Role playing a Gypsy


Pathfinder Society

Silver Crusade

My character is a rogue and a member of the Szarni. Since I want to role play a con artist who tells false fortunes and cons the crap out of people, I was going to take a level as an Oracle (it works even better because he's a half elf). I wanted to take a curse, even though I don't have an Oracle level. It only makes sense to me, as he was born with the curse. It would be an extra challenge, but is it legal?

Dark Archive 2/5

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You can role-play what ever you want. You just cannot gain any mechanical benefit from it.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

^ this.

Shadow Lodge

Also understand that telling fortunes at the table may be time consuming and frowned upon at some tables. Additionally, the most appropriate fortune telling item, a Harrow deck, is legal to own, but nearly anything (Feat, spell, trait, prestige class, etc.) that utilizes it to gain any benefit is illegal.

5/5 5/55/55/5

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Pay attention during the mission briefings and read the blurb to the scenario. Then tell the other characters fortunes based on that. Chances are good they weren't paying attention and it will seem like you know the future :)

Varisians are pretty much gypsies with the serial numbers lightly filed anyway.

Silver Crusade

Thanks. The whole thing with my char is that he isn't a REAL fortune teller, just a charlatan. I might not take levels as an oracle, I might... I have no clue, but thanks for the help! :D

Dark Archive 3/5 **

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Pointing at any given PC at the table and telling them they are in "terrible danger" as soon as you receive the mission from a Venture Captain is an accurate fortune.

Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

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I have a suspicion that you'll like the fact that THIS book is coming out soon - who knows what options it might open up for this character.

Also, just a suggestion for the future - to use "ethnic Varisian" (or "Roma") to describe what you want to play, instead of what the thread is titled.

Silver Crusade 2/5

An Oracle of Lore would do *wonders* for that. Go into a trance, come out of it with knowledge you shouldn't possibly have (DC:34 is the starter point)? That's ruddy near fortune telling. Add that your character plays with a harrow deck while doing so, and you've got yourself a schtick!

Shadow Lodge

CanisDirus wrote:

I have a suspicion that you'll like the fact that THIS book is coming out soon - who knows what options it might open up for this character.

Also, just a suggestion for the future - to use "ethnic Varisian" (or "Roma") to describe what you want to play, instead of what the thread is titled.

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything in that book to be pfs legal, pfs has a long time stance of disallowing nearly everything harrow related.

Scarab Sages

Profession (fortune telling), Sense Motive, and Bluff, should cover the basics, and allow you to give a cold reading that satisfies the mark that you knew what you were doing.

Not likely to come up in any but the most roleplayey of scenarios, but at least the latter two of those skills are generally useful, and the first allows you to make day job rolls at it.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

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I bought a cheap Tarot deck once for a home game and used it as a Harrow deck. I'd pull a card for every NPC or situation to determine my PC's reactions.

It was fun.

And creepy.

It was amazing how accurate a lot of the cards ended up being!

Shadow Lodge *

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
Dylos wrote:
CanisDirus wrote:

I have a suspicion that you'll like the fact that THIS book is coming out soon - who knows what options it might open up for this character.

Also, just a suggestion for the future - to use "ethnic Varisian" (or "Roma") to describe what you want to play, instead of what the thread is titled.

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything in that book to be pfs legal, pfs has a long time stance of disallowing nearly everything harrow related.

My understanding is that the reason for that is that it is too easy to manipulate cards and cheat, and that they therefore disallow everything card-related. (Such as the Obedience of the Empyreal Lord Irez.)

If they've got some Harrow-related things that don't involve actual physical cards, they may well be PFS Legal.

Silver Crusade 2/5

If you truly wanted to do "Harrow"ing, you could try going though the Cleric archtype of Pilgrim, which at level 8 grants it as replacement of one of your domain abilities at that level. Though... As others have said, you don't need it to play as a gypsy.

Shadow Lodge

Spencer Ramirez wrote:
If you truly wanted to do "Harrow"ing, you could try going though the Cleric archtype of Pilgrim, which at level 8 grants it as replacement of one of your domain abilities at that level. Though... As others have said, you don't need it to play as a gypsy.

I find it really odd that this is actually a legal option, as the spell Harrowing is not legal and neither is the Harrower Prestige class that the Varisian Pilgrim refers to for the ability that it uses.

Grand Lodge 4/5 **** Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento

probably just fell through the cracks

Dark Archive 3/5 **

pH unbalanced wrote:
Dylos wrote:
CanisDirus wrote:

I have a suspicion that you'll like the fact that THIS book is coming out soon - who knows what options it might open up for this character.

Also, just a suggestion for the future - to use "ethnic Varisian" (or "Roma") to describe what you want to play, instead of what the thread is titled.

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything in that book to be pfs legal, pfs has a long time stance of disallowing nearly everything harrow related.

My understanding is that the reason for that is that it is too easy to manipulate cards and cheat, and that they therefore disallow everything card-related. (Such as the Obedience of the Empyreal Lord Irez.)

If they've got some Harrow-related things that don't involve actual physical cards, they may well be PFS Legal.

My personal hope is that said book will include a d% matrix to substitute for an actual harrow deck that will be made legal (and in turn, make a number of other harrow options legal).

Shadow Lodge

bdk86 wrote:
My personal hope is that said book will include a d% matrix to substitute for an actual harrow deck that will be made legal (and in turn, make a number of other harrow options legal).

Dice can already substitute the deck, d6 for suit and d10 (reroll 10s) for alignment.

1d6 ⇒ 41d10 ⇒ 6 for example would be Intelligence Chaotic Neutral, which is The Vision.

Scarab Sages

D6 for suit, and two d3 rolls for morals (G-N-E) and ethics (L-N-C).

Saves rerolling 10s, but you have to remember to specify which die is which.

Scarab Sages 5/5

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Hikoga wrote:
My character is a rogue and a member of the Szarni. Since I want to role play a con artist who tells false fortunes and cons the crap out of people, I was going to take a level as an Oracle (it works even better because he's a half elf). I wanted to take a curse, even though I don't have an Oracle level. It only makes sense to me, as he was born with the curse. It would be an extra challenge, but is it legal?

I would also suggest treading lightly - if you want to be a fortune teller or con-artist then call yourself a fortune teller or con-artist but don't call yourself a gypsy - you are drifting into an offensive characterization of an ethnicity.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

Con artists also hate being labeled as Sczarni.

Shadow Lodge

Nefreet wrote:
Con artists also hate being labeled as Sczarni.

Sczarni also hate being called con artists.

Sczarni 5/5 5/55/5 ***

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We prefer the term "entrepreneurs".

Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

Either way, best to keep using the in-game terms instead of unintentional (hopefully?) real ethnic slurs.

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