Farfadet's page

Behold !

Ready yourself to hear the strange story of Reginard aep Rhîr, now known as „Farfadet“. Many years ago, a gnome baby was found near a gnomish home in Jovvox, in the River Kingdom of Mivon. The folks living there, having just lost a child to illness, were overjoyed and took the baby in as one of their own, calling him according to their customs. They never wondered about his origins, save for one thing. The baby held in his hands an eerie paper lantern, ever-burning yet flameless. It emitted a slow and sad tune, a fragment of a memory long forgotten. Yet the strangest thing about the lantern was how soothing its presence was to the child, who was surprisingly as full of joy and laughter as the lantern was ever glowing. Reginard’s origins raised many questions among the nosy and talkative neighbours, but his parents chose to shrug those questions off and simply accept the child for what it was – a gift.

As a kid, Reginard was always recognized by his clear, high-pitched laughter. What’s more, he developped a keen interest in jests and pranks of all nature. This infuriated the village elders, who felt that his character didn’t belong in a serious industrious settlement as the mining town of Jovvox. Reginard’s parents didn’t care, truth be told. Their child was their joy, and his mother especially thought it was just a way for the youngster to express how out of place he felt there. Reginard was also a very positive child, and never let anything touch him deeply – he’d keep his bright, friendly smile for good days as much as for bad ones, an embodiment of the proverbial silver lining. Despite his propension for jokes, his are rarely mean ones. On the contrary, his joyful nature and eerie laughter endeavor to bring out the best in the people around him – at least the ones who care for him.

What excited Reginard the most were his long aimless walks in the lush nature of the forests and meadows surrounding his home town. Wanderlust would often take the boy, and he’d disappear for days, taking only his faithful lantern. No one truly knows why this overwhelming longing for nature existed, or what the boy did during these long periods of absence. He seemed to be a loner at heart, sharing few serious matters with his loved ones, preferring a good jest over a clear explanation. One thing he brought back from his wanderings, though, were many trinkets and baubles of murky origins – like him. He’d keep them at all times, in numerous pouches and pockets, finding unusual uses for them.

This was the time he asked others to call him „Farfadet“, as he himself despised his more serious name. He preferred this more melodious name. Why? The only person the gnome confided in was his mother. He told her of his meeting with his forest friends, the brownies, leprechauns and satyrs he encountered many times in his journeys. Was it by chance? Farfadet didn’t seem to think so. He described how the light of his lantern would draw the wondrous creatures of the woods to him – and how the light it cast would reveal their true selves, banishing false pretences and illusions. His fey friends would offer many small gifts to the gnome – one gave him that name, others granted him some of his natural baubles – necklaces, roots, evergreen leaves, petrified acorns and the like. A dryad would speak for hours of the First World, where they originated, and her stories blew his mind away. The fey would offer these gifts to him in exchange for Farfadet‘s many stories, jests, or simply his joyful laughter echoing in the trees. Yet one encounter became even more meaningful to the young boy. He met what the fey called a norn – an old creature living deep in the woods, one that relentlessly deals with the threads of fate. The norn spoke little, but simply called the boy one of them. The words shook Farfadet, who then left without knowing what to think. The young gnome’s mother was surprised, not only by the norn’s words, but also the fact her son would share that with her. She nodded and explained she had always suspected that Reginard was not of this world, but may have come from the First World. Why was he brought to the gnomish town, she would not know, neither about the reason that would compel the boy’s real parents to relinquish him. She could only offer him motherly love. His mother kept the secret of what he entrusted her, for her son was so precious to her.

Farfadet grew up, and started working at the forges as an apprentice, but this didn’t last a week. A prank too many that he played to one of the village elders got him expelled not only from his apprenticeship, but from the town as well. Truth be told, no one in their right mind wanted to employ a whimsical prankster, especially in such dangerous environments as the mines or the forges. Without any regret, Farfadet took his lantern and trinkets, said his farewell to his parents, and left for good. Nature was once more calling, and he knew there was no going back. Thus began his years of wandering. Somehow it appeared that he was walking aimlessly in the woodlands and grasslands, yet a question gnawed at him from the inside – where did he really come from? Who were his real parents? The gnome hoped to find an answer someday, but he was sure of one thing – the answer didn’t matter as much as the way to get there. His lantern in his hand to shed the light of truth, he ventured forth, searching for friends.

The truth, however, proves to be much more ironic than what he expects. Unbeknownst to him, he is in fact, not a gnome at all, though his education and upbringing certainly had him become very close to one. He was born a bastard fey creature, son of a rider of the Wyld Hunt and a nymph, offspring of his father’s deep desire of begetting a child. However, the hunter’s foolish desire was somehow denied by the Eldest known as the Lantern King, as the latter turned the baby into a gnome child shortly after its birth and spirited him away, before his father could ever lay his eyes on him. Was it vengeance ? Was it on a whim ? No one knows, yet the child was gifted by an ever-lit lantern, shedding the light of truth upon all it encompasses – save for one thing, the Lantern Bearer’s true appearance. A delicious irony for the Laughing Lie, patron of laughter, mischief, and transformation. Yet, as norns well know, fate cannot be trumped, even by a being as powerful as the Lantern King. A simple tune, the mourning of a grieving father, found its way across the planes and bound itself to the child’s lantern, like a tiny fleck of hope across the multiverse. Farfadet has somehow felt it in his heart – the tune is like a lingering thread of fate connecting him to his mysterious origins. Who knows what will come of it? Who will have the last laugh in this matter?

◆= 1 Action, ◆◆= 2 Action Activity, ◆◆◆= 3 Action Activity
◇= Free Action, ↺= Reaction

[dice=◆ Exploit Vulnerability]1d20+7[/dice] Exploit Vulnerability rules

[dice=◆ Recall Knowledge]1d20+7[/dice] +0 for creatures/curses/haunts, -2 for anything else.

[dice=◆ Demoralize vs Will DC]1d20+7[/dice]

[dice=◆ Strike, Rapier (deadly d8, disarm, finesse) P]1d20+6;1d6+2[/dice]

[dice=◆ Strike, Starknife (agile, deadly d6, finesse, throwing 20ft, versatile S) P]1d20+6;1d6+2[/dice]

◆ Cast a spell: TBD Effect

Trigger You are attacked by a creature that you haven't yet acted hostile toward. You must use this reaction before the creature rolls its attack. Effect The way you cringe or use those puppydog eyes you've been practicing elicits an empathetic response in the attacker. Attempt a Diplomacy check against your attacker's Will DC.
Critical Success The creature pulls its attack, wasting its action, and can't use hostile actions against you until the beginning of its next turn.
Success The creature takes a –2 circumstance penalty to damage on the triggering Strike and all its Strikes against you until the beginning of its next turn. The penalty is –4 if you're an expert in Diplomacy, –6 if you're a master, and –8 if you're legendary.
Failure The creature's attack is unaffected, and the creature is temporarily immune to your Empathic Pleas for 24 hours.

- Free Archetype: Blessed One? Works with Energized Font? Sorcerer?
- Glad Hand skill feat to be able to make an impression on fey without penalty