Bard
Performers, musicians, and explorers. Bards use magic, martial skill, and inspiring performances to support the other members of the party.
This version of the bard class follows the baseline 5e concept closely, but we gave abilities quality of life improvements, replaced the 20th level ability, and allowed bards to integrate musical performance with their spellcasting. Existing 5e subclasses will all work mechanically with this form of the bard class. Click here for a summary of changes.
Level 1 Bards
When you create a level 1 bard, follow these steps to add the following to your character:
Ability Scores
You can take one of these recommended ability score arrays, or you can roll or assign them yourself. You can switch any two ability scores, but you do not add any further bonuses (they're already included).
Strength: 8 Dexterity: 16 Constitution: 14 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Charisma: 16
Strength: 8 Dexterity: 14 Constitution: 14 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 16
Feat
You gain a level 1 feat of your choice. You can choose from the feats available to all classes or choose a level 1 class-specific feat, if there is one available.
Hit Points
At First Level: 8 + Constitution Modifier
At Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution Modifier
Hit Dice: 1d8 per bard level
Proficiencies
Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Longswords, Rapiers, Scimitars, Shortswords
Tools: two Musical Instrument types of your choice
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skill Proficiencies: Performance, and three of your choice
Items
any Simple Weapon -OR- a small shield
padded armor and a dagger
three Musical Instruments
a backpack containing: 1 bedroll, 1 set of fine clothes, 5 rations, 1 rope, 1 tinderbox, 5 torches, 1 waterskin containing 5 pints of water
Multiclass Characters
Instead of leveling up in your original class, you can take a bard level when you level up. When you do, you gain only a portion of what first level bards gain.
Class Features
Class features here are sorted by level. When you reach a level as indicated by the icons on the left, you gain all feature or feature improvements listed between the red lines. For example, at first level bards gain the Bard Spellcasting and Bardic Inspiration abilities.
Bardic Inspiration
Your spells, words, or music take on an inspiring quality, empowering and pushing your ally to succeed rather than fail.
Reaction - 1 Ally (60 ft.) - 2/Short Rest* - Magical
Trigger: An ally other than yourself misses an attack roll, fails a saving throw, or fails a skill check. The ally must be able to hear you.
You inspire your ally. You can roll 1d6* and add the number to the total, potentially turning the failure into a success.
Regardless of whether you succeed or fail together, you expend a use of this ability. If you are at least level 5, you have the Counterpoint feature and don't expend a use when the roll fails.
*Your Bardic Inspiration die changes from a d6 to larger dice and you get more uses of this ability when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Bard Progression Table.
Bard Spellcasting
You've learned to untangle and reshape the fabric of reality in harmony with your words and music. Your spells are part of your artistic repertoire, magic that you can tune to different situations. You use charisma as your spellcasting ability for bard spells, since your magic draws on powerful emotion as you speak or perform music.
Bards are known spellcasters. The Bard Progression Table shows how many spell slots you have, as well as how many cantrips and spells you know. You can search the list of bard spells here or see full spell descriptions here.
Spellcasting Focus or Instruments
You can use an arcane focus, component pouch, or musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for casting bard spells. If you use a musical instrument as your spellcasting focus or you choose to sing, the music you make replaces your spells' normal somatic or verbal components (though some spells require you to speak or perform specific gestures).
Bard College
Your choice of bard college represents which advanced techniques you learned to control the magic of language, performance, or sound. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.
Bard Colleges published elsewhere are compatible with this version of the bard class, though most of them will gain a feat instead of a feature at level 10.
Bard College Feature
Your chosen Bard College grants you a new feature.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, and 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Feat
At this level and every level you gain an ability score improvement, you also gain a feat of your choice.
Bardic Inspiration Improvement
Your Bardic Inspiration die becomes 1d8, and you can use Bardic Inspiration three times per short or long rest.
Counterpoint
When things go awry, you are quick to pick up everyone's spirits with a word of encouragement or a musical shift. When you roll your bardic inspiration die and your inspired ally still fails, you do not expend a use of bardic inspiration.
Magical Secrets
You have learned magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two cantrips or 1st level spells from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. The spells can be from different classes. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you, and they count as extra known spells, meaning they don't count against the number of spells you know. You can exchange a spell learned from Magical Secrets when you level up, like with other spells.
Bard College Feature
Your chosen Bard College grants you a new feature.
You gain no new class features at this level. As always, see the Bard Progression Table to see new spell slots and spells known.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, and 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Feat
At this level and every level you gain an ability score improvement, you also gain a feat of your choice.
You gain no new class features at this level. As always, see the Bard Progression Table to see new spell slots and spells known.
Bard College Feature
Your chosen Bard College grants you a new feature.
Bardic Inspiration Improvement
Your Bardic Inspiration die becomes 1d10, and you can use Bardic Inspiration four times per short or long rest.
Magical Secrets
You now choose two more spells from from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. The spells can be from different classes, but this time they must be a cantrip or a spell of 3rd level or lower, as opposed to the previous limit of 1st level. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you, and they count as extra known spells, meaning they don't count against the number of spells you know. You can exchange a spell learned from Magical Secrets when you level up, like with other spells.
Add this link somewhere Magical Secrets for connectivity
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, and 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Feat
At this level and every level you gain an ability score improvement, you also gain a feat of your choice.
You gain no new class features at this level. As always, see the Bard Progression Table to see new spell slots and spells known.
Magical Secrets
You now choose two more spells from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. The spells can be from different classes, but this time they must be a cantrip or a spell of 5th level or lower, as opposed to the previous limit of 3rd level. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you, and they count as extra known spells, meaning they don't count against the number of spells you know. You can exchange a spell learned from Magical Secrets when you level up, like with other spells.
Bard College Feature
Your chosen Bard College grants you a new feature.
Bardic Inspiration Improvement
Your Bardic Inspiration die becomes 1d12, and you can use Bardic Inspiration five times per short or long rest.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, and 16th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Feat
At this level and every level you gain an ability score improvement, you also gain a feat of your choice.
You gain no new class features at this level. As always, see the Bard Progression Table to see new spell slots and spells known.
Magical Secrets
You now choose two more spells from the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell lists. The spells can be from different classes, but this time they must be a cantrip or a spell of 7th level or lower, as opposed to the previous limit of 5th level. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you, and they count as extra known spells, meaning they don't count against the number of spells you know.
Add this link in for connectivity Magical Secrets
Superior Ability
You increase one ability score of your choice by 2, to a maximum of 22.
Limitless Inspiration
You can use any ability that requires you to expend a bardic inspiration die without expending a die. When you do so, your bardic inspiration die is considered a d6, and the ability only lasts until the end of your next turn.
