Iron Poet

All bards harness music as the source of their power, but it is only the Iron Poets that can truly weaponize song. Their unique weaponry, often custom-crafted, can focus their songs into mighty displays of power, assaulting the minds and ears of their enemies. Iron Poets are masters of the newfangled technology they create, and are always looking for ways to build new instruments. This subclass is focused around the creation and weaponization of the bard’s new instruments, and making the bard’s music a formidable force in battle.

Battle Musician

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with War Instruments, and may add your proficiency bonus to attacks made with these.

Bard-Smith

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with Tinker’s Tools. You may use these to craft War Instrument, repair any broken ones, or even create new ones if your DM approves.

The Future of Weaponry

War Instruments are more technologically advanced than is possible in a typical D&D setting, so you should talk to your DM before playing an Iron Poet for this reason. For the same reason, War Instruments are more costly to produce than an average weapon by a significant margin, and always require Tinker’s Tools to produce, as few, if any, characters other than your own can produce these instruments.

Power from Song

While normal weapons are wielded using Strength, and finesse weapons use Dexterity, War Instruments use Charisma, as they require performance by the user.  Your Charisma modifier is added to attack and damage rolls for these weapons. Steam powered weapons require a steam engine, which must be manually connected, and takes an action to turn on. There is also a chance that your engine will overheat whenever it used to make an attack. If at any point you roll a natural 1 for an attack roll while using a steam-powered weapon, your engine begins to overheat. You must use an action on some subsequent turn and succeed on a DC 10 Tinkering check in order to repair it. For every turn you fail to do this, you take 1d4 fire damage from the engine.

 

 

Weapon/ Item Name	Cost	Crafting Time	Damage	Properties
Claviphone	100g	8 hours	1d6 psychic	One-handed
Octavi	500g	4 days	1d8 psychic	Two-handed
Steam-Lute	1,000g	1 week	1d12 psychic	Two-handed, Steam powered
Steam-Bass	5,000g	1 month	2d8 thunder	Two-handed, Steam powered
Steam Engine	500g	1 day	N/A	See above

Gambits

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your musical prowess to turn the tides of battle. At 3rd level, you may learn a gambit from the gambits list. Each time you gain a level, you may switch out one gambit for another, and you may learn an additional gambit at 6th level, followed by another at 14th level.

Battle Tinker

You work quicker under the urgency of battle. You may now make Tinker checks to repair your Steam Engine as a bonus action.

Cadential Feint

You may use your reaction in combat to lead an enemy forward with your music, and attempt to deceive them into a different path. If an enemy making an attack against you does not succeed on an Intelligence saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier), you may guide their mind with your music, effectively giving them the blinded condition till the end of the round.

Furious Accelerando

You learn to harness the speed of music to boost yourself and your allies in combat. When you make a targeted attack with a War Instrument, you may increase the speed of yourself and your allies within 30 feet by 10 feet for one turn.

Harmonious Flourish

You learn to combine different aspects of battle to produce a greater whole. In a turn where you and every allied character participating in combat successfully land at least 1 attack each, you may immediately deal damage equal to your level to each enemy within 60 feet of you that can hear you.

Piercing Falsetto

Whenever you land a critical hit with a War Instrument, the target is knocked prone and has disadvantage on attacks on its next turn.

Shrieking Strike

You infuse a strike with dissonant, earsplitting power. When you make a targeted attack, if the creature can hear you, it takes an additional 1d6 points of psychic damage. This damage increases to 1d8 at 6th level, and 1d10 at 14th level.

Silence From Focus

When you are in the heat of battle, little sound matters to you but your own music. As a bonus action in combat, you may become immune to all effects requiring you to hear something for 1 minute.

Extra Attack

You may attack twice, rather than once, when you take the attack action on your turn.

Captivating Performance

At 14th level, you may attempt to overwhelm your enemies with your power of song. As an action, you may force up to 2 enemies within 30 feet to make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failure, they are charmed unless they are attacked, damaged, or forced to make a saving throw. Creatures charmed in this way stand spellbound watching your performance until one of the above effects comes to pass, or you stop playing. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short rest or a long rest.