Standing Ovation

A sung dexterity buff that fails outright when the singer cannot hold a key.

Story so far

Princess Donut tries to cast Standing Ovation in the middle of the Night Weasels ambush, after dismounting from Mongo and softening a pair of weasels with Magic Missiles. It would have given the whole party a dexterity boost for the fight. It does not go off.

Holger explains why afterward, and not gently: Donut cannot sing, she is not in tune, and sung magic depends on it. Easy spells simply fail when you are off key; big ones become dangerous to attempt at all. He calls Standing Ovation a good one to practice on — just not, he suggests, while your face is being chomped on by murder weasels — and offers to help her find a teacher, perhaps at a bard's guild in Point Mongo. Donut blames the grunting and screeching around her.

Role

Donut's attempted party-wide dexterity buff, and the vehicle for the chapter's revelation that her singing is a real mechanical liability.

Relationships

Princess Donut — Her spell; her failed cast during the weasel fight exposes the limits of her singing.

Holger — Diagnoses the failure as an off-key cast and recommends lessons before she attempts anything larger.

Sources — 3 recorded facts, by chapter

Chapter 3

One of Princess Donut's new singer spells, cast by voice and requiring a melody she must choose herself.

Chapter 4

Bard song that raises the party's Dexterity and makes their regular spells more powerful.

Chapter 16

A sung dexterity buff that fails outright when the singer cannot hold a key.