D&D: Every Bard College, Ranked

The 2024 Player’s Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons brings many new changes to character classes, the most significant being the revisions made to character subclasses. The bard class in particular, which only had two available subclasses back in 2014, now grants players even more creative freedom by adding two brand-new subclasses to choose from. While the Colleges of Valor and Lore make their return, albeit with some revisions, the Colleges of Glamor and Dance promise to bring many exciting new features to the table that are sure to excite both veteran and new players.

As a master of magic, music, and various weaponry, bards are an incredibly versatile class capable of both martial combat and spellcasting. Every subclass provides a bard with different useful features, allowing for them to assist their allies, distract enemies, and ultimately put on a fantastic spectacle. All four of these subclasses bring exciting new potential to Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, but only one allows players to truly utilize their showmanship in a way that both amazes audiences and provides significant support to allies.

College Of Valor Bards Are Now More Flexible

Utilize Both Spells & Weaponry During Battle

As one of the original two subclasses that was introduced back in 2014, the College of Valor grants bards immense flexibility when it comes to both weapons and spells. The recent 2024 revisions allow for more flexibility in combat, as players are now able to cast a cantrip during one of their extra attacks. They will also now be a lot closer to martial classes, being able to utilize their weapon as part of their spellcasting focus, channeling their magic through the weapons themselves.

However, this flexibility does come at a slight cost, as the College of Valor will transform a bard into a jack of all trades but a master of none. These particular bards become far less of a flashy performer, and, instead, are much closer to typical fighters in terms of their abilities. This bard college certainly has its usefulness when it comes to battle tactics, but there are others that provide even more support for both the bard themselves as well as their allies.

College Of Lore Have Subtle Changes

Players Can Swap Between Spells And Use Feats More Effectively

Although the changes made to the College of Lore were rather subtle, these changes improved the bard’s effectiveness in combat and their access to spells. With the Magical Discoveries feature, Lore bards are now able to swap out their spells every time they level up. This is incredibly useful, especially if a player wants to try out a spell from a different class, such as a cleric, druid, or wizard.

College of Lore bards can also be quite useful to their allies thanks to the revisions that were made to their iconic Cutting Words feature. It is able to reduce an enemy’s attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, and even works on creatures that are immune to being charmed. By simply utilizing creative word choices to distract and confuse enemies, this feature can allow bards to help allies by turning the tides of battle in a mere instant.

College Of Glamor Are Illusionists

An Effective Way To Dazzle And Frighten Enemies

First introduced in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, the College of Glamor bards are able to both amaze their audiences and prove to be a useful asset in battle against enemies. Various features like Beguiling Magic and Mantle of Majesty mean that these bards always have useful spells like charm person and command prepared, which allow players to influence NPCs however they please. This subclass is also able to utilize enchantment or illusion spells to either charm or frighten a target, and although it has a limited number of uses, it can prove to be incredibly useful in the right situations.

There is also the Unbreakable Majesty feature, which requires an enemy to succeed a charisma saving throw when attacking the bard for the first time. Should the enemy fail the saving throw, their attack completely misses, meaning that the bard is simply too enthralling to harm. This combination of useful spellwork with tactful battlefield advantages makes the College of Glamor bard a useful asset in any D&D party, as they are able to both protect themselves and also hold immense influence over those around them.

College Of Dance Can Dazzle Enemies

Adding Extra Flair to Both The Stage and The Battlefield

The most exciting of the new bard subclasses, the College of Dance not only transforms the bard into a true musical entertainer but also allows them to provide the best ally support out of all the four colleges. College of Dance bards perform better when dancing thanks to the Dazzling Footwork feature, allowing them to charm and delight others without the need to use words. This same feature also allows bards to utilize their bardic inspiration and dexterity modifier to calculate their unarmed strike damage.

Once a College of Dance bard reaches the sixth level, they can start utilizing features that involve their allies. They can use their Bardic Inspiration on both themselves and a fellow party member to move away from an enemy without provoking an opportunity attack, or even add bonuses to the entire party’s initiative, allowing them to jump into action way sooner than they normally would. With all these incredible new features, it cannot be denied that the College of Dance bard is the most compelling bard subclass in Dungeons & Dragons so far.