Bard (Class)

Traveling performers, Bards are considered the life of the party! Their magic is imbued with properties that can both support their friends and destroy their enemies.

Bards are traveling performers and entertainers of all varieties: singers and musicians, storytellers, and chefs!

## **Quick Build Tips**

Make Charisma and Dexterity your highest ability scores.

## **Traits**

### **Hit Points**

* **Hit Dice:** 1d8 per bard level
* **Hit Points at 1st Level:** 8 + Constitution modifier
* **Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d8 (or 5) + 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

### **Starting Equipment**

* (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
* OR starting gold of 5d4 x 10 gp

## **Features**

### **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.

### **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 or Feat**

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.

### **Magical Secrets**

At 14th 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 18th level.

### **Magical Secrets**

At 18th 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.

### **Superior Inspiration**

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

## **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.

* College of Lore = story tellers
* College of Valor = stories of epic battles
* College of Glamour = fey inspired magic
* College of Swords = perform with swords rather than music
* College of Whispers = basically information brokers
* College of Culinary Arts = guy fieri

### **College of Culinary Arts**

This college is an Honor Homemade Special! Bards of the College of Culinary Arts make the creation and tasting of magnificent and marvelous foods their life pursuit. Spending years honing their craft, the cultivation of new and innovative recipes is their source of power. As the old saying goes: there is no better way to an adventurer's heart than through their stomach!

#### ***Bonus Proficiences***

If you aren't already, you are now proficient in culinary tools, in addition to either poisoner's kit or herbalist's kit. You also have advantages on constitution checks against ingested poison damage and succumbing to the effects of alcohol.

#### ***Comfort Food***

At 3rd level, you can prepare dishes and snacks that gives temporary HP to your party upon consumption. You can create snacks every rest: three during a short rest, five during a long rest. The HP of these snacks are an additional 10. With each day left uneaten, it loses one point of HP value until it becomes inedible. It then subtracts in HP value each day as the food becomes more and more inedible (and poisonous).

#### ***Magical Recipes***

At 6th level, you can prepare a dish that is imbued with a spell from your spell list, at the cost of a spell slot of that level. In essence, what this means is you can either save a single spell for later use, or you can grant another creature the ability to use one of your spells. The caveat to this is that the magical food you create can only last for a certain amount of time before the magic leave and the food spoils (10 days + the level of the spell the food is imbued with).

#### ***Meal of Champions***

At level 14, you can create a modified version of the spell known as Heroes Feast - a sixth level spell that otherwise is only able to be cast by Clerics and Druids. You can cast it once per long rest.

The three major differences are as follows:

* Casting time = Because the meal is prepared and not summoned, the casting time is increased from 10 minutes to 30 minutes
* Hit Point Maximum = The HP maximum of those who partake in the feast is increased by 3d10
* Components = Ingredients costing 200gp, which can be purchased.