College of the Crossroads

♪ ♪ "The Devil went down to Georgia,
He was looking for a soul to steal;
He was in a bind, 'cause he was way behind,
So he was willing to make a deal;
When he came across this young man,
Sawing on a fiddle, and playing it hot;
And the Devil jumped up on a hickory stump, said,
"Boy, let me tell you what . . ." ♪ ♪

Charlie Daniels
The Devil Went Down to Georgia

All bards possess some degree of natural talent for their chosen profession.  However, natural talent alone is rarely sufficient.  To properly harness the power of their artform takes years — even decades — of dedicated practice and study, to which end the Bardic Colleges exist.

But every so often, an individual arises.  They have no formal training, and are usually incredibly young, making it unlikely that they possess the patience and focus to practice or study long hours on end.  And yet, despite these deficiencies, they perform as well as, or even outperform, their well-studied and hard-working peers.

A large portion of these bards are, indeed, true prodigies, who have simply been born with an uncanny talent.  Others, however, come by their apparent talents by much more costly and nefarious means.

Their stories are always the same.  Details change here and there, but in essence, the tale goes something like this:

It starts with a down-on-their-luck artist.  They might be someone who harbors dreams of fame and fortune, or of producing the most beautiful works in the world, or even changing the world through the power of their art.  However, after repeated failure, they come to the realization that they lack the inspiration, focus, or talent to make their dream a reality.  Despondent and desperate, they find themselves wandering a crossroads by night.

Sometimes, they know the legend of what lurks near places where the roads cross, and seek them out, hoping the legends to be true.  Others merely stumble upon the right place at the right time... or wrong place at the wrong time, depending on your point of view.

There, in the dead of night, where two roads meet, they cross paths with... something.  Sometimes it is a devil sometimes, a powerful fey.  Other times, it is something else entirely.  Whatever the nature of the otherworldly entity, it makes the struggling artist a bargain: the power to make their dreams, no matter how big, come true.

In exchange, the entity asks a dire price.  Usually, the creature demands the artist's immortal soul in exchange for their gift, though on rare occasions some other but equally grim price is set.  Should the artist accept, they almost instantly find themselves in possession of all the artistic and magical skill of a true (and fully trained) bard.

Though incredibly similar to warlocks, these bards differ in one key way.  When a warlock makes a pact with an otherworldly entity, whether willingly or not, it is essentially a business contract: a framework for an ongoing relationship of give and take, supply and demand.  But when a bard strikes sch a bargain, the transaction is more like a sale.  The otherworldly entity provides the bard with all the potential they will need up front in exchange for their soul, to be collected at a later date at the entity's leisure.  Bards who enter these bargains enjoy some of the eldritch powers wielded by warlocks, but to a much lesser degree.  Instead of acting as a source of the bard's powers, the pact is merely a catalyst, facilitating and augmenting the bard's natural talents in a way they were previously unable.

College of the Crossroad Features

Otherworldly Patron

When you join the College of the Crossroads at 3rd level, you strike a bargain with an otherworldly being. Choose an Otherworldly Patron from the Warlock class. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, and 14th level.

At 3rd level, you gain the Otherworldly Patron Feature available to warlocks at 1st level.

In addition, the spells listed on your Otherworldly Patron's Expanded Spell List are added to the Bard spell list for you.

The Devil's Due

When you join the College of the Crossroads at 3rd level, your soul is forfeit — the property of whatever otherworldly being you struck your bargain with — and they are determined to collect what is theirs.

Your soul is marked.  On the one hand, its status as promised property  makes it much more difficult to part from you by normal means.  On the other hand, if it ever does depart from you, it's unlikely even the most drastic measures can return it to you.

You have advantage on all death saving throws.  However, if you die, your soul is instantly whisked away by the creature you sold it to.  Not even a wish spell can restore your soul, but the spell can reveal the identity and location of the creature that holds it.  While your soul is in your patron's possession, you can't be resurrected by any means.

Ethereal Performance

Starting at 6th level, you can harness the uncanny talent you received from your patron to play music that is nothing short of otherworldly.

As an action, you can expend 1 use of you Bardic Inspiration to start a performance that can be either mesmerizing or terrifying.  In combat, the performance lasts for a number of rounds equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier.  If no initiative has been rolled, the performance lasts a number of minutes rather than rounds. 

The performance ends early if you are incapacitated or silenced, or if you attack or cast a spell.  You can also voluntarily end it (no action required). 

Each creature of your choice that begins its turn within 60 feet of you who can hear you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your bard spell save DC. The creatures that fail their saving throws are all charmed or frightened by you (your choice) until the performance ends.

Otherworldly Patron Feature (6th level)

When you reach 6th level, you gain the Otherworldly Patron Feature available to warlocks at 6th level.

Otherworldly Patron Feature (10th level)

When you reach 14th level, you gain the Otherworldly Patron Feature available to warlocks at 10th level.