Core Bard Traits
| Primary Ability | Charisma |
|---|---|
| Hit Point Die | D8 per Bard level |
| Saving Throw Proficiencies | Dexterity and Charisma |
| Skill Proficiencies | Choose any 3 skills |
| Weapon Proficiencies | Simple weapons |
| Tool Proficiencies | Choose 3 Musical Instruments |
| Armor Training | Light armor |
| Starting Equipment | Choose A or B: (A) Leather Armor, 2 Daggers, Musical Instrument of your choice, Entertainer’s Pack, and 19 GP; or (B) 90 GP |
Invoking magic through music, dance, and verse, Bards are expert at inspiring others, soothing hurts, disheartening foes, and creating illusions. Bards believe the multiverse was spoken into existence and that remnants of its Words of Creation still resound and glimmer on every plane of existence. Bardic magic attempts to harness those words, which transcend any language.
Anything can inspire a new song or tale, so Bards are fascinated by almost everything. They become masters of many things, including performing music, working magic, and making jests.
A Bard’s life is spent traveling, gathering lore, telling stories, and living on the gratitude of audiences, much like any other entertainer. But Bards’ depth of knowledge and mastery of magic sets them apart.
Becoming a Bard…
As a Level 1 Bard
- Gain all the traits in the Core Bard Traits table.
- Gain the Bard’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Bard Features table.
As a Multiclass Bard
- Gain the following traits from the Core Bard Traits table: Hit Point Die, proficiency in one skill of your choice, proficiency with one Musical Instrument of your choice, and training with Light armor.
- Gain the Bard’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Bard Features table. See the multiclassing rules to determine your available spell slots.
Bard Class Features
As a Bard, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified Bard levels. These features are listed in the Bard Features table.
Bard Features
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Class Features | Bardic Die | Cantrips | Prepared Spells | —Spell Slots per Spell Level— | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||
| 1 | +2 | Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasting | D6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | +2 | Expertise, Jack of All Trades | D6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | +2 | Bard Subclass | D6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | D6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | +3 | Font of Inspiration | D8 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | +3 | Subclass feature | D8 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | +3 | Countercharm | D8 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | D8 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | +4 | Expertise | D8 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | +4 | Magical Secrets | D10 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | +4 | — | D10 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 12 | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | D10 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 13 | +5 | — | D10 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 14 | +5 | Subclass feature | D10 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 15 | +5 | — | D12 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 16 | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | D12 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 17 | +6 | — | D12 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | +6 | Superior Inspiration | D12 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | +6 | Epic Boon | D12 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | +6 | Words of Creation | D12 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Level 1: Bardic Inspiration
You can supernaturally inspire others through words, music, or dance. This inspiration is represented by your Bardic Inspiration die, which is a d6.
Using Bardic Inspiration. As a Bonus Action, you can inspire another creature within 60 feet of yourself who can see or hear you. That creature gains one of your Bardic Inspiration dice. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time.
Once within the next hour when the creature fails a D20 Test, the creature can roll the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to the d20, potentially turning the failure into a success. A Bardic Inspiration die is expended when it’s rolled.
Number of Uses. You can confer a Bardic Inspiration die a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.
At Higher Levels. Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain Bard levels, as shown in the Bardic Die column of the Bard Features table. The die becomes a d8 at level 5, a d10 at level 10, and a d12 at level 15.
Level 1: Spellcasting
You have learned to cast spells through your bardic arts. See Spellcasting for the rules on spellcasting. The information below details how you use those rules with Bard spells, which appear in the Bard Spell List later in the class’s description.
Cantrips. You know two cantrips of your choice from the Bard spell list. Dancing Lights and Vicious Mockery are recommended.
Whenever you gain a Bard level, you can replace one of your cantrips with another cantrip of your choice from the Bard spell list.
When you reach Bard levels 4 and 10, you learn another cantrip of your choice from the Bard spell list, as shown in the Cantrips column of the Bard Features table.
Spell Slots. The Bard Features table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your level 1+ spells. You regain all expended slots when you finish a Long Rest.
Prepared Spells of Level 1+. You prepare the list of level 1+ spells that are available for you to cast with this feature. To start, choose four level 1 spells from the Bard spell list. Charm Person, Color Spray, Dissonant Whispers, and Healing Word are recommended.
The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Bard levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Bard Features table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Bard spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 3 Bard, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination.
If another Bard feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Bard spells for you.
Changing Your Prepared Spells. Whenever you gain a Bard level, you can replace one spell on your list with another Bard spell for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Bard spells.
Spellcasting Focus. You can use a Musical Instrument as a Spellcasting Focus for your Bard spells.
Level 2: Expertise
You gain Expertise in two of your skill proficiencies of your choice. Performance and Persuasion are recommended if you have proficiency in them.
At Bard level 9, you gain Expertise in two more of your skill proficiencies of your choice.
Level 2: Jack of All Trades
You can add half your Proficiency Bonus (round down) to any ability check you make that uses a skill proficiency you lack and that doesn’t otherwise use your Proficiency Bonus.
For example, if you make a Strength (Athletics) check and lack Athletics proficiency, you can add half your Proficiency Bonus to the check.
A Bard’s Repertoire
Does your Bard beat a drum while chanting the deeds of ancient heroes? Strum a lute while crooning romantic tunes? Perform arias of stirring power? Recite dramatic monologues from classic tragedies? Use the rhythm of a folk dance to coordinate the movement of allies in battle? Compose naughty limericks?
When you play a Bard, consider the style of artistic performance you favor, the moods you might invoke, and the themes that inspire your own creations. Are your poems inspired by moments of natural beauty, or are they brooding reflections on loss? Do you prefer lofty hymns or rowdy tavern songs? Are you drawn to laments for the fallen or celebrations of joy? Do you dance merry jigs or perform elaborate interpretive choreography? Do you focus on one style of performance or strive to master them all?
Level 3: Bard Subclass
You gain a Bard subclass of your choice. A subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass’s features that are of your Bard level or lower.
Level 4: Ability Score Improvement
You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Bard levels 8, 12, and 16.
Caption
A Bard shapes inspiration and imagination into magic
Level 5: Font of Inspiration
You now regain all your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a Short or Long Rest.
In addition, you can expend a spell slot (no action required) to regain one expended use of Bardic Inspiration.
Level 7: Countercharm
You can use musical notes or words of power to disrupt mind-influencing effects. If you or a creature within 30 feet of you fails a saving throw against an effect that applies the Charmed or Frightened condition, you can take a Reaction to cause the save to be rerolled, and the new roll has Advantage.
Level 10: Magical Secrets
You’ve learned secrets from various magical traditions. Whenever you reach a Bard level (including this level) and the Prepared Spells number in the Bard Features table increases, you can choose any of your new prepared spells from the Bard, Cleric, Druid, and Wizard spell lists, and the chosen spells count as Bard spells for you (see a class’s section for its spell list). In addition, whenever you replace a spell prepared for this class, you can replace it with a spell from those lists.
Level 18: Superior Inspiration
When you roll Initiative, you regain expended uses of Bardic Inspiration until you have two if you have fewer than that.
Level 19: Epic Boon
You gain an Epic Boon feat or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. Boon of Spell Recall is recommended.
Level 20: Words of Creation
You have mastered two of the Words of Creation: the words of life and death. You therefore always have the Power Word Heal and Power Word Kill spells prepared. When you cast either spell, you can target a second creature with it if that creature is within 10 feet of the first target.
Bard Spell List
This section presents the Bard spell list. The spells are organized by spell level and then alphabetized, and each spell’s school of magic is listed. In the Special column, C means the spell requires Concentration, R means it’s a Ritual, and M means it requires a specific Material component. For unofficial spells, see Third Party Bard Spells.
Cantrips (Level 0 Bard Spells)
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Ward | Abjuration | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dancing Lights | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Friends | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Light | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mage Hand | Conjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mending | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Message | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Minor Illusion | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Prestidigitation | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Starry Wisp | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Thunderclap | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| True Strike | Divination | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Vicious Mockery | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 1 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Friendship | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Bane | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Charm Person | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Color Spray | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Command | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Comprehend Languages | Divination | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Cure Wounds | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Detect Magic | Divination | C, R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Disguise Self | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dissonant Whispers | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Distort Value | Illusion | — | Acquisitions Incorporated |
| Earth Tremor | Evocation | — | Elemental Evil Player’s Companion |
| Faerie Fire | Evocation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Feather Fall | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Healing Word | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Heroism | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Identify | Divination | R, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Illusory Script | Illusion | R, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Insidious Rhythm | Enchantment | C | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Longstrider | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Quick Clothier | Transmutation | — | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Silent Image | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Silvery Barbs | Enchantment | — | Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos |
| Sleep | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Speak with Animals | Divination | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Tasha’s Hideous Laughter | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Thunderwave | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Unseen Servant | Conjuration | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Wardaway | Abjuration | — | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
Level 2 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aid | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Animal Messenger | Enchantment | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Blindness/Deafness | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Borrowed Knowledge | Divination | M | Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos |
| Calm Emotions | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Cloud of Daggers | Conjuration | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Conjure Tools | Conjuration | — | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Crown of Madness | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Detect Thoughts | Divination | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Disruptive Tune | Abjuration | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Dueling Ground | Abjuration | R, M | Arcana Unleashed |
| Enhance Ability | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Enlarge/Reduce | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Enthrall | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Gift of Gab | Enchantment | M | Acquisitions Incorporated |
| Heat Metal | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Hold Person | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Invisibility | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Kinetic Jaunt | Transmutation | C | Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos |
| Knock | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Lesser Restoration | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Locate Animals or Plants | Divination | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Locate Object | Divination | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Magic Mouth | Illusion | R, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mirror Image | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Nathair’s Mischief | Illusion | C | Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons |
| Phantasmal Force | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Pinky Swear | Abjuration | — | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Pyrotechnics | Transmutation | — | Elemental Evil Player’s Companion |
| See Invisibility | Divination | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Shatter | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Silence | Illusion | C, R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Skywrite | Transmutation | C, R | Elemental Evil Player’s Companion |
| Spray of Cards | Conjuration | — | The Book of Many Things |
| Suggestion | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Uncertain Footing | Illusion | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Warding Wind | Evocation | C | Elemental Evil Player’s Companion |
| Zone of Truth | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 3 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonize | Enchantment | — | The Book of Many Things |
| Astral Flood | Evocation | — | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Bestow Curse | Necromancy | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Cacophonic Shield | Evocation | C | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
| Catnap | Enchantment | — | Arcana Unleashed |
| Clairvoyance | Divination | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dispel Magic | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Enemies Abound | Enchantment | C | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything |
| Fast Friends | Enchantment | C | Acquisitions Incorporated |
| Fear | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Feign Death | Necromancy | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Glyph of Warding | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Hypnotic Pattern | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Inflict Doubt | Enchantment | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Intellect Fortress | Abjuration | C | Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything |
| Leomund’s Tiny Hut | Evocation | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Major Image | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mass Healing Word | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Motivational Speech | Enchantment | — | Acquisitions Incorporated |
| Nondetection | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Plant Growth | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Sending | Divination | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Slow | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Speak with Dead | Necromancy | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Speak with Plants | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Stinking Cloud | Conjuration | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Tongues | Divination | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 4 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backlash | Abjuration | — | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
| Charm Monster | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Compulsion | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Confusion | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dimension Door | Conjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Distorted Distance | Illusion | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Doomtide | Conjuration | C | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
| Fount of Moonlight | Evocation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Freedom of Movement | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Greater Invisibility | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Hallucinatory Terrain | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Locate Creature | Divination | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Phantasmal Killer | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Polymorph | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Raulothim’s Psychic Lance | Enchantment | — | Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons |
| Zone of Amicability | Enchantment | — | Arcana Unleashed |
Level 5 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alustriel’s Mooncloak | Abjuration | C, M | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
| Animate Objects | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Awaken | Transmutation | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dominate Person | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dream | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Geas | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Greater Restoration | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Hold Monster | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Legend Lore | Divination | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mass Cure Wounds | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mislead | Illusion | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Modify Memory | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Planar Binding | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Raise Dead | Necromancy | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Rary’s Telepathic Bond | Divination | R | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Scrying | Divination | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Seeming | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Skill Empowerment | Transmutation | C | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything |
| Synaptic Static | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Teleportation Circle | Conjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Yolande’s Regal Presence | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 6 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirge | Enchantment | C | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn |
| Eyebite | Necromancy | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Find the Path | Divination | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Guards and Wards | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Heroes’ Feast | Conjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Leomund’s Lamentable Belaborment | Enchantment | — | D&D Beyond Drops |
| Mass Suggestion | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Otto’s Irresistible Dance | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Programmed Illusion | Illusion | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| True Seeing | Divination | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 7 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream of the Blue Veil | Conjuration | — | Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything |
| Etherealness | Conjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Forcecage | Evocation | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Fractured Awareness | Divination | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Mirage Arcane | Illusion | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion | Conjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mordenkainen’s Sword | Evocation | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Power Word Fortify | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Power Word Pain | Enchantment | — | Arcana Unleashed |
| Prismatic Spray | Evocation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Project Image | Illusion | C, M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Regenerate | Transmutation | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Resurrection | Necromancy | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Reweave Fate | Divination | — | Arcana Unleashed |
| Symbol | Abjuration | M | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Teleport | Conjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Transfix | Enchantment | C | Arcana Unleashed |
Level 8 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antipathy/Sympathy | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Befuddlement | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Dominate Monster | Enchantment | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Entrancing Mirrors | Illusion | C | Arcana Unleashed |
| Glibness | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mind Blank | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Power Word Stun | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
Level 9 Bard Spells
| Name | School | Special | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foresight | Divination | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Mass Polymorph | Transmutation | C | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything |
| Power Word Heal | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Power Word Kill | Enchantment | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Prismatic Wall | Abjuration | — | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Psychic Scream | Enchantment | — | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything |
| True Polymorph | Transmutation | C | Player’s Handbook 5.5e |
| Vision of Elapsing Eons | Illusion | — | Arcana Unleashed |
Bard Subclasses
A Bard subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels, as specified in the subclass. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to preserve their traditions.
Official Bard Subclasses
| Name | Source | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| College of Creation | Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything | 5e |
| College of Dance | Player’s Handbook 5.5e | 5.5e |
| College of Eloquence | Mythic Odysseys of Theros | 5e |
| College of Glamour | Player’s Handbook 5.5e | 5.5e |
| College of Lore | Player’s Handbook 5.5e | 5.5e |
| College of Spirits | Ravenloft: The Horrors Within | 5.5e |
| College of Swords | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything | 5e |
| College of the Moon | Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn | 5.5e |
| College of Valor | Player’s Handbook 5.5e | 5.5e |
| College of Whispers | Xanathar’s Guide to Everything | 5e |
Third Party Bard Subclasses
| Name | Source | Publisher | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| College of Adventurers | Grim Hollow: Player’s Guide | Ghostfire Gaming | 5.5e |
| College of Choreography | The Griffon’s Saddlebag: Book One | The Griffon’s Saddlebag | 5.5e |
| College of Cuisine | Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting | Loot Tavern | 5e |
| College of Drama | Cthulhu by Torchlight | Chaosium | 5.5e |
| College of Fleshweaving | Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting | Loot Tavern | 5e |
| College of Fools | Grim Hollow: Player’s Guide | Ghostfire Gaming | 5.5e |
| College of Masks | Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass | 1985 Games | 5.5e |
| College of Masks | Valda’s Spire of Secrets | Mage Hand Press | 5.5e |
| College of Mercantile | The Griffon’s Saddlebag: Book Two | The Griffon’s Saddlebag | 5e |
| College of Requiems | Grim Hollow: Player’s Guide | Ghostfire Gaming | 5.5e |
| College of the Dirge Singer | Exploring Eberron | Visionary | 5.5e |
| College of the Road | Humblewood Campaign Setting | Hit Point Press | 5e |
| College of Tragedy | Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn | Darrington Press | 5e |
| College of Wands | Frontiers of Eberron: Quickstone | Visionary | 5.5e |
| College of Whistles | The Crooked Moon | Avantris Entertainment | 5.5e |
| Skald | Northlands Worldbook | Kobold Press | 5.5e |