Bard: Difference between revisions

=== 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.

Bonus Proficiency. When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and the scimitar.

Fighting Style. At 3rd level, you adopt a 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 something in the game lets you 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 perform 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 perform an additional attack as part of the Attack action.

'''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.

'''Tragic Flaw.''' When you join the College of Tragedy at 3rd level, you become adept at identifying the driving motivations of others. If you spend at least one day observing a target creature with whom you share a language you learn your choice of the creature’s Ideal, Bond, or Flaw. When you make a Charisma (Deception), Charisma (Intimidation), or Charisma (Persuasion) check against the target you can utilize the Ideal, Bond, or Flaw learned this way to improve your chances of success.

'''Katharsis.''' Also at 3rd level, you learn to guide grief into a powerful rallying force. If an ally you can see within 60 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration as a reaction and inspire an additional creature when you use your Bardic Inspiration. All other restrictions of the Bardic Inspiration feature still apply.

'''Reversal of Fortune.''' At 6th level, you gain the ability to magically influence the course of a creature’s fate. Your Bardic Inspiration feature now allows you to inspire unconscious creatures who currently have 0 hit points. In addition, you can use your bonus action to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to choose one creature within 30 feet of you who can hear you and give it vulnerability to the damage type of your choice until the beginning of your next turn. If the creature is resistant to the chosen damage type, it instead loses its resistance. If the creature is immune to the chosen damage type, it instead has its immunity reduced to resistance.

'''Shared Adversity.''' At 14th level, your tales of hardship and heroism are retold by those around you as they aid each other through difficult burdens. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can transfer it to another creature within 10 feet of them as a bonus action.

=== College of Valor ===

'''Bonus Proficiencies.''' When you join this college 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 perform an additional attack as part of the Attack action.

'''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 ===

'''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 extra 2d6 psychic damage to that target. You can do so only once per round on your turn.

'''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 in 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.

'''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.

'''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.

On a failed saving throw, the target is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack it, damage it, or force it to make a saving throw. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret. You gain no knowledge of this secret, but the target is convinced you know it.

The charmed 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.