All cultures have their minstrels and storytellers--the wanderer who collects tales, learns exotic songs, and dabbles in the arcane arts. Bards are the essential jack-of-all-trades, learning a variety of skills and abilities from all they meet.
As a bard, you probably have an entire repertoire of mundane performances. Bardic Performances, however, are supernatural in nature. The performance itself can be any vocal or instrumental talent that you have and need not be musical. My interweaving sound and magic, you are able to boost your allies and demoralize your foes.
When you start as a level 1 Bard, you already know three bardic performances chosen from the list below. Each level thereafter you learn another performance. You are free to choose any performance you wish, provided you meet the minimum level requirement.
Once you have learned a performance, you can perform it at any time with a standard action. After the performance has begun, you can maintain it each round as a free action while you do other things. You can stop the performance anytime as a free action, though it stops automatically if you are incapacitated in any way. At 7th level, you can start a bardic performance as a move action instead of a standard action. At 13th level, you can start a bardic performance as a bonus action.
You can use bardic performance a number of rounds per day equal to twice your level + your Charisma modifier. You cannot do two performances at once, but you can switch between them using a standard action. Song of Fascination, however, is an exception and can be augmented by some other performances.
Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both. In such cases, the targets must be able to hear or see you for your performance to have effect. Unless otherwise specified, both audible and visual effects have a range of 30 feet. Some performances have saving throws (usually charisma) to negate the effect. You set the DC for these saving throws by making a performance check. Targets who make the save are immune from the performance's effect for 24 hours.
Bards begin by knowing four spells drawn from the bard spell list. You always know these spells and do not have to prepare them daily, like some spellcasters. To cast any of these spells, you will need to expend a spell slot. Spell slots come in different levels, and you must use the appropriate level slot to cast the spell. Casting spells at higher levels than necessary can sometimes boost the spell's effects. Used spell slots are regained once per day after a long rest.
Both spell slots and the number of spells known increase as you level up (see table). When you acquire new spells, you may choose any spell from your spell list if you are able to cast it. Every level, you may also choose to swap out one of your existing spells for a different one.
When casting spells, you can use an instrument to focus your magical energy. Your instrument functions as a divine focus (DF) instead of using material components.
Some spells are so minor or intuitive that they don't require spell slots. At level 1 you start by knowing three cantrips of your choice. Once chosen, you cannot change these, though you gain a new cantrip at level 5 and every fifth level afterward. Cantrips are cast like normal spells, except they don't require spell slots. You can cast them as many times as you wish. See cantrips.
At level 2, you may make all Knowledge checks even if you don't have a rank in them.
At level 8 and again at level 15, you gain an extra attack that you can make when making a full attack. In a full attack, all attacks except for your first ones are made at a -5 penalty.
At 11th level, you become a master of lore. When making any knowledge checks, treat rolls of 9 or less as a 10. In addition, once per day, you can take 20 on any Knowledge check as a standard action. You can use this ability one additional time per day for every six levels you possess beyond 5th, to a maximum of three times per day at 17th level.
At level 20, once per day, you can use your stage presence to awe a crowd within 240 feet. Choose up to 20 creatures to target, all of which must make Charisma saves or stand helpless in awe of your presence. Creature that are affected by your presence take no actions, even if attacked. Creatures that must remain moving to fly will land and stare in awe. At the end of each turn, targets may make another save to try to resist the effect, otherwise your charismatic presence lasts for 1 minute. Creatures that recover from this effect early, after being affected by it for at least 1 round, take 1d6 points of charisma damage and are staggered for 1d4 rounds. A creature that makes the initial save to resist this spell is merely staggered for 1 round.
Bard Level 1
Baneful Lament: Your performance fills enemies with fear and doubt. Creatures that fail a Charisma save take a -1 penalty on attack rolls and disadvantage on saving throws against fear effects. At level 6, targets take a 1d4+1 penalty on attack rolls.
Chant of Charm: You can use your performance to improve the attitude of one creature by one step. The effect persists as long as your performance continues, or until it is attacked. A charisma save negates the effect. At level 8, the creature's attitude increases by two steps. At level 12, you can affect the attitude of any targets in range. An attack against one target breaks the spell for all.
Chant of Courage: You can inspire courage to any allies in 30 feet granting them +1 competence bonus to attacks and damage. At level 5, and every five levels afterward the bonus increases by 1 (+2 at level 5, +3 at level 10, etc.).
Chant of Perfect Recall: You can chant for 1 round to commit up to a page worth of material to memory. Once memorized, you can visualize the page at any time as easily as looking at it physically. You can commit images, maps, or unintelligible languages to memory as easily as text. If you memorize magical writing, you cannot use that writing to cast a spell, create a scroll, or otherwise use the magic of the text. However, you can transcribe the arcane writing so it can be copied into a spellbook.
Devastating Aria: You can spend 1 round of bardic performance as a standard action to direct a burst of sonically charged words at a creature or object. This performance deals 1d4 points of damage + 1 per bard level.
Faerie Verse: You sing a song that causes all creatures within 15 feet of you to glow with an aura of silvery light. The glow fades and returns as creatures leave or enter the radius. Glowing creatures do not benefit from any effect that causes visual cover, including invisibility.
Healing Lullaby: By playing this song at the beginning and throughout parts of a long rest, you can soothe and care for your allies. They gain the benefits extra healing as if you had used a medicine check to provide care for them. This doubles their hit point and ability damage healing. Playing Song of Rest uses 4 rounds of bardic performance and prevents you from getting a long rest yourself.
March of Tenacity: You can use this performance to bolster allies' endurance. All dying allies automatically stabilize. As long as this performance is in effect, all allies also get advantage on Constitution saving throws.
Rallying Cry: Your performance can rally dispirited allies. Make a performance check each round. Any ally (including yourself) may use the result of this check in place of his own saving throw against fear effects. Those already under a fear or despair effect get a new save each round. Rallying cry does not work on effects that don’t allow saves.
Rope Dance: Through your performance you are able to animate and control rope as per the animate rope spell. Your control of the rope lasts as long as the performance continues.
Sing with Animals: Through a vocal performance you are able to communicate with animals, using one round of performance for each round of communication.
Song of Distraction: This performance allows you to counter certain magical effects through your music. It can be used to cancel effects based on sound (like a siren song), language-based effects (such as blasphemy), or effects that require sight (such as illusions or gaze attacks). Each round, you make a performance check. Your allies may use that roll in place of their own saving throw if it is higher. If they are currently under a magical effect when you begin your performance, they are granted a new save. Song of Distraction doesn't work on effects that don't require saving throws.
Song of Fascination: You can use your performance to cause one or more creatures to become fascinated with you (charisma save negates, see Conditions). You can target one creature at 1st level, a second creature at 3rd level, and an additional creature every three levels afterward.
Incite Violence (level 6): You can use your performance to fan the fury of a crowd of people you have fascinated. Using this ability does not necessarily disrupt the fascinate effect but does require a standard action to activate. Select which fascinated targets will be affected. Those who fail saving throws (charisma negates) are driven into a fury as soon as your performance ends. You may indicate who is the intended target of violence, and the enraged members of the crowd immediately attack the target if possible. The target does not need to be present and can be an object instead of a person. Other members of the crowd may follow suit, though they do not gain the benefits of rage. This effect lasts 1 round per bard level after your performance stops.
Suggestion (level 6): You can use this performance to make a suggestion (as per the spell) to one creature that is already under the effect of song of fascination. Using this ability does not disrupt the fascinate effect, but it does require a standard action to activate. You can use this ability more than once against your target (new saving throw required), but you may not switch targets unless you start a new performance of song of fascination. At level 12, you can make a suggestion to a new fascinated target each round.
Song of Ventriloquism: This performance allows allied spellcasters in range to use your voice in place of their own when spellcasting. While this performance is in effect, allied spellcasters can choose to cast their spells without using their own verbal component, similar to the silent spell technique. If they use your voice, spells that are auditory in nature (blasphemy, command, power word blind, etc.), emanate from you instead of the caster. So, a cleric may cast blasphemy using all the normal spell slots, but the spell will affect targets 40 feet from you, instead of 40 feet from them.
Sylvan Serenade: Your voice floats on the wind, attracting animals to your location. You select the type of animal to attract and must perform until the animal arrives, which may take several rounds, depending on how far away one is (GM's discretion). Once the creature arrives, the creature is one degree more friendly to you as long as you are performing. Domesticated animals are friendly and wild animals are indifferent, though they can be charmed or persuaded with wild empathy to improve their attitude toward you and or to enlist their aid.
Bard Level 2
Chant of Competence: You can create an inspiring performance to help an ally perform one skill better. The targeted skill and ally are chosen when the performance begins. The ally gets advantage on all checks made for that skill for as long as the performance continues. Certain uses of this ability are infeasible, such as Stealth, and may be disallowed at the GM's discretion.
Dance of the Dead: You can create a performance that causes dead bones or bodies to rise up and move or fight at your command. This ability functions like animate dead, but the created skeletons or zombies remain fully animate only as long as you continue the performance. Bodies or bones cannot be animated more than once using this ability.
Dirge of Doom: You can use this performance to foster a sense of growing dread in your enemies, causing them all to be frightened (level 1, WIS Negates). At level 6, this causes targets to be frightened at level 2, if they fail the save.
Disappearing Act: You can use performance to divert attention from an ally. All creatures that fail a charisma save treat one creature chosen by you as if it were invisible. This performance affects one additional creature at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter. If the targets take any action that would cause them to become visible, they become visible to everyone. You cannot use this ability on yourself.
Hideous Limerick: Your performance causes one target to collapse prone into fits of laughter if they fail a Charisma save. They can take no actions but are not considered helpless. Targets incapable of laughter or humor are unaffected by this spell. You do not need to share a common language with your target, but they must be capable of speech. The target gets a new save each around at the end of their turn to end the effect, otherwise it lasts until you stop performing.
Lullaby: You can cause one creature to fall into a magical slumber (Charisma negates). Each round your performance continues, you may attempt to lull another target to sleep. Lullaby can affect a creature of any HD. The creature will not wake due to noise or light, but others can rouse it with a standard action. Any attempt to attack the sleeping target will also rouse them. Otherwise, your targets sleep until your performance ends.
Mockery: You can subtly ridicule and defame a specific individual. The target of your performance takes disadvantage on all Charisma-related checks, skills, and saves as long as you are performing.
Soothing Word: You can heal one ally in range for 1d6 + Cha bonus hit points each round you keep your performance going. If you want to heal another ally, you must start the performance over again.
Taming Melody: You can use bardic performance to tame animals. This works like the wild empathy ability. Your performance takes 5 consecutive rounds to complete, though you only expend 1 round of bardic performance to do so. At the end, make a performance check instead of persuasion to see if you are able to alter the animal's attitude toward you.
Bard Level 4
Animal Chant: Your performance compels animals and magical beasts to do nothing but watch you. The closest targets are selected first until 2d6 HD of creatures are affected. Creatures with an INT greater than 2 are unaffected. Magical beasts, dire animals, and trained animals get a CHA saving throw against the effect.
Defuse Tension: You can create a performance that distracts an ally from fatigue. As long as your performance continues, the target ally can ignore the effects of level 2 fatigue or lower. The fatigue itself remains, but simply has no effect on your target again until after your performance ends. At level 8, you can remove fatigue from multiple allies up to a maximum equal to your charisma modifier.
Song of Surrender: You can use your performance to encourage an enemy to surrender. The target feels the irresistible urge to drop any held weapons and fall prone. The target takes no actions but is not considered flat-footed. This effect lasts for 1 round but is negated if the target is attacked. A charisma save negates this performance. This song can only target one creature at a time, and cannot attempt to target the same creature twice in 24 hours.
Bard Level 6
Calming Melody: Your performance calms creatures as per the calm emotions spell. The effect lasts as long as you perform or until any aggressive action breaks the spell.
Distressing Tone: You create a powerful tone that vibrates living flesh in 1d4 living creatures. Targets must make a constitution save or gain level 2 fatigue for the duration of the performance. Creatures that are immune to critical hits are immune to distressing tone.
Ghostbane Dirge: With this performance, you cause incorporeal creatures in range to become corporeal for its duration. A wisdom save negates.
Shattering Crescendo: You learn to sing at frequencies capable of disrupting magical effects. As a full-round action, you can use 2 rounds of bardic performance to attempt to dispel a single spell effect. Make a performance check against the spell caster's DC. If successful, the effect is dispelled. Shattering crescendo otherwise functions like dispel magic when it targets a spell effect.
Vermin March: You can use bardic performance to cast summon swarm. The swarm persists as long as you continue performing.
Bard Level 8
Cacophony: While this performance is in effect, all spellcasters in range (including allies) must make concentration checks when casting spells. This also affects spell-like abilities. Concentration checks for this ability are intelligence saves with a DC equal to your performance check for that round.
Maddening Harmonics: You can create a performance so baffling and discordant that it usurps all thought with chaos and entropy. You select which creatures are affected by the maddening harmonics and which are not. All targeted creatures must make a charisma save or be confused as long as they hear the performance (see confusion).
Repel Vermin: Your performance keeps vermin at bay. If they fail STR save, they are unable to get within 10 feet of your while you continue the performance.
Sing with Plants: Through a vocal performance you are able to communicate with plants. A regular plant's sense of its surroundings is limited, so it won't be able to give (or recognize) detailed descriptions of creatures or answer questions about events outside its immediate vicinity. Sing with Plants uses one round of performance for each round of communication.
Bard Level 10
Fermata: You can use this performance to extend the duration of instantaneous spells cast by a targeted spellcaster. Any spells cast by your target during your performance that have a duration of instantaneous linger for 1 full round instead. Those already in the area of the spell suffer no additional harm, but other creatures or objects entering the area are subject to its effects.
Heroic Epic: You can inspire heroic defense in yourself or a single ally for the duration of the performance. Inspired creatures gain advantage on all saving throws their attacker take disadvantage on attacks against them. At levels 15 and 20, you can inspire one extra target each.
Anthem of Greatness: You can use this performance to inspire greatness in yourself or a single ally. A creature inspired with greatness gains 2d10 temporary hit points, advantage on attack rolls, and advantage on constitution saves for as long as the song persists. At levels 15 and 20, you can inspire one extra target to greatness.
Song of Regeneration: Your soothing melody helps grow back severed body parts, heal broken bones, fix ruined organs, and cure mutilations. As you sing over the wound, the body begins slowly regenerating. You can replace severed body parts (excluding the head) with 2 rounds of singing if the severed member is held in place. Otherwise it takes 3d10 rounds of singing to grow back severed parts or heal internal injuries. Once the limb, organs, or bones are healed, any ability damage caused by the injury is instantly healed as well.
Bard Level 12
Anchoring Aria: While this performance is active, all extradimensional travel in range in blocked, including teleportation and summoning effects. The aria also blocks access to nondimensional spaces, making bags of hold or similar items dormant until the performance is finished. This performance does not prevent summoned creatures from disappearing when the spell that summoned them wears off.
Chant of Animation: Through your performance you can imbue one inanimate object with the semblance of life, as per the animate objects spell.
Song of Freedom: This performance can free one target from enchantments, transmutations, or curses. Effects from 4th level spells or lower are automatically dispelled. For each spell of 5th level or higher, make a performance check against the item, curse, or caster's DC. Success means that the creature is free from its effects. If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, song of freedom works only if that spell is 5th level or lower. If the effect comes from some permanent magic item song of freedom does not remove the curse from the item, but it does free the victim from the item's effects. Using this performance requires 4 consecutive rounds of performance within range of the target.
Bard Level 15
Mantra of the Still Mind: By continually chanting an arcane mantra, you are able to clear your mind and protect it from spells that detect, influence, or read thoughts. All mental effects simply fail as long as you keep this performance going.
Sympathetic Vibration: By attuning yourself to a freestanding structure such you can create a damaging vibration within it. Once it begins, the vibration deals 2d10+20 points of sonic damage per round to the target structure. You are able to sustain this song for a number of rounds equal to your charisma bonus.
Bard Level 18
Deadly Performance (death effect): You can use this performance to cause one enemy to die from joy or sorrow. This performance requires a full-round action without interruption. Any damage you take during the time, requires a concentration check to continue the performance uninterrupted. Although everyone can hear or see your performance, only one target is affected. This target must be within 60 feet of you for the entire round. If it does, at the beginning of your next turn, it must make a Charisma saving throw against your Performance check or its hit points drop to 0. If the target's save is successful, they instead are staggered for 1d4 rounds.
