One thing I do like about Pathfinder is that it goes out of its way to avoid dead levels, or points where a character gains no new abilities. I tried to mimic that in these items. At every level a player gains either a new ability or an improvement to an old one. It’s not always big and obvious, but it’s always there. I charted it to make sure.
Liam’s item was harder than everybody else’s. I had to make a healer and support character interesting, and I wanted to do it in a way I hadn’t before, so I couldn’t just steal things from the healer class I rewrote. Luckily, Liam’s player gave me a large list of things she wanted to see in the item, larger than any other player had. Unluckily, she then built several of those abilities into her leveling plan so I had to go back and redo a large portion of the item. But that forced me to get creative and look outside of Pathfinder for ideas, which was the explicit point of the entire exercise, so in the end I’m thankful for the inconvenience. It let me give Liam powers to fit both his focus in music and his role as the party’s chick without dwelling too hard on what the rules think a skald should be.
Soul-Strung Guitar
As you strum this guitar, you see your music manifest around you. With the right chords you can change how the notes tilt and sway, tying you with your allies in ways they feel more than understand.
Concert Set (Ex): What’s the point in performing if you can’t wow a crowd all night? You can use raging song for 1 additional round per day per class level.
Encore (Su): As your skill at performing improves, so do the length of your songs and the magic in them. When you sustain a raging song for a certain number of rounds, you can invoke one of the following encores. Each encore lasts as long as you perform without interruption; abilities that cause the effects of your song to extend beyond the actual performance also extend the effects of encore, but your performance is interrupted if you are not actively performing. You can only use one encore per raging song; if you play for two rounds and use con brio, you cannot use legato when you play for a third round.
Con Brio: Your upbeat melodies keep your allies moving. When you sustain a raging song for two rounds or more, each ally affected by the song gains fast healing 1. At 5th level, and every five levels thereafter, this fast healing increases by 1.
Allegro: Winds whips your allies around the battlefield. Beginning at 5th level, when you sustain a raging song for three rounds or more, each ally affected by the song gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to their base speed. In addition, each affected ally can make two 5-foot steps per turn as long as they do not occur on consecutive actions. At 10th level, and every five levels thereafter, the enhancement bonus increases by +10 feet.
Forte: Your allies’ attacks are bolstered by your rousing song. Beginning at 8th level, when you sustain a raging song for two rounds or more, each ally affected by the song gains a +1 bonus to damage rolls. This bonus increases by +1 for every round you perform without interruption.
Legato: By following your lead, allies have an easier time making their actions flow. Beginning at 11th level, when you sustain a raging song for three rounds or more, each ally affected by the song gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls for each attack they make in a round after the first. At 16th level this bonus increases to +2.
Deciso: Music has the power to soothe as well as encourage. Beginning at 14th level, when you sustain a raging song for four rounds or more, each ally affected by the song may ignore harmful enchantment, fear, charm, and compulsion effects and any damage, drain, or penalty to mental ability scores.
Trionfale: Allies will keep themselves alive just to hear your songs. Beginning at 17th level, when you sustain a raging song for four rounds or more, each ally affected by the song may ignore negative levels and any damage, drain, or penalty to physical ability scores.
Strings of Iron (Su): Your songs can affect not just the magic of weapons but also their physical structure. Beginning at 3rd level, when you use your enhance weapons song, you can treat the weapons you enhance as cold iron for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This is equivalent to a +1 weapon bonus, and this consumes the enhancement bonus granted by your enhance weapons song as normal. At 8th level you can treat weapons as silver as a +2 bonus, and at 12th level you can treat weapons as adamantine as a +3 bonus.
Subtle Lyrics (Sp): Creatures are always speaking if you know how to listen. Beginning at 4th level, as a standard action three times per day you can read the emotional state of an animal you can see and hear within 30 feet. At 9th level you can also use this ability on humanoids, and at 13th level you can use it on any creature with thoughts. At 16th level you may use this ability as a swift action and you can use it five times per day.
Follow the Music (Ex): You can read the rhythm of combat. Beginning at 6th level enemies do not get a bonus to attack rolls from flanking you.
Reverb (Ex): A power chord can last forever with the right equipment. Beginning at 7th level, once per day you can sustain your raging song without spending an action to do so. You can use this ability even when you are unable to take actions, such as when you are stunned or unconscious. At 11th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, you can use this ability one additional time per day.
Elocation (Su): Your most ardent fans be may right—you do actually walk on water. Beginning at 10th level, you ignore difficult terrain caused by objects or effects on the ground and you can walk on liquids. At 18th level this ability extends to all allies within 20 feet of you.
Someone Else’s Solo (Ex): Sometimes owning the spotlight is about knowing when to leave it. Beginning at 15th level, whenever a creature damages you with a melee attack you may move 5 feet as a free action. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but your movement on your next turn is reduced by the amount you moved with this ability.
Listen with your Heart (Ex): You music defies the limitations of sound. Beginning at 19th level, your raging song can affect allies who cannot see or hear you, and you do not have a chance to fail to perform when you are deaf.
Comeback Tour (Su): The best acts never die. At 20th level, once per day you can heal all your allies for 10 hit points times your Charisma modifier hit points (minimum 10 hit points). If an ally is below 0 hit points when you use this ability, you heal them to 0 hit points before applying the healing. If an ally is dead, you restore them to life at 0 hit points before applying the healing. You can use this ability even when you cannot take actions, but if you are dead, you can only use it on the turn immediately after you die. If you are sustaining a raging song, using this ability immediately ends the song and its effects.