College of Sorrows

Bards of the College of Sorrows have studied anguish and grief. They are bearers of bad news, the musicians who play a dirge when someone’s laid to rest, artists that accompany those in mourning with a sorrowful tune. Alternatively, you may be a follower of a god of death or the grave, such as the Raven Queen, and you preach your deities tenets to those that have suffered a loss. 

Whatever the case may be, bards of this college are unwanted through no fault of their own, as they’re seen as an omen for tragedy, and death lays heavy on their shoulders.

Pathos in Death

Beginning when you first pick this college at 3rd level, your study and contact with death have made you specially adept at dealing with it and its consequences. You have advantage on Charisma(Performance) checks made to honour someone’s passing or at funerals.

In addition, whenever a creature is reduced to O hit points within 30 feet of you, you can focus your artistry in them and regain an expended Bardic Inspiration die (no action required). You can only do so once per turn.

Rebuke of the Mourning

Also at 3rd level, you’ve learnt to harness death and the looming threat of it to your benefit. Whenever a creature is within 60 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, or it fails an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, you can use your reaction and expend a Bardic Inspiration die. 

Choose up to a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus within 30 feet of the original creature, this may include the original creature; to make on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the next attack roll or ability check the creature makes that succeeds is reduced by an amount equal to the result.

If you activated this feature through a creature being reduced to 0 hit points, the saving throw is made with disadvantage and the chosen creatures take psychic damage equal to your proficiency bonus regardless of the result on the saving throw.

Haunting Dirge

Starting at 6th level, you may entwine your success with dreadful music only meant for funerals. Whenever you or an allied creature within 60 feet of you succeeds on an ability check against a creature or an attack roll, you can use your reaction and infuse this victory with sorrow. 

The hit creature or the creature affected by the ability check, as long as it has an Intelligence score of 3 or higher, must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they become frightened by themselves, scared of their own mortality in seeing their foes succeed, for up to 1 minute. At the end of their turn, they may make the saving throw again.

Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Rules Glossary. The frightened condition’s penalties apply as long as the source of the fear is in line of sight. With this ability, the source of the fear is themselves, which means that they’re always affected by the drawbacks.

Melody of the Doomed

By the time you’ve reached 14th level, the magic of grief causes your foes to be physically closer to it. 

Creatures affected by your Haunting Dirge or Rebuke of the Mourning features can’t regain hit points, and at the beginning of their turn, they take necrotic 3d4 necrotic damage. In addition, if they’re reduced to 0 hit points, hostile creatures within 10 feet of them must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they suffer the penalties of either your Haunting Dirge or Rebuke of the Mourning features, whichever the original creature was affected by, as if they had been affected by it directly.