Bard College of Percussion by Chad M. Lensch

Bard College of Percussion

Writer(s): Chad M. Lensch
Publisher: DMs Guild
Cost: $3.95
Product Length: 32 pages
Available Format(s): PDF

When I agreed to review Bard College of Percussion by Chad M. Lensch I thought I was agreeing to essentially another 3rd party bard college. I don’t mean for that to sound cynical. What I mean to say is it IS that but also more. I wasn’t anticipating the more part. One thing I’ve learned about Guild creators in the last few years is that there are several percussionists among them. I haven’t done a hard analysis of it, but I’d venture a guess that they are over-represented, statistically speaking. Indeed, many creators acknowledged and credited in this resource are also percussionists. Me? I play a mean air drum from time to time.

But I digress. As its title suggests, you get a new bard college with this product and I found the pitched percussion and non-pitched percussion angles really intriguing. The three new backgrounds are also as imaginative as they are relatable (who hasn’t passed by street performers deserving of a tip as well as those who didn’t?). But that’s just the beginning. A good beginning. But only a start nonetheless. What I particularly liked about this resource starts in the later half of the document.

The Seekers of Kurtulmak is a wonderfully written, and brief, adventure with scalable difficulty for parties between levels 2 and 4. It even includes a pap of their cave. The Seekers are led by a percussion bard kobold named Rubblemuck Ug’draang. Great name for a kobold! Anyway, Rubblemuck is a megalomaniac and has anointed himself Kurtulmak’s chosen prophet. Though the Seekers keep to themselves, kobold activity is always cause for concern. Depending on your party’s level, the kobolds are busying themselves with slightly different missions. You may help them. Or you may thwart their plans. It’s a quick adventure and self-contained (no ripple effects to speak of) but it’s fun and engaging. I encourage you to try this product for that reason alone.

The college is another good character option for you to consider giving to your players. Additionally, this is a great primer for those who want to learn more about percussion. There are even YouTube links to hear various percussion instruments you may have never heard of before such as agogo bells, dholaks, and kalimbas. Also, you can explore various music of the world for setting ambience in your sessions. I think I preferred the Germanic music.

Chad has packed a lot into a relatively short product and at $3.95, it’s a steal. On a page-count basis, that price is about average. But the quality of the content is far above average. His writing is easy to read and the layout and production are elegant and incorporate actual photographs to great effect. I really enjoyed learning about percussion instruments I’d never heard of while simultaneously scratching my D&D itch.

Pros