Language of Music

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez

Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2005

Written centuries ago by a society of bards, Language of Music describes a means of embedding a coded message within the notes of a musical performance. A musician who has mastered the code can pass messages or give orders to any others able to understand the code while performing his piece before an oblivious crowd. The musical code has even been used by armies in the past, marshalling troops and coordinating attacks with little more than a few notes of music. The code has the capacity for nearly infinite variety; the meaning of the musical notes can easily be altered to make certain that the message conveyed through the music remains secret to everyone who does not know the specific variation on the code the musician is using. There is also a ‘base’ code the musician can use, one which can be understood by anyone with knowledge of the code contained in Language of Music. Embedding a code into a piece of music requires a Perform skill check with a DC equal to ten + one for every two words used in the message.
Understanding a coded message requires both knowledge of the variation on the code being used, and a Perform skill check with a DC equal to the DC required to embed the message in the first place.

Language of Music: 550 gp; 9 lb.