Topic: Essence Bards

[EltonJ]

Do any of you use Essence Bards? (I know the Martial Arts Companion introduced two types of monks).

[terefang]

that has been an option ever since RM2 (or even RM1?)

back in the day as a GM, i let Bards (and Monks) choose their realm either Mentalism or Essence.

i have only seen "one" Bard choose Mentalism in 30 years.

Monks where around 1:2 more leaning toward Mentalism.

[EltonJ]

that has been an option ever since RM2 (or even RM1?)

back in the day as a GM, i let Bards (and Monks) choose their realm either Mentalism or Essence.

i have only seen "one" Bard choose Mentalism in 30 years.

Monks where around 1:2 more leaning toward Mentalism.

Hmm. Interesting.  Did your players think Essence was more fun?

[pantsorama]

that has been an option ever since RM2 (or even RM1?)

back in the day as a GM, i let Bards (and Monks) choose their realm either Mentalism or Essence.

i have only seen "one" Bard choose Mentalism in 30 years.

Monks where around 1:2 more leaning toward Mentalism.

Hmm. Interesting.  Did your players think Essence was more fun?

I would play an Essence Bard in a heartbeat.  I see why they were skinned as Mentalism (Pied Piper, Orpheus, etc.), but I think Essence fits more with the idea of a Bard as Loremaster and Tale Teller (ex. Amergin, the nameless protagonist of The Bard's Tale); mainly because I think Essence is closest to "real" magic, or at least brings the caster closest to the source, and I really like the idea that music has arcane power - not just something that clouds people's minds.

I do like that there are options for both.

Having said all that, maybe there is a place for Bard as Channeling caster.  Many myths are about the Song of Creation (Hindu, Christian), and music is an very important part of many worship services across all religions.   

[Jengada]

I've used Essence bards since I started with RM2. (OK, I started with RM1 but never had bards around until after RM2 was out.) The main rationale actually came from the monk side, where there's a strong argument that the monk's abilities stem from their mental focus. So for balance, the bard goes from mentalism to essence.
I've also created a channeling bard, culture-specific. They're orcish bards who channel the power of the battle-spirit (dzos) for their songs. The limitation is, they only get half of their normal PP if there is no battle within range of them. So far, it hasn't been imbalanced either way.

[jdale]

I think an Essence bard should have spells that affect multiple targets rather than one (in a cone/radius), none of the mind-reading from Lores, and more illusion-based abilities (not just sound). It shouldn't simply be the same base lists as the Mentalism bard.