College of Madness

Bards of the College of Madness dance upon the limits of sanity, eccentric and deadly. They cackle at the sane world, as prepared to soothe an ally with beautiful song as to eviscerate an enemy.

Bards of the College of Madness are most visible during combat, dancing across battle lines and leaving a wake of viscera and melody. However, outside of combat, they prove startlingly effective and likable, able to downplay their idiosyncrasies and make allies of anyone on the common ground of the world's absurdity.

Their specially-sharpened sickles allude to their roots as a guild of hay-trussers: driven to their limit by cruel authority, they revolted against their local nobles, and became a traveling circus after they fled. They wear mouthless porcelain masks and jesters' garb in battle and on stage. Legend has it that the circus that became the College was driven mad by visions of a Great Old One incubating within the earth.

While modern-day members certainly act the part of the madman, their true sanity is always in question. Sometimes, they could pass for a normal jester, a fool only for coin; other times, they will lunge forward with wild eyes and inane philosophy, seemingly babbling the whispers of an antediluvian horror.

This subclass was inspired by the Jester class from Red Hook Studios' game Darkest Dungeon.

Hysterical Harvest

At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Intimidation and Persuasion. If you already have proficiency, you may double the proficiency bonus you add to Intimidation and Persuasion checks.

You may spend a short rest sharpening and enchanting a sickle. If you do, becomes a magic weapon and gains the following benefits:

- Its damage die becomes the same as your Bardic Inspiration die.

- It has the Finesse property.

- It is considered a Sword of Wounding, but its bleed damage die becomes 1 level lower than your Bardic Inspiration die (1d4 at 3rd level, 1d6 at 5th level, etc.)

You can only enchant one such sickle at a time. If another creature attempts to attune it, its magic fades

Breathtaking Solo

Also at 3rd level, as an action, you may expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to begin a solo performance. Until your next turn, you do not provoke opportunity attacks, your movement speed is doubled, and your Armor Class increases by your DEX + CHA. Additionally, all enemies within 150 feet that can hear you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they have disadvantage on attacks against creatures besides you until your next turn.

Hellraising Finale

At 6th level, you gain proficiency in Performance. If you already have proficiency, you may double the proficiency bonus you add to Performance checks.

As an action, you may bring your combat performance to a soul-wrenching climax, pouring all of your strength into a single moment of glory.

Teleport to a target within 150 feet. Make a Performance check, and add 1 for each prior round of combat (0 if this is your first action this combat, up to 8 total) and 2 for each time you used Breathtaking Solo this combat. Make a melee spell attack against the target, with this Performance check as your attack roll. On a hit, roll a Bardic Inspiration die (6 + number of prior of rounds this combat + 2 * number of times you used Breathtaking Solo this combat) times, and a spectral spear skewers the target from head to toe, dealing that much piercing damage.

This turn, your movement speed doubles and you do not provoke opportunity attacks.

At the start of your next turn, your movement speed is halved, your AC falls by your DEX modifier until the end of combat, and you suffer one level of exhaustion.

You must finish a long rest before you use this feature again.

Battle Ballad

At 14th level, when you use Bardic Inspiration, you may expend a second Bardic Inspiration die to inspire additional creatures, including yourself. The maximum number of additional creatures this feature can target equals your CHA modifier (minimum 1).