Bard 5
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Bardic Insp. | Cantrips Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Tales Known |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Feat, Bardic Inspiration, Folklore | d4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Feat, Fighting Style, Spellcasting, Tales of Power | d4 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 3rd | +2 | Bardic Tradition | d4 | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 4th | +2 | Feat, Bardic Focus | d4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | Bardic Tradition feature | d6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 6th | +3 | Feat, Folklore | d6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 7th | +3 | Bardic Virtuoso | d6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 8th | +3 | Feat | d6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 9th | +4 | Font of Inspiration | d6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 3 |
| 10th | +4 | Feat, Folklore | d6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 4 |
| 11th | +4 | Bardic Tradition feature | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 4 |
| 12th | +4 | Feat | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 4 |
| 13th | +5 | — | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 14th | +5 | Feat, Folklore | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 5 |
| 15th | +5 | Bardic Tradition feature | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 5 |
| 16th | +5 | Feat | d8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 5 |
| 17th | +6 | — | d10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 18th | +6 | Folklore | d10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 19th | +6 | Feat | d10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 20th | +6 | Feat, Mythical Focus | d10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
Bardic Inspiration
1st-Level Bard Feature You can inspire others through tales of the past, stirring words, or other means. 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 Bard Power Reservoir. You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest. Your Bardic Inspiration Die grows at certain Bard levels, as shown in the Bardic Insp. column of the Bard Class table.Feat
1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 20th-Level Bard Feature You gain one Feat of your choice.Folklore
1st, 6th, 10th, 14th, 18th-Level Bard Feature Choose one skill and one tool or language. You gain Proficiency with that skill or tool, and you learn to speak, read, and write that language. If you choose a skill or tool you are already Proficient in, you gain Expertise instead.Fighting Style
2nd-Level Bard Feature You adopt a particular fighting style as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style more than once, even if you later get to choose again. Bard Fighting StylesBlind Warrior
You have blindsight with a range in feet equal to 5 times your Fighter Power Reservoir. In that range, you can see invisible targets and anything that isn't behind total cover or hidden from you.Brawler
Your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on hit. If you have two free hands and use your action to make only unarmed strikes, you can make a single unarmed strike as a bonus action on that turn.Deadeye
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons.Dual Wielding
When you take the Attack action while two-weapon fighting, you can make the single bonus attack with your off-hand weapon as part of your Attack action, instead of your bonus action, adding your ability modifier to the damage of this attack. If you do, you cannot use your bonus action to make an additional attack.Dueling
While you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with it.Organ Piercer
You can add your Dexterity modifier to the damage roll of any weapon you wield with the Finesse property. If you do, do not add your Strength modifier to the damage roll of that attack.Thrown Weapon Fighting
When you hit with a ranged weapon attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll of that attack.Spellcasting (Arcane)
2nd-Level Bard Feature You have expanded your multi-faceted interests into the realms of forces that can untangle and reshape the fabric of reality. Your spells are part of your vast repertoire, magic that you can tune to different situations.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.Spellbook
Much like a Wizard, you study arcane arts and note your research in a spellbook. Your spellbook begins with three 1st-level Bard spells of your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of the Bard spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a Bard spell of 1st-level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare, if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it, and you can understand the spell. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the bard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 3 hours and costs 75 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the find inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells. Learning Spells of 1st-Level or Higher. Each time you gain a Bard level, you can add one Bard spell of your choice to your spellbook. This spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Bard table. On your adventures, you are likely to find spells that you can add to your spellbook, or you can work to create your own spells—including reproducing spells found in official sources. You cannot learn spells with the Rare descriptor unless you are copying them from another Bard's or Wizard's spellbook. While you can cast spells from scrolls if they are found on the Bard spell list, you cannot copy spells from scrolls into your spellbook. Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many bards keep backup spellbooks in safe places. The Book's Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lose your previous spellbook in a mishap. Regardless of appearance, the book is considered to be 100 pages of velum. There are two primary types of spellbooks: Arcanabulas and Grimoires. Arcanabulas, or traveling spellbooks, are smaller, cheaper, and far more plain on average. As their name suggests, they are often used while traveling or exploring dangerous situations, as the loss of an arcanabula is not as big of a deal as the far more exquisitely crafted and spell-filled grimoires. Grimoires are heavy books, often finely decorated and well-ordered. Grimoires are rarely taken outside of their safe resting place, as the expensive book and painstaking notes written into them are far too valuable to risk.Preparing and Casting Spells
The Bard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your 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. You prepare the list of bard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of bard spells from your spellbook equal to half your Bard Level + your Intelligence modifier. Casting a prepared spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of Bard spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your bard spells, since you learn your spells through intense study and memorization similarly to a wizard. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence 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 Intelligence Modifier
Spell Attack Modifier = your Proficiency Bonus + your Intelligence Modifier
Spell Attack Modifier = your Proficiency Bonus + your Intelligence Modifier
Spellcasting Focus
You can use an arcane focus, a musical instrument, or your spellbook as a spellcasting focus for your Bard spells.Tales of Power
2nd-Level Bard Feature Your skills allow you to reproduce minor portions of the Telling of Creation, known as Tales of Power. You can reproduce two Tales, which you choose from the list below. Most Bards recall stories of heroism, legend, or tragedy, though some rare bards use music or song to reproduce these Tales. During a Long Rest, you can spend 1 hour immersed in the Telling of Creation retelling a tale to replace one Tale you know with another of your choice. At certain levels, you learn additional Tales of Power, as shown in the Tales Known column of the Bard class table. Every Tale uses your Bard Spell Save DC and Bardic Inspiration Die. Tales of PowerInspiring Melody
As an Action, you expend any number of Bard Inspiration Dice (Up to your Intelligence modifier), and choose a creature who can hear you within 30 feet for each Bardic Inspiration Die spent. These creatures gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the maximum roll of your Bardic Inspiration Die.Enthralling Telling
After you tell a tale for an audience for at least 1 minute, you can expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to force creatures of your choice within 90 feet of you who listened to the telling to make a Wisdom Saving Throw. On a failed Save, creatures are Charmed by you for 1 hour, or until you or your allies do anything hostile to a member of the audience. On a success, creatures are unaware you attempted to Charm them. While Charmed in this way, creatures idolize you and will do anything you ask short of risking their lives or fighting for you.Irritating Tale
As an Action, you expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a performance that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice who are within 30 feet and can hear you at the beginning of their turn must succeed on a Wisdom Saving Throw or have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against all creatures other than you until the end of this performance. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Lay of Alacrity
As an Action, you expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a performance that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice who are within 30 feet and can hear you at the beginning of their turn gain a bonus to their speed equal to five times your Bard Power Reservoir in feet (minimum of 0 feet) which lasts until the end of their current turn. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Restful Tale
During the course of a Short or Long Rest, you can tell a tale to soothe your weary allies. Expend any number of Bardic Inspiration Dice and roll them. If you or any creatures of your choice who can hear your performance regain Hit Points at the end of a Short or Long Rest as a result of using Hit Dice on a Short Rest or through the act of resting itself during a Long Rest, each of those creatures gain Temporary Hit Points equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration Dice expended plus 1d6. The bonus Temporary Hit Points gained increases to a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level. You may choose not to expend any Bardic Inspiration Dice to use this ability, granting only the bonus Temporary Hit Points.Countersong
Prerequisites: 6th-Level Bard When you hear a creature within 30 feet of you cast a spell, you can use your Reaction to expend a Bardic Inspiration Die, roll it, and produce a chaotic sound, attempting to disrupt the spell. The caster must make a Concentration Check, adding the level of the spell it was casting to the result. If the result of its Concentration Check is less than 10 + your Bardic Inspiration Die roll, the creature's spell fails and has no effect.Disorienting Dirge
Prerequisites: 6th-Level Bard As an Action, you expend a Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice who are within 30 feet and can hear you have Disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and Concentration Checks. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Hymn of Courage
Prerequisites: 6th-Level Bard As an Action, you expend a Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you who can hear you are Immune to the Charmed and Frightened conditions. A creature who is Charmed or Frightened when it hears this Tale is not affected by the condition as long as it can hear you. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Song of Confidence
Prerequisites: 6th-Level Bard As an Action, you expend a Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice within 30 feet who can hear you are considered Proficient in all Saving Throws for the duration. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Heroic Story
Prerequisites: 10th-Level Bard As an Action, you can expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice within 30 feet who can hear you add your Intelligence modifier to the next damage roll they make before the start of your next turn. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Confounding Canticle
Prerequisites: 10th-Level Bard As an Action, you expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice who are within 30 feet of you and can hear you at the beginning of their turn must succeed on a Wisdom Saving Throw. On a failure, until the start of your next turn speed is halved, they can't take Reactions, and they have Disadvantage on all Ability Checks and Attack Rolls. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Mythic Tale
Prerequisites: 18th-Level Bard As an Action, you can expend one Bardic Inspiration Die to begin a telling that lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Creatures of your choice within 30 feet who can hear you are Resistant to all damage from supernatural effects. This tale immediately ends if you move from your space. Telling this Tale requires Concentration.Tale of Legends
Prerequisites: 18th-Level Bard As an Action, you expend any number of Bardic Inspiration Dice (Up to your Intelligence modifier), and choose a creature who can hear you within 30 feet for each Bardic Inspiration Die spent. Each of these creatures may immediately make a single weapon attack or cast a spell of 1st-level or lower. If a targeted creature has the Extra Attack feature, it may make two attacks instead.Bardic Tradition
3rd-Level Bard Feature You delve into the advanced techniques of a tradition of your choice. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level, and again at 5th, 11th, and 15th levels. Bardic TraditionsBardic Focus
4th-Level Bard Feature While all bards are masters of numerous subjects, many find it helpful to narrow their scope at times and focus on an individual path. Choose one option from the following.Blade Focus
You gain proficiency in Heavy Armor, Small Shields, and Large Shields. You are able to cast Bard spells while wearing Heavy armor or wielding a Small or Large Shield, and you can perform somatic components with the hand wielding a Small or Large Shield.Mystical Focus
You have gathered magical knowledge from many disciplines. You learn two 1st-Level spells of your choice from any class spell list with the Spellcasting (Arcane) feature, such as the Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard. They become Bard spells for you, and you add them to your spellbook. You learn an additional spell of the appropriate level when you reach 5th level (2nd-Level spell), 9th level (3rd-Level spell), 13th level (4th-Level spell), and 17th level (5th-Level spell).Skill Focus
Add half your Proficiency Bonus, rounded down, to any Tool, Instrument, or Skill Check you make that doesn't already include your Proficiency Bonus.Bardic Virtuoso
7th-Level Bard Feature Your intuitive knowledge of the Telling of Creation propels your performative abilities to supernatural heights. You treat any check with a Tool Kit as though you have Expertise. Also, when you perform a Tale of Power that lasts until the start of your next turn, such as Lay of Alacrity, you can use a Bonus Action on the next turn to continue telling that Tale without expending a Bardic Inspiration Die.Font of Inspiration
9th-Level Bard Feature You can draw power from the ambient energy of the Telling of Creation in times of need. You regain one Expended Bardic Inspiration Die when you roll initiative. You can also use your Bonus Action to expend one spell slot and regain Bardic Inspiration Die equal to the slot's level.Legendary Focus
20th-Level Bard Feature You gain the focus associated with the option you chose for your Bardic Focus feature.Blade Focus
You have perfected your art of martial combat, able to glide seamlessly through a battlefield and come out unscathed. Choose one option from below.- Focus of the Typhoon. While wielding a melee weapon in one hand, your walking speed is increased by 20 feet and you do not provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
- Focus of the Dreadnought. While wearing heavy armor, whenever you take the Dodge action, you gain a +3 bonus to your AC until the beginning of your next turn.
- Focus of the Fell-Handed. Once per turn, when you make a Weapon Attack, you may expend a Bardic Inspiration Die and make the attack at Disadvantage. If you hit, the attack becomes a Critical Hit. If you would score a Critical Hit normally, you additionally deal maximum damage.
Mystical Focus
You have uncovered knowledge of some of the most powerful and secret magicks of the universe. You learn one 6th-level and one 7th-level spell, following the rules of your Bardic Focus. You can cast each of these spells once at their lowest level, and regain the ability to do so when you finish a Long Rest.Skill Focus
You have perfected your art of non-combative skills, able to accomplish just about anything you put your mind to. You gain Proficiency in four skills, tools, or languages, and gain Expertise in four skills or tools you are Proficient in. In addition, whenever you make an Ability Check that lets you add your Proficiency Bonus and takes 1 Round or longer, you can treat a d20 roll of 14 or lower as a 15.This is a rare option
This option requires special permission to take. In the case of spells, psionic powers, and similar options, this option must be found in the world and cannot be taken upon level-up.
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Hit Points
Proficiencies
Starting Wealth or Equipment
As a bard, you begin play with a spellbook and 2d6 x 10 gp in addition to any equipment granted by your background. If you are instead using starting equipment, you begin with the following equipment:- (a) a rapier, (b) a longsword, or (c) any simple weapon.
- (a) a diplomat's pack, (b) a scholar's pack, or (c) an entertainer's pack.
- (a) a flute or (b) any musical instrument or gaming set
- Leather armor and a dagger
- A spellbook
Power Reservoir
Your Bard Power Reservoir is equal to your Intelligence modifier, but is never higher than your Proficiency Bonus. At level 17 or higher, this instead equals your Intelligence modifier +1, but is never higher than your Proficiency Bonus.Quick Build
You can make a Bard quickly by using these suggestions. First, depending on the weapons you wish to use, make your Intelligence your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity or Strength, then Constitution as your tertiary ability score. Second, choose the Sage background.Multiclassing and the Bard
If your group uses the optional multiclassing rules, here is what you need to know when you choose to take your first level in the Bard class:Bard Feats
- Lorehoarder
- Quick Tale
- Versatile Polyhistor
- Endlessly Skilled
- Fable-Walker
- Inspiring
- Lingering Inspiration
- Mnemonic Branding
- Mythologian
- Scriptomancer
