The New One D&D Bard Is INSANE! Full Breakdown! 

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Something you failed to mention that is a big early-game nerf is that the amount of Bardic Inspiration is no longer your CHA modifier, but your Proficency Bonus! Which makes you really hankering for that font of inspiration feature that comes on at later levels.

Well, that's 24 hours of solid, non-stop work. I'm going to bed. I need my own Song of Rest...

Hey Shorts, I haven't seen anyone in the comments mention this yet but Bards do actually get Thunderwave. It was turned into an Transmutation Spell in the UA. Some other spells like the cure wounds also changed what School of Magic they are.

Two things that I've noticed with the new material: 1) I think they're trying to encourage higher-level play by granting some of the cool, powerful stuff a few levels further down the road. 2) With the Bard changes, I'm waiting for DMs to complain that their characters are ever harder to put down!

I don't think that's how Magical Secrets works. I think you pick the spell list at 11th level, and after each long rest, you can select two spells from that spell list. You also aren't restricted to particular schools of magic. At 15th level you pick a second spell list from which you can prepare two additional spells without restriction to particular schools of magic. But once you select those spell lists, I think those are fixed. It's still a great buff.

Just a note on magical secrets: You dont select 2 spells from any class list. You choose a spell list (Arcane-divine or primal) from where you can choose 2 spells. On long rest you can change the spells but NOT the spell list choosen (meaning, if you selected the arcane spell list, you need to search between arcane spells. You cannot use Divine or Primal spells). At least thats how it written for now

Quick note: Superior Bardic Inspiration received a couple small buffs. It now gives you two inspiration uses instead of one, and you get them back anytime you roll initiative, not just when you have none left.

you need to reread the bards spellcasting again. It has changed dramatically. bards are now prepared casters, so they can change their spells every day, which seems to include cantrips. and it looks like all casters now can only prepare a certain numbers of specific level spells per day. so a level five bard can only prepare 3 cantrips, 4 first level spells. 3 second level spells, and 2 third level spells. that is a dramatic change across the board.

I quite like the bardic inspiration healing only working immdiately after they get hurt. To me this makes it seem less like magical restoration mahic knitting back wounds and such, it feels like the bard is encouraging the party member to fight through the pain, letting them feel the hurt less. Helps to establish them more as a team morale booster, which really fits the classic bard depictions imo

I like that they moved the capstone feature to 18. It allows for a two lvl dip into something else and you still get the capstone in your main class. Also consider that the lvl 20 epic boon leads into Planscapes and beyond lvl 20 play. Back in the day there were ways that your heroes could ascend into the immortal realms. Also…. Could this lead into a return to prestige classes beyond lvl 20? Time will tell.

Ok, one major complain I have against new Bard - less than half of prewritten adventures go high enough to get to usable features. Remember most modules list their final level as one you get AFTER the final boss, so some wouldn't get to use their abilities at all (Few popular examples: Strahd - 9, WDH - 4, ToA - 10, Frostmaiden - 11, LoX - 7). So moving Font to Lv7 and having only 2-3 inspirations per long rest for 6 levels while a lot of subclasses rely on those, not to mention now you can also use them for healing. Honestly I feel more anxious people would never use them because they might need them later. The preparing spells I'm on the fence. On one hand it's a pretty cool concept and fits bards, on the other hand I feel it makes things much more complicated for new players. Personally I like spell lists for specific classes.

I honestly love a lot of the new changes, also props to you for making this and I assume a few other videos so fast for the OneD&D changes! That must have been a lot of work lmao.

You missed a couple things. 1. Magical secrets is still restricted to the schools of magic the Bard can learn. No Evocation, Abjuration, Conjuration etc... 2. Bardic inspiration is SEVERAL limited. It's equal to proficiency, meaning for half the game you'll have 3 uses max PER LONG REST. not only that but it's being split between normal uses and class features, meaning you'll probably run into encounters without any uses 3. Without any Abjuration or classic damage dealing spells, and your best abilities kicked down to later in the game, you're stuck in the back of the party being a support character. Low level Bards will probably be as squishy as Wizards due to the lack of any real defence or offense

Bardic Inspiration as a Reaction is *_not_* a Buff. Reactions are one of the most important actions in the game, and having to use it to inspire is extremely costly ... whereas using a Bonus Action (often on turns when you otherwise wouldn't have used it), was far more cost effective.

4:15 no sir, Bards didn't used to prepare spells, they were "known spell" casters who could only change out 1 spell on level up, and only change out a Cantrip when they gain a Feat or ASI. They just became "prepared spell" casters who have access to their ENTIRE spell list to prepare from when preparing their spells EACH DAY! Huge buff!

The only problem that I have is the number of Bardic Inspiration dice is now based off of your proficiency bonus instead of your charisma modifier which is a pretty big nerf for most of the campaign.

This new Bard looks great, but I hate the idea of classes not having their own unique spell list... It seems restricting and I feel like it takers away a lot of build diversity and will make backwards compatibility way harder

If you think the Bard got buffed wait till you see Ranger. Can you say spellcasting at level 1? With cantrips. Oh, and you no longer have to concentrate on Hunter's Mark. Wizards of the Coast just said "F this! I dare you to complain about Rangers now!"

My biggest issue is the move away from Charisma mattering, it now only affects their spells (and skills but that's the same for everyone). Like Charisma 13 Bard focusing on buffs and non-save spells is totally fine which just feels like a loss of flavour.

I noticed bards get less inspiration in the pdf, it used to be equal to your cha mod insead of equal to prof bonus. generally you had 3-5 pretty early but now in one dnd you will only have 2 per long rest. This seems like a major nerf as font of inspiritation is later aswell.

With the old Rogue, I’d take Sentinel. You see, “once per turn” meant you could Sneak damage on an opportunity attack. Now, not only can’t you use your Sneak with a held action or reaction, but Sentinel Guardian only activates with the Disengage action (not “even if” to imply other disengage-like abilities like Step of the Wind or Rabbit Hop).

Two things: First, Thunderwave managed to remain in the One D&D Bard list, since WOTC changed its school from Evocation to Transmutation. Same with Shatter. They don't really make a ton of sense as Transmutation spells, but they had to be changed away from Evocation after arbitrarily banning Bards from preparing Evocation spells, since otherwise the only real damage spells Bards would be able to cast between levels 1 and 6 would be Vicious Mockery and Dissonant Whispers. Second, Jack of All Trades got an additional nerf beyond just being kicked 3 levels further down the line. It now only works for Ability Checks that use a Skill Proficiency that you don't have instead of any Ability Check where you don't already add your proficiency bonus. That means Jack of All Trades would no longer apply to Initiative rolls or spells that use ability checks like Dispel Magic, Counterspell, and Telekinesis.

So... we are just glossing over that Bard is a Prep Caster now?

Bards are screwed if they're playing in a level 6 capped game. Which is the most common cap for keeping campaigns dangerous.

A few have already been said but, you missed a few things here, especially the lore bard changes that include the loss of their early magical secrets being taken away and replaced with a inspiration reroll. Also the Jack of all Trades no longer helping with caster level checks or initiative - not that it mattered much since it now takes forever to get Counterspell with magical secrets gone from the Lore bard. The healing ability might just be broken but, the use of the reaction inspiration is rather painful as reactions are a very useful thing for spellcasters that can get reaction magic. I would have preferred Bonus action Inspiration, that is triggered on its own. So you keep your reaction available, and your inspiration kicks in "auto-magically" within the next minute, when you want it or need it, and if it expires, say they get the point back.

Thunderwave is still accessible, because it's now a Transmutation school spell. Be careful comparing spell lists for future UA, as the spell schools for familiar spells may have changed.

I did have a bard using his counter charm, once, by ACCIDENT ! The player was surprised that the song of those four harpy signing in unison had absolutely no effect on anyone.

I was afraid this is where they were taking spell lists. I very much like class specific spell lists so they can be unique. I like how the Bard spell list is a mix of arcane and divine magic.

I’m sad they only get to prepare 2 spells and 2 cantrips at level one one thing I liked about bards was having 4 first level spells at my fingertips, very useful if you don’t know what the day will bring. For me the bard was the Swiss Army knife class who had something for any eventuality and this seems to nerf that.

The inspiration healing shouldn't work on a downed player as they can't hear Also give bards back thunderwave or as I call it "power cord".

@9:45 Small note here: Your 2 Magical Secrets spells come from ONE list of your choosing. So you can't get Hunter's Mark and Divine Favor, as they come from 2 different spell lists. You choose whether the list is Arcane, Divine, or Primal AT 11th level, and those 2 bonus prepared spells that don't follow the School limitations can come from ONLY that one list FOREVER. This would also be true for the 15th level version.

I'm skeptical on the reaction overloading. You could at least spread your abilities around multiple allies could take advantage of it when they needed it. Now, the action economy can quite easily be used against you. AOEs and multiattacks will hit much harder.

They didn't lose thunderwave they changed the school... thunderwave and shatter are both transmutation

I feel like there are too many nerfs to the early game which is a problem as that is when most people play the game. I've seen several polls and stats from D&D Beyond that indicate only a small percentage of players go past level 10. So, pushing all these cool abilities further back will make the experience less interesting and make players feel less powerful. I've been in a campaign for a year and a half and we just reached level 10 this week. I'd rather feel more powerful earlier.

Two changes you missed or got wrong: 1. Bards have gone from Spells Known casters to Spells Prepared casters - a big change. 2. For Magical Secrets, you pick a spell list to prepare two spells from, which you can change to two different spells from that same list after a long rest - you don't just get to prepare two spells from the entire range.

The way I read the new magical secrets is that you choose a spell list either Arcane, Primal, or Divine and whenever you prepare spells they have to come from the list you chose. So if you chose arcane you can swap out those 2 spells everyday, but they have to come from the arcane spell list.

All the level 20 abilities are being moved to 18!? As long as they don't fuck with any of them that's going to be awesome! It means i have much greater chance of getting my immortal and unkillable moon druid. Most campaigns never see 20, but there are a handful that will make it to 17 or 18.

it seems to be less and less backwards compatible

Getting the font of inspiration moved is painful, but it's even more painful when you realize bards don't get a lot of inspiration at low levels to begin with. It's only a meager 2 at levels 1 to 4, and then 3 at level 5 and 6. Most people would have 4 at level 4, then 8+ at 5 and 6. I honestly don't think the proficiency bonus was an improvement over the cha mod on that one. If you dip 1 level of bard, then do 19 levels in anything else with a 13 in charisma you end up with 6 inspiration. Yet a level 6 dedicated bard only gets 3. Level 5-10 used to be the sweetspot for dnd, so I really hope that they managed to move the sweetspot up by moving those features up.

i do like the fact that ability scores have become a feat (thats repeatable i assume). it clears up leveling for newer players and provides more insentive to choose different feats instead of just old reliable thats mentioned in the level up table. i also heard that expert rangers are amazing and im looking forward to a video covering it!

Can't wait for the Ranger and Rogue update videos! Thanks for the info :)

There was one bard subclass, the Lore bard - and their best feature went POOF!

A couple things to note: The Magical Secrets feature lets you choose one of the three spell lists, Arcane, Divine, or Primal when you hit level 11 and 15. From then on, you can prepare up to 2 from each list, replacing spells you would normally be able to prepare instead of being able to prepare them in addition to your normal preparation. Still super good, but not as incredible as having access to all spells at any point in time. The Superior Bardic Inspiration feature is *so* much better than it used to be. Previously, you would regain 1 use if you had 0 remaining when you rolled initiative. Now you get 2 back any time you roll initiative. Not game-breaking by any means, but far more useful than it used to be.

I like the idea of having a new ability with each level. Interested to see what they did with Rangers and Rogues.

Slight correction, the magical secrets has you first pick a spell list. That spell list is locked and never changes, even if you can freely swap spells on that list per rest

The Bard is really going to start feeling like the Wizard progression wise then. You're squishy and your options feel limited at early levels, then things like Magical Secrets come online and you start becoming Godly depending on how you set yourself up lol

The other BIIIIIG Thing you didn't mention, is that now bards can change their spells every long rest. That's very powerful

I do miss the counter charm. I have helped my party a few times with counter charm. I played it when someone had command on them. And it turned the tide when we went up against this Warlock at the time. And it was pretty good! It only sucks when I'm Charmed and can't use it. Or used dispel magic, it didn't work, and forgot that dispel magic of course wouldn't work if the creature was using charm... And forgot to use counter charm lol

Its funny, these changes fix a massive problem I've had homebrewing a dance/gymnastics bard subclass. Its built around going into a routine that makes you hard to hit and draws attention , a distraction out of combat and in combat a sort of dex-tank that draws enemy attacks and avoids the hits. My original idea was maintaining the routine ate your BA and a small amount of movement, but that clashed with BI so bad it wouldn't work. BI moving to reaction save that. I wonder if they moved it to reaction to free up the BA for future subclass stuff.

Changing bardic inspiration to a reaction is a total nerf. Let me ask a question, is counter spell a reaction?

Thunderwave was changed to transmutation in the play test probably to ensure bard still has it on its list

I got to say after reading through that entire second play test packet I love all of it I have a couple of qualms with a few items but nothing too major and the college of lore subclass that they showed in this playtest packet was just really amazing looking as far as I'm concerned.

The thing with moving some abilities to 7th, 9th, and 11th level is that you're already getting a buff at those levels, aka higher spell slots. That seems to be the case with most casters.

I play a bard and my weapon was a rapier, lucky I have 17 DEX.

I like the fact spells have different types now and not overlapping as much like in 5e. I want each spell casting class to feel very different in terms of spells.

I know not a ton of spells were lost by bards, but i do miss access to the full spell list, especially for low level play. You never really realize how useful fairy fire is until you get attacked by invisible phantoms. Then you never travel without it

Like D&D aside i love that his mic is held in his beard. thats amazing.

I feel like all the bardic inspiration changes do is make the class more annoying with its action economy. I liked having bardic as a bonus action since I rarely used that bonus action for anything else, but now as a reaction it takes up the spot of other really useful spells (such as shield, absorb elements, counterspell) Not only this, but it just feels like Flash of Genius but with an extra healing option that'll make player death impossible, and fights overall less interesting. Old bardic was unique, and with some tweaks (mainly to deal with people forgetting they had it), it wouldve been fine

if u notice, they are reorganizing subclass feature gains to happen at the same time regardless of class

Meh, after thinking about it. Bardic inspiration got nerfed. Reactions are extremely valuable and now bard's have to choose between bardic inspiration are things like shield, silvery barbs, feather fall, absorb elements, and hellish rebuke. Bardic inspiration wouldn't be worth casting over most of those spells.

Magical secrets is insane for 'jack-of-all trades' which is exactly what I wanted something to have in 5e, so seeing this here excites me for what the total master of arcane: The Wizard, will be able to do.

Bardic inspiration to heal allies is essentially like healing word but way more broken

I might have misunderstood what you were saying, but the way I read Magical Secrets does not allow you to simply choose two spells each day from anywhere. I'm pretty sure that you choose ONE spell list when you gain the ability and can choose any two spells from that one list each day. I don't think you can choose those spells from multiple lists - only the list you've chosen. It looks like your list choice is permanent when you get the feature. That is why Further Magical Secrets at 15th level specifies that you choose a spell list that you didn't choose for Magical Secrets.

Personally, the bard changes are... eh. I know a lot of abilities are getting changed to PB times per rest, but a core should not be one of them. Core abilities should be effective early, with interesting additions to the class added as you level up. Reactive BI is exactly why artificers worked. Flash of Genius is a fixed, reactive boost. On the one hand, yes, it does make it far easier for BI to be used effectively. On the other, I liked the bonus action economy of using bardic inspiration. It gave the class rhythm. (Pun semi-intended) I love that they are redesigning so there is something fun and exciting every level, but I think making all casters work the same way removes the flavour from the classes too. Still, this is the point of playtest material! Even if my gut instinct says one thing, I am still eager to test it out. 😀

From my reading of the new magical secrets, you still have to chose one of the three spell lists when you first gain the feature, and your two spells will always have to be selected from that one list

I absolutely hated the bard changes. Jack of all trades (no longer works on initiative or base casting checks btw) and font of inspiration got knocked down 2 levels and inspiration is now only on reactions which switches bards from having too many things to do with bonus actions to too many things to do with reactions. The inspiration amount changes are a thing too, the proficiency mod change is a massive deal for a class that relies on bardic inspiration so much. On top of that you can no longer give people inspiration to hang onto, they have to use it right there and then and only if you fail and only if they're within 20 feet of you and can see/hear you. (The old one had more range on it) The college of lore bard got a nerf too. The level 6 just makes cutting words a little more consistent and the level 10 is almost a joke seeing and you can only use it 4 times (less if you're using your inspiration for heals and other stuff) and it's 10 only 10 damage on average at level 10 (sure it doesn't have a save but it's still not all that big at that level). The extra magical secrets was almost iconic for that subclass and the replacement nowhere near lives up to it.

One thing you didn’t mention was how they gutted the college of Lore subclass. Cutting its iconic 6th level magical secrets ability entirely. (Honestly is it even a Lore bard without this???)

Wow now we'll cheer to get a 1 in the bardic inspiration roll... Imagine getting a 1 and getting an ally back from the dead and still dont spend that die

2, 6, 10, 14 are a surprisingly common set of levels to gain subclass features. It is the only group of levels that accurately captures more than one class (excluding custom) gaining subclass features. It was the case for both wizards and druids in 5e, and now they're making it the case for bards in 1d&d.

The Inspiration as a reaction SOUNDS like a buff. It unfortunately isn't in many cases.

I'd argue that song of restoration is a buff. Song of Rest worked for everyone withount burning a resource, while Song of Restoration gives you targeted spells that are using your spellslots. For a full spellcaster that's another decision how to spend their resource. Song of Rest wasn't much but was consistent and I'll take low-consistent over pricy-potentially stronger anytime.

I personally don’t like that bardic inspiration is a reaction now. If it could be used as a Bonus action or Reaction that would be cool but only as a reaction means you have to decide to use Bardic or hold in case you need Counter spell

For backwords compatability all that is requried to say is any Wizard spell is Arcane, any Cleric Spell is Divine, and any Druid spell is primal. After that you just check which spell list a class draws spells from and apply that tradition to the 5e version of the class, example a paladin uses the devine spell list so that means every paladin spell in 5e is divine (exception being extra spells from class fetures)

Yeah...I'm NOT gonna deny my players to have a no range bard

Idk I feel like the reaction is both a buff and nerf because now if you use a reaction to say heal your fighter now the big bad drops a power word kill and you don’t have reaction to use counter spell.

I think it's worth noting that both of your magical secrets spells need to be from the same spell list; Arcane, Divine, or Primal. Additionally, the magical secrets you get at level 15 can't be from the same spell list. You therefore couldn't pick up 4 Arcane spells or one from each spell list for example.

I think it is vital to make clear. Bards are now Preparation casters, which makes them SO much more versatile than known casters. Also you are limited to which list you can choose from when you choose magical secrets giving you access to 2 lists total leaving out the other (or just the missing schools from the Arcane list)

I feel for what lists spells that arent phb ar eon could simply be determined by what classes they could be takes by to decide

So far I am liking the majority of changes proposed. Side note: While true that counter charm was mostly forgotten by my players, after I changed it to work as a reaction like a counter spell. They then actually used it on multiple occasions and it didn't disrupt the game anymore than anything else they did.

One major change to spellcasting: Bard now prepare spells, which is a huge change, and I didn’t really hear you mention that. In 5e, they’re a “spells known” caster. Now they’re moving to “prepared spells”, which will be a pretty huge change in terms of versatility and adaptability, especially once they get Magical Secrets and can prepare two spells from one spell list each day. And since it’s prepared spells, they essentially get access to almost any spell in the game by 14th level, and can swap them out each day. Of course, because of the school of magic restrictions for their spellcasting, if you want to open up the rest of the Arcane Spell List, you’ll need to choose that Fe one of you magical secrets, essentially locking you out of the Primal or Divine list. But if you pick Primal and Divine for both Magical Secrets, you’ll only be missing out on the Arcane spell not covered by Illusion, Enchantment, Divination or Transmutation.

The Thief is OP except that they removed the MAIN feature of the thief: Take the UseObject Action as a BonusAction If they give it back, the new thief overpass the arcane trickster as the best rogue subclass: use items without using charges, 4 slots for attunement, and take 2 bonus actions... and not forget the new jumping combined with the thief "jumping using dex instead of str on the athletics/acrobatics check" making them the god thier of parkour

- The new bardic inspiration is not strictly better, I need the reaction to cast counterspell and silvery barbs. I would much rather set up an ally with a bonus action, on a turn where I happen to not need it, than have to react to things with my reaction, you can no longer pre-buff before a big boss battle. Say to make sure everyone saves against that dragons breath, now you only get to help one person. Reactions are worth more than bonus actions on a spell caster. -Jack of all trades no longer help counterspelling and initiative. This is actually a pretty big loss in my opinion, going first is a big deal. - Magical secrets does not let you pick from all the spell lists, you pick 1 spell list, and then you can pick anything from that spell list as your two secrets. Meaning if you want something like counterspell, it is by-by divine and primal spells (at least until you get additional magical secrets at high level). Having spells prepared rather than known is a huge buff, so overall I think bards got stronger. But not quite as much as the video makes it out to be. Also the subclass got worse, magical secrets at level 6 was huge, but it is gone now.

The way I read the magical secrets, you choose the spell list when you level up, then you're "stuck" with that spell list, not able to change the list per rest (though you can of course change the specific spells). Also, Bard's no longer have "spells known" ... they can prepare ANY arcane spell (from the correct school), or ANY spell from their magical secrets list.

I know that in general, you have yet to comment on any non-canonical content, but I would love to see your take on Mr. Rhexx’s “armor fix”. I think it is brilliant as a general rule set, though it is something that I would A) not use for first timers and B) foresee big issues incorporating into most VTT’s. “A” is a problem just because it is extra math as well as “B”. “B” is a problem because I don’t see WotC allowing integration with D&D Beyond’s VTT or an easy way for DM’s to incorporate house rules for automatic use. That automatic math work is one of the biggest (possible) benefits of VTTs. Hell, properly coded, D&D 3.5’s biggest con (i.m.o.), the large quantity of stackable modifiers, is completely negated as an issue. Unfortunately, for D&D going forward, I really don’t see many people using VTTs other than D&D Beyond’s (WotC’s) once it is fully released unless the “digital code” for the books can be registered once per VTT (basically allowing Roll20 and other VTT’s to accept the code once each). Totally possible if WotC makes it available via an API, and they REALLY should (but I doubt they will based on their history).

its unfortunate that bards arent as strong early anymore because my campaigns never reach past lvl5

Ability Score Improvements are Feats, but all other Feats listed there (except Epic Boons) are half-Feats. So you choose between two AS points or one point plus some extra effects. Though the single point is often limited to certain Abilities.

gonna put it here, the three spell lists that force you to choose from specific schools of magic is just class spell lists with extra steps

THE BARD: The bards are going to have a hard time. Until lvl 7 your main mechanic is strictly limited to 2/3 uses in a system that makes inspiration more common. Songs of Rest and Countercharm 2 underused and poorly designed skills are replaced by Songs of Restoration something that is not an ability or mechanic but a way to supply that now the magic system: "Primal" "Divine" "Arcane" leaves them without access to healing spells something that should be an asterisk under Spell casting becomes a fill ability. Competencies with rapier, light crossbow, long sword, short sword... are gone, the class does not have anything that makes use of its bonus action, Jack of all trades only work for skills (as it should) but it is still another hit on the class. If the spells that go in do not compensate for those that go out and for the lost abilities, we are left with a class tied to a limited resource during all of Tier 1 and part of Tier 2. Superior Bardic Inspiration... lvl 18 for this especially when the entire mechanics of the class seem to depend solely on whether or not you have bardic inspiration uses LORE BARD: This isn't the Lore College, so you might as well find another name for the subclass. Leaving that aside, it's not exactly a well-designed subclass either. The 3 skill proficiencies that the class gives you are now predetermined, taking away a choice from the player.The ENTIRE subclass relies on ONE LIMITED RESOURCE which in turn has other more optimal uses such as healing an ally reduced to 0 hit points, assisting in an important skill check outside of combat, or trying to help an ally overcome a saving throw.I don't see anyone at my table approaching this subclass even with 10-foot pole. Especially with the new Inspiration system. Cutting Words: (which never seemed like a skill belonging to this archetype to me) loses much of its appeal, because bardic inspiration is now used by default as reaction, you can't use it to prevent damage (and it doesn't matter because now the default ability can be used to heal) so the only advantage is try to avoid an attack or ability and also you only have uses = your proficiency (at the time subclass unlock 2 uses LR) Cunnig Inspiration: seems like a poor substitute for Magical Secrets and is another mechanic tied to a scarce resource (3 uses LR when unlocking the skill) Improved Cutting Words: lvl 10 first skill that allows us to do something unique , and that unique something is 1d10+CHA damage (5.5+5 at best), when using Cutting Words, an ability that is only better than bardic inspiration when it comes to avoiding an ATTACK or SKILL CHECK (4 SR uses) Peerless Skill: The only decent skill of the subclass at lvl 14 (5 SR uses)

Something to note is that with Inspiration now using your Reaction instead of your Bonus Action, you'll want to be careful if you use Magical Secrets to pick up something like Counterspell or Silvery Barbs. No more setting up Inspiration on your friends in advance and keeping your reaction to tell badguys No. It's still a buff, but it is going to change how you use a significant chunk of your action economy, and so you'll want to considering some things a little differently

One of the things I’ve noticed is how they’re seemingly trying to force each class into one specific role again, removing a lot of the variety and versatility most classes could get. As for the bard itself, Lore is covered in contradictions. They have to choose to inspire or cutting word, their advantage counteracts with the higher level base bard ability to reroll ones.

changing healing spells to abjuration, with life cleric\abjuration wizard staying as is, we have a strong multiclass, might be the best healer build

I mean, not getting things at odd numbered levels on a spellcaster was because... you literally got access to another tier of spells.

Looking forward to the Ranger review - on a skim it seems they had the biggest (and likely best) changes of the three.

Generally I felt the bard got slightly nerfed, but of the "Experts" (aka skill monkeys), why would you choose a rogue if you could be an Expert that also had full casting? Yes the bards expertise does not come on as quick or as hard, and they don't have sneak attack, but it still is the question. I was really hoping for a stronger buff for rogues and rangers from this, but still don't think it puts them on the same playing field. I like playing both, but generally you can get more of what they do well elsewhere.

This is very good, but there's something people haven't said in the comments. Bards have gone from the best counterspellers to the worst. These changes mean that generally, Bards are not going to have a free reaction after level 7~. If you are fighting a spell caster and you want to counterspell them, you can't use your class'es main ability (inspiration) anymore.

Something I don't think you mentioned, you can only prepare spells equal to the number of spell slots you have. This means you can only prepare 4 level 1 spells and 2 level 2 spells at 3rd level. You CANNOT prepare a 5th level 1 spell as a solo classed bard. A lot of people seem to be missing this. For the bard, this offset by being able to prepare new spells each long rest (and eventually from every spell list), but it really kinda screws over classes like ranger who don't have very many good level 1 spells and only gets one spell list.

Love the microphone attached to the beard

Bards have always been more supportish so it feels more in line with what they were already doing. Bards are supposed to be the person people gather around to hear stories, poems, songs, and tall tales. A role that you expect people to like, to lean on, and gather around the fire for. This reaffirms their presence to be comforting and inspiring.

Bardic inspiration is now a reaction which is a buff! My bard with a level of Hexblade for Shield: Heavy Sweating For real tho, I'm conflicted on these changes. The changes to bardic inspiration are interesting, the Song of Rejuvenation is really cool and the fact that they prepare spells now, including _magical secrets_ is _HUGE_ However I hope Collage of Swords get prof is them still.