College of Nobility

The college of nobility consists of those born into privilege but who choose to pursue nobility in its original spirit and not just rely on the wealth and power afforded to them by their lineage. However, even these folk lean into the advantages they are given, inspiring others to follow them into their foolhardy adventures.

Restriction: Nobility Only

As the name implies, only nobles are able to make use of this bard college. However, there are exceptions. Courtly folk not of noble birth, politicians, scions of local village elders and the like are possible candidates. Consult your DM for a suitable background for this type of character.

Majordomo

At 3rd level, your family has become convinced that you are not just adventuring on a lark. As a result, they have sent to you one of your family's servants. This servant is skilled at combat as well as normal duties of a servant. When you spend the night at an inn at a reasonably-sized town, your servant shows up to accompany you.

When you send word to your family, you can select a scout or a thug to accompany you on your journey. Your DM has the statistics for this companion. Your companion loses its Multiattack action. Your companion obeys your command as best it can. It rolls initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.

Your companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, your scout or thug adds your proficiency to its damage rolls and to its AC. For each level after 3rd, your companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

If your companion is ever slain, you can send word back to your family to send you another servant. This process takes 25 gp and three days and in order to receive a new companion, you must be staying at an inn in a reasonably-sized town. After the third day or as soon as you can stay at the inn, your new companion shows up at the inn in the morning.

Scout Majordomo

You gain a scout to accompany you on your journey. Your companion loses its Multiattack action. Your companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, the scout adds your proficiency to its damage rolls and to its AC. For each level after 3rd, your companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

Thug Majordomo

You gain a thug to accompany you on your journey. Your companion loses its Multiattack action. Your companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, the thug adds your proficiency to its damage rolls and to its AC. For each level after 3rd, your companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.

Experienced Strike

At 6th level, your companion has gained enough experience while adventuring with you that they are better able to protect you. Your companion regains their Multiattack action. In addition, a scout gains a +2 bonus to their ranged attack rolls and a thug gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Master's Mastery

Bodily Harm

A thug can use a low blow to harry an opponent after its master. As the thug's action, you can spend an inspiration die to have the thug make a melee weapon attack against a target within range. On a hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw equal to your spell save DC. On a failed save, the target is stunned until the end of the thug's next turn.

Bodyguard's Protection

A thug can protect you from bodily harm. While you are within 5 feet of the thug, and are being attacked, you can spend an inspiration die and have the thug use its reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. If you are still hit by the attack, you have resistance against the attack and the thug takes the same amount of damage.

Hamstring Shot

A scout can pin down a foe using a covering fire shot. As the scout's action, you can spend an inspiration die to have the scout make a ranged weapon attack against a target within range. On a hit, the target can't take reactions until the end of the scout's next turn and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Dexterity saving throw equal to your spell save DC. On a failed save, the target's speed is reduced to 0 until the end of the scout's next turn.

Skirmisher's Shot

A scout who selects this ability can take a shot while moving away from their attacker. Opportunity attacks against the scout provoked by movement have disadvantage. In addition, when the scout provokes an opportunity attack, you can spend an inspiration die for the scout to use its reaction to make a ranged weapon attack against the source of the opportunity attack. If the scout would have disadvantage from making a ranged attack while within 5 feet of its target, the attack is made without disadvantage instead.