Bard Songs

The Bard songs function differently than other spells. They function under a principle called "earshot". Earshot is defined as: "within the same room as the Bard, within four spaces in a corridor in either direction, or within a three space radius outdoors." Bards have devoted part of their lives to the magical arts. At the beginning of the game, it is assumed that they have a certain number of spells already learned that they don't have to pay for. I recommend the D.M. give each magic user a certain amount of credit to spend on spells. For Bards I recommend 250 gc (Gold Coins). They may then sing any spell in their repertoire as many times as their manna will allow them to. Spell costs are indicated beside the manna rating of each spell.






Battle Hymn
This song instills courage to all Heroes in earshot. All affected Heroes get to roll one extra combat die in both attack and defense for 1D4 turns or until they can no longer "see" a monster, whichever happens first. Singer is not affected.

Catnap
The Bard sings a gentle lullaby, filling the room with a soothing melody that puts all monsters in the room into a very light sleep. Sleeping monsters are unable to act. The Bard chooses one Hero to search the room for traps, doors, or treasure on their turn, but this Hero cannot attack, cast spells, open doors, or perform other actions that turn. Monsters wake instantly if any other Hero in the room moves, attacks, casts a spell, opens a door, or performs any action. The Bard must continue playing to sustain the spell, taking no other actions. The spell ends if the Bard stops playing or loses focus. Starting the second round, the Bard rolls one combat die per Mind Point (4 dice) each round to maintain focus, failing if all dice are Skulls (no Shields).

DeathCry
If the Bard, in the heat of battle, is wounded to the point that his or her Body Points are dropped below 1, provided he or she still has at least one Manna point left, the Bard automatically starts a DeathCry. This song raises them back up to 1 Body Point, and can only be sung once.

Hypnotize
This song effectively renders the Bard invisible to all creatures in earshot, allowing them to move through spaces occupied by monsters. The Bard cannot perform any other actions while singing the song or it immediately fails.

Lullaby of Repose
The bard sings a gentle lullaby, calming the aggression of all monsters in earshot. Affected monsters lose 1 combat die in attack for 2 turns. Each monster rolls 1D6 per Mind Point, and a 5 or 6 resists. Heroes attempting to attack an affected monster fall under the effect themselves, and must immediately roll 1D6 per Mind Point. Failure to roll a 5 or 6 means they are lulled by the music and lose their attack action.

Restful Ballad
This song will cause a restful peace to fall over all creatures in earshot. This magical restfulness will restore either two Mind Points or two Body Points (recipient's choice) to all creatures who hear the music including the Bard. This restful peace will also lower the attack and defend dice of anyone who hears it by two combat dice each and will last for 2 turns.



Dirge of Despair
The Bard sings a mournful dirge, sapping the will of all monsters in earshot. Affected monsters lose 2 combat dice in attack for 2 turns. This spell may be broken at once or on a future turn by rolling 1D6 for each Mind Point. By rolling a 6, the spell is broken.

Song Of Chaos
This song causes all the monsters in earshot to become confused, and attack the closest visible creature. The spell lasts for 2+1D4 turns. This spell may be broken at once or on a future turn by rolling 1D6 for each Mind Point. By rolling 5 or 6, the spell is broken.

Song Of Calamities
This song will instill fear in any monster in earshot for 2+1D4 turns. Monsters affected will lose 2 Defend Die and 2 Attack Die (will not lower past 1). This spell may be broken at once or on a future turn by rolling 1D6 for each Mind Point. By rolling a 6, the spell is broken.



Ballad of Unraveling Minds
The Bard's haunting ballad fractures the minds of all creatures in earshot, reducing their Mind Points by 2 (minimum 1) and forcing them to reroll any successful action (attack, defense, spell) and take the worse result for 2+1D4 turns. The Bard is unaffected.

Cacophonous Song
This song will confuse and disorient any creature who hears it. All characters in earshot are automatically lowered by one Mind Point for the duration of the enchantment (Will not make any character go lower than 1 Mind Point). Those affected are unable to move or perform any action--including attacking or defending--until the enchantment is broken. To defend, characters roll 1D6 for each current Mind Point. By rolling 5 or higher, the enchantment is broken. Singer is unaffected.


Lullaby of Repose
The Bard sings a soothing lullaby, calming all creatures in earshot and forcing them to pause their actions. For 2 turns, affected creatures cannot attack unless attacked first, but they may move or defend normally.

Dirge of Despair
The Bard's mournful dirge saps the will of all monsters in earshot, forcing them to roll twice for any action and take the worse result for 1+1D4 turns.

Mesmerize
This song works similarly to Hypnotize, but it lasts for 1+1D4 turns and makes all the Heroes invisible. The Heroes may search rooms for Treasure, Secret Doors, or Traps, but if they attack any monster in the room the spell immediately fails. Only monsters with over four Mind Points can defend against the song by rolling 1d6 per Mind Point, and on a roll of 6 the spell is defended.

Power Song: Pain
Original Text: This song draws on the ancient powers of the Bean Sidhe, and causes all characters in earshot to double over in pain and lose 2 combat die in both attack and defense. The spell is undefendable and lasts for 2 turns.

Song of Recovery
This powerful song reinvigorates any character in earshot, healing 2+1d4 Body Points of damage. (It will not raise a Hero above their starting number.)



Requiem of Doubt
Text: The Bard's haunting requiem instills crippling doubt in all monsters in earshot, forcing them to lose 1 Body Point undefendable and skip their next action unless they resist. Monsters resist by rolling 1D6 per Mind Point, needing a 5 or 6 to act normally.



Ode to Eternity
The Bard sings a powerful ballad, filling all Heroes in earshot with supernatural courage and vigor. For 2+1D4 turns, each Hero gains +3 Attack Dice, +3 Defend Dice, and double movement. When the song ends, however, each Hero loses 1 Mind Point (will not lower a hero below 1), reflecting emotional exhaustion the spell causes.





Echolocation
This spell allows the Bard to periodically release bursts of sonic energy which allow the Bard to "see" in the dark. The range of this echolocation is one room or a three space radius in a corridor. This spell lasts for 12 turns. You can see all monsters, doors, and furniture within the range of the spell, but nothing that would be normally hidden is visible.

Lesser Chime
By touching any one metal weapon, the Bard creates a resonant frequency that allows the weapon to store a weak sonic charge. The first time a Hero scores a successful hit with the weapon (and at least one point of damage is done) the weapon releases all the sonic energy, doing an additional two Body Points of damage. The charge lasts three turns.

Resonant Strike
The Bard shouts a piercing note, targeting one creature in earshot. The creature takes 2 Body Points of damage and is stunned, losing its next action unless it resists by rolling 2D6; each 5 or 6 reduces damage by 1 Body Point and prevents the stun. If the creature is adjacent to an obstacle (door, wall, furniture, monster, etc.), it takes 1 additional Body Point of damage.

Sonic Burst
This spell allows the Bard to release a burst of sonic energy that pushes one creature two spaces away in a straight line. The creature must have a clear path. If there is an obstacle in the way (door, wall, furniture, monster, etc.), the creature stops and takes 1D4 points of damage. If that obstacle is another creature they both take one point of damage. Creatures who are pushed against their will onto squares with traps set them off.



Chime
By touching any one metal weapon, the Bard creates a resonant frequency that allows the weapon to store a sonic charge. The first time a hero scores a successful hit with the weapon (and at least one point of damage is done) the weapon releases all the energy in a sonic burst, doing an additional 4 points of damage. The charge lasts three turns.

GlitterSong
This spell conjures up 1+1D4 magical sparkles which can be projected at any one, or any number of targets the Bard can "see". These sparkles do 1 Body Points of damage each. Monsters defend by rolling 2D6 per each sparkle they are hit with. For each 6 rolled, the damage is reduced by 1 Body Point.

Resonant Aegis
The Bard hums a protective resonance, enveloping one Hero in earshot in a sonic shield. The Hero gains +3 combat dice in defense for 1D4 turns. Once per turn if the Hero takes 2 or more Body Points of damage in one attack, the shield emits a sonic pulse, dealing 1 Body Point of damage to the attacker (if adjacent).

Richter Wave
This spell allows the Bard to stomp and send sonic energy through the ground. This energy will then burst upward and do four Body Points of damage to any single monster they can "see" within a two space radius of the Bard. Monsters defend by rolling 1D6 per current Body Point and for each 6 rolled the damage is reduced by 1.



Essence of the Bean Sidhe
This spell allows the Bard to emit a piercing scream that produces two effects.
First: the spell pushes every creature who is within a two space cone two squares backwards. The creature must have a clear path. If there is an obstacle in the way, the creature stops and takes 1d4 points of damage. If that obstacle is another creature they both take one point of damage. Creatures who are pushed against their will onto squares with traps set them off.
Second: every creature within the cone takes three points of sonic damage, one of which is undefendable. The last two points may be defended by rolling 2D6, and for each 5 or 6 rolled, the damage is reduced 1 point.

Greater Chime
By touching any one metal weapon, the Bard creates a resonant frequency that allows the weapon to store a powerful sonic charge. The first time a player scores a successful hit with the weapon (and at least one point of damage is done) the weapon releases all the energy in a sonic blast, doing an additional 8 points of damage. The charge lasts three turns.

Resonance Cascade
The Bard unleashes a vibrating sonic wave in a 3-space line, causing all creatures to suffer 2 Body Points of undefendable damage and lose 1 movement die for their next turn.

Sonic Veil
The Bard weaves a protective sonic barrier around all Heroes in earshot, deflecting 1 Body Point of damage from each attack for 2 turns.



Crescendo of Ruin
The Bard unleashes a devastating sonic crescendo in a 2-space cone, dealing 5 Body Points of damage, 2 of which are undefendable. Targets defend the remaining 3 BP by rolling 3D6, reducing 1 BP per 6 rolled.

SparkleSong
This spell conjures up 4+1D4 magical sparkles which can be projected at any one, or any number of targets the Bard can "see". These sparkles do 2 Body Points of damage each. Characters defend by rolling 2D6 per each sparkle they are hit with. For each 6 rolled, the damage is reduced by 1 Body Point.



ShatterSong
This song causes all characters in a two space cone to convulse in pain. Solid creatures feel their bones shatter, and non-solid creatures find their forms disrupted. Solid creatures take 2D4+4 Body Points of damage and defend by rolling 1D10 for each Body Point. On a roll of 9 or 0, the damage is reduced by one point. Incorporeal and non-solid Monsters are stunned and disrupted for 1d4 rounds. These creatures defend by rolling 1d6 per body point, and on a roll of 6 they reform. A stunned creature may not attack or defend until they have reformed. Examples of non-solid monsters would be incoporeal undead and some elementals.

Wail of the Void
The Bard unleashes a catastrophic sonic wail in a 3-space cone, dealing 7 Body Points of damage, 3 of which are undefendable. Targets defend the remaining 4 BP by rolling 4D6, reducing 1 BP per 6 rolled.

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