The Bard
So the nice folks at Wizards of the Coast caught wind of how much I love the bard class (in case you didn’t know, I LOVE bards) and asked me to be the place for the official preview of the 5th-Edition bard. To say I am honored is an understatement. I love D&D and I cannot wait to have the new Player’s Handbook so I can roll up and play the new bard.
BECAUSE BARDS ARE THE BEST. THE. BEST!
If you have not checked out the new edition of D&D, you can download the Basic game FOR FREE right here. Do it. Download it and check it out.
For the folks following the Dungeon Run arc, don’t worry, I will add an extra strip this week to keep up the pace.
If you are new here: Hi, I’m Brian and this is d20Monkey, a webcomic that is basically gaming and dick jokes. The archives go back to 2010 and I would love it if you give my comics a look. Thanks for coming by!
This is simply just incredible….and there isn’t a more perfect place to have it previewed!
Well done, WOTC!
Wow Brian. This means you’re Kind of a Big Deal, huh? 😀
Newcomers: Hey there! GO READ THE ARCHIVE. It’s good stuff.
WHAT THIS GUY SAID ^^
you should come play Archeage, we have bards, useful bards!
Awesome!
It’s everything I hoped it would be.
*sniff*
I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.
…Party on!
I wanna see colleges sooooooo bad.
Me tooooooooooo!
But can they sell a tomato-based fruit salad?
Salsa you mean?
Wow, I think it’s cool they did this. I retweeted your bard calls whenever I saw them.
AND WHY HASN’T WIZARDS SENT YOU ALL THE TRAFFIC YET! /grumble
Because posting it to our social media this early won’t get as much traffic as it will when I post it later. Soon sir, soon.
But but but… fine.
Maybe with all the recognition wizards could give you some sort of beholder use permission slip so that you can safely and with confidence use beholders n mind flayers and other dnd specific monsters in comics n bumper stickers or whatever with expressedpermission… 🙂
And it’s up! Prepare for D20monkey to crash from traffic.
Looks promising. I think the time has finally come to give bards a shot.
So, WotC recognition? Big deal indeed.
I am so happy for you, Brian! This is outstanding!
Why does WotC seem so in love with levels that do absolutely nothing other then give us one more spell/spell per day? It’s a waste of a level, in my opinion.
Are you insane? More spell slots couldn’t be any more useful. Magic is love, magic is life.
Yeah, I wouldn’t count a level in which you get higher-level spells to be a “dead level” (which happens in each level where the bard doesn’t get at least 1 other class feature).
I really, really want to like bards, but I just can’t get past their dearth of offensive spells.
I played a Bard in the playtest, and believe me there get more offensive spells than you think. In addition, they don’t need more than one or two offensive spells, because they can cast them with a higher level spell slot. That’s one of the most innovative parts of the D&D Next spellcasting system: a caster can decide on the fly to cast a spell in a higher level spell slot and deal more damage, cure more Hit Points or do other effects. This is true even for Clerics, Druids and Wizards, who prepare spells in advance, since prepared spells are not locked into the spell slots anymore. Spellcasting is more flexible than it has ever been in any previous edition.
Congratulations on the awesome preview honors. Love the comic and keep up the amazing work.
this is exceptional, 9th level spells for a bard, choosing any three skills, I can’t wait to give this a run in game. My bards have always been up to par and above in the games I play in and this looks like it will be right up my ally.
I despised 4E, but this is looking awesome. Kudos to you on getting the chance to show us this! I’m really looking forward to moving my red box game over to 5E. 🙂 Now I just have to see if they’ve got the monk. If they do, it’ll be a cinch to convert everything over.
The Monk class is in the PHB, and it is awesome! I was at a playtest where multiple players were playing Monks, and it is a really fun class.
This bard looks amazing. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m also so exctied that viscious mockery made the cutting room floor onto the bards cantrip list. That power was the best thing from 4e hands down. #Bards4Lyfe
I played a Bard in the playtest; whenever I cast Vicious Mockery I would make a joke, insult or pun at the target’s expense. Elan, eat your heart out!
I understood that reference.
This is fantastic! Congrats Brian.
hmm might be fun to play as a bard but i would take an exotic weapons feat so i can use throwing knifes they have entertainment value and are dead handy
are there other comics getting the other classes?
Always loved playing a bard. After the atrocity that was 4E, I thought I was done with D&D other than amazing comics like this one.
Now, I’m stoked to give it a go again!
Congrats on being the bearer of great news and an even better comic!
Heh…. If Les Paul was a medieval luthier, he might build a lute like that. 🙂
Hmmmmm…will this new edition be enough to tear me away from Pathfinder? Time will tell.
Personally I would only allow one instrument. 3 seems like a little much. I can see two being the instrument and the voice though.
The Bard gets Tool Proficiency in three instruments. Depending on Race and Background, the character might get other Tool Proficiencies. The three instruments are meant to show that Bards have a wider repertoire than the Average Johann busking for cp at the inn.
The Bard I made for the playtest, Bremen Quickwit, had a Background as a Herald for the nation of Luruar. So I chose the Horn as one of his Instruments (a hunting horn, specifically), as well as a Lute and a Lyre. The Hunting Horn was intended to warn allies of enemy movements, while the Lute and Lyre reflect Bremen’s Human and Elven ancestry respectively. Plus, blowing the Horn while casting Thunderwave is a nice touch. 🙂
*long happy squeal*
So what’s the next thing you get to check off your bucket list!?
For me? Oh wow… I would LOVE to do at least one piece of art for and official D&D book and/or a Magic: The Gathering card.
INCORRECT! The correct answer is “I’m going to Disney World!” 😛
This is the perfect place to agree with DresdenDM that WotC should allow you lifetime use of the Beholder (catapult beholder is what led me to you in the first place!). Their recognition of your dedication to the bard (and the delightful prose) brought tears to my eyes as well!
I say they let you illustrate The Complete Bard. And have a beholder on the cover. A beholder bard. You know its day has come.
You know you wanna 😀
Having a total geek out moment here. Looking forward to playing this in the Adventurer’s League!
The thing that frustrates me is every time They upgrade we have to spend hundreds of dollars to get the new books and some of us can’t do that anymore because we are on a fixed disability income…….
I am a firm believer in play what you like. If older editions are still fun for you and your group, then I say keep right on playing!
But if you are curious about the new edition, my honest suggestion on this is to download the free basic game and just use that with some 3e monsters simplified to match the rules. I think it would work great and I can tell you that the Basic Rules are awesome.
You don’t have to spend a penny – the Basic Rules are available in a free PDF that Brian linked up there. WotC will continue updating it with every new release – the PHB, MM, and DMG, and beyond. You can currently make up the most basic classes, and bards, etc. will be added once the PHB is released (and so on). Plus, there is nothing saying that you HAVE to upgrade at all – you can continue playing OE, B/X, AD&D, 2E, 3E, 3.5E (and all the OGL goodness), Pathfinder, 4E, or whatever, forever. You can find many free adventures, and of course, create your own.
Also, D&D Adventurers League should cost you nothing to play at your local game store (though you should support your FLGS by buying stuff whenever feasible).
Sure there is eventually bloat with most D&D systems eventually, but there is nothing saying you need to have that all anyway. Pathfinder, too, has all its rules for free online. If you want someone to write your adventures for you, supply maps, art, and minis, well, you will have to find them for free elsewhere, or pay WotC, Paizo, or someone else to make them.
Yeah but you still need to buy into it for the tools to create your adventure and to be a good DM or player you have to get the latest stuff because as I’ve seen with the past editions a lot loses compatibility and you have to convert everything especially if you play in tournaments or RPGA and in the past I’ve experienced that online players handbooks from Wizards are not always complete and you still have to buy the book…. And if you want to run a good campaign, you still need the Monster Manual and the DMG so you are still looking at about $150 for the upgrade……
Well done, Brian! Through all of the recovery from injuries, I’m really happy to see that all of your best efforts earned you a spot on WOTC’s radar!
Ah, one of many days I wish I could find a group to learn(yes learn) and play DND.
Well, unless you live in the Middle Tennessee area, the best I can do is advise you to go to giantitp.com and look for my on the forums. My name is gr8artist and I’d be happy to show you the ropes and run a little game for you and some others.
The new Bard looks spot on!!! I have hada soft spot for that class ever since I read the Black Cauldron as a child. Adoan was and still is my favorite character from that book and at first glance I get that kind of vibe from this bard. I’ve had a bard and a ranger in every edition so far so I have to say I am pacing with excitement wating for my copy of the PHB.
I love this new bard, definitely going to play him (I had to reroll anyway cause my druid got petrified…). Just got 1 thing I wanted to ask:
Are the class feats of this bard the same as the one from the latest Next update?
Ain’t no bard like an Old School bard cause in first Ed that shit is EARNED.
Represent!
5 levels of Fighter, then 8 levels of Thief (Rogue? Piffle!), then you start getting levels of Bard, with spells from the Druid spell list.
There’s no school like the old school
And you’re STILL not a bard until you’ve finished your training under a Master! I’m wondering if 5th Ed is going to have something like that, a reward for *really* investing in your character.
That doesn’t sound all that different from Prestige Classes.
So 4th edition was such a big flop that they’re coming out with 5th already eh? Hopefully it’ll be better.
4E was/is my favorite edition, but 5th edition, if this bard is any indication, looks like it could be a lot of fun. Wish more people liked 4th so it wasn’t going away so soon, but thems the breaks.
I hear you. I never understood all the 4E hate, but 5E is looking good so far. Onward and upward.
Hate to be THAT guy, but… Typo on interrupt in the first panel.
Congrats on the preview spot.
No worries! I appreciate you having my back. I’ll fix that.
Am I the only one stymied by the lack of saves or BAB on the class chart? How much has the game changed from 3.5 to 5th?
Admittedly, I skipped 4.0 in favor of learning PF and because 95% of the people I talked to about 4.0 did nothing but complain about it.
The proficiency bonus has replaced almost all the other bonuses to saves, skill checks, etc. Now instead of having a page of nothing but number bonuses to search through tro find the one you need, there’s just one flat bonus.
Rather than having dedicated saves, you make saving throws with your ability score modifiers plus your proficiency bonus (if you are proficient with the relevant save).
Likewise, when making attacks, you add your proficiency bonus to attack checks made using weapons you are proficient with. Other attack rolls are straight up ability checks.
So the bard adds her proficiency bonus to Dex and Cha saves, and makes other saving throws using only her ability score modifier.
Apart from proficiency bonus, IIRC no class has scaling numerical modifiers to their d20 rolls.
That’s… interesting.
I shall have to test this at the game shop some time, to see if I like it or not.
but hey, anything’s better than Scion.
Glad to see another bard lover. I love their class so much in D&D but they get so much hate. Even wrote an article on my blog about them http://drraagh.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bard/ and am working on a more detailed one about how to make non-combat and/or social style encounters as a lot of the published materials, as well as stuff I’ve been playing in is all about kill this and go here and kill this.
This sample demonstrates something interesting in this new edition of D&D that I noticed when I picked up the starter set: In the art, all the female characters are dressed sensibly. No hooker boots, no cleavage armor, no bare midriffs. It’s like WOTC suddenly realized that their entire buying audience may NOT consist of 11-15 year old boys…
That’s not exactly new, you know… the archetype characters in my 3e books are quite egalitarian in that matter. Both the men and the women are more or less evenly spread on the whole covered/exposed front. Hell, the 3e bard wore less than the elf in today’s sample and he was a dude.
ooo did you draw that awsome bard? 😀 -bard fan- hehe
lame
A curse upon all bards, another on their tongues, and a triple curse upon any who sing of me!
I’ve been on a binge. All the way from 2012 to now, and no end in sight!
Arguably the best spell casters in the current edition. 🙂
Gotta love the artwork in 5e.
Aye, it’s very nice for sure.
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