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As a GM I tend to draw inspiration from all around me, and I watch musicals all the time with my little sister. So I got thinking, what about a campaign/setting where everyone's first level is taken in bard or skald (even NPCs)? Perhaps a focus on interaction skills, civilian scuffles and/or legal proceedings? More of a high-stakes drama than a dungeon-crawl.
Call me crazy, but what do you guys think a setting filled with bards would look like, where even a small child has a few rounds of bardic performance a day? and more importantly how fun do you think it'd be?
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Make it somewhat realistic with the amount of people who act as bards. Even in a country where it's culturally implied to be an essential skill, there will be those who won't conform.
As a concept, I feel it has a lot of potential. Ignore the above if you specifically want it to feel like it is a drama or a play rather than a real adventure. Something Paper Mario-esque would be really cool imo.
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i was thinking the non-conformers would be things like psychics, rogues and investigators. I was thinking a very urban feel would work well with it, maybe set on a modified Verces? I was also thinking the less arcane or divine magic around the more cohesive things would be.
as for how serious it would be, dunno yet. the idea occurred to me a minute before i posted.
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Are you planning on running this as a home game, or on a hosted site like roll20?
It sounds solid to me, I would enjoy it quite a bit. Needs a lot of hashing out, of course. IMO a focus on bards means combat needs to be changed a bit to fit. Swap the BBEGs from the general undead lord to something more based on the social interaction, like an investigator with the mastermind archetype who pulls the strings and causes his large organization to hit the PCs when they least expect it.
Instead of forcing classes, I'd use the background skills alternate rule in Pathfinder Unchained and have one of said skills that the PCs need to take be a creative on (performance, artistry, etc.).
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I am actually playing in a campaign that is nicknamed "We be Goblins: The Musical!"
No one has inspire courage. Everyone sings. When we sing, it's possible that the bad guys even join in the chorus if it makes things funnier. All the musical comedy tropes apply. We're a little ridiculous.
Musical comedy rules can be really fun for a universe. Musical comedy combat is hilarious, but you need the right players to pull this off.
Hmm
I am going with a strange Cheliaxan style government where the devil worshipped is a mad maestro, demanding that all serve in his grand works.
I mostly suggest this, since it would be hard to get EVERYONE to want to join into muscial numbers. So it probably has to be enforced with an iron fist...clutching a conducting stick. Thus, everyone is trained (on fear of death) to be ready for flash mobs.
Thus, you would have forced education in the muscial arts. And those that lack charisma are probably forced to THE MINES to dig up cat guts for all the instruments.
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The idea of a musical party sounds like a lot of fun, but I wouldn't use the actual bard class as a mandatory chassis, because you'd have a lot of people using the same buffs that don't stack. That would be a bit of a downer.
That said, check out The Dagger of Trust (Pathfinder Novels); it's fun and features an all-bard party that kicks ass.
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Cool ideas guys. If I do get a chance to run this I'd probably do a home game. Rules wise it might be pseudo-gestalt or start at a higher level with a class tax.I would do some work on stacking buffs, I'd be real mean if I force them to be bards and then screw them over on mechanical skornergy.
The Cheliax idea is gold, I might do that. Seems better then my original idea of a low-magic almost modern setting where I adapt an obscure musical for a plot.
I'll need to get a copy of unchained, but background skills sounds handy.
The idea of a musical party sounds like a lot of fun, but I wouldn't use the actual bard class as a mandatory chassis, because you'd have a lot of people using the same buffs that don't stack. That would be a bit of a downer.
That said, check out The Dagger of Trust (Pathfinder Novels); it's fun and features an all-bard party that kicks ass.
I don't know...I can make a 4 person party that stacks. You just need archetypes. Bard, Skald, Archaeologist, and Archivist. And that is just bonsuses. There are plenty of others that give other abilities, like Sandman with spell steal, and court bard with debuffs
Really, this is a perfect excuse to take those niche arhcetypes that you always write off because 'it trades away inspire courage' and such. Since there will always be someone else that does inspire courage.
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The idea of a musical party sounds like a lot of fun, but I wouldn't use the actual bard class as a mandatory chassis, because you'd have a lot of people using the same buffs that don't stack. That would be a bit of a downer.
That said, check out The Dagger of Trust (Pathfinder Novels); it's fun and features an all-bard party that kicks ass.
I don't know...I can make a 4 person party that stacks. You just need archetypes. Bard, Skald, Archaeologist, and Archivist. And that is just bonsuses. There are plenty of others that give other abilities, like Sandman with spell steal, and court bard with debuffs
Really, this is a perfect excuse to take those niche arhcetypes that you always write off because 'it trades away inspire courage' and such. Since there will always be someone else that does inspire courage.
It's possible, but you need to work up such a specific combination of character builds that everyone agrees to, that I'm not sure it's really the most fun thing.