Bard

# Bard Class Details

Humming as she traces her fingers over an ancient monument in a
long-forgotten ruin, a half-elf in rugged leathers finds knowledge
springing into her mind, conjured forth by the magic of her
song—knowledge of the people who constructed the monument and the mythic
 saga it depicts.

A stern human warrior bangs his sword rhythmically against his scale
mail, setting the tempo for his war chant and exhorting his companions
to bravery and heroism. The magic of his song fortifies and emboldens
them.

Laughing as she tunes her cittern, a gnome weaves her subtle magic
over the assembled nobles, ensuring that her companions’ words will be
well received.

Whether scholar, skald, or scoundrel, a bard weaves magic through
words and music to inspire allies, demoralize foes, manipulate minds,
create illusions, and even heal wounds.

## Music and Magic

In the worlds of D&D, words and music are not just vibrations of
air, but vocalizations with power all their own. The bard is a master of
 song, speech, and the magic they contain. Bards say that the multiverse
 was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape,
and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation still resound
throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and
harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers.

The greatest strength of bards is their sheer versatility. Many bards
 prefer to stick to the sidelines in combat, using their magic to
inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards
are capable of defending themselves in melee if necessary, using their
magic to bolster their swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms
 and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a
wide-ranging knowledge of many subjects and a natural aptitude that lets
 them do almost anything well. Bards become masters of the talents they
set their minds to perfecting, from musical performance to esoteric
knowledge.

## Learning from Experience

True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in
 a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering
the magic hidden in music requires hard study and some measure of
natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard
to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A
 bard’s life is spent wandering across the land gathering lore, telling
stories, and living on the gratitude of audiences, much like any other
entertainer. But a depth of knowledge, a level of musical skill, and a
touch of magic set bards apart from their fellows.

Only rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural
desire to travel—to find new tales to tell, new skills to learn, and new
 discoveries beyond the horizon—makes an adventuring career a natural
calling. Every adventure is an opportunity to learn, practice a variety
of skills, enter long-forgotten tombs, discover lost works of magic,
decipher old tomes, travel to strange places, or encounter exotic
creatures. Bards love to accompany heroes to witness their deeds
firsthand. A bard who can tell an awe-inspiring story from personal
experience earns renown among other bards. Indeed, after telling so many
 stories about heroes accomplishing mighty deeds, many bards take these
themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves.

Bards thrive on stories, whether those stories are true or not. Your
character’s background and motivations are not as important as the
stories that he or she tells about them. Perhaps you had a secure and
mundane childhood. There’s no good story to be told about that, so you
might paint yourself as an orphan raised by a hag in a dismal swamp. Or
your childhood might be worthy of a story. Some bards acquire their
magical music through extraordinary means, including the inspiration of
fey or other supernatural creatures.

Did you serve an apprenticeship, studying under a master, following
the more experienced bard until you were ready to strike out on your
own? Or did you attend a college where you studied bardic lore and
practiced your musical magic? Perhaps you were a young runaway or
orphan, befriended by a wandering bard who became your mentor. Or you
might have been a spoiled noble child tutored by a master. Perhaps you
stumbled into the clutches of a hag, making a bargain for a musical gift
 in addition to your life and freedom, but at what cost?

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As a bard, you gain the following class features.

**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per bard level after 1st

### Proficiencies

 **Armor:** Light armor
**Weapons:** Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
**Tools:** Three musical instruments of your choice
**Saving Throws:** Dexterity, Charisma
**Skills:** Choose any three

### Equipment

 You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

* (a) a rapier, (b) a longsword, or (c) any simple weapon
* (a) a diplomat’s pack or (b) an entertainer’s pack
* (a) a lute or (b) any other musical instrument
* Leather armor and a dagger

### Spellcasting

 You have learned
to untangle and reshape the fabric of reality in harmony with your
wishes and music. Your spells are part of your vast repertoire, magic
that you can tune to different situations. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the bard spell list.

##### **Cantrips**

You know two cantrips of your choice
from the bard spell list. You learn additional bard cantrips of your
choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the
Bard table.

##### **Spell Slots**

The Bard table shows how many spell
slots you have to cast your bard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast
 one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or
higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell cure wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot.

##### **Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher**

You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Bard
table shows when you learn more bard spells of your choice. Each of
these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown
 on the table. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you
 can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level
in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and
replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must
be of a level for which you have spell slots.

##### **Spellcasting Ability**

Charisma is your spellcasting ability
 for your bard spells. Your magic comes from the heart and soul you pour
 into the performance of your music or oration. You use your Charisma
whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you
use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a bard
spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

**Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

**Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

##### **Ritual Casting**

You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

##### **Spellcasting Focus**

You can use a musical instrument (see the Tools section) as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

### 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 creature 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 creature 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.

### 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 creatures 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 Lore detailed at the end of the class description or
another from the *Player's Handbook* or other sources. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th and 14th level.

#### Bard Colleges

The way of a bard is gregarious. Bards seek each other out to swap
songs and stories, boast of their accomplishments, and share their
knowledge. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to
facilitate their gatherings and preserve their traditions.

### Expertise

 At 3rd level,
choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is
doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen
proficiencies.

### Ability Score Improvement

 When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th,
 16th, and 19th 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.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

### Font of Inspiration

 Beginning when
you reach 5th level, you regain all of your expended uses of Bardic
Inspiration when you finish a short or long rest.

### Countercharm

 At 6th level, you
 gain the ability to use musical notes or words of power to disrupt
mind-influencing effects. As an action, you can start a performance that
 lasts until the end of your next turn. During that time, you and any
friendly creatures within 30 feet of you have advantage on saving throws
 against being frightened or charmed. A creature must be able to hear you to gain this benefit. The performance ends early if you are incapacitated or silenced or if you voluntarily end it (no action required).

### Expertise

 At 10th level,
choose two more of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is
doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen
proficiencies.

### Magical Secrets

 By 10th level, you have
plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose
two spells from any classes, including this one. A spell you choose must
 be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.

The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.

You learn two additional spells from any classes at 14th level and again at 18th level.

### Superior Inspiration

 At 20th level, when you roll initiative and have no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one use.