Do your best to dismiss the image I drew for you before. Now, think of someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of the world around them. Someone who knows the past and present as well as you know the back of your own hand. Someone who knows the tales and stories of generations.

Now imagine that person can use his knowledge to manipulate the fabric of reality like a powerful sorcerer might, except he uses stories and songs to do so. He’s capable of inspiring his brothers in battle with a bellow, of striking fear into the hearts of his enemies with but a whisper. He can stun the mightiest beast to silence or ensnare a beautiful girl to his whims.

During battle he tells tales of heroics, composing new stories and songs of those who, alongside, he fights. After a triumphant battle he regales his brethren at the tavern with local lore and uplifting music. After a blinding defeat he says somber words about the fallen and strums a doleful dirge.

He is a manipulator of emotions, capable of great deeds both good and evil. The pluck of a string may to you be a simple sound, a tone, a pitch, a key. To a bard, the pluck of a string can conjure chaos or enforce order. It can bring an enemy that would cause a warrior to wet himself under the complete control of the lore singer or release that very same warrior from his worries.

And, besides, bards have always been a highly versatile class that has a completely unique gameplay style. He is not melee or ranged or magical. His abilities are subject only to the limitations of a designer’s creativity, class balance and consistency, and the game’s functional constraints. And, not a whole lot of people play them, which makes me feel a little more unique. But, those who do tend to form into an incredibly strong micro-community.

Am I alone in my love for bards, or there others lurking in the shadows? If there are many, perhaps I’ll finally found the League of Bards for which I’ve had a domain registered for some time. Many of those strong micro-communities I mentioned have, unfortunately, disappeared. Maybe I should change my name to Blackbard…

Show Notes:
- You can find future episodes via the podcast feed or by hitting up MMOPodcast.com.
- Music on this podcast was created by Ryan Shwayder with a sweet guitar.
- If you’d like to download the mp3 directly, you can download it here.
- All podcasts will appear in the podcast category on Nerfbat.com.
- Donation information can be found at http://www.nerfbat.com/donate/.

Sure, sometimes someone will say something to be a little snarky, perhaps indicating that he’s already played WAR because he’s played WoW. But, that’s not the point. There are a number of insights that come from Bartle that nobody else has presented in such an elegant manner.

Some of what he says is useful and relevant, some of what he says isn’t. He’s not perfect. I’ve said things on this very blog that I look back on and shake my head at, wondering why I thought the way I did. There are other things that I felt I brought up that others have not and regard as useful to others. I’m sure he’s thought the same thing about statements he’s made.

When it really comes down to it, Richard Bartle is no more relevant than Tobold, Keen, Graev, Moorgard, Psychochild, or Lum. Just take what he says at face value, without favoring or disfavoring him as a member of the Old Guard. Sometimes you’ll find some valuable gems, and other times you’ll wonder if he’s playing the same games you are, just like with everyone else.

• Two Things I’d Love in 38’s MMO: It’s inevitable that people fire over suggestions for the MMO I’m working on, so I may as well listen when they’re structured on the forums. Started by Zythen
• MMOG Concept: Plagued World: A forum member has been kind enough to share his concept for a plague-ridden world of anarchy, and members of our community have given their opinions. Started by Adam Tiler
• Interweaving Low and High Level Content: Would it be possible to effectively inject some high level content into lower level zones to keep player life within them? Started by caquillo
• Guild Management Tools: What types of guild management tools should the game provide? Have any games done it well? Which games have completely dropped the ball on guild management? Started by temp
• What Mini-Games Should an MMO Have?: What mini-games do you want to see in MMOs? Would you rather have them contextual, or is it okay to have a 2d mini-game in a 3d world? Started by bonecarverpm

That’s it for this edition of Tales from the Tavern. We now have 322 members, 308 topics, and 4743 posts! Please feel free to join us in our little forum community if you’re interested in civil discussion about MMO games, design, and other related chat.

PvP has been seen as niche for quite some time. Some of the old school massively multiplayer games are probably to blame (See: Ultima Online when it came out). Yeah, unrestricted PvP is scary. Letting players ruin the experience for other players IS a bad idea, whether it’s on a PvP server or not.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can create rewards for desirable behavior and consequences for undesirable behavior. You can restrict certain behaviors from even being possible if necessary. The point is, it’s possible to make PvP competitive and enjoyable without it being antagonistic and frustrating.

Even if players can ruin the experience for other players, PvP servers can still be popular. Currently in Age of Conan, you can attack anyone of any level, repeatedly kill a character, or camp zone entries without repercussions. They’re going to be punishing this type of griefing soon but, still, it’s worth mentioning because it shows that PvP is so desirable that people are willing to weather the mayhem to experience it.

Games that launch without PvP-dedicated servers or, at the very least, very deep Player-versus-Player systems and options are only hurting themselves. It’s time to shake the stigma about PvP and embrace that it has an vital role in MMO games.

And, as a person who prefers Player-versus-Player games or servers himself, I can’t wait to see what great PvP-focused games come out over the next several years. Now that it’s clear there is money in PvP and it’s not niche, I’m betting we start to see some high-budget PvP MMOs soon.