Bard

Playability

Complex
Presence
Creativity

Bards are masters of myths, music, and magic, blending performance and subtle spellcraft to inspire their allies and confuse their enemies. They excel at using magic to boost morale, manipulate emotions, and control the flow of battle with their voice and instruments. Bards are known for their versatility, able to support their team in countless ways while still holding their own in combat.

Bards are often seen as charming and unpredictable, their ability to inspire allies and disorient enemies making them highly valued in any party. However, some see them as distractingly flamboyant or too focused on showmanship over raw power.

Weapon Categories

6

Any except heavy guns, polearms and granades.

Magic Categories

8

Tech Categories

0
None

Skill Categories

26

Class Specific Bonuses

  • +5 to any 3 Weapon Categories - not cumulative
  • +10 to the Sonic Spell Category
  • +5 to the Artistic skill category
  • Gains the Artistic skill category + 1 rank/level in 2 specific skills and in category
  • Add your presence ability bonus to your resilience bonus
  • Add your creativity ability bonus to your base defense bonus.

Class Restrictions

No access to spell categories with a 'bad reputation' (demonology etc.)

Recommended Professions

Skald
Magical
Standard
Banner Herald
Combined
Complex
Bladeweaver
Combined
Easy
Surgewright
Combined
Standard

Ability Rolls for Streamlined Character Creation

Presence
Creativity
Empathy
Memory
Agility
Quickness
Intuition
Boldness
Constitution
Reasoning
Self Discipline
Strength
80 + 2d10
80 + 2d10
60 + 4d10
60 + 4d10
10d10
10d10
10d10
10d10
20 + 6d10
20 + 6d10
20 + 6d10
20 + 6d10

Recommended Skills

No items found.

Ability Prioritization Explained

Core Abilities
Presence: Drives Enchantment, Illusion, Sonic Magic, and Warding Magic through performance and force of personality; also anchors social influence and leadership.
Creativity: Fuels inventive spellwork and improvisation—especially in Illusion and Sonic Magic—and supports shaping protective motifs in Warding Magic.

Supporting Abilities
Empathy: Enhances the emotional nuance behind Enchantment and supportive magic, strengthening influence, soothing, and morale work.
Memory: Supports reliable recall of lyrics, lore, and prepared pieces; helpful for consistent formulations in Warding Magic and broad magical repertoire management.

Important Abilities
Quickness: Improves initiative, beat-matching, and casting tempo in high-pressure scenes.
Agility: Useful for precise movement and ranged accuracy when performances/combat emphasize finesse.
Intuition: Aids reading crowds, sensing emotional currents, and spotting openings mid-performance.
Boldness: Sustains commanding stage presence and decisive openings for control effects.

Minor Abilities
Self Discipline: Useful for concentration and long routines, but secondary to Presence/Creativity.
Strength: Low priority unless leaning into physically demanding performances.
Constitution: Helpful for endurance across long sets, but not a core driver.
Reasoning: Analytical logic is peripheral to Bardic magic and performance.