College of Consciousness

In Avalestra, The College of Consciousness isn't trained in any form of typical college, but rather is taught by the Shulwaine Maenad and their allies by oral tradition, at first, until the student becomes able to more readily "download" the more complex lessons psychically. This psychic boost to a Bard's training enables this particular College to pass on their fundamentals rather rapidly to a receptive student, which is the only reason this College has proliferated so relatively quickly across the lands.

Few Bards ever actually accomplish a psionic awakening of any manner, due mostly to their study of so many various fields with specialization and devotion to few. Bards of the College of Consciousness however, are the exception which finds the ability to resonate not only harmonically but also mentally with the wavelengths of mental magics. These wavelengths become the basis for their most powerful abilities, which they use not only to bolster their allies, but to hinder their enemies in various ways, including copying the effects of certain spells. Often, it is not any acuity of focus or discipline which empowers their psionic gifts, but rather a pure expression of emotion. This creates a sort of flow state that unlocks these unique powers, and can be seen in the pinnacle of this College's style, which can be seen as using an emotional auric flow state given by magic to copy spell effects onto others. 

Psionic Talent:  You learn how to utilize special psionic abilities that augment your skills, improve your evasive capabilities, and grant you a unique clarity about the emotions of allies and enemies alike. You also harbor a wellspring of psionic power within yourself, an energy that ebbs and flows as you channel it in various ways. This power is represented by your Psionic Talent die, the starting size of which is a d6.

Psionic Talent Options. You can use your Psionic Talent die in the following ways:

Psi-Boosted Expression. When you make a skill or ability check with Charisma (Performance) or a musical instrument, you can roll your Psionic Talent die and add the number rolled to the check. You can choose to do so before or after rolling the d20, but before you know whether the check succeeded or failed.

Psionic Escape. Whenever you are hit with a melee attack, you may make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check and roll your Psionic Talent die, adding the result rolled to the check. If your total check exceeds the number that enemy rolled to hit you, you may use your reaction to slide 5 ft in a direction away from the attacker. If this movement removes you from that enemy's reach, the attack misses.

Psionic Wavelength. As a bonus action, you may make a Wisdom (Insight) check, rolling your Psionic Talent die and adding the number rolled to the result, and choose allies within 30 ft or enemies within 30 ft. This creates a Psionic Wavelength. You immediately know the emotional state of all of the chosen targets and you can also determine the general health of these targets by gauging their pain, allowing you to determine how many hit points each target in the Psionic Wavelength has remaining by using an action to make a Wisdom (Medicine) check with a DC of 12. This Wavelength lasts for a number of minutes equal to the Wisdom (Insight) check, but you may cancel it immediately at any time.

Changing the Die’s Size. If you roll the highest number on your Psionic Talent die, it decreases by one die size after the roll. This represents you burning through your psionic energy. For example, if the die is a d6 and you roll a 6, it becomes a d4. If it’s a d4 and you roll a 4, it becomes unusable until you finish a long rest. Conversely, if you roll a 1 on your Psionic Talent die, it increases by one die size after the roll, up to its starting size. This represents you conserving psionic energy for later use. For example, if you roll a 1 on a d4, the die then becomes a d6.

Whenever you finish a long rest, your Psionic Talent die resets to its starting size. When you reach certain levels, the starting size of your Psionic Talent die increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12). If you have a Psionic Talent die from another source, such as a class feature, you don’t get more than one die; use only the one with the largest starting size.

Psi Replenishment. As a bonus action, you can calm your mind for a moment and restore your Psionic Talent die to its starting size. You then can’t use Psi Replenishment again until you finish a long rest.

Sonorous Wavelength

At 3rd level, you become able to create a wavelength that increases your ability to help your allies. You must first establish your Psionic Wavelength option of your Psionic Talent feature, targeting your allies. This use of Psionic Wavelength becomes a Sonorous Wavelength. Once you have created the Sonorous Wavelength, you may send mental harmonics to one of your allies in the Wavelength which assist them in accomplishing their tasks by clearing their focus to heightened levels. At any time you have this Wavelength active, you may use an action to use the help action for any of your allies, and as long as they are in the Wavelength, you do not need to be within 5 ft of that ally or within 5 ft of the creature your ally is attacking in combat to help them. Additionally, if you or any ally in the Wavelength helps any other ally in the Wavelength to perform a task requiring an ability check, you add the ability score modifier (but not the proficiency bonus) the helping ally possesses for that same check as if the helping ally is making the roll. For example, if an ally with a +2 Strength modifier helps you perform a Strength (Athletics) check and you have this Sonorous Wavelength active, you may add that ally's +2 Strength modifier to the ability check, in addition to gaining advantage on that check, as normal for receiving help.

Disruptive Wavelength

At 6th level, you become able to create a Psionic Wavelength that echoes with discordant mental impulses which frustrate, annoy, and harass your enemies. First, you must use your Psionic Wavelength option of your Psionic Talent feature targeting your enemies. This becomes a Disruptive Wavelength, and once you have created it, you may use an action to target one of the enemies in that Wavelength and cause them to be disrupted and annoyed by disturbing magical tones, words, or images. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw DC 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier, or suffer disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks. At the end of each of it's turns, the creature can repeat the Wisdom saving throw to remove this effect, but it will not remove the creature from the Psionic Wavelength. If an enemy within the Disruptive Wavelength is suffering from this effect and you target another enemy that is also in the Wavelength, the saving throw DC increases by +1 for each enemy currently suffering this effect in the wavelength, as you add the expression of their suffering companions' agony to the discordant thoughts assailing them.

Adaptive Wavelength

At 14th level, you discover how to use your Wavelengths to carry psycho-magical resonances that duplicate the magical aura of one individual and copy it to another in real time, which can help your allies or harm your foes, depending on how they're used. First, you must establish either a Sonorous Wavelength or Disruptive Wavelength. If your Psionic Talent die is available, you may use an action and reduce your Psionic Talent die one size to gain your choice of one of the following benefits:

- you can share the benefits of certain kinds of spells from one ally to one other ally within a Sonorous Wavelength. If an ally is gaining the benefits of a spell that targeted only self or targeted one creature when you use this feature, you may grant those benefits to yourself or another ally within the Sonorous Wavelength. If the original spell that you would share the benefits from has a concentration duration, you must also maintain concentration on the Sonorous Wavelength to continue to share these benefits. For example, if an ally within the Sonorous Wavelength is receiving the benefits of the Haste spell when you use this feature, you may share those benefits with an ally in the Sonorous Wavelength as if you had also cast the Haste spell (but without using a spell slot), as long as you maintain concentration on the Sonorous Wavelength. If the duration of the originally copied spell effects would end on the original target, or if those benefits are dispelled such as through Dispel Magic, then the copied benefits immediately end also.

- you can make enemy creatures who have been the target of some kinds of spells within a Disruptive Wavelength share the effects of that spell with one other creature in the Wavelength. Choose a creature in the Disruptive Wavelength and that creature must make a Wisdom or Charisma saving throw (their choice), DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + your Proficiency bonus. On a failed save, that creature suffers the effects of any spell that targets only one creature in the Disruptive Wavelength if that creature is still under the effects of that spell when you use this feature. If that spell effect has a concentration duration, you must concentrate on the Disruptive Wavelength to maintain the shared effects of the spell. For example, if one of your enemies in your Disruptive Wavelength is under the effect of the Hideous Laughter spell when you use this feature, you can target another enemy in the Disruptive Wavelength, and if they fail the saving throw of this feature, they are also under the effect of the Hideous Laughter spell. If the duration of the originally copied spell effects would end on the original target, or if those effects are dispelled such as through Dispel Magic, then the copied effects immediately end also. If the original target has the option to make a saving throw (i.e. at the end of their turn) to end the effects of the spell and succeeds, this does not immediately end the effect of the spell that you copied unto another creature, and they must still succeed at such a saving throw normally or suffer the spell effect for its original duration.

If you are maintaining concentration on an Adaptive Wavelength, you may still use this feature again, even if the benefits require concentration, however, you may only concentrate on one Sonorous Wavelength or Disruptive Wavelength at one time. For example, you cannot cast another spell with a concentration requirement, and concentration checks are required to maintain concentration after taking damage, but you may still use the options of this feature to share spell effects among your allies, or you may share effects among enemies, but not both. If you lose concentration on the Adaptive Wavelength, all shared spell effects that require concentration in this way immediately end.