College of the Beyond

There is no formal College of the Beyond. You become a student of the void once you begin to hear it's song through the cold night sky. It seems to choose you of it's own accord, thought you feel as though it is what you were seeking all along. The children of the Beyond learn all they need to know by hearing these songs sung from the edge of the cosmos. Others say they hear nothing, but that beautiful, terrifying voice is perfectly clear to you. The song of The Great Ones permeate your mind and soul, compelling you to share this haunting refrain. As you become a conduit for your eldritch muse, the very fabric of the world bends itself to the will of the song and the minds of mortals twist in the wake of a dissonant harmony.

Audience to the Cosmos

You do not know how you came to understand the haunting melodies from beyond the stars, but you know how to recite them for your fellow mortals. 

When you join the College of the Beyond at 3rd level, you learn to speak and understand Deep Speech and you can sing songs using this language. You gain proficiency with your choice of Wisdom or Intelligence saving throws. If you have both, you may choose proficiency in a Wisdom or Intelligence skill instead. You also learn the Guidance cantrip. It counts as a Bard spell for you and does not count against your spells known.

When you cast a spell with vocal components using a Charisma spellcasting modifier, you may sing a song in Deep Speech instead of using a spellcasting focus for the material component. Starting at 6th level, spells cast this way get a +2 to the attack and damage rolls and a +2 to the spell save DC. At 14th level these bonuses increase to +4.

Song From the Void

When you sing, you enter a semi-trancelike state and become a direct conduit for the power of your muses.

When you select this College at 3rd level, you learn how to perform in concert with the Great Ones. You know one of the Void Songs listed below, all of which are sung in Deep Speech. You may begin performing a Void Song as a bonus action on your turn and perform for up to 1 minute. You can only perform one song at a time. Once you begin the song, you must spend an action on each of your turns to continue the performance or succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save to stop the song. The Void Song's associated effects take place for the duration of the performance. Your performances require concentration, and while you are performing, your movement speed is reduced to 5 feet. If you lose concentration on your performance, perform for the maximum duration, or stop singing for any other reason, the performance ends immediately, you take a point of exhaustion and you become stunned until the end of your next turn. You cannot perform while you are silenced or unable to speak. At 6th level you know a total of 2 Void Songs, you can add your Charisma modifier to saves to maintain concentration on your performances, and you will no longer be stunned if you stop performing willingly. At 14th level you know a total of 4 Void Songs, you have advantage on saves to maintain concentration on your performances, the maximum duration for your performances increases to 5 minutes, you no longer need to make a Wisdom save to stop performing. When you gain a level in this class you may swap one of your Void Songs for another.

• Acapella of the Apocalypse: The weave churns and ripples around you, making magic more chaotic. Whenever a non-cantrip spell is cast by someone other than you within 120ft of you, the caster must roll a d20. Your allies may use Bardic Inspiration dice on this roll. On a 15 or higher, the spell is strengthened and takes effect as if it were cast one spell levels higher. On a 10 or lower, the spell is weakened and its damage, range, and duration are halved. On a 5 or lower, the spell backfires, cancelling it's normal effects and instead dealing 1d4 fire, 1d4 cold, and 1d4 lightning damage to the caster for each level the attempted spell was being cast at. Starting at 6th level, your allies can add your Charisma modifier to the roll and once per round you can use a reaction to subtract your Charisma modifier from an opponent's d20 roll. Starting at 14th level, your allies get advantage on the roll, all opponents subtract your Charisma modifier from their rolls, and once per round you can use a reaction give an opponent disadvantage on their d20 roll.
• Aria of Forbidden Truth: A great, shining eye appears above you, filling a 120ft radius sphere with bright light and whispering madness inducing knowledge into the minds of anyone who looks into it. Each creature other than you who can see the eye must make a DC 15 Intelligence save at the start of their turn. Creatures that succeed on the save take a number of d4 equal to their INT modifier in radiant damage (minimum 1d4) and become blinded until the end of their next turn. Creatures that fail the save take 1 radiant damage. Starting at 6th level, your allies have disadvantage on the save against the eye, can choose not to add their Intelligence modifier to the save, and take no damage on a failed save. Starting at 14th level, your allies automatically succeed on the save against the eye and enemies add your Charisma modifier to their saves against the eye.
• Cantata of Madness: This song attacks the minds of those who hear it, driving them into a screaming panic. Each being who can hear you that starts their turn within 120 feet of you must make a Wisdom save against your Spell save DC. On a failed save they become frightened of you. Frightened beings that fail this save at the beginning of their turn take 1d4 + you Charisma modifier in psychic damage. Allies have advantage on the saving throw against this effect. Starting at 6th level your allies can make a DC 15 Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma saving throw (their choice) at the end of their turn, removing the frightened condition on a successful save. Also, enemies within 60ft of you subtract your Charisma modifier from their Wisdom saves. Starting at 14th level, your allies automatically succeed on the save against this song's effects and enemies that are immune to the frightened condition take 1d4 psychic damage on a failed save.
• Dirge of the Forgotten: You evoke a long lost storm and the souls it swallowed up. The area in a 120ft radius, 120ft tall cylinder centered on you becomes lightly obscured with pelting rain and wind. Bodies of water within this area churn and create waves as if in a storm and small flames are snuffed out. At the start of your next turn after you begin performing this song, a number of CR 1/4 undead equal to your proficiency bonus are summoned within the radius of the storm. They will not attack you but are not considered friendly to you or your allies. They share your initiative but move after you and will each attack the closest creature to them that isn't you. These summoned undead vanish when reduced to 0 HP by radiant damage or the song ends. If a summoned undead is reduced to 0 HP by non-radiant damage, they are revived after 3 rounds with full HP. Starting at 6th level, you can summon undead up to CR 1/2 and they have disadvantage on attacks against your allies unless you or your allies harm them first. Starting at 14th level, you can summon undead up to CR 1 and they are friendly to you and your allies unless you or your allies harm them first.
• Elegy of the Damned: You gather the pain of countless doomed souls and release it in a cacophony of wails and screams. At the start of each of your turns, each creature within 120ft of you that can hear you must make a Constitution Save against your Spell save DC. They take 2d4 + your Charisma modifier in thunder damage on a failed save. Creatures more than 60ft away from you or covering their ears with both hands have advantage on the save. Creatures within 30ft of you or with heightened hearing have disadvantage on the save. When an enemy within this song's range is reduced to 0 HP, you may cause their head to explode, dealing 1d4 force damage to each creature within 5ft of them, and preventing them from being revived. Starting at 6th level, your allies always have advantage on the save against this song's effects, cannot have disadvantage, and only take 1d4 thunder damage on failed saves. Also, the damage from exploding enemies' heads increases to 2d4. Starting at 14th level, your allies automatically succeed the saving throw against this song's effects and enemies do not need to be able to hear you to be affected. Enemies that cannot hear you only take half damage on failed saves.
• Eulogy of the Stars: An unnatural night sky opens above you, coating a 120ft radius cylinder up to 120 feet tall centered on you in dim light and raining down star-like projectiles. Each being that begins their turn in this range must make a Dexterity save against your Spell save DC. Creatures of size Large or larger must make this save for each square they occupy and creatures with a speed of 0 have disadvantage on the save. Targets take 1d4 + your Charisma modifier in force damage on a failed save. Starting at 6th level, the damage increases to 2d4 + your Charisma modifier, your allies get advantage on the saving throw, and you may choose a point within 60ft of you to center the radius. Starting at 14th level, the damage increases to 4d4 + your Charisma modifier, your allies automatically succeed on the saving throw, and once per round you may force a target you can see to make another saving throw.
• Lullaby of Oblivion: Your singing brings an unsettling calm to those who hear it. When you begin singing this song, small light sources (such as torches, lanterns, and objects lit up by the Light spell) within 120ft of you are snuffed out and areas of bright light become dim light for the duration of the song. Creatures other than you that can hear the song have their movement speed reduced by 10ft. Each creature other than yourself who can hear you that begins their turn within 120ft of you must make a Wisdom save against your Spell save DC. On a failure the creature takes 1 psychic damage and becomes incapacitated until the start of their next turn. You may spend a reaction each round to give a target you can see within 60ft of you disadvantage on any Wisdom saving throw. Starting at 6th level, your allies get advantage on the Wisdom save, their movement speed is not reduced and enemies that fail the save are stunned until the start of their next turn. Starting at 14th level, your allies automatically succeed on the save against this song's effects, they have advantage on all Wisdom saves, and enemies that fail the save two or more turns in a row take a point of exhaustion.
• Oratorio of the Hungry: The landscape around you warps and becomes infused with a maw of an incomprehensible beast. All surfaces within a 120ft radius centered on you becomes difficult terrain. Falling damage in this area is converted from bludgeoning to acid. Each creature other than you that begins its turn or falls prone within this radius must make a DC 15 Constitution save. Prone creatures have disadvantage on this save. On a failure, they take 2d4 acid damage and prone creatures take half damage on a success. Whenever a creature takes acid damage from this song's effects, you heal an amount of HP equal to half the damage dealt (rounded down). Starting at 6th level, your allies have advantage on saves imposed by this song's effects, and you may also choose to have an ally gain HP healed by this song's effects instead of you. You also gain the ability to summon the beast's fangs: As a bonus action, you may force a creature within the song's affected radius that you can see to make a Dexterity save against your Spell save DC. On a failure they take 1d4 piercing damage and then become knocked prone. Starting at 14th level, your allies automatically succeed on saves imposed by this song's effects, they can ignore the effects of difficult terrain, and the healing increases to the full amount of acid damage dealt instead of half.

Communion With the Great Muse

The more you listen to those distant melodies, the easier it is for you to understand your muses, and the closer you get to being heard by them in turn.

Choose either Cleric or Warlock. Starting at 6th level, you may learn spells from the chosen class as if they were Bard spells, and they count as Bard spells for you. Spells you learn in this way all have vocal components for you. While you are performing a Void Song, the cantrips Word of Radiance, Toll the Dead, and Eldritch Blast may be cast as a bonus action instead of an action, with the song you are performing counting as your vocal component. Any creatures you summon/conjure with these spells can be aberrations instead of their usual creature type (for example, a casting of Conjure Celestial can summon an aberration of CR 4 or lower, the creature summoned by Summon Fiend can be an aberration instead of a fiend while otherwise keeping the same stat block, or you can use Planar Ally to ask your eldritch muse for an aberration to aid you.)

Minds Beyond the Music

 The veil has finally parted enough for you to have two-way communication with your muse. Their songs now ring clearer in you head than your own voice which now melds with theirs.

Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to have brief communication with your eldritch muses while you are asleep, in a trance, unconscious or meditating. You may spend an hour communing with your muse (this may coincide with a short rest while you do no other activities, or a long rest) after which you gain two of the following bonuses for the next 8 hours or until you commune with your muse again. You can choose a bonus twice unless otherwise stated:

• +1 to your choice of Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom
• one additional use of Bardic Inspiration
• Proficiency in an Intelligence skill or Expertise if you already have the proficiency
• Resistance to Psychic damage; If you choose this bonus twice, you may choose another damage resistance between Radiant, Necrotic and Thunder
• Advantage on your next Wisdom saving throw; If you choose this bonus twice, you get advantage on your next two Wisdom saves
• Remove 1 point of Exhaustion from yourself; you may only take this bonus once per long rest