Base Class: Bard
'Vermin' is usually a pejorative, used to refer to that which people find distasteful and yet survive in defiance of it. Members of this college, however, rejoice in this moniker. Are vermin not the things that skitter underneath the facade of well maintained houses? Are they not the things that live and continue living while polite society treats them with disgust? Are they not what can make even the fiercest warrior shriek like a small child? In all these things those of the College of Vermin celebrate their patron creatures as reflections of the world's true nature, and representative of the unfairly maligned, whose power lies in masses. Students of this College employ the techniques and bodies of those things living in the gutters and walls to further their own ends, whether that be to raze cities or protect them.
Level 3: Infested Inspiration
A swarm of vermlings has bonded itself to you and can assist you in battle. Until you die, the swarm remains in your space, crawling on you or flying and skittering around you within your space. You determine its appearance.
Whenever you grant a creature bardic inspiration you can choose to send one of your beasts after it. If you do so, a Vermling affixes themself to or flies within 5 feet of that creature and remains there for 10 minutes. As a part of this action you can command your Vermling to be stealthy. To spot your Vermling a creature must make a Wisdom (Perception) check, opposed by your spell save dc. If it fails, your Vermling remains undetected, if it succeeds, the creature can make a dexterity saving throw against your spell save dc on each of its turns, shaking off your Vermling on a success, whereupon it immediately returns to you.
You can communicate with your Vermlings telepathically. Additionally, as a Bonus Action, you can see through a Vermling's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses it has. As a bonus action, you can mentally command a Vermling if it is within 120 feet of you. (If you control multiple Vermlings, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one.) You decide what action the Vermling will take or you can issue a simple, general command, such as to fetch a key, stand watch, or stack some books. The Vermling can travel away from its host, but must return to it by the end of its turn. If you issue no commands, the Vermling does nothing other than defend itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the Vermling continues to follow that order until its task is complete.
Finally, when you cast a spell you can choose to cast it as though you were in the Vermling's space. The Vermling must be within 100 feet of you, and it must take a Reaction to cast the spell.
Evasion. If the Vermling is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the Vermling instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the save and only half damage if it fails. It can’t use this trait if it has the Incapacitated condition.
Chittering Bond. Add your proficiency bonus to any ability check or saving throw the Vermling makes.
Keen Hearing and Sight: The Vermling has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
Nibble: Melee attack roll: Bonus equals your charisma modifier, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 1d4 + your Charisma modifier piercing damage
Level 3: Vermin Spells
Your connection to Vermin allows you to cast more spells. You learn the Infestation cantrip at level 3rd level, additionally at 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the College of Vermin Spells table. Once you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn't appear on the Bard spell list, the spell is nonetheless a Bard spell for you.
| Bard Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3 | Animal Messenger, Speak With Animals, Animal Friend, Spider Climb |
| 5 | Conjure Animals, Gaseous Form |
| 7 | Giant Insect, Arcane Eye |
| 9 | Contagion, Insect Plague |
Level 6: Swarming Might
As a bonus action, you can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to send out Infected Inspiration to a hostile creature, and a Vermling along with it. You can use your reaction to subtract a roll of your bardic inspiration dice from one ability check, weapon attack roll, or saving throw a creature with Infected Inspiration makes.
Additionally, as an action, you can summon a Vermling Swarm. The Vermling Swarm is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. The Vermling Swarm shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and take its Reaction on its own, but the only action it takes is the Dodge action unless you take a Bonus Action to command it to take an action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the Vermling Swarm can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge. After a minute, as a bonus action on your turn, or when it reaches zero hitpoints, the Vermling Swarm disperses and returns to you.
After summoning the Swarm you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny insect. The swarm can't regain Hit Points or gain Temporary Hit Points.
Keen Smell and Sight. The swarm has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and sight.
Chittering bond. Add your proficiency bonus to any ability check or saving throw the Vermling Swarm makes.
Friends in low places. The Vermling swarm deals an extra 1d6 piercing damage for each adjacent space that contains a Vermling. This includes spaces it is occupying. You are considered to always have a Vermling on you.
Swarming Bites. Melee Attack Roll: Bonus equals your spell attack modifier, reach 5 ft. Hit: 2d6 + 3 plus your Charisma modifier Piercing damage.
Swarming Bites (Bloodied).Melee Attack Roll: Bonus equals your spell attack modifier, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1d6 + 3 plus your Charisma modifier Piercing damage.
Level 14: Lasting Infestation
Vermlings now stay attached to their host for 1 hour until recalled. Any creature host to a Vermling can have inspiration reapplied to them regardless of whether or not the target can see or hear you. As a bonus action you can command your Vermlings to give hostile creatures that they are attached to disadvantage on their next saving throw against a spell you cast. You can give this command a number of times equal to your charisma modifier, and you regain all expended uses after a long rest.
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