Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Why another book about barding you might think. Well, the answer is plain and simple: one of my players and I were not happy at all with the standard bard as described in all DND/ADD/3 rd/3.5 edition books. And I have been noticing that no player at all ever chooses to play a bard really. It might be my group, but I think a large part is also due to the unattractiveness of the class as it is. I think the existing bard character does not reflect what I think of as most important: the power over words and songs, the power of enthralling an audience by sheer personal performance alone. Why would a bard know magic? Why would she have to use hypnotic light patterns to keep an audiences attention? Great bards of all times would not need such devices. So thats how I developed a new bard character, using only songs, poetry and legend lore. Since I am very much interested in bardic knowledge and wrote my thesis on poetry and the magical sides of being a poet (together with Milla van der Have, just to say were poetry freaks), this was loads of fun. I used a lot of knowledge gained from several books. Wherever possible I stated those in footnotes. Naturally the bard kit was based on the original bard character as in the ADD books, but I changed so many things I might as well say its a whole different thing altogether. Of course I would like to hear all reactions, both the negative and the positive. My bard kit was developed while playing, so a lot of things could, and will still be improved. Please do let me know if you think one of my solutions is ineffective or you have an idea we didnt think of. Also I would like to mention that a lot of time and effort are put into this book. You are allowed to copy this text, please just refer to the rightful owner. Please do remember however that the copyright is mine. Id like to get credit where credit is due. Do not spread a version of this book you edited yourself without conferring with me. I would like to thank a lot of people, especially Milla van der Have, whom I once worked on this book with. I also send many thanks to my d&d group; I have been playing with most of these guys for 18 years now and I still love every minute of it. Last but not least, I would like to thank a lot of poets from all over the world and all over the ages. Orpheus gets the special mentioning because he is still the greatest bard ever. No one else ever made gods and mountains cry, according to my knowledge.
Poems are cheeky bastards, they tickle my heart and my head, they break all the rules and live by their own like a night of love, she said. (Brendan Kennelly)
Table of contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 2 CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO A BARD IS A BARD IS A BARD? ............................................................................................... 4 VARIATIONS ON A THEME .................................................................................................. 6
THE COURT POET ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 THE HISTORIAN........................................................................................................................................................ 6 THE LORE MASTER.................................................................................................................................................... 7 THE MUSICIAN OR MINSTREL ...................................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR SING ME OH MUSE ......................................................................................................... 8 STATISTICS ..................................................................................................................... 9
With those two extremes there is still a lot left unsaid. There are millions of ways you could think of a type of bard somewhere in between those two stereotypes. It would go too far to put them all into writing here. I will however talk about some other possibilities of barding in chapter two. One thing remains however. Whatever type of bard you choose; it does mean you have power over words or melodies. This is one of the greatest powers known in the world (look at the media) and it could be your fame or your downfall. Remember the saying: The pen is mightier than the sword. And so indeed it is.
The historian
We would all depend on oral tradition if it werent for the occasional historical writer. This type of bard is a more serious writer (which doesnt mean he cant be funny). For most historians objectiveness is of utmost importance. Intensive research is undertaken to find the truth amidst the rubble of history. The historian digs deep in the past to learn about the old ways. However, there are also historians that wish to perpetuate current events going on around them. The kingdom might be in a complex war and the historian feels the need to register everything as it happens. Of course there also might be historians that want to change history. They twist things according to their needs, they leave events out, and they write plain lies. Traditionally, this kind of bard would also be the person to write rulings during disputes or write up a marriage certificate. In this possibility to influence the course of events lays the great power of the historical bard. Not only in his own times will most people look upon his work as the most objective account of an event (it is a written record after all), but people long after his death will be dependent on his narrative for knowledge of the event. The historian has the great power to unmake history or forever make it. For example the historian can show by twisting arguments, that the count indeed has the right to inherit the throne after the king dies. A historians main subject is of course history. But this could range from accounts of battles to the history of a mountain region, the downfall of the empire written in verse, the appearance of a god that changed society or a tale about the beautiful architecture in the capital. Also a historian could get an assignment from a ruler to get to the bottom of an issue or to forge documents or falsify history.
The chanter (or vocalist) The juggler The philosopher The metaphysician The oracle The fortune teller The informant The troubadour The poet
Chapter three
Sing me oh Muse
Chapter four
Statistics