NUISANCE

By Chris Granniss (wakizashi@aol.com) (22 November 1995)

Description

This art is primarily used by the Unseelie Commoners, and is anathema to the Sidhe, as it has poked holes in some of their best laid plans. Anyone known to use this art will be looked down upon by the nobles, and tend to garner distrust among the Seelie. This, of course, has little or no effect on its widespread use.

Attribute

Manipulation

* Irritate

This art makes people itch in a place they can't reach. It bothers them so much that it ruins their concentrations and makes them generally irritable and absorbed in their own irritation.

System: Use of this cantrip causes the victim to scratch and itch either in a place she can't reach or a place that is embarrassing to scratch. To make matters worse, it comes back immediately after she stop scratching. The merit concentration is ignored when this is in effect and it causes the victim to have a -1 on all rolls. A variation is called the sneezes, where a person can't sneeze, but always feels as if she is going to.

Realms:

Actor: Describes the mortal who can be affected.
Fae: Describes the Kithian affected.
Nature: Describes where the victim must be.
Scene: Describes the place where the person is affected.
Prop: Describes what must be given to the victim.
Cookies: Describes what confection must be placed in the victim's bed the night before (usable only by the Keeblers).

** Get Underfoot

This is a foil for stealth. It causes fumbling in a horrible way. A thus enchanted character will trip over his own feet. He will always have someone directly in the way of his goal and generally has a harder time doing simple tasks.

Example: The person wants to sneak out a doorway; the door he chooses happens to have people talking in it who notices the character (A boss, the Sidhe Baron he's trying to avoid, etc.), a character hoping to sneak up on another will trip over that person's best friend.

System: This power either negates successes to the victim's success rolls on stealth or other dextrous actions or has the storyteller's option of the creative embarrassment of the week.

Realms:

Actor: Who is affected.
Fae: Who is affected.
Nature: Where the person is affected.
Prop: What must be placed on the affected.
Scene: Where the person is affected.
Cookies: The snack that the victim must eat before he's affected.

*** Wrong Place, Wrong Time

This power enforces Murphy's Law. The victim will start stumbling over the most unlikely problems. Anything that needs to be said in private will be overheard by the person who should not hear it the most. The worst case scenerio always presents itself, and generally bad things seem to follow the character everywhere. (A gossips worst nightmare: the person walks in hearing you talk about him). This general unluck follows the victim until the cantrip expires.

System: The storyteller's (or creative player inspiration) option of unluck for the victim. Add 1 or two botches to the next roll, all 10s count as 1s, etc.

Realms:

Actor: Who is affected.
Fae: What kith is affected.
Nature: Where the person is affected.
Prop: What must be placed on the victim as a sign of bad luck.
Scene: Where the victim is afflicted.
Cookies: What the victim's favorite snack is.

**** Bureaucratic Baloney

In response to the Nobles' Protocol discipline, the commoners strike back! This art mires the victim in paperwork and specific procedures of the caster's choice. The caster must be careful, for improper use of this cantrip can send the victim headlong into Banality, and the caster along with him.

The caster dictates the procedures to be followed. This is not so much as a geas, as a formality that must be fulfilled before an actual geas can be undertaken. It is a delaying tactic, which can mire someone down in useless work while important things need to be accomplished.

System: The caster tells the victim what needs to be done, and hands him the work. Time spent in this frivolous effort is determined by the number of successes. The restriction is that nothing of any import can be done. (i.e. paperwork, signed and filled out in an amber crayon and processed by the local library; doing 100 laps around the gym, etc.) In the case of paperwork, it is possible that this can be so banal as to knock a Kith into her seeming, and kill Glamour. In this case, the caster gains a point of temporary banality. If it knocks someone permanently out of the dreaming, the banality gained is permanent.

Realm:

Actor: Who is affected.
Fae: Who is affected.
Prop: What is needed to affect someone.
Nature: Where the victim must accomplish his work.
Scene: Where the victim must accomplish his work.
Cookies: The type of confection the victim must eat while doing his work.

***** Disruption

This art brings to light a major plot hole, resulting in mass chaos. It is a very subtle, yet very powerful cantrip. Any flaw will be brought to light and pointed out with this cantrip, and if no flaw can be found, one will be created. The victim will notice this flaw, as will everyone concerned. A villain will suddenly see his plan's problem, and begin to argue with the heroes over its importance, thus providing a distraction. In any case a major monkeywrench will be thrown into any plot, shifting the focus from what was going on and chaos will ensue.

System: Something odd will screw things up in an unexpected and unrelated way. This can be anything from the villain telling the heroes his whole plan in a heated argument, spoiling his secrecy and letting them in on the dire scheme, to a time machine appearing in the middle of a firefight and silver-suited aliens from the future running amok in the city. Think Mauraders from Mage.

Realm:

Actor: Who will be the focus of the disruption.
Fae: Who will be the focus of the disruption.
Prop: What will be the focus of the disruption.
Nature: The form the disruption will take.
Scene: Where the disruption will take place.
Cookies: What kind of consumable will be involved in the disruption (Can you say Food Fight?)

Bunks

* Speak out of turn: Interupt someone's conversation. *
* Stumble over own feet: and fall in a heap. **
** Trip someone: and be conspicious about it. **
** La la la la la: Put your hands over your ears and drown out the world. **
*** Whine & Cry: until you get what you want ***
*** Most irritating sound in the world: Do your best Dumb and Dumber. ***
**** Calvinball: Get everyone in the area involved in a game with no rules. ****
**** Fill out in triplicate: Fill out all the forms you can find (at least three). ***
***** Wander Aimlessly: Take a walk and don't look where you're going. ***
***** Pull a perfect practical joke *****