College of Madness

<div class='footnote'>College of Madness | /u/Eiti3</div>

## College of Madness

*“We like to think our lives have meaning, but after we die, we live on through those who knew us, we will live on through their memories of us, we will live on through the stories they tell of us. But what happens when the last person to know you, the last person to say your name aloud, the last person to tell your story dies? Once they are gone, you are gone. You cease to exist, you are dust on the pages of a book that will never open again. Dust on top of a story that was once your story, and now the pages are blank.* Dust. *And what do you do when the last person to know you, the last person to say your name aloud, the last person to tell your tale... lies?”* - Musings of the Dreadmen.

The College of Madness has no home, no location people can seek out, nor any history even. Bards of Madness study their tricks, their lies, their truths within their own heads and the heads of others. Their aims, goals, plans are unknown even to themselves; seeking out truths in the broken planes of their own mind.

Madmen are a constant in the universe. Forces of chaos and evil perpetuate such behavior. Bards of Madness range from Prophets of the Forsaken to Undertakers of the Mind, from Truth Sowers to Blasphemous Storytellers. They do not appear as lunatics or psychopaths. No, they tend to look like the common man, for inside is where one hides their true self. Inside, a place of constant questions and worries, a fallible mind. A mad bard’s mind is quite gone, yet they speak nothing but truth.

### Hollow Unveiling

When you join the College of Madness at 3rd level, your mind has fractured being shown things beyond fathoming.

You gain three madness levels granting you an **indefinite madness** flaw. The flaw is determined by your DM's discretion, a roll of a d100, or of your own choice. This madness flaw can be suppressed, but never cured outside of a *wish* spell.

In addition, you can spend at least one minute talking to a creature to enlighten them of what lurks beyond. At the end of the conversation, they must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened of everyone around them. Creatures that can't be charmed make this save with advantage. The target is frightened in this way for 1 hour, until it spends one minute blinded, is attacked or damaged, or witnesses its allies being attacked or damaged.

If the target succeeds on its saving throw, the target knows you tried to frighten it.

You can instead perform a ballad or an eerie tune for at least one minute, and subject a target to this feature at the end of your performance.

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

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### Splinter the Mind

Starting at 3rd level, your words pierce the minds of others and peel away reason.

When you cast a spell or use an ability that would cause a creature to make a Wisdom saving throw, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to inflict a penalty to the target's saving throw. The penalty equals half of the number you rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die and you subtract that number from the target's saving throw.

### Mantle of Sanity

At 6th level, you gain the ability to pull back the veil and wear your thoughts on the outside.

As an action you can cast *alter self* without expending a spell slot. When you cast it this way you magically reshape your body, gaining all 3 benefits of the *alter self* spell. For the spell's duration, you can conjure forth the images from your mind as a bonus action, as if you were casting the *minor illusion* spell. You may have an unlimited amount of illusions from *minor illusion* active, until they have finished their duration or until you dismiss them.

As an action, you can cause each of your illusions made this way to temporarily solidify with shadow magic and either grapple or attack a creature within 5 feet of one of your illusion. Both the grapple and the attack rolls use your spellcasting ability modifier. If the attack hits, the creature takes psychic damage equal to 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier. A creature that knows the true nature of the illusions is immune to this damage.

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

### Reality Distortion

Beginning at 14th level, reality has become relative. The world is but pieces of one's perception.

The world around you alters and fragments as a result of your presence. You may cast an illusion spell you know as a 5th-level spell, without expending a spell slot. The spell doesn't require concentration and its duration lasts until you choose to dismiss it as a bonus action, or until you finish your next long rest.

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

<br>

> ##### Credits
> Bardic College: College of Madness by /u/Eiti3<br><br>
> 
> Special thanks to /u/LettersBrew as always!

<br>

\pagebreak

<div class='footnote'>College of Madness | /u/Eiti3</div>

## Madness Mechanics

Madness is a variant rule offered on page 258-260 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. If you would like to use the original *Going Mad* rules, visit the DMG to learn more. However, from here on is a redux on the variant rules designed by /u/Eiti3 to create madness effects that don't derail the game. If your game isn't grim dark, horror, or otherwise non-wholesome, consider it best to not use the Madness variant rule.<br><br>

Adventurers are only as strong as their will to continue. That same drive can be tested, bent, and broken. A broken will creates a broken man whose sanity teeters on the brink.

Madness levels are tangible effects that can be bestowed upon a character. They allow for more roleplaying experiences, possible quest lines, and a hint more difficulty.

### Going Mad

Madness is the breaking of the psyche. Going mad by the breaking of the mind requires a Wisdom saving throw; breaking of the spirit requires a Charisma saving throw.

One can go mad by beholding a great terror, enduring a possession, prolonged or systematic torture, the irreversible death of a loved one, taking massive psychic damage, Dark Speech^DMG^ ^p.223^, attempts at deciphering something beyond comprehension, eldritch phenomena, resurrection, cursed magical items, specific poisons or diseases, extensive isolation, and so much more. It is up to the Dungeon Master to determine when madness would make an appropriate appearance.

The madness saving throw should be determined by a DC of 13 + the target's current madness levels. If it is caused by a spellcaster, it would be their spellcaster’s saving throw DC + the target's madness levels.

### Madness Effects

Madness can be short-term, long-term, or indefinite. Most people will only experience a first level madness in their life, causing them to irrationally fear a creature, place, or event.

A character afflicted with one level of madness is subjected to an effect from the **Short-Term Madness** table for one minute. Another character can take an action to snap them out of the minute long madness.

A character afflicted with two levels of madness is subjected to an effect from the **Long-Term Madness** table that lasts until cured. The character can reroll the saving throw at the end of each week to rid themselves of it.

A character afflicted with three levels of madness gains a new character flaw from the **Indefinite Madness** table that lasts until cured.

When a creature is afflicted with a madness level, the creature will act as if affected by the antipathy effect of the *antipathy/sympathy* spell. The target is up to the Dungeon Master’s discretion.

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### Madness Levels

A character will always keep their madness levels, even if they are no longer affected by the first and second level effects. Each time a character gains a new madness level, it adds to the previous one become a second or third madness level. When a character with three levels in madness gains another madness level, it gains another first level of madness aside from its previous three. This cycle repeats allowing a character to potentially gain more than one level three indefinite madness flaws.

Although, the character's madness levels start again at one after every three levels, you count up the total amount of levels when it comes to calculating madness saving throws or curing madness.

> ##### Limit Madness
> You may limit a character's madness levels to 3.

### Curing Madness

A *calm emotions* spell can suppress the effects of madness, while a *lesser restoration* spell can rid a character of a short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source of the madness, *remove curse* or *dispel good and evil* might also prove effective. A *greater restoration* or more powerful magic, such as *wish*, is required to rid a character of indefinite madness.

Attempting to cure, or even suppress, madness outside of magical means is a long and arduous process that rarely succeeds. A character can spend a year downtime to be professionally cared for and allow them another chance to save on their madness saving throw. On a success, their overall madness drops by one level.

### Creating Madness Flaws

Insanity is not explicitly defined in Dungeons & Dragons and instead covers a broad scope of mental issues one may encounter. As either a player or Dungeon Master, you may not feel like the current indefinite flaws may fit a certain character, event, or theme.

Creating a new madness flaw can be a slippery slope. The flaw should reflect an extreme that has been found common for those with a mental break. This flaw needs to represent some vice, compulsion, fear, or weakness that can be exploited by others to bring ruin or cause the character to act against their best interests. For example, “I do the same thing over and over again until I get different results” is an acceptable indefinite madness flaw. It is an extreme compulsion that can be easily exploited by a foe to distract or delay.

Additionally, one could take a base flaw, as found in the character’s background, and amplify it to the extreme. This sort of indefinite madness opens up possible character growth and perhaps a redemption to sanity, allowing that flaw to relax to the original, manageable state, but never truly leaving.

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<div class='footnote'>College of Madness | /u/Eiti3</div>

##### Level 1 Madness Effects (Short-Term)
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| d10  | Effect (1 minute) |
|:-:|:-|
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##### Level 2 Madness Effects (Long-Term)
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| d10  | Effect (At least 1 week) |
|:-:|:-|
|  1  |  |
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|  3  |  |
|  4  |  |
|  5  |  |
|  6  |  |
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| 10  |  |

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##### Level 3 Madness Effects (Indefinite)
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| d10  | Effect (Until cured) |
|:-:|:-|
|  1  |  |
|  2  |  |
|  3  |  |
|  4  |  |
|  5  |  |
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| 10  |  |

### Beyond Madness

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