Annotated 30-7
Here Penk is doing the traditional “bard thing” and using music as a +3 modifier for the fighters in the party, which in this case includes himself. It’s not a trick he pulls very often, because with his power level, he needs to get into the thick of things. But we see him and Best do it in the series climax.
Incidentally, that PAF sound effect (the one pictured at right, not the one associated with the flashbang) was a bit of mildly ridiculous onomatopoeia that my college roommates singled out to annoy me back when I worshipped Understanding Comics even more than I do now. These days “PAF” amuses me as much as it did them back then.
“A music’l fighter! I know you guys’ve had pro’lems with that sort! Hope he’s not the same as–”
“We should be so lucky: he shows no signs of attacking his own teammates or having sex with one of them in the middle of a mission. But if he starts talking about his destiny, there may be hope.”
To me, “PAF!” is the sound made when Asterix and Obelix punch Roman soldiers into the air.
So, here’s a thing that I just notice, which I think confirms nicely how well you set up this scene and the characters: When this fight began (on first reading and also now, on second), I was rooting for both teams. I’d definitely have preferred the Peacemakers but I really didn’t want any of the Champions to die here.
Yeah, I think that was part of our overall mission statement.
I figured as much, but still:
Mission target achieved!
It’s called a Bardbarian. In Penk’s (and some others) case, it’s a war drum with a mace, other times it’s a enormous two handed horn or lute (such as The Mad Lute). A rarity would be a blunt weapon (any, possibly extra big) that resonates with sound every time it hit something, with what is heard changes depending on what is hit and how hard. Having those same properties on a shield would be even less common.
Something else to note (pun not really intended but ok) is that said musical weapons have to be just as durable as weapons, which is going to be quite expensive to create, because of enchantments or rare/powerful materials. Which means that one needs to be successful to pay for such, and that means skill.
Ergo, someone with musically inclined (melee) weapons is going to be a challenge to beat, even without aid weapon being used (unless they’re not a close range/melee combatant). This also can explain why bards (and Best) can often have ego/pride issues as a result of their to their skill.
Sorry for the long post.
A bardbarian… Like a skald?
Correct!