Bard Roleplay

What are some alternative ways to roleplay bard? I'm not into the stereotypical super confident, "I want to seduce everything" type character.

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Make a ballet obsessive ballerina which smokes constantly and its constantly worried about the state of her art.

Valor Bard in 5e uses the example of a Viking Skald as it's archetype.
So a Bard who sails and raids and fights feuds and duels and loves battle so he can compose epic poetry about it later.

This is so subtly brilliant.

A viking skald.

I'm a big fan of bards as historians. Travelling around recording what's happening, and telling stories instead of singing or playing instruments.

I've always been partial to the soft spoken introverted bard who greatly idealizes beauty and sees music as the only useful form of expression

Read the books again until you find out what a Skald is

Beat me to the punch, although I first found the concept in 3e, not 5.

Make a genius.

My current bard in ToA is a Guild Merchant who paid for an expedition and his bardic abilities is him barking orders or being frustrated at those getting in the way of his riches.

I'm more or less Governor Ratcliffe

I play a Valor Bard in a 5e game and he's more of a Gandalfy old guy who travels town to town storytelling (mostly for kids).

Not all bards have to be sexy "i roll to seduce" chars.

>What are some alternative ways to roleplay bard?
Just be a dick. It's basically how every bard I've ever seen was played in the end.

You can be a Brother's Grimm like figure traveling the world to collect and catalog Folkstories and songs.

Play an anti-authoritarian punk-rocker who will always do the opposite of what guards/nobles tell him out of spite, with little to no awareness of the actual consequences.
Or a metal-head travelling the land to witness brutal shit for inspiration, you would purposely seek out dangerous situations and compose cringeworthy songs.
In either case prepare to be hated.

I don't need to dance or sing to play my favorite instruments.

This. People forget that Perform (Oratory) is a thing.

Vampire scholar.

Militaristic war drummer
Drunken Scotsman with bagpipes
Funeral dirge singer
Brooding poet
Mime
Historian bookworm

I consider myself a seeker of reluctant information; "scholar" sounds like academia – ugh!

A man whose passion is music and seeks inspiration through adventure to compose. He has no care for affairs such as politics, romance, or sex though these things may happen. Full dedication to his art and companions or if an evil character perhaps letting his party members experience misfortune for inspiration.

the answer is obvious

Corporate shill.
Political provocateur.

...

A filid centered around magic and divination who also collects legends.
A bard who researches folklore for the sake of creating the grand book of fairytales, travelling plots and archetypes.
A bard who just earns his living by singing songs. In fact, he is a noble knight who was deprived of his legacy. He could compose verses better than he could fight.
A bard who is a cook. He wants to learn the fine art of cooking and open the best tavern in the world.
A heavy metal bard.
A skald.
A gothic bard.

Just look at actual musicians.

Make a cultural curator and all around fantasy weaboo-phile

...

BABE

Mysterious broodlord far too focused on his work that's 2deep4u.

-Revolutionary Firebrand. Perform: Oratory, but "art" is less important to you than THE CAUSE. The Dark Lord will not be overthrown by some single fated champion, but by the will of the people united!

-The Noble. A proper upbringing includes education in swordplay, history, diplomacy and etiquette, and (naturally) the magical arts. But most importantly, you have been raised since birth to be a leader of men! You have much to live up to, but upon your honor, you will not be found wanting.

spy

roleplay a spy

>being attracted to a tranny

good taste, my dude

Valor bard as a pirate capitan ordering people around and drinking, sometimes singing

He's more of a philosopher and a poet more than a rock star. He is the ever doubting guy, interested in understanding the human nature. A bit by an accident, a bit through his convictions he became involved in politics. He is weary of this but he feels a duty to wake up the consciousness of the people.

You could play around with the idea of a "stage persona"--a bard who purposefully puts on a character when he performs. Like, we all know Freddy Mercury as this super-flamboyant showman, but supposedly he was actually a pretty quiet, reserved guy in private.

A couple ways you could play with this:

>Stereotypical smooth-talking bard when performing; actually jaded and cynical
>Performs like an insult-flinging punk rocker; actually nice and friendly, almost to a fault
>Actor who plays badass villains/antiheroes; actually meek and shy (I've actually played this one)

Or something like a method actor who straight-up refuses to "break character".

playing a bard for the first time in an upcoming campaign. I'm going to play like I'm a heavy drinker and comically depressed about how poor he is. gm also asked the character closest to being a scribe to write down diary entries as we go, and that's me, so I'm going to write about how incompetent everyone else is and jerk myself off a lot.

Looks like you've been outed OP. Now it's time to go back.

...

>be bard
>be shitty bard
>know three chords for shitty lute
>play shitty acoustic ballads at mage community college
>convince mages with majors in Orcish Women's studies that you're both mellow and deep
>play shitty music festival with other shitty bards, form shitty bard folk group
>get 10/10 from Pitchfork for shitty debut album, Gnometano gives it a strong 4
>seduce is an auto success for shitty folk stars if you care about that, they can't even spell consent
Playing bard any other way is objectively wrong, debate me

>Those dirty Yuan-ti are not like you or me
>So that must mean they're evil
>They're savages! Savages! Savages!

>hur dur you can only use one website

A dirty, down on his luck bluesman using his wits to scrape by.

There are plenty of bard archetypes out there. Skalds, Clowns, Poets, Comedians...I once played in an all-bard barbershop quartet party, there's that too.

OP...

You wanna Rock!

Kubo
Any Disney villain
Metal head
My personal favorite is Field martial or veteran
Yondu from GotG

...

GF is playing a deaf bard that thinks she's performing music but is actually more or less a jester/performance artist since she's completely incapable of hearing how shitty the music coming out of her Viol and Bagpipes is

Try drill instructor or put upon, out of his depth crapout looking to pick up enough stories to never pay for his own drinksagain

Bard's work really well as managers, like you would see in pro wrestling. If your friend is playing some bad ass hero character, you can play a bard who walks around with them promoting them, shit talking for them, and negotiating contracts for quests. I did that for a while and it was a lot of fun. It's actually kind of cool to try out deliberately playing the sidekick instead of trying to be the hero. Although if the guy you are playing the sidekick of is a dick, it doesn't work so well. Had that happen in a different game.

Sadly, the paladin I was working with got eaten by a vampire, and the fun times were over.

I did something similar to that with a penny dreadful writer. I would follow adventurers around, then write up exaggerated pulp stories about them and sell them.

>tfw all the local taverns are filled with philistines who can't appreciate 20 straight minutes of experimental free lute improv.

Beat you both. Bards Handbook 2e.

Great section on skalds and others.
forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?695543-Where-I-read-The-Complete-Bard-s-Handbook-and-The-Complete-Thief-s-Handbook

One PC in my campaign made a bard that wanted fame but not off the back of his fathers fame

Making a gnoll bard that plays the piano. He's the ugliest son of a bitch that somehow plays and sounds like Elton John and Ray Charles love child

Halford up
be fab and scandalous

It was while back, back I recall playing a bard who spent the first half of the campaign trying to convince people he wasn't important and the second diving head long into being a pawn in a game played by gods.

I've had this character idea for a while but no opportunity to play it. A noble or rich merchants daughter born sickly, so her parents are super protective of her. She grows attached to her history teacher as he gives her a window into the outside world. Her history teacher despite all evidence pointing to him being a stuffy old man was a pretty good bard in his day. Noticing the girl growing melancholy about her very limited world, he decides to teach her some of the trade. Starting with noble enough pursuits like the flute and moving to less acceptable skills like throwing knives and acrobatics. At first the parents are happy with their daughters bettering health but are very angry when they find their daughter climbing the towers and they drive the bard out of town. Losing her friend the girl decides to set off and widen her horizons.

She is naive but has a near encyclopedic knowledge of history. She is very understanding and sympathetic to others. Her only goal is to see as many wonders as the world has to offer and do so with the friends she makes along the way.

Pic related

I once played a Negative Bard.
His voice and songs are so awful its supernatural.
Whenever he opens his mouth and tries to be sly or suave people fall into murderous rage around him.

My Valor Bard in 5e travels the world collecting the stories of people he meets and records the exploits of the rest of the party.

An arrogant asshole who thinks bardic lore makes him some paragon of intellect. Insists on writing his own invariably mediocre songs. Assumes party leadership without bothering to ask anyone. Will argue over any little thing until the other guy gives up. Resorts to insults if he can't claim "victory" quickly enough. Has no self awareness whatsoever. Thinks people who criticize him are morons.

>mfw I had to actually deal with this guy and it turned me off of bards for years

It's still a viable concept so long as you accept the character is a prick.

So a gleeman from The Wheel of Time?

My friend played a bard in a recent game who was like... The fourth son of a wealthy businessman/noble type guy. He came off as a spoiled womanizer but actually wasn't very experienced with that stuff and was really insecure and lonely because he had been disowned for making out with the daughter of a business partner of his father, though really she came in to him anyway..

So I guess you still have some of the slutty stuff but he was more interesting than that. He had motivation for being slutty beyond just horniness or whatever, and he was kind of a shitty selfish person to people (especially peasants) but not in an over the top way. He was friends with my character but sort of treated him like a retarded baby you have to take care of. Like he legit liked my character but didn't respect him exactly and wanted to watch out for him.

Anyway it was great

Horse insurance seller bard best bard.

"Sir, what if you horse was to bite You? Ever thought of that?"

Play a country music playing dude who is really good but poor, he hitchhikes & such to travel & is a good dude, a kid with a bit of talent & a big dream.

Play a ballad player, someone who performs music with a lot of story, where the melody is just for atmosphere.

Preacher, you don't have to be a cleric to spout a sermon. Your words of guidence & faith help out the party.

A jester, you do comedy routines dressed in bells, tumbling & doing gigs. Slapstick is the cudgel you use when you cast shillelagh.

College student. Your parents sent you to wizards college to be a powerful spellcaster, but you spent a whole semester skipping classes to sing songs & play a lute to the mermaids in the pond on campus. Also, you've gone vegan.

Tonal Scribe
You are fascinated by words & the effects of sound, you now travel everywhere to record new sounds & hear new words, seeking a universal language & the sounds of the celestial gears

Why are you talking about yourself in third person, user?