Bardic Magery
Magery can be bought with the Song Limitation (cheaper)
Bards can also gain the Channeling Advantage (allowing deity or other power to flow through them) with it based off of Singing (or other musical ability) instead of based off of Will as normal.
- This is skills cost less than attributes so this special advantage makes Channeling cost 20% more.
- This ability can be comparable to soothsaying as it can grant the Bard knowledge.
Musical Influence could be a Very Hard core skill for Bardic Magic using the Ritual Magic system
- You would learn Musical Influence, and then each college of magic as an IQ/Very Hard "college skill" or "path" (this Path cannot exceed the Core Skill of Musical Influence).
- From there a Musical Influence Ritual Caster can cast any spell at default, as a Hard technique with a default to the associated college skill or path.
- The default is at a penalty equal to the spell's prerequisite count, to raise it, the bard must have at least one point in the college skill, and can entirely ignore the prerequisites for raising the skill.
- Spells cannot exceed the associated college skill or path.
- Musical Influence (instead of Magery) adds to the college skills or paths, and spells.
- From there a Musical Influence Ritual Caster can cast any spell at default, as a Hard technique with a default to the associated college skill or path.
BARD-SONG
This is the power of magical song. Its abilities are subject to the Bard-Song limitation. Rolls to use them are made at a bonus equal to the bard’s Bardic Talent level.
Power Modifier: Bard-Song -30%
Bard-Song abilities require the bard to sing or play a musical instrument at skill 14+; all effects end immediately if he stops. Anything that affects others only works on targets who can hear the music, while any messages or instructions the bard sends have to be hidden in song. Bard-Song abilities are also subject to the constraints on wizardly magic: they need mana to work, Dispel Magic can end their ongoing effects, and modifiers such as the -5 for low mana and penalties for Magic Resistance apply to rolls to use them.
Bard-Song Abilities
Empathy (PM, -30%) [11]; Mimicry (PM, -30%) [7]; Mind Control (PM, -30%) [35]; Rapier Wit (PM, -30%) [4]; Speak With Animals (PM, -30%) [18]; Subsonic Speech (PM, -30%) [7]; Telecommunication (Telesend; PM, -30%) [21]; Terror (PM, -30%) [21]; and Ultrasonic Speech (PM, -30%) [7].
Bardic Talent 8 points/level
Bardic Talent both adds to Bard-Song rolls and lets the bard cast Communication and Empathy and Mind Control spells (only!) as if he were a wizard who had the same level of Magery with the Song limitation.
Bardic Skills
Those with any points in Bard-Song can learn Captivate (p. B191), Hypnotism (p. B201), Musical Influence (p. B210), Persuade (p. B191), Suggest (p. B191), and Sway Emotions (p. B192).