Verdict
The easiest Bard subclass to play and still a strong one. You get three more skills, a defensive use for Bardic Inspiration, and two spells from outside the Bard list at level 6. It's a support and utility pick that never feels empty, because Inspiration now has a use on your turn and on your enemies'.
How it plays
You play the Bard's normal game: cast, inspire allies, solve skill problems. Lore adds a second way to spend Inspiration. When an enemy rolls, you can spend a use to subtract the die from the result instead of handing the die to a friend.
Inspiration is a limited pool (see the table in the Bard guide), so each use is a choice between helping an ally and hurting an enemy. At level 14, Peerless Skill adds a third use that costs nothing when it fails.
Features by level
| Level | Feature | What it does, in short |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bonus Proficiencies | Proficiency in three skills of your choice. |
| 3 | Cutting Words | Reaction, 60 feet, spend one Bardic Inspiration use: roll the die and subtract it from a creature's damage roll, ability check or attack roll. |
| 6 | Magical Discoveries | Learn two spells from the Cleric, Druid or Wizard lists (cantrips or spells you have slots for). They're always prepared, and you can swap one each time you gain a Bard level. |
| 14 | Peerless Skill | After failing an ability check or attack roll, spend a Bardic Inspiration use and add the die to the d20. If you still fail, the use isn't spent. |
The College of Lore is in the free SRD 5.2, so these levels and effects match the published text. D&D Beyond's class page gives the same numbers. Older (2014) Lore had a different version of two of these features: Additional Magical Secrets at level 6 could take any class's spells, and Peerless Skill covered ability checks only.
"You learn two spells of your choice. These spells can come from the Cleric, Druid, or Wizard spell list" (College of Lore, Magical Discoveries, SRD 5.2, CC-BY-4.0).
Cutting Words picks
When to burn a die, and when to hold it.
| Situation | Use on | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A boss hits an ally with a big attack | Subtract from the attack roll | Best when the hit was close; the die can turn it into a miss |
| An enemy has already hit and you see the damage roll | Subtract from the damage roll | Reliable value even when you can't stop the hit |
| A monster tries to grapple or shove someone | Subtract from the ability check | Protects a spellcaster in melee reach |
| An enemy rogue or spy tries to sneak or lie | Subtract from the ability check | Turns Bardic Inspiration into a social and stealth tool |
| A creature is forcing a saving throw | Don't use it | Cutting Words doesn't touch saving throws; cast a control spell instead |
The die is d6 at level 3, d8 from 5, d10 from 10 and d12 from 15. Check your table's ruling on timing: whether you see the number before you spend the die decides how often you can save it for a close roll.
Magical Discoveries picks
You get two spells at level 6, and you can swap one each time you gain a Bard level. At 6 your biggest slots are level 3, which is what the first three picks below assume.
| Spell | From list | Why take it |
|---|---|---|
| Fireball | Wizard | The classic area damage Bards otherwise lack |
| Spirit Guardians | Cleric | Concentration damage aura that works for a durable Bard |
| Revivify | Cleric | Brings back a fallen ally, the best emergency spell in the book |
| Any Cleric, Druid or Wizard cantrip | Any of the three | Cantrips qualify too, so this is a flexible way to fix a gap |
Our default: Fireball for a party that needs damage, or Spirit Guardians if you stand near the front. Take Revivify if no one else carries it.
Building one
- Ability scores: Charisma first, Dexterity second, Constitution third.
- Skills: use Bonus Proficiencies to fill what the party can't do. Perception and Stealth are common gaps. Expertise comes from the Bard itself.
- Feats: War Caster keeps concentration on Spirit Guardians or Hypnotic Pattern. Resilient (Constitution) works too.
- Inspiration budget: keep at least one use in hand for Cutting Words in every fight, and more at level 5 and up, when short rests refill it.
Who should pick it
Pick it if you want the subclass with the highest floor: skills, utility and a flexible reaction. Skip it if you want a front-line Bard; Valor or Dance cover that more directly. The Bard guide compares all four colleges.
Corin Ashdown is the pen name of the editor who writes and checks every guide on Vorbelutrioperbir. How we write and check guides.