Bard
Starting Evasion
10
Starting HP
5
Domains
Codex & Grace
Bards are the most charismatic people in all the realms. Members of this class are masters of captivation and specialize in a variety of performance types, including singing, playing musical instruments, weaving tales, or telling jokes. Whether performing for an audience or speaking to an individual, bards thrive in social situations. Members of this profession bond and train at schools or guilds, but a current of egotism runs through those of the bardic persuasion. While they may be the most likely class to bring people together, a bard of ill temper can just as easily tear a party apart.
Subclasses
Troubadour
Play music to bolster your allies, soothing wounds and quickening hearts.
Spellcast Trait Presence
Gifted Performer: You can play three different types of songs, once each per long rest; describe how you perform for others to gain the listed benefit:
- Relaxing Song: You and all allies within Close range clear a Hit Point.
- Epic Song: Make a target within Close range temporarily Vulnerable.
- Heartbreaking Song: You and all allies within Close range gain a Hope.
Maestro: Your rallying songs steel the courage of those who listen. When you give a Rally Die to an ally, they can gain a Hope or clear a Stress.
Virtuoso: You are among the greatest of your craft and your skill is boundless. You can perform each of your "Gifted Performer" feature's songs twice per long rest.
Wordsmith
Use clever wordplay and captivate crowds, rewriting the moment with a phrase.
Spellcast Trait Presence
Rousing Speech: Once per long rest, you can give a heartfelt, inspiring speech. All allies within Far range clear 2 Stress.
Heart of a Poet: After you make an action roll to impress, persuade, or offend someone, you can spend a Hope to add a d4 to the roll.
Eloquent: Your moving words boost morale. Once per session, when you encourage an ally, you can do one of the following:
- Allow them to find a mundane object or tool they need.
- Help an Ally without spending Hope.
- Give them an additional downtime move during their next rest.
Epic Poetry: Your Rally Die increases to a d10. Additionally, when you Help an Ally, you can narrate the moment as if you were writing the tale of their heroism in a memoir. When you do, roll a d10 as your advantage die.
Domain Cards
As a Bard you draw cards from the Codex and Grace domains. All 21 cards from each domain are listed below for reference.
Level 1
Book of Ava
Book of Illiat
Book of Tyfar
Deft Deceiver
Spend a Hope to gain advantage on a roll to deceive or trick someone into believing a lie you tell them.
Enrapture
Make a Spellcast Roll against a target within Close range. On a success, they become temporarily Enraptured. While Enraptured, a target's attention is fixed on you, narrowing their field of view and drowning out any sound but your voice. Once per rest on a success, you can mark a Stress to force the Enraptured target to mark a Stress as well.
Inspirational Words
Your speech is imbued with power. After a long rest, place a number of tokens on this card equal to your Presence. When you speak with an ally, you can spend a token from this card to give them one benefit from the following options:
• Your ally clears a Stress.
• Your ally clears a Hit Point.
• Your ally gains a Hope.
When you take a long rest, clear all unspent tokens.
Level 2
Book of Sitil
Book of Vagras
Tell No Lies
Make a Spellcast Roll against a target within Very Close range. On a success, they can't lie to you while they remain within Close range, but they are not compelled to speak. If you ask them a question and they refuse to answer, they must mark a Stress and the effect ends. The target is typically unaware this spell has been cast on them until it causes them to utter the truth.
Troublemaker
When you taunt or provoke a target within Far range, make a Presence Roll against them. Once per rest on a success, roll a number of d4s equal to your Proficiency. The target must mark Stress equal to the highest result rolled.
Level 3
Book of Korvax
Book of Norai
Hypnotic Shimmer
Make a Spellcast Roll against all adversaries in front of you within Close range. Once per rest on a success, create an illusion of flashing colors and lights that temporarily Stuns targets you succeed against and forces them to mark a Stress. While Stunned, they can't use reactions and can't take any other actions until they clear this condition.
Invisibility
Make a Spellcast Roll (10). On a success, mark a Stress and choose yourself or an ally within Melee range to become Invisible. An Invisible creature can't be seen except through magical means and attack rolls against them are made with disadvantage. Place a number of tokens on this card equal to your Spellcast trait. When the Invisible creature takes an action, spend a token from this card. After the action that spends the last token is resolved, the effect ends.
You can only hold Invisibility on one creature at a time.
Level 4
Book of Exota
Book of Grynn
Soothing Speech
During a short rest, when you take the time to comfort another character while using the Tend to Wounds downtime move on them, clear an additional Hit Point on that character. When you do, you also clear 2 Hit Points.
Through Your Eyes
Choose a target within Very Far range. You can see through their eyes and hear through their ears. You can transition between using your own senses or the target's freely until you cast another spell or until your next rest.
Level 5
Manifest Wall
Make a Spellcast Roll (15). Once per rest on a success, spend a Hope to create a temporary magical wall between two points within Far range. It can be up to 50 feet high and form at any angle. Creatures or objects in its path are shunted to a side of your choice. The wall stays up until your next rest or you cast Manifest Wall again.
Teleport
Once per long rest, you can instantly teleport yourself and any number of willing targets within Close range to a place you've been before. Choose one of the following options, then make a Spellcast Roll (16):
• If you know the place very well, gain a +3 bonus.
• If you've visited the place frequently, gain a +1 bonus.
• If you've visited the place infrequently, gain no modifier.
• If you've only been there once, gain a -2 penalty.
On a success, you appear where you were intending to go. On a failure, you appear off course, with the range of failure determining how far off course.
Thought Delver
You can peek into the minds of others. Spend a Hope to read the vague surface thoughts of a target within Far range. Make a Spellcast Roll against the target to delve for deeper, more hidden thoughts.
On a roll with Fear, the target might, at the GM's discretion, become aware that you're reading their thoughts.
Words of Discord
Whisper words of discord to an adversary within Melee range and make a Spellcast Roll (13). On a success, the target must mark a Stress and make an attack against another adversary instead of against you or your allies.
Once this attack is over, the target realizes what happened. The next time you cast Words of Discord on them, gain a -5 penalty to the Spellcast Roll.
Level 6
Banish
Make a Spellcast Roll against a target within Close range. On a success, roll a number of d20s equal to your Spellcast trait. The target must make a reaction roll with a Difficulty equal to your highest result. On a success, the target must mark a Stress but isn't banished. Once per rest on a failure, they are banished from this realm.
When the PCs roll with Fear, the Difficulty gains a -1 penalty and the target makes another reaction roll. On a success, they return from banishment.
Sigil of Retribution
Mark an adversary within Close range with a sigil of retribution. The GM gains a Fear. When the marked adversary deals damage to you or your allies, place a d8 on this card. You can hold a number of d8s equal to your level. When you successfully attack the marked adversary, roll the dice on this card and add the total to your damage roll, then clear the dice. This effect ends when the marked adversary is defeated or you cast Sigil of Retribution again.
Never Upstaged
When you mark 1 or more Hit Points from an attack, you can mark a Stress to place a number of tokens equal to the number of Hit Points you marked on this card. On your next successful attack, gain a +5 bonus to your damage roll for each token on this card, then clear all tokens.
Share the Burden
Once per rest, take on the Stress from a willing creature within Melee range. The target describes what intimate knowledge or emotions telepathically leak from their mind in this moment between you. Transfer any number of their marked Stress to you, then gain a Hope for each Stress transferred.
Level 7
Book of Homet
Codex-Touched
When 4 or more of the domain cards in your loadout are from the Codex domain, gain the following benefits:
• You can mark a Stress to add your Proficiency to a Spellcast Roll.
• Once per rest, replace this card with any card from your vault without paying its Recall Cost.
Endless Charisma
After you make an action roll to persuade, lie, or garner favor, you can spend a Hope to reroll the Hope or Fear Die.
Grace-Touched
When 4 or more of the domain cards in your loadout are from the Grace domain, gain the following benefits:
• You can mark an Armor Slot instead of marking a Stress.
• When you would force a target to mark a number of Hit Points, you can choose instead to force them to mark that number of Stress.
Level 8
Book of Vyola
Safe Haven
When you have a few minutes of calm to focus, you can spend 2 Hope to summon your Safe Haven, a large interdimensional home where you and your allies can take shelter. When you do, a magical door appears somewhere within Close range. Only creatures of your choice can enter. Once inside, you can make the entrance invisible. You and anyone else inside can always exit. Once you leave, the doorway must be summoned again.
When you take a rest within your own Safe Haven, you can choose an additional downtime move.
Astral Projection
Once per long rest, mark a Stress to create a projected copy of yourself that can appear anywhere you've been before.
You can see and hear through the projection as though it were you and affect the world as though you were there. A creature investigating the projection can tell it's of magical origin. This effect lasts until your next rest or your projection takes any damage.
Mass Enrapture
Make a Spellcast Roll against all targets within Far range. Targets you succeed against become temporarily Enraptured. While Enraptured, a target's attention is fixed on you, narrowing their field of view and drowning out any sound but your voice. Mark a Stress to force all Enraptured targets to mark a Stress, ending this spell.
Level 9
Book of Ronin
Disintegration Wave
Make a Spellcast Roll (18). Once per long rest on a success, the GM tells you which adversaries within Far range have a Difficulty of 18 or lower. Mark a Stress for each one you wish to hit with this spell. They are killed and can't come back to life by any means.
Copycat
Once per long rest, this card can mimic the features of another domain card of level 8 or lower in another player's loadout. Spend Hope equal to half the card's level to gain access to the feature. It lasts until your next rest or they place the card in their vault.
Master of the Craft
Gain a permanent +2 bonus to two of your Experiences or a permanent +3 bonus to one of your Experiences. Then place this card in your vault permanently.
Level 10
Book of Yarrow
Transcendent Union
Once per long rest, spend 5 Hope to cast this spell on two or more willing creatures. Until your next rest, when a creature connected by this union would mark Stress or Hit Points, the connected creatures can choose who marks it.
Encore
When an ally within Close range deals damage to an adversary, you can make a Spellcast Roll against that same target. On a success, you deal the same damage to the target that your ally dealt. If your Spellcast Roll succeeds with Fear, place this card in your vault.
Notorious
People know who you are and what you've done, and they treat you differently because of it. When you leverage your notoriety to get what you want, you can mark a Stress before you roll to gain a +10 bonus to the result. Your food and drinks are always free wherever you go, and everything else you buy is reduced in price by one bag of gold (to a minimum of one handful).
This card doesn't count against your loadout's domain card maximum of 5 and can't be placed in your vault.