How to Bard?

[FantasyWriter]

This is not a RP/IC character question/concern.

Other than item creation, I have never played a "creative" character in Armageddon but am thinking of doing do in the future.
What are some tricks/tips to use using recite/sing/etc to create an OOCly enjoyable experience for other players?
(I hope this question makes sense.)

[dumbstruck]

If you are not the active centerpiece of the scene, consider using only emote to play rather than singing and reciting (unless asked), and using 1-2 line emotes. If you ARE the active centerpiece of the scene (hired entertainment for instance), having the piece pretyped with room for minimal variation to include props/audience members on a whim without the performance dragging on a long time is always nice.

[DesertT]

All too often I am totally guilty of slightly editing current songs like "Save a Horse; Ride a Cowboy" to "Save a Beetle; Ride a Bynner" and other one-offs like that.

Rarely do I ever come up with my own song entirely without the words of another in my mind.

I've been called out for this OOC'ly as in, people have recognized me for using this tactic.

I find it quite fun though!

Also what dumbstruck said above.  Good Tip!!

[Veselka]

Definitely recommend rehearsing for performances. This means writing up your emotes and sing lines and practicing in private to make sure your lines don't cut off. Is also recommend doing emotes, and then sing/recite separate. Pacing is everything and no one wants to sit there while you improvise a song.

It's the golden rule of improv — do t make everyone else have to sit around while you are the star. Involve others. Leave room for mistakes or invitations to join in. But have the root structure prepared and ready to go.

A song should last 5 RL minutes max. I've seen some performances last 20-30 minutes before. This is unreasonable. The performance should be like a drawn out combat encounter. Or you will not only lose peoples attention, you will make them avoid your future appearances.

[WarriorPoet]

It's the golden rule of improv — do t make everyone else have to sit around while you are the star. Involve others. Leave room for mistakes or invitations to join in. But have the root structure prepared and ready to go.

Crowd participation was my favorite part of playing a bard. Playing a Tan Muark a couple years ago, we had the Ring Dang Doo song and it seemed to be enjoyable for everyone. A simple 3-line jingle and we would harass the crowd into joining in and riffing off of them. Even the people that told us to fuck off were, in their own way, playing along. Good times

Keep a notepad with your emotes and sings ready to go. No one wants to wait. Keep songs short and to the point. Epic verse is OOCly a pain to sit through.

Don't be afraid to be awful. I have enjoyed the wretched, oocly-hilarious bombs as much or more than the flawless singing fiddlers.

[Dracul]

Coded Aspect:

Probably testing, trying things out to see how they come out. Aliases and prewritten emotes can help. Definitely prewritten on the stories.

Recite and sing have had cool effect and are on a level similar to moving the @ around in your emotes. Instead of 'grunting and nodding' (although I do love the standard dwarf).

I've often been impressed by the use of extra language/communications commands.

[Night Queen]

Ignore the idea of keeping it short and such nonsense.

Shit,
Krath,
Really.

A flash in the pan,
Five minutes,
That's just a bit sad.

Also do advertising BEFORE doing it, and you'll be more likely to be remembered because characters might actually get to see it. Muark who even?

[Windstorm]

It's hard. Performance is naturally intimidating, at least to me.

Packing a lot of content and being the most evocative and illustrative you can be into the fewest words possible I think is the most important aspect.

There's a lot of talk about rehearsing and stuff too but I feel like it's important to try and get a read of your audience, being flexible in that way. Some people want it to be brief, riveting immediately and never stopping or else they'll lose interest. Others want it to go on, enjoying every step - they're happy, even flattered at just being engaged and want it to last a long time.

If your plans are too firm you can't really adjust like that.

Find a way that works for you I guess.

[Veselka]

Ignore the idea of keeping it short and such nonsense.

Shit,
Krath,
Really.

A flash in the pan,
Five minutes,
That's just a bit sad.

Also do advertising BEFORE doing it, and you'll be more likely to be remembered because characters might actually get to see it. Muark who even?

5 minutes is a long time. That's longer than any radio tune. There's a reason pop songs are 2-3 minutes long, they hold your attention, leave you wanting more, and hoping to repeat it.

A 20-30 minute long recitation, with 30 second to 1 minute gaps inbetween emotes, is holding your audience hostage. And they won't appreciate it. How will they show this lack of appreciation? Likely not showing up to your next RPT.

[Veselka]

It's hard. Performance is naturally intimidating, at least to me.

Packing a lot of content and being the most evocative and illustrative you can be into the fewest words possible I think is the most important aspect.

There's a lot of talk about rehearsing and stuff too but I feel like it's important to try and get a read of your audience, being flexible in that way. Some people want it to be brief, riveting immediately and never stopping or else they'll lose interest. Others want it to go on, enjoying every step - they're happy, even flattered at just being engaged and want it to last a long time.

If your plans are too firm you can't really adjust like that.

Find a way that works for you I guess.

I think it's always best to arrive prepared. You can always choose to improvise on the spot, or throw caution to the wind, but it's respectful to your audience to not use that as an excuse to always 'wing it'.

Both for the judges of those events, audience members, and fellow peer bards, you can always tell who did their homework, and who's recitations are always...

...just a little too long.

[Windstorm]

Definitely, but there's so much range to it.

If you send them out too fast the audience doesn't get to react and 'participate' and it all feels canned, like a button was pressed and an NPC printed it out instead of something happening live.

Like I said, it's hard.

[Windstorm]

Basically a lot of the balances of time are like...

On the left, it takes a lot of time but sort of encourages the reader to give it more thought and comprehension over "just reading it." But people can get bored or feel held hostage if they don't feel personally engaged. I find this approach works better with smaller audiences.

On the right, it's punchier and gives the audience less wiggle room or space to get bored. It's over quickly but depth might not be explored or the performance can feel forgettable if you don't have a really funny or climactic moment.

Everybody kind of falls different on the scale.

Again, performance is hard!

[BadSkeelz]

I think three stanzas are about the limit of what you want in any composition. Beginning, middle, end. Fifteen lines to work with while remaining a parseable amount of text.

Definitely type them up and "practice" them before hand, make sure your formatting is good. The "emoting between recitals" tip is a good one, because that character limit can be finicky.

[Night Queen]

5 minutes is a long time. That's longer than any radio tune. There's a reason pop songs are 2-3 minutes long, they hold your attention, leave you wanting more, and hoping to repeat it.

A 20-30 minute long recitation, with 30 second to 1 minute gaps inbetween emotes, is holding your audience hostage. And they won't appreciate it. How will they show this lack of appreciation? Likely not showing up to your next RPT.

5 minutes is about one post. I think sometimes people on Armageddon can have a bit lower standards compared to the kind of writing in more freeform RP. (I DON'T mean other MUDs)

I wouldn't show up for something that lasts 5 minutes.

[Veselka]

5 minutes is a long time. That's longer than any radio tune. There's a reason pop songs are 2-3 minutes long, they hold your attention, leave you wanting more, and hoping to repeat it.

A 20-30 minute long recitation, with 30 second to 1 minute gaps inbetween emotes, is holding your audience hostage. And they won't appreciate it. How will they show this lack of appreciation? Likely not showing up to your next RPT.

5 minutes is about one post. I think sometimes people on Armageddon can have a bit lower standards compared to the kind of writing in more freeform RP. (I DON'T mean other MUDs)

I wouldn't show up for something that lasts 5 minutes.

Yes, except you are usually one of a few people performing. So you add that up, with breaks in between, and you have an enjoyable 30-45 minutes with party on either side. When you add in the meandering 20-35 minute story, people usually just leave when it's over.

Yes, performance is difficult, but it doesn't need to be more difficult than it already is. I highly recommend practicing, hell, practice with other PCs. They will let you know if it's punchy, boring, or just fine.

[Night Queen]

Akeem was a great example of this proven wrong, people definitely stayed, and it showed he'd really put effort in

It was great someone had tried harder, I don't like this OOC pressurising to try "keep things short" for the people with limited attention spans, because no, no way, that is NOT what a lot of people want, and it means everyone loses out if people are worrying about complainers.

[LindseyBalboa]

I don't think anyone here is wrong. A long performance as an RPT is, frankly, kinda boring on its own in the same way that long drawn out fights aren't as fun to watch via text.

However what great bard characters do is what real bards would assumedly do. They work where there are people and things going on, they play in bars and taverns. They play music in the background, kind of filling in gaps, and then when the time is right they bust out and take the spotlight. One of my favorite bar scenes was with my little Tan Muarki spy up at Luir's: packed tavern and Akeem broke out into song, then my little dude played one and I think either Akeem played back or a third person joined in.

Be a constant presence, perform long songs in the background, play music in emotes while you're sitting around. Work into large scenes and become an integral supporting character to everyone else around you, and take the spotlight from time to time when the crowd is drunk and ready to tip.

[flurry]

Some great advice in this thread. Let me add my two cents.

1. Your bard is a whole person, not just a bard. I think some people who attempt to play bards get disillusioned quickly because they haven't fully considered what the character is beyond being a performer. The vast majority of your time won't involve performance, so it's worth considering what that will look like.
2.  You probably need another income source. This ties in with the first point. While you almost certainly will be paid, occasionally quite well, for performing, I wouldn't go as far as calling it reliable income. In the words of Outkast "I live by the beat like you live check-to-check. If it don't move your feet, then I don't eat, so we like neck-to-neck."
3. Be ready when opportunity presents itself. Occasionally someone will ask you to perform on the spot. Be prepared to do so. As others suggested, have your lyrics typed out and ready to go.
4. Find tools and inspiration to help you. Building on what others have mentioned, you can modify existing songs. You can use songs other players have written. You could write original songs. Even ChatGPT can give you a serviceable first draft if you want to go that route.
5. It doesn't have to be about songs. I repeatedly mentioned songs, but of course there are other forms of performance just as valid and fun.

[Inks]

Hi, I played Recognised Bard Hoge, a couple of years back. Most of his work was improv (i.e I made it up on the spot) apart from an eight verse epic for a bardic competition in honor of a certain Lady Jal.

Firstly, think of your PC's style, Hoge was self taught and from a rougher (southside) upbringing, and also had a harelip and would lisp.

So of course he naturally gravitated to cruder, comedic bardistry as a defense mechanism for his lisp and ugliness to make others like him.

Instead you may wish to do a more flowery style or whathaveyou. Whatever you choose, my advice is be consistent in your style, have a couple of fallback themes you can whip up songs about on the spot, don't just rapidly copy paste whatever poem you may have written to create a wall of text.

Remember, unless it is a bardic competition or a bunch of people have asked you to perform, you are not the centerpiece, you are background flavour. Put vnpc reactions to your music in your emotes, you are performing for them as well, not just whatever pc is sitting in the tavern.

If the only PC walks out on you, keep going, it is good practice and good flavour, and any stealthers will appreciate your commitment. Perhaps by robbing you.

Lastly, have hobbies and interests outside nobility and barding, to keep the game fresh for you, and keep you going in the slow times. Perhaps you craft, perhaps you draw, perhaps you hunt, perhaps you are forced into a brutal cycle of assassinations, alcoholism and spice addiction and other coping mechanisms as you end lives at the behest of your superiors and their rich friends. You know, the usual stuff.


TL; DR = Work out your PC's thoughts and personality before you start composing your opus. Keep it up trooper. You are flavour when performing, not a rockstar.

[Lotion]

just fucking sing
it doesnt matter how bad it is as long as it rhymes
also ripping off obscure songs works wonders

when playing an instrument you just need to use a few fancy music words and say you're doing that. everyone will just assume it's cool. nobody will question if you try to play syncopated arpeggios while using a templar's belly as a drum

[RheaGhe]

Find a beat to listen too as you're writing your lyrics. It helps to make them "feel" real.

Good songs have a structure, even in the older days. Breaking down that structure is a profession in and of itself.

Think about what type of bard you are. If you are playing in the south, you're likely almost purely musical.

The north has the bards college. And it's various circles. Which include things like story telling, speechwriting, sword fighting and so on.

I generally define bards in 3 categories. Musicians, Master Liesmiths, and Jacks of All Trade Comedians.

There is some overlap. Look at people like Bo Burnham for people who exemplify two of the aspects.

Choose what you do well, and what you don't do well. Some bards are really good at public speaking, others freeze up and are awkward while they are not actively playing in front of a crowd. Are you a braggadocio, or a somber slightly drunken breed?

These can be figured out in play, but are oft better to figure out ahead of time. Having a plan prevents performances from being improv.

Lastly, if you ever find your performance consisting of 5 minutes of,

*Amos wangjangles the doobledoo arpeggiating a riff of wangledangles into a woobledooble.*

Know that it sounds like that to your audience as well. Make it dynamic. Look at people like Lindsey Stirling for people who manage to make playing instruments dynamic. Almost no one likes just reading text descriptions of someone doing highly technical things they only slightly understand.

[DesertT]

You might know some of my songs in-game like, Save a Beetle; Ride a Bynner.

I totally rip off country songs and others, Zalanthacize (sp?) them and run with it.

[mansa]

You might know some of my songs in-game like, Save a Beetle; Ride a Bynner.

I totally rip off country songs and others, Zalanthacize (sp?) them and run with it.

I actually prefer songs that rip-off of real-life songs, mostly because the medium of the game is text and it's easier for me to understand the song if I know the tune in real life.

[digitaleak]

As an audience member, I enjoy surprise. Whether that be a quick wit, impactful lyrics, or simply emotes that show your character's emotion about what they're performing. It's something I wasn't expecting and brings me along for the ride, which for me, is really fun.

Also, on that note I think something that's true for both text-base and real life performance... if you're having fun, it will be apparent and infectious for those watching.

[Armaddict]

I am also in favor of songs I 'recognize'; it may be OOC-leaning, but I enjoy the cleverness in zalanthanizing songs.

But also keep in mind bards don't -have- to sing.  I'd love a bard who recited IC-accurate histories and stories as well.