The Bard class hasn't always been everyone's favorite. Trying to describe exactly what this class does or what role they play in your party can be humorous, even embarrassing. Those days are gone now that the Bard class, or a close variation, has become a regular fixture in virtually all table-top and MMO games. They are a spellcasting class, and thanks to their high charisma and acting skills, they are often the leader of their party or the person that acts as a representative in social situations.
Bards are fun in , but even the best Bards may want to branch out. Multiclassing a Bard can be a great way for them to do a little more than trying to seduce every dragon they come across. However, ꦯnot every D&D Bard multiclass works the same way. Here’s a guide on how to multiclass as a Bard.
Updated August 16, 2021 by Kristy Ambrose: The Bard has come into its own as a class in D&D, especially with the addition of a few new subclasses, Feats, and other features that you can use to customize your character. The Bard has also risen as an ideal multiclass option, with the most important ability score being Charisma, which it shares with other spellcasting and melee classes. Dexterity is a close second, which is important for movement and swordplay. Depending on the other abilities your Bard has, you can blend them with any class and build the ultimate combo character.
Artificer
- Source: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
- Main Benefits: Can craft equipment to improve AC and will also give your Bard extra spellcasting abilities.
- Primary Ability Score: Intelligence
- Ideal Race: Tiefling, Elf, Human
Even at low levels, the Artificer has a number of spells and abilitie🍎s that mesh well within the Bard’s area of expertise. While you don’t have a lot of uses for low-level infusions, you’re a support class, which means you’re helping fulfill your role if you can make your party's Fighter a sword with a bonus to damage. The only issue is that all the abilities run on Intelligence, which isn't common for Bards, but your own personal ability scores will make that determination.
Barbarian
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Extra combat and attack abilities that are useful for both melee and defense.
- Primary Ability Score: Strength
- Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Human, Half-Elf
This is an interesting choice for Bards from the College of Swords or the College of Valor since Rage can be useful if you’re planning to attack a lot. That being said, you can’t cast spells while raging, and your spellcasting will be often more useful than your attacks. This is where your choice of a Barbaria🐲n subclass can come in, with Paths like Wild Magic and Totem Warrior filling in the gaps.
Cleric
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Offers a variety of subclasses and spells that can be used to build a defender, a healer, or a damage dealer.
- Primary Ability Score: Wisdom
- Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Kalashtar, Human
Clerics gain a lo🉐t of useful abilities based on their subclass with only a very small investment. Subclasses that give proficiency in heavy armor are especially good if you want to boost your defense. Life Domain is especially notable for boosting your healing spells. Additionally, multiclassing a Bard into just one level gives you knowledge of the enti𓂃re Cleric spell list.
You can only prepare a few Cleric spells every day, but at higher levels, being able to prepare a few high-level Cleric spells is potentially game-changing. The Cleric spell list is very useful for a support role if you're multiclassing a Bard to be a healer.
Druid
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: The Druid spell list along with more crowd control abilities.
- Primary Ability Scores: Wisdom
- Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Changeling, Kalashtar
Multiclassing a Bard with a Druid gives your character access to their entire spell list after only one level. Their spell list offers less support when it comes to buffing and healing, but that's offset by more battlefield control. It's useful to multiclass a Bard into a Druid if you want to provide your party with that type of utility. It might also be useful if you want your Bard to experience the thrill of close combat and have chosen a subclass like the College of Swords. However, bear in mind that Druid spells use Wisdom, so they might not work as well depending on your Bard's score.
Fighter
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Extra armor and defense abilities along with a Martial Archetype, depending on how many levels you take.
- Primary Ability Score: Strength or Dexterity
- Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Elf, Human
One of the few classes that is more versatile and customizable than ꦬthe Bard ꦚis the Fighter. Humans, the only race that can dual-class, often take a level or two of fighter just for the extra weapon and defense abilities. A level in Fighter offers Fighting Style options and a bonus in Defense, which is ﷽nice, espe𓆉cially on top of greater armor proficiencies.
Action Surge is good for spellcasters that want to cast more than one spell a turn. Bards don’t have a whole lot of options that drastically benefit from this in the way that, say, a Sorcerer would. Mostly this multiclass is good for Bards who want better defense but don’t want to 🍨take a martial-focused Bard subclass.
Monk
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Unarmored Movement, useful for melee or ranged Bard multiclass builds.
- Primary Ability Scores: Wisdom and Dexterity
- Ideal Race: Human, Aarakocra, Kenku
Not a lot mixes well here at first glance, but if you have a high Dexterity score, don't plan on getting into melee combat, or don't care about your armor class, then multiclassing your Bard with a Monk will make more sense. Your AC as a Bard will likely be better than the Monk's Unarmored Defense anyways. You could use a Monk weapon to get the bonus action unarmed strike, but Bards have better uses for a bonus action.
Paladin
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Extra armor proficiencies, access to all paladin spells, and Divine Smite.
- Primary Ability Scores: Charisma and Strength
- Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Triton, Human
Paladins work great with Bards in part because they share one primary ability score, Charisma. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:🉐All Paladin spells work well for Bards, but you can prepare any that you have spell slots for, so you should have a good half-dozen pe🔯r day with a decent Charisma score. Using Smites is great for melee Bards because they deal damage based on the spell slots you spend on them, and Bards have more spell slots than Paladins.
Several of the features in the Paladin subclass Channel Divinity are also good for Bards, so don't forget that the Sacred Oath your Paladin chooses might also affect your Bard side. Sacred Oaths introduce some roleplaying restrictions, so don’t just take them for the benefits if you aren’t willing to follow the rules they set up.
Ranger
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Extra armor and defense abilities along with a Fighting Style, depending on how many levels you take, plus an additional skill proficiency.
- Primary Ability Scores: Dexterity and Wisdom
- Ideal Race: Human, Aarakocra, Kenku
Rangers aren't a popular choice for multiclassing. Their abilities are too similar to that of the Fighter initially, although depending on your build, an extra proficiency, and specific choice for a subclass, a Ranger might make more sense.
A lot of Ranger spells have a utility that Bards can use, especially those that want 🦄to specialize in defense and ranged damage. However, you’ll only get a few🌞 of them with a low-level investment. If you want to play a tracker, a single level can be useful.
Rogue
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Expertise, a skill normally reserved only for the Rogue class.
- Primary Ability Score: Dexterity
- Ideal Race:
Bards and Rogues go great together partly because they both sꦫhare a Dexterity saving throw. Take a 🅺level of Rogue for a second Expertise, making you really good at an obscene number of skills. Cunning Action can help you avoid enemies who get too close to you, and can greatly aid a Bard who wants to focus on stealth in combat.
If you want to take three levels in Rogue, Arcane Trickster is worth it for the fancy mage hand alone and Scout gives profiꦯciency and basically Expertise in two more skills. Sneak Attack won’t do much but think of it as a sometimes-bonus on top of a lot of other useful skills.
Sorcerer
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Metamagic, a Sorcerous Origin, and access to a variety of Sorcerer's subclasses.
- Primary Ability Score: Charisma
- Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Tiefling, Satyr
Sorcerers get two unique things at low levels, a Sorcerous Origin and Metamagic. Of the subclasses, Divine Soul, will help you with saving throws since you can&rsqu෴o;t give Bardic Inspiration to yourself. Shadow Magic is handy for Darkvision for those who don’t have it and a way to keep alive, and Wild Magic is generally flavorful.
Taking three levels to get Metamagic can be good, especially since you won’t lag behind in spell slots for this multiclass. Extended Spell is especially good for bards who want to boost the length of buffs (especially out of combat). The sorcerer spell list uses C๊harisma as well, so pick a few blasting cantrips that can be used in a pinch.
Warlock
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: A choice of subclass abilities at level one.
- Primary Ability Score: Charisma
- Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Tiefling, Satyr
Warlocks get a cool sub𓃲class ability at 🍬1st level as well. The Ar💃chfey is a great patron for a lot of Bards, and The Hexblade is amazing for multic♛lass Bards that are focused on melee. You also get the best blasting cantrip in the game, which is something that Bards lack.
Plenty of Eldritch Invocations are good for Bards, and plenty of warlock spells are great at changing the course of a single battle. However, while Warlocks also cast using Charisma, Pact Magic is cou🦹nted separately from normal spellcasting, so your Bard spell slots will lag the more Warlock levels you take.
Wizard
- Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Main Benefits: Access to the Wizard's vast choice of spells.
- Primary Ability Score: Intelligence
- Ideal Race: Human, Half-Elf, Yuan-ti Pureblood
Wizards gain most of their utility from their wide variety of spells, and Bards (especially College of Lore bards) can gain spells from any college. It's one way to widen your spell library, and the exact benefits will depend on your build. Intelligence isn't always an important ability for Bards. Gaining spells from multiclassing a Bard a level or two into Wizard, and maybe taking the Ritual Caster feat, is one way to build a powerful caster.