The Ivory Bard

So the Ivory Bard actually has two origins. The character and the concept. It wasn’t until I married the two that Chord, The Ivory Bard was born.

The character existed in one form or another throughout my games. He was a throwaway character. If he had ever died, I wouldn’t have used him again. He never did, and whenever I needed a throwaway character, or a character just to make the PC’s uncomfortable he was there. What wouldn’t be awkward about a male minotaur warrior who happened to like the same sex? His orientation was never really important as most of the games he was in was with hack and slash players, who rarely took the time to talk their way out of a situation. So sometimes, he and his minions would win. And rather than kill them all (TPK), I would have them all captured and the most handsome/charismatic one taken to his chamber. This of course would begin an almost hysterical jailbreak session where the party tried to get to their comrade, BEFORE the minotaur did. Yeah, now they cared about his orientation. Sigh…lol

Again he was just a throwaway character when I needed something unique to threaten my players with. And a minotaur rogue (his original concept) was dangerous as hell.

The concept, that of an evil bard, a full on evil bard came much later. Bards are supposed to collect stories. They are literally Tyrion on Game of Thrones, they drink and they know things. Most players never really explored that aspect of the bard. Whenever I played one though, I made it a point to ask about unique places, histories, curses, monsters, etc. A good DM would instantly create a mini adventure based on my queries, so much so that my players would beg me to shut up.

Anyway, the concept was simple. If a bard collected stories, the likelihood was that he collected stories of Kings and Queens, gods, the occasional good dragon, archwizards and the like. He collected stories of wars, likely from the winner’s perspective. The foes of the aforementioned would be an afterthought, vanishing into the mists of time. History is written by the victors after all. So what of the bad guys? The evil dragons. The tyrants and necromancers. Who tells their story?

A dark bard of course. One who would be welcome in the homes of the most wretched villains. For they have a story to tell. Secretly they know there is a chance the champions arrayed against of them could win. If their story lives on though, there is a chance their legacy may too, to inspire the next generation.

So Chord, the Ivory Bard was born. He is a minotaur, a collector of stories, a lover of music and dance, and a skald, a militant bard. He has a fondness for white leather, and elven wine. He enjoys singing to the stars, and has been known to dance with the fey for hours. He is honorable, and charming, but he is not good. He is cunning and manipulative, but he his not evil. Some say he has been blessed by the god of music. For now, Chord is here to stay.