Bard

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.

At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class. 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.

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.

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.

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

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.

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, misusing their magic to turn their hosts into thralls. Heroic bards of this college instead use this power to gladden the downtrodden and undermine oppressors.

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.

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.

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.

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

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.

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 other bards, 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 a bard's reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason, members of this college rarely reveal their true nature. They typically claim to follow some other college, or they keep their actual calling secret in order to infiltrate and exploit royal courts and other settings of power.

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.

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.

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.

Bards believe the cosmos is a work of art—the creation of the first dragons and gods. That creative work included harmonies that continue to resound through existence today, a power known as the Song of Creation. The bards of the College of Creation draw on that primeval song through dance, music, and poetry, and their teachers share this lesson:

"Before the sun and the moon, there was the Song, and its music awoke the first dawn. Its melodies so delighted the stones and trees that some of them gained a voice of their own. And now they sing too. Learn the Song, students, and you too can teach the mountains to sing and dance."

Dwarves and gnomes often encourage their bards to become students of the Song of Creation. And among dragonborn, the Song of Creation is revered, for legends portray Bahamut and Tiamat-the greatest of dragons-as two of the song's first singers.

6th-level College of Creation feature

As an action, you can animate one Large or smaller nonmagical item within 30 feet of you that isn't being worn or carried. The animate item uses the Dancing Item stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB). The item is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. It lives for 1 hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, or until you die.

In combat, the item shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the item can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command the item as part of the same bonus action you use for Bardic Inspiration.

Once you animate an item with this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use this feature again. You can have only one item animated by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have a dancing item from this feature, the first one immediately becomes inanimate.

14th-level College of Creation feature

When you use your Performance of Creation feature, you can create more than one item at once. The number of items equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of two items). If you create an item that would exceed that number, you choose which of the previously created items disappears. Only one of these items can be of the maximum size you can create; the rest must be Small or Tiny.

You are no longer limited by gp value when creating items with Performance of Creation.

Adherents of the College of Eloquence master the art of oratory. Persuasion is regarded as a high art, and a well-reasoned, well-spoken argument often proves more persuasive than facts. These bards wield a blend of logic and theatrical wordplay, winning over skeptics and detractors with logical arguments and plucking at heartstrings to appeal to the emotions of audiences.

6th-level College of Eloquence feature

Your inspiring words are so persuasive that others feel driven to succeed. When a creature adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll fails, the creature can keep the Bardic Inspiration die.

6th-level College of Eloquence feature

You have gained the ability to make your speech intelligible to any creature. As an action, choose one or more creatures within 60 feet of you, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). The chosen creatures can magically understand you, regardless of the language you speak, for 1 hour.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot to use it again.

14th-level College of Eloquence feature

When you successfully inspire someone, the power of your eloquence can now spread to someone else. When a creature within 60 feet of you adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll succeeds, you can use your reaction to encourage a different creature (other than yourself) that can hear you within 60 feet of you, giving it a Bardic Inspiration die without expending any of your Bardic Inspiration uses.

You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Bards of the College of Spirits seek tales with inherent power—be they legends, histories, or fictions—and bring their subjects to life. Using occult trappings, these bards conjure spiritual embodiments of powerful forces to change the world once more. Such spirits are capricious, though, and what a bard summons isn't always entirely under their control.

6th-level College of Spirits feature

Spirits provide you with supernatural insights. You can conduct an hour-long ritual channeling spirits (which can be done during a short or long rest) using your Spiritual Focus. You can conduct the ritual with a number of willing creatures equal to your proficiency bonus (including yourself). At the end of the ritual, you temporarily learn school=d;n.

The spell you choose must be of a level equal to the number of creatures that conducted the ritual or less, the spell must be of a level you can cast, and it must be in the school of divination or necromancy. The chosen spell counts as a bard spell for you but doesn't count against the number of bard spells you know.

Once you perform the ritual, you can't do so again until you start a long rest, and you know the chosen spell until you start a long rest.

14th-level College of Spirits feature

You now have the ability to nudge the spirits of Tales from Beyond toward certain tales. Whenever you roll on the Spirit Tales table, you can roll the die twice and choose which of the two effects to bestow. If you roll the same number on both dice, you can ignore the number and choose any effect on the table.

Spirit Tales

Storytellers, like bards of the College of Spirits, often give voice to tales inspired by some greater theme or body of work. When determining what stories you tell, consider what unites them. Do they all feature characters from a specific group, like archetypes from the tarokka deck, figures from constellations, childhood imaginary friends, or characters in a particular storybook? Or are your inspirations more general, incorporating historic champions, mythological heroes, or urban legends? Use the tales you tell to define your niche as a storytelling adventurer.

"You have never been yourself," a voice in your head speaks. "You always wore a mask, always hidden in the crowd, in plain sight." The voice speaks the truth: a mask has always been your identity, your strong side and your greatest weakness.

Perhaps you were raised on the stage, among the festivals, always moving in line with a great group of actors and singers, or you were raised in dark corners, always shunned by the light, and to trick it, you always had to hide your face. You may have constantly needed a mask to hide who you are or some of your features. Nevertheless, the mask is who you are and an actual part of you.

When you reach 3rd level, the nature of your inspirational magic fuses with your mask and its identity. You can craft special masks that enhance your abilities. Choose two of the following options: Diabolica, Angelico, Fiabesca, Umano.

You can assume the form of a creature that you have seen before related to the mask you chose. For example, you can turn into an Imp if you choose Diabolica. It can be a creature that has a maximum of CR 1 (It will increase to 3 at later levels). Only your Intelligence score, memories, and alignment stay the same. Aside from these, all of your statistics change to the chosen creature.

Stronger Effects: If an ability refers to a DC, it uses your spell save DC instead of the creature's.

Many stat blocks that College of the Masquerade Bards can use are in the SRD 5.1 and in the Bestiary chapter of this book. The suitable stat blocks presented in this setting guide are listed here:

• Fiend: L'anima Vuota, Hollow Skin (CR 1/8); Red Hand of Mammon (CR 1/4); Il Rosso, The Crimson Fiend (CR 1/2); Il Caduto, The Fallen Demon (CR 2)
• Fey: Vivo, Bright Fairy (CR 1/4); Arcobaleno, The Rainbow Fairy (CR 1/2)
• Celestial: Angelo, The Fated One (CR 1/4), Angelo, The Hidden One (CR 1), Angelo The Radiant One (CR 1)

When you transform, you also assume the creature's Hit Points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in a creature's form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren't knocked unconscious.

You can't cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your creature form. If the creature can cast spells, however, you can cast those spells within the limitations stated before. Additionally, you can't concentrate on spells that you've cast before turning. You don't retain your other class abilities, other than Bardic Inspiration, or other racial abilities.

You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the GM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your equipment doesn't change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

You can use a mask's shapeshifting ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. If you have no uses left, you can expend a spell slot of 2nd level or higher to gain another use (no action required).

If the chosen forms have any weapons or armor, they are created by the mask's magic as well and disappear after the time is over.

You can use the mask's ability to turn into a creature using a bonus action on your turn.

Lending the Mask: You can lend your mask to another humanoid. The humanoid must not have a negative Charisma modifier, and you must also spend a Bardic Inspiration die for that humanoid to be able to use the mask.

If any of the masks are destroyed, you can spend 1 hour (can be implemented in a short rest) and use specific dye and wood in the process to create a new one.

Maschera Diabolica

You can choose to put on a mask resembling the depths of hell and their vicious guardians. You can assume the form of a fiend for 10 minutes.

In addition, you have resistance to fire damage when you put on the mask and in your original form.

Maschera Angelico

You choose to put on a mask resembling the fields of Elysium, green gardens above and silk-like wings of the angels depicted in the most beautiful canvases. You can assume the form of a celestial for 10 minutes.

In addition you can cast the sacred flame cantrip when you put on the mask and in your original form.

Maschera Fiabesco

You choose to put on a mask that would make those beholding you feel like they are in an enchanted forest, speaking to the Fairy Queen herself. You can assume the form of a fey for 10 minutes.

In addition, you are immune to being charmed when you put on the mask and in your original form.

Maschera Umano

You choose to put on a mask that would resemble the creature with the most potential: a humanoid. You can assume your new form for 10 minutes.

In addition, whenever you put on the mask for the first time in a day, you choose a skill, or tool, and gain proficiency in it.

Your maximum CR for the masks becomes 3.

Each mask is more powerful now and gains new benefits when you put them on while in your original form.

Diabolica: You can see in magical darkness (120 ft.) as if it were daylight.

Angelico: All of your attacks deal an additional 1d6 radiant damage..

Fiabesco: You can use your bonus action to cast misty step without the use of a spell slot. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier and regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Umano: You gain Expertise in a skill you are proficient in. If you already have Expertise in that skill from another source, you can't use it again.

Once you reach 14th level, your bond with your mask and its form reaches its epitome. Your time in a creature form is extended to 1 hour.

In addition, your masks are at their absolute power.

Diabolica: You are immune to fire and cold damage.

Angelico: You understand when you hear a lie.

Fiabesco: Instead of casting misty step, you can expend one use of it as a bonus action and choose a creature within 60 ft. of you to swap places with. The creature must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC or they swap places with you. A creature can choose to fail this saving throw, such as an ally.

Umano: While wearing it, you are proficient with a saving throw of your choice. You can choose a new one when you finish a long rest.