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The college of the road bard is a fun and engaging subclass forDungeons & Dragonsthat comes from the Humblewood campaign setting, an adventure module in which players take on the roles of cute and cuddly woodland creatures. However, while this subclass is great for this setting, there’s nothing saying you may’t port this subclass into any campaign of yours.
But if you’ve never heard of this subclass before, you might be wondering where to start. That’s why we’ve created this comprehensive guide. Here’s everything you need to know about creating the perfect college of the road bard in Dungeons & Dragons.
As implied by the name, college of the road bards are all aboutlearning things as you go, and playing things by ear.
Rather than study at a formal school,college of the road bards are students of the world, and learn their skills from traveling.
Here’s an overview of the college of the road bard’s features and abilities, as well as which level you get each ability at.
Bonus Proficiencies
3
When you join this college at level three,you gain three proficiencies of your choice.
These proficiencies can be with a type of martial weapon, one from a variety of tools and kits, or skill/language proficiencies.
Wanderer’s Lore
At third level, whenever you grant an ally inspiration, they maymake either an Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion check with advantageif they so desire.
Traveler’s Tricks
You learn two Traveler’s Tricksof your choice from a list of special tricks and abilities,usedinstead of a Bardic Inspiration.
These tricks represent useful tidbitsyou’ve picked up from your life on the road. You alsogain more of these tricks at sixth and 14th levels.
Favorite Trick
6
Yougain mastery over one of your tricksto the point where you can use it whenever needed.
If you roll initiativeand no longer have any Bardic Inspiration left, yougain one usage and can use it to perform your favorite trick,which you must designate at this level.
6 and 14
At sixth and 14th levels,your tricks become improved.
Each trick has its own level-up rulesat sixth and 14th levels, detailed in the trick description.
You may alsoselect a second favorite trick.
Like all bards,Charisma is going to be your primary stat, as this dictatesthe amount of Bardic Inspirationyou have on hand.
Details
Charisma
Because this subclass gains more usages of tricks through Bardic Inspiration, you’ll want toplace your highest stat in Charisma.
Dexterity
Dexterity determines your initiative rolls and the strength of any of your ranged or simple weapon attacks (provided they have the finesse property), somake Dexterity your second-highest stat.
Bards are alsoproficient in Dexterity saving throws, so you’ll want to capitalize on this.
Constitution
While bards are by no means squishy, having a decent HP pool is important, soplace a decently high stat in Constitution.
Strength
Depending on the tricks you take with this subclass, you might want a decently high Strength score, soplace a mid-range stat in Strength.
Intelligence
Intelligence ultimately isn’t that important to a bard, but as arcane magic users, it can prove useful; however, you canplace a low stat in Intelligence.
Wisdom
Wisdom is often counterintuitive to the roleplay of a bard, and isn’t that important for their build, soplace your lowest stat in Wisdom.
Take a look at the trick list in the Humblewood campaign settingahead of assigning your stats.
Some of these tricks require you to rely on different stats, soadjust your stats based on the tricks you want to learn.
If you’re playing in the Humblewood setting,there are a few species that work bestwith bards and college of the road bards in particular.
Luma
Luma aredove-like birdfolkfrom the Humblewood setting. Theygain a +2 to their Charisma score, making them ideal bards.
Hedge
Hedges arehedgehog-like creaturesfrom the Humblewood setting. Theygain a +2 to their Charisma and a +1 to their Wisdom, evening out a low stat for bards.
Gnome
If you’re playing outside of the Humblewood setting, gnomes also make for great college of the road bards as you’llgain advantage on Charisma saving throws, optimizing an already powerful stat.
Species in the Humblewood campaign setting aretechnically legacy content. Talk to your DM about balancing these abilities with a non-legacy campaign.
Lastly, there isone Humblewood-specific background that’s great for this subclass, as well as two from the 2024 Player’s Handbook that work well.
Bandit Defector
As this background is legacy content, you gain no ability score improvements. However, yougain proficiency in a Disguise Kit, which is helpful for bards and their deceptive ways.
Entertainer
Entertainers are always going to make a great background for bards, not just for roleplay, but thanks toability score improvements in Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma.
Wayfarer
Similarly, wayfarers make great bards thanks to theirability score improvements in Dexterity and Charisma.
Plus, havingproficiency with Thieves' Toolscan make for some unique roleplay opportunities for bards.
When blending legacy and non-legacy content as a Dungeon Master,ensure you’re only using ability score improvements from either a player’s background or species, not both.
