I've actually been wondering the very same thing for quite some time.... One can only hope, and speculate :tongue:.

Posts got better and better

+1 to second post and +3!!! (yes 3 I skipped 2) to this post.

lol

It would be interesting. I had to vote yes, as i have to do with most polls of if i will try something if its in the game because i like to experience everything the game has to offer meaning i will try everything on one character or another, or another.

I bet there'll be quests about it. Not sure it'll be a joinable faction, but if it is I'll likely try to join. On the fence with the effigies.

Keep in mind Solitude is the base of power of the Empire (Rebels are based in Windhelm), so I wonder if they don't burn some rebel agitators along with King Olaf?

Are you kidding? Bards are strategic controllers on the battlefield, able to turn tides their way in subtle yet well defined ways. They also make great entertainers, and excellent thieves for their illusionary skillset. They affect a much deeper combat feature than a sword or hammer might...they affect morale! I'd like to see a squadron of legionaires fight a party after they witness their valiant leader [censored] his breeches!

There are so many factions left to be confirmed. *drools*.

I don't think we will join or have quests for it

sad

I wish we could though

Well, I guess it depends on whether I'm playing my rebel or imperialist character at the time, then.

Tell that to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin
If the Bard's College turns out to be a full-fledged faction, it will undoubtedly be my favourite one. It would probably be more centered around mystery-solving and political intrigue and less on the constant combat that will certainly be featured in The Companions. Like a Meddler's Guild, sort of. And, IMO, that would be super-awesome.

"The ruler of Whiterun has taken to issuing the death sentence for even the most petty of crimes, sometimes even without damning evidence. Every day the nearby settlements lose more of their farmers, shopkeepers, even their children. As a representative of the Bard's College, you will travel to the city and discover what madness has come over him and, if you can, convince him to end his tyranny."
Yes please.

I doubt it's joinable, tbh.

Why? Every game has introduced a few unique factions, and the Bard's College is convenient, lore-appropriate, and provides the foundation for a change of pace in quests. It may not be added, but I'd bet money that Bethesda is considering/has considered it. The only reason I can see for it not being a sure inclusion is the natural assumption that instruments would need to be playable for it to feel like more than an afterthought. And playable instruments seems like a lot less of a certainty.

Lute DLC $9.99 on 11.12.11

...
>.>
<.<
I'd buy it.

wasn't there an NPC playing an instrument in the gameplay trailer?

Todd has said that any activity animations the NPCs can do, the player can also do.

That is because you lack "imagination".

In Celtic society a bard was more of a poet than a minstrel. He was expected to be able to play a harp but also to be able to compose poems praising a lord or his warriors, or satirising his enemies. He was also a keeper of oral history and a storyteller for the whole community. He could expect hospitality and immunity from attack even in an enemies stronghold (theres examples of bards satarising enemies to their face as a form of public humiliation). I think theres certainly some opportunities for RPing and quests there.

Great examples.

II'm picturing Mance Ryder while reading your post. :toughninja:

Few lies have ever hurt me so much as this one ._,

I see bards as reliant on their speechcraft/mercantile scores, or whatever skills have replaced them. Here's a few bard-y quests off the top of my head:

Quest 1: The College has been commissioned to play at a party for Lord Blahblahblah. However, Lord Herpderp has also commissioned the College to find intelligence on Lord Blahblahblah. You are sent to do both. Upon arriving, the Lord is very tight-lipped, but there are a number of drunk party-goers. You talk to them, and the quest can go a few directions from here:

a) After a few speechcraft checks, partygoers tell you that his Lordship is fond of a very particular type of wine -- bring it to him, and he gets drunk and tells you what you need to know.

b)If you failed your speechcraft checks, you might have to sneak into someone's private quarters and read their diaries/letters for the information.

c) If you fail your speechcraft checks very very badly, a partygoer might challenge you to a duel -- if you win, he agrees to tell you the information, in return for keeping his defeat a secret.

Quest 2: A young man is desperately in love with a young woman, and has commissioned the College for a bard to a play romantic ballad he wrote for her. Talking to him, he's very very shy, and wishes to remain an anonymous admirer. Upon playing the requested ballad, the young woman is struck by the sincerity of the ballad, and expresses her desire to find out her admirer's identity. The young man, having eavesdropped on this interaction, is overjoyed and asks you to help him woo her. There are a number of tasks you can do to help him, and if you complete most of them, the young lady is won over. If you complete all of them, the young lady become completely infatuated with the young man, and the young man rewards you with an additional item.

Tasks may include finding out what her favorite flower is and gathering a bouquet, arranging a new ballad for her, coaching the young man on how to act more confidently, etc.

Minor Quest 1: The College of Bards is recruiting, and has their eye on a number of talented individuals. You are told to convince them to join.

Minor Quest 2: You are commissioned to deliver letters back and forth between a lord and his mistress, but the lord's jealous wife is suspicious and tries to find ways to interfere (maybe a quest ending could having you aiding the wife because the lord is an arrogant cheating [censored] anyway).

Do you mean, because there weren't enough alternate ways to resolve quests using dialog options?

Enough? So there were any at all?

A bard could be pretty cool, throughout history and a certain dragon based rpg bards were spymasters,thiefs,and assasins. I would imagin if you can join the guild you could start as a messenger where the message would be hidden in a song you perform and as you move up the guild your tasks would involve greater infiltration and deception.

I absolutely love both of these ideas :clap:

I'm wondering what the 12-20 perks for Speechcraft will look like, and whether any might be helpful for this sort of quest.




Your criticism is justified, of course. However, it seems that there must have been at least a few, no?

In my current playthrough, a couple of days ago, for the first time, I resolved the quest regarding the high fines in Cheydinhal. I think there were optional ways to do this with combat, but I used non-violent dialog options. Also, I think there is a way to complete Glarthir's PARANOIA quest in a non-violent manner. Paranoia is one of my all time favorite quests in any game I have ever played.

It's not criticism, just expressing my disappointment (which I have a lot of. I'm not such a terrible whiner all the time, I swear. I really, really wish I had less reasons to be unhappy and negative about, but it's not my fault Oblivion was practically made of them).

And 1 such quest in 100 doesn't justify the other 99 not even being worth starting by this type of character.