So I never really understood Tuluki Bards.
I've been around long enough to have played when Tuluk was full steam ahead and have ran into many bards.
However, I don't really understand what they actually DO besides for prance around and sing and rhyme.
Is that sorta it? They get paid to be like a performing troupe, essentially a noble's personal little solo artist?
I figure since I never really knew when it was a thing, and it's going to be a thing again, I'd ask what the hell a bard really is.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBard
QuoteIn medieval Gaelic and British culture (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Brittany and Cornwall) a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. The word itself is loaned from Scottish Gaelic, deriving from the Proto-Celtic bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European, which roughly translates as "to raise the voice; praise."
The typical trope is a jester, an actor, a thief, a politician, a storyteller, and a swordsperson all rolled into one.
A bard can be many things.
They can be an aide, an assassin. A propaganda spreader, a spy. A paid ally, an unpaid enemy. A hunter, a crafter. They can be defined by playing music, or not. They can settle in a position, or decide to go for the full monty. They can pursue all the charms of the Circle, or just settle for a few. Be an amateur, or try to be a professional.
To me being a bard isn't the end all be all of what the character is, it's just one more definition for a PC. Just like 'hunter' or 'warrior' can define a PC. How much of a warrior or fighter is your Bynner? The same applies for a Bard of the Circle.
I would like to see solid guidelines for each School/Troupe/House of Circle Bards' list of tenets and a movement toward each bard carrying some or all of those tenets.
Personally, I think Circle bards are a Tuluki institution that replaces the "example" responsibility of Allanaki nobles. Within the confines of their circle's modus operandi, a Circle bard should be an example of an IDEAL Tuluki citizen or at least a near perfect ideal depending on their tenure and mindset and what have you.
Sure, Chosen are here to teach and what not, but they're not so overtly a flag for their House as their backward southern cousins.
Quote from: Tuannon on July 31, 2021, 03:17:28 AM
I would like to see solid guidelines for each School/Troupe/House of Circle Bards' list of tenets and a movement toward each bard carrying some or all of those tenets.
Personally, I think Circle bards are a Tuluki institution that replaces the "example" responsibility of Allanaki nobles. Within the confines of their circle's modus operandi, a Circle bard should be an example of an IDEAL Tuluki citizen or at least a near perfect ideal depending on their tenure and mindset and what have you.
Sure, Chosen are here to teach and what not, but they're not so overtly a flag for their House as their backward southern cousins.
Only one rank of bards (the lowest) relies on nobles. So I don't know that any emphasis on nobles is necessary.
Tuluki bards should act in the representative sense like southern nobles.
I'm not saying they rely on them.
Are there any downsides to making your normal citizen a bard that's born into the circle? Or expectations? It seems like you'd start without a patron in that case.
So not to be dismissive, but they are just all the normal roleplayed and actual roles with a little charm bracelet?
Quote from: Pariah on July 31, 2021, 12:25:36 PM
So not to be dismissive, but they are just all the normal roleplayed and actual roles with a little charm bracelet?
Any player can choose to have their character become a bard. It's similar to "joining a school / trade" and coming out with some knowledge and experience. It's similar in theme to joining the Atrium.
Remind me. Can only Tuluki citizens join?
Quote from: williamson on July 31, 2021, 01:49:27 PM
Remind me. Can only Tuluki citizens join?
In my opinion, I think that may be a case of the "Non-Citizens can join, but <politics>". It would definitely prevent any memberships from getting higher than apprentice, as you need to have a Patron to excel, and
none of the Chosen Lords would ever give money to a southern bard.
Previously never heard of a non citizen joining any Circle.
Quote from: williamson on July 31, 2021, 01:49:27 PM
Remind me. Can only Tuluki citizens join?
I THINK a non-citizen being accepted into a Circle would be almost unheard of considering the Occupation and recent events.
Staff can comment but I can't imagine a scenario it would be acceptable for say a southern born person to be admitted into a Circle. A tribal, maybe? But Tuluk is all about tattoos and eugenics. To not be inked and be in a Circle would be weird.
Quote from: Bebop on July 31, 2021, 04:02:56 PM
Quote from: williamson on July 31, 2021, 01:49:27 PM
Remind me. Can only Tuluki citizens join?
I THINK a non-citizen being accepted into a Circle would be almost unheard of considering the Occupation and recent events.
Staff can comment but I can't imagine a scenario it would be acceptable for say a southern born person to be admitted into a Circle. A tribal, maybe? But Tuluk is all about tattoos and eugenics. To not be inked and be in a Circle would be weird.
Brings up a good point, I'm really hoping to see the nobles and templars play as if they've been locked in a city their whole life and treating it with wonder and apprehension.