Bards > Ever heard of a Songbook Bardic Build?? Or wanna make one??

[Nyaricus]

Has anyong ever heard of a bard that is a Song-only build. They have a Songbook (instead of a spellbook or no-preperation like they are now), and all of thier abilities revolve around their songs and Bardic Knowledge and the such.

I would be so intrigued to either find one pre-made or make one. Any thoughts or links

 

[Rystil Arden]

I have something sort of like this that I call the Troubadour, except that she eventually learns all the songs and can choose between them at will. There's some nice ones in there, even at low levels, like a Fast Healing song and a DR/- song.

 

[Nyaricus]

Rystil Arden, that sounds exactly like the class i want to build. Could you please post it up in all of her glory? It would be much appreciated!

 

[Rystil Arden]

Rystil Arden, that sounds exactly like the class i want to build. Could you please post it up in all of her glory? It would be much appreciated!

Well, I found portions of the first five levels in the description of an NPC I had on my old computer. If it looks good, I can always try to dredge up more.

Troubadour
BAB Ref Fort Will Special
+0 +0 +0 +2 Minne, Minuet
+1 +0 +0 +3 Paean, Requiem
+2 +1 +1 +3 Pastoral, Holy Thre, Madrigal
+3 +1 +1 +4 Unholy Thre, Mambo, Kybele's Thre
+3 +1 +1 +4 Liquefying Thre, Lullaby, Aerial Thre

Hit Dice: 1d6
Skill Points: 4+Int Bonus (Use Bard skill list)

Melodies once per day per Troubadour level (there's a feat to add +Charisma bonus to # of uses) (Only one melody per Troubadour can affect the same creature at a single time)-
Guardian Minne: DR 1/-, + 1/- per 5 levels
Carnage Minuet: +1 Morale Bonus to Melee Damage, + 1 per 5 levels
Healing Paean: Fast Healing 1, + 1 per 5 levels
Discordant Requiem: Enemy takes 1 Damage / round + 1 per 5 levels until she saves
Herb Pastoral: +4 Morale Bonus to saves against Poison, Immunity to Poison at 10
Threnodys: Weakness 2 vs element and -1 to saves vs school + Weakness 2 and - 1 saves per 5 levels (Holy = Positive Energy and Abjuration, Unholy = Negative Energy and Necromancy, Kybele's = Earth/Acid and Divination, Liquefying = Water and Transmutation, Aerial = Air and Conjuration, Flame = Fire and Enchantment, Boreal = Ice and Illusion, Electric = Electricity and Evocation)
Precise Madrigal: +1 Morale Bonus to Melee Attacks, +1 per 5 levels
Evasive Mambo: +1 Morale Bonus to AC, +1 per 5 levels
Lullaby: As the Sleep spell, but one target only

 

[General Barron]

I was working on something like that. Check out this thread here:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=152054

Although since I've made some more changes/additions to the class, which I haven't yet posted there.

 

[Astalanya]

I'm interested! Please show more.

 

[Nyaricus]

Okay folks, i dug up my "Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology" (awesome books, BTW) and am posting the Bard entry. Here it is:

The current standard English definition of this Celtic word, denoting a poet of exhalted status, i.e. the voice of a nation or people, dates from Thomas Gray's use of it in his poem "The Bard" (1757). Although Gray's borrowing of this word seems to owe most to the Welsh tradition, the role and status of the bard varied from one Celtic nation to another. Amoung the ancient Continental Celts, according to Roman commentators, the bards were singers and poets who occupied a lower status than the vates (interpreters of sacrifice) or the druids, who commanded the highest esteem. In Ireland, the bard held a lower rank in the seven orders of fili [poet], of which the highest was the ollam; the bard had not yet mastered the 350 stories and twelve years it required to become an ollam. In Wales the power and high position of the bard preceded and outlasted that of hereditary princes. The earliest bards, dating from the 6th century, included Aneirin, Taliesin, Blwchbardd, Cian, and Talhearn Tad Awen; they were known as cynfeirdd [Welsh, early or original poets], and their poetry as hengerdd. In following centuries, only the pencerdd [Welsh, chief poet or musician], whose training lasted nine years, was allowed to teach a bard in Wales. In time, Welsh bards formed the Bardic Order or Bardd Teulu [Welsh, household poet, poet of retinue], serving kings and princes for more than 1,000 years, forming a distinct segment of society with its own privaleges. A bard might have assumed the role of the cyfarwyrdd [Welsh, storyteller], although this is not certain. Great assemblies of bards began as early as 1176; the assembly later became known as eisteddfod. A great flowering of Welsh bardic poetry came in the 12th and 13th centuries, concurrent with the zenith of native political power before the Anglo-Norman conquest. Bards of this time were known as gogynfeirdd [Welsh, rather early poets]. Elements of Welsh Bardic Philospohy were mixed with Christian belief by Llywelyn Sion in Barddas (late 16th century); see COSMOGONY. The 18th-century Iolo Morganwg placed the seat of bardism in Glamorganshire in South Wales. In Gaelic Scotland a bard was a highly trained poet in the service of a hereditary chief. Bards were generally men of considerable status and authority in Celtic literature, although impoverished bardic scholars appear in a number of irish narratives.
More than 1,000 bards are cited in Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh literature, and there are numerous claimants to the titles of 'Bard of Ireland' and 'Bard of Wales'. Perhaps Amairgin and Dallan Forgaill were denoted 'Bard of Ireland' more often than others. The title 'Last of the Bards' has been given posthumously to several poets, notably Fearflatha O Gnimh (c. 1540-c.1640), bard of the O'Neills of Clandeboye, and Domhnall MacMhuirich (d. c.1745) the last with classical rather than vernacular training.

As you can see, Bards can be many things - leaders, scholars, storytellers, poets, minstrels, singers, musicians, etc. I would like this "Songbook Bard" to reflect that. But i don't want spells - they have no place for this guy. Also, many of the roguish elements are basically out, which would mainly be reflected in the skills (and perhaps dropping the good Ref Save).

Perhaps what i am really going for is more of a "Celtic Bard" with some choice fantasy elements thrown in - mainly a songbook for his songs (which are not spells per se, rather they are just an extension of the standard bards Bardic Music ability). Thoughts?

Here's another no-spells bard, but its basically more roguish - it has sneak attack progression added in. Thought I'd add it for the sake of doing so
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=70768

 

[Rystil Arden]

Oh, you want a Celtic Bard? I created one of those too (separate from my song-only Troubadour), but I gave my 'Sylvan Bard' class druid spells to help reflect the legendary bards like Amairgen, Taliesin, and Oisin.

 

[Bront]

Well, you can always simply discribe his magic as songs he performs (which is kind of how it is), or perhaps turn the spells into bardic music abilities and simply add more attempts per day per level. I haven't seen anything out there, but I'm sure you could probably come up with something flavorful.

Amairgen

Your bear is a bard?

 

[Rystil Arden]

Your bear is a bard?

It's kind of complicated, but I had to continue the chain. I'll explain:

Naoise is a ranger PC in my giant Post-Arthurian adventure. There is an NPC Druid named Deirdre, and her bear is Naoise. Amairgen is mentioned there too. Anyway, a player in that game made a PC Druid in another game named Amairgen and his bear was named Deirdre. You see where I'm going?