It Must Be Magic Song Music is often described as a magical experience that has the power to transport us to different emotions and memories. It can make us laugh, cry, dance, or even feel nostalgic. There are certain songs that possess a special kind of magic, leaving a lasting imprint on our hearts and minds. "It Must Be Magic" is one such song that effortlessly captures the essence of this enchanting power of music. The song, written and performed by an acclaimed artist, weaves a magical spell with its melodic tunes and heartfelt lyrics. It takes us on a journey through emotions, floating us through a world of dreams and possibilities.
First spell: Even if we assume that the creature is asleep for 1 hour and can't wake up, I think I hate this spell? It's the same as the power 3 spells, requires the target to fail two will challenge rolls, requires it to be within short range of you, you're concentrating. It just adds up to a spell I don't think I'd ever want to take or use.
The charm doesn t end if you hurt them or they are hurt, a rare commodity, and if they are 10 yards from you they have to move towards you It doesn t say how far but I assume they d have to use their full move to get to you. It lasts as long as you need it to, I doubt some creature is going to know Ah yes, this niche specialized magic I don t know about ends if I move beyond medium range , so this is a good get out of jail free card.
It takes us on a journey through emotions, floating us through a world of dreams and possibilities. When we listen to "It Must Be Magic," we are transported to a realm of enchantment and wonder. The soothing melody wraps around us like a warm embrace, while the lyrics resonate with our deepest emotions.
It's like if you took the entire Bard class and just made it a magic tradition
The core description of song is pretty short and simple. " Song spells weave magic into music to affect the minds of those who hear it performed. Casting spells from the tradition requires you to sing or play music."
The OP one goes on a bit of a tangent about the power of music and the magic within it but doesn't really add much. It mentions many users of song discover the magic by accident or pursue an apprenticeship with a bard (Someone who has achieved mastery in Song magic)
One of my complaints is because of how Shadow magic works Song has 2. issues? Situations? Circumstances? Things.
1: You always need to use a foci barring some specific as hell path choices, so you can't just be a 'I sing and nothing else' Song user (I think a master path lets you do this)
2: Even though it would be really cool to 'dip' into song magic just a bit, that winds up being very limiting for most path choices.
Basically #1 is something that I think I'm just going to call the homebrew solution and not even have a homebrew for Song, people who use Song can cast their song spells with only singing. easy.
#2 isn't really 'fixable' without changing parts of the game. Basically, in most games Song would be that tradition that you spend a feature or resource on getting a single spell or two from and never taking another one because of how nifty it is. The problem with Shadow is anytime you have a path say 'learn a tradition' you generally need to really give a shit about the tradition you pick, as you don't get too many of those.
Song Magic does a lot of things, generally they aren't concentration (Which is really nice) but a lot of them have the caveat 'They spell ends if you stop singing or cast another spell'.
That means communicating might be a smidgen difficult (Needing to sing, but you can probably sing whatever you need to say) and you can't cast other spells while you are doing certain song spells (Inconvenient if you went magician). So what kind of character type does this support?
Basically, a rogue that took magic. Or even a spellguard. You can't cast other spells while doing Song shit, so your best bet is to just smack the shit out of your enemies while you sing (Which is supported pretty well by warrior/rogue innately)
Time to look at spells
Core power 0 spells
- Duration of 1 minute. For the duration, anything you say or sing can be heard up to 1 mile away
- Each creature you choose within short range that can hear you. Duration of 1 hour. You concentrate for 1 minute, during which time you sing. When you finish, each target must make a will challenge roll. On a failure, it becomes charmed for 1 hour or until it takes damage.
First spell is going to have some very limited uses and will probably alert the enemy more times than not. The second spell is a charm. Depending on your DM this spell may piss people off so maybe be careful.
Second spell: You may or may not need a conversation over the ethics and morale implications of using magic to charm people, whether it's apparent you are even casting a spell (You can cast in whatever language you want, you are probably singing, do people even know? Do other casters know? People with a profession? These questions and more either matter a lot or not at all)
Morales and ethics aside (Fuck those) you also need to know: If they fail their will challenge roll or even succeed do they know they were charmed? Theres a path in Core that says: When they are charmed they don't remember they were charmed by you when the spell ends. Does 'remembering you were charmed' just mean 'I remember this guy did something and I really liked him for a bit but now I don't really feel that way?' does it matter what kind of way you charm them? (Innate magical ability a la vampire, vs enchantment spell, vs bardic song? I would assume The vampire one is the most rememberable, the spell second, and the song spell the least 'crazy'. At the very end of the list is probably a mundane charm ability)
It's a whole lot of words to basically say: This is entirely solved by sending your DM a single sentence in PMs, usually people don't care. Personally I don't care, but if the players care I can if they want me to. Or if I'm the player I really care because that effects how I do my stuff.
OP power 0 spells
- One creature within short range. You tell an obscene rhyme. If the target can hear you, make a will attack against the target's will. On a success, the target becomes impaired for 1 round. When impaired in this way, the target grants 1 boon on rolls made to attack it
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The creature makes its next attack roll or challenge roll before the end of the round with 2 boons.
First spell is something I might not normally like because you're using an attack to get a boon on an attack but it isn't that bad because it grants it to anyone attacking them, and impairs. It only lasts 1 round but that can still be helpful. This still has use later on but you might have better options personally (And the short range hampers things). Take this when you have an asshole who built 4 robots (Or just a group of 4-5)
Second spell is a good boon generator but it does guarantee you won't be doing anything while you maintain it unless you have a triggered action you can use. (You could even triggered action cast a spell as this doesn't have the 'ends if you cast a spell' clause) Despite me saying that it's still very good, especially early on and when there's only one person with a weapon worth a damn.
Core power 1 spells
- Each creature you choose within short range that you can hear. Duration of 1 minute. For the duration, each target cannot become charmed, compelled, or frightened while it remains within short range of you and can hear you. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or cast another spell.
- Duration of 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and on each of your turns for the duration, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target makes its next attack roll or challenge roll with 2 boons. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or cast another spell.
- Duration of 1 minute. When you cast the spell and on each of your turns for the duration, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target deals 1d6 extra damage with weapon attacks for 1 round. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or cast another spell.
First spell: This will probably be pretty solid. For normal DnD-type games I feel spells like this wind up being 'meh' because frightening stuff usually doesn't show up. In most modules, and I reason most games, you'll run into demons and all sorts of scary shit. So just being able to stop the frightened condition is great. the charmed/compelled might not come up but will be good for fighting faeries, vampires, or other assholes.
So this second spell is basically the exact same as the OP power 0 spell just above. There are some differences.
1: The OP spell specifies 'Before the end of the round', so this could imply that they keep the boons till they use it (Unlikely) or till the spell ends (Maybe) or just end of the round (Probably).
2: The OP spell is concentration, so getting hit or gaining insanity can fuck it up. The Core one isn't.
3: The OP spell is power 0, Core is power 1
Should you take both? I guess you could if you really like the power 0 version as it basically doubles the number of castings you get of it. For most people you probably only want the power 0 one.
"When should I cast the third spell?"
Does the person using the greatsword have at least 2 boons on their attacks? If so, cast this spell.
If no, don't. Do something else.
Core power 2 spells
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target must get a success on a will challenge roll or become charmed for the duration. While charmed in this way, the creature can take only slow turns and must move towards you on its turn if it is more than 10 yards from you. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or cast another spell
- Each creature you choose within short range that can hear you. You concentrate for 1 minute, during which time you sing. When you finish, each target that was within short range for the entire performance heals damage equal to its healing rate.
First spell is a pretty cheeky spell, you could use it to charm (or attempt to charm) multiple people into getting within a certain range, then popping off some other aoe (Or having your allies). The charm doesn't end if you hurt them or they are hurt, a rare commodity, and if they are 10 yards from you they have to move towards you (It doesn't say how far but I assume they'd have to use their full move to get to you). You can also MOVE away from these people to get them to follow you.
As with most/all charms nothing stops them from attacking your allies. Even pleading with them likely doesn't. Don't be the bard who charms a single person mid fight and begs the DM on your hands and knees for a persuasion role to instantly stop combat against the evil orc hordes.
It's a neat spell, very siren-y.
Second spell is the first bard heal. It's pretty alright. Hits you, gets better the more people you have around you. This will make you friends.
Core power 3 spells
- Concertation, up to 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target must make a Will challenge roll. It becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success, or becomes impaired for the duration on a failure. While impaired in this way, the creature is also slowed.
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. When you cast this spell, and when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target must make a will challenge roll. It becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success, or becomes frightened for the duration on a failure. While frightened in this way, the creature must use its action on each turn to rush away from you by the safest available route. If the creature cannot hear you at the end of the round, it removes the affliction.
First spell: I actually looked up another spell to see if I hated this or not. Compared to every other slowing spell in the game it is. alright? Except when you get to time magic (which we will get to some day) which has a way better slow.
It DOES impair as well which gives it an ability but I think this targets too slowly, hitting only one creature (Which they have a chance of not failing) a turn. It seems to be a bit too slow and lacking in area.
Second spell: It's very similar to the first in terms of how many it can hit but may be better because it lets you safely flee monsters by causing them to haul ass away from you each turn (Fun/not fun fact: They could take a slow turn, rush away, but then move back towards you. Not sure if intended. Ask the DM). You may be wondering 'How far can creatures hear'. Google tells me on an average still air day you can hear an adult male's voice, clearly, from almost 600 feet away. Basically: Unless the creature is stupid fast it doesn't matter it's frightened for the 1 minute.
Not huge on these two spells. If they weren't concentration I'd like them more I think.
Core power 4 and 5 spells
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. When you cast this spell, and when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within short range that can hear you. The target must make a will challenge roll. It becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success, or becomes slowed for the duration on a failure. While slowed in this way, the creature is also fatigued. If the creature cannot hear you at the end of the round, it removes these afflictions. If the target is already slowed, it instead falls asleep for 1 hour.
- Up to three creatures within short range that can hear you. Duration of 1 minute. For the duration, or until it can no longer hear you, each target gains a +20 bonus to health and a +2 bonus to speed, and makes attack rolls and challenge rolls with 2 boons. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or cast another spell.
First spell: Even if we assume that the creature is asleep for 1 hour and can't wake up, I think I hate this spell? It's the same as the power 3 spells, requires the target to fail two will challenge rolls, requires it to be within short range of you, you're concentrating. It just adds up to a spell I don't think I'd ever want to take or use.
Second spell: I have nothing bad to say about this spell it kicks ass. +20 health, speed bonus, and a slew of boons. It might actually deserve a bonus d6 to damage somewhere in there but as is I like it a lot. Very good for final fights. As added bonus you could target yourself and make attacks while using this if you have a gun or some other non-shit damage source.
If you're a DM and want to feel like a god have some deafness spell ready and hit a target with it so the spell drops for them, because they can no longer hear it.
Core song, on it's own, is almost a C. It might actually be a C because the power 3-4 spells kinda suck (In my opinion). For a refresher of what the rankings mean, see here .
Thankfully OP exists.
OP power 1 spells
- A 3 yard long cone originating from a point in your space. You loose a booming blast of noise from your mouth. Each object made of glass or crystal in the area takes damage equal to its health. Each creature in the area must make a strength challenge roll. A creature takes 2d6 damage and becomes deafened for 1 minute on a failure, or just takes half damage on a success.
- Duration of 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and again on each of your turns for the duration, choose one creature within medium range that can hear you. The creature can move up to its speed without triggering free attacks. The effect ends immediately if you stop singing or you cast another spell.
First spell: So this is 'alright' as far as a damage spell for a non-damage tradition but I think it falls apart when you realize: There's a bunch of spells in Core that don't work if the enemy can't hear you! You are making things harder for yourself! Not sure when you'd need to break glass/crystal either but the minute you need to you'll feel really cool.
Second Spell: Pretty good for battlefield control/helping your allies move around. I like it quite a bit.
OP power 2 spells
- Up to five creatures you choose within medium range that can hear you. Concentration, up to 1 minute. You begin chanting, for the duration each target makes attack rolls with 1 boon and deals 1d6 extra damage on melee attacks.
- Up to five creatures you choose within medium range that can hear you. You recite a bit of poetry to awaken new courage in each target. A target that has 1 or more insanity or the charmed, compelled, or frightened affliction makes a will challenge roll with 1 boon. On a success, the target removes 1 insanity or removes one of the specified afflictions from itself.
First spell: Me likey the damage. Bring hirelings and give them pikes.
Second spell: So this one is odd because there's a spell that does almost all of this but better, but the ranges are difference. This one is medium range but it's only a single time. BUT it can also remove insanity (So if someone in the party passed their horrifying challenge roll, they could still lose some insanity for fun)
OP power 3 spells
- Duration of 1 minute. You play a lively tune. When you cast the spell, and on each of your turns for the duration, choose one creature within short range. The creature must get a success on a will challenge roll or be moved up to its speed in a direction you choose and then become immobilized until the end of the round
- Up to ten creatures you choose within medium range that can hear you. You sing or play a mournful tune. Each target must get a success on a Will challenge roll or become impaired for as long as you concentrate, up to 1 minute. When impaired in this way, a target is also slowed. When you use an action to concentrate on the spell, each affected target must get a success on a Will challenge roll or gain1 insanity. An affected target can use an action to make a Will challenge roll and ends the effect on itself with a success. This effect ends for all targets if you stop singing or playing or you cast another spell.
First spell: I wanted to say this was one of those 'kinda poop' spells like in core, but being able to immobilize a creature after making it move away from you is pretty dang good. HOWEVER on subsequent turns you don't need to use your action to do it on subsequent turns. This means you can do other stuff (Cast other song spells, attack, etc). It's decent.
For the second spell: It's medium range, can impair on a failed will challenge, and can give creatures insanity if they fail another challenge roll (Which they will have 1 bane on). Removing it is also possible but it uses an action, which is favorable to you because it might fail and regardless it uses its turn for that. It also might become frightened which will give it further banes.
This is a solid 'Concentration song spell' and is a good format for how you should use them, not the 'choose a single target and do nothing else on your turn'.
OP power 4 spells
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. An eerie droning noise emanates from your mouth for the duration. When you cast this spell, and again when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within medium range that can hear you. The creature must make a Will challenge roll. It becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success, or it becomes dazed for the duration on a failure. When dazed in this way, the creature grants 1 boon on attack rolls made against it and makes challenge rolls to resist attacks with 1 bane. If the creature cannot hear you at all at the end of the round because it is deafened, in an area sound cannot reach, or is far enough away that sound can not reach it, it removes the dazed affliction.
- Each creature you choose within medium range that can hear you. You sing or play a song of peace and harmony. A target must get a success on a will challenge roll with 1 bane or become affected by your music for as long as it can hear you sing or play your instrument. If the target takes damage, gains insanity, or is beyond medium range at the end of any round. The effect ends for that target. A target affected in this way cannot use actions to attack or cast attack spells.
First spell: Not sure why Rob decided to spend so much time on THIS SPELL on the 'if the creature cannot hear you' shtick but its nice to have. This is. basically the core power 3/4 spell format. Only it dazes and gives a boon to hit the creature dazed. Is dazed so much better that it excuses the 1 creature per turn concentration spell? Maybe, I don't think it really does. You can't spam it on a single creature or it becomes immune, if you are running boss fights with a single creature you deserve to have your party stomp it if this spell hits the big bad and they fail their roll. I think this would be a fun spell to run on a monster.
Second spell: This is it. This is THE spell. When the level 3 bard goes 'I'd like to go up to this blood thirsty murderers and try to persuade them to not kill us, my only idea in my brain is smile be nice' you can look at the bard and go 'Them not killing you is a power 4 spell effect at best, they shoot you'.
It lasts as long as you need it to, I doubt some creature is going to know 'Ah yes, this niche specialized magic I don't know about ends if I move beyond medium range', so this is a good 'get out of jail free' card. I almost want to say it shouldn't even have a roll but be limited to 1 minute or something (And still end if they take damage/other stuff like that). I like it. Be sure to use this on demons it'll be funny
OP power 5 spells
- Concentration, up to 1 minute. When you cast the spell, and again when you use an action to concentrate on it, choose one creature within medium range that can hear you. The creature must make a will challenge roll with 1 bane. It becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success, or becomes compelled for the duration on a failure. When compelled in this way, a creature makes attack rolls with 1 boon and deals 1d6 extra damage. If a creature compelled by this spell takes damage, it can make a Will challenge roll with 1 bane and removes the affliction from itself on a success or gains 1 insanity on a failure. The creature also removes the affliction if it cannot hear you at the end of the round.
- A 20 yard radius sphere centered on a point in your space. Concentration, up to 1 minute. You sing or play an eerie song that twists the heartstrings of anyone that can hear it. The music spreads through the area and lasts for the duration. If you move, the area moves with you and remains centered on a point in your space. Each creature in the area when you cast the spell or that enters the area must make a will challenge roll with 1 boon. A creature becomes charmed for 1 hour on a failure or becomes immune to this casting of the spell on a success. A creature charmed in this way must take a fast turn each round and move closer to you by the shortest available route until it can come no closer. If the creature cannot get any closer to you, it can act normally, though still taking a fast turn. If a creature charmed by this spell takes damage, it makes a will challenge roll with 3 banes. It removes the charmed affliction from itself on a success or gains 1 insanity on a failure.
For the first spell, this is another 'one creature a turn' spell I think is good, primarily because when it goes correctly you begin increasing the number of attacks you get per turn because of compelling other creatures. Just try to keep them from getting hurt. Bad news: If it gains insanity because it failed to throw off the compelled, it gains 1 insanity so it's now frightened.
Second spell: So this is a mass charm and a mass 'come to me' but you can't pick who success or fails on it. I don't think this spell is particularly good but it makes sense as a power 5 spell, as this can severely fuck over an entire chunk of town by just sprinting through it kinda fast. I can think of several uses for this spell but a lot of them fall into the 'Not something I normally do fighting demons' category. So I could see some use for this, but maybe pick the one that lets you compel your enemies. The spell also doesn't end if they can't hear you, so pop this down and start running stupid fast away from the people who have to chase you.
Expert Paths
You became a Southern Baptist and you really liked singing in church. Song/Theurgy
3: Notable: They get +4 health per level.
You can use an action to begin chanting. For 1 minute, or until you are unable to speak or you cast a spell, the sound of your chant spreads out from you in a 5 yard radius. When a creature that can hear your chant gets a success on an attack roll, you can use a triggered action to cause the attack to deal 1d6 extra damage. You can use Holy Chant a number of times equal to your power score.
So this is basically a divine strike but doesn't use your triggered action TILL they hit, and doesn't provide a boon. It isn't terrible but it eats up your triggered action and can only really hit 1 person a turn on a good case. It's alright.
6: You can use an action to raise your voice in a song that spreads from a point in your space out to a 5 yard radius for as long as you concentrate, up to 1 minute. If you cannot speak, this effect ends immediately. Each demon/faerie/spirit/undead in the area becomes impaired for as long as it remains there.
(Not sure why it clarifies 'in your space' when the level 3 ability didn't. Also if you are a faerie yourself haha get fucked)
You can use an cation an expend the casting of a song or theurgy spell to give voice to the thunder of heaven, which causes a booming noise to emanate from a point in your space in a 5 yard cone. Each creature in the area takes 1d6 damage plus 1d6 damage per rank of the spell whose casting you expended. A creature that has a corruption score of 1 or higher takes 2d6 extra damage. A creature that takes this damage can make a Strength challenge to take half. Once you use this you must wait a minute before you can use it again.
Level 6 is pretty good for Psalmist. The voice of thunder does solid damage and hurts corrupt creatures, the aoe is alright.
9: When you use your level 3 chant talent each creature with(sic) 5 yards of you that you choose and that can hear you must succeed on a will challenge roll or become frightened until the effect ends.
When you cast a song spell you can expend the casting of a theurgy spell of the same level or higher to cause angelic voices to take up your magical music allowing you to stop singing and freely cast other spells without ending the effect of the song spell
This is a kick ass level 9. You get a free frighten and you get the ability to start shitting out aoes upon aoes. Get a whole heavenly choir of buffs going. Note: This doesn't apply to concentration spells you still need to concentrate on those.
Master Paths
If I have to tell you what this is wtf.
7: You know a bit about everything. You make intellect challenge rolls to recall useful information with 1 boon
God the core master paths really just kinda existed huh?
10: When a creature becomes charmed from a spell you cast, you can also make the creature impaired until that charmed affliction is removed.
You can use a triggered action on your turn to cast a song spell you have learned.
Alright so the level 10 is a lot better than the 7. Still kinda lacking
You specialize in using your voice for magic.
7: You do not need to wield an implement when you cast a spell, provided you are able to sing. In addition, when you cast a spell that targets one or more creatures within short or medium range and you sing instead of wielding an implement, you can target one or more creatures within long range, provided the target you choose can hear you.
This applies to ANY spell you cast.
10: When you cast a song attack spell, you make the attack roll with 1 boon and you impose 1 bane on challenge rolls to resist your spell. In addition, whenever you cast a song spell that has a duration of concentration, you can expend the casting of a Rank 0 song spell. If you do so, you do not have to concentrate on the effect and the effect lasts until its maximum duration.
So the weird-ish thing here with the concentration is that most concentration spells you have are 'When you concentrate on it, do X' so really all this does is let you cast a 'When you concentrate on it' spell, hit a new turn, decide 'Eh, don't want to do that this turn' and do something else, then next turn you could go back to it. So this isn't as good as it sounds and it only applies to song spells but this path is pretty solid.
It has the uncanny ability to touch our souls and evoke emotions we never knew existed. The magic in this song lies not only in its musical composition but also in its ability to connect with the listener on a personal level. Each individual interprets the lyrics and melody in their unique way, finding solace, inspiration, or joy within its enchanting grasp. Moreover, "It Must Be Magic" possesses the power to ignite our imagination and transport us to a world of our own creation. As the song plays, we find ourselves lost in its enchanting spell, visualizing a beautiful landscape or reminiscing about a precious memory. It becomes a soundtrack to our dreams, letting us explore our imagination to its fullest. This song also has the power to unite people from different walks of life. When we attend a concert or listen to it with others, we feel a sense of camaraderie and connection. The shared experience creates a unique bond amongst listeners, forging a collective magic that is both powerful and unforgettable. In conclusion, "It Must Be Magic" is a song that holds a special place in our hearts and minds. Its ability to evoke emotions, ignite imagination, and create connections make it a truly magical experience. It serves as a reminder of the incredible power of music and its ability to touch our souls in ways that are truly extraordinary..
Reviews for "The Magic of Pop Music: Catchy Tunes and Their Secret Ingredients"
1. Jane - 2 stars - I really did not enjoy "It must be magic song". The lyrics felt generic and lacked depth, and the melody was forgettable. The vocals were also quite weak and did not do justice to the song. Overall, it failed to captivate me and left me underwhelmed.
2. Mark - 1 star - "It must be magic song" was a complete disappointment. The song lacked any originality or creativity. The lyrics were cliché and lacked substance, and the melody was uninteresting and repetitive. The production quality was also subpar, making the listening experience even worse. I would not recommend wasting your time on this song.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - I found "It must be magic song" to be quite underwhelming. The melody felt like a generic pop tune that failed to stand out. The lyrics were also uninspired and did not leave a lasting impression. Additionally, the vocals lacked emotion and intensity, making it hard to connect with the song. Overall, it fell flat for me and failed to leave any impact.
4. David - 1 star - "It must be magic song" was a forgettable and uninspiring track. The lyrics were predictable and lacked any depth or originality. The melody was lackluster and failed to grab my attention. The production felt amateurish, with poor mixing and mastering. I was left unimpressed by this song and wouldn't recommend it to others.