Glamours & Seemings
Newt's truth-telling is an excellent take on magic. It concerns the truth, so what about the falsehoods of Faeries? The system below is meant to be paired with the art of truth-telling as an equivalent but different source of magic.
Spirits and Faeries weave charms from silver threads that give form to falsehood. A Glamour woven may produce visuals and sound but never smell. Only the most potent Glamours are solid, all others are unravelled by touch.
A Seeming is a kind of Glamour used as a disguise. It is a shapeshifting that does not change the essence but only serves as a mask. Invisibility is a kind of Seeming, and the first mastered by men.
There is substance behind the illusion. To work a Glamour requires an investment of the self. Below are different kinds of Glamours and their cost:
- 1HP: Simple visuals—smoke, sounds, a flutter of butterflies.
- 2HP: An object or creature.
- 1d6HP: A hut, terrain feature, or group of creatures.
- 2d6HP: A village or castle, an army.
For Seemings:
- 1HP: A new face, or different skin.
- 2HP: Invisibility, the likeness of another.
- 1d6HP: A new species or form.
- 2d6HP: Vast size changes, a Dragon or Giant.
A Glamour lasts 2d6x10 minutes. Expend half the HP cost, to a minimum of 1, to double the rolled length. Note that all investments must be made before the Glamour is created; Seemings can be rewoven near their expiry.
To give a Glamour solidity, expend 1HD. A solid Glamour lasts until dismissed. Solid Glamours and Seemings have their threads exposed when struck. However, those who believe the Glamour to be real will treat the attacks as if they were from the appropriate being. Lost HP or death at the hands of a Glamour is insubstantial. Once the illusion is realized, all wounds caused by it are recovered.
Costs may be modified on a case by case basis.
Examples:
1: A robber breaks into an old hermit's house. While pretending to sleep, the hermit spends 2d6HP and takes the form of a Dragon to scare the robber off. Drunk, the interloper tests his luck and kills the Hermit behind the Seeming with one stroke of his short sword.
2: A peasant rebel makes a deal with a Dryad to weave foreign armour burnt black by hellfire upon his men. It spends 2d6HP and gives up an HD to honour the command. They charge the king's army who hesitate for fear. By the time they realize the trick they have already been routed. The rebel gives up his only child, who becomes a Changeling.
3: A wizard spends 2HP and an HD to recreate his dead son. The villagers know. A young boy is disgusted and throws a rock at the phantom, causing it to unravel. The wizard brings Orcs upon the village he once served and all die.