Bardic Magic

[Tywyll]

I am interested in creating a system (based on a Multipower) for Bardic music. Now, part of what I intend is for there to be several "songs" that the Bard will have access to. In most cases, using these songs will preclude singing other songs (for obvious reasons). I am representing this as Incantations (throughout). I want to include some songs, however, that can be woven together to form melodies. But incantations doesn't work that way... it won't let me activate another power while incantations is active. Any suggestions?

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Bardic Magic

 

You can probably replace Incantations with the generic limitation "Must sing to use power", which would be worth about -1/4 less than Incantations but still be limtiing (because when you're in a situation where you can;t use your voice and hands you can't use the powers).

[Steve Long]

Re: Bardic Magic

 

Check Fantasy Hero for some expanded rules for Incantations, and The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II for a large selection of Song Magic spells.

[Frenchman]

Re: Bardic Magic

 

You said you're making it a multipower, right? Well then you put the incantations limitation on the pool, and any songs you wish to 'weave' together you make flexible slots.

 

Bardic Music Multipower (40 points), AOE Radius, Selective (+1 1/4), Incantations Throughout (-1/2)

1u) Kereoke- RKA 1d6, AVLD (Hearing Group Flash Defense, +1 1/2), No Range (-1/2), Side Effects (You Sound HORRIBLE! Lose 2d6 of reputation, -1/2)

2m) Saving Face- FF 10PD/10ED/10PowD/10MD, Usuable by Others (+1/4)

3m) Inspiring Bloodshed- +6 with OCV, Usuable by others (+1/4)

 

I just did this off the top of my head, so the math is probly all bad (why I didn't include most of it). Like this you could either perform Kereoke, damaging all of your foes within range, or you could attempt to Save Face of you and your friends, giving them 10 DEF in just about everything, or you could Inspire Bloodshed, making you and your friends incredibly accurate and deadly(remember cv's can be applied to damage), or you could Save Face AND Inspire Bloodshed, giving 5 DEF and +3 OCV, or some other combination of the two.

[dstarfire]

Re: Bardic Magic

 

Just as side note:

 

Why is it that almost every fantasy game/genre limits music/song based magic to morale/charm/mind based effects? Why aren't other spells ever cast as songs? I think it'd be a natural extension of the incantations and gestures of other schools of magic.

 

Incidentally, the one example I've seen of a magic system that doesn't limit song-based magic this way was the Death Gate cycle by Margaret Weiss.

 

Anyways, just a thought.

[Curufea]

Re: Bardic Magic

 

I remember reading Blue Adept by Piers Anthony when I was young. In it - each magic user had to have a unique method for casting spells.

Some used string, some gestures, some songs, some poetry.

 

For a very brief period of time, in an anime-related RPG I was in, one of the other PCs attempted to use haikus for spell casting.

 

Rhyming and songs tend to go together. There is no reason why an incantation should sound like a Gregorian chant in an ancient tongue. I even seem to recall in the In Nomine rulebook there being a scenario in which the major antagonist is attempting to get an entire audience to sing a summoning song to lucifer.

 

However, now that I mention it - all spells in In Nomine are song based - so have a look at that if you can.