College of Wilds

The College of Wilds is comprised of bards who have dedicated their skills to protecting and advocating for nature's wonders. They learn their craft from lone wandering masters, in remote locations from orders of monastic wise-men, from organized colleges created by nature loving races, or from spirits of the wild such as powerful fey and elementals.

Bards of this college, often called "nature speakers", can differ greatly in their opinions on how to best serve nature and these differences have resulted in two main philosophies. Some members of the college, who refer to themselves as "wild apostles", remain in their monasteries or colleges and seek enlightenment by spending their days speaking with beings of nature and the elements. Others that have taken to the simpler title of "speakers" may visit or live within cities and expanses of modern civilization, using their charisma to advocate for respecting nature and slowing any encroachment on wild places.

Wild Speak

At 3rd level, you learn to speak, read, and write Sylvan and Primordial. Beasts and plants can understand your speech and you have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to interact with them, though you have no ability to understand them in return.

Additionally, whenever you cast a bard spell you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to gain a bonus to one of the following properties of your choice that the spell has: attack roll, damage roll, or healing roll. The bonus equals the number you roll on your the Bardic Inspiration die. The bonus can only apply to a single instance of damage or healing caused by the spell if the spell affects multiple targets.

You also are able to cast the affected spell as if it had only verbal components, ignoring somatic requirements as well as any material components that are not consumed or do not have a specified cost.

Nature's Music

Beginning at 3rd level, when your Spellcasting feature lets you learn or replace a bard cantrip or a bard spell of 1st level or higher, including when you acquire this feature at 3rd level, you can choose the new spell from the druid spell list or the bard spell list. You must otherwise obey all the restrictions for selecting the spell, and it becomes a bard spell for you.

Primal Awakening

At 6th level, you gain the ability to summon a bestial companion or imbue an existing friendly and willing beast with primal power.

As an action, you summon a fey or elemental spirit and cause it to take on the form of a beast of Huge size or smaller, or you touch a friendly and willing beast that is Huge or smaller. A summoned creature retains its fey or elemental type, while an existing beast changes its type to fey or elemental (your choice). Whether you summon a beast or touch an existing beast to become your companion, the beast companion must have a CR of 1 or less.

The companion gains an Intelligence score of 10 plus your Charisma modifier (minimum bonus of 0) if its Intelligence score is less than that amount. The companion also gains the ability to understand and speak one language of your choice that you know and adds your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) to its AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals the hit point number in its stat block or five times your level in this class, whichever is higher. Like any creature, it can spend Hit Dice during a short rest to regain hit points.

The companion will obey your commands as best as it can. In combat the it shares your initiative count, but it takes its turns immediately after yours. The only action the companion takes on its turn is the Dodge, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take one of the actions in its stat block or to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action.

You can only have one companion from this feature at one time. The effects end when the companion dies or whenever you use this feature again to touch a different existing beast or summon a new one; an existing beast that was affected by this feature returns to its normal statistics before they were modified by this feature whenever the effects end.

Wild Harmony

At 14th level, you can work in perfect harmony with the companion granted by your Primal Awakening feature.

Whenever you take the Attack or [Tooltip Not Found] action on your turns, your Primal Awakening companion may use its reaction to take the Attack or Help action. Alternatively, whenever your Primal Awakening companion takes the Attack on its turn, you can use your reaction to take the Attack or [Tooltip Not Found] action.