College of Portraiture

Bards of the College of Portraiture are artisans first and foremost. Through your intensive study of anatomy and artistry, you’ve begun to unlock the secrets of instilling your soul into your creations. The creation of a Gray Portrait is a perversion of this technique, linking one’s whole essence and intrinsic talent to a single piece of art. Artisans like you view that heretical practice as shortsighted and limited. True artistic mastery lies in the ability to imbue each masterpiece with a fragment of one’s soul, binding each creation to the artist in an elegant and harmonious union. Your skill and talent in the manipulation of your life essence allows you to create and animate works of art in your own image. Narcissism is common among the practitioners of this College, though it can hardly be faulted. If everyone could portray themselves so beautifully, surely they would.

Master Artisan

When you join the College of Portraiture at 3rd level, you gain the ability to create incredible works of art at a manic pace. You gain proficiency in any tools required to paint or create statuary, and you can add your proficiency bonus twice to all checks made with these tools.

You no longer require sleep, but must still perform light activity, such as reading, painting, or keeping watch, to gain the benefits of a rest.

During a rest, you can summon the materials and tools to create Small or Medium portraits or statues, and you can complete one such work each hour. You can also expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration per rest to grant yourself an artistic bonus. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the result to your ability check to determine the quality of the your work. To finish a piece made with this feature, you must imbue it with a fragment of your soul, making it permanent and impossible to dispel. You can sell or give away imbued art, but you gain 1 level of exhaustion when someone else takes ownership of a piece.

Living Exhibition

Also at 3rd level, you gain the ability to breathe life and purpose into artwork made in your image.

When you create a painting or statue that is a portrait of yourself and is equal to or smaller than your size, you can imbue it with a fragment of your soul and bring it to life by expending a spell slot of 1st level or higher.

The masterpiece becomes an animate portrait-soldier. Each portrait-soldier has hit points equal to twice your bard level + three times the level of the expended spell slot, has an AC equal to 12 + the level of the expended spell slot, and is equipped with a nonmagical version of a simple or martial weapon in which you have proficiency. If the weapon requires ammunition, the soldier appears with 30 pieces of ammunition in a quiver.

Portrait-soldiers share your statistics and act on your initiative, but automatically fail Wisdom and Intelligence ability checks and saving throws. Portrait-soldiers can’t speak, operate magical items, or cast spells and lack sufficient autonomy to attack without your magical direction. A creature that is charmed or frightened by you is also charmed or frightened by all of your portrait-soldiers.

When you take the Attack action, you can expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to infuse a malevolent spark into your portrait-soldiers. A number of portrait-soldiers up to the level of the expended spell slot can take the Attack action until the end of your turn.

You can animate a number of portrait-soldiers equal to Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Every 24 hours, you must expend a spell slot for each in order to maintain the soul link that animates them, adjusting their hit point maximum and AC if necessary, or they crumble to dust.

Legion's Defense

Starting at 6th level, your control over your portrait-soldiers improves. Whenever a creature would provoke an opportunity attack from a portrait-soldier, you can use your reaction to enable the soldier to make the attack.

Also, whenever two or more of your portrait-soldiers make a saving throw against the same effect and one succeeds, the others also succeed automatically.

Personal Unity

Starting at 14th level, the soul link with your portrait-soldiers becomes more efficient, enabling you to unlock the latent power within them. You can now animate a number of portrait-soldiers equal to twice your Charisma modifier (minimum 2).

Whenever you cast a spell, you can use one of your portrait-soldiers as the point of origin or as a vessel to deliver the spell. Whenever a portrait-solider would take damage, you can use your reaction to channel your life energy into it. The target gains temporary hit points equal to the number of hit points you sacrifice (up to your bard level).

Whenever you would take damage, you can use your reaction to sacrifice the life of one of your portrait-soldiers before the damage is applied. You gain temporary hit points equal to the portrait-soldier’s remaining hit points, and the portrait-soldier is destroyed.