College of Heralds

The Herald Collegium has been turning out Bards to act as spies, couriers, and covert operatives for hundreds of years. Advanced training, a loyal companion, and the ability to call upon others both at the college and abroad have led many Heralds to become hero's throughout history. Each Bardic herald is different as they pick and choose how to specialize their skills and knowledge to overcome their own unique challenges and quests.

Companion

You have been Chosen by a special Celestial Horse who acts as your Companion. They are intelligent and capable of assisting you in battle if asked.

Companions are universally all white with crystal blue eyes. Companions are not animals and though they understand when others may treat them as horses, they will not tolerate the same treatment from their friends. In order to keep your companion (and this class feature) you must do your best to provide a (Comfortable) lving style whenever possible. Circumstances such as covert operations are acceptable reasons for this requirement to be waived. Otherwise the Companions expect to be treated as another member of the party. They require conversation, an opinion on plans that are made, and other such niceties. They do not require accomodations other than those usual for a normal horse (a stall, hay to eat, ect) But will become upset if they are simply dropped off at the barn with other animals. Companions will tolerate reins, but not a bit and bride. At the GM's discrestion your Companion may be under the control of the player, otherwise the Companion is a loyal NPC under the GM's control. 

In Combat your Companion will assist as best it can if it is not acting as a mount. However, if the player that a Companion has chosen is knocked unconcious or is dying they become intractible and will not leave the side of the downed character for any reason, fighting off all further threats and doing whatever necessary to get the character help.

You lose this class ability if you ever willfully commit an evil act. Companions are Lawful Good celestial creatures and will not remain with characters that knowingly do something evil. Companions will however try and convince and cajole a player who is considering an evil act. Being tempted is not evil, taking the action is.

 

The base stats for a beginning Companion can be found HERE. As you level up the Companion becomes more powerful in the following ways;

• Add your proficiency bonus to the Companions attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.
• The companion gains bonus HP equal to your Bard level * 3
• The companions speed increases to 100ft once you reach 11th level.

Herald Training

When you join the Herald College at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with two skills or tools of your choice.

Send for Aid

At 6th level you have garnered enough prestige among the College to be able to request aid and information when you need it. Once per long rest you may use this class feature to do one of the following;

• You may make a request of the GM regarding information about a person, place, creature, or item. The information you gain is narrative and not statistical. (for instance you could learn that a bodak is an undead creature that has a necrotic aura, but not how much damage it deals or how large it is). The information is related at the GM's discretion but should be the equivalent of scholarly research of the subject.

1. Creature: Choose two of the following types of information to learn; CR, Special Abilities, Resistances & Immunities, Attacks, Hit Dice, Creature Type. You may make 3 choices at 11th level, and 4 choices at 14th level.
2. Person: Choose two of the following types of information to learn; Faction, Class, Location, Gender, Alignment, Hit Dice. You may make 3 choices at 11th level, and 4 choices at 14th level.
3. Place: Choose two of the following types of information to learn; Significant History, most prominant creature type, estimated danger level, basic map (not to include special rooms, secret rooms, traps, or other special features), Ownership (if applicable) & Faction (if applicable), Location. You may make 3 choices at 11th level, and 4 choices at 14th level.
4. Item: Choose two of the following types of information to learn; Significant History and owners, Cursed or Magical, Location (unless critical to storyline ect), Type of item (armor, weapon, wonderous item, ect), Rarity. You may make 3 choices at 11th level, and 4 choices at 14th level.

• You may make a request of the college for special equipment. You may request up to 5 mundane items that cost less than 100gp total. At 11th level the total cost cannot exceed 300gp, and at 14th level the total cost cannot exceed 500gp.
• You may request that a single spell of 3rd level or lower be cast upon you, or another member of your party. If the spell has components that cost more than 1gp you must provide them. at 11th level the spell can be up to 5th level, at 14th level the spell can be up to 7th level.

Once you complete the Long Rest the equipment, information, or a one use spell item arrives at your location as per the previous entry. The spell item can be used with an item interaction to cause the spell to be cast. 

Cross Training

Starting at 14th level you have learned special abilities to help you during your adventures. Choose one of the following class features. You gain that class feature.

• Rage 3/Long Rest
• Channel Divinity: 2/Long Rest (Turn Undead)
• Wildshape 2/Long Rest
• Fighter Archetype
• Martial Arts 1d6
• Natural Explorer
• 1 Metamagic Option and 6 sorcery points
• Arcane Recovery
• 1 Invocation

Arcane Recovery

You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by contemplating your magic. Once per day when you finish a Short Rest, you can choose expended Spell Slots to recover. The Spell Slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your Bard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.

For example, if you’re a 14th level Bard you could recover 1 4th level spell slot, and 1 3rd level spell slot, or 3 2nd level spell slots and 1 1st level spell slot. (For a total of 7 levels)

Channel Divinity: Turn Undead

You may as an action, up to 3 times per long rest, present your holy Symbol (or instrument) and speak (or sing) a prayer censuring the Undead. Each Undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take Reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an Effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Eldritch Invocation

In your studies you have unearthed Eldritch Invocations, fragments of forbidden knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability.
You gain one Eldritch Invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the Warlock class description.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose to replace the one you know with another invocation that you could learn at that level. A level prerequisite in an invocation refers to your level in this class, not character level.

Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose a Fighting Style from the list of optional features. You can't take the same Fighting Style option more than once, even if you get to choose again.

• Archery: You gain a +2 bonus to Attack rolls you make with Ranged Weapons.
• Defense: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
• Dueling: When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other Weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to Damage Rolls with that weapon.
• Great Weapon Fighting: When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an Attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the Two-Handed or Versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
• Protection: When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your Reaction to impose disadvantage on the Attack roll. You must be wielding a Shield.
• Two-Weapon Fighting: When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second Attack.

Martial Arts

Your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of Combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk Weapons, which are shortswords and any simple Melee Weapons that don't have the Two-Handed or heavy property.

You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk Weapons and you aren't wearing armor or wielding a Shield.

• You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the Attack and Damage Rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk Weapons.
• You can roll a d6 in place of the normal damage of your Unarmed Strike or monk weapon.
• When you use the Attack action with an Unarmed Strike or a monk weapon on Your Turn, you can make one Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action. For example, if you take the Attack action and Attack with a Quarterstaff, you can also make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action, assuming you haven't already taken a Bonus Action this turn.

Metamagic

You gain the ability to twist your Spells to suit your needs. You gain 6 Sorcery Points and one of the following Metamagic options of your choice.  When you level up you may change which metamagic you have learned.

• Careful Spell: When you Cast a Spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell’s full force. To do so, you spend 1 sorcery point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw against the spell.
• Distant Spell: When you Cast a Spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double the range of the spell. When you Cast a Spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range of the spell 30 feet.
• Empowered Spell: When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls. You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.
• Extended Spell: When you Cast a Spell that has a Duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double its Duration, to a maximum Duration of 24 hours.
• Heightened Spell: When you Cast a Spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its Effects, you can spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell.
• Quickened Spell: When you Cast a Spell that has a Casting Time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the Casting Time to 1 Bonus Action for this casting.
• Subtle Spell: When you Cast a Spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal Components.
• Twinned Spell: When you Cast a Spell that Targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level. For example, Magic Missile and Scorching Ray aren’t eligible, but Ray of Frost is.

Natural Explorer

You are particularly familiar with one type of natural Environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose one type of Favored terrain: Arctic, Coast, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Mountain, Swamp, or The Underdark. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to your Favored terrain, your Proficiency Bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you're proficient in.

While traveling for an hour or more in your Favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Difficult Terrain doesn't slow your group's Travel.
• Your group can't become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another Activity While Traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you Forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

 

Rage

In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On Your Turn, you can enter a rage as a Bonus Action.
While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren't wearing heavy armor:

• You have advantage on Strength Checks and Strength Saving Throws.
• When you make a melee weapon Attack using Strength, you gain a +3 bonus to the damage roll.
• You have Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
• If you are able to cast Spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging.

Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked Unconscious or if Your Turn ends and you haven't attacked a Hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on Your Turn as a Bonus Action. You can enter a rage 3 times per Long Rest.

Wild Shape

you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before. You can use this feature twice. You regain expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

Your level in this class determines the Beasts you can transform into, as shown in the Beast Shapes table. At 2nd Level, for example, you can transform into any beast that has a Challenge rating of 1/4 or lower that doesn't have a flying or swimming speed.

Table: Beast Shapes

Level	Max. CR	Limitations	Example
2nd	1/4	No flying or swimming speed	Wolf
4th	1/2	No flying speed	Crocodile
8th	1	—	Giant Eagle

You can stay in a beast shape for a number of hours equal to half your bard level (rounded down). You then revert to your normal form unless you expend another use of this feature. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a Bonus Action on Your Turn. You automatically revert if you fall Unconscious, drop to 0 Hit Points, or die.

While you are transformed, the following rules apply:

• Your game Statistics are replaced by the Statistics of the beast, but you retain your Alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw Proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature's bonus instead of yours. If the creature has any legendary or Lair Actions, you can't use them.
• When you transform, you assume the beast's Hit Points and Hit Dice. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of Hit Points you had before you transformed. However, if you revert as a result of Dropping to 0 Hit Points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. For example, if you take 10 damage in animal form and have only 1 hit point left, you revert and take 9 damage. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0 Hit Points, you aren't knocked Unconscious.
• You can't cast Spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn't break your Concentration on a spell you've already cast, however, or prevent you from taking Actions that are part of a spell, such as Call Lightning, that you've already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can't use any of your Special Senses, such as Darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense.
• You choose whether your Equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn Equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of Equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your Equipment doesn't change size or shape to match the new form, and any Equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no Effect until you leave the form.