Visualizing a Savage Bard

[Elves]

I don't really have a clear image of what this variant class is supposed to entail in terms of fluff. The immediate comparison that springs to mind would be, like, an aggressive rapper who seems fluent in rap but incredibly dumb when interviewed, but that isn't very informative of what it would look like in a fantasy setting, where they're supposed to be a bard who's "a warrior at heart".

How do you guys think they would look in-setting?

[Quentinas]

Well i would think for example at one viking skald, or to someone who tell the stories of war he had done , another class who have a similiar fluff is the warrior skald from races of faerun. they are near as fluff . Or something similiar (even a warrior who can play well) , or a fighter who fight dancing and chanting , i think at this with the savage bard don't know if it is a help . The nearest as class in D&D would be the warrior skald i'm pretty sure

[pabelfly]

I'd imagine something like a fantasy version of a military drummer or bugler. Background - an adult who feels their duty is to join combat but perhaps is not as proficient at fighting as others, and his proficiency at music has led him to be made into the savage bard of a group of barbarians. Alternatively, a child, perhaps an orphan of someone who used to serve in the barbarian band that he's now part of.

The role of the Savage Bard... the leader of a group of barbarians could use the various tunes of the savage bard to communicate with his troop across the battlefield to coordinate tactics and communicate battle formations. The bard might also be required to use their music to give some magical support to the group.

[Telonius]

+1 on the "skald" idea. This sort of Bard is a Lorekeeper for a people with strong oral traditions, who are close to nature. Strong tie-ins with Druids, Barbarians, and Rangers.

[Annehn]

I just wanna say, I dig it the concept of a savage bard alot!

[Elves]

+1 on the "skald" idea. This sort of Bard is a Lorekeeper for a people with strong oral traditions, who are close to nature. Strong tie-ins with Druids, Barbarians, and Rangers.

An illiterate, oral bard is easy to imagine. Where the warrior part comes in is what I'm not easily visualizing.

[Psyren]

+1 Skald, or something tribal works too if a viking theme isn't a good fit.

[BWR]

For the last couple of years I've thought along these (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1bZYdfvmBk)lines.

[liquidformat]

An illiterate, oral bard is easy to imagine. Where the warrior part comes in is what I'm not easily visualizing.

That really depends on what your focus is with your bard, what instrument/s are you thinking, melee, ranged, caster?

A savage bard who focuses on buffs and casting could be the village witch doctor who leads the pre-battle tribal dances, gives the men special blessings right before the battle and spends the battle singing and dancing as he applies more dances.

Or else a military drummer/bugler who disseminating orders using their instrument.

A savage battle dancer wearing bright colored armor as they dance through enemy ranks being a veritable tornado of blades.

[tiercel]

A savage bard isn’t actually necessarily more (or less) of a warrior than a bog-standard bard (they swap good Ref saves for good Fort, but don’t get more hp or BAB or weapon proficiencies or intrinsically gishy spells), so while either kind can be a gish-in-a-can, a savage bard can just be easily be a tribal shaman, the leader of a pre-battle war chant, keeper of histories/storyteller, and/or chieftain — much less any type of support or advisor in a tribal/barbarian type society. Heck, in a more urban setting, a savage bard could be a canny gang leader or leader’s right hand, a charismatic guttersnipe/con-artist.

[Elves]

That really depends on what your focus is with your bard, what instrument/s are you thinking, melee, ranged, caster?

This isn't actually for a character.

Running through the different perform skills, I would say:

Act (comedy, drama, mime) - Performer and MC in gladiatorial combat rituals and pageants
Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling) "Diss rapper". Mocks opponents to embolden the troops.
Dance (ballet, waltz, jig) - Battle dancer, probably involved in dance rituals outside of combat. Lackluster BAB because twirling battle dances aren't exactly the most efficient way of fighting.
Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling): Warleader who leads the hakas and the battlechants, tells the stories of ancient warriors to inspire the troops, very marshal-y
Percussion instruments and wind instruments - Someone who beats the wardrums or blows the battlehorns
Sing (ballad, chant, melody) - Much like oratory, except because they're singing instead of yelling, probably more mystical and shaman-y than marshal-y

Keyboard instruments and string instruments would be a little harder to figure out and primitive societies tend to have fewer of those.


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I was actually thinking of this in the context of someone mentioning what seems like an unlikely fluff combination, savage bard into Sublime Chord. Unlikely because Sublime Chords live in a refined college and study the mysteries of the universe. Now, if you have a tribal type who sings "the song of the gods" and keeps the myths, that actually fits very well with the Sublime Chord ethos of uncovering the music of the celestial spheres or whatever.

But unless it's a story of someone who *was* savage and got "civilized", I'm not seeing how the savage battle-lust part plays into the story.

[Mercurion 2]

For the last couple of years I've thought along these (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1bZYdfvmBk)lines.

This would be my analog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C434QFTjok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C434QFTjok)

[Thurbane]

I'm going to leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzL85AW2lQw

[Gullintanni]

Savage bard you say? Something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7woW7DmnR0E

[tiercel]

Or, you know, Artemis the Huntress style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsN7E35LpJE

[Blackhawk748]

Besides the Haka you've all been too complicated. Clearly this is how you do it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Bh2KrBCmo)