• Penderyn Bardic Tradition

• Creating a Bard

  • Minimum Ability Scores For Bards

  • Race

  • Alignment

  • General Notes

  • Hit Points, Level Progression, and Special Abilities

  • Spells 

  • Songs
    

While many actors, jugglers, and warblers make their living wandering from town to town introducing themselves as bards, these common entertainers are merely that… nightly acts who can pluck a mandolin or belt out a ribald dwarven tune to amuse tavern folk over their mead. However, in the kingdoms today there are also those who actually possess the training, knowledge, skills, talent, charisma, and dedication needed to earn the honorable title of “bard”.

In Penderyn, the bardic tradition goes back hundreds of generations, to times when traveling merchants would often play instruments or sing to attract attention as they rode through towns. Often, these travelers were the main source of news from regions around the kingdoms, and frequently were fortune- and storytellers as well as salesmen. From their extensive journeys, most merchants were fluent in several dialects and languages, and their information regarding neighboring lands was at least as valuable to local lords as their wares. Over time, some of these travelers forsook the merchandise altogether, and began to deal solely in stories and reports on their travels, and entertained locals with displays of song, dance, or sleight of hand. On occasion, a talented performer may be hired to accompany a caravan for long treks, to keep the boredom of the road at bay.

It was only a matter of time before this profession became more organized and formal, and eventually, guilds formed to teach the skills of entertaining and to provide services to interested parties. These guilds were the first meager beginnings of some of the famous bard colleges known today in the cities of Ceryth Taybor. Most modern human bards have been schooled in the prestigious Bardic Colleges around the kingdom, learning from masters who teach the instruments, the songs, the history, and the mystic skills and magic that true bards may command.

While the humans had their singing merchants, the elves had their version of bards as well; the elvish thay’eorin was a tradition already thousands of years old, in which one or perhaps two people within a clan would dedicate their lives to composing and singing epic songs, plays, or poetry recounting great historical and mythical events in elvish lore. These thayeorini were thought of as equal parts teacher, historian, sage, messenger, and entertainer, and were greatly respected and revered. Elvish bards still  learn in their traditional way, sitting by the side of a thayeorini for many decades, cultivating the same abilities to an almost inhuman level of skill. (No pun intended.)

Hobbits have long been known for storytelling and singing folk songs, as well as performing. There are few actors who can match the bravado and enthusiasm of a halfling entertainer in full swing! While true halfling bards are few and far between, there are still some venerable teachers of the bardic craft living in the Hearth Shires. Traditionally, halfling bards were one of the very few trades that were non-hereditary, with a songmeister hand-choosing her pupils from worthy families. While tallfellows and stouts respect bards as they do any gifted master, the furfoot clans consider it a rare blessing to have one of their bloodline chosen by a songmeister, and are almost as reverential to bards as they are to the clergy.

Dwarven bards are called shulrikka, originally meaning simply “messenger” in an ancient mountain dwarf dialect. (In modern dwarvish, shulrikka is an honorary term now used only for bards.) Shulrikka were warrior- poets, who fought in the front lines of battle against the giant-kin in the ages-old wars between the two mountain races. Once victorious, the bards would compose songs glorifying their conquests, and eulogizing their fallen comrades. This was a type of oral history, and from these beginnings the modern dwarven bard skills have evolved. Many dwarven armies have bards, and some few are cleric-bards. Dwarven bards have produced many orchestral symphonies; some shulrikka like to tell their tales with booming kettle drums and a score of bagpipes…

Bards have a long tradition of courtesy extended to them in civilized lands, stemming from their beginnings as useful guests of nobles and lords. Bards may receive respect from the populace, in the form of deferential treatment. This may be free lodging or a meal (or another service) from hosts, so long as the bard performs the obligatory entertaining for the evening. [This courtesy does not necessarily extend to the bard’s companions; most bards are solitary types, and aren't expected to appear with an entourage.] Bards should be aware that this traditional courtesy is just that; some hosts will extend these niceties because it's expected and proper, not because they necessarily like the bard or want to accommodate his every whim. Bards should keep this in mind, and not overstay a welcome or offend a host.

[Return to top]
 

Creating a Bard

Create bards using the following rules, based on Jeffery Goelz's "Singing a New Tune" (Dragon Magazine #56).

Minimum Ability Scores For Bards

Str 9   Int 15   Wis 12   Con 6   Dex 14   Chr 15

Race

Half-orcs have no bard class.

Alignment

Bards may be lawful, neutral, or (rarely) chaotic. They tend to be lawful, following traditions and customs. Bards are never evil.

General Notes

• Bards generally only wear leather armor and use simple, one-handed weapons and wooden shields.

• Bards use fighter combat tables, but never get multiple attacks.

• Bards learn druid and illusionist spells at appropriate levels. (Some druid spells are unavailable, however.)

• Bards never adventure with other bards, although they will meet occasionally to trade songs and stories.

   

  [Return to top]

  

Bard XP, Level Progression, & Special Abilities

♪ Lore relates to historic, legendary, or famous items, people or places, and is not a Detect Magic spell. The bard may handle known magic items and determine their powers or history, or identify artifacts, for instance, but not necessarily discern whether a random item found is magical or not.

♫ The read language score is also the percentage of the work that can be understood once deciphered. Bards may read and understand any language, even dead or unknown, with this skill.

[Return to top]

Bard Spells

* At 11th level, bards gain the Change Form druid ability.

[Return to top]