> If you are a wizard (or a bard in this case), you would generally not
wear items such as >platemail as it's weight and restrictivness in movement
would hinder the caster's ability; >however, it doesn't mean that they
couldn't equip/wear the item, it just would introduce a >possibilty of
penalties (ie. more difficult to cast successfully through lower dex and
lower >agility). So to give my opinion, the bard should be allowed to where
plate, if he / she wants.
I saw this post and it made me think a bit on where I stand on this. I seem
to recall that the Knights Templar had a group within that order that was
responsible for recording their history -- a sort of warrior/priest/bard if
you will. I'm sure that if you spent enough time at it, you would be able
to find a plethora of historical examples to justify how you want to RP your
bard. I say do what you want.
The only beef I have is that I believe that a bard's choice of armor should
affect our skills and songs. Sneaking, for example, should be severely
curtailed if you are wearing metallic armor, as the clank, clank of the
metal clashing together would require greater sneaking skill to keep quiet.
Similarly, playing a stringed instrument or lockpicking should be affected
by the gloves or gauntlets you are wearing. As many have pointed out, it is
hard to pluck those strings dextriously with 3 pound metal gloves on. And
as a singer in my OOC life, I also argue that your voice should be affected
when you are wearing headgear. Anatomically speaking, the bones in your
skull act as resonating boards, which I imagine is very important when you
use singing spells like the bellow. A leather cap wouldn't bother you much,
but a plate helm would swallow up your voice, even with the visor up. You
would probably damage your own eardrums bellowing in plate.
I think this would add to the RP abiltiy of the bard. If you want to play
the rogueish type, you would have to stay away from plate. If you want to
play the tank, you forgo some of the other abilities of the class. You get
to choose how you want to play, and the only barriers you have are a bit of
healthy realism.
These changes should not necessarily affect only our class. We happen to be
the most diverse, so it may affect us more than some others.