Songweavers Lyre

From: Siren

A miniature lyre fashioned from driftwood and strung with strands of kelp, each resonating with a unique aquatic harmony. When plucked, the lyre produces enchanting melodies that can soothe agitated creatures, lull predators to sleep, or even influence the tides themselves. Coralia uses it as both a musical instrument and a tool for communicating with the creatures of the deep.

Lore: The Songweaver’s Lyre is not merely an instrument, but a vessel for the ancient melodies of the ocean’s soul. Crafted from driftwood weathered by countless tides and strung with kelp harvested from the deepest depths, each lyre is imbued with a unique harmonic signature that resonates with the ebb and flow of the sea. Legend tells of a Siren bard who, in a moment of divine inspiration, crafted the first Songweaver’s Lyre from the wreckage of a shipwrecked vessel. The bard played a melody of such beauty and power that the very ocean itself responded, calming the storm that had claimed the ship and its crew.

Since then, the Songweaver’s Lyre has been a treasured heirloom passed down through generations of Siren musicians and storytellers. Each lyre is said to carry the echoes of countless songs, each note imbued with the wisdom and magic of the sea. The lyre’s power is not merely in its sound, but in the emotions and intentions woven into each melody. It can soothe the savage heart, inspire courage in the face of adversity, or even awaken dormant magic within the depths of the ocean.

Use: The Songweaver’s Lyre is a versatile tool, serving as both a musical instrument and a conduit for the ocean’s magic. In the hands of a skilled musician, its melodies can weave spells of enchantment, capable of calming agitated creatures, lulling predators to sleep, or even influencing the tides themselves. The lyre’s haunting notes can also be used to communicate with marine life, conveying emotions, intentions, and even complex ideas.

The Songweaver’s Lyre is not merely a tool for manipulation, but a bridge between the worlds of land and sea. Its music can foster understanding and cooperation between different races, inspire hope and courage in the face of adversity, and even awaken the dormant magic within the ocean’s depths. In the hands of a true Songweaver, the lyre becomes a conduit for the ocean’s soul, a voice that speaks to the hearts of all who hear it.

Stats:

• Tier: 1
• Type: Instrument
• Rarity: Uncommon
• Cost: 300 gold pieces
• Requirements: Siren ancestry, proficiency in Performance (stringed instruments)

Modifiers:

• Charisma (Performance): +3
• Wisdom (Animal Handling): +2 (aquatic creatures only)
• Intelligence (History): +1 (for knowledge of ancient Siren songs and their effects)

Skills:

• Performance (Stringed Instruments): +4
• Animal Handling: +2 (aquatic creatures only)

Tags: Instrument, Siren, Aquatic, Sound-Based, Enchanted, Communication, Persuasion

The Songweaver’s Lyre, due to its unique properties and cultural significance, would not be found in ordinary music shops or marketplaces. Instead, it would be sought after and acquired in specialized locations:

Acquisition:

• Siren Conservatories: These institutions, often located in coastal cities or on secluded islands, are dedicated to preserving Siren musical traditions and training new generations of bards and musicians. A Songweaver’s Lyre, being a symbol of mastery and tradition, would be a coveted prize for aspiring Siren musicians. A student might earn a lyre through exceptional performance, dedication to their craft, or by proving their connection to the ocean’s song.
• Underwater Temples: Some ancient Siren temples, hidden beneath the waves, are said to house relics of immense cultural and magical significance. A Songweaver’s Lyre, with its ability to communicate with sea creatures and influence the tides, could be found among these treasures, guarded by ancient spirits or powerful guardians.
• Traveling Bards: Certain Siren bards, known for their wanderlust and extraordinary talent, might carry a Songweaver’s Lyre with them on their journeys. These bards might be willing to part with their beloved instrument for the right price, or perhaps in exchange for a favor or a tale of equal value.

Environment of Use — The Songweaver’s Lyre can be used in a variety of environments, both underwater and on land, but its power is most potent when played near the ocean or in places where the energy of the sea is strong:

• Coastal Performances: Siren bards often perform on moonlit beaches or clifftops overlooking the sea, their enchanting melodies echoing across the waves. The lyre’s sound is said to be amplified by the ocean’s energy, reaching further and resonating deeper with the hearts of those who hear it.
• Underwater Concerts: In the grand underwater cities of Saṃsāra, Sirens gather for concerts and performances where the Songweaver’s Lyre takes center stage. The lyre’s music fills the underwater halls with ethereal melodies, enchanting the audience and inspiring a deep sense of connection to the ocean.
• Rituals and Ceremonies: The Songweaver’s Lyre is often used in Siren rituals and ceremonies, its music invoking the blessings of the sea god, calming storms, or even awakening ancient magic.
• Diplomatic Missions: Sirens skilled in the art of diplomacy often use the lyre to ease tensions, foster understanding, and build alliances with other races. The lyre’s enchanting melodies can soothe even the most hardened hearts and open minds to new perspectives.

End Results — The Songweaver’s Lyre, in the hands of a skilled musician, can produce a variety of powerful effects:

• Emotional Manipulation: The lyre’s melodies can evoke a wide range of emotions in both humans and animals, from joy and serenity to fear and despair. This power can be used to calm aggressive creatures, inspire courage in allies, or even manipulate the feelings of others for personal gain.
• Communication with Sea Creatures: The lyre’s unique harmonies can resonate with the songs of marine life, allowing the user to communicate with them on a deeper level. This can lead to alliances, the exchange of information, or even the summoning of creatures to aid in battle or exploration.
• Environmental Influence: In the hands of a master Songweaver, the lyre can influence the tides, calm storms, or even awaken dormant magic within the ocean’s depths. This power can be used to protect coastal communities, navigate treacherous waters, or even reshape the environment to suit the user’s needs.
• Spiritual Enlightenment: The lyre’s music can induce a meditative state, allowing the user to connect with their inner self and the spiritual energies of the ocean. This can lead to personal growth, increased self-awareness, and even the development of latent magical abilities.

The Songweaver’s Lyre is a powerful and versatile instrument, sought after by those who seek to harness the power of music and the ocean’s magic for the betterment of themselves and the world around them.

Activation Perception of the Senses

• Five Senses:
  • Sight: The kelp strings vibrate with an ethereal luminescence, their colors shifting and shimmering in harmony with the music. The driftwood frame seems to pulse with a warm, organic light.
    • Positive: The captivating visual display can enhance the lyre’s enchanting effect on listeners, drawing them into the music’s spell.
    • Negative: The light may be distracting in situations where stealth is required.
  • Touch: The driftwood feels warm and worn, its surface smooth from countless hours of playing. The kelp strings are surprisingly resilient, vibrating with a subtle energy that resonates with the user’s touch.
    • Positive: The tactile connection with the lyre enhances the user’s control over the instrument and their ability to channel its magic.
    • Negative: The kelp strings can be delicate, and rough handling may damage them.
  • Sound: The lyre produces enchanting melodies that seem to echo the very essence of the ocean. The notes are clear and resonant, yet carry an otherworldly quality that speaks to the soul.
    • Positive: The music can soothe, inspire, and manipulate emotions, depending on the user’s intent. It can also be used to communicate with sea creatures and influence the tides.
    • Negative: The music can be overwhelming or distracting for some listeners, particularly those who are not attuned to its magical properties.
  • Smell: The lyre carries a faint, salty scent of the sea, reminiscent of seaweed, brine, and driftwood. The scent is both grounding and ethereal, evoking a sense of tranquility and connection to nature.
    • Positive: The scent can be calming and focus-enhancing, helping the user to connect with the ocean’s energy and channel its power.
    • Negative: The scent may be too strong for some individuals, particularly those with sensitivities to smell.
  • Taste: Though not meant to be tasted, the kelp strings have a slightly salty, briny flavor with a hint of sweetness.
    • Positive: The taste can serve as a reminder of the lyre’s connection to the ocean, strengthening the user’s bond with its magic.
    • Negative: The taste can be unpleasant for some individuals.
• Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
  • Empathic Resonance: The user can sense the emotions of those who hear the lyre’s music, allowing them to tailor their melodies to specific effects.
  • Aquatic Harmony: The user feels a deep connection to the ocean’s rhythms and currents, their movements and actions becoming more fluid and graceful.
  • Elemental Awareness: The user becomes attuned to the elemental energies of water and air, gaining a heightened sense of their presence and influence.
  • Song of the Sea: The user may hear whispers of ancient Siren songs, offering guidance, inspiration, or even fragments of forgotten lore.
  • Call of the Depths: The user may feel a pull towards the ocean, a longing to explore its depths and uncover its secrets.

Weaving the Ocean’s Melody: Crafting a Songweaver’s Lyre

• Materials Needed:
  • A piece of driftwood, weathered by the sea and infused with the ocean’s energy.
  • Seven strands of kelp, each harvested from a different depth of the ocean and imbued with a unique harmonic frequency.
  • Seashell fragments for decoration and sound amplification.
  • Siren tears, collected under a full moon.
  • Abalone shell resin.
• Tools Required:
  • Carving knife and woodworking tools
  • Small hammer and nails (or wooden pegs)
  • Fine-tipped brush
  • Tuning fork or other pitch reference
• Skill Requirements:
  • Proficiency in woodworking and instrument crafting
  • Knowledge of Siren musical scales and harmonies
  • Attunement to the ocean’s energy and the moon’s phases
• Crafting Steps:
  • Selecting the Driftwood: Choose a piece of driftwood that resonates with the ocean’s energy. The wood should be sturdy yet lightweight, with a natural curve that lends itself to the shape of a lyre.
  • Shaping the Lyre: Using woodworking tools, carefully carve the driftwood into the desired shape of the lyre. The frame should be comfortable to hold and allow for easy access to the strings.
  • Preparing the Kelp Strings: Harvest seven strands of kelp from different depths of the ocean, each representing a unique note in the Siren’s musical scale. Soak the kelp in seawater infused with moonlight to enhance their resonance and magical properties.
  • Stringing the Lyre: Attach the kelp strings to the lyre’s frame, using small nails or wooden pegs. Ensure the strings are taut and evenly spaced. Use the tuning fork or pitch reference to tune each string to its corresponding note in the Siren scale.
  • Decorating the Lyre: Adorn the lyre with seashell fragments, arranging them in a pleasing pattern that enhances the instrument’s sound and reflects its aquatic origins. Use abalone shell resin to secure the shells in place.
  • Imbuing with Siren Tears: Mix a few drops of Siren tears with the abalone shell resin and apply a thin layer to the lyre’s frame and strings. The tears will infuse the instrument with the Siren’s magic and enhance its ability to manipulate emotions and communicate with sea creatures.
  • Awakening the Lyre’s Voice: Play a simple melody on the lyre under the full moon’s light. The moonlight will activate the instrument’s full potential, awakening its unique aquatic harmony and imbuing it with the power to influence the tides and communicate with the ocean’s creatures.

Note: Crafting a Songweaver’s Lyre is a labor of love and a testament to the Siren’s deep connection to the ocean. Each lyre is a unique expression of the crafter’s skill, creativity, and understanding of the sea’s mysteries.

Lay of the Kelp Strings’ Lament

In the time of the First Dawn, when the world was still wet with creation, a Siren mourned. Her voice, once a song of joy, now echoed with sorrow. A storm had stolen her love, a sailor lost to the raging sea.

In her grief, she wandered the shore, her tears mingling with the saltwater. A strange kelp, unlike any she had seen, washed ashore, its tendrils glistening with an eerie light. The Siren, touched by the sea’s empathy, knew its purpose.

With trembling hands, she plucked the kelp, its sound a mournful cry echoing her own sorrow. But as she played, the notes transformed, weaving a tapestry of hope and resilience. The kelp, a conduit for the ocean’s voice, sang of life’s cycles, of endings and new beginnings.

The Siren, her spirit lifted by the kelp’s song, crafted a lyre from driftwood, stringing it with the magical kelp. She played for the sea creatures, her music soothing their troubled hearts and calming the turbulent waves.

The Songweaver’s Lyre, they called it, a voice for the voiceless, a bridge between the worlds of land and sea. Its melodies could calm the savage beast, mend the broken heart, and even sway the tides themselves.

But the world, ever fickle, held both light and shadow. A siren of envy, her heart twisted by bitterness, coveted the Lyre’s power. She sought to twist its song, to weaponize its harmonies, to bend the world to her will.

The Songweaver, her heart resonating with the ocean’s wisdom, refused to surrender her gift. Their duel was a clash of melodies, of harmony against discord, of love against envy. The lyre’s song, pure and true, pierced through the darkness, revealing the siren’s deceit.

Defeated and humbled, the envious siren fled, her song lost to the depths. The Songweaver’s Lyre remained a beacon of hope, its music a testament to the enduring power of love and compassion.

Moral of the Story: Even in sorrow, there is a song waiting to be sung. Let your pain be the melody, your tears the rhythm, and your voice a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. For in the depths of despair, music can be the bridge that leads us back to the light.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Type: Arcane Artifact
• Sanity Loss: 1/1D4 on a failed Sanity roll when hearing a haunting melody.
• Description: A miniature lyre fashioned from driftwood and strung with kelp strands.
• Mechanics:
  • Influence: When played, the lyre can be used to make a Persuade or Charm skill check with a +20% bonus.
  • Soothing: Once per game session, the user can attempt a Luck roll to soothe a hostile creature or calm a natural disaster.
  • Animal Friendship: When played underwater, the lyre allows the user to communicate with and potentially control aquatic creatures.

Blades in the Dark

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Category: Arcane Item
• Description: A small lyre that produces enchanting melodies.
• Effect:
  • Influence: When played, the lyre can be used to sway, distract, or soothe a target, depending on the desired effect.
  • Command: Once per score, the user can use the lyre to command a simple action from a non-hostile creature.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Name: Lyre of the Sea Singer

• Type: Wondrous Item, Uncommon (requires attunement)
• Description: This miniature lyre is made of driftwood and strung with kelp. While playing the lyre, you gain the following benefits:
  • You have advantage on Charisma (Performance) checks.
  • You can cast animal friendship (targeting only beasts that can breathe water) and calm emotions once per day each.
  • As an action, you can play the lyre to cast suggestion (save DC 15).

Knave

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Type: Trinket
• Description: A miniature lyre that produces enchanting melodies.
• Special:
  • +2 bonus to Persuade and Command checks when played.
  • Once per day, can be used to calm a hostile creature or cause a group of creatures to become fascinated for one round.
• Price: 300 gold

Fate (Accelerated Edition)

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Description: A miniature lyre fashioned from driftwood and kelp strings.
• Aspect: Ocean’s Melody
• Skills: +2 to Rapport, Empathy, and Lore.
• Stunts:
  • Soothing Song: When attempting to create an advantage with Rapport or Empathy, add +2 to your roll.
  • Call of the Depths: Once per session, establish a powerful aspect on a scene related to the ocean or its creatures.

Numenera & Cypher System

Name: Lyre of the Sea Singer

• Level: 1d6
• Type: Artifact
• Form: Odditiy
• Effect:
  • Intellect: +1
  • Once per day, you can use an action to channel the lyre’s power and either:
  • Soothe a creature within short range, making it friendly for one round.
  • Gain a +3 bonus to an interaction task involving a creature that can understand music.
  • Communicate simple concepts to a creature that doesn’t share a language, as long as it can hear.
• Depletion: –

Pathfinder (Second Edition)

Name: Lyre of the Sea Singer

• Level: 2
• Price: 300 gp
• Bulk: L
• Category: Instrument
• Description: This miniature lyre is made of driftwood and strung with kelp.
• Activate [one-action] Interact
• Effect: You produce a performance with the lyre that has one of the following effects of your choice:
  • Calm Emotions: Attempt a Performance check against the Will DC of one creature you can see within 30 feet. The target is then temporarily immune for 1 day.
  • Animal Friendship (Aquatic Only): Attempt a Performance check to target a beast that can breathe water within 30 feet of you.
  • Suggestion: Attempt a Performance check against the Will DC of one creature you can see within 30 feet.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Type: Arcane Background (Minor)
• Trappings: Driftwood lyre, kelp strings, soothing melodies
• Powers:
  • Arcane Background (Magic): The character gains access to the charm, soothe, and speak language powers.
  • Ocean’s Harmony: When playing the lyre in or near water, the character gains a +2 bonus to Persuasion and Performance rolls.
• Cost: 2 Power Points

Shadowrun (Sixth World)

Name: Songweaver’s Lyre

• Category: Focus (Technomancer/Adept)
• Rating: 4
• Essence: 0.2
• Capacity: 2
• Programs:
  • Resonance: +2 dice pool to Resonance Actions that involve manipulation of sound or emotion.
  • Animal Handling: +2 dice pool to Animal Handling Tests when interacting with aquatic creatures.
  • Spellcasting: +2 dice pool to Spellcasting tests when casting spells that involve sound or water manipulation.
• Description: A miniature lyre crafted from driftwood and strung with kelp strands, this focus resonates with the user’s magical energies, amplifying their abilities.

Starfinder (Galaxy Exploration Manual)

Name: Lyre of Aquatic Harmony

• Level: 5
• Price: 1,800 Credits
• Bulk: L
• Category: Musical Instrument
• Description: This small lyre is made of driftwood and strung with kelp. It is said to be imbued with the magic of the sea.
• Benefit: When played, the lyre grants a +2 bonus to Diplomacy and Bluff checks against creatures that can understand music. Once per day, the lyre can be used to cast animal friendship (targeting only beasts that can breathe water).

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Name: Siren Lyre

• Type: Technological Item
• Skill: +2 to Persuade and Command when used with the lyre.
• Effect: Allows the user to communicate with aquatic creatures and influence their emotions. Can also be used to create sonic illusions.
• Price: Cr5000
• Rarity: Rare

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Name: Lyre of the Sea God

• Type: Arcane Instrument
• Description: A miniature lyre crafted from driftwood and strung with kelp, resonating with the power of Manann, the Sea God.
• Special Rules:
  • Siren’s Song: The bearer may use the lyre to cast the Hypnotic Melody spell, causing all creatures within 20 yards to make a Willpower test or become entranced for 1d10 rounds.
  • Call of the Depths: Once per day, the bearer may use the lyre to summon a minor water elemental to their aid.
  • Ocean’s Harmony: The bearer gains a +10 bonus to Fellowship tests made to influence or appease creatures with an aquatic nature.
• Availability: Rare