[DF] bard song modifier

[lord buss]

why does the bard song modifier is -30%? it should cost -40%
magic -10%, based on hearing -20%, have to play musical instrument another -10%. why it is -30%?

[Kelly Pedersen]

Actually, it's not "have to play a musical instrument", it's "have to sing or play a musical instrument". I would assume that since you don't actually have to depend on anything external to the character, that that's not being treated as a separate limitation from the effective Hearing-Based limitation.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Ransom

It's a bit more limiting than just Hearing Based, as anything that prevents the bard from singing/playing prevents them from using their abilities, even though many of them are things that you normally could use while bound and gagged.

Can they tap out a mean rhythm with their feet?

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Ransom

It's a bit more limiting than just Hearing Based, as anything that prevents the bard from singing/playing prevents them from using their abilities, even though many of them are things that you normally could use while bound and gagged.

The Sense-Based limitation, it seems to me, comes with a built-in assumption that the target has to be sensing the right thing - if I build a "banshee wail" with Hearing-Based, I can't claim that I can use it while gagged, because my opponent can still hear me kicking the door. Similarly, a medusa with Sight-Based on their petrification attack can't claim that being entirely covered with a blanket still leaves their opponents vulnerable, because "they can still see, right, just not me".

Actually, when you think about it, allowing the Hearing-Based to be hearing either the bard's singing or their playing is actually a slight improvement on the default Hearing-Based limitation - someone with a banshee wail could be neutralized just with a gag, but it takes restraining both the bard's voice and hands to truly stop their Bard-Song abilities.