D&D 5e: The Bard is Back!

... and you're going to be in trouble.

Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast leaked details of the Bard. which has gotten a bit of an upgrade since the play test. Bard love is back in D&D.

Souce: Paizo Publishing

This class is now one of the most versatile of all the classes listed in the Player's Handbook. The Bard now gets 4 Spells and 2 Cantrips right at level 1. She can choose any 3 skills.  The College of Lore allows a broad ranges of skill proficiency while the College of Valor adds additional melee options. Add a high Dexterity into the mix and you have a very capable ranged or finesse fighter with diverse spell capabilities.

Taking a quick look at the low level spell list in the recent play test -- Blindness, Charm Person, Cure Wounds, Feather Fall, Healing Word, Hold Person, Knock, Sleep (no save!), Thunderwave,... The Bard dips her little fingers into both Clerical and Wizardly domains. Similarly, the spell list as a whole is filled with Charm and Illusion spells and even a few from the so-called "Save or Suck" school.

Artist: Maki Naro

Truly the Bard is designed as a utility class, and like a pinch-hitter in baseball, can cover the scope of a Cleric, Wizard, Rogue and even Fighter. While the Bard does not perform any of these jobs as effectively as the original class, the Bard's ability to mix and match or to re-spec spells allows them to fulfill differing roles dependent upon the needs of the party.