Bard Handbook: Pathfinder Class Guide – RPGBOT

The Bard is among the most versatile classes in the game, capable of filling nearly any role in the party, but the Bard’s definitive abilities are focused on support and utility. Inspire Courage is among the most iconic and effective support effects in Pathfinder, but it is only of the Bard’s numerous excellent abilities.

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Bard Class Features

Hit Points : d8 hit points is difficult, especially in light armor and without the Rogue’s absurd Dexterity.

Base Attack Bonus : 2/3 BAB is enough for the Bard to hold their own in combat.

Saves : Good Reflex and Will saves.

Proficiencies : Light armor and shields, and a small selection of martial weapons including the Longsword and Rapier. This gives the Bard enough options to get the job done, but the Bard’s AC will generally be poor. For some reason the Bard gets proficiency with the Whip.

Skills : 6+ skill ranks, and a skill list as long as your arm. The Bard gets all Knowledge skills as class skills, and Bardic Knowledge adds a heft bonus to Knowledge checks, making the Bard one of the easiest Librarians in the game with only a few skill ranks.

Spells : Despite being only a 2/3 caster, the Bard’s spells are fantastic. The Bard’s spell are arcane, but include Cure spells, and have a lot of excellent options which are only available to the Bard.

Bardic Knowledge (Ex):

Cantrips : Cantrips are always amazing.

Well-Versed (Ex): Very situational.

Lore Master (Ex): Makes the Bard perfectly reliable as a Librarian. With one rank in every Knowledge skill and Bardic Knowledge you can expect to consistently pass most Knowledge checks.

Jack-of-All-Trades (Ex): Be good at literally every skill.

Abilities

Charisma is the Bard’s most important ability for both .

Str : Good for melee or bow damage, but the Bard needs Dexterity to fix their poor AC, and they can’t be good at every ability.

Dex : With light armor Dexterity is essential. Take Weapon Finesse if you plan to be in melee.

Con : Fortitude is the Bard’s only bad save and with only d8 hit points the Bard really needs Constitution.

Int : More skill ranks are great for the Bard’s huge skill list.

Wis : Only needed for Will saves, and the Bard gets good Will saves.

Cha : Essential for the Bard’s spellcasting, social skills, and Perform.

Races

Bonuses to Charisma are fantastic, and a favored class bonus which offers additional performance rounds can go a long way to improve the Bard’s support abilities.

Dwarf : The Charisma penalty hurts, and the Dwarf doesn’t really offer anything useful for the Bard.

Elf : Despite lacking a bonus to Charisma, the Elf’s bonuses to Dexterity and Intelligence can be very helpful for the Bard.

Gnome : The bonuses to Constitution and Charisma are both great for the Bard, and the Gnome’s bonus to illusion spells is nice for the Bard’s spell list. The Gnome favored class bonus grants some much-needed performance rounds.

Half-Elf : A flexible ability bonus is always helpful, and Skill Focus is great with Versatile Performance. The Half-Elf favored class bonus grants some much-needed performance rounds, and you can take the Human favored class bonus to learn additional spells..

Half-Orc : A very different feel from the Half-Elf but many of the same benefits. The Half-Orc favored class bonus grants some much-needed performance rounds, and you can take the Human favored class bonus to learn additional spells.

Halfling : The Halfling’s Dexterity and Charisma bonuses are great for the Bard, and the Halfling’s other abilities help the Bard serve as a Scout. Unfortunately the Halfling favored class bonus is pretty terrible.

Human : A bonus feat and a flexible ability bonus are both great for the Bard, and the Human’s bonus skill ranks help fill out the Bard’s skill list. The Human favored class bonus allows you to expand the Bard’s very limited number of spells known. This extra versatility can make the Bard a very potent spellcaster.

Skills

Feats

Weapons

Armor

Spells

This section won’t address every spell on your spell list, but it will point out some especially notable options. For a complete list of spells, see the SRD Spell Index.

1st-Level Spells

2nd-Level Spells

3rd-Level Spells

4th-Level Spells

5th-Level Spells

6th-Level Spells

Magic Items

Weapons

Armor/Shields

Staffs

It’s difficult to recommend specific staffs without knowing your individual character, so instead I want to make a general endorsement of the concept of magic staffs in Pathfinder. If you are a 3.5 native, go read Pathfinder’s rules for staffs because they have improved dramatically.

Staffs are a reliable, rechargeable source of extra spellcasting that can give spellcasters easy and reliable access to spells from their spell list which they might not want to learn, or which they might like to use so frequently that they can’t prepare the spell enough times in a given day. On days when you’re not adventuring (traveling, resting, etc.) you can easily recharge any staff even if you can only cast one of the spells which the staff contains.

Wondrous Items

About The Author

T.E. "RPGBOT" Kamstra

Tyler "RPGBOT" Kamstra has been the author of RPGBOT.net since 2013. Tyler began playing tabletop RPGs with 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons over 20 years ago. Tyler has a long-standing love for building characters and for game mechanics, and brings that enthusiasm to everything he creates.