.: Forgotten Realms Cormyr :.

Home
Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.

Navigation

« Bardic Lore

Bardic Colleges of the Realms Reply

Thread Options Search

« Prev 1 Next »
Masterbard Alyster Darkharp
Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jul 9, 2007 at 2:28am
EDM Ninja likes this

This is some info that Ed Greenwood gave in reply to a

question somewhere, thought it might be useful for some
aspiring bards to help build background stories.

Fochlucan: The college of Fochlucan once stood on the

northeastern edge of Silverymoon. After it closed, the college
stood empty for many years before being reopened as
Utrumm’s Music Conservatory. Utrumm’s Music Conservatory
has since been moved to Southbank, and Fochlucan has been
reborn as the House of the Harp. (See Elfsong, pages 10, 171,
and Silver Marches, page __.)

MacFuirmidh: The college of MacFuirmidh once stood on the

isle of Alaorn in the Moonshae Isles, south and east of Caer
Callidyrr. (See Elfsong, pages 170-171.)

Doss: The college of Doss once stood in the shadow of the

High Lady’s Castle in the city of Berdusk where Twilight Hall,
the base of the western branch of the Harpers, now stands.

Canaith: The college of Canaith now lies in ruins along the

northern stretch of the Hillstrail about 70 miles south of
Zazesspur, its long-abandoned buildings put to the torch
during the Black Days of Eleint in 1347 DR. (See Elfsong,
pages 175.)

Cli: The college of Cli once lay within the eastern reaches of
Baldur’s Gate, but its buildings have long since been torn
down and replaced. The only remnant of this school is Elfsong
Tavern, an adventurers’ drinking-place and hiring house
notable for the ghostly elven female voice (once a student at
the college) that can be heard from time to time. (See Volo’s
Guide to the Sword Coast, pages 17-18.)

Anstruth: The college of Anstruth once stood in the heart of

Sundabar’s trade ward. As recently as 1364 DR, only one
building remained, a once-beautiful structure converted into a
warehouse. The founding of the Silver Marches confederation
and the refounding of Fochlucan in Silverymoon has given
renewed energy to efforts by a handful of bards to refound
Anstruth. (See Elfsong, pages 154-156, and Silver Marches,
page __)

Ollamh: The college of Ollamh once stood on Rivon Street in

Waterdeep’s Trade Ward, where the House of Song, guildhall
of the Council of Musicians, Instrument-Makers, and
Choristers, now stands, although many mistakenly believe it
lay in Castle Ward, where Halambar Lutes & Harps now
stands. In 1366 DR, Danilo Thann and members of the above-
mentioned guild refounded the college as New Ollamh, located
in Waterdeep’s Castle Ward in the old Cliffride villas of Heroes’
Rest and Stormwatch. (See Elfsong, pages 217, 243, City of
Splendors: Campaign Guide, pages 40-41, 46-47, and City of
Splendors: Waterdeep, pages __, and Dragon #__, page __.)

These are references to the Bardic Instruments and where

they came from I found in another forum.

According to Magic of Faerun, a bard from the Moonshaes

named Falataer created the first of the "Instruments of the
Bards", one of which is the Fochlucan Bandore.

According to Complete Arcane, a bard named Falataer created

the first of the "Instruments of the Bards", one of which is the
Fochlucan Bandore.

According to Complete Adventure, a Fochlucan lyrist is a

bard/druid trained at the Fochlucan College, often in the use
of the Fochlucan Bandore.

According to Silver Marches, the Focluchan (spelled that way)

bardic college was in Silvery Moon, though it exists now as
The House of the Harp.

What does Fochlucan (or Focluchan) mean? Why is the creator

of the bandore from the Moonshaes and the college in Silvery
Moon?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

Falataer created first Instruments of the Bards to use them as

reward [and testing] to students in his bardic college which
was divided into seven levels of skill to mimic the old system
in which a bard would study in seven bardic colleges, each
improving his skill untill he would attain the Magna Alumnae
degree. The seven colleges (and order in which bard would
attain them) were:
- Fochluhan (located in Silverymoon)
- Mac-Fuirmidh (located on Moonshae islands)
- Doss (located in Berdusk)
- Canaith (located near Zazesspur in Tethyr)
- Cli (Baldur's Gate)
- Anstruth (located in Sundabar)
- Ollamh (located in Waterdeep)

So Falataer called his seven instuments Fochuchan Bandore,

Mac-Fuirmidh Cithern, Doss Lute, Canaith Mandolin, Cli Lyre,
Anstruth Harp, Ollamh Harp presumably to honor the memory
of those seven ancient Bard colleges [and he created
instruments those colleges were known for].

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jul 10, 2007 at 1:18am

New Olamn: One of Faerûn's few bardic colleges, New Olamn

occupies the site of former mountaintop villas on Mount
Waterdeep. With luck, this newly reopened incarnation of the
college will rival the schools in Silverymoon.

*Got this from the Realmslore Archive, already mentioned

above with a different spelling.

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 7, 2007 at 3:34am

**sidebarr from Complete Adventurer**

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 7, 2007 at 3:37am

**Map from Complete Adventurer**

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 7, 2007 at 5:24pm

**This is a few lines of text from an article on the wizards web

site, the full entry can be found in my 'Known Books' section.

Cressaed Wood, a skilled Cormyrian bard who lived around

1200 DR. Though talented in magic, his interests were more
in music and teaching than adventuring, and after he made a
name for himself he founded a small school in Arabel to teach
music and magic to persons of talent

**Any information relevant to this school that anyone can find

references in a realms book would be great!**

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 17, 2007 at 1:37am

Information from pg 21-22 of 'Champions of Valor' in the

Character Options section.

Bardic Tutelage

Bards are highly respected in Faerun (mainly because of the

actions of the harpers) and bardic colleges are praised not
only for the musical talents of their graduates but their
traditions of magic and worldly knowledge. Wealthy folk pay
to have their children taught by bards, and traveling bards
sometimes sponsor enterprising young students. These people
are taught the history of music and lore and their roles in
shaping civilized society. Graduates of good aligned colleges
see themselves as guardians of the past and present, using
historical models to right today's injustices.

Region: Any with a bardic college.

Automatic Languages: as region.
Bonus Languages: As region, plus any one (including dead
languages).
Favored Dieties: As region.
Regional Feats: Arcane Schooling (bard), Artist, Education.
Bonus Equipment: (A) masterwork instrument, chain shirt,
and 50 gp; or (B) masterwork chainmail; or (C) two scrolls of
cat's grace.

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 18, 2007 at 4:25am

**Though not properly a Bardic College, I've included this

here, since it is very similar, from the WoTC official website**

The Herald's Holdfast

Few inhabitants of the Silver Marches can claim to have

visited the remote and mysterious residence known as the
Herald's Holdfast. Those who know of its existence call it a
repository of lore or a storehouse of much that has been
forgotten in all other places.

Herald's Holdfast (Outpost): Magical; AL N; special gp limit;

Assets special; Population 5; Integrated (dwarf [20%], elf
[20%], gnome [20%], half-orc [20%], human [20%]).

Authority Figures: Old Night, female human Brd6/Rgr4.

Important Characters: Dargin Stoneweaver, male shield dwarf

Wiz7/Lor2; Llyllanndra Havenstar, female sun elf Wiz7/Lor3;
Naithee Uvarkk, female rock gnome Wiz7/Lor1; Hakan, male
half-orc Bbn3/Sor3.

Symbol: The Herald's Holdfast uses as its recognition mark

the emblem of an open book, in silver, on a dark gray field.

A day's rough journey north and west of Silverymoon (or

south and west of Quaevarr), the Herald's Holdfast is within
an isolated dell hidden in the southern eaves of the
Moonwood. A short stone tower (more like a fortified manor
house than a genuine stronghold) squats in the dell like a
misshapen woodland idol. Three-quarters of the tower is set
against the slope of a steep hill that surrounds the dell. Only
one door is set into the tower wall, and it is a moss-covered
stone portal worn smooth by time and use. So well concealed
is the tower within its wreath of vegetation that even those
who know what they are seeking must make a Spot check (DC
20) to identify the tower, and a Search check (DC 20) to
locate its single entrance. The tower door remains unlocked at
all times, and it swings open freely to the touch.

Brief History
Where did this place come from? Who built it, and why? And
how has it remained untouched by the orc hordes and other
creatures of the region? The tower's caretaker, a
knowledgeable woman named Shalara Swordshigh who insists
on referring to herself as Old Night, receives these questions
with patience and an enigmatic smile. Her replies are cryptic
at best, however, and not terribly useful. Old Night and her
companions have lived in the Holdfast for untold decades,
possibly centuries: No one can be certain exactly how long
they have been here. The elves of the High Forest believe that
Old Night is a member of an obscure and tiny secret
organization known as the Heralds (hence the name of the
tower), and that the group dedicates itself to collecting and
preserving Faerûn's past. They count among their enemies
any who would destroy or revise history, and number among
its allies the Harpers, who give them aid from time to time.
Others claim that there is a portal that leads to Silverymoon
located somewhere hard by the Holdfast that only Old Night
and her associates know about. (Old Night won't answer
questions about these topics, either.)

Important Sites in the Herald's Holdfast

The following locations are among those that adventurers will
most likely see and visit.

Out of Character
Locating a particular piece of information or a specific volume
of lore in Old Night's library is easier said than done. Each
character that seeks something in the library may make a
Search check. Calculate the DC for the check as follows:

Character has ranks in a Knowledge appropriate to the topic

of his or her inquiry (arcana, history, local, and so on):

DC 20 -1 for every Knowledge rank above 5 (to a maximum of

+10).

Time required: 5d20 hours -1 hour for every Knowledge rank

above 5 (to a maximum of -5).

Character has no ranks in an appropriate Knowledge:

DC 30

Time required: 10d20 hours

A character who possesses the Bardic Knowledge class feature

gains a +2 synergy bonus on his or her Search Check.

The Chambers
Beyond the main door is the Chamber of Humanity, which is a
single room dedicated to human history. Human arms and
armor from various eras, along with numerous other human
artifacts, hang from the walls; above them tapestries and the
carved rafter beams depict important scenes from Faerûnian
human history, as well as some human heroes and heroines.
A doorway leads from the Chamber of Humanity to a corridor
delved straight into the hillside. Therein are more chambers
similar to that of the Chamber of Humanity, and each is
dedicated to a single race, including dwarf, elf, giant, gnoll,
gnome, goblin, orc, and halfling. According to rumor, secret
doors exist elsewhere in the tower that lead to many other
chambers. Each racial chamber is decorated with items
created by or for the race it represents. Some of the items are
priceless due to their extreme age or historical significance,
while others are valuable for the precious metals or gems they
bear.

The Library
At the very end of the corridor, beyond all the chambers, sits
the structure's largest room: the library. Said to be a
storehouse of knowledge equal to or even greater than the
Vault of Sages in Silverymoon, the library contains a
bewildering number of books, tomes, scrolls, stone tablets, all
shelved or piled high on numerous tables. Almost all these
sources of information pertain to the history or genealogy of
the races to which the chambers are dedicated.

Old Night permits all visitors who conduct themselves politely

and without aggression to examine the contents of the library,
but visitors are not permitted to remove any of the books
from the Holdfast. (They are welcome to make a copy of
whatever information they find, however.) Old Night does not
make a habit of aiding visitors with their quests for
information, other than to point them to either the appropriate
chamber or the library.

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Oct 18, 2007 at 5:22am

**Once again, not entirely on-topic, but worth placing here; a

small amount of rules/information on Drow Bards from 'Drow
of the Underdark 3.5 pg 57 in the alternate class featurres
section.**

Drow Bard

When adventurers think of drow arcanists, they picture the

horrifically deadly drow wizards or the demonically imbued
drow warlocks. The bard would almost certainly be at the
bottom of the list of arcane classes associated with the drow.
What surface dwellers fail to realise, however, is that drow
have an ancient bardic tradition - one that transforms the
traveling entertainer, trickster, and storyteller of the surface
into one of the most horrific taskmasters and assassins of the
Underdark.

Deadly Knowledge

Drow bards do not travel the world, and thus do not gain the
broad range of understanding other bards have. Instead they
study a means of death-dealing normally associated with
other classes.
Level:1st
Replaces: if you select this class feature, you do not gain the
standard bard's bardic knowledge ability. In addition you can
use your bardic music one fewer time per day than other
bards (minimum 1).
Benefit: You are trained in the use of poison. You never risk
poisoning yourself when applying poison to a weapon.

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 5, 2008 at 6:31am

Information given by Eric Boyd, some of this is redundant

from earlier posts in this thread, but I included it anyways to
back up earlier posts. In addition there is also a small amount
of lore about the colleges that wasn't included previously.

Bard colleges all slid into decline less than 300 years ago,
perhaps circa the time of the Harpstar Wars (1182 - 1222
DR), when a senior half-elven Harper like Iriador Wintermist
(Garnet) would have been distracted serving politicians like
Khelben. Note that Iriador was a contempory of Finder
Wyvernspur, and traveled with him as a Harper (i.e. sometime
after 1022 DR)
ere his exile a few years after 1058 DR.
- Elfsong, p. 154, 231, 254
- Code of the Harpers, pp. 24, 27

Fochlucan (Silverymoon, now the site of Utrumm's Music

Conservatory)
- Elfsong, pp. 10, 111, 171

MacFuirmidh (Moonshaes, outside of Caer Callidyrr,

surrounding wineries survive)
- Elfsong, pp. 15, 111, 170
I've decided it fell in the Year of Falling Menhirs (1137 DR).

Doss (in Berdusk)

- Elfsong, p. 175

Canaith (in Tethyr, near Zazzesspur)

- Elfsong, p. 175
- Lands of Intrigue (unpublished, found in original draft)
<<< The long-fallen ruins of the bards' college of Canaith
lie strewn along the northern stretch of the Hillstrail about 70
miles south of Zazesspur. Its three buildings were abandoned
ages ago, but their remains were further destroyed by fire
during the Black Days, as its remains were used as hiding
places for the Black Tyrant Count Romar Miklaas and his
family and the local halflings used fire to drive them out. >>>

Cli ( )
As far as I know, we currently have no idea where this college
was located. I would propose that it was located in
Neverwinter, specifically the site that is now the House of
Knowledge, a temple of Oghma. However, it may well be that
Elfsong implicitly locates the last college by dint of discussing
where problems erupt thanks to Garnet's machinations.
Volo's Guide to the North, pp. 133-134.

Anstruth (in Sundabar, only one building remains and now

serves as a warehouse for musical instruments)
- Elfsong, pp. 154, 176

Ollamn (in Waterdeep, now the site of the House of Song,

although many believe it to have been located at the site of
Halambar's Lute Shop)
- Elfsong, p. 206, 215
I've decided it fell in the Year of the Scourge (1150 DR),
during a
time of plague in Waterdeep and the Sword Coast.
Note that if Ollamn was located on the site of the House of
Song
(T19), that means that the site was not enclosed within the
city's walls until 1064 DR. It also means that as of 1035 DR,
there were not sufficient people out that far north to extend
the wall even that far. (See City of Splendors: Campaign
Guide, p. 30.) I'm guessing that the college grew up outside
of Waterdeep amidst the farmland of the plateau and then
was later incorporated into the city. Also the spelling seems to
vary quite a bit, from "Olamn" (City of Splendors) to "Ollamn"
(Elfsong) to "Olamh" (AD&D1 Player's Handbook).

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 5, 2008 at 8:51pm

Candlekeep, while not a Bardic College in the truest sense, is

without a doubt the greatest, or at least among the greatest
lorehouses in the forgotten realms. Here is a compilation of
canon matierial regarding Candlekeep, all written by Ed
Greenwood.

www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/ck_scroll.htm

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 9, 2008 at 3:41am

The Library of Denier, while not a Bardic College, is a great

center of learning and the arts. Here is an article about it from
the WoTC official website.

www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pg/20030730a

SPONSORED

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 25, 2008 at 12:56am

From Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 27, 2008 at 9:32am

Information from Magic of Faerun

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Jan 29, 2008 at 8:58am

From Song and Silence

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Feb 6, 2008 at 1:57am

This is a great web enhancement called The Leaves of

Learning, it was cut from the Faiths and Pantheons
sourcebook for space reasons. Yet another of the great
lorehouses of the realms.

www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Leaves_of_Learning.zip

This one also expands upon the Fochluchan College, it's called
Secrets of the Fochluchan College.

www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Secrets_Fochluchan_College.zip

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Feb 10, 2008 at 4:49pm

From Magic of Faerun

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Feb 18, 2008 at 10:11pm

This is the origin of the D&D Bardic Colleges, from the 1st
Edition PHB, appendix.

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Feb 27, 2008 at 11:34am

From Waterdeep: City of Splendors

Masterbard Alyster Darkharp

Grandmaster of the Post
Quote
Feb 27, 2008 at 7:34pm

Ad
Un futuro más brillante
PANDORA COMPRA YA