Bard
Base Class: Bard
Bards of the College of Satire are called jesters. They use lowbrow stories, daring acrobatics, and cutting jokes to entertain audiences, ranging from the crowds in a rundown dockside pub to the nobles of a king’s royal court. Where other bards seek forgotten lore or tales of epic bravery, jesters ferret out embarrassing and hilarious stories of all kinds. Whether telling the ribald tale of a brawny stable hand’s affair with an aged duchess or a mocking satire of a paladin of Helm’s cloying innocence, a jester never lets taste, social decorum, or shame get in the way of a good laugh.

While jesters are masters of puns, jokes, and verbal barbs, they are much more than just comic relief. They are expected to mock and provoke, taking advantage of how even the most powerful folk are expected by tradition to endure a jester’s barbs with good humor. This expectation allows a jester to serve as a critic or a voice of reason when others are too intimidated to speak the truth.

For the duchess with a taste for strapping young laborers, such tales might serve to warn the targets of her affections and force her to change her ways for lack of willing partners. Striking back at the jester only ruins her already damaged reputation, and might provide the best evidence that the jester’s satires have hit their mark. But if she is kind and generous to her conquests, the jokes and stories cast her as a kind of folk hero, while drawing even more potential partners to her.

Jesters are loyal to only one cause: the pursuit and propagation of the truth. They use their comedy and innocuous appearance to break down social barriers and expose corruption, incompetence, and stupidity among the rich and powerful. Whether revealing a con artist’s treachery or exposing a baron’s plans for war as driven by greed and bloodlust, a jester serves as the conscience of a realm.

Jesters adventure to safeguard the common folk and to undermine the plans of the rich, powerful, and arrogant. Their magic bolsters allies’ spirits while casting doubt into foes’ minds. Among bards, jesters are unmatched acrobats, and their ability to tumble, dodge, leap, and climb makes them slippery opponents in battle.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Satire at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with your choice between Deception, Insight or Intimidation, and your choice between Intimidation, Performance or Persuasion. Additionally, choose a skill or tool.

Tumbling Fool

At 3rd level, you master a variety of acrobatic techniques that allow you to evade danger.
Once during a combat encounter, as a bonus action, you can tumble. When you tumble, you gain the following benefits for the rest of your turn:

  • You gain a climbing speed equal to your current speed.
  • You take half damage from falling.
  • You gain the benefit of either the Dash or Disengage action

Fool's Luck

At reaching 6th level, Upon making any failed ability check, saving throw, or attack roll, you may spend one use of bardic inspiration to roll, and add the bardic inspiration die to total the new roll. You must keep that result. 

Wallflower

At 14th level, your ability to notice when people are spinning falsehoods, especially to themselves, gains a supernatural edge. You can use these untruths to twist your own string of fate.

You gain expertise in insight, doubling the proficiency. If you don't already, gain proficiency with Perception. Additionally, your passive perception gets +5 and you gain the Actor feat.

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