As a bard gains experience, he learns a number of talents that assist him in manipulating his songs. At 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, a bard gains one song talent. A bard cannot select an individual talent more than once. Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a bard’s song-performing ability. Only one of these talents can be applied to an individual song and the decision must be made before the song is performed.
Table: Song Talents
| Song Talent | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Bard Training | The bard may select an item creation or metasong feat. The bard must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums. This talent may be taken more than once. Each time, a different feat must be selected. |
| Bardic Inspiration (Ex) | The bard can inspire others through stirring words or music. To do so, he uses a swift action on his turn to choose one creature other than himself within 60 feet of him who can hear him. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6. Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time. The bard can use this feature a number of times per day equal to his Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). His Bardic Inspiration die changes when he reaches certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level. |
| Concentrate (Ex) | The bard can reroll any concentration check he has just made with a +4 bonus. He must use this ability after the roll is made, but before the roll’s outcome is determined. The bard must take the second roll, even if it is worse. The bard can use this ability once per day. |
| Creative Destruction (Su)* | The bard has learned how to use destructive energy to empower himself. When he performs a song that deals damage, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the total number of dice used to determine the damage caused by the song. Temporary hit points gained from this talent do not stack and disappear after 1 hour. |
| Dazzling Song (Su)* | As a free action, the bard adds an element of bright energy to a song he is performing. Any target that fails its save against the song is dazzled for 1 round per level of the song. The bard may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. |
| Defensive Feedback (Su)* | Rather than dissipate damaging energy, the bard can redirect some of it back to its source. When an enhancing song the bard performs prevents damage (with damage reduction or elemental resistance), if the attacking creature is within 30 feet of the protected creature, the foe takes 1d6 points of damage for every 10 points of damage prevented. |
| Empowered Song (Su) | The bard can perform one song per day as if it were modified by the Empower Song feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the song. |
| Extended Song (Su) | The bard can perform two songs per day as if they were modified by the Extended Song feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the song. |
| Improved Inspiration (Su) | Prerequisite: Inspiration class feature The bard’s inspiration class feature improves, gaining additional temporary hit points equal to his Charisma modifier |
| Improved Musical Power (Su) | Prerequisites: Bard 6, Musical Power class feature The bard is able to produce an additional musical power attack at a -5 penalty as part of a full-attack. |
| Quick Inspiration (Su) | Prerequisite: Inspiration class feature The bard can use his inspiration class feature as a swift action instead. |
| Resonance (Su) | Prerequisite: Bard 8, Dissonance class feature The bard can affect multiple targets with his dissonance abilities. The bard can use any dissonance ability and can affect a number of targets equal to his Charisma modifier. The bard can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier |
| Song Guard (Su)* | Whenever the bard performs a song, he may instead perform it as a full round action. The bard channels some of the energy of the song into a defensive shield around him, giving him a deflection bonus to his AC equal to the level of the song being performed. This bonus lasts until the beginning of the bard’s next turn. |
| Song Performance (Su) | Prerequisite: Medley class feature The bard becomes more adept at performing multiple maintained songs at once, reducing the Perform DC by 2 per additional song. |
| Troubadour (Su)* | As a swift action, the bard can double the duration of the next song the bard performs. The bard can use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Charisma modifier. |
Advanced Song Talents
At 12th, and every two levels thereafter, a bard learns further talents to assist him in manipulating his songs and class features. He may choose one of the following advanced song talents in place of a song talent. Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a bard’s song-performing ability. Only one of these talents can be applied to an individual song and the decision must be made before the song is performed.
Table: Advanced Song Talents
| Advanced Song Talent | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Advanced Inspiration (Ex) | Prerequisites: Inspiration class feature and Improved Inspiration song talent The bard also adds his bard level to the number of temporary hit points granted by the inspiration ability. |
| Advanced Musical Power (Su) | Prerequisites: Musical Power class feature and Improved Musical Power song talent The bard is able to produce a third musical power attack at a -10 penalty as part of a full-attack. |
| Encore (Ex) | A good performer caters to his audience. The bard can maintain a bardic performance from the previous round without using up another round of his daily allotment of bardic performances. A bard can use encore a number of times per day equal to his Charisma modifier. |
| Energetic Recharge (Su) | Once per day, as an immediate action, when the bard would take damage from earth, fire, ice, lightning, water, or wind damage, he can convert the damage into MP, at a rate of 1 MP per 10 damage. He suffers none of the converted damage, but may not gain more than half his caster level in MP. For example, if a 14th level bard suffers 80 points of ice damage, he may convert up to 70 points of that damage into 7 MP. He takes the remaining 10 points of ice damage as normal. |
| Improved Competence (Su) | Prerequisite: Inspired Competence class feature The bard adds half his Charisma modifier to the bonuses provided by the inspired competence ability. |
| Improved Courage (Su) | Prerequisite: Inspired Courage class feature The bard adds half his Charisma modifier to the bonuses provided by the inspired courage ability. |
| Improved Dissonance (Su) | Prerequisite: Dissonance class feature The Perform DC for increased effects is reduced by 2. (For example, a bard using Cackle, the Perform DC would be +3 for the first increased effect, then +8 for the second increased effect, and so on and so forth.) |
| Maximized Song (Su) | The bard can perform one song per day as if it were modified by the Maximize Song feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the song. |
| Quickened Song (Su) | The bard can perform one song per day as if it were modified by the Quicken Song feat. This does not increase the MP cost or the level of the song. |
| Song Focus (Su)* | When the bard performs a song with an area, as a free action he may choose to focus the entire might of the song on a single target. The song’s save DC is increased by +2, but only one target is affected by the song. He may do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier on a single target within that area. |
| Twinperform (Ex)* | Once per day, the bard may perform two songs as a standard action, but the combined MP cost cannot exceed his caster level. The two songs must have the same casting time and if they have a target, the targets for the songs may be different. |