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Scenario: Party to cross a swaying rope/plank bridge. Bard burns 4 bardic performance rounds to invoke The Cat Step (Dance) [a Masterpiece from Ultimate Magic]. Bard spends the first minute of the 10 minute duration demonstrating. Can the bard Inspire Competence in his/her students in order for them to make the DC 15 Perform(Dance) check required to share in the benefits of The Cat Step masterpiece ? Stated another way, if the Masterpiece is somehow a 10 minute long "bardic performance" that only costs 4 rounds worth of BP, then is using Inspire Competence the same as starting a different BP (thus ending the masterpiece) or are either or both the Masterpiece and Inspire Competence NOT bardic performances but supernatural abilities simply powered by burning rounds of BP ?
If Inspire Competence CAN be used while keeping The Cat Step going (because it's not a performance or it simply keeps going even after the four rounds of performing are over), how many rounds of performance must be burned to Inspire Competence ? Would the fact that the bard has "Lingering Performance" alter the answer ?
Regardless of the answer, assume at least some of the party made the check and are experiencing the benefits of The Cat Step. Party troops out onto the long bridge eating up another minute of the duration. Combat breaks out half-way across. The bard would like to Inspire Courage. Inspire Courage certainly *IS* a bardic performance. Would doing so end the effects of The Cat Step for
a) the bard only
b) everyone who was affected by The Cat Step
c) no-one, The Cat Step remains in effect for the remainder of its duration
Assume answer c for the moment.
Next round, the bard would like to begin The Dance of 23 Steps as a free action at the end of his/her turn. Doing so certainly burns a round of BP, but is it a BP itself ?
If so
The Cat Step will end (for the bard AND everyone else ?)
The Inspire Courage will end, despite Lingering Performance, because if you start a DIFFERENT BP, the current one does not linger.
If not (because masterpieces, while they are powered by BP are not BP themselves)
The Cat Step remains in effect until the duration expires
The Inspire Courage will linger per Lingering Performance for 2 rounds.
The Dance of 23 Steps will affect the bard until the start of his next turn.
TL/DR: This boils down to when / if Masterpieces count as Bardic Performances (only while being invoked ? Throughout the entire duration ? Not at all, they only cost rounds of it ?)
Help ?
I don't think that Masterpieces count as Bardic Performances for the purpose of having multiple running at once. I believe I even remember a James Jacobs post where he was asked if you could maintain a Masterpiece while starting a new Bardic Music effect (or vice versa, I forget) and his answer was "yes."
The problem, then, is not the question of whether or not Inspire Competence and Cat Step Dance can be active at once, but rather, "can you take any actions during the minute when you are demonstrating."
I don't know how to answer that--I assume you could. But it takes a full minute, so that's 10 rounds of performance spent on Inspiring Competence. It's probably not worth it.
A better question might be--why did you bother with the Cat Step Dance in the first place?
I question the decision for two reasons. First, it's so niche to the point of being nearly worthless in general. Second, how long is this bridge? Because the Minuet of Midnight Ivy (which I believe has the same requirements) can also work on your party and gives them a Climb Speed. Unless the bridge is something like 160' long (assuming the worst--that everyone has a 20' speed), you're better off just letting them Climb speed across.
I really can't think of any benefit to the Cat Step Dance over the Minuet of Midnight Ivy unless you have to traverse more than 160' over a dangerous fall that is not so high that the reduced distant won't matter (example: a 250' fall deals 20d6, and reducing that fall by 50', which you can't do until level 20, still deals 20d6), or if you are deliberately jumping down fairly short distances (a level 10 bard can make a 25' fall totally safe)--and preferably a series of short distances so as to make the dance's duration more helpful.
Maybe if you're walking through an area littered with short, 10' pitfalls, since, when you can take it at 4th, you're only reducing falls by 10'.
Couldn't see the other end of the bridge when the party set out, so it was unknown how long it was. Bard didn't know the Ivy thing.
Couldn't see the other end of the bridge when the party set out, so it was unknown how long it was. Bard didn't know the Ivy thing.
Well yeah, but I was suggesting it's never really even useful to know The Cat Step dance compared to the Minuet of Midnight Ivy.
I'm just saying it was a poor choice of Masterpiece in general. I also have to admit that I assumed this was a hypothetical situation and not an actual one that came up.
The DC: 15 Perform checks required to learn from the Bard Masterpieces are crazy--I don't understand why it's so high. You practically need to prepare your party from level 1 that they need to allocate some points into Dance to take advantage of your buffs. Otherwise, it's mostly just going to be a crapshoot.
My Bard is more interested in the Dance of 23 Steps as a defensive measure, considering it's an Arcane Duelist with Dervish Dance. If the Dance would keep the Bard from also inspiring courage, then it would likely never see use.
My Bard is more interested in the Dance of 23 Steps as a defensive measure, considering it's an Arcane Duelist with Dervish Dance. If the Dance would keep the Bard from also inspiring courage, then it would likely never see use.
Yeah, you can totally do that, and it's awesome. Masterpieces are not Bardic Performances, they just use up the same resource. It's like how you can use a spell slot for the Arcane Blast feat, but it's not the same as casting a spell.
Also take awesome note of the fact that the Dance of 23 Steps is a Free Action, so you can use it just after your attacks to get some free AC (only your AoOs and Immediate action spells will be penalized).
I actually just started a thread recently looking at the Masterpieces, and I think the Dance of 23 Steps is one of the two best (though the Cat Step Dance is one of the worst).