Bard College: College Dropout

**reddit:**  [u/Tintenseher](https://www.reddit.com/user/Tintenseher)<br>
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**Discord:** Tintenseher#4108

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**Subclasses:** [Bard College: College Dropout](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-L9Ma1lYN4BLGbNE09Dj), [Bard College: College of Cards](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LBNDbgPNRsp-cxDmlMJ), [Druid Circle: Circle of the Warden](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-Lf6PJpqiQoqOVkD40Gh), [Sacred Oath: Oath of the Hearth](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LCBUZ63w2LW3X-Xrtyq)

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### Bard College: College Dropout

Some bards collect ancient secrets in their travels. Some tell tales of glorious heroes and daring adventures. Some can accent their magic with the touch of the Feywild, some can juggle a half-dozen knives without a scratch, and some can cloak themselves in the shadows of the dead.

You, on the other hand, flunked out.

Some bards, usually called fools (or, if disinclined to flattery, dunces), just can't hack it in the high-stress world of upper bardic education. Whether because you didn't have the talent, the dedication, the interpersonal skills, or the respect for the craft, you failed to impress members of any other bard college, and had to find your own way to magical advancement.

A fool's path is one of improvisation, trial and error, and self-discovery. Fools excel at finding creative and fresh ways to solve problems, usually with the goal of spending the least money and resources possible. They often find themselves busking or performing comedy in order to make a few silver.

Fools are still bards, however, and they have learned to eke out an existence in a world that would normally reject them. They do what it takes to survive, and may even overcome a collegiate bard's abilities through sheer willpower. After all, great minds think alike, but fools will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

##### College Dropout Features

| Bard Level  | Feature |
|:---:|:---|
| 3rd | Bonus Proficiencies, Burn the Midnight Oil, Inspiration Crunch |
| 6th | In the Nick of Time |
| 14th | Eleventh Hour |

#### Bonus Proficiencies

When you drop out of college at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with improvised weapons and two types of gaming set.

#### Burn the Midnight Oil

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to make last-minute tweaks to your work. When a creature rolls a 1 on a Bardic Inspiration die that you have given them, they can reroll the die. The creature must use the new roll, even if it is a 1.

#### Inspiration Crunch

At 3rd level, you learn how to make the most of your Bardic Inspiration. As a bonus action, you can expend two uses of your Bardic Inspiration to give another creature within 60 feet of you who can hear you two Bardic Inspiration dice instead of one. That creature can use them both at once or on two separate rolls, but both still disappear after 10 minutes.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

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#### In the Nick of Time

At 6th level, you develop a knack for sensing when your inspiration is needed. When another creature within 60 feet of you that you can see and that can hear you makes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you can use your reaction to expend two uses of your Bardic Inspiration and give that creature a Bardic Inspiration die. If the creature doesn't add the die to the roll that triggered it, the die is lost.

#### Eleventh Hour

At 14th level, you gain the ability draw on a well of inner strength and procrastination while you're at your lowest. When you give another creature a Bardic Inspiration die, if it was your last use of Bardic Inspiration, you may have the creature retain the die even after rolling it. Any number of times within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. You can use this feature with your Inspiration Crunch, but the creature only retains one die, not both.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

> ##### Art Credits
> * *A Bard's Tale* by [Bisart](bisart.deviantart.com). Used in good faith.  
> * Watercolor stains by [flammableconcrete](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-L4Yt8ZSxmhwqt--yNRT).

<div class='footnote'><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">By Jonas Tintenseher</span></div>