The word “bard” ordinarily puts folk in mind of those itinerant minstrels, fair of voice and nimble of finger, who earn their coin performing in taverns and the halls of great lords. Few know, however, that bards in fact trace their origins back to the minstrels of eld, who sang in the heat of battle to fortify the spirits of their companions. In time, their impassioned songs came to hold sway over the hearts of men, inspiring their comrades to great feats and granting peace unto those who lay upon the precipice of death.
Class Traits
Role: Leader. You are also able to inspire your allies and disrupt the enemy’s tactics with a burst of song. You are able to bolster defense and weaken enemies with magical effects that can cover a large portion of the battlefield. The majority of your attacks create opportunities for your allies to overwhelm your foes or to regroup and recover.
Power Source: Arcane, Limit Break. You channel magical power through words and music, studying long and hard to master the power contained in the lore and sagas of old.
Key Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Hide, Chainmail; Light Shield
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, simple ranged
Implements: Percussion instruments, string instruments, wind instruments
Bonus to Defense: +1 Reflex, +1 Will
Hit Points at 1st level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: Arcana. From the class skills list below, choose four more trained skills at 1st level: Acrobatics (Dex), Arcana (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Dungeoneering (Wis), Heal (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Nature (Wis), Perception (Wis), Religion (Int), Streetwise (Cha)
Class Features: Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Surge, Musical Implement Mastery, Song of Rest, Jingles
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the bard.
Bardic Knowledge
Your travels have exposed you to an eclectic assortment of stories and knowledge. You gain a +2 bonus to all checks you make for knowledge skills.
Bardic Surge
Once per encounter, when you use or sustain a bard power or bard paragon path power with the zone keyword, you may spend a healing surge but regain no hit points. Instead, one ally within the zone regains hit points as if spending a healing surge, regaining additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
Musical Implement Mastery
You specialize in the use of one kind of musical instrument as an implement that enhances your spells when you play it. Choose one of the following instrument categories for this feature: percussion, string, or wind. You gain a special benefit (see below) when using an instrument of that category as an implement for your bard powers and bard paragon path powers.
- Percussion: You add the enhancement bonus of a magical percussion instrument to your Will defense until the end of your next turn. If you use a healing surge when you attack with a bard power or bard paragon path power, you add your Wisdom modifier to your damage roll(s) for the attack.
- String: You add the enhancement bonus of a magical percussion instrument to your Reflex defense until the end of your next turn. If you use a healing surge when you attack with a bard power or bard paragon path power, you add your Intelligence modifier to your damage roll(s) for the attack.
- Wind: You add the enhancement bonus of a magical percussion instrument to your Fortitude defense until the end of your next turn. If you use a healing surge when you attack with a bard power or bard paragon path power, you add your Constitution modifier to your damage roll(s) for the attack.
Song of Rest
When you play an instrument or sing during a short rest, you and each ally who can hear you are affected by your Song of Rest. When an affected character spends healing surges at the end of the rest, that character regains additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier with each healing surge. A character can be affected by only one Song of Rest at a time.
Jingles
You gain the use of minor songs at 1st level. You can use the countersong, orator’s edge, and inspire courage jingles.