Bard

Written by Mystic.m

Description

In Thuria, it is common to find a performer or two within a local tavern, though true bards are as easily found. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent wandering across the land gathering lore, telling stories, and living on the gratitude of audiences, much like any other entertainer. But a depth of knowledge, a level of musical skill, and a touch of magic set bards apart from their fellows.
Only rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural desire to travel—to find new tales to tell, new skills to learn, and new discoveries beyond the horizon—makes an adventuring career a natural calling. Every adventure is an opportunity to learn, practice a variety of skills, enter long-forgotten tombs, discover lost works of magic, decipher old tomes, travel to strange places, or encounter exotic creatures. Bards love to accompany heroes to witness their deeds firsthand. A bard who can tell an awe-inspiring story from personal experience earns renown among their peers. Indeed, after telling so many stories about heroes accomplishing mighty deeds, many bards take these themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves.
As a bard, you will take on a support role with quick blade work and magical auras that will benefit you and your adventuring party. Survive, and live to tell the tales of your grand adventures in Thuria!

A Closer Look At Bards

A human man sings in a grand mead hall of a heroic tale, fingers strumming his lute as he regales the audience with his story. A wound shows fresh on his cheek, adding depth to the encounter that he shared from memory.

The campfire illuminated a weary party, the bleak atmosphere broken by the song of a half-elf's flute. The tune seemed to inspire the downtrodden adventurers, bringing life back to their faces as they prepared to continue on with their daring quest.

With a nimble roll, a halfling dodged the swing of an orc's axe. Once out of his range, she dazed him with a well-timed cantrip, readying her light blades to take advantage of his stupor.
Bards were versatile arcane spellcasters, capable in combat, art, and magic alike. Bards practiced magic as they would art or song, using their artistic talents to induce magical effects that either bolstered their allies or hindered their enemies, typically through charms and illusions. In addition to their magical skills, bards were artistically talented and extraordinarily well-learned, possessing knowledge in a wide range of fields. Bards were among the most versatile of adventurers, capable of learning from practically any trade.

Culture

Both literally and figuratively enchanting, bards drew upon, more than perhaps any other profession, the works of all who'd come before them. Storytellers, musicians, enchanters, dancers, and lore keepers, bards were prone to wanderlust, traveling from one place to another in search of new lore or perhaps in the hopes of spreading what they already knew. Some came into the services of others as ambassadors or spies, but most bards preferred the freedom of mobility and living by one's whims, though this was not without exception and most bards acquired their skills as a result of training under previous bards, drawing upon ancient traditions of lore and arcane magic.
Bards had a reputation for being joyful and inspiring, though as with every skill their ability to charm and inspire had a darker side. Evil bards were manipulative and cunning, twisting the hearts of others either through magic or sheer charisma. Most bards, though, regardless of their individual morals, held a strong distaste for blatant violence, at least when it could be avoided. To a bard the joys of life were in seeking knowledge or, better yet, witnessing the discovery of such knowledge firsthand. For this reason, many bards were drawn to the adventuring lifestyle, hoping to witness the weaving of new tales firsthand - or perhaps even to instigate them.
The most common bards were humans and elves, as well as half-elves to a lesser extent, the latter two drawing upon the ancient magical and musical traditions of the elves to their benefit. On the other hand, few half-orcs, orcs, or goblinoids became bards, their ancient traditions less befitting the bard's lifestyle. Nor, for that matter, were dwarven, except for gold dwarves, though halfling and gnomish bards were. Of all the races, half-elves, with their unusual combination of endurance and charm, were considered to have the best natural capability for a bard's lifestyle, though gnomes and Tieflings also made excellent bards.
Bards typically got along well with non-bards, in no small part due to their versatility and charm. In parties of adventurers, most bards served as spokesmen of sorts, due to their affinity for social interaction and skill at enchantment. Bards clashed with few people, having a little bit of something to offer just about anyone.
Bards were drawn most often to the worship of gods of magic, such as Corellon, Selûne, or others.

Abilities

Bards were among the most versatile of adventurers. While not necessarily as tough as a fighter, as skilled as a rogue, or as intelligent as a wizard, bards were widely capable in a number of different situations and were widely recognized as a sort of "jack-of-all-trades." For instance, bards were better trained in weaponry than all other arcane spellcasters (including sword mages) trained in the use of all simple weapons, longswords, rapiers, shortswords, and hand crossbows. Additionally, some bards exhibited proficiency in scimitars and martial ranged weapons as well. Similarly, bards were naturally knowledgeable and had an uncanny ability for improvisation and trying new things. But unlike fighters or rogues, who might be similarly proficient, bards were capable of casting rituals and spells, including those normally only used by other spellcasters.
Bards of all kinds learned to inspire virtue and ability in those around them. Exactly how frequently a bard could do this depended partially upon their strength of personality as well as their level of experience. Some bards used their inspirational power to boost their allies' cunning or reflexes, while others inspired and furthered the courage and valor in those with whom they fought. In addition to this, experienced bards could also counteract the effects of spells designed to charm or frighten, providing magical aid to their allies. Similarly, bards, through their music and arts, could soothe the nerves of their allies and, through their magic, heal their wounds and bolster their spirits, either at rest or in combat.
Bards were, as a general rule, uncannily skilled advocates and diplomats. For many bards, this was a result of their typically high charisma but some bards - including those who were less charming - could boost their persuasive power through magic. They did this by actually enchanting the very words they speak, making them sound even more persuasive and compelling than they would normally.
Like other spellcasters, bards usually used implements to increase the effectiveness of their spells or to substitute for their material cost. Some bards used wands for this purpose, wielding them like a conductor's baton. Others use more specialized implements such as long blades. Most however used a musical instrument, enchanted or mundane, focusing their magic through music. Many bards particularly treasured this latter method and believed their music tapped into the Words of Creation themselves, sprinkling song and story with echoes of the universe's beginnings.

Bard Colleges

Eager to learn and often fond of company, most bards organized themselves into loosely bound fellowships known as colleges, which helped to preserve each bard's individual knowledge and pass them on to others. Some of the most common colleges are listed below.

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 the state, where they can expose corruption, unravel lies, and poke fun at self-important figures of authority.

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.

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, abusing their magic to turn their hosts into thralls. Heroic bards of this college instead use this power to gladden the downtrodden and undermine oppressors.

COLLEGE OF SPIRITS

Bards of the College of Spirits seek tales with inherent power-be legends, histories, or fictions-and bring their subjects to life. Using occult trappings, these bards conjure spiritual embodiments of powerful forces to change the world once more. Such spirits are capricious, though, and what a bard summons isn't always entirely under their control.

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 any other bard, 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 the bards’ reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason, these bards rarely reveal their true nature unless they must. They typically claim to follow some other college, or keep their true nature secret in order to better infiltrate and exploit royal courts and other settings of power.

Bard