Pipe Dreams: Bard as a Troubadour & Talekeeper

The talk about bards made the cogs in my head move, and so I started cooking up a suggestion to help expand the in-world role of bards. I don't know if this is actually possible given the way the player character becomes a bard, but it was a good mind exercise.

Concept

As briefly mentioned in the questline, bards collect stories and songs, inspire their allies in combat and turn foes into pin cushions with arrows. While the combat end has been done well, the non-combat aspect of the job could use some more depth.

After completing the lv50 quest, bard players have access to a series of quests where they would collect stories or do things for certain individuals that would lead to the collection of stories and songs. I suggest this be separated by region.

Upon unlocking the questline, bards gain the ability "Thrum", allowing them to pull out their instrument and play a melody (I'd probably use the tune the wandering minstrel plays to start).

System

System-wise, you'd unlock a lore book/codex that slowly fills up with information. The catch is that in order to utilize and fill the lore book/codex, your job HAS to be set to BRD. The abilities related to this are BRD-exclusive.

The idea I had for the quests would be that once you're given leave to look into the lore of the city states, you can talk to various NPCs that will tell you either clues to the obscure parts of lore or share a tale or folksong with you. Normal folksongs (ex: a random sea shanty learned from Baderon) could be "played" by you having it selected from your lore book/codex and then hitting Thrum.

After learning a certain number of songs and stories from people in a city state, you may start hearing about a "lost" or "obscure" song or story, enabling you to piece it together by talking to NPCs about it. Once you do, you learn that city state's "saga", which would be listed as its own action in the ability menu.

Mechanics-wise, short stories performed with Thrum run on automatic. Ideally they would be along the lines of this, but shorter. These would be recited as text bubbles, playing on your instrument but without voice acting.

Sagas, being more obscure, are meant to give some room for interpretation. Players would discover that fully "completed" sagas have variations in certain passages, as lore tends to transform over time. So when performing a saga, the bard has the option of having Mistbeard succeed in sneaking into the bedchamber of the commodore's daughter, or accidentally sneak into a barracks full of guards. The best system for this sort of thing would be something like how the crafting system works.

Suggestions

Thanalan - As seen through Koharu's comments, the dancers in Ul'dah and the samples of songs we've seen from Tataru, folk music in Thanalan has a lot to do with money and wealth. Despite what most would think, not all folksongs paint wealth as a positive thing. In some cases, the lore warns against careless pursuit of wealth, while a handful suggest material wealth as less important than other things.

Saga: The Imp and the Sultan

As the player collects and hears about the folk songs of Thanalan, they will also catch glimpses of a famous but incomplete work. This saga would be about a sultan that is repeatedly fooled by an imp while trying to attain greater status, wealth and power (in the end, costing him everything).

La Noscea - With seafaring heritage and the numerous pirate crews that inhabit Limsa, sea shanties are somewhat ingrained into La Noscean culture. While some are mere work-songs (the type you'd hear around Moraby Drydocks with lewd rhymes and obvious innuendos), others contain more flair and are more fit for pubs and taverns (the type with slightly-subtle lewdness and not-so-obvious innuendos). Yet a third category of shanties go into the deeds of great pirates of the past.

Saga: The Epic of Mistbeard

After delving into shanties, the player will begin to piece together the saga of the legendary Mistbeard. The epic would be divided into four parts, the first three telling of his various quests for plunder and booty, while the last part would be a fictitious take on the end of Mistbeard.

The Black Shroud - In synch with the Gridanians' efforts to maintain harmony between themselves and the elementals, the Black Shroud's lore is based mostly on stories and short tales. These range from "beware the forest mushrooms" type tales to the kind that would be associated with the Brothers Grimm, used to instill fear/respect for the forest and its denizens. Some of these are recited rather than sung.

Saga: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Vainglorious Fool

While Gridanian lore spans several centuries, this relatively new work has recently risen to prominence. The piece covers the life of a man whose hubris led those who depended on him to a terrible fate, and his redemption after facing his mistakes and learning from them. As such, it is split into three parts.

Coerthas - Caught between the devotion to the cult of the fury and the harsh realities of life in the highlands, Coerthas has two distinct forms of lore. The first being the hymns associated with the fury and the heroes that have fought in her name (including saints and past Azure Dragoons). The second is known as hearthsongs, short tunes that are surprisingly energetic and joyful, meant to lift the spirits of the audience. (I know the latter is a stretch, since Ishgardians tend to be portrayed as gloomy and no-nonsense)

Saga: The Trials of Saint Daniffen

While in search for the true path, Saint Daniffen endured seven tests of faith. As such the ballad is split into seven chants (cantos), each representing a test and the "answer" Saint Daniffen came up with to come out on top.

Extra Stuff

While BRDs start out with a harp and Gridania's lore could make good use of it, I do think other instruments could be implement. For example, Coerthas Hymns could require a set of miniature bells, while hearthsongs could require a lute. Lominsan shanties may require a concertina. As you learn about each type of lore, your BRD would get access to these instruments and allow their use not only when using Thrum but also when using in-combat abilities like Foe Requiem or Mage's Ballad (which means if you want to ring out Foe's Requiem on a set of bells, you can).

As I mentioned in the other thread, I'm a PLD main and don't really have any interest in bard, but I would not feel offended or neglected if SE were to put the amount of effort on BRD to make this sort of thing possible.

Suggestions? Comments?

This idea I would truly get behind, a real lore behind their songs and for story lovers, a real reason for leveling Bard, and adds the idea from XI as Instrument gives an extra song. The only thing is, they're all on 'balance', and by adding something like this, they'd "have" to add something similar to all jobs, which makes it highly doubtful unfortunately >.<

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Originally Posted by SlyTribal

This idea I would truly get behind, a real lore behind their songs and for story lovers, a real reason for leveling Bard, and adds the idea from XI as Instrument gives an extra song. The only thing is, they're all on 'balance', and by adding something like this, they'd "have" to add something similar to all jobs, which makes it highly doubtful unfortunately >.<

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Just to be clear, while the Sagas are abilities of their own, they're not to be used in battle. It's more for RP and aesthetics than anything else. The only aspect of this idea that affects battle is that your BRD would pull out a different instrument to do Foe Requiem/Mage's Ballad/Army' Paeon.

I could so get into this! :cool:
Maybe revamp the class quests to include these ideas!

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Originally Posted by T2teddy

I could so get into this! :cool:
Maybe revamp the class quests to include these ideas!

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I don't think revamping the job quests would be a good idea. Reason why I figure lv50 would be good for this is that by then your character becomes an equal to whatshisname. I'd think it a good point to start on building a repertoire and so on.

I'd like this as well. Would be nice to have something as job specific as this.