Bard

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. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the bard spell list.

Spell Slots

You acquire spell slots at a normal rate for a full caster as shown on the Spell Slot Table. 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.

Spells and Cantrips Known

At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the bard spell list.

Additionally, you know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list.

The Bard Table shows when you learn more bard cantrips and spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your bard 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 Spellcasting ability modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Spellcasting ability modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag. Casting a spell as a ritual takes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal and doesn't consume a spell slot. The ritual version of a spell can’t be cast at a higher level.

Spellcasting Focus

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

Spell Slot Table

| Spell Slots per Spell level |

lvl - 1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th - 7th - 8th - 9th

1st - 3 - - - - - - - -

2nd - 4 - - - - - - - -

3rd - 4 - 2 - - - - - - -

4th - 4 - 3 - - - - - - -

5th - 4 - 3 - 2 - - - - - -

6th - 4 - 3 - 3 - - - - - -

7th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 1 - - - - -

8th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 2 - - - - -

9th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 1 - - - -

10th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - - - -

11th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - - -

12th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - - -

13th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - -

14th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - -

15th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 -

16th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 -

17th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

18th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

19th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 1

20th - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 1

Bard Table

lvl - cantrips known - spells known

1st - 2 - 4

2nd - 2 - 5

3rd - 2 - 6

4th - 3 - 7

5th - 3 - 8

6th - 3 - 9

7th - 3 - 10

8th - 3 - 11

9th - 3 - 12

10th - 4 - 14

11st - 4 - 15

12nd - 4 - 15

13rd - 4 - 16

14th - 4 - 18

15th - 4 - 19

16th - 4 - 19

17th - 4 - 20

18th - 4 - 22

19th - 4 - 22

20th - 4 - 22

Level 1: Bardic Inspiration

You can inspire others through stirring words or music. On your turn you can use a bonus action to inspire creatures of your choice within 60 feet of you who can hear you. Those creatures gain one Bardic Inspiration die, a d4.

Once before the start of your next turn, if the creature fails an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, they can roll the die and add the number rolled, potentially turning the failure to a success. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.

Alternatively, if a creature with a Bardic Inspiration die 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.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Spellcasting modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d6 at 5th level, a d8 at 10th level, and a d10 at 18th level.

Level 1: Bardic Genre

Choose a genre that your performances specialize in from the list below. Each genre has a list of specialty spells, known as Genre spells, that you gain at the bard levels noted in the genre description.

If you have a genre spell that doesn’t appear on the bard spell list, the spell is nonetheless a bard spell for you.

Whenever you cast one of your genre spells, your Bardic Inspiration die counts as one size higher for the next use of your Bardic Inspiration feature (from d4 to d6 to d8 to d10 to d12).

Genre Options

Comedy

Dramatic works intended to amuse its audience and bring joy.

Level 1 - Protection from Evil and Good, Sanctuary

Level 3 - Calm Emotions, Hideous Laughter

Level 5 - Beacon of Hope, Dispel Magic

Level 7 - Death Ward, Freedom of Movement

Level 9 - Greater Restoration, Raise Dead

Folk

Simpler performing arts focusing on being relatable or inspiring to common folk, often involving stories of heroic or fantastic nature.

Level 1 - Enhance Ability, Heroism

Level 3 - Magic Weapon, Zone of Truth

Level 5 - Plant Growth, Stoneskin

Level 7 - Aura of Purity, Enthrall

Level 9 - Legend Lore, Mass Cure Wounds

Hymnic

Works generally created for the purpose of adoration or prayer dedicated and addressed to a deity or deities.

Level 1 - Bless, Ceremony

Level 3 - Banishment, Lesser Restoration

Level 5 - Create Food and Water, Water Walk

Level 7 - Aura of Life, Guardian of Faith

Level 9 - Commune, Hallow

Opera

Involved performing arts focusing on high brow entertainment for nobles, often pushing the performer to their absolute limit.

Level 1 - Command, Disguise Self

Level 3 - Shatter, Silence

Level 5 - Tiny Servants, Tongues

Level 7 - Dimension Door, Hallucinatory Terrain

Level 9 - Creation, Seeming

Tragedy

Dramatic works focused on the suffering, terror, and sorrow of the portrayed, often with the end goal of invoking catharsis.

Level 1 - Bane, Hellish Rebuke

Level 3 - Bestow Curse, Crown of Madness

Level 5 - Fear, Speak with Dead

Level 7 - Confusion, Phantasmal Killer

Level 9 - Destructive Wave, Dream

Level 2: Jack of All Trades

Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded down), to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.

Level 2: Song of Rest

Beginning at 2nd level, you can use soothing music or oration to help revitalize your wounded allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly creatures who can hear your performance regain hit points at the end of the short rest by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points for each hit die spent.

Level 3: Font of Inspiration

Beginning when you reach 3rd level, you regain all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a short or long rest.

Level 3: Expertise

At 3rd level, choose two skills in which you are proficient. You gain expertise in the chosen skills. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check made using skills in which you have expertise.

At 10th level, gain expertise for two more skills in which you are proficient.

Level 3: Bard College

At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced techniques of a bard college of your choice listed below. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at later levels.

Creation

Lore

Valor

Eloquence

Spirits

Glamour

Swords

Whispers

Level 4: Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 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.

You can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can do one of the following, representing a change in focus as you use your skills and magic:

Replace one of the skills you chose for the Expertise feature with one of your other skill proficiencies that isn’t benefiting from Expertise.
Replace one cantrip you learned from this class’s Spellcasting feature with another cantrip from the bard spell list.

Level 5: Magical Secrets

Starting at level 5, you are able to borrow magic from other disciplines. You learn an additional number of spells of up to 2nd level equal to your proficiency bonus. These spells can be from any class (including this one), count as Bard spells for you, and don’t count against the number of spells you know.

The spells learned from this feature can be exchanged for different spells at the end of a long rest.

The level of spell that you can learn from this feature goes up to 3rd at 9th level, 4th at 13th level, and 5th at 17th level.

Level 18: Enduring Inspiration

When you reach 18th level, each creature affected by your Bardic Inspiration feature can use their Bardic Inspiration die twice before it is lost.

Level 20: Virtuoso

At 20th level, your dazzling mastery of skill and technique reflects in everything you do. Whenever you make an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you gain a bonus to the roll equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration die.