Help with an all-bard campaign!

[Brendanicus]

So, I'm going to be running a short all-bard campaign. The main goal will be to bring peace to two quarreling clans (Could be humans, dwarves, etc). What sort of quests and things could the players do on the way to mix diplomacy with old-fashioned adventuring?

[Ashrym]

Pull a variation on "Devil Went Down to Georgia". It's a good crossroads encounter that can seem random to start. With a group of bards that means one winner and the rest losing to open up recovering their souls.

Once the party realizes the stakes it can create some interesting RP moments as they realize winning is losing for their team and vice versa.

[Anderlith]

An All-Bards-Party campaign needs to end with an epic battle of the bands.

The story could be that they are traveling to the battle of the bands but it has been called off do to the clan dispute. The Clans are each beset & antagonized by separate threats that when added to the already high tensions between the Clans have them close to open war. Perhaps a dragon is stomping around one clans territory bringing bedlam because an evil wizard is contolling it & the party needs to soothe the dragon with the power of rock to break the wizards hold.

The other clan suffers from plague & famine because a dryad is upset. Puniahing them for despoiling her shrine. A rival band has caused all this because the previous year a few key members of the clan really disliked their music & voted against them in the BotB

I would personally give the bards advantage on any diplo roll wherein they use the phrase "Be excellent to each other"

[JellyPooga]

All Bard Party? Look no further than the Blues Brothers. They're vaguely a bunch crooks and misfits "On a mission from God". Have them do anything and everything to appear legit while raising funds for their end-goal.

Of course, always remember that while the end goal justifies almost any means, killing shouldn't be their 1st course of action, if an option at all; at least one of the PCs should be looking for redemption of some kind.

Use it as an opportunity to get a little slap-stick. Creative use of magic, skills and environmental factors should be rewarded. Any references to the movie too!

Don't forget the rival band, who aren't Evil per se, but really don't like the PCs for some past slight. Thinking about it, over the course of the adventure, you should try and build up as many groups and individuals who have reason to pursue the PCs, without those foes necessarily looking to kill them. The Cops, the Rival Band and the Psycho (Psychic?) Ex are a good start, but if your setting has a Guild system for any adventuring professions, then that might be a good place to look for ideas too. Perhaps as the main plot or as a side-goal, the players can have the opportunity to recruit the Guilds to help restore balance between the Clans; but give them every opportunity to screw things up and turn those Guilds against them (if not against the end goal itself).

A time limit is essential to this style of campaign; don't let the players relax for too long between capers, to keep them on their toes and the plot moving. If you can engineer a good chase scene with a little divine intervention, all the better!

[Randomthom]

If you want a non-bardic opponent for this battle of the bands idea that others are touting, look no further than the stick-up-their-butts choir of the Church of St Cuthbert (or any other pious religious order you wish).
You've got scope in there for clerics, paladins, monks and maybe a Bard Choirmaster.

Have them grumble lots about this "new-fangled music" and it being "of asmodeus". Possibly even a "what's wrong with a good old fashioned temple organ?" They could even have a few commoners parked outside the venue with big placards stating how the music within is evil.

The Pious Choir could even be gatecrashers to the Battle of the Bands but ultimately correct when one of the other entrants' music begins to compel the audience towards evil acts or possibly doubles as some kind of summonig ritual...

Lots of options within this trope!

[SillyPopeNachos]

All Bard Party? Look no further than the Blues Brothers. They're vaguely a bunch crooks and misfits "On a mission from God". Have them do anything and everything to appear legit while raising funds for their end-goal.

Of course, always remember that while the end goal justifies almost any means, killing shouldn't be their 1st course of action, if an option at all; at least one of the PCs should be looking for redemption of some kind.

Use it as an opportunity to get a little slap-stick. Creative use of magic, skills and environmental factors should be rewarded. Any references to the movie too!

Don't forget the rival band, who aren't Evil per se, but really don't like the PCs for some past slight. Thinking about it, over the course of the adventure, you should try and build up as many groups and individuals who have reason to pursue the PCs, without those foes necessarily looking to kill them. The Cops, the Rival Band and the Psycho (Psychic?) Ex are a good start, but if your setting has a Guild system for any adventuring professions, then that might be a good place to look for ideas too. Perhaps as the main plot or as a side-goal, the players can have the opportunity to recruit the Guilds to help restore balance between the Clans; but give them every opportunity to screw things up and turn those Guilds against them (if not against the end goal itself).

This is all gold. Also, rejoice that the party will be so versatile. They will only possibly need help on the exploration side of the campaign, and a ranger NPC hireling can cover that easily enough.

[FunSize]

An all female Bard party better known by themed nicknames.

I.e. the Spice Girls.

[Draco4472]

My party discussed something similar. We came up with these:

Option 1:
-Play 'Curse of Strahd'
-Party of all Orc Bards
-Recruit Strahd into band (on the organ of course)
-We are the Orc-a-Strahd.

Option 2:
-Play 'Tyranny of Dragons'
-Party of all Red/Brass Dragonborn
-We are Dragonforce, and can literally go "Through the Fire and the Flames"

Side Note:
All Blue Dragonborn = "Fury of the Storm"

[Herobizkit]

In the same vein of the St Cuthbert suggestion above, don't forget to ban dancing with the music.

The local youth turn to the party to help them cut loose. Footloose.

Also see: Dirty Dancing. No one puts Baby in the corner.

Also see: Titanic, where the lowly ship crew dance out of sight of the snooty rich passengers.

[JumboWheat01]

Quests for legendary instruments, of course! And make sure one of them is a bagpipe, just for the groans and giggles.

[Anderlith]

Yes!!!! Have a legend of a magical ax that can slay a dragon, but the ax is really a guitar (ax) & breaks the enchantment on the dragon when played!

[bardo]

So, I'm going to be running a short all-bard campaign. The main goal will be to bring peace to two quarreling clans ...

The Montagues and the Capulets come to mind.

Bardo.

[JellyPooga]

In the same vein of the St Cuthbert suggestion above, don't forget to ban dancing with the music.

The local youth turn to the party to help them cut loose. Footloose.

Also see: Dirty Dancing. No one puts Baby in the corner.

Also see: Titanic, where the lowly ship crew dance out of sight of the snooty rich passengers.

Don't forget the Bard who wants to become a Lich; FAME! I wanna live for-eeeever!

[JumboWheat01]

Don't forget the Bard who wants to become a Lich; FAME! I wanna live for-eeeever!

But being a lich bard absolutely KILLS your singing voice. Do you know how hard it is to sing a proper song when your lungs and vocal cords don't really exist anymore?

[JellyPooga]

But being a lich bard absolutely KILLS your singing voice. Do you know how hard it is to sing a proper song when your lungs and vocal cords don't really exist anymore?

Illusion spells go a long way, not to mention the ability to Conjure a choir from the Outer Planes.

[Lost_Nomad]

Have them infiltrate and oversee a political marriage between the two groups, have them be the wedding band or have the soon to be groom turn out to be a wild party animal and so they have to baby sit him at the bachelor party.

[Sir cryosin]

The party got to kill the princesses 7 evil ex's.

[Herobizkit]

Quests for legendary instruments, of course! And make sure one of them is a bagpipe, just for the groans and giggles.Link's Awakening, the first Zelda on Game Boy, required him to find 8 sacred musical instruments in order to play a tune that would awaken a creature. Could be a fun premise.

[Sigreid]

There's only one thing to be done with an all bard party. Kill it! Kill IT WITH FIRE!!

[CaptainSarathai]

Take all of these ideas. Imagine the quintessential Bard campaign, with the crazy escapades and total chaos.
They already played it
Have them wake up, 'The Hangover' style, and have to fix a ton of s**t they don't even remember doing. They were in town to play a wedding, and it went entirely to shambles. Now the families are feuding and on the brink of violence over what they did. Outside it's anarchy; dogs and cats living together! Half the village impregnated - men included! How did that horse end up on the third floor of the inn? The minister has followed their advice, sworn off the scripture, and his trying to other himself to the death in the ample bosom of a "truly blessed" Half-Orc bar maid named Turkish Lurtz. All the water in the town fountain suddenly looks and tastes surprisingly similar to last fall's wine harvest. The groom is dejected, the bride ran off with a 'Druid Commune,' topless, shouting aboht "free love" and so forth. And honestly guys, it's the fifth session and we STILL have not found my pants!?