Bard of the Blues

Blues bards specialize in music to bring their enemies down rather than bringing their allies up. They play songs that intimidate, fascinate and confound their enemies. Their finales are all about finishing the combat once and for all.

1 - Malefic Performance

Blues bards have the bardic performance ability, but with a few key differences.

• Their performances vary in action type, with some of the more powerful performances requiring a standard action to begin.

• They can only ever affect enemies with their performances.

• Creatures get a new save to end performances at the end of each turn (but not finales). Some performances, like inspire doom and the blues, have no save.

• Once a creature passes its save against a performance, it becomes completely immune to that particular performance type for 1 hour. They get advantage on saves against other performances.

• Status effects from performance immediately end when a creature is no longer in the aura, allowing enemies to just leave, or push the bard away. This does not trigger the immunity/resistance to performance listed above.

1 - Performance: Inspire Doom

Action: Swift Enemies take a -2 penalty to attack and saves against fear effects.

1 - Performance: The Blues

Action: Swift Enemies treat the area of the performance as difficult terrain. This performance is unaffected by high note.

1 - Finale: Perfect Execution

Make an attack with a +10 bonus. You can also perform a special attack or technique that involves an attack (including a spell attack) with this finale.

2 - Cutting Words [mana burn] [recharge]

Roast your enemies, causing them to falter when it matters most. As an immediate action, you can force a creature within 30 ft to subtract a d6 to a d20 roll (minus luck checks). At level 6 this increases to d8. At level 10 this improves to d10.

This ability can be used once per minute. You can ignore the recharge time and use it again if you [mana burn] 2.

4 - Performance: Fascination [mind-affecting]

Action: Standard Enemies are fascinated (will negates). When used in combat, creatures get a new save at the end of each turn.

4 - Finale: Confounding Crescendo

Enemies are confused until they get an "act normally result."

6 - Performance: Insight Violence [mind-affecting]

You can gather a crowd of commoners in a settlement and cause them to riot over a specific topic. They grab their pitchforks and torches and start marching to burn something down, kill a scourge to society or something similar. You must continue this performance and lead them to maintain their fervor.

A creature outside of the crowd can attempt a persuasion roll (against the Blues Bard's DC with disadvantage) if they can get loud enough to be heard by the crowd. Once this persuasion check is successful, the crowd disperses. If the persuader beats your DC by 5, the crowd turns on you.

This doesn't have much practical use in combat unless there happens to be a large quantity of commoners in the area.

8 - Performance: Dirge of Doom

Action: Standard Enemies are frightened (will negates).

11 - Boogie Time [recharge]

The power of your music is too intense, and everybody must dance to it. Your enemies are stunned (will negates).