College of Memetics

Whilst many craft Hymns and retell Legends, you craft ideas that spread like an infestation. Your power derives from the subtle art of influence, where the echo's in your mind becomes a symphony within the minds of others.

Create Meme

Beginning at 3rd level you acquire a keen gift at creating and spreading infectious ideas to others. As an action, you may expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to spread an idea to a creature within 60 feet of you that can understand you. They must make a Contested Wisdom (Insight) check against your Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) check added by a roll of your bardic inspiration die (they may choose to fail). On a failure they become infested with your Meme.

While a creature is infested with your meme, they have disadvantage on Wisdom (insight) checks made against you. Furthermore, you may use a Bonus action to compel a creature infected by your meme to spread to up to, two more creatures (three at 14th level) of your choice that it can see within 30 feet of it to make a Wisdom Saving Throw against your Spell Save Dc. On a failure they also become infected.

At the end of a rest the creature may make a Wisdom Saving Throw against your Spell Save DC at advantage to remove this effect. A Remove Curse spell cast on the creature also removes the effect or you can choose to end it yourself (no action required).

The maximum number of infected creatures you can maintain at once is equal to twice your charisma modifier.

Call to Action

3rd level bard feature
When your ideas have been spread you know exactly how to manipulate others to do your bidding. At the end of a long rest choose two Enchantment spells that you know that is 5th level or lower and can only target one creature (this also cannot be Raulothim's Psychic Lance).

When you cast one of these spells and target a creature infected by your meme you may also have the spell target all other creatures infected by your meme within 60 feet of the original target. Once you do so, all creatures are no longer infected by your meme. 

Furthermore, while under the effects of the spell, each time it takes damage, the target remakes the initial saving throw of the spell ending the effect on that creature on a success.

This feature can be used a number of times equal to half your charisma modifier (rounded up).

Simple Ideas

Starting at 6th level, you learn how to express and spread your infectious ideals through simpler means of communication. Whenever you use the "Create Meme" Feature, as long as the creature can see your chosen method of communication (at the Dungeon Master's discretion), the creature can still become infected even if it does not understand any languages you speak. Furthermore, creatures infected by your meme always understand what you say.

Illusionary Manipulation

6th level bard feature
  Your infectious ideas have begun taking stronger roots in your listener's mind causing them to grow anxious and hyper focused on their own thoughts. When a creature is affected by a spell you cast after using the feature "Call to Action", as a reaction you can expend a bardic inspiration die and invade a semblance of their mind. Creatures under the effects of the spell casted with "Call to Action" begin seeing illusions of you taking the place of other creatures around them, expanding upon your infectious ideas (goading them on, insulting them for their doubts, telling them of events you claim are yet to come, show them flashbacks about their deepest trauma, etc.). You control how these illusions speak and act.

  The creature must make a Intelligence saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failure, they take 3d6 psychic damage and for the next minute they begin to view every creature that they can see as if it was you unable to distinguish between them. If they are to target a creature that they can see with a attack, spell, or ability they must do so at random for every creature within their range. At the start of each of their turns they take psychic damage equal to your charisma modifier. At the end of each of their turns they can make this saving throw again ending it on a success.

Existential Crisis

Starting at 14th level your techniques in influencing others has reached its pinnacle allowing your infectious ideas to spread faster and sometimes even cause others to question their own purpose. As an action, you can expand upon your meme. Creatures infected by your meme must make a Intelligence saving throw at disadvantage. On a failed save they take 4d10 psychic damage and suffer from a mental breakdown, for the next minute, they can no longer concentrate on spells they cast, they gain disadvantage on Wisdom and Intelligence saving throws, and their attacks are made at disadvantage. At the end of each of their turns they can repeat this saving throw ending the effect on a success. This feature can only be used once per long rest.