Bard

HP Per Level: 7.

Keywords: Bard, Talented, Support Class

Bards are troubadours, minstrels, and performers who ply their talents and wits as adventurers. They are part poet, part diplomat, and part renaissance man capable of inspiring their friends, appeasing allies, and solving any puzzle before them. Their words are like honey, their quips cut like a knife, and their minds work in mysterious ways. A bard’s true talent lies in their wide array of experiences and skills which make them useful in any situation.

• Weapons
  • All Simple Weapons (Professional)
• Defense: Skilled
  • Armors: Light
• Saves
  • Fortitude Save (Skilled)
  • Reflex Save (Skilled)
  • Will Save (Professional)
• Option: You may change your Reflex save to Professional in exchange for making your Will save Skilled.
• Bonus Language: High Speech and any 1 language of your choice.

You are Professional in 2 skills of your choice. In addition, you are Exceptional with Perform and Politique.

With a song, the strum of a lute, or beat of a drum, you lift spirits and entice onlookers with your music.

Benefit: Once per turn as a single action, you can use any bardic performance you know. At 1st level you know the following songs: Song of Courage and Song of Prowess.

For a complete list of songs, see the “Bardic Repertoire” section at the end of this class.

• Handedness: You must play music on an instrument, often accompanied by song and dance. Despite an instrument normally requiring hands to perform, it’s assumed that you have some way of playing your instrument that is convenient and conducive to the adventuring life. This means instruments don’t take up hands to play during combat.
• Clearly Hear You: Your allies need to be able to clearly hear you - typically within about 1,000 feet (or about 300 feet in combat or other similarly noisy scenarios).

You know a bit about everything.

Benefit: You are Skilled in any Int/Cha/Wis skills you were not already skilled (or higher) in.

• Based on Multiple: If a skill can be based on multiple ability scores and they’re not all mental (Example: Aquatic can be based on Intelligence for checks to recall information but uses Dexterity to pilot a ship). In such instances, the bardic lore class feature only applies to checks based on mental ability scores.

Benefit: Choose which bardic college you are part of.

You could talk the wings off a bee, a miser out of his gold, and a king off his throne. Benefit: You can use charm as an innate (Perform) spell at will. This is specifically a mundane effect, is not corrupting, and does not require touch.

• Boost: You can spend 1 Hero Dice to gain an Absolute bonus on any skill check made to change the attitude of a creature.

Using a skill to change a creature’s attitude requires you to spend extended time talking to them, and thus normally can’t be done in combat. A GM may rule that certain offers or targeting certain creatures (e.g., offering a mercenary money to stop) is permissible in combat (taking 1 action).

Benefit: You learn a bardic song.

You can replace knowledge with experience and fill in any gaps with gumption.

Benefit: You become Professional in any Int/Cha/Wis skill you are Skilled in.

Benefit: You learn a bardic song.

Your songs are the stuff of legend and will echo down through the ages.

Benefit: You gain the song “Epic Performance”.

The College of the Classics trains the most “traditional” bards. They see themselves as the historians and archivists of the world. They wander the land in search of knowledge for their college’s grand library, and heroes to immortalize in song.

• Student (3rd Level): You become Exceptional with Academia.
• Enlightening Elocution (8th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Enlightening Elocution: Pick a topic or creature. Any ally who attempts to make a Recall Information about that subject or Identify the creature gets and Absolute bonus so long as the DC is Heroic (30) or below.
• Eureka!* (13th Level): Once per long rest you can ask a single question to the GM that could be answered with a Recall: History, Recall: Science, Recall: Math, or Recall: Archeology. You are treated as if you had an Absolute bonus on this check. Be careful what you ask though…down some avenues of inquest lie madness. (Remember: There are impossible checks.)
• Perfect Recall (18th Level): You have perfect recall. You never need to make any checks to recall information you have personally experienced (treat yourself as if you had a permanent Absolute bonus). You can recall every word you’ve ever read, every painting you’ve ever seen, and every conversation you’ve ever heard. This does not grant you the ability to apply the knowledge presented in these memories, but you can recall everything in exact detail - exactly how you perceived it.

• The information obtained by Absolute checks from this college is detailed and may lay out a path to obtain something but is still just theorycraft. If you tried to theorize how to raise the dead you might learn the science behind it but not necessarily how to implement it. You need to find a way to do it- you simply understand the fundamental idea of how to do it.
• You need to have a reasonable reason to ask such a question. While this ability can explain dark matter, you’d need to have a basis in modern physics before asking such a question.

The Court of Fools are masters of mockery and distraction. They regard the entire universe as some kind of cosmic joke and we’re all the punchline. They are as merry as they are black-humored and never miss a chance at a jibe. Trickster (3rd Level): You may use any combat maneuver with Bluff or Perform instead of what is normally required.

• Cutting Remark (8th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Cutting Remark: Pick a creature that can hear you. They must make a Will save (DC 10 + your Perform proficiency). If they fail the save they become Impaired 3 until the start of your next turn. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.
• Sharp Wit (13th Level): Once per round, you may make a Goad or Feint action as a free action.
• Vicious Mockery (18th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Vicious Mockery: All enemies who can currently hear or see must make a Will save (DC 10 + your Perform proficiency). If they fail the save they are immobilized with laughter until the start of your next turn (treat as helpless). A given creature can only be affected by this once per day. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.

Part drill instructors, part party dudes, Dance Commanders are the bombastic general of groove, the undisputed dukes of dance, and the lordly masters of musical coordination. They drill to drill others- organizing people along their musical lines and turning even the most undisciplined rabble into a formation that any marching band would be envious of.

• Now Move! (3rd Level): You gain the following bardic song:
  • Now Move!: This counts as the direct minions action except it gives 1 action to each minion you have (to a maximum of your Charisma modifier).
• Dance Drills (8th Level): When you use Song of Skill you can roll Perform. The result can be used for any skill check by your allies. They must dance, boogie, get funky, or otherwise get down with their bad selves as part of the action.
• Move With Me! (13th Level): You gain command as an innate (Perform) spell, usable once per short rest. You can only use this to cause creatures to start dancing, singing, or performing other theatrical actions.
• Pied Piper (18th Level): Creatures who are fascinated with you count as minions and are under your direct control while fascinated with you..

A dance commander’s key ability is its “Now Move!” song. It lets you command a large number of minions all at once. The dance commander interacts with minion rules a lot but doesn’t inherently gain the ability to make minions. It relies on its other class to provide it with minions to command so you shouldn’t take it without a class that can provide that. The wizard class with the necromancer specialization is a great choice. If you are lacking options you can always take the Animal Companion feat a few times or the Leadership honor to get a few minions!

Less a formal college and more a collective of passionate freedom fighters, protestors, and anarchists, the firebrand collective teaches bards how to raise hell. They become the igniting spark that starts revolutions, the indomitable voice of the people, and the rallying cry that won’t be silenced!

Special: Cannot have ties to formal authority or nobility.

• Rabble Rouser (3rd level): You become Exceptional with Intimidate.
• Down With Tyrants! (8th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Down With Tyrants!: Pick a creature you can see. All allies, including yourself, gain a Free Hero Dice on damage rolls against that creature.
• Rile Up (13th Level): When you make a Goad action, you choose who your target is hostile towards. Any creature that is attacking a target you’ve directed them to with this ability is considered an ally for the purpose of your bardic songs.
• Hero’s Voice (18th Level): You, and all allies who are currently under the effect of one of your songs, are immune to the silenced condition. As an action, you may attempt to dispel a silence or quieting effect. Make a Legendary (DC 40) Perform or Intimidate check. If you succeed, the effect ends (even if it was a permanent effect).

They’re about big drama, epic stories, “enhancing” the situation, and even a bit of luck. They throw caution to the wind for the sake of the story! Some accuse them of being pawns of The Storyteller, and some are to be sure, but the Lodge of Legends stands alone as a powerful and influential college of bards!

• Morale Booster (3rd level): Each player begins play with 1 extra Hero Dice in their personal pool. Additionally, after a short or long rest all players in the party recover 1 extra Hero Dice.
• Flattering Ode (8th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Flattering Ode: Target ally gains 1 Hero Dice that they must use before the end of their next turn.
• Party Mascot (13th Level): Each player begins play with 2 extra Hero Dice in their personal pool. Additionally, after a short or long rest all players recover 2 extra Hero Dice. This replaces the benefit of the morale booster bardic college benefit.
• Legacy of Legends (20th level): Any time your party takes a short rest they recover to their maximum Hero Dice value.

Seen as the least “respectable” bardic college, the renegades remain a popular branch of bards for their dramatic, in-your-face attitude. These warrior-bards refuse to hide behind others while singing, preferring to smash out tunes while they tear through their foes.

• Battle Bard (3rd level): You treat any musical instrument you wield as though it were an appropriate manufactured weapon of the same handedness as the instrument. This only allows you to replicate simple or martial weapons. A GM has discretion over what an appropriate weapon is but they should be flexible. In addition, you become Exceptional with such “instrument weapons”. You also gain the “martial” keyword.
• Song of Battle (8th Level): You gain the following song:
  • Song of Battle: All allies gain a bonus on damage rolls equal to 1/2 their level. This bonus damage is sonic damage.
• Roaring Cry (13th Level): Once per turn as an action, you may unleash a forceful shout so powerful it tears through your foes. All creatures within a 30-foot cone or a 60-foot line (your choice) take 1d6 sonic damage per 2 levels. A Reflex save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform) negates the damage.
• Showstopper (18th Level): You may spend a Hero Dice to grant your Roaring Cry either Absolute damage or an Absolute Reflex save.

The following are bardic songs. You can only use bardic songs you know. You can only use 1 bardic song per round and using a bardic song takes an action.

Courage is not the absence of fear but the will to overcome it.

Prerequisites: None (This is a starting song).

Benefit: Creatures are immune to fear.

Inspiring words and an upbeat tune are sometimes all it takes to turn the tide of battle.

Prerequisites: None (This is a starting song).

Benefit: All allies, including yourself, gain a Free Hero Dice on attack rolls.

Your music cuts through other sounds, canceling them out. Victory through volume.

Prerequisites: 6th level.

Benefit: Until the start of your next turn, you can take a Counter action to counter corruption spells, effects that deal sonic damage, and language-dependent Skill uses (as per the Counter action). You use your Perform skill opposed by the most relevant skill or proficiency of your target. If you’re successful, the effect is negated. You can still only counter 1 action per round.

This absolute showstopper of a song can bring out the best in anyone.

Prerequisites: 20th Level

Benefit: Select 1 creature. They gain an Absolute bonus on a d20 roll. They must use this before the end of their next turn. A given creature can only benefit from this ability once per long rest you take.

A bolstering song to drive away doubt, this theme tune is a precursor to victory!

Prerequisites: 16th level.

Benefit: All allies affected by this ability are immune to fear effects for 1 hour, and gain 1 bonus Hero Dice. You can only use Hero’s Ballad once per combat.

You send out sharp, staccato, disruptive waves of emotional power with your song that shatters illusions, awakens the sleeping, and snaps people out of mental dazes!

Prerequisites: None.

Benefit: All creatures within 30 feet are cured of the following condition so long as the DC is Heroic (30) or less: charmed, confused, fascinated, scared, or sleeping.

Music can claim the heart of the most savage beast.

Prerequisites: 16th level.

Benefit: Enemies must make a Will save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform) or become charmed towards you for 1 minute.

You can enthrall a target creature with your music, ensnaring their attention.

Prerequisites: None.

Benefit: The creature must make a Will save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform) or be fascinated with you until the start of your next turn. A creature fascinated by you or who succeeds on the Will save cannot be the target of this ability by you for 24 hours.

Just whistle while you work And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place So hum a merry tune It won't take long when there's a song to help you set the pace

Prerequisites: None.

Benefit: You can play this song while others attempt a Skill challenge. The DC of the Skill challenge is 5 lower while you play.

Show them how it’s done. Or tell them, with song.

Prerequisites: None.

Benefit: Roll a Skill check that you are at least Skilled in. If an ally rolls below that when attempting to use that skill, they use your result instead. This does not function with all skills, such as Stealth, and it is up to the GM’s discretion.

You’ve managed to sonically weaponize boredom.

Prerequisites: 16th level.

Benefit: All enemy creatures must make a Will save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform) or fall asleep until the end of their next turn. Creatures targeted by this cannot be targeted by this for 24 hours.

Honestly, just play a well-meaning children’s rhyme slowly in a minor key.

Prerequisites: None.

Benefit: All enemy creatures must make a Will save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform) or be scared of you until the end of their next turn.

You fill the surrounding air with a catchy tune that endlessly lingers in the mind.

Prerequisites: 16th Level

Benefit: Enemies within 30 feet must attempt a Will save (DC 10 + your proficiency in Perform). On a failed save, affected creatures have to spend 1 action on their next turn dancing. Dancing provokes an attack of opportunity. This is a corruption effect.

The following are songs granted by certain bardic colleges. They cannot be normally selected and are only granted when the college specifies.

Let the bodies hit the floor! Let the bodies hit the floor!

Prerequisite: Renegades of Rock.

Benefit: All allies gain a bonus on damage rolls equal to 1/2 their level. This bonus damage is sonic damage.

Sweet nothings will get you everywhere.

Prerequisite: Lodge of Legends

Benefit: The target ally gains 1 Hero Dice that they must use before the end of their next turn.

“In short, in knowledge vegetable, animal, and mineral, You really are the model of a bard from College Classical!”

Prerequisite: College of the Classics.

Benefit: Pick a topic or creature. Any ally who attempts to make a Recall Information check about that subject, or Identify the creature, gets an Absolute bonus so long as the DC is Heroic (30) or below.

Sic semper tyrannis!

Prerequisite: Firebrand Collective.

Benefit: Pick a creature you can see. All allies, including yourself, gain a Free Hero Dice on damage rolls against that creature.

Remember - Free Hero Dice stack with other bonuses! They don’t stack with other Hero Dice (free or otherwise). “Song of Battle” is great for a party with few martial classes (as they tend to get flat bonuses to damage) while “Down with Tyrants!” is better for a party that has martial classes in the mix!

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but these words cut even deeper.

Prerequisite: Court of Fools.

Benefit: Pick a creature that can hear you. They must make a Will save (DC 10 + your Perform proficiency). If they fail the save, they become Impaired 3 until the start of your next turn. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.

“Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh!”

Prerequisite: Court of Fools.

Benefit: All enemies who can currently hear or see must make a Will save (DC 10 + your Perform proficiency). If they fail the save, they are immobilized with laughter until the start of your next turn (treat as helpless). A given creature can only be affected by this once per day. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.