ART & SONG & CULTURE & SHIT

Here's more of my scattered ideas. These are pieces of art or songs to sprinkle the game world with. I like art as treasure, it adds to the game in a way that "you find 20 gold pieces" doesn't. I also like to put named songs that "everybody knows" in for color. I have no musical talent so there's no original melodies or anything, mostly we find something on YouTube and waste game time doing bad song parodies.

"THE BALLAD OF THE BLOODY BREWERS": A classic Dwarven drinking song with magical properties. If it's sung heartily by drunk people carrying weapons then everyone that hears the singing becomes drunk too (Will save to resist).

CHORD OF DISHARMONY: A song-spell created by Sabra the Snake. If played on an instrument of ruby & bone, anyone hearing it must save or attack their allies.

“THE FAILURES OF PIETY”: Oil on canvas, depicts a laughing red demon amidst hellfire & burning clergy and paladins. Servants of evil covet it, legend says the owner will have the favor of hell. Owning or obtaining the painting is always associated with trails of bodies, assassins, poison, slaughter -- the usual wages of evil. The painting itself is just a painting & Hell has no taste for art.

“DREAMS OF THE UNDERWORLD”: 11 line poem, overwrought & melodramatic like a moody teenager wrote it. Written long ago by a failed necrosage candidate before she was thrown into the Abyssal Labyrinth. Anti-Paladins reading or hearing it will think it fucking rules & continuously weep black tears for 24 hours afterward, they'll also get +2 to their attack bonus and armor class.

"THE FISTS OF SIR FOWLER": Rollicking pub song ostensibly about a knight that likes to punch people, most of the lyrics are just nonsense words. If sung by someone riding a drunk horse then all who hear the singing must save or begin punching themselves in the face. (This is pretty dumb and I love it.) 

TAPESTRY OF THE BATTLE OF KELVDOK: Beautiful, richly detailed tapestry depicting famous long-ago battle between elves & dwarves. Worth 30000 gold pieces to an art collector, or 7000 if damaged. Any dwarves or elves within that get a good look at it must save or attack nearest elf (for dwarves) or dwarf (for elves) until they're dead or attacker is unconscious. If the enemy species isn't nearby then no obvious effect until they are.

"THE ENIGMA OF SELF": Interactive art piece by long-dead cleric. It's a circular chamber with a polished floor covered in white and purple concentric lines. Clerics & paladins praying here for at least two hours gain +2 to all saves for next 24 hours as long as they (and their player) only refer to themselves in the 3rd person.

“A VISION OF COSMIC HORROR”: Crude sculpture by unknown Slavic artist, depicting an amorphous hairy creature with multiple eyes, mouths, & tongues that are also hands. The first time you view it you get a horrifying vision of your own cosmic insignificance. You get +1 Wisdom and -1 Constitution permanently.

I have no idea who Sabra the Snake is or what exactly you have to do to become a necrosage. I do have house rules for drunk PCs because my players are incorrigible dirtbags so we'll get to those another time.