Additionally, each audience member becomes more likely to say what is truly on their mind; it is much more difficult for them to keep their opinions to themselves, possibly revealing deep-seated romantic feelings, outspoken criticism for their government, or just yelling at the rude guy at the tavern they would have otherwise ignored.

The effects that the bard band has on their audience is to accentuate the emotions that their music best represent. When the bard band plays, choose one of the following effects.

No band is without conflict. No band stays together forever. A good manager, however, can extend the life of the band long enough for its magical power to take effect. Without a good manager, the band will disintegrate and the magic will be lost. Many managers are bards themselves, but this is not necessary.

The songweaver strings together the words and the sounds of the music, ensuring that each song played by the band is their own. In a true bard band, there is no room for covering others' work. Their music needs to be original. A true act of creation.

While least immediately glamourous, the backer provides the wrinkles, textures, and underlying structure of the music, supporting all other members of the band and keeping things neat, tidy, and orderly. Their contribution to the music is difficult to notice, but when it's missing, you know it.

The percussionist instills the band with the primal beat of creation. They don't just keep time, they bring forth the underlying pulse of the weave and give it life.

The vocalist is the heart and soul of the band, whose voice gives the band its individual texture and quality. Most easily recognised from afar, the vocalist's ability to weave words into music lends the band its arcane power.

The frontliner is the face of the band. Their face is what people imagine when they tell their friends about the band. Their outfit is the loudest thing on stage. Their dance inspires the dance of a generation. Almost every bard wants to be a frontliner, but few have the raw magnetism required.

A bard band needs the following roles to be filled before it can start achieving the magical effects that it wants. A role can be filled by multiple people (and multiple people can fill the same role), but one member of the band can't fill more than two roles at once. Single acts and duets will never be powerful enough to form a fully-realized bard band. You don't just need an act, you need a community of people. You need ...

A bard band contains roughly three to five musicians which each have their own instrument and role within the band. When all are working in concert, they can use the power of music to achieve powerful magic effects over the audience. These bands are often hired by kings to play during a ball to get the words and wine flowing, by generals to play for their contingent before a battle and inspire their troops to fight, or even for private wealthy lords and ladies looking for a little ... spice. A band is only as powerful as its crowd, however, and a poor reception means poor results.

While their contemporaries slave away doing ad hoc gigs for local taverns or consigning themselves to academic research in the ivory colleges, some bards get together and start a band. A band of bards can harness magical properties unavailable to any bard working on their own. Like a coven of witches, the only way to properly deal with a bard band that you don't like is to turn its members against each other. Knowing musicians, this won't be hard.

Heroism Each member of the audience receives temporary hit points equal to the combined level (or CR) of the bards in the band, lasting for 24 hours. Additionally, each audience member becomes more likely to throw themselves at dangerous situations they would have otherwise been hesitant to expose themselves to. They might volunteer for a dangerous mission, take a stand against bullying they see in the street, or investigate corruption in their place of business when they should instead be keeping their head down.

Melancholia Each member of the audience gains a bonus to all saving throws equal to the number of members in the bard band. This lasts for 24 hours. Additionally, each member of the audience feels a deep sadness and sense of unplaceable regret that will not go away. They find it easier to ignore moments of sadness, but also more difficult to get excited about the things that bring them joy. They feel numb to life events both wonderful and catastrophic. They sleep in later and find it difficult to bring up the motivation to work. They can better weather the bad, but it comes at the expense of the good.

Compassion Each member of the audience gains a pool of hit points equal to the number of members in the bard band. Like the paladin's lay on hands, they can use their action to touch a creature and restore a number of hit points of their choice, drawing from the pool. Unlike lay on hands, these can be used to heal hit points but not to cure diseases or poisons. After 24 hours, this pool of hit points dries up. Additionally, each member of the audience gains a bleeding heart towards all living things, feeling their pain, loss, and anxiety as deeply as their own. Those they could safely ignore at the dredges of society can no longer be ignored, and simply granting them a share of their pool of hit points may not be enough. More must be done to help the downtrodden. More must always be done.

Aggression Once a turn for the next 24 hours, each member of the audience deals an additional 1d6 damage when they hit a hostile creature with a melee weapon. Additionally, each member of the audience is filled with rage for the things they cannot control in their lives. No longer acceptable are those who cut ahead of them in line. No longer tolerable are those who interrupt them in conversation. No longer innocent are those who step on their toes. Everyone is out to get them, and the world would be better if everyone just respected them and didn't piss them off.

Statblocks Tier One Bard (VGM pg. 211)

(VGM pg. 211) Blade (NPC pg. 20)

(NPC pg. 20) Glamour Bard (NPC pg. 21)

(NPC pg. 21) Jester (NPC pg. 22)

(NPC pg. 22) Shadow Dancer (NPC pg. 23)

(NPC pg. 23) Valor Bard (NPC pg. 24)

(NPC pg. 24) Whisper Bard (NPC pg. 25) Tier Two One Hit Wonder Tier Four Rock Legend

Band Strategies Rock of Ages. Bands of regular musicians can have an agenda that they express through their music. Bard bands are no exception, and unlike cleric missions and paladin nemeses, their strategies for achieving their goals is less about getting in there and wreaking havoc and more about using their music to instill a sense of purpose in the general populace. They don't fight. They rock. Rabid Fanbase. A bard band uses its popularity as a weapon, inciting riots, sowing discord, inspiring heroics, or even pacifying insurrections. The magic granted to them from their unity as a band scales up depending on how many people attend their performances, so the more popular a band, the more potent its control over the general populace. Public Image. Given their dependency on the masses, the band, especially the manager and the frontliner, must work to maintain the kind of image that sells their performances. This doesn't necessarily mean a squeaky clean persona, but it does mean a persona that is consistent and carries a strong, clear message. It's okay for the band to be known for hitting the taverns after a performance and flirting with fans as long as they do this every night, but as soon as one of the members expresses their preference for going to bed early with a good book, the whole band is in jeopardy.

Bard Tactics We're Keeping the Band Together. In a fight, bards are outwardly focused. They make sure that all of their team is doing well through buffs and make sure that the enemy team falls apart through banes and other magic. If one bard falls, they all have failed. Many bards learn healing word so they can keep bringing their fallen allies back in case of emergency, but generally they prefer to prevent these emergencies altogether. Management, Not Ferocity. Bards are not generally inclined towards aggression and murder. They use spells like calm emotions, hypnotic pattern, and various illusions as an excuse to make a clean getaway. A fight avoided is a fight won.