MAXIMUM MIGHT SCORE:
(Sympathy Traits x 5)
The Captivating Total must exceed the faerie’s Might to succeed, and must penetrate its Magic Resistance (though as usual the summoner can add his highest ap- plicable Sympathy Trait to his Penetration score). If the faerie is held by a successful Summoning (one that penetrated its Magic Resistance), treat the effect level as 0 when calculating the Penetration Total, otherwise the effect level is the faerie’s Might Score. For example, to change places with a Faerie Might 20 faerie, the summoner would need a Captivating Total + Penetration bonus of 40, or 20 if the faerie were held by a suc- cessful Summoning.
If the effect penetrates, the summoner and the faerie immediately switch places. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to have the players trade character sheets. The sum- moner can do whatever it likes with the fa- erie, and the faerie has complete control over the summoner. They do not trade their mem- ories, but they do effectively trade minds, so that either character can cast spells on itself to learn about that character’s past actions. The only limitation is that the exchange does not affect either character’s Personal- ity Traits or Confidence Points (and Faith Points, if the summoner has True Faith), and the summoner also takes his Sympathy Traits with him.
Either party can try to cancel the ex- change at will, which faeries usually do when the terms of their bargain with the summoner expire. If the other does not wi sh to relinquish control, they have an emo- tional struggle for dominance. Both players should choose a Personality Trait that they agree is appropriate to the circumstances and what the character is currently doing — for example, if the summoner’s body is sleeping, the faerie’s Slothful Trait might best apply, while the summoner might use his Impatient Trait. If the character has no appropriate Personality Traits, treat this as a Trait with a score of 0. If the summoner character has Sympathy Traits appropriate to the faerie he is captivating, that player adds them to his total. Both players then add a stress die roll, and compare the re- sults. If one of them has a higher total than
the other, that player may decide whether or not to end the exchange.
Captivating is a powerful, continuous effect that warps the summoner over time, giving his body 1 Warping Point every sea- son, and another one every year. However, because the summoner’s body is controlled by the faerie, and the faerie is controlled by the summoner, both of them are immune to Faerie Calling for as long as the exchange lasts. It is a risky but effective route to im- mortality, and a compelling way for a sum- moner to experience Faerie without giving up his essential humanity. It is said that if the faerie dies while its body is controlled by the summoner, the exchange becomes permanent. Whether or not this is so has yet to be proven, however; others fear that in fact the faerie returns to its body and it is the summoner who dies. Most summon- ers prefer to ensure that the faerie inhabiting their body remains safe and undamaged for the duration.
Dismissing
Dismissing
Summoners who have studied the art of Dismissing have the power to undo super- natural effects made by beings with Might, and to free these beings from other effects that bind them. To do this, the summoner must expend a Fatigue level, and must speak with the being in question. As with the other Arts, he cannot affect a greater Might Score or effect Level than his Sympathy Traits allow.
DISMISSING TOTAL:
stress die + Intelligence + Dismissing
+ Faerie Rank + aura
Maximum Might Score or Effect Level:
(Sympathy Traits x 5)
Dismissing has three uses:
• The summoner can cancel any effect produced by the powers of a being with a Might Score, by exceeding the level of the effect on his Dismissing Total and penetrating the being’s Magic Re- sistance. The summoner can also deflect the use of a being’s power before it takes effect, if he beats the being’s Initiative Total on a Quickness + Finesse stress roll. (If the summoner has Finesse, he
can add his highest applicable Sympa- thy Trait to his score.) Just as magi can fast-cast spells, a summoner can try to dismiss multiple effects in one round, but he suffers a cumulative –6 penalty for each one.
• Dismissing can end the duration of any effects that target a being with a Might Score, if he penetrates that being’s Magic Resistance and exceeds the level of the cancelled effect on his Dismiss- ing Total.
• The summoner can release a being with a Might Score from the terms of an agree- ment that has supernatural force, such as a bargain made between a summoner and a faerie. To do this, the summoner must exceed the creature’s Might Score on his Dismissing Total, and must pene- trate its Magic Resistance. Many believe that through this process the summoner takes the debt upon himself, freeing the being from its obligation.
When checking for penetration, do not subtract the effect level from the Penetra- tion Total if the being is held by a success- ful Summoning effect (as above, one that penetrated its Magic Resistance). Note that the summoner can add his highest applicable Sympathy Trait to his Penetration score if he has it.
Dismissing is a good way for a summoner to make bargains with faeries that he has no intention of keeping, without suffering the loss of sympathy. While doing this does not affect the summoner’s Faerie Rank, individual faeries are likely to resent this behavior. To avoid their enmity, a shrewd summoner will always offer a faerie something of compara- ble value to the terms of the srcinal bargain in return for accepting the use of this power against it.
Pagan
Pagan
Traditions
Traditions
Many groups of pagans throughout Mythic Europe follow a particular tradition of faerie wizardry, which allows them to learn the tradition’s Favored Abilities with greater ease (see Chapter 5: Touches of Fa- erie, Learning Supernatural Abilities). Faerie
Realms of Power: Faerie
Realms of Power: Faerie
wizards may also initiate Virtues by under- going Ordeals and following an Initiation Script, like other hedge wizards do (see Hedge Magic for details). However, faerie Initiation Scripts are rare, since most wizards learn their powers from a teacher instead. Here are three examples of these groups and the Methods and Powers at which they particu- larly excel.
Note that in order to design a starting character with the power to perform Faerie rites, the player must devote at least four points of the character’s starting Virtues to a Faerie Method and a Faerie Power, and to practice Faerie Bargaining the character must have one of the four Virtues associated with the fantastic art, usually Summoning. Either sort of character must also have Sympathy Traits, either from a Virtue or a Flaw, and since his power is limited by the number of these he possesses, he will probably need several — or else a high Warping Score, so that he can increase their values to higher levels with experience.
Borrowers
Borrowers
Favored Arts:
Summoning, Bonding,Captivating, Dismissing
The Ars Fabulosa have only just be- gun to spread through Mythic Europe, and among the people who practice them is
a strange sort that call themselves “faerie borrowers.” These folk often seem espe- cially foreign and exotic — like travelers from far-off lands with odd habits and unusual customs. They may present them- selves as merchants or pilgrims, perform- ers or messengers, or even soldiers or spies for distant lords. Their primary interest is in faeries, with whom they are especially
skilled at dealing, and it is with faeries that they conduct their business. They essen- tially make their living selling goods to the faerie realm; their payment is the blessi ngs of the fae. When asked what it is that they borrow, they might answer that they bor- row the power of the faeries — though some of them “borrow” from humans as well, since not all of their wares are a lways obtained honestly.
Borrowers usually trade in novelty; they pick up strange goods from distant places, including small animals, food and drink, fine art, and even magical artifacts (such as enchanted devices or other objects contain- ing vis), and these wares often fetch a good price with faeries, since they usuallyaccept the claim that treasures from distant lands contain more vitality than items obtained locally. Through careful negotiation, Bor- rowers can sustain a burgeoning business on just a f ew fa erie bargains a year, as long as
their competition remains relatively scarce. To ensure this, they usually prefer to keep moving — which also keeps their stock
fresh, they say.
To help with the trade, Borrowers occasionally take promising children as their apprentices, usually by bargaining them away from faeries that have claimed or stolen them from their parents. While making use of prentice labor, they teach them to bargain and the intricacies of dealing with faeries, and eventually initi-
ate them into the Ars Fabulosa. Eventually they become skilled enough to take over the trade from their master, or else to set off on their own.
Ollamhain
Ollamhain
Favored Abilities:
Enchantment, Be-guile, Dream, Portage
The Ollamhain (pronounced “ah-luh- VAIN”) are Irish poets, sages, and perform- ers who have had many dealings with the Fair Folk, as they call the faeries, and who claim special kinship with them. Many of them have Faerie Blood. Their ancient songs and poems are said to contain magic when performed in the correct style — the power to see into hearts and minds, the fu- ture, and even the Faerie Realm itself. For these performances, many of them favor the Irish harp that is symbolically associ- ated with them and their island, and pass from father to son special enchanted instru-
Realms of Power: Faerie
Realms of Power: Faerie
ments that have been blessed to play espe- cially well.
Volkhvy
Volkhvy
Favored Abilities:
Evocation, Ceremo-ny, Conjure, Grant
Far beyond the reach of the eastern arm of the Christian Church are people who have never heard the Gospels and who still keep the old pagan ways — Russian faerie wizards known as the Volkhvy. Their great rites are legendary, where everyone in the commu- nity comes together to entreat their faerie gods for aid, usually through glamours and
blessings that reflect the harsh wilderness in which they live. They typically possess great conviction because of these extreme condi- tions, becoming especially self-confident, though of course this Virtue could come from their faerie rites as easily as their per- sonal fortitude.