How can you make bard a viable party member without making

>>50194934
He's the party's street team / PR guy and manager.
Whenever they're in town he's spreading word of their accomplishments and seeking deals with local nobles and the like.

>>50194934

You make a game where it's more about interacting with non-hostile NPCs than it is about murderhoboing.

>>50194934
See Gurney Halleck in Dune.

Basically, make him a badass mercenary who only happens to go around playing music all the time as a personality quirk.

The bard is so wonderful their charisma alone inspires people. No actual mysticism required, just imagine a great motivational speaker with a sound track.

maybe take the sleazy salesman route

>>50194934
He convinces people that his music is magical but it's actually all a bluff, allowing him to get through encounters on intimidation and charisma alone.

>>50194934
In the older editions, the bard was the jack-of-all-trades character, not the rock star manwhore caricature that it's become.

A bard could fight with the fighter, cast a few spells to supplement the wizard, bluff his way through NPC encounters, and utilize his bardic knowledge to solve mysteries.

>>50195074
>that it's become
Thats a funny way of spelling was always meant to be.

Replace Bards with Nobles.

>>50195074
>hating on the charmer of coin and kiss, the one who lays, not slays

>>50194934
Make sure your game has more diverse concerns than murdering people in dungeons, and have the bard specialize in using their social skills and privileges to the benefit of the party.

>>50195010
/thread

Also use the fucking rules for social interaction instead of "just roleplaying it", then someone that have decadent charisma and social skills will be essential if party does anything more than "kill, smash, rip and tear".

Not to mention that bard is free bed and food in most in in exchange for performance.
Need to get into the castle? What noble would not invite a good bard to provide entertainment for evening?

>>50194934
Make bard a theme or background or side thing.
Then your rogue, cleric, or fighter could also be a bard.

It's not worth being a whole class.

File: Bard_Modern.jpg (56KB, 600x399px) Image search: [Google]

56KB, 600x399px

>>50194934
M O R A L E

E F F E C T S

>>50194934
Social campaign where a dude with charm, wit and a tune is an actual force to be reckoned with.
Morale/courage boosts still apply without magic.
Can create rumours, songs and stories to twist the truth or signal boost desired issues.

Knows history, geography, both courtly etiquette and street rules. You find a weird coin in the dungeon, the Bard tells you it's from the nation of the Fisher Prince to the East.
Basically, make the bard a mental skill monkey. Kind of like what wizards used to be before fireballs everywhere.

>>50195237
this.

Is like making fishmongers a class and expect them to be balanced.

Rogue with a lute.

>>50194934
Make it a background for any actual class.

File: M61_Vulcan_nose_mounted_6-barreled_Gatling_cannon_(11472816163).jpg (2MB, 2000x1328px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 2000x1328px

>>50194934
Give him a M61 Vulcan cannon.

>>50194934

You make him a social rogue.

>>50194934
You make his music nanomachines.

>>50195237
This. Make it a skill instead. Get rid of most (all?) Perform subclasses.

>>50197756
I'd worry the weight and the difficulty finding ammo in a typical fantasy setting would make it less useful than one would expect.