Bard

A bard is a minstrel who acts as an assassin, spy or saboteur. It is also one of the specializations available for the rogue class in Dragon Age: Origins.
== Background ==
The creation of The Grand Game is credited to Jeshavis, Mother of Orlais, the first female gyðja or chieftan of the unified Ciriane tribe of humans in what is now Orlais. According to legend, she married two of the three so-called "Sons of Betrayal," the children of Maferath, and pitted brother against brother to the death to create a new nation and gird against Alamarri incursion. Her intrigue was considered "the seeds of elegance to come." 
A bard is something of a curiosity even in the courts of Orlais, where intrigue is as common as silk. Musicians and troubadours, doubling as spies, exploit their access to powerful nobility to glean secrets for employers who are usually nameless even to the bard. The nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Orlesian aristocracy can hardly resist. Unfortunately, when they finally realize that a master bard has been among them, it is usually too late. Bards use music to soothe hearts and cloud minds; in combat, their abilities to inspire allies and distract foes are legendary. Beyond their music, they are masters of dirty fighting, stealth and larceny.
In other parts of the world, bards are less prominent but no less dangerous. Bards travel wherever secrets have value: in Ferelden, they once played fairs and graced the courts of banns and arls, listening for secrets that could be used to sway the fiercely independent nobility. Outside of Orlais, most traveling entertainers are now merely musicians, but that only makes the spies more difficult to detect."Bard" on the official wiki.
Interestingly, for all its pretensions the life of a bard is one that is strangely open to all. Indeed, for all that a bard's training makes him or her a spy, it also makes them a storyteller receptive to the legends of all cultures and their preservation.Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, page 298. Skilled players are welcomed, whether human, elven or dwarven, mage or mundane, and female or male.As evidenced by the appearance of Sketch and Tug as Leliana's partners in Leliana's Song DLC.
== Training and combat ==
Bard training is quite rigorous, and bardmasters often wring the sympathy and capacity for love from the individual being groomed. Cruel as this seems, such a composed, aloof demeanor is necessary for a bard to be able to perform their duties and sell their sympathies to the highest bidder.David Gaider. Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, page 315. The quintessential bard may in fact question whether they are even capable of love rather than treachery, though this training does not always wither an individual's basic compassion.The defection of bards like Leliana and Katriel from their given assignments and bardmasters gives evidence that bardic training is not always impenetrable. For some, it is ultimately a bard's honor which determines how or even whether they will accomplish their given task or contract.Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, page 348.
Bardic training includes an instruction in archery and dual-weapon knifework.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 185. An example of the latter is a set of bardic drills called the Butterfly in honor of its gracefulness.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 184. This drill involves a complicated series of dagger strikes: a parry and slash to an enemy's wrist, then a slash to the throat. Bards are trained to battle not only mortal, armored enemies but also darkspawn and creatures from the Fade. They are also versed in an assortment of weapons in order to be adaptable to any situation.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 186. This includes being able to viciously dispatch an enemy in private and return immediately to one's present engagement, with immaculately clean hands and an unruffled demeanor.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 143-144.
The training also includes more prosaic uses, such as two-score muscle exercises to allow a person to remain poised and confident to hide any sign of weakness from an enemy.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 184.
Bardic combat involves a form of hand signals for communication in battle. Tapping one's bow with a little finger, for example, indicates from one bard to another that the enemy should be lured closer. Another gesture might indicate "not yet" in terms of battle strategy.Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 296.
== Bard talents ==
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== Unlocking ==
* Leliana can teach you the bard specialization. Once "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" conversation is complete, the dialogue option for learning Bard specialization will be available and she will teach once you ask of it.
* Alternatively, you can purchase the Manual: Bard from Alimar at his shop in Dust Town for .
== Known bards ==
* AriannaItem description of Trickster's Tunic.
* Bastien – Duke of Ghislain; member of the Council of Heralds; lover of Vivienne
* The Black FoxItem description of Puzzle Ring of the Black Fox.
* The Black Hart – a notorious elven spy and master of disguiseIt is likely that this individual is now Leliana's Inquisition agent, Charter. 
* Briala
* Empress CeleneDragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 22 and 23.
* Jeshavis – "Mother of Orlais"; considered to be the originator of the Grand Game
* Josephine Montilyet – a former aspiring bard
* Katriel – she and her bardmaster reside in Val ChevansDragon Age: The Stolen Throne, p. 145.
* Leliana
* Dowager Lady Mantillon – possible lover and assassin of Emperor FlorianCodex entry: Portrait of the Dowager
* Marjolaine – bardmaster
* Melcendre – bard in the employment of Grand Duke Gaspard
* Philliam, a Bard! – lesser known as Philliam Bernard Aloicious Trevelyan 
* RosalynCodex entry: The Crown and Lion
* Ryanth
* The Wayward Bard
== Trivia ==
* Although Zither is a mage who uses a musical instrument, and not a bard, their graphics are titled "bard" in the game files.
== Gallery ==
Elf bard HoDA.jpg|An elven bard in Heroes of Dragon Age
Elf_Bard_HODA.png|Concept art of an elven bard from Heroes of Dragon Age
Elf_Bard_HODA2.png|Evolved elven bard from Heroes of Dragon Age
== References ==
Category:Dragon Age: Origins specializations
Category:Dragon Age (tabletop RPG) specializations
Category:Groups
 
Category:Specialization lore
Category:Orlais
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