Patrons (CBH)

As a bard's reputation grows, he begins to attract patrons. These people go out of their way to attend the bard's performances. Some even take up traveling with the bard on short performing tours. Such devoted patrons often serve the bard as stage hands.

Patrons should not be confused with followers. Patrons are more interested in a bard's performances than in the bard as an individual. They are caught up with the bard's artistic talents. Some will travel miles to attend as many performances as possible, others donate silver and gold to ensure that their favorite performer can support his career. Devoted patrons love his performances so much that they are willing to help him out in order to get him on stage more often. Patrons are a valuable commodity to bards and are always treated with care.

Initial Patrons[]

Acquiring, gaining, and losing patrons is based upon the optional reputation system presented in this handbook. If this system isn't used, substitute the bard's level for his reputation.

Once a bard becomes well-known (reputation 6) he gains his first patrons. To determine how many patrons the bard initially gains, roll 1d20 a number of times equal to the bard's maximum number of henchmen (a function of Charisma). Every result equal to or below the bard's reputation indicates that one more patron is acquired.

Note that patrons are not henchmen and do not count against this number.

Gaining and Losing Patrons[]

The number of a bard's patrons fluctuates as the bard's reputation changes. Any time the bard's reputation increases, more patrons can be gained. The bard rolls 1d20 in an attempt to roll equal to or below his new reputation. He can keep rolling until he fails. The number of consecutive rolls equal to or below his new reputation is the number of new patrons gained. However, the number of a bard's patrons is limited by his maximum number of henchmen and by his level, as shown on Table 33. The number next to the bard's level is multiplied by the bard's maximum number of henchmen (see Table 6 in the PHB ) to determine the bard's maximum number of patrons.

Table 33: Number Of Patrons
Bard's	Maximum # of
Level	Henchmen Times:
1-4	1
5-9	2
10-14	3
15-19	4
20+	5

If a bard's reputation ever drops, he must check to see if any of his patrons leave him. This is done by rolling once for each patron. Any roll above the bard's new reputation indicates that the patron has lost his infatuation with the bard and is no longer a patron. A natural roll of 20 indicates that the patron is very upset with the bard and will have nothing more to do with him.

If you want to add even more detail to your bard's patrons, you can roll on the following table for each one.

Table 34: Type Of Patron
1d20 Roll	Type of Patron	Description
1-10	Fan	Attends every local performance.
11-12	Diehard	Attends every performance within 100 miles and insists on paying 1d4 times what others pay.
13-14	Booster	Attends all local performances and brings 1d6 friends along.
15	Enthusiast	Will serve as a stage hand without charge in exchange for free admittance.
16	Supporter	Roll 1d12; in that many months the supporter will donate 1d10 times the bard's level, in gold, to the bard.
17	Zealot	Zealots follow the bard around to every performance. Some have been known to secretly shadow the bard wherever he goes, even on dangerous quests (from which they seldom return).
18	Defender	Defenders are zealots who have taken it upon themselves to protect the bard, serving as body guards.
19	Extremist	Extremists attempt to mimic the bard as much as possible. They dress like him, act like him, learn his habits, and will even attempt to steal authentic items from him. Some extremists even attempt to befriend the bard's friends and lovers.
20	Fanatic	Fanatics are extremists, but if the bard ever rolls that a fanatic drops from the ranks of his patrons, the fanatic is 25% likely to attempt to assassinate the bard.

Patrons (CBH)

Initial Patrons[]

Gaining and Losing Patrons[]

Table 33: Number Of Patrons

Table 34: Type Of Patron