This section includes two new subclass options with abilities centered around the use of Rhythmancy magic: the College of Legends for the bard and the Wild Composer for the ranger.
At 3rd level, a bard gains the choice of a subclass. The following option is made available to you when making that choice: the College of Legends.
Though all bards have the ability to learn Rhythmancy spells, practitioners of the College of Legends have built entire careers out of unlocking the magic sealed within these songs. These bards are often sought out as teachers to aid new students in their rhythmantic studies, passing on what they learned from their own masters of the craft.
You have extensively pored through history books and sought out hidden knowledge of ancient heroes. You gain Proficiency in two skills of your choice from the following list: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion. Additionally, when you make an Intelligence check, you can expend one use of Bardic Inspiration to temporarily gain Expertise for the check, even if you do not normally have Proficiency or Expertise in the related skill.
You have an innate understanding of the magic of music and how to wield it, granting you the following benefits.
- You have a number of Rhythmancy Points equal to your bard level divided by 3 (round down).
- You can use Rhythmancy Points to cast bard spells you know as if they are Rhythmancy spells.
- Whenever you learn a new song through rhythmantic training, you bypass all training requirements, including finding a teacher, all training costs and issues, and any time requirements. Instead, you learn the Rhythmancy spell as an action and by spending a number of Rhythmancy Points equal to the spell's level (minimum 1 Rhythmancy Point). You cannot learn a Rhythmancy song in this manner if you do not have a sufficient number of Rhythmancy Points available to spend.
- When you cast a spell of 1st-level or higher targeting one or more creatures using Rhythmancy Points, in addition to the spell's normal effects, you can choose to grant any such targets a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the number of Rhythmancy Points spent.
You can channel your bard song to temporarily boost the power of your Rhythmancy magic. At the end of a Long Rest, you can expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to roll a Bardic Inspiration die and gain a number of temporary Rhythmancy Points equal to the number rolled. While you have these temporary Rhythmancy Points, they can be used to cast and learn spells as if they were normal Rhythmancy Points. Any spent temporary points cease to count toward your maximum number of Rhythmancy Points when determining whether you can learn a new song, and any such points you don't spend disappear after you finish your next Long Rest.
Starting at 11th level, when gaining temporary Rhythmancy Points using this feature, you roll two Bardic Inspiration dice and take the higher of the two results.
You have mastered unlocking hidden or lost ancient secrets. You learn the legend lore spell, or another bard spell of your choice from the Divination school for which you are eligible if you already know legend lore. This spell doesn't count against the number of bard spells you know. When you cast legend lore using Rhythmancy Points, the casting time is 1 Action, and you replace its material component requirements with an instrument worth at least 1 gp.
At 3rd level, a ranger gains the choice of a subclass. The following option is made available to you when making that choice: the Wild Composer.
You know there's rhythm all around us: the waves break in rhythm, people walk in rhythm, people breathe in rhythm, too. People work in rhythm! The whole world is made up of rhythm.
— Victor Brady, Let's Go Play to the Rhythm of the World
Rangers who walk the path of the Wild Composer are drawn to the innate music present in the natural world. They revel in the melody of leaves rustling in the wind like chimes, and play along as woodpeckers drum a steady beat on tall steadfast trees. To these adventurers, the wild itself has a breath and cadence that grants those who can hear it great wisdom.
You are in sync with the music of the wilds. You gain Proficiency with an instrument and a tool of your choice capable of crafting that instrument (leatherworker's tools, potter's tools, or woodworker's tools might be suitable choices). You can use instruments in which you are Proficient as a spellcasting focus for your ranger spells.
Additionally, you learn The Hawk's Call cantrip if you don't already know it. You also learn an additional spell of 1st level or higher when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Wild Composer Spells table. Each spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of ranger spells you know.
| Ranger Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 3rd | The Hawk's Call, The Lost is Found |
| 5th | Song of Discovery |
| 9th | Wind's Requiem |
| 13th | Earth God's Lyric |
| 17th | Song of Healing |
You have learned to direct nature's song into musical instruments and share the gift of Rhythmancy with others. As part of a Short Rest, you can use tools and cast a ranger spell using a spell slot of 1st-level or higher to craft a special magic item known as an Instrument of the Wild. You can make any type of instrument you like using this feature, as long as your tools are capable of crafting the instrument and you have Proficiency in the tools. The design of the instrument is up to you; for example, you might carve a bone from an animal you hunted to make an ocarina. When you finish crafting the instrument, you can optionally immediately Attune to it, which doesn't count against the number of magic items you can be Attuned to at once. You can also gift your instrument to other creatures. The spell you cast to craft the instrument is added to its list of imbued spells.
An Instrument of the Wild you create contains a number of charges equal to the spell slot level you expended for its creation. As a Magic action, you can replace a spell imbued in an Instrument of the Wild with a ranger or Rhythmancy spell you know of 1st-level or higher by expending the appropriate spell slot and channeling the spell's magic into the instrument; the number of charges then adjusts as needed to match the amount required to cast the highest-level spell the instrument possesses.
You regain the ability to craft an Instrument of the Wild using this feature after you finish a Long Rest. You can maintain the magical properties in a number of instruments of the wild equal to the highest level ranger spell you know. If you craft an Instrument of the Wild beyond your limit, one such instrument of your choice loses all of its magical properties, becoming a mundane version of that instrument.
Your connection to the world's secret song strengthens. While you are Attuned to an Instrument of the Wild, your Rhythmancy spells gain a +1 to their attack rolls and total damage rolls, and when you cast a Rhythmancy spell of 1st-level or higher, you can expend one of the instrument's charges to cast the spell at one level higher than the original spell level; for example, casting a 1st-level Rhythmancy spell and expending a charge would cast that spell at 2nd-level.
Additionally, as a Magic action, you can expend one ranger spell slot of any level to tap into the music of an unfamiliar environment and learn its underlying structure. For 1 hour per level of the spell slot you expend, or until you end concentration or leave this environment, the environment is considered to be your favored terrain, granting you temporary Proficiency and Expertise in Intelligence and Wisdom checks you make related to the terrain.
Your ear for the songs of the natural world allows you to channel your magic through that musical structure. While you are Attuned to an Instrument of the Wild, you can expend the instrument's charges to cast ranger spells you know as if they are Rhythmancy spells. When you cast animal friendship, beast bond, locate animals or plants, speak with animals, or speak with plants in this manner, the charge cost is reduced by 1.
In addition, when you cast a Rhythmancy spell with a casting time of 1 Action, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack as a Bonus Action.
You recall every tree you have encountered, and can travel through the world's root systems to be reunited with them at a moment's notice. You learn the tree stride spell, and you can cast it by expending a 4th-level spell slot. At 17th-level, you learn the transport via plants spell as a ranger spell, and you can cast it by expending a 5th-level spell slot. These spells don't count against the number of ranger spells you know.
| ⬅️ Chapter 2: Casting Rhythmancy Spells | Chapter 4: Rhythmancy Feats ➡️ |
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