Is there anything (besides the train-wreck of common sense slamming into animate dead things) that prevents undead from using performance instruments? Pianos, drums, violins, that makes sense, but what about the wind instruments? Undead don't need to breath, and more often than not, aren't equipped to.
So what does a skeletal champion/lich bard do? Must he put his flute away and start learning the pipe organ?
I've found no explicit rule that says they can't play an instrument like anything else, and they do speak, producing words and sounds. With a vampire or ghoul, which are so much more fleshy, this seems easier, but even then, the question does still somewhat remain.
So, what are your opinions on the prospective careers of the undead flutist?
Before I go any further, kudos for the thread title. ^__^ I got a good laugh out of that!
I suppose a vampire or even a well-preserved zombie could play a flute well enough, but a skeleton or lich is better off with a different sort of instrument. I know that skeletons lose their flight speed if they flew with wings in their former life; it seems like a given that they would also lose the ability to breathe. (I wonder how they blow out the candles on their birthday cakes? Do undead still celebrate birthdays?)
There are some bard spells that almost allow you to perform without having to operate the instrument itself, such as exquisite accompaniment, but that isn't a very efficient use of your spell slots.
For some reason I can't shake the mental image of a jolly skeleton playing his own ribcage like a xylophone. O_o