OotD - College of Epic Poetry

Bards who study the College of Epic Poetry are devoted to the creation of a singular masterpiece in the tradition of the epic poets. All the greatest stories in history were originally captured and recreated for audiences as masterful works of poetry. These stories were passed down for centuries in an oral tradition, and eventually, they were recorded on papyrus scrolls and stored in great libraries.

Those who wish to record their own epic poems spend their early years studying philosophy, aesthetics, and music, so that they have the necessary language to capture the splendor of great deeds. However, an epic poet cannot spend all their life in the Academy. Eventually, they must seek out great conflicts, for great conflicts produce great heroes, and great heroes produce great deeds.

As such, you have prepared yourself for a life of turmoil, chasing after warriors who brave impossible odds. You have learned to transcribe events faithfully, even in the chaos of battle. You know that if your quill slips at a pivotal moment, the beauty of that instant may be forever lost to history.

Level 3: Epic Verses

Dramatic moments inspire you to compose and declaim your epic poem, adding to the spectacle. When one of the events listed below occurs by chance (i.e. your party cannot deliberately force them to happen through repetition), you can use your Reaction and expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to generate the event’s listed effect. When you do, your Verse count increases by 1. Your Verse count is a cumulative number that increases over the lifetime of your character.

• Comedy. A creature you can see or hear rolls a natural 1 on an D20 Test. Choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of yourself, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature. Those creatures have Disadvantage on their next D20 Test.
• Excellence. A creature you can see or hear rolls a natural 20 on a D20 Test. Choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of yourself, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). Those creatures have Advantage on their next D20 Test.
• Irony. An ally misses an attack or fails a saving throw after rolling a Bardic Inspiration die. One creature of your choice subtracts the number rolled by that ally from their next attack roll or saving throw, whichever comes first.
• Tragedy. An ally you can see or hear is reduced to 0 Hit Points by an enemy. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die. That ally gains a number of Hit Points equal to the number rolled

Level 6: Inspirational Verses

Your epic poem has grown such that it leaves a lasting impression. When a creature gains one of your Bardic Inspiration dice, it also gains one of the following benefits for as long as it has that die.

• Agility. The creature’s Speed is increased by 10 feet. In addition, its movement is unaffected by Difficult Terrain.
• Vigor. The creature gains Resistance to one damage type (Bard’s choice). In addition, it gains Temporary Hit Points equal to half your Bard level.
• Foresight. Requires a Verse count of 15. The creature adds 1d4 to their Initiative rolls. In addition, when the creature rolls the Bardic Inspiration die, it can treat a roll of 4 or lower as a 5.
• Ingenuity. Requires a Verse count of 30. The creature has Advantage on Intelligence and Charisma saving throws. In addition, when the creature rolls a Wisdom saving throw, it can treat a roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
• Power. Requires a Verse count of 60. The creatures’ attack rolls with weapons and Unarmed Strikes can score a Critical Hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20. In addition, when the creature has Advantage on an attack roll, it can reroll one of the dice once.
• Protection. Requires a Verse count of 90. When a character with one of your Bardic Inspiration dice would be reduced to 0 hit points, they may choose to roll their Bardic Inspiration die and be reduced to that number of hit points instead. The Bardic Inspiration die is then lost.
• Spellheart. Requires a Verse count of 120. The creature’s spell save DC and spell attack bonus each increase by +1.

Level 3: Armored Poet

You gain training with Medium armor. In addition, if youare within 5 feet of a creature when it triggers Epic Verses, you do not expend a Bardic Inspiration.

Level 14: Poetic End

The awe of your peers crowns you a poet of the ages. As a Magic Action, you can end all of your currently ongoing Bardic Inspirations. Each creature that had this inspiration rolls 1d4+1 and can restore a combined number of charges from any trait, feature, or magic item that regains all uses when they take a Long Rest or at dawn equal to the total rolled, excluding the Spellcasting and Mystic Arcanum features. For Example, a Paladin who rolled a 3 could restore his or her Paladin’s Smite use and two charges of Channel Divinity. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a number of Long Rests equal to the number of creatures effected by Poetic End plus 1. Poetic End can’t restore uses of features that require more than one Long Rest to recover