Archives of Nethys
Muses
Source Player Core pg. 97As a bard, you select one muse at 1st level. This muse leads you to great things and might be someone you know, a supernatural creature, location, deity, philosophy, or captivating mystery. Depending on the type of inspiration you receive, your 1st-level muse grants you a specific 1st-level bard feat and adds a spell to your repertoire.
In addition to this, each muse opens the door to many later bard feats. If one type of inspiration is not enough to represent your muse, consider the Multifarious Muse feat.
Your muse is a mystery, driving you to uncover the hidden secrets of life and the multiverse. These muses can be people you cannot fully grasp, texts layered deeply with symbolism, or emotional paradoxes that underline a lifetime's work. If your muse is an otherworldly creature, it might be a mysterious aeon or an occult dragon; if a deity, it might be Irori or Nethys. Art inspired by an enigma muse could be cryptic, eerie, or laden with speculation and conspiracy.
As a bard with the enigma muse, you support your allies by providing knowledge alongside inspiration and occult support.
Muse Feat Bardic Lore
Muse Spell sure strike
Maestro
Source Player Core pg. 98Your muse constantly inspires you to greater heights of artistic prowess. For many bards, a teacher or rival fills this role, although some set their sights higher and attempt to surpass great composers of the past or blaze a new trail entirely. If your muse is a supernatural creature, it might be one who loves to perform, such as a choral angel or a lyrakien azata; if a deity, it might be Shelyn. Art inspired by a maestro muse is precise and inventive, a formalist achievement.
As a bard with a maestro muse, you are an inspiration to your allies and confident of your musical and oratorical abilities.
Muse Feat Lingering Composition
Muse Spell soothe
Polymath
Source Player Core pg. 98Your muse is a jack of all trades, flitting between skills and pursuits. Some bards are constantly moved by new muses or draw their inspiration from an idealized being, whether it's based on a real person or purely philosophical. If your muse is a single creature, it might be an eclectic creature like a fey or one who's learned a lot over a long lifespan; if a deity, it might be Desna or Calistria. Art inspired by a polymath muse is restless, with each composition exhibiting new techniques and an ever-evolving style.
As a bard with a polymath muse, you are interested in a wide array of topics but rarely dedicated to any one, and you rarely make up your mind—you want to try everything.
Muse Feat Versatile Performance
Muse Spell phantasmal minion
Trickster
Source Feybound pg. 36Inspiration comes from many places, including the perverse. Renowned wit can be beloved in many social circles provided it remains centered on appropriate targets, but a daring few poke and prod at the boundaries of society even further. A bored academic surrounded by those who can't keep up with her sets up puzzles and harmless traps in the restaurants she frequents. A charismatic charmer wonders just how much he can get away with before someone calls him out on his absurd lies. A daydreaming student hits upon a ridiculous idea and can't stop herself from wondering, “What if...?”
Bards with these impulses are often driven to new heights by a trickster muse, a roguish agent of chaos who inspires them to pursue ever more outlandish ways to manipulate people and circumstances yet still leave them none the wiser. If your muse is a creature, they might be a legendary, rakish folk hero, a capricious and powerful fey, or an underground performer who uses sleight of hand to astonish audiences and stay ahead of the law. If your muse is a deity, it might be Calistria, Grandmother Spider, or Nyarlathotep. Art inspired by a trickster muse celebrates cleverness, ingenuity, and melodrama and is as likely to take the form of an elaborate scheme or public spectacle as it is to take a more traditional form of composition. If a bard's actions cause a stir in society, that's good, but if the bard slips away leaving their audience none the wiser for their involvement, then that's even better. Of course, cunning is a double-edged sword for many—a trickster who has no one to brag to might as well have done nothing at all, and even the most cunning of manipulators finds it hard not to perform a grand reveal when their plans unfurl.
Tricksters can also be too clever for their own good, especially if they're not quite as skilled as they believe they are. Furthermore, the whims of fate might sometimes snatch a hard-planned victory out of a trickster's hands at the last second. When such things happen, there's little left for the trickster to do but to concede defeat with a smile: No one likes a sore loser, after all. For obvious reasons, the fey are often involved with trickster muses, either as the inspirer or inspired. Even fey who are too dour for jokes and japes are still bound by the First World's complex web of rules and laws, and knowing how to subvert them can give a fey a powerful and desirable advantage.
As a bard with a trickster muse, you excel at using your silver tongue and razor-sharp wit to extract your allies from sticky situations—even those you got them into.
Muse Feat Bamboozling Performance
Muse Spell biting words
Warrior
Source Player Core pg. 98The battlefield is your stage, the clang of steel, your song. Your muse has seen countless battles, whether reveling in combat or resigned to its necessity. An individual soldier or general might inspire you, but so might a battlefield or weapon with a particularly profound history. If your muse is a creature, it might be an otherworldly soldier, such as an archon or devil soldier. If it's a deity, it might be Gorum. Art inspired by a warrior muse is triumphant and strident, often detailing epic battles.
As a bard with a warrior muse, you train for battle in addition to performance, and you prepare your allies for the dangers of combat. You might even wade into the thick of things with them.
Muse Feat Martial Performance
Muse Spell fear
Zoophonia
Source Howl of the Wild pg. 65Your muse is a master of birdsong, wolf howls, trumpeting elephants, and other animal communication, pushing you to new heights and encouraging your connections with nature. If your muse is a creature, it might be an enlightened animal or a spirit guide. If it's a deity, it might be one of the Wardens of the Wild, Gozreh, or another representative of nature.
Muse Feat Zoophonic Communication
Muse Spell summon animal
Shelyn's Corner
×Classic Feel
Classic Feel
Classic Feel
The classic look for the Archives of Nethys.
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Book Feel
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Book Feel
An alternative feel, based on the Rulebooks.
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Round Feel
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A rounded, modern look for the archives.
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Slim Feel
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A variant of the Round feel, more compact.
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