College of Fools

Bards of the College of Fools are bumbling idiots⁠—at least, at first glance. However, those who dismiss them as simple buffoons may soon find themselves as the butt of the joke. In reality, their incompetence is a deliberate ploy, designed to allow them to achieve their full comedic potential. These bards live for laughter—either at their own expense, or that of others. Often employed as jesters, they use their quick wit and sharp tongue to make a mockery of even the most regal figures (as well as themselves).

Act the Fool

When you join the College of Fools at 3rd level, your comedic blunders can inspire you allies and amuse your enemies. When you fail in a spectacular way, you use your reaction to give a creature other than yourself within 60 feet of you a Bardic Inspiration die, without expending a use of your Bardic Inspiration feature. Alternatively, you can use your reaction to cast hideous laughter without any components. A creature must be able to see you to be affected by either of these effects.

Spectacular failures include the following, although your DM may allow you to use this feature when you fail in another way.

• You roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.
• A creature scores a critical hit against you.
• A creature rolls a 20 on the d20 for a saving throw against a spell you cast.
• You fall prone against your will.
• You become incapacitated against your will.

Salt the Wound

Also at 3rd level, you learn to demoralize an enemy upon their failure. You gain the vicious mockery cantrip if you don't already know it.

When a creature fails an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you can use your reaction to cast vicious mockery, targeting the creature.

Erroneous Miscalculation

At 6th level, your failures and witless demeanor cause others to underestimate you. You have advantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws against creatures, and creatures have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, or saving throws against you.

Once a creature fails an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw against you, or when you succeed on an ability check, attack roll, and saving throw against it, it cannot be affected by this feature again for 1 hour, or until it sees you use your Act the Fool feature.

Humiliating Denigration

Starting at 14th level, you can recapitulate the failures of your foes, causing them great shame. If a creature fails a saving throw against a vicious mockery cantrip you cast, you can use your action on your next turn to loudly mock the target's ineptitude. If the target can hear you, it has disadvantage on any ability checks, attack rolls, or saving throws it makes before the end of your next turn.

On following turns, you can use your action to extend the effect for an additional turn.