College of Epic Poetry

Bards who study the College of Epic Poetry are devoted to the creation of a singular masterpiece in the tradition of the epic poets. All the greatest stories in history were originally captured and recreated for audiences as masterful works of poetry. These stories were passed down for centuries in an oral tradition, and eventually, they were recorded on papyrus scrolls and stored in great libraries. Those who wish to record their own epic poems spend their early years studying philosophy, aesthetics, and music, so that they have the necessary language to capture the splendor of great deeds. However, an epic poet cannot spend all their life in the Academy. Eventually, they must seek out great conflicts, for great conflicts produce great heroes, and great heroes produce great deeds.
As such, you have prepared yourself for a life of turmoil, chasing after warriors who brave impossible odds. You have learned to transcribe events faithfully, even in the chaos of battle. You know that if your quill slips at a pivotal moment, the beauty of that instant may be forever lost to history.

Epic Verses

Starting when you join the College of Epic Poetry at 3rd level, you begin composing your epic poem. When certain significant events occur during your travels or during combat, you may use your reaction to compose a new epic verse. Significant events are defined as any of the following things happening to you or one of your allies in natural play (e.g. your party cannot deliberately force them to happen by repetition), and being particularly noteworthy or dramatic in effect rather than merely incidental or coincidental. You must be able to see or hear the event happen.

• Comedy: Something or someone fails in a particularly extreme and hilarious way, or someone's actions (in game, not out of game) otherwise get the whole table laughing.
• Hubris: Someone boasts against the Gods or world in an especially dramatic fashion, or expends extra resources on an action or roll and still fails, or goes past celebrating victory to gloating and excess.
• Irony: Someone states "facts" that turn out to be the opposite of reality, or suggests something in jest or sarcasm that then turns out to be true, or fails after having declared their inevitable success, or otherwise causes situational irony.
• Tragedy: Someone falls in battle, or an important mission fails, or the party's decisions lead to a major setback or loss to themselves or their allies.

Additionally, any particularly exciting and noteworthy achievement that seems to warrant inclusion in your poem is eligible as long as the GM approves - but don't push it. Each time you compose a new epic verse, you must declare that you are doing so. If the GM approves, then you may add 1 verse to your poem, and as part of the same reaction you may either regain one expended use of Bardic Inspiration, or grant free Bardic Inspiration to the person about whom you just composed the verse if they don't currently have it. You the player may also want to write down what happened and why, so that you can enjoy reading it later, but this is not required. Your poem increases in rank as the number of verses grows, with each rank requiring verses equal to the number of player characters in the party. Your poem has a maximum rank equal to half of your bard level (rounded up).

Epic Poem Ranks and Effects

Poem Rank	Required Verse Count	Bardic Inspiration Improvement
0	0	Epic Courage
1	6	Minimum Value = 2
2	12	Epic Destiny
3	18	Minimum Value = 3
4	24	Epic Determination
5	30	Minimum Value = 4
6	36	Epic Foresight
7	42	Minimum Value = 5
8	48	Epic Reflexes
9	54	Minimum Value = 6
10	60	Epic Resistance

Inspirational Verses

Starting at 3rd level, when you give someone Bardic Inspiration, you recite a portion of your epic poem, or re-enact it if you practice a visual performance medium, which improves the effect of the dice based upon the rank of your poem.
Improved Rolls. Your Bardic Inspiration dice have a minimum result value based on the number of verses that you’ve collected. Whenever someone rolls one of your Bardic Inspiration dice, if they roll less than the minimum value for your poem rank, then the result is equal to the minimum value as determined by your poem rank. Additional Effects. Your Bardic Inspiration dice have additional effects based on the rank of your epic poem. They gain the benefit of a chosen effect as long as they have your Bardic Inspiration die. The effect is lost when they roll the die. When you give someone Bardic Inspiration, choose ONE of the following effects that you have unlocked:

• Epic Courage: You gain advantage on saving throws against effects that would frighten you, as well as on ability checks for acts that will backfire and cause immediate harm to you if they fail, such as jumping over a chasm or disarming a trap.
• Epic Destiny: Once per round when you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll, saving throw or ability check, you can reroll. You must take the second roll, even if it is also a 1. If you already have this ability from another source, Epic Destiny instead triggers on a natural 1 or 2.
• Epic Determination: You gain advantage on death saving throws, as well as saving throws. This can be used on an unconscious ally.
• Epic Foresight: You cannot be surprised, and your passive Perception increases by +5.
• Epic Reflexes: You gain advantage on saving throws against spells, abilities and hazards that have multiple targets. If the effect in question operates via attack roll instead of saving throw, you impose disadvantage on the attack against you, but not against other targets.
• Epic Resistance: You gain resistance to one damage type. chosen by the bard when you are given the inspiration die.

Cantrips

Also at 3rd level, you gain the Druidcraft, Prestidigitation and Thaumaturgy cantrips, which you might use to accent particular moments of your epic tales before an audience - or wherever else they are useful, of course.

Armored Poet

Starting at 6th level, you gain proficiency with medium armor, so that you can get close to the fighting while composing your poem. Additionally, if you are within 5 feet of an ally when you compose an epic verse about them, then you regain one expended Bardic Inspiration die.

Protective Epithets

Starting at 14th level, the lyrical epithets that you've selected for your allies take on magical properties, protecting them from death. Whenever a character with your Bardic Inspiration die would be reduced to 0 hit points, they may choose to roll their Bardic Inspiration die and be reduced to or healed to that number of hit points instead. The Bardic Inspiration die is then lost.

Arcanum Worlds: Odyssey of the Dragonlords