Maybe he attracts the attention of a helpful NPC each time he recites a new portion of his ballad? Maybe his party comes into some good fortune when he shares a new portion of his ballad? Maybe he miraculously stumbles on that special thing he needed? Maybe he obtains an older Bard patron that decides to mentor the budding young talent?
Perhaps they are given a wealthy patron that is enamoured with their work. This could be both a boon, and at times a bane. Said patron might be fanboygirl level of crazy and stalk the player, or they could throw money at them in Hope's of being seen as the patron to the finest bard around. That kind of prestige has meaning and force in the right places. Give them additional notoriety among certain circles, perhaps giving them advantage to get out of a sticky situation. Perhaps they might find the location of a bardic instrument that the party can go retrieve, or receive it in return for a favor.
Plot hooks can be a very rewarding thing from good roleplay ideas.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
If you're looking for suggestions for mechanical benefits... maybe once they complete the ballad you could give the player a variation of the Inspiring Leader feat, with the justification being that instead of making a rousing speech he's instead reciting some of his epic ballad and it inspires everyone to perform better.
Not a bad idea there, lines up pretty well honestly.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Or give your bard a free casting of the Heroism spell once per day provided that this character has the capability to tell the story during long rests.
Or give your bard a free casting of the Heroism spell once per day provided that this character has the capability to tell the story during long rests.
This sounds somewhat cheesey but it could be like he tells them to remember (quote from the story) and don't give up hope! Much like a preacher reminding the parish about events in the bible to inspire them. Be strong like Samwise Gamgee, never give up. Maybe Heroism, or Bless at a level that increases with their progress in the story (more targets) or it casts at your highest available spell slot? I would probably say have it cost a bardic inspiration, I might also suggest make it a bonus action to do this and once per day.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Certain layers of irony could work. What if the Greatest Song Ever Written (tm) turns out to be Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town"? You could easily lead someone down that path, or likewise to any song. Feel like it's better if it has some artistic merit but isn't the best, is surprising, or becomes a reference to something the players, esp the bard, can slowly discover.
One of the PC's at my table, a Bard, has decided to focus on writing the world's greatest ballad.
I'm looking for some inspiration on how to reward the player for spending his downtime perfecting his story.
I'm curious if anyone in the community has some interesting ideas / mechanics I could tie to his song as I'd like to represent him progressing.
Maybe he attracts the attention of a helpful NPC each time he recites a new portion of his ballad? Maybe his party comes into some good fortune when he shares a new portion of his ballad? Maybe he miraculously stumbles on that special thing he needed? Maybe he obtains an older Bard patron that decides to mentor the budding young talent?
Instead of writing the greatest ballad in the world, they could just write a tribute ballad?
I understood that reference.
Perhaps they are given a wealthy patron that is enamoured with their work. This could be both a boon, and at times a bane. Said patron might be fanboygirl level of crazy and stalk the player, or they could throw money at them in Hope's of being seen as the patron to the finest bard around. That kind of prestige has meaning and force in the right places. Give them additional notoriety among certain circles, perhaps giving them advantage to get out of a sticky situation. Perhaps they might find the location of a bardic instrument that the party can go retrieve, or receive it in return for a favor.
Plot hooks can be a very rewarding thing from good roleplay ideas.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
If you're looking for suggestions for mechanical benefits... maybe once they complete the ballad you could give the player a variation of the Inspiring Leader feat, with the justification being that instead of making a rousing speech he's instead reciting some of his epic ballad and it inspires everyone to perform better.
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Not a bad idea there, lines up pretty well honestly.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Or give your bard a free casting of the Heroism spell once per day provided that this character has the capability to tell the story during long rests.
This sounds somewhat cheesey but it could be like he tells them to remember (quote from the story) and don't give up hope! Much like a preacher reminding the parish about events in the bible to inspire them. Be strong like Samwise Gamgee, never give up. Maybe Heroism, or Bless at a level that increases with their progress in the story (more targets) or it casts at your highest available spell slot? I would probably say have it cost a bardic inspiration, I might also suggest make it a bonus action to do this and once per day.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Certain layers of irony could work. What if the Greatest Song Ever Written (tm) turns out to be Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town"? You could easily lead someone down that path, or likewise to any song. Feel like it's better if it has some artistic merit but isn't the best, is surprising, or becomes a reference to something the players, esp the bard, can slowly discover.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I think I'm going to make a tiered variant of the inspiring leader feat as he progresses.
JickCoolGuy, that's a fantastic idea XD
What'd you end up going with?