[RPM] Bardic Song

[Anders]

Here's a little something I cooked up for a campaign idea in a proto-Celtic world:

BARDIC SONG
The Wiroi use a special variant of Ritual Path Magic called Bardic Song. It differs from normal Ritual Path Magic (as described in Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic) in the following ways:
1. The Core Skill is Musical Influence (p.B210; the prerequisite skill must be Singing). All Paths can be used at default from this core skill, and no Path skill can ever exceed the lower of Musical Influence or (12+Magery level).
2. Magery has the Stable Magic enhancement (+40%). Any critical failure can be “stabilized” by a roll against Singing – on a successful roll, treat the result as a normal failure. Magery 0 does not exist.
3. Magery has the Song limitation (-40%). You must be able to sing to cast your spells. A normal singing volume gives no penalties; singing softly gives a -1 to skill, but can help you to escape detection.
4. A person without either Magery or Musical Ability is at a -5 penalty to use magic. This replaces the rule for Magical Aptitude on p.RPM20.
5. The Ritual Adept advantage is split into two parts worth 10 points each. One eliminates the Connection penalty; the other eliminates the Consecrated Space penalty. There is no way to reduce time – Bardic Song is an involved procedure!
6. A successful Poetry roll allows you compose a poem to fit the situation exactly. This counts as “Traditional Trappings”, reducing the final energy cost by 10%.
7. The Musical Instrument skill can be used as a complementary skill. A harp is traditional, although a lute is a viable alternatives. Make a roll and apply a bonus to all energy gathering roll and the casting skill: +2 on a critical success, +1 on a success, -1 on a failure and -2 on a critical failure.
8. Since singing for a long time can be exhausting, each 30 minutes of spellcasting costs 1 FP.
9. Enchanting involves putting a part of your soul into a magical object. Each Soul Point buys you 25 points of Gadgets. For more about Soul Points, read Christopher "Ghostdancer" Rice's article in Pyramid #3/67.

I'm notoriously bad at completing campaign settings, but I thought I'd post it here to get feedback. And if anyone wants to use it, feel free!

[Kalzazz]

Can you create charms or conditionals of any sort with this style?

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Can you create charms or conditionals of any sort with this style?

The old tape cartridges are so much easier to smash than an SD card with an MP3 on it. That's why Peter Quill still carries around his Sony Walkman.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Can you create charms or conditionals of any sort with this style?

Yes. They have to be made using the proper tree, though (Tree Lore is another part of the campaign; see Celtic Myth pp. 96-103 or Thaumatology pp. 42-47).

[oneofmanynameless]

I think this is very well done. I like it a lot and may use it at some point if that's okay?

[Anders]

As I said, feel free. Although you may want to wait if some of the Hidden Masters of RPM (like Ghostdancer or PK) chimes in. There may be some horrible bugs hidden in the system.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Anders

As I said, feel free. Although you may want to wait if some of the Hidden Masters of RPM (like Ghostdancer or PK) chimes in. There may be some horrible bugs hidden in the system.

None that I see; this looks good. I'd suggest folding the two 40% modifiers into a single "Magery variant" to discourage players from thinking they can add new modifiers on their own, but that's just my thinking as a fellow GM.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Anders

Here's a little something I cooked up for a campaign idea in a proto-Celtic world:



I'm notoriously bad at completing campaign settings, but I thought I'd post it here to get feedback. And if anyone wants to use it, feel free!

This is a really cool idea! And one which I'm actually currently exploring for my fantasy campaign - though it's not Celt-inspired. Nice job, dude. :-)