Bard of the Secret Chord (3.5e Prestige Class)
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Bard of the Secret Chord[edit]
| “ | I joined the academy twenty years ago. The music here, it's... It's just so beautiful. How could I leave? | ” |
| —Markus, Human Bard of the Secret Chord | ||
The Angels of the Secret Chord was once a small group and eventually developed into a large bardic academy. The academy lies high in the mountains, and the music of the bards there echo throughout the valleys, bringing peace to all it's inhabitants.
Becoming a Bard of the Secret Chord[edit]
Many Bards are in the academy, but few can call themselves Bards of the Secret Chord. Bards of the Secret Chord focus on charisma, just like other bards. The only difference between Bards of the Secret Chord and normal Bards are their abilities.
| Alignment: | Non-Lawful, Non-Evil |
|---|---|
| Skills: | Perform(Any one musical instrument) +14 |
| Feats: | Extra Music, Disguise Spell, Song of Overwhelming Valor |
| Class: | Bard Level 6. |
| Special: | Must be indoctrinated into the Angels of the Secret Chord. This involves being a member of the Angels of the Secret Chord's music academy, gaining a senior member's recommendation, and passing a musical test (Succeeding 3 Perform checks [DC 25]). Once you are accepted as a Bard of the Secret Chord you no longer have to stay involved officially in the academy, although you must be at the academy in order to level into this class. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Spellcasting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Bardic Melody, Pleasant Melody | +1 of Bardic Spellcasting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Echoing Music | +1 of Bardic Spellcasting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Peaceful Melody | +1 of Bardic Spellcasting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | +1 of Bardic Spellcasting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +6 | +6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +6 | +6 | +1 of Bardic Spellcasting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Melody of the Secret Chord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features[edit]
Spellcasting: Bards of the Secret Chord gain additional spells per day and spells known as if they had just leveled in Bard at 1st level and every other level thereafter.
Bardic Melody: Bardic Melody works just as Bardic Music, but can only be used with a musical instrument (No singing, chanting, or dancing).
Pleasant Melody: A Pleasant Melody can be played by a Bard of the Secret Chord if they have at least 14 ranks in Perform. Allies within 30 ft of the Bard gain a bonus to attack rolls equal to the Bard's charisma modifier, and enemies (Or creatures the Bard decides on) within 30 ft of the Bard take a penalty equal to half the Bard's charisma bonus to Ac if they fail their will save. (DC 10+Bard of the Secret Chord level+Cha mod). The Bard can play this melody for 5 rounds before starting over.
Echoing Music: Bards of the Secret Chord play melodies and songs that echo to reach the ears of anyone nearby. The range of the Bard's musical abilities is increased by 30 ft.
Peaceful Melody: Bards of the Secret Chord of 5th level with 18 ranks in Perform can play a Peaceful Melody to calm wars and arguments. Anyone within 60 ft (90 with Echoing Music) of the Bard gets a will save (DC 10+Bard of the Secret Chord level+Cha mod) to resist the effect. Anyone that fails their will save is immediately affected by the Calm Emotions spell, as if they had failed the save. The Bard then chooses which targets gain which bonus. The targets can gain either a bonus to Diplomacy, Sense Motive, or Bluff equal to the Bard's charisma mod, or take an equivalent penalty to one of those skills instead. The Bard can play this melody for 5 rounds, but it's affects last for 3 minutes after the creature has been affected. Creatures affected by this melody multiple times do not have it's bonus/penalty stacked.
Melody of the Secret Chord: Once a day a Bard of the Secret Chord of 10th level with 22 ranks in Peform can play the melody of the secret chord. Creatures within 30 ft of the Bard (60 with Echoing Music) must succeed a will save [DC 15+Bard of the Secret Chord level+Charisma Mod] or permanently have their alignment change one step closer to good, having no effect on good-aligned creatures. Creatures affected by this ability cannot be affected by it again, but the effects of Melody of the Secret Chord are irreversible without a Wish or Miracle spell, if the character even wants it reversed. This affects all creatures, even Outsiders, Animals, Undead, Etc. Creatures immune to mind affects can still be affected by the Melody, but gain a +5 bonus to their will save. Creatures that were Evil with the Evil Subtype lose the Evil Subtype.
Ex-Bard of the Secret Chord[edit]
Bards that become Lawful in this class cannot progress any further in it. Bards that become evil lose all abilities from this class.
Campaign Information[edit]
Playing a Bard of the Secret Chord[edit]
Bards of the Secret Chord are peace keepers, mostly. They try to understand which side of an argument is the side of good, and then use their melodies to calmly sway the argument to that side. These Bards rarely go adventuring on long journeys without practicing their music or composing constantly.
Combat: Bards of the Secret Chord either assist their allies in combat with melodies and magic or try to end the combat diplomatically, if possible.
Advancement: Bard related classes.
Resources: Bards of the Secret Chord can sometimes call upon other Bards of the Academy for assistance, if they're nearby, and if the Bard is still an official member of the academy.
Bards of the Secret Chord in the World[edit]
| “ | Oh my god... What have I done? I've... I've killed people... I don't understand. What is this?! | ” |
| —Azazal, A Balor affected by the Melody of the Secret Chord | ||
NPC Reactions: NPCs that recognize a Bard of the Secret Chord as what he is would applaud and ask them to play. They're well known in some parts of the world as master composers.
Angels of the Secret Chord Lore[edit]
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Local) can research Bards of the Secret Chord to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | This Bard is a member of the Angels of the Secret Chord, a master academy of composers and musicians. |
| 18 | Bards of the Secret Chord are good, and attempt to affect the minds of others with their music for the greater good. |
| 23 | They are masters of the Secret Chord, said to have been composed long ago that pleased the gods. It can cause evil creatures to see the errors of their ways. |
| 26 | Knowledge of a specific Bard of the Secret Chord |
Bards of the Secret Chord in the Game[edit]
Adaptation: If you don't want the Angels of the Secret Chord Academy to actually exist in your world, then the Bard can come from any good aligned bard guild/college.
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