Fey Troupers

Those who wield fey magic for the purposes of entertaining.

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Balladeer

A musician who weaves incredible tales in their songs.

Balladeers are wandering musicians and singers whose power comes from the depths of the most ancient and powerful stories. These stories are so old as to be mythical or archetypal, and many balladeers know multiple cultural variations on them, adjusting them to their audience. They learn these songs and stories from other balladeers, but learning to wield their magical power requires one of two methods: making a deal with a powerful fey or immersing themselves in one of the stories and living through it. The latter requires a magical ritual that other balladeers whisper about. If they choose the immersion method, they will end up with various motivations, geases, curses, and/or characteristics because of it.

Powers may vary depending on the stories they carry, but some common ones include the following:

• Song of Cycles: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer senses the versions of their story that came before or might come after and has the choice to absorb that story for various effects based on that story. Difficulty 17.

• Song of the Hero: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer has the option of performing an heroic sacrifice to empower all of their allies. Difficulty 14.

• Song of the Slayer: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer may select one foe or being that is their chosen nemesis and gains bonuses against them for up to a year. Difficulty 14.

• Song of Rising: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer may choose one of their passion motivations to gain bonuses to pursuing. Difficulty 14.

• Song of Questing: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer is inflicted with a geas, a quest they must complete. Difficulty 17.

• Song of Return: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer needs to return home and will gain bonuses to trying to do so. Difficulty 14.

• Song of Farce: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer gains bonuses to doing something funny. Difficulty 14.

• Song of Tragedy: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer risks death or loss if they do not radically alter their story. Difficulty 17.

Other songs are possible. Consult the GM.

Balladeers come from a fey tradition.

PRO +1 ATH / STR / AWA +2 WIL / PRS +3 STH +1

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Fabulist

A bard whose stories draw from ancient and powerful legends.

Bards are traditionally employed by a leader or group to maintain oral traditions, entertain, maintain genealogies, and praise the leader or group. Fabulists may be employed in this fashion, or they may be wandering entertainers who keep these practices from their nation, culture, or community.

Fabulists are wandering storytellers, oral historians, poets, musicians, and genealogists whose power comes from the depths of the most ancient and powerful stories. These stories are so old as to be mythical or archetypal, and many balladeers know multiple cultural variations on them, adjusting them to their audience. They learn their traditions from other fabulists, but learning to wield their magical power requires one of two methods: making a deal with a powerful fey or immersing themselves in one of the stories and living through it. The latter requires a magical ritual that other balladeers whisper about. If they choose the immersion method, they will end up with various motivations, geases, curses, and/or characteristics because of it.

• Most ancient tale: the fabulist can tell a story - taking no less than ten minutes to tell and no more than ten days - that evokes the ancient roots of all who hear it, revealing their roots and thus their present selves, showing weaknesses and strengths, and stirring deep within them their primordial forms. Difficulty 17.

• Epic poem: the fabulist can write and/or recite an epic poem telling tales of mythic adventure and give bonuses to PRO, AWA, and STH to any allies who hear it. Difficulty 14. Bonuses vary by success level.

• Song of cycles: anyone who hears this song and is chosen by the balladeer senses the versions of their story that came before or might come after and has the choice to absorb that story for various effects based on that story. Difficulty 17.

• Legend lore: fabulists know the stories, myths, and legends of their own cultures and others.

• Bloodline tracing: the fabulist’s knowledge of genealogy may be rolled when meeting someone and learning their full name (not True Name, though that works, too) to see what they know of their family history.

• Archetypal commentary: the fabulist can read a person and see what story archetype they fit, then use that to mock and taunt them into foolish actions or to encourage and support them wisely.

• Invocation of the lore: the fabulist may invoke the lore of stories and force a consequence based on “how stories should go”.

• Mythic persona: the fabulist can awaken the mythic or primordial form of themselves or others with a telling of a relevant tale.

Fabulists may have other abilities. Consult the GM.

PRO / ATH / STR / AWA +3 WIL +1 PRS +3 STH +1

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Gasconist

A bard whose boasting and talltales create powerful exaggerations.

Bards are traditionally employed by a leader or group to maintain oral traditions, entertain, maintain genealogies, and praise the leader or group. Gasconists may be employed in this fashion, or they may be wandering entertainers who keep these practices from their nation, culture, or community.

The abilities of a gasconist come from tall tales. To be a gasconist, one must practice the telling of tall tales and boasts. The more they do this, the more they believe in the bullshit they spew, the more humorous or moral their tall tales are, the more they explain the world or just entertain, the more power they gain. If they are aware enough to notice the magic develop or if they have been taught to do so, they may tap into it and exaggerate themselves into special powers.

• Tall tale: the gasconist may tell a story - taking no less than ten minutes to tell and no more than ten days - of absurd proportions and features, making bold claims and exaggerations, and give any listeners exaggerations of their best stats for the same amount of time it took to tell the story. Difficulty 14, +3 per target above three.

• Unlikely poetry: the gasconist can write and/or recite a poem that makes unlikely claims, absurd styles, or silly punnery and lighten the hearts of any who hear or read it, giving them high die on their next rolls (number of rolls determined by success level). Difficulty 14.

• Hyperbolic song: the gasconist can write and/or perform a song that makes hyperbolic claims that give listeners increased confidence, allowing them +1 to +6 depending on success level. Difficulty 14.

• Exaggerated history: the gasconist knows a version of history that makes everyone larger than life.

• Bloodline tracing: the gaconist’s knowledge of genealogy may be rolled when meeting someone and learning their full name (not True Name, though that works, too) to see what they know of their family history.

• Boast: the gasconist can make a boast about their abilities that seems unbelievable. If they can convince three or more people it is true, they can roll their PRS, +3 per target above three, to make it temporarily true.

• Invocation of claims: the gasconist can invoke past unlikely claims they have made in tall tale, song, poem, history recitation, or boast and roll WIL to try to make it true.

• Exaggerated form: the gasconist can take an exaggerated form for up to three rounds, at the cost of an exaggerated reversal afterward for nine rounds.

Other powers may be possible. Consult the GM.

PRO +1 ATH +1 STR / AWA +2 WIL -1 PRS +3 STH -1

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Thespian

An actor whose performances tell stories so powerful the characters come alive.

Thespians gain their abilities by performing stories on stage. If the stories are amongst the ancient ones, the powerful ones, and if they perform well enough, they may embody the stories, characters, plots, or themes well enough to draw magical power from them. Some gain this ability from deals with the fey, and some gain this by being so skilled at performance that the energies cannot escape them. The risk they run is that if they perform too well, they might end up never leaving the performance.

They gain different abilities from different performances. The role they play or the story they are performing might give different abilities, but the energies present will always be fey, even if the character or story has a different energy represented in it. The more it is associated with a different energy, the less real it is - performances of infernal, celestial, unaligned, or elemental energies will be fully illusory, performances of fey energies will be much more real.

The general theme of the abilities they gain is the ability to embody a different character or set of characters within the story, using their magic outside the performance as they carry it with them afterward. They gain magic based on the skill of their performance and response of the audience. The better the performance and response, the longer they carry the energies with them.

PRO +1 ATH +1 STR / AWA +1 WIL / PRS +3 STH +1