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All bards inDungeons & Dragonswant to be the center of attention, but none so much as those who’ve enrolled in the College of Glamour. By taking center stage, bards of this college are able to enthrall their audience to a degree no other bard can achieve. It goes beyond merely playing great music; a College of Glamour’s notes carry fey magic that ensnares the minds of all who hear it.
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If you’d prefer to charm monsters rather than stab them in the eye, and if you’d like to have an entire town toast your exploits (even if you haven’t done anything yet), then the College of Glamour might be for you.
College Of Glamour Bard Features
Like other bard subclasses, you’re able toenroll in the College of Glamour at level three. As soon as you enroll, you learn Mantle of Inspiration and Enthralling Performance.
Mantle of Inspirationlets you expend a Bardic Inspiration die to provide your party with temporary hit points and let them use their reaction to move twice in a single turn without provoking opportunity attacks.Enthralling Performancelets you attempt to charm a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier so long as you can perform for at least one minute.
At level six, you gain aMantle of Majesty. This lets you cast Command as a bonus action without spending a spell slot for one minute.
Keep in mind thatCommandhas a60-foot rangeand has alimited number of optionsfor directing your charmed victims. Still, Mantle of Majesty is an incredibly powerful crowd-control feature.
At level 14,Unbreakable Majestylets you take on a fearsome otherworldly appearance. For one minute, any creature that tries to attack you must first make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, it can’t attack, and it has to choose a new target instead. On a successful save, it can still attack you, but the creature will have disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against your spells next turn.
Best Species For A College Of Glamour Bard
Feel free to play as any species with the expectation that you’ll be a perfectly acceptable bard. However, there area few species that offer some synergistic perksas a College of Glamour bard. Here are a few recommendations to consider.
Autognome
Be a robot rockstar.Armored Casinggives you some extra armor class that most bards don’t get, andBuilt for Successgives you some extra dice to help you in all your bardic endeavors.Immunity to disease,advantage against being paralyzed and poisoned, andremaining conscious during sleepare all nice bonuses. you’re able to evenheal yourself by casting the Mending cantrip.
Deep Gnome
Disguise SelfandNondetectionare two great spells for a bard to know and free up some spell slots.Gnomish Magic Resistanceoffers excellent protection against spells, andstealth proficiencycombined withDarkvisionis magnificent.
Elf
High elves can learn any wizard cantrip, helping replace Vicious Mockery as your damage-dealer (consider Fire Bolt or Toll the Dead).DrowlearnDancing Lights,Faerie Fire, andDarkness. All elves havecharm resistanceandDarkvision.
Fairy
It only makes sense to be a charming fairy bard.Flyingis also nice, andFaerie Fireis an excellent combat spell to assist the party when your charms fail.
Firbolg
Detect MagicandDisguise Selfare two essential spells that free up some spell slots. Talking to plants and beasts without having to cast spells is also freeing up some spell slots too.
Fire Genasi
Fire Genasi innately learnProduce Flame, a better damage cantrip than Vicious Mockery, andBurning Handshelp out too.Flame Bladewon’t be too useful unless you want to be more melee-focused than a College of Glamour bard really should.Darkvisionandfire resistanceare good too.
Githrezai
Bards don’t learnShieldon their own outside Magic Secrets, andDetect ThoughtsandMage Handare also nice to have.Resistance to psychic damageandadvantage against being charmed or frightenedare good combat bonuses.
Goblin
You’re mostly concerned with charming your foes, butFury of the Smallis there for when your charms inevitably lead to violence. you may alsohide or disengage as a bonus actionif violence doesn’t solve your problems.Darkvisionandresisting enemy charmsare also nice to have.
Half-Elf
Choose thehigh half-elfsubspecies to gainaccess to a free wizard cantriplike Fire Bolt of Toll the Dead.Charm resistance,three stat boosts, andmore skillsare always a benefit for any class.
Variant Human
Regular humans geta lot of stats, which can be helpful if you want to join the fray, but the best option is to pickvariant humanfor access to afeat at level one. Magic Initiate is a good choice here for two cantrips.
Kenku
If you want your bard to focus on skills, you can’t go wrong with kenku.Two more skills,advantage on all skill proficiencies, andMimicryall make for a potent combination that can fulfill any party’s skill requirements.
Kobold
Draconic Sorcerylets you learn a sorcery cantrip, which will probably be Fire Bolt.Draconic Cryis nice to have, but you should be staying well away from the fray as a bard.Darkvisionis always nice.
Tiefling
Tieflings provide spell-hungry bards withmore spells. There are a number of subspecies that offer a spell for every occasion, although the base tiefling’sThaumaturgy,Hellish Rebuke, andDarknessare just fine.Darkvisionandfire resistanceare also good to have.
Related:Dungeons & Dragons: The Best Feats For Any Bard
Best Ability Scores For A College Of Glamour Bard
All of yourabilities and spells are powered by your Charisma, so that should be your primary focus as a College of Glamour bard.Constitutionwill let you keep your concentration on spells as well asprovide you with additional hit points.
Dexterity is there for armor classand maybe taking a few sword swings in the early game, but expect your spells to carry you throughout your campaign.
Strength,Intelligence, andWisdomcan all be safely ignored.
If you’re using D&D’s point buy system,a decent starting ability score spreadfor a College of Glamour bard might look something like this.
8(-1)
14(+2)
16(+3)
10(0)
Since the bard’sJack of All Trades ability helps shore up your non-proficient skills, feel free to take negative ability modifiers in Strength, Intelligence, or Wisdom.
Best Starting Equipment For A College Of Glamour Bard
Therapier is your best optionfor physical damage in the early game, so pick that over a longsword or another simple weapon. Anentertainer’s packhas a few more useful items than a diplomat’s pack, so pick that too.
Choose whatever instrument you like as your spellcasting focus. A lute is suggested, but it can really be anything, so get creative. Leather armor and a dagger are fine to start, but you’ll want to find studded leather armor as soon as possible.
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Best Spells For College Of Glamour Bard
Although your abilities will let you charm your way through combat, you’re still going to mostly rely on your spells. Picking the right spells to complement your abilities is important since bards don’t get to choose new spells every long rest.Here are a few recommended spellsfor a College of Glamour bard.
Ninth Level
Magical Secretsoffers a few more spells from other classes which a College of Glamour bard should consider.Counterspellis a staple support spell, andHealis the best single-target healing spell in the game before Power Word Heal. At level 18,Wishis by far the strongest spell you may get.
