Nuove musiche

Nuove musiche is a musical style from Ladinh.

Bardic casting uses musical techniques to emotionally affect listeners. But nuove musiche sounds strange even by comparison with conventional bardic skills. It differs from "stile antico" in that it's meant to be (at least apocryphally) far more weaponised - transcending mere performance and perhaps perverting music, in some people's eyes, to be used as a brute sonic tool.

It's said that if employed correctly, the "new music" could not just embolden or discourage the listener, but prove fatal to certain targets or even toy with the fabric of reality itself.

Whether there's much truth to the legends surrounding nuove musiche and Sperimento IV remains to be seen. Plenty of lurid stories abound: apocryphal tales like that of the obsessive nobleman (and supposed murderer) Dom Carlos Gisaldo, or violent viol virtuoso Enrico Zanni. If anybody has ever heard the more arcane forms of nuove musiche, nobody's ever lived to describe it in a rational way. Musical scores are notoriously hard to dig up and harder still to decipher, as they seem to be unrelated to the usual Modes or temperaments of formal music.

Any Bard character who wants to explore nuove musiche will have to find the right connections (among music historians, spies or extremely shady performers) and undergo training to avoid suffering the ill effects of actually playing or singing the eldritch music.

How it works
Nuove musiche essentially lets a bard use spells at a higher level than would normally be possible, in exchange for a little dance with the inchoate eldritch forces of disharmony. As you sing, there's a possibility you might peer through the Veil and lose your mind in the process.

Niche Audience: anyone who's heard you perform is, unless Charmed, really creeped out by you. Suffer a -2 penalty to all Charisma-based skills when dealing with uncultured listeners. Madmen and connoisseurs of the style love you! Get a +1 Charisma bonus when interacting with creepy fans.

Effects of madness
Want to cast a bardic spell at 1 level above your normal maximum? Make an Average Wisdom saving throw versus short term madness. A character afflicted with short term madness is subjected to an effect from the Short Term Madness table for 1d10 minutes or until cured.

How about 2 levels of extra power? Make a Tough Wisdom saving throw or get hit with something more socially awkward. A character afflicted with long term madness is subjected to an effect from the Long Term Madness table for 1d10 ×10 hours or until cured.

If you try to cast a bardic spell that's 3 levels overpowered - you risk going mad forever. Make a Challenging Wisdom saving throw or lose your marbles forever. A character afflicted with indefinite madness gains a new character flaw from the Indefinite Madness table that lasts until cured. Don't play with dark forces, kids.