Legends of Belariath
Classes
Bard
Troubadour, traveling minstrel, storyteller, poet, and performer, the Bard is a most colorful character! The epitome of the charming rogue, the Bard is typically clever, entertaining, and outgoing. Brave and sometimes foolish, they frequently risks life and limb and pocketbook in the pursuit of a good time. "Live hard, run fast, and laugh the entire way", is the Bard's credo. Being one with your instrument, feeling the melody flow through you as you play, having no cares or worries and enjoying life to its fullest! They do indeed. Sometimes at your expense with their fanciful way of creating jaunty little tunes, to a fight they may have witnessed, to dragging a tear from the most stalwart warrior.
Character Creation
Allowable Races: Human (any type), Elf (any type), Tribe, Sheyka, Cat Person, Minotaur, Halfling, Chirot, Drak Sen (metallic or bejeweled), Torian, Merfolk, Fae, Pixie, Nixie Satyr, Nymph, Duessa
Qualifying Classes: Base class
Type of Class: magical
Spell Spheres Allowed: Symphonic, Illusion, Common
Armor: A and B
Weapons: A and B - none that require two-handed use
Class Bonus Stats:
| STR | INT | AGI | RES | STA | SPL | LFE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonus Stats | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Mindset:
Troubadour, traveling minstrel, storyteller, poet, and performer, the Bard is a most colorful character! The epitome of the charming rogue; the Bard is typically clever, entertaining, and outgoing. Brave and sometimes foolish, the Bard frequently risks life and limb and pocketbook in the pursuit of a good time. "Live hard, run fast, and laugh the entire way", is the Bard's credo. Being one with your instrument, feeling the melody flow through you as you play, having no cares or worries and enjoy life to its fullest!
The Bard is often characterized as a minor player whose main purpose is 'background color' and to provide entertainment for the more 'important' characters. And of course, the Bard does entertain with his music, his flowery language, and his theatric antics. It is also quite true that the Bard lacks the brute strength of knights and warriors, the speed of thieves, or the mighty magic's of the mages and their ilk. However, while the Bard may lack these more immediately visible and recognizable traits, his/her true power is far subtler; that of mind manipulation! The Bard applies this shadowy skill by feeling, augmenting, and using the emotional needs and desires of those around him for his own purposes. Far less obvious than his outgoing music-making, this skill is what makes him interesting, and if played correctly, quite dangerous! The Bard is well aware of how powerful it can be to show and offer someone the things they dream and fantasize about and their use of this fact can produce profound results. A Bard knows people better than anyone, sometimes knowing a person better even than they know themselves. Bards typically, however, play down their darker, manipulative skills, preferring to cultivate their image as harmless minstrels and entertainers.
As traveling gatherers of information, lore, legends, and gossip, Bards are typically 'in the know'. They communicate this information amongst themselves by way of a shadowy 'Bardic Network' that is seldom discussed with 'outsiders'. New Bards are encouraged to seek out a Bardic mentor and learn more.
Inherent in the very nature of the bard, is a wandering spirit. With their constant changing of local, the bard tends to become involved in momentary, fleeting relationships that can often be forgotten within a week. There is a romantic nature often associated with Bards and they know and use this image it's fullest.
While able to be involved in combat and fighting, Bards generally shy from such actions. The Bard prefers to use his/her talents to charm opponents rather than directly confronting them. They would much rather enjoy themselves, have someone else fight their battles rather than get their own hands dirty themselves, and pick fun at those whom they think are in need of it!
Instruments:
No matter what mode of entertainment the Bard chooses to make his/her mainstay, they all start out their careers with a simple instrument of their choice. This applies to all Bards - no matter that writing operas or translating ancient texts is their main interest. They must play an instrument and this should be declared in the character's description. With it, they call attention to themselves and weave their own unique magics. Without it, their abilities are largely limited to their silver tongues! Most of the Symphonic Sphere spells require that the Bard be playing his/her instrument in order to use them. Keep this in mind when choosing your instrument - you have to have it with you at all times to use most of your spells. Sure the tuba is sexy and fun, but is it practical in this setting?
Advantage:
Knowledge of the Ages
The bard is someone who has dealt with the telling of tales whether it's been stories, legends, gossip, folk lore and the like. The retelling of words, the manipulation and the way the story is presented, fine tuned for each listener, has been passed down through the ages, from one generation to another. Over time, some tales grow, some lessen. Details are added, deleted, and, could very well be embellished. The bard may have an inkling of knowledge and so, some of what they say would be for the listener to discern.
(The player must gain OOC consent and a thorough discussion between all players to discern what is expected should happen. A simple !rstat INT can be rolled as well if dice are wanted to see if the Bard is believable.)
Taunt
The bard is the master of the carefully crafted insult, of the glib, mocking one-liner, and of the cutting insult that leaves one breathless in its wake.
Mechanics:
Instead of attacking, the Bard may use their combat turn to Taunt their opponent, mocking perhaps their form, their spellcasting, or whathaveyou. This causes a period of self-doubt and self-consciousness that is fatal to the opponent's ability to fight. (Please RP this appropriately) This bestows on the target a detriment to any one defense type (CloPhy, CloMag, RanPhy, RanMag) chosen by the Bard at the time of this ability's use equal to -1 at Bardx1, -2 at Bardx3, -3 at Bardx5 and -4 at Bardx7. This lasts until the end of the Bard's next turn (after their attack, evade, attempt to escape, yield, whatever).
Please note: This ability comes into play 'after' the fight has been initiated, in addition to the disclaimer that any actions after the bard has taunted his opponent is left to the implied OOC consent rule which is: This can also be termed 'actions bring consequences'. Or 'if you go looking for trouble you might find it'.
Disadvantage:
Focus on the Art
Bards tend to be single-minded entities who will lose themselves in finding the next great song, next great ballad or story. As such they tend to do things foolhardy in pursuit of knowledge or story. They tend to worry little about the dangers of a task or foe if it will mean they are that much closer to immortality through their art.
The Price of Arrogance
How often is it that, when one mocks another, that selfsame error resides in one's self? Certainly Karma (or Muphry's Law) might have something to say about such boldness!
Mechanics:
When the bard uses this ability, the opponent thus affected gains an advantage to damage on a successful attack equal to the effectiveness of the Taunt. This bestows on the target a bonus of +1 damage.