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Bard
| Level | Experience Points | Hit Dice | Decipher | Listen | Lore | Tumble | Song Slots (max. bonus) | Open Locks | Remove Traps | Pick Pockets | Move Silently | Climb Walls | Hide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d4 | 10 | 40 | 1 | 10 | 2 (+1) | 25 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 80 | 10 |
| 2 | 2,250 | 2d4 | 14 | 44 | 5 | 15 | 3 (+1) | 30 | 25 | 35 | 30 | 81 | 15 |
| 3 | 4,500 | 3d4 | 18 | 48 | 9 | 20 | 3 (+1) | 35 | 30 | 40 | 35 | 82 | 20 |
| 4 | 9,000 | 4d4 | 22 | 52 | 13 | 25 | 4 (+2) | 40 | 35 | 45 | 40 | 83 | 25 |
| 5 | 18,000 | 5d4 | 26 | 56 | 17 | 30 | 4 (+2) | 45 | 40 | 50 | 45 | 84 | 30 |
| 6 | 36,000 | 6d4 | 30 | 60 | 21 | 35 | 5 (+2) | 50 | 45 | 55 | 50 | 85 | 35 |
| 7 | 72,000 | 7d4 | 34 | 64 | 25 | 40 | 5 (+2) | 55 | 50 | 60 | 55 | 86 | 40 |
| 8 | 144,000 | 8d4 | 38 | 68 | 29 | 45 | 6 (+3) | 60 | 55 | 65 | 60 | 87 | 45 |
| 9 | 288,000 | 9d4 | 42 | 72 | 33 | 50 | 6 (+3) | 65 | 60 | 70 | 65 | 88 | 50 |
| 10 | 432,000 | 9d4+2 | 45 | 75 | 36 | 53 | 7 (+3) | 68 | 63 | 74 | 68 | 89 | 53 |
| 11 | 576,000 | 9d4+4 | 48 | 78 | 39 | 56 | 7 (+3) | 71 | 66 | 78 | 71 | 90 | 56 |
| 12 | 720,000 | 9d4+6 | 51 | 81 | 42 | 59 | 8 (+4) | 74 | 69 | 82 | 74 | 91 | 59 |
| 13 | 864,000 | 9d4+8 | 54 | 84 | 45 | 62 | 8 (+4) | 77 | 72 | 86 | 77 | 92 | 62 |
| 14 | 1,008,000 | 9d4+10 | 57 | 87 | 48 | 65 | 9 (+4) | 80 | 75 | 90 | 80 | 93 | 65 |
| 15 | 1,152,000 | 9d4+12 | 60 | 90 | 51 | 68 | 9 (+4) | 83 | 78 | 94 | 83 | 94 | 68 |
| 16 | 1,296,000 | 9d4+14 | 63 | 93 | 54 | 69 | 10 (+4) | 84 | 79 | 95 | 85 | 95 | 69 |
| 17 | 1,440,000 | 9d4+16 | 66 | 96 | 57 | 70 | 10 (+4) | 85 | 80 | 96 | 87 | 96 | 70 |
| 18 | 1,584,000 | 9d4+18 | 69 | 99 | 60 | 71 | 11 (+5) | 86 | 81 | 97 | 89 | 97 | 71 |
| 19 | 1,728,000 | 9d4+20 | 72 | 99 | 63 | 72 | 11 (+5) | 87 | 82 | 98 | 91 | 98 | 72 |
| 20 | 1,872,000 | 9d4+22 | 75 | 99 | 66 | 73 | 12 (+5) | 88 | 83 | 99 | 93 | 99 | 73 |
Bards are those who have learned history, oral tradition, music, and performance. They travel widely, looking for inspiration for the next great ballad or epic poem. Bards are welcome additions to most adventuring crews as they have several useful skills to assist other characters.
A Bard must have a minimum Charisma score of 13, a Dexterity score of 11, and an Intelligence score of 11.
Bards receive a +2 bonus on any saves associated with music, dance, performance, song, or singing, whether by spell or by a creature’s special ability (other bards’ songs, siren’s song, pipes of pan, or similar effects).
A Bard is limited to one-handed melee weapons, and they may use short bows, light crossbows, or slings. A Bard may wear light armor and shields. A Bard can utilize magical items as a thief and may use musical magical items at increased proficiency (as determined by the DM).
Having strong musical background, a Bard’s ear for music grants them the Thief ability to Listen at an equivalent level. The ability is generally used to listen at a door, or to try to listen for distant sounds in a dungeon. The DM must decide what noises the character might be able to hear; a successful roll does not mean that a noise has been heard, but rather that a noise might have been heard. The GM should always make this roll for the player. Also note that the Bard and their party must try to be quiet in order for the character to use this ability.
Bards are also very inclined to acrobatic performance and dance, allowing Bards to Tumble and Evade quite well. When subjected to an area-affecting spell or similar situations, the Bard takes 1/2 damage if successful with their tumble check; 1/4 damage if the relevant save is also successful. The tumble ability may also spare the Bard from situations such as parting shots by opponents when retreating. The DM may reference this ability for other such situations as they see fit.
A Bard may learn two additional languages beyond what their race and intelligence score normally allows, however these additional languages are not part of the beginning set and must be learned during the course of game play.
Because a Bard travels widely collecting historical details, legends, and various bits of locale lore, they have the ability to come up with useful information. Often this Lore ability allows a Bard to intuitively put together details regarding locales, notable persons, or even details about magical items. In any event, the DM is warned not to give out full or detailed information, but rather vague bits of lore that may or may not be entirely accurate. Information outside the milieu or other meta-game information is never made available to characters.
This collecting of information from various sources also predisposes a Bard to be able to translate or read various writings (regardless of language used) through comparison, deductive reasoning, and sometimes a bit of guesswork. It takes about 10 minutes to Decipher text consisting of a page of normal sized handwriting, whether successful or not in translating the script. The DM may adjust the chance of success and time requirements for various factors such as size of texts, obscurity of language, or even penmanship.
In all other ways, the Bard operates as a Thief. (The Bard is a Thief with the Bard quasi-class applied.)
