College of the Drowned

Bards of the College of the Drowned learn songs meant for more than living ears. Their sea shanties carry across the boundary between worlds, calling to the spirits of an undead crew bound to a haunted longship that sails the Ethereal Plane.

These bards act as captains, conductors, and voices for the dead beneath their command. With a change in rhythm, their crew can rally allies, harry enemies, labor aboard their spectral vessel, or answer with a broadside from beyond the veil. As their mastery grows, so too does the reach of their command, until ship and crew move between sea, land, and sky at the sound of their song.

Level 3: Sea Shanties

Your songs can call the spirits of your undead crew from the Ethereal Plane to aid you or harry your foes.

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to begin one of the shanties described below. The shanty lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are Incapacitated, you end it (no action required), or you begin another shanty.

When you begin a shanty, a number of spectral crew members equal to half the maximum roll of your Bardic Inspiration die appear and haunt creatures of your choice that you can see within 60 feet. You can assign any number of crew members to the same creature, but the effects of being Haunted don’t increase if more than one crew member haunts it.

When you begin the shanty and at the start of each of your turns while it lasts, roll your Bardic Inspiration die. On an odd result, your Haunting Modifier is 1. On an even result, it is 2. The modifier lasts until you roll again.

When determining your Haunting Modifier, you can reassign any number of your crew members to creatures you can see within 60 feet of you. A creature ceases to be Haunted while it is more than 60 feet from you.

The spectral crew members summoned by this feature aren’t creatures or objects. They don’t occupy spaces and can’t be targeted, damaged, or otherwise interacted with except as described by your subclass features.

When you begin a shanty, choose one of the following.

All Hands’ Hymn. Your crew rallies around those they haunt, lending their experience and unseen hands to every effort. A Haunted creature adds your Haunting Modifier to its attack rolls and ability checks.

Dead Man’s Dirge. Your crew descends upon those they haunt, distracting them with spectral hands, shouted threats, and the songs of the drowned. A Haunted creature subtracts your Haunting Modifier from its attack rolls and saving throws.

Level 3: Haunted Longship

Your undead crew serves aboard a haunted longship that normally resides in the Ethereal Plane, waiting for your song to call it forth.

If you perform one of your Sea Shanties continuously for its full duration, you can cause the longship to fully manifest at the end of the performance. At this level, the ship must manifest on a body of water large enough to accommodate it, in a space you can see within 60 feet of you. The ship remains until you dismiss it as an action or it reaches 0 hit points. When dismissed, it and its undead crew return to the Ethereal Plane. If it reaches 0 hit points, it and its undead crew are forced back into the Ethereal Plane, and you can’t fully manifest it again until you finish a Long Rest, at which point it regains all its hit points. In either case, creatures and objects that aren’t part of the ship or its crew remain behind.

While fully manifested, the longship functions as a normal longship and has a speed of 90 feet. Its undead crew becomes corporeal while aboard and can operate and maintain the vessel, move cargo, and perform other ordinary shipboard tasks. The crew can’t leave the ship and doesn’t participate in combat except as described by your subclass features.

Level 6: Rally the Crew

Your crew can now exert greater force across the veil. Whenever you determine your Haunting Modifier, you can rally your entire crew until you determine it again. While rallied, assigning a crew member to a creature doesn’t cause that creature to become Haunted. Instead, they produce an effect based on the shanty you are performing.

All Hands’ Hymn. A creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Haunting Modifier for each crew member assigned to it.

Dead Man’s Dirge. A creature takes cold or necrotic damage, your choice, equal to your Haunting Modifier for each crew member assigned to it.

Level 6: Landfall

Your Haunted Longship can now fully manifest on land as well as water. While on land, it hovers just above the ground and moves at its normal speed.

In addition, the crew of your fully manifested longship can remain corporeal while within 60 feet of the ship, allowing them to disembark and perform ordinary physical tasks. They can carry objects, operate simple mechanisms, make basic repairs, and perform similar labor, but they don’t participate in combat except as described by your subclass features.

Level 14: Spectral Bombardment

Your crew can briefly draw portions of the Haunted Longship across the veil to unleash a spectral bombardment. As an action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and choose a point you can see within 60 feet of you. The bombardment affects a 15-foot-radius sphere centered on that point. Choose one of the following effects:

Broadside. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature takes 6d12 cold or necrotic damage, your choice, on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Salvo. Choose up to five creatures in the area. Each chosen creature regains 6d6 hit points.

Level 14: Scourge of the Skies

Your Haunted Longship can now fully manifest in the air, where it has a flying speed of 90 feet.

Level 14: Standing Orders

Your undead crew can range farther from their vessel and act with greater independence. You can give the crew a course of activity, which they pursue to the best of their ability while within 300 feet of the ship.