Misguided Mystic

I'm getting a letter 'D'...it's an old man... does that have any meaning to you, dearie? He's holding his chest, as if it hurts...was he elf-shot perhaps? No? Not familiar?...maybe the spirits are saying 'B,' not 'D'...

Not everyone who claims mystical insight has actually been touched by a higher power. True prophecy is exceptionally rare, and most street-corner "prophets" are charlatans or mentally deranged. Religious zealots might undergo ordeals in order to gain a glimpse of the Divine Plan. Occasionally, however, individuals arise who did not seek out their visions, and are neither mad nor attempt to make a profit from their predictions. Such individuals often reject their unnatural insights, and keep them hidden from their families and friends for years. Alternatively they may have a single confidante, who unwittingly lets slip his friend's miraculous abilities, and she becomes a minor local celebrity. Of course, occasionally even con men and madmen can have real powers of prediction.

The form that these visions takes varies from individual to individual, and there are many types of "mystical" powers available in Mythic Europe. Seeing the unseen (Second Sight) is perhaps the most common ability, and the finding of lost things (Dowsing) and prescience of danger (Premonitions) are nearly as common.

Perhaps the most pitiful — and potentially dangerous — of characters is one who has a definite mystical power, but misunderstands it. A character might see the impressions from her Second Sight as hallucinations warning of danger. If she is sensitive to magical impressions, she can easily misinterpret these impressions as an ability to sniff out evil, particularly if she encounters Gifted characters. If she is known for her abilities among her neighbors, this could cause great troubles for a group of magi.

Eventually, the Misguided Mystic can get into trouble when others discover her powers, real or imagined. If they appear benign, she might be hounded by those seeking predictions and asked for things that she cannot provide. If her powers have had a more negative reception, she may be chased out of town as a witch. A covenant can offer refuge to one with these talents.

These are suggestions for the creation of Misguided Mystic characters.

This character is likely to have the Wise One Social Status, unless she has kept her "powers" a secret. The Misguided Mystic could have actual oracular powers in the form of Supernatural Virtues, of which the following are particularly appropriate: Dowsing, Magic Sensitivity, Premonitions, Second Sight, and Sense Holiness & Unholiness. When taking one of these Virtues, the player should decide to which Realm of Power the Ability is aligned and describe why. Aligning to the Divine Realm is perhaps the most useful, but this would require the character to be pious, at least. Aligning to a Realm of Power could result in the (Realm) Stigmatic* Flaw. A character with more than one Supernatural Virtue need not align them all to the same realm.

Rather than any actual power, the grog might instead have a Latent Magic Ability, and her prophetic abilities might develop over time. Alternatively, she could be afflicted by the Hallucinations* Flaw, and her powers wholly delusory. A character who has made correct prophecies in the past that had some major impact on the local landscape might have the Famous Virtue, or else the Infamous Flaw, if things did not go so well.

A Misguided Mystic might be confused as to what her visions are telling her. She might have both Magic Sensitivity and Sense Holiness & Unholiness, but be unable to tell them apart, or have both the Visions and Hallucinations* Flaws. Characters afflicted with the Falling Evil* are commonly believed to be touched by a supernatural power when they have a fit, although this Flaw is not available to grog characters. A Misguided Mystic may have other Personality Flaws that hint at mental instability: Compulsion, Fear, Obsessed, or Weakness. All Virtues and Flaws marked with an asterisk are described in this book.

This character can probably take Arcane Abilities at character creation, and usually has a decent score in a particular (Realm) Lore. Leadership is a useful Ability for expounding one's prophecies to the masses, as is Folk Ken. The character does not need Guile unless she is deliberately deceiving her audience. Apart from these Abilities, and any Supernatural Abilities she might have, the Misguided Mystic has Abilities appropriate to the career she followed before her visions started. It is wise to pick Abilities that make the character of sufficient use to the magi for her to be employed by them.

Training packages for Misguided Mystics include: Local, Cunning Man, Conman, Mystic, Storyteller.

This character must be able to take Arcane Abilities at character creation. No Supernatural Abilities have been included; increase her age to get sufficient experience points.

ABILITIES AT AGE 21: Area Lore 3 (personalities), Charm 3 (sincerity), Concentration 2 (visions), Domin-

ABILITIES AT AGE 30: Area Lore 3 (personalities), Bargain 1 ("gifts"), Charm 3 (15) (sincerity), Concentration 2 (visions), Dominion Lore 3 (10) (visions), Faerie Lore 2 (prophecy), Folk Ken 5 (cold reading), Guile 3 (hiding ignorance), Intrigue 2 (rumors), Native Language 5 (religious language), Organization Lore: Church 1 (visionaries), Organization Lore: Town Council 4 (feuds), Profession: Servant 4 (cooking), Profession: Storyteller 3 (plausible tales), Survival 2 (hills)

ABILITIES AT AGE 42: Area Lore 4 (personalities), Bargain 2 ("gifts"), Charm 4 (sincerity), Chirurgy 2 (bruises), Concentration 2 (visions), Dominion Lore 4 (visions), Faerie Lore 3 (15) (prophecy), Folk Ken 5 (cold reading), Guile 3 (hiding ignorance), Infernal Lore 2 (visions), Intrigue 3 (rumors), Native Language 5 (religious language), Organization Lore: Church 1 (visionaries), Organization Lore: Town Council 4 (15) (feuds), Profession: Servant 5 (cooking), Profession: Storyteller 4 (plausible tales), Survival 2 (hills)

The Misguided Mystic can be made into a companion character by putting her in touch with a higher power. The Visions Story Flaw is an excellent way to achieve this; not only are the visions true, but they also drag the character into stories. True pro-

A character who regularly misinterprets genuine signs of the supernatural is likely to complicate many stories, even when she doesn't cause them.

The player characters are passing through a town one day, and they witness a woman being placed into the stocks. If they ask about her, they'll be told she has been spouting nonsense about the town burning down. If the characters need help in paying attention to this event, then she might shriek out a random piece of "prophecy" that strikes a particular chord with one of the magi. Sure enough, later that day the town starts to burn, and the characters might become involved in saving it. However, the fire was set by the woman's grown son, who has been secretly fulfilling her prophecies so that she does not seem to be a fool. He may have gone too far this time; the townsfolk who have lost their homes are clamoring for the woman to be tried as a witch. Should the characters step in to save her, then she will have no place in the town following her rescue, and her skills could prove useful at the covenant.

After a while, the magi grow used to the misguided mystic's frequent and inaccurate predictions of doom. However, she suddenly acquires an infallible sense of the future, correctly predicting that the cook will spoil the dinner, that the chambermaid's cat will be found in the chimney of the great hall, and that the seamstress is having an affair with the doorward. The magi might be interested in her new-found prophetic ability; could it be the stars, or the influence of faeries or worse, demons — or something else? While they are investigating, she predicts that the covenant will burn, and an unspecified magus will perish in the blaze. Can this prediction be thwarted by discovering the source of the oracular knowledge?

phetic power only comes from the Divine (Realms of Power: The Divine, page 54), but there are non-Divine powers that could be useful to an oracle, such as Divination and Augury (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 58) and the Dream Power (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 126). Even without overt powers of prediction, there are several Supernatural Abilities that fit very well with this character concept, and a companion character could take two or more of the Abilities listed earlier.

A grog character — particularly one with Latent Magic Ability could transform into a companion character through some sort of mystic revelation, or exposure to a source of powerful magic.