College of Aoidos

An aoidos tells epics to his audience, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. Through the use of composition, he puts together a creative story that is different each time he tells it. Since the story is not memorized but structured in dactylic hexameter meter, he can fluently sing in poetic verse for very long periods.

Perhaps the most famous aoidos is Orpheus, whose singing made the rocks and trees crowd closer to hear him.

Indeed, he was nearly impossible to approach at the height of his joy or the depths of his sorrow, as his music would make every living and inanimate thing dance with happiness or weep with sadness. The most powerful aoidos can mimic Orpheus’ powers, even charming the dead with their lyrics and music.

Aoidoi can perform amazing feats through song, even causing rocks and trees to huddle closer in order to listen to their music. Aoidoi can inspire men to greatness, stop arrows in their tracks, and even remind shades of their past lives.

Aoidoi worship two deities most: Apollo, for his musical ability, and Hermes, for his wanderlust and free spirit.

They of course revere all deities, who often are invoked by the Aoidoi and expect to be flattered in his tales.

Soften Earth And Stone

When you join the College of Aoidos, your songs are so soothing that they relax the rocks of their hardness. As an action, you can cause nonmagical rock of any sort up to 120 feet away in a 40-foot cube to become an equal volume of thick and flowing mud that remains for as long as you spend an action each round singing. If you sing at an area of ground, it becomes muddy enough that creatures can sink into it. Each foot that a creature moves through the mud costs 4 feet of movement, and any creature on the ground when you cast the spell must make a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus). A creature must also make this save the first time it enters the area on a turn or ends its turn there.

On a failed save, a creature sinks into the mud and is restrained, though it can use an action to end the restrained condition on itself by pulling itself free of the mud.

If you sing at a ceiling, the mud falls. Any creature under the mud when it falls must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus). A creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Protection From Arrows

Also at 3rd level, an Aoidos can sing away ranged weapon attacks. As an action each round, your singing and playing causes all ranged piercing attacks against you to have disadvantage.

Animate Plants

At 6th level, an Aoidos can invoke animate plants (as the spell). The animation is centered on the Aoidos and all plants in the area will move closer to the Aoidos to listen to his music. Should the Aoidos be under attack, the plants will defend him. They do not otherwise take commands from the Aoidos.

As an action, you can target a Large or smaller nonmagical plant you can see within 30 feet of you and animate it. Small plants are treated as awakened shrubs, Medium plants are vine blights, and Large plants are shambling mounds. The plant is under your control for 1 hour or until it is reduced to 0 hit points.

In combat, the plant shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take one of the actions in its stat block or the Dash, Disengage, Help, Hide, or Search action.

When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command which action your animated plant takes as part of the same bonus action.

Once you animate a plant with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of 2nd level or higher to use this feature. You can have only one plant animated by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have an animated plant from this feature, the first one immediately becomes inanimate.

Control Undead

Starting at 14th level, an Aoidos can control undead. You use an action to target one undead creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey your commands for the next 24 hours. An undead whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than your bard level is immune to this effect.

In combat, the undead shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take one of the actions in its stat block or the Dash, Disengage, Help, Hide, or Search action.

When you use your Bardic Inspiration feature, you can command which action the undead takes as part of the same bonus action.

Once you control and undead with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest or until you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use this feature. You can only control one undead by this feature at a time; if you use this action and already have an undead controlled by this feature, the first one is freed from your control.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

5E RPG: Ancient Adventures. Copyright 2020, Mal and Tal, LLC; Author Michael Tresca.