Bard

Lore & Background

The class name itself 'is originally of Celtic origin, descended from the Old Celtic 'bardo' which in turn produced the Scottish and Irish Gaelic 'bard.' This reference means 'poet-singer,' which introduced the word into English as a 'strolling minstrel.' [...] It is possible that the Celtic 'bardo' was formed from the Proto-Indo-European word 'gwredho' which means 'he who praises.' The Dungeons & Dragons bard is a hodgepodge of at least three different kinds of musical singers: the Norse skald, the Celtic bard, and the southern European minstrel'. Historically, the title of 'bard' was initially considered 'a term of great respect among the Welsh, but one of contempt among the Scots (who considered them itinerant troublemakers)' until later in history, when the term then became 'idealized by Scott in the more ancient sense of "lyric poet, singer."' Throughout history, the bard has existed in a multitude of different forms, and 'bardic traditions span many variations of personal approach, public conception, and historical context.' In the fantasy tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, bards are a playable class centered on the idea of accessing magic through some form of artistic expression. The bard first appeared in The Strategic Review Volume 2, Number 1.

In Their Own Story

In First Edition AD&D, bards were a special class unavailable for initial character creation. A character could become a bard only after meeting specific and difficult requirements, achieving levels in multiple character classes, becoming a bard only later. To become a bard, a human or half-elf had to begin with very high ability scores: Strength 15+, Wisdom 15+, Dexterity 15+ and Charisma 15+, Intelligence 12+ and Constitution 10+. These daunting requirements made bards one of the rarest character classes. Bards began the game as fighters, and after achieving 5th level (but before reaching 8th level), they had to change their class to that of thief, and after reaching 5th level as a thief (but before reaching 9th level), they had to change again, leaving off thieving and begin clerical studies as druids; but at this time they are actually bards and under druidical tutelage. Bards gained a limited number of druid spells, and could be any alignment that was neutral on at least one axis. Because of the nature of dual-classing in AD&D, bards had the combined abilities of both fighters and thieves, in addition to their newly acquired lore, druidic spells, all level-dependent druidic abilities, additional languages known, a special ability to know legendary information about magic items they may encounter, and a percentage chance to automatically charm any creature that hears the bard's magical music. Because bards must have first acquired levels as fighter and thief, they are more powerful at first level than any other class. This version of the bard is a druidic loremaster, more than a wandering minstrel and entertainer, though the bard does have song and poetic powers as well.

Reader's Guide

In AD&D 2nd edition, the bard, as part of the 'rogue' group, was one of the standard character classes available in the second edition Player's Handbook. A bard required ability scores of Dexterity 12+, Intelligence 13+ and Charisma 15+, and only humans and half-elves could be bards. Bard was the only character class (other than thief) in which any non-human could advance to unlimited level, as both humans and half elves did not suffer a level limit. The 2nd edition bard was explicitly a jack-of-all-trade class, with a limited selection of thief skills (pick pockets, detect noise, climb walls, and read languages), a limited wizard spell progression, access to proficiency in any weapon, and some special bardic music abilities and bardic lore. Beginning at 2nd level, a bard began to gain spells as if a wizard, and like wizards, they had to keep a spellbook and could not cast spells while in armor. They could learn any spell they had access to (as a mage would). Bards' biggest advantage was their use of the rogue advancement table, which was the fastest in the game. Bards cast spells using their actual class level as their caster level. Since bards were usually higher level than the party's wizard, the spells they could cast were often more powerful than the wizard's. A bard who focused on spells that improved with caster level (such as Magic Missile and Fireball) was a very potent magical threat. Their ability to use any weapon, combined with rogue attack strength, made them credible second-line offensive threats even without magic, provided they had some form of magical Armor Class-boosting equipment. In this edition, bards had the same alignment restrictions of First Edition, meaning they could not be Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good or Chaotic Evil. In Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, the bard class continued its change from a druidic loremaster in first edition into a jack-of-all-trades (retaining mainly the original Bardic Knowledge ability, an almost universal chance to know anything based on character level and Intelligence). Bards now could be any non-lawful alignment, meaning Bards could no longer be Lawful Neutral, but now could be Chaotic Good and Chaotic Evil. This was explained on the grounds that a bard wanders freely and is guided by intuition and whim. Bardic magic also changed once again. Now, like the sorcerer, the bard casts arcane magic but without a need for spellbooks or preparing specific spells; unlike AD&D 2nd edition, bards are now limited to a list of specific bardic spells. Unlike wizards and other arcane spellcasters, they can cast a small number of healing spells like Cure Light Wounds (a relic of the druidic origins of the class). Other abilities, like bardic music and the aforementioned bardic lore, were retained but overhauled to be more compatible with the streamlined d20 System rules of the Third Edition. Old abilities like Read Language became new d20 skills like Decipher Script, and the mix of fighter and thief abilities was retained in the mix of weapon and armor abilities. In 2003, the Revised '3.5' edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released, including several minor but significant changes to the Bard class. Bards gained increased access to skills and the ability to cast bard spells while in light armor. The bard is the only Core class able to freely cast arcane spells in armor, as well as the only Core class with Speak Language as a class skill (supplementary 3.5 books later introduced new base classes with these abilities).

Did You Know?

• The bard first appeared in The Strategic Review Volume 2, Number 1.
• In First Edition AD&D, to become a bard a character needed Strength 15+, Wisdom 15+, Dexterity 15+, Charisma 15+, Intelligence 12+, and Constitution 10+.
• In AD&D 2nd edition, the bard was the only character class (other than thief) in which any non-human could advance to unlimited level.
• In 3rd edition, bards could be any non-lawful alignment, meaning they could now be Chaotic Good and Chaotic Evil.
• In the Revised 3.5 edition, the bard is the only Core class able to freely cast arcane spells in armor.