SycophantAbyssicGuideCard

Hello all, I'm new to the wiki and I'm a Cro Mag so I'll probably make mistakes. The Savant and Sorcerer book details the cards of the abyssic guide, and offers interesting summoning rules. I whipped up a sample abyssic cad. comment on mine, and make your own!

Hello, brand new to wiki. I'll probably make technical errors. Anyway, I have an idea for a new type of demon card in the abyssic guide. Here's my write up, let me know what you think.

Sycophant

The card of the sycophant depicts a scene with two panels. The card is divided by a line of blood running vertically up the card. The left panel is three times wider than the right. In the left panel, The Unconquered Sun pours down light from a cloudless cerulean sky. Two mortals, and man and a woman, recline indolently on a hillside, basking in the light. They are happy. The man has a glass of heady, saphirre coloured elderberry wine in his right hand, and is reaching across his supine body to hold the glass to the lips of the woman. She is holding an earthenware jug of that same wine. Beside them is a basket with apples, loaves of bread, and candied dates. A breeze toys with the green linen cloth over it. A jar of honey has fallen out. It is spilling its sweet contents into the soft grass.

In the right panel, the emaciated sycophant claws at the line of blood separating him from the left panel. His stomach is in profile and it is barely a hands’ breadth wide. He has far too many ribs, and they are all plainly visible. The old realm numeral for 1 is burned into his forehead. His face is turned away from the right panel, but his four saffron eyes look back. A violin lies at his feet. It is playing the note G. He is moaning in tune with it. They cannot hear him.

The sycophant’s weakness is envy. This is a conviction flaw. The Sycophant believes that the mortals and Exalts of creation are far better off than it is. Whether it hails from the prison of the Yozis, or from an elemental court, it wishes to be one of them. Demon sycophants have this grain of doubt in their master within them, no matter how much they trust them, and elemental sycophants feel helpless and daydream of being a mortal as they toil away at their seemingly meaningless tasks.

When the Sorcerer summons the sycophant, the sorcerer exploits this weakness by suggesting that being nearer to mortals and exalts might allow it to partake scraps from the table of creation. The sorcerer tempts the sycophant with small pleasures, such as leisure time, music, or wholesome food. Even though a demonic sycophant might feel somewhat repulsed by such things and a powerful elemental might see these pleasures as pale to those of Heaven, they are sorely tempted.

Sycophants gain limit when they are confronted by the truth that they can never be a mortal or an Exalt, and can never partake of the simple pleasures they enjoy.

Sycophants are often summoned when the sorcerer needs a demon to accompany them in a variety of situations, such as travel. Not as hostile to others as a Warden, and not as devious a Vizer, the Sycophant often proves to be more a nussiance than a threat when it becomes difficult. Sycophants tend to gain limit very slowly, and so it oftens comes as a shock when ths sycophants's limit does break. In order to lower a sycophant's limit, the sorcerer must allow the sycophant to experiance mortal pleasures. As this sometimes leads to an increase in limit through misfortune, many sorcerers keep their sycophants completely isolated, in order to prevent any increase in limit.

Limit 1-3

At low limit, the sycophant praises and compliments the sorcerer periodically, in the hopes of being given small rewards. The sycophant is careful to make the praises and compliments small as well, to avoid showing its desperation. Secretly, the sycophant is pleased to be where it is, and is content, though it will complain periodically to hide this, and save face.

Limit 4-6

At this amount of limit, the sycophant has tasted some of the pleasures of creation, but begins to recognize that cannot truly partake of them in the way of mortals. It may steep its wholesome food in the secretions of maggots, or it may throw a jug of wine into the fire, to pull out the hot shards from the coals, and suck on them. It is trying to determine how mortals enjoy these things which are so alien to it. It is beginning to feel frustrated. Add one to the difficulty of the rolls of all mortals who witness the sycophant indulging, and who fail a compassion roll of difficulty 1 to stave off the overwhelming disgust the sycophant’s parodies of mortal behavior induce.

Limit 7-9

At high limit, the sycophant is moody. It alternates between extremes of desperation, and lethargy. The sycophant mimics the ecstasy and joy of mortals, but feels hollow. The sycophant does what the sorcerer commands, but it preoccupied with thoughts of self-pity. It begins to suspect that all its efforts are in vain. Add 1 to the difficulty of all its rolls, except social rolls involving begging. The sycophant pleads endlessly to be given new and exotic things to amuse it. It may ask for fruits from sacred trees a thousand miles away, or blind concubines with perfect singing voices. Inevitably, it destroys these things when they fail to please it.

Limit Break

Restrained Lotus Eater Desperation: When the sycophant’s limit breaks in this fashion, the sycophant’s desire for all manner of simple pleasures exceeds even the most addicted mortal’s cravings for hard drugs. The sycophant is barely capable of thinking of anything but indulgence, and only a thin veneer of abject subservience to the sorcerer conceals this. This condition lasts a number of weeks equal to the sycophant’s conviction. During this time, it suffers a 1 difficulty increase to all die rolls. More dangerously, the sycophant will give up anything to indulge in even a small pleasure. It is capable of directly disobeying and betraying the sorcerer during this time, but not of harming the sorcerer. Use of the charm "Knowing the Soul's Price" or other such magic will inform the user that the sycophant can be had for any petty indulgence.

Pampered Noble Ennui: The sycophant no longer has any hope of being capable of experiencing the pleasures of the lives of mortals and Exalts. It has entirely given up hope, and finds its existence meaningless. Outwardly, the sycophant is lethargic, adding two to the difficulties of all rolls. Also, the sycophant will lash out in violence, only once, for a number of turns equal to its conviction It is capable of harming the sorcerer during this time. This condition lasts for a number of days equal to its conviction. Use of the charm "Knowing the Soul's Price" or other magic will inform the user that the sycophant cannot be had for any price, other than being made a mortal or exalt, a heroic feat even for a mighty exalt.

Comments

Hello, ImaginalDisc, and welcome to the wiki. Please note that top-level, generic name pages like this should be reserved for general content, not personal contributor content. The proper place for this material would be on a page labeled "ImaginalDiscNewCardsfortheAbscissicGuide" or something of that sort, or on a subpage under your username, like "ImaginalDisc/NewCardsfortheAbscissicGuide" or something of that sort. Also, you might want to reduce the length of the name of the page this eventually goes on, for ease of remembrance and of typing. If you have not done so yet, please read BestPractices, as these sorts of issues, along with other points of wiki-etiquette are covered in a fair amount of detail there. That said, at just a glance (not a complete read-though yet, I'm afraid) your material looks well edited for layout, and decently organized. Hopefully, a more complete reading will reveal what I suspect is reasonably well thought-out crunch. Best of luck! -Suzume

Oh, I see. I has hoped to open up discussion of new cards in general by proposing one of my own. I'll move it as soon as I can figure out how. Help from anyone would be appreciated though. -ImaginalDisc

Moved, and corrected. I can use wiki now! I feel like Tom Hanks in Castaway. "I have made fire!" -ImaginalDisc.