Quintessential Bard

[Messageboard Golem]

Here you will find a plethora of options for giving your bard that little bit of extra focus. From combat worthy bards to bards that are rogues to scholars with a creative flair you can make them all here. You will also find an expansion to the bardic music ability here. These new musical gifts allow you to explore the mysteries of music without sacrificing combat or magical ability. Indeed with these rules a bard could focus almost exclusively on being a musician and still be an effective and important character for a group. Of particular interest to bards should be the chapter on duels. Now there are more ways to enter into conflicts with an NPC than rolling some contested dice or hitting them with a sword. Creativity, style, and grace now play just as important a part as raw power. Yes, that fighter may well be able to ring the bard like a bell when it comes to fighting, but can he do it with grace and style? If not, he can find himself on the losing end of a duel that he otherwise would have won. You will also find a lengthy new selection of spells to round out your bard's abilities as a master enchanter and manipulator of men. Finally, there is an entire section dedicated to various ways in which bards find and maintain their own venues for performance. Your bard no longer has to wander around like a vagabond; he can become a wealthy and powerful member of the artistic community.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Glenn Dean, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack

Sizing up the Target
The Quintessential Bard is the fifteenth book in Mongoose Publishing’s Collector Series. Written by Shannon Kalvar, this 128-page softcover book retails for $19.95.

First Blood
The Quintessential Bard is a d20 supplement designed to provide players and Games Masters a number of mechanics to spice up the use of the bard character in the campaign. Appropriate to such a diverse character class as bards, this book addresses every aspect of the bard character – music and musical instruments, specific bardic tools and songs, treatment of bardic lore, roleplaying tips, as well as new feats, spells, prestige classes, and other mechanics.

Quintessential Bard is laid out in the same manner as the other books in the Collector Series. It begins with fifteen bard character concepts. These can be used to provide roleplaying tips, find new roles for bard characters in the campaign, or to create variant bard classes; each concept adjusts some class abilities in favor of others to better fit the concept. There are traditional bard roles (Minstrel, Loremaster, Skald, Talespinner), some interesting applications (Ambassador, Explorer, Naturalist), and some unusual ones (Law keeper – an odd role given that bards must be non-lawful).

Eight bardic prestige classes follow the character concepts. Most of these are focused on bardic performance abilities – particularly music, though the Dream Dancer and Jester in particular focus on other performance modes. Some are quite original – the evil Soultaker, for example, and the Singer of the Dawn, whose songs destroy undead. The prestige classes aren’t particularly restricted to bards – the Jester and Seneschal would make excellent rogue prestige classes, and the Soultaker fits any evil arcane spell caster. There are 25 feats included as well, enhancing everything from bardic knowledge about specific subjects, to song effects (Dissonance, for example, disrupts other bard songs), to combat skills (First Strike, Dwarven Warcry), to healing and magical craft skills. Most are fairly solid, though a few – like Swordsman’s Dance, which provides Attacks of Opportunity against Attacks of Opportunity -- have some unusual mechanics.

Two chapters discuss the tricks and tools of the bardic trade. Tricks of the trade include various applications of some bardic skills (diplomacy, gather information, innuendo, intimidate, and use magic device), as well as a long and detailed discussion of how a bard can put a wide variety of profession skills to work. There’s also a number of great ideas for modifying the way a bard’s music can work, based on the combination of instrument and type of music played – battle hymns that protect against fear, for example, and a lullaby that enhances healing. The tools of the trade include bardic instruments – invested with power, masterwork, magical, and exotic in a fairly wide range. There is a section on magical crafts that provides a number of creations that focus and channel magic (through architecture, chandlery, painting, pottery, and the like), though the mechanics is a bit odd here as well. Magical compositions also provide a way of creating long-lasting magical effects in the form of sheet music – sort of like an arcane scroll with a magical song effect.

An entire chapter is devoted to handling bardic knowledge, sorting different types of information that a bard might glean by both Difficulty Class and type of knowledge - -whether arcane, historical, local, or item-specific knowledge. There’s also a great discussion of other uses for bardic knowledge, from deciphering divinations to reading omens.

If you’re like me and have found the basic bardic music in the core rules to be a bit tame, and want a way to enhance it without creating new rule mechanics, you’ll find the Mysteries of Music section useful. This provides a mechanic through which the bard “discovers” new performances and by gaining skills in those particular mysteries – ranks in Perform – the bard can perform increasingly difficult and powerful feats. Each of the eighteen mysteries has four levels of performance with its own name, effects, and unique flavor, and the mysteries are not restricted to music – dance, acting, jesting, and storytelling are among the various mysteries.

Bardic spellcasting is not neglected; there are 16 new spells across the six bardic spell levels, most of which serve to provide skill or musical enhancements.

Quintessential Bard closes with examinations of bardic duels and venues. There are rules for five types of bardic duels – whether with magic, performance, riddles, rites, or steel – all of which are based on use of perform skill mechanics. Bardic venues provide places that can enhance acoustics, fame, or the returns on performances, and may change performances depending on type – at court, religious performances, traveling shows, and the like. There are rules for designing and constructing bardic venues, with a number of examples.

The back of the book contains a couple of pages of rules summary items, as well as a blank character sheet designed specifically for bards.

Critical Hits
I have to confess to being a bit of a bard fan, despite their reputation as the Rodney Dangerfield of classes – a lot of gamers give bards no respect! Even some supplements that have claimed to be focused on bards tend to give the class short shrift; it’s nice to see a product that gives a complete look at the existing class, without going into an overhaul of the mechanics. As befits a product that treats the “jack of all trades, master of none” class, each aspect of the bard is touched on: music, lore, skills, spells, and even a bit of combat.

The best individual section of the book is the Mysteries of Music. This adds some much-needed depth to the bard’s most unique ability, in a manner that’s easy to integrate with the game system (since it’s based on Perform ranks), and there are such a wide variety of offerings that it allows for some outstanding customization of bard characters. It’s not quite a home run, though – it would be nice these abilities were scaled beyond 12 perform ranks.

Critical Misses
Though by and large this product contains some pretty solid mechanics, there are a few that I find questionable. While the character concepts provide a nice wide range of ideas for roleplaying bard characters, a couple of the mechanics are a bit generous – for example, the Minstrel variant gains four feats for the sacrifice of medium armor, a weapon proficiency, and some skills – not game breaking by any means, but generous. The magical craft rules are a bit odd, using Craft skill mechanics rather than magic item creation mechanics – again an interesting variant, but slightly off from the norm. The items are extremely cheap using this method, with costs in silver pieces, and I think the items should have had spell requirements listed for their creation.

I was a little disappointed as well to find that so few of the prestige classes (3 of 8) have a full ten-level progression – though the focus on musical abilities is quite original and refreshing.

Coup de Grace
The Quintessential Bard provides all of its rule mechanics as Open Content, providing a wide range of compatible bard-customizing mechanics for GM and player alike. Though there is an odd mechanic or two, by and large the contents will enhance the use of bards in most any campaign – this is the d20 treatment for core bard characters.

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Quintessential Bard is the 15th book in Mongoose Publishing's Quintessential series. Each is a 128-page book dedicated to a single class or major race from the traditional d20 rulebook. The Quintessential Bard delves into the mysteries of one of the least respected or played of the main hero classes, the Bard. Although the Bard combines the ability to cast spells with reasonable combat bonuses, a skill list almost as extensive as the Rogue's and at least two potent, and completely unique, abilities, the Bard class has often been considered a jack-of-all-trades, much less powerful than its more specialised companions. The brief introduction of this book makes it clear that the author does not agree with this assessment and aims to set the Bard aside and highlight clearly the Bard's role during adventuring.

The book, as is traditional with the Collector's series, begins with a selection of Character Concepts. There is a full 12 pages of concepts to choose from. These concepts outline a basic history that can be incorporated into a character's background and present players with "seeds" around which to build their new character. The character concepts section is usually one of my favourites in a Quintessential book, presenting new and novel takes on the traditional classes, and the Quintessential Bard does not disappoint. Given the diverse nature of the Bard, it is no surprise that the author presents some truly original concepts, many of which players might not have considered for a Bard character before. Included, among others, are the Artist, the Aspirant, who aims to replicate the achievements of his mythical heroes, the Cantor, a Bard dedicated to the principles of his God, the Naturalist, a Bard whose roots lie deep within the Druid order, the Storm Crow, whose mission in life is to immortalise the stories of the fallen on the battlefield, and the Wily Vagabond, driven by an insatiable wanderlust to journey the world in search of adventure.

In the second chapter, the Prestige Bard introduces the readers to a selection of new prestige classes, each especially suited to Bard characters. The book presents the reader with eight completely distinctive prestige classes, all of which could easily be incorporated into play. The classes each present a unique selection of abilities, each tending to specialise in one or two of the class abilities that they inherit from Bard. The Dream Dancer aims to enter the hearts and souls of her audience through the dance and learns to blend with her magic in such a way that she can influence her audience in a manner that would impress the most accomplished enchanter. The Elder brings the ancient secret of tribal lore to the game with a class perhaps more suited to NPC characters. The Grand Master aims to embrace all the intricacies of Bardic Music, including the mysteries introduced in this book. The Jester, again perhaps of more interest to the Game Master for his characters, is an inspired creation, combing an idea taken from many medieval stories with some interesting abilities that would make the character a welcome and intriguing addition to any courtly roleplaying session.

The Seneschal is another class of interest to those that like to play in courtly intrigues and would make a worthy adventurer in such campaigns, carrying out the duty of his King and Court while at the same time having every reason to explore the local dungeons and mysterious castle ruins. The Seneschal's class abilities might not be particularly strong but he will rarely be without assistance should he need it. The Singer of the Dawn corrects one of the most severe weaknesses of the Bard class. Since the majority of the Bard's spells come from the enchantment school and bardic music is mind affecting, undead pose a significant problem for Bard characters. The Singer of the Dawn taps into the soul-twisting power of song and uses it against undead. For all those bards that have ever wandered undead-infested dungeons, unable to take direct action, the Singer of the Dawn is a must-have option. The Soul Taker finally breaks through the do-gooder mould of the Bard. For the Game Master looking for a villain with a little panache, the Soul Taker will make the local Bard over into something truly terrifying to behold. After encountering one of these beguiling women, your players will never risk thinking the local bard harmless again, assuming that is, they survive the encounter. Finally, the class completes with the World Singer, the only class in the book to specialise in (or even continue) bard spell progression. The World singer combines the music of the bard and his magic into an offensive weapon comparable to any wizard.

Although some might be disappointed with the lack of emphasis on spellcasting ability, the prestige Bard chapter presents both players and Game Masters with a selection of classes just "dying" to enter play. Every class comes complete with an inspirational description and this chapter alone is a store-house of ideas for Game Masters looking for a new story, villain or ally for their campaign.

Tricks of the Trade begins, obviously enough for the Bard class, with some new uses for the traditional Bard skills. There are some nice little touches here. For anyone interested in the swashbuckling aspects of the class the insult option presented under the Innuendo skill deserves a look. My only complaint with this part of the chapter would be that it does not go far enough and considering the later emphasis on the Bardic Knowledge ability, it would have been nice to see some support Bard Knowledge options for the Knowledge skills as well as the Gather Information skill.

After skills, the chapter moves on to minor musical effects that can assist a character or group of characters in performing certain actions. Although at first sight this might appear to be overpowering - giving the bard yet more bonuses for using his perform skill - the effects are well thought out and with the exception of the Battle Hymn, not really useful in combat. Nothing in the section should unbalance game play and the low level Bard should enjoy using these abilities to good effect. Finally, the Tricks of the Trade chapter completes with a section on the various Professions that a Bard might follow. There is nothing particularly inspiring here but as a source of quick-reference rules for making a little extra money between games, it could not be better presented.

After a brief foray into new Feats for the Bard character, all of which are well written and carefully balanced, the reader comes to the Tools of the Trade. The chapter begins with a description of masterwork instruments, providing some minor bonuses in exchange for finding a skilled craftsman to create your instrument. This is followed with Invested Instruments, allowing the Bard character to invest his instrument with a minor extraordinary or supernatural effect in exchange for a Feat. Both of these brief sections, used by colourful players, should allow them to bring out an intriguing side of the Bard stereotype, creating a personalised instrument that will mean as much to them as any +2 longsword ever meant to a Fighter. This is followed up with a selection of magical instruments that a bard can manufacture or discover.

In contrast to the normal content of one of these chapters, the Quintessential Bard presents the reader with a vast array of magical items, with only six mundane tools beyond the initial section on instruments. All of these items are carefully crafted with the ideals and flavour of the Bard class in mind but that has not prevented the author from introducing some interesting and quite powerful items that could be used at higher levels of game play. The Greater Bell of Dominion, for example, could form the core of a whole campaign in its own right as the Bard character aims to claim its power and find the true leader of his homeland. The chapter finishes with two new types of magical item - the magical crafts and compositions. Magical crafts are minor magic items. With the extent of other items already in the game, these items are probably superfluous. The effects can be achieved elsewhere far more easily and more reliably. Compositions allow a group of musicians to create almost any magical effect. They seem a little too easy to manufacture and the range of possible effects too large but, if they are unbalanced, it is close to the mark and many game masters might enjoy having these unusual magic items in their games.

The Power of Lore is a nice chapter outlining in detail the possible uses and expanded rules concerning the Bardic Knowledge class ability. Anyone that plans to use their Bardic Knowledge should read this chapter carefully. The chapter, though, is probably of more use to Game Masters needing a little help adjudicating this very general class ability. If there is a flaw in this chapter it lays at the end with the extraordinary uses, many of which could have done with a more complete description. The Recognise Stories option, especially, sounds interesting but seems a little lacking, giving neither player nor Game Master enough information to use the ability.

Mysteries of Music are the real heart of this book. At 20 pages, this is an enormous expansion on the Bardic Music class ability. The Mysteries, as presented, are each a collection of four spell-like affects that operate under the same basic rules as the original bard music ability, including required ranks in perform. Access to each new mystery requires the expenditure of a Feat. Each of the mysteries is associated with an instrument or type of performance. There is a wealth of magical abilities within this chapter and something for almost any type of character. There are over thirty different mysteries presented, more than 120 separate powers of various levels, ranging from the actor's ability to shroud his true self to the sacred music that can support and power divine spells.

Mysteries is followed by the Bard Spells chapter. Again, the author shows his meticulous eye for game balance and brings the Bard a selection of spells that are both interesting and still appropriate to the Bard's spell list. Included are spells that amplify the bard's diplomatic skill, a selection of powers that amplify the area of effect of bardic music and a selection of interesting, double-edged telepathic abilities that could be either a blessing or a curse depending on how they are used. The chapter is short and there are only sixteen spells presented but each is a welcome and balanced addition to the Bards' repertoire.

The book finishes its explorations with two chapters, Bardic Duels and Venues. These chapters expand on the Bard's culture. How much use these chapters will get is very much dependent on the campaign. Bardic Duels will likely get at least one use in any campaign where there is a Bard character. The rules are extensive and a little over complicated. Still, in a formal setting, these rules can allow a Bard to shine for reasons other than his ability with a rapier. Venues does provide a wealth of information on different types of Venue and outlines a few examples, many of which are just stories waiting to happen. The rules for Venues will probably not get as much use. They are simple enough but I suspect most Game Masters prefer not to get dragged down into the nitty-gritty details of Venue design.

The book, on an artistic level, is adequate though, with only a black & white interior and sketch-like pictures, the artistic quality is less than some other d20 products. I would go as far to say that the Quintessential Series is not about artwork, though, but about the content of the writing. Like all the Quintessential series, there are good things and there are bad things in the Quintessential Bard. From the point of view of someone that happens to like Bards, I would have to say that Quintessential Bard comes out with more good than bad by quite some way. I am personally of the opinion that if a book of this type does not produce at least one idea that you do not like than the author has not done his job right. These books are supposed to appeal to a wide range of people and there are as many different styles of play as there are players.

The Quintessential Bard aims to set the Bard up as an interesting character type in its own right and in this, I think that the book succeeds. The prestige classes, the mysteries and the Feat presented all go a long way toward settling the issue of how the Bard character can aid his fellow adventurers during game. On a personal note, the book also addresses one of my own gripes, providing some ideas for that most allusive of creatures, the Bard adversary - they can be evil too!

 

[GameWyrd]

The Collector Series from Mongoose Publishing has done well to follow the style first introduced in the Quintessential Fighter (book one) and yet remain flexible and innovative enough not to look dated today. One of the selling points for the Quintessential books for me has been their efforts to avoid simply doing power ups and to try to include material that fleshes out the class, providing more roleplaying options for GMs and players alike.

The Quintessential Bard was always going to be a challenge. More options for the Bard wouldn’t impact this Jack-Of-All-Trades class in the same way they’ve effected the specialised classes. Too many more options for the Bard might even dilute the class to a Jack-Of-Most-Trades. The meat of the Quintessential Bard is the Mysteries of Music chapter; it takes the Bard’s obvious musical nature and expands it sensibly into the magic system. In addition, the Tools of the Trade chapter is surprisingly strong. The result is a class that keeps its flavour as one that can do a little bit of everything but which benefits more fully from that and has some surprises of its own.

The Collector Series style ensures that the Quintessential Bard begins with character concepts. These are my favourite type of character concepts since they’re not solely interested in how the character became a Bard; many of the concepts are especially good for Bards with current roles. The Ambassador concept is a classic, ideally suited to the Bard in a fantasy world where you’d need someone who can hold his own a multitude of different circumstances. The Law Keeper concept shows how the Bard can become a key figure in rural communities; this is especially handy since D&D core has re-written Druids so that they’re extremely unlikely to be fulfilling that traditional role. There are, of course, a host of travelling entertainers such as the Talespinner, Skald, Minstrel, Explorer and Artist – to name a few – which receive the character concept treatment. Character concepts are designed to provide a roleplaying shtick and minor mechanical modification to the class. Cantors (divine bards), for example, cast their spells as divine (rather than arcane) and this means they no longer suffer spell failure checks for armour but must now find time to pray for her spells and keep her patron god pleased or risk loosing her powers.

The prestige classes are equally successful in their flexibility and scope. The chapter kicks off with the Dream Dancer and that’s one of those rare examples of a Bard as a non-singing entertainer. The Elder prestige class is coming straight into my d20 world building; I think it’s the perfect wise old villager grandfather or even gypsy-like figure. The Seneschal is another out-of-the-box (out of the dungeon, at least) example of where a Bard would excel. The Seneschal PrC would be a natural progression for the Ambassador Bard for in-game ambitions and game mechanic development. I’m always especially pleased to see that. Other prestige classes are built more obviously on the Bard’s extraordinaire singing abilities. There are enough 10 level classes to keep fusspots like myself satisfied and the use of dark grey/slightly darker grey backgrounds (rather than light grey/white) for the advancement tables also suits my tastes. The pages seem to be nice and busy but not cluttered nor messy.

Tricks of the Trade is often the chapter I’m prone to speeding through but here in the Quintessential Bard it was worth slowing down and picking up on some little gems. Gathering information isn’t a new use for the Gather Information skill but what caught my attention where the mechanics (this from the anti-crunch man) to resolve using Gather Information in a support role to Bardic Knowledge. You Bard PC spends the evening carousing around town to soak up rumours: Gather Information or Bardic Knowledge check to put the evening’s gossip together sensibly? I’ll use the easy circumstance bonus suggestion here in the Support Bardic Knowledge offering. On the other hand, I don’t need a roleplaying book to tell me that the Innuendo skill can be used to flatter people. Towards the end of this chapter (it’s not all new uses for old skills) there are rules for Assisting Actions. It’s here you’ll find the simple sing to aid the party rules for Bards. A lullaby (and DC 15) will grant +2 to Heal Checks for people resting properly. This is supposed to be a natural bonus, something that fits with the pattern of life, but I think GMs might like to colour it with the "spell-like" crayon. The chapter ends with a page or two of bardic professions: fools, storytellers, town criers, etc.

There are new feats. Geography and gossip are feats. Okay, GreographER is a feat, the special focus of landscape features and location of people on top of the Bardic Knowledge ability. Gossip is rather more flighty. A natural 20 rewards the Bard with someone uncommon secret. There are plenty of other feats, four pages of them; it’s just that the two dodgy Gs are back-to-back and stand out. The Mystery feat is one to watch as it opens up the Mysteries of Music introduced later on in the book. It can be taken multiple times if the Bard wants to open up more Mysteries of Music. I quite like that; even within the confines of music there is pressure on and rewards for Bards having a wide scope of talent. Once they’ve mastered the drum they might want to learn the lute.

Tools of the Trade deal with masterwork and magical instruments. An invested instrument is one that the magical bard has become so attached to that it develops seemingly magical powers. This is dealt with through the purchase of a suitable feat. The extra abilities an instrument might be able to open up or produce are alignment dependant. An evil bard/instrument playing might make it harder for people to resist the bard’s suggestions or charm spells.

Standing out in the Tools of the Trade are the rules and examples for magical crafts. Sure, wizards can create magical stuff but too many wizards are bookworm fuddy-duddies. Bards have a genuine flair for magic and artistic craft. This is why it’s nice to see rules for magical architecture (a bard designs a building to be a healing space or a sanctum, say), chandlery, embroidery (such as the covered in glory switch which incorporates arcane patterns to boost the wearer’s charisma and divine patterns to assist divine spell casting), engraving, glassblowing, painting, pottery, sculpture and weaving. Forget any plans you had of basing your Leonardo da Vinci inspired NPC on a wizard, use these rules and make him a bard. Magical musical compositions have a sub-section on their own. I’m not sure why it could cost a truck load of gold to compose a song, opera or symphony. These rules will have to be GM-faffed behind the curtain of "required for game balance". Magical compositions allow the bard to incorporate spells into songs, spells that might normally be unknown and too powerful for the bard to cast.

It might be easiest to think of the Mysteries of Music as a set of supernatural abilities which open up if the bard has the Mystery feat and the Perform skill for the right instrument. The higher the bard’s Perform skill then the more abilities she’ll be able to use from any specific mystery. I was pleased to see that the Perform skill numbers are level headed and not lost in epic levels. You don’t need to be playing a Planar famous bard with Perform 25 (Bells) to use the Bells Mystery. A first level Bard with a talent for musical bells could access the first ability in the Bell Mystery. Abilities open up at Perform 3, 6, 9 and 12. Unlike spells, in most cases, the Mysteries of Magic continue for as long as the bard can continue the performance. For example, a bard playing the Lute and invoking the (Perform 9) "Lift Them Up" mystery will be able to boost his animal friends Str and Con by +4 for as long as he can keep on strumming those cords. Handy.

There are dozens of Mysteries of Music and they’re not all musical either. There’s Storytelling, Jesting, Dancing and Acting as well as cultural sub-sets like Dwarven Chant, Folk Dance, Orcish Drums and weird instruments like the Qin or Tambura.

The Mysteries of Music work for me. They’re clearly on-topic for the Bard, they add to the class without making it too powerful and really do bring the musical side of the class back into focus.

One of the reasons why I don’t think the Mysteries of Music are too powerful is simply because the Bard can sling spells anyway. The Quintessential Bard doesn’t forget that and includes five new pages of spells.

There’s a chapter on Bardic Duels. There are a whole bunch of different duels, situations where two bards try and out do one another. They could duel in magic, in riddles, in rites or steel but what stood out or me was the duel of performance. Here the competing Bards try and pick suitable performances to follow on from what went before. If you know your rival is really good at bawdy poems then you’ll be wise to try and manipulate the mood of the audience so there’s never a good time to hit them with lewd humour.

Quintessential X books tend to end with a chapter on fortresses, castles, groves or some other strong hold for the class in question. What will they do for the Bard? Venues. Excellent. This might be the best incarnation of the concluding chapter. There are rules here for getting to grips with and creating public venues, travelling shows, religious venues, courtly venues or private stages.

It’s always good to see a healthy index and useful rules summary and the Quintessential Bard has both.

If you’re a fan of the Bard class then I think you’ll like this book, if you can’t quite ever seem to tempt your players with the Bard or think the class could do with a bit more flesh then this is also a book for you. I think it’s fair to say that you’ll not be disappointed if you had high hopes for the Quintessential Bard - but if you’ve not liked the Collector Series to date then this book isn’t likely to change your mind. I think the Quintessential Bard’s critical success is being able to do the magical music thing without it being too cheesy or naff. The Quintessential Bard manages to give the Bard class the flair and finesse it needs.

* This Quintessential Bard review was first published GameWyrd.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Quintessential Bard
Format: Full-color soft cover, BW interior, 128 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Setting: Generic
Publisher: Mongoose Publishing
Author: Shannon Kalvar
Rating: 3

The Quintessential Bard is the 15th book in the Collectors Series by Mongoose Publishing. Promising to accentuate this popularly disdained class by expanding options through character concepts, prestige classes and the Tricks of the Trade, the book contains a slew of new information usable for any Bard character. The Quintessential Bard includes the standard sections of character concepts, prestige classes, Tricks of the Trade, Tools of Trade and so on.

Overview
Binding is standard for the product, with a black and white interior, art (seemingly somewhat scarce in this book) ranges from average to good.

Introduction
The book opens with a general overview of the material presented, a word about what the Collectors’ Series of books is all about, and finally offers a roadmap directing the reader where to find what in the book. Facing the intro is a page of fiction that sets the tone for the remainder of the book. This is the standard format for the Collector’s Series, though there is no other fiction.

Character Concepts
The idea of character concepts is a sticky issue. On the one hand, you get to customize your class in ways somewhat delineated in the DMG. Players get instant templates to apply to their characters, replete with personalities and motivations. However, despite the prefatory remark that concepts are not a means to “break the character,” in many ways these concepts sometimes provide unfair advantages, especially evident when the character multiclasses. A good concept is one that provides a role-playing template, while altering minor mechanics of the class to advantage one feature, while restricting another. Some of the concepts in this book do just this, but as can be seen below, many do not.

Of the concepts, we see a good range of character archetypes, each having benefits for their selection as well as drawbacks. Unfortunately, there is not a consistent mechanic for balancing them, and so there is a wide range of possibilities for breaking or hindering these characters. There are fourteen concepts in all, each of which provide details for adventuring, role-playing benefits and penalties.

This chapter is frustrating as many of the ideas are sound, with good tips and ideas for many different bard characters. Unfortunately, many of the mechanical aspects either don’t work or are simply unbalanced. One of the best this chapter has to offer is the Naturalist, a bard with Celtic overtones, who suffers druidic restrictions to his weapons and armor and slower bardic music progression, in exchange for his spells being divine and access to the Animal and Plant domains.

The Skald and the Storm Crow provide further excellent examples of how to personalize the bard class. In the case of the former, the bard gains martial weapon proficiencies and a d8 Hit Die in exchange for a reduced spell progression. The Storm Crow, a watcher of epic battles, represents some of the very best benefits of character concepts, slightly altering some features in exchange for equal drawbacks.

Sadly, things start breaking down for the rest. Some of the concepts suffer from too great of restrictions, such as the Alderman, who if he leaves his hometown for more than 5 months in a year, he loses all the features of the concept. The Ambassador, while an interesting idea, restricts the character more than presenting options for the class.

Though some of the concepts are mechanically well conceived, they have some overall concept issues. In the case of the Law Keeper, it’s a pretty big leap for a bard to be a judge, and the thinness of the argument shows in the concept's descriptive text. The Lore Master is another problem, given the shared name with the prestige class. Another name would have better suited this otherwise acceptable template.

Other Concepts just suffer from bad mechanics. The Artist lacks clearly defined benefits, and confers a weird type of bonus—circumstance—to one form of expression (its unclear to what this bonus applies). Also, Artists take 12 times longer to perform actions when “taking 10,” even though “taking 10” itself normally does not increase the time it takes to perform said skill. The Explorer suffers from the same issues, basically having a class confer a favored class, while the Talespinner provides the character, by the time he reaches 20th level, 6 Toughness feats for a tradeoff of a -3 penalty to saves against Mind-Affecting spells and effects that alter his emotional state, excluding one of the most common of all such mind-affecting spells, fear, which they gain a +3 bonus to resist.

Prestige Classes
The Quintessential Bard gives us eight new prestige classes, with a good mix of 5 and 10 level varieties. Like the section on Character Concepts, the Prestige Classes are a mixed bag. Some of these classes are quite good, such as the Singer of Dawn, who is a great ally for undead hunting parties, and the Soul Taker, an evil prestige class who exploits and corrupts through her masterful use of music and seduction.

Unfortunately, the same difficulties found in the Character Concepts are present in the prestige classes. Take the Elder for example. Characters can qualify for this prestige class at 4th level. When they advance to 2nd level in this class, they may use their supernatural ability called Voice of Command to issue a command, against any target they may successfully Intimidate. The target does not get a Save. Intimidate has a DC = 10 + target’s HD. So, the Elder, who has access to the Intimidate skill as a class skill, spends as many skill points as he is able to maximize his ranks, provides a base Intimidate skill of +9. As this is a Bard prestige class, and assuming the default array with one ability boost, kicks the Elder Cha to 16, providing a +3 modifier. This adjusts the character’s Intimidate skill of +12. Assuming he rolls a “10” every time, this 6th level character can target any 12 HD or Level character by a command spell all day long. A simple command to sleep creates a helpless target, and in a party of four… well, game over for anyone that gets in their way. It does not help matters that this is a Free Action that, as worded, “can only affect a specific target once per day,” not that any target could survive this 6th level class ability anyhow.

The dream dancer is another prestige class featuring serious problems in the class abilities. Characters should be able to qualify for this class by 9th level, by multiclassing as a Rog 2/ Brd 7. Aside from a slew of class skills, proficiency in all simple weapons, all armors and shields but the heaviest, +6 generic bonus to skills, with an additional stackable +6 circumstance bonus to some of the same and more skills, this character, by 14th level can, by expending a full-round action to dance, forcing all targets within 30-feet to make a Will save against a DC equaling the dancers Perform skill check. Now, assuming the character maximizes her Perform skill, she should have a base Perform of +17 (14th level character: Rog 2/Brd 7/ Dream Dancer 5). Assuming she uses the default array, and begins with a 15 Cha, modified by Ability increases by dint of level advancement, she has a Cha of 18, not including any magic items that further enhance her abilities, resulting in a total Perform modifier of +21. So, the DC to resist, given an average roll of “10,” is 31.The average 20th-level fighter cannot make this save on anything but a “20”! It gets worse. Any targets failing this save are helpless for 1d6 rounds after the performance ends. Even if the dancer attacks and snaps them out of their reverie, they are still stunned for 1d4 additional rounds. There is no limit to the amount of times the dream dancer can perform this action, no cost, absolutely nothing to place a restriction on this ability. Assuming a PC plays the dancer, the adventurer is likely to have compatriots. This is a prime opportunity for the PCs to wipe out their opponents. Worse yet, there are no parameters for the types of creatures affected: so the dancer could enamor undead, constructs or even ooze.

Tricks of the Trade
Many claim that the Tricks of the Trade chapter is the most important part of the Collector's Series. In these sections, the book presents a set of new options for characters to expand the usefulness of their particular class choice. The Quintessential Bard is no different from others, succeeding here and making up for the difficulties of the first two chapters.

This chapter begins with an analysis of popular Bard skills. There are some interesting uses, such as Support Bardic Knowledge, which grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Bardic Knowledge checks by spending a day gathering information succeeding a Gather Info check (DC 10). Interpret allows bards to use Diplomacy to bridge the gulf between two speakers of different languages. Of the skills covered, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Innuendo, Intimidate and Use Magic Device are covered. Clearly, some of the usefulness of this chapter fades with the advent of 3.5.

Another interesting section of this chapter is Assisting Actions. The bard provides a theme song for special situations. Examples include the Battle Hymn, which grants a +1 morale bonus to saves against fear and facilitates communication between units, to Folk Dance, which on a successful Perform check, the bard confers a +2 bonus to everyone else’s Perform (dance) skill checks for the duration of the dance. This section is much more balanced and has a greater appeal to those playing in low-fantasy games. Finally, Tricks of the Trade concludes with a look at expanding the Profession skill for Bards. These professions detail some common fantasy entertainers while providing incentive for dumping skill ranks into this skill.

Feats
The Feats chapter presents a number of Bardic Knowledge oriented feats that confer special knowledge if the character rolls a “natural” 20 on the check, even if they fail the Bardic Knowledge check. Even though they do not violate an established rule—given that Bardic Knowledge is not exactly a skill—it seems to go against the grain of the established system: auto success and auto fails being reserved for attack rolls and saves. Some of the feats are good, such as Dwarven Warcry, which is open to any dwarf character. It allows the character to shout once per day, potentially affecting everyone within 30-feet. If the victims fail their save, they suffer a -2 morale penalty to their attack and damage rolls for the next 4 rounds. Many of the feats establish the building blocks for Magical Craft, something covered in Tools of the Trade.

Not all of the feats are as balanced. Sidewinder is a general feat that allows the feat user a +2 bonus to damage against all flanked non-undead and non-construct opponents, without a prerequisite. First Strike seems tedious, almost threatening to restore the need for segments, granting characters who receive an AoO and hit the target the ability to deal damage slightly before the opponent who provokes the attack can act.

Tools of the Trade
This meaty chapter expands rules for masterwork items (instrument qualities such as beautiful and rich), invested instruments (signature instruments that confer alignment-based benefits, all of which the bard gains by taking the Signature Instrument Feat), magical instruments, exotic tools and magic items. Magical Crafts are magical extensions of the Craft skill, providing ways to enhance finished items in new and interesting ways. Such things include Architecture, Engraving, Sculpture and more. Most of the effects are minor and well thought through, though I think this chapter would be better served in a Quintessential Expert rather than for the Bard whose primary focus is Performance Art. The chapter concludes with Compositions, which is the proverbial gem in the rough. This allows the bard to be the true maestro and composer, able to organize collections of players to produce magical music. Each of the sample compositions includes a brief history, an overview of the instruments and techniques employed, a complexity rating and so on. This is a good section, and for me, saves the book.

The Power of Lore
Next is the chapter that expands and details bardic knowledge. It begins with an overview of the standard applications for this class ability and the degrees of obscurity. Once the chapter examines the basic categories, it goes into further depth for each, providing examples more detailed for each DC, even sneaking in an Epic level tier. After common usage, we get a deeper look at some other uses for bardic knowledge such as deciphering divinations, formulating questions and remembering details. Finally, extraordinary usage allows the bard to recognize the symbols and synchronistic relationships at work in the world. The bard is able to decipher meanings, read omens and even predict actions. This is another stellar chapter.

Mysteries of Music
The feats chapter alluded to Mysteries and here we receive full details on their function and usefulness in play. Mysteries are great ways to expand bardic music through a variety of performance forms such as acting, bells, chanting (epic through martial), dancing and a ton more. The bard’s ranks in Perform determine the potency of the mystery. The mysteries continue with an examination of cultural varieties of musical mysteries covering all the standard races plus evil chants and particular mysteries for unusual instruments.

Bard Spells
This brief chapter adds 16 new spells to the bard’s arsenal. All of the spells are useful and appear to be appropriate for their respective spell levels.

Bardic Duels
The second to last chapter provides mechanics for bards to face one another in non-lethal combat. Five duels are included, one for magic, performance, riddles, rites and steel. Each duel has variable features and qualities, but the mechanics are simple and appear to be a lot of fun.

Venues
Every book in the Collector’s Series offers some discussion on followers and strongholds. The Quintessential Bard departs from the norm, as explained in the
Designer’s Notes, by collapsing the two ideas into one chapter called venues. Venues are place where bards regularly perform. Each venue has a number of characteristics rated from 0-4, having a corresponding effect. Some venues have magical attributes, further personalizing the locale. The remainder of the chapter discusses the characteristics of six or so archetypical venues including borrowed, court, religious and a few more. Each overview of the types includes several examples of each. Finally, at the very end of this chapter are brief rules for building your own venue.

Conclusion
The Quintessential Bard is really two books in one. The first half is very frustrating, throwing balance considerations to the wind. Yet, the later half of the book is quite good, filled with fresh and original ideas. The bard is a tough class to like, for it seems vastly underpowered compared to other core classes. Where this book succeeds is in the Mysteries, Power of Lore and Venues chapters. These are excellent additions to the d20 canon and in line with some of the better books in the Collector’s Series. However, there are some serious problems in the Character Concepts and Prestige Classes. Many players search for the crunchy bits in a sourcebook for ways to improve their characters, exploiting advantage where they find it. While there are some fabulous aspects in the first part of this book, the danger to the average game is far too severe for an idle recommendation. Sadly, the design problems in the first couple of chapters reduce what would otherwise have been a 4 star book to an average 3 stars.

 

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.

The Quintessential Bard is the fifteenth in the race/class splatbook Collector Series from Mongoose Publishing. Released before 3.5.

The Quintessential Bard is a 128-page mono softcover product costing $19.95. Layout is similar to previous products with standard font and margins but fairly large gaps between paragraphs giving it a fairly airy feel. Ten different artists contribute to the product and this leads to a variety of style and quality (from poor to good). Except for the prestige class section, art is rarely appropriate to the text, being mainly a series of pictures of bards to fit the potential white space. The writing style is intelligent and engaging. Editing is average with regular minor errors, noticeably in the flavour text at the beginning (which seems to be of poorer quality than the rest of the book), and the irritating 'rouge' instead of 'rogue' in the designer's notes - rouge being pink make-up (from the French for 'red') for the ignorant.

Chapter 1: Character Concepts
Mongoose introduced the popular idea of character concepts - roleplaying hooks for beginning characters, with minor benefits and penalties that are designed to balance each other out to some extent. Examples from the selection provided for bards include the Ambassador, Explorer, Lore Master, Minstrel, Skald, and Vagabond.

Chapter 2: The Prestige Bard
Eight new prestige classes designed for bards:
* Dream Dancer - 5 levels. Minimum entry 12th level. Average BAB, good Ref save. Class features surround emotionally reading and dominating audiences through dance.
* Elder - 5 levels. Minimum entry 4th level. Poor BAB, good Will save. Class features focus on wisdom, giving bonuses to bardic knowledge and AC, and controlling others with voice.
* Grandmaster - 10 levels. Minimum entry 9th level. Average BAB, good Ref and Will saves. Class features improve bardic class features and gain additional bardic feats.
* Jester - 5 levels. Minimum entry 5th level. Average BAB, good Fort and Will saves. Class features focus mainly on taunting and distraction.
* Seneschal - 10 levels. Minimum entry 5th level. Poor BAB, good Will save. Class features surround running a noble house.
* Singer Of The Dawn - 5 levels. Minimum entry 5th level. Average BAB, good Fort and Will saves. Class features dedicated to fighting and resisting attacks of undead.
* Soul Taker - 5 levels. Minimum entry 9th level. Average BAB, good Ref and Will saves. Class features focus on seduction and draining touch attacks.
* World Singer - 10 levels. Minimum entry 6th level. Average BAB, good Ref save. Class features grouped into abilities termed Songs of Power, which have different effects dependent on which natural focus is used - e.g. sun, storm, sea, wind.

Chapter 3: Tricks Of The Trade
New uses for old skills are covered - complicating, influencing, and interpreting conversations using Diplomacy, uncovering locations and supporting bardic knowledge using Gather Information, flatter and insult using Innuendo, attract attention and bully using Intimidate, and gain passage through a magical barrier using Use Magic Device.

The next section in the chapter looks at effects that can be created with non-Bard characters using the Perform skill. Battle hymns can be used to increase the chance of saving against fear effects, whilst lullabies can increase the chances of a successful Heal check for those in complete rest. DCs for the Perform skill are given for each of these.

Various professions for bards are briefly discussed, such as the Acrobat, Busker, Fool, Juggler, Street Magician, and Tavern Minstrel.

Chapter 4: Feats
25 new feats are provided, including many feats only available to bards. These include a number of feats to improve bardic knowledge checks in focused areas, such as Antiquarian (gives bonus to checks on item history and can give knowledge of one property of the item on a straight 20) and musical effects that disrupt in slightly different ways to the countersong class feature. There are also more general feats such as some that allow magical crafting of objects and some that focus on shouting to defeat opponents. Another feat allows the bard to take a signature instrument, with which he can create certain effects.

Chapter 5: Tools Of The Trade
Gives detail on crafting masterwork instruments, investing signature instruments with magical effects, crafting magical instruments, exotic tools used in these processes, and 14 magical instruments such as drum of haste and harp of frost.

The next section looks at magical crafts, creating objets d'art with magical abilities such as paintings that talk, statues that move, and similar effects. Various possibilities for each craft are discussed, including architecture, chandlery, embroidery, pottery, sculpture, and weaving.

Compositions are bardic writings that when performed create a magical effect. Costs of creation, effects, and a few examples are discussed (e.g. the Widows' Tears flute solo engenders despair in the listener for 24 hours giving penalties to attack).

Chapter 6: The Power Of Lore
This chapter breaks down the Bardic Knowledge check into areas of knowledge and obscurity of the knowledge. Example DCs are given cross-referencing typical questions in terms of obscurity versus knowledge type on a series of tables. Some alternative uses for bardic knowledge checks are also discussed, such as decipher divinations, remember details, and read omens.

Chapter 7: Mysteries Of Music
Mysteries of music are an expansion of the Bardic Music class feature. Each mystery relies on a different medium (e.g. chant, dance, drum, flute, harp, jesting, storytelling) and each mystery has four levels, available to the bard when they gain Perform skill ranks of 3, 6, 9 and 12 respectively. They are available as options instead of the normal usage available through the Bardic Music class feature. Some race-specific mysteries are also provided.

Chapter 8: Bard Spells
16 new spells generally revolving around extending the area of the bard's Bardic Music attempts and the distance over which his voice can be heard. Also a series of spells from 1st to 5th level that increase an audience's empathy with the bard.

Chapter 9: Bardic Duels
Five different types of bardic duel are discussed - magical, performance, riddles, rites (essentially a battle of social skills - e.g. seduction or praise), and battle to humiliation (a mixture of wit and steel). A 'points' system is used to judge the bards' success compared with the other.

Chapter 10: Venues
This chapter provides a system that allows the venue to provide bonuses or penalties to the bard's performance, dependent on the acoustics, availability, fame, location, and resources. Some examples of magical attributes of special venues are given along with further examples of actual venues in several sections including borrowed (e.g. tavern), court, owned (e.g. theatre), public (e.g. street corner), religious, and travelling (e.g. circus). There are also some basic rules for building a venue comparing cost to attributes.

The book ends with the humble designer's notes, a 3-page index, a 3-page rules summary, 4-page Bard character sheet, and the OGL.

High Points:
The product does a good job of expanding the options of a 3rd Edition Bard, particularly in terms of Chapters 6 and 7, which deepen and extend the bard's Bardic Knowledge and Bardic Music class features. The bardic duels system also looks to be fun, and could make for some great in-character roleplaying scenarios.

Low Points:
The Quintessential series is best used as a grab bag of ideas in my opinion and this is no exception. There are several forgettable feats, spells, and prestige classes strewn amongst the gems, though The Quintessential Bard does not seem to go over the top in terms of power compared to some previous products in the series (apart from some of the prestige classes).

Conclusion:
Overall, one of the better in the Quintessential series, the product focuses on providing depth and choice to the bard's abilities and occasionally seems to tread the same path as the 3.5 bard (such as the mysteries of music, which are defined by the type of Perform skill required). Some inspirational stuff for enhancing the role of bards in a campaign, though, as usual with the series, best used as a grab bag of ideas with a wary eye on unbalanced rules.

 

[Kichwas]

"First Strike seems tedious, almost threatening to restore the need for segments, granting characters who receive an AoO and hit the target the ability to deal damage slightly before the opponent who provokes the attack can act."
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Isn't this how AoO's normally work though? If under the normal rules I get an AoO and with it take down the person who triggered it that person's actions are halted, are they not?

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Sorry, but I have to take this review with a huge grain of salt. Mainly, because of phrases such as "this popularly disdained class" and "the bard is a tough class to like..." It just seems that there is too much pre-existing personal dislike for the bard class that went into this review to make it objective enough for me. I'm playing a bard (only my second bard ever in over 20 years of gaming) in a current campaign and, not to toot my own horn (no pun intended), he has proved himself over and over to be an invaluable member of the party (other members are a fighter/rogue, 2 fighter/clerics, and a wizard). Any character of any class can be powerful or weak; it's all dependent on how you create and roleplay him/her. In my opinion, the 3.5 edition bard can be just as useful, powerful, and fun to play as any other core class - and I see huge improvements over previous editions!