Music hurts

[Demons_eye]

New to dnd but had an idea. Sense you can enchant rings and what not, can't you make instruments weapons? I am not shure if this has been done yet , if it has this is my spin.

You have to enchant a weapon like you would a ring or other weapon only with a spell ie: fire ball. Then in combat a instruments player would make a play check to see how hard he hits.

He plays bad he hits low. Plays good hits good. This would be bad for the instruments the magical abilty only able to stay for a little while. A lesser instruments would be destroyed after a long time eposed to the magical abilty while a Master Work instruments would last longer.

What you think? Any help, I would not know how to set this up

[Icewalker]

Sounds like quite a fun Bard item. Can cast a spell with level determined by a Perform check. I like it.

Perhaps infinite use, but if used repeatedly, every use after say...3 per day, there is a cumulative 10% chance it is destroyed. Then, each day, the destruction chance does not reset, but is reduced by 20%. If there is still a chance over 0% at the beginning of a day, it doesn't have the three free uses, but continues stacking up the destruction chance from use 1...

This, like most of my ideas, is very complicated. Let me give an example:

Bard with the lute of musical fireball.
Day 1: uses lute 3 times. No destruction chance, instrument functions normally.

Day 2: uses lute 4 times. first 3 times: no destruction chance. 4th time, there is a 10% chance the lute bursts into flames and disintegrates.

Day 3: a 10% chance - 20% = -10%. The lute can be used 3 times before it begins stacking up destruction chance: it is functioning normally. Bard uses it 3 times, no destruction chance.

Day 4: Bard has a dangerous day: uses the lute 6 times. on use #4 it has a 10% chance to be destroyed. Use #5 gives a 20% chance to be destroyed. Use #6 has a 30% chance.

Day 5: 30% - 20% = 10%. On day 5 the lute does not have its 3 free uses. The first use has a 20% chance to be destroyed (going up 10% from its current state), the next 30%, etc. Lute is used only once on day 5.

Day 6: 20% - 20% = 0%. Lute is back to normal. It has 3 free uses, and after that begins its cumulative 10% destruction chance.



I like it...

[Demons_eye]

yes thats the lines I wanted this to go in other coments? (i work nights so i will only be up from 1 pm to early morning.

[mockingbyrd7]

I like the idea of an "electric" guitar that fires lightning bolts.

[Hazkali]

I like Icewalker's suggestion. It just seems...right, although I have no idea if it's mechanically balanced or what the pricing would be.

One thing I would point out is that it isn't particularly flavoursome to have an instrument do flashy Wizard spells; Perhaps powered-up versions of some of the Bard spells would be better?

On a similar note, I think there is an item a bit like this in one of the old sourcebooks...probably either Song and Silence or Arms and Equipment Guide. Perhaps someone could dust it off for 3.5?

[MorkaisChosen]

Drum of Sound Burst? Hell yeah.

I think it should be Bard spells- that works best with the flavour, because Bards can't do Silent spells; musical items that do spell effects should work like that.

Plus, Drum of Silence. Need I say more?

[Hazkali]

Plus, Drum of Silence. Need I say more?

I like that idea, something that could be used by evil cultists commiting dark rites below a sleeping city to stifle the cries of their victims...insta-plot hook!