Bard
Humming as she traces her fingers over an ancient monument in a long-forgotten ruin, a Ìqáalìe 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 Genasi 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 crystalkin 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.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Experience Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Bardic Inspiration (d6), Spellcasting | 0 |
| 2nd | +2 | Song of Rest, Jack of all Trades | 300 |
| 3rd | +2 | Bard College, Expertise | 1,000 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3,000 |
| 5th | +3 | Bardic Inspiration (d8), Font of Inspiration | 6,000 |
| 6th | +3 | Bard College Feature Countercharm | 10,000 |
| 7th | +3 | - | 20,000 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 40,000 |
| 9th | +4 | Greater Rest | 60,000 |
| 10th | +4 | Bardic Inspiration (d10), Expertise, Magical Secrets | 80,000 |
| 11th | +4 | - | 100,000 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 120,000 |
| 13th | +5 | - | 140,000 |
| 14th | +5 | Magical Secrets | 160,000 |
| 15th | +5 | Bardic Inspiration (d12) | 180,000 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 200,000 |
| 17th | +6 | Self-Inspiration | 225,000 |
| 18th | +6 | Magical Secrets | 250,000 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 300,000 |
| 20th | +6 | Superior Inspiration | 350,000 |
Class Information.
- Hit Dice. 1d8 per bard level
- 1st Level Hitpoints. 8 + your Constitution modifier
- Higher Level Hitpoints. 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per bard level after 1st
- Armor Proficiencies. Light Armor, Medium Armor, and Shields
- Weapon Proficiencies. Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
- Tool Proficiencies. Three of any Artisan’s Tools or Musical Instruments
- Saving Throw Proficiencies. Dexterity and Charisma.
- Skill Proficiencies. Choose any three.
- Equipment. A Simple or Martial melee weapon (suggested: Rapier or Longsword), one Equipment Pack (suggested: Diplomat’s Pack), one Musical Instrument, one non-vehicle tool that you are proficient with, leather armor, and a dagger.
Spellcasting. You gain the ability to cast spells at 1st level.
- Spellcasting Ability. Charisma
- Spell Save DC. 8 + Your Proficiency Bonus + Your Charisma Modifier
- Spell Attack Bonus. Proficiency Bonus + Your Charisma Modifier
- Ritual Casting. You can cast any prepared spell as a ritual if it has the ritual tag.
- Spellcasting Focus. A Musical Instrument or a Set of Artisan’s Tools
- Spell Learning Method. You learn one new spell every even level and two new spells every odd level.
| Level | Cantrips Known | Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2nd | 2 | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3rd | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4th | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5th | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6th | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7th | 3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8th | 3 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9th | 3 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| 10th | 4 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 11th | 4 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 12th | 4 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 13th | 4 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 14th | 4 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 15th | 4 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 16th | 4 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 17th | 4 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18th | 4 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19th | 4 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20th | 4 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Bardic Inspiration. Starting at 1st level, you can inspire others through stirring words or music. As a bonus action on your turn, choose one creature other than yourself within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die. 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 used. 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 is a d6, and increases 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 you are not proficient in or have expertise in.
Song of Rest. Beginning at 2nd level you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies. You can spend a minute performing, after the minute, you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration, if you do, all creatures of your choice within 30ft who can hear you regain a number of hit points equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma Modifier.
Magical Inspiration. At 3rd level, if a creature has a Bardic Inspiration die from you and casts a spell that restores hit points or deals damage, the creature can roll that die and choose a target affected by the spell. Add the number rolled as a bonus to the hit points regained or the damage dealt. The Bardic Inspiration die is then lost.
Bard College. At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced techniques of a bard college of your choice. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th and 14th level.
Expertise. At 3rd level, choose two skills that you are proficient with, but do not have expertise in. You gain expertise in the chosen skills.
Ability Score Improvements. 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. Alternatively, you can take a feat instead of taking this increase to ability scores.
Font of Inspiration. At 5th level, your well of inspiration increases. You can use your Bardic Inspiration a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) + your proficiency bonus.
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 as a free action.
Greater Rest. At 9th level, your ability to soothe your allies improves, any creature below half health heals twice the total from your Song of Rest.
Expertise. At 10th level, choose two skills that you are proficient with, but do not have expertise in. You gain expertise in the chosen skills, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with a skill you have expertise in.
Magical Secrets. By 10th level, you have explored 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, 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.
Magical Secrets. By 14th level, you have explored 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, 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.
Self-Inspiring. At 17th level, your well of inspiration inspires and improves yourself. Whenever you expend a use of Bardic Inspiration, you gain a Bardic Inspiration die.
Magical Secrets. By 18th level, you have explored 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, 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, whenever you expend a use of Bardic Inspiration, you can choose a creature that you can hear within 60 feet of you, that creature gains a Bardic Inspiration die.
Bard Colleges
College of Creation
Bards believe the cosmos is a work of art—the creation of the Three. That creative work included harmonies that continue to resound through existence today, a power known as the creation energy, khaagaazh. The bards of the College of Creation draw on that primeval song through dance, music, and poetry, and their teachers share this lesson: “Before the sun and the moon, there was the Song, and its music awoke the first dawn. Its melodies so delighted the stones and trees that some of them gained a voice of their own. And now they sing too. Learn the Song, students, and you too can teach the mountains to sing and dance.” Dwarves often encourage their bards to become students of the Song of Creation. And among dragonborn, the Song of Creation is revered, for legends portray Bahamut and Tiamat—the greatest of dragons—as two of the song’s first singers.
Mote of Potential. Starting at 3rd level, whenever you give a creature a Bardic Inspiration die, you can utter a note from the Song of Creation to create a Tiny mote of potential, which orbits within 5 feet of that creature. The mote is intangible and invulnerable, and it lasts until the Bardic Inspiration die is lost. The mote looks like a musical note, a star, a flower, or another symbol of art or life that you choose. When the creature uses the Bardic Inspiration die, the mote provides an additional effect based on whether the die benefits an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw, as detailed below:
- Ability Check. When the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die to add it to an ability check, the creature can roll the Bardic Inspiration die again and choose which roll to use, as the mote pops and emits colorful, harmless sparks for a moment.
- Attack Roll. Immediately after the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die to add it to an attack roll against a target, the mote thunderously shatters. The target and each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or take thunder damage equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die.
- Saving Throw. Immediately after the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die and adds it to a saving throw, the mote vanishes with the sound of soft music, causing the creature to gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die plus your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point).
Performance of Creation. At 3rd level, as an action, you can channel the magic of the Song of Creation to create one non-magical item of your choice in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. The item must appear on a surface or in a liquid that can support it. The gp value of the item can’t be more than 20 times your bard level, and the item must be Medium or smaller. The item glimmers softly, and a creature can faintly hear music when touching it. The created item disappears after a number of hours equal to your proficiency bonus. Once you create an item with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 2nd level or higher to use this feature again. You can have only one item created by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have an item from this feature, the first one immediately vanishes. The size of the item you can create with this feature increases by one size category when you reach 6th level (Large) and 14th level (Huge).
Animating Performance. At 6th level, as an action, you can animate one Large or smaller non-magical item within 30 feet of you that isn’t being worn or carried. The animated item uses the Dancing Item stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB). The item is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. It lives for 1 hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, or until you die. In combat, the item shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the item can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge. When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command the item as part of the same bonus action you use for Bardic Inspiration. Once you animate an item with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use this feature again. You can have only one item animated by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have a dancing item from this feature, the first one immediately becomes inanimate.
Creative Crescendo. At 14th level, when you use your Performance of Creation feature, you can create more than one item at once. The number of items equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of two items). If you create an item that would exceed that number, you choose which of the previously created items disappears. Only one of these items can be of the maximum size you can create; the rest must be Small or Tiny. You are no longer limited by gp value when creating items with Performance of Creation.
College of Dance
Fast Movement. When you join the College of Dance at 3rd level, your walking speed increases by 10 feet. At 6th and 14th level, your walking speed increases by an extra 5 feet.
Inspirational Dance. Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use the universal language of dance. As a bonus action, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to dance and reinvigorate a creature other than you who can see you. When you do, roll a Bardic Inspiration die. That creature gains temporary hit points equal to the number rolled plus your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1). When a creature gains temporary hit points in this way, it can immediately use its reaction to move up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks or take the Dodge action.
Entrancing Movement. At 6th level, your movements become so graceful that even the most cold-hearted enemies are filled with remorse for having stopped your dance. Whenever a creature hits you with an opportunity attack, that creature takes psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier + half your bard level. In addition, you can use an action to cast Charm Person without expending a spell slot by weaving the incantation with your dance. When cast in this way, the target doesn’t have advantage on the saving throw if you’re currently fighting it. When you reach 14th level, you can choose to cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance in this way instead. Once you use this feature to cast a spell, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Endless Dance. By 14th level, your dance has become so invigorating that it can inspire an ally to attack. A creature that gains temporary hit points from your Inspirational Dance can choose to use its reaction to make one weapon attack. In addition, your endless dancing allows you to more easily avoid being hit. You can use a bonus action to take the Dodge action, and whenever you use a bonus action to expend a Bardic Inspiration die, you can take the Dodge action as part of that bonus action.
College of Diplomacy
Bards of the College of Diplomacy understand that statecraft, like music or drama, is a complicated artform. Formally trained as couriers, aides, stewards, geishas, and ambassadors, these performers use civility and social protocol to open doors where others cannot. In mastering their craft, these individuals also learn to see the connections between magical and social networks, and recognize how each can influence the other.
Foreign Relations. When you join the College of Diplomacy at 3rd level, you learn the proper etiquette for handling those from other cultures. You learn three languages of your choice. In addition, whenever you interact socially with a creature in a language other than Common, you have advantage on your Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Persuasion), and Wisdom (Insight) checks against it, but only if the creature can understand that language.
Magical Networking. Also at 3rd level, you can utilize your web of personal connections to extend your reach through Khaagaazh. By expending a use of your Bardic Inspiration when you cast a bard spell, you can choose to cast the spell as if you were located in the space of a willing creature within 60 feet of you that can see or hear you. When you cast a spell in this way, the willing creature also gains an amount of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Secret Communiqué. From 6th level, your mastery of statecraft allows you to communicate with but a meaningful look. The ranges of both your Countercharm and Bardic Inspiration features are doubled, and if an ally can see you, it doesn't need to hear you to be affected by either of those features. In addition, using this feature, you can choose to activate your Countercharm feature silently, without moving, and by using a bonus action instead of an action. Until the end of your next turn, targets affected by this use of Countercharm have advantage on their Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom saving throws, and can also communicate telepathically with any other affected targets they can see, regardless of their language. You can use countercharm in this way a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Diplomatic Immunity. Starting at 14th level, you can magically compel even your enemies to act cordially towards you. As an action, you can force up to 5 creatures of your choice within 60 feet of you that can see and hear you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. A target automatically succeeds if it can't understand your language, but if it shares more than one language with you, it makes this save with disadvantage. If a target fails its save, it becomes charmed by you and all of your allies it can see within 60 feet of you. This effect lasts until the end of your next turn if you are fighting the target or if you begin to fight it, or for 1 hour otherwise. This effect ends on a target if it notices you or your allies harm it or a creature it is friendly towards. While charmed in this way, each affected target is convinced you are representing an individual, group, or power offering them fealty, an alliance, or a trade deal in its best interests. They will treat you hospitably, rationalize any of your hostile behaviors as unusual quirks, and try to persuade their allies to welcome you and your 'entourage.' Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
College of Eloquence
Adherents of the College of Eloquence master the art of oratory. Persuasion is regarded as a high art, and a well-reasoned, well-spoken argument often proves more persuasive than facts. These bards wield a blend of logic and theatrical wordplay, winning over skeptics and detractors with logical arguments and plucking at heartstrings to appeal to the emotions of audiences.
Silver Tongue. At 3rd level you become a master at saying the right thing at the right time. When you make a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception) check, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Cutting Words. Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the confidence and competence of others. When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature’s roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll, but before the DM determines whether the attack roll or ability check succeeds or fails, or before the creature deals its damage. The creature is immune if it can’t hear you or if it’s immune to being charmed.
Unfailing Inspiration. At 6th level, your inspiring words are so persuasive that others feel driven to succeed. When a creature adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll fails, the creature can keep the Bardic Inspiration die.
Universal Speech. Also at 6th level, you have gained the ability to make your speech intelligible to any creature. As an action, choose one or more creatures within 60 feet of you, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). The chosen creatures can magically understand you, regardless of the language you speak, for 1 hour. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot to use it again.
Infectious Inspiration. When you successfully inspire someone, the power of your eloquence can now spread to someone else. When a creature within 60 feet of you adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll succeeds, you can use your reaction to encourage a different creature (other than yourself) that can hear you within 60 feet of you, giving it a Bardic Inspiration die without expending any of your Bardic Inspiration uses. You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
College of Four Suits
Arcane Deck. When you join the College of Four Suits at 3rd level, you find a way to twist your bardic magic in new ways using the magic of chance. You gain proficiency with playing card sets, if you don’t already have it, and you can use playing card sets as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses playing card sets, such as Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) or Charisma (Performance) checks made to either cheat or perform card tricks, respectively. In addition, you can transform a mundane playing card set into a magic one, called an arcane deck, using a special ritual while holding the cards. The ritual takes 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the deck (no action required), shunting it into an extradimensional space. The deck also disappears if it’s more than 120 feet away from you for 1 minute or more, or if you die. You can summon the arcane deck to an empty hand using a bonus action, and can use it as a normal playing card set. You can replace your arcane deck by performing the 1-hour ritual on another playing card set. When you do, the previous arcane deck becomes a non-magical playing card set again. The deck appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when this happens. You use this arcane deck for your College of Four Suits features, drawing and playing cards as described in them and using the following rules:
- The arcane deck uses a standard deck of 52 cards, removing any jokers from the deck. You can use a deck of playing cards at your table for these features or use a digital tool instead.
- An ace counts as 1, and a jack, queen, or king counts as a 10.
At 3rd level, your maximum hand size is 3. Your maximum hand size increases when you reach certain levels in this class, becoming 4 cards at 6th level, and 5 cards at 14th. Played and discarded cards disappear and are placed in a discard pile to the side of the deck. When you finish a long rest, shuffle the discard pile back into the deck. Discarded cards are unavailable to your arcane deck while you’re in combat, but can otherwise be used as normal when using the deck as a playing card set.
Hand of Fate. At 3rd level, you draw a hand of cards whenever you roll for initiative, up to your maximum hand size, called a hand of fate. You keep these cards until they’re played or until the combat resolves, at which time any remaining cards in your hand are discarded. When you draw these cards, your arcane deck and drawn cards magically appear and float in the air within easy reach for the duration. While the arcane deck is summoned in this way, you don’t need to be holding it in order to use it as a spellcasting focus. You can play multiple cards at a time and combine their values provided that they’re all from the same suit. Regardless of what your cards’ combined value is, it can’t exceed your bard spell save DC. After a card is played and its effect resolves, it disappears from your hand and is placed in your discard pile. You can play cards from your hand of fate in a variety of ways as described below. Fate Change. You can choose to forgo rolling a d20 for an attack roll or ability check to play one or more cards from your hand (no action required), using their combined value to determine the roll instead. You can wait until after you roll the d20 before deciding to use this feature, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once you use this ability, you can’t do so again until you roll initiative again and draw a new hand. If you can eventually replace a d20 roll with a combined card value of 20 or more, it doesn’t count as a critical hit or success on the roll you replace it with.
- Trick. You can use an action to send one or more cards from your hand hurtling at a creature that you can see within 30 feet of you (other than yourself ).
- Clubs or Spades. If the cards’ suit is a club or spade, make a ranged spell attack against the target, using your spell attack bonus. On a hit, the target takes force damage equal to the cards’ combined value.
- Diamonds or Hearts. If the cards’ suit is a diamond or heart, the target gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the cards’ combined value, which last for 1 minute or until you use this Trick again.
Whenever you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration, you can draw 2 cards from the deck and choose 1 of them to add to your hand, placing the second card on the bottom of the deck. If your hand is full when you add a new card in this way, you can choose to either discard a card from your hand and replace it with the new one or simply place it on the bottom of the deck without replacing any cards in your hand. When you reach 6th level in this class, the number of cards you draw and keep whenever you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration increases by 1. At 14th level, you can choose to place the leftover card back on top of the deck, rather than the bottom.
Hole Cards. Also at 3rd level, when you finish a long rest, you can draw up to your maximum hand size from your arcane deck. Choose 1 of those cards and shuffle the remainder back into the deck. This card is called your hole card, and remains separate from your arcane deck and hand of fate. The number of hole cards you keep when you finish a long rest increases when you reach certain levels in this class, becoming 2 cards at 6th level, and 3 cards at 14th. When you roll a d20 to make an attack roll or ability check, you can choose to play a hole card and add its value to the total of the roll. You make this decision after you roll the d20, but before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Regardless of the value of the card, it can’t exceed the maximum value of your Bardic Inspiration die. For example, if your Bardic Inspiration die is a d6, a 7 card or higher would be treated as a 6. While in combat, you can choose to play hole cards as though they were a card from your hand of fate.
Royal Flush. Starting at 6th level, you’ve learned how to draw more magic from your arcane deck and influence those around you. You can use an action to play a jack, queen, or king card from your hand of fate or hole cards to cast the command spell from it at 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level, respectively, using your bard spell save DC and without expending a spell slot. Once you play a card in this way, you can’t do so again with that card from any other suit until you finish a long rest. In addition, the range of your Trick feature increases to 60 feet, instead of 30.
Ace in the Hole. By 14th level, you’re an expert at using cards to influence your fortune and succeed. Your feature becomes more powerful in the following ways: An ace counts as a 10 for you, instead of a 1.
- You can choose to combine cards of the same value, rather than suit, when playing them as part of your Fate Change or Trick features. When played as part of a Trick in this way, you choose which suit to use between all the ones played when determining the kind of Trick it is.
- If you hit a target with a Club or Spade Trick, you can add your Charisma modifier to the total of the damage dealt by the attack. The Trick’s total damage dealt still can’t exceed your bard save DC.
- You can use your Fate Change feature twice during combat, instead of once.
- If you have an ace in your hand of fate or as a hole card, you can use your reaction to play it when you see a creature within 60 feet of you make an attack roll or ability check, expending a use of your Fate Change feature if you’re in combat and replacing the target’s d20 roll with either a 1 or 10 (your choice). You can choose to use this reaction after the creature makes its roll, but before the GM determines whether the attack roll or ability check succeeds or fails. If the creature is unwilling, it can make a Charisma saving throw against your bard save DC, ignoring the effect and using the original roll on a success
College of Glamor
The College of Glamor is the home of bards who mastered their craft in the vibrant realm of the Feywild or under the tutelage of someone who dwelled there. Tutored by satyrs, eladrin, and other fey, these bards learn to use their magic to delight and captivate others. The bards of this college are regarded with a mixture of awe and fear. Their performances are the stuff of legend. These bards are so eloquent that a speech or song that one of them performs can cause captors to release the bard unharmed and can lull a furious dragon into complacency. The same magic that allows them to quell beasts can also bend minds. Villainous bards of this college can leech off a community for weeks, misusing their magic to turn their hosts into thralls. Heroic bards of this college instead use this power to gladden the downtrodden and undermine oppressors.
Mantle of Inspiration. When you join the College of Glamor at 3rd level, you gain the ability to weave a song of fey magic that imbues your allies with vigor and speed. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to grant yourself a wondrous appearance. When you do so, choose a number of creatures you can see and that can see you within 60 feet of you, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). Each of them gains 5 temporary hit points. When a creature gains these temporary hit points, it can immediately use its reaction to move up to its speed, without provoking opportunity attacks. The number of temporary hit points increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 8 at 5th level, 11 at 10th level, and 14 at 15th level.
Enthralling Performance. Starting at 3rd level, you can charge your performance with seductive, fey magic. If you perform for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to inspire wonder in your audience by singing, reciting a poem, or dancing. At the end of the performance, choose a number of humanoids within 60 feet of you who watched and listened to all of it, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by you. While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, it speaks glowingly of you to anyone who talks to it, and it hinders anyone who opposes you, although it avoids violence unless it was already inclined to fight on your behalf. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour, if it takes any damage, if you attack it, or if it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies. If a target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that you tried to charm it. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Mantle of Majesty. At 6th level, you gain the ability to cloak yourself in a fey magic that makes others want to serve you. As a bonus action, you cast command, without expending a spell slot, and you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute or until your concentration ends (as if you were concentrating on a spell). During this time, you can cast Command as a bonus action on each of your turns, without expending a spell slot. Any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Unbreakable Majesty. At 14th level, your appearance permanently gains an otherworldly aspect that makes you look more lovely and fierce. In addition, as a bonus action, you can assume a magically majestic presence for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. For the duration, whenever any creature tries to attack you for the first time on a turn, the attacker must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it can’t attack you on this turn, and it must choose a new target for its attack or the attack is wasted. On a successful save, it can attack you on this turn, but it has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against your spells on your next turn. You can assume this fierce appearance a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses at the end of a long rest.
College of Lore
Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads in taverns or elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning everything they held to be true, from their faith in the priesthood of the local temple to their loyalty to the king. The loyalty of these bards lies in the pursuit of beauty and truth, not in fealty to a monarch or following the tenets of a deity. A noble who keeps such a bard as a herald or advisor knows that the bard would rather be honest than politic. The college’s members gather in libraries and sometimes in actual colleges, complete with classrooms and dormitories, to share their lore with one another. They also meet at festivals or affairs of state, where they can expose corruption, unravel lies, and poke fun at self-important figures of authority.
Bonus Proficiencies. When you join the College of Lore at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with three skills of your choice.
Unsettling Words. Also at 3rd level, you can spin words laced with magic that unsettle a creature and cause it to doubt itself. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. Roll the Bardic Inspiration die. The creature must subtract the number rolled from the next saving throw it makes before the start of your next turn.
Additional Magical Secrets. At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class. 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 but don’t count against the number of bard spells you know.
Peerless Skill. Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your ability check. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeed or fail.
College of Machismo
Famed for their hulking frames and sure-footed swagger, the bards of the College of Machismo are dedicated to building (and flaunting) their own physiques. By putting their muscles to work, these entertainers will “perform in circus acts, gladiatorial bouts, contests of strength, bachelorette parties, and anywhere they can bask in the roar of a crowd. These bards take their pursuit of muscular perfection seriously, and will often parade their bodies unbidden. What these individuals lack in self-awareness or humility, however, they more than make up for in raw, physical power. After all, confidence fuels the strength of these bards, and this is a quality they have in abundance. When they join this college, it is common for bards to adopt pseudonyms that help them play to a crowd.
Bardic Brawn. When you join the College of Machismo at 3rd level, you double down on iron-pumped peacocking. Your hit point maximum increases by 3, and it increases by 1 whenever you gain another level in this class. Further, your unarmed strikes now use a d4 for damage, and by flaunting your physique or muscular prowess, you can make Strength (Intimidation) and Strength (Performance) checks in place of your Charisma (Intimidation) and Charisma (Performance) checks, respectively. This degree of self-confidence is its own form of protection. While you aren't wearing armor or wielding a shield, your AC equals 10+ your Strength modifier + your Charisma modifier.
Feat of Strength. Also at 3rd level, you learn to draw inspiration from displays of your own physical power. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to make a Strength-based melee attack or Strength ability check. This check could involve grappling or shoving a creature, smashing a sturdy object, or jumping an unusually-long distance. If your attack lands or your check is successful, you gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die + half your bard level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Tireless Showboating. Starting at 6th level, your drive to impress others allows you to accomplish the positively Heraclean. You gain proficiency in Strength saving throws, and if you can see an ally that can see you, your movement speed isn't reduced by grappling a creature or carrying weights that aren't more than double your normal carrying capacity. In addition, each turn you can give yourself advantage on one Strength-based attack roll or Strength ability check or saving throw, but only if you can see an ally within 60 feet of you that can see you. If this roll would be affected by disadvantage, you can ignore it. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Strength modifier + your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), regaining expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Center of Attention. After reaching 14th level, you can strike a vainglorious pose that taunts your enemies and provokes their enmity. Using an action, or using the bonus action granted by your Feat of Strength feature, you can make a Strength (Performance) check contested by the Wisdom (Insight) check of a creature within 60 feet of you that can see you. Creatures that cannot be charmed are unaffected. If your check is successful, your target becomes enraged by you until the end of your next turn. Enraged creatures cannot make opportunity attacks against creatures other than you, and suffer disadvantage on their attack rolls against creatures other than you. If an enraged creature hits one of your allies with a weapon attack, that ally has resistance to any damage dealt by the attack.
College of Mercantilism
Coin Flip. Starting when you join the College of Mercantile at 3rd level, a creature that uses a Bardic Inspiration die from you can choose to forgo rolling the die to flip a coin instead. If it’s heads, the creature treats the Bardic Inspiration die as if it rolled its maximum number. If it’s tails, the GM takes the Bardic Inspiration die and can use it when another creature of the GM’s choice makes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw instead. The GM can have multiple Bardic Inspiration dice at a time in this way, but can still only add one of them to a roll at a time. When you finish a long rest, the GM loses any of these taken Bardic Inspiration dice.
Magic Coin. Also at 3rd level, you know that coins can be just as powerful as the most enthralling rhetoric. Whereas other bards may use words and song as their means for conjuring spells, you instead use a simple coin. You can use any coin worth at least 1 cp as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells. In addition, you can use an action to magically fling a coin from your hand at a target within 60 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack with the coin, using your Charisma mod- ifier for the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 1 bludgeon- ing damage plus 1d12 thunder damage. Immediately after the attack, the coin returns to your hand. If you roll a 20 on the attack roll against a hostile creature using a non-magical copper, silver, electrum, or gold piece, the coin is magically duplicated when it returns to your hand. The new coin can appear in your hand, at your feet, or in a coin pouch on your person (your choice). The coin’s thunder damage increases by 1d12 when you reach 6th level (2d12) and 14th level (3d12).
Money Talks. By 6th level, you’ve learned how to briefly enchant a coin with divination magic. You can enchant a mundane copper, silver, electrum, gold, or platinum piece that you’re holding in this way using an action. A creature holding the coin that knows at least one language can understand the meaning of any word you speak, and when it speaks, you understand what it says. In addition, you have advantage on the first Charisma (Persuasion) check you make when negotiating the value of a good or service with a creature that’s holding or carrying the enchanted coin. Alternatively, you can use an action to see and hear through the enchanted coin until the start of your next turn as if you were in the coin’s space. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses. The coin remains enchanted for 10 minutes or until you end the effect early (no action required). You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Shrewd Consumer. Starting at 14th level, whenever you cast a spell that consumes a material component, drink a potion, or use a spell scroll that’s worth no more than 500 gp, there is a 50 percent chance that the component, potion, or scroll isn’t consumed. In addition, you can use a bonus action to take the Use an Object action or drink a potion.
College of Swords
Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock combats. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are also highly trained and skilled warriors in their own right. Their talent with weapons inspires many blades to lead double lives. One blade might use a circus troupe as cover for nefarious deeds such as assassination, robbery, and blackmail. Other blades strike at the wicked, bringing justice to bear against the cruel and powerful. Most troupes are happy to accept a blade’s talent for the excitement it adds to a performance, but few entertainers fully trust a blade in their ranks. Blades who abandon their lives as entertainers have often run into trouble that makes maintaining their secret activities impossible. A blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante justice is too great a liability for most troupes. With their weapon skills and magic, these blades either take up work as enforcers for thieves’ guilds or strike out on their own as adventurers.
Bonus Proficiency. When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and the scimitar. If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.
Fighting Style. At 3rd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if something in the game lets you choose again. Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Blade Flourish. At 3rd level, you learn to perform impressive displays of martial prowess and speed. Whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the turn, and if a weapon attack that you make as part of this action hits a creature, you can use one of the following Blade Flourish options of your choice. You can use only one Blade Flourish option per turn.
- Defensive Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.
- Slashing Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit and to any other creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die.
- Mobile Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You can also push the target up to 5 feet away from you, plus a number of feet equal to the number you roll on that die. You can then immediately use your reaction to move up to your walking speed to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target.
Extra Attack. Starting at 6th level, you can perform an additional attack as part of the Attack action. If you have multiple copies of this feature and achieve a certain level threshold, the number of attacks you can perform increases. At 5th level if you have one copy of the feature, you can perform one extra attack, at 11th level if you have two copies of the feature you can perform two extra attacks, and at 20th level if you have three copies of the feature you can perform three extra attacks.
Master’s Flourish. Starting at 14th level, whenever you use a Blade Flourish option, you can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die.
College of Tragedy
Bards of the College of Tragedy seek to empower the hearts of others by memorializing that which has been lost. Those who follow this tradition are intimately familiar with the immense hardships of a fickle world, but they have also witnessed the strength and beauty that blooms in the wake of loss. These bards are often travelers, looking to experience life to its fullest, with all the highs and lows that journey entails. Members of the College of Tragedy are rarely gregarious performers living for the spotlight. They are more likely to be quiet observers composing heartrending ballads or contemplative poems and saving them for when they will have the greatest impact.
Tragic Flaw. When you join the College of Tragedy at 3rd level, you become adept at identifying the driving motivations of others. If you spend at least one day observing a target creature with whom you share a language you learn your choice of the creature’s Ideal, Bond, or Flaw. When you make a Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Intimidation), or Charisma (Persuasion) check against the target you can utilize the Ideal, Bond, or Flaw learned this way to improve your chances of success. For example, you might suggest to a creature whose Flaw is their greed that supplying your party with weapons will lead to a cut of any treasure you acquire, or a creature whose Ideal is the importance of community might be convinced that their town would enjoy boosted morale if your party are supplied with the means to kill the local monster. Any time you do this you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling the Bardic Inspiration die and adding the number rolled to the ability check. You can wait until after you roll to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.
Katharsis. Also at 3rd level, you learn to guide grief into a powerful rallying force. If an ally you can see within 60 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration as a reaction and inspire an additional creature when you use your Bardic Inspiration. All other restrictions of the Bardic Inspiration feature still apply.
Reversal of Fortune. At 6th level, you gain the ability to magically influence the course of a creature’s fate. Your Bardic Inspiration feature now allows you to inspire unconscious creatures who currently have 0 hit points. In addition, you can use your bonus action to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to choose one creature within 30 feet of you who can hear you and give it vulnerability to the damage type of your choice until the beginning of your next turn. If the creature is resistant to the chosen damage type, it instead loses its resistance. If the creature is immune to the chosen damage type, it instead has its immunity reduced to resistance.
Shared Adversity. At 14th level, your tales of hardship and heroism are retold by those around you as they aid each other through difficult burdens. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can transfer it to another creature within 10 feet of them as a bonus action.
College of Valor
Bards of the College of Valor are daring skalds whose tales keep alive the memory of the great heroes of the past, and thereby inspire a new generation of heroes. These bards gather in mead halls or around great bonfires to sing the deeds of the mighty, both past and present. They travel the land to witness great events firsthand and to ensure that the memory of those events doesn’t pass from the world. With their songs, they inspire others to reach the same heights of accomplishment as the heroes of old.
Bonus Proficiencies. When you join this college at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
Combat Inspiration. Also at 3rd level, you learn to inspire others in battle. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die and add the number rolled to a weapon damage roll it just made. Alternatively, when an attack roll is made against the creature, it can use its reaction to roll the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to its AC against that attack, after seeing the roll but before knowing whether it hits or misses.
Extra Attack. Starting at 6th level, you can perform an additional attack as part of the Attack action. If you have multiple copies of this feature and achieve a certain level threshold, the number of attacks you can perform increases. At 5th level if you have one copy of the feature, you can perform one extra attack, at 11th level if you have two copies of the feature you can perform two extra attacks, and at 20th level if you have three copies of the feature you can perform three extra attacks.
Battle Magic. At 14th level, you have mastered the art of weaving spellcasting and weapon use into a single harmonious act. When you use your action to cast a bard spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
College of Whispers
Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them against others through extortion and threats. Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses a bard’s reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason, members of this college rarely reveal their true nature. They typically claim to follow some other college, or they keep their actual calling secret in order to infiltrate and exploit royal courts and other settings of power.
Psychic Blades. When you join the College of Whispers at 3rd level, you gain the ability to make your weapon attacks magically toxic to a creature’s mind. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to deal an extra 2d6 psychic damage to that target. You can do so only once per round on your turn. The psychic damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level, 5d6 at 10th level, and 8d6 at 15th level.
Words of Terror. At 3rd level, you learn to infuse innocent-seeming words with an insidious magic that can inspire terror. If you speak to a humanoid alone for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to seed paranoia in its mind. At the end of the conversation, the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened of you or another creature of your choice. The target is frightened in this way for 1 hour, until it is attacked or damaged, or until it witnesses its allies being attacked or damaged. If the target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that you tried to frighten it. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Mantle of Whispers. At 6th level, you gain the ability to adopt a humanoid’s persona. When a humanoid dies within 30 feet of you, you can magically capture its shadow using your reaction. You retain this shadow until you use it or you finish a long rest. You can use the shadow as an action. When you do so, it vanishes, magically transforming into a disguise that appears on you. You now look like the dead person, but healthy and alive. This disguise lasts for 1 hour or until you end it as a bonus action. While you’re in the disguise, you gain access to all information that the humanoid would freely share with a casual acquaintance. Such information includes general details on its background and personal life, but doesn’t include secrets. The information is enough that you can pass yourself off as the person by drawing on its memories. Another creature can see through this disguise by succeeding on a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your Charisma (Deception) check. You gain a +5 bonus to your check. You can capture a number of shadows with this feature equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Shadow Lore. At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark magic into your words and tap into a creature’s deepest fears. As an action, you magically whisper a phrase that only one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible mumbling and has no effect. On a failed saving throw, the target is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack it, damage it, or force it to make a saving throw. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret. You gain no knowledge of this secret, but the target is convinced you know it. The charmed creature obeys your commands for fear that you will reveal its secret. It won’t risk its life for you or fight for you, unless it was already inclined to do so. It grants you favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend. When the effect ends, the creature has no understanding of why it held you in such fear. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.