Bards in Dark Sun

[Christopher K.]

Dark Sun is a very serious game, and personally, I find it hard to believe that any Bards would exist as they do in the default setting. In a world where magic drains life around it, what practical reason is there to be a storyteller?

So anywho, my question is this: Have you ever played a Bard in a Dark Sun Campaign? If so, how did it turn out? What made him/her different from a standard bard?

[MeeposFire]

Traditionally bards are well known as spies and assassins in Dark Sun. In 2e they lost spells and gained access to special poisons. In 4e they retain their arcane power (though I would not be upset if you took away their dailies and gave them the executioner poison abilities) but can still do the same role. They are a very social force in the City States particularly with the nobles and the sorcerer kings/templars.

[Fox Box Socks]

Bards in Dark Sun are spies, assassins, scouts, saboteurs, informants, rumor-mongers, and entertainers meant to keep the common rabble content with the status quo. Several city-states (such as Balic) use Bard Templars to spread propaganda, having them sing songs of the Sorcerer-Kings' might. Many pull double duty working against revolutionary organizations such as the Veiled Alliance, using clever words and mind-control magics to infiltrate rebel groups and either eliminating them entirely or subtly guiding them towards extremism so the public turns against them. Merchant houses regularly employ Bards to draw crowds towards bazaars and trade caravans.

Like many things in Athas, they're considerably darker and more pragmatic than they are in other settings.

[Reluctance]

Why do skilled musicians know how to cast spells, and in many cases, how to heal? The bard class has been something of a metagame construct from the beginning.

Refluff slightly to be a character who uses subtle magic to manipulate emotions, most often to empower/invigorate allies, and it becomes workable. Not as a general character archetype, but can work just fine for the one player who likes what the class brings.

[Hidden Sanity]

Yeah, Propaganda for various factions or revolutionaries, including the usual Dark sun potential for being a double agent, triple agent, whatever.

Remember, if you get to tell the story of what happened, you can basically decide what happened, Bards tell what happened(Or the version you pay them to...). Bards can be truth-seekers or truth hiders, arcane manipulations are fairly useful all over the place, ect.

[Fox Box Socks]

Why do skilled musicians know how to cast spells, and in many cases, how to heal? The bard class has been something of a metagame construct from the beginning.

Refluff slightly to be a character who uses subtle magic to manipulate emotions, most often to empower/invigorate allies, and it becomes workable. Not as a general character archetype, but can work just fine for the one player who likes what the class brings.
Bards are not "skilled musicians". An Expert with ranks in Perform fill that niche in society. Bards are a type of caster that find magic in music.

[WitchSlayer]

Also I enjoy playing Bard Blade Minstrels.

[The_Snark]

Traditionally bards are well known as spies and assassins in Dark Sun. In 2e they lost spells and gained access to special poisons. In 4e they retain their arcane power (though I would not be upset if you took away their dailies and gave them the executioner poison abilities) but can still do the same role. They are a very social force in the City States particularly with the nobles and the sorcerer kings/templars.

It's worth mentioning that the traditional Athasian bard doesn't need to use the bard class; if I were making one, I'd probably play a rogue with the Athasian minstrel theme. It's not a concept that needs magic, and arcane magic carries some baggage in Dark Sun.

The class itself is well suited for representing a templar (arcane leader? Sounds like a good captain of the guard), an agent provocateur in the service of a sorcerer-king, a spy for the Veiled Alliance, and so on. A bard doesn't necessarily need to be a musician.