How D&D's Bard Went From Too Weak To Overpowered
In a Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy world full of monsters and magic, the Bard has surprisingly risen from a weak character class into one largely considered overpowered. In the third edition of D&D, the Bard had a reputation for being underpowered. However, Bards in D&D 5th Edition are notoriously versatile «jack of all trades» classes with useful abilities for dungeon exploration, combat, and narrative role-play.
In the Basic D&D beginner play-kits of the 1980s and many modern Old School Revival RPGs, players can generally choose between just four main character classes - Fighter, Wizard/Magic-User, Cleric, and Thief/Rogue. Each of these D&D character classes were designed to fulfill certain roles in a classic fantasy adventuring party; Fighter player characters were damage-absorbing «tanks» who could wield any weapon and wear any armor, Wizards were fragile «glass cannons» who could unleash destructive or environment-manipulating magic, Clerics were «healer» holy warriors who could mend and bolster their allies, and Rogues were «skill-monkeys» adept at stealth, lock-picking, and trap detection. From a certain perspective, all the other character classes introduced in later versions of D&D were mechanical hybrids of these four core classes and their gameplay roles...particularly in the case of the Bard.
Related: Excellent Tabletop RPGs From The Old School Revival Genre
The Bard class of original Dungeons & Dragons, first described by Doug Schwegman in a 1976 issue of the Strategic Review, drew heavy thematic inspiration from the supernatural bards of ancient mythology and medieval romance, capable of charming the fiercest beasts with their beautiful music and learning powerful secrets. Mechanically, Doug gave his
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