Arcane bard class

Arcane bards are musicians and poets drawn to a life of wandering and adventure. They pick up a wide range of abilities in their travels, becoming jacks-of-all-trades.

Progression

• Level 1 (1 XP): 1d6 HP, 15 Saving Throw

  • Memorized spells: None

• Level 2 (2,000 XP): 2d6 HP, 14 Saving Throw

  • Memorized spells: 1 x 1st-level

• Level 3 (4,000 XP): 3d6 HP, 13 Saving Throw

  • Memorized spells: 2 x 1st-level

Starting equipment

You can either roll 3d6 x 10 silver besants and purchase gear from the house rules page or quickly roll up randomized starting gear from below.

Basic equipment: All characters have a backpack, a tinder box, 1d6 torches, a waterskin, 1d6 hardy rations, and 3d6 sb.

Armour: You begin play with Leather armour (AC 7).

Weapons: Roll 1d4 to determine your starting weapon.

1. Crossbow + 20 bolts
2. Dagger
3. Sling + 20 stones
4. Short sword

Adventuring gear: Roll 1d12 twice to determine your extra adventuring gear.

1. Crowbar
2. Hammer (small) + 12 iron spikes
3. Holy water
4. Lantern + 3 flasks of oil
5. Mirror (hand-sized, steel)
6. Pole (10’ long, wooden)
7. Rope (50’)
8. Rope (50’) + grappling hook
9. Sack (large)
10. Sack (small)
11. Stakes (3) + mallet
12. Wolfsbane (1 bunch)

Anti-charm

While the arcane bard plays music and sings, allies within 30′ are immune to song-based magical effects and the beguiling powers of sylvan creatures or fairies. Allies already under the effect of such magic gain another saving throw with a +4 bonus.

Arcane magic

From 2nd level, arcane bards own a spell book containing the formulae for 1st-level arcane spells. Refer to the spell learning progression table and spell casting section in the magic-user page for more information.

Lore

From 2nd level, an arcane bard has a 2-in-6 chance of knowing lore pertaining to monsters, magic items, or heroes of folktale or legend. This ability can be used to identify the nature and powers of magic items.

Arcane bard skills

Arcane bards have the following skills: climb sheer surfaces, hear noise, pick pockets, and read languages. All skills begin with a 1-in-6 chance of success. Expertise points are gained each level and allocated to skills to improve their chance of success by 1-in-6.

• At 1st level: At character creation, a rogue has 2 expertise points to allocate.
• Gaining levels: A rogue gains 1 additional expertise point to allocate.
• Maximum chance of success: No skill may be raised above 5-in-6.