Sing

Sing should not be pigeon-holed as a secondary skill without relevant game use. When Greek soldiers march to battle they sing paeans, hymns to summon the favour of the gods. In addition, everyone sings during religious rituals; song is a central way to participate in a ritual, to bring a worshipper in instead of letting them stay outside as observers. Because of this Sing is an essential skill, giving player characters access to the power of the gods. Of course singers also entertain an audience. A successful roll indicates that the performance was a good one and that the song had an actual game mechanic effect on the audience.

Paean
War hymn. Sung by two or more soldiers together who face a looming armed threat. Each singer makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points, if successful, then 5 minutes later that Magic Point becomes 1 AP of invisible armour that lasts for one fight or for 15 minutes (whichever ends first).

Epinikia
Song of victory. Sung by a victorious warrior who is conscious and can draw breath. He makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points, if successful, then 5 minutes later he is recovered from fatigue and weariness and heals 3 Hit Points.

Hymnos
Religious hymn. Sung by worshippers to honour their deity during a festival or as a prayer to persuade the god to offer a favour. Each worshipper makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points, if successful, then 5 minutes later he gains a +20% on his Fate roll.

Dithyramb
A noisy chorus in honour of Dionysus. The singers give voice to the frenetic and joyous unrestrained passions of Dionysus, god of music and revellry. There must be at least six singers in the chorus. All singers spend 1-3 Magic Points, and if successful strip away the civilised airs of the audience, reducing them to wild, frenzied, dancing and screaming orgiastic folk. Everyone affected by the music becomes in-favour with Dionysus and gains 1-4 percentiles in Insight. They also conduct themselves disgracefully for a couple of hours, but will probably not remember any of it! No wonder the Greeks denied women the right to watch theatrical performances! The DM must decide how many successful Sing rolls are needed to affect a certain audience size. Maybe one for 10 or 15, three or four for a hundred or so, and perhaps twenty successes to influence several thousand theatre goers.

Threnoi
Song of Mourning. Sung by professional mourners to honour a recently departed person during a funeral. Each professional mourner makes a Sing roll and spends only 1 Magic Point apiece. Count the successes. If they number more than the total of people who have come to pay their last respects at the funeral, then each of those visitors receives a temporary PSY increase roll of +2 for the next five days. If the successes are less than the number of guests, then the guests receive only a +1 temporary PSY increase lasting the next day only.

Hyporchema
An up-tempo song with a quick beat. Popular with dancers, and by athletes and warriors prior to engaging in their respective trades. The hyporchema enfuses a passion and energy which is loud, raucous and compelling. Each singer makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points, if successful, then after 10 minutes of singing he gains +3 to his Strength for one hour.

Prosodion
Processional song. The singer makes a roll and spends 1-3 Magic Points, if successful the singer himself suffers no fatigue while he carries out a monotonous physical task and sings simultaneously. This lasts a maximum of three hours. He may be rowing a galley, riding a horse across country, marching, building a road and so on.

Ode
Song of love and pleasure. Sung by a poet for a willing audience, often at a banquet. He makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points, if successful, then during the 10 minute song members of the audience are filled with good wishes and pleasant feelings. Hatreds are forgotten, a feeling of empathy, tenderness and and even love sweeps through the audience. For the rest of the day after the feast, anyone in the audience harbouring feelings of hatred and/or resentment will have to make a PO W x 4 roll to act on it. The next day, time scatters such sentimentality.

Elegiac Song
A grave and sententious song, a song of principles, proverbs and morality. Often these proverbs are disguised within fine seemingly inoccuous songs. The singer must direct his song secretly at a single member of the audience (or a single group within the audience), make a Sing roll and then spend 1d3 Magic Points. If successful, then during the 10 minute performance the target has cause to question an intended course of action. The target rolls PSY x 2 to shrug off this magical affect. Perhaps he is intending to attack a neighbouring city, sell his unruly slave, steal an artefact that the player characters want for themselves, and so on. It isn’t mind-control, but works on some failing or moral transgression that the target is going to commit.

Iambic Song
A song that is satirical and aggressive. The singer uses an Iambic song to bring out the raw emotion of an audience and to pick up their mood. Many singers can use it to find out potential enemies within the audience. The singer makes a Sing roll and spends 1d3 Magic Points. His song works the crowd, and if the roll was successful he is able to identify anyone in the audience who intends to harm him. The singer may instead designate another member of the audience as the focus of his song, and as a successful song reaches its conclusion, both the singer and the target discover the identity of an enemy who intends to harm that target.

Rhapsodoi
An epic poem in song. For those who wish to sit in contemplation, a rhapsody makes the perfect request. The singer must direct his song secretly at a single member of the audience (or a single group within the audience), make a Sing roll and then spend 1d3 Magic Points. If successful, then during the one hour performance the target is given to relate current events and problems in his own life with those of the epic Greek heroes. He receives inspiration from the actions of those long dead heroes and may call for an Idea roll pertaining to his current predicament at +20% chance. The GM is encouraged to be generous with his suggestions.