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Seeking to captivate friend and foe alike with magic and melody? The Bard might just be the perfect class for you inBaldur’s Gate 3. Seamlessly weaving their spells into beautiful tales and melodies, bards are full-casters who spend their time on the field inspiring allies and hindering enemies with their enchanting performances.
Unlike offensive-focused spellcasters like the Evocation Wizard, Bards instead excel at supporting their party, skillfully steering the flow of battle with buffs and crowd control. With an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Bards truly shine as the jack of all trades; and whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned player, the Bard boasts a versatile magical prowess that few can match.
Updated July 14, 2025, by Sean Murray:Baldur’s Gate 3 has exited early access and brought forward the College of Swords subclass, as well as a whole bunch more levels to play with. We’ve updated this guide with College of Swords and every feature Bards get from level 5 to level 12.
Bards: An Overview
You know, music is more than a fancy—it is power. Through study and adventure, you have mastered song, speech, and the magic within.
The Bard is acontroller and healer support classthat brings together the power ofmagic, eloquence, and flourishto talk (or sing!) their way through any situation. Whether your bard is an entertainer, wordsmith, or socialite, they’re likely to excel inskills that rely on Charisma.
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Bards outshine nearly every class in terms ofutility, rivaled only by theRogueinskill proficiencies and expertise. Naturally, Bards stand out the most insocial situations,and have a high chance at succeeding whenlyingto get into goblin camps,dissuadingheated Tieflings from fighting, orembellishingabout dragons to famous authors.
Though they can hold their own on the battlefield with somecareful positioning, Bards are generallysquishy casters without muchmobility. As such, theythrive best in the back line,hiding behind several layers of bodies and shields.
When protected from harm (and fromconcentration checks), Bards are capable ofturning the tides of battlewith their vast repertoire ofEnchantment Spells for crowd control, while at the same time giving the partygame-changing boostswith their uniqueBardic Inspirationfeature.
Bards are an extremelyversatileclass. Some Bard subclasses (such as theCollege of Valor) offer Bards enoughsurvivabilityandmartial proficiencyto excel on the front line.
Starting Out As A Bard
Ability Scores
Bards heavily rely onCharismaas their primary spellcasting ability. They also benefit fromDexterityandConstitutionfor increased durability.
ThoughStrength,Wisdom, andIntelligencehave less influence on mechanical benefits, they stillimpact skill checksandcarrying capacity, making them worth considering for a well-rounded Bard.
Skills Proficiencies
Bards get ahigher-than-averagenumber of proficiencies, starting the game withthree skill proficienciesinstead of theusual two.
More importantly, however, while most characters only get proficiencies related to their class, Bards have theentirelist of skillsto choose from when selecting proficiencies. This means your Bard can easilyfill in any skill-based gapsthat the party might be missing.
Dexterity, Charisma
Skill Proficiencies
Choose three from any skill: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Religion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth or Survival.
Equipment Proficiencies
Light Armor, Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbow, Longsword, Rapier, Shortsword, Musical Instrument
1d8
Starting Equipment
Simple Jerkin (11AC + DEX Modifier), Leather Boots, 1x Starting Instrument, 1x Rapier, 1x Hand Crossbow, 2x Potion of Healing, 1x Scroll of Revivify, 1x Supply Pack
Choose one from Hand Drum, Flute, Lute, Lyre, or Violin
Class Features
In this section, we’ll go over each Bard class feature, what they mean, and how to effectively use them.
Range: 60ft
Replenishes On: Long Rest / Short Rest (After Level 5)
The bread and butter of the Bard class is theirBardic Inspirationfeature, which allows your allies to add an extra1d6 dice rollonto anyAbility Checks,Saving Throws,andAttack Rollsthat they make. This diceincreases with the Bard’s level, to a1d8 at level 5,and1d10 at level 10. Certainsubclassescan alsoenhance the Bardic Inspirationdice to have different additional effects.
A well-timed Bardic Inspiration cancompletely change the outcomes of close rolls, for example: nudging your ally’s Wisdom saving throw just enough to pass a hag’s Hold Person, or making sure a Guiding Bolt nails the enemy where it would have narrowly missed.
That being said,they only replenish on a Long Rest (until you obtain the Font of Inspiration feature at Level 5 Bard), and so while it can be tempting to give them out like candy, make sure toconserve one or two chargesof Bardic Inspiration
Bardic Inspirationshouldnotbe confused withInspiration, which is a resource gained when a character roleplays true to their character traits, personality or flaws.
Jack of All Trades
Though not as glamorous as some class features,Jack of All Tradesis an excellent feature that appliesa significant bonusto every singlenon-Proficient Ability checkyou’ll ever make again. As yourProficiency bonus growswith your class levels, this will quickly add up and provide avery solid boostto your Ability checks.
Note that due to the wording of this feature, it will also apply toInitiative Rollsat the start of combat andCounterspell / Dispel Magicrolls!
Replenishes On: Long Rest
Afree Short Restcan mean the difference between life and death when you’re knee-deep inside the Shattered Sanctum, fighting off swathes of angry goblins. This feature can beparticularly valuablein replenishing party resources, especially for classes like Warlocks and Fighters that heavily rely on short rests.
Though Song of Rest is useful in helping your partyavoid Long Rests, as of Early Access, Long Rests are oftensignificant milestonesthat advance the narrative and can have lasting consequences for your adventure. In earlier sections of the story, it may bebeneficial to take Long Rests more frequentlyto progress story beats.
Expertise
This is a rather self-explanatory feature: you get abigger numberto add to your rolls. Awesome! This is especially fantastic due to the Bard’smassive selection of skills. You gain this feature at both level 3 and level 10.
Font of Inspiration
Given the limit oftwo Short Rests per Long Rest, this means that you’ll be able to use yourBardic Inspirationdicethree times as often—that’s6d8worth of dice that you’readding to your allies' rolls(orsubtracting from your enemies' rolls, if you’re a Lore Bard)
Range: 30ft
Cost: 1 Bardic Inspiration
Charms can be deadlyin combat situations. Countercharm keeps your Barbarian from becoming an enemy.
The Magical Secrets listincludes the following spells:
Cantrips
Bone Chill, Eldritch Blast, Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, Sacred Flame
Level 1 Spells
Armour of Agathys, Bless, Chromatic Orb, Command, Entangle, False Life, Guiding Bolt, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Hunter’s Mark, Ice Knife, Magic Missile, Sanctuary, Thunderous Smite
Level 2 Spells
Arcane Lock, Blur, Darkness, Darkvision, Misty Step, Pass Without Trace, Ray of Enfeeblement, Scorching Ray, Spike Growth, Spiritual Weapon, Web
Level 3 Spells
Animate Dead, Call Lightning, Counterspell, Crusader’s Mantle, Daylight, Fireball, Gaseous Form, Grant Flight, Haste, Hunger of Hadar, Lightning Bolt, Mass Healing Word, Remove Curse, Revivify, Sleet Storm, Slow, Spirit Guardians, Vampiric Touch, Warden of Vitality
Level 4 Spells
Banishment, Blight, Death Ward, Dominate Beast, Fire Shield, Guardian of Faith, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire
Level 5 Spells
Banishing Smite, Cone of Cold, Conjure Elemental, Contagion, Wall of Stone
College of Lore Bards gain this feature again at level 6, but can only select two spells of level 3 or lower.
Bard Colleges (Subclasses)
College of Lore
You pursue beauty and truth, collecting knowledge from scholarly tomes to peasants' tales, and use your gifts to hold both audiences and enemies spellbound.
Bards of theCollege of Lorecollect secrets and knowledge, using their rhetorical gifts to captivate audiences with stories and composition.
This subclass builds upon the Bard’ssolid foundations in support and utility, providingeven more proficienciesandenhancing your Bardic Inspirationsto be useddefensivelythrough theCutting Wordsfeature. College of Lore Bards also receives an additional instance ofMagical Secrets, providing them with access to most spells in the game.
The trusty “oh no, you don’t!” feature of Bards,Cutting Wordscostsone Bardic Inspiration chargeto use and can be used to ensure that when your enemy succeeds, they… don’t.Cutting Wordscan be used to preventan enemy’s attack roll from finding its mark–or verify thatyour saving-throw spelldefinitelydoes.
When toggled on in your Reactions menu:
Cutting Words willautomatically prompt youwhen any nearby enemy makes a contestingAttack RollorSaving Throw, allowing you to choosewhether or not to use Cutting Words.
Magical Secrets (Level 6, College of Lore)
Youlearn two non-Bard spellsfrom the Magical Secrets list, so long as they’re level 3 or lower.
At level 10,every Bard subclass can learn two spellsfrom the Magical Secrets list regardless of spell level.
College of Valor
You wander the land to witness and relate the deeds of the mighty, keeping alive the memory of heroes of the past and inspiring heroes of the future.
Bards of theCollege of Valorare courageous skalds whouse their tales to honor past heroes and inspire others to achieve greatnessakin to the legendary heroes of the past.
This subclass adds a great deal ofsurvivability and melee capabilityto Bards by giving themMedium Armor Proficiency,Shield Proficiency, andMartial Weapon Proficiency, as well asenhancing your Bardic Inspirationsto be usedoffensivelythrough theCombat Inspirationfeature. They also receive anadditional attack.
Though it may be tempting, addingBardic Inspiration to Damage Rollsisless worthwhilethanensuring an Attack Roll hitsor anenemy’s attack misses. The Armor Class addition, however, isvery useful to haveand can mean thedifference between life and deathwhen fighting particularly tough opponents.
Extra Attack (Level 6, College of Valor)
You makeone additional attackafter making an unarmed or weapon attack.
This extra attack comes a level later than martial classessuch as the Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, or Paladin.
College of Swords
Bards of the College of Swords entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are also highly trained and skilled warriors in their own right.
Bards of this college, known as blades,impress audiences with their weapon prowessthrough acts like sword swallowing and knife throwing. While entertaining, they are alsohighly skilled warriors, leading dual lives with hidden talents.
This subclass focuses fully on swordsmanship, providingproficiency in Medium ArmourandScimitarsas well as theBlade Flourishability. They also learntwo Fighting Stylesthat further improve their martial prowess.
Range: Normal weapon range
You must be wielding a melee weaponto use any of the melee flourishes,or a ranged weaponto use the ranged flourishes.
You maychoose oneof the following fighting styles.
Dueling
Gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls while wielding a melee weapon that is not two-handed or versatile in one hand and no other weapon or shield in the other hand.
Two-weapon Fighting
Your off-hand attacks add your ability score modifier to their damage. You must be wielding a weapon in each hand.
Bard Companions
Currently, Baldur’s Gate 3 does not feature a confirmed Bard companion. However,Brinna Brightsongis available as ahirelingfor just 100 gold.
