What skill would be appropriate to playing a musical instrument? In Far horizons, there are some instruments in the gear section, but no mechanics for using them (that I saw).

I'm thinking it might be Charm . You're on stage, you want to impress the audience. Make a Charm check. An instrument can have the "right tools for the job" effect and add a Boost die.

Other social skills might work too. Play your instrument and make a Leadership check to bolster your allies during or before combat; a battle bard. Playing several notes of a popular dirge might be useful in a Coercion check.

And maybe that's simply what instruments are: the right tools for the job for social skills. No instrument playing skill required.

Or perhaps this is an instance where a custom skill could be created. Music (Presence). Make it a non-career skill for everyone. Maybe for the Performer spec, replace Melee with Music as a career skill.

Thoughts?

Or it is an instance where no skill should be required. They are there to be window dressing. If a player had their heart set on being a 'Bard', I might allow them to be considered the 'proper tools' for Inspiring Rhetoric or Scathing Tirade, but IMHO Bards require too much believability buy-in in a high fantasy setting as is and they do not really belong in Star Wars.

As for impressing an audience, that is what the Performer Specialization is for.

I've kicked around adding a Performance skill, and I believe there's a Skill Monkey segment on it, but I've put it to the backburner til needed.

My initial thought, though, was to use Presence, however, Cunning is described as covering a character's creativity. Just an idea.

Or it is an instance where no skill should be required. They are there to be window dressing. If a player had their heart set on being a 'Bard', I might allow them to be considered the 'proper tools' for Inspiring Rhetoric or Scathing Tirade, but IMHO Bards require too much believability buy-in in a high fantasy setting as is and they do not really belong in Star Wars.

As for impressing an audience, that is what the Performer Specialization is for.

What is the skill supposed to do? What game mechanic effect are you trying to get? If the only thing you are trying to do is play nice music, then you play nice music or not as is determined by the narrative. If they character is a performer, then they play well.

If there is some mechanical effect you are trying to get, then the listed skills should be fine. If you are trying to make a moff like you by singing, that is charm. If you are trying to captivate an audience to be a distraction, that is deception.

For a custom skill, you need to ask 'what is the skill supposed to do' and 'is that covered by any other skills'

Charm would definitely be the default skill, generally a musician is intending people to enjoy their music and Performer would absolutely be the Specialisation for it.

Deception could be used as well for lip syncing or pretending to be another artist (not a cover band, but actually trying to deceive)

Your right that a custom skill could also be used, I would probably decide if any talents are relevant to the skill at the start of the game too, probably Smooth Talker and Kill With Kindness.

So then as any other skill check: ask what you are trying to accomplish, and pick the proper skill and/or talent for it. A specific Music skill is unnecessary.

If you just wish to play some music for no tangible effect, you simply do so. If you want to impress or cajole an audience, it is Charm. If you want to inspire allies, Leadership. Deception to distract. And so forth.

If your technical ability to play is being challenged, perhaps that would be Knowledge (Education). Say, for example, a Devaronian dares you to a musical duel. And If you win, you get a shiny kloohorn made of gold. But if you lose, the Devaronian gets your... midichlorians.

The instrument becomes the "proper tool for the job," useful for one or more Boost dice.

Thanks!

TBQH, it depends on what the character in question is trying to accomplish. Leadership ("Rise up people and fight!") and Charm ("Baby come back, doo doo dee doo dee doo ") sure do come to mind when I think about what a musician might be trying to accomplish. Coercion might work if one is attempting to get something out of the exchange through force ("I'll turn down my amp when you tip me!") I do think it's odd to work around it this way, and maybe a custom skill is the answer - as a semi-retired professional musician, I attribute a lot of my musical ability not to my ability to Charm nor Leadership, but to rote practice with my instruments of choice over several decades. Characteristics can represent innate musical talent, but what skill represents the long hours of practice?

TBQH, it depends on what the character in question is trying to accomplish. Leadership ("Rise up people and fight!") and Charm ("Baby come back, doo doo dee doo dee doo ") sure do come to mind when I think about what a musician might be trying to accomplish. Coercion might work if one is attempting to get something out of the exchange through force ("I'll turn down my amp when you tip me!") I do think it's odd to work around it this way, and maybe a custom skill is the answer - as a semi-retired professional musician, I attribute a lot of my musical ability not to my ability to Charm nor Leadership, but to rote practice with my instruments of choice over several decades. Characteristics can represent innate musical talent, but what skill represents the long hours of practice?

And that's where I think Charm is the right skill. Everyone charms in different ways, they have different techniques. But the purpose is to make someone like you by performing songs they like.

But again if the player desperately wants a different skill then just make one.

I would say a extra skill would be dependent on the context of the campaign or adventure. If the focus is on the Performer, such as the PCs being a musical group, then the skill may be needed. Especially if the focus is the business side of performing. Keep in mind that not all performers are very charming people, or very articulate, or personable, or confident, but they can play music or dance or whatever well enough to get paid for the night or the gig.

So if it's just the Bard of the group, adding their skills to the collective skills of the Warrior and the Mage and the Thief and so on, then no, you probably don't need it. But if the campaign's focus is the Bard's shows, then it could be justified.

For most musical performances, I'd say go with Charm as the most appropriate skill if you're just focused on people enjoying your performance, though Leadership is probably a close second in terms of getting an audience to react a certain way.

I could see Coordination coming into play for performances that are heavily based upon dancing or acrobatics on par with the Cirque du Soliel.

Agree that Deception is good for "faking it" either as a full-blown Milli Vanilli or just a case where the performer is using their own pre-recorded vocals.

TBQH, it depends on what the character in question is trying to accomplish. Leadership ("Rise up people and fight!") and Charm ("Baby come back, doo doo dee doo dee doo ") sure do come to mind when I think about what a musician might be trying to accomplish. Coercion might work if one is attempting to get something out of the exchange through force ("I'll turn down my amp when you tip me!") I do think it's odd to work around it this way, and maybe a custom skill is the answer - as a semi-retired professional musician, I attribute a lot of my musical ability not to my ability to Charm nor Leadership, but to rote practice with my instruments of choice over several decades. Characteristics can represent innate musical talent, but what skill represents the long hours of practice?

And that's where I think Charm is the right skill. Everyone charms in different ways, they have different techniques. But the purpose is to make someone like you by performing songs they like.

But again if the player desperately wants a different skill then just make one.

I feel like Charm is too broad here. For example, I could be a monster bass player and still strike out with the ladies because of my winning personality. I suppose one could do an Agility-based Charm check to differentiate between the two very disparate activities.

I do feel like playing a musical instrument is as much a skill as say, accurately firing a blaster pistol or piloting a vehicle. I might create a narrowly-scoped custom skill around an instrument, as mastery of one does not imply mastery of another. Playing tuba and playing keytar are two completely different skillsets, after all.

. One of my favorite characters from the old EU was essentially a Jedi bard. Remember Tionne?

Nope, didn't read much of the EU as most of it was honestly not that good (as is the case with most non-screen sources of most IPs as they are generally written by writers that cannot get their own work published.)

And there is a vast difference between a storyteller or musician and a bard. As there is no "Magic" in star wars, there is no means to cast a "Spell" through a song or story, they way it is in a high fantasy world. Even if a Jedi managed (or other Force user) to use the songs to cover the Force, they would, in the end, be using a Force power which the game already handles well.

Anything else would be a charm, leadership, or deception roll. Not to mention, that unless you are in a theater or other performance venue, you are going to get lots of strange looks as most people do not carry around an instrument and play it during a conversation.

. One of my favorite characters from the old EU was essentially a Jedi bard. Remember Tionne?

Nope, didn't read much of the EU as most of it was honestly not that good (as is the case with most non-screen sources of most IPs as they are generally written by writers that cannot get their own work published.)

And there is a vast difference between a storyteller or musician and a bard. As there is no "Magic" in star wars, there is no means to cast a "Spell" through a song or story, they way it is in a high fantasy world. Even if a Jedi managed (or other Force user) to use the songs to cover the Force, they would, in the end, be using a Force power which the game already handles well.

Anything else would be a charm, leadership, or deception roll. Not to mention, that unless you are in a theater or other performance venue, you are going to get lots of strange looks as most people do not carry around an instrument and play it during a conversation.

The Influence force power would definitely work well for this character. I'm imagining a Consular Sage, the retired performer turned producer and manager. They once toured the core worlds, but now find up and coming Artists to sign to their label. Knowledge Education and Charm are their speciality, with Influence to win the crowd or innocent new musician.

. One of my favorite characters from the old EU was essentially a Jedi bard. Remember Tionne?

Nope, didn't read much of the EU as most of it was honestly not that good (as is the case with most non-screen sources of most IPs as they are generally written by writers that cannot get their own work published.)

And there is a vast difference between a storyteller or musician and a bard. As there is no "Magic" in star wars, there is no means to cast a "Spell" through a song or story, they way it is in a high fantasy world. Even if a Jedi managed (or other Force user) to use the songs to cover the Force, they would, in the end, be using a Force power which the game already handles well.

Anything else would be a charm, leadership, or deception roll. Not to mention, that unless you are in a theater or other performance venue, you are going to get lots of strange looks as most people do not carry around an instrument and play it during a conversation.

Having known some bards in my time (real ones, not D&D ones), I can tell you that Tionne was a bard in the truest sense of the word. Because that is what bards were; they were a combination of musician and storyteller. Not only that but Took me did use the Force to enhance her performances and used her storytelling as a means to teach Jedi lore and the Force.

What skill would you use for being a musician? That really depends on the type of performer you are. Freddy Mercury? Charm. Milli Vanilli? Deception. Daft Punk? Computers. James Brown? Leadership. Barry White? Cool. Marilyn Manson? Coercion. The drummer for Spinal Tap? Resilience (plus a high Wound Threshold)

I do feel like playing a musical instrument is as much a skill as say, accurately firing a blaster pistol or piloting a vehicle.

Very true, but this level of granularity depends on the type of game you're running. In most Star Wars games, being a good musician doesn't really need stats. Your character might also be an excellent chef or be a whiz at chartered accounting, but you don't usually need to make a skill roll for that, you just are. I think in most instances, what you're trying to accomplish would determine what skill you rolled. A mediocre musician with excellent presence can get a crowd of drunks going like nobody's business, but he's not going to impress the folks at the Corellian Center for the Arts. For a highly-trained performance, the GM might call for Knowledge (Education).

I do feel like playing a musical instrument is as much a skill as say, accurately firing a blaster pistol or piloting a vehicle.

Very true, but this level of granularity depends on the type of game you're running. In most Star Wars games, being a good musician doesn't really need stats. Your character might also be an excellent chef or be a whiz at chartered accounting, but you don't usually need to make a skill roll for that, you just are. I think in most instances, what you're trying to accomplish would determine what skill you rolled. A mediocre musician with excellent presence can get a crowd of drunks going like nobody's business, but he's not going to impress the folks at the Corellian Center for the Arts. For a highly-trained performance, the GM might call for Knowledge (Education).

All good points. I'd originally written but cut as cruft a passage about discussing this concept at the table as I could foresee tedium unless the entire group was based around supporting or performing. I'd only create a custom skill if I had to in most cases.

One thing I might do in this instance? One of our group's long standing house rules, going way back to the WEG days - every character gets a handful of ranks in Fun Skills. Something that adds color to the character, might occasionally be useful, but mostly wont have an overall impact on balance. My engineer's current Fun Skill - brewmaster. She has a still woven into the ship's engine, spitting out really yummy booze. In the past I've had knitting, sportsball trivia, and drawing.

So if you really need a color skill, give everyone in the group two ranks to play with (either two 1 rank skills or both into one) and call it a day,