Musician Archive

I love the Musician profession. While I’ll never be able to play the Mandoviol, nor the Ceremonial song, I’m very excited about my future in the Advanced line. I’m still "finding my way" as it were, but have long off visions of joining travelling troupes and playing gigs on my home of Eclipse. Even better, a few in my PA are studying advanced Musician, which makes it even more fun (on the rare occasion we’re together J )

But, while I love it, I have a suggestion that I feel could improve it. I definitely agree with the Top Five list, and would certainly cast my vote for more instruments, more music, more flourishes and the ability to automatically split /tips sent to any band member across all Dancers and Musicians (no reason for that person who joined for a skill training to get paid for it J ). In addition to that though, I’d like to make two other suggestions:

Suggestion 1: Skill Line Adjustment

Wound Healing and Fatigue are really one in the same to me. I really only play in Cantinas (practically living in Coronet for the past week). Skill-ups in these lines happen so automatically, that I don’t even notice when I get the new skill until well past.

However, what I do notice is the Horn instruments J

• Combine Wound Healing and Fatigue. Combine their XP requirements too. If it takes 125,000 XP to get Wound Healing III or Fatigue III (not sure on number), make the new combined Musician Acumen skill require 250,000 XP. The end result is the same time investment.


• Split the Musician Knowledge line between Horn and Wind Knowledge and String and Percussion Knowledge, splitting instruments between them. The result of this, in the short term, could be a greater variety of sounds within the band. People interested in XP play the highest instrument they can. Now they’ll have the ability to add dynamic width to the band, without incurring an XP penalty for doing so. Split the +Knowledge bonus between the lines.


• Separate the songs available, and any additional ones,between the two Knowledge lines. This means that someone who keeps both lines growing together will have access to two different songs at that tier, and two completely different sounding types of instruments.

This is really to address both a need for a greater variety of sounds in a band before someone with a Bandfill or better shows up, and for the need to have a greater solo variety. There are times when a Musician is on their own, helping hunters in some far off land.

Anyone who's been in a group with more than one bandfill/ommni box player knows there needs to be a solution to the highest instrument/song problem. Splitting up the instruments is a decent idea. I have another one, too.

In the tech line, include music effects. These would alter the sound of an instrument but not the notes. So if you don't like the clang of the naglaron, you can switch to a muted jazz piano sound, or perhaps to a harpsichord sound. The song isn't really affected, as the notes remain the same. BUT we get a little more variety.

Ooh, nice idea!

It could be something stuck to the creation of the instrument if that's easier for them. Like, a new Experimental classification called "tuning" with predictable results based on the material quality ratings used (like some proportion between Overall Quality, Conductivity and Durability or something).

Personally, I'd rather them keep the songs in one line. The problem I see splitting the songs into two lines is that it could affect bands adversely. Now as it is, anyone who takes the knowledge line can play every song but the two in the masteries (ent and musician). Split them up and you basically will have wind specialists and percussion specialists that cannot play together unless they get both lines. That would hurt someone like me, who has aspirations other than just music, and all the the songs in one line helps with the points cost immensely. This would also stifle band progression. You'd have the same scenario where everyone is playing the equivalent of SW1.

If I was to redo the line, I'd do something similar.

Novice: Add a few new songs and maybe anther instrument.

Wind: Crafting and Use.

Knowledge: Songs and techs (or move the techs to other lines somehow or move them to master entertainer).

Percussion: Crafting and Use.

Healing: Wound and fatigue.

Take mandivol and ceremonial song out of master entertainer.

Hey wow I had a suggestion very much like this about 20 minutes before you did.

It seems great minds think a like, I suggested mostly what you did with this slight change...

Have a line for Wind, String, and Drums. All threee lines have the same songs at the same time but when you earn them you only earn the ability to play the song on instraments from that line. So you could have Song 3 in drums but only song 1 in Strings. The fourth line would be for the healing line (not that anyone cares about this).

After reading some posts in here I would think the healing line could just be droped all together and simply joined into the 3 main lines with smaller bonuses per skill earned. Then the 4th line could be for instrament creation, like someone else suggested. Allow musicians to customize there instraments as well as make modified sounds. But now that I type that, seems like that sort of belongs in the artisan craft line doesn't it? After all why is it musicans can make there own instraments, That just seems like one of the many filler abilities they added into the profesion.

Good points folks! Rasix, I agree with you now. Songs should be accessible by Tier, not just by skillbox. I think it can work into what LiquidMonkey came up with.

I like the idea of making the Advanced Profession line just about knowledge and technique. I'd definitely be in favor of splitting the instrument types to three tracks, but ensuring all three tracks have equal access to the same songs. We could call them "Tier 2 songs" or something, with the part you play based on the instrument you play and that being controlled by having learned the box(es).

The issue here, in my opinion, could be two fold:

1) Time: If all four tracks (Music Wind Knowledge, Music Percussion Knowledge, Music String Knowledge and Music Techniques) use the same general Musicianship Experience, they'll really need to adjust the rate of advancement. Trying to imagine doing Musician four times, versus the 1.75 it takes now (if you do Knowledge to IV before Techniques I) makes me shiver This is where #2 comes in.

2) Complexity: I would roll our current Healing Experience in as a qualifier, to be the same across all three instrument lines. Lets say Music Wind Knowledge II would cost 125,000. In addition to the basic 'ability', +Wind Knowledge attribute and +Schematic for that line, it would get a +Healing attribute . That +Healing attribute should include a boost to the advancement of XP when it's actually used. If solo Music XP with a Bandfill averages 30, and in a full band in a busy cantina averages 60, removing the Musicial Wound/Fatigue Healing bonus inherent with two dedicated skill lines now could be balanced by taking those bonuses and duplicating them, per tier, in each of the three instrument skillboxes. Since a person can only play one instrument at a time anyway, the +Healing attribute can be duplicated, rather than divided, across lines.