Bards are the travelling storytellers and minstrels of Ansalon.
If there is an heroic story to be told a bard will be there. Unlike
most classes which tend to specialize in a narrow field of expertise,
the bard class is a diverse jack of all trades.
Because bards have no particular regime of study and training they
have branched out into three major sub-classes. Bards who train
heavily in combat follow the blade path, while those who prefer
the ways of a thief become jesters. The final sub-class of bards
is the heralds, taken by evils who mix their desire for power with
the promotion of their cause through song and word of mouth.
Summary of bard sub-classes:
Blade bards - Fighters with some musical ability to enhance their
battle prowess.
Jesters - Bards who bring song to the world, but supplement their
lifestyle with by moonlighting as thieves.
Heralds - Bards who seek their own personal power through song.
A herald is closer to a magic-user than any other bard, and sings
for power and the glory of the evil gods.
The sub-class which a bard takes will determine their skills and
songs. The skills and songs they learn are matched to the
kind of path the bard has taken.