Enchanter

Character Type Description

An Enchanter/Enchantress is a user of magic and master/mistress of all kinds of arcane lore. The Enchanter character type is not available if your “magic dial” is set to Low (and you intend to leave it there throughout the game).

Subtypes and Crosstypes

The subtypes of the Enchanter are as follows:

The crosstypes of the Enchanter are as follows:

Names

Refer to the Chart of Noble Names. When initially encountered, the enchanter may be described by his or her home.

Abilities and Secrets

Closed Abilities

These abilities are restricted to the Enchanter character type. Nobody who is not an Enchanter can take these abilities.

Magic (Artes) Based on your understanding of how the world works, you are able to affect it in ways beyond what is usual.

Magic is the characteristic ability of the Enchanter character type. If a character’s primary type is Enchanter, he or she automatically has this ability at no cost. If a character’s secondary type is Enchanter, he or she must spend an advance on the Magic ability.

All Magic ability checks are considered opposed if the target of the magic is a character and has not consented to the use of magic, regardless of whether they are surprised. Check versus the character’s Resist.

Any spell can be removed at will by the Enchanter who imposed it, or broken by another Enchanter using the Magic ability or an Ecclesiastic using the Secret of Exorcism. Record the success level of the original spell, as it is necessary for the person removing it to equal or exceed this success level with their Magic or Pray ability check.

Abilities on the chart will include:

• Cooking (C)
• Create (C)
• First Aid (A)
• Woodscraft (A)
• Animal Ken (A)
• Discern Truth (C)
• Sway (C)
• Orate (C)
• Counsel (C)
• Sense Danger (A)
• Deceit (C)
• Disguise (C)
• Clerk (A)
• Location Sense (A)
• Engineering (A)
• Stealth (C)

Closed Secrets

These secrets are restricted to the Enchanter character type. Nobody who is not an Enchanter can take these secrets.

Secret of the Arcane Servant Your character controls an imp, djinn, demon, spirit or other such being and can send it on missions. Cost: 1 Artes for it to return with information, 2 Artes for an object or 3 Artes for a person.
Alternative approach: The Arcane Servant is treated as a character, and you must overcome its Resist each time you want it to do something. It gets a bonus die for going to fetch an object and two for going to fetch a person. It starts at Novice level for Resist but gains 1 XP for fetching information, 3 XP for fetching an object and 5 XP for fetching a person; it will automatically take an advance in its Resist ability as soon as it is able to do so. If it beats you, it will disobey; if it beats you at success level Great or better, it will escape, and you must encounter it again and beat it at Great or better to recapture it; if it beats you at Legendary or better, the tables are turned and it can impose an Obligation on you of worth equal to its margin of success minus 4.

Secret of Cursing With a successful Magic ability check, your character may curse the actions of an individual or group. You must state specific, relatively unusual circumstances in which the curse is operative - it can’t be operative all the time. Affecting a particular action counts as specific circumstances. Your success level with this ability check is a pool of penalty dice which apply to the character(s) in the specified circumstances. Cost: 1 Artes per person affected. Expenditure of another 1 Artes per person (or more, if the specific Secret specifies a cost above 1 Artes) enables you to apply a curse in which another Secret, such as Shapeshifting, affects the target under specific circumstances. In this case, your success level is a pool of dice which the cursed person must beat with their Resist ability check in order to avoid shapeshifting (or whatever) in those circumstances.

Secret of the Elements With a successful Magic ability check, your character is able to affect wind and water to create or dispel storms (snowstorms, in cold conditions). Cost: 1 Artes for rain or a wind strong enough to sail with, 2 Artes for a storm.

Secret of Enchantment With a successful Magic ability check, you may give a character one clearly-worded command which they must obey, or tell them one false thing which they must believe. If telling them a false thing you may use Deceive as a secondary ability to get bonus dice (you can still use the Secret if you fail the Deceive ability check). Cost: 1 Artes.

Secret of Flying Your character is able to fly - either simply by magic, or using some kind of device such as a cauldron, carpet etc., or a steed - and can take up to four others with him or her. Cost: 1 Artes to fly alone, 2 Artes with others.

Secret of Glamour Your character can, on a successful Magic ability check, convince other people that they see, hear, smell and taste things which are not there, or are there but are different. Cost: 1 Artes.

Secret of Necromancy Your character can revive (but not truly resurrect) the dead and enable them to walk around, fight, etc. However, they are unable to speak. When employed with the Secret of Scrying or the Secret of the Arcane Servant, the Secret of Necromancy enables speech with the spirits of the deceased (they may not also move; you can have either communication or movement but not both). The Secret of Necromancy is always a morally dubious Secret to employ. Cost: 2 Artes.

Secret of Scrying Your character can see and hear distant events on a successful Magic Ability check. Cost: 1 Artes.

Secret of the Shapeshifter Your character is able to adopt the shape of another creature with a successful Magic ability check, or to change another person into another shape. Available shapes include the appearance of another known character. Cost: 1 Artes.

Secrets on the chart will include:

• Elements
• Animal Speech
• Arcane Servant
• Cursing
• Enchantment
• Flying
• Glamour
• Imbuement
• Necromancy
• Scrying
• Shapeshifter
• Lore

Initial Attitude

An encountered Enchanter will normally be initially suspicious of you. They are paranoid people who live in fear of others who covet or resent their power.

Retainers and Companions

Enchanters may have servants or apprentices.

Complete Worked Examples TO ADAPT FROM KNIGHT VERSIONS WHEN SYSTEM MORE SETTLED

Example 1: Black Knight (JH, 5S, 2C)

Choose a name for your Black Knight from the Noble Names Table if you like. We will refer to him simply as the Black Knight for this example.

The Black Knight’s pools are:

• Valour: Encounter card (Hearts) = 4 points (with Knight’s Valour bonus).
• Courtesie: Tens card (Spades) = 0 points.
• Artes: Ones card (Clubs) = 1 point.

His abilities are:

• Hearts and Spades, Jousting (Master).
• Spades and Clubs, Sword (Journeyman).
• Hearts and Clubs, Battle (Journeyman).
• Spades and Hearts, Sense Danger (Apprentice).
• Clubs and Spades, Aim (Apprentice).
• Clubs and Hearts, Sway (Apprentice).

He has the Secret of Knightly Discipline and no other Secrets.

His encounter card is a Jack, so his Key is the Key of Bloodlust.

He is hostile to you, because he is a Black Knight.

Example 2: Church Knight (QC, 10C, 5D)

Let’s call our Church Knight Sir Jaufre of the Sorrowful Countenance.

Sir Jaufre’s pools are:

• Valour: Encounter card (Clubs) = 2 points, with the Knight bonus.
• Courtesie: Tens card (Clubs) = 1 point.
• Artes: Ones card (Diamonds) = 2 points.

His abilities are:

• Clubs and Clubs, Battleaxe(Master).
• Clubs and Diamonds, First Aid (Journeyman).
• Clubs and Diamonds, First Aid (boosts ability to Master).
• Clubs and Clubs, Battleaxe (boosts ability to Grand Master).
• Diamonds and Clubs, Mace (Apprentice).
• Diamonds and Clubs, Mace (boosts ability to Journeyman).

His Secrets are:

• Secret of Knightly Discipline.
• Secret of Knockback (club, club, diamond).

His encounter card is a Queen, so his Key is the Key of Charity.

As a (non-evil) Knight he is friendly towards all comers.

Errantry copyright 2006 by Mike Reeves-McMillan. Released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License(approve sites).

These are notes for a work in progress. Don’t expect everything to be consistent or make sense.