College of Descry

Bards of the College of Descry are well known for their ability to understand and discern the thoughts of others with great ease. While many bards use there skill to captivate and enthrall audiences, Bards of Descry are often employed as spies and undercover agents mainly due to their ability to access the minds of others. Bards of Descry are few and far between as their unique set of skills make them invaluable to certain organizations. However, there are certainly many Bards of Descry who act on their own will and work for themselves. The core maxim of the College of Descry is "Watch, Listen, Learn," displaying both the inquisitive and perceptive nature of its bards. 

Intricacies of the Mind

At 3rd level, your training has granted you both a deep understanding of the mind along with resistance to effects that may attempt to influence your own. You gain proficiency in the Insight skill and can add your Charisma modifier to any Insight check you make. You also gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws as you have inured your mind to effects that may charm you or alter your thought.

Thought Abstraction

When you join the College of Descry at 3rd level, your keen senses and magical ability, combined with your oratory skills, allow you to subtly delve into a person's thoughts and feelings during a conversation. You gain the detect thoughts spell, not counting it towards the number of bard spells you know, and can cast it without expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum one). While conversing with someone, you can attempt an Insight check with a DC of 15 + the target's Deception. On a success, you are able to establish a foothold in the creature's mind. If you subsequently cast detect thoughts on the creature, the creature is also charmed for the duration of the spell, completely unaware of its casting, and does not become aware of it even if the spell ends. You regain any expended uses of this ability after completing a long rest.

Mantle of Descry

At 6th level, you gain the ability to link minds and inure the minds of others to magical enchantments and spying eyes. As a bonus action, you can create a psychic link that allows for communication and extends your mental fortitude to your allies. When you do so, choose a number of creatures within 100 ft of you that you are familiar with, up to a number equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). While within 100 ft of each other, any creature part of the link can telepathically speak to any of the other members of the link. While the link is active, all of the chosen creatures, including yourself, are immune to being charmed or frightened and can add a +8 bonus to their Wisdom saving throws. They also cannot be the target of a scrying spell or similar effect. The link lasts for up to 3 hours and can be dismissed as a bonus action. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Interesting Notion

At 14th level, your mastery over the mind has granted you the power to not only read the thoughts of others but also shape them and guide them along a specific course of action. Once while a creature is under the effect of your detect thoughts spell, you can use an action to cast suggestion on the creature without expending a spell slot, bending its thoughts to your will. If the creature is charmed by you, it automatically fails its saving throw against the spell. Once you use this feature on a creature, you can't use it again on the same creature for 8 hours but it can still be used on other creatures.