Bard

Bards draw Power from a mixture of the arcane and primal energies within the emotions of themselves and others. They possess the most innate support abilities of any class, and are able to tailor their spell selections to a variety of playstyles. While all the bard archetypes further enhance their support role, their focus lies in general ally enhancement, damage, or spellcasting boons.

Maximizing Strength or Dexterity is recommended for attacking with weapons and using Maneuvers like Knockdown. It also provides bonuses to your Fortitude or Reflex save.

A medium/high Charisma contributes to your spellcasting ability (Offensive DCs, Spells/day, and Metamagic Pool) and support Maneuvers such as "Commander Strike".

A medium/high Dexterity allows you to maximize Armor Class from light armors and improves your Reflex save.

Constitution increases your survivability in raw hit points and contributing to your Fortitude save.

Intelligence contributes to your maximum Maneuver pool and Reflex save.

Wisdom contributes to your Will save.

Vitals

Hit Die: d6 (6 HP per Level)

Proficiencies: Armor (Light, Medium), Shields, Weapons (Simple, Rogue, Mystic)

Skill Points per Level: 8

Primary Saving Throw(s): Reflex, Will

Spellcasting Ability: Charisma (10 + Spell Level to be able to cast a spell)

Spellcasting Type: Arcane/Primal Hybrid. Spontaneous. Spontaneous spellcasters know a limited selection of spells, and may cast any of these spells at any time so long as they have slots available for the given spell level.

Spellbook: Bards learn two spells each level.

Level	Features
1	Spellcasting (Level 1), Bardic Knowledge, Metamagic: Conversion, Simple Weapon Mastery
2	Inspiration +1
3	Spellcasting (Level 2), Harmony: Vilify
4	Archetype Feature I, Harmony Feat, Inspiration +2
5	Spellcasting (Level 3)
6	Harmony Feat, Inspiration +3
7	Spellcasting (Level 4), Archetype Feature II
8	Harmony Feat, Inspiration +4
9	Spellcasting (Level 5)
10	Archetype Feature III, Inspiration +5

Bard Core Mechanics

Bardic Knowledge

The Bard receives a Knowledge bonus equal to their class level.

Inspiration Aura

The Bard's harmony enhances the damage of themselves and nearby allies. This consists of a 10m radius aura with the following magnitude according to Bard level:

Level	Benefit
2	+1
4	+2
6	+3
8	+4
10	+5

Harmony

Whether through song, dance, speech, or their simple presence, a Bard resonates with the social fabric wherever they go. Harmony represents an abstraction of this, granting the Bard a resource pool with a maximum capacity equal to their Bard level plus Charisma modifier, which may be expended to power various effects. One point of Harmony is restored for every 5 non-minion enemies slain.

The Bard receives the Vilify ability at level 3, and may select an additional Harmony feature that utilises this resource at levels 4, 6, 8, and 10. Options are as below.

Harmony: Vilify

Expending 1 Harmony, the Bard inflicts 15 + 10d2 Psychic damage against a target. This feature cannot be used again until 1 round has passed.

Harmony: Echo

The Bard expends 2 Harmony to replicate the effects of any positive spells currently present upon them, to a target ally.

Harmony: Sympathy

A burden shared is a burden halved. The Bard expends 1 Harmony to restore half of the target's missing hitpoints.

Harmony: Epiphany

A target ally may be granted Maneuvers and Metamagic equal to the Bard's Charisma modifier, at the cost of 1 Harmony.

Harmony: Peace

Expending 3 Harmony, the Bard causes a single target ally to receive the effects of a Short Rest. This ability may only be used on a target again once they have executed a Short or Long Rest.

Metamagic: Conversion

The character receives the Conversion feat for free.

Mystic Weapons

The character may use the casting gloves, mystic staff, and tome.

Archetypes

Storyteller

"Who doesn't like a good story?"

The Storyteller girds their allies with a tale for every situation.

Class Level	Feature	Details
4	Living Legends	You may grant allies a variety of benefits, dependent on their role in your story. Granting a role consumes 1 Harmony. Each role may only apply to one target at a time, with a maximum of 3 roles granted at once. There is no duration limit on these benefits, so long as a target remains within your Inspiration Aura. If a target leaves your Inspiration Aura range, their role benefits will expire within 1 minute. The target may return to the aura to again remove this durational limit. The roles and their benefits are as follows: The Mighty +CHA Attack Damage The Swift +1 Attack per round The Stalwart: +30% Multiplicative Damage Immunity (MultDI) to all damage The Erudite: +25% Spell Damage, +1 Metamagic Recycle The Beneficent: +20% Healing, THP generation, DR Magnitude The Vengeful: +25% Retaliation Damage, Retaliation [Trigger: Attacks, Damage: 1d6 + CHA Sonic, Limit: N/A, Duration: N/A, Cooldown: 1s, per-Attacker]
7	Rapt Audience	When using Harmony features, you affect every applicable target within your Inspiration Aura range instead of a single target. If you have any Living Legends currently outside your Inspiration Aura, they too receive the Harmony effects.
10	Legends Never Die	Upon granting a Living Legend role, you also grant the target Plot Armour; a Damage Resistance effect with a Threshold equal to your Charisma modifier, and an Absorption Limit equal to half the target's maximum hitpoints. If the Living Legend should suffer damage that would result in their death, the damage is instead halted at 1 HP, the Living Legend is healed for hitpoints equal to the remaining Absorption in the Plot Armour, and they may not be reduced below 1 hitpoint for 1 round. If you grant Plot Armour to a target who is currently dead or dying, they are immediately revived before receiving the additional effects. Plot Armour may be reapplied to a Living Legend without Plot Armour via the Storyteller menu, at a cost of 1 Harmony.

Skald

"Revel in the glory of combat!"

Skalds believe the best place to find stories is in the thick of battle.

Class Level	Feature	Details
4	Great Deeds	When an ally scores a critical hit within your Inspiration Aura, all allies within it gain the effects of Haste for 3 rounds as an Extraordinary effect. The duration of Great Deeds stacks if an ally should already be under its effects. You may also use this feat to consume 1 Harmony in order to activate Great Deeds as if you had scored a critical hit. Finally, you gain the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat, if you do not already possess it.
7	Striking a Chord	When an ally strikes a critical hit within your Inspiration Aura, half of their total damage is struck again as Sonic damage. You also grant all allies receiving your Great Deeds effect a Sonic damage bonus equal to twice your Inspiration Bonus.
10	Retelling	When an ally scores a critical hit within your Inspiration Aura, the damage from that attack is reapplied as Sonic damage to the nearest enemy to you within your Inspiration Aura. The triggering ally then receives temporary hitpoints equal to any Sonic damage that was part of the attack, which last for one minute.

Lorekeeper

"There are some things man was never meant to know; and others that he must."

A Lorekeeper is a master of esoteric knowledge and artifacts.

Class Level	Feature	Details
4	Magical Secrets	Your archetype menu may be used to target a spell scroll to create a Scroll of Secrets, a charged magical item capable of casting the spell contained within the target scroll, with the following properties: Charges equal to your combined mental ability modifiers upon resting. Spells consume 1 + 1 charge per spell level, max 5. Two slots, able to hold spells of up to 3rd level. When you expend a Bard spell slot, your Scroll of Secrets gains charges equal to the level of the spell, max 4. You regain spell slots equal to the spell's level whenever you cast from your Scroll of Secrets. This may exceed the normal maximum capacity for charges or spell slots. You may use your archetype menu to expend 3 Harmony in order to restore charges to your Scroll of Secrets equal to your combined mental modifiers. You may reassign your Scroll of Secrets spells whenever you Rest, before casting any spells from the Scroll of Secrets. Spells cast from the Scroll of Secrets do not degrade Stability.
7	Expansive Knowledge	You gain two more slots in your Scroll of Secrets. These slots are able to hold up to 4th level spells.
10	Deep Lore	You gain one further slot in your Scroll of Secrets, able to hold spells up to 5th level. When using the Scroll of Secrets or an equipped item to cast a spell, the spell benefits from any applicable Metamagic you know at no cost.