Long before the bardic colleges as they are known today, there was only the Stage — a liminal realm between dream and waking, a place said to exist where imagination thins the boundary of reality. According to the oldest stories, a lone storyteller known only as The First Actor wandered this borderland. He was a mortal playwright who sought the perfect performance — a show so flawless it could mesmerize gods and mortals alike. His devotion drew the attention of an inscrutable entity cloaked in gold: 

THE KING IN YELLOW

The King offered him inspiration, not as a gift, but as a revelation. In a vision, He bestowed a single artifact: The Masque of the Unspeakable scene.

When the First Actor donned the mask, he vanished from the physical world and reappeared on a vast, dimly lit stage, surrounded by impossible curtains and echoes of future audiences. It was here that he wrote the forbidden play The King in Yellow, a performance said to fracture minds, open new paths of perception, and awaken the Yellow Sign within those who watched. From his disciples — actors, playwrights, dancers, jesters — the College of the Gilded Masque was born.

Every student crafts a mask during initiation.

Painted gold or ochre. Always asymmetrical. Never depicts a neutral expression. It represents the student’s “truest self” — not who they are, but a potential version of them. It whispers secrets when worn too long. Glowing faintly under moonlight in moments of raw emotion. To the Gilded Masque, a face is a lie. A mask is honest.

Level 3: Masque of Many Faces

• You may cast Disguise Self at will without expending a spell slot.

• When making Charisma (Performance or Deception) checks, treat a roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

• You learn the Vicious Mockery cantrip (if you already know it, learn another bard cantrip). When cast while wearing your masque, it deals psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier in addition to its normal damage.

Maddening Performance

As an action, you expend a use of Bardic Inspiration and choose a number of creatures who can see or hear you equal to your Charisma modifier.

They must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become Shaken until the end of your next turn:

• They have disadvantage on the next attack roll or saving throw they make.

• If they fail the save by 5 or more, they also suffer 1d6 psychic damage + your Inspiration Die.

Twisted Identity

You gain the following:

• You can’t be magically compelled to tell the truth, reveal your identity, or have your form or thoughts read unless you choose to allow it.

• When a creature targets you with an attack, you may use your reaction to create an illusory double. The attacker has disadvantage on the attack roll.

• You may use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.

Carcosan Revelation

Creatures of your choice within 30 ft. must make a Wisdom save.

On a failed save:

• Their speed becomes 0.

• They take 4d8 psychic damage.

• They begin to mutter fragments of the play and are Incapacitated for 1 minute.

Repeat the save at the end of each of their turns.
Usable once per long rest.