Bard
AP 40 EP 80 FF 12 Gen. 2
Described in: Core book (FAQ corrected)
The last of Merlin’s second generation meta-armours, the Bard, is an assembly of high tech components affixed to a Rogue chassis, with almost none of the reinforced plating (aside from that covering its alpha energy reactor, of course). In many respects, it is more of a high-tech jumpsuit than a suit of armour. The idea behind the Bard armour was to provide Avalon with a suit with heightened infiltration capabilities, able to blend in with enemy ranks, human and Anathema alike, and open diplomatic channels with more or less anybody. It can do all of the above and still perform admirably in combat.
Lighter than the Rogue armour because of its fewer layers of plating, it makes up for this lack of protection with astonishing abilities that seem almost magical to many, dangerous to those who understand its underpinning technology. A Knight in Bard armour can use its Changeling mode to appear as almost anything or anyone, with near-complete accuracy. With its nanomachine morphing technology, a Bard can tailor its appearance down to the most minute details – colours, shape, and the like.
Dozens of runnels criss-cross the Bard meta-armour’s sculpted muscles, providing release points for millions of nanomachines capable of modifying its outward appearance, colour and material composition. How? By following stored 3D blueprints, the swarms of nanomachines in the armour’s tanks imitate the appearance of almost anything encountered. A Knight in Bard armour can pass themselves off as a Reject in tattered rags, a beautiful woman in a red dress, a creature of the Anathema, or a Nodachi footman with ease. From a moderate distance, the illusion the millions of nanomachines produce is foolproof. Upon close inspection, even someone who knows what to look for can be fooled. That being said, when looking straight at a Knight using the Bard’s morphing ability, viewers cannot help but feel a vague sense of unease, as if their mind knew something was… off.
Another slight hitch – Changeling mode cannot reduce its user’s height. Taller Knights therefore have fewer options in their choice of disguises and shapes they can assume. Put simply, a hulking 6′6″ quarterback could change their appearance to look like a slim, stunning model – it would just have to be a model of at least equal height. Otherwise, the nanomachines can spread out to make the Knight look like one huge creature or a group of people, but will have the viscosity of millions of swarming nanomachines. Some Bards use this ability to blend in with their surroundings, appearing as parked vehicles or inanimate objects, opening up many interesting tactical options. In addition to the Changeling module, Bard meta-armour comes equipped with a voice modulator capable of imitating any previously heard voice, and a pheromone diffuser used to lubricate social interactions, regardless of gender or sexual preference.
Changeling Mode
A Bard meta-armour’s nanomachines allow it to take the appearance of any creature, person, or thing its user wishes. This transformation can extend up to 10 feet around the armour, and create ’illusory beings’ by using excess nanomachines. Clever use of Changeling mode allows Knights to give the impression there are more of them than there truly are, or appear fiercer and bigger to frighten off the more cowardly of the Anathema’s denizens.
Warning: The constantly shifting nanomachines making up the illusion’s surface form a viscous, flexible film over the meta-armour and beyond. A Knight in Changeling disguise can pick things up and move items around, but if someone touches them, the illusion is easy to spot.
Effect: When Changeling mode is activated, the metaarmour creates a false appearance in the guise of another person, a machine, a tree, etc. The illusion must be something the character can see, or something in their armour’s databanks. The armour’s AI has a selection of basic appearances, and automatically scans any creatures or people the Knight is in proximity with for at least one minute.
The character can also create projected images, ’illusory beings,’ acting according consistently with the illusion the Knight wishes to maintain. These beings are run by the armour’s AI, and cannot perform complex actions. The AI can keep a number of illusory beings running at once. The maximum number of 4 illusory beings represents the amount that can be kept going at a time while still providing a believable illusion, with the Knight and AI working together to maintain it. Illusory beings cloning or covering an ally are not controlled by the ally, but by the Bard and the Bard’s AI. Illusory beings cannot move more than 10 feet away from the Bard, and are intangible, incapable of fighting, picking things up, and so on.
Seeing through the illusion requires a Machine skill check, difficulty arduous (6). PCs need to succeed at an Acuity based skill, difficulty normal (3), to see through Changeling illusions. Changeling mode can be deactivated with a moment’s concentration. A Knight using the Ranger’s Vision module can automatically detect a Knight using Changeling mode.
GM and player must decide together what Changeling mode’s limitations are.
Warning: note that if the Bard uses Changeling mode and people nearby have no good cause to question its presence, no test is made to see through it. Attempting to see through the illusion (for a PC or an NPC) requires some concentration and a move action. It is a purposeful act, not an automatic one – something something has to make a viewer suspicious before has to make a viewer suspicious before they can try to detect a Changeling mode in use.
| Energy | 6 EP for a personal illusion / 8 EP for an enlarged illusion / 3 EP for each ’illusory being’ created (up to 4 illusory beings) |
|---|---|
| Activation | 1 turn during a conflict phase or 6 seconds outside of a conflict phase. |
| Duration | One scene or an entire phase, up to one hour. |
| GP | Description |
|---|---|
| 150 | Changeling mode’s range is now medium. Up to 4 allies can be disguised when the mode is activated. Allies whose appearance is modified by Changeling mode count as ’illusory beings’ when spending EP |
| 200 | Changeling mode’s 3 activations now cost 2 less EP each. The difficulty to see through Changeling mode is now 4 points higher, making it very arduous (10) for NPCs and complex (7) for PCs. |
| 250 | When the character deactivates Changeling mode, their appearance and all the ’illusory beings’ they created can explode in a burst of self-destructing nanomachines rather than just disappear. All characters in short range are affected, and are dealt 3D6 + 6 damage or 3D6 + 6 violence with ignore armour, ignore force field, scatter 6 (allies in range are affected, but not the Bard themselves) and stun 1 effects. The stun 1 automatically affects any enemy with a Flesh aspect score lower than 12. |
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Basic Changeling mode’s illusory beings cannot move further than 10 feet from the user. From 150 GP and up, they must still be created at the same distance but can move up to medium range.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
If the Bard uses Changeling mode and people nearby have no good cause to question its presence, no test is made to see through it. Seeing through the Bard’s disguise is a voluntary, active action, and cannot happen unintentionally.
Example: If the Bard is “disguised” as a Nodachi yojimbo and is seen at long range by a samurai in a crowd of metasoldiers, there is little reason for them to be detected as an impostor. If, on the other hand, the Bard is close to the samurai and talks to them, they is a greater likelihood of their arousing suspicion and of the samurai making a skill check to see the Bard for who they really are.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
The Bard wearer is unaffected by their illusory beings’ explosions, but their allies are not. Bards are affected by explosions caused by another Bard’s illusory beings.
Bards choose whether their illusory beings and their own disguise will explode or not when they deactivate their Changeling mode. When a Bard chooses to detonate their illusory beings, their AI measures how far each one is from the Bard’s allies and will suggest they refrain from detonating them. The Bard has final say in the matter.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
The Bard’s disguise and their illusory beings are a single source of damage and do not stack with each other. The area affected by the explosion’s scatter varies depending on where the illusory beings are when the Bard’s Changeling mode expires. This also explains why the Bard has to have all their illusory beings explode or none of them at all.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Yes, Bard illusions can be seen through by some vision modules, magnetic or thermal vision for instance. Ranger’s Vision can also allow them to “see that which is unseen.”
As a rule, when a major or minor exceptional Machine aspect would allow an illusion to be countered, it is because they represent powers and abilities similar in nature to the Ranger’s Vision, to alternative vision modules, to specific ODs, or a mix of all the above.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
A Ranger’s Vision automatically detects Changeling mode if the Knight chooses an appropriate vision type, pays an adequate amount of EP, and is looking in the right place. All other alternative vision modules give a 3 D bonus to opposed checks aimed at seeing through a Bard’s disguise or illusionary beings.
Exceptional Machine aspects give a bonus equal to their score (for minor exceptional aspects) or see through illusions automatically (for major exceptional aspects).
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Judge this on a case-by-case basis. Individuals with supernatural senses might see through illusions right away, whereas more logical beings will have to investigate.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Bard - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Only one check is required.