D&D fans with a penchant for character building rejoice! Baldur's Gate 3 is adding twelve new subclasses so there's never been a better time to fire up the Character Builder and tinker with new character combinations.

In this article, we'll walk you through an example build for a College of Glamour Bard, which can be found in both the new Player's Handbook and the upcoming patch for Baldur's Gate 3.

This Article Uses the Rules from the New Player's Handbook

The College of Glamour Bard example in this article uses rules from the Player's Handbook. The resulting build has abilities and themes similar to those presented in Baldur's Gate 3, but won't function exactly the same.

• Glamming Up Your Bard
• Building Our College of Glamour Bard
• All the Subclasses in Baldur's Gate Patch 8

Glamming Up Your Bard

Artist: IGOR GRECHANYI

Examining the College of Glamour subclass's features, we can certainly spot a recurring theme: beguiling magic that enchants foes and inspires allies.

The level 6 Bard we create in this guide will use these powers to lean into a support role with a knack for social interaction. We'll stock our Bard with plenty of Enchantment and Illusion spells to hamper and distract their foes in combat and round them out with ways to deceive even the most discerning senses.

Building Our College of Glamour Bard

The College of Glamour Bard is perfect for those who want to weave threads of fey magic to inspire awe and fear. In this section, we explore an example of how to build a College of Glamour Bard who shines on and off the battlefield.

Key Subclass Features

Beguiling Magic (Level 3). The Beguiling Magic feature reinforces our Bard's mesmerizing allure. Thanks to this feature, our Bard always has the Charm Person and Mirror Image spells prepared, but that's not all. Whenever our Bard casts an Enchantment or Illusion spell using a spell slot, our Bard can use this feature to potentially impose the Charmed or Frightened condition on a creature within 60 feet. While this special extension of our Bard's magic is typically limited to one use per Long Rest, we can restore this feature by expending one use of our Bardic Inspiration.

Mantle of Inspiration (Level 3). This lets us expend a use of Bardic Inspiration as a Bonus Action to grant Temporary Hit Points to our surrounding allies and allow said allies to move as a Reaction without provoking Opportunity Attacks. Not only is this an excellent way to bolster our allies' health, but it can be used to get them out of tight spots (or into more strategic ones).

Mantle of Majesty (Level 6). Our Bard now always has the Command spell prepared. In addition, this feature allows our Bard to cast Command as a Bonus Action without expending a spell slot; when we do so, our Bard takes on an unearthly appearance for 1 minute or until our Bard's Concentration ends. During this time, our Bard can continue casting Command as a Bonus Action without expending a spell slot.

If we want to use this feature again before finishing a Long Rest, we have to expend a level 3+ spell slot.

The amazing thing about this feature is that any creature Charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the Command spell you cast with Mantle of Majesty.

This means you could take an action to cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell like Dissonant Whispers, use Beguiling Magic to potentially impose the Charmed condition on a creature, then use this feature to cast Command as a Bonus Action, targeting the Charmed creature and automatically forcing it to do as you wish!

Background

The Entertainer background fits perfectly with our Bard's vibe. It provides proficiency in the Acrobatics and Performance skills, and gives some additional benefits like the Musician feat, proficiency with one kind of Musical Instrument, and some equipment.

The Entertainer background allows us to boost our choice between our Bard's Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma scores. We'll choose to boost Charisma by +2 and Dexterity by +1, as noted in the Ability Scores section below.

Species

Artist: JANE KATSUBO

For our Bard, we'll choose the Halfling species, which gives us access to a variety of helpful traits:

Halfling Nimbleness. This helps us navigate the battlefield more efficiently by letting us move through the space of a creature who's one size larger than us.

Naturally Stealthy. This enables our Bard to take the Hide action while obscured by a creature at least one size larger, which is perfect for making a sneaky getaway once our magical charms have worn off.

Luck. When we roll a 1 on a d20 of a D20 Test, this lets use reroll the die, but we must keep the new roll. This is an awesome trait that helps mitigate natural 1s in a variety of circumstances, including Charisma (Deception) checks when we're trying to charm our audience or Constitution saving throws made to maintain Concentration on our Enchantment and Illusions spells.

Brave. Last but not least, this gives us Advantage on saving throws we make to avoid or end the Frightened condition.

Ability Scores

We want to boost our Bard's Charisma as much as possible because it impacts our all-important Charisma-based ability checks and saving throws, Bardic Inspiration uses, and spellcasting.

Dexterity is next because it boosts our AC and can be beneficial when it comes time to make Dexterity (Acrobatics) or Dexterity (Stealth) checks–or Dexterity saving throws if we get spotted by that dragon we're trying to sneak past.

Then, we can't forget Constitution to help boost Hit Points and aid in maintaining Concentration on our powerful Enchantment and Illusion spells if we take damage.

Using the Point Buy method for determining our ability scores could look like this:

• Charisma: 15 + 2 = 17
• Dexterity: 15 + 1 = 16
• Constitution: 14
• Wisdom: 10
• Intelligence: 8
• Strength: 8

Feats

Seeing as we have an odd Charisma ability score at level 4, we can take a General feat that offers +1 to Charisma to boost our Charisma modifier to +4 and grab some fun new benefits.

We'll choose the Actor feat, which goes perfectly with our propensity to use Enchantment and Illusion spells to deceive others. With this feat at our disposal, we can use the Disguise Self spell to take on the appearance of someone else and then gain Advantage on Charisma (Deception or Performance) checks to pass ourselves off. Talk about Mission Impossible-level infiltration skills!

Spells

Artist: JUSTINE CRUZ

As part of our spell repertoire, we'll want plenty of Enchantment and Illusion spells to help emphasize our build's strengths, but we'll want to make sure we pick up a couple of damage-dealing options as well.

Luckily, the Bard spell list has some unique options that can not only entrance and beguile our foes but also dish out some damage!

• Cantrips: Vicious Mockery, Minor Illusion, Dancing Lights
• Level 1: Charm Person*, Command*, Dissonant Whispers, Disguise Self, Silent Image, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
• Level 2: Heat Metal, Mirror Image*, Suggestion, Shatter
• Level 3: Fear, Hypnotic Pattern, Major Image

* Spells with an asterisk are always prepared as part of the College of Glamour subclass.

All the Subclasses in Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8

The following twelve subclasses are included in Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8:

Get Building!

This plethora of new subclass options–including some old favorites–will offer even more ways to approach the sprawling world of Baldur's Gate 3. Will you charm your way through challenges with a College of Glamour Bard? Or perhaps wield a deadly combination of steel and magic as a Bladesinging Wizard?

Either way, plenty of new adventures await in the Forgotten Realms!

Mike Bernier is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his partner, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.