Bard

Bard: Base Class

Bard Features

Base Traits

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per bard level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 18 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per bard level after 1st

Proficiencies and Training

Armour: Light armour
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
Tools: Three musical instruments of your choice
Saving throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth

Equipment

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

•          a rapier, a longsword, or any simple weapon

•          a diplomat’s pack or an entertainer’s pack

•          a lute or any other musical instrument

•          a leather armour and a dagger

Features

Bardic Performance

You have a number of bardic performance dice as shown in the Bardic Performance column on the Bard table. When you gain this feature, your bardic performance die is a d6. When you reach certain levels in this class, your bardic performance die increases. It becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level.

Bardic Performance

As a bonus action, you can expend one of your bardic performance dice to start a bardic performance. On subsequent turns, you must use your bonus action to maintain this bardic performance. You can maintain your bardic performance for up to 1 minute or until you stop concentrating (as if you were concentrating on a spell).

When you start your bardic performance, you inspire creatures of your choice within 60 feet of you. While under the effect of your bardic performance, an inspired creature can roll your bardic performance die and add the result as a bonus to a failed ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, potentially turning the result into a success. Once a creature has rolled your bardic performance die to turn a roll into a success, or if the creature is no longer within 60 feet of you, the bardic performance ends for that creature.

Bardic Tradition

You can choose a bardic tradition. Your bardic tradition grants you features at 1st, 10th and 14th level.

Expertise

At 2nd level, Choose two of your skill proficiencies or instruments. You gain expertise with these skills or instruments.

Spellcasting

Beginning at 2nd level, 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.

Bard Spells

You can learn spells from any spell list.

Armoured Casting

You ignore spell failure from armour when you cast bard spells wearing light armour.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for your spells.

Cantrips

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

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

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. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you finish a long rest, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another bard spell, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

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.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your 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 a bard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Bardic College

At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced techniques of a bard college of your choice that grants you a series of abilities as you advance in levels. The bardic college you belong to grants you features at 3rd, 6th, and 18th level.

Song of Rest

Beginning at 3rd level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalise your wounded allies during a short rest. You and any friendly creature, who can hear you perform during a short rest, regain hit points equal to a roll of your bardic performance dice. These regained hit points stack with hit points regained through other means (such as expending hit dice).

Feat

At 4th level, you gain a feat from the list of feats. You must meet the prerequisites for the feat.

You gain an additional feat at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level.

Font of Inspiration

Beginning at 5th level, you can expend a spell slot as a bonus action to regain a number of bardic performance dice equal to the level of the expended spell slot.

Peerless Skill

At 5th level, you can choose one of the following skills that you are proficient with: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. Your gain the peerless skill associated with that skill. You can change your peerless skill choice whenever you finish a long rest.

At 17th level, you can select two skills with this feature.

Bardic Charms

Starting at 7th level, your bardic performances take on additional magical properties. When you use your bardic performance, you select a bardic charm that you know. Any creature under the effect of your bardic performance, gains the benefit of the bardic charm until the bardic performance ends for that creature.

You also gain the benefits of the same bardic charm while performing, even if you do not gain the ability to roll the performance die.

When you first get this feature, you learn the following bardic charms:

•          Countercharm. Any creature under the effect of your bardic performance has advantage on saving throws against being charmed for the duration of your bardic performance.

•          Inspire Courage. Any creature under the effect of your bardic performance has advantage on saving throws against being frightened for the duration of your bardic performance.

Jack of All Trades

Starting at 7th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded down) to initiative and any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.

Inspire Competence

Beginning at 9th level, you can inspire another creature to push itself beyond its capabilities. You can use your reaction to expend a bardic performance die when another creature that can see and hear you within 30 feet of you fails an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. Roll the bardic performance die and add the result as a bonus to the triggering roll potentially turning the result into a success. You cannot add a bardic performance die to a roll that already benefits from a bardic performance die.

Words of Power

At 11th level, you begin mastering the foundation of magic, the words of power. Choose one spell from the power word spell table. As you gain levels in this class, you learn an additional spell to cast with this feature. At 13th, 15th, and 17th level, you can choose one additional power word spell from the list. When you choose a power word spell, you must choose from the power word spells available to you at that level. You can cast one of your known power word spells without expending a spell slot between long rests.

 Additional Bardic Charms

At 13th level, you learn additional ‘bardic charms’ options in addition to those granted by your bardic charms feature.

•          Inspire Greatness. Any creature under the effect of your bardic performance gains temporary hit points equal to half your bard level (rounded down), for the duration of your bardic performance.

•          Freedom Charm. Any creature under the effect of your bardic performance can roll the die at any time to immediately move a number of feet equal to 5 times the roll of the bardic performance dice. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. When a creature uses the bardic performance dice in this way, it also ends one effect that reduces its speed or cause the target to be grappled, paralyzed, or restrained. When a creature uses the bardic performance dice in this way, the bardic performance ends for that creature.

Inspired Presence

At 15th level, at the beginning of your turn, you can select one creature that becomes inspired by you as if you had used your ‘bardic performance’ ability. This effect lasts until the beginning of your next turn (where you can inspire another creature). A creature inspired by this ability rolls a d6 instead of your bardic performance die.

Words of Creation

At 20th level, you learn all the spells from the list of power word spell list. In addition, you can cast a spell from this list twice between long rests instead of once without expending a spell slot. When you cast a spell from this list, the spell is cast as if you had used a 9th level spell slot to cast the spell.