Session Zero and all OOC chat

Who's ready to rock!?!?

In reply to Lord Psynister (msg # 2):

if you want someone on drum or bass (if there even is a dnd equivalent to a bass lol) I got you

My current character concept is a Kenku Creations Bard.

Hi folks!

Although colleges are a little way off and this would delay that, I wonder if taking a level or two of another class along the way is ok? It affects what college to aim at.

Anyway, I'm considering playing a bit of a bruiser, a fighter in what would be a normal party.

As far as music goes, are we considering a pseudo-rock band or something more authentically mediaeval in theme?

In reply to Mandacaru (msg # 5):

As long as your character's base class is some form of bard starting out at level 3, I don't mind multiclassing, not every musical artist is known just for just their music after all.

Ah, character creation says level 1, but the original post in the ideas thread said level 3. We'll need to DM to clarify that.

As for taking other classes...the point is for everyone to be a bard, it's the foundation of the whole idea.

In reply to Lord Psynister (msg # 7):

That was my mistake, I'm used to starting games at level 1. I fixed it in character creation, all characters should start at level 3. That's intended to give you immediate access to your college of choice. Yes, I would prefer pure bards, but I won't strictly bar multiclassing if someone really wants to do it. I do ask however that anyone doing so considers how it will effect the group dynamic since the idea is to form a functioning band; Given if the intention is to take the majority of your levels in some non-bard class it probably isn't going to work for this games concept. I encourage any players to discuss multiclass ideas with me so that we can work it into the narrative of the game.

That said; this game is going to be more social than combat heavy with combat featuring as more of a plot point to move the story forward, to escape bad situations, or by unfortunate happenstance. Granted, sometimes one encounters bandits or monsters on the road, but even those encounters can often be swayed via good roleplay and mechanics beyond combat.

As for the style of music you wish to perform as a group I leave that entirely up to you as the players. If you want to be chamber musicians catering to the rich and nobility on a more traditional scale that is fine or go all out and try to be the realms first blues, rock, or pop band. Have fun with the idea and don't be afraid to brainstorm Band names in the process.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:27, Tue 15 Feb 2022.

I'm totally on board for doing something outside the box as far as a music group goes. We could do something as simple as an a cappella group up to a new age experimental rock group and everything in between. I suppose it matters if we want to be more grounded and serious or if something a little silly but played straight works for everyone.

There are six of us, so even something like a sentai band would also work where everyone has an archetype that helps determine style and musical instrument (if any).

Rolling ideas around in my head right now, nothing concrete just yet, but I also just got done with 5 days straight of terrible customer orders. Will chill and ponder.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, level 3 is a different prospect.

Re. multiclassing, I certainly wouldn't want to decharacterize the original idea and I am more than happy to operate within restrictions, those help define a character. I think if one player feels like it messes up the idea then it is best avoided.

That said, I feel it might add rather than subtract.

I can imagine a character who helped out with odd jobs (like a roadie) and took over the drums when the drummer exploded (as they do). Fighter 1 Bard 2. That's just an example off the top of my head.

Part of my idea for using the kenku is the whole imitating of sounds thing. It's applicable for basically any style we choose, but he's got the beatboxing covered if we go a cappella.

In reply to Mandacaru (msg # 10):



In your reference to Roadies.

Now this isn't concrete, but as the game progresses I may start adding in more characters to act as roadies, stagehands, assistants, ect. This would happen naturally as the initial characters rise in fame, gaining followers. These character could alternate between acting in the main thread when the pc's interact with them to having their own sub-thread for their "Offstage" events. These characters would not play a major events in the campaign, but could influence numerous background events around the main PC's. (Like finding a lost instrument or acting as security at larger events/venues.)

I agree that the tone is important and needs discussion. While making a fantasy prog rock group (or something similarly off the wall) might appeal, I think something more serious, or at least with a serious element, might have more legs.

A couple of examples come to mind. One is the original Occitain troubadors (from what is now the Languedoc in southern France). IIRC, they arose from and/or had a major role in the resistance to the very bloody Albigensian crusades.

Another is that we could be attached to one or more patrons, like a travelling theatre company or a mix, with musicians and actors and jongleurs. That would allow for a variety of acts, not restricted to all playing music together.

With the sheer number of skills/instruments we will have available to us as a group of Bards, about how much of the game could we expect to be something outside of the musical performance yet still requiring skills (non-combat)? Are we going to have band antics off-stage and adventures between gigs?

I like the travelling troupe with a wagon full of performance goods to change things up and make use of our multitude of talents. Do we want to be 100% music at that point? Some minor plays or skits? Start stepping on the circus' toes and compete against the clowns in an all-out face-painted slapstick brawl of pies and juggling pins?

Lots of possibilities, lots of ideas to bounce around. I'm adaptable and not clinging tenaciously to any one thing right now. Brainstorming as the major crux of session zero.

That aside, I got the idea for a lizardfolk who found something that brings joy and they've really - REALLY - committed to it to the point of beginning to break their kind's "alien" mindset. Like the drummer who can get way too into it in a performance. With their ability to hold breath for 15 minutes I'd have to wonder how that would translate to lung capacity for wind/brass instruments...

In reply to MadAlpaca (msg # 14):



I am planning to have the shows/gigs be the major story points of the campaign, however there will be a significant amount of off stage time devoted to leading up to these performances, npcs to meet, problems to overcome, mysteries to solve, encounters on the road, and some of the standard adventuring fare interspersed as plot points to move the story along and to help build your reputations. Not everything here is about the big On-stage in the Glory moments, but as much about the Journey and what it takes to make those moments happen.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:15, Tue 15 Feb 2022.

Playing it (mostly) straight has my vote, too

Otherwise, in terms of tone, my thoughts went to either the struggling end of the scale or the well-to-do end, perhaps with one or two of us from the opposite side. Depends if we want something more 'dive' or 'court' flavoured, but both provide options for wide impact

For my own reference, common combos for a sextet include:

• All strings, typically two violins, two violas, and two cellos
• Vocalist, two guitars, bass, drummer, and piano*
• Clarinet, horn, and a string quartet
• All vocals

*Transporting a piano could well be amusing, but risks swiftly being less so I suspect

At the moment I'm leaning towards a Halfling fiddler, Dwarf horn-blower, or Goliath on oversized double bass

I think we should have at least one wagon. And props. Like puppets, make-up, costumes etc. Both give the GM things to mess about with.

I think we should have a serious-ish musical sextet of some sort, but also other things, like two of us playing a musical accompaniment to two others juggling. Some storytelling. A show for children and a rumbustious show for adults.

We should play to the rich and the poor alike. Okay in a dwarven hall, a Lizardfolk swamp village, grand palaces and slums.

We should be an integral part of the oral and musical tradition of the land. We are the thread that passes down from ages past and it is we who bring news of the wider world when we roll up.

When we show up in a village, we should be best by children.

And so on.

I suggest we name our troupe after a former master or mistress, who is now sadly departed and sorely missed.

A halfling woman. Ruby. Known across the land for her charm and her quick mind.

Ruby's Travelling Carnaval

Or something.

Mostly straight is fine with me. No one can be super serious all the time or they'll stress themselves out. And it kills the fun of a fantasy game; for me, anyway.

With our instrument picks, would everyone like to focus on a particular group (woodwinds, percussion, etc.)? Or dabble in a bit of everything to be able to change it up more? I have the Bard book from 2nd Ed that has a ton of musical instruments in it that would have been medieval appropriate if anyone wants more than what is given in the PHB.

I like the idea that everyone has something outside of musical performance for entertainment. It makes the show bigger and better for the audience. With that in mind, could we make a swap of one instrument for a different tool in a tweaked TGE option (since it normally pertained to races)?

Still like the idea of a Lizardfolk, but I am also rolling a human idea around, too.

I haven't given too much thought about race or subclass yet; waiting on our instrument decision before I get it all fleshed out.

I like the idea of us all having different instruments, but I'm open to anything.

Since we are all playing the same class, at least to start, I think differentiating ourselves in other ways is pretty important. The talons of a kenku aren't great for string instruments (saving those with a bow, of course), but wind and percussion should be fine. We'll all have at least 3 instruments that we can play, so we can hit multiple combinations of the things that have been suggested so far.

I've been in a high school band, but not an actual band, so I don't have strong feelings one way or another on instrument combinations.