Realms of Power: Faerie Chapter Two: The Faerie Realm

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The Faerie Realm

Faerie is the place where stories are born, live, and die. It is a realm of possibility rather than actuality, where one’s perceptions are as important as the scenery. There is no moral dimension to the Faerie Realm, nothing is either right or wrong, good or bad. What is paramount is the story: those things that capture the imagination are powerful in faerie, whereas the banal and mundane is impotent. This chapter describes the Faerie Realm — how to get there, what to do while there, and how to get back. Stories that take place in Arcadia are unusual in that the characters can often determine the shape of the story affecting them, and so while a storyguide might plan the story, the player can adapt the outline to give the most enjoyable experience for all. Adventures that take place in the Faerie Realm can therefore be challenging, but also rewarding.

The Three Worlds

The Faerie Realm is an equivalent place to Heaven, Hell, or the mysterious Magic Realm, if these realms can really be referred to as “places.” Unlike a faerie regio, it is evermutable, and perhaps infinite in variety. However, the types of stories experienced there fall into one of three sorts, just as the purpose of all stories ultimately falls into one of three categories. These three paradigms of the Faerie Realm are sufficiently different from one another that they are referred to as “worlds” or realms in their own right, although they all partake in Faerie’s nature.

Some stories are designed to entertain, and Arcadia is the name given to that part of Faerie in which these new stories are made. It is the one with which players of Ars Magica may be most familiar.

Other stories recount tales of great deeds, and while these can be entertaining, their prime function is to remember and record a culture’s history. Elysium is the land of these myths, where characters can interact with the heroes and villains of familiar stories, and perhaps even meet with the faerie gods.

Finally, stories can be teaching tales, exploring wisdom and stupidity in equal measure to provide guidance, both in ethical decisions and life stages. Eudokia is a realm where one’s personal story is told, where an insight into a dilemma can be achieved, or a difficult life transition resolved. The circumstances of one’s journey to the Faerie Realm dictate which of the three worlds is experienced.

Some magi of House Merinita refer to the three worlds as paths or roads, as if one’s visit to the Faerie Realm was a journey rather than a destination. They acknowledge that just as roads in the mundane world cross, so do the roads through Faerie. One might find oneself changing paths without realizing it, and stepping into a different world. Some who have studied the byways of the Faerie Realm claim to have found further, unfamiliar paths, and say that there are more than three worlds. Others argue that all roads are actually one, and that the so-called “paths” of the Faerie Realm are matters of perception only, and that all travelers in Faerie tread the same path, but experience it differently. Another point for debate is the existence of these roads — or even the worlds themselves — when there is no-one to observe them. All these ideas are hot topics in House Merinita. But regardless of the hypotheses, the three most commonly recognized routes through the Faerie Realm are the Path of Chance, the Path of Destiny, and the Path of Choice.

The Path of Chance wends its way through Arcadia, a realm populated by the fragments of stories yet to be told. This is the land of pure adventure, where characters may be simply in search of excitement and wonder, or may be questing for a specific reason — embassy, retrieval, revenge, investigation, and so forth.

The Path of Destiny leads through Elysium. It is a straighter road than the rambling path through Arcadia, and here characters seek answers to their problems in the mundane world by reliving allegorical stories that have already been told. Such stories are driven by necessity, since their outcomes have already been established by human consensus. Nevertheless, by reenacting these stories, mortals can earn insights, discover knowledge, or win faerie gifts.

The Path of Choice, or the Forked Path, twists its way through Eudokia. This is a place where the character’s morals and emotions play an important role, and the inhabitants ape the attitudes and fashions of the mundane world. Here, the plot of the story is not as important as the development of the characters caught up within it. Many adventurers in Eudokia arrive here by accident, and seek only to escape. By doing so, they can affect the direction of their own personal change.

Getting to Faerie

The Faerie Realm is ever-present in the sub-lunar world, and yet just out of reach. It is described in folk tales as being “just over the next hill,” or “beyond the ninth wave,” or “between the beating of the heart and the breath,” and so forth; all are metaphors for its simultaneous closeness and distance. The mundanity of the world repels Faerie just as humanity attracts it. As a result, humans can only reach the Faerie Realm if they can reject (albeit temporarily) the routine of their banal life and accept the fantastic and fabulous as the rules through which the world works. Every time a mortal becomes lost in a story, entranced by a sunset, or is overcome by celebration, he can be touched by the Faerie Realm; and sometimes it only takes a small nudge to push him the rest of the way into the Realm of Enchantment.

Scholars of Faerie refer to the simultaneous attraction and repulsion of Faerie for the mundane world as the Threshold. In certain places, at certain times, the attraction is greater than the repulsion, and Threshold comes closer. For example, the unfettering of the human mind through artwork designed to invoke wonder can attract the Threshold closer, as can an individual who is on the verge of a personal life change. Finally, the Threshold can be crossed with supernatural assistance; some faeries can assist the passage into Faerie, as can practitioners of Faerie Magic. Those learned in the ways of the faeries (i.e. who have Faerie Lore) can deliberately attract a Threshold by manufacturing the right set of conditions, but some visitors to the Faerie Realm get there entirely by chance.

The Faerie Realm can be entered anywhere, even in regions under the Dominion, if the conditions are right. Practically, however, unless one is in a powerful Faerie aura it is exceptionally difficult to access the Faerie Realm unless many factors align perfectly to attract a Threshold. To enter the Faerie Realm, the characters — through circumstance or action — must accumulate a number of Threshold points equal to the Threshold strength:

Threshold Strength

(13 – Aura Modifier) X 3

The aura modifier is the strength of the local aura, multiplied according to the Realm Interaction Table (ArM5, page 183) as if this was a Faerie Power in action. For example, in a Faerie aura of 3 the Threshold strength is 30 (13 – Faerie 3) x 3, whereas in a Dominion aura of 3 the Threshold strength is 75 (13 – (–4 x Dominion 3)) x 3. Thresholds are closest to the world in Faerie regiones: add the aura modifier for any base Faerie aura to the aura modifier of the regio before determining the Threshold strength, but ignore the existence of any aura other than a Faerie one. Thus, a Faerie regio of aura 5 that overlays a Faerie aura of 2 has an aura modifier of 7 (for a Threshold strength of 15), but if the regio instead exists over a Dominion of 3, the aura modifier is still 5 (for a Threshold strength of 24).

Note that the mechanics for entering the Faerie Realm are wholly different from those for entering a regio — Abilities such as Second Sight or Intellego Vim spells do not help at all.

Sources of Threshold Points

Threshold points can be accumulated from a number of different sources: geography, time, changes in personal circumstances, artistic endeavor, assistance of Threshold faeries, faerie magic, and so forth; each of which is detailed in the following section. Only one attempt can be made to enter Faerie for any given set of circumstances, and if the Threshold fails to arrive, then this set of circumstances cannot create a portal into the Faerie Realm. If the characters are knowingly trying to enter Faerie, they must change the composition of one of the elements before trying again, and their attempt cannot be made sooner than the next moonrise. If the character is ignorant that circumstances nearly spirited him away, he will simply feel brush of the Threshold passing as a feeling of strong emotion appropriate to the circumstance — awe, joy, or even terror.

A character or group of characters who successfully enter the Faerie Realm immediately find themselves on one of the Three Paths, and will soon be confronted by a Guardian of the Threshold. Which Path they find themselves on depends very much on the manner in which they attracted the Threshold; see later for details on the Three Paths.

Geographical Thresholds

As described in Chapter 1: The Nature of Faerie, faeries are the spirits of the borders, and in places that are traditional haunts of the fae, humans can sometimes slip through the cracks and end up in Faerie. This is especially true if the characters are lost — add 3 Threshold points for a border crossed when the travelers truly have no idea where they are. Even without a Faerie aura, a geographical boundary is a potent attractor of the Threshold, and the sharper and more distinct the border crossed, the larger effect it has on the Threshold points of the travelers.

• Border Crossed:Insignificant
• Threshold Points: 3
• Examples: A road, stream, or fence.

• Border Crossed: Minor
• Threshold Points: 6
• Examples: A crossroads, confluence of rivers, edge of a wood, or city wall.

• Border Crossed: Significant
• Threshold Points: 9
• Examples: An oasis in a desert, beyond the treeline of a mountain, or a trod.

• Border Crossed: Major
• Threshold Points: 12
• Examples: A significant border that is also a boundary into a Faerie regio.

• Border is Crossed While Lost: +3

Example Threshold Branoic is a young man on the night before his marriage to his love. His friends ply him with alcohol and then dare him to climb Goat Hill; a traditional challenge for local men on their stag night. The hill has a Faerie Aura of 5, so the Threshold strength is 24. He is on the verge of a major life change to be reinforced by a church ceremony, so he’s very susceptible to stumbling into the Faerie Realm (18 Threshold points). On his journey up the hill he fords a stream where it is joined by two others (6 Threshold points), and he emerges from the other side of the stream into the Faerie Realm. Trods A trod is a geographic boundary — a river, shoreline, edge of a forest, and so forth — that has a Faerie Aura. In a trod, just the liminal space of the border itself has an aura, not the surrounding landscape, so the edge of a faerie forest is not a trod. A Faerie Road (see Chapter 1: The Nature of Faerie) is a particularly effective trod, since regiones in general are highly amenable to passage into Faerie. Trods are potent paths into Faerie; as well as their inherent Faerie aura, they are also always accounted to be at least a Significant Threshold. Those entering the Faerie Realm on a trod often find them selves on the Mother Road (see later), and the locations of trods are highly sought by those who use the Mother Road. Trods also connect the different levels of a Faerie regio with one another, and characters with Second Sight, Magic Sensitivity, or suitable Intellego Vim spells can see them as winding paths, and follow them between the levels of reality (see ArM5, page 189). No trod has verifiably connected a layer of one regio to a layer of a different regio; those who claim to have made such a journey are believed to have briefly used the Mother Road.

Temporal Thresholds

Certain times of year mark Thresholds in time, such as the turning of the seasons. At these times, the border between the mundane world and Faerie becomes thinner and more easily traversed. Such times are worth a number of Threshold points determined by the table. Note that if the characters are potentially crossing into Faerie from a Faerie Aura, they may benefit twice from the time of year, since the Faerie aura may be increased, thus decreasing the Threshold strength as well as adding Threshold points.

Time	Threshold Points
New Moon	1
Full Moon	3
Pagan Holiday*	3
Solstice	6
Equinox	9

* If observed locally

Personal Thresholds

Characters who are in a state of personal change are more prone to entering Faerie than others. Such people can act as conduits, allowing others to pass into Faerie with them. Such portals invariably lead to Eudokia, and Threshold points from personal circumstances usually apply where a single person enters the Faerie Realm. However, a group of characters who are all experiencing the same personal circumstances might attract a Threshold as a group. Alternatively, one character might attract such a Threshold, but his friends also travel with him into the Faerie Realm. In the latter case use only the focal character’s personal Threshold points, but remember that this character will also be the focus of any stories played out in Faerie. If a religious ceremony — such as one of the sacraments — accompanies or marks a particular life change, then it is a source of more Threshold points than one without such significance.

Characters who already straddle the boundary between the mundane realm and Faerie are more prone to cross the Threshold. Characters who only have Minor faerie-derived Virtues or any faerie-derived Flaws have only a small connection to Faerie, whereas those with Major faerie Virtues must be more careful in strong Faerie Auras if they want to avoid accidental trips to the Faerie Realm. Threshold points from Virtues and/or Flaws are not cumulative: choose only the highest.

Characters experiencing extreme emotions such as overwhelming rage, fear, or grief are also more likely to slip into the Faerie Realm. They need not have a Personality Trait for such emotions — just the current expression of that emotion in an intense fashion — but an appropriate Personality Trait brings the Threshold closer still. If the character has an appropriate Personality Flaw, consider him to have a Personality Trait of +3 (if it is a Minor Flaw) or +6 (if it is a Major Flaw).

The magnitude of the change that is occurring within the individual determines how many Threshold points he contributes:

• Circumstance: One or more Minor faerie Virtues
• Threshold Points: 3
• Examples: Faerie Blood

• Circumstance: One or more Major faerie Virtues
• Threshold Points: 9
• Examples: Strong Faerie Blood

• Circumstance: One or more faerie Flaws
• Threshold Points: 3
• Examples: Faerie Heritage

• Circumstance: Extreme emotion
• Threshold Points: 3 + Personality Trait
• Examples: Lust, anger, anxiety, or fear

• Circumstance: Minor life change
• Threshold Points: 9

Examples: Menopause or puberty

• Circumstance: Minor life change marked by a celebration
• Threshold Points: 12
• Examples: Betrothal

• Circumstance: Major life change
• Threshold Points: 15
• Examples: Common law marriage or birth

• Circumstance: Major life change commemorated with religious ceremony
• Threshold Points: 18
• Examples: Wedding or baptism

Artistic Endeavor

The products of human industry — specifically human creative thought — can assist in the transition to Faerie. The work of art must specifically commemorate Faerie, and enhance the sense of wonder of those on the Threshold . However, the work of art need not have been created for the purpose of reaching Faerie; it just allows the audience of the art to temporarily be lifted from their mundane existences and be transported into the fantasy created by the artist. Examples of works of art that promote the transit to Faerie include: songs, poems, and dramas about a fantastic adventure; music that invokes unfamiliar emotions; and sculptures, paintings, and engravings detailing scenes of fantasy.

Add the Aesthetic Quality (either Dexterity + Craft Ability or Communication + Profession Ability of the Artist; for more details, see Art and Academe, Chapter 8: Artists) to the Threshold points for a transit into Faerie. The artwork must be viewed or performed by the prospective travelers for it to assist transport. The subject of the artwork can affect the path embarked upon by the travelers; a hymn praising marriage is likely to lead to Eudokia, whereas a woodcarving of a pagan deity doubtless leads to Elysium.

Assistance of Threshold Faeries

Some types of faerie achieve Vitality through assisting humans to cross a Threshold of some description. They might seek to trick characters into attracting the Threshold, or assist those who are intending to do so. These faeries all possess a Power called Spirit Away (see insert) that allows it to assist an individual or group in crossing the Threshold. Note that not all faeries can assist the transit to Faerie; see Chapter 4: Faerie Bestiary for examples of Threshold faeries. A Threshold faerie cannot attract the Threshold to the mundane realm on its own even if its Might exceeds the Threshold strength.

Many Threshold faeries also serve as the Guardian of the Threshold (see later).

New Power: Spirit Away Greater Faerie Power, variable points, Init 0, Vim The faerie can add Threshold points to the total accumulated by a mortal individual or group, at a cost of 1 Might Point per Threshold point. The characters affected by this power must already have a Threshold total; the faerie cannot be the only source of Threshold points. The characters must still face the Guardian of the Threshold (see later) — who may indeed by the faerie with this power — but if the faerie wants them to enter the Faerie Realm, then it may well indicate the right path. This power can also be used to send characters away from the Faerie Realm as well; this costs 3 Might Points per character.

Assistance of Faerie Magic

The Faerie Power of Portage allows a faerie magician entrance into the Faerie Realm. See Chapter 6: Faerie Wizardry for more details.

Faerie Adventurers

A faerie must go through exactly the same procedure as a mortal character to enter Faerie. Cognizant faerie characters can often pinpoint specific conditions that grant the best chance of attracting a Threshold, and consequently are more adept at entering the Faerie Realm. Highly cognizant faeries automatically have a number of Threshold points equal to the magnitude of their Might. Narrowly cognizant faeries can add the magnitude of their Might to Threshold totals that evoke liminal conditions related to their understanding of their role. Thus a narrowly cognizant night terror can assist in Threshold totals that occur at night or rely on strong emotions of fear. Incognizant faeries get no bonuses to Threshold totals. Note that these extra Threshold points are different than the Spirited Away power; in this case, the faerie itself must be crossing the Threshold, rather than assisting others to do so. All faeries intuitively know which of the choices provided by the Guardian of the Threshold leads to the Faerie Realm, and which one goes to the mundane world. When in the Faerie Realm, faerie characters retain the same role that they possessed in the mundane world, but often find it easier to gain fable points (see later) since they understand the rules of the game better than humans. Assume that all faerie characters have the Common Sense Virtue while in the Faerie Realm. Since they have a Might Score, they are also immune to any Warping acquired when leaving the Faerie Realm (see Leaving Faerie, later).

Arcadian Mysteries

There are members of House Merinita who possess the Mystery Virtue of Arcadian Travel (see Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, page 92). They must construct an appropriate charm (a physical object or a performance) to enact this ability, requiring either a Dexterity + Ability roll (for an object) or a Communication + Ability roll (for a performance) against an Ease Factor of 18. Making the charm takes at least 10 minutes. If the charm is successful, the magus gains his Arcadian Travel Total in Threshold points:

Arcadian Travel Total

Stress Die + Perception + (Ability Used To Make the Charm) + Aura

The magus can take a number of people with him by using this charm that is equal to his Faerie Magic score, so long as they all participate in the activation of the charm. This variety of charm is only available to those with the Mystery Virtue of Arcadian Travel.

The Guardian of the Threshold

The Guardian of the Threshold is always the first entity encountered when a character (or group of characters) gains access to the Faerie Realm. Until the Guardian has been passed, the crossing to Faerie has not actually occurred. The purpose of the Guardian is to test the resolve of the characters. Faerie protects its own borders, and the Guardian is there to ensure that people do not slip through its bounds whenever they cross into a Faerie aura. The Guardian presents a choice (in reality or metaphorically) — carry on or go back. It should usually be obvious to the characters which choice indicates passage into the Faerie Realm. If they are struggling, a successful Intelligence + Faerie Lore roll against an Ease Factor of 6 will provide additional hints. In general, choices that lead to adventure, danger, or wonder take the characters into the Faerie Realm; whereas those that suggest safety, routine, or mundanity take the characters home.

The form of the Guardian of the Threshold varies wildly between trips, and is also dependent on the circumstances of the journey. It is not always even a faerie being. For example, the Guardian could take the form of a physical barrier (such as a bramble thicket) or a monument. As a barrier, the traveler must make a choice to cross; the monument might have a foreboding aspect or bear dire words to repel the unready. Passive Guardians of this type may be incorporated into the Threshold itself, particularly if it’s a geographic boundary. Characters can therefore slip inadvertently into Faerie by trying to overcome the obstacle presented by a passive Guardian.

More commonly, the Guardian takes the form of a human or animal who attempts to halt the journey, through threats or friendly counsel. Such characters are never purely mundane, and there is always something unusual about them. Most obvious, for animal Guardians, is the ability to speak; more rarely the animal takes on human mannerisms or even clothes. Guardians who take the form of animals are usually creatures who straddle a border — often waterfowl such as geese, storks, herons, or ibis — which all partake in both water and air. Amphibious creatures such as frogs and otters are also common Guardians. Another type of animal guardian is those that have undergone a role reversal, such as a domestic animal that has clearly gone feral, or a wild animal that has adopted the trappings of domesticity. Fierce animals such as wolves and bears usually come under the category of the kerberoi (see later).

Human Guardians often have a deformity, such as giant size, excessive amounts of hair, or the feet of a duck. The color of the skin may be particularly vivid, with green being the most common. Human Guardians are more often women than men, and more often old women than maidens. The shape that they take is again is that of a person who traverses multiple human realms, such as a wanderer or outcast, a prophetess or madman.

The last type of Guardian is a fearsome monster that blocks the way. This sort of Guardian is referred to as kerberoi by the followers of Merinita, and many travelers make the mistake of trying to fight the monster, assuming that the only progress can be over its corpse. This is certainly one way; however, a kerberos is always restrained in some fashion, and can always be bypassed through trickery or courage. The fearsomeness of the monster is usually sufficient to repel the casual traveler.

All Guardians of the Threshold have a Faerie Might at least equal to the Threshold total of the group, although Guardians at famed entrances to Faerie (such as a powerful aura or regio) may have much higher Might. The other details must be determined according to the situation, but some of the statistics of faeries in Chapter 4’s Faerie Bestiary can be used for inspiration. However, the Guardian is supposed to be a roleplaying challenge rather than a battle, and a fight should never be inevitable. The sections below about the different aspects of Faerie give typical Guardians.

The Power of God in the Faerie Realm

As the home (and perhaps source) of all things fay, the beings found in the Faerie Realm are subject to the same restrictions as those found in the mundane realm. Faeries with traditional or sovereign wards (see Chapter 3: Faerie Characters) involving religious symbols are affected by them just as strongly on their home turf. The power of God permeates the Faerie Realm just as it does all creation, so characters with True Faith, miraculous powers, or relics find these things just as potent as they are elsewhere.

Adventures in Faerie

Having negotiated with the Guardian of the Threshold, the characters enter the Faerie Realm proper. The sections later in this chapter detail which of the Three Worlds the characters find themselves in, and what they encounter there. This section discusses more general aspects of a visit to the Faerie Realm

Environment and the Faerie Aura

The environment of the Faerie Realm is superficially the same as in the mundane world, but there are a few important differences. The rules of nature, which characters normally take for granted, cannot necessarily be relied upon in the Faerie Realm, since they follow the dictates of the story. For example, if the lake is home to an underwater castle, then its water can be breathed as easy as can air, and it does not impede movement. The water is still water, though — characters can swim through it, and float on top of it. Similarly, a fire might be solid, and yet still burn those who touch it. It could be possible to walk on clouds, or ascend a stairway of smoke, if the story demands it. However, this is not to say that these things are always true in Faerie. If the purpose of a lake is to act as a barrier, it will drown those who try to breathe it just like a lake in the mundane world would do.

The Faerie Realm has a pervasive Faerie aura of 10, meaning that most magi receive a +5 bonus but roll an additional ten botch dice in any magical actions. The extra botch dice for the Faerie aura should be rolled separately from any other botch dice, because any botches that result from these dice tend to be strange or bizarre rather than dangerous. A typical effect is for the spell to become a sentient faerie. The rules for Animae Magic (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 92–96) give guidelines for creating faeries with magic, and a Momentary Duration is sufficient to permanently create a faerie in the Faerie Realm. For example, a magus botches a Ball of Abysmal Flame in the Faerie Realm. This is a 35th-level spell, which is sufficient to create an Ignem Anima of Might 15 (base 15, +1 Touch, +15 levels for a Might of 15). It takes the form of a standard Ball of Abysmal Flame, but one that follows the magus around offering unwanted criticism. If a standard botch occurs as well as a botch from the Realm dice, then the effects can be truly spectacular.

The Mother Road

The imagery of the Faerie Realm as a road, and adventures therein as journeys, is a pervasive metaphor. After all, stories themselves are journeys that bring the hero from boring mundanity, through a place of fantasy and adventure, to attain some wondrous prize at his destination. Furthermore, a road — like a story — is a method of communication. Some storytellers tell of a Mother Road, the source of all roads, whose highways and byways may be traveled by those who know its secrets. This Mother Road is the Faerie Realm, and it can be used to swiftly traverse vast distances in a short space of time.

Practitioners of the Faerie Power of Portage have learned to exploit the Mother Road as if they were a native. Hermetic magic is more limited in this regard, and expertise with the Mother Road is largely the expertise of those members of House Merinita who belong to the group known as the Wayfarers (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, page 80). By stepping onto a trod, a maga deliberately invokes the Threshold and enters the Faerie Realm. She must then strike a bargain with the Guardian of the Threshold to allow her to immediately leave Faerie, but at a point of her choosing (although the exit must also be onto a trod). The stay in the Faerie Realm is often so brief that she see little more of it than a road, which supports the hypothesis that all paths in Faerie are really one. Since the traveler spends no time interacting with story elements, she accumulates no fable points (see later) and the whole journey might take a fraction of the time that it appears to (typically one minute passes for every 24 minutes spent in the Faerie Realm; see Leaving Faerie, later). This method of travel is not without peril, since the Guardian of the Threshold may be her only way out of the Faerie Realm. Since her purpose is the journey itself, she cannot complete her story, which is the usual method for leaving the Faerie Realm. Without possessing another exit (such as the Arcadian Travel Mystery Virtue), she is dependent on pleading, bargaining with, or forcing the Guardian to let her return to the mundane world. Nevertheless, the advantages of being able to travel to a place to which one has never been, nor owns an Arcane Connection, is worth the risk in the opinion of some magi.

Glamour

Some believe that the Faerie Realm is mere dream — clever illusions that beguile the senses of the unwary. However, most who have direct experience of the Faerie Realm deny this vehemently. They know that what they have seen, heard, touched has as much reality and solidity as anything they have experienced among mortals. Yet it cannot be denied that the stuff of Faerie — whatever that is — is more transient and malleable than normal stuff. The very fact that the environment cannot be relied upon as it can in the mundane world (see earlier) lends credence to this. It is usually assumed that the Faerie Realm is made of glamour (see Chapter 1: Nature of Faerie, Glamour). And indeed, that it is perhaps the source of all glamour.

Lands of Story and Fable

The landscape of a region of Faerie is written by its glamour. Every story should be considered to be a kingdom within the greater Realm, and these kingdoms are bordered by high mountains, fierce seas, and swift-flowing rivers. Suffice it to say that one cannot travel between kingdoms; there is nothing beyond the landscape dictated by a story. These kingdoms are not to be taken literally — there are no lands such as Avalon, Olympos, or Vanaheim that have an existence independent from the stories in which they dwell. It is impossible to travel between stories, for the kingdom is as big as the story needs it to be. One cannot begin in a story about swan-maidens and then take a side trip to the vineyards of Dionysios, since the latter place does not exist in the stories of swan-maidens. A legendary location is merely a collection of story elements that makes it fit the character’s perceptions of what that location is like, and the location does not go outside the parameters of the story. For example, if a group of characters visits the Giant’s Dance (Stonehenge) in the Faerie Realm, they cannot cross the Salisbury Plain and visit Glastonbury Tor while they are there, if the latter has no place in the story they are visiting.

Travel within a story can vary according to its own dictates. Many stories involve heroes who strike out from home in search of adventure, and like them, visitors to Faerie might simply walk from scene to scene. Characters can decide the direction of travel and the means as they see fit, but it is rarely geography that determines where they end up. Their hopes, fears, the choices they make, and their treatment of the other participants in the story — all these things dictate the flow of the story, along with, more prosaically, the dramatic requirements of the storyguide. It matters not whether they set off on the rose-strewn path rather than the cobbled road — the Summer Kingdom that they seek will come to them no sooner.

This is not to say that a story in the Faerie Realm is a linear path. The decision to set out on the rose-strewn path has a symbolic meaning to the story that influences future events. It might affect the order in which they encounter the obstacles set in their way, and thus the ease with which they are dealt. However, the Summer Kingdom comes no quicker merely because they have chosen a road that corresponds to summer. A good story in the Faerie Realm has many options for the characters to affect the outcome, based on choices they make earlier on.

Any story, or element of a story, told in the mundane world has a reflection in Faerie, although the relative contributions to cause and effect is a matter of disagreement among scholars versed in fay matters. Merinita magi who have told wholly new stories have found their version in the Faerie Realm almost immediately. Faeries themselves are incapable of creating new stories, suggesting that they are the product rather than the authors. Although stories in Faerie are not immutable, changing a story in Faerie does not effect changes in the mundane world; the story does not change because the characters have changed it in Faerie. This is perhaps because the modified story exists in the minds of the authors of those changes, so in effect the “real” story has been changed. Of course, all stories are re-invented by the teller, and regional variations exist in all tales, so who is to say that the “real” story is anyway. Finally, the Faerie Realm has a long memory: even stories that have been forgotten in the mundane world are remembered here.

Vitality and Fable in Faerie

Characters are not bound to obey the laws of the Faerie Realm in the same way that its inhabitants are, but if they deny the fantasy of what they are experiencing in favor of a mundane solution, they exert less control over the outcome than those who revel in the experience. Vitality is the power of stories that nourishes faeries (See Chapter 1: Nature of Faerie). While they are in the Faerie Realm, humans can spend some of their vitality by partaking in stories, and receive in fair exchange a measure of control over those stories. Characters adventuring in the Faerie Realm accumulate fable points when they accept the glamour of the realm as reality and play along in the story they are experiencing (and writing!) — that is, whenever they spend vitality. These fable points contribute to a fable score that represents the control that the character has over the Faerie Realm itself through the vitality he has spent. The first fable point gained by a character is immediately converted into a fable score of 1. Further points can be used to increase one’s fable score further, or to exert influence over Faerie. To increase one’s fable score requires the expenditure of a number of fable points equal to the current score plus one. Thus, if a character’s fable score is 5, it takes 6 fable points to increase the score by 1 point.

To influence the glamour of the Faerie Realm, a fable point can be spent to gain a bonus to one roll equal to the character’s current fable score:

Fable Point Expenditure

+(fable Score) To One Roll

Increase Fable Score

Fable Points Equal To 1 + (Current Fable Score)

Fable points can also be spent on enacting more-substantial changes to the story; see Creativity in the Faerie Realm, later. In addition to influencing Faerie, the fable score reflects how much faerie has influenced the character. See Becoming Faerie Through Fable, later.

A human character cannot have a fable score unless he is in the Faerie Realm — all fable points and fable score disappears upon leaving Faerie. And if a character returns to Faerie he begins with no fable points or fable score, regardless of whatever total he achieved on a previous visit.

Gaining Fable Points

Broadly speaking, every time the character is presented with a choice as to whether to act with or against a faerie story and he chooses the former, he expends vitality and gains a fable point in return. Acquiring fable points often requires acting according to dramatic necessity rather than common sense; some examples are given below. Note that these are one-time awards; a character who has decided to eat fay food while in the Faerie Realm does not gain a fable point every time he eats a meal, just when he first makes the decision to do so.

• Eat food originating in the Faerie Realm;
• Accept fantastic or unusual means of travel;
• Contest with an obstacle on its own terms (for example, a riddle contest with a dragon rather than a battle);
• Identification with the Hero (see The Road to Destiny, later);
• Show a defeated villain mercy even though you know he’ll be back to cause trouble later in the story;
• Deliberately breaking an interdiction (see Acts, later);
• Use a plot device (see Player-Influenced Stories, later).

This list is non-exhaustive; any dramatic and entertaining event should be rewarded with fable points, and players should find it easy to earn their characters 10 or more every session in Faerie, if they want to. Managing fable points is an important consideration for a player in an adventure that’s set in Faerie. The character is rewarded for taking part in the story by bigger and bigger bonuses to his actions; but upon the completion of the quest, the character’s final fable score determines the amount of time that has passed in the real world and the amount of warping that the character has gained from his stay in Faerie (see Leaving Faerie, later). Experienced travelers in the Faerie Realm show far less enthusiasm for a high fable score than novices.

Becoming Faerie Through Fable

Fable can also leave an imprint on the character; those who have spent a lot of vitality in the Faerie Realm often take on a faerielike nature. A character’s fable score represents the magnitude of the changes that overcome him. A player can choose to exchange a number of his character’s Virtues equal to the fable score with Virtues listed in Chapter 3: Faerie Characters; Major Virtues count as three Virtues for these purposes. If a player makes the decision to do this, the storyguide and/or troupe should exchange an equal number of his Flaws for those listed in Chapter 3. Whenever the character’s fable score increases, the player can decide to exchange a new Virtue, or else keep it in reserve — perhaps for the exchange of a Major Virtue, or to allow the character to develop a particularly useful Virtue as needed (see later).

When the character returns to the mundane world, his normal selection of Virtues is restored. But should he ever go back to the Faerie Realm, all Virtues and Flaws that were exchanged reassert themselves. Further, as he develops a new fable score on his subsequent trip, he can continue to exchange Virtues and Flaws. Consequently, the player should record all changes to the faerie version of the character on a copy of his character sheet that is only used in the Faerie Realm. Characters who make many repeated trips to the Faerie Realm gradually transform into faerie beings, and may eventually find it preferable to stay in Faerie and relish their new powers.

With the agreement of his troupe, the player can also choose Virtues that are not specific to faeries but are thematically appropriate. Any Virtues gained that grant experience points (such as Warrior) grant Abilities as Pretences, not real Abilities. If the character takes a Virtue that affects his physical form (such as Humanoid Faerie), he gains the benefits of having a glamoured body — such as immunity to Fatigue and Decrepitude — and the ability to banish wounds at the end of the scene (which, for characters who are still human, is when they leave the Faerie Realm). He must take one of these Virtues before he can take the Increased Might Virtue. For a human character in Faerie, this Virtue grants a Might pool rather than a Might Score; Might points can be spent on powers acquired through further Faerie Virtues, and the maximum pool is used to calculate Penetration. However, the character does not gain any Magic Resistance or immunity to warping. The character cannot take Virtues that require Might pool (such as Faerie Powers) until he has taken the Increased Might Virtue. All characters are assumed to be Narrowly Cognizant, in that they know that they are humans who have acquired the characteristics of a faerie.

When deciding upon Flaws, those that are swapped out first should be those pertaining to the mundane world, such as Feud or Outlaw Leader; other Flaws might be altered so that they pertain to Faerie. A mundane Mentor could be replaced with a faerie Mentor, and a magical Supernatural Nuisance could become a faerie one, for example. Other Flaws that are appropriate (such as Disfigured and Greater/Lesser Malediction) can also be used to replace the character’s Flaws. A character who gains a faerie body (such as the Humanoid Faerie Virtue) must acquire a Traditional Ward.

Example: Coll the grog gains a fable score of 1 while visiting Arcadia. During the adventure he is nearly killed by some faerie wolves when he fails a Stealth roll. His player decides to exchange his Puissant Stealth Virtue (which is clearly not working!) for the Humanoid Faerie Virtue. The storyguide decides that he should acquire a Traditional Ward (wolves) in place of Branded Criminal (which is inappropriate among faeries). Later in the story, his fable score has increased to 2 during an encounter with a faerie lady, where he boasts about his sexual prowess. He decides to exchange his Social Contacts Virtue for a new Virtue, Reputation as Confidence. One of the other players suggests that he should also acquire the Disfigured (excessively priapic) Flaw in exchange for his Weakness for Women Flaw, and the rest of the troupe agrees.

Often the resolution of a faerie story relies on the ability to perform some magical act. For a man to scale a glass cliff, he needs to take lessons from the birds on how to fly. To escape a giant, the characters must make a comb transform into an impassable thicket. To rescue the princess, the hero must walk through flames. In the Faerie Realm one need not be a wizard to perform wonders: one can get such powers from glamour. Any character with a fable score that has not been wholly used to swap Virtues can learn from a faerie how to duplicate the effects of any power or Virtue it possesses. These powers are gained as Lesser or Greater Benedictions (see Chapter 5: Touches of Faerie) as appropriate. The Flaws acquired in exchange are often Lesser or Greater Charms (again, see Chapter 5: Touches of Faerie). The necessary instruction takes anywhere between a matter of minutes to several days, depending on the needs of the story, and often the donor has to give up the ability it is teaching: a bird who teaches someone how to fly loses the ability himself. Understandably, faeries are often loathe to teach such abilities, and may require persuasion.

Creativity in the Faerie Realm

The Faerie Realm is subject to human creativity, like all things fay. Characters with the requisite creative spark can in effect make a bargain with the Faerie Realm itself; in return for a creative performance the character can alter the environment of Faerie, the symbolism of the current scene, or the attitude of the faeries taking part in the scene. To make changes in the Faerie Realm requires a trade; the character expends vitality in exchange for the ability to change the nature of Faerie. Since the character’s expenditure of vitality is charted by the acquisition of a fable score, any character with unspent fable points canattempt to enact a change in the story he and his companions are currently experiencing. To initiate a change, the character must make an offer — a description of the change that he wishes to cause, either in words or through another creative outlet such as performance or craft. Included in the offer is the promise of a service that supplies the necessary vitality to make the change. If the offer is accepted then the change occurs as described.

Crafting an Offer

Offers are usually made verbally, using either the Charm or Profession: Storyteller Ability. Performance artists may use other professional Abilities, and a crafter may work her hopes into an object, and offer it instead. Crafted offers take the same amount of time to make as a mundane object, and thus this is not a favored option while in Faerie, except for simple crafts like whittling. Although some items can be prepared before entering the Faerie Realm and finished in a fraction of the usual time. An offer constructed with insufficient skill always fails, because the faerie cannot comprehend its value.

Offer Total

Communication + Charm Or (Profession) Ability Or (Craft) Ability + Offer Modifier + Promise Modifier + Change Modifier + Stress Die

Making an offer requires the expenditure of a fable point and a Long Term Fatigue Level; along with the promise (see later), these sacrifices provide the vitality needed to enact a change to the whole realm of Faerie. The cost of fable points and fatigue are incurred whether or not the offer is accepted, but the character is not bound to his promise if the offer is not comprehended.

The Ease Factor required to make a change using creativity does not depend on the extent of the change. Instead, it depends on the size of the obstacle that the change allows the human protagonist to overcome. The more that a change simplifies the completion of the story, the greater the compensation the principal faerie’s glamour demands for the vitality the human refuses to express when overcoming the obstacle.

The table given here classifies threats by the degree of harm they are likely to cause the individual human, if not overcome by the intended change. Faeries tell stories that suit the humans available, and scale the level of challenge so that it forces the human into an optimal emotional state. The ruggedness of individual humans varies, which means that a peasant with a fine singing voice may find a sprite a deadly threat, while a minstrel supported by a cadre of Merinita magi and their grogs might find a giant trivial.

• Ease Factor: 6
• Threat Level: Trivial
• Effect: A threat of this level causes discomfort and inconvenience, but rarely causes wounds.

• Ease Factor: 9
• Threat Level: Minor
• Effect: A threat of this level damages the equipment of the characters, or causes minor wounds, but rarely kills characters.

• Ease Factor: 12
• Threat Level: Serious
• Effect: A threat of this level often causes damage to characters, and seriously wounds or kills them in some encounters.

• Ease Factor: 15
• Threat Level: Major
• Effect: A threat of this level often seriously wounds characters, and kills them in about half of all encounters.

• Ease Factor: 18
• Threat Level: Overwhelming
• Effect: A threat of this level usually kills characters.

Offer Modifiers

Certain situations offer bonuses to rolls for making offers to faeries in the Faerie Realm. A character can only gain a single bonus from a Virtue, or for an offer of goods; use the highest bonus that applies. This includes Virtues not listed here; a character with Puissant Charm and Free Expression only gets a +3 bonus. Further modifiers may apply according to the environmental, attitudinal, or symbolic change desired; see the main text for details.

Stories taking place in Elysium are strongly resistant to this process due to the faithful repetition of legends by mortals in an unchanging form. Consequently, offer rolls to cause changes in Elysium have a penalty of 6. The exception to this is if the creative efforts are bent towards restoring an Elysian story back on track after it has gone astray through the actions of the characters; in this situation all Ease Factors are decreased by 3.

• Offer Modifier: +1
• Situation: Offering minor mortal goods that contain vitality, like bread, beer, milk, cheese, and wine.

• Offer Modifier: +2
• Situation: Offering mortal crafts that express creativity, like clothes, tools or ornaments.

• Offer Modifier: +3
• Situation: Free Expression Virtue, or offering highly desirable items like vis or human children.

If your troupe is using the rules for artistic creation in Art & Academe, the following bonuses can also be gained:

• Offer Modifier: +1 per 3 points (or fraction) of Reputation
• Situation: Artistic Reputation

• Offer Modifier: +1 per 5 points (or fraction) of Might Score
• Situation: Might bequeathed by a Faerie Patron

The Promise of Service

In addition to offering mundane goods and one’s personal gift of vitality, the human character must make a promise to perform some action that symbolically transfers the vitality to Faerie. This promise might be entirely symbolic and accomplished immediately, or may involve a complex scheme to grant a major boon, thereby enacting a story. It is this action — or the promise of the action — that negates the threat posed by the story. Naturally, the greater the promise, the bigger the bonus to the Offer Total, but woe betide those who renege on a promise made to Faerie!

• Promise Modifier: –6
• Situation: Mundane actions entirely overcome the threat.
• Example: The giant blocking the pass agrees to lay down his weapons after shaking hands.

• Promise Modifier: –3
• Situation: The threat can be evaded with a series of simple symbolic actions.
• Example: The giant blocking the pass agrees to kneel, and if a character can remove his head with a single blow he and his companions can continue.

• Promise Modifier: 0
• Situation: The character can follow a conventional story to overcome the threat.
• Example: The giant blocking the pass allows passage if a character can inflict on him a wound in single combat.

• Promise Modifier: +3
• Situation: A cunning plan with a high chance of failure is still required to overcome the threat.
• Example: The giant blocking the pass allows passage if the character promises to retrieve his heart from the clutches of the witch who has stolen it.

Changes in Environment

A character may use artistic Abilities to alter the environment of Faerie areas. Magi and highly cognizant faeries understand that what is really happening is that the artist is altering the glamour that the principal faerie has spread over the area. The faerie’s glamour allows this to improve the story in a way requested by the human. In exchange, the faerie is able to harvest a little of the vitality of the human, when the story concludes, and may gain other benefits through negotiation.

• Change Modifier: +3
• Desired Change: Change a single object in the environment for the characters to use as a tool to overcome the threat.

• Change Modifier: 0
• Desired Change: Change the immediate environment so that the characters gain substantial advantage against the threat.

Changes in Attitude

The simplest change the faerie can accept is an alteration in its role in the story. A faerie blocking the progress of the characters, that allows them to pass in exchange for a cask of beer, is accepting a change of attitude. By taking a symbolic object offered by the humans, and harvesting a little vitality as their story progresses, the faerie agrees to a minor change in the part of its glamour that affects its attitude. Powerful faeries, which present greater challenges, require greater prompting to alter their role. Changes of attitude usually only last for a single transaction, and may only be toward a single person.

• Change Modifier: –3
• Desired Change:Change the intentions of a faerie so that the characters gain a substantial advantage. This may be expressed by changing the faerie’s apparent Personality Traits by up to 3 points.
• Change Modifier: –6
• Desired Change: Change the mind of a faerie comprehensively. This may be expressed by changing the faerie’s apparent Personality Traits by up to 5 points.

Changes in Symbolism

A character with an understanding of symbolism may be able to alter the glamour of the faerie so that its motifs change. This has profound effects on the faerie, since the appearance, actions, and thoughts of a faerie are inextricably connected. There is no simple way for a human to know which changes are possible within the faerie’s glamour before the attempt, and many faeries are angered by efforts to rewrite their nature.

• Change Modifier: –3
• Desired Change: Change the motif of a faerie so that the characters gain a substantial advantage. This may be expressed by changing the motif of the faerie to another, strongly related motif.

• Change Modifier: –6
• Desired Change: Change the motif of a faerie comprehensively. This may be expressed by changing the motif of the faerie to another, tenuously related motif.

An Example of Using Creativity

The characters are in the woods of the Queen of Winter, and are trekking to her palace. A closing blizzard is a Serious threat (Ease Factor 12). One of the player characters is a minstrel with a Communication + Profession score of 8 and the Free Expression Virtue, which provides him with a base Offer Total of 11, before the stress die and bonuses. He knows that he can use his art to change the way the story is progressing, but pauses to consider his options, and ask his magi for advice. He can:

• Have one of the nearby trees change into a hut, to hide from the storm (+3 changes a single object, –6 requires only mundane actions), for –3 on his roll and few repercussions;
• Sing the ground around him into spring (0 changes environment, –6 requires only mundane actions), for a –6 on his roll, but may cause alarm to nearby faeries;
• Draw out a local ice maiden and offer to woo and bed her, if she will thaw the earth about his camp (–3 changes the mind of a local faerie, –3 requires simple but ritualized actions), for a –6 on his roll, and requiring a Carouse check. Allows easy passage through the area where the ice maiden’s writ runs, protecting from weather while camping and from faeries weaker than she is;
• Sing of the beautiful gift he would bring to the Queen of Winter if only she were not so harsh and cruel, assuming that the blizzard represents her attitude (–6 changes a major motif of the faerie, +3 for owing the troupe a cunning and dangerous plan), for a –3 on his roll. Thaws the Queen’s disposition to the party, making the entire trip easier, but the minstrel needs the perfect gift or a cunning plan to avoid death when the characters arrive at the Palace.

Consequences of Creativity The use of creativity in the Faerie Realm allows a character to change a story, and potentially bypass a dramatic story element. However, the intention is that this process should never be resolved by a simple die roll; to make even relatively minor changes to a faerie the character must come up with a clever way to employ his creative abilities, and must often also promise a story in return for the resolution. Further, the cost in terms of fable points and Fatigue limits the use of this device in any given story. Creativity cannot entirely bypass an entire story, just a single plot element. And by encouraging creative ways to negotiate their way out of a situation they cannot solve in their usual manner, the player characters are generating stories and feeding Faerie. A storyguide should ensure that as much enjoyment can be derived from the creative changes as from the original story.

Leaving Faerie

Adventures in the Faerie Realm come to an end when the story reaches its conclusion. Due to the nature of stories in Faerie there is always a conclusive end: the hero triumphs over the villain, recovers the princess, or fails to save his kingdom from his half-brother. Once the story has run its natural course, the characters encounter the Guardian of the Threshold again, who sends them home. Under most circumstances, the Guardian appears slightly different than when the characters first met it, depending on the outcome of the story. For example, if a story revolved around fighting the force of Winter and restoring Spring, then the ancient white stag who initially barred their passage may return as a stumbling fawn. If the story ends by the hero marrying the princess, the bride may transform into the crone who acted as the Guardian. The inscription on a monolith might change, or a barrier of thorns transform into a garden of roses. Whatever the change, passing the Guardian the second time returns the characters to the mundane world. They are usually deposited in the same place they left, but characters exploiting the Mother Road (see later) intentionally or by accident find themselves elsewhere.

Characters cannot prolong their stay in the Faerie Realm by refusing to partake in stories. For example, aware of the time dilation effect of Faerie (see later), a magus might decide to spend a season studying in Arcadia on the assumption that a miniscule amount of time might pass in the real world. However, this never works. The very essence of the Faerie Realm is story, and adventure will quite literally come knocking on the character’s door. Furthermore, the resolution of even the tiniest of nuisances ends the story and the character finds himself back in the mundane world.

Leaving by Using Merinita Mysteries Members of House Merinita who are Initiated into the Mystery Virtue of Arcadian Travel (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, page 92) can leave the Faerie Realm with greater ease and finesse than other characters. They can not only leave before the story has ended, but they can also choose their destination. The maga must have a charm for this process (see Arcadian Mysteries under Entering Faerie, earlier), and must generate an Arcadian Travel Total equal to (13 – destination aura modifier) x 3. If she has an Arcane Connection to her destination, she subtracts 6 from the Ease Factor. She can leave the Faerie Realm with as many additional travelers as her score in Faerie Magic; these need not be those with whom she entered the Faerie Realm. Any she leaves behind must find their own way home. The rules for determining the passage of time and warping apply to characters leaving the Faerie Realm through Arcadian Travel just like any other characters.

Warping and the Passage of Time

None leave the Faerie Realm unscathed. Those characters who reveled in the stories they played out may have been assisted by the vitality they accumulated (in terms of fable points), but this vitality means that they are more likely to suffer permanent effects from the adventure in terms of Warping points. Further, these characters may discover that they have been away much longer than they believed; and that weeks, months, or even years have passed when they thought it was merely days.

Conversely, characters who stubbornly resist the lure of the story have a more-difficult time resolving the issues to effect a return home (since they do not accumulate fable points to spend), but by avoiding the story they have resisted the transformative effect of the Faerie Realm’s glamour, and escape with little or no Warping. Additionally, by rejecting Faerie it rejects them in return, and the whole experience in Faerie may take less time than they believed.

Once the story is over and the characters are ready to return home, convert any remaining fable points into fable score, if possible. The final fable score determines the speed by which time passes in the mortal world:

Faerie Score	1 Day Lasts ...
0	1 hour
1	12 hours
2	1 day
3	3 days
4	1 week
5	1 month
6	1 season
7+	1 year

As the character passes out of Faerie he can feel the warring powers of mundanity and glamour beating at him, and may elect to shield himself against the excessive passage of time by taking some of the realm’s glamour with him when he goes. In game terms, the player can elect to take Warping points for his character to avoid substantial dilation of time due to a stay in Faerie. Every Warping point taken reduces the effective fable score by 1. Thus, a character who spent four days in Arcadia and gained a fable score of 5 in that time can elect to take 3 Warping points and reduce the real duration of the adventure from four months to four days.

It is not necessary to take Warping points to ameliorate the faster passage of time, and many characters instinctively reject the siren call of glamour as they pass into the mundane world. Any character with the Faerie Lore Ability of at least 1 is aware of the possibility and can warn others of the potential for losing time, and how to guard against it. If a group of characters leave the Faerie Realm at the same time, they all suffer the same time dilation effect, equal to that of the person who elected for the lowest effective fable score. All the other characters take sufficient Warping points to bring them to the same level. Magi do not need to check to see if they enter Twilight for receiving these Warping points. Unlike time dilation in some Faerie regiones (see Chapter 1: Nature of Faerie), characters in the Faerie Realm make aging rolls according to the time spent in Faerie, not the time that has passed in the real world.

Example: Branoic is lost in the Faerie Realm, but he is heedful of his grandmother’s tales about avoiding the generosity of faeries (he has a Faerie Lore of 1). He accepts just 3 fable points in the three days it takes him to complete the story (fable score 2), and his player chooses to take 2 Warping points upon leaving Faerie. His effective fable score is therefore 0, and each of the three days he spent on his adventure lasted just one hour. He makes it home before dawn.

Example: Fleeing the Norman invasion of England, a Saxon nobleman called Aethelbald stumbles into the Faerie realm with the assistance of a seductive faerie queen who desires him as only faeries can. Initially he rejects her advances, and accumulates only a meager amount of vitality. However, he is eventually won over by the wiles of the queen, and luxuriates in the bounty of her kingdom. After five months of feasting, hunting, and adventuring he feels he has recuperated sufficiently and seeks a way home. Upon crossing the Threshold he resists the call of Faerie due to his desire to rejoin the fight against his Norman foes, and chooses to take no Warping points. To his dismay, Aethelbald discovers that a whole year has passed for every one of the 140 days he spent with his supernatural lover (since his final fable score was 8), and it is now the 1220th Year of Our Lord.

Living in the Story

A character can quite literally become a living story in the Faerie Realm. Rather than participating in stories, the character begins to stage them instead, and becomes more and more mired in the glamour of the realm. Eventually the desire to return home fades entirely, along with the character’s humanity. The glamour of the Faerie Realm gradually replaces his flesh, and the character becomes a faerie. Since the character has retired from the game by choosing to remain in Faerie, there needs to be no specific mechanic for this process; troupes who need to simulate it are directed towards the Becoming Mystery Virtue on pages 93–96 of Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, House Merinita. Typically, this process starts to takes place after several years pass since gaining a fable score of 10.

The Subjective Nature of Time What happens if a group of characters travels into the Faerie Realm and meets up with another human who has been there for a different amount of real time — and then they all return together? For example, the characters aim to release the captive of a faerie from several months of bondage. Should this situation occur, the storyguide must determine what happens when they all return together; some possibilities are given here. Note that the effects of such a situation should not be known prior to the rescue event, and may be different the next time such a situation occurs. Time passes at the rate determined by the rescuers. As above, but the rescued person ages the number of years difference. Time passes at the rate determined by the rescued character. The rescued character disappears upon reaching the mundane world, only to reappear years later after the appropriate time has passed. The rescued person is replaced by an exact faerie replica. Nothing untoward appears to happen at all.

Spinning Tales in the Faerie Realm

Stories that take place in the Faerie Realm are fairy tales in a way that tales involving faeries in the mundane world are not. In worldly stories, it isn’t possible for a peasant to become a prince, but in Faerie this is not only possible, but expected. Advice on running faerie stories in general can be found in Chapter 7: Telling Faerie Stories, but when using these ideas for adventures in the Faerie Realm you can be less inhibited. Here the fabulous is commonplace and marvels can be bought for two a penny. Due to this loosening of the bounds of the credible and the banal, stories spun in the Faerie Realm should be more vivid than would normally be entertained, and perhaps more bizarre. One way to make a clear separation between faerie stories in the mundane world and those in the Faerie Realm is through audience participation.

Audience Participation

Fairy stories are not static things. Every storyteller worth her salt embellishes a tale as she spins it, making it truly hers. The story is thus invested with the teller’s own creativity, and has appeal even to those who have heard it before. In this vein, stories that take place in the Faerie Realm need not be fixed and immutable. While the story has defined dramatis personae and acts, the playing out of those acts by player characters can often take an unexpected turn, and in the Realm of Stories itself, this should be even more true. Allowing the characters to change the stories that they are experiencing through the expenditure of fable points (see Creativity in the Faerie Realm, earlier) puts some of the power into the hands of the players. Another effective way to make the players invest in the tales of the Faerie Realm is to offer some of the control of the plot to them directly. This can be done in two principle ways. Playerdriven stories are those in which the players decide even the gross elements of the scenery and the characters they meet, although the storyguide still controls the underlying plot. Alternatively, player-influenced stories allow a player to change the events that affect his character without changing the flow of the story too dramatically.

Player-driven Stories

An effective way to introduce the wonder and malleability of a story set in Faerie is to place the reins of the adventure initially in the hands of the players. Imagine this: a group of characters have a reason to enter the Faerie Realm. They perform a rite to attract the Threshold and step onto the Path of Chance. They encounter the Guardian, and negotiate the onwards journey. The storyguide then announces to her players: “leaving the Guardian behind, you proceed deeper into the Faerie Realm. Before you lies the landscape of Arcadia. What does it look like?”

Suddenly, the control of the story is in the hands of the players. After initial confusion (mirrored by the confusion of their characters, no doubt), they begin to describe the scenery before them. The storyguide should ask more questions to clarify the scene before them, looking for ways to integrate one of her story elements, and ensuring that the scene is properly populated with potential storyguide characters, if appropriate. The scene’s contents are described by the players, but their role is determined by the storyguide. The players might describe a snow scene complete with the Queen of Winter, but the storyguide determines whether the queen will be a protagonist, antagonist, or simply background color in the story.

This technique may only really works the first time that a group of players experience Arcadia. After the first visit — indeed, after the first few scenes of the first visit— this technique quickly loses its focus, and the storyguide will need to exert some control over the story to ensure that it includes the elements she has planned. However, some troupes may take to the freeform nature of this technique, and decide to continue with player-driven stories rather than adopting a more traditional style of gaming.

Player-influenced Stories

An alternative to the player-driven stories, but still not returning wholly to the storyguide-driven stories of the mundane world, are those stories in which players influence the outcome of certain events in a way that enhances the enjoyment for all without abandoning the point of the story itself. This can be done by issuing each player with a generic plot device that he can use once during the adventure in the Faerie Realm. A plot device should be encapsulated in a succinct phrase or proverb, such as “misery loves company” or “never judge a book by its cover,” and given in secret to the player. At any point in the game, the player can elect to influence the plot by employing his device, which he should do by revealing the device to the storyguide and briefly outlining how the device can be used to change the current situation. A plot device is applied to the player’s own character, and can change the situation for that character only; although storyguide characters and perhaps any pooled characters may be indirectly affected. A plot device cannot directly influence another player’s character. The storyguide should try find a way to integrate the suggestions of the player into the scene, but is not obliged to do so and can always veto the use of a plot device if it does not seem appropriate. If the plot device is refused by the storyguide, then the player can attempt to use it later on in the story.

Example: In the court of the King of Summer, Mark’s character accidentally insults the king, and is condemned to imprisonment awaiting judgment. Richard (another player) employs his “misery loves company” plot device, and suggests to the storyguide that his magus is condemned along with the offending character, as Richard feels that the two characters together may be able to make an escape. Their storyguide agrees, and the king deems that since the magus laughed at the insult, he will suffer the same fate as the slanderer. Note that Mark couldn’t have used the same plot device to drag Richard’s magus into the same fate as his own character, because plot devices do not work on another player’s character. Plot devices should not be tailored to the specifics of the story. That is, the successful resolution of a story should not be dependent on a player employing the plot device assigned to him.

Plot devices are assigned to players, not characters. If you are using the troupe-style play of Ars Magica Fifth Edition, then the player should use his plot device on his magus or companion character rather than any grog character he is currently running. However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and the plot device should be employed where it will improve the game the most. Successfully employing a plot device is worth the reward of a bonus Confidence point at the end of the story, and also earns the character to whom it was applied a fable point.

Example Plot Devices Proverbs make excellent plot devices, and storyguides are encouraged to use books or web pages of proverbs and aphorisms to invent new plot devices. Here are twenty plot devices (some proverbial, some not) to get you started: Charity Begins at Home Even a Strong Man Drowns in Armor Familiarity Breeds Contempt Double Jeopardy Pride Comes Before a Fall To Err is Human A Stumble Prevents a Fall Misplaced Trust is the Unkindest Cut Barking Dogs Don’t Bite Give a Man a Second Chance Every “Bad” has its “Worse” Diamonds May Be Overlooked When Covered in Mud Kind Words Unlock Iron Doors A Dragon’s Tail Can Look Like a Snake Every Garden Has Weeds Every Cloud has a Silver Lining Many Hands Make Light Work There is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger

Pitfalls in Player-run Stories

Player-driven or player-influenced stories are an effective storytelling technique, but the storyguide must be careful not to allow her players to dominate the story. She must be prepared to veto any player input that threatens to unbalance the game or wreck her plotlines. However, this power of veto should be used sparingly, else why bother with player input in the first place? Remember that player-driven elements cannot determine the role of any given element, only its description, so a player cannot create a plot-breaking device. A player-influenced device is similarly limited in that it can affect only a single scene (and only the player’s own character), so there are no “get out of jail free” devices that bypass the challenge presented by the story.

Another pitfall to avoid is familiarity. If the characters are (un)lucky enough to make another trip to the Faerie Realm, change the rules. If you used player-driven plots before, use player-influenced ones this time. Faerie in general — and Arcadia in particular — should never be predictable.

Arcadia

Arcadia is the face of the Faerie Realm where new stories are born. It can be a place of fanciful whimsy, abject terror, high fantasy, or gritty bloodshed, or perhaps all of these and more. Of the three faces of the Faerie Realm presented in this chapter, Arcadia is the one with which long-time players of Ars Magica will be most familiar, and for characters “in the know” it is the place that they usually mean when they speak of the Faerie Realm.

The Path of Chance is so named since journeys into Arcadia have no plan (as there is in Elysium) or purpose (as there is in Eudokia). Primarily, therefore, it is a place of adventure and experience. Arcadia is responsive to the perceptions of those who experience it, and in contrast to many stories in a typical game session, the players have as much influence over the flow of the story as does the storyguide.

The Inhabitants of Arcadia

Everything in Arcadia is potentially a faerie — the creatures, the objects, even the landscape the characters walk though. More precisely, every entity that comes to the attention of mortal characters has the potential to become an element in the story they experience while in Arcadia.

Students of Faerie have debated as to whether Arcadia is the home to faeries, or their point of origin, or if it is independent of the faeries found in the mortal realm. Like the nature of the faeries themselves, such questions cannot be answered. The same types of faeries found in the mundane world are found in Arcadia, but here they all take on an additional role — The role is that imposed upon them by the presence of the characters. In the mundane world, a story is defined by the faeries who act it out; but in Arcadia, the story defines the faerie.

Example of Arcadian Story Creation Andrea is planning an adventure in Arcadia. She knows that the purpose of the journey is to free the local priest from the grip of a disgruntled faerie, so she makes the Enchanted Priest one of her story elements. She also wants to introduce her players to a particular faerie— Lofanneth Wolf-Brother — who will be important in a later story. Finally, she needs to include the priest’s captor Arduinna, the villain of the piece, and a variant of the Pale Man element described later. She decides to pick two more elements at random from the tables later on in this chapter, and comes up with the Stone Drum and the Wounded River. She now has to associate these elements with each other. Arduinna is clearly the captor of the Enchanted Priest, and Andrea also decides to make Lofanneth Wolf-Brother her captive as well, but she overlays this with a link of rivalry between the two faeries. Andrea makes the Stone Drum the weakness of Arduinna; the sound it makes causes all her powers to cease. Lofanneth is the donor who is the means by which the heroes (i.e. the characters) acquire the Drum, in that he knows where it is hidden. But since he is under Arduinna’s power, he can’t tell anyone. Finally, the Wounded River (a strange combination, but it came up at random and Andrea liked the idea of a river of blood) is where the drum is hidden, but Andrea also decides to link it to Arduinna, in that she bathes there every day to refresh her Might. From starting with a handful of elements, Andrea has invented a story in a matter of minutes that has the feel of a faerie tale. She doesn’t know the details yet, but the framework is there already. Since she already knows that the characters will be entering Arcadia using a river as a geographical boundary, she decides that this will become the Wounded River once they cross the Threshold, making it the first story element to be encountered. They will then encounter a Transference act that takes them either to Arduinna (initiating a Reconnaissance) or Lofanneth (initiating a Receipt).

The Path of Chance

Arcadia is the most common destination of mundanes entering the Faerie Realm because any of the conditions that attract a Threshold can lead to the Path of Chance. Trods — which are by far the most common routes into Faerie — almost all lead to Arcadia, as do extemporized works of artistic endeavor.

Typical Arcadian Guardians of the Threshold

Arcadian Guardians of the Threshold are most commonly animals or humans, although the other types of guardians do occur. It is common for the Guardians who block the Path of Chance to place some form of blessing or prohibition on characters who choose to continue on the path. Some examples follow.

• A woman, unbelievably old, is wrapped in a warm woolen shawl. Those who accept her invitation for a meal in the safety of her hut miss the Threshold. Those who politely decline are given a friendly warning not to eat any food they’re offered.
• A terrapin who has fallen onto his back pleads with the characters to restore him to the safety of his pool, which he says is just around a nearby thicket. In reality, that path leads them back to the mundane world. He may curse the characters who pass him by, promising them misfortune near water.
• A sibyl with a book under one arm containing her prophecies. She warns them to return to whence they came for she has foreseen a dire fate for them. If they inquire of this fate but are resolved to continue, the doom she utters is sure to come about.
• A goose stands at the fork in a path. She states that one path leads to safety (without revealing that this equates to the mundane world), but the other leads to excitement and peril. Should they choose the latter, she’ll grant them a gift to aid them against the dangers they will face.
• A thicket of wild roses, the color of sunset. The tangle is almost impassable, and those who attempt it are sure to be pricked by the poisonous thorns, and yet make it through to Faerie.
• A sphinx who declares that none shall pass unless they can tell her a riddle she cannot answer. Those who succeed are punished for their cleverness.

Arcadian Stories

In Arcadia, the rambling Path of Chance can take the characters off in any number of directions, but an Arcadian adventure is perhaps not as random as some might think. The difference between it and an adventure in the mundane world is that the players play an equal role in determining the story with the storyguide. Note that this is an equal share — stories run in Arcadia are not necessarily player-led. The storyguide should plan the major elements of the story that she wishes her players to experience, but should not lock these plot elements into a rigid order or linear path.

Planning Arcadian Stories

Stories in Arcadia should be free-form and flexible. There should be no need to follow a logical order in acts in Arcadia; such chaos is a feature of many faerie tales. For example, take the following story elements: the Rye-King who has stolen a child; a Mouse who knows the King’s only weakness; a Tree of Silver from which an arrow must be fashioned to kill him; and a Palace of Woven Grass that is the prison of the stolen child. While this might seem like the obvious order in which to encounter these elements, they can actually occur in any order. The characters might visit the Palace of Woven Grass first and rescue the child, and spend the rest of the story being pursued by the Rye-King. Else they might meet the Mouse first without realizing his true worth, and when they seek him out again the manner in which he was treated the first time determines how willing he is to assist.

There is a simple method to put together a story in Arcadia that will have the feel of a faerie tale. Later on in this chapter are described a number of story elements — actors, props, and scenery. The relationships between each of these elements builds up the story. Pick a number of story elements — a good guide is to take one per story experience point you intend to hand out. These can be chosen from the accompanying lists, randomly determined on the tables, or invented from your own imagination. Determine whether each of the story elements will be a dramatis persona, or else take part in an act, or both. Now associate each of these elements with one to three other elements through a link of some description. This link might be another story act (such as Villainy, Trickery, or so forth), or it might be an emotion or weakness. Finally, determine which element will serve as the start point for the character’s adventures. To run the story in Arcadia, the characters will travel from story element to story element along the links you have provided.

Elysium

In the Land of Legend, all stories have already been told. Here, characters can encounter Roland fighting the Moors in Spain, take part in the abduction of Idun from Asgard, or stalk Theseus in the labyrinth in the place of the Minotaur. It matters not that a story is little-remembered in the current day; if it was told, and loved, then it lives on in Elysium.

The reasons for coming to Elysium are varied. The most basic is to witness a great legend in action, although most player-characters do not make good spectators to such stories. There is a strong temptation to become involved — who would not relish casting spells with Merlin or fighting alongside Romulus? Such interference is usually harmless, and may form an important part in an Initiation Quest into a Mystery Cult. However, since all legends in Elysium derive from human-told stories, it is not possible to uncover secrets unknown to the tellers of the legend. The faerie copy of a local dragon legend cannot be used to discover the dragon’s fatal weakness, unless that weakness is part of the legend. The words whispered by Odin to his dead son Balder will forever remain a mystery even if the characters witness the funeral first hand in Elysium. These stories are just faerie copies of the true tales, and encompass all the variants, twists, and permutations that have been added over the years.

The stories in Elysium can serve a greater purpose than simply to echo a heroic deed, though. By stepping onto the Path of Destiny, a character can intentionally take the role of one of the dramatis personae in a suitable story that symbolizes a task for which he needs help. By completing the story in the manner prescribed by the tale, the “hero” acquires a vital boon to some fitting task. This boon is often an insight into the desired problem, but may also be some forgotten detail of the story, or else a supernatural item or power brought out of Faerie to complete its destined purpose.

For example, a magus is searching for the key to a long-forgotten tradition of necromancy (perhaps Canaanite Necromancy, from Ancient Magic, pages 30–34). However, his research has hit a dead end, so he chooses to embark on a quest in Elysium to acquire an insight. He targets the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, partially because it deals with the dead, and partially because the theme is the recovery of something that is lost. The magus takes on the role of Orpheus, and travels into the Faerie Realm. He negotiates his way past Kerberos and the Judges of the Dead, quiets the torment of the damned with his magic, and melts the heart of Persephone. When, as his final act in reenacting the story, he turns to face Eurydice at the mouth of the tunnel from Hades, instead of the fleeting ghost of his lover, he receives a vision of an ancient city, and knows now where he must go to put his research back on track.

The aid provided by the successful conclusion of an Elysian quest is rarely direct, and it cannot be of a non-Faerie nature. For example, it could not grant an Insight (Ancient Magic, pages 8–9) into lost magic since this is a Magical process; nor could it result in simply being handed the answer to a problem. However, the hint or knowledge obtained is sufficient to point the characters in the correct direction.

While an Elysian quest is an unusual way to advance a plot, it is an appropriately mythic one, and can provide insights or help where none is mundanely possible. It requires careful planning by the storyguide and the characters who intend to embark on the quest, for they must ensure that every act in the original story has the same overall resolution in their reenactment, even if the exact details are not right. In the example given above, it does not matter how Kerberos is evaded, or how Persephone is impressed, as long as these things occur.

There are a large number of stories known to the inhabitants of Mythic Europe that make suitable stories for adventures in Elysium. Listed below are a number of stories that are appropriate to Elysian adventures; searching for these names in libraries and on the internet will reveal the full text, and more examples can be found in the sources listed in Chapter 8: Bibliography.

The Bible

It might seem surprising that biblical stories could be part of adventures set in the Faerie Realm. However, they fit all the requirements for Elysian stories, in that they are told often and they provoke an emotional response in the listener. The Old Testament, in particular, is filled with highly appropriate stories. Although many of the characters in these stories are suspected to have possessed Divine Powers, in Elysium they have Faerie Powers. Remember that these characters are not actually the prophets and kings of history, just faeries who are playing their roles. No-one has ever recounted an attempt to embark on an Elysian story taking the role of Christ, these being too blasphemous for most characters to consider.

• Lot’s escape from Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18–19)
• Jael and Sisera (Judges 5–6)
• Samson and Delilah (Judges 13–16)
• David and Goliath (I Samuel 17)
• King Jereboam and the Prophet (I Kings 13)
• The Testing of Job (Job, passim)
• The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9)

Legends of Ancient Greece and Dead Rome

The transmission of ancient Greek legends to the medieval period is far from complete, and only educated men are familiar with them. And even then, such stories are only commonly encountered as counter-examples to a good, Christian life. The later history of Rome — that is, outside of the legendary period and into the history books — also provides a wealth of stories.

• The Sorrows and Labors of Hercules
• The Sack of Troy
• Theseus in the Underworld
• Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Pandora
• The Flight of Icarus
• Romulus and Remus

Pagan Legends

The legends of pagan peoples were generally recorded by members of the clergy following the conversion of their country. In Ireland, for example, stories were gathered in the fifth and sixth centuries, in Wales in the eighth and ninth centuries, and in Scandinavia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Snorri Sturluson, the great compiler of the Norse myths, is still alive in Iceland in 1220). As folk tales, these stories of gods and pagan heroes live much longer in the popular memory, although some may have been cleaned of paganism to pacify the Church.

• Cu Chulainn
• Oisin and Niamh
• Culhwch and Olwen
• Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
• Thor and Thrym
• Bard, the God of Snaefell

Romances and Märchen

The medieval fascination with the romances of King Arthur and his court has yet to reach its peak, and yet many stories are already well known in parts of Mythic Europe, particularly France and England. Sir Lancelot has yet to make an appearance in his familiar form, and the legend of the Grail Quest has not been fully realized, but many familiar elements are already in place. The chasons de geste of French-speaking lands and the Märchen of German lands constitute the principle cycles of non-Arthurian epics, which together with local folk tales constitute a rich heritage of storytelling in Mythic Europe.

• Perceval
• Gawain
• The Song of Roland
• Reynard the Fox
• Huon of Bordeaux
• Maugis d’Aigremont
• Herzog Ernst

A Thousand and One Nights

Professional storytellers, or rawis, are a popular part of the culture of Islamic lands, and talented amateurs love to get their hand in wherever they can. The opposition from Islam regarding falsehood and deception has lead to elaborate circumlocutions: “It is said — but only Allah knows the truth — that ...” has become a clichéd, but necessary, way to open a story.

• The Story of Es-Sindibad of the Sea and Es-Sindibad of the Land
• The Story of the City of Brass
• Prince Camaralzaman and the Princess Badoura
• Antar, slave, warrior, and poet
• Rustem, slayer of dragons and demons

The Road of Destiny

It is unusual — although not impossible — for a group of characters to stumble onto the Path of Destiny by mistake; accidentally crossing the Threshold is much more likely to lead to Arcadia or Eudokia. Getting to Elysium requires a certain amount of forethought, since all the conditions affecting Threshold points must be specifically aligned toward the story the characters desire. The timing of the journey should coincide with an auspicious time (such as the feast-day of a god, the anniversary of a hero, etc.). Any Faerie auras should arise from an appropriate location, artistic endeavors employed should be in praise or commemoration of the target story, and so forth. Not all these elements must be present, but all sources of Threshold points that are inappropriate actually subtract from the total, rather than adding to it.

Typical Elysian Guardians of the Threshold

Elysian Guardians of the Threshold are most commonly of the kerberos type, taking the form of horrible monsters or seemingly dangerous challenges. An important function of the Elysian Guardian is to confer a symbol of the role of hero; this is usually accompanied by a boon (which is often a Virtue with a Charm, see Chapter 5: Touches of Faerie) and a prohibition.

• A three-headed dog, the original Kerberos. He is chained to a post, but the characters cannot squeeze past. He can be put to sleep with honey cakes. After passing the creature the characters see a patch of blue flowers, the only thing within reach that the monster has left untouched. This herb can repel monsters.
• A knight blocks the road; his armor is enameled in red, and his helm obscures his face. He demands single combat with a champion, else none shall pass. The Red Knight’s combat scores are identical to those of the character, but any wounds he inflict heal like Fatigue levels after the fight. If the character wins, the knight cedes his sword, but admonishes his opponent to never refuse an honorable battle.
• The baying of hounds and drumming of hooves heralds a large host ahead; a person is bound to be reminded of the Wild Hunt. If he continues, he is confronted merely by a strong wind.
• An ibis, who looks at the characters with a cocked head and asks them if their hearts are pure enough to proceed. He weighs each heart against a feather plucked from his plumage. Ask each player whether her character’s heart is pure. Those who fail do not receive their heart back, and can experience no emotions while in Faerie (although this may be a boon depending upon what they are fated to face).

Identification As the Hero

An important aspect of embarking on this road is that of identification. The character or characters, as soon as they pass the Guardian of the Threshold, must declare themselves to be the hero they wish to emulate. By standing in faerie and stating clearly and unequivocally “I am Prince Ivan,” the character is infused with the glamour of Elysium, and becomes Prince Ivan. Every faerie he meets from that point on will treat him as Prince Ivan. His clothes and possessions will change to signify the identification, although he does not acquire any magical accouterments that are significant in the story about to be embarked upon, and all his Characteristics, Abilities, and so forth remain the same. Identification with the hero in this manner costs the character a Confidence point, and thus is only possible for companions and magi. Simply identifying with the hero grants the character his first fable point, and thus a fable score of 1 (see Vitality in Faerie, earlier). This will prove useful in executing the functions of the hero.

If the character is not alone on his journey, then there are two options. Firstly, one character can take the role of the hero and be supported by the other characters. In this case the other characters are largely ignored by the inhabitants of Elysium. Any actions they perform to assist the hero in the completion of his tasks are assumed to originate from the hero. However, allowing other characters to overcome challenges on behalf of the hero means that he can never claim total victory for that scene. See later for more details of measuring success.

The other way for multiple characters to take part in a Elysian story is for them to share the role of hero. Each must identify himself as the hero upon entering Elysium through a firm statement and the expenditure of a Confidence point. Following this, any of the identified characters can act in the role of the hero, but only one at a time. There must be some form of token — a sword, hat, cloak, or so forth — that the character currently taking the role of the hero must possess. The character who carries this token is treated as the hero. Even if the token is handed over in full view of a faerie, the faerie simply redirects his attention to the new character and seems not to notice the change in person. Note, however, that highly cognizant faeries (of which there are admittedly few in Elysium) recognize this change in role and may seek to prevent it, although will still accept it if it takes place. It is wise from a game management point of view to issue the players with a token as well (such as a stick or a hat), to indicate the current “owner” of the hero’s role.

Hermetic Legends Even the stories of the Order of Hermes have been witnessed in Elysium. Magi have reported taking part in Merinita’s first meeting with Bonisagus, the First Tribunal, and the Tempest that ended the Schism War. However, witnessing and participating in such stories cannot reveal secrets, for the components of such legends are constituted from the reportage of those who participated and told the tale to other mortals. Thus, the fate of Tytalus when he disappeared into the Maddenhofen woods cannot be illuminated in Faerie, since there were no spectators to this event. Similarly, conflicting stories of the same event (such as the many confused retellings of the Schism War) are equally true in Elysium. And the appearance of the actors (who are of course faeries) conform to the preconceptions of the talespinners — the character of Bonisagus in a story from his own house has a very different appearance than the same character born of a Flambeau tale. Despite these limitations, Hermetic legends are still a popular topic among the few members of the Order who travel in Elysium. As most of these are members of House Merinita, that Founder is the most commonly witnessed. Those faerie magi who have conversed with an Elysian version of Merinita have come away with the distinct impression that their Founder is alive and well, and living in Faerie …

Elysian Stories

A story on the Path of Destiny is very different than most stories in Ars Magica Fifth Edition, even than other stories set in the Faerie Realm. In an Elysian story, the characters already know how the story is going to play out. They are aware of the identity of the villain, and know what must be done by the hero to achieve victory. The focus of an Elysian journey is to recreate a story; to ensure that the same challenges are faced by the characters emulating the hero. The success of such an adventure is counted by the measure to which the characters have managed to walk the same steps as the legendary hero who is their role model.

It is also usually the case that the players pick the story, rather than having it happen to them. Thus, there is no chance that the characters get the story wrong, end up in an inappropriate story, or fail to pursue the correct course of action through ignorance. A journey on the Path of Destiny must be carefully planned: first the story must be identified that relates the most appropriate theme to the insight required; then the characters must deliberately attract the Threshold to gain entry into Faerie; they must ensure that the Threshold is called using the most appropriate method to resonate with the story they desire; and they must then manipulate the events to ensure that the story is completed as planned. This is not to say that the story becomes purely player driven. The storyguide must still plan the particulars of each stage of the story, and then come up with ways that the characters can be confounded in their task.

Planning Elysian Stories

To create a mythological story for characters to emulate, first decide on the base tale that fulfills the needs of the story. This process is normally completed by the players on behalf of their characters. The storyguide should then take the chosen story and break it down into different stages or scenes. Most stories of decent length have five or more separate acts; one element per story experience point you intend to hand out at the culmination of the quest is a good guide. If the story is a short one, then more acts may need to be added; see later for details on this process. For each act, decide what constitutes successful completion, and what factors can prevent the characters from achieving this completion. These factors need not be attested to in the original story, but if complications are invented out of dramatic necessity, they cannot interfere with the original tale.

Example: In enacting the Arthurian Tale of the Barking Beast (see Chapter 4: Faerie Bestiary), the characters (playing the role of Sir Pellinore) must volunteer for the quest. However, another knight of Arthur’s court might volunteer before they get the opportunity; so the characters must persuade him to withdraw, perhaps by dueling him for the honor of the quest.

Example of Elysian Story Creation The characters in Andrea’s saga are in desperate need of a source of particular vis to maintain a ritual to safeguard the covenant. They elect to go on an Elysian quest to uncover clues to its location. The story decided upon is that of Reynard the Fox, who is desperately seeking food. The story breaks down into the following scenes: Scene 1: Reynard raids the henhouse and catches Chantecler the cockerel, but is pursued by dogs. The cockerel escapes by appealing to Reynard’s pride, making him open his mouth to speak. The characters must sneak into the henhouse and capture the vigilant chicken, then — ensuring that they have been spotted — let their prize go. Scene 2: Still hungry, Reynard encounters a titmouse, who he persuades to give him a kiss, hoping to get a juicy mouthful of bird. He is tricked by the titmouse into revealing his true nature. The characters must continue to evade the dogs, which is the real purpose of this act; since deliberately failing to eat a small bird is hardly a challenge. Scene 3: Reynard next encounters Tibalt the cat. Knowing where there is a snare trap, Reynard challenges Tibalt to a race, but fails three times to snare himself some supper. When the dogs from the henhouse incident catch up with Reynard, Tibalt trips him up and into the snare. Similarly to the previous challenge, deliberately losing a race is no fun. However, the storyguide decides that Tibalt fails to see the snare, and so the characters must prevent him from getting caught despite his own best efforts to do precisely that. Scene 4: Caught in the snare, the farmer has his hands on the thieving fox, and prepares to give him a beating. Once again, Reynard escapes using his sharp tongue. The challenge is two-fold here — endure the beating handed out by the farmer, and outwit him to secure escape. Scene 5: Finally, Reynard encounters Tiercelin the Raven, who has found some cheese. Reynard persuades Tiercelin to display his beautiful singing voice, thus he drops the cheese. Reynard finally gets to eat. Unfortunately for the characters, Tiercelin is unwilling to sing; he’s wise to the fox’s plan and will not be fooled in this manner. The characters must make him drop the cheese in a different manner.

Adding New Scenes

Not all stories have sufficient scenes for the needs of a story. In such a situation, the storyguide can add new scenes that connect to existing acts. These extra scenes may have no independent measure of success, or they might be an important precursor to a later scene. In effect, the storyguide is creating a “director’s cut” of the original story, expanding on the preexisting material and explaining some of the background to the characters, which may have been assumed in previous tales.

Example: The characters are enacting Thrym’s theft of Thor’s hammer, playing the role of Thor. However, in their first scene, it turns out that Thor has not yet received his wondrous hammer from the dwarfs. They must seek out and negotiate its purchase, because without the hammer they cannot complete the story.

Example: In the story of Culwch and Olwen, Culwch is cursed to be miserable until he marries Olwen, and Olwen’s father is cursed to die after his daughter is married. However, the characters discover that at the beginning of their tale, Olwen’s father is yet to have received his curse. The original story has no information on the origin of this curse, so the characters must invent one by persuading a faerie to lay that curse for them.

Running Elysian Stories

The important part of an Elysian story is preserving the narrative of the original tale. Whether the characters are taking part in a well-known story and interacting with the characters, or whether they are following an allegorical reflection of a particular tale, each story element must be resolved in the manner of the underlying story for the characters to succeed in their quest. Sometimes it might appear that the story drifts from its original plan due to the meddling of the characters, and that there is a danger that matters will not resolve as they should. For example, in the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, the characters take the role of Gawain. In the original story, Gawain smote the head from the shoulders of the Green Knight. But what if the character playing Gawain misses, or refuses to make an attempt? To complete the story (and thus escape from the Faerie Realm) they must find a way to complete their objective, and bring the story back on track even if the exact circumstances are no longer applicable. In the above example, they must perhaps challenge the Green Knight again, and repeat the intervening quests — this certainly has more flair (and is mythically more appropriate) than simply taking another swing at the knight’s neck. The characters are also more likely to succeed in bringing their story back on track if their actions to rectify it generate fable points, since they are obeying the dictates of the story when doing such actions.

A Twist to the Tale An interesting twist on the Elysian story is for the characters to adopt a role other than that of the hero. For most stories, the only appropriate dramatis personae other than the hero are the roles of villain and princess — the remaining minor roles do not offer sufficient scope for stories. For example, in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the characters could take the role of Hades. They must ensure that Orpheus is sorely tested but succeeds, and also make sure that he looks back at just the right moment so that Eurydice is still lost to him.

The Measure of Success

In Elysium, it is important to keep the elements of the quest as similar to the mythological theme as possible. The storyguide should score the performance of the characters at negotiating each element of the theme, with the score reflecting how similar the resolution of the task was to the original story. This may mean that the characters have to deliberately fail in some tasks. This score simply translates into the total number of fable points earned by the Hero while pursuing the quest. If multiple characters played the Hero, count only points earned when in that role. Count all points earned, not just those converted into a fable score:

Fable Pts Earned	Reward
0 – 3	Mediocre Success
4 – 6	Accomplished Success
7 – 9	Example
10+	Unmitigated Success

The reward level determines how much of the object of their quest the characters receive. For example, typical quests may have as their object a legendary sword, or the means to defeat the dragon Pan Caudarax, or a quest bonus to an Initiation Script of +3.

A mediocre success is a single fact that was not hitherto known to the characters but does not directly contribute to the object of their quest. Alternatively, it is a small bonus, or an object that grants a slight advantage. For example, the characters discover the lair of the dragon, or gain a +1 bonus to the Initiation Script.

An accomplished success partially answers the object of the quest, but is incomplete. The characters might discover where the legendary sword was last seen, or that the Chevalier De Panne fought Pan Caudarax and lived. An Initiation Quest grants a +2 bonus, and so forth.

An unmitigated success reveals to the characters who the last owner of the sword was, or that Pan Caudarax has a weak spot in his hide (but not where that weak spot is), or an Initiation Quest that grants a +3 bonus.

Upon leaving Elysium, the characters should receive the knowledge that they sought, or the object they quested for, or some token representing a numerical bonus (for example, to an Initiation Script). The source of the reward could be met during the final scene of their quest, in which case one of the actors in the quest acts as a Threshold faerie and sends the characters home. Alternatively, the Guardian of the Threshold could reappear following the final scene, and grant them the reward they have earned.

It is important to note that regardless of how they have fared, the characters have not changed the basic legend that they reenacted. Rather, they have created a variant of that tale; which, seeing as they are the only people who know it, pales in comparison to the original story supported by the countless people who have heard it. Even if they recount their adventure far and wide so that it becomes the more-popular contemporary version of the tale, the original retains its potency since the variant cannot replace it in the minds of all those who have heard it in the past, or in written records, or in the memories of those who heard it in the original form. At best, both forms will exist in Elysium, and re-enacting the points that differ determines which is experienced in a quest.

Eudokia

Eudokia is a land where personal dilemmas are faced. The wanderer on the Forking Path faces a series of encounters or tests that symbolizes some difficult decision or life change he is currently experiencing. These encounters often take the form of moral fables or teaching tales, which divine the character’s commitment to a cause or idea, or a decision. Everyone embarking on a Eudokian path leaves the Faerie Realm changed — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

The Forking Path

A character typically embarks upon the Forked Path if he strays into a Faerie Aura while on the verge of some major life change. The character might be about to experience dramatically altered circumstances — such when he’s about to be married — or else he may be experiencing a personal threshold — such as adolescence, menopause, or senescence. Consequently, experiences in Eudokia tend to be solo affairs, although characters undergoing a similar change occasionally have such ad ventures together. An example might be a groom and the rest of his stag party, or a cohort of Hermetic apprentices about to take their Gauntlet.

Typical Eudokian Guardians of the Threshold

The Guardians of the Forked Path are most often physical barriers rather than animate faeries. It is particularly rare to meet kerberoi in Eudokia, since this world is less about adventure and more about personal discovery. Most Eudokian Guardians seek to scare off the wanderers.

• A square-sided pillar blocks the path at a fork. One face points to the left hand path and says “Past me lies adventure and death,” while the other faces the right hand path and reads “Past me lies peace and happiness.” The right hand path leads out of Faerie.
• A pile of stones surrounds a stake that bears the skull of a horse. Runes are engraved in blood on both the stake and the skull. One must walk past this ominous sign to enter Faerie.
• The Guardian is the road itself. Looking to the left, the characters can see a fair filled with bustling customers, hawking merchants, and entertainers. To the right is a quiet glade with a still pool, the very essence of tranquility. The glade of course is actually in the mundane world.

Eudokian Stories

Eudokian stories are typically mediated by a Threshold faerie, typically one who governs the particular transition that the character or characters are experiencing. So a pregnant mother attracts a birthing faerie, who inflicts upon her a story that either heightens or allays her fear of childbirth. An old man might meet a grave-faerie, and the result of the story is a peaceful death or a struggle to survive a few years longer.

Eudokian stories tend to focus on a single character, which makes them difficult for most Ars Magica troupes. However, they need not be solo adventures, since anyone present when the Threshold arrives is taken into Faerie at the same time. Other characters can provide help and support, although usually only the focal character benefits directly from the story in any way other than Story Experience points. It is possible to have more than one focal character in a Eudokian story, though, if more than one character is undergoing a simultaneous transition of the same type. For example, children on the verge of adulthood might experience a Eudokian story together if they play near a faerie trod; a couple who meet (contrary to tradition) on the night before their wedding might be snatched away by the Threshold; and a group of apprentices about to take their Gauntlet might meet a faerie who claims to be the ghost of a famous member of the Order, perhaps even a Founder.

Planning Eudokian Stories

To create a Eudokian story, first decide on the theme of the journey on the Forked Path. Choosing the theme is important, as it will determine the reward meted out to the character at the quest’s culmination. If the character is to be rewarded for courage and punished for cowardice, then the theme should be Bravery. However, if the character is rewarded for prudence and punished for rashness, then the theme is Caution. Both of these themes could have exactly the same encounters within them, but the consequences of each quest are different. The conditions of the Threshold and its Guardian determine the theme of the story that will take place in Eudokia, and this should always be clear to the character at the point he meets the Guardian. A character who enters Eudokia through a shrine to a war god should expect a theme of Bravery, and given the opportunity to refuse. Without this opportunity, a character with the Noncombatant Flaw would (rightfully) suspect the storyguide of presenting him with a no-win solution and an inevitable penalty. The nature of a Eudokian story is to play to the strengths of a character, or develop such strengths where none currently exist. They are tests of character, and there should always be a fair chance to succeed.

Like the story creation method described earlier for Arcadia, stories in Eudokia are composed of a number of elements. In Eudokian stories, each story element presents a choice between moving closer towards the theme or further away from it. The order in which the story elements occur is not as important as the choices made at each step. To assemble a Eudokian story, first pick a number of story elements — typically one per Story Experience point you intend to hand out. These story elements can be chosen purposefully or determined at random from the sections later on in this chapter, or derived from your own inspiration. However, you may find that random elements are more difficult to integrate into a Eudokian story, which is so tied to a specific theme. Each story element presents a dilemma, and the story element cannot be abandoned until a choice is made. There may be more than two options deriving from each element, but only one choice is in concordance with the theme of the journey.

The target for “success” on a Eudokian journey is to make over half of the right decisions. If the characters reach this target prior to encountering all of the story elements, then the characters meet a Threshold faerie who sends them home. Otherwise, the characters meet the Threshold faerie after they have encountered all the story elements.

Example of Eudokian Story Creation Andrea (the storyguide) is planning a story for Eudokia. The magi in her saga are about to embark on a campaign to exterminate a magical threat to the Order, and she wants to test their commitment to the cause. The theme for this story is Resolve. She randomly chooses five story elements, and constructs from these the following tests. An Ancient Wall The first story element is a physical barrier to the characters, and Andrea decides it will double as the Guardian of the Threshold. If they cannot surmount the wall, then they cannot even enter Eudokia. The Ease Factors for Athletic rolls get tougher as one gets higher. Magic can easily bypass the wall’s barrier, but the wall remains unclimbed — every other act in this story is preceded by having to climb the wall until it is climbed properly. The Empty Forest Beyond the wall is a forest, the villain. The trees resent the presence of animals and has scared them away — after all, plants were created before mere animals (this mirrors the magical threat as an older tradition than the “upstart” Order). The Empty Forest is seemingly endless, but with enough perseverance against the vegetative foes raised against them, the characters will eventually meet ... The Leafy Counselor A tree that is at odds with its fellows (does this hint at a potential ally in the rival tradition?). The Counselor wants to help, but must be convinced to betray its leaf-mates (the Counselor acts as the Donor here) through a series of tasks. One of these tasks introduces them to ... The Son of the Coin A mercenary, who, as the False Hero, intends to incarcerate the characters and steal any honor they have in the eyes of the ruler of this realm. The characters are transferred to a distant place, and they must win their way back to the court of ... The Dying Lady An ancient ash tree, that has suffered animal attacks (she has serpents gnawing at her roots, deer stripping her bark, and squirrels stealing her seeds), and is the source of the forest’s antagonism. She offers them a simple choice — either one character can return to the mundane realm, and win against the foe; or else all can return and they are sure to lose. Are they willing to sacrifice everything for victory?

Leaving Eudokia

At the completion of the various challenges put in the way of the characters, it is customary for the Threshold faerie who is mediating the story to appear once again and send them back to the mortal realm with its Spirit Away power. This may not be as obvious as the sudden appearance of a faerie — the characters might just find the way out of the labyrinth that formed the Guardian in the first place, or they may follow a will-o’the-wisp over the hill and back home.

Faerie Boons

Characters who embark on a Eudokian journey often return with a blessing or a malediction. Since a journey on the Forked Path is precipitated by a life-changing event, the boon or bane granted by the fae pertains to that event, either on a personal or a community level. Every choice made by the character should be recorded, and a tally made of the number of choices that bring the character closer to the theme of the story (“correct choices”) and further away (“incorrect choices”). Note that a correct choice has no moral designation. A story themed around Infidelity played out for a bridegroom has correct choices that lead to cheating and philandering. It might indicate that he is not ready for marriage, if he makes more “correct” choices in this quest. If the number of good choices outweigh the bad, then the overall experience has been positive. The character should adjust an appropriate Personality Trait by one point accordingly. Otherwise, the experience has been negative; again, adjust a Personality Trait to reflect the character’s new outlook.

If the character made more correct choices than incorrect choices, then he acquires a Virtue. If all the choices he made were correct, then the Virtue is Major, else it is Minor. All Virtues acquired in this manner are balanced by the Lesser Charm Flaw (for a Minor Virtue) or the Greater Charm Flaw (for a Major Virtue). The Virtue (and its Flaw) may be permanent or it may fade over time, depending on the desires of the troupe. In the latter case, the Virtue vanishes when its governing charm is uncovered, copied, or stolen. See Chapter 5: Touches of Faerie for more details on how Charms affect Virtues.

However, if the character made more incorrect choices than correct choices, then he acquires a Flaw. If all the choices took him further away from the goal, then this Flaw is Major, else it is a Minor Flaw. These Flaws are not balanced with a Virtue, but they fade with time; the character bears the Flaw for an amount of time equal to the time that passed while the character was in Faerie.

Example Story Themes, and Virtues & Flaws Theme: Courage Situation: Eve of Battle Virtue: Tough Flaw: Fear Theme: Fertility Situation: Marriage Virtue: Benediction (unusually fecund) Flaw: Malediction (sterility) Theme: Magic Situation: End of Hermetic Apprenticeship Virtue: Cautious Sorcerer Flaw: Careless Sorcerer Theme: Skill Situation: End of Craft Apprenticeship Virtue: Puissant Craft Flaw: Clumsy

Story Elements

The adventures that take place in the Faerie Realm are made up of story elements and acts, as discussed in the previous sections. This section provides some example story elements that can be integrated into any trip to Faerie. Each follows the same template:

Title

A descriptive paragraph.

Path of Chance: The literal interpretation of the story element, as most commonly discovered in Arcadia. Each story element has a link to the previous or next one.

Path of Destiny: The mythological or metaphysical interpretation of he story element, as found along the many roads of Elysium.

Forking Path: The figurative interpretation of the story element, leading to one of two (or more) choices.

The story elements have been divided into three separate categories — Actors, Props, and Scenery. Any element in one of these three categories can take one of the roles described later (see Chapter 7: Telling Faerie Stories, Dramatis Personae), and/or become involved in one or more of the scenes (see Chapter 7: Telling Faerie Stories, Acts).

Actors

The people of Faerie are the actors in its stories — protagonists, antagonists, or incidental characters. Those faeries who constitute a story element are never bit parts or walk-on roles, as such individuals draw no more notice than scenery (see later). In Elysium, the actors are the gods and heroes of antiquity, while in Eudokia they are caricatures of morality.

Further Ideas for Actor Story Elements Other ideas include: The Cruel Stepmother The Queen of Otters The Green Knight The Boy Made from Iron The Evil Twin (or the Foolish Twin)

The Pied Stranger

A man whose clothing (or skin) is partly colored; his right side is white and his left side is black. Sometimes his sleeves, gloves, or footwear are counter-changed. He carries a musical instrument — pipes, or sometimes a harp.

Path of Chance: As his pied clothing suggests, the man is a magpie — both a thief and an entertainer.

Path of Destiny: The two halves are a façade; the Pied Stranger uses his music to steal, and he’s after something in particular.

Forking Path: His pied clothing echoes the choice: either to entertain the crowds, or to exploit them. The minstrel earns his money, whereas the thief takes it.

Grateful Lions

Two lions, indistinguishable from each other. They are impressive and fearsome creatures, but are as playful as kittens, and friendly. They have the ability to speak, and ask for assistance in a minor task (such as removing a thorn, or rescuing their son from a pit). Alternatively, this could be any predatory animal.

Path of Chance: The lions offer friendship and aid.

Path of Destiny: The questers must rescue the lions from peril to ensure that their help is bought for a later part of the quest.

Forking Path: Not everything that is frightening is actually a cause for fear. Refusing the help of the lions will hurt their feelings, but characters might be too suspicious of ulterior motives to take what is offered freely.

The Captive Princess

A beautiful maiden imprisoned in a tower, pit, or dungeon. An essential companion actor is her guard — typically an ogre, a dragon, or a hedge of thorns. Her parents have placed her in this situation, for complex reasons of their own.

Path of Chance: This is a straightforward rescue mission.

Path of Destiny: The obstacles must be overcome and the princess rescued in precisely the right manner. Alternatively, the quester could be the princess, or the guard who must fail to stop the hero.

Forking Path: Have the characters stopped to think as to why the princess is imprisoned? Perhaps there is a very good reason. Alternatively, this could be a test of obedience — is it not a father’s right to dispose of his children as he sees fit?

The Task-setting Ogre

A hideous giant, vastly bigger and/or more powerful than the characters, who forces them to perform seemingly impossible tasks under threat of violence. Such tasks might include: sorting barley from wheat in a mixed vat; cutting down a forest in a single day; filling a bucket with a sieve; eating more than a wildfire can consume; or catching a magical horse. Alternatively, the ogre could be any fierce monster, such as a dragon or a manticore.

Path of Chance: The duty of the captive is to escape from bondage, coupled with possibly slaying his imprisoner.

Path of Destiny: Each task must be completed, perhaps with the assistance of the ogre’s daughter. The quester can thus escape from bondage.

Forking Path: Are the characters so arrogant that they cannot admit that some tasks are meant to be impossible?

The Mouse-groom

A tiny mouse, easily overlooked. He can talk, and takes a fancy to a female character, courting her with gifts and poetry. Alternatively, the mouse could be a different animal (such as a cat or frog), or a monster. Or the mouse could be a bride rather than a groom.

Path of Chance: The Mouse-Groom is a distraction, nothing more. His devotion can be exploited by a canny group, as he is deft at creeping into small places, or stealing small objects.

Path of Destiny: The Mouse-Groom offers to help in some difficult task, but in return he asks to marry a female character. At the completion of the task, the groom must be successfully transformed into human form through the actions of the characters.

Forking Path: The character might expect a transformation in her groom, and be disappointed — sometimes a mouse is just a mouse. Does she still honor her promise?

The Ferryman

A man in a gray cloak, his face hidden by a hood or a hat. He stands in a low skiff on the shore, a punting pole in his hand. The skiff is just big enough to carry the characters across the lake or river. Alternatively, the ferryman transports them in a different manner, such as by carrying them. The ferryman may also be a guardian of another threshold, such as a bridge or a doorway.

Path of Chance: The ferryman must be persuaded to carry the characters across; they are not of a type that he usually transports (that is, they are alive, or humans, or so forth). There is no other safe way to cross.

Path of Destiny: The ferryman is a king in disguise, and he must work as a ferryman until the one whom he is waiting for comes. He transports many interesting and dangerous passengers until that day comes. When the special passenger arrives, the ferryman must ensure he does not reach the other side, or else obey his every command.

Forking Path: What is on the other side? Is it worth paying the price asked by the ferryman? Is it best to be content with what one has got rather than to wish for a future that may not arrive?

The Pale Man

An emaciated man with taut gray skin, red eyes, and prominent teeth. He is dressed in a burial shroud. The man is a vampire, who feeds on the living. Alternatively, the Pale Man is a woman.

Path of Chance: The vampire is a ravaging monster who eats corpses and craves blood. Since he is already dead, he is difficult to defeat. Those who he has consumed alive can be rescued from his belly.

Path of Destiny: The man is Death, or, at least, a death. He is a guide to the recently departed, who must be tricked into passing over his victim, or taking someone else instead.

Forking Path: Does the man represent death, or the refusal to accept that one has died? The Pale Man can assist in grief, since he demonstrates that there are worse alternatives to dying.

Props

In this category are all inanimate objects, although this does not make them less significant than the actors or the scenery. In Arcadia, a prop is often the carrier of a faerie power. In Elysium, the props are never incidental to the story, but play a pivotal role. They might be the vital ingredient of a sleep potion, a token of love to melt the princess’ heart, or the goal of the quest in the first place.

Further Ideas for Prop Story Elements Some more ideas include: The Soul in the Egg The Magic Ring The Self-Filling Purse The Horn that Furnishes Soldiers The Helm of Invisibility The Word That Opens All Locks

The Poisoned Apple

A luscious fruit, half of it bathed in a horrible poison, half of it sweet and delicious. There is no magical way to determine the difference; one either knows or one does not. This prop typically occurs in a situation where it must be shared with another.

Path of Chance: A random chance; does the character eat from the poisoned side or the safe side?

Path of Destiny: The quester must either persuade another to eat of the poisoned side, or do so himself.

Forking Path: Self-sacrifice or deliberate poisoning? Is it better to allow evil to live, or to commit evil in killing it?

Mjollnir

The hammer of the mighty Thor — a thunderbolt imprisoned in iron. It was designed as a war hammer but its handle is a little short, subtracting 2 from both Attack and Defense scores. A successful hit inflicts +30 damage from the lightning imprisoned within it, as well as normal weapon damage. The penetration of the lightning is equal to the Might of the wielder; for a magus, use his Auram score.

Path of Chance: Who would not want to smite giants with Thor’s hammer?

Path of Destiny: The characters may be enacting Mjollnir’s forging, its theft by the giants, or its retrieval from said giants.

Forking Path: Finding Mjollnir creates a dilemma — it is a mighty weapon, but if it is not returned to Thor, then mankind’s defense against the powers of winter and frost is deprived of his power.

The Dragon’s Tongue

When first encountered, this prop will be in the possession of the dragon, although the beast may already be dead.

Path of Chance: Eating the tongue of a dragon is said to grant magical powers, such as the ability to speak with animals. It is not always a good thing to know what creatures are saying about you, however.

Path of Destiny: The heroes kill the dragon, and cut out its tongue as proof of their deed. An impostor cuts off the head from the corpse, which he later seeks to use as his own proof.

Forking Path: The tongue symbolizes humility for one’s abilities, whereas the dragon’s head is a symbol of vainglory.

The Swan Cloak

'A maiden owns a cloak of white feathers that causes her to take her true form, that of a swan. Alternatively, the prop is a different item of clothing, such as a hat or girdle. Alternatively, the cloak transforms the wearer into another animal, such as a seal or a wolf.

Path of Chance: Stealing the cloak from the maiden allows the wearer to transform like she does.

Path of Destiny: A hero hides the cloak so that the maiden will remain in human form and wed him. When she finds the cloak again, she flees him, and he must quest to win her love for real.

Forking Path: Hiding the cloak from the maiden ransoms her heart. Letting her choose between her love and her swan cloak is a truer expression of love.

The Dull Knife

An unremarkable blade, of crude manufacture. Its blade is so dull it can barely cut butter. Alternatively, this could be any tool that is unable to perform its function due to a defect.

Path of Chance: In the contradictory way of Faerie, sometimes the dullest knife in the world is the only thing that can cut the uncuttable.

Path of Destiny: The knife becomes rusty to indicate when another is in peril. At such a signal, the quester must ride to rescue his partner.

Forking Path: As a gift, the Dull Knife is useless. Should this be interpreted as an insult on the part of the giver, or will the character accept it with grace?

Snake Soup

A bubbling cauldron of brown-gray liquid, with suspicious-looking meat and unknown vegetables. Alternatively, a green fluid in a bottle, or a knobbly fruit with red spots.

Path of Chance: Suspicion over the safety of the soup might cause the characters to miss out on the magical powers it grants, or else save them from a horrible curse.

Path of Destiny: The soup is served to her dinner guests by a crone, who gives her son the choicest portion with the meat of three white snakes. When eaten, they grant supernatural strength and resilience. The questers must ensure that they receive the magical portion, not the witch’s son.

Forking Path: It’s all a matter of trust. What looks foul and unappetizing might be beneficial, but again it might also be exactly as it appears — disease-ridden swamp water.

Scenery

The scenery should not be neglected as a story element. In the Faerie Realm, the scenery can be a villain as readily as any mustachio-twirling blackguard.

Further Ideas for Scenery Story Elements Consider these ideas, as well: Spring • Autumn Beneath the Sea In the Kingdom of Death

The Market At the Crossroads

Rough-built stalls line both sides of the two intersecting roads. Each stall displays the wares of the vendors, from the mundane to the fantastic. The market may be thronging with browsing customers, or else it might be eerily empty. The stalls, vendors, and other customers are all equally part of the scenery, although the characters may meet one or more actor story elements here, or they could be here to obtain a prop element.

Path of Chance: An opportunity to spend one’s hard-earned cash, but let the buyer beware! Faerie vendors rarely require silver in exchange for their goods; and that which is purchased is not always what it seems.

Path of Destiny: The characters must obtain a specific item. Are they able to locate the vendor, and are they willing to pay the price demanded of them?

Forking Path: The dilemma of the market is that the vendor wants the highest price he can get for his wares, while the buyer wants it as cheaply as possible. A fair deal leaves both satisfied. But an unfair deal will leave the buyer bilked or the vendor cheated.

Winter

Snow covers the ground, rime-frost coats every surface, and icicles depend from horizontal surfaces. The breath steams in the frigid air, and the heat is sapped from the body.

Path of Chance: Winter is a passive guardian for the snow-bound castle, or a prison for those within. It is a challenge to be met, and overcome.

Path of Destiny: Winter represents sterility and patience. Nothing grows and nature holds its breath before the promise of spring. It serves as a pause before the action, the lull before the storm. In the winter, the wicked queen ruled supreme, Demeter ceased her search for her daughter, and the men were softened for Ragnarok.

Forking Path: Many rail against the chill of winter with fire and furs, but is it a fight that can be won? Perhaps it is better instead to submit to the inevitability of nature.

The Forbidden Chamber

There is a room in a castle that everyone is forbidden from entering. It has an immensely strong door but no lock. On occasion, strange noises are heard from behind the door. Alternatively, it could be locked, and the key held by the castle’s owner. Or, the chamber could instead be a chest, or a question that must not be asked.

Path of Chance: The room contains either fabulous treasure or a hideous secret. Disobedience might be signified by a transformation in the interloper, or the sounding of an alarm.

Path of Destiny: The inevitability of getting into the forbidden chamber is central to the quest. This may require the quester to obtain the key from its owner. The characters may not like what they find inside.

Forking Path: This is a simple choice between curiosity and obedience. It may be made harder if cries for help are heard from beyond the door. If curiosity is not stronger, then perhaps chivalry is.

Summer

The sun shines bright on a green and pleasant land. Plants are at the height of growth, and animals are well fed and content. Bees drone among the flowers, and the air is still and fragrant.

Path of Chance: In the Summerlands pies and sweetmeats grow on trees, the rivers run with mead and milk, and every need is catered to. It is a respite from hardship, and also a trap for the self-indulgent.

Path of Destiny: Summer is symbolic of bounteous times, of incipient action, and of vigor. It is in the Lands of Summer where one is forever young.

Forking Path: The luxury of summer lulls one to sloth, but it is a season of action and adventure. Does one take a muchneeded rest, or spurn the seduction?

The Glass Mountain

A towering edifice of green glass as big as a hill. The glass is perfectly smooth, as if melted in place. At its summit is a castle — the destination of the characters. Birds of immense size circle the castle, watching for climbers upon which to drop rocks. Alternatively, the mountain may be made of ice, or guarded by snakes. Or, the summit might bear a tree with magical fruit, or the well of wisdom.

Path of Chance: An obstacle to test the ingenuity of the characters. They can try chipping out handholds, or dipping their shoes in tar, or perhaps circumvent the glass entirely by flying to the top.

Path of Destiny: The mountain must be attempted three times, each time assisted by a different magical animal. Only the third attempt is successful.

Forking Path: How quickly do the characters give up trying to scale the mountain? Perseverance is the lesson here. If one tirelessly strives for one’s goals, there is nothing that cannot be achieved.

The Perilous Forest

A dark and foreboding wood, where little light reaches through the canopy. Strange noises haunt the forest, along with half-seen, swiftly moving shapes. Alternatively, the trees could be dead, and all sounds are swallowed.

Path of Chance: A forest can hide all sorts of ne’er-do-wells, mysterious hermits, magical trees, and fierce beasts.

Path of Destiny: The traditional abode of the hag, the Ironwood is filled with her wolfish children.

Forking Path: They say there is nothing to fear except fear itself. How true is that when one is lost among demonic-looking shadows and sharp-fanged critters?

The Abandoned Shrine

In the midst of a tangle of undergrowth, a single standing stone is found, carved with strange glyphs and leering faces. Circles carved into the ground hold traces of dried blood. Alternatively, the shrine could be found in a deep pit, or in a deserted town.

Path of Chance: This is the place for the villain to hold his showdown, or for the priest to be forced to yield his faerie powers.

Path of Destiny: The blood of an innocent will wake the god who slumbers in the shrine.

Forking Path: Is it fair to let gods die? A powerful faerie who has protected his human worshipers for millennia risks death because his worship is considered idolatrous.

Ten Thousand More Story Elements Choose a descriptor and an object from the following two lists; or else roll two simple dice, once for each list. Descriptors Second Die 1 on First Die 2 on First Die 3 on First Die 4 on First Die 5 on First Die 6 on First Die 7 on First Die 8 on First Die 9 on First Die 10 on First Die 1 Green Iron Twin Howling Maker of Winged Sharp Farthest Fatal Sleepy 2 Shiny Glass Huge Fiery King of Spiny Dull Best Straight Obnoxious 3 Dirty Golden Minute Singing Servant of Leafy Icy Darkest Wrong Naughty 4 White Ruby Newborn Furious Slayer of Donkey-eared Warm Brightest Blind Grieving 5 Striped Fur Ancient Sleeping Eater of Wounded Unyielding Highest Final Obedient 6 Variegated Woven Flawed Drunken Child of Hairy Soft Deepest Eldest Curious 7 Black Emerald Perfect Smelly Sibling of Slimy Harsh Tallest Youngest Cunning 8 Murky Wooden Broken Dreaded Parent of Strange Gentle Smallest Beautiful Impossible 9 Blue Stone Empty Passionate Cousin of Scrawny Sour Fiercest Repulsive Motionless 10 Invisible Makeshift Flat Dying Protector of Corpulent Floral Bravest Terrible Stormy Objects Second Die 1 on First Die 2 on First Die 3 on First Die 4 on First Die 5 on First Die 6 on First Die 7 on First Die 8 on First Die 9 on First Die 10 on First Die 1 Queen Fox Eagle Drum Knife Acorn Child Mason Summer Fort 2 Serf Mouse Salmon Bed Loaf Apple Page Weaver Autumn Wall 3 Lady Weasel Robin Lute Key Willow Maiden Magistrate Lake Shack 4 King Lion Frog Mirror Book Rose Soldier Counselor Sea Manor 5 Prince Bear Ant Cauldron Sword May Blossom Hermit Orchard-Keeper River Bridge 6 Beggar Wolf Swan Shawm Shield Hazelnut Crone Smith Dawn Ditch 7 Scholar Stag Bull Bottle Hammer Water Lily Holy Woman Dancer Shore Hill 8 Priest Goat Bat Coin Chalice Seaweed Infant Flautist Battlefield Forest 9 Merchant Ox Owl Gaming Piece Needle Thistle Father Shepherdess Harbor Desert 10 Death Badger Partridge Candle Cloak Burdock Waif Knight Crossroads Marsh

Attribution

Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.