For each time this skill is bought, a gypsy may bestow or remove one Gypsy Curse per day. (Be warned, however, that there is a strong cultural bias among the gypsy tribes about re- moving other gypsies’ curses without express permission from the curser or the tribe’s leader.) A gypsy should not bestow a curse on an- other unless he or she feels that the offending being has somehow insulted them or threatened their well-being.
This curse is intended to entertain through humor or drama. If it becomes overly burden- some or embarrassing out-of-game, it is not en- tertaining. At the time the Curse is cast, a player who would suffer out-of-game embarrassment or difficulty with role-playing the Curse may
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negotiate out-of-game for a different Curse. However, he or she must eventually accept one of the listed Curses.
In order to bestow a Curse, the gypsy must be able to see the victim and must be able to speak. Note that this skill is not packet-deliv- ered.
You may not bestow a Curse if Silenced, unconscious, or blindfolded. The gypsy can even be bound or magically held and still be able to cast a Curse as long as they can still talk and see the victim. The Curse will pass through a Ward, Wall of Force, Wizard Lock, Circle of
Power, or any other magical barrier since the curse is not magical.
The Curse takes effect immediately upon the completion of the Curse verbal. The victim has to hear the Curse being given by the gypsy. (Unconscious victims cannot be Cursed.) The effects aren’t noticeable until the victim is given all applicable props, instructions, etc. A Hold should not be called unless absolutely neces- sary.
The Curse will remain in affect until re- moved by a Remove Gypsy Curse or by the res- urrection of the victim.
In order to remove a Curse, a gypsy must simply touch the Cursed character and state “Your Curse is Removed.” The Cursed charac- ter must be willing and conscious. Note that this uses one of the character’s Gypsy Curses for the day. One Remove Gypsy Curse will rid the victim of all active Gypsy Curses.
Ideally, removal of the Curse should be role-played out with the kind of great theatrical spectacle that gypsies love. Lots of bell ring- ing, incense burning and requiring the person who is having the Curse removed walk back- wards or do other silly things fits right in with the gypsy character even if these things do not actually remove the Curse. (After all, making
non-gypsies look foolish is a favorite gypsy pastime.) The character who needs the Curse removed should probably not be aware that all of these things are unnecessary, for what gypsy would reveal a secret like that?
Spell defenses do not block Gypsy Curses, nor can they be Dodged or Resisted. Gypsy
Curses are not magical, and so cannot be re- moved by a Dispel Magic, or even the Destroy
Magic effects of Formal Magic.
Gypsy verbals are unlike spell verbals, al- though like spell verbals they must be stated in a voice that is heard and understood by every- one. They all begin with a little personalized prefix of the gypsy’s choice, such as “May a thousand ills befall me if. . .”, “May my favor- ite horse break all his legs if. . .”, “May I suffer a long and painful death if. . .” and so on. Gyp- sies are encouraged to come up with their own colorful prefixes.
Gypsy Curses are all role-playing Curses only. The Cursed player should not allow the Curse to hinder or prevent the use of any Game Ability in any way. You can still fight, cast, use alchemy, perform ritual magics, and use any skill while Cursed. The Curse is not intended as a combat effect and should never affect safety in combat.
The Cursed player should try to act out the effects of the Curse as often and completely as possible. The Curse is intended as an in-game nuisance, embarrassment, and hindrance.
Following is a list of Curses that are al- lowed. You are not allowed to create your own curses.
Uncontrollable Action: “(Individual pre- fix) if you do not ______ with every thing you do and say!” Fill in the blank with some incon- sequential but annoying action like the follow- ing: Rhyme, bark, laugh, jump, sing, sneeze, skip, cough, whistle, limp, trip, spin, cry, etc.
Effects: The Cursed character must attempt to make all sentences rhyme, will constantly
trip, giggle or sneeze uncontrollably, or will oth- erwise abide by the requirement of the curse.
Deformities: “(Individual Prefix) if you do not _______!” Fill in the blank with some- thing along the following lines: Grow a pig’s tail, grow warts upon your face, sprout the mane of a lion, etc.
Effects: The player must wear the appro- priate makeup or mask to simulate the change of appearance. These items must be supplied by the gypsy bestowing the Curse.
A player may refuse to wear a mask or appendage if he or she feels it may be a hin- drance in combat or a safety hazard, and can refuse to wear makeup in the case of allergies or similar reasons. In these cases, the gypsy may replace the Curse with another from the Curse list, such as an Uncontrollable Action or Per- sonality Change.
A Deformity curse may not be used to simulate the appearance of another race or monster (no vampire fangs, no elf ears, no ghoul’s claws, etc.). It may only be used to simu- late the features of real life animals or deformi- ties. No such deformities can ever be used of- fensively as weapons.
This Curse cannot be used to disguise someone. Anyone affected by the Curse should still be recognizable as their character.
Personality Changes: The following two Curses can affect how your character thinks or acts in-game. It is entirely up to the affected player to decide how to properly role-play a given Curse, not the gypsy who bestowed it.
1. “(Individual Prefix) if you do not help those less fortunate than yourself!”
Effects: The affected character will attempt to aid any non-hostile player they see in trouble or that requests help.
2. “(Individual Prefix) if you do not be- come the opposite of yourself!”
Effects: The affected character should take
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some significant facet of their personality andreverse it. A greedy character may become a philanthropist, a cowardly character might charge bravely into conflict, and a normally peaceful and reasonable character might be- come aggressive and short-tempered. Note that this should be an important aspect of your char- acter that changes. Saying “before I was cursed, my favorite color was blue, but now that I have been cursed, it’s green” is certainly not in the spirit of this rule.
This Curse does not act as a Dominate ef- fect; it does not necessarily turn the antagonis- tic Cursed victim into the gypsy’s best friend. Remember, it is the affected player’s choice as to how his or her character’s personality is af- fected.