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View Full Version : Harmonizing Vs Lingering Song and Melodic Casting



A Ladder
2010-11-21, 06:02 PM
Soo... I can get a +1 weapon enhancement that allows me to have the same exact effect of lingering song and melodic casting. I can have a music effect last for ten rounds after I play something and then I can also cast spells due to effect being continued by harmonizing.

Is there something I'm missing? It looks like I can skip two "very important" feats in a bard build for a pithy +1 enchantment. (I realize that I cannot have two effects going at the same time [which is what Lingering does] and that I can't use perform for concentration checks [per Melodic Casting]).

So are these feats really worth it?

Harmonizing:
A harmonizing weapon accompanies you in song if drawn, granting a +2 competence bonus on Perform (sing) checks.
In addition, if you hold a harmonizing weapon when you begin a bardic music effect, the weapon can continue the effect for you, allowing you to focus on other efforts. One round after you begin a bardic music effect that allows or requires continued use or concentration (including inspire courage, countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire greatness, song of freedom, and inspire heroics), the weapon picks up and continues the performance flawlessly for 10 rounds, until you start another bardic music effect, or until you command it to end as a swift (mental) action.
Lingering Song:
If you use bardic music to inspire courage, inspire greatness, or inspire heroics, the effect lasts for 1 minute after an inspired ally stops hearing you play.
Melodic Casting:
Whenever a Concentration check would be required to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability (such as when you cast defensively or are distracted or injured while casting), you can make a Perform check instead.
In addition, you can cast spells and activate magic items by command word or spell completion while using a bardic music ability. Bardic music abilities that require concentration still take a standard action to perform.

Keld Denar
2010-11-21, 06:22 PM
Melodic Casting is slightly different. I don't think you can pick a song back up from a Harmonizing weapon without using another music use. Melodic Casting allows you to keep up the same song even while casting spells or using wands and staves.

Plus, Melodic Casting allows you to replace nearly every use of concentration with perform. This saves you 1 skill point per level and bases defensive casting on Cha, your primary stat, which is also nice.

Harmonizing pretty much just replaces Lingering Song. It doesn't fully replace Melodic Casting.

tyckspoon
2010-11-21, 06:23 PM
Melodic Casting is somewhat useful, although not useful enough that I would bother taking it if I could get a Harmonizing weapon instead. Lingering Song is completely not worth a feat, and the weapon can totally take up that job as a bonus for saving you a feat on Melodic Casting.

Keld Denar
2010-11-21, 06:28 PM
Melodic Casting is also a prereq feat for Lyric Thamateurge, a decent casting PrC for a few levels.

Volos
2010-11-21, 06:31 PM
Plus, Melodic Casting allows you to replace nearly every use of concentration with perform. This saves you 1 skill point per level and bases defensive casting on Cha, your primary stat, which is also nice.

Not to mention Versatile Performer, which will give you extra types of perform for free and a bonus for using two or more together while performing. Between that and Melodic Casting, you'll end up with alot of free skill points and amazing Perform checks (err... Concentration Checks).

A Ladder
2010-11-21, 06:33 PM
Thanks for the reply guys. Looks like Melodic Casting still has its place.

Versatile Performer- what book is that in? it intrigues me...

Keld Denar
2010-11-21, 07:03 PM
Versatile Performer is in CAdv, pg 112. Its kinda dumb though. You get "effective" ranks in a number of other perform subcatagories for each point of Int bonus you have. So if you have ranks in Perform: Sing, and a +3 Int mod, you could also make Perform: Dance, Perform: Drums, or Perform: Finger Cymbols as well. Since they aren't REAL ranks, they don't count for feats like Snowflake Wardance (which requries ranks in Perform: Dance) or for PrCs that require a specific type of perform skill.

That said, you do get a +2 unnamed bonus for each other type of perform you can perform at the same time. So if you have a decent int score and you can sing, dance, play the drums with one hand, and play the finger cymbols with the other, you could get a +6 untyped bonus on your Perform check, which, if you remember, is the DC for various save based mechanics such as Facinate and Suggestion. It does look kinda rediculous if you take to to theoretical levels though...

Ryuuk
2010-11-21, 08:33 PM
Versatile Performer is in CAdv, pg 112. Its kinda dumb though. You get "effective" ranks in a number of other perform subcatagories for each point of Int bonus you have. So if you have ranks in Perform: Sing, and a +3 Int mod, you could also make Perform: Dance, Perform: Drums, or Perform: Finger Cymbols as well. Since they aren't REAL ranks, they don't count for feats like Snowflake Wardance (which requries ranks in Perform: Dance) or for PrCs that require a specific type of perform skill.

That said, you do get a +2 unnamed bonus for each other type of perform you can perform at the same time. So if you have a decent int score and you can sing, dance, play the drums with one hand, and play the finger cymbols with the other, you could get a +6 untyped bonus on your Perform check, which, if you remember, is the DC for various save based mechanics such as Facinate and Suggestion. It does look kinda rediculous if you take to to theoretical levels though...

Honestly, I'd find someone doing all of that at the same time to be pretty fascinating, at least in a 'What is this I don't even' sense.

A Ladder
2010-11-21, 09:58 PM
Versatile Performer is in CAdv, pg 112. Its kinda dumb though. You get "effective" ranks in a number of other perform subcatagories for each point of Int bonus you have. So if you have ranks in Perform: Sing, and a +3 Int mod, you could also make Perform: Dance, Perform: Drums, or Perform: Finger Cymbols as well. Since they aren't REAL ranks, they don't count for feats like Snowflake Wardance (which requries ranks in Perform: Dance) or for PrCs that require a specific type of perform skill.
.

darn. I was hoping to grab that feat to reduce the need to drop skill points into Snowflake... oh well. looks like i wont be too focused on being a skill monkey.

Tyger
2010-11-21, 10:22 PM
darn. I was hoping to grab that feat to reduce the need to drop skill points into Snowflake... oh well. looks like i wont be too focused on being a skill monkey.

Well, put the points into Perform Dance, but have effective levels in X other perform skills, which are almost always just as good. Problem solved.