College of Death

The College of Death is the home of bards who mastered their craft in halls of the dead. Tutored by fellow Death Bards, undead teachers, and even infernal knights who agreed to teach for the sake of preserving the order and structure of mortals’ descent into Hell, these bards learn to use their magic to act as observers and protectors of death, guiding the dying to their resting place.

The bards of this college are typically regarded with both fear and disdain. Their macabre appearance and mannerisms act as an unspoken promise of the inevitable, unsettling all who look upon them. As a result, these bards often live on the outskirts of society, stepping in only to watch over the dying in their final moments. They are primarily tasked with performing musical accompaniment to funeral rites, especially those of the wealthy. Villainous bards of this college can dominate a town using the undead at their command to do their bidding. Heroic bards of this college instead use their power to give closure and peace of mind to grieving widows and widowers, or to aid investigative work by retrieving information from the recently deceased.

Requiem from the Grave

When you join the College of Death at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with Bagpipes, the instrument of the dead. You also learn the Infernal language.

At 3rd level, you’ve learned to call upon and listen to the wisdom of the deceased. Using the target’s corpse or an object emotionally tied to the target as a tether, you play a tune on an instrument you are proficient in, calling out to the soul of a dead creature. The soul is then brought forth for 1 minute. The soul has a visible, though incorporeal form, that cannot touch anything in the material plane. As long as you and the soul share a known language, you may converse freely with the soul.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

The number of minutes the soul lasts increases to 2 minutes at 6th level, 4 minutes at 10th level, 6 minutes at 14th level, and 10 minutes at 18th level.

Song of Undying

At 6th level, you have gained the ability to craft ballads that can reach even the ears of the dead. As an action, you can target a dead creature within 60 feet of you. You can expend N uses of bardic inspiration to bring the targeted creature back to life as an undead for N days, after which its body disintegrates. These bardic inspiration points do not return after a long rest until the undead creature is no longer under your control.

The undead creature’s intelligence, wisdom, and charisma are reduced to 4. Other stats remain unchanged. The creature regards you favorably. The creature’s type is undead as well as all of its original type(s) before death. When the creature is reduced to 0 hit points, it disintegrates.

You may use a bonus action to sing a 2 word command to an undead under your control within 60 feet of you, which it follows to the best of its ability.

The sum of the challenge ratings of all creatures under your command must be less than or equal to half your bard level, rounded down.

You may keep a number of undead creatures under your command equal to your Charisma modifier. You may dismiss an undead from your command at will; it’s body immediately disintegrates.

Touch of Death, Breath of Life

At 14th Level, you’ve begun to blur the lines between life and death. 

If you perform, using an instrument you are proficient in, for at least 30 seconds, you can consume a large portion of your life energy to push or pull a creature through the veil of death. At the end of your performance, choose a creature within 60 feet of you who could hear your performance. Cast either Power Word: Kill or Revivify on that target, without material components or expending a spell slot, but take 3 Point of Exhaustion in the process, regardless of the success of the spell.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.