!



Credits Artwork
All artwork is in the public domain.
Lead Designer, Concept, Writing Cover photo: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, L’art et
David J Moore la litterature, 1866.
Pg 4: Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, Sappho and
Layout Alcaeus,1870.
Ted Hartle
Pg 5: Gustave Doré, Vivien and Merlin, Idylls of
Special Thanks to: the King, 1868.
Ted Hartle, Jeremy Kapsar, and Marc Altfuldisch for Pg 6: Hermes, Euridice, and Orpheus, Relief in the
feedback and suggestions. Villa Albani in Rome.
Pg 10: Jost Amman, Das Ständebuch,1568.
Pg 12: Leonid Pasternak, The Passion of Creation,
Late 19th Century.
Pg 15: Gustave Doré, Troubadours Singing the Glories
of the Crusades, Late 19th Century.

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MUSICA AETERNAM 2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: What makes a Bard?......4
Archetypes and Stereotypes .............................4
The Bard in History and Myth
The Bard in Dungeons & Dragons
Role in Society ................................................. 7
Bard, Scoundrel, or Star?
Role in the Party..............................................8

Chapter 2: New Class Options ......10

Bard Colleges ..................................................10
College of the Spheres
College of the Silver Pen
College of the Sacred Yew
College of the Eternal Veil
College of Song Immemorial
Troupe of the Shadowdancers
Feats ...............................................................17
Arcane Visage
Battledancer
Diplomat
Melodic Casting
Virtuoso

Chapter 3: New Epic Options .......18

Epic Class Features ......................................... 18
Epic Boons ......................................................19
Boon of Many Faces
Boon of Primal Music
Boon of Unerring Skill

Chapter 4: New Magic Items .........20

Diplomat’s Immunity
Satchel of the Combat Medic
Singing Sword

MUSICA AETERNAM 3
CHAPTER 1: WHAT MAKES A BARD?

On a rock, whose haughty brow
Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood,
Rob’d in the sable garb of woe,
With haggard eyes the poet stood;
(Loose his beard, and hoary hair
Stream’d, like a meteor, to the troubled air)
And with a master’s hand, and prophet’s fire,
Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre;
—Thomas Gray,
The Bard: A Pindaric Ode
A RCHETYPES AND
S TEREOTYPES
Ask a handful of D&D players what a bard is or
does exactly and you’ll likely to get back any
number of different answers. Which one is your
bard? A fencing scoundrel with razor wit and a way
with the wenches, a lute strapped to his back? A
powerful hermit magician who can see the future?
A superstar singer who can sway the hearts and
minds of the audience? A War Chanter, wading
through combat with a sword in hand and song in
the air, inspiring her comrades to glory? A jack of
all trades, master of none, skill monkey? An RP
specialist who’s nearly useless in combat? A
support caster?
The D&D bard has shifted in definition from
version to version, pulling on equally varied
inspirations from myth and history. It’s no wonder
that players and DMs alike can’t agree on what a
bard should be. Fortunately, in Dungeons and
Dragons 5e the rules are flexible and easily allow
the core bard class to be shaped into any of these
different characters. So then, the question really
isn’t which bard is the true bard. It’s who is your
bard going to be? Which path will you take? There
are many to choose from, with many different play
styles. Let’s wade through some of them first to see
what they are and where they came from, to give
you a few archetypes to pick from and strive
towards.
THE BARD IN HISTORY AND MYTH
Who cares? You’re here to play D&D, not pretend
you’re a Celt in bronze age Europe. I mean come
on, you play because it’s not real life. But here’s
the thing; the core D&D classes were distilled from
our own world’s countless stories and myths,
MUSICA AETERNAM 4
which were passed down through the
generations. If we just look to them, we
can see the archetypes of the perfect
fighters and wizards, ready for us to
model characters after. But the problem
with bards…well, bards are a mess to be
honest. So, just real fast, let’s get the
myth stuff, the inspiration for the
fantasy bards, straight in our heads,
before we see how well that transferred
over to D&D.

When it comes down to it, there are two

types of bards (and I’m using bard in
the generic way here, not the very
specific historical one): Magicians and
Musicians. Or, to put it in terms that
might be easier to relate to, there’s
Merlin and then there’s Orpheus.

Merlin
Merlin, believe it or not, wasn’t a wizard,
or a mage, or a sorcerer. He was
actually a bard. It’s a little muddier
than that, because a bard in the early
celtic world was the closest thing they
had to a wizard. Bards held the very
important role of history keepers, where
we get the concept of bardic lore from.
These societies were pre-writing, so all
history had to be remembered and
passed on orally, and the easiest way to
do this was in poetry or song. These
weren’t alway songs for entertainment
then. They were more often long, winding Vivien and Merlin
epics, chronicling all of the major events in your
tribe or kingdom and praising your leaders.
The Merlin of history (or Myrddhin in Welsh) was
Bards studied for years before they could assume
one of these men. Myths would then take him and
this role of power in society, related to and just
add even more powers to his legend over time, like
beneath that of the druidic priests. They were
the ability to shapeshift.
prophets and advisors to the kings, and had some
reputed healing abilities. Aside from recording The ancient celtic traditions eventually died away
history in poetry and song, they also told the (quite literally as the Romans hunted the Celtic
future and could curse their enemies through druids to extinction and later the English king
poetry, through the power of words. While they Edward I had 500 Welsh bards rounded up and
weren’t the entertainer/performer that many think killed to cut off the Welsh from their history). Even
of with a bard, their magic did have a musical after that, the role of the bards would still continue
element to it, as did a lot of magic in the ancient on for centuries, on into the more modern
world, and the words in their spells were musical kingdoms of Ireland and Scotland. Here the bards
in their delivery. (An “incantation” has the root were simply defined as a class of court poets and
word “cantare” in there, after all, or “to sing”.) musicians, usually harpists, though their words
were still often thought to contain magic and an
insulting verse from a bard could cause real harm.

MUSICA AETERNAM 5
Another related note here, on
skalds. The nordic skald is very
similar to the celtic bard in history
and practice. Fantasy, however,
has taken the skald and made him
or her into a War Chanter, a
singing warrior who inspires all
around them with their voice.
There is very little evidence for this
treatment, unfortunately. They
practiced as poets in nordic
societies and were thought to have
similar magical powers to the celtic
bard. There are stories of them
inspiring others with magic before
battles, but stories of them wading
into combat themselves, consumed
in song and the glory of battle, just
don’t seem to be there.

Orpheus
Ah Orpheus. Part man, son of the
king of Thrace, and part divine,
son of Calliope, one of the Greek
Muses. Orpheus didn’t need to
cast spells to make magic. His
music was magic all on its own,
beautiful beyond measure.

He was educated at court and

when traveling with Jason and the Argonauts
knew which rituals would appease the different
Gods and ease their journey through troubled
lands. He was given a golden lyre and taught to
play it by Apollo himself, then counter-played the
Sirens and saved the Argonauts from their
enchanting songs. He later travelled into the
underworld to bring back his wife Eurydice from
the dead. He charmed Charon, the boatman of the
Styx, to let him cross, lulled the three-headed
guard hound of Hades Cerberus to sleep with his
lyre, then charmed the lord Hades himself.
However great his music was, though, he failed in
the end. As they left the underworld he was told
not to look back at his wife or she would be lost
forever. At the very last moment the temptation
was too great and he looked.
Here we have the other end of the Bardic
spectrum, where music itself is their beginning
and end, everything that they are and can do.
These bards pour their hearts into their music and
Hermes, Euridice, and Orpheus
the beauty of the ensuing notes and emotion it
contains can unlock the magic of the universe.
This isn’t magic born of words of power and
fleeting gestures. It is woven into great
performances. From a role-playing perspective, you
may be confused, since the Bard in 5e is a caster
class, no longer with specific “song” abilities.
However, to play a pure music-based character you
can simply use the standard Bard class (spell lists
and all) and just treat the spells as songs. For
example, you wouldn't so much cast your spells as
singdifferent songs which then cause the effects
you desire. The Pied Piper leading the children
away from the village could be nothing more than
mass suggestion in song form. This path is slightly
more complicated to role-play in certain situations,
especially combat, but if you wish to play music
that can enchant the mind, that can inspire heroes
to greatness heal them in their time of need, you
need to look no further than Orpheus.

MUSICA AETERNAM 6
THE BARD IN DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
In 1st edition D&D the bard was a prestige class of
sorts. You had to train as both a Fighter and Thief
for a few levels, then enter into training under a
Druid and learned their magic, at which point you
could be considered a Bard. They had Bardic lore
and a chance to charm enemies with their music.
It was 2nd edition that introduced Bards as
scoundrels with a rapier and limited casting, or
support characters whose roles include minor
healing and buffing through inspiring songs. The
concept from 1st edition was abandoned and the
new Bard was introduced as a close cousin to the
Thief, both tossed into the Rogue category. They
were sneaky, with limited casting and mediocre
attacks, and excelled at fast-talking. They inspire
through their music and know a little of everything
with their knack for collecting lore. Thus the jack
of all trades, master of none was born and the
Bard of fantasy games broke from the archetypes
of mythology. Also, once buffing inspiration
became a common and expected game mechanic
that idea more than anything took control of the
Bard’s fate.
very versatile and very malleable base Bard class.
We’re the jack of all trades, master of whichever
one we want to pick now.
If the War Chanter or jack of all trades bard is your
favorite character to play, then you are in luck. The
two current Bard Colleges provided in the Player’s
Handbook exemplify these already. But, for this
guide I wanted to fill in the rest of the bard
options, to open up other possibilities and not just
continue what 2nd edition started. With the new
design of the Bard in 5e, there is a lot of wiggle
room to make this happen. So, if you are looking
for something else, I should be able to help you
out.
One additional note: Concerning the Bard in 4th
edition D&D, my gaming group kept on playing 3.5
and didn’t really give 4e a try, so I don’t feel I can
comment on it. I do know that it continued in the
same general tradition as 2nd and 3rd editions
though.

3rd edition D&D took the Bard of 2nd edition and

ROLE IN SOCIETY
expanded upon its core ideas. To this end, the
After reading through all of that, maybe you’re
class was streamlined for the party role of support.
leaning in a specific direction, that the more
Bardic class and prestige class design doubled
magical or musical Bard has peaked your interest?
down on inspiring song buffs more than anything
That’s great, but there’s more to consider before
else and the quintessential 3rd edition Bard, the
you can tie up your character sheet with a nice,
War Chanter, was born. With a sword in hand, or
neat bow. Let’s take your background to start. Not
two, they took inspiration in combat to new
background meaning the 5th edition element of
heights, aided by the release of many prestige
character creation that lets you pick a chunk of
classes and feats that increased the power of their
skills. I mean, where did your Bard really come
buffs.
from and how do you fit into your campaign world?
With 5th edition D&D, we have a lot of long term Are there a lot of Bards? Are they respected? Do
Bard players who feel we finally have a version of you entertain? Who hires you or pays for your next
the class that could have some power behind it. meal?
The previous Bards weren’t very effective beyond
First off, does everyone know Elan? From the
heavy role-playing situations. Most parties would
Order of the Stick? If you scratched your head with
only want a bard around if all the other slots were
either of those, go to the internet now and come
filled, usually meaning a wizard, thief, cleric, and
back once you’ve done a lot of back reading. … …
warrior of some sort. Sure the bard added
Ready? Alright. Elan exemplifies everything about
something to the mix, but couldn’t fully cover the
the 2nd and 3rd edition Bards, packed nicely in
hole left if you didn’t have a “core” class. Now, with
the form of comic relief and swashbuckling
5th edition, the bard is given a full spellcaster
foppishness. He is a fantastic example of those
progression, which allows us to swap places with
types of Bards if that’s what you’re looking to play,
any wizard or sorcerer to take the party “mage”
but remember that there are many other routes
slot. But the changes go beyond that. We’re allowed
you can take.
to take spells from any caster’s spell list every few
levels, so we can heal like a Cleric or control Quick side note here: Every non-Bard D&D player
nature like a Druid. The fluff about being a there thinks Elan is what all Bards are supposed
scoundrel was stripped away and we now have a to be like. Go ahead, ask them.

MUSICA AETERNAM 7
BARD, SCOUNDREL, OR STAR?
Elan is the kind of roguish, scoundrel Bard that
was drawn from how most entertainers (including
musicians) were treated in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance Europe, which we’ll look at in a
second. Bards and musicians of all sorts lived very
different lives depending on both when and where
they lived, and it would be no different in a D&D
world.
The Celtic Bard
Our oldest Bard model. In early tribal societies,
music and words held magical roles, which gave
the Bards their power. Society revered them and
they were given lands and titles for their services
to their kings. They wrote poetry and sung, but
were fairly serious characters. I won’t discuss them
too much here since already covered their general
history.
The Renaissance Scoundrel
The “classic” D&D Bard. For this model to make
sense you need to know a couple things.
1) The arts were looked down upon in the Middle
Ages and Renaissance as something that was
beneath the gentlemen classes and nobility. To
even be a member of these professions starts
you on the bottom rungs of society. Throughout
most of this time, the Catholic Church even
had actors excommunicated.
2) There is no free market system or middle class
yet.
The last point probably doesn’t make much sense
at first glance. You see, you can’t easily make
money as a musician in these periods. There’s no
economy in the Middle Ages to support them
because the peasants don’t have any money (they
have to work for their lord for practically free in the
feudal system), and there is no middle class. Only
the elite have any money at all. So you, the
musician or actor, can either go to work for a Lord
and keep him as happy as you can in exchange for
food and a room over your head but little else, or
you can play for peasants at a tavern and make no
money there either.
With the middle class emerging in the Renaissance
artists of all sorts could finally begin to find work,
to some extent at least. However, they still
belonged to the outskirts of society and had to
scrape by to make a living, hence the scoundrel
stereotype. There’s a lot more history here, of
course, but you just need to know if your
campaign world has an economy that can support
performers or not, if you want to role-playing
accurately that is.
The Rock Star
I hate to disappoint anyone, but if you always
wanted to play a rock star Bard with hoards of
adoring fans in a standard D&D style world, you’re
probably out of luck. That sort of popularity and
wealth derived from performing didn’t exist until
the common people had spending cash to pay to
see you play, not until well after the Renaissance.
We also didn’t have many virtuosic instruments
until later on, ones that could perform really
complicated, fast music. Earlier music wasn’t
always as impressive as you might think. So
without both technological advances in crafting
and movement away from a feudal economy you
probably won’t be selling out stadiums.
You can play whatever you and your DM agree
upon, of course, since it is fantasy after all. But,
for those role-playing sticklers out there I wanted
to make sure you knew how these realities affected
performers.
ROLE IN THE PARTY
Unlike the complexity of how Bards and musicians
related to the societies they lived in, discussing
how to play an adventuring Bard in D&D is
relatively easy. Simply put, Bards are gloriously
versatile, so you can be whatever you want to be.
Do you have a certain style of play in mind?
Damage? Healer? Front line fighter? Stealthy
support? Whatever it is, chances are you can
accomplish it with a Bard.
Support
The easiest path to choose. We’re built to do this
without even thinking about it. It’s also what most
other players will expect you to do. Our spell list
naturally has heals and loads of utility spells, we
can heal even more post-battle with Song of Rest,
and everyone loves a little Bardic Inspiration.
MUSICA AETERNAM 8
Crowd Control
While this is usually lumped into support, I
wanted to separate it out because of how good we
are at it, at tactical battlefield control. Step 1) Get
any of the Instrument of the Bards magic items.
Step 2) cast any and every charm spell you have.
The enemies now save at disadvantage to these
when you use the instrument as your focus.
Hypnotic Pattern is particularly devastating/
abusive, but Suggestion and Dominate work
wonders too.

Skill Monkey
Do you want to know every lore skill and recapture
the Bardic Lore flavor of D&D 3.5? Do you want to
be the mouth of the party and talk your way out of
every tight spot? Do you want to be the forward
scout, sneaking ahead to find the enemies? Good
thing you can expertise four of your skills then, not
to mention you still get 1/2 proficiency bonus to all
the rest with Jack of All Trades.

Melee
Fancy yourself a Spellsword, Bladesinger, or War
Chanter? Nothing a few smart feat choices can’t
fix. Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) to learn Booming
Blade, Greenflame Blade, and Shield. Then select
all the Paladin Smite spells you want with your
Magical Secrets levels. The Smites are bonus
spells, which then allow you to still cast a cantrip
Blade spell that turn and pile on the magic melee
damage.

Spellcaster Damage
A little harder to accomplish on a Bard. We can
take damaging spells with our Magical Secrets
abilities, but fall behind the other casters in both
damage output and range of spell choices.
However, I’ve created my first new archetype to
address this concern specifically. 


MUSICA AETERNAM 9
Chapter 2: New Class Options

BARD COLLEGES
In this chapter you will find six new Bard Colleges,
as well as five new Feats. I didn’t add versions of
the Jack of all Trades Bard, since the Lore College
covers that well, nor the War Chanter Bard, which
the Valor College represents.

I also took one little liberty and added optional

level 20 capstone abilities for each archetype. I
ironically find the current Bard capstone, Superior
Inspiration, to be a little uninspired and so instead
created new ones in the flavor of each individual
college.

COLLEGE OF THE SPHERES

There is geometry in the humming of the
strings, there is music in the spacing of the
spheres.
—Pythagoras
In ancient times, a select few scholars believed in a
supreme order to the universe, guided by
mathematical proportions and ratios. Once
discovered, they began to see it everywhere: the
Golden Ratio. Plants spiraled their leaves
according to its divine pattern, and animals of the
sea grew their shells in the same manner. Even the
celestial bodies of the heavens, the planets
themselves, danced through space on
mathematically precise orbits. The relationships
were all perfect, too perfect to be less than divine
in origin.
These scholars soon lent their knowledge to
architects and artists alike, to spread the beauty of
this mathematical purity into our own creations.
Music in particular lent itself to the task. In fact,
the musical notes reflected the ratio so clearly that
music was viewed as our link to this universal
constant, a way for us to tap into the nature of the
divine itself. Scholars began to experiment and
imagined music all around them in nature. Even
the planets sang in their orbits, a galactic music of
the spheres.
Unfortunately, this knowledge was lost to antiquity.
Those that did stumble upon it thought it to be of
no use, just the useless pondering of the elder
civilizations of our world.
The Bards of the College of the Spheres, however,
know the truth. The secrets lived on, passed down
from Bardic masters to their apprentices through
the centuries. The knowledge was deemed to
dangerous for most men to possess, once the final
truths were revealed: Everything is the same.
Nature. Magic. Man. The Gods. Everything is born
out of the same supreme order. And music is the
key we possess to unlock it all.
Bonus Proficiencies
The path to study the music of the spheres, as it is
commonly known to the Bards who follow these
teachings, is rigorously academic. Initiates to the
College must spend countless hours reading dusty
old tomes until the basic concepts are grasped. 


MUSICA AETERNAM 10
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in two lore skills
of your choice: Arcana, History, Nature, or
Religion. If you are already proficient in these
skills, you may pick two other ones that reflect
your intensive studying.
Flash of Insight
Also at 3rd level, your training allows you to enter
a heightened mental state. As a bonus action, you
can spend one Bardic Inspiration die to enter this
state, which then lasts for 1 minute. At any time
during the duration, you may choose to expend the
Inspiration die to add raise to the DC of a spell you
cast by 1.
Additional Magical Secrets
At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice
from any class. A spell you choose must be of a
level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or
a cantrip. The chosen spells count as bard spells
for you, but don’t count against the number of
bard spells you know.
Diabolus in Musica
You have unlocked the secrets of diabolic power
through your studies and learned to apply its
destructive properties to your own magic. Starting
at 14th level, when you have used a Bardic
Inspiration die to enter your heightened mental
state, you may use the Inspiration die to add your
Charisma modifier to the damage of one spell you
cast, instead of increasing its save DC.
Musica Universalis (optional)
At 20th level, you perceive the world around you in
the simplicity of its mathematical forms at all
times. Thus, you see your magic as being no
different from that of Wizards, Clerics, Druids, or
the Gods themselves. Magic is magic, is music, is
mathematics. Once per long rest, you can lose an
unused spell slot to spontaneously cast any spell
of the same level or lower from any class’s spell
list.
COLLEGE OF THE SILVER PEN
You without me can be nothing but silent.
I without you can have nothing to say.
—Cynddelw, Hendregadredd
One of the primary roles of a bard is that of
chronicler, to immortalize the exploits of heroes
and kings in song or poetry. For some Bards,
however, merely recording these stories is not
enough. They are often too boring, too normal. No
one would sit in silence, in awe of stories such as
these. Perhaps if the Bard applied his artistic
touch to them, though, then they might stir the
hearts of the audience.
When Bards of the Silver pen touch their quill to
the parchment, magic flows from them into their
very words. Then a curious thing happens. The
events that these Bards record, and the men and
women whose lives they preserve in their words,
are changed by the way their tale is told. A hero
may find himself more bold after hearing about his
defeat of the black dragon that he never actually
met. A queen may find compassion in her heart for
prisoners, where there was none before, when told
that she’s always done so in the past.
Words are powerful, as are those that write them
down. We’ve all heard it before. History is written
by the victors. The pen is mightier than the sword.
But, how many pens can influence the fate of
kingdoms with a few short lines?
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of the Silver Pen at 3rd
level, you gain proficiency in two skills from:
Deception, Insight, or Persuasion. This represents
your increased awareness of how words
manipulate those around you. If you already are
proficient in these skills, you may pick two other
ones in their place.
Cutting Words
Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit to
distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the
confidence and competence of others. When a
creature you can see within 60 feet of you makes
an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll,
you can use your reaction to expend one of your
uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic
Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled
from the creature’s roll. You can choose to use this
feature after the creature makes its roll, but before 

MUSICA AETERNAM 11
the DM determines whether the attack roll or
ability check succeeds or fails, or before the
creature deals its damage. The creature is immune
if it can’t hear you or if it’s immune to being
charmed.
Lasting Praise
By 6th level, the Bard understands how to enchant
their own handwriting so that the their
inspirations can live on in ink and paper. For the
cost of 25 gold pieces in special inks, the Bard can
inscribe a sheet of parchment with an inspirational
poem. The magic of the inspiration persists on this
scroll until a creature other than the Bard reads it,
at which point they feel uplifted by its message.
The creature receives a 1d8 Bardic Inspiration die
following the standard rules, including the 10
minute duration, etc. Once read, the poem no
longer holds any magic.
Curse of 100 Tongues
At 14th level, the Bard is able to produce lasting,
debilitating curses against those that have
wronged them. The Bard must write out a poem
cursing the name of their foe in detail, spending at
least 1 minute to do so. The curse is then folded
up and kept on the Bard’s person, close to their
heart. The enemy named in the poem suffers a -1
penalty to all attacks, saving throws, and ability
checks for 1 week, after which the magic fades.
The power of the curse increases to -3 if a drop of
target’s blood was mixed in with the ink used to
write it down. The Bard can only have 1 curse
active at any given time.
Jumping off the Page (optional)
By 20th level, the Bard’s knack for embellishing
scenes with new characters and plot twists spills
over into reality. She can evoke her imagination
and, with a few spoken words, improvise her own
story as it is still happening. Once per long rest,
you can cast one of the following spells without
using a spell slot: conjure animals, conjure celestial,
conjure elemental, conjure fey, or conjure woodland
beings.
MUSICA AETERNAM 12
COLLEGE OF THE SACRED YEW
Hear the voice of the bard,
Who present, past, and future sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walk’d among the ancient trees.
—William Blake, Hear the Voice
While most Druids keep to themselves and hold
their private rituals in sacred groves, others are
also often priests of secluded tribal societies,
preaching the balance of nature and leading the
villagers into a life of harmony with the plants and
animals around them. In these places, Bards hold
a place of honor akin to their Druidic brethren.
They are magicians and wonder-workers to those
around them and use their arcane skills to tend to
and protect the close-knit communities that they
are born into. They learn the histories of their
people by memory, keep track of their systems of
laws, and often become advisors to the local
chieftan or king, aided by their talents in
divination and prophecy.
Druidic Training
At 3rd level, the Bard of the Sacred Yew undergoes
initiation into the Druidic orders to further his or
her training. You add Druidic to your known
languages and learn two cantrips of your choice
from the Druid spell list. These are considered
Bard spells for you.
Wild Shape
Once reaching 6th level, you are taught the secrets
of Druidic shapeshifting. You can use this ability
as a Druid of 2nd level. At 12th level you can
change form as a Druid of 4th level, but with flying
speed allowed, and at 19th level you can change
form as a Druid of 8th level. For the complete
rules, see the Druid Wild Shape ability on pages
66-67 of the Players Handbook.
In addition, at 12th level you may choose from
three specific bird forms, unique to the College of
the Sacred Yew: bardic sparrow, bardic owl, and
bardic eagle. When in each of these forms, the
Bard can sing a bird song that imparts benefits to
party members within 60 feet. This benefit lasts for
as long as the Bard continues to sing. The sparrow
song grants 10 speed, the owl song grants
darkvision 30 feet, and the eagle song grants
advantage on perception checks that rely on sight.
Ear of the King
Starting at 14th level, the reputation of your
College precedes you and your advice is highly
valued and sought after. You can always find food
and lodging with nobility or other local authority
figures. You also have advantage on Persuasion
checks made to influence their actions.
Gift of Prophesy (optional)
At 20th level, once per long rest you can glimpse
the future clearly enough to warn others of the
dangers that lie before them. If you spend 1
minute concentrating on a person, you can look
into their future and tell them fragments of what
you see. They roll two d20s and record the
numbers rolled. They can then replace any attack
roll, saving throw, or ability check made by them
with one of these rolls. They must choose to do so
before the roll, and can only replace a roll in this
way once per turn. Each roll can only be used
once. When they finish a long rest, they lose any
unused rolls.
COLLEGE OF THE ETERNAL VEIL
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and
women merely players
—Shakespeare, As you like it
They call themselves Weavers. Some would say
they’ve completely lost touch with reality, that they
truly don’t know what’s real and what isn’t
anymore. But a Weaver would simply ask, “What is
reality? Is this chair real? Can you see it? Smell
the wood and dust? Hear it creak when I move it?
Can you feel it splintering along the top?” Then
with a wink the chair is gone. “If you can’t trust
that it was real, when you had it right in front of
you, how do you know anything is?”
Weavers are Bards who combine acting with the
magic of illusion to create immersive stories of
their own design. They aren’t content to act only
on the stage a few nights a week. No, the thrill of
acting is far too great to restrict only to the theater.
They choose instead to make the world around
them at any given moment their stage, whenever,
wherever, and with whomever passing by drawn
into their drama. They can be anyone and
anywhere they wish and in a blink of an eye it’s all
shifted and they’re gone.
MUSICA AETERNAM 13
The Weaver’s Craft
At 3rd level you specialize in the school of illusion
and begin to incorporate these skills into your
performances. You learn the minor illusion cantrip.
If you already know this cantrip, you learn a
different bard cantrip of your choice. The cantrip
doesn’t count against your cantrips known. When
you cast minor illusion, you can create both a
sound and an image with a single casting of the
spell.
Setting the Stage
By 6th level, you can seamlessly blend your acting
with your illusions to great effect. When you
attempt a Deception check in the presence of one
of your illusions, you can manipulate it to reinforce
your charade and gain advantage on the roll.
Spinning the Tale
At 14th level, you are allowed to make a
performance check when a creature is presented
with proof that your illusion is not real. If your roll
is higher than their insight roll, you soothe their
doubts and they still believe in your illusion.
Lowering the Veil (optional)
Once you reach 20th level, your illusions are so
real that they trick a creature’s mind into believing
that they can actually be felt. As a bonus action,
you can imbue an existing illusion of yours with
this potent ability, which lasts for ten minutes.
Each time a creature comes into contact with part
of the illusion they make an intelligence save. If
they fail, their body involuntarily stops itself, as if
they had actually touched the object, and the
illusion is not broken. For example, you could
effectively lock them in a room with no way out or
lose them in a crowd of people. The illusions can
do them no harm, other than the sense of
touching something solid. You can use this ability
once per long rest.
COLLEGE OF SONG IMMEMORIAL
When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am
invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the
earliest times, and to the latest.
—Henry David Thoreau
For some musicians, the joy of music is about the
performance itself, connecting with an audience to
share in this rare, ephemeral art form. For others
it’s about being lost in the moment itself, closing
your eyes and knowing nothing but the sounds
that envelope you. The quest to find these little
moments of pure musical perfection is what drives
Bards of the College of Song Immemorial to
practice for hours on end, day after day. If you ask
them, though, the reward is worth a hundred
times the effort they put in.
This devotion to their craft and mastery over the
musical arts allows them to channel pure,
unrestrained emotion through their instruments,
resulting in melodies that resonate deeply with
anyone who can hear them. Even the most battle
hardened warrior would be hard pressed to resist
and not stand in rapt attention to listen when
these Bards begins to play.
Born Performer
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the
performance skill as well as with two musical
instruments (considered tools).
Persuasive Song
Also at 3rd level, your skillful musical
performances can make the audience think more
highly of you. While performing, you can expend a
Bardic Inspiration die to adjust the attitude of one
target NPC by one degree; from unfriendly to
indifferent, indifferent to friendly, or friendly to
helpful. Hostile NPCs can’t be influenced by this
ability.
Fascinating Rhythm
At 6th level, your music begins to enchant the
senses of any audience you play before. When
performing, and by using a Bardic Inspiration die,
you can attempt to charm any number of creatures
within 30 feet of you. They must all be able to see
and hear you perform. Each audience member
makes a wisdom save versus your spell DC and is
charmed on a failed save.
MUSICA AETERNAM 14
This effect functions as per the hypnotic pattern
spell. If you are playing on an Instrument of the
Bards magic item, it confers disadvantage to their
saves as if you were casting a charm spell. The
charm effect lasts as long as you perform and for 1
minute afterwards.
Rapture of the Song
Once you reach 14th level, you enter a state of
musical ecstasy when inspiring others and are
more resilient to anything going on around you.
When you grant another creature a Bardic
Inspiration die, you gain +1 AC, +1 Saves, and
Damage Reduction 2/ until the start of your next
turn.

MUSICA AETERNAM 15
Stealing the Limelight (optional)
Your music is so potent at 20th level that you can
wrest control of a creature from the influence of
another charm spell. When you encounter a
charmed creature you can roll a Performance
check versus the DC of the charm spell. If you
succeed, you gain control of the charm spell and
therefore control of the creature. This works with
charm person, suggestion, hypnotic pattern,
dominate, or any other charm spell. If the spell
requires concentration, you must concentrate to
keep the charm going. This ability is usable once
per long rest.
TROUPE OF THE SHADOWDANCERS
All the beauty of life is made up of light and
shadow.
—Leo Tolstoy
Stories of shadowdancers have long filled the
imagination of common and learned folk alike.
Most people have never encountered one, but they
will insist they know exactly what they are: Thieves
and cutthroats all, ones who sell their souls for
power over the darkness. Some have even heard
that they travel to the shadow realm itself to
uncover long forgotten and forbidden secrets.
All of this is utter nonsense, of course, but the real
shadowdancers enjoy the stories as much as the
next traveler. No, learning to dance with shadows
isn't a matter of dark pacts but an art, born of
hard practice and sweat like any other and
combined with bardic magic. Dance and the
search for beauty in perfect movements lies at the
heart of their craft, not darkness. In fact, what use
is darkness if no one can then see you move? No,
the light and shadows are just their partners,
illuminating their bodies with fleeting shadowy
images and shades of gray. In time they learn to
control the shadows around them and perfect their
beautiful duet.
Fleet of Foot
Starting at 3rd level, your training in dance grants
you improved athleticism that you can use in
combat. You can take a bonus action on each of
your turns in combat, which can be used only to
take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide actions.
Grace under Pressure
Also at 3rd level, your natural agility can inspire
those around you. A creature that has a Bardic
Inspiration die from you can use that die to
increase their movement speed by 15 feet for one
turn.
Fading Light
Shadowdancers learn to shape the light at 6th
level, to create the ideal conditions for shadows to
exist. Once per short rest you can dim the light in
a 30 foot radius centered on you. This effect lasts
for 1 minute, moves with you, and gives you and
your party (those within the radius) advantage on
stealth checks based on sight.
Twisting Shadows
Starting at 14th level, you can control your shadow
and the shadows that fall across you to mislead an
attacker, by moving them sporadically in
unnatural directions. When targeted with a melee
or ranged attack, you can use your reaction to
force your attacker to roll at disadvantage. This
ability uses a Bardic Inspiration die.
Shadow Dance (optional)
At 20th level, you have reached the pinnacle of the
Shadowdancer’s craft and can animate your own
shadow to aid you in combat. Once per long rest,
you can use your action to have your shadow rise
off the ground in two-dimensions and attack your
nearest opponent for up to 1 minute.
The shadow is opaque and partially obstructs
vision (other than yours and those that can see
through magical darkness). It is also immaterial
and exists in your space, passing harmlessly
through you and your attacks as it fights. The
constant barrage of movement from your shadow
distracts your opponent and gives all of your
attacks advantage. It also causes your opponent to
suffer disadvantage on their attacks against you.
This only affects a single target that both you and
your shadow attack together, though as a free
action you can direct your shadow to attack a new
target once per round. At the end of the minute,
your shadow melds back down to its normal
position on the floor.

MUSICA AETERNAM 16
FEATS
These feats will hopefully fill in a few of the gaps in
the feat list of the Player’s Handbook and
compliment different approaches to the Bard and
styles of play.
ARCANE VISAGE
Prerequisite: Can cast a 1st level arcane spell
In your desire to follow in the footsteps of the
greatest of mages, you begin to emulate how they
look and behave and bend your magic to aid in this
task. You know there is subtle power in convincing
the world you are greater than you actually are.
You gain the following benefits:
• As an action, you can completely clean yourself
of all dirt and grime, dry yourself and your
clothes, style and color your hair, or shave or
trim your facial or body hair.
• As an action, you can conjure any article of
clothing or jewelry from within 5 feet and have it
appear on your body, instantly wearing it. If you
were wearing a similar item, you can have it
trade places with the first item during the same
action. This does not allow you to don armor.
• You can use magic items as if you were a wizard,
ignoring the prerequisite if you could not
otherwise do so.
BATTLEDANCER
Prerequisite: Proficiency in Performance skill
You have been trained in a rare combat style that
combines the rhythmic precision of dance with the
fury of melee combat.
You can use a bonus action to begin your dance,
which lasts for 1 minute. You are not able to
perform the battle dance if wearing medium or
heavy armor, using a shield, or wielding a heavy
weapon. While dancing, you gain the following
benefits:
• You gain a bonus to melee weapon attacks equal
to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).
• Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
• You can use Dash or Disengage as a bonus
action.
Maintaining the battle dance is exhausting and
you can only use this ability once per long rest.
DIPLOMAT
You have served as a negotiator through many
tricky situations and gain the following benefits:
• Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a
maximum of 20.
• You have advantage on persuasion checks other
than haggling over price.
• You have a +5 bonus to your passive Wisdom
(Insight) score.
MELODIC CASTING
Through intense study and practice, you have
figured out how to seamlessly blend magic into
your performances. You gain the following benefits:
• You can cast spells while performing,
incorporating the verbal and somatic
components into your playing without disrupting
the performance. If there is no obvious point of
origin for a spell, it is unclear that you are the
one that cast it.
• You can use your Charisma modifier instead of
Constitution for checks to maintain
concentration while casting a spell.
• You can use a musical instrument as your spell
casting focus, if you were unable to do so before.
VIRTUOSO
You are often hailed as one of the most gifted
performers of your generation and gain the
following benefits:
• Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a
maximum of 20.
• You have advantage on Performance checks.
• Wherever you perform, you attract the attention
of local patrons of the arts and enjoy the
notoriety of being a minor celebrity in these
circles.
MUSICA AETERNAM 17
CHAPTER 3: NEW EPIC OPTIONS

EPIC CLASS FEATURES
Below I have provided epic class features for each
of my new archetypes. These allow you to take your
Bard all the way up to level 30, using the system
created by Marc Altfuldisch in Epic Characters.
These abilities are unlocked at level 27 and as
such are obviously meant to be powerful, elevating
your character into the ranks of the mightiest
heroes the realms have ever seen.
COLLEGE OF THE SPHERES
SONG OF WARDING
Beginning at 27th level, you are able to sing a
countersong that matches the damage type of
an incoming hostile spell and dissipates its
effects a little. As a reaction, you can gain
resistance to the damage of one spell.
COLLEGE OF THE SILVER PEN
WRITING ON THE WALL
Starting at 27th level, you can quickly scribe a
note of warning onto a nearby surface to protect
against enemies and intruders. This ability
functions exactly as the spell glyph of warding,
but with a casting time of one action, without
consuming a spell slot or material components,
and cast as if using an 8th level spell slot. You
can only have one glyph active at a time and you
cannot use this ability again until after
completing a long rest.
COLLEGE OF THE SACRED YEW
CALL OF THE PROPHET
Beginning at 27th level, when you receive
prophetic visions in the midst of combat, you
can shout out a warning to those around you.
You can spend a Bardic Inspiration die as a
reaction to grant yourself and all allies within 60
feet that can see and hear you advantage on
their saving throws against one spell or ability.
This can be used to protect a group against an
area of effect spell or ability, but also could be
used to warn a single ally about a targeted one.
COLLEGE OF THE ETERNAL VEIL
TRUE-WOVEN VEIL
Upon reaching 27th level, your illusions are so
realistic that you can even fool truesight. As a
bonus action, you can imbue one of your
illusions so that creatures with truesight do not
automatically detect it as an illusion, nor do
they automatically succeed on saving throws
against it.
This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to
your Charisma modifier. Once is has stopped,
you cannot use it again until after you finish a
long rest.
COLLEGE OF SONG IMMEMORIAL
MUSIC OF THE GODS
Starting at 27th level, any charm spells you cast
are able to affect creatures normally immune to
being charmed. This also applies to your class
abilities that charm, such as fascinating rhythm.
However, these creatures make their saving
throws with advantage. Also, when a normally
charm immune creature succeeds on a saving
throw against one of your charm spells or
abilities, it is immune to the effect of your
charms for the next 24 hours.

MUSICA AETERNAM 18
TROUPE OF THE SHADOWDANCERS
CLOAK OF LIVING SHADOW
Beginning at 27th level, in dire circumstances,
when avoiding injury is otherwise impossible,
your shadow takes on a will of its own to aid
you. Without so much as a though from you, it
swiftly rises off of the ground and wraps itself
around you like a cloak, simultaneously infusing
itself with essence from the shadow plane to
gain enough form to partially block the attack.
This functions exactly like the Evasion ability.
When you are subjected to an effect that allows
you to make a Dexterity saving throw to only
take half damage, you instead take no damage if
you succeed on the saving throw, and only half
damage if you fail.
EPIC BOONS
The following Epic Boons are specific to the
gameplay and abilities of high level Bards, unlike
the more generic Boons found in the Dungeon
Master Guide. Additionally, the balance between
Boons in the DMG can vary greatly and was
criticized by some for that. My goal here was to
make these ones feel suitably epic, but not quite
Godly.
As a side note, one choice I made is to not use flat
damage immunity. As a DM I find this often takes
too much challenge out of the game in the long
run, so instead I would limit the DMG Boons to
damage resistance (such as Boon of the Fire Soul).
I would, however, allow this Boon to upgrade an
existing resistance (such as what the Tiefling
possesses) to immunity.
BOON OF MANY FACES
You have advantage on any checks to use a
disguise kit. Also, as an action, you can either cast
disguise self (at will) or alter self (once per short
rest). Both are cast without using a spell slot or
any components.
BOON OF PRIMAL MUSIC
Prerequisite: Level 20 Bard
You have resistance to thunder damage and any
spells you cast ignore thunder resistance on
others. Also, as an action, you can either cast
thunderwave (at will), or shatter (once per short
rest). Both are cast with spell save DC 15 and
without using a spell slot or any components.
BOON OF UNERRING SKILL
When you fail an ability check (such as a skill roll),
you can choose to succeed instead. You can use
this ability twice per short rest.
MUSICA AETERNAM 19
CHAPTER 4: NEW MAGIC ITEMS

Whether you mean for them to or not, magic items
will end up defining your character in many ways.
They give you new powers and defenses that you
will end up relying on, and may in fact influence
your choice of future feats. But also, iconic items
such as Odin’s spear, Thor’s hammer, or the
scimitar combo of Icingdeath and Twinkle make
their wielders instantly recognizable to both friend
and foe.
Unfortunately, the list provided in the Dungeon
Master’s Guide isn’t exhaustive enough to provide
the variety most of us desire, and the selection we
do have doesn’t cover legendary versions of all the
classes. Because of that, I decided to create a few
new options, to help fill that void.
DIPLOMAT’S IMMUNITY
Armor (leather), very rare (requires attunement)
The life of a diplomat isn’t for the faint of heart.
You are tasked with taking an offer from your
kingdom, often just a letter of terms but sometimes
accompanied by a chest of gold and jewels,
transporting it through most likely hostile
territory, and then making sure the negotiations go
smoothly. When things do turn sour, it is more
often than not your head that the enemy wants to
send back in a sack to make sure their rejection of
the terms is clear.
Because of these risks, kingdoms with the wealth
to do so often provide their top diplomats with
special protective gear to ensure their safe return,
hopefully free of unwanted sword or arrow holes.
This exquisitely crafted leather armor is one such
example, which weighs only half as much as its
traditional counterparts and is often covered with
the intricately drawn heraldic symbols of the
kingdom that commissioned it. While wearing it,
you gain a bonus of +1 to your AC and +1 to all
saving throws. Additionally, when you are targeted
with an attack, you may use your reaction to cast
sanctuary with a spell DC of 18. You must finish a
short or long rest before you can use this ability
again.
SATCHEL OF THE COMBAT MEDIC
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a
character both proficient in the Medicine skill and
able to cast at least one healing spell)
During times of war, men and women from all
walks of life are conscripted to defend their
homelands. Those that can fight are given a sword
and sent to the front lines. Other that can’t still
find work in the kitchens or supply caravans.
Rogues are made into spies and Clerics man the
field hospitals to tend to the wounded. It was
discovered long ago, however, that those trained in
the bardic arts had a knack unlike any others for
healing among the chaos of the battlefield. Adept
at basic healing spells, they also could muddle the
minds of enemies around them and lift the spirits
of their comrades, inspiring them to great deeds.
Soon all bards were gathered into special units,
where they were taught the basics of non-magical
medicine as well, for when their own arcane power
was depleted.
While most simply did the best they could, the
legends around a few of the medics grew to almost
unbelievable heights. On one fateful day, when a
medic’s unit was ambushed high in a mountain
pass and all hope seemed lost, she somehow kept
every last one of her compatriots alive through an
onslaught of arrows and spears and turned the
battle in their favor. Years later, when she was in
command of her nation’s medic corps and a
student asked her about that day, she patted the
healer’s kit on her belt and smiled. “Just
remember the basics and you’ll be fine,” she said,
though the student swore there was something
else behind the twinkle in her eye.
This healer’s kit is a small, brown leather belt
pouch has unlimited uses of standard bandages,
salves and splints, though that is just a fraction of
its power. It bestows its owner with advantage on
all Wisdom (medicine) checks and whenever they
cast a healing spell, any 1 that is rolled is instead
treated as a 2. In addition, they can cast the
following spells: lesser restoration, greater
restoration, aura of purity, aura of vitality, and heal.
Once a spell has been cast, it can’t be cast again
until the next dawn.
MUSICA AETERNAM 20
SINGING SWORD
Weapon (any sword), legendary (requires
attunement by a bard)

Tales of singing swords are popular throughout the

taverns of Faerun, though there is often little truth
behind these stories. On any given night, buy a
round of drinks and at some point the singing
sword is likely to emerge. In most stories, they sing
constantly on their own when drawn and
embolden their wielder. While this is not
completely accurate, there is always some truth
hidden at the core of any myth. In fact, the name
singing sword comes from the very musical tones
that rings out when the sword strikes a target. If a
trained Bard strikes fast enough with one, they are
able to find just the right rhythm to bring these
notes to life and lift a melody high into the air. A
true master will even be able to harmonize their
own singing with that of the sword.

This +2 sword is blessed with speed and grants

the wielder the Extra Attack feature (the ability to
attack two times when you take the attack action).
If you already have the Extra Attack feature from
another source, such as the Bardic College of
Valor, the sword enhances it to allow you to attack
three times with your attack action, instead of two.

When you hit a target with the sword, the

resulting tone alerts any creatures within 300 feet
to your presence. However, if you succeed in hitting
with the sword at least two times on your turn and
then use your bonus action to impart Bardic
Inspiration to an ally, you can blend the music of
the two together to great effect. When your ally
uses the inspiration die they can roll it twice and
use the greater result. If you wish, you can use
your action to strike your sword against a hard
surface multiple times to create the tones, instead
of attacking, and still imbue your inspiration with
the extra potency.

MUSICA AETERNAM 21