College of Visual Design

Where some bard colleges focus on the telling of stories through song, the College of Visual Design focuses on communicating a clear and meaningful message using visual mediums. Whether through artwork, text, or a combination of the two, bards from this college excel at making their point known in an understandable and fresh way. Slaving over even the most minute detail of the curve of a letter, these bards often go underappreciated, but their effect is undeniable.

A well-known bard from this school is the legendary Tay'lore Baumgard, who exemplifies the creativity that can be displayed through this medium. Her expertise and innovation inspires others to follow in her footsteps, and it is likely that you have seen her work on display, even if you were unaware of her contributions. 

Bonus Proficiencies

3rd Level College of Visual Design feature

You gain proficiency in Painter's Supplies or Calligrapher's Tools, as well as the Sleight of Hand skill.

Calligrapher's Tools

You gain proficiency in Calligrapher's Tools.

Painter's Supplies

You gain proficiency in Painter's Supplies.

Daily Inspiration

3rd-Level College of Visual Design Feature

A new day brings new ideas, and you can't predict what will inspire you any given day.

When you finish a long rest, roll a d6, and consult the table below. Until the end of your next long rest, you gain the following benefits:

• You add your proficiency bonus to any skill checks that use the ability, even if you already have proficiency or half-proficiency in the skill, but not if you already have expertise in the skill.
• You gain proficiency in the saving throw associated with the ability, unless you already have that proficiency.

Also, as a reaction when an ally you can see (other than you) makes an ability check or saving throw using the ability, you can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to add a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die to their roll.

d6	Ability Score
1	Strength
2	Dexterity
3	Constitution
4	Intelligence
5	Wisdom
6	Charisma

*Please note the DnDBeyond homebrew builder isn't robust enough (or I'm not proficient enough in it) to add these bonuses to appear on your sheet manually. It will require a little bit of bookkeeping on your part. 

Clear and Effective Communication

3rd-Level College of Visual Design Feature

You are familiar with communicating messages clearly and effectively, whether spoken or visually. You learn the message cantrip if you don't already know it, and when you cast it, you can choose to send a simple visual image, rather than speaking a message.

At 6th level, you also learn the sending spell, which counts as a Bard spell for you, and doesn't count against the amount of spells you know. You can cast it once without expending a spell slot, regaining the ability to cast this spell in this way upon completing a long rest. You are also able to cast this spell with any spell slots you have.

Living Letter

6th-level College of Visual Design feature

You've become familiar with how the medium and design you choose can effect its audience, and choosing different forms can communicate various meanings. You've learned how to make your designs take physical form and come to life: As an action, you can summon a Living Letter, choosing one of the forms below when you summon it, adding the benefit to its stat block. It uses the Living letter stat block below, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB). You can choose how this letter appears, often appearing floating in the air as a singular letter, a short phrase, or a cascade of text. 

Living Letter Fonts:

Cosmic Sans: You use your knowledge of pleasing visual design to summon the exact opposite: a letter that denies all explanation of how it could be a good idea. Any creature of your choice that starts its turn within 15 ft. of the letter and can see it must make an INT saving throw against your spell save DC, taking psychic damage equal to your CHA modifier on a failure.

Serif. You command the letter to grow pointed, hooked endings, enhancing its melee attacks. The letter gains a bonus to its damage rolls equal to your CHA mod, as it strikes creatures with its sharp edges.

Signatour: You mesmerize your opponents with sweeping, artistic lines. Any creature of your choice that starts its turn within 5 ft. of the letter must make a WIS save throw against your spell save DC or be incapacitated, repeating this saving throw each time a target takes damage, or at the end of a target's turn and ending the incapacitated condition on a success.

Bebas Neue: Strong and clear, you summon a letter to bolster your allies with clear and confident communication. If an ally starts their turn within 5 ft. of the Living letter, they gain temporary hit points equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your CHA modifier.

The letter is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. It lives for 1 hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, or until you die. In combat, the letter shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the item can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command the letter as part of the same bonus action you use for Bardic Inspiration. Once you summon a Living Letter with this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use this feature again. If you use a 5th level slot or higher to summon the letter, it gains the Multiattack feature, and can attack twice when it takes the Attack action. You can only have one letter summoned by this feature at a time, if you use this action and already have a letter from this feature, the first one immediately vanishes.

 

 

Improved Daily Inspiration

14th-level College of Visual Design feature

You have become more in tune with harnessing your inspiration for the day. When you use the Daily Inspiration feature to roll on the table to determine which ability score will be inspired today, you can roll twice (re-rolling duplicate results), and choose either result.

Additionally, when you use the Daily Inspiration feature to add a Bardic Inspiration die to an ally's ability check or attack roll, you can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die.