Throughout the land, a bard is a messenger, historian and storyteller of the Land. Bards are generally welcome wherever they travel, since they bring with them tidings of other lands and governments, as well as the most current prophecies of the Omenari, theories of Maugtheni Cahedra, and a fair share of epic stories and tall tales. Bards are also often used by nobles and merchants as diplomats and negotiators, and when a stage is available, as a minstrel or actor. On the road, Bards usually travel in parties or caravans, and rarely alone; to make their fortune and their Name, bards generally seek out the “up-and-coming” greats of the land, attach themselves as best they can to their target’s retinue, and hope that events of historic proportion come their way, so that they might record them in verse and song.
Bardic Collges in Narenfel
Most bards have patrons. For example, in Callen Moor, Bards often work for one of the five ruling houses, spreading propaganda, or gathering intelligence. Some prefer to work for organizations, such as the Guild of Travels, or the Silver Tide.
Bards tend to rank themselves according to where they studied their arts. The most prestigious Bardic colleges are in the Maugholdings (Maug’s Libram) and Bramm (Urselo Tor). However, many other smaller Bardic colleges exist across Narenfel.
Here is a brief list of notable bardic colleges , and what they are known for.
• Maug’s Libram (Maugholdings) – scholarly, well-rounded, reputation for the best and brightest and wittiest.
• Urselo Tor (Bramm) – focus on statecraft, politics and propaganda.
• The Prismatic Spires (Callen Moor) – magic and the perceptive arts, rhetoric and literature
• Dawn Hall (New Wyntiri) – musical arts, including exotic instruments like the waveharp, poetry
• St. Benevin’s College of Heraldry (Regimantis) – History, heraldry, and blade-craft
• Bard Rooks (Temples of Farbelz) – ad hoc learning, by whatever tutor happens to be in residence.
Bard Spell List
Bards in the lands of Narenfel have access to a slightly altered list of spells from those listed in the Players Handbook. Because Shadari magic is shunned and is considered both immoral and illegal, spells from the school of Illusion are not part of the Bard’s list, and may not be learned, unless with specific discussion and approval of the DM.