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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next College of Karma: Punishment Bard



sandmote
2021-10-04, 02:43 PM
This page on the homebrewery (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ZwkYlM9xYmhk)

This is based on the 4e Karmic Shaper paragon path from Arcane Powers. I figure it's fitting for a bard, and a good excuse to lean into Bardic Inspiration's gaminess. It would likely also serve okay as a controller against single targets, without eating up your action economy the way the College of Glamour's Mantle of Majesty does. Not sure there's enough there to specialize in it though.

Fluff
Karma is the balancing force of the multiverse, which punishes those who do harm and rewards those who aid. Bards of the College of Karma learn to twist this force in their favor, turning it to deflect harm they may have earned or to inflict it on others. These bards can also burn off imbalanced karma for creatures in their current life, either as a defense or to grant a better afterlife to the recipient.


Karmic Aid
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your training in channeling the karma of those around you allows you to mark notable occasions and events. You learn the Ceremony spell. It is a bard spell for you, but it doesn't count against your number of bard spells known.

You can cast Ceremony without requiring material components once, and regain the ability to do so at the end of a long rest.

I thought it would be worth it to grant a feature for positive karma.


Karmic Wounds
At 3rd level, you learn to turn a creature's karma in on itself. As a bonus action, you can select one creature within 60 feet that you can see, expending one use of your bardic inspiration to bring its karma to bear on its present. Each time the creature deals damage to another creature before the end of your next turn, it takes psychic damage equal to a roll on your bardic inspiration die.

Taken from the 4e version, I'm not sure about the balance. If you require it to go off once per attack/spell, it might be a bit weak against melee characters, but if it deals damage for everyone damaged it can take out a lot of a caster's own hit points per fireball. Perhaps the latter is a better idea, considering it needs some power, can be counter-played, and there's usually only so many party members.


Warp Karma
Beginning at 6th level, you can warp the space around an ally when they miss with a melee weapon attack, shifting the balance of fate. If the ally is within 60 feet and you can see them and the target, you can roll two d20s as a reaction. Your ally can choose to replace the result of their roll with the result on either die. If they do so, their target uses the result on the other die for their next melee attack roll.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier and regain all uses at the end of a short or long rest.

Yeah, it is really gamey, possibly even more than the Divination Wizard's Portent. Taken from the 4e version, I don't think it is quite as powerful as portent though.


End of Luck
At 14th level, you learn to escape your own karma and foil that of others. When a creature makes an attack roll targeting you or forces you to make a saving throw, you can sour their karma as a reaction. The creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature's luck turns sour; treat its attack roll as a natural 1 or your saving throw as a natural 20. On a success the creature is unaffected.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency modifier, and regain the ability to do so at the end of a short or long rest.

Also taken from the 4e version. This seems really powerful to me, but technically does still allot creatures to succeed on some features they have.


Foil the Next Life
By 14th level, your control over the cosmic balance allows you to control your position in the next life. When you die, you instantly instantly gain the effect of the reincarnate spell, requiring no components. Once you have reincarnated, you can't use this feature again for 7 days.

Additionally, whenever you are targeted by the reincarnate spell, you can choose which humanoid race to reincarnate as, chosen from those listed on the reincarnate spell or allowed by your DM.

As far as I understand, Karma is actually based in the next life, not the current one. I see why the Karmic Shaper wouldn't do that (it doesn't really have much to do with a tactical game), I wanted to add some reference to that in this subclass. The only precedent for the duration that I recall is the Cleric's Divine Intervention, but this seems strong enough to warrant not refreshing after each short rest.