In a fantasy setting, music can often play an important role, with the tradition of the bard. Bards are not the only people to play music and sing, nor do they necessarily work solo.

This supplement contains details on 100 different bands that characters could encounter. Some of the bands use instruments and their voices, but given the availability of magic and other crafts, others use rather different means of playing to a crowd.

To use the list, either roll d100 for a random result or select appropriate ones manually.

Here are some sample results:

57. The Final Verse: Performing in bloodstained arming jerkins, with white paint on their faces to make them look like battlefield revenants, this band tells the true tales behind the chest-thumping anthems of war by writing the unspoken last verses. They tell how the crows pecked out the eyes of the drummer boy in “The Last Charge,” or how the young window threw herself to the rocks below when her lover didn’t return in “My Hill to Die On.” While people who have their fantasies of glory spoiled have stormed out from the band’s shows, those who’ve seen bloodshed on the battlefield have confirmed that a war song that ends well is just a lie set to music.

58. Hangman’s Sonnet: With their grim black hoods, and ropes looped round their shoulders, these executioners memorialize those who’ve met their gods at the end of a hempen drop. From “The Curse
of Three-Fingered Jack,” to “The Last Fall of the Queen,” the hangmen’s tunes are as catchy as they are dark. When it comes to people who really want to see a show, though, it’s hard to beat their re-enactments of historical executions… especially when the “hanged” are handed their instruments so they can keep playing while they swing from the gallows.

59. Steel Vibrato: While string pluckers are hardly unique on the world’s stages, the members of Steel Vibrato had to handforge their peculiar instruments. Their steel strings and alloy frames look more like weapons than tools of music making, and it takes far more strength to pluck their chords than one might imagine. The band also needs to wear leather finger guards, lest they shred their pads by the end of a song. The notes are pure and potent, though, and they carry further than one would think. While some have argued their metallic versions lack the soul of the original songs, there are others who are more than happy to drink in their completely novel sound.

Released: 18th January 2020 Pages: 19

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