Bard/College of the Fiend

College of the Fiend

Homebrew: (1.0) This subclass was created by WalrockHomebrew and published on their blog.

Far from a proper college, the "College of the Fiend" is a term of derision among properly-educated bards, many of whom scorn those who would deal with fiends for musical talent. All bards that fall under this college share the accursed precious instrument that grants them their supernatural musical and magic abilities and is often the core of their identity as a famed musician.

Fiendish Dealings

Fiends desire many different things in dealings. Work out with your DM what sort of trade you brokered, or roll/pick on the circumstance of your contract on the table below.

d6	Quirks
1	I sold my soul to a fiend for unearthly musical talent, and my instrument is a symbol of our pact.
2	I bested a fiend in a contest for my soul, and won their own instrument as a trophy of my victory. I worry that someday they may return to reclaim it.
3	I traded a fiend an unspecified favor for my talent and instrument, to be collected after a year and a day.
4	I was given my instrument, along with a nondescript satchel, on the condition that I carry the satchel with me wherever I go. The fiend specified that I should never open the satchel, and gave me a knowing wink.
5	I was trained and gifted my instrument by a fiend with the contractual expectation that I defeat a specific musically-inclined celestial.
6	I stole my instrument through trickery or sleight of hand from a fiend attempting to bargain with me. I am constantly on the move, knowing the fiend still hunts after me.

Precious Instrument

3rd-level College of the Fiend feature

You are granted (by skill, fortune, or contract) a magical instrument forged of gold, silver, ruby, jade, mithril, or any other material precious enough to be used as currency, which can be of any sort held in one or two hands. This instrument weighs no more than a typical instrument of its type, and may be played normally.

As a bonus action, you may either dismiss your instrument to a secure extradimensional plane, or summon it to your grasp from wherever it resides.

While this instrument is on your person, you can read, write, and speak Infernal and Abyssal, and you have knowledge of the cantrips fire bolt and thaumaturgy. These cantrips count as bard cantrips for you.

This instrument becomes more elaborate and beautiful the more you use it, and is worth an amount of gold pieces equal to 300 times your bard level. If you sell the instrument, its buyer retains possession of it, and you lose access to any features granted by the College of the Fiends. You may only re-acquire these features by re-purchasing the instrument, through currency or favors granted. If the instrument is stolen or freely lent out, it may still be summoned to your grasp as normal.

If you acquire another musical instrument with magical properties, you may undertake an hour-long ritual that destroys the magical instrument and applies any special properties it had to the precious instrument you receive from this feature, in addition to the benefits already provided by this feature. Your precious instrument may only have properties applied from one magical instrument at a time, and subsequent uses of this ritual overwrite previous applied properties. A precious instrument requires attunement if the destroyed magical instrument would require attunement to access its properties. If attunement is required, you may attune yourself to your precious instrument as part of this ritual.

A Precious Inheritance

If the owner of a precious instrument dies (not just drops to 0 or less hit points), what becomes of the instrument itself?

This is a question intentionally left up to the DM to decide, though in most cases the instrument lingers for just over a week before being recalled (either through magic or a personal visit) by its previous fiendish owner.

With your DM's permission, your character may be able to leave their instrument, and the power within, to an individual of their choosing. This individual could be a relative, a person that reminded your character of their younger self, or even a passing stranger in need of a twist of fate.

The gift may come with a price; how the original fiendish owner of the instrument would consider such an inheritance is equally at the discretion of the DM.

Silver Tongue

3rd-level College of the Fiend feature

The dark power in your instrument grants you a supernatural way with words. While your precious instrument is on your person, you may expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to add a Bardic Inspiration die to any Charisma check you make.

In addition, when you are the target of an attack by a creature within 15 feet of you that can hear you, you may use a reaction and expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration. If you do, the creature makes a contested Wisdom (Insight) check against either your Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception), your choice, plus your Bardic Inspiration die. If the creature fails this check, it may not attack you this turn, but has not expended whichever action it used to attack you and may continue with its turn, as normal. Creatures immune to charm effects may not be affected by this ability.

Fiendish Tempo

6th-level College of the Fiend feature

Magical hellfire flows freely through your precious instrument, and fire sparks from your fingertips when you play. You gain knowledge of the spells hellish rebuke, flame blade, and fireball, which are always prepared and count as bard spells for you, and do not count against the total bard spells you may know.

Infernal Orchestra

14th-level College of the Fiend feature

You learn a final eldritch cadence on your precious instrument. Playing this cadence as an action rends portals through the fabric of the Prime Material, allowing six fiendish instrumentalists to appear in any available space within 30 feet of you. These instrumentalists follow any commands you give them to the letter (if not your actual intent), and in combat they act independently on their own turn that immediately follows your own. If you give the instrumentalists no instructions, they will defend themselves against creatures attacking them, but otherwise will take no actions aside from icily tuning and improvising with their instruments.

When you make a Performance check or a check with an instrument with which you have proficiency, you may order the instrumentalists to play an accompaniment, if they are present. For the duration of your check the instrumentalists will play music accompanying your melody, using the Help action each turn and conferring advantage on Performance or instrument checks you make.

After one hour or if you drop to 0 hit points, the instrumentalists and their belongings disappear in a puff of brimstone. Once you use this ability, you must complete a long rest before you may use it again.

Fiendish Instrument

Small fiend, neutral evil

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 33 (6d8+6)
Speed 20 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
9 (-1)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)

---

Damage Resistances cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non magical weapons that aren't silvered
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Skills Deception +4, Performance +4
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

---

Devil's Sight. Magical darkness doesn't impede the instrumentalist's darkvision.

Magic Resistance. The instrumentalist has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

---

Actions

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4+3) slashing damage.

Fire Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (ldl0) fire damage.

Vicious Mockery. As an action, the instrumentalist targets one creature within 60 feet that can hear the instrumentalist. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of 12. If the target fails, it takes 2 (1 d4) psychic damage and has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.