Bard
The Bard is a class added by the Thorium Mod as of version 1.4.0.0. The Bard class' weapons, armor, and accessories focus on providing short, stat-improving empowerments while still dealing symphonic damage.
Although the Bard buffs themselves when fighting, a larger benefit can be found through teamwork; empowerments are also given to friendly players standing near the Bard, so they are a great addition to a multiplayer scenario.
The Bard class is largely developed, with content spread throughout the game. This includes 9 armor sets, 56 accessories, 30 buffs and 116 items.
Mechanics
Inspiration
- Main article: Inspiration
Instead of using Mana, the Bard weapons draw from a unique resource called inspiration, which is increased using Inspiration Fragments, Inspiration Shards, and Inspiration Crystals. Inspiration regenerates automatically. Although many of the Bard items are specific to inspiration, the fact that it's separate from Mana makes it a tempting choice for another class' backup.
Symphonic Damage
The Bard's musical weapons hit with a specific damage type called symphonic damage. Accessories and armor can be used to augment symphonic damage output, and generic 'damage' buffs, such as the one from the Scuba Curva, still increase Bard's damage.
Big Instruments
Big instruments are a subset of Bard weapons that utilize a timing mechanic. When held out, a timer will appear underneath the player (or underneath the cursor if the Move Instrument Timer to Mouse configuration setting is set to true); the instruments' effects vary depending on whether their attacks are used within a specific window of time or not. As the player successfully times their attacks, the big instrument will gain power, provided empowerment level, along with other effects, whereas missing the timing will greatly decrease these bonuses.
Each instrument category, except for Electronic, has its own unique timer, with differing patterns:
| Instrument Category | Timer | Instruction | Instruments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hold the attack button while the marker is over the highlighted area. |  |
Alphorn | |
 |
Organ | |||
|
Attack while the marker is over the highlighted area. |  |
Steel Drum | |
 |
Xylophone | |||
 |
The Set | |||
|
Attack in three-round bursts as the marker passes over each of the highlighted area. |  |
Grand Piano | |
 |
Scholar's Harp | |||
|
Alternate between the left- and right-click buttons while the marker is over the left and right sides respectively. |  |
Song of Ice & Fire | |
 |
Bagpipe | |||
While a big instrument is held out for the first time, a mouse icon will appear in order to provide a guide on each timer's function.
Accessories
Armor
Buffs
Empowerments
Items
Brass Instruments
Percussion Instruments
String Instruments
Wind Instruments
Electronic Instruments
Crafting Materials
| Item | Function | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cloth | Used to craft some early-game Bard items | Crafted from 4  at  Work Bench
|
 |
Bloom Weave | Used to craft Ornate armor | Dropped by Plantera |
 |
Shooting Star Fragment | Used to craft a variety of endgame Bard items | Dropped by the Celestial Towers |
History
| Game mechanics | |
|---|---|
| Combat | Artificer's Energy • Crowd Control • Minions • Out of Combat • Special Ability |
| Environment | Events • Music • Status messages |
| Thrower | Thrower Exhaustion • Technique Scrolls |
| Healer | Additional Healing • Auras • Healing Effects |
| Bard | Empowerments • Inspiration • Big instruments |
| Interface | Tips |
| Items | Consumable • Crafting stations (By Hand) • Drops • Modifiers • Rarity • Recipes • Vanilla item recipes • Item transmutations |
| Game | Configuration settings • Fishing • Game controls • Mod Calls • NPC names |
| Player | Buffs and Debuffs • Damage reduction • Death Prevention • Defense • Permanent boosts • Resource • Life Shield |