Class Requirements - Spellsinger (WRR)

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: The sounds of bells, drums, and strings sifted through the forest. What had at first sounded like a rambling cacophony was now growing into a frenzied rhythm. The animals and birds of the forest, instead of being panicked or stilled by the music, joined in, adding their chirps and howls to the thunderous melody. Indeed, something in this wild music touched my own heart, entreating me to move quickly forward and join in whatever celebration or ceremony lay beyond the edge of sight.
: Doghin, our halfling scout, slipped ahead of us. I know that he was quiet, for he always is, but any sounds he might have made would surely have been smothered beneath the music. Gently, with the same care that one might take when opening a trapped chest, he parted the bushes slightly and peeked through them. After a second, he motioned for the rest of us to come forward. With a crooked smile, he indicated the peephole and I bent down to see what he beheld.
: Beyond the wall of brambles lay a wide, circular clearing. Ornate wagons, decorated with gold and painted all the bright colors of the rainbow, were arranged in a sweeping arc. Gleaming lanterns hung from each vehicle, spilling a warm, golden light across the span between the wood and wagons.
: From our vantage point, we could see between two of the wagons to the huge bonfire at the center of the camp. Musicians clad in bright clothes with plumed hats worked feverishly over their instruments as a half-dozen incredibly beautiful women whirled and danced in a circle about the fire. With every sweeping motion of their arms or leaping kick of their legs, they seemed to fan the fire into greater intensity.
: From behind me, the wizard Aurin tugged at my arm. I started to pull my eye back from the aperture but found myself unable to do so. There was something about the music and the dance that was irresistible to me. I had to watch. I had to listen. Nothing else in the world mattered.
: I vaguely remember hearing Aurin say something like "He's entranced!" and the hands of my companions pulled me sharply away from the opening. Everything fell dim and hazy as the music washed over me and drained away. Then I drifted off into a light sleep. In my slumber, I dreamed of fires and drums and dancers.
:: -From the journal of Andreas Vanderslyke
Valantra is the name that the magic-wielding spellsingers call themselves, but the valantra are actually a nomadic folk found throughout the Heartlands and neighboring regions. Furthermore, a valantra could fit into any AD&D character class. Therefore, they will be called simply "spellsingers" here in order to identify and discuss valantra wizards in specific.
Spellsingers are an unusual variant of the standard Wizard class. As a rule, this subclass should not be available to the inexperienced player. More often it should be used by a Dungeon Master to add diversity and an air of mystery to his FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign. DMs are not only encouraged to restrict the PC spellsingers to experienced role-players, but they should have a fair amount of experience, themselves, in order to maintain control with this fascinating character in an adventuring group. Aggressive spellsingers can find numerous ways to unbalance a campaign without an alert and mechanics-savvy DM to prevent it. This kit is intended to bring a long-familiar feature of the Realms into the campaign and spur exciting role-playing—use it with that in mind.
==Restrictions==
Not everyone has the natural talent to become a spellsinger. Only the most exceptional people can master their exotic rituals and passionate magic.
===Ability Scores===
To become a spellsinger a person must possess unusual grace and intellect. To reflect this, all such characters are required to have a score of 15 or better in Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom. No matter how high their ability scores, however, spellsingers do not receive a bonus to their earned experience points.
===Racial Requirements===
Spellsingers must be human or half-elf. While many say the unusual magic they employ was first harnessed by the fair elves long ago, there are no known examples of elfish spellsingers today.
Characters of this type can be of either sex, but females seem to outnumber males by about ten to one. The reasons for this are unknown, but many sages speculate that there is some element of the female psyche that makes them better suited to this type of magic. Whether this is true or not, no one can say. Even the spellsingers themselves seem reluctant to comment on the matter.
===Alignment Restrictions===
Spellsingers can be evil, a fact demonstrated by such nefarious individuals as the Dancing Witch of the Vilhon Reach and "Mad Athla" of Tashluta, but fortunately, the majority of them are good, for they can be terrible if they become corrupted. With their powers they can break hearts as easily as heads, destroying an enemy and leaving him alive and healthy, all the longer to suffer. Obviously, player character spellsingers should not elect evil alignments.
The passionate and emotional natures of the valantra are evident in that few if any spellsingers are of lawful alignment. Most characters who pursue this class are neutral, with about 20% being chaotic.
===Dual- and Multi class Characters===
The ability of a spellsinger to open her mind to the cosmos and tap into the vast magical powers that it holds is very unusual. Unlike all other classes of characters, which require a great deal of devotion to structured and organized learning, the art of the spellsinger is a natural talent. Once someone adopts the thought patterns and emotional ways of the valantra magicians, all other styles of learning and action are impossible to follow. The reverse is also true. As a result, there are no multi-class or dual-class spellsingers on Toril.