Lysander
2009-07-02, 03:04 PM
Here's an ability for Genre savvy bards to employ. By spending a Bardic Music use truly gifted storytellers can break the fourth wall and talk to the universe itself.
Bardic Aside
A bard with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill that involves talking, like poetry or oratory, can pause time to explain their viewpoint to an unknown omnipotent observer (the DM). This requires coming up with a witty comment or insightful observation worth relating. While time is stopped no other creatures can hear anything the bard says, and no effect can harm, aid, move or alter any object, and the bard cannot perform any action other than talking.
On a successful roll however the omnipotent observer will bend the laws of reality to slightly favor the bard in their current plight. A bard still remains mostly stationary, and cannot affect other creatures or objects not in their possession, but can achieve a minor task during the aside. These boons include things like:
*Taking a single move action while everything else remains frozen
*Being able to take 10 on a skill you otherwise wouldn't have time to take 10 on
*Doing a normally lengthy but stationary action, like opening a book mid-fight to read a chapter about an enemy, or combing your hair upon meeting an attractive stranger
*Performing a search or spot check with a +2 bonus
*Examining something that is normally harmful to look at (like a basilisk), because nothing harmful can happen to anything during an aside
The bard can select what effect to attempt when performing an aside, but a DM may substitute a more appropriate one. An aside's DC rises alongside the helpfulness of the action and how dangerous the situation is.
Only one aside can be used by a bard per minute.
Bardic Aside
A bard with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill that involves talking, like poetry or oratory, can pause time to explain their viewpoint to an unknown omnipotent observer (the DM). This requires coming up with a witty comment or insightful observation worth relating. While time is stopped no other creatures can hear anything the bard says, and no effect can harm, aid, move or alter any object, and the bard cannot perform any action other than talking.
On a successful roll however the omnipotent observer will bend the laws of reality to slightly favor the bard in their current plight. A bard still remains mostly stationary, and cannot affect other creatures or objects not in their possession, but can achieve a minor task during the aside. These boons include things like:
*Taking a single move action while everything else remains frozen
*Being able to take 10 on a skill you otherwise wouldn't have time to take 10 on
*Doing a normally lengthy but stationary action, like opening a book mid-fight to read a chapter about an enemy, or combing your hair upon meeting an attractive stranger
*Performing a search or spot check with a +2 bonus
*Examining something that is normally harmful to look at (like a basilisk), because nothing harmful can happen to anything during an aside
The bard can select what effect to attempt when performing an aside, but a DM may substitute a more appropriate one. An aside's DC rises alongside the helpfulness of the action and how dangerous the situation is.
Only one aside can be used by a bard per minute.