D&D 5E (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Bard"

[Marandahir]

I kind of feel like the feat should be.

*gain a fighting style
*gain a weapon mastery

Instead of 2 different feats.

Agreed, but WotC has apparently decided that Fighting Styles are not worth half a feat anymore.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I am torn between giving it to them or not.
Maybe a single mastery they only can retrain at level up. Would be significantly less versatile, but could help them fill theor niche better.

Or... let them opt into it with the Weapon Mastery feat.

 

[Ashrym]

I know. It is awful. Blade bards are so much more fun.

That's an opinion.

Blargh.

Selfish is more fun. I have yet to see anyone play a bard who spends their combat turns on support and control.

Yo. I'm here.

I definitely prefer valor bards to swords bards.

 

[Staffan]

Blargh.

Selfish is more fun. I have yet to see anyone play a bard who spends their combat turns on support and control.

You never see bards casting dissonant whispers? Faerie fire? Heroism? Tasha's hideous laughter? Sleep? Healing word? And those are just the first-level spells.

 

[Vael]

Bards have never been better than 5e one. I would argue they are THE most improved class in 5e (with the new 2024 monk being a possible second)

I really liked playing the 4e Bard, which I played through to level 16. The hard hitting Melee types all took a feat that gave them a free attack when they got force-moved, and the joke became my healing spells were like "Cast Assassin" as I'd heal our Executioner Assassin, move him to a flanking position and then he'd hit something real hard, often with Combat Advantage.

Never touched an earlier Bard, but the 4e and 5e Bards have been great experiences.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I kind of feel like the feat should be.

*gain a fighting style
*gain a weapon mastery

Instead of 2 different feats.

Agree, but only because fighting styles never feel "good" to take as feats for me.

 

[Ashrym]

The bard seems to be solid, after giving it some thought. I will miss Song of Rest, but I think it's still over-all an improvement with the changes to Bardic Inspiration.

Magical Secrets class restrictions do not seem necessary, in my experience, but I don't think they hurt the class either. There are plenty of spells in the cleric, druid, and wizard lists and the concept of equating those lists to divine, primal, and arcane works. I'm curious about what the revamped bard spell list looks like.

There were comments earlier that bards no longer need a spell list above 5th level spells but that precludes bard specific spells or spells shared with sorcerers or warlocks that are not on the other lists. If nothing else it's still a flavor list that takes up a small part of a page instead of using a sidebar.

I'm not a fan of the capstone being "here's two more spells you are required to know" but it's not that bad either other than being massively restricted in usage by spell slots. Some capstones see a lot of use while this one is likely to struggle with competition for the slot from other 9th level spells in a very limited number of available slots.

Valor, lore, and glamor bards haven't changed much other than some basic improvements. Jumanji dance fighting memes should be expected.

Overall seems good.

 

[mellored]

There were comments earlier that bards no longer need a spell list above 5th level spells but that precludes bard specific spells or spells shared with sorcerers or warlocks that are not on the other lists.

Are there any bard specific only spells above 5th level?

 

[Ashrym]

Are there any bard specific only spells above 5th level?

We don't know. There were very few in the past and those ended up getting added to other lists already.

The question is if there are any now with the spell list changes mentioned. It is possible to make the bard spell list stop at 5th level if they just use the cleric, druid, and wizard lists but it's not a given. It's possible we'll see a small list of exclusive spells and/or shared spells not on those 3 lists.

 

[Chaosmancer]

In the current 2014 rules with all spells, the only unique Bard spell [As in not on the Wizard, Cleric or Druid list, since Warlock gets it] higher than 5th level is Glibness at level 8.

If you just look at spells from 2014 that only the bard gets, and literally no one else, well... if you ignore subclasses it is Vicious Mockery, Dissonant Whispers and Compulsion. All of which are 4th level or lower.