College of Mourning

Not all who mourn are wracked by the grief. For some it is an act, an art. Professionals who add an air of painful elegance to the wake of the recently deceased. Unheard of in some cultures, if not outright distasteful. In others, these performers are necessary to give the dead the proper respect they earned in life. The mourning must be superb, and these bards deliver all too well. Wailing and rocking and trembling with tears, singing songs to crack the hardest of hearts wide open. Drawn to one of the more unique traditions, bards of this college are truly enthralled with the art of mourning. And it is an art to be sure, just like any other, only focused on manipulating grief and despair, and evoking vivid memories of the dead. Certain sounds, songs, and utterances will bring any man to tears, or so it is taught. Pushed even further, they will start to doubt the meaning in their own lives, broken and unable to control the sobbing. Then, at the perfect moment, the bard will change their tune, spinning an epic tale to recount the acts of glory, honor, and goodness that the dead had achieved. Suddenly, the audience is again filled with meaning and hope for the future. It is a wild ride of emotion like no other, and few bards who experience that power can ever turn away from it.

Dirge Singer

When you join the College of Mourning at 3rd level, you learn to inspire others to keep fighting despite grievous wounds. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die when it drops to 0 hit points, dropping to a number of hit points equal to the number rolled instead. Once a character benefits from this effect, it must finish a long rest before it can do so again. In addition, when a creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you reduces another creature to 0 hit points on its turn, it can use its reaction to roll the Bardic Inspiration die and move a number of feet equal to 5 x the number rolled without provoking opportunity attacks.

Living Wake

Beginning at 6th level, whenever a creature rolls one of your Bardic Inspiration dice, both you and the creature gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled.

Keening

Starting at 14th level, you can use an action to release a mournful wail that tears at the very soul of your enemies. Creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you that can hear you must make a Constitution saving throw, taking psychic damage equal to your bard level on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A creature that fails the saving throw by 10 or more instead takes psychic damage equal to half its hit point maximum if that would result in more damage. A creature that is immune to the frightened condition automatically succeeds on the saving throw. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest

Dies Irae

Starting at 14th level, when a creature within 30 feet of you makes a saving throw, you can expend a Bardic Inspiration die and add it to or subtract it from the roll. If you add it to the roll and the target succeeds because of your roll, the target also gets temporary hit points equal to its total save roll. If you subtract it from the roll and the target fails its saving throw because of your roll, the target also takes psychic damage equal to the roll of your Bardic Inspiration die. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.