The Bard

Class Details

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d8 per bard level.
• Hit Points (1st-level): 8 + your Constitution modifier.
• Hit Points (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

Choose one of the following equipment options—preset or custom. You gain these items in addition to any other gear you might have (such as from your background):

A. Preset 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

B. Custom Equipment

You gain 5d4 x 10 gold pieces (or 120 gp). You may spend some or all of this gold to purchase your own equipment.

Class Features

As a bard, you gain the following class features.

1Spellcasting

You gain the ability to cast magic spells using words of power and musical notes.

Cantrips

At 1st-level, 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 Class Features (Bard) table.

Replacing Known Cantrips: When you gain a bard level, you can choose one of the bard cantrips you know and replace it with another cantrip from the bard spell list.

Spell Slots

The Class Features (Bard) table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st-level and higher. To cast one of your spells, you must spend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

 

Spells Known of 1st-level and Higher

At 1st-level, you know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list. The Spells Known column of the Class Features (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.

Replacing Known Spells: When you gain a bard level, you may choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list. This new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your bard spells. Use your Charisma modifier to determine the saving throw DC or attack modifier for a bard spell you cast.

Spellcasting Ability

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 use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

1Composition

You have a number of composition points, as shown in the Composition Points column of the Class Features (Bard) table. You can spend composition to inspire and revitalize your allies—and you may learn other applications from your Bard College.

You recover all expended composition points when you finish a long rest.

1Bardic Inspiration

You can use your compositions to inspire other creatures with stirring words and music.

Bardic Inspiration

• Class Feature
• Bard

Spend one bonus action and one point of composition to choose one creature other than yourself that is (a) within 60 feet of you and (b) can hear you. The chosen creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die—a d6.

• Being Inspired A creature with Bardic Inspiration has 10 minutes in which to choose to 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 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but it must do so before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.

  Once the die is rolled, it is spent. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.

• Growing Inspiration The Bardic Inspiration die grows as you gain bard levels, as shown in the Bardic Inspiration column of the Class Features (Bard) table.

1Bard College

Choose a Bard College. You gain features from your Bard College at 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 10th-level.

Collegiate Pledges

Each college has a set of three guiding principles—its pledges—that help to preserve bardic traditions. Respect these pledges to gain distinction from fellow bards.

Collegiate Distinction: If you make a notable effort while honoring your collegiate pledges, you may gain a mark of distinction.

During a long rest, you can spend one mark of distinction to share songs with another bard and replace one of your known bard spells (including cantrips) with another spell from the bard spell list. The new spell must be of the same spell level as the one you replace.

 

 

 

 

Collegiate Inspiration

At 1st-level, you gain a unique way to use your Bardic Inspiration class feature from your Bard College.

2Jack of All Trades

You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

2Song of Rest

During a short rest, you can help to revitalize your allies by playing a soothing song or telling an inspiring story.

If you—or any friendly creature who can hear your performance—regain hit points by spending one or more Hit Dice, each creature regains an extra 1d6 hit points.

Greater Song of Rest: At 9th-level, the extra hit points regained increases from 1d6 to 1d8.

Composed Song of Rest

When you begin a Song of Rest, you can spend composition to increase the bonus hit points granted.

For each point of composition you spend, increase the die size of your song by one step (to a maximum of 1d12).

Song of Rest

Composed Song of Rest: d6 → d8 → d10 → d12

 

 

3Expertise

Choose two skills in which you are proficient. You gain expertise in these skills, doubling your proficiency bonus for any ability check you make that uses either skill.

Greater Expertise: At 10th-level, choose two additional skills in which you are proficient—you gain expertise in these skills also.

4Ability Score Improvement

You can increase one ability score of your choice by +2, or two ability scores of your choice by +1. You can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Greater Ability Score Improvement: At 8th-level, you gain another ability score improvement.

6Countercharm

As an action, you 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 benefit from this. The performance ends early if you are incapacitated, silenced, or if you voluntarily end it as a free action.

Composed Countercharm

As you begin to perform Countercharm, you may choose to alter your performance in the following ways.

Fermata: Spend one point of composition to extend the maximum duration of your Countercharm by one additional round.

Forte: Spend one point of composition to extend the maximum range of your Countercharm from 30 ft to 60 ft.

Vivace: Spend one point of composition to perform Countercharm as a bonus action instead of a full action.

 

 

 

 

10Magical Secrets

You learn two spells of your choice from any class. The spells don't have to be from the same class, but they must be a cantrip or of a spell level that you can cast.

The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and don't count against the number of bard spells you know.

10Chords of Power

In your trained hands, a musical instrument can suddenly become a dangerous, sonic weapon.

Chords of Power

• Class Feature
• Bard

As a bonus action, you start a performance that lasts for up to 1 minute. During this time, any musical instrument that you hold can be used as:

1. A simple weapon that deals 1d10 thunder damage.
2. A simple ranged weapon (range 60 ft) that deals 1d8 thunder damage.

When you make an attack with a musical instrument, you can use your Charisma modifier (instead of Strength or Dexterity) for the attack and damage rolls.

• Curtain Call Your performance ends early if (a) you are incapacitated, (b) you are silenced, or (c) you voluntarily end it as a free action.
• Limited Run You may use this feature once, and you regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bard Spells

Spell List

• Class Feature
• Bard

Cantrips

d100
01-08	Blade Ward
09-16	Dancing Lights
17-24	Friends
25-32	Light
33-40	Mage Hand
41-48	Mending
49-56	Message
57-64	Minor Illusion
65-72	Prestidigitation
73-80	Thunderclap
81-88	True Strike
89-96	Vicious Mockery

1st-level

d100
01-04	Animal Friendship
05-08	Bane
09-12	Cause Fear
13-16	Charm Person
17-20	Color Spray
21-24	Command
25-28	Comprehend Languages
29-32	Cure Wounds
33-36	Detect Magic
37-40	Disguise Self
41-44	Dissonant Whispers
45-48	Earth Tremor
49-52	Faerie Fire
53-56	Feather Fall
57-60	Healing Word
61-64	Heroism
65-68	Identify
69-72	Illusory Script
73-76	Longstrider
77-80	Silent Image
81-84	Sleep
85-88	Speak with Animals
89-92	Tasha's Hideous Laughter
93-96	Thunderwave
97-00	Unseen Servant

2nd-level

d100
01-03	Aid

d100
04-06	Animal Messenger
07-09	Blindness/Deafness
10-12	Calm Emotions
13-15	Cloud of Daggers
16-18	Crown of Madness
19-21	Detect Thoughts
22-24	Enhance Ability
25-27	Enlarge/Reduce
28-30	Enthrall
31-33	Heat Metal
34-36	Hold Person
37-39	Invisibility
40-42	Knock
43-45	Lesser Restoration
46-48	Locate Animals or Plants
49-51	Locate Object
52-54	Magic Mouth
55-57	Mind Spike
58-60	Mirror Image
61-63	Phantasmal Force
64-66	Pyrotechnics
67-69	See Invisibility
70-72	Shatter
73-75	Silence
76-78	Skywrite
79-81	Suggestion
82-84	Warding Wind
85-87	Zone of Truth

3rd-level

d100
01-04	Bestow Curse
05-08	Catnap
09-12	Clairvoyance
13-16	Dispel Magic
17-20	Enemies Abound
21-24	Fear
25-28	Feign Death
29-32	Glyph of Warding
33-36	Hypnotic Pattern
37-40	Leomund's Tiny Hut
41-44	Major Image
45-48	Mass Healing Word
49-52	Nondetection
53-56	Plant Growth
57-60	Sending

d100
61-64	Slow
65-68	Speak with Dead
69-72	Speak with Plants
73-76	Stinking Cloud
77-80	Tiny Servant
81-84	Tongues

4th-level

d100
01-10	Charm Monster
11-20	Compulsion
21-30	Confusion
31-40	Dimension Door
41-50	Freedom of Movement
51-60	Greater Invisibility
61-70	Hallucinatory Terrain
71-80	Locate Creature
81-90	Phantasmal Killer
91-00	Polymorph

5th-level

d100
01-05	Animate Objects
06-10	Awaken
11-15	Contact Other Plane
16-20	Dominate Person
21-25	Dream
26-30	Geas
31-35	Greater Restoration
36-40	Hold Monster
41-45	Legend Lore
46-50	Mass Cure Wounds
51-55	Mislead
56-60	Modify Memory
61-65	Planar Binding
66-70	Raise Dead
71-75	Rary's Telepathic Bond
76-80	Scrying
81-85	Seeming
86-90	Skill Empowerment
91-95	Synaptic Static
96-00	Teleportation Circle