I'm making a bard for an upcoming PFS season. I want to use the perform keyboard skill with an Accordion.
I haven't been able to find a list of instruments anywhere, except for a general musical instrument.
If I can't use an accordion, what portable keyboard can I use?
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Musical Instrument (masterwork)
"The listed cost and weight is for a typical small instrument you could carry by hand"
This is one of those general categories of things that you can pretty much tailor and fluff however you want, since all that matters is the mechanics.
Otherwise, there'd be an entire book just dedicated to the various types of instruments and music styles that have ever existed.
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It would seem that accordions exist on Golarion.
Keyboard instruments are the most complex of the instruments, so there won't be a LOT of them around, compared to others. Also, there may be a bit of an anachronistic sting to some of them for some groups; many keyboard instruments are relatively recent inventions, after all.
That said, there certainly are pianos, organs, pipe organs, harpsichords, clavichords, accordions, and the like in Golarion. For a classic Varisian character, the accordion is actually a pretty good choice of instrument, since it's portable and the classic Varisian is always on the move. But the organ's a good choice too; Varisians are to a certain extent inspired by cultures in eastern Europe, and by fiction set there, like Dracula, who looks quite at home playing the pipe organ...
But not all Varisians are traveling nomads. And PCs (and by extension their cohorts) should be exceptions to the rule more often than not.
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I do wish there were some better guidelines available somewhere. For example, a certain module gives a quite useful magical Shofar. It is very unclear to me if this can be used one handed or not and, if so, would there be a penalty.
Since I mostly play PFS it means that I have to be ready for either interpretation at the table. While no huge deal its a bit annoying and it certainly means that I have to more or less assume that it takes two hands when buying equipment, taking feats, etc.
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The cool thing about that Shofar (this character uses it, too), is that you're only required to start your performance with it.
Then it's just a free action to remove your hand from it and sing the rest of the chorus (even putting the instrument away if you want).
Not really. You did a perform Wind Instrument check to start your performance. Can't just switch that to a Perform sing check. Harmonic Spell SHOULD get around that restriction but I can definitely imagine some PFS GM somewhere disagreeing with that and, even if it does get around the "starting a performance" restriction, it requires one to cast a spell.
One can make an argument (and it IS PFS, so you have to assume SOMEBODY will) that you can't even cast spells if you need to hold this with two hands at all times. You pretty clearly can't whack somebody with your sword.
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Except you don't make a perform check to start a Bardic Performance, and don't need any points in those skills to start a Bardic Performance. Although you'll definitely want points in something with an audible component for Countersong, and a visible one for Distraction
(or is this something specific to that item?)
No perform check but you DO have to use the Perform Skill and you have to choose if the performance has visual or audible components. Although not crystal clear I've certainly always assumed that this means that you must use a specific type of Perform Skill and, in the case of this item, I'd assume that MUST be Perform Wind Instruments. Certainly how I'd rule at the table so its what I'm going to assume as a player.
And although the result of the check generally doesn't matter it still DOES matter for a few performances (Countersong and Distraction, at least). Which I think strengthens the argument that ALL performances require the use of a Perform skill and (where appropriate) an instrument.
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Indeed, few performances require any skill check. You don't even need any skill ranks, and you could have dumped Charisma. You can choose to make playing the flute a visual performance (akin to a parade marcher) or choose to make dancing an auditory performance (like tap dancing). You can start by singing, continue with a dance, and finish by blowing a tuba if you wanted. Performance in Pathfinder is really open ended.
So when the Shofar only stipulates that you must start a performance using it, that's all you need to do.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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RAI, and from a 'realism' point of view, yeah.
RAW, it's only Countersong & Distraction that need a roll.
My bards have tended to get more use from the perform skills for Versatile Performance than performances.Anyway, back to the original question, the generic instrument item seems to allow for picking something suitable. Leaves dancers at a slight disadvantage though :-)
Tap shoes!
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I use the heads of my enemies as percussion instruments. There's so many and with such a wide variety of sounds!
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You can choose to make playing the flute a visual performance (akin to a parade marcher) or choose to make dancing an auditory performance (like tap dancing).
*faints dead away*
Wow... I've had the Pathfinder Beta rules for performances stuck in my head this whole time, where specific performances were visual, others audible. Thanks for shaking that loose!
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You can choose to make playing the flute a visual performance (akin to a parade marcher) or choose to make dancing an auditory performance (like tap dancing).*faints dead away*
Wow... I've had the Pathfinder Beta rules for performances stuck in my head this whole time, where specific performances were visual, others audible. Thanks for shaking that loose!
And this is how the master becomes a student and the student becomes a master... :>
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Uh, specific performances ARE arguably visual and others audible.
Countersong : Each round of the countersong he makes a Perform (keyboard, percussion, wind, string, or sing) skill check
Distraction: At 1st level, a bard can use his performance to counter magic effects that depend on sight. Each round of the distraction, he makes a Perform (act, comedy, dance, or oratory
I admit that this isn't crystal clear but it is certainly clear enough for me. Given that I don't believe in RAW I'm not trying to convince you that the RAW clearly support my interpretation.
However, given the question was wrt PFS I'll emphatically state that, at the least, you should expect Table Variation. Because, at any table I'm running,
1) I'm using that list to decide which performances are audible and which visual
2) You use a Wind Instrument to start a performance you can NOT just shift to a different performance as a free action without some other means of switching a performance as a free action
I find the arguments given above profoundly unconvincing. As I stated above, I believe that "A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects" means that he is, uh, using the Perform skill.
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I find the arguments given above profoundly unconvincing. As I stated above, I believe that "A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects" means that he is, uh, using the Perform skill.
I have a Bard that freely mixes Perform (percussion) Perform (sing) and Perform (oratory) as part of their performing.
Or... are you telling me that Phil Collins isn't a performer? :>
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I find the arguments given above profoundly unconvincing. As I stated above, I believe that "A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects" means that he is, uh, using the Perform skill.
I have a Bard that freely mixes Perform (percussion) Perform (sing) and Perform (oratory) as part of their performing.
Or... are you telling me that Phil Collins isn't a performer? :>
The perform skills don't even exist to create a Laurie Anderson inspired bard...
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In reviewing the various bardic performances, it appears that the ones that refer to using a particular skill check to resolve are not level-dependent and so blowing the shofar before starting has no effect. The ones that are level-dependent, where the shofar does modify the result, do not require a skill check to resolve and so I don't see any reason to require that a specific perform skill be used and wouldn't see any reason to limit the performance to a single type.
to pH unbalanced - Language is a virus.