# How/Can you roleplay a non-musical bard?



## Errant (Aug 29, 2006)

Now and then I've contemplated playing a bard but I've always been put off by my own complete lack of musical ability (I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket) which leaves me stumped as to how to RP a bard at the gaming table.

Thankfully, 3.5E Bards offers a few "Performing" non-musical options I think I can use, especially things like Acting and Oratory, maybe even Comedy.

I'm still a little fuzzy on how to present that kind of Performing at the gaming table when using the Bard's Perform-based abilities.

I think it will wear a little thin if all I can say is "I rattle off a quick speach/joke/poem to Inspire everyone's Confidence".

Can anyone offer any tips?


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## pawsplay (Aug 29, 2006)

If you have any knack for it at all, trying writing a poem that emphasizes, say, bravery, and recite it every so often as needed.

EDIt: Also, there's no rule against an oratory being "Stomp them into the dirt!" And if you want to buff and not do the song and dance routine, check out the Marshal.


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## MerricB (Aug 29, 2006)

Errant said:
			
		

> Now and then I've contemplated playing a bard but I've always been put off by my own complete lack of musical ability (I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket) which leaves me stumped as to how to RP a bard at the gaming table.
> 
> Thankfully, 3.5E Bards offers a few "Performing" non-musical options I think I can use, especially things like Acting and Oratory, maybe even Comedy.
> 
> ...




Don't be original. Go and get some *real* poetry/jokes/oratory. Note the names that need to be replaced and have fun. "Real" Bards don't use all their own material; improvisation is a useful skill, but they spend far more time repeating stuff than creating it anew.

Fill a page or two with this sort of material and then use it as needed.

Cheers!


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## MonkeyDragon (Aug 29, 2006)

Remember that small gestures can go a long way.  I would in fact not suggest doing oratory or comedy for your perform: those things are things that actually rely on speaking, and thus cant be faked.  But you don't have to be able to sing to hum a few bars and mime playing a lute.  Or choose dance, and do a little chair-groove.


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## Quickleaf (Aug 29, 2006)

We had a bard from an animistic tribal culture in a game that invoked spirits of his faith for succor ("Creatrix Tuara do not abandon us now!"). It had a very epic feel and didn't require great eulogizing, just the ability to make it sound mythic and a solid knowledge of his faith.

Two ideas for Perform (Oratory). I've always liked the idea of a storytelling bard who relates short anecdotes from legend to inspire. Another idea is the proverbial bard who uses pertinent proverbs to inspire.

I've always thought it would be fun to play a bard whose musical abilities come from something like dance (perhaps they enter ecstatic trances like a Sufi dervish?) or acting (a wisecracking bard who uses Perform (comedy) to inspire?).

A nice touch would be to spend a few minutes between every other game to compose a ditty, poem, limerick, or joke about the party's recent adventures.


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## bodhi (Aug 29, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> Don't be original.



QFT.
I mean, if you have your magnum opus burning to get out, by all means, set it down. But it's much easier to rip off borrow from previous masters, like the St. Crispin's Day Speech from Henry V, or Dylan Thomas' Do not go gentle into that good night.

Or maybe look at something like the haka.

Or go find some DVD's of Def Poetry Jam.

I gotta admit, it's hard for me to think of appropriate examples that are non-verbal, given the audience focus of the bard. Although a drow signing bard or an illithid telepath bard would be interesting.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 29, 2006)

Archetypes for Non musical bards?

1) A limerick specialist- not reccomended for the grandma-freindly game.

2) An insult comedian- this works especially well if you like to taunt.

3) A mime.  Use lots of expressive gestures.

4) A rapper- I know- anachronistic...but it really isn't.  Rap is really just a form of chant set to modern beats- lyrically, you can find some nice "war chants" or uplifting words...

5) An ac-TOR!

6) A con man with the "gift of gab."  Imagine if you will, inspiring your warrior buddy to great efforts (Inspire Courage) by telling him that the Raging half-orc barbarian he's about to face is using a Greataxe you sold him (you know- the ones with the sub-standard hafts and cheap metal heads) and took a potion that should give him the flux "any minute now..."


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## Shadowdancer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have played in several RPGA Living Greyhawk mods with a player whose bard was a storyteller only -- he has no musical skills. His bard would tell inspiring stories about the time so-and-so hero overcame tremendous odds or so-and-so diety beat the crud out of this other diety. You don't have to go into great detail or length -- just give enough info to set the scene and mood, and the other players' imaginations will do the rest.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 29, 2006)

In other words, someone like Bill Cosby or a talk-show host.


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## SteelDraco (Aug 29, 2006)

I'm intending to play a dwarf bard at some point, who tells dwarven legends to inspire courage and such. He might or might not have a drum, but nothing more complicated than that for music. Max out the knowledges and take the summoning spells to summon dwarven ancestor spirits. I think it'd be a fun character to play.


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## DJCupboard (Aug 29, 2006)

How about a smack talking (for discouraging enemies) bard who is just real good at the right kind of encouragement to get his friends going too.  Try Perform (motivational speaker).  "And I know, friends, that if you gig deep into the well of your own self-empowerment, the courage, the tenacity, the will to overcome these obstacles is well within your capable reach.  All you have to do, friends, is try and the power can be yours!"  "I feel the power coming from you today!  I see it in your eyes!  If you try, really try, and put your all into, I know, and believe me, I've seen it before a thousand times, you too can be successful!"


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## cmanos (Aug 29, 2006)

Errant said:
			
		

> Now and then I've contemplated playing a bard but I've always been put off by my own complete lack of musical ability (I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket) which leaves me stumped as to how to RP a bard at the gaming table.
> 
> Thankfully, 3.5E Bards offers a few "Performing" non-musical options I think I can use, especially things like Acting and Oratory, maybe even Comedy.
> 
> ...




Think the insiprational St. Crispan's Day monologue from Henry V and you'll be on the right path.


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## DragonLancer (Aug 29, 2006)

Play a storyteller, rather than a minstrel. Be the chronicler of the party's exploits. Wander the land telling stories of heroism, vanquished evil and the like... teaching the common man moral tales.


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## Hand of Evil (Aug 29, 2006)

Juggle and Balancing act.
Knife Thrower. 
Ribbons and dance (Olympic gymnastic event).  
Mime is just going to get you killed but I hear dwarves get a kick out of them doing golems and orc in a box.


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## Mark Hope (Aug 29, 2006)

I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating.  The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded.  They are modelled after the Dunedain from Lord of the Rings - in their veins runs the blood of a lost kingdom, giving them sorcerous abilities, deep insight into the ways of men, lore of legendry and forgotten myths, and the ability to stir the soul with their voice.  They don't use music, but instead rely upon oration, heroic exhortations and an almost mystical insight into the soul to power their abilities.  Some do sing (if the player is so inclined to reproduce something along the lines of Aragorn's bouts of elvish music) but this is not the focus of the class.  It works really well and has done away with the "dude with a lute" image completely.  If you use _Arcana Evolved_, they work especially well with The Voice feat and mirror the Bene Gesserit from Dune in this way as well.

(For spellsingers, I instead use Monte Cook's variant bard from the Eldritch Might books - fits the musical archetype far better imho).


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 29, 2006)

With apologies to the Dragon Compendium, one can also play a bard as a jester quite successfully. Smack-talking the enemies or cracking a joke to lighten the mood are just as effective as music for a bard.

Plus you dress really stylishly.


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## an_idol_mind (Aug 29, 2006)

Bards can really be anything. I played a bard at one point who was basically a hick and whose tales all revolved around cow tipping. They eventually evolved into more exotic things like gorgon tipping, but the point is that a bard can entertain in any way you wish.


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## shilsen (Aug 29, 2006)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> A limerick specialist- not reccomended for the grandma-freindly game.




You just reminded me of my PC in an online game at ENWorld that folded very quickly. His forte as a bard was to make up and recite completely scurrilous limericks about the enemy, amusing and emboldening his allies. Damn good fun while it lasted.


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## Henry (Aug 29, 2006)

I've actually (briefly) played one idea for a bard that I would love to explore more in-depth one day: An Ambassador/Diplomat.

This is the person who could perform literally magical feats with his voice. He can convince a raging orc to stand down, he can freeze people in place with a commanding tone, he can "talk the fire out" of wounds. (Anyone ever hear of the old folklore to "talk the fire out" of a burn? Only this guy can do it for real, with sword wounds!)

I played one for a short while, but would love to get a chance to explore such a character in detail one day.


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## Kesh (Aug 29, 2006)

I've always wanted to play a bard who does the "evil villain who talks too much" thing. He intimidates his enemies and cajoles his comrades through describing just how well he's beating the enemy, and supporting his friends as they fight.

"I've just broken two of your ribs. *crack* Sorry, make that three."


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## Dragonbait (Aug 29, 2006)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> Archetypes for Non musical bards?
> 5) An ac-TOR!




I had an NPC bard that was the equivalent of a motivational speaker. He was based off of an old comedian, of which I have forgotten the comedian's name, but later became more like Danny's bard option #5.
ac-TING!


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## Voadam (Aug 29, 2006)

Perform: chanting. Treat it like verbal components. "As Janec begins a potent war chant tapping secret bard magic you feel inspired to martial greatness. And you get a +1 to hit and damage, woohoo!."


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## LostSoul (Aug 29, 2006)

Mark Hope said:
			
		

> I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating.  The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded.




That's a really cool idea!


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## Thunderfoot (Aug 29, 2006)

Though lightly touched upon about a Dwarven drummer -
What about a percussive arts specialist - bang the snot out of whatever is at hand.  Think "STOMP" the broadway musical where all the performers beat the crap out of the floor, each other and anything else in order to get sound.  Drummers have been playing marshal tunes for years, so the act of drumming up a battle tune is also plausible.

Slap your legs, beat the table (lightly so the minis and dice don't go everywhere), slap your books together, shake your dice in a cup - all to an appropriate rhythm.  Throw in those "spoken word" lyrics (Like the aforementioned St Crispen speech or some other military tale and you have a 13th century rap star - Just don't "beat box"


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 29, 2006)

> I've always wanted to play a bard who does the "evil villain who talks too much" thing. He intimidates his enemies and cajoles his comrades through describing just how well he's beating the enemy, and supporting his friends as they fight.
> 
> "I've just broken two of your ribs. *crack* Sorry, make that three."




Or as I put it in a different thread...

"I'm SINGING!  I'm SINGING and kicking your AAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS!"



> He was based off of an old comedian, of which I have forgotten the comedian's name, but later became more like Danny's bard option #5.
> ac-TING!




John Lovitz, perhaps?


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## Errant (Aug 30, 2006)

Lots of awesome ideas, thanks all - I'm leaning toward an Oratory specialist and the tips here are showing me at least three ways I can portray that skill in game: encouraging speaches (ala Mark Hope's Dunedain suggestion); tactical advice (drawing on Knowledge and Bardic lore for tips on battle tactics); & straight out encouragement (he says "I KNOW you can do it..." so compellingly it makes you believe it) .

I'm sure I can go further though & there must be others out there that can draw inspiration from other ideas though, so if you've anything else to add please do!


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## VirgilCaine (Aug 30, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> Don't be original. Go and get some *real* poetry/jokes/oratory. Note the names that need to be replaced and have fun. "Real" Bards don't use all their own material; improvisation is a useful skill, but they spend far more time repeating stuff than creating it anew.
> 
> Fill a page or two with this sort of material and then use it as needed.




Personally, I want to play a studious cleric-like Bard who uses quotes from say, the Bhagavad Gita (the nuclear missile-sounding stuff) or the Old Testament or something like that. Not music, but poetics. This approach would be exactly what I would use to play this character.


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## Dark Psion (Aug 30, 2006)

You can also play up the Lore ability by having your Bard be the tactician. He may inspire others just by going over the battleplan and cueing each PC at the right moment.

Also, he can boost his alies by pointing out the weekness and vulnerabilities of a foe. 

"That is a Ghast, your crowbar will work better than your blade becuse it is cold iron"


The 2e Complete Bard's Handbbook had the following kits;

Blade: Juggles daggers, swallows swords and does archery trick shots
Charlatan: Con-man and Grifter
Gallant: Knight who is more showman than fighter
Gypsy: Dance, fortune telling and circus tricks
Herald: Spy, Diplomat and Courtier
Jester: Clown, Scapegoat and Comedian
Jongleur: Acrobat, Tightrope walker and Show off
Loremaster: Sage, Historian and Archeologist
Meistersinger: Pied Piper, Animal Charmer and Horse whisperer
Riddlemaster: A MacGuyver who can solve any problem
Skald: The Viking stlye poet/warrior
Thespian: Actor who can be anyone, like the Pretender


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## Storyteller01 (Aug 30, 2006)

I toyed with the idea of a manga-ish ninja. Instead of singing, mudras and kotodama would be used for spells and abilities. Haven't had a chance to try it though.


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## diaglo (Aug 30, 2006)

The Librarian.. all sage like.

go all history buff guy. build up your bard knowledge. and then spew forth volumes of information about your adversaries during combat in their native or ancient tongue.


"I recognize your make of armor... it was from the Fourth age of the Skullcrusher Clan. Your ancestors were slain and eaten by the Great Wyrm ... " all spoken in Orc to the orcs you are about to slay.

then afterwards... "Pity you fell here. Your ancestors would be ashamed of their line"


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## deClench (Aug 30, 2006)

Spoken word rants... ala Henry Rollins.

Tell me you can't see Rollins as a D&D character!


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## taliesin15 (Aug 30, 2006)

Mark Hope said:
			
		

> I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating.  The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded.  They are modelled after the Dunedain from Lord of the Rings - in their veins runs the blood of a lost kingdom, giving them sorcerous abilities, deep insight into the ways of men, lore of legendry and forgotten myths, and the ability to stir the soul with their voice.  They don't use music, but instead rely upon oration, heroic exhortations and an almost mystical insight into the soul to power their abilities.  QUOTE]
> so glad to see something like this suggested--clearly there are many example of bards in history reciting poetry that held people spellbound that didn't have to have music (think of the reciters of works like Beowuld and the Iliad), and even in fantasy literature
> 
> btw, I think some of the suggestions like rapping, Def Jam poetry and the St. Crispin's Day speech (that because of the William Shatner version) pretty ludicrous unless one's campaign is a spoof-campaign (more in keeping with Order of the Stick or Another Fine Myth). There is a hypnotic effect promulgated by poetry that is done well without music.


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## sniffles (Aug 31, 2006)

I'm currently running a non-musical bard in a campaign in which one of the other PCs is a bard/marshal. The other bard isn't musical either. My bard does storytelling and poetry; the bard/marshal uses oratory. My bard recites heroic poems like 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', while the other bard gives inspiring speeches like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream". 

It's unfortunate that the term 'bard' has become so associated with music. Traditionally bards were often storytellers rather than musicians - the type of lute-playing character many people think of when you say 'bard' is really a minstrel or jongleur. 

Bards can do a lot of other things besides play a musical instrument. A bard could also be a juggler, acrobat, illusionist/magician (in the David Copperfield sense), tumbler, contortionist, knife-thrower, shell-game operator, gambler, dancer, actor, or even a stand-up comedian.


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## Wraith Form (Aug 31, 2006)

Mark Hope said:
			
		

> I've posted this idea before, but it might bear repeating.  The bard class in my game is called the thaneblooded.  They are modelled after the Dunedain from Lord of the Rings - in their veins runs the blood of a lost kingdom, giving them sorcerous abilities, deep insight into the ways of men, lore of legendry and forgotten myths, and the ability to stir the soul with their voice.  They don't use music, but instead rely upon oration, heroic exhortations and an almost mystical insight into the soul to power their abilities.  Some do sing (if the player is so inclined to reproduce something along the lines of Aragorn's bouts of elvish music) but this is not the focus of the class.  It works really well and has done away with the "dude with a lute" image completely.  If you use _Arcana Evolved_, they work especially well with The Voice feat and mirror the Bene Gesserit from Dune in this way as well.



Why, that's just bloody cool!  *yoink*


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## Wraith Form (Aug 31, 2006)

I've always liked the idea of a musician bard--no singing, just an instrument.  I have no ability with any musical instrument personally, but I've had a fondness for a bard who performed funeral dirges with, say, a violin (a la Sherlock Holmes).  Or one who wears all black, and does Gregorian chant type stuff, and is all melencholy.

Y'know.  A Goth Bard.  I think that'd be cool.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 31, 2006)

bodhi said:
			
		

> Or maybe look at something like the haka.



Looks kinda awkward performing the maori war chant solo.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 31, 2006)

Wraith Form said:
			
		

> I've always liked the idea of a musician bard--no singing, just an instrument.  I have no ability with any musical instrument personally, but I've had a fondness for a bard who performed funeral dirges with, say, a violin (a la Sherlock Holmes).  Or one who wears all black, and does Gregorian chant type stuff, and is all melencholy.
> 
> Y'know.  A Goth Bard.  I think that'd be cool.



A fiddling goth bard with angst?

Could be worse, like the lady in _Spider-Man 2_ singing the animated theme song on her fiddler.


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## Wraith Form (Aug 31, 2006)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> A fiddling goth bard with angst?
> 
> Could be worse, like the lady in _Spider-Man 2_ singing the animated theme song on her fiddler.



I was thinking more along the lines of the D&D version of Brendan Perry or Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance.


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## Fat Daddy (Aug 31, 2006)

I played a Shugenja in an OA campaign who never told the other PC's what he was casting (ALA I cast fireball).  Instead he had (really bad) Haiku written up that corresponded to each spell.  You could do something similar with your bard concept (if you wanted an oriental flavored bard??).
I thought about posting some examples here but the ridicule and derision of my own gaming group is enough, I don't need it from the whole of Enworld as well.


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## Wraith Form (Aug 31, 2006)

Fat Daddy said:
			
		

> I thought about posting some examples here but the ridicule and derision of my own gaming group is enough, I don't need it from the whole of Enworld as well.



Bah.  Wuss.


Oh, oooops.


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## Stormborn (Aug 31, 2006)

First, I have never known many people who did anything other than just say "My bard starts singing a song of courage" or the like, so no reason to feel ashamed.  How is saying that different than saying "I cast Fireball centered here..." rather than wavign ones hands around spouting Pseudo-Latin/Faux-Draconic?

However, there are a lot of options pointed out here, I would add another possibility for Perform (witty banter).  Picture Spiderman or Robin/Nightwind (Dick Grayson) going into battle makng puns and cracks about the bad guys.  Such things could have a bardic music effect.


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## Prest0 (Aug 31, 2006)

I once played a bard who specialized in stage magic. He could do all manner of slight-of-hand on stage, and he could use the same techniques for mesmerizing enemies. For inspiring his friends, his "patter" for a trick could involve some moral designed to reinforce their confidence. In one instance I did a simple trick with a marked coin as an example for why teamwork is more effective than fighting alone. Even if ou just teach yourself one or two simple tricks a gradeschooler could learn, chances are you'll impress the GM and get some extra XP for roleplay.


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## dragonhead (Aug 31, 2006)

acting.


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## heimdall (Aug 31, 2006)

DJCupboard said:
			
		

> How about a smack talking (for discouraging enemies) bard who is just real good at the right kind of encouragement to get his friends going too.  Try Perform (motivational speaker).  "And I know, friends, that if you gig deep into the well of your own self-empowerment, the courage, the tenacity, the will to overcome these obstacles is well within your capable reach.  All you have to do, friends, is try and the power can be yours!"  "I feel the power coming from you today!  I see it in your eyes!  If you try, really try, and put your all into, I know, and believe me, I've seen it before a thousand times, you too can be successful!"




For some reason, when you said motivational speaker, I instantly thought of... Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.


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## pawsplay (Aug 31, 2006)

dragonhead said:
			
		

> acting.




Acting, brilliance!


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## qstor (Sep 1, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> Don't be original. Go and get some *real* poetry/jokes/oratory.




I disagree 100%. If a player wants to be creative *don't* stop him or her. What's to say that a *real* bard isn't the storyteller myth keeper of the tribe/city/kingdom. Have and work with the player to create stories, tales whatever of the area that you're DMing in. A creative player would just run with stuff like this. And a DM should reward the player for developing the character and contributing to the campaign at the same time!

Mike


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## ST (Sep 1, 2006)

For a bard who uses history and (to some extent) rhetoric, look at Croaker from the Black Company. The whole point of his character is the vital importance of lore and history to the survival of an organization.

Another cool thing about Croaker is that he does his "inspire" bit more often with a snide comment or a sarcastic grin than with one of his big history readings. He's well-read but totally down to earth, and I think a character along those lines could be a lot of fun to play.


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## rgard (Sep 1, 2006)

bodhi said:
			
		

> QFT.
> I mean, if you have your magnum opus burning to get out, by all means, set it down. But it's much easier to rip off borrow from previous masters, like the St. Crispin's Day Speech from Henry V, or Dylan Thomas' Do not go gentle into that good night.
> 
> Or maybe look at something like the haka.
> ...




Also from Henry V:

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; or close the wall up with our English dead!"

Edit Addtion:  If you go with Oratory, just pick up a copy of Barlett's Familiar Quotations...that'll keep you flush with cool stuff to say.


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## kyloss (Sep 1, 2006)

I am actualy working up a bard whose main schtick is cooking, nothing inspires courage like good food, and fear like really realy bad food. Think perform Benihana.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Sep 1, 2006)

> I am actualy working up a bard whose main schtick is cooking, nothing inspires courage like good food, and fear like really realy bad food. Think perform Benihana.




Or a good ethnic stereotype Mama who says "you look SO skinny- you hardly eat!  Here, have a third helping..."


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## Fat Daddy (Sep 1, 2006)

Wraith Form said:
			
		

> Bah.  Wuss.



Thanks Wraith.


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## Hand of Evil (Sep 1, 2006)

I guess a bard could be a stylist/designer/personal assitant.  Teaching mostly or recording history.


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## Thunderfoot (Sep 1, 2006)

kyloss said:
			
		

> I am actualy working up a bard whose main schtick is cooking, nothing inspires courage like good food, and fear like really realy bad food. Think perform Benihana.



But your prep time would be longer than 1 round (6 seconds) .  I've seen battles that have finished faster than it would take to get your gear out of your pack... But, I LOVE the concept.   Out of the box thinking inspires me....


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## sniffles (Sep 1, 2006)

My bard is a scholarly type who collects ancient lore and is writing some books herself.  

A friend of mine is running a bard/rogue in another game who's the 'witty banter' type. He was seriously thinking of taking the Goad feat for his PC, to simulate her cutting wit.


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## bodhi (Sep 2, 2006)

Henry said:
			
		

> (Anyone ever hear of the old folklore to "talk the fire out" of a burn? Only this guy can do it for real, with sword wounds!)



Alvin Maker, bard. I like it.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Sep 4, 2006)

> I guess a bard could be a stylist/designer/personal assitant.




Like Farnsworth Bentley? (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/21/f...&en=8f66fde94fc83b72&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND)



> A friend of mine is running a bard/rogue in another game who's the 'witty banter' type. He was seriously thinking of taking the Goad feat for his PC, to simulate her cutting wit.




Bard, thy name is Oscar Wilde!


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## Silver Moon (Sep 4, 2006)

Quickleaf said:
			
		

> I've always liked the idea of a storytelling bard who relates short anecdotes from legend to inspire.



Indeed, Mark Twain was a master storyteller who I would clearly call a Bard, playing to packed auditoriums, although singing and dancing were not part of his routine.   As to how to role play this, that's very easily done.   Just go to an online book site and find multi-paragraph summaries of fantasy/science fiction stories and recite those summaries as his/her tales.


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## BroccoliRage (Sep 4, 2006)

Maybe the bard could be a vaudevillian standup comic. 

Ha-cha-cha cha-cha


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## Meloncov (Sep 4, 2006)

This is a great source for oratory bards.


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## Errant (Sep 4, 2006)

ST said:
			
		

> For a bard who uses history and (to some extent) rhetoric, look at Croaker from the Black Company. The whole point of his character is the vital importance of lore and history to the survival of an organization.
> 
> Another cool thing about Croaker is that he does his "inspire" bit more often with a snide comment or a sarcastic grin than with one of his big history readings. He's well-read but totally down to earth, and I think a character along those lines could be a lot of fun to play.




Ooh, I like that, bardic inspiration via sarcastic jibes would fit in perfectly with my gaming group.


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