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View Full Version : A question about Bards in Vilhon Reach, Amn and Tashalar.



Clistenes
2015-10-20, 03:06 PM
A question for FR sages: There are a few places in Toril, like Vilhon Reach, Amn and Tashalar were Wizards and Sorcerers are greatly feared and distrusted, and they are either exiled or forced to register and serve the state or just ostracized. It doesn't seem like Clerics and Paladin suffer the same stigma (which makes sense, it wouldn't be smart to mess with the servants of the gods themselves)...

But what about Bards? They aren't as dangerous and feared as Wizards and Sorcerers are... are they forced to register and serve the state in Amn? Are the feared and shunned or even exiled in Tashalar and Vilhon Reach?

Do you have any information about this? Do you know about any NPC Bard from those countries/regions?

Millstone85
2015-10-23, 06:20 AM
Well, I learnt something here. The 4e Vilhon Wilds, with their economy built around spellscar pilgrims, used to be a place where wizards were shunned. The spellplague must have had a sense of humor.

Clistenes
2015-10-24, 01:07 PM
I was speaking of the Realms before the Spellplague. I prefer to ignore everything Realms-related that happened from 1385 onwards.

Darth Ultron
2015-10-24, 02:07 PM
No place in the Forgotten Realms is anti bard that I have seen. Thought the realms mostly has bards as ''people that make music'' and not ''arcane spellcasters''. Bards, a lot like rangers and paladins just never really cast spells (ever seen Drizzt cast a spell?).

There are bards in Amn, Tashalar and Vilhon Reach. Ankem Nhriil, for example, Holds of the office of The Herald's office of the Stars in Athkatla in Amn. No one famous, but then bards are rare to see officially. Unless you count Storm as a ''bard'' and she is most certainly not one. And even as a ''20th level bard'', you just about never see Storm cast any spells...and, sadly, when she does they are crazy ''more powerful then a wish'' type magic. And when Storm like ducks and covers from some goblins she never, ever uses even a 1st level bard spell to do anything, but will instead do something mundane like ''throw a rock''....

So the official answer is ''bards are more forgotten and overlooked then anything else''.

Clistenes
2015-10-24, 05:35 PM
No place in the Forgotten Realms is anti bard that I have seen. Thought the realms mostly has bards as ''people that make music'' and not ''arcane spellcasters''. Bards, a lot like rangers and paladins just never really cast spells (ever seen Drizzt cast a spell?).

There are bards in Amn, Tashalar and Vilhon Reach. Ankem Nhriil, for example, Holds of the office of The Herald's office of the Stars in Athkatla in Amn. No one famous, but then bards are rare to see officially. Unless you count Storm as a ''bard'' and she is most certainly not one. And even as a ''20th level bard'', you just about never see Storm cast any spells...and, sadly, when she does they are crazy ''more powerful then a wish'' type magic. And when Storm like ducks and covers from some goblins she never, ever uses even a 1st level bard spell to do anything, but will instead do something mundane like ''throw a rock''....

So the official answer is ''bards are more forgotten and overlooked then anything else''.

But bards like Ankem Nhriil have to serve the government a month per year, just like wizards and sorcerers, don't they? Is there any clue about what they are forced to do?

About Tashalar, you would think that they would be suspicious of any user of arcane Illusion magic, given their dislike of Nimbral and Samarach...

EDIT: The drow bard/cleric Halisstra Melarn used quite a bit of bardic magic, and in the Swords and Songs series a few paladins use magic too. Finder Wyvernspurr was quite skilled in magic too.

Darth Ultron
2015-10-24, 10:51 PM
But bards like Ankem Nhriil have to serve the government a month per year, just like wizards and sorcerers, don't they? Is there any clue about what they are forced to do?

We don't know. They simply don't mention bards. We are not given any clues.



About Tashalar, you would think that they would be suspicious of any user of arcane Illusion magic, given their dislike of Nimbral and Samarach...

Maybe, but there just is not a little officially written about that whole area.



EDIT: The drow bard/cleric Halisstra Melarn used quite a bit of bardic magic, and in the Swords and Songs series a few paladins use magic too. Finder Wyvernspurr was quite skilled in magic too.

How many bard spells did Halisstra really use though? Sure she sang a couple times, more so then just about every other Realms bard.

And Finder? He is another super uber arch mage that just ''says he is a bard''. Though Joel the Rebel Bard, as a cleric of Finder is very ''bard like''.