The Perfect Chord [HB]

The Sound of Creation

When the world was created, there was a sound. A single, overwhelming noise that defined the event, echoing out into the empty space beyond and scattering itself to the far corners of creation, falling into every fragment of physical material and granting it that continuing pulse, that never-ending beat of life and vibrancy. The Perfect Chord emerged in the silence that followed, a swirling manifestation of light and sound that seeks to encompass the music of the multiverse.

The World’s Heartbeat
The Chord is often described by those who hear and see it as the singular instance of perfection that constantly becomes more perfect. It is life and change, order and discord, unification and destruction all wrapped into one singular mote of light. The world distorts in its presence, becoming filled with a wash of color and overwhelming sound; sometimes the roar of an avalanche of singers and instruments crashing down upon the stage in a furious triumph, and in other cases a soft lullaby, gently dancing along the ear with all the subtlety of a quiet morning as the sun rises over the mountains. Such is the nature of the Chord.

The Collector of the Pulse

Those who have studied the Chord extensively, or have been touched by its power themselves, claim that there is a purpose to the great dynamism that dwells within this indescribable
harmony. The Chord seeks to incorporate all of the sounds that came after the time of creation into itself, and in doing so, achieve true perfection. Once that happens, it is said that
the Chord will enact the Great Rest, where all of the sound in the multiverse will stop for one singular moment, gathering itself to remake the world anew in a grand exposition that will redefine reality as it was once known. This could be mere conjecture, however, for the songs of those who have embraced the Chord also speak of an eternal quest to gather these sounds, as every moment brings about a sound that has never been heard before nor will be heard again.

Sing! Sing! Sing to the Song!

Cultures that revere the Chord are common, though most view it as a natural phenomenon rather than an entity. Its appearance in a location is cause for celebration and is an
omen of good fortune, causing joy and enlightened behavior even after it vanishes. Those who are touched by the Chord are viewed as the greatest of singers and instrumentalists, causing bards from all over the world to frequently seek out the Chord in a quest to gain its favor. The best way to do this is to produce a sound none have heard before, though it is not always a foolproof method.

Create Perfection

The Chord is not mindless in its actions, though it is a thing of elemental harmony. It will deliberately act in ways that will create new sounds, simply because of the small actions it
takes. Appearing before a musician who has just begun their career and plays an off-key note that is so hideous it could never be replicated, only to inspire that musician to continue to grow and practice, is an act of self-motivated benevolence by this elemental force.

Pursue the Future

The Chord is a manifestation of history that constantly desires more for itself. The songs of ancient civilizations thought lost to time will live forever within the Chord, as will the battlecries of dead tyrants and the cheering of the crowds as their oppressors were slain. All sounds are valuable to the Perfect Chord, and so it collects them without regard to the morality of the act. The screaming of a child and the laughter of a saint are both worthy of being joined with the light and sound.

Swirling Chromaticism

The sounds of the Chord can hardly be described with words, but it is beautiful nevertheless. The strangest part of this phenomenon is the endless lights that swirl and dance within
it, manifesting as visual representations of the endless sound. When the Chord is pleased, it will appears as a light purple color. When it is angered, a dark red hue mixed with black will begin to shift into view. Deep bass notes and shrill screams will tear into the ears and minds of those around it when it senses opposition to its goals, and any who attempt to capture or chain the Perfect Chord will feel its unbridled fury.

Maddening Sound

If the Perfect Chord touches a living creature, every fraction of their being thrums and dances with the sheer power of the overwhelming sound. This is not something most mortals are strong enough to withstand. Those who are blessed by deities or have made bargains with other Alrisen are able to call upon that influence to purify themselves of this power, but others are vulnerable to it. Those who can accept the rhythm within themselves become warlocks to the Chord, while those who are unpracticed in the eldritch arts but still manage to emerge with their minds intact often become warriors called discordants. Both are valuable to the Chord, for their actions are the most likely to create sounds that have never been heard, or to bring about a pause worthy of recognition.

 

Expanded Spell List

The Perfect Chord lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

The Perfect Chord Expanded Spells

Spell Level	Spells
1st	[Tooltip Not Found], thunderwave
2nd	knock, silence
3rd	beacon of hope, [Tooltip Not Found]
4th	compulsion, [Tooltip Not Found]
5th	animate objects, awaken

Seeker of the Sound

At 1st level, your heartbeat is tuned to the Perfect Chord. You gain proficiency in the Performance skill and with all musical instruments. You can use a musical instrument as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells, and can play it in place of using a verbal spellcasting component.

When you cast a spell that has only a verbal and somatic component, you can choose to cast it as though it only had a verbal component.

When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that only has a verbal component, including those modified by this feature, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier that last for one minute.

Instrument of the Chord

At 6th level, your practice teaches you to turn others into your instruments. Using your bonus action, you can curse or harmonise with one creature within 60 feet of you. Each time you cast a spell using a warlock spell slot, you can cause that creature to vibrate in harmony with your spell. If the creature is friendly, its movement speed is doubled until the end of its next turn. If it is hostile, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If it fails, it is knocked prone. This curse lasts for 1 minute or until the creature enters an area of magical silence.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Voice of the Maestro

At 10th level, your spirit copies the sounds it hears with perfect clarity. You gain resistance to thunder damage. Whenever you cast a spell that makes noise or the illusion of noise, you can cause it to produce any sound you wish. Additionally, you can perfectly mimic the speech and other vocalisations of creatures you have heard, but not spellcasting. Creatures must succeed an Insight check against your warlock spell save (DC {{savedc:cha}}) to determine the sound is a mimicry, and they make this check with disadvantage.

The Grand Finale

Starting at 14th level, you can use your action to call upon a single note of the Perfect Chord. Choose one of the following effects. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

• Celebration: Each friendly creature within 1 mile of you gains advantage on Charisma checks for 8 hours. During this time, these creatures can use their actions to magically conjure an instrument of their choosing, and they gain proficiency with that instrument for the duration. They can also use their action to summon delicious food or beverages sufficient to satisfy their needs for one day. They can only use each action once. Finally, they can cast any cantrips that you know that are from the schools of illusion or enchantment. After 8 hours, all of the conjured objects vanish and all ongoing effects created or enabled by this feature end.

• Defiance: You unleash a painful sound. Creatures of your choosing within 120 feet of you can choose to use their reaction to drop what they are holding and cover their ears. If they don’t do so, they take 8d10 thunder damage and are deafened for one hour. If they do, they take half as much damage and are not deafened.

• Discord: Each hostile creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you must make a Charisma saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. If they fail, they are frightened of you and of all creatures friendly to you for one minute. A creature can repeat their saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

• Exaltation: Each creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you can use their reaction to cheer. You immediately gain temporary hit points equal to ten times the number of creatures that cheer. These temporary hit points last for 10 minutes.

• Unity: Each friendly creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you can use their reaction to immediately move up to 30 feet and make one weapon attack.