Clearly, Tangelos must be outlawed, because it makes both the tangerine and grapefruit feel bad.
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D&D 5E Attunement
- Thread starter GMforPowergamers
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Clearly, Tangelos must be outlawed, because it makes both the tangerine and grapefruit feel bad.
Very considerate.
Yes.
Yeah, there's certainly no precedent in myth or fantasy for music having magical powers. Nosiree, none whatsoever.
It is said that there is a Brown Note which doth heal the bowels of all who hear it.
I strongly suspect there are some examples of that, actually. There are examples of magical speech, too. Some real cultures believe in words of power as a matter of fact.
fuindordm
Adventurer
Finnish mythology for example, which was one of Gary's inspirations.
Since my cunning linkage seems to have passed people by: magical music has been a staple in both myth, fairy tales, classical fantasy, and modern fantasy games.
For myth we have some big ones. Probably the most well-known is Orpheus, whose music allowed him to descend into Hades to bring back his love (only to fail at the last second because he couldn't help looking back at her). We also have Väinämöinen from Finnish mythology, and the eighteen songs of magic learned by Odin. On a more low-powered level, we have creatures like satyrs and sirens using music to bewitch folk.
Fairy tales also offer many examples of enchanting music, for example the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
In classical fantasy, we have the Silmarillion, where the world is sung into existence by the Ainur under the guidance of Eru.
In modern computer games, there's Loom and The Ocarina of Time, both games where part of the gameplay consists of learning magical melodies and performing them at the appropriate times.
These sources are what the bard is based upon, not just someone who learns a bit of wizard magic as a hobby. Bardic magic is a thing all of its own. The 5e bard still has a touch of the dabbling with the "Magic Secrets" class feature, which allows them to learn spells normally reserved for other classes, but even without that bardic magic stands on its own.
For myth we have some big ones. Probably the most well-known is Orpheus, whose music allowed him to descend into Hades to bring back his love (only to fail at the last second because he couldn't help looking back at her). We also have Väinämöinen from Finnish mythology, and the eighteen songs of magic learned by Odin. On a more low-powered level, we have creatures like satyrs and sirens using music to bewitch folk.
Fairy tales also offer many examples of enchanting music, for example the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
In classical fantasy, we have the Silmarillion, where the world is sung into existence by the Ainur under the guidance of Eru.
In modern computer games, there's Loom and The Ocarina of Time, both games where part of the gameplay consists of learning magical melodies and performing them at the appropriate times.
These sources are what the bard is based upon, not just someone who learns a bit of wizard magic as a hobby. Bardic magic is a thing all of its own. The 5e bard still has a touch of the dabbling with the "Magic Secrets" class feature, which allows them to learn spells normally reserved for other classes, but even without that bardic magic stands on its own.
I'm with Neobolts on this one. I also may owe that to 2nd Edition. Personally, I'd like to see bards have their own spells and magical songs and words. They shouldn't be able to lay claim to a truer form of magic than the game's dedicated casters. Bards are hybrid classes, balancing swords and sorcery. They could be modeled after the blade-singer, but that might step on its toes. They are completely over-powered with good fighting abilities, hit points, and 9th level spells of any or all types. They can even pick up the highly offensive arcane spells, and out-heal druids.
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