College Of The Lotus V3

‘Upon last-nights moonlight, she had me sit down beside the pool. With a fierce gaze and fiercer smile, she began to play her Erhu. Entranced, I could make out beyond my peripheral several, pink cherry leaves begin to glide and dance behind her. The flow. The sound. It was almost melancholic. The leaves wove between us, spiralling in impossible patterns. Forming scenes and sights I had yet to witness. The song began to get intense. The leaves were wrapped around us. My vision had been taken over by a glorious pink. Yet, with one cold breeze gliding past my cheek, the leaves fall. The woman, along with my coin purse, yet to be found.

- A gullible fool.

The College Of The Lotus aims to teach its students the power of its namesake, a symbol of harmony and peace. Bards in this college learn a unique form of meditation as well as a melody that shifts and harmonises the local flora around them. The longer the melody is performed, the more powerful the composer becomes. Sprouting as a small gust before ascending and blooming into a typhoon of symphony. Their expertise in peacemaking makes their aura of tranquility contagious, consoling and persuading for even the most cold-hearted. When they master their peaceful spirit, they can call upon harmony itself to produce treats that cleanse and soothe the soul.

College Of The Lotus bards usually share the college's goal of spreading harmony wherever they go, often congregating in temples to help channel effective prayer and worship with their melodies. However, some souls are corrupted enough to use the harmony in distasteful ways, usually by using their deceiving and innocent presence to slip by guards or utilising the melodies to make others submit. These souls are very few and far between.

Lotus Meditation

When you choose this college at level 3, you learn how to harmonise your mind and body using ‘The Lotus Method’, a complex, instrumental ritual. During a song of rest, you are able to add two different ability score modifiers to your overall healing. (four at 8th level, six at 16th level).

Melody of The Great Bloom

Also at level 3, you use the harmony you create during your songs to draw a plethora of local flora towards you, usually in the form of fallen leaves. As an action, you can start performing a ‘Melody Of The Great Bloom’ using an instrument you are proficient in. For every consecutive action you spend performing, the stronger it becomes, the song increasing in intensity. The melody decreases by one level if you fail to perform at the end of your turn. If you are damaged, you must make a concentration saving throw to maintain your performance (spell and melody concentrations are separate). A failure decreases the level of the melody by one. You can perform the melody even if no flora is present. It simply finds you.

• 1st action (10ft): Leaves and flowers begin to well up beneath your feet. Every ally, including yourself, within the melody’s radius, has their AC increased by 1.
• 2nd action (15ft): Colours of the local flora brush past you in the breeze. Every ally, including yourself, within your melody’s radius, gains advantage on charisma and wisdom saving throws, adding a die equal to your bardic inspiration without spending the die.
• 3rd action (20ft): The winds flow through and around you, the flora dancing in the air. You can spend a reaction to reduce an enemy’s attack roll within the melody’s radius by a die equal to your bardic inspiration without spending the die.
• 4th action (20ft): The winds turn into a gale, the leaves glide and become sharp like shrapnel. The land within the melody’s radius becomes difficult terrain for all enemies.
• 5th action (25ft): You become a typhoon of force, your body almost completely obscured with flora. Gain a flying speed of 15ft and passively gain the benefits of the disengage action. Every ally within the melody’s radius, including yourself, gains advantage on all attack rolls.
• 6th action (25ft): The splendour of your performance overwhelms all. Every enemy within the melody’s radius must make a constitution saving throw at the start of their turn against your spellcasting DC or become blinded until The Melody ends or they leave the melody’s radius. Every ally within the melody’s radius, including yourself, gain half cover.
• 7th action (30ft): You reach the crescendo of the melody, your form becoming the embodiment of the melody. Every enemy within the melody’s radius must make a wisdom saving throw at the start of their turn against your spellcasting DC or go under the effect of the confusion spell until The Melody ends or they leave the melody’s radius. When an ally ends their turn within the radius, they gain 15 temporary hit points for a max of 45.

Beyond The Halcyon

At 6th level, you gain the knowledge to instinctually perform melodies with a cost of exhausting your personal spirit somewhat. You can spend one use of bardic inspiration to perform ‘The Melody Of The Great Bloom’ as a bonus action. Alternatively, you can use your action to spend three bardic inspiration die to progress the melody by two levels.

The Gaze Of Nirvana

Also at 6th level, those who stare into your eyes are instilled with peace and calm. Whenever you make a persuasion or deception check, you can spend one use of bardic inspiration and roll it, adding the number to the roll. You can also spend this bardic inspiration die as a reaction to give an ally within 60ft advantage and the die on any saving throw against the frightened condition.

Gentle Verse

At 14th level, you have learnt to improvise masterfully when you perform melodies. You can use a bonus action to pause the melody at its current stage, allowing you to use actions whilst maintaining the melody. You have to use this bonus action or progress the melody during your sequential turns or the melody decreases by one level. The melody can still decrease if you fail its respective concentration check when you take damage.

Fruit Of Harmony

Also at 14th level, you gain the ability to summon special treats produced by the tranquility you exude. Gain the Goodberry spell, this does not count towards your total amount of spells. Each berry heals 3 hit points instead of 1. Eating a portion of 10 berries functions as a lesser restoration.