The Best Feats For Bards In DnD

Bards are the most versatile class in Dungeons & Dragons. Many have the misconception that bards are only there to buff their group with inspiring words and limericks, but they’re so much more than that. With their abilities, they’re capable of filling any role in a party, making them useful in any given situation.

This ability to mesh well with any group is only boosted by the various feats D&D has to offer. While there are no strict rules on what feats you can take, some fit a bard better. Out of the numerous feats, here are a handful that will elevate your bard to the next level.

Updated November 3, 2024 by Marissa Fiore: The 2024 Player’s Handbook has launched, and with it are new takes and rules for the Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. With those changes come both new and revisited feats that benefit all of the classes, including bards. This list has been updated to add more options to consider and conform with current publishing standards.

18

Musician

Play The Songs Of Heroes

Musician is a little on the nose when it comes to good feats for bards. Of course, a bard would benefit from being able to master a new instrument, as well as blessing other party members with Heroic Inspiration. But, even if it’s an obvious choice for the class doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be considered.

You can obtain Musician without giving up one of your Ability Score Improvements as it is part of the Entertainer background you can select when first crafting your character. Being able to give out both Heroic and Bardic Inspiration is valuable to any subclass you choose to explore.

17

Alert

No Bad Guy Will Get The Best Of You

As a Bard, you’re likely not the primary damage output. Glass cannon status is usually reserved for the Wizards and Sorcerers, while Barbarians just battering ram their way through. Bards tend to play a supportive role, dishing out buffs and debuffs as they see fit and amping up the damage dealers.

With Alert, you gain a +5 to initiative rolls, giving you a better chance of starting a fight with some handy Inspiration, an Enlarge/Reduce spell, or even putting the enemy on the back foot with Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. You also can never be surprised while you’re conscious, so no more shadows sneaking up on your party, and even if you can’t see them, they don’t gain advantage.

16

Eldritch Adept

Is That A Spell In Your Pocket Or..?

A lot of the spells available to a Bard are there to help others, with a couple of slow-burn wounding options, too, such as Cloud of Daggers. However, taking Eldritch Adept could be a real boon if your party seems to lack mages or you want to expand your usefulness.

This feat gives you an Eldritch Invocation, which is typically reserved for Warlocks. Depending on your level, there are plenty of options here, though a level in Warlock grants you Eldritch Blast, opening even more choices up. The Invocations include all sorts of buffs and free spells to be used once per long or short rest, allowing plenty of freedom for customization. You can also change your mind every time you level up.

15

Fey-Touched

More Spells Is Never A Bad Option

Similar to why you would want to choose Eldritch Adept, the Fey-Touched feat gives you access to two additional spells. One of these is Misty Step, which can quickly and effectively bail you out of a situation or get you closer to the action when basic movement just won’t cut it.

However, you can then choose another level one spell from either the divination or enchantment schools of magic. While it’s only a singular spell, being able to choose something you either feel is missing or would bolster you or the party can be all the advantage you need.

14

Spell Sniper

All The Way From Downtown

Some of what this feat does can be guessed easily. It does, in fact, increase the range at which you can fire spells at your enemies. However, that’s not all. Besides giving you 60 more feet in terms of range, it also lets you cast spells against those who are within five feet of you without that attack being at disadvantage.

In addition to this, your spells will ignore half and three-quarters cover, allowing you to be both more accurate as well as letting you deal more damage by hitting your spells more often. Plus, you can increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. You can use this to either be more well-balanced or to get your Charisma even higher.

13

Skilled

Skills On Skills On Skills

Bards truly live up to their name as jack-of-all-trades. They even have a class feature with the same name that gives them a boost in all of their skill checks, regardless of proficiency. They also get the most starting proficiencies out of any other class, making them useful in nearly every situation in and out of combat. With the Skilled feat, you can add to your already expansive skill set.

While increasing the proficiencies and, subsequently, the minimum number you can roll during a skill check, this feat pairs very well with the bard’s Jack-of-all-Trades feature. You already gain the boost in every skill check you make, but ensuring that every skill has a positive modifier could be the difference between success and failure.

12

Gift Of The Gem Dragon

No Persuasion Checks Needed

Despite the name, you don’t need to be related to any gem dragons to obtain this feat. You can work it into your backstory, as the relationship between bards and dragons is something of a meme at this point, but it’s not necessary.

While the boost to Charisma is nice, the feat’s main draw is its secondary ability. When damage is taken, a player can force their attacker to make a Strength save or take a decent amount of Force damage and knock them back. While bards aren’t as squishy as some other spell casters, a more spell-heavy bard would benefit from the ability to create distance between themselves and their enemies.

A Flying, Healing Machine

A very different kind of gift. This feat definitely serves to benefit the party over you, as you gain Cure Wounds to be used once for free per long rest. However, if your party is in a bind, maybe the Cleric is down, you can cast it using your own precious spell slots, too.

Furthermore, the metallic dragons imbue you with spectral wings, which fly out to protect an ally within 5ft using your reaction. Your wings bestow upon them temporary armor equal to your proficiency bonus, and it can be used a number of times equal to that bonus, too. Flavor this however you want, as sudden wings can be a fun roleplaying moment.

10

Linguist

Be A Multi-Lingual Legend

Now, the Linguist feat may seem a little out of place on a bard. After all, a feat that increases your Intelligence score would be better for a wizard than a bard, but from a roleplay aspect, this is the perfect feat for a bard. Not only do you get three more languages, giving more opportunity for diplomacy and other types of conversational role play, but it also gives you the ability to make ciphers.

As a class devoted to music and poetry, being able to line your work with hidden messages is perfect. Like many of Shakespeare’s works, messages, jokes, and warnings can be hidden within your verses. You could use this for expressly comical purposes or as a form of espionage. Either way, this feat is perfect for a role-play-heavy campaign.

9

Mage Slayer

Takes A Mage To Slay A Mage

Mage Slayer is a fantastic option, especially if you’re playing through a campaign with a great deal of magic to its setting. Not only does it help by forcing casters to roll their Concentration checks at disadvantage, but it can help you be more successful with your saving throws.

Once per short or long rest, you can choose to succeed an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw that you would have otherwise failed. You can also bolster your Strength or Dexterity. While these aren’t you’re most used skills, having each of your scores as high as possible only benefits you, no matter which College you’ve picked.

8

War Caster

Make Love And War

As one of the full caster classes in D&D, bards are at their strongest when using spells. Yes, they do have melee options, but there is definitely more focus placed on their spell-casting ability. As such, a feat like War Caster that builds off of their spell-casting ability would be beneficial.

War Caster allows players to cast their spells while holding a weapon, grants them advantage on Constitution saving throws geared towards maintaining concentration on spells, and gives you the ability to cast a spell in place of an opportunity attack. Not only does this feat give players the ability to play a melee-oriented bard, but it also gives them plenty of chances to unleash their full arsenal of spells upon an enemy.

7

Actor

Impersonations Can Take You Anywhere

Bards are masters of eloquence. While they’re just as capable at combat as the other classes, bards truly shine when engaging in wordplay. There’s a reason why the class stereotype involves them charming their way into someone’s bed. No matter the setting, bards being able to talk themselves and their party out of a situation is important, so having a feat that compliments this is crucial.

As the name suggests, the Actor feat grants a player skill in acting. Not only does your Charisma modifier increase by one, but you gain advantage on all Persuasion and Deception checks. As a bonus, you gain the ability to mimic voices. This would make your bard masters of espionage just as good as any Rogue.

6

Inspiring Leader

Of Course, You’re The Party Leader

In most D&D parties, paladins tend to act as the de facto leader in a party as they tend to be the moral center point of the group, edgy murder-hobos aside. This is also due to the fact paladins, despite being primarily melee-oriented, put a lot of focus on their Charisma stat as they are meant to be inspiring, but they’re not the only Charisma-based class.

Despite the stereotype that bards are flirtatious scoundrels, this doesn’t always have to be the case. You can make a bard whose role is the leader and inspires their party with words of encouragement. For this type of character, or any other type of bard really, being able to give temporary hit points is incredibly helpful, especially when paired with their Song of Rest.

5

Tough

A Healthy Bard Is A Happy Bard

While they have considerably more bulk than the wizard and sorcerer classes with their d8 hit die and ability to wear light armor, bards don’t have the best durability. Because of this, they are still considered one of the ‘squishy’ classes despite having both ranged and melee options. As such, it wouldn’t be detrimental to expand your bard’s health pool.

While many believe this feat to have been made for the martial classes, it can also be used for spell casters to give them a little more sustainability. Even if this feat doesn’t grant a boost in your ability modifiers or grant an extra skill, getting more health each level, even if it’s only two hit points, is worth it.

4

Durable

Since Dying Isn’t Really The Best Outcome

Durable is a feat that every character could benefit from, not just bards. However, it does make a lot of sense as bards can be built in many different ways, from being purely interested in dealing damage to an extra set of healing hands when things get…dicey.

Durable gives you advantage on Death saving throws and gives you another option to heal yourself by using your hit point dice instead. This can seriously take the burden off your healers. Or, if you like to go off alone or be the distraction for your team, being knocked down doesn’t have to mean death.

Make Your Magic Work For You

Metamagic is the bread and butter of the sorcerer class. Metamagic is the sorcerer’s ability to warp their spells to do a myriad of things, such as doubling its range, extending its duration, or using a spell as a bonus action. It’s this feature that makes the sorcerer such a unique and flexible class, but it’s no longer exclusive to the sorcerer.

With the introduction of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, a slew of feats followed, including Metamagic Adept. If you possess the ability to cast magic, you can take this feat and gain two metamagic options and two sorcery points to spend on them. While this is limited compared to what a sorcerer gets, any spell caster would benefit from being able to warp their spells.

2

Skill Expert

Yes, It’s Different From Skilled

While bards already have high modifiers when it comes to skill checks, thanks to their class features, adding another proficiency never hurts anybody. Much like Skilled feat, the Skilled Expert gives you free skill proficiency in any skill of your choice, but it goes a step further.

Along with your new proficiency, you gain an increase in one of your ability scores, but, more importantly, you gain expertise in one skill that you’re proficient in. Expertise, of course, allows you to double your proficiency bonus when rolling for the corresponding skill. Bards, as a class that puts a lot of emphasis on your skills, would only benefit from gaining expertise in another skill.

1

Lucky

Luck Is A Super Power After All

Every D&D player knows how fickle the dice can be. While a myriad of abilities grant them an edge when it comes to skill checks, being able to give yourself advantage isn’t something to scoff at. Hence, the Lucky feat.

If you want the Lucky feat without using your Ability Score Increase to get it, you can choose the Merchant or Wayfarer backgrounds when making your character.

Lucky is a feat that is valuable for any class. At your discretion, you can reroll any d20 roll up to three times. This means that you get a second chance on an attack you miss, you gain advantage on saving throws and concentration checks for your spells, and, as a bard, you succeed in practically any skill check. In D&D, you need any advantage you can get, and a little luck goes a long way.