Barding is a Skill which can be practiced by player characters in Betrayal at Krondor. It allows the party to earn funds at Inns and Taverns by playing a musical instrument.
Overview
A lute is available for Barding at most Inns and Taverns. When the party interacts with it, the party member with the highest Barding Skill will attempt to play This Kingdom Mine. Payout is modified by the player's Skill level; at a very low level, the party is kicked out for playing badly and can return to try again, while at higher levels, the party receives progressively higher fees for their performance from each Inn and Tavern they Bard at.
With one exception, each performance good enough to receive a fee taps out the establishment's entertainment fund for the remainder of the chapter, also preventing Gambling if there is a Gambler present. Likewise, if the party Gambles and wins, no Barding fee is available for the remainder of the chapter. The party can return in subsequent chapters to Bard again.
Increasing Skill
The entire party's Barding Skills can increase when they attempt to Bard at an Inn or Tavern, especially when Barding is the only Skill selected. They can also receive Barding boosts by meeting Tamney the Minstrel or, individually, by purchasing and using a Practice Lute.
Rewards
Inns and Taverns that have a barding funds include (with reward at skill level 100%):
| Zone | Place | Name | Reward
(Ch 1) |
Reward
(Ch 2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaMut | The Blue Wheel Inn | 60 | |
| 1 | Hawks's Hollow | The Dusty Dwarf Inn | 70 | |
| 2 | Questor's View | Babon's Hostel | 60 | |
| 2 | Eggley | The Stranger Inn | 150 | |
| 2 | Tanneurs | Tom's Tavern | 30/ 130/ 180 | |
| 2 | Krondor | Rainbow Parrot Inn | 180 | |
| 3 | Darkmoor | Darkmoor's Rest | 100 | |
| 3 | Malac's Cross | Queen's Row Inn | 85 | |
| 3 | Lyton | The Wayside | 105 | |
| 3 | Silden | Anchorhead Tavern | 55 | |
| 3 | Two Inns Sector | Rapid Rooks Inn | 60 | |
| 3 | Two Inns Sector | River Pilot's Folly | 95 | |
| 3 | Romney | The Black Sheep Tavern | 95 | |
| 4 | Prank's Stone | The Flying Sow | 86 | |
| 4 | Cavall Keep (South) | Lapping Meadows | 122 | |
| 4 | Cavall Keep | Duck's Head Inn | 130 | |
| 4 | Kenting Rush | Dagger 'n Star Tavern | 65 | |
| 4 | Kenting Rush | Candlemaker's Grin | 99 | |
| 5 | Dencamp | Dencamp on the Teeth | 55 | |
| 5 | Wolfram | Wolf's Teeth | 65 | |
| 5 | Highcastle | Ranger's Hall | 55 | |
| 5 | Eldpoint | The Royal Bed | 110 |
Trivia
- Due to the locations in which the chapters take place, there are no opportunities for Barding in Chapters 7, 8, and 9.
- Despite its patriotic bent, This Kingdom Mine is just as well received in the Northlands as in the Kingdom of the Isles.