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Mastering the Melodies: A Comprehensive Guide to 5e Bard Spells

The bard is a versatile class in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (5e), renowned for their enchanting music and arcane prowess. Their spellcasting abilities play a crucial role in supporting their allies, hindering their foes, and delivering devastating attacks. This guide delves into the intricacies of 5e bard spells, providing insights, strategies, and practical applications.

Cantrips

Cantrips are spells that can be cast an unlimited number of times. Bards have access to the following cantrips:

Cantrip	Description
Blade Ward	Enchants a weapon, granting it a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls against undead.
Dancing Lights	Creates small orbs of light, illuminating an area or distracting enemies.
Friends	Charms a creature, making it friendly toward the caster.
Light	Creates a beam of light, illuminating an area or blinding enemies.
Mage Hand	Summons an invisible hand that can retrieve objects or perform simple tasks.
Minor Illusion	Creates a minor illusion that can deceive or distract opponents.
Prestidigitation	Manipulates objects or performs small tricks, such as cleaning or warming objects.
Thorn Whip	Extends a vine of thorns, dealing damage and pulling a creature closer.
Vicious Mockery	Insults a creature, dealing psychic damage and imposing disadvantage on its next attack roll.

1st Level Spells

At 1st level, bards gain access to a range of versatile spells:

Spell	Description
Animal Friendship	Charms an animal, making it friendly toward the caster.
Charm Person	Charms a humanoid, making it friendly toward the caster.
Cure Wounds	Heals a target creature, restoring hit points.
Disguise Self	Alters the caster's appearance, allowing them to disguise themselves.
Feather Fall	Slows a creature's descent when falling, preventing damage.
Healing Word	Heals a target creature, restoring a small amount of hit points.
Heroism	Bolsters a creature, granting it temporary hit points and advantage on saving throws against fear.
Longstrider	Increases a creature's speed, allowing it to move faster.
Thunderwave	Emits a shockwave of thunder, damaging and knocking back creatures in an area.

2nd Level Spells

At 2nd level, bards unlock spells with even greater potential:

Spell	Description
Augury	Divines the future, providing guidance on upcoming events.
Cloud of Daggers	Creates a swirling cloud of daggers, damaging creatures that enter or start their turn in it.
Enhance Ability	Enhances an ability score of a target creature, granting it bonuses.
Heat Metal	Heats a metal object, damaging creatures holding or wearing it.
Invisibility	Makes a target creature invisible, granting advantage on stealth checks.
Knock	Opens doors or chests without the need for keys or lockpicks.
Locate Object	Reveals the location of a specific object.
Ray of Enfeeblement	Weakens a creature, imposing disadvantage on its attack rolls and ability checks.
Shatter	Emits a burst of sonic energy, damaging creatures made of glass or crystal.

3rd Level Spells

At 3rd level, bards gain access to spells that expand their influence and control over the battlefield:

Spell	Description
Animate Dead	Creates undead creatures from corpses, allowing the caster to control them.
Bestow Curse	Curses a creature, imposing disadvantage on a specific ability or skill.
Clairvoyance	Allows the caster to observe a distant location through a magical sensor.
Dispel Magic	Removes magical effects from creatures or objects.
Fear	Causes a target creature to become frightened, imposing disadvantage on its saving throws against spells.
Fly	Allows a target creature to fly, granting increased mobility.
Hypnotic Pattern	Creates a mesmerizing pattern of light, causing creatures in an area to fall unconscious.
Magic Weapon	Enchants a weapon, granting it a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls.
Suggestion	Compels a target creature to perform a simple action, as long as it does not cause the creature harm.

4th Level Spells

At 4th level, bards learn spells with greater area of effect and potent buffs:

Spell	Description
Compulsion	Forces a target creature to make a saving throw or be charmed or frightened.
Control Water	Manipulates water, shaping it into various forms or draining it from an area.
Dimension Door	Teleports a target creature up to 500 feet to an unoccupied space.
Greater Invisibility	Renders a target creature invisible, granting it advantage on all attack rolls and disadvantage on all attacks against it.
Hallucinatory Terrain	Creates an illusion of difficult terrain, hindering creatures that enter it.
Polymorph	Transforms a target creature into another creature of equal or lower CR.
Stone Shape	Manipulates stone, allowing the caster to shape it into various forms.

5th Level Spells

At 5th level, bards unlock spells that reshape reality and control the minds of their enemies:

Spell	Description
Animate Objects	Animates up to 10 nonmagical objects, allowing them to follow the caster's commands.
Cloudkill	Creates a cloud of poisonous gas, damaging creatures that enter or start their turn in it.
Dominate Person	Dominates a humanoid, allowing the caster to control its movements and actions.
Geas	Compels a target creature to perform a specific action over a period of time.
Hold Monster	Paralyzes a target creature that is a beast or plant.
Legend Lore	Reveals information about an ancient legend or artifact.
Mass Cure Wounds	Heals multiple target creatures, restoring a significant amount of hit points.

6th Level Spells

At 6th level, bards learn spells that empower their allies and devastate their foes:

Spell	Description
Banishment	Sends a celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend back to its home plane.
Control Weather	Manipulates the weather, creating rain, snow, or windstorms.
Eyebite	Causes a target creature to become paralyzed and unable to speak.
Find the Path	Reveals the location of a specific place or creature, allowing the caster to travel directly to it.
Mass Suggestion	Compels multiple target creatures to perform a simple action, as long as it does not cause the creature harm.
Otto's Irresistible Dance	Forces a target creature to dance uncontrollably, imposing disadvantage on its saving throws against spells.

7th Level Spells

At 7th level, bards gain access to spells that bend reality and manipulate time:

Spell	Description
Forcecage	Creates a cage of force, trapping a target creature within it.
Mirage Arcane	Creates an illusion of up to 1 square mile, allowing the caster to alter the appearance of the area.
Prismatic Spray	Emits a spray of colored rays, each dealing a different type of damage to creatures in an area.
Resurrection	Resurrects a dead creature.
Reverse Gravity	Inverts gravity in an area, causing creatures to fall upward.
Sequester	Places a creature in suspended animation, preserving it for up to a year.

8th Level Spells

At 8th level, bards unlock spells that control minds and shatter defenses:

Spell	Description
Charm Monster	Charms a creature that is not a construct or undead.
Feeblemind	Reduces a creature's Intelligence and Charisma to 1.
Power Word Stun	Stuns a target creature that fails a Constitution saving throw.
Sunburst	Emits a burst of radiant energy, damaging creatures in an area.

9th Level Spells

At 9th level, bards master the most powerful spells in their repertoire:

Spell	Description
Foresight	Grants a target creature advantage on all its ability checks and saving throws.
Mass Heal	Heals multiple target creatures, restoring a massive amount of hit points.
True Polymorph	Transforms a target creature into any creature of equal or lower CR.