This subject has come up on occasion but I don't believe I've ever seen anyone make a thread dedicated to it.
In tabletop Dungeons and Dragons Bards are treated as a sort of pseudo-rogue. Baldur's Gate never did this. They just gave us pickpocketing and called it good. To BioWare's credit, the Rogue HLAs including trap setting in Throne of Bhaal was certainly a step in the right direction ... if a rather late one.
Now don't get me wrong, Bards are useful in this game. Absolutely, I love 'em. They certainly have some interesting advantages, such as their very fast level progression. However, it's worth pointing out that many people go around as a Fighter/Mage or even Fighter/Mage/Thief instead and call it a better class. While they're not 100% correct, solid arguments can be made in favor of playing multi-classes instead of Bards.
This game isn't all that challenging once you master its somewhat steep learning curve, so I'm not suggesting that all classes need to be equally as good as other classes or anything. This isn't about balancing the Bard with other classes. This is about the Bard actually fulfilling its role.
I'm not sure how exactly Beamdog could go about making the Bard fulfill its role better, but let's be honest, their thieving side is incredibly lacking. You get ... pick pocketing, and that's it. Really? Not even Stealth? Calling the Bard any sort of Rogue really is pretty much a joke.
I suppose my personal solution for it would be to give Bards all the Thieving abilities, but only allow them 15% distribution per level or something.
...
But how about the rest of you all, let us know what you think?
In tabletop Dungeons and Dragons Bards are treated as a sort of pseudo-rogue. Baldur's Gate never did this. They just gave us pickpocketing and called it good. To BioWare's credit, the Rogue HLAs including trap setting in Throne of Bhaal was certainly a step in the right direction ... if a rather late one.
Now don't get me wrong, Bards are useful in this game. Absolutely, I love 'em. They certainly have some interesting advantages, such as their very fast level progression. However, it's worth pointing out that many people go around as a Fighter/Mage or even Fighter/Mage/Thief instead and call it a better class. While they're not 100% correct, solid arguments can be made in favor of playing multi-classes instead of Bards.
This game isn't all that challenging once you master its somewhat steep learning curve, so I'm not suggesting that all classes need to be equally as good as other classes or anything. This isn't about balancing the Bard with other classes. This is about the Bard actually fulfilling its role.
I'm not sure how exactly Beamdog could go about making the Bard fulfill its role better, but let's be honest, their thieving side is incredibly lacking. You get ... pick pocketing, and that's it. Really? Not even Stealth? Calling the Bard any sort of Rogue really is pretty much a joke.
I suppose my personal solution for it would be to give Bards all the Thieving abilities, but only allow them 15% distribution per level or something.
...
But how about the rest of you all, let us know what you think?
