User talk:GS4ALASTIR/Mental Bard Proposal

Combat Instruments:

• New weapon type that functions nearly identical to a runestaff.
  • Usable only by Bards.
  • Can be played like a musical instrument.
  • Trading also counts for magical ranks when determining runestaff defense to make up for their lower skill cap compared to pures.
  • Parry messaging is more magical, such as the Bard summons musical notes from the instrument that distract away the blow.

• Runestaff Conversions
  • Any two-handed instrument can be used as a combat instrument once converted to the new base. Any combat properties that work on runestaves would also work on combat instruments.
  • A few of the spells of war in the Bard Base work with combat instruments.
  • Bards will be able to put a runestaff and an existing instrument into a converter container and it would take the combat properties of the runestaff and apply them to the instrument.
  • Note that there will be a lot of restrictions on this converter to not inadvertently break items, so we will run a few conversion merchants within the month after release of these updates.

Spell Song Mechanics:

• Bards will no longer manually use the renewal system.
  • Instead, any spell with a duration of “song” (e.g., Song of Valor (1010), Song of Mirrors (1019), etc.) has an indefinite duration similar to focus songs Mind Over Body (1213) and Focus Barrier (1216), but without the mutual exclusion component.

• Renewing spells no longer cost mana, and instead reduce the maximum mana available to the Bard based on the number of songs active.
• All spells with the duration of “song” cost maximum mana at a rate of ROUNDUP(Spell Level / 5)).

Song Name:	Mana Cost:
Etude of Certainty (1006)	2 max mana
Kai’s Anthem (1007)	2 max mana
Sonic Shield (1009)	2 max mana
Song of Valor (1010)	2 max mana
Sonic Weapon (1012)	3 max mana
Sonic Armor (1014)	3 max mana
Song of Power (1018)	4 max mana
Song of Mirrors (1019)	4 max mana
Dancing Weapon (1025)	5 max mana
Song of Luck (1030)	6 max mana
Song of Tonis (1035)	7 max mana
Total to maintain all songs	40 max mana

• Songs will continue to have an automatic renewal every 60 seconds. If the Bard is unable to concentrate the song can still fail.
  • Bards have a chance to resist renewal failure (while incapacitated?) at a baseline percentage equal to their Discipline Bonus.
  • Mental Lore: Telepathy also increases the chance songs are maintained through being incapacitated at a rate of 1% per rank.
  • Sonic Armaments are not subject to the renewal failure.

Summary of Changes:

Mental Bard Proposal:	Details:
Name: Mindward (1208)	At 20 ranks of ML:Telepathy, this spell can be EVOKE'd for a group version for 20 mana.
Name: Harmony (1230)	This spell would replace Song of Peace (1011). While active, the caster and their group cannot take hostile actions and hostile actions against them require a warding check with +50 TD Bonus.

Current Proposal:	Details:	Mental Bard Proposal:	Details:
Name: War Chant (1001) Spell Type: Offensive Spell Effect: +10 AS/+6 CS to next attack Roundtime: 1s Duration: 120 seconds. Mana Cost: 1 Lore Benefits: EL:Air Interactions: Crescendo (1014)	The updated version is renamed to War Chant (1001). War Chant (1001) provides a +10AS/+6CS bonus for 1 attack, it can be cast on others. War Chant (1001) is automatically applied by Crescendo (1014) at 10 ranks of EL:Air every 60 seconds. For every 3 ranks above 10, the auto-apply is reduced by 1s down to a minimum 30 seconds at 100 ranks.	War Chant (1001) Spell Type: Offensive Spell Effect: +10 AS/+6 CS to next attack Roundtime: 3s Duration: 120 seconds. Mana Cost: 1 Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy	The updated version is renamed to War Chant (1001). War Chant (1001) provides a +10AS/+6CS bonus for 1 attack, it can be cast on others. At 5 ranks of ML:Telepathy, the cast RT is reduced to 2s. At 40 ranks of ML:Telepathy, the cast RT is reduced to 1s.
Name: Resonance (1002) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Damage Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version is renamed to Resonance (1002).	Resonance (1002) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Picking Locks + Disarm Traps Bonus Spell Effect: Damage Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version is renamed to Resonance (1002). Casting Resonance (1002) at a locked box will reduce the lock and trap difficulty. The trap difficulty reduction is 25 + Spell Song Ranks/2 + Disarm Traps bonus/10 + ML:Manipulation ranks/3. The lock difficulty reduction is 2.5 * (25 + Spell Song Ranks/2 + Pick Locks bonus/10 + ML:Manipulation ranks/3).
Name: Dissonance (1003) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Disruption Damage -15DS Debuff Roundtime: 3s Mana Cost: 3 Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions:	The DS bonus from Fortitude Song (1003) is rolled into Song of Valor (1010). Dissonance (1003) gains a ML:Telepathy benefit to include spell casting disruption (607) at 25 ranks with the -15DS Debuff.	Name: Dissonance (1003) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Disruption Damage -15DS Debuff Roundtime: 3 Mana Cost: 3 Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The DS bonus from Fortitude Song (1003) is rolled into Song of Valor (1010). Dissonance (1003) gains a ML:Manipulation benefit to include spell casting disruption (607) at 25 ranks with the -15DS Debuff. Wielding a combat instrument doubles the spell disruption chance.
Name: Purification Song (1004) Spell Type: Utility Spell Effect: Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version allows INCANT to auto target the gem in right hand, then left.	Name: Purification Song (1004) Spell Type: Utility Spell Effect: Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version allows INCANT to auto target the gem in right hand, then left.
Name: Lullaby (1005) Spell Type: (Single Target) SSR Attack Spell Effect: Status: Calm/Slow/Sleep Roundtime: 2s Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions:	The updated version is converted to the SSR system and gains a ML:Telepathy bonus against Undead/Demons.	Name: Lullabye (1005) Spell Type: Single target Disabler Spell Effect: Status: Calm/Slow/Sleep Roundtime: 3s Lore Benefits: Interactions:	The updated version is converted to the SSR system.
Name: Etude of Certainty (1006) Spell Type: Offensive Spell Effect: True Strike effect (+d20) Roundtime: 1s Duration: 30s Mana Cost: 6 Lore Benefits: Interactions:	The updated version is converted to add a True Strike bonus of (+d20) every time you switch between a spell and attack. The effect ends at (+d100). Original Song of Luck (1006) is moved to Luck's Reverberation (1030).	Name: Etude of Certainty (1006) Spell Type: Defensive "Song" Spell Effect: +20-40 Mental TD Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions:	Original Song of Luck (1006) is moved to Luck's Reverberation (1020). Base mTD is +20, plus 1 for every 2 spellsongs above 6, up to +40 mTD at 46 spellsongs. For every 8 ranks of ML:Telepathy, gain +1 CS. (+12 at 100 ranks)
Name: Kai’s Anthem (1007) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: +10-20AS Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML: Telepathy	The updated version is renamed Kai’s Anthem (1007). ML: Telepathy provides +1 AS per seed 3 summation ranks, up to +31AS at 88 ranks.	Name: Kai’s Anthem (1007) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: +10-60AS Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML: Telepathy	The updated version is renamed to Kai's Anthem (1007. The AS formula changes to 10 + 1 per 2 spellsong ranks, up to +60AS at 100 spellsong ranks. For every 5 ranks of ML: Telepathy, add +1AS up to +20AS at 100 ranks. Self-cast total AS becomes +80. Group total AS becomes +40.
Name: Banshee’s Wail (1008) Spell Type: (Single Target) SMRv2 Attack or Air Bolt Spell Effect: HP+Unbalance/Impact Damage Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy ML:Manipulation Interactions: Sonic Armaments (1009) + Dancing Weapon (1025)	The updated version is renamed to Banshee's Wail. The updated version does both Unbalance and Impact Damage instead of a single damage type. ML:Telepathy now increases the critical rank of the unbalance/impact critical damage. At 20 ranks ML:Manipulation, adds EVOKE'd air bolt. The updated version adds a standard flare rate chance to deal Disruption damage to targets hit by Sonic/Dancing Weapons while affected by (1008).	Name: Banshee’s Wail (1008) Spell Type: (Single Target) SMRv2 Attack or Air Bolt Spell Effect: HP+Unbalance/Impact Damage Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy ML:Manipulation Interactions: Sonic Gear (1009, 1012, 1014) + Dancing Weapon (1025)	The updated version is renamed to Banshee's Wail. The updated version does both Unbalance and Impact Damage instead of a single damage type. ML:Telepathy now increases the critical rank of the unbalance/impact critical damage. At 20 ranks ML:Manipulation, adds EVOKE'd air bolt. The updated version adds a standard flare rate chance to deal Disruption damage to targets hit by Sonic/Dancing Weapons while affected by (1008).
Name: Sonic Armaments (1009) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: Sonic Gear Roundtime: Lore Benefits: EL:Air ML:Manipulation Interactions: Banshee’s Wail (1008)	The updated version consolidates Sonic Shield (1009), Sonic Weapon (1012), and Sonic Armor (1014) into one spell. The updated version adds reactive and offensive sonic flares to shields and armor. The updated version allows you to sing a second weapon using the SING 2WEAPON command. The updated version allows you to SING AMMO which will generate ammo when FIREing a ranged weapon. The updated version removes impact damage vulnerability from Sonic Armor (1014). The updated version changes the fire/cold/electricity resists. For every 5 ranks of EL:Air, gain 1% resistance up to 20%. For every 25 ranks of ML:Manipulation the spell hindrance is reduced by 1% up to 4%.	Name: Sonic Shield (1009) Spell Type: Defensive "Song" Spell Effect: Sonic Shield Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version adds reactive and offensive sonic flares to shields. ML:Manipulation adds a chance for a double flare. ML:Manipulation reduces shield size at 10, 25 and 50 ranks.
Name: Song of Valor (1010) Spell Type: Defensive "Song" Spell Effect: +10-55 DS/+15 eTD Roundtime: Lore Benefits: Interactions:	The updated version adds an additional +10DS for the removal of Fortitude Song (1003). Elemental TD is converted to Elemental/Mental TD.	Name: Song of Valor (1010) Spell Type: Defensive "Song" Spell Effect: +25-70 DS/+15 mTD Roundtime: Lore Benefits: Interactions:	The updated version adds an additional +10DS for the removal of Fortitude Song (1003) and +5DS for shifting to MnM. Elemental TD is converted to Elemental/Mental TD. For every melee attack, there is a standard flare chance to receive the Crescendo effect. The Crescendo effect allows the bard to prepare a spell, attack, and trigger the spell cast during the attack RT.
Name: Song of Peace (1011) Spell Type: Utility "Song" Spell Effect: Sanctuary (213) Roundtime: Lore Benefits: Interactions:	With the retirement of the RENEW verb, it would no longer be renewable to immediately move a sanctuary; instead it follows after at most 10 seconds (as currently implemented).	Name: Arresting Aria (1011) Spell Type: (AoE) CS Attack Spell Effect: DS -10% Status: Root + Staggered Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions: Sonic Dispruption (1050)	The updated version of this spell changes to an AoE CS attack spell that will root targets, reduce DS by 10% and stagger opponents for 3-10s RT. At 40 ranks of ML:Manipulation, gain Whirling Dervish martial stance against affected targets. At 60 ranks of Manipulation and while wielding a combat instrument, Sonic Disruption (1050) gains a double cast effect against targets affected by Arresting Aria (1011). Example: Cast 1050 at 2 targets affected by 1012, if alive, immediately recast 1050 at the same 2 targets.
Name: Arresting Aria (1012) Spell Type: (AoE) SMR Attack Spell Effect: Status: Root Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy + EL:Air ML:Manipulation Interactions: Sonic Dispruption (1035)	The updated version changes to an AoE SMR disabler. At 20 ranks of ML:Telepathy and EL:Air, gain Whirling Dervish martial stance against affected targets. At 60 ranks of ML:Manipulation, Sonic Disruption (1035) gains a double cast effect against targets affected by Arresting Aria (1012). Example: Cast 1035 at 2 targets affected by 1012, if alive, immediately recast 1035 at the same 2 targets.	Name: Sonic Weapon (1012) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: Sonic Weapon Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version adds a chance for double flares using ML:Manipulation at 4% per seed 4 ranks. Sonic Bows and Crossbows are now allowed.
Name: Unraveling Cadence (1013) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Dispel/Mana drain Roundtime: 2s Mana Cost: 5 Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version changes to an auto-renew upon success. For every 15 ranks of ML:Manipulation, the spell reapplies every 5 seconds. The spell ends when all spells are removed, mana is drained from the target, or all renewal reapplications are used.	Name: Song of Unravelling (1013) Spell Type: Disabler Spell Effect: Dispel/Mana drain Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version changes to an auto-renew upon success. For every 15 ranks of ML:Manipulation, the spell reapplies every 5 seconds. The spell ends when all spells are removed, mana is drained from the target, or all renewal reapplications are used.|-
Name: Crescendo (1014) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: Crescendo Effect (Auto-Cast before Attack) Roundtime: Lore Benefits: EL:Air Interactions: War Song (1001)	The updated version changes to a Buff, which gains a standard flare chance to apply the Crescendo Effect. While in effect, a Bard may prepare a spell and attack, and the spell will be auto-cast after the attack. At 10 ranks of EL:Air, War Chant (1001) will be auto-cast every 60 seconds with no cRT or mana cost. For every 3 ranks of EL:Air above 10, the War Chant (1001) auto-cast is reduced by 1s to a minimum of 30s.	Name: Sonic Armor (1014) Spell Type: Utility Spell Effect: Sonic Armor Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions:	The updated version of this spell adds reactive and offensive flares. ML:Manipulation adds the chance for a double flare at 4% per seed 4 ranks. Remove impact vulnerability. Fire/Cold/Electricity resists start at 0% and gain 1% for every 4 spellsongs above 14, up to 20% at 94 ranks. ML:Manipulation reduces spell hindrance by 1% at 25 ranks, 2% at 50 ranks and 4% at 100 ranks.
Name: Requiem (1015) Spell Type: (AoE) Attack Spell Effect: -20TD + Status: Slowed Stance Reduction % Dirge of the Dead effect Roundtime: 2s Mana Cost: 10 Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions: Banshee's Wail (1008)	The updated version is renamed to Requiem. Requiem (1015) gains the stance reduction from Song of Rage (1016) based on warding margin. Targets affected by Requiem (1015) have a (5 + (ML:Telepathy Ranks /4))% chance to add the Dirge of the Dead effect for 30 seconds. Dirge of the Dead causes the next cast of Banshee's Wail (1008) to have +40AS/+25 SMR and hit up to 3 targets. **	Name: Requiem (1015) Spell Type: Auto-Success (AoE) Attack Spell Effect: Status: -20TD % Dirge of the Dead effect Roundtime: 2s Duration: 30s Mana Cost: 15 Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions: Banshee's Wail (1008)	The updated version is renamed to Requiem and changes to Auto-Success. Requiem (1015) will reduce TD by -20. Targets affected by Requiem (1015) have a (5 + (ML:Telepathy Ranks /4))% chance to add the Dirge of the Dead effect for 30 seconds. Dirge of the Dead causes the next cast of Banshee's Wail (1008) to have +40AS/+25 SMR and hit up to 3 targets. **
Name: Song of Tonis (1016) Spell Type: Offensive "Song" Spell Effect: -1RT, -2RT at 75 Spellsong ranks +15 Dodge Ranks % Wings of Tonis effect Roundtime: Lore Benefits: EL:Air Interactions:	The effects of Song of Rage (1016) are moved to Requim (1015). The updated version of this spell provides -1sRT reduction or -2sRT reduction at 75 spellsong ranks along with 15 Dodge skill. For every 4 ranks of EL:Air, gain 1 Dodge skill up to 40 Dodge Ranks at 100 ranks of EL:Air. Song of Tonis (1016) has a standard flare chance when casting an attack spell to receive the Wings of Tonis buff. Wings of Tonis reduces the RT of the next physical attack by 1s. At 50 ranks of ML:Telepathy it applies to group members. Song of Tonis (1016) may be EVOKE'd to activate a self-cast Wings of Tonis for 60 seconds, which applies to every attack.	Name: Traveler’s Ballad (1016) Spell Type: Utility Spell Effect: Roundtime: Lore Benefits: Interactions:	The updated version is renamed to Traveler's Ballad (1016). Thirst/damage on failures is removed in exchange for longer roundtime.
Name: Cacophony (1017) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Vacuum/Disruption critical + HP DoT Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Manipulation Interactions: Dissonance (1003) + Sonic Disruption (1035)	The updated version of this spell causes a Vacuum or Disruption critical, followed by concussion damage DoT flares that fire immediately and every 2 seconds for 5 rounds. Targets who take Disruption damage take an additional round of disruption damage. Cacophony (1017) gains a ML:Manipulation benefit to include spell casting disruption (607) at 25 ranks.	Name: Cacophony (1017) Spell Type: (Single Target) CS Attack Spell Effect: Unbalance critical + HP DoT Roundtime: Lore Benefits: ML:Telepathy Interactions: Dissonance (1003) + Sonic Disruption (1050) + Sonic Flares	The updated version of this spell causes an Unbalance critical and concussion damage DoT that fires immediately and every 2 seconds for 5 rounds. Targets who take Disruption damage or Sonic Flare damage take an additional round of disruption damage and applies spell disruption (607) for 30 seconds. Bards wielding a combat instrument gain an extra round of Cacophony (1017), and ML:Telepathy adds a chance for a second unbalance critical during the first trike at 1% per rank. Ranks beyond 100 add a third chance.