A player asked me a question over the weekend about bardic screams, and I put it on my list to look at today. His question was.. what are the contests?? Most spells and abilities get released without details like that, but over time players are able to suss it out. That hasn't really happened with screams. Can we know what they do?!

So I looked at it today.. and I couldn't tell. Bardic screams are handled a bit differently than other abilities in that they use special combat attack mechanics (the same mechs that creatures use). I am not skilled enough with the code to follow it through all of those rabbit holes.. but @Zadraes#5418 is! He spent quite a while today digging into it for me.

I present to you:

defiance
-- Initial: (Buffed) charisma is contested against a 1-100 random to determine if you break the stun or not.
-- Pulses: Similar contest, but not as in-your-favor as the initial one.
-- Gets a barrier-like effect to reduce incoming damage for a time -- both a % reduction based on your mojo and then a cap that effectively eliminates low-level damage.

havoc
-- (Buffed) bardic lore with a charisma-based buff (every 5 charisma = 1% bonus) is "attacker's" skill
-- weapon template: impact > puncture > slice || weakest 'impact' of havoc/dissonance/concussive
-- can be evaded, cannot be parried, can be shield blocked, reflex aids the defender, armor doesn't matter and damage isn't done
-- inflicts a balance hit based on how successful the 'hit' was
-- hits that are strong enough can push back engagement range
-- hits that are really strong can knock the target prone
-- if already at missile range, it could do an additional balance hit

dissonance
-- (Buffed) bardic lore with a charisma-based buff (every 5 charisma = 1% bonus) is "attacker's" skill
-- weapon template: impact > puncture > slice || strongest 'impact' of havoc/dissonance/concussive
-- can be evaded, cannot be parried, can be shield blocked, reflex assists defender, armor helps, damage is done
-- if it hits, it does damage using combat's damage-dealing utility and has a bonused chance to stun the target

concussive
-- (Buffed) bardic lore with a charisma-based buff (every 5 charisma = 1% bonus) is "attacker's" skill
-- weapon template: impact > puncture > slice || middle 'impact' value of havoc/dissonance/concussive
-- can be evaded, cannot be parried, can be shield blocked, reflex aids defender, armor helps, does damage
-- if it hits, it does damage using combat's damage-dealing utility, can stun but not a bonused chance

... now, here you might say "Dissonance?! What the heck is dissonance?!" Well, apparently there's another scream in there that hasn't been released! Once again Zadraes to the rescue. Stand outside and type SCREAM HELP!

~ L