Bard

Playing a Bard in Tanaria: Pros & Cons

Pros (Why Play a Bard?)

1. The Most Versatile Class in the Game
   • Bards can cast spells, fight, heal, and support, meaning they can adapt to any role.
   • Magical Secrets allows them to steal spells from any class, giving them access to game-changing abilities.
   • They have expertise in skills, making them excellent in both combat and social situations.
 
2. Charismatic & Socially Powerful
   • Bards often serve as the face of the party, excelling in persuasion, deception, and negotiation.
   • They can talk their way out of fights, gain powerful allies, and manipulate situations with charm alone.
   • Performance and storytelling can be used as tools for influence, intimidation, or inspiration.
 
3. Incredible Support Abilities
   • Bardic Inspiration lets them buff allies with extra dice for attacks, saving throws, or skill checks.
   • Healing spells and crowd control keep the party alive and enemies weakened or distracted.
   • Countercharm provides resistance to fear and charm effects, making bards excellent against mind-controlling enemies.
 
4. Spellcasting Flexibility & Trickery
   • Bards use Charisma-based spellcasting, making them easy to build and optimize.
   • Their spells focus on illusion, enchantment, and control, allowing them to deceive, charm, and outmaneuver enemies.
   • High-level bards can steal spells from other classes, meaning they can grab Fireball, Counterspell, or Heal to fill in gaps in the party.
 
5. Skill Mastery & Jack-of-All-Trades
   • Bards have access to more skills than almost any other class, meaning they can handle almost any situation.
   • Expertise makes them best-in-class for skill checks, doubling their proficiency in critical areas.
   • Jack of All Trades gives them a bonus to all skill checks, making them useful even in skills they don’t specialize in.

Cons (Challenges of Playing a Bard)

1. Master of None
   • While bards can do everything, they don’t always excel at anything compared to specialized classes.
   • Fighters outshine them in melee combat, wizards outshine them in magic, and rogues outshine them in stealth.
   • Their power comes from versatility, meaning they require strategy and creativity to feel impactful.
 
2. Squishy in Combat
   • Bards lack high hit points, making them vulnerable to strong attacks.
   • They can only wear light armor, meaning they struggle in prolonged melee fights.
   • No Rage, no extra attacks, and no high-level defensive spells—they need to stay mobile and out of danger.
 
3. Support Role Expectations
   • People expect bards to be party buffers, meaning you’ll often be relied upon for support.
   • If you want to focus on damage or combat, you may feel weaker compared to fighters or spell-focused casters.
   • Many bard spells are utility-based, meaning your combat impact isn’t always immediate or obvious.
 
4. Spell Selection Requires Strategy
   • Bards only get a limited number of spells, meaning choosing the right ones is critical.
   • They lack powerful damaging spells outside of Magical Secrets, meaning they rely on debuffs, illusions, and crowd control.
   • If you pick the wrong spells, you might feel ineffective or lacking in key situations.
 
5. Roleplaying & Creativity Are Essential
   • Bards thrive in social and roleplaying situations, meaning if you don’t enjoy roleplaying, you may struggle to feel engaged.
   • Many of their best skills require thinking outside the box, which can be challenging for players who prefer direct combat or structured gameplay.
   • If your campaign is combat-heavy with little room for diplomacy or intrigue, you may feel underutilized.

• You want to be a charismatic leader, trickster, or performer.
• You love versatility and adapting to any situation.
• You enjoy supporting your party with buffs, magic, and skill mastery.
• You want a spellcaster that doesn’t feel restricted by one type of magic.

• You prefer specialization over generalization.
• You want high damage output or direct combat power.
• You dislike social interactions or heavy roleplaying.
• You don’t want to rely on strategy and spell selection to be effective.