Bard

Bard is one of the specializations available for the rogue class in Dragon Age: Origins.

Bards in Thedas

 * "A bard must know history so she does not repeat it. She tells the tales but is never part of them. She watches but remains above what she sees. She inspires passions in others and rules her own."
 * —from Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne


 * "As a bard, you are welcome anywhere in Orlais. Doors are opened to you with generous smiles, their wearers confident that no one would falsely pretend to such a title for fear of retribution. Your slightest request is immediately seen to. Your services are expensive and yet actively sought, and those who cannot afford them beg only to not have your displeasure turn their way."


 * ''"One day, however, you will awaken. You will realize the smiles are false, and behind them lies revenge. At the first moment of weakness, your brother and sister bards will be unleashed upon you like a pack of hounds, and you will realize they are not your brothers and sisters at all. For all your fancy intrigue, you have spent your life creating nothing of worth. You have been swallowed by the web of your own deceits, and the Game of which you believed yourself master? It moves on without you, uncaring.


 * —From a letter signed "Sister Nightingale"

A bard is something of a curiosity even in the courts of Orlais, where intrigue is as common as silk. Musicians and troubadours, doubling as spies, exploit their access to powerful nobility to glean secrets for employers who are usually nameless even to the bard. The nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Orlesian aristocracy can hardly resist. Unfortunately, when they finally realize that a master bard has been among them, it is usually too late. Bards use music to soothe hearts and cloud minds; in combat, their abilities to inspire allies and distract foes are legendary. Beyond their music, they are masters of dirty fighting, stealth and larceny.

In other parts of the world, bards are less prominent but no less dangerous. Bards travel wherever secrets have value: in Ferelden, they once played fairs and graced the courts of banns and arls, listening for secrets that could be used to sway the fiercely independent nobility. Outside of Orlais, most traveling entertainers are now merely musicians, but that only makes the spies more difficult to detect.

Interestingly, for all its pretensions the life of a bard is one that is strangely open to all. Skilled players are welcomed, whether human, elven or dwarven, mage or mundane, and female or male.

Jeshavis and the Origins of The Grand Game
The creation of the Game is credited to Jeshavis, Mother of Orlais, the first female gyoja or chieftan of the unified Ciriane tribe of humans in what is now Orlais. According to legend, she married two of the three so-called "Sons of Betrayal," the children of Maferath, and pitted brother against brother to the death to create a new nation and gird against Alamarri incursion. Her intrigue was considered "the seeds of elegance to come."

Unlocking

 * Leliana can teach you the bard specialization. Once "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" conversation is complete, the dialogue option for learning Bard specialization will be available and she will teach once you ask of it.
 * Alternatively, you can purchase the Manual: Bard from Alimar at Alimar's Emporium in Dust Town for US$140000.

Known Bards

 * Katriel
 * Marjolaine
 * Leliana
 * Jeshavis, "Mother of Orlais," and considered the originator of the Game.
 * Dowager Lady Mantillon, possible lover and assassin of Emperor Florian.
 * Rosalyn
 * Ryanth