[REL] A Bard's Life 2

Post » Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:08 pm

This mod covers many aspects of being a Bard in Morrowind.


(Note: Not compatible with A Bard's Life 1.1 as this completely overhauls it)

As a bard, you may do the following:


Look like a bard holding a lute or carrying one on you back.


Play 40 different tunes because you like music.


Perform in inns to earn gold and based on your skill, get food and lodging as well.

You can sing and play the lute, play the drums, dance, juggle or tell jokes. How successful you are is dependent on your skills and attributes. (Largely inspired from the official Bethesda plugin The Entertainers)


Collect music sheets which in turn, teach you a spellsong.

Spellsongs are only available when you have the corresponding music sheet and a lute equipped.

They never fail and only cost half of the mana of their spell counterparts but will not improve you magic skills (Alteration, Restoration, etc)

Spellsongs will help your companions, cripple you enemies, some of them will also affect the player.

Bards in inns will teach you a song (for a fee, for helping them, for free)

Manors have music books, keep you eyes peeled for them

Hostile bards: in caves, dungeons, stronghold. Kill them and get the spellsong.

Leveled lists: tiny chance of finding a spellsong in crates and chests


Sing powerful songs. These cost no magicka at all and do not require a lute. They can however be used only once a day.

You need to acquire songbooks to unlock those powers.(there is a total of 5 Songbooks)


Compose your own spellsongs: As you get experience, you make create new Spellsongs using blank music sheets, a quill and an inkwell.

There are 10 new spellsongs



Collect playing lutes: Each Spellsong will become more efficient if played with better playing lutes.

They are displayed in various inns. If you fulfill the level requirement, the bard experience requirement and a small quest, the lutes will be yours.


Open you own inn and gradually add new features to see new customers flock.

The more features you build, the more customers will appear.

The private quarters have ample themed storage, an alchemy lab, a scripted mannequin, a bathroom and space to display your instruments.

The basemant has even more storage and hutches to display all glasses, cups, bottles and plates of the game.

Some patrons have quests

Monthly profits increase as you improve your inn.

Collect and display instruments in your private quarters.

Traders and pawnbrokers sometimes sell them.

Leveled list: sometimes found in crates and chests.

Talk to fellow bard to find out where you can buy a dozen new instruments.


Meet your fans: as you gain popularity and expand your inn, Npcs will recognise you and give you small gifts.




While all these features are open to any bards, spells, songs and performances vary depending on the bard package you choose.

5 new classes have also been created but they are optional and independent of the package you choose.

The Bard: The versatile performer

Bards are loremasters and storytellers. They crave adventure for the wisdom and insight to be gained, and must depend on spellsongs, potions, and enchantment to preserve themselves from the perils of their educational experiences.The Bard travels the land with his companions. Well versed in music and lore, he makes a living playing his lute in taverns. Even though he is lacking in combat skills, his music can strengthen companions or weaken enemies.

Choosing this class will make gameplay more challenging, a couple of companions is highly recommended)

Can learn all 40 spellsongs

Can use all the lutes

Songbook of the Bard

Performance: play lute (based on personality, agility and speechcraft)

The Skald: The support package.

The Skald is a bard that goes to battle to support his companions. He is hardy and wears heavier armour than most bards. When forced into combat, he prefers the spear. Like all bards, he is a fine speaker and relies on potions and to some extent, enchanted items.

Can learn 20 Spellsongs, a lot of them will buff companions.

Can use all the lutes

Songbook of the Bard + Songbook of the Skald

Performance: play lute + play the drums (Speed, Agilty, bonus with more drums in your inventory)

The Diresinger: The master of debilitating songs

The Diresinger is a bard that specialises in crippling and controlling his enemies. When he fights alone, he'll weaken his enemies with a songs and finish them with daggers or bows, though he will prefer to send companions or even minions. Like all bards, speechcraft and alchemy are part of his arsenal.

Can learn 20 Spellsongs, most of them will cripple opponents.

Can use all the lutes

Songbook of the Bard + Songbook of the Diresinger

Performance: play the lute and sing, and even then, sad and depressing songs.

The Shadowdancer: The loner bard.

The shadowdancer is the bard most suited for solo adventures as he specialises in songs that will improve himself. He relies on potions and magic items for support. Travelling often alone, he is a proficient armourer and dabbles in Mysticism.

Can learn 20 Spellsongs, a lot of them make adventuring solo easier

Can use all the lutes

Songbook of the Bard + Songbook of the Shadowdancer

Performance: play the lute and sing, dance (acrobatics and athletics)

The Jester: Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

The Jester is often underestrimated. While his talents allow him to make a living performing in inns, he knows more songs than any other bards. The Jester relies on tricks and deception and is the most proficient spellcaster of all the bards.

Can learn all 40 spellsongs

Cannot use the most advanced lute

All Songbooks

Performances: Play the lute and sing, juggle (agility), tell jokes (personality, speechcraft)


Oh, and there is a companion, Irullan, who will be able to do more for the player as time goes by.


She has the standard companion features (Grumpy companion script)

She gets in and out of her armour when you ask her

She sets up camp (a scripted tent with bedrolls) or gives you the camping gear.

She has additional (NoM) camping gear and food

She gives the player a pipe to smoke

She honestly tells the player about his bardic talents.

She scouts the area (detect creatures) and draw a map of the region.

She picks up ingredients as you travel across regions.

She has additionnal role-playing dialogue option

She will wait for you at an inn if she gets lost

A new star sign, The Wanderer

Those born under the sign of the Wanderer are gifted with greater endurance and a better understanding of the world thanks to their many travels.

Playing the plugin...

- Look for a notice on the door of inns in large cities.

- Find a lute, any lute from the vanilla game will do.

- Talk to a fellow bard for advice on how to play the lute OR talk to a publican to skip the quest where you learn how to play the lute and start making some gold.

- Look for Irullan, a scout in a Tomb near Seyda Neen. After a short quest, she will join you.



Downloads http://download.fliggerty.com/download-121-330 and http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44359/?


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emma sweeney
 
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Post » Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:16 pm

Excellent timing: this will be perfect for my pacifist character that I'm working on. :D

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Dan Endacott
 
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Post » Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:06 am

Yay! It's released! Looking forward to playing it.

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Taylrea Teodor
 
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Post » Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:19 am

Very cool! Never had a chance to play the original, but I love the idea. Always good to have new roleplaying opportunities.

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Eire Charlotta
 
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Post » Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:00 am

I like the concept a lot. I've been a Bethesda games player far longer than I've played MW, so I like having one in my party in those games. I've been taking a break recently, so it could be fun to start a new game as a bard, but how might one play one in MW. I've looked at bards as a team support person in the Bethesda universe, and what I liked about MW was the single player aspect. I generally don't add companions, so I'm at a loss at the moment as to how well some of the bard classes would fare over the course of game play. Your thoughts?

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Sandeep Khatkar
 
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Post » Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:41 am

Just out of curiosity, is it possible to install this mod and only use the companion if they player does not intend on being a bard? Even during playthroughs where my character may not be a bard, I would love to have a bard companion :)

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Leonie Connor
 
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Post » Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:10 am


There are two main aspects of this mod: live like a bard (play the lute, make a living performing in inns. and fight like a bard, using spellsongs.



The bard classes as I created them are not compulsory to play (and hopefully enjoy) the mod.



The bard packages do not prevent you from picking up a sword and fight in a conventional way while casting spell obtained from music sheets.



As for battles, I see how playing a bard seen as a team support without a team to support can be tricky :)


The spellsongs cover pretty much every spell effect in the game, so if you wanted your bard to rely on magic, pick the bard or the jester package. Once again, classes and packages are independent.


The bard class as well as the skald class do not make much sense without companions. The bard has little to no weapon / magic skills and the skald's very purpose is to support others making him a weak opponent on his own.


The Skald package makes even less sense as most of his spellsongs have beneficila effects on touch or target.


For a solo play, the Shadowdancer is the sneakier class while the Diresinger has some offensive magic skills. Both of them are proficient with weapons and armour and will do well even without companions. The packages give spells that make battles more varied, a Diresinger would sing a song to weaken an enemy before rushing to finishing him off with a blade, for example.



I have really tried to give player enough options that they can play the sort of bard they imagined.


I hope you'll find your ideal bard!





Sadly, the companion is not a bard, she can equip the lutes including the ones on the back but the songs are played by the player.



That being said, this mods adds a large quest when you open your own inn and hire bards to perform as well as minor quests and new items to collect.

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Marie
 
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Post » Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:13 pm

Thank you : :)



On a side note, one mod I load adds a generic bard to pretty much all the taverns and inns. IIRC, the NPC is named Juju and is from the Atmospheric Sound Effects mod - not sure because I'm working from memory here. Do you happen to know if there will be a conflict? As I recall, the mod adds a playlist from which the player can choose a song to listen to.

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Keeley Stevens
 
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Post » Tue Jun 07, 2016 4:39 pm


They won't conflict, I have not modified any existing interior inn save to add 3 lutes in a corner or on the wall.

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Dan Endacott
 
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Post » Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:01 pm

Nice! I like the first part of the mod and was waiting for 2! Thank you

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Hannah Barnard
 
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