The Bard: Creativity and Chaos

Welcome to our first Class breakdown for Dungeon World 2! We’re starting with the five Classes that will be available in the Alpha Playtest release, but more will be revealed later on.

The Bard is a particularly unusual class to design, because it’s such a jack of all trades. Bards have been versatile spellcasters, expert skill monkeys, dexterous duelists, charming musicians, and wise scholars. Designing a bard that can be any or all of these things is a particularly unique challenge, so we decided to slightly narrow our focus. Our Bard will be focused on three things: creativity, storytelling, and versatility.

As usual, this is a very early work in progress. There might be things that are unclear, poorly worded, don’t work how we intended, or contradict themselves. With your feedback, we intend to update and improve things during the Alpha Playtest and beyond.

Starting Moves

Let's jump right into what unique things that only the Bard can do.

Folklore
When you first encounter someone or something that you’ve heard tales, songs, or legends about (your call), tell the GM something interesting you’ve heard about it. The GM will tell you what else you’ve heard that complicates things.

The first time you incorporate what you’ve heard about (or the complication) when you Perform, you roll with ᴀᴅᴠ.

This is the main move that lets the Bard know things and incorporate them into their art - for what better way to relay your knowledge to others? There's no roll for it, but there's always a complication, like many of the best stories. So how do you tell those stories to others?

Perform
You entertain others with a particular artistic skill. Is it music, painting, cooking, or something else? When you perform your chosen art, roll+Compelling. On a 10+ you can inspire up to 3 characters. On a 7-9, only 2. On a 6-, you feel the performance was awful; you either fail to inspire anyone or you can only inspire 1 character, but you mark 2 Ennui.

A PC you inspired can cash in their inspiration at any point to choose one:
- Receive the benefit of Assist without having to spend Kinship
- Refresh 1 spent Resistance
- The next time you Comfort or Support someone—or someone Comforts or Supports you—treat it as if you both have Bonds with each other.

When you inspire an NPC, you can cash in their inspiration at any point to choose one:
- They try to speak with you privately
- They give you a meaningful gift
- You get ᴀᴅᴠ when you next Sway them

There are many avenues for creativity and storytelling, and so a Bard's art might not be music at all. We've kept the 6- result relatively safe for now to better encourage its use, but Performing in the middle of battle might first require overcoming obstacles or consequences in order to make it appropriate in the narrative. Ennui means listlessness, dissatisfaction, boredom, or melancholia, which is perfect for something that gets in the way of artistic expression.

Ennui
When you Perform, if your Ennui is higher than your Compelling, you roll with ᴅɪs.

Your Ennui can never go above 5. If it ever reaches 5, you can no longer Perform until you find a way to clear your heart and mind; the GM will tell you how.

If your Ennui is less than 5, clear it all after you Relax Together successfully.

Ennui here is the Bard's main resource, a negative one you want to keep as low as you can. By default, you only mark Ennui on a 6- when Performing, but several Bard Advanced Moves, and the first option from the Feature below, let you mark Ennui as an alternative cost.

Feature

Every class in DW2 is designed around a core Feature containing a list of powerful options to customize your character. You choose a couple at the start and can gain more as you Level Up.

Artistic Obsessions
You have a few particular subjects, disciplines, or motifs you have an unhealthy interest in. They often inspire your performing arts and frequently appear in them. Choose two of these artistic obsessions at character creation:

- Astrology. You may mark 1 Ennui to declare something that just happened as having been predicted by the stars. Say what follows next and gain ᴀᴅᴠ on your next roll to make it happen.

- Beauty. Once per scene, when you find beauty in an unexpected place, you may ignore the penalty from a condition (other than Injured) for a roll.

- Dance. Gain 1 Slippery Resistance. When you Resist with Slippery—and one or more PCs can see you—add 1 Kinship to the pool.

- History. After you Perform while incorporating Folklore, you may ask the GM one question about the subject as if you had used Recall and rolled a 10+.

- Nature. You can use your art to communicate with and understand any sapient being regardless of any communication barriers.

- Passion. When you closely watch someone as you Perform for them, instead of inspiring them, you can Read them as if you rolled a 10+.

- Revenge. When you insult or provoke someone as you Fight them, you may roll+Compelling instead of +Forceful.

- Tragedy. When you express your feelings out loud after marking a condition, you may mark a second condition to either gain 1 XP or inspire someone nearby.

Equipment

As Helena talked about on Friday, your Gear represents your core tools that are essential to your character and you usually have available, and they act as fictional positioning. Here is how that looks for the Bard.

Choose one from each line or write your own (with the GM’s permission):
- decorated longsword, engraved bow, glinting rapier, ___________
- colorful costume, fanciful suit or dress, masked leathers, ___________
- durable lute, enormous wok, numerous paintbrushes, ___________

The next part of starting equipment is your Supplies. Every Class starts with one Supply type and chooses between two others.

You start with artistic supplies, a unique supply type used for your particular art. You also start with either [  ] academic supplies or [  ] thieving supplies.

Artistic supplies vary so much compared to any other supply type, and are so specific they can't be acquired through Advancement like other supply types—they're Bard-only.

Leveling Up

Each class has its own list of options when they level up. Many of the options are the same across all classes, but a few are unique.

When you Level Up, choose one of the following:
[  ] [  ] A new advanced Bard move
[  ] Multiclass — A new advanced move from another Class
[  ] [  ] +1 to any Stat (max. +2)
[  ] +1 to two different Resistances
[  ] Change to a new Class, then gain another Advancement
[  ] Acquire a magic tool, product, or instrument of your art
[  ] Acquire another type of supplies
[  ] Obtain a new artistic obsession
[  ] Mark another facet of your Backstory

After you Level Up five times, you can also choose from the following list:
[  ] [  ] [  ] A new advanced Bard move
[  ] [  ] Multiclass — A new advanced move from another Class
[  ] +1 to any Stat (max. +2)
[  ] +1 to any Stat (max. +3)
[  ] +1 to two different Resistances
[  ] Acquire an artifact tool, product, or  instrument of your art
[  ] [  ] Obtain a new artistic obsession
[  ] Favored by the Muses. Your words and art can radically transform the minds and souls of those around you. When you Sway, on a 12+ they won't do anything against you going forward, and instead become a friend or ally, until you act against them. When you Perform, on a 12+ any NPC you inspire won't act against you while they are inspired.

Every class has something like Favored by the Muses, a big game-changing move that can't be taken when you Multiclass (since it isn't listed under Advanced Moves). These are kind of like Advancing a Basic Move in Apocalypse World or unlocking an Adult Move in Masks: A New Generation, and usually represent the pinnacle of the class in some way.

Advanced Moves

When designing Advanced Moves we had two principles in mind.

• Every move should be interesting, usually by letting you do something new, or do something old in a new way.
• Every move should fit its class thematically, but be viable for other classes to choose, since the Multiclass option above is available to all classes.

With those in mind, here is what we came up with for the Bard.

Amateur Fencer
Master either the [  ] Duelist or [  ] Flourish combat maneuvers from The Fighter's Feature. You can use them when you Fight (as described there).

Charming to the Last
When you Sway someone through flirting or compliments, you may mark 1 Ennui (or spend 1 Kinship) to roll with ᴀᴅᴠ. If you do so, any demands, suspicions, twists, etc. won't come directly from them, but instead from someone else close to them (such as a friend or family member).

Counter Magic
When you use your art, skill, or magical talent to impede a magical effect, roll+Compelling. On a 10+, it stops for a scene or is unmade (GM’s call). On a 7-9, you or an ally get a small window of opportunity before the effect resumes.

Filí
You become Adept in either the [  ] Divination or [  ] Transmutation School from The Wizard Feature. You can Cast Spells from this School as per The Wizard Starting Move, but you roll +Compelling (instead of +Astute). If you would mark any Exertion, instead mark 1 Ennui (or spend 1 Kinship).

Know the Right Person
When you remember someone who can help you with a current predicament (your call), roll+Compelling. On a 10+, choose one from the options below. On a 7-9, choose 2. On a 6-, all 3:
- They hold a terrible secret
- They’re in trouble
- You owe them

Mountebank
You become a Specialist in either the [ ] Acrobatics or [ ] Spycraft Tricks from The Rogue Feature. You can Pull Off a Trick as per The Rogue Starting Move, but you roll +Compelling (instead of +Slippery). If you would mark any Heat, instead mark Ennui (or spend 1 Kinship).

We still want the Bard to retain the "jack of all trades" part of its identity, which is why these Advanced Moves let them uniquely gain part of another class's Feature (we'll explain more about those Features in future posts). While non-Bards can take these moves through Multiclassing themselves, they won't have the option of spending Ennui, which many of them offer as an alternative to another cost or consequence.

There are fewer Advanced Moves here than in Dungeon World (DW1), but because Advanced Moves are no longer the only thing you can get when you Level Up, we feel that the potential for advancement and growth is still very high.

We hope that this Class carries the spirit of the Bard forward from DW1, but lets them shine in a new way.

Thanks for reading.

Spencer