Bard: College of Epithets
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Often have you heard that told, but in the end a lie repeated enough times begins to sound like the truth. For though a word by itself is harmless, it is the meaning behind it that holds true power. Through their inseparable connection, words are able to transfer meaning into everything. A delicate object is only easily breakable because it has taken on the meaning behind the word delicate, changing how others perceive it to be. The College of Epithets recognize this truth and so its memebers seek to use their bardic magic to take that premise even further by attaching words to the souls of other creatures. Thus it is true to say that they will most assuredly hurt you with their words, or perhaps they might help you instead.
Sobriquet of the Soul
When you join the College of Epithets at 3rd level, you have learned how to use your bardic magic to tie a word to the soul of another creature, turning the word into an ephithet that magically effects the creature in a way determined by its meaning. You learn four epithets of your choice from the list of epithets featured later in this document. You learn two additional epithets of your choice at 6th, 9th, and 12th level. As an action, you can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to choose one creature that you can see within 30 feet of you and attempt to tie their soul to one of your epithets. If you target a hostile creature with this feature, it must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save, the epithet fails to bind and the creature becomes immune to this feature until the end of your next turn. You can only have one epithet active at any given time. Placing a new one while you already have one active will cause the original epithet to automatically end. You can also use a bonus action to unbind an epithet from a soul, immediately ending its effect on the creature.
Meaning in Magic
Also at 3rd level, you are able to suppliment certain components for a spell using words that you have imbued with a special meaning. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that requires vocal componants alongside somantic or material components, you can instead choose to cast the spell using only vocal components, chanting a special word that you have assigned to the spell. You can cast a spell in this way a number of times equal to your Proficiency modifier, regaining all expended uses on a long rest.
Know Like a Book
At 6th level, you know how to read other people like open books, attempting to learn what words resonate with them so you can use that to your advantage. As a bonus action, you can choose one creature that you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a contested Wisdom (Insight) check against the creature's Charisma (Deception) check. On a successful check, you learn enough about the creature to know what words strongly affect it, giving it disadvantage on its saving throw to resist your Sobriquet of the Soul feature for 1 minute.
Image Sources:
- Fantasy Pics Inc.
Different Interpretations
Also at 6th level, your bardic magic has grown stronger, allowing you to connect multiple epithets to different souls at once. You can now have two epithets active at the same time. Attempting to tie an epithet to a creature that already has one will cause the original epithet to end. Placing an epithet on a creature when you already have two active will cause the first epithet you placed to automatically end. When you use a bonus action to end an epithet, you can choose which of the two epithets you have active that you would like to untie, immediately ending its effects on the creature.
Way with Words
Starting at 14th level, you have learned how to preserve the magic in a word and its meaning when it fails to attach to a soul. When a hostile creature succeeds on its save against your Sobriquet of the Soul feature, you regain a use of your Bardic Inspiration.
Epithets
Admit
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet is unable to lie and can only speak the truth, similar to the effects of the Zone of Truth spell.
Balance
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet is unable to gain advantage or disadvantage from any source.
Clumsy
When a creature with this epithet misses with a weapon attack, it must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature drops the weapon.
Dumb
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet is unable to speak and cannot cast spells that require verbal components.
Enemy
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet suffers the effects of the Enemies Abound spell. At the end of its turn or when it takes damage, a creature with this epithet can make a saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save, the creature can take its next turn normally. Once this turn is over, the creature resumes being under the effects of the epithet.
Forget
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet becomes an amnesiac and is unable to recall any information about itself.
Guilt
When a creature with this epithet attempts to make a melee or ranged attack, you can use your reaction to force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature is overcome with shame and missess the attack.
Hunter
Immediately after this is placed, a creature with this epithet can choose one creature that it can see within 30 feet of it to mark as its quarry. When they hit with an attack, they can deal extra damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice to the quarry, which can only take this damage once per turn.
Ignorant
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws that they aren't proficient with.
Joke
Whenever a creature with this epithet makes an ability check, you can use a reaction to apply a penalty to their roll. This penalty is equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice. If this causes the creature to fail the ability check, they suffer from a social gaffe that cause other creatures within 30 feet of them to burst out into mocking laughter. After this gaffe occurs, the creature has disadvantage on any Charisma based skill checks it makes for the next hour.
Karma
When a creature with this epithet makes a successful attack on another creature, the target of that attack gains advantage on the next attack they make against the creature with this epithet.
Love
Those that strike the creature with this epithet find themselves becoming deeply infautuated with them . When a creature with this epithet is hit by a melee attack, they can use their reaction to force their attacker to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the attacker is charmed by the creature, willing to help them and their allies for 1 minute. The attacker can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turn, ending the effect on a successful save.
Mist
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet becomes surrounded by a 10 foot radius sphere of mist centered on themselves, similar to the effects of the Fog Cloud spell except the creature with this epithet can see through the mist.
Nap
At the end of each of its turn, a creature with this epithet must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature finds themselves growing more and more tired. If the creature fails two saving throws in a row and then fails the third one, they fall Unconscious for 1 minute. The creature can only wake up early from its slumber if it takes damage greater than or equal to your Bard level.
Oak
While it remains active, a creature with this epithet has their skin turn into the hardy wood of an oak, gaining the effects of the Barksin spell at the cost of their movement speed being reduced by 10 feet.
Pursuit
A creature with this epithet feels the need to chase down those who would run from them. When a creature leaves their threaten reach, they can use their reaction to move up to half their movement speed in the direction the creature went instead of making an opportunity attack.
Open to Creativity
This list is meant to serve as a baseline for players playing this subclass, giving them already made options at their disposal, but it isn't meant to limit you to only these options. If you want to come up with your own epithets for your College of Epithets Bard to use, then go right ahead. However, make sure you get the ok from your DM beforehand and and work with them when designing what the effects for these new epithets will be. You are only limitied by your own imagination and DM approval after all!
-ZenOverload