Buy me a coffeeDragon Sinew Strings — Bardic Instrument Component
Dragon sinew strings turn bardic music into a weapon of courage, but every dragon knows what they are and hates the sound of them.
Dragon sinew strings are rare instrument strings made from the cured sinews of dragons. When fitted to a stringed instrument and played by a bard, they give music a harder, more martial power. Songs played on them sound braver, sharper, and more commanding, as though some trace of the dragon’s defiance still lives in the material.
They are not subtle. Dragons can sense them, recognise their meaning, and usually respond with anger. To carry such an instrument is to carry a trophy made from draconic flesh. To play it in battle is to announce that insult aloud.
Dragon sinew strings are most useful to war-bards, dragon-hunters, heroic skalds, mercenary companies, and adventuring musicians who accept that power often comes with a visible price.
Physical Description
Dragon sinew strings look like pale, glossy cords before they are dyed, cured, and polished. Once prepared, they often retain a faint colour or sheen associated with the dragon they came from: smoky white, dull black, copper-red, green-gold, silver-grey, or deep red-brown.
They are stronger than ordinary gut strings and hold a fierce, resonant tone, but they are difficult to fit. An instrument must be completely strung with dragon sinew to gain the magical benefit. Mixing one or two dragon sinew strings with ordinary strings may produce an unusual sound, but it grants no rules benefit.
Why This Item Matters
Dragon sinew strings work because they are useful and dangerous at the same time.
For the bard, they are a battlefield advantage. For the party, they are protection against one kind of dragon-terror. For dragons, they are desecration, provocation, and proof that someone has trafficked in the remains of their kind.
The item should not feel like a quiet bonus hidden on a character sheet. It should change how dragons, dragon cults, nobles, monster-hunters, and bardic colleges react to the character who carries it.
Dragon Sinew Strings 5.5e / 2024
Dragon Sinew Strings, Pathfinder 1e / 3.5e
String, Dragon Sinew 3.0
Dragon Sinew Strings 5.5e / 2024
Wondrous Item, Rare; Instrument Component; Requires Attunement by a Bard
These strings must be fitted to a stringed instrument. The instrument must be fully strung with dragon sinew. Mixing dragon sinew with ordinary strings grants no magical benefit.
While you are holding or playing the fitted instrument, your Bardic Inspiration carries a martial draconic resonance.
When a creature adds one of your Bardic Inspiration dice to an attack roll, weapon damage roll, or saving throw against being Charmed or Frightened, it gains an additional +1 bonus to that roll.
In addition, you can use an action to play a warding passage against the dragon breed from which the sinew was taken. Until the start of your next turn, creatures of your choice within 60 feet that can hear you have advantage on saving throws against the Frightful Presence or fear aura of that dragon breed. If a chosen creature is already Frightened by that effect, it can immediately repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Dragon Hatred. Dragons can sense dragon sinew strings within 120 feet unless the instrument is hidden by lead, extradimensional storage, or similarly strong magic. A dragon that identifies the strings usually becomes hostile or deeply suspicious. In combat, a dragon is likely to treat the bard as a priority target.
Balance Note. The +1 bonus should not stack with another item or feature that directly improves Bardic Inspiration in the same way. Use the strongest applicable benefit.
Dragon Sinew Strings, Pathfinder 1e / 3.5e
Special Instrument Component
Dragon sinew strings must be fitted to a stringed instrument. The instrument must be completely equipped with dragon sinew strings to gain the benefit. Mixing dragon sinew with ordinary strings grants no magical benefit.
A bard using an instrument strung with dragon sinew increases the bonus granted by inspire courage by +1.
For example, if the bard would normally grant a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls, the instrument increases those bonuses to +2.
In addition, while the bard continues playing, all allies within hearing range gain immunity to the frightful presence of the dragon breed from which the sinew was taken. This immunity lasts as long as the bard continues playing and for 1 round thereafter.
A bard using white dragon sinew strings protects listeners against the frightful presence of white dragons, but not against the frightful presence of red, green, black, blue, metallic, or other dragons.
Dragon Hatred. Dragons are aware of this use of their sinew and can sense when an instrument is strung with it. A dragon encountering a bard with such an instrument has its starting attitude moved one step toward hostile. In battle, a dragon almost certainly treats the bard as a primary target, assuming the instrument may contain the sinew of its own kind.
Stacking Note. This item improves inspire courage by +1. It should not stack with another item or special material that increases the same inspire courage bonus unless the GM deliberately wants higher bardic performance bonuses in the campaign.
String, Dragon Sinew
Ultimate Equipment Guide II
Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2005
Notes struck on an instrument strung with strings of dragon sinew evoke a powerful, martial flavour in every piece of music, filling the hearts of the listener with a sense of bravery and strength. This bolsters the bard’s inspire courage ability, increasing the bonus he grants his allies by +1. For example, a 6th level bard using an instrument with strings of dragon sinew could grant his allies a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +2 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls, rather than the +1 bonus to each the bard would normally be able to bestow.
Additionally, a bard using an instrument with dragon sinew strings can provide everyone within hearing range of his music with complete immunity from the frightful presence effect of the breed of dragon from which the strings were taken. For example, a bard using an instrument strung with white dragon sinew strings could offer everyone able to hear his music immunity to the frightful presence of a white dragon, but the strings would offer no particular help against the frightful presence of a green dragon.
This immunity to frightful presence lasts as long as the bard continues playing, and for one round thereafter. Dragons are well aware of this use of their sinew, and of its effects. Further, dragons can sense when an instrument is strung with dragon sinew. A dragon will almost certainly make a bard playing music his primary target in battle, on the assumption that the instrument is strung with the sinew of the dragon’s own kind.
Further, all dragons will have their reaction moved one category toward hostile for any bard with an instrument strung with dragon sinew. Unlike most strings, dragon sinew cannot be combined with other strings; the bard must completely equip his instrument with dragon sinew strings in order to gain the benefits of these strings. Note that while Seamus will not sell the sinew of the metallic, or good, dragons in his shop, they are available at the prices listed below from some less reputable dealers.
- Black Dragon Sinew: 310 gp per string
- Blue Dragon Sinew: 350 gp per string
- Brass Dragon Sinew: 320 gp per string
- Bronze Dragon Sinew: 360 gp per string
- Copper Dragon Sinew: 340 gp per string
- Gold Dragon Sinew: 420 gp per string
- Green Dragon Sinew: 330gp per string
- Red Dragon Sinew: 380 gp per string
- Silver Dragon Sinew: 400 gp per string
- White Dragon Sinew: 280 gp per string
Dragon Sinew String Prices
These prices are per string. An instrument must be fully fitted with dragon sinew strings to gain the benefit.
| Dragon Breed | Price per String |
|---|---|
| White Dragon Sinew | 280 gp |
| Black Dragon Sinew | 310 gp |
| Brass Dragon Sinew | 320 gp |
| Green Dragon Sinew | 330 gp |
| Copper Dragon Sinew | 340 gp |
| Blue Dragon Sinew | 350 gp |
| Bronze Dragon Sinew | 360 gp |
| Red Dragon Sinew | 380 gp |
| Silver Dragon Sinew | 400 gp |
| Gold Dragon Sinew | 420 gp |
Full Instrument Cost
The full cost depends on the instrument.
| Instrument | Typical Strings | Example Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rebec or fiddle-like instrument | 3–4 strings | 840–1,680 gp |
| Simple lyre | 4–7 strings | 1,120–2,940 gp |
| Lute | 6–12 strings | 1,680–5,040 gp |
| Harp | 10+ strings | Usually bespoke and extremely costly |
For most campaigns, a four-string instrument is the best default. It keeps the item expensive and special without making it unusable.
How It Is Used
Dragon sinew strings are for bards who expect danger. They suit war songs, dragon hunts, mercenary marches, heroic lays, and desperate last stands.
The item should make the bard feel more important in battle, but also more exposed. When a dragon enters the scene, the instrument becomes a tactical problem. Does the bard keep playing and draw the dragon’s fury, or stop and protect themselves?
That decision is the point of the item.
Failure, Risk, and Misuse
| Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|
| The wrong dragon breed appears | The frightful presence protection does not apply. |
| A dragon senses the strings | The bard becomes a priority target. |
| The strings came from a metallic dragon | Metallic dragons, honour-bound courts, and some temples may treat the item as evidence of murder or desecration. |
| The instrument is damaged | The benefit may be lost until the full set is repaired or replaced. |
| The bard boasts about the strings | The story may reach the dragon’s kin, servants, cult, or enemies. |
| The set is counterfeit | The instrument sounds impressive but grants no benefit. |
Value in the World
Dragon sinew is valuable because it is rare, portable, and dangerous to obtain. A small bundle of properly cured sinew may be worth more than a pack animal loaded with ordinary goods.
Reputable craftsmen may refuse to work with it, especially if it comes from metallic dragons. Less reputable dealers, trophy-brokers, battlefield scavengers, dragon-hunters, and black-market luthiers may treat it as a prized material.
The moral weight of the item depends on its source. Sinew taken from a red dragon that burned villages is not judged the same way as sinew stripped from a murdered silver dragon.
Trade and Craft
Dragon sinew strings require careful harvesting, curing, stretching, and fitting. Badly prepared sinew becomes brittle, unstable, or impossible to tune. Poorly fitted sinew may snap, refuse to hold pitch, or fail to carry the magical resonance needed for bardic performance.
Most honest makers insist on knowing the source of the sinew before working with it. Less honest ones ask no questions and charge more.
Counterfeit sets are common. These usually contain dyed gut, wyvern sinew, giant tendon, or one true dragon sinew string mixed with ordinary strings. Such instruments may sound impressive, but they grant no magical benefit.
Adventure and Worldbuilding Hooks
The Wrong Trophy: A noble displays gold dragon sinew strings and claims they came from an ancient corpse. A living gold dragon arrives to challenge the lie, demanding proof, restitution, or blood. The party must discover whether the noble bought a relic, commissioned a murder, or is being framed by someone who wants dragonfire brought down on the court.
The Last String: A dying dragon offers the bard a strand of its own sinew, but only if the party swears to carry its final song to the one who betrayed it. The gift is powerful, lawful, and dangerous: other dragons may still see the instrument as desecration unless the bard can prove the sinew was freely given.
The Sinew Sings Back: The bard’s instrument begins to vibrate whenever a dragon of the same bloodline draws near. At first this warns the party of danger, but the resonance works both ways: the dragon can hear the strings answering, and knows that part of its kin is being carried by an enemy.
Historical Context
Dragon sinew strings build on the real history of stringed instruments, where carefully prepared organic materials such as gut were used to produce tone, tension, and resonance. In a fantasy campaign, dragon sinew turns that practical craft tradition into something more dangerous: a musical material that is also a trophy, a provocation, and a relic of a slain monster.
For useful background on the development of European string instruments, see the Bate Collection’s page on String Instruments. For broader examples of historical plucked instruments, see the National Music Museum’s Plucked Strings collection.