Seeking to captivate friend and foe alike with magic and melody? The Bard might just be the perfect class for you in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur's Gate 3. Seamlessly weaving their spells into beautiful tales and melodies, bards are fu🍰ll-casters who spend their time on the field inspiring allies and hindering enemies with their enchanting performances.

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Unlike offensive-focused spellcasters like the Evocation Wizard, Bards instead excel at supporting their party, skillfully steering the flow of battle with buffs and crowd control. With an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Bards truly shine as the jack of all trades; and whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned player, the Bard boasts a versatile magical prowess that few can match.

Updated November 18, 2023, by Sean Murray: Baldur's Gate 3 has exited early access and brought forward the College of Swords subclass, as well as a whole bunch more levels to play with. We've updated this guide with College of Swords and every feature Bards get from level 5 to level 12.

Bards: An Overview

bg3 volo convo

You know, music is more than a fancy—it is power. Through study and adventure, you have maꦜstered song, speech, and the magic within.

The Bard is a controller and healer support class that brings together the power of magic, eloquence, and flourish to talk (or sing!) their way through any situation. Whether your bard is an entertainer, wordsmith, or socialite, they're likely to excel in skills that rely on Charisma.

Bard Level

Proficiency Bonus

Cantrips Known

Spells Known

Spell Slots per Spell Level

Features

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

1

+2

2

4

2

-

-

-

-

-

  • Bardic Inspiration
  • Instrument Proficiency

2

+2

2

5

3

-

-

-

-

-

  • Jack of All Trades
  • Song of Rest

3

+2

2

6

4

2

-

-

-

-

  • Bard College (Subclass)
  • Expertise (2 Skills)

4

+2

3

7

4

3

-

-

-

-

  • Ability Improvement OR Feat

5

+3

3

8

4

3

2

-

-

-

  • Font of Inspiration
  • Improved Bardic Inspiration

6

+3

3

9

4

3

3

-

-

-

  • Countercharm
  • Subclass Feature

7

+3

3

10

4

3

3

1

-

-

-

8

+3

3

11

4

3

3

2

-

-

  • Ability Improvement OR Feat

9

+4

3

12

4

3

3

3

1

-

-

10

+4

4

13

4

3

3

3

2

-

  • Expertise
  • Improved Bardic Inspiration
  • Magical Secrets

11

+4

4

14

4

3

3

3

2

1

-

12

+4

4

15

4

3

3

3

2

1

  • Ability Improvement OR Feat

Bards outshine nearly every class in terms of utility, rivaled only by the Rogue in skill proficiencies and expertise. Naturally, Bards stand out the most in social situations, and have a high chance at succeeding when lying to get into goblin camps, dissuading heated Tieflings from fighting, or embellishing about dragons to famous authors.

Baldur's Gate 3 - Volo inquires about the "dragon" at the goblin raid

Though they can hold their own on the battlefield with some careful positioning, Bards are generally squishy casters without much mobility. As such, they thrive best in the back line, hiding behind several l๊ayers of bodies and shie✃lds.

When protected from harm (and from concentration checks), Bards are capable of turning the tides of battle with their vast repertoire of Enchantment Spells for crowd control, while at the same time giving the party game-changing boosts with their unique Bardic Inspiration feature.

Bards are an extremely versatile class. Some Bard subclasses (such as the College of Valor) offer Bards enough survivability and martial proficiency to excel on the front line.

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Starting Out As A Bard

Baldur's Gate 3 - A bard player tries to talk Aradin and Zevlor down from fighting

Ability Scores

Bards heavily rely on Charisma as their primary spellcasting ability. They also benefit from Dexterity and Constitution for increased durability.

Though Strength, Wisdom, and Intelligence have less influence on mechanical benefits, they still impact skill checks and carrying capacity, making them worth considering for a well-r൩ounded Bard.

Skills Proficiencies

Bards get a higher-than-average number of proficiencies, starting the game with three skill proficiencies instead of the usual two.

More importantly, however, while most characters only get proficiencies related to their class, Bards have the entire list of skills to choose from when selecting proficiencies. This means your Bard can easily fill in any skill-based gaps that the party might be missing.

Saving Throw Proficiencies

Dexterity, Charisma

Skill Proficiencies

Choose three from any skill: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Religion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth or Surviva꧑l.

Equipment Proficiencies

Light Armor, Simp𝕴le Weapons, Hand Crossbow, Longsword, Rapier, Shortsword, Musical Instrument

Hit Dice

1d8

Starting Equipment

Simple Jerkin (11AC + DEX Modifier), Leather Boots, 1x Starting Instrument, 1x Rapier, 1x Hand Cros𝓡sbow, 2x Potion of Healing, 1x Scroll of Revivify, 1x Supply Pack

Starting Instruments

Choose one from Hand Drum, Flute, Lute, Lyre, or Vio🍎lin

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The only man th✨at can mend more than a broken heart.

Class Features

Baldur's Gate 3 - A drow bard serenades Astarion

In this section, we'll go over each Bard class feature, what they mean, and how to effectively use them.

Bardic Inspiration (Level 1)

Bardic Inspiration

Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action

Range: 60ft

Replenishes On: Long Rest / Short Rest (After Level 5)

  • Inspire an ally to go beyond their capabilities with your performance.
  • They can add a +1d6 bonus to their next Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw.

The bread and butter of the Bard class is their Bardic Inspiration feature, which allows your allies to add an extra 1d6 dice roll onto any Ability Checks, Saving Throws, and Attack Rolls that they make. This dice increases with the Bard's level, to a 1d8 at level 5, and 1d10 at level 10. Certain subclasses can also enhance the Bardic Inspiration dice to have different additional effects.

A well-timed Bardic Inspiration can completely change the outcomes of close rolls, for example: nudging your ally's Wisdom saving throw just enough to pass a hag's Hold Person, or making sure a Guiding Bolt nails the enemy where it would have narrowly missed.

That being said, they only replenish on a Long Rest (until you obtain the Font of Inspiration feature at Level 5 Bard), and so while it can be tempting to give them out like candy, make sure to conserve one or two charges of Bardic Inspiration

Bardic Inspiration should not be confused with Inspiration, which is a resource gained when a character rolepla🦩ys true to their charact♓er traits, personality or flaws.

Jack of All Trades (Level 2)

Jack of All Trades

  • Your vast experiences make you more likely to succeed in any undertaking.
  • Add half of your Proficiency Bonus (rounded down) to Ability checks that you are not Proficient in.

Though not as glamorous as some class features, Jack of All Trades is an excellent feature that applies a significant bonus to every single non-Proficient Ability check you'll ever make again. As your Proficiency bonus grows with your class levels, this will quickly add up and provide a very solid boost to your Ability checks.

Note that due to the wording of this feature, it will also apply to Initiative Rolls at the start of combat and Counterspell / Dispel Magic rolls!

Song of Rest (Level 2)

Song of Rest

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: N/A

Replenishes On: Long Rest

  • Use your craft to soothe. You and your allies are revitalized as though you would have taken a Short Rest.

A free Short Rest can mean the difference between life and death when you're knee-deep inside the Shattered Sanctum, fighting off swathes of angry goblins. This feature can be particularly valuable in replenishing party resources, especially for ꦏclasseไs like Warlocks and Fighters that heavily rely on short rests.

Though Song of Rest is useful in helping your party avoid Long Rests, as of Early Access, Long Rests are often significant milestones that advance the narrative and can have lasting consequences for your adventure. In earlier sections of the story, it may be beneficial to take Long Rests more frequently to progress story beats.

Expertise (Level 3, Level 10)

Expertise

  • Choose two of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.

This is a rather self-explanatory feature: you get a bigger number to add to your rolls. Awesome! This is especially fantastic due to the Bard's massive selection of skills. You ga𒀰in thi🅺s feature at both level 3 and level 10.

Font of Inspiration (Level 5)

Font of Inspiration

  • You regain all your Bardic Inspiration after a short or long rest.

Given the limit of two Short Rests per Long Rest, this means that you'll be able to use your Bardic Inspiration dice three times as often—that's 6d8 worth of dice that you're adding to your allies' rolls (or subtracting from your enemies' rolls, if you're a Lore Bard)

Countercharm (Level 6)

Countercharm

Casting Time: 1 Reaction

Range: 30ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • You provide advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened to yourself or any ally within range.

Charms can be deadly in🌺 combat situations. Countercharm keeps your Barbarian from becom🐭ing an enemy.

Magical Secrets (Level 10)

Magical Secrets

  • You learn two non-Bard spells from the Magical Secrets list.

The Magical Secrets list includes the following spells:

Cantrips

Bone Chill, Eldritch Blast, Fire Bolt, Ra🐠y of F🍬rost, Sacred Flame

Level 1 Spells

Armour of Agathys, Bless, Chromatic Orb, Command, Entangle, False Life, Guiding Bolt, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Hunter's Mark, Ice Knife, Magic Missile, Sanctuary, Thunderous Smite

Level 2 Spells

Arcane Lock, Blur, Darkness, Darkvision, Misty Step, Pass Without Trace, Ray of Enf🍬eeblement, Scorching Ray, Spike Growth, S♐piritual Weapon, Web

Level 3 Spells

Animate Dead, Call Lightning, Counterspell, Crusader's Mantle, Daylight, Fireball, Gaseous Form, Grant Flight, Haste, Hunger of Hadar, Lightning Bolt, Mass Healing Word, Remove Curse, Revivify, Sleet Storm, Slow, Spirit Guardians, Vampiric Touch, Warden of Vitality

Level 4 Spells

Banishment, Blight, Death Ward, Dominate Beast, Fire Shield, Gꦗuardian of Faith, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire

Level 5 Spells

Banishing Smite, Cone of Cold, Conjure Elemental, Contagion, Wal📖l of Stone

College of Lore Bards gain this feature again at level 6, but can only select♚ two spells of leveওl 3 or lower.

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Bard Colleges (Subclasses)

College of Lore

bg3 lore bard

You pursue beauty and truth, collecting knowledge from scholarly tomes to peasants' tales, and use your gifts to hold both audiences and enemies spellbound.

Bards of the College of Lore collect secrets and knowledge, using their rhetorical gifts to captivate audiences with stories🐓 and composition.

This subclass builds upon the Bard's solid foundations in support and utility, providing even more proficiencies and enhancing your Bardic Inspirations to be used defensively through the Cutting Words feature. College of Lore Bards also receives an additional instance of Magical Secrets, providing them with access to most spel🗹ls in thꦆe game.

Cutting Words (Level 3, College of Lore)

Bardic Inspiration

Casting Time: 1 Reaction

Range: 60ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Use your wit to distract a creature and sap its confidence.
  • It receives a 1d6 penalty to Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws*.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Cutting Words penalty increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Cutting Words penalty increases to +1d10.

The trusty "oh no, you don't!" feature of Bards, Cutting Words costs one Bardic Inspiration charge to use and can be used to ensure that when your enemy succeeds, they... don't. Cutting Words can be used to prevent an enemy's attack roll from finding its mark--or make sure that your saving-throw spell definitely does.

When toggled on in your Reactions menu:

Baldur's Gate 3 - Cutting Words toggled on in the Reactions menu

Cutting Words will automatically prompt you when any nearby enemy makes a contesting Attack Roll or Saving Throw, allowing you to choose whether or not to use Cutting Words.

Baldur's Gate 3 - Player being prompted to use Cutting Word against an attacking Intellect Devourer

Magical Secrets (Level 6, College of Lore)

You learn two non-Bard spells from the Magical Secrets list, so long as they're level 3 or lower.

At level 10, every Bard subclass can learn two spells from the Magical Se🔯crets list regardless of spell level🌃.

College of Valorbg3 valor bard

You wander the land to witness and relate the deeds of the mighty, keeping alive 🌜the memory of heroes of the past and inspiring heroes of the future.

Bards of the College of Valor are courageous skalds who use their tales to honor past heroes and inspire others to achieve greatness akin to the legendary heroes of the past.

This subclass adds a great deal of survivability and melee capability to Bards by giving them Medium Armor Proficiency, Shield Proficiency, and Martial Weapon Proficiency, as well as enhancing your Bardic Inspirations to be used offensively through the Combat Inspiration feature. They also receive an additional attack.

Combat Proficiency (Level 3, College of Valor)

Combat Inspiration

Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action

Range: 60ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Inspire an ally with your valor to go above and beyond their capabilities.
  • They can add a +1d6 bonus to their next Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw.
  • They can also choose to add a +1d6 bonus to the damage their next weapon attack deals, or to their Armor Class for one attack.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d10.

Though it may be tempting, adding Bardic Inspiration to Damage Rolls is less worthwhile than ensuring an Attack Roll hits or an enemy's attack misses. The Armor Class addition, however, is very useful to have and can mean the difference between life and death when fighting particularly tough opponents.

Extra Attack (Level 6, College of Valor)

You make one additional attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack.

This extra attack comes a level later than martial classes such as the Barbarian, Fighter𒊎, Monk, or Paladin.

College of Swords

College of Swords Bard Baldur's Gate 3

Bards of the College of Swords entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are also highly trained and skilled warriors in their own right🧸.

Bards of this college, known as blades, impress audiences with their weapon prowess through acts like sword swallowing and knife throwing. While entertaining, they are also highly skilled warriors, leading dual lives with hidden talents.

This subclass focuses fully on swordsmanship, providing proficiency in Medium Armour and Scimitars as well as the Blade Flourish ability. They also learn two Fighting Styles that further improve their martial prowess.

Blade Flourish (Level 3, College of Swords)

Defensive Flourish (Melee)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: Normal weapon range

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Attack defensively, increasing your Armour Class by 4 if you hit.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the damage bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the damage bonus increases to +1d10.

Defensive Flourish (Range)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: 60ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Attack defensively, increasing your Armour Class by 4 if you hit.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the damage bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the damage bonus increases to +1d10.

Slashing Flourish (Melee)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: Normal weapon range

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Attack up to two enemies at once in a 6.5ft cone.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d10.

Slashing Flourish (Range)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: 60ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Attack two enemies once, or a single enemy twice.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d10.

Mobile Flourish (Melee)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: Normal weapon range

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Thrust your weapon with enough force to push your target back up to 20ft.
  • You may teleport to the target after a successful strike.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d10.

Mobile Flourish (Melee)

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: 60ft

Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration

  • Thrust your weapon with enough force to push your target back up to 20ft.
  • You may teleport to the target after a successful strike.
  • Adds a +1d6 bonus to the damage this weapon attack deals.
  • At Bard Level 5, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d8.
  • At Bard Level 10, the Combat Inspiration bonus increases to +1d10.

You must be wielding a melee weapon to use any of the melee flourishes, or a ranged weapon to use the ranged flourishes.

Fighting Style (Level 3, College of Swords)

You may choose one of the following fighting styles.

Dueling

Gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls while wielding a melee weapon that is not two-handed or versatile in one hꦍand and no other weapon𓄧 or shield in the other hand.

Two-weapon Fighting

Your off-💝hand attacks add your ability score modifier to their damage. You must be wielding a weapon꧋ in each hand.

Extra Attack (Level 6, College of Valor)

You make one additional attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack.

This extra attack comes a level later than martial classes such as the Barbarian, Fighter, M💮onk, or Paladin.

Bard Companions

Brinna Brightsong Baldur's Gate 3

Currently, Baldur's Gate 3 does not feature a confirmed Bard companion. However, Brinna Brightsong is available as a hireling for just 100 gold.

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