College of the Mad God

Bard Subclass

Comments from the writer:  Inspired by one of my favorite H.P. Lovecraft stories, The Music of Erich Zann (which you should read here), this Bard College blurs the line between warlock and bard, and has a strong focus on the power of insanity and the fear it brings with it. In my experience, there’s always one player in each D&D group (maybe it’s been you) who decides to play an “insane” character for a lark, and these players typically go with warlocks or sorcerers. This is for players who want a different twist on the crazy character archetype, and the chance to see it through a different lens. This is the most up-to-date version, released in Valda’s Spire of Secrets.

In the middle of the night, you hear the music. It begins the same way every time, rising from a low drone into a deafening cacophony. The noise is maddening. In your waking hours, your fingers learn to imitate this melody and bring others to your level of psychosis.

Some attribute the dreadful nightmares to a curse or stress, but you know better. You and others like you are called nightly by the beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes, the sounds of a mad god who echoes the pandemonium of the universe, and summons you to do something. You know not what.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join this college at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in one skill, which is selected for you by the GM. Whenever you finish a long rest, your GM can change this selection.

Cacophony

By 3rd level, the discordant sounds of your instrument can drive others to tears and utter madness. Once on each of your turns, when a creature fails an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw against one of your bard spells or features while you are holding an instrument, you can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to play a cacophonous noise. A deafened creature is immune to this effect. Choose one of the following effects:

• The creature takes psychic damage equal to a roll of your Bardic Inspiration die.
• The creature is deafened and can’t speak until the end of its next turn.
• The creature moves up to 10 feet in a direction you choose. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

Frenzied Strings

Starting at 6th level, as an action, you can play a mind-infecting tune for a creature within 60 feet that can hear you. This creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or be frenzied for up to 1 minute. The creature can repeat this saving throw whenever it takes damage, ending the effect on itself on a success.

A frenzied creature loses the ability to distinguish between friend and foe, regarding all creatures it can see as enemies. While frenzied, the creature chooses the targets for its attacks, spells, and abilities randomly from among the creatures it can see within range, and it must make an opportunity attack if any creature provokes one.

Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Mad Melody

Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to begin playing the accursed melody which haunts your dreams. On each of your subsequent turns, you can use your action to continue the melody. Only creatures you choose within 60 feet of you can hear the melody; all other creatures hear it as discordant noise. Even  deafened creatures can hear the haunting melody.
When you use your action to play the melody, a creature that can hear the melody must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it takes psychic damage and suffers an additional effect based on the number of consecutive turns you have been playing the melody, as shown on the Mad Melody table. After four consecutive rounds, or if no creature hears the melody for one round, the melody begins again at the first round.

Mad Melody

Find six new bard colleges in Valda’s Spire of Secrets!