Bard

Bards are those who have learned history, oral tradition, music, and performance. They travel widely, looking for inspiration for the next great ballad or epic poem. Regardless of their base class, such Bards are welcome additions to most adventuring crews, as they have several useful skills to assist other characters.

In addition to any requirements of their base class, a Bardic character must have a minimum Charisma score of 13, a Dexterity score of 11, and an Intelligence score of 11. In addition, the experience point requirements are generally greater for a Bard (more than other quasi-classes), as one receives many benefits.

Bardic characters receive a +2 bonus on any saves associated with music, dance, performance, song, or singing, whether by spell or by a creature’s special ability (other bards’ songs, siren’s song, pipes of pan, or similar effects).

A Bard is limited to one-handed melee weapons of those available to their base-class, and they may use short bows, light crossbows, or slings according to what their base-class allows. A Bard may use armor and shields if their base-class allows, but is limited to light or medium armor types (leather or chain). A Bard can utilize magical items according to their base-class and may use musical magical items at increased proficiency (as determined by the Game Master).

Having strong musical background, a Bard’s ear for music grants them the Thief ability to Listen at an equivalent level. The ability is generally used to listen at a door, or to try to listen for distant sounds in a dungeon. The Game Master must decide what noises the character might be able to hear; a successful roll does not mean that a noise has been heard, but rather that a noise might have been heard. The GM should always make this roll for the player. Also note that the Bard and their party must try to be quiet in order for the character to use this ability. If the Bardic character already has Listen from their base class (for instance, Bardic-Thief), then they receive an additional +10% bonus to reflect their extra skill. Bards are also very inclined to acrobatic performance and dance, allowing Bards to Tumble and Evade quite well. When subjected to an area-affecting spell or similar situations, the Bard takes 1/2 damage if successful with their tumble check; 1/4 damage if the relevant save is also successful. The tumble ability may also spare the Bard from situations such as parting shots by opponents when retreating. The Game Master may reference this ability for other such situations as they see fit.

A Bard may learn two additional languages beyond what their race and intelligence score normally allows, however these additional languages are not part of the beginning set and must be learned during the course of game play.

Because a Bard travels widely collecting historical details, legends, and various bits of locale lore, they have the ability to come up with useful information. Often this Lore ability allows a Bard to intuitively put together details regarding locales, notable persons, or even details about magical items. In any event, the Game Master is warned not to give out full or detailed information, but rather vague bits of lore that may or may not be entirely accurate. Information outside the milieu or other meta-game information is never made available to characters.

This collecting of information from various sources also predisposes a Bard to be able to translate or read various writings (regardless of language used) through comparison, deductive reasoning, and sometimes a bit of guesswork. It takes about 10 minutes to Decipher text  consisting of a page of normal sized handwriting, whether successful or not in translating the script. The Game Master may adjust the chance of success and time requirements for various factors such as size of texts, obscurity of language, or even penmanship.