Check around the internet, hit the library, ask your friends, neighbours and the Druid down the street. No two answers will be the same. That's because the Bard has become a piece of modern culture, adapting and thriving in our society. Historically, the Bard may have been a teacher, an entertainer, a lawyer, or even a warrior, but in modern times, a Bard is so much more.
Note that the title of this page is not "What was a Bard?" For that, you can check some of the links below. After all, a lot of people have dedicated great quantities of time and effort to researching this, and they have done a far better job than I ever could. What I'd rather talk about is the purpose of the Bard in Modern times, be it in a game, or in real life. And please not that while I make extensive use of the masculine pronouns, Bardhood is not an exclusively male thing. It's simply easier to stick with one pronoun, than to keep switching in the middle of everything.
Like his predecessor, the modern Bard is a jack of all trades. He still teaches, though it may be more subtly, and not necessarily in the classroom. His entertaining skills are often the focus of his strength, and if not what he makes a living by, then certainly a trait he is known for. While he may still be known for his fairness in attitudes and his strength of character, you will not often find today's Bard mediating disputes, the legal trade has become something less that reputable, and not something he is often proud of doing except on a purely personal level. And while fighting may still be an integral part of the Bard's character, it is oftentimes a trait he is less than proud of, for society frowns on it.
So where do you find today's Bard, then, if not in the classroom, or the courtroom or on the field of battle? Everywhere. Simply put, Bards are among you everywhere you go. They may not even think of themselves as Bards, but that is not necessary to being one nonetheless. Consider, if you will, the example of the Knight who was never Knighted. As he carries himself with the honour, dignity and grace of a Peer, and as others recognise him for what he truly is, he needs no mere accolade to be what he truly is. So it is with the Bard. Without formal recognition, he is still that elusive-yet-tangible something that every heart desires, but few can truly grasp.
The Bard is among us. He is the dreamer staring out the window, imagining himself among the clouds. She is the coworker who hums songs all day long, but never the same song twice. He is the disillusioned musician who continues to write and play, despite himself. She is the child dragging a stick across a picket fence for the sheer joy of hearing the sounds. The Bard is your friend, your neighbour, and your lover.
The Bard is within you.
"What is a Bard" by Talthyr Dzsaradin and Ilphryn Galadriel, master bards of the Emerald Hills.
