College of Death Arts

The College of The Death Arts is a DND subclass that specializes in spreading the beauty of the dark and death. They have an affinity for necromancy and the shadows, with their powerful spellcasting and chants. Bards of this subclass gain access to chilling lamentations that can frighten foes and strengthen allies; when combined with necromancy, it can even cause foes to collapse in fear from their dreadful performance. Additionally, death song bards have access to healing magics that can help restore friends from death, returning them with a fraction of their former life. Drawing strength from the power of death and shadows, these bards possess a range of potent abilities designed to help them in combat. These bards can sing enchanting songs that cause enemies to become enfeebled and weak, giving them the upper hand in battle. They can also manipulate and control the undead and conjure ghouls and phantoms, allowing them to use the power of death to their advantage. Through their connection with death, these bards gain powerful abilities that make them proficient spellcasters as well as a formidable force on the battlefield. This college is shunned and banned to be taught in almost every region in the world due to their involvement with the undead. In this way, these bards are terrifying and risky, but useful allies.  

Unsettling Aura

When you join the College of Death Arts at 3rd level, you gain an unsettling aura that makes others wary of you.

-2 Charisma

Aura of Fear

 When you join the College of Death Arts,  you can channel your unsettling aura, causing those around you to become frightened. As an action, you can expend 3 bardic inspiration points to spread this aura around you and exude an aura of fear to a distance of 60 feet. For 1 minute or until you lose your concentration (as if you were casting a concentration spell), each hostile creature that starts its turn in this aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the aura ends. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw is immune to your aura for 24 hours.

Double Sided Words

You infuse your aura into your words and whisper them into your foes ear causing them immeasurable pain. 

You sing a melody that only one creature of your choice within range can hear, causing it to feel terrible pain. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 3d6 psychic damage. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage. A deafened creature automatically succeeds on the save.

Alternatively, you can cull your unsettling aura into a more calmer state and send it to your allies in a flurry of words and boost them, causing them to have advantage on Wisdom and Constitution checks until their next turn ends.

Servant of the Shadows

At this point in time you've picked on on how to manipulate the shadows into servants under your control. This corporeal form uses the Shadow Spirit stat block.

They can perform basic attack and actions. They can also wield weapons created from their own body. Additionally in dim light, they have the ability to become invisible where creatures must roll a Wisdom(Perception) check to detect its presence. In complete darkness they are naturally invisible but the perception check still applies. These shadows stay active until you disable this ability or if you or they get knocked to zero hitpoints which then will require you to take a long rest to use again. 

Bardic Ressurection

At the 6th level you have gained the ability to play a forbidden song the violates the the rules of life and raises the dead. As an action you can use an instrument you are proficient in and target two creatures that has been dead for less than a month and is at least 60 feet away from you. You can expend 3 bardic inspiration points to resurrect it as an undead for one week or until you release its control (purposely or reaching zero hit points.), after which its body crumbles to dust. These bardic inspiration points do not return after a long rest until the undead creature is no longer under your control after which you can't use again until you take a long rest.

Three Forbidden Performances

You finally reach the peak of the arts and master the Three Forbidden Melodies of The Arts. The forbidden melodies are a mix of song and dance that bring death, resurrection or destruction. However these are called forbidden for a reason...

You perform one of the three arts causing devastating effects. You can only use one every two long rests.  

Performance of Death

 The hardest performance, you dance and sing and use an instrument you are proficient in to perform in a beautiful display involving quick sudden movements. When you perform this, all creatures hostile to you and your party must roll for a Wisdom(Perception) check and if fails, take 5d6 psychic damage. However, you take 1d6 damage as well. If they pass the check you gain a disadvantage at dexterity checks if the creature is 10 feet or less away from you. This does not work on deafened or blinded creatures. 

Performance of Resurrection

You play an instrument you are proficient in and sing in a sorrow tone for an hour, during which the targeted creature (that hasn't been dead for  more than 2 days) will glow a bright white, turning darkness into dim light and dim light into bright light. During this time you are also at a disadvantage in Dexterity and Wisdom checks as you will need total concentration. If you lose concentration the spell ends and the body disintegrates, leaving nothing but dust. This does not work on any undead creatures or dead undead creatures.   

Performance of Destruction

You sing and dance in a way that involves high jumps. Any hostile creature in a 60 feet radius that can hear you is targeted by three shadow spikes and must roll for three dexterity checks and must take 3d6 damage for every fail. However you drops to exhaustion level one immediately after you finish the performance. Any creature that cannot hear or is deafened will not be affected by this spell.