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Submortimer
2015-06-28, 09:50 PM
Bard College: College of Ooc

Ha! Get it?! This college is named "Ooc, cause OOC also stands for 'Out Of Character'!

You'd think that's funny if you really got the joke.

See, here's the thing: this is all a big game. Your school, your lute playing, those mountains, freaking magic; ALL of it. Everything you see, everything you do, and all that you know is one big game being played by creatures you can't even understand, and there isn't anything you can do to stop it.

Change it, on the other hand...that's WELL within your power. Once you hit third level, kid, you can join the College of Ooc, and start understanding the real truths about the universe.

I don't really know why I'm bothering to describe it to you, though...you're nothing more than an NPC...

Bonus Proficiencies
As soon as you join up, you get proficiency In Knowledge: Arcana and Knowledge: Religion skills. I'm not gonna speculate as to HOW this knowledge get's into your head, it just does.

Genre Savvy
Here's the real reason you joined: so you can learn to play the Game. See, every person has their role to play in this world: you got fighters, clerics, rogues...heck, even us bards. Since we know the secret of the Game, we know what those guys should be good at, and we can inspire them to do it BETTER. Whenever you inspire an ally, they can use your inspiration when they're performing an action that is consistant with their character class (attacking, healing, spellcasting, etc). What constitues "consistant" is up to the DM.

Who's the DM, you ask? why, he's the one running the Game.

Meta Knowledge
Judging from the blank look on your face, you still don't get anything I'm trying to say. No matter, you'll learn in time.

One of the things we quickly learn is to view ourselves the way the DM and our Player views us. Once you hit 6th level, you gain total knowledge of your own character sheet. While this likely won't tell you anything you didn't already understand, it does allow you to gain some insight on how to read creatures and people you come across. By studying a target for 1 round, you can glean a bit of meta-knowledge about that creature from their stat-block: Hit dice, stats, feats, a skill level, etc.

I know, I know, clear as mud. You'll get there, I promise.

Plot Twist
Those at the highest level of our school know that the DM is a sentient creature like anyone else, just more powerful: in this realm, there's none that can hope to defeat him, as he can extinguish the entire universe with a thought. That being said, They're ALSO a group of entities known as the Players. These guys, they take control of certain people at certain times, controlling thier actions, and often leading them to greatness. If you find yourself under the control of a Player, you shouldn't worry; in fact, you should be happy! Every so often, the DM will look favorably on the Players, and change things at the VERY last minute so that you don't die horribly. At 14th level, as an action, you can beseech the DM to interfere on ayour behalf. the exact nature of this interference varies and may not be what you expect (a spell, a summoned creature, sudden reversal of poor fortune), but it is always beneficial. You must take a Long rest before you can do this again.

Long rest? Still don't know what that is? Come, my young protege..let me give you an extended lesson on Game mechanics...



(So, this, along with the Warlock Patron: The DM (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?424618-New-Warlock-Patron-The-DM&p=19465512#post19465512), were both inspired by this post here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?424569-Help-making-a-(balanced)-meta-knight). These should be decently balanced for use in normal play, but are OBVIOUSLY tongue in cheek: allow at your own risk. :smallsmile:)

Inchoroi
2015-06-28, 10:34 PM
...the first thing to pop into my head was Deadpool. That alone means this is good.

Submortimer
2015-06-28, 10:57 PM
...the first thing to pop into my head was Deadpool. That alone means this is good.

(That was mostly the idea. He's Genre Savvy (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreSavvy), and so is this, so there's not a ton of difference.)

Torched Forever
2015-06-28, 11:20 PM
Bonus Proficiency. Straight outta valor bard. Not necessarily bad, but should replace valor possibly.
Genre Savvy. This could use some more rules and clarifications. Currently, its worthless. Write out what each does (attacking/spell casting: +damage, healing: +heal) because right now it doesn't really have any effect.
Extra Attack. See Bonus Proficiency above.
Plot Twist. Balance is entirely up to the DM. Either he lets it be useful, makes you use it when he would do it anyway, or makes it useless. I guess this is okay considering the flavor.

These are great, keep it up! (Might I suggest magical plot armor or meta-eating monsters?)

PotatoGolem
2015-06-28, 11:22 PM
I really love that both of these out-of-character classes have an in-character description for all their abilities.

Submortimer
2015-06-28, 11:42 PM
I don't even know how you guys heard that conversation between me and that schmuck, but I'll try to answer your questions without looking like a madman to that wench at the end of the bar.


Bonus Proficiency. Straight outta valor bard. Not necessarily bad, but should replace valor possibly.


Yeah, we came up with it first, but Valor College is more popular. Stealing bastards.



Genre Savvy. This could use some more rules and clarifications. Currently, its worthless. Write out what each does (attacking/spell casting: +damage, healing: +heal) because right now it doesn't really have any effect.


Like I told that clown, it's mostly up to the DM, but when I use it, the guys that swing swords hit better (+ attack rolls), the clerics heal better (+ hp when healing), the wizards blast better (+damage on spells), and the rogues steal better (+skill checks). Of course, you should probably define that with the DM before you sit down to play the Game.



Extra Attack. See Bonus Proficiency above.


We're KNIGHTS. We hit things better. I don't know why we do, it's just a thing that happens!



Plot Twist. Balance is entirely up to the DM. Either he lets it be useful, makes you use it when he would do it anyway, or makes it useless. I guess this is okay considering the flavor.


Hey, I don't control any of this stuff, I just ask for help, and help comes. Sometimes. Usually it's just a spell, but the crazy bastard once summoned a flock of giant eagles to rescue me and my party from an army of marauding orcs. What kind of lazy plot device was that?



These are great, keep it up! (Might I suggest magical plot armor or meta-eating monsters?)

Sure pal, no problem. I DO only exist for your amusement, after all.

And plot armor? If you want something like that, go talk to that weirdo Warlock across the street...you'll know him, he's the one always muttering about "character builds" and "why the DM's girlfriend sucks as a Player".

Submortimer
2015-06-28, 11:46 PM
I really love that both of these out-of-character classes have an in-character description for all their abilities.

(Thanks! It felt like more fun to do it that way!)




Wait, why can I still hear you guys?

(Don't worry about it man. The wench totally digs you, go have some fun)

...you know, you're not half bad.

Sindeloke
2015-06-29, 02:47 AM
I feel like maybe you're going in the wrong direction with this. I mean, a bard is a storyteller living inside a story! That's incredibly powerful, because it means he knows all the rules of the universe, all the cliches and the plot diagrams and the literary conventions. Think like Elan and Tarquin, or Discworld. I'm thinking stuff like

Heroes not Chumps Heroes sacrifice themselves in epic battle, they don't trip over their own shoelaces or die of dysentery on the side of the road. When an ally botches a skill attempt or gets killed by a CR 2 skeleton right outside the Lich-King's throne room, you can just be like "no, that didn't happen, that would be lame, she's fine."

Million to one Chance We all know a million to one shot always makes it. You add some kind of bonus to an ally that scales with their sources of disadvantage, or let them auto-succeed on a check they can't mathematically make.

Invoke Cliche If this is a story, some things are just going to happen whether the bad guys like it or not. You can use this whenever a cliche would help you out. For example, if you get tossed in prison you can invoke a jailbreak cliche and say the rogue has lockpicks hidden in her hair or a brick is loose in the barbarian's cell, and it becomes true. You only get one for free, though. After that every time you invoke a cliche, the DM gets one too. So if you later invoke "soft landing" and put a straw bale or cloth awning under a window you have to jump out of, the DM can then invoke "it's a trap" and walk your party into an ambush with no Perception checks permitted.

You might also have to pay for a particularly costly cliche even if it's the first. That "deus ex machina" with the eagles that you invoked, for example, might warrant something as extreme as "your cool new ring turns out to be an evil artifact."

Submortimer
2015-06-29, 09:42 PM
(Retcon! I changed some of the Bard abilities, since I'm planning on doing "Meta" versions of all the classes)

Twelvetrees
2015-06-29, 11:45 PM
I like the writing style for this. It fits quite well with the build and makes the reader aware of the type of character they could potentially play.



Bonus Proficiencies
As soon as you join up, you get proficiency In Knowledge: Arcana and Knowledge: Religion skills. I'm not gonna speculate as to HOW this knowledge get's into your head, it just does.

Remove the word Knowledge from in front of both of these skills. They're just Arcana and Religion. Do note that Lore Bard's have a better version of this.



Genre Savvy
Here's the real reason you joined: so you can learn to play the Game. See, every person has their role to play in this world: you got fighters, clerics, rogues...heck, even us bards. Since we know the secret of the Game, we know what those guys should be good at, and we can inspire them to do it BETTER. Whenever you inspire an ally, they can use your inspiration when they're performing an action that is consistant with their character class (attacking, healing, spellcasting, etc). What constitues "consistant" is up to the DM.

Please clarify this ability. Is this Bardic Inspiration, or is it the mechanic Inspiration that every player can get? Also, if it's Bardic Inspiration, you've added no additional capabilities to the base feature. Bardic Inspiration can already be added to attacks, saves, and skill checks. The only alternative ability I'm coming up with right now would be to make it so if the Bardic Inspiration die's result is a 1, it could be rerolled. If it was a 1 again, no further rerolls could be made.



Meta Knowledge
One of the things we quickly learn is to view ourselves the way the DM and our Player views us. Once you hit 6th level, you gain total knowledge of your own character sheet. While this likely won't tell you anything you didn't already understand, it does allow you to gain some insight on how to read creatures and people you come across. By studying a target for 1 round, you can glean a bit of meta-knowledge about that creature from their stat-block: Hit dice, stats, feats, a skill level, etc.

This feature is near-identical to the Battlemaster Fighter's 7th level ability, but requires far less time and has broader applications. My suggestion would be to replace this feature with something like the ability to know a skill check DC by using a bonus action. The Bard would regain this ability after a short rest.



Plot Twist
At 14th level, as an action, you can beseech the DM to interfere on ayour behalf. the exact nature of this interference varies and may not be what you expect (a spell, a summoned creature, sudden reversal of poor fortune), but it is always beneficial. You must take a Long rest before you can do this again.


This looks like a better version of the Cleric's Divine Intervention feature at level 20. I like this feature, but it could use some better description of its exact effects. Give the DM something to work with.


Overall, I quite like this subclass. Nicely done.

Submortimer
2015-06-30, 12:09 AM
I like the writing style for this. It fits quite well with the build and makes the reader aware of the type of character they could potentially play.



Remove the word Knowledge from in front of both of these skills. They're just Arcana and Religion. Do note that Lore Bard's have a better version of this.

Please clarify this ability. Is this Bardic Inspiration, or is it the mechanic Inspiration that every player can get? Also, if it's Bardic Inspiration, you've added no additional capabilities to the base feature. Bardic Inspiration can already be added to attacks, saves, and skill checks. The only alternative ability I'm coming up with right now would be to make it so if the Bardic Inspiration die's result is a 1, it could be rerolled. If it was a 1 again, no further rerolls could be made.

This feature is near-identical to the Battlemaster Fighter's 7th level ability, but requires far less time and has broader applications. My suggestion would be to replace this feature with something like the ability to know a skill check DC by using a bonus action. The Bard would regain this ability after a short rest.

This looks like a better version of the Cleric's Divine Intervention feature at level 20. I like this feature, but it could use some better description of its exact effects. Give the DM something to work with.


Overall, I quite like this subclass. Nicely done.

So, just so you get the intent of this: Most of these abilities are somewhat undefined on purpose. In this case, the Ooc Bard asks the DM flatly, "Can this guys use my inspiration on *Blah* check?" And the DM says yes or no. Same thing with Plot Twist.

Now, should your DM decide to let you use this class, it is up to them to make sure you didn't feel like you wasted your levels on something that fundamentally doesn't work. You should work out with the DM ahead of time what works and what doesn't; it's intended to be more than just Attack rolls, Skill checks, and Saves, but different for each class.

Twelvetrees
2015-06-30, 08:41 AM
So, just so you get the intent of this: Most of these abilities are somewhat undefined on purpose. In this case, the Ooc Bard asks the DM flatly, "Can this guys use my inspiration on *Blah* check?" And the DM says yes or no. Same thing with Plot Twist.

Now, should your DM decide to let you use this class, it is up to them to make sure you didn't feel like you wasted your levels on something that fundamentally doesn't work. You should work out with the DM ahead of time what works and what doesn't; it's intended to be more than just Attack rolls, Skill checks, and Saves, but different for each class.

Makes sense, I suppose. The DM just has to put in a little more effort to make the character work. Should be fine without changes as long as the DM is well aware of this (which they should be anyways).