Skalds are poets, historians, and keepers of lore who use their gifts for oration and song to inspire allies into a frenzied rage. They balance a violent spirit with the veneer of civilization, recording events such as heroic battles and the deeds of great leaders, enhancing these stories in the retelling to earn bloodier victories in combat. A skald’s poetry is nuanced and often has multiple overlapping meanings, and he applies similar talents to emulate magic from other spellcasters.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the Skalds at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and martial weapons .

If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

Fighting Style

At 3rd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if something in the game lets you choose again.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an Attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the Two-Handed or Versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Ancestral Songs

 

A skald is trained to use music, oration, and similar performances to inspire his allies to feats of strength and ferocity. A skald can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + their Charisma modifier This number increases by 2 at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.

Starting a raging song is an action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. A raging song cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the skald is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious.

Additional options become available at later levels.

Song of Marching: At 3rd level, a skald can use raging song to inspire his allies to move faster without suffering from exhaustion. By expending 1 round of raging song, the skald invigorates allies within 60 feet, granting a 10 foot bonus to their movement speed; this movement counts as a walk for the purpose of accruing exhaustion. The skald must continue to perform the song for the remainder of the hour, otherwise its effects end, but only 1 round of raging song is expended for that hour.

Song of Strength: At 6th level, a skald can use raging song to inspire his allies to superhuman feats of strength. Once each round while the skald uses this performance, allies within 60 feet who can hear the skald may add 1/2 the skald’s level rounded up to a Strength check or Strength-based skill check.

Dirge of Doom : At 10th level, a skald can create a sense of growing dread in his enemies, causing them to become frightened. This only affects enemies that are within 30 feet and able to hear the skald’s performance. The effect persists for as long as the enemy is within 30 feet and the skald continues his performance. This cannot cause a creature to become frightened. This effect relies on audible components. The DC of this effect is equal to the bard's spell save DC.

Song of the Fallen: At 14th level, a skald can temporarily revive downed allies to continue fighting, with the same limitations as raise dead. The skald selects a dead ally within 60 feet and expends 1 round of raging song to bring that ally back to life. The revived ally is alive at 10 hit points. Each round, the skald may expend another 1 round of raging song to keep that ally alive for another round. The ally automatically dies if the bard is incapacitated or if they drop the song without having healed the ally beyond the ten temporary hit points.

Dirge of Doom

At 10th level, a skald can create a sense of growing dread in his enemies, causing them to become frightened. This only affects enemies that are within 30 feet and able to hear the skald’s performance. The effect persists for as long as the enemy is within 30 feet and the skald continues his performance.  This is a sonic effect, and relies on audible components.

Song of Marching

At 3rd level, a skald can use raging song to inspire his allies to move faster without suffering from exhaustion. By expending 1 round of raging song, the skald invigorates allies within 60 feet, granting a bonus of ten feet of movement; this movement counts as a walk (not a hustle) for the purpose of accruing exhaustion. The skald must continue to perform the song for the remainder of the hour, otherwise its effects end, but only 1 round of raging song is expended for that hour.

 

Song of Strength

At 6th level, a skald can use raging song to inspire his allies to superhuman feats of strength. Once each round while the skald uses this performance, allies within 60 feet who can hear the skald may add 1/2 the skald’s level (rounded up) to a Strength check or Strength-based skill check.

Song of the Fallen

At 14th level, a skald can temporarily revive downed allies to continue fighting, with the same limitations as raise dead. The skald selects a dead ally within 60 feet and expends 1 round of raging song to bring that ally back to life. The revived ally is alive at 10 hit points. Each round, the skald may expend another 1 round of raging song to keep that ally alive for another round. The ally automatically dies if the bard is incapacitated or if they drop the song without having healed the ally beyond the ten temporary hit points.

Extra Attack

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Legend Realized

At 14th level, the Skald can grant allies a bonus to their armor class while the Ancestral Song is active. While active, allies within 30 feet have +2 to their armor class and gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the bard's level.