JoshuaD’s New

Bard Handbook
D&D 3.5
Handbook Version 61 –
2019/03/15
View Changelog on on Github.

Navigation
● About the Bard
● Why I Wrote this Handbook
● Other Resources and Thanks
● Color / Symbol Legend
● Source Books Used
● This Handbook’s Length
● A Note on Ability Evaluation and Character Optimization
● Party Roles
● Class Features
● Alternate Class Features
● Ability Scores
● Races
o No Level Adjustment
o With Level Adjustment
o +1 Level Adjustment
o +2 Level Adjustment
o +3 Level Adjustment
o +4 Level Adjustment
o +9 Level Adjustment
o +10 Level Adjustment
● Skills
● Skill Tricks
● Prestige Classes and Multiclassing
o Base Classes
o Bard Specific Prestige Classes
o Combat Bards
o Spell Progression / Abilities (Not Bard Specific)
o Racial Paragons
o Hybrid Classes
● Feats
o General Feats
o Familiar Feats
o Metamagic Feats
o Spell Improvement Feats
o Vow Feats
o Bardic Music Feats
o Combat Feats
o Multi-Class Specific Feats
o Bloodline Feats
o Draconic Aura Feats
o Hidden Talent Feat
o Shape Soulmeld Feat
o Bind Vestige Feat
o Devotion Feats
o Martial Feats
● Spells
o Level 0 Spells
o Level 1 Spells
o Level 2 Spells
o Level 3 Spells
o Level 4 Spells
o Level 5 Spells
o Level 6 Spells
● Key Rules and Advice
o Bardic Music Rules
o Which Perform?
o Fear Escalation
o Casting in Secret
o Using Prestidigitation
o Speak Languages Rank Limit
 o Using Silent Image
o Using Alter Self
o Using Diplomacy
o Tempering Diplomacy
o Maintaining Inspire Courage
o Is Dragonfire Inspiration Good? (How good?)
o Does Dragonfire Inspiration stack with Inspire Courage?
● Example Builds
o Caster Builds
o Debuffer
o Melee Builds
o Archer Builds
o Summoner Builds
o Core Only Builds
● Items
o General Use Items
o Masterwork Instruments
o Magical Instruments
o Weapons
o Weapon Enhancements
o Armor
o Armor Enhancements
o Wands
o Wondrous Items
● Comments
 About the Bard
This class is AWESOME. I think bard is one of the most balanced,
dynamic, and fun classes to play in the game. I didn’t appreciate
how many options and abilities were available to it until I dug into the
various source books. Sure, you don’t have the raw power of the
nuclear classes, but you can be in a party with other tier 2-5 classes
and really shine. The bard can be adapted to a bunch of different play
styles: caster, gish (sword-mage), arcane archer, face, crowd control,
skill monkey, and healer. He can usually fill a number of those roles at
the same time, and does so effectively.

I have played a lot of different characters, and the bard is by far the
most fun I’ve had. Wizards and things like the DMM Cleric possess
campaign shattering nuclear power, but where’s the fun in that? The
DM is pissed at you, the other players are pissed at you, and the
campaign ends early. The bard is what D&D should be: dynamic,
rewards creative play, powerful without being over-powered, and his
abilities are friendly to other PCs. I cannot recommend the class
enough, especially for your next low- or mid-powered campaign.

Why I Wrote this Handbook

Dictum Mortuum wrote a really good handbook for the bard, but I felt
it didn’t go deep enough, so I wrote this handbook to be a bit more
comprehensive. That being said, the original handbook is great, and I
recommend reading that one as well as this one to get multiple view
points.

Other Resources and Thanks

Here are some of the resources that helped me build this handbook.
They are all very good, I recommend that you read them as well:
● Dictum Mortuum – The Bard’s Handbook – The original
handbook. Very good stuff here.
● Endarire – Breaking Down Inspire Courage . A handbook
dedicated entirely to maximizing inspire courage, one of the best
features of the Bard’s class. Definitely worth a read.
● Cards’n’Dice – Bardzilla – An interesting take on the bard. Not
comprehensive, but a few good angles.
● Treantmonk – Guide to Being God (A wizard) – This doesn’t
directly apply to the bard. However, he talks a lot about crowd
control, area effects, and spell use, so this is a good read.
● Relentless Imp – Metamagic and you Very useful reference for
metamagic feats.
● Dictum Mortuum – The Familiar’s Handbook A good resource
for bards who are going to get a familiar. Worth reading if you’re
thinking of going that direction.
● Caedrus – The Fear Handbook For those bards who want to
terrify their opponents, causing them to cower in the corner and
cry like babies.
● IMarvinTPA’s spell database – A comprehensive searchable
database for spells. For closed content it only gives book
references, but it’s awesome anyway.
● The Unoffical Tome of Battle Tools Page – Very easy-to-
navigate reference for the book of nine swords, which we can gain
access to via the martial feats. Not a common choice, but strong.

Some people have commented here with some really nice

observations. Additional thanks to Gold the Gnome Bard, Malcom
Towner, William Wordsworth, Davide, Stuart, Aion Haruno, Xethik,
Psycho Mantis, Toteca, and Elmer, as well as a bunch of others (see
their comments below).

Color / Symbol Legend

● Best – This is a very strong option and is almost always the best
choice, or one of the best choices.
● Strong – This is also strong, but you may or may not want to take
it depending on your build.
● OK – This is a reasonable choice.
● Weak – This is either mechanically weak, or has a very narrow
application. I don’t recommend taking this feature.
● Terrible – This is absolutely terrible or nearly unusable.

Source Books Used

I used all of the official source books and also included some items
from dragon magazines. The Dragon Magazines are a little more
difficult to review comprehensively, so I included the peaks I could
find, but may have missed some items. You should be warned that
Dragon Magazine features are typically unbalanced and should be
reviewed with a critical eye before being accepted into your
campaign.
 This Handbook’s Length
This handbook has gotten long. I don’t think you should try to read it
straight through. Instead, use it as a reference.

I had a choice between only including the best or more stand-out

items, or trying to be inclusive of all reasonably possible options. I
chose to be inclusive. I think this will help more people and help
people create diverse builds that I might not have considered.

A Note on Ability Evaluation and

Character Optimization
When designing characters, people often focus on only level 20. I
recommend doing more than that.

If your campaign is anything like the games I’ve ever played, you start
at low levels, slowly progress through the mid levels, and, if you’re
lucky, you get to play some teen levels before the game falls apart.
Even if you have a dedicated play group and make it all the way to
level 20, the abilities you get at levels 1-5 are going to get a lot more
play than the abilities you get at levels 15-20. Keep that in mind while
designing your character. I recommend that you look at the build
every four levels (or at specific key levels, depending on your class)
and consider how you’d like the character at each of those level.

If you know you’re going to start playing at a high level and continue
to play after reaching level 20, then of course this does not apply to
you. But for most people, level 1-10 are much more important than
levels 11-20. Make sure you keep that in mind while developing your
character. Remember: the goal isn’t to optimize some theoretical
mechanic; the goal is to optimize fun.

Party Roles
● Archer – The bard makes a fine archer. The only problem he faces
is the 3/4ths base attack bonus. It’s a feat-intesive thing, but
definitely doable.
● Blaster – The bard does not make a good blaster. He has a few
direct damage spells on his list, but not many. (but That’s OK,
because blasters suck anyway.)
● Buffer – This is the bard’s best role (and easiest to fulfill). Inspire
courage is very strong, easy to make much stronger, and it’s one
of your core class features. Your spells can support this role as
well. Buffing is something the bard is always going to be good at
(unless you actively work to make him bad at it). The bard has
access to a poor-man’s version of the Cleric’s Divine Metamagic
Feat, so 24-hour persisted buffs are also an option here, if you’re
interested in that sort of thing.

● Caster – The bard has a really solid

selection of spells, particularly crowd control and social spells. He
also has good access into the illusion school, which opens up a
world of possibilities. The Sublime Chord prestige class lets the
bard get access to 7th – 9th level wizard / sorcerer spells, so an
optimized Bard is capable of being as strong as an unoptimized
sorcerer pretty easily.
● Debuffer – Aside from the good list of bard spells that debuffs
opponents, the bard is a solid class for going into fear effects (see
the fear handbook link above). The bard also gets access to
 Doomspeak (although at later levels) which is one of the strongest
debuffs in the game.
● Healer – The bard is the only arcane class that gets access to heal
spells. If your party is light on healing, you can get the job done.
The bard should carry some wands of cure wounds to help heal
between fights (he can activate them without chance of failure
since the spells are on his class spell list) or a wand of lesser vigor
(once he’s high enough level to succeed on the Use Magic Device
check). The alternate class feature “Healing Hymn” can really buff
up the bard’s healing, but mostly out of combat because it’s not
action-efficient. I also think Cure Light Wounds is a fine spell to
pick.
● Melee – You can become a pretty big powerhouse in melee,
surprisingly. There are ways to get into full plate mail, dual-
wielding can be good, and you can output a lot of damage using
feats like knowledge devotion and snowflake wardance. Your hit
points aren’t great, so you have to be a little careful not to get
squished, but you can definitely develop your character to output a
ton of melee damage. This direction really benefits from
Metamagic Song and Persist spell, too.
● Social / Face – The bard makes an amazing social manipulator
and face of the party. He can pump all of the social skills (except
intimidate) he has a lot of social-related spells (charm, fascinate,
suggestion, detect thoughts, etc.) and has some social related
class-features. The more creative you can be in social situation,
the more fun you’ll have playing this class.
● Stealth / Skill Monkey – The bard has three-quarters the skill
points of a rogue, and a lot of good class skills. He makes a great
stealther / skill monkey. His most natural use of skills is for social
stuff, but he can easily be sneaky, and the two aren’t exclusive.
● Summoner – Bards make amazing summoners, maybe the best in
the game. Savage bard + Greenbound Summoning + Sublime
Chord + Greensong + Bardic Music. Yes please.
● Tank – The bard doesn’t make a great tank. Generally, you can
leave that to the fighter classes. You can output damage or
manipulate the battlefield; let them get beat up while you play
chess. That being said, a melee bard can build a little tanky if he
goes deep into the crusader class (It has a d10 for hit points).
 Class Features
● Weapon and Armor Proficiency – Getting access the longsword
and shortbow is nice. The best thing here is the Whip, which can
be used to trip opponents from a distance with some special
advantages. Also, the Arms and Equipment Guide (P10) has a
“Whip-Dagger” that you can use with no additional proficiency
required, that does real damage rather than subdual. You should
definitely carry one and look for opportunities to use it. At higher
levels, this will probably lose its appeal. At lower levels, it can be a
really solid option. Also, a bard doesn’t suffer Arcane Spell Failure
in light armor, which is very nice. (Elven Chain is a good idea once
you can afford it, or halfweight drow armor [Forgotten Realms –
Underdark source book] ).
● Spells – A Bard’s spells are, of course, his strongest class feature.
He has limited spells know and limited spells-per-day, so it is
important to choose your spells wisely.
● Bardic Knowledge – This is OK. There’s certainly nothing wrong
with it, but I think there are better options if you’re taking alternate

class features.
● Bardic Music – Along with spellcasting, this is the core of the bard
class. There are many different kinds of bardic music:
o Countersong – Because it takes a standard action to
activate and only protects against sonic or language-
dependant magical attacks, this is very weak. It’s
possible to go an entire 20 level campaign and never
have a situation where this is the right choice. It will be
also virtually impossible to get this to protect against
instantaneous effects. The one place it has some value is
to try and break the effect of a continuous effect, but
even then, it has to be a sonic or language based attack.
I recommend swapping this out if you can.
o Fascinate – Fascinate gives -4 to spot & listen, and
keeps the target from taking any actions as long as they
are not threatened. The ability is limited to one target per
3 levels. This feature isn’t that great, but it has some fun
in-game applications. It is most useful as the pre-
requisite for suggestion or mass suggestion. A creative
bard with a reasonable DM can find some nice tricks with
this ability.
o Inspire Courage – This is one of the best reasons to play
a bard. +1 to attack and +1 to damage doesn’t seem like
a lot, but when you do the math across an entire party, it
adds up to a lot of extra damage. When you use feats,
magical items, and additional bard levels to get this
bonus higher, it becomes responsible for a metric ton of
damage. Obviously, this ability is stronger in a party of
physical combat characters, and weaker in party of
casters. The best part about this is it makes your fellow
players happy, because their characters are more
 effective. Win-Win.

o Inspire Competence [Requires concentration] – This is

pretty weak. A +2 to a single skill for a single ally, for
maximum two minutes. There are better things if you’re
using alternate class features.
o Suggestion – This is an OK feature. The big limitation it
has (compared to the spell) is that you can’t use it in
combat, because fascinate is a pre-requisite and you
cannot fascinate in combat. On the other hand, the DC to
resist this is almost certainly going to be higher than the
spell’s, which is nice. Half-elf bards (or other bards with
generous DMs) will want to look at getting the spell
Suggestion (so you can use it in combat) and swapping
out this feature for Command, which is a little weaker,
but less restrictive in how it can be cast (and also not on
the bard’s spell list).
 o Inspire Greatness – This is a solid feature, if you
manage to stay bard for 9 levels. It gives extra hit dice, a
small fort bonus, and a bonus to attack rolls that stacks
with inspire courage.
o Song of Freedom [Requires concentration] – You’ll
probably want to multi-class out before getting this
ability, but if you get up here, it’s nothing special. It will
be useful occasionally.
o Inspire Heroics – Again, you’ll probably be out of the
class before you get up here. If not, it is an alright ability
that grants +4 to all saving throws.
o Mass Suggestion – This is OK. Unfortunately, the
requirement that the targets be fascinated is very limiting,
both because it means this can’t be used in combat and
because it limits the number of targets. “Mass” really
means “handful” in this case.

Alternate Class Features

The bard has some really nice options for alternative class features.
● Bardic Knack (PHB2, p 35)
Lose bardic knowledge, gain the ability to use half your class level
in place of skill ranks
This is solid. I recommend it over bardic knowledge, but you may
want to use this class-feature-slot for something else. It’s worth
noting that if you’re going to be multi-classing early, the
benefit of this ability is more limited,because the bonus is
calculated based on bard level. I would rule that any Prestige
Class that advances Bardic Knowledge would also advance this
feature, but you will have to check with your DM for his ruling.
● Bardic Sage (UA, p 49)
Adds additional spells and bonus to knowledge in exchange for a
higher need for intelligence and reduced duration of Bardic music
abilities.
This is interesting. If you can have a maxed-out charisma and a 16
intelligence, this might be worth pursuing. The big upside is an
extra spells known, which is typically a hard limitation for bards. If
you go into sublime chord, you can switch to charisma-based spell
casting for level 4+ spells.
● Bard College (DrM332 85)
Get a +1 bonus to two skills and make two other skills cross-class.
The Blackburn college gives you +1 to diplomacy and gather
information, and makes knowledge (dungeoneering) and
knowledge (the planes) cross-class. Yes please. There are a few
others here, too, benefiting climb, knowlege (nature), knowledge
(history), knowledge (the planes), decipher script, and knowledge
(arcana). Those aren’t too exciting. But the Blackburn College is a
nice clean upgrade.
● Drow Bard (DU, p 57)
Gain poison use; lose bardic knowledge and 1 bardic music
use/day.
If you are a Drow and want poison use, this is a fine way to get it.
The cost isn’t too steep. I don’t typically go this route, but I think
it’s an OK option. Don’t forget that you’re actually losing Lore
Song (not bardic knowledge), which is bonkers good.
● Divine Bard (UA, p 50)
Wisdom used to determine if you can cast a spell, Charisma used
 for all other factors, some spells added to the bard spell list.
This makes the bard have to pump wisdom to 16, and wisdom is
his one easy dump stat. However, you do gain the ability to cast in
full armor (letting you dump dex) so this might be worth looking at
for a melee bard. The spells you gain are not exciting. In addition,
your spells become divine spells instead of arcane spells. This
could impact some prestige class options (and open up some
options in the divine prestige class options that I haven’t explored
in this handbook). Thankfully, sublime chord and lyric thaumaturge
are still available to divine bards.
● Fey Bard (UA, p 58)
gain animal companion, nature sense, resist nature’s lure, and wild
empathy as a druid. Lose bardic knowledge, inspire courage,
inspire competence, inspire greatness, and inspire heroics.
Mechanically, this is a big loss. This is an interesting way to roll
your own ranger/caster, but I don’t endorse it. The animal
companion is pretty solid at low levels, but falls off at higher levels.
● Gnome Bard Substitution Levels: (RoS, p 147)

o 1st level: Gnome Cantrips

Effectively gain extra level 0 spells
Gnome Cantrips effectively net you one free level 0 spell
known. I normally recommend taking all three spells you
are granted by this ability (prestidigitation, dancing lights,
and ghost sounds) anyway, so this 3-for-2 trade is really
a 1-for-nothing trade. That is, free!
o ..and Counter Fear
replaces countersong
This isn’t great, but it comes together with gnome
 cantrips. Counter fear is about the same strength as
Countersong (i.e. terrible). You’ll want to get a DM ruling
to see if you can swap out “Counter Fear” for things you
could normally swap out countersong for.
o 3rd level: Inspire Defiance
Lose Inspire Competence, gain resistance to mind-
affecting stuff
+2 to saves against illusions and mind-affecting spells
and effects is better than inspire competence, but this
probably isn’t the best option.
o 6th level: Phantasmal Song
Lose Suggestion, gain a Fear-like Song
The low distance and limited effect makes this nothing
exciting.
o 11th level: Secrets of Bardic Trickery
lose a 4th level spell known, get three spells known
Phantasmal Killer is ok (save-or-die targeting will then
fort) but two chances to save on a mind-affecting spell is
just too narrow for me to be excited. In addition, neither
color spray nor touch of idiocy have much value at this
level, in my opinion. If you are a gnome and you like
phantasmal killer, then this is a no-brainer; get two other
spells for free. In general, I would pass on this ability.
● Half-Elf Bard Substitution Levels
(RoD 157)
o 1st Level
Lose Countersong, Gain Soothing Voice
This is an amazing upgrade. If you are a half-elf, do it. If
you’re not a half-elf, see if you’re DM will let you do it
anyway.
o 6th Level
Lose Suggestion, Gain Command
I think this is very strong. I recommend doing this and
picking up suggestion as a spell. This way you can use
suggestion in combat, and you also gain command.
o 8th level: Secrets of the Diplomat
Lose a 4th level spell known, gain bonus spells
 I don’t think this is worth doing. Sending is a pretty
underwhelming spell. I’d like to pick up command, but
not at the cost of a 4th level slot. If you like sending for
some reason, then this becomes great.
● Lightbringer Bard
(EtCR 206)
o 1st Level
Lose Bardic Knowledge, +5 to specialized undead
knowledge
I don’t think this is great in general. But if you have an
undead-focused campaign it’s worth looking at.
o 1st Level
Lose Inspire Competence, Gain Inspire Turning
Interestingly, the book lists this as a first level ability.
Does that mean you can take it at level 1 even though
you don’t normally get inspire competence until level 3?
In either case, I think this is a bit better than inspire
competence, but not particularly good. Give an ally +2
CL for turning purposes for as long as they hear us
perform (and we concentrate). In an undead focused
campaign in a party of clerics, maybe this could be pretty
cool.
o 6th level: Repel Domination
Lose Suggestion, gain mind affecting resistances
Untyped +2 vs mind-affecting spells or abilities from
undead. Also, if you suceed, on the save, the enemy is
shaken for the rest of the encounter. A fear escalator can
look at this.
● Harbringer (DrM#337 93)
Lose Fascinate, Countersong, Inspire Courage, Inspire
Competence, Suggestion, Inspire Greatness, Song of Freedom,
and Mass Suggestion, gain fear-based abilityes.
I think this is pretty cool, especially for a fear bard. Unfortunately,
it’s an all-or-nothing approach. You can’t pick and choose which
abilities to swap. Instill fear is about as good as inspire courage,
encourage failure is a little better than inspire competence, I like
dishearten better than inspire greatness, Dirge of Binding is very
 strong, and Drain Prowess is definitely cooler than mass
suggestion. We did lose fascinate, countersong, and suggestion
without any direct compensation, but the other stuff is pretty cool.
I would definitely look at this for a fearmonger bard.
● Spellscale Substitution Levels
(RoD 110) You can pick and choose which of these substitution
levels you take.
o 1st Level
Lose Bardic Knowledge, gain Draconic Bardic
Knowledge
A straight upgrade to bardic knowledge. Gain bonuses
on konwledge checks related to dragons, as long as you
maintain knowledge (arcana). It’s not bad, but there are
better alternative features for bardic knowledge.
o 3rd Level
Lose Inspire Competence, gain Inspire Arcana
Activate to Give your casters a +1 to Caster Level. Inspire
competence is weak, but this is also pretty lackluster.
The big downside is that it requires concentration to
maintain.
o 6th level
Improve Suggestion at the cost of one second-level spell-
per-day
This is pretty solid. Not amazing, but solid. I like getting
+2 to DCs on things like suggestion; when I cast a spell
or activate an ability, I just want it to work. That being
said, losing one spell per day is a little sad. Definitely
worth considering.
● Healing Hymn (CC 47)
lose fascinate, boost natural healing and healing spells
Fascinate is needed for suggestion. If you’re swapping out
suggestion (via half-elf sub levels or some other method) this is
really good. I underestimated it at first, but I really like it now. Pair
it with cure light wounds as one of your spells known, and you get
a lot of out-of-combat healing ability. It’s not great in combat
because you can’t stack it with inspire courage and the action
economy isn’t great, but still awesome. It’s also great to dump a
 bardic music at night to double healing. Really, this feature is easy
to overlook, but it’s very good. It’s also great to dump a bardic
music at night to double healing. Really, this feature is easy to
overlook, but it’s very good.
● Hymn of Fortification (CC 47)
lose inspire competence, use bardic music to generate protection
from evil type effects
This is a clean upgrade to inspire competence.

● Inspire
Awe (DrM 13)
Lose Inspire Courage, Gain Inspire Awe.
Opponents become shaken, with a chance at saving. The debuffs
are strong with a wide-range of harm and the save DC is pretty
high. This is good if you don’t want to go deep into inspire
courage, or if your party doesn’t have very many melee characters.
This is also a core feature of a fear-escalation bard.
● Inspire Hatred (EoE 21)
Lose inspire greatness, gain inspire hatred.
Cause an opponent to hate and attack his ally unless he passes a
will save? Sweet! I love the flavor, and it seems like a better use of
a standard action than inspire greatness.
● Inspire Turning (ECR 206)
Lose Inspire Competence with the ability to boost an ally’s ability
 to turn undead by spending a bardic music attempt they gain +2
levels on their turn check.
If you are in a party where this is relevant, I think it’s definitely
better than inspire competence.
● Lore Song (DS 8)
Lose Bardic Knowledge. Once per day (per two bard levels, i.e. lvl
1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) immediate action, add +4 bonus to an attack, save,
or check roll.
This is probably the best swap out for Bardic Knowledge. Knack is
also strong, but this one naturally min-maxes.
● Mimicking Song (DS 8)
Give up countersong. Use bardic music to give allies a +2 bonus
on move silently.
This is probably an upgrade. In-character, it’s a little funny to
imagine, but I think of it as the bard generating a magical sound-
cancelling wave (two sounds can theoretically cancel one another).
In either case, if you don’t have somewhere else to dump
countersong, this is probably an improvement.
● Music of Creation (ECS 34): (You can also take these as feats)
o Haunting Melody
Level 6+, so Replace Suggestion, Inspire Greatness,
Song of Freedom, Inspire Heroics, or Mass Suggestion
This is either very strong or below average, depending on
DM’s ruling. The text isn’t super clear on whether this
requires an action to activate or whether it “piggy backs”
another perform. I think RAW definitely piggy backs, but I
wouldn’t be surprised to see some DM’s house ruling
that this is a standard action to activate. It’s strong if you
can piggy back (inspire courage does a lot then!) and it’s
not very exciting by itself. You can see discussion on this
topic
here: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/63506/do
es-haunting-melody-use-a-standard-action/
o Music of Growth
Level 9+, so Replace Inspire Greatness, Song of
Freedom, Inspire Heroics, or Mass Suggestion
– This is generally bad, but it is a nice alternative to
 Augment Summoning for a savage/greenbound
summoning bard. Saves a feat.
o Music of Making
Level 6+, so Replace Suggestion, Inspire Greatness,
Song of Freedom, Inspire Heroics, or Mass Suggestion
Doubling the duration of conjuration spells is nice. If you
have a lot, you may want to consider taking this.
o Song of the Heart
Level 6+, so Replace Suggestion, Inspire Greatness,
Song of Freedom, Inspire Heroics, or Mass Suggestion
This is a good replacement for Inspire Greatness if you
get up there. A passive +1 to inspire courage, plus other
conditional benefits. It’s a shame this requires inspire
competence as as a pre-req. I almost feel like that’s a
typo. If it didn’t, this would be an amazing swap for
inspire competence.
o Soothe the Beast
Level 3+, so Replace Inspire Competence, Suggestion,
Inspire Greatness, Song of Freedom, Inspire Heroics, or
Mass Suggestion
This is pretty cool. Being able to diplomacy wild animals
fits the bard really well, and the mechanics (roll a perform
check) are naturally maximized. I think this is the best
option to replace Inspire Competence.
● Planar Bard
(PlH 29) – This is the sort of ability could be good in a very
particular campaign. The things you give up aren’t exciting, so if
the gains are something your DM tells you want, then go ahead.
o 3rd level: Planar Inspiration
Lose Inspire Competence, Use music to protect people
from planar effects
o 6th level: Planar Dissonance
Lose Suggestion,Temporarily redirect portals to new
locations.
o 12th level: Planar Discordance
Lose Song of Freedom, use bardic music as a precipitate
breach spell
● Repel Domination (ECR 206)
Lose suggestion, gain a +2 bonus on saves vs mind affecting spells
and abilities of the undead, if you succeed in the save they become
shaken.
This is weak. Suggestion is a solid ability; don’t give it up for this
conditional, passive, and small advantage.
● Savage Bard (UA 50)
Must be chaotic, good fortitude and will save, poor reflex. Modified
skill and spell list. Illiterate.
I think this is the right base for a summoner’s bard. As pointed out
by Elmer below in the comments section, this will give you access
to the Greenbound Summoning feat, which is really really strong.
Aside from that, Illiteracy is sad. Gaining fort instead of reflex is
nice. Losing prestidigitation is absolutely miserable. Losing read
magic is sad. On the whole, not a choice I’d take in general, but it
seems very strong for a summoning-oriented bard.
● Spellbreaker Song (CM 35)
Lose countersong, can use bardic music to disrupt casters, giving
them 20% spell failure chance.
This isn’t much of an improvement over countersong. The fact that
it disrupts all casters is a big advantage, though, especially if you
can sustain it throughout the combat (it doesn’t require
 concentration to maintain). 20% against two or three spell casters
over a handful of turns is pretty nice.
● Undead Bardic Knowledge (ECR 206)
Replace Bardic Knowledge with specialized knowledge about the
undead
Works like normal bardic knowledge but with a +5 competence
bonus. Only good if you’re going to be in a campaign that’s all
about undead. The big advantage to bardic knowledge is diversity,
and this takes that away.

Ability Scores
Your choice in ability scores is going to depend a lot on what sort of
bard you want to be. A caster/face/control bard doesn’t need strength
or dex, where a melee or archer bard is going to want some.
A Bard generally wants a high charisma, a low wisdom, and a good
balance between the other four abilities, depending on the direction
you are going. Melee bards can skim on the charisma a little, if they
want, to pick up some additional physical stats.
● Strength – Depends on the build. A bard will do combat damage
sometimes, so a 10-14 here, when possible, is nice.
● Dexterity – This is highly build-dependent. AC and ranged attack
is nice, and you have a lot of skills that get bumps from Dex, but
economy will probably not let you dump a ton of points here. 10-
12 feels about right, generally.
● Constitution – Extra hit points are always helpful. 10-14 here
seems good.
● Intelligence – This stat is a sponge; give it everything you can that
you don’t need in the other slots. Extra skills are really great.
● Wisdom – This is the bard’s easy dump stat. The primary benefit a
bard gets from wisdom is will saves and a bump to spot / listen.
Weak.
● Charisma – At least 16, preferably 18. Charisma is the stat bards
use for casting, giving the bard bonus spells per day and a higher
DC for spells that have a save (many bard spells). It also pumps
the two best skills in the game: Diplomacy and Use Magic Device.

Races
No Level Adjustment
● Aasimar,
Lesser (PGtF template applied to Aasimar) – +2 to Wisdom, +2 to
Charisma, Darkvision, and a small bonus to spot and listen. Not
my first choice, but a solid race.
● Aasimar (Web) – +2 Charisma, darkvision, light, spot and listen
bonuses, some resistances. Not bad.
● Azurian (MoI 7) – A modified human. Lose extra skill points, pick
up a point of essentia. I haven’t researched essentia a ton (I
probably should) but if you’re using it, this is probably better than
human for your character.
● Dwarf (PHB) – Not a good pick for the Bard. Nothing we’re excited
about, and it reduces our most important stat. If you want to be a
dwarf, you should look at some of the other options (listed below)
which at least don’t dump CHA.
● Dwarf [Desert
(UA 11), Dream(RoS 88), or Gold (DMG 171)
] – No big upside here, but if you want to be a dwarf, none of
these offer CHA penalties, which is nice.
● Elf, Star (UEast p9) – +2 Cha, -2 Con, Favored Class Bard, Normal
Elf Stuff, Can ghost touch weapons at night.
● Gnome (PHB) – This is a pretty good choice, especially for
casters. The +1 boost to illusion DC is solid and I love the extra
cantrips per-day. Small size is a mixed bag, but on the whole
advantageous for a non-melee oriented character. This is a strong
choice if you’re building core-only, but it falls off if you’re playing
with all the splat books. It’s 4 stars in core-only, and 3-stars if you
include all the splat books.
● Gnome, Stonehunter (DrM 8) Dragonblood subtype! If you want
to play a gnome and use the draconic auras or dragonfire
inspiration, check this out.
● Gnome, Whisper (RoS 94)- +2 Dex and Con, -2 Str and Cha.
Silence is a nice spell like ability, but not for -2 CHA. Pass.
● Goblin, Bhuka (Sand 39) – Not an exciting race in general, but the
best way for a bard to be a goblin (if you want/need that for some
reason) because of no CHA loss and no level adjustment.
● Gruwaar (DR317 p25) – +2 to Dex and Cha, -2 Str and Wis. Small,
4 legs, fey, can cast disguise self 1/day. Darkvision.
● Half-Elf (PHB) – Half-elves are really strong, assuming you have
access to the alternate class features from RoD. The +2 to
diplomacy, low light vision, and other minor race features are also
pretty nice. I wouldn’t take this race without access to RoD, but I
would seriously consider it in the context of those alternate class
features.
● Half-Elf (Jungle) – Same as half-elf, but you ca +2 to bluff and
sense motive instead of diplomacy and gather info.
● Half-Human (DMG 171) – Same as half-elf, but you lose the
diplomacy bonus to gain longbow proficiency (Bard already grants
longsword). I think this is a worse option, but something you can
look at. You’ll have to get the DM to approve getting the alternate
class features from RoD, but he really ought to.
● Half-Orc (PHB) – There’s really
nothing here for us.
● Half-Orc (Desert) (UA 12) – No CHA penalty half-orc. You lose the
strength bonus, but get a con bonus. If you’re in a point buy
system that’s probably a wash for you, so this is good. You also
lose darkvision (in favor of low-light vision) which is sad. If you’re
trying to go half-orc, perhaps for a fear bard, this is your best
choice.
● Halfling, Strongheart (FRCS 17) – Bonus feat and a lot of the
typical halfling fare. Effectively a small-sized human (but no bonus
skill points).
● Human (PHB) – As usual, human is the best option. Bonus feats,
bonus skills, and free multi-classing. It’s got everything.
● Human, Silverbrow (DrM 6) – Gain dragonblood subtype,
featherfall 1/day (and more at higher levels), +2 to disguise, but
lose bonus skill points. Solid.
● Illumian (RoD 52) – A really interesting class, especially for melee
rogues. If you take the Aeshkrau word, you can dump charisma as
a stat. You lose a lot of the social skills this way, but it’s an idea.
● Kobold [Regular
(RoTD 39), Arctic (UA 10), Desert (UA 13), Earth (UA 17)
] – A way to get the dragonblood subtype, which can help with
draconic aura. Take a look at all 4 to see which you like best if you
go this route, all four are about the same strength. Another trick is
to take this race and start with the dragonwrought feat. Be an old
man and get +3 to all mental stats without the normal penalties to
the physical stats. A little cheesy, and it effectively costs you two
feats (compared to being human.)
● Other Dragonblood Races
● Magic-Blooded Template (DM 306 p65) – This is stupid strong.
You get +2 CHA for -2 WIS, Low Light Vision, +2 to Knowledge
(arcana) and spellcraft, and gain 4 cantrip uses per day. The only
downside is you get favored-class: sorcerer and lose any other
favored class. Unless you’re a strange build or a melee-multiclass
bard, this doesn’t matter at all.
● Raptoran (RotW 68) – No level adjustment and gain the ability to
fly via race. Flying is cool.
● Spellscale (RotD 26) – Can transfer into spellscale race by
undergoing a rite after level 1. +2 to Cha, -2 to Con. Low light
vision, A cool “blood-quickening’ ability that lets you get a range of
race-based benefits each day.
● Unseelie Fey (DCV1 222) – Get a fly speed, some pretty good
special powers, damage reduction, low-light vision, +4 to
intimidate, +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Con, -2 Str. It’s pretty good.

With Level Adjustment

These are generally only worth looking at if your DM will allow you to
do a Level Adjustment buyoff. Otherwise, losing levels of class
progression just can’t be justified. Usually, these are most useful to
look at when you’re starting a campaign in the teen levels and don’t
mind being a little behind the rest of your party for a while.

+1 Level Adjustment
● Aasimar
(RoD 92, MM209)
– +2 Wis and Cha, Darkvision, some other small benefits.
● Catfolk (RotW 92) – +4 dex, +2 cha, 40′ move, low light vision, +2
to listen and move silent, and +1 to AC. Not a bad package for a
bard.
● Celadrin (DR 350) – Bonuses to Chrisma and Dex, +4 to Sing,
Dark vision, bonus to diplomacy, normal elf stuff. Not bad.
● Draconic Creature Template (Dr 149) – +1 AC, +2 Str, Con, and
Cha, Dark vision and low light vision, +2 to intimidate, two claw
attacks.
● D’hin’ni (DR351 p54)-+2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis. Darkvision 60′ , +1
bonus to saves, +2 to some sneaky skills, prestidigitation at will! I
love prestidigitation.
● Gnome, Chaos (RodS 86) – +2 to Cha and Con, -2 to Strength.
Some cool spell-like abilities. Not great.
● Jaebrin (MMV 93) – +2 Cha, -2 Str. Low light vision. Immunity to
enchantment spells and effects. +1 bonus to DC for enchantment
spells she casts, +2 on perform, bluff, diplomacy, and appraise. A
bite that does will damage. Not bad.
● Mephling, Air (Planar 10) – Gain flying, small size, favored class
bard, and a weakish breath weapon. +2 to Dex and Cha, -2 to int.
Not bad, but not worth 1 LA.

+2 Level Adjustment
● Adu’ja (DR317 p22) – Be a plant. +2 to Charisma. Some other cool
abilities, like +4 to diplomacy and perform (although minuses to
bluff and sense motive). Heals fast when in sunlight and well
watered.
● Domovoi (Frost 122) – +6 Cha and bonuses to most other stats.
Get some spells. Interesting.
● Dragonkin (Dcn 151) – Might be an idea for a melee bard starting
at higher levels. You get fly, +8 to strength, bonuses to other stats,
are large, detect magic at will, 7AC and some other cool things.

● Elf, Drow
(MM 103, Und 10)
– +2 to Charisma, Int, and Dex, -2 to con, spell resistance, spell-
like abilities, and darkvision. You also get the normal elf stuff and
sensitivity to bright light.
● Phrenic Template (EPH) – +2 to int, +2 to Wis, and +4 to
Charisma. As you level up, you pick up a bunch of psionic abilities.
This is definitely very strong for a bard, if you’re comfortable with
the level adjustment.
● Half-Fey (FF) – +4 to Cha, +2 to Dex, +2 to Wis, and -2 to Con. A
pretty fast fly speed with good maneuverability; and a selection of
useful spell-like abilities, including charm person at will, which is
pretty fantastic.
● Satry (MM 219) – +2 to all stats but Strength. Bard is favored
class. A lot of nice benefits, including +4 to perform and damage
reduction.
● Shadow creatures (LoM) gain shadow blend, which gives you
total concealment in any illumination less than full daylight.
Basically, it’s permanent greater invisibility. It’s kind of insane. You
also get to choose from a laundry list of powerful special abilities
like fast healing, evasion (good combo with invisibility), and plane
shift (to or from the plane of shadow only) as a spell-like ability.
● Yuan-Ti Pureblood ( MM 262) – +2 CHA, Dex, and Int. Darkvision,
some feats, special attacks, spell resistance.

+3 Level Adjustment
● Witchknife (MM3 112) – +4 to cha and other stat boosts, sneak
attack damage, psionic effect spell-like abilities. Maybe worth
looking into if you’re starting the campaign at high levels.

+4 Level Adjustment
● Doppleganger (MM 68) – +2 to all stats, and a total of +4 to
wisdom. Darkvision, extra bonuses to everything, detect thoughts
as a special ability, and change shape as a special ability. If you’re
playing a high-level campaign and can do LA buyoff, this might be
worth looking into. Would be absolutely miserable at low-levels.
● Pixie (MM 236) – +6 to Cha, bonuses to other stats (but dumps
strength) . Can fly, some Damage Reduction, gain Greater
Invisibility.

+9 Level Adjustment
● Gloura (Under 88) – +10 dex, +4 con, +2 wis, +6 cha, Darkvision
60′ , low-light vision, DR 10/Cold Iron, Fly 60′ , light armor
proficiency, simple weapon proficiency, CHA bonus to saves and
deflection AC. I think You have to take the Fey template, which is
+7, plus this which is +2, so a total of +9.

+10 Level Adjustment

● Firre Eladrin (BoED 169) – Unlimited uses of bardic music. This is
absurdly broken, especially if you can do a level adjustment buy
off. Take a Firre Eladrin, go into Bard / Sublime Chord, pick up the
feats Metamagic Song, Persistent Spell, Quicken Spell, and Lyric
 Spell. Now you have unlimited spells per day and you can make
every single one effectively permanent. The only real limitation here
is that your list of known spells is narrow. Spend the rest of your
feats on additional spells, and you’ve got yourself a monster. I
think this build makes a better NPC villian than PC hero.

Skills
A bard has a relatively high number of skill points per level, and has
access to a wide range of skills. The bard’s best skills are the social
skills, but he also has some other interesting things going on:
●
Appraise – Not really worth getting. You can prevent NPCs from
taking too much from you on sales / buys with a very stingy DM,
but not really exciting.
● Balance – I don’t recommend putting any points in this. It may
come up occasionally, but it’s hard to get a lot of value from points
here.
● Bluff – This is a very strong skill. I like taking this, along with the
other social skills, and maxing it out as much as possible. Five
ranks grant a +2 synergy bonus to Diplomacy, which is great.
● Climb – If you like this for flavor, it gives the DM opportunities to
give you cool dungeons. It doesn’t tend to give you the ability to
beat general encounters, so I don’t recommend picking it up.
● Concentration – Since you’re a spellcaster, this is essential
(unless you pick up the feat Melodic Casting, in which case you
can ignore this one).
● Craft – I don’t like using finite skill points to generate gold (a DM-
controlled resource). For that reason, I don’t recommend taking
this skill.
● Decipher Script – It’s less expensive to take read magic as a
cantrip and learn all of the languages through “Speak Languages”
than it is to get this up to a level where you can get any practical
use out of it. Pass.
● Diplomacy – Arguably the best skill in the game, I recommend
maxing this out. It gives you so many opportunities to resolve
conflicts and get allies. Very dynamic, very strong.
● Disable Device (Cross-class) – This is an OK skill, but its cross-
class for the Bard. I think there are better places to put your
points.
● Disguise – This has some cool role-playing opportunities, and can
add a lot of flavor to a campaign. The downside is that the
mechanics aren’t super favorable to the player, and the times
you’ll be able to apply it in a regular campaign aren’t too often. It’s
OK.
● Escape Artist – Being grappled sucks, and Escape Artist can help
you get out of that. If your DM is good at the rules, he’ll probably
send a few grapplers at the casters. This can help mitigate that.
● Forgery (Cross-class) – Because this is cross-class, it’s hard to
get much out of it. It’s a cool ability in theory, but I’ve never had
much luck putting it to use in my campaigns. If you’re doing an
intrigue type campaign and like this flavor, it’s not terrible.
● Gather Information – This is a fine ability, and fits right in with the
other social-skills I recommend. It might overlap a bit, but with a
good DM, I think each social skill has its own realm.
● Handle Animal (Cross-class) – Not really worth putting points
into.
● Heal (Cross-class) – Not really worth putting points into.
● Hide – This is an OK skill for every class. You can go on espionage
missions with the rogue, if you’d like. Not amazing, not bad.

● Iaijutsu Focus – This is a wierd skill. It’s only in the 3.0 Oriental
Adventures book. If you draw and attack a flat-footed opponent,
you can get extra damage for that attack. You also can do an
“iajutsu duel” with an opponent that accepts. For the most part, I
think this isn’t worth going into (both because it’s a bit narrow and
because your DM is going to have to be invested) but it’s not bad.
● Intimidate (Cross-class) – It’s a shame this skill is cross-class,
because it’s a strong skill and fits in well with the bard’s social
package. It overlaps with diplomacy a bit, but it has some unique
uses, and is really cool for roleplaying. There aren’t any easy ways
for a bard to get a class skill. For fear-monger bards, this is a key
component. For non-fear-mongers, you can take it or leave it.
● Jump – Five ranks gives a bonus to tumble, and there’s a nice skill
trick which can be good. Otherwise, I don’t think there’s much
here worth pursuing this one.
● Knowledge – Knowledges are a good skill in general, and become
absolutely insane in conjunction with knowledge devotion and the
skill trick Collector of Stories. If you’re going pure caster, this can
be a dump. If you’re going archer or melee, this seems like
something to really consider.
● Listen – This is a good skill that will get a lot of use throughout any
campaign. Wisdom is our dump stat, which is sad. I usually want
more active things (and leave the listening to the barbarian or
rogue) but this is definitely worth considering. If you’re going into
the Sublime Chord prestige class (one of the best for a Bard) you’ll
need 13 ranks here, so keep that in mind.
● Move Silently – Same as hide. If you and the rogue want to be
buddies (or if there’s no rogue) this is maybe worth taking. It has
some application, but not as many as you might like.
● Open Lock (Cross-class) – This might be worth taking one rank
in, if you get bardic knack. Otherwise, leave the locks to the
rogues, wizards, or barbarians to solve.
● Perform – Essential for a bard. Keep this near max for one type,
but there are some levels you can skimp on maxing out if you
need, based on what bardic musics you’re gaining access to. I
recommend doing something that doesn’t require an instrument,
like singing, whistling, or oration.
● Profession – Boring. If you want to say to your DM “I spend a year
making money”, then go ahead. Not something I’m interested in
doing. Kill monsters and fight bad guys. That’s more fun.
Professions are for real life.
● Ride (Cross-class) – Dump this skill and avoid horses. Q E D.
● Search (Cross-class) – It’s a good skill, but it’s not our strong
suit. I usually let someone else in the party cover this ground, and
just assist when I can.
●
Sense Motive – Five ranks gives a synergy bonus to diplomacy.
That’s great. Otherwise, it does help protect the party from being
bluffed. It’s a solid skill, but not amazing.
● Sleight Of Hand – A lot of the bard’s spells are social based, and
being caught casting can really a limiting factor. Sleight of hand
enables you to cast secretly in two ways (using the skill and using
 a skill trick) which I’ll outline below in a special section. For that
reason, I love this skill.
● Speak Language – A lot of the bard’s skills and spells are
language dependent. The more languages you speak, the more
opportunities you have to use those skills. There is a strong
argument that this skill is not subject to the normal “Max level + 3
ranks” limit, which means you can pick up all 19 learnable
languages at a pretty low level.
● Spellcraft – Lets you identify magical items with a high enough
check and detect magic (MIC 217). That alone is a good enough
reason to get into this class. It’s also required for some of the
better prestige classes.
● Spot (Cross-class) – A good skill that I leave to other PCs.
● Survival (Cross-class) – Cross class and limited application. It will
only really solve problems by the most difficult and strict DMs.
Leave this to the ranger or rogue.
● Swim – This skill can save your life, but you don’t typically need a
bunch of points to get value from it. As DM, I like to make
encounters that reward multiple types of skills, and swim is easy to
do that with. But it’s not something you need.
● Tumble – If you’re a melee bard, this is great. If you’re an archer
bard, it might be OK. If you’re a face / caster bard, pass.
● Use Magic Device – One of the best skills in the game, I also
recommend maxing this out. However, you can probably ignore it
completely for the first 3-4 levels.
● Use Rope (Cross-class) – This skill is just bad.

Skill Tricks
Skill tricks are a game feature from Complete Scoundrel. They let you
spend 2 skill points to pick up “skill tricks”, which are effectively mini-
feats. Due to the high number of skill points and many roles that a
Bard can play in a party, skill tricks can be a nice resource for a bard.
Typically, you want to choose skill tricks that suit your character. Two
skill points aren’t a large investment, so if you’ll be able to get some
use out of the trick, it’s generally worth taking. Here is a list and my
opinions on each:
● Acrobatic Backstab – This is best for a rogue, but if you’re a
melee bard who uses tumble a lot, it’s not a bad use of skill points.
● Assume Quirk – Usually, if you’re using disguise, someone who
knows the person you’re pretending to be is going to be in your
line of fire. Getting a +4 to +10 on disguise in this scenario is a
pretty good investment of two skill points. This will typically be
best for someone who maxed out disguise and wants more points.
● Back on Your Feet – Really strong vs trip attacks. If I’m a melee /
tumbler class, I’m taking this.
● Clarity of Vision – This is strong if you don’t have the ability to see
invisibility some other way. The fact that you only get one round
per encounter isn’t super exciting, though. If you somehow have
12 ranks in spot, this is a fine pick up. Because spot is a cross-
class skill for bard, this is hard to get.
● Clever Improviser – This one just doesn’t get enough bang for the
buck, especially for a non-rogue.
● Collector of Stories – This is solid if you don’t metagame. It’s
especially strong if you’re a combat bard who takes knowledge
devotion (and your DM rules that the +5 bonus improves your
Devotion roll.) I take this as a combat bard and pass as a caster
bard.
● Conceal Spellcasting – I think this is solid. Most of our spells are
going to be social spells, and being able to cast without detection
helps a lot. You should also look at Races of Stone (Page 133) for
additional info on concealed spellcasting with sleight of hand.
(Additional info here).
● Extreme Leap – This is a fine pick up for any tumbler bard. No
skill entry cost (because you almost certainly have 5 jump for the
synergy) and you get a little extra move when needed as a swift
action. Not amazing, not bad.
● False Theurgy – I don’t typically run into counterspellers. If you
do, this can be good to make sure a spell gets through.
● Group Fake-Out – I don’t think feinting is terribly good. For that
reason, I also pass on this. If you’re into feinting, this is a fine
upgrade for a low cost.
● Healing Hands – A mini-heal spell when dealing with dying
characters. Can really help in a low-magic campaign, but this gets
eclipsed by a Wand of CLW pretty quickly. Not great, and not
really for a bard.
● Hidden Blade – Don’t take quick draw as a feat. If you have it, I
guess you can take this feat. But I have trouble seeing this come
up more than once in an entire campaign.
● Leaping Climber – I have trouble thinking of a scenario where
speedy climbing is necessary, and where a few feet is the
difference that matters.
● Listen to This – The best use of this is to bring non-understood
languages back to the guy who can understand them. But you
ARE the guy who can understand them. Spend the skill points on
speak languages, not this.
● Magical Appraisal – This is OK. It’s a good trick for only 2 points.
You can also gain this ability by pumping spellcraft, so lots of
options here.
● Mosquito’s Bite – Most bad guys act like they didn’t get hit
anyway, and why would a bard be using a light weapon? Pass.
● Never Outnumbered – We don’t have intimidate, this range is low,
and demoralize opponent isn’t a great use of a standard action.
Pass.
● Nimble Charge – This seems pretty good for a melee bard. A little
narrow, but no real downside. The way its worded makes it sound
like a passive always-on ability, but the general rule for skill tricks
is once-per-encounter. I would want the DM’s ruling on that
question, but it seems OK.
● Nimble Stand – Not bad, butI’d get Back on your Feet instead.
● Opening Tap – Not for the bard. Not even great for a rogue.
● Point it Out – A high entry cost, a bard isn’t typically the Spot guy
in the party, and the effect is pretty limited. I’d pass.
● Quick Escape – Getting out of a grapple or pin at a swift action is
really nice. This ability isn’t worth 14 skill points, but if you have
the escape artist already, this is probably worth picking up.
● Quick Swimmer – I have trouble imagining a scenario where this
matters at all.
● Second Impression – If you’re all about disguise, this is good. In
general, it seems a bit loose for 2 skill points.
● Shrouded
Dance – This has no application for a bard. Pass.
● Social Recovery – This isn’t too strong, but it pumps your
diplomacy a little if you also have a maxed out bluff. The main
problem is the interpration of “fail”. If you’re aiming for friendly,
and you land at neutral, can you use this to push it a bit higher? If
so, maybe it’s worth taking. Otherwise, someone who has a
 maxed out diplomacy is never going to flat “fail”, making this
useless.
● Slipping Past – The problem this skill trick solves doesn’t happen
often enough to matter.
● Speedy Ascent – Same as quick swimmer and jumping leap.
Unless you’re simulating a climbing competition, when is this
going to make an actual difference?
● Spot the Weakness – Not a bad skill trick. It helps vs the big
armored guy a lot. Bards don’t tend to have a good spot skill, so
this might not be great for you unless you picked up spot as a
class skill from somewhere else. If you did, it’s worth considering
at least.
● Sudden Draw – Don’t take quick draw. If you did, and you imagine
this scenario will ever arise, you can spend two skill points for a
really cool story. Mechanically, this is very weak.
● Swift Concentration – This is strong with any bardic musics that
require concentration (Hymn of Fortification jumps out to me) or if
you have spells that require concentration to maintain. It effectively
gives you one more standard action, if you like those spells
otherwise.
● Timely Misdirection – So many ifs and conditions. Pass on this
please.
● Tumbling Crawl – This is a good ability; anytime you can get out
of reach of AOOs safely is nice. I just have trouble seeing it come
up often.
● Twisted Charge – This is solid for any melee bard. Not amazing,
but just solid.
● Up the Hill – Like the swim and climb skill tricks, I just don’t see
this making an appreciable difference.
● Walk the Walls – This has such cool visuals. I don’t know when
you’ll get a good use out of it (you need a perfect scenario) but
man its super cool.
● Wall Jumper – I have trouble finding a use for this.
● Whip Climber – I’d love to be Indiana Jones, but 15′ reach on a
whip plus a 7 skill point dump feels rough.
 Prestige Classes and
Multiclassing
An optimized bard is a multiclassed bard. There are a lot of options
here, especially considering the different roles it might want to be. I’ve
tried to make as large of a list as possible, but there are a lot of
options out there, so I may have missed a few of the more obscure
ideas.

Base Classes
There aren’t a ton of great base-class dips for a bard. That being said,
there are a few worth considering, and there are others which aren’t
bad and might be fun for flavor, or fit a particular character you’re
trying to build.
● Beguiler (PHB2 6) – Same as rogue, but instead of sneak attack
you get some cantrips and level 1 spells. Not worth setting back all

of your bardic class features. Pass.

● Binder (ToM 9) – This is a cool class, but I don’t see any benefits
to cross-classing into it.
● Cleric (PHB 30) – Probably the best general single-dip base class
in the game. You get a bunch of really cool effects. There is a
handbook for
this:http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2773
.0
● Crusader (ToB 8) -Strong for a melee bard. You get access to a
white raven stance, which you can use to pick up Song of the
White Raven feat, giving you Inspire Courage as a swift action.
You also get maneuvers, can delay taking damage to yourself, and
you gain some extra damage output tricks. You get a lot of punch
from in a single level dip into this class.
● Dragonfire Adept (DrM 24) – This class is similar to the warlock in
mechanics. I don’t see any advantage to going into this; it doesn’t
directly synergize or amplify any bard class features.
● Dragon Shaman (PHB2 12) – A one level dip gets you 3 draconic
auras, and +2 to fort and will. Not good, but if you really like
draconic auras this is OK.
● Fighter (PHB 37) – Not worth going into for the bonus feat, IMO.
Progressing your bardic music or going into crusader will be
better.
● Hexblade (CW 5) – There’s a lot of cool stuff here, but it’s a solid
downgrade from the bard’s package because we don’t get spell
progression.
● Marshal (MH 11) – Nothing exciting here. It has some bard-like
abilities, but they don’t stack at all.
● Monk (PHB 39) – Unless you’re doing this for flavor reasons, pass.
● Paladin (PHB 42) – Definitely weaker than progressing bard alone,
or going into Crusader / Cleric, but there is one feat that supports
this build, so it’s a little stronger than something like Monk or
Ranger.
● Ranger (PHB 46) – There’s really nothing here for a bard. Not
worth dipping for combat style (you’re better off doing that with
fighter and it’s not good).
● Rogue (PHB 49) – Sneak attack is nice, but its only 1d6. I don’t
recommend dipping this class, and multiclassing for a number of
levels will just set back your bardic music and casting.
● Swordsage (BoNS 15) – Doesn’t give access to White Raven
stances, which is a big benefit to going into this book. I
recommend Crusader or Warblade instead.
● Warblade (BoNS 20) – Also good for a melee bard. You get
access to white raven stance (opening up the feat Song of the
White Raven, letting you inspire courage as a swift action) and
 some bonuses to reflex saves. Not as good as crusader for the
bard, but still strong.
● Warlock (CArc 8) – Not worth dipping into. You just get an eldrich
blast, which is a flashy long-bow. You have much better things to
do with 1 level.

Bard Specific Prestige Classes

These are going to tend to be the strongest prestige classes available,
because they are designed to continue to improve or enhance your
bardic musics.

● Battle Howler of Gruumsh (DrM311 69) – A really good class for

the melee bards out there. You lose some good skills (diplomacy,
UMD) but you do pick up Intimidate. You continue to progress in
bardic musics and bard spells, you get a +1 to inspire
courage, you gain the ability to rage! and you gain the ability to
activate bardic musics while raging.
● Dirgesinger (LM 43) – Become a bardic necromancer. Lose bardic
spell progression, get access to five new songs across five levels,
all undead related. Some of the songs (Sorrow, Grief, Horror,
Awakening) are pretty strong. Losing spell progression is sad, but
this is cool to look into, especially for a fear bard.
● Dawncaller (RoS 103) -Must be a goliath. No spell progression.
Pick up some barbarian-like bardic musics. Not great, maybe
worth considering as a two-level dip to get another +1 to inspire
courage and darkvision.
● Divine Prankster (RS 107) – Must be a gnome. Get full spell
progression, good reflex and will saves, wizard BAB progression,
and some cool additional bardic musics. Definitely worth looking
into for the gnome bards out there.
● Dwarven Chanter (Web) – This class is underwhelming. It
increases your bardic music count which is nice, but otherwise
there’s not much. The +2 to bonus to class level to skills (max +20)
is interesting, but difficult to take advantage of in-game because of
the very long daze afterwards. War chant would be good, except
the ally side doesn’t stack with inspire courage. The rest of the
stuff is really flavorful, but difficult to apply to an advantage in-
game.
● Evangelist (CD 39) – Lose bardic spell progression. Pick up some
OK bardic musics and skill abilities. Has a bad feat entry cost, and
no spell progression. Mechanically, this is weak.

● Hafling Whistler (Web) – This class

is OK. Full spell progression of any bard class (looking at you,
sublime chord) and a lot of cool spell-like abilities. It does not
 increase any of your other bard class features, though, which is
sad.
● Harper Agent (PGtF 58) – Continues to progress bardic
knowledge, and increases spells levels 2-5. Otherwise, the abilities
it is granted are pretty weak and it requires a crappy feat to get in.
Pass.
● Heartfire Fanner (DM314) – Give allies feats, give a little bigger
boost to an ally under inspire courage, and get full casting and full
music progression. It would be pretty good if not for the steep feat
entry costs, especially because the feats are garbage (Negotiator
and Skill Focus: Perform).
● Lyric Thaumaturge (CM 67) – This is a great class. It is a good
alternative to the basic bard progression. You can start taking it at
level 7, which is a good break point in the bard class, and it lets
you pick up some spells from the wizard list, some extra spells per
day, and a few other cool abilities. Level 4 and level 7 are natural
break points, but there’s nothing wrong with going all the way to
level 10.
● Memory Smith (DM311 68) – The thing that makes this good is
that 1: it doesn’t have a steep entry cost; and 2: you continue to
progress in bardic music progression from the base bard class
and bard spells. Basically it’s a free add-on to the bard class (at a
small cost to bardic knowledge.) That being said, the benefits
aren’t great; you basically add a bunch of spells to your list that I
don’t like.
● Mourner (DM311 67) – Similar to the memory smith. You have a
really low entry cost, and you progress bardic musics and bard
spell casting. Because it’s basically an add-on, it’s gotta be at
least OK. If you’re in an undead campaign (or maybe if you’re
doing necromancy stuff) this is something worth looking at.
● Ollam (CAdv 66) – A Dwarf only class that grants some bard-like
abilities. 5 levels total, levels 2,3, and 4 improve spellcasting.
Definitely a pass.
● Seeker of the Song (CA 56) – Lose bardic spell progression, but
pick up a lot of special bardic musics, plus the ability to combine
bardic musics and activate musics as a swift action. If you want to
go all-in on bardic music, this is a good class to do it with.
Requires Skill Focus (Perform) as an entry feat, which is sad.
● Stormsinger (Frost 71) – Full spell progression and some
additional bardic musics. Requires two bad feats for entry, though,
which is a real bummer. I haven’t looked at this too deeply, but I
feel like there’s the potential for abuse by maximizing the winds
ability, especially because the class itself gives you the ability to
boost your caster level. (It’s also worth noting that this is one of
the few bard prestige classes that is compatible with Divine Bard.)

● Sublime Chord (CA 60) – Get up to

9th level spell casting with this class, plus some cool abilities. Entry
cost isn’t too high. It pulls spells from the wizard / sorcerer list or
bard list, whichever is better. A great 2-level dip or 6-level dip.
(Then you’ll want to use something that progresses spellcasting to
get to 10thlevel casting of this).
● Troubadour of the Stars (BoED 78) – Requires a weak feat to get
in and progresses spells every even level. It stacks with bard for
progresses all bardic music abilities, though, which is nice. You
also pick up detect evil at will some additional bardic musics, and
some other cool abilities. Worth looking at if you want to be a
bard/paladin type character.
● Virtuoso (CAdv 89) – Can be used to increase the spellcasting
levels of sublime chord along with your bardic musics. You also
pick up some OK new uses of Bardic Music. Not great for
progressing a bard build (because you lose one level of casting)
but good with sublime chord. You have to give up one level of
spellcasting to get into this, but you get full progression after that
plus the musics.
● Virtuoso (SaS 22) – The 3.0 version of Virtuoso is much stronger
than the 3.5 version. You progress spells every level, you gain
most of the core bard abilities, and you pick up a bunch of new
abilities. As a DM I wouldn’t allow the 3.0 version of this class. But
if your DM will let you, it’s very strong.
● War Chanter (CW p87)- Lose bard spell progression, pick up
strong alternate combat-oriented bardic music abilities. It’s a
shame that we lose spells with this class.Maybe you can look at
this with a leadership oriented build, but I don’t know, you’re
giving up a lot to get that capstone.

Combat Bards
● Abjurant Champion (CM 50) – Five level full casting class and full
BAB that grants some really cool abjuration-related effects. Bards
don’t tend to have abjuration spells, though, so the application for
us is limited. (Dispel magic and resistances are the only good
spells on the bard list). If you can figure out a way to take
advantage of this (probably gaining access to spells via sublime
chord or lyric thaumaturge) it’s a very powerful class. However,
generally speaking, it doesn’t benefit a bard.
● Arcane Archer (DMG 175) – Elf or Half-elf only. Lose spell
progression and bard ability progression. Pick up some really cool
arrow tricks. Not strong, but it has nice flavor.
● Arcane Duelist (Web) – Two feat tax (dodge and mobility). Lose
spellcasting progression. Get good reflex and will saves. Get a
bunch of really cool extraordinary and spell like abilities. The big
question I have with this class is why are we getting only 1/2 base
attack bonus!? +5 across 10 levels is insane for a class that’s
focused on melee combat. This has really cool flavor, but is weak.
● Battle Dancer (DrC 26) – I think this is pretty weak. You might
want to look at it as a single-level dip to get a Charisma bonus to
AC, but because you have to be unarmored for that bonus, I prefer
just buying some armor.
● Duelist (DMG 185) – Some cool-ish combat abilities, but at a huge
cost: no spell progression and three bad feats. Pass.
● Eldritch Knight (DMG 187) – Lose one level of casting progression
and bardic music progression for full BAB and a bonus feat.
Requires proficiency with all martial weapons, which means you’ll
have to have another dip somewhere. Worth looking at, but in the
end you do better progressing bard most of the time (Maybe
there’s a wonky gish build with Sublime Chord and this?). Even
putting aside the loss of a level (or two!) the increased bonuses to
inspire courage outweight the slightly better BAB progression.
● Jade Phoenix Mage (BoNS 115) – Full BAB, 8/10 spellcasting
progression, Devoted Spirit maneuver progression, and provides
two powerful early class features: Arcane Wrath, where you can
turn a spell slot (even a cantrip!) into a bonus to attack and
damage, and Mystic Phoenix Stance, where you pick up small CL
and AC bonuses and up to DR 10/evil, which really adds up. If you
hold off on most of its levels until after you go into Sublime Chord,
 it can help you progress SC to ninth level spells and still get you to
around +17 or so BAB at 20th. Good early, good late. If your DM
allows Tome of Battle, this should be blue for a combat bard and
purple for a Sublime Chord gish. (Thanks to Gabrosin of the Giant
in the Playground forums for this summary!)
● Knight Phantom (Five Nations 41) – Lose bardic music
progression to pick up full BAB and some ghost-flavored abilities.
Not bad, not great.
● Spellsword – Easy to enter, but no bardic progression and spell
progression only on odd levels. This is best as a 1-level dip; you
get 1 BAB, 2 fort, 2 will, and 10% ASF reduction (which can help
you carry a shield). Something to look at as a melee bard.
● Suel Archanamach (CArc 63) – Starts its own spell progression,
and adds some combat – related feats. Not great, but might be
worth looking at once.
● Swiftblade (web) – Pretty cool prestige class for gish builds.
Definitely worth considering for 3 levels, and I could see going here
for 9 or 10 levels. The only problem is that it has a pretty high feat
tax.

Spell Progression / Abilities (Not Bard Specific)

These are notable classes that continue spell progression and grant
some abilities, but don’t progress your bard-specific abilities.
● Archmage (DMG 178) – Three bad feats to get in and no bardic
progression. The High Arcanas are kind of cool, but not really
worth the cost for a bard.
● Ardent Dilettante (Planar 55) – Progress spells at every level but
first. Really high entry cost that increase as you level up in the
class, but some nifty benefits (3 bonus feats) and it progresses
Bardic Knowledge. This class is going to be one that you have
focus your entire build on, but it’s got some things to recommend
 it. I don’t think it’s the most powerful choice, but it might be fun.

● Blood Magus (CA 26) – A casting focused class that progresses

spells but offers nothing to the bard.
● Dread Witch (HoH 98) – A fear-based caster class. You get 4/5
spell progression and a bunch of fear-based effects. This is the
prestige class for fear escalators.
● Exalted Arcanist (BoED 61) – Gain some exalted spells. The feat
entry here, and losing one level of casting, is sad. I’m not in love
with the new spells it gives you access to, so I think this is a pass.
● Fatespinner (CA 37) – A high level prestige class that’s great as a
4-level dip. You stop improving your bardic knowledge and bardic
musics per day, but you get a bunch of really cool re-rolling
abilities. I love this class.
● Green Star Adept (CArc 41) – 5 / 10 spell progression. Slowly turn
into a construct. Nothing special for a bard.
● Harper Paragon (PGtF 181) -Requires that you get into the vow
feat tree.Doesn’t progress any bardic features, but gets you into
some paladin / ranger like abilities while continuing to progress
spells.
● Heartwarder (FaP 197) – Has a really high feat tax and no bardic
music progression. On the upside, you gain bonuses to charisma
and charisma related effects, as well as full spellcasting
progression. Pretty cool.
● Incantatrix (PGtF 61) – 10 levels of spell progression. No bardic
ability progression. Pick up some cool concentration and
 metamagic tricks. I don’t think there’s much here for a bard, it’s
better for a wizard or sorcerer.
● Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil (CA 44) – This is a very strong class,
but it’s got a high cost to get into and doesn’t fit the bard mold
well. Leave this one to the wizards.
● Loremaster (DMG 191) – 10/10 spell progression, no bardic ability
progression. Pick up “secrets” that give some minor benefits. This
is weak.
● Mage of the Arcane Order (CA 48) – This could be cool for a bard
to get access to a wider range of spells, but it was designed
without spontaneous casters in mind. You’ll have to talk to your
DM about how to make it work.
● Master of Masks (CS 52) – Only progress spells 4 levels out of 10.
You get a lot of neat abilities and some really cool flavor, but
mechanically you give up a lot more than you gain.
● Mindbender – A reasonable good 1-level dip or 3-level dip. You
only progress spell casting on odd levels, but you pick up cool
abilities like telepathy. A 1-level dip is particularly good for
Telepathy, which, in conjunction with the Mindsight feat (LoM 126)
can act like a radar for anything with a mind.
● Mythic Exemplar (Ktolemagne) (CC 86) – This will give you spell
progression for every level but 1 and 10. Not bad. In addition,
you’ll get a scaling bonus to will saves, +5 to some skills, +4 to
Intelligence, Identify 1/day, and SR 10 + CL. And at level 10 you
get +2 to any stat. Not great, really, but it’s got some cool flavor.
I’d look at Human Paragon before this.
● Mythic Exemplar (Reikhardt) (CC 86) – 1/2 spell progression.
Scaling bonus to will saves, continues to scale inspire courage and
inspire greatness, +4 to charisma, dominate person as a swift
action, and the capstone of another +2 to an ability score. Kinda
cool, not great.
● Nightmare Spinner (CM 74) – 5 level class, get spell progression
for four levels. Pick up a bunch of pretty strong fear-related
effects, and also get additional spell slots per day (but only for
illusion spells). Definitely strong.
● Paragnostic Apostle (CC p94) – A 5 level capstone, probably a
good fit for a sublime chord build, but you can look at it for pure
bards or other crazy hybrid things. I like fast healing on summons
 and +1 to overcome spell resistance a lot. The other ones are
looking at. It is easy to dip into. Check it out!
● Rainbow Servant (CD 54) – If this grants access to all cleric spells
at level 10, its worth looking at. I don’t think it’s good, anyway, but
anything that expands the bard spell list is interesting. You get 7
levels out of 10 of spell progression, and some cool special
abilities.

● Ruathar (RotW 122) –

Three levels of spell progression and some cool abilities. It doesn’t
do anything to advance your bard skills, and the abilities aren’t
that cool. Probably a pass.
● Shadowcraft Mage (ROS 120) – 5 / 5 spell progression plus cool
abilities. Must be gnome (or your DM can add a different
restriction). Offers an effectively wider spell selection through
shadow tricks. It’s pretty cool.
● Shadowcrafter (UD 43) – An illusion-oriented casting class. 10/10
levels of spell progression, plus pumps to the Shadow spells. This
isn’t great, but it’s OK.
● Spelldancer (MoF 37) – Full spell progression, which is good.
Huge feat tax (four feats I don’t recommend). No bardic music
progression. Some abilities which are sort of like bardic musics.
Not absolutely terrible, but that feat tax makes this a dead end,
IMO.
● Tainted Scholar (HoH 114) – Full spell progression, but requires a
will save to multiclass out of. A lot of taint-flavored stuff here. I
 don’t recommend this on power level, and the taint stuff can be
restrictive. If you like the flavor, take a look at it. (But it’d probably
be better to do this as a pure caster class instead of the bard).
● Urban Savant (City 100) – Full spell progression. You have to pick
up the “favored” feat, which is pretty weak. Grants a mini-
knowledge devotion class feature, you also pick up low-light-vision
and some substitution skills for diplomacy. This is generally pretty
weak.
● Wild Mage (CA 68) – 10/10 spell progression. Not terrible, not
exciting. If you like the flavor, it’s OK to take. There are stronger
options, though.

Racial Paragons
These classes are from Unearthed Arcana. These don’t prove to be a
good option in the end, but it took me a lot of trying to fit them into
builds to come to that conclusion. The +2 boost to a stat is a real big
temptation, but it’s not worth losing bardic ability progression and a
level of casting (or worse). That being said, maybe you have a build
where they make sense, or you like the flavor, so I included them here.
● Drow Paragon (male only) – A one level dip is worth considering.
Not great because it doesn’t advance any other classes or class
abilities, but you do get spellcasting and additional uses of spell-
like abilities.
● Elf Paragon – Doesn’t advance bard spells. Pass.
● Gnome Paragon – Not bad, but you lose one level of spellcasting.
● Half-Elf Paragon – At best a two-level dip, which avoids the
primary reason to take a paragon class: the stat boost. Pass.
● Human Paragon – 3 levels, two of which progress spellcasting.
Gain a bonus feat and +2 to a stat. Not bad, but usually hard to
work into builds.

Hybrid Classes
I don’t tend to think hybrid classes are a good idea from an
optimization point of view, especially if you’re coming from the bard
as a base class. You’ll see that reflected in the analysis below. That
being said, the Apostle of Peace and Priest of Ur both have some
serious potential.
● Apostle of Peace (BoED 51) -Get 9th level Arcane Casting in 10
levels. This + Bard + Sublime Chord + Mystic Theurge is really
cool. You have to go into the Vow feats to get into this class, but
the vow feats can be good if your DM and party members are
comfortable with how they impact the campaign. Check out
the example builds section for more info on this.
● Arcane Hierophant (RotW 108) – Designed as a Arcane / Druid
hybrid, a bard could theoretically go into this. I recommend
passing, though, there’s nothing too exciting here.
● Arcane Trickster (ToB 47) – Mage / Rogue hybrid. Pros:Full sneak
attack progression and full spell progression. Cons: This is built
targeting a wizard, not a bard, so no bardic abilities progress.
● Bladesinger (RoF 179) – A lot of required entry feats, most of
which are bad. It also has its own 4-level spell list rather than
progressing the bard’s. There’s one really cool ability, but this is a
pass.
● Divine Crusader (CD 33) – Relatively easy to go into, and it’s a
good way to get high level arcane and divine casting. Bard,
Sublime Chord, Divine Crusader, and Mystic Theurge. Voila. You
also get some cool stuff like Weapon Specialization and
Darkvision.
●
Daggerspell Mage (Cadv 31) – Arcane / Rogue hybrid. 9/10 spell
level progression, sneak attack progression, and some cool knife
like abilities.
● Divine Prankster (RoS p107) – A gnome-only Bard/Cleric hybrid
PrC that focuses on Perform (Comedy). It gets a really powerful
ability at 2nd level, that lets you consume a turn/rebuke undead
attempt to get +10 against the check to recognize a figment as an
illusion. The first thing that comes to mind are the shadow
evocation and shadow conjuration spells.
● Enlightened Fist (CA 34) – Arcane /Monk – 8/10 spell progression,
continued progression of monk abilities, some cool abilities.
● Fochlucan Lyrist (Cadv 47) – Bard / Druid hybrid, but for some
reason it also requires evasion, which you need to get via two
levels of rogue or monk, or maybe some wonky stuff with shape
soulmeld and Impulse boots. You progress Bard and Druid spell
progression, along with bardic class features. You can’t get into
the class until level 10, though, which means you are going to have
a lot of lower-level spells, but be severely gimped at higher level
spells. You also don’t get the best features of the druid class. I
think this is worse than going pure bard or pure druid, but that’s
how things often are with hybrid classes. Probably the best build
here is 2 rogue / 6 druid / 2 bard, then get bardic musics and 12
levels of bard casting with 18 levels of druid casting. It doesn’t
progress wild shape though, so this isn’t better than the straight
druid by any means.
● Geomancer (CD 41) – Divine / Arcane hybrid. Progresses one side
of the spellcasting and adds some abilities.
● Green Whisperer (DM311, 69) – You continue to progress your
bardic music and spells, as well as your druid spells. You lose
some key skills. This is a clear yes for any bard/druid hybrid, and
any savage summoner bard type might look at this for the green
ear level 5 capstone — being able to give your greenbound
summoned creatures the benefit of inspire courage without having
to dump a feat is worth considering.
● Imaskari Vengeance Taker (Underdark 37) – Gain sneak attack
and poison use, 5/10 spell progression. Can seek out one
particular creature using clairvoyance and divination. Not really
anything special here for a bard.
● Mystic Theurge (DMG 192) – Arcane / Divine hybrid. Progress
bardic spells and divine spells simultaneously, no other benefits.
Not a good idea for a bard in general (combined with a cleric for
example) but can be very potent when combined with Ur-Priest,
Divine Crusader, or Apostle of Peace.
● Rage Mage (CW 72) – Wizard / Barbarian hybrid. This doesn’t
really seem to be worth anything to the bard. Just included it here
in case someone is looking to do bard / barbarian.
● Ur-priest (CD 70) – Get 9th level Divine Casting in 10 levels. This +
Bard + Sublime Chord + Mystic Theurge is really cool. This has the
strange pre-req of a good fort save, so you’ll probably have to
 build using savage bard. Check out the example builds section for
more info.

Feats
If your DM will let you take a flaw (see: Unearthed Arcana) take one. If
he’ll let you take two, take two. More feats more better.

General Feats
● Able Learner (RoD 150) – Human or doppleganger only. Buy
cross-class skills ranks for 1 point (instead of 2). Still subject to the
1/2 max ranks. We have so many in-class skills and skill points
that I can’t imagine this is a good use of a feat.

● Battle Caster (CA 75) – You can put a

bard in mithril full plate this way. Pretty cool. (You could also look
into half-weight armor, to accomplish this without a feat).
● Craft Wonderous Item (PHB 92) – Pay: time, 1/2 the gold cost,
and 1/25th gold cost in XP to make any wonderous item. The
purpose of this feat is to force your DM to let you get an item he
doesn’t want to give you. Look, you’re playing a bard, the master
 manipulator class. Use some of those skills in real life and talk your
DM into granting reasonable access to wonderous items, and save
the XP, skill points, and feat.
● Darkstalker (LoM) – Hide a little better vs. creatures with
blindsight and blind sense? Terrible.
● Drow Legacy (DotU 220) – Half-elf only. Lose standard half-elf
benefits. Get some drow benefits (+2 will saves vs spells,
darkvision, hand crossbow, and some spell-like abilities) along
with a -1 circumstance penalty to attcks, saves, and checks in
bright sunlight. Losing the +2 to diplomacy is a big hit, but I do
love spells. Even though these spells aren’t great, they’re spells!
The +2 to will against spells is pretty good too. On the whole, this
is a fine choice. Not essential, but I’d be considering it.
● Daunting Presence – Standard action to activate, single target,
gets a save, and benefit is minimal. Pass.
● Flexible Mind (DrM #326)- Gain two skills as class skills (and get a
+1 untyped bonus to those skills). A great way to get into
intimidate.
● Imperious Command (DotU) – Requires intimidate 8 ranks, and
depends on demoralizing in combat. If you succeed, the bad guy
cowers for 1 round (and then is shaken the following round). The
skill trick “Never Outnumbered” lets you demoralize multiple
opponents at once. If you manage to do this to multiple
opponents, you can get some pretty good action-economy
(trading your turn for multiple opponent’s turns). This is pretty cool
if you have a way to get intimidate to 8.
● Improved Initiative – This is a solid feat. Bards are buffers /
controllers, and that means they like acting first. That being said,
there are usually better options unless you are restrained on what
books you can use.
● Jack of
All Trades – This isn’t great at all. Dump one point in the skill if
you really want access to it. Not worth a feat.
● Leadership – Most DMs ban this feat, and for good reason. A
bard is particularly good for this feat. It requires a lot of book-
keeping, and may make your ally PC’s jealous of your time in the
spotlight. But its power cannot be denied.
● Master Manipulator – The first ability is another fascinate, and the
second ability doesn’t do too much. I think this is a pass.
● Momentary Alteration (UA 94) – If you’re exposed to “alter self”
you can take this feat and use alter-self for 1 minute once per day
as a spell-like ability. Alter self is really strong, but I don’t know
that this feat is exciting despite that.
● Minor Shapeshift – A cool feat that passively gives a bunch of
buffs, but the bard has trouble getting into it with his spell list
(there are no polymorph spells on the bard list except alter self,
and you need a 4th level one). One appproach is to take heighten
spell and alter self (you can now cast a 4th level alter self) or to go
into sublime chord.
● Negotiator (PHB 98) – +2 to Diplomacy and Sense Motive,
untyped (so it stacks with everything). This is better than it initially
seems.
● Nymph’s Kiss (BoED 44) – This is an easy feat to overlook, but
man is it jam packed. +2 to all charisma related effects (diplomacy,
bluff, etc.) +1 bonus to all saves against spells and spell-like
abilities, and 1 extra skill point per level. It’s a strong, passive feat.
Obviously, take it at level 1 if you’re going to take it.
● Skill Focus (Diplomacy) (PHB 100) – An untyped +3 bonus to
diplomacy is actually pretty good. Especially for a core bard.
● Residual Rebound (UA 94) – 5% chance of returning a spell
targetting you on the caster. It’s cool, but I don’t like being
targeted with spells and 5% isn’t enough.
● Scathing Wit (DrM 291) – Opposed intimidate check as a full
round action to give opponent -1 to everything for a number of
rounds equal to your charisma modifier. Not a bad debuff.
● Summon Elemental Reserve Feat (CM 47) – As long as you have
an open 4th level spell slot and a summon spell of 4th level or
higher on your known spells list, you can summon a small
elemental (air, earth, fire, or water) for 5+ rounds. Pretty great utility
feat. The earth elemental can earthglide through walls and doors!
This is very cool and very useful. I like its diversity.
● Touch of Healing (CC 62) – A reserve feat that lets you cure your
party to half of their max hitpoints, as long as you have a 2nd level
spell slot open and a healing spell on your known spell list. I don’t
love this, but if you want to be a healer, this is strong tool to do
that.
● Trivial Knowledge (RoS 145) – Gnome only. Roll knowledge and
bardic knowledge checks twice, take the higher of the two rolls.
This might be pretty good with knowledge devotion if you have the
feat to spare (although, it’s hard to be a gnome and combat
oriented). Otherwise, leave this.
● Versatile Performer – Use your highest rank perform for up to int-
bonus other perform checks. This depends on your DMs way of
playing. If she requires that you have the required ranks to use
each instrument for perform, that really limits your ability to take
advantage of the instrument boosts. This feat can offset that by
letting you have all of the instruments available to you. If your DM
is lax about this rule or interprets it softly, then there’s no reason at
all to take this feat.
● Wanderer’s Diplomacy – The first ability is a method to get the
DM to do something he doesn’t want to do (never a good idea) the
second ability can be solved with skill points via speak language,
and the third ability lets you use bluff in place of diplomacy. All are
pretty underpowered.

Familiar Feats
If you’re going to pick up a familiar (a strong idea) you should read
Dictum Mortuum’s excellent Familiar’s Handbook.
● Celestial Familiar (BoED41) – This isn’t worth getting to add the
celestial template to an existing familiar. However, it opens up
Coure Eladrin as a familiar, which is one of the best familiar’s in the
game.
● Improved Familiar (DMG 200) – Improved familiar makes your
familiar even more cool. There are a lot of really strong options
here.
● Obtain Familiar (CArc 81) – A familiar can be a really nice boost
for a bard, especially something that can speak and activate items.
There are handbooks on this topic if you’re interested in it.
● Planar Familiar –
● Psicrystal Affinity (XPH 49) – Gain a Psicrystal as a familiar. Also
good. I think it’s basically the same as a regular familar with some
cool flavor.
● Wild Cohort (Web) – Not a familiar, but having an animal
companion is pretty great too.

Metamagic Feats
● Arcane Preparation (PgtF 32) – Allows you to prepare spells
ahead of time with metamagic applied to them, rather than doing
so spontaneously (and having to cast at full-round speed). Rapid
Metamagic is a better option, use that for this effect if you want it.
● Arcane Thesis (PHB2 74) – Make one spell cast at +2 CL and get
a metamagic reduction of one for it. Definitely cool.
● Coercive Spell (DotU 47) – (+1 mod) Spells that deal damage also
reduce targets will by 2 for 3 rounds. This would actually be pretty
good, except that it requires the spell deal damage, which the bard
doesn’t have a lot of.
● Chain Spell (CArc 76)- (+3 Mod) There are a lot of bard spells that
this applies to. Worth considering for your higher level feats.
● Disguise Spell (+1 mod) Hide the fact that you are casting spells
for +1 spell level. There are ways to do this with Sleight of Hand
(see that section) and Skill Tricks (see that section) so I think it’s
better to pass on getting the feat; feats are valuable things.
● Easy Metamagic (DRM 325) – This will let you persist 4th level
spells. IF you’re going all-in on persist, this is something to look
into, but otherwise probably a pass.
● Extend Spell (PHB) – (+1 mod) I think this is the best metamagic
feat available to a bard. Many of the swift-cast spells can be really
improved by doubling their duration (but you’ll need the Rapid
 Metamagic feat).

● Fell Drain (LM 27 )- (+2 mod) If your spell does damage, the bad
guy also gains a negative level. This is quite good if you have a
damage spell you like.
● Heighten Spell (PHB) – (+1 mod) Spell DC is everything. The
harder your spells are to resist in clinch moments, the more
effective you are.
● Mastery of Faerie Enchantment (PgtF 126) – Free spontaneous
application of extend spell, with no level adjustment, to any
enchantment spell. I don’t think there are great targets here in
general, but it is interesting. If you’ve got extend spell and a lot of
enchantment spells, you could look at this. Usually enchantment
spells don’t suffer from short lengths, so I don’t know if you’ll find
much use.
● Metamagic School Focus (CM) – Reduces the metamagic cost of
a particular school of magic by 1. The main purpose in getting this
is to let you persist a particular school of spells one level higher (so
max 5 on persist spell if you go all-out here).
● Metamagic Song – Lets you consume bardic musics (an
overflowing resource) to reduce the metamagic cost of spells.
There are two big limitations to this feat: 1. You cannot increase a
spell’s level to higher than what you can cast (severely limiting the
options with persist spell) and 2. You have to either reduce it
entirely or not at all. Still strong.
● Persistent Spell – (+6 mod) Not worth considering unless you’re
going into PrC Sublime Chord (9th level casting) or if you’re picking
up the Talfirian Song feat (which effectively increases your max
spell level to 9). Even there, the benefits are a little limited, since, at
best, you can extend 3 rd level spells. This is also very cheesy and
might piss your DM off. That being said, here is a (hopefully
complete) list of spells that are candidates for persisting.
Obviously, due to your limited spell list and bardic musics per day,
you’ll have to choose a few of these carefully. It’s also worth
nothing that these spells are usually not the best choice for casting
purposes, so you might want to substitute into them at later levels,
instead of having them be dead weight all game.
o Level 0: Detect Magic, Fleeting Flame, Ghost Sounds,
Ghost Harp, Know Direction, Light, Minor Disguise,
Percussion, Read Magic, Resistance, Seeker’s Chant,
Silvered Weapon, Songbird, Summon Instrument
o Level 1: Accelerated Movement, Ambient Song, Ancient
Knowledge, Comprehend Languages, Crabwalk, Critical
Strike, Detect Secret Doors, Disguise Self, Expeditious
Retreat (swift), Expeditious Retreat, Focusing Chant,
Friendly Face, Ghost Pipes, Inspirational Boost, Instant
 Diversion, Invisibility (Swift), Ivory Flesh, Joyful Noise,
Loresong, Lucky Streak, Master’s Touch, Mimicry, No
Light, Obscure Object, Quick Swim, Scholar’s Touch,
Serene Visage, Silent Image, Stay the Hand, Sticky
Fingers, Summon Monster I, Undersong, Ventriloquism
o Level 2: Alter Self, Animate Instrument, Animate Rope,
Battle Hymn, Bladeweave, Blur, Cat’s Grace, Create
Fetch, Detect Thoughts, Eagle’s Splendor, Elation, Fly
(Swift), Fox’s Cunning, Grace, Harmonic Chorus,
Harmonize, Heroism, Invisibility, Lively Step, Mesmerizing
Glare, Minor Image, Mirror Image, Misrepresent
Alignment, Peaceful Serenity of Io, Phade’s Fearsome
Aspect, Proud Arrogance, Rage, Resounding Voice,
Sculpt Sound, See Invisibility, Silence, Sonic Weapon,
Sonic Whip, Sonorous Hum, Speak to Allies, Stretch
Weapon, Summon Elysian Thrush, Summon Monster II,
Summon Swarm, Surefooted Stride, Tactical Precision,
Tongues, Tune of the Dancing Weapon, Weapon Shift
o Level 3: Blink, Displacement, Fortissimo, Gaseous Form,
Glibness, Good Hope, Haste, Hymn of Praise, Infernal
Threnody, Invisibility Sphere, Major Image, Phantom
Steed, Puppeteer, Sonic Shield, Speak with Animals,
Speechlink, Summon Monster III, Tiny Hut, Verraketh’s
Shadow Crown, Weapon of Impact
o Level 4: Sirine’s Grace, (More to come).

● Practical Metamagic (RoD 101) –

Another way to reduce the metamagic cost for persist. Probably
 not worth getting in any other build, but very good if you’re going
the persist route.
● Quicken Spell – (+4 mod) Also very strong. The cost is high, but
being able to cast as a swift action is amazing. Because you’re a
spontaneous caster, you’ll also need Rapid Metamagic to get the
benefit of this feat.
● Rapid Metamagic – If you’re going metamagic, this feat is very
nice. Lets you apply metamagic without increasing the spell cast
time.
● Reach Spell – The bard has a few OK touch spells. If you think
you’re going to be using a lot of them, this is worth considering.
● Sculpt Spell – (+1 mod) One of the best metamagic feats, but,
unfortunately, it does not have too much application in the bard’s
spell list. If you focus on choosing spells that have area effects,
you can get a lot out of this. You should note that the 10′ cubes
should probably be read as being contiguous, which makes the
effect worse than if you can put them anywhere.
● Silent Spell (PHB 100)- (+1 mod) Bard spells cannot be enhanced
by silent spell, so this is a dead feat for us.

Spell Improvement Feats

● Augment Summoning (PHB 89) – Give your summoned creatures
+4 to STR and CON, meaning more damage and more hit points.
A “pied-piper” bard is a cool idea, especially since Inspire Courage
gets stronger the more allies you have.
● Captivating Melody – Consume a bardic music and pass a DC 15
+ spell level perform check to increase the DC of an enchantment
or illusion spell by 2. Pretty good. I like heighten spell / metamagic
song better, but this is solid.
● Enchanting
Song – Increase the DC of an enchantment spell by 1 by
expending a bardic music. Requires spell focus (enchantment)
which is pretty lame, and it’s not 100% clear that you can activate
this multiple times for one spell.
● Echew Materials (PHB 94) – Get rid of material components. This
is generally bad, but could be part of a secretive spellcasting
package.
● Extraordinary Concentration (Cadv 109) – Pass high DC
concentration checks to concentrate as move or swift actions. If
you fail, you lose the spell. This would be good, but it’s hard to
make the risk of failure reasonably low enough, so I suggest
passing on this (or getting it at level 18.)
● Extra Slot (CA 79) – Gain an extra spell slot, one lower than your
max spell level. Not bad.
● Extra Spell (CA 79) – Spend a feat to get another spell on your
spell list. The biggest limitation to the bard’s casting is his list of
 spells known. This is a fine way to expand it if you have the feats
to spare. There’s a question of whether you can pull from another
list (druid, wizard, cleric, etc.). I think you can, but you should
check with your DM.
● Greenbound Summoning (LEoF 8) – This requires a particular
build (savage bard) but its really strong. If you’re looking at
focusing on summoning, look at this.
● Lingering Song – Bardic music lasts 1 minute instead of 5 rounds
after you stop performing. A harmonizing weapon can accomplish
this, and melodic casting can effectively accomplish this (with
some additional benefits). I think this is a pass. However, as Hiro
Quester pointed out, this allows you to stack bardic musics on top
of each other, which is nice.
● Lyric Spell – Lets you consume bardic musics to get more spells
per day. More spells is good, and bardic musics can be an
overflowing resource, especially if you’re not going the metamagic
route.
● Magic in the Blood (PGtF 40) – Any 1/day racial spell-like ability
can now be used three times. There are some racial limitations,
but this seems worth looking at for any race that gets spell-like
abilities.
● Melodic Casting – Two big benefits. 1: You can use perform
instead of concentration for casting-related checks. 2: You can
cast spells or activate magic items while maintaining bardic music.
This is also an entry requirement for the very strong PrC Lyric
Thaumaturge.
● Misleading Song (ROS) – Spend bardic music to increase illusion
caster level and DC by 1. Requires spell focus (illusion). I strongly
recommend Metamagic Song and Heighten Spell instead. Same
effect, much more versatile.
● Mobile Spellcasting – Move while casting as a standard action,
letting you effectively move twice your normal distance in a turn.
This can help you stay out of trouble. You risk losing the spell
though (you must make a high concentration check) which is a big
downside.
● Precocious Apprentice (CArc 181) – Must be taken at level 1. Get
access to a 2nd level spell right away with a special spell slot.
Once you become able to cast level 2 spells, lose access to that
 spell but keep the slot. In addition, at all levels you get +2 to
spellcraft. I am taking this feat everytime I play a 1st level
character and I’m not confident the campaign will last until level 6.
I’m not sure if it has a place in a level 20 build, but it’s definitely
reasonable at all levels and amazing at levels 1-3.
● Talfirian Song (RoF 170) – Requires Tethyrian human. Increase
the DC of your illusion spells by expending bardic music slots. I
prefer Heighten spell & Metamagic Song (because it’s general
case) but there are some distinct benefits to Talafrin Song: no cap
on the amount you can dump into it, and it only requires one feat.
There aren’t a ton of illusion spells that I recommend that have
DCs, but a few important ones do. (Shadow conjuration and
shadow evocation, for example). This also opens up a loophole
with persist spell and metamagic song (see persist spell above).
● Versatile Spellcaster – Use two spell slots of a level to cast a
spell a level higher. Not bad.

Vow Feats
The vows are a really strong option for a bard. That being said, they
are campaign warping due to their restrictions and power level. If you
go this route, you should make sure your DM and other PCs know
what they’re getting into. It can be good if everyone’s prepared, but if
not, these options will probably ruin your campaign.
● Sacred Vow (BoED p46) – +2 to Diplomacy checks. Not great, but
an entry feat into the Vows. Given that it’s an entry feat, it’s not a
bad effect.
● Vow of Abstinence (BoED p 47) – +4 for saves against poison
and drugs, but you can’t drink. Bad.
● Vow of Chastity (BoED p47) – +4 to will saves against charm and
phantasm effects, but you can’t get laid.The effect is limited and
not great.
● Vow of Nonviolence (BoED p47) – This is interesting for a caster
bard. +4 to all spell and ability DCs, but you can’t do any damage
or kill anyone else. It still allows you to do area effects, debuffs,
and buffs. Requires a specific build, but can be strong. Requires
Sacred Vow, which isn’t a great feat. Because of that, I prefer
Metamagic Song and Heighten Spell, but this is interesting too.
● Vow of Peace (BoED p48) – This requires vow of non-violence. +6
to AC, +4 to diplomacy, a permanent aura of calm emotion,
weapons that hit you can shatter against your skin, if you have
vow of poverty, you get an additional +6 to AC. All in return for
additional restrictions about killing things. Very strong.
● Vow of Poverty (BoED p48) – Take magical item progression out
of your DMs hands. This is nothing special for a bard.

Bardic Music Feats

● Arcane Accompaniment (PHB II) – Expend a spell slot to extend
the duration of bardic musics. Not worth a feat at all.
● Arcane Flourish (PHB II) – Swift action to give up a spell slot to
increase a perform check. Not great. Your spells are typically
better than a small bonus to perform (and many spells can give
you that, if you want it). Not worth spending a feat on this.
● Artist (PGtF 33) – Bardic music is a pretty abundant resource, but
if you prestige out and are doing metamagic reduction, this may
be worth taking. Also good if you’re taking Lyric Spell. This is
worse than Extra Music, IMO, but it’s very similiar and you should
consider both if you’re considering either.
● Chant of Fortitude – Use bardic music to keep allies conscious
when they’re at negative hit points. Kinda cool, but not worth a
feat.
● Chant of the Long Road (CS 74) – Spend a bardic music feat to
offset the non-lethal damage from hustling for 1 hour. Y U C K.
● Chaos Music (DM326 80) – This is great. Go into something like
Lyric Thaumaturge for four levels and effectively get 4 levels of
class features for one feat. Quite good. This is most effective if you
have 5 or 11 levels of bard, but even if you get two class abilities
with this, you’re doing great.
● Chord Of Distraction – Immediate action is nice, and the ability
can help out your rogue party members. The cost of three bardic
musics is really high, though.
● Doomspeak (CoR 21) – Gives target -10 to attack, saves, ability
checks, and skill checks for 1 round. Will negates. This feat is
alright, but the intimidate 8 requirement makes it so we can’t get
into the class until level 13 unless we gain intimidate as a class
skill. The DC to resist is very high, and it can help you lower the
defenses of a big bad guy for the rest of the party. It’s OK, but not
great.
● Dragonfire Inspiration – You need the dragonblood subtype. This
effectively gets somewhere between an additional 0.5 to 1.5 point
of damage per attack for everyone affected by your inspire
courage. (Teammates get +Xd6 damage instead of +X to attack
and damage). If your DM will allow this to stack with inspire
courage, it’s bonkers good. If not, then it’s OK. Probably worth
one feat in some builds, but not worth two (there’s a feat that will
give you the dragonblood subtype). See my long section on the
math and rules on this feat below for more information.
● Dragonsong -+2 to DC to resist bardic music effects and +2 to
perform checks involving song, poetry, or any other verbal
performance. Pretty solid, but not amazing.
● Epic of the Lost King – I love that you can activate this as a move
action. I don’t like that the effect is so limited. Pass.
● Extra Music (Cadv 109) – Bardic music is a pretty abundant
resource, but if you prestige out and are doing metamagic
reduction, this may be worth taking. Also good if you’re taking
Lyric Spell.
● Focused Performer (DrM338 p89) – This feat sucks. It’s almost
useless, but you need it if you want focused performance.
● Focused Performance (DrM338 p89) – Modify bardic music in
certain ways, by consuming bardic music slots. This would be
better if it only cost one feat. With the feat tax of Focused
Performer, I think this thing is a clear pass.
o Accompaniment – Costs 3 uses, lets you sustain two
musics at once, requires really high perform check each
round. That’s rough and the benefit isn’t that exciting.
o Dramatic Pause – This is bad. The benefit to ‘being able
to attack’ doesn’t do anything at all. You can already
attack with all of the musics listed excpet for fascinate,
and attacking destroys fascinate anyway. Casting spells
is nice, but use melodic casting instead.
o Harmony – This is pretty OK. Doubling the targets on the
single-target effects is nice. Very good action economy
here.
o Individual Performance – Doubling the benefit of inspire
courage is absurd.
o Projection – Who cares?
o Rhythm – Extending bardic musics isn’t too exciting.
o Riveting Performance – This is really narrow.
● Green Ear (CAdv) – This is essential for the greenbound
summoning / savage bard build. Otherwise, it’s pretty bad.
Normally a pass, but a must-have there. (The plant type gives
immunity to morale effects, and since it’s not a saving throw, the
summoned creatures can’t choose to be affected.)
● Haunting Melody -See the alternate class features section.
● Ice Harmonics (Frost 48) – Cause nearby ice to explode, dealing
2d6 + CHA_MOD damage in area around the exploding square.
 Damage is weak, and range of application is tiny. Pass.

● Inspire Spellpower (RoS) – Spend a bardic music to increase

ally’s caster level by 1. Not great at all.
● Ironskin Chant – At the level you get access to this, the damage
reduction just isn’t worth that much. There are better uses for a
feat.
● Music of the Outer Planes (LoM) – Use bardic music to sicken,
vitalize, or lull aberrations. If you have a lot of these in your
campaign, this might be worth looking at. In a standard campaign,
it will be too narrow.
● Requiem – Use bardic music to affect undead creatures as well
(although they only last half the duration). Not generally good, but
there may be campaigns where this is valuable.
● Song of the Heart -See the alternate class features section.
● Sound of Silence -Two bardic musics is a little expensive, it
requires a standard action, and the effect isn’t amazing. Pass.
● Subsonics (CA 112)- Lets you activate bardic musics without
anyone knowing. It’s cool, but not amazing.
● Undertone of Heresy – Increase the DC of your bardic music
effects by 2 by spending an additional bardic music. Not bad, but
dragonsong is a better version of this (it has a little more pre-req,
but no recurring cost).
● Warning Shout – Not bad. Can give an ally +5 to reflex and
evasion, as an immediate action, for two bardic musics. A little
narrow, but solid.
● Words of Creation (BoED) – Doubles the bonus on inspire
courage, and increase the benefits on other core bardic musics.
But if you use it, take some non-lethal damage. I think this is
strong, but i also think it’s overhyped. I think the fairest reading of
this ability is that it doubles the bonus printed in the PHB (it
specifically says that in the text). Some people take it to mean that
your total bonus is doubled. If you read it that way, it can be
absurd. If you read it the more sober way, it’s great but not
broken. Also note: it is exalted, so it is subject to all the rules of
exalted feats.

Combat Feats
● Arcane Strike – Not bad for a melee bard. We have limited spell
slots, which makes it less appealing, but it is a nice way to power a

lot of force into one standard action.

● Battledancer – A really limited and constricting +2 Morale bonus
to attack. This doesn’t stack with bardic music, so it’s complete
garbage. Even if it did stack, it would still be pretty bad. Pass.
● Boomerang Daze – Requires proficiency with the Talenta
Boomerang or Xen’drik Boomerang. Any target you hit with those
boomerangs must pass a fort save or be dazed for 1 round. You
can combine this with the feat boomerang ricochet (same book
and page) to hit mulitple opponents at once.
● Combat Expertise (PHB 92) – Being able to pump your AC by 5
points (instead of just 2) is pretty nice. If you’re in a tight spot this
can save your life.
● Combat Reflexes (PHB 92) – Get more attack of opportunity (free
actions are awesome) and never be flat-footed when it comes to
making them. Not bad.
● Combat Panache – This is hard to get into because it requires
intimidate 8. Otherwise, the three abilities are all pretty good.
Nothing amazing, but cool and solid.
● Improved Bull Rush (PHB 95) – No AOO for a bull rush and +4
bonus. Not bad, but not great on its own. It builds into Shock
 Trooper, which is pretty good. In general, this idea isn’t great for a
bard, but it’s something worth looking at.
● Improved Disarm (PHB 95) – Not bad, but not every enemy
carries a weapon. It’s OK, and worth looking at if you’re core-only,
but there are definitely better options.
● Improved Trip (PHB 96) – Opponent doesn’t get an attack of
opportunity, you get +4 on the attempt, and you get a free attack if
you succeed. That’s a really nice package for one feat. The only
downside is that it requires combat expertise as a pre-req.
● Martial Stance / Martial Study (BoNS) – See the section below
for a detailed analysis.
● Point Blank Shot – A feat tax. It’s bad, but you need it to get into
all the archery builds. (Unless you talk your DM into being nice to
you).

● Power Attack – A solid feat, especially in a

class that has a lot of ways to get a higher attack bonus. The math
on optimizing this each round can be fun to figure out.
● Precise Shot – Effectively +4 to ranged attacks most of the time.
Not bad for an archery Bard.
● Scorpion’s Grasp (Sand 52) – Requires improved unarmed strike,
but lets you initiate a grapple after striking with a one-handed light
weapon for free (without an initial touch attack). You also get to
attack with the weapon in grapple without the normal -4 to attack.
I don’t now of a grappler bard build, but man this feat is strong
enough to build around.
● Shock Trooper (CW 112) – This is really good if you’re building
into this tree. The tree itself is probably not worth getting
 (Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack) but if you do, man this has a
lot of umph. Three abilities, all solid.
● Snowflake Wardance – Gain a charisma bonus to attacks, be
fatigued afterwards. Pretty solid. Not as good as knowledge
devotion, but you could definitely take both if you’re focused on
melee.
● Song of the White Raven – If you can get access to a white raven
stance, this is great. You get to turn on inspire courage as a swift
action. If you’re a combat oriented bard, dipping into warblade or
crusader for this might be worth looking into. You can also build
into this with Martial Study and Martial Stance. Three feats is a lot
for this, but the benefit is a free action the first round of every fight.
Worth looking at, especially if your DM is allowing flaws for extra
feats.
● Two Weapon Fighting / Improved Two Weapon Fighting – This
could be good on a melee bard, especially combined with
snowflake wardance.

Multi-Class Specific Feats

● Devoted Performer – Allow free multiclassing between Bard and
Paladin, and stacks the levels for calculating smite evil and bardic
musics. Not bad if you’re going into the Divine Prankster prestige
class, but not amazing.

Bloodline Feats
You can find these feats in DrM 311 and DrM 325, and also in the
Dragon Compendium Volume I, page 91. All of the bloodline feats are
very, very strong. They give six or nine spells to your list for one feat.
Probably overpowered, but you should check with your DM. If he’ll
allow it, great.
● Air Bloodline (DrC1 91) –
● Anarchic Bloodline (DrC1 92) –
● Axiomatic Bloodline (DrC1 92) –
● Celestial Bloodline (DrC1 93) –
● Draconic Bloodline (DrC1 96) –
● Earth Bloodline (DrC1 97) –
● Fey Bloodline (DrC1 98) –
● Fiendish Bloodline (DrC1 98) –
● Fire Bloodline (DrC1 99) –
● Illithid Bloodline (DrC1 100) –
● Necromantic Bloodline (DrC1 102) –
● Penumbra Bloodline (DrC1 103) –
● Plant Bloodline (DrC1 104) –
● Serpent Bloodline (DrC1 106) –
● Water Bloodline (DrC1 109) –
● Celestial Light (DrC1 93) –
● Dragon Sight (DrC1 97) –
● Elemental Theurgy (DrC1 97) –
● Fey’s Fate (DrC1 98) –
● Friend of the Earth (DrC1 98) –
● Kin Mastery (DrC1 101) –
● Lawful Discipline (DrC1 101) –
● Mind Weapon (DrC1 102) –
● Power in the Blood (DrC1 105) –

Draconic Aura Feats

(DrM 16) – Gain a draconic aura which activates as a swift action.
Grants a +1 bonus to the noted thing for yourself and all allies within
30′ . If you have the dragonblood subtype, this ability scales with level
(+2 at 7th, +3 at 14th, and +4 at 20th) which makes it good (really,
DMs, just let it scale regardless of dragonblood). Here are the options:
● Energy (DrM 86) – Gain a
bonus on a save DC for spells and abilities for acid, cold,
electricity, or fire effects (no sonic). Very narrow for us.
● Energy Shield (PHB2 13) – Melee attacks vs you and allies cause
attacker to suffer 2x bonus in damage of a particular type.
● Insight (DrM 86) – Improve decipher script, knowledge, and
spellcraft.
● Power (DrM version) (DrM 86) – Bonus on caster level checks to
overcome spell resistence.
● Power (PHB2 version) (PHB2 13) – Bonus on melee damage rolls.
Maybe in the right party this could be good.
● Presence (DrM 86) – Untyped bonus on bluff, diplomacy, and
intimidate.
● Resistance (DrM 86) – 5 x bonus resistance to acid, cold,
electricity, or fire.
● Resolve (DrM 86) – Bonus on concentration checks and on saves
vs. fear, paralysis, and sleep.
● Senses (DrM 86) – Bonus on initiative, listen, and spot.
Remember, this benefits your whole (nearby) party. This one is
sweet.
● Stamina (DrM 86) – Bonus on constitution checks and fortitude
saves. Pumping fort is nice for the bard.
● Swiftness (DrM 86) – Boost climb, jump, and swim, and improve
climb, fly, and swim speeds. Meh.
● Toughness (DrM 86) – DR 1/magic for each point of the bonus.
● Vigor (PHB2 13) – Fast healing back up to 1/2 max hit points.
Pretty cool.

Hidden Talent Feat

(XPH 67) – Hidden talent is a feat from a sidebar in the expanded
psionics handbook. The best choices are amazing, and even the bad
choices are pretty good. It gives you one psionic power and two
psionic “points”. Typically, that means you can use this power twice
per day.

You use Charisma as the key ability modifer, which is good for saves,
and you’re a level 1 manifester (which might be bad for PR).

Here are the best options:

● Adrenaline Boost (CP 78) – +2 to Dex and Str for 1 round, swift
cast. An all around buff for combat, not bad.
● Attraction (XPH 78) – Mind-affecting. Get the target attracted to
something, but not blindly obsessed. Can be cool, but not too
strong.
● Biofeedback (XPH 80) – DR 2/- for 1 minute. Meh.
● Chameleon (XPH 82) -+10 to hide for 10 mins.
● Charm Person (XPH 82) – I would pass on this because your DC
is going to be really low.
● Compression (XPH 84) – Man, if this didn’t last only 1 round, it’d
be great. As it is, it’s very bad.
● Conceal Thoughts (XPH 85) – Target gets +10 on bluff vs sense
motive and +4 save bonus vs read mind magics, lasts 1 hour /
level.
● Control Light (XPH 87) – Lower or raise lights 100%. Lasts 1 min /
level, but requires concentration.
● Control Object (XPH 88) – Make a weak creature or give +4 to
unlock. Cool flavorwise, but not exciting.
● Claws of The Beast (XPH 83) – Gain natural weapon claws. 1d4
damage. Yuck.

● Deflection Field (CP 82) – Get +4

deflection bonus to AC, but you have to concentrate. Yuck.
● Deja Vu (XPH 91) – Mind-affecting. Make target subject repeat
their last action, will negates. There are a lot of cool uses for this.
● Demoralize (XPH 91) – Mind-affecting. 30′ burst on you, enemies
must pass will save or be shaken (-2 to lots of stuff) for 1 min /
level. The save is pretty solid and the effect is great for fear
escalation. This and haunting melody could be quite…. frightening.
● Destinty Dissonance (XPH 91) – A minor debuff on touch attack.
I’d pass.
● Dimensional Pocket (CP 83) – Make a 1 (or 2, if you augment)
pound item disappear for 1 hour. Pretty cool.
● Elfsight (XPH 98) – Get all the sight-based racial elf benefits for 1
hour. I prefer the soulmeld.
● Empathy (XPH 99) – Mind-affecting and requires concentration.
Detect surface feelings in any creature we can see. Provides +2
insight on bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, or sense motive checks the
round after you stop concentrating.
● Entangling Ectoplasm (XPH 104) – Ranged touch attack to make
target entangled for 5 rounds. (medium sized debuff).
● Expansion (XPH 105) – Same as compression. Would be really
cool if it didn’t last only 1 round w/ this feat.
● Force Screen (XPH 108) – +4 shield AC bonus for 1 min. Duration
is a bit low. Meh
● Grease, Psionic (XPH 111) – Just like the spell grease. If you’re
tight on level 1 slots, you can take this instead of grease and then
pick up a different spell, like inspriational boost or improvisation.
● Matter Agitation (XPH 114) – Slowly set stuff on fire with your
mind. Kinda cool flavor-wise, but uses aren’t amazing.
● Mind Link (XPH 120) – Communicate telepathically with anyone
without the need for a common langauge. This can definitely help
with social skills and abilities, but it might creep some guys out
(potentially creating negative modifiers) so it’s not perfect.
● Mind Thrust (XPH 120) – Mind-affecting. Deal 1d10 (or overload
for 2d10) damage, will negates. Meh.
● Precognition (XPH 124) – Get a +2 floating insight bonus for 10
min / level, which can be used on any attack, damage, saving, or
skill roll.
● Primal Fear (CP 95) – Swift cast, shake (-2 to attacks, saves,
skills, and ability checks) one opponent (or overload for two) for 1
round. This is kinda cool as a mild debuff before a big targetting
spell. The will save is pretty low though, so it’s not to hard to
resist.
● Sensory Gloom (CP 98) – Fort save or bad guy gets (your choice)
partial blindness, deafness, can’t smell, or DC 5 balance checks to
keep from falling prone. Pick on cast. This is sweet.
● Stomp (XPH 133) – 20′ cone that makes everyone reflex or fall
down. Not bad.
● Synchronicity (CP 103) – Ready an action to be used when you
want, without having to name a trigger. Pretty cool.
● Telempathic Projection (XPH 136) – Mind affecting, will negates.
Adjusts subjects attiude one step in the positive direction, and
grants a +4 bonus on all the social skills. Holy moly this is absurdly
good for a diplomancer. Save it for after you dipomacy them to get
them to fanatic.
● Thicken Skin (XPH 137) – Get +1 enhancment to AC for 10mins.
Meh
● Vigor (XPH 140) – Gain 5 temporary hit points (or overload for 10)
but it only lasts 1 min / level and costs a standard action to
activate. Doesn’t scale well and kind of hard to use well. Pass.
Shape Soulmeld Feat
(MoI 40) – A soulmeld is basically a persisent enchantment that you
refresh each morning, that doesn’t use an item slot. Definitely cool.
They typically give static benefits or at-will abilities. This feat gives you
one soul meld from any class. Here are the best options, rated:

● Acrobat Boots (MoI 54) – +2

to tumbled and related checks, +8 total. Not bad economy.
● Airstep Sandals (MoI 55) – Fly 10′ (good maneuverability) as a
move action each round.
● Arcane Focus (MoI 57) – Increase damage from spells by 1. Not
generally good, but kinda cool if you’re building a blaster.
● Basilisk Mask (MoI 59) – Gain low-light vision.
● Blink Shirt (MoI 60) – Teleport 10′ and then be stunned for a
round. No limits on use per day. Pretty sweet.
● Disenchanter Mask (MoI 63) – Detect magic at will, 10′ range.
● Illusion Veil (MoI 71) – +1 DC on all illusion spells and spell-like
abilities.
● Lamia Belt (MoI 74) – +4 to bluff and hide. If you’re in these skills,
this is a lot of benefit.
● Pegasus Cloak (MoI 81) – Featherfall at all times, +2 to jump.
Pretty cool.
● Silvertongue Mask (MoI 85) – Gain +2 to diplomacy and bluff. A
fancy upgrade for the core Negotiator feat.

Bind Vestige Feat

ToM (72) More coming soon.

Devotion Feats
Complete Champion has a bunch of “devotion” feats in it. Most of
them are pretty good and some are absurd. That book is a little
unbalanced, so check with your DM before assuming you can take
these.
● Air Devotion (CC 54) – Once per day get a bonus to your AC
(grows with level) as a swift action that last 1 minute. Not bad.
● Animal Devotion (CC 55) – Get one of four bonuses for one
minute. +2 Strength (grows with level) +5 base speed (grows with
levels) gain overland flight, or gain a bite attack that deals con
damage. A lot of good stuff in here.
● Chaos Devotion (CC 56) – Random based, but get bonuses to
either AC (average of 4) or attack rolls (average of 3) for a minute.
Swift activate
● Death Devotion (CC 57) – Bestow negative levels with your
weapon. Swift activate, lasts for one minute. Wow.
● Destruction Devotion (CC 57) – Swift activate, lasts one minute.
Reduce target’s AC each successful hit.
● Earth Devotion (CC 58) – Once per day, activate to ignore difficult
terain for 1 minute and get a boost to some physical checks. Also
can use it at higher levels to create better caltrops out of the stone
floor. Not great.
● Evil Devotion (CC 58) – Give your party DR 1+ (Evil) and make
allies’ weapons evil aligned. It grows with levels, but still not great.
● Fire Devotion (CC 58) – Provide light, deal extra damage, and
baddies you hit continue to burn. Swift to activate, lasts 1 minute.
Not bad, not amazing.
● Good Devotion (CC 58) – Give your party DR 1+ (Good) and make
allies’ weapons good aligned. It grows with levels, but still not
great.
●
Healing Devotion (CC 59) – Immediate activate, lasts 1 minute,
gain fast healing 1 (grows with character level). Fast healing heals
 X HP per round. You can also grant it to an ally. This isn’t enough
healing to justify the feat, IMO.
● Knowledge Devotion – Amazing for a combat bard. Get big
boosts to attack and damage by using knowledges.
● Law Devotion (CC 61) – Get +3 bonus to AC or attack (grows with
level). Swift active, lasts 1 minute. Compare to weapon focus.
● Luck Devotion (CC 61) – Get a small boost to damage. Swift
active, lasts 1 minute. This is a really small boost, pass.
● Magic Devotion (CC 61) – Launch a ranged touch attack magic
bolt that does LVL/2 D6 damage. Not a big fan.
● Plant Devotion (CC 61) – Gain natural AC of 2 and 25%
fortification (avoid criticals and sneak attacks). The % increase
with level. Immediate activate, lasts 1 minute. Not bad, but not
great.
● Protection Devotion (CC 61) – Give self and nearby allies a +2
bonus to AC, grows with level. Lasts 1 minute, immediate activate.
So-so.
● Strength Devotion (CC 62) – Bypass hardness with melee
attacks, gain a natural weapon slam attack, and all melee attacks
are adamantine. Lasts 1 minute, swift activate. I feel like this and
sunder must be great together?
● Sun Devotion (CC 62) – Weapon glows like a torch and deals an
extra CL damage to undead. Lasts 1 minute, swift activate. In a
heavy undead campagin, this seems really good? Otherwise it’s
too conditional.
● Travel Devotion (CC 62) – As a swift action, move your move
distance. Good for getting into position for a full attack, or to make
a facsimile of spring attack.
● Trickery Devotion (CC 63) – Create a simulacrum of yourself that
gets better as you level up. This is really strong. Standard activate,
1/day.
● War Devotion (CC 63) – Gives a better version of fight defensively
for one round. The short duration makes this terrible.
● Water Devotion (CC 64) – Summon a water elemental 1 / day.
Size depends on your level.

Martial Feats
There are two feats from “Tomb of Battle: Book of Nine Swords” that
open up that magic / combat system to all classes. Since the magic
system is pretty large, here’s a section dedicated to the two feats,
reviewing each option available to you if you don’t have any pre-reqs
met some other way. If you’ve dipped into those classes or met pre-
reqs, you’ll have to check out the relevant handbooks; that’s outside
the scope of this one.
Martial Stance (ToB p31)

Gain access to a single stance from Tome of Battle. Since this

requires that you know one maneuver, I’ll review those stances that
have 0 or 1 requirement.
Desert Wind

● Flame’s Blessing (ToB 53) –

Level 1 – Gain fire resistance based on Tumble Ranks. Very
narrow.
● Holocaust Cloak (ToB 54) – Level 9 – Adjacent opponents that
attack you take 5 fire damage.
Devoted Spirit
● Iron Guard’s Glare (ToB 59) – Opponents you threaten take -4 on
attack against allies (but not you). Meh.
● Martial Spirit (ToB 60) – Heal yourself and a nearby ally 2 points
each every time you land an attack. Interesting, but it doesn’t scale
at all.
● Thicket of Blades (ToB 61) – Level 9 – Any movement near you
triggers an attack of opportunity, including 5′ steps, witdraws, and
tumbles. Combine with combat reflexes, this is sweet action
economy.
Diamond Mind
● Pearl of Black Doubt (ToB 64) – Level 9 – Gain a short AC bonus
every time an opponent misses you with a melee attack.
● Stance of Clarity (ToB 66) – Level 1 – +2 AC vs one opponent, -2
AC to all others.
Iron Heart
● Absolute Steel (ToB 66) – Level 9 – +10′ move, and if you move
10′ in your turn, gain +2 dodge AC. Movement speed is nice, AC
is nice. This has a lot of benefit for one feat. The only problem is
you’ll need an iron heart maneuver to get this, and the best option
isn’t great there.
● Punishing Stance (ToB 69) – Level 1 – +1d6 damage, -2 AC.
Setting Sun
● Giant Killing Style (ToB 72) – Level 9 – +2 to attack and +4 to
damage against larger creatures. A gnome combat bard might
want to lok at this! Requires one setting sun maneuver.
● Step of the Wind (ToB 74) – Level 1 – Ignore penalties in difficult
terrain. Ok, but very narrow.
Shadow Hand
● Assassin’s Stance (ToB 75) – Level 9 – Gain +2d6 sneak attack,
even if you don’t already sneak attack.
● Child of Shadow (ToB 76) – Level 1 – Gain concealment as long
as you move 10′ .
● Dance of the Spider (ToB 76) – Level 5 – Spider Climb all the
time. Wow.
● Island of Blades (ToB 78) – Level 1 – Be flanking any time you and
an ally threaten an opponent.
Stone Dragon
● Crushing Weight of the Mountain (ToB 82) – Level 9 – Gain 2d6
+ 1.5 STR constricting damage during grapples.
● Roots of the Mountain (ToB 84) – Level 9 – DR 2/-, +10 to resist
most combat maneuvers, and opponents have trouble tumbling
near you. If you move, the stance ends. Pretty cool.
● Stonefoot Stance (ToB 85) – Level 1 – +2 to strength checks, +2
AC bonus against larger creature.
Tiger Claw
● Blood in the Water (ToB 86) – Level 1 – +1 to attack and damage
every critical you land. Hard to get this up high.
● Hunter’s Sense (ToB 88) – Level 1 – Gain scent ability.
● Leaping Dragon Stance (ToB 88) – Level 9 – Gain a 10′
enhancement to jump, and all jumps are running jumps.
● Wolverine Stance (ToB 90) – Level 9 – +4 to attack when
grappling with a one-handed weapon. +4 damage if grappling with
a larger creature. Meh.
White Raven (Builds into Song of the White Raven)
● Bolstering Voice (ToB 90) – Allies (which includes yourself) get +2
to Will. This one’s easy to overlook (and previous versions of this
handbook did overlook it) but that’s a lot of will bonus for one feat.
In a party of 5, that’s +10 to will. Imagine one feat giving a +10
bonus to a single save? Imagine that being the most important
save? Well here you go. And it builds into Song of the White
Raven. Wow.
● Leading the Charge (ToB 92) – Charging allies get initiator level
bonus to damage (your bard levels count as half an initiator level)
● Swarm Tactics (ToB 93) – Allies get a +5 bonus on attacks
against any opponent we are mutually adjacent to.
● Tactics of the Wolf (ToB 93) – When I flank a foe, me and my
allies get +half initaitor level to damage (i.e. 1/4 bard level)
Martial Study (ToB p31)

Gain access to a single maneuver from Tome of Battle, and also gain
a single skill as a class skill for all of your classes.

Here are the relevant rules:

● As a non-initiator, you can use each maneuver once per
encounter, and you can ready every maneuver you get from
Martial Study (ToB 38).
● Your initiator level (assuming you don’t have any other initiator
classes) is 1/2 your character class. (ToB 32)
● To select a maneuver with this feat, you have be a high enough
initiator level (ToB 39). If you don’t have any initiator classes, this
translates to 4 levels of bard per manuever level:
o Bard Levels 1-4: Access to 1st level maneuvers
o Bard levels 5-8: Access to 2nd level maneuvers
o Bard levels 9-12: Access to 3rd level maneuvers
o Bard levels 13-16: Access to 4th level maneuvers
o Bard Levels 17-20: Access to 5th level manuevers
o Bard Levels 21-24: Access to 6th level manuevers
o Bard Levels 25-28: Access to 7th level manuevers
o Bard Levels 29-32: Access to 8th level manuevers
o Bard Levels 33-36: Access to 9th level manuevers

Here are the options available if you take this feat without any other
initiator classes (i.e. you meet no pre-requisites). The level indicated
next to them is the minum character level you’ll need to pick up that
maneuver via feat (again, assuming you don’t have any initiator levels
from the classes from this book):

Desert Wind – Tumble

● Blistering Flourish (ToB 52) – Level 1 – Not a good use of a feat;
at the very least, Additional Spell is better.
● Burning Blade (ToB 52) – Level 1 – Gain 1d6 + 1 / initiator level
extra fire damage until end of turn.
● Death Mark (ToB 52) – Level 9 – When you hit, deal 6d6 fire
damage in a burst area (reflex half). Seems OK for melee bards.
● Distracting Ember (ToB 52) – Level 1 – Gives you flanking until
end of turn. Bard/Rogue hybrid might want to look at this?.
●
Inferno Blade (ToB 54) – Level 25 – Gain 3d6 + 1 / initiator level
extra fire damage until end of turn.
● Wind Strike (ToB 56) – Level 1 – +10 movement until end of turn. I
think there’s a feat in Minatures that gives +5 to move. That’s
probably better.
Devoted Spirit – Intimidate
● Crusader’s Strike (ToB 58) – Level 1 – Conditional small heal on a
nearby ally in conjunction w/ an attack. Bad.
● Foehammer (ToB 59) – Level 5 – Overcome DR and deal an extra
2d6 damage with one attack.
● Shield Block (ToB 60) – Level 5 – Immediate action: give an
adjacent ally your Shield Bonus + 4 to AC. Yuck.
● Vanguard Strike (ToB 60) – Level 1 – Give allies +4 to attack
against a target you successfully hit for 1 round.
Diamond Mind – Concentration
● Action Before Thought (ToB 62) – Level 5 – Use concentration in
place of reflex. Not bad, but bards have good reflex, and reflex
saves tend to be the least important
● Diamond Defense (ToB 62) – Level 29 – Gain LVL / 2 (ToB 31-32)
bonus to your saves once per combat, and pretty often out of
combat.
● Insightful Strike (ToB 63) – Level 9 – Roll a concentration check
instead of damage. Meh.
● Mind Over Body (ToB 64) – Level 9 – Use concentration in place
of fortitude. Very good for us, since Fort is our bad save.
● Moment of Perfect Mind (ToB 64) – Level 1 – Use concentration
in place of Will. Not as good, but still OK.
● Rapid Counter (ToB 65) – Level 17 – If you get an attack of
opportunity, activate to get another free attack. Not bad. Maybe
for a bard focused on trip.
● Sapphire Nihgtmare Blade (ToB 65) – Level 1 – Roll
concentration vs AC. If you hit, target is flat-footed and you deal
an extra 1d6 damage. This is pretty cool for any sneak-attack-
bards out there, ohterwise a pass.
Iron Heart – Balance
● Disarming Strike (ToB 67) – Level 5 – Get a free disarm if you
attack and suceed. A little narrow.
● Steel Wind (ToB 69) – Level 1 – Get one free attack, basically. Not
amazing.
● Steely Strike (ToB 69) – Level 1 – Get +4 to an attack, give all
other opponents +4 to attack vs you. Meh.
● Wall of Blades (ToB 70) – Level 5 – Counter any attack with an
attack of your own, including ranged touch attack spells.
Setting Sun – Sense Motive
● Clever Positioning (ToB 70) – Level 5 – On a successful hit, target
must switch positions with you (reflex save). Cool but narrow.
● Counter Charge (ToB 71) – Level 1 – Counter a charge attack, if
you succeed, move a bit for free and don’t get attacked. Meh.
● Mighty Throw (ToB 73) – Level 1 – Might be cool for a tripping
bard. If you succeed, you can throw the bad guy 10′ .
Shadow Hand – Hide
● Clinging Shadow Strike (ToB 76) – Level 1 – Extra damage and
small debuff for 1 round. Meh.
● Cloak of Deception (ToB 76) – Level 5 – Greater Invisiblity for 1
round, swift activate. Not bad.
● Death in the Dark (ToB 76) – Level 25 – Only target flat-footed
opponents. Potentially Dump out a lot of damage.
● Hand of Death (ToB 77) – Level 13 – Only target flat-footed
opponents. Potentially paralyze for 1d3 rounds.
● Shadow Blade Technique (ToB 78) – Level 1 – Really cool, but
not so strong, buff. Pass.
● Shadow Blink (ToB 78) – Level 25 – Swift activate, teleport 50′ .
Hot damn.
● Shadow Garotte (ToB 78) – Level 9 – A ranged touch attack with a
small debuff, pass.
● Shadow Jaunt (ToB 79) – Level 5 – Standard action, teleport 50′ .
Not as good as shadow blink, but still amazing.
● Shadow Noose (ToB 79) – Level 21 – A ranged touch attack vs
the living with a small debuff. Pass.
● Shadow Stride (ToB 80) – Level 17 – Move action, teleport 50′ .
Not as good as shadow blink, still strong.
● Stalker in the Night (ToB 80) – Level 21 – Good for any sneak
attack bards out there. Move, attack, move and stay hidden.
Stone Dragon – Balance
● Bonecrusher (ToB 81) – Level 9 – Extra 4d6 damage and better
crit confirmation. S’ok.
● Boulder Roll (ToB 81) – Level 13 – Improve overrun attack.
● Charging Minotaur (ToB 81) – Level 1 – Combine a charge and
bullrush. Kinda cool, don’t think it’s too strong.
● Crushing Vice (ToB 82) – Level 21 – Extra damage and reduce
targets movement to 0. Too bad it’s ridic level.
● Iron Bones (ToB 83) – Level 21 – This sucks. Gain DR
10/adamantine for 1 round.
● Mountain Tombstone Strike (ToB 84) – Level 33 – Deal an
additional 2d6 con damage. At level 33, who cares?
● Overwhelming Mountain Strike (ToB 84) – Level 13 – An extra
2d6 damage, and sorta turn off their move action. Meh.
● Stone Bones (ToB 84) – Level 1 – Gain Damage Reduction
5/adamantine for 1 round in conjunction with an attack. This can
be good at low and mid levels, but scales really badly.
● Stone Vise (ToB 85) – Level 5 – Extra 1d6 damage and reduce
move speed to 0, fort saves. It’s an OK debuff.
Tiger Claw – Jump
● Claw at the Moon (ToB 86) – Level 5 – Jump check to get an
extra 2d6 damage and +4 to confirm crits.
● Rapid Wolf Strike (ToB 88) – Level 5 – +4 to attack, +2d6 damage
for one attack. -4 to AC. Not bad.
● Wolf Fang Strike (ToB 90) – Level 1 – Improve two-weapon
fighting a little bit for one attack. Yuck.
White Raven – Diplomacy (Builds into Song of the White Raven)
● Douse the Flame (ToB 91) – Level 1 – Prevent a creature I
successfully strike from performing Attacks of Opportunity. Can
only make a single melee attack as part of this maneuver. This
thing sucks, but it’s your best choice if you’re building a pure bard
into song of the white raven.
● Leading the Attack (ToB 91 ) – Level 1 – Give allies +4 morale
bonus (doesn’t stack with inspire courage) on attack rolls against a
creature I successfully strike. Can only make a single melee attack
as part of this maneuver.
 Spells
Spells are one of the bard’s strongest class features. However, a bard
doesn’t get to know nearly as many as a sorcerer, so it’s important to
make sure the spells you choose have a wide range of cases where
they can be used. Breadth of applicability is key.
There are a lot of spells that are on the Bard’s list which are strong,
but aren’t worth spending a precious “Spell Known” slot on, because
use of the spell doesn’t come up enough. Scrolls and wands are a
great option for these spells.

The bard’s spells are mostly buff and battlefield control, which is
great. You can load up on the best versions of these, plus a little
utility, and you’ll be in great shape. However, I do like trying to pick up
at least one blaster spell. If you use the Lyric Thaumaturge or Sublime
Chord prestige classes to get into wizard spells, you’ll have plenty of
options (look at Wings of Flurry). If you are going straight bard casting,
then the options are a little more limited. My favorite straight blaster
spell is probably Cacophonic Burst, although it’s level 5.

Level 0 Spells
● Candlelight (GhostWeb 5)- Like “Light”, but it illuminates less
space and lasts longer. I’d just buy a candle or a torch.
● Daze – OK at low levels, very bad after level 3 or 4. You can
consider taking it early and swapping it out.
● Detect Crossroads (MoF 88)- I really have no idea what a
crossroad is. If you’re in a Faerun campaign I’m going to assume
you’re familiar and you’ll be able to evaluate the value of this
yourself. Sorry!
● Detect Magic – Very strong. Has a lot of uses. Definitely a must-
have.
● Dancing Lights – A lot like ghost sounds. The better your
imagination, the better this spell gets. It is a little eclipsed by Silent
Image, but that’s OK. I still recommend getting it.
● Easy Math (SaS 90) – I can imagine some uses for this (counting
troops, counting steps, estimating gold piles, etc.) but it’s pretty
narrow, too.
● Fine-Tuning (SaS 90) – Make any instrument you touch a
masterwork instrument and get the unique benefits of that
instrument on your bardic musics. This + Summon Instrument take
a lot of time to execute (and burns through your limited cantrip
slots) but gives you a pretty nice toolbox.
● Flare (PHB) – A very minor debuff with some utility. I don’t see
using this ever beyond level 1.
● Fleeting Fame (DrM 326, pg 73) – Really good for a bard. +2 to
the next bluff, diplomacy, or intimdiation, lasts 1 rd / level.
● Ghost Sounds – Very solid, but requires some creativity to get
maximum value. Spells like this make playing a caster fun. Use
your imagination.
● Ghostharp (SpC 104) – Replay songs played in the vicinity for the
last day. A really cool effect flavor wise, but I have no idea how to
use it in a way that matters.
● Know Direction – Buy a compass.
● Light – Buy a torch (or sunrod for style).
● Lullaby – Almost identical in results to fascinate. Not worth
doubling this limited effect, in my opinion.
● Mage Hand – This is my 6th spell slot. I like it, but it’s a little
limited.
● Mending – Not bad, but not many applications in-game. It’s a
shame, because in real-life, this would be a great spell to have, but
in D&D world, it just doesn’t do too much. There are some
roleplaying opportunities here, but it takes work to get to them.
● Message – Thanks to the “Marquis of De La Pongo” for this one!
Here’s what he has to say about it: “I have a storyteller bard and
by using oratory as a main perform I can channel my songs and
poetics through the message if needed. As long as they can hear
you means, as long they are within 100+10/level feet. Plus, being
no save no spell resistance you can whisper improper things to
 your enemies and drive them nuts among other things. It’s fluffy
and it’s fun!”
● Minor Disguise – You can do so much more with a spell, even a
cantrip, than this. Pass.
● Open / Close – I have a hard time imagining good uses for this
spell.
● Percussion – A very limited ghost sound, with the benefit of
lasting longer. Cool for a DM for flavor, not good for a PC.

● Prestidigitation – This is a mini-wish. There are so many things

you can do with this. It is the cantrip I cast the most, by far. (see
Tome & Blood page 80 for some ideas)
● Read Magic – In order to activate a scroll, you need to
have deciphered it. You can do this with a DC 20 + Spell_Level
Spellcraft check, but that sounds hard. Read Magic makes it a bit
easier.
● Resistance – The 1 minute duration on this makes it unusable.
Maybe as part of a persist spell strategy?
● Seeker’s Chant (DrM 326, pg 74) – Get +2 to search (but -2 to
move silent). Not bad, I’d pass though. Leave searching to the
rogue.
● Silvered Weapon – (Web) Lasts 1 round / level, turns a touched
weapon or projectile into “silvered” for combat purposes. This is
actually pretty cool. It’s narrow, but when it’s good it’s really good.
● Songbird (MoF 120) – Get a +1 to any charisma based check
against anyone who saw a performance. Not bad, but a little
limited for a spell slot, for me.
● Summon Instrument – This can be good for bards who use
instruments, or as an improvised bashing weapon. The short
duration makes it a little sad, though. If this summoned a
masterwork instrument, it’d be pretty cool, but the text doesn’t say
that. (See my section below on masterwork instruments).
● Stick (UD 61)- A cool effect, but it’s really narrow.

Level 1 Spells
● Ambient Song (SaS 89) – Make bardic music sound like ambient
noise, to avoid detection. Not great, but maybe a cool persist
target.
● Cause Fear (PHB) – So this is pretty good for low levels,
especially if you have other fear esclation techniques in your
package. It’s going to escalate one guy either two levels or one
level. The big downside is that it’s a 6 HD cap, so it stops working
at higher levels. Not bad for an early level spell that you swap out
at level 8.
● Charm Person (PHB) – I love the flavor of this ability, but the
limitation to humanoid is a little sad. If you like this, I recommend
you take Charm Monster instead, which can target any creature
type. Of course, you could take this and swap it out at level 8 for
Charm Monster.
● Cheat (SC) – Roll twice in a game of chance that’s not magical.
Really cool flavor wise, but insane to put one of your spells known
into this.
● Combined Talent – Give an ally a boost to a skill, matching the
level of another ally. When do you need this? Yuck.
● Cure Light Wounds (PHB) – This one has really grown on me. I
used to not like it, but combined with healing hymn it gives your
character a really powerful (out of combat) healing kit. I
recommend taking this as one of your first level spells, but only if
you can pair it with healing hymn. Otherwise its lack of scaling
makes it underwhelming.
● Disguise Self (PHB) – Limited application which can be achieved
with a skill. Pass. If you really need this one day, get a scroll.
● Disquiettude (MoF, SpC) – Single target save-or-suck for enemy
fighter types. Very limited in application, unfortunately. If you go
with the Magic of Faerun version, at least it’s not mind-affecting. If
you go with the spell compendium version, then it’s even more
narrow.
● Distort Speech (CAdv) – Target gets a fort save (which is good vs.
spellcasters) and the spellcaster gets a 50% chance of spell
failure. Not bad, but most of the time I think you’ll have better
things to do with a standard action, and you’re not always up
against spell casters.
● Distract (SpC 69) – A lot like sleep. Doesn’t affect creatures with
more than 6 HD. Mind affecting, so that’s a big limitation. The
debuff is strong — target can only take a standard or move action
each turn, not both, and it can hit a lot of creatures. This isn’t the
sort of spell I prefer, but it’s not terrible.
● Expeditious Retreat (PHB) – Worse than the swift one, and very
hard to justify as one of our few spells known. This is a good
persist spell target, if you’re going that route, but I’d recommend
getting the swift variation instead.
●
Expeditious Retreat, Swift – This being a swift cast is really nice.
 I’d prefer swift invisibility, though. It accomplishes a lot of the
same goals, and has a lot more upsides. This is a good persist
spell target, if you’re going that route.
● Feather Fall (PHB) – This spell is really nice to have in your back
pocket, but not as one of the few spells you get. I recommend
getting this on a ring or item if you like the effect.
● Friendly Face – Grants +5 to diplomacy or gather information. If
you like this, take improvisation instead. A lot more dynamic and is
stronger after level 10.
● Grease – Very powerful effect that targets reflex saves and
balance. Not many bard spells target reflex, and I think it’s nice to
have at least 1 or 2 in your list that target each of the saves, so you
can choose the right spell for the right enemy.
● Harmony (PGtF) – Standard action cast that gives the next inspire
courage +2. I recommend inspirational boost instead.
● Hideous Laughter – A pretty strong effect for a level 1 spell, but it
comes with a lot of limitations (close range, can’t affect creatures
with low intelligence, most enemies get a +4 on their save). It also
only targets 1 creature, where a save completely negates the
effect. Not bad, but not in love.
● Identify (PHB) – A really useful spell, but I don’t love using a spells
lot for it, especially because it costs 100gp each time. We have
limited spell slots. Let the wizard handle this.
● Improvisation – (Note: Complete Adventurer has this a 5th level
spell, but spell compendium has it as 1st level) – This spell is cool.
The two big downsides are that it only lasts 1 round / level, and
that you can only use one-quarter of the luck pool per activation.
At level 6, that means this gives a +3 to a skill, an attack, or
whatever. For combat, it’s underwhelming because it takes a
standard action to turn on. For out-of-combat situations, it’d good
if you have a few skill checks in a row that you need to pass, and
you have a round to spend preparing. That being said, this ability
scales really well. Consider swapping into this at higher levels.If
you can turn it on just before entering combat, it can be a
powerhouse, and it can be a general boost in a lot of situations,
making it dynamic.
● Inspirational Boost – Gain an additional +1 to Inspire Courage.
Very strong damage output for a level 1 spell, assuming you have
 a party that uses attacks. This gets better the more allies you have
that use combat. Despite its strength, I usually pass on this spell.
I’d like to have something a bit more dynamic. That’s a roleplaying
choice, though.
● Instant Diversion (RotD) – A swift cast mirror image that only
lasts 1 round, and you get one image per four levels of your caster
level. It’s OK, but the low duration makes it a little weak. A good
candidate for extend spell.
● Instant of Power (FOW 114) – This is a really solid spell.
Immediate cast, give an ally +4 to an attack, save, or damage roll. I
like this.

● Invisibility, Swift – Being able to cast

this as a swift action is great. It can get you out of combat, buy
you some time, or set you up for a strong attack. In addition, it’s a
level 1 spell, not level 2 like normal invisibility. The big downside is
the one-round duration and that you can only target yourself with
it. Despite those limitations, it’s still a very strong spell. It’s a great
target for extend spell & metamagic song.
● Ironthunder Horn – An OK spell that targets reflex (which is a rare
thing for Bards) but it overlaps with grease pretty hard. I
recommend grease instead of this.
● Phantom Threat – Makes one creature think it’s flanked if it fails a
will save. It just looks a lot worse than summon monster I to me.
● Silent Image – This spell can do so much. You need to use your
imagination, but the options are endless. The best part is that
spells like this never get old. You can always find new and clever
uses, and your party will never get tired of the cool tricks you
come up with.
● Sleep – Save or be-taken-prisoner, potentially against multiple
foes. This is really strong at levels 2 through 3, and OK at levels 4-
5, but after that, it’s pretty weak. You can take it if you like it. but
make sure you swap it out at level 8.
● Stay the Hand – Immediate cast. Stop someone from targetting or
attacking you (but they can re-target with small minuses). The big
down side is that only affects humanoids. I love the effect, but the
limitation is big.
● Summon Monster I (PHB) – Not bad for finding and disabling
traps. Otherwise not much to do with this; the combat abilities are
pretty weak. I’d pass.
● Undersong (SPC 227) – 10min / level. Use perform instead of
concentration. In general, this is bad (Melodic Casting feat is
probably better to choose if you really want the effect) but there
may be an exception for the Diamond Mind school from the book
of nine swords. Getting a +6 or so to all of your maneuvers is
pretty cool.
● Undetectable Alignment (PHB) – Could be very good in an evil
campaign where subterfuge is important. This could also make a
very good eternal wand if your DM will let you put it on there, or
even just a wand with a few charges for those key situations. In
general it’s not something I’d be looking to allocate a known spell
to, but it’s a strong spell that lasts 24 hours.
● Unseen Servant (PHB) – Not bad in general, but a very bad use of
a bard’s limited spells known. Pass.

Level 2 Spells
● Animate Instrument – Animate an
instrument, so it continues your performance for you. This lets you
stack bardic music effects continuously (like inspire courage and
inspire greatness). Not a bad effect, but I don’t love spending a
spell-known or a spell-slot for it. This would be great as something
you enchant directly onto an instrument.
● Alter Self – One of the best spells in the game. I have
section below on using it. It’s very strong and dynamic, but it’s not
campaign shattering — you can choose between flight, burrow,
swim, waterbreathing, natural armor, skill boosts, and a few other
things. It’s definitely way above-curve for a 2nd level spell, but its
not “broken” in the sense that it doesn’t ruin a campaign run by a
competent. It just makes you really badass.
● Battle Hymn (SC 25) – Allow all allies to reroll will saves, after
knowing result, before knowing whether it passed or failed. Not
great, but a good persist target.
● Bladeweave (SC 31) – Swift cast, lasts 1 rd / level, and dazes
creatures hit by your melee attack. Very cool for a melee bard.
● Blindness / Deafness – This isn’t great in combat. Blind and deaf
are only minor debuffs and you have better options at this level.
That being said, the effects are permanent, so that’s gotta have
some significant roleplay potential.
● Blur – Attacks miss you 20% of the time. Maybe worth
considering for a melee bard, although I’d probably pick up blink
(as a 3rd level spell) instead.
● Calm Emotions – A cool spell, but the low duration makes it hard
to make a big impact with this.
● Cloud of Bewilderment – A cloud effect that makes its inhabitants
sickened (can’t take standard actions). It targets fort, which is
great. A good bit worse than glitterdust, though, and similar in
effect and application.
● Cure Moderate Wounds – I really like to avoid healing on a bard.
If you’re going to get a heal spell, the 3rd level one is probably the
best choice.
● Darkness (PHB 216) – A
good spell, but it has limited application. Might be cool with a
melee bard with blindfighting.
● Delusions of Grandeur – A save-or-be-bad spell. There are good
save-or-die spells at level 1. Not worth taking this at level 2.
● Detect Thoughts – This spell is very strong. DM dependent, and
can piss some DM’s off, but it’s got a lot of power.
● Dimension Leap – Teleport 10′ per 2 caster levels. I love this.
Gets you out of a lot of trouble and solve a lot of problems.
● Disquietude (MoF p90) – Only good vs. melee enemies and there
are lots of ways around it. It’s a conditional save-or-be-bad spell. If
you’re going that route, at least save-or-die.
● Elation (BoED p98) – Allies in an 80′ radius spread get +2 Str, +2
Dex, +5 speed. Even though the bonuses are morale bonuses,
they stack with Inspire Courage because they don’t directly affect
attack / damage. Not a bad buff for level 2, but I think there are
better options. This is a good persist spell target, if you’re going
that route.
● Enthrall – A slightly better fascinate. Bad use of a spell slot.
● Entice Gift (BoVD p93)-Target must pass a will save or give you
what he’s holding. This has so many fun applications.
● Fly, Swift – Fly for one round? Very strong.
● Grace – Swift casting, get 60′ illumination on your body, +2 to
dex, +10 to move, and your touch and melee attacks are good (for
overcoming DR). Not great.
● Glitterdust – Arguably the best 2nd level spell in the game. I’d
recommend to any DM that they use the pathfinder version instead
(bad guys get a save every round) and even that is solid.
● Harmonize (RoS 162) – Activate bardic musics as a move action
instead of standard. Not really worth it because of low duration,
but a great target for persist.
● Hold Person – So much worse than the other control effects at
this level. Only has one target, is mind-affecting, target gets to
save each round… yuck.
● Insidious Insight (RoE p187) – +10 bonus to the social skills
against one target, lasts 24 hours, but he gets a will save. Worth
considering if you’re a face bard.The will save is sad, and I think
suggestion ends up being a stronger choice.
● Invisibility – Very strong. I recommend taking either this or swift
invisibility (or both). If you take this, swap it out when greater
invisibility becomes available.
● Know Vulnerabilities – I prefer the skill trick for this effect. We
can’t afford to do something with spells when skills can get the job
done.
● Mesmerizing Glare – Fascinate 1 creature / level, must be within
30′ of each other. This isn’t great by itself, but it lets you fascinate
many more creatures than your class ability, and you can then
 use the class ability fascinate on all of the creatures you
fascinated with this spell. No good for combat, but this could
make it into a build.
● Mirror Image – Not a terrible spell, but weak. The standard
casting time really sets this one back.
● Miser’s Envy – Ok I have to be honest. This is not 5 stars. I just
wanted you to look at it because it’s awesome. If you make this
work your campaign, it’ll make for epic stories. It’s probably 2 or 3
stars. It makes a single creature crave a single object, going as far
as to attack and kill for it.
● Pyrotechnics – This spell is really cool and dynamic, but a little
limited. If your DM bans Glitterdust, this may be worth taking.
● Scare (PHB) – I like that this can target multiple creatures, but the
6HD limitation really makes this sad. I would pass, even for fear
escalators. That being said, most fear escalators are going to be
dread-witches and this is a pre-req for them, so it may be a
necessary evil. (Maybe your DM will let the pre-req be filled with
something like Fear instead, so you can swap out the useless
scare spell at higher levels.)
● Silence (PHB) – Can be good vs other casters or bards, and also
helps the rogue sneak around. Not a bad spell by any means, but
nothing to write home about either.
● Sonic Weapon – Standard action to make a weapon deal an extra
1d6 damage. Not at all good, but maybe it’s an alright persist
target, if you’re going that route.
● Sonorous Hum – Maintain concentration on the next spell you
cast that requires concentration without consuming your standard
action. I don’t think this is worth getting as a spell; the bard
doesn’t have enough spells per day or enough spells that require
concentration.
● Sound Burst – 1d8 and stun (fort save) in a 10′ spread. It’s not
great, but it’s ok.
● Suggestion – This is very
strong, has a lot of roleplaying opportunities, and fits right in the
character mold of a typical bard. The only downside is that it
overlaps with your class feature.
● Summon Monster II – This isn’t a very strong level for Summon
Monster. III and V are the best for combat, and 1 is the best for
sacrificial lambs. Pass on this.
● Swift Ready – As a swift action, get a set of gear equipped to you.
Lasts 24 hours until used. I feel like there have to be ways to
abuse this spell. Maintain different sets of equipment for different
situations… I don’t know. This has the feel of something you can
break.
● Tongues – Speak all languages. This is a really valuable ability,
since many of your spells and abilities are language based, but a
spell slot is a high cost. I prefer to get this through skills, but if your
DM rules that Speak Langauge is capped like other skills then this
may be something to look into. A wand or eternal wand might be a
better option than known spell.
● Whirling Blade – Attack creatures in a line with your standard
weapon. A little hard to get use out of, but can be OK. I’d probably
pass, but weapon-focused bards might like this. Pretty cool in
conjunction with bladeweave.

Level 3 Spells
● Adoration of the Frightful – This is a solid spell for any bard going
into fear effects. First, you get a +1 bonus to diplomacy (just for
 knowing this spell). That’s awesome. Then, any creature you have
shaken, frightened, or panicked, you turn into a friendly for the
duration of the spell (1 minute / level) unless you or an ally get
hostile with them. This is very cool.
● Alter Fortune – I would love this spell if not for the XP cost. It’s
just not worth having on our limited list of spells with that big
downside.
● Blink – Really good for a gish/melee bard. Makes you harder to hit,
reduces the damage you take from area spells, makes your hits
more likely, and you can step through solid objects. You also can
attack ethreal creatures, which might come up.
● Charm Monster – I am biased towards this spell. A will save
completely negates this effect. On the other hand, if you succeed,
you get a best buddy for days. I think of Raistlin charming that
gully dwarf, and can’t help myself. It’s not mechanically the
strongest, but I really enjoy this one.
● Clairaudience / Clairvoyance – Takes a long time to cast is the
big downside. I think this is a perfect spell for a scroll. You won’t
need it every day, but when you do, it’s clutch.
● Cone of Euphoria – Standard action to cast. When you do, get a
handful of special attacks that daze for 1d6 rounds (will negates) in
a 20′ cone. I’m not a fan.
● Confusion –
Pros: It hits in a 15′ burst. Cons: The targets get a will save. If they
fail, there’s still a ~35% chance they’ll do something you don’t like.
The odds of failure are too high for me to endorse.
● Cure Serious Wounds – I just don’t like taking healing spells as a
bard. If you must, this one is probably better than the other
options.
● Curse of the Putrid Husk – A sleep-like spell that targets a single
opponent (will).Not a bad spell, but not the best. Good characters
may want to ask their DM to allow this to be re-fluffed as a good
spell. (The creature collapses under the weight of realization of its
sins?)
● Deep Slumber/Greater Sleep – These are both a better version of
sleep, but you get access to them at level 7. This spell loses its
strength around level 9 or 10, and you won’t be able to swap it out
until level 13 (or 11 if you go into sublime chord). Not a great
option, IMO. I like deep slumber a little better than greater sleep.
Deep slumber affects 10HD worth of creature, greater sleep
affects 4d6 HD. The average is the same, but I’d rather not have
 variance in this effect; it makes it difficult to plan. If you want a
sleep effects, Curse of the Putrid Husk is probably your best bet.
● Dirge of Discord – Not bad. 20′ radius debuff that hits a wide
spectrum of abilities. Not great, but not bad.
● Dispel Magic – A good, general purpose effect. Can solve a lot of
problems.
● Displacement – Give yourself or an ally a buff that makes attacks
miss 50%. Not bad. A bit expensive as a level 3 spell. Blink is far
superior when targetting yourself, but this lets you also target an
ally.
● Dragonskin (BoEM1 18) – Gain Natural Armor +4 and 10 points of
resistance against one of five different damage types (choose on
cast). 10min / level duration. Not bad.
● Emotion (3.0 spell)- This spell got broken up into a handful of
other spells in 3.5. It’s still in 3.5 as a “Tarot” spell, though. If your
DM lets you use it, it’s pretty good. Having something with this
many modes really helps us with our low number of spells known.
● Fear – Will save or be panicked.. If the save succeeds, the bad
guy is still shaken for a round. A nice spell for fear bards.
● Gaseous Form – A pretty cool spell that can frustrate DMs and
get you out of trouble, but I think it has limited application. I’d like
to have this on a scroll rather than in my spell list.
● G’elsewhere Chant – Teleport subject randomly. I like that it can
hit bad guys. I don’t like that it’s random. Gives the DM too much
power to screw you over. “A prison cell is perfectly safe!”
● Glibness – Nearly campaign smashing. Convince anyone of
anything. A cool spell, but it can completely over-shadow all social
skills. I recommend using this sparingly if you get it, so your DM
and other players don’t kill you.
● Halt – Immediate cast, stop a bad guy from moving. I really like
this spell.
● Haste (PHB p239) – Make your whole party better in combat. A
really good effect for buffer bards.
● Haunting Tune – Shaken isn’t enough of a debuff for this to be
worth taking, unless it’s part of some escalating fear build.
● Hesitate – This is preetty good. It’s an immediate cast, and it
stops the opponent from doing anything but move actions for 1
 round / level (will negates). It gets a save every round, which is
sad, but the immediate cast is very attractive.
● Insignia of Healing – 1d8 + LVL healing to everyone carrying a
special insignia that costs gold to create. I don’t like healing spells,
and this one isn’t very strong at all; mass low-amounts of healing
is rarely as effective as targeted high-amounts.
● Invisibility Sphere – I’m not in love with this spell. It basically lets
your party sneak by some guards, assuming they can keep quiet
and there’s enough room to walk.
● Leomund’s Tiny Hut – This is a cool idea for archer bards. It is a
concealment–on-order spell that you can see out of and shoot
from. Pretty cool.
● Listening Coin – Turn two coins into a one-way walkie-talkie that
lasts 1 hour / level. A pretty good Clairvoyance substitution spell.
● Phantom Steed – This is a strong spell that eventually lets you fly
all over the world on your own personal airship. My big problem
with it is that it’s primarily about mobility and that your teammates
don’t get one. Definitely strong (but make sure you have featherfall
handy!)

● Ray of Diziness – The same effect as

slow, but the roll is a touch attack instead of will save, and it only
 targets one opponent (but it does have a big higher range). It’s OK,
but I like slow better because slow can hit many creatures at once.
If your DM likes to send one big bad guy at your party all the time
(as opposed to a few reasonably strong enemies) then this might
prove more useful for you.
● Scrying – This is a really strong spell. Lets you get a lot of
information ahead of time. It may be better to get this on a scroll
and use it sparingly, so as not to piss off your DM and other
players.
● Sculpt Sound – This is very solid. It’s a save-or-be-nearly-useless
vs multiple casters. It also has some ancillary roleplaying
applications. Worth considering.
● Slow – The inverse of haste. Make the bad guys really slow. The
fact that it gets a will save makes it a bit worse than haste, but still
very strong.
● Summon Monster III – Probably the best Summon Monster out
there. The Celestial Bison or the Huge Fiendish Monstrous
Centipede are probably the two best options, but depending on
the situation most of the options can be useful.
● Unluck – Save-or-suck.Target has to take the worst of two rolls
every time they roll. The effect is very strong, but it targets will
(something we do a lot) only targets one bad guy, and doesn’t
automatically win. I pass on this, but it is a strong spell. Note: this
is 4th level in CA, but 3rd in SpC.
● Vision of Fear – Doesn’t do anything except give your DM a hook
to continue the story. Pass.
● Warcry – A lot like fear, except it targets fortitude. A failed save
cowers for 1d4 rounds, but the spell has no effect if the creature
saves. The effect is a little weaker, but I like that it targets fort.
● Winding Alleys – A maze-like spell, that has some limitations. If
you are spending most of your campaign in a city, this could be
strong. Otherwise, I don’t like the conditions on it.
● Wounding Whispers – Anyone who hits you takes 1d6 + CL
damage. Not bad, but I don’t like getting hit.

Level 4 Spells
● Blinding Beauty – A 4th level glitterdust-like-spell that targets fort.
Any creature that looks at you and fails the save is permanently
blind. If you’re going to take this, make sure you sit down with the
rest of your party and setup some safe words, otherwise they’ll be
mighty mad at you.
● Celerity – Acting now is so much better than acting later. This
spell is very, very strong.
● Charm Person, Mass – Only charms lvl * 2 HD humanoids. I’ll
pass.
● Dimension Door – Local teleport for the entire party. Very strong.
Can be annoying for DMs not prepared for this.
● Dominate Person – This feels like the sort of spell you’d like to
have on a scroll, if you can figure out how to read the scroll
without alarming your target. You can control a king with this for
extended periods of time. It’s not bad as a daily spell, since it lets
you take full control of a bad guy for an extended period of time.
The big downside is it only targets humanoids.
● Freedom of Movement – This spell can get you out of a lot of
sticky situations. The more aggressive your DM, the better this
gets.
● Fugue – This is a powerful area debuff, but it requires
concentration to maintain. If you have swift concentration, this may
be worth looking into.
● Harmonize, Greater – Here’s a way to concentrate as a move
action. The idea is to cast this then activate insprie courage as a
move action, and it’s action-efficient. Not a bad spell, not my
favorite.
● Hold Monster – Another save or die that targets will. You have
better options at lower levels if you want this kind of effect.

● Insidious Suggestion – For spontaneous casters, this isn’t much

better than regular suggestion. It’s a shame, because we’d love
 that +2 bonus to social skills while it was prepared, but it’s not
worth being 2 levels higher for that.
● Invisibility, Greater – This spell is amazing. You can attack while
invisible! For a melee bard it’s incredible. For a buffer bard it’s
great. I love this one.
● Legend Lore – This just gives your DM a hook to dump in story
arc information. Let him do that without burning up your abilities.
It’s not a bad spell, just bad as a Known Spell.
● Listening Coin – Man, I just love this spell for flavor. It’s not good
though. Maybe as a one-time scroll for a particular problem.
● Melf’s Slumber Arrows – Make arrows that either cause sleep or
fatigue. Not bad for an archer bard.
● Mirror Image, Greater – This is much better than the original!
Cast as an immediate action, make yourself very hard to hit, and
the images regenerate. Not bad.
● Modify Memory – This spell has a lot of really powerful out-of-
combat possibilities. I like it a lot. It’s one you have to use your
imagination for.
● Rainbow Pattern – Nullify up to 24HD worth of creatures. Very
strong.
● Resistance, Greater – +3 to all saves that lasts 24 hours. The big
problem with this spell is that it doesn’t stack with the ubiquitous
cloak of resistance.
● Resonating Bolt – LVL d4 damage in a
line, reflex for half. Not my favorite blaster spell, and I really only
recommend taking one for this class.
● Resounding Thunder – Create an area that does damage and can
deafen. Definitely pretty cool, but not amazing..
● Ruin Delver’s Fortune – I love this spell. Get bonuses to the save
you need (or extra HPs) immediately. It’s purely defensive, but it’s
very good at the job.
● Shadow Conjuration – The biggest limit on a bard’s spellcasting
is Spells Known. This blows that metric wide open, giving you
access to a bunch of spells from the best school of magic.
● Spell Theft (SPC 191) – Steal the enchantments that are on
another creature. Kind of a cool debuff / buff in one spell. It’s
action efficient.
● Sirine’s Grace (SPC 191) – An OK pump spell, nothing special. A
really good target for persist.
● Summon Monster IV – At most, I think a bard wants two
summoning spells, and probably just one, that gets upgraded over
time. Given that, you can probably skip IV, and use III and V
instead.
● Thunder Field – Create an area that does 1d8 damage and
knocks people prone. Not bad, but the damage is lackluster.
● Voice of the Dragon – Pros: +10 to social skills, and culminates in
a suggestion spell. Cons: Why do you need social skills if you’re
about to cast suggestion? Only lasts 10 min / level.
Level 5 Spells
● Blink, Improved / Greater – Go back and forth between ethereal
and solid at will. Physical attacks have a 100% miss chance, and
you can walk through some solid objects. This is strong.
● Body Harmonic – Deal 1d10 points of damage to a single ability
score each round, lasting up to 1 round per level (requires
concentration) will negates. You can only target a single ability
score once every five rounds. This can be good against creatures
you know have a very low single stat. For example, this can drop a
T-Rex if you target intelligence. That being said, for a level 5 spell,
it’s not a great effect.
● Bolts of Bedevilment (SC 37) – For LVL rounds, gain the ability to
shoot a ray that dazes for 1d3 on failed save. I don’t like that the
bad guy gets two chances to avoid this (AC and will save) and that
the effect only lasts 1d3 rounds. This is cool, but not good.
● Boreal Wind (Frost) – Meh. Not much damage, not much
movement, fort completely negates. Pass.
● Cacophonic Burst – This is my favorite blaster spell in the bard’s
list. I’m not a big fan of blaster spells, but I like having at least one
at my disposal. Battlefield control is nice, but sometimes what you
need is DPS. This is a sonic version of fireball (max 15d6 damage).
It gets the job done. I wish it was lower level, though.
● Channeled Sound Burst – This is my second favorite blaster spell
for bards, and it may be better in some builds than Cacophonic
Burst. I like that you have the option at what speed to cast this,
and I like that it only saves for half. The main problems I have are
that 1. the damage is limited to 10 dice, and 2. I don’t like a cone
as much as a ranged burst.
● Cure Light Wounds, Mass – Yuck. A mild heal on every party
member usually isn’t what you need.
● Dancing Blade – Meh. I’d take summon monster V over this, for
sure.
● Dimension Jumper – I love teleportation spells. This one casts as
a swift action, and replaces your move with a telport (30′ ). Pretty
cool. You have to be able to see your destination, so that’s a little
limiting.
● Dispel Magic, Greater – This is an improved version of dispel
magic. It’s also very strong.
● Friend to Foe – All creatures (max one / CL) you want to target in
a 15′ radius get a will save or attack each other. Two big
downsides: A will save, and after one successful attack, the spell
ends for that attacker. If you can hit enough bad guys, you can get
a lot of value out of one standard action. (Think of how many
standard actions you can potentially steal from the opposing team
if you can target 3-5 bad guys).I think Song of Discord is a better
 version of this spell.

● Glimpse of Eternity (MoE p96) – Target takes 1d6 dmg per caster
level (max 15d6) and is confused (the one where it does random
stuff) for 1 round / 3 levels. Will halves damage and negates
confusion.
● Incite Riot – Another “make the enemies fight each other” spell.
Its OK, but I still like song of discord best for this effect.
● Mind Fog – Will save or get -10 on will saves, 2′ radius burst. Not
a bad debuff, especially if you have a party that can really take
advantage of it.
● Mislead – Not in love with this spell.Swift invisibility and silent
image can accomplish almost exactly the same thing at a much
lower cost.
● Otto’s Resistable Dance – The imagery is funny, and it’s nice that
it hits one living creature per level, but the effect (-2 to AC, -2 to
Will, -2 to Concentration, -2 to spellcraft) is such a weak debuff
that I can’t see this being worth casting.
● Scry Location – If you like scry spells, this is a solid one.
● Seeming – Affect whole party with disguise self. Meh. I really can’t
think of a good use for this, even as a scroll (just buy a wand of
disguise instead).
● Shadow Evocation – Just like Shadow Conjuration, this really
opens up the bard’s spells known.
● Shadow Walk – The closest thing a bard gets to a teleport spell. If
you take an unwilling subject, you can bring him into the shadow
plane and then dump him there, which is pretty cool.
● Song of Discord – Pros: 20′ radius spread, opponents fight each
other sometimes. Cons: they first get a will save, then there’s only
a 50% chance it works. It hits your teammates as well as your
enemies. Not great, but not the worst.
● Suggestion, Mass – Suggestion on a number of creatures equal
to your caster level. Sweet!
● Summon Monster V – A fine spell. If you like summoning, the
5th level of this spell has some cool options.
● Unfettered Heroism (RoE p 190) – Immediate cast,get a bonus
action point each turn, lasts 1 round per level (d20srd link). The
spell requires that you have at least one action point available, so if
your campaign doesn’t use action points, you might be out of luck
here. Otherwise this is really strong (Lets you cast lower level
spells over and over and over and over again, for example.)
● Wail of Doom – 30′ cone that does a small amount of damage
and either panicks or shakens. Not bad.
Level 6 Spells
● Animate Objects – This has cool visuals, but the creatures you
get are too weak by the time you get this spell. The fact that each
object has its own characteristics based on what it is is pretty cool
(a rug can blind, a rope can grapple, etc.) but still pretty limited.
● Animal Features, Mass (Fox’s Cunning, Eagle’s Splendor,
etc.) – This is a reasonably strong buff spell in the right party
context. Go with Strength probably.
● Bestow Curse, Greater – This is very powerful. Reducing an
ability to score to 1 and then damaging that ability score via some
other method is a two-hit combo. The fact that you can tailor the
curse to the situation is also nice. That being said, it requires a
touch attack, is negated by a will save, and is subject to spell
resistance.
● Charm Monster, Mass – The max HD affected is twice your
caster level, which is a real limitation. Mass Charm really means
“Charm 2-5 monsters”.
● Dirge – All enemies in a 50′ burst around the bard take 2 points of
strength and dex damage every round. Lasts 1 round / level. Fort
negates, but the bad guy had to roll each round. Activate once, get
the effect once each turn. I like this.
● Empyreal Ecstacy (BoED 98) – Target is immune to mind-
affecting techniques, takes half damage from melee and ranged
attacks, gets -4 on all skill checks, and has to pass a DC15
concentration check to cast. Also counters some effects like
Symbol of Pain (PHB). This is an interesting spell that can be used
as a buff or debuff. The half damage is my favorite part.
● Eyebite – Good against weak opponents, bad against strong
opponents. I hate that. The spell language isn’t clear, but I’m pretty
sure it consume your standard action each turn. If that’s the case,
it’s terrible. If you get to activate each additional round without
consuming additional standard actions, then it’s not so bad.
● Familial Gaes – Geas, plus some small benefits that will probably
never come up. However, since it’s the same level at Geas, it
seems strictly better to me.
● Fanfare (SaS) – 100′ cone that can’t be fully saved. If they save,
they are stunned for 1d4 rounds and deafened for double! If they
 fail the save, they also take damage. This is a really solid spell. It
also targets Fort, which is nice for the Bard. This is a good way to
deal with enemy spellcasters.
● Gaes / Quest – No saving throw! The target must fulfill a mission
of your choice (or spend 1 day / level fulfilling an open-ended
mission). This is open ended, highly subject to DM rule, and can
reward creative play. A really cool spell, but also dangerous to
your campaign. Use at your own risk!
● Glimpse of the Prophecy (MoE p96) – Get a +1 to AC and to
saves while in effect, and it lasts 1 hour per level. Then you can
discharge it as an immediate action to get +10 to a save. A solid

defensive spell.
● Greater Scrying – Solid spell.
● Heaven’s Trumpet (BoED 101) – This spell is solid, but requires
that you have the archon sub-type, which is a huge
limitation.Enemies must pass a fort save or be paralyzed for 1d4
rounds. A huge area: 120′ . This one is a solid spell, and I like that
it targets fort.
● Hindsight – Lets you look into the past of the place you’re
standing. Really cool flavor, but a little hard to get a ton of use out
of. If you can make it to your arch-enemies evil lair, you can learn
all of his dirty secrets, of course. This is another spell which just
gives the DM a hook to tell his story. I don’t mind doing that, but
not at the cost of one of our precious spell slots.
● Otto’s Irresistible Dance – The title of this spell is misleading; it
requires a touch attack to come into effect. On a successful touch,
the target is disabled for 2-5 rounds without any save. They also
provoke attacks of opportunity and get an AC & Reflex penalty.
Definitely solid, especially for melee bards. Amazing on a melee
bard, solid everywhere else.
● Nixie’s Grace – What’s interesting about this spell is the +8 to
charisma. That effectively gives you about 6 more bonus spells-
per-day of lower levels that you can use temporarily (more if you’re
in the sublime chord prestige class). In addition, you get swim
speed, underwater breathing, low light vision, damage reduction 5
/ cold iron, +6 to Dex, and +2 to Wisdom. An interesting spell.
● Permanent Image – I can’t think of a great use for this spell for
PCs. As a DM I use it a lot. As a player, it’s rare that you’ll need
this.
● Project Image – This is really strong image spell. It grants sight,
hearing, doesn’t get destroyed by damage, and distracts your
enemies. Very strong.
● Protege – Grant a party member the powers of a bard of
approximately half your strength. I can’t think of why you would do
this. Crappy duration, too.
● Ray of Light (SC 167) – OK so this is cool. No save, ray attack. On
a successful ranged touch attack the target is blinded for 1d4
rounds. I like that there is no will save, although blinding can have
limited benefit. It is subject to spell resistance, though, so that’s
sad.
● Resistance, Superior – +6 to all saves for 24 hours. Cast this
before going to sleep, wake up with a nice shield and full spell
slots. This is a great target for chain spell (if you’ve gone into
sublime chord) at higher levels. The big problem with this spell is
that it doesn’t stack with the ubiquitous cloak of resistance. If you
have a good alternate use for that body slot, this might be worth
looking into.
● Snowsong (FB 105) – Boost ally AC, Charisma checks, and
attacks. Give enemy casters a 20% fail chance. 30′ burst centered
on you. Not bad, but I feel like the insight bonuses might overlap
with existing item bonuses on your party. Worth looking at.
● Shout, Greater – Hits on multiple fronts: 10d6 damage (half with
fort save); stunned for 1 round (negated with fort save); deafened
for 4d6 rounds (half duration with fort save). The best part of
deafened is casters gets a 20% spell failure.
● Summon Monster VI – One of the weaker summon monster
spells. Probably pass on this one.
● Veil – Disguise on the whole party. At this high level, I have a hard
time seeing a use for it that won’t get seen through.

Key Rules and Advice

Bardic Music Rules
● Activation is typically a standard action.
● Some Musics require concentration to maintain (fascinate, inspire
competence, and song of freedom). Others do not (countersong,
inspire courage, suggestion, inspire greatness, inspire heroics, and
mass suggestion).
● A bard cannot cast spells, and cannot activate magical items by
spell completion, spell triggers, or command words while
maintaining a bardic music (but there are ways around this, see the
melodic casting feat).
● If a Bardic Music does not require concentration, you can swing
your sword, run, or otherwise use your standard action while
maintaining the song (very useful for Inspire Courage, for example).

Which Perform?
Pick a version of Perform that doesn’t require any hands and doesn’t
require an instrument that can be taken away from you by bad guys.
Things like voice, oratory, poetics, or whistling. It’s really that simple.
Nothing stops you from whipping out a guitar and playing it for flavor
if you want it.

Fear Escalation
Fear escalation is a viable option for a bard, and it is a strong ability.
The one problem with fear escalation is that a lot of things are immune
to fear. You can get past this by dipping into dread witch for 4 levels,
but that makes a very particular bard.

There are four degrees of fear:

1. Shaken: –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks,

and ability checks.
2. Frightened: The penalties of shaken, but it also tries to flee if at all
possible.
3. Panicked: Like frightened, except it drops everything it holds and
runs in a random path away. Also, if it’s cornered, it cowers rather
than fighting back.
4. Cowering: Frozen in fear and can take no actions. A cowering
character takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class and loses its Dexterity
bonus (if any).

You can escalate through the first three fear states. For example, if a
creature is currently shaken and you target it with a spell that makes a
creature shaken, that creature becomes frightened (one level of
escalation).

Similarly, if you successfully target a creature that is shaken with a

frighten effect, then the creature becomes panicked (two levels of
escalation).
However, you cannot escalate from panicked to cowering in this way.
Instead, to get a panicked creature to cower, you have to corner the
creature (block off all of its routes of escape). If you do that, it will
become cowered, ready to be put out of its misery or taken prisoner.

The bard has a lot of strong options to esclate through fear. I’ll put
some example builds in the builds section.

Casting in Secret
A lot of the bard’s spells are social based. Sometimes, you’ll have
started a social interaction and realize you want to cast a spell, but the
suspicious guards probably won’t stand there patiently as you move
your hands around in a strange way to cast glibness. Instead, they’ll
probably recognize that you’re casting a spell and arrest you before
you can go any further.

In order to address there, the game creators gave us a few options for
casting in secret:
Sleight of Hand Skill (RoS 133)
● Can use multiple times in an encounter.
● Sleight of hand check vs opposed spot check.
● Success makes verbal and somatic go unnoticed.
● Does not solve material and focus components.
● Some lack of clarity in the rules regarding AOOs and
counterpselling.
Conceal Spellcasting Skill Trick (CS 85)
● Can only be used once in an encounter.
● Also a sleight of hand check vs opposed spot check.
● Success means they cannot tell that you’re casting regardless of
components.
● Observer also cannot attempt an attack of opportunity.
● Observer cannot attempt to counter the spell.
Subsonics Feat (CA 112)
● Can disguise your bardic musics, including those that harm
opponents.
● Cannot disguise spells.
Silent Spell Feat (PHB 100)
● This feat doesn’t work for Bards, so this is a dead end.
Echew Materials Feat (PHB 94)
● Constant benefit, as long as the materials cost under 1gp.
● No metamagic cost.
● Only removes material components, nothing else.
● Can be used repeatedly.
● Costs a whole feat.
Disguise Spell Feat (CA 108)
● Perform check vs. Spot check; onlookers must match or succeed
to see that you’re casting.
● It’s obvious you’re performing, but not that you’re casting.
● Does not disguise spells that clearly emenate from you.
● Can’t be ID’d with spellcraft even if they realize you’re casting.
● Still provokes AOO.

Using Prestidigitation
This really is a great spell. No, it’s not going to solve your campaign
singlehandedly, but it’s super fun and has a million applications.
Before we go into the various uses, you should note that one casting
lasts an hour, and you can do any number of individual
presitigations (of any type) any number of times during that hour.
That is great.

To get started, the PHB gives these uses:

● Slowly lift 1 pound of material
● Color, clean, or soil items in a 1-foot cube each round
● Chill, warm, or flavor 1 pound of non-living material
● Create small, crude and artifical looking, objects.
● Produce small tinklings of ethereal music
● Brighten faded flowers
● Create glowing balls that float over your hand
● Generate puffs of wind to flicker candles
● Spice up aromas and flavors of bland foods
● Make little whilwinds to sweep dust under rugs

Song and Silence (page 80) talks about a few additional uses:
● Change matter, as long as it stays in the same “kingdom” of
animal, vegetable, or mineral
● Dry and Dampen items
● polish something
● sketch a figure on any surface (or in the air)
● stitch seams
● tie a knot

The most important part though, is these aren’t enumerated uses.

They are examples of a general principle, and you’re free to make up
additional ones as long as they follow the limitations:
● Cannot deal damage or affect the concentration of spellcasters.
● Cannot create weapons, tools, or spell components.
● Cannot duplicate any other spell or spell effects.
● Any changes to an object (aside from moving, cleaning, or soiling)
only last 1 hour.
● Range is 10 feet

The applications are literally endless. This little unassuming spell is

one of the most fun spells in the game. Here are some examples of
uses from games I’ve played:
● Keep my bard looking fresh while the rest of the party is covered in
dungeon filth.
● “Soil” a guard’s pants to make him abandon post and run to the
outhouse.
● Make a poison taste like a refreshing glass of juice.
● “Clean” poisonous fungus from a magical sword found in a cave,
without touching it.
● Improve the flavor of camp food.
● Quickly gather caltrops that were dropped.
● Make a bronze coin look like a platinum coin.
● Make the secret document that you’re trying to smuggle out of a
castle look like a ribbon around your wrist.
● Make an expensive gem look like a plain stone, and vice versa.

Speak Languages Rank Limit

Speak langauges is worded uniquely. Unlike every other skill, putting
points into Speak Languages doesn’t give you ranks. Instead, you get
to choose a new language that you speak.

This makes it very unclear whether it is subject to the normal LEVEL +

3 rank limit, or whether you can learn as many languages as you’d
like.

As a DM I allow players to purchase as many languages as they’d like.

Speak langauges is never used as skill check (you never roll a D20
and add your number of languages to it) so this seems like the best
interpretation.

Many of the bard’s abilities are langauge based, so I tend to like this
skill and putting a lot of points into it.
You can read a little discussion about this here.

Using Silent Image

Using Alter Self

There are handbooks dedicated to this spell alone. For a humanoid
type, here are the most common forms you will want to take:
Name Bk Sze AC Run Swm Bur Fly Skills Atta
2 Listen
Aquatic Elf MM 103 M – 30 40 – – 2 Spot –
2 Search
MONoF
Asabi M 2 50 – 20 – – 1d4
15
4 Spot
4 Jump
Avarial RoF 31 M – 30 – – 50 –
4 Listen
2 Search
Crucian MH 59 M 8 20 – – – – –
 2 Search (stone/metal), 2 Craft
Dwarf PHB 14 M – 20 – – – –
(stone/metal)
8 Hide
Mongrelfolk FF 125 M – 30 – – – –
8 Sleight of Hand
8 Move Silent
Skulk FF 154 M – 30 – – – –
15 Hide
1d4 claw,
4 Hide 1d4
Troglodyte MM 246 M 6 30 – – –
8 Hide (underground) Weapon, 1
1d4

Using Diplomacy
You can pump diplomacy to ridiculous heights. If you want to make a
absurdly broken diplomancer, look at the half-elf alt-class features for
soothing voice (to enable diplomacy in combat) pump up the number
of languages you speak, and search this document for all instances of
“diplomacy” and select those options. Next, get glibness and pump
bluff. Finally, pick up a harmonica. If you do that (and use the core
diplomacy rules) you’ll be absurd in any situation that words could
possibly solve.

I don’t recommend doing this, because it will piss of your DM and co-
players, but it definitely exists as an idea.

Tempering Diplomacy
If you want to temper diplomacy a bit and make it sane, you can try
the following things:
● Get Rid of Synergies – +6 is big boost. Getting rid of this can help
make it a bit more sane.
● Use Pathfinder’s Adjustments – They make some small debuffs.
Still very strong, but a bit more limited.
● Use This Old Rule: The Diplomacy Skill – A homebrew solution
to dipolomacy. The most limiting, and yet it still remains very
strong

Maintaining Inspire Courage

There’s no mechanical limitation on the length of inspire courage.
Rather than activating it during the first round of combat, you can
activate it when you enter a cave, and maintain it throughout the
adventure, especially if you have melodic casting feat.

Your party will lose any stealth, so the rogue might look at you
sideways, but aside from that, there are very few things you need to
do while adventuring that you can’t do while singing or talking.

Is Dragonfire Inspiration Good? (How good?)

Another way to ask this question is: “When is 2.5 damage worth more
than 5% to hit?” and the answer is “most of the time”.

As a rough estimate, on average, Dragonfire Inspiration tends to be

worth about 0.5 to 1.5 damage, per attack, per level of inspire
courage. Another way to think of this is being worth approximately the
same as a +1 to inspire courage.
The math behind this question is complex and depends on five
factors:
● The AC of the Bad Guy – The higher the AC of the bad guy, the
worse dragonfire inspiration becomes.
● Your attack bonus – The higher your attack bonus, the better
dragonfire inspiration becomes.
● Your average damage – The higher your average damage, the
worse dragonfire inspration becomes.
● Your Inspire Courage Modifier – This tends to just be a
multiplier, but it seems to be some sort of bell curve in certain
situations (see below)
● The Damage Reduction of the Bad Guy – The more damage
reduction the bad guy has, the better dragonfire inspiration
becomes.

While dragonfire inspiration does tend to net more damage, here are
some exceptions and things to think about:
● Sometimes dragonfire inspiration nets less damage than inspire
courage.
● Dragonfire inspiration is stronger vs. opponents with lower AC and
weaker vs opponents with higher AC.
● If your damage is already very high compared to your attack
bonus, dragonfire inspiration is worse. (This means dragonfire
inspiration and power attack have some anti-synergy).
● Oftentimes, just connecting is more important than getting one
extra hit point of damage. Rarely does the bad guy hang on by one
HP after getting hit. Usually, he just needs one successful strike to
put him down. This works as an argument in favor of inspire
courage.
● Similarly, I think damage output vs the guy with the higher AC is
going to be more important than damage output vs. the guys with
the lower AC, but this is obviously not always true.
● Usually, the benefit scales linearly with inspire courage bonus, but
there are cases where that’s not accurate. For example, if a
character has an attack of +5 and average damage of 10, you see
dragonfire inspiration be the better choice if the inspire courage
 bonus is 1 to 4, but at 5 the advantage starts to decline, and at 7,
inspire courage becomes stronger again.

Bottom line is this. If you understand the math, you can decide to use
this when it makes sense, and use inspire courage otherwise. If you
can do that, you’ll get a pretty solid boost to damage on average. I’ve
created an excel spreadsheet which will help you simulate certain
situations, so you can get a feel for the numbers.
Link: http://joshuad.net/new-bard-handbook-files/dragonfire-
inspiration-calculator.xlsx

Does Dragonfire Inspiration stack with Inspire Courage?

If I was DM, I would rule no. My reading of the rules suggest that you
cannot stack these two effects, but some people disagree. This isn’t
100% clear because the section I depend on for my ruling is
specifically talking about spells, and inspire courage is not a spell.
Here is that section:
(Rule Compendium 137) – “The same spell can sometimes produce
varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once.
Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. one of the
previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects
become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts”.
The fact that it’s the same ability providing the effect makes me
believe that it does not stack.

In addtion, the way Dragonfire Inspiration is worded suggests this

interpration. They easily could have said “You gain a new bardic
music ability that….” instead, they say “When you use your bardic
music to inspire courage…” We can’t stack two Inspire Courages, so I
don’t think it makes sense that we can stack a dragonfire-inspired
courage and a regular inspire courage.

Talk to your DM and find out what she thinks. If it doesn’t stack, this
feat is still strong. If this does stack, this feat is bonkers good,
effectively giving you an additional, better copy of your best bardic
music.
 Example Builds
The bard is a hybrid mage / fighter, with a focus on group buffs.
That’s how it’s designed, and you have to do a lot of work to get away
from that. All of the builds below are that, but they emphasize either
the fighter or the mage aspect more, as indicated.

Caster Builds

So the nice thing about these builds is that you can be a gish levels 1-
10, and then pivot to being more of a sorcerer levels 11-20. At level
20, you’re weaker than a sorcerer. But at levels 1-8, you’re doing a lot
more. In my opinion, this translates to a lot more fun with only a small
cost at the end of the game. I like these builds a lot.
● Bard 6 / Lyric Thaumaturge 4 / Sublime Chord 10 – This is my
favorite build. The 4 dip in Thaumaturge gives you some wizard
spells at lower levels, which is a really nice addition to your pool.
Sixth level is a good place to cut off the bard progression, and
Sublime 10 is great.

Here’s a level 8 bard I have been playing in a play-by-post game

for the last 6 or 7 years. He’s currently Bard 6 / Lyric Thaumaturge
2. My DM banned half-elf as a race for story reasons, so I talked
 him into letting me take the alternative class features as a human.
B-) Breeze the Bard, Level 8.
● Bard 10 / Sublime Chord 10 – This is really direct and really good.
Get another +1 to inspire courage, get inspire greatness, and
pickup 8 more skill points. If you’re really hungry for feats and
resent the feat tax for Lyric Thaumaturge, this is worth looking at. If
you take the Lore Song or Bardic Knack alternate class feature,
this build progresses it for levels 7-10, where thaumaturge does
not, which is also a consideration.
● Bard 6 / Lyric Thaumaturge 4 / Sublime Chord 6 / Fatespinner
4 – I want to like this build, because I really like the fatespinner
class, but you give up a lot to get into it: low skill points, bad hit
die, 5-9 wasted skill points, and a bunch of skills missing from
your skill list (Diplomacy, UMD, perform, etc.) This isn’t bad, but
it’s not the best.
● Bard 9 / Virtuoso 1 / Sublime Chord 2 / Virtuoso 8 – This is a
popular build, but I don’t like it. We lose 1 level of spellcasting, and
I don’t like the virtuoso class abilities as much as I like sublime
chord’s. Progressing inspire courage is nice, and the 6 skill points
are nice (although there is no UMD) but on the whole I like this
build least of all. (As a DM I wouldn’t allow the 3.0 Virtuoso, but if
your DM allows it you should definitely look at it. I think it’d be one
of the strongest options.)
● Savage Bard 5 / Ur-Priest 2 / Mystic Theurge 3 / Sublime
Chord 1 / Mystic Theurge 5 / Sublime Chord 4 – Nine levels of
sublime chord casting and nine levels of divine casting. Wow.
Definitely worth looking at if you like that sort of thing.
● Savage Bard 5 / Ur-Priest 2 / Mystic Theurge 3 / Sublime
Chord 1 / Mystic Theurge 5 / Abjurant Champion 4 – A variation
on the above build, using the power abjurant champion class.
● Bard 7 / Apostle of Peace 2 / Mystic Theurge 1 / Sublime
Chord 1 / Mystic Theurge 9 – This is yet another way to get 9
levels of bard casting and 9 levels of divine casting. You have to
go into the vow feats to build this way, but they’re pretty cool for a
bard if you don’t mind that they really warp your campaign.
The best feats in this build are Melodic Casting, Chaos Music,
Nymph’s Kiss, Extra Spell, Lyric Spell, Extra Music, and the familiar
feats.

This build tends to be skill-point intensive, because you have a lot of

pre-reqs, so pick your skills carefully.

Debuffer
● Bard / Sublime Chord / Dread Witch / Nightmare Spinner

Melee Builds
● Battle Knight Bard of Sublime Chord (Bard 4 / Paladin 2 /
Eldritch Knight 9 / Sublime Chord 1 / Abjurant Champion 4) –
Ninth level caster with a +18 BAB. Access to bard abilities is very
limited, this is more of a bard-flavored fighter/mage than an actual
bard, but it’s pretty cool anyway. You can read more about this at
the dandwiki
● Swiftblade BattleHowler (Bard 5 / Battle Howler 2 / Swiftblade
9 / Battle Howler 3 / Bard 1) – Suggested by Jordan below. This
is interesting. The only thing I don’t like here is all the feat tax.
I really want access to swift inspire courage via Song of the White
Raven. I might try something like Crusader 1 / Bard 4 / Battle
Howler 2 / etc, so I can pick up Song of the White Raven via a
single feat. I haven’t looked at this too hard, so it needs some
development and might not pan out.
● … More coming soon

Archer Builds
To build an archer bard, just take the archery feats (and knowledge
devotion, if you can). Bards don’t need their feats for anything, so
you’re free to dedicate them to new vectors. Archery is as fine as any
other. If you multi-class into something that gives a higher BAB that
helps, of course.

Summoner Builds
The summoner bard seems really strong to me. Here’s an initial
outline I’m working on:
● Race: Half-Elf or Human
● Classes
o 1-10: Bard
o 11-20: Sublime Chord
● Feats
o Flaw: Greenbound Summoning
o 1: Ashbound Summoning
o 3: Improved Initiative
o 6: Words of Creation
o 9: Leadership
o 12: Summon Elemental Reserve
● Alt Class Features
o Savage Bard (Grants access to Greenbound Summoning)
o 1: Lore Song – Broken (Replacing Bardic Knowledge)
o 1: Soothing Voice – Broken (Replace Countersong, half-
elf substitution)
o 6: Music of Making – Double Duration of Summons
(Replace Suggestion)
o 8: Haunting Melody –
I acutally started playing a campaign with a summoner bard. Here he
is at the time of creation, level 8. I’m pretty happy with him: Leaf, the
Orphan Bard.

Core Only Builds

In core only, if you want to build a bard, Bard 20 is the best choice,
and it’s not close. The class is really well designed, progresses well,
and there are no core dips or prestige classes I can really recommend.
(I mean, Bard 1 / Wizard 19 is technicaly “better”… but you know
what I mean.)
That being said, if you’re really looking to multi-class, you can look
at a single level dip of cleric.
Other than that, I don’t think any core dips make sense mechanically.
Flavor-wise, there are plenty of options, of course, but mechanically
just go Bard 20 and smile.

● Amadeus – Human Bard Premade Character – Levels 1 through 7

– Core Only (PHB and DMG)

Items
There are a lot of viable items in this game. I won’t be able to do a
complete list, but I will try to cover the high points of bard-specific
items, and items that are especially good for bards.

Pro-tip: the most powerful item you’ll probably be able to find in the
game is the one your DM invents for you. A little gentle
encouragement can go a long way here. In my experience, DMs love
inventing magical items, and their sense of ownership tends to cause
them to make it a powerful one.

General Use Items

● 10 – Instrument Blade – Put a secret blade in your instrument (or

boot), but get a -2 to attack when using it. I thin this is cool for
flavor, and could maybe help in a pinch, but it’s not great.
● 50 – Masterwork Tools – Get a sweet set of clothes for +2 to
Diplomacy. Or some bouncy shoes for Tumble. Or a cheat-sheet
of commonly used magical words for UMD. As long as you can
 dream up something plausible, this is a great way to pump all your
skills by 2 points at virtually no cost.
● 150 – Elixir of Love (DMG) – This is a cool little potion to carry
with you for almost no cost. Charm person if you can get them to
drink it.
● 750 – Wand of Cure Light Wounds (DMG) – Never leave home
without one.
● 750 – Wand of Lesser Vigor (SpC) – Get fast healing. This cures
more damage than a wand of CLW, but Lesser Vigor’s not on our
spell list, so we have to pass a Use Magic Device check. Wand of
CLW will probably prove to be more reliable, albeit less powerful.
● 2000 – Heward’s Handy Haversack (DMG) – As you’ll see below,
I recommend carrying a veritable symphony of instruments. Where
are you going to put all of these instruments for easy access? A
handy haversack! Fix carry weight and draw any item as a move
action. Yes please.
● 4000 – Cloak of Charisma (+2) (DMG) – Any item that pumps
charisma is going to be a really good item for a bard. More spells,
higher DCs, and better social skills. Yes please!
● 4200 – Mithril Breast Plate – +5 to AC, only -1 to ACP. Either this
or a mithril chain shirt is probably your base armor. Depends on
whether you like ACP or AC better.
● 1100 – Mithril Chain Shirt – +4 to AC, no ACP. Either this or a
mithril breast plate is probably your base armor. Depends on
whether you like ACP or AC better.
● 1015 – Mithril Buckler – +1 to AC with no penalties and uses a
unique slot. Great.

Masterwork Instruments
All masterwork instruments give a +2 bonus to perform. In addition,
the following instruments give the additional benefits as outlined
below. You should carry almost all of these on you, once you have the
carry capacity (or a heward’s handy haversack). The cost is so low.
●
100 – Masterwork Drum (Cadv 124) – +1 to Inspire Courage
 Damage, -1 to Inspire Courage Charm and Fear. This is worth
carrying.
● 100 – Masterwork Fiddle (Cadv 124) – +1 to IC charm & fear
(scales with level) and cast spells while performing, as long as
those spells have only vocal components.
● 100 – Masterwork Flute (Cadv 124) – +2 to countersong. I mean, I
guess you can carry this if you have countersong, but get rid of
countersong.
● 100 – Masterwork Harp (Cadv 124) – Target one additional
creature with fascinate or inspire greatness. Definitely worth
carrying this item. Also allows you to cast verbal-only spells while
performing.
● 100 – Masterwork Horn (Cadv 124) – Raise IC damage and fear
by 1, but effect stops 1 round after the ally stops hearing the
performance. Drum is better.
● 100 – Masterwork Lute
(Cadv 124)
– Lets you cast while performing, as long as the spell only requires
vocal components. Also get +1 level when determining the effect
of your bardic musics. This is useful at most levels (6, 7, 9, 11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20) for various reasons:
o Inspire Courage: Increase bonus by 1 at levels 7, 13,
and 19;
o Fascinate: gain an extra target at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15,
18 (also helps mass suggestion);
o Inspire Greatness: An additional target at levels 11, 14,
17; and
o Inspire Heroics: an extra target at levels 17 and 20.
● 100 – Masterwork Lyre (Cadv 124) – An additional target for
fascinate or inspire heroics. Also lets you cast while playing, as
long as the spell only has vocal components.
● 100 – Masterwork Mandolin (Cadv 124) – Can cast while
performing as long as spell only uses vocal components. Inspire
Courage gets +1 to attack, but -1 damage and charm and fear.
Bleh.
● 100 – Masterwork Pan Pipes (Cadv 124) – +1 to fascinate and +1
to suggestion DC. Not bad, worth carrying.
● 100 – Bagpipes (SaS 43) – Give all listeners -1 against fear effects.
● 100 – Banjolele (SaS 43) -Increase bonus of IC fear by 1.
● 100 – Bones (SaS 43) -Listeners get -2 against fear effects. Not
great, but if you have a use, the cost is very low. It costs a
standard action to activate, so not usually going to be good in
combat, unless the DM rules that it stacks with other bardic music
effects, which I think is a reasonable reading of the rules.

● 100 – Fiddle
(SaS 44), Lap Harp (SaS 46), Lute (SaS 46)
– Lets a bard maintain two bardic music effects at one time
(inspire courage and inspire greatness, I’m looking at you).
● 100 – Handbell (SAS 45) – +1 bonus to countersong attempts. If
you’re countersonging ever, get the Whistle-Pipe instead, it gives
+5.
● 100 – Harmonica
(SaS 45), Shawm (SaS 49)
– Now this is a good item. +4 to bluff, diplomacy, gather
information, and disguise checks vs. people who heard you
perform for 1d6 hours after the performance AND it shifts the
listener’s attitude one level closer to you. This is effectively like a
+20 to diplomacy. If I am a DM, I’m seriously considering not
allowing this item to exist. If your DM allows it, my god it’s good.
Alternatively, get someone to helpful through normal diplomacy,
and then turn them fanatic with this harmonica with no chance of
failure. Are you kidding me?
● 100 – Horn, Natural (SaS 46) – Increase inspire courage bonus by
1, but reduce charm effects by 2. Yes please.
● 100 – Lyre – (SaS 47) – +2 to countersong, fascinate, or
suggestion against fey. Meh.
● 100 – Pan-Pipes (SaS 48) – +1 to perform when listeners are
animal or fey. Yuck, just get masterwork.
● 100 – Recorder Flute (SaS 48)- Listener gets -1 against charm
and compulsion, including fascinate and suggestion. Worth
carrying for sure.
● 100 – Whistle Pipe (SAS 49) – +5 bonus to countersong attempts.
If you’re countersonging ever, this helps for a low cost.
● 100 – Zither (SaS 49) – Inspire courage’s resist charm and fear
increases, but damage decreases. Yuck.

Magical Instruments
All magical instruments are masterwork. I think there’s a reasonable
argument to be made that any magical Lyre instrument also gets the
benefits listed above in mundane instruments, but you’ll have to
convince your DM.

● 1000 – Drums of Marching (HoB 131) – Those nearby get a +4 to

con checks during forced marches.
● 1000 – Horn of Volume (MH) – Your allies can hear you from twice
as far away. I’ve never met a DM who strictly enforced distances
on bardic music, and only double isn’t that exciting.
● 1350 – Instrument of the Bards – Fochluchan Bandore
 (MIC 161, CArc 148)
– +2 to perform, +1 to fascinate, countersong, and suggestion,
light 1/day, flare, mending, message 1/day. Requires 2 ranks in
stringed instruments for some of the abilities. Not a bad way to get
a wide range of shallow benefits for a low price. The MIC price is
lower than the CArc.
● 2100 – Instrument of the Bards – Mac-Fuirmidh Cithern
(CArc 149, MIC 163)
– +2 to perform, +2 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion. If
you have 4 ranks in string instruments, cast CLW, Mage Armor,
and Sleep 1/day. I don’t love the skill requirement, but the effects
aren’t bad. Sleep is kind of wasted, and CLW is probably going to
be on a wand. Not a bad item, but not amazing. The MIC has the
price lower than CArc.
● 3000 – Bagpipes of the Damned (LM 78) – DC 15 Perform (wind
instrument) – All Undead get a +4 resistance to being turned for 10
rounds. Maybe if you’re a necromancer or have a necromancer in
your party? Even then, not great. The cost is pretty minor, though.
● 3000 – Battle Rattle (DM331 p88) – Increase the bonus of Inspire
Courage by 1, and also give allies a one-time additional +1 to an
attack or skill each fight. Pretty solid.
● 3000 – Lyre of the Restless Soul (LM) – Makes all undead get -4
to turning with a DC 15 perform check. Not going to be worth
doing, usually, and not worth the gold.
● 3100 – Pipes of Frenzied Revelry – (MIC 168)- +5 to perform by
themselves. If you activate the “relic power”, you get to send
everyone around you into an amorous confusion. Not great
because it has to hit your allies as well. But the price is really great.
● 3100 – Chime of Harmonic Agony (MIC 154) – This is a fine item
for early-mid levels, giving the bard some damage output. 3d6 +
CHA mod is pretty good damage for one standard action, and
there’s no save!
● 3600 – Horn of Rallying (HoB 132)- +10 to rally troops (a feature
from HoB). Yuck.
● 4000 – Biwa of Kakita (OA 137) – +4 to perform lute. Nothing
exciting, especially because it inhibits the use of other magical
instruments. Most magical instruments already give +2 to perform,
 which would stack with the mithral bells +2, so I’d rather have
those.
● 4100 – Instrument of the Bards – Doss Lute (CArc 149) – +2 to
perform, +3 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion. Delay
Posion, hold person, and mirror image 1/day. Gives negative levels
to anyone who doesn’t have 6 ranks in perform. I don’t love any of
these spells, but the cost isn’t bad.
● 4100 – Methild’s Harp (MoF 162) – +2 to performance,unlocks
stuff. If you don’t have a rogue, this is a cool item to solve the
locked-door problem. Can even get through some magical locks.
● 5000 – Horn of Resiliance (MIC 209) -Grant DR 5 / – for all allies
in a 30′ radius. 30′ is a little low for distance. Also grant 50
temporary hit points when inspiring greatness. Not amazing, not
bad. It’s also a masterwork horn, which should be subject to the
rules outlined above.
● 5400 – Rhingalade’s Harp (MoF 165) – +2 to performance, turn on
blink and mirror image at the same time. Getting two spells for the
cost of one action is nice, and it doesn’t provoke an attack of
opportunity. This is worth considering as an item. It’s a shame it
only gets 1 use per day.
● 6250 – Autonomous Harp (DC1 131) – A permanently animated
wooden harp that also can be activated for free to give a +2
circumstance bonus to perform. Not bad, but that’s a lot of gold.

● 6800 – Esheen’s
Harp (MoF 157) – +2 to perform, +5 to listen against creatures
carrying metal or glass, shatter 1/day. Very expensive for weak
abilities.
● 7000 – Night Caller (LM 79) – Animate zombies once per week.
Max 2 zombies. Pretty cool and price effective, especially for a
necromancer-bard.
● 7185 – Trumpet of Doom (BoED 116) – Nearby evil creatures
become shaken for one minute, DC 14 save. Shaken isn’t a great
ability, but not bad. This would be OK at low levels for non-melee
bards, when you don’t have a ton of spells. Not great at higher
levels due to the low save.
● 7500 – Biwa of Calm (OA 137) – Calm emotions on a 30′ radius,
DC 15. Not a bad price to get a free spell.
● 8100 – Instrument of the Bards – Canaith Mandolin (MIC 153) –
+2 to perform, +4 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion. Cure
Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, or Summon Monster III. Requires 8
ranks in perform (string) for the better effects. This is a solid item if
you have the skill ranks. I don’t know if it’s worth putting skill ranks
in strings just for this item, though. (CArc 149 has it for a much
higher price. At the MIC price, it’s pretty good).
● 8500 – Valarde’s Harp (MoF 166) – +2 to perform.
● 10000 – Yeth Horn (Planar 84) – 60′ spread, DC15 perform check
to activate. All creatures except evil outsiders have to pass a DC16
will or be panicked for 2d6 rounds. The will save is a little low for
the price, but the effect is almost-phenomenal. Would be a solid
item for a level 7-12 character. The big downside here is that
affects everyone except evil outsiders. A huge downside that can’t
really be overcome. This is better for a DM than a player, most of
the time.
● 12000 – Janthra’s Harp (MoF 161) – +2 to perform, invisibility
sphere for 1 hour / day. Effectively unlimited uses. Very strong.
● 12100 – Dove’s Harp (MIC 156) – +2 to perform, all allies get fast
healing 3 for 1 minute (they heal 3 HP per round). My reading is
that it piggy-backs another bardic music (like inspire courage). If
 so, this is solid.That’s a lot of damage healing for no additional

actions.
● 13000 – Lyre of Building (DMG) – Protect a structure from
destruction, or get the equivalent of 100 humans worth of work in
3 days. There are a lot of creative uses for this item.
● 15000 – Ruehar’s Flute (PGtF 124) – Some small magical effects,
plus comes with some spells like a spellbook. Not great for a bard;
we don’t have any use for spellbooks.
● 16000 – Azlaer’s Harp (MoF 154) – Calm emotions and suppress
charm, plus a light effect. Way too expensive for its limited
application.
● 18000 – Horn of the Rider – lesser (HoB 132) -Summons a rider 3
times / day that deal damage and threaten to trample opponents.
They only last one attack. It’s effectively a blasting spell 3/day. Not
bad, not great. Price is high.
● 18100 – Instrument of the Bards – Cli Lyre (MIC 154) – +2 to
perform, +5 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion. Break
Enchantment, dimension door, and shout each 1/day. Requires 10
ranks in strings. This is good. (CArc has a higher price).
● 22000 – Instrument of the Winds (PGtF) – +2 to perform, DC 15
wind instrument check. If it succeeds, summon an air elemental.
Definitely a strong effect for the price.
● 22300 – Nithanalor’s Harp (MoF 164) – +2 to perform, 1/day
stone skin. A wand of stoneskin costs 50% more. Not bad.
● 25000 – Handharp (MoF 159) – A handful of cool abilities, focused
on the undead. Not worth getting unless the undead stuff is helpful
 for you, but I like that it’s diverse. A wand of dimension door would
be 21,000 and would burn out eventually. This never dies and
gives other effects too. A solid item, albeit not good for every bard.
● 32100 – Instrument of the Bards – Anstruth Harp
(MIC 150, CArc 149)
– +2 to perform, +6 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion.
Control Water, Mass CLW, and Mind fog. I really don’t like this
version. CArc has it listed for 60000, Magic Item Compendium has
it at 32100. At the MIC price it’s not terrible, but not great.
● 33750 – Slippers of Battledancing (DMGII 272) – Great for Gish
builds. +10 to land speed, +5 to tumble, +2 to initiative checks,
and cha bonus (instead of str or dex) to attack rolls and damage
rolls.
● 35380 – Horn of Triumph (SaS 56) -+2 Morale bonus to saving
throws, attacks, damage, strength, constitution, ability checks,
and skill checks. -1 to AC. It’s a real shame this is a morale bonus,
which keeps it from stacking with inspire courage. Creatures also
must remain with 15′ of activation, which is a severe limitation.
Works twice / day. The limitations set this far back.
● 36750 – Drums of Thunder – A limited number of charges, has a
handful of good spells on it. Because it’s charged based (and you
only get 10-20 activations) I’m not in love with this item. That’s a
lot of gold for an item that decays.
● 45100 – Dove’s Harp (MoF 156) -+2 to performance checks, cure
insanity, calm emotions, CLW, and light. Not great and very
expensive.
● 60000 – Horn of the Rider – greater (HoB 132) – Summons three
riders, 3 times per day, that deal damage and threaten to trample
opponents. They only last one attack. It’s effectively a blasting
spell 3/day. Not bad, not great. Price is high.
● 75000 – Horn of Dragons (Drac 121) – Can only be used once a
month, but lets you summon a ******* dragon who will help you to
the best of his ability. This is super cool. Probably not worth
getting, but my god it’s cool.
● 50100 – Instrument of the Bards – Ollamh Harp
(CArc 149, MIC 166)
 – +2 to perform, +7 to countersong, fascinate, and suggestion.
Control Weather, Eyebite, and repulsion 1/day. I don’t love these
spells. MIC has it for less than CArc.
● 84000 – Hwyrr – the Clarion Harp – (BoED 117) – An intelligent
item. Automatically inhibits attacks of opportunity in bad guys,
grants some other spells per day. I think this is overpriced.
● 84375 – Gong of Dispelling (OA 141) – A giant gong which must
be hung, has 50 charges, and dispels evil and magic in a 30′
radius. Way too expensive and unwieldy.
● 115440 – Trumpet of Healing (BoED 116) – Heal 1/day (solves
almost all problems, including up to 150 HP) and has a handful of
other spells which can be cast 3/day. The cost is a bit steep for a
trumped-up healing wand.

Weapons

● 4310 – Crystal Echoblade (MIC 49) – A +1 longsword that deals

extra sonic damage equal to half your bard level. Very, very good,
and priced low. You’ll have to see if your DM will allow bard-
specific prestige classes to stack here, which I think is reasonable.
● 12330 – Bow of Songs (MIC 48) – +1 shortbow that also lets you
expend a bardic music to get extra attack and damage. I like this
for mid-level archer bards.
● 25 Whip-Dagger (AaEG 10) – A whip that deals 1d6 damage (not
subdual!) and doesn’t require any additional proficiency. In
 addition, you can get a “mighty” version, which lets you apply your
strength bonus to the damage.

Weapon Enhancements
● 100 – Wand Chamber (Dung 34) – Give a weapon a chamber to
hold a wand, and you are effectively holding that wand and can
activate it. Great on your main weapon.
● 2000 – Sudden Stunning (DMGII 261) – This is perfect for a bard,
and I love that this has a flat cost. Targets reflex, pretty good save
DC, multiple activations per day, and stuns for 1d4 + 1 round. You
can activate is CHA_MOD times per day, which is wonderful for
us.
● +1 Bonus – Harmonizing (MIC 34) – +2 to perform (sing). Sustains
your bardic musics, including ones that require concentrationfor
you for 10 rounds or until you do something that stops it. Pretty
good, not essential.
● +1 Bonus – Holy Surge (MIC 36) – Get a big bonus damage to evil
creatures, CHA times per day. Not great, but maybe worth
considering for a melee bard.
● +1 Bonus – Stunning (MIC 44) – I don’t like this. The pre-requisite
is pretty weak (screaming weapon) and the effect only triggers on
crits. I recommend stunning surge instead.
● +1 Bonus – Stunning Surge (MIC 44) – This is pretty solid. Swift
activation, 1 + CHA times per day, fort save or be stunned for 1
round. Stunned is one of the good status effects (drops everything,
minuses to AC, no actions).
● +1 Bonus – Warning (MIC 46) – +5 to initiative. Going first is
important for a buffer / battlefield controller.

Armor
● 1100 – Mithril Chain (DMG 220) – Light Chain Shirt.
● 1000 – Mithril Buckler (DMG 220) – +1 to AC and an extra
enchantable slot with literally no drawback but cost. This thing is
great.
● 3450 – Mithralmist Shirt ( MIC 20) – +1 Mithril Shirt, 7/day get
concealment against attacks for one minute.
● 4150 – Elven Chain (DMG) -Light Chainmail, -2 ACP.
● 13100 – Kyton Armor (MIC 19) – Get an extra 1d6 damage attack
per turn, as a swift action. Not great for the price.
● 22400 – Celestial Armor (DMG) -+3 chainmail that grants fly 1 /
day.
● 25400 – Breastplate of Command (DMG) – Gives +2 to all
charisma checks and +2 to leadership. It’s alright, but is medium
armor, which makes our spell fail 25%. Pass.

Armor Enhancements
● 100 – Wand Chamber (Dung 34) – Give a shield a chamber to hold
a wand, and you are effectively holding that wand and can activate
it. Great on a mithril buckler.
● 1200 – Commander (MIC 9) – +2 on diplomacy, allies get +1 to
will saves, -5 to hide. This is a cheap way to pump diplomacy.
● 2700 – Glammered (DMG 219) – Armor can change to look like
normal clothing. Not bad for disguise people.
● (+3) – Halfweight (UD 70) – Treats the armor as “light in every
way” (except AC bonus). You’ll have to check with your DM on
exactly what that means regarding things like dex bonuses, but at
a minimum, it’s a great way to get into full plate as a bard.
● 5000 – Quickness (MIC 13) – Increase movement by 5′ . Good for
melee bards.
● 6000 – Speed (MIC 14) – Haste yourself for 1 round, three times
per day.
● 8000 – Healing (MIC 12) – Heal you automatically if you are
reduced to -1 to -9 hitpoints. Also can be activated manually as a
swift action. Pricey, but I like the “save me” automatic effect

Wands
There are two basic types of wands:
● 50 Charges (DMG 245) – You pay a certain amount of gold (750
for level 1) and you get 50 uses of any spell level 4 or lower, which
includes divine spells.
● Eternal Wands (MIC 159)- These wands cost a little more than
their 50 charge counter parts (820 for level 1). You get two
activations a day, forever. They can only hold arcane spells of 3rd
level or lower.
There are some key rules governing wands, and these rules make it so
that not all spells are suitable for wands. In short, the best candidate
spells do not allow saves and whose effects do not scale with caster
level (or, have strong enough effects at the minimum caster level).
● Caster Level – Unless you’re willing to pay a lot of gold, the caster
level of a wand is the minimum caster level needed to cast the
spell held within. So for level 0 and 1 spells this is typically level 1.
For level 2 spells this is typically level 3, etc.
● Key Ability Score – Similarly, the key ability score is assumed to be
the minimum necessary. So for level 1 spells this is 11, level 2 is
12, etc.
● Cast Time – According to the MIC (85) activating a wand takes the
same aount of time as it takes to cast the spell it holds
Despite these limtiations, there are some really great candidate spells
for wands. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some key
choices:
● Aspect of the Wolf (SpC 16) – Become a wolf for 10 minutes. Ok!
● Benign Transposition (SpC 27) – 100′ range, swap two allies.
Perfect for a wand.
● Blockade (CS 95) – This is exactly the kind of spell we’re looking
for for an eternal wand. Lasts 3 rounds, makes a 5x5x5 cube, and
no part of the spell depends on key stat or caster level. Boom
● Ebon Eyes (SpC 77) – The 10 minute duration is a little sad here,
but the spell is very strong for level 1. Some people feel like it’s
written poorly, and those people are right. That being said, if your
DM wil let you use it as written, it’s a powerful spell.
● Detect Secret Doors (PHB 220) – This is a fine spell to have in a
wand. 1 minute duration, 60′ cone. Find secret doors,
compartments, etc.
● Friendly Face (RoD 166) – +5 to diplomacy and gather information
for 10 minutes. Oh yes, I love this on an eternal wand.
● Nerveskitter (SpC 146) – +5 to initiative for you or a teammate
within 25′ . This is amazing. Put it in a wand chamber in a mithril
buckler. Note: this immediate cast consumes your first round’s
action, so it is kind of a no-combo with swift inspire courage via
song of the white raven
● Ray of Enfeeblement (PHB 269) – This is solid. The only things
that scale are range and the +1 modifer, but the spell is still pretty
good at close range with only +1.

Wondrous Items
● 400 – Charm of Countersong (MIC 85) – Lets you activate
countersong as an immediate action. Countersong should just
work this way. Given that it doesn’t, this turns countersong from
an absolutely terrible ability to something that’s at least usable. I
wish it didn’t consume a neck slot, but it costs next to nothing.
● 750 – Healing Belt (MIC 110) – Alot of healing that’s useful out of
combat or in combat for a pretty low price. I like this item a lot.
● 900 – Acrobat Boots (MIC 67) – +2 to Tumble, swift activate: more
movement this round. Not bad.
● 1000 – Vest of Resistance (MIC 147) – +1 to all saves on a
desirable body slot. Great.
● 1200 – Badge of Valor (MIC 207) – 3 activations per day. Grant
bonuses to saves or +1 to the next inspire courage, activate as
swift action. This is a great item for a really low cost. The only
reason not to have this is because you need the neck slot for
something better at really high levels. (It’s actually worth
considering getting the entire regalia of the hero set; the cost is
low and the benefits are solid). Note: if you have swift inspire
courage from Song of the White Raven, you can still use this, but
you have to activate it as an immediate action after your turn is
over. On your turn you won’t get the bonus yourself, but for the
rest of the fight it’ll be active.
● 1400 – Anklet of Translocation (MIC 71) – twice a day teleport
10′ as a swift action. I love this.
● 1600 – Headband of the Lorebinder (MIC 110) -+4 bonus to
bardic knowledge checks, and read magic 3 / day. Not bad, and a
good price, but you’ve got better things to do with the headslot.
● 3700 – Mithral Bells (MIC 111) – A bracelet of 11 mithril bells. As
long as there are at least 2, you get +2 to perform checks. In
addition, you can throw a bell up to 40′ , and it explodes as a
Sound Burst effect. Not bad, a little pricey. It’s good at low levels,
but doesn’t make a ton of sense at low levels. I wonder if you can
 get a discount one with just two bells left. +2 to perform for 1000
gold doesn’t sound bad.
● 4000 / 16,000 / 40,000 – Mirror of Vanity (BoEM1 32) – +2/4/6 to
charisma, doesn’t use a body slot, and it has some crappy gaze
attack attached. I mean, it’s a cloak of charisma that doens’t use a
body slot. It works as long as its “in your possession”. Wow!
● 4000 / 16,000 / 36,000 – Cloak / Headband of Charisma (DMG) –
+2, +4, or +6 to Charisma. This is an essential item. Bonuses to
everything that matters, particularly spell DC’s.
● 4400 – Sacred Scabbard (MIC 182) – Three times a day, bless
your weapon as a swift while its drawn, lasts 10 rounds. Price is
good, casting time is good, effect is good.
● 6000 – Amulet of Wordtwisting (MIC 71) – +2 insight bonus to all
the social skills. Not bad. If you’re an orc, you get +4 instead, and
you also can activate 1/day to cast tongues. Great for an Orc
Bard, OK for other bards.
● 12000 – Gauntlets of Heartfelt Blows (DM314 p22) – +CHA_MOD
in fire damage for melee attacks. That’s great.
● 12000 – Mantle of Second Chances (MIC 115) – Reroll as an
immediate action, before knowing the result, once per day. Good
effect, but too expensive.
● 16000 – Item of Continuous Harmonize (custom wondrous item)
– Harmonize is a 2nd level spell which lets you activate bardic
musics as a move action. The cost for making a custom magic
item of continuous effect is 2000 * spell_level(2) * caster_level(4).
Put this on a ring or something. The only reason I don’t love this is
because it’s expensive (and magic item slots eventually become a
bottleneck).
● 15000 – Desperation Chain (MIC 93) – Goes around the waist.
Allows you to cast a spell as an immediate action and without
verbal and somatic components when you’re about to die or being
disabled by an opponent (pinned, etc.) This is very strong.
● 16000 – Vest of Legends (DMG2) – +5 to diplomacy and perform;
bard level counts as 5 levels higher for inspire courage, fascinate,
inspire greatness, and inspire heroics. Very good.
● 27000 – Mantle of the Silver Dragon (Drac 121) – +2 to Charisma,
fly 1/day. Not bad, but very expensive for the effect.
Comments
● Jonathansays:
October 13, 2015 at 10:04 pm

Thank you for putting this together! This is a great collection of

bardic wisdom consolidated in one place, and it’s far more
thorough than any 3.5 bard handbook to date. The excellent and
consistent formatting combined with anchor links really make this
a pleasure to use.
Extra bonus points for publishing it on my birthday
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 20, 2016 at 12:11 am

Awesome, thanks. Consider it a birthday present.

● Azraellissays:
December 8, 2015 at 12:31 pm
Thank you so very much for your time and effort.
I will use the heck out of this.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 20, 2016 at 12:11 am

Glad it helped you!

● Totecasays:
January 30, 2016 at 10:22 pm
Hey, awesome handbook. A friend of mine asked for my help with
his bard and I’m getting a lot of tips from here.
You forgot to add the Ray of dizziness, it’s a wonderful spell.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 31, 2016 at 2:54 am

Thanks! I’ve added a note on that spell. It seems worse

than slow to me, but definitely reasonable, especially if
your DM likes to give you a single big bad guy to fight a
 lot (as opposed to a group of reasonably strong bad
guys).

o Totecasays:
January 31, 2016 at 10:44 am

You said it all. Since most of our players play optimised

characters, the DM is many times giving us big bad evil
guys frequently instead of plenty of minions. They
normally have high AC and saves, so casters focus more
on buffing the team or using spells that offer no save.

● daveysays:
February 15, 2016 at 6:50 pm

This page totally rocks. You totally rock. Thank you!

Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 8, 2016 at 1:55 pm

Glad you like it!

● Mikesays:
February 17, 2016 at 1:23 am

This page is great, thanks for all of the work you put into this and
for sharing it with everyone! A small heads up on Harmony – it was
turned into Inspirational Boost in the Spell Compendium. I learned
about a few spells from your list, then went and did some digging
and found a few more you could add. Would you be open to
putting the book each spell is from and the page number? I could
help with some.
Thanks again!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 18, 2016 at 2:09 am

Sure, I’d love to give books and pages for the spells. If
you have any available, please email me
(Joshua@JesterBlocks.net) and I’ll update those, and the
rest when I can find a little time. Thanks for the note on
Harmony, btw.
● Aaron Donaldsonsays:
February 25, 2016 at 11:36 pm

You forgot a spell in your list, summon swarm. By it’s self not all
that powerful, but when you consider how it could be combined
with dragonfire inspiration, you have a nasty little DoT combo that
due to swarm traits can’t be avoided by the target. As long as they
occupy the targets space at the end of their move, the swarm
critters will deal damage which now includes the boost from
dragonfire inspiration.
Reply

● Stuartsays:
March 18, 2016 at 9:24 pm
Inspire Courage: Increase bonus by 1 at levels 3, 7, 13, and 19;
under masterwork Lute should read
Inspire Courage: Increase bonus by 1 at levels 7, 13, and 19;
Great guide
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 19, 2016 at 1:24 am

Thanks buddy, I’ve updated it!

● Aion Harunosays:
March 21, 2016 at 11:21 am

Wow man. This is really nice. I’ve been toying with some melee
bard builds and that’s what I’ve put together so far:
Bard 4/Warblade 16
Pretty straightfoward. 2nd level bard spells, 9th level manuevers,
19 BAB. Lots of damage.
Have a fair amount of MAD, needing str, cha, int for words of
creation and warblade abilities and dex if you go two weapon
fighting (not recomended on a point buy build)
If your DM allows LA buyoff, a Draconic Human (RDr 74) can be a
descendant of a Battle Dragon and get a sonic Dragonfire
Inspiration at level 1, along with perfect stats increases.
Song of the White Raven is what make this build possible, get it at
level 6. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be using the Inspire
Courage as a swift action since you be using your swift action to
get a Inspirational Boost.
Bard 4/Crusader 16
Ditto above, but with less MAD, less damage and more defenses.
Although Aura of Chaos combined with a Falchion and the multiple
dice rolls you get from Dragonfire Inspiration can net a pretty high
DPT, it really shines on its defensive abilities, adding charisma to
will and getting Mettle later on, toghether with nice healing
maneuvers.
Bard 7/Crusader 2/Jade Phoenix Mage 1/Sublime Chord
2/Abjurant Champion 5/Jade Phoenix Mage +3
A little bit less melee power, but full spellcasting from sublime
chord (9th level wiz/sor spells), great defense from crusader 2
(steely resolve and cha to will) and abjurant champion (you can get
a Shield spell from a really cheap runestaff, and Luminous Armor
and Greater Luminous Armor using Arcane Preparation feat from
Complete Arcane).
The last 3 levels of Jade Phoenix Mage are in the end because you
can get a little higher level maneuver at JPM 3, but it’s not really
necessary and you can get it before Abjurant Champion if you
want.
Bard 4/Harmonious Knight 2/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion
2/Eldritch Knight 1/Sublime Chord 2/Abjurant Champion
+3/Eldritch Knight +5
This one is a little bit more complex, have no maneuvers, but I feel
it is stronger than the previous one with better BAB (marginal, but
better), cha to all saves (instead of just will). Get shield and
luminous armor the same way as above.
Races is always Draconic Human as pointed at the first build, but if
your DM doesn’t allow LA buyoff, Silverbrow Human can probably
get Draconic Heritage (Battle) saving you a feat in Dragontouched
and getting you Feather Fall 1+/day in exchange of some skill
points and a Dragonborn Lesser Aasimar has some really nice
stats increases and dragonblood, but I don’t think it can take
Draconic Heritage, because of the way Dragonborn works.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
 March 21, 2016 at 1:07 pm

This is great.
I’ll look everything over and work it into the builds
section. Thanks so much!

● Aion Harunosays:
March 21, 2016 at 10:01 pm

One thing I just noticed… Your description of displacement is

totally wrong. You touch an ally to give him total concealment and
now the big stupid fighter that will charge on the enemy as soon as
he can will only be hit 50% of the time. Or you can just cast on
yourself if you are dealing with ranged enemies and fell that you
will be in danger. It’s a nice buff on my point of view. Maybe not
blue since it’s a 3rd level spell, but definitely not red.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 21, 2016 at 11:55 pm

fixed, thanks!

● Stuartsays:
March 26, 2016 at 12:05 am

You might want to add “Martial Study” to your feat list. If only as
an option to get intimidate in class.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 26, 2016 at 3:30 am

Sweet, added it. Thanks a bunch for your input.

● Stuartsays:
March 26, 2016 at 12:41 am

The badge of valor (MiC 207) costs 1400 gold not 1200 gold
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 26, 2016 at 3:29 am

My copy of the MIC shows 1200 gp. Was it errata’d?

 o Johnsays:
April 22, 2016 at 7:09 pm

The Regalia of the Hero table lists it as 1200 gp, but the
price under the Badge of Valor’s actual entry on the
following page is 1400 gp. The throat-slot table entry on
p. 253 also gives the price as 1400 gp.

● martixysays:
April 9, 2016 at 6:10 am
Well formatted, easy to navigate. I love it.
As far as focusing on lower levels harder, that’s just Benford’s law
in action.
And I’m gonna assume yellow means cheese. I mean that Firre, I
can see so much potential.
On the other hand, Stormsingers make me wish D&D had bass-
guitars.
Reply

● Edwynsays:
May 12, 2016 at 7:05 am

DM let us use only player hand book,all the complete,MIC,BoED.

Some idea for a good bard build??? probably i will cover buffer
role and 2nd melee Fighter supporting us main melee class.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
May 12, 2016 at 1:27 pm

Two weapon fighting feat tree and knowledge devotion

for sure. Leadership if you’re in the mood to manage
paperwork.
Spellbreaker Song alternate class feature (it’s not much
of an improvement, but it’s an improvement.)
I’d look at the Lyric Thaumaturge, Abjurant Champion,
and Eldritch Knight prestige classes.
Spells: Alter Self if your DM allows it. Grease, glitterdust,
bladeweave, inspirational boost, silent image,
prestidigitation,
invisibility, blink, haste, etc. (Most of the good spells are
 from the PHB or Spell Compendium; just look at my list
above.)
Aside from that, you’ll have to read the handbook and
work it out for yourself. I’m actually working on some
prototype bards to put under builds, and I will be
including at least one melee bard, but I haven’t finished
them yet.

o Edwynsays:
May 12, 2016 at 2:38 pm

THX for Tips i will work around Them (i don’t like a lot 2
weapon fight cause of the Hig Dext needed but is only a
personal opinion:-) )

● Davidesays:
May 17, 2016 at 1:12 pm

Ehi dude! That’s a Great work and sure You’re great! But… Why
don’t you consider or suggest Hexblade in base classes? A dip of
two level grants to your pg charisma to your saves while a dip of
three level can give to you both charisma to saves and mettle! If
we want to take a dip of four level we can take dark companion or
familiar plus other stuff I listed before Anyway, imho Hexblade
gives a badass look. Thanks a lot for your hard work from Italy!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
May 30, 2016 at 1:06 pm

Thanks David. I’ll take a look at this and include it above.

● Gold The Gnome Bardsays:

May 29, 2016 at 7:29 pm

I just wanted to ask, why are gnomes marked as a bad choice? I

can see why a Whisper Gnome makes a bad choice, but what’s
wrong with regular gnomes? For a buffer, debuffer, or caster bard,
they’re great. For those types of bards, they take a penalty in a
dump stat, get a boost to an important one, a boost to the DCs of
Illusion Spells (Of which the bard can take many), a nice extra
boost to listen. They seem like a good choice to me, but that’s just
me.
Reply
o Joshua H.says:
May 30, 2016 at 1:04 pm

Mainly it’s an issue of only having 5 ranks to work with.

Gnome is not a bad choice, it’s just not a stand-out good
choice. It’s true that I have both gnome and dwarf ranked
at 2 stars, but the gnome is significantly better than the
dwarf. The gnome is definitely the best of the ones I list
at 2-stars, and I can see the argument for bumping him
up to three.
However, if you look at the other races, you’ll see that the
gnome is solidly worse than the 3-star races (Star Elf,
Gruwaar, Illumian, Spellscale). These races offer
charisma boosts as well as some cool abilities. Gnome
only adds some cool abilities.
That being said. I could see an argument for me bumping
up some of the 3-star races to 4-star, and moving things
like the gnome to 3-star. It’s a balancing act. I’ll take a
look at it. Thanks for the input.

o Gold The Gnome Bardsays:

May 30, 2016 at 7:42 pm

I get what you’re saying. Once you leave core, gnomes

do come across as somewhat lesser in comparison, but
within core, pretty much the only good choice besides
human. Also, I would argue that the constitution bonus
makes them more versatile compared to a more fragile
race like Star Elves, since gnomes have the option to go
melee with feats like “Confound the Big Folk” and with
those extra hit points, are definatley more suited for the
job. Anyways, thanks for the time you took to look at my
question, and thanks for the work you put into this very
helpful handbook.

o Joshua H.says:
May 31, 2016 at 11:29 am

I think I’m going to rework the races section a little. After

talking with you I think I could do the tiers in a more
helpful way. Thanks!
 o Joshua H.says:
August 13, 2016 at 10:48 pm

I finally got around to this edit, and I came to agree with

you. Gnomes are pretty sweet as a bard, especially in a
core-only setting. I can even see arguments for choosing
it over human when you’re limited to the core books.
(There aren’t that many exciting feats, and I like a lot of
the stuff we get from the gnome). Thanks for this
correction!

● William Wordsworth a.k.a. Marquis of De La Pongosays:

June 4, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Great guide mate! The most comprehensive bardic knowledge.
You should add on the list the magnificent cantrip which message
is. I am a long time bard (my favourite is running on a two and a
half year campaign and still going) and i’ve noticed that I never go
around with my friends without some inner communication. I have
a storyteller bard and by using oratory as a main perform I can
channel my songs and poetics through the message if needed. As
long as they can hear you means, as long they are within
100+10/level feet. Plus, being no save no spell resistance you can
whisper improper things to your enemies and drive them nuts
among other things. It’s fluffy and it’s fun!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
June 4, 2016 at 7:44 pm

Oh that’s sweet. Thanks for the input, I’ll make a note of

this in my next round of revisions.

● Giosays:
June 6, 2016 at 12:07 pm

Thank you man

Reply

● Masakansays:
June 19, 2016 at 3:28 pm

Hey do you think it would be too much trouble to look at the battle
dancer class? I would think a single dip in that class can go a long
way for a bard.
 Reply

o Joshua H.says:
June 20, 2016 at 8:52 pm

It looks weak to me. We don’t get anything that

synergizes with the Bard class, just some additional
features. I wouldn’t want to slow down the spell
progression for this.
That being said, I may be missing something. What are
you seeing?

o Malcolm Townersays:
June 29, 2016 at 2:34 am

I personally would think the ac to charisma can go a long

way if built right.

o Joshua H.says:
June 29, 2016 at 11:04 am

Yea, that part is nice. I don’t think it’s worth a level dip on
the whole, but that is a nice feature.

o Malcolm Townersays:
June 29, 2016 at 10:21 pm

I suppose I still think it’s worth adding just for references

sake. Even if it’s only one star it should be mentioned for
anyone who thinks they can make it work.

o Joshua H.says:
June 30, 2016 at 12:16 pm

I agree. I will be adding it in the next revision. Thanks.

● Matthew Talbotsays:
July 12, 2016 at 11:56 am

Hello Joshua!
I totally used your guide to direct me in building a bard in 3.5. I had
never played one before and am usually a warrior type with a focus
on DPS. I went totally opposite after my warrior died and went
Bard / Lyric Thaumaturge (we are at lvl 10) then going onto
Sublime Chord. I am totally focused on buff which is again
 something that our group has never done. My Bard has completely
changed the face and how the party functions in battle. My who
group made fun of me for my selection until the first battle… then
they were blow away at how better everyone stats and
effectiveness was. Thank you very much!!!!
Matt
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 27, 2016 at 1:18 am

Awesome. Glad it helped you!

● Guigarcisays:
July 25, 2016 at 4:36 pm

Amazing resource but why is the Aasimar rated higher than the
Celadrin when the latter seems to synergize better and is
ostensibly a half elf?
Reply

● Ama-gisays:
July 26, 2016 at 8:43 pm

I’m a little confused. You wrote this:

“Sublime Chord – Get up to 9th level spell casting with this class,
plus some cool abilities. Entry cost isn’t too high. It pulls spells
from the wizard / sorcerer list or bard list, whichever is better. A
great 2-level dip or 6-level dip. (Then you’ll want to use something
that progresses spellcasting to get to 10th level casting of this).”
Scenario
Bard 8, Sublime Chord 2, Lyric Therm 10
My Bard casting level would be 18, right? And only the 4th and 5th
level spells would be increased due to Sublime Chord. That is,
once I leave Sublime Chord at L2, I don’t get the benefits of spell
progression in that class. That is, up to L 9 spells.
So at L 20, my spells would be (L1) 4, (L2) 4, (L3) 4, (L4) 4, (L5) 3,
(L6) 2 – just as they appear in a standard table with no other
adjustments.
Is that right? If so, I can’t see the point of a two level dip.
Reply
o Joshua H.says:
July 27, 2016 at 1:24 am

You’ve got it right, but there’s another option: Any class

that progresses general spellcasting can be used to
progress sublime chord’s spells.
Lyric Thaumaturge can only progress bard casting, so
that doesn’t get the job done.
On the other hand, something like Virtuoso can progress
the sublime chord’s spells. Most of the classes under the
“Spell Progression / Abilities (not Bard Specific)” can
progress Sublime Chord. IIRC Virtuoso is the only
general spell progressor that also progresses bard
abilities.
My favorite 3.5 caster build is:
6 Bard
4 L. Thaumaturge
10 Sublime Chord
However, if your DM will let you use the 3.0 Virtuoso
(from SaS) you definitely want to use it; it’s amazing.

o Ama-gisays:
July 27, 2016 at 7:02 pm

Thank you for clearing it up. Virtuoso is really a great

prestige class for spell casting bards.
Before I continue, this guide is really solid work. Timely,
too. I’m melting down my tank so a newer player can
play fighter. So, I’m slipping into a utility function. Enter:
Bard. The good news is that he starts at L12 and I get the
gp value to buy magic for him at the same value of the
gold my old character had – and that guy was loaded.
I haven’t finalized my bard yet.
Bard 8/Dip 1/Sublime Chord 2/Virtuoso 9
I’m on the fence about a dip in Cloistered Cleric or
Crusader. Leaning toward Crusader, for the reason you
 noted (swift action IC). Of course, I’m taking the dip
earlier. No point in waiting until L20.
The role (in order) is Face man, buffer, skill monkey, .
Why would you jump from Bard at 6 and not 8? You get
your next boost to IC at 8, unless you wager magic will
boost it later.

o Joshua H.says:
July 28, 2016 at 4:37 pm

Firstly, I think your build is very reasonable. Here are the

reasons I prefer my build:
1. I love expanding my spell list with the 3rd level of Lyric
Thaumaturge.
2. I really like getting more spells per day with levels 1
and 4 of LT.
3. I like getting captivating melody.
4. I don’t like losing a level of spell progression for the 1st
level of the 3.5 Virtuoso, making everything happen a
level late.
That being said, I don’t think there’s a big difference in
power level between the two builds, and if you can get a
lot of value out of a single level dip (now sorta costing
you two levels of casting, in total) I could see that being a
real big plus, especially for a gishy bard.
Let me know what you finally make and why you like it,
and I’ll include it in my builds section!

o Ama-gisays:
July 29, 2016 at 9:20 am

Will do. I think it’s also important to lay out the rest of the
party, so you and others see what’s already in the party.
L12
1 Wizard and 1 Sorcerer
1 Druid, built to tank with a bear that tanks
1 Cleric built less to heal than take advantage of the
higher level divine capabilities
Roguish character built more like a stealthy backstabber
with a shadow companion
 New person joining the group will likely play a fighter, to
ease him into gameplay
My bard
So, there are a lot of roles filled. I like your
Bard6/Therm4/SC10 concept. With two arcane casters, a
druid and a cleric, the only reason I’m not going that
direction is because (1) there isn’t a need, (2) I’m playing
a Wizard5Incantor10/Archmage5 (L15 right now) in
another campaign and I’m getting my arcane fix there,
and I’d really like to play more of a bardish bard. That’s
why I’m interested in progressing bard levels and skills at
the expense of 1 or 2 arcane casting levels.
Like you, if I really wanted to build arcane power, I’d
never give up a casting level. Virtuoso provides a good
trade off to progress both bard and arcane, given my
concept.

o Joshua H.says:
July 30, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Yea I agree that a gishy-type build would be a fun add to

that campaign. I haven’t yet worked out my favorite bard-
gish, but I’m pretty sure it involves working with the
materials in the Book of Nine Swords to get access to
swift-cast inspire courage. Good luck, and let me know
what you ultimately decide on!

● Tomas Mistrorigosays:
July 29, 2016 at 1:16 pm
What a great guide you did there! I started playing as a bard just
two months ago and you helped me a lot with this guide! I’m
having much more fun and my character is much better after
taking a good look into your guide! I’m in a low level campaign
with a core bard at a 6 players table. All of them are impressed by
the way I’m buffing/helping in the fights and in the social parts.
The only problem is that I’m using the masterwork mandolin just
by flavour purposes since I play it in real life :P, but the +1 bonus
on attack are quite useful, at least for now at the low levels.
Thank you very very much for your guide. Very didatic and easy to
 use.
Hail from Brazil!! And sorry for the bad english.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 30, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Bards are so great. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself and

that this handbook helped you! Let me know if you come
across any useful bits of information that I can include.

● Ama-gisays:
July 30, 2016 at 3:16 pm

Does the Crystal Echoblade give Bard level damage or 1/2 of Bard
level damage? My book says 1/2, but there may be a change.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 30, 2016 at 8:32 pm

My MIC says half as well, thanks for the correction!

● Malcolm Townersays:
August 14, 2016 at 8:46 pm
Thanks for adding my suggestion even though it sucked…I do
have one question though.
You say a dip in rouge is only 2 stars, what if you decided to dip
into martial rouge for a level or 2 for the bonus fighter feats?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 15, 2016 at 12:26 pm

No problem, thanks for the suggestion. It might fit

someone’s character idea perfectly, so I’m happy that it’s
now included.
A 2-level dip into Marital Rogue looks worse than a 2-
level dip into Fighter, to me. I would rather have another
feat and better BAB than trapfinding and evasion. That
being said, it’s about the same. If you like the rogue-y
stuff but want a feat, this is a way to get there.

● Leighasays:
August 18, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Hey. I’m playing a bard for the first time. My DM often plays them,
but she is newish to dming so at the time the character was
created I was only given the option to use the core books. I have
my bard working towards taking the prestige class Duelist. With
the size of group we have I don’t think that experimentation will
hurt me any, but I’m wondering if I could get your input on my
choice of prestige class. I have all the feats for it I just want to get
a few more bard levels before I get into that.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 18, 2016 at 4:04 pm

In core-only, I believe Bard 20 is the strongest build by a

good margin. Make sure to take tumble as a skill, and
spend your feats to focus on combat: stuff like improved
trip, weapon focus, power attack, and combat expertise.
I would avoid the dodge tree. Then, when picking your
spells, focus on spells that improve your combat abilities.
(And see if your DM will allow bladeweave from the spell
compendium, because it’s awesome for a melee bard).
Out of all of the options available in core, I think this will
make the most powerful class, and it is the classic gish
build. Really, the core bard is a well designed class.
There’s no need to tinker with it.
That being said, if you really want to focus on melee even
more than the core class does, I don’t think duelist is the
best way to do that. Duelist doesn’t give you enough in
return for all those spells you lose. Instead, I think
Eldritch Knight is the way to go: you get the higher BAB,
an extra fighter feat, along with 9 levels of casting
progression. To go this route, you’ll need to dip into one
of the martial-weapon classes (Fighter, Barbarian,
Paladin, or Ranger) to get into eldritch knight (it requires
proficiency with all martial weapons).
Here are some builds, roughly ordered in what I think is
best to worst.
Bard 20
Bard 9 / Fighter 1 / Eldritch Knight 10.
Bard 9 / Paladin 1 / Eldritch Knight 10.
 Bard 8 / Fighter 1 / Cleric 1 / Eldritch Knight 10 (This one
is worth looking at closely, see my section on cleric
above).
Bard 8 / Paladin 2 / Eldritch Knight 10.
Bard 9 / Barbarian 1 / Eldritch Knight 10.
Bard 9 / Ranger 1 / Eldritch Knight 10.
Good luck!

o Joshua H.says:
August 18, 2016 at 4:09 pm

Remember that you’re going to be activating Inspire

Courage most fights, and it progresses as you go higher
in bard levels. Any benefits in BAB and damage you get
from the melee classes are going to be dwarfed by this
alone, not to mention the spells you would lose.
I can’t stress enough that Bard 20 is the best way to go.

o Leighasays:
August 18, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Well. He’s kind of built and used already. So I’m kicking

myself for a few choices in feats and the like now. She’s
just opened up the other books (provided she has access
to them either in hard copy or on her computer) so I’m
hoping to minimize some mistakes. We have a 6-7
member party though so any errors I’ve made shouldn’t
have too great an impact on the whole. Unless we have
an all casters game where none of our fighters are able to
make it… Then we might have issues. So when I can I’m
going to get a summons spell as a just in case.
If I could I would get an amulet of vermin huge
monsterous scorpion, it did really well by me in another
campaign and saved the whole party numerous times. I
don’t think she’d allow me that one any time soon
though.
So far I’ve picked out some items to have him go
shopping for and I’m going to start grabbing some
metamagic feats to do some catch up on what I should
have taken….
o Joshua H.says:
August 18, 2016 at 4:43 pm

I believe DMs should let players do minor re-working to

their characters as long as it doesn’t negatively impact
the story line. I never have a problem with a character in
one of my games changing feats as they learn more
about the class, as long as the story we’ve told together
so far makes sense and the character “feels” the same.
You can try talking to your DM about re-work some of
the choices you’ve if you think he/she will be open to it.

o Leighasays:
August 18, 2016 at 5:06 pm

I hadn’t thought of that. I will ask. It might be a ‘no’

though as we have a min/max player who tends to break
our games. We don’t have anything against min/maxing
but when it’s just one person doing it…. We’ve had our
other DM almost party wipe us a few times trying to give
us a boss he wouldn’t one hit while still not killing
everyone else. If I get to do a re-work then he would too,
and he would get a bit whiny if he couldn’t change quite
a few things.
But it never hurts to ask.

o Joshua H.says:
August 18, 2016 at 11:31 pm

Oh, and you should definitely look at the two-weapon

fighting feats.

o Leighasays:
August 19, 2016 at 4:45 pm

I sort of see the character using just a rapier. I’m thinking

of having him get a buckler to up his AC slightly while
keeping his hands mostly free.
Two-weapon fighting and I have not gotten along well in
the past. I swear it’s a jinxed feat for me. I do fine in
combat until I get that feat and then all my rolls just…
Ten or less on me. And getting rid of the penalties
 doesn’t help much of your base rolls would never be
enough to beat an enemies AC. She also kind of nerfed
magic on us a bit by having what seems to be a 50%
chance of a spell not working. Or doing something we
don’t expect. Which has been fun on an rp level but
frustrating during combat. I took bard because I could
still melee reasonably well, but it seemed like she was
hoping someone would be a caster. As much fun as it is
to be a 6’2 human who thinks he’s a halfling… I kind of
feel like I should have been a half elf ranger again. But I
wanted access to the healing spells as a just in case
measure.
So I’m trying to operate as a face, melee in a pinch, and
just a hint of skill nut. But if I can make my spells more
useful I would. She’s being difficult on what I want to do
and keeps changing her mind on whether I can swap
Mobility for Quicken Spell or not.

o Leighasays:
August 19, 2016 at 11:31 pm

Ah. I missed the part in your guide that mentioned I

would need rapid metamagic before quicken spell will
work for me. And I don’t have the prerequisites for that
yet. I’m just going to leave my current feats as they are
and work on doing some damage control in the next few
levels. Will probably work on boosting my bardic song. I
will do some reading before I play a bard again.

● Malcolm Townersays:
September 22, 2016 at 2:01 pm
Maybe you can give me some advice on this build om working on.
I’ve been working on this sunite dancer bard, but i just can’t find
the one thing that puts her together.
I know that i want her to go into heart warder from level 10-20
I want her to have a focus on enchanting, illusion, intel gathering,
party face, and hit and run tactics when she’s forced to fight.
Basically i want her to be an enchanting thief that relies more on
her silver tounge then her combat prowess.
and the general build path is Bard 1/Battle Dancer 1/Bard 4/??? 4/
Heartwarder 10
I don’t know what would work well for those 4 missing levels, I
considered cloaked dancer, but people say its mechanically bad
Any ideas? The only thing i know for sure is i would prefer it if the
class had 6+int skill points gain and spell casting.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 23, 2016 at 7:36 pm

Your build already has five levels of bard, so I would

definitely go at least one more level into bard to get
suggestion (or, if you can be half-elf, command).
For the last 3 levels, I can see a solid argument for
sticking with bard. In addition, you could look at memory
smith, lyric thaumaturge, Jade Phoenix Mage,
fatespinner, and swiftblade.

o Malcolm Townersays:
September 25, 2016 at 9:37 pm

Thanks for the suggestions however I wanted to ask, is

there a way to get haste to qualify for swift blade before
level 3 spells for bard?

o Joshua H.says:
September 25, 2016 at 9:55 pm

Not that I know of. If you find anything, definitely let me

know!

o Malcolm Townersays:
September 26, 2016 at 1:02 am

One last thing, I’ve been looking into this prestige class
called the cloaked dancer. Everyone i talk to say its bad
but no one ever goes into much detail about it. Maybe
you can help me out with that?

o Joshua H.says:
September 26, 2016 at 1:33 am

It’s weaker, but if you like it it’ll be fun. The Beguiling

Dance definitely has some broken possibilities. (Turn
someone into helpful via normal means, and then turn
them fanatical with that ability.)
 The abilities aren’t that good, and you lose 3/5 spell
levels. If you feel some desire to play it, go for it! It’s not
as good as straight bard in terms of power, but if you’re
OK with that then dance it up.

● Huntersays:
September 23, 2016 at 2:06 am

If you are looking for good bard feats, Chaos music (Dragon
Magazine 326 page 80) is something to look at. It can be taken
early and treats your bard level like it is four levels higher for
determining your bardic music usage, up to your maximum hit die,
so it is great in multiclass builds.
I use it for my Bard1/Wizard4/Stormsinger 10 Build. (lets you burn
bardic music for damage and control effects) the feats to get into
that prestige class are bad, but because it allows you to deafen
enemies with bardic music, (20% spell failure from deafness is
huge) In this build combination, you can use bardic music like you
are level 15, but you do miss out on suggestion. you cast like a
wizard like your level 14, and you have a number of damage and
debuffs from stormsinger.
Also the capstone ability is fairly insane when you have two going
at once (if your dm is kind and allows you to maintain a bardic
music on a fiddle, while starting a new one)
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 23, 2016 at 7:38 pm

Thanks! I had mistakenly put Chaos Music in the Prestige

class section (instead of the feat section). Fixed! I agree;
that feat is very strong.
That seems like a fun build!

● Guillaumesays:
September 23, 2016 at 7:42 am

Thanks for this wonderful guide ! I am wonderring if you think we

can maintain Insprire courage while blinking with the spell ?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 23, 2016 at 7:42 pm
 I think so. Nothing in the spell description of blink
suggests that aura effects are limited.
In addition, blinking wouldn’t impede your ability to
sustain the effect. If anything, it would impede your ally’s
ability to gain the benefits (you would always hear
yourself, but maybe your ally can’t hear you when you’re
on the ethereal plane).
Given that you blink many times per second, and the
effects of inspire courage last 30 seconds (i.e. 5 rounds)
after your allies stop hearing it, I don’t think there’s any
fair minded argument that says it should stop working or
have a limited effect.
For example, if you activated inspire courage, stopped it,
and then 3 rounds later (18 seconds later!) started a new
inspire courage, your allies would have an unbroken
benefit. See what I mean?

o Guillaumesays:
September 26, 2016 at 2:59 pm

I see what you mean. Thanks for your analysis and your
time.

● Malcolm Townersays:
September 26, 2016 at 10:24 am
Generally I would just need 3 levels with the one level in
spellcasting being enough to qualify for heartwarder, and the main
idea is for intel gathering and diplomancy to come first with
everything for combat coming second. Plus it costs almost
NOTHING to get into.
So yeah I think i found my Answer, Thanks.
Reply

● Malcolm Townersays:
September 27, 2016 at 12:51 am

Oh i got an interesting idea, so the other day i talked to you about

cloaked dancer right and it cemented my idea well. I was thinking
with melodic casting can i still cast spells while dancing? Since it
takes a concentration check to maintain it and with melodic
casting the checks are now separate.
 Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 27, 2016 at 6:23 pm

I don’t think so. All of Cloaked Dancer’s dances require

concentration to maintain, and typically maintaining
concentration is a standard action. You could cast swift
spells, or you could look at something like the swift
concentration skill trick, but I don’t think melodic casting
helps at all.

o Malcolm Townersays:
September 27, 2016 at 8:59 pm

Huh? I thought a concentration check was a free action?

o Joshua H.says:
September 29, 2016 at 9:10 pm

So the cloaked dancer class isn’t 100% clear in the way

its written, but given that maintaining a spell via
concentration is a standard action, and all of the bardic
musics that require concentration consume your
standard action, I think the intention here is that the
various dances use your standard action to maintain. (If
not, beguiling dance becomes bonkers good, and is
unprecedented in the rule books.)
If you have any doubt, you can ask at the RPG stack
exchange (http://rpg.stackexchange.com/), you’ll get a
better answer than I gave very quickly.

● Malcolm Townersays:
September 29, 2016 at 11:59 pm

I see…hmm now that i think about it aside from say a Lyric

thaumaturge build is melodic casting as “required” for bard as i
think?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 30, 2016 at 12:54 am

It’s not “required”, but it does a lot: You effectively gain

one skill point per level (since you don’t need
 concentration anymore), and you can be sure that the
Inspire Courage you turn on in round 1 lasts the entire
fight, not just 6 rounds.
You can get by without it, but it’s one of the better
options.

● MirddinEmrissays:
September 30, 2016 at 9:54 am

Why did you rate Seeker of Song same as Virtuoso (3.5 one)? They
are definitely not in the same weight category. Seeker is pretty
underwhelming one. Let’s compare their class features.
Seeker of the Song does not progress spellcasting, Virtuoso does
9/10 (which means you can take 1st level earlier and rest use for
example to progress Sublime Chord casting, something like Bard
9/Virtuoso 1/Sublime Chord 1/Virtuoso 9). SotS stacks for bardic
music ability per day so Bard 10/SotS 10 will have 20 bardic music
ability, but V not only stacks with bardic music it gives additional
virtuoso music per day AND stacks for Inspire Courage ability (you
know, the one that everyone so pumped up about), so Bard 10/
Virt 10 will have 20 bardic music, 10 virtuoso music AND inspire
courage +4. SotS you can enter at level 11 and requires you to
have Skill Focus (Perform) feat, while you can get in Virtuoso at
level 8 and only requires you to have skills that you probably want
anyway as a bard. Also Virtuoso gets 2 more skill points per level
Let’s get to class features. SotS have great Combine Songs (the
only ***** ability he has) at level 2 and Subvocalize at level 5 which
is…ok i guess but after ability to combine songs it’s not really all
that relevant. Virtuoso doesn’t have special class abilities.
So, let’s get to the music:
SotS have a lot of music but most of it is * or **. Remember that
“refrain” songs can be played only if you already playing non-
refrain variant of music, which will negate you awesome ability to
play two songs at once. he only good thing about it is good DC (10
+ Perform ranks). At level 11 Burning melody (*) gives your allies in
30 ft 15 fire resist, doesn’t scale (as none of the other resists you
can give) and already worse that just casting Resist Energy spell at
level you get it, as refrain you can give 6d6 fire damage in 30ft
cone with reflex save, nuff said. Song of Unmaking (**) lets you
damage constructs for d8 per SotS level in 30 ft burst, no save.
Unimpressive. Dirge of Frozen Loss (**) – cold resist 15, better than
fire because refrain version damages AND gives fatigue condition
on failed Fort save, not much better because it’s a line, not a cone.
Song of life (***), well the main version is * because immunity to
poisons and diseases at level 14 is…underwhelming, but refrain
version let’s you heal as standard action touch amount of hitpoints
equal to your perform check which is about 50-60 if you optimize it
decently, it’s not a heal but at least i can see myself using it from
time to time. Anthem of Thunder and Pain (**) – resist electricity 15,
refrain is worse version of chain lightning (10d6 initial, 5d6
secondary, 1/3 SotS lvl secondary targets) at level 15. Hymn of
Spelldeath (***) that was MOST disappointing song of them, just
because initial pitch was so great – everyone who hears your song
must beat you perform checks with concentration check to cast
spells, no range limit. Wow, this awesome, you think. No, because
at the end it says it’s a mind affecting ability. At level 16 people
you want to prevent from casting the most already have Mind
Blank. Hell, even non-caster at this level usually bother to get
some sort of protection from mind-affecting stuff. Base version is
** if only because of how late you get it. Refrain is good *** – area
dispel check with SotS + bard level bonus. Ballad of Agony
Reborn (**)- resist acid 15, refrain is ranged touch attack to deal
10d6 acid damage and repeat it raound later. Aria of Everywhere
(**) – as dimension door, only 25 + 5ft/SotS lvl range and you can’t
bring anyone with you. Fun fact – Dimension Door is on your spell
list, so you could have had better version of this even before you
became SotS. Dirge of Songdeath (***) – sonic resist 15, other
bards and bard-like characters in 30ft have to beat your Perform to
get their songs going. Refrain is 15d6 sonic damage as ranged
touch. Note of Solitude(*) – banish extraplanars in 60ft with will
save. Remember that you DC is fairly good? Now forget it because
they get +HD to their Will save. This is level 20, most extraplanars
you ahve to fight have about half as much HD as you have, which
means that unless they roll 1 they ain’t goin’ anywhere.
Now let’s get to Virtuoso. You gain fascinate, so if you swapped
this ability for something else, you gain it back, it’s ok (***) just
because it allows you to have womthing like Healing Hymn along
with it in result. Persuasive Song (****) – make Perform instead of
Diplomacy to influence others, now you can optimize one check
instead of two, also it’s Ex ability. Sustaining Song (*) – meh, give 1
hp to allies with less than 0 hp. Jarring Song (****) – remember how
Hymn of Spelldeath was diappointing? Meet it’s elder brother – not
a mind affecting ability and you can get it as early as level 12.
Would have better rating if not for 30ft range. Song of Fury (***) –
decent buff for melee guys (rage as long as you perform).
Becomes better with barbarian in party – he can use his own
bonuses, while not wasting his daily use of rage, very good since
you have a lot more daily musuic that he has rages. Mindbending
Melody (**) – dominate humanoid that you fascinated with ok DC
(10 + Virt lvl + Cha mod). Would be better without restriction to
type and maybe a bit earlier. Somewhat late upgrade to
suggestion. Revealing Melody (****) – true seeing for allies in 30ft,
very useful ability.
SotS is at best a 2 lvl dip. Even them you spend considerable
amount of resurces for this – one feat and loss of 2 spellcasting
levels. I would give it *** as a dip and ** as full progression. His
abilities mostly are underwhelming and/or too late for the level you
are right now, and you give up considerable amount of your
strength.
Reply

o MirddinEmrissays:
September 30, 2016 at 10:32 am

Also, i wouldn’t say that 3.0 Virtuoso is that much better.

Yes, you are getting all bardic music abilities, but if you
are a bard, 3.5 version already progresses you best
ability – Inspire Courage. Yes, 1 lvl of spellcasting loss is
not good (although it does enable trick of getting full
Sublime Chord casting and 10 llvl of Vituoso), but doesn’t
warrant difference in one rank (i mean between **** and
*****). And 3.5 one have 2 more skill points per level.
Music of 3.5 is a bit better. Jarring song of 3.0 made
spellcaster make 15 + spell level concentration checks
instead of you Perform check, making it a lot less useful.
Song of Fury for 3.0 came a lot later and required to
spend 3 daily performance PER ROUND to sustain.
Mindbending song had lower DC. I guess Sharp Note
was ok and something 3.5 version don’t have and
 Calumny (and it’s greater version) i would rate higher
than persuasive song just because of unique effect
(making people hate some group instead of making
people like you which you could already do with
Diplomacy)

o MirddinEmrissays:
September 30, 2016 at 10:51 am

I would argue that even War Chanter better than Seeker

of the Song if only because he provides with music
effects that are relevant to the level, while having better
BAB and HD. Also, he too have Combine Songs ability at
level 5, so you can get it earlier that one from SotS.
Also from optimization perspective, War Chanter have
more potential because he combines well with Warrior
Skald from RoF to make bard-like melee attacker

o Joshua H.says:
October 22, 2016 at 5:43 pm

Hey buddy, thanks for your thoughts. I’ll try to read this
carefully and incorporate any changes I agree with in my
next edit.

o MirddinEmrissays:
October 31, 2016 at 4:52 am

No prob You did a really good job compiling this

enormous list of options for bard characters, and not just
most powerful popular ones like most guides

● Malcolm Townersays:
October 2, 2016 at 8:44 pm

Hello again, if it’s not to much trouble do you think you could look
at the unseen seer prestige class and see what it can offer the
bard?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 4, 2016 at 9:52 pm

It looks underwhelming. I’d probably rate it two stars.

 A strict reading says that you don’t get any benefit at all
from the “damage bonus” class unless you’ve got those
features already, and I don’t like the 1d4 hit points at all.
10 level of spell progression is nice, and the rest of the
class features seem worse to me than a regular bard’s
class features, let alone things like sublime chord.

● Caiosays:
October 3, 2016 at 11:06 pm

Hey, really awesome handbook! I have some suggestions for other

builds. What about Bard 6/Lyric Thaumaturge 4/Sublime Chord
2/Virtuoso 8, aka the Bardest Bard that ever Barded?
Or Bard 6/Mindbender 1/Virtuoso 3/Sublime Chord 2/Virtuoso
7/Sublime Chord 1, with a Mindbender dip to get Mindsight (feat
from Lords of Madness that lets you know the type and
intelligence score of all creatures within your telepathy radius)?
Or even a Diplomancer: Half-Elf Bard 1/Bard 5/Warlock
2/Mindbender 1/Marshal 1/Exemplar 1/Sublime Chord 9? Mostly a
face for the party, but not bad with spells either.
Reply

o MirddinEmrissays:
October 4, 2016 at 3:34 am

Bard 6/ Lyric Thaumaturge 3/Virtuoso 1 / Sublime Chord

1-2 / Vituoso +8-9 Is better because it doesn’t loose 1
spellcasting level from SC (which means 1 lvl 9, 1lvl 8
and 1 lvl 7 spell known lost). First level of Virtuoso
doesn’t progress spellcasting which means you can take
it before Sublime Chord and still progress spellcasting
with it. On other hand, “Bard 6/Mindbender 1/Virtuoso
3/Sublime Chord 2/Virtuoso 7/Sublime Chord 1” means
that you progress bard spellcasting with Virtuoso and
have only 3 lvl of Sublime Chord spellcasting

o Joshua H.says:
October 4, 2016 at 9:53 pm

Thanks. Yea, I agree those are interesting and good

builds. I’ll add them to the list.
● Malcolm Townersays:
October 10, 2016 at 1:48 am
Um would it be too much to ask if you can explain what makes
slippers of battledancing so good?
As far as I can tell the only way to make the most of it, is if you get
spring attack feat tree which many consider bad.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 10, 2016 at 1:44 pm

It has a lot of nice effects that all benefit the gish-bard:

10′ move, +5 to tumble, +2 to initiative, and a conditional
+3? to attack.

o Malcolm Townersays:
October 10, 2016 at 1:55 pm

yes im aware of it but just how do you use it effectively?

By that i mean do you need like spring attack and
bounding assault and snap kick? or can you get away
with…you know just walking up and standard action
attacking or something?

o Joshua H.says:
October 10, 2016 at 2:23 pm

I don’t think it’s something you need to play into for it to

be good. Three of the four effects are always on and
effective.
The bonus to attack is conditional; you won’t get it every
attack. But there are plenty of times where you move-
then-attack, or attack-then-move, and in those
circumstances, the bonus is nice. You can play into them
a bit more, sure, but you don’t have to build around it for
it to be good.

● Malcolm Townersays:
October 10, 2016 at 5:45 pm

Hmm in that case do you know anyways to make an effective whip

build for bards that doesnt involve tripping?
Reply
 o Joshua H.says:
October 10, 2016 at 7:23 pm

Whip Dagger + Bladeweave is a real good start.

The whip dagger does real damage at 15′ range, and
bladeweave is awesome for any melee weapon. The whip
dagger was initially printed in 3.0’s Arms and Equipment
guide, and then modernized to 3.5 in the Dragon
Compendium 1 (126), Dungeon #134 (pg 50), and Dragon
#353 (pg 28).

o Malcolm Townersays:
October 10, 2016 at 7:47 pm

What about feats recommendations cause that’s causing

me the biggest headache.

o Joshua H.says:
October 22, 2016 at 5:38 pm

There’s not a lot of support for Whips in 3.5.

Weapon Finesse, Dragonfire Inspiration, Snowflake
wardance, knock down, pyrokineticist PrC, whip climber
skill trick, trip and disarm, Curling Wave Strike Feat.
Google “Dnd 3.5 Whip Build”, you’ll get some good
results.

o Joshua H.says:
October 23, 2016 at 3:43 pm

Also: Sudden Stunning weapon enchantment (DMG2,

see the entry above) and Flay from Weapons of Legacy
(although, your DM will have to make it a whip dagger
instead of a straight whip).

● TheGleefulGrognardsays:
October 14, 2016 at 2:49 pm

I would say that Lyric Spell is outright better than Metamagic Song
when it comes to Persistent magic builds.
You aren’t limited by having to use the Talifan Song trick. You just
pick spells and cast as long as they meet the persist requirements
and you have enough bardic music uses.
Which is even better as you can persist any spell up to level 9.
I would still say it is only really relevant to 9th level caster builds,
but that is more of a personal preference when it comes to
investing so heavily into spell casting.
Also, remember, technically possible to persist a 9th level spell
and then heighten it, stupidly wasteful, but possible.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 22, 2016 at 5:41 pm

Lyric spell is an awesome feat.

If you’re focused on persist and metamagic stuff, I think
metamagic song is better, because it costs 1 less bardic
music per spell. (Lyric Spell taxes 1 bardic music to
activate, plus 1 for each spell level).
Metamagic song also lets you improve your normal slots,
where lyric spell just effectively gives you additional slots.
So I think lyric spell is the better general feat, but
metamagic song is better if you’re really focused on a
metamagic or persist build.

o TheGleefulGrognardsays:
November 14, 2016 at 9:56 am
Hmmm all true, although I would still say that requiring an
extra feat to work, having less versatility in general and
being limited to level 1-3 spells only stops metamagic
song from being as appealing for me.
I find that I usually only use a few bardic uses in a day if
that and that by taking lyric spell it allows the caster bard
to have more versatility than metamagic song.

o Hiro Questersays:
December 6, 2016 at 1:08 pm

I agree about Lyric spell being awesome, especially for a

higher-level caster persisting and extending many spells.
 I played a very paranoid Bard/Sublime Chord who
extended or persisted many buffs.
I didn’t have enough 3rd level spell slots for some of the
10 min per level buffs that I cast extended (Dragonskin,
protection from energy, Glibness) a couple of times a day
at higher levels. Lyric spell lets you cast buffs like these
and save spell slots for an emergency Haste spell or
whatever.

● Malcolm Townersays:
November 17, 2016 at 2:13 am
Hey been a while, i just wanted to know. I’m aware you rank
inspire awe fairly high i imagine large in part due to fear escalation,
but how good is it on its own?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
November 20, 2016 at 9:14 pm

I think it’s a good bit worse than inspire courage without

fear escalation. The biggest factor is that inspire courage
always works, inspire fear often doesn’t.
The minuses to saves is nice, but given that it has a
limited range (many creatures are immune) and all
creatures get a save, I’d stick with the tried-and-true
inspire courage.
In conclusion: I think it’s worse, but not terribly so.

● Wardrowsays:
November 24, 2016 at 7:04 pm
I would like to point you to Mythic exemplar from Complete
Champion. It has many easy ways to enter. If you choose
Reikhardt as paragon you get a terrible level 1, starting from level 2
the PrC stacks for inspire courage and from level 3rd you get
**+1 level of a class-based extraordinary ability to grant bonuses to
allies (such as a marshal’s auras)**
I am not sure about that, but this could mean a +1 to inspire
courage or other suitable bardic musics, which is awesome!
By the way, truly great guide, it helped me a lot with my first bard
character! Thanks
Reply
 o Joshua H.says:
November 25, 2016 at 1:56 pm

Awesome! I’ll look at that for the next round of edits.

Glad the handbook was helpful to you.

o Dufreznesays:
September 3, 2017 at 7:54 pm

Inspire courage, and all other bardic musics are either

supernatural, or spell-like abilities, NOT extraordinary
abilities.
The reason why Marshal’s aura is good for this, is that
minor and major auras could be read as being under the
“Aura” ability, so both can get the bonus, like a two-for-
one.

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:54 pm

Hey Dunfrenze:
What are you referring to? Let me know if there’s an edit I
should make. Glad for the information.

● Albertosays:
November 29, 2016 at 8:49 am

Wow this is a great handbook. I’m looking forward to those bard

melee builds, specially the bard/crusader and bard/wardblade
combinations. Great job!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 4, 2016 at 1:47 am

Thanks buddy. Glad it helped!

● Hiro Questersays:
December 6, 2016 at 1:00 pm

Excellent guide! In the Casting in Secret section, you should

include the Disguise Spell feat.
 “You can cast spells unobtrusively, mingling verbal and somatic
components into your performances.”
You make a perform check, and if you beat the audience’s spot
check your spell just looks like the natural movements and sounds
of your performance. Nobody knows where the spell came from,
and the casting can’t be identified with a spellcraft check even.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 6, 2016 at 2:54 pm

Thanks! I will next update.

● Ziliossays:
December 8, 2016 at 1:35 pm

Hey read through the guide and I loved it! Great work! I’m looking
to make a bard for a campaign starting around level 9, with
allowed material core+completes(no skill tricks or c.champion). I
see that you consider the best core bard build bard 20, but since
I’m not entirely core, since Lyric thaumaturge and sublime chord
are allowed, would you recommend going bard 6/LT 4/ SC 10?
What troubled me about that build is the lack of bardic music
progression (although I’ve never played or even seen a bard in
action so I don’t know how important it is) and the almost
complete lack of sublime chord class features after level 2.
I’d like to play mostly a buffer/debuffer but I’d like to able to mix it
up in melee too if possible. LT 4/SC 10 looks great for a pure
caster bard but I’m afraid my buffing and gish abilites will be too
weak. In your experience can a bard 6/ LT4/ SC 10 still buff fine
and get up in melee OK or is it relegated to backline pure casting
at mid-high levels (again, I have no bard experience so I’m
deferring to your expertise here.) ?
On an unrelated note, I see you don’t mention Divine Crusader as
a PrC. It’s an easy way to expand your spell list and get you CHA
based divine casting that can probably accomodate most
playstyles. Consider this theoretical build: Bard 7/ Abjurant
Champion 2/ Divine Crusader 2/Sublime Chord 1/Mystic Theurge
8. It’s entirely CHA SAD dual casting, with 9th level divine and
arcane (albeit restricted), that is pretty light on requirements and is
an easy way to get 9th divine without playing an evil PC (Ur-Priest)
or using exalted feats (which as you say can be campaign
warping). Just a Thought!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 8, 2016 at 1:49 pm

Hey Zilios. Thanks for a really nice response. I’ll be sure

to include Divine Crusader in the next round of edits.
Bard 20 is mechanically weaker than Bard 6 / LT 4 / SC
10. Sublime chord is really strong; that PrC alone moves
the bard up from tier 3 to low tier 2.
Bard 10 / Sublime Chord 10 is a fine build, too. If you’d
like to emphasize buffing, skills, and BAB a bit more, that
might be a good approach for you.
What other classes are going to be in the party? I like
carving out a niche based on that.

o Ziliossays:
December 8, 2016 at 5:55 pm

Thanks for the response! The rest of the party is a

Favored Soul that’s focused on archery and healing, a
Cleric/Malconvoker summoner and a
rogue/swashbuckler. From what they’ve told me, so far
they’ve gotten through fights with the favored soul
casting Shield other on everyone and spamming heals or
attacking when convenient, while the malconvoker
provides flankers for the rogue to enable sneak attack.
We’re going to be running through the Shackled City
adventure path, if you’re familiar with it, I’ll be joining
halfway.
Are the lack of class features for the Sublime Chord not a
good reason to PrC out after level 2? Perhaps I can
convince the DM to allow Lyric Thaumaturge to continue
SC casting (it is kind of like bard spellcasting after all!),
otherwise isn’t something like Abjurant Champion
4/Sacred Exorcist 4 better from 12 to 20?

o Joshua H.says:
December 8, 2016 at 6:23 pm
 I think that build is a really good fit for your party. You’re
missing a wizard and a face, and the sublime chord bard
can be both.
I think it’s too much of an ask to allow LT to continue SC
casting. It seems to me that you’ll probably be the
strongest character in the party already, but if your DM
will allow it and the other players aren’t sad, have at it.
The sublime chord has a lot of “hidden” features that
aren’t too obvious until you really flesh a character out:
* good class skills and OK skill points
* continued progression of bardic musics per day (can
you take lyric spell?)
* bardic knowledge bonus (do you have access to the alt.
class features lore song or bardic knack? I rule that these
stack)
In addition, song of timelessness is a _very_ strong
effect. You can use it to save allies (they can intentionally
fail the will save) or divide the bad guys into easier
groups to fight.
Sacred exorcist doesn’t seem generally good to me, but
if you’re going to be in an undead setting for the whole
thing, it can be cool. Did you look into Dirgesinger (PrC)
and Requiem (Feat)?
For your party, I like Bard 6 / LT 4 / Sublime Chord 10 in
terms of raw power and compatibility. That being said,
there are plenty of other good options if you want to
emphasize something, like fighting undead.

● Falessansays:
December 11, 2016 at 3:18 am
Hey, thanks for this. It is awesome!
I just recently started playing D&D. I don’t know why, maybe for
just the amusement factor, but I decided to build a gnome bard. I
was thinking about building a gnome ranger for my first campaign,
but I ended up going with an elf for that one.
Anyway, this has been a humongous help with trying to find the
right feats and spells. I will have to think about Miser’s envy for
another level-up. I was wondering about your thoughts on ways to
keep weight down on my items/weapons. I have a haversack (my
 DM made sure I knew about that one). As well as weapons that
would be good for me to utilize in my diminutive status.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 11, 2016 at 3:15 pm

A haversack really ought to do the trick. If you need

more, look at Mithril Armor. Don’t forget that weapons for
small-sized creatures weigh less. What’s your strength?

● Xethiksays:
December 23, 2016 at 1:06 am

Worth noting that Bards cannot normally benefit from the Silent
Spell metamagic feat.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2017 at 2:33 am

Thanks, good catch. I’ll update that in the next round of

revisions.

● Xethiksays:
December 23, 2016 at 10:40 pm

Oh and to piggy back on an earlier comment regarding Sacred

Exorcist: it’s great to one-dip into for Turn Undead, especially if
you are using fractional BAB. Sacred Exorcist is 3/4 BAB and has
pretty lax entry requirements, so you can round out another BAB if
you went something like Bard 7/other 3 before Sublime Chord.
I’m currently playing a Bard 4/Lyric Thaumaturge 3/Paladin 2/War
Weaver 1/Sublime Chord 1/War Weaver 2+3/Sacred Exorcist
1/Abjurant Champion 1. Current plan is to finish off with 4 more
levels of Abjurant Champion and then 1 in Spellsword for the gold
standard 16 BAB and maxed Sublime Chord or drop that BAB for
Song of Arcane Power. Sacred Exorcist was what I needed for a
BAB and enabled Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell). Which is
pretty high op, but I try not to abuse it and instead only Persist
buffs as a way of not needing to bother the DM with prefight buffs.
Anyways, Turn Undead is also great for things like Divine Might
and the other Divine feats on a gish build. There’s also that broken
 counterspell. You probably couldn’t squeeze it into a Jade Phoenix
Sublime Build (which I wish I did).
Reply

o Xethiksays:
December 23, 2016 at 10:45 pm

Also, War Weaver is great for a buff-focused caster! 1/2

BAB and drops spellcasting a first level, but if you pick it
up before entering Sublime Chord you won’t disrupt high
level spells at all. Being able to share Heroism or Heroics
(through Lyric Thaumaturge) is just really amazing with
larger parties. Plus, buffing the party with short duration
spells like Haste as a move action round 1 of the fight
can really be an action economy game changer. Move
action to cast some buffs, standard and swift for Inspire
Courage and you might be set for the combat.
Definitely thrives in large parties, but not to be
discounted in 3 or 4 player games.

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2017 at 2:33 am

Thanks for the notes. I’ll have to read them carefully and
see what I can include next time I do an update.

o Xethiksays:
January 25, 2017 at 4:40 pm

Apologies for the scatterbrained comments. If I get an

evening, I might try to consolidate them into a more
readable format.
This guide has been a fantastic tool as I’ve advanced and
pivoted my Bard character. Hopefully, I can give back in
some way with my experiences and forum trolling.
Thank you for the guide!

● Corwinsays:
January 11, 2017 at 11:15 pm

Great guide. It helps. The only problem is that im a total noob and
im actually trying to right some of the wrongs i have made in
character creation. I also have a magical weapon allowing me to
 learn spells from any class (so im at a loss as to what to get) and
all you have are bard spells. Thanks anyway though.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 11, 2017 at 11:24 pm

There are lists available on google of the best spells by

level. If you can get any spells, some of the ones I list are
the very best in the game, but there are many more
stronger spells out there for those levels. Have fun!

● Adeptussays:
January 14, 2017 at 9:09 am

Re your comments on the Profession skill… isn’t Perform the

bard’s “profession” anyway? You can earn up to 3d6 gp/day!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2017 at 2:31 am

Yup, good point. I still can’t think of anything less fun

than getting together and pretending to work a
profession, though. ^_^

● Laurentsays:
January 19, 2017 at 7:49 pm
Thank you very much for this wonderful guide. The bard is the best
class !
I disagree with the rating of the versatile performer feat. First, it’s
cool for roleplaying. Second, It allows much : Music of course,
plus declamation to be a troop leader plus picking up on the ticks
of others and mimic them, plus using humor to solve a social
tensed situation… Third, it permits you to use snowflakes
wardance or different music instruments (harmonica, flute..).
Fourth, when you use the horn to boost inspire courage, the effect
should fade away 5 round later (I can’t imagine using a shield, a
sword, and blowing in a horn at the same time). My DM agrees
that with this feat, I can blow in the horn, then use declamation to
inspire courage, and 5 rounds later, I shall blow again in the horn
(taking a standard action), or the inspire courage boost decreases
to regular.
 Therefore, this feat should be blue and perhaps light blue ! And
putting my best score in INT not CHA seemed a better option.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2017 at 2:38 am

Interesting point. Yea, depending on the DM, this feat

could be useful. I’ll make a note next time I update.

● Malcolm Townersays:
January 24, 2017 at 12:57 pm

Hey Joshua, been a while. Just wanted to say thanks for being so
dedicated to this guide. It’s really helped me out and I pretty much
finalized that build i was talking about a while back.
I just wanted your opinion on something. Is there a way, for a bard
to have decent damage to their attacks if they
A. Can’t or have no real use for inspire courage
B. Have no real Strength Mod to speak of
C. Can’t use sneak attack(Aka:The dm will not allow the craven
feat)
and
D. Has no real way to make use of Knowledge Devotion.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2017 at 2:32 am

Any solution is going to be really sub-standard. Why all of

the restrictions? If they have to exist, I’d be really inclined
to go heavy in the caster direction.

o Malcolm Townersays:
January 25, 2017 at 7:40 am
I’m really just trying to weigh all of my options. ideally I
can get the craven feat and dole out decent damage with
that. Otherwise i would likely just go feat rouge and be
something of a supportish role until level 11 when i enter
sublime chord
The current loadout is Rouge2/Bard 4/Ardent
Dilligante4/Sublime Chord 10 a little unorthodox but
something i’m rather proud of.
 o Dufreznesays:
September 3, 2017 at 8:04 pm
I’m doing an inspire courage build, with most of my levels
going into either crusader, or warblade.
Doing this, as long as I use a white raven stance, I can
perform inspire courage as a swift action, and then use
maneuvers, and a high BAB (since crusader, and
warblade are both full BAB classes). Dragonfire
inspiration helps even more, if you’re willing/able to give
up the attack bonus from inspire courage.
If you’re just looking to do a more standard bard, you
could always get the crystal echoblade, or bow of songs,
as listed in the weapons section.

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:51 pm

That’s a sweet build. If you feel up to putting together a

more detailed summary, I’d love to include it on my
builds list.
Song of the White Raven is just great. Swift inspire
courage is one of the best uses of feats for a bard, and
Bolstering Voice (the best stance, building into SotWR) is
a very strong feat.

● Psycho Mantyssays:
January 30, 2017 at 1:49 pm

for the section of “Melee Builds” for bards:

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Battle_Knight_Bard_of_Sublime_Ch
ord_%283.5e_Optimized_Character_Build%29

Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 5, 2017 at 6:14 pm

Awesome thanks buddy! I’m a little back logged on

updates, but once I sit down to update I’ll definitely take
a look at this.
● Drammorsays:
February 5, 2017 at 9:40 am

On page 89 of Dragon 338, there’s a pair of bardic music feats:

Focused Performer, and Focused Performance. The former is
clearly a tax, but I’m curious about your assessment of the latter.
Would you mind giving it a look?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 5, 2017 at 6:14 pm

Oh man that is a good find. I’ll write something up on it

soon. Definitely powerful. I’m a little worried that,
because it specifically lists what musics it affects, it
might be a little limited in conjunction with the alternate
class features I suggest taking.
Definitely needs to be here though. Thanks man!

o Xethiksays:
February 6, 2017 at 3:42 pm

Focused Performance is absolutely fantastic, good

mention! A great way of getting multiple performances at
once without losing class levels. I think that and the
Inspire Courage buffs are worth the two feats, alone, for
some builds (Heartfire Fanner comes to mind) even if you
don’t have any of the other standard Bardic
Performances.
Other feats from Dragon magazine that are great are the
Bloodline feats. Not to be confused with the Bloodline
from UA. These are in Dragon 311 and 325, if I recall, but
are also in the Dragon Compendium. They add one set
spell known per level, but remove spells of a certain
category or descriptor from your spell list.
Better for a Sorcerer than a Bard, but still nice.
Necromantic and Anarchic standout for a Sorcerer but
are weaker for Bards. Necromantic gives up healing
spells and Anarchic has a great list, but a number of
those spells are level discounted for a Bard and you
 don’t get to take advantage of that. Draconic and Earth
might be nice, especially for a Sublime Chord.

o Joshua H.says:
February 8, 2017 at 2:19 am

I posted my analysis of this feat. Unfortunately, on closer

look, I think it’s only OK, not too exciting. What do you
think?

o Xethiksays:
February 8, 2017 at 7:12 pm

I would say fairly accurate. I might be tempted to bump

the second feat up a star, but I’m could be convinced
that three right. I think if it had no pre-req, it would be a
five star between Accompaniment and Individual
Performance, on par with Words of Creation. But that
pre-req feat is terribad, especially since I find myself
including Melodic Casting in most builds. The value of
the feat really hinges on Accompaniment, which means
having something like Dragonfire Inspiration + Inspire
Courage or something like Heartfire Fanner or abusing
Individual Performance with Words of Creation.

o Joshua H.says:
March 31, 2017 at 11:56 pm

Wow, the bloodline feats from Dragon Compendium

seem really strong at first review. I’m going to write
something up on them now. Thanks for pointing them
out.

● Malcolm Townersays:
February 12, 2017 at 9:49 pm

Joshua, a moment of your time if you will. I was thinking about the
practical applications of Versatile Performer and like you i thought
is was less then average as well…but then i thought about how
this could really help tight skill builds.
Say you want to have singing, dancing and String instruments for
perform. But you only have room for like one
“Pick a number of Perform categories equal to your Intelligence
bonus (minimum 1). For the purpose of making Perform checks,
 you are treated as having a number of ranks in those skills equal to
the highest number of ranks you have in any Perform category.” It
never said you have to have points in them before hand. So you
can just pick perform Dance, pick this feat and suddenly you can
use perform Sing and string instruments at max skill rank,
suddenly a lot more things are open to you such as the various
instruments up on your list. With that in mind shouldn’t this feat be
bumped up to at least 3 stars?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 13, 2017 at 3:32 am

Hey Malcolm: I agree. My DMs have always been lax with

letting me get away with a single perform and whatever
instruments I want to use, so this wasn’t on my radar.
But I think a really fair reading is that you need the
minimum skills for that song to use an instrument with it.
In that context, Versatile Performer might be stronger
than I initially thought. I’ll have to sit down and look
carefully at things and re-evaluate. Thanks for your
thoughts.

● Dunsparcesays:
February 14, 2017 at 12:25 pm

I’m glad someone else remembers Memory Smith Exists. I rolled

really well on stats(nothing below 14) so I’m going with a Desert
Dwarf(-Dex instead of -Cha) Divine Bard and going into that class
for Greataxe & Heavy Armor proficiency + Divine Power. Currently
only level 2 with melodic casting, but we’re going all the way to
level 20 and I plan to get Versatile spellcaster and Lyric Spell to
give me more flexibility with spells. Also traded out Fascinate with
Healing Hymn, so overall it’s a very bizarre build.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 14, 2017 at 2:13 pm

That sounds pretty fun! If you have a build up to level 20,

share it and maybe I’ll be able to include it in the builds
section.

● Filipposays:
 March 23, 2017 at 7:53 am
Hey man, good job with that guide! I really liked it from the
beginning to the end.
Now I wanna ask you some tips
I wanted to make a ranged Bard, that see death and suffering as
poetry and art.
Now, it needs a level in Master of Masks for the sole purpose of
roleplaying.
What should I do next to optimize it a bit?
I’d like him to sing and enchant weapons
Thanks a lot
Edit: actually, not enchanting weapons, but having the ability to
make arrows or ranged attacks stronger.
All of this while singing and performing. If you have any advice i’m
listening
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 31, 2017 at 11:48 pm

You could look at Arcane Archer from the DMG. I haven’t

seen any interesting bard / archer options in the books
otherwise.
Take a look through the combat feats and the combat
bard PRC section. Anything that increases your BAB or
gives you more attacks is going to be good. Knowledge
devotion seems like a must-have.

o Filipposays:
September 26, 2017 at 11:07 am
Thanks for the reply joshua! After months of doubts, i
went for the bard10/lyric thaum4 for now (i’m lvl 14 btw)
The build is pretty strong, imperious command is broken
and i always find new ways to use spells and tricks.
All thanks to you!
By now, my changeling Bard is the character i’m enjoying
the most.
Thanks again!

● Malcolm Townersays:
March 25, 2017 at 8:46 pm
 This may be a silly question, but realistically what choice of
weapon would a skillmonkey/caster bard have? Assuming they
use a weapon at all.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 31, 2017 at 11:44 pm

Putting aside gold cost, there’s no reason not to carry

the same weapons as someone who’s focused on
combat: a good whip (or whip-dagger) for tripping and
synergy with bladeweave, a long sword, and a short bow.

● Peter Craftsays:
June 26, 2017 at 10:07 am

Hi! First of all – congratulations and a big ‘thank you’ – the best
guide for the best class.
At first, I intended to go Brd 6, LT 4, SC 10 way and play it as a
gish for the first few levels. Our party lacks a proper arcanist, so
going all the way to 9th level spells is a must. On the other hand, I
play this game mostly for the role-playing experience and choose
everything in accordance to what happens with my character in
the game.
Therefore, when we actually met an avatar of Sune, I thought
about taking the Heartwarder. It was too late to change the initial
feats, so I looked for something giving an extra one.
What do you think about Brd 6, Ardent Dilettante 4, Sublime Chord
1, Heartwarder 9? With chaos music and words of creation, I can
still use Inspire Courage pretty efficiently. And all this Charisma
from HW!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
June 26, 2017 at 9:02 pm

I really believe in DM’s working with players to revamp

characters as needed, _as long as it doesn’t negatively
impact the story line_. Things like bloodline feats and
really flashy things might not be a good candidate to
swap, but things like extra music or improved initiative
seem fine to me.
 That being said, if you can’t make the swap, then your
build seems like a good way to get where you want to
go. Heartwarder is a solid class, and Ardent Dilettante is
a good, flavor-fun way for a caster to get an extra feat.
If you can find space for Chaos Music, it is really good to
take when you only have 6 levels of bard — you get +1 to
inspire courage and access to inspire greatness.

o Peter Craftsays:
June 27, 2017 at 6:26 am

Perfect! DM agreed, so I lose the Combat Expertise and

Improved Trip (was using more rarely as the enemies got
more Strength and more legs) for Dodge and Mobility.
Obvious idea, but it did not occur to me. Thanks!

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:48 pm

Glad it helped!

● GERARDO PLEASENTsays:
July 20, 2017 at 4:48 pm

Great job, thank you.

Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:47 pm

● Greg Campbellsays:
July 24, 2017 at 4:27 pm

Cure Light Wounds as a spell is worth more than a 1 star rating.

There are better spells out there, but what if you simply can’t get
an item of it? It is a healing spell (and a core healing spell). It’s
somewhere between 2 and 3 stars, but preferred on an item.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 25, 2017 at 3:36 am
 You’re right. I’ve updated it to two stars. Thanks!

o Joshua H.says:
July 20, 2018 at 2:28 pm

You know, this spell keeps growing on me. I bumped it

up to four stars. It’s a really fine option for your fourth
level 1 spell, especially if you have healing hymn (Grease,
Instant of Power, and Silent Image being essential, IMO).

● Keyphassays:
August 5, 2017 at 2:24 am

One of the best handbooks I’ve read. Thank you for putting it
together. I want to try a bard now. Do you have any tips for
bard20? Normally the 1st time I play a class I like to go single class
to 20.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 5, 2017 at 2:29 am

Glad this was helpful for you. I am working on a Bard 20

with only core books (PHB and DMG), which I linked to
here under the name “Amadeus”. What books do you
have access to?

● Soobasays:
August 8, 2017 at 9:00 pm

A couple suggestions that I can’t help but feel you’re missing:

Races/Templates:
“Magic Blooded” – 3.0 but not updated and thus still technically
usable. Benefit: +2Cha -2Wis and 4 very useful cantrips 1/day.
LA+0. If the DM allows it, there’s virtually no reason not to use it as
a Bard. Combines remarkably well with Half-Fey or Phrenic (below)
for +6Cha with no Wis penalty and shares thematic flavour.
“Phrenic” – will remind you a lot of the Half-Fey race in terms of it’s
mechanical advantages. Psionically flavoured. Benefit: +2Int +2Wis
+4Cha. A slew of PLA’s. +2LA and thus not a great idea if you’re a
Sorc, but a Bard could get fantastic use out of this, particularly
with LA buyoff.
Feats:
“Magic in the blood” – (PGtF). Setting specific limitations may
apply, but even then you’re limited to planetouched, dwarf, elf,
gnome, and spirit folk, which is a sizeable group. Benefit: Any SLA
that a player has 1/day is made 3/day. Take one of allowed races
and apply a template with good SLA’s (like say, Magic blooded,
Phrenic, etc.) and watch as your spellcasting multiplies. I had this
allowed for a Half-Fey Magic Blooded Bard, and it gave me
*considerable* flexibility with regards to spell choice as a Bard
because I had so many useful Bard-styled spells to begin with.
“Mindsight” – (LoM) A one level dip in Mindbender (CArc) gives
100ft radius telepathy. Mindsight then effectively gives you 100ft
radar for anything that isn’t mindless. DM’s will need to rule what
possibly counters it. RAW it isn’t easily countered, although most
groups go RAI/RAMS and say that Mind Blank/equivalent does.
There are also a few other interesting counters. (Also has
argumentation either way with regards to its interaction with an
opponent with Darkstalker.) Even if weakened by reasonable
interpretation of RAMS, this is an incredibly useful feat for not
getting caught unaware.
Reply

o Soobasays:
August 8, 2017 at 9:04 pm

Addendum: Oh, and the telepathy from Mindbender also

has some really interesting potential with regards to
performance that can be sent telepathically. Perform:
Oratory while silenced? No problem.

o Joshua H.says:
August 9, 2017 at 2:40 am

This is great, thanks! I’ll work this stuff in with my next

update.

o Soobasays:
September 1, 2017 at 8:56 am

Relating to Green Ear (feat) – this feat actually has a very

strong niche application. If you have a Druid in the party,
the chance that they get the Greenbound Summoning
 (feat) is pretty high. At that point you’ll need this feat to
buff them. And make no mistake, Greenbound Summons
+ IC or DFI is terrifying.
As an aside, Fochlucan Lyrist is inferior to Arcane
Hierophant in just about every way except this one. Since
it advances Bardic Music along with its divine casting, it
allows you to pull this trick off *yourself*. Combine with
Green Whisperer (to get Green Ear for free and more dual
casting) for best results. If you can manage to wrangle
Evasion in by some other means (Ring of Evasion /
Shadow Template +LA buyoff / Custom Bloodline) you
can even get dual 9ths:
Bard2/Druid3/Green Whisperer5/Sublime
Chord1/Fochlucan Lyrist9
Clearly it requires a DM who would be willing due to
Dragon Mag material and evasion wrangling. In my case
the DM went so far as to waive the evasion req because
he wanted to see this in play. (And he knew that Arcane
Hierophant was stronger as well.) It was a late maturing
build, but as there was no other Bard or Druid in the
group, it didn’t feel too bad. And I basically got to
roleplay Tom Bombadil.

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 8:58 pm

Magic in the Blood – This is really cool, thanks.

Magic Blooded/Phrenic – Thanks. I have these in the
handbook. I’m not sure if I got them from your post or
elsewhere, but thanks for sharing them.
Mindsight – Sweet, I’ve added this.
Regarding Green Ear – Inspire courage affects all allies,
regardless of creature type, so I don’t think you need
green ear to buff a summoned plant.

o Soobasays:
June 8, 2018 at 8:21 pm

I think it was from me, months ago.

 And no, it does not affect them all. Inspire courage is
mind affecting. Any subtype that grants immunity to
mind-affecting effects will get in the way, such as
construct. Plant subtype grants immunity to mind-
affecting effects. Greenbound summoning grants plant
subtype. Ergo, you cannot buff them with IC.
Green ear grants you the capacity to buff them again.

o Joshua H.says:
July 14, 2018 at 3:03 pm

Yup, looks like you’re right. That’s a great catch, thank

you!

● Wardrowsays:
August 11, 2017 at 12:02 pm

Since my love for bards, just like yours, is neverendig, I shall point
you to another reasonable option. Champions of valor has a
background option to get the Artist regional feat, which is slightly
better than Extra Music imho.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 14, 2017 at 1:53 am

I have that listed above (search for artist). I think I like the
extra bardic music rather than the +2 to perform, but
they’re both viable options. Thanks for posting.

● Greg Campbellsays:
August 20, 2017 at 6:44 pm

Charm Person: Remember, you can swap spells at Bard5, Bard7,

Bard9, etc. If you get Charm Monster, swap out Charm Person.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:47 pm

3.5 only lets you swap every three levels, so 5, 8, 11, 14,
17, and 20. Level 8 is the first time you can cast Charm
Monster, so that works out. I added a note. Thanks!

● Greg Campbellsays:
 September 2, 2017 at 2:43 am

Identify (Bard1 spell): Better cast by an item or a party member,

but at least you can learn it if need be. Two stars (**) and a
recommendation to take (if you take it) at Bard5 or later due to
these constraints.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 10, 2017 at 8:45 pm

Thanks! I don’t know how I forgot that one. Added. And I

agree, 2 stars.

● Greg Campbellsays:
September 24, 2017 at 10:38 pm

Divine Bard and Ur-Priest grant divine casting, NOT arcane

casting. Sublime Chord and Bard give arcane casting.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 1, 2017 at 6:25 pm

Thanks! Noted above.

● Greg Campbellsays:
September 24, 2017 at 10:40 pm

Silvered Weapon spell: Is this web version newer than Book of

Exalted Deeds’s? Which version takes precedence?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 1, 2017 at 6:35 pm

BoED only has it as a Paladin and Ranger spell, while the

web source also adds it as a 0th level spell for druids,
bards, wizards, sorcerers, and clerics.
I think it’s very safe to use the expanded web version.
This spell isn’t mechanically very strong, but it gives a lot
of flavor value.

● Greg Campbellsays:
September 26, 2017 at 2:56 am
 Tongues (Bard2): I give this *** due social skills likely being your
forte and this also allowing you to converse with/command your
summons.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 1, 2017 at 6:31 pm

Thanks, I added it. I gave it 2 stars, but this valuation

assumes that the DM allows uncapped skill points in
speak language. If not, this may become stronger.

● Demitrisays:
September 28, 2017 at 2:29 pm

Hi Josh,
Just wanted to say thanks for the rundown. I am new to Bard and
really picked it up because my group needed a face, and it was
either a Bard or some sort of Fighter diplomat amalgam.
Unfortunately, our group is very caster heavy, and so I am trying to
run down melee (rapier) and crossbow to even out the more
physical dynamic of the group. I have taken Perform (Dancing) as
one of my skills, and know that I can combine it somehow to do
something. You do not have a lot in the way of Melee builds
(mostly what is in comments) and I was wondering your thoughts. I
see that White Raven is pretty good to rush, so I was thinking of
Crusader, but was also looking for something that runs more dex
(was planning on dancing/weapon finesse with Rapier). Any help
would be great.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 29, 2017 at 2:41 am
I would recommend that you:
* Focus on longsword instead of rapier. Rapier’s a trap in
3.5.
* Don’t bother w/ the crossbow except as a backup
weapon (i.e. don’t put any feats into it)
* Consider Inspire Awe to replace Inspire Courage, since
you don’t have allies to take advantage of it (but maybe
it’s fine to keep just for yourself and any summons).
* Get snowflake wardance
 * Consider dipping one level into a martial class to get
easy access to song of the white raven. If not, dump
three feats to get it (of course, only if you keep inspire
courage) .
* Consider two-weapon fighting.
* Consider dragonfire inspiration
* Absolutely get the spell Bladeweave.
I haven’t sat down and figured out my favorite fighter-
oriented build, so good luck!

o Joshua H.says:
October 1, 2017 at 11:15 pm

Oh, and Knowledge Devotion! Lordy how did I forget that

feat.

o Demitrisays:
October 3, 2017 at 2:49 pm

What about something like Dervish or Tempest with

scimitar instead of longsword?

o Joshua H.says:
October 3, 2017 at 11:13 pm

Both classes are pretty weak in terms of what they give

you, and they both have incredible feat taxes. I don’t
think they can be part of any optimized build without
heavy modification.

● Mindstab Thrullsays:
October 1, 2017 at 2:17 am
A couple things I’ve noticed..
— Where do you find that Bards are “2/3” BAB? They’re not,
they’re 3/4. 2/3 means by level 12 they’d have a BAB of +8, but if
you check it’s actually +9. There’s four progressions that all go up
by N every 4 levels: full (4 per 4) like the Barbarian, 3/4 (3 per 4)
like the Cleric, 2/4 aka 1/2 (2 every 4 levels or 1 every 2, same
thing here) like the Sorcerer, and 0 per 4 which I’ve only ever
remember being used for the Survivor prestige class in Savage
Species.
— Ur-Priest gives you divine casting — “An ur-priest gains the
ability to cast a number of divine spells. [..] The ur-priest spell list is
 identical to the cleric spell list.”
— Summon Elemental reserve feat: As long as you have a
summon spell of 4th level or higher available, you can summon an
elemental (size depends on highest summon available). It basically
gives you a meat shield that has to stay within 30 feet of you.
(Bards do get Summon Monster I-VI so in theory this is an option.)
You can only have one elemental due to this feat at a time. Once
you no longer have a slot of level 4 or higher, you don’t get the
ability to just call one up anymore.
Otherwise, good resource!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 1, 2017 at 11:20 pm

Thanks! I fixed the BAB label and the typo in Ur-Priest.

That reserve feat is really solid, thanks for pointing it out.

o GMCsays:
February 9, 2018 at 1:35 am

0/4 is also War Hulk, but that is 3.0 I believe (as is

Survivor).

● Psycho Mantyssays:
November 15, 2017 at 4:16 pm

Excellent handbook, bookmarked!

For suggestions, expand spell list for include more spells(like 7th,
8th and 9th level spells for SC). A section for persist bard will be
good and spell suggestions to be persisted.
A good spell to include:
Empyreal Ecstasy (https://dndtools.net/spells/book-of-exalted-
deeds–52/empyreal-ecstasy–3/)
For builds:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Battle_Knight_Bard_of_Sublime_Ch
ord_(3.5e_Optimized_Character_Build)
Resume:
Bard 4/ Paladin 2/ Eldritch Knight 9/ Sublime Chord 1/ Abjurant
Champion 4
For races:
Azurian, human version for incarnium
 Gloura, +2 LA, but fly, grace(ex), and bard levels stack with race.
Nasty.
Reply

o Psycho Mantyssays:
November 15, 2017 at 4:19 pm
Ah, for PrC:
Arcane Duelist. Dont increase spellcast but char to ac
and nice combat buffs.

o Joshua H.says:
November 15, 2017 at 5:50 pm

Oh man, good finds. Could you take a look at the Gloura

section and tell me if I got that right? Everything else
added, thanks!

● Drosselmeyersays:
November 24, 2017 at 11:38 am
Great Handbook! Very useful e pretty looking as well.
You should consider the Precocious Apprentice feat from
Complete Arcane.
It is like Extra Slot and Extra Spell mashed up togheter, except that
it allows a 2nd level spell at level 1, despite bard receiving normally
only cantrips. A excellent feat at level 1 where most of the good
stuff is often out of reach for Casters.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
November 24, 2017 at 7:42 pm

Oh man that feat is really great. Thanks for catching it!

It’s in a weird place and I missed it.

● William Wordsworth a.k.a. Marquis of De La Pongosays:

November 26, 2017 at 6:43 pm
Hey Josh, thanks for the mention. The marquis is happy to see his
bardic wisdom getting shared.
On the matter, you may want to add the 5th level spell, Bolts of
Bedevilment from Spell Compedium. One ray attack per round for
1 round / level, which dazes for 1d3 rounds. You have to range
touch and also there is a will save, but by the time you get it, it
lasts for the whole combat, so you may see use a couple of times.
Not my favourite, but it should be mentioned.
 Also, the 6th level spell Ray of Light, from the same book, is a ray
attack which blinds for 1d4 rounds with no save.
Cheers!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
November 26, 2017 at 8:55 pm

Thanks, I’ve included both.

● Nevermoresays:
December 4, 2017 at 2:56 pm
Hello Josh, your handbook is great and has helped me out a lot
with playing bard for the first time. I have a couple of questions,
however, regarding spell casting as a bard in general and
instruments.
1. Taking Melodic Casting, can I cast any kind of known spell (as
an orator bard) without breaking IC or am I restricted to spells from
scrolls, wands and other items (spell completion/command word)?
The wording in CM is a bit confusing, it makes it seem that it’s only
the second.
2. You talked about multiple perform skills, I’m taking oratory right
now so I won’t need my hands but am I supposed to spread my
skill points all over the place to make use of all those instruments?
3. When it comes to juggling bardic music, is there an easy to way
optimize their use before I get my hands on rare items or should I
take Lingering Song? Harmonizing is not really an option since I
use a bow when I’m not casting.
Thank you for reading, cheers!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 4, 2017 at 3:08 pm

Hi Nevermore:
1. Melodic casting allows you to maintain inspire courage
(and the other non-concentration based musics) while
casting spells. See a breakdown
here: http://www.joshuad.net/new-bard-
handbook/#bardic-music-rules.
The key section in melodic casting is: ” In addition, you
can cast spells and activate magic items by command
 word or spell completion while using a bardic music
ability.”
2. This depends on the DM. They could rule that you
need N ranks in Perform (Drum) to use a masterwork
drum to modify your inspire courage. Or they could rule
that as long as you have a perform skill that means the
requirement, you can use any instrument.
I think the first ruling is more RAW, but I think the second
ruling is a reasonable allowance.
3. I would not take lingering song unless you want to
stack bardic musics. Maybe at high levels it becomes an
idea if you can’t get a harmonizing weapon. Instead, I
would take melodic casting. Really, I don’t juggle bardic
musics. I turn on inspire courage in fights and use things
like soothing voice and command out of fights.

o Nevermoresays:
December 4, 2017 at 4:43 pm

Thank you very much for the reply.

● Elmarsays:
December 12, 2017 at 6:10 am

Hi Joshua,
First off, thanks for the great handbook, it is one of the few links
which I actually have bookmarked.:)
Now I just had a question on your opinion regarding the Savage
Bard. Overall I agree that this ACF is not the most optimal one for
a Bard, however I do not think that it may be a horrible trade off
especially for a summoning focused Bard. Assuming that you
could sneak in the feat Greenbound Summoning feat, then
suddenly even the SNA1 spell becomes a powerfull BFC/Blast
spell. This ACF also makes the “Rashemi elemental summoning”
more viable as elementals become available 1 spell level earlier
than on the SM list giving the bard even more options.
Obviously this route is a bit restrictive as it requires a heavy
investment of feats (Spell focus, Green whisperer if you want to
affect your plant summons, Extend Spell, Ashbound Summonining
 etc) if you want to go fully Summoning focused, and we all know
that bards have already painfully few featsavailable to them,
however I believe it can still be an interesting/fun route to take.
What are your thoughts about this idea? This “trick/combo” may
not be enough to make this a great trade butI think it is still worth
considering.
Thanks for your time and best regards
E
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 17, 2017 at 4:11 pm

Hey Elmer:
This is a really good idea. Greenbound summoning is a
very powerful feat, and being able to build into it as a
bard is really cool. My understanding is it’s one of the
more over-powered feats in the game, so finding a way
into that is really great.
I haven’t crunched any numbers, but I suspect this idea
of yours will be very strong, and a good base for a
summoner-bard.
I will continue to lament the loss of prestidigitation, but I
have updated the Savage Bard’s section with this idea.
Great catch!
Josh

● Geirsays:
December 17, 2017 at 8:48 am

Great guide, it inspired me to make and play my first Bard!

Reply

o Joshua H.says:
December 17, 2017 at 4:07 pm

Awesome. Good luck and I hope you have fun.

● Mikesays:
December 21, 2017 at 12:31 am
 Great guide man. I love how you keep updating it, keep up the
good work.
As for the Gloura, I believe that you’re correct, but I’m also pretty
sure you have to take the 7 Fey HD, putting you at an ECL of 9.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 7:46 pm

Thanks! I’ve updated it with that info. That sounds

accurate to me.

● GMCsays:
February 9, 2018 at 12:27 am

For the builds section, you should probably have an option for the
White Raven Bard:
Bard8/Crusader2/SublimeChord10 or
Bard8/Crusader1/Virtuoso1/SublimeChord1/Virtuoso2-10 (or even
Bard9/Crusader1/SublimeChord10)
This is arguably a superior way to run the Song of the White
Raven; you get White Raven Tactics and the ability to recover it
during encounters (albeit in the odd Crusader way), the second
Crusader level allows you to take Iron Guard’s Glare for when you
don’t want to be in Bolstering Voice for Song (SotWR requires you
to be in a WR stance).
One big problem with SotWR is that the initiation mechanic gets in
the way of Inspirational Boost. This build doesn’t solve that
problem, but it gives you a lot of ways to be effective around it.
With a Masterwork Lute and a Vest of Legends you have a base
Inspire of +3 (effective level 14) and presumably Words of Creation
for +3, Badge of Valor (+1) and Song of the Heart (+1) gets you to
+8 attack and damage for all allies. (+9 with Inspirational Boost).
So arguably you don’t actually want to burn a feat on SotWR…
which is why getting a better Stance is a good idea. This means a
second level of Crusader.
(Since Words specifically calls out the +1,+2,+3 from the Bard
progression, I think Song of the Heart and Badge don’t get
doubled. However, it should work based on your effective bard
level, which is what Inspire Courage “sees”.)
Basically, all the best Bard builds are along the lines of Bard8/XX
2/Sublime Chord 2/XX 8
Reply

o GMCsays:
February 13, 2018 at 1:04 pm

Note that as an alternative to SotWR, a continuous

custom magic item of Harmonize should be only about
12,000 gp. In return, you can activate (as of 8th level
Bard, pretty much the stub for any Words of Creation
build) a +9 Inspire Courage, and cast Haste, in the same
turn:
Round 1 of Combat:
Inspirational Boost (swift action)
Badge of Valor (immediate action)
Inspire Courage (move action)
Haste (standard action)
(Obviously, you burn your Swift action from round 2.)
However, at level 8, your Inspire Courage is a bigger
bonus than the party Fighter (hopefully actually a Cleric
or Fighter/Wizard/Abjurant Champion) has from Base
Attack.
In looking at this in preparation for commenting, I am not
sure that the Charisma synergy is a good enough reason
to dip Crusader over Warblade. Probably either works.

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 8:42 pm

Hey, thanks for the detailed post. There’s a lot here, so

I’m going to respond in points:
* I love the idea of an item of continuous harmonize. I’ve
added that to the list of items. Thanks! How did you get
the price of 12000? My math shows it should be 16000
— 2000 * 2 * 4 (2000 * spell_level * caster_level).
* You can’t use a swift and immediate action on the same
turn,
unfortunately: http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Immed
iate_Actions
 * The Chaos Music feat allows for a gish bard to leave
bard at level 6 instead of 8, and still get that level 8 boost
to inspire courage. You should check it out.
* I agree re: your reading of words of creation. Some
people go the other way, but I think the best reading is
that it doubles the bonuses written on the bard table.
* Nice builds. The big downside to dipping into crusader
for Song of the White Raven instead of using feats is that
you lose levels of spellcasting. That being said, if you’re
on a more gish-focused build, I think these are fine
approaches. I’ll have to look at them in detail in the
future. Thanks!

o GMCsays:
March 24, 2018 at 9:51 pm

“Using an immediate action on your turn is the same as

using a swift action, and counts as your swift action for
that turn. You cannot use another immediate action or a
swift action until after your next turn if you have used an
immediate action when it is not currently your turn
(effectively, using an immediate action before your turn is
equivalent to using your swift action for the coming turn).
You also cannot use an immediate action if you are flat-
footed.” -SRD
It burns your swift action for the following round, but the
nomenclature of “turn” here makes clear that it is not
referring to rounds, but your own turns. As a result, as
long as you use the swift action mechanic first, you can
take an immediate action in the same round (before your
next turn) thereby preventing you from using a swift
action (or another immediate action) on your next turn.
Nothing in the rule states any limit on actions in a given
combat round.

o Joshua H.says:
March 24, 2018 at 10:44 pm
Don’t get me excited! I asked on the RPG stack
exchange, they agree it can’t be done this
way: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/119104/c
 an-you-use-a-swift-action-and-an-immediate-action-on-
the-same-turn/119106
Thanks for trying though, that would’ve been sweet.

● LordoftheDancesays:
February 13, 2018 at 12:10 pm

Undersong + Diamond mind maneuvers nuff-said.

Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 7:50 pm

Thanks, I’ve included this.

● Hiro Questersays:
February 14, 2018 at 11:51 am

In the ACF section, in Gnome Bard Substitution levels, you

reference Phantasmal image as the 4th level spell ability. The spell
is actually Phantasmal Killer.
And for a fear-based gnome bard, esp. if you progress into Dread
Witch, (which I’m building right now), it’s a decent choice for a 4th
level spell. Though there are so many good spells at 4th level for
Bard, in some builds this one would work well.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 7:54 pm

Thanks, updated!

● Hiro Questersays:
February 14, 2018 at 1:19 pm

About the 2nd level Scare spell you say: “Scare (PHB) – I like that
this can target multiple creatures, but the 6HD limitation really
makes this sad. I would pass, even for fear escalators.”
If you are a fear escalator, you probably need Dread Witch. And for
that you need the ability to cast Scare as a prerequisite.
It is significantly inferior to the 3rd level Fear spell. I would talk to
your DM about letting you trade Scare for another spell if –when–
you learn Fear as exceeding the prerequisite, rather than lacking it.
 Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 7:55 pm

Great, updated. Thanks!

● Gmcsays:
February 15, 2018 at 8:24 pm

Abjurant Champion is probably underrated. It does not progress

Bard abilities or even mesh well with Bard, but it is bat guano
insane on its own merits, providing full casting, full bab and
overpowered class abilities ( better than most half casting PRCs
get in ten levels ) over five levels. Any Melee bard for whom the
flavor (does the class even have one?) isn’t prohibitive should be
taking all five levels. (Remember a masterwork lute and best of
legends get you five levels of music back for inspire purposes)
Even caster bards can dip two levels ( or five really, full casting )
for free extend and quicken effects.
As an example, Bard8/AbC1/Crusader1/SC2/AC4/Sacred
Exorcist4
Caster example:
Bard8/AbC2/SC2/AbC3/Archmage5
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 7:57 pm

I agree. I bumped it up.

● Nevermoresays:
March 2, 2018 at 2:16 pm

Hello again, Josh. Your advice helped me a lot and the campaign
is going well. However, I have a couple more questions on
optimization, leadership and epic spellcasting.
My orator bard is taking a stoic leader of men turn and I have been
allowed the Leadership feat at 6. This means that he is taking
some IC boosts like SotHeart and WoC at 9 or 12. Which
Leadership feats do you think are good if any?
 I was first going bard10/sublime10 but then read around and
above about Brd8/xx2/Sublime2/xx and would like to know about
classes that might fit and be optimal. I intend on getting a full
spellcaster for epic spellcasting at 20+. Our DM is throwing curve
balls all the time so I want to be optimized to help carry the group
if shit hits the fan. So, which classes would be optimal until 20 and
then what would be best to go epic as?
Thank you for reading.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 4, 2018 at 8:07 pm

It depends if you have access to the feat Chaos Music,

from dragon magazine, and it also depends on your party
makeup.
The big advantage to staying in bard until level 8 is the
additional +1 to inspire courage. You’ll notice that many
of my builds leave bard after 6 (and take chaos music to
get inspire greatness and +1 inspire courage).
I really like the Bard 6 / Lyric Thaumaturge 4 / Sublime
Chord 10 as a pure bard caster.
Of course, the crazy double-caster builds listed above
are undeniable. If you like that, go for it.
Finally, if your party doesn’t make very many melee
attacks, then inspire courage isn’t worth boosting.
I have zero experience with epic play, so you’ll have to
try things out and then report back and let us know what
you found!

● Alexsays:
March 8, 2018 at 6:02 pm

What about the Autonomous Harp in Dragon Compendium VOL

1.?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 8, 2018 at 9:25 pm
 Hey nice find. I don’t think it’s that good, but I think it’s a
good add. Thanks!

● Alphaeussays:
March 8, 2018 at 11:15 pm

So, this is quite impressive. I’ve had more interest in bards of late,
led to the class via Sublime Chord optimized builds (the infamous
9ths in three progressions before level 20 build was the first time I
learned about it).
Anyhow, I’m doing an interesting build. Druid 1-6 / PlanShep of the
Abyss 1-10 / Druid 7 / Bard 1 / Sublime Chord 2 / Arcane
Hierophant 1-10.
My bardic music will suffer, but I’ll have full bard spells (due to use
of PlanShep’s super-wild-shaping as well as liberal use of
Shapechange). I’m curious what suggestions you would have for
boosting the music (plan on taking Chaos Music since it fits) as
well as synergies with and super jack-of-all-trades build (be
everything, cast everything, do everything).
Of note would be anything that allows my druid levels to count
towards my bardic music (there is a feat that does this for druid-
rogue and bard-paladin…so I’m just curious).
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 9, 2018 at 2:03 am
There’s no hybrid druid/bard class. Here are some things
that come close:
* The Mystic Theruge will progress bard and druid
spellcasting at the same time.
* The Chaos Music feat will progress bardic music for 3
levels of cross-classing.
Otherwise, I think your bardic music will just have to
suffer in this build, unfortunately.

o Joshua H.says:
July 22, 2018 at 4:42 pm

Oops, the Fochlucan Lyrist slipped my mind. I have

details on it up top.
● Poetically Psychoticsays:
March 25, 2018 at 11:03 pm

Thanks, love the guide! One thing I think is worth considering is

that the Warchanter prestige class gets absurdly good when
combined with the Leadership feat. Quite a level investment, but at
Warchanter 10 you now have an army with the BAB of the highest
person in your party.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
April 15, 2018 at 4:20 pm

Sweet, I’ll check that out and work it into my next round
of edits. Thanks man.

● JKsays:
April 15, 2018 at 11:01 am

Long time reader of this guide – I keep coming back to it and

finding more, so thank you! Just wondering:
a) No mention of Spelldancer? Not Bard specific but the Perform
(Dance) requirement fits nicely.
b) For your Greenbound Summoning build, Leaf is more martial –
any thoughts on how to maximise the summoning and possible
buffing element? Greenbound, Ashbound, Dragonfire Inspiration…
if only Sublime Chord could find a way to get higher level Summon
Nature’s Ally!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
April 15, 2018 at 4:20 pm

a. I’ll add that, thanks!

b1: I felt like going all-in on summon buffing was a
mistake power wise. Ashbound summoning is definitely
another idea. And I think there’s another feat in one of
the campaign settings books that simulates Augmented
Summoning without having the spell focus feat tax.
Words of Creation are definitely good here.
I really feel like swift inspire courage is amazing. An
alternative is to take melodic casting and walk around
 most of the time with inspire courage turned on, but that
may or may not be too cheesy depending on your
campaign. Leaf was designed for a city / intrigue game,
and I felt like it didn’t make sense there.
b2: I feel like a fair minded DM would allow a sublime
chord to swap to summon nature’s ally. It’s not RAW, but
it’s a very reasonable RAI.

● Ioannissays:
April 20, 2018 at 5:43 am

Wow… Search finds 89 results on sublime chord at this page…

Most builds use sublime chord splashes… Doesn’t anyone care for
the only limiting entry of this, indeed really powerful, pr. class?
Bardic Lock:
Following the path of the Sublime Chord requires utter devotion,
upon entering the class you may not exit from the class for the full
ten levels until you’ve mastered the way of the Sublime Chord.
THIS PR. CLASS CANT BE DIPPED! Its either 10 lvls or nothing…
Most of the builds here cant be done with a sane dm that can
read… I am surprised none spotted this out yet..
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
April 20, 2018 at 11:37 am
That restriction is a home-brew restriction for the
Therafim campaign. (http://therafim.wikidot.com/)
The class written in Complete Arcane doesn’t have a
“Bardic Lock” or anything like it.

● Kizabumsays:
April 27, 2018 at 7:04 am

In regards bard x druid hybrids, Fochlucan Lyrist is one and is

found in Complete Adventurer. It has some very strict entry
requirements (evasion and ability speak druidic and able cast 1st
level arcane and divine spells and 7 ranks on several skills). It
progress both druid and bard spellcasting, progress bardic
knowlegde (and bardic knack by GM approval) and bardic music
abilities (daily use and abilities you get). It loosens up druid
armor/weapon restrictions.
 But besides that PrC is quite plain and it only offers full BAB
compared to bard’s medium BAB and some very nice fluffy PrC.
But I think some bards who want mix of druidic magic along some
gish sort qualities (better BAB) would appreciate the PrC. Albeit
entry requirement means your either ex-monk or rogue to get
evasion (or ninja) and would be MAD with depending on charisma
and wisdom for casting stats (unless take divine bard who
depends on more wisdom anyways).
Reply

o Soobasays:
June 8, 2018 at 6:14 pm

He already was given this info by me above, had you

read through the comments. Both FL and Arcane
Hierophant.

o GMCsays:
June 17, 2018 at 4:42 pm

Lyrist is both fantastic and terrible. The problem is the

Evasion, which requires either a Rogue dip or a
Shadowdancer dip (or something) further reducing the
spellcasting potential of the class. Unless your DM allows
you to enter with a Ring of Evasion (none I’ve ever played
with would) this is a big problem, because two levels is
two levels.
Full BAB and dual casting is nice. But there’s no room in
the build for anything that would make you actually good
at something, so Lyrists are basically a bad jack-of-all-
trades caster. Useful, because spells and a good chance
to hit, but nowhere near as good as a Sublime Chord, or
a Druid 20.

● Laurent Marquetsays:
May 2, 2018 at 8:50 am

Hello ! About the use of Alter self spell, it seems that asabi are
monstruous humanoids; So it is not possible for a humanoid to use
this form with that spell. I have a hard time finding the stats of
those mongrelfolks. Someties the bonus for sleight of hands is 4 or
2 on the net (I have’nt got the book !). Can you check this please ?
Thank’s again…
 Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 17, 2018 at 2:04 am

I checked the book. They are humanoids.

● Jordansays:
July 15, 2018 at 1:49 pm

This handbook has been so helpful in saving me time researching

options for my bard! I just want to add my melee build in my
current campaign, since you seem to be lacking in the examples of
melee bards: I’m going 5 bard/2 battle howler of Gruumsh/9
swiftblade/3 battle howler of Gruumsh/1 bard to finish. My DM is
letting me use a vest of legends and the chaos music feat to catch
up with those swiftblade levels, so I’ll be performing music as a
level 20 bard, and I’ll have a rather good bab progression. Of
course there’s the usual inspire courage optimization, which I
actually get to take advantage of as a melee bard (and stacks
especially well with the alter self troglodyte form for extra attacks
and lots of AC at low levels). We are only level 5 in the campaign,
but I am really looking forward to the mobility of a swiftblade along
with its inherent miss chance while haste is active and the extra
AC/movement from Alter Self and Dragonskin making my bard
really hard to hit. I’ll still never outdamage our fighter, but it is a lot
of fun making everyone better, and letting that everyone include
yourself!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
July 15, 2018 at 7:43 pm

Thanks Jordan. I added that build to the builds section.

The one thing that jumps out at me is these melee builds
really benefit from Song of the White Raven. Have you
looked at a single level crusader dip to get the pre-reqs
for that? I know the build is feat-intensive, but swift
inspire courage really fits the melee package.

o Jordansays:
March 16, 2019 at 6:16 pm
 I only just now got around to seeing that you replied! The
campaign is still going on, but unfortunately my DM
doesn’t like the Tomb of Battle, so that’s out. I would
definitely throw in crusader otherwise!

● Samuel W.says:
July 22, 2018 at 9:48 am

Hey Josh,
This is an amazing handbook, but I had a question. What book is
BoEM?
Reply

o Samuel W.says:
July 22, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Nevermind, I found out on my own. For anyone else

looking, it’s the Book of Eldritch Might from Monte
Cook’s Sword and Sorcery series.

o Joshua H.says:
July 22, 2018 at 4:41 pm

Glad you found the book, and this handbook was helpful
to you.

● Drosselmeyersays:
August 2, 2018 at 7:53 pm
Hello Joshua, still finding your guide pretty great.
I’m right now making a pretty crazy epic Bard / Binder that mostly
drops down to Bard 9/ Binder 1/ Sublime Chord 1/ Anima Mage
11. Do you have any tips for working this out? I mostly fell on the
arcane caster side of the party roles.
Also, I found a amusing feat while searching some Eberron books
called Mastery of Faerie Enchantment, do you think it’s worth it?
(link included)
https://dndtools.net/feats/players-guide-to-eberron–13/mastery-
of-faerie-enchantment–1899/
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 2, 2018 at 8:17 pm
 Ha! that is a cool feat. I’m going to add it to the
handbook. It’s something to consider if you have extend
spell.
I would look at the spells you’re going to cast. I’m
currently playing an 8th level bard, and the only
enchantment spell he has on his list is suggestion. Given
that, I wouldn’t spend a feat (or two) to get it to last 16
hours.
On the whole, the enchantment school is a weak school,
but spell duration isn’t an issue it typically struggles with.
I could see it being good for Otto’s Irresistible Dance.
Other than that, I can’t think of an enchantment spell I’d
be looking to extend.

o Joshua H.says:
August 2, 2018 at 8:20 pm

I have very limited experience with the Binder. I did some

analysis above on the various bindings you can pick up
with a feat, but I’ve never really dug into the class.
If you haven’t looked at it already, Chaos Music will get
you access to Song of Freedom, which could also be
swapped out. In general, I’ve become a bigger and
bigger fan of spending three feats to get swift inspire
courage. Bards don’t do a ton with feats.
The anima mage stops your bardic music progression
and really focuses on the binder side of things, so you
might want to check out any popular binder handbooks
to see what options are there, too.

● Vauderag Juniorsays:
August 15, 2018 at 4:38 pm

HI! First of all, AMAZING GUIDE. This handbook can make people
who say bard is useless shove it, haha!
I’m interesting in making a Bard debuffer/fear escalator. He’ll be
based on Edgar Allan Poe, so his “musics” will always be scary
quotes of his short storys, and will scary people via
Oratory/Narration. Can you example me a build who can qualify for
this role? Your “debuffer” build is not explained.
 Thank you and I hope for an answer, bye.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 15, 2018 at 4:47 pm

Cool idea for a character. I’ve never sat down and

constructed a complete debuffer. I have all of the options
listed above, but I think you’ll have to do the legwork to
piece it together and see what’s important to you. If you
get something good, please send it to me so I can
include it.
Here are the things I would definitely be looking at:
* Haunting Melody – I think the RAW interpretation is
reasonable but very strong. If you can have that, its
great.
* Inspire Awe – Losing inspire courage _sucks_, but if you
want to commit to fear escalation you can look at this.
* Dread Witch – To get wider application of your fear
effects
My guess is that the most powerful version will be a
hybrid debuffer and other things. If you commit 100% to
debuffing I think you’ll lose too much elsewhere. But I
think you can apply a few features / feats to it and get a
lot of value.
Let me know what you come up with!

o Dusk Ravensays:
September 2, 2018 at 7:11 pm

Speaking of horror fiction, this kind of makes me want to

make a bard based on Erich Zahn from H.P. Lovecraft’s
“The Music of Erich Zahn.”
Related, and something I forgot to mention in the other
thread – Undertone of Heresy would be good for this, but
I notice you only discuss Undertone of Heresy itself, not
the feats that follow it. I myself am interested in
Blasphemous Utterance, as it seems like it fills the same
niche as Haunting Melody.

● Dusk Ravensays:
 August 21, 2018 at 4:24 pm

The links to the handbook on Bard/Cleric multiclassing are dead.

Especially unfortunate since I was thinking of such a multiclass
myself…
To elaborate, I’m actually working on an NPC who may become an
enemy boss for the players to fight – a vampiric Bard who is a
high-ranking commander in an undead organization. I haven’t
figured out too much about how I want her to play. If possible, I
want to have most of her damage output (if any) come from spells
rather than physical attacks, although I have to wonder if that’s
something a Bard should NOT try and focus on, and leave stuff
like that to the Wizards. Of course, the vampire template adds
quite a few things that might change how a bard works – in
particular, it makes melee combat much more appealing.
It’s kind of an interesting exercise in character building, not just
because this is an NPC but because the character itself is, on a
fundamental level, quite different from your average PC. The main
hurdle is that I’m basing this off a character from a particular
series, and converting characters in one setting to a D&D setting is
never easy. There’s only so much I’m willing to deviate from the
source though – the source being a character whose destructive
power comes from music and singing in particular.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 21, 2018 at 11:26 pm

The bard’s mechanics don’t support a ton of damage

spells. There are only a few. You can pick up a few with
the Lyric Thaumaturge class.
A better solution for your problem might be to work with
a sorcerer and refluff it to be song-based.

o Dusk Ravensays:
August 23, 2018 at 4:23 am

The Lyric Thaumaturge definitely interested me, but I

think for now I’m going to go a different route – abandon
serious spellcasting and go Dirgesinger/Seeker of the
Song, the latter of which can use music itself to deal
 damage. I’ll probably build multiple versions and playtest
them though. There are a lot of options I like, it’s just a
matter of which one feels best for the character.
Thinking strongly of going with Divine Bard, and getting a
suit of Mithral full plate, since as noted being a vampire
makes melee combat a lot better. Speaking of which – in
this guide it says that Divine Bards can go into Sublime
Chord and Lyric Thaumaturge, but both have a certain
level of arcane casting as a requirement.
I’ll throw out a summary of what I come up with once I’m
done if you’d like. Obviously the character itself won’t be
suitable as a model for PCs to aspire to, but it may still
be interesting.

o Joshua H.says:
August 23, 2018 at 4:45 am

Good point about the divine bard prestige class issue. I’ll
have to address that in a future update.
This seems like a cool character. If you’re in the mood,
put him on one of my character sheets and I’d like to link
to him:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Qh_cVGQcWt
2X52OhhOxEI8nNNk9JCC6RAjpvt5d7A0g/edit?usp=driv
e_web&ouid=115032739864478436099

o Dusk Ravensays:
September 2, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Not sure if this would be suitable as an example

character – leaving aside that she’s a vampire, she’s
meant to be a (potentially) hostile NPC, so not only are
her priorities different from that of a PC, any issue that
boils down to “ask the DM” is solved because I AM the
DM. [insert “I AM the Senate” meme here]. And honestly,
when I’m DM, there are often times I think, “Okay, this is
stupid, if a player wants to change it they can.”
Of course, that’s not helpful for examples of builds, since
of course builds need to be reliably reproducible and
thus must be RAW – or at worst, they include a mechanic
with confusing wording but which has an interpretation
 most of the community agrees with (like Haunting
Melody). This is likely going beyond that.
I can still link the final build – I’m certainly having a fun
time building it – but I wouldn’t give it any such status as
an example build. I WOULD be interested in trying to
create a viable Seeker of the Song build though, since
none of the example builds in this handbook seem to use
it. But it’ll be a bit different from this vampire NPC.
Couple of notes – I want to add Dirgesinger to this largely
because, when I first started looking for Bard PrCs, one
person suggested Dirgesinger+Seeker of the Song since
they liked the ability to buff and debuff at the same time.
Of course, this works a little better for my NPC than it
would for an average player given that she’s going to
surround herself with undead, but even so, I like the idea.
Otherwise, I REALLY want to see Focused Performance
be useful… honestly, it’d be a lot better if weren’t so
many restrictions on what abilities you could use on
which form of music. However, the thought of a
Dirgesinger/Seeker of the Song being able to use 3
Bardic/Dirgesinger/Seeker songs at once is too good to
pass up. That, and since SotS requires Skill Focus
(Perform), I figured I might as well get some use out of
that…

o Dusk Ravensays:
September 2, 2018 at 7:43 pm

…To expand on the above, since I hit the “post

comment” button too soon – I want to get as much use
out of the Perform skill as I can, since Skill Focus is
required for SotS, and on top of that vampires get a
bonus to their Charisma. Also, Extra Music is going to be
a must for that build… Honestly, you said Bards don’t
use their feats for much, but this Bard sure uses a lot of
them. Then again, a common trait of builds that I make is
that they’re feat-intensive. Probably why I play humans a
lot.

● Dominicsays:
 August 24, 2018 at 8:59 am
Awesome stuff Joshua!
My Arch Priestess just picked up a 17th level Bard (Bard/Sublime
Cord) as a cohort. She will be used primarily as a pre-adventure
buffer for my cleric.
What are some good ways to increase the bards caster level. I
considered going Divine Bard to use Karma Prayer Beads, but I
believe that would negate Sublime Cord (not worth it!)
Thanks!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
August 26, 2018 at 9:23 pm

Spellscale Substitution Level works, Stormsinger PrC has

some stuff, and the Draconic Aura Feat – Power can do
it.
Spellscales have the dragonblood subtype, so that will
work really well with the Draconic Aura.

● Spoonardosays:
September 9, 2018 at 1:07 am

Dragonskin is on the Bard’s 3rd level spell list? It’s listed in the
Draconomicon, Book of Dragons as 3rd level Sorcerer and Wizard.
Was there a change after that was published?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 14, 2018 at 3:53 am

In the Book of Eldritch Might 1 it also has it as a bard

spell, page 18.

o Spoonardosays:
September 19, 2018 at 4:11 pm

Ah. That’s why; Non-official content.

● almondsAndRainsays:
September 18, 2018 at 5:02 pm
Your link to Breaking Down Inspire Courage by Endarire is broken.
It’s under “Other Resources and Thanks.” This link
works: http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=8936.0
 Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 18, 2018 at 5:13 pm

Thanks!

● G-Primesays:
September 20, 2018 at 10:33 pm
“Healing Hymn (CC 47)
lose fascinate, boost natural healing and healing spells
Fascinate is needed for suggestion. If you’re swapping out
suggestion (via half-elf sub levels or some other method) and have
any way to take advantage of the healing boost **(Wand of CLW
would work)** then this is pretty solid, and the sleep thing is nice
too.”
This doesn’t work with Wand of CLW or any wands for that matter.
The ability states “This ability has no effect on spells cast from
wands, scrolls, or other magic items.”
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
September 23, 2018 at 2:50 am

Thanks, fixed!

● Jonathansays:
September 25, 2018 at 7:55 am

Check out Distract (Spell Compendium p69) as an option for 1st-

level spells. 1 round/level mass save-or-suck affecting creatures
up to 6 hit dice. At 1st and 2nd level, Sleep is better – but at levels
3 through probably 8 you can hobble multiple enemies (single
actions only) for multiple rounds with a single standard action.
Range is medium, so you can do this as a pre-combat debuff
before your enemies know you’re there – its subtle nature is such
that they won’t know they’ve been attacked, and it gives you
better odds of getting a surprise round. It’s also a rare bard spell
that can be cast with only somatic components.
I’m not sure I’d take both Distract and Sleep given how
infrequently a bard can retrain spells, but if they’re the _only_
poorly-scaling spells you learn early on, you can retrain at 5th and
 8th respectively. If you’re starting at 3rd level or higher, I’d
definitely pick Distract over Sleep.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:50 pm

Thanks, added it!

● Jonathansays:
September 25, 2018 at 7:57 am

In one of the comments you mention that rapier is a trap in 3.5.

Can you elaborate on this? I’ve never seen it anywhere. The
closest I’ve seen is pointing out that you can’t wield it with 2 hands
to get 1.5x Str to damage.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:59 pm

I think weapon finesse is an under-powered feat, since it

only boosts attack. Rapier’s otherwise fine, but if you’re
not going the finesse route, I prefer longsword.

● danielxcuttersays:
October 5, 2018 at 7:52 am

What would you suggest for a Lillend with 6 additional Bard levels,
two-handed PAing a longsword as well as the tail slap as a
secondary attack? For an NPC or encounter, I mean. You know,
spells, feats… I’m willing to swap out some of the feats and spells.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:33 am

Oh man that’s a hard one. I’ve only ever thought of bards

as player characters, not how to make a very good
NPC/enemy.
If it’s an ally and they’re not going to be around forever, a
big inspire courage might be fun the party.
If it’s an enemy, summoning seems really good. Maybe
go into that greenbound summoning stuff.
● slarsays:
October 6, 2018 at 8:00 pm

If you’re not an artificer, the Artificer’s Monocle does you no good.

“Summon Monster III – Probably the best Summon Monster out
there. The Bison or the Fiend are the two best options.”
Did you mean Celestial dire badger and Fiendish boar?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:54 pm

Both fixed, thanks! I meant the bison and centipede.

o Endariresays:
February 18, 2019 at 2:41 am

Magic Item Compendium 72: An Artificer’s Monocle can

be used by non-Artificers with 5+ Knowledge (Arcana)
ranks who use Detect Magic and focus on such an item
for 1 minute.

● TChaosays:
October 8, 2018 at 4:55 pm

While I believe it can fit it can fit into a lot of minmax builds, I
believe it definitely fits the most in a Bard handbook
Unseelie Fey. Dragon Compendium. (originally in Dragon mag 304)
No LA
Trade STR for Dex and Cha.
Get wings
Get a scaling DR, but iron vulnerability (to all iron).
Get wings and vision (or don’t and/or get blinded)
Many DM’s consider it unbalanced. But that’s alright. Objective
information is our business here, eh?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:54 pm

This is sweet. Added, thanks!

● TChaosays:
 October 8, 2018 at 5:15 pm
Though not strictly bard at all, it is a Charisma based skill
Iaijutsu focus is a skill from Oriental Adventures. It’s really OP. If
you dump skill points into this, you basically get a sneak attack.
But wait, there’s more. If you take metropolitan or another feat that
adds class skills, you can easily max this as a bard.
put 5 ranks into balance and always through marbles everywhere
to keep enemies flatfooted. That’s just the kind of resourceful
tricksieness you’d see from a Bard or Rogue.
Again, really overpowered if you actually minmax it.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:54 pm

Added!

● TChaosays:
October 8, 2018 at 6:58 pm

Something to add to forgery (cross skill) is that it can only be

countered by an opposed forgery check.
Nobody puts points into forgery. nobody ever thinks about forgery.
I’d say always dump 1-5 points into forgery just so you can
oppose a check or make a check that you know nobody else is
going to be able to oppose. It can be more useful than diplomacy
if you make a letter signed by the king that says “this person is to
be granted your three fastest galleys no questions asked” and they
can’t detect it as a forgery. Combine that with a good bluff and
diplomacy, and you can have an unstoppable dipplomancer. Of
course, being cross skill, it’s limiting in that sense.
Good thing nobody ever puts points into it, so it doesn’t take much
to be able to trump anyone else.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:31 am

Has it come in campaigns for you? I could see it being

very good in the right setting. I’ve never seen an
opportunity to use it, but maybe I’m not trying hard
enough.
● Laurent Marquetsays:
October 12, 2018 at 6:55 pm

High Joshua. It seems that the spell Listening coin is 4th level and
not 3rd. Thanks again.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:55 pm

My spell compendium says it’s a level 3 spell. Where are

you looking?

● TChaosays:
October 13, 2018 at 12:31 pm
A neat item for a bard, especially a leadership bard.
Admiral Bicorne from stormwrack. +5 Profession (sailor) and Cha-
based, magnifies voice, +2 morale bonus attacks, save, and skill
allies within sound of voice.
It’s amplification effect would greatly extend the range of bardic
music. Can you say Inspire Courage for an entire army?
Also I have a question on virtuoso’s mindbending melody. If you
fascinate multiple people and then perform mindbending melody,
do you dominate all the people you just fascinated. Say you
fascinate 20 people in one use of fascinate. can you then dominate
20 people?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:56 pm

I like the amplification effect and the +5 to skills. That

being said, I don’t like a few things about it:
* The cost – 51000 is a lot
* Stacking – the bonuses are morale, so they don’t stack
with our other buffs.

● TChaosays:
October 13, 2018 at 2:42 pm

I have a question on the interpretation of Melodic Casting.

“Whenever a Concentration check would be required to cast a
spell or use a spell-like ability (such as when you cast defensively
 or are distracted or injured while casting), you can make a Perform
check instead.”
Half of all bardic musics are SU the other half are SP. Most bardic
musics which require concentration are SP. However, there are a
few that are SU.
The assumption I see among the forums is that Melodic casting
allows you to use perform to concentrate on all bardic music, and
thus, people needn’t waste points on concentration. However,
RAW does not seem to support this. How would you interpret this?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
October 14, 2018 at 4:57 pm

I’m inclined to think melodic casting should let us dump

concentration and not look back. A very strict DM might
rule the other way, but I don’t recommend it.

● TChaosays:
October 30, 2018 at 2:50 pm

Hey Joshua, I have a question on spell progression for Sublime

chord.
Sublime chord starts it’s spell progression wih level 4
sorcerer/wizard or bard spells. This is clear. It does not mention
whether you continue to progress 1-3 of your previous class.
Because of this, I would believe that you don’t. Which would stick
you with exactly two level 3 spells if you started Sublime Chord at
level 8. As a DM would you rule that you continue to progress
these levels at the same rate – or would you rule that you no longer
learn any more spells of these levels.
Further, within the same vein, replacing spells. Would I only be
able to replace a bard spell at level 5. Or would I be able to replace
a bard spell at 5, and then replace the lower spells (to bard spells)
at the same increments that you can replace sublime chord spells?
What would your ruling be?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:18 am
 I think a downside of the sublime chord class is the lack
of progression of level 3 spells. As a DM I would not be
inclined to house rule that as a gift to the player unless it
was in the context of a bunch of Tier-1 classes.
I would say that you only get to replace a spell every
other level once you go into sublime chord. The key
language I look at is this, from the SRD: “Upon reaching
5th level, and at every third bard level after that (8th,
11th, and so on), a bard can choose to learn a new spell
in place of one he already knows.”
It specifies every third bard level, so if you were to
multiclass, it doesn’t seem to me that this triggers.

● TChaosays:
October 30, 2018 at 6:54 pm

Fugue in spell compendium is an erata of Fugue of Tvash-Prull

from Dragon 328 pg 70. It’s the same except as noted below
“The caster’s Perform check each
round and can choose one effect up to the
check’s result. If the caster is doing a
Perform check with Keyboard Instruments,
Percussion Instruments, String Instruments,
or Wind Instruments, there is a +2
Circumstance bonus on the check.”
Check Effect
15 3d6 nonlethal damage
20 3d6 Sonic damage
25 Shaken for 1 round, Deafened for 1
round, or Knocked Down.
30 Nauseated for 1 round, Blinded for 1
round, or Frightened for 1 round.
35 Stunned for 1 round.
40 1d6 ability damage from a random
ability score.
45 Attacks the nearest target.
50 Gains 1d4 Negative Levels.
55 Feebleminded.
60 Slain
 Now it becomes a possible save or die, or save or ability
drain/level drain.
But other than that, “is it worth it”. There’s probably better
alternatives for save or die when you can get your perform check
that high.
Sorry for spamming your guide with so many comments.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:20 am

That’s a cool version of the spell, though! Thanks.

● Robsays:
November 2, 2018 at 7:47 pm

Really love this guide, it has helped me a lot on building my bard!

Though I do have a couple of questions about your builds.
First question is, on your sample builds, how do you take levels of
Sublime Chord, then level something else before finishing 10 levels
of the class?
Second Question. On your summoner Builds, how do you take
Greenbound Summoning at first level, when you do not have
Summon Nature’s Ally until level 2. I found an easy work around
for that though, you first take Precocious Apprentice at level 1, use
it to learn “Summon Nature’s Ally II”, then take Greenbound
Summoning.
Couple things I’ve also noticed.
You have the feat “Melodic Casting” listed twice, once as a (***)
feat, and the other listing as a (****) feat.
Greenbound Summoning although mentioned a lot in your guide,
is not listed on your feat list itself.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:29 am

1. The Sublime Chord class feature “Bardic Lock” isn’t in

the published material. The Therafim people added that
 for their campaign setting. According to 3.5 official
material, you can come in and out of sublime chord as
much as you please.
2. Good point. I’d have to take Greenbound Summoning
at level 3, or use the method you mentioned.
3. Both fixed, thanks!

● rydi123says:
November 6, 2018 at 2:29 am

This was great, thank you for putting this together! I combine a lot
of PF and 3.5 materials, and it is hard these days to find good 3.5
bard guides to help with all the cross-referencing. Great stuff.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:30 am

Glad it helped.

● danielxcuttersays:
December 1, 2018 at 5:01 am

Why not mention Undetectable Alignment? Works all day, and flat
out blocks Detect [Alignment] spells and the like, without a save or
caster check or anything. At the very least, it’s a Core spell, and I
see little reason not to mention Core spells in a handbook with so
much information.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:35 am

I think that’d make a great wand, especially if your DM

will let you put it on an eternal wand. I don’t know that I’d
be looking to spend a precious known spell on it, but I
guess in an evil campaign with a subterfuge theme it
could be clinch.

● The Newbie Bardsays:

January 8, 2019 at 2:25 am
An excellent guide! It’s very nice to see such attention to sources
and small details.
 May I say, not only for a bard, but full of good advice for any 3.5
arcane caster!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 25, 2019 at 2:30 am

Thanks.

● Spencersays:
January 18, 2019 at 1:14 pm

What about the Stonehunter Gnome from Dragon Magic (page 8)?
They get the dragonblood subtype and trade their +2 saves verses
illusions and the +1 to DC for illusions for Hunter’s Insight (+2 to
climb and survival). The loss of illusion boost hurts, but if your
primary role is inspire courage, particularly DFI, your illusions
aren’t going to be great anyway.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 23, 2019 at 12:29 am

That’s a nice find. Thanks!

● Seansays:
January 22, 2019 at 10:42 am

While i love this insee a ton of people appear to be ignoring bardic

lock. Am i understanding it incorrectly in that once you start SC
your cant leave SC until its maxed or are you and everyone else
pretending its not a thing?
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
January 23, 2019 at 12:28 am

That’s not in the official published materials; it’s a

modification made by the therafim people and published
only on their website.

● Osualsays:
February 8, 2019 at 7:16 pm

Great guide, thanks for putting it together. Was very helpful for
putting a Sublime Chord built together. One class I would consider
 as a SC topper is Paragnostic Apostle. Easy to qualify for, bardic
knowledge synergy, and decent bonuses. Played that class as part
of a cloistered cleric and it was solid.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 8, 2019 at 8:53 pm

Yea that class looks really good. I’m just giving it a quick
review now, but at least a few of these are solid — fast
healing on summons, +1 to overcome spell resistance
are both really sweet. And it has a low cost to dip into.
Thanks, i’ll be adding this.

● radthemad4says:
February 17, 2019 at 10:54 pm

Green Whisperer (DM311, 69) – You continue to progress your

bardic music and spells, but you lose some key skills, and the
benefits are pretty boring.
It advances Druid spells, which makes it handy if you want to do a
Druid/Bard theurge. e.g. Bard 1/Druid 4/Green Whisperer
5/Sublime Chord 1/Fochlucan Lyrist with Chaos Music gets full
Bardic Music, Druid – 2 spells and Sublime chord spells
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 18, 2019 at 7:29 pm

Oh good catch, thanks. I’ll update that.

o Joshua H.says:
March 15, 2019 at 9:28 pm

I’ve updated this, thanks again. It’s also good in

conjunction with greenbound summoning.

● Endariresays:
February 18, 2019 at 2:43 am
Breaking Down Inspire Courage Google Cache
Version: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache
:_QJH-
A0i17YJ:minmaxforum.com/index.php%3Ftopic%3D8936.0+&cd=
1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-b-1-d
 Just in case the normal page is unreachable.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
February 18, 2019 at 7:30 pm

Thanks!

● Taveenasays:
February 19, 2019 at 9:32 pm

Hey, this is something hella minor, but I feel like it might be worth
reviewing/adding the level six spell Snowsong from the Frostburn
book. While most of the bonuses are minor, the morale bonus to
Charisma is unique and the duration is solid. Would be good to
hear your opinion on it!
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 15, 2019 at 9:12 pm

Thanks, I just reviewed it. I put it at 3 stars. Does that

seem right to you?

● Endariresays:
February 24, 2019 at 8:47 pm

Savage Aasimar (LA0 Aasimar: Native Outsider with +2 CHA)

Reply

o Endariresays:
February 24, 2019 at 8:48 pm
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/200402
13a

o Endariresays:
February 25, 2019 at 12:26 am
Savage
Aasimar: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/s
p/20040213a
Savage Progressions
archive: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ar
ch/sp
 Note that these web article savage progressions have
level progressions that need not be finished. This is
different from [i]Savage Species[/i] progressions.

o Joshua H.says:
March 15, 2019 at 10:12 pm

Thanks, added.

● Endariresays:
March 4, 2019 at 1:07 am

Google “Battle Rattle D&D 3.5” (“Dragon 331” page 88) for more
info on the Battle Rattle instrument and why it seems wonderfully
complimentary to a MW natural horn.
Reply

o Joshua H.says:
March 15, 2019 at 9:22 pm

Oh man that’s sweet. Nice find.