Hi
I'm a new 7th Sea GM and was wondering if anyone could point me in the the direction of stats and abilities for Sidhe ?
Player met one, on a dark and stormy night, just off the forest trail where they were camping on their own, with their horse. They're a Knight of Avalon.
Player wakes up and sees a shadowy figure rummaging through the horses saddlebags.
A challenge ensues.
The figure turns slowly and requests that the Knight speak with more civility.
(Player cottons on this could be a Sidhe and changes their tack, invites the Sidhe to the campfire and to share some food).
Sidhe asks what the Knight is doing here, blah blah blah, and after a while chatting, Sidhe reminds the Knight to be more civil towards strangers (even though Sidhe was rifling through Knights posessions...curious and cocky was the style theme here)
Reading up on the Sidhe, it would suggest they take great offence being insulted or spoken to poorly.
So, I'm thinking that in the morning, when the player wake up, her horse stares wildly at her for a moment.
She'll probably pull out a small hand mirror...and notice her jet black hair is now pillar-box red.
Is that a fitting reprimand from a Sidhe ?
I'm a little wary about using it, as it feels like overstretching GM power, and I do know some players who don't like things to affect them unless they have a chance for a Saving Throw against such affects.
In essence, I don't have stats for Sidhe, don't know what powers they have, don't know what they can and cannot do within the Sidhe and game system framework. Give me a D&D L20 Dracolich Paragon and I'll reel off stats...lol !
Thank you.
I think your hero is getting off easy. Just remember that a sidhe glamour should only last until the next sunrise and should cost a danger point. But going by first Ed, you could turn your hero into her horse (and vice versa).
Thank you for your comments, Blusponge and Salamanca.
I did manage to eventually find some Sidhe related material today in the backer kit 1st Edition PDF's and yes, by all accounts the Sidhe are quite nasty pieces of work.(She'll be up against some Unseelie shortly, and I think I'll leave them to the real horror).
This Sidhe she met is going to reoccur and hopefully, if she helps a village shortly, by clearning some old ways statuary that is overgrown (the village embraced the new Avalonian Religion and forgot the old ways), the Sidhe may take a bit more kindly to her...because without him, she's going to have a hard time against the Unseelie.
The hair seems a fairly innocuous warning, but of course, the second village where she is heading to are aware of the Sidhe tricks, and will recognise it as one. She needs them on side, because there's someone in the village she needs to talk to, and someone else she would be wise to avoid (but her personal story will make that impossible, as she is hunting this person).
Enjoying the system and thanks for your comments once again.
If you have some time, I seriously recommend reading Mark Chadbourne's The Silver Skull. It involves the unseelie as an adversary, is VERY 7th Sea in feel, and oozes atmosphere. Definitely check it out if you are going to be using the unseelie.
The Sidhe are based on the Fey/little folk/fair folk of mostly Irish and Scottish lore. This is the same basis as Dresden Files if you want to read a good story that explores such characters.
To go into your issues, the Sidhe are basically all about GM fiat. They can do anything you want them to do. They do not have stats because you do not fight them and expect to win, unless it is a good story. In many ways, they are creatures of story and the story is what allows a hero to harm them. Sure, they may be weak to iron, but they need not be in a place with iron if they do not want to be. Can they change a person's hair color? Why would they not be able to? Why would they not be able to do anything? That is the question you need to ask. The fact the player's character is still alive shows the Sidhe was being kind.
As others have mentioned, most of these sort of pranks last until the next sunrise or a week and a day, but curses can be levied for a year and a day.
Bradley,
Well going by the details in the old Avalon book, the Sidhe aren't much for killing. They put you to sleep for 100 years, or turn you into a frog until some ridiculous event occurs. In short, they are about creative curses. Now some, like Redcap, might kill you, but to many that would just be crude. :)
True, but if they did want to kill you, they have methods that make the release of death a blessing by killing you slowly. Torture that makes you love your fey captor for the pleasure of them taking time out of their immortal life to personally deal with a worthless bug like yourself.
Though, such methods are usually more the providence of the unseelie.
By my ruling, Sidhe generally fall into two categories.
High-power Noble Sidhe have powers that work mostly by fiat, they're not really something you can fight, and their powers mostly function by fiat, but they're bound by a great deal of rules, to the point where they mostly work through indirect means.
However Sidhe can also take a more direct role in things, in which case they shed much of their powers and avoid many of their restrictions. These Sidhe are best treated more as a traditional, (if often powerful) villain. A redcap would fit in this category, but many of the more Noble Sidhe can also sacrifice power for freedom (willingly or otherwise)
Generally speaking Sidhe are very powerful, but are limited in their involvement. The more direct they get, the weaker they are/become. The exception would be if the heroes themselves break the rules, at which point they're essentially fair game.
What the rules are are generally up to you, but there are plenty of cues to take from fairy tales. Keep your promises (but also be careful which promises you make), don't be rude, abide by taboos, etc.