Bard (DSC)

Bard
Ability Requirements:	Dexterity 13, Intelligence 14, Charisma 16
Prime Requisite: 	Dexterity, Charisma
Races Allowed: 	Half-elf, human
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The bard is a member of a bizarre class of entertainers and storytellers prized by the aristo- cratic city dwellers. Free citizens all, bards tour through cities in groups or individually, then travel on, making a living with their wits and talents. It’s also widely accepted that many bards lead double lives as notorious blackmailers, thieves, spies, and even assassins.
As described in the Player’s Handbook, the bard must remain mostly neutral in align- ment; that is, a bard character must have “neutral” as one of the aspects of his alignment. The bard’s profession puts him in touch with all sorts of people and situations, so he can’t afford to have a strong polarity of alignment to complicate his interaction with them.
Athasian bards have no restrictions to their armor or weapon choices. However, they tend to wear no armor, favoring more festive clothing, and their weapons are often small enough to be easily concealed.
Bards are first and foremost entertainers. Each has some skill as a singer, actor, poet, musician, and juggler. Every bard character specializes in one particular mode of perfor- mance, which should be noted on his character sheet. This skill may become pertinent in some role-playing situations.
In the cities, bards often become tools of the nobility. They’re commonly hired by one noble house and sent to another as a gift. The bards are sent not only to entertain, but usually to perform some other subtle task as well (such as robbery, espionage, or even assassination). Nobles consider it rude to turn down the gift of a bard or bard company. However, when pre- sented with a troop of bards from one’s worst enemy, it’s sometimes better to be rude and turn them away, for the consequences of their visit could be downright deadly. To get around this, the noble who hired them sometimes disguises their approach by having another noble send them. A very complicated collage of intrigue and deceit is often woven wherever bards are involved.
A bard has a bewildering variety of benefits, as noted in the following:
* A bard can use all thief abilities, including pick pockets, open locks, find/remove traps, move silently, hide in shadows, hear noise, climb walls, read languages, forge documents, bribe officials, and escape bonds. The initial values of each skill is given on TABLE XIX: THIEVING SKILL BASE SCORES (page 35), and is modified by race, Dexterity, and armor worn. Unlike thieves, bards add nothing to these base values at 1st level. Each time a bard advances a level in experience, the player receives another 20 points to distribute to his character. No more than 10 of these points can be assigned to a single skill, and no skill can be raised above 95%.
* A bard can influence reactions, as described in the Player’s Handbook.
* Music, poetry, and stories performed by the bard can be inspirational, as described in the Player’s Handbook.
* Bards learn a “little bit of everything,” as described in the Player’s Handbook.
* A bard is a master of poisons, knowledgeable in both their use and manufacture. Each level, the bard rolls 1d4, adds the result to his level, and consults TABLE XVIII below to determine which new poison he has mastered. If the bard has already mastered the poi- son indicated, he gains no new poison at that level. If the total is 18 or higher, the bard may choose any poison on the list. Once mastered, the bard can make a single applica- tion of the poison every day, using easily obtained materials. The methods of application are presented in Chapter 9: Combat in the DUNGEON MASTER Guide.
 Table 18: Bard Poisons
Level	Class	Method 	Onset 	Strength
2 	A 	Injected	10–30 minutes	15/0
3 	B 	Injected	2–12 minutes 	20/1-3
4 	C 	Injected	2–5 minutes 	25/2-8
5 	D 	Injected	1–2 minutes 	30/2-12
6 	E 	Injected	Immediate 	Death/20
7 	F 	Injected	Immediate 	Death/0
8 	G 	Injected	2–12 hours 	20/10
9 	H 	Injected	1–4 hours 	20/10
10 	I 	Injected	2–12 minutes 	30/15
11 	J 	Injected	1–4 minutes 	Death/20
12 	K 	Contact 	2–8 minutes 	5/0
13 	L 	Contact 	2–8 minutes 	10/0
14 	M 	Contact 	1–4 minutes 	20/5
15 	N 	Contact 	1 minute 	Death/25
16 	O 	Injected	2–24 minutes 	Paralytic
17 	P 	Injected	1–3 hours 	Debilitative
18+ 	* 	* 	* 	*
: * Player’s choice.
Unlike bards in other campaigns, Athasian bards don’t gain the use of magical spells at higher levels, and they never gain the ability to use magical devices of a written nature. In all cases where the rules here don’t contradict them, the rules about bards in the Player’s Handbook apply.