You’ve traveled from tavern to tavern, spreading what you believe to be “joy and love” through your music.
Crowds gather wherever you perform — but not for the reasons you think.
Your guttural singing, violent strumming, and terrifying stage presence send audiences screaming in panic.
To you, these screams are adoration.
To everyone else, you are a walking urban legend — Pig Pipes, the bugbear bard whose concerts always end in chaos.
- Ability Scores: Primary Abilities: Charisma and Strength
Bards who come from this background thrive on charisma to inspire and manipulate crowds — whether those crowds are actually cheering or fleeing in terror.
Strength represents the raw physicality of their performance, especially when their instrument doubles as a weapon, like Murgash’s infamous Love Stick.
- Feat: Accidental Riot Starter
Whenever you perform in a settlement, a crowd will gather. Within 1d4 hours, tension will boil over into chaos: taverns may descend into full-blown riots, local authorities might intervene, and enemies may be distracted.
For the next hour, you and your allies gain advantage on Stealth and Deception checks while moving through that crowd.
The chaos also counts as light cover or difficult terrain for enemies attempting to reach you.
To you, this uproar is simply “big love from the crowd.”
You never truly understand why everyone flees screaming.
- Skill Proficiencies: You gain proficiency in the Deception and Acrobatics skills.
- Deception: Represents your clumsy attempts to convince audiences you’re a beloved star or to talk your way out of trouble.
- Acrobatics: Covers your chaotic stage dives, tavern brawls, and dramatic movement during performances.
- Tool Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with two tools:
- Disguise Kit – For creating elaborate stage personas or blending in after a disastrous performance.
- One musical instrument, such as Bagpipes or Pan Flute, fitting your nickname “Pig Pipes.”
- Languages: You also learn one additional language of your choice.
Many disaster entertainers pick up bits of Common, Dwarvish, or Elvish to reach “wider audiences,” though they rarely understand the words fully.
- Equipment:
- Love Stick (your battered lute/greatclub hybrid, your signature instrument).
- A set of mismatched performer’s clothes patched together from tavern shows.
- A pouch containing 15 gp.
- A small keepsake from your very first performance, like a broken mug etched with “Pig Pipes Forever.”
Suggested Characteristics
Personality Traits
1. "Crowds scream because they love me."
2. "Tears are passion, running is excitement."
3. "I play loud enough for everyone to hear, even if they don’t want to."
4. "If they boo, they just want me to play harder."
5. "Every show is the start of a new legend."
6. "My music is the sound of destiny... and broken strings."
Ideals
1. Love: Music unites all hearts (even terrified ones).
2. Chaos: True art comes from total destruction.
3. Freedom: Songs cannot be caged, and neither can I.
4. Glory: My name will be sung across the realms!
5. Comedy: If they laugh, it’s good... even if they laugh at me.
6. Truth: My songs reveal the deepest truths (mostly about me).
Bonds
1. My Love Stick is my soul; harm it and you harm me.
2. I will one day play a show where no one runs away.
3. I seek the crowd that truly understands me.
4. A mysterious patron keeps booking my shows — I must discover who.
5. My first fan disappeared into the crowd. I’ll find them.
6. My tribe may laugh at me now, but I’ll show them my greatness.
Flaws
1. I mistake fear for love.
2. I don’t know when to stop performing.
3. I think applause fixes everything.
4. I can’t read social cues — at all.
5. If they boo me, I go into a destructive rage.
6. I assume everyone is part of my act.
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