The Magic of Song
Sonorism and Bardic Magic

Song magic is the magic of the elves. It is a subtle art, gentle and calming. Where arcane magic attacks and divine magic commands, song magic persuades. Practitioners of this branch of magic use the sound of their voice to charm the weave. Just as a skilled pipist can charm a deadly snake, so sonorists can mesmerise the weave, encouraging it into new shapes and forms and into spells of any conceivable effect.

Why the elves should have developed such powers while other races have not is a question best answered by individual campaign settings. On the world of Iourn elves have a special relationship to the Weave and the source of all magic that has never been properly explored in any previous or current campaign.

Sonorism

Availability: The GM will probably want to limit the availability of Sonorism - particularly among player characters. Elves will not teach the secrets of Sonorism to other races. The following classes use Sonorism: Sonorist.

Spellcasting: Sonorism combines the power and spontaneity of divine magic with the breadth of choice and range of arcane magic. Only Draconic Magic equals Sonorism in terms of variety and power. Is it any wonder that the elves are considered such a magical race? Sonorists may learn any spell from any spell list, including healing magic - although some spells may be unavailable at the GM's discretion. Sonorists do not need to prepare their spells ahead of time. All spells cast by a sonorist have a verbal component that takes the form of singing, chanting or reciting. Because of this sonorists can never take the Silent Spell feat, and are generally crippled in silenced areas.

Sonorists sing, chant or recite to cast spells. Casting spells in such a fashion causes fatigue to the sonorist's throat. The sonorist can therefore only cast a certain number of spells without resting. This threshold is represented by a sonorist's spell points. At each level sonorists gain a number of spell points as shown in the Spell Point section. Sonorists with high Charisma scores also gain bonus spell points that are added to this total.

Sonorists can freely cast any spell in their repetoire on a point for point basis - e.g. a fifth level spell costs five spell points - up to their maximum spell point total. When this point is reached they must rest their throat. Sonorists recover one eighth of their spell point total per hour of rest. Rest is defined as not speaking. A sonorist may (at the GM's discretion) get away with saying a couple of words, but any circumstance that causes prolonged use of the voice means that the hour is wasted. No magic can heal the fatigue to a sonorist's throat more quickly than rest.

Cantrips (0-Level spells) do not cost spell points and do not cause any fatigue to the throat. However, casting a cantrip counts as a prolonged use of the voice, and an hour in which a cantrip is cast cannot be classed as a hour of rest.

Gaining Spells: Sonorists gain access to cantrips and 1st level spells at level one, 2nd level spells at level three and to each subsequent level of spells at each odd numbered level thereafter to a maximum of 9th level spells at level seventeen. Sonorists start play knowing all the cantrips in the PHB (from all spell lists) and a number of 1st level spells equal to six + Charisma modifier. Other classes that use sonorism might have different progressions.

Every time a sonorist gains a level he may automatically add four spells to his repetoire. These spells come from personal study and meditation. These spells can be of any level the sonorist can cast. However, there is no limit to the number of spells a sonorist can know. Sonorists can invent new spells using the mechanics available to practitioners of wizardry. Sonorist spells are seldom written down so copying form a printed source is not an option, although a sonorist may be taught a spell by another sonorist.

Metamagic: Sonorists are spontaneous casters and may add metamagic effects directly to their spells as they are cast. Sonorists must have the appropriate metamagic feat, and be of a sufficient level (and have sufficient spell points) to cast the enchanced version of a spell. Metamagically enhanced spells are cast as a full round actions. Sonorists cannot benefit from the Quicken Spell feat.

Bardic Magic

Availability: Bards are quite common in many campaigns, and therefore this branch of magic also tends to be quite common. Although it uses the same mechanics as Sonorism it should be immediately apparent that it is nowhere near as powerful. The following classes use Bardic Magic: Bard.

Spellcasting: Bards cast spells taken solely from the Bard spell list. They do not need to prepare their spells ahead of time as a wizard does, but neither is their spellcasting the same as that of a sorcerer. Bardic magic is the magic of song. All bard spells have a verbal component that takes the form of singing, chanting or reciting. Because of this bards can never take the Silent Spell feat.

Bards sing, chant or recite to cast spells. Casting spells in such a fashion causes great fatigue to the bard's throat. The bard can therefore only cast a certain number of spells without resting. This threshold is represented by a bard's spell points. At each level bards gain a number of spell points as shown in the Spell Point section. Bards with high Charisma scores also gain bonus spell points that are added to this total.

Bards can freely cast any spell in their repetoire on a point for point basis - e.g. a fifth level spell costs five spell points - up to their maximum spell point total. When this point is reached they must rest their throat. Bards recover one eighth of their spell point total per hour of rest. Rest is defined as not speaking. A bard may (at the GM's discretion) get away with saying a couple of words, but any circumstance that causes prolonged use of the voice, or any use the bard's bardic music abilities, means that the hour is wasted. As bards normally can't stop talking they tend to rest their voices at night while they sleep. No magic can heal the fatigue to a bard's throat more quickly than rest.

Cantrips (0-Level spells) do not cost spell points and do not cause any fatigue to the throat, although casting them prevents rest. However, a bard who loses his voice to overcasting (see below) cannot cast cantrips.

Overcasting: Unlike sonorists, bards in desperate conditions may attempt to cast spells even if they have used all their spell points, but this is very dangerous. Upon casting a spell the bard must make a Fortitude saving throw at DC 10 + spell level. Success means the spell goes off normally. Failure means the spell fails and the bard completely loses his voice. He cannot speak, nor can he use any of his bardic music abilities. This effect persists indefinitely. The bard may make a further Fortitude saving throw at dawn each following day with a cumulative +1 added to the DC. Only Wish or Miracle have a chance of restoring a bard's voice when it has been lost in this manner.

Note that bards foolhardy enough to cast more than one spell beyond their normal spell-point total discover the difficulty stacks. For example, Alphonse the bard has cast all his spell points today, but decides that he still must cast Suggestion (a third level spell). He makes his Fortitude save against DC 13. Buoyed up by this success, he decides to cast Eyebite (a sixth level spell). Now the DC is 19 (10 + 3 + 6). If he fails he will lose his voice and has to make another save at DC 20 tomorrow.

Gaining Spells: Bards gain access to cantrips at level one, 1st level spells at level two, 2nd level spells at level four, and to each successive spell level every three levels thereafter to a maximum of 6th level spells at level sixteen. They can never cast spells that are intrinscially greater than level six, although by selecting appropriate epic feats they can cast a spell that has been metamagically enhanced to a level beyond six. Bards can effectively learn as many spells as they like, but they are hampered by the sad reality of bardic magic.

Bardic magic is a bastardised branch of Sonorism. Bards did not invent this form of magic, and they really have no clue as to how it actually works. As a result bards cannot develop new spells, neither do they spontaneously gain new spells as they gain levels.

First level bards start play knowing four cantrips. Beyond that, bardic spells must be discovered, purchased, begged, borrowed or stolen from ancient ruins, academies or other bards. There is no other way for a bard to get hold of this power. The bard's desire to gain an understanding of new spells can be the impetus behind many memorable adventures, but the GM should be careful not to allow such quests to consume a campaign.

Low levels bards may study under a mentor who is willing to teach the bard some of the spells that it he knows. As the bard rises in level and experience he may be able to purchase spells from other bards or from bardic academies if any exist. However, by far the most common means for a bard to gain new spells is barter. Bards who come across one another often sit down and swap stories and songs, but they also swap spells. A fair exchange is normally demanded, but some spells are less common than others and a bard may reasonably expect more in return for them.

As a rule of thumb the bard should not know any more levels of spells (excluding cantrips) than he has spell points. A bard whose repetoire has fewer spell levels than spell-points is likely to be underpowered compared to other members of the party. A bard with significantly more may be too powerful. However, this is only a guide. The game may remain totally balanced even if the bard knows three times this amount. It is down to a GM's individual style of play, and the strengths of the party. The bottom line is that the acquisition of bard spells is based on roleplaying. The bard has no easy ride like the sorcerer, wizard, druid or cleric. He has no right to any of his castable magic, and the GM should make him work hard for what he gains.