Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Font of Inspiration
Beginning when you reach 5th level, you regain all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration when you finish a short or long rest.
Countercharm
At 6th level, you gain the ability to use musical notes or words of power to disrupt mind-influencing effects. As an action, you can start a performance that lasts until the end of your next turn. During that time, you and any friendly creatures within 30 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. A creature must be able to hear you to gain this benefit. The performance ends early if you are incapacitated or silenced or if you voluntarily end it (no action required).
Expertise
At 10th level, choose two more of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiencies.
Magical Secrets
By 10th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from among the bard, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard classes. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.
The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.
You learn two additional spells from any classes at 14th level and again at 18th level.
Magical Secrets
At 14th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from among the bard, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard classes. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.
The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.
You learn two additional spells from any classes at 18th level.
Magical Secrets
At 18th level, you have plundered magical knowledge from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Choose two spells from among the bard, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard classes. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip.
The chosen spells count as bard spells for you and are included in the number in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.
Superior Inspiration
At 20th level, when you roll initiative you regain a number of uses of Bardic Inspiration equal to half your Charisma modifier, rounded up.
Subclasses
College of the Diplomat
Bards of the college of the diplomat work to preserve peace and life wherever they go. Many work in tune with the laws of the land, settling disputes and seeking the best outcome for all involved.
Restriction: Half-Elf Only
Half-elves are born of two vastly different peoples in a land that is unkind to many. They see the struggles of all people better than any and are uniquely suited for this position.
Restriction: Alignment
Due to the nature of the work of diplomats, a member of this college cannot be evil or chaotic.
Peaceful Agreement
Beginning when you join this college at 3rd level, you are able to use a scroll, quill, or contract as a spellcasting focus for bard spells you cast.
In addition, you learn the cure wounds and healing word spells. These spells don't count against your spells known and count as bard spells for you.
Beguiling Diplomacy
Also at 3rd level, when you use your Bardic Inspiration, you may cast the charm person spell on that creature as well without expending a spell slot. If the creature is hostile, you choose when the creature uses the inspiration. Bardic Inspiration used by creatures hostile to you causes a penalty equal to the result rolled rather than a bonus.
Powerful Words
beginning when you reach 6th level, you may cast the charm monster spell rather than the charm person spell for your Beguiling Diplomacy.
Also, whenever you restore hit points or grant temporary hit points to a creature, you restore an additional 2 hit points or grant an additional 5 temporary hit points.
In addition, your Countercharm feature may be used as a reaction to a creature being effected by an effect that would cause the frightened or charmed condition.
End of Hostilities
Starting at 14th level, you may cast the dominate monster spell rather than the charm person or charm monster spell for your Beguiling Diplomacy. When you do, you may concentrate on up to three instances of this spell cast this way.
In addition, any creature of your choice that uses Bardic Inspiration granted by you gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier. These temporary hit points stack with any existing temporary hit points when applied.
College of the Eternal Veil
They call themselves Weavers. Some would say they’ve completely lost touch with reality, that they truly don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. But a Weaver would simply ask, “What is reality? Is this chair real? Can you see it? Smell the wood and dust? Hear it creak when I move it? Can you feel it splintering along the top?” Then with a wink the chair is gone. “If you can’t trust that it was real, when you had it right in front of you, how do you know anything is?”
Weavers are Bards who combine acting with the magic of illusion to create immersive stories of their own design. They aren’t content to act only on the stage a few nights a week. No, the thrill of acting is far too great to restrict only to the theater. They choose instead to make the world around them at any given moment their stage, whenever, wherever, and with whomever passing by drawn into their drama. They can be anyone and anywhere they wish and in a blink of an eye it’s all shifted and they’re gone.
The Weaver's Craft
At 3rd level you specialize in the school of illusion and begin to incorporate these skills into your performances. You learn the minor illusion cantrip. If you already know this cantrip, you learn a different bard cantrip of your choice. The cantrip doesn’t count against your cantrips known. When you cast minor illusion, you can create both a sound and an image with a single casting of the spell.
Setting the Stage
By 6th level, you can seamlessly blend your acting with your illusions to great effect. When you attempt a Deception check in the presence of one of your illusions, you can manipulate it to reinforce your charade and gain advantage on the roll.
Spinning the Tale
At 14th level, you are allowed to make a performance check when a creature is presented with proof that your illusion is not real. If your roll is higher than their insight roll, you soothe their doubts and they still believe in your illusion.
College of Glamour
The College of Glamour is the home of bards who mastered their craft in the vibrant realm of the Feywild or under the tutelage of someone who dwelled there. Tutored by satyrs, eladrin, and other fey, these bards learn to use their magic to delight and captivate others.
The bards of this college are regarded with a mixture of awe and fear. Their performances are the stuff of legend. These bards are so eloquent that a speech or song that one of them performs can cause captors to release the bard unharmed and can lull a furious dragon into complacency. The same magic that allows them to quell beasts can also bend minds. Villainous bards of this college can leech off a community for weeks, abusing their magic to turn their hosts into thralls. Heroic bards of this college instead use this power to gladden the downtrodden and undermine oppressors.
Mantle of Inspiration
When you join the College of Glamour at 3rd level, you gain the ability to weave a song of fey magic that imbues your allies with vigor and speed.
As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to grant yourself a wondrous appearance. When you do so, choose a number of creatures you can see and who can see you within 60 feet of you, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). Each of them gains 5 temporary hit points. When a creature gains these temporary hit points, it can immediately use its reaction to move up to its speed, without provoking opportunity attacks.
The number of temporary hit points increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 8 at 5th level, 11 at 10th level, and 14 at 15th level.
Enthralling Performance
Starting at 3rd level, you can charge your performance with seductive, fey magic.
If you perform for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to inspire wonder in your audience by singing, reciting a poem, or dancing. At the end of the performance, choose a number of humanoids within 60 feet of you who watched and listened to all of it, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by you. While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, it speaks glowingly of you to anyone who speaks to it, and it hinders anyone who opposes you, avoiding violence unless it was already inclined to fight on your behalf. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour, if it takes any damage, if you attack it, or if it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies.
If a target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that you tried to charm it.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Mantle of Majesty
At 6th level, you gain the ability to cloak yourself in a fey magic that makes others want to serve you. As a bonus action, you cast Command, without expending a spell slot, and you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute or until your concentration ends (as if you were concentrating on a spell). During this time, you can cast Command as a bonus action on each of your turns, without expending a spell slot.
Any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the Command you cast with this feature.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Unbreakable Majesty
At 14th level, your appearance permanently gains an otherworldly aspect that makes you look more lovely and fierce.
In addition, as a bonus action, you can assume a magically majestic presence for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. For the duration, whenever any creature tries to attack you for the first time on a turn, the attacker must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it can't attack you on this turn, and it must choose a new target for its attack or the attack is wasted. On a successful save, it can attack you on this turn, but it has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against your spells on your next turn.
Once you assume this majestic presence, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
College of Holy Hymns
Bards of the College of Holy Hymns are unique as a form of divine caster rather than arcane like most of their kind. Through combining traditional bardic techniques with holy guidance, they can heal and protect their allies with ease. These bards are always devoted to a specific deity or temple, and often travel the world to spread their teachings, seek knowledge, or root out opposing propaganda.
Their songs and stories are inspired by religious scripture, and focus on imparting a meaningful message as opposed to entertaining the masses. Bards who adopt this college are often compensated by temples as opposed to earning coin in taverns or courts. Many of these bards are raised in temples, while others gravitate to the path later in life. While most who follow this path strive for benevolent causes, this is not always the case; many pursue a neutral agenda, and there are even those who use their performances to bolster the forces of evil deities.
Restriction: Deific
Any who choose this college must follow a deity and fall into their allowed alignments. In addition, your spells count as divine rather than arcane.
Divine Resonance
When you join this college at 3rd level, you learn to weave healing energy into your spells. When you cast a 1st-level or higher, you can choose to expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration as a reaction to restore hit points to a creature within 60 feet of you. You restore an amount of hit points equal to the result of the Bardic Inspiration die + two times the level of the spell slot used to cast the spell.
Blessed Songs
Also beginning at 3rd level, whenever you would learn a bard spell, you can choose a spell from the cleric spell list so long as it does not restore hit points. This spell counts as a bard spell for you.
In addition, you learn the healing word spell. This spell counts as a bard spell for you and does not count against your spells known.
Sacred Melodies
At 6th level, you gain the following spells: bless, sanctuary, and revivify. These spells count as bard spells for you, and don’t count against the number of bard spells you know. In addition, whenever you restore hit points to one or more creatures on your turn using your Divine Resonance, you may give one of those creatures resistance to a damage type of your choice until the start of your next turn: cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, radiant, or thunder. You can do so only once per round on your turn.
Heavenly Choir
Starting at 14th level, when you use Divine Resonance, the target receives temporary hit points equal to the total hit points restored by Divine Resonance.
College of Lore
Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads in taverns or elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning everything they held to be true, from their faith in the priesthood of the local temple to their loyalty to the king.
The loyalty of these bards lies in the pursuit of beauty and truth, not in fealty to a monarch or following the tenets of a deity. A noble who keeps such a bard as a herald or advisor knows that the bard would rather be honest than politic.
The college's members gather in libraries and sometimes in actual colleges, complete with classrooms and dormitories, to share their lore with one another. They also meet at festivals or affairs of state, where they can expose corruption, unravel lies, and poke fun at self-important figures of authority.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Lore at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with three skills of your choice.
Cutting Words
Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the confidence and competence of others. When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a damage roll, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll, but before the DM determines whether the attack roll or ability check succeeds or fails, or before the creature deals its damage. The creature is immune if it can't hear you or if it's immune to being charmed.
Additional Magical Secrets
At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from among the bard, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard classes. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you but don't count against the number of bard spells you know.
Peerless Skill
Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your ability check. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeed or fail.
College of the Sacred Yew
While most Druids keep to themselves and hold their private rituals in sacred groves, others are also often priests of secluded tribal societies, preaching the balance of nature and leading the villagers into a life of harmony with the plants and animals around them. In these places, Bards hold a place of honor akin to their Druidic brethren. They are magicians and wonder-workers to those around them and use their arcane skills to tend to and protect the close-knit communities that they are born into. They learn the histories of their people by memory, keep track of their systems of laws, and often become advisors to the local chieftain or king, aided by their talents in divination and prophecy.
Druidic Training
At 3rd level, the Bard of the Sacred Yew undergoes initiation into the Druidic orders to further his or her training. You add Druidic to your known languages and learn two cantrips of your choice from the Druid spell list. These are considered Bard spells for you.
Wild Shape
Once reaching 6th level, you are taught the secrets of Druidic shapeshifting. You can use this ability as a Druid of 2nd level. At 12th level you can change form as a Druid of 4th level, but with flying speed allowed, and at 19th level you can change form as a Druid of 8th level. For the complete rules, see the Druid Wild Shape ability on pages 66-67 of the Players Handbook.
In addition, at 12th level you may choose from three specific bird forms, unique to the College of the Sacred Yew: bardic sparrow, bardic owl, and bardic eagle. When in each of these forms, the Bard can sing a bird song that imparts benefits to party members within 60 feet. This benefit lasts for as long as the Bard continues to sing. The sparrow song grants 10 speed, the owl song grants darkvision 30 feet, and the eagle song grants advantage on perception checks that rely on sight.
Ear of the King
Starting at 14th level, the reputation of your College precedes you and your advice is highly valued and sought after. You can always find food and lodging with nobility or other local authority figures. You also have advantage on Persuasion checks made to influence their actions.
College of Satire
Bards of the College of Satire are called jesters. While jesters are masters of puns, jokes, and verbal barbs, they are much more than just comic relief. Among bards, jesters are unmatched acrobats, and their ability to tumble, dodge, leap, and climb makes them slippery opponents in battle.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Satire at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with playing cards and thieves tools. You also gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand, Tumble, and one additional skill of your choice. If you are already proficient with thieves tools or in Sleight of Hand, choose another skill proficiency for each proficiency you already have.
Tumbling Fool
At 3rd level, you master an acrobatic technique known as tumbling that allows you to evade danger. When you tumble you move a number of feet up to half your walking speed without provoking opportunity attacks. You can tumble as a bonus action. Starting at 6th level you can also tumble as a reaction when you are attacked, imposing disadvantage on the triggering attack.
In addition, after tumbling until the start of your next turn you gain a climbing speed equal to half your walking speed and you take half damage from falling. Tumbling does not cost you any feet of movement.
Insult to Injury
At 6th level, your wit has become as sharp as a rapier, and twice as quick. You learn the vicious mockery cantrip. If you already know it, you learn one other bard cantrip of your choice.
When you use your action to make an attack on your turn, you can use the vicious mockery cantrip as a bonus action.
If a creature fails the saving throw against your vicious mockery, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the target’s Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom rolls until the end of its next turn. The creature also immediately suffers an embarrassing social gaffe. It might loudly pass gas, unleash a thunderous burp, trip and fall, or be compelled to tell a tasteless joke.
One for the Crowd
At 14th level you learn tasha’s hideous laughter as a bard spell. If you already know it, you learn one other 1st level bard spell of your choice.
When you fail a saving throw or miss an attack roll, you may use your reaction to cast tasha’s hideous laughter on a creature you can see without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. You may cast it this way a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
College of the Shadowdancers
Stories of shadowdancers have long filled the imagination of common and learned folk alike. Most people have never encountered one, but they will insist they know exactly what they are: Thieves and cutthroats all, ones who sell their souls for power over the darkness. Some have even heard that they travel to the shadow realm itself to uncover long forgotten and forbidden secrets. All of this is utter nonsense, of course, but the real shadowdancers enjoy the stories as much as the next traveler. No, learning to dance with shadows isn't a matter of dark pacts but an art, born of hard practice and sweat like any other and combined with bardic magic. Dance and the search for beauty in perfect movements lies at the heart of their craft, not darkness. In fact, what use is darkness if no one can then see you move? No, the light and shadows are just their partners, illuminating their bodies with fleeting shadowy images and shades of gray. In time they learn to control the shadows around them and perfect their beautiful duet.
Fleet of Foot
Starting at 3rd level, your training in dance grants you improved athleticism that you can use in combat. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat, which can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide actions.
Grace under Pressure
Also at 3rd level, your natural agility can inspire those around you. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can use that die to increase their movement speed by 15 feet for one turn.
Fading Light
Shadowdancers learn to shape the light at 6th level, to create the ideal conditions for shadows to exist. Once per short rest you can dim the light in a 30 foot radius centered on you. This effect lasts for 1 minute, moves with you, and gives you and your party (those within the radius) advantage on stealth checks based on sight.
Twisting Shadows
Starting at 14th level, you can control your shadow and the shadows that fall across you to mislead an attacker, by moving them sporadically in unnatural directions. When targeted with a melee or ranged attack, you can use your reaction to force your attacker to roll at disadvantage. This ability uses a Bardic Inspiration die.
College of the Skald
For the clans of the north, the history of their people and the stories of the gods are carried in the tales told by the warrior poets, skalds. Skalds make history come alive, and in battle their rousing words can bring to bear the fury of an ancient battlefield. Skalds embolden their allies with tales of the legendary warriors of old.
War Song
Starting at 3rd level, you learn to perform a war song to embolden your allies. You can use your bonus action to begin your war song, which requires concentration and lasts one minute.
When you begin performing your war song or as a bonus action while you are concentrating on your war song, you can choose up to three allies within 60 feet of you that can hear you. You can also choose yourself in place of one of the targets. Once before the end of your next turn, the targeted allies can roll a 1d4 when rolling damage for a melee weapon attack and add the number rolled to the damage roll. Once you perform a war song, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
You may target one additional humanoid with your war song starting at 6th level and 14th level.
Ancient Wolf's Song
Starting at 3rd level, whenever you use your bonus action to use the effect of your war song you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to incite fury in your allies. The targeted allies can roll a bardic inspiration die instead of a 1d4 when rolling damage for a melee weapon attack, and can move up to 5 feet without provoking opportunity attacks in addition to the attack’s other effects.
Words of Brutality
Starting at 6th level, if you spend 1 minute conversing with a creature, you can attempt to leave a simmering violence in its mind. At the end of the minute, you can use an action to force the creature to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC to resist feeling violent urges against one creature you describe to it or name. The save automatically succeeds if the target is immune to being charmed. On a failed save, the target attacks the chosen creature if it sees that creature within the next 10 minutes, using weapons or spells against a creature it was already hostile toward or unarmed strikes against an ally or a creature it was neutral toward. Once the fight starts, it continues to attack for 5 rounds before this effect ends. This effect ends immediately if the target or any ally it can see is attacked or takes damage from any creature other than the one it has been incited against. On a successful save, the creature is unaffected and has no inkling of your attempt to bend its will. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Embodiment of Legend
Starting at 14th level you can personify a legendary warrior if you perform for at least 1 minute by singing or reciting a poem about them. You must also concentrate for the duration of the performance. At the end of the performance, you may cast tenser’s transformation without requiring concentration or material components. You can end the spell’s effect as a bonus action. Once you use this ability you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.
College of the Soulsong
Bards of the College of the Soulsong manipulate the mind and soul through psionic powers. Through these powerful forces, these bards are able to force creatures to rethink their plans and stop their current actions as well as powerfully bolster their allies. These bards are able to relate to others very easily due to their grasp of the soul letting them read people like a book.
Restriction: Psionic
Any who choose this college are psionically awakened. In additional, your spells count as psionic powers rather than arcane spells.
Soulsinging
Beginning when you join this college at 3rd level, you learn the secrets of the soulsong, a mystical psionic force that amplifies your music and song.
You may use a bonus action to enter the mystic Soulsong which lasts for 1 minute or until incapacitated. You can dismiss your Soulsong at any time (no action required.)
While your Soulsong is active, you gain the following effects:
- Once per turn, when you deal psychic damage, you may add your bardic inspiration die to the damage without expending a use of it.
- Creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you, as well as yourself, have their speed increased by 10 feet. Creatures you did not choose instead have their speed reduced by 10 feet while in range. This range becomes 30 feet when you reach 14th level.
- You have advantage on Charisma skill checks.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses of it when you finish a long rest.
In addition, whenever you would learn a Bard spell or gain a spell from Magical Secrets, you can instead learn a psionic manifestation from the Ardent or Psion manifestation lists. Regardless of the list you choose from, use Charisma as your manifesting ability for these.
Freedom and Fate
Also starting at 3rd level you learn to undermine the mental defenses of your foes or bolster those of your allies on a whim. Whenever a creature you can see within 60 feet of you rolls a Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom saving throw against an effect that would cause the charmed, frightened, or stunned effect or any other effect the DM deems mind-altering, or they roll a Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom saving throw to end such an effect, you may expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration and either add or subtract the result from the target's saving throw. You can choose to do so after the saving throw is rolled but before the DM declares if the save is successful or not.
Song of Glory
Beginning at 6th level, you can bring the ideas of victory and glory to the forefront of creature's minds, or banish the very idea from them. Your Bardic Inspiration can be applied to creature's damage rolls. When it does, the extra damage dealt is psychic damage. You can also choose to use your Bardic Inspiration on an enemy, demoralizing them. When you do, you choose when to make them subtract the die from an attack roll, ability check, saving throw, or damage roll.
While Soulsinging, you can grant a use to one ally and one enemy with each use expended as long as the two targets are both within range and within 30 feet of each other.
Soul's Rhythm
Starting at 14th level, while you are Soulsinging you can add your Charisma modifier to any psychic damage you or an ally within 60 feet of you deals.
College of Swords
Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock combats. Though they use their weapons to entertain, they are also highly trained and skilled warriors in their own right.
Their talent with weapons inspires many blades to lead double lives. One blade might use a circus troupe as cover for nefarious deeds such as assassination, robbery, and blackmail. Other blades strike at the wicked, bringing justice to bear against the cruel and powerful. Most troupes are happy to accept a blade’s talent for the excitement it adds to a performance, but few entertainers fully trust a blade in their ranks.
Blades who abandon their lives as entertainers have often run into trouble that makes maintaining their secret activities impossible. A blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante justice is too great a liability for most troupes. With their weapon skills and magic, these blades either take up work as enforcers for thieves’ guilds or strike out on their own as adventurers.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and the scimitar.
If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.
Fighting Style
At 3rd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Blade Flourish
At 3rd level, you learn to conduct impressive displays of martial prowess and speed.
Whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the turn, and if a weapon attack that you make as part of this action hits a creature, you can use one of the following Blade Flourish options of your choice. You can use only one Blade Flourish option per turn.
Defensive Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn.
Slashing Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit and to any other creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die.
Mobile Flourish. You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You can also push the target up to 5 feet away from you, plus a number of feet equal to the number you roll on that die. You can then immediately use your reaction to move up to your walking speed to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Master's Flourish
Starting at 14th level, whenever you use a Blade Flourish option, you can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die.
College of Valor
Bards of the College of Valor are daring skalds whose tales keep alive the memory of the great heroes of the past, and thereby inspire a new generation of heroes. These bards gather in mead halls or around great bonfires to sing the deeds of the mighty, both past and present. They travel the land to witness great events firsthand and to ensure that the memory of those events doesn't pass from the world. With their songs, they inspire others to reach the same heights of accomplishment as the heroes of old.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the College of Valor at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
Combat Inspiration
Also at 3rd level, you learn to inspire others in battle. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die and add the number rolled to a weapon damage roll it just made. Alternatively, when an attack roll is made against the creature, it can use its reaction to roll the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to its AC against that attack, after seeing the roll but before knowing whether it hits or misses.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Battle Magic
At 14th level, you have mastered the art of weaving spellcasting and weapon use into a single harmonious act. When you use your action to cast a bard spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
College of Whispers
Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like any other bard, sharing news, singing songs, and telling tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them against others through extortion and threats.
Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses the bards’ reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason, these bards rarely reveal their true nature unless they must. They typically claim to follow some other college, or keep their true nature secret in order to better infiltrate and exploit royal courts and other settings of power.
Psychic Blades
When you join the College of Whispers at 3rd level, you gain the ability to make your weapon attacks magically toxic to a creature's mind.
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to deal an additional 2d6 psychic damage to that target. You can do so only once per round on your turn.
The psychic damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level, 5d6 at 10th level, and 8d6 at 15th level.
Words of Terror
At 3rd level, you learn to infuse innocent-seeming words with an insidious magic that can inspire terror.
If you speak to a humanoid alone for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to seed paranoia and fear into its mind. At the end of the conversation, the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened of you or another creature of your choice. The target is frightened in this way for 1 hour, until it is attacked or damaged, or until it witnesses its allies being attacked or damaged.
If the target succeeds on its saving throw, the target has no hint that you tried to frighten it.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest or long rest.
Mantle of Whispers
At 6th level, you gain the ability to adopt a humanoid's persona. When a humanoid dies within 30 feet of you, you can magically capture its shadow using your reaction. You retain this shadow until you use it or you finish a long rest.
You can use the shadow as an action. When you do so, it vanishes, magically transforming into a disguise that appears on you. You now look like the dead person, but healthy and alive. This disguise lasts for 1 hour or until you end it as a bonus action.
While you're in the disguise, you gain access to all information that the humanoid would freely share with a casual acquaintance. Such information includes general details on its background and personal life, but doesn't include secrets. The information is enough that you can pass yourself off as the person by drawing on its memories.
Another creature can see through this disguise by succeeding on a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your Charisma (Deception) check. You gain a +5 bonus to your check.
Once you capture a shadow with this feature, you can't capture another one with it until you finish a short or long rest.
Shadow Lore
At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark magic into your words and tap into a creature’s deepest fears.
As an action, you magically whisper a phrase that only one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible mumbling and has no effect.
If the target fails its saving throw, it is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack or damage it. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret.
While you gain no knowledge of this secret, the target is convinced you know it. While charmed in this way, the creature obeys your commands for fear that you will reveal its secret. It won’t risk its life for you or fight for you, unless it was already inclined to do so. It grants you favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend.
When the effect ends, the creature has no understanding of why it held you in such fear.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
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