Murder! Murder!

Game Master Vagabonds.

Chapter one- Murder, murder! Recruitment still up.


Chapter One:
Murder, Murder!

Lesser Gestalt Rules:
Every level, you Gestalt with either Bard or Skald, but do not gain saves, skill points, hit dice, or base attack bonus of the Bard class, unless you are a Pure Bard. If you have 2+Int skill points, increase that to 4+Int skill points. Everyone gains ONE versatile performance (Unless you’re a pure bard- See further down). To prevent everyone from having the same handful of spells, I hold free will to change up your spells according to your backstory (So ensure your spells make sense with your characterization). It won’t all be cruel, however, since I might swap it for stuff from other classes spell lists.

All bard abilities may be used with one of the following ability scores:
Strength (Note- Choosing strength gives me full control over your spell list)
Intelligence
Wisdom
Charisma

Alterations to Perform:
You may, instead of having Perform run off of Charisma, you may have certain perform types run off of other stats:
Act (Wis)
Dance (Str)
Keyboard instruments (Wis)
Oratory (Int)
Percussion instruments (Con)

High Powered Classes and Bard:
The following classes will use the 3.5 bard (Fewer spells per day, fewer music types), though may take archetypes trading away stuff they don’t have anyway, not obtaining the stuff traded away (So, if you trade versatile performance for something as part of an archetype, you do not gain what versatile performance is replaced by). DCs are altered to 1/2 your level. You Gain the Pathfinder round of Performance method.
All 9 level casters, Summoners. Wordcasters are not counted as 9 level casters for this purpose.

Bard as the whole class, or Non-Archetyped Monk:
If you so desire to play a Bard or a non-archetyped monk, you may gestalt with This Bard Variant (Without spells- MP is used to fuel your Bard spells known) and This Monk variant if you are a monk.

Archetypes:
Archaeologist is banned for your gestalt bard side. You may go Archaeologist if you are a pure bard. Racial archetypes have their racial limit removed.

Prestige Classes- Prestige Classes that advance bardic music may put the levels that advance bardic music on the Gestalt side.


Third Party Policy:
I’ll look over third party stuff upon request- Just run it by me. At the moment, Path of war is denied, but Psionics is allowed. Bard stuff is far more likely to be accepted.

Pre-accepted Third Party Bard archetypes:
- Weird Musician
- Bardic Weapon
- Gypsy
- Umbral Weaver
- Moso

Gaining access to path of war
Path of war MIGHT be allowed, but altered so that every class gains Maneuvers, rather than simply the Path of War classes- If you so desire to gain access to Path of War, post so in your post here.

3.5 materials and homebrew:
Alright, now, for even more options, I’m willing to permit 3.5 materials upon request, with Bard related stuff permitted fairly easily- However, like all third party options, you’ll have to run it by me. Skill rank requirements are reduced by three for 3.5 materials.

*Denotes that you can Gestalt with this class
`Denotes that you gain it’s BaB also.
^Denotes an alteration- It advances spellcasting every other level.
Permitted 3.5 materials:
Classes:
-Warchanter*` (Pg 87 Complete Warrior)
-Virtuoso* (Complete Adventurer pg 89)
-Dirgesinger* (Libris Mortis pg 43)
-Dervish* (Pg 25 Complete Warrior)
-Seeker of the Song*^ (Complete Arcane pg 56)
Alternate Class Features:
- All SRD bard variant classes
-Pretty much all of the bard Alternate Class features. If you need a list, Here’s one

Feats:
-Metamagic Song (Only for Bard spells) (Races of Stone pg 142)
-Captivating Melody (Complete Mage pg 40)
-Lyric Spell (Only for bard spells) (Complete Adventurer pg 113)

Homebrew Feats:
And, finally, a few homebrew feats:
Bardic Will
Prerequisite: Bardic Performance, Poor Will Save.
Your will changes from Poor to Good.

Weapon Finesse [Altered]:
Gain Dex to Damage and Attack rolls. Any penalty you take to strength applies to your HP, AC, Attack, and Damage.

Shield Bearer:
Whenever you hold a shield, gain Strength to Reflex and AC. You may redirect Hit Point damage to your shield, which bypasses it’s hardness. All shields you hold gain bonus HP equal to half your characters level times your strength modifier. Attacks that miss your AC by 15 or more permit a free action attack against your assailant.

Combat Expertise [Altered]:
Prerequisite: Int 13
Gain the ability to make Called Shots.. Add your Intelligence modifier to your Called Shot attack roll. Gain access to Improved Called Shot as a Improved Combat Maneuver feat.

Combat Training:
Prerequisite:
Gain the ability to convert AC from Armor into DR/Bludgeoning, up to your character level or half your AC bonus from all your armor. The DR is decided upon donning the armor. This counts as combat expertise for meeting feat prerequisites.

House Rule List:
And now, I have a few, fairly minor house rule list-
*Flanking is a status effect- Meaning that you are considered flanked by everyone if you are flanked.
*Clerics gain their choice of variant channeling for free (Or Rebuke/Command undead), which they choose which channel to use when channeling energy.
*Fighters and rogues are considered to have two copies of each class feature for the purpose of archetypes. Alternatively, a rogue may obtain This bonus instead.
*Will saves are now based off of Charisma OR wisdom.
*Gain a passive Perception check- Your base attack bonus plus your Wisdom modifier. Rouge levels count as having full base attack bonus for this purpose. This is basically your background skill check- Your ability to notice things without paying attention. Regular Perception is instead for when you actively roll for perception.
*Gain a free rank per level in either Profession (Any), Craft (Any), or Knowledge (Local, Engineering, Geography, or History). Base it on your character background.
*There are now two versions of Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Magic arms and Armor, and Craft Arms and Armor- The difference is that the Non-magical ones are mundane- If you craft it, explain why the bonuses it gives are mundane. Use Profession (Blacksmith) or Craft (Arms)(Armor) in place of spellcraft for these rolls.
*Everyone gains the original combat expertise and power attack as a combat option. Things that have Power Attack as a prerequisite do not have it anymore.
*Everyone gains a pool of action points up to their Wisdom or Charisma modifier, plus one per four character levels. You may trade two action points for a Hero Point, up to either your Strength or Charisma modifier (Whichever is higher). Do not count nine level spellcasting purposes for your effective character level. If you are a Charisma or Wisdom based nine level caster, or summoner, count your Charisma as one lower per spellcasting level you have access to (So, if you had a charisma of 20 and could cast 2nd level spells, your charisma is counted as being 18 instead of 20). Wordcasters are not counted as spellcasters for the purpose of Action Points.
*Action Points are gained upon rolling a natural one or twenty on any d20 roll and permitting something bad to happen to your character (State upon discovery of roll), good roleplaying, and/or playing out your drawbacks. You will lose action points if you do not roleplay low ability scores.
*When you crit, you may make a skill check, ability check, or combat maneuver in place of dealing extra damage.
*Gain a bonus feat at level 1, 3, 6, and every 3 levels thereafter from a small list (See Below)
--Improved/Greater Combat Maneuver, Weapon Focus, Armor Proficiency, 1/2 a metamagic feat, Weapon Finesse [Altered], Combat Expertise [Altered], Point Blank Shot, deadly shot, or a Weapon Proficiency, Feats with Bardic Performance as a prerequisite, Eldritch Heritage (Maestro) (And all it’s following), Dodge, Toughness, Mobility, Experimental Spellcaster, Feats with Two Weapon Fighting as a prerequisite.

*Spell Like abilities count as spells for the purpose of meeting prerequisites for prestige classes.
*If a gun has a higher enhancement modifier than your strength modifier, take a -4 penalty to attack rolls, and never target touch AC.
*Dazing spell decreases the DC for a spell by 10.
*Failing a skill check by 5 or less will have something interesting happen instead of merely failing
*A Witch may choose to become a Divine caster, basing their spells and Hexes off of Wisdom instead of Intelligence. If they have a penalty to Intelligence, apply that penalty to their Wisdom score for all things requiring Wisdom.

Campaign Setting Info:
Campaign Traits:

Fairy Manager- You gain a +2 trait bonus on all Diplomacy checks made to deal with fey creatures and a +1 trait bonus on Will saves made against their spells and supernatural abilities.

Bard of the Fantasy- Gain a +2 bonus to any single perform type, and gain a +1 bonus on Bardic Knowledge or equivalent checks.

Foolhardy Soul: Morale bonuses last for 1d4 rounds, but take a -1 penalty to sense motive checks.

Outsider- Do not gestalt with Bard. As a bonus, you may now sunder Bard spells, and any bardic music you hear, as with the Spell Sunder rage power. In addition, gain a bonus feat every even level. You may make a perform check opposed by your opponents own perform check to neutralize the magic in Bardic Performances.

Animal Whisperer-
Prerequisite: Must be Female
You can communicate as easily with animals as you can with other men, sometimes even more easily.
You are permanently under the effects of a speak with animal spell and can always attempt verbal communication with any animal. Your close connection to animal-kind provides you with a +1 insight bonus on Handle Animal and Ride checks, and those are always class skills.

Blooded
Do not gain Bard spell casting. You gain the benefits of the Maestro bloodline as if you were a sorcerer of equal level.

Impurity of the Salt
Gain a +2 enhancement bonus to all stats. There’s a secondary effect, but that’s a spoiler. I’ll alert you upon completion of your character.

Fairy Godmother
You have a friend in a powerful woman- Your fairy godmother. She’ll come when she comes, but you may improve your chances. Roll 1d100- The likelihood of her coming to your aid is equal to your performance modifier.

Destined Swordbearer-
Prerequisite: No levels in non-bard spellcasting classes.
You have access to a very powerful spellcaster named Merlin. As a result, gain 4 ranks to put into any three knowledge skill, due his training you. Gain a extra skill point to put into one knowledge skill every level.

And now, to a local god:

Songheim:
Alignment: True Neutral.
Domains: Darkness, Chaos, Community, Charm, Luck
Subdomains: Whimsy, Cooperation, Imagination,
Symbol: A music note. Specifically, G sharp.
Favored Weapons: Scarf, Bladed
Form of Worship and Holidays: Visit the Theater, Sing weeky.
Typical Worshipers: Bards, Priests, Singers.


Keep in mind- All these house rules apply to all beings- Meaning that, now, monsters have Hero Points, and are gestalted with Bard. So be wary- You never know who you might encounter.