Introduction (CBH)

The Complete Bard's Handbook__TOC__
In every area and every region throughout the world, traveling musicians wandered throughout the land. They moved from town to town, making a living by plying their trade as artists of sound and motion. In the AD&D® game, adventurers who do this are called bards.
Historically, bards were the poet-musicians of the Celtic peoples living in the British Isles (the Irish, Welsh, and Scots). Bards composed music, sang songs, and entertained their masters. Usually they worked for noblemen and spent their time honoring these noblemen and their families in song and music. Bards often accompanied their songs on the crwth, a type of lyre. Since their music wasn't written down, most of it has vanished.
During the early Middle Ages, bards had considerable political power and influence in the royal houses. However, in 1284 A.D., Edward I conquered Wales; the resulting turmoil reduced the importance of bards. Noblemen had more pressing concerns, and bards were left to fend for themselves. A few lingered on, into the 17th and 18th centuries in Ireland and Scotland as folk singers and musicians, but they eventually vanished along with their music.
During the 19th century, a determined effort was made to revive the bardic tradition. Folk music gatherings took place in and near Wales. These neo-bardic activities caught on among the public, and today the annual Eisteddfod folk festival is a popular and growing event in this region of the world.
Thus, bards have shown a cunning knack to survive through the ages. In one form or another, bards have been around for nearly 1,000 years. Besides the Eisteddfod festival, the bard has been immortalized in the genre of fantasy. Now you have a chance to continue the bardic tradition. This book covers not only the traditional bard, but expands the class with new and unique character kits. All of these kits involve some form of live entertainment, as all bards are entertainers at heart. Nearly half of these kits entertain through music in one form or another: poetry, song, instruments, etc. But some present such diverse new kits as the Blade, who entertains through creative weapon displays, knife throwing, and sword swallowing. Read on and enjoy.
==Optional Rules==
Within this book are many new rules, bard kits, suggestions on role-playing, details of instruments, and new proficiencies. This information adds to the rules presented in the Player's Handbook .
It is important to note that this book is a supplement to the Player's Handbook. All of the rules presented here are optional. As a player, you must have your Dungeon Master's consent before using any of these new rules.
The Complete Bard's Handbook is a book of supplemental rules for adding depth, spice, and life to the bard character class. However, even if your Dungeon Master should decide that none of the rules within this book can used in his campaign, you can still gain a lot by reading the pages that follow. Most of the important tables from the Player's Handbook (e.g., level advancement, bard abilities, etc.) are compressed into one convenient section within this book. It is also possible to mimic most of the new bard kits within the existing bard class. This book answers many questions about bardic abilities and presents an extensive list of instruments available to medieval bards, along with illustrations. And, finally, this book has a lot of good information to help gamers to better role-play their bard characters.
==The Other Complete Books==
The Complete Bard's Handbook is the seventh book of the PHBR series. If you find this book useful in your gaming, you may want to look into the other PHBRs.
 Table 1: The Complete PHBR Line
Designator	Topic 	Stock #
PHBR1 	Fighter's	2110
PHBR2 	Thief's 	2111
PHBR3 	Priest's 	2113
PHBR4 	Wizard's 	2115
PHBR5 	Psionics 	2117
PHBR6 	Dwarves 	2124
All of these books contain much information that can enhance your bard. Some of the more useful information is listed below.
The Complete Fighter's Handbook: The "Character Creation" section provides an in-depth look into the armorer proficiency. Those bard kits able to wear non-standard armor will find this topic particularly interesting. Weapon quality and its effects on combat are also discussed. The "Role-Playing" section provides a list of warrior personalities, some of which could be adopted by bard characters. Since some bards are adept with numerous weapons, the section on combat rules applies to certain bards (particularly the expanded weapon proficiency rules, which allow a character to learn multiple weapons while expending only a few proficiency slots). Fighting styles, martial arts, and other odd combat rules are also presented here. Even jousting tournaments are covered (ideal for the Gallant kit). Within the "Equipment" section is a sizable collection of new weapons, new armor, and new magical items.
The Complete Thief's Handbook: As you might expect, this handbook has a great deal of useful information for the bard class. Within are more useful rules than can be listed here. However, general topics you may find helpful include the following: role-playing thieves, new proficiencies, guilds (construction, maintenance, and types), thief tools, thief equipment, new magical items, classic cons (especially good for the Charlatan), new thief rules, and a description of the thief-based campaign.
The Complete Priest's Handbook: There is little information in this handbook that is pertinent to the bard character class.
The Complete Wizard's Handbook: Chapter 4 discusses campaign worlds with varying levels of magic. Chapter 5 covers wizards and combat. Chapter 6 describes spell casting under water, spell functioning on various planes, and impaired casting. Chapter 7 presents a commentary on new applications for old spells, adjudicating illusions, spell research, and magical item research. Chapter 8 gives all-new spells ranging from 1st to 8th level. Finally, Chapter 9 contains a number of useful wizardly lists.
The Complete Psionics Handbook: There are two useful elements within this book. Most important are the wild talents in Chapter 1. It is possible for a bard to have a few wild psionic talents (the process for determining this is given in Chapter 1). If a wild talent is discovered, the bard player will find the rest of this book invaluable, as it contains all the information needed to run a psionically endowed bard. Also, note that all player character Gypsy-bards are wild talents. The psionics book also contains a number of challenging psionic monsters.
==How to Use This Handbook==
How players use this handbook depends upon their skill level, seriousness about the bard character class, and their relationship with their Dungeon Master.
Skilled players who are serious about role-playing bard characters will want to read this book closely. Those who are not as serious will find the table of contents (in the front of this book) and the index (in the back) to be invaluable in locating topics of interest.
A new bard character record sheet is located at the back of this handbook. It has been custom-tailored to the bard character class. You will find spaces to place every detail of your bard. Furthermore, the sheet has been laid out with numerous helpful notes, comments, and formats to provide you with a plethora of information without referring to the rule books. You may photocopy the sheet for your own personal use.
For those of you who wish to create new bard kits, a handy kit creation sheet is also bound into the back of this book. This may also be photo copied for personal use.
It is not necessary for you to read this book from cover to cover unless you wish to be the ultimate bard role-player. Instead, locate the section you wish to explore in greater detail and read it to your own satisfaction.
A major effort has been made to make this handbook complete, as its title states. Many of the rules specific to bards in both the Player's Handbook and DUNGEON MASTER Guide have been complied and condensed within this handbook. Also contained herein is the information needed to generate a bard and maintain him during level advancements. The commonly asked questions about standard bards have been attended to, along with rules clarifications where needed. The bard class has also been fully defined for all to see. The fine points of the class have been examined, illuminated, and made more accessible. Finally, there are many added details concerning role-playing, including the bard personality, reputation, and role as a performer.