Goodman Games

I'm wondering what do other Judges require their bards to do to both perform and learn new spells in the course of role-playing their characters in game? (I'm under the impression that new spells come to a bard through inspiration manifesting as a song which is then played as an instrument. Perhaps unfair to the Wizard who has to find each and every one at the risk of precious ??d4 hp.)

At what point is the Judge to prevent a bard from performing a spell?

Example: A bard is in the court of Lord Hategood, and his 12 vicious rogues of jurors. He currently possesses nothing but what he wears, the moldy burlap cloth of a prisoner, and he begins to sing to the court hoping to move those present to calls of mercy, clemency as he moves them to sorrow for his plight...

Crawl No.6 says that Bardic Talents can be auditory or visual, singing, oration, shouts etc... So that much I know. But the actual magic, is that also manifested through such simple feats of performance, or does the bard need their instrument to actually cast the spell?

I suppose that unless the instrument is magic, that the bard doesn't actually need an implement any more than a wizard needs his staff or other focus to cast the spells from Chapter 5: Magic in the DCC RPG book. I might also incorporate the same methods for finding new spells (as part of gaining new levels in bard) as I would for a wizard to gain spells where the player role-playing a wizard instead.

I think it makes sense that a Cleric might require the use of a holy symbol for turning undead and a Bard may require the usage of his chosen instrument to get full effect. Maybe you drop a die on the scale or provide a minor modifier to performance (aka casting) without the preferred item. Of course they can choose singing as their preference to avoid needing the instrument, but then you just gag 'em and they will wish they learned the accordion.

You make an excellent point with the Cleric and holy symbol perspective. I like the idea of falling back on the dice chain for attempting spell casting performances without the use of a 'chosen instrument'. I could see it kind of like a mercurial magic effect:

Bard Spell Selection
Level 1-3 (1d6)
1) Animal Summoning, 2) Charm Person 3) Color Spray, 4) Detect Magic, 5) Ekim's Mystical Mask, 6) Ventriloquism

Mercurial Bard
Level 1-3 (1d6)
1) A performance of song, 2) extemporaneous oration, 3) Barbaric Shout, 4) Acting: the Satyr, 5) Mesmer's juggling trick, 6) Tarot Deck: card tricks.

Example the caster is playing his accordion to cast Charm Person, singing to cast Ventriloquism, maybe he rolls the same mercurial bard effect twice so he does two different variations of the same type of performance. This could make it really interesting, because he may have a combination of auditory and visual requirements depending on what spell he wishes to cast, and what he has to do to cast it!

If I were to continue with this idea, the next 3 levels would show a slightly more difficult list of 'mercurial' hoops to jump through. the 3 after that harder still, and finally the 10th level would be something altogether grand... I might just do that.