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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ashrym" data-source="post: 9036358" data-attributes="member: 6750235">I decided I was over-complicating my changes to fix my concerns with the UA bard, which were mostly the spell selection restrictions and lack of inspiration at lower levels.   This is my revised and more simple correction I've been playing with to address those concerns.<table style='width: 100%'><tr><td>Bard Level </td><td>Class Features </td></tr><tr><td>1 </td><td>Bardic Inspiration, Spellcasting </td></tr><tr><td>2 </td><td>Expertise, Magical Secrets </td></tr><tr><td>3 </td><td>Bard Subclass </td></tr><tr><td>4 </td><td>Feat </td></tr><tr><td>5 </td><td>Jack of All Trades </td></tr><tr><td>6 </td><td>Subclass Feature </td></tr><tr><td>7 </td><td>Font of Inspiration </td></tr><tr><td>8 </td><td>Feat </td></tr><tr><td>9 </td><td>Expertise </td></tr><tr><td>10 </td><td>Subclass Feature </td></tr><tr><td>11 </td><td>Improved Magical Secrets </td></tr><tr><td>12 </td><td>Feat </td></tr><tr><td>13 </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td>14 </td><td>Subclass Feature </td></tr><tr><td>15 </td><td>Improved Magical Secrets </td></tr><tr><td>16 </td><td>Feat </td></tr><tr><td>17 </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td>18 </td><td>Superior Bardic Inspiration </td></tr><tr><td>19 </td><td>Feat </td></tr><tr><td>20 </td><td>Epic Boon </td></tr></table>That's almost the same list but the names have been altered slightly.  The changes to the UA are....Change tool proficiencies to none.Add the musician feat to bardic inspiration as a bonus feat.  If the character already has the musician feat from another source (like background) then the number of allies to whom the bard can grant heroic inspiration doubles to twice the character's proficiency bonus and the bard does gain 3 additional tool proficiencies regardless of being a non-repeatable feat.  What I like about this is that every character has the option to take the feat and inspire others but the bard has that extra benefit with the bardic inspiration die, there's more inspiration to go around, and the feat plus the BI dice have synergy to work together.Add the ability to select feats with the mage tag to spellcasting.  A spellcaster with that spell progression who cannot take those feats seems weird.Replace songs of restoration with magical secrets.  Magical secrets is a selection from a list of thematic spell groups gained at levels 2, 4, 5, 8, and 10 respectively.  The names have the potential for thematic characteristics as well.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Songs of Restoration: healing word, lesser restoration, mass healing word, freedom of movement, greater restoration</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chants of Protection:  protection from good and evil, augury, dispel magic, death ward, dispel evil and good</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Words of Battle:  heroism, magic weapon, crusader's mantle, stoneskin, circle of power</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Melodies of Nature:  animal friendship, locate animals or plants, conjure animals, dominate beast, commune with nature</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Riddles of the Cursed:  hex, crown of madness, bestow curse, compulsion, geas</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whispers of the Dead:  ray of sickness, ray of enfeeblement, speak with the dead, blight, contagion</li> </ul>Improved magical secrets is the same as magical secrets and further magical secrets from the UA.  What I like about this is it gives magical secrets a flow that progresses through the class a lot more and leans into a  more thematic character.  This also removes the forced healing spells in that choice.Lists and names still subject to workshopping it.The overall effect is to lean more into inspiration and spell variety.  It'll be interesting to see if vicious mockery and dissonant whispers follows the later trend of being bard spells always prepared similar to some of the 5th UA packet spells.</blockquote>

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