The Price of Propaganda

[Erithtotl]

One of my PC's wants to hire bards to spread tales of his deeds far and wide throughout the city. Can anyone point me to any guidelines of how much this might cost and what the effects might be?

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

A trained hireling costs 3 silver pieces a day.

A messenger 2 copper pieces per mile traveled.

I'd probably use 3sp a day + 2cp/mile for traveling expenses.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Well, he needs a bard to "craft" a "masterwork" song or story about his deeds... We'll call that a complex or superior item and give it a DC of 20. The Bard can use his Perform skill with int instead of cha modifying as his craft check, and aim for a cost of 100 gp (same as a masterwork instrument). The materials cost is taken up in expensive coffee, clove cigarettes and/or spiced wine to be consumed while writing.

Once the character has his song/ballad/story, he can hire several lesser bards to spread it through the city. I'd pay the minimum for a trained hireling as they will also be making money with their perform checks (at a +2 for the masterwork piece he is giving them!). Anyone who has heard an "enjoyable" or better performance of "his" song he gets a +2 circumstance bonus on reaction rolls. Within a good sized city, I'd give a 5% chance per bard per week of spreading the word.

 

[LostSoul]

Treat it like a magic item that gives him a bonus to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks (but a penalty to Disguise).

If he wants +5 to Diplomacy and Gather Information, make it ~5000 gp. Maybe less if the campaign takes less time in the city where he's doing this.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

I think the difference between my answer and the others so far is that I think this is a great idea and I wouldn't want to put much of a barrier up against the player doing this.

It isn't a craft check because (by definition) craft creates something physical. There shouldn't be any skill involved in the creation of the story if the story is true. The skill of bards is in telling the story, not creating it. You could have perform checks, but I don't think that's necessary in the spirit of what you're trying to accomplish. You're not trying to win an Oscar or have a long-running Broadway play here, you're trying to get the word out about accomplishments. Even bad bards can do that. People may not like a particular bard's version of the story, but that has nothing to do with whether they heard it.

 

[mvincent]

I'd probably treat the song as a masterwork tool (50 gp) for diplomacy:
"Tool, Masterwork
This well-made item is the perfect tool for the job. It grants a +2 circumstance bonus on a related skill check (if any). Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items used toward the same skill check do not stack. "
(the bonus applies to those that have heard the song)

Then use the hireling costs of 3 sp per day to have it sung.

"Who are these guys?"
"They're my theme music. Every hero's got to have some." - I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I think the difference between my answer and the others so far is that I think this is a great idea and I wouldn't want to put much of a barrier up against the player doing this.

I think it's a good idea too - I just don't think the way the story is told is irrelevant.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

I think it's a good idea too - I just don't think the way the story is told is irrelevant.

I think it's irrelevant in terms of "getting the word out." Townsfolk who hear the story will recognize your name and your deeds, whether they liked the bard's performance or not. I'm assuming a bell curve in terms of bard performances, which means for every bad performance they hear, there will be a good one, so it becomes irrelevant in terms of the character sending the bards.

Bad bards will lose their jobs, but their story still gets told. The closest I'd come to evaluating the performances is if the character tries to exploit his fame, roll a % die and 1-5 they hated it passionately and dislike the character for being in it, 6-15 they didn't enjoy the performance and don't remember the character, 16-84 they were unaffected by the performance and recognize the character but don't really care. 85-95 they enjoyed the performance and like the character, 96-100 they loved the performance and are like paparazzi to the character.

But I, personally, wouldn't even do that, I'd just give roleplay benefits, no actual mechanical benefits.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I think it's irrelevant in terms of "getting the word out." Townsfolk who hear the story will recognize your name and your deeds, whether they liked the bard's performance or not.

A good story or song sticks in your mind as a story or song not merely as information. It will be repeated by bards you didn't hire, if its good entertainment.

The difference between getting your deeds in the paper and getting a major motion picture made with Russell Crowe playing you is not to be underestimated.

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

A good story or song sticks in your mind as a story or song not merely as information. It will be repeated by bards you didn't hire, if its good entertainment.

The difference between getting your deeds in the paper and getting a major motion picture made with Russell Crowe playing you is not to be underestimated.

I'd fire my agent if they allowed Russell Crowe to portray me. You realize he required them to make special lightweight armor for him during the filming of Gladiator? Even the old dude who played Marcus Aurelius wore the regular, heavy armor. What a wimp!

It seems to me that I'm interested in paying somebody (or multiple sombodies) to go out and tell a story far and wide, but you're interested in turning the already existing story into something that becomes a masterpiece epic, and then expecting people to tell the story far and wide because it's a good story to tell. Does that sound about accurate for the difference?