College of Tactics

Bards of the College of Tactics are calculating strategists who scour historical records of famous battles for tricks they can use to give their own troops, and those of their patrons, an edge on the battlefield. Members of this college travel from war zone to combat site and interview the veterans of those engagements, trying to discern how the victors won the day and leveraging that information for their personal glory.

Combat Tactician

When you join the College of Tactics at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and one martial weapon of your choice. In addition, you can use Bardic Inspiration a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of 1) + your proficiency bonus. You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest (or short rest if you have the Font of Inspiration feature), as normal.

Setting the Board

Also at 3rd level, you can move your allies into more advantageous positions, just as a general moves troop markers on a map. As a bonus action, you can command up to three willing allies who can see or hear you to use a reaction to move. Each target can move up to half its speed. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Song of Strategy

Beginning at 6th level, you can share your tactical knowledge with your allies in the heat of battle. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration die from you can roll that die and perform one of the following strategies. For the purpose of these strategies, “you” refers to the creature with the Bardic Inspiration die.

Bait and Bleed. If you take the Dodge action, you can make one melee attack against a creature that is within 5 feet of you, adding the number rolled to your attack roll.

Counter Offensive. If you take damage from a creature, you can use your reaction to make one attack against your attacker, adding the number rolled to your attack roll. You can’t use this strategy if the attacker is outside your weapon’s normal range or reach.

Distraction. You can take the Disengage action as a bonus action, increasing your speed by 5 feet × the number rolled.

Frightening Charge. If you take the Dash action, you can make one melee attack at the end of the movement, adding the number rolled to your attack roll. If the attack is a critical hit, the target is frightened until the start of your next turn.

Hold Steady. If you take the Ready action and the trigger for the readied action doesn’t occur, you can make one weapon or spell attack roll after all other creatures have acted in the round, adding the number rolled to the attack roll.

Indirect Approach. If you take the Help action to aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of you, the friendly creature can add the number rolled to their attack roll against the target, and each other friendly creature within 5 feet of you has advantage on its first attack roll against the target.

Ablative Inspiration

Starting at 14th level, when you take damage from a spell or effect that affects an area, such as the fireball spell or a dragon’s breath weapon, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration as a reaction to redirect and dissipate some of the spell’s power. Roll the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to your saving throw against the spell. If you succeed on the saving throw, each friendly creature within 10 feet of you is also treated as if it succeeded on the saving throw.