Out with the old, and in with the new!

The old (and mostly copywritten) bard lyrics have been scrapped and replaced with new lyrics, some of which were submitted to our long-ago bard lyric contest on the forums. Thanks to all who submitted! See HELP LYRICS.

As a result of the lyric changes, all bard song names have been changed, and new functionality has been added to a few songs. Check all song helpfiles for more information.

Along with lyrics, we are proud to introduce our newest addition to the bard class - repertoires! Every bard can choose to perform their songs in one of four repertoires; Comedic, Epic, Romantic, or Tragic.

Each repertoire comes with a distinct lyrical/roleplaying style along with advantages and disadvantages to different songs.

Bards may occasionally change repertoires to suit various situations, and each bard may choose a 'preferred' repertoire in which he or she performs best.

See 'HELP REPERTOIRE' for more details, along with the help files for COMEDIC, EPIC, ROMANTIC, and TRAGIC.

Instruments also now affect repertoire styles, which astute bards can observe with the 'compare' command.

Enjoy the changes, and happy performing!

>Out with the old, and in with the new!

A most interesting and welcome change.

Under "help riddle" it comes up with:

Perhaps one of the following is what you want:
1266 RIDDLE OF RESILIENCE
1892 RIDDLE OF REVELATION

Shouldn't it be "Chant of Resilience"?

Just wondering.

Chant of Resilience has its own helpfile. Riddle of Resilience is a Legacy choice. See the warrior page under 'Classes', left sidebar.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Seems interesting. I'll probably browse this on the class page of CF website to learn the specifics once you people get it updated.

In the interim:

The class page's helpfile is current, and the skill list doesn't change. The new song list is posted below, and repeated here:

Level 2: travelers march
Level 4: charismatic prelude
Level 7: adagio
Level 9: piercing dissonance
Level 10: chant of resilience
Level 11: battaglia
Level 14: canticle of the gods
Level 15: elven adagio
Level 16: lullaby
Level 17: languid carol
Level 18: anthem of resistance
Level 19: riddle of revelation
cacophonous clamor
Level 20: reveille
Level 21: pastoral of the mind
Level 22: tranquil serenade
Level 26: requiem
Level 27: elegy of tears
Level 28: bagatelle of bravado
Level 29: laborious lament
Level 32: vibrato
Level 33: nocturne of fright
Level 34: apocalyptic overture
Level 38: fantasia of illusion
Level 40: symphonic echoes
Level 42: dirge of solitude
Level 45: grand nocturne

All helpfiles are active, and should be viewable using the sidebar.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

I'm not sure if you know this or not, though by now I'm sure you've gotten enough word of it. But some of the new songs are back down to 1% on the bard's song list.

After checking an old log, the skill %'s themselves have also shifted around. If you want, I can post the differences between the two, but I just thought I'd let you know in case it wasn't intentional.

Groovy changes none the less!

If someone senior enough to do it is on, they can fix your songs on the spot.

If not, you can log out- I'm scanning all the pfiles a couple times a day for a signature of this problem, and as long as you've gone through the "conversion", I'll see you and fix you offline. You won't get the exact %'s you had previously but you won't have to waste a lot of practice sessions either.

The problem stems from the fact that whoever decided how to store bard song information in pfiles did it a very long time ago, and didn't do some bookkeeping that's been standard for skills/spells/etc. now.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Bards have always been one of my favorite RP classes, so I'm very happy to see these changes. Keep up the great work!

As noted above, bards (only) can compare two instruments to get an idea of how well they function within a given repertoire. Example:

compare tambourine rattle

A tambourine with colorful streamers looks superior to a bone rattle for Comedic performance.
A tambourine with colorful streamers and a bone rattle seem equally suited for Epic performance.
A tambourine with colorful streamers looks superior to a bone rattle for Romantic performance.
A tambourine with colorful streamers looks inferior to a bone rattle for Tragic performance.

Notes: Only bards can do this. Instruments of a much higher level than the bard may not be able to be compared, as the bard does not yet appreciate their complexity.


valguarnera@carrionfields.com

This is very cool, and.. startling. I was thinking to myself last night that bards needed something like this. It'll definately help to define bards better. Great job, guys!

This bard thing has a special place in my CF-heart, so forgive the long rambling.

This has been something I've been nudging for ever since I immed as my bard character Amberlea in 1998. Amberlea, as some may recall, was the first evil bard, and a Scarabite. She refused to sing "Galadriel" (for obvious reasons), which first planted the seed that roleplaying wise, not all lyrics fit all bards. When I went on to become a Herald imm and bard patron as Lyria - I saw other bards struggle with some roleplaying issues with the class - usually pure-hearted or righteous bards who refused to sing some of the new "darker" themed songs. Bards were the only class with abilities in which the echoes - independent of any function - created a roleplaying feel that did not always fit with characters.

Interest waxed and waned in the suggestion of a lyric revamp since 1998. Various imms would comment and eventually about 3 years ago, as the goal of eliminating copywritten content became a central idea, the bard revamp started to form into something cohesive and recognized. A forum contest was introduced to gather some lyric submissions from the mortals, and we discussed the functionality that might accompany lyric changes.

But like any project of this nature, it ultimately takes a combination not only imm interest but the commitment of a bit boss type to make it happen. I continued to be persistent but accepting. Being an imm as long as I have, I've learned that now matter how much something is desired or needed, if it isn't interesting or fun to enough people who have to do the actual work, it just can't be done.

Every year I would put in a respectful plea for the project, including commiting myself to any gruntwork necessary to get it done. I had already written original or collected public-domain folk song lyrics for any song not covered by the contest submissions. Finally this year, during my anual "What about the bard project?" prodding (instigated by a public forum post, by the way, inquiring about our old copywritten lyric). - There was finally a significant response.

As often is the case, you have largely Valguarnera to thank for these changes. He did, as usual, put an enormous amount of time and effort into the bard project. Thankless time and effort, for the most part.

I'm not trying to suggest that this project is only a product of Valg and myself. Many other imms committed their time and ideas to the project, not only recently but in years past, including some imms who are no longer with us. But as someone who immed as a bard and has been wanting to see a project of this nature implemented for 7 years, I cannot emphasize enough how awesome it is to see the bard class gain more versatility and aesthetic originality. I want to give a big thanks to Valg and everyone else who contributed for giving me the opportunity to help see and make it happen before my extended absense. What a great send-off! :)

Thanks. A lot. I don't think we players can say how much we truly appreciate all of the Imm's, especially Valg, Zhulg, and Nepenthe in my eyes. Every year I go play a new MMO. FFXI, WoW, Earth and Beyond. But after four months I'm not playing those games. I'm still playin CF. 6 years and counting =D

Level 2: travelers march
Level 4: charismatic prelude
Level 7: adagio
Level 9: piercing dissonance
Level 10: chant of resilience
Level 11: battaglia
Level 14: canticle of the gods
Level 15: elven adagio
Level 16: lullaby
Level 17: languid carol
Level 18: anthem of resistance
Level 19: riddle of revelation
cacophonous clamor
Level 20: reveille
Level 21: pastoral of the mind
Level 22: tranquil serenade
Level 26: requiem
Level 27: elegy of tears
Level 28: bagatelle of bravado
Level 29: laborious lament
Level 32: vibrato
Level 33: nocturne of fright
Level 34: apocalyptic overture
Level 38: fantasia of illusion
Level 40: symphonic echoes
Level 42: dirge of solitude
Level 45: grand nocturne

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

(n/t)