College of Battlehymns (Homebrew)

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Overview & Creation

(Dwarves Only)
Bards who join the College of Battle Hymns spend their lives honing their singing voices. Their songs roll over the battlefields like crashing waves, encouraging friends and hobbling foes. There is no college in the usual sense for these bards. While swinging their axes and gutting their enemies, some dwarves naturally start singing in ecstasy and discover their latent abilities in this fashion. When not on the battlefield, the bards assemble in meadhalls, theaters, or other large spaces to measure themselves among peers and sing about their exploits. The contests usually last for many days, unless interrupted by a skirmish or war. The bravest singers meet on the highest mountains and shout their hymns across the land, sending avalanches down steep rock faces. Whenever the earth rumbles, some dwarves joke, the bards must be practicing their craft up high again!   *Favorite Drink* Like war-implements made of steel, voices need constant oiling. You have a favorite drink that you carry around at all times, be it in a decorated flask or mere wineskin. Choose one such beverage or roll on the table below.   Favorite Drink   d6 Drink   1 Brindlemane’s Dwarven Stout   2 Krakmar’s Mushroom Lager   3 Hardar’s Wheat and Root Beer   4 Jorlin’s Deepgrape Wine   5 Nurnig’s Bronze Mead   6 Gundlergrim’s Ancestor Spirit

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Class Features

*Bonus Proficiencies*

When you join the College of Battle Hymns at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, battleaxes, warhammers, and war picks.    

*Dwarven Battle Hymns*

Also at 3rd level, you discover your true talent and specialize in singing glorious battle hymns. As an action, you can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to start singing a battle hymn for 1 minute. You can stop singing at any time. You cannot sing if you are silenced, for example by the silence spell. While singing, you can maintain concentration on spells and cast spells normally.   When you start singing, you first make a Charisma (Performance) check that determines your pool of inspiration and then pick one of the following options. The pool of inspiration empties when you stop singing.   Marthammor’s Longest Journey. When a creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you uses its movement, you can use your reaction and expend 1 point from your pool of inspiration to turn its path into difficult terrain. This affects only the target, and lasts until the end of the target’s turn.   Silverbeard, Blood Splattered in Rage. Allies within 60 feet of you who can hear you can use their reaction and expend 5 points from your pool of inspiration when they are hit with a weapon attack to gain resistance to bludgeoning, pierciering, or slashing damage from nonmagical attacks until the end of this turn.   Warm Embrace, Burning Needle. Choose a creature within 60 feet of you that can hear you. As a bonus action, you can expend 5 points from your pool of inspiration to end the charmed or frightened condition on it, or give it 5 temporary hit points.   Unearthing Secrets, Buried Within Us. Allies within 60 feet of you who can hear you can use their reaction and expend 7 points from your pool of inspiration when a spell with a verbal component triggers a Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom saving throw to gain advantage on the saving throw.    

*Hymn of Glorious Praise*

  Beginning at 6th level, a life spent fighting has steeled your body and oiled your voice. You add double your proficiency modifier when determining your pool of inspiration and you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.  

*Shouts that shatter and rend*

  At 14th level, you learn to distill an entire hymn into one earth-shattering shout. As an action, you can expend two uses of your Bardic Inspiration to affect a number of creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you that can hear you with a battle shout. A target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or take 6d6 force damage, is knocked prone, and pushed 15 feet away from you.   You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest