College of the Orator

Bards of the College of the Orator master communication as both an art and a weapon. They study not only what others say, but how they think, react, hesitate, and make decisions. An Orator can recognize weaknesses in another creature's reasoning, expose openings to allies, and use precisely chosen words to cause even capable adversaries to make disastrous mistakes.

An Orator's greatest talent isn't simply speaking well. It is knowing what to say, when to say it, and who needs to hear it.

Level 3: Orator's Training

Your training emphasizes maintaining a commanding presence even in the midst of battle. You gain proficiency with Shields.

Level 3: Commanding Voice

Your mastery of speech allows you to seize the attention of those around you and interfere with their judgment.

As a Bonus Action, choose one creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you. The creature must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC or suffer one of the following effects of your choice:

Distract. The creature has Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the start of your next turn.

Hesitate. The creature can't take Reactions until the start of your next turn.

Provoke. The next attack roll made against the creature before the start of your next turn has Advantage.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Level 3: Cutting Observation

Your careful observations and command of conversation allow you to recognize subtle details and capitalize on them.

When you make a Charisma ability check, an Intelligence (Investigation) check, or a Wisdom (Insight) check, you can add your Charisma modifier to the roll. You can do so after rolling the d20 but before you know whether the check succeeds or fails.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Level 3: Inspired Oratory

Your Bardic Inspiration can amplify the reach of your words, allowing you to influence several creatures at once.

When you use Commanding Voice or Read the Room, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and roll the Bardic Inspiration die. You can target a number of additional eligible creatures equal to the number rolled. Each additional target is affected by the feature separately and must meet all of the feature's normal requirements.

When you use Fatal Misjudgment, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration and roll the Bardic Inspiration die. When other eligible creatures within 60 feet of you make the same type of roll as part of the same action, spell, feature, or effect that triggered Fatal Misjudgment, you can target a number of those additional creatures equal to the number rolled. Each targeted creature makes its own Intelligence saving throw, and you choose the effect of Fatal Misjudgment separately for each creature that fails.

Expending Bardic Inspiration in this way doesn't increase the number of uses expended from Commanding Voice, Read the Room, or Fatal Misjudgment.

Level 6: Read the Room

Your experience interpreting words, behavior, and intent allows you to rapidly assess another creature.

As a Bonus Action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You learn two of the following pieces of information about it:

Its Intelligence score.

Its Wisdom score.

Its Charisma score.

Whether it is proficient in Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throws.

Its damage resistances.

Its damage immunities.

Its damage vulnerabilities.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Level 6: Exploit Weakness

When you use Read the Room on a creature, you can designate that creature as your focus until the end of your next turn.

Once per turn, when you or an ally you can see hits your focus with an attack, that attack deals an additional 2d6 Psychic damage.

Exploit Weakness has no separate number of uses; it is activated through your use of Read the Room.

If Inspired Oratory allows you to use Read the Room against additional creatures, each of those creatures can also be designated as your focus.

Level 14: Fatal Misjudgment

Your words can cause an opponent to make a disastrous error at precisely the wrong moment.

As a Reaction when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can force that creature to make an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC.

On a failed save, choose one of the following effects:

Second-Guess. The triggering roll automatically fails.

Opening. The creature immediately provokes Opportunity Attacks from creatures within reach of it, even if it hasn't moved.

Misdirect. If the triggering roll was an attack roll, you cause the attack to target another creature of your choice within the attack's range instead. The attacker makes a new attack roll against the new target.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier (minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.