College of Menacing

Your innate magic is not just boon gifted to you by your ancestors but also a mark of achievement earned long ago. Your ancestors had not been born with a gift of magic, instead the talent was acquired through the consumption of others. Feasting on their scarlet nectar, draining them of every last drop, and incorporating what coursed through their veins into their very DNA. The transfusion forever altering a group of your kind. When you weave spells to life, you weave together sigils and signs that had once been the property of others. A line of thieves, murderers, a degenerate. Your destiny is clear. . . .





. . .or is it?

Being a Tiefling grants you additional abilities in this subclass, as a Hirudinea you are granted even more. If you are Hirudinea and take this subclass, multiclassing into, or out, permanently halves your max HP and restricts you to only the Tiefling benefits. This effect cannot be negated.

Level 3: Menacing Spells

When you reach a Bard level specified in the Menacing Spells table, you thereafter always have the listed spells prepared which don't count against your spells known.

Menacing Spells

Bard Level	Spells
3	Crimson Lash, Somnolence, Elevated Sight
5	Sanguine Poppet, Bergelmir's Provocation
7	Remove Curse, Divination
9	Dream

Sinister Whispers

You can now give your Bardic Inspiration to creatures hostile towards you. When you do, it's not referred to as a Bardic Inspiration but, a Menacing Brand. This brand appears on the creature anywhere that is visible to you and your allies. This brand lasts for a minute, or until the creature takes an action to perform an Arcana check to remove where the DC equals your spellsave DC. A creature branded this way deducts a roll of your bardic from their Charisma saving throw. When this happens, the brand disappears. At level 6 in this subclass, the Menacing Brand can now affect a creature's Wisdom saving throw. At level 14, you are able to roll a 1d6 for a chance to have the Menacing Brand reappear after it's initial use. On a 5 or 6, it reappears on the creature, anything under and it disappears after its first use.


Tiefling or Hirudinea
You can expend a 5th level spell slot, or higher, as a Magic Action to place the Menacing Brand as well as a Bardic Inspiration, without needing to expend a use of your bardic, so long as the ally who receives the bardic is within 5-feet of the creature who is receiving the brand.

Hirudinea
If you expend 3 Hit Die, you can have the Menacing Brand apply towards your Toxic Appendages ability. The additional damage only applies towards the first attack and prevents the brand from effecting a creature's saving throw and causes the brand to disappear after.

Level 6: Infectious Murmurs

You are now able to brand two creatures, instead of one, when giving out a Menacing Brand, so long as the second creature is within 30-feet of the first creature and is not deaf. In addition to this, you can attack any creature that has a Menacing Brand twice, instead of once, when making a weapons attack or unarmed attack. This does not cause the brand to disappear when doing so.

Tiefling or Hirudinea
Hostile creatures that are given a Menacing Brand from you can also potentially receive the Frightened condition as well. When you place your brand on a creature you force them to make a wisdom saving throw against your spellsave DC. On a fail, the creature becomes frightened of you for the next minute, even if the brand were to disappear. A creature can repeat the save at the end of their turn to undo the effects earlier. If the creature still has the Menacing Brand on them, they remake the save at disadvantage. Should the brand disappear, they remake the save at advantage.

Hirudinea
By expending 3 Hit Die, when the second creature becomes infected with the Menacing Brand they can also receive the Poisoned condition and take poisoned damage at the start of their turn. This poisoned damage equals a roll of your bardic die. The poisoned condition persists, for 1 minute, even after the brand disappears but the damage ends when the brand disappears. When the brand is placed, the creature must also make a Constitution saving throw in addition to the Wisdom save. The DC is also equal to your spellsave and it functions similar to the wording of the Frightened save.

Level 6: Concealed Hand

As a Magic Action, you can perform an Ethereal Swipe. When you perform this action, you have the chance to steal a creature's spell so long as the spell is of level 6 or less. Succeeding on this attempt prevents the creature from casting the spell and temporarily adds it to your list of prepared spells. This spell immediately disappears after it's casted, or after a short rest. This action immediately fails if the creature has no spells, or if you don't have the slots to hold the spell (An example being if you expended all of your 3rd level slots and tried to take a 3rd level spell, the attempt would automatically fail). When you perform an Ethereal Swipe you make a Sleight of Hand check contested by a creature's Constitution saving throw. Should you succeed the contest, the DM randomly chooses which spell you take based off the spells available to you. You are able to perform this action an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus with the expended charges resetting after a long rest.

Tiefling or Hirudinea
When you succeed on the contest, you also deal psychic damage to the creature. This damage equals the level of the spell stolen in d8s.

Hirudinea
When you succeed on the contest, you can choose to expend 3 Hit Die to acquire Temporary Hit Points equal to the spell level times your Constitution Modifier, in addition to the spell you swipe.

Level 14: Dread Speaker

When you give your Bardic to an allied creature they can choose to expend it immediately as a reaction to trigger an Eldritch Manifestation. When a creature becomes manifested their max Hit Points are reduced by twice the max total roll of your Bardic die, which cannot be negated by any feature. In exchange, a creature under this condition receives the following effects for 1 minute.

- All forms of Healing on this creature are halved regardless of anything they might have to negate such a feature.
- They take poison damage for a roll of your bardic at the start of their turn while the effect remains active. This damage cannot be negated.
- Weapon attacks they make deal an additional d4 necrotic damage.
- Any spells they cast that deal damage immediately after, deal additional damage equal to their proficiency bonus
- They make saves to avoid the Incapacitated condition at disadvantage.

Should a creature under your Eldritch Manifestation condition ever become incapacitated, the effects end early and they obtain two levels of Exhaustion. The effects of Eldritch Manifestation also end once a creature has accumulated 50 points of poison damage from the effects.

Tiefling or Hirudinea
You are considered bonded to the creatures you've forced to have manifestations. While the Eldritch Manifestation is active on a creature, you gain the following effects.

- Your AC increases by half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, it at least one creature is manifested.
- You regain X number of hit points at the start of your turn so long as you have 1 Hit Point and have not taken Radiant, or Fire damage. X equals the amount of creatures under the effects of Eldritch Manifestation.
- Should the effects ever end early on the creature you helped manifest, you take two rolls of your bardic die in necrotic damage that can't be ignored.

Hirudinea
Your bond extends further with these creatures you've manifested. You receive these additional effects.

- As a reaction you are able to swap places with a creature that is manifested, so long as they are willing and within 60-feet of you, if you are targeted by a spell that only targets you.
- Creatures make saves against your Crimson Sampler ability at disadvantage regardless of whether you are grappling them or not