So what is it that makes bards such fantastic entertainers? Why is a bard with a 15 proficiency in musical instrument any better than a fighter, priest, or wizard with a 15? What makes bards so special? The answer to these questions and other questions are found in this section.
Unlike all the other character classes, bards are performers. This is a special trait common to all bards. There is no die roll bonus associated with this trait, it isn't listed under any kit's special benefits, and it isn't a proficiency.
Being a true performer is so fundamental to the bard character class that it isn't listed at all. Instead, this fact influences almost every aspect of the character class. It is because of their performing nature that bards gain special abilities with music, song, poems, juggling, and so on (based upon the kit). Being performers is as fundamental to the bard class as being combatants is to the warrior class. It is the one element common to all the bard kits, the element that defines the essence of being a bard.
Back to the example of musical instrument proficiency. It is true that a warrior with a proficiency of 16 in musical instruments is able to play more precisely and more accurately than a bard with a 15 or less. However, playing music technically correct is only half the picture. Since bards are performers, they understand numerous hidden aspects relating to music. They are more in tune with their audience and adapt their performances appropriately. Bards are more aware of mood, feeling, tone, and the dramatic effects of stretching the music beyond the technicalities of precise playing.
A warrior who is a master musician (proficiency 20) can play the most complicated piece of music exactly as written. Moreover, every time he plays the piece, it sounds just as it did the last time. But a bard with only a 15 proficiency can entertain audiences far more successfully. Every performance is custom tailored to the occasion and the audience. The bard takes the liberty of interpreting the song and won't simply repeat it.
The Effect on Role-Playing[]
As a role-player, if you can capture this performing aspect of the bard class, you will have captured the essence of your character. Everything should center around this aspect. The spells you choose should not always be chosen to maximize your character's effectiveness in combat. Rather, they should make the most dramatic impact upon those around him (including the adventuring party). Your bard lives to perform.
Likewise, when you select your bard's weapons, clothing, items, proficiencies, friends, allies, enemies, etc., you should try to examine these choices from a performer's point of view.
What weapon will compliment your bard's role as a performer, both on the stage and off? What color should his cape be? Which proficiencies will make him a more effective performer or a more memorable personality? Which spells produce effects in line with your bard's persona? How can these spells be used to build up the reputation of your bard? These are the questions to ask yourself.
Playing a bard can be a lot of fun. Play up the details. Add flavor to the game. Immerse the other players in the fantasy of the game. You should always play heavy on description and mood. For example, it isn't the success or failure of an attack that matters, it's the way in which it is made.
As a player you are succeeding at your job if your fellow role-players know the color of your bard's boots, what kind of weapon he wields, the name of his favorite song (better yet, the words to it), the material components to his most-used spells, the lesser details of his personality, his vocal range, etc. If they know your bard as if he were a real person, then you are a true bard role-player.
To establish such a realistic character, you must have a very solid mental image of your bard's appearance, personality, and mannerisms. For believability, these aspects must be predetermined, consistent, and you must portray them reliably.
Some role-players are skilled at establishing such a solidly defined character. Often they base the bard upon a character in a movie or book that they know. Others spend hours mentally developing their bard and getting to know him as a friend. Some generate pages of notes to help them out. You can use any method you like and the following section should help you out with this process.
Defining Your Bard's Personality[]
Most of the other Complete Handbooks present sample personality types. It can be very useful to read over these sections to help you define your character's personality. Although such descriptions are colorful and useful, they just begin to establish the many facets that you should define for a bard.
Generating complete examples of individual bard personalities would take pages of text and would result in only a dozen options for you to choose from. For this reason, personality types are not presented in this handbook. Rather, the following section contains many traits of a character's personality, along with several examples of each trait.
Although examples under each trait are numbered, you should only roll randomly if you are having a hard time selecting an appropriate trait. Also note that randomly rolling every trait will likely result in combinations that make little sense or are unplayable. So go through and carefully select your character's traits. Keep in mind his kit, alignment, race, other traits, and all other elements that you have already defined.
Note that the examples under each trait are not exhaustive. Feel free to select any other descriptive term that could define the trait. You can also select one or more traits within a specific category if they aren't contradictory. Also, note that the following list of traits is far from complete. Selecting the following traits will help define your bard's persona and is a good start, but you should expand these descriptive terms in your own mind or on paper. Examine your character as a whole, then fill in the gaps and add some extra details.
Table 28: Bard Traits[]
| Rationality | |
| 1 | Neurotic |
| 2 | Normal |
| 3 | Slightly insane |
| 4 | Stable |
| 5 | Unstable |
| 6 | Very stable |
| Mannerism | |
| 1 | Careless |
| 2 | Curious/Inquisitive |
| 3 | Fanatical/Obsessive |
| 4 | Perceptive |
| 5 | Precise/Exacting |
| 6 | Relaxed |
| 7 | Retiring |
| 8 | Somber |
| 9 | Studious |
| 10 | Suspicious/Cautious |
| Self-Esteem | |
| 1 | Egoist/Arrogant |
| 2 | Humble |
| 3 | Modest |
| 4 | Proper |
| 5 | Proud/Haughty |
| 6 | Servile/Obsequious |
| Philosophy | |
| 1 | Altruist |
| 2 | Benevolent |
| 3 | Extroverted |
| 4 | Hedonist |
| 5 | Introverted |
| 6 | Malevolent |
| 7 | Optimist |
| 8 | Pessimist |
| Intellect | |
| 1 | Active |
| 2 | Anti-intellectual |
| 3 | Average |
| 4 | Brilliant |
| 5 | Flighty |
| 6 | Dull |
| 7 | Ponderous |
| 8 | Scheming |
| Bravery | |
| 1 | Brave |
| 2 | Calculating |
| 3 | Craven |
| 4 | Fearless |
| 5 | Foolhardy |
| 6 | Normal |
| Morals | |
| 1 | Aesthetic |
| 2 | Amoral |
| 3 | Depraved |
| 4 | Immoral |
| 5 | Lustful |
| 6 | Lusty |
| 7 | Normal |
| 8 | Perverted |
| 9 | Sadistic |
| 10 | Virtuous |
| Piety | |
| 1 | Average |
| 2 | Iconoclastic |
| 3 | Impious |
| 4 | Irreligious |
| 5 | Irreverent |
| 6 | Martyr/ Zealot |
| 7 | Pious |
| 8 | Profane |
| 9 | Reverent |
| 10 | Saintly |
| Motivation | |
| 1 | Driven |
| 2 | Energetic |
| 3 | Lazy |
| 4 | Motivated |
| 5 | Normal |
| 6 | Slothful |
| Hobbies | |
| 1 | Altruism |
| 2 | Athletics |
| 3 | Community service |
| 4 | Dancing |
| 5 | Exotic animals |
| 6 | Fishing |
| 7 | Foods & Preparation |
| 8 | Gambling |
| 9 | Handicrafts |
| 10 | History |
| 11 | Horticulture |
| 12 | Hunting |
| 13 | Husbandry |
| 14 | Legends |
| 15 | Nature |
| 16 | None |
| 17 | Politics |
| 18 | Religion |
| 19 | Smoking & Pipes |
| 20 | Wines & Spirits |
| Loves | |
| 1 | Armor |
| 2 | Artwork |
| 3 | Books & Scrolls |
| 4 | Coins & Tokens |
| 5 | Knives & Daggers |
| 6 | Minerals & Gems |
| 7 | Ornaments & Jewelry |
| 8 | Porcelain, China, & Crystal |
| 9 | Shields & Weapons |
| 10 | Swords |
| 11 | Trophies & Skins |
| 12 | Weapons |
| Fears | |
| 1 | Caves |
| 2 | Enclosed places |
| 3 | Crowds |
| 4 | Dark |
| 5 | Dying |
| 6 | Heights |
| 7 | Horses |
| 8 | Insects |
| 9 | Loneliness |
| 10 | Pain |
| 11 | Poison |
| 12 | Priests |
| 13 | Sight of own blood |
| 14 | Snakes |
| 15 | Spiders |
| 16 | Torture |
| 17 | Traps |
| 18 | Undead |
| 19 | Water |
| 20 | Wizards |
| Hates | |
| 1 | Authority |
| 2 | Bad food |
| 3 | Beggars |
| 4 | Braggarts |
| 5 | Bullies |
| 6 | Greed |
| 7 | Guards |
| 8 | Heretics |
| 9 | Laws |
| 10 | Lower class |
| 11 | Farmers |
| 12 | Priests |
| 13 | Rival clan |
| 14 | Selfishness |
| 15 | Stupidity |
| 16 | Thieves |
| 17 | Big cities |
| 18 | Upper class |
| 19 | Warriors |
| 20 | Wizards |
| Allies | |
| 1 | Baker |
| 2 | Beggars |
| 3 | Blacksmith |
| 4 | Constable |
| 5 | Foreigner |
| 6 | Innkeeper |
| 7 | King |
| 8 | Local college |
| 9 | Mayor |
| 10 | Merchant |
| 11 | Prince |
| 12 | Princess |
| 13 | Sage |
| 14 | Sheriff |
| 15 | Slave master |
| 16 | Tavern master |
| 17 | Thief |
| 18 | Thieves' Guild |
| 19 | Warrior |
| 20 | Wizard |
| Foes | |
| 1 | Beggars |
| 2 | Criminals |
| 3 | Dragons |
| 4 | Dwarves |
| 5 | Elves |
| 6 | Gnomes |
| 7 | Half-elves |
| 8 | Half-races |
| 9 | Halflings |
| 10 | Highwaymen |
| 11 | Humans |
| 12 | Lizard men |
| 13 | Lower class |
| 14 | Nonhumans |
| 15 | Planar beings |
| 16 | Ruffians |
| 17 | Thieves |
| 18 | Underworlders |
| 19 | Upper class |
| 20 | Use ally list |
| Manner | |
| 1 | Abrasive |
| 2 | Antagonistic |
| 3 | Blustering |
| 4 | Capricious/Mischievous |
| 5 | Compassionate/Sensitive |
| 6 | Courteous |
| 7 | Diplomatic |
| 8 | Forceful |
| 9 | Foul/Barbaric |
| 10 | Helpful/Kindly |
| 11 | Hostile |
| 12 | Opinionated/Contrary |
| 13 | Overbearing |
| 14 | Practical joker/Prankster |
| 15 | Rash |
| 16 | Rude |
| 17 | Trusting |
| 18 | Vengeful |
| 19 | Violent/War-like |
| 20 | Well-spoken |
| Mood/Disposition | |
| 1 | Aloof |
| 2 | Cheerful |
| 3 | Cruel/Callous |
| 4 | Easygoing |
| 5 | Even-tempered |
| 6 | Forgiving |
| 7 | Hard-hearted |
| 8 | Harsh |
| 9 | Hot-tempered |
| 10 | Pleasant |
| 11 | Moody |
| 12 | Silly |
| 13 | Peaceful |
| 14 | Reserved |
| 15 | Scheming |
| 16 | Soft-hearted |
| 17 | Solitary/Secretive |
| 18 | Taciturn |
| 19 | Unfeeling/Insensitive |
| 20 | Unforgiving |
| Honesty | |
| 1 | Average |
| 2 | Deceitful |
| 3 | Liar |
| 4 | Scrupulous |
| 5 | Truthful |
| 6 | Very honorable |
| General | |
| 1 | Dandyish |
| 2 | Dignified |
| 3 | Foppish |
| 4 | Imposing |
| 5 | Slob |
| 6 | Spartan |
| 7 | Stately |
| 8 | Typical |
| Quantity | |
| 1 | Above Average |
| 2 | Abundant |
| 3 | Average |
| 4 | Exceptional |
| 5 | Few |
| 6 | Scant |
| Quality | |
| 1 | Cheap |
| 2 | Durable |
| 3 | Garish |
| 4 | Functional |
| 5 | High |
| 6 | Junk |
| 7 | Kingly |
| 8 | Low |
| 9 | Practical |
| 10 | Trash |
| Personal Habits | |
| 1 | Disheveled |
| 2 | Immaculate |
| 3 | Nonchalant |
| 4 | Organized |
| 5 | Perfectionist |
| 6 | Prim and proper |
| 7 | Scatterbrained |
| 8 | Sloppy |
| State of Clothing | |
| 1 | Clean |
| 2 | Dirty |
| 3 | Immaculate |
| 4 | Ragged |
| 5 | Rough |
| 6 | Unkempt |
| Thrift | |
| 1 | Ascetic |
| 2 | Average |
| 3 | Charitable |
| 4 | Covetous |
| 5 | Generous |
| 6 | Greedy |
| 7 | Miserly |
| 8 | Spendthrift |
| 9 | Thrifty |
| 10 | Wastrel |