PDA

View Full Version : Bard, sayings, songs and stories?



Kiyona
2013-03-26, 01:27 PM
Hello all,

I'm gonna be playing a bard some time soon and as the title suggests, I need some help gathering stuff for her.

I am looking for short stories, poems, funny limericks, ominous sayings, and stuff like that. Stuff I can memorize and spout whenever the opportunity arises. ^^

I am also looking for good songs and music that a bard could possibly be singing/playing at different times.

Here is a creepy part of a poem as a start:

We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry, thirsty roots?

(Also, please excuse my horrible english. It is not my first language and my spellcheck seems to have up and quitt wothout any word.)

Thanks a lot in advance! =)

Beleriphon
2013-03-26, 01:34 PM
Hello all,

I'm gonna be playing a bard some time soon and as the title suggests, I need some help gathering stuff for her.

I am looking for short stories, poems, funny limericks, ominous sayings, and stuff like that. Stuff I can memorize and spout whenever the opportunity arises. ^^

I am also looking for good songs and music that a bard could possibly be singing/playing at different times.

Here is a creepy part of a poem as a start:

We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry, thirsty roots?

(Also, please excuse my horrible english. It is not my first language and my spellcheck seems to have up and quitt wothout any word.)

Thanks a lot in advance! =)

Your English is just fine, its at least as good as most people that I've met. That's a good poem, very evocative and implies a great deal about goblins. It seems like a really nice bit of folk poetry. If you could add a few more verses about other creatures in the same style it would give you a good idea about the people who would have created the poem.

If you don't mind my asking, what is your first language? Most regions have a pretty robust history of song and poetry. I'd personally start in your native language and see if you can't use some of that as poetry. You can look at translations of things like the Poetic Edda, which is the history of the Norse gods as well as bunch of other stuff.

China has a long and rich history of poetry. You can often find such poems online in a variety of languages. They don't usually rhyme when translated into English but they can be quite vividly detailed. You can try http://www.chinese-poems.com/ for some Chinese poetry. Some of it is over 2000 years old.

Also, if you aren't 100% fluent in English don't worry too much about trying to get poetry to rhyme. You did a really good job but its actually not that common in English outside of a few specific forms of poetry.

Kiyona
2013-03-26, 01:44 PM
Oh, thank you for your kind words! But the poem isn't mine. I stole it from somewhere, I don't remember from where unfortunatly. It was just to get a sense of what I am looking for. =)

I speak swedish normally, but I am no poet in either language. ^^
There are a lot of great scandinavian myths and stories, I am gonna start my search there I think. =)

But I am lazy, and was hoping people here already had some small collections of the sort that I could "borrow". ^^

Beleriphon
2013-03-26, 02:06 PM
Oh, thank you for your kind words! But the poem isn't mine. I stole it from somewhere, I don't remember from where unfortunatly. It was just to get a sense of what I am looking for. =)

I speak swedish normally, but I am no poet in either language. ^^
There are a lot of great scandinavian myths and stories, I am gonna start my search there I think. =)

But I am lazy, and was hoping people here already had some small collections of the sort that I could "borrow". ^^

Well I'd start with Norse skaldic poetry then, its probably going to be the easist to find for you. The other one is to go with Chinese poetry which tends to focus on natural elements more than anything. It can be lots of fun and most are fairly short when translated into English.

For example you have Ouyang Xiu's A Light Boat With Short Oars (Picking Mulberries)

Without a wind, the water's surface lies as smooth as glaze.
I don't notice boats passing,
Tiny movements start up ripples,
Startled birds rise from the sand and graze the bank in flight.

For Japanese poetry, which is even more reliant on nature imagery I'd suggest looking at www.classical-japanese.net which as many classical Japanese poems. Not all of them are haiku either.

An example using an anonymous 12th century poet:

Tatsuta river -
red leaves are floating
in chaotic pattern;
crossing here would be
cutting their brocade...

Amaril
2013-03-26, 02:48 PM
If you know what race your bard is going to be, that might help give you an idea of the style of stuff she would know. For example, think of everything that would separate Elven music from Gnomish--that kind of stuff is important to keep in mind, if the distinction is important to you.

Also, thank you so much for posting a poem from one of the creepiest episodes of Doctor Who ever written. No sleep for me tonight :smalleek:

Kiyona
2013-03-26, 03:54 PM
She is a half-dragon actually. Su culture is human, don't know from what human culture yet, as I will have to discuss her backgrund with DM. =)

Doctor Who, of course! =) That's where I got it from. I keep writing cool stuff that I might use later, down, without noting the origin. ^^

I think the japanese and chinese poems are lovely, but a bit to "wise" for this character. But thank you so much for taking time to answer me. =) Think of her as less of a wise man and more of that annoying friend who wont stop quoting TV-shows. =)

KnightOfV
2013-03-26, 08:20 PM
A quote from my favorite "Bard" in fantasy books

"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings.
I burned down the town of Trebon.
I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life.
I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in.
I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day.
I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me. "

~Kvothe, from Name of the Wind

You can make your own list of great deeds for your character (real, exaggerated, or made up!) and list them off dramatically whenever someone asks who you are. Add to the list every time your character does something cool in game.

AntiTrust
2013-03-26, 09:08 PM
Stronghold 3 has a song called Tom of Bedlam that I really enjoyed singing as a bard once in front of the group. You can youtube the video pretty easily.

Amaril
2013-03-26, 09:35 PM
A quote from my favorite "Bard" in fantasy books

"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings.
I burned down the town of Trebon.
I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life.
I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in.
I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day.
I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me. "

~Kvothe, from Name of the Wind

You can make your own list of great deeds for your character (real, exaggerated, or made up!) and list them off dramatically whenever someone asks who you are. Add to the list every time your character does something cool in game.

This. All of this.

Wait until high level, then the SECOND someone asks your character "who are you?", give them this response. Although making up your own list of deeds is probably better if your group is familiar with The Name of the Wind (and the princess part and the Felurian part might not fit exactly with your character, unless you're playing the half-dragon version of Julie d'Aubigny (http://www.badassoftheweek.com/lamaupin.html), which would be awesome).

Kiyona
2013-03-27, 03:06 AM
A quote from my favorite "Bard" in fantasy books
Spoiler

You can make your own list of great deeds for your character (real, exaggerated, or made up!) and list them off dramatically whenever someone asks who you are. Add to the list every time your character does something cool in game.


That is perfect! Thank you!

I'll translate it to swedish and change it so that it works with the world. =)

English is houseruled as draconic though, so poems and songs still work in english. But for
Wait until high level, then the SECOND someone asks your character "who are you?", give them this response. it'll work better in swedish (=common). ^^


(and the princess part and the Felurian part might not fit exactly with your character, unless you're playing the half-dragon version of Julie d'Aubigny, which would be awesome).

I had not heard of her before, but the concept is intriguing... =)

Blightedmarsh
2013-03-27, 03:50 AM
The poem in the OP is from goblin market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_Market).

If your feeling silly then try a little Spike Mulligan.

There are holes in the sky
where the rain comes in.
The holes are small,
that's why the rains so thin.

Then you have the classic nursery rhymes that most everyone forgets as they get older. Things like the grand old duke of york, Mary Mary and sing a song o sixpence.

Kol Korran
2013-03-27, 04:06 AM
i'll give a shot with a song about the fey:

"If you come to seek the fey,
beware of the games they play.
in meadows of quick shadow, and twisting light,
the tricksters, playful will hear your plight..."

"prepare a song, a dance or rhyme,
or else you'll waste your precious time.
the fair folk poke, jest and tease,
and though it irks, be prepared to please."

"The lords and ladies have the know and the skill,
but their humor and jokes often delight on a kill.
play the game, watch your words and smile
it will hurt so much, and will hurt for awhile"

"Beware of gifts, deals and trades
for there are hidden costs, and many shades.
There are rules to the fey, strange and bizarre
If you happen to learn them, you might still get far."

"still wish to go? you are brave indeed.
we're oh quite so happy we've planted the seed.
For you see, we are the masters of song, you fool
So why don't you follow it, and come visit where we rule?"

not great, but perhaps it can be used?

Excession
2013-03-27, 04:07 AM
This one by Sam Hunt (http://www.samhunt.co.nz/) could work:


What’s that country through the Pass –
the Big Beyond – what’s it like?

no one we know made it back,
no one, not once, to tell us.

Here, heresy & hearsay,
passed on by the dead strangers.

For me, I’ve my own ideas:
one, to ride the Pass someday.

DCraw
2013-03-27, 10:15 AM
Slightly situational, but if you find yourself talking to a dragon in draconic (or you just want to impress people), you could try quoting jabberwocky:



'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Don't bother trying to translate it, though, Carol wrote it to be (partly) gibberish.

Another option (if you want something nature based) would be to modify Mackellar's "I love a sunburnt country." It was written to describe Australia, but you could change a few lines to have it describe whatever world your DM has set the game in. I'll only post the second verse, as that's both the most famous and the most easily adapted, but a quick search will give you the rest ("i love a sunburnt country" on google gives you it as the first hit). I've also added [brackets] around the adjectives you'll probably want to change.



I love a [sunburnt] country,
A land of [sweeping] plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of [droughts] and [flooding] rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide [brown] land for me!

I'll also give you a few personal favourites. I'm not sure if they will suit the tone of your campaign, but maybe you'll find something you can use:

The first will be difficult to translate (it has some distinctive Australian slang, and is basically written in phonetic descriptions of accents from the 1900s) but the attitudes it describes/criticizes is one you're VERY likely to come across (albeit mostly from npcs). If you ever get a quest from a dragon, this would be the perfect quote:



Said Hanrahan - John O'Brian

"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
In accents most forlorn,
Outside the church, ere Mass began,
One frosty Sunday morn.

The congregation stood about,
Coat-collars to the ears,
And talked of stock, and crops, and drought,
As it had done for years.

"It's looking crook," said Daniel Croke;
"Bedad, it's cruke, me lad,
For never since the banks went broke
Has seasons been so bad."

"It's dry, all right," said young O'Neil,
With which astute remark
He squatted down upon his heel
And chewed a piece of bark.

And so around the chorus ran
"It's keepin' dry, no doubt."
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

"The crops are done; ye'll have your work
To save one bag of grain;
From here way out to Back-o'-Bourke
They're singin' out for rain.

"They're singin' out for rain," he said,
"And all the tanks are dry."
The congregation scratched its head,
And gazed around the sky.

"There won't be grass, in any case,
Enough to feed an ass;
There's not a blade on Casey's place
As I came down to Mass."

"If rain don't come this month," said Dan,
And cleared his throat to speak -
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If rain don't come this week."

A heavy silence seemed to steal
On all at this remark;
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed a piece of bark.

"We want an inch of rain, we do,"
O'Neil observed at last;
But Croke "maintained" we wanted two
To put the danger past.

"If we don't get three inches, man,
Or four to break this drought,
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

In God's good time down came the rain;
And all the afternoon
On iron roof and window-pane
It drummed a homely tune.

And through the night it pattered still,
And lightsome, gladsome elves
On dripping spout and window-sill
Kept talking to themselves.

It pelted, pelted all day long,
A-singing at its work,
Till every heart took up the song
Way out to Back-o'-Bourke.

And every creek a banker ran,
And dams filled overtop;
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If this rain doesn't stop."

And stop it did, in God's good time;
And spring came in to fold
A mantle o'er the hills sublime
Of green and pink and gold.

And days went by on dancing feet,
With harvest-hopes immense,
And laughing eyes beheld the wheat
Nid-nodding o'er the fence.

And, oh, the smiles on every face,
As happy lad and lass
Through grass knee-deep on Casey's place
Went riding down to Mass.

While round the church in clothes genteel
Discoursed the men of mark,
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed his piece of bark.

"There'll be bush-fires for sure, me man,
There will, without a doubt;
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."

The next is probably easier to translate, but less likely to be quotable. It is still a beautiful poem, and a useful situation may come up:


Blackberry-Picking - Seamus Heaney

Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.
We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.


The next is another Heaney poem. It's probably only useful to justify your character's choice of bard as a profession, but it may come up:


Digging - Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pin rest; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.

If you want a pithy remark, you could easily re-purpose this poem by Atwood:


You Fit Into Me - Margaret Atwood

You fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye

[edit]: As a sidenote, depending on your groups tolerance of Monty Python material, a well timed rendition of the ballad of Sir Robin could be an hilarious jab against your party's fighter. For reference:


Bravely bold Sir Robin Rode forth from Camelot.
He was not afraid to die,
Oh brave Sir Robin.
He was not at all afraid
To be killed in nasty ways.
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin.

He was not in the least bit scared
To be mashed into a pulp.
Or to have his eyes gouged out,
And his elbows broken.
To have his kneecaps split
And his body burned away,
And his limbs all hacked and mangled
Brave Sir Robin.

His head smashed in
And his heart cut out
And his liver removed
And his bowls unplugged
And his nostrils raped
And his bottom burnt off And his pen--
("That's... that's enough music for now lads,")

Brave Sir Robin ran away.
("No!")
Bravely ran away away.
("I didn't!")
When danger reared it's ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled.
("no!")
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about
("I didn't!")
And gallantly he chickened out.
("I never did!")
Bravely taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat.
("all lies!")
Bravest of the braaaave, Sir Robin!
("I never!")

That said, this is likely to utterly destroy whatever tension your DM was trying to build

NikitaDarkstar
2013-03-27, 11:12 AM
Haven't read the entire thread so sorry about that. But I'd highly recommend skipping the norse mythology (even if it is fun) and going straight for the swedish folklore instead. It's far darker and much more interesting. Here's a few suggestions you can google:

Bäckahästen
Näcken
Kyrkogrim
Skogsrå
Huldra
gårdstomtar
Mara

And if you can get your hands on it I'd suggest looking through a book called "Läskiga vidunder och sällsamma djur" it's a bit short at times (pretty sure it's supposed to be somewhat kids friendly... as far as that's possible with swedish folklore...) but it gives a good overview on things.

Also, some very bardic'ish music you might enjoy for inspiration: http://kitsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/like-a-dancer-unstrung it's inspired by the Malazan Book of the Fallen but you might get something out of it anyway.

Kiyona
2013-03-27, 02:08 PM
Wow! You guys are so very awesome! =)

I am at work right now, so I dont have time to read it all now. I just wanted to say thank you. =) I will read it as soon as I get home tonight.

falloutimperial
2013-03-27, 06:20 PM
One translation of Faust includes a cynical couplet about the nature of humanity:
He calls it reason and it makes him free
to be more brutish than a brute can be.

Another, the invention of my brother:
Devils and demons are put to shame
against the might of imperial flame.

Hyde
2013-03-27, 06:51 PM
You could pick up a collection of poetry at your library- pick a poet or poets that thematically represent what you're going for.

I find Keats sufficiently gloomy, but really, everyone does Keats.

Lorsa
2013-03-27, 06:54 PM
You really are going the extra mile. Unfortunately I am very bad with poems, regardless of language. I am good at music and could probably write a story but poems? Unfortunately not very good.

I am not sure if you meant that you actually will be playing music during the sessions yourself (being a bard), but if you can play the flute you could adopt Moondance by Nightwish. It would sound fantasy-ish but really be a modern metal band which would just make it the more fun I think. But if you want I could try to find out a few swedish folksongs (those are usually very short and easy to learn) that you could sing. Such as "Det brinner en eld" (can be found on Spotify by Teater Sláva) although the studio recording doesn't really represent the "normal" song. And depending on your group and how humorous they can be, Roger Pontare has a lot of songs that are fantasy-ish.

In any case, lycka till.

Oh I forgot! The songs from Ronja are awesome! Just take Vargsången for example. Could definitely work as a lullaby in a D&D world.

Hyde
2013-03-27, 06:57 PM
There are no lyrics, but everything by Lindsey Stirling is worth listening to.

What'sInAName?
2013-03-27, 07:59 PM
I've been playing the video game Dragon Age 2 in my spare time, so all I can think of right now is stuff from the game. If I find (or come up with) anything later, I'll let you know, but for now ...

"What does it do? Well who can say?
It changes form from day to day.
Of unknown metal and magic keen,
A finer blade there's never been."

A short poem describing a magical sword. I doubt you'll run across a blade with those qualities, though.


Also:

"There's power in stories, though. That's all history is: the best tales. The ones that last. Might as well be mine."

Said by a character in-game, a dwarf merchant (and something of a con artist) with a love for telling grand and often entirely fabricated stories.

---

From Cyrano de Bergerac, a play by Edmond Rostand. What follows is actually a scene. Cyrano gets into an argument with some loud-mouth by the name of Valvert:

Cyrano: Yes, sir, I am a poet, as I'll demonstrate by composing an impromptu ballade while I fence with you.
Valvert: A ballad?
C: You don't know what it is? Allow me to explain.
V: But ...
C: The ballade consists of three stanzas ...
V: Oh!
C: ... with a four-line refrain at the end.
V: You!
C: I'm going to compose one as I fight with you, and when I come to the last line, I'll draw blood.
V: No!
C: No? Wait and see. "Ballade of the Duel Between Monsieur de Bergerac and An Imbecile, in the Hotel de Bourgogne"
V: What's all that?!
C: The title. Wait, I'm thinking of how to begin ... There, I have it.

I take off my hat and discard it,
I slowly abandon my cloak.
I draw my sword out of it's scabbard,
Preparing to put it to use.
For the moment, I stand here before you,
Elegent, calm, and serene,
But I warn you, my impudent scoundrel,
When I end the refrain I draw blood.

(They begin fencing)

You should have avoided this battle.
Now where shall I skewer you, you goose?
In the side, 'neath the sleeve of your doublet?
In the heart, 'neath the ribbon you wear?
No, I've carefully thought and reflected,
And finally made up my mind:
The paunch, that's where I've decided
When I end the refrain, to draw blood.

I see you give ground when I press you;
Your face is as white as a sheet;
Is "coward" a name that would suit you?
I dexterously parry the point
That you hoped to thrust into my entrails;
Your efforts are doomed to be vain.
Prepare yourself now to be punctured:
When I end the refrain, I draw blood.

(announcing solemnly) And now the refrain.

Pray God to forgive your transgressions!
The close of our combat draws near!
A coupe, then a feint, then the finish!
Now I end the refrain ... and draw blood.

Amaril
2013-03-27, 08:34 PM
"What does it do? Well who can say?
It changes form from day to day.
Of unknown metal and magic keen,
A finer blade there's never been."



I'm pretty sure this poem refers to Vigilance, a sword from the Awakening expansion pack for Dragon Age: Origins. You could get your smith to make it from an item called the Eldest Dragonbone, at which point you had to answer questions to determine what properties the weapon would have. Regardless of your answers, it was the best weapon in the game. In the epilogue to the expansion, it said that Vigilance was eventually stolen, and went on to change hands many times, becoming more and more famous and, according to some stories, eventually taking on sentience of its own.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a massive Dragon Age nerd :smallbiggrin:

What'sInAName?
2013-03-27, 08:45 PM
I'm pretty sure this poem refers to Vigilance, a sword from the Awakening expansion pack for Dragon Age: Origins. You could get your smith to make it from an item called the Eldest Dragonbone, at which point you had to answer questions to determine what properties the weapon would have. Regardless of your answers, it was the best weapon in the game. In the epilogue to the expansion, it said that Vigilance was eventually stolen, and went on to change hands many times, becoming more and more famous and, according to some stories, eventually taking on sentience of its own.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a massive Dragon Age nerd :smallbiggrin:

Oh! Could be, could be ...

I myself got the poem from the "Dragon Age wiki", where it is listed as the codex entry for a sword called The Vague Blade in Dragon Age 2. I myself have never encountered it (I always play a Rogue specializing in Archery in that game), so I'm operating on second-hand information anyways.

Regardless, it's a nifty little poem. I thought it would be a cool way for the OP's character to describe a sword or something that the players come across during their adventure.

Windy
2013-03-28, 01:18 AM
I've never been good with the poetry, but if you need stories for your bard you can harvest folk tales and re-write them to work for your campaign world. Try combining characters from two separate stories, and give them identities that could match existing people in your campaign. Folk tales are also nice because they are usually short and easy to remember. They sometimes have a pithy lesson, and sometimes it's just for a laugh. A good bard would have all kinds of stories ready for the right occasions. Folk stories can also be adapted to be told about the player characters if the party needs to impress someone of high rank.

For example, American folk tales about Davey Crockett could easily apply to a ranger in a D&D-style setting. The character may even be a living contemporary of the player characters. How exciting would it be if the DM picked up on the stories you are telling and put such a character in the game as an NPC? Here is a short one which could fit any character that is known for wilderness craft: http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/davy_crockett_and_the_frozen_d.html

Also, if you are at all musically inclined you could pick up a recorder or other inexpensive instrument and learn a few tunes by ear. I bought a plastic recorder at Wal Mart for $1 and in the last two weeks I already learned a folk song, the chorus to Eye of the Tiger, Star Wars theme, and that part of the Lord of the Rings music they always play when Frodo is longing for the Shire. That's just with a few minutes of playing around with it after work each day.

Another thing I've done before is getting a guitar app for my iPod so I can strum chords like a real guitar without having to actually learn to play guitar. If you get a good app you can line up all the right chords in a row and just switch to the next one so you don't have to remember in the middle of the song. Combine this with singing the song for maximum effect (I got bonus XP for doing a simple version of this one at a game once: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_tORtmKIjE ). Play one tune or even just one chorus at a session to set the tone of your bard's performance.

If you really can't learn an instrument, then learn some drinking songs! If drunkards can sing those, then you have no excuse! :smalltongue:

Melayl
2013-03-28, 12:37 PM
For sayings, I'd google Slovotsky's Laws. A collection of sayings by a fictional character, mostly smart-alec stuff.
Search youtube for Mercedes Lackey for some nice bard songs.

QuidEst
2013-03-28, 04:40 PM
My Bard's usual line on entering battle:
"I gotta sonnet wit' your name on it!"

AttilaTheGeek
2013-03-28, 05:32 PM
Emily Dickinson sounds great for this. Her poems are short but meaningful, cryptic, and well-known.

QuidEst
2013-03-30, 08:35 AM
I probably wouldn't use T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" in full, but dang, has it got some creepy lines to steal. If you ever get to play a Lich Bard, you pull this out.

Mistah Kurtz—he dead.

A penny for the Old Guy

I

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death’s dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind’s singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer
In death’s dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat’s coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer—

Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death’s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death’s twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o’clock in the morning.

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

AttilaTheGeek
2013-03-30, 10:10 AM
In my group, we have a running joke that every bard song is Greensleeves. Everyone but the bard thinks it's hilarious.