How to play a bard in D&D without losing track
How to play a bard in D&D comes down to spending well: spell slots for your spells, Bardic Inspiration dice for your allies, and a hand of prepared spells chosen within your level's limits. A first-level bard has 2 slots and 4 prepared spells. BardRoll counts all of it and refuses a hand your level does not allow.
Slots
Is a bard hard to play?
Not at first. A new bard has a handful of resources and each one refreshes on a rest, so the early game is about knowing what you have left rather than juggling rules. It gets harder as spells, slots and features pile up, which is exactly when having the counts in front of you helps most.
What does a bard do in D&D?
Supports the party and unsettles its enemies, mostly through spells and Bardic Inspiration. A bard casts from the bard list with Charisma, hands allies an inspiration die that can rescue a failed roll, and from level 10 can reach the cleric, druid and wizard lists through Magical Secrets. At level 3 a bard joins a college, and the SRD 5.2.1 has one: the College of Lore.
What should a new bard track first?
Spell slots, Bardic Inspiration and hit points, in the order they change. Slots go down each time you cast a levelled spell and come back on a long rest. Inspiration uses go down when you give a die, and come back on a long rest, or on a short rest from level 5. Hit points go down when you are hit, and a long rest restores them.
Cantrips cost nothing, so a cantrip like Vicious Mockery can be cast every turn without touching a slot.
Which limits does BardRoll enforce?
How many cantrips you know and spells you prepare at your level; the highest spell level you have slots for; and, from level 10, how many spells may come from other lists. Lower your bard's level and the hand is trimmed to fit, so the app never lets you keep a spell you are no longer entitled to. None of it needs memorising.
Questions
- Do I need to know the rules before using BardRoll?
- No. BardRoll carries the bard rules it enforces, so the prepare screen offers only spells your level can hold and stops at your limits. Your table's rules still cover everything the app does not track, such as skills and equipment, and the DM still decides whether a roll succeeds.
- Should a new bard play with an account?
- Either works. Playing on this device needs nothing but the phone and keeps up to 5 bards in that browser, while signing in with Google keeps them safe if the browser is cleared and brings them to your other devices. You can start on the device and sign in later without losing a bard.