Bard

*"Now this is a dope-ass top hat!"*

*- Valentine*

A young woman reads her latest poem to a crowd at a political protest in the eleventh hour, moving them to tears and relighting the passion in their hearts.

Watching the new semester’s students fill into his classroom, a college professor looks down at his curriculum and knows that he has the power to teach and inspire.

The hot lights shining down upon them, a Broadway star belts their final note to a standing ovation, feeling the rush of adrenaline course through their veins.

Bards know the inherent magic of words—from bolstering their allies’ defenses with an inspiring speech to using cutting insults, successfully manipulating an enemy into taking psychic damage.

### Creating a Bard

A bard loves stories, words and song. They can take the smallest detail of something and spin it into a New York Times bestseller. They can read one article about climate change and inspire an entire conference crowd to start composting and bicycling to work. A bard can fill a stadium arena with screaming teenage fans, desperate for even one look at the latest global pop sensation.

When creating a bard think about the power of words in your life. Words can motivate us, but they can also hurt us very deeply. Think about your character and how words have impacted them. Maybe they were cyberbullied as a teenager and the memories of those insults haunt them. Or perhaps they were constantly praised as a child by their parents and are now the most confident person they know. They might have heard their favorite song when they were eight, and it sent them on a path towards music. Whatever impact spoken word has had on them, a bard knows exactly how powerful their own voice can be.

### Kingsman Bard

A 21st Century bard is not always tied to music, unlike a traditional bard. Your character might be a musician, but most 21st Century bards are not. Instead it is poetry, lectures, speeches, novels, etc. that modern bards draw their power from, with the exception of bards that go the College of Beatlemania route.

Also unlike traditional bards, you are not driven to travel the lands for stories and knowledge. You have the internet, baby! Bards are the most likely class to have ten tabs open on their internet browser, taking Google maps tours of Parisian museums, learning a new language and checking a how-to video on YouTube.

### Bard Quick Build

You can make a bard quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in charisma, followed by dexterity. Secondly, choose the performer lifestyle. Finally, choose the dancing lights and vicious mockery cantrips, along with the following 1st-leveI spells: charm person, detect traps, healing word, and thunderwave.

### Class Features

**Hit Die:** d8

**Primary Ability:** Charisma

**Saves:** Dexterity & Charisma

#### 1st Level

##### Bardic Inspiration

You can inspire others through stirring words or music. To do so, you use a bonus action on your turn to choose one person other than yourself within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6.

Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A person can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level.

#### 2nd Level

##### Jack of All Trades

Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.

##### Song of Rest

Beginning at 2nd level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly people who can hear your performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.

The extra hit points increase when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 9th level, to 1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.

##### Bard College

At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced techniques of a bard college of your choice: the College of Shakespeare, College of TED Talks and College of Beatlemania. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th and 14th level.

###### College of Shakespeare

The College of Shakespeare is where you will find bards most concerned with the written word, such as poetry, playwriting, novels, etc. They might have majored in Creative Writing in college, or they might not have any formal training. Either way—bards who pursue the College of Shakespeare know how impactful stories are to our lives and how central storytelling is to human history. The loyalty of these bards is to an amazing story, and they are often in pursuit of the next great adventure so they can write about it.

**Bonus Proficiencies:** When you join the College of Shakespeare at third level, you gain proficiencies in two additional skills of your choice.

**Inspiring Words**: Also at third level, you can use your connection to stories to weave an inspirational tale to your fellow agents. You may use this feature to give up to five allies within 30 feet of you who can hear you an additional 1d6 temporary hit points. You roll the hit dice. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest. You may include yourself. Add an additional d6 at levels six and fourteen.

**Phantasmal Friendship:** At level six, you may conjure a phantasmal figure as an action to read romantic poetry to an enemy if they are within 60 feet of you. If they fail on a Charisma saving throw, they become charmed by you until the end of your next turn. If they succeed, nothing happens. You can do this per long rest a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded down.