At one point a pair of obnoxious Frenchmen beg the Bard to reclaim their stolen frog. Go snarky and the Bard refuses, since he's already been tricked by these Frenchies once before. Take the nice response, and the Bard begrudgingly accepts the quest, but with a warning that if there's any funny business, he'll run them both through with his blade. That's the Bard's version of being nice.

Unlike Knights of the Old Republic, there isn't any push to be always nice or always snarky (in Star Wars terms, Light or Dark). Instead, you are encouraged to choose however you feel based on the situation. Some lines from the NPCs just cry for a roll of the eyes and a snide comment and other times you may realize that it's best just to play nice for a few moments to get someone out of your hair. It's an amazing recreation of life at the IGN offices.

The choices you make not only lead to some funny quips from the Bard, but can also have a ripple effect on the entire game. Treat a dog poorly and it will run away, befriend it and it will be an invaluable companion for the remainder of the game. Refuse to apologize to a cranky old man and he may resurface 15 hours later to cause you misery. That doesn't mean you should be nice to everyone. In fact, there is a balance between responses, so that sometimes being crass will actually earn you respect, reward, and even discounted prices. There's no way to know for certain what response will earn something and there's no indication that something you do early in the game will lead to dire consequences down the road. In this way, The Bard's Tale feels very natural, with dialogue and a morality system that never feels forced.​