A bard is arguably one of the most fun classes to play in Baldur’s Gate 3, but building the perfect College of Lore character can be slightly tricky. Here are the best choices to make to ensure you get the most out of your bard.
Best College of Lore Bard Choices in Baldur’s Gate 3
The key to any great RPG is in how great it implements choice, and Baldur’s Gate 3 has a ton of them for you to mull over as you progress throughout the game. For a College of Lore bard, you’ll need to consider many different elements when building your character, like race and ability point distribution.
Best Races for College of Lore Bard
If you’re starting your bard from scratch in Baldur’s Gate 3, there are some initial choices you can make so that your bard has more short-term and long-term efficiency. Ultimately, what race you choose won’t affect things that much, so go with your roleplaying gut here. But if you’re looking for some advantages, here are the best choices:
- Githyanki
- Human
- Half-Elf
Githyanki is a great choice here because you’ll get Astral Knowledge. Essentially, this will allow you to gain proficiency in all skills of a certain ability until a long rest. Plus, because the College of Lore is more magic-focused and limits bards to light armor, this will offset this with the Githyanki’s innate ability to wear medium armor. You’ll also get access to Misty Step at level 5 and Mage Hand.
As for humans, they get an additional proficiency point during character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3 as well as a boost to their carrying capacity from the get-go. Humans start with the Civil Militia passive feature, which grants extra proficiency with more weapons and a shield. You don’t get as many benefits here as you do from playing Githyanki, but still useful.
If you’re not that concerned with extra proficiencies or carrying capacity, picking a Half-Elf is a solid choice as well. They get the same Civil Militia feature as humans, but they also have Darkvision and Fey Ancestry. The latter gives you advantage on saving throws related to being charmed and you also can’t be put to sleep magically. Fairly beneficial for any class.
Best Starting Ability Distribution for College of Lore Bard
For any bard in Baldur’s Gate 3, Charisma is going to be very a useful ability for both dialogue options and magical efficiency. This is extra true for a College of Lore bard, which will give you access to more magical abilities as you level. Dexterity should not be ignored either, as it’ll help with your AC, especially if you plan to stick with lighter armors. Ideally, you’ll want something close to this for your ability points:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 16
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: 10
- Wisdom: 10
- Charisma: 16
If you want a little more health for your bard, feel free to put more points into Constitution than Dexterity here, but that is ultimately dealer’s choice.
Best Leveling Strategy for College of Lore Bard
The College of Lore bard focuses mainly on opening up your potential for magical damage, and in many different ways, depending on which spells you choose. As part of this subclass, you’ll get access to Cutting Words at level 3 and the Magical Secrets feature at level 6. This allows your bard to learn two spells from other magical disciplines. You’ll also gain proficiency in three additional skills.
At level 6, you’ll likely want a powerful magical attack spell like Fireball as well as something more supportive like Counterspell or Haste. If you’re not running with a cleric in the party, you can also grab Mass Healing Word. Really, it’s all about what your squad needs most here. Consider what your party weaknesses are and pick your spells accordingly.
This will also be important to remember for the in-between levels, which will naturally give you access to more bard spell options. Also, keep in mind that you can unlearn a spell every time you level and replace it with something else from the bard spell list. Don’t be afraid to experiment here if something isn’t working out. That’s what made my bard run so much fun.
Of course, if sticking to one class isn’t your thing, you can always learn how to multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3.
