As a people, we always stay quiet and out of the way, that’s just the way our ancestors have always been. But are we not also people of the Fey? There is creativity in my heart and music in my soul. These are things that deserve to be shared with everyone and besides, it’s not a party if you’re by yourself…

How to Make a Firbolg Bard

Starting Stats

When it comes to playing a bard, the main focus is usually your Charisma. Your best score will typically go there for the sake of your spells and your Bardic Inspiration feature.

From there, what’s next most important depends on what kind of character you want yours to be. With a bonus +1 to your Strength at character creation, there can be a strong argument to be made that College of Valor or College of Swords are great choices to take advantage of the physical capabilities with two attacks and also give you the ability to wear Medium armor.

College of Valor is great for defensive builds because you also gain proficiency in shields. 

College of Swords provides the choice of two Fighting Styles, Dueling and Two-Weapon Fighting. While using an off-hand attack with the latter does prevent you from using your Inspiration on a party member, it’s made up by the fact that you can use them with a Blade Flourish as part of your attacks.

How to Play a Firbolg Bard

With Hidden Step and Firbolg Magic, it makes you very adept for infiltration, especially with Jack of all Trades giving a boost to any skill you’re not proficient with and Expertise giving an even bigger boost to things you are. 

Disguise Self and Invisibility are two things that are extremely useful for any character and since they are innate abilities, although, with limited uses, it frees you up to take other spells in your Known Spells that you might not have taken otherwise.

Speech of Beast and Leaf is more of a situational and flavorful ability, but with a high Charisma you should be pretty successful talking to plants and animals and it could present an excellent opportunity in a pinch.

How to Roleplay as a Firbolg Bard

A Firbolg Bard is a bit of a contradiction in their typical nature. It can become a great base for many types of personalities and traits that turned your character into an adventurer. As a normally reserved, almost shy person, you could use your Disguise Self to hide your true identity or turn invisible to slip out the back after a performance. Or you could lean into your character having just a bit extra Fey in their veins, filling them with wanderlust and a fondness for parties. 
If you want to lean into the peaceful nature of Firbolg, you can put more emphasis on a soothing Song of Rest over Bardic Inspiration, using slow melodies and soulful lyrics. It all comes down to what kind of character you want to play, and what their motivation is, but Firbolg Bard is a very colorful combination that opens up a lot of opportunities to venture far from the norm while still having a compelling and realistic portrayal.