College of Hard Knocks

Some bards don't make it to a "traditional college", some make their own path. Whether through tragedy, choice, indecisiveness, or some other factor, bards who subscribe to the College of Hard Knocks tend to learn their trade through experience. Their skills have helped them make their own way in life, they have survived and made a living on their own. These bards are very Charisma focused but they tend to be seen as common or lower class. These drifters use their art to bring joy to themselves and others, earn money, and acquire basic needs. They know how to get by and how to fly under the radar. These bards have street-smarts galore, but not a lot of traditional education.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Hard Knocks at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with survival, medicine, and persuasion.

Granted Spells

You can now use Enhance Ability, Healing Word, and Magic Stone.

Getting By

You have learned the basics of healing during your wanderings. When performing Wisdom (Medicine or Survival) checks, a roll of 9 or lower counts as a 10.

Home Medic

When rolling Medicine checks, any number 9 or below counts as a 10.

Survivalist

When rolling Survival checks, any number 9 or below counts as a 10.

Redo Realist

You have carved your own path, and along the way you've learned that a redo can be extremely helpful (and even life-saving). You now can roll with advantage on Saving Throw twice per Long Rest.

At Higher Levels: At level 10 you can roll with advantage three times per Long Rest, and four times at level 12.

Picky Player

Pick a 14th level feature from any of the other Bard colleges.

Battle Magic

At 14th level, you have mastered the art of weaving spellcasting and weapon use into a single harmonious act. When you use your action to cast a bard spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

Creative Crescendo

When you use your Performance of Creation feature, you can create more than one item at once. The number of items equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of two items). If you create an item that would exceed that number, you choose which of the previously created items disappears. Only one of these items can be of the maximum size you can create; the rest must be Small or Tiny.

You are no longer limited by gp value when creating items with Performance of Creation.

Infectious Inspiration

When you successfully inspire someone, the power of your eloquence can now spread to someone else. When a creature within 60 feet of you adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to its ability check, attack roll, or saving throw and the roll succeeds, you can use your reaction to encourage a different creature (other than yourself) that can hear you within 60 feet of you, giving it a Bardic Inspiration die without expending any of your Bardic Inspiration uses.

You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Master’s Flourish

Starting at 14th level, whenever you are in combat and have hit your opponent at least once, you can roll a d6 and add it to your damage.

Mystical Connection

You now have the ability to roll on the Spirit Tales Table. Whenever you roll on the Spirit 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.

Peerless Skill

Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your ability check. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeed or fail.

Shadow Lore

At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark magic into your words and tap into a creature’s deepest fears.

As an action, you magically whisper a phrase that only one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible mumbling and has no effect.

On a failed saving throw, the target is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack it, damage it, or force it to make a saving throw. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret. You gain no knowledge of this secret, but the target is convinced you know it.

The charmed creature obeys your commands for fear that you will reveal its secret. It won’t risk its life for you or fight for you, unless it was already inclined to do so. It grants you favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend.

When the effect ends, the creature has no understanding of why it held you in such fear.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Unbreakable Majesty

At 14th level, your appearance permanently gains an otherworldly aspect that makes you look more lovely and fierce.

In addition, as a bonus action, you can assume a magically majestic presence for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. For the duration, whenever any creature tries to attack you for the first time on a turn, the attacker must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it can’t attack you on this turn, and it must choose a new target for its attack or the attack is wasted. On a successful save, it can attack you on this turn, but it has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against your spells on your next turn.

Once you assume this majestic presence, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.