Bards Gone Bonkers

Inquisitive bards gravitate towards the College of Lore. Overly inquisitive bards get kicked out of the College of Lore.

Six hundred years ago, Doeremi Honeywhisper had mastered the mechanical skills and excelled in the exotic music that defines the trade. She sought to fuse these talents by creating mechanical instruments and arcane stores. Doeremi poured her heart into an original composition and, in a moment of unique inspiration, invented the first bardic music box as a gift to a visitng prince.

When the prince was later found charmed out of his mind and climbing naked over the roodtops of Waterdeep, Doeremi was exiled from the bardic disciplines. But her work continued, and is now recognized - bedgrudingly and in closed circles - as the future of portable performance magic. Scholars in new College of the Automata are known as Mech Magi, though other bards often call them Organ Grinders.

Creating an Mech Magus

Backstory: When creating an Mech Magus, consider the path that led you to becoming one in the first place. In brief, no one sets out to be a misfit.

You might arrive at this crossroads as a genius engineer who needs arcane powers to create more fascinating constructions. Or maybe you've been enraptured by a local bard's performance, have fallen in love, and want to find some way to capture that feeling.

More likely, you are of modest means, shunned by the nobility and adventuring parties,and have spent your formative years in the streets eeking out a meager living creating mythical baloon animals and party favors on Market Day. Until yesterday, when your toy unicorn shat rainbows and you've decided that you're either gifted or drunk. Let's find out!

Ideals: Once you have decided what led you into becoming a Mech Magus (or MacMagus if you're Scottish), you might consider what you hope to achieve. Do you simply wish to create marvels that fascinate the world, like a small cube that can hold a hundred songs? (You're going to be rich, Steve Jobs!) Do you wish to create powerful constructs that can enthrall anyone who stand in your way? This won't happen.... Or do you simply get inspired to see what you can do with your own creativity and nimble little fingers? Is this because no one else wants to play with you?

While all bards are loyal to truth and beauty over a monarch or the day's politics, the Mech Magus bard is particularly focused on the mechanics of nature and the world around them. Other bards may gather to revel in lore and swap stories, but Mech Magi gather in libraries and labs to trade designs or ideas with engineers or arcanists. When these elites turn a cold shoulder, our bards order butterbeer and try not to blow each other up.

Once you have decided your path and reason, it is easy to define a general backstory for you character and have a huge amount of fun with the class!

Class Attributes

The bards in this College maintain the same class features (e.g., hit points, proficiencies, saving throws, etc.) as other bards and advance at the same rate, gaining Bard College Features at levels 3, 6, and 14.

College of the Automata

Like their more rational bretheren in the College of Lore, Bards of the College of the Automata know something about most things but are particularly drawn to harnessing the arcane energies of their spells and songs. Some Mech Magi seek to profit from their inspiring inventions while others are compelled to use their creative gifts for more personal purposes. Some inventions of the Mech Magi, like the bard's song and spells, are infused with the bard's power to inspire and compel. Others are born out of the bard's expertise in tinkering or alchemical professions. All of them are awesome.

A Mech Magus continues down the path of music and magic, just like the College of Lore. However, the Mech Magus channels bardic inspiration into inventions, called motifs.

Constructing Motifs

Prerequisites: College of the Automata, 3rd level

On reaching the 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Tinkers Tools and the Arcana skill (mabe- in consideration). If you are already proficient in Tinkers Tools, you may pick another set of tools to become proficient in.

You are skilled at channeling your barding inspiration into building mechanical gadgets that capture your bardic melodies and arcane energies. Also at 3rd level, you learn how to craft three designs from the motifs list by learning their designs in their most basic (i.e., minor) form. One of your chosen designs, one must be a grand motif (also called a magnum opus); one opus and two minor motifs.

You immediately gain the motifs without expending the resources, having been assumed to have been working on them for some time.

Some motifs require a saving throw called your Motif DC. While a bard's inspiration stems from Charisma, the Motif DC is based on the bard's dexterity as this attribute drives how well the motif is constructed.

Motif Modifiers

Motif Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier
Motif Attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier

During a long rest as you regain a full set of bardic inspiration points, you can spend a point to create new motif from your collection of known designs. You can create as many minor motifs in this manner until you have spent all bardic inspiration points. When you reach level 14 and are making major or masterwork motifs, the same rules apply.

Obviously, bardic inspiration points spent on motifs cannot be used during the day's adventures for traditional inspirations.

Additional Magical Secrets

Prerequisites: College of the Automata, 6th level

At sixth level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class to further fuel your inspired motifs. 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 your but don't count against the number of bard spells you know.

Additional Motif

Prerequisites: College of the Automata, 9th level

You learn one additional motif design when you reach the ninth level. This design can be a minor or grand motif.

Major Motifs

Prerequisites: College of the Automata, 14th level

You learn one additional and final motif design when you reach this level. This design can be a minor or grand motif.

If you are somehow still alive and gain this level, you have also made an important breakthrough which improves the quality and effect of your motifs. All motifs that are created by you are now created as major motifs , as your inspiration (your inspriation die has essentially doubled by this time) and skill have dramtically improved.

You may also chose one of the known designs which you have studied and perfected. Instead of a major motif, this motif now becomes a masterwork. Any existing motifs in your possession are automatically upgraded to major or master; we assume you've been tinkering :)

Motifs

A Grand Motif is a invention that the bard has spent more time and care in composing and is either permanent, or a single use consumable. If a Grand Motif is a consumable and is used,it is replenished after a long rest, at no cost.

All other motifs, by contrast, are consumable gadgets that a bard may have a handful of at any given time. Minor motifs are usually used during daily adventures, and the bard must expend more inspiration points - usually during a long rest - to create new constructs. A bard can create a single motif during a short rest at no cost by spending a bardic inspiration point provided they have an inspiration point available and do nothing else. That motif cannot be a Grand Motif.

If the motif is an arrow, it is fired normally from a bow and deals its regular damage in addition to any listed effects. If you miss with an arrow, its effect is still consumed on impact. Arrows can be substituted with bolts for a crossbow or stones, and weigh the same as normal ammunition. It takes an Investigation check against your Motif DC to tell that these are non-standard munitions. If someone other than you attempts to use a motif you created, they must make an Dexterity saving throw (DC 15) or the motif fails to function as expected. Motifs that fail like this break and must be repaired.

Extra Motifs and Cost

A bard can create a motif from a known design even without bardic inspiration points, but this approach requires significant time and expense. Creating a minor motif reqiores 1 hour of work and 100 gp of supplies per additional gadget created. Major motifs at level 14 and above can be crafted in the same time but require four times the cost to craft. A design at the level of masterwork, assuming the bard has mastered that design, may be created without inspiration points at nine times the cost of the original, minor motif.

Constructing and extra Grand Motif is possible, but requires a full set of inspiration points and a significant investment in time and gold.

Grand Motifs

Cat’s Eyes

These specially-tinted goggles harness light cantrips and transmutation to allow you to see easily in the dark. While wearing them, you have Darkvision of 60 feet. If you already have Darkvision, it improves by 60 feet instead.

Crafting additional goggles requires incredible precision and expensive lenses and focuses, all inspiration points, 24 hours of work, and 1000 gp in supplies. The goggles weigh 1 lb.

Major: You fine tune the goggles and add some hearing aids as well. The goggles gain Blindsight of 30 ft, and are known as Bat’s Eyes.

Masterwork: You push your goggles to the limits, breaching what is normally possible to see. The goggles gain Ethereal Sight of 15 ft. Additionally, once per day, while wearing the goggles, you may use Detect Magic as if you had cast the spell.

Coin Blade

With some alchemy to strengthen the steel, imbued with presdigitation and a lot of tinkering and design for the collapsing pattern, you’ve created an ultra thin dagger that folds down into the size of a coin, albeit noticeably heavier. As a Bonus Action you can press either side of the coin in a special way and the dagger seemingly materializes into your hand.

A creature trying to discern if the coin is something more, must succeed on an Investigation check against your Motif DC. To return it to coin shape, you must spend a minute carefully packing it back into the spring loaded form.

Creating additional coin blades is a highly intensive process, and it takes 24 hours of work, and 250 gp in supplies. The dagger weighs 0.2 lbs.

Major: From the repeated exposure to alchemical strengthening processes, the blade now counts as a magical +1 weapon, and it is impossible to tell that it is not a coin when folded, without physically opening it using the trigger action.

Masterwork: The repeated alchemical treatments to maintain flexibility and strength have infused the blade with considerable power. The blade improves to a magical +2 weapon. Additionally, once you’ve attuned to it, you can never lose it, as it will always find its way back to your hands. The coin has also taken on the eerie ability to predict favourable outcomes. Ask the coin a yes or no question, or present it a binary decision, labelling the outcomes to either heads or tails, and flip the coin. The coin always seems to come up on the more favourable option.

Hookshot

Inspired by studies in True Strike and Longstrider magic, you can launch this claw-like device at walls or ceilings and have the rope pull you up through an alchemically powered winch. The winch pulls you up at 10 feet per round. It takes an action to fire the hook, and has a rope 30 feet in length. You can continue to hang from ceilings or walls indefinitely, or remove the attached hook as a bonus action. Note that some surfaces may not allow the hook to stick.

If you lose or destroy your grappling hook, it takes 8 hours and 250 gp of supplies to replace or rebuild; minor repairs take 1 hour and 25 gp in supplies. The winch cannot lift more weight than 1 medium, 2 small, or 4 tiny creatures plus equipment. A hookshot weighs 10 lbs.

Major: You improve the power and reach of the device, renaming it the Longshot. The rope’s length increases to 60 feet, and the winch can pull you up at 30 feet per round.

Additionally, the winch can now lift up to 1 large, 2 medium, 4 small, or 8 tiny creatures plus equipment, but it does so at half speed.

Masterwork: You improve the power, reach, durability, and even finesse of the Longshot. The rope’s length increases to 100 feet, and the winch can pull you up at 50 feet per round, and the winch is no longer slowed by large creatures or their equivalent.

Additionally, as an Action, you may aim the Longshot at a loose object or creature of large size or smaller within 50 feet. If the object is not being worn or carried, you snag it, and it retracts towards you immediately.

If the object is being worn or carried by a creature (but not clothing, jewelry, armour or shields) or is a creature, the creature must make a Dexterity or Strength saving throw (their choice) against your Motif DC or the item or creature is grappled by the Longshot. If you weigh more than the creature or object, it immediately retracts towards you if you weigh more. On a successful saving throw, the Longshot retracts without the target.

Mechanid

Mage Hand is for sissy wizards. Animal Friendship? Who needs friends, when you can build one! You've taken these ideas and made something truly skittery!

When folded up it appears to be a small metal orb, about 1 to 2 inches in diameter, that fits in the palm of your hand. As a bonus action you may activate it and throw it up to 30 feet. The orb will unravel into a small spider-like mechanical companion at the location it was thrown. It has the game statistics of a spider, but counts as a construct instead of a beast. The mechanid understands the commands you give it and will follow your commands to the best of its ability.

While it is within 100 feet of you, as an action on each of your turns you can control it remotely using a small handheld device. While controlling the mechanid, you may see and hear as if you were the spider, although you count as deaf and blind for your own body if you do so.

You may only have one mechanid active at a time. Each additional one after the first takes 24 hours of work and 250 gp in materials to craft. If your mechanid is damaged or destroyed, you may repair it after only 1 hour of work and 25 gp in supplies. Each mechanid weighs 2 lbs while carried.

Major: You tinker with your mechanid, vastly improving its capabilities. Choose one of the following options:

Spyder Bot: You improve the mobility, range, and stealth of your mechanid. The range of direct control increases to 1 mile, its walking and climbing speed increases to 30 ft, and it adds your proficiency bonus to Stealth, Investigation, and Perception checks it makes. Additionally, it gains the ability to produce webbing, to allow for hanging from objects, or to layer on the ground to detect passing creatures. The web is not thick enough to stop anything of size larger than tiny. Tiny creatures make a DC 10 Strength saving throw to escape.
Combat Mechanid: You improve the durability, damage, and size of your mechanid. Your mechanid now uses the game statistics of the Giant Wolf Spider, but it counts as a construct instead of a beast. It adds your proficiency bonus to its AC, HP, Attack Rolls, and Damage. The mechanid will automatically defend you against creatures that attack you, and can be given commands as a bonus action. It will follow your commands to the best of its ability until they are complete, or until you give it a new command.

Masterwork: You tinker away and continue to improve your existing Mechanid specialization:

Spyder Bot: You further improve the mobility, range, and stealth of your mechanid. The range of direct control increases to 20 miles, its speed increases to 40 ft, it does not provoke opportunity attacks when leaving a threatened space, and when perfectly stationary it has advantage on Stealth checks to remain unseen. Finally, once per day it may activate a cloaking field which turns it invisible for 1 minute.
Combat Mechanid: You arm your mechanid further, making it a large and fearsome beast of metal. Your mechanid now uses the game statistics of the Giant Spider, but it counts as a construct instead of a beast. It adds your proficiency bonus to its AC, HP, Attack Rolls, and Damage, and has 40 ft walking and climbing speed.

Parachute

You have sung the Feather Fall spell into a a small pack, stuffed with fabric designed to catch the air and slow your fall. When falling, you can unleash your chute as a reaction. The parachute bursts out and slows your rate of descent to 60 feet per round. You do not control the direction of travel. You may support the weight of up to 2 medium creatures safely, including yourself. Upon landing, you take no damage and the chute flops down behind you. As an action you can pull a cord again and stuff it back into the pack.

If you are about to be hit with a melee or ranged attack, you may pull the chute as a reaction, orienting it towards the attack’s origin. The parachute bursts out and detaches from the pack, intercepting and preventing the attack, but will be damaged and need repair. Additionally, if the source of the attack was within 15 feet, the attacker is restrained and blinded by the parachute wrapped around them. A target restrained and blinded by the parachute may take an action to free themselves and end the effects.

The parachute has an AC of 10 and 20 hit points. If the parachute hits 0 hit points, you fall, but only take half of the damage from the fall, and the parachute will require a repair. If the parachute is damaged, you repair it after a long rest. If you need to repair it sooner, it requires 2 hours of work, and 50 gp in supplies. The parachute pack weighs 15 lbs. When extended and inflated by air, the parachute takes up a 10 foot cube of space directly above you.

Major: You improve the design, creating a more lightweight and controllable glider parachute. Your rate of descent is slowed to 30 feet per round, and you may control your lateral movement, moving up to 40 feet per round in a direction of your choice. You can control the glider using one hand, or free both hands, and descend straight down. The weight is reduced to 8 lbs. The parachute now has 15 AC and 30 hit points.

Masterwork: You streamline the design of your gliding parachute using some new spells and iffy alchemy to generate heat and steam so you can slow, or even stop your descent. The rate of descent is slowed to 10 feet per round, and the speed of your lateral movement improves to 60 feet per round. The parachute now has 20 AC and 40 hit points.

As an action, you may increase the potency of the alchemical lift, allowing you to negate your descent, or even climb by up to 10 feet per round. This increase lasts for 1 minute, after which, you begin to descend as normal. You replenish your alchemical lift formula after a long rest. You may replenish it after a short rest instead, but you may not work on anything else during this time.

Skeleton Key

This is a small spring powered device that makes opening non-magical locks a breeze. This device requires Thieves’ Tools proficiency to use, and is quite fragile, making it difficult for others to use or maintain without training. As a bonus action, you can put the device into a keyhole, and activate it. You roll your Thieves’ Tool check with advantage. If you fail the check, the spring loaded mechanism breaks and requires a repair before it can be used again.

You repair one Skeleton Key automatically on a long rest. On a short rest, you may opt to repair one key, but you may not work on anything else during this time. Due to the many small and fragile mechanisms, it is time consuming and expensive to replace or duplicate this device, taking 8 hours of work and 250 gp of supplies. This device does not help with combination style locks, barred doors, or anything without a keyhole.

Advanced: You improve the durability and inconspicuousness of the mechanism. On a failed check to open a lock, the device no longer breaks or needs repair, and the device may be used on magical locks without advantage. Additionally, you have advantage on all checks made to conceal the key on your person from another creature. Finally, you may use the device to see through a keyhole, and see the room beyond as if you were crouched at the doorway with the door open. For a creature on the other side of the door to notice you peeking through, they must make a Perception check against your Gadget DC.

Masterwork: The key’s finesse and functionality improves beyond mortal levels. A mundane, non-magical lock is automatically opened when using the Skeleton Key. Additionally, you may pick magical locks with advantage. Finally, the Key is impossible for other creatures to find if you have concealed it on yourself, and creatures on the other side of a door you are peeking through, cannot detect the device without physical interaction with the lock.

Gadet Boots

A pair of old boots with some carefully tuned spring mechanisms on the bottom of them. While wearing these boots, the user gains 10 feet of speed, and can jump an additional 10 feet horizontally or vertically. The user has disadvantage on Stealth checks while wearing them due to the noisiness of the springs. Any time the user must make an Acrobatics check they do so with advantage, but if they fail an Acrobatics check while wearing these boots, they fall prone and lose all remaining movement for the turn, having lost control of the bounciness. The boots require daily tuning by you, which you complete during a long rest. If you wish to replicate the boots, it takes 8 hours of work and 250 gp of supplies, and the new boots will also require daily tuning by you. The boots weigh 5 lbs.

Major: You tune the springs in the boots to reduce noise, and improve stability. You no longer have disadvantage on Stealth checks while wearing the boots, and failing an Acrobatics check no longer makes you fall prone or lose movement. Additionally, the jump height and distance increases to 30 feet. You ignore the first 30 feet of a fall.

Masterwork: You fine tune the springs for optimal performance. The boots no longer require daily maintenance. Additionally, the speed bonus improves to 15 feet, and the bonus jumping distance and height improves to 50 feet and you ignore the first 50 feet of a fall, when calculating fall damage. Alternately, you can carry one greature of the same size or smaller up to 250 lbs for a 25 ft jump with a successful Acrobatics check.

Creepy Monkey

Paying homage to the College's orgins (or taking umbrage at the pejoratives thrown by other bards), you have mixed your joy and anger together - sprinkled with a touch of mockery cantrips - into a horrible, cymbal-crashing mechmonkey. You probably named him Bonzo.

As a reaction, you may throw the creepy monkey up to 40' at an enemy when that enemy makes an attack action or skill check. The target must succeed on a Wisdon saving throw against your Motif DC or take 1d4 psychic damage ad immediately have disadvantage imposed on the triggering action/check. The monkey continues to jump around and bang is precious little cymbals of doom, requiring the target to make another saving throw on their next turn (this one with advantage) or suffer an additional 1d4 psychic damage and disadvantage on the first attack roll of the their turn.

On a successful save, the creepy monkey stops his monkey business and sinks to the floor with a frown.

The monkey, once used, cannot be put back in your motif bag until the next short or long rest. Unless restrained and muffled, he will at random intervals start chittering and banging again, giving you disadvantage on all stealth checks if the monkey is within 100 feet.

Major: You improve both the creepiness and monkiness, making this motif affect all enemies within 5' of the target. The damage increases to 3d4 (1/2 on a successful save) and enemies who fail a save also gain the deafened condition for 1 minute. All enemies in the area must repeat the save on the second round as the monkey now hops and bops on his mechanical prehensile tail.

The monkey has also gained a 30' mobility, and cannot be restrained or muffled after use. You have disadvantage on stealth checks, but can also throw the monkey 1 more time before the next short or long rest.

Masterwork: The creepy monkey becomes self-aware and has taught himself a favorite tune from your repertoire. Once activated, the monkey seems to spring of his own volition to a target within 60' and begins to shriek his bardic cover song, which does 4d8 psychic damage (Wisdom save for half damage) to all creatures within 10' of the target (similar to Shatter spell from Bard spell list). A failed save also imposes the deafened condition for 1 minute. Friendly creatures must also make the save, but with advantage. They've seen this before.

The save is repeated on the second round the monkey is active, but with advantage for all.

More troubling: the monkey now has a move speed of 60' and gains the spidercrawl ability. It can only be convinced to stay with the group if the Mech Magus instructs it to, otherwise it will run to find other monsters for its audience. If the monkey remains with the party, you have disadvantage on stealth checks, but can also throw the monkey 2 more time before the next short or long rest.

Tanglefoot Bag

A small pouch full of writhing sticky tar. As an action, you throw this bag up to 30 feet. Upon landing, the writhing tar spurts out, covering a 5 foot area of ground for 1 minute before it dries out and hardens. A creature hit by this bag must make a Strength saving throw against your Motif DC or have their speed reduced to zero. A creature may take an action to repeat the saving throw, freeing themselves from the sticky tar on a success. A creature that starts its turn in the area, or passes through it on their turn, has their speed halved until the start of their next turn. The area covered by the tar counts as difficult terrain. You have one tanglefoot bag, and it replenishes on a long rest. Creating a bag beyond your free one, or to replace an expended one is time consuming alchemy, and takes 4 hours of work and 100 gp of supplies. A tanglefoot bag weighs 1 lb.

Advanced: You improve the volatility of the tar solution, making it more violently burst outwards. The area covered increases to a 10 foot square, and all creatures within the area on impact must make a Strength saving throw against your Motif DC, becoming restrained on a failure.

Masterwork: You concoct a solution that seems to have a mind of its own. The area covered by the effect increases to a 15 foot square. Restrained targets must take an action to make a Strength saving throw to free themselves from the tar. Additionally, creatures who enter the area or move more than 5 feet through it must make a Strength saving throw, or become restrained as if they had been hit with the bag initially. On a success, their speed is still reduced by half.

All creatures impacted by the masterwork motif become vulnerable to fire damage.

Minor Motifs

Explosive Arrows

A little alchemy and an arrow and you have created an exciting new ammunition. When the arrow is fired and it hits a target, it explodes. The target and all creatures within 5 ft must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Motif DC or take 2d6 fire damage. They take half damage on a successful save. This explosion can ignite flammable objects not being worn or carried. This explosion is loud and can be heard up to 300 feet away.

Major: You increase the potency of the explosives used in the arrows. The fire damage increases to 3d6, and the radius of the explosion increases to 10 ft. However, the sound can be heard from 500 feet away.

Masterwork: If you packed any more explosives into these arrows, they would become far too dangerous to carry. The fire damage increases to 4d6, and the radius of the explosion increases to 15 ft. Additionally, the ground in the radius lights on fire for the next minute, and creatures who end their turn in the area take 2d6 fire damage.

Sex Panther Oil

60 percent of the time it works all the time

A delicate bottle full of an opalescent liquid. The liquid must be imbibed or absorbed through the skin of the target; in combat, a touch attack is required. On success, you may anxiously await the goodness but, like most of your dating history, be ready for disappointment.

Roll a percentage die. If you role a 60 or less, your target becomes enraptured by the first living creature it sees. As a minor motif, this has the same effects as the Friends cantrip. Creating additional flasks beyond your limit costs only 50 gp of supplies, instead of 100. Each flask of oil weighs 0.25 lb.

This motif has no effect on creatures with intelligence scores below 3 or targets that are immune to the charmed condition.

Major: You could do friends. Or you could do MORE. Your charisma and desperation whip this motif into a more powerful version. The effect now lasts for 60 minutes and the target is charmed but will not know of your tomfoolery during or after.

Masterwork: The effect still only works 60 percent of the time, but the target will now spend a full day picking out china patterns and planning nuptuals. You may make a Suggestion to the target with no saving throw and a duration of 24 hours.

Jolt-bolt Arrows

A regular arrow with a small mechanical device attached. When the arrow is fired and it hits a target, the small device releases an electrical shock, which damages and disorients the target. The target takes 2d6 lightning damage, and must make a Constitution saving throw against your Motif DC, or drop anything it is holding or carrying. Additionally, if a target must make a Concentration check as a result of this damage, the target has disadvantage on the saving throw to maintain Concentration.

Major: You improve the capacitors on the device, allowing for a stronger charge. The lightning damage is increased to 4d6 on a successful hit.

Masterwork: You supercharge the batteries on the device. The lightning damage is increased to 5d6 on a successful hit, and if the target fails the saving throw, it also drops prone and is stunned until the end of their next turn.

Knock-Out Dart

A small dart, tipped with a poisonous alchemical concoction. You gain proficiency in the blowgun. You may fire a small dart tipped with a drugged concoction. On a hit, the target takes no damage, but must make a Constitution saving throw against your Motif DC. On a failed save, the target becomes drowsy for 10 minutes, giving it disadvantage on perception or investigation checks, and is completely unaware it has been hit with the dart. The target must repeat the saving throw or fall unconscious for 1 minute. Once the target awakens, it is still drowsy for the remaining duration.

If it succeeds on the initial save, it is unaffected and knows it has been hit with a dart. If you are in combat with the creature, or the creature is large or bigger, they have advantage on both saving throws. If the creature is small or smaller, they have disadvantage on the saving throws. A target immune to poison automatically passes the saving throw. Each dart weighs 0.1 lbs.

Major: You increase the potency of the chemical agent. On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on all Ability checks, and a target no longer has advantage on the initial saving throw if you are in combat with it.

Masterwork: You distill a more potent sedative that severely hampers a foe. On a failed save, the target also gains the sickened condition and has disadvantage on Attack rolls, and has its speed reduced by half.

Poison Dart

A small dart, tipped with a poisonous alchemical concoction. You gain proficiency in the blowgun. You may fire a small dart tipped with a deadly concoction. On a hit, the target takes 1 damage, and must make a Constitution saving throw against your Motif DC. On a failed save, the target takes 3d6 poison damage and becomes poisoned for up to 1 minute. A creature immune to poison suffers no effects. A poisoned creature may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns to end the effect. On a successful save, the target takes half damage, but is not poisoned.

Major: You improve the potency of the poison. The poison damage increases to 5d6, and the target has disadvantage on saving throws to resist or end the effect.

Masterwork: The potency becomes extremely lethal. The poison damage increases to 7d6, and they take full damage whether they pass or fail the saving throw.

Smoke Bomb

You create a set of small canisters that can be thrown and produce a cloud of smoke. As an action, you may throw the canister up to 30 feet, and on impact it creates a 10 foot radius smoke cloud that lasts for 1 minute, and counts as heavy obscurement. Creating additional bombs beyond your limit costs only 25 gp of supplies, instead of 100. Each smoke bomb weighs 0.5 lbs. A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the cloud after 4 rounds. A strong wind (at least 20 miles per hour) disperses it after 1 round.

Major: Using more volatile reagents, you improve the amount and thickness of the smoke generated. The radius of the smoke cloud increases to 20 feet, and the duration increases to 10 minutes.

Masterwork: You create a variant Smoke Bomb that has a burning effect on the eyes and nose. You may choose which version of the Smoke Bomb you use, either the regular, or Choking Gas version. Regular Smoke Bombs increase in radius to 30 feet. Choking Gas has a radius of 20 feet, and lasts 1 minute. A creature inside the Choking Gas smoke must make a Constitution saving throw against your Motif DC or become blinded and must spend their action each turn hacking and coughing for up to one minute. Once a creature has left the smoke, they may reattempt the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effects on a success. Creatures that don't need to breathe or are immune to poison are unaffected.

Thunderlight

A small egg-shaped metallic device filled with reactive materials. As an action, you may throw it up to 30 feet and on impact it explodes in a concussive flash of light, disorienting creatures in a 10 foot radius. Affected creatures must make a Constitution saving throw against your Motif DC or be blinded and deafened for 1d4 rounds. Blinded and deafened creatures may repeat the save at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success. This explosion is loud and can be heard up to 300 feet away. A Thunderlight weighs 0.5 lbs.

Major: You increase the potency of the concussive effect. The radius increases to 15 feet, and creatures who fail their save are Blinded and Deafened for the duration, with no additional saves to end that effect. Additionally, targets who fail their save are stunned for one round. However, the sound can be heard from 500 feet away.

Masterwork: You concoct an even more potent concussive material. On a failed save, creatures are now blinded, deafened, and stunned for 1d4 + 1 rounds. At the end of each of their turns, they may repeat the saving throw, ending the stunned effect on a success. The blindness and deafness remains for the full duration whether they make the save or not.

Webshot Arrows

An arrow with a small and discreet silk-like pouch attached. When the arrow is fired and it hits a target, the small silk pouch bursts, causing a rapid chemical reaction which covers the target in thick sticky web. The target must make a Strength saving Throw or be restrained by the web. They may take an action to repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. Another creature may cut you free as an action. On a success, the target is not restrained but still has their speed slowed by 10 feet until the end of their next turn. If a restrained target is hit with fire damage, they take an additional 2d6 fire damage, and the webbing burns away, freeing them.

Advanced: You improve the aggressiveness and potency of the webbing compound. Creatures of size large or smaller have disadvantage on saving throws to escape or avoid the effect.

Masterwork: You improve the stickiness and potency of the webbing compound. Creatures of size huge or smaller have disadvantage on saving throws to escape or avoid the effect. Additionally, if a creature attempts to free a webbed target, they must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Motif DC or become stuck and restrained to the side of the webbing as well. Creatures stuck in this way may make a Strength saving throw on subsequent turns against your Motif DC to escape, but do not have disadvantage on the save.

Work In Progress - Notes

New Motif Ideas

For spell level equivalent I was aiming for about cantrip / 1st level for minor and original Grand motifs, 1st/2nd for major motif, and 2nd/3rd for Mastercraft. (Mirrors with Arcane Trickster, who learns more tricks and of a higher power level, but can use them a bit less often) Some are a bit higher or lower, but I was largely looking at the AT progression as a point of comparison.

If we elect to be able to create new motifs, these are the guidelines.

As an example, Bards can know the cantrip of "Message" and a Second Level Spell of "Magic Mouth". Thematically, it would follow that they could make a motif ("The Blabbermine!") that would convey a short message as a minor, but be more lasting as a major....

Flask of Oil

A mid-sized flask full of extraordinarily slippery and greasy oil. You may throw a flask up to 30 feet as an Action, and on impact, it creates a 10 foot square of oil. Creatures in the area when it impacts, or who enter the area for the first time on their turn must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Motif DC or fall prone and be covered in oil. If a creature covered in oil is hit with fire damage, they take an additional 2d6 fire damage, but then the oil is consumed. If the patch of oil is hit with fire damage, it burns until the end of your next turn, dealing 2d6 fire damage to any creatures in the area, or creatures which enter the area while the fire is burning. The oil counts as difficult terrain, and will remain for 1 minute before drying out. Creating additional flasks beyond your limit costs only 50 gp of supplies, instead of 100. Each flask of oil weighs 1 lb.

Major: You develop less viscous oil that spreads out easier and retains moisture for longer. The size of the oil pool created increases to a 20 foot square, and the oil now lasts for 10 minutes before drying out.

Masterwork: You improve the formula so it readily clings to cloth, flesh, and metal. Creatures covered in oil from this spell must make a Dexterity saving throw against your Gadget DC for every 10 feet of movement they take, or fall prone, even after leaving the oil patch. If they are still in the oil patch, they have disadvantage on the saving throw.

Regarding Balance

I wondered at adding what are essentially additional low level spells and would this be unbalanced. However, (a) I am consuming inspiration points to do so, and since an inspiration die is 1d6 or 1d12 at high levels that is not an insiginficant cost; (b) I lose Cutting Words and Peerless Skill and can't influence the enemy rolls which is a game changer, and (c) it is thematically and mechanically sound and consistent with Arcane Trickster subclass and has not deviated from Lore Bard (or other bard) structures. In short, this college still gains the same number of inspiration die, and while Valor and Lore use them on martial or enemy rolls respectively, this college uses them to make starting level (and later low level) spells that can still fail.

In brief, I didn't go too far off the reservation. I loved some ideas out there but they weren't really playtested.

http://www.wowgirl.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ad19a2709cc00089fe3c7692ccb6c558-1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/I97gNMt.png https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/S1WXi6YNW