Bard: College of Lore
Original Source: Player's Handbook, SRD
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
3rd-level Lore college feature When you join the College of Lore at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with three skills of your choice.
Lorekeeper
3rd-level Lore college feature Once on your turn when you cast a Bard spell, you may choose a creature you can see within 60 feet, and then expend a Bardic Inspiration and roll the die. You determine a number of facts of your choice about the creature equal to the result of the roll:
- Challenge Rating (or level)
- Armor Class
- Current and Maximum Hit Points
- Damage Immunities, Resistances, and Vulnerabilities
- Condition Immunities
- Highest Level of Spell it can cast.
- One Attribute Score and its Matching Saving Throw Bonus
- One of the creature's Traits.
- One of the creatures Actions, Bonus Actions, Reactions.
- One of the creatures Legendary or Lair Actions.
Then, the creature gains a penalty based on the result of the roll:
| Roll | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 | The target has Disadvantage on the next Ability Check it makes. |
| 2 | The target has Disadvantage on the next Attack Roll it makes. |
| 3 | The next attack against the creature has Advantage. |
| 4 | The target has Disadvantage on the next Saving Throw it makes. |
| 5 | The creatures loses its Reaction. |
| 6 | Choose any two options from above this. |
| 7 | The creature has Disadvantage on Attack Rolls until the end of its next turn. |
| 8 | Attack rolls have Advantage against the target until the end of your next turn. |
| 9 | The creature's movement speed is halved until the end of its next turn. |
| 10 | Choose one damage type. Until the end of your next turn, damage of that type ignores the target's resistance to this damage, and treats immunity as resistance. |
11: Choose any two options from above this. 12: Once during the next minute when the target takes damage while within 60 feet of you, you can use your reaction to give it vulnerability to that damage. 13: The target has disadvantage on all d20 tests until the end of your next turn. 14: Creatures have advantage against any saving throws prompted by the target until the end of your next turn. 15: The target expends a Legendary Action. If it doesn't have one, it is Dazed until the end of its next turn. 16: The target expends a Legendary Resistance. If it doesn't have one, it is Dazed until the end of its next turn. 17: The target cannot roll with Advantage for the next minute. 18: The next attack roll against the target is an automatic critical hit. 19: The target fails the next saving throw it makes. 20: Choose any two options from above this.
Expertise
6th-level Lore college feature Choose two of your skills. You have expertise in the chosen skills.
Peerless Skill
6th-level Lore college feature When you make an ability check or an attack roll, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration, roll a Bardic Inspiration die, and add the number rolled to the d20, potentially turning a failure into a success. On a failure, the Bardic Inspiration isn't expended.
Loremaster
14th-level Lore college feature Whenever you use Lorekeeper, you can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die.
