Revelry (Tricksters)

“Look here! Nothing up my sleeve, nothing in my hat! Now, watch carefully, as I pull out…a Tindelhound! What, you were expecting a little white bunny?”

Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you have to spend eternity moping. Some wraiths deal with death as they dealt with it in life…a sense of humor that just won’t quit. Amongst those who keep a light heart in the Shadowlands, the Arcanoi of Revelry is especially prevalent. Tricksters, the name given to those with this ability, are both reviled and beloved by other wraiths. Some see them as gifts, given to brighten up the dreary afterlife, while others see them as pests, taking an already bad situation and making it unbearable.

Contrary to their appearance, the Tricksters are not all happiness and entertainment; they are also devious, persistent, and clever enemies. Tricksters are not only the clowns and street magicians of the Necropolis streets, but go back the legendary swindlers and cheats of classical mythology and history. Loki in Norse Mythology, the Coyote of Navajo lore, and the spider Anansi of West African folktales all had roots in mischievous wraiths using Revelry to tease and rule over the Quick. They do the same in the Shadowlands, but those wrapped up in the bureaucracy of the Legion and Heretics are too snooty to notice.

Tricksters tend to develop brightly colored streaks in their hair over time. The hair of seasoned Tricksters resembles a rainbow; some Tricksters have taken to shaving their heads or wearing wigs to cover up such an obvious sign.

The Tricksters are a better organized guild than many would believe. Most see the Tricksters as disorganized, too busy playing pranks on the unsuspecting to think they would actually go to the trouble of organizing. Yet, the Tricksters are one of the best organized and most secretive clans. Tricksters have developed methods and codes consisting of slang and dated phrases, that serve as communication to let other Tricksters know of meetings, a plan to rescue a captured guild member, or news from a spy in the Legion offices.

The Tricksters also have a massive underground movement known as the Booby Trap. The Booby Trap can do anything from smuggle wanted wraiths out of a Necropolis to ensnare an enemy and lead them to their death without a Trickster having to do the actual killing. Outsiders know of the Booby Trap, but not what it consists of. Some wraiths have paid Tricksters to smuggle out friends or to assassinate a target. The Tricksters have been known to do these things for a high price. However, they prefer to keep to themselves, laughing at those around them and causing trouble for any who cross their path.

Drinking Song: A Trickster sings a drinking song or ballad of their choice that makes a target feel inebriated. This effect can allow a Trickster to get information from a loose-tongued drunk, humiliate an opponent, or mess with the memory of someone who saw what they shouldn’t have. And yes, they have an appropriate hangover when they wake in the morning.
System: Roll Wits + Revelry (difficulty 5). For each success, a target feels more and more drunk. One success, for example, makes the target feels lightly buzzed, while five might have them dancing naked on the tables.

Mimicry: This effect allows a Trickster to become the ultimate sound machine, able to emulate any sound or voice.
System: Roll Manipulation + Revelry (difficulty 5). For each success, the user is able to make any sound or copy any voice for one scene.
This art costs 1 Pathos.

Level One: Ventriloquist
Tricksters love to put words into other people’s mouths, and nothing can do it better than this ability. Using this power, a Trickster can cause their voice to appear anywhere they desire. They can sound like they are calling from an alley, inside a dumpster, deep in a Nihil, or even like they are hiding in another person. More devious Tricksters combine this art with Mimicry to make someone say what they want. If this art is used on another wraith, the target’s voice will not be heard until a Trickster is finished with this art.
System: Roll Charisma + Revelry (difficulty 6). For each success, the user may make one sound or say one sentence of their choice.
This art costs 1 Pathos to use.

Level Two: Disappearing Act
A wraith with this power can cause any object to disappear and reappear in a pre-appointed place. The object cannot be bigger than the user, and the place must be planned in advance by drawling a circle with a spider inside at the spot the Trickster wishes it to appear. It can be inside a box, in an alley, or in the wraith’s Haunt. Once these conditions are met, a Trickster can make anything disappear and reappear in the circle, including other wraiths. The Trickster cannot use this ability on themselves.
System: Roll Wits + Revelry (difficulty 6). One success is all that is needed to make the object disappear and reappear. Botches may cause the object to disappear, but appear in a completely different spot, such as Oblivion.
This art costs 2 Pathos per use.

Level Three: Blade Box
The more morbid of the Tricksters love this art, which is fun to scare or deceive other wraiths. With this art, a Trickster may detach their limbs at will, and then reattach them with no penalty to their Corpus. Hands, feet, arms, legs, and even the user’s head can appear to fall off. Once they have fallen off, however, the user can control them as if they were still attached to the body. Hands can crawl along the ground, legs can kick out behind an enemy, and a head can still talk and see. Some use this art to really disturb the living while Embodied.
System: Roll Stamina + Revelry (difficulty 7). For each success, the user may remove one body part of their choice. They still retain all control over that part, and can summon the part back to then when they are finished. However, if the part is injured while away from the user, they suffer normal Corpus damage. If the part is destroyed, the user suffers one permanent Corpus level of damage for hands, feet, or head, and two permanent Corpus for legs and arms. Any missing parts will thereafter appear as a ghostly, transparent image attached to the user’s Corpus, but cannot be used in a functional manner.
This art gains the user 1 Angst for each use, and costs an additional 2 Angst if a limb is lost.

Level Four: Bronx Cheer
You won’t find many sophisticated humorists among the Tricksters, and because of this, most Tricksters find this art beyond funny. The use of this art creates a noxious cloud of gas, complete with sound effects, that can knock out or, in concentrated amounts, kill any around them. This effect does not harm the user or any other Tricksters who have this level of the Arcanoi.
System: Roll Stamina + Revelry (difficulty 8). One success creates a small gas cloud that causes gagging and nausea. Two causes weaker targets to collapse, and three will force even the most hardy person into unconsciousness. Four successes can result in the loss of two permanent Corpus to all around, and five or more will kill.
This art costs the user 3 Pathos, and gains the user 1 Angst for each death.

Level Five: Last Laugh
Sometimes, the Tricksters must take things seriously, but they will still try to inject fun into anything they do. This art causes a target to become “cursed” in some way. It may be a plague of rats, it may be bad luck, it may be that the target can never stop laughing for any reason. Whatever it is, it is somewhat debilitating to the target, and will get worse over time, and will rest assured result in the target’s doom. The user can reverse the effects, but the user will take time to go back to normal. In order to use this art, the user must have had physical contact at least once with the target, or must have a possession of the target.
System: Roll Revelry + Wits (difficulty 9). For each success over time, the user progresses to the next “level” in the curse, and the effects worsen. If the total number of successes equals the target’s Willpower, then the curse is “complete” and the target perishes in a gruesome manner related to the curse. If a Trickster wishes to reverse the curse, roll Revelry + Wits (difficulty 7). Like the worsening of the curse, each success will cause the target to improve in their situation until the number of reverses equals the number of curse levels, canceling it out.
Each time this art is attempted, the user gains 3 Angst.