help them calm themselves down by just being there for them And the same goes for charm effects You check in with the guy and say "hey, this isn't you man" Thanks xp, you made me realize that countercharm is actually good
With Tasha's Cauldron, I'm really hoping for a variant class features to improve or replace Song of Rest and Countercharm. I'm 12 levels in a game with a bard in the party and they've only used song of rest once (to pretty much no effect) and countercharm has never been useful. Really I think that's all that's really *needed* to 'fix' bards.
they did not get something like that in the UA version. So I would not expect it (unless they release a new class feature variant UA). media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-ClassFeatures.pdf They only gor new spells (a lot, and a lot of good spells) and an improvement to bardic inspiration
@@aldoushuxley5953 They said that because the variants were so well received, while not everything from the UA was going to be used, they also looked into doing options not included in the UA.
they do not even need that, at 6th level when you get countercharm you also get a really powerful subclass feature that would be really strong on their own, when you first get song of rest you also get jack of all trades and that shit is the best and at every level where song of rest improves you also get access to a new level of spell, even in an alternate reality where those two features do not exist or where they are never used the bard is still an strong class that gets good new abilities every level
@@defensivekobra3873 Countercharm is still on the sheet though when it might as well not even exist. If it's gonna exist, a variant feature that makes it actually usable wouldn't be unwelcome, especially since it's optional.
@@Zedrinbot Look up dirgesinger bard. At 14th level they can use countercharm as a bonus action and additionally it allows players to re-roll to resist status effects. As for song of rest, it's not that bad. In long campaigns that are harsher it's quite welcoming.
I'd argue bards are unique in magical secrets in the sense that they can have any combo of spells they want. Sure many have revivify or counterspell but hardly any others can get both. Another example is stuff like animate dead and crusaders mantle while also being in a class structure that supports buffing your skeletons. EDIT: I agree in the idea of making different flavors of bards, my bard is a storyteller and he casts his spells by telling verses of stories.
Take Pally and 'Lock spells and you're already subverting the whole idea of those classes. ''What'd you do for that spell?" ''I doomed myself to eternal torment.'' ''Mind if I learn it?"
Most DMs, at least the fun ones, usually allow players to learn spells out of their class because freedom over rules applies. It is just so easy to trounce over the uniqueness of bard to the point of making either the bard happy or the rest of the party happy. EDIT: Also there are a lot of subclass spell lists that combine the spells you want into something that's not a bard.
@@UlfgarSOS_ In the online game Everquest Bards get a mandolin called the Melodious Truncheon that looks like a mandolin and can be used as a club. You can have this in your main hand and a regular mandolin in your left hand (insert Dualing Banjoes here;).
I think bard's primary role in 5e is as the "Jack of All Trades" of classes. As you state, other classes can be skill monkeys(rogue), powerful casters(Wiz/Sorc), Charismatic faces(Pally), or supports(cleric), but the bard is the only class that can be ALL of those things. That is where I see the "uniqueness" of bard being, the fact that they can be good at so many things while other classes are great at one or two things.
@@sowatome849 Mechanically speaking, bards are rather powerful. Jack of all Trades makes them one of the best counterspellers and it applies to all ability checks, including initiative.
@@ArchetypeLuna but once you take that factor out bards are out classed in every other field. They only shine if something slips through the crack of every other class present.
In 5E, bards are the best they have ever been for a few reasons: 1) They are full casters now. They've always been a prestige class that requires mutliclassing, or a half caster before. 2) They do not have to spend their turn singing to provide a +2 competency bonus. Bardic Inspiration is a bonus action, and despite the limited uses, it is still a great feature. 3) They are the only class that can insult someone to death. 4) Bards have tremendous roleplay potential in flavoring their abilities, inspiration and cutting words encourages them to make barks and quips during a fight. I think everyone agrees that the Countercharm feature is not great as printed. Countercharm and Superior Inspiration are the weakest features of an otherwise great class. Since every other class has shortcomings too, this is not necessarily a problem that needs "fixing", although any DM that wants to put on their game designer hat can take a look at it. Lastly, while there is no mechanical benefit to being able to play an instrument, if it never comes up during a campaign the DM is the one lacking in imagination. A 1985 movie called The Goonies had a scene where the kids had to play a piano made with skeleton fingers to open a door to progress. In every campaign I make a custom bardic instrument for the bard to find and use.
I still prefer pathfinder's take on the bard. With performance starting being a standard action (with multiple potential performances) and swift to maintain. Becoming a move action to start after level 7. As a class feature if feels more interesting than 5e's take and give the class imo a strong identity. That said they are different games in different systems and 5e's bard is certainly not a bad class but I do agree that they sort of miss the mark in terms of feel for me despite being strong mechanically.
What are you talking about? Superior Inspiration is the best class feature in the game! It's basically a free level of multiclassing (most likely into Sorcerer) because it's so utterly useless that no one would actually willingly take it! It's also the perfect excuse to force a DM to allow multiclassing, when they otherwise wouldn't.
Bronze yeah, that sounded weird to me. An innate caster that wouldn’t experiment or improvise as he learns or attempts to control his magic? Doesn’t sound like me. And I (almost) only play sorcerer.
@@bronzethesequel82 But most player characters are not stuck in place and can grow. Like saying sorcerer's don't try improving their magic like do you know about the wild sorcerer and really every sorcerer subclass. It may be a trope but sorcerer's learning and understanding their magic is a thing. Like where does it come from, how do I refined my control, and alot more. Even if they don't make/learn their spells they make the spell their own.
Honestly I feel the restriction of spells on bard and I would hate to play a sorceror just because of the very few spells you can cast. It's like pigeon holing yourself when you could just play a casted like bard or wizard who get to do cool stuff and have extra utility
"Want to have skills? Play a rogue. Want to use magic? Play a wizard. Want to buff? Play a cleric." Isn't the point of the bard that you get a bit of everything, jack of all trades and all of that?
Everyone else: Master of one or two things, completely N/A on other things Bard: Second-to-mastery on literally everything and actually masters any one or two things he feels like
Yeah in PF and 3.0, I used to build whole classes around hello actions. It's super strong. I mean fighter is just a class version of the attack action.
THANK YOU. If your issue with Bard is everyone takes a level of it because "why wouldn't you?" You play with a bunch of metagamers and/or are a metagamer yourself
You have it completely backwards. The Bard sucks early but scales amazingly. "After level 5 they're underwhelming." No. Before level 3 they're underwhelming. Bard is probably the second strongest class in the game after Wizards. They do abilities better than Rogues and have full spell progression with the ability to poach gems from other casters lists. Also, they're only weak early because they have no way to fix their low AC and low HP. Its only their defenses that keep them down early on. As for lacking identity, its something they don't ever discuss in the book but have you noticed how most of Bards spells require concentration? I interpret this as most of their spells being songs that they need to keep playing in order to maintain the spell. Also they're a charisma-based class with skill enhancing class abilities. They do charisma better than anybody else. Is being a silver-tongued devil who can roll stupidly high performance checks not Bardy? I know that its an optimized build that cant fit every character, but if a Bard starts with 2 levels of Hexblade for the on-demand blasting and higher AC then can the Rogue do anything better? Anything at all? No. No they can't.
Honestly the only mystery about this video is how XP to level 3 has 265k subscribers without understanding anything of the game. Every video he makes I think "No..."
@Tommaso Grillo He has the understanding of the game of someone playing one campaign once. A campaign where he was playing the bard and a better player was playing the monk.
@@bobon123 Monks aren't even that good, they get a ton of abilities, but being a melee character with a d8 hitdie really hurts. Their redeeming feature is stunning strike. It's amazing, but without it they would be in the same boat as ranger.
After playing Bard for a while, a few of my complaints include the niche "Counter charm". I am very grateful that my DM made a house rule after looking through it's effect, so instead of giving advantage on saving throws against charm/frightened, it instantly lifts the charm/frighten status when I use it. Also, I totally *felt* it when you showed guiding bolt and eldritch blast, because those two are what I picked for magical secrets.
I don’t think bards are remotely underpowered. Their flavor is lackluster and limited because of the magical focus, and their abilities aren’t unique. But, they are probably the second best support focused class, behind a support focused wizard. If someone is dissatisfied with bards, I think focusing on reflavoring abilities and spells to seem more unique would be a better approach than buffing them, because they are quite strong.
thats what i thought was their whole point, that they possess a little bit of everything, the literal namesake of their main feat, the jack of all trades. they are unique because nothing about them is unique
First of all, I just can't believe you are making the claim that a support wizard is better at support than a bard that is better at support than a support cleric. To the point that I think I am misunderstanding you. "Their flavor is lackluster and limited because of the magical focus", have you heard about the Cleric and the Wizard? Clerics and Wizards get a whopping 12 subclasses!! The most in the game! And they are just objectively worse. I am not going to repeat his words so just watch this video and his bard video...
Yuval Amir I’m not trying to contest that the bard’s flavor and lack of choice is poor; I’m just restating it. As far as mechanics go, yes, a wizard built around battlefield control, buffing, and debuffing is a more effective character in the “support” role than a bard or cleric. Something to keep in mind here is that it’s better to prevent damage in combat by either killing enemies faster, taking enemies out of the fight temporarily, or reducing their effectiveness than it is to heal said damage. It’s just more efficient with spell slots and actions. Wizards don’t get healing, but even if they did, it would be the wrong thing to do most of the time (as it is with bards, druids, and non-life clerics). The best healer is a short rest.
I hear you, but as a fellow Bard player, I couldn't be happier with the 5E Bard. In comparison to earlier editions, I'm happy that Bard is finally something you can play and not be told that you're trolling by everyone else in the party. Plus, being the face and having magical tricks for every situation is just so much fun! With that said, I would still love Wizards to add more subclasses that cover the other arts like painting and dancing.
I disagree. Bards are great controllers and being able to customize your spells are great. They also have a d 8 hit die and that makes them more versitle than wizards or sorcerers. They also are way better at skill checks and social situations than any other class.
I agree with the social situations, in an RP focused game, they're godly. Especially say, a College of Glamour bard. NPC being stubborn? Charm them with your feyline glamours, and they won't even realize you did so, I'm actually currently playing an Eladrin bard and he's single-handedly diffused multiple 'monk decided to get punchy' situations. The whole idea of 'well play another CHA based class to be the party face' also takes away that those other classes focus more heavily into combat rather than social interactions.
No one is saying Bards are not good. It's whether they can feel unique. There's a reason why Bard memes always say they're horny. It's because Bards don't have a core class identity
@@kevinz8554 they really have identity. Unlike clerics, they mostly debuff instead of buff and heal. That debuffing makes the skill and spellchecks that bards are better at than other classes even easier. They become the ultimate strong enemy "shut-er down-er" which makes them extremely good. Yes they are squishy at low levels, but almost every subclasses first ability removes that. Yes, they also buff, using inspiration (WHICH IS AMAZING BTW), but it's it can and should be added before combat, so they get the most out of their action economy. Also the magical secrets improve survivability, debuffing (crazy, i know), healing, buffing, shutting down opponents even more. That's why I would say that at lv 10 bards turn from good, to op. Their role is the ultimate support while specialising in one thing. Party face potential? Check Buffing allies? Check Battlefield control? Check, with the good magical secrets. Debuffing and restricting tough enemies? Double, or even triple check. Better at wizard spells than the wizard? Check Great subclasses? BIG check. Bards are the 2nd most powerful dnd class and watch treatmonk to explain it better than i did
@@kevinz8554 I think that's all based on how people assume a bard is. Tbh I see a bard like Jacob does. A commander of sorts. You can choose to be the bard that plays a banjo in a dungeon or make one that destroys the enemy morale. There are lot of people that like to play the stereotype but if you want to make any class interesting, the option is there.
@@chrisvelo2595 It kind of steps on the toes on Artificer at this point, but really I instead of getting proficiency in three instruments the bard should get proficiency in one instrument, and one artisan tool. When they take their first level in Bard they may designate one artisan tool as a bardic spell focus in addition to their instruments.
@@emiliocerchiaro4386 Exactly if we extend this further the bard class need not exist. Anyone can do art, anyone can entertain and the casting of magic is left to the classes who can do it. A bard is a wizard who uses magic to entertain. It is a priest who was a singer in a choir. It is a barbarian who recites traditional poems to his tribe about his achievements! Anyone should be able to be a bard the class shouldn't exist. Music-based magic is just that magic!
Bard is my favourite class. That's not 'I love bards, so I'll play them in spite of the issues', that's 'they work great!'. To me a bard is an operative, like the rogue. It's about finding solutions to unforeseen complications. it's the heist, mission impossible character. Pack a feather fall for when the ground crumbles beneath you. A suggestion for when the guard maybe gets a little too close to arresting the barbarian. Got to get your fighting hats on and go fight that dragon? No troubles friend, hop aboard my magical secrets pegasus greater steed and we'll be there in no time. Now sure, wizard or sorcerer get some of these spells, but they don't also get expertise, they don't also get a bunch of proficiencies. They've no healing and that extra tad of durability. They don't have subclasses that let you spec melee (except for the flimsy bladesinger), they don't have subclasses that prevent you from rolling below an 11 on deception. I'm sad to hear bard doesn't do what you want it to, but bard is everything I like in a class. Adaptability, escape options, great skills, team player.
Only Bard I ever played that was in a campaign that lasted more than 3 levels had Performance: Barrister as his schtick. That's right, my Bard was a Lawyer. Got the idea from reading some old history about the place of Druids in Roman era Celtic society. Yeah they woo woo magic diviners but they were also judges, notaries, Arbitrators, ambassadors, lore master, legal expert, messengers, etc. Basically if you and/or your tribe was doing something REALLY important you would probably get a Druid involved. Roc Sinister, attorney at large.
Bards are basically a sonic/wind weapon of D&D. *Boom*, everything is deaf and may as well be mute for how noise it cancelled so long as the Bard is making noise in an area. *Boom*, one directed target is deaf and their words are drowned out by the noise. *Boom*, he just blew a hole in a wall/mountain and also caused an avalanche to a snowy peak. His words are dynamite incarnate. He breathes out and his words become like a hurricane. Through constant exposure to his breathing, create a torrent of liquid. Make it have an effect that causes immense friction on something and light it on fire or explode.
Eh, I don't get it. I wholeheartedly disagree with most of your points. Bards are the second most powerful class in the game, second only to the wizard. Their spell list is short, but it has the best spells of each level. They literally have polymorph, dimension door, animate objects, raise dead, invisibility, hypnotic pattern, leomund's tiny hut, force cage, mass suggestion... They literally get the best spells from wizards and clerics and have magical secrets, the best class feature in the game. "Wanna cast spells? Play a wizard" Only the bard can have the best wizard spells and cleric/druid spells. You trade prepared spells for access to good spells. "Wanna be good at skills? Play a rogue" Only the bard has expertise and skill points and is a full caster at the same time, they are much better at skills. "Wanna be the face of the party? Play warlock, paladin, or sorcerer" The bard has more skill proficiencies, they're much better at this. I do agree with you that their base class features are bad, but whatever, their spells and magical secrets are so good that the rest doesn't matter. Most people I've seen online say that bards are one of the best classes of the game, but there are a few (you included) that says they're bad. In my opinion, they are the second best, they can do way too many things and very well done. In my experience, I've never seen a bard feeling impotent. Eh, I don't know. Maybe I just don't get it.
OK, I completely disagree with you. And the weird part is that: while I agree with the point you are giving, I disagree with the consequence. Bards SHOULD be the generalistic class. Yes, Bards aren't as skillful as Rogues, they don't have the same strength at Countercharm as Aura of Courage/Aura of Protection nor they can heal as much as a Cleric or control the battlefield as the Wizard, but let me ask you this: how many classes can do all of this at the same time, without any multiclass? I will answer, Cleric, but that's because Clerics are busted. All of that combined with the fact that Charisma is incredible at 5e makes the bard its best incarnation, at least mechanical-wise. Song of Rest may sound bad, but in campaigns that use the Day of Adventure stuff or if the DM is using Gritty Realism, Song of Rest turns into an amazing way to save health dices. You can spare not using two dices and use only one plus the song, for example, saving another one for later. The main problem is that they only apply once per person who use it, but still, you can give a Wizard a Barbarian Hit Die, that's pretty good. Countercharm... Yeah, it kinda sucks. If it was to heal the condition, then I would defend it. But as in right now, only giving advantage sucks. Magical Secrets is really damn unique for the Bard because it fits so well with their design: They can do so much stuff with another people's spells that it can mold them into anything you want. Wanna make an archer? Flame Arrows. Wanna enchance even more the control aspect of the bard? Counterspell, Spirit Guardians, Guardian of Fate, any spell you may think of. Want to make them a pseudo-Paladin? Crusader's Mantle or Aura of Vitality. You have so many choices that are unique to the Bard that I simply can't understand how someone can say that the Bard is flavorless. Sure, a few unique spells would be nice to reinforce their leadership approach (that's why I love AI so much, they give Bard so many cool new toys), but as in right now, I think bards are in a cool spot.
That's terrible class design. Having one class been a jack of all trades means that it can't do anything too well and it cannot have a core identity. It also means in small groups, you can't rely on the bard when you really needed that specialist. The bard you described only really gets to shine in large groups. But then you run the issue of the bard outperforming a specialist by pure luck! It's way better to give everyone something unique to them. If the bard had a unique identity, people wouldn't joke about how "horny" bards are.
Kevin Z Sure, specialism is good until literally 1 person drops. If they do and you don’t have a bard, you’re down a blaster, face, skill monkey or healer. If you got a bard, you’ve effectively got a whole party in one. Let’s everyone be backed up. What’s better than a healer? Two healers! What’s better than one blaster? Two blasters! Etc etc.
@@amiratu5909 But One that if the Healer goes down it's not like most parties are equipped with multiple ways of healing if not that's the parties fault. Most classes will have away to support a party and if not a handful of healing potions does the job. One class did come in mind (that is not Cleric) that is a jack of all trades that does it well is the Artificer. You can fit into many of the parties roles with your Specialist. Need a extra healer Alchemist/Battlesmith, need a blast Artillerist/Alchemist, tank Battlesmith/Armored, ect. Add on top the fact you can make magic ideas and have a sudo-inspiration (Flash of Genius) make them a better Jack of all trades then a Bard is many areas. At the same time they fit into their own part of a group.
@@kevinz8554 idk what kind of bards you have seen but expertise means that no matter what the bard has a niche. They are great for skills, they get amazing spells to cast, they are great for rp. The only thing they struggle with is doing direct damage and survivability. But even in those scenarios that can be addressed. Lore bard can pick up spiritual weapon and do decent damage every round, or how about mirror image. That now means that you have a lot more survivability. Or you can pick up moderately armoured and now your AC is great. Or just go valor bard and when your allies us bardic inspiration they can add damage to their damage dice and you have a good ac.
The most favourite bard of mine was a dwarf from the mountain village, where they live with rams and eagles and drink a lot of wine. His "spells" were in the form of toasts (the speeches that you give during holiday feasts) and his bardic focus was a rhyton (basically, a horn where you pour drinks). His georgian accent was unforgettable!
Well in our homebrew, we made different types of songs bards can sing. They split into 3 categories based on casting (reaction, action and bonus action) and kinda adds flavor to the type of bard you wanna play, and also separates them from other casters because it gives them truly unique spells that no one else has.
The first line of their entry is "Bards are a Jack of all Trades, master of none". Jacob's either can't read or he doesn't understand what this very basic concept means. They don't get more unique spells because the idea behind their magic is that they learn and figure out spells from other classes. Since their inception, its been said they "pick up magic in their travels". 5e made them awesome by giving them full spellcasting instead of half casting like they've always had before now. I don't even like them, but no one has the breadth of abilities like the bard.
Yeah but jack of all trades, master of none is kinda mild and is also kinda done by the rogue. Also it's become more popular to flavour bards and bard magic as music (or art/perfmormance in general) and charisma turned into magic rather than the picking up tricks type thing that I associate more with the half caster version of the class. I agree with Jacob that more could be done to make the class feel like it has a niche beyond just having a lot of different skills.
That's terrible class design. Having one class been a jack of all trades means that it can't do anything too well and it cannot have a core identity. It also means in small groups, you can't rely on the bard when you really needed that specialist. The bard you described only really gets to shine in large groups. But then you run the issue of the bard outperforming a specialist by pure luck! It's way better to give everyone something unique to them. If the bard had a unique identity, people wouldn't joke about how "horny" bards are.
I need this homebrew in my life! I’m playing a paladin gunslinger who will be multiclassing into bard and the content in this homebrew would fit him perfectly! He’s much more of an orator who loves to talk about his exploits than he is a musician, and he’s definitely the charismatic leader of the duo that he’s a part of.
Yeah I hard disagree man. Bards are easily among the strongest classes in DnD and the subclasses generally help the class become even better. I'm not gunna attack anybody who decides to add these things to their games but I'm immediately shutting down any of my player who tries to bring this into my dnd game.
I don't think the problem is that the bard isn't strong, just that their features don't feel rewarding. Bardic inspiration, to me this always feels like a watered down bless, and the bard constantly reminding people to use their bonus. Jack of all trades, having bonuses to all skills is huge but at least personally in my games if someone is making a skill check, immediately someone else is ready to see if they can provide help. The same theory applies to song of rest, if the party is taking a short rest it's usually with the intention to heal already, yes it's strong but it doesn't feel impactful and it's hard to flavor well. Those are just examples, obviously the bard is one of the strongest classes, but that doesn't automatically mean it has no flaws.
Bards are a Good Counterspeller since you get a +3 due to Jack of all Trades and Eloquence Bard is the Bard of Bards and is really great for you to say it doesn't exist, if anything is missing pick 2 levels of warlock, you will never reach level 20
whenever I play a bard, I try to "run towards the boundaries" and create unique takes of a bard. for example I created a character that was a master in speechcraft, could manipulate and control others with persuasion, deception, and intimidation only. Another one was a loreteller, and inspire the other party members with stories, poems, and history. one of my friends came up with a painter bard as well. I personally think that bard is one of the more creatively versatile classes in DnD 5e.
I don't know, I reskin every spell narratively so it fits my character. Mechanically there may be too few spells but a magic missiles with my War Magic Wizards looks different than the Magic Missiles of my Illusion Wizards. And Bards are among the best battlefield controllers and get only better with higher levels.
when you asked " do bards even fit in" I almost face palmed. have you seen jaskier from the Witcher ? who doesn't want to be a spell slinging version of him? have you seen any music videos by Lindsey Stirling? who doesn't want to stand in front of an Armada, blasting " master of tides" as your powerful aquamancy blasts through the dreadlords navy, or stand defiantly on top of a tower, drawing the attention of the tarrasque with your violin playing " we are giants" as you lure it into the trap your party members set up, or shatter spacetime with your shatter spells while confidently strumming to the tune of " shatter me". yes there is a demand for bards, we just need it to be fulfilled correctly
Bards aren't any of the characters that you described, man, they should be. But they are just spellcasters with proficiency in a lot of things and that can play instruments. You know what other spellcaster can have proficiency and play insturments? Any other. That's the problem, no personality in bard class and no support for the player put that personality in the character that they are creating. Besides, all the things that you described are really cool, and yeah, bards can be nice. If you're aiming in a singer bard then the class gives you what you need to do it, but still it looks like the class is lacking in personality and support to the player be even better in the thing that they want. For example: Ranger is the weakest class in 5E, but still it gives you all you need to explore the nature, hunt creatures, survive or even have an animal, and the classes makes you be better in all those things than any other class can be. But looking to the singer bard, what makes you more singer than other character with proficiency in any instrument? "Song of rest"?; "Jack of all trades" doesn't makes you special in any way and "Expertise" from Rogue is far more useful; "Bardic Inspiration" it's cool but it basicaly can be substituted by "guidance" spell and many others; and i think i could go on like that. Bard doesn't give you traits that help you to be better or special, just a lot of traits that make you kinda useful if you don't have a rogue, cleric or druid in your party or if they are unconscious. And we don't even start to talk about bards that are not mean to be singers. The idea of a bard it's super awesome, but the class kinda have no mean to exist because it's not special and its traits doesn't help you to be a bard, just a min/maxer character sheet that sucks a lot.
@@caldeirao7323 I don’t think I’ve ever seen a min maxer play a bard though so idk what your talking about there. But yeah, I agree that they should have had a more clear direction with the class. I’m not saying that the bard class was well made, because as I’m playing one right now I can certainly tell you that it’s not.I’m saying there is most certainly a demand for the basic idea of the bard, a charismatic artist who is most commonly the spokesperson of the group, focuses on inspiring other players and making them feel awesome , and whose spell list is composed of the most visually and aesthetically pleasing spells that can easily be worked into stunning performances regardless of what art you chose. I’d say that dnd5e did fairly well on all but the last one. Most of my coolest performances my character performs are using spells that I got from magic initiate and magical secrets. Using control flames to wreathe myself in lukewarm fire that then shapes itself into a extravagant looking gown of flames, and creating watery figurines that clash with flame if sculptures as I recall the tales of amazing historical battles to the tune of a catchy melody, and using conjure animals to make a beautiful cloak out of living butterfly. I think what the bard really needs is for all there subclasses to give them extended spell lists, so that I wouldn’t need to constantly reer of course to get the right spell for my performance.
@@caldeirao7323 yeah, I also feel like magical secrets is like patching up a bullet wound with a band aid just so they can say that they fixed it. As it stands, a bard needs magical secrets to get the right spells for them to feel like a bard, but it should have been made so that the bards spell-list already felt like it had everything it needed, and then the bard is free to use magical secrets to make there bard stand out amongst others. Like most of the spells that bards take for magical secrets they should have already had: counterspell, and the flashy ones like spirit guardians, crusaders mantle, and conjuring spells, so they could feel free to take ones that build on there character like find steed, animate dead, or fly
You don't need fertility to seduce people And if seduction is the only thing you can think to do with a high charisma score and amazing social skills, you need more imagination ;3
I like the bard for the lack of “bardiness” they are the masters of “I gotcha covered” although reflavoring some things based on character (like a bard cult leader I have who inspires allies and leads undead and is overall a Lovecraftian lorekeeper with animate dead, spirit guardians, find greater steed, etc. and focuses on shutting down enemies while shooting the freak out of things with skeletal archers). Although compared to some other classes, yeah, bard could use some help although at least it’s not as hamstrung as Ranger or short rest dependent classes
I wrote up a bard that I've yet to play that really factors into breaking the Bard Stereotypes. Alexander is a Variant Human with the Magic Initiate feat (Took Firebolt, Ray Of Frost, and Find Familiar from Wizard), and went through the Collage Of Lore. Alexander surprisingly has a very high intelligence score, and studied most things he could in school, making him a walking encyclopedia. He wears robes with a hood, and carries a book of history, and classical poetry. He essentially theorized that magic is just using the material world to manipulate the weave, which in turn sets off a reaction in the material plane. Those without inherent ability do it with things that have power in the weave, like beliefs, or words, or phrases. That's why he thinks that his magic is no different from that of a Wizard, that they're both finding truth in something, be it research, or personal truth found in art, and using it to manipulate the weave. The result is that Alexander just appears to be a scholar, even a wizard at first glance, until he opens his mouth and spills out an epic told in complete poetry to cast his spells. In terms of Gameplay, Alexander is a skill check master who focuses on History, Arcana, Nature, and Religion. He of course has Performance, and Persuasion as well. In battle he uses spells by reading from his book rather than playing an instrument, tending to hurl cantrips and crossbow bolts around from the backline.. END THE HORNY BARD MEME
When jacob said "The bard is like Captain America" all I could think was: ADVENTURERS... ASSEMBLE! While they were holding a +2 adamantine shield... And then getting blasted in the face with fire because they used their turn to inspire instead of dodging the breath attack.
As much as I love the your homebrew idea, I kind of like the bard as is. It's really customizable and kind of forces you to get creative in tight situations, like when the only spell slots I had left were a couple. Level 2s and we were being surrounded by undead. A dagger + heat Metal saved us some time until the paladin got close enough. Another time I was able to convince an intelligent monster that I was leaving, only to run back one give him an atomic wedgie. The DM liked the idea so much we didn't even have to fight...which was good because we were all low on hp. Bards are what you make them
Just looking at this pdf, these cantrips seem kinda strong. The only real precedent for bonus action cantrips is for cantrips that are "setup" cantrips like shillelagh or magic stone. These cantrips aren't like that, they're basically just pure upside at relatively no cost. On top of that, reaction speed cantrips seem even more insane. There are few situations in which you wouldn't just cast a cantrip with a reaction cast time. Spoken Ward is also just kinda crazy. This is just resistance for the first round or so of every combat due to it having no serious limits on duration or spell slot costs. It is certainly a massive buff to a party's survivability.
My favorite bard that I have played was the one I played in OOTA, it was a Verdan Lore Bard with a couple levels in Knowledge Cleric. He was a story teller/Writer. He cast spells by writing the runes or incantations in the air with his magic quill (his spell focus). Then there was my Varient Tabaxi bard (using a homebrew short tabaxi) that had boots of spiderclimb. he danced along the walls and ceiling as he played and cast spells. (yes his inspiration was Puss in Boots from the movie.)
I like your additions (particularly the fix for countercharm), but I think the idea of the "college of leadership" is already somewhat covered by the College of Valor bards. I know the subclass gets meme'd on by a lot of groups, but I've found it to be really strong. Outside of multi-classing it is the closest most classes will get to a war-mage build in 5e and it really fulfills the fantasy of a supporting fighter well. I played my valor bard from levels 1-11 and was irreplaceable in my team because I could fill the role of both a cleric and a rogue. It feels awesome when you can get off 2 attacks and still have a bonus action to dish out an inspiration or healing word. Nonetheless, everyone still asks every combat if I'm going to seduce an NPC even though my charisma is lower than our paladins. Bards definitely have mechanical concerns, but I think their reputation is the bigger problem.
I once played a dragonborn bard that did its bardic stuff through a set of tiny bongos and slam poetry, who's whole purpose in live was the wander the land gathering tales. Wasn't a stereotypical one, and worked to inspire people through sharing of tales and his uh, "unique" slew of slam poetry. Was probably one of the most fun characters I had ever made. I think the issue with bard really does come from specifically combat, because out of combat I felt extremely different from any other class I've ever played, and got a lot of use of the class.
I love your channel and some of your other fixes are really good but this is just unnecessary. Your "any other class" is a straw man. Bards are good at skill checks, full casters, faces, AND supports all at once. they're a jack of all trades. Its literally what defines them. I agree they could use some more unique spells, but bards are defined by how they help the party, not by being protagonists, which is what you seem to want.
Solution make bards like the bards in pillars of eternity. Remove spells and spell slots and have their music be their spells and they can only play 1 song at a time with the opening and closing of the song be able to chain together
Honestly I don't see a problem with bard. I like that they don't get too much "entertainer flavor" as part of the class because that is exactly what would pigeonhole them into being entertainers. They are a skill monkey, just like a rogue. Which means you can easily tailor your skills to whatever identity you want your bard to have,. You can totally be a lorekeeper or a spy with proficiency/expertise in the correct skills. Furthermore, giving out bardic inspiration like candy starting lv 5 is amazing. Especially with some subclasses like lore and glamour. Bards could definitely use a few more unique spells, and countercharm is garbage. But the class as a whole is good and powerful. And with magical secrets you can pretty much round out any of your party's weaknesses to be a strong and useful contribution to any party.
Playing a bard should make me feel like Kvothe from the Kingkiller Chronicle. I love the idea of magic made by speaking/singing the true names of things which are incomprehensibly complex, changing from moment to moment, and can only really be understood instinctually because the logical part of the human mind can't hold something that big. Also using real names can drive you insane. Thats a cool bard to me.
I think you missed one thing about the Bard. Their signature ability is "Jack of All Trades". The rest of the expression is "Jack of All Trades, master of none". They're not supposed to be the best any any one thing, but they can do basically anything pretty well.
@@RoninCatholic true lol. They know more spells known than a sorcerer (given a different list, and fewer cantrips, but magical secrets), ritual casing they also have over sorcerers, and can use most weapons they could want. They can specialize more in any of these things and can do everything well. I don't think they're OP, I think they do what they set out to and he's upset that bards to fit into all the themes they could… that's on players, WoTC has subclasses that could fit any of the things he's looking for.
ok just got to 3:53 mark lore keeper - college of lore spies - college of shadows entertainers - stuff it can innately do in the base kit story tellers - again, stuff it innately does in the base kit leaders - college of valor or college of swords and most importantly - they have bardic inspiration, which can go up to a D12 at a high enough level
Want to be skillful, AND use magic, AND play support class that can heal and buff your party members, AND be the charismatic face, AND be a musician entertainer. Other classes can do one or more of these, but none do EVERYTHING (except Lore Clerics, damn you Clerics!).
You list classes that can do each of the things a bard can do but don't reconcile that the bard does them all at once. I do not understand how you cannot perspective this as strong and dynamic. I can agree about those two base class features could use some alteration (countercharm mostly) but bards are one of the better classes in 5e from a power and versatility perspective. The class is definitely not the one in need of the most rebalancing. You could make changes to those two abilities but they don't need anything else.
Bards inspire others literally, heal with songs a bit for free, resist charms, and can reach outside their classes and combine things nobody else can. Bards also get expertise, not just rogues. And nobody is really a better face. A Rogue who is trying really hard can rival them I guess. You also didn't really touch on any of their subclasses. I can agree that Bards should have a somewhat expanded spell list but you're definitely undervaluing them. For one it sounds like you must not need a lot of short rests- that free healing helps you keep spell slots all around your party and or save some of your hit dice. The combinations Bards can pull off are truly unique as well, being known as the most capable healer with a light dip into cleric, doing things like taking Ranger and Paladin spells much earlier than those classes can, et cetera. Now to roast your stuff.. 1) So it's double mage hands with less range? And slightly infringes on Arcane Trickster? That's called Unseen Servant dude, like, really. Level 1 ritual, 90% of the way to a cantrip. 2) That's just busted, a one level dip in Bard could give your Paladin even stronker buff aura essentially- particularly since you've got it scaling. And it doesn't seem to require concentration or run out, it just lasts. Pretty OP to be able to reduce 1 hit at all times forever. 3) Alright this one is interesting enough and would require play testing. 4) This is just busted. Again. You realize other classes and likely items have abilities that are made near pointless by this right? Not entirely since it takes the bards turns but still. Deep infringing on Berserker and, as you acknowledged, Paladins just off the top of my head. If you wanted to rework counter charm just make it a bonus action. Or make it last longer as a background element. Or make it a reaction maybe, like you make just the right annoying sound or interjection and bam the charm or fear doesn't land right. 5) That subclass sounds overlappy with Paladin as a concept but not bad- maybe make that level 6 ability the level 14 or tone it down. Also consider it granting allies the ability to come closer to you on activation. Meanwhile the level 14 you've got comes in a bit late IMO to be it's unique tweak on bardic inspiration and also making attacks hit or miss is already in other bard subclasses, with things like cutting words.
I was actually thinking of playing a bard with a cooking them, as in it uses just what's in the official books but I flavor it to be more cooking related. For example, the inspiration is me making a snack that someone can eat to gain the effect whenever they want before the food spoils.
There are a few interesting abilities here honestly. Bumble, summon instrument, and silver tongued are pretty good. I also like Lullaby, thought it’s pretty busted as a cantrip. Even if it requires three fails, making someone fall unconscious for a minute is a big deal. Spoken word is also kinda busted as it basically has an unlimited duration. Dazzle has an interesting effect, though I’m not sure what to think of it. It’s a pure combat cantrip that you can only use once per combat. I think it needs a non-combat effect to make it worth a cantrip slot. Either that or attach it to a magic item. Personally I don’t like helping hands. It’s basically better mage hand with shorter range. I don’t think this cantrip adds anything to the bard as is. As for countercharm master, rather than restricting it to level 6 bards why not have it give countercharm to those that don’t have it, and then have it upgrade countercharm for those whom do? Lastly the leadership bard: Honestly it’s underpowered. Inspire the Battle is cool, but becomes useless once you gain magic weapons. Distracting Dirge is pretty good. Fight as One scaling with the number of party members makes it range from underwhelming to broken. Command with Determination is pretty good, however the fact that it’s basically replacing a feature that’s been useless for 6+ levels kind of makes it unimpressive.
There's a homebrew out there called Sonatas that add a small pile of songs during a short rest the bard can do that are VASTLY superior but still not too broken. Things like adding 1d4 to healing spells until your next rest, I recommend people give it a look
When I think bards, I think status effects. That isn't really what the 5e class does for them and I don't know if anybody else makes that association, but if I were to ever make a game, bards would be focused much worse at instantaneous effects or environmental effects and much better at buffs and debuffs. That's probably why whenever I go bard, I go with mostly spells like crown of madness or enhance ability and why 90% of my spells require concentration. Bardic inspiration also helps with that, but nobody ever remembers to use it.
I like bardic inspiration, cause it's amazing tool, making bard hella useful. And I love how bards can be crazy variative, combining different sorts of spells. Remember Leliana? Stabby-stabby, singy-singy, supportive and religious? Make her bard, give her cleric spells as magical secrets and ressurect people with songs, while fighting like a rogue. Don't forget Knock for locks. Just amazing
Buddy, the point is they're not unique. They are a jack of all trades, they're not great at any one thing (they can't heal sneak or damage the most) BUT THATS THE POINT! They get a little bit of everything so if the rogue isn't able to make the session somebody can half ass do their job. Yeah I agree they're not the best but that's the point. They are the jack of all trades master of none
My paladin was questing with a lot of magically inclined folks so he decided to multi-class into bard and is teaching himself street magic to entertain.
The ability of the bard is that you can walk up to a crowd, start shit-talking the king, and they can't stop you. Also you can challenge the BBG to a rap battle dance-off without breaking character.
Bards, one of the most OP classes in the game (2nd behind wizard), with a vast array of spell options, excellent debuff abilities Song of rest is great, sometimes hit die isnt enough and conserving resources is useful. Every die helps You say Rogues are rewarded for sneaking (they get this from expertise), but Bards own expertise isnt considered? Which especially in a conversation can stack with the help action (as those 2 properties can stack, which the video seemed to indicate it was the same for some reason). Im not sure whats wrong with classes sharing abilities? Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, Monks all get multiattack. Expertise isnt a "rogue" ability, its an ability robues and bards share And in regards to being a face, Bards are hands down the best in the game. They get expertise in a main stat, Rogues dont get that and paladins have to take a UA feat or multiclass to get that (which might take from something else they want). Bards also make for cool melee fighters that can do magic, except they are on the magic end of that spectrum (as opposed to a fighter or paladin who are on the melee end). Dont get me wrong, bladesingers can do this too, as can warlocks but those feel like different types of playstyles with different stats indicating which is good and thus hopefully different roleplay as you play your character. Now Fighters, Monks, Paladins, any spellcaster can all be sneaky, but the point is rogues do it better because their main stats also get other synergistic boosts such as expertise and then obviously bonus action options in combat) If this video was about flavour then this vid would be great, but you mentioned game mechanics and bards straight up are fantastic here. I dont play bards because I prefer tanky melee fighters, but if someone else is a bard in the party then thats fantastic, because they have so many cool options and can be really customisable Ask for more unique cantrips but complain about ones that they actually have...... Also Firebolt isnt a unique cantrip, both sorcerers and wizards have it and its just a blaster cantrip, its not special.
I agree with you and and the vid at the same time somehow. I’ve liked playing bard but have never played it at higher levels which he stipulated a few times.
@@casonedwards5986 Bards at low levels (less than 5) are quite a weak class in the game, but once you get 3rd level spells you're getting a rather large buff. However, one thing to consider with bards is that they arent damage dealers, and that can be more difficult to play. Its easy to just fireball but when considering an aoe debuff, which is the best can be hard to determine and it doesnt feel like youre accomplishing much. However if you were the dm and you see him skip turn after turn, then it becomes more obvious. Also, never underestimate a face. When you have like +11 charisma and youre only gonna get better, your 4's on a die roll are now at least 15s. Thats huge in conversation rollplay
jacob I can understand where you are coming from, but I recently started playing a bard with a college of spirits and I am loving it! My character never sings he just plays music and or tells a story. It's great.
I don't have a lot of experience as a Bard historically, but I've built a few bards for 5E and I feel like the ones I have the most fun with are the ones that very distinctly stray away from doing bard stuff. My College of Swords Bard was really more like a very tiny Battle Master, but the spells I chose for her let her deceive and misdirect to either confound foes or to keep them distracted while she goes to pursue to real goal. My Whispers Bard was largely the opposite of what Bards typically are; rather than being loud and bombastic, she used her wide array of social skills to put people at ease and convince everyone that she was of no harm, before closing in with her target, getting them alone, and then extracting all of their secrets through social sabotage, walking away completely unharmed with no one the wiser. So mechanically one might say that the Whispers Bard and the Swords Bard are actually pretty okay, if only because they dedicated all their resources into being something other than a Bard.
"Bards shouldn't be bound to having an instrument. " *College of Swords would like to know your location. "Bards could be lore keepers, spies-" **College of Whispers would like to know your location.*
College of Valor/Eloquence as well, only Lore and Glamour bards are particularly flavored to be musical, and one of them is literally described as the lore keepers of the Forgotten Realms.
I´ve seen a lot of bards being played, and I´ve never had the feeling that they were contributing less than the rest. They lack a bit in the damaging-spell department, but that can later be made up with magical secrets. In my main campaign were we started at lvl 1 I have a valor-bard player which was always the main tank/healer of the party, so close to a cleric, but since she multiclassed into paladin (now a bard 16/paladin 2) she can has: High ac, decent hp, great heals, great damaging spells and good damage with meele attacks + the amount of damage dealt by her inspiration turning misses from the rogues into hits, and allowing the ranger to ALWAYS go for sharpshoot shots since if she rolls low she can just use the inspiration to probably make it hit anyway. We always joke that shes the supporting Main-Tank healer that also deals a ton of damage while supporting the group, and in my opinion, thats what bard is about, that you can do ANYTHING if you want to.
Bards flavor isn't really about being "people man" a bard is a keeper of lore and a user of old magic. In the earliest rendition they actually had to train as druids for a bit and derived their spellcasting from them. While a wizard casts with arcane formula, or a sorcerer casts with his innate magic, a bard casts using the magical secrets of the world. Instead of casting the spell for light they might pull out a firefly and whisper the ancient name to set the bug alight. They know things about the world that have been long forgotten to time. Gandalf was a bard.
In Lord of the Rings, _all_ good guy magic was accomplished through singing or arts and crafts in some way...the creation of their world was the great god Eru Iluvatar singing the universe and the lesser gods into existence, and there's a reason the thirteen dwarves' song at Bilbo's dinner party and the various elves' songs were so captivating. When Sam was impressed with the elvish self-tying rope the guy giving it to him said "If only I'd known you'd be interested in this when you first arrived, I could have taught you how to make these yourself while you were staying here".
As a player who loves bards, it makes me happy to see that so many other people see 5th Edition's bard for what it is: the greatest team player in the game. The roleplaying options are a mile wide. Warrior, poet, scoundrel, scholar, duelist, demagogue, witch hunter, divine champion, tomb raider- like your mother always said, you can be anything you want. You can change the world with the power of your stories and beliefs. Jacob, if you read this, first of all, thank you. You've inspired me to put in the effort to make my games better, and you stand among the best RU-vidrs of your kind. I too used to think of bards as the dinkiest class in 5e (my first character was a bard who never made it past level 2). But with time and experience, I have come to see bards as the coolest class in 5e. All those things you said about the kind of bard you want to see are already possible. I wouldn't mind a few more unique bard spells, and I'll play with your countercharm fix as long as 5e sticks around. And of course I'm always down for more subclasses and variant class features. But the bard doesn't need them. It's all a matter of perspective. The story of your bard is the story you create with them. The only real limit is the height of your imagination. Try on a new personality every day. Throw caution to the wind. Let gold slip freely though your fingers, but treasure the company of your friends and the joy you bring to others. "Fight with steel and spell and silver tongue through blood, despair and curses flung, for hope and truth and home and love, and spark the hearts of all and one." This is what a bard can be. I hope to meet more bards like these.
My table let the bard use Bardic Inspiration as a reaction, starting at level 14. We also fluffed it so song of rest applies to every hit dice spent during short rest. Good lord! The bard didn’t do much damage themselves, but they became this ultimate pillar of support. It was great!
in my opinion, the Bards should have been half-casters, with all the aura stuff paladins have... and paladins shouldnt have had the auras. Also one person here said proficient with improvized weapons? hell yeah! The bard class as it is, with a few tweaks would make a solid generic mage.
I always thought that Bards weren't supposed to be unique. They were supposed to fill a role, recognising the thing that your party is lacking in and pick up the slack. For instance at third level if you realise your party has 3 spell Castors, go College of Swords and start fighting at the front lines. Now that being said I'm freaking in love with this subclass! You could pair it with inspiring leader to make sure you're always bolstering your companions in every way you can. Anyway that's my two cents. This channel has always been an "inspiration" to me.
