The rhythm produced by the tambourines of these musicians infects those who listen to them and forces their actions as if it were witchcraft. Hearing music coming out of the arcane instruments of these Bards overwhelms opponents and allies with sensations that today's world has forgotten; sensations that descend from an apotropaic culture that teachers have handed down to students since the Second Age.
Legends tell of a Bardic tradition capable of acting as anathema against evil, and whose apotropaic power was able to protect the helpless from the incursions of the creatures from the Dark Mirror.
In the Lunar Age, Bards who follow this tradition are respected and welcomed in settlements. Arcane dancers and musicians demonstrate their magical ability through ritual dances and exploit charms that draw their beneficial power from rhythm and melody.  

Convulsive Rhapsody

At 3rd level, you can force your opponents to dance, often frantically, following the rhythm of your music.
When a hostile creature begins its turn within 30 feet of you, you can use your Reaction and spend a Bardic Inspiration die to use this feature and perform a bizarre melody. The target creature will have its speed halved and Disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws and Disadvantage on the first attack of each turn, for as long as the effect lasts. The Convulsive Rhapsody continues for a number of rounds equal to the result of the Bardic Inspiration dice spent.  

Notes of Ancient Traditions

At 3rd level, you can use your music to support the exorcism of dark forces and to pass on religious dogmas and otherwise forgotten folk traditions. As an action you must continuously play your instrument for no less than 10 minutes to perform this ancient tune. Up to four targets who can hear this melody, full of memories of the land and of the ancestors, will have Advantage on Intelligence (Religion) checks for 8 hours. This feature can be used once, then you regain its use after you complete a long rest.  

Irrepressible Dance

rhythm improve significantly, allowing the following maneuvers to be carried out:

• Moving, during your turn, by at least 20 feet but finishing the movement no more than 10 feet from the starting point, you can use a bonus action to force a target that you can see within 10 feet to make a successful Wisdom Saving Throw (the DC is the same as your spells’) or instinctively emulate your convulsive movements: you can move the target 10 feet in any direction; this movement causes Opportunity Attacks.
• When you use your action to perform a Dodge and you move at least 20 feet during your turn but finishing the movement no more than 10 feet from the starting point, the bard can make a melee weapon attack as a bonus action; you may spend a Bardic Inspiration dice and add it to the damage of this attack.
• When you take the Disengage action, your speed increases by 10 feet.

Dance of Swords

At 14th level, your dance becomes indistinguishable from a fencing exercise. During your turn, you can spend a Bardic Inspiration die to increase your speed by 20 feet until the end of your turn. If you perform an attack action on this turn, you can make a single melee weapon attack against each target that is within the reach of your weapon at any point during your movement for the turn. Each attack made in this way has a damage bonus equal to your Charisma modifier. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from targets hit by your attack.

 

College of Creation

Bards believe the multiverse was given existence through word and sound, esoteric harmonies that continue to resound through existence: the Song of Creation. The bards of this college draw on this ancient power through performances of dance, music, or song to bring into being what they need most.  

Note of Potential

3rd-level College of Creation feature
You can manipulate the Song of Creation to summon a floating musical note of possibility:   Whenever you give a creature a Bardic Inspiration die, you can create a Note of Potential. The note orbits within 5 feet of the creature. The note is a Tiny object that is intangible and invulnerable, and it lasts until the Bardic Inspiration die is lost. A creature with a note can use it in the following ways.   Note of Destruction. Immediately after the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die to add it to an attack roll, the creature can expend the note to create a burst of sound. Each other creature within 5 feet of it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or take thunder damage equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die.   Note of Protection. Immediately after the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die and adds it to a saving throw, the creature can expend the note to gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier, provided the creature doesn't already have temporary hit points.   Note of Ingenuity. When the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die to add it to an ability check, the creature can expend the note to roll the Bardic Inspiration die again and choose which roll to use.  

Animating Performance

6th-level College of Creation feature
Your mastery over the Song of Creation allows you to magically bring items to life. As an action, you can target a Large or smaller nonmagical item you can see within 30 feet of you and animate it. The animate item uses the Dancing Item stat block and is under your control for 1 hour or until it is reduced to 0 hit points.   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 one of the actions in its stat block or the Dash, Disengage, Help, Hide, or Search action.   When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command which action your animated item takes as part of the same bonus action.   Once you animate an item with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use this feature. 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.  

Performance of Creation

14th-level College of Creation feature
Your performance can manipulate the magic of creation, briefly transforming the world around you. As an action, you can create one nonmagical item of your choice in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. The item must appear on a surface or in a liquid that can support it. The gp value of the item can’t be more than 20 times your bard level and must be Large or smaller. Tiny glimmering, intangible notes float around it, and a creature can faintly hear music when touching it.   For examples of items you can create, see the Armor, Weapons, Adventuring Gear, Tools, and Mounts and Vehicles tables in chapter 5, “Equipment,” of the Player’s Handbook.   The created item disappears at the end of your next turn, unless you use your action to maintain it. Each time you use your action in this way, the item’s duration is extended to the end of your next turn, up to a maximum of 1 minute. If you maintain the item for the full minute, it continues to exist for a number of hours equal to your bard level.   Once you create an item with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of 5th level or higher to use this feature. You can have only one item created by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have an item from this feature, the first one immediately vanishes.

College of Discord

Bards of the College of Discord yearn to take their performances to the next level. While some artists feel the need to prepare or learn progressions within a harmonic framework, the extemporaneous nature of the bard’s study encourages inventing variations in their musical repertoire mid-performance. This practice usually bleeds into their outlook on life and, whether with accompaniment or solo, these bards are excited to delve into the unknown, no matter the vibe.  

College of Discord Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Bonus Proficiences, Melodic Mayhem, Battaglia
6th	Encore
14th	Pandemonium

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Discord at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and one additional musical instrument.  

Melodic Mayhem

Beginning at 3rd level, you gain the ability to use your musical instruments effectively in martial combat. When you wield your musical instrument in one or two hands, and no other weapons, it becomes a weapon that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage and has the versatile (1d8) property. When used in one hand, it gains the finesse property. Wielded with two hands, your Armor Class increases by 2.  

Battaglia

Also at 3rd level, you're able to anticipate the rhythm of battle and adjust to disrupt the flow of your enemies. As a bonus action on your turn, you can choose to teleport to an unoccupied square adjacent to any number of creatures you can see within 30 feet of you. Any Large or smaller creature within 5 feet of your new location must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. At 6th level, the radius of this effect increases to 10 feet, and to 15 feet at 14th level.   You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier and regain all expended uses after you finish a short or long rest.   As part of this bonus action, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and adding the number rolled to the save DC. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll but before the DM announces if it succeeds or fails.  

Encore

At 6th level, every success fuels your performance. When you succeed on a Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution saving throw in combat, you gain advantage on the next ability check, saving throw, or attack roll you make before the end of your next turn.   Additionally, your attacks with your musical instruments count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.  

Pandemonium

At 14th level, your music can stir peace into flailing chaos, goading your allies to hasten their attacks while slowing the minds of your enemies. As an action, you can create a field of discordant noise that reverberates out from you in a 15-foot radius for 1 minute, or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). The dysphonic chaos of your music is audible within 300 feet of you.   For the duration, friendly creatures within the field gain a +2 bonus to AC, have advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and gain an additional action on each turn. That action can be used only to take the Attack (one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action. A creature can only benefit from one such effect at a time. While you concentrate on this effect, your speed is 0, and you can only make melee attacks against creatures within 5 feet of you. If you have a fly speed, or are held in place my magical means, you can hover in place.   Additionally, when a hostile creature starts its turn within the field, or moves there for the first time, it must make a Wisdom saving throw or be affected for the duration. An affected creature’s speed is halved, it takes a –2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws, and can’t use reactions. On an affected creature’s turn, it can use either an action or a bonus action, not both. Regardless of the creature’s abilities or magic items, it can’t make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn.   If the creature attempts to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, roll a d20. On an 11 or higher, the spell doesn’t take effect until the creature’s next turn, and the creature must use its action on that turn to complete the spell. If it can’t, the spell is wasted. If an affected creature exits the field, the effect ends for it at the start of its next turn.   When you stop concentrating on this effect, you can’t move or take actions until after your next turn, as a wave of exhaustion sweeps over you. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.

College of Eloquence

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 powerful than objective truth. 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 entire audiences.  

Silver Tongue

3rd-level College of Eloquence feature
You are a master at saying the right thing at the right time. When you make a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception) check, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.  

Unsettling Words

3rd-level College of Eloquence feature
You can spin words laced with magic that unsettle a creature and cause it to doubt itself. As a bonus action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. Roll the Bardic Inspiration die. The creature must subtract the number rolled from the next saving throw it makes before the start of your next turn.  

Unfailing Inspiration

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.  

Universal Speech

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.  

Infectious Inspiration

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.

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, 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.  

College of Glamour Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Mantle of Inspiration, Enthralling Performance
6th	Mantle of Majesty
14th	Unbreakable Majesty

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 that 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 talks to it, and it hinders anyone who opposes you, although it avoids 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 Keys

Bards of the College of Keys believe that performance can manipulate anything, be it person, magic, or machine. Their preternatural charm allows these daring performers to delve into dungeons seething with traps, assured that they can use their words and song to protect themselves and allies. These bards often become spies and infiltrators, since no lock can stand up to their charms.  

College of Keys Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Bonus Proficiency, Key Change, Timbre Illuminous
6th	Cypheric Ostinato
14th	Master Keynote

Bonus Proficiency

When you join the College of Keys at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools, if you don’t already have it.  

Key Change

Also at 3rd level, you learn to bend locks and traps with dashing style. If you have Expertise in one of your Charisma skills, you can use that skill instead of making a Dexterity check with your thieves’ tools.  

Timbre Illuminous

At 3rd level, you can coax a variety of information from a mechanism regarding its composition using merely verse and rhyme. When you spend at least 1 minute speaking or singing to a construct or inanimate mechanism, you can expend one Bardic Inspiration to learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The DM tells you two of the following characteristics of the mechanism, of your choice:

• Purpose (lock, trap, surveillance, etc.)
• Intricacy (singular, compound, or complex)
• Nature (magical, mundane, or otherwise)
• Approximate difficulty class (easy, hard, nearly impossible, etc.)
• Elemental energies present (if any)
• Additional imbed magical qualities (if any)

 

Cypheric Ostinato

Starting at 6th level, you learn to control vocal range and resonance of your voice to offset the magic or material mechanisms within security and surveillance spells.   When you use your action to disarm or dispel a trap, or when you make a saving throw to avoid the full effects of a trap or magical ward, you can choose to expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and adding the number rolled to the ability check or saving throw. You can choose to use this feature after seeing the roll but before the DM determines whether the ability check or saving throw succeeds or fails.  

Master Keynote

At 14th level, you learn how to hone pitch and rhythm to disarm all nearby mechanical impediments. You can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to temporarily disarm all traps and open all locks within 30 feet for a number of rounds equal to the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die.   Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

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 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.  

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 Mourning

Bards of the College of Mourning specialize in easing the transition from life to death. While most bards derive their artistic catalogue from celebrating the lives of the valiant, mourning bards create a gateway for dead knights, faithful priests, and wise viziers who dedicated their lives in service, to accomplish any lingering obligations of the Material Plane.   While some see romanticizing death as macabre, the college spent centuries observing religious rites and composing teachings of necromancy in prose to entreat the dead to remain long enough to fulfill their purpose.   Whether woodwind or brass, string or drum, these bards are versed in delicate affairs and often find work in parades krewes, as pallbearers, or on other occasions where tact and taste are tantamount. Mourning bards improvise their melodies to mask the cries and wails of grieving loved ones, and often turn dour occasions into celebrations of remembrance. Whatever their method, their purpose is always to complement the spirits’ shuffle to the afterlife in ceremonious display with arrangements of grace and style.  

College of Mourning Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Mourning Glory, Grief Note
6th	Dirge of the Departed
14th	Dread Parade

Mourning Glory

When you join the College of Mourning at 3rd level, you learn the spare the dying cantrip. You also gain proficiency in the Medicine and Religion skills.  

Grief Note

Also at 3rd level, when a creature you can see within 60 feet, including you, deals damage to a target other than itself, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and adding the number on the die to the damage of the attack. The creature also regains hit points equal to the number on the die.  

Dirge of the Departed

At 6th level, you can use your action to sing a yearning song of remembrance. Each undead within 30 feet of you that can hear you must make a successful Wisdom saving throw or become incapacitated for 1 minute or until it takes any damage as it weeps for those it left behind. Creatures that have advantage on saving throws to resist being turned also have advantage on this save.   Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.  

Dread Parade

At 14th level, you can summon a ghostly procession of minstrel spirits of yesteryear. You lead a number of spectral troubadours equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) that march in a tight formation behind you for 1 minute, whose music gives pause those would do you harm.   At the start of each of your turns, each creature of your choice within 60 feet must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage for each minstrel you summon, and has disadvantage on their next attack roll.   Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

College of Satire

Bards of the College of Satire are called jesters. They use lowbrow stories, daring acrobatics, and cutting jokes to entertain audiences, ranging from the crowds in a rundown dockside pub to the nobles of a king’s royal court. Where other bards seek forgotten lore or tales of epic bravery, jesters ferret out embarrassing and hilarious stories of all kinds. Whether telling the ribald tale of a brawny stable hand’s affair with an aged duchess or a mocking satire of a paladin’s cloying innocence, a jester never lets taste, social decorum, or shame get in the way of a good laugh.  

College of Satire Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Bonus Proficiencies, Tumbling Fool
6th	Fool's Insight
14th	Fool's Luck

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Satire at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools. You also gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand 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 a variety of acrobatic techniques that allow you to evade danger. As a bonus action, you can tumble. When you tumble, you gain the following benefits for the rest of your turn:

• You gain the benefits of taking the Dash and Disengage actions.
• You gain a climbing speed equal to your current speed.
• You take half damage from falling.

 

Fool's Insight

At 6th level, your ability to gather stories and lore gains a supernatural edge. You can cast Detect Thoughts up to a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. You regain any expended uses of this ability after completing a long rest.   If a creature resists your attempt to probe deeper and succeeds at its saving throw against your Detect Thoughts, it 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.  

Fool's Luck

Jesters seem to have a knack for pulling themselves out of tight situations, transforming what looks like sure failure into an embarrassing but effective success.   At 14th level, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration after you fail an ability check, fail a saving throw, or miss with an attack roll. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your attack, saving throw, or ability check, using the new result in place of the failed one.   If using this ability grants you a success on the attack, saving throw, or ability check, note the number you rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die. The DM can then apply that result as a penalty to an attack or check you make, and you cannot use this ability again until you suffer this drawback. When the DM invokes this penalty, describe an embarrassing gaffe or mistake you make as part of the affected die roll.

College of Spirits

Stories of the past are powerful; they hold lessons of history, philosophy, and magic. Bards of the College of Spirits seek the stories of those from beyond the material plane. Using gaming sets, they reach out to hear their stories, but the bards have no control over what story they find.  

Guiding Whispers

3rd-level College of Spirits
You can reach out to spirits to guide you and others. You learn the guidance cantrip, which doesn’t count against the number of bard cantrips you know. For you, it has a range of 60 feet when you cast it.  

Spiritual Focus

3rd- and 6th-level College of Spirits feature
Your practice of contacting spirits can employ special tools. You can use the following objects as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells: a candle, a crystal ball, a talking board, a tarokka deck, or a skull.   At 6th level, when you cast a bard spell that deals damage or restores hit points through the Spiritual Focus, roll a d6, and you gain a bonus to one roll of the spell equal to the number rolled.  

Tales From Beyond

3rd-level College of Spirits feature
You reach out to spirits who tell their tales through you. While you are holding your Spiritual Focus, you can use a bonus action to expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and roll on the Spirits’ Tales table using your Bardic Inspiration die to determine the tale told. You retain the tale in mind until you bestow the tale’s effect or you finish a short or long rest.   You can use an action to choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you (this can be you) to be the target of the tale’s effect. Once you do so, you can’t bestow the tale’s effect again until you roll it again.   You can retain only one of these tales in mind at a time, and rolling on the Spirits’ Tales table immediately ends the effect of the previous tale. If the tale requires a saving throw, the DC equals your spell save DC.

Bardic Insp. Die	Tale
1	Beast. You recite the tale of a clever animal. For 1 minute, the target has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and advantage on attack rolls against a creature if another enemy is within 5 feet of it, and that enemy isn’t incapacitated.
2	Warrior. You recount the story of a renowned duelist. Make a melee spell attack against the target as an attacking spectral warrior briefly appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target before vanishing. On a hit, the target takes force damage equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier.
3	Friends. You recite the tale of friends who found each other in the afterlife. The target and another creature of its choice it can see within 5 feet of it regains hit points equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier.
4	Runaway. You tell the tale of an adventurer that could escape an confinement. The target can immediately use its reaction to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. When the target teleports, it can choose a number of creatures it can see within 30 feet of it up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) to immediately use the same reaction.
5	Avenger. You recount the tale of an avenging knight. For 1 minute, whenever a creature the target can see within 30 feet of it is damaged by a creature, the target can use its reaction to deal force damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die to the attacker.
6	Hero. You speak the tale of an epic hero. Choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target gains temporary hit points equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your bard level. While it has these temporary hit points, the target’s walking speed increases by 10 feet.
7	Fey. You recount the tale of a mischievous fey. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you until the end of its next turn. The charmed target must use its action to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose. The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no other creature.
8	Dark Spirit. You speak a dreadful tale of a slayer in the dark. The target becomes invisible until the end of its next turn or until it hits a creature with an attack. If it hits a creature with an attack during this invisibility, that creature takes necrotic damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die and is frightened of the target until the end of its next turn
9	Giant. You speak of the deeds of a mighty giant. Each creature of the target’s choice it can see within 30 feet of it must make a Strength saving throw, taking force damage equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die on a failed save and is knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw takes half as much damage and isn’t knocked prone.
10	Dragon. You breathe a poem of a wrathful dragon. The target magically spews fire from their mouth in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking fire damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
11	Celestial. You speak of the exalted deeds of a celestial. The target regains hit points equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your bard level, and you end one disease or a condition from the following list affecting the target: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, petrified, or poisoned.
12	Unknown. You utter an incomprehensible fable from a being beyond the stars. Choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or take psychic damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die, and the target is unable to speak any language for 1 minute.

Spirit Session

6th-level College of Spirits feature
You can channel spirits to gain insights into magic. 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 creatures equal to your proficiency bonus (including yourself). At the end of the ritual, you temporarily learn one spell of your choice from any class.   The spell you choose must be of a level equal to the number of creatures that conducted the ritual or less, the spell must 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.  

Spiritual Focus

3rd- and 6th-level College of Spirits feature
Your practice of contacting spirits can employ special tools. You can use the following objects as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells: a candle, a crystal ball, a talking board, a tarokka deck, or a skull.   At 6th level, when you cast a bard spell that deals damage or restores hit points through the Spiritual Focus, roll a d6, and you gain a bonus to one roll of the spell equal to the number rolled.  

Mystical Connection

14th-level College of Spirits feature
Your connection to spirits has become semi-permanent. Whenever you use your Tales from Beyond feature, you can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die. You still use your Bardic Inspiration die for the tale’s effect, without expending it.

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.  

College of Swords Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Bonus Proficiencies, Fighting Style, Blade Flourish
6th	Extra Attack
14th	Master's Flourish

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 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 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 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.  

College of Whispers Features

Bard Level	Feature
3rd	Psychic Blades, Words of Terror
6th	Mantle of Whispers
14th	Shadow Lore

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.   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 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.   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 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.   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.

College of the Shadowfell

Bards of the College of the Shadowfell specialize in the study of that realm, gleaming great knowledge of shadow magic in the process. These bards are few in number and their study is far harder than most, for knowledge of the Shadowfell is hard to come by. These bards occasionally gather in great libraries to share their knowledge, but most of their time is spent out in the world, looking for any glimpses of knowledge that might lead them to their goal. These bards generally do not perform music, and are instead more inclined to creating stories and manufacturing histories, with most of these stories ending as dark as the realm they study

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of the Shadowfell at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, martial weapons, and the Stealth skill. Shadow Stride Also at 3rd level, you learn how to empower your ally’s movement within shadows and darkness. When a creature that is in darkness or dim light and has a bardic inspiration die from you begins to move, it can choose to roll that die and add 5 times the number rolled to their speed until the end of their turn.

Shroud of Darkness

Starting at 6th level, whenever a creature uses a bardic inspiration die from you, that creature becomes imbued with shadow magic. Shadows envelope that creature until the start of your next turn, causing all attacks against it to have disadvantage and allowing it to disengage or hide as a bonus action for the duration.

Umbral Body

Beginning at 14th level, you gain the ability to transform into pure shadow. You can cast umbral form at will, without expending a spell slot or material components. When you cast the spell using this feature, you may only target yourself.