BARD (Charisma)
Every age and people has a voice. That voice finds its measure in story, expressed in legend, tale, song, poem, battle cry or speech. From wild barren steppes to the frozen lands at the tips of the world, from taverns to town squares, and from city streets to imperial residences, there are those blessed with the ability to artfully weave story and legend, moving the heart to great feats. In recounting epic deeds of ages past, bards inspire listeners to greater deeds as if by magical incantation. They captivate hearts, cause tears to flow, and invigorate individuals and crowds. These storytellers are historians and lore masters with oratorical skills guided by the muses. Some are powers behind thrones, weaving future events through tales of the past. Others are the backbone for troops of soldiers, inspiring courage in times of distress. But the most renowned are the warrior-poets, whose adventures and escapades are legendary. These ply their skills across the wide world, and are known as bards.
Bards can lead by example or deed, but they primarily influence others with story, art or argument. Their skill of recitation borders on the magical, so much so that they are often able to charm listeners with their tales. Many also possess training in feats of arms, whether intentionally acquired for a greater poetic understanding of valor and mortal combat or learned accidentally when they have found themselves in dire straights and amongst dangerous foes.
Bards possess artistic skills that are needed to convince an audience that what they see is more than what is shown. They gain access to the various strata of society, both low and high, walking among them to acquire knowledge and power. The bard pays heed to the moods and tales of all, whether noble or villain, realizing the importance of even the meanest of peoples. They are skalds, minstrels, troubadours, lore masters, poets, chroniclers, schemers, sages, musicians and orators, blending fact and fiction to great effect.
Whether weaving tales or delivering odes, bards can effect changes in individuals and small groups, inspiring them to great deeds in combat or to humble behavior. They give voice to history, and weave tales establishing ethics and morals, reinforcing the frameworks of societies. They possess a tremendous knowledge of events great and small, of legends and the nature of magics. Most bards teach much of what they know, but all bards keep some knowledge to themselves, considering it a source of power and prestige only to be dispensed with in the most extraordinary of circumstances.
The bard’s role as historian and storyteller requires a bending and twisting of fact and a weaving of fiction to tell their tales well. They must be free of mind and spirit, with agile and active imaginations. Bards are not bound by the often moribund and strict interpretations of academics and others who depend on the separation of fact and fiction.
Though bards are known to inspire others to greater deeds, their lifestyle often leads them into conflict and combat, where they often perform deeds of valor. In life they prefer not to be encumbered by worldly goods. They rarely take up permanent residence and are always ready to move on. Usually, their most prized possessions are the instruments they carry, scrolls with great tales writ upon them, or items to which they have attached great value and though which they recall tales and tales of tales.
ABILITIES
DECIPHER SCRIPT (Intelligence): Bards often need to decipher and interpret legends and secret writings to acquire more knowledge. This ability allows the bard to decipher writing in an unfamiliar language, a message written in an incomplete or archaic form or a message written in code. If the check succeeds, the character understands the general content of a piece of writing. It takes ten turns to decipher each page of a script. A decipher script check may be made only once per writing. A bard may use this ability to decipher and then use an arcane scroll, as a wizard or illusionist would, if a successful check is made at a penalty of -10. This ability may not be used to decipher divine scrolls.
EXALT (Charisma): This is the bard’s ability to inspire companions and listeners, allowing them to surpass their normal level of performance. Some bards invoke this ability through song and music, while others do so through oration, battle cries or sheer acting and demeanor. With a successful attribute check, a bard can help allies succeed at a task. The ally gets a +2 bonus on any action requiring an attribute check, including class ability checks, saving throws and standard attribute checks. This ability does not affect attack rolls. The allies must be able to see and hear the bard, and must be within 60 feet. The Castle Keeper may rule that certain uses of this ability are infeasible. The bard can use this ability once per day per level, and can maintain the effect for a number of rounds equal to the bard’s level. As the bard rises in levels, the bonus imparted increases as well. It rises to +3 at 6th level, +4 at 12th level and +5 at 18th level.
LEGEND LORE (Charisma): Bards are lore masters of myth and archaic knowledge. With a successful attribute check, a bard gains or remembers some relevant information about local notables, a legendary item, a noteworthy place or any other relevant bit of information. Gaining the information may entail speaking to local inhabitants and/ or doing research. The information might prove useful in diplomacy, entertaining, or otherwise influencing others. The ability also might impart a full or partial understanding of local or secret languages, including rogue’s cant, the secret druidic language or ranger signs.
The check will not reveal the powers of a magic item, but may give a hint to its history, general function or activation. The Castle Keeper gauges the challenge level of the check based on whether the knowledge is: 1. Common known by at least a substantial minority of the local population; 2. Uncommon but available, known by only a few people in the area; 3. Obscure, known by few, and hard to come by; 4. Extremely Obscure, known by very few scholars and sages, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, or possibly known only by those who don’t understand the significance of the knowledge. CASTLES & CRUSADES
At 4th level, a bard gains the ability to place a single creature into a trance. The creature to be fascinated must be able to see and hear the bard, and the bard must also see the creature. The creature must be able to pay attention to the bard. The distraction of a nearby combat or other danger will prevent the ability from working. The bard can use song or poetics to produce the intended effect on the creature, through music, poetry, chanting, speech, whistling, playing an instrument or any combination of the above, as long as some verbal performance is included. Bards can use this ability three times per day, and can maintain the effect for a number of rounds equal to their level.
When a bard uses this ability, the target makes a charisma saving throw to resist the bard’s spellsong. If the saving throw fails, the creature sits quietly and listens to the bard for up to the full duration of the effect. While using this ability, a bard must concentrate, as if casting or maintaining a spell. While fascinated, the target is treated as if prone and also suffers a -4 penalty to all saving throws and a -5 to armor class. If the creature’s saving throw succeeds, the bard cannot attempt to fascinate that creature again for 24 hours. Any threat that is obvious to the fascinated creature, such as the casting of a spell, drawing of a sword or aiming of a weapon automatically breaks the effect.
As the bard rises in levels, the power of the fascination increases as well, allowing the bard to further influence the listener through suggestion. These specialized uses of the fascinate ability can only be performed on creatures who are under the influence of the bard’s fascinate ability. At 5th level, a bard may attempt a charm person on a fascinated creature. At 8th level, a bard may attempt to implant a suggestion into a fascinated creature. At 12th level, a bard may attempt antipathy/ sympathy on a fascinated creature. At 18th level, a bard may attempt a mass suggestion on fascinated creatures. In each case, the creature receives a saving throw to attempt to resist the spellsong.
As the bard gains experience, the number of creatures that can be affected by the fascination, or one of its specialized uses, increases. The number of creatures is equal to two fewer than the level of the bard. For example, a 4th level bard can fascinate 2 creatures, a 6th level bard can fascinate 4 creatures, and a 12th level bard can fascinate 10 creatures.
EXHORT GREATNESS: At 9th level, a bard can inspire greatness in one other creature. For every two levels the bard attains beyond 9th, the bard can inspire greatness in an additional creature. To inspire greatness, the bard must use song, poetry or some sort of oration. The creature to be inspired must be able to hear the bard, and must be within 30 feet for the effect to take place. A creature inspired with greatness gains temporary hit points and attack bonuses for as long as the bard is within its hearing and the bard continues to sing or orate. This effect lasts for one turn, or six rounds, at 9th level, and the duration increases by one additional round for every level beyond 9th. The creature can move out of the 30 foot radius once the exhortation has begun, but it must still be able to hear the bard at all times.
The target creature gains a +2 bonus on all ‘to hit’ rolls, and gains temporary hit points as if two hit dice (or levels) higher. Apply the creature’s constitution modifier, if any, to each bonus hit point roll. See the combat section for a detailed explanation of temporary hit points.
PRIME ATTRIBUTE: Charisma
HIT DICE: d10
ALIGNMENT: Any
WEAPONS : Broadsword, bows, club, dagger, dart, hand axe, hammers, javelin, longsword, rapier, scimitar, short sword, sling, spear, staff
ARMOR: Leather armor, leather coat, padded, ring mail, studded leather, chain shirt, shields (small)
ABILITIES: Decipher script, exalt, legend lore, fascinate, exhort greatness
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