Draconi Redfir
2024-01-07, 05:07 PM
Context:
I fully expect this song to not be fully feasible / balanced, it's my first take on it. if you have any thoughts on how it could be better, I'd love to hear it.
At the end of my previous campaign, my level 17 Bard was recruited to sing lullabies to a sleeping Great Old One to keep it from waking up and destroying the city it was napping under. I thought a good "long term goal" for her could be to try and use these lullabies to permanently kill the Old One.
I realize it probably doesn't make much sense for Undead to be targeted by this, but at the same time it feels wrong to have them just be completely immune.
I understand this masterpiece is ridiculously strong, but i thought the high performance cost, the long performance time, the fact that the Performer can ALSO suffer the effect, and the fact that it was designed to kill an Old One helps balance it out a bit.
The masterpiece is heavily inspired by this youtube video. (https://youtu.be/7UEp9wY27ls?si=GyNd07TGDNcC0dt8)
Bardic Masterpiece: Perish Song (Sing)
This beautiful yet haunting lullaby summons the essence of Death itself into your presence, it will be the last thing you ever hear.
Prerequisites:
Perform (Sing) 15 ranks, Perform (String, Key, or Percussion) 10 ranks, Bardic Performance.
Cost: Feat or 6th-level bard spell known.
Effect: Living and Undead creatures (including the performer) who can hear this performance must make a Will save upon the performance's completion. If the performance is interrupted at any point, all creatures (including the performer) act as if they heard less then the entire performance. Creatures who hear less then sixty seconds (10 rounds) total of the performance do not need to make a save.
If the creature heard less then the entire performance, or was in some way able to muffle the sound (such as through covering one's ears) in time, then upon a failed Will save, they suffer Constitution damage equal to half of their total constitution score. (Charisma score for Undead) On a successful save,they become Nauseated for 1d6 rounds.
If the Creature heard the entire performance, then on a failed Will save, their Constitution score (Charisma score for Undead) is immediately reduced to 0, killing them instantly, silently, and painlessly. On a successful save, their Constitution score (Charisma score for Undead) Is reduced to a 1.
Use: 40 Bardic performance rounds
Action: 40 full rounds. (4 minutes)
Originally i thought of having different outcomes for "heard less then 14th of song" and "Heard about 3/4 of song" and "Roll a d100 if you're the performer to see if you die on the song's completion". But that felt like it just made things too complicated, so i tried to keep things simple.
Thoughts?
Edit: Thanks for all the quality feedback everyone, been a big help! thanks! 👍
I fully expect this song to not be fully feasible / balanced, it's my first take on it. if you have any thoughts on how it could be better, I'd love to hear it.
At the end of my previous campaign, my level 17 Bard was recruited to sing lullabies to a sleeping Great Old One to keep it from waking up and destroying the city it was napping under. I thought a good "long term goal" for her could be to try and use these lullabies to permanently kill the Old One.
I realize it probably doesn't make much sense for Undead to be targeted by this, but at the same time it feels wrong to have them just be completely immune.
I understand this masterpiece is ridiculously strong, but i thought the high performance cost, the long performance time, the fact that the Performer can ALSO suffer the effect, and the fact that it was designed to kill an Old One helps balance it out a bit.
The masterpiece is heavily inspired by this youtube video. (https://youtu.be/7UEp9wY27ls?si=GyNd07TGDNcC0dt8)
Bardic Masterpiece: Perish Song (Sing)
This beautiful yet haunting lullaby summons the essence of Death itself into your presence, it will be the last thing you ever hear.
Prerequisites:
Perform (Sing) 15 ranks, Perform (String, Key, or Percussion) 10 ranks, Bardic Performance.
Cost: Feat or 6th-level bard spell known.
Effect: Living and Undead creatures (including the performer) who can hear this performance must make a Will save upon the performance's completion. If the performance is interrupted at any point, all creatures (including the performer) act as if they heard less then the entire performance. Creatures who hear less then sixty seconds (10 rounds) total of the performance do not need to make a save.
If the creature heard less then the entire performance, or was in some way able to muffle the sound (such as through covering one's ears) in time, then upon a failed Will save, they suffer Constitution damage equal to half of their total constitution score. (Charisma score for Undead) On a successful save,they become Nauseated for 1d6 rounds.
If the Creature heard the entire performance, then on a failed Will save, their Constitution score (Charisma score for Undead) is immediately reduced to 0, killing them instantly, silently, and painlessly. On a successful save, their Constitution score (Charisma score for Undead) Is reduced to a 1.
Use: 40 Bardic performance rounds
Action: 40 full rounds. (4 minutes)
Originally i thought of having different outcomes for "heard less then 14th of song" and "Heard about 3/4 of song" and "Roll a d100 if you're the performer to see if you die on the song's completion". But that felt like it just made things too complicated, so i tried to keep things simple.
Thoughts?
Edit: Thanks for all the quality feedback everyone, been a big help! thanks! 👍