Staccato the Bard's page

Composition Cantrips: Composition cantrips are special composition spells that don’t cost Focus Points, so you can use them as often as you like. Composition cantrips are in addition to the cantrips you choose from the occult list. Generally, only feats can give you more composition cantrips. Unlike other cantrips, you can’t swap out composition cantrips gained from bard feats at a later level, unless you swap out the specific feat via retraining.
You learn the inspire courage composition cantrip, which boosts your allies’ attacks, damage, and defense against fear.
Composition Spells: You can infuse your performances with magic to create unique effects called compositions. Compositions are a special type of spell that often require you to use the Performance skill when casting them. Composition spells are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to perform, write a new composition, or otherwise engage your muse.
Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up, much like cantrips. Focus spells don’t require spell slots, and you can’t cast them using spell slots. Taking feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points.
You learn the counter performance composition spell, protecting against auditory and visual effects.
Initial Proficiencies: At 1st level, you gain the listed proficiency ranks in the following statistics. You are untrained in anything not listed unless you gain a better proficiency rank in some other way.
Perception: Expert
Saving Throws: Trained in Fortitude, Trained in Reflex, Expert in Will
Skills: Trained in Occultism, Trained in Performance, Trained in a number of additional skills equal to 4 plus your Intelligence modifier
Attacks: Trained in simple weapons, Trained in the longsword, rapier, sap, shortbow, shortsword, and whip, Trained in unarmed attacks
Defenses: Trained in light armor and unarmored defense
Spells: Trained in occult spell attacks, Trained in occult spell DCs
Muse: As a bard, you select one muse at 1st level. This muse leads you to great things, and might be a physical creature, a deity, a philosophy, or a captivating mystery.
*Maestro:Your muse is a virtuoso, inspiring you to greater heights. If it’s a creature, it might be a performance-loving creature such as a choral angel or lillend azata; if a deity, it might be Shelyn. As a bard with a maestro muse, you are an inspiration to your allies and confident of your musical and oratorical abilities. You gain the Lingering Composition feat and add soothe to your spell repertoire.
Natural Ambition: You were raised to be ambitious and always reach for the stars, leading you to progress quickly in your chosen field. You gain a 1st-level class feat for your class. You must meet the prerequisites, but you can select the feat later in the character creation process in order to determine which prerequisites you meet.
Occult Spellcasting: Occult Spellcasting You draw upon magic from esoteric knowledge. You can cast occult spells using the Cast a Spell activity, and you can supply material, somatic, and verbal components when casting spells. Because you’re a bard, you can usually play an instrument for spells requiring somatic or material components, as long as it takes at least one of your hands to do so. If you use an instrument, you don’t need a spell component pouch or
another hand free. You can usually also play an instrument for spells requiring verbal components, instead of speaking.
Versatile Heritage: Humanity’s versatility and ambition have fueled its ascendance to be the most common ancestry in most nations throughout the world. Select a general feat of your choice for which you meet the prerequisites (as with your ancestry feat, you can select this general feat at any point during character creation).

"He will be laughing still... at the end."

For a bit of historical context, a jester was a professional clown employed to entertain kings or noblemen. The role of the Medieval jester was to amuse his master, to excite him to laughter by sharp contrast, to prevent the over-oppression of state affairs, and, in harmony with a well-known physiological precept, by his liveliness at meals to assist his lord's digestion.

What hints do we have in the base game to give clues to the Jester’s backstory? His description says he is “an entertainer”. The really hints are in his affliction quotes. When vigorous he says “I've lived in the court. Poison does not affect me anymore.” This implies that he has taken poisoned food and drink enough times that he is immune to it and poison is an effective way of killing someone in, court in this sense most likely applies to the place where kings or noblemen do politics ,so this “court” must have a very unpopular ruler for him to be poisoned (accidentally or not) enough time to be immune to it. “A pathetic joke, this place. Court is infinite worse” is said when courageous, meaning that he bores of court politics or the court is worse due to the corruption in court or cruelness that his master deals with people.

Maybe the Jester was a victim of the cruelty as well, as his selfish quotes; “One quarter? Surely you jest.” and “If I must be paid in coinage, make it A LOT of coinage” suggest that he was not paid well for his entertainment services and being afflicted brings back these memories (highly speculative). Whether he was a victim or not, the Jester obviously did not take kindly to his master’s cruelness; his powerful quote state that “…wanton slaughter is a lot of fun…” when combined with masochistic lines “Oh, you like knives? Me too... Heh” and “Torture? (shrugs) I'm always game for a little fun” strongly suggest that he tortured and killed many people - possibly corrupt court members and even his master.

And now to the Crimson Court that supports many of these claims. The Crimson Court adds trinket sets to the game and each has one line of lore in the description. The Jester’s is Tyrant’s Tasting Cup and Tyrant’s Fingerbone with the line “Heh. The last Laugh is mine!”. The line strongly suggests that the tyrant is now dead by the Jester’s hands.The names of these trinkets also sheds light on the type of ruler the Jester served: TYRANT, with a tyrant being a cruel and oppressive ruler. The Tyrant’s Tasting Cup is bubbling with green liquid - it isn't too far fetched to say that is poison, seeming as this court has a history of attempted poisoning and what better way to poison someone then in their cup used for tasting a drink before having more. The Fingerbone appears to be the ring finger with ring still on. This lends evidence to the Jester’s masochistic nature.

In summary let me paint you a picture for you: our Jester class has just come into the service of a tyrannical ruler who is so cruel to his people that there have been many attempts of removing the tyrant by poison. The Jester is unfortunate enough to take these poisons but not enough to kill him. The Jester is in this tyrant’s service for a long time until he, inexplicably, poisons the whole court and slaughters them taking the tyrants’s ring finger as a memento.

Thank you for reading my theory, I think its decent for the information we have available lore-wise. Slightly funny/sad as I wrote this the night before u/Farabee posted what the Crimson Court tells us about the classes without a comic yet.

In the darkest depths of these twisted lands few things are as welcomed as a good laugh, a merry song, and razor sharp blade. The Jester brings all of these in spades. Armed with a sickle and lute, this maniacal minstrel is a versatile class that has several tricks up his sleeves. With his oddly shaped blade he can slice the 2nd and 3rd positions of the opposition to ribbons, causing them to bleed out. With his lute he can provide in-battle comfort for his companions, playing songs that inspire greatness or relieve tension. Regardless of his position in your party, he is able to dance elegantly around those pesky party shufflers and set up opportunities to single out an enemy and bring about its utter, almost laughable demise.

As an entertainer, he can make a stressful night of camping turn into a night of merriment and wit. The melodious riffs of his lute will make any party member's mind quiet as he encourages them to strike quickly and precisely like a tiger. Beware though, not all find the Jester's antics amusing as mockery and cynicism is only funny until it happens to you. All who dare to confront the Darkest Dungeon know that it might mean their end, but with the Jester in tow he will make sure that it is at least a heroic end.

Combat is a power ballad - a slow build up, and a grand finale! On the offense, the Jester leaps to and fro in a bloody cacophony, positioning himself for a glorious end in the front ranks! Alternatively, he can hang back, delivering chilling melodies and unsettling riffs that terrorize his foes, and give strength to his allies.

The Jester shines in the flickering light of the campfire, bringing his lute and unerring wit to bear against the fears and stress his companions suffer. He can inspire greater combat prowess, or raise the group's spirits at the cost of singling out a target for his acrimonious scandalizing.

"I've lived at court. Poison no longer has any effect."

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Knight of the Order of Australia, Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, Extra Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Logohu, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.

Appearance

Personality

1. Background
a. Conflict
b. Challenges
c. Mystery
d. Passion
e. Birthplace
f. Family
g. Professions and Crafts
h. Significant Past Events
i. Family-related events
ii. Personal events
iii. Notable individuals
i. Mysteries
j. Existing Conflicts
k. What triggered adventuring?
l. Initial possessions
m. Bound duties
n. Quests
2. Primary Motivators - Liberation and Destruction
3. Emotion and Core Traits
a. Emotional Disposition and Moodiness - Anxious, Labile
b. Core Traits
i. Outlook: Optimistic
ii. Integrity: Conscientious
iii. Impulsiveness: Controlled
iv. Boldness: Cautious
v. Agreeableness: Agreeable
vi. Interactivity: Reserved
vii. Conformity: Conventional
4. Secondary Personality Traits
a. Sense of Humor: Dry
b. Favorite Topics of Conversation: his son, alchemy, teaching
c. Group Affiliations
d. Religion and Spirituality
e. Quirks, Habits, and Oddities
f. Hobbies and Enjoyments
g. Mental Disorders
h. Barks

Character level + untrained +0, trained +2, expert +4, master +6, and legendary +8

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[dice=]1d20;1d[/dice]

Melee Bard:
Bard Feats: Maestro muse for Lingering Composition, take Dirge of Doom

MC Feats: Rogue MC dedication, some 1st or 2nd level feat, Dread STriker

Spells: Heroism, Synesthesia

Dirge of Doom plus Dread Striker gives a -3 to effective AC for everything you attack in melee, plus Synesthesia inflicts Clumbsy 3 for an additional -2 (it doesn't stack with Frightened 1, of course). Total of -5 to AC, you're now tied with a Fighter with two tiers of proficiency more than you and one more in his attack attribute and of course your allies still benefit defensively from Frightened 1 and offensively from Clumsy 3.

PLus Heroism on yourself for an additional +1 to +3. At 20 you can do some dumb stuff with additional cantrip stacking, but it's not worth it until then.

*weapon:
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*chest:
*eyes:
*feet:
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*head:
*headband:
*neck:
*ring:
*ring:
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*slotless: