College of the Falling Star (5e Subclass)
Tales among the bards abound of pieces that fall from the sky. Ancient songs and epic poems talk about the fallen stars that provide the fabled starmetal. Fallen stars are the only known source of starmetal, a rare and precious ore infused with mighty magical power. A bard of the College of the Falling Star is the master of the strange and powerful magic derived from the mystical starmetal. You travel the land, searching for more of the sky’s fallen substance and mastering its eldritch power.
Turning your back on the traditional fare of the bard, you slowly transform into a living statue of starmetal, gaining immortality and invulnerability at the cost of your own flesh. At each landing of a star, only a handful of bards can complete the rites necessary to achieve this transformation.
Initial Starmetal Infusion
At 3rd level, through precise measurement of the stars and unearthing of ancient texts you can predict the next falling star or find a piece of a fallen star. As part of an ancient rite, you are able to prepare an infusion to bond the starmetal to your body. You must acquire a piece of starmetal weighing at least 2 ounces, powder it, and consume it by drinking it in a specially prepared infusion. This infusion requires arcane reagents costing 1,000 gp and takes one week to prepare. As you drink the concoction you are assailed by violent seizures and long bouts of intense pain. Your are incapacitated for 24 hours and cannot travel or move. After this period you arise a changed being, the power of the starmetal binding to your metabolism, changing it, transforming it. You gain the following traits:
Starmetal Dependancy. You foster a dependency on starmetal, you are unable to gain any more benefits at 6th and 14th level of this subclass until you prepare another infusion with starmetal.
Minor Starmetal Resistance. You gain resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Minor Starmetal Strengthening. Your Strength increases by 2 up to a limit of 20, but your Dexterity is reduced by 1 point, likewise you gain a disadvantage on all Dexterity saves.
Minor Starmetal Durability. You gain a +1 to your natural armor, this gives you an AC of 11 + your Dexterity modifier.
Starmetal Slam. You gain proficiency with a slam attack which you can use to attack once per turn, its damage is equal to your bardic inspiration die.
Intermediate Starmetal Infusion
At 6th level you locate more of the starmetal, and prepare a second concoction with at least 5 ounces of it, to punish and strengthen your body. You reactions are more moderate but still painful; you are no longer incapacitated, nevertheless you are poisoned for a 24 hour period. You are now more construct than organism and your skin is now showing signs of the metal's tint. You gain the following traits in addition the mentioned above:
Starmetal Resistance. You are resistant to magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Starvision. You gain darkvision out to a radius of 60 feet.
Lesser Starmetal Metabolism. You are resistant to necrotic damage but only heal half the amount from healing spells.
Starmetal Strengthening. Your Strength increases by an additional 2 points up to a limit of 22, but your Dexterity is reduced by another 1 point, and you now have advantage on all Strength saves and skill checks.
Starmetal Durability. You increase to +2 your natural armor, this gives you an AC of 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
Lesser Object of Starmetal. Your body is now closer to inert material and thus you have advantage on saving throws against poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease.
Starmetal Smith. You gain the mending cantrip and can use it to heal yourself 1d8 + your Constitution modifier hit points.
Greater Starmetal Slam. You can attack twice with you unarmed attack, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Final Starmetal Infusion
At 14 level, you find the final piece to prepare your last infusion of starmetal, which now needs 8 ounces to prepare. As you consume it, you can feel the last organic vestiges of your body replaced by hard metal. You no longer succumb to the infusion and can act and fight normally during the 24 hour period. You become a perfectly chiseled statue of gleaming metal with the following additional traits to the above mentioned:
Greater Starmetal Resistance. You gain immunity to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Greater Starmetal Strengthening. Your Strength increases by an additional 2 points up to a limit of 24, but your Dexterity is reduced by another 1 point.
Greater Starmetal Durability. You gain an additional +2 to your natural armor, this gives you an AC of 15 + your Dexterity modifier.
Object of Starmetal. You are now immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease.
Greater Starmetal Metabolism. You are also immune to necrotic damage, but gain no benefit from healing spells. Your mending cantrip can now heal you 2d8 + your Constitution modifier hit points. Alternatively you can expend a Bardic Inspiration die as a bonus action to regain 1d8 + your Constitution modifier hit points.
Starmetal Form. You gain vulnerability to thunder damage.
Finding Starmetal
Locating a piece of starmetal, or better yet, a direct source of starmetal requires much research and investigation. At any level after taking the College of the Falling Star subclass, you can investigate where to find the next piece of starmetal. If successful, you have just enough to prepare the infusion at the designated level. An Intelligence (History) and Intelligence (Investigation) is rolled. The result shows how much of the starmetal you are able to locate. The Intelligence (Investigation) check must be one point higher than the Intelligence (History) check. If any of the rolls fail you cannot try again until you earn 2,000 XP more, if you are successful in acquiring starmetal, you may roll this check again after a long rest.
| History DC | Investigation DC | Starmetal Qty |
|---|---|---|
| <10 | <11 | NONE |
| 10-12 | 11-13 | 0.25 ounces |
| 13-15 | 14-16 | 0.5 ounces |
| 16-18 | 17-19 | 1 ounce |
| 19-21 | 20-22 | 2 ounces |
| >21 | >22 | 2+1d4 ounces |
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