[Subclass] College of Romance

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Ivy's Colleges of Social Manipulation

Charmers and Interrogators

A braided leather whip cracks into a thunderous roar that splits the air, giving way to a leather clad elf at its hilt. "Filthy scum, what are you doing just standing around?" she mutters. "The orcs are breaking through and you've decided that star gazing is more important than the safety of the city, move yourself to the front lines and fill the rivers with their blood!". The stunned soldier looks up and stutters for a moment before running to join the front lines.

A long haired gnome weaves with ease through the dense crowd of people at the tavern. The eyes of men and women shift as they turn to look at her, some discretely, and some not as much. She holds out a wooden guitar and strums a single soft chord. Your mind fixates on her, and no matter how hard you try you cannot look away. No, you must join her."

While many bards fixate on musical ability or knowledge of lore, certain bards instead invest time into learning manipulative techniques that let them control the minds of other creatures. Some delve into the art of seduction, using it to charm their way through entire cities. Others prefer to expand upon their intimidating demeanor in order to gain the command of anyone they desire. These two bard colleges are perfect for the manipulative bard.


College of Romance

To bards from the College of Romance the art of seduction is more than just another trick in their bag, it is a lifelong passion and a honed artform. To some of them it is something that comes naturally, to others it is a carefully learned skill. Bards of this college tend to gain a strong following and reputation as lovers and romantics. They know how to exploit people's carnal instincts to manipulate them as they please.

When it comes to love and passion few adventurers gain more fame than romance bards. These artisans tend to insert themselves into the upper echelons of society, either as suitors, courtiers or even nobles themselves.

College of Romance Features
Level Feature
3rd natural romantic, serenade
6th cupid's arrow
14th master of love

Natural Romantic

When you join the College of Romance at 3rd level you learn how to read and persuade other people to your advantage. You gain the following.

  • You gain proficiency in the persuasion skill. If you are already proficient in the skill, you add double your proficiency bonus to checks you make with it.
  • You learn the friends cantrip, which doesn't count towards your total cantrips known. If you already know this cantrip you instead learn one other bard cantrip of your choice.

Serenade

Also at 3rd level, you can use the knowledge given to you by this college to eloquently decorate the words and actions you perform. As your bonus action when you attempt to charm a creature that is aware of you and that creature can make a saving throw or ability check to resist the charm, you can spend a use of your bardic inspiration to roll your bardic inspiration die and impose an equal penalty on the creature's roll.

Cupid's Arrow

At 6th level you can sing a short verse, recite a few lines of a poem, or otherwise attempt to grab the interest of a humanoid within 20 feet using your action. If the target can see and hear you it must must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC or become charmed by you for 10 minutes or until you or your companions do anything harmful to it.

A target makes its save with advantage if you or your companions are fighting it and knows that you attempted to use magic to influence it if it succeeds on its save.

Once the effect ends, or if the creature succeeds on its initial saving throw against this effect, you can't use this feature on that creature again until you finish a long rest.

Master of Love

At 14th level, you have perfected and mastered the art of seduction. Due to your familiarity with magical charms, you are immune to being charmed unless you are willing.

Furthermore, your ability to charm other creatures has grown so powerful that it can bypass even the most jaded of minds. Your bard spells and abilities ignore resistance and immunity to being charmed. Creatures who would normally be immune to being charmed instead have advantage on saving throws and ability checks against your charms.

College of Dominance

Bards who lean towards a more assertive personality often find the temptation to join the College of Dominance. This college is one which trains bards on techniques and cunning words used to demoralize and torment other creatures. Assertiveness is a powerful and necessary tool, and bards belonging to the College of Dominance use it to manipulate even the most brazen minds. In fact, bards of these college tend to find joy in the art of insulting another creature.

When bards of dominance are not seeking to gain favors from the more secretive members of society, they tend to find jobs as masterful interrogators and commanding sergeants.

College of Dominance Features
Level Feature
3rd words of blasphemy, torment
6th insult to injury
14th unwavering control, acquiescence

Words of Blasphemy

When you join the College of Dominance at 3rd level you learn how to specifically target other creatures' egoes with your cunning words. You gain the following.

  • You gain proficiency in the intimidation skill. If you are already proficient in the skill, you add double your proficiency bonus to checks you make with it.
  • You learn the vicious mockery cantrip, which doesn't count towards your total cantrips known. If you already know this cantrip you instead learn one other bard cantrip of your choice.

Torment

At 3rd level your words are capable of not just harming other creatures, but instilling a commanding influence over them. As a bonus action when you cast the vicious mockery cantrip you can spend a use of your bardic inspiration to prolong the words and actions used to mock it. If the target fails its save against the cantrip it suffers the normal effects of the spell and is tormented by your presence for up to one minute. The creature stops being tormented if it can neither see nor hear you, or if you use this ability to torment a different creature.

You can use your reaction when a creature tormented by you makes an attack roll or ability check to demoralize its attempt, imposing disadvantage on the attack roll or ability check.

Insult to Injury

Starting at 6th level when you use your action to cast vicious mockery, you can make one melee attack using your bonus action. You have advantage on the attack roll if it targets the same creature.

Unwavering Control

At 14th level, your controlling nature is so overwhelming that you cannot be frightened against your will.

Acquiescence

Also at 14th level, your manipulative techniques can shatter the mind of almost any creature subject to them. You can use your reaction when a creature tormented by you or frightened of you makes an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw to impose disadvantage on the save, provided you are within line of sight.

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