Bard

Bards follow a Maudesian tradition, acting as assassins, spies, saboteurs and following other secretive pursuits in the constant, and sometimes petty, struggles between nobles. Having taken the minstrel's art to new levels, bards are skilled performers and master manipulators, capable of inspiring their allies or disheartening their foes through song and tale.

## Class Features

As a bard, you gain the following class features.

##### Hit Points

* **Hit Dice:** 1d8 per bard level
* **Hit Points at 1st Level:** 8 + your Constitution modifier
* **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, disquise kit, thieve's tools
* **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, or (b) a shortsword
* (a) a shortbow and a quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a set of 3 throwing knives
* (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an entertainer's pack
* (a) a lute or (b) any other musical instrument
* Leather armor, a dagger, a disguise kit, thieve's tools

### Bardic Talents

You Bard training has taught you talents that are fueled by your Bardic dice.

***Talents.*** You learn three Talents of your choice. You can use only one talent per round. You learn one additional talent of your choice at 5th, 10th, and 15th level. Each time you learn new talents, you can also replace one talent you know with a different one.

***Bardic Dice.*** You have a number of bardic dice equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of 1), which are d6s. A bardic die is expended when you use it. You regain all of your expended bardic dice when you finish a long rest. The die becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level.

***Saving Throws.*** Some of your talents require your target to make a saving throw to resist the talent's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:

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

### Silver Tongue

During your bardic training you learned how to be cunningly captivating. If you spend 1 minute talking to someone who can understand what you say, you can make a Charisma (Persuasion) check contested by the creature’s Wisdom (Insight) check. If you or your companions are fighting the creature, your check automatically fails. If your check succeeds, the target is charmed by you as long as it remains within 60 feet of you and for 1 minute thereafter. This effect also ends if you or your companions do anything harmful to the target.

### Sneak Attack

Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe's distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.

You don't need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Sneak Attack column of the Bard Table.

### Cunning Action

Starting at 2nd level, your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

### Song of Rest

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 spend one or more Hit Dice to regain hit points at the end of the short rest, 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.

### Master of Intrigue

Beginning at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the forgery kit, and one gaming set of your choice. You also learn two additional languages of your choice.

Additionally, you can unerringly mimic the speech patterns and accent of a creature that you hear speak for at least 1 minute, enabling you to pass yourself off as a native speaker of a particular land, provided that you know the language.

### Master of Tactics

Starting at 3rd level, you can use the Help action as a bonus action. Additionally, when you use the Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature, the target of that attack can be within 30 feet of you, rather than 5 feet of you, if the target can see or hear you.

### 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.

At 10th level, you can choose another two skill proficiencies to gain this benefit.

### 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.

### Font of Inspiration

Beginning when you reach 5th level, you regain all of your expended Bardic dice 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).

### Evasion

Beginning at 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a dragon's fiery breath or an Ice Storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

### Insightful Manipulator

Starting at 9th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with another creature outside combat, you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:

* Intelligence score

* Wisdom score

* Charisma score

* Class levels (if any)

At the DM's option, you might also realize you know a piece of the creature's history or one of its personality traits, if it has any.

### Reliable Talent

By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

### Misdirection

Beginning at 13th level, you can sometimes cause another creature to suffer an attack meant for you. When you are targeted by an attack while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against that attack, you can use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.

### Blindsense

Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.

### Slippery Mind

By 15th level, you have acquired greater mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

### Soul of Deceit

Starting at 18th level, your thoughts can't be read by telepathy or other means, unless you allow it. You can present false thoughts by making a Charisma (Deception) check contested by the mind reader's Wisdom (Insight) check.

Additionally, no matter what you say, magic that would determine if you are telling the truth indicates you are being truthful if you so choose, and you can't be compelled to tell the truth by magic.

### Superior Inspiration

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