College of Revelations

Music is thought by some to be the purest expression of emotion possible - perhaps even expressing the soul, poured forth into audible form. Bards of the College of Revelations pursue the controversial theory that the soul involved doesn't have to be their own. Tapping into the strains beyond sanity and drawing out the very essence of others to enrich their music, adherents of this Bardic College - sometimes called the soulstrung - reveal secrets and wonders in the death-songs of their foes.

 

Choir of Starry Wisdom

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn the find familiar spell and can cast it as a ritual. The spell doesn't count against your number of spells known.

When you cast the spell, you can choose one of the normal forms for your familiar or a swarm of soulshrikes.

Additionally, whenever you use your Bardic Inspiration, your familiar gains a Bardic Inspiration die.

Ballad of Black Dreams

Also at 3rd level, you can use a bonus action and expend a use of Bardic Inspiration to curse one creature you can see within 60 feet. That creature must make a Charisma save against your bard spell save DC or be cursed for one minute, subtracting the Bardic Inspiration die result from its Initiative and losing all resistances.

While a creature is cursed this way and within 5 feet of your familiar, your familiar may use their reaction and spend a Bardic Inspiration die to deal the result as magical piercing damage.

Gnostic Requiem

At 6th level, once during a short rest, you can stage a performance using a corpse you can see within 15 feet. Doing so allows you to ask the DM one question, which they must answer to the best of the slain creature's knowledge using one or two sentences. At the DM's option, the creature's spirit may volunteer one additional sentence of their choice, which could be further information, a final curse, a request, a personal epitaph, or even a message from an intervening force. A corpse can be used this way only once.

Additionally, whenever you take a short or long rest, you gain the services of up to your Charisma modifier (minimum one) unseen servants, as the spell, except they are not invisible and have the appearance of costumed performers representative of beings whose essence you've woven into your music. These servants last the duration of the rest, and then dissipate.

Entelechy Aubade

At 14th level, you may cast any spell up to 5th level without using a spell slot or any components, and as if you had used a spell slot of the highest level you can cast. If it requires concentration, you may choose to have your familiar concentrate on the spell in your stead.

You can use this feature once, and must finish a long rest to do so again.