[Bardmancy Addition] A Battlebard's Masterful Arsenal!

[Hyperdron 290]

 

-- o O --- O o --

 

• ~ A Battlebard's Masterful Arsenal ~ •

Combos for Creative Souls

 

In the many decades of Bardmancy's fervent spread across the Aevosian realms, the magic has evolved in leaps and bounds - development of ever newer and grander techniques bringing more weird and wonderful ways to enhance one's practices and performances. Falling on the wayside, however, the great weaves that proclaimed Mastery over their Art Type found themselves stagnant, their spells far too complex to implement into the improvisatory threads of String Casting or bear the weight of Delayed Casting. The combative spells especially, meant to be favoured tools of the land's battlebards, saw their uniquely striking properties often disregarded for more mundane and less self-debilitating methods of manipulating a fight. And as such, these battlebards sought to find a new way to empower their weaves' utilities: a combination, focused entirely within the shared boundaries of the Mastery spells.

 

First, it was a minstrel and their voice. Then, a dancer and their cloak. Slowly but surely, these complex tapestries of magic were unravelled by the various masters scattered through the lands, appraised, and threaded together once more - and this time, they bore both the weights of their greatest achievements, finally unlocking the new frontier these warriors sought.

 

--==--

 

The following Bardmancy Mastery Spell additions take the two basic Mastery spells for each representative Art Type and combine their abilities into one more refined, yet costly alternative to the combative crowd control battlebards are well-known for. All of the Arsenal spells beneath cost [2 spell slots] to cast, and can only be cast once every 12 IRL hours each, much like the other Mastery spells - yet unlike those Mastery spells, these from the Arsenal share that 12 IRL hour cooldown with the two basic Mastery spells involved in its cast. You've got to have both locked and loaded to be able to pull these off!

 

T5 Bardmancers with Mastery in the relevant Art Type need only to be taught the two basic Mastery spells, upon which the related Arsenal spell may be automatically learned.

 

Bodies of Bewilderment

(Combat)

[4 Emotes: 1 Connection + 2 Channelling + 1 Cast]

As opposed to making a creation on the spot through Shape of Beguilement, a Master of the Aesthetic Arts may instead choose to wield one of their premade Lifelike Creations, magically encouraging it to commit to the Performance of its lifetime (in more than one sense).

 

Spoiler

Any Lifelike Creation within visual #RP (20 blocks) range of the Aesthetic Bardmancer can be targeted as an alternate conduit, where it will loudly and brazenly express itself in the manner it was enchanted to do so - be that through story, dance, song or otherwise - in an exceedingly bizarre and abstract manner, ultimately ending its display with the sudden (and optionally flamboyant) degeneration of its own Mana Seal.

 

The moment the spell is cast and the Mana Seal degenerates, all living beings who can see said Lifelike Creation within visible #RP (20 blocks) range of it must have fully averted their gaze or not looked at it for the 1 emote prior, or are affected for 2 emotes. The spell only lasts for a single emote after the Mana Seal has degenerated, after which the spell’s effect fades from the Lifelike Creation, and the Lifelike Creation fully loses its life-giving enchantment.

 

Once affected, their gaze becomes distorted, shifting and twisting slightly. They also see faint hallucinations related to the Lifelike Creation's performance, and experience mild double-vision. While this doesn’t have any particular negative effect for short-range battle, it is particularly detrimental for archers or anything that requires long-range aim (10 blocks or further).

 

The Bardmancer casting this spell takes the brunt of it and is stunned for 2 emotes, unable to act or move as their head spins.

 

Because this spell combines principles from both Lifelike Creation and Shape of Beguilement, it costs [2 spell slots] to pull off, and counts towards both of the aforementioned spells' 12 IRL hours casting cooldowns - i.e. neither of those spells nor Bodies of Bewilderment can be cast again until that time is up, nor can Bodies of Bewilderment be cast if one or both of the basic spells are on cooldown.

 

Redlines:

♫ The Lifelike Creation targeted by the Bardmancer must remain in the Bardmancer's line of sight for the entire casting of the spell, else the spell fails.

♫ Do not force people to 100% never be able to aim, attack, or defend. This is not very poggers.

♫ Must be able to see the Bardmancer’s creation. Obviously doesn’t work through walls.

♫ When someone has been affected by this spell, they are not further affected by continuing to look at it. Effects only happen 1 emote after its completion.

♫ Upon conclusion of Bodies of Bewilderment, the Lifelike Creation used in the spell loses its Lifelike Creation enchantment completely, including all Lifelike Creation Mana Seals involved in granting it its pseudo-life - e.g. if the creation was 2 blocks tall and therefore required two Mana Seals, both Mana Seals will degenerate. This does not remove any other Mana Seals or enchantments unrelated to Lifelike Creation.

♫ Lifelike Creations used for Bodies of Bewilderment must still follow all rules and redlines of Lifelike Creation - most importantly, they cannot harm anyone or be made of anything harmful, and they cannot leave where they are on their own and must be moved by someone else.

 

 

Example Emotes:

 

Spoiler

(Connection) Lorance the Weaver's expression twitched with intense dissatisfaction at his situation right now. The lot within the tavern itself were being slightly more well-behaved than usual, certainly, but the open-plan architecture did no favours for the angry shouts rolling in from the rabble outside. Was there a fight brewing or something? Not that he had an excellent view from where he sat, nor that he'd want one - but that Living Dreamcatcher of his hanging above the entrance did. A soft shine, denser than usual, envelops his fingers and condenses upon one particular tip, as the elder grumbles something about ungrateful drunkards.

 

(Channelling 1) [!] The weaver lifts his index finger to point towards his Living Dreamcatcher, a thin line of ethereal thread shooting forth to impact its form. With a start, the Dreamcatcher jolts awake - and with a loud, indignant yelp as well!  It glares down at the flush-faced patrons raising their fists, grunting out in a comparatively sultry voice: “And what do you think you're doing on my porch?”

 

(Channelling 2) [!] The weaver continues to send their wash of energy down this glimmering thread, as the Lifelike Creation embellishes their haughty speech to the troublemakers, the shining Mana Seal it bears growing an ever stronger presence through its increasing light. “This is the sort of thing this town gets up to nowadays? Quite frankly, I'm disappointed- flabbergasted- there's punishment in store for you! Maybe I should just...”

 

(Anyone around the Living Dreamcatcher must emote looking away from it at this point, or they will be affected by Lorance's Spell)

 

(Casting) “... Take all the good dreams too.” Those dextrous weaves unwind themselves with a final impulse of Lorance's magic, brandished like eldritch tendrils as if to pierce straight into the minds of those poor, drunken souls before it - perhaps unfortunately, that's exactly what those folk would receive, as that bright shine of its Mana Seal shatters across their sight. Abominable hallucinations of the Living Dreamcatcher thieving their very senses of self echo through their uninhibited thoughts, and disorienting double-vision worsens the bleariness they already experience, while the weaver's head drops face-down on the table. Swimming with bewilderment, perhaps he, too, needed a break from the drink...

 

 

Muddling Masquerade

(Combat)

[4 Emotes: 1 Connection + 2 Channelling + 1 Cast]

 

As opposed to using their own movements as a catalyst through Tilting Movement, a Master of the Movement Arts may instead delegate this task to their own performance instruments bound by Tether Dance, directing their paths in a disorienting disco to hassle those who put their Performance area in jeopardy.

 

Spoiler

When the spell is cast, the Bardmancer may determine up to 5 living beings within visual #RP (20 blocks) distance as targets of their Tether Dance's Objects, directing them in a sudden flurry of harassment towards the unfortunate victims - at least one Object per target - that lasts a maximum of 2 emotes, guarding up to a 10 block radius centred on the Bardmancer. Examples of this harassment may include a clown's juggling balls incessantly bouncing around and upon a target's body, a sword-swallower's daggers swiping irritatingly in front of a target's blade, or a dancer's ribbon accessories wrapping themselves about a target's limbs - all attempting to prevent their target from entering their radius.

 

A target may choose to direct their attention upon these pestering Objects, spending 1 emote (for one Object) or 2 emotes (for multiple Objects) focused upon battering the annoyances away, after which the Objects' dance would be forced to cease. While the Objects certainly move in strange, disorienting ways, they are incapable of dodging melee strikes/grapples/et cetera, and will undoubtedly be severely damaged or destroyed by the target's focused attacks, should this be the target's intention - thereby breaking their Tether Dance bindings. If the target does not focus on striking the Objects, however, they will experience the effects of the spell for the 2 emotes it lasts.

 

Once affected, their movements become jittery and imprecise, their limbs jolting uncontrollably at random times as if corralled by the irregular flows of the Tether Dance. Any attacks, movements or manoeuvres that require precise coordination will be nearly impossible. Dodging attacks and aiming a weapon at a precise point, for example, are heavily affected actions. Broad swings that negate the accuracy-hindering effects are not affected. Should they try to enter or already be inside the 10 block radius guarded by the Objects, their block movement per emote while within that radius is halved.

 

The Bardmancer casting this spell takes the brunt of it and is stunned for 2 emotes, unable to act or move as they lose control over their limbs momentarily.

 

Because this spell combines principles from both Tether Dance and Tilting Movement, it costs [2 spell slots] to pull off, and counts towards both of the aforementioned spells' 12 IRL hours casting cooldowns - i.e. neither of those spells nor Muddling Masquerade can be cast again until that time is up, nor can Muddling Masquerade be cast if one or both of the basic spells are on cooldown.

 

Redlines:

♫ Cannot split one Object between two or more targets.

♫ Objects cannot travel beyond the 10 block radius they guard, but they can certainly pull off some taunting moves on their targets should they be too far away for 'melee'.

♫ Objects will always aim to hound their target, and cannot be made to retreat any sort of distance away from their target (e.g. to avoid strikes) until the spell ends or they are broken.

♫ Do not force people to 100% never be able to aim, attack, or defend. This is still not very poggers.

♫ Must be able to see the Bardmancer's Tether Danced Objects. (This doesn't mean you can just turn your back to them and be fine - they'll just get more annoying!)

♫ Should one choose to focus an emote on battering any Objects away, they cannot also move inside the guarded 10 block radius in the same emote - though they are more than welcome to move anywhere else!

♫ Bound Objects used for Muddling Masquerade still follow all rules and redlines of Tether Dance - most importantly, you cannot do any movements you would not be able to do normally, Objects cannot harm or damage anything or anyone, breaking an Object unbinds it from the Bardmancer, and if a static obstacle comes between the Bardmancer and a bound object (e.g. sending it behind a wall) the connection ends and the object either falls harmlessly to the floor or returns to the ground near the Bardmancer.

 

 

Example Emotes:

 

Spoiler

(Connection) Trilark the Swaying Bird tentatively peeks her head out from her tent, spying on the warriors of this week's attacking tribe from just behind her fellow tribesmen's shield wall. One, two, three... they look strong. She slots back into her tent for a moment, bright pink and orange sparks manifesting more like lightning across her body as she beckons three particular ribbons of fabric from her costume chest - they float up to join her around her body, hovering eerily in the air.

 

(Channelling 1) Trilark steps more emphatically out of their tent now, taking an observing position behind her tribesmen's shield wall as she stretches her limbs, limbering up alongside the telekinetic swirling of her three ribbons- the swelling of her pink-orange lightning seems to charge their movements, increasing their dexterity. Those three enemy warriors she'd picked out earlier were still there, leading the advance... good.

 

(Channelling 2) Trilark abruptly begins a dance proper, one full of flicks and twists and rapidly jerked movements, her three electrified ribbons following her lead in lockstep. Her eyes never leave those three chosen warriors, sparks of her static threatening to shoot straight towards them.

 

(Casting) [!] And eventually, they do just that. Trilark's sudden conclusion of her dance throws her hand directed across the three chosen warriors, and with a pink-and-orange bolt does one ribbon zap forward for each of them, rearing like a snake in front of their assigned target's line of sight - guarding the area just before the shield wall. To focus, or not to focus on these distractions... that would determine whether these enemies would be able to remain full and upright, or lose control of their limbs entirely as Trilark does, her muddled form flopping behind the line.

 

 

Chaotic Cacophony

(Combat)

[4 Emotes: 1 Connection + 2 Channelling + 1 Cast]

 

When seeking to produce a Discordant Noise, a Master of the Sound Arts may Perform with their own Self-Made Band to shape the resultant deafening din with ever stranger and more horrendous precision. The effects differ depending on whether the Bardmancer is bound to Instruments or an Accessory.

 

Spoiler

When the spell is cast, all living beings within audible #RP (20 blocks) distance of the Bardmancer must have had their ears covered/hearing impaired for the 1 emote prior, or are affected for 2 emotes. When someone has been affected once, they are not affected by continuing to hear it.

 

Once affected, they are mildly deafened and their sense of balance is impaired. Dodging and attacking becomes a difficult task. Also, all metal within the spell’s range instantly resonates when the spell is cast. Anyone wearing heavy metal armour is automatically stunned for 1 emote, and all weapons heavily made from metal, (swords, daggers, rapiers, and so on) shake uncontrollably for 2 emotes, making them easier to reflect or dodge and making it harder to aim.

 

Utilising one's Instruments remarkably increases the power of the spell's reverberation. The kinds of metal armour affected extend to lighter armours, such as brigandine or chainmail, thus stunning any who wear such for 1 emote. All weapons heavily made from metal will shake even more uncontrollably for 2 emotes - weapons in the upper echelons of this metal content (such as large maces, greatswords, tower shields, and so on) will be made so unwieldable that their wielders will be immediately forced to drop them, unable to bear the shuddering for the first of the two emotes.

 

Alternatively, utilising one's Accessory allows the Bardmancer to warp the very shape of the projection range of their own sound. Instead of the Discordant Noise exploding indiscriminately outwards across a spherical radius like sound usually does, its waves may be twisted to entirely avoid certain metals and living beings within range, even if they have not covered their ears - for instance, sparing nearby allies from the effects. It may also instead be used to replicate the Instrument boost by converging all its waves upon a single point - however, this application can only target a single living being within range.

 

The Bardmancer casting this spell takes the brunt of it and is stunned for 2 emotes, unable to act or move as they lose all balance and hearing. Any Instruments utilised would suddenly find themselves breaking from over-exertion, enough to sever their Self-Made Band bindings. An Accessory's recoil, on the other hand, will force its over-exertion upon the Bardmancer's own body, causing them to lose their voice for the next 12 IRL hours - unable to vocalise beyond #W range, or #Q range if supported with magic.

 

Because this spell combines principles from both Self-Made Band and Discordant Noise, it costs [2 spell slots] to pull off, and counts towards both of the aforementioned spells' 12 IRL hours casting cooldowns - i.e. neither of those spells nor Chaotic Cacophony can be cast again until that time is up, nor can Chaotic Cacophony be cast if one or both of the basic spells are on cooldown.

 

Redlines:

♫ Instruments must be within 20 blocks of the Bardmancer in order to be utilised (and, of course, Accessories must be worn). The positioning of Instruments within that radius does not expand the radius of the spell's effects.

♫ Do not force people to 100% never be able to aim, attack, or defend. Once again, this is not very poggers.

♫ Beings partly/totally made of metal do not shake controllably. They suffer the same effects as other living beings wearing metal. (Obviously, metal limbs can't be dropped if they're already attached.)

♫ Does not travel through walls, even if utilising an Accessory.

♫ As a guide for an Instrument-boosted Chaotic Cacophony, weapons and shields that would be forcibly dropped should be equated to requiring 3 or more ingots to craft according to the current Compendium of Material Knowledge.

♫ Characters may freely pick up dropped weapons/shields/etc. on the second emote of metal resonance without being forced to drop them again, but will still suffer the aim-debilitating effects and so on until the end of the spell.

♫ Hou-Zi are not forced to drop any held weapons on account of their Enhanced Grip, but instead would find that limb stunned as if it were wearing metal armour. This goes for any other similar 'grip gud' abilities in other lorepieces.

♫ Hopeful thieves would also find themselves unable to handle any reverberations well enough to immediately steal any forcibly dropped weapons from beneath their owners by any means - i.e. their owner gets one emote to re-stake their claim on their belongings. Once the spell has passed, however, it's fair game!

♫ Instruments and Accessories still follow all rules and redlines of Self-Made Band.

 

 

Example Emotes:

 

Spoiler

(Connection) Isabella the Siren stands amongst the chaos of the backwater battlefield - another group of bandits had set their sights on the village, and the villagers were none too happy about it. While there had been something in the way of upgrades to the villagers' newly ferrum weapons and armour, those bandits practically gleamed in the ash-choked sunbeams by comparison. Still, the blue earring that hung from Isabella's ear might be able to change the tide. Her mana congeals within her throat, a bundle of sparks and aura that extend a bolstered tether towards the Accessory.

 

(Channelling 1) Isabella shrinks slightly away from the most messy area of the battle to prepare, her usual quiet hum accompanied by the bright gleaming of her earring as the tether is met. She brings one hand to brush against the swirls of mana, encouraging the bubbling of its energy as her eyes mark out friend from foe - and her ears pick out the flow of sound between.

 

(Channelling 2) Isabella shuts her eyes, holding those auditory maps in her mind as the mana around her neck fizzles and her earring sparks. She imagines her song as a river, flowing past her friends and cascading into those who dared try to hurt them - her throat tickles uncomfortably, the sheer pressure of magic contained threatening the bursting of the dam.

 

(Anyone around Isabella must emote covering their ears at this point, or they will be affected by her Spell)

 

(Casting) Isabella can hold no longer, and that scream held within is released with a torrent of noise, washing across the battlefield as a tsunami might engulf the land. Yet by that earring's influence, those villagers would be able to rally undeterred, while the bandits would feel the reverberations of that hideous sound stunning them through the metal that was meant to protect them - their ears ringing, and their balance shot. With a hoarse cough, barely above a whisper, Isabella's stability too would give out, and she collapses into the dirt.

 

 

Record of Rapture

(Combat)

[4 Emotes: 1 Connection + 2 Channelling + 1 Cast]

 

A Master of the Word Arts' Shouted Word of Ludicrous Volume will find their single-word Performance channelling a weirding power when releasing it with the dramatism of an Enthralling Story.

 

Spoiler

One word chosen by the Bardmancer is displayed clearly in huge letters above them in the colour of their aura, written and spoken in a chosen language they know, and then echoed out in an absurd volume.

 

When the spell is cast, all living beings within audible #RP (20 blocks) distance of the Bardmancer must have had their ears covered/hearing impaired for the 1 emote prior, or are affected for 2 emotes. When someone has been affected, they are not further affected by continuing to hear it.

 

Once affected, they are completely deafened and their vision becomes blurred. This spell makes dodging attacks fairly difficult, but it specially affects other magic users. All who are affected by the Record of Rapture have their magic casting halted, and they cannot cast further for the 2 emotes this deafening effect lasts.

 

Additionally, all living beings with audible #Q (8 blocks) distance of the Bardmancer who fail to cover or otherwise block their ears will suddenly fall into a nonsensical, omni-sensory illusion, stunned for 1 emote while their own mind fabricates an outlandish story entirely conceived around the concept, meanings, etc. of the single word they just heard. When they return from this rapturous out-of-body experience, they will find themselves having completely forgotten the single word they had just heard, along with any of its semantics, translations, close associations to other words, and so on - and being unable to use or recognise the word itself in any capacity for a time afterwards. This period of peculiar amnesia lasts for 12 IRL hours.

 

The Bardmancer casting this spell takes the brunt of it and is stunned for 2 emotes, unable to act or move as they lose all balance and hearing. They also inherit the peculiar amnesia they dared to inflict, completely forgetting the single word they used, along with any of its semantics, translations, close associations to other words, and so on, and being unable to use or recognise the word itself in any capacity, for the following 12 IRL hours.

 

Because this spell combines principles from both Enthralling Story and Shouted Word of Ludicrous Volume, it costs [2 spell slots] to pull off, and counts towards both of the aforementioned spells' 12 IRL hours casting cooldowns - i.e. neither of those spells nor Record of Rapture can be cast again until that time is up, nor can Record of Rapture be cast if one or both of the basic spells are on cooldown.

 

Redlines:

♫ Do not force people to 100% never be able to aim, attack, or defend. In case you didn’t get it the first three (seven?) times, again, this is definitely still not very poggers. For instance, forgetting the idea of 'Attack' does not mean one forgets how to use their sword. Similarly, you cannot force someone to forget any of their magics or feats.

♫ Does not work through walls.

♫ The illusion experienced by affected living beings is entirely up to their players - it could be temporally experienced as short as a proverb, or as long as an epic - but must be informed in major, main-protagonist-syndrome fashion by the word channelled by the Bardmancer, and must be incredibly, nonsensically wacky. 

♫ The illusion causes no harm nor physically affects anything.

♫ The illusion cannot be used to metagame any people, locations, special plants/ores/anything STesque, and so on.

♫ The illusion cannot completely replace any of the affected senses - affected beings are still capable of perceiving the real world during the illusion.

 

 

Example Emotes:

 

Spoiler

(Connection) Loralynn the Taleweaver's mouth falls agape as the bar's Days Without Incident counter looks to be falling back to zero - one patron punches another for an untoward comment about their mother, a friend punches back, and soon everything is embroiled in the same mass amateur wrestling match. Still, perhaps she could make some forget about their issues here - a delicate smoke of fiery red hisses from her hands, swirling like a thick fog cloud.

 

(Channelling 1) Loralynn takes a deep breath as she always does, pulling in that sparking light to suffuse her core. Her heart pumped blood to the rhythm of her adrenaline, her mind whirred as the pages of a dictionary being flicked through, searching for something.

 

(Channelling 2) Loralynn tries her best to stay out of the way of swinging fists and sweeping feet, her aura embracing her form in mysterious rifts of abstract shapes and indeterminable faces. The walls of the bar itself lap in reflections of these whimsical illusions, as if readying themselves for the force to come... for the Taleweaver has picked her word.

 

(Casting) [!] A great rush of power explodes from Loralynn's place amongst the packed bar, granting those around her the stunning clarity of a single word: what else could it be, that great word above her head, but “MOTHER”? Those nearest would reel in the recognition of such a concept, tricks of the mind taking them on nostalgic journeys to only be brutally torn from them upon conclusion - torn like how Loralynn falls deafened to the beer-stained floor, the very knowledge of 'mother' wrenched from her comprehension.

 

 

 

--==--

 

Purpose

((OOC))

 

Admittedly, one of the main impulses for submitting this addition was because I personally have been toying with a rough form of one of these particular 'combo' spells on LotC for a while now (though I will affirm this was only done with explicit permission from each event-runner), and tgrt kept idly suggesting I should make that combo spell properly canon. So - instead of just submitting that one combo spell, I figured it'd be nice to give each other Art Type a combo spell of their own too!

 

The current ideal behind Battlebards/general battlebarding seems to be that they do not rise beyond a support role in combat considering the intended power level of the base magic, so instead of outright buffing the numbers, this lore submission aims to give each combination a unique extra effect or two that's characteristic of the Art Type (and non-combative Mastery spell) involved, enabling more diverse methods of disturbing the battlefield. In turn, the detriments have been increased - increased spell slot drain, loss of material/enchantments, or equalised recoils - so that they're not a 'perfect' upgrade.

 

And of course, it's absolutely in character to develop more opportunities for creativity into our silly art magic!

 

--==--

 

Credits and Thanks

 

@Hyperdron - I wrote a majority (just about) of the words, but the rest was thanks to:

Big up to @tgrt and co. for writing the actual Mastery spells!

Thanks to @tgrt, @ShinyB and @UniBearse for chitter-chattering about these additions with me!

And of course, credit to Bardmancy where it's due: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/208560-%E2%9C%93-magic-lore-bardmancy/

[Operator_Bugman 221]

Blessed be bardmancy

Blessed be bardmancy

[tgrt 744]

A lovely and welcomed addition! The spells add extra flexibility and rewards preparation + creativity in roleplay!
Hats off to Hyper for figuring out a solid base for how these combos could work and straight up nailing it first try!