College of Wyrdsingers
As Ael’wyn parried aside another thrust of the blade, she saw the weaves of the wyrd in her mind’s eye, and fought with renewed vigor, knowing today was not the day she would die…
Ael’wyn, a Wyrdsinger Bard
Bards of the College of Wyrdsingers subscribe to the wyrd, a philosophy that centers around the phenomenon of the same name. The wyrd is that which will be, inexorably tied to such concepts as destiny and fate. Though some might consider the idea of a fixed destiny fatalistic, the bards of this college are inspired by this viewpoint. One may not choose the manner of one’s death, but one can choose how to meet it, and that idea is at the heart of this college. An insect might be caught in a spider’s web. Whether it lives or dies, its struggles ultimately shake the web in its entirety, and it might free itself through such effort. The struggle affects all things, however remotely connected they might be, whereas the insect that merely accepts its death leaves not even a ripple behind. To confront fate, to embrace the wyrd and whatever it brings, is to have the power to shake the world and make it take notice.
Building a Wyrdinger Bard
Bards who pursue the College of Wyrdsingers have glimpsed their destiny, and in so doing, gained powers that help ensure they reach that fate, by empowering both themselves and their allies, even bringing them back from the brink of death. Keep the following traits and abilities in mind when building your character:
Braggart - Your proficiency bonus is doubled when making Intimidation or Persuasion checks using your Charisma.
Inspire Greatness - As a bonus action, you can instill a sense of worth in a single ally, granting them a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier on their attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, and saving throws, for a short amount of time.
Quickened Abjuration - You can use a bonus action to cast any abjuration spell you know that normally take 1 action, once per long rest.
Not This Day - If one of your allies is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use a Bardic Inspiration to grant them temporary HP equal to the die roll.
Make Your Own Fate - As an action, you can sing a song of valor that grants you immunity to the frightened condition, which can be extended to anyone benefitting from your Bardic Inspiration. Additionally, you add your Charisma modifier to the damage rolls for any spell or weapon attack you make.
With these abilities, Wyrdsingers make for excellent support characters, both and off the battlefield. With Braggart, they can charm or strong-arm their way through most social encounters, while Inspire Greatness can help out with everything from the rogue picking a lock to the fighter leaping over a chasm. In the heat of battle, Quickened Abjuration and Not This Day can help keep the party on their feet, quite literally. While bards don’t have access to Shield, one of the most well-known abjuration spells, they can learn the cantrip Blade Ward, which becomes a much more viable spell when it can be cast as a bonus action!
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to picking your race, especially if your gamemaster allows the optional rules variant to customize racial ability modifiers. However, some races may possess certain racial features that grant them an additional edge when it comes to particular classes.
With Charisma being their primary spellcasting stat, half-elf and tiefling both make excellent bards, assuming you are using base racial modifers. However, another option (from the Core Content Pack) that fits quite nicely into the Wyrdsinger’s “prophetic” niche is the Wyrd Gnome, whose Prescience trait allows you to replace a single attack roll, saving throw, or ability check made by yourself or another creature with one you determine at the beginning of each day.
Roleplaying Tips
When roleplaying as a Wyrdsinger, you may first want to discuss with your gamemaster about the extent to which your powers have allowed you to foresee your fate. Together, you may decide that you’ve received visions of your final moments, or perhaps you’ve only been provided a vague omen. Whatever you decide, you should consider how your prophetic nature is reflected in your personality. You could play a braggadocious daredevil, whose so certain about their fate that they’re willing to take risks others might turn away from. On the other hand, you may have received a more vague or ominous view of the future, knowing only that your death will come “at the hands of someone you love,” leaving you paranoid and hesitant to get too close to anyone.
Your roleplaying may also be informed by the background that you choose. Vaudevillian is a natural choice for any bard, with its flair for performance, but you could also consider taking Burglar if you’ve pursued a life of crime, or perhaps Recluse if your visions of the future have caused you to withdraw from civilization altogether. As always, whatever path you choose to follow, be sure to ask yourself why it is you’ve sought out the company of an adventuring party, and use that to guide your roleplaying in the future.
How to Access this Content
This subclass was created by our partners at Kobold Press, and it is one of the many available to subscribers, along with others like the Way of the Dragon Spirit or the Elementalist, as well as races such as the Shade or Spindrift Dwarf. Learn about these and others by checking out the rest of our Character Choices series.
Build your own College of Wyrdsingers Bard and tell us about it in the comments below or on any of our social channels. Join us on Discord, Reddit or Facebook to meet other members of the community and take your game to the next level, or follow us on Twitter @shardtabletop for regular updates.
