College of the Necrodancer

A necrodancer usually comes from a cult upbringing, or some kind of twisted childhood. Or just an ordinary, musically talented individual with a propensity for necromancy and music. However they come about, necrodancers are able to weave the forces of life and death with music, song, and dance. They can reanimate the dead to serve them in battle, or create badass and intimidating undead boy bands or girl groups. Either way, it's distressingly haunting.

Haunting Hands

When you choose this college at 3rd level, you begin to construct your undead band or dance troupe. You can conjure a pair of crawling claws, but each has a flying speed of 25 feet in addition to their normal walking speed. As a bonus action, you can command the hands individually to use any of their ordinary actions, or to take an instrument with which you are proficient and play a tune. Playing a tune requires both hands.

A song effects creatures of your choice within 30 feet of the hands, provided they can hear. The song lasts for up to 1 minute, until you end the song early, or when at least one of the hands are reduced to 0 hit points. While the hands are playing a song, you can choose one of the following effects. Until the end of the hands' song, all creatures with bardic inspiration granted by you receive the benefit of your chosen effect.

Deflecting Danse. The creature has a +1 bonus to their AC.

Accelerando. The creature's movement speed increases by 5.

Sforzando. The creature gains a +2 bonus to their weapon damage rolls.

You may only choose one effect per song. Once you have conjured a pair of haunting hands, you must complete a short or long rest to do so again.

Composed of Death

From 3rd level when you choose this college, you sing and dance death, and are hard to phase when faced with even the most grotesque of undead monsters. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened by undead creatures.

Undead Possey

Upon reaching 6th level in this college, you can channel bardic inspiration into raising an undead group for your performances. You can expend any number of bardic inspiration die when in the vicinity of a humanoid corpse or skeleton. For every 5 points you roll, you can raise the corpse or skeleton as a zombie or skeleton under your control, with a number of hit points of your choice from the total of your bardic inspiration rolls (minimum 5).

You must use your bonus action on each of your turns in order to maintain the undead's life force, up to 1 minute. While you have an undead possey, you can use your action on each of your turns to choose one of the following effects:

Command Undead. You can give your possey a command within their capabilities, which each will attempt to carry out until they die, complete the task, or you order them otherwise. This could be along the lines of attacking a target or protecting an ally.

Boy Band. You and your undead possey perform an invigorating performance for your allies. You and each undead must be within 5 feet of one another. Allies within 60 feet that can hear gain a +2 bonus to their attack and damage rolls until the start of your next turn.

Dance, Danse. You and your undead possey perform a fiery group dance number. You and each undead must be within 5 feet of one another. Allies within 60 feet that can have their movement speed increased by 10, and can use a reaction to increase their AC against an attack they can see by 3, until the start of your next turn.

Backup Troupe. Your undead possey become your supporting act. Each of your possey must be within 5 feet of one another. While they are performing as a backup troupe, you have a +4 bonus to AC and advantage on saving throws until the start of your next turn.

Magical Girl Group. You and your undead possey become a glittery, super magical girl group. You and each undead must be within 5 feet of one another. Allies within 60 feet that can see and hear have advantage on saving throws against magical effects, a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls, and their spell save DC increases by 1, until the start of your next turn.

If at any time during a performance one of the possey is reduced to 0 hit points, the performance ends and you must start a new one on your next turn as an action. You must have at least 2 in your possey in order to perform any of the above options. Once 1 minute has expired, the possey returns to corpses.

Conductor of the Undead

Upon reaching 14th level, your control over the musical subtleties of necromancy have enabled you to strengthen your undead possey beyond their limits. When you roll your bardic inspiration dice to raise an undead possey, you can double the total. Furthermore, if you have enough to exceed the hit point maximum of your chosen creature, you can gift the excess as temporary hit points to any creature, including yourself, within 30 feet.

Additionally, you can use your bardic inspiration on your undead possey. When one of your possey has a bardic inspiration die from you, it has turn immunity and advantage on all saving throws.