Bard

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Class Features

Bardic Inspiration

You can inspire others through stirring words or music. 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 Charisma 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 d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level.  

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.  

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.   The extra hit points increase when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 9th level, to 1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.  

Bard College

At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced techniques of a bard college of your choice: the College of Lore detailed at the end of the class description or another from the Player's Handbook or other sources. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th and 14th level.  

Expertise

At 3rd level, choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.  

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 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.   Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.  

Font of Inspiration

Beginning when you reach 5th level, you regain all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a short or long rest.  

Countercharm

At 6th level, you gain the ability to use musical notes or words of power to disrupt mind-influencing effects. As an action, you can 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 gain this benefit. The performance ends early if you are incapacitated or silenced or if you voluntarily end it (no action required).  

Expertise

At 10th level, choose two more of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.  

Magical Secrets

By 10th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from any classes, including this one. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.   The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.   You learn two additional spells from any classes at 14th level and again at 18th level.  

Magical Secrets

At 14th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from any classes, including this one. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.   The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.   You learn two additional spells from any classes at 18th level.  

Magical Secrets

At 18th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from any classes, including this one. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.   The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.  

Superior Inspiration

At 20th level, when you roll initiative and have no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one use.

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Starting 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

 

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Spellcasting

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.   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.   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.   For example, if you know the 1st-level spell cure wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot.   Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list.   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, as shown on the table. 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 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 can use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

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Subclass Options

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Bard Colleges

The way of a bard is gregarious. Bards seek each other out to swap songs and stories, boast of their accomplishments, and share their knowledge. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to facilitate their gatherings and preserve their traditions.  

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Arcane Philosopher

Everyone hates a philosopher. You have a vastly superior understanding of the universe and what it contains compared to your peers, thanks to your years of study, but all you’re really sure of is just how complicated everything is.

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College Of Arcane Threads

Bards of the College of Arcane Threads have a more literal interpretation of tapping into the power of the weave. Summoning thin, flexible and versatile threads of arcane fabric to aid them in their adventures, though they may be more reserved than those of other colleges, their craftsmanship with textiles is second to none, and they're more than aware of the power of their bonds, metaphorical and literal

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College of Blood Painting

The College of Blood Painting is a comfortable home for bards who have a lack of interest or no knowledge in the playing of instruments. Instead, they choose to weave their performances and abilities through their artwork using blood.   Bards who are of this college, are generally considered to be a lower form of bard due to their rejection of the other colleges and methods that their fellow bards employ. They are usually ragged and rougher looking. Their clothes, skin and hair are often stained from the constant use of blood paints. It is rumored that through practice and determination, these bards can actually bring their artwork to life to serve them as constructs in battle.

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College of Benevolence

Bards of the College of Benevolence honed their craft in the upper planes, or at least through the tutelage of a creature native to the upper planes. These bards often learn their magic from celestial creatures, such as lesser angels, couatls, ki-rin, and unicorns. Others might be tutored by humanoids that have visited or taken residence in the upper planes, and gained enough knowledge of the celestial workings of the world to pass on that knowledge to others.   Regardless of their tutor, these bards learn to be master physicians and therapists, adept at healing both magically and nonmagically, and capable of putting others at ease with just a few choice words or a calming melody. Their teachers also emphasize the importance of redemption, mercy, and forgiveness, and teach that no life should be snuffed out needlessly. While bards of this college aren’t usually true pacifists, they typically seek out non-violent solutions whenever they can. They often attempt to persuade or reason with their foes, and can also use a variety of powerful magics to end conflicts before they start. Bards of this college often travel through the lands and planes of the world, acting as both traveling doctors and traveling musicians. They heal the sick and injured, resolve conflicts, and bring joy and merriment to all settlements they pass through.

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College of Bravado

Bards of the College of Bravado excel at making inflated displays of bravery, particularly in the face of tremendous peril. Their tales and artistic performances are among the most boastful and boisterous of any bard, and they have no qualms romanticizing even the most mundane of stories. Some outside the College of Bravado view their demeanor as an annoyance—something to be met with rolling eyes and half-sighs but these bards view it as a talent. They proudly hone and refine their craft, working to masterfully execute their delivery as they fill their spectators with awe. The adventuring lifestyle is the perfect fuel for the ego and fables of bards of this college, routinely providing them with the spark they need for their next story or song. Despite their aggrandizing tendencies, their presence is most welcome among hardened adventuring bands seeking boldness and confidence in the face of exceedingly treacherous and dire circumstances.  

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College of Calm

A Bard of the College of Calm doesn't claim to be wise, but their wisdom can be found in the way they live life. Whether taking a rest under the shine of the sun or focusing on their hobby, they take their time and live life enjoyably day by day. When they need to act, they move slowly and deliberately to ensure that whatever they do, they'll be able to do it properly. These bards desire to rest a good rest, eat good food, meet good people, and live a good life. This wish is spread to those that are around them, and they serve as a presence that can care for both themselves and the people that they hold dear. The college's members can be found all around the world, but are easiest to find in idyllic, peaceful places. They answer the call to adventure not because they must, but because they can. All wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and hope.

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College of Colour

Not all artists sing and dance – inspiration can be drawn from many art forms. Bards of the College of Colour have specialised in expressing themselves, and their magic, through painting and illustration instead of song. They are experts at using the colour of their visual medium to evoke potent emotions in others, breathing vibrant life into mere pictures and doodles. Each and every work they craft has a piece of the artists’ creative soul inside it, which fuels their bardic magic. These bards often feel emotions in extremes, embodying the diversity of the colours that they work with to swing between elated motivated and melancholic brooding. But whatever you do, never offer to pay them for their hard work with exposure.

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College Of Diplomacy

Bards of the College of Diplomacy understand that statecraft, like music or drama, is a complicated artform. Formally trained as couriers, aides, stewards, geishas, and ambassadors, these performers use civility and social protocol to open doors where others cannot. In mastering their craft, these individuals also learn to see the connections between magical and social networks, and recognize how each can influence the other.

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College of Discord

Bards of the College of Discord yearn to take the performances to the next level. While some artists feel the need to prepare or learn progressions within a harmonic framework, the extemporaneous nature of the bard’s study encourages inventing variations in their musical repertoire mid performance. This practice usually bleeds into their outlook on life and, whether with accompaniment or solo, these bards are excited to delve into the unknown, no matter the vibe.

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College of Divinity

Worship takes on many forms across the realms; the quiet contemplation of the monastic hermit, the wise guidance and leadership of the temple priesthood, the resolute dedication of faith-filled warriors and crusaders, and the impassioned preacher spreading the good (or bad) news of their faith across the land with word and song. You are one such devout preacher, and all your music sings the praise of your god. As a member of the College of Divinity, what drive your devotion to your deity? Did they choose you to convert others to worship them? To entertain them with your adventures? To beguile and deceive mortals into joining their cause? Whatever the case, you have been anointed to use your inspirational gifts in the service of a higher power.

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College of Doors

Bards of the College of Doors are roamers of the planes who tell tales of their travels and the fantastical places they've seen. The College of Doors believes that the infinite vastness of the planes, outer, inner, upper, and lower, is where the truest sense of wonder originates. From the plains of the Beastlands, to the great gears of Mechanus, to the chaotic islands of Limbo there are new things to experience and see, and those things are worth writing poems and songs and performances about. Not many people ever leave their home plane, but it is the purpose of the College of Doors to spread the distant wonders of the planes to those who cannot see it for themselves.

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College of Drama

Long have the performing arts been a favorite pastime of nobles and peasants alike. Actors and thespians perform stories that while fictional, reveal great truths about life, death, and the struggles in between. The Muse, the ancient spirit of inspiration, moves the hearts of actors, great and small, to give their all while performing for others.

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College of Elegy

The College of Elegy teaches a precious lesson: immortality is everywhere. Immortality is in every moment your deeds are remembered. Immortality is every life changed by your own. Immortality is stories. These bards have a grim duty to keep the dead alive by sharing their tales, calling ectoplasmic energy into the shape of echoes resembling the departed.

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College of Endings

Bards who study the College of Endings are committed to the notion that all stories must have come to a close. Bards from this college bring about these denouements through means both subtle and obvious, exercising their magical might to make sure that noone overstays their welcome in the material plane. The College of Endings often attracts those who possess an innate sense of justice or vengeance, and thus is favored by monster hunters

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College of Flavor

Many bards study the arts of song, poetry, theater, and even the canvas, but bards of the college of flavor add another, oft forgotten discipline to this list: the art of food and cooking. These bards travel the world sampling decadent delights and searching for long-forgotten tastes in order to hone their craft. Along the way they also learn to weave magic into their cooking, creating vibrant and unbelievable flavors, or nasty side-effects.   Because of their usefulness in the world of food, bards of the college of flavor tend to be specialists of conjuration, transmutation, and illusionary magic. Learning to conjure flavorful ingredients is one of the first hurdles of this art, but transmutation is often used as a crutch by beginners, as it can turn even the most bland ingredient into a treat for the senses. Once the dish is completed, illusion magic can transform its presentation, however extravagant it began, into a masterpiece fit for only the most prestigious of kings.   Because of their special talents, bards of this college are sometimes called upon to prepare poisons or tricks built into their cuisine. While most find this corruption of their craft to be sacrilege, some take pleasure in experimenting with the magical possibilities of their foods, harmful or otherwise.

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College of Gardensong

The world is a place of beauty, wild and dangerous and free. You are among those bards that sing the song of the gardens, an ancient tune that calls to the heart of nature. Nature’s beauty, however, is not always the type that can be appreciated by mortal eyes. You see all flowers as part of the same garden, and act as a caretaker for them. The more exotic among their number are quite useful during your adventures, bearing strange poisons upon their leaves and teeth among their flowers, though they view you as a friend and a charge to be protected. You shall tend the garden, and the garden shall tend to you. Sing for the plants, and let their life be your own.

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College of Glamour

The College of Glamour is the home of bards who mastered their craft in the vibrant realm of the Feywild or under the tutelage of someone who dwelled there. Tutored by satyrs, eladrin, and other fey, these bards learn to use their magic to delight and captivate others.   The bards of this college are regarded with a mixture of awe and fear. Their performances are the stuff of legend. These bards are so eloquent that a speech or song that one of them performs can cause captors to release the bard unharmed and can lull a furious dragon into complacency. The same magic that allows them to quell beasts can also bend minds. Villainous bards of this college can leech off a community for weeks, misusing their magic to turn their hosts into thralls. Heroic bards of this college instead use this power to gladden the downtrodden and undermine oppressors.

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College of Glass

At the root, a bard is the creation of inspiring and beautiful works of art; a Bard of the College of Glass gives form to the fleeting beauty of their creation in spectacular forms wrought from the air, spun into life as if blown from glass. Their creations tend to be beautiful and fleeting, inspiring yet oft deadly. Bards that take this college are often Artisans that breath magical life into their creations, a fusion of two paths: art and magic, into something spectacular

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College of Harbingers

Bards of the College of Harbingers are disciples of the Storm Lord, an otherworldly entity that sails between the skies of countless worlds, consuming the souls of fallen heroes. To enter the ranks of these champions, it is typical for an applicant to anchor themselves to a high place during a storm and then throw themselves from the edge. Struck and battered against the mountain or tower, the winds and rain crash and cut at their skin for three days and nights, until finally the Lord shows its favor, strengthening body and soul. Studying the stories of the fallen champions this great beast claims, you learn to call upon the Lord’s power to strike down your enemies and to free you from mortal concerns. The skies will tremble before your performance, as your prowess shall become legend.

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College of Hospitality

In the frozen expanse of the north, a warm and welcoming hearth can lift the spirits of even the most embattled adventurer. Bards of the College of Hospitality take their expertise in tavernkeeping on the road, bringing warm beds and plentiful ale along with them. These bards tend to be less flashy than those of other colleges, believing the comfort and security they provide can be more inspiring than any simple song or dance.

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College of Improv

The College of Improv trains a bard to overcome obstacles, bounce off of new ideas, and turn the audience and the tide of battle their benefit in a swift, assured instant. Improvisational players value sharp wits and cultivate their personal craft as all bards do, but they are more willing than most to step aside or pivot in favor of a colleague's own spin on a situation. Magical influence is a key prop in an player's closet to keep the scene moving and the audience on their toes. For these bards, all the world truly is a stage that they revel in - even the theatre of battle, where victory can hinge on a swift reaction to an unexpected upset.

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College of Journeys

Many bards learn of the arcane arts and the skills of the world from books or teachers, but many others learn their way about the world by making their way about the world, embarking on wide journeys like the heroes they tell tales of.

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College of Keys

Bards of the College of Keys believe that performance can manipulate anything, be it person, magic, or machine. Their preternatural charm allows these daring performers to delve into dungeons seething with traps, assured that they can use their words and song to protect themselves and allies. These bards often become spies and infiltrators, since no lock can stand up to their charms.

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College of Leadership

Bards of the College of Leadership are gallant commanders whose presence and bravado inspire all around them to greater feats of courage. Gathering in military colleges or temples dedicated to war, these bards discuss tactics, share stories of heroism, and preach the virtues of leading from the front. Practicing what they preach, they roam the land searching for those in need of a guiding presence, from peasants oppressed by a local tyrant to an army on the verge of routing. The College of Leadership doesn't just record stories: they make them.

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College of Lore

Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads in taverns or elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning everything they held to be true, from their faith in the priesthood of the local temple to their loyalty to the king.   The loyalty of these bards lies in the pursuit of beauty and truth, not in fealty to a monarch or following the tenets of a deity. A noble who keeps such a bard as a herald or advisor knows that the bard would rather be honest than politic.   The college’s members gather in libraries and sometimes in actual colleges, complete with classrooms and dormitories, to share their lore with one another. They also meet at festivals or affairs of state, where they can expose corruption, unravel lies, and poke fun at self-important figures of autho rity.

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College of Luck

Bards of the College of Luck are renowned gamblers and dealers, and often hang around casinos and taverns, using their innate skill with games of chance to make easy money.   Their ability to manipulate the odds extends out of mere games, however, and they can use these abilities to aid themselves if they end up in a dangerous situation. With luck almost always on their side, they can often win fights with one hand behind their back and their eyes closed.   Sometimes, members of the College of Luck get together to gamble amongest each other. These games are said to be legendary, with each bluff, call and gamble more impressive then the last.

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College of Lyrical Genius

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College Of Machismo

Famed for their hulking frames and cocksure swagger, the bards of the College of Machismo are dedicated to building (and flaunting) their own physiques. By putting their muscles to work, these entertainers will “perform in circus acts, gladiatorial bouts, contests of strength, bachelorette parties, and anywhere they can bask in the roar of a crowd. These bards take their pursuit of muscular perfection seriously, and will often parade their bodies unbidden. What these individuals lack in self-awareness or humility, however, they more than make up for in raw, physical power. After all, confidence fuels the strength of these bards, and this is a quality they have in abundance. Contrary to its name, the College of Machismo is home to many a strongwoman, luchadora, and female bodybuilder. Indeed, the rivalries (and occasional romances) which form between its members tend to capture the public's interest and heighten the college's reputation - especially when a fight between lovers is scheduled! When they join this college, it is common for bards to adopt pseudonyms that help them play to a crowd.

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College of Masks

Bards in the College of Masks (or Masters of Masks, as they have come to be called) are virtuoso performers who practice becoming the figure they portray, rather than merely imitating them. Bards who practice in this college come to believe that all life is performed, rather than lived, and that to become an actor in this Great Play requires that one merely put on the metaphorical mask of another. Because each person wears a mask every day, a Master of Masks carries with him a number of masks, each a potent magical artifact of a specific archetypical character or creature to allow them to better enter those roles.

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College of Mirrors

Bards of the College of Mirrors specialize in the art of redirection. What starts off as simple sleight of hand card tricks or minor magical illusions can lead a bard to this elusive path. A common value shared throughout this college is that appearances can be and often are deceiving. These bards often find themselves employed in thieves guilds as a master of distraction, helping cover up assassinations or secret plots, and many other jobs that require artful illusory work.

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College of Mourning

Bards of the College of Mourning specialize in easing the transition from life to death. While most bards derive their artistic catalogue from celebrating the lives of the valiant, mourning bards create a gateway for dead knights, faithful priests, and wise viziers who dedicated their lives in service, to accomplish any lingering obligations of the Material Plane.   While some see romanticizing death as macabre, the college spent centuries observing religious rites and composing teachings of necromancy in prose to entreat the dead to remain long enough to fulfill their purpose. Whether woodwind or brass, string or drum, these bards are versed in delicate affairs and often find work in parades krewes, as pallbearers, or on other occasions where tact and taste are tantamount. Mourning bards improvise their melodies to mask the cries and wails of grieving loved ones, and often turn dour occasions into celebrations of remembrance. Whatever their method, their purpose is always to complement the spirits’ shuffle to the afterlife in ceremonious display with arrangements of grace and style.

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College of Origami

Bards that practice in this college are often seen in parades, where their very music breathes life into parchment. They captivate all those who watch, performing a show with animated origami that folds itself and flows in the wind.

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College of Passion

Through your weapons and your words, you incite fervor in others. Whether attraction or lust, rapture or enthusiasm, in battle you use a combination of grace, dance, and the subtleties of romantic magic to beguile and bewilder.

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College of Portraiture

Bards of the College of Portraiture are artisans, first and foremost. Through your intensive study of anatomy, you’ve begin to unlock the secrets of tying the art you create to your very soul. The creation of a Gray Portrait, where the soul is tied to the art, is considered a perversion of these techniques, locking away your intrinsic artistic talent into a single masterwork. There are those, however, that claim the true path to artistic skill lies somewhere in the middle, tying one’s soul to both the art one creates and tying the art back to the soul, in an endless cycle that allows one to truly become the art. Heresies aside, your skill and talents with the manipulation of your own life essence allows you to create and animate works of art in your own image. Narcissism is common among the practitioners of this College, though that can hardly be faulted: if everyone could portray themselves so beautifully, then they surely would.

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College Of Puppetry

While most bards utilize their voices and instrumental prowess, bards of the College of Puppetry prefer to use their puppets as entertainment. Still proficient in their musical talents, bards of this college often appear to be like most other bards: supplementing their songs and stories with the visual effects of their puppets. However, the College of Puppetry teaches its students to be the masters of their own their fate and to control those around them as a means to their ends. These bards utilize their magic and natural talents to get what they want through any means necessary. Most other bards view the College of Puppetry with disdain, if not outright hatred and violence. They believe practitioners of this artform taint the name of bards everywhere with their malignant magics and despicable, underhanded tactics. As such, members of this college often hide their puppetry prowess until necessary. Others blatantly use their skills in puppetry, laughing at the notion they would be a part of the ne'er-do-wells aligned with the College of Puppetry.

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College of Revelry

Some bards have a way of becoming the center of attention wherever they go. They enjoy the after parties more than their actual performances, and it is rare that they turn down an invitation for a good time. Bards of the College of Revelry live for celebrations, and hedonistic gatherings of all kinds. Their honeyed words have a way of convincing anyone to let loose and have a good time. However, some bards of this college have a dark side, influencing others to become so carefree that they will compromise their long held values.

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College of Satire

Bards of the College of Satire are called jesters. While jesters are masters of puns, jokes, and verbal barbs, they are much more than just comic relief. Among bards, jesters are unmatched acrobats, and their ability to tumble, dodge, leap, and climb makes them slippery opponents in battle.

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College of Scripture

Bards of the College of Scripture are religious scholars through and through, experts on the ways of religions of all creeds and cultures. They often join together in abandoned churches to make sure even the smallest gods are remembered. These bards can be seen in city streets, preaching the good word of a particular deity they find worthy of their time to the wide-eyed masses, or arguing with priests about their narrow-minded dogma. Faith is a tool, after all, a pen to be used to write new works and words upon the world.

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College of Secrets

There are many organizations that act in secrecy. From thieves’ guilds and spy rings to cults and rebellions, all these secret societies need operatives and leaders like you. Your chosen group taught you the value of loyalty and secrecy, and how to command fear and respect, whether by magic or other means. The key to your success and survival is an expert understanding of the psychology and culture of those around you.

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College of Superstars

The College of Superstars is home to the most ambitious performers, artists, singers, and dancers. Bards of this college seek to dazzle audiences with their brilliance and talent, competing endlessly with one another to become the world's brightest star.

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College of Swords

Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock combats. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are also highly trained and skilled warriors in their own right.   Their talent with weapons inspires many blades to lead double lives. One blade might use a circus troupe as cover for nefarious deeds such as assassination, robbery, and blackmail. Other blades strike at the wicked, bringing justice to bear against the cruel and powerful. Most troupes are happy to accept a blade’s talent for the excitement it adds to a performance, but few entertainers fully trust a blade in their ranks.   Blades who abandon their lives as entertainers have often run into trouble that makes maintaining their secret activities impossible. A blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante justice is too great a liability for most troupes. With their weapon skills and magic, these blades either take up work as enforcers for thieves’ guilds or strike out on their own as adventurers.

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College of the Ancients

Bards of the College of the Ancients have deep knowledge in the area of nature magic, and they often wander the wilderness, collecting knowledge on the magic of the earth. They are most often wandering singers and skalds, traveling through ancient forests and long abandoned roads, often singing to nobody at all. They wish, first and foremost, to protect and honor nature. They tell tales of great floods and good harvests, tremendous storms and frightening gales. They learn to be one with nature.

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College of the Blazing Strings

The sound of music can be a calming thing to the ears of those who understand it. It can take the edge off of those heavy emotions that threaten to turn mortal minds mad. But Bards of the Blazing strings needs it for another reason. They were born with great sorcerous power but lacked the ability to control it, presenting a clear and constant threat to those around them. But with the power of music, they can focus their energies into their songs and ballads and create a wonderful display of their power that can inspire and audience with a brilliant show of arcane lights. Or burn down the performance hall as they focus the truly terrifying power within them through the sound of their instrument.  

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College Of The Maestro

Music is a powerful thing. It can bolster a burning passion, inspire the meek to bravery, and soothe a cluttered mind. Wandering bards have mastered the art of creating music to shape and manipulate the thoughts and hearts of the world through songs, words, and instruments. However, it is the Maestro who has learned to evoke music from the natural world around them and weave these notes with arcane skill into melodies of dynamic and potent magic.   With but a raised hand or wand, a Maestro listens for the clang of arms on armor, the heavy footfalls of a giant, the crackle of a bolt of lightning, and catches them, crafting them into a symphony of rousing musical movements. They conduct the sounds of the battlefield like a phantom orchestra, empowering the blows of their allies, altering the minds and moods of their opponents, and changing the pace of the fray in their favor.   The College of the Maestro calls to those who enjoy enabling their companions to become even more adept, working in unison with your sonata. It refines those of raw talent into majestic performers who can pluck the thoughts from a mind like a musical note, amplify the fears of lesser beings through sourceless, ominous tones, and seemingly stretch time by commanding the tempo of a heartbeat. Maestros become heroes who can take the chaos of the world and carve it as they see fit by controlling the vibrations of music that subtly guide the realm.  

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College of the Mime

Bards of this college are actors and performers, focused upon empowering their spells with their own mischievous, deceptive skill. Members of this college are twisted harlequins: even the most powerful bards known to have studied it were said to use their creations for pranks, creating luxurious invisible chairs before dismissing the effect and watching their compatriots fall about on the floor, or mimicking their allies' misthaps with an unsettling precision.   Members of this college focus on bedazzling and befuddling their foes with their powerful enchantments and charms. It’s all smoke and mirrors, so the rumour goes: the devastating jinxes of the College of Mime are entirely manifest in their victims’ imagination.   Whether or not that rumour is true, their combative potency is more than real enough. They play foes like fools.  

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College of the Muse

Bards of the College of the Muse dedicate themselves to the pursuit of art and beauty in their highest forms. With lyre, pipes, or siren song, they seek out great heroes to inspire and, in turn, be inspired by. Blessed with charm and orphean gifts they are sought-after companions, not just by heroes, but also by prosperous patrons such as aristocrats and even kings. They play on the appeal of decadence and desire, basking in the luxury and sensual comforts afforded them by their gifts.

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College Of The Painter

The College of the Painter is a comfortable home for bards who have a lack of interest or no knowledge in the playing on instrument, instead having chosen to weave their performances and abilities through their painting and artwork.   Bards who are of this college and generally thought to be a lower form of bard due to their rejection of the other colleges and methods that their fellow bards employ. They are more antisocial and are more ragged and rough in terms of their appearances, their clothes, skin and hair generally stained with their constant use of paints and inks. It is told and rumored that through practice and determination, these bards can actually bring their artwork to life to serve them as familiars and followers.

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College Of Purity

Despite living through many of the cruelest dangers the world has to offer, there are those who maintain that all conflicts can be resolved with the power of friendship. The bards of the College of Purity are united by their belief in this ideal and use their performances to spread peace and harmony wherever they go. It is said that this College was once founded by a talented princess, whose clarity of voice was matched only by her purity of heart. Variously imagined as a mermaid who longed for legs, a leader of a troupe of dwarves, and even a woman who could paint with the colors of the wind, her adventures are often told by these bards to set a positive example for children, bring hope to the hopeless, and quell the hostilities of others. Many of these bards aspire to visit the Blessed Fields of Elysium - the outer plane of true goodness - and meet their predecessor. To achieve this goal, these minstrels will use their magic to bond with animals, befriend villains, and even call on mythical unicorns to ferry them to safety.

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College Of The Quill

In the right hands, a quill is both an instrument and weapon without peer. It can found empires, bring wars to a close, and draft narratives that will be told and retold for centuries to come. This is a truth recognized by the bards of the College of the Quill: the authors, poets, lyricists and playwrights who know that before the greatest works can be recited, they must first be written. Determined to join their societies' pantheon of legendary composers, these wordsmiths devote their lives to penning their own fictions. Theirs are the tragedies that make even the minstrels weep; the comedies that gladden widows and orphans in mourning; the epics that sow wanderlust amongst uncountable audiences. Acquiring such literary flair demands years of study and practice, and as a result, these bards are often susceptible to arrogance or elitism. Nonetheless, many of this school still try to impart their skills to amateur story-tellers, if only to leverage positive exposure for their creations. To those who enter this College, the fastest path to renown lies in perfecting a single Opus. This is a process that may take months, years or even decades. Each element of its construction requires careful consideration and will influence both its form and effect on others.

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College of Ravens

Bards of the College of Ravens have many friends, or so the saying goes. Whether perched on balconies overlooking cities, or stalking the deep hearts of umbral forests, these clever spies and sinister information brokers rely on their shadowy allies to acquire secrets. The College of Ravens relies on always having just the right secret to tip the balance in their favour. To their mind, it’s not brute force that will win the day, but a small push in just the right place, at just the right moment.

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College of the Shadowfell

Bards of the College of the Shadowfell specialize in the study of that realm, gleaming great knowledge of shadow magic in the process. These bards are few in number and their study is far harder than most, for knowledge of the Shadowfell is hard to come by. These bards occasionally gather in great libraries to share their knowledge, but most of their time is spent out in the world, looking for any glimpses of knowledge that might lead them to their goal. These bards generally do not perform music, and are instead more inclined to creating stories and manufacturing histories, with most of these stories ending as dark as the realm they study.

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College of the Voice

"Words carry weight. Mine more so than yours."—anonymous bard.

You are not a paltry singer or teller of tawdry tales. Your voice is your instrument, ancient words your performance. Those born with the power to join the College of the Voice carry the uncanny power to make their words reality by screaming nature into submission. Through bellowed incantations, you change the world around you to suit your whims.

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College of Threads

If all the world's people are puppets, you are the puppeteer. Carefully laid webs of deceit is the mark of those in the shadowed College of Threads. Often compared to spiders, they are manipulators and tacticians, using their bardic wit and magical abilities to control a situation as they please.

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College of Tragedy

When many think of this college, they imagine weeping masks and dour company. A misconception, but a common one. Bards of this college have a potent obsession with the morose and melancholic, but only as a way to become truly whole. They believe that pain makes pleasure sweeter, and that death is to be acknowledged, mourned, and moved on from. They follow those who walk the most dangerous of paths, to provide a voice of compassion, and to remind them of the light that hides beyond the darkness.

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College Of Uproar

Most minstrels swear by the standards of respectable musicianship. However, the bards of the College of Uproar rail against those orthodoxies with the sound of rolling thunder. Raucously enthusiastic and radically transgressive, these individuals aim to disrupt the status quo with songs of unparalleled volume.   To members of this College, the best performances are those that fully assault the senses of an audience. For this reason, the forte of these individuals lies in their ability to give voice to difficult and uncomfortable truths, as these are often the hardest truths to hear.   Unlike other bards, those of the College of Uproar will almost always be found in the thick of a skirmish. Donned in clangorous metal armor, these bards will use their voices and instruments as deafening weapons, and can electrify the battlefield with their music.

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College of Valor

Bards of the College of Valor are daring skalds whose tales keep alive the memory of the great heroes of the past, and thereby inspire a new generation of heroes. These bards gather in mead halls or around great bonfires to sing the deeds of the mighty, both past and present. They travel the land to witness great events firsthand and to ensure that the memory of those events doesn’t pass from the world. With their songs, they inspire others to reach the same heights of accomplishment as the heroes of old.

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College of War

The College of War is a rare and mysterious college, and the bards who study its teachings are feared. This is because these bards rarely use the teachings of this college for entertainment. Nearly always, its rhythms and forbidden melodies are used to inspire soldiers, spark bloodlust, and ultimately go to war. Orcs and hobgoblins have been known to study this college before beginning a war campaign, distributing their drummers across their ranks so that all soldiers can reap the benefits of the songs of war, becoming roused to bloodshed. Bards of other races that seek out this college become powerful assets to guilds and organizations, and many serve as enforcers, bodyguards, or troup leaders, while others become adventurers.

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College of Whispers

Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them against others through extortion and threats.   Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses a bard’s reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason, members of this college rarely reveal their true nature. They typically claim to follow some other college, or they keep their actual calling secret in order to infiltrate and exploit royal courts and other settings of power.

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College of Word Play

Bards from the College of Word Play are lovers of the spoken word with wits sharper than swords. They are known as pundits who, unlike jesters, completely disregard the pursuit and propogation of truth. Some students in this College may have been kicked out of the College of Satire. Others may have applied for the College of Swords but didn’t read the name correctly. Bards in the College of Word Play have a mastery of their language and know how to twist it to deliver punchlines or punish their foes.