Bardic College
Comments from the Finger: This has been banging around in my head for a long while, but balancing monsters as summons is challenging. Let me know if anyone has any insight on this.
BIG EDIT: Switched to the college of painting for thematic cohesion. I’ll make a new college of calligraphy to fit at a later date.
College of Paint
Bards of the College of Paint, simply called master painters, are more skilled with a paintbrush than a swordsman is with a blade. Masters of hues and form, their skill is so refined and their portraits so lifelike, they can call upon the paint itself to assume life and aid their cause.
Bonus Proficiencies
By 3rd level, you are masterful with a pen, paintbrush, and canvas. You can speak, read, and write one additional language of your choice and you have proficiency with painter’s supplies. You also have advantage on any ability check involving painting or illustration.
Conjure Inkling
At 3rd level, you learn the conjure inkling cantrip, detailed below.
Conjure Inkling
Conjuration Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bottle of ink)
Duration: Instantaneous
You can imbue a one-ounce bottle of ink with temporary life, creating an inkling. Your inkling acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. An inkling can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal. You can use your action to communicate with your inkling telepathically. You can only have 1 inkling at a time.
When the inkling drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving a splotch of ink where it died. Your inkling also dies if it moves more than 60 feet from you, or spends more than 10 minutes outside of its bottle. As a bonus action, you can dismiss your inkling, returning the ink to its bottle.
Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your inkling can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Doing so instantly destroys your inkling.
Inkling
Tiny elemental, unaligned
Armor Class 9
Hit Points 1 (1d4 – 1)
Speed 15 ft.
STR 3 (-4) DEX 3 (-4) CON 3 (-4)
INT 3 (-4) WIS 3 (-4) CHA 3 (-4)
Senses blindsight 30 ft. passive Perception 6
Languages understands Common but can’t speak
Challenge 0 (0 XP)
Amorphous. The inkling can move through a space as narrow as 1/8 inch wide without squeezing.
Ink Blot. The inkling can leave messages behind in ink wherever it moves.
Sling Paint
Starting at 6th level, you can fling paint from your brush as a long tendril of vibrant color. You can treat it as a magic whip dealing 1d8 damage which you are proficient with. You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made using this weapon. On a critical hit, the target must make a Constitution saving throw or be blinded by paint for 1 minute.
Paint Golem
At 14th level, you can conjure life into a bucket of paint, by expending a Bardic Inspiration Die during a 10 minute ritual, transforming it into a paint golem. Your paint golem rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. You can mentally command your golem as a bonus action. You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn (your paint golem is vaguely humanoid and is can perform any action a normal humanoid can), or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the golem only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the golem continues to follow it until its task is complete. You can only have 1 paint golem at a time.
Your paint golem dries out if it remains conjured for 12 hours and can return it to its container as a bonus action. Your golem can’t willingly move more than 100 feet from you.
Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your paint golem can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell.
Paint Golem
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 95 (10d12 + 30)
Speed 25 ft., climb 25 ft.
STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3)
INT 1 (-5) WIS 6 (-2) CHA 5 (-3)
Damage Resistances acid, cold, lightning, slashing
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages –
Challenge 6 (2300 XP)
Amorphous. The paint golem can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Ink Blot. The paint golem can leave messages behind in paint wherever it moves.
ACTIONS
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., Hit: 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage.
Changelog: 2/26/16: Name of Subclass changed to College of Paint – basically everything tweaked to focus on this theme – living paint works thematically better than living ink.
Bonus Proficiencies: Proficiency with Painter’s supplies rather than the forgery kit. Also advantage on painting.
Pen is Mightier: name changed to Sling Paint. Some rewording.
Ink Golem: name changed to Paint Golem. Added level. Some rewording.
2/27/16: Paint Golem: Changed to more closely resemble Animate Dead. Ritual to form the paint golem is reduced to 10 minutes from 1 hour.
Sling Paint: Weapon is magic
