Barding Harps From the Strategic Review Volume 2 Issue 1 February 1976) by Doug Schwegma

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Barding Harps From the Strategic Review Volume 2 Issue 1 February 1976) by Doug Schwegman

Barding harps are rare magical items which aid a bard on his long and dangerous adventures. There are five types of Barding harps, one on each of the miscellaneous magic tables.

TABLE 1 Fochlucm Harp: This harp adds 10% to a bard's chance of charming a creature. In addition to this it has three songs. The first of these and most powerful is its song of protection from evil which is equivalent to the third level spell. The second song is one of defense which casts a shield around the bard and is like the first level spell 'shield'. The last song casts a circle of light around what ever the bard desires (the party, an object, etc.) and is equivalent to the second level magic user's spell 'continual light'. This harp can only be played by a bard of the fochlucan college or higher, a first level bard who attempts to play the harp will take from 1-10 points of damage. The songs of this harp are playable only once per day by the bards of the Fochlucan college, for each additional college above this a bard is able to play the songs one more time per day.

TABLE 2 Mac-Fuirmidh Harp: This harp adds 20% to a bard's chances of charming a creature and also possesses the three songs of the Fochlucan Harp. In addition to this the harp has two more songs. The first of these turns the bard invisible and keeps him so until he stops playing. In this state he may still be located by the sound of his harp though the sound appears to come from nowhere; this makes the bard very hard to hit and baffles stupid creatures. The second song enables a bard to strengthen fighters and is like the second level strength spell except that it lasts as long as the bard has strength to keep playing, the spell is broken when the bard stops or is stopped by interruption, The Mac-Fuirmidh Harp is playable only by bards of the Mac-Fuirmidh college or higher, its songs, like the other barding harps, are playable but once per day unless a bard is of a higher college whereupon he may play the songs of this harp once more per day for every higher college he has attained. Note that a Mac-Fuirmidh bard would be able to play the harps first three songs (shield, protection/evil, and light) twice per day. A bard who is lower than the MacFuirmidh college who tries to play the harp will suffer 2-20 points of damage.

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TABLE 3 Doss Lyre: This Lyre adds 30% to a bard's chance of charming creatures and has all the abilities of the Mac-Fuirmidh Harp as well. In addition to this the lyre has two special songs. The first song enables the bard to fly up to the limitations of the third level spell 'fly' with the exception that it lasts as long as the bard is able to play. The faster or the higher a bard tries to fly the quicker he becomes tired. Generally, a bard is only able to keep up maximum speed or very high altitudes for as many turns as his level; after this a roll of a 1-4 on a six-sided die indicates the bard has collapsed, unconscious from his efforts. The second song of the lyre is equivalent to the third level dispell magic spell in which the bard ratios his level over the level of the caster to determine his chance of success. These two songs are playable but once per day unless the bard is of a higher college than Doss. A bard of the college of Doss with this harp could use each of the first three songs three times per day, the next two songs (invisibility and strength) twice each per day. A bard of a lower college than Doss who attempts to play this lyre will suffer from 6-36 points of damage.

TABLE 4 Canaith Lyre: This lyre adds 40% to a bard's chance of charming creatures and has all the abilities of a Doss Lyre. In addition it has two special
songs. The first song is like the fourth level 'confusion' spell. The second is like the fourth level 'fear' spell. In addition to this the lyre has a healing song which when played can heal the listeners from 2-12 points of damage, this song is playable once per day only regardless of a bard's higher levels. A bard of a college lower than Canaith who attempts to play the Lyre will suffer between 6-48 points of damage.

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TABLE 5 Cli Mandolin: This Mandolin adds 50% to a bard's chance of charming creatures and has all the abilities of a Canaith Lyre. In addition to this it has the power of telekinesis, contains one elemental, and can heal better than the Caith Lyre, being able to heal from 3-18 points of damage. (Note that this is the only healing it can do; the abilities of the Canaith Lyre are not accumulative in this Mandolin; that is, it does not heal 2- 12 and 3-18 from those who listen to its song. This Mandolin also has a song of fire which is like the fourth level spell and can remove curses like the fourth level spell. For each college above Cli a bard can use these two spells once more per day. A Bard of a lower college than Cli who attempts to play this Mandolin will suffer from 6-60 points of damage.

It is important to note that a bard cannot tell two barding harps apart for all of the above instruments have powerful enchantments laid upon them so that they all appear as harps and until a bard attempts to play them he does not know what type of instrument it might be, nor what college it is from, for only a wish could reveal this information.