College of Starshock Virtuosos🎸

The College of the Starlit Stage transforms performance into spectacle and battle into a living concert. These bards are not content to linger in the background, plucking quiet melodies—they take center stage, commanding attention with thunderous chords and blinding arcs of lightning.

Drawing power from the energy of the crowd and the rhythm of combat, Starlit performers build momentum with every strike and spell, channeling it into explosive displays of arcane force. Their weapons become instruments, their movements a choreographed storm, and their magic a roaring anthem that echoes across the battlefield.

To witness a bard of the Starlit Stage in full performance is to see war and music become one: a dazzling, deafening spectacle where every note strikes like thunder and every finale demands an encore.

Level 3: Star Power

You generate and store Star Power as you fight, building momentum through combat performance until you unleash it in a surge of electrified power.

You gain 1 Star Power point (up to a maximum equal to your proficiency bonus) when you hit a creature with a weapon attack or when you cast a bard spell of 1st level or higher. You can gain Star Power this way only once per turn.

You can expend Star Power as a bonus action to enter a heightened state of performance. You must expend at least 3 points to do so, and all stored Star Power is consumed when you activate this feature. The effect lasts for 1 minute.

While Star Power is active, your weapon attacks deal additional lightning damage. The damage die is determined by the number of Star Power points spent when activating this feature:

• 3 points: +1d4 lightning damage
• 4 points: +1d6 lightning damage
• 5 points: +1d8 lightning damage
• 6+ points: +1d10 lightning damage

In addition, while Star Power is active:

• You gain a +1 bonus to AC
• If you spent 5 or more points, the bonus to AC increases to +2

Once you activate Star Power, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

When you use this feature, you gain 1 Star Power point when you use your Power Chord feature (this does not bypass the once-per-turn limit for gaining Star Power).

Level 6: Encore

When a creature within 5 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to perform an Encore, drawing power from the crowd’s rising energy.

When you do so, choose one of the following effects:

Killer Riff. Make one weapon attack against a different creature within your reach. On a hit, the attack deals additional lightning damage equal to your Charisma modifier.

Crowd Surge. You gain temporary hit points equal to your Bard level plus your Charisma modifier.

Resonance Burst. Each creature of your choice within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be pushed 10 feet away from you.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

If you have Star Power active when you use Encore, you gain advantage on the attack roll made as part of Killer Riff.

Level 14: Overdrive

At 14th level, your Star Power reaches its ultimate form. When you activate Star Power, you can choose to enter Overdrive. Once you do so, you cannot enter Overdrive again until you finish a long rest.

While in Overdrive, your Star Power is amplified:

• Your Star Power damage die increases by one step (d4 → d6 → d8 → d10 → d12).
• At the start of each of your turns, each creature of your choice within 10 feet of you takes lightning damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
• You gain resistance to lightning and thunder damage.
• You cannot be moved against your will unless you choose to be.

In addition, your Encore feature evolves while in Overdrive:

• When you use Encore, you can choose two effects instead of one.

Level 3: Power Chord

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to unleash a Power Chord, infusing your strike with musical magic. Choose one of the following effects when you use this feature:

Riff of Ruin. Your attack deals additional thunder damage equal to your Bardic Inspiration die.

Riff of Defiance. You gain a bonus to your Armor Class equal to your Bardic Inspiration die until the start of your next turn.

Riff of Control. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be pushed 10 feet away or knocked prone (your choice).

When you use a Power Chord, you gain 1 Star Power point (this does not count against your once-per-turn limit).

Battle Stage Training

Your performances are not confined to music alone—they are acts of physical expression and combat. You gain proficiency with medium armor and martial weapons. You can also use a weapon as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells, allowing your instrument and blade to become one.