College of Orlais

A bard is something of a curiosity even in the courts of Orlais, where intrigue is as common as silk. Musicians and troubadours, doubling as spies, exploit their access to powerful nobility to glean secrets for employers who are usually nameless even to the bard. The nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Orlesian aristocracy can hardly resist. Unfortunately, when they finally realize that a master bard has been among them, it is usually too late. Bards use music to soothe hearts and cloud minds; in combat, their abilities to inspire allies and distract foes are legendary. Beyond their music, they are masters of dirty fighting, stealth and larceny.

A college of Orlais Bard may be trained at Académie Elcoé or one of several other official Académie. Bards trained at an Académie are part of a guild (unless they’ve been thrown out). As part of completing training at an official Académie the Bard begins a contract with the guild. The Bard is indebted to the guild due to the high cost of training and so the guild has influence on the jobs available to a bard as well as takes a portion of the payment.

There are also freelance bards who have similar training, though primarily on the job from an experienced Bard. Potential employers hire academy trained and freelance bards alike with each and every one of them being an important asset to the nobility’s game. Such jobs occur usually when the nature of the contract is quite shadier than usual, thus the freelancers are usually assigned to these kinds of jobs.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Orlais at 3rd level, you gain two proficiencies in tools and two proficiencies in skills from the Rogue list of skills. The tool proficiencies are limited to Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit, Poisoner's Kit, and Thieves' Tools.

Insightful Gaze

Also at 3rd level, you can spend a bardic inspiration and use a bonus action called Insightful Gaze to discover a secret about a creature. This secret can be expended by an ally or yourself to reduce the creature’s attack roll or ability check. The secret must be used before the start of your next turn.

Intrigue Mastery

At 6th level, you gain the ability to extract information from a creature that you have a conversation with. You manage to weave a second thread of conversation into the primary conversation to either learn information or plant an idea they believe to be their own.

By speaking with a creature for 1 minute you can engage them in a deeper conversation for up to 1 hour. Every 10 minutes (so a maximum of 6 times), you may attempt to implant an idea or discover a secret. This triggers a Wisdom saving throw against your spell DC and if they fail you successfully implant the idea or learn the secret.

At the end of the time the creature is unaware you manipulated it.

Once you use this feature you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Penetrative Gaze

At 6th level the secrets you notice with Insightful Gaze can additionally be used to reduce the creature’s saving throw.

Practiced Deceit

Starting at 14th level, your thoughts can't be read by telepathy or other means, unless you allow it. You can present false thoughts by making a Charisma (Deception) check contested by the mind reader's Wisdom (Insight) check.

Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against any effect that would force you to tell the truth or to determine whether you are telling the truth.

Master of Deduction

At 14th level bardic inspiration from your Insightful Gaze action have advantage.