Wednesday, September 20, 2023

The original bard class, adapted for Swords & Wizardry

Doug Schwegman's pioneering bard class, introduced in the February 1976 issue of The Strategic Review, deserves to be celebrated for its lasting influence on the game. Ever since its adoption into the AD&D Players Handbook in 1978 (albeit with numerous alterations), some iteration of the concept has been present in most every official version of the rules. That said, Schwegman's actual article is a tad rambling and has a tendency to tuck vital nuggets of game information away in the midst of some pretty convoluted paragraphs. This is my attempt to clean it up and reframe in the format used by my favorite contempory take on Original D&D, Swords & Wizardy. My only concessions to the new format were the addition of prime attributes (the SR article was mum on this), extrapolating a likely solution to what appears to be a typo in the description of followers available to sixth college bards, and the ommission of the bonus experience awards for succeeding at the charm and lore abilities (as S&W uses a somewhat variant experience system).

BARD

The celebrated Bards are an order of arcane warrior-poets. Cunning loremasters as well as entertainers extraordinare, their ancient art encorporates martial prowess, stealth, and magical might. As true jacks of all trades, they can never hope to rival Fighters, Magic-Users, or Thieves within their respective realms of expertise, yet their peerless social aptitude, deep reservoir of knowledge, and sheer flexibility grant them an undeniable edge all their own.

ABOUT BARDS

Prime Attribute: Strength and Intelligence, both 13+ (+5% experience bonus).

Hit Dice:1d6/level (Gains 1 hp/level after 10th level).

Armor/Shield Permitted: Leather, ring, chain; shield permitted.

Weapons Permitted: Any.

Ancestry: Human, Dwarf (maximum 8th level), Elf (maximum 8th level), Halfling (maximum 8th level).

Alignment: Bards may be of any alignment, although most are Neutral and on friendly terms with druidic organizations. Lawful bards do not have access to thieving skills.

Magic Items: Bards may employ any magic item usable by Fighters, Thieves, or members of all classes. Additionally, they may use (but not create) Magic-User scrolls. At the Referee's discretion, magic items based on sound (Horn of Blasting, Pipes of the Sewers, etc.) may have enhanced effects when used by Bards.

Fighting Ability: Bards use the same attack and saving throw tables as Clerics. They do not gain any class-specific saving throw bonuses, however.

Bardic Colleges: Bard characters derive thier many skills from training obtained through scholarly organizations known as colleges. These scarcely resemble institutions of higher learning as we know them, instead being loose yet far-reaching webs of association maintained between individual Bards of similar accomplishment. While Bards of higher colleges can often be snobbish about associating with their "lessers" in lower ones, all Bards tend to be fiercely loyal to their fellows and the college system as a whole, regardless of alignment. It is rumored that magical intruments with wonderous effects exist that can only be properly played by Bards of a high enough college.

BARD CLASS ABILITIES

Thievery: Non-Lawful Bards have thieving abilities equal to a Thief of half their current level (round down). Non-human Bards benefit from the same bonuses non-human Thieves do. Note that Bards do not gain a Backstab ability and cannot climb walls or move silently when wearing any armor heavier than leather.

Spell Casting: Bards learn, prepare, and cast Magic-User spells in the same manner members of that class do. They cannot cast spells while wearing any form of non-magical armor.

Charm: The mystical song of Bards has a percentage chance of mesmerizing any listeners within a 60-foot radius of them. This power may be used up to once per level per day and affected beings will do nothing but stand in place listening to the Bard until the singing stops, the Bard leaves the area of effect, or they are attacked or otherwise startled. The Bard may attempt to verbally implant a suggestion in any charmed being (as per the 3rd level Magic-User spell). A saving throw is permitted to resist the suggestion and success both breaks the charm and is apt to leave the target very angry. A Bard's song also nullifies the hazardous effect of a harpy's. Situational modifers apply to charm attempts, as per the chart below.

Bard Charm Modifiers

Bard has charisma 15+ Bard is an Elf Target is a Monk Target is other classed character Target is undead Target is demon Target is other monster Bard has AC bonus from magic items
+5% per point above 14 +5% -10%/level -5% per level over four -10%/HD -200% -5% per HD over three -5% per point of bonus

Lore: This number represents the Bard's base percentage chance to possess information relating to a person, place, item, or event deemed significant enough by the Referee to have inspired tales and legends within the campaign setting. It can be used to identify magic items, but the chance of success will generally be half normal (or less) if the item in question is not a weapon or piece of armor. Bards of Elf ancestry gain +5% to this ability.

Expert Linguist: Being both highly educated and well-traveled, a Bard may learn as many additional languages as he or she has points of Intelligence.

Followers: As natural leaders, Bards attract a much higher than usual number of special hirelings, as shown in the accompanying chart. The class of each is determined using the "Bard Follower Classes" chart. Higher level follower slots will generally be taken up by already existing followers who have advanced in level, rather than all new ones. For example, a Bard who advances from the first college to the second will be joined by a new first level follower and one of the previous two will be promoted to second level in order to fill that slot on the chart. A Bard need not pay these followers, and ones that die or otherwise leave the campaign are not replaced. Bards following other Bards will not have their own followers. If the optional morale rules are used, these followers gain a +4 morale bonus (not cumulative with any bonus from high Charisma, but low Charisma penalties still apply).

Bard Follower by College

College Followers by Level
1 2 3 4 5 6
First 2 - - - - -
Second 2 1 - - - -
Third 3 2 1 - - -
Fourth 3 3 2 - - -
Fifth 3 3 3 3 - -
Sixth 4 4 4 3 3 -
Seventh 4 4 4 4 4 4

Bard Follower Classes

01-30% 31-55% 56-75% 76-90% 91-99% 100%
Bard Druid Fighter Thief Magic-User Roll twice, ignoring 100%

Bard Advancement Table

Level* XP Required for Level Hit Dice (d6)** Saving Throw College Charm/Lore Number of Spells (by level)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 0 1 15 - 10% - - - - - - -
2 1,000 2 14 1st 20% 1 - - - - - -
3 4,000 3 13 1st 30% 1 - - - - - -
4 9,000 4 12 1st 40% 2 - - - - - -
5 16,000 5 11 2nd 50% 3 - - - - - -
6 25,000 6 10 2nd 60% 3 1 - - - - -
7 50,000 7 9 2nd 70% 4 1 - - - - -
8 100,000 8 8 3rd 80% 4 2 - - - - -
9 150,000 9 7 3rd 90% 4 2 - - - - -
10 200,000 10 6 3rd 100% 4 2 1 - - - -
11 250,000 10+1 hp 5 4th 110% 4 2 1 - - - -
12 300,000 10+2 hp 4 4th 120% 4 2 2 - - - -
13 400,000 10+3 hp 4 4th 130% 4 3 2 - - - -
14 500,000 10+4 hp 4 5th 140% 4 3 2 1 - - -
15 600,000 10+5 hp 4 5th 150% 4 3 3 1 - - -
16 700,000 10+6 hp 4 5th 160% 4 3 3 2 - - -
17 800,000 10+7 hp 4 6th 170% 4 3 3 2 - - -
18 900,000 10+8 hp 4 6th 180% 4 3 3 2 1 - -
19 1,000,000 10+9 hp 4 6th 190% 4 4 3 2 1 - -
20 1,100,000 10+10 hp 4 7th 200% 4 4 3 3 2 - -
21 1,200,000 10+11 hp 4 7th 210% 4 4 4 3 2 - -
22 1,300,000 10+12 hp 4 7th 220% 4 4 4 3 3 - -
23 1,400,000 10+13 hp 4 7th 230% 4 4 4 4 3 - -
24 1,500,000 10+14 hp 4 7th 240% 4 4 4 4 4 1 -
25 1,600,000 10+15 hp 4 7th 250% 5 5 4 4 4 2 1

*Bards are capped at 25 levels of ability.
**Hit points shown for levels after the character no longer gains full hit dice are the total combined number. A 12th-level Bard has 10 HD plus 2 hit points total, not 10 HD plus one hit point gained at 11th level and another 2 hit points gained at 12th.

An expanded armor table for Swords & Wizardy

On a recent read through the latest edition of Swords & Wizardry, an adaptation of the original D&D from the mid-'70s, it struck me that the equipment list notably includes ring mail armor in addition to the leather, chain, and plate varieties found in the source text. This got me thinking more generally about the various armor types beyond that "basic three" that were added to the game over time, particularly in AD&D. Some of them, like the aforementioned ring armor or studded leather, have little to no precedent in historical or archaelogical records. With that in mind, here's my take on an expanded armor list that's broadly compatible with the ones found in later editions. I kept the more dubious items in for tradition's sake, but flagged them as such, making them easy to ignore if you're a stickler about such things. Enjoy!

Armor

Armor Type Effect on AC from a base of 9[10] Weight** (pounds) Cost
Shield -1[+1] 10 15 gp
Padded gambeson -1[+1] 15 3 gp
Leather -2[+2] 25 5 gp
Ring*, scale, studded leather* -3[+3] 40 30 gp
Chain -4[+4] 50 75 gp
Banded*, brigandine, lamellar, laminar, splint -5[+5] 60 85 gp
Plate -6[+6] 70 100 gp
*Possibly ahistorical armor type.
**Magical armor weighs half normal.