Specialization Bard
Type:	Rogue
Effects:	+2 willpower +1 cunning
Description:	Bards follow an Orlesian tradition, acting as assassins, spies, saboteurs and following other secretive pursuits in the constant, and sometimes petty, struggles between nobles. Having taken the minstrel's art to new levels, bards are skilled performers and master manipulators; bards can inspire their allies or dishearten their foes through song and tale.

Bard is one of the specializations available for the rogue class in Dragon Age: Origins.^[1]

Bards in Thedas Edit

"A bard must know history so she does not repeat it. She tells the tales but is never part of them. She watches but remains above what she sees. She inspires passions in others and rules her own."

—from Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

"As a bard, you are welcome anywhere in Orlais. Doors are opened to you with generous smiles, their wearers confident that no one would falsely pretend to such a title for fear of retribution. Your slightest request is immediately seen to. Your services are expensive and yet actively sought, and those who cannot afford them beg only to not have your displeasure turn their way."

"One day, however, you will awaken. You will realize the smiles are false, and behind them lies revenge. At the first moment of weakness, your brother and sister bards will be unleashed upon you like a pack of hounds, and you will realize they are not your brothers and sisters at all. For all your fancy intrigue, you have spent your life creating nothing of worth. You have been swallowed by the web of your own deceits, and the Game of which you believed yourself master? It moves on without you, uncaring.

—From a letter signed "Sister Nightingale"^[2]

A bard is something of a curiosity even in the courts of Orlais, where intrigue is as common as silk. Musicians and troubadours, doubling as spies, exploit their access to powerful nobility to glean secrets for employers who are usually nameless even to the bard. The nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Orlesian aristocracy can hardly resist. Unfortunately, when they finally realize that a master bard has been among them, it is usually too late. Bards use music to soothe hearts and cloud minds; in combat, their abilities to inspire allies and distract foes are legendary. Beyond their music, they are masters of dirty fighting, stealth and larceny.

In other parts of the world, bards are less prominent but no less dangerous. Bards travel wherever secrets have value: in Ferelden, they once played fairs and graced the courts of banns and arls, listening for secrets that could be used to sway the fiercely independent nobility. Outside of Orlais, most traveling entertainers are now merely musicians, but that only makes the spies more difficult to detect.

HistoryEdit

The creation of the Game is credited to Jeshavis, the first female gyoja or chieftan of the unified Ciriane tribe of humans in what is now Orlais. According to legend, she married two of the three so-called "Sons of Betrayal," the children of Maferath, and pitted brother against brother to the death to create a new nation and gird against Alamarri incursion. Her intrigue was considered "the seeds of elegance to come."^[3]

Bard Talents Edit

Song of Valor

Sustained Range: Personal Upkeep: 50 Fatigue: 5% Cooldown: 30s

The bard sings an ancient tale of valorous heroes, granting the party bonuses to mana or stamina regeneration at a rate affected by the bard's cunning. The bard can only sing one song at a time.

Distraction

Activated Range: Short Activation: 40 Cooldown: 30s Requires: Level 8

The bard's performance, replete with dizzying flourishes, is designed to distract and confuse. The target forgets who it was fighting and becomes disorientated unless it passes a mental resistance check.

Song of Courage

Sustained Range: Personal Upkeep: 50 Fatigue: 5% Cooldown: 30s Requires: Level 10

The bard launches into an epic song of the party's exploits, granting them bonuses to attack, damage, and critical chance. The size of the bonuses are affected by the bard's cunning. The bard can only sing one song at a time.

Captivating Song

Sustained Range: Personal Upkeep: 60 Fatigue: 5% Cooldown: 30s Requires: Level 12

The bard begins an entrancing song that stuns hostile targets nearby unless they pass a mental resistance check every few seconds. Continuing the song does not drain stamina, but the bard cannot move or take any other action while singing.

Unlocking Edit

• Leliana can teach you the bard specialization. Once "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" conversation is complete, the dialogue option for learning Bard specialization will be available and she will teach once you ask of it.
• Alternatively, you can purchase the Manual: Bard from Alimar at Alimar's Emporium in Dust Town for
  0000140000
  14 0 0.

Notable Bards Edit

• Katriel
• Marjolaine
• Leliana

References Edit

1. ↑ Dragon Age: Origins - PRIMA Official Strategy Guide
2. ↑ As noted in the letter "The Perils of Bard Life" in Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, volume 1, pg. 60.
3. ↑ As noted in the note "Jeshavis, Mother of Orlais," in Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, volume 1, pg. 63.

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