College of the Painters

The College of the Painter is a comfortable home for bards who have a lack of interest or no knowledge in the playing on instrument, instead having chosen to weave their performances and abilities through their painting and artwork.

Bards who are of this college and generally thought to be a lower form of bard due to their rejection of the other colleges and methods that their fellow bards employ. They are more antisocial and are more ragged and rough in terms of their appearances, their clothes, skin and hair generally stained with their constant use of paints and inks. It is told and rumored that through practice and determination, these bards can actually bring their artwork to life to serve them as familiars and followers.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of the Painter at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with Painter's Supplies and Calligrapher's Supplies. You also gain proficiency in the performance skill.

You may use your Painter's Supplies as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

Living Artwork

Also at 3rd level, you have gained the ability to channel your magic into a piece of artwork you have created. As a Bonus Action you can with blinding fast speed, paint a creature with a CR equal to your bard level divided by 3 rounded down that you have seen in your adventurers. The creature created by this feature cannot cast any spells they may have. You can create a number of living artworks equal to your proficiency bonus, uses of this feature reset on a long rest.

On your next turn that creature appears anywhere within 20ft of you and is under your control for 1 minute or until dismissed, killed, or until you've created a new living artwork. Its creature type becomes construct, and it becomes immune to the charmed and poisoned condition, if it was not already. After the duration the creature is reduced into a puddle of paint. It takes its turn immediately after you in initiative.

Painted Mantle

At 6th level, you can paint a thick layer of paint on a willing creature that you can touch with your Painter's Supplies as a Bonus Action. Upon doing this, the creature you've painted on gets a +2 bonus to its AC for 1 minute. Alternatively, you may recreate a small or tiny non-magical item you've seen before that lasts for 1 minute, after which the item flakes into dust. Regardless of the option chosen, you may use this ability once per short rest.

Faux Appearance

Also at 6th level, you can paint features on yourself and change your appearance. Using your Painter's Supplies you can now cast the alter self spell as many times as your charisma modifier per long rest.

Self Portrait

Painting in thin air and on the last stroke it is created. Only the person creating the painting can see the creation until it is done, then everyone can see

At 14th level, you add the simulacrum spell to your spell list, it counts as a bard spell, but is not counted against the number of spells you know. You can cast it once per long rest without material components and without expending a spell slot, the casting time for the becomes 1 hour instead of 12 hours when you don't use a spell slot to cast it.