The bard spell list, grouped by spell level
The bard spell list in the 2024 D&D rules (SRD 5.2.1) holds 130 spells, 10 of them cantrips, up to spell level 9. A new bard knows 2 cantrips and prepares 4 spells; by level 20 that grows to 4 and 22. BardRoll holds every bard to those limits.
Bard spells by level
Cantrips · 10 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Dancing Lights | 0 | Illusion |
| Light | 0 | Evocation |
| Mage Hand | 0 | Conjuration |
| Mending | 0 | Transmutation |
| Message | 0 | Transmutation |
| Minor Illusion | 0 | Illusion |
| Prestidigitation | 0 | Transmutation |
| Starry Wisp | 0 | Evocation |
| True Strike | 0 | Divination |
| Vicious Mockery | 0 | Enchantment |
Level 1 · 23 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Friendship | 1 | Enchantment |
| Bane | 1 | Enchantment |
| Charm Person | 1 | Enchantment |
| Color Spray | 1 | Illusion |
| Command | 1 | Enchantment |
| Comprehend Languages | 1 | Divination |
| Cure Wounds | 1 | Abjuration |
| Detect Magic | 1 | Divination |
| Disguise Self | 1 | Illusion |
| Dissonant Whispers | 1 | Enchantment |
| Faerie Fire | 1 | Evocation |
| Feather Fall | 1 | Transmutation |
| Healing Word | 1 | Abjuration |
| Heroism | 1 | Enchantment |
| Hideous Laughter | 1 | Enchantment |
| Identify | 1 | Divination |
| Illusory Script | 1 | Illusion |
| Longstrider | 1 | Transmutation |
| Silent Image | 1 | Illusion |
| Sleep | 1 | Enchantment |
| Speak with Animals | 1 | Divination |
| Thunderwave | 1 | Evocation |
| Unseen Servant | 1 | Conjuration |
Level 2 · 23 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Aid | 2 | Abjuration |
| Animal Messenger | 2 | Enchantment |
| Blindness/Deafness | 2 | Transmutation |
| Calm Emotions | 2 | Enchantment |
| Detect Thoughts | 2 | Divination |
| Enhance Ability | 2 | Transmutation |
| Enlarge/Reduce | 2 | Transmutation |
| Enthrall | 2 | Enchantment |
| Heat Metal | 2 | Transmutation |
| Hold Person | 2 | Enchantment |
| Invisibility | 2 | Illusion |
| Knock | 2 | Transmutation |
| Lesser Restoration | 2 | Abjuration |
| Locate Animals or Plants | 2 | Divination |
| Locate Object | 2 | Divination |
| Magic Mouth | 2 | Illusion |
| Mirror Image | 2 | Illusion |
| Phantasmal Force | 2 | Illusion |
| See Invisibility | 2 | Divination |
| Shatter | 2 | Evocation |
| Silence | 2 | Illusion |
| Suggestion | 2 | Enchantment |
| Zone of Truth | 2 | Enchantment |
Level 3 · 17 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Bestow Curse | 3 | Necromancy |
| Clairvoyance | 3 | Divination |
| Dispel Magic | 3 | Abjuration |
| Fear | 3 | Illusion |
| Glyph of Warding | 3 | Abjuration |
| Hypnotic Pattern | 3 | Illusion |
| Major Image | 3 | Illusion |
| Mass Healing Word | 3 | Abjuration |
| Nondetection | 3 | Abjuration |
| Plant Growth | 3 | Transmutation |
| Sending | 3 | Divination |
| Slow | 3 | Transmutation |
| Speak with Dead | 3 | Necromancy |
| Speak with Plants | 3 | Transmutation |
| Stinking Cloud | 3 | Conjuration |
| Tiny Hut | 3 | Evocation |
| Tongues | 3 | Divination |
Level 4 · 10 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Charm Monster | 4 | Enchantment |
| Compulsion | 4 | Enchantment |
| Confusion | 4 | Enchantment |
| Dimension Door | 4 | Conjuration |
| Freedom of Movement | 4 | Abjuration |
| Greater Invisibility | 4 | Illusion |
| Hallucinatory Terrain | 4 | Illusion |
| Locate Creature | 4 | Divination |
| Phantasmal Killer | 4 | Illusion |
| Polymorph | 4 | Transmutation |
Level 5 · 17 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Animate Objects | 5 | Transmutation |
| Awaken | 5 | Transmutation |
| Dominate Person | 5 | Enchantment |
| Dream | 5 | Illusion |
| Geas | 5 | Enchantment |
| Greater Restoration | 5 | Abjuration |
| Hold Monster | 5 | Enchantment |
| Legend Lore | 5 | Divination |
| Mass Cure Wounds | 5 | Abjuration |
| Mislead | 5 | Illusion |
| Modify Memory | 5 | Enchantment |
| Planar Binding | 5 | Abjuration |
| Raise Dead | 5 | Necromancy |
| Scrying | 5 | Divination |
| Seeming | 5 | Illusion |
| Telepathic Bond | 5 | Divination |
| Teleportation Circle | 5 | Conjuration |
Level 6 · 8 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Eyebite | 6 | Necromancy |
| Find the Path | 6 | Divination |
| Guards and Wards | 6 | Abjuration |
| Heroes' Feast | 6 | Conjuration |
| Irresistible Dance | 6 | Enchantment |
| Mass Suggestion | 6 | Enchantment |
| Programmed Illusion | 6 | Illusion |
| True Seeing | 6 | Divination |
Level 7 · 11 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Arcane Sword | 7 | Evocation |
| Etherealness | 7 | Conjuration |
| Forcecage | 7 | Evocation |
| Magnificent Mansion | 7 | Conjuration |
| Mirage Arcane | 7 | Illusion |
| Prismatic Spray | 7 | Evocation |
| Project Image | 7 | Illusion |
| Regenerate | 7 | Transmutation |
| Resurrection | 7 | Necromancy |
| Symbol | 7 | Abjuration |
| Teleport | 7 | Conjuration |
Level 8 · 6 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Antipathy/Sympathy | 8 | Enchantment |
| Befuddlement | 8 | Enchantment |
| Dominate Monster | 8 | Enchantment |
| Glibness | 8 | Enchantment |
| Mind Blank | 8 | Abjuration |
| Power Word Stun | 8 | Enchantment |
Level 9 · 5 spells
| Spell | Level | School |
|---|---|---|
| Foresight | 9 | Divination |
| Power Word Heal | 9 | Enchantment |
| Power Word Kill | 9 | Enchantment |
| Prismatic Wall | 9 | Abjuration |
| True Polymorph | 9 | Transmutation |
Bard cantrips known and spells prepared by level (2024 rules)
| Bard level | Cantrips | Prepared |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | 3 | 11 |
| 8 | 3 | 12 |
| 9 | 3 | 14 |
| 10 | 4 | 15 |
| 11 | 4 | 16 |
| 12 | 4 | 16 |
| 13 | 4 | 17 |
| 14 | 4 | 17 |
| 15 | 4 | 18 |
| 16 | 4 | 18 |
| 17 | 4 | 19 |
| 18 | 4 | 20 |
| 19 | 4 | 21 |
| 20 | 4 | 22 |
How many spells are on the bard spell list?
130 in the SRD 5.2.1, 10 of them cantrips. That is the bard list the System Reference Document publishes, and it is a subset of the Player's Handbook list, so some spells a Handbook bard can choose are missing from it and from BardRoll. The names are shown in English, Ukrainian and Spanish on the matching pages; spell descriptions stay in the licensed English inside the app.
How many spells can a bard prepare at first level?
4 spells from the bard list, plus 2 cantrips, which are known rather than prepared. The prepared number rises almost every level, to 22 at level 20, and every prepared spell must be of a level the bard has slots for. The table gives both columns for every level, and BardRoll's prepare screen stops at them.
Why does the app say circle instead of level?
BardRoll's spell list labels each spell level as a circle, so a third-level spell sits under Third circle. It is the same number: a spell's circle is its level, and cantrips are listed on their own. The pages here say level because that is what the rules and most searches say.
Which spells can a bard cast from other lists?
None, until a feature opens them. Magical Secrets lets any bard prepare cleric, druid and wizard spells from level 10, and a College of Lore bard gains 2 of them earlier through Magical Discoveries. Those spells are not on the bard list and are not in the tables here.
Questions
- Is this the whole Player's Handbook list?
- No. It is the bard list from the SRD 5.2.1, the part of the 2024 rules published under an open licence, and the Player's Handbook adds spells the SRD does not include. Every spell BardRoll can prepare, cast and describe comes from the SRD, so a spell found only in the Handbook cannot be added to a bard.
- Are the spell names translated?
- Yes. BardRoll translates all 328 spell names it carries into Ukrainian and Spanish, checked against the names players already use, and shows each stat block in all 3 languages. The description text stays the licensed English of the SRD 5.2.1, which may be redistributed only unaltered, and the app says so wherever that text appears.