“Nice monster you’ve got there, would be a shame if someone… seduced it.” How many a Dungeons and Dragons campaign has been thrown off the rails by a bard high off of their own charisma supply? Despite what most fantasy novels tell you, sometimes the big bad is best defeated not by a sword through the face, but a song through the heart. These books sing the tale of those whose greatest weapon is not the might of their arm, but the might of their charm. Prepare to be swept off your feet by the 10 best fantasy books about bards, and other charisma casters.
The Name of The Wind
A legendary bardic tale, Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind is the story of not just any bard, but the greatest bard to ever tune a lute. In a middle of nowhere fantasy town there is a nondescript inn, managed by an unassuming man named Kote – whose sparkling eyes betray more charisma points than any normal middle manager would have spec’d into their character stats. Kote was actually once Kvothe, a renowned sword fighter, seducer, and musician – rumored to have once killed a king. Using the power of magic based around the “true names” of things, Kvote is able to charm the very powers of nature to fight by his side. He’s a level 20 bard hiding in an NPC’s disguise, a deception he might not be able to maintain for very much longer – despite his obscene advantage on charisma checks.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is the story of a rogue who decided to multi-class as a bard in order to pull off elaborate cons. The titular Locke Lamora possesses the gift for gab, the ability to deprive people of their gold with his golden tongue. He’s trained under the tutelage of a master thief, and uses his skills a member of the sticky-fingered Gentleman Bastards – a group of ne’er-do-wells that have a tight hold on the criminal underworld… for now. After the arrival of a cunning new foe that threatens to shake up the lawbreakers’ status quo, Locke will have to use all of his faculties of wit in order to survive an encounter with a ruthless equal. It’s bards verses barbarians, and like locks, sides must be picked.
The Lark and The Wren
The first of Mercedes Lackey’s The Bardic Voices series, The Lark and The Wren is a bardic yarn spun about a young girl with a prodigious amount of talent and nowhere to spend it. Rather than dazzling audiences far and wide, young Rune is stuck as a serving girl at the Hungry Bear tavern – a place as nondescript as a top 40 pop song. With nowhere else to turn, Rune decides to play her fiddle for the only captive audience she can find: dead people. After venturing up to a haunted hill, she performs for a ghost that makes her a deal – if she can keep the spirit entertained with music until dawn, it will give her enough money to make a new start for herself. If the ghost gets bored, it will just kill her instead. Everyone’s a critic.
The Goblin Emperor
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison may not be about a bard per se, but the young diplomat Maia is forced to perform charisma checks at every political turn. After his royal father and half-siblings die in a bizarre airship accident, Maia is called back from exile to serve as the new ruler of the realm. In order to keep the kingdom in order, Maia will have to wield the feather-light scepter of soft power – maintaining rule of law through peaceful negotiation and political wheelin’ and dealing. With his lofty ideals, Maia will have trouble getting his hands dirty the way that the monarchs have old have always done things – so maybe he’ll be able to forge a different style of governance after all? Or he’ll get stabbed in the back by one of his courtly rivals. Politics, man.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark is the story of a Wizard and Sorcerer (if we’re using DnD archetypes, that is). Mr. Norrell is total Wizard material. A careful and logical man who used a scientific approach in order to become one of the foremost magicians in all of 19th century England. Enter Jonathan Strange, an upstart mage who uses his Charisma modifier to get things done magic-style. While the pair initially form a tutor/tutored relationship, their oppositional approaches to the arcane arts twist them into bitter adversaries, leading them both to be undone by an even more supernaturally charming force – a fae being summoned to this plane of reality, with dark designs for the human world.
The Naming
Allison Croggan’s The Naming is the story of an orphan girl named Maerad, who was enslaved after her home was destroyed in the fires of war. Just when her life seems entirely hopeless, she’s saved by the intervention of a wandering bard named Cadvan, who sees in her a talent for enchantment. Maerad soon discovers that she possesses “The Gift” – the power to command nature – and is a descendant of a long lost line of magic users. With the help of her newfound tutor, Maerad begins a quest to defeat an evil immortal sorcerer (classic bard problems) with the gift of spoken word magic (classic bard solutions).
Kushiel’s Dart
“That which yields is not always weak,” well ain’t that just lyric plucked straight out of a bard’s number one single? Despite her propensity for poetry, the protagonist of Kushiel’s Dart is not a hit-making lute slinger, but a courtesan who’s never plucked a note. Blessed by the gods with the ability to feel pain as pleasure, the indentured servant Phèdre nó Delaunay is purchased by a noble and trained in the art of seduction. In order to serve her employer, she’s told to infiltrate the halls of power as a courtesan/spy, teasing sensitive information out of the kingdom’s movers and shakers. As Phèdre masters her powers of persuasion, she learns that true power can come from the illusion of powerlessness – a deception she cultivates to be really, really good at her job.
Spellsinger
Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster is every dad rocker’s dream. It’s the story of Jonathan-Thomas Meriweather – part time law student, part time musician, part time janitor. He’s full time bard wannabe with no time to develop his skills – that is until he’s pulled into a parallel dimension by a turtle wizard named Clothahump (yes, really) in order to help defeat an evil army. With the power of his duar (the “make it fantasy” version of an acoustic guitar) Jon-Tom discovers that he’s able to transmute his budding musical talents into fully bloomed spells – with often unpredictable results. It’s a wild and whacky story written in the style of an isekai anime: local guy becomes big hero that the realm deserves.
His Dark Materials
Lyra Belacqua, protagonist of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, has no particular skills whatsoever. She’s a twelve year old girl whose only talents include sneaking onto the rooftops of her college sanctuary, starting rock fights with the local kids, and lying about it when her guardians come asking. After she comes across a magical compass with the power to answer unanswerable questions about the universe, she decides to use it on a quest to save a captured friend. She accomplishes this feat with sheer aura alone – Lyra is able to foil the best laid plans of a world-controlling megachurch simply because she does not give a $%&#. Using her penchant for perjury and her unbridled sense of childlike courage, Lyra becomes a protagonist powerful enough to topple Heaven itself – and kill God in the process. All without swinging a single sword, or singing a damn note.
The Bards of Bone Plain
Patricia A. McKillip’s The Bards of Bone Plain is the story Phelan Cle – a student who doesn’t have time for classic bard college hi-jinks like starting parties and orgies. He’s too busy studying the Bone Plain, which, despite the name, is not a magical realm where horny bards go to bang. It’s a mythical place said to be the source of all poetry (boring). While Phelan is content to stay sober on his quest for knowledge, his hard partying archaeologist father decides to pursue his own investigations into the historical arcane – while half in the bag (hell yeah). After a mysterious stone is uncovered on school grounds with a potential link to the Bone Plain, these academics begin to piece together legends of old – written in an ancient magical language that may still possesses power in the modern world.
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