Spellsongs are not the stuff of pure magical energy, like a wizard's magic missile, but tend to relate to bardic nature. Charm/Emotion control, Travel, Messages, and Luck as well as Music/Sound are the typical themes of spellsongs

Bards receive 75 points for character creation using the Skills and Powers system. The standard Hurvan bard takes: Alter Moods (5), Climb Walls (5), Counter Effects (10), Hear Noise (5), History (10), Pick Pockets (10), Rally Friends (5), Read Languages (5), Sound Resistance (5), Scroll Use (5), Spellsong (10).

Additional Character Points Skill Options

A Cappella Spellsong (15): Use voice only for spells instead of instrument. Requires the voice NWP. Useless without the Spellsong ability.

Access to any one school of wizard spells (15): The bard has to read a spell on a scroll, or have it taught to him and he can write an original bardsong to cast the spell. Useless without the Spellsong ability.

Access to any one school of priest spells (15): The bard must choose a follow the tenets of a patron who grants the inspiration for spellsongs that duplicate the spells of that particular sphere. Note, the patron's clerics must normally have major access to the sphere; if they only have minor, the bard is likewise limited although the CHARPs cost is not reduced. Useless without the Spellsong ability.

Bribe (5): As the thief ability of the same name, starts at 5%.

Combat Bonus (5/15): As a 5-point skill, the bard receives +1 to THAC0. As a 15-point ability, the bard uses the warrior's THAC0 chart.

Defense Bonus (10): +2 to AC if unarmored and unencumbered.

Detect Charm (5): Works like the thief ability to detect magic, starts at 10%.

Empathy (5): At 9th level, the bard can use this power three times/day.

Expanded Repertoire (10): Choose one extra spell per level to learn.

Hit Point Bonus (10): Use d8 instead of d6 for hit points.

Spellsong (10): The ability to cast spells through musical instruments and singing. Useless without the musical instrument NWP. See below for details.

Optional Restrictions

Limited Magical Item Use (5+): A bard with this restriction disdains enchanted items and refuses to use certain categories of magical items. For each barred category, he receives 5 charps. The categories are: potions, oils, and scrolls; rings, rods, staves, wands, and miscellaneous magical items; all magical weapons and armor.

Spellsong

• Requires use of instrument and/or voice (if voice option taken)
• Musical instrument proficiency check required for spellcasting. (can use voice if option is selected) Roll of 1 - victim gets -4 on saves, roll of 20 - roll on wild surge & spell fails.
• If instrument proficiency check to cast spell is done with a non-proficient instrument, -4 to check.
• Practice/rehearse daily instead of studying. Must be fully rested and takes 10 minutes/spell level of practice time. No need for a songbook, but the use of one halves practice time. Songbook can easily be made from mundane materials (requires read/write proficiency to use/make)
• Spell caster targets (mages, priests, dragons, etc.) get +1 bonus on saves
• Other bards, sirens, harpies and similar musical creatures get +4 on saves
• # of spells able to cast/day based on chart in 2nd Edition Player's Handbook
• # of spells learnable based on intelligence
• Bards pick one new spell to try to learn as they go up each level. The bard must still make a check to learn, and if it fails can never learn that song, but can keep trying until successful at learning a new spellsong. Note, the spellsong chosen does not have to be of the highest level castable.
• Chance to learn new spellsongs based on music instrument proficiency check
• Can also learn via another bard, magic sheet music, and overhearing its casting (25% to 50% proficiency).
• Max. spell range = 120 yards (hearing range; amplification can increase range)

All options for bard from Skills & Powers available as listed, except Hurvan bards cannot take Wizard Spells (10). This is replaced with Spellsong.

Bard's can pick from the warrior, rogue & wizard NWP lists. Also from Bard's HB: Acting, Chanting, Craft Instrument, Crowd Working, Poetry and Whistling/Humming. See the below chart for S&P conversions.