Making a Bard More Flexible

[James Martin]

I had an idea I'd like to float regarding the Bard.

Premise: The bard is the only class that can be modified to fill multiple roles well. He can be a healer, sneaky type, fighter melee or ranged, or arcane controller. However, he doesn't really have any class features to support this idea.

Suggestion: Create a list of class features culled from other classes. Allow the bard to select one of them every five levels or possibly as a replacement for a feat. Such as:
- Fighter Bonus Feat
- Rage 1/day
- Sneak Attack +1d6
- Favored Enemy +2
- Channel Positive Energy as a cleric 4 levels lower
- 1 Clerical Domain
- School Specialization
- Minor Sorcerer Bloodline
- Unarmed Attack Damage as a monk 4 levels lower

This allows the Bard to truly be a jack of all trades and allows two bards to look nothing alike. In fact a party of all bards could fill any role you'd need.

Thoughts?

[Set]

James Martin wrote:

Premise: The bard is the only class that can be modified to fill multiple roles well. He can be a healer, sneaky type, fighter melee or ranged, or arcane controller. However, he doesn't really have any class features to support this idea.

While I kind of like the idea of opening up the Bard and making it a more versatile class, it's very tightly defined as written.

Even something as relatively 'simple' as allowing a Bard to use another skill other than Perform to provide inspiration / motivation (such as Diplomacy or even Intimidate!), or having the Bard be a prepared caster instead of a spontaneous caster, or moving it away from the sound / music theme to a more dabbling adventurer-scroundrel sort of theme is a bridge too far, it seems.

Perhaps a Prestige Class that turned a Bard into a pseudo-Factotum might be more palatable to the powers-that-be, if you want to try your hand at a Bard who isn't pigeonholed into being a dragon-descended singer of magical songs.

[cliff]

These could easily be added as the list of Bard Performances available at certain levels under my revision of the class (see also "Thoughts on how to fix the Bard" thread).

That's exactly where I've been a little stumped, what powers to grant as Performances and at which Bard level. Check it out and see what you think. (will be posted in about an hour)