Bard Class Guide for Dungeons and Dragons 5e

What musicians do you think would be great inspiration for a bard character?

The big issue is that spending spells on social situations feels useless when you already have crazy modifiers and the DM can just spring combat on you. Bard is definitely one of the strongest classes but it requires a DM that doesn’t just hand wave non-combat and a party willing to spend time letting the bard do things.

I'm starting a new game soon, playing a halfling bard! So stoked, storytelling fits a halfling so well!

I may be wrong but Samuel. Charlie from game of thrones is technically a bard or an I crazy

I'm disappointed you guys didn't mention Orpheus for bard inspiration, he journeyed with the argonauts, battled monsters of myth and legends, could put mighty beasts to sleep with his melodies, won the favor of others with his music so much so even the gods were impressed and he could of brought people back from the dead (had he just not turned around 💀)

Pacman shirt? instant like and subscribe

Brook from One Piece

Artistic painting bard: Portrait of Dorien Grey. An ancient spell caster is kept alive by this portrait. The party might be hired to steal or destroy it. Or someone else stole but was killed. Oddly, the portrait was never found. For 100 years in has hung on the wall of a cheap inn in the Shire. No one would look at the place twice. The spell caster still rules the land with cruelty. The Hobbit innkeeper gets married. The new wife hates the ugly portrait. She takes it outside to the Inns burn pile. It burns, the spell caster dies. Nobody understands what happened. What other effects could such a portrait have if done by a skillful bard?

What about a tattoo artist? A bard in search of ancient pictographical languages with a lot of symbolism? Could you use your wisdom and charisma for that?

Simple weapons don’t fit the bard, something with a high degree of technique and finesse and complexity is more to the character of musical expression.

Bards are the jack of all trades. Then the beholder comes in and wala.

5 years late to the party but Sai from Naruto is a great example of a bard

Death dirge bard, pestilence vermin piper?

I DM for a group and my sister in law plays a collage of lore bard who is a painter. She did art school irl and every session she takes a few sketches of things I describe then comes to the next session with a cool lil art piece to show everyone. Really adds to her character and feels good as a DM since our setting is my home brew 😊
I also play a College of Glamour Satyr Bard in a friend's campaign and play him as this fayish creature that just wants to entertain and make friends. He's so fun to role play!

The episode title is probably better, but I feel a chance was missed to name this "Build-a-Bard Workshop"

Can you flavor it so that the bard gets their power from less conventional arts. Like culinary arts. Like they can make a sandwich so perfect that it causes magic shit to happen?

Have been playing D&D since the late 70s. Recent jump to 5e, and have definitely settled on valor bard as favorite class. Currently have 4 valor bards and one BM fighter in the 5 campaigns I play. Yes, kinda redundant, but bard #3 and 4 are in blue moon alt campaigns that get maybe a session or two a year.

Bard #1 & 2: Twin 1/2 elf sisters. One is very good at singing, but uses minor illusion cantrip to hide how badly she sucks on any instrument (lazy and wont practice). Other great at musical instruments, and uses minor illusion cantrip for "loops" so she can create multi instrument performances. Think Luca Stricagnoli, she will do a percussive thing on her lute to sell the illusion, then switch to playing the melody as an example. She has great plans of what she will be able to create at level 11 when she can pick up the programmed illusion spell. Permanent 5 minute "program" with the intro notes as the trigger??? Weeeeeeeee! Give it half a year and she will have her lute loaded up with a full illusory backing band + illusory dance troupe choreography + special lighting effects for every song she knows.

These twins are in two different campaigns that overlap. Yes, they became twins because I fell in love and wanted to play this bard in both campaigns. 🤣

Bard #3: 1/2 elf male. Bad case of 1/2 elf self loathing. Mom had a rough life after being seduced by his father so he is not kindly disposed to elves now. He was very briefly the apprentice of a bard after his mother died. Learned BARELY enough to call bard his class before the old fart died on him in his sleep. He started his career with a beat to shit old rapier and lute and a means to scrape by in life. He can't actually play the lute (stole the idea from the twin above), and uses minor illusion to fake it. I actually have him spec'd into deception with expertise, and roll deception instead of performance when he "plays".

Bard #4: Variant human male. Major stage fright, does his best to hide that he is a bard and will NEVER perform in front of others even if found out. Full panic attack into passing out if forced to do so. Instead, he travels the land writing stories and songs in his journal. He will submit his work to the local bard colleges in major cities as a source of income, and is actually the ghost writer of a surprising number of current popular songs and stories. Variant feat was pole arm master. Level 4 feat was heavily armored. He passes as a fighter pretty easily, and prefers to keep it that way.

Pretty generous stat generation house rules, so was able to create str based melee instead of dex/finesse builds. Built as healers, so spell selection IS a challenge, but damage is done with weapons so the non healing spells can focus on utility. Have not hit 10 on any yet, but one of the twins is getting close. Magical secrets choices at 10 for her will be Branding smite (Yes, she is a paladin lyte build and that will give her some serious punch when she swings) and fireball. Level 14 magical secrets will be sunbeam (10 round laser beam + valor lvl 14 feature of bonus action attack? Weeeeeee!) and fly.

Being over the top is an anathema for me, so when I played an Eloquence Bard, I played it as a philosopher. Instead of singing or entertaining with dancing, people listened to my character because he is wise. I absolute loved it, specially his +8 Persuasion at level 4.

Another funny concept of a bard could be a comedian. One guy earning people's affection by cracking jokes, stand-up comedy style.

kvothe from name of the wind!

Between Lore Bard's
Cutting Words & the Feat; Lucky

I'm already picturing a moment
Like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Where my Character, as a Reaction to Attack Rolls, using Cutting Words & Lucky,

Going:
☝️💥
"HOLD IT!"

Or

👉💥
"OBJECTION!"

Or a Boston Legal moment;
"Objection! Denny Crane!
Undefeated!

Not Attacked!
Not Hit!
Not Damaged!

"1st name Denny! Last name Crane!"

Or a Mike Lindell:
"WAIT! I interrupt this Attack Roll!"

Or like Sean Connery on
Jeopardy, & the DM is Alex Trebek

Like the SNL Jeopardy, Will Ferrell,
As Alex Trebek

Me; Sean Connery Impression,
Reaction to Attack Roll:
"Not sho fasht, ya filthy rogue!"

Or, on my Turn:

Me; Sean Connery Impression:
"Oh, the game ish afoot now, Trebek!"

Or

"THE DAY ISH MINE!"

"Swords, for a thousand!"

Alex Trebek
(Will Ferrell)
"It's, 'S words'..."

And just bust out the Lore Bard's Cutting Words & the Lucky Feat, in Response, as my Reaction Rolls.