Update: This is the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy version of the character. If you want to see a version for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, click here.

Another weekend, another iconic character converted to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy! The next template in DF1 is the Bard, which means that after Amiri the Barbarian our next subject is Lem the Bard. Here he is:

By Wayne Reynolds, Copyright 2008 Paizo Publishing

You can find his full bio here, and his original Pathfinder stats can be found here. From looking at them we can see the following:

  • Lem was born a slave in the devil-worshipping nation of Cheliax. He escaped in a rather fiery fashion.

  • He hates slavery and slavers, and tends to side with the underdog in most conflicts.

  • Lem has a sling and a shortsword, both sized for a halfling, but prefers to use his magic in a fight. He mostly uses his bard song to bolster his allies, and targets particularly tough foes with hindering spells to make them easier to take down.

Given the information above, I feel we need to dip into two other DF books to properly portray him. As Lem is a halfling, I’ll need the racial template from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 3: The Next Level. And since the d20 Bard Song power is core to his tactics, we’ll need its equivalent from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 11: Power-Ups.

As before, the end result hits pretty much all of the same points as the Pathfinder version. Lem’s weapons don’t do a lot of damage, so he’s a lot better off relying on Bard-Song and spells. And while his spells aren’t exactly the same as those of a Pathfinder bard, they still follow the “mostly hinder enemies with a side of helping allies” motif. Good places to spend XP on would be more spells and alternate song abilities.

Lem, 250-point Halfling Bard

ST 8 {10}1; DX 13 {40}1; IQ 14 {80}; HT 12 {10}1.

Damage 1d-3/1d-2; BL 6.4kg; HP 101; Will 14; FP 11; Basic Speed 6 {-5}; Basic Move 51; SM -21.

Advantages

  • Alarum 2 (DF11, p. 20) {36}
  • Bardic Talent 4 {32}
  • Charisma 1 {5}
  • Halfling Marksmanship 2 {0}1
  • Honest Face {0}1
  • Musical Ability 2 {10}
  • Silence 2 {0}1
  • Voice {10}

Disadvantages

  • Charitable (12) {-15}
  • Gluttony (12) {0}1
  • Chummy {-5}
  • Impulsiveness (12) {-10}
  • Intolerance (Slavers} {-5}
  • Kleptomania (12) {0}1
  • Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) {-5}

Skills

  • Acrobatics (H) DX-2 {1} - 11
  • Acting (A) IQ {2} - 14
  • Carousing (E) HT {1} - 11
  • Climbing (A) DX-1 {1} - 12
  • Detect Lies (H) Per-2 {1} - 12
  • Diplomacy (H) IQ {1}2 - 14
  • Fast-Talk (A) IQ+1 {1}2 - 15
  • First Aid (E) IQ {1} - 14
  • Gesture (E) IQ {1} - 14
  • Heraldry (A) IQ-1 {1} - 13
  • Interrogation (A) IQ-1 {1} - 13
  • Intimidation (A) Will-1 {1} - 13
  • Merchant (A) IQ-1 {1} - 13
  • Musical Composition (H) IQ {1}3 - 14
  • Musical Instrument (Flute) (H) IQ {2}3 - 14
  • Observation (A) Per-1 {1} - 13
  • Performance (A) IQ+1 {1}2 - 15
  • Poetry (A) IQ-1 {1} - 13
  • Public Speaking (A) IQ+2 {1}24 - 16
  • Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ {1} - 14
  • Savoir-Faire (Servant) (E) IQ {1} - 14
  • Scrounging (E) Per {1} - 14
  • Shortsword (A) DX+2 {8} - 15
  • Singing (E) HT+4 {1}23 - 16
  • Sling (H) DX+2 {4}5 - 15
  • Stealth (A) DX {2} - 13
  • Streetwise (A) IQ-1 {1} - 13
  • Throwing (A) DX+2 {2}5 - 15

Spells

All get +4 from Bardic Talent.

  • Communication and Empathy:
    • Borrow Language (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Borrow Skill (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Compel Truth (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Lend Language (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Lend Skill (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Mind Reading (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Mind-Sending (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Persuasion (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Sense Emotion (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Sense Foes (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Truthsayer (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
  • Mind Control:
    • Bravery (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Daze (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Fear (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Foolishness (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Loyalty (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Mass Daze (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Mass Sleep (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Sleep (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16
    • Terror (H) IQ+2 {1} - 16

Equipment

Everything is sized for a SM -2 user unless otherwise noted. Total value and weight is $752 and 5.5kg. Filling the wineskin up with water would bring the total load to 9.5kg and Light Encumbrance.

  • Enchanted Ordinary Clothes [Torso, Limbs]: DR 1*. $50, 0.2kg.
  • Faerie Shortsword [Torso]: Provides 4 FP as a power item. Reach 1; sw-2 cut or thr-1 imp. $400, 0.3kg.
  • Sling [Torso]: Acc 0; Range 24/80; sw-2 pi; $6, 0.1kg.
  • Small Pouch [Torso]: Holds 0.5kg. $3.
  • 10 x Sling Bullets [Pouch]: $1, 0.25kg.
  • 3 x Nageteppo, Smoke [Pouch]: $120, 0.3kg.
  • Flute [Torso]: $13, 0.15kg.
  • Backpack, Small [Torso]: Holds 7kg of gear. $20, 0.5kg.
  • Blanket [Backpack]: $7, 0.33kg
  • Lantern [Backpack]: 2m radius, burns for 8 hours on a full charge. $7, 0.33kg.
  • Oil, 500ml [Backpack]: Good for 3 lantern charges. $20, 1kg.
  • Personal Basics [Backpack]: $5, 0.15kg.
  • 2 x Rations [Backpack]: $10, 0.5kg.
  • Scroll Case [Backpack]: Human-sized. Holds up to 20 scrolls and protects them from the elements. $75, 0.5kg.
  • Rope, 3/8”, 10m [Backpack]: Supports 150kg. $5, 0.75kg.
  • Wineskin: Holds 4L of liquid. Currently empty. $10, 0.13kg.

  1. Part of or modified by Halfling racial package. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  2. Includes +2 from Voice. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Includes +2 from Musical Ability. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Includes +1 from Charisma. ↩

  5. Includes +2 from Halfling Marksmanship. ↩ ↩2