Bards of the College of Clownery blend humor and horror in their performances, walking a fine line between laughter and terror. These bards hone their craft in forgotten theaters of war and abandoned circuses, learning to evoke both joy and fear in their audiences. While they appear as mere entertainers, they are skilled manipulators of emotion, using unsettling humor and nightmarish illusions to influence crowds or unsettle their enemies.

Many view the College of Clownery with suspicion, seeing its practitioners as unpredictable and potentially dangerous. As a result, these bards often conceal their true nature, presenting themselves as traditional entertainers or jesters. In reality, they use their unique talents to defile moral norms, confront uncomfortable truths, or drive their foes to the brink of madness.

Eldritch Makeup

Face of Terror: Your makeup takes on a twisted, horrifying visage. Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against one of your spells, it must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far as its speed allows away from you. You have disadvantage on all Charisma checks.

Grinning Madness: Your makeup features an unnervingly wide grin that stretches far beyond normal limits, exuding an aura of chaotic energy. When you roll a Charisma check, you can add your Bardic Inspiration die to the roll without expending it. You have disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws.

Pallor of the Grave: Your makeup gives you a deathly pallor, making you appear as a lifeless, ghastly figure. You have resistance to necrotic damage, as well as to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical sources. You have disadvantage on Constitution saving spells made to maintain concentration on spells.

This makeup remains on your face for 8 hours or until you take a short or long rest to reapply it.

Face of Terror

Your makeup takes on a twisted, horrifying visage. Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against one of your spells, it must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far as its speed allows away from you. You have disadvantage on all Charisma checks.

 

Grinning Madness

Your makeup features an unnervingly wide grin that stretches far beyond normal limits, exuding an aura of chaotic energy. When you roll a Charisma check, you can add your Bardic Inspiration die to the roll without expending it. You have disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws.

 

Pallor of the Grave

Your makeup gives you a deathly pallor, making you appear as a lifeless, ghastly figure. You have resistance to necrotic damage, as well as to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical sources. You have disadvantage on Constitution saving spells made to maintain concentration on spells.

 

Ballooncrafting

Balloon of Dread: When this balloon explodes, each hostile creature in its area must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or become frightened of you for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself with a success.

Balloon of Laughter: When this balloon explodes, each hostile creature in its area must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC or become incapacitated with laughter until the end of its next turn. 

Balloon of Sorrow: When this balloon explodes, each hostile creature in its area must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC or become sorrowful for 1 minute. While sorrowful, a creature has disadvantage on all attack rolls. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

After 1 minute, the balloon harmlessly pops and disappears.

Jumpscare

Starting at 6th level, whenever one of your balloons explodes while you are within 30 feet of it, you can use your reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of it. If you do so, hostile creatures within the radius of the explosion have disadvantage on their saving throw against your balloon.

Improved Ballooncrafting

Beginning at 14th level, the radius of the explosion of your balloons increases to 30 feet, and you can teleport using your Jumpscare feature from up to 60 feet away from one of your balloons.