in honor of this being Halloween Season and also D&D tonight, thought I would share the concept I cooked up for the College of Requiem bard subclass
Requiem spells:
These spells are always prepared, and do not count against your spells known.
1st: False Life, Chill Touch
3rd: Gentle Repose, Speak with Dead
5th: Animate Dead, Banishment
7th: Soul Cage, True Seeing
9th: Astral Projection, Power Word Kill
Class Feature: Soothing Presence
Your expertise with grieving families has given you a calm, level-headed demeanor that can settle the mood of a room. Once per long rest, you can cast Calm Emotions without spending a spell slot; however, this only works on targets that are not currently hostile to you.
2nd level: Enjoin Spirits
When in a place where there has been recent -- or much -- death, the bard can play a threnody that will draw any lingering spirits to them. The bard makes a Charisma check to speak with local ghosts. The bard can ask the spirit three questions, although the spirit can only answer based on the information it has available to it, and is not obliged to answer.
The bard may also choose to play a Requiem to attempt to free -- or banish -- the lingering spirit. The bard makes a Charisma saving throw -- DC determined by the DM, dependent on how friendly or hostile the spirit is likely to be to the caster -- to ease the shade on to the next world. On a success, the shade is banished; on a failure, it becomes hostile and attacks.
5th level: Improved Enjoin Spirits
After the successful use of Enjoin Spirits, the bard can choose to spend a point of Bardic Inspiration to have a friendly shade accompany them for one hour. The bard can only have one friendly shade accompanying them at a time. At any time during that hour, the bard can use a bonus action to direct the shade to aid them in one of the following ways:
Jump Scare: Gain Advantage on any Intimidation roll.
Uncanny Insight: Convey to the player (as per the DM) one hidden item, piece of information, or insight into another character that they might have otherwise missed.
Poltergeist: The shade can act as one use of Mage Hand for a turn; it can turn switches, flip levers, or lift items under 5 lbs. The affected item must be within sight of the caster.
Spectral Whisper: The shade can carry one casting of Message to a target within range. The ghost disperses after the message is delivered and cannot carry a return message.
Will'o'the Wisp: The shade can provide Light for one minute.
Marked: The shade can choose one target to single out from the crowd, giving the effect of True Strike until the end of the bard's next turn.
Each time the spirit aids the bard, the bard must roll (DC determined by the DM) to see if the spirit continues to accompany them, or disperses.
9th level feature: Lay to Rest
The bard plays a song that disrupts the magic controlling hostile undead. If the bodies raised by necromantic spells were in life friendly to the bard or their allies, the undead creatures become friendly to the party. If neutral or hostile, the spell controlling them ends and the corpses fall where they stand.
14th level feature: Wrench Soul or Steady Soul
The bard uses their facility with manipulating souls to pull mortal creatures one way or the other across the threshold of death. The bard can expend as many uses of Bardic Inspiration as they choose and have available to cast Spare the Dying on any of their allies that can hear them. Or, if the bard chooses, they can direct the flow the other way; for each use of Bardic Inspiration, one enemy within hearing who has a hit point count under 10 has their hit points reduced to 0. If there are no enemies within range under 10 hit points, it deals one Bardic Inspiration die worth of hit point damage to them instead.
20th level feature: Soul Swarm
The bard calls upon the vengeful dead to aid them in their fight. A stirring, haunting tune plays which will summon up to 1d10 spirits of any persons unjustly killed by the bard's target. The DM will determine whether there are any such wronged spirits available, up to a maximum of 10, and may rule their identities. During the course of the combat, the bard can use their reaction to command one of the spirits to do any of the following:
Give the target disadvantage, or cancel advantage, on any attack roll or saving throw.
Force a Dexterity saving throw; if failed, the target takes 1d10 cold damage and their movement speed is reduced by 10 for the next minute.
Force a Wisdom saving throw; if failed, the target is Frightened of the caster and all remaining ghosts.
Force a Constitution saving throw; if failed, the target takes 1d10 necrotic damage. That amount of damage is distributed as healing among targets of the bard's choice.
Track the target; it will make any stealth rolls at disadvantage, and even if the target leaves the caster's presence, the caster will be able to determine the target's location for up to one day, unless the vengeful soul is banished by use of Remove Curse.
Reduce the target's armor class, for the duration of one round, by an amount equal to the caster's spellcasting modifier.
Each effect will cause one vengeful soul to disperse until none are left. Soul Swarm can only be used once per long rest, and can only ever be used against a specific target once.
