The New 2024 Bard: DnD 5e Class Changes

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As masters of song and speech, the Bard is one of the most instantly recognizable of all DnD classes, serving as the boon (and occasional bane) of countless adventuring parties. Yet since 2014, the DnD 5e Bard has strut and fret its hour upon the stage without much in the way of any major casting change.

Fortunately, the Bard is back in the spotlight and getting another chance to perform, thanks to the new 2024 Player’s Handbook. Many of the changes to the class will be familiar to anyone who’s been playing along with the One D&D test, but Wizards of the Coast has also made some further revisions, including an update to Bardic inspiration, enhanced magical abilities and a brand new subclass.

So will these changes be music to player’s ears or is Wizards of the Coast completely out of tune? Below, we drum up all the details.

What’s changed in the new 2024 Bard for DnD 5e?

Below are all the changes to the 2024 Bard versus the 2014 Bard (notably, both still fall under the DnD 5e rules).

Bard Feature	Level	Changes to the 2024 Bard Class
Bardic Inspiration	1	– Creatures granted Bardic Inspiration now have an hour to use it instead of 10 minutes. – Bardic Inspiration can now be rolled after a creature fails a D20 Test.Bardic Inspiration can now be granted to a creature who can hear or see you.
Expertise	2	Now granted at level 2 instead of level 3.
Song of Rest	2	Removed
Bard Subclasses	3	– College of Dance is a brand new subclass. – College of Glamour replaces Enthralling Performance with Beguiling Magic. – College of Lore no longer has immunity rules against Cutting Words. – College of Valor can now use a Simple or Martial weapon as a Spellcasting focus and use a cantrip on your Extra Attack.
Font of Inspiration	5	Can expend a spell slot to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration.
Countercharm	7	– Now a level 7 feature. – Countercharm is now a Reaction used after a creature fails a saving throw to avoid being Charmed or Frightened.
Expertise	9	Now granted at level 9 instead of level 10.
Magical Secrets	10	Can select spells from the Cleric, Druid, and Wizard spell list in addition to Bard spells whenever your number of Prepared Spells increases.
Superior Inspiration	18	– Now at level 18 instead of level 20. – Can gain back up to 2 uses of Bardic Inspiration instead of 1.
Epic Boon	19	Choose one Epic Boon feat or another feat of your choice.
Words of Creation	20	– Always have Power Word Heal and Power Word Kill spells prepared. – Can possibly target a second creature with either.

How will the 2024 Bard changes impact gameplay?

Level 1: Bardic Inspiration

In the 2014 rules, this core class feature allowed you to use a bonus action to grant Bardic Inspiration to any creature within 60 feet who could hear you. That creature then gained one Bardic Inspiration dice (starting as a d6 at Level 1, but growing to a d8 at Level 5, a d10 at Level 10 and a d12 at Level 15). For the next 10 minutes, they could roll this die and add the result to one of their ability checks, attack roles or saving throws.

Notably, the target could wait until after rolling a d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but had to decide before the DM said whether the roll succeeded or failed. Once the Bardic Inspiration die was rolled it was lost (notably, a creature could have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time). Bards could only use this feature a number of times equal to their Charisma modifier and regained expended uses after a Long Rest.

The 2024 rules for Bardic Inspiration are the same except for a few major differences: First, Bardic Inspiration now lasts a full hour, rather than just 10 minutes. Second, the target can now use it whenever they wish, including after initially failing a D20 roll. What’s more, the feature now works on any target that can both hear and see you, so even if a target is deafened, they could still get Bardic Inspiration if they’re within range.

Level 2: Expertise

In the 2014 rules, Bards received Expertise at 3rd level. This allowed them to choose choose two skills they’re proficient in and then double their proficiency bonus (notably, Bards got to choose two more skills to benefit from at Level 10).

This feature works exactly the same for 2024 Bards, with the only major change being that as a Bard you now get Expertise at Level 2 and again at Level 9, instead of Level 3 and Level 10 as per the old rules.

Level 2: Song of Rest

In the 2014 rules this feature allowed you to create a performance that could heal wounded allies during a short rest. By spending one or more Hit Dice, each creature that could hear you would regain an extra 1d6 hit points.

In the 2024 rules, this feature is no longer available to Bards, with Wizards of the Coast saying that they felt it would be too powerful given some of the other enhancements the class is getting.

Level 5: Font of Inspiration

In the 2014 rules, this feature allowed you to regain all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finished a Short or Long Rest. In the 2024 rules, this is still the case, however, you can also expend a spell slot to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration. You can do this anytime you wish and it does not require an action.

This is a major boost to the class and really opens the path for players using their Bardic Inspiration more often, rather than hoarding it. Notably, this is similar to the new “Magical Cunning” feature of the new 2024 Warlock that lets you restore Pact Magic spells (another resource that players often ended up hoarding rather than using).

Level 7: Countercharm

For the 2014 Bard, Countercharm was a feature that was unlocked at Level 6. As an action, you started a performance that lasted until the end of your next turn (or until you were silenced or incapacitated). You and any friendly creatures within 30 feet that could hear you then received advantage on saving throws against being Frightened or Charmed.

The 2024 version of Countercharm works more or less the same. The biggest change, however, is that it is now a Reaction, which you can use after you or an ally fails their saving throw against being Frightened or Charmed. The target then gets to reroll their save with Advantage (which means there are really now three chances to save). Additionally, the feature has an unlimited number of uses, so you can use it in any round when an enemy is attempting to magically influence or terrify you or one of your party members.

Level 10: Magical Secrets

In the 2014 rules, Bards could choose two spells from any class that were of a level they were able to cast. Those spells then counted as Bard spells and were added to the total number of Spells Known (notably, you learned two additional spells at Level 14 and again at Level 18).

For the 2024 Bard, Magical Secrets now lets you a select spells from the Cleric, Druid or Wizard spell list any time you can add to your Prepared Spell list. For this purpose they are considered Bard spells. This an incredibly powerful new buff that opens up a ton of new spellcasting potential for the class.

Level 18: Superior Inspiration

In the 2014 rules you received Superior Inspiration at level 20. This feature allowed to regain one use of Bardic Inspiration if you had none left when you roll initiative.

In the 2024 rules, Bards now get this feature at Level 17. In addition, it has changed that if you have 1 Bardic Inspiration left, when you roll initiative you get one more. Similarly, if you no Bardic Inspiration left in your pool, you get two more the next time you roll initiative.

Level 19: Epic Boon

In the 2014 rules, Epic Boons were only given out by DMs. In the new 2024 core rules, however, players can now choose them. There are 12 base Epic Boons to choose from that are shared among the classes but Wizards recommends Bards take the “Boon of Spell Recall”, which increase your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma score by 1 (to a maximum of 30). Additionally, when you cast a spell with a level 1-4 slot, you get to roll a d4. If the roll matches the spell level, you don’t expend the spell slot.

If that Epic Boon isn’t to your liking, Wizards also recommends that Bards take the “Boon of Skill” (which grants you proficiencies in all skills and gives you yet another Expertise) or the “Boon of Speed” (which lets you Disengage as a Bonus Action and adds 30 feet to your Speed).

Level 20: Words of Creation

This a new 2024 Bard feature that lets you add two of DnD’s most powerful spells: Power Word Kill and Power Word Heal to your prepared spell list (both of which have the potential to literally change the outcome of even major battles).

If that wasn’t enough, when casting either of these spells you can target a second creature with it if the are within 10 feet of the original target. This is an incredibly powerful feature that really ups the ante when it comes to high-level Bards.

What are the changes to the 2024 Bard subclasses?

In the new 2024 Player’s Handbook there are four official Bard subclasses: the College of Dance, College of Glamour, College of Lore and College of Valor. Notably, Lore and Valor both appeared in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, while Glamour first appeared in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. The College of Dance, however, is a completely new subclass that only previously appeared in Unearthed Arcana playtest materials.

As with the 2014 rules, you choose your subclass at Level 3. Below is a brief description of the new subclass and the changes made to the three existing subclasses (all of which are fairly minor).

• College of Dance: This brand-new Bard subclass lets you channel magic through the art of dance. Mechanically, this means boosts to your defenses when not wearing armor and the use their Bardic Inspiration to fuel powerful Unarmed Strikes.
• College of Glamour: Enthralling Performance is replaced with Beguiling Magic, which adds Charm Person and Mirror Image to your prepared spells list and gives you a chance to bestow the Charmed or Frightened effect on a creature that sees you cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell within 60 feet.
• College of Lore: When you use Bardic Inspiration to activate Cutting Words, your roll is no longer impacted by whether the creature can hear you or if they’re immune to being Charmed.
• College of Valor: You can now use a Simple or Martial weapon as a Spellcasting focus. In addition, you get an Extra Attack at level 6, although you can swap out one of these attacks for any cantrip that requires an action to cast.

Final Thoughts on the New Bard

While fans have been mixed on some of the new 2024 classes (particularly the new Ranger and the new Paladin), there’s a lot to love with the new 2024 Bard. The class feels more much powerful now and the Bardic Inspiration feature is far more versatilie and useful, encouraging players to use their die rather than hoard them (which was often the case in the 2014 rules). The design team has also done a great job of amping up the use of magic and making Bards far more formidable spellcasters.

That being said, fans often refuse to dance to Wizards of the Coast’s tune, so it remains to be seen just how the new class will be received by the larger DnD 5e community.

You can find the complete rules for the new Bard in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available for pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.

Below is also a video from the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel, with DnD lead designer Jeremy Crawford offering a deep dive into the new features of the 2024 Bard.

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