[Campaign Idea] The Hardest Working Band in Sharn

[JPL]

[Sorry if I've droned on about this before...I only have two or three ideas, and they loop around endlessly]


Just bought Sharn: City of Towers...it reminds me of one of my dream campaigns: the saga of a struggling band trying to win fame and fortune in the big city.

Think “The Commitments” and “The Blues Brothers”...these guys aren’t trying to be “adventurers”, but they nevertheless get into plenty of trouble.

This could be an all-bard party, but wouldn’t have to be...a wide range of backgrounds would be appropriate [heck, last band I played in had both a Ph.D. and a gas station attendant as members].

Someday when I quit my day job to be a professional DM, I’ll get to try all these ideas....

 

[MrFilthyIke]

The Commitments would be very cool as an Eberron campaign.

 

[shadowlight]

This could be an all-bard party, but wouldn’t have to be....

In fact, they probably wouldn't be struggling that much if they were all bards. It might be more interesting with NO bards. Only like Barbarians and Wizards or something

 

[Nightfall]

I favor Favored Soul, Warlock and DL Mystic with "Music" domain.

 

[JPL]

In fact, they probably wouldn't be struggling that much if they were all bards. It might be more interesting with NO bards. Only like Barbarians and Wizards or something

In both D&D and the music business...everyone pays their dues. Coltrane played bar mitzahs, and the Beatles played crappy bar gigs, and Elminster probably had a hard time against kobolds and skeletons, starting out.

First level is first level. A 1st level bard competing against the local favorites [say, 5th level experts] will struggle like a 1st level fighter vs. a 5th level warrior...even though the talented newbies will soon surpass their NPC counterparts.

This would work with some Savage Species-type monster classes...maybe a 1st level eladrin, or a half-song dragon, or something like that. An elf or gnome paragon [from Unearthed Arcana] might work too [I think the latter, at least, has Perform as a class skill]. This being Eberron, you could even have a harpy in there on vocals [I think a banshee might be a bit too much]. Maybe a warforged fighter...trained as a warrior, but drawn to music?

In "The Commitments," they have Mica Wallace take over on the drums, and he's clearly more barbarian than bard...and their piano player is a medical student..."In the place we'll be playing, it's good to have a guy who knows how to bandage heads"...sounds like a cleric. These guys could belong to any character class, they just wouldn't necessarily be optimized for that class [since they all take Skill Focus: Perform instead of Power Attack or whatever].

 

[kenobi65]

Think “The Commitments” and “The Blues Brothers”...these guys aren’t trying to be “adventurers”, but they nevertheless get into plenty of trouble.

Or "Josie and the Pussycats"...

Seriously, though, the idea of a band could be a neat hook. Oh, and, though it was tongue-in-cheek, the "Josie" example illustrates that some party members wouldn't necessarily need to be musicians...you could have a manager, a roadie, etc.

 

[Klaus]

Dude, this would be a great campaign! Streets of Fire + The Commitments + Eberron = one great many fun! I can see the elven Dragonmarked House of entertainers keeping an eye on the band!

Ah, this reminds me of when we're young and a guitar solo seems able to save the world...

"Don't stop believing! Hold on to the feeling!"

 

[JPL]

Or "Josie and the Pussycats"...

Seriously, though, the idea of a band could be a neat hook. Oh, and, though it was tongue-in-cheek, the "Josie" example illustrates that some party members wouldn't necessarily need to be musicians...you could have a manager, a roadie, etc.

That's a good point. You could have a half-ogre or minotaur roadie/bouncer working the door, moving the gear, and maybe someday keeping the groupies at bay.

Good idea, Klaus...if this band is "non-union," it could have all kinds of problems.