College of Secrets
Blood Initiation
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you have been fully initiated as a member of your secret society,
and you have been trained in all their mysterious ways. They in turn expect your loyalty and secrecy, but this
gives you several benefits:
You gain proficiency with one Charisma-based skill, and with two of the following tools: thieves’ tools,
disguise kits, forgery kits, or poisoner kits.
You can communicate wordlessly with any other member of your secret society who can see you. If you
can see them, they can communicate back. This is not telepathy, but a combination of gesture and
innuendo that no one outside of your group can perceive without some kind of magical insight.
As an action, when a non-hostile creature is frightened of you, you can make a Charisma (Deception)
check against its passive Insight score (10 + Insight modifier) to cause it to stop being frightened of you
and become charmed by you instead. It remains charmed by you for 10 minutes or until you or your
companions threaten it or do something harmful to it. Creatures immune to being charmed remain
frightened of you. If you genuinely mean the creature no harm, the DM may allow you to make a Charisma
(Persuasion) check instead of using your Deception skill.
Predatory Insight
At 3rd level, you learn the hunter’s mark spell. It does not count against the total number of spells you can
know as a bard. When an ally attacks a creature that is the subject of your hunter’s mark, you can use your
reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and adding the
result to the ally’s attack roll. If the ally hits, they inflict additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
In addition, when a creature that is the subject of your hunter’s mark spell attacks another creature you can
see or hear, you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to give them
disadvantage on that attack roll. If the attack still hits, the damage is reduced by an amount equal to the
number rolled on your Bardic Inspiration die.
Grim Mockery Starting at 6th level, you can use what seems like gentle teasing, a polite word of caution, or even just a look to communicate a terrifying threat. When you cast the vicious mockery cantrip, the range is doubled, you can target two creatures instead of just one, and you add your Charisma modifier to the damage roll. At 11th level you can target up to three creatures with this cantrip, and at 17th level you can target as many as four. In addition, at 14th level, when you successfully strike an opponent with an attack, you can cast vicious mockery as a bonus action, targeting only the opponent you struck. Secret Insights At 6th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with a creature outside combat, you can cast the detect thoughts spell on that creature while you are interacting with it without using a spell slot, as long as it is not hostile to you. When you cast detect thoughts with this feature, if you choose to probe deeply into that creature’s thoughts, it has disadvantage on the Wisdom saving throw, and if it fails it is not aware you are probing its mind. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest. Cutting Secrets Starting at 14th level, when you roll an ability check or saving throw to resist any attempt to discern information about you, your plans, your location, or your thoughts, you have advantage on the roll, and if your proficiency bonus is applied, you double your proficiency bonus for that roll. This includes effects that would read your thoughts or compel you to speak the truth. If you succeed on your roll, you can cast vicious mockery as a reaction, but must include the source of the attempt to discern the information as a target. Informant Network At 14th level, you have carefully built up a network of informants who you can contact from almost anywhere (via a messenger bird, magic, or other means). These informants are mix of guards, beggars, vagabonds, merchants, and allied government officials who have enough personal loyalty to you to perform routine favors, but not to risk their safety. As long as you are within 100 miles of a settlement that includes at least 100 intelligent creatures with whom you share a language, you can cast the commune, legend lore, and scrying spells as rituals with a 1-hour casting time, but they are not magical effects, and you do not learn those spells; they represent information from your network rather than divination magic, and can be used even if spells are unavailable (such as in areas of dead magic or antimagic field spells). You do not require any verbal or somatic components when casting these spells in this way, but you must be able to converse with your contacts during the casting, and the costs of any material components must be paid normally (representing bribes you paid previously). Any references to contact with deities in those spells instead reference contact with your network. Within the limitations of these spells, you can gain any information that is known or could be observed by more than 1 person within 200 miles. The casting time is the time it takes to contact your network and get back your answer.
Grim Mockery Starting at 6th level, you can use what seems like gentle teasing, a polite word of caution, or even just a look to communicate a terrifying threat. When you cast the vicious mockery cantrip, the range is doubled, you can target two creatures instead of just one, and you add your Charisma modifier to the damage roll. At 11th level you can target up to three creatures with this cantrip, and at 17th level you can target as many as four. In addition, at 14th level, when you successfully strike an opponent with an attack, you can cast vicious mockery as a bonus action, targeting only the opponent you struck. Secret Insights At 6th level, if you spend at least 1 minute observing or interacting with a creature outside combat, you can cast the detect thoughts spell on that creature while you are interacting with it without using a spell slot, as long as it is not hostile to you. When you cast detect thoughts with this feature, if you choose to probe deeply into that creature’s thoughts, it has disadvantage on the Wisdom saving throw, and if it fails it is not aware you are probing its mind. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest. Cutting Secrets Starting at 14th level, when you roll an ability check or saving throw to resist any attempt to discern information about you, your plans, your location, or your thoughts, you have advantage on the roll, and if your proficiency bonus is applied, you double your proficiency bonus for that roll. This includes effects that would read your thoughts or compel you to speak the truth. If you succeed on your roll, you can cast vicious mockery as a reaction, but must include the source of the attempt to discern the information as a target. Informant Network At 14th level, you have carefully built up a network of informants who you can contact from almost anywhere (via a messenger bird, magic, or other means). These informants are mix of guards, beggars, vagabonds, merchants, and allied government officials who have enough personal loyalty to you to perform routine favors, but not to risk their safety. As long as you are within 100 miles of a settlement that includes at least 100 intelligent creatures with whom you share a language, you can cast the commune, legend lore, and scrying spells as rituals with a 1-hour casting time, but they are not magical effects, and you do not learn those spells; they represent information from your network rather than divination magic, and can be used even if spells are unavailable (such as in areas of dead magic or antimagic field spells). You do not require any verbal or somatic components when casting these spells in this way, but you must be able to converse with your contacts during the casting, and the costs of any material components must be paid normally (representing bribes you paid previously). Any references to contact with deities in those spells instead reference contact with your network. Within the limitations of these spells, you can gain any information that is known or could be observed by more than 1 person within 200 miles. The casting time is the time it takes to contact your network and get back your answer.
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