(07-24-2013, 02:04 AM)Swift Wrote: ~snip
As for the archery part of it...? Maybe it's a tradition? ;P
RP-wise, I don't see why someone couldn't play as a Bard and have nothing to do with archery.
You've nailed it there.  Based on what I could find the Bardic tradition may have started only about 100 years ago during the Autumn War at the Second Battle of Tinolqa.  Grabbing a quote from this page (and looking for another source...)Â
It was during these days that the archers of Gridania would prove their value beyond the bow, singing songs of heroism and glory in the field to bolster the allied troops. It is said that this gave birth to the bard tradition. The archers of Gridania excelled at combat in the dense vegetation of the Black Shroud, and their arrows inflicted heavy casualties on the Ala Mhigans
In searching for another source for confirmation, I found this thread, which ironically sites it's source to a now defunct page right here on HRC.  It's the story of East End that can be gleaned from a historian during the Monk AF quest.
That being said, I certainly think it's an interesting shift in conventional tradition of bards, but it does force a bit of storytelling on the the player, especially Archer's that want to excel without singing
I don't want to get off topic, but my assumption is that there will be some additional branching classes in the near future (i.e. Arcanist can become either Summoner or Scholar) that will allow Archers further possibilities (perhaps Ranger, Beastmaster?) As to why they locked down Bards to an Archer job, it seems to follow lore and tradition, albeit unfortunate for PC's who don't want to roll an Archer for the Bardic talents.
![[Image: Driftwood.png]](https://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/images/6/63/Driftwood.png)
