Tale Craft
Agemo's Blessing | Flickering Firelight | Murmur in the Crowd | Sticks and Stones | Moment of Truth
Stories
represent a living link to the duties Olorun assigned to the Eshu
himself as a messenger and linguist of the orishas. Over time Elegbara
developed the Art of Tale Craft to represent this mastery of their
sacred duties. As a potent though subtle tool in the repertoire of many
an eshu wayfarer, Tale Craft helps even the odds against hostile
audiences or a gang of enemies set on taking advantage of the kith's
solitary ways.
Usually only Elegbara may master all forms of this Art. Occasionally
they may share a rudimentary knowledge of Tale Craft with satyrs,
pooka, piskies, clurichaun, and rare individuals among the other
commoner kith. By ancient custom, it is forbidden to teach this Art to
this sidhe in retaliation for stealing the secrets of the Naming Art
when they fled to Ilesha during the Shattering. Those Elegbara who are
discovers to have done so are severely punished by the rest of the
Tribe, and the sidhe in question often "disappear."
Some form of storytelling must be included in addition to or as part of
all Bunks for this Art. It can be in a variety of forms (poetry, song
lyrics, etc.), but it must always be present.
Attribute: Charisma
· Agemo's Blessing
(Kithbook: Eshu, pp. 89-90)
Sometimes performers must change their material to match the mood
of the crowd. For the Elegbara who find themselves facing hostile sidhe
courts or svage redcap cannibals, this pressure is even more tangible.
This cantrip allows wily Elegbara to ascertain the mood o the audience
before beginning their tale in order to choose a story that fits the
occasion. Additionally, it offers a way to save a failing performance
by discovering the source of the crowd's displeasure. The Elegbara
"sees" the determining mood of the crowd in the form of shifting shapes
and colors, which offer symbolic clues as to the tenor of the audience.
Dark colors indicate sadness or tragedy. Red slashes portend anger.
Bright colors and pleasing shapes represent a desire for amusement or
laughter.
System: The Realms most often applicable are Actor, Fae or
Scene, though clever Elegbara may discover how to use other Realms to
determine the audience for the cantrip. Most Elegbara disguise their
Bunk for this cantrip as a prologue, joke or other mood-setting device.
Botches mean that the crowd reacts in the exact opposite way that the eshu expected, ruining the first impression.
1 success -- A vague idea; monochromatic visuals; no subtlety, shapes or texture.
2 successes -- A good guess; one color, with slight shading differences and rough shapes.
3 successes -- A solid notion; multicolor, with some shading and defined shapes.
4 successes -- A great grasp; a dance of colors and shading, with multiple defined shapes.
5 successes -- An amazing read; everything you need is in this tapestry, if you can interpret it.
Type: Chimerical
·· Flickering Firelight
(Kithbook: Eshu, pg. 90)
This cantrip snatches wisps of incidental chimera born from the
audience, allowing the Elegbara to create lighting and sound effects
appropriate to the tale. Though the frgile chimera generated by this
cantrip may only enhance the entertainment value of a tale, a clever
caster can turn these creations to mischievous uses, such as dropping a
room into near darkness, making phantom sounds echo out of nowhere or
similar theatrical tricks.
System: The Realm determines the type of effect being generated
-- Actor or Fae for the representations of people or changelings (or
elements of them, such as voices), Prop for music or set pieces, Scene
for lighting and so on. Thus, truly elaborate productions often require
multiple casting or perhaps several eshu acting in concert but garner
commensurately impressive results.
Chimeria created by Flickering Firelight possess only the barest of
substance. They have no resistance to Banality, nor can they harm
another in any way. Touching them causes them to dissipate, and they
have no will of their own. Suspicious onlookers may pierce the illusion
y gaining more success than the caster on a Perception + Kenning roll
(difficulty is of the caster's successes +3). The effects last only as
long as the story being told.
1 success -- A muffled sound or poor image; no substantial lighting or sound changes are possible.
2 successes -- Not bad from about 25 feet away; dim or raise lights and music.
3 successes -- Convincing except for small details; a good likeness.
4 successes -- Exact reproductions, down to the smallest details;
spotlights and highly specific sound cues are possible as well as
shifts in sound or lighting.
5 successes -- Absolutely amazing creations; most special effects are possible.
Type: Chimerical unless the caster has called upon the wyrd.
··· Murmur in the Crowd
(Kithbook: Eshu, pg. 90)
After reading an audience and setting the stage, Elegbara next
learn to stir up their listeners' passions, nudging them in the
direction of the desired emotion or response. Thought most Elegbara
consider it undignified to augment their natural abilities without good
cause, performers faced with a tough crowd have no problem doing so.
The idea or emotion must be simple enough to be expressed in or or two
words and does not constitute a direct order. In addition, the Elegbara
has no real control over how the crowd chooses to react. An audience of
redcaps moved "celebration," for example, will have a response very
different from that of an audience of boggans.
System: By appealing to the emotion or idea in question in their
story, the eshu sends a temporary but powerful pulse of that particular
passion through the crowd. Success moves an audience one step closer to
the eshu's desired position. Multiple castings of this cantrip on an
audience have cumulative effects, but even one failure immediately sets
the audience back to where they were originally. The prahse "a hail of
sneakers and rotten fruit" is the nicest way of expressing what happens
to the mood of the audience when a botch occurs. The effects generally
last only a few minutes after the performance.
1 success -- Barest glimmer; the cantrip's effects last until the end of the performance, maybe. The audience feels a slight nudge in the desired direction but may easily ignore it. Enemies are unmoved.
2 successes -- Murmur of approval; exterior events may still disrupt
the effects before the end of the performance. The audience feels a
definite inclination in the desired direction.
3 successes -- Mass appeal; for the duration of the performance, the
audience feels the desired emotion. Incident enemies of the character
are swayed.
4 successes -- Tour de force; the passions stirred by this cantrip last
up to 10 minutes after the performance ends, and only those who've had
a lasting grudge against the eshu don't feel the pull of the desired
emotion.
5 successes -- Lasting impression; even bitter enemies are moved. The
passion gradually fades away over the course of an hour after the
performance.
Type: Chimerical
···· Sticks and Stones
(Kithbook: Eshu, pg. 91)
One of the survival secrets of the largely solitary Elegbara in
their time on the road lies in this highly adaptable and effective
cantrip. Used in conjunction with a story, this cantrip creates a
chimerical shield from the chimerical words and images formed from the
story. These images swirl in a protective circle around the caster,
deflecting attacks.
The Elegbara may perform other actions while maintaining the shield,
but she cannot move faster than a brisk walk and suffers a two-dice
penalty to all such efforts due to the concentration required. She also
cannot interrupt it to say more than one or two words ("Run!" and "Get
help!" are popular) without breaking the cantrip.
System: So long as the eshu continues weaving his tale, the
shield persists and is treated as normal soak dice, effective against
all forms of direct chimerical attack. With an additional Glamour
point, the shield may even protect from such hazards of as fire or gas,
though it cannot protect the character from total immersion effects
such as drowning. The eshu may include others within the shield, but
each additional person beyond the first costs an additional Glamour
point and adds +1 to the cantrip difficulty, and everyone protected
must remain in physical contact with the caster or lose protection. The
effect ends when the caster finishes the story or consciously drops the
shield.
The number of successes determines the number of additional soak dice the cantrip provides.
Type: Chimerical or wyrd, though if wyrd the shield tends to fail quickly in front of truly banal observers.
····· Moment of Truth
(Kithbook: Eshu, pg. 91)
At this level of power, the Elegbara can use the power of words and
names to create substantial illusions. Similar to the Legerdemain Art
of Phantom Shadows, any creates must be characters or other elements of
the story the eshu is telling. Most are dismissed at the end of the
tale or perhaps the evening's entertainment, though they may still gain
sentience in the same manner as Phantom Shadows do and require the same
Glamour costs to maintain if the caster wishes to keep them longer.
Elegbara are considered responsible for any actions taken by their
Beings of Truth (the name for entities created with this cantrip), and
most keep close track of their creations until they are dismissed.
System: This cantrip is handled exactly the same as Phantom Shadows, inlcuding all costs and Realms required; see Phantom Shadows.
Type: Wyrd