Bard
What Is a Bard?
Bards are spellcasters who weave magic through music, words, and performance, shaping reality with echoes of the Words of Creation. They believe the multiverse itself was spoken or sung into existence, and that fragments of that original song still resonate throughout the planes.
Through song, poetry, dance, and storytelling, Bards inspire allies, confound enemies, soothe wounds, and unravel illusions. Their magic transcends rigid formulas, flowing instead from emotion, creativity, and force of personality.
Ever curious, Bards are fascinated by almost everything. They become jacks-of-all-trades—performers, scholars, diplomats, tricksters, and spellcasters—collecting stories and secrets wherever they roam. Though often mistaken for mere entertainers, their breadth of knowledge and mastery of magic set them apart.
Becoming a Bard
As a Level 1 Bard
- Gain all the traits in the Core Bard Traits table.
- Gain the Bard’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Bard Features table.
As a Multiclass Bard
- Gain the following traits from the Core Bard Traits table: Hit Point Die, proficiency in one skill of your choice, proficiency with one Musical Instrument of your choice, and training with Light armor.
- Gain the Bard’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Bard Features table. See the multiclassing rules to determine your available spell slots.
Bard Progression
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Class Features | Bardic Die | Cantrips | Prepared Spells | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +2 | Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasting | D6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | +2 | Expertise, Jack of All Trades | D6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | +2 | Bard Subclass | D6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | D6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | +3 | Font of Inspiration | D8 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | +3 | Subclass feature | D8 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | +3 | Countercharm | D8 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | D8 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | +4 | Expertise | D8 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | +4 | Magical Secrets | D10 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | +4 | — | D10 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12 | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | D10 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 13 | +5 | — | D10 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 14 | +5 | Subclass feature | D10 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 15 | +5 | — | D12 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 16 | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | D12 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 17 | +6 | — | D12 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | +6 | Superior Inspiration | D12 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | +6 | Epic Boon | D12 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | +6 | Words of Creation | D12 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Bard Class Features
As a Bard, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified Bard levels. These features are listed in the Bard Features table.
Level 1: Bardic Inspiration
You can supernaturally inspire others through words, music, or dance. This inspiration is represented by your Bardic Inspiration die, which is a d6.
Using Bardic Inspiration. As a Bonus Action, you can inspire another creature within 60 feet of yourself who can see or hear you. That creature gains one of your Bardic Inspiration dice. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.
Once within the next hour when the creature fails a D20 Test, the creature can roll the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to the d20, potentially turning the failure into a success. A Bardic Inspiration die is expended when it’s rolled.
Number of Uses. You can confer a Bardic Inspiration die a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
At Higher Levels. Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain Bard levels, as shown in the Bardic Die column of the Bard Features table. The die becomes a d8 at level 5, a d10 at level 10, and a d12 at level 15.
Level 1: Spellcasting
You have learned to cast spells through your bardic arts.
Cantrips. You know two cantrips of your choice from the Bard spell list.
Whenever you gain a Bard level, you can replace one of your cantrips with another cantrip of your choice from the Bard spell list.
When you reach Bard levels 4 and 10, you learn another cantrip of your choice from the Bard spell list, as shown in the Cantrips column of the Bard Features table.
Spell Slots. The Bard Features table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your level 1+ spells. You regain all expended slots when you finish a Long Rest.
Prepared Spells of Level 1+. You prepare the list of level 1+ spells that are available for you to cast with this feature. To start, choose four level 1 spells from the Bard spell list.
The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Bard levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Bard Features table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Bard spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 3 Bard, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination.
If another Bard feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Bard spells for you.
Changing Your Prepared Spells. Whenever you gain a Bard level, you can replace one spell on your list with another Bard spell for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Bard spells.
Spellcasting Focus. You can use a Musical Instrument as a Spellcasting Focus for your Bard spells.
Level 2: Expertise
You gain Expertise in two of your skill proficiencies of your choice.
At Bard level 9, you gain Expertise in two more of your skill proficiencies of your choice.
Level 2: Jack of All Trades
You can add half your Proficiency Bonus (round down) to any ability check you make that uses a skill proficiency you lack and that doesn’t otherwise use your Proficiency Bonus.
For example, if you make a Strength (Athletics) check and lack Athletics proficiency, you can add half your Proficiency Bonus to the check.
Level 3: Bard Subclass
You gain a Bard subclass of your choice. A subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass’s features that are of your Bard level or lower.
Level 4: Ability Score Improvement
You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Bard levels 8, 12, and 16.
Level 5: Font of Inspiration
You now regain all your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a Short or Long Rest.
In addition, you can expend a spell slot (no action required) to regain one expended use of Bardic Inspiration.
Level 7: Countercharm
You can use musical notes or words of power to disrupt mind-influencing effects. If you or a creature within 30 feet of you fails a saving throw against an effect that applies the Charmed or Frightened condition, you can take a Reaction to cause the save to be rerolled, and the new roll has Advantage.
Level 10: Magical Secrets
You’ve learned secrets from various magical traditions. Whenever you reach a Bard level (including this level) and the Prepared Spells number in the Bard Features table increases, you can choose any of your new prepared spells from the Bard, Cleric, Druid, and Wizard spell lists, and the chosen spells count as Bard spells for you. In addition, whenever you replace a spell prepared for this class, you can replace it with a spell from those lists.
Level 18: Superior Inspiration
When you roll Initiative, you regain expended uses of Bardic Inspiration until you have two if you have fewer than that.
Level 19: Epic Boon
You gain an Epic Boon feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify.
Level 20: Words of Creation
You have mastered two of the Words of Creation: the words of life and death. You therefore always have the Power Word Heal and Power Word Kill spells prepared. When you cast either spell, you can target a second creature with it if that creature is within 10 feet of the first target.
Bard Subclasses
A Bard subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels, as specified in the subclass. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to preserve their traditions.
College of Lore (PHB 2024)
Bards of the College of Lore are scholars, satirists, and collectors of forbidden truths. They gather secrets from dusty tomes, whispered folklore, and courtly intrigue, using wit and magic to expose lies and reshape the course of events.
Lore bards excel at uncovering hidden knowledge, mastering a wide range of skills, and bending magic beyond the limits of traditional spellcasting. In many lands, they serve as historians, investigators, diplomats, and dangerous keepers of truths better left forgotten.
College of Valor (PHB 2024)
Bards of the College of Valor are warriors and skalds who celebrate heroism through song and steel. They stride onto the battlefield clad in armor, rallying allies with booming war chants and inspiring deeds of courage.
Valor bards blend martial prowess with magic, standing shoulder to shoulder with fighters while bolstering their companions’ resolve. Their tales are not merely told—they are lived, forged in blood, sweat, and victory.
College of Glamour (PHB 2024)
Bards of the College of Glamour draw their power from the Feywild, wielding enchantment, presence, and supernatural charm. Their performances enthrall audiences, sway crowds, and command attention with an almost otherworldly allure.
Often associated with courts of faerie and noble intrigue, glamour bards are masters of influence and battlefield control, guiding allies with grace while leaving enemies dazed, confused, or utterly captivated.
College of Dance (PHB 2024)
Bards of the College of Dance express magic through movement, rhythm, and physical performance. Their art is a living spell—each step, leap, and spin weaving arcane power into motion.
These bards fight and perform with fluid agility, using mobility and timing to outmaneuver foes and uplift allies. In some cultures, they are ritual dancers, sacred performers, or traveling artists whose bodies themselves are instruments of magic.
Additional Bard Colleges (Other 5e Sources)
College of Swords (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything)
Bards of the College of Swords are blade-dancers who treat combat as a form of performance. Every strike is deliberate, every flourish a statement of mastery and style.
These bards thrive in duels and skirmishes, blending swordplay with magic in elegant displays of precision. Many perform in arenas, noble courts, or as wandering duelists seeking to perfect their art.
College of Whispers (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything)
Bards of the College of Whispers are spies, manipulators, and masters of fear. They trade in secrets and rumors, using their talents to unearth hidden truths—or to weaponize them.
Often mistaken for ordinary performers, whispers bards operate in the shadows, sowing paranoia and terror with subtle magic and carefully chosen words. To them, a secret can be deadlier than a blade.
College of Eloquence (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)
Bards of the College of Eloquence are peerless orators whose words shape reality itself. Whether through logic, passion, or sheer force of personality, they make themselves understood—and rarely ignored.
These bards excel at diplomacy and persuasion, unraveling opposition with flawless rhetoric while reinforcing their allies’ resolve. In courts and councils alike, an eloquence bard can change the fate of nations with a single speech.
College of Creation (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)
Bards of the College of Creation believe that the universe itself was sung into existence. Through music, art, and imagination, they tap into this primal creative force to shape reality.
Their magic gives form to the intangible, conjuring objects, animating creations, and turning inspiration into something tangible. Many creation bards see themselves not just as performers, but as artists continuing the first great song.
College of Spirits (Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft)
Bards of the College of Spirits channel the voices of the dead through ritual, storytelling, and spiritual focus. Their performances act as conduits, allowing lingering souls to speak once more.
Often associated with séances, folklore, and haunted places, spirits bards wield unpredictable and eerie magic. They walk the line between the living and the dead, carrying stories that refuse to remain buried.
Main info Bard:
Hit Die: d8 per Bard level
Primary Ability: Charisma
Armor: Light
Weapons: Simple
Tools: Choose 3 musical instruments
Skills: Choose any 3 skills
Saves: Dexterity, Charisma
Combat Role: Support, control, and utility
Key Mechanic: Bardic Inspiration & spellcasting
Starting Equipment: Choose one:
• A: Leather armor, 2 daggers, a musical instrument of your choice, entertainer’s pack, and 19 gp
• B: 90 gp
Complexity: High
Best For Players Who: Want a versatile character who excels in social encounters, support magic, and creative problem-solving
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