Unconventional class opinions in a setting


Advice


So, I'm still working on Archmage and all that. I've recently started building a full Pathfinder document for it, using Spheres of Power in place of standard magic.

In writing small blurbs for each class, I came across bard. In my current misshapen heap of setting text, the closest thing there is to musical magic is mention of terrible demonic pacts with the Goddess of Desire.

Because of the common lore surrounding this, even if there are non-pactbound bards, the ignorant will almost always think of anyone that mixes magic with music as if they got their fiddling skills at a crossroads.

Not a good time for bards that want to be the life of the party, unless you're already rolling with a crowd that's fond of demons.

How would you feel about a setting where such classes have baggage like that?


Usually fine with it assuming it is well documented and known before someone starts building a character. Need to know what they are getting into before it is sprung on them, especially if it is common knowledge.


A link to the setting, for those interested.

Personally, I think that would be fine for magical music, but I'd recommend exploring options for allowing the rest of the bardic abilities to be split off from such an association. The bard has a very interesting chassis, and people may be interested in that without being interested in demonology.

Liberty's Edge

I agree with both of the above.

It must be clearly noted right on the front of the setting materials so that no-one can make a bard without realizing that this is the case. If this is done, then that's sufficient to make it okay in my eyes.

If possible, create an archetype or reflavoring of the bard's abilities that makes it more practical to play one without being executed. An archetype that's all about hiding their musical nature would be perfect for the setting, since I imagine that's the way such pact-bound bards would operate.


Oh, definitely. If an archetype moves the character further away from 'musical magician', the further they are from suspicion (even if the demon pact thing might still be true).

What I'm not decided on at this stage is if it's possible to be magically musical/musically magic without such a pact. Perhaps, in which case you might be just a mage with a peculiar spellcasting tradition.

As a note, in Archmage the distinction between cleric/wizard/sorcerer/psion/whatever is almost invisible. If you do magic, you're a mage. If you have weird hangups with your magic, you're a weird mage (probably some kind of specialist).


The other thing you could try is go back to the Bard's roots. Back in 1st edition D&D a Bard's magic had nothing to do with music, they were just good with picking up esoteric knowledge and learned how to cast spells like a Wizard does.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

its worth noting that there is still* nothing inherently musical about bardic magic... their spell entry says that all their spells have a verbal component and then (as a parenthetical) offers "singing, reciting, or music" as the ways (or some of the ways) to satisfy that requirement. Reciting incantations is fairly universal for any kind of spellcaster (look how many spells have verbal components), so there's no reason bards would have to be pidgeon-holed because of that.
*minor edit, for a minor ninja'ing

Basically, they're just mages with a particular area of study (their own spell list) and a supernatural ability (occasionally spell-like ability) to create a variety of effects which "relies on" some combination of "audible and visual components"- almost none of the bardic performance abilities are even tied to the perform skill, and the few that are mostly offer non-musical options (like act, comedy, and oratory). Countersong is the only ability bards have by default (that I can think of) that is tied directly to music, and (since it only affects sonic or language dependent effects) its easy enough to dismiss as not really magic (since you're basically just drowning out the sound that is magical).


Those are good points.

Scarab Sages

You could also simply get rid of performance and make every bard an archaeologist. It does limit the class, but it removes all pretense of "spoony bards".


I've been going through and reflavouring a lot of the classes without doing much if anything to the mechanics.

Now oracles are mostly 'you or an ancestor made a deal with something dark and it left you cursed'. And since it uses Spheres of Power instead of Vancian, there's no arcane/divine distinction and the class works nicely as 'cursed mage'.

There is no such thing as innate magic either, but sorcerers still have a place. Now they are ordinary mages that got some weird stuff in them somehow (the dwarven gene-smiths of old are probably responsible).

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