This Revised College of Whispers (CoW) has two goals: compatibility with the 2024 PHB, and to really lean into being a Bard rather than being a hybrid of Bard and Rogue like the version in XGtE.

This version focuses on being a sneaky spellcaster that enhances its spells with skills.

Abilities:

Vicious Whispers Vicious Mockery is about inflicting psychic pain with your words. That is 100% on point for the CoW theme. This feature fixes the vanilla version of VM by scaling it better as you level.

Words of Terror This replaces Psychic Blades from the XGtE version. It can apply to any psychic damage (like VM), so doesn’t require a weapon attack like Psychic Blades does. Scales with your Bardic Inspiration & Charisma modifier instead of like a kinda-sorta sneak attack.

Mantle of Whispers This adds four highly thematic spells to your list of prepared spells.

Staying invisible by whispering spell components works if you hide, but not if you use the Invisibility spell, by design. Rewards using your skills.

Spells that only have verbal components, like Vicious Mockery, can always be disguised. Let the in and out of combat shenanigans ensue. Just don’t get caught!

You can also make skill checks to disguise somatic and material component use. Disguising components is different from a Sorcerer’s Subtle Spell in that you still have to perform/have the components, but you can disguise them from others.

Improved Vicious Whispers Better debuffing with VM and, you get a version of quickened spell that burns Bardic Inspiration uses, but only for VM.

Shadow Lore Unchanged from XGtE.

Master Vicious Whispers Better debuffing & more damage for VM to keep up with high level play.

Level 3: Vicious Whispers

For you, Vicious Mockery has the following changes:

• Roll 1d8 to determine damage.

• This spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach certain levels in this class: 5th (2d8), 11th (3d8) and 17th (4d8).

• The number of attack rolls subject to disadvantage for an affected creature before the end of its next turn also increases by 1 at certain levels in this class: 5th (2), 11th (3), and 17th (4).

Level 3: Words of Terror

 

At 3rd level, you learn to break minds with insidious magic.

When you do Psychic damage to a creature you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to deal additional Psychic damage to that creature. Roll a number of your Bardic Inspiration dice equal to your Charisma modifier to determine the additional damage.

Level 6: Mantle of Whispers

At 6th level your mastery of whispers enhances and permits you to disguise your spellcasting.

The Message, Command, Suggestion and Tongues spells are added permanently to your list of prepared spells. If you already have any of these spells prepared, you may choose a different spell of the same level from the Bard list to add instead.

You can whisper the Verbal Components of spells. If you are Invisible, and no creatures other than your allies are within 30 feet of you, whispered Verbal Components do not end your Invisible condition.

You can choose to disguise the Verbal Components of a spell you cast. If you do, creatures who perceive them do not as a result perceive that you are casting the spell.

When you cast a spell, you can attempt to disguise its Somatic and/or Material Components. Make a Charisma (Performance) check for Somatic Components and/or a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check for Material Components. The DC of these checks is 6 + the spell’s level (0 for cantrips). Success means creatures who perceive the corresponding component do not as a result perceive that you are casting the spell.

If you critically fail one of these checks, which you can choose to do, creatures other than your allies who are within 60 feet of you and can see you become Hostile to you and you have disadvantage on Charisma checks directed at them.

Level 6: Improved Vicious Whispers

At 6th level your Vicious Mockery becomes even more ferocious.

You can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to cast Vicious Mockery as a Bonus Action.

Creatures who fail their save against Vicious Mockery subtract 1 from their Spell Save DC until the end of their next turn.

Level 14: Shadow Lore

 

At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark magic into your words and tap into a creature’s deepest fears.

As an action, you magically whisper a phrase that only one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. It automatically succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible mumbling and has no effect.

If the target fails its saving throw, it is charmed by you for the next 8 hours or until you or your allies attack or damage it. It interprets the whispers as a description of its most mortifying secret.

While you gain no knowledge of this secret, the target is convinced you know it. While charmed in this way, the creature obeys your commands for fear that you will reveal its secret. It won’t risk its life for you or fight for you, unless it was already inclined to do so. It grants you favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend.

When the effect ends, the creature has no understanding of why it held you in such fear.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Level 14: Master Vicious Whispers

At 14th level, your Vicious Mockery becomes agonizing. Roll d10s for damage when you cast it instead of d8s.

Creatures who fail their save against Vicious Mockery subtract 2 from their Spell Save DC until the end of their next turn.