Welcome back to the weekly Tabletop Games thread! This thread is where we can talk about all kinds of RPGs, card games, board games, etc. Whether you gather around a physical table in the real world, or use a virtual space to play with friends who may live far away from you, this is where you can discuss your favorites, ask for and/or receive recommendations, recap your recent adventures, or even find some people to play games with!

Discussion Prompt: Let’s take a look at what’s changed with the Bard class in D&D 5.5e

Bards are still full casters who take primarily a support role in a D&D adventuring party. Their main schtick, Bardic Inspiration, works much the same way it did in 5e–that is, the Bard uses a bonus action to hand out an Inspiration die to an ally, who can then choose to use that die to add a bonus to any d20 roll. The only difference is that the ability now specifies that they use the die after failing the roll, so there’s less guessing if it’ll be needed.

The Countercharm ability that was nearly unusable in 5e gets a major upgrade, being activated with your reaction rather than taking your taking entire turn for little to no effect. The Bard’s spellcasting also got a nice boost in the form of Magical Secrets–starting at high levels whenever you learn a new spell you can choose any spell from the Bard, Cleric, Druid, or Wizard spell lists.

Unfortunately, the Bard did also lose their Song of Rest ability. Apparently, WotC’s surveys regularly listed Song of Rest as one of the least used abilities in the game, so perhaps no one’s really sad to see it go. But I always thought, especially at low levels, that little extra bit of healing during a short rest could be all you need to avoid a TPK.

Much like the Barbarian, the Bard gets a brand new subclass to play with in the 5.5e PHB, the College of Dance, which focuses on movement and speed for both you and your allies. The PHB also includes the College of Glamour to charm and beguile your foes; the College of Lore to pull even more spells from other classes’ lists; and the College of Valor to weave your spells and swordplay together.

Share your thoughts about Bards in any edition of D&D, or similar characters from other games, in the comments!

If you would like to suggest a prompt or contribute a write-up or discussion topic of your own, let me know in the comments!