Base Class: Bard
The Coralsong Minstrel is a rare breed of fey-touched traveller. Whereas their colleagues might pick up skills and magic from their time on the road, these Bards instead have abilities and knowledge borne from exposure to the mind-bending touch of a strange, mystical otherworld under the sea - a place where beauty and death, hunting and songcraft, are entwined as one. Their memories of such an experience may be patchy or even entirely absent, but one thing is assured; whenever on the hunt, they often see things that others cannot. Some even hear a distant and most bizarre whalesong, whose melody they cannot place...
These Bards typically are born from coastal hunters, sailing mercenaries and oceanic explorers. They might have been skilled trappers and archers before their life-changing experience, or found themselves increasingly drawn to hunting in the natural world as their minds began to bend and reshape to accommodate magic. Additionally, consider what might've caused your Bard to catch the attention and interest of shy underwater feyfolk. Are they a kind and gentle soul who almost drowned while diving for pearls? Are they an imaginative storyteller who nearly perished in a terrible shipwreck at sea? Did they deliberately seek out the feyfolk to quench a long-running curiosity about a mystery, or was their interaction with the aquatic world an unexpected surprise?
Bonus Proficiencies
When you become a Coralsong Minstrel at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the longbow. Additionally, you can use any bow as a spellcasting focus for your Bard spells.
A Peek Beyond the Veil
At 3rd level, your fractured mind begins to see and hear things that others rarely can. You gain a bonus to Perception checks equal to your Charisma modifier.
Parting Gifts
At 3rd level, you learn how to imbue small, manifest fragments of your imagination within arrows. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to enhance the attack with magical effects. When you do so, choose one effect from the list of Parting Gift options below. Your Save DC for these effects equals your Spell Save DC.
- Fleeting Farewell. On impact, the arrow shimmers with lines of spectral light that resemble fractures in a mirror. The creature must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, they take additional psychic damage equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier. On a success, they take half damage.
- Mirthful Chorus. On impact, the arrow ignites with a violet flame imbued with psychedelic magic that floods the mind with dazzling, dreamy imagery. The creature makes a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, their attacks roll suffer disadvantage for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw again whenever it takes damage and at the end of each of its turns, ending it on a success.
- Ngati’s Blessing. On impact, the arrow dissolves into glittering, luminous beads of water that soothe wounds and heighten senses. A willing creature can allow this attack to hit them, even if your attack roll did not meet or exceed their armor class. A hit creature takes no damage from this attack, and regains hit points equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier. If the attack roll was a critical hit, the total healing provided is doubled. Additionally, the creature has advantage on the next attack roll or saving throw they make within 1 minute.
- Playful Pokes. On impact, the arrow fractures into floating, giggling, glowing fragments that jab at the creature with harmless, irritating intermittency. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature's armor class is reduced by 2, and it cannot Concentrate on spells for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw again at the end of each of its turns, ending all effects of Playful Pokes on a success.
- Blooming Corkscrew. On impact, the arrow projects a twisting whirlpool of water on the other side of the target. All creatures in a 15-foot cone directly behind the target, on the side of it directly opposite you, must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they take bludgeoning damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration + your Charisma modifier and are knocked prone. On a success, they take half damage and are not knocked prone.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action to make a ranged weapon attack on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips in place of one of those attacks.
Endless Melody
At 14th level, you have mastered the art of weaving spellcasting and archery into a single harmonious act. When you use your action to cast a bard spell, you can make one ranged weapon attack as a bonus action. If that attack hits, you can choose one creature of your choice that can hear you within 30 feet. That creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
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Posted Apr 14, 2023Design & Balance Discussion
Thanks for checking out my subclass! It's actually the first one I've ever personally homebrewed, so I'm very open to feedback and constructive criticism. A mutant step-child of the Valor Bard, Bladesinging Wizard and Arcane Archer Fighter, this subclass aims to tie three very unusual thematic and mechanical threads together; archery, whimsical oceanic fey magic, and party support. The end result is meant to be an archer or bow-hunter gish who weaves unique magical effects alongside regular Bard spells and bow shots.
Power-wise, it’s meant to be competitive with other unusual Extra Attack archery builds (e.g. Hexblade Warlocks, Kensei Monks, ranged Paladins), but posing no risk of outclassing them in personal damage output. This is still a full-casting Bard we’re talking about, and we don't want to be responsible for worsening the Martial-Caster problem. Fighters, Rangers, etc. are still meant to be the kings of archery here, so this subclass doesn't get free access to the Archery Fighting Style or spells like Hunter's Mark on its own. You're meant to be a great archer here, but not quite as top-shelf as the full martials without some Feat investments.
For balance, the Coralsong Minstrel been built and structured as the Valor Bard is. Because it is inherently less flexible than the Valor Bard (due to its features working only with ranged weaponry), there’s been some small boosts at levels and extra tidbits where Coralsong Minstrel felt like ‘just a worse Valor Bard with the melee functionality ripped out’. This is notable in the Level 6 Extra Attack, which borrows the Bladesinging Wizard's 'swap an attack for a cantrip' ability.
Arcane Archery for Bards: The Parting Gifts
Every Bard subclass offers the exciting opportunity to use Bardic Inspiration in a new way that isn't offered elsewhere. Taking some cues from both the Arcane Archer and the College of Creation's mechanics, these 'Parting Gifts' for the Coralsong Minstrel fill that role, empowering bow attacks while also emphasising the Bard's typical role as a battlefield controller and support. All of these cost one use of Bardic Inspiration and are usable once per turn, ensuring Bards can't simply Haste themselves and nova-smite something with 3x Fleeting Farewell shots at once.