CLASS FEATURES

The following are the class features of the bard:

 

Weapon and Armor Proficiency:

Bards are proficient with simple weapons. They are not proficient with armor or shields except for bucklers.

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Bardic Knowledge (Ex):

A bard adds half his class level (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.

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Incredible Confidence (Ex):

When wearing no armor, not carrying a shield, and unencumbered, the bard adds his Charisma modifier (if any) to his AC and CMD. These bonuses increase by +1 for every 4 bard levels possessed. This AC bonus does not stack with similar class features or other ways to add an additional ability score to the bard’s AC; if he has more than one such ability, he uses the highest extra ability score modifier.

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This bonus to AC applies even against touch attacks or when the bard is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, uses a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

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Muse

A bard’s bardic performances are inspired by a creative longing that fuels the magical effects he produces. Although each bard’s muse manifests in the form of a specific talent, different bards channel different interests and pursuits for this purpose. At 1st level, the bard chooses one muse upon taking his first level of bard — once made, this choice cannot be changed. The bard’s muse grants him a free skill rank in his muse’s key Perform skill at each bard level and is used to determine the performance components he can add to his bardic performance as well as the effects of other bard class features. The available muses are:

• Acting (A or V): Key Skill: Perform (act)

• Comedy (A); Key Skill: Perform (comedy)

• Dance (V); Key Skill: Perform (dance)

• Keyboard (A); Key Skill: Perform (keyboard)

• Oratory (A); Key Skill: Perform (oratory)

• Percussion (A); Key Skill: Perform (percussion)

• Singing (A); Key Skill: Perform (sing)

• Strings (A); Key Skill: Perform (strings)

• Wind (A); Key Skill: Perform (wind)

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Bardic Performance (Su)

A bard can use the key Perform skill of his muse to create magical performances that bolster allies or hamper foes. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. At each level after 1st a bard can use bardic performance for 2 additional rounds per day. Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of masterpiece that he has mastered.

 

Unless otherwise stated, starting a bardic performance is a standard action, and it can be maintained each round as a free action. Changing a bardic performance from one effect to another requires the bard to stop the previous performance and start a new one as a standard action. A bardic performance cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the bard is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time.

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Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both. If a bardic performance has audible components, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and such performances are language dependent. A deaf bard has a 20% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with an audible component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Deaf creatures are immune to bardic performances with audible components. If a bardic performance has a visual component, the targets must have line of sight to the bard for the performance to have any effect. A blind bard has a 50% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with a visual component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Blind creatures are immune to bardic performances with visual components. All of the bard’s performances end immediately if he becomes asleep, dead, dying, helpless, paralyzed, stunned, or unconscious.

 

Masterpiece (Su)

As he gains experience, the bard learns complex songs, stories, routines, and more that he can perform using his bardic performance class feature to create magical effects called masterpieces. The bard learns his first masterpiece at 1st level, and he learns an additional masterpiece at 2nd level and every two levels thereafter. If a masterpiece allows a saving throw to resist its effects, the DC is equal to 10 + half the bard’s ranks in his muse’s key Perform skill + his Charisma modifier. If it requires an opponent to attempt a skill check, the DC is equal to 10 + 1-1/2 × the bard’s ranks in his muse’s key Perform skill + his Charisma modifier. A bard cannot learn the same masterpiece more than once unless it specifically says otherwise.

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Once the bard has started a masterpiece, he can maintain its effects for multiple rounds by maintaining the performance as a free action. The bard can maintain any masterpiece that can be started as a standard action, a move action, or a swift action unless it says otherwise. Maintaining a masterpiece extends its duration by 1 round. The bard must decide whether or not to maintain the masterpiece at the start of his turn, and he cannot maintain any masterpiece more often than once per round.

All of the available masterpieces can be found HERE.

 

Compositions
A bard begins play with a composition book containing 1 intro, 1 outro, and his choice of an additional intro or outro. His composition book also begins play with melodies equal to 1 + his Charisma modifier (minimum 1). At each new bard level, a bard gains one intro or outro for which he meets all of the prerequisites, as well as one melody for which he meets all of the prerequisites.

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By studying his composition book for 1 hour, a bard can add an intro, an outro, and a melody to each of his masterpieces. At 3rd level and every five levels thereafter, a bard's mastery over music allows him to add an additional melody to each of his masterpieces, to a maximum of five melodies per masterpiece at 18th level. The bard can change any of his masterpieces' intros, outros, or melodies after 8 hours of sleep and 1 hour of study.

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When a bard starts to perform a masterpiece, the intro effect chosen for that masterpiece triggers immediately. The following round, if the bard maintains the performance as a standard action, all melody effects start immediately and persist for as long as the masterpiece is performed. A bard can end a performance in one of two ways. First, he can simply stop performing as a free action; however, ending a performance in this manner does not trigger the masterpiece's outro effect. Secondly, he can end the performance as a standard action to trigger the masterpiece's outro effect. If a bard stops performing a masterpiece as a free action, he cannot start performing another masterpiece that round.

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Performance Flourish

At 1st level and every 2 levels thereafter, the bard learns a performance flourish, which modifies how he uses his bardic performance or masterpiece class features.

All of the available performance flourishes can be found HERE.

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Well-Versed (Ex)
At 2nd level, the bard becomes resistant to attacks that rely on hearing or sight. The bard gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made against figments, patterns, language-dependent effects, sonic effects, and the abilities of other bards.

 

Versatile Muse (Ex)
At 3rd level, the bard can use his total ranks in his muse’s key Perform skill in place of his ranks in one of the following skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Escape Artist, Fly, Handle Animal, Influence, Sense Motive, or Use Magic Device. When substituting in this way, the bard uses his total Perform skill bonus, including class skill bonus, in place of the selected skill's bonus, whether or not he has ranks in that skill or if it is a class skill. At 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the bard can use this ability with another skill from this list.

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Multiverse-Famous Performance

At 20th level, the bard creates a performance that is famous across the multiverse itself. From his composition book, he selects a single intro, a single outro, and a single melody that takes up one melody slot. He can perform this as a special masterpiece without expending rounds of bardic performance. Once this masterpiece is created, it cannot be changed. Name this masterpiece. All creatures in the multiverse instantly recognize the song. Creatures that succeed on a DC 10 Knowledge (civilization) check recall the name of the composer. Additionally, all bards of at least 8th level in the multiverse gain the ability to select this as one of their known masterpieces. The masterpiece's name is the same as the name the bard gave to the score. With GM approval, any future campaigns set in the same multiverse include this masterpiece.