College of Departure (2014 Ruleset)

Bards of the College of Departure use their music to guide audiences through difficult times while wrestling with emotions of loss and lamentation. These bards understand that no one is immune to experiencing strife, regardless of who, where, or how it may be, and bring it upon themselves to bear that burden for whomever they serve, whether it’s the aristocratic, the common folk, or the outcast.

Members of this college often find themselves using their music to help the departed find peace wherever the afterlife takes them, believing that once passed on from the material, it is better to move on. Their philosophy of procession leads them to despise undeath and resurrection, believing it is better to leave the dead at peace, and for the living to accept their loss and live life to the fullest. This respect for life and death sees no bounds, with many members setting aside differences in politic, race, and relations to honour the departed.

The nature of this college deters many aspiring students from studying its ways given how emotionally taxing it can be, and even then members of this college often don’t enjoy the work they do, but understand their role in the world as having utmost importance. Some eventually use their empathy to serve as therapists, mediators, and psychologists.

Level 3: Enduring Inspiration

When you join the college of departure at 3rd level, your inspiration guides others to learn from their loss and turn it into future success.

Whenever a creature uses one of your bardic inspiration die on an ability check, saving throw, or attack roll and still fails, that creature gains advantage on the next ability check, saving throw, or attack roll it makes within the next 10 minutes.

Level 3: Song of Departure

Starting at 3rd level, you can charge your music with a calming, bittersweet magic.

If you play an instrument for at least 1 minute, at the end of your performance, you can choose yourself plus a number of willing creatures equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one) that are within 30 feet of you and listened to the entire performance to be protected from undeath. For the next 8 hours, each creature affected by this feature is immune to any spell or effect that would cause it to become undead, short of a Wish spell. A living creature must finish a long rest before it is able to benefit from this feature again.

Alternatively, at the end of your performance, you can instead cause any number of corpses of your choice within range to be under the effects of the Funeral Rite effect of the Ceremony spell indefinitely. While affected, the corpse is also immune to any spell that would revive it short of a Wish spell, as its soul is unwilling to return to its body. If an affected corpse had character levels in life, its soul is free to choose whether it can be revived or not and is not immune to revival spells.

After using this feature, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.

You can take an action to use this feature rather than at least a minute when you reach 6th level in this class. Additionally, this feature’s range increases to 60 feet at level 6, 120 feet at level 14, and 240 feet at level 20.

Bear the Burden

At 6th level, you learn to use your magic to carry the pain of others for them.

When a creature you can see other than you is within 60ft. of you and fails a saving throw against a spell or some other magical effect, you can use your reaction to expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to protect that creature from harm, bearing the pain for yourself. The creature you protect succeeds on the saving throw, and if it would normally take half damage from succeeding the saving throw, it takes no damage instead. You are then targeted by the spell or magical effect, even if you would normally be out of range, making a new saving throw for yourself.

Comfort the Fallen

By 14th level, you learn to fully embrace the pain of others, and can share your knowledge through your music.

Living creatures affected by your Song of Departure also have any effects causing the Charmed or Frightened conditions suppressed, but not dispelled, for the duration. Furthermore, you learn the Calm Emotions spell, which doesn’t count against the number of Bard spells you know, and can cast it a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier without expending a spell slot, regaining all uses when you complete a long rest. Casting the spell in this way doesn’t require concentration.

Finally, you can add your proficiency bonus to any saving throw you make caused by your Bear the Burden feature if you don’t already add your proficiency bonus to the save.