The Circle of the Gloom Edras

The Circle of the Gloom Edras is an association of bards who seek to preserve the ancient lore and traditions of the ancient tragic poets and in particular the divine tragedy known as the Gloom Edras (Glwm Edrys in the ancient tongue), legendarily written by the great poet Al Asik in honour of Niobe, the Weeping Goddess.

Bards who have mastered the divine art of grand tragedy have the ability to bring the boisterous revels of the rowdiest taverns to absolute silence or to bring a tear to the eye of even the most hard-hearted of tyrants. Those who hear these bards may be overcome with sadness, melancholy or despair by the tragic beauty of their songs, poems and stories, whether it be about ill-fated young lovers or a father cursed by a promise to a god who has to sacrifice his only child. The Gloom Edras is the pinnacle of tragic poems and mortal bards rarely recite it in full as it has the power to render mortal beings completely and utterly insane with despair and grief. Only the great poet Al Asik and certain divine beings are believed to know all four verses of the poem.

These bards are not all doom and gloom, however, and they are skilled in all the other traditions of song and speech, such as romance and even comedy, albeit they cleave to the darker side of all the bardic arts. 

Aura of the Weeping Goddess

Becoming a bard of the Circle of the Gloom Edras at 3rd level you can as a bonus action wreathe yourself in an aura of dark moaning, swirling cloud. The aura extends 5 feet from you in every direction, but not through total cover. It lasts until you're incapacitated or you dismiss it as a bonus action.

Any creature other than you that starts its turn in the the aura must make a Wisdom save versus your spell save DC. If they fail they become stricken and confused with sudden and overwhelming grief and must roll a 1d6 using the table below to determine their behaviour for that turn.

• 1-2 The creature uses all its movement to move away from you in a random direction. Take a d8, designate the various directions with a number (1-8) and roll the dice.
• 3-4 The creature can't take any actions or move on that turn.
• 5-6 The creature makes all attack rolls with disadvantage and casting spells that require concentration will automatically fail.

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

 At 14th level this feature recharges after either a short or long rest.

Gloom

As part of the rites of becoming a bard of The Circle at 3rd level you have learnt the first of the mystic and secret verses of the Gloom Edras and are able to recite it aloud without sending yourself into a fit of despair and grief. There are, reputedly, four existing verses of this epic poem regarding the divine tragedy of Niobe, the Weeping Goddess, but only its creator Al Asik, and certain immortal beings, are believed to be able to recite all four verses without going mad from utter despair. The ability to recite the verses is governed by the use of Gloom. At 3rd level you start with 1 Gloom. At 6th level you gain 2 Gloom and at 14th level you gain 3 Gloom. The use of Gloom recharges after a Long rest.

The First Verse of the Gloom Edras

At third level you master the First Verse (costs 1 Gloom); Use an action to recite the First Verse. You select a number of creatures that are able to understand spoken language within 30' range and up to a maximum number based on your Charisma bonus (minimum 1 creature). They must make Wisdom saving throws against your spell save DC. If they fail they become blinded by grief for 1 minute. They can make another Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their subsequent turns for the duration of the effect. If they make their save they cannot be affected by the reciting of the First Verse again for 1 minute.

The Second Verse of the Gloom Edras

At sixth level you master the Second Verse of the Gloom Edras (costs 2 Gloom); Use an action to recite the Second Verse. You select a number of creatures that are able to understand spoken language within 30' range and up to a maximum number based on your Charisma bonus (minimum 1 creature). They must make Wisdom saving throws against your spell save DC. If they fail they become incapacitated with despair and their speed is halved for 1 minute. They can make another Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their subsequent turns for the duration of the effect.

The Third Verse of the Gloom Edras

At 14th level you master the Third Verse; Use an action to recite the Third Verse (costs 3 Gloom). You select a number of creatures that are able to understand spoken language within 30' range and up to a maximum number based on your Charisma bonus (minimum 1 creature). They must make Wisdom saving throws against your spell save DC. If they fail they become unconscious for 1 minute. They can make another Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their subsequent turns for the duration of the effect. 

The Endless River

At 6th level, whenever you use your Performance skill proficiency to effect your audience with depressive emotions such as sadness, anguish, melancholy, pessimism, hopelessness or despair, roll a d4 and add the number to your skill check.

The Broken Heart

At 14th level you get access to the 4th level necromantic spell Blight. This spell counts as a bard spell for you and is included in the Spells Known column of the Bard table.