Related to performance or storytelling, with expertise in it
Class Question
Did a story I told unlock a new path for us?
Bards know that whoever controls the narrative controls the outcome. To a bard, every negotiation and desperate escape is an unfolding tale that begs for an editor. They step into that role with swagger and biting wit, manipulating the mood of a room until hostile crowds hesitate and terrified allies stand tall. Words and music are their tools, bending perception until listeners believe what they hear over what their own eyes reveal.
They live on the razor edge of fortune, trusting luck to carry them through situations where careful planning falls flat. A bard throws themselves into impossible gambles with absolute confidence, turning sheer audacity into a weapon. By altering the tone of an encounter as it happens, they draw panic out of foes and coax extraordinary bravery from their companions, proving that an opportune story overturns any disadvantage.
Core Feats
How Many Did You Say There Were?
You’re always telling the story of this fight, even as it happens, and the details shift in the retelling. When you first see a creature, you learn its type and its tier. You’re proficient with a musical instrument of your choice and the disguise kit.
You can revise the story a number of times equal to your Prowess, recovering all expended uses as part of your daily preparations. When you do, spend 1 AP and mark 2-fatigue, then make a Luck roll and choose one:
“There were hardly any of them.”
A creature you can see becomes weakened. On a strong hit, instead, its difficulty drops by one tier—an Easy-tier creature is removed from the encounter. On a miss, a duplicate of a creature you can see appears with half its hit points.
“By the end, they were terrified of us.”
A creature you can see becomes frightened of you. On a strong hit, instead, each creature within 10 feet of a point you can see becomes frightened of you. On a miss, an ally you can see becomes frightened of a creature of your choice.
“You should’ve seen what they did.”
An ally you can see becomes empowered. On a strong hit, they’re also inspired, and must spend the resulting Luck Point before the end of the encounter. On a miss, the GM gains a Doom.
Luck of the Draw
Fortune is the only weapon you’ve ever really trusted. You gain proficiency with precise weapons, and can use +LUCK in place of +FOCUS for attack and damage rolls with them. You also gain proficiency with light armor. When an attack targets your +CUNNING, you can choose to use your +LUCK in place of it for your DT against that attack, a number of times equal to your Prowess, regaining all uses as part of your daily preparations. You know a number of techniques equal to your Prowess plus one. You can have a number of them readied equal to half your Prowess, rounded up, and can use one of these technique only while it’s readied.
Increase your maximum number of Luck Points by 2.
When you roll damage with a precise weapon, you can spend a Luck Point to maximize one of the weapon’s damage dice, treating it as its highest possible result.
Finally, choose a non-rare technique. It is always available to you, and you can swap it for a different technique as part of your daily preparations.