College of Lights

Light and color are two of the most important aspects of visual art and performance, and bards of the College of Lights realize this more than anyone. These bards magically manipulate the light and color around them to create magnificent displays. Light bards can be found in nearly any setting. They could be working backstage as a lighting tech, or they could be front and center, dramatically changing the colors around them with every stomp and each dramatic revelation. These bards can be guides, lighting a path for weary travelers, or adventurers, using their magic to illuminate the secrets of ancient civilizations or evil cults.

Arcane Phosphorescence

Starting when you join the College of Lights at 3rd level, you can twist light and color around you to alter the perceptions of others, or intensify light to mildly damage your foes. Within 30 feet of you, you can use any one small visual effect of prestidigitation or minor illusion (no action required), or multiple medium effects as a bonus action. Additionally, when you damage a creature, you can deal 1D4 extra radiant damage.

Whirl of Color

Also at 3rd level, you can manipulate light around you to shine brighter and be more vivid and distracting. As a bonus action, you can choose a point within 60 feet of you and create a 30 foot radius sphere of bright light and color centered on that point. Alternatively, you can choose to center the sphere on yourself, and if you do, it moves with you. The sphere also sheds dim light for 15 feet outside of itself. Within the sphere, hostile creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws, and friendly creatures have advantage on attack rolls against them. If a creature leaves an area of darkness (such as with the Darkness spell) into the sphere, or if a blinded creature has the blindness removed while within the sphere, that creature must make a constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or take 1D4 radiant damage.

Illuminating Inspiration

At 6th level, you can manipulate light in more complex patterns that can both harm and inspire. When a friendly creature attempts to damage or heal another creature while inside your Whirl of Color, they gain a bonus to the damage or healing equal a roll of your bardic inspiration die (the bonus damage is radiant). Additionally, when a creature rolls one of your bardic inspiration die for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, they may choose to forgo the roll to instead take the average result, rounded up.

Light of Life

At 14th level, your photomancy has reached new heights of mastery, allowing you to amplify or repress certain magics. When a friendly creature is healing another friendly creature within your Whirl of Color, instead of rolling for the healing, use the highest possible result on all dice. While within your Whirl of Color, friendly creatures gain resistance to radiant, necrotic, and psychic damage, and hostile creatures gain vulnerability to radiant damage (vulnerabilities and resistances to the same damage types cancel each other out).