Building off of the outline of the Bard class, here is how they cast spells:

Bardic Songcasting

Bards perform their songs by singing, dancing, or playing musical instruments. Songs performed at the Cantata or Concerto level require an instrument.

Songs are performed by selecting a motif, a key, and a duration. The motif determines the base effect, the key determines whether the effect benefits the Bard's allies or harm's his enemies, and the duration determines the magnitude of the effect.

• A Cappella performances require 2 segments* and take effect immediately. After the casting time, Bards may continue to perform and take other actions such as moving, fighting, and being hit. However, they may not cast other spells or invoke other magics without first ending their performance.
• Cantatas require 4 segments* and take effect after the 4 segments*are spent. Bards must use both hands and an instrument to perform a cantata and it requires full concentration that is broken upon being damaged. Bards may only move 5ft per round and take no other actions while performing a cantata.
• Concertos require 8 segments* and take effect after the 8 segments*are spent. A concerto has the same concentration requirements as a cantata.

Bards may perform any motif known any number of times per day so long as the total number of rounds performed does not exceed their Charisma score.

Bard songs have an area of effect of 60ft from the performer unless otherwise noted in the Motiff.

Only 1 Bard song may be in effect at one time. 2nd level Bards may Harmonize two A Cappella effects at once.

Bard songs do not allow savings throws unless noted in the Motif.       

All Motifs are described in the Compleat Bard and also linked to on the right.

*I use the term segments here but not in the strict AD&D sense. Whatever time scale you use, A Cappella performances should take half of a round/action/whatever you use, Cantatas should take a whole round, and Concertos should take 2 rounds.

A New Take on the Bard

I talked about a Bard concept a while back; here is the final presentation:

Bard

Requirements:                      DEX 12, WIS 15, CHA 15

Prime Requisite:                   None

Hit Dice:                                D6

Weapon Proficiencies:        3 + 1 every 4th level

Bards are artists who have learned to alter reality through the use of their artistic talents. Bards focus their magical artistic talents on song, music, and dance, but also study other art forms from painting and sculpting to juggling and acting.

Bardic Magic: Bards learn motifs that enable to them to perform their magic arts. Bards may perform any motif known any number of times per day so long as the total number of rounds performed does not exceed their Charisma score. Refer to the Bard's Compendium (next post coming up) for complete rules and effects.

A Capella: Starting at first level, Bards may perform motifs a capella. These performances have a casting time of 2 segments* and take effect immediately. After the casting time, Bards may continue to perform and take other actions such as moving, fighting, and being hit. However, they may not cast other spells or invoke other magics without first ending their performance. 

Harmonize: At 2nd level, Bards may Harmonize their a capella performances with other Bards, allowing two such songs to be in effect at once.

Cantata: Starting at 3rd level, Bards may perform the Cantata version of their known motifs. These performances have a casting time of 4 segments* and take effect upon the beginning of the following round. Bards must use both hands and an instrument to perform a cantata and it requires full concentration that is broken upon being damaged. Bards may only move 5' per round and take no other actions while performing a cantata.

Concerto: At 5th level, Bards may perform the most powerful version of their Motifs known. These performances have a casting time of 8 segments* and take effect upon the beginning of the following round. A concerto has the same concentration requirements as a cantata.

Read Scrolls: At 12th level, Bards may cast arcane spells from scrolls.

BARD LEVEL PROGRESSION
Experience	Level	Attack Bonus	Hit Dice (D6)
0	1	1	1
2,000	2	1	2
4,000	3	2	3
8,000	4	2	4
16,000	5	3	5
32,000	6	3	6
64,000	7	4	7
128,000	8	4	8
256,000	9	5	9
512,000	10	5	10
725,000	11	6	+2
1,000,000	12	6	+4
1,275,000	13	7	+6
1,550,000	14	7	+8
1,825,000	15	8	+10

BARD MUSIC PROGRESSION
Motifs Known	Musical Ability
1	A Capella
2	Harmonize
2	Cantata
3
3	Concerto
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

*I use the term segments here but not in the strict AD&D sense. Whatever time scale you use, A Cappella performances should take half of a round/action/whatever you use, Cantatas should take a whole round, and Concertos should take 2 rounds.

The Bard - One Man's Take

I guess there are tons of different Bard classes out there between the ever-growing amount of editions and home-brewed classes. Here's my attempt to introduce a new game play mechanic to 17th century fantasy gaming.

Motif

Bards begin spellcasting by selecting a Motif. This is the base effect that will be further modified as the Bard performs. For example:

Coraggio: A piece that affects courage to those who hear it.

Mode

The performance can be in either minor or major key. The major key is an uplifting, positive tone whereas the minor key is a dark and melancholic tone. In game terms, the base Motif will have a positive or negative effect. For example:

Coraggio (Major): bonus to morale
Coraggio (Minor): malus to morale

Accompaniment

Each performance can have one of three accompaniments, which essentially affects the magnitude of its effects (oh, there's a grammar lesson for you). One example might be:

A capella: +/- 1 to morale
Cantata: Reroll a morale check
Concerto: Force a morale check

Each motif then is six potential spells; Bards gain motifs per level as a spellcaster gains spells. Maybe a Bard learns one Motif per level. He can always module that Motif in either key. Then, he can sing its weakest effect, play an instrument with the vocals for a greater affect, or play in a troupe of bards for a stupendous effect.

Accompaniments are probably gained as a function of level, so a first level Bard can only perform a capella, a third level bard can perform a cantata to accompany (his own or other?) vocals, and a fifth level bard can lead 2 other Bards (at least one of which is at 3rd level) by playing a concerto. The level up mechanic would most likely increase the range or amount of HD affected.

There's plenty of ground here to come up with tons of motifs. The idea needs some fleshing out, but building on this foundation could be a fun exercise.

I think it is a neat mechanic, what do you think?

[Forgive me for massacring the terminology, I'm obviously not in the music world]

Divine Magic and Clerics in the Early Modern Period Campaign

At some point, magic has to be reconciled with reality when creating a campaign based on some semblance of Earth. It is a common topic among DM's who go the stimulationist or historical route and it often manifests itself in Clerics, divine magic, and healing spells.

The Catholic Church held great power through most of its history due to its position as the mortal connection between man and God. The reckoning comes into play when you try to imagine a Catholic Church that could also demonstratively show its divine favor by healing wounds, curing sickness, and being able to perform multiple miracles a day. So let's reconcile this issue.

Look back to the hobby's roots in Chainmail and OD&D. A first level Fighting-man (or Fighter in AD&D parlance) was considered a veteran. This was a man who had fought in battles, faced his own death, and presumably killed a man. He was a trained warrior, not a neophyte facing battle for his first time. The precedent here is that even a first level character is a cut above the average person. Secondly, Clerics did not receive their first spell until second level. This was often justified as a requirement that a Cleric had to demonstrate his faith before his deity would deign to grant him divine power.

So let's extrapolate this a little. Most clergy in the EMP are not capable of channeling God's power into spells. Practically every manor had a chapel and every village a church of some sorts. The main spiritual requirement for this type of priest would be the ability to perform the sacraments (baptism and last rights at an absolute minimum) and lead prayer or conduct mass through some sort of missal or spiritual tract. Even after Gutenberg's printing press, Bibles were still not widespread and definitely still expensive. They were also still in Latin for the most part; vernacular was just beginning to enter into religion due to the efforts of reformers and 'heretics' in general.

A priest of this caliber is not going to be casting any spells. The majority of peasants and serfs would not be living in a community with a divine leader with the ability to perform miracles. You can see where this is going, the reconciliation here will be via scarcity. The potential to heal wounds miraculously and perform miracles will still be existent, but not common place. This feeling can be forced into a kind of anachronistic reality if you take the perception of a common man in that miracles really can be performed, but they usually manifest themselves as stories of how a man was saved over in another town by a traveling healer. We should only be so lucky, or faithful, or penitent, or flagellant, to experience one ourselves.

So who can cast divine spells? Mechanically, all Clerics can, as well as Druids and the other classes that gain spell casting at higher levels. In terms of lore, only someone particularly dedicated to God would have this ability:

• Traveling Friars. Friars were typically better educated and traveled than priests in a rural church. Historically, they preached directly to and lived among peasants, were invited by a local priest, and were required to give a portion of all offerings to the inviting Church. This could still lead to problems as a friar would be more liked than the local priest. For a fantasy setting, it makes for an excellent idea for a Player Character. While a PC won't be role-playing traveling and preaching, it does provide the context for why a Cleric would be adventuring.

• Monks And Monastic Orders: Monastic orders can represent people of particular faith and dedication so as to be able to cast spells. The long litany of orders, both Catholic and even some Reformed, provide plenty of room to create Divine casters that are still removed from every day concerns, preserving scarcity.

• Pardoners and Inquisitors: Pardoners offered indulgences to allow people to literally pay for their sins to be forgiven. They could have the ability to call upon miracles or could just be charlatans looking to fleece the flock. Inquisitions still occurred in the EMP, just none so infamous and widespread as the Spanish and Portuguese versions. In general, an inquisition was used to rout out heresy, and with the Reformation, there was plenty of heresy to be found. Inquisitors could have been granted spell casting ability due to their dedication to orthodoxy.

• Heretics And Reformers: Basically one in the same, depending on which side of the conflict you were on. A dedication to reforming religion, getting close to God, or a deep idealism could all be grounds for earning the right to cast spells.

In the end, I'm attempting to preserve some sense of sanity in a world with divine magic. History doesn't really make any sense if every community had priests to cure wounds and save lives. From the gaming perspective, we can have a huge clergy without having Clerical magic become trivial either.

That does leave one loose end, the raising of the dead. That will be covered in a post unto itself.