Grod_The_Giant
2015-01-11, 09:33 PM
The Bard occupies an awkward slot on Tier 3-- it can make a marvelously powerful, well-rounded character, doing so requires far too much optimization skill and book diving to be practical for many tables. And their music was... kind of underwhelming, with a bare handful of useful options, all of whom required work to find and use. I tried to fix them before, pumping up their music and class features but wound up going too far in the other direction. So here I am, trying again. This time, I'm splitting the music-magic and the spell-magic into two different subclasses: the music-powered Troubadour and the spell-slinging Cantor.
The Bard
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills: The Bard’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
1st
+0
+0
+2
+2
Bardic College, Bardic Lore
2nd
+1
+0
+3
+3
Bardic Knack
3rd
+2
+1
+3
+3
Mystic Instrument
4th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Bardic Flourish
5th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Heart of the Music
6th
+4
+2
+5
+5
Mystic Instrument (Masterwork)
7th
+5
+2
+5
+5
The Beat Goes On
8th
+6/+1
+2
+6
+6
9th
+6/+1
+3
+6
+6
Mystic Instrument (Enchanted)
10th
+7/+2
+3
+7
+7
11th
+8/+3
+3
+7
+7
12th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
13th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
You’ve Heard of Me
14th
+10/+5
+4
+9
+9
15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+9
+9
16th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
Soul of the Music
18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+11
+11
19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+11
+11
Armor of Song*
20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+12
+12
Perfect Performance*
*Note: Troubadours receive these abilities one level earlier than normal.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Bard is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the longsword, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, and whip. Bards are proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
Bardic College: At first level, a Bard picks one of two paths: Troubadour or Cantor, and gains all the benefits of the appropriate path. He may not change this choice at a later date.
Bardic Lore (Ex): A bard may make a special bardic knowledge check with a bonus equal to his bard level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If the bard has 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), he gains a +2 bonus on this check.)
A successful bardic knowledge check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. A bard may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.
Bardic Knack (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, when making a skill check, a Bard may use either his normal number of ranks in a skill or one-half his Bard level, whichever is greater. However, this ability does not allow him to use trained-only skills if he is not already trained in them.
Mystic Instrument (Su): A true Bard is never without his instrument. Beginning at 3rd level, a Bard may create a single musical instrument as a swift action. The instrument is permanent as long as it remains in the Bard’s possession— once separated, it crumbles into dust after a day. Otherwise, this ability functions as the summon instrument spell.
A Mystic instrument has one additional property: regardless of the type of instrument, or how many hands are normally needed to control it, the Bard may play without penalty for up to one minute while using one or both hands for other tasks such as wielding a weapon, holding a shield, or casting a spell. The exact thematic of how this works are up to the player, although common versions include either the instrument or the weapons being animated by the Bard's magic.
At 6th level, a Bard creates a Masterwork instrument when using this ability.
At 9th level, and instrument created by this ability grants the user a competence bonus to the relevant Perform check equal to the Bard’s level.
Bardic Flourish (Sp): Beginning at 4th level, a Bard may use the spell prestidigitation at will.
Heart of the Music (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, a Bard gains a bonus to saves against sonic and language-dependent effects equal to his Charisma modifier.
The Beat Goes On (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Bard may instantly dispel a silence effect as a free action, as long as its caster level is not greater than his Bard level plus his Charisma modifier. To do so, he must expend either a daily Bardic Music use (if a Troubadour) or a spell slot of at least second level (if a Cantor)
You’ve Heard of Me (Ex): Beginning at 13th level, a Bard is so famous that everyone has heard of him. When meeting an NPC for the first time, their demeanor towards him is one step more extreme than it otherwise would be— indifferent characters are friendly, friendly characters are helpful, and unfriendly characters are hostile. This ability cannot make a target fanatical, nor will it cause characters to mindlessly attack you. In addition, he gains a bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks equal to one-half his Bard level.
Soul of the Music (Ex): At 17th level, a Bard becomes immune to sonic and language-dependent effects.
Armor of Song (Su): Beginning at 18th level (if a Troubadour) or 19th level (if a Cantor), a Bard may roll a Perform check in place of a saving throw once per round.
Perfect Performance (Ex): Beginning at 19th level (if a Troubadour) or 20th level (if a Cantor), a Bard may make all Perform checks as though he had rolled a 20.
The Troubadour: Master of Music
Level
Special
Compositions Known
1st
Bardic Music (Lied)
0*
2nd
1*
3rd
2*
4th
3*
5th
3*
6th
Bardic Music (Sonata)
4*
7th
5*
8th
Improvisation (1/day)
6*
9th
6*
10th
Dual Song
7*
11th
Bardic Music (Concerto)
8*
12th
Improvisation (2/day)
9*
13th
9*
14th
10*
15th
Triad Song
11*
16th
Bardic Music (Symphony), Improvisation (3/day)
12*
17th
Soul of the Music
12*
18th
13*
19th
14*
20th
Eternal Song, Improvisation (4/day)
15*
*All Bards know the Inspire Courage Composition in addition to the number here.
Bardic Music (Su): A Bard is a performer like no other, capable of producing magical effects through the power of his performance. While many Bards sing or play an instrument to produce these effects— hence the name "Bardic Music"— any performance governed by the Perform skill may be used. To be affected by Bardic Music, targets must be able to either hear the Bard if his performance is auditory, or see him if his performance is visual.
Individual Bardic Music effects are known as Compositions. Each Composition has two elements: a Chord and a Refrain. The Chord takes effect instantly, and requires no further attention. The Refrain requires the Bard to concentrate on the Composition, continuing to perform. You must activate a Composition's Chord before you can concentrate on the Refrain.
Playing a Composition's Chord is a swift action. Make a Perform check; the result determines the chord's strength, as shown on the table below. The effects of a Chord last for a number of rounds equal to its strength. The saving throw against a Chord, if relevant, is equal to 10 + the Chord's strength + your Charisma modifier.
Check Result
Chord Strength
15 or below
1
16-25
2
26-30
3
31-35
4
36 or higher
5
Alternately, you may play both Chord and Refrain as a standard action. The strength of the Composition improves to be equal to your Charisma modifier, and any save DCs improve to 10+1/2 your Bard level + your Charisma modifier. The Chord works once, as normal; the effects of the Refrain (if any) remain in effect as long as you continue to perform, taking a standard action each round to do so. You may concentrate on a Refrain for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier.
All Bards begin play with knowledge of the Inspire Courage Composition. Bards learn one additional Composition at every even-numbered level. Compositions are grouped into different grades. At first level, a Bard may only learn Lieder. At 6th level, he may learn Sonatas. At 11th level, he may learn Concertos, and he may learn Symphonies at 16th level.
A Bard may use his Bardic Music a number of times per day equal to his Bard level plus his Charisma modifier. Each time he plays a Chord, he expends one or more such uses, depending on the level of the Chord in question.
Composition Level
Bardic Music Uses
Lied
1
Sonata
2
Concerto
3
Symphony
4
Improvisation (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, once per day a Bard may play a single Composition he does not otherwise know. The new composition may be of any level up to one less than his normal maximum, so an 8th level Bard could improvise a Lied, while a 16th level Bard could improvise a Lied or Sonata. Doing so requires him to expend twice as many Bardic Music uses as normal for a Composition of that level. Once he ceases to concentrate on the Refrain, his knowledge of the Composition is lost. At 12th level, and each subsequent 4th level, he may use this ability one additional time per day.
Dual Song (Su): Beginning at 10th level, a Bard may mix two Compositions— he may have two Chords active at the same time, and he may concentrate on two Refrains simultaneously.
Triad Song (Su): Beginning at 15th level, a Bard may mix three Compositions— he may have three Chords active at the same time, and he may concentrate on three Refrains simultaneously.
Eternal Song (Ex): A 20th level Bard may have any number of Chords active at the same time, and may concentrate on all Refrains simultaneously.
The Cantor: Master of Magic
Level
Special
0th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
1st
4
—
—
—
—
—
—
2nd
6
1
—
—
—
—
—
3rd
Variation
6
2
—
—
—
—
—
4th
6
4
1
—
—
—
—
5th
6
6
2
—
—
—
—
6th
Variation
6
6
4
—
—
—
—
7th
6
6
4
1
—
—
—
8th
6
6
4
2
—
—
—
9th
Variation
6
6
6
4
—
—
—
10th
—
6
6
6
4
1
—
—
11th
6
6
6
6
2
—
—
12th
Variation
6
6
6
6
4
—
—
13th
6
6
6
6
4
1
—
14th
8
6
6
6
4
2
—
15th
Variation
8
8
6
6
4
4
—
16th
8
8
8
6
6
4
1
17th
8
8
8
8
6
6
2
18th
Variation
8
8
8
8
8
6
4
19th
Armor of Song
8
8
8
8
8
8
6
20th
Perfect Performance
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Spells: A Bard casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the Bard spell list below. When he gains access to a new level of spells, he automatically knows all the spells for that level on the Bard's spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. Essentially, his spell list is the same as his spells known list. He also has the option of adding to his existing spell list through his Variation class feature (see below) as he increases in level.
To cast a Bard spell, a Bard must have an Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level (Cha 10 for 0-level spells, Cha 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Bard's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the Bard's Cha modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Bard can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. The base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score (PH 8).
A Bard need not prepare spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level.
A Bard can cast Bard spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. However, like any other arcane spellcaster, a Bard wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component (most do). A multiclass Bard still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
Variation: At 3rd level, and every subsequent third level, a Bard learns one spell from the original Bard spell list. The new spell must be of a level he can currently cast.
The Bard
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills: The Bard’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
1st
+0
+0
+2
+2
Bardic College, Bardic Lore
2nd
+1
+0
+3
+3
Bardic Knack
3rd
+2
+1
+3
+3
Mystic Instrument
4th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Bardic Flourish
5th
+3
+1
+4
+4
Heart of the Music
6th
+4
+2
+5
+5
Mystic Instrument (Masterwork)
7th
+5
+2
+5
+5
The Beat Goes On
8th
+6/+1
+2
+6
+6
9th
+6/+1
+3
+6
+6
Mystic Instrument (Enchanted)
10th
+7/+2
+3
+7
+7
11th
+8/+3
+3
+7
+7
12th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
13th
+9/+4
+4
+8
+8
You’ve Heard of Me
14th
+10/+5
+4
+9
+9
15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+9
+9
16th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+10
+10
Soul of the Music
18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+11
+11
19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+11
+11
Armor of Song*
20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+12
+12
Perfect Performance*
*Note: Troubadours receive these abilities one level earlier than normal.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Bard is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the longsword, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, and whip. Bards are proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
Bardic College: At first level, a Bard picks one of two paths: Troubadour or Cantor, and gains all the benefits of the appropriate path. He may not change this choice at a later date.
Bardic Lore (Ex): A bard may make a special bardic knowledge check with a bonus equal to his bard level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If the bard has 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), he gains a +2 bonus on this check.)
A successful bardic knowledge check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. A bard may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.
Bardic Knack (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, when making a skill check, a Bard may use either his normal number of ranks in a skill or one-half his Bard level, whichever is greater. However, this ability does not allow him to use trained-only skills if he is not already trained in them.
Mystic Instrument (Su): A true Bard is never without his instrument. Beginning at 3rd level, a Bard may create a single musical instrument as a swift action. The instrument is permanent as long as it remains in the Bard’s possession— once separated, it crumbles into dust after a day. Otherwise, this ability functions as the summon instrument spell.
A Mystic instrument has one additional property: regardless of the type of instrument, or how many hands are normally needed to control it, the Bard may play without penalty for up to one minute while using one or both hands for other tasks such as wielding a weapon, holding a shield, or casting a spell. The exact thematic of how this works are up to the player, although common versions include either the instrument or the weapons being animated by the Bard's magic.
At 6th level, a Bard creates a Masterwork instrument when using this ability.
At 9th level, and instrument created by this ability grants the user a competence bonus to the relevant Perform check equal to the Bard’s level.
Bardic Flourish (Sp): Beginning at 4th level, a Bard may use the spell prestidigitation at will.
Heart of the Music (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, a Bard gains a bonus to saves against sonic and language-dependent effects equal to his Charisma modifier.
The Beat Goes On (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Bard may instantly dispel a silence effect as a free action, as long as its caster level is not greater than his Bard level plus his Charisma modifier. To do so, he must expend either a daily Bardic Music use (if a Troubadour) or a spell slot of at least second level (if a Cantor)
You’ve Heard of Me (Ex): Beginning at 13th level, a Bard is so famous that everyone has heard of him. When meeting an NPC for the first time, their demeanor towards him is one step more extreme than it otherwise would be— indifferent characters are friendly, friendly characters are helpful, and unfriendly characters are hostile. This ability cannot make a target fanatical, nor will it cause characters to mindlessly attack you. In addition, he gains a bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks equal to one-half his Bard level.
Soul of the Music (Ex): At 17th level, a Bard becomes immune to sonic and language-dependent effects.
Armor of Song (Su): Beginning at 18th level (if a Troubadour) or 19th level (if a Cantor), a Bard may roll a Perform check in place of a saving throw once per round.
Perfect Performance (Ex): Beginning at 19th level (if a Troubadour) or 20th level (if a Cantor), a Bard may make all Perform checks as though he had rolled a 20.
The Troubadour: Master of Music
Level
Special
Compositions Known
1st
Bardic Music (Lied)
0*
2nd
1*
3rd
2*
4th
3*
5th
3*
6th
Bardic Music (Sonata)
4*
7th
5*
8th
Improvisation (1/day)
6*
9th
6*
10th
Dual Song
7*
11th
Bardic Music (Concerto)
8*
12th
Improvisation (2/day)
9*
13th
9*
14th
10*
15th
Triad Song
11*
16th
Bardic Music (Symphony), Improvisation (3/day)
12*
17th
Soul of the Music
12*
18th
13*
19th
14*
20th
Eternal Song, Improvisation (4/day)
15*
*All Bards know the Inspire Courage Composition in addition to the number here.
Bardic Music (Su): A Bard is a performer like no other, capable of producing magical effects through the power of his performance. While many Bards sing or play an instrument to produce these effects— hence the name "Bardic Music"— any performance governed by the Perform skill may be used. To be affected by Bardic Music, targets must be able to either hear the Bard if his performance is auditory, or see him if his performance is visual.
Individual Bardic Music effects are known as Compositions. Each Composition has two elements: a Chord and a Refrain. The Chord takes effect instantly, and requires no further attention. The Refrain requires the Bard to concentrate on the Composition, continuing to perform. You must activate a Composition's Chord before you can concentrate on the Refrain.
Playing a Composition's Chord is a swift action. Make a Perform check; the result determines the chord's strength, as shown on the table below. The effects of a Chord last for a number of rounds equal to its strength. The saving throw against a Chord, if relevant, is equal to 10 + the Chord's strength + your Charisma modifier.
Check Result
Chord Strength
15 or below
1
16-25
2
26-30
3
31-35
4
36 or higher
5
Alternately, you may play both Chord and Refrain as a standard action. The strength of the Composition improves to be equal to your Charisma modifier, and any save DCs improve to 10+1/2 your Bard level + your Charisma modifier. The Chord works once, as normal; the effects of the Refrain (if any) remain in effect as long as you continue to perform, taking a standard action each round to do so. You may concentrate on a Refrain for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier.
All Bards begin play with knowledge of the Inspire Courage Composition. Bards learn one additional Composition at every even-numbered level. Compositions are grouped into different grades. At first level, a Bard may only learn Lieder. At 6th level, he may learn Sonatas. At 11th level, he may learn Concertos, and he may learn Symphonies at 16th level.
A Bard may use his Bardic Music a number of times per day equal to his Bard level plus his Charisma modifier. Each time he plays a Chord, he expends one or more such uses, depending on the level of the Chord in question.
Composition Level
Bardic Music Uses
Lied
1
Sonata
2
Concerto
3
Symphony
4
Improvisation (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, once per day a Bard may play a single Composition he does not otherwise know. The new composition may be of any level up to one less than his normal maximum, so an 8th level Bard could improvise a Lied, while a 16th level Bard could improvise a Lied or Sonata. Doing so requires him to expend twice as many Bardic Music uses as normal for a Composition of that level. Once he ceases to concentrate on the Refrain, his knowledge of the Composition is lost. At 12th level, and each subsequent 4th level, he may use this ability one additional time per day.
Dual Song (Su): Beginning at 10th level, a Bard may mix two Compositions— he may have two Chords active at the same time, and he may concentrate on two Refrains simultaneously.
Triad Song (Su): Beginning at 15th level, a Bard may mix three Compositions— he may have three Chords active at the same time, and he may concentrate on three Refrains simultaneously.
Eternal Song (Ex): A 20th level Bard may have any number of Chords active at the same time, and may concentrate on all Refrains simultaneously.
The Cantor: Master of Magic
Level
Special
0th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
1st
4
—
—
—
—
—
—
2nd
6
1
—
—
—
—
—
3rd
Variation
6
2
—
—
—
—
—
4th
6
4
1
—
—
—
—
5th
6
6
2
—
—
—
—
6th
Variation
6
6
4
—
—
—
—
7th
6
6
4
1
—
—
—
8th
6
6
4
2
—
—
—
9th
Variation
6
6
6
4
—
—
—
10th
—
6
6
6
4
1
—
—
11th
6
6
6
6
2
—
—
12th
Variation
6
6
6
6
4
—
—
13th
6
6
6
6
4
1
—
14th
8
6
6
6
4
2
—
15th
Variation
8
8
6
6
4
4
—
16th
8
8
8
6
6
4
1
17th
8
8
8
8
6
6
2
18th
Variation
8
8
8
8
8
6
4
19th
Armor of Song
8
8
8
8
8
8
6
20th
Perfect Performance
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Spells: A Bard casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the Bard spell list below. When he gains access to a new level of spells, he automatically knows all the spells for that level on the Bard's spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. Essentially, his spell list is the same as his spells known list. He also has the option of adding to his existing spell list through his Variation class feature (see below) as he increases in level.
To cast a Bard spell, a Bard must have an Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level (Cha 10 for 0-level spells, Cha 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Bard's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the Bard's Cha modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Bard can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. The base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score (PH 8).
A Bard need not prepare spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level.
A Bard can cast Bard spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. However, like any other arcane spellcaster, a Bard wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component (most do). A multiclass Bard still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
Variation: At 3rd level, and every subsequent third level, a Bard learns one spell from the original Bard spell list. The new spell must be of a level he can currently cast.