Bard (class)

Professional performers of every artistic profession, whose skills bring comfort and pleasant distraction to onlookers, as well as shoring up the morale and courage of others. Bards provide amusement, but also culture and national pride for thousands who find themselves uplifted by the works of creation that bards provide to their own. The legacy of a bard is perhaps the most important of bardic qualities, as a work or innovation can be enjoyed by generations long after the bard has passed from the world.

Bards are often found travelling from place to place; not merely in search for a patron or a morsel of food but also to bring their art to as many as they can. A single bard may be known personally by thousands, though the same individual may have spent most of his or her life in isolation.

Still, most bards prefer the company of other bards, joining with them in festivals during pleasant weather and spending cold or inclement days working at their crafts. Some bards join together on a continuous basis to form colleges, which exist to help establish boundaries of quality art vs. self-indulgent nonsense. Some bards, disliking the rigor of colleges, seek independence and isolation. There is no right way for a bard to act or behave with respect to their art or their beliefs, particularly for player characters. Nothing is more important than an audience, a means to work and a bed for the night.

To Become a Bard

The primary attribute of the bard is charisma. Bards may be half-elves and human.

To become a bard, a character must have these minimum ability stats:

• 6 strength
• 10 intelligence
• 13 wisdom
• 6 constitution
• 6 dexterity*
• 15 charisma

(*) Certain arts require a higher dexterity: acting (8); ceramics, painting, sculpture and woodwork (10); musicians (11); dance and puppetry (14); circus (15)

Level	Max. X.P.	HD	Level Title
1st	0	1	apprentice
2nd	2,001	2	laborer
3rd	4,001	3	craftsman
4th	8,001	4	artisan
5th	16,001	5	designer
6th	30,001	6	maven
7th	55,001	7	artist
8th	100,001	8	prodigy
9th	180,001	9	marvel
10th	300,001	10	master
11th	480,001	11	maestro
12th	660,001	12	genius
13th	840,001	13	grand master

Bards gain no experience bonuses. The table shown describes the necessary experience to claim each level of the bard, gaining hit dice and further abilities. Each level above 13th requires 180,000 additional experience. Bards gain 2 hit points per level above 13th, but as this is not an increase in hit dice, further constitution bonuses are not accrued. Bards cannot progress beyond 23rd level.

Bards receive bardic spells at each level. They also possess unique combat abilities and sage abilities. Players wishing to become a bard should familiarize themselves with these characteristics.

All Bards are able to employ martial spirit during combat.

See Also,
Bardic Spell Tables
Martial Spirit
Player Characters