Class Closeup | How to Play a Bard in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
Edited audio transcript

Edited from an automatic transcription of the original recording. Strong language is masked; selected personal asides and adult material are marked [Editorial omission.]. Transcription errors may remain, especially in names and lyrics. Timestamps come from the source; paragraphs split for readability can share a timestamp. The original recording contains adult language and themes. Announcements and offers reflect the recording date.
Source: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2187585/episodes/9696857-class-closeup-how-to-play-a-bard-in-dungeons-and-dragons-5th-edition.mp3

[0:00] You're about to listen to the first experimental season of our show, formerly called Nat One Presents the Podcast. For better audio quality and our current ongoing DD campaign, skip ahead to season two featuring the Daft Monks. On this episode of Nat One Presents.

[0:16] Like people who like thought they were building like a knowledge thing are like, oh, we're actually going to become rebels. And I'm like, that's maybe not what they signed up for, Space Jesus. Uh potentially.

[0:28] Adventure. Hot warming stories. Role-playing that could only be seen by the gods. Here at Nat One Presents, you get all that and more. Now join us as we start another epic tale of content.

[0:45] Just kidding. This is Nat One Presents, a tabletop role-playing game podcast that takes your favorite nerdy games and pop up your icons and ruins them with improv. Welcome back to Nat One Presents, the podcast. Chris, welcome back. Hey. I'm in uh Nate seat today. You are. It's uh big seats to fill. I mean to fill. I mean it's the same seat as usual. It's the same chair, yeah. For listeners who don't know, I have a thing. I'm that guy who mixes idioms. Like I'm that like it's not rocket surgery or it's not brain science type guys. Um so now sometimes I do it on purpose to Chris because Chris pointed it out like a long time ago. Yeah, I kept pointing it out to you.

[0:45] So now uh because you caught uh we used to work together and you literally called me out like after meeting you're like what what was the one? It was like orange to oranges or something, or yeah, it was something like that. I and like my boss is in there, like the she was literally like the chief of staff. So now I do it on Burba sometimes, like big seats to fill or whatever, you know, stupid [expletive] like that. Um but welcome back to the show. Uh Nate cannot be here today. Uh he is busy doing Christmas carls with people dressed as Krampus. Yeah, that checks out. Yeah, tracks. Yeah. I we were gonna originally, I I right before the show, uh folks, I was like, Do you know the history of Krampus?

[0:45] And he's like, not really. And fun fact, neither do I. So you will not be learning about that. We know a name. That's about it. Like, I know though we've seen it all the time in pop culture. Like, what are some of the occurrences you've you've seen Krampus in? Just I know I saw the Krampus movie when that came out. I know that uh a long time ago, Friendship Brothers, like season one or season two, had an episode where that where he was in it and was just spanking people. So I there's also Occupy and Hunger Force. I think they also had a Krampus in it. And it was a big monkey. That was a really weird episode. I think Andrew WK was in that one.

[0:45] I think it's one of the ones where like the the stories have really changed because I think there is some kind of story of Krampus, but now it's recently, I feel like, turned into like, oh if you're bad, Krampus does terrible things. And that's not really his origin story. Yeah, I don't think so. No. Actually, I know I I wish my mom was on the show because she is kind of a makes her sound like a worshiper, but like a she's she's been she has like some Krampus like merchandise and stuff, and I think she even did like a Krampus event in where we where we grew up. So, mom, if you're listening to the show, uh if you're on the Patreon, leave a comment. Let us know what actually Krampus's story is.

[0:45] I bet Nate's mom would know too, and obviously Nate would know. Oh, yeah, for sure. But the mystery of Krampus, tell us the actual we've seen in pop culture, but what's the like actual like story behind Krampus? We want to know. I know he's just maybe a weird goat man. That's about it. That's about all I know. Yeah, I don't know. Like, because I don't think it's also tied to Santa at all or anything like that. Like it's it's become attributed with the holiday, but it's like I don't think he's like something else. Very nice. If you're looking for answers, you will not be getting them on today's episode of Nat One Presents. Um, Chris, what have you been watching lately?

[0:45] Uh I haven't been watching a whole lot, but I have finally started uh watching Arcane, which came out you know, I think the last just a couple weeks. Yeah, the last batch of episodes came out a few weeks ago, but uh I'm about halfway through it so far. Um I enjoy it for the most part. I know you started it your an episode or two in. Yeah, it was just an episode in, and you were actually the one who advised like these were released in like there's so there's nine episodes total, and they're released in three episode chunks, and they're really meant to be watched in three episode chunks. So I will refrain from giving any kind of my my first impression was not, yeah.

[0:45] I mean, I wasn't blown away this first episode, but it seems like I only watched like one-third of the first part of the story. Yeah, you watched the like first part of the story, and that's it. And that's overarching story for the three three-part parts, and you're an episode in, so you still got a ways to go just for this first story. I'm hesitant going in because I feel like if you don't play League of Legends, I'm gonna miss out on all these references. And would you say that's the like the case? I I recognize nothing. There was nothing even having friends who play League of Legends and seeing, I know some of the summoners and whatnot. Um, I did not recognize anything or anyone in first episode that I thought I should.

[0:45] Yeah, there are a few people that are in it, but the knowledge isn't really necessary from what I've seen so far, and I've been out of League of Legends for a long time, so I don't I don't entirely know. Um, but this is like a super prequel to everything, so nothing from the game or anything has like happened at all. So this is all just like its backstory. This is the first part, so this is like a good part to jump in. Oh nice, and I think it'll give probably more context to the champions in the game of like who they are and what they do. Got it. I did not actually know this was like a prequel-ish type deal.

[0:45] So I know I know League of Legends has a very kind of messy, it has lots of lore, but I've heard it's very messy. Um and you know, maybe the fact generating from a game company instead of you know, like yeah, like a and it was like pieced together more just through like text. Yeah, people necessity and flavor text and whatnot. So um that'll be interesting. I'm definitely gonna give it more of a chance, at least my goal first three episodes for sure. Yeah. I I think by the end of episode three, if you're not completely put off by it, I would say keep going. But if by the end of episode three you're really not into it, you can probably give it a pass. Got it. All right, yeah, I'll definitely check that out.

[0:45] Um how about you? What have you been watching? I just started Jujitsu Kaisen with my my partner, and that was pretty good, actually. I like it. Um, I I felt like I like shows that get like to the point right away about like what the show is about. And with anime, I can sometimes feel like, especially new anime or the beginning of anime, you don't necessarily like you know, even like my hero academia, like you don't really know the plot until you get to school, you know. Like, and even in the beginning, I I thought you were gonna watch a show where he's the only person without powers at school. That's where I thought that was going. Yeah, so it changed immediately.

[0:45] And that's fine, and it's a great show, but like this show gives you like within two episodes, it's it is like a two-part, I'd say, like, pilot. After the first two episodes, like I I felt like I had a clear understanding of where this is gonna go, and I was on board.

[7:10] Yeah.

[7:11] It's kind of it definitely expedited just everything of just like, here you go, this is what you're getting into. I think it's because they have I've watched through the first season, because I think it's only the first season that's out so far, but I've watched through that, so I kind of know where everything's going, and they definitely have a place where they want to be, and they are just getting you up to speed and getting you to that point. I'm cool at that. Um Do you think this will be a show like Demon Hunter is only gonna have so many seasons? I think just as two seasons, like is this gonna be the case with Jujitsu Kaisen?

[7:11] Yeah, I think this is going to be this isn't gonna be like a Naruto or One Piece that has like a million episodes. I do think this is going to be a lot shorter. Got it. Well, I'm I'm looking forward. I don't want I'm I'm pretty pumped for that one, so I don't want too many spoilers, but I I have mostly heard good things, so I'll be checking that one out. Um and then I watched a bunch of stuff my mom recently visited for the holidays, and I watched I'm not a big crazy sci-fi guy, um, but I watched the show on Apple TV or Apple TV Plus or whatever it's called. It's it's Apple streaming service, uh, not the device. And it's called Foundation, and it was very heavy science fiction.

[7:11] Um, and the first episode, not gonna lie, fell asleep. Like it was very heavy science, and there was a lot of like centuries of, or not centuries, but like lots of world building in that first episode. I'll probably go back and rewatch it. Um, but after that, that was kind of rough to get through that first episode. But within two to three episodes, you definitely got um the plot, and then it's very much science fiction and game of thrones. Um, but my only main problem is there is basically like uh a mathematical space Jesus character in this show. Yeah, that sounds like sci-fi.

[7:11] Yeah, and that's like like he's like basically the the whole premise of this show is that like the Empire, the Empire, which is like controls this most of this galaxy, is going to fall. Like he's predicted it through like statistics and stuff, like a popularity. Done the math, it will happen. And that part doesn't sound bad, except he can he's like so precise with it that he like knows when things are gonna happen, and it just turns into very like premonition-y garbage. So, and it's just annoying because he like of course he dies early on, but he like programs himself into a thing. Spoiler alert, sorry.

[7:11] Um, but then he just like he keeps showing up at these convenient moments to be like, and it's always basically like, Yes, I predicted that, but I didn't tell you. It's very dumbledore, like at the end of every [expletive] Harry Potter book where he's like, Yep, I I could have told you all these things, but I didn't, but you've learned now, and that was part of my process, and I've manipulated the whole time. Like it's very almost manipulative and very like sh to me, very [expletive].

[7:11] Um, so like and like the whole premise, it's called foundation because basically the empire is like banishes them to a planet, but lets them live because they hear they want to execute this guy because he's like saying the empire is gonna fall, but we're like, we're gonna banish you, and you guys can go like build like you can build a knowledge center so that if like the empire crumbles and it goes to the dark ages, people can like relearn quickly and get back up to like modern civilization or whatnot. So that's called the foundation, and then the old guy, then Space Jesus is like, but actually it's for this other purpose.

[7:11] And it's like, yeah, they traveled like decades, it took years for them to get to this planet, and they got there and live in like a frigid cold planet. Like people who like thought they were building like a knowledge thing are like, Oh, we're actually gonna become rebels. And I'm like, that's maybe not what they signed up for, Space Jesus. Uh yeah, potentially I have a I have a big issue with that kind of all-knowing kind of character, but otherwise, the show is done really well. There's a really cool concept where the Emperor is the Empire is run by Brother Dawn, Brother Duh Day, and brother Dusk, and they're just clones of the same, the original Emperor.

[7:11] And they're just clones that keep and they have this process of like the day, the middle one, brother Day, in like his like middle-age form, is like the ruler. He's like training the clone that's younger, who's like a teenager. The older one is the advisor, and the older one is like the advisor, yeah. And then they die and they like grab the next one. Cycle through so, but there's like, and then it's science fiction, so there's a lot of like interesting commentary. I would also say really great representation for women in this one, and especially women of color, which we don't get, especially in science fiction. Yeah, uh, that's like such.

[7:11] So there's uh some pretty like a lot of the like like I I do say like the show does kind of like make space mathematical space Jesus like be like, Oh yeah, you're kind of a piece of [expletive], like that kind of thing. You know, even Hack and Hire Potter they kind of did that, like hey Dumbledore, you should really like Harry gets frustrated with them all the time. They do some of that in this, or like, hey Space Jesus, why can't you just be up front with us? But um, but the female characters are actually like the ones who are like, no, like kind of like I'm gonna choose my own destiny. Like they have a lot of agency in the story, a lot of agency. So I think it was really good.

[7:11] I'm not uh you know me, I'm not like a heavy science fiction guy, and so I kind of watch this more because like basically my mama's era, I'm like, I think this is something you should watch, and I'm gonna watch it with you. And I'm kind of glad I did it, it worked out there. So nice. I know a lot of people don't have Apple TV Plus, whatever the [expletive] it's called, and frankly, neither do I. I every time I get a new phone every couple of years, and or my husband gets a new phone every couple of years, and we're like on different cycles, yeah, we get like a free year. So I've never paid for this service ever in my life. I just keep getting free years.

[7:11] You just keep buying phones, and yeah, I keep getting like, or like a watch or whatever. Like you just get some kind of device and you get it. So um hopefully I'll never pay for it ever. Um, yeah. That makes the entertainment even more worth it when it's free. Yeah. There was one other show that was on there that I tried. I wanted to like it so bad, but I couldn't. And it was called Mythic Quest. Have you heard of that? I have not. It is one of the guys from It's Always Sunny, um who's the one that gets fat and then loses a bunch of weight. Um you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I know who you're talking about. Um, now that you say that.

[7:11] It's not D, it's not Charlie Day, it's not D's brother, it's the other guy. Rob? Yeah. The actor's name, I think, is Rob. Yeah. And he's the in the show, they ended up like making him like denial, like, like in in denial that he's gay or I don't know, whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's that character. He's super funny. Anyway, he's in Mythic Quest, and Mythic Quest is like a game studio. And so he's like kind of like the the head of the game company, and he's insane. And then there's like a female programmer who deals with like sexism and all kinds of stuff, but it's like it's a it's a sitcom, really kind of like that type of deal.

[7:11] And it is funny, but I it also just like doesn't totally hit like the way I want it to, especially having like an it's always sunny character. Yeah, like you kind of see him as that, and that's it. Yeah, I I have trouble, it's not quite the humor I wanted, but um, that was on there. It was really that was probably what I was most excited for on that that service. His name's Mac. Mac, yes, Mac in the show, and then the actual actor's name is Rob something. So you were totally right, correct. Uh and then since we're tangent, since this is just like uh running off of each other, uh, there's a new season of It's Always Sunny. I just started seeing trailers on social media. They go to Ireland.

[7:11] Oh, yeah, they go to like the mother country, and and it's obviously uh shenanigans and so I need to get back. I absolutely love It's Always Sunny, as you know. Um well, I I think we covered literally everything we've been watching. Um what are we doing today's topic, Chris? Uh so today we haven't done it in a while. We're having a class close-up. Yep. And we figure today that we talk about Bard. Yeah. Because you have the most experience with Bard. Yeah, big fan of Bard. So we we've just been doing classes we either really like or really hate. And you're right, it has been literally like maybe half a year since we did the last episode, I think, of class close-up. Uh we've done druid, we've done ranger, and now we're doing bard. Yeah.

[7:11] Um, so we did a class Nate likes, we did a class that both of you hate. And now we're doing the class that you like. Yep. Yeah. Uh Nate couldn't be here, but Nate also loves Bard. It is one of Nate's favorite classes as well. Um, and let's just start from the top. First of all, like the J even before we go into classes, abilities, any of that other stuff. Like, what is your when you think of a bard, you know? Or in the DD playing, so this is uh what it how to play Bard in Dungeons and Dragons 5, 5th edition. So just set that parameters there. What is a bard in DD 5e? Uh it's definitely the class that tries to just seduce everything. They're definitely your talker of pretty much any group.

[7:11] They have they're a charisma caster, so they have a lot of charisma anyway. They're the people who really like to role play, so they're kind of your go-to person for like pushing the story or like pushing a story. It might be some tangent somewhere, but they're definitely your like they are always the most fun character, for sure. Not debatably. Um, they can also be the most annoying, depending on your party. Yeah, I would argue for sure. So I wanna definitely so right off the bat, I want to address that. I think Bard gets uh a rap to like, oh, it's the guy who always tries to like seduce the dragon or whatever, right?

[7:11] And yes, oftentimes that is the case, but there's a few reasons why that tends to happen or why that actually like is just kind of a stereotype, and that's so as you mentioned, charisma caster. So in Dungeon Dragons 5e, there's 20 skills, right? The number one, and so based on your like six stat, you know, core stats, yep. Uh, those skills you'll have like advantage or higher scores. So because Bard is a charisma-based character and the most skills are based on charisma, you get a character who can use the mo in general, will just be able to use the most amount of skills. They'll have they'll have higher scores on the most amount of skills, so they're more inclined to use other skills.

[7:11] They're more inclined to try to seduce somebody or to try to, you know, steal something or a million other whatever they actually put their points in. I think what it is is essentially combat-wise, they're on probably the weaker side, but on like social interaction and like skill checks and stuff like that, they're probably the best, besides people who are like solely focused on one thing, just because they have access to so many proficiencies and things. They again charisma, so they're very good at a lot of things base. So especially, and then if you if your next best stat, if you put your points into like intelligence, it goes charisma, and then intelligence are like the most skills are are attached to those stat stat bases.

[7:11] So yeah, you could literally have points in like most skills and get like, oh yeah, you're at least getting a plus one or plus two. Then there's all these other abilities too, where like literally the bard class lets you take many proficiencies in skills. So the reason like everybody's always like, oh, the bard's like the seducer or whatever, it's because literally he will probably he's built to be the person with the most like in the skill set. They're probably the only people who can do it anyway. Yeah, absolutely.

[7:11] Um now that said, that does lead people to choose the class because they're like the people who are like, I want to be able to do whatever I want to do, a lot of them are gonna pick Bard because they're gonna be able to have the the game backing to kind of at least put points into it, right? It doesn't mean the DM will let you do it, doesn't mean you'll roll well enough to do it. It gives them a lot of flexibility. Yeah, but the the the class will set you up to actually at least put it on the table, like legally before homebrew or before house rules or anything like that. For sure.

[7:11] Yeah, and I know I was looking at Bard earlier, and I think the thing that really makes them unique, at least from like uh building the character point of view, is they're the only class that your proficiencies, which you talked about, are you can just pick three. They're not limited, which every other class has like here's the ones that you special ones. Bard is just you can pick three. Yeah, pick three, which I think is also more than everyone else. I think everyone else gets two. Yeah, over time you'll get more. You know, combine that with feats like variant human, where you pick another one, like or whatever, like it just adds up really quickly. Like it's it's a really already like big base to choose from.

[7:11] And then all classes really let you keep growing that as you play. So like high-level bards are really like dipped into so much. So absolutely, they have the ability to kind of really make the most use of the skill area and really build it how like you said, however, they however you want, not just like, oh, okay, well, I'm a ranger, so I can only pick from these two or these these skills that make sense. You really can be a really intimidating terse bard who doesn't roleplay. Like, that's one thing right off the bat is like you can be a bard and not roleplay a lot. You you can literally build your points to be like intimidating, brutish, terse. No problem. You can do that.

[7:11] And a lot of other classes don't give you that flexibility. You really kind of have to like if you're a ranger, you gotta be like a legoless or whatever, you know. Like essentially, yeah. You know, it just doesn't like make your skills won't really reflect otherwise if you don't do that. But with Bard, there totally is, I think, the flexibility there. They're definitely a character first um type of character, as opposed to the class first, which are most of the LAs are totally, which leads us to then like, so let's say, like, why before we go into like abilities and stuff, like what kind of people should pick a Bard? Um, I think people who do like to role play for one, like you mentioned.

[7:11] So, one, you're gonna have a lot of skill options, which means you're gonna be able to like try unique situations if you're if you're a person who doesn't just want to battle every time, and we'll get to like skills and spells and battles, because I actually think they're incredibly versatile and effective in battle, actually, more so than even than some other classes. But that said, if you're not the type who enjoys battle and you want to solve a situation cleverly or just you know, unique or creatively, uh, Bard's a great character for that because you'll have all these skills to try unique things and you'll at least have some points and bonuses to your roles to maybe pull it off.

[7:11] So that's uh play a bard if you want to roleplay, or play a bard if you want to be able to interact with people more than just battle-oriented stuff. Yeah, it's yeah, for sure. Um I think the people who really flourish in Bard are the people who do like to talk though. I think Bard is like yeah, you can build them to not like be like super chatty and stuff like that. But I think that's really where they shine is like being over the top, performing, and doing like all kinds of crazy things because you you can relate that to in game stuff pretty easily. There's checks for all of that stuff, and they're good at those checks and stuff like that. Absolutely.

[7:11] Um, I'd also throw on there just for versatility and not in terms of skills. But like Bard is a very versatile class. Um, like their spells are all over the place, is kind of how I feel like. Yeah. You can really be like a support bard or an attack bard. They're not going to be amazing attack spells, but like everything from like feather fall to like, you know, like Thunderweight, like you can go, they're very practical spells. And so you get a lot on top of like your battle stuff, and then you can still do combat pretty well, you know. Like uh, you know, you can use rapiers, you can use your combat in battle for sure. Um, so you just have a lot of options.

[7:11] So one reason you might want to pick Bard is maybe you don't know what you want to be. Maybe you're new, like DD uh Bard was my first class in DD. And that might be a good first class for you, especially if you're like, uh, I don't know how I want to build my character or in what direction, or if I like support, or if I like being in the middle of a battle or whatever, like that might be the way to go. And they're also not as squishy in the beginning of the game as they're still kind of squishy, but they're not like wizard squishy. Yeah, they're not a full-on spellcaster, but they're also not a full-on just like melee person. Absolutely.

[7:11] Um so some some additional thoughts on Bard uh before we get into like straight up abilities and spells. Um you kind of mentioned you're right, like you should wanna you should be comfortable and want to talk, that's for sure. Um I think warning, I think bards have the like the uh propensity, like the capacity to be the most annoying character. Yeah. Um to be honest, like I've I've seen a lot of really fun bards. I've played a lot of some fun bards. I maybe have been the annoying bard, I don't know, but I I definitely some of my least favorite characters that other people I've played with have been bards because they can put points into so many things, and then they think that means they're allowed to do whatever they want, right?

[7:11] Just because you have a skill that applies to a situation does not mean the DM will let it happen, does not mean your role enabled it to happen. Um, so bards like let you live your best life, but that doesn't mean that it's the spotlight isn't always on you. Exactly. Um, so you know, keep keep that in mind too. Like, I guess we gave reasons why you should pick Bard, um, but also if you're gonna go out of control and not let other people play the game, maybe don't play another class that actually keeps you grounded because bard can be very easy for you to like build some very weird character that needs to do his shtick or it's not fun or whatever. So yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[7:11] Uh I think the counterpoint to um bards being like the most annoying or like getting ahead of themselves, the other charismacaster being the one that I play the most, which is typically Warlock, also charismacaster, but don't get access to as many skills and stuff. Like they're pr they're a lot more limited. I think if you're afraid you're going to run off with something, you can jump into Warlock. Kind of the same thing. You can be a bit of melee, you can be a bit of magic, you're more focused on the magic part of it, but they're more limited, and so it's a lot harder to get have the character to get out from under you.

[7:11] Yeah, I guess let's like if we open up Bard for a sec to like the other the charisma scale, right? Bard's over at the top, and then I would say uh warlock is over at the bottom, and then in the middle you actually have like sorcerer. So sorcerer gives you way more options as a charisma cat. He's a charismacaster or she. Uh more options than Warlock for sure, but also not as kind of bananas, bonkers, uh versatile uh versatile as uh barge.

[7:11] So those are kind of three options for, and so yeah, that might be a good option, is to maybe like I when I think of Warlock, this isn't an episode about Warlock, but Warlock has rules because you make a pact and your magic comes from like an agreement, and you have to kind of follow that agreement. So that's that's a great way. Like, if you're gonna be that person that like wants to be very charismatic, but like I know myself, I need parameters sometime. Warlock could be a good call for you.

[25:56] Yep.

[25:57] Um, and then sorcerer, who [expletive] knows who sorcerers? They're all over the place. Yeah, I also so sorcerer is I I think I started as Bard. Bard is one of my favorite classes, but I actually enjoy Sorcerer a little bit more. Barnaby Jones. Barnaby Jones. We'll get into that. Um, so one one more thing I wanted to say is like another appeal. I think I think Bard lets people be the cool version of themselves that they want to be. Um, I mean, and not everybody wants to be a musician playing in a tavern, uh, which is what before DD that's definitely kind of like all I thought a bard was.

[25:57] But now I think Bard is like more of like a lifestyle of just being the most confident, fun version of yourself without any repercussions in a fantasy realm. So I think even more so is you can be yourself and you have the tools to be that and be that successfully. Definitely. It reminds me like it's like um it's like people dressing up as superheroes. Like, you know how like in like superhero kind of like media, they say like when they put the costume on, like they suddenly feel like more powerful, or even like when drag queens dress up, or or some people use even just like everyday people use makeup, like they feel like empowered, and I think like Bard is like a class that like empowers you to be a better version of yourself.

[25:57] Yeah, yeah, I would say so. Like in like a just kind of fantastic way, of course. So we should go deeper dive now. We've talked about like what kind of people like should play Bard and what are the like general advantages to that class, but now you know we can get a little bit more nitty-gritty. Like, what are some of the abilities, what are the skills, some of the jobs. We're not gonna go through every, I know because I think they even maybe added some more schools. Yeah, there have been a few more that have come in. Yeah, for sure. Where where should we start, Chris? With Bard, there's there's much to go over.

[25:57] Um I think just basic Bard for now would be good to go over, just kind of what they do going up to level 20, uh, not including like the different schools, which is their level three thing where they can pick, and that's what really makes your bard individual. We'll go to those afterwards just because there's I think there's like five. We'll probably talk about the three of them that are the basic ones, which are a good place to start, but just overall a bard and what they do. Because I think when we were playing, we got up to like level 12 or 13, which is decently far.

[25:57] It's further than a lot of campaigns get if they're playing by the book, but it's not all the way up to 20, which I there's not many characters that get that far. No, definitely. Um, big thing with Bard is that you are a support in one form or another. That's that's the truth of it. Like you can definitely be kind of OP yourself, and definitely like don't think you can't do damage on your own or anything like that. But your the abilities, you're kind of like job abilities that you're gonna get and their class abilities, and then combined with the kind of spells you typically get to choose from, they're usually like very specific and scenario-based, and they're they're so they're for you to set up and stuff.

[25:57] So I'll talk about job abilities-ish a little bit first, and then also then like spells a little bit, and then feel free to kind of hop in. The the main thing with job when I think of Bard, and for most of at least the core three classes, is the reason you're a support is because you have a very key ability, which is the bardic inspiration. Yes. Um and depending on the class or depending on the job, whatever, it can either be like you're giving bonus points to your colleagues, or you're reducing damage from an or you're reducing something from an enemy. That's kind of like shortening it. And I do think, if I remember right, that um the reducing is actually part of a school.

[25:57] So Bardic inspiration on its own is only a buff to your characters. So I think cutting words is what it you use against an enemy to have them have a lesser chance to hit or to have a worse role. Yeah, there's a lot of variances of like, depending on the schools and stuff, like which scenario you can use it, but you're either going to be buffing your allies or debuffing your enemies. That's and that is like honestly, I would say, kind of your core class, then like lots of frills and whistles and other themes. Bardic inspiration is the main thing of Bard. That's what builds, that's what the different schools build off of. So it's a lot around Bardic inspiration.

[25:57] Your basic scenario, I think it starts with a it's just like a d4 in the beginning or a d6. D6. Okay. It starts at d6. So again, we're not going to speak specific to every single ability, but whether you're debuffing your enemy before they deal damage or buffing your your your um ally, how the scenario kind of works and bardic inspiration in general is you're going to either in advanced give your ally like here. This here's a d6. When before an outcome has been decided, you can add you can roll this D6 and whatever your number is, add that to your role. As you go higher levels, it the and then it becomes a d8 or the die gets bigger, yeah. Or more you make it more die. Exactly.

[25:57] So what you're doing is you're giving them the opportunity to try to roll better before an outcome has been decided, and then vice versa, if you're like, [expletive], this guy might die if he gets hit too hard, you might before the full damage, or I think the damage for cutting words, I think they can roll the damage first or something. I don't know, or if it's I don't know if it has to be before they hit, or I I think it's just before the DM reads out like this is how much damage you're taking.

[25:57] You can say, I'm gonna use this to Yeah, you generally don't you don't get to decide, like it's not like they're like, hey guys, I have 22 hit points, and then like the enemy rolls 23, and then you use cutting words. It doesn't work like that. It's more like I know he's low on health, he just rolled a hit and he hit. I'm gonna use cutting words to lower whatever that damage is gonna be, that kind of scenario. Um, so those are what you're gonna do. You don't get to know the outcome, but you can try to influence the outcome. And that's that's that is the core barred abilities in a nutshell, whether you're debuffing or buffing, it works the same way for the most part. Kind of same set of rules.

[25:57] You also get more. Um, in addition to the die going up, you'll get more that you can give out. So you can use the ability more times before every long rest. In the beginning, I think you get three, and then it goes up to like four, five, six, I don't know, something like that. Yeah, I think so. I don't remember the exact numbers, but yeah, you start out only being able to use it a few times. Yeah, and eventually you get a ton of them. You get more and they're bigger, their bigger die. So um, so that's a lot of fun. If definitely if you're like you like Ind5E, there truly is no healer. There is a cleric, and and then I would say after that, Bard is very helpful.

[25:57] Um there are spells that heal a lot that different classes can get. So, but in general, there is no like pure healer class. Yeah, so bard is the closest you're gonna get to like and cleric. Yeah, cleric as close, paladin may be like a close second. People who have access to like kind of holy stuff. That's true, that's true. Like pretty much anybody could be a support if you build them a certain way. Like most most jobs have or classes have like a school or something or a job. I mean, even even Warlock has some access to at least some self-healing and stuff like that. So like everybody in 5e could be a support, but in general, Bard is really built to definitely be a support.

[25:57] Oh, yeah, to definitely flex in and fill all of those different holes that your no matter what the party makeup is, whether you're all ranged characters, whether you're all melee characters, you can fit in and help cover them with your spell selection. Your cantrips can let somebody basically make sure they hit on their next move. Like you can use your cantrip to make sure they hit or they they def or they have a uh advantage on on a roll-to-hit type deal. So lots of like that type of scenario stuff. So we talked about and then the abilities just go on from there. I I don't remember every single one of them.

[25:57] If there's is there any one I you said the title of them, I can one that's really important is Jack of all trades, which you get at level two, which is you can add half your uh proficiency to things you're not proficient in. Yeah, and so that I mean that's huge because we're talking the 20 skills, we're talking that you're not already proficient in, and then you're also talking what I think even like just base weapons and stuff too. Um I mean you can't I think you just said all the things, is it? It's just ability tests. Okay. So yeah, that means like already we mentioned you get to be proficient in a lot of abilities.

[25:57] Yeah, like you get like the most from the get-go abilities, especially because you get it at level two, and at that point you are proficient in up to five or four uh skills. So you get an additional, if there's twenty, that's another 15, 16 skills that you are now better at. Yeah. So uh as a as a bard, you're gonna like obviously most like classes have like here's your core stat you need to focus on. Um, but with Bard, more more than even I'd say more so than other classes, you want to max the [expletive] out of that stat because it applies to even more stuff than other classes let it apply to. So maxing your charisma stat is like huge for Bard.

[25:57] I mean, it's like like I said, that that's the case for every class, but for Bard, it goes a little bit further because it applies to now. Now you're even things you're not proficient in, you're getting a little bit of a bonus on it. Yes. And when you get that half, it rounds up. So it's half rounded. Actually, I think it's rounded down. Is it round down? I think out of the book it's rounded down. Yeah. Oh, fair, whatever. All right. But that's still plus two at the beginning, and then I think it's probably by what level five, level six? Uh no. Uh level nine, then you get a plus two to everything, but still, that's being a base level proficiency with 16 skills for free, essentially. So it's still really good. Yeah.

[25:57] And again, skills very important to Bard. Yeah. You're gonna be versatile, and then you're going to be have a lot of support abilities. So taking a minute to like look at some of the spells, we started to talk about it, but you're going to have access to um uh healing word, which is a ranged cure spell, uh ranged healing spell, and that's like a level one spell. That is really there are not many ranged healing spells in DD 5e, period. Yes. So that in itself, if somebody is knocked down, usually somebody has to go up to them and he give them a healing potion, go up to them and heal them, or roll uh a medicine check to try to resuscitate, or a number of other options there.

[25:57] And I think the most important part of this is I think it's like a 30-foot range for it, and the fact that it actually is a healing thing because the medical checks is just for uh stabilizing, stabilizing to keep them at zero, but then they're knocked out. Yeah. And then having to go up to somebody, maybe you're engaged with enemies and you can't get there. You can be doing something else and ranged, heal somebody, and then they're back up and they can fight again. Your cure of wounds is weak as [expletive], but the reality is like very practical for if you want to be a support and want to like keep people alive. Someone only needs one HP to start swinging an axe.

[25:57] So and then what is the one that uh like so there's healing word, and then is it cure wounds, or like what's the there's a touch healing spell. Yes, uh cure wounds. It is cure wounds. So then you also get access to like the level one touch spell, which is does more healing, but you have to make physical contact. So um, right off the bat, like you will be able to heal, and that's not set of most classes, right? Right, or at least not like so easily. Or because like even Ranger, like you got good berries, but that's like one HP per berry or some [expletive].

[25:57] So like you're not gonna get major healing, but with with with Bard, you really could, you're not gonna have a lot of spell slots, but if you use them, you could actually do some significant healing. You're very good at supporting your team. Absolutely. Um, then you're gonna have a lot of attack spells that are very like interesting. Um, you know, I'm I'm going, of course, I'm going very basic because truthfully, if you're listening to the show and if you're listening to this episode about how to play Bard, you probably don't know how to play Bard. So of course we're writing it back. Um, if you're a super expert, feel free to comment like what your like high-level examples are, but we'll keep it simple here.

[25:57] So a very common one is like you have a thunder spell that pushes people back. That's the I'm not gonna go into the the cone and the actual range there. That is a moot point, but like, so you know, yeah does it do a ton of damage? Not necessarily, but does it push people back, which might be advantageous into like pushing them to lava or whatever? Like you're gonna have a lot of things in that scenario, right? So you're not your spells don't hit very hard, but they tend to like have a lot of unique things that you have a lot of utility with the different spells that you can pick from and the different effects that they have that besides damage.

[25:57] You'll also get just like pure like practicality, like pure spells that are just meant to be useful, like feather fall, right? Not a battle spell, not a combat spell, but it will like very helpful for getting around falling. Yeah, if you're falling to your death, it could save your life, you know. So you'll you'll get options to lots of things like that. And then another thing, there is a class or a job specific to that, but in general, you'll get a lot of charming spells as well. Yes. As a bard. Makes sense, right? You're you're that the going back into that seduction thing, why people think like always joke that like the bard is trying to have sex with everybody.

[25:57] It's it is comes from a fact that like you have a number of spells that are yeah, a lot of their things are charms to begin with, charms are purely just um charisma based. So they're really good at it. Now, one thing I'll say again, you know, getting into we'll get into fully like maybe why like negatives of the class, if there are any. I I'd say it's actually pretty limited. But um one is that I actually find the charming spells very hard to pull off in lots of conditions, and then lots of ways, even if you pull it off, for it to be dispelled. Yep. Um, which is good because a real charm is pretty powerful. Like these spells are very powerful when you pull them off. Yeah, but they're definitely very fragile.

[25:57] As we as we've had the not so fragile ones can turn terrible. Absolutely terrible. Um, so that's the other. I'd say that kind of covers the core set of spells. You'll have healing, you'll have like useful, just like like just overworld spells, then you'll have like damage spells that also have like low damage but like areas of effect, like cool, interesting area effects or or extra skills, and then you'll have like charming spells. That's really what most of the spells are gonna look like for you. And I think like one other important skill, at least that they get uh related to spellcasting is magical secrets, which is at level 10, which is halfway through leveling up, but then you can just start picking spells from any class. Yeah.

[25:57] So you get access to whatever spell you want as long as you can cast it at the level you're currently at, and that's huge for like covering what your party needs. Or like if you're in a specific situation and you need like to have a fire spell. No one has a fire spell, you can pick that up. Core classes really are not gonna give you that ex that chance, except for wizard, you know, where you can obviously eventually start picking from anything. Wizard is the supercaster, but at least playing by the book is like they are very expensive because getting you can get every single spell, but it costs money to put that into your books.

[25:57] It's expensive, and then you truly are a glass cannon, where I'd say Bard is not, it's a little squishy, but like I can heal myself too. Like at the same time, like you know, you can heal yourself, you get to wear leather armor, yeah. You have spells to like move yourself and and stuff, and then you do, yeah, you do have better armor, so exactly. Yeah, um what else do we got? Anything I'm missing because I'm going, it's been a little while since I've played a bard, honestly. Um, like ability-wise, I feel like maybe we're missing something. In terms of ability, there's not too much more. Um there's expertise, which I think uh rogue also gets, which is essentially you can pick a few skills that you get your you get a double proficiency in.

[25:57] Yeah. So you can pick a few things where you're just like, nope, I'm going to be extremely good at this. Again, you're gonna like literally you're gonna have like plus eight, even like in early levels, you're gonna get things like plus seven, plus eight or what'll be it'll be an even number because it's double, but plus eight, plus ten to like rolls is not like unheard of at all. It's very common. And for like context, most challenges are like uh 10 being like it's kind of a medium challenge, 15 is hard, 20 is supposed to be impossible. Getting a plus ten on something means you only have to roll a 10. Yeah, you have a 50% chance to pass that on something that's supposed to be impossible. Yep.

[25:57] So that's just to put into context how good having a high skill is. Yeah, I'll debate that with you a little bit. It depends on the DM because like impossible doesn't necessarily start at 20. I mean like you can I mean I didn't I didn't do that. There's people who commonly want like high 20s for roles because they factor and stuff like there are classes up and or like take a you know a rogue with stealth, like they're gonna have a very high stealthing score. So impossible could could be over 20, but in general, your dice has one through 20, you're gonna get a you could get a plus eight plus ten, which is really always gonna put you on the high spectrum of your roles, which means you're more likely to succeed.

[25:57] It doesn't mean you always will. Again, the DM decides kind of like how likely the scenario is. Looking at the scenario as a whole and deciding like, is this even something that's possible to happen? A lot of players who are like annoying will be like, I've been 18, that's a really good role. 18 out of 20 is fantastic. Why am I not doing well? And because like that's very unrealistic, so you probably needed something extraordinary. Yeah, like you needed a nat 20 plus eight to really like match the the the likelihood of something unrealistic happening like that. So a lot of like the the the lesser bards, as we'll call them, will like really abuse their power and think all their roles are amazing, and that's that's not the case.

[25:57] So don't be don't be that guy for sure. Um so then going back to can you pull up the different jobs that um or the different colleges? Yeah. I know there's a few. So College of Lore, which I think is the one that you used for the most part. Yes. Yes. Uh College of Lore is like, yo, I'm gonna get a lot of skills. That's the I'm gonna be good at a lot of like skills and role play. Yeah. So when you take it, you get an additional three things that you're proficient in, which also works with um expertise. Uh you get cutting words, which is the thing where you can debuff characters. No, kind words. Cutting words. Oh, cutting words, okay. Yeah.

[25:57] Um Get more spells that you can pick from different classes, and you can use your bardic inspiration on more ability checks. So overall, it seems like it's just I'm gonna be very versatile and good at stuff. Yeah. You're better at uh handling your party and making sure that they can do what they need to. You're better at interacting with different characters or doing different skill checks. It makes you more of a bard than you were before. Exactly. What's the next one? Uh core three. College of Valor. So this is a combat-oriented um. Okay. So now it's coming back to me now. So where where lore was kind of on like skill checks where you're getting like those using your bard inspiration for that, Valor is gonna let you do it on combat specific stuff. Yeah.

[25:57] So from what I know about Valor, I have not come across anyone that's played a Valor bard because it essentially turns you into a worse version of fighter. Which is saying something because fighters really just like you're good at hitting stuff with whatever you want. Yeah. But Valor is just you get extra attack, you can wear some heavier um equipment, and that's kind of it. Yeah, Valor, you're totally right. I do not encounter bards of Valor very often. No. Um, it's it's because if you the bar, even with uh like uh the school of valor, you're still kind of a squishy character, to be totally honest. So like yeah, you can do a little bit more in battle, but you're also still likely to die. Um, is kind of where that's at.

[25:57] So I I I find like less likely to choose that. Doesn't mean you uh there probably are amazing examples of of Bards of Valor. I'm sure it can work. I just think it's not as good as the others. Um their augmentation to Bardic Inspiration lets them add the uh Bardic Inspiration die to damage rolls as opposed to just to hit. Right. So can be helpful, but when you start getting the bigger die for Bardic Inspiration, more important for that to be on the to hit than it is on the damage because an additional like six damage on something that has like 300 health. Helpful, I guess, but not that helpful. Better to like actually have somebody hit something.

[25:57] The impact I think like would you rather just not be hit at all or take less damage? Like not be hit at all is probably like where you want to be at. So yeah. This this is I would I would argue one of the worst jobs or uh one of the worst schools. Yep. Um and then Am I using job correctly? I I assume level so level right in in DD 5e, level three is when you get choices for your class, like subclasses. Maybe subclass is the right word. Yeah, subclass, I think, is the right word for referring to it across all the different uh things that you could be doing. Uh for bards, it's specifically you get different colleges.

[25:57] For like um colleges, wizards, it or not wizards, uh warlocks, it's who are who do you have a pact with and stuff like that. So I've used a couple different words now, but we're referring right now to so the class is bard, and now we're talking about the subclasses, which for bard is colleges. So sorry, I wanted to get my terminology correct there. Uh I think there's also going off of this, the other combat-oriented uh bard is the College of Swords, I think it is. And that's specifically, I think, a dual-wielding one, which is more specific, which means it's a little more powerful than Valor. Also, I think it's terrible. Yeah, again, yeah, a lot of those, a lot of those like battle bards are just kind of meh.

[25:57] Um, when I think of College of Swords, um, I'm absolutely thinking Johnny Depp, uh Pirates Caribbean is who you are, basically. Yeah, that's fair. So, and as effective as he is, which is not so much. Uh, another one is College of Glamour, and that one really goes all in on the charming. Yes, it sounds really cool. Like a lot, and I like I know these people who are like, I want to be the pretty one, right? Or I wanna like, or like the the the anime character who just like comes in and they're literally flowers and they're literally like everybody's in love with them and shiny. Yeah, like that's your college of glamour.

[25:57] But the challenge uh I kind of mentioned even with just any barred really subclass, when you when you take any of the glam or the charm spells, is that lots of conditions with college of glamour. Like I I played in one of your campaigns, I was uh Furiosa, I think was a college of glamour. And to be totally honest, I could not typically pull off even like you had to you had to give me some serious concessions to let me pull off some of my [expletive]. Again, charming isn't bad, it's very powerful, but it's gonna fail a lot. Yeah, and it's very, very, very situational. You have to use things exactly when they're like meant to be used, otherwise, they're not really gonna work.

[25:57] And these are already things that are pretty easily broken, especially if you're not a very harmonious partner. Well, like, and let's go into that for a sec. So, like, let's just explain. In general, you'll see a lot of these types of conditions. Like, if someone's charmed and you touch them, like they can take an action to just like shake them and they're on like a lot, not not every spell, but a lot of spells that will change that.

[49:02] Yep.

[49:03] Um somebody can take an action to break them out of it or help them break out of it. They usually roll every turn to try to break out of it. They have a chance to break out on their own. Yeah. If they take damage, they take it, they have the chance for it to break. Yes. It's it's that's what I refer to when it's delicate. Um when I do think it is still a cool class. It is, it is kind of like um a sophisticated, it's kind of like if you want to play barred hard mode, in my opinion. If you want to do some of the really cool stuff, really manipulate in like can like scenarios, but you're willing to take risks and gamble, then that could be the class for you.

[49:03] What I would say is when deciding to play that class, look at your DM. Do you have a very rules is written DM? You're not gonna want to be, you're not gonna want to be that class because you're probably not gonna be able to pull off most of the time what you want to do. And eventually that gets honestly, if you keep trying to like do these like spells and stuff and they're not working or they fail, it can't be like you just start to feel like your turns are wasted and it gets boring. Yeah. If you have now, I I found you to be like a moderate DM where you're like rules is written as best as you can, but we do concession, like we want to like prior prioritizing fun, yeah.

[49:03] Then that that type of person's okay. And if you just have a bonkers DM who's like, yeah, okay, do it. Like Nate is the last DM where he really didn't care. You could chin-ben the rules if you like made a case for it and weren't like [expletive] him over. Um, then that that was kind of Nate. So those type of DMs, awesome rules as written DM, you're not gonna really want to play. Yeah, it's tough. I would say in that case, you really need to work with your party and you need to act as a whole of like if you're putting people to sleep, it's like, okay, we're waking up one person that actually like fell asleep, or we're dealing with the people that haven't fallen asleep yet.

[49:03] We're not gonna just take the easy thing of like I get advantage on this person, so I'm just gonna hit them and wake them up. Yeah. So it's like it it's tough when your party is disorganized, so you for charms specifically, you need to be organized. That that's a good that's a great point. I I mentioned the DM, but even probably more so. How is your dynamic with your players? Are they all doing do you have a lot of people who are doing their own things and their own like like even like you as a player, Chris, you have your own motives a lot of times. You you definitely don't just agree to what the party agrees to, um, and which is totally fine.

[49:03] And so that type of person is dangerous around a college of charm because if you don't know what they're gonna do, they could easily [expletive] up your plan right off the bat, like before it even gets to be fun or you accomplish what you're trying to do. Yeah, so there's nothing like finally accomplishing the thing you want, and then the next person completely ruins it for you. Oh, yeah, absolutely worse, you know, especially when you're really close. Um one thing is like charming is really can be really OP in battle, but hard to pull off. It's actually better used, and what people don't tend to do is like use charming for role play.

[49:03] Like that's yep, that is really more when you want to do it, but that's when it can be OP too, because like if you just like have a shopkeeper, no one else is there, and you charm them and you successfully do it, then that's a scenario where like, all right, suddenly the shopkeeper is giving you discounts or free items or like that's a great scenario, but it again can be very hard and it's not that easy, but you're gonna have a lot less variables than in battle, where like, oh well, this person did an area effect spell, so he's out of it, or he got to like re-roll because uh an enemy uh or his ally like woke him up or something.

[49:03] So uh those those are scenarios like in general, use save him for for role play. Um you'll have a little bit better chance of success, which will make you happier. Yeah, and it'll make you happier, you can do more stuff which will make your party happier, and overall, just better in general. I think I mean that was obviously your very like intro to Bard type deal, but I think that really covers quite a bit of it. Um, lots of options for weapons. I'll mention that um in the beginning. Uh what it's uh you can do. You are proficient with I don't think you're proficient with all martial weapons. Uh you're proficient with all simple weapons, hand crossbows, long swords, rabiers, and short swords, which does cover a lot of things.

[49:03] It's more or less you're not good with big, like two-handed, like kind of cumbersome things, but otherwise you're not gonna get the heavy [expletive], but otherwise, yeah, you're you're gonna be able to do stuff. You've got most other things. Absolutely. So I think you get a lot of flexibility. We don't we didn't talk a lot about weapons, like that's probably gonna be your least focus, is like doing a lot of weapon damage. Um yeah, you'll occasionally shoot people with like a bow or a crossbow, and that's about it. Your your basic bard is just like you're gonna have a rapier and you're gonna have a crossbow. And when you're at a distance, you're gonna shoot with the crossbow, and when you're in range, you're gonna do the rapier.

[49:03] That's you're gonna poke somebody and try and run away. That's gonna be probably like there's probably I'm sure there's min-maxers or max maxers as me and Nate like to call them, who can tell you how to do more damage as a bard with weapons, but that's gonna be like probably your best bet, just being safe there. The other thing you get too is proficiency with three instruments of your choice. Yep. Very fancy. And then, you know, depending on how cool your DM is, uh, there's lots of magical instruments that have like multiple spells built into them.

[49:03] So hopefully if you play a bard, you don't have that conversation of like and don't like expect to be given a magical instrument, but like make sure your DM knows, like, hey, these exist, and it would be great like if I earn it or if the scenario makes sense. Uh dungeon master guide. Yeah. So it's pretty easy to access, and it's not hard to like look up the information for a meeting. Definitely. They don't have to go looking at one of the obscure newer source books to find it. Last thing I want to do is just talk about like where do we see bards in in like pop culture?

[49:03] Um the kind of like for instance, so uh I my main class in Final Fantasy 14 and one of the MMOs I play is a bard. They treat Bard very differently because they mix like it's you're like a a giant, you have like a giant like bow and arrow, but it also has a harp built in. So you're a support, but you're also like a right, you're almost a cross between a ranger and a bard. Yeah. Um, so I always thought that was kind of a unique perspective, and not necessarily we talked about like bards generally, our views is like just musicians, really. Um perfect example, I'd say witcher, you know. Um I don't remember that guy's name, but Yesker. Toss a yeah, yeah, yeah. Yesker, yesker, yeah. Yesker, something like that. Yeah, whatever.

[49:03] Toss a coin to your witcher, yeah, whatever. Um, so that's a great example of I think what most people think of in DD 5e is that kind of bard. Um, they're just charismatic, collecting money, trying to seduce, um, funny. Yeah, and they're good at that, but they're not in a box that is only that. They can do a lot more. Absolutely. That's definitely on the internet, that's all like you're gonna see most of the time through memes, but I think like you you can definitely be so much more. Um, Nate and I always like to give like in the past, we've given like what are like funny backstories or premises, premises. So I I like I don't I'll just share some of the ones I've done.

[49:03] Doesn't mean they're great, but so Furiosa, as you remember, she was the lead privilege of the band or the lead the lead singer of the band, white privileged, white spelt W-I-G-H-T, like a like a you know, a skeleton type deal. Um so what can be like, and she was kicked out of her band. Like, so what I like to do, I I tend to find with Bard is lean into the fact that you're kind of you're kind of good at a lot. So make fun of yourself and be a narcissist, but like own that you're a narcissist, because that's kind of how you're gonna play the game, is like you're gonna because you have so many skills and so many bonuses, you're gonna be able to be good at a lot.

[49:03] So it's you you're gonna be, I think it's it's more fun and more believable when you make fun of yourself and you're overconfident, especially when you mess up. Like you're like, ah, watch this, and then you do it and then you roll, like for once a crappy roll. It it helps a little bit because in general you will get away with quite a bit. Oh yeah. And especially because having so many proficiencies and skills, you're gonna be stepping up to the plate to like do stuff a lot. So having like a fallback, even for like the rest of your party, for like playing with you, of like being able to make fun of you for like trying a thing and failing is always really good.

[49:03] And then I think the other uh really fun option is to play the uh the polar opposite of that. So one extreme is like you're overconfident, and then the other extreme is like you're very unconfident. Um, that that tends to be really fun too. Otherwise, if you're right in the middle, that that's totally fine as well. If you're just that like neutral, kind of good, fun-loving spirit. That's kind of what we see a lot, not a bad thing. But if you're you're the narcissist or you're the like kind of like shaky, feeble guy, um, it it'll be a little bit more fun for you because either you have growth, you can play that feeble person, you can grow into confidence, a little more confident, yeah.

[49:03] And you know, characters with actual growth and like story arcs like are more interesting. But like let's just call it what it is. Like if you start the campaign and end the campaign campaign acting exactly the same in every single manner, yeah, that's kind of boring, you know. Like if you get to from level one to 12, that's supposed to be like months or years of like a story. And so you really shouldn't be the same person. And so that's why I say, like, be the narcissist that learns to like rain it back a little bit, or be you know, be the be the the weak person who like gets stronger or build starts believing in themselves.

[49:03] If you're just the bard who in the first, like, oh, you guys meet up at a bar and you're hitting on the waitress, and then at the end of it, you're seducing a dragon, you're still the same person, and that's funny and that's cool. Like, do your shake, like do you, but to me, that is going to always be the least like I want a character. I want to see my allies and myself change over time. You can also become evil, that's fine too.

[58:34] Yeah.

[58:34] Um, also very fun. Yeah. But yeah, if you're like putting it into different context, if you're reading a book and the character is the same start to finish, it's not a very interesting book. Absolutely, absolutely. It's you would say that like there's no character development and it's a really like it's weak writing. Yeah. So if you're in a story, that's what DD is, is uh collaborative storytelling, essentially. Like you need to do your part and make your character more interesting and like develop as a person. 100%. I mean, I'm not saying like you could just show up and have a good time. That that's the beauty of D D.

[58:34] But I think like when you start playing multiple times with with people, like either the same people or other people, you'll start to see like this is what will make your character fun, like a campaign that lasts like in real life eight months, that's gonna keep the campaign going. People are gonna keep showing up to those sessions when you're when your characters are growing, their characters are growing. You guys are like having like actual like fun but like it like meaningful like interactions. Yeah, if you're just murder hobos every single and I I love me and Nate love murder hobo.

[58:34] We are at heart murder hobos, but like if everything is just a shenanigan and there's no like actual change in your character, good or bad, um, your party will probably like your your your your group of people playing DD will probably thin out over time. That's that's honestly like the reality of it. Yeah. So yeah, for sure. It getting everyone together for DD is hard to begin with. Give people a reason to come be interesting, engage with them, have fun together. Exactly. Uh and then let's see, a couple of scenarios. We we mentioned like why you maybe don't want to play a bard, you know, like check of all trades, master or nun type deal.

[58:34] So if you really want to be able to like quickly kill the bad guy type deal, like you're like, I fight for my friends, like and I need to like protect them from the bad guy. That might not be the bard unless like you're going the healing route. Like, you know, if you're trying to get something done very like you just, you know, very specifically, very quickly, it won't be Bard. You're gonna Bard's gonna be like, I'm gonna try these very specific scenarios, won't go exactly how I plan, but I'll adapt and I'm very versatile to make it work. That's Bard. If you're like, I wanna do this very specific thing that I'm good at, there are many other classes you should do for that. Yeah, I would say for sure.

[58:34] Like, if you're gonna be doing anything that you want to be like close up fighting people, do not pick Bard. Yeah, probably barbarian, you know, right? Barbarian's a good choice, fighters good if you want to be flexible with that. Even Ranger is probably a better choice for like up close in fighting, because they actually have like some abilities that augment that. And there's that, there's I don't know. Bards always feel like a third choice for me personally. Sure. Like role-playing is not my uh I'm not the best at it. No, uh so it's never like something that I always think about. It's always like a good fallback because it is so flexible and you can do what you want with it.

[58:34] Yeah, but then it requires the literally even the battle and the spells require you to improvise. Like, so like whether it's roleplay or like the spell's never gonna quite like it'll push people back, but how far back did they save on it? Like, there's gonna be so many battles versus did I do damage or not? There's just gonna be so many more factors. So you have to be able to pivot with that character versus people who want to be confident in pulling off what they want to do. Yeah, and at least for me and with the way that I play, that can be tough. Yeah, like I play warlock a lot, warlock has like very set like hit or not, if you hit, you get the effects, and that's kind of it.

[58:34] Can still do some of that um like flexibility, just more limited. Sure. Like you can push people back, you can manipulate like how far people can move and stuff like that. So you have some flexibility in a different class, but it's very limited and more like pass or fail, essentially, which makes a lot more sense. It makes it a lot easier to play. Whereas Bard is just like it's the whole spectrum. Yeah, and if if you like, I know people who like spend way too long on their turn because they have too many options. Don't play Bard as well because you will you will have like too many options. Yeah, uh you you have almost every option, right? That's that's the problem. Like, and and I see people do this all the time.

[58:34] When they have every option, they end up one slowing down the game because they want to consider every single option to see what's best. That's not fun, don't do that. Or two, like they just don't know what they want to do. And that's like they get some people get paralyzed by having too much freedom, and so that that could that could be a scenario too. Yeah. Um, also, this is kind of like a weird specific thing, but uh, you don't really get pets or anything like that with Bard. A lot of some classes get away with depending on the subclass or other stuff, you can kind of get like cool whatever find familiar and stuff like that doesn't come with Bard.

[58:34] You'd have to use one of your spells from a different class to grab it, which feels like a waste because it's like a very personal thing that doesn't really help the party at all. So it feels yeah, kind of off for bards. Yeah. And no, with your spells, you're not gonna get like some of the really cool ones. Again, you there are some exceptions when you start to get to choose from other jobs or classes or whatnot, but in general, you're not gonna get the coolest stuff, you're gonna get the in-between.

[58:34] And again, that some night like in the beginning, I feel like there's a lot of freedom, but then once you start playing for a few levels, you're like, I started to feel like I'm getting the same spells over and over again, but just stronger. Yeah. That's and I mean maybe that's other classes as well, but with with with Bard, you're you're gonna feel that way. Whereas Wizard, you're getting all kinds of bonkers stuff all the time. I feel like so. They have access to all of the really interesting spells, but that's because that's what they are. They are purely like knowledge spellcasters. Absolutely. Um I think that we did a really great job uh going over Bard.

[58:34] Um, hopefully that convinced you to give it a shot, and if not, then at least you know it's not for you. Yeah. I think we covered pretty much all of the basics for them without getting into like too nitty-gritty of the details for like what the character actually is and kind of how they rank up against like other casters or just other classes in general. I think if you listen to this and you're interested in what you heard, I think you should look into Bart and give it a try. It's a really good place to start. Absolutely. And if you have questions, you know, feel free to uh send us uh uh a DM or whatever, like message us or hey, leave a question or review.

[58:34] That's uh a great way to get it found as well. Um thank you so much for listening. Uh this as we're approaching the end of the year, we of course appreciate we know you're busy with a lot of stuff, but thanks for listening. Whenever you listen, even if this is years from now, um on another side of the galaxy, maybe this is like 40 years and another planet is like just starting to get our transmissions. All part of Space Jesus' plan. Yeah, all part of mathematical space Jesus plan. Uh, but we appreciate it. Um, main call to actions, guys, leave a review that really helps us as well, like establish credibility for our show. Um, if people are looking at our show. And the other thing is share an episode on social media.

[58:34] Take your favorite episode so you can go to Spotify, whatever. Uh, if you're in the Facebook, you on our page has like the actual like an embedded in a post. Uh like whatever, whatever your your slice of social media is, share an episode because uh the only way uh other people discover us is if you share it with another person. Thank you so much for listening. Uh we appreciate you and we will talk to you next week. Yeah, see you later.