College of Silence (2024)

     The College of Silence is the most unusual and esoteric of the Bard Colleges. Its member don't practice playing instruments or singing songs; instead, their member seek to master the arts of convincing their audiences that whatever acts that they mime out are in fact real. Such are the skills of their performances that they can imbue their acts with arcane power to briefly bring them to life.

    Members of this college are unlike other colleges in that they have no greater goal to their actions. While individual members might have personal quests to undertake, as a whole, the college seeks only to improve their art. Its students typically wander the land in the signature black and white motley of their school, performing for anyone who will watch. Some will join adventuring parties to seek to perfect their art for the ultimate audience, their enemies.

Bonus Expertise

When you join the College of Silence at 3rd level, you gain expertise in two of these five skills: Arcana, Deception, Intimidation, Performance, or Slight of Hand

Arcana

Gain expertise in Arcana

Deception

Gain expertise in Deception

Intimidation

Gain expertise in Intimidation

Performance

Gain expertise in Performance

Slight of Hand

Gain expertise in Slight of Hand

Silent Performance

As a member of the College of Whispers, your performances have no need of songs or music. In fact, you perform in complete silence.

     At 3rd level you gain the ability to cast your spells without using the verbal components. You still need to use the somatic and material components required by your spells, but your performance is sufficient to convey your message. Any characters that you use Bardic Inspiration on, must be able to see you as you perform.

     You cannot use this ability while you are bound, paralyzed, or prone.

Unseen Shapes

At 3rd level you gain the ability to channel arcane energies into your performances to create phantasmal, invisible shapes. You can only use one of these options per turn.

-Imaginary Stick: You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to mime that you are holding a martial melee weapon to cast the spell Spiritual Weapon with the following modifications:

• The weapon is invisible
• The weapon only lasts until the beginning of your next turn
• You must be holding the weapon to utilize it

To cast this spell at higher levels, you must use and additional use of Bardic Inspiration per extra spell level.

-Invisible Box: You mime that you are stuck inside a five foot box and expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cast the spell Shield.

-Pretend Lasso: You pretend to swing an invisible lasso around your head and then fling it at a target in order to cast the spell Hold Person. In order to cast this spell at higher levels you must spend an additional use of Bardic Inspiration per extra spell level.

Absolute Quiet

At 6th level you can project the silence of you performance onto your surroundings to ensure that your pursuit of the craft is unsullied by any sound. You can cast the spell Silence, centered upon yourself.

Irritatingly Lucky

At 6th level, your mastery of miming is such that, despite how irritating people find your performance, they can never seem to quite get rid of you. You gain the Lucky feat, but with a number of Luck dice equal to your uses of Bardic inspiration. You must use a single use of Bardic Inspiration to spend a luck point.

Convincing Performance

At 14th level, you have mastered the art of imbuing arcane energy into your performances. You can now create larger and more elaborate constructs as such. You can only use one of the option or one of Unseen Shapes' options per turn.

• -Imperceptible Prison: You run up to a target creature, and make a touch attack (CHAR). Upon success, you mime that the target is trapped inside a box, then spend two uses of Bardic Inspiration to cast the spell Forcecage
• -Transparent Wall: You mime the act of stacking brick into a wall, and spend two uses of Bardic Inspiration to cast the spell Wall of Force. This action uses both your movement and your action for the turn. You do not need to move along the entire length of the wall to cast the spell, but one panel must be in a square adjacent to your current position.