Troubadour Tales: Elite Specialization Storytelling

Hey there, heroes of Tyria! Kent Benson here, from the Guild Wars 2® Narrative Team, with a behind-the-scenes look at the troubadour tales. Troubadours are one of the nine new elite specializations introduced in Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity™ and for my part, I was tapped to help with the character brainstorming and write the healing, utility, and elite skill’s tales, which I will be speaking to today.

Tales behind the Tales

The concept of a musically themed spellcaster has been around for some time, since the red-herring reveal of the minstrel prior to Guild Wars 2‘s launch. It was an intentional misdirection at the time, but the desire to return to the theme remained over the years. We’ve made rare mention of bards in our world, but musicians are frequently depicted, from the down-on-his-luck minstrel in Lion’s Arch to the head-banging styles of the Metal Legion. The decision to tie the troubadour’s narrative to the sylvari came after the core mechanics of the elite specialization had been established.

For the troubadour, we knew we wanted it to have stronger musical elements than any previous attempt, with some caveats. For example, we knew the tales themselves could be poetic and even somewhat rhythmic, but they could not be sung. They also had to be short and punchy enough for combat, which ultimately became a fun challenge for me.

With the themes and design parameters established, we can dive further into the storied subjects of each of the tales. Be warned! Various story spoilers for Guild Wars 2 and Guild Wars 2–adjacent stories are ahead.

In early brainstorming, the team tossed around the idea of the healing skill—with its themes of restoration, rest, and mercy—being represented by a broader concept, depicting a place or an event. There was talk about the restoration of Lion’s Arch, the purifying of the Dragonbrand, or just the idea of Tyria dusting itself off after the end of the dragon cycle. We decided that a concept that broad would be harder to convey, so we pivoted.

Rebuilding, restoration; themes like these tend to be represented in Tyria’s background over longer periods of time and are not often defined by a single person or figurehead. In Aurene, there was the clearest representation of the skill’s themes, both figuratively and literally. After we settled on her, we chose to narrow the tale’s focus from her ascension to her departure from Shing Jea’s shore to wherever she rests, maintaining the balance of Tyria’s magic.

In Seitung Province, children can often be heard reciting the verses on their way to school, some wearing sparkling baubles made from polished pieces of the prismatic crystal left by Aurene near the oceanside cave. In the Labyrinthine Cliffs, members of the Zephyrite choir can be heard putting the lines to song for vocal warm-ups, singing to their former charge—wherever she has claimed rest.

For what was originally known as “Utility Skill 1,” the themes presented were keywords like “action,” “aggression,” “power,” and “enthusiasm” for a skill meant to bolster allies with more offensive boons. There were several characters that could have fit the bill, but of that list, only one of them was already the storied subject of song: Almorra Soulkeeper. The idea came to be that after Metal Legion’s breakup (and their lack of musical copyright claim), musicians, poets, and troubadours continued to freely spread their renditions of the popular “Ballad of Soulkeeper,” especially as word of her death reached the masses.

These days, new Vigil recruits come from far and wide not just to become defenders of Tyria, but to learn and pay tribute to the founder’s legacy—sometimes with song. This teases the slightest of smiles out of General Jhavi Jorasdottir, a norn familiar with skalds of…well…varying levels of talent.

With Utility Skill 2 came a new set of themes, such as “haste,” “escape,” and “agility.” The tale had to represent a character and particular kind of moment with heightened stakes. In our game, finding this sort of moment is tricky, since most moments of retreat and escape tend to happen to our own characters, whether it was being hunted by the Faolain-faced vinetooth, escaping the prison under the Mordant Cresent Hall, or fleeing Kralkatorrik in the Mists. So, in this instance, we turned to stories beyond the game.

Those familiar with the legendary dagger the Claw of the Khan-Ur may also be familiar with how the charr came to possess it again. Former-soldier-turned-thief Dougal Keane was already no stranger to quick getaways and narrow escapes when he was “recruited” to recover the ancient charr blade from Ascalon City. Dancing close to death on numerous occasions, Dougal and some of his crew were able to retrieve the dagger and escape the haunted city with their lives. Through his cunning, daring, cooperation, and—let’s face it—sheer luck, Dougal Keane escaped many harrowing encounters. Now, you too can inspire yourself with his tale of pluck and ploy.
The honorable rogue himself would never admit to listening to the tale wherever his work takes him; however, the keen-eyed might spot him in some dingy corner of a tavern, quietly raising a glass to his former comrades.

“Resilience,” “resistance,” and “fortitude” are some of the key themes associated with the third utility skill. We considered many figures that could fill this role, but ultimately we felt it fitting to pay tribute to a hero not just important to the sylvari but also tied to the Pact commander. Trahearne, one of the Pale Tree’s Firstborn and a scholar of Orr, was further thrust into the fray against the Elder Dragon Zhaitan at Claw Island at a sobering moment for Tyria. Rallying the leadership of the Vigil, Durmand Priory, and Order of Whispers, Trahearne proposed a pact between the three orders. The order leaders appointed him as Pact Marshal, and we stood and fought by his side, retaking Claw Island and then Orr itself.

Of course, Trahearne’s story did not end there, but for the purpose of the skill’s themes and length constraints, we opted to focus on his journey in the personal story as opposed to what came after, where Trahearne was less present overall.

Today, as sylvari attendants care for the Pale Tree and the Tree Tenders attempt to undo the root damage done by Mordremoth’s shadow, some whisper Trahearne’s tale as they work. In her most lucid moments, the Pale Tree smiles softly, mournful in color but glowing with pride.

If Trahearne’s tale was written as a point of sylvari pride, the Tale of the Tortured Mastermind would serve as a biting reminder. “Mockery,” “doubt,” and “debasement” were some of the themes presented to us for the fourth utility skill. While several foes over the years have been as cutting with their words as their blades, a select few seemed to have a special knack for it. In the end, Scarlet Briar pulled ahead of the competition by a hair.

When writing this tale, we liked the idea of seeding elements of Scarlet’s own barbs and jabs from the “Clockwork Chaos” episode of Living World Season 1, her grand debut. For that reason, this tale was a challenge to conceive. Scarlet, like one or two other villains in our game, became somewhat fixated on the commander and their allies as they interfered with her plans time and again. For any practiced mesmer, it would be hard to deny that the sylvari had a flair for the dramatic.

On the Grove’s quieter nights, when the Pale Tree’s clarity wanes and her injuries flare, she claims to hear her lost daughter’s voice, her cries, and her laughter—the maddened cackle that would have ushered Tyria into oblivion.

It was clear to us early on that the elite skill tale would be about Queen Jennah, one of the more prominent and skilled mesmers of present-day Tyria. Trained from a young age in mesmer magic by the best in the Shining Blade at King Linus’s behest, Princess Jennah displayed an aptitude for the craft that put her on a level with her more senior peers, such as her friend and later advisor, Countess Anise.

It was important to us to touch on the fact that the queen, while royalty, is underestimated and unassuming. Because of that, we wanted her tale to pull elements from what we felt was a defining moment in the story for her character. In the fourth chapter of Living World Season 3, Jennah engages the White Mantle with lethal, mind-breaking power and shelters much of the city with her own magic in an intimidating, full-bloom display of mesmeric mastery.

These days, when the troubadour’s tale carries through the royal promenade and up though the palace windows of her dawn-lit private chambers, the queen will conjure an illusionary saber and practice her forms against an invisible foe. Always, she finishes with a flourish, face-to-face with a dusty wardrobe in the corner. She smiles, opening it for but a moment and closing it soon after. Memories of youthful daring and adventure fill her morning thoughts.