Post/Author/DateTime	Post
friedmad 03-13-05, 10:07 PM	I have a great roleplaying bard in the group and I need to come up with some encounters that will let him shine. I'm thinking styling one after the Tenacious-D song (i.e. a devil appears and says 'play the best song in the world or i will eat your soul, etc etc) or after the Carlie Daniels The Devil Went Down to Georgia (i.e. outplay me and win this golden fiddle...or lose your soul etc etc) any other ideas?
twad 03-13-05, 10:11 PM	well.. pick the doors lock, enter and sing a song, people booo you, you fireball everyone inside, you use diplomacy to explain why you BBQed everyone, fight a bit to make them understand you point ect ect seriously... i dunno. Maybe make him play the best song ever to act as a distraction for a vital operation.. bards are so versatiles..
Puck 03-13-05, 10:42 PM	I see bards as being the diplomat or "the face" of the group. I dont want to drop a bard into a type cast or anything but a good way to challange an RP'er is with RPing. Put him in a situation where he is playing in at a party for some noble and an argument starts up, and he has to calm things down via music or diplomacy. Just a thought. Puck King of Guam
friedmad 03-13-05, 10:46 PM	that sounds great, but so far he has been the first one to come to blows....his background is that of a street thug lol
Fixxxer 03-13-05, 10:52 PM	I'm thinking styling one after the Tenacious-D song (i.e. a devil appears and says 'play the best song in the world or i will eat your soul, etc etc) Great...now I'm going to have to create a new fiend race...the Shiny Demon. I'm not certain that a fiddle contest with a devil is the best idea. Basically, it seems that it would break down to opposed Perform checks and if the player got an unlucky roll, he'd lose his soul. Instead, why not add a few simple things that allow a bard to shine? I seem to recall and adventure where the only way to open a specific temple door (aside from bashing it in) was to basically turn it as though it were undead. Thus, only good or neutral clerics or paladins could get through. Why not try this with a bard? In order to open a door or a chest, a specific song or a specific note has to be played or sung.
friedmad 03-13-05, 11:01 PM	already did that.....twice... first time to open the main door of a Bard's college. if he didnt play well enough, the magic mouth would chastise him verbally and a lightning bolt would shoot out to try frying him... another time he had to play a harp being help in the lap of a statue of Tymora and strike the right chord to open a secret door to reveal the secret library. the harp was on its side so he had to stand in a bad spot and try to play it. depending on who much he failed the DC by, the wrong chord would summon different monsters....
Lxarth 03-14-05, 10:03 AM	already did that.....twice... Its sounds like you have already catered to him then. I don't have any ideas, I have (had) a Bard in the party but the players wants to switch out for a Barbarian.
adnauseum 03-14-05, 10:11 AM	Try this: A local bigwigs wife has been seduced and abducted by a Satyr with bard levels. Of course, the PC need not know this, all he has to do is find and rescue said maiden. The twist comes when he finds her laying about in some wooded dale frolicking with the satyr. The initial response from the bard may be to kill the satyr. Have the satyr remind the PC that he has made the woman love him, and if the PC kills the satyr, the woman will likely follow of her own volition. Rather than have the situation escalate to violence, have them compete against each other using their bardic song abilities to influence the woman one way or another. Use whatever motivation you want to entice the PC to rescue the woman, cash, coercion, whatever gets the job done. Also, keep in mind satyr's are raucous, randy little devils. I'm sure you're familiar with the term 'nympho', a satyr is the personification of the same principle, only male.
VerinBlod 03-14-05, 02:34 PM	I like the suggestions given so far, might even steal one or two myself :D But as to your question: set up some sort of murder mystery in which he has to use his diplomatic skills. Let him figure out who for instance has killed the local baron and why some people are trying to cover things up. This works of course best if the local militia view the bard as the killer. Hope this helps
MasterRookie 03-14-05, 03:08 PM	are any monsters put to sleep or charmed by music. That could work. You could have him kidnaped and forced to entertain and try to escape.
rhflyweyr 03-14-05, 04:05 PM	The most common thing i give to my bard is just the need for someones help (ie anyone from a king to a guard). Instead of letting them jsut roll a diplomacy, make them roleplay it. If he doesnt take the chance to show off his gifts, his loss.
friedmad 03-14-05, 04:34 PM	I like the suggestions given so far, might even steal one or two myself :D But as to your question: set up some sort of murder mystery in which he has to use his diplomatic skills. Let him figure out who for instance has killed the local baron and why some people are trying to cover things up. This works of course best if the local militia view the bard as the killer. Hope this helps Well, I tried something like this but he seems uninterested in getting hard evidence... the town sheriff was killed and his wife kidnapped by the Zhents (he doesnt know they did this, but he suspects it). he seems content with just speculation, so he let it go, and the poor sheriff's wife is rotting in Zhent dungeon somewhere.