These guys aren't taking into account Playable Race! If the "Swords Bard" is Mountain Dwarf they start with extra Armor & Weapons Abilities/Skills. If the "Lore Bard" is a High Elf they start with an extra Cantrip. If the "Eloquence Bard" is a Halfling they start with Lucky & other benefits. As for the 4th Bard either a Goblin or Dragonborn might be best.
Actually playing an all-bard game right now! Our premise is that we put on a show that rocked so hard that we accidentally created a portal to the Elemental Plane of Metal, fell through, and now have to find our way home.
You could make a group that seeks out forgotten knowledge. things like food recipes from fallen kingdoms, music sheets that time has forgotten, art that went missing in wars. A group that's out to ensure that the past is remembered.
Adding to this. If your running multiple campaigns have them get thrown into that universe for a session and let them run wild and reference it in the other campaign. That would be so cool for the players.
The creation bard has to be the roady being able to make new instruments when they get broken or forgotten and at higher levels being able to really take the show on the road.
@@adiksaff I was thinking about the capstone that lets them make anything regardless of cost. Because the most common problem any band has is never enough money for anything.
I had a Bardlock that was trying to move from being a roadie to a front man, and he made a deal with an Eldritch Producer (Great Old Ones Pact) for a chance at fame
In my most recent campaign, I’m playing a dwarf lore bard named Alfric, and we had just finished a siege where my character was in charge of operating the siege engines, and throughout that combat, we had accidentally discovered an amazing band name: Alfric and the Siege Engines
My regular group did this for a one shot. We built a real life rockstar and we tied the spells we took to the artists songs. It was a great deal of fun.
@@nicholasmcmahan-watson9405 As the sun sets across the barren horizon, our travel is cut short. All of a sudden, there shines a shiny demon. in the middle. Of the road.
You guys mentioned 'running social encounters like a heist' and that makes me think this would be a fantastic group to run a party of Ocean's Eleven/Now You See Me style ne'er-do-wells. Have everyone's performances be running a con on their mark(s).
As an alternative go full Scooby Doo and have the bard group invited to attend a high class party at a spooky mansion and having to solve a mystery (murder or even just a theft as not everything has to be about saving the world) as the unbiased outsiders;).
Yes! I’m a creation bard in Ravnica and part of an all Dimir party. We are super secret spies learning the secrets of the city, heisting, and lying out way through so many social encounters😂
You two do such a great job at this when Monty was excited to talk about a rival band he did such a good job of waiting until Kelly finished talking to add that in. So underrated.
Weirdly enough I think the Creation Bard might be like the ultimate Roadie and/or band manager that works mostly behind the scene or fill in gaps that the others might lack.
Currently running a game: The party has a bard, and the other characters all took instruments. They call the group, "Lute, Flute and Lyre." They travel around, doing quests, building renown, and playing in the local taverns. They have now started an adventures guild, LFL LLC. They are quickly amassing a large following and now I have plenty of ammo as a DM to have their rivals attack.
With Expertise, Jack of All Traits, Song of Rest, Bardic Inspiration, Magical Secrets, a reasonably diverse spell list, and multiple skill proficiencies - the dice and rules of D&D overall swing so heavily in this party’s favor that I would argue that they are the top of the S tier.
The creation bard would be the main roadie/technician/manager that sets up the big special effects that can’t be done mid-performance on stage by the others! Valor can either be the head of security or the second vocalist and guitarist or bassist. Then put glamor on keys and secondary special effects!
More like a Rogue and Artificer that multiclass into Bard;). Artificer/Bard: The wagon has guard horse with 440 cubic inch legs, guard wheels, guard harness and was built before fifth edition so it runs good on regular grass. Rogue/Bard: Fix the flint and steel?
I played in an all bard campaign, we were a rock band 😂❤ so much fun. I think having group spell/ group inspiration mechanics makes sense for an all bard group
I love the circus troupe bards. Eloquence is the ringmaster, valor can be the strongman, creation could be a clown pulling stuff out of nowhere, mastermind can be a master of disguise, lore is a magician, and swords can be an acrobat
I like to think that bards are one of the most "hero like" archetypes bc being a bard is about being a magicaly inspiring presence. An all bard group should feel like those bigger than life personas that break The world's reality with Pure and raw emotions and passion
@@tovekauppi1616 idk if id call them "THE most heroic" bc I dont think there actually is a "most heroic" class, but I totally agree that paladin surely is one of the most heroic classes! I also find it really interesting how the bard and the paladin charisma casting manifest in diferent ways. As I see it, a paladin charisma casting is focused internaly, they become stronger the more conviction they have on themselves and their beliefs, while a bards charisma casting manifests outwards by externalizing passion, their Magic comes from weaving the world's Magic with raw emotional bursts and inspirations while The paladin's Magic comes from canalizing confidence and transmuting into Power. But thats Just my own interpretation.
@@martiansoon9092 lemme guess, you're the type of guy whose mind defaults to jaskien when you think about the class, right? Take your time to read about the game's own lore on what is a bard and how bardic magic works, I guess :|
I have hope for an all Fighter Party, bards is nice. Edit: I've done the Guitarrist with a Deal as a Warlock, a Fey Tome Warlock that had rituals as songs. He was fun to play
The all fighter party will be good at low level fighting, mid at mid level and kind of bad at high levels. For everything else, they’ll be at most a B and probably more likely C regardless of level.
I enjoy the idea that the bard band keeps running into other bards who used to be part of the band and left. That way you could have the other bard subclasses represented and give them contacts and rivals who are connected to the entire group.
6:45 Instead of fully multiclassing into warlock they could just have some feats like Eldritch Adept for one warlock invocation. Being able to cast Speak With Animals or Disguise Self at will through an invocation could make for a fun character in a bard group.
Just wanted to say a quick thanks for your tasteful sponsor selection. Just awesome that you feature tabletop products, and while I am here for the actual topic, this is always worth watching too, since they seem like legit awesome products, and from authors that might not have another good way to market their creations. Keep it up Dudes!
Kinda wish this went in the same order as the multiclass series, so you could watch them both together back to back. And I'll be very happy to do that once they all come out.
I love this! I have been wanting to do an all bard campaign that revolved around students at a bardic college. Then have all the players be from different disciplines like one musician, a beat poet and an interpretive dancer. This makes it sound like it could be a ton of fun.
This is so amazing! Love the video. The whole "everyone plays X class" series is so much fun. Against the Bard group I can see a Villain that abuses the Silence Spell or even tried to bring silence to the world.
Lol, I called all of the subclasses you went with. I said at the beginning, “Swords, Lore, Eloquence, and either Spirits or Whispers.” Then you guys went and did the same ones in the same order.
Just started an all bard campaign. The idea came from this series and bard was the class we all thought would be the most fun to play. We had a blast building the back story of our band and it has been some of the most fun RP I’ve experienced so far in my short dnd career.
I love this idea! My prediction pre watching, a swords, lore, whispers and eloquence for a full party of fun. Now if we're doing a simple 2-3 lvl dip, Hexblade + Swords, Life cleric + Lore, Paladin + Eloquence, and Thief + Whispers.
I don’t know if anyone has thought of this(havnt read the comments on this video), but it’d be cool if a group of people tested these parties out in BG3. There’s be some obvious differences but it’d still be interesting to see the results.
Multi class version of the party: Singer: Eloquence Bard/Fey Warlock; Drummer Swords Bard/Battle Master (Action Surge to increase Tempo, Superiority Dice for direct contests); Guitarist: Lore Bard/Sorcerer or Wizard; Bassist: Spirits Bard/Paladin (Devotion or Ancients?) That’s what I came up with and I think most of those options are really cool and probably pretty good in some cases
My current character is a lore bard who has temporarily stopped being a librarian (he still does poetry for fun) to peruse being an adventurer. His dad is still upset he chose to become a bard and not a wizard 'you have a wizard tower in your backyard, why not use it?' Love the new background!
Great video! I would say the only pick you guys slept on was Creation Bard. All the unique utility of the animating performance to get a summon at level 6 when the only other way is to use a lore bard’s magical secrets is huge. The summon helps with the frontline, gives concentration-free flight, and can work like telekinesis. So, I would have put one in the mix for the summon and utility, but as you mentioned almost any mix of subclasses could be strong!
This gives me “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” vibes, with the guitarist as the fourth who’s only there every once in a while. Running away from combats, or failing badly every time they don’t.
In our all-Bard party, I played the bass, as I do in real life. My weapon was an axe, that when it was time to play music, I would stretch catgut from the blade to the hilt and get ta thumpin, looking like Gene Simmons from KISS. My race was Custom Lineage, and I went with part Tabaxi and part Yuan-Ti: killer hair, and a long forked tongue. Named Zungenkuss, which is sorta close to German for tongue-kiss. It was so fun!!!
I like the idea of the Creation Bard being the roadie-turned-musician like Jack Black in Brutal Legend. Like even beyond making instruments, you can make fullblown vehicles, and every bard party ought to be traveling in style like that instead of hoofing it.
I had the idea of making the Musicians of Bremen as an all-bard group in D&D. In the original story they're a rooster, a cat, a dog, and a donkey. So in D&D terms that could be an Aarakocra, tabaxi, shifter/ werewolf, and centaur
Wizard party: he does everything I do. Bard party: except better, with martial proficiencies, more skills, armor proficiency, and more HP ... and healing magic.
I like the idea of the east coast/west coast hip hop feud as a setting. Maybe muliticlass in to warlock and your patron being Tupac or Notorious B.I.G.
Renaissance Italy had "gangs" of rival mathematicians. Two of these had a knife fight over the solution to cubic equations. These gangs also gave public demonstrations of their abilities. The weirdest bards ever.
I actually had a bit of inspiration for a Bard recently. I was playing Dark and Darker, and the Bard in that game carries four instruments on them at all times. They also get a rapier, but it's noteworthy that at least two of their instruments have combat functions. The lute can be swung as a two-handed bludgeoning weapon, and the flute can be held up to deflect attacks like a staff. There's even a perk you can choose that increases the damage your instruments do.
I strongly recommend the book Kings of the Wyld. It's obviously set in a very D&D-ish setting, but all adventuring parties are viewed as rock stars. So they go on tours instead of adventures, and the core concept is an old band of legendary adventurers getting the Band back together for one last gig. None of the "band" members play music, but in every other way they talk and behave like they are a band of old rockers on tour. A fun twist on the fantasy trope.
Speaking as a guitarist, I consider the bassist and drummer to be the literal heart and soul of the band, as I *bass* ⇐ _(Pun intended)_ my entire music on them and cannot play without them, so my hat's off to you guys, and you get a thumbs up and a sub on that fact alone!
I was so sure that at least one of you was going to choose Valor for bass Bard, I was surprised but understandable, I think that almost any combination of subclasses can make a good composition for a Bard campaign
The image of a hottie vocalist for Eloquence, a himbo drummer for Swords, and hipster bassist for Spirits is giving me life 😂. Giving Lore to the main composer/songwriter is so smart! In a five-man band, I could see Creation working for the lead guitarist and Whispers for the keyboardist 👏🏾.
If I were running a game for an "all bard" party," I would give everyone the Fey Touched feat as a bonus feat at character creation. Definitely using that as a plot device lol
Dark Sun had a weapon set called Singing Sticks. Fighting sticks made from extremely hard wood carved with holes that when swung, made musical notes. Skilled users could make music while breaking skulls in the arena. Damage either 1d4 or 1d6...been a long time
See, I got a quartet in mind. I call them Battle of the Bands. You got the drummer, an Amethyst Dragonborn Swords Bard(I would have him start with 1 level hexblade, first.) Guitarist, Tabaxi Valor Bard. Chooses archery and buffing allies from a distance. Keyboardist: Autognome Creation bard. Support, tool/weapon maker, can call upon the groupies(summons) for some added help. And finally, vocals with the Half-wood elf Lord Bard. Primarily battlefield control.
We had a band called Naga Slayers. Dragonborn pally chanting hymns to Tempus on vocals, and me, a half-orc fighter, on hand drums. The songs I remember were Eyes of the Serpent Queen and Wolves Unleashed!
Ha ha, this is my favorite of the What if everyone... series. There really is a lot of potential for fun. Also, Monty you reference Rock n Rule whenever you feel the need, it is a fun film and is a great inspiration for an all bard adventure.
I was at a concert one evening imagining this one opening band as a band of all bards of different colleges, but they get together and travel the kingdoms doing “Battles of Ye Bands” which is them touring from place to place, using their music to cast actual magic from their magical instruments. As they tour, they encounter traditional party stuff but they also have to run around and solve mysteries a la the Scooby Gang while playing side gigs and battle other bard groups in order to get to the Excalibur Guantlet. And I’m imagining the spells they learn are actually from the songs they are writing on magical scrolls and they don’t know that they’re going to summon stuff and blow things up for real.
Thank you Kelly and Monty for another great video. An all Bard party is AMAZING!!! For three years I have been running a high level one called "Oops, All Bards" that is an ongoing Christmas campaign and my 6 amazingly theatrical players include multiple performances every year. I would recommend it to anyone, so much fun!
Bards are amazing damage dealers. - animate objects - spiritual weapon (magical secrets) - pick up Eldritch blast through one of many methods or use viscous mockery to sacrifice damage for debuff.
In the first DnD campaign I've ever played in, we had two Bards in the party that couldn't be further apart from one another, both personality-wise and in combat. I played a Valor Bard that eventually multiclassed into Paladin (of Sharess) and was both the tank and the healer of the party, with an AC well over 30 by lvl 6 and resistance to every damage type, as long as I was willing to expended spell slots for that encounter. The other bard in our party was a Lore Bard that eventually multiclassed into Warlock, nuking things from the back via Eldrich Blast and throwing all sorts of CC at our enemies. Even personality-wise, we were polar opposites - my character was Lawful Neutral and acted very much like a noble knight (the idealized medieval version, that is - basically a more sensible classic Paladin), with a pinch of vanity thrown in for good measure, while our Lore Bard was a Chaotic Good dashing womanizer/jester that got drunk at every given opportunity to mask his pain due to an anguish-filled backstory. An entire party of multiclassed Bards would be eminently effective - both in and out of combat.
My all Bard party idea: Sword Bard. The dancer, later can summon Spirit Guardian as background dancer. The most charming at the stage but a bit shy outside the stage. Valor Bard. Harp player, and also a stoic archer. Literally FF14 Bard or Tristan from Fate/Grand Order. Lore Bard. Piano player, most likely also the leader of the trope. Can do lot of stuffs. Eloquence Bard. Violin player, the opposite of the Sword Bard, blend together at the stage but surprisingly very charming when you talk to them. I think with Valor Bard as range DPS who can take Swift Quiver, this party can solve the damage problem.
I ran an all-bards game once. It was a battle of the bands, which the players won! ...by finding the opposing band members' mothers, sleeping with them, and loudly announcing it on stage. With their moms in the crowd.
Ok I got it. The party's band is actually a former band that broke up (or possibly they're related to a former member who died or can't play anymore so they take the slot). Years later and into the campaign their music is largely forgotten. But they hear about a battle of the bands concert from their (more successful) rivals and decide to get the band back together and remind the world why they're great. The adventure comes as they search for inspiration as well as some old equipment they left or had to abandon from their adventuring days. It would be an adventure with some strict time keeping as the date for the battle of the bands looms. Every adventure is an advantage they can get in the battle. In fact you can even make a point system to encourage them to do as much as possible before the big day. You can even find a few of your die hard fans to spread the news of the battle. I think there's a lot of potential there.
My favorite bard was a half elf lore bard that was a librarian. Her bardic gift came out through story telling. I miss that character, she was so fun to role play. These videos are very enjoyable. I’d love to see how an all barbarian party would work. Or an all warlock party with rival patrons that are constantly trying to one up the others or stab them in the back, but the warlocks who all knew each other from before are resisting. So many ideas! For a bard party name, maybe “Bard from Existence”… if there’s at least one of the bird races you could go with “Bard and Feathered”.
I am DMing an “Oops all bards” campaign and it’s an absolute delight. They are way more powerful than I anticipated so far in low level combat. I highly recommend
I'm in a group atm with 5 players, 2 of whom are Bards (Swords and Lore), plus a Sorlock (subtle Detect Thoughts and Suggestion are amazing), and the social shenanigannery is off the rails! Which is fortunate, since my character is uncouth, unintelligent, and a kobold, so they spend a lot of time covering for him or getting him out of trouble! We have entire sessions go without combat, and don't care, because it's hilarious watching those 3 at work. But a party with twice that many bards again - that would be utter madness! I'd really like to play that adventure lol. If you guys ever do a one-shot of that adventure, I'd definitely be watching!
With all the bonuses to skill checks being thrown around, it made me think of one of the Bards dropping a level into Peace Cleric in order to get Emboldening Bond on top of everything else. And then I realised that a Bard with a level in Peace Cleric could 100% work as the sort of 60's Hippie Musician archetype.
The best thing for the bard party is a 3 member band and the 4th is the bands lawyer. Still looking forward to the all Rogue party, keep them coming dudes!
Lore Bard 14's Peerless Skill lets them add their own inspiration die to an ability check. This can stack with inspiration from another bard, since the way it's worded, it doesn't conflict with "A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time." So consider this when choosing the lore bard's proficiencies / expertises (and stats; e.g. you mentioned giving them the Int-based skills.) The relevant rules: > Bardic Inspiration: ... A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time. > Peerless Skill: Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your ability check. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeed or fail. Notice that you "expend a use of" bardic, but never actually *have* the die as inspiration ready to spend. You just roll it and mark off a use, so it doesn't conflict with the restriction against having multiple inspiration dice ready to spend.
Right now, I'm running an all Bard group for an Eberron campaign, which their working as delivery carriers while finding gigs to stardom. It's good to find musician references. Experiencing with them, they're A+/B- for social interactions while D- for combat. It's also good to give them a battle of the bands tournament. In dnd combat, it will be standard, but with the style of guitar hero meters success that equals DC save that the DM sets up for each player rolls and rolling performance skill to see if the audience are impress or disappointed. 10 rounds or less to keep the players' attention in the session. Finally, at the end of the battle, tally the DC score and find which band is the winner. My campaign's player band is called the "Flam Dorados" [flaming gold].
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Making the Glamour Bard the villain who left the band and went out on their own .
Amazing idea!
I see you played brütal legend
Epic lool
A glamour bard could be a really good bbeg actually
Who is the REAL villain? The one who left, or the rest of the band who would not let them leave?
I really like how Kelly admitted to being the brooding one. As if his taste in Sorcerers and Monks didn't already give that away haha.
Ouch I feel called out.
I love sorcerers, am dying to play a monk.
And, ahem, am the bass player. 😅
IMO Monks aren’t brooding.
@@SuperrrStaggie
As a bass hobbyist, whose first 5e character was a Monk that dipped into Sorcerer..... I feel like I belong here.
@@dracusdaiarr1788no class is inherently but it lends itself well
Sorcerer main at heart, but dam I wish monks were good
A Bardber Shop Quartet party of bards seems like an incredible idea, i want someone to do this so badly
These guys aren't taking into account Playable Race! If the "Swords Bard" is Mountain Dwarf they start with extra Armor & Weapons Abilities/Skills. If the "Lore Bard" is a High Elf they start with an extra Cantrip. If the "Eloquence Bard" is a Halfling they start with Lucky & other benefits. As for the 4th Bard either a Goblin or Dragonborn might be best.
Based on their speaking voices, Monty is the Lead, Kelly is the Bass…who’s the Bari and Tenor??
I assume that the all bard party uses drugs in place of potions. Potion of haste, cocaine, potion of healing, heroine.
Actually playing an all-bard game right now! Our premise is that we put on a show that rocked so hard that we accidentally created a portal to the Elemental Plane of Metal, fell through, and now have to find our way home.
That’s so ducking cool
Super dope!
You could make a group that seeks out forgotten knowledge. things like food recipes from fallen kingdoms, music sheets that time has forgotten, art that went missing in wars. A group that's out to ensure that the past is remembered.
So the Gullwings from FFX-2 are an all-bard party! Makes perfect sense!
@@reloadpsi absolutely. They throw concerts and everything.
It could be in a war campaign like the movie where the old art historians go in after Nazi Germany stolen art, Monument Men I think it was
@@weirdoregonianOr Indiana Jones.
A plane-hopping style game of bards could be based on Bill and Ted. Make a tower that can plane-shift with a mishap table and let it begin.
....
EXCELLENT!
Adding to this. If your running multiple campaigns have them get thrown into that universe for a session and let them run wild and reference it in the other campaign. That would be so cool for the players.
The creation bard has to be the roady being able to make new instruments when they get broken or forgotten and at higher levels being able to really take the show on the road.
Could also double as the special effects technician barring the presence or in addition to the Glam bard on keys!
I was thinking they can just Hire the muscle they don't have .. the Roadies (mercenaries)
Are you hinting at the Dancing Object being able to carry the band to take the show on the road? That would be awesome!
@@adiksaff I was thinking about the capstone that lets them make anything regardless of cost. Because the most common problem any band has is never enough money for anything.
Performance check, 1, 2, performance check, 1, 2
You made me think of a tv show my sister watched when she was little. You can have a gem and the holograms party.
If you ever take warlock levels, Synergy is the patron.
Outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous
They even mention that! Great minds think alike
I imagine a party of bards being Dethklock. Fighting trolls that the accidentally summoned and an evil corporation ran by the Devil 🤘
I had a Bardlock that was trying to move from being a roadie to a front man, and he made a deal with an Eldritch Producer (Great Old Ones Pact) for a chance at fame
You beat me to this comment!
In my most recent campaign, I’m playing a dwarf lore bard named Alfric, and we had just finished a siege where my character was in charge of operating the siege engines, and throughout that combat, we had accidentally discovered an amazing band name: Alfric and the Siege Engines
Another good option might be "Engines of War".
Another good one could be "... and the Siege Machines"
My regular group did this for a one shot. We built a real life rockstar and we tied the spells we took to the artists songs. It was a great deal of fun.
As a dm my all bard party would immediately be playing through Tenacious D
@@nicholasmcmahan-watson9405 As the sun sets across the barren horizon, our travel is cut short. All of a sudden, there shines a shiny demon. in the middle. Of the road.
You need to tell us more. We have a MIGHTY NEED to hear about this. Can David Bowie cast Glitterdust/Faerie Fire at will?
No one was David Bowie, The bards were based on Axl Rose, Ringo Star, and John Williams. But yes, yes he can.@@Tomyironmane
Sounds like an interesting trip. Maybe a wild journey. Or maybe even a ... bizarre adventure? 🪕✴😜
You guys mentioned 'running social encounters like a heist' and that makes me think this would be a fantastic group to run a party of Ocean's Eleven/Now You See Me style ne'er-do-wells. Have everyone's performances be running a con on their mark(s).
There’s those official heist modules that came out last year, so you could even use those.
As an alternative go full Scooby Doo and have the bard group invited to attend a high class party at a spooky mansion and having to solve a mystery (murder or even just a theft as not everything has to be about saving the world) as the unbiased outsiders;).
Yes! I’m a creation bard in Ravnica and part of an all Dimir party. We are super secret spies learning the secrets of the city, heisting, and lying out way through so many social encounters😂
You two do such a great job at this when Monty was excited to talk about a rival band he did such a good job of waiting until Kelly finished talking to add that in. So underrated.
Weirdly enough I think the Creation Bard might be like the ultimate Roadie and/or band manager that works mostly behind the scene or fill in gaps that the others might lack.
Currently running a game:
The party has a bard, and the other characters all took instruments. They call the group, "Lute, Flute and Lyre." They travel around, doing quests, building renown, and playing in the local taverns.
They have now started an adventures guild, LFL LLC.
They are quickly amassing a large following and now I have plenty of ammo as a DM to have their rivals attack.
With Expertise, Jack of All Traits, Song of Rest, Bardic Inspiration, Magical Secrets, a reasonably diverse spell list, and multiple skill proficiencies - the dice and rules of D&D overall swing so heavily in this party’s favor that I would argue that they are the top of the S tier.
A plus to the bard party in combat, their ability to recruit hirelings (roadies) or attract followers (groupies) that can act as cannon fodder
The creation bard would be the main roadie/technician/manager that sets up the big special effects that can’t be done mid-performance on stage by the others!
Valor can either be the head of security or the second vocalist and guitarist or bassist. Then put glamor on keys and secondary special effects!
Creation bard: We're on a mission from god
Eloquence bard: We're getting the band back together
Nah, creation bard is the backstage guy, he got all the props ready
I want to get somebody that will run a pair of bards with 1 level of celestial warlock with me. Be the Blues Brothers on a mission from God.
More like a Rogue and Artificer that multiclass into Bard;).
Artificer/Bard: The wagon has guard horse with 440 cubic inch legs, guard wheels, guard harness and was built before fifth edition so it runs good on regular grass.
Rogue/Bard: Fix the flint and steel?
I played in an all bard campaign, we were a rock band 😂❤ so much fun. I think having group spell/ group inspiration mechanics makes sense for an all bard group
I'm looking forward to the "oops all artificers" episode and hoping for an "everybody multiclasses" episode
everyone multiclasses is just normal dnd these days
@@BassRacerx yeah but I wanna see their optimized ideas for it still and all the nice flavorful but less optional choices in between
It's mad science time!!!!! XD
I love the circus troupe bards. Eloquence is the ringmaster, valor can be the strongman, creation could be a clown pulling stuff out of nowhere, mastermind can be a master of disguise, lore is a magician, and swords can be an acrobat
Mastermind is a rogue subclass
@@emmasilver2332he snuck in to the bards!
Swords is the knife thrower... duh
I like to think that bards are one of the most "hero like" archetypes bc being a bard is about being a magicaly inspiring presence. An all bard group should feel like those bigger than life personas that break The world's reality with Pure and raw emotions and passion
Surely the paladins are the most hero like? At least hero in the traditional sense?
Dethklok? 😂
Are jesters and jokers heroes? Cmon.
@@tovekauppi1616 idk if id call them "THE most heroic" bc I dont think there actually is a "most heroic" class, but I totally agree that paladin surely is one of the most heroic classes!
I also find it really interesting how the bard and the paladin charisma casting manifest in diferent ways. As I see it, a paladin charisma casting is focused internaly, they become stronger the more conviction they have on themselves and their beliefs, while a bards charisma casting manifests outwards by externalizing passion, their Magic comes from weaving the world's Magic with raw emotional bursts and inspirations while The paladin's Magic comes from canalizing confidence and transmuting into Power. But thats Just my own interpretation.
@@martiansoon9092 lemme guess, you're the type of guy whose mind defaults to jaskien when you think about the class, right?
Take your time to read about the game's own lore on what is a bard and how bardic magic works, I guess :|
I have hope for an all Fighter Party, bards is nice.
Edit: I've done the Guitarrist with a Deal as a Warlock, a Fey Tome Warlock that had rituals as songs. He was fun to play
The all fighter party will be good at low level fighting, mid at mid level and kind of bad at high levels. For everything else, they’ll be at most a B and probably more likely C regardless of level.
@@tovekauppi1616 Bad at high levels, yeah, but just imagine 32 attacks in one round and all those feats, good god.
i've wanted to run an all-Bard party in a short game that is basically the fantasy equivalent of Footloose.
For the campine concept I imagine the party traveling around solving mysteries
When you invite the guys over to play Rock Band, but all you have is D&D.
I enjoy the idea that the bard band keeps running into other bards who used to be part of the band and left. That way you could have the other bard subclasses represented and give them contacts and rivals who are connected to the entire group.
6:45 Instead of fully multiclassing into warlock they could just have some feats like Eldritch Adept for one warlock invocation. Being able to cast Speak With Animals or Disguise Self at will through an invocation could make for a fun character in a bard group.
If I were the DM and that was the story we were going with, I’d just give them the feat at the start of the game without them having to take it.
Just wanted to say a quick thanks for your tasteful sponsor selection. Just awesome that you feature tabletop products, and while I am here for the actual topic, this is always worth watching too, since they seem like legit awesome products, and from authors that might not have another good way to market their creations.
Keep it up Dudes!
Kinda wish this went in the same order as the multiclass series, so you could watch them both together back to back. And I'll be very happy to do that once they all come out.
LOVING the new studio setup!!
A team full of orc bards the ORChestra
I love this! I have been wanting to do an all bard campaign that revolved around students at a bardic college. Then have all the players be from different disciplines like one musician, a beat poet and an interpretive dancer. This makes it sound like it could be a ton of fun.
Also, as a bassist, you nailed it with the spirit bard- often multiclassed from barbarian.
(Yeah. We're MAD as hell.)
This is so amazing! Love the video. The whole "everyone plays X class" series is so much fun.
Against the Bard group I can see a Villain that abuses the Silence Spell or even tried to bring silence to the world.
Buffy episode - "Hush". There's your villain. :)
A bard party is just gonna be this really wholesome group of pals who just absolutely have each others' backs and just love and support each other.
Lol, I called all of the subclasses you went with. I said at the beginning, “Swords, Lore, Eloquence, and either Spirits or Whispers.” Then you guys went and did the same ones in the same order.
Just started an all bard campaign. The idea came from this series and bard was the class we all thought would be the most fun to play. We had a blast building the back story of our band and it has been some of the most fun RP I’ve experienced so far in my short dnd career.
I love this idea! My prediction pre watching, a swords, lore, whispers and eloquence for a full party of fun. Now if we're doing a simple 2-3 lvl dip, Hexblade + Swords, Life cleric + Lore, Paladin + Eloquence, and Thief + Whispers.
Gotta have a creation bard so they can animate the stage.
They're the Roadie with Expertise in Athletics.
Not that there is anything wrong with Creation Bards, but you only need the Silent Illusion spell to animate the stage.
With a creation bard you can actually bring part of the stage to life and have it fly around with band members on it.
So basically Brutal Legend DnD
I don’t know if anyone has thought of this(havnt read the comments on this video), but it’d be cool if a group of people tested these parties out in BG3. There’s be some obvious differences but it’d still be interesting to see the results.
Multi class version of the party: Singer: Eloquence Bard/Fey Warlock; Drummer Swords Bard/Battle Master (Action Surge to increase Tempo, Superiority Dice for direct contests); Guitarist: Lore Bard/Sorcerer or Wizard; Bassist: Spirits Bard/Paladin (Devotion or Ancients?) That’s what I came up with and I think most of those options are really cool and probably pretty good in some cases
HAHAHA seeing monty going nuts when Tenacious D is mentioned. Thank you for this video
Everything seems so much clearer in the video! Maybe it's the lighting it looks good!
The ultimate all bard party:
Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo.
They're sure to leave their marx on the world!
Carrying around the piano for Chico to play might be an issue though;).
th-cam.com/video/jkCiRSDPIzk/w-d-xo.html
Bardy Pardy.
So much Charisma, they fight with pants down, balls out, and music them to death.
The party is a band on a tour, and the BBEG is a crazy stalker fan.
My current character is a lore bard who has temporarily stopped being a librarian (he still does poetry for fun) to peruse being an adventurer. His dad is still upset he chose to become a bard and not a wizard 'you have a wizard tower in your backyard, why not use it?'
Love the new background!
Great video! I would say the only pick you guys slept on was Creation Bard. All the unique utility of the animating performance to get a summon at level 6 when the only other way is to use a lore bard’s magical secrets is huge. The summon helps with the frontline, gives concentration-free flight, and can work like telekinesis. So, I would have put one in the mix for the summon and utility, but as you mentioned almost any mix of subclasses could be strong!
100% the dancing item should be a flying piano
This gives me “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” vibes, with the guitarist as the fourth who’s only there every once in a while. Running away from combats, or failing badly every time they don’t.
I'm the bard in my DND group. And I always sing the praises of bards to my dms dismay. I'm glad you are showing them love
"Just go in hurling insults"
I am imagining the scene from Monty Python: Quest for the Holy Grail with the french in the castle and King Arthur.
This is awesome! I cannot wait for how bad the Oops! All Monks party! 😆
In our all-Bard party, I played the bass, as I do in real life. My weapon was an axe, that when it was time to play music, I would stretch catgut from the blade to the hilt and get ta thumpin, looking like Gene Simmons from KISS. My race was Custom Lineage, and I went with part Tabaxi and part Yuan-Ti: killer hair, and a long forked tongue. Named Zungenkuss, which is sorta close to German for tongue-kiss. It was so fun!!!
Honestly can't wait to see the all-Artificer party, because it's really funny how each of the 4 subclasses fill a solid party role. =p
This is basically what my group did for a 2 shots once! Mischief Mayhem the metal band rocking it all!
I like the idea of the Creation Bard being the roadie-turned-musician like Jack Black in Brutal Legend. Like even beyond making instruments, you can make fullblown vehicles, and every bard party ought to be traveling in style like that instead of hoofing it.
I had the idea of making the Musicians of Bremen as an all-bard group in D&D. In the original story they're a rooster, a cat, a dog, and a donkey. So in D&D terms that could be an Aarakocra, tabaxi, shifter/ werewolf, and centaur
Wizard party: he does everything I do.
Bard party: except better, with martial proficiencies, more skills, armor proficiency, and more HP ... and healing magic.
I like the idea of the east coast/west coast hip hop feud as a setting. Maybe muliticlass in to warlock and your patron being Tupac or Notorious B.I.G.
Renaissance Italy had "gangs" of rival mathematicians. Two of these had a knife fight over the solution to cubic equations. These gangs also gave public demonstrations of their abilities. The weirdest bards ever.
I actually had a bit of inspiration for a Bard recently. I was playing Dark and Darker, and the Bard in that game carries four instruments on them at all times. They also get a rapier, but it's noteworthy that at least two of their instruments have combat functions. The lute can be swung as a two-handed bludgeoning weapon, and the flute can be held up to deflect attacks like a staff. There's even a perk you can choose that increases the damage your instruments do.
I strongly recommend the book Kings of the Wyld. It's obviously set in a very D&D-ish setting, but all adventuring parties are viewed as rock stars. So they go on tours instead of adventures, and the core concept is an old band of legendary adventurers getting the Band back together for one last gig.
None of the "band" members play music, but in every other way they talk and behave like they are a band of old rockers on tour. A fun twist on the fantasy trope.
You could base the band off of The Monkees. Four friends that go on wacky adventures.
Or Big Time Rush but like in the movie or in the fake movie they made for that one episode
Speaking as a guitarist, I consider the bassist and drummer to be the literal heart and soul of the band, as I *bass* ⇐ _(Pun intended)_ my entire music on them and cannot play without them, so my hat's off to you guys, and you get a thumbs up and a sub on that fact alone!
I've wanted to play an All Bard Party in "Candlekeep." Just a traveling band solving groovy mysteries.
I was so sure that at least one of you was going to choose Valor for bass Bard, I was surprised but understandable, I think that almost any combination of subclasses can make a good composition for a Bard campaign
The image of a hottie vocalist for Eloquence, a himbo drummer for Swords, and hipster bassist for Spirits is giving me life 😂. Giving Lore to the main composer/songwriter is so smart!
In a five-man band, I could see Creation working for the lead guitarist and Whispers for the keyboardist 👏🏾.
If I were running a game for an "all bard" party," I would give everyone the Fey Touched feat as a bonus feat at character creation. Definitely using that as a plot device lol
About damage: Never forget the potence of Swift Quiver + Sharpshooter.
Love the new recording background Dudes!
Spirits bard: Aurelio Voltaire.
Change my mind
Creation is so good. There's so much you can do with the creations if you're creative.
Dark Sun had a weapon set called Singing Sticks.
Fighting sticks made from extremely hard wood carved with holes that when swung, made musical notes.
Skilled users could make music while breaking skulls in the arena. Damage either 1d4 or 1d6...been a long time
See, I got a quartet in mind. I call them Battle of the Bands.
You got the drummer, an Amethyst Dragonborn Swords Bard(I would have him start with 1 level hexblade, first.)
Guitarist, Tabaxi Valor Bard. Chooses archery and buffing allies from a distance.
Keyboardist: Autognome Creation bard. Support, tool/weapon maker, can call upon the groupies(summons) for some added help.
And finally, vocals with the Half-wood elf Lord Bard. Primarily battlefield control.
Honestly, if I was the Lore Bard in this party, I would take Conjure Animals at Level 6 to give us that missing front line.
We had a band called Naga Slayers. Dragonborn pally chanting hymns to Tempus on vocals, and me, a half-orc fighter, on hand drums. The songs I remember were Eyes of the Serpent Queen and Wolves Unleashed!
The bard based on Picasso: "I'm gonna rearrange your face!"
Ha ha, this is my favorite of the What if everyone... series. There really is a lot of potential for fun. Also, Monty you reference Rock n Rule whenever you feel the need, it is a fun film and is a great inspiration for an all bard adventure.
I was at a concert one evening imagining this one opening band as a band of all bards of different colleges, but they get together and travel the kingdoms doing “Battles of Ye Bands” which is them touring from place to place, using their music to cast actual magic from their magical instruments. As they tour, they encounter traditional party stuff but they also have to run around and solve mysteries a la the Scooby Gang while playing side gigs and battle other bard groups in order to get to the Excalibur Guantlet.
And I’m imagining the spells they learn are actually from the songs they are writing on magical scrolls and they don’t know that they’re going to summon stuff and blow things up for real.
Thank you Kelly and Monty for another great video. An all Bard party is AMAZING!!! For three years I have been running a high level one called "Oops, All Bards" that is an ongoing Christmas campaign and my 6 amazingly theatrical players include multiple performances every year. I would recommend it to anyone, so much fun!
Bards are amazing damage dealers.
- animate objects
- spiritual weapon (magical secrets)
- pick up Eldritch blast through one of many methods or use viscous mockery to sacrifice damage for debuff.
In the first DnD campaign I've ever played in, we had two Bards in the party that couldn't be further apart from one another, both personality-wise and in combat.
I played a Valor Bard that eventually multiclassed into Paladin (of Sharess) and was both the tank and the healer of the party, with an AC well over 30 by lvl 6 and resistance to every damage type, as long as I was willing to expended spell slots for that encounter. The other bard in our party was a Lore Bard that eventually multiclassed into Warlock, nuking things from the back via Eldrich Blast and throwing all sorts of CC at our enemies.
Even personality-wise, we were polar opposites - my character was Lawful Neutral and acted very much like a noble knight (the idealized medieval version, that is - basically a more sensible classic Paladin), with a pinch of vanity thrown in for good measure, while our Lore Bard was a Chaotic Good dashing womanizer/jester that got drunk at every given opportunity to mask his pain due to an anguish-filled backstory.
An entire party of multiclassed Bards would be eminently effective - both in and out of combat.
Currently playing a Bard in a modern setting, who multiclassed into warlock after signing a deal with the record label "Fiend LLC"
My all Bard party idea:
Sword Bard. The dancer, later can summon Spirit Guardian as background dancer. The most charming at the stage but a bit shy outside the stage.
Valor Bard. Harp player, and also a stoic archer. Literally FF14 Bard or Tristan from Fate/Grand Order.
Lore Bard. Piano player, most likely also the leader of the trope. Can do lot of stuffs.
Eloquence Bard. Violin player, the opposite of the Sword Bard, blend together at the stage but surprisingly very charming when you talk to them.
I think with Valor Bard as range DPS who can take Swift Quiver, this party can solve the damage problem.
I ran an all-bards game once. It was a battle of the bands, which the players won!
...by finding the opposing band members' mothers, sleeping with them, and loudly announcing it on stage. With their moms in the crowd.
Ok I got it. The party's band is actually a former band that broke up (or possibly they're related to a former member who died or can't play anymore so they take the slot). Years later and into the campaign their music is largely forgotten. But they hear about a battle of the bands concert from their (more successful) rivals and decide to get the band back together and remind the world why they're great. The adventure comes as they search for inspiration as well as some old equipment they left or had to abandon from their adventuring days. It would be an adventure with some strict time keeping as the date for the battle of the bands looms. Every adventure is an advantage they can get in the battle. In fact you can even make a point system to encourage them to do as much as possible before the big day. You can even find a few of your die hard fans to spread the news of the battle. I think there's a lot of potential there.
My favorite bard was a half elf lore bard that was a librarian. Her bardic gift came out through story telling. I miss that character, she was so fun to role play. These videos are very enjoyable. I’d love to see how an all barbarian party would work. Or an all warlock party with rival patrons that are constantly trying to one up the others or stab them in the back, but the warlocks who all knew each other from before are resisting. So many ideas! For a bard party name, maybe “Bard from Existence”… if there’s at least one of the bird races you could go with “Bard and Feathered”.
i have been waiting for this for ages! yeah me and my GM having been throwing this idea around for a wile now, thanx for the vid guys
We’d be called “The Goats” playing as all Saytrs
The glamour bard is the bard who was a part of the band and left to achieve things on their own.
He is their most fiercest rival and sometimes ally
I am DMing an “Oops all bards” campaign and it’s an absolute delight. They are way more powerful than I anticipated so far in low level combat. I highly recommend
I'm in a group atm with 5 players, 2 of whom are Bards (Swords and Lore), plus a Sorlock (subtle Detect Thoughts and Suggestion are amazing), and the social shenanigannery is off the rails! Which is fortunate, since my character is uncouth, unintelligent, and a kobold, so they spend a lot of time covering for him or getting him out of trouble! We have entire sessions go without combat, and don't care, because it's hilarious watching those 3 at work. But a party with twice that many bards again - that would be utter madness! I'd really like to play that adventure lol. If you guys ever do a one-shot of that adventure, I'd definitely be watching!
With all the bonuses to skill checks being thrown around, it made me think of one of the Bards dropping a level into Peace Cleric in order to get Emboldening Bond on top of everything else. And then I realised that a Bard with a level in Peace Cleric could 100% work as the sort of 60's Hippie Musician archetype.
The best thing for the bard party is a 3 member band and the 4th is the bands lawyer. Still looking forward to the all Rogue party, keep them coming dudes!
Lore Bard 14's Peerless Skill lets them add their own inspiration die to an ability check.
This can stack with inspiration from another bard, since the way it's worded, it doesn't conflict with "A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time."
So consider this when choosing the lore bard's proficiencies / expertises (and stats; e.g. you mentioned giving them the Int-based skills.)
The relevant rules:
> Bardic Inspiration: ... A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.
> Peerless Skill: Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your ability check. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeed or fail.
Notice that you "expend a use of" bardic, but never actually *have* the die as inspiration ready to spend. You just roll it and mark off a use, so it doesn't conflict with the restriction against having multiple inspiration dice ready to spend.
Pre watch prediction:
LORE, ELOQUENCE, WHISPERS, SWORD.
Edit: 12:35 and I called it. This makes me feel inordinately accomplished for some reason.
just like the face-melting solo, those all bard video was epic!
Right now, I'm running an all Bard group for an Eberron campaign, which their working as delivery carriers while finding gigs to stardom. It's good to find musician references. Experiencing with them, they're A+/B- for social interactions while D- for combat. It's also good to give them a battle of the bands tournament. In dnd combat, it will be standard, but with the style of guitar hero meters success that equals DC save that the DM sets up for each player rolls and rolling performance skill to see if the audience are impress or disappointed. 10 rounds or less to keep the players' attention in the session. Finally, at the end of the battle, tally the DC score and find which band is the winner. My campaign's player band is called the "Flam Dorados" [flaming gold].