College of Bonds
Most adventuring parties grow close as they travel and do battle with evil; stress naturally breeds camaraderie, and so adventurers frequently make fast friends. The College of Bonds, meanwhile, takes this idea to its furthest extreme, turning these connections from a pattern into a powerful toolset for a party to communicate with and support each other, even over long distances.
This archetype turned out notably more wholesome than our usual, and we hope you enjoy a more positive release to balance out all our serious and horrific content. See you all next week!
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College of Bonds
No bond is stronger than one forged between people. Be it through songs of friendship, poems of love, or tales of rivalry, bards of the College of Bonds seek to create and immortalize these connections between themselves and those around them. Their art can uplift and invigorate anyone dear to them, no matter how near or far they may be.
Intense Connection
At 3rd level, you are able to create deeply intimate and mutualistic connections with people within minutes of meeting them. If you speak to a humanoid alone for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to form such a connection. At the end of the conversation, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you. While charmed by you, they view you as a companion who can be trusted to hear of the things troubling them. They won’t risk their life for you or fight for you, unless they were already inclined to do so. The effect ends after 1 hour, or if you attack them, or if they witness you attacking or damaging any of their allies.
If the target succeeds on the saving throw, they do not know that you tried to charm them.
Bardic Bond
Also at 3rd level, upon bestowing a creature your Bardic Inspiration die, you can choose to start a bond with the creature. While bonded, the creature benefits from the following effects while they can see or hear you:
Their walking speed increases by 5 feet.
They have resistance to psychic damage.
They have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
When they take damage, they can use their reaction to reduce the damage taken by your Charisma modifier.
In addition, the creature can expend the Bardic Inspiration die as a bonus action to roll the die and gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled plus your Charisma modifier. The creature benefits from the effects of the bond while they have the Bardic Inspiration die or the temporary hit points or until you complete a short or long rest.
Far Reaching Words
At 6th level, your words can reach those you love any time, anywhere. You learn the sending spell, which doesn't count against your number of bard spells known. In addition, you can cast sending without expending a spell slot once per short rest. When you target a creature with sending, you can choose to bestow them with one of your Bardic Inspiration dice. If you choose to bond with the creature in this way, they do not need to see or hear you to be affected by the bond.
You Can't Die Yet!
At 14th level, you know the revivify spell, which doesn't count against your number of bard spells known. When a creature you can see within 60 feet that you are bonded to dies, you can use your reaction to cast revivify targeting that creature without using a spell slot or material components. Once you cast revivify in this way, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.