College of Metal

You are one of the few and proud inducted into the prestigious College of Metal, founded long ago by the legendary musician known as Sabbath, The Black.

 

A strange breed of Bards, the members of this college are known for their love of loud music and raucous, near-violent parties which often involve an odd form of dance-combat; a style copied by their more enthusiastic fans.

 

They wade ecstatically into war, being able to strike hard against their foes or empower their allies with their music. The flames of the Abyss in their tongues, the horns of Valhalla in their songs, the spirit of demons and the undead in their hearts; they are like roiling thunder crashing through the battlefield with booming voice and cacophonous performance.

Heavy and Metal

When you adopt this college at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium and heavy armor, as well as martial weapons. Additionally, you learn the Shocking Grasp cantrip. This does not count against your number of total cantrips known.

Power Shredding

Also at 3rd level, you become proficient in a new type of instrument of your design, which can be powered by the lightning you generate: the Heavy Instrument.

You may transform a simple or martial weapon into a Heavy Instrument. This takes a total of 4 hours, and 20gp worth of materials. The time required to craft this item may be spent during a long rest. The Heavy Instrument is considered to be both the weapon it was created from, and a string instrument of your choice.

As a bonus action, you may cast Shocking Grasp on your Heavy Instrument, leaving it powered up for 1 minute.

While in this state, the sound it produces becomes that of an electric guitar, and lightning constantly crackles around it. You may add your Charisma modifier to the first damage roll of any bard spells you cast through your powered up instrument, as long as the spell doesn't have a range of touch. You may power up your heavy instrument a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all uses on a long rest.

Scream of the Banshee

At 3rd level, when a creature you can see within 30 feet of you succeeds on an attack roll, ability check or saving throw, you may use your reaction and expend one of your Bardic Inspiration feature to let out a high-pitched scream of pure metal power, interrupting the process of what it was doing.

The target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 8 + proficiency + your Charisma modifier). On a failed save, the triggering creature must reroll the d20 and use the lower roll, and it becomes frightened of you until the start of your next turn.

If the original d20 roll has advantage or disadvantage, the creature rolls the new d20 after advantage or disadvantage has been applied to the original roll.

Additionally, all creatures within 15 feet of you that can hear take thunder damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die.

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

Thunder Rolls

At 6th level, you masterfully integrate your chords into your combat:

 

You learn the Thunderclap cantrip, as well as the Thunderwave and Shatter spells. These do not count against your number of spells or cantrips known.

While your Heavy Instrument is powered up, when you make an attack with it on your turn, you may cast a bard cantrip as a bonus action.

While wielding your Heavy Instrument, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Symphony of Destruction

Starting at 14h level, you can unleash a performance the likes of which few have experienced.

 

As an action on your turn, you and all allies within 100 feet of you that can hear gain a Bardic Inspiration die. These dice are not taken from your Bardic Inspiration pool. Additionally, all hostile creatures within 50 feet of you that can hear must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 8d6 thunder damage and being stunned until the start of your next turn on a failed save. On a successful one, they take half as much damage and are not stunned.

 

Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.