98 Best Bard Spells 5E [Become The Ultimate Magical Performer]

In the enthralling realm of Dungeons and Dragons, where magic is as abundant as the air we breathe, bards are granted an extensive array of spells to help their party turn the tide in battles, or to weave world-shaping events using only their words.

The 5th edition (5e) introduced various enticing options that any bard should consider having. This comprehensive guide will reveal the 98 best bard spells 5e that you could employ in your next game.

Bardic magic is inherently unique, often seeping with trickery and whimsical charm that can bewitch enemies and amaze allies.

As a bard, you envelop a suave combination of artist, scholar, and magician, forming an unstoppable force ready to challenge any odds.

Whether you prefer to call on elemental forces for attacks or utilize your magical lute for enchantments or healing spells, let’s explore together the best bard spells 5e offers.

The Best Bard Spells 5e: 1st Level

In the expansive universe of Dungeons and Dragons, bard spells harbor the epitome of versatility, encompassing a variety of utilities from charm to combat, all within your fingertips.

As enchanters, healers or your party’s dynamic damage dealers, bards are bestowed with the power to sway the course of adventures in their favor right from 1st level spells itself.

Let’s dive deep into some of these 1st-level bard spells.

Animal Friendship

Imagine being able to persuade a beast that you mean it no harm. The ‘Animal Friendship’ spell order offers you this extraordinary capability. Using this charm, a bard can convince any beast that they share a mutual understanding and connection.

This spell has an influential impact on creatures with an intelligence of three or less. Beasts failing their wisdom saving throws are charmed by you for the spell’s duration. Remember though, if one of your companions harms the target, then the spell ends abruptly.

This spell provides more than mere combat value; it becomes crucial during exploration and interaction elements in D&D by nurturing bonds with nature’s inhabitants who might guide you through tough terrains or assist against common enemies.

Bane

Banes are known as one of D&D’s most debilitating spells to hamper enemies’ effectiveness in battle royales. Once you cast ‘Bane,’ up to three creatures will be forced to deduct a d4 roll from any attack roll or saving throw that they undertake.

In essence, casting this spell means tipping skirmishes subtly in your party’s favor. One aspect that elevates Bane is its scalability; cast using higher-level slots additional creatures can get affected — an excellent tool for weakening multiple foes simultaneously during encounters.

Despite its concentration requirement, Bane remains an instrumental debuff at any point through confrontations — affecting saving throws directly often conditions how battles pan out in 5e.

Also Read: 21 Best Cleric Spells 5E [Channel Divine Power To Aid Allies]

Charm Person

The power of persuasion comes to life with the ‘Charm Person’ spell. As a bard, you can manipulate enemies into regarding you as a friendly acquaintance, disrupting their attention and giving you an advantage in negotiation or combat scenarios.

The spell requires the target to fail a saving throw, and it ends if you or your party harms it. An important caveat is that once the spell concludes, the person knows they were charmed—so tread tactically.

Comprehend Languages

The ‘Comprehend Languages’ spell equips bards with polyglot proficiency. For the duration of this magic, you grasp every spoken and written language, deciphering scripts at a page-per-minute pace.

A crucial tool during campaign sessions teeming with foreign languages and cryptic clues. Brace yourself for vast exploration opportunities extending across magical realms.

Cure Wounds

Cure Wounds is an essential healing spell in your arsenal. When cast upon touch, it restores hit points equal to 1d8 plus your spellcasting ability modifier – ensuring that encounters don’t end prematurely for your allies.

Your power to heal scales up with higher-level slots, making it enduringly powerful throughout campaigns.

Detect Magic

A fantastic tool for any spellcaster’s repertoire—the ‘Detect Magic’ goes beyond identifying magical items by allowing bards to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object bearing magic within 30 feet radius.

Hence, clever use of this detection tool can aid in avoiding magical traps or uncover valuable enchanted items.

Disguise Self

‘Disguise Self’ lets you create an illusory appearance to mask yourself—including clothing, armor, weapons, and even physical traits.

Your height may only be altered by a foot; still, the potential shenanigans and strategic applications make this illusory power notably intriguing.

Feather Fall

Is gravity getting you down? ‘Feather Fall’ provides you with a magical parachute for you and your companions.

It lets you control the descent speed of up to five falling creatures within range, giving them a slow and harmless touchdown regardless of the drop height—a lifesaver when exploring dangerous heights or ruined towers.

Healing Word

‘Healing Word’ is the magical Instant Health Potion for bards. This spell restores your allies from afar – up to 60 feet, no less.

Moreover, this bonus action healing spell can be the difference between life and death at any level.

Heroism

Heroism infuses allies with courage—preventing them from being frightened while granting temporary hit points at the start of each turn.

It’s an excellent buff during engagements that involve fear-inducing adversaries or in situations that test your party’s nerves.

Identify

This spell equips your bard with knowledge about a magic item or some other magically imbued object just by touching it—a significant edge when encountering unknown artifacts.

Be mindful, though; certain spells can conceal a magic item’s properties—sometimes things aren’t as they seem.

Longstrider

This utility spell increases an ally’s speed by 10 feet for the duration—giving them extra mobility during combat or rushed explorations.

Be it chase sequences or dodging high-speed attacks; quickened movements always come in handy.

Silent Image

Creativity plays a vital role when employing ‘Silent Image.’ Use this spell to conjure up an image of any object, creature, or visible phenomenon within range—an outstanding distraction tool in combat or when negotiating sticky situations.

Also Read: 30 Best Druid Spells 5E [Command Earth And Sky In DnD]

Sleep

Nothing beats a good sleep—even in battles. ‘Sleep’ makes creatures fall into magical slumber by deducting from their hit points pool(instead of saving throws).

The higher you cast this spell, the more robust will be its hypnologic prowess—an instant tool for disabling weaker enemies.

Speak with Animals

‘Speak with Animals’ takes ‘Animal Friendship’ up a notch, letting you converse with beasts to fetch information or ask for assistance.

Whether your party needs a scout or knowledge about a terrain, this spell’s roleplay potential is as vast as the wilderness.

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter

‘Tasha’s Hideous Laughter’ incapacitates a creature by throwing it into fits of laughter—a potent tactical option when facing strong adversaries.

This powerful enchantment triggers a Wisdom Saving Throw and lasts as long as the target continues failing it.

Thunderwave

Rendering damage and battlefield control in one stroke, ‘Thunderwave’ releases a thunderous force to push creatures away from you while dealing significant damage—an excellent escape button when surrounded by enemies.

Unseen Servant

An invisible ally tending to your mundane tasks—the ‘Unseen Servant’ spell sees your bard conjuring an invisible, mindless entity bound to obey you—doing all mundane work like cleaning, mending, serving food.

2nd Level Spells

Unlocking the second level of bard spells in D&D means delving deeper into the enthralling realm of magic, where every spell draws a bespoken pathway toward victory in your adventures.

Channel the enchanting power of words and melodies to call upon even more potent abilities, spectral phenomena, or simply manipulate the physical world around you.

Let’s explore some of these fabulous magical spells in a bard’s possession at level two.

Aid

The ‘Aid’ spell efficiently increases your allies’ health points and fortifies their strength, providing a needed boost during perilous encounters.

This spell bolsters up to three creatures within range, boosting their current and maximum hit points by five for the duration without requiring concentration.

With higher levels, this bonus increases, making it a fantastic supportive option across various stages of combat. The Aid spell solidifies your role as a vital team player ensuring everyone’s survival on the battlefield.

Blindness/Deafness

Nothing hinders enemies better than depriving them of their primary senses. The ‘Blindness/Deafness’ spell allows you to rob an opponent of sight or hearing – exponentially weakening their capability on the battlefield.

A blinded creature loses key attack advantages like drawing opportunity attacks or targeting spells with sight requirements.

On the other hand, deafening an enemy might disrupt their teamwork and invoke penalties during magic casting dependent on verbal components.

Calm Emotions

Charm spectators or neutralize tense situations using Calm Emotions. When casted, this spell emotionally manipulates creatures within a 20-foot radius– either passing them into calm tranquility or suppressing effects causing fear or charm.

While it doesn’t alter their beliefs, this powerful pacification method can turn enemies into non-combatants temporarily— buying you enough time to strategize that perfect play.

Also Read: 20 Best Wizard Spells 5E [Space, Time, And Reality At Your Command]

Crown of Madness

Nothing wreaks more havoc than causing discord in enemy lines. Through the ‘Crown of Madness’ spell, you control an opponent’s action, forcing them to attack their own comrades.

The spectacle of a jagged crown appearing on the target’s head and the twisted distress in their eyes can also add a degree of psychological intimidation, unsettling other foes.

Detect Thoughts

When you don’t have all the facts or are stuck in a conundrum, ‘Detect Thoughts’ is your best bet. This spell allows you to read someone’s mind, providing vital insight into their thinking and immediate intentions.

For negotiations or interrogations, it can be decisive as it allows you to predict and counter moves effectively. However, keep in mind that using this spell without consent can cause an ethical dilemma for your bard.

Enhance Ability

The ‘Enhance Ability’ spell exudes versatility by bolstering different attributes depending on what is currently needed–from strength for a wrestling bout; dexterity for tricky maneuvers; or charisma when attempting diplomacy.

Not to mention that success on ability checks even grants temp HP making it great both out-of-combat for roleplay scenarios and during combat for survivability.

Enthrall

Craft your narrative with ‘Enthrall,’ as it captivates others’ attention around you creating visual and auditory distractions that impede their perception.

This can be incredibly useful when trying to slip through guard posts or cover up ongoing skirmishes in another area—an ingenious trick harmonizing your team with shadowy subtlety.

Heat Metal

With the Heat Metal spell, any metal object heats up to extreme temperatures causing searing pain (and damage) to those holding or wearing it—forcing them either to endure pain each round or be disarmed/doffed of armor increasing your team’s chance to hit.

Hold Person

Some battles require strategic restraint over raw damage. That’s when ‘Hold Person’ thrives, by paralyzing a humanoid within sight.

This could potentially change the tide of battle—exposing the enemy to critical hits or suppressing an overpowering opponent that’s been causing your party trouble.

Invisibility

The Invisibility spell embodies the essence of evading detection or landing the first unexpected attack. Upon touching a creature, they become invisible until the spell’s end or until they attack or cast a spell.

Invisibility can be used both defensively, to hide from threats or escape tricky situations, and offensively, to land surprise attacks that come with advantage.

Lesser Restoration

Combat in D&D isn’t just about hacking down hit points; it often involves various condition effects that could hamper members of your party. This is where ‘Lesser Restoration’ becomes remarkably useful.

It frees a creature from specific conditions like paralysis or poison. Situational yet invaluable, consider keeping it ready in your repertoire as an answer against control conditions.

Locate Object

Need to find a specific object? The ‘Locate Object’ spell helps you sense the direction to object’s location as long as it’s within a thousand feet of you.

If the item is in motion, you know its movement direction–a valuable tool during hunts for keys, equipment or stolen items.

Magic Mouth

For communicating across time and space, Magic Mouth lets you imbue an object with a message that triggers under circumstances you dictate when casting the spell– immersed in creativity and ingenuity.

Phantasmal Force

Create vivid illusions that fool all senses of your target with Phantasmal Force. It’s not merely visual deception – scents, sounds and temperature can be manipulated making your illusions compellingly real to manipulate foes into feeling pain or see obstacles where none exist.

See Invisibility

‘See Invisibility’ gives you sight beyond sight– seeing invisible creatures and objects, including into ethereal planes up to 60 feet. Handy not just in combat but for detection purposes too.

Shatter

Creating a cacophonous blast of thunderous energy at a chosen point affects all within range by Shatter.

This damaging spell can affect creatures and objects alike making it devastatingly effective against structures or constructs.

Silence

Suppress sound within a 20-foot radius with this ‘Silence’ spell – creating an area where speech and effectively, casting spells with a verbal component are impossible.

Perfect when seeking to create advantage against spellcasting foes or in stealth mission to ensure no sound escapes.

Suggestion

The Suggestion spell is a powerful tool that influences a creature’s actions. You suggest a course of action, and if the creature fails its saving throw, it rationalizes your command as the best option.

From halting aggression to triggering an ally’s helpful act, this spell leaves room for inventive manipulations.

Zone of Truth

Create an aura of honesty with the ‘Zone of Truth’ spell. Within its 15-foot-radius sphere, no creature can utter a deliberate lie.

Although the targets know they are under this spell and can avoid answering or be evasive, it becomes an invaluable tool during interrogations or when judging someone’s honesty.

Also Read: 20 Best 4th Level Spells 5E [Command Advanced Magic In DnD]

3rd Level Bard Spells

Whether spiraling through toe-to-toe encounters or mischievous roleplay, bards employing 3rd level spells exhibit a considerable ascension in the power curve.

At this juncture, bards can invoke impactful spells that go beyond mere trickery, redefining their roles within the party and often swaying the tide of many ventures.

Bestow Curse

Bestow Curse lavishes upon a bard the ability to place a debilitating curse on an enemy.

The cursed individual may suffer disadvantages on any specific ability check or save, or they might have to make hard choices about what actions to take during combat.

This translating into versatile control over adversaries makes Bestow Curse an absolute game-changer in gripping encounters and large battles.

Clairvoyance

The power to peer into distant locales or areas obscured by physical barriers are the promising attributes of the ‘Clairvoyance’ spell.

It utilises two forms – opting for either a sensor that mirrors your sight or echoes sounds in a location known to you.

The complex information gathered through this spell not only aids in reconnaissance but also provides strategic preparedness for potential encounters and traps.

The 10-minute casting time and material component may initially seem cumbersome, but the valuable intelligence gathered is well worth the effort.

Counterspell

With ‘Counterspell,’ a Bard gains not just an offensive tool, but a significant defensive one as well. You get the fantastic ability to interrupt another magic user mid-spell, canceling their magic altogether.

Now, while some may argue that spells with flashier effects could secure its spot, the tactical importance of Counterspell is beyond argument — being able to neutralize an enemy caster can flip typical combat scenarios entirely.

Dispel Magic

When faced with an adversary who primarily deals in magic attacks, nothing serves better than ‘Dispel Magic.’

This spell allows you to eliminate all spells on one target or destroy any magical effect within an area instantly.

It plays a crucial role by offering massive defensive utility against harmful enchantments and control spells used by your enemies.

Fear

Plug into the inherent dread harbored by creatures with ‘Fear.’ It successfully injects fear into a creature’s heart, causing them to drop whatever they’re holding and run away until they can save themselves from this disturbing state.

By creating panic-stricken enemies who scatter erratically and provoke opportunity attacks, you tip preference scales massively towards your party’s favor.

Feign Death

At first glance, ‘Feign Death’ may appear unusual compared to other spells on this list—touching a willing creature induces a seeming status of undeath.

Beneficially though, it renders them immune to diseases and poisons in addition to disguising aura readings of creatures. Strategic use of this can misdirect enemies or set up ambushes effectively.

Glyph of Warding

While ‘Glyph of Warding’ does require preparation, its potential effect makes it worthwhile; it embeds a glyph within a surface or object that detonates magical energy when triggered.

The glyphs are versatile, allowing damage-dealing or inflicting status effects on the unsuspecting activator. It sets up great traps for unwelcomed guests or defends important areas against intrusion.

Hypnotic Pattern

Staying true to your bardic roots, you create a weaving of colors that mesmerise and incapacitate creatures within a 30ft cube with ‘Hypnotic Pattern.’

A hypnotized enemy remains incapacitated till the spell ends; although, damage dealt breaks this hypnotic trance.

Use this with proper positioning and crowd control plans, transforming hectic encounters into manageable thresholds.

Leomund’s Tiny Hut

Providing a comfortable space for your party to rest mid-adventure is where ‘Leomund’s Tiny Hut’ shines. This translucent dome shelters and conceals up to nine creatures from outside threats like severe weather conditions and unwanted intrusions.

It leverages opportunities for respite and recovery in hostile environments – worth considering for any bard, especially during prolonged quests.

Major Image

‘Major Image’ gives a bard the power to create an incredibly vivid illusion complete with sounds, smells, and temperature effects.

Unlike its lower-level cousins, this spell doesn’t disappear when interacted with thus making it more effective for creating diversions or misleading foes—A fantastic tool perfect for unique problem-solving scenarios.

Also Read: 15 Best Buff Spells 5E [Boost Your Allies And Control The Battle]

Nondetection

There’s more than just combat in D&D, stealth plays an equally important role. The Nondetection spell ensures you or a creature you touch can be concealed from divination magic or magical scrying sensors. If maintaining stealth and avoiding detection are priority, ‘Nondetection’ is a must-have spell for any bard.

Plant Growth

Choosing to use ‘Plant Growth’ in your bard’s repertoire opens up new dimensions for strategic battle planning as you can make an area difficult to traverse.

It serves as a double-edged sword; vegetation thickens in a radius of up to 100ft, disrupting enemy movements severely, while seasoned allies prepare with readied actions or potent attack plans.

This spell could morph into your game changer during open-field combats.

Sending

Communication is essential, and the ‘Sending’ spell allows instantaneous contact across any distance or plane.

You can send a short message of twenty-five words or less to a creature with which you are familiar.

It guarantees feedback, allowing real-time updates from parties that may be undertaking different missions simultaneously – an absolute lifesaver when split decisions and coordination matter.

Speak With Dead

Imagine being able to grab stories straight from the horse’s mouth, or shall we say the deceased’s mouth? The ‘Speak With Dead’ spell grants you the peculiar yet invaluable ability to converse with corpses.

Do note that the dead do not necessarily possess all their living knowledge, nor do they necessarily tell the truth.

However, this art of post-mortem interrogation potentially unveils necessary plot information making it precious for story progression.

Stinking Cloud

Stinking Cloud summons acidic yellowish fog which spreads around corners and its area is heavily obscured.

Any creature trapped within it must make a saving throw at the start of their turn or waste their move retching and reeling ruling out potential counterattacks thus creating opportunities for your team to strike without fearing retaliations.

Tongues

Language barriers will no longer stand in your way when you enfold Tongues into your spell arsenal.

This lets any willing creature you touch comprehend and verbally communicate any spoken language it hears—this aids in gathering vital information from creatures speaking dialects unknown to your party; an invaluable asset indeed when traversing foreign lands or dealing with alien creatures.

4th Level

As your character advances in Dungeons & Dragons, the 4th level brings a range of exciting spells to explore.

These spells offer more dynamic game-changing capabilities, bolstering your influence in combat and exploration. For bards, these spells open myriad opportunities to tip the balance of the game in your favor.

Compulsion

The ‘Compulsion’ spell offers an exciting avenue for crowd control in any situation. Masters of this spell can force creatures to move in any direction they desire.

It’s particularly effective during encounters near unfriendly terrains or environmental hazards, offering tactical advantages that are hard to resist.

Casting Compulsion gives you the upper hand in battlefield control, manipulating enemies’ positions as desired, which can be potentially combined with other players’ tactics for devastating effects.

Also Read: 20 Best 6th Level Spells 5E [Wield Mighty Magic In High-Level DnD]

Confusion

Inflicting pandemonium amidst enemy ranks is a strategy as old as warfare itself. Confusion, with its ability to render foes unpredictable for its duration undermines adversaries’ coordination during encounters dramatically.

One of the heftiest advantages Confusion carries is its potential to make foes hit their own partners, thus opening doors for some unique combat strategies.

Dimension Door

Dimension Door equips bards with a quick escape mechanism or a tool for swift repositioning during crucial moments.

Providing instant transportation up to 500 feet away might be just what you need to shift the tide of an encounter decisively.

Apart from combat utilities, Dimension Door also comes handy during exploration phases – enabling seamless bypassing of high walls or chasms with ease like never before.

Freedom of Movement

As you advance further into missions laden with traps or magic-infused challenges, ‘Freedom of Movement’ acts as a blessing.

The spell allows unhindered movement despite spells or obstacles aimed at stymieing progress through rough terrain or even underwater explorations.

What makes this spell incredible is its long-term duration – one hour without concentration. In essence, an hour of assured versatility in movement that can save the day when you least expect it.

Greater Invisibility

‘Greater Invisibility’ is one of the valuable spells in a bard’s arsenal. Once cast, you or a creature you choose, become invisible until the spell ends.

Being invisible offers numerous advantages, from launching surprise attacks to escaping tricky situations.

Unlike normal invisibility that breaks after an attack or spell cast, greater invisibility sustains throughout its duration – making its utility unparalleled during close confrontations and stealthy missions alike.

Hallucinatory Terrain

If misleading your enemies into believing something that doesn’t exist sounds thrilling to you, then ‘Hallucinatory Terrain’ is the spell meant for you.

This spell allows casting of powerful illusions changing the appearance of terrain into something else entirely – from turning an open field into a rocky terrain or a bridge over a chasm non-existent.

Harnessing these illusions can turn them into powerful tools for ambushes or protect areas from being discovered by unwelcome guests.

Locate Creature

When specific targets need to be located with precision, no spell does it better than Locate Creature.

With this spell’s aid, detecting direction and distance towards a particular creature becomes straightforward as long as it’s within 1000 feet of your location and not in another dimension.

Whether tracking down foes or finding lost allies during expeditions – Locate Creature assures reliability like no other detection spell around this level.

Polymorph

Where sophistry and guile are the quintessence for bards, Polymorph offers just that with unimaginable flexibility.

This spell lets you transform chosen creatures into any other beast with equal/lower challenge rating as long as failed wisdom saving throws ensue.

The choices are only restricted by your creativity here: alter forms for infiltration or transforming foes temporarily into harmless critters – apposite usage can turn the tide during mishaps or unleash opportunities unthinkable before.

Polymorph carries ample strategic magnitude with itself – worth investing and exploiting for any bard worth their salt.

Stone Shape

When quests get you closeted within solid rock formations or impassable stone barriers, ‘Stone Shape’ can be your key to the unexpected escape route.

It enables you to reshape stone into whatever form suits your requirements – be it a doorway through a mountain, a hiding spot within solid walls, or an improvised stone weapon during emergencies.

The spell offers you significant leverage when stranded or pursuing objectives within areas dominated by stone work. Its creative allure opens up possibilities limited only by your imagination.

5th Level Spells

As your magical prowess flourishes as a bard in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, you gain the ability to cast potent 5th level spells.

Combining sheer power with intricate spellwork, these enchantments open up an array of strategic possibilities throughout your campaign.

Animate Objects

An entrenched favorite among bards, ‘Animate Objects’ is nothing short of an asset in drawn-out conflicts.

This spell breathes life into inanimate objects and allows you to administer commands.

Whether you animate a weapon for attack or perhaps a rope for assistance during an arduous climb, this spell provides dynamic engagement options.

Not only does this provide you utility clusters but it also serves as substantial firepower based upon the size and number of objects animated.

Awaken

Fusing nature with magic, ‘Awaken’ uplifts lowly beasts or plants to sentient beings capable of comprehension and communication.

As a bard with a penchant for influencing individuals and tackling stages through teeny-tipping talks, imagine expanding your audience to include woodlands too.

This intrigue-drenched spell doesn’t cease at interactions but stretches out across entire levels sculpting overarching narratives around evoked characters.

Dominate Person

Wield control over other beings with ‘Dominate Person’. From manipulating enemy movements towards traps to gaining integral insights during conversations, the utilities presented by manipulating targets are boundless.

The targets do get saving throws upon taking damage or commanded actions directly harmful to them, which constricts spamming but doesn’t outweigh its value when executed smartly.

Also Read: 20 Best Healing Spells 5E [Restore Health And Save Lives In DnD]

Dream

The ‘Dream’ spell lets you weave nightmares that inflict psychological damage upon sleeping targets. The victim wakes up fatigued and without gaining the benefits that rest typically provides.

Effectiveness quite literally sleeps on aspects like target awareness and distance from them, traversing dimensions if required.

Geas

With ‘Geas,’ place magical commands that the target creature must follow or suffer damage.

Duration lasting for a lengthy span of 30 days, bestowing tasks ranging from harmless to something fundamentally against their nature; even if requiring spell slots, its longer-term ramifications carve unforgettable segments in your stories.

Greater Restoration

The ‘Greater Restoration’ spell affords you with an impressive array of healing capabilities.

This curative incantation can escort your allies back from the brink of death as it has the power to reduce exhaustion, eliminate charms, petrifaction, curses, and restore any reductions to ability scores.

Hold Monster

Immobility can be lethal in combat, and this is where ‘Hold Monster’ serves a meaningful purpose.

This spell enables you to paralyze a creature you can see within range—an ensured paralysis unless they succeed on a Wisdom saving throw.

This effect bestows your party with free reign to bear down on the target landing critical hits, thus turning the tide of battles decidedly in your favor.

Legend Lore

Invaluable during exploration phases or encounters doused with mystery, ‘Legend Lore’ unfurls knowledge about legendary people, places, or items known throughout history.

Not only does it serve as an enriching tool supplementing character and world-building but also guides you towards possible objectives and plot points during your quests.

Mass Cure Wounds

Healing is an essential component of every bard’s toolkit, and ‘Mass Cure Wounds’ epitomizes wide-scale recovery.

This spell allows you to restore vitality to several creatures at once – providing immediate relief when faced with group injuries post-battle or during intense situations where multiple members are at the cusp of falling.

Mislead

‘Mislead’ helps with stealthy maneuvers or to extricate yourself from sticky situations by making an illusionary duplicate of yourself.

Once cast, you become invisible while a double fools enemies into chasing it instead—a definition of duping adversaries while shifting positions without detection.

Modify Memory

Leverage psychological advantage over others with ‘Modify Memory.’ Whether it’s obscuring events witnessed by prying eyes or implanting false memories that could imperil enemy factions from within — manipulating minds carves several possibilities impacting interactions significantly.

Seeming

‘Seeming’ is tailored for misdirection purposes via image-altering usage—cloaking yourselves as rank-and-file guard minions marching right into the antagonist’s stronghold undetected? Sounds like a plan.

A cardinal choice for subterfuge enthusiasts chanting illusion supportive narratives.

Teleportation Circle

Bridges across vast geography, the ‘Teleportation Circle’ demystifies immediate long-distance travels.

A strategic spell that allows hasty retreats in the face of dire odds or swift arrivals into scenes of action. Master this to navigate your world faster than ever before.

6th Level

When a bard ascends to the 6th level of their arcane scholarship, their spells become dangerously powerful and impressively versatile. From manipulating minds to tampering with reality perception, bards can outwit foes and become unerring lieutenants for their party’s cause. Let’s examine some of these dazzling 6th-level bard spells.

Eyebite

Eyebite is more than just a sight-threatening spell; it is a bane that afflicts targets with various debilitating conditions. Upon casting, you target one creature within sight that plummets into an unhealthy state of your choice — asleep, panicked or sickened. Each round allows you to choose another target, making it exceedingly effective in extended combats.

Eyebite can truly turn the tides in battle by incapacitating enemies while giving your party the upper hand. However, remember that any damage inflicted on an asleep or frightened enemy will cancel the effect.

Find the Path

The ‘Find the Path’ spell is your ultimate guide and compass rolled into one. This enchanting incantation guides you unerringly to a location you are familiar with, bypassing traps or natural barriers effortlessly.

Note that while this spell is excellent for navigation purposes, its functionality does tend to get limited if your destination involves intricate paths or puzzles. But overall, having ‘Find the Path’ with you is akin to possessing a magical GPS service available at your command.

Mass Suggestion

‘Mass Suggestion’ enables you manipulate multiple minds at once without even needing them to battle a saving throw. The affected creatures must follow your ordered course of action which appears reasonable to them until they complete it over some time that can reach even several days long.

‘Mass Suggestion’ becomes handy not only during combat scenarios but also during non-combat role-play situations where influencing actions of several characters becomes advantageous in the storyline progress.

Also Read: 28 Best Ritual Spells 5E [Cast Powerful Magic Without Spending Slots]

Otto’s Irresistible Dance

Embodying its name, ‘Otto’s Irresistible Dance’ forces your targets to dance against their will, rendering them powerless. The spell distracts your opponent by making them perform hilarious dances, leaving them vulnerable and with lower defense abilities.

Use this spell to incapacitate high-value targets during challenging battles or add humor to non-combat scenarios. However, it’s worth mentioning that any physical damage can make your opponent snap back to reality.

Programmed Illusion

The ‘Programmed Illusion’ gives you the power to create a script for an illusion that activates when specific conditions occur. From decoys in combat to entertainers at parties, the applications are as vast as your creativity.

Just remember: this is an illusion spell; there must be a degree of believability when you’re creating these illusory scenarios.

True Seeing

‘True Seeing’ allows you or another creature you touch to gain divine insight into the exact nature of things around them.

This includes seeing in normal and magical darkness, detecting illusions for what they truly are and understanding transmuted things’ original forms.

‘True Seeing’ withstands many deceptive tactics in D&D – a trait making it very desirable albeit situational.

7th Level Spells

The zenith of bardic magic comes into play at 7th level spells where reality skewing and mind-boggling illusions become an everyday affair for bards.

Abilities like raising the dead or trapping foes within thought constructed cages are unique feats representing this level’s might. Here are some impactful 7th-level bard spells:

Etherealness

‘Etherealness’ drives home superior defense abilities by shifting you into the ethereal plane from the material one – making you immune most damages while still allowing you observe the Material Plane.

This spell also makes for a strategic escape route or bypassing obstacles since physical barriers on the material plane don’t exist on Ethereal one. However, interaction with material plane is also limited while in this mode.

Forcecage

The ‘Forcecage’ spell allows you to conjure an invisible, impenetrable cage or a cage with bars around your adversaries that no teleportation can breach.

By endowing bards with confinement abilities, ‘Forcecage’ becomes an instrumental tactical tool during battles. However, make sure you confirm your enemy’s inability teleport successfully out of it before casting this spell.

Mirage Arcane

‘Mirage Arcane’ allows a bard to reshape reality. You can manipulate terrain within a mile radius to mimic any kind of natural terrain and even structures to a certain extend.

An apt tool for setting up thematic camps or ambushing enemies, the power this spell provides over environment potency doubles given terrain alteration is physically real and not a mere illusion.

Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion

With this powerful incantation, your bard conjures an opulent mansion — complete with ethereal butlers and attendants ready to tend to your whims. Each chamber furnished brilliantly by your imagination.

While primarily employed as utility-style comfort spell after long tiresome travels, creative applications during story progression often are what truly utilize its potential.

Project Image

This enthralling 7th-level bard spell creates an illusionary clone of yours that mimics any actions you take where it’s located. It’s like creating an avatar functioning miles away from you while still resonating your dynamic traits.

Whether it’s as diversions in battles or performing distinct roles in social scenarios, ‘Project Image’ amplifies flexibility in various D&D situations.

Regenerate

Healing takes precedence particularly at higher levels and ‘Regenerate,’ does just this. It gradually restores wounded areas and even lost body parts — a miraculous godsend for grievously injured party members, indeed.

‘ Regenerate’ is an essential part of any healer’s toolkit due to its substantial restore capabilities – making you an indispensable force within your party.

Resurrection

The ‘Resurrection’ spell provides you the awe-inspiring ability to bring the dead back to life – healing all ills and infections, restoring body parts and instilling vitality enough for standing up right away.

While resurrection sounds exceptionally mighty, it comes with serious nuance. Verifying the soul’s willingness to rejoin the living and ensuring availability of expensive material components becomes crucial before spell’s casting.

Also Read: 22 Best 1st Level Spells 5E [Essential Magic For Early Adventurers]

8th Level

With each level ascended in Dungeons and Dragons, the mastery over bard spells grows, broadening the horizons for potential strategies.

Amongst this plethora lies the formidable 8th-level bard spells. These magical conglomerations can shift the landscape of any campaign, acting as significant powers you can wield on the table-top.

Let’s unfold a handful of these fascinating 8th-level bard spells.

Dominate Monster

At higher levels, bards command some truly astonishing spells; one such gem is Dominate Monster. This spell allows you to control an entire monster and command it as per your volition.

The affected creature must succumb to all orders – perhaps attacking its allies or revealing its darkest secrets.

While it does require concentration, maintaining this spell within a hostile scenario can manipulate battles favorably or broker unforeseen alliances with powerful foes for your benefit – a unique way indeed to conquer adversity.

Feeblemind

In the arsenal of powerful bard spells, Feeblemind stands tall. If successful, it reduces an enemy’s intelligence and charisma scores to one.

Critical to any dealing with high intelligence opponents like sorcerers or wizards- essentially crippling their capacity to cast spells.

The victim also cannot communicate or understand language until healed – an ideal tool for ensuring silence or incapacitating intelligent magic users trying to distract your group.

Glibness

For bards who aid their group through persuasion rather than force, Glibness proves itself ideal. It empowers your Charisma checks meaning even underwhelming attempts will appear extraordinarily convincing.

In diplomacy-focused campaigns, this spell ensures virtually every social interaction tilts in your team’s favor – negotiations with kings or appeasing angry dragons are possible scenarios where ‘Glibness’ becomes phenomenal.

Mind Blank

Mind Blank embodies a protective charm providing immunity against psychic damage, thought-reading, divination spells, and even being frightened.

It shores up your party’s defences by maintaining sanity amidst disturbing or supernatural encounters which attempt to manipulate the mind.

Although a concentration free spell lasting 24 hours, casting a precious 8th level slot can seem heavy unless you foresight-fully predict psychic threats.

Power Word Stun

Power Word Stun is an incantation capable of stunning any creature with a mere utterance. If the creature shows resilience against it or has more than 150 hit points left, this spell does not succeed.

However, if successful, until your next turn the creature remains incapacitated providing ample advantage for your party to strike.

Using this ‘Power Word’ spell can carve the pathway to strategic triumphs in contentious battles.

9th Level Spells

In the extensive world of D&D, 9th level spells represent the pinnacle of bardic magic. These are the extraordinary abilities that a bard acquires as they attain their highest potential.

They can literally shape the course of events with the wave of a hand or an uttered word. Let us delve into some of these empowering spells.

Foresight

Foresight is precisely what it sounds like—an advanced insight into potential misfortunes before they occur.

As a ninth-level divination spell, it grants you or someone you touch, a limited ability to see into the immediate future. The recipient becomes undefeatable – getting advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

Other creatures have disadvantage on attacks against them for the duration. This fantastic spell’s sole drawback may be its requirement for 8 hours’ concentration, and it uses precious materials, but in return offers unmatched battle support.

Power Word Heal

Serving as ultimate support – Power Word Heal is one of those crucial spells that every party wishes their bard could cast during desperate times . It enables you to restore all hit points of a creature you can see within range.

It ends all effects such as blindness, deafness and even major ailments like any curse, diseases, or disorders. It is often the spell that stands between imminent defeat and a party’s triumphant victory in the most critical situations.

Power Word Kill

One might say it’s the bard’s equivalent to packing nuclear firepower within your spell arsenal.

Power Word Kill allows you to utter a word of power that forces one creature you can see within range to die instantly if it has 100 hit points or fewer.

It offers no saving throws or potential evasion; if targeted correctly, the enemy is doomed—bespoke for eliminating high-threat bosses showing signs of weakened strength.

True Polymorph

A spell that twists reality to your will—True Polymorph offers endless possibilities for creative bards.

You get an hour to transform any creature into another of equal strength or lower or non-magical object into another of similar mass and value.

If successfully cast for the spell’s entire duration without interruption, the transformation becomes permanent until dispelled—imagine turning a pebble into a dragon for good.

Wish

This spell is considered among the most potent magic in existence as it grants you what your heart desires within reason—and often outside that too.

From duplicating other spells’ effects without meeting their requirements to producing extravagant outcomes beyond typical game rules – use this freedom wisely lest its excessive use inflicts severe tolls on castors resulting in never casting ‘Wish’ ever again.

Also Read: 15 Best 5th Level Spells 5E [Impress With High-Level DnD Magic]

FAQs About Best Bard Spells 5e