Gaining and Losing Patrons

The number of a bard's patrons fluctuates as the bard's reputation changes. Any time the bard's reputation increases, more patrons can be gained. The bard rolls 1d20 in an attempt to roll equal to or below his new reputation. He can keep rolling until he fails. The number of consecutive rolls equal to or below his new reputation is the number of new patrons gained. However, the number of a bard's patrons is limited by his maximum number of henchmen and by his level, as shown on Table 33. The number next to the bard's level is multiplied by the bard's maximum number of henchmen (see Table 6 in the PHB ) to determine the bard's maximum number of patrons.

Table 33: NUMBER OF PATRONS

Bard's

Maximum # of

Level

Henchmen Times:

1-4

1

5-9

2

10-14

3

15-19

4

20+

5

If a bard's reputation ever drops, he must check to see if any of his patrons leave him. This is done by rolling once for each patron. Any roll above the bard's new reputation indicates that the patron has lost his infatuation with the bard and is no longer a patron. A natural roll of 20 indicates that the patron is very upset with the bard and will have nothing more to do with him.

If you want to add even more detail to your bard's patrons, you can roll on the following table for each one.

Table 34: TYPE OF PATRON

1d20

Type of

Roll

Patron

Description

1-10

Fan

Attends every local performance.

11-12

Diehard

Attends every performance within 100 miles and insists on paying 1d4 times what others pay.

13-14

Booster

Attends all local performances and brings 1d6 friends along.

15

Enthusiast

Will serve as a stage hand without charge in exchange for free admittance.

16

Supporter

Roll 1d12; in that many months the supporter will donate 1d10 times the bard's level, in gold, to the bard.

17

Zealot

Zealots follow the bard around to every performance. Some have been known to secretly shadow the bard wherever he goes, even on dangerous quests (from which they seldom return).

18

Defender

Defenders are zealots who have taken it upon themselves to protect the bard, serving as body guards.

19

Extremist

Extremists attempt to mimic the bard as much as possible. They dress like him, act like him, learn his habits, and will even attempt to steal authentic items from him. Some extremists even attempt to befriend the bard's friends and lovers.

20

Fanatic

Fanatics are extremists, but if the bard ever rolls that a fanatic drops from the ranks of his patrons, the fanatic is 25% likely to attempt to assassinate the bard.

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