May 18 will see the release of the next sourcebook for Dungeons and Dragons, and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft is bringing more horror elements back to the game. A sort-of follow up to Curse of Strahd, the new DnD sourcebook provides many tools for DMs to set up adventures in a grim and gothic-style setting. For players, it brings new monstrous races to play and two new subclasses that help capture the spooky style of its setting. One of which, the College of Spirits Bard, will give some interesting new abilities and perhaps a more serious tone to a class so commonly associated with the zanier side of DnD.
One of the Unearthed Arcana released last year, the playtest content published for DnD that provides player/DM feedback for elements to be incorporated later, saw the introduction of two new subclasses. The Undead Patron for Warlocks and the College of Spirits for Bards. While certain details about the new Bard subclass are likely to be adjusted after extensive playtesting and community feedback, the UA release lays out the groundwork of what's to come in the incipient release of Van Richten's Guide.
College of Spirits Bard in DnD 5e
One thing that has many DnD players excited about the new College of Spirits Bard is the somewhat unique spin on the character trope itself. Bards in DnD are largely relegated to the trope of an overly lusty but charismatic (and powerful) buffoon. While this isn't always the case, the College of Spirits puts a somewhat darker twist on the traditionally easy-going character archetype. The College of Spirits allows for Bards to commune with the dead through the various tools that any 19th-Century spiritualist would recognize like crystal balls or a talking board, and then subsequently weave their tales into powerful magical effects.
The roleplay potential for a musician or storyteller who is constantly in contact with the ghosts of the past is interesting compared to how Bards are usually portrayed. That roleplay potential is also accompanied by some very unique abilities. The new Bard in Van Richten's Guide will be able to channel the power of the dead in ways that would make any DnD Warlock jealous. The mechanic itself is also intriguing in that the Bard cannot specifically choose which effect they'll be able to channel. After using the new Tales from Beyond feature, the player rolls on a table that slowly increases size along with their Bardic Inspiration die to decide what ability they'll be able to channel.
The Spirits' Tale table includes twelve different stories of various specters like an ancient hero or a long-dead dragon, each with a unique effect that can be applied to either the Bard or a party member. The different feats are all distinct ranging from a straightforward heal for two allies, to granting a companion the breath weapon of a dragon for one spectacular attack. While the table is random, many players have already found interesting ways to pair these effects with feats and other abilities already present in DnD. Bards who don't get the tale they were hoping for can reroll on the Spirits' Tales table again but at the cost of another Bardic Inspiration die.
Other Features for the College of Spirits Bard
While the Tales from Beyond feature is the prominent new ability for College of Spirits Bards, there are other useful elements of the subclass likely to entice players. After taking the subclass to level three, players can add the guidance cantrip to their repertoire without sacrificing another cantrip, reaching out to the spirits to help them. The Bard also gains the ability to replace their spell focus with items like a candle, skull, crystal ball, a tarokka deck (tarot equivalent), or a talking board; all things needed to hold a DnD seance in any spooky castle. Additionally when they reach sixth level in the subclass, using those items confers a damage/healing bonus to those spells.
In keeping with the gothic horror settings that the subclass' UA established for the new sourcebook, College of Spirits Bards gain a feature called Spirit Session at 6th level that allows them to quite literally perform a seance. The hour-long ritual can be performed with a number of other participants that increases along with the Bard's level, allowing the Bard access to divination and necromancy spells from any other class for that day of adventuring. This feature goes a long way in expanding an already diverse toolset of spells that Bards have access to, and again offers up some interesting opportunities for roleplay scenarios.
Imagining a stoic paladin and a devout cleric being dragged into a ritual designed to commune with the dead is a scenario that could be rife with tension and exciting character development, for players and DMs alike. DnD is no stranger to the weirder side of fantasy and the new subclasses and settings presented in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft are likely appealing to a wide swath of the community looking for adventures that have a Lovecraftian, bordering on Bloodborne-style flavor to them.
The last feature for the new subclass makes the Bard's connection to the spirits more effortless, allowing them to use the Tales from Beyond feature without expending a Bardic Inspiration die. The feature does decrease the available options, as players can only roll a d6 on the chart with this ability, but it allows them to conserve a resource that has a lot of versatility for the Bard. Reaching into the spirit plane for power in DnD is nothing new, but the College of Spirits Bard will give players a more direct connection to the specters of the past.
Allowing for Bards to channel the tales of the dead into new powers is shaping up to be one of the most unique subclasses introduced so far. While there are likely to be some small balancing adjustments made after extensive playtesting, the new options for the Bard look to be quite interesting.
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft releases on May 18, in both physical and digital formats.