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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6727685" data-attributes="member: 37579">Originally posted by dulsi:<img src="http://ogrehut.com:81/media/mdmc.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />#45Create a Magical Musical InstrumentTrumpets announce the forty-fifth installment of the Master DM Competitions!The purpose of this competition is to create a new magical musical instrument and the history of its creation.Originally posted by wrecan:The AlphornIn a distant city, there sits a small theater in the round, about 140’ in diameter. For the most part, the amphitheater sits unattended. Occasionally, a community play or festival is held in the theatre, but such events are rare, only a few times a year. These shows are incidental to the true purpose of the monument.Every so often, an enterprising entertainer will appear in town, and will ring the gong that sits outside the amphitheater. The gong echoes throughout the city and instantly causes a commotion, because the citizens know that the gong means one thing: someone plans to use the alphorn.The alphorn is magical horn, some twenty feet long. It is made from bronze burnished to an iridescent shine, circled with brass rings etched with detailed images of satyrs and nymphs frolicking. It is kept well-secured in the vaults of the city’s monarch, only to be brought out when the gong is raised. The challenger who rang the gong is treated as an honored guest in the city, while the alphorn is brought up from the vaults and installed in the amphitheater. This can take several days, which gives people from the surrounding villages to enter the city for the performance.On the night of the event, the alphorn is placed in the center of the stage. A raised platform is constructed behind it so that the performer can reach the mouthpiece. However, before the performer begins, the alphorn, magically, on its own, will regale the audience with some of its musical numbers. The alphorn will play pieces for the horn, but it also produces musical symphonies, tells bawdy tales, and recites epic poems to make the hardiest men weep. After an hour of entertainment from the alphorn, the performer will be invited to take the stage.The performer can attempt any form of audible performance, from oration, to song, to percussion. The magic of the alphorn will amplify that performance so that it can be heard perfectly throughout the amphitheater. The performer gets one chance to impress the alphorn. If the alphorn finds the performance lacking, the performer will be heckled from unseen voices. Some have reported that the alphorn takes them over and forces them to embarrass themselves on stage.If the performance is deemed worthy, the alphorn will repeat the performance verbatim, perhaps adding its own flourishes. Very few performers have ever been able to impress the alphorn. Those who succeed have their images carved in stone on the roof of the amphitheater, their names immortalized with other great performers. Their talents will be praised throughout the land, and other performers will treat him with great respect.If the performance is found lacking, he will be run out of town. His effigy will be burned, and his embarrassment will be known far and wide. People will no longer repeat his tales or sing his praises. His career as a performer is essentially over.Origin of the AlphornThe alphorn was originally built as a magical bugle by a cloud giant bard. The cloud giant enchanted the bugle to improve his performances, allowing it to intuitively read audiences and play what they wanted. The alphorn and its owner traveled the lands, playing for magical creatures and humanoids alike. The alphorn loved its master and oven has said that never before had it ever heard a better performer. The alphorn could memorize the best pieces it heard and played them for its master while he slept. But even giants age and even giants die. Before the alphorn’s master passed on, he brought his alphorn to the city where it currently resides. The giant had performed there once, and found the city to be the most receptive of all the places in his travels, to good art. The city took possession of the alphorn and built the theater to its specifications. For many years, the alphorn entertained the city. But over time, the alphorn grew bored playing the same tunes over and over. And it could tell that the townsfolk were getting bored as well. So the alphorn devised a new strategy, to attract talented bards from around the globe to perform. The alphorn has high standards. The bard must make a Perform check that exceeds 35. The bard make not take 10 or 20 on the check, and it only gets one attempt. Because the consequences of failure are so dire, few will attempt the performance until they are reasonably assured of success. (Note that evil bards will suffer a negative level when Performing, which is an additional penalty!) The alphorn will also use detect thought to gauge how the audience is receiving the performance.If the alphorn is unhappy with the performance, it will use the tools at its disposal to disrupt the performance. It will use ventriloquism to mimic hecklers, egging the audience on to further heckling. It will engage in an ego battle with the performer and force him to embarrass himself. it may even use hold person on the performer, and then ghost sound to mimic the performer’s voice and make him embarrass himself.Using the AlphornThe alphorn could be a great focal point for any performer -- a way to recognize a character and give him some “face time”. If it is to be included, you can introduce legends of the alphorn well before the party encounters it. Maybe the bard’s mentor faced the alphorn and failed, and has labored under the shame ever since. Maybe the party at low-level meets a high-level bard introduced as one who “impressed the alphorn”. As the bard increases in level, people might start asking him when he will face the alphorn.Since the alphorn is an intelligent item. There are other ways to include it in a campaign. The alphorn could be stolen and the players hired to get it back. The monarch could have fallen to a despot who plans to force the alphorn to serve it in war to direct his troops and the party is recruited to rescue it. Maybe the party comes to see an NPC try the alphorn, but mid-performance, the alphorn detects a plot to kill the king with its detect thoughts ability, but the assassin got away before the alphorn could figure out who in the crowd is the plotter. After the performance, the alphorn, which detected the PCs’ valor, asks them to find the assassin. Maybe the giant who created the alphorn didn’t give the alphorn to the city. Maybe the alphorn had an artistic disagreement and left him and now he wants to reclaim it. Perhaps the party is brought in to mediate the dispute. There are many possibilities.Stat BlockAlphorn, Intelligent Huge Pipes of Sounding The alphorn can use the following powers: at will -- detect thoughts, ghost sound, 3/day -- hold person, 1/day -- sculpt sound, ventriloquism. Languages: Celestial, Common, Elven, Giant. Can read all spoken languages. Has darkvision and hearing 120’. Can communicate telepathically with its wielder. Int: 17. Wis: 10. Cha: 17. Ego: 12. CL: 18. AL: Neutral good. Price: 62,000 gp. Weight: 180 lbs. Pre-requisites: Craft wondrous item feat, detect thoughts, ghost sound, hold person, sculpt sound, ventriloquism.Optional elements:1. The item is not normally used as an instrument. (It is usually used as a microphone.)2. The instrument is sized for beings that are neither Small, Medium nor Large. (It is built for and by a huge cloud giant.)11. The instrument has dangerous adverse effects if the melody to activate its power(s) is not played properly (i.e., if the perform check is failed) (If a Perform check of DC 35 is not met, the Alphorn will actively try to destroy the PC’s reputation.)</blockquote>

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