My campaign is going to be featuring lots of sci-fi/cyberpunk elements, so I decided to make a few additional character options to fit the theme. Here’s the subclass I made for Bard. All names, descriptions, and features are not final: this is a rough draft. Can I please have some feedback on it? This is pretty much my first homebrew creation I’m going to actually use, so I was going off of the Bard subclasses in the core books for balance reference.
College of Electro
Bards of the College of Electro focus on disrupting their opponents and getting people moving.
Catchy Song
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to force creatures to dance to a song. As an action, you can play an annoyingly catchy song. Choose a creature you can see that can hear you. The creature acts as if you had cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance on it. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Move to the Beat
Starting at 3rd level, whenever you move on your turn, until the start of your next turn, each of your allies that moves the exact same number of feet on their turn as you did gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your Bard level.
Drop the Bass
Starting at 6th level, you can unleash a deafening soundwave of bass. You can now cast Thunderwave without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. This doesn’t count against your total Bard spells known. You regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Fingers Flying
At 14th level, you can stow or draw your arcane focus without using your item interaction for your turn.
In addition, you may cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or a bonus action without that spell counting against your total actions, bonus actions, or spells used on your turn. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Drop the Bass is one that seems a little dull to me, since it’s 1/3 of the subclass’ features, and it just lets you cast a spell that there’s a good chance you know by now anyway. So far, though, I haven’t been able to think of anything better.
I'm not sure about the catchy song ability basically being a 6th level spell available for a level 3 character although it is a pretty bad spell for the level so it isn't that bad.
To make Drop the Bass seem more interesting or more worth using, maybe if you cast it in this way creatures that take damage from it are knocked prone or creatures that save are pushed 10ft, creatures that fail are pushed 10ft.
I'm not sure about the catchy song ability basically being a 6th level spell available for a level 3 character although it is a pretty bad spell for the level so it isn't that bad.
Yeah, that was kind of my thought process when making Catchy Song. I might make it be limited to recharging at a long rest at first, then upgrade that to a short or long rest at 6th or 14th level.
To make Drop the Bass seem more interesting or more worth using, maybe if you cast it in this way creatures that take damage from it are knocked prone or creatures that save are pushed 10ft, creatures that fail are pushed 10ft.
I could blend these two ideas: all creatures affected are pushed 10 ft., and ones that fail are also knocked prone? Or would that be way too overpowered as a bardic inspiration ability at 6th level? (I’ve never actually DM’d a game up to level 6 yet, so this is unknown territory for me.)
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My campaign is going to be featuring lots of sci-fi/cyberpunk elements, so I decided to make a few additional character options to fit the theme. Here’s the subclass I made for Bard. All names, descriptions, and features are not final: this is a rough draft. Can I please have some feedback on it? This is pretty much my first homebrew creation I’m going to actually use, so I was going off of the Bard subclasses in the core books for balance reference.
College of Electro
Bards of the College of Electro focus on disrupting their opponents and getting people moving.
Catchy Song
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to force creatures to dance to a song. As an action, you can play an annoyingly catchy song. Choose a creature you can see that can hear you. The creature acts as if you had cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance on it. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Move to the Beat
Starting at 3rd level, whenever you move on your turn, until the start of your next turn, each of your allies that moves the exact same number of feet on their turn as you did gains a number of temporary hit points equal to your Bard level.
Drop the Bass
Starting at 6th level, you can unleash a deafening soundwave of bass. You can now cast Thunderwave without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. This doesn’t count against your total Bard spells known. You regain all expended uses at the end of a long rest.
Fingers Flying
At 14th level, you can stow or draw your arcane focus without using your item interaction for your turn.
In addition, you may cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or a bonus action without that spell counting against your total actions, bonus actions, or spells used on your turn. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Drop the Bass is one that seems a little dull to me, since it’s 1/3 of the subclass’ features, and it just lets you cast a spell that there’s a good chance you know by now anyway. So far, though, I haven’t been able to think of anything better.
I'm not sure about the catchy song ability basically being a 6th level spell available for a level 3 character although it is a pretty bad spell for the level so it isn't that bad.
To make Drop the Bass seem more interesting or more worth using, maybe if you cast it in this way creatures that take damage from it are knocked prone or creatures that save are pushed 10ft, creatures that fail are pushed 10ft.
Overall it's a really cool concept
Yeah, that was kind of my thought process when making Catchy Song. I might make it be limited to recharging at a long rest at first, then upgrade that to a short or long rest at 6th or 14th level.
I could blend these two ideas: all creatures affected are pushed 10 ft., and ones that fail are also knocked prone? Or would that be way too overpowered as a bardic inspiration ability at 6th level? (I’ve never actually DM’d a game up to level 6 yet, so this is unknown territory for me.)