Make the bard a goblin and it's subclass Dirgesinger and all of a sudden it can convert bardic inspiration into damage and eventually be able to use countercharm as a bonus action. It also can eventually use countercharm on an ally who is charmed or frightened to roll a second time to resist the effect. It's a fantastic subclass to play. It's racially restricted to goblins though.
I bring my ukulele to every game and just play background music from spongebob while we travel. Our dm thinks it's hilarious most of the time but she has tried to get an npc to break my lyre on more than 1 occasion.
Fighter: Yo, I can kill a guy in 1 round Cleric: HA, I can kill a guy in 1 standard action Wizard: HA, I can kill a guy before my round Bard: I can get 3 idiots to kill a guy for me ...
@@icepheonix142 Sorry to play the nerd among nerds, but you can't actually kill a Tarasque with Acid. You can certainly incapacitate it and do enough damage where you it won't be able to do anything for awhile, but it will eventually regenerate. The only acid that can permanently kill a Tarasque is the stomachs digestive cycle of another Tarasque. That's why there's only one left in the main setting. Please correct me if I'm wrong though, this is just what I remember from videos I've seen on the monsters.
Mal Masterson true but the damage is enough so as to temporarily kill it even if it will regenerate but at that point you will have acid prepared or use another first level spell to incapacitate it again
I just give it to the Barbarian because he has this one attack where it would normally be high risk high reward and now it's little risk, no-reward. But honestly, Bards in combat are boring and you feel more like a burden than anything else.
*Brawk* I actually did that in a previous one-shot where I played a Kenku Bard named Boom-Pow. In essence I made him akin to a Chuck Jones character. Had a lot of laughs from both myself and the group. *whistles*
@@mikeockhurts904 But it would at least have SOME application. Nobody can know exactly when a nearby party member is about to be charmed. If it were a reaction, you wouldn't have to sacrifice your action every round for an entire fight, going "This round. No this one. The monster's totally gonna try to charm this round. Okay 100% sure it's gonna be this round. Okay I know for sure..."
Dude, Bards are clutch in a team. Our bard learned "Summon Creatures" and has packs of wolves roam the field to give everyone advantage while handing out inspiration like candy. Nobody is gunna miss an attack tonight.
Last session our bard asked how many cows he could invoke. The DM made the calculation based on the level at which he intended to cast ond the challenge level of a cow, the result was 256. The only reason why we hadn't 256 cows charging towards the ennemies was because the spell description said they had to pop within 60 feet radius from the bard, and having them all piled up on eachother would have presented some logistics issue. We still had 50 cows charging the ennemy and that was just as efficient a distraction, though.
College of swords be like: *Strikes orc with a sword* Orc: Ow, that hurt a bit. *Strikes orc with a sword but screams harmoniously at the same time* Orc: INFINITE PAIN
i play a dancing college of swords bard, he doesn't sing so my dm let me replace spells that effect via sound with effects via sight instead. His philosophy is simple. all of his friends dance and if they don't dance then their no friends of his. true neutral alignment c: he is super fun
lord buss realised that later on. (But technically he said "so you're gonna play bard". Any other "How to play" video he has said "so you wanna play ****")
“This 9 hits” “Yeah this 13 heals me” How do you guys roll so well? I at least one Nat1 per encounter. My party rolls god awfully and having that 1d6 added to your roll often literally saves one of my party from dying or getting close to it.
Everyone in my party rolls pretty badly...except for that one player that basically either gets a 1 or a 20, with very little in between. It's great during combat, but really annoying outside of it as he's the type to steal from the party and overall be insane.
My mom's cursed, maybe I should suggest that she play bard... actually, scratch that, with how she played a gnome, let's not give her something else to annoy people with. God damn that high pitched squealing that was her gnome speaking.
fr why was expertise not mentioned, it's so powerful! As a level 3 college of creation bard, mine has +7 to both arcana and persuasion, and later on they're going to have expertise in deception and acrobatics as well (acrobatics because I like to create my characters to make up for general weaknesses in their class, hence making my bard very proficient in short-ranged combat despite their subclass having nothing to do with swords. sorry, overexplaing. i'll stop now). Plus, once they reach 20th level their expertise in those skills will make it a +15!
People underestimate how much power the bard has. bardic inspiration and counter-spell can be such a clutch play if used correctly and will end up saving the entire party life.
Countercharm can be used correctly like a non idiot as well and help the group a ton. Against Dragons and such that is, if you find a sleeping dragon have everyone attack and in the surprise round you begin singing or playing countercharm as a reaction to their attacks. The dragon will beat you in initiative most likely and almost all DMS only use 2 abilities for the first 2 rounds of combat. Breath Weapon and Frightening Presence. If he uses BW for first round you simply keep singing move to be close to the healer and as many people as you can without balling up too much and give the healer inspiration. On the Dragons second round he will pop his FP which is once per combat and not be able to use it again. You more than likely just saved your healer from being frightened at the expense of a single round of combat and probably prevented a party wipe. Bards used to blow hard but in 5E they are the best class in the game.
Lvl 20 Druid: I can wildshape into any creature or an elemental infinity times and have infinite HP! Lvl 20 Bard: Need a fresh d12 to that ability check? I got one for the whole encounter...
You don't allow Druids in the game due to the capstone ability? Just disallow the last level and force a multiclass (monk, for example) if it really worries you. Also, Barbarians also have health points that are almost impossible to deplete which is is why that's not how you defeat a Barbarian. Same goes for druids. It's 20th level. It's kinda meant to be broken... unless you're a bard, apparently.
MaskWarlord, My point remains... Why disallow something entirely when it's not a problem until the rarely reached 20th level and even then it's a manageable problem?
I feel like the reason bards sometimes feel underpowered in combat is because they are meant to be extremely powerful outside of combat. They are the ultimate roleplaying class who can do a decent amount of support in fights, but their strengths shine when they can take over for their big dumb stabby choppy friends and easily persuade the evil king to give their party supplies, or straight up end a war.
Yeah, that's true, but at least in the campaign where I'm playing rp doesn't take up a whole lot of time while battling takes very much time. And during that time bards are boring and as a player literally uninspiring, repetitive and not very rewarding and I can't help but think, that I'd reather play a Paladin, Cleric or Druid, which in many regards are actually much better supports and actually get the spells and abilities a good support character should get. Like why tf do clerics not get Bless? Because of the name? C'mon, bards have to flavour all the spells that aren't meant for them actually anyways.😬 I love bards but for how unique their vibe is they get almost no unique stuff and what they get is mid to bad.
Imagine if you have a villain that is a Bard and a Lich. Said Lich is a Vocalist for a Death Metal band. The objective of said Lich is to sing eternally, and hope that he can always have audiences... hence he kidnapped a city of villages, killed them and reanimate them as undeads, so that they can always rock with him. HMMM.
So my brother did the bard right. The compain was set in a mostly war filled world so relatively large battle fields were to be expected. Sure my bro played the lute, but he also knew how to play the organ... The city is charged, the battle fierce as redcloaks fill the street. Soldiers rush from their quarters as screams fill the air. Your party fights on the front line, but the bard leaves, running off to god knows where. In truth, he ran to the church. Cracking his knuckles once, he slammed his fingers down and started to play the organ, the sound echoing trough the streets as he boosts every ally. Every soldier, every civilian, everyone feels it, a rush of power and hope. Those of the enemy who caught on pale as they realize what they are up against. (Before you explain to me why this wouldn't work, the dm permitted it, that's all you need.)
The rule of Cool. When someone chooses to do something that's outside the box or even in direct contradiction to the rules, consider how this would impact, the combat, mission, story and their character and other characters both PC's and NPC's in short term and long term sense. I don't think the DM would allow it all the time but for that one instance it was a really fucking cool thing to do or at least attempt to do so that's probably why it was allowed. If I were to permit something like this I'd require 1 performance check and 1 instrument proficiency check (if 1 beats dc 10 he can inspire everyone he chooses within ear shot, if both beat dc 10 then everyone also can instantly benefit from song of rest and spend 1 but only 1 hit die for healing, dc might chance based on PC level), afterword when the battle was won, both the bard and anyone who benefited from the inspiration felt really drained (they suffer 1 level of exhaustion) from the experience as the bard magic isn't really supposed to work like that and was spread thin causing a negative lingering effects.
Homebrew rule: if the bard actually role played an inspirational speech that had some soul, swap the 1d6 for 2d4 Doesn’t seem like much but adding 2-8 is better than 1-6
Yeah, bardic inspiration eventually becomes 1d12 He just never mentioned it 1d12 is phenomenal It is also why lore bards who get to add half proficiency and bardic inspiration to their own skill checks are the best initiatives and counterspellers in the game (as initiative and counterspell are skill checks) Bardic inspiration is not 1d6 forever and if you think it is read their level table
bards great utility: jack of all trades, expertise, and a high charisma make them perfect in any urban enviroment great support: healing spells, debuffing enemies, inspiration dice to boost allies great magic: access to all spells with magical secrets the bard is a character which fits into any party.
truly, when reflavored correctly, the bard and the rogue are the best classes to fit into ANY campaign. a rogue can be crap at stealth, but such a good liar, he gets close nonetheless; or he could simply be a combat pragmatic soldier. a bard can be any kind of performer, ranging from stand-up comedy to a storyteller. beyond doubt the easiest and most diverse classes for narrative.
This is actually really helpful and what attracts me to the bard class, anyway. Well, beyond an excuse to sing all the time or toot a recorder and tell all the bad jokes I want and cause some serious shenanigans with my charisma points
"I'm playing a Wizard so I have a high Spellcasting Modifier!" "Yo, that's cool." "Hey! And I'm playing a bard!" "...Why?" "wELl I'm IN cOllEgE of WhiSPErS!" "You're just a worse Rogue." *silence* "heEY SHuT thE FuK UP!" Absolutely what happens. I'm a prolific Bard player and this is the shit I always get.
Well, do you actually sing songs for every spell you cast and inspire them with words of courage every time you give them bardic inspiration ? If not, you're doing it wrong. Also: If they're still making fun of you after that, threaten them with taking the Inspiring Leader feat and actually given them an actual 10 minute speech *each time* !
@@MayHugger a voice actor and a part of the DnD group of voice actors (including for example Matt Mercer as DM, a.k.a the guy who voices McCree in Overwatch) known as Critical Role who played a gnome bard named Scanlan and was integral to defeating several bosses including the big bad guy of the campaign. This group, Critical Role, does stream their sessions and post them on youtube. Scanlan is in their first campaign. Right now is running their second campaign.
I'm currently playing a BardLock, for some reason we get grappled a lot so I've been using Tasha's hideous laughter to break the grapple followed immediately by cutting words to subtract from the THL save. My DM both loves and hates me for this.
@@BlueSun_ All bards get non bard spells at higher levels. Lore bard still seems much better than the rest though. Cutting words and those 2 extra non bard spells are amazing.
college of lore: gm: the dragon attacks you bard: cutting words nope thats gonna miss now real like come on how is that not handy making the heavy hitters from the enemy miss...
you also use it to reduce the damage on AOE spells which is insane, because with a d12 late game, if the spell hits your whole party you’re easily stopping 35+ damage with your reaction
All Dragons have at least 2 to 4 attacks per turn, making a single one of those miss is not a huge deal to be honest. And on that not and in response to Sam as well, if you are using cutting words against a caster or to try to stop as you put it 35 damage you are playing the Bard wrong. Use counterspell instead and negate all the damage instead of just some of it. All Dragons can cast spells so wasting your reaction on a single attack is a waste when you can prevent a bigger threat of a spell.
Not all dragons can cast spells in 5e, that's a pathfinder thing. And a breath attack is not a spell and is a big freaking deal, if you have a 5 member party your cutting words can stop a lot of damage
Assuming your DM will not make all Dragons be able to cast spells is a bad leg to stand on. The second your DM realizes you think a Black Dragon cannot cast spells and you waste your reaction to stop 35 damage he will have that dragon cast something like Feeble Mind on your healer and TPK the party. Never assume that a DM has to obey the Monster Manual as a player should not be looking at that book in the first place so they have every right to change things to keep players on their toes. The game you play in is the world made by the DM, if they want to make changes to the core rule books they can and are even told in the DMG to do so as they please. And unless your character researches a specific kind of Dragon your character has no idea what they can and cannot do. Assuming is the worst thing you can ever do as it can be used against you easily.
Ok, well while you're welcome to add character levels to monsters(it does state you can do that in the books), by giving them sorcerer or wizard levels for instance. This would change their CR, and an adult Black Dragon is CR 14 without them having access to spells, so I think negating damage from his breath attack could definitely be a useful tactic. And if we're talking about legs to stand on, assuming that a monster is not how it is stated to be in the monster manual seems to be a bad leg to stand on since we are talking about RAW here. Also even if you would like to add on top of a dragon's natural capabilities the ability to cast spells, it seems unlikely for every dragon to be trained in the arcane arts from a character perspective. And btw when having discussions online about the viability of a strategy it's kinda assumed you take everything as RAW, because if you start bringing homebrewed content into the mix there's no way of determining what is viable anymore. Maybe the DM made changes to the monsters from the manual as you said, but maybe the DM also made it so cutting words doesn't use a reaction and is instead a free action. So if you would like to continue this discussion let's not bring homebrewed content into this discussion. Which why are we even bickering anyway? There's likely to be times when cutting words is useful to save the party from some damage, and sometimes it could be better to save your reaction. The point I was making is, cutting words is a useful tool to have in your pocket, moreso than people realize, particularly with AOE attacks such as a dragon's breath
I kinda like preemptively using countercharm because it’s so funny sometimes. It’s like “you see a beutiful barmaid” and I’m just like “just in case...*starts whistling*”
@@BlertaPupu it does. you start countercharming beforehand, and just keep doing it (playing/singing the tune). it takes an action every time, and as long as you are not doing anything difficult, you can easily do it almost all the time when not in battle. even while talking to people (if you speak in song/rhyme or play something)
Quoting 90s pop songs and annoying everyone with my rendition of badly re-worded Ed Sheeran songs is the only reason why I want to be a bard. And you can bet that I'll deliver a badly re-worded version of Wonderwall as well. Cause maybe, that's gonna be the one that saves me.
Wonderwall isn't a good song in my opinion. Also Ed Sheeran's original versions of songs, few are good. However, certain covers of his songs are good. I unfortunately don't have a group to play with:( But I have created 12 different lvl 1 characters in case I found a group. 1 of which is a Chaotic Neutral Male Forest Gnome Outlander background Bard planning College of Lore. His chosen primary instrument is Banjo, BECAUSE IRL I GENUINELY ENJOY THAT INSTRUMENT/TYPE OF MUSIC!!!
The Bard is one class where you don't mind sacrificing your level 20 abilities for, say, two levels in Hexblade. Destructive Wave is one of the best options to take at level 10. It's parent caster, Paladin, won't get it till level 17, and a targeting area of effect that can do up to 60 damage and knock enemies prone is nothing to sniff at.
Yes! I love bard! My most recent bard was a human who did a lot of detective work but started to run low on funds and his team fell apart. He is now on his plan B of being a traveling musician as he was always musically talented. It's quite funny to go from trying to be charming to a stone, dead faced detective who is somewhat depressed but is starting to warm up to adventuring. For an unknown reason I was always the one interrogating people. Don't look over there, that's not a plus 6 to intimidation but only plus 4 in persuasion!
Yeah, I seem to have a habit of playing detectives, too. I actually made a Lawful Good Inquisitive Rogue when the original UA came out. A bored nobleman who took up the consulting detective game and made the Baldur's Gate Watch look like drooling thugs. The Warlock's also good for investigative work with all of the 'read any writing' and 'Detect Magic at will' type Invocations.
College of lore bard: *is considered one of the best classes in the game in many polls, incredibly versatile with early magical secrets (eldritch blast and fireball, oh my!) and survivability with cutting words to prove yourself a spellcasting force to be reckoned with, as well as being able to inspire YOURSELF at 14th level, the one thing many bards dream of - has virtually no downside and is basically the single reason bards can consider themselves a higher tier class* Jacob: "College of Whispers is the cool bard!" Edit: not to say that college of whispers is bad at all - the only issue is every ability aside from psychic blades are one and done abilities until resting, while the college of lore's concept is as available as a bard's inspiration and spellcasting can do (which technically at level 20 proves infinite, though only one inspiration a fight is rather garbage. I would say go for 1d4 inspirations as a capstone as a houserule, but that's just me.) Edit (x2): It's just occurred to me. Why isnt Wish on the bard's spell list? The history of the bard literally states they flourish their magic based off of Words of Power, and that "bards say the multiverse was spoken into existence", theres no reason why Wish shouldnt be on the list, it fits the bard perfectly. Sure, you can get it with magical secrets, but it still doesnt make sense.
Also consider this a College of Lore Bard can pull off 20d6 healing over 1 minute at level *6*. Yeah that's cr@p Jacob. :) Aura of Vitality two levels earlier than the Paladin whose list it comes from.
I mean; a lot of people in XP to Level 3's friend group meme on him for misunderstanding 5e. I just find it hilarious how much he believes Bards are sh@t when Lore Bard is debatably the most broken class in the game and is considered such by many veterans of 5e
Like, Lore Bards have the best initiative and counterspell in the game, period. The only things that get initiative better than a lore bard are lore bard swashbuckler rogue multiclasses. I think he also forgets that jack of all trades applies to initiative and counterspell, alongside raw ability checks like an int check, meaning the bard actually excels at resisting certain spells and attacks that use a plain ability score check instead of a saving throw (like in the underdark).
Played my first ever D&D campaign as a lore bard. It was Curse of Strahd. Without lore bard, I think we would've absolutely TPK'd in the final boss battle. This video is really funny and does provide some good points (especially about countercharm), but here's the secret tip PALADINS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT in case anyone wants to try playing any bard to make them more effective. Magical Secrets spells only have to be of a level YOU can cast. Not the level of the class it comes from. Paladin has better countercharm? Get revenge by stealing Circle of Power, the Paladin's best spell, a full SEVEN levels earlier than them! Extra value by slapping a bardic inspiration on everyone to make sure they'd make their saves, and thus take 0 damage. I turned 4 fireballs and a blight into 0 damage total in a single boss battle with this. Or if you're playing an edgy shadow bard, steal Swift Quiver from Ranger (again, a full 7 levels early!) Also works for valor/sword bard, giving you a hilarious 4 attacks every turn for up to 10 rounds at level 10. Basically just look at some of the spells the half-casters have, because as a bard you have access to them way earlier than they do, making them more powerful than they usually would.
I hate bitches who steal like the only ability your class gets though. It makes you feel useless. Bard at least gets inspiration and if you dont have, say a sorcerer or wizard(cause why the fuck would a warlock take it) then you get to be the one who stops spells from hitting the party
I never even thought of that! I always imagined using magical secrets for warlock or druid spells, but never imagined using the paladin and/or ranger spells, thank you for the idea! I'll definitely take this into account when I eventually play my bard character
@@abracadabruh5718 you know what makes this funnier Jack of All Trades (and the Lore Bard Peerless skill) applies to initiative and counterspell. Bards have the best initiative in the game
Yeah, but I have begun my bard at lv 5 and that was half a year ago, untill I'm level 10 I will have to play her at least another year. To get the good stuff at lv 10 is just mehhhh.
Bards are the characters that are rarely NEEDED, but their buffs and passives are always welcome and if they’re not in the party after you’ve played with a few, it’s noticeable.
There is the Unexpectables' Panic Grimtongue who is a bard more knowed by Stupid Sexy Panic who recently got the title of Dick kicker professional that we should not forget too.
Meanwhile, how I imagined playing Bard: "Show me your motivation!" *plays Bury The Light for the group while they slowly walk into the dungeon boss* Dungeon Boss: Why do I hear boss music?
Even if bards don't sound that impressive on paper, they can be the most fun to roleplay from my experience. Also, I would add Faerie Fire to the list of go-to bard spells. My glamour bard has been using that spell in pretty much every combat encounter since level 1 and he's level 9 or something now. It's awesome.
I find Bards' true power is less to do with combat, but story. With the high charisma and expertise you can be the diplomat, negotiator, used car salesman of the group that can ensure the barbarian's and/or rogue's antics dont get the party screwed when the fighting is done
"Who wants to play as Little Finger..." Everyone. One that character is super popular, and two Lore Bards are hilariously OP. Sure some class abilities are bad, but their casting and skills are insane. They are better then Rogues, Rangers, at their jobs, and on par with most Fighters in Melee. The only casters they aren't strictly better then are Wizards, Clerics and Druids. even then they are just as powerful.
Isn't Littlefinger more of a college of whispers bard? I don't know who would be College of Lore. If only there was a charisma based character whose defining characteristics is that he drinks and knows things... Unfortunately I'm coming up SHORT.
I have two of those in my group. Who feels useless? My poor bard traveling with a paladin with Bane, a cleric with healing word and a Wizard with farie fire.
I just wanna add something to the short description of the College of Glamour since I love it. Bards of Glamour at some point literally get so sexy, that the enemies have to make save roles if they want to attack them, since they have to mentally bring themselves to be able to attack such beauty. You are literally so sexy that people don't want to attack you, even if you just killed their buddies.
Wow... I am so grateful that my DND party is so... compatible? Uplifting? accepting? encouraging? I don't know, we just work as a team and don't shoot each other down or write each other off. Like, I know what you guys are doing is a hyperbolic act, but it just made me really appreciate how awesome my party is.
How to play bard. Go Lore Bard. Always. Take Ranger or Paladin spells. Cuz those are fucking busted when a full caster has them. Aura of Vitality and Lightning Arrow, at level 6? Now you're literally broken.
I don’t see why people don’t think college of lore isn’t the best, you can choose several spells from literally every spell in the game, literally every build is possible
Currently playing a lore bard in one of my games, I took spirit guardians (cleric spell) and healing spirit (druid spell) because I'm making a fey themed bard (Yes I know glamor is fey bard but they weren't out when we started at level 1) Spirit guardians is broken, just run by some enemies and they take 3d8 or half on a save, then use dissonant whispers make for 3d6 or half, if they fail you also get attack of opportunity, stacking more damage on that. And when the battle is over have the party heal 10d6 each (provided you have 6 or less members) with a 2nd level spell.
I though Xanathars came with the new spell list and Glamor bard? And yeah, there's a reason all the DM's I know banned Healing Spirit. It's fucking broken. Instead of healing an area we changed it to only stick to one ally to heal him, and you can switch who it heals as a bonus action.
ChrisAlpha Xanthar's did come out with the Glamour bard but Xanthar's wasn't out when I chose my subclass. It was out by the time I hit 6th so I was able to get healing spirit. And healing spirit is broken I'll admit but only out of battle. In battle your lucky to hold it three rounds and even then the party is so far away from eachother that you can't get more than one or two people to heal per turn, unless they want to run through your healing like a sprinkler system every turn. It also only heals a 5×5 area so it's still just one person at a time unless you use your bonus action to move it over someone or they run through the area.
how to play a bard, DM: roll for initiative. Fighter: I swing my sword Wizard: I cast firebolt Ranger: i fire my bow Bard: I roll to seduce. DM: you're in combat.... Bard: so? DM: It's a dragon..... Bard:and? DM:....*sigh*.... roll for persuasion Bard: Nat 20.
Bard is my favorit class, and I think one of the best. They suck at combat true, but for people like me, who enjoy social and RP parts more than combat, than it is fantastic and powerful (for that purpose)
1:27 "An you have a giant PENI *backstabbed.*" This is why i love you gents. this is quality. It is not truly D&D untill someone crit/ crit fails, something dramatic happens, or you GLOAT TO THE HIGH HEAVENS . . . before you get get one hit koed.... Also 10:42 NO!!! DO NOT DARE TO CREATE SUCH A HORRIFYING CREATURE!!!
Go, child. Seek out the ancient tome of first edition. Read what it takes to become a bard. Read what a bard is. Tremble in fear at the most powerful class in the entire game. Bards were so rare, so impossible to become, but if you managed...if you could do it....There was nothing you could not do.
IMO Pathfinder Bards are pretty great too. Especially since there's an Archetype that lets you wear heavy armor and spellcast with Wisdom (if you so want), letting you be THE MUSICAL PALADIN
bardic inspiration is amazing, at higher levels it's +6.5 to something. As a bonus action. without concentration. Granted if everyone succeeds in everything it doesn't matter, but that's not likely. Also valor bards make the best arcane archers in the game, access to swift quiver at level 10 is game changing.
Ambrósio Giovanni this gets better, if the arrow is entirely mechanical then swift quiver recreates it. Which means you can get 40 explosive arrows for the price of one. This is literally just a gunship.
I was playing Bard for the first time and we got a guy down to 1 HP. Everyone held their action for me, so I could finish off the poor soul with viscous mockery. I was so happy and fulfilled.
If what I remember from Critical Role, Scanlan's Bardic Inspiration was used an awful lot and was a life saver more than once. (And note: CR is not my only frame of reference but no one's played Bard in the games I've played.)
I'm making a Bard character based on my great-great-grandpa who played the clarinet in a band called Jack and His Five Jennies. This was really helpful!
You could have fooled me for it being his favorite class. He gives zero tips on how to play the class correctly and shits all over it. Considering Bard is the best class in the game I would hate to hear him explain any other classes.
Danat Zeppeli I once made a comment about a football game stating that "I hope a meteor crashes into the stadium and kills both teams." Just because I said that does not mean that I fully actually desire that to occur or even actually feel that way for real. But never once in that statement did I say that both teams are garbage and that no one should play or cheer for them, I simply stated my disdain for both teams. This entire video to a new player who does not know any better would feel like this is the weakest class in the game and that they are a fool to even play it but in reality Bard is the strongest class in 5E.
I would homebrew it so its a reaction instead akin to counterspell where the bard can render the charm or fright ineffective with a DC 10 plus level of the spell
Let's be fair, bard players are for the role players who draw most of there enjoyment from the story campaign and like to pretend there actually charismatic and cool.
Joel Writer or people who just like to fuck up other players' efforts with a badly timed spell. Basically a griefer. I have a friend who does exactly that but in such a hilarious way that we don't mind it.
College of Lore has Additional Magic Secrets at level 6. This meant my party was a bit surprised when my little bard flung a fireball the first time. Of course, up until then, with Healing Word she was pretty much the party's combat medic.
You're doing it all wrong. A bard isn't about what they do in battle or even what advantages they give passively. When you roleplay instead of roll play, that is when the bard gets fun. The thing you have to remember about any bard is that, they tell stories. Not their own stories. The story is not about you. You are not your main character. You're there controlling other people and pushing the right buttons. Another thing about bards, they won't be fun if you don't establish personality. My bard is chaotic neutral and lets it show. Quick story. (oh, and this is in pathfinder, but they are so similar that I think the point still stands) We had picked up a cursed ring along the way and I had pocketed it. I'd been waiting for a chance to use it with beguiling gift, but that never happened. We are walking along a bridge that is just outside a city and we come across a couple trolls trying to get a toll from us, acting like they were guards. Obviously they weren't so I take a bluff check and convince them that I'M a guard. They get nervous and let us pass. As we pass, I pull out the cursed ring and toss it to one of them and say "Much obliged". As we walk we hear them fighting over this ring, one of them putting it on (thus causing him to take double damage) and being beaten to death by the other two. I chuckle to myself and our cleric gives me a dirty, judgmental look. That is a bard. It's not about YOU, it's about the world around you. If you have a crazy idea, USE IT!!! You're knowledge about EVERYTHING should mean you have the know-how to use that weird plant sitting in the corner. Check if you recognize it. DO ANYTHING. That's what you do. It is the class of freedom not because you CAN do a lot, but because to shine, you HAVE to do a lot. I think bards should, by nature, chaotic. Not saying you have to, but that just FEELS right.
Roleplay, storytelling and personality're to bepresent in every character in a Role Playing Game. A class system, on the other hand, is inherently mechanically oriented.
Thanks for the advice :) I just started playing d&d not too long ago and i didnt really get how to play the role of bard. I was debating whether or not to change my class, but i'm way too attached to bard now😂
I love my Bard simply because of who he is and how he reacts to situations. One of his gimmicks started as a joke and is now a thing in the campaign, just because that's how I play my character. Granted though, I play my Bard as an actor, not a musician. Is there something resembling a stage? He'll kill everything in his path in order to be on it. Are there two carrots laying on a table? Now they're ears and, thanks to how high his deception and charisma is, everyone at the tavern now believes the Dwarven Bard vanished and became an elf. My Bard may or may not have an entire Orc horde at his disposal thanks to his skills.
I once used my bardic inspiration after a lich threw up a shield so I could break through and smite for the win and it was the coolest moment because we got the goddamn friendship speech ftw.
Thank you. This video, when I first watched it, encouraged me to play a bard. I thought "Yea, everyone hates it, it won't be any good" Up to today, the bard is without doubt my favorite class. Thank you
Honestly? I’ve had a bard in 4 out of 5 games I’ve been a part of, and they’ve been absolutely great. Extremely versatile, pack a lot of magic. I honestly love bards. I understand they’re not the “best class,” but if people are having fun, then what’s the big deal?
To be fair, Bard is Jacob's favorite class, as he said in a previous video (What Class to Play). In this video I guess he decided to rant more about the things he doesn't like on the design of the class from the base game.
I'm just here watching up to the first minute, remembering my DMs best friend who plays bard, and how she just obliterated everything in her path with Thunderwave and other such spells. Yeah, you feeling useless as bard is a sign you ain't playing him exactly right.
How I handle counter charm is I let the bard start the counter charm before use it as a bonus to continue the counter and add your charisma mod to their save
I feel like countercharm is more of a roleplaying ability, for example: *Party member is gambling in an inn or tavern. *Bard plays a countercharm song for ambiance and so other players can't use charms to cheat, or whatever. Know what I mean? I don't play D&D, but that's what makes the most sense to me.
cobalt2033 Well, countercharm was actually created for a long-term use, which means that it must be used while in a mass battle, when there are lots of bards and each one of them sticks to his group, giving them advantage against being frightened or charmed and some bardic inspiration when needed.
Would be an amazing idea if not for the fact that pretty much the only people in the inn or tavern with the ability to cast charm spells are your own party ^^ And you cant cast spells without being suspiciously mumbling and making gestures. But that is exactly the kind of creativity that will make you an amazing player and I love the idea of it. Could work too depending on the setting
A good fix to Countercharm would be to give the player the option as an action OR a reaction. If you cast it as a reaction you can immediately give characters advantage on frightened or charmed saving throws, maybe a number of times equal to your charisma modifier plus your level. Alternatively, if you cast it as an action you can give a number of characters equal to your charisma mod plus your level that you can see within range (like 60 feet cuz 30 feet sucks) automatic advantage on charmed and frightened saving throws as long as you keep it up. While this is still situational, it’s extremely useful against certain enemies, plays into the bard’s role as a support class, and it isn’t your ONLY option. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, good night! 😀
"We were making fun of this goblin and then all of sudden it died. It was the weirdest thing ever."
Change goblin into zombie and that summarizes my first scenario as a bard ;-)
@verlie King i mean... the dm was probably right to do so.
@@kenvanroy8302 Fallen Aasimar bard NECROMANCER! So much fun courtesy of additional magical secrets getting raise undead!
@@kenvanroy8302 change the zombie to orc and that's my first experience with bard
Make the bard a goblin and it's subclass Dirgesinger and all of a sudden it can convert bardic inspiration into damage and eventually be able to use countercharm as a bonus action.
It also can eventually use countercharm on an ally who is charmed or frightened to roll a second time to resist the effect.
It's a fantastic subclass to play. It's racially restricted to goblins though.
I bring my ukulele to every game and just play background music from spongebob while we travel. Our dm thinks it's hilarious most of the time but she has tried to get an npc to break my lyre on more than 1 occasion.
Can you count how many time your DM has intrupted you when playing the Spongebob background music
Lolol
Which song lol
fuck ukeleles
@@tea-sus8722 that background music that pays at the end of the show
Fighter: Yo, I can kill a guy in 1 round
Cleric: HA, I can kill a guy in 1 standard action
Wizard: HA, I can kill a guy before my round
Bard: I can get 3 idiots to kill a guy for me ...
So true!
Artificer I can kill a tarrasque in one action
I'm a lvl 5 water genesai barbarian that kills hydras almost single handedly with super heavy ice balls.
@@icepheonix142 Sorry to play the nerd among nerds, but you can't actually kill a Tarasque with Acid. You can certainly incapacitate it and do enough damage where you it won't be able to do anything for awhile, but it will eventually regenerate. The only acid that can permanently kill a Tarasque is the stomachs digestive cycle of another Tarasque. That's why there's only one left in the main setting. Please correct me if I'm wrong though, this is just what I remember from videos I've seen on the monsters.
Mal Masterson true but the damage is enough so as to temporarily kill it even if it will regenerate but at that point you will have acid prepared or use another first level spell to incapacitate it again
When I say "I'll give a bardic inspiration to..." everyone start to fight to gain the inspiration
I love my teammates
Nice, I’ve literally popped bags of popcorn on more than one occasion watching my Teammates maul each other over my D8
I recently gave bardic inspiration to our paladin that went to talk to a thic thighed changeling as our party was getting attacked. That was fun
I just give it to the Barbarian because he has this one attack where it would normally be high risk high reward and now it's little risk, no-reward. But honestly, Bards in combat are boring and you feel more like a burden than anything else.
I play a Kenku bard who does remixes of other people's songs.
Nice
*Brawk* I actually did that in a previous one-shot where I played a Kenku Bard named Boom-Pow. In essence I made him akin to a Chuck Jones character. Had a lot of laughs from both myself and the group. *whistles*
Cast Sound Cloud
that's creative as fuck
He's a One Bird Cover Band.
Does he sing Paul McCartney's Blackbird?
countercharm should be a reaction, like counterspell.
well yeah but that'd make sense
Thats what I was thinking! Like how do you know if the enemy is going to try and charm you
Itd still suck
@@mikeockhurts904 But it would at least have SOME application. Nobody can know exactly when a nearby party member is about to be charmed. If it were a reaction, you wouldn't have to sacrifice your action every round for an entire fight, going "This round. No this one. The monster's totally gonna try to charm this round. Okay 100% sure it's gonna be this round. Okay I know for sure..."
@@VimyGlide LMAO XD
Dude, Bards are clutch in a team. Our bard learned "Summon Creatures" and has packs of wolves roam the field to give everyone advantage while handing out inspiration like candy. Nobody is gunna miss an attack tonight.
Last session our bard asked how many cows he could invoke. The DM made the calculation based on the level at which he intended to cast ond the challenge level of a cow, the result was 256. The only reason why we hadn't 256 cows charging towards the ennemies was because the spell description said they had to pop within 60 feet radius from the bard, and having them all piled up on eachother would have presented some logistics issue.
We still had 50 cows charging the ennemy and that was just as efficient a distraction, though.
This. Invisible giant dwarves? Hehehehe faerie fire says fuck you
Conjure animals is such a good spell
@@asilnorahc8910 huh what its 32 with 9th level spell
@@ss3nm0dn4r8 i dunno, man, they did their mathing. If it doesn't actually math, then oops, but i won't complain it was a really cool moment.
‘toot toot goes my flute and now you’re taking thunder damage’ was my entire thought process when i chose to be a bard for my first campaign lol
College of swords be like:
*Strikes orc with a sword*
Orc: Ow, that hurt a bit.
*Strikes orc with a sword but screams harmoniously at the same time*
Orc: INFINITE PAIN
isn't a college of swords bard supposed to inspire and perform by doing tricks with his weapons instead of any musical bits.
And that's why when I got Magical Secrets with my Swords Bard (who did sword tricks and infernal screamo) I took Flame Blade
D.M. N. That, or witty quips a la pirates of the Caribbean or princess bride
i play a dancing college of swords bard, he doesn't sing so my dm let me replace spells that effect via sound with effects via sight instead. His philosophy is simple. all of his friends dance and if they don't dance then their no friends of his. true neutral alignment c: he is super fun
You basically made an anime charecter that screams their skill while bashing their enemies.
Bard, the only class that can kill their enemys by literally doing nothing but yelling abuse at them from a distance.
You would aspect a magic musical class to be able to use sound shockwaves to attack but whatever
@@Ashelybee thunderwave,thunderclap and many other thunder spells can do that.
I love this comment
Fighter: "So what can you do?"
Bard: "It'll be much faster to tell you the things I CAN'T do, honestly."
Fighter: "What can you do well?"
Bard:
"I can sure as hell convince you that I'm good at something"
that's kinda the point of the bard, jack of all trades, but master of none
My sweet lil centaur bard: I can SING!!
And ocaisionally kick if shes spooked
"Whatever the hell I want. I get expertise, remember?"
@@danielribeiro1433 Except they get expertise, so they're literally jack of all trades and also master of four of them.
I kind of get the feeling that bards are a class made for the players that really wanna roleplay. The role practically demands it.
I am playing a Bard ATM purely because I hear people play them horribly and I want to redeem them a bit.
The only way to start a video about bards and you nailed it.
Connor Rainey False. He never said "So you wanna play bard".
No. He SANG "So you wanna play bard".
lord buss realised that later on. (But technically he said "so you're gonna play bard". Any other "How to play" video he has said "so you wanna play ****")
I'd like this, but it has 777 likes.
I may be deliriously sleep deprived but that opening song had me in tears I was laughing so much.
work it took to make this video -
Whriting: 2%
Research: 2%
Filming: 30%
That bomb-ass song in the opening: 67%
No wonder it took so long
Ehm not 69% ?
*why*
bc i have a intel score of 7.
But that is like 101%?
“This 9 hits”
“Yeah this 13 heals me”
How do you guys roll so well? I at least one Nat1 per encounter. My party rolls god awfully and having that 1d6 added to your roll often literally saves one of my party from dying or getting close to it.
his exaggerating to make the bard seem worse than it is
Everyone in my party rolls pretty badly...except for that one player that basically either gets a 1 or a 20, with very little in between. It's great during combat, but really annoying outside of it as he's the type to steal from the party and overall be insane.
Might need a change of dice there Hun ;))
My mom's cursed, maybe I should suggest that she play bard... actually, scratch that, with how she played a gnome, let's not give her something else to annoy people with. God damn that high pitched squealing that was her gnome speaking.
Also bardic inspiration is supposed to be added before you find out if you rolled high enough.
"Jack of all trades, master of none"
*Laughs in Expertise*
fr why was expertise not mentioned, it's so powerful! As a level 3 college of creation bard, mine has +7 to both arcana and persuasion, and later on they're going to have expertise in deception and acrobatics as well (acrobatics because I like to create my characters to make up for general weaknesses in their class, hence making my bard very proficient in short-ranged combat despite their subclass having nothing to do with swords. sorry, overexplaing. i'll stop now). Plus, once they reach 20th level their expertise in those skills will make it a +15!
But better than a master of one
People underestimate how much power the bard has.
bardic inspiration and counter-spell can be such a clutch play if used correctly and will end up saving the entire party life.
Countercharm can be used correctly like a non idiot as well and help the group a ton. Against Dragons and such that is, if you find a sleeping dragon have everyone attack and in the surprise round you begin singing or playing countercharm as a reaction to their attacks. The dragon will beat you in initiative most likely and almost all DMS only use 2 abilities for the first 2 rounds of combat. Breath Weapon and Frightening Presence. If he uses BW for first round you simply keep singing move to be close to the healer and as many people as you can without balling up too much and give the healer inspiration. On the Dragons second round he will pop his FP which is once per combat and not be able to use it again. You more than likely just saved your healer from being frightened at the expense of a single round of combat and probably prevented a party wipe. Bards used to blow hard but in 5E they are the best class in the game.
Well fancy meeting you here. I've heard you spoken about by the other Pony reviewers.
"Clutch play" there's the problem
Scanlan
Shorthalt
Lvl 20 Druid: I can wildshape into any creature or an elemental infinity times and have infinite HP!
Lvl 20 Bard: Need a fresh d12 to that ability check? I got one for the whole encounter...
Jonathan Stares you can’t compare any other level 20 to level 20 Druid. Level 20 Druid is the most busted class in the game.
Thats why i dont allow Druids in my games... They simply cant die!
You don't allow Druids in the game due to the capstone ability? Just disallow the last level and force a multiclass (monk, for example) if it really worries you.
Also, Barbarians also have health points that are almost impossible to deplete which is is why that's not how you defeat a Barbarian. Same goes for druids. It's 20th level. It's kinda meant to be broken... unless you're a bard, apparently.
oO PPH Oo Well, only moon druids. others are okay, I guess...
MaskWarlord, My point remains... Why disallow something entirely when it's not a problem until the rarely reached 20th level and even then it's a manageable problem?
*"Toot Toot my flute and know you're taking thunder damage."*
By, "flute" what were you referring to? Because you might get an entirely different outcome without specifying what flute you're tooting.
I feel like the reason bards sometimes feel underpowered in combat is because they are meant to be extremely powerful outside of combat. They are the ultimate roleplaying class who can do a decent amount of support in fights, but their strengths shine when they can take over for their big dumb stabby choppy friends and easily persuade the evil king to give their party supplies, or straight up end a war.
Yeah, that's true, but at least in the campaign where I'm playing rp doesn't take up a whole lot of time while battling takes very much time. And during that time bards are boring and as a player literally uninspiring, repetitive and not very rewarding and I can't help but think, that I'd reather play a Paladin, Cleric or Druid, which in many regards are actually much better supports and actually get the spells and abilities a good support character should get.
Like why tf do clerics not get Bless? Because of the name? C'mon, bards have to flavour all the spells that aren't meant for them actually anyways.😬 I love bards but for how unique their vibe is they get almost no unique stuff and what they get is mid to bad.
Imagine if you have a villain that is a Bard and a Lich. Said Lich is a Vocalist for a Death Metal band. The objective of said Lich is to sing eternally, and hope that he can always have audiences... hence he kidnapped a city of villages, killed them and reanimate them as undeads, so that they can always rock with him. HMMM.
I’ve been thinking of doing something similar it’d be a lot of fun
Power Word Kill
I AM THE LIGHTBRINGER
...you mean crypt of the necrodancer?
this comment right here needs more likes. ^^^^
So my brother did the bard right. The compain was set in a mostly war filled world so relatively large battle fields were to be expected. Sure my bro played the lute, but he also knew how to play the organ...
The city is charged, the battle fierce as redcloaks fill the street. Soldiers rush from their quarters as screams fill the air. Your party fights on the front line, but the bard leaves, running off to god knows where. In truth, he ran to the church. Cracking his knuckles once, he slammed his fingers down and started to play the organ, the sound echoing trough the streets as he boosts every ally. Every soldier, every civilian, everyone feels it, a rush of power and hope. Those of the enemy who caught on pale as they realize what they are up against.
(Before you explain to me why this wouldn't work, the dm permitted it, that's all you need.)
That is really great !
I got goosebumbs
So, basically The Doctor in the Lazarus Experiment
That is fucking awesome, totally playing a bard next time I play D and D
The rule of Cool. When someone chooses to do something that's outside the box or even in direct contradiction to the rules, consider how this would impact, the combat, mission, story and their character and other characters both PC's and NPC's in short term and long term sense. I don't think the DM would allow it all the time but for that one instance it was a really fucking cool thing to do or at least attempt to do so that's probably why it was allowed.
If I were to permit something like this I'd require 1 performance check and 1 instrument proficiency check (if 1 beats dc 10 he can inspire everyone he chooses within ear shot, if both beat dc 10 then everyone also can instantly benefit from song of rest and spend 1 but only 1 hit die for healing, dc might chance based on PC level), afterword when the battle was won, both the bard and anyone who benefited from the inspiration felt really drained (they suffer 1 level of exhaustion) from the experience as the bard magic isn't really supposed to work like that and was spread thin causing a negative lingering effects.
Homebrew rule: if the bard actually role played an inspirational speech that had some soul, swap the 1d6 for 2d4
Doesn’t seem like much but adding 2-8 is better than 1-6
well, in critical role they did bardic inspiration for 1d10 most of the time because Sam Riegel always came up with a ridiculous pun on some 80s song.
@@TheoEvian IIRC Bardic inspiration die gets better as you level
@@TheoEvian Yeah that's becaude they reached the level were it becomes d8s and d10s
Yeah, bardic inspiration eventually becomes 1d12
He just never mentioned it
1d12 is phenomenal
It is also why lore bards who get to add half proficiency and bardic inspiration to their own skill checks are the best initiatives and counterspellers in the game (as initiative and counterspell are skill checks)
Bardic inspiration is not 1d6 forever and if you think it is read their level table
3:15
Me, A Barbarian: **sweating profusely**
Ok, so I know 5:18 was meant to be a joke, but I have actually killed an enemy as a bard using Dissonant Whispers while saying "you're garbo."
It's even more fun when you kill someone with Viscous Mockery. d4 Insults.
I used a ur mom gay with vicious mockery once and my opponent died
I told a goblin his only success was managing to fail at everything.
Dead.
I told a guard I knew about the nasty things he did with his cat, for which he should be ashamed. Dude killed himself
xselinisx Done it twice
bards
great utility: jack of all trades, expertise, and a high charisma make them perfect in any urban enviroment
great support: healing spells, debuffing enemies, inspiration dice to boost allies
great magic: access to all spells with magical secrets
the bard is a character which fits into any party.
truly, when reflavored correctly, the bard and the rogue are the best classes to fit into ANY campaign.
a rogue can be crap at stealth, but such a good liar, he gets close nonetheless; or he could simply be a combat pragmatic soldier.
a bard can be any kind of performer, ranging from stand-up comedy to a storyteller.
beyond doubt the easiest and most diverse classes for narrative.
This is actually really helpful and what attracts me to the bard class, anyway. Well, beyond an excuse to sing all the time or toot a recorder and tell all the bad jokes I want and cause some serious shenanigans with my charisma points
alec christiaen I
@@alecchristiaen4856 yeah my rogue isnt really a fighter but they have INSANE charisma and can talk out of basically any situation
Mystic destroy's bard
"I'm playing a Wizard so I have a high Spellcasting Modifier!"
"Yo, that's cool."
"Hey! And I'm playing a bard!"
"...Why?"
"wELl I'm IN cOllEgE of WhiSPErS!"
"You're just a worse Rogue."
*silence*
"heEY SHuT thE FuK UP!"
Absolutely what happens. I'm a prolific Bard player and this is the shit I always get.
Well, do you actually sing songs for every spell you cast and inspire them with words of courage every time you give them bardic inspiration ? If not, you're doing it wrong. Also: If they're still making fun of you after that, threaten them with taking the Inspiring Leader feat and actually given them an actual 10 minute speech *each time* !
"If you can't understand this, then you must be illiterate" SUDDENLY AN AD FOR GRAMMARLY
I don't think anyone will make fun of Bards because of Sam Riegal.
@tmWasted *uses vicious mockery* That's your opinion.
@@johnjustjohn5866 Add 1d6 to your roll, I am inspiring this roast.
Sam Riegal? Who's that?
@@MayHugger a voice actor and a part of the DnD group of voice actors (including for example Matt Mercer as DM, a.k.a the guy who voices McCree in Overwatch) known as Critical Role who played a gnome bard named Scanlan and was integral to defeating several bosses including the big bad guy of the campaign.
This group, Critical Role, does stream their sessions and post them on youtube. Scanlan is in their first campaign. Right now is running their second campaign.
@@HateshWarkio Ah ok. Thank you.
I often visit this video just to listen to the intro.
And then I end up watching the whole thing again.
Yeah
yup
“Bards are support classes”
My friend’s bard with thunderwave, dissonant whispers, and chilling touch: Sure ok
This is at low levels, later on in tier two the bard lacks good attack spells, but makes up for it with things like hypnotic pattern
I'm currently playing a BardLock, for some reason we get grappled a lot so I've been using Tasha's hideous laughter to break the grapple followed immediately by cutting words to subtract from the THL save. My DM both loves and hates me for this.
Countercharm: Give your allies a chance to do what the Paladin automatically lets them do for free.
It depends on type of Paladin. An Oath of Conquest or Oathbreaker Paladin, they are not likely to have/use that Aura!
Watch Critical Role.
Take notes.
Become integral to the final boss fight.
You forgot step 1: pick Lore Bard
Most of Scanlan's epic moments are with non-Bardic spells.
joaov2 this... this is true. This is sadly true
And you can counterspell with most other arcane casters, if we're being fair...
The best part about the bard is the RP (if you do it right) I'd wager
@@pedroscoponi4905 i mean if that's the argument then really you can make any spell class irrelevant because of counter spell
@@BlueSun_ All bards get non bard spells at higher levels. Lore bard still seems much better than the rest though. Cutting words and those 2 extra non bard spells are amazing.
college of lore:
gm: the dragon attacks you
bard: cutting words nope thats gonna miss now
real like come on how is that not handy making the heavy hitters from the enemy miss...
you also use it to reduce the damage on AOE spells which is insane, because with a d12 late game, if the spell hits your whole party you’re easily stopping 35+ damage with your reaction
All Dragons have at least 2 to 4 attacks per turn, making a single one of those miss is not a huge deal to be honest. And on that not and in response to Sam as well, if you are using cutting words against a caster or to try to stop as you put it 35 damage you are playing the Bard wrong. Use counterspell instead and negate all the damage instead of just some of it. All Dragons can cast spells so wasting your reaction on a single attack is a waste when you can prevent a bigger threat of a spell.
Not all dragons can cast spells in 5e, that's a pathfinder thing. And a breath attack is not a spell and is a big freaking deal, if you have a 5 member party your cutting words can stop a lot of damage
Assuming your DM will not make all Dragons be able to cast spells is a bad leg to stand on. The second your DM realizes you think a Black Dragon cannot cast spells and you waste your reaction to stop 35 damage he will have that dragon cast something like Feeble Mind on your healer and TPK the party. Never assume that a DM has to obey the Monster Manual as a player should not be looking at that book in the first place so they have every right to change things to keep players on their toes. The game you play in is the world made by the DM, if they want to make changes to the core rule books they can and are even told in the DMG to do so as they please. And unless your character researches a specific kind of Dragon your character has no idea what they can and cannot do. Assuming is the worst thing you can ever do as it can be used against you easily.
Ok, well while you're welcome to add character levels to monsters(it does state you can do that in the books), by giving them sorcerer or wizard levels for instance. This would change their CR, and an adult Black Dragon is CR 14 without them having access to spells, so I think negating damage from his breath attack could definitely be a useful tactic. And if we're talking about legs to stand on, assuming that a monster is not how it is stated to be in the monster manual seems to be a bad leg to stand on since we are talking about RAW here. Also even if you would like to add on top of a dragon's natural capabilities the ability to cast spells, it seems unlikely for every dragon to be trained in the arcane arts from a character perspective. And btw when having discussions online about the viability of a strategy it's kinda assumed you take everything as RAW, because if you start bringing homebrewed content into the mix there's no way of determining what is viable anymore. Maybe the DM made changes to the monsters from the manual as you said, but maybe the DM also made it so cutting words doesn't use a reaction and is instead a free action. So if you would like to continue this discussion let's not bring homebrewed content into this discussion. Which why are we even bickering anyway? There's likely to be times when cutting words is useful to save the party from some damage, and sometimes it could be better to save your reaction. The point I was making is, cutting words is a useful tool to have in your pocket, moreso than people realize, particularly with AOE attacks such as a dragon's breath
I kinda like preemptively using countercharm because it’s so funny sometimes.
It’s like “you see a beutiful barmaid” and I’m just like “just in case...*starts whistling*”
yep, the right way to use countercharm! it's a "before the battle" ability
@@easternwesternerto bad it doesn't work like that mechanically
@@BlertaPupu it does. you start countercharming beforehand, and just keep doing it (playing/singing the tune). it takes an action every time, and as long as you are not doing anything difficult, you can easily do it almost all the time when not in battle. even while talking to people (if you speak in song/rhyme or play something)
@@easternwesterner yeah but maybe I want to do something better with my fricking action??
@@BlertaPupu lol, go for it 😄 noone is going to stop you there
Cause maybeeee
You're gonna be the one who saves meeeee
Cause after alllllllll
I failed my dex saaaave
*Witcher 3 Music plays during fight*
Sounds exactly how my DnD sessions go
“You’re just a worst rogue.”
Funny thing is with the spells they have they actually can steal things much more efficiently if you have a shred of creativity.
*"HEY SHUT THE FUCK UP"*
rogues are a worse bard tbh
When the party needs inspiration: "Anyways here's wonderwall"
Quoting 90s pop songs and annoying everyone with my rendition of badly re-worded Ed Sheeran songs is the only reason why I want to be a bard. And you can bet that I'll deliver a badly re-worded version of Wonderwall as well. Cause maybe, that's gonna be the one that saves me.
Wonderwall isn't a good song in my opinion. Also Ed Sheeran's original versions of songs, few are good. However, certain covers of his songs are good.
I unfortunately don't have a group to play with:(
But I have created 12 different lvl 1 characters in case I found a group.
1 of which is a Chaotic Neutral Male Forest Gnome Outlander background Bard planning College of Lore. His chosen primary instrument is Banjo, BECAUSE IRL I GENUINELY ENJOY THAT INSTRUMENT/TYPE OF MUSIC!!!
The Bard is one class where you don't mind sacrificing your level 20 abilities for, say, two levels in Hexblade.
Destructive Wave is one of the best options to take at level 10. It's parent caster, Paladin, won't get it till level 17, and a targeting area of effect that can do up to 60 damage and knock enemies prone is nothing to sniff at.
Yes! I love bard!
My most recent bard was a human who did a lot of detective work but started to run low on funds and his team fell apart. He is now on his plan B of being a traveling musician as he was always musically talented. It's quite funny to go from trying to be charming to a stone, dead faced detective who is somewhat depressed but is starting to warm up to adventuring.
For an unknown reason I was always the one interrogating people. Don't look over there, that's not a plus 6 to intimidation but only plus 4 in persuasion!
Yeah, I seem to have a habit of playing detectives, too. I actually made a Lawful Good Inquisitive Rogue when the original UA came out. A bored nobleman who took up the consulting detective game and made the Baldur's Gate Watch look like drooling thugs. The Warlock's also good for investigative work with all of the 'read any writing' and 'Detect Magic at will' type Invocations.
College of lore bard: *is considered one of the best classes in the game in many polls, incredibly versatile with early magical secrets (eldritch blast and fireball, oh my!) and survivability with cutting words to prove yourself a spellcasting force to be reckoned with, as well as being able to inspire YOURSELF at 14th level, the one thing many bards dream of - has virtually no downside and is basically the single reason bards can consider themselves a higher tier class*
Jacob: "College of Whispers is the cool bard!"
Edit: not to say that college of whispers is bad at all - the only issue is every ability aside from psychic blades are one and done abilities until resting, while the college of lore's concept is as available as a bard's inspiration and spellcasting can do (which technically at level 20 proves infinite, though only one inspiration a fight is rather garbage. I would say go for 1d4 inspirations as a capstone as a houserule, but that's just me.)
Edit (x2): It's just occurred to me. Why isnt Wish on the bard's spell list? The history of the bard literally states they flourish their magic based off of Words of Power, and that "bards say the multiverse was spoken into existence", theres no reason why Wish shouldnt be on the list, it fits the bard perfectly. Sure, you can get it with magical secrets, but it still doesnt make sense.
Also consider this a College of Lore Bard can pull off 20d6 healing over 1 minute at level *6*. Yeah that's cr@p Jacob. :) Aura of Vitality two levels earlier than the Paladin whose list it comes from.
I mean; a lot of people in XP to Level 3's friend group meme on him for misunderstanding 5e.
I just find it hilarious how much he believes Bards are sh@t when Lore Bard is debatably the most broken class in the game and is considered such by many veterans of 5e
Like, Lore Bards have the best initiative and counterspell in the game, period. The only things that get initiative better than a lore bard are lore bard swashbuckler rogue multiclasses.
I think he also forgets that jack of all trades applies to initiative and counterspell, alongside raw ability checks like an int check, meaning the bard actually excels at resisting certain spells and attacks that use a plain ability score check instead of a saving throw (like in the underdark).
@@shadedergu9921 I've just started playing a lore bard in a campaign alongside a twilight cleric and it's the most fun ever.
Played my first ever D&D campaign as a lore bard. It was Curse of Strahd. Without lore bard, I think we would've absolutely TPK'd in the final boss battle. This video is really funny and does provide some good points (especially about countercharm), but here's the secret tip PALADINS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT in case anyone wants to try playing any bard to make them more effective.
Magical Secrets spells only have to be of a level YOU can cast. Not the level of the class it comes from.
Paladin has better countercharm? Get revenge by stealing Circle of Power, the Paladin's best spell, a full SEVEN levels earlier than them! Extra value by slapping a bardic inspiration on everyone to make sure they'd make their saves, and thus take 0 damage. I turned 4 fireballs and a blight into 0 damage total in a single boss battle with this.
Or if you're playing an edgy shadow bard, steal Swift Quiver from Ranger (again, a full 7 levels early!) Also works for valor/sword bard, giving you a hilarious 4 attacks every turn for up to 10 rounds at level 10.
Basically just look at some of the spells the half-casters have, because as a bard you have access to them way earlier than they do, making them more powerful than they usually would.
I hate bitches who steal like the only ability your class gets though. It makes you feel useless. Bard at least gets inspiration and if you dont have, say a sorcerer or wizard(cause why the fuck would a warlock take it) then you get to be the one who stops spells from hitting the party
I never even thought of that!
I always imagined using magical secrets for warlock or druid spells, but never imagined using the paladin and/or ranger spells, thank you for the idea! I'll definitely take this into account when I eventually play my bard character
@@abracadabruh5718 you know what makes this funnier
Jack of All Trades (and the Lore Bard Peerless skill) applies to initiative and counterspell.
Bards have the best initiative in the game
Yeah, but I have begun my bard at lv 5 and that was half a year ago, untill I'm level 10 I will have to play her at least another year. To get the good stuff at lv 10 is just mehhhh.
Bards are the characters that are rarely NEEDED, but their buffs and passives are always welcome and if they’re not in the party after you’ve played with a few, it’s noticeable.
The Meat Man cometh...
ah, i see that you're a critter as well
You can mock people ti death and that's prety sick. If you wanna see some sick bard action check out TFS's DnD streams, Eloy is a treasure.
Ronin11111111 Don't forget Sam Riegel's Scanlan Shorthalt in Critical Role!
Luke Frederiks Scanlan Shorthalt, the gold standard for bards
hey, you big dummy
There is the Unexpectables' Panic Grimtongue who is a bard more knowed by Stupid Sexy Panic who recently got the title of Dick kicker professional that we should not forget too.
Plus the unexpectables!
Meanwhile, how I imagined playing Bard: "Show me your motivation!" *plays Bury The Light for the group while they slowly walk into the dungeon boss*
Dungeon Boss: Why do I hear boss music?
Bards are an awesome class. Have every skill in the game, AND be able to access every spell? Talk about versatile!
Even if bards don't sound that impressive on paper, they can be the most fun to roleplay from my experience.
Also, I would add Faerie Fire to the list of go-to bard spells. My glamour bard has been using that spell in pretty much every combat encounter since level 1 and he's level 9 or something now. It's awesome.
But it just adds advantage to your companions
So what you're saying is...
You love bard
my bard is easily the most op party member in 5e...and i hardly ever use my bard spells.
I find Bards' true power is less to do with combat, but story. With the high charisma and expertise you can be the diplomat, negotiator, used car salesman of the group that can ensure the barbarian's and/or rogue's antics dont get the party screwed when the fighting is done
Song ends: Okay time for the next video
Actual video begins: Holy shit that was just the intro
Instant sub, this dude puts in effort on another level
"Who wants to play as Little Finger..." Everyone. One that character is super popular, and two Lore Bards are hilariously OP. Sure some class abilities are bad, but their casting and skills are insane. They are better then Rogues, Rangers, at their jobs, and on par with most Fighters in Melee. The only casters they aren't strictly better then are Wizards, Clerics and Druids. even then they are just as powerful.
Lore bard also gets pretty much spells from anywhere.
Isn't Littlefinger more of a college of whispers bard?
I don't know who would be College of Lore.
If only there was a charisma based character whose defining characteristics is that he drinks and knows things...
Unfortunately I'm coming up SHORT.
@@FirstnameLastname-kn5sw wow, very nice...
I have two of those in my group. Who feels useless? My poor bard traveling with a paladin with Bane, a cleric with healing word and a Wizard with farie fire.
I just wanna add something to the short description of the College of Glamour since I love it.
Bards of Glamour at some point literally get so sexy, that the enemies have to make save roles if they want to attack them, since they have to mentally bring themselves to be able to attack such beauty. You are literally so sexy that people don't want to attack you, even if you just killed their buddies.
Wow... I am so grateful that my DND party is so... compatible? Uplifting? accepting? encouraging? I don't know, we just work as a team and don't shoot each other down or write each other off. Like, I know what you guys are doing is a hyperbolic act, but it just made me really appreciate how awesome my party is.
DO How to play Monk next!!!!!
Playing Monk is easy. Just buy a dice set with all dies and be there :v
How to play bard. Go Lore Bard. Always. Take Ranger or Paladin spells. Cuz those are fucking busted when a full caster has them. Aura of Vitality and Lightning Arrow, at level 6? Now you're literally broken.
Or Find Greater Steed. Now you are playing instruments ON A GRIFFIN!
I don’t see why people don’t think college of lore isn’t the best, you can choose several spells from literally every spell in the game, literally every build is possible
Currently playing a lore bard in one of my games, I took spirit guardians (cleric spell) and healing spirit (druid spell) because I'm making a fey themed bard (Yes I know glamor is fey bard but they weren't out when we started at level 1)
Spirit guardians is broken, just run by some enemies and they take 3d8 or half on a save, then use dissonant whispers make for 3d6 or half, if they fail you also get attack of opportunity, stacking more damage on that. And when the battle is over have the party heal 10d6 each (provided you have 6 or less members) with a 2nd level spell.
I though Xanathars came with the new spell list and Glamor bard? And yeah, there's a reason all the DM's I know banned Healing Spirit. It's fucking broken. Instead of healing an area we changed it to only stick to one ally to heal him, and you can switch who it heals as a bonus action.
ChrisAlpha
Xanthar's did come out with the Glamour bard but Xanthar's wasn't out when I chose my subclass. It was out by the time I hit 6th so I was able to get healing spirit. And healing spirit is broken I'll admit but only out of battle. In battle your lucky to hold it three rounds and even then the party is so far away from eachother that you can't get more than one or two people to heal per turn, unless they want to run through your healing like a sprinkler system every turn. It also only heals a 5×5 area so it's still just one person at a time unless you use your bonus action to move it over someone or they run through the area.
how to play a bard,
DM: roll for initiative.
Fighter: I swing my sword
Wizard: I cast firebolt
Ranger: i fire my bow
Bard: I roll to seduce.
DM: you're in combat....
Bard: so?
DM: It's a dragon.....
Bard:and?
DM:....*sigh*.... roll for persuasion
Bard: Nat 20.
Dm:Roll a Con save,its an adult male dragon.
@@aukun4992 are dragon traps gay?
@@paindude69 Depends if pp touch
Shreck: Donkeh? Is that you?
Dragons on top
Bard is my favorit class, and I think one of the best. They suck at combat true, but for people like me, who enjoy social and RP parts more than combat, than it is fantastic and powerful (for that purpose)
Your videos confirmed that my bard/rogue multiclass is a 10/10.
1:27 "An you have a giant PENI *backstabbed.*" This is why i love you gents. this is quality. It is not truly D&D untill someone crit/ crit fails, something dramatic happens, or you GLOAT TO THE HIGH HEAVENS . . . before you get get one hit koed.... Also 10:42 NO!!! DO NOT DARE TO CREATE SUCH A HORRIFYING CREATURE!!!
"All Hail the Necrodancer!"
Go, child. Seek out the ancient tome of first edition. Read what it takes to become a bard. Read what a bard is. Tremble in fear at the most powerful class in the entire game.
Bards were so rare, so impossible to become, but if you managed...if you could do it....There was nothing you could not do.
IMO Pathfinder Bards are pretty great too. Especially since there's an Archetype that lets you wear heavy armor and spellcast with Wisdom (if you so want), letting you be THE MUSICAL PALADIN
I play Ad@d 2e so i know the feel....i did it.
Once.
@@JagEterCoola 5e bard; basically wizard with a peniz
Thumbs up from 1978 😶👍
Hands down my favorite channel on UA-cam. I love the skits and the info. You do great work, keep it up!
bardic inspiration is amazing, at higher levels it's +6.5 to something. As a bonus action. without concentration.
Granted if everyone succeeds in everything it doesn't matter, but that's not likely.
Also valor bards make the best arcane archers in the game, access to swift quiver at level 10 is game changing.
To add even more shenanigans, they can also grab find greater steed to be flying on a pegasus while raining down arrows
If your DM lets you tinker, make an explosive arrow in your downtime, and then use swift quiver to spam that shit
So basically you can become a gunship. Really, they should name this build "gunship bard".
Also you can fluff Swift Quiver as nocking an arrow to each string on your lyre and firing them simultaneously. Now that's magic.
Ambrósio Giovanni this gets better, if the arrow is entirely mechanical then swift quiver recreates it. Which means you can get 40 explosive arrows for the price of one. This is literally just a gunship.
Bards are actually pretty great.
This just confirms that every D&D UA-cam creator is really -- a *Bard* at heart...
I was playing Bard for the first time and we got a guy down to 1 HP. Everyone held their action for me, so I could finish off the poor soul with viscous mockery. I was so happy and fulfilled.
College of More was awesome
Level 6th
DM: the Hag attack
me: (bard) I cast lightning bolt!
Lore* attacks*
"You're a stinky poo poo face." -300 emotional DMG. I laughed so bloody hard at this 😁.
If what I remember from Critical Role, Scanlan's Bardic Inspiration was used an awful lot and was a life saver more than once. (And note: CR is not my only frame of reference but no one's played Bard in the games I've played.)
I'm making a Bard character based on my great-great-grandpa who played the clarinet in a band called Jack and His Five Jennies. This was really helpful!
I feel like Jacob hates the bard class. >_>
Xanthoceras - r3dnazx3la it’s his favorite class
The contrary actually
You could have fooled me for it being his favorite class. He gives zero tips on how to play the class correctly and shits all over it. Considering Bard is the best class in the game I would hate to hear him explain any other classes.
cld1472 Those videos are for fun. and he stated few times that he loves bard as a class.
Danat Zeppeli I once made a comment about a football game stating that "I hope a meteor crashes into the stadium and kills both teams." Just because I said that does not mean that I fully actually desire that to occur or even actually feel that way for real. But never once in that statement did I say that both teams are garbage and that no one should play or cheer for them, I simply stated my disdain for both teams. This entire video to a new player who does not know any better would feel like this is the weakest class in the game and that they are a fool to even play it but in reality Bard is the strongest class in 5E.
I would homebrew it so its a reaction instead akin to counterspell where the bard can render the charm or fright ineffective with a
DC 10 plus level of the spell
I will forever use bard, no matter how much I'm viciously mocked
I play bard so that my party doesn't have to pay for as many rooms.
Let's be fair, bard players are for the role players who draw most of there enjoyment from the story campaign and like to pretend there actually charismatic and cool.
Joel Writer "pretend". Tea was just served XD
Joel Writer
Ow, my heart.
Joel Writer I feel personally attacked
True
Joel Writer or people who just like to fuck up other players' efforts with a badly timed spell. Basically a griefer. I have a friend who does exactly that but in such a hilarious way that we don't mind it.
Can you do “How to Play Ranger” next?
Inquisitor Thomas
Nah paladin ftw
I can do that right now, "Don't"
Anonimase stole it
Ahh, you surely mean how to play fighter but not really (with a bit of druid mixed in somewhere)
"How to Play Ranger"
Number one: read this Unearthed Arcana
Personal bias screems from you so much :D Bard is awsome!
College of Lore has Additional Magic Secrets at level 6. This meant my party was a bit surprised when my little bard flung a fireball the first time.
Of course, up until then, with Healing Word she was pretty much the party's combat medic.
You're doing it all wrong. A bard isn't about what they do in battle or even what advantages they give passively. When you roleplay instead of roll play, that is when the bard gets fun. The thing you have to remember about any bard is that, they tell stories. Not their own stories. The story is not about you. You are not your main character. You're there controlling other people and pushing the right buttons. Another thing about bards, they won't be fun if you don't establish personality. My bard is chaotic neutral and lets it show.
Quick story. (oh, and this is in pathfinder, but they are so similar that I think the point still stands)
We had picked up a cursed ring along the way and I had pocketed it. I'd been waiting for a chance to use it with beguiling gift, but that never happened. We are walking along a bridge that is just outside a city and we come across a couple trolls trying to get a toll from us, acting like they were guards. Obviously they weren't so I take a bluff check and convince them that I'M a guard. They get nervous and let us pass. As we pass, I pull out the cursed ring and toss it to one of them and say "Much obliged". As we walk we hear them fighting over this ring, one of them putting it on (thus causing him to take double damage) and being beaten to death by the other two. I chuckle to myself and our cleric gives me a dirty, judgmental look.
That is a bard. It's not about YOU, it's about the world around you. If you have a crazy idea, USE IT!!! You're knowledge about EVERYTHING should mean you have the know-how to use that weird plant sitting in the corner. Check if you recognize it. DO ANYTHING. That's what you do. It is the class of freedom not because you CAN do a lot, but because to shine, you HAVE to do a lot. I think bards should, by nature, chaotic. Not saying you have to, but that just FEELS right.
Roleplay, storytelling and personality're to bepresent in every character in a Role Playing Game. A class system, on the other hand, is inherently mechanically oriented.
Thanks for the advice :)
I just started playing d&d not too long ago and i didnt really get how to play the role of bard. I was debating whether or not to change my class, but i'm way too attached to bard now😂
Bards are at their best at chaotic good. They mean well, but you don’t know how to execute it.
I mean roleplay isnt something that only bards can do.
I love my Bard simply because of who he is and how he reacts to situations. One of his gimmicks started as a joke and is now a thing in the campaign, just because that's how I play my character. Granted though, I play my Bard as an actor, not a musician. Is there something resembling a stage? He'll kill everything in his path in order to be on it. Are there two carrots laying on a table? Now they're ears and, thanks to how high his deception and charisma is, everyone at the tavern now believes the Dwarven Bard vanished and became an elf.
My Bard may or may not have an entire Orc horde at his disposal thanks to his skills.
I've been waiting so long
I once used my bardic inspiration after a lich threw up a shield so I could break through and smite for the win and it was the coolest moment because we got the goddamn friendship speech ftw.
dm: ok so you see the contact you need to meet and...
bard: *looks at camera* I am not leaving, until I've dated everyone here
Thank you. This video, when I first watched it, encouraged me to play a bard. I thought "Yea, everyone hates it, it won't be any good"
Up to today, the bard is without doubt my favorite class.
Thank you
Honestly? I’ve had a bard in 4 out of 5 games I’ve been a part of, and they’ve been absolutely great. Extremely versatile, pack a lot of magic. I honestly love bards. I understand they’re not the “best class,” but if people are having fun, then what’s the big deal?
Also, through magical secrets, ALWAYS grab Counterspell. Saved my party’s butt more times than one.
To be fair, Bard is Jacob's favorite class, as he said in a previous video (What Class to Play).
In this video I guess he decided to rant more about the things he doesn't like on the design of the class from the base game.
Daniel Gordon Dude, Counterspell is THE Magical Secrets essencial spell to get.
Reasons to play dwarf bard: I AM A DWARF AND IM DIGGING A HOLE DIGGY DIGGY HOLE
I'm just here watching up to the first minute, remembering my DMs best friend who plays bard, and how she just obliterated everything in her path with Thunderwave and other such spells. Yeah, you feeling useless as bard is a sign you ain't playing him exactly right.
How I handle counter charm is I let the bard start the counter charm before use it as a bonus to continue the counter and add your charisma mod to their save
I feel like countercharm is more of a roleplaying ability, for example:
*Party member is gambling in an inn or tavern.
*Bard plays a countercharm song for ambiance and so other players can't use charms to cheat, or whatever.
Know what I mean?
I don't play D&D, but that's what makes the most sense to me.
cobalt2033 never thought about it that way, but I'll definitely use it sometime.
cobalt2033 Well, countercharm was actually created for a long-term use, which means that it must be used while in a mass battle, when there are lots of bards and each one of them sticks to his group, giving them advantage against being frightened or charmed and some bardic inspiration when needed.
Would be an amazing idea if not for the fact that pretty much the only people in the inn or tavern with the ability to cast charm spells are your own party ^^ And you cant cast spells without being suspiciously mumbling and making gestures. But that is exactly the kind of creativity that will make you an amazing player and I love the idea of it. Could work too depending on the setting
@@fckthefearturkey you need stronger NPCs and scenarios. I don't mean that patronizingly, I'm saying that the game would be hella cooler if you did.
I love Bards. So strong in the right hands.
I would love to see you do all these again with five more years of experience under your belt.
"Greetings stranger, would you like to hear a tale?"
"Uh, sure?"
*IMMEDIATE THUNDERWAVE*
Made a Druid with bard subclass that can basically summon giant plants by playing a flute
That was hilarious and a good look into what Bards are all about. Well done!
My brain is now hyper fixated on making a Glamor Bard dressed in Purples, blues, and golds who uses a flute and a rapier.
I feel your pain my bard got killed after one of his cult members knocked him out and suffocated him while that cult members dog was biting his throat
6:05 "What is Prince doing here?"
"He casts Purple Rain. Roll to see if you're charmed."
A good fix to Countercharm would be to give the player the option as an action OR a reaction. If you cast it as a reaction you can immediately give characters advantage on frightened or charmed saving throws, maybe a number of times equal to your charisma modifier plus your level.
Alternatively, if you cast it as an action you can give a number of characters equal to your charisma mod plus your level that you can see within range (like 60 feet cuz 30 feet sucks) automatic advantage on charmed and frightened saving throws as long as you keep it up. While this is still situational, it’s extremely useful against certain enemies, plays into the bard’s role as a support class, and it isn’t your ONLY option.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk, good night! 😀