Revision as of 14:03, 20 March 2015

Bard

Elise, iconic bard

"Let me sing you the song of my people."

Some say that songs are magical, and that - rooted both within the mysteries of music and magic - there is common ground between them. Those that study the artistry of music find that, on occasion, they are able to conjure magic through means that seem otherwise entirely mundane. These are the bards, and while the extent of such magics are somewhat limited, they are relatively unique.

However, music is a cultural artifact, and as such, bards typically find themselves wandering the world, seeking out the sounds and stories of new cultures to add to their repertoires. As their understanding of the depths of music grows, so, too, does their understanding of the magic behind it, and they accrue some degree of magical talent. While never as powerful as a mage, bards can certainly hold their own in terms of spellcasting, and their ability to bolster their allies with song leads most bards to never want for adventuring companions.

Game Rule Information

Bards have the following game statistics.

Force Alignment: Magic.

Force Resistances: PR 5 + level, TR 5 + level.

Abilities: Charisma is the most important ability for a bard, as it modifies the Perform skill.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills: The bard's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all) (Int), Listen (Per), Perform (Cha), Search (Per), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Per), Tumble (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Alignment: Any.

Ethos: Any.

Starting Age: Simple.

Starting Gold: 5d4 x 10gp.

Favored By: None.

Job Features

All of the following are job features of the bard.

Performance (Ma): A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects on those around him, including himself if desired. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. At each degree after 1st, a bard can use performance for 2 additional rounds per day. Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of bardic performance that he has mastered.

Starting a bardic performance is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. Changing a bardic performance from one effect to another requires the bard to stop the previous performance and start a new one as a standard action. A bardic performance cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the bard is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time.

As all performances have an audible component, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and many such performances are language dependent (as noted in the description). A deaf bard has a 20% change to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with an audible component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Deaf creatures are immune to bardic performances with audible components.

To use this ability, you must have Perform as a class skill, and must have at least 1 rank in it.

Inspire Courage (Ma): A 1st degree bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 3rd degree, and every two bard degrees thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 9th degree. This is a mind-affecting ability.

Bardic Lore (Ex): At 2nd degree, a bard adds half his bard degree (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.

Inspire Competence (Ma): A bard of 3rd degree or higher can use his performance to help his allies succeed at a task. The allies must be able to hear the bard. All allies gain a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as they continue to hear the bard’s performance; the skill is chosen when the bard begins the performance. This bonus increases by +1 for every two degrees the bard has attained beyond 3rd (+3 at 5th, +4 at 7th, and +5 at 9th).

Inspire Greatness (Ma): A bard of 4th degree or higher can use his performance to inspire greatness in himself and all willing allies that can hear him. A creature inspired with greatness gains 2 bonus Hit Dice (d10s), the commensurate number of temporary hit points (apply the target’s Constitution modifier, if any, to these bonus Hit Dice), a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves. The bonus Hit Dice count as regular Hit Dice for determining the effect of spells and other effects that are Hit Dice dependent.

This ability requires the bard to expend a number of rounds' worth of performance equal to the number of creatures affected to activate, and the same amount to maintain it each round.

Inspire Action (Ma): A bard of 5th degree of higher can exhort any allies within hearing to a sudden surge of action, allowing them to immediately take an extra move action. This does not count against the ally's number of actions on his own turn.

This ability requires the bard to expend a number of rounds' worth of performance equal to the number of creatures affected to activate, and the same amount to maintain it each round.

Example: Elise has four allies within hearing range, and she wants to use inspire action. To do so, she must expend five rounds' worth of Performance - one for herself, and one for each ally. Each round thereafter, she can maintain the music at the cost of five rounds' worth of Performance.

Bard Talent: At 6th degree, and every degree thereafter, the bard learns to weave more enhanced magic with their music. Choose one of the talents below.

• Arcane Refrain (Ma): The Force effects of you and those allies who can hear you have their saving throw DCs increased by +1, plus an additional +1 for every three bard degrees you have (so +2 at 3rd, +3 at 6th, and +4 at 9th). This magical effect only has an effect on manifesters and students if you overcome their SR at the beginning of the performance.
• Battle Chant (Ma): The bard and all willing allies who can hear him gain a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls and a +4 morale bonus to damage rolls. For every two bard degrees you have, increase the bonus to attack rolls by +1 and the bonus to damage rolls by +2 (so +3 and +6 at 2nd degree, +4 and +8 at 4th degree, +5 and +10 at 6th degree, and so on).
• Cantus Firmus (Ma): The bard and all willing allies who can hear him gain mettle for so long as the bard performs.
• Extra Music: You gain an additional four rounds worth of Performance each day. You can take this talent multiple times; its effect stacks.
• Finale (Ma): When you use inspire action, you instead grant a standard action.
• Life's Anthem (Ma): The bard and all willing allies who can hear him gain fast healing equal to the bard's bard degree + his Charisma modifier.
• Lingering Performance: The effects of your bardic Performance continue for 1 round after you cease performing. Any other requirement, such as range or specific conditions, must still be met for the effect to continue. If you begin a new bardic performance during this time, the effects of the previous performance immediately cease. You can take this talent multiple times; each time you do, the effects of your Performance persist for an additional round.
• Matador's Song (Ma): The bard and all willing allies who can hear him gain evasion for so long as the bard performs.
• Nameless Song (Ma): When you start this performance and for each round you continue playing it, roll 1d6 for you and each ally affected. The result determines what effect occurs. Each effect has a duration equal to your bard degree in rounds, and persist even after you cease the Performance (that is, their duration is independent of the Performance). You can choose to expend an additional round of Performance each round you perform this song, to a total no greater than one-half your bard degree; if you do, for each additional round you expend, roll an additional 1d6 for each ally. Multiple effects of the same name at the same time have no additional effect, but gaining a status in a later round after having already gained it refreshes the duration.
  • 1 - no effect; 2 - reraise; 3 - regen; 4 - protect; 5 - shell; 6 - haste
• Requiem (Ma): All undead creatures that can hear you within 60 feet take 2d6/degree arcane and holy damage. Creatures so affected are allowed a Will save against DC 10 + your bard degree + your Charisma modifier; if successful, they take half damage.
• Rousing Melody (Ma): The bard and all willing allies improve their initiative by the bard's Charisma modifier at the beginning of their turns. This ability requires the bard to expend a number of rounds' worth of performance equal to the number of creatures affected to activate, and the same amount to maintain it each round.
• Soul Etude (Ma): When you first perform this song, and on each round you continue to perform it, you attempt to remove status ailments from willing allies that can hear you. For each status ailment you want to remove, you must spend one round of Performance. You cannot use this ability to remove the dead status.
• Swift Ballad (Ma): The bard and all willing allies double their base movement speeds for all modes for the duration of this performance.
• Swift Performance: You can begin a Performance ability as a move action, rather than a standard. You can take this talent twice; the second time you do, you can begin a Performance with a swift action, rather than a move.

Feats

The following are a selection of feats that are relevant to bards.

Design Notes

The bard is probably sufficiently iconic that it warrants a class, not a job.

Also not entirely certain how I feel about the job concept. Think I'll blame the painkillers I was on at the time...