Rivaling the Rogue, my heart weeps for the Bard, who have been returned to only getting subclass features at level 3, 6, and 14. That said, though, the subclasses seem to be getting multiple features at some of these levels, so I hope the choice will still feel meaningful (and also to be fair, it has in the past).
Bards also get a brand-new subclass in the College of Dance, which I've gone over before, but I'll reiterate here for due diligence.
Dance:
3rd level:
Your first feature is Dazzling Footwork, which has three benefits that you might notice are very similar to features the Monk gets.
First, you get Unarmored Defense, using Dex and Charisma to calculate your AC.
This should pretty much always be good - you're likely to start with a +3 bonus from Charisma, a lot better than the +1 you get from Leather Armor, and by the time you have +5 Charisma, you're effectively getting the benefit of being in +3 Studded Leather.
Next, you get Agile Strikes, which lets you basically make a free Unarmed Strike any time you expend a Bardic Inspiration die (as an action, bonus action, or reaction). This is not as a separate action - you get the attack as part of the same thing.
Finally, you can use Dexterity for your attack and damage roll with unarmed strikes, and you get a damage die for your unarmed strikes equal to your Bardic Inspiration die - which I believe basically keeps pace with a Monk. (And to clarify, rolling the die doesn't expend it - you already did to trigger this).
So, as I had predicted, the Dance Bard is pushed a little more into melee - you'll have the AC to survive in melee, and you'll get some extra damage to hand out. While you can focus on Charisma and get a decent AC, you might want to push Dex for this damage (with the same AC benefit).
Also at 3rd level, you get Inspiring Movement. When you see an enemy end its turn within 5 feet of an ally of yours who is within 60 feet of you, you can use your Reaction to expend a BI die to move up to half your speed. Then, you roll the die and the ally can move up to a number of feet equal to 5 times the number rolled. Neither your movement nor the ally's provokes opportunity attacks.
Remember that as part of this move, you can make an unarmed strike thanks to the first feature. But the real key is that it should allow you to help allies escape from enemies. Indeed, you can even position yourself to present a target that will keep them engaged and help the squishy wizard escape. Alternatively, if you're next to the ally, you can both run away. It's a group-mobility feature.
6th level:
Leading Evasion works like Evasion for a Monk or Rogue, but in addition, you can share the benefit with any creatures who are within 5 feet of you and make the same Dex save (you can't use the feature if incapacitated).
This is obviously better than regular evasion, and I think the subclass is starting to take shape - you want to be in melee and standing within 5 feet of an ally, generally speaking, "leading the dance" in the middle of combat.
Also at 6, you get Tandem Footwork - when you roll initiative, you can roll a BI die, and give a bonus equal to the amount rolled to a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum one, and you can include yourself in that number).
Thematically, I like this - I could play one of these as a 1970s Broadway Choreographer who always dresses in a black turtleneck and shouts "Places, people!" when using this feature.
14th level:
Irresistible Dance, as you might guess, has you automatically learn Otto's Irresistible Dance. You can cast it for free once per long rest, and you can spend four uses of Bardic Inspiration to get another free casting (though you can, of course, just cast it with spell slots).
So, that's a 6th-level spell. Sure, the second free casting is pretty expensive (you'll really want a short rest afterward,) but that spell is also pretty good, and being irresistible also makes it shockingly good against monsters with legendary resistance. And, I mean, you cannot beat the thematic appropriateness, right?
So, I think the subclass is good? I've never really gotten Bards - it's probably the class I feel least confident I could play well, at least on a mechanical level. I think this is good.
Glamour:
As I predicted, Glamour makes it into the PHB, and I honestly think the way most people play a Bard, this is thematically closest to what they're going for - the rock star Bard. However, the idea here is themed a little more planar, with explicit call-out to the Feywild. Let's compare it.
3rd level:
First off, Mantle of Inspiration's temp hit points are now simply equal to twice the roll of a BI die, rather than flat amounts. So, that's a buff of 7 on average compared to 5 when you get this, then 9 on average compared to 8 at 5th level, even at 10th level (11 on average versus a flat 11) and actually a slight nerf at 15th level, getting an average of 13 rather than 14. (While the averages are odd numbers, it'll always be an even result as you're doubling a single roll rather than rolling two dice).
Beguiling Magic replaces Enthralling Performance. There's some faint hint of shared DNA between them, but it's really a new feature:
First, you always have Charm Person and Mirror Image prepared (I assume this doesn't count against spells prepared). Additionally, when you cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell (which those, conveniently, are) you can cause a creature you can see within 60 feet of you to make a Wisdom save. On a failure, they become Charmed or Frightened (your choice) for 1 minute, though they can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turns. You can do this once per Long Rest, or you can expend a BI die to use it again.
So, this is much easier to implement rules-wise, but I think I'll miss the Enthralling Performance's deeper clarity on just how charming it is (notably, in a game my friend ran that I didn't play in but often watched - it was a thing for his work, though many of his co-workers, including this player, became my friends - the Kenku Bard used this on the actual king of the nation they were in, and my friend rushed to me to find a tier-1-appropriate magic item that the king would bestow upon his new favorite performer). I love, also, that like some of the Whisper Bard features, this was perfectly safe to use, as you didn't run the risk of someone becoming enraged that you tried to charm them. But yes, this feature is a little clearer on how to implement it. Also, it only targets one person, which... I mean, yeah, it's a different feature.
6th level:
Mantle of Majesty basically works the same, but also gives you Command as a free prepared spell (bringing the subclass up to three of those). Also, you can now use the feature again by expending a 3rd level (or higher) spell slot.
Well, that's a strict buff. No notes.
14th level:
Unbreakable Majesty works a little bit differently - now, it doesn't trigger until the target hits you with an attack for the first time on your turn, rather than targeting you. If they fail their saving throw, the attack misses instead of hitting, rather than giving them the chance to attack someone else.
So, I think this is strictly better, unless I'm not thinking of some edge case.
I think the verdict on this subclass depends on how much you're going to miss Enthralling Performance. But I think for the most part it's just a little bit of tweaking and improvement.
Lore:
Lore, we of course got with the Expert Classes UA, but with the reversion of subclass levels, and for my own sanity's sake, I'm going to compare this to the 2014 version.
3rd level:
Bonus Proficiencies is unchanged from 2014.
Cutting Words now lets you wait to see if an ability check or attack roll succeeds before choosing to use the feature, (and allowing you to potentially turn it into a failure). It also works on damage rolls (something taken away from the previous UA because of the now-gone Bard healing features).
This is one of those changes that I think is letting the rules catch up with the way players want the feature to work. As a DM, I don't feel great saying "well, I already said the attack hit, so you can't use it now." Good change, no notes.
6th level:
Magical Discoveries is basically the same as Additional Magical Secrets, except it refers to the Arcane, Divine, and Primal spell lists, and you can swap out one of these spells when you gain a Bard level.
Reasonable update. No notes.
14th level:
Peerless Skill has gotten a couple upgrades - like most BI features, you can now wait until you know you've failed to use the BI die to turn it into a success. This also works on attack rolls as well as ability checks now. But the best thing is that now, if you still fail the check or roll, you don't expend the die.
I haven't yet actually played a Soul Knife (the character who was going in that direction was in the House of Lament, which ends with the party hitting level 3) but I really like features that you don't expend until they actually do something for you.
So, yeah, Lore looks like a solid, reasonable update of the PHB version. Nothing super flashy, but that's fine.
Valor:
The original melee Bard (well, original as far as 5th edition goes,) I do think Valor has become less popular with the introduction of the College of Swords, but let's at least compare this new version to the old one.
3rd level:
Martial Training is the new name for the subclass' bonus proficiencies. The big buff here is that you can now use a Simple or Martial weapon as a spellcasting focus (something Swords can do).
Given that you're probably going to have a rapier in one hand and a shield in the other, this is a very, very welcome change. I am deeply hopeful that the Eldritch Knight Fighter will get to use their weapon as a spell focus, because mine had to drop his +1 Battleaxe every time he needed to cast Shield, and I had to keep track of what he needed to do to pick it up when his turn started after he did (using Weapon Bond when he needed to).
Combat Inspiration got a couple changes - the offensive use now works on any attack, not just weapon attacks. The defensive use lets you wait to see if you got hit with an attack before rolling the die to see if it negates it.
Now, I don't think I'd noticed in the old version that it says you can roll the die after you see their attack roll but before you know if it hits or not. But it's your AC it's trying to hit! How would you not know? It's crazy! Anyway, this is a nice quality-of-life change to Bardic Inspiration that we've seen in other features.
6th level:
Extra Attack. Standard-issue. Not as cool as the Bladesinger version.
14th level:
Battle Magic is almost identical, but it's now phrased as a spell that has a casting time of an action to trigger it - I don't think"Bard spell" is a thing anymore, so that makes sense.
Anyway, Valor looks pretty much the same, with just a bit of an update. I still think College of Swords is the more interesting subclass.
Having now finished all the subclasses, I think overall my impression is that the approach here has been very conservative. I like most of their choices of which subclasses to include (not entirely convinced on the Fey Wanderer as a "classic" archetype that deserves to be in the PHB) but I also worry that the approach here might leave some subclasses that aren't really good enough or interesting enough so similar that they sort of remain unpopular.
I'll confess that a bit part of that anxiety revolves around the Great Old One patron for the Warlock - a subclass whose flavor I adore, but whose mechanics I think largely don't actually fit the fantasy of the subclass (Entropic Ward being my least favorite).
However, there's some good work here - the Warrior of the Elements as an update to the Way of the Four Elements is, I suspect, a massive improvement (even if the Monk might need a bit of polish). At least compared to other Monks, Elements is now, I think, going to look like a real viable option - and it only required totally redesigning the subclass!
I know WotC doesn't want to kill the Golden Goose, and that has been why they've been really pitching these books as a continuation rather than a replacement of 5th edition - suggesting that a 2014 Cleric and a 2024 Cleric should be able to play at the same table with no problems.
But given that compatibility, I actually think they can get away with being bolder in their mechanical redesign (I won't say I always agree with it, such as with the latest version of the Warlock). If you're saying that you can continue playing your 2014 Bard in all future content, then what's the harm in making a more boldly different Bard in 2024?
Because if they want me to shell out 150, or 180 dollars for new core rulebooks, I want there to be enough novelty to them that it's worth it.
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