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.

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 with bard spellcasting. 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 Courageous Anthem composition cantrip, which boosts your allies' attacks, damage, and defense against fear.

You draw upon magic from esoteric knowledge. You are a spellcaster and can cast spells of the occult tradition using the Cast a Spell activity.

As a bard, when you cast spells, your incantations might be musical riffs or clever limericks, your gestures might incorporate dance and dramatic pantomiming, and you might accompany your spellcasting by playing a musical instrument.

Each day, you can cast up to two 1st-rank spells. You must know spells to cast them, and you learn them via the spell repertoire class feature. The number of spells you can cast each day is called your spell slots.

As you increase in level as a bard, your number of spells per day increases, as does the highest rank of spells you can cast.

Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or have your enemies roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Charisma, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Charisma modifier.

You've developed a knack for dodging danger. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

Guardian Even in the heaviest of armors, you can brace yourself against widespread effects. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.

Experience allows you to cast some spells more flexibly. For each spell rank you have access to, choose one spell of that rank to be a signature spell. You don't need to learn heightened versions of signature spells separately; instead, you can heighten these spells freely. If you've learned a signature spell at a higher rank than its minimum, you can also cast all its lower-rank versions without learning those separately. If you swap out a signature spell, you can choose a replacement signature spell of the same spell rank at which you learned the previous spell. You can also retrain specifically to change a signature spell to a different spell of that rank without swapping any spells; this takes as much time as retraining a spell normally does.

The greatest performances require an understanding of your own mind and flawless concentration. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.

You have become thoroughly adept with bardic weapons. Your proficiency rank for martial weapons, simple weapons, and unarmed attacks increases to expert. When you critically succeed at an attack roll using one of these weapons or an unarmed attack while one of your compositions is active, you apply the critical specialization effect for that weapon or unarmed attack.

You've learned how to dodge while wearing light or no armor. Your proficiency ranks for light armor and unarmored defense increase to expert.

You've learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you're a master, and 4 if you're legendary.

Your performances warp the mind and cause emotions to flower, and understanding how to do this also forges an incomparable understanding of your own mind. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to legendary. When you roll a critical failure on a Will save, you get a failure instead. When you fail a Will save against an effect that deals damage, you take half damage.

You have tuned your spellcasting to the highest caliber. Add two common 10th-rank occult spells to your repertoire. You gain a single 10th-rank spell slot you can use to cast these spells using bard spellcasting. Unlike other spell slots, you can't use 10th-rank slots with abilities that give you more spell slots or that let you cast spells without expending spell slots. You don't gain more 10th-rank spells as you level up, but you can take the Perfect Encore feat to gain a second slot.