New BX Character Class: The Bard (Version II)

This version of the bard character class comes mainly out of the Welsh tradition of the bard known mainly through the stories in the Mabinogion tetralogy, though it also acknowledges the illusionist connection given to the Mabinogion by more contemporary authors. This version of the bard character class requires use of AEC rules.

[Please note: While this class is new for B/X, it is an adaptation and revision of the AD&D bard created by Jeff Goelz in Dragon Magazine #56, which was a "revision of the bard class" from the AD&D PHB, which was based upon the bard class introducted by Doug Schwegman in Strategic Review Vol. II, No. 1.]

The bard is the quintessential entertainer—a musician, charmer, and loremaster.

The prime requisites of a bard are Intelligence and Wisdom. If a bard has a score of 13 or greater in both Intelligence and Wisdeom, the character will gain a +5% bonus on earned experience points. If a bard has a Wisdom of 13 or greater AND an Intelligence of 16 or greater, the character will earn a +10% bonus on earned experience.

Bards use the same attack table as fighters, but the same saving throw table as magic-users.

RESTRICTIONS: Bards may use any weapon with the following exceptions: they are prohibited from using any two-handed weapon except a quarterstaff, and they may not use bows of any sort (including crossbows). Bards may wear only leather armor and may use a wooden shield. However, a bard is not permitted to actively use a shield while charming (as it requires the use of both hands to play his or her instrument). Bards may only use those magic items generally permitted to fighters and thieves, any magical weapons or armor used must also adhere to the general restrictions for use by bards. A bard must always have a stringed instrument, which is required for all charming attempts (see below). A bard may not be in an adventuring party with another bard (though two or more bards may gather to practice). Like rangers, bards lead a vagabond life, and may only possess what they can carry on their person, but will buy the most exquisite instrument he or or she can afford. A bard must have a minimum Charisma score of 9.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: The bard has command over several special capabilities, including the use of illusionist and druid spells, the power to influence others through song with the accompaniment of an instrument, an extensive knowledge of lore, and the ability to read and understand languages.

Charm: This ability provides the bard a chance, through his or her music, to mesmerize all creatures within hearing range. Undead are immune to this charm, and this ability does not affect the bard’s own party. Additionally, the chance to charm any creature is modified by –5% for each HD/level above 4. To determine if the charm attempt works, roll percentage dice. All those within hearing range whose adjusted percentage is equal to or greater than the roll will remain mesmerized as long as the bard continues performing. This ability may be used once per day per level.

Other Song Effects: Through song, the bard is able to influence others in the following ways:

Counteract Charms. The performance of a bard will automatically counteract the charms of a harpy. Additionally, the preemptive playing of a bard will provide a +1 bonus to all saving throws by the bard’s party vs. charm and charm-like effects. Use of this ability requires the bard to play his or her instrument. The benefits of this song do not begin until the second round after the bard begins the song.

Boost Morale. The bard may perform a song that boosts the morale of the members of the bard’s party, providing a +1 bonus to morale, “to hit” rolls, and damage rolls while the bard is performing. This same song will also cause enemies within hearing range to incur a –1 penalty to morale, “to hit” rolls, and damage rolls. Use of this ability requires only the bards voice, allowing the bard to engage in melee while performing this song. The benefits of this song do not begin until the second round after the bard begins singing.

Lore: Bards have a chance to know about the legends and lore surrounding people, places and things (including runes). This includes the ability to know what certain objects are, what they do, where they were manufactured, etc., including magical items (even the properties of intelligent swords). Use of the item is not required to know any information about it, as the information comes from the bard’s knowledge and experience.

Read Languages: As a bard rises in level, he or she becomes more able to read unknown languages and comprehend them. The percentage indicated notes both the chance the bard has to comprehend the language, as well as how much of what is written will be understandable by the bard should the attempt succeed. This skill does not provide the ability to speak languages or comprehend them when spoken. The bard will automatically be able to read any language that is actually known by the bard.

Additional Languages: In addition to the languages provided a bard by a high Intelligence, the bard will learn to read, write, and speak a number of additional languages. Bards with an Intelligence of 8 or less will only be able to read and write these additional language as indicated by the penalties for that Ability Score (e.g., a bard with an Intelligence of 4-5 will only be able to speak the additional language, but will not be able to read or write that language).

Spell Use: Bards are able to use a number of illusionist and druid spells. Although the bardic ability to charm requires only the use of the bard’s instrument, the use of spells is subject to the same requirements as the spell type being used by the bard (i.e., rest and memorization for illusionist spells, or rest and prayer for druid spells).

A bard is cannot employ hirelings or henchmen until he or she reaches name (9th) level.

Upon reaching 10th level (Master Bard), a bard is able to assume an animal shape (as a druid), three times a day.

New BX Character Class: The Bard (Version I)

This version of the bard character class incorporates aspects of the norse ‘skald’ (a warrior/historian), the celtic ‘bard’ (from the druidic tradition), and the southern european ‘minstrel’ along with the French jongleur (both entertainers and sometime scoundrels). This version of the bard is differentiated from the other in that this version possesses thieves’ abilities.

The bard is nothing if not versatile—a jack-of-all-trades and a font of knowledge, capable of both combat and and magic.

The prime requisites of a bard are Dexterity and Intelligence. If a bard has a score of 13 or greater in both Intelligence and Dexterity, the character will gain a +5% bonus on earned experience points. If a bard has a Dexterity of 13 or greater AND an Intelligence of 16 or greater, the character will earn a +10% bonus on earned experience.

Bards use the same attack and saving tables as thieves.

RESTRICTIONS: Bards may use any weapon with the following exceptions: they are prohibited from using any two-handed weapon except a quarterstaff, and they may not use bows of any sort (including crossbows). Bards may not use a shield. Bards may wear only leather armor, except they may wear magical or elfin chain. However, wearing chain armor (even magical or elfin) reduces the bard’s chances to move silently and climb sheer services to 0%. Bards may only use those magic items generally permitted to fighters and thieves, any magical weapons or armor used must also adhere to the general restrictions for use by bards. Bards get no “to hit” or damage bonus when striking from behind. A bard must always have a stringed instrument, which is required for all charming attempts (see below). A bard must have a minimum Charisma score of 9.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: The bard is both an amateur thief and magic-user, and the bard’s music has the ability to charm.

Charm: This ability provides the bard a chance, through his or her music, to mesmerize all creatures within hearing range. Undead are immune to this charm, and this ability does not affect the bard’s own party. Additionally, the chance to charm any creature is modified by –5% for each HD/level above 4. To determine if the charm attempt works, roll percentage dice. All those within hearing range whose adjusted percentage is equal to or greater than the roll will remain mesmerized as long as the bard continues performing. This ability may be used once per day per level.

Lore: Bards have a chance to know about the legends and lore surrounding people, places and things (including runes). This includes the ability to know what certain objects are, what they do, where they were manufactured, etc., including magical items (even the properties of intelligent swords). Use of the item is not required to know any information about it, as the information comes from the bard’s knowledge and experience.

Read Magic: This percentage represents the chance for a bard to be able to read and cast spells from magic-user/elf scrolls. A failed roll indicates that unexpected result happens when the scroll is read, creating potentially disastrous effects (at the DM’s discretion).

Comprehend Languages: As a bard rises in level, he or she becomes more able to comprehend unknown languages when they are spoken. The percentage noted is the chance the bard will accurately comprehend any single use of a language which is unknown to the bard, even if the bard has heard the language used before. This skill does not provide the ability to read or write languages. The bard will automatically comprehend any language that is actually known by the bard.

Additional Languages: In addition to the languages provided a bard by a high Intelligence, the bard will learn to read, write, and speak a number of additional languages. Bards with an Intelligence of 8 or less will only be able to read and write these additional language as indicated by the penalties for that Ability Score (e.g., a bard with an Intelligence of 4-5 will only be able to speak the additional language, but will not be able to read or write that language).

Spell Use: Bards are able to use a number of magic-user spells (or druid spells, if using AEC rules). Although the bardic ability to charm requires only the use of the bard’s instrument, the use of spells is subject to the same requirements as the spell type being used by the bard (i.e., rest and memorization for magic-user spells, or rest and prayer for druid spells).

Thieves’ Abilities: Bards are able to perform thieves’ abilities at a skill level of approximately half that of thieves (e.g., a 6th level bard uses thieves’ abilities about as well as a 3rd level thief).

As a bard rises in experience level, he or she will attract a number of wayfarers who will follow (and serve) the bard on his or her journeys. Every three levels, beginning at 4th level (i.e., at 4th, 7th, 10th, and so on) the bard should roll on the appropriate table below to determine the type of wayfarer attracted:

BX/LL (roll 1d10) 1-4 bard 5-6 elf 7-8 fighter 9 magic-user 10 thief

AEC (roll 1d10) 1-3 bard 4-6 druid 7-8 fighter 9 magic-user 10 thief

The wayfarer will join the bard as a first level character, and remain in the bard’s company until the character (or the bard) dies. Wayfarers need not be paid (though the bard may choose to pay them or share treasure with them). Furthermore, should a wayfarer die, he or she will never be replaced. All of a bard’s followers (including hired henchmen and other retainers) benefit from a +3 loyalty bonus (in addition to the bard’s standard Charisma modifiers).

Some BX Bardic Considerations Day 3: The Jeff Goelz Bard

On Day 1 of these BX bardic considerations, I took a look at the original bard created by Doug Schwegman in The Strategic Review Vol. 2, No. 1 (that became the foundation for the AD&D bard that appears in an altered form in the 1e PHB). On Day 2, I took a look at the possibility of a harpist class as Steve Marsh's answer to the AD&D bard (though the conclusion of that post remains incomplete). Today, I'm taking a look at the bard as envisioned by Jeff Goelz in Dragon magazine #56.

"In planning a revision of the the bard class, a path could have been chosen toward one of the two possible extremes: either to rework the material in the Players Handbook without altering any of the basic structure underlying the class, or to literally start from scratch and design an entire new class, perhaps having only its name and a few of the most basic characteristics in common with the official version. In the end, the path chosen lies between the extremes but ends up closer to the second one than the first."

From "Singing a New Tune," Dragon #56 (December 1981)

So where does Goelz find his bardic inspiration? From the celtic bard, particularly Evangeline Walton’s of the Welsh Mabinogion tetralogy (which gives it a particularly illusionist bent). Goelz also points out that the Welsh would never see the bard as a thieving type, especially (as he points out) given the connotations associated with "Welshing" on a bet, and the British propensity to think of the Welsh as thieves.

So what we have in Goelz's bard is a quintessential entertainer—a musician, charmer, inspirer, and loremaster, capable of both illusionist and druid spells.

In reviewing this version of the bard, it seemed only right to create a BX/LL version of it as well (in addition to the BX/LL version I created based on Schwegman's original). I have done that, with some tweaks to fall in line with the other version. The Schwegman-inspired version I'm calling "The Bard (Version I)," and it can be used with or without the LL AEC rules (without, the bard has MU spells; with, the bard has druid spells). The Goelz-inspired version requires use of the LL AEC rules (at least for spells, since it uses both illusionist and druid spells). I'm still thinking through my vision of the Marsh-inspired harpist class (which will likely require an entire set of spells created specifically for it). The first two should be appearing on the blog early in this coming week. If I'm lucky, the harpist (or some form of it) will come later in the week, or the beginning of the week following.

d30 Feature of the Week: d30 Bard Encounters

Since I've been examining the bard this week, I figured I break out this d30 encounter table. I actually created it over a year ago, and it will be included in a yet-to-be-announced followup to the d30 DM Companion and d30 Sandbox Companion, but has otherwise been sitting on my hard drive.

It generates the following:
– background on the bard's instrument(s)
– the bard's general proficiency on his/her instrument
– what the bard prides him/herself on (knowledge area)
– an ironic trait (despite being able to perform eloquently)
– the bard's dark secret

Click here to download a free PDF of d30 Bard Encounters page from MediaFire.

Some BX Bardic Considerations Day 2: The Steve Marsh Harpist

So back in the day (c.1980-1986), Steve Marsh was working with Gary Gygax on a planes book for AD&D. And as the manuscript was being readied for publication, the Great Gary Ousting occurred, Gary's projects were shelved, and the book never saw publication. Steve readily admits that everything he did then was related to the planes, and one could arguably say that this is and has always been the case. In fact, I urge all of you to dig into the various documents related to his Shattered Norns* and Mistworld settings.

So where am I going with this as it relates to the bard?

Well... in the Shattered Norns setting, there is a city in the Norns world called Porthvælving. It has a mirror on the Shadow Plane known as Liminenerrea. In Liminenerrea, there is a high-level harpist/mage who can assist the PCs in traveling by dream (from the Shadow Plane to the Material Plane). This concept of the harpist (which is a character type Steve is currently using), has its roots in something Steve was working on in the same era as the planes book... a harpist class that he was "collaborating with Gary Gygax on as a possible replacement for Bards for use in a campaign that has a focus on using the planes of reality and on a class that actually uses music for magic."¹

Envisioned by Steve, the harpist is very Orphic, but not necessarily Orphist. The harpist appears in two variants—the song seeker and the song smith (the first with a prime requisite of Charisma, and the latter with a prime requisite of Wisdom). As a harpist rises in level, he or she becomes "in harmony" with a number of muses (the 9 Greek muses, Clio, Urania, etc.), each of which has a particular domain (history, astronomy, etc.), and with a number of graces (the 3 Greek graces, Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia). Additionally, the harpist gains song levels and uses them to improve his or her skills (which come from the graces). So, yeah... it's pretty Greek. (An interesting counterpoint to the Norse/Celtic/English/French mutt that is the Doug Schwegman bard.)

As the Marsh harpist was written, it seems more like a framework than a complete class. For example, the use of songs is noted as being akin to divine intervention in Empire of the Petal Throne, but there is no "translation" beyond that into something self-contained and usable. There aren't even any examples of how the songs were to be used (other than that they are related to the domains of the muses).

I know that to stop now will be to leave you hanging, but I'll have to admit that this post is "to be continued." I'm waiting to hear back from Mr. Marsh with some additional insights, and with the hope that I'll have enough information to be able to adapt his original harpist vision into a BX/LL character class.

* On a side note, I'll be making a BIG announcement soon regarding the publication of a Shattered Norns adventure!
¹ Per the Shadows Beneath NTRPG Con Scenario Part Two document.

Some BX Bardic Considerations Day 1: The Schwegman Tradition

Originally, I was going to post a BX/LL bard class today, but I decided to hold off on that. As I was getting ready to format my notes and Excel spreadsheet of the bard class tables, it started to occur to me that I wasn't clear on what a bard should really be.

Originally, I was looking at a simple adaptation of Doug Schwegman's bard from The Strategic Review Vol. 2, No. 1. Schwegman's bard is admittedly "a hodgepodge of at least three different kinds, the norse ‘skald’, the celtic ‘bard’, and the southern european ‘minstrel’." In fact, James Maliszewski blames the "muddled" bardic tradition in D&D on Schwegman.

From Schwegman's intro to the class:

"I believe it is a logical addition to the D & D scene and the one I have composed is a hodgepodge of at least three different kinds, the norse ‘skald’, the celtic ‘bard’, and the southern european ‘minstrel’. The skalds were often old warriors who were a kind of self appointed historian whose duty was to record the ancient battles, blood feuds, and deeds of exceptional prowess by setting them to verse much like the ancient Greek poets did. Tolkien, a great Nordic scholar, copied this style several times in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (for example Bilbo’s chant of Earendil the Mariner). The Celts, especially in Britain, had a much more organized structure in which the post of Barbs (sic) as official historians fell somewhere between the Gwelfili or public recorders and the Druids who were the judges as well as spiritual leaders. In the Celtic system Bards were trained by the Druids for a period of almost twenty years before they assumed their duties, among which was to follow the heroes into battle to provide an accurate account of their deeds, as well as to act as trusted intermediaries to settle hostilities among opposing tribes. By far the most common conception of a Bard is as a minstrel who entertained to courts of princes and kings in France, Italy and parts of Germany in the latter middle ages. Such a character was not as trust worthy as the Celtic or Nordic Bards and could be compared to a combination Thief-Illusionist. These characters were called Jongleurs by the French, from which the corrupt term juggler and court jester are remembered today . . .

I wanted to put the Bard into perspective so that his multitudinous abilities in Dungeons and Drageons can be explained. I have fashioned the character more after the Celtic and Norse types than anything else, thus he is a character who resembles a fighter more than anything else, but who knows something about the mysterious forces of magic and is well adept with his hands, etc."

I thought to myself, "Should I, or shouldn't I, work with this 'muddle'?"

I decided to dig a little deeper into the concept, to figure out what I really wanted to do with the bard, and figure out how it fits in the context of a party of adventurers.

Let's start with the historic archetype for the various influences that Schwegman references:

Skalds were generally poets. (The term skald (or skáld) means ‘poet’.) During the Viking Age, they composed for the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders.

Bards were storytellers, most often employed by a patron. Their subjects tended to be the patron's ancestors, or the patron's own accomplishments.

Minstrels were performers (singers/musicians), often (but not exclusively) retained by high society. The songs of the minstrel told of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events (often memorizing and embellishing the works of others). Later, minstrels were replaced in the court by troubadours, and the minstrels became wanderers. The subject of the troubadours was courtly love and chivalry.

The following is from All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, Volume 1 by Ruth A Johnston.

"There were essentially three categories of minstrels, although the dividing lines are fuzzy. Musicians sang and played many different instruments, and, although they were ranked below the noble troubadours, they were at the top of the generally minstrelsy sacale. Next were the jongleurs and mimes, who could do nearly anything else. They did literal tumbling, acrobatics such as headstand and handsprings... others had learned magic tricks while in the Middle East on Crusade... A third group, the smallest, was made up of dropout scholars. They traveled with minstrels and and used their learning to entertain."

"...the common minstrels gained a reputation for thieving and causing trouble."

Okay, so let's see... we have music, and magic, and lore, and thieving... all from different types of minstrels, but all present in Schwegman's original concept.

Then we get to AD&D, and class takes a turn towards the druidic. It's an understandable take. The bards were one of three orders of druids (along with the ovates and the druids, each of which had its own school). The bards knew the songs and stories of the tribe, the ovates were seer/healers, and the druids were philosopher/judge/teachers.

From here, I was going to compare the Schwegman bard to the AD&D bard, but that task is pretty much impossible, since in Schwegman's model, the bard starts as a first level character and progresses from there, while in AD&D, the bard utilizes a funky progression where a 5th-9th level fighter changes to thief who progresses to 4-6th level before becoming a first level bard (and making me wish I'd stopped reading the PHB back in the psionics section).

As somebody who leans to the BX/LL side of things, it's probably obvious why I like Schwegman's original take better than the AD&D version. For one, it's self-contained (there's no class switching, or any of the associated headaches that come with that). Or at least I thought I did until I tried to start adapting it for BX/LL.

When I started to take all of the various abilities afforded the Strategic Review version, it became apparent that the bard really is a jack of all trades and master of none.

The bard is a half-ass thief... literally. Per Schwegman, a bard operates as a thief at half the bard's level, rounded down! And they get no bonuses for striking from behind.

The bard is also half-ass as a workhorse magic-user. At fifth level, the bard has 3 spells (all 1st level) and a MU (per the LBBs) has 7 (4 first, 2 second, 1 third). However, the bard's charm ability is far superior to the MUs, and the bard's saving grace (from a magic standpoint, anyway). For MUs, charm person is a 1st level spell and charm monster is a 4th level spell, and each affects a single target. By comparison, the bard's charm affect all in hearing range (not just a single target), and it also affects undead (though at a penalty). The bard's charm ability is balanced by reducing the bard's chances based on the HD of the creature. That happens for MUs based on the target's saving throw (which increases with HD/level). The use of the bard's charm is limited, though, to a number of uses per day equal to the bard's level. Honestly, though, that ability is worth it's weight in gold, almost like having a bunch of sleep spells.

When you get to combat abilities, the bard can hold his own, fighting and saving as a cleric, able to use any weapon, and allowed to wear leather armor (or magical chain, but this nullifies chances for climbing and moving silently), and not allowed to use a shield. But the lack of really protective armor and the use of a shield kind of makes the bard a little susceptible (AC-wise).

It's not a bad mix of abilities, though you'll likely still need a magic-user and thief in the party. However, in the BX context of party mix, where race is class, the bard is a good second-tier choice (e.g., in place of an elf or halfling). In some ways, this makes the bard almost a better fit for BX. In AD&D (and LL AEC) multi-classing serves generally the same purpose. But those things don't really exist in pure BX or LL. That's sort of where the bard makes sense... to round out the party in the absence of another class with abilities that cross over between the four base classes (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief).

Okay, so that's a look at the standalone "Schwegman Tradition" for the bard. And I have a BX version of this class written, but I want to hold off on releasing it until I've had a chance to take a look at another bardic tradition that never saw publication by TSR... Steve Marsh's harpist, a class on which he was collaborating with Gary Gygax as a possible replacement for bards ("with a class that actually uses music for magic") to be used in a campaign focused on the planes of reality.