[glow=blue,2,300]
Wonderous Items[/glow]
Singing Sword: This intelligent +2 dancing longsword is
a unique weapon that has been passed from bard to bard
over the centuries. It loves two things to the exclusion of
all others: singing and fighting. If its owner doesn’t display
a passion for both of those activities, a personality confl ict
occurs (see the Items Against Characters section in Chapter
8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). Should that occur, the
sword demands that its owner either actively share its interests
(by gaining ranks in Perform and perhaps even taking
up the bard class) or turn it over to a more suitable owner.
In the hands of a bard who enjoys battle, however,
the singing sword truly shines. Not only is it a formidable
weapon in combat, but it can also harmonize with
its owner, granting him a +6 enhancement bonus on
any Perform checks that involve singing.
For the first few weeks after acquiring a suitable new
owner, the singing sword is content and eager to please. Over
time, however, personality conflicts can occur if other characters
(especially lawful ones) prevent the bard from singing or
fighting. The singing sword always urges its owner forward into
combat and up onto the stage at every opportunity.
The singing sword has 10 ranks in Sense Motive, which,
combined with its Wisdom modifier, give it a total bonus
of +14 on Sense Motive checks. In addition, the sword can
detect law, and it grants its wielder free use of the Blind-
Fight feat. Finally, it can cast haste (duration 10 rounds)
on its wielder once per day. The singing sword is chaotic
neutral, with Int 11, Wis 19, Cha 15, and Ego 19. It speaks
Common and can communicate telepathically with any
creature that has a language.
Caster Level: 12th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms
and Armor, animate objects, detect law, haste; Market Price:
127,855 gp; Weight: 4 lb.Horn of Triumph: This silver trumpet is prized on
the battlefield, for its music can significantly improve
soldiers’ combat prowess. When a character with the
bardic music ability plays the horn of triumph, each
willing ally within 15 feet receives a +2 morale bonus
on all saving throws, attack rolls, ability and skill checks,
and weapon damage rolls. Furthermore, every affected
creature gains a +2 morale bonus to both Strength and
Constitution (which improves attack bonuses and
Fortitude saves accordingly) but suffers a -1 morale
penalty to AC. The instrument compels all affected
creatures to fight, heedless of danger.
The effects of the horn last as long as the musician
continues to play and the affected creatures remain
within 15 feet. Moving out of range ends the effect for
the creature that did so, but others still within the radius
retain the benefi ts. The horn can produce this magical
fanfare twice a day. It functions as a normal trumpet if its
user does not have the bardic music ability.
Caster Level: 7th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item,
emotion; Market Price: 35,380 gp; Weight: 3 lb[glow=purple,2,300]
Bards and Their Instruments[/glow]
An instrument provides a focus for the bard’s art and
helps distinguish him from a mere street minstrel.
It’s also an important part of his self-image. The choice
of an unusual signature instrument marks a bard as
someone out of the ordinary—different even from
other members of his profession.
When choosing an instrument, consider the following
points.
• If the instrument isn’t portable, you can’t carry it
alongýon your adventures. A pipe organ may be quite
impressive, but a lute or harp is likely to do you far
more good in the long run.
• Your instrument should be durable enough to
weather rough handling. After all, you never know
when you’re going to run into a music critic intent
on reducing your beloved instrument to so much
kindling. It may be a good idea to have the mending
spell in your repertoire—or at the very least, to
keep a scroll with that spell on it tucked in among
your sheet music. Besides, mending is always good for
maintaining the immaculate appearance that helps
you captivate an audience.
• Your instrument can’t be one of a kind. In addition
to the normal wear and tear that adventuring
inflicts on items, you might well lose your favorite
pipes through a dimensional vortex or in a close
call with a disintegrate spell. Loss of a signature
instrument is a sad event forýany bard, just as it
would be for a fighter who lost a favorite sword.
But if you don’t want it to cripple you from that
day forward, you had better be able to replace your
instrument. Common instruments (lutes, lap-harps,
and the like) are much easier to replace than more
exotic instruments are.
• Finally, your instrument is a reflectionýon you. It
should have a sense of style and convey something
about your personality. A halfling bard who carries a
fine old mandolin sends a very different message
than does one who sports a jaunty banjolele. Find an
instrument that matches the image you have of yourself;
popular entertainer, artiste, passionate performer/composer,
or carefree wanderer—and use it to convey that image to
others.
Instrument Descriptions Part OneEach of the following entries offers a brief description of an
instrument and notes on what races or creature types
favor it. Because of their easy availability and wide range of
notes, the three prime bardic instruments are the fiddle, the
lapharp, and the lute. Player character bards can, of course,
choose any instruments they are capable of playing. NPC bards
and musicians, however, usually choose the types their races
favor. A few races have physical limitations that prevent them
from playing certain instruments. Lizardfolk, for example, lack the
necessary lips and tongue shape for woodwinds and pipes, and
their fingers are neither delicate nor dexterous enough to pluck
strings. Dragons have similar limitations, so they rarely play
instruments other than water-pipes except in shapechanged
form. Dragons in humanoid form tend to prefer complicated,
subtle instruments such as pipe organs, lutes, or harps, though
they are capable of playing anything they wish.
Each of these instruments also provides a special enhancement
to bardic music in the hands of anyone with that ability. Some
of these enhancements alter particular bardic music effects;
others affect the listeners in new ways. If the enhancement
alters an existing bardic music effect, only the stated aspects
change; all else pertaining to that effect remains the same.
For new effects, unless otherwise stated, the listeners are all
those who can hear the music, and the effect lasts as long as
the performance does. Musicians without the bardic music ability
cannot achieve these special effects at all, and even bards get
the bardic music benefit only with masterwork versions of the
instruments. For each performance with such an instrument, a
bard can choose either the special benefit or the +2 bonus on
Perform checks that a masterwork instrument ordinarily grants.
Alphorn: A favorite of the more sophisticated giant races,
the alphorn (or white horn) is a long, straight, wooden pipe with
an upturned bell at the very end. The pipe is typically 12-20 feet
long and wound with birch bark, which gives the instrument its
pale color and distinctive hollow tone. To play an alphorn, the
musician rests the bend of the instrument on the ground and
blows into the mouthpiece. Since alphorns have no fingerholes
for altering the pitch, each can produce only one note. An
alphorn’s sound carries for great distances, so some isolated
giants use it to communicate with their distant neighbors. An
unfriendly critic once compared the result to wolves baying at
the moon, but his heirs issued a lavish posthumous apology after
the offended giants showed him the error of his ways.
Bardic Music: The alphorn’s deep pitch carries its sound to a
distance of 1d10 miles. This allows the use of inspire greatness,
countersong, and inspire courage effects even when great
distances separate the musician from his or her listeners.
Bagpipes: A set of bagpipes consists of a cloth or skin
bag fitted with three reeded pipes (drones), plus a
blowpipe and a chanter (melody pipe). The piper inflates
the bag through the blowpipe, then squeezes the air
out through the other four pipes to produce the sound.
Fingerholes in the chanter allow it to produce a wide
range of notes. Meanwhile, each of the drones emits
a single, low-pitched, buzzing tone. Together, these
provide harmony for the chanter’s tune. A few societies
prize bagpipes for their distinctive qualities, though their
music is defi nitely an acquired taste. The instrument is
very strenuous to play because the piper must keep the
bag supplied with enough air to fi ll all four pipes at once.
Therefore, a musician who can play long pieces on it
wins the grudging respect of his or her fellows, whatever
their feelings toward bagpipes in the abstract.
Bardic Music: The musician can produce an unearthly
wail that imposes a -1 morale penalty on the listeners’
saving throws against fear effects. This is a supernatural,
mind-affecting ability.
Banjolele: This instrument has a tambourinelike,
circular body with vellum stretched tightly across it
to act as a sounding board. Five metal strings span
the body of the instrument, secured by pegs at the
end of the long, straight neck. A typical banjolele is
about 18 inches in length. A favorite of halfling bards,
this instrument is otherwise rare. Some find its music
jaunty and uplifting; others maintain that it combines
all the worst characteristics of a banjo and a ukulele.
Bardic Music: When played to inspire courage, this
cheerful instrument increases the morale bonus on
saving throws against fear effects from +2 to +3 for
listeners allied with the musician.
Bell, Hanging: A hanging bell is a larger-scale
version of a handbell (see below). Hanging bells are
usually made of bronze or some other metal, though
stone versions are also known. They have no handles;
instead, they hang from pivots mounted on frames.
Hanging bells are quite large (up to several feet high)
and often weigh more than a ton each. The typical
hanging bell has a metal rod called a clapper suspended
within it. The performer usually plays a hanging bell by
swinging or tugging on a rope attached to the clapper
rather than by moving the bell itself. The rare hanging
bell that has no clapper can be played by striking
the outside with a mallet. Each of these instruments
produces only one note—the larger the bell, the
lower its pitch. The sound of a hanging bell can carry
for miles, especially when it is mounted high in a
bell tower. Thus, this instrument can be used to raise
an alarm, pass along signals, mark special occasions,
denote specific time periods (the hours of the day, the
changing of the guard, the time to pray, and so forth),
or simply make a joyous noise.
Bardic Music: When played to inspire courage, a
hanging bell weighing at least 1 ton increases the
morale bonus on allies’ saves against fear and charm
effects fromý+2 to +3. The music also imposes a -1
morale penalty on foes’ saves against those same
effects.
Bones: Despite their name, these percussion instruments
are actually small wooden blocks, typically darkcolored
and highly polished. A complete set consists of
twelve to thirty pieces, all different lengths. Each is
tapered in the middle for easy insertion between the
fingers. When struck, each “bone” gives off a hollow,
reverberating sound at a particular pitch.
The bones are played by striking pairs of pieces
together in succession, thus creating combinations of
tones. A dexterous performer can achieve a wide range
of effects by varying which pieces connect and how
long each vibrates, as well as how hard and how often
they hit.
Kobolds in particular love this form of percussion.
In fact, it is not uncommon for a kobold minstrel to
manipulate two or more pieces in each hand, switching
them off with the remaining pieces at dazzling
speed—almost as if he were juggling as well as playing.
Audiences often admire the speed of the performer’s
hand gestures as much as the music itself.
Bardic Music: The hollow, eerie, rattling of the bones
imposes a -2 morale penalty on listeners’ saving throws
against fear effects. Creating this effect is a supernatural,
mind-affecting ability.
Clavichord: The clavichord, an ancestor of the
modern piano, borrows the pipe organ’s keyboard but
substitutes horizontal strings for its pipes. Pressing a
key causes an attached metal piece to strike a string
or pair of strings inside the instrument, sounding
the note. A clavichord looks like a flat, rectangular or
oblong box about 1 foot wide and a bit more than 3
feet long. The musician typically places it on a table or
similar flat surface for a performance.
Soft and silvery in tone, the clavichord allows great
variety of expression. The volume varies slightly
according to the force with which the keys are struck, but
the instrument is never particularly loud. Clavichords
are particularly popular in orchestral arrangements and
as showpieces in the homes of well-to-do merchants.
Bardic Music: A musician using a clavichord can
maintainýonly a single bardic music or virtuoso
performance effect at a time. Because of its soft tone,
the clavichord imposes a -1 circumstance penalty on
Perform checks for countersong attempts, but it grants a
+2 circumstance bonus on Perform checks for fascinate or
suggestion. It also grants a +1 circumstance bonus on the
musician’s Diplomacy and Gather Information checks
made against audience members for 1d6 hours after the
performance ends.
Crumhorn: The true crumhorn is a triple-reed instrument
created by and favored by treant musicians, but
quite unplayable by most humanoids. A true crumhorn is
a straight tube about 6 feet long with six to eight fingerholes
and a slightly flared bell. A small wooden cup containing
the reeds serves as the mouthpiece. The human version,
about 3 feet long, produces a reedy, nasal sound quite unlike
the majestic timbre of the true crumhorn.
Though treants are the primary players of crumhorns,
dryads are also exceptionally fond of their music. Most
other forest denizens fi nd the crumhorn melodic but
melancholy.
Bardic Music: A crumhorn of any type grants the musician
a +1 circumstance bonus on all Perform checks
when the listeners are sylvan folk other than dryads.
Every such listener also incurs a -4 circumstance
penalty on saving throws made to resist the performer’s
fascinate or suggestion effects. These modifiers double for
dryad listeners. Producing the saving throw penalty is a
supernatural, mind affecting ability.
Drum: Possibly the oldest of all instruments, the
drum exists in types without number. Drums range from
simple hollow trees pounded with sticks to a celebrated
magic lake named Irontick, which a musician can “play”
by jumping up and down on its rigid surface.
A typical drum consists of skin, parchment, or
some similar material stretched tightly over the
opening of a hollow wooden cylinder or pot. This
covered opening is called the drumhead. Some drums
have only one drumhead; others have two or more.
Striking the drumhead with sticks, mallets, or even the
hands produces the sound.
Drums are popular with almost every race and
culture for their ability to stir the emotions, establish a
background beat for dancing, and provide counterpoint
for a melody produced by some other instrument. The
rare exceptions include celestials, who consider drum
rhythms primitive, and elves, who find them vaguely
disturbing and extremely annoying (a prejudice
reinforced, perhaps, by the enthusiasm with which
many of their enemies embrace them). Half-orcs,
lizardfolk, troglodytes, trolls, ogres, and the more dimwitted
giants are the races most likely to enjoy simple
drum music. Demons, of course, love an unholy din,
so they not only enjoy drums but also prefer to play
several different kinds at once.
Bardic Music: When played to inspire courage, drums
boost the morale bonus on saves against fear effects
from +2 to +4, but decrease the morale bonus on saves
against charm effects from +2 to +0.
Drums, Bongo: These small drums always come in
sets of two. One drum of each pair is about 5 inches in
diameter; the other is about 7 inches. The bongo player
can either set the drums down to play them or carry
them on a strap. Bongos are played by rapidly tapping
the drumheads with the fingertips, and a skilled
drummer can create very complex rhythms by rapidly
switching between the two drums.
Goblins are quite fond of the bongos, which they
play for entertainment, to call together war parties, and
to transmit messages through complex rhythms. All
these applications tend to sound the same to members
of other races.
Bardic Music: See drum.
Drums, Kettle: Also called timpani, kettle drums
are large, heavy, metal pots 2-3 feet high with skin
or parchment drumheads. The drummer plays them
by pounding on the drumheads with special mallets
swathed in cloth. Kettle drums come in sets of at least
two and sometimes up to fi ve individual drums, each
a different size and pitch (the larger the drum, the
deeper its tone). Because of their weight, kettle drums
are not portable.
By striking multiple drums in rapid succession, the
drummer can produce a rapid, multitone sound that
reverberates for several moments. This effect combined
with a mounting crescendo provides a rousing finale
for any musical performance.
Kettle drums are quite popular among gnolls, who
have developed highly sophisticated rhythms with
them. Most gnoll timpani concerts end with the
audience rushing to attack any convenient targets.
Bardic Music: See drum.
Dulcimer, Hammered: This instrument has a flat,
trapezoidal soundbox with several pairs of strings
stretched horizontally across it. Because of its size
(about 30 inches by 18 inches), it is usually set on
a stand at an angle rather than held on the lap. The
musician plays this unusual instrument by striking
the strings in rapid succession with tiny hammers, one
held in each hand.
Bardic Music: See zither, below.
Fiddle: An ancestor of the modern violin, the fiddle
is a small, portable, stringed instrument with a body
shaped rather like an hourglass. Four or five strings
made of gut or sinew stretch across the body, anchored
by pegs at the end of a long, thin neck. A separate
piece, called the bow, is a long, thin piece of wood
strung with fine strands of animal hair. Fiddles vary in
length between 2 feet (for Medium-size fiddlers) and
18 inches (for Small fiddlers). To play the fiddle, the
musician holds it horizontally, typically with the base
tucked under his or her chin, and draws the bow back
and forth across the strings.
The fiddle is popular among bards who prefer lively
dance music (reels or jigs) over serene but detached
“pure” music. Though it is welcome almost anywhere,
the fiddle is the favorite instrument of kobolds, whose
clever hands mastered its fingerings ages ago. (They
insist that they invented the fiddle, but other races
find that claim dubious.) Kobold minstrels and halfling
bards typically caper about while playing, showing
their audience an example of the lively dancing their
music encourages. Musicians of other races usually sit
or stand to play the fiddle.
Bardic Music: Like the other two prime bardic
instruments, the lute and the lap-harp, the fiddle
enables the performer to maintain one bardic music or
virtuoso performance effect while initiating another.
Thus, a bard could maintain a countersong effect on
one listener while inspiring courage in others.
Flute: The flute is the highest pitched of all the
woodwinds. Unlike the recorder-flute, from which
it derives, the flute is held at a right angle to the
musician’s mouth, so that air blown into it bends to the
side. Flutes range from 8 inches to about 2 feet long.
The shortest type is often called a piccolo. Each flute
has six holes (or, more rarely, eight), plus a thumbhole
that, when covered, lowers each of the other notes
by an octave. Flutes have a reputation for producing
gentle, idyllic music, but they can also create more
martial effects or distorted wailing sounds. Abyssal
fl utes always have an odd number of fi ngerholes, and
they conform to no scale or key used by humanoid
bards. Particularly in the hands of demon pipers,
they produce “music” that sounds to mortal ears like a
disharmonic combination of sharps, flats, and bizarre,
minor-key effects.
Bardic Music: See recorder-flute, below.
Gong: A gong is a large, gently curved plate, rather
like a single, huge cymbal. The typical version is made
of bronze and has a distinct, curved-in rim and a boss,
or slightly raised knob, in the center. Gongs usually
hang suspended from wooden frames to ensure that
they can reverberate freely. Both the frames and
the gongs themselves can be as simple or as highly
decorated as desired.
The sound of a gong never fails to get attention. To
play it, the musician simply strikes the boss with a
large mallet, which is usually covered with either felt
or cloth. Each gong can produce only a single note, but
it is audible to a considerable distance and reverberates
for 5 rounds after each strike. So impressive is the
sound that enthusiasts claim no other instrument can
match it.
Stationary gongs usually weigh several hundred
pounds each, so they are not suitable for adventuring.
However, they are quite popular for ceremonial music
and as warning signal devices. Primitive races often
hang circular metal shields on their walls to serve as
makeshift alarm gongs
Bardic Music: While it reverberates, the gong adds
+5 to the DC for each Concentration check made by a
listener (including the performer). Creating this effect
is a supernatural, sonic ability. When played as part of
a countersong attempt, the gong gives the user a +5
circumstance bonus on the Perform check required
for that effect.
Handbell: The handbell is a hollow, beehiveshaped
instrument with a clapper inside and a handle
at the top. Handbells are usually cast from bronze or
some other sturdy metal. A handbell is small enough
(typically 2-12 inches long) to be used in one hand. To
play one, the performer need only swing it back and
forth, causing the clapper to strike the sides repeatedly.
Each handbell produces a single, ringing note—the
larger the bell, the deeper its tone.
Handbells are usually grouped together for musical
performances. When played in specific sequences by
experts, they can produce highly complex chords and
melodies. Humans, elves, and celestials are especially
fond of handbell music.
A magic handbell can be played only if it has the
correct clapper, which may or may not be present upon
its discovery.
Bardic Music: A handbell grants the performer a
+1 circumstance bonus on Perform checks made for
countersong attempts. Additional handbells do not
increase this bonus.
Harmonica: A later refinement on pan pipes (see
below), the harmonica substitutes metal tubes for
the reeds and encloses them in a small, rectangular
casing. The musician simply blows into the top of
the harmonica at various points to produce a range of
notes. This instrument’s high, buzzing sound is popular
among some halflings and gnomes.
Bardic Music: Harmonica music warms the hearts of
commoners and other folk of humble station. Thus, a
successful Perform check in such company grants the
musician a +4 circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy,
Disguise, and Gather Information checks involving any
of those listeners for 1d6 hours after the performance
ends. In addition, it shifts the attitude of the listeners
by one category in the performer’s favor (for example,
from friendly to helpful—see the NPC Attitudes
section in Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
However, it also imposes a -4 circumstance penalty on
Intimidate checks made against such listeners for the
same period. Producing these effects is a supernatural,
mind-affecting ability.
Harp: Far less portable than its smaller cousin the
lapharp, a standing harp is often 5 or even 6 feet in
height. Its forty-six strings give it an astonishing range
of more than five octaves. An optional pedal attachment
allows the musician to raise (sharpen) or lower (flatten)
the notes, thus generating an even wider range.
Despite their size, harps are rather delicate and easily
damaged. This tends to restrict harp performances
to indoor settings, typically theaters or residences of
aristocrats rich enough to own these instruments.
Connoisseurs of harp music maintain that it is
even more ethereal and elegant than the music of a
lap-harp, although champions of the latter hold their
instruments to be richer in tone. Harps are particularly
popular among celestials and elves, but humans also
find their music pleasing.
Bardic Music: By playing the harp, the musician
can impose a -2 morale penalty on the listeners’ saves
against charm effects. This is a supernatural, mindaffecting
ability.
From
Song and Silence
