New idea for a class, this could be either adventurer or noble. I would be more partial to adventurer.
A Bard would have the following special actions:
1. Tell Tales - Works just like the Hero's ability, it could require that the Bard witness a battle or meet an important hero. The exact name could be "perform" and the player could roleplay that they're actually singing a song or reciting poetry or even performing a dance that represents the story. If this were an adventurer class the bard could also receive a couple silver pieces as tips for performing. Lords could also offer commissions to have Bards play in their regions which would work just like the bounties for monsters and undead. Bardic tales could be effected by an Oratory skill just like for priests or they could have a "perform" skill.
2. Gather folklore- By mixing with peasants and examining landmarks the Bard can gain historical information about the area. The bard would then get information from the game's log. It could be something well known or something long forgotten. For example they could learn when the region was first conquered, that there was a famine three years ago in which 2000 peasants died. If it's possible they could even get copies of old roleplays that were distributed to the area. This could also be effected by a skill, a better result will mean older information, a very bad result might give you a story that is just plain false. How easy this would be to pull off would depend on how much game data actually gets saved. I know my messages go back at least a month of real time. Even this could be useful as people playing bards would start to write down lesser known historical information on their own. There's actually a lot of game history that I've forgotten which I'd love to have rediscovered.
3. Contest- Bards can challenge one another to a contest of their respective performance art. The winner earns some prestige and the loser loses some. The contest would work like an ordinary performance in terms of effecting the region, but only the winning Bard can receive tips.
Orders:
If this were to be a noble class they could get troupes of performers to travel with them. How many they have could effect how much they can accomplish with various skills and how big of a crowd they can entertain.
Noble Bards could also get a small unit of body guards. They'd always be mercenaries as for the Trader.
