Dungeons and Dragons: 10 Most Useful Spells For A Bard Animal Friendship is a comprehensive list of all official Bard spells for the Fifth Edition (5e). Bards are full spellcasters with access to a solid range of spells that reach all the way up to level 9. They have access to every skill, an array of excellent spells, full casting, and a boatload of other benefits.
Bard spells borrow a lot from the Wizard and a few options from the Cleric, but with a distinct focus on support spells, illusions, and enchantments. Some of the most useful spells for bards include Tongues, Healing Word, Vicious Mockery, Power Word, Cantrips (0 level), Dancing Lights, Light Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, True Strike, Vicious Mockery, Prestidigitation, Transmutation, Thunderclap, Evocation, True Strike, Divination, Vicious Mockery, Enchantment, and more.
The first-level bard spells include Alarm, which Wards an area for 2 hours/level, Animate Rope, which makes a rope move at your command, and Cause Fear, which causes fear for one creature of 5 HD or less fleeing. Bards can learn more than classes like the sorcerer and have access to as many spell slots as spellcasters like the wizard.
In summary, playing a bard in Dungeons and Dragons offers versatility, access to every skill, an array of excellent spells, full casting, and a variety of benefits. Bard spells are essential for any type of player, regardless of their type.
📹 Our Top Magic Items for Bards in Dungeons and Dragons 5e
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Which race is good for bard?
In the Player’s Handbook, it is suggested that the Half-Elf race is the optimal choice for a DnD bard, with the Drow Elf, Satyr, and Changeling races also being considered ideal options.
Do bards use arcane or divine magic?
Dungeons and Dragons is a magical game that incorporates magic as a mechanic and gaming aspect. Classes like wizards, sorcerers, and bards use Arcane Magic, allowing them to cast spells. Even martial classes have sub or prestige classes that allow them to use magic. The game uses a two-fold magic system in its worlds and worldbuilding: Arcane and Divine. This may surprise those who have played only 5e.
What is the best bard spell?
Vicious MockeryPHB is a unique and mechanically fantastic bard spell that is a blend of Wizard and Cleric spells. It focuses on support spells, illusions, and enchantments, with a small damage debuff. Bard spells offer powerful options, including Cure Wounds and Healing Word, but lack the full range of non-hp healing options required to fully replace a cleric. They also offer cantrips, 1st-level spells, 2nd-level spells, 3rd-level spells, 4th-level spells, 5th-level spells, 6th-level spells, 7th-level spells, 8th-level spells, and 9th-level spells.
Is bard a weak class?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game where bards are primarily a support class, but they can also be powerful in combat. They can heal well and buff allies and nerf enemies, making them indispensable on the battlefield. However, bards start off weak with weak melee attacks, few damaging cantrips, and highly specific weapon proficiencies. Even basic support spells like True Strike and Bless can make a difference, especially for damage-oriented allies.
For every buff, there are equal and opposite debuffs. Vicious mockery, a cantrip, curses the target with disadvantage on their next attack. The level one spell bane gives up to three creatures penalties on all attacks and saving throws for ten turns. Other spells, like Dissonant Whispers, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, and Crown of Madness, can inflict unique status effects to take enemies out of commission. When a bard is attentive, well-supported, and properly kitted out, their opponents may not even know what hit them.
Are cantrips spells?
A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will without using a spell slot or being prepared in advance. It is fixed in the caster’s mind through repeated practice, with a spell level of 0. Rituals are spells with a special tag, which can be cast following normal spellcasting rules or as a ritual. The ritual version takes 10 minutes longer and doesn’t expend a spell slot, making it unsuitable for higher levels. To cast a spell as a ritual, a spellcaster must have a feature that allows it, such as a cleric or druid, and the spell must be prepared or known on their list.
How many spells should a bard have?
You have four 1st-level bard spells from the list, and you learn an additional spell at each level except 12th, 16th, 19th, and 20th. Each spell must be of a level with spell slots. As you gain a level, you can choose a known spell and replace it with another from the list. Your spellcasting ability, Charisma, is used when a spell refers to your spellcasting ability and when setting the saving throw DC for a bard spell you cast or making an attack roll with one.
What does a level 5 bard get?
The D and D 5E Free Basic Rules offer a limited selection of content, including races, subclasses, backgrounds, feats, items, monsters, spells, and more. Players can explore the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual for more options. Hit points are awarded at 1st level with 8 + your Constitution modifier, and at higher levels with 1d8 or 5) + your Constitution modifier. Proficiencies are based on race or background, and players are proficient with certain items.
Can bards cast any spell?
You can use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for bard spells starting at 2nd level. You can add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check without your bonus. At 2nd level, use soothing music or oration to revitalize wounded allies during a short rest. If you or friendly creatures hear your performance, they regain 1d6 hit points by spending Hit Dice at the end of the rest.
Is Bard or Sorcerer better?
Starting with a bard class is recommended due to their excellent skill proficiency options, light armor, good weapons, and three musical instruments. However, if a build heavily relies on concentration spells, sorcerers should be chosen as they gain proficiency in Constitution saves. Multiclass spellcasting works by combining spells from different classes, but the known and prepared spells don’t mix for every combination of class levels. The table “Multiclass Spellcaster” in the basic rules shows spell slots by combined levels in spellcasting classes.
Both bard and sorcerer are “full” spellcasters, so there’s no need to recalculate spell levels or caster levels. Essentially, you have the same amount of spell slots as if you were fully leveling up in either class.
Is Bard a weak class?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game where bards are primarily a support class, but they can also be powerful in combat. They can heal well and buff allies and nerf enemies, making them indispensable on the battlefield. However, bards start off weak with weak melee attacks, few damaging cantrips, and highly specific weapon proficiencies. Even basic support spells like True Strike and Bless can make a difference, especially for damage-oriented allies.
For every buff, there are equal and opposite debuffs. Vicious mockery, a cantrip, curses the target with disadvantage on their next attack. The level one spell bane gives up to three creatures penalties on all attacks and saving throws for ten turns. Other spells, like Dissonant Whispers, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, and Crown of Madness, can inflict unique status effects to take enemies out of commission. When a bard is attentive, well-supported, and properly kitted out, their opponents may not even know what hit them.
📹 Top 5 Bard Spells by Level: DnD Class Spells #2
A guide on which Bard spells to prepare at each tier of play in a Dungeons and Dragons game. Reasonable people can definitely …
Having magical items grow and “become” “different” “items” mechanically can really help build a sense of continuity and let players get attached to a favorite item without having to abandon it as the characters level. (Along with the Instruments of the Bards, it really feels like something like a Moonblade would be perfect for this — have the sword effectively act as an ordinary +1 sword to start, but then have it gain more powers as the bond with the wielder grows and deepens…it also means, since each rune corresponds to a previous user, that the history of the sword can be slowly revealed. The same thing with musical instruments would be great for a bard, especially a bard with interest in history.)
glamoured studded leather is really good for changelings because they can change what they look like (like race, height, gender) but not their clothes. the armor gives them a way of also changing their clothes. because you might now look like a elf instead of dwarf but your are still wearing the same red coat so you still might be found out.
The bard at my table actually has the Reveler’s Concertina, and she used it to horrifying effect. When the party was attacking a cambion, he got pushed into a pool of acid. Then she hit him with Otto’s Irresistible Dance, and he kept failing his saving throws. Every turn, not only was he getting range attacked, he was drowning in acid and couldn’t get himself out of the pool because he was stuck flailing around like he was trying to dance.
Yes I love the idea of the animated sword and sheild as well, since her father used to be a paladin before he died, and he gave her a rapier as a gift the last day she saw him alive( moon nettle) and his very own sheild ( righteous path) after he died, to have those get enchanted and fight by themselves, she would think that her father’s spirit has came back from mount Celeste to protect her.
Funnily enough, I just finished sorting the Instruments of the Bards! I’ve taken inspiration from these “Magic Items for X” type articles. I’m undertaking a massive document that sorts items from several sources based on the characters they’d resonate with, so that granting personalized magic items becomes as easy as defining a character by a few keywords, settling on a rarity, and weighing the several resulting suggestions. Now I’m on the Ioun Stones.
Oh, the hat is nice, didn’t know it existed! I picked the feat Eldritch Adept on my Eloquence Bard to have the ‘Mask of Many Faces’ invocation to go with my Actor feat. But it’s still awesome, the Actor feat gives other people disadvantage on their rolls to see through my disguises and with an Eloquence Bard with Expertise in Deception and level 7, the lowest I can roll for Deception is 21. Without patting me down, good luck seeing through haha
In my world the instruments of the bards are actually unique artifacts. But they function more as boons. Whenever a bard who has a enhanced instrument dies, or the instrument is destroyed the boon moves on the the next bard it deems worthy to weild it. Each boon has special traits it looks for in a bard, and they all grant one use of a 5th 6th and 7th level spell, as well as a few passive bonuses. I had a really cool moment when the party was going up against an enemy bard (the villain of the party bards arc as it was) and the barbarian chose to destroy the flute of the enemy cause it “sounded annoying” opposed check or two later the flute was on tiny pieces and the party bards instrument seemed to hum with new life and it lead to a really touching moment with the party sparing the villain and imprisoning him.
Shoutout to Fuggins the Handsome, a Goblin Glamour Bard I played a few times in an all goblin party. Having spent years in then leaving the sewer of Waterdeep, nothing like looting a dead Bard to get hat of disguise so he could party and “get to know” people in crime circles, but also Pipes of the Sewers, so he could summon rat swarms for help or food.
I’ve thought about a Bard that is like a rakish martial artist. He intimidates and thrills audiences with his acrobatics, flips and martial arts looking moves. His instrument is the rope with a dagger on the end and as he twirls it at different lengths it makes sounds that he can turn into a wonderful sound and music. This instrument doubles as an actual weapon used at distance. He could definitely incorporate some of the magic with growth as he learns to use the item in better and more magnificent ways.
A dancing sword has been a recurring npc in my various campaigns…His name is Ray Pierre, a +1 Glamered Flaming Rapier. Ray takes charge or the wielder’s wardrobe, and has a very flamboyant taste. He’s so popular among people who played in my games that several of them have added him to their own worlds. It’s always a good time when Ray Pierre is found.
My bandore worked fine for me all the way up to 14th level, that’s where that campaign ended. I never felt like I needed to upgrade it, the base spells are staples for any magic user, and I used speak with animals probably more than any other spell in the campaign. When I had a chance to swap it out for the anstruth harp, I just sold the harp and went about my adventure.
YES! I love the idea of progressing magic items so that you can keep the iconic flavor and signature style of your character. Some ways to accomplish this with other magic items is to add either another minor beneficial or major beneficial effect Everytime you reach a new tier of play. A moonsword also is great for progressing. Just act like you’re the first owner but it periodically adds more runes as you advance in story and levels
I’m playing a college of Valor bard 10 leves, 4 leves fighter. And will take a dip in rogue. With th fighter I took arcane Archer and I have an oathbow. While marked I have been able to do upwards to 160hp of damage in a single turn. Even though I have change something’s,Thank you Cody for the Build!!!.
My first character is a Bard. He’s a skilled actor but his favourite instrument is his bagpipes, and it became a running gag that when I performed with the bagpipes I always ended up rolling badly, and most of my critical 1 rolls ended with the bagpipes being (temporarily) destroyed and repaired. So, when I decided to get the Pipes of Haunting for my Bard from a shop, my DM allowed them to be the BAG-Pipes of Haunting, as they’ve just been ruined and repaired so many times that they have an eerie sound that causes foes to become frightened of me!
My favorite item to give bards is a homebrew sentient magical violin/crossbow named Bowie. It’s a plus one instrument that can be transformed into a light crossbow. It’s an evolving magic item so the more time the bard spends talking to the item and using it the stronger it gets and the more features it unlocks. It likes confidence so the bigger the plan or performance the more likely the player is to unlock something. This allows for tailoring the item to the bard. It of course has the soul of a famous bard in it, and all of the features are based on titles of David Bowie sings 🙂
The Weapon of Warning is seriously disruptive and I have houseruled it Very Rare rather than Uncommon. It doesn’t matter what class has it, either. It has been incredibly useful to make sure the wizard almost always gets a control spell off before most of the enemies have a chance to act. “Who is going to seriously ruin our day? Banish them. Now I’ll go hide in a closet so I won’t lose concentration.” An item that didn’t make your list, but has also been quite useful to bards, is a Ring of Spell Storing. In the playtest party, the bard actually has the paladin wearing it, but (aside from Shield coming from the wizard) powers it up for him. This way she can effectively concentrate on two spells at once.
I’m playing a level 6 Lore bard and I love the Fochlucan Balalaika (my reflavoring)! Our DM let us pick an uncommon item, and I thought this one would be perfect. I had a chance to end an encounter with a cast of hypnotic pattern on a group of goblin scavengers, got them all because of disadvantage from the balalaika. I also use fly all the time, but because of the limited list of known spells for the bard, I ended up forgoing feather fall. Almost got me killed while doing recon on a mountain side and losing concentration from eating arrows! Luckily I could cast levitate and float my way up from the rocky ledge I landed on. All thanks to my trusty balalaika. Oh and I’ve totally taken proficiency with a concertina. Maybe, I can convince my DM to give me a magic one?
An item a DM made for me was the Artimis bow, Basically it was a bow and magic harp-lyre, As I was mostly a martial type of bard it folded into a harp or lyre and let me play music, but also let me use my bard levels to calculate my rogue levels as well as giving me a few spells. I was a centaur so it it kinda worked for me
I got the fochlucan bandore in a campaign and it was fantastic, but it was too fantastic. We were level 4 when we got it, so it gave us an unfairly huge power up, and secondly, I was playing a swords bard. And I have to tell you, you don’t feel like a swords bard when the most useful thing for you to hold isn’t your sword. It made me feel like I couldn’t play the gish character I wanted, and was essentially forced to be switching between the instrument and the swords. It requires a bard to attune to it, so I was literally the only person who could use it.
I’m playing a high-level one shot for charity this upcoming weekend… Since were putting on a bit of a show I decided to go with the bard of creation… we were allowed one rare magic item to start with… i’m going with the Lyre of Building… thematically it’s great because I can play music while repairing the world from the horrors of the shadow lands around us… and at the same time there is class energy because with a reaction I can prevent damage to objects… ……..I make objects 😸
Homebrew item for Bards: Bardic Charm Wondrous item, very rare (usable by a bard of 10th level or greater) This item can range from being a piece of jewelry to a musical instrument. Regardless of the form taken, they all perform the same function. Spells you cast that have the charm effect bypass a creatures resistance. Creatures with resistance to the charm effect no longer gain advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
Here is a rare magic item i homebrewed for my dm to hopefully give to my bard after completing a quest for her sister Rachel’s robe of resplendent radiance Given by Rachel Steele, a talented spell seamstress,maybe for acquiring some sort of magical silk from a dangerous spider perhaps. Rare( leather armor) These can not be worn over armor The wearer of these robes can create a 5 ft radius illusion centered on themselves, though they are slightly transparent and clearly illusions. They are not opaque enough to hide in . The wearer can change the shape and color and pattern of the robes at will The wearer can cast continual flame on the robes at will At the start of your turn, you can direct a 60ft cone of light originating from you, but you can designate what the light looks like and can even decide who can see it or not. Any enemy in the light that takes damage from a spell takes a additional 1d6point of radiant damage( including allies). Anyone who gets healed by a spell while in the light heals 1d6additional hit point Since my bard is religious and also the leader / shot caller of the group, this ability with the light allows her to buff her party while also suggesting where they should attack and such
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The reason I don’t like or play bards is because the execution of their abilities is really lame. In theory, they’re awesome and powerful. But that power comes at the cost of the believability of what they do. “OMG We’re about to be eaten by the dragon, quick Bard, play Mozart’s greatest hits!” “Oh no, the fighter when down! Quick, Bard, sing Madonna’s Vogue, and heal him!” It’s silly. Not amazing.