[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!