Verithrax2006-10-15 06:17:41
Some people might be angry at me for posting this, but it'll be public knowledge in two weeks and I'm not releasing any specifics (Besides, skill lists for Shadowbeat are already in circulation), so I feel I should explain how Music works for those who may be interested.
In a Music specialization (Not the actual skillset, but Necroscream, Starhymn, et al) nearly all skills are effects which can be 'imbued' into a song.
What this means in practice is that you compose a song, which has up to nine stanzas (Although I suspect a lot of people will only go up to seven or eight - Personally, I think the bard skillsets need more skills, since there's not really enough to fill up nine stanzas there with enough variation and diversity).
Each stanza, besides having some lyrics, (Lyrics are mandatory) is imbued with an effect. Effects are generally room-oriented; some are passive and last until the song ends (60 seconds) or until you sing the next stanza. There are targetted effects as well.
Some effects can only be placed at early, mid, or late stanzas - This means that you can't use your most powerful skills right away; you have to put them into a song and sing it up to the higher stanzas so you can use them, which is a clever mechanic. Songs don't hit passively; when you sing, you have one minute to sing again to move the song forwards, or it ends. Note that in that time you can do anything, as long as you don't miss your timing.
In a Music specialization (Not the actual skillset, but Necroscream, Starhymn, et al) nearly all skills are effects which can be 'imbued' into a song.
What this means in practice is that you compose a song, which has up to nine stanzas (Although I suspect a lot of people will only go up to seven or eight - Personally, I think the bard skillsets need more skills, since there's not really enough to fill up nine stanzas there with enough variation and diversity).
Each stanza, besides having some lyrics, (Lyrics are mandatory) is imbued with an effect. Effects are generally room-oriented; some are passive and last until the song ends (60 seconds) or until you sing the next stanza. There are targetted effects as well.
Some effects can only be placed at early, mid, or late stanzas - This means that you can't use your most powerful skills right away; you have to put them into a song and sing it up to the higher stanzas so you can use them, which is a clever mechanic. Songs don't hit passively; when you sing, you have one minute to sing again to move the song forwards, or it ends. Note that in that time you can do anything, as long as you don't miss your timing.
