College of Tales

Bards of the College of Tales tell stories with inherent power -be they legends, histories, fantasy or fictions- and bring their subjects to life. Using various implements of storytelling, these bards manifest embodiments of powerful fantasies to change the world around them. They inspire and demoralize others using the power within the stories they tell channelling the inherent power inside them.

When determining what stories you tell, consider what unites them. Do they all feature characters from a specific group, like archetypes from the tarokka deck, childhood imaginary friends, or characters in a particular storybook? Are your inspirations more general, incorporating historic champions, mythological heroes, or urban legends? Use the tales you tell to define your niche as a storytelling adventurer.

Implements of Storytelling

3rd-level College of Tales feature

You can employ tools that aid you with storytelling. You can use an object that can store stories, fantasies, legends or fiction as a spellcasting focus. To create a Implement of Storytelling, you must conduct a 1-hour ritual on an non-magical object that can physically contain tales. The object can be a book with stories you found or written yourself, a tarokka deck, a scroll covered with depictions of legends and myths or stone tables with inscriptions and glyphs or another item of your choosing.

Additionally, whenever you are holding your Implement of Storytelling and must roll to remember information that could be found in tales, legends or stories (at your DM's discretion), you can add your Bardic Inspiration die to the roll.

Magical Tales

3rd-level College of Tales feature

You let the stories you store loose. While you are holding your Implement of Storytelling, you can use a bonus action to expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and roll on the Magic Tales table using your Bardic Inspiration die to determine the tale you manifest. You retain the tale in mind until you bestow the tale’s effect or you finish a short or long rest.

You can use an action to choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you (this can be you) to be the target of the tale’s effect. Once you do so, you can’t bestow the tale’s effect again until you roll it again.

You can retain only one of these tales in mind at a time, and rolling on the Magical Tales table immediately ends the effect of the previous tale. If the tale requires a saving throw, the DC equals your spell save DC. 

(The Magical Tales names are only for reference and can always be reflavoured).

Magical Tales

Bardic Insp. Die	Tale You Manifest
1	Tale of the Clever Animal. For the next 10 minutes, the target gets the benefits of the Enhance Ability spell. You choose which of the spell effects takes effect on the target.
2	Tale of the Renowned Duelist. The target can immediately use its reaction to make one weapon attack. On a hit, the target takes additional force damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration die.
3	Tale of the Beloved Friends. For the next minute, the target and another creature of its choice it can see within 15 feet of it can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw it makes. Each creature can add the d4 no more than once per turn. The tales effect end if the target and the creature they chose are more than 30 feet away from each other at the end of their turn.
4	Tale of the Runaway. The target can immediately use its reaction to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. When the target teleports, it can choose a number of creatures it can see within 30 feet of it up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 0) to immediately use the same reaction.
5	Tale of the Avenger. For 1 minute, any creature that hits the target with a melee attack takes force damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your Charisma modifier.
6	Tale of the Traveler. The target gains temporary hit points equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die + your bard level. While it has these temporary hit points, the target’s walking speed increases by 10 feet and it gains a +1 bonus to its AC.
7	Tale of the Beguiler. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take psychic damage equal to two rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die, and be incapacitated until the end of its next turn.
8	Tale of the Phantom. The target becomes invisible for 10 minutes or until it hits a creature with an attack. If the target hits a creature with an attack during this invisibility, the creature it hits takes necrotic damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die and is frightened of the target until the end of the frightened creature’s next turn.
9	Tale of the Brute. Each creature of the target’s choice it can see within 30 feet of it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes thunder damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and is knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw takes half as much damage and isn’t knocked prone. Additionally, the target gets resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage until the start of its next turn.
10	Tale of the Dragon. The target spews fire, cold, acid, lighting or poison from its mouth. The area of effect is an 30-foot cone for fire, cold and poison and a 15-foot long line for lighting and acid. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw for fire, lighting and acid, and a Constitution saving throw for cold and poison; taking damage of the corresponding elemental type equal to four rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die + Charisma modifier on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. You choose the elemental when choosing the target of this tale.
11	Tale of the Angel. The target regains 30 hit points + your bard level, and you end one condition from the following list affecting the target: blinded, deafened, paralyzed, petrified, or poisoned.
12	Tale of the Mind-Bender. You evoke an incomprehensible fable from an otherworldly being. The target must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw or take psychic damage equal to three rolls of your Bardic Inspiration die and be stunned. Each time the target takes damage, it makes a new Intelligence saving throw. If the saving throw succeeds, the tale's effect ends.

Inspiring Narrative

6th-level College of Tales feature

You learn to tell your tales in way that is inspiring to others. Whenever you bestow a tale, you may choose one creature other than yourself within 60 feet of you who can see you. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die.

Master of Fiction

14th-level College of Tales feature

You now have the ability to nudge your Implements of Storytelling to manifest more specific tales. Whenever you roll on the Magical Tales table, you can roll the die twice and choose which of the two effects to bestow. If you roll the same number on both dice, you can ignore the number and choose any effect on the table.