Hello! I’ve got a great article with a bardic college background (or two) you might not have heard of before. That’s right. I’ve got some homebrew for you all today. I’m not gonna insult you or anything; I’m not just making up a few new DND 5e bard colleges because I feel like it. NOPE.
I’m doing it because I love Dungeons & Dragons and using my imagination is fun. It’s like acting, but better. This article is for those of you who are interested in playing a bard with a bardic college that is not in the official rulebooks. You’ll need to clear these with your DM, of course.
- 15 Bardic Colleges for DND 5e
- 1) College of Glamour
- 2) College of the Cloud
- 3) College of the Three Whispers
- 4) College of Wards
- 5) College of the Fool
- 6) College of the First Fish
- 7) College of the Outer Planes
- 8) College of the Astonished Players
- 9) College of the Whip
- 10) College of the Ethereal
- 11) College of Whiskey Blues
- 12) College of the Crooked Stars
- 13) College of the Metaphysicists
- 14) College of the Mocking Bird
- 15) College of the Rules
- 16) College of Rotten Rats
- 17) College of the Sacred Kings
- 18) College of the Skald Storytellers
- 19) College of the Sculptor’s Apprentice
- 20) College of Seven Deadly Songs
- 21) College of the Silver Voice
- 22) College of Sacred Sounds
- 23) College of the Blind Bard
- 24) College of the Muleteers
- 25) College of Satirists
- 26) College of the Red Death
- 27) College of the Seventh Sewer
15 Bardic Colleges for DND 5e
Here’s my list.
1) College of Glamour
College of Glamour is great for a bard looking to play a support role, and to lean into Charm effects. Unfortunately, it’s limited by the frustratingly small number of spells which actually make targets charmed (it’s basically just Charm X and Dominate X) and by the completely mundane ability of other creatures to decide to ignore you despite how glamorous and amazing your are.
College of Glamour is great for a bard looking to play a support role, and to lean into Charm effects. Unfortunately, it’s limited by the frustratingly small number of spells which actually make targets charmed (it’s basically just Charm X and Dominate X) and by the completely mundane ability of other creatures to decide to ignore you despite how glamorous and amazing your are.
2) College of the Cloud
You have been taught ancient secrets dealing with levitation and flying. At lower levels, you can levitate just a few inches, but as your character levels up, you will gain more abilities, including flying at higher levels. You will also learn how to conceal yourself in the clouds, and how to steal the breath from your enemies and leave them gasping for air. Finally, you will become a master of controlling the weather, creating clouds, rain, and snow.
This bard is great for someone who wants their flute or lute to feel very powerful. You will learn how to enchant the clouds above your enemies in order to hide yourself, and you will be able to summon great storms to rain on parades. This is the bard for you if you love the idea of playing a very lightweight rogue who can travel in the sky.
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3) College of the Three Whispers
The College of the Three Whispers is a bard college that is steeped in secrets, magic spells, and a breed of magic that is exclusive to the college. The idea behind this bardic college is that knowledge is power as well as the best form of armor. This college would be great for a bard who is seeking knowledge from books and from other people, especially other bards.
The College of the Three Whispers is great for making your character a wizard who uses low level mage spells at higher levels, but also uses their bardic spells and Musical Inspiration to help them traverse the world. This could be especially useful for a party that doesn’t have a traditional caster, although a bard will not be able to learn mage spells above level four. Still, this is a great choice for people who want to play a bard like this.
4) College of Wards
College of Wards is a great college for bards who want to use their magic to help protect their allies. The college of warding is an ancient tradition, and they are only accessible to bards who prove themselves worthy by overcoming trials that test their magic, their wisdom, and their fortitude.
This college is great for you if you want to be a party pillar. As well as using magic to protect the party (the archmage’s position in the party), you can use your magical prowess to make your allies stronger, to help them in their recovery, to help them fight, and even to help them cast their own spells. This is a great choice for a party healer.
5) College of the Fool
The College of the Fool is a college that tests the bards’ ability to make important decisions in critical situations. Every bard who graduates this college must go through a series of tests, and then must make several decisions about what they will do when they graduate. This can be difficult and dangerous, but it is required of all prospective members.
This college is great for you if you want to rely more on Charisma as a bard. This college is great for people who want to play a bard who is both an excellent diplomat and a knowledgeable scholar. This college is great for people who want to play a bard who is already the most interesting and flamboyant person in the group. This college is a great choice for people who want to play a bard as someone who is good at making friends and powerful allies.
6) College of the First Fish
A strange bardic college, the First Fish is an ancient college, steeped in the traditions of the merfolk. It is a college that focuses on the ancient ways and beliefs of the merfolk, and the bards who study there are known for their interest in the sea and its magic. They have a variety of spells dealing with water and with fish, and they are also known for their ability to summon the power of aquatic beasts to serve them.
This college is great for you if you want to play a bard who plays a seashell or flute. This is a great choice for people who want to play a bard who is more than just a little bit amphibious. This bard will be able to summon aquatic beasts to help the party, and they will be great at using their magical songs to travel underwater, or in stormy seas.
7) College of the Outer Planes
This college is the first college created by the Starlight Minstrels in a far away world. It is a college that focuses on the study of the planes, both good and evil. This college allows the students to use this knowledge to teleport to the planes, draw on the power of good or evil, and to summon outsiders native to the planes to help them.
This college is great for you if you want to play a bard who at least knows about the Spelljammer universe. This bard is also great for you if you want to play a bard who uses his magical talents to allow him to travel through the planes, to summon outsiders, and to gain power and knowledge from them. Overall, this is a great college because it allows people to play something they might not have been able to play before.
8) College of the Astonished Players
A musical bardic college that specializes in the music and plays of the tieflings and the half-fiends, the College of the Astonished Players focuses on studying the works of their bestial cousins, and learning their plays and their music. This bard is a great choice for those who want to play a bard who is interested in improving the quality of storytelling in the world.
This college is great for people who want to be a bard who is most interested in improving their ability to tell stories. You’ll be able to collect the plays of the people you meet who are particularly great at telling stories, and you’ll be able to perform them like a bard performs. This college is great for people who like to play a bard who is a performer and a teacher who wants to spread their knowledge.
9) College of the Whip
Unlike the College of Swords, this bardic college is comprised of bards who are not willing to study under the wizard colleges, and they have taken destiny into their own hands. The College of the Whip is a bardic college that actually focuses on the ability of the bards to manipulate and control magical forces by hand, using a whip.
This is a good bardic college for people who want to play bards who use a whip like Indiana Jones. You’ll be an amazing spellcaster, and you’ll be able to manipulate magical forces to create magical weapons and magical effects. You’ll be a great choice for someone who wants to play a bard who isn’t just about music and songs- you’ll be able to use the whip in combat and be able to use it to help you cast spells.
10) College of the Ethereal
This college is not centered on just one school of magic, but they encourage their students to study in multiple schools of magic. The College of the Ethereal is a college based on the power of the mind and on the power of the body. They teach their students to use the power of their mind to manipulate the powers of the ethereal to turn themselves into something that is both material and ethereal.
This college is great for you if you like to play a bard who is ethereal, you know a lot about arcane magic (which you will be able to cast), and you want to study both wizardry and sorcery so that you can learn more spells. This college is also great for people who want to play something like a genie, or who want to play something like a sorcerer.
11) College of Whiskey Blues
A bardic college built on the love of music, the College of Whiskey Blues are bards who are associated with the celebration of life and the sense of freedom that comes with it. The College of Whiskey Blues believe that you should live your life to the fullest and make the most of every single moment in your life.
This is a great bardic college if you’re somebody who wants to have fun, you want to be a part of a college that is all about celebrating life and being a free spirit. You’ll be great friends with members of the College of the Seven Arts, and they’ll be great friends with you, too. If you want to be a bard who can cast spells and use magic, this is the college that you should join.
12) College of the Crooked Stars
The College of the Stars is an elven college that promotes the power of wizardry, and the ability to manipulate magical forces to their own ends. This bardic college doesn’t have the same sense of freedom that the College of Whiskey Blues does, instead, the College of the Stars is about using your powers for good and for the people that you love.
This bardic college is great for you if you want to play a bard who uses magic, who uses magic from being a member of a different bardic college, or you want to play a bard who wants to fight against evil, support the good of the people and enjoy performing in the presence of people. This college is great for playing a bard who wants to fight evil and make the world a better place.
13) College of the Metaphysicists
This is a bardic college that is designed for wizards and bards that focus on the power of auras, energy, and the ethereal plane. The College of the Metaphysicists is about using the power of the mind to be able to manipulate and harness the power of ethereal energy. They’re a bardic college that is simple but very powerful, and they’re great if you want to be able to create effects that manipulate ethereal energy.
This bardic college is great if you want to be a bard with the ability to cast more powerful and exotic spells or if you want to be a bard who has the ability to cast a greater number of spells. You’ll be able to focus on the ethereal plane, and you’ll be able to have a good time with your college experience.
14) College of the Mocking Bird
This is a bardic college that is based on freedom and music, and they’re designed for people who really want to enjoy the music. This college has a fine-tuned ear and is known to be able to hear in ways that other bards can’t. The power that they receive from this ability allows them to create great music and captivate the attention of their audience.
This bardic college is great for you if you want to play an amazing bard who can do fun things with music and make it sound even better. You’ll be a great bard at this college if you love music and you love the ability to create great songs and amazing pieces of music.
15) College of the Rules
This bardic college is comprised of bards who are all about the rules, and who want to follow them to a T. The College of the Rules understands that there are rules to follow in order to be able to play their music in a way that is pleasing to them and others. This college is great for creating music that is fun, working with others, and making sure that people follow the rules of music.
This bardic college is great for you if you want to play a bard who follows the rules, and you want to follow the rules and make sure that people follow the rules of bardic music, too. You’ll be an amazing bard if you want to play the rules and make sure that other people are following the rules of bardic music. You’ll be the best bard if you love the rules, and you want to make sure that other people follow those rules, too.
16) College of Rotten Rats
A college for bards that specializes in musical instruments that charm rats and other small mammals, this college is tasked with the job of training these smaller animals to serve as instruments for the bard. Anyone that is accepted into this bardic college will then be taught how to control and use these animals for the entertainment of other people. Think of a bard with some druid tendencies.
This college is a good idea if you love small mammals, druids, and you love the idea of being able to control smaller animals for the purpose of entertainment. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you’re alright with controlling smaller animals and training them for the bardic lifestyle. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be trained to control smaller animals and train them for entertainment purposes.
17) College of the Sacred Kings
This bardic college is a college that focuses on divine magic and all of the religious and magical aspects of it, and they are the bards that are actively seeking to join the priesthood. They’re a bardic college that helps people to become a better bard.
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This college is for you if you want to be a bard that is religious and giving, and you want to become a better bard in the process of serving yourself and experiencing your faith. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you want to serve your god through music, and you want to seek your faith through music. You’ll be the best bard if you desire to serve the gods through music and seek your faith through music.
18) College of the Skald Storytellers
This is a bardic college that is centered around people who are skilled in the art of telling stories. This college is made up of bards who are all about the storytelling, and they create amazing stories through the power of their music and their words.
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This college is good for you if you want to create great stories, and you want to be able to tell them through music. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you love telling stories through music, and you love creating music through telling stories. You’ll be the best bard if you want to create great stories, and tell them through music.
19) College of the Sculptor’s Apprentice
This bardic college is one that is designed for bards that want to be able to create realistic representations of objects, creatures, and other people. If a bard is accepted into this college, they’ll be taught how to be able to sculpt realistic things, and how to use music to manipulate people’s emotions.
This college is the right choice for you if you want to be able to sculpt and create realistic objects, creatures, and people, and you also want to be able to manipulate people’s emotions through music. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you love creating realistic representations of people, creatures, and objects through sculpting, and you love being able to manipulate people’s emotions through music. You’ll be the best bard if you love creating realistic representations and manipulating people’s emotions.
20) College of Seven Deadly Songs
A college that is centered around the power of songs and the relationships that are connected to them, this college is all about the power that music has for offense. Bards who are a part of this college have more powerful offensive spells but less spells that are not offensive in nature.
This college is for players who want to play a bard that is all about offense, and who are working with powerful offensive spells. You’ll be an amazing bard if you want to be all about the offense and spells that focus on the offense. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be all about the spells that are offensive and use offensive spells.
21) College of the Silver Voice
A college that is centered around being able to use the voice of the bard in a way that is very useful for communication, this college is filled with bards who are all about using their voice to communicate in ways that are audible even to people that can’t hear. It’s a bardic college that concentrates on how the bards use their voices in amazing ways.
The college of the silver voice is a good choice for you if you want to be able to sing in a way that people will hear even if they are deaf. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you want to be able to sing in a way that people will hear, even if they can’t hear. You’ll be the best bard if you want to sing in a way that will be heard, even by deaf people.
22) College of Sacred Sounds
A college for bards that want to create music that is so incredible that it can influence the very laws of reality, this college is one of the best colleges that is based on music and how they use it to create amazing effects. It’s a college that is designed to make the bard a compelling force in the world.
This college is the right fit for you if you want to use music to change reality, and you want to be in a position where your bard skills allow you to be a compelling force in the world. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you love using music to be a compelling force, and you are a compelling force through music. You’ll be the best bard if you love using music to change reality and you love being a compelling force through your music.
23) College of the Blind Bard
This is yet another bardic college that is centered around the power of music and bard skills. This is a college that is designed for bards that are blind, and it’s a college that is centered around the idea of how to make and use music even though the bard can’t see.
The blind bard college is a good choice for you if you want to play a blind bard, and you want to play a bard that is able to use music to create the amazing effects like other bards. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you play a blind bard, and you want to play a bard who makes great music even though they can’t see. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be a blind bard and you want to be able to make great music without the ability to see.
24) College of the Muleteers
A bardic college that is based on white lies and the ability to carry out tasks by exaggerating reality, the college of the muleteers is the right bardic college for players who love the idea of being able to create a storyline that is based on exaggeration. It’s great for bards who want to be able to make any given situation seem more epic.
This college is for you if you want to be a bard that is about exaggeration, manipulation, and white lies, and you want to make a storyline that is based on this. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you love exaggerating things and using white lies in your storyline. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be about exaggeration and want to make a storyline that is all about this.
25) College of Satirists
A college that is all about the ability to tell jokes and make the world laugh, the college of satires is the right choice for bards who want to be able to make everyone laugh. It’s the right choice for players who want to be able to make a comedy, play a comedy bard, and be able to make the world giggle and laugh.
This college is for you if you love comedy and want to be able to tell jokes that are funny and make the world laugh, making it one of the best colleges for bards in the series. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you want to be able to tell jokes and make the world laugh. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be able to tell jokes and make the world laugh.
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26) College of the Red Death
A college for bards who are into the Gothic, this is the choice that is made for those who are interested and excited about the medieval idea of the plague and death. It’s the right choice for players who love or have a fascination for the medieval plague and death. It’s a great choice for bards who want to portray death, tragedy, and the dying.
This college is for you if you want to be a bard who has a fascination for plague and death, and you want to be able to portray them in your performances. You’ll be an amazing bard at this college if you want to be a bard who is all about the plague and death. You’ll be the best bard if you want to be a bard who is all about plague and death.
27) College of the Seventh Sewer
A bard college that concentrates on rogue abilities, the college of the seventh sewer is a bardic college that you can choose if you want to be a sneaky rogue bard. It’s great for those who want to be a rogue bard, and it’s great for those who want to be a bard that uses both their sneakiness and their bard skills.
Do you want to sneak about, pick locks, and be able to do normal thief things? Then this is the bardic college for you. You’ll even get backstab at higher levels. When you start out, you’re weak, but you get better. You’ll never be as useful as an actual rogue, but for small groups, this bard college can do some amazing things with a kind DM behind the screen.
