The Mathemusicians

The Fraternity of Order believes in reductionism on an abstract, theoretical level. The Mathematicians of Mechanus attempt to apply reductionist theory in actual practice to the infinite complexity of Mechanus' clockworks. The beliefs of the Mathemusicians go one step beyond reductionism - perhaps translationism would be the word for it? According to the Mathemusicians, if everything can ultimately be reduced to such atomics as numbers and rules, then everything can, when seen in enough detail, be interpreted as anything else. The pattern, trajectory and speed of the flight of a flock of birds, could reduced the numbers describing that phenomenon, and those numbers could be translated into a mathematical equation.   The complex, programmed sequences of a mechanical clockwork construct (even, in theory, one of infinite size) can be reduced to numbers which can be translated into musical notation. The Mathemusicians believe that since everything can be reduced to abstract primitives, it is their task to translate everything they can into the pure, abstract, and beautiful of abstractions - music. They are currently obsessed with recording and comprehending the entire mechanical program sequence of Mechanus' gears, much like the Fraternity of Order and the Mathematicians, only their ultimate end intended for this information is to translate it into one immense, sprawling masterpiece of bewildering complexity, insanely elaborate counterpoint, and melody so long-range as to sound utterly aims to human comprehension.   Eligibility: Just like the Mathematicians a Mathemusician requires an Intelligence Score of at least 17, in addition they need a Dexterity Score of 12. A character joining the Mathemusicians is required to be of the Bard class.   Special Benefits: Like their companions, the Mathematicians, their keen minds, devotion to the study of patterns, and day-to-day living on Mechanus has given them an intimate familiarity with the Labyrinthine Portal. They can calculate, in 1d3 turns, the correct path to any location within Mechanus that they have either been to or have had described to them in intimate detail.   Mathemusicians can also use their intelligence ability score instead of their charisma ability score for the purpose of their class mechanics like spellcasting or bardic inspiration.   Their music is also, when attended to closely enough, extremely captivating, at least to certain kinds of people. Anyone who begins to pay attention to a Mathemusician's playing must roll over (not under!) their Intelligence on a d20, or become so enraptured in its subtleties that they lose all track of the world around them and become lost in a world of musical abstraction. The DM may wish to assign bonuses or penalties to the roll according to the musical tastes of the target.   Special Restrictions: Because their musical compositions are oriented more as expressions of their philosophy than as works of art intended to capture the human heart, they lack the normal bardic ability to sway the reactions of crowds, and to inspire their allies in battle. As a result they recieve a -2 penalty on all charisma skill checks that deal with the manipulation of larger groups, like persuating a group of bashers to leave a tavern.