Bardsmanship

Through mastery of this Discipline a Kai Grand Master of the New Order becomes a multi-talented performer, proficient in the use of any musical instrument. He is able to sing or chant, recite or compose tales of legend, mimic speech or dialect, and stimulate a wide range of emotions among sentient creatures. The effect and power of his bardic abilities will steadily increase as he advances through the Grand Master ranks.

Improved Grand Master Discipline

• Kai Grand Master Superiors (6 disciplines) who possess this Discipline are able to utilize their musical skills to pacify an excited or hostile animal.
• Kai Grand Sentinels (7 disciplines) who possess this Discipline are able to use their singing or playing to counter a hostile sonic attack. The effective use and range of this sonic defence steadily increase as a Grand Master rises in rank.
• Kai Grand Defenders (8 disciplines) who possess this Discipline are able to use their musical skills to pacify (and/or implant a suggestion into the mind of) an intelligent creature within audible range. This improved Discipline is similar in effect to the Brotherhood Spell Mind Charm (Kai-alchemy).
• Sun Knights (10 disciplines) who possess mastery of this Discipline are able to use their musical skills to launch sonic attacks against any individual within audible range. The effect of a sonic attack is dependent upon the target creature’s sensitivity to sound (i.e. a deaf creature would be unaffected by such an attack).
• Sun Lords (11 disciplines) with this skill are able to direct their musical abilities to disrupt the structure of inanimate breakable objects, e.g. glass, ceramics, urns, flasks, causing them to explode violently. Any person or creature in close proximity to the destroyed object risks injury from flying fragments.
• Sun Princes (15 disciplines) with this skill are able to inspire large groups of people by means of heroic speeches or songs, boosting their courage and combat effectiveness.

Usage

Bardsmanship is a fairly poor discipline, with few uses. The base discipline can sometimes be used to earn gold crowns, but money is typically not an issue in the books. The improved disciplines can often be duplicated by other disciplines, such as Animal Mastery to pacify hostile animals, Kai-alchemy to cast Mind Charm, or Kai-surge to break inanimate objects.