Campaign Conundrum 4 - Bardic Music

[Archade]

Okay, so here's another one for you.

We have a bard, who is performing Inspire Courage, and then some of his allies step into a silence zone. What happens? The SRD says:

Inspire Courage (Su): A bard with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to inspire courage in his allies (including himself ), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the bard sing. The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the bard sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 8th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by 1 (+2 at 8th, +3 at 14th, and +4 at 20th). Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability.

Does this mean we have to keep a personal count on each person affected (Bob, you've been in the Silence zone for 3 rounds, so it only works for 2 more...), or does the effect cut off the minute they step into the silence bubble?

Darn silence spell ...

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Does this mean we have to keep a personal count on each person affected (Bob, you've been in the Silence zone for 3 rounds, so it only works for 2 more...), or does the effect cut off the minute they step into the silence bubble?

The first. Of course, as soon as they step out of the silence bubble, however briefly, you reset the counter.

 

[Wystan]

and for 5 rounds thereafter

They each get the 5 rounds.

 

[azhrei_fje]

On a similar vein, the bard has the ability to grant additional saves to allies affected by a charm effect (such as the harpies song). The bard rolls a Perform check and that result can be used in place of the individual's saving throw, if the Perform check is better.

We rule that an ally who is inside the area of effect gets the bonus. When they leave the area and return, they do not get another save. We rule it that way because it seems similar to AoO: you only get one per action that caused the opportunity.

What do others here think? (Sorry to hijack the thread. But this is essentially the same question.)