Some performers travel, have grand adventures, break their instruments and become the ill-fated entertainers of whom minstrels sing mournful ballads. Homebodies such as yourself, however, learn, practice, and ply their craft from the safety of one primary inn or bar. You're well-known in your community, but it's your ability to make every hearthfire feel like a home that wins over your audience.
- Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion or Deception, One choice between Sleight of Hand, History, Religion, Insight, and Performance
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical instrument
- Languages: One choice between Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Gnomish and Halfling
- Equipment: A musical instrument (one of your choice), a souvenir from a traveling admirer (love letter, a detailed map of an exotic location, or a trinket), a set of common clothes, brewer's supplies, a gaming set (one of your choice), and a pouch containing 10 gp
You know what you know and you stick with it. Whatever your level of skill, you have a few go-to numbers on your set-list to perform. Choose up to three numbers or roll on the table below to define your gig as a housebard.
| d8 | Regular Gig |
|---|---|
| 1 | Acting |
| 2 | Telling jokes |
| 3 | Playing music |
| 4 | Reciting poetry |
| 5 | Singing |
| 6 | Telling tales |
| 7 | Performing magic tricks |
| 8 | Dancing |
Whenever you visit an inn or tavern, the ingenuous way that you have about you engages the attendees' interest and puts them at ease. Commoners inside these establishments are more comfortable with sharing locale information, news, rumors, gossip and secrets with you. If they have been privy to your performance, they are inclined to aid in you in times of need with food and shelter (of a poor or modest standard) as long as you perform each night.
Drunken commoners who enjoyed your performance are likely to aid you by covering for you if enemies are present, or in unarmed combat if things become rowdy while inside these establishments.
Suggested Characteristics
Establishing familiarity with your audience using banter and good-natured conversation makes you appear an unpretentious and sympathetic sort. Maybe you're the type to lead the entire bar in a song for a patron on their nameday, to talk a customer through some heartbreak that your performance dredged up, or to correctly guess a bashful traveler's favorite poet. Does brokering a sense of community through performance motivate you, or is there another reason that you've stayed smalltime?
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can spin a tale relevant to almost every situation. |
| 2 | Even surrounded by people, I still feel alone. |
| 3 | I can exaggerate mundane occurences into something exciting when I sense others' boredom. |
| 4 | People have a hard time staying mad at me, even when I've been ornery. |
| 5 | I'm always up for a laugh and a drink with my companions. |
| 6 | I envy people with lives more thrilling than my own, who have experienced more of the world. |
| 7 | I pride myself on finding just the right words to provide what people need to hear. |
| 8 | I can only feel comfortable when I know that the people around me do, too. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Charity. I don't do what I do for profit. I do it to help peoples' days end on a high note. (Good) |
| 2 | Tradition. The quaint idiosyncracies of those I entertain must be respected. They made me who I am. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Notoriety. My story is just beginning. No matter how it ends, I won't let it be dull! (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Exploitation. Drunkards and pastoral folk will foolishly trust anyone who smiles at them. (Evil) |
| 5 | Sincerity. The connection I forge with my audience is real and I wouldn't trade it for anything. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Self-Improvement. With every performance, with every return patron, I feel more competent. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My instrument is my most treasured possession, and it reminds me of someone I've lost. |
| 2 | I swear that one day I will reunite with the mysterious traveler who once stole my heart. |
| 3 | I perform in obscurity for the safety of myself or another, but there is always the fear of being discovered. |
| 4 | I yearn to meet an adventurer spectacular enough to inspire my craft to greatness. |
| 5 | I know of someplace far away where my true hidden potential would be appreciated. |
| 6 | My home establishment means everything to me. It defined my youth. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I prefer to drink freely when I socialize for fun, socializing and fun optional. |
| 2 | I tend to become infatuated with new faces almost as quickly as I grow bored when the novelty wears off. |
| 3 | I can be overinvested in the problems of the drunken patrons I encounter and lose focus. |
| 4 | People who suck the joy out of things grate on my nerves and I let it ruin my mood, too. |
| 5 | Sometimes I'm overfamiliar with strangers out of habit, even if it offends them. |
| 6 | Despite the image I project, my affability is often insincere. |
You may not have the comforts of city or town living, but you make do by the light of one primary (and toasty) campfire. For whatever reason, you prefer to stick to a camping or resting ground near a crossroad or area where travelers can find resources and respite. Distracting tired pilgrims, migrants, travelers and adventurers from the weariness of the road is your specialty. And many times, they're just as averse to asking probing questions as you may be.
Whether beneath the open sun or by moonlight and the stars, your natural amiabilty despite the lack of society's trappings makes you a comforting presence in transit. Commoners you share a campfire with at friendly outdoor settlements and in passing in the great outdoors (arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, or swamp terrain) are more comfortable with sharing locale information, news, rumors, gossip and secrets with you. If they have been privy to your performance, they are inclined to aid you in times of need with food and shelter (of a poor or modest standard) as long as you perform each night.
Drunken commoners who enjoyed your performance are likely to aid you by covering for you if enemies are present, or in unarmed combat if things become rowdy while encamped.
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