Posted by Lortaen on December 23, 2000 at 17:46:24:
In Reply to: Bardic Thoughts posted by Ansellius on December 23, 2000 at 16:52:15:
> I'm in 100% agreement with you. I have always found the bard songs limiting to the role of your bard. Here's my solution: > Set up the bard class like the neo-paladin class. Bard's should have to "audition" for an immortal before gaining skills above level 10. Much the same as empowerment. Then every five lvls they should go back to an immortal and audition again for the higher songs. At this time -I suppose- said bard could pick the lyrics to the new song. > The really neat thing about setting up the class this way is that a bard's rank will reflect his role playing, tale spinning, poet spewing, ability. For instance if a bard could put together a decent act, but never a -spectacular- act he would never make it to hero. This would also cause Thera's bards to perform more often... as they would need to practice for their immortal audition. > I'm very disappointed in the bard population of Thera right now. It seems like there are too many killer-bards popping up in Battle, Sylvan and Empire. I understand the role sure, but in my opinion all bards should be performing regularly. While I think you have a point, I see some big problems with the way you want to take bards. First of all, something to remember. Bards are relatively powerful right now. While not overpowered, they certainly are in no need of a boost in power. Now, if you make bards need to get something like empowerment, or worse yet, empowerment every five levels or even ten or such... that makes it far more difficult to be one. Most players would agree you should be repaid by being able to get more powerful. As I said, bards don't need to be more powerful, they're just fine as they are as power goes. The idea of letting them actually submit words for their songs has a few problems... one is the fact that being able to do this on a mass basis (rather than in occassional, quest song type cases which I know have happened or at least had chances of happening) may be difficult as coding goes. As well, if you mean that you should be able to submit new words for the existing songs as I think you mean... the imms would have to be critical because your words should be ones that make sense to the effects of the song. As well, it makes it difficult for the strategy of those who fight bards... how will we know what's being sung until it affects us, at which point it might be disasterous for us. If I didn't know if a bard was singing the sleep song til I was slept... I could have problems. As well, if a bard has to be able to put on a *spectacular* act to make hero... there'll be very few bards at hero, obviously. But also, it sounds like it would be near as difficult as liching... in which case many players would want there to be appropriate rewards. You seem to want bard players to be good roleplayers... but the pk aspect is very important too, for alot of the good roleplayers as well as not so good ones. If there aren't rewards, many players will decide just to ignore the class, not feeling it worth the effort... and if there are rewards, bards will end up being extremely powerful, and I don't think it'd be a very good thing for Thera to have another overpowered (if rare) group of heros. I see your point about the disappointing bard population of Thera... though I'd say that it seems more to me that bards aren't getting played much. They've never been that common anyhow, but making it more difficult to be one isn't a solution at this point and nor is making them more powerful when they're powerful enough already, in my opinion.