My Bard from an earlier campaign retired, and I decided in his retirement he would continue to be a "player" in the fight of good against evil. Cadenza is a College of Lore Bard so among his personal aspirations are to develop a vast library for research and to improve his repertoire of music he will perform for a variety of cultures. He accumulated vast wealth so that he elected not to convert it all into coin since he had plenty of that. Instead he wanted to share his treasures with the public so they would understand that many fantastic tales they once heard were indeed true, and there were many more mysteries yet to be solved. As an adventurer, he would buy small wooden flutes and give them to children and help them learn to play.
After considering all his interests, Cadenza decided to build a new College for Bardic Study focusing on The College of Lore. His concept was to have a Globe Theatre where the Bards could practice their artistic talents and also have classrooms to teach the Arcane Magic that comes from their art. He was also going to devote much space to a library for The College so the students would get a good start on their accumulation of historic knowledge. He also decided he would maintain a special library for the faculty to entice them to come and teach at his college, and he maintained a private library that only three people knew about; himself, the Chief Librarian and The Dean of the College.
His College would need dormitory space for students and staff. He decided that the upper floors would be available for guests to stay and the lower floors would contain a tavern on the ground floor and a dining area on the second floor. A vast building of dormitory space presented a problem for bathrooms, which were by no means common in his place and time. He discovered a special rock that could be enchanted to open a portal to another dimension, and with it he created the indoor toilet. A wooden bucket is fashioned with one of the stones in the base. A seat with a hole is made over that. When one does their business it is sent to the other dimension. It was such a wonderful thing that he had to take measures to prevent them from being stolen. Essentially, if one of his buckets were moved too far from The facility, they would stop working.
He also created a plan for fresh running water. A cistern was located in the attic. A series of pipes allowed the water to flow down to different distribution points, and special corks were used to stop the flow. One only needed to uncork the pipe and fill a container and then cork it back up again. But the special feature was a blue crystal in the cistern that purified the water. So all the water in Cadenza's Inn and Tavern was the purest water in the city. Bards were available to cast prestidigitation to heat and cool the water as needed. Likewise, the Bards could clean the traveler's cloths in the morning as a service. The Bards were then able to converse with the guests and practice their skills in persuasion.
The Dining area was one of a kind because each table again had a stone that allowed the folks present at the table to enjoy a projected illusion of the "show" in the tavern if they wished to see it. In fact, there were two shows at any one time, and the patrons could enjoy either by turning the stone over. The chandeliers were lit by prestidigitation so they didn't have to be raised and lowered. Special candles were used that would not burn out, and they did not drip wax on the folks below. The Waiters and waitresses were also included bards that could heat and cool food, or modify the taste to suit any guest. In fact, the tavern didn't have to import ale because they could create the flavor of anything the bards had already tasted. If a guest wished a particular dwarven ale or an elven wine it could be served as long as the bards knew of the drink themselves. For this purpose, new drinks were sought out and brought to The College.
What other things would you want in your own College for Bards?
I would think you would want class rooms for practising playing instruments, acting, constumes, sleight of hands etc..not just the magic etc. If the college was in a city perhaps having links to the wizards and rogue training facilities. If it was me I would also have a museum to cover events the facility and its members were involved in..perhaps two versions one for the public and one for members that cover the less savoury items.
I would also look to get something linked to the stage with illusionists to use programmed illusions etc. to enhance performances.
For performance art, the bards would train by using the stage and associated facilities. For slight of hand and training of that sort, they can gather almost anywhere.
All the "College" facilities are in the rear half of Cadenza's Globe Theatre. The dormitory rooms are on the third floor. The classrooms are on the fourth floor and the instructors suites are on the fifth. The first and second floors of the rear are dedicated to the stage, dressing rooms, costume and scenery storage, scenery construction and sewing and fitting rooms.
The front half contains the guest facilities. The ground floor has two taverns, the "loud" tavern and the "quiet" tavern. The second floor has two dining rooms; then "fine" dining room and the "local" dining room. The third floor contains private rooms for guests; the fourth contains two groom suites for guests; and the fifth floor contains Cadenza's penthouse and apartments for visiting "Friends of Cadenza."
Entrance to the "library" is made by way of a portal in the attic. Kitchen facilities and storage are in the front basement.
The audience gathers in the courtyard or on the inward facing porches and balconies. The "sound system" is indeed a sort of illusionist cantrip. The courtyard stage is like Shakespeare's Globe with columns and a roof. Vendors sell some food and ale during scene changes, and most scenes are augmented with minor illusions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
My Bard from an earlier campaign retired, and I decided in his retirement he would continue to be a "player" in the fight of good against evil. Cadenza is a College of Lore Bard so among his personal aspirations are to develop a vast library for research and to improve his repertoire of music he will perform for a variety of cultures. He accumulated vast wealth so that he elected not to convert it all into coin since he had plenty of that. Instead he wanted to share his treasures with the public so they would understand that many fantastic tales they once heard were indeed true, and there were many more mysteries yet to be solved. As an adventurer, he would buy small wooden flutes and give them to children and help them learn to play.
After considering all his interests, Cadenza decided to build a new College for Bardic Study focusing on The College of Lore. His concept was to have a Globe Theatre where the Bards could practice their artistic talents and also have classrooms to teach the Arcane Magic that comes from their art. He was also going to devote much space to a library for The College so the students would get a good start on their accumulation of historic knowledge. He also decided he would maintain a special library for the faculty to entice them to come and teach at his college, and he maintained a private library that only three people knew about; himself, the Chief Librarian and The Dean of the College.
His College would need dormitory space for students and staff. He decided that the upper floors would be available for guests to stay and the lower floors would contain a tavern on the ground floor and a dining area on the second floor. A vast building of dormitory space presented a problem for bathrooms, which were by no means common in his place and time. He discovered a special rock that could be enchanted to open a portal to another dimension, and with it he created the indoor toilet. A wooden bucket is fashioned with one of the stones in the base. A seat with a hole is made over that. When one does their business it is sent to the other dimension. It was such a wonderful thing that he had to take measures to prevent them from being stolen. Essentially, if one of his buckets were moved too far from The facility, they would stop working.
He also created a plan for fresh running water. A cistern was located in the attic. A series of pipes allowed the water to flow down to different distribution points, and special corks were used to stop the flow. One only needed to uncork the pipe and fill a container and then cork it back up again. But the special feature was a blue crystal in the cistern that purified the water. So all the water in Cadenza's Inn and Tavern was the purest water in the city. Bards were available to cast prestidigitation to heat and cool the water as needed. Likewise, the Bards could clean the traveler's cloths in the morning as a service. The Bards were then able to converse with the guests and practice their skills in persuasion.
The Dining area was one of a kind because each table again had a stone that allowed the folks present at the table to enjoy a projected illusion of the "show" in the tavern if they wished to see it. In fact, there were two shows at any one time, and the patrons could enjoy either by turning the stone over. The chandeliers were lit by prestidigitation so they didn't have to be raised and lowered. Special candles were used that would not burn out, and they did not drip wax on the folks below. The Waiters and waitresses were also included bards that could heat and cool food, or modify the taste to suit any guest. In fact, the tavern didn't have to import ale because they could create the flavor of anything the bards had already tasted. If a guest wished a particular dwarven ale or an elven wine it could be served as long as the bards knew of the drink themselves. For this purpose, new drinks were sought out and brought to The College.
What other things would you want in your own College for Bards?
I would think you would want class rooms for practising playing instruments, acting, constumes, sleight of hands etc..not just the magic etc. If the college was in a city perhaps having links to the wizards and rogue training facilities. If it was me I would also have a museum to cover events the facility and its members were involved in..perhaps two versions one for the public and one for members that cover the less savoury items.
I would also look to get something linked to the stage with illusionists to use programmed illusions etc. to enhance performances.
This sounds great....portal to another dimension for the toilet is genius!!
I have running water working via windmills pumping water in a "sewer' system
The drinks is also genius.
I have a Character that makes and sells candles so I don't want that...lol great ideas
For performance art, the bards would train by using the stage and associated facilities. For slight of hand and training of that sort, they can gather almost anywhere.
All the "College" facilities are in the rear half of Cadenza's Globe Theatre. The dormitory rooms are on the third floor. The classrooms are on the fourth floor and the instructors suites are on the fifth. The first and second floors of the rear are dedicated to the stage, dressing rooms, costume and scenery storage, scenery construction and sewing and fitting rooms.
The front half contains the guest facilities. The ground floor has two taverns, the "loud" tavern and the "quiet" tavern. The second floor has two dining rooms; then "fine" dining room and the "local" dining room. The third floor contains private rooms for guests; the fourth contains two groom suites for guests; and the fifth floor contains Cadenza's penthouse and apartments for visiting "Friends of Cadenza."
Entrance to the "library" is made by way of a portal in the attic. Kitchen facilities and storage are in the front basement.
The audience gathers in the courtyard or on the inward facing porches and balconies. The "sound system" is indeed a sort of illusionist cantrip. The courtyard stage is like Shakespeare's Globe with columns and a roof. Vendors sell some food and ale during scene changes, and most scenes are augmented with minor illusions.