Baldur's Gate 3: Tips For Roleplaying As A Bard (2024)

Baldur's Gate 3 is easily one of the greatest RPGs of all time and with so many different ways to play and endless replayability, it is a game that players will be coming back to for many years. While one way to play the game is to engage in challenge runs, another is to go all in on the roleplay aspect, fully jumping into the shoes of the main character and making decisions based on what they would do.

When it comes to characters to roleplay as in BG3, Bards are easily among the best given their thirst for attention, wit, and overall outlook on life. To take roleplaying as a Bard to the next level and become a hero who sings their own victory ballads, players can follow these fun tips.

5 Choose A Fitting Name For Your Bard

Bards Will Often Have Stage Names Or Otherwise Grandiose Names

There are many ways of going about naming characters in Baldur's Gate 3, but Bards should take extra consideration when coming up with a name or title that will make them famous across the whole of Faerun. Just like many modern musicians and performers, bards in fantasy often have stage names, which shape the way they are seen.

For example, few people will know the real name of the bard from The Witcher series who instead goes by the title of Dandelion or Jaskier in Polish. Thus, it is a good idea during character creation to come up with a grandiose name that demands attention or lures people in.

4 Use Bard Specific Dialogue Options Whenever Possible

Every Class & Race Has Unique Options In Certain Dialogues Or Cutscenes

While this may be obvious to many players, newer players might not know to look out for Bard-specific dialogue options. For those who are unaware, every class and race has dozens of unique dialogue options that are sometimes present. For example, there may be an extra option for Barbarians in a certain dialogue, whereas all other players only have the standard options.

Bards, however, have even more reason to select their unique options, which are often witty remarks, tall tales, or somehow involve music, as being a Bard is often a huge part of their personality. This also means that the Bard character should initiate dialogues, rather than a companion.

3 Play Your Instrument All The Time

There Are Also Tangible Benefits To Busking Beyond The Fun Of It

One of the best things about being a Bard is having an instrument, with lutes, flutes, lyres, hand drums, and violins all options. Practically at any point, players can pull out their instrument and play one of a handful of tunes. While roleplaying as a Bard, players should do this as often as possible, especially in populated areas such as the Emerald Grove, the Circus of the Last Days, and the city of Baldur's Gate.

Crowds will gather around and if the performance is successful, members of the crowd will even throw gold coins which can be picked up. In fact, one of BG3's hardest achievements involves earning 100 gold from busking. What is more useful however is the ability to distract guards with music, while other members of the party sneak around to pick locks or loot pockets.

2 Choose Spells That Use Sound, Affect The Mind, Or Produce Laughter

Using Magic That Relates To Music & The Personality Of Bards Is More Fun

Bards have access to a wide range of spells in Baldur's Gate 3, including fairly standard forms of magic that deal a type of elemental damage. However, to make combat more fun as a Bard, players can instead unlock more fitting spells, such as Vicious Mockery , Charm Person , and Tasha's Hideous Laughter .

These spells make use of a Bard's wit, their voice or instrument, or even their personality. For example, the Enthrall spell captures the attention of targets and forces them to look at the caster, something a Bard would love. While they aren't necessarily the strongest, many of them are underrated spells that can be used creatively to great effect. Most importantly, they are fun to use. The lines of Vicious Mockery, for example, are one of the funniest parts of the game.

1 Wear Fancy Looking Outfits With Less Regard For Defensive Value

Bards Care More About Looking Great & Likely Believe They Are Invincible Besides

One of the simplest ways to get into character as a true Bard in BG3 is to disregard the best armor and defensive values, and instead focus on looking fabulous. Bards love attention and, as performers, they should look the part. Thankfully, there are many fancy outfits to be found throughout the game. In fact, some of the best outfits are classed as camp clothes, meaning players can still wear armor while selecting the appearance of their camp clothes, although this unfortunately does not work with hats.

The best place to visit for fine attire is Facemaker's Boutique in the city of Baldur's Gate during Act 3 and players should also remember that they can dye clothes and armor to their heart's content. There is also the Blazer Of Benevolence , which is rewarded for saving Volo early on. It looks great and is perfect for Bards in combat as it grants temporary HP when casting Bardic Inspiration. Players should also consider their character's appearance when creating them, perhaps using bright hair colors or luxurious mustaches.

Baldur's Gate 3

Platform(s)

PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Genre(s)

RPG