Bard archetype

Duettist

Whether singing a delicate duo with a nightingale or slipping coins from purses while a trained monkey distracts the crowd, the duettist blends his bond to his familiar with his natural talent for performance to create amazing effects.

Familiar (Ex) level 1

This ability replaces bardic knowledge.

At 1st level, a duettist gains a familiar, treating his bard level as his effective wizard level for the purpose of this ability. This ability replaces bardic knowledge.

Performing Familiar (Su) level 4

Replaces Lore Master.

At 4th level, a duettist’s familiar learns how to create supernatural effects with its performances, just like its master. The familiar can use any of its master’s bardic performances, but only the familiar or the duettist can have a performance active at any given time, not both. If one is performing and the other starts a performance, the previous performance immediately ends. Each round that the familiar performs consumes 2 rounds of the duettist’s bardic performance. This ability replaces lore master.

Harmonizing Familiar (Su) level 8

Replaces Dirge of Doom.

At 8th level, the duettist and his familiar have learned how to perform together in harmony. When a duettist and his familiar perform the same bardic performance simultaneously, its effects are enhanced. If the performance has a DC, the DC increases by 2. If the performance provides a competence bonus, the competence bonus increases by 1. Because both the duettist and the familiar are performing, each round performed consumes 3 rounds of bardic performance. This ability replaces dirge of doom.

Symphonic Familiar (Su) level 14

Replaces Frightening Tune.

At 14th level, the duettist and his familiar have learned how to create a symphony of complementary performances that meld together to produce two different effects. They can each perform a different bardic performance simultaneously, and each has its full effect. Because both the duettist and the familiar are performing, each round performed consumes 3 rounds of bardic performance. This ability replaces frightening tune.

Diminished Competency

A duettist does not gain the well-versed or jack-of-all-trades class features.

Versatile

This ability alters versatile performance.

Familiar (Ex): At 2nd level, a duettist’s familiar learns to use performance to supplement its skills. A duettist’s familiar benefits from its master’s versatile performance class feature. This ability alters versatile performance.

Character Archetypes