College of Keys – Bard Subclass

Bard – The College of Keys

Many say that it was a warden of House Kundarak that first mastered the techniques of the College of Keys, singing a song so beautiful that the locks of Dreadhold opened and closed with harmonious rhythm. Whatever the truth, the techniques of the College of Keys are a boon to anyone who faces locks and traps on a regular basis. Many masters of this path can be found in House Kundarak, but the elves of House Phiarlan orchestrate the Timbre Illuminous, and spies and thieves alike yearn to strike the Master Keynote. It is an uncommon path, and one that is very difficult to master, but riches await those who unravel its mysteries.

Level 3: Bonus Proficiency

When you join the College of Keys at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools, if you don’t already have it. If you do have it, you gain expertise with thieves' tools.

Level 3: Key Change

Also at 3rd level, you learn to bend locks and traps with dashing style. You can use Charisma instead of Dexterity when using thieves’ tools to open locks and disarm traps.

Level 3: Timbre Illuminous

At 3rd level, you can coax a variety of information from a mechanism regarding its composition using merely verse and rhyme. When you spend at least 1 minute speaking or singing to an artificial structure or inanimate mechanism, you can expend one Bardic Inspiration to learn certain information about its capabilities and qualities. The DM tells you two of the following characteristics of the mechanism, of your choice:

• Purpose (lock, trap, surveillance, etc.)
• Intricacy (singular, compound, or complex)
• Nature (magical, mundane, or otherwise),
• Approximate difficulty class (easy, hard, nearly impossible, etc.)
• Elemental energies present (if any)
• Additional embedded magical qualities (if any)

Level 6: Cypheric Ostinato

Starting at 6th level, you learn to control the range and resonance of your voice to offset the magic or material mechanisms within security and surveillance spells. When you use your action to disarm or dispel a trap, or when you make a saving throw to avoid the full effects of a trap or magical ward, you can choose to expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and adding the number rolled to the ability check or saving throw. You can choose to use this feature after seeing the roll but before the DM determines whether the ability check or saving throw succeeds or fails.

Level 14: Master Keynote

At 14th level, you learn how to hone pitch and rhythm to disarm all nearby mechanical impediments. You can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to disarm all traps and open all locks within 30 feet for a number of rounds equal to the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Source: Morgrave Miscellany, pg. 17