Roleplaying a Bard

[Feederman111]

Can you give me some concept or example about some sort of magic-focus bard ?
An old man moving around telling story and have a great magical power and knowledge is more of a bard or a wizard ? I like the concept of hiding the magical power you have and act like a normal person (or a fool). Would that be a wizard or bard ?
Maybe i didnt use English well enough, hope you can understand. Thank you.

[MustacheManny]

My understanding of a bard is that they draw magic from performance, whether it's from song, poetry, or heck even interpretive dance they draw magic from those actions. If your character is just telling stories and not necessarily drawing their magic from it then I would imagine they would be some kind of wizard or sorcerer.

[Tanarii]

Lore Bard = Celtic Bard. Diplomat, keeper of history (stories & songs), adjunct to the Holy Priest caste (Druids for the Celts). Knows forgotten secrets & lore.

Valor Bard = Norse Bard/Skald. Keeper of history (sagas), singer of inspirational battle songs, adjunct to the Ruling caste (Thanes for the Norse). Sometime diplomat and fairly skilled warrior.

[Specter]

The wizard is the brooding, focused man. The bard is the social chameleon, or the party animal, or the charming swordsman, or all of those

The wizard picks lore from books. The bard picks lore from tales, conversations and all kinds of crazy things he did before adventuring.

Of course, this is generically speaking.

[Feederman111]

Lore Bard = Celtic Bard. Diplomat, keeper of history (stories & songs), adjunct to the Holy Priest caste (Druids for the Celts). Knows forgotten secrets & lore.

Valor Bard = Norse Bard/Skald. Keeper of history (sagas), singer of inspirational battle songs, adjunct to the Ruling caste (Thanes for the Norse). Sometime diplomat and fairly skilled warrior.
So i guess Gandalf is a Lore Bard instead of wizard ? Because he has skill in diplomatic, he has story to tell and know some secret. And he's fairly funny, with all that firework stuffs

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Far as gameplay goes you can fuzz the lines a bit. A Bard is more versitle. A Wizard more focused. A Bard is likely to be more of the Charismatic type. A Wizard can be brooding and solitary.

Look at the available weapons, spells and spell slots then decide.

[RSP]

Factor in how the character gets their magic: the Bard knows it innately, while the Wizard must constantly study. The Bard draws his magic from his strong sense of self, the Wizard from memorizing rote components and rituals every day.

Either one could very easily travel around and tell stories, though I'd imagine a character based around being a "storyteller" fits the stereotypes idea of a Bard better, particularly a Lore Bard.

[Feederman111]

I thought that Bard learn magic too, never have any idea about bard have it innately. I hate innate power, it seems like you never have to try for anything and suddenly you have power to play with...

[Tanarii]

So i guess Gandalf is a Lore Bard instead of wizard ? Because he has skill in diplomatic, he has story to tell and know some secret. And he's fairly funny, with all that firework stuffs
Gandalf isn't a Bard. He's a narrative tool.

[Specter]

So i guess Gandalf is a Lore Bard instead of wizard ? Because he has skill in diplomatic, he has story to tell and know some secret. And he's fairly funny, with all that firework stuffs

He just has proficiency in Persuasion and maybe Performance. But LotR guys hardly ever fit DnD anyway.

[Specter]

I thought that Bard learn magic too, never have any idea about bard have it innately. I hate innate power, it seems like you never have to try for anything and suddenly you have power to play with...

They do. The book tells us that they harness the words of creation to create magic, but that means a lot of dedication to the art to turn simple words into magical words.

[RSP]

Innate=not prepared as I was using it. Apologies for the confusion. I meant Bards know spells without having to read books and study every day. A significant difference when deciding if a concept should be Bard or Wizard.

[Feederman111]

They do. The book tells us that they harness the words of creation to create magic, but that means a lot of dedication to the art to turn simple words into magical words.
Thank you, this is truely something to consider