Rebuild the Bard Fluff into Shaman

[Altair_the_Vexed]

I've never been very happy with the travelling troubadour concept behind the bard class in core 3.5 D&D.
It just feels a bit naff. I mean, Elan in OotS is funny, but he's not cool. Bards are currently stuck with that sort of image.

I've been thinking - what if the bard was re-imagined as a chanting, drumming shaman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism)? Gaining knowledge from spirit journeys, buffing the party through magic ritual song trances, and so on.
It seems to me that it'd be much cooler, and less of a risible class.

So, my question to the Playground is this: what (if anything) would need to change to make the bard more shamanistic?

[Yuki Akuma]

Maybe give him the Spirit Shaman's spirit guide (and spirit guide abilities), and remove some of the Bardic Music abilities?

Also, giving him some of the Druid, Wu Jen and Shugenja spells that deal with spirits might be appropriate.

Get rid of spells like protege and others that are just 'magical minstrel' spells.

[Ernir]

Savage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) and/or Divine (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantDivineBard) Bard?

[Aquillion]

Honestly, if I may suggest an alternate fix: Just use Perform (Oratory) for your Bard instead. Magical couplets are much more impressive than carrying a lute into combat. Truthfully, IMHO, they should have made that the 'iconic' image of the Bard -- that's what most of the mythological figures they based the class off of used.

[ErrantX]

Savage (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) and/or Divine (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantDivineBard) Bard?

Or both, refluff to taste. Consider trading a few spells off of the bard list for druid spells and create your own set of ACF. I think your idea is really sound on making the bard a shaman, I never thought of it. Good call! :)

-X

[Optimystik]

I would just take a Spirit Shaman (CD), give him the Divine Bard's spell list and musical abilities (along with a set of drums), and call it a day. They already need both WIS and CHA, so it's still not going to be very powerful.

[mabriss lethe]

it wouldn't really take much. I've refluffed bards as Call of Cthulhu style clutists before. didn't really have to change a thing.

[ericgrau]

^ +1. Spells are now divine. Bardic knowledge works more on notable nature/tribe stuff than notable city stuff (but city stuff may often cross over). Bardic music (and every individual application thereof) is chanting, drumming, etc. All done!

Honestly if you leave spells as arcane the change is all fluff and no mechanics. Players shouldn't even need to ask the DM before making such a character.

[Optimystik]

^ +1. Spells are now divine. Bardic knowledge works more on notable nature/tribe stuff than notable city stuff (but city stuff may often cross over). Bardic music (and every individual application thereof) is chanting, drumming, etc. All done!

Honestly if you leave spells as arcane the change is all fluff and no mechanics. Players shouldn't even need to ask the DM before making such a character.

In fact, you don't even have to leave his spells arcane, (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantDivineBard) if you don't want to.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Cool - I didn't think I'd need to change a lot...

I was thinking that it'd probably make sense to swap out some spells from the bard's list for some of the shaman's list, and maybe make some name changes.

Also, I'm glad to see other people have thought of the oratory bard. It's a good fluff change! :smallcool:

[bosssmiley]

Open the SRD entry for Bard.
Find/replace the word "bard" with "skald".
Refluff all the bard skald abilities into saga-inspired abilities. Keep the mechanics as-is.
Job done.

Norse makes anything sound more hardcore. :smallwink:

[Sstoopidtallkid]

If your Bard's aren't awesome, you're playing them wrong. You have 18 Cha. You should ooze awesome. Everything you do, even failure, should be awesome. That said, a few Bard concepts through the years, needing few or no houserules: For a Bardblade build with SfW: "The problem with making a violin into a weapon is that the bow is too weak to do anything. Replacing the wood with a length of adamantine wire fixes that, and gives it a nice edge. However, that cut the strings whenever I played it, so I made them Adamantine, too. The sound, however, is horrible unless I use some sort of lubricant, and the best I've found for that is blood. Want to hear a song?"
In an all-warforged party: The designers of us left something out. Some sort of core ability to understand the world. That's why human warriors occasionally held their own against us, they worked together, fought harder, even when we should have won. I was an aberration. I can't fight, but I can sing, and when I do, my people listen. Their eyes light up, they go beyond what they're capable of, they're...less troubled. Music isn't what was left out of us, but maybe, just maybe, music will help us find what we're missing."
General McAwesome: I can't write enough to do this, so insert your favorite speech to the troops, real or fantasy, here. The character puts those out every combat.
The Pirate: Sings sea shanties and drinks during combat. Really, do you need anything else?

[Altair_the_Vexed]

It's not that the bard as it stands can't be played awesomely, it's just that the fluff and name oozes naffness - you go prancing about the world collecting songs and stories and that somehow makes you magical. :smallsigh:
If I want a charismatic spell caster for the sake of the charisma, I'll be a sorcerer.

Anyway... yes, there are plenty of ways that a bard can be played to be cooler than the iconic lute-wielding ponce. I think a shaman flavour would be cool. As discussed, this doesn't take much tweaking. Other options are available. Your mileage may vary.

[hiryuu]

I don't know what bard fluff you're reading, but music and story bards are obviously made of awesomtanium. (http://www.veoh.com/collection/FYMS/watch/v90705637zJfzKz)

Even so, I support this action. There isn't really a shaman class in D&D that I don't feel offended by right now ('cept for the one in OA, but that's because create spring is probably one of my favorite spells ever). Also bear in mind that shamans who use dances and stories to bless their fellow men and women do so with stories, songs, and dances they've collected pretty much the same way a standard bard does, through tradition and journey.

[Weimann]

For a Bardblade build with SfW: "The problem with making a violin into a weapon is that the bow is too weak to do anything. Replacing the wood with a length of adamantine wire fixes that, and gives it a nice edge. However, that cut the strings whenever I played it, so I made them Adamantine, too. The sound, however, is horrible unless I use some sort of lubricant, and the best I've found for that is blood. Want to hear a song?"I really need to do that sometime...

[Bagelz]

Bards rely on preformance, not necessarrily music.
As an Orator (public speaker) and a charisma based class, bards are a natural fit as a leader. Think Lincoln, Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., any overly dramatic movie mility officer or football coach.
You can inspire confidence, courage, motivation, and end up getting 120% out of the other PC's (all while getting them to do what you want while making them think it was their idea in the first place).

that is my standard way of getting away from the bumbling lute-player.
Also they could just be a type of sorcerer that eminates an aura that buffs the surrouding allies. Its all fluff after the preformance check.

and yes, a shaman/ tribal storyteller, warchanter ect all make sense.

[Demons_eye]

You could pick up war chant, and go into war chanter.