Tutorial #10: Songs
Minstrels are passionate worshipers whose Songs can inspire their allies to greatness and bring their enemies to their knees.
Most Songs will be categorized as a combination of three Class factors. These are Affecting & Manifesting; Immediate & Ongoing; Boosting, Resistible, Wearing, & Self.
Affecting Songs affect Targets in an invisible and intangible way. An example would be Godspeed, which inspires greater Speed in the Minstrel and their allies.
The effects of Manifesting Songs are symbolically manifested. An example would be Ram Call, which manifests phantasmal rams representing the prayers of the saints.
Immediate Songs are sung one Cycle and cannot be repeated in the next Cycle. An example would be Cry for Aid, which manifests a wave of force that pushed enemies away from the Minstrel.
Ongoing Songs can be sung Cycle after Cycle. An example would be Thanksgiving, which both increases and restores the Resolve of the Minstrel and their allies while it is being sung.
Boosting Songs provide a benefit to the Minstrel or their allies. An example would be Battle Cry, which inspires the Minstrel and their allies to fight with greater Passion.
Resistible Songs primarily have a negative effect that can be Resisted. An example would be Lullaby, which tires enemies, causing them to gain Falter and Exertion and possibly causing them to sleep.
Wearing Songs primarily cause Wear to the Target. An example would be Call Heavenly Flame, which brings down a column of flame each Activation upon a Target the Minstrel calls out.
Self Songs are centered around the Minstrel only. An example would be Flaming Sword, which manifests a fiery Sword for the Minstrel, adding additional WearR to their Strikes.
It takes no Movement for a Minstrel to sing. The Minstrel chooses what Songs will be sung just before starting their first Activation of each Cycle. Songs actually begin to take effect immediately after that Activation and cease having effect immediately after the Minstrel’s first Activation of the next Cycle unless continued.
The Song’s effectiveness is in large part determined by the amount of Passion the Minstrel can invest into the Song. This is measured using SPP. For Boosting Songs, there are increments of bonus called Levels of Effect. To determine Levels of Effect for each affected elohim (including the Minstrel), add the SPP invested into the Song by the Minstrel to the SPP of the affected elohim. Then divide the total by 2, rounding down. The result is the number of Levels of Effect, or the number of times the bonus increment is applied. So, if a Minstrel Singing Godspeed near a Warrior invested 3 SPP into the Song, you would add that 3 SPP from the Song to the Warrior’s 2 SPP for a total of 5. Divide that by 2 for a result of 2 Levels of Effect. Godspeed Grants 1 + the Levels of Effect additional Speed to the Target, so the Warrior would gain 3 Speed while affected by the Song. Meanwhile, the Minstrel, having 3 SPP would gain 4 Speed.
The Range of Songs is 12 inches unless otherwise stated in the Song’s description. While some Songs call out a specific Target or only affect the Minstrel, most Songs affect all allies or enemies within this Range. Different instances or versions of the same Song cannot stack on the same character.
This concludes Tutorial #10: Songs. You should now be ready to try playing any character in the game using the Wave 1 rules.