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Returning 31 results for 'bad bards diffusing career rites'.
Classes
Player’s Handbook
Plumb the Depths of Magical Knowledge
Bards of the College of Lore collect spells and secrets from diverse sources, such as scholarly tomes, mystical rites, and peasant tales. The college’s
Monsters
Acquisitions Incorporated
and earnest debate, he demonstrates an equal flair for planning and forethought, mad combat moves (involving leaping off high places whenever possible), and dark vengeance.
Viari's career as an
adventurer was nearly cut short during a battle of which the bards still sing. Unleashing a devastating attack with the aptly named Apocalypse Dagger, the rogue destroyed a giant single-handedly — and lost
Bard
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
of song, speech, and the magic they contain. Bards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape, and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation
still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers. The greatest strength of bards is their sheer
Urchin
Legacy
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Backgrounds
Player’s Handbook (2014)
recuperate. You’ve survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some combination of each.
You begin your adventuring career with enough money to live modestly but
I eat like a pig and have bad manners.
6
I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent.
7
I don’t like to bathe.
8
I bluntly say what other people are hinting at
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
.
You begin your adventuring career with enough money to live modestly but securely for at least ten days. How did you come by that money? What allowed you to break free of your desperate
a pig and have bad manners.
6
I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent.
7
I don’t like to bathe.
8
I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding
Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
organization, but who serve as its hands, head, and heart.
As a prelude to your adventuring career (and in preparation for it), you served as an agent of a particular faction in Faerûn. You might have
knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
No career criminal in Baldur’s Gate operates without being aware of the Guild. Some studiously keep a low profile, carrying just the occasional smuggled load in with legitimate merchandise, or
tail and run when things look bad.
6
An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Embarrassment Almost every bard has suffered at least one bad experience in front of an audience, and chances are you’re no exception. No one becomes famous right away, after all; perhaps you had a
few small difficulties early in your career, or maybe it took you a while to restore your reputation after one agonizing night when the fates conspired to bring about your theatrical ruin. The ways
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Bard Subclass A Bard subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels, as specified in the subclass. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to preserve
their traditions. This section presents the College of Lore subclass. College of Lore Plumb the Depths of Magical Knowledge Bards of the College of Lore collect spells and secrets from diverse sources
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
agents include sophisticated bards, zealous paladins, talented mages, and grizzled warriors. They are chosen primarily for their loyalty and are experts in observation, stealth, innuendo, and combat
’ Alliance fights the things that the shopkeeper in his bed has never even heard of. We remove threats before the town mayor even knows about it. We make bad things go away. That’s what we’re good at.”
Rameel Jos
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
Bard Subclasses A Bard subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels, as specified in the subclass. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to preserve
Harmony with the Cosmos Bards of the College of Dance know that the Words of Creation can’t be contained within speech or song; the words are uttered by the movements of celestial bodies and flow
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
townsfolk. Chaotic neutral (CN) creatures follow their whims, holding their personal freedom above all else. Many rogues and bards are chaotic neutral. Lawful evil (LE) creatures methodically take what
, Artemis is not an ideal adventurer. He began his career as a villain, and only cooperates with heroes when he must — and when it’s in his own best interests. In most games, evil adventurers cause
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
vengeance. Viari’s career as an adventurer was nearly cut short during a battle of which the bards still sing. Unleashing a devastating attack with the aptly named Apocalypse Dagger, the rogue destroyed a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
balance, but hate the idea that “balance” means good and bad things can both happen to you. Good things happening to you and bad things happening to other people seems perfectly reasonable.
2 You
skulls as a child. Nobody ever told you there was a career in that sort of thing.
4 You watched someone close to you die, and were overcome by the feeling that you should be making money off it
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
, and at work. Her followers generally pray at midday, with the sounds of the city forming an appropriate backdrop to their rites, as industry itself is sacred to Ephara. Many aspects of city life and
build a city. Ephara and Nylea are almost polar opposites, and there is no shortage of bad blood between the god of the cities and the god of the hunt. Nylea resents the construction of every
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
campaign, but a few select gods, goddesses, and otherworldly powers might play a larger role. Abbathor This dwarven deity of greed gets a bad rap. Because seriously, greed is just another form of the
works alongside Kelemvor, the god of the dead. But whereas Kelemvor sees to the more metaphysical side of death, Jergal sees to the details. Where did sweet Nana want to be buried? What rites did your
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
briny grave. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you’ve garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town. If you decide that your sailing career involved piracy, you can choose
the Bad Reputation feature (see sidebar) instead of the Ship’s Passage feature. Variant Feature: Bad Reputation
If your character has a sailor background, you may select this background feature
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
boastfulness and has a fear of heights resulting from a bad fall during her career as a thief. Artemis Entreri is always prepared for the worst and moves with a quick, precise confidence.
Consider their
townsfolk. Chaotic Neutral. (CN) creatures follow their whims, holding their personal freedom above all else. Many rogues and bards are chaotic neutral. Lawful Evil. (LE) creatures methodically take
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
Scholars, wizards, druids, and bards of other races have different ideas about how halflings escape peril, suggesting that by virtue of something in their nature, they occupy a special place in the
off bad luck or to bring good fortune. Villages or even families might have superstitions observed by no one else, such as the following:
For a safe journey through a forest, leave a few seeds or a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
bad things in the world are proof that the world is unraveling—and most importantly, none of it is your fault. Those drawn to this message are called aspirants. Each aspirant meets regularly with an
participate in the rites together speak of themselves as a single “brood” and remain especially close-knit. This brood is the only family that remains to initiates. Broods are numbered in the group’s annals
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
bad fall during her career as a thief. Artemis Entreri is always prepared for the worst and moves with a quick, precise confidence.
Consider their ideals. Tika Waylan is innocent, almost childlike
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
can challenge Captain Athgar. The (mostly) good members of the crew can handle the bad apples backing Athgar. Certainly, with such aid, the adventurers can handle the captain and his priest! Belle
job or a last-resort career. This is remarkably shortsighted, as the gig has a startling number of upsides. For example, it’s a job that allows you to wear a lot of scarves and sashes. That’s rare
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
. Sometimes a mystery cult is a type of worship within a pantheon. It acknowledges the myths and rituals of the pantheon, but presents its own myths and rites as primary. For instance, a secretive order of
dualistic religion. Whatever the terms in which the dualism is expressed, half of the pair is usually believed to be good — beneficial, desirable, or holy — while the other half is considered bad, if not
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
. Although some of the dancing is wanton and performed for show, large-scale ring dances in the street for all ages are also popular. All the dancing ends at dusk, after which bards and minstrels perform at
, on his statue in the City of the Dead, and atop the altars of the House of Wonder. Bards perform songs in honor of the wizard all over the city. The Open Lord visits taverns and inns throughout
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
patriars, traveling nobles, famed bards, and socially ambitious Lower City residents hoping to rub shoulders with the elite. The inn is unfussy, but conducts its service with flawless technique and the
companies — a career that began in rebellion against her stodgy family. Realizing that her family needed a long term source of financial support, Yvandre opened a sword-wielding school in a guest
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer
patriars, traveling nobles, famed bards, and socially ambitious Lower City residents hoping to rub shoulders with the elite. The inn is unfussy, but conducts its service with flawless technique and the
Flaming Fist and other mercenary companies — a career that began in rebellion against her stodgy family. Realizing that her family needed a long term source of financial support, Yvandre opened a sword
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
Cragmaw band that waylaid Sildar. The goblin gave Sildar a bad feeling, but the Cragmaws didn’t seem to know the creature. The goblin whispered “you’re not what Ruxithid wants” to Sildar before leaving the
”) and his mangy pet wolf, Ripper. The bugbear is filled with delusions of grandeur and views himself as a mighty king just beginning his career of conquest. He refers to himself in the third person
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
used. Over a long career of shepherding caravans and pack trains from one end of the North to the other, Ironhead (male half-orc veteran) decided that there was money to be made by keeping guards-for
resale. His true talent is a keen eye for ordinary weapons and armor that can stand up to hard use and bad weather. Ask him which of his battleaxes is best, and Ironhead offers an honest (and accurate
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
passes herself off as an accomplished mage and merchant, though she’s actually a career rogue — and a member of an Acquisitions Incorporated franchise. After looting the treasury of a religious order
Zardak appears to notice something odd about one of the characters or the body they inhabit, but this ends up just being his bad eyesight. Fifteen minutes after they arrive, the two take their leave






