College of the Spiral

Bards of the College of the Spiral have a special, psionic connection to the minds of others. Whether you studied to be able to do so, your magic was tainted by the aberrant presence of a great old one, or it’s the natural effect of your magic for whatever reason unknown to you, your magical abilities taint permanently the psyche of others, shattering its very foundation.

Your music shifts from a low drone to a deafening cacophony, its noise is maddening and brings others to lose their minds in the unending spiralling patterns of your magic. Some attribute the effects to a curse or stress, but you know better, as the psionic spirals and glass that crack sanity as if it were glass are yours to command.

Psionic Power

Beginning when you choose this order at 3rd level, you have trained to harbor a wellspring of psionic energy within yourself. This energy is represented by your Psionic Energy dice, which are each a d6. You have a number of these dice equal to twice your proficiency bonus, and they fuel various psionic powers you have, which are detailed below.

Some of your powers expend the Psionic Energy die they use, as specified in a power’s description, and you can’t use a power if it requires you to use a die when your dice are all expended. You regain all your expended Psionic Energy dice when you finish a long rest. In addition, as a bonus action, you can regain one expended Psionic Energy die, but you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

When you reach certain levels in this class, the size of your Psionic Energy dice increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12). The powers below use your Psionic Energy dice.

Lying Mirage. You can temporarily shatter a creature’s mind, making them see and hear something that isn’t there. As an action, you can roll a Psionic Energy die, and choose a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. They must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be infected by something that is not there. On a failed save, a creature sees the projection of an object, a creature, or some other visible phenomenon that is no larger than a 15-foot cube. This projection is both visual and auditory and it lasts for 10 minutes, for as long as you maintain concentration. The projection doesn’t cause any harm, but the creature treats it as if it’s real. The creature can use their action to attempt an Intelligence (Investigation) check to discern if it’s real or not, ending the effect on a successful save.

Spiral Cacophony. The maddening discordance of your magic can drive others to the brink of sanity. As a bonus action, you can force a creature within 60 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, expending a Bardic Inspiration die. On a failed save, the creature takes psychic damage equal to the number rolled + your Charisma modifier, taking half as much on a successful save. If a creature takes any psychic damage from this feature, you can expend two Psionic Energy die and roll a d4, causing the creature to be affected by temporary madness depending on the result, as detailed below:

D4	Effect
1	The creature uses its reaction to move up to half its speed in a direction you choose. On its next turn, its movement speed is reduced by 10 feet.
2	The creature can’t take reactions until the end of your next turn and, on its next turn, the creature doesn't move.
3	The creature uses its reaction to make a melee attack or cast a cantrip against a randomly determined creature within its reach. If there is no creature within its reach, the creature does nothing this turn.
4	On its next turn, the creature uses all its movement to move in a random direction. To determine the direction, roll a d8 and assign a direction to each die face.

Unbroken Mind

Also at 3rd level, you gain protection to the very forces you command. You gain immunity to the effects of madness and resistance to psychic damage.

Twisting Deceit

Starting at 6th level, you learn new ways to use your psionic mind breaking abilities, as you gain the following features:

Fractal Frenzy. You can shatter a creature’s self control in a maddening barrage of psionic magic. As an action, you can roll a Psionic Energy die and choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you, who must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, for a number of rounds equal to the result, the creature loses the ability to distinguish between friend and foe, and it chooses the targets for its attacks, spells, and abilities randomly from among the creatures it can see within range. It must also make an opportunity attack if any creature provokes one, and the creature can repeat this saving throw whenever it takes damage, ending the effect on itself on a success. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, or by expending a Psionic Energy die.

Reality Distortion. You can tamper with reality itself, make it a nonsensical maze for all but your unbroken self. As an action on your turn, choose a door, a hole or something that qualifies as an entrance, such as the end of a staircase, and roll two Psionic Energy dice. Choose a different door, hole or something that qualifies as an entrance. Both choices must be within 120 feet of you and you must be able to see them. For a number of rounds equal to the higher number rolled, whenever you enter the space of one of your choices with your movement, you continue your movement on the other one, folding reality nonsensically to your needs.

It is Lies

By the time you’ve reached 14th level, you can truly break someone’s sanity for good. You gain the following benefits:

Spiral Psionics. Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against your Fractal Frenzy or your Spiral Cacophony features, the creature takes additional psychic damage equal to your proficiency bonus and must succeed on an additional Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, roll on the indefinite madness table. The creature is affected by the effect.

Fractured Sanity. You can directly attack a creature’s mind and force its psyche to bear the full weight of your magic. As an action, choose a creature you can see within 30 feet of you: they must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes psychic damage equal to your Bard level + your Charisma modifier and is affected by one of the effects on the Short-Term Madness table and another one from the Long-Term Madness table. A creature takes the damage and suffers no further effects on a successful save. Once a creature fails their saving throw this way, you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest or unless you expend 4 of your Psionic Energy dice to use it again.