Atlas   Rules   Resources   Adventures   Stories       FAQ   Search   Links

Magic Based on Music

by Håvard

I started thinking about Magic based on Music and sound when I was researching Guidarezzo in this topic. Bards do not have such a long history in Mystara publications. The class was introduced to BECMI relatively late with the Robrenn installment of the Princess Ark series. Music and song, however, have been adressed much earlier, along with magical abilities linked to music.

The following creatures have abilities linked to music:

Creatures and Characters

• Bards
• Kantaleer (GAZF10)
• Harpies
• Faenare (PC2)
• Faenare Windsinger (PC2)
• Tonals
• Fauns (PC1)
• Gyerians (AC9)
• Birds
• Shriekers
• Nixies

Immortals

• Thalia
• Guidarezzo
• Bragi (Master Set)
• Calitha Starbrow
• Faunus

Magic Items

• Pipes of Panic (PC1, p61)
• Drums of Panic
• Horn of Blasting
• Chime of Time

The Book of Marvellous Magic also has tons of other magic musical instruments.

My question is: Is there a way for us to make a stronger connection between these creatures, Immortals and magical items? Can powerful Bards or Faenare learn to summon Tonals? What happens if a Bard gets his hands on a set of Drums of Panic? Can Faenare invite Fauns to join its choir?