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DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard subclass guide

The College of Dance Bard debuts in the Dungeons and Dragons 2024 Player’s Handbook, a graceful and evasive performer with magic feet.

DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard Tiefling - a horned humanoid in an open shirt holding a short cane dances, with fire at their heels

The DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard is a brand new Bard subclass , who channels the magical language of creation through fancy footwork and stunning displays of acrobatic skill. Their speed and grace make them hard to pin down in melee, and they can extend some of that nimbleness to their allies. Here’s everything you need to know about this new DnD Dance Bard!

We’ve had our hands on the DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook for several weeks, thanks to an early copy graciously provided by Wizards of the Coast, and we’ve been scouring the massive tome for all the new and changed rules. I’ve even played a College of Dance Bard in Wargamer’s new edition playtest campaign: a nihilistic Tiefling mime who insists he studied at “the College of Dance, Improvisation, and Physical Theater” and calls everyone “uncultured swine”.

All the DnD classes and DnD races have been tweaked and expanded for this new version of Dungeons and Dragons, and DnD backgrounds have a new and more important role than ever before. When you’re finished reading up on the DnD College of Dance, make sure you check our other articles to find out what’s changed elsewhere.

Here’s everything you need to know about the DnD Dance Bard:

DnD 2024 male human College of Dance Bard, winking, wearing a white jacket and a waistcoat, both adorned with flowers

What is the College of Dance Bard?

The College of Dance Bard is a brand new Bard subclass which wasn’t available to Bard 5e characters. Bardic magic is drawn from the language of creation, the primordial song that sung the multiverse into existence. But “song” isn’t a literal translation of those magical meta-words, and the College of Dance harnesses its magic via another form of expression – dance.

College of Dance Bards are all graceful performers with great control over their bodies. This has its applications in combat: they’re hard to hit, and can hit back with surprising force with a perfectly placed fist or foot. This only becomes more pronounced as they grow in experience, and the magical dance that surrounds them even conveys some of their swiftness and poise to their allies.

Bards from the College of Dance gain several traits at level three, six, and 14.

Bard Level Abilities
3 Dazzling Footwork
6 Inspiring Movement, Tandem Footwork
14 Leading Evasion

DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard - a human woman in purple and green silks whirls veils and magic around herself

DnD Dazzling Footwork

At level three, College of Dance Bards can employ Dazzling Footwork to confound their enemies in combat. This provides a package of bonuses, as long as the Bard isn’t wearing any armor or wielding a shield.

Dance Virtuoso

The Bard has Advantage to any Charisma (Performance) checks to dance!

Unarmored Defense

The Bard’s base Armor Class = 10 + Dexterity modifier + Charisma modifier.

Bardic Damage

The Bard can make unarmed strikes using Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack roll and damage bonus. In addition, they make the damage roll with their Bardic Inspiration die – this doesn’t use up their Bardic Inspiration at all.

Agile Strikes

When the Bard takes any kind of Action to use Bardic Inspiration, they can freely throw in an Unarmed Strike as part of the same Action.

Dazzling Footwork won’t turn the Bard into a full-on front-liner, but they are a survivable midline caster who can unstick themselves from tricky situations and survive (light) attention from enemies. By level four, you should be able to hit an AC of 16 or 17 without too much trouble, depending on where your stat progression has gone.

A Tiefling DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard's dazzling footwork protects them from encroaching woodland monsters

DnD Inspiring Movement

From level six, Inspiring Movement allows the Bard, and one ally within 30 feet, to reposition when a visible enemy ends its turn within five feet of the Bard. This uses a Reaction and one use of Bardic Inspiration, and allows both characters to move up to half their speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. Squishy Wizards and melee DPS characters will love having the College of Dance Bard around.

DnD Tandem Footwork

Also at level six, Tandem Footwork lets a College of Dance Bard (who isn’t incapacitated) spend and roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add that to their Initiative score, and to the score for each ally within 30 feet who can see or hear them.

The Bardic Inspiration die at level six is a chunky D8. This is going to make the College of Dance Bard the reworked Rogue Assassin’s best friend.

DnD Leading Evasion

The final College of Dance ability is Leading Evasion, available from level 14, which provides a defensive bonus against area of effect attacks, fireballs, and any other effect that gives them the chance to suffer only half damage by passing a Dexterity saving throw.

As long as the Bard isn’t Incapacitated, they – and any creatures within five feet of them – will instead suffer no damage if they can pass their Dexterity save, and half damage if they fail.

A DnD 2024 College of Dance Bard Tiefling employs Tandem footwork, dragging other revellers into the dance

DnD Dance Bard races

When it comes to species, your best options are those that can make the Dance Bard’s strengths even stronger or, alternatively, plug some weak gaps in the build. This means you want a species that either boosts your mobility or gives you some options for ranged attacks. My current Dance Bard has very few long-distance offense options at level four, but nobody has moves quite like him (except perhaps the party’s DnD 2024 Monk).

Here are the best DnD Dance Bard races from the 2024 Player’s Handbook:

  • Aasimar – An extra healing resource, bonus damage, area-of-effect attacks, and the option to fly all suit the Dance Bard down to a T.
  • Dragonborn – Breath Weapon gives you a ranged attack in those rare situations where an unarmed strike won’t cut it, and you can sprout wings for extra mobility at level five.
  • Goliath – You get 35 feet of movement plus the option to become Large and get 10 feet of extra movement. Giant Ancestry also gives you plenty of options to deal or deflect damage.
  • Halfling – You can move through larger enemies’ spaces and re-roll any 1 on a d20 – these aren’t game-breaking, but they’re very useful.
  • Orc – The temporary HP from Adrenaline Rush, plus Relentless Endurance, help keep you alive. After all, you’re still a squishy Bard at the end of the day.

DnD Dance Bard backgrounds

These are the best DnD Dance Bard backgrounds:

  • Charlatan – The only option that lets you buff Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution.
  • Entertainer – Musician, which gives a large number of your party Inspiration after a rest, is a neat little origin feat.
  • Wayfarer – The Lucky feat is worth adding to any build, and Wayfarer also happens to buff your two most important stats.

DnD Dance Bard feats

The best DnD Dance Bard feats include:

  • Inspiring Leader – A very thematic feat for a Bard, and it gives everyone a nice dose of temporary HP.
  • Sentinel – The chance for extra attacks, the ability to ignore Disengage, and the option to reduce an enemy’s speed to zero? Tasty.
  • Speedy – Much walking speed, very Dexterity.
  • Skill Expert – Less focused on your combat prowess, but a strong choice for Bards who want to be good at everything.

Keen to learn more about the new version of DnD? Make sure you read our DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook review, based on weeks with the book and a playtest campaign involving the whole Wargamer team.