Why YOU Should Play a Bard: Player Character Inspiration | DND 5e | TTRPG

[@benthomas686]

I love this series, and will also be sad to see it completed. I mean, you could continue it as a “Why You Should Play a Multiclass” Series…I mean how many possible permutations of multiclass characters can there be? (A lot. It’s a lot. But think about the Job Security!)

[@dakotapoole4293]

Absaloutley agree! Subclasses and charecter concepts. "Tough guys, Anti-heros, Mad mages, romantics, Etc"

[@PlayYourRole]

I've done some of those in the past, I might go back to it! Thanks so much for the ideas!

[@barstokians365]

What you said about bards being great for creative people who don't have an outlet in real life was very interesting to me. My favorite character I have played thus far was a bard specifically because playing a bard seemed to give me the creativity I utterly lack in real life. Never been inspired to make nor appreciate art, yet it felt like creative solutions to problems in game flowed from the character's being a bard.

[@SeanLaMontagne]

Could go into detail with subclasses

[@jacobsargent5367]

This isn't just inspiring, it's also deeply insightful. The connection between "horny bard memes" or even just the broad appeal of the bard and the general experience of artistic people in modern society is one that I've never seen a D&D Tuber explore. I'm a songwriter, and you described exactly why the fantasy of a bard is so important to people who have artistic ambitions. It's the fantasy of being able to do what we want to do, be who we want to be, to feel valued, loved, and desired by other people, and to change the world with our art. Ever since I started to think I wanted to write and perform songs, people have been telling me that I'm doomed to eat Ramen and work a crappy job to support my musical "hobbies". I know I'm not guaranteed anything, but I've worked for everything I've got, and I'd rather fight for a place in society that only I can fill than fight a thousand other twenty-somethings for the same soul-crushing desk job. Playing a bard helps me believe that maybe I'll find a way to make a living doing what I love, maybe I can bring people together and inspire them, and maybe I can change the world.

[@PlayYourRole]

Reading this inspires ME. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@srvfan17]

My favorite thing about about Bard is that they can run the gambit from "gentle soft boi that protects their friends and doesn't like conflict" to "takes every damage spell they can to mercilessly destroy anyone who opposes them" and both are perfectly achievable builds. Absolute banger as always! Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[@farkaspeeter]

Embarassing yourself in front of thousands of people and bots watching just in the intro: Lovin' it, fabulous first minute. And yeah, jack of all trades is PogChamp, as well as my favorite Bard feature: Font of Inspiration. I also really enjoyed how well suppressed artistic souls can roleplay their power fantasies but I think it can also put pressure on people, to be the entertainer at the table. Btw, if you don't want to finish this series (which I can totally see why you don't want to) how about a character workshop series where let's say you take some of your past characters and shed some light on the creation process, what was the idea behind them and how you enriched that through roleplay and backstory (if that is how you create a character, that is) Anyway, thank you very much, keep it up.

[@PlayYourRole]

I'm definitely going to be finishing the series, but I'm absolutely looking at what to do next. These are great ideas, thank you!

[@augustocoelho105]

I feel very represented by this video, as a musician myself who is going to play a bard in the near future, I really agree with you on your point of expressing yourself through the bard's art. Great video as always!!

[@PlayYourRole]

I'm so glad you feel like you relate to it. Thanks for watching!

[@timothywashburn8218]

2:18 "Now anybody who's a huge fan of this series..." Present! 👋

[@PlayYourRole]

That's honestly so crazy to me. Thank you!!

[@nachschub4836]

Present!! I play a blood hunter at the moment but whenever this campaign is over, I will for the first time ever play a Ranger next because of this series.

[@timothywashburn8218]

@@PlayYourRole Produce quality content with a unique point of view. Most of the KZbinrs I enjoy are like that. One is good, but both is great.

[@alethe6809]

Wow, you really hit the nail on the head with this. I actually got straight up emotional from that. As someone who hasn't been able to express myself the way I have wished to, and who has always had artistic aspirations that I haven't been able to follow through on, this really helped hammer home why the idea of playing a bard has always felt so freeing to me. Definitely given me a lot to think about, not just in regards to D&D, but also in my own personal life. Thank you, definitely earned a sub with this one!

[@lucasramey6427]

Rather recently for a campaign I'm running I made an npc Creation Bard who cast's their spells through painting it into reality and it's been a lot of fun to roleplay that

[@PlayYourRole]

That's super fun! I love it

[@bradyrector5847]

I’m giving a like just because of the rap at the beginning. Mad props and courage there my man!

[@RyanMDanks]

Making a Bard right now, and this was inspiring. As a writer who’s struggled to make a living expressing my stories, I love the spin you gave the core role playing element of the bard.

[@percussiveseer415]

If you're worried about the Why You Should series ending eventually, quick reminder that races and backgrounds are the other 2 main components of background I'm sure there is more to Why You Should Play An Elf than just +2DEX and I'd be curious as to how you would go about exploring all of them and how you can use their characteristics (both mechanical and flavor) to create interesting characters, using stereotypes and straying from them to create more nuances, etc... And background is the ultimate flavor tool in my opinion so can't wait to hear you rant about them ;33 Otherwise, I'm sure that whatever idea you will come up with will find its audience, no matter what it is count me in I love it!! Have a great day!

[@PlayYourRole]

Honestly the comments have given tons of wonderful ideas to continue on something similar. I'm incredibly grateful!

[@hoshiokashi]

I wasn't sure about this video. Then it started and I decided I would watch the whole thing and tell you I appreciate you.

[@tallBoiJones]

This is my first video of yours I’ve watched and the first about bards, and now I wanna be a bard and watch the rest of your series. You’re awesome man keep it up

[@jeroenimus7528]

Best be careful, chances are you’ll need one campaign per video you watch. 😉

[@syfarthewolf9139]

What is that ending?? It took me by surprise and was really cool. Whatever that is, do it more. Paladin teaser?

[@TheFusionSong]

I think these videos help immensely with, not only creating characters, building classes as well. They show how to plan for characters around classes.

[@PlayYourRole]

So glad that you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

[@Noctua07]

Literally every one of your "Why you shoyuld play" videos has inspired me to make a character of that class. Having only really played 2 classes (plus another one only in a side-campaign) I've really been itching to create new characters of different classes. But I don't really want to retire my current characters... so I'll just create new ones and bank on being able to play them at some point in the future.

[@hepo8494]

Thank you for that intro. It's the best bard song I've heard in one of these video's

[@artemiswhooves]

I don't know how but like you've put my thoughts into a video I mainly play bards, sometimes barbarian and warlocks There's like this freedom that comes from playing a class who's power comes from the thing I've tried to spend my life doing this like satisfaction. I've got no idea how to really put into words how it makes me feel that somebody pointed all this out, thank you for making this video

[@lilithmitchener]

This is a great video it gave me a bit more insight into the mind of a bard player. Personally I've found bards weirdly restricted in the same way a lot of people talk about rangers, mostly because of the performance aspect. As a DM I've found that it's harder for me to help the player as I just don't get it (in the same way some DMs are with monks or artificers) but this video has helped in that understanding Can't wait for you to change my mind on the artificer now :)

[@PlayYourRole]

Oh don't worry, Artificer will come eventually!

[@ryanlaroche7517]

Legit found you as I was making a changeling bard yesterday, and loved the channel! I’ll definitely be sticking around

[@ZandarDrake1025]

Bard was my first caster class that I had ever played. I always go for the Martial ones like Monk, Paladin, Barbarian, Fighter, so College of Swords was of my choice. And it was SO MUCH FUN how he got to play!!! He was essentially a "story teller of Legendary Heroes of Old" and wanted to be one said legendary hero. A full Dex build, he gained the nickname "The Silver Flash" after gaining his spells "Cloud of Daggers", and "Haste" and "Steel Wind Strike" from Magical Secrets. To be the "Charmer" of the group as one HELL of a damage dealer while inspiring/aiding the party was freaking amazing!!! Getting "Tenser's Transformation" later on only made it SOOOO much better~!!!!!

[@Chucklebot_]

Where's the love for Artificers? Sure they're pretty new, but there's a lot of depth to the class.

[@PlayYourRole]

Artificer will happen! I plan on finishing the base classes first, but there will be an Artificer Episode! It is my second favorite class after all!

[@cockman8437]

@@PlayYourRole Okay, so i know it didn't get officially added, but there's always so much hate for my personal favorite class, Mystic, could you do that too after artificer?

[@sailimp1]

Been meaning to play a Bard college of creation where instead of playing a instrument, they would create magic using their painting supplies. I played this idea once on a one shot and it was really fun. At one point I cast enlarge on our fighter, and drew him twice his size, and the idea of casting magic with paintings is really fun

[@michaelyoung7261]

So…when do we get “Why you should play Dungeon Master!” Or “Why you should play NPCs” :) I am interested, why do *you* think I should play dnd as the dm?

[@jeroenimus7528]

Ooh that has potential, go into all the various races, not just the player ones but also all the monster ones. “Why you should play an ettin” “Why you should play a beholder” “Why you should play a kobold”

[@brycebolick6518]

Dude! Awesome intro!

[@jeroenimus7528]

As an aside, one of my best characters ever was a bard called Jack Ovaldrades (I know, cheesy) who was an enormous coward but put himself in danger in order to get as much of the details/feel into his stories of what it is to be a hero. Except that he disassociated every time things got tense and thus “he” never got into any dangerous situations. His alter ego “the hero of the story” did all the brave things but through some creative cognitive dissonance he never connected himself to that “hero”.

[@Achridian]

That’s… so good. I absolutely love that

[@cinderblock547]

I’m on my way to play my first campaign! Tiefling drummer bard! What a fitting vid to watch on the commute

[@PlayYourRole]

Hope you have a great time! Enjoy yourself!

[@knightowl2407]

Hey! I really like this series too. You mentioned being afraid of finishing it out and I have a suggestion. It has to do with the 12 pmai archetypes. To me, they speak to various different ways you can play a character and are really good at setting the foundation for one, much better than ideal, flaw, personality trait on a character sheet. And the 12 types aren't just stand alone, they can be mixed and matched. Even pairs that have 1 type in common are completely different from each other. There would be a lot to delve into and I think it would fit your channel perfectly, and I have yet to see another dnd channel talk about this stuff. So maybe you could explore other role-playing and or writing aspects and relate them to dnd?

[@zoroarkling]

Bards are a class that i feel is like a glue or supplement, great to pull groups together or just enhance what the strengths the party has. And if multiclassing or playing gestalt then it further enhances the player abilities

[@jeroenimus7528]

The horny bard trope has baffled me for quite a while. I’ve loved the class since I started back in AD&D times and it always felt the most true to my soul. But horny? It’s only since Critical Role abs Scanlon I learned of the trope, somehow having been blind to it for years abs years. I expect me being asexual might be the underlying reason for that.

[@charlesmwolf]

"horny bard" is a stereotype that plays off the sluttiness of many frontman musicians (guitar and vocalists)

[@Alche_mist]

I suppose the "horny bard" stems specifically from the most typical example of Bard in literature, Dandelion(/Jaskier/Marigold - same character's name in different languages) from the Witcher. That said, we also know at least one Bard-ish character in cinematography that made his success by seducing a dragon - Donkey from Shrek.

[@fivesss3710]

Awesome song that was sick

[@noblesseoblige319]

The intro was amazing, btw

[@Bass_the_Viking]

I'm playing an eloquence bard atm and I love when " I rolled a nat 1 for my persuasion, so that's 21 total."

[@Spiceodog]

This makes me so excited to for next session

[@eloidasarmi6815]

I have an idea to play shanty singer intimidation bard and your video didn't change it, I just want to play him even more xd

[@PlayYourRole]

The hope is just to get people excited, so mission accomplished!

[@TomozAlpha]

Sick beats bro I like the intro

[@PlayYourRole]

Ahaha thank you. It was a pain to make and came out sub par but I'm glad people enjoyed my embarrassment!

[@TomozAlpha]

@@PlayYourRole just keep making videos you enjoy and I’m sure the hard work will show

[@adambrando3792]

Ever since I discovered Bards are the music guy and the one who does the dirty with weird creatures more often, I knew I was made for this role

[@barak363363]

Wonderful!

[@nadaveh7598]

this series makes me want to play so many characters... so much ideas for characters are popping in my head... is the end a clue about the next video?

[@shelbybayer200]

0_0 The bars in that Intro hit hard I technically am a Bard in the Conception video game series The Protagonist literally needs to ahem..... Perform a special Ritual to create Magic creatures that can help fight Demonic creatures In fact the Protagonist can basically just be a Bard with a Flavor name over it *God's Gift*

[@noditianniz-emir7075]

0:00 WOOOOH!, ¡YOU GOT THE RYTHM BOI!.

[@jeroenimus7528]

If you expand into subclasses you’ll be able to continue this series for quite a while ;-) (and I for one would love to hear it)

[@PlayYourRole]

I'm legitimately considering it! Thank you for the encouragement!

[@maitrecorbeau_gm]

Nice :) I wonder if they designed the class for creative yet "pushed to the background" (sorry, french guy over here). The bards can do what they want, excel at it, and yet is a support character. Being supportive is made easy, and every other players will love the bard for inspiring them at the right moment. A virtuous circle.

[@morrigankasa570]

My personal tier list of best to worst classes is as follows. 1. Cleric 2. Druid 3. Ranger 4. Wizard 5. Barbarian 6. Paladin 7. Artificer 8. Sorcerer 9. Warlock 10. Rogue 11. Monk 12. Blood-Hunter 13. Bard 14. Fighter

[@oliwiajaroszewska]

I don't know if anyone would read it but i need to share. I'm playing bard in current campain. Concept was that he loves to talk and tell stories but also listen to other ppl stories. Normal guy carring for his sick mother, not the center of attention but charming when the attention is on him. But my party really leaned into hating on bard stereotypes and hating on my character just for being a bard. Basically bullying him for things he doesn't even do. Last session was the worst. Not only my rolls were absolutely terrible the rest of the party made it even harder for me to do anything. At this point i don't feel comfortable talking in character and looking in game my character hates the rest of the party. I'm getting courage to talk to my friend about it...

[@rorystaden9108]

Just really wanted to say that I have come away from all of your Why YOU Should Play videos inspired to make meaningful characters, and helped me to see them as more than statblocks or stereotypes. Buddy you rolled a 12 on that dice 'cos I feel INSPIRED

[@sapphomett]

I'm starting a new campagne soon (after being the foreverDM for quite some time ^^') and I'm going to play a high charisma rogue-sorcerer (who's obviously going to be the face of the groupe…) only using charms and illusions… and who only yearn to be a realms-wide famous bard. Bard is the best ! And I don't need to take the bard class to be one !

[@usxxgrant]

Rap? Again with the vulnerability, good for you! Keep it up! ( Oops, did I just make a bardic double entendre?)

[@kwaksea]

Well... while I have some different opinions, I still like this series. If we can turn down "music" part little bit for some sub-classes such as Valor/Sword (Martial Art), Eloquence (Debate), or Lore (Scholarship) I am very sure we can avoid traversity such as "Musical Instrument wielding Horny Bard". To be honest this is "Reverse Sorcerer" situation for me: mechanic looks fun but music focused flavor irked me badly for some time. (I know it is irrational but I just couldnt help myself)

[@jeroenimus7528]

I didn’t much like the musical trope at first either but there’s plenty of other kind of performers. Shakespeare is still being called a bard while he was a playwright. And nothing prevents you from being a Bob Ross kind of character painting whatever needs painted.

[@jackiechan3620]

I loved the rap

[@Kestas_X]

Suddenly inspired to not just roll my characters willy nilly. ...and filled with nostalgia for the future.

[@ILP2016]

I NEED THIS BARD RAP!!!!!

[@PlayYourRole]

I can confidently say I probably won't make more but your encouragement means the world!!!

[@ILP2016]

@@PlayYourRole can u write down the words to that rap tho it's amazing I tried looking in the Discripstion but its not there

[@mslabo102s2]

Which media depicted Bards with non-music performance? I'm still new to the game and I'm trying to find the source of that (and answer to why Kalain's magic is considered Bardic).

[@Alche_mist]

If you like old fantasy literature (like, Conan-old, so, pre-Tolkien), check out Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber. Fafhrd the Barbarian has Bardic training and it might have been of nontrivial influence.

[@gegegebebebe5087]

Pretty good singing/rapping.

[@nachschub4836]

LOL WTF ^^ what an amazing opening

[@PlayYourRole]

I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[@MuddiWasTaken]

Bards can change entire cities for the better or the worse, depending on if they depend on only fans or patreon

[@austingale2388]

I'm convinced. Now to find friends.

[@piecewisefunctioneer]

The bard is the best class in the game. The bard suits all pillars of the game. The best games I have played have been travelling performers with an entire party of bards. if you want to make your DM reluctant to do anything, a party of bards is the way to do it. I have completely ended campaigns in one session as well as break my DM. If you like coming up with an idea and then asking your DM what they want you to roll (with a smirk on your face) bards the way forward. If you want to play a character that will push you to do things other than just hit in combat, the bard helps. Nobody ever had a bad time playing a bard or having a bard in the party. (Please don't limit yourself to the horny gnome cliche).

[@wizthrift]

All this and an end credit scene?!?

[@PlayYourRole]

I am certain I've got no idea what you're talking about

[@ryandelgado213]

Nobody gonna mention that beat he threw out at the beginning??

[@Spiceodog]

They can’t emulate the Druid: me casting polymorph and having a lot of Druid spells on my spelllist. Inspiring T. rex go burrrr

[@Snaitycake]

What I must do....I know now...I must... ENGAGE

[@DG-mk7kd]

"Seduce The Dragon" 'nuff said

[@Alche_mist]

Donkey?

[@Beansmith95]

e̷͎̘͈̤̼̯̬͔̬̫̰̞̮̽̑͂͊̔̆̔̃̊͜n̷̢̈̐̍̄̋̇͠͝g̸̨̢͉̩̞̥̠̺̻̭̝͎͎̹̤̅͗̄̅̓̿̔̑̔͌͜ą̷̢̤͍̦̬̱̗̱̭̫̗̥̗̖͖̣̱̦̱̐̒ģ̷̨̜̠̣͙͓̝͙̂̓i̶̢̨̧̛͍̪̭̘͕̩̬̯̻̮ͅń̸̢̧͔̝̻͔͙̥̣͎̥̞̼̫̝͙̲̣͎͉͆̐̏̾͊̌͑̔̔́̂͘͝g̷̘̦̲̠̦̝̃͑̃̈̓̓̎̈͊̄̚̕͜͝

[@srvfan17]

As you command, Lord Beansmith

[@PlayYourRole]

Why must you torment me in this way

[@chriscarleton358]

SOLID RAPPING

[@unrelentingreps2398]

Hella funny

[@jonathanowen7678]

You're no jack harlow, but that rap wasnt half bad lol

[@PlayYourRole]

Ahaha I definitely am not a rapper, butttttt I tried

[@BeardedDefender]

"Why you should play this Race"

[@TheNavster2]

It makes my soul hurt, but then I realised it's a bard. I'm sorry for sounding mean

[@wizthrift]

Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

[@VanNessy97]

Wanna make Clerics useless? College of Healing.

[@Seranuelian]

how do you think saying it's your 7th favorite class is a compliment to them? like ... there are only 13 classes.

[@F2t0ny]

The concept of bards is too cheesy to me.

[@xxnoobkillerxx124]

just no

[@AngriArtists]

This intro makes me not want to play a bard