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)

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 200,000 additional experience. Bards gain 2 h.p. per level above 10th, 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.

See Also, Martial Music Player Characters