D&D General Campaign idea: Raiders of the Lost Bard

[JPL]

Now if I have this right . . . back in Days of Yore, the established method in Faerun to become a fully accredited bard was to attend seven different bardic colleges in a specific order. Nowadays, only two of those colleges are still around (and even those are more like modern revivals than direct continuations).

So what about a campaign that revolves around a young bard or bards who just finished their first round of study in Waterdeep, and then undertake an ambitious quest to seek out the lost lore and relics of the five lost colleges, with the long-term goal of rebirthing the ancient system?

You wouldn't necessarily need an all-bard party . . . cleric of Milil would be great, paladin (oath of glory) would be great.

At each stop, they get access to some new boon or magic item related to the specialty of that college. One place taught the rudiments of bladesinging; one had that first-edition druidic magic crossover; maybe one did dragonsong?

 

[Zardnaar]

Perfectly good concept I'm assuming you design the campaign?

 

[aco175]

They seem rather spread out, but bards do wander about. I would play in a game like this. Maybe move them to a smaller location or only concern with a few of them.

Excerpt from the FR fandom page here.

The Seven Elder Bardic Colleges​

The tradition of bardic colleges started with Falataer, a bard from the Moonshaes who established a college divided into seven levels of skill.[3] In time, those individual levels became known as separate colleges in their own right, referred to as the elder bardic colleges.[4]

The elder bardic colleges were ranked by their original levels and strictly respected that hierarchy. Bardic students who wanted to progress in their knowledge traditionally attended all seven colleges, in that order. A bard who attended all seven colleges then acquired the title of Magna Alumnae.[4]

The seven elder colleges were:

Fochlucan Located in Silverymoon, it represented the first level of skill.[2] Before its decline, bards graduating in the Fochlucan college were awarded a Fochlucan bandore.[3]

Mac-Fuirmidh Located in the northern Moonshaes,[5] it represented the second level of skill. Before its decline, bards graduating in the Mac-Fuirmidh college were awarded a Mac-Fuirmidh cittern.[3]

Doss Located in Berdusk,[5] it represented the third level of skill. Before its decline, bards graduating in the Doss college were awarded a Doss lute.[3]

Canaith Located near Zazesspur in Tethyr,[6] it represented the fourth level of skill. Before its decline, bards graduating in the Canaith college were awarded a Canaith mandolin.[3]

CliIt represented the fifth level of skill. Before its decline, bards graduating in the Cli college were awarded a Cli lyre.[3]

AnstruthLocated in Sundabar,[7] it represented the sixth level of skill. Before its decline, bards graduating in the Anstruth college were awarded an Anstruth harp.[3]

OllamhLocated in Waterdeep, it represented the seventh and final level of skill.[2] Before its decline, bards graduating in the Ollamh college were awarded an Ollamh harp.[3]

By the 14th century DR, most of the bardic colleges had long since entered decline and ceased their activities. However, the styles of play of some colleges were still recognizable in certain players, and older bards still sometimes referred to each other by their ranks in the elder colleges.[4]

By the late 15th century DR, only Ollamh, renamed as New Olamn, and a newly reopened Fochlucan were still operational in their original locations.[2]

 

[JPL]

So Mac-Fuirmidh is the most obvious place to get into some heavily Celtic stuff, and to win the trust of the secretive local elves.
Doss might involve a trip to the Twilight Hall, secret Harper base haunted by spectral harpers.
Canaith . . . nothing stands out to me, so maybe that's where they can teach you the Bladesinger Adept feat (proficiency in a martial weapon and some of those good cantrips).
Cli takes the heroes to the Elfsong Tavern, where the ghost is a former student of Cli.
Anstruth could be where the dragonsong lore is found.

 

[Necropolitan]

I had the idea of a "Beg, borrow, or steal" challenge where Bards were tasked with retrieving a specific item.

They could either convince the owner to give to them permanently (beg), temporarily (borrow), or steal it (steal).

The point was any of those would show skills worthy of a Bard.

 

[MarkB]

Maybe have some underlying quest that emerges as they progress - at each location they uncover a verse of an ancient ballad that is either magical in nature or conveys a secret regarding the seven colleges once fully assembled.

 

[Lanefan]

Maybe have some underlying quest that emerges as they progress - at each location they uncover a verse of an ancient ballad that is either magical in nature or conveys a secret regarding the seven colleges once fully assembled.

Or each location holds a clue that, when assembled together, shows how* to restore the seven colleges to their former glory.

* - which, of course, would include a few more adventures for our intrepid gang...

 

[kigmatzomat]

I'd definitely think a couple trips to the feywild would be needed as ageless fey would remember compositions and possibly have the special instruments or even know to make them. There is the Summer Court, Winter Court and the Wilds themselves where hags, dryads, satyr and other music loving fey reside.

My GM worked "Courts of the Shadow Fey" into a blend of Ghosts of Saltmarsh & Princes of the Apocalypse. I'm not sure how much he tweaked, but the core adventure chassis seemed like something you could drop in other places. Possibly having one of the Colleges be the place "claimed" by Queen Mab.