Steel Realms d20 Bard Class

These materials represent the Incarna i20™ approach based on ©D20 system & d20 use.

This class uses the standard starting currency shown in the Steel Realms information for Characters. It follows the Incarna d20 Base Class of the same name except as follows:

Bardic Society and Role

Bardic Tradition: Bards (along with Rangers) are the primary World Watchers of the realms, they teach literacy, adjudicate the law, and record knowledge. Bards are a formal group with the realms – not a loose collection. They are trained to a specific purpose and use their gifts to that end. The bardic profession is one of the few that the Half Elves excel at, leveraging their passion into song, dance, and talk into community rallies. Admittance to the bardic colleges is all managed centrally, through the Heroes Hall in Gladnor. The tests, training, and ranking of bards is handled by the Collegia Administrata. This small college is made up of senior members of the others, and are full time positions in maintaining the lore of the realms in combination with various orders, guilds, and groups. Bards are limited by species and roles in Colleges. These are the safest pursuits for the honored position of bard.

Duty to Lore and Community: Knowledge gained can be communicated in a variety of ways. The Colleges have agents allied with many Occult and Divine orders and groups throughout the land. The greater good being the purpose of the Bard, most knowledge is shared (especially news, and proclamations) while knowledge crucial to the security of the lands is passed on in secret, through unknown means.

Bardic Magic and Divine Worship: For the Magical Inspiration tradition, bards formally trained in the Heroes Hall all follow Phelaedea, lady of the wind, and her servant, the spirit of music and song – Meri (most bards venerate this spirit regardless of other affiliations). Many are quiet worshipers of Delleth (patron of seekers) as well.

• Echoing Message: All formal Bards gain the Message Cantrip for free; they can use this to communicate with the Alcove of Echoes in the Library of Gaoliath of the Heroes Hall. It is one way only, and requires the character to know the direction of the Heroes Hall from their current position.

The Bardic Code

The character must swear to uphold the spirit and tenets of the Bardic Code.

• Honor the High King and his vassals
• Adjudicate the High Kings law when called upon – A bard character should always have Lore 1 and/or 1 Character Weave to use for these checks – they are crucial to settling disputes where there is no other formal means.
• Collect knowledge for the greater good
• Report all findings at the Heroes Hall
• Serve the College once a year (quest, geas, etc.)
• Fight evil
• Inspire the good in all
• Spread news and cheer wherever you go

Race Limits

Technically any race can become a Bard. However, there exists several academies that review, accept, and pre-train individuals for bardic application through Bardic Schools. It is only these particular schools that offer the bardic character trial of Bindings of Book and Word. Half-elves, with a chip on their shoulder and everything to prove, gain a +1 to all checks in the character trials! Generally, only races widely accepted or capable of easily breaking down barriers are accepted into the role of true bard.

Bardic Community Schools/Colleges

Class Changes

1. Tasha’s Cauldron: Creation path – Ducateon ONLY (“Law-Givers of Mann”)
2. Xanathar’s Guide: Glamour path – ELF/Half-Elf (faeyn) ONLY (“Voice of the Queens”)
3. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft: Spirits path – Ilbarsi Hill People only
4. Bardic Journeyman [Background Option]: Lore and Valor paths ONLY. The character has been selected and trained from a young age to be a member of the next generation of bards. The skills they possess are related to the mission of the bards, and their training is all towards becoming accepted in the bardic tests. = UNFINISHED

Need ideas for role-playing this? See the Roleplaying your Character's Capabilities or ask the Game Master how it is best expressed in your Setting.No matter what restrictions exist in the setting you use, many GMs will allow anything with the right context or character backstory.

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