Difference between revisions of "Bard (FiD)"

Latest revision as of 23:23, 19 February 2025

Bards work magic through performance, using one or more performing arts, such as acting, music, song, or dance. Their magic, often used to charm and influence, can calm raging seas or even enchant death itself.

Ideas about the origin of bardic magic are as varied as the bards themselves. A popular one is that the world was made using the Song of Creation, the first song performed by the greater powers. This lingers still in the Music of the Spheres, and bards attune to this to do magic. Another idea is that bards charm mighty spirits or great powers that assist them. Wizards and clerics dismiss such notions, claiming bards merely distort spells into performances.

Bards are known by many names: orphics, troubadours, and countless titles for performers, reflecting their boundless creativity and varied traditions.

Touchstones: Ariel (The Little Mermaid, 1989), Giselle (Enchanted, 2007), Rapunzel (Tangled, 2010), Miguel (Coco, 2017).

Trauma Condition—Resonance

You use performance to activate your powers. This may attract attention but can blend seamlessly into ordinary performances. As a bard, your first Power Form must be Animal, Flux, Illusion, Life, Mind, Order, or Time. These are marked in yellow on the power list below. When gaining further powers, you can select any bard power you wish.

Special Abilities

Epic By performing for 5 minutes with an audience of scale appropriate to your tier (p 221), you reduce the stress cost of a power or Ritual you use by one.
Influence: You may expend your Special Armor to push or resist consequences of Resolve actions.
Inspiration: Two times per score you can assist a teammate without paying stress or even being there as long as they saw you perform this week. Tell us what performance inspired them. You can take this ability again to gain two additional uses.
Listener: When you gather info using Consort, Study, or Survey, you get +1d. Successfully gathering info for a score gives +1d to the engagement roll for that operation.
Social Butterfly: You never roll less than 2d indulging in vice. You may pick which dice result to use to reduce stress. For example, if you rolled a 2 and a 5 you could choose to reduce your stress by either 2 or 5. If your crew indulges with you, they may use your vice and provider but roll using their own attributes, with at least 2 dice.
Star: You gain increased effect when performing in front of an audience. You gain an additional xp trigger: Perform for an audience with scale based on tier (p 221). If your crew helped you, also mark crew xp. If you succeed at this during the score, gain +2 stash during payoff. You know all kinds of performance. If detail is desired, select a number of performance arts equal to the sum of your action ratings in Consort, Finesse, and Sway.
Tete-a-tete: Push a Resolve action to achieve one of the following: attract everyone's attention, get a scene alone with someone, or escape a location.
Powers: Air, Animal, Barrier, Darkness, Death, Earth, Electricity, Fire, Ice, Flux, Illusion, Kinesis, Life, Light, Metal, Mind, Order, Plant, Space, Time, and Water.

Strangers in the Night

˄ ˅ Celest, a bard.

˄ ˅ Haia, a mysterious heir.

˄ ˅ Kalli, an adventurous fan.

˄ ˅ Tam Tam, a crafter.

˄ ˅ Yagatan, an impressario.

Inventory

☐,☐,☐ Fine Bottle of Wine.

◯ Memento.

☐ Music Sheet.

◯ Stagewear.

Fine Bottle of Wine ☐: A highly desirable vintage, effective at loosening tongues and making an impression.
Memento ◯: A small personal item reminding you of your goals and passions. Reduces the stress cost of a power by one once per score, used after making the action roll. Playbook.
Scroll ☐: Allows one use of a power on the list of bard powers that you do not know. Playbook.
Stagewear ◯: Elegant and provocative attire, designed to captivate. Allows you to push any Resolve action roll (not just powers) at the cost of only one stress. You must carry no more than a light load and cannot use armor. Playbook.

XP

Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

You addressed a challenge using powers or your personal charm.
You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Consort 1

Sway 2

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{FiD}}{{FiD-Powers}}
-Orphic magic is worked through performance, using one or more of acting, music, song, dance, or other performing arts.
+Bards work magic through performance, using one or more performing arts, such as acting, music, song, or dance.
-Mostly used to charm and influence, a masterful orphic can calm the waves through song and even enchant death itself.
+Their magic, often used to charm and influence, can calm raging seas or even enchant death itself.
-Orphics may be known as bards, songmasters, thespians, and by a myriad of titles for performers.
-'''Trauma Condition - Turbulence
+Ideas about the origin of bardic magic are as varied as the bards themselves.
-An orphic has three lesser trauma conditions, rather than one severe one.
+A popular one is that the world was made using the Song of Creation, the first song performed by the greater powers. This lingers still in the Music of the Spheres, and bards attune to this to do magic.
+Another idea is that bards charm mighty spirits or great powers that assist them.
+Wizards and clerics dismiss such notions, claiming bards merely distort spells into performances.
-# As an orphic your first power must be the animal, flux, illusion, life, mind, order, or time power. Thereafter you can select any orphic power you wish.
+Bards are known by many names: orphics, troubadours, and countless titles for performers, reflecting their boundless creativity and varied traditions.
-# You must make some kind of performance to use your powers, which attracts attention but can also provide cover for your power use, making it seem to be just a normal performance. It is hard to see that what you do is supernatural.
-# Orphics have a hard time with relationships. You can be charming in the short term, but your long-term relationships are troubled: jealousy, infidelity, broken friendships, overzealous fans and similar over-emotional events conspire to leave you lonely.
-'''Special Abilities'''<br>
+'''Touchstones''':
-In addition to the listed powers, you have access to these special abilities.
+Ariel (''The Little Mermaid,'' 1989),
+Giselle (''Enchanted,'' 2007),
+Rapunzel (''Tangled,'' 2010),
+Miguel (''Coco,'' 2017).
-# '''Epic''' By playing for 5 minutes with an audience of scale appropriate to your tier you reduce the stress cost of a power by two. Your crew suffices if all of them are present. This applies to all downtime power use.
+=== Trauma Condition—Resonance ===
-# '''Influence:''' You may expend your '''special armor''' to reduce harm from a Resolve action consequence or to push yourself on a Resolve action.
+You use performance to activate your powers.
-# '''Inspiration:''' Two times per score you can assist a teammate without paying stress. Tell us what performance inspired them.
+This may attract attention but can blend seamlessly into ordinary performances.
-# '''Listener:''' When you gather info you get +1d and improve your position one step. You get +1d to the engagement roll for that operation.
+As a bard, your first Power Form must be Animal, Flux, Illusion, Life, Mind, Order, or Time. These are marked in yellow on the power list below.
-# '''Star:''' You gain an additional xp trigger: Perform for an audience with scale based on tier (p 221). If your crew helped you, also mark crew xp. Gain +1 stash during payoff if you performed during the score.
+When gaining further powers, you can select any bard power you wish.
-# '''Tete-a-tete:''' You can push yourself to do one of the following: ''get a scene alone with someone —learn a secret—escape a location''.
+=== Special Abilities ===
+# '''Epic''' By performing for 5 minutes with an audience of scale appropriate to your tier (p 221), you reduce the stress cost of a power or [[Rituals (FiD)|Ritual]] you use by one.
+# '''Influence:''' You may expend your Special Armor to push or resist consequences of Resolve actions.
+# '''Inspiration:''' Two times per score you can assist a teammate without paying stress or even being there as long as they saw you perform this week. ''Tell us what performance inspired them.'' You can take this ability again to gain two additional uses.
+# '''Listener:''' When you gather info using Consort, Study, or Survey, you get +1d. Successfully gathering info for a score gives +1d to the engagement roll for that operation.
+# '''Social Butterfly:''' You never roll less than 2d indulging in vice. You may pick which dice result to use to reduce stress. ''For example, if you rolled a 2 and a 5 you could choose to reduce your stress by either 2 or 5.'' If your crew indulges with you, they may use your vice and provider but roll using their own attributes, with at least 2 dice.
+# '''Star:''' You gain increased effect when performing in front of an audience. You gain an additional xp trigger: Perform for an audience with scale based on tier (p 221). If your crew helped you, also mark crew xp. If you succeed at this during the score, gain +2 stash during payoff. You know all kinds of performance. ''If detail is desired, select a number of performance arts equal to the sum of your action ratings in Consort, Finesse, and Sway.''
+# '''Tete-a-tete:''' Push a Resolve action to achieve one of the following: attract everyone's attention, get a scene alone with someone, or escape a location.
 # '''Powers:''' [[Air Powers (FiD)|Air]], <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Animal Powers (FiD)|Animal]]</span>, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;background-color:red">[[Barrier Powers (FiD)|Barrier]]</span>, [[Darkness Powers (FiD)|Darkness]], [[Death Powers (FiD)|Death]], [[Earth Powers (FiD)|Earth]], [[Electricity Powers (FiD)|Electricity]], [[Fire Powers (FiD)|Fire]], [[Ice Powers (FiD)|Ice]], <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Flux Powers (FiD)|Flux]]</span>, <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Illusion Powers (FiD)|Illusion]]</span>, <span style="text-decoration: line-through;background-color:red">[[Kinesis Powers (FiD)|Kinesis]]</span>, <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Life Powers (FiD)|Life]]</span>, [[Light Powers (FiD)|Light]], [[Metal Powers (FiD)|Metal]], <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Mind Powers (FiD)|Mind]]</span>, <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Order Powers (FiD)|Order]]</span>, [[Plant Powers (FiD)|Plant]], [[Space Powers (FiD)|Space]], <span style="background-color:yellow">[[Time Powers (FiD)|Time]]</span>, and [[Water Powers (FiD)|Water]].
-'''Strangers in the Night
+=== Strangers in the Night ===
-: ˄ ˅ Tam Tam, owner of a music shop
+: ˄ ˅ Celest, a bard.
-: ˄ ˅ Celest, orphic
+: ˄ ˅ Haia, a mysterious heir.
-: ˄ ˅ Yagatan, music agent
+: ˄ ˅ Kalli, an adventurous fan.
-: ˄ ˅ Kalle, adventurous fan
+: ˄ ˅ Tam Tam, a crafter.
-: ˄ ˅ Haia, mysterious heir
+: ˄ ˅ Yagatan, an impressario.
+=== Inventory ===
+: ☐,☐,☐ Fine Bottle of Wine.
+: ◯ Memento.
+: ☐ Music Sheet.
+: ◯ Stagewear.
-'''Items
+* '''Fine Bottle of Wine''' ☐: A highly desirable vintage, effective at loosening tongues and making an impression.
-: ☐ Music sheet that allows one use of a power on the list of orphic powers that you do not know.
+* '''Memento''' ◯: A small personal item reminding you of your goals and passions. Reduces the stress cost of a power by one once per score, used after making the action roll. '''Playbook'''.
-: ☐ Memento that reduces the stress cost of a power by one. One use.
+* '''Scroll''' ☐: Allows one use of a power on the list of bard powers that you do not know. '''Playbook'''.
-: ☐ Drink or drug that increases the effect of Sway actions against the consumer. Distinct pleasant taste and smell. One use.
+* '''Stagewear''' ◯: Elegant and provocative attire, designed to captivate. Allows you to push any Resolve action roll (not just powers) at the cost of only one stress. You must carry no more than a light load and cannot use armor. '''Playbook'''.
-: ☐ Fine cosmetics and disguise kit
-: ☐ A musical instrument or striking outfit that allows you to push any resolve action (not just powers) at the cost of only one stress. You must carry no more than a light load.
-'''XP
+=== XP ===
-* ''Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.
+* ''Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.''
-At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or
+''At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.''
-an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.
+* ''You addressed a challenge using powers or your personal charm.''
-* You addressed a challenge using powers or charm.
+* ''You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.''
-* You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
+* ''You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.''
-* You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.
-'''Starting Actions
+=== Starting Actions ===
 : Consort 1
 : Sway 2
-: 4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one
+: 4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.