Bard — Core Class

The bard is the party's improviser — a spellcaster whose magic runs not on dusty formulae but on sheer presence. A verse, a flourish, a held note, a well-timed insult: in the bard's hands these are the raw material of enchantment. They rarely hit the hardest, but they are almost never out of answers, and a fight rarely goes the way the enemy planned once a bard has a say in the tempo.

What makes the bard dangerous is range — not of weapon, but of competence. A little of every skill, a spell for every occasion, and a gift for lifting the people around them past what they thought they could do. Where the party falters, the bard hands them a die and a reason to swing again; where a door is closed, the bard is already talking their way through it. They are the force multiplier at the heart of the band.

Signature Feature · Level 1

Bardic Inspiration

As a Bonus Action, you hand a spark of your artistry to a creature within 60 feet — a Bardic Inspiration die (a d6 to start). Within the next 10 minutes, that creature can roll it and add the result to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, even after seeing the d20 but before the outcome is called.

You have a number of uses equal to your Charisma modifier, regained on a Long Rest — and the die itself grows to a d8, d10, and finally a d12 as your legend does. The whole class bends around spending that spark at exactly the right beat.

Class Features

Level	Feature
1st	Spellcasting, Bardic Inspiration
2nd	Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest
3rd	Bard College, Expertise
10th	Magical Secrets
20th	Superior Inspiration

1st Level

Spellcasting

Your artistry is your magic. You are a full spellcaster, learning cantrips and preparing spells from the broad, versatile bard list, all channeled through Charisma. There is no spellbook to guard and no patron to owe — only performance made manifest, a verse or a gesture shaping the world to your intent.

2nd Level

Jack of All Trades

A dabbler in everything is rarely caught flat-footed. You can add half your Proficiency Bonus (rounded down) to any ability check you make that doesn't already include it — and to your Initiative rolls besides. You may not be the expert in the room, but you are never entirely lost.

2nd Level

Song of Rest

Your performance mends more than spirits. During a Short Rest, any allies who can hear you and spend one or more Hit Dice to recover Hit Points each regain an extra 1d6 — a bonus that swells to a d8, d10, and d12 as you climb in level. A quiet tune, and the band rises stronger.

3rd Level

Bard College

You commit to a tradition of the art — a College that colors every performance to come, granting features now and again at 6th and 14th level. The four Colleges — Dance, Glamour, Lore, and Valor — are gathered below.

3rd Level

Expertise

Choose two of your skill proficiencies; your Proficiency Bonus is doubled for any ability check you make using either. These are the crafts you've truly mastered — and you'll claim a second pair of them later in your career.

10th Level

Magical Secrets

No tradition is closed to you now. When you prepare spells, you can draw from the Cleric, Druid, and Wizard lists as freely as your own, weaving together effects no single school would ever teach side by side. The bard's true art was always theft, worn as tribute.

20th Level

Superior Inspiration

You never take the stage empty-handed. When you roll Initiative, you regain expended uses of Bardic Inspiration until you have at least two — so no fight ever begins with your repertoire spent and nothing left to give the people beside you.

Bard Colleges