I'll elaborate. I thought of this subject after reading the "Bards still suck" thread and watching a video someone had posted showing a comedic take of the Bard as a useless fop looking like Peter Pan. It seems that the Bard gets easily stereotyped.
One thing I liked about Neverwinter Nights and 3rd edition D&D is that the Thief was renamed to Rogue. This simple renaming helped expand the role of the Thief since not every character with the skillset would be a, well, thief. A thief could be a spy, a treasure hunter, or a scout.
But what is a Bard at its core? It's not quite a Fighter/Mage/Thief, but clearly draws elements from all of them. Taking out the musical element, the concept seems like the Bard could be the ultimate adventurer, capable of combat and magic. What archetypes could the Bard fulfill without being the overly flamboyent stereotype? Would, or should, every Bard be musically talented?
One thing I liked about Neverwinter Nights and 3rd edition D&D is that the Thief was renamed to Rogue. This simple renaming helped expand the role of the Thief since not every character with the skillset would be a, well, thief. A thief could be a spy, a treasure hunter, or a scout.
But what is a Bard at its core? It's not quite a Fighter/Mage/Thief, but clearly draws elements from all of them. Taking out the musical element, the concept seems like the Bard could be the ultimate adventurer, capable of combat and magic. What archetypes could the Bard fulfill without being the overly flamboyent stereotype? Would, or should, every Bard be musically talented?