Supplement #8
First Distribution: June 2, 1990
This supplement:
A Legend of Trickster (Paul Reilly)
Ed's note: After this supplement, I decided to eliminate the concept of
supplements.
--------------------
From: paul@vulcan.pitt.edu (Paul Reilly)
Subject: A Legend of Trickster
This legend was written for Retrint in Fronela. It could be modified
slightly to anywhere in Fronela, or anywhere on Glorantha that has both
weasels and bears, or even for other worlds entirely.
---
Trickster visited this region in the Lesser Darkness. The people in the
region were starving, and the Bear and Weasel clans had been forced to learn
how to eat Elk and Rabbit. Bear was a great power and befriended Weasel,
small but cunning and swift. When two of the Bear ancestors were to be
married, they invited two Weasels to be married with them in a joint ceremony.
Trickster, as a traveler happening by, was invited to the wedding party.
He fooled the newlywed Weasels and Bears into sleeping with each other
instead of their spouses. Following the misconception, the Wolverines were
born. Mrs. Weasel bore first, a boy and a girl. It was a difficult labor and
everyone commented on how big and strong the children were. Mr. Weasel was
hard put to keep the family in food as the children had a liking for large
helpings of everything. Mrs. Bear also had twins, one cub male and another
female.
The children grew apace and seemed healthy and strong. Mrs. Bear wondered
why her children were so small, but at least their appetite seemed normal, if
not a trifle too hearty. The four little ones loved to play, especially
with each other. Eventually, as they grew up, it began to dawn on people that
something strange had happened on the wedding night.
Mr Bear was furious. He went into a berserk rage and went out to hunt down
the Trickster. His first attempt failed, but eventually he heard from the
reindeer fold that a traveler in motley had come through their territory,
changing the pine leaves into sharp needles. Bear caught up to the culprit
in the Elk forest. He trapped the japester and a mighty hug and began crushing
him. Trickster felt his bones creaking and struggled to get away; Bear's grip
was so powerful that he only succeeded in pulling himself out of his own skin.
Bear felt his grip suddenly go slack as the king of practical jokers tried to
make good his escape. He threw the empty hide into a tree and took a swipe at
the fleeing Trickster and caught one claw in his anus. Trickster kept running
and his intestines spooled out behind him; when he reached forty feet and was
caught, bouncing like a paddleball on an elastic string, Bear collapsed with
laughter and decided not to continue tearing the joker apart. He tied the
gutless Trickster to a pine tree with the innards, and left to go sleep in
his den.
Trickster eventually pulled himself free and put himself together. Now his
trick with the needles was regretted, for he got some permanently under his
skin, causing him to scratch and whine as he walked along. The needles itched
powerfully, but scratching them only made them prick painfully under his skin.
He was a pitiful sight with his stitched-together skin barely holding in his
guts, but he made his way to the Rabbit burrow where Mr. and Mrs. Weasel made
their home.
He explained to them what had happened and apologized for his childish trick.
While the Weasels were also upset, they pitied him for the awful punishment
Mr. Bear had dished out. They took him in until he was feeling a little
better, and he offered to reward them with a solution for their troubles.
You see, the Wolverines were growing up and could find no Weasels willing to
mate with them, for some reason. Trickster suggested that if they married the
Bear's children, everything would come out right in the end. The Weasel family
would have married into the powerful Bear clan, and would boast descendants
with the strength of the Bears and the cunning of Weasels.
Mr Weasel approved the plan and arranged the marriage. Trickster appeared in
disguise and worked his magic again, but this time with more malice and a
worse result. Each of the Wolverine males slept with his own sister instead
of the promised wife. Trickster withdrew the glamour and left while they
slept. The young couples were horrified when they awoke and found they had
broken the greatest of taboos. Bear howled with anguish but had no choice
but to pronounce exile on his own children and those of the Weasels.
Wandering in the Great Darkness, the Wolverines fell prey to the armies of
the Devil. He captured them and ripped forth the children of incest, marking
them as his own creatures. Ever since then, Wolverines have been vicious
loners, killing and destroying that which they cannot use.
New Trickster spells
Mask
This spell covers one being with an illusion of another. It works properly
only to generate an illusion of a being that the caster is familiar with or has
at least seen. Attempting to create a Mask from scratch generates a cartoon
quality image, much like a carved mask.
Each point of this spell acts as one point each of Illusory Sight, Sound,
Smell, and Substance for Masking purposes only.
Secret Trickster Shrines
The shrine for this spell is at the site of the Weasel-Bear wedding, now in
the catacomb of the main (Orlanthi) Temple site in (Ashford). Officially, the
Storm Voices know nothing of the shrine.
Most of the initiates and acolytes of this shrine are children or teenagers
of Ashford.
Example:
Tommy Trouble, age nine, is secretly a Trickster acolyte. Having spent a day
in the shrine, he is prepared to cast his one point of Mask.
As his family leaves church services the next day, everyone is shocked to see
Father Theophilus' head suddenly transform to that of a pig. Squealing and
grunting, the transformed churchman asks Tommy to stay late before dispelling
the illusion.
In the Elk Forest is an obscure spot where three Trickster shrines lie
close together. These spells can be gotten at those shrines, with a
reenactment of the events in the legend as part of the ritual for gaining
the spell (i.e., an older Trickster sets you up for having your skin pulled
off and your intestines pulled out.)
Suggestions on the exact game effects are welcomed.
New Trickster Spells
Itch
Gives an illusory sensation of pine needles under the skin. This creates
a horrible itching which necessitates a Willpower roll to avoid scratching
(abstracted as (INT+POW)*3 on d100; 96-00 fails in any case). Scratching
causes one point of damage but relieves the itching for the next 1d3 rounds
This spell will probably not kill you; at 2 points of damage to each hit
location the effects will cease. Thus 14 pts of damage can be done, not fatal
if you have any Healing to apply in your "off" rounds.
People in combat can ignore the itching but at a cumulative -10% per round
skill penalty.
The Trickster who wishes to acquire this spell must use it on himself at the
shrine and suffer its full effect.
Remove Intestines
This spell is quite painful at first, but you get used to it. It can be
done without cutting or removing the skin, but it's pretty disgusting.
The small intestine can be used as a whip with the appropriate skill.
Remove Skin
Used mostly for shock effect, but occasionally for escapes. The skin can be
partially removed, but must be taken off fully before it is put back on.
The three shrines have no special markers but can be found by dedicated
would-be tricksters.
Copyright 1990 Paul Reilly
Permission granted to reproduce for personal use only.
---
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