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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6617436" data-attributes="member: 7006">I guess the question I'd ask is "Why do you need to write down any extra rules at all?"If the entire point you're trying to get to is that you want bards to be able to cast spells while holding an instrument... then you let them cast spells while holding an instrument.  Or cast spells while singing.  Or cast spells while dancing.  Or orating.  Or any other artistic endeavor.Because the moment you start trying to write down "official" rules... you're going to paint yourself into every corner case out there and have to keep re-writing rule after rule and rule you make.For instance... you create the rule that says holding a musical instrument counts as a Material focus for a bard's spells, playing the instrument counts as the Somatic component, and singing counts as the Verbal.  That's fine.  But now... what happens when the bard wants to pull out his sling?  If his instrument was a two-handed guitar, he has to let go of the instrument, pull out his sling, use the sling, and then in the next round if he wants to cast another spell he has to spend his free action putting away his sling, NOT be able to grab his guitar since he's already used his free action, and thus is unable to cast the spell.  Whereas if his instrument had been a kazoo he could have kept it in his mouth and not have had to drop it and pick it up around his weapon use... or if his weapon had been one-handed he could have kept his free hand on the guitar and thus the next round he could have sheathed his weapon and then still used the guitar to cast the spell because he never "dropped" it the round previous?It's all these nitpicky worries the bard has to have and decide on about one-handed weapons versus two-handed weapons with one-handed musical instruments versus two-handed musical instruments (or no-handed musical instruments or no instruments at all and just sing or dance etc. etc. etc.) that for me makes actually *codifying* the rules counter-productive.I mean... if that codification really matters to you that much in your game, I think you're going to have to accept that there are good choices for the instrument of the bard's performance, and a whole heap of bad.  I know personally... if I was in a game like that, my "instrument of choice" would be Dancing and an Arcane Focus, because that way I could use a weapon and cast spells without ever having to play the "draw or sheathe with the one free action" mini-game just to be able to use my class's abilities effectively.So best of luck however you decide to go, but just know that if handedness and the juggling of weapons and instruments is how you are going to go... you're going to effectively eliminate a whole set of weapons and instruments from your potential bard's repetoire because no player is going to want to hamstring themselves like that (even if fluff-wise they'd prefer that kind of instrument.)</blockquote>

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