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Monday, May 9, 2011

Building a Better Bard - Singing Spells - Part IV (Swords & Wizardry)


Part of my love of Bards probably goes back to the Spellsinger series of books by Alan Dean Foster.  It wasn't the best fantasy series, but for me, it defined that "Bardic Moment".  Bards are cool.  Bards also need spells.

So, here's my proposed spell progression:

Level Spell   1     2     3     4

Bard    1       1
Level   2       2
            3       3
            4       3     1
            5       4     2
            6       4     3
            7       4     3     1
            8       4     3     2
            9       4     3     3
          10       4     4     3     1
          11       5     4     3     2
          12       5     4     4     3
          13       5     5     4     4
          14       5     5     5     4
          15       5     5     5     5

And the proposed spell lists:
(M = M/U Spell, C=Cleric Spell, D=Druid Spell)

1st Level Spells / Songs
1 - Charm Person (M1)
2 - Detect Magic (M1)
3 - Hold Portal (M1)
4 - Light (M1)
5 - Read Language (M1)
6 - Sleep (M1)

2nd Level Spells / Songs
1 - Cure Light Wounds (C1)
2 - Mirror Image (M2)
3 - Phantasmal Force (M2)
4 - Hold Person (C2)
5 - Detect Evil (C1)
6 - Pyrotechnics (M2)

3rd Level Spells / Songs
1 - Suggestion (M3)
2 - Protection From Normal Missiles (M3)
3 - Silence 15'R (C2)
4 - Protection Against Fire (C3)
5 - Slow (M3)
6 - Obscuring Mist (D2)

4th Level Spells / Songs
1 - Charm Monster (M4)
2 - Confusion (M4)
3 - Hold Monster (M5)
4 - Neutralize Poison (C4)
5 - Clairaudience (M3)

2 comments:

  1. I like the slowed progression. How about letting the Bard be able to improvise instead of having to choose his spell for the day:

    So a Level 1 Bard only gets to cast one spell but it can be any from his songbook.

    This would allow for more creativity and freedom, further differentiating the Bard from a MU.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @geordieracer - I like your idea. I'm sold!

    start with 3 spells at 1st in the songbook, add one spell with each new level of the players choice

    ReplyDelete

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