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Seeing as the only previous topic I could find has been dead for about a month, I figured I'd start up this discussion again with a poll. Could the Bards College really be considered a "questline"? Does it leave you craving bard-related DLC, or is it a waste of time?

Personally, I think it falls flat. A few dungeons crawl, bugged-out quest items that get stuck in your inventory and getting to make up a few lines to a historical verse. I wouldn't have minded doing a few random sidequests for the faction, but the fact that its joinable really leaves the player hanging, expecting more. Plus, you never even need to pass a speech check to join, never mind actually doing something bardlike. The free Entertainers plug-in for Morrowind offered more depth, in my opinion. I was hoping for something more like the half-canon Scenarist Guild.

Can't play an instrument? you're not a bard. I don't see the point of joining. I would love to make a bard character but the game won't let me and teases me with a half assed guild.

Even if I could play an insrument its still a bad quest line.

Total kick to the nuts. I can't sing, I can't play the lute, I can't beg for change at an inn, what's the point? It doesn't even unlock a Bards-only store. I guess you can't ask for much, seeing as it's only, like, two quests long, but all the same I was hoping for more. A lot more.

The only thing that college is good for is providing me with an easy source of blood in the form of Illdi, and they don't even like her there.

Well it surely needs some changes, the player should be able to learn how to play the instruments and learn how to give speeches or something, but other than that, i don't believe it's bad that it is there.However i do not think it should be considered a questline, as it only has 2 quests.

Do you ever do anything bard related in the questline??

Shadowscale wrote:Do you ever do anything bard related in the questline??

No.

Chaos, that idea makes me think of Sonic Underground for some reason...

I remember when I got Olaf's verse, I was thinking "all right, now I can play an instrument right?" wrong... I went and got all of the little instrument treasures, still no music and singing. Try to find "A Less Rude Song"? still didn't work... partially because it isn't there...

Basically, it would have been nice if you could just pull out the lute or flute and play, I would have been fine if they didn't let you sing, it just needed more substance.

ZeRoc wrote:Chaos, that idea makes me think of Sonic Underground for some reason...

Oh dear lard, get that away from me!
The idea came from playing as a bard in Rift, I loved strumming my lute to buff everyone's damage while doing damage myself.

Sorry, but the idea of using an instrument as a blaster type weapon just makes me think of that...

The bard's college is treated in-game like it's another guild-type questline, but there's no substance. You don't get anything from it, you don't do anything because of it, and there's like two actual quests and then a couple junk fetch missions for quest items that sit in my inventory forever stuck to the inside of my backpack.

This is all downside. I'm still stuck with 8 lbs of crap.
The quests should have been put towards a story Bethy was willing to see through.

I approve of the idea of the Bars College, but obviously the way it is implemented in the game is less than pleasing.

I don't get why Beth put this in.
All the other fractions have some good idea behind them or serve some special purpose. Neither is true for the Bards College.

Perhaps Beth had an idea for a music minigame that was killed later in the development process. Remember that that music games were INSANELY popular some time ago, but the craze is over now.

Eh, it's just more quests that I wasn't expecting in the first place so I guess it's fine. It would have been nice to be able to learn the lute but I guess it's really not a big deal, just more content.

I still think they should have sent you to collect more info about historical events that could be made into songs (of course only for that!), like Red Eagle, Old Hrodan, Gauldur Amulet, this kind of thing. To pull the mini quests together, at least. And damn, those fetch quests are ALL bugged...

I approve of the College, I don't approve of how it was left half-finished. It does not seem like a "short questline" it seems like it was cut in the middle.

I did up to Olaf's Verse quest for the Bards and gave up. I didn't like the feel of it. It mixes the idea of a Renaissance-era flute and lute player with the wail and drum of a Norse Skald. I know it fits the world, but it doesn't mix well in my mind or experience with RPGs.

A school of education and study fits for the Bard, but a Skald learns around the fire, from the battlefield, or from fierce drinking competitions between proud Norse warriors. A college would not befit them both.

Maybe I'm too picky. Or jaded.

I do not think the Bards College was a bad idea, it just did not go anywhere, or provide any reason (except to have access/be able to get to one of the word walls), for me to want to do it. The fact that I had to start it, to get the quest, to get a Dragon Shout bothers me.

There was mention of a Power/Ability after completing "Tending the Flames"... Gift of the Gab. It was on the Powers Page of the Wiki. I never recieved it. Then it was removed, and can be found on the Discussin page: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim_talk:Po ... _Confusion

Gift of the Gab - Your Speech skill increases 15% faster - Reward from Tending the Flames.

Something like this, would have made it a little more worth doing the BC.

Being a Bard, should allow for a Speech/Persuasion Bonus... or something along those lines. It may be that it was the intent for something like this, but it got left out, or bugged.

I would not be interested, in Singing/Playing/Reciting... There is enough scripted events in the game for me to watch... to many for my liking. I would not enjoy watching my character perform a song/speech.

NLN wrote:And damn, those fetch quests are ALL bugged...

Likely due to the quests being radiant, although I haven't checked the wiki to confirm that.

I think Bard's College is intended to be a faction questline but left out due to the cool date of 11.11.11.
Maybe in future DLC but I highly doubt it.

Wasn't there news from the past that informed our character can play instruments??

It's a waste of time, imo.

They should just make more quests and more interesting things, like the instruments for example. Or no questline at all.

My answer: WHY?

As it sits, the Bard's College is nothing more than a waste of space on the gamedisc. Bethesda could have groomed the Bard experience to be available for those who want to improve their Speech & Barter skills, or to take a truly neutral path through the Civil War quests, or have the ability to calm noble Dragons with music rather than destroying them.

A lot of potential to be had with a little imagination.

I agree with most posters that the Bard's quests are lame. Perhaps, as some have mentioned, it was an incomplete area of the game. No one has mentioned that there are a couple of minor advantages to doing the quests. For the "fetch" quests, you get a total of 18 skill points (one each in all 18 skills), which granted is not much, but for a low level character, it helps. I also found myself using Dean Genane to train in Speech, as he is easy to find--though I could have used him without doing the quests. The "Gift of Gab" power does not show up in the Affects menu, so I don't really know if I am getting it or not.