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Smobey
Smobey's picture
Summon Sidhe?
rules, sorcery, core rules

Specifically, the Wits Glamour of the Knights of Avalon, Summon Sidhe on page 216 of the second playtest.

I'm considering making a character with the glamour, but as written, it seems impossibly vague. Not only the core book fails to really describe Seelie or Unseelie in any way, but the glamour itself doesn't give the slightest clue about the strength and abilities of the Sidhe it can summon. What does it mean to have one rank in that glamour? What does it mean to have five ranks? What kinds of Sidhe can you call upon and what are they willing to do for you?

I seem to recall that 1e outright refused to give even any statblocks for them and went on its way to explain how incredibly powerful and difficult to kill they are, so having something like that as a minor glamour seems a bit nuts. Especially considering that most minor glamours are sort of pathetically useless and a waste of a hero point.

So... is there something I'm not getting, or is it really just supposed to be a potentially incredibly powerful glamour that 100% relies on GM interpretation (and knowledge that doesn't even exist in the 2e core?)

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Salamanca
Salamanca's picture
No expert on Sorcery but I would venture strength will be related to your ranks. Higher rank gets a stronger helper. What can they do? Little ones will likely be fairy tale leprechauns and fey. They can do little errands and will expect some cream or a treat for their efforts. Gather a trinket or two, help you cross a river, etc. Moderate ones will tow your ship when becalmed. Help you with bandits, guard you camp, heal you. Big ones need big favors and can do major things. Genie wish type stuff.
Bradley
Bradley's picture

The fey are powerful, but dealing with the fey is almost like making a deal with the devil. The two worst things you can agree to are unspecified favors in the future and your first born child. The fey will collect on any deal made, and if you try to back out of it, they will undo the help they provided in the worst possible way.

If you need inspiration for how to run the Seelie and Unseelie, look into Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Alfredo Tarancón
Alfredo Tarancón's picture

Yeah, Dresden Files is the first thing that came to my mind when I read the post as well. This is one of the thing where the fiction is the one to scale of the encounter/favor. Dresden contacts quite regularly a little faerie named Toot Toot, that usually is happy to help as long as there's a proper payment of pizza, but usually it's only for things like surveillance, or distraction. nothing much dangeorus or difficult. When dealing with more prominent sidhe, the stakes are highr, and the price is usually quite steep...

Smobey
Smobey's picture

Yeah, I agree with the above interpretations. I'm reasonably familiar with fey folklore and such, so it's not too hard to imagine what kinds of Sidhe you might be able to summon and what they could do. And what they might ask in return, especially for the bigger services. I liked the examples put forth by Salamanca, those are all very much in-flavour.

...But yeah, the glamour description does state that the strength of the summoned Sidhe depends on your ranks in the glamour in question. But it doesn't really give even rough guidelines for their actual strength, so actually determining what the difference is between having 2 or 3 ranks in the glamour in question is a bit awkward.

Guess I'll have to hammer it out with the GM!

Salamanca
Salamanca's picture
It could represent dice pool for the being, number of tasks it will perform before leaving, demands it makes for those favors, hours it will stay, etc. And the original Irish folk tales can be far more nasty in repercussions than Mr. Butcher's work.
Bradley
Bradley's picture
That may be true, but Dresden Files is written from the perspective of a paranoid individual who knows those stories and does his best to get as good a result as he can when he has to deal with the fey. And it is implied that similar results have occurred in the past to others, the reader just has not seen such yet.
Salamanca
Salamanca's picture
OK, I asked John about this ability at Origins. He said this was intentionally left open without clarification for so the GM can use it how they want to. The help can be as strong or weak as you see fit for your story. So use it how you want.
Salamanca
Salamanca's picture
Now, this is MY interpretation of John's advice. Some sidhe are more helpful than others. Some like the attention of being summoned and others resent it. Some will develop a liking for a sorcerer over time and help more, some will do the opposite. The mercurial nature of the Sidhe should ALWAYS have the player unsure of how things will go and just how much help they will gain. ( but it is a paid for power so it should help to some extent)
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