College of Hecatoncheires

A subclass designed to buff, change, and enhance the spell, Mage Hand. The Hecatoncheires were giant creatures in Greek mythology. Their name means "hundred - handed ones", and apart from a hundred hands of unfathomable strength, they also had fifty heads.

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Originated from the belief that children of Uranus and Gaea are the true ultimate beings of power, they who heir to the College of Hecatoncheires prefer to dedicate themselves to the crafts of five fingers above any other. By leveraging a part of their body, you take on a magic so dear to the Hecatoncheires and the very forces they invoke, others are often alarmed at the sacrifices you have chosen to make in persuit of a higher power.

Your hands, in your eyes, are far beyond tools or simple body parts. They are an extension of the very magic you conjure, and alone can be a spellcasting focus, and even far beyond. You choose this college if mere magic alone is simply not enough. The ability to adapt your body to your very needs, to alter the space around you, and to change the way a simple spell works with only one measely, life changing sacrifice. 

Should you find that the exchange of flesh for a cosmic power greater than most is worth it, the College of Hecatoncheires is definitely a place to start. Only those who are truly dedicated to the beasts of one hundred hands can truly understand the very forces they invoke. Earthquakes and tsunamis will not compare should you seek their power. The only thing stopping you is one single hand. Is the exchange worth it? Discuss with your DM the benefits and losses of being a College of Hecatoncheires bard. Make sure you campaign is well suited for the pros and cons. Is this something you decided easily? Is this something that changes little for you, or are the impacts seen almost daily? 

Mage Hand Master

When you join the College of Hecatoncheires at 3rd level, you have chosen to fully dedicate your craft to the power of the College of Hecatoncheires. In mind. And body. You select your dominant hand, be it your right if you are right handed, or your left if you are left handed. If you are ambidexterous, your DM chooses for you.

The selected hand is amputated two inches up from the wrist, and replaced with a gauntlet like brace gifted to you by your diety should you have one, or summoned directly from the Hecatoncheires, after one day of uninterrupted meditation. The gauntlet-like brace does not count as a magical item, cannot be removed by any force other than directly amputating above the gauntlet, and is made of an indistinguishable material that is not of the Material Plane. It cannot be detected with detect magic, but it can be detected with locate object.

From this gauntlet, a spectral, floating hand appears at a fixed point connected to the gauntlet, mimicking your hand as if it had not been amputated. This hand can be treated as a spellcasting focus, can be dispelled and summoned at will, and does not behave any differently than your hand originally did. This hand cannot detach from your gauntlet.

You learn the Mage Hand cantrip if you do not already know it. This does not count towards your number of spells known.

Mage Hand Strike

When you join the College of Hecatoncheires at 3rd level, Idle Mage Hands can perform Mage Hand Strike as an Unarmed Attack. You also gain the following benefits when casting Mage Hand (depending on level):

At 3rd Level: 

• Mage Hand duration is increased to 1 Hour.
• Mage Hands can carry up to 15 pounds each. (This does not increase your carrying capacity.)
• As an Action, you summon/dismiss up to 4 Idle Mage Hands (Maximum of 4). (Hand attached to Gauntlet will count as 1 Idle Hand.)
• Idle Mage Hands can perform an Unarmed Strike Attack. Attacks made with Idle Mage Hand deal 1d4 + your CHA Modifier force damage on hit, and have a range of 30 feet. (This increases to 2d4 at 4th Level)

At 6th Level: 

• Mage Hand duration is increased to 4 Hours.
• Mage Hands can carry up to 30 pounds each. (This does not increase your carrying capacity.)
• As an Action, you summon/dismiss up to 6 Idle Mage Hands (Maximum of 6). (Hand attached to Gauntlet will count as 1 Idle Hand.)
• Idle Mage Hands can perform an Unarmed Strike Attack. Attacks made with Idle Mage Hand deal 1d10 + your CHA Modifier force damage on hit, and have a range of 45 feet. (This increases to 2d10 at 8th Level, and 3d10 at 12th Level.)

At 14th Level: 

• Duration is increased to 8 Hours.
• Can carry up to 60 pounds each. (This does not increase your carrying capacity.)
• As an Action, you summon/dismiss up to 8 Idle Mage Hands (Maximum of 10). (Hand attached to Gauntlet will count as 1 Idle Hand.)
• Idle Mage Hands can perform an Unarmed Strike Attack. Attacks made with Idle Mage Hand deal 3d12 + your CHA Modifier force damage on hit, and have a range of 60 feet. (This increases to 4d12 at 17th Level)

At 20th Level: 

• Duration is increased to 12 Hours.
• Can carry up to 90 pounds each. Your carrying capacity is doubled. (Hands can carry up to, but not beyond your carrying capacity.)
• As an Action, you summon/dismiss up to 10 Idle Mage Hands (Maximum of 16). (Hand attached to Gauntlet will count as 1 Idle Hand.)
• Idle Mage Hands can perform an Unarmed Strike Attack. Attacks made with Idle Mage Hand deal 6d12 + your CHA Modifier force damage on hit, and have a range of 60 feet. 

Horde of Spectral Palms

When you join the College of Hecatoncheires at 3rd level, you can dabble into magically enhanced pools to empower your attacks and defenses made with Mage Hands. You gain a pool of Spectral Strikes equal to your CHA Modifier + Your Proficiency. You may expend Spectral Strikes on your turn as Bonus Actions to activate an effect related to Horde of Spectral Palms seen below. When you cast Mage Hand, you gain a number of Idle Hands depending on your Level, and gain the following benefits (with increased benefits at higher levels): 

Idle Mage Hands: When you cast Mage Hand as an Action, you gain Idle Mage Hands equal to the number of hands you choose to summon (depending on your Level, listed in Mage Hand Strike). You may expend on use of Bardic Inspiration as a Bonus Action to regain Occupied Mage Hands as Idle Mage Hands equal to 1d6.

Spectral Strike Points: You gain a pool of Spectral Strikes equal to your CHA Modifier + Your Proficiency. You may expend Spectral Strikes on your turn as Bonus Actions to activate an effect listed under Catch these Hands. When you expend a Spectral Strike Point, the number of hands consumed are now considered Occupied. Occupied Mage Hands cannot be commanded to perform another task. You may expend one use of Bardic Inspiration as a Bonus Action to recover Spectral Strike Points equal to your STR Modifier.

Catch These Hands: You can expend one point from your Spectral Strike Pool to gain one of the following benefits:

• Double-Up Punch: You command 1 Idle Mage Hand to perform an attack as a Bonus Action. 1 Idle Hand becomes Occupied.
• Prodigious Parry: You command 2 Idle Mage Hands to block 1d4 damage on the next attack made against you as a Reaction. 2 Idle Hands become Occupied.
• Knuckled Knock: You command 3 Idle Mage Hands to target one creature. The creature, on hit, is knocked back 15 feet as a Bonus Action. 3 Idle Hands become Occupied.

Prodigious Parry deflects 2d4 damage at 5th Level, 3d6 at 10th Level, and 4d6 at 15th Level.

Show of Hands

At 6th level, you let your hands do the work for you, in far more ways than one. Out of combat, as an Action, you can move your Idle Mage Hands distinctly of one another so well, you can perform multiple tasks at once. For every Idle Mage Hand you have summoned, you can perform a simple task with it during 1-2 Actions time, that can reasonably be done with a single hand. Idle Mage Hands can be paired off to accomplish tasks that would require two hands. The following are examples of tasks that can be done:

Examples of One Handed Tasks: Manipulate and Object, Open an Unlocked Door/Container, Stow or Retrieve and Item, Poor out Contents from a container, Pick up and Hold an Object, or any other reasonably simple taske that would require little to no extraneous focus.

Examples of Two Handed Tasks: Playing an Instrument, Opening a Sealed Container, Shuffling Cards/Setting up a Game Board, Threading a Needle, Lacing a Boot, Tying a Knot, or any other activity where a single hand would make completing the task require slightly extraneous focus.

You cannot accomplish tasks that require three hands without disarming the spell first, and only summoning two hands. This includes your gauntlet hand, and requires extraneous focus, and cannot be combined with other activities. (This does not Include the Knuckled Knock feature.)

Round of Applause: Idle Mage Hands can join in on your Bardic Performance. When you begin a Performance, you may include one additional instrument you have proficiency with, for every 2 Idle Mage Hands that you have available. For each additional instrument in your Performance, you gain +1 additional to your Performance roll.

Favor of the Hundred-Handed

At 14th level, the level of focus you have mastered with your Mage Hand control knows no bounds. In a time of true need, you can call upon the gift of the Hecatoncheires to empower you. You can use this action a number of times per day equal to your CHA Modifier. These uses are replenished after a Long Rest. You can expend Spectral Strike Points on two new abilties, and gain their features when you do.

One Hundred-Hand Onslaught: As an Action, you expend 3 Spectral Strike Points. 5 Idle Mage Hands Swing to deliver an all out pummeling on a tagret with a range 30 feet. On hit, the target is dealt 7d10 + Your CHA Modifier force damage, and the creature makes a CON saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failed save, the creature is knocked unconcious. On a successfulsave, the creature is knocked prone. Even if the attack misses.

Focus of the Fifty Craniums: As an Action, roll a CHA Check against your Spell Save DC. On a successful check, you expend 3 Spectral Strike Points. All Occupied Mage Hands are regained as Idle Mage Hands, and you gain +2 to your Armor Class until your next turn. On failed check, you expend 2 Spectral Strike Points, gain 4 Idle Made Hands, and recieve no bonus to your Armor Class.