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Unique Bard Abilities Dependent Upon Personally-Witnessed Historic Events
Salutations fellow internet compatriots!,
Last night, a friend of mine was talking extremely excitedly to me about a game that he was in the process of getting a new computer just to be able to play upon its release. He linked me to a YouTuber's video called something along the lines of "Why I Am So Excited About Ashes of Creation" and echoed most of the videos sentiments himself personally. I gave it a look over, expecting to see another sort-of-interesting MMO that I would find a reason to write off before the trailer had concluded.
But... I couldn't.
All the mere CONCEPTS alone being mentioned in their synergistic intertwining sounded so undeniably, ostentatiously RAD that I even had a dream last night about what this game might end up becoming. It already feels like a world I want to LIVE in now that I've watched the kickstarter video as well. Now, that all out of the way, I'd like to get into an idea that I feel so strongly about that I made this forum account to express. Two friends of mine coaxed me into doing so, and frankly they didn't have to try very hard. So let's get into this:
TL;DR: Bards gain node-unique abilities that confer beneficial buffs to player characters based on events the Bard has personally witnessed.
Now, I'm not in charge of this game, and I make no allusions that I'm some manner of grand balancing designer. But to toss my hat into the ring, the primary reason I thought of this was the factual function of bards in the dark ages. Bards were musical historians, and if they were found to be fabricating tall tales, their reputation would be destroyed. They'd have to find a new kingdom, township or village, and think twice about making things up for coin.
To this end, the actual abilities/buffs Bards would gain would need to have factually occurred, and well, this game has exactly that going for it; unique events. Wouldn't YOU be inspired to hear a song about a band of warriors that fought off a mighty dragon? Special events like these could give Bards "Inspiration," which can be spent to write songs. Saving up your Inspiration allows you to write more encouraging and rallying songs with stronger benefits, at the expense of needing to witness more events to create a song. There could be a multitude of inspiration types as well. From witnessing epic battles, to beholding the mighty scenery of nature from epic vistas. There's a lot that could be done here, with effects ranging from combat beneficial, to mentally-soothing and focusing songs to aid crafters, and traveler's tales to give players access to bonus personal weight carrying capacity while traveling with a caravan to avoid taxation and tariffs. There's a whole slew of possibilities here.
Not ALL bard abilities should be this way, obviously. And this is not the entire concept, but it's all I really feel I have a place to suggest to this dev team. I feel very strongly that having a Bard class, in a game with a world like this one, as a matter of principle and justice, should allow players to do these things within this world. I feel it would vastly promote Bards to explore the world more than others, and make them a player character who could have the propensity of becoming an in-game diva of sorts.
Thank you for taking the time to read the silly ramblings of a stranger. I have immensely high hopes for this game and wish you the best in your future.
Last night, a friend of mine was talking extremely excitedly to me about a game that he was in the process of getting a new computer just to be able to play upon its release. He linked me to a YouTuber's video called something along the lines of "Why I Am So Excited About Ashes of Creation" and echoed most of the videos sentiments himself personally. I gave it a look over, expecting to see another sort-of-interesting MMO that I would find a reason to write off before the trailer had concluded.
But... I couldn't.
All the mere CONCEPTS alone being mentioned in their synergistic intertwining sounded so undeniably, ostentatiously RAD that I even had a dream last night about what this game might end up becoming. It already feels like a world I want to LIVE in now that I've watched the kickstarter video as well. Now, that all out of the way, I'd like to get into an idea that I feel so strongly about that I made this forum account to express. Two friends of mine coaxed me into doing so, and frankly they didn't have to try very hard. So let's get into this:
TL;DR: Bards gain node-unique abilities that confer beneficial buffs to player characters based on events the Bard has personally witnessed.
Now, I'm not in charge of this game, and I make no allusions that I'm some manner of grand balancing designer. But to toss my hat into the ring, the primary reason I thought of this was the factual function of bards in the dark ages. Bards were musical historians, and if they were found to be fabricating tall tales, their reputation would be destroyed. They'd have to find a new kingdom, township or village, and think twice about making things up for coin.
To this end, the actual abilities/buffs Bards would gain would need to have factually occurred, and well, this game has exactly that going for it; unique events. Wouldn't YOU be inspired to hear a song about a band of warriors that fought off a mighty dragon? Special events like these could give Bards "Inspiration," which can be spent to write songs. Saving up your Inspiration allows you to write more encouraging and rallying songs with stronger benefits, at the expense of needing to witness more events to create a song. There could be a multitude of inspiration types as well. From witnessing epic battles, to beholding the mighty scenery of nature from epic vistas. There's a lot that could be done here, with effects ranging from combat beneficial, to mentally-soothing and focusing songs to aid crafters, and traveler's tales to give players access to bonus personal weight carrying capacity while traveling with a caravan to avoid taxation and tariffs. There's a whole slew of possibilities here.
Not ALL bard abilities should be this way, obviously. And this is not the entire concept, but it's all I really feel I have a place to suggest to this dev team. I feel very strongly that having a Bard class, in a game with a world like this one, as a matter of principle and justice, should allow players to do these things within this world. I feel it would vastly promote Bards to explore the world more than others, and make them a player character who could have the propensity of becoming an in-game diva of sorts.
Thank you for taking the time to read the silly ramblings of a stranger. I have immensely high hopes for this game and wish you the best in your future.
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Comments
I'm sure it would be a pain to code and think up, but it'd be an amazing experience for a bard. Also, since bards are mainly for assisting groups, it would help them get established into a group.