Unearthed Arcana College of the Moon (Bard)

[Ashrym]

This is a more detailed response after my initial reaction.

The college of the moon associates with the Moonshae druids and the description states these bards are using the primal power of fey magic and the Moonwells. This is a significant flavor difference with primal vs arcane even if there isn't really a functional difference. While not required, it makes sense to focus on spells shared with the druid spell list and to later focus on druid spells after magical secrets to maintain that flavor.

Level 3 -- Moonshae Folktales:

The idea works well enough but seems more complicated than it needs to be. Spending a magic action to change which tale is currently active is unnecessarily costing that action in combat to switch when the abilities are fueled by Bardic Inspiration dice already. This seems to be an early countermeasure to the 14th level ability to restrict dice to 1d6 without costing Bardic Inspiration, but this seems unnecessary at that point.

Tale of Life: This is bonus healing by using a limited resource (Bardic Inspiration) and applying it a limited resource (casting a spell). More healing when it's necessary is not a bad thing, but there are usually better ways to spend Bardic Inspiration dice, and this Tale must be active to apply so I don't expect to see much use.

Tale of Gloam: This grants the ability to disengage or hide as part of the bonus action granting a Bardic Inspiration to another creature. This is a situational benefit (the need to disengage or hide) granted at a situational event (granting Bardic Inspiration during combat) using a limited resource (Bardic Inspiration). Since Bardic Inspiration lasts an hour and often gets granted in advance and since this Tale must be active to apply I expect to see this used even less than Tale of Life. Unless it's in some edge build I haven't thought of.

Tale of Mirth: This grants the ability to spend a reaction to apply Bardic Inspiration as a penalty to a saving throw. This is hella useful. The name might need some reworking but apply a save penalty is a solid ability. This turns Tale of Life and Tale of Gloam into ribbon abilities because moon bards are likely going to have Tale of Mirth active for this benefit. What spellcaster wouldn't want the ability to apply saving throw penalties?

Moon bards might spend the Magic Action to activate Tale of Life outside of combat, but spending a Magic Action to change from Tale of Mirth to Tale of Gloam in order to grant the option to Disengage or Hide as part of that bonus action makes no sense. The cost of an action to benefit a bonus action is clearly a loss in action economy.

Level 3 -- Primal Lorist:

A bonus skill proficiency and a bonus cantrip are reasonable bonuses at 3rd level in addition to the main bonus. Adding Druidic should be clear if it's only that druidic language or if it's the Druidic ability that also includes the Speak with Animals spell. I suspect it's just the language but this could be more clear, and I would prefer it to be the more complete druid ability if we're associating this subclass more with that class.

Overall, 3rd level has some awkward stuff going on but it's at the very least it's a rarely used bonus language, a skill, a cantrip, and a solid use for Bardic Inspiration.

Level 6 -- Blessing of the Moonwells:

This gives bards a free preparation of the 2nd level druid spell Moonbeam. This also gives moon bards an improved version of the Moonbeam spell with one free use per short rest.

The improved version can be cast as a Bonus Action instead of a Magic Action but does not change the action to move the moonbeam. This improved version also allows for 2d4 healing allies but does not add CHA mod to that healing. Replenishing this use of the spell requires a 3rd level slot instead of a second level slot so I think the improved use should allow for moving the moonbeam with a bonus action.

Level 14 -- Bolstered Folktales:

This allows for using Tale of Life or Tale of Mirth without spending Bardic Inspiration and applying 1d6 instead. This is useful because Bardic Inspiration is a finite resource and this allows for using those benefits a lot more often.

This also allows Tale of Gloam to grant a 30' teleportation as part of that same bonus action. This could be useful except the Tale would still require a Magic Action to become active as it's unlikely to be active over Tale of Mirth.

Overall:

I appreciate the concept and there are some useful features here. My feedback is it works with updates and clarifications.

1. Take away the Magic Action to activate a Tale. Just allow the moon bard to use those options.
2. Don't grant the druidic language. Grant the Druidic ability that includes Speak with Animals. It's a fun spell and not OP as part of this association with druids.
3. Allow the improved version of Moonbeam to be cast as a Bonus Action and also moved as a Bonus Action.

 

[WanderingMystic]

I am glad that someone started a thread about just the Moon Bard as I think that it is a great concept.

Moonshae Folktales: I agree with your assessment, for the most part. I do feel like their needs to be some resource to change the folktale for balance reasons but a magic action Is feel is too much.

Gloam: change this to a teleport 5x bardic dice roll feet as like a bonus action. This let's them move and disengage but requires them to spend the inspiration dice to do so.

Moonwell: See while the having to spend your action to move it is what bothers you it is the need for concentration that bothers me. A fair few Bars and Druid spells require your concentrate on them and for a signature ability of your subclass I just feel like this will fall off and barely seen use aby 9th level.

Bolstered Folktales: I just hate this feature, it feels lazy and makes me as the player feel like I don't really get a higher ability. Bards already feel like their archetypes are light on abilities thanks to only getting them at three levels, and this combined with everything else just makes reaching this point a let down.
Now if I was able to use all three as a d6 for free and couls freely switch between which one is active that might be something.

 

[Ashrym]

See while the having to spend your action to move it is what bothers you it is the need for concentration that bothers me.

The concentration doesn't bother me because working around concentration has been going on for a decade now. I think the moonwell blessing needs a little bit more if it's supposed to be a major feature and worth a 3rd level spell slot. It's seems like it's more of a 2.5th spell level option the way it is in the UA.

A bonus action to move it aligns with the bonus action to cast it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I though when I first read it the lack of any duration for the folktales was weird. You can start one when you hit level three and if you do nothing else it's still running ten years later. Which makes the magic action cost meaningless unless you need to change mode mid-fight. But most of the time you are going to want Mirth, as it's the best one.

Most of the time the Druid cantrip is going to be shillelagh. A lute is basically a club, right?

Personally, I would prefer it if this was more focused on being a 1st edition bard. Gain a fighter ability, then a rogue ability, then free access to the druid spell list (and the druidic language).

 

[Willie the Duck]

Tale of Life: This is bonus healing by using a limited resource (Bardic Inspiration) and applying it a limited resource (casting a spell). More healing when it's necessary is not a bad thing, but there are usually better ways to spend Bardic Inspiration dice, and this Tale must be active to apply so I don't expect to see much use.

Tale of Gloam: This grants the ability to disengage or hide as part of the bonus action granting a Bardic Inspiration to another creature. This is a situational benefit (the need to disengage or hide) granted at a situational event (granting Bardic Inspiration during combat) using a limited resource (Bardic Inspiration). Since Bardic Inspiration lasts an hour and often gets granted in advance and since this Tale must be active to apply I expect to see this used even less than Tale of Life. Unless it's in some edge build I haven't thought of.

Tale of Mirth: This grants the ability to spend a reaction to apply Bardic Inspiration as a penalty to a saving throw. This is hella useful. The name might need some reworking but apply a save penalty is a solid ability. This turns Tale of Life and Tale of Gloam into ribbon abilities because moon bards are likely going to have Tale of Mirth active for this benefit. What spellcaster wouldn't want the ability to apply saving throw penalties?

The Tales of Life bit is kind of an ongoing trend. Similar to how Lore Bard's Cutting Words so outperforms Valor Bard's Combat Inspiration (Offense). Getting to use your inspiration dice to add to an existing sum is never going to compare to getting to do something new (like Tale of Gloam) or modify a success/fail dice roll (like Cutting Words or Tale of Mirth), potentially making or breaking an existing total. It's just not enough total number. Sure by level 5 if you get your cha to 18 and get 2 short rests in per day the total becomes 12d8 (avg. 54) and that's super-not-nothing, but compare that to (let's say 50% success rate) 6 missed attacks or made saving throws (likely applied to clutch situations)? It's just not worth the expenditure. This is especially true for Tales of Life now that healing magic is 2D4 or 2D8 per spell level -- adding 1d6 (eventually 1d12) just doesn't feel worth it.

Admittedly, it doesn't take an action, and also doesn't require your ally to spend the dice, which is the biggest hurdle I've found for the default inspiration (can't count the number of times my bard has given someone an inspiration dice to someone and they refuse to use it).

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[Ashrym]

I though when I first read it the lack of any duration for the folktales was weird. You can start one when you hit level three and if you do nothing else it's still running ten years later. Which makes the magic action cost meaningless unless you need to change mode mid-fight. But most of the time you are going to want Mirth, as it's the best one.

The lack of duration and magic action allows for one tale to be active at a time all the time. It's clunky but I can understand it. Everyone is going to use Mirth, however. I can see using Life outside of combat but it's a low bonus. I might see using Gloam in combat if I was out of spell slots and not out of bardic inspiration to hand out, but probably not.

Most of the time the Druid cantrip is going to be shillelagh. A lute is basically a club, right?

That or guidance. A person doen't need shillelagh if they're using true strike, but they do add more together.

Personally, I would prefer it if this was more focused on being a 1st edition bard. Gain a fighter ability, then a rogue ability, then free access to the druid spell list (and the druidic language).

Except I believe I can play that concept already. If I make a valor bard I would gain weapon/armor proficiencies and extra attack. I could already cover the necessary skills with bard as a base class. The bard spell list already shares many spells with druids and I only need to focus on those, with full access to druid spells existing with magical secrets.

Giving that to another bard college plus more risks hurting the college that already exists. That's something that would take some caution.

 

[Ashrym]

I've been giving Blessing of the Moonwells more thought. If a person uses their bonus action to cast it then they can use a magic action on that first turn to move it as well by doing that after the bonus action. That increases the damage possibilities and the healing.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Wouldn't Folktales at level 3 be better if it was just the Mirth option? The whole description would be cleaner, and it removes the false sense of choice.

 

[Ashrym]

Wouldn't Folktales at level 3 be better if it was just the Mirth option? The whole description would be cleaner, and it removes the false sense of choice.

It would.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Wouldn't Folktales at level 3 be better if it was just the Mirth option? The whole description would be cleaner, and it removes the false sense of choice.

This is another example of trying to fit the class to the FR sourcebook. It appears to be taking a similar approach to VGR, and matching each featured location to a type of fantasy. So the Moonshaes get Celtic Folk Tales, Cormyr get Chivalry, Calimshan gets Arabian Nights, Icewind Dale Wilderness Survival, and the Dalelands gets boringly generic fantasy.