draft Troubadour

[rthorm@cornellbox.com]

## Note:  The number for this section is almost certainly wrong.  I just wanted
to show how the N-NNNx format rule numbering would look.  Also, this is just a
first draft, and will doubtless have further revisions.

A couple parts are still original SPI text, but this is mostly done, as a
preliminary draft.

Comments welcome.

  --Rodger


6-620  TROUBADOUR
(unrevised)
In a DragonQuest world, a minstrel who
wishes to be welcome for his entertainment
abilities during his travels is known as a
troubadour.
A troubadour becomes a multi-talented
performer as he increases his experience in the
field. The troubadour is also a student of the
people he visits, and is as knowledgeable as a
scholar in the matter of customs. A troubadour,
being a skilled actor, can also be a master of
disguise. The most useful ability a troubadour
will gain is his bardic voice, which enables him
to influence the actions of all but the deaf.
The abilities subsumed in the troubadour
rules are usable by such a character in situations
not explicitly covered in the next few pages.
The GM should improvise and allow a troubadour
character to use his skill in appropriate
instances.

[6-620a]  A troubadour adds to her repertoire of abilities as she advances in
Rank with the skill.
  A troubadour has a number of abilities from the following list equal to (Rank
+ 1):
1. Play a musical instrument.
2. Sing or chant.
3. Recite stories and legends.
4. Compose stories and legends.
5. Perform mime.
6. Mimic speech.
7. Act out skits or parody.
8. Tell and compose jokes.
9. Dance (especially folk dance).
10. Dress appropriately to all situations.
11. Simulate wide range of emotions.
12. Execute acrobatics.
13. Amuse small children.
14. Amuse semi-intelligent creatures.
15. Appear attractive.
  A character may also learn different forms of an ability.  For example, a
character may learn to play several different musical instruments, or may learn
another culture's forms of dance.  Different forms of the same ability should
represent major divisions rather than minor variations of an ability, such as
playing a harp and a fiddle.  Each additional form costs 500 Experience Points
and takes (15 - Rank) days to learn.
  The GM may also create additional abilities for troubador characters as
appropriate for her campaign world.

[6-620b]  A troubadour adds 2 per Rank to their base chance to perform minor
magic.  If the difficulty factor of the attempt is 1 or less, the character
adds only 1 per Rank to the base chance.

[6-620c]  A troubadour who is also a member of the College of Illusions adds 1
per Rank to the base chance of any spell specific to the college.  

[6-620d]  A troubadour may use her Perception to attempt to learn the manners
and customs of other cultures of humanoids which she is not already familiar
with.  The troubadour adds 2 per Rank to her base chance.  If the difficulty
factor of the attempt is 1 or less, the character adds only 1 per Rank to the
base chance.

[6-620e]  A troubadour is able to disguise herself to appear to be a different
gender, profession, social class, or race.
  The disguise ability is not intended to allow the troubadour to attempt to
appear as another specific individual, but rather to appear to be someone other
than who she really is.  The GM may also impose severe penalties if the
character is physically unsuited for the disguise they are attempting to adopt
(such as a dwarf attempting to disguise herself as an elf).  Conversely, the GM
may award bonuses if the character has added aptitudes or knowledge to help
with the disguise. 
  The troubadour's base chance to avoid detection is ([12 x Rank] - [2 x
Observer's Perception])%.  If the troubadour is attempting to appear to be of
the opposite gender, her base chance is reduced by (11 - Troubadour Rank).  If
the troubadour is attempting to appear to be of another race, the base chance
is further reduced by [2 x Observer's Perception].
(unrevised)
If the GM's roll on percentile dice is equal
to or less than the troubadour's success
percentage, the being to whom the troubadour is
falsely representing himself is taken in. If the
roll is greater than the success percentage, the
being notices inconsistencies (with the role
being assumed) in the troubadour's appearance
or behavior. The inconsistency becomes more
glaring as the roll approaches 100.
If a troubadour is using disguise in close
proximity to a being, a check against their
success percentage must be made every hour.

[6-620f]  A troubadour has the ability to charm a number of beings with the
special Bardic Voice ability.
  All creatures the troubadour is attempting to charm must be able to understand
the language she speaks.  A troubadour must speak a language at Rank 5 or
better in order to attempt to charm beings using that language.
  A troubadour may attempt to charm up to (2 + [2 x Rank]) beings at once.  If
there are more than that number of beings in the troubadour's presence, she may
select which beings to specifically target.  The Bardic Voice ability cannot be
used during combat, but it may be used against beings who are hostile to the
troubadour.
  The troubadour's success chance is ([10 x Troubadour's Rank] - [2x Being's
Willpower])%.  A separate roll must be made for each figure being charmed.  If
the roll is a success, the target is charmed as described in the E&E Charm
spell.  Otherwise, the target being is unaffected.
  A troubador spends (15 - Rank) Fatigue Points to exercise this ability.  If
the she has fewer than that many Fatigue Points available, she may not attempt
to use the ability.

[6-620g]  A troubadour must spend at least (50 + [100 x Rank]) Silver Pennies
per year for upkeep and maintenance.  This includes such things as props,
costumes, and other materials required for the trade.  A troubadour who has not
met the upkeep requirements is treated as operating at two Ranks below their
proper Rank.  If this reduces the character's Rank to a negative number, the
character may not perform any troubadour ability.

[6-620h]  A character may obtain a limited number of Troubadour abilities
without acquiring the troubadour skill.  Any of the abilities listed in
[6-620a] may be learned from an instructor.  Each ability costs 500 Experience
Points.  A character does not need to devote an entire track of study to
learning the ability (it is assumed to be a recreational activity the character
pursues in her leisure), but it takes a full year to completely develop the
ability.  Only one such ability may be studied at any time.
  A character who learns a troubadour ability this way without becoming a
troubadour may later choose to take the troubadour skill.  The character may
immediately begin to study and spend Experience Points for Rank 1 and can be
assumed to already be at Rank 0 because of their ability.  If a character has
learned several abilities, the character needs to spend only half the usual
time needed to increase Rank, but will not learn any further new abilities
until their Rank warrants it.

[6-620i]  A troubador of Rank 1 or higher with an appropriate entertainment
skill may attempt to make a living as an itinerant performer.  In this way, a
troubador may be able to exchange song and news for his room and board. The
troubador must be in a town or other location where there are enough possible
customers for him to make his way in this fashion.  Adventurers? Guildhalls,
inns and taverns, as well as the homes of merchants and nobles all may welcome
a troubador with news from afar, fresh songs, or a repertoire of mime or
dance.
  For each week the troubador seeks to earn a performer?s living, roll D100, and
if the troubador also has courtesan skill, subtract that Rank from the roll. If
the roll is above (80 + Troubador Rank), the performer is out of luck and must
pay for food & lodging, etc.  Otherwise, the troubador has earned a low
comfortable/high subsistence lifestyle for the week.
  As an itinerant performer, the troubador earns (5 + D5) x (Rank + 2) Silver
Pennies a week. Alternately, he may choose to roll D100 using the Starting
Silver Pennies Table [DragonQuest 8.5] and subtract 10 from the roll and add
his Rank.
  If the roll is equal or below (5 x Rank), the troubador lives comfortably. If
it is below (2 x Rank) he lives expensively and his earnings are doubled.  If
the roll is equal or below his Rank, he lives extravagantly and earns three
times the amount rolled. If the roll is less than (1/2 x Rank), there may be an
extraordinary encounter or event.

(Footnotes)
Note that [6-620h] is a new addition and is not part of 2nd Ed.  [6-620i] is
taken from rule 117 Troubadour Itinerancy from Poor Brendan's Almanac.

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