D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Bard"

[Yaarel]

So

Wizard List = Arcane List
Cleric List = Divine List
Druid List = Primal List
Bard List = Billboard List?

Wizard List = Arcane
Cleric List = Divine
Druid List = Primal
Bard List = ... heh Psionic!

 

[Burnside]

Had the same thought, but thought that the Magical Discovery feature might be a specific restriction, as otherwise it would be the same as Magical Secrets at 10 and they would gain no benefit from it. IE. Lore Bards get to dip into the expanded spell list early, but only for 1 spell and that spell isn't as easily swapped out. On the other hand, if Bards prepare daily that makes the Lore Bard's MD redundant after 10, unless that spell doesn't count against their general spells prepared number.

I agree? But it also seems like if Magical Discoveries really does work very differently from how bards now "prepare" the rest of their spells, he'd have mentioned that (also, there is no way that Lore Bard ability won't be bugged at launch on DNDBeyond if that is the case).

I actually think it's more likely that bards are NOT now "Spells Prepared" casters but are still "Spells Known" casters, and that in the video Crawford kept saying they "prepare" spells but he really meant was "choose" or "select" spells (when leveling up).

But yeah, who knows. Every one of these vids makes me feel like I just need to wait for the book to really figure out what's going on.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Revenge for all the extremely thoughtful, long essays they write that I can never not read

I mentally translate that as MOAR WORDZ!

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

No idea whether it's changed for the final version, but here's the bard's Spellcasting feature from UA6:

The verbiage used is "prepare" (which I think is being standardized across all spellcasters), but they function very much like traditional "spells known" casters.

 

[OB1]

Right, in that case I'm guessing that the Lore Bard's feature adds an additional prepared space that they can also change every level. So at level 10 they are able to change out that spell and one other.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Right, in that case I'm guessing that the Lore Bard's feature adds an additional prepared space that they can also change every level. So at level 10 they are able to change out that spell and one other.

With the usual caveat of it being a potentially out of date source, here's the Lore Bard's Magical Discoveries feature from UA6:

 

[Vael]

Unclear from the video, but the way Crawford said it actually suggests that once they hit level 10, they get access to Druid, Cleric, AND Wizard spells from then on.

It also now seems that bards will prepare spells on long rest, a la clerics, druids, and paladins (and now, rangers)?

Treantmonk confirms it's full access to Cleric, Druid, and Wizard lists.

Not sure on the latter, but UA verbiage is that every class now prepares spells, but still functions as in 2014. So they've eliminated the difference between "Knowing" a spell or "Preparing" a spell, but classes that previously Knew spells can now only change their prepared spells when they level up.

 

[Yaarel]

A mythologically accurate Celtic bard is Merlin (and also Taliesin). The Bard spell list is especially solid for this (as well as for the shamanic traditions of many other cultures).

But I love how the 5e 2024 Bard can ALSO access the spell lists of the other full casters.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Treantmonk confirms it's full access to Cleric, Druid, and Wizard lists.

Not sure on the latter, but UA verbiage is that every class now prepares spells, but still functions as in 2014. So they've eliminated the difference between "Knowing" a spell or "Preparing" a spell, but classes that Knew spells could only change their prepared spells when they level up.

Yep was just coming to say this. Level 10 and up when a Bard gets spells, they can pick from the Bard Spell List, the Wizard Spell list, the Cleric Spell list AND the Druid Spell list. Treantmonk noted that Bard's might have access to ALL 9th level spells in the game with this.

This is kind of huge? But also not? In my experience most bards never did use Magical Secrets to grab from PAladins and Rangers, and Warlock had very little of interest. Most of the time when people made things like the Swift Quiver build it was pretty easily shown to not be worth it.

More potentially devastating for people, is the change to Magic Initiate, losing the ability to get those spells and Cantrips from the Warlock or half-casters at 1st level is a bigger block to some of the things people feared. Then again, it is also an answer to the constant calls to make some of these spells into abilities so the bard cannot steal them. Now, the Bard cannot steal them.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Iit feels like a party of 4 Bards with each of the subclasses would be an extremely capable group.

AKA Snarf's Nightmare Party