Roleplaying Fae NPCs

[devonapple]

Roleplaying Fae NPCs can be a real challenge. I'm finding my players see the Fae I'm running as evasive and obstructionist, while I feel I'm kinda bending over backwards to make them cooperative, in comparison to how I remember them from the books.

Maybe I'm inadvertently substituting cleverness (which can be a challenge to improvise at a gaming table) with obstinance. I feel fairly confident I'm doing them right, but does anyone have tips to share on how they make these bastions of natural order function in their game?

[UmbraLux]

I try to give fae one or more agendas which usually have little to do with the PCs...at least at first.  The fae is willing to help a PC only as long as doing so furthers one of their goals.

The "help" may be through manipulation, misinformation, or an explicit trade.  But there's always some form of quid pro quo.

[devonapple]

The conversations tend to go:
PCs: "Stop doing this thing that got our attention."
Fae: (paraphrasing) "What's it worth to you?"
PCs: "F*it, let's kill them."

PCs: "Stop doing this thing that got our attention."
Fae: (paraphrasing) "We could be persuaded to do you this favor, if you agree to help us with this other thing."
PCs: "F*it, let's kill them."

PCs: "Stop doing this thing that got our attention."
Fae: (paraphrasing) "We could be persuaded to do you this favor, if you agree to help us with this other thing."
PCs: "What, specifically?"
Fae: "We'll let you know when the time is right."
PCs: "F*it, let's kill them."

[Tedronai]

One possible answer to the above exemplified problem is to make it known to the PCs, whether true in game or not, that the Fae they are dealing with are sufficiently far above them in terms of power and influence that their usual aggressive methods of 'negotiation' would result in catastrophe for themselves or their causes.
And if they still proceed in that manner, a la Dresden at Bianca's party, well then you've got a new direction for the plot to head down as their prior worries fall to the wayside in the face of this new much larger conflict.

[admiralducksauce]

Your group might also be making it known that dealing with fairy politics and favors isn't something they're keen on exploring in this campaign.  If you keep having fae show up and your PCs keep putting steel-jacketed rounds in their braincases, it might be time to try different bait.

One possible answer to the above exemplified problem is to make it known to the PCs, whether true in game or not, that the Fae they are dealing with are sufficiently far above them in terms of power and influence that their usual aggressive methods of 'negotiation' would result in catastrophe for themselves or their causes.
And if they still proceed in that manner, a la Dresden at Bianca's party, well then you've got a new direction for the plot to head down as their prior worries fall to the wayside in the face of this new much larger conflict.

This approach I have to admit comes off as initially player-depowering.  "Oh, you guys keep killing my NPCs?  Well screw you, here's Little Fairy McPlotDevice to ruin your day if you don't follow my story!"  But then Tedronai's second point shows a better way to do this.  Your PCs have been bustin' caps in fae for a while and so whatever Court sends a tougher fairy to handle that troublesome area of the mortal realm.  It approaches the PCs:

Fairy: "Stop doing this thing that got our attention."

 

I mean, from there it could explain that a hunting party or war would be an option its masters would rather not use, and they could wipe the slate clean with the PCs if they did this one favor (ie, the same favor the earlier fairies never got to mention).  If the PCs blast this fairy, well hey, you've got fairy hitsquads and whatnot to play with now.

[polkaneverdies]

Wow that sort of solution would get tiresome very quickly.

From what you are saying it doesn't sound like the issue is how you are portraying the fae. It sounds like your pc's are just taking the "easiest" approach. I would address the situation by changing the dynamic between the pc's
and the fae so they realize that simple approach just made things exceptionally complicated. As long as you let the problem be "these malks are being bad guys so lets beat them up. The End" they have no incentive to change their behavior.

If you would like some ideas in that regard just tell us what character types are you dealing with and how overtly you want to deal with the problem?

[devonapple]

I should note, in all fairness, that the players have never *actually* pulled the trigger on such threats, as I have managed to coax them away from that option.

But, one player has two Aspects regarding his entanglements with the Winter Court, so the Fairy realms are pretty hardwired into the game as currently envisioned.

Maybe I need to put Social Conflicts back into the game - I haven't been calling for them lately, and some of the PCs do have some social skill now, so it may actually have an empowering effect. Right now we're doing all of these conversations as almost pure roleplay.

But yes, I get the sense that they do want some sort of reward for resolving the situation without killing (for example) the Malks, and I almost don't blame them. But I feel there is a disconnect between what they think is an appropriate level of Fairy reticence and how I tend to play them.

[wyvern]

Players dealing with fae can be tricky.  I had one player who actually just quit the game when I pointed out that trying to start a war of him vs. summer was unlikely to end in his favor...  (Okay, so that's something of an oversimplification - but he was trying to claim territory in the nevernever without paying for it, and, well, that was just not going to end well.)

[devonapple]

If you would like some ideas in that regard just tell us what character types are you dealing with and how overtly you want to deal with the problem?

Our party consists of:
Tactical Evoker (apprentice Wizard focusing on outdoorsy stuff, combat and wards)
Maverick Spellcaster (apprentice Wizard focusing on Lore, Fae-related magic, and illusions)
Righteous Wizard Apprentice (apprentice Wizard focusing on crafting and combat)
Werebear Biker (focusing on mechanical stuff and melee combat)

As for the problem, I need to figure out how to make the Fae mysterious, compelling and dangerous, without being an unintentional plot bottleneck. I may just need to step up my game and think a few moves ahead. I'd certainly love guidance on that.

[UmbraLux]

Social conflicts may help.  I'd also consider having the fae ensure they meet the PCs in a place of strength whenever possible.  A domain in the Nevernever for example.  Whatever you do, play up a casual use of power or strength (whatever fits the fae in question).  Make it as obvious as you can that at least one of them will be seriously hurt if it does come to blows. 

With all the wizards in your group, I'd suggest wary fae set meetings up on or near bodies of water. 

[admiralducksauce]

What about neutral ground?  I doubt that the PCs, if they're gun-shy about fae, would stick around to meet on the fae's terms.  Get 'em to Accorded Neutral territory and I think a social contest might have some merit.

[Becq]

Something that might be worth considering: there are two general classes of Fae that the players might encounter.  The first class are the scary ones.  The players would have to be absolute fools to say "F*it, let's kill Mab." for example, and if they did then they have earned their plot-device-powered demises.

The second general class is the not-so-scary ones (pixies, Gruffs, and whatnot).  Could the players beat one of them up, or even a group?  Sure!  But think about how Fae's currency of favors work, and consider that all of them either owed or were owed favors by other Fae.  So even if other more powerful Fae don't strictly care that Pixies #17-23 just bit it, they just might decide that by eliminating those pixies, the players have just assumed any debts that those pixies had to them...

Just a thought.

[devonapple]

I chatted with the players about this some more, and I was taking character frustration as if it were player frustration (one player was legitimately frustrated, but admitted he was probably not going about it right).

I guess what I want to do now is write sort of a behavioral code for them. Fae are supposed to be so intricately bound to the concepts of balance that they are almost like computers or weathervanes in that regard. Which makes one wonder why the previous Summer Lady went crazy and started causing the imbalances she did.

Anyway, my thoughts so far are to categorize the behavioral templates according to level. I don't have elements to add to all the categories, but the categories would be:

High Sidhe(Lady/Queen/Crone, Lea)
- High Sidhe cannot initiate intervention in mortal affairs, except through their appointed mortal Knight; however, if a mortal interferes with their affairs first (knowingly or not), they can take action in retaliation.

Sidhe (Lords and Ladies, Elder Gruff)
- Sidhe commonly have sworn Oaths of fealty to the High Sidhe of their Court, and are accordingly beholden to them; this is not universal, however, and there are many who are not bound by such Oaths.
- while Sidhe predominantly act according to their nature, they have a breadth of power and experience which allows them, as need dictates, to improvise or act outside of their usual nature
- unlike common fae, Sidhe cannot utter something they believe to be false, but saying something anyone else will think is a lie is just fine (i.e. Mab promising Harry she would not punish him for failing in Summer Knight... and then causing him pain out of spite - the pain wasn't because he failed - it was because she felt like it); note that they will exploit and twist this for all manner of deception

Court Fae
- must obey Sidhe and higher of their Court

Wyldfae
- I don't know if there needs to be anything about being recruited/recruitable

All Fae
Truth
- common fae will exploit and twist the truth for all manner of deception, and may exaggerate or even lie outright - however, anything a fae says three times is an oath and/or the sworn truth, though demanding that a fae do so is commonly taken as an insult
- anything a human says to a fae three times is taken as the sworn truth, and if proved otherwise, the human may suffer the retribution of the fae
Oaths and Contracts
- anything a human promises to a fae three times is taken as an oath, and if broken, the human may suffer the effects of breaking an Oath (See "Oaths, Bonds, and Bargains" YS 274) as well as retribution from the fae
- any deal with the fae will be upheld from their end, though they tend to respect only the letter of any deal they make. God help you if you fail your end of a deal. (God help you even if you don't!)
Boons and Debts
- any boon (gift, favor, etc.) given or received incurs a debt, which must be reciprocated in measure (though not necessarily in like kind, and a mortal is always welcome to accept a smaller boon if that is their whim, especially if it involves donuts)
- any boon received or recognized by a mortal is implicit acceptance of debt (fae by their nature are unlikely to accept boons as casually as mortals do)
- any expression of thanks or obligation implies a boon (fae by their nature are unlikely to give thanks as casually as mortals do)
- debts are transferable between fae, particularly when the debtholder is temporarily or permanently unable to honor a particular debt
- particularly weighty debts are carried on through blood: this includes debts owed to a mortal, as well as debts owed by a mortal
- never offer help without assessing a commensurate debt
- never accept gifts without returning a commensurate boon
True Name
- fae have a Name that defines them - although their True Name doesn't magically make one able to command a fae outright, it is a mystical link one could use with thaumaturgy, and since fae rarely leave other sympathetic links around (read: never), it is the most reliable way to use thaumaturgy on them at all; and thaumaturgy, having no upper limit in its power, IS a big deal and most fae will do what is demanded out of fear their Name might be given to their enemies or otherwise used to harm the fae.
Mortal Will
- fae are not allowed (not can't, just not allowed) to violate free will (i.e. they wouldn't be allowed to just mindtrick you into doing stuff for them or killing you); if, however, you owe them for any reason (a broken oath, a debt, attacking them and so on), that protection is lifted and they can pursue their due in any way they want
Fae Nature
- common fae almost always act according to their nature - humans can choose or be persuaded to act contrary to their moods, character traits, duties and positions and suffer the consequences, but Fae can't; a fae bully will always be a fae bully, a manipulative fae will always be a manipulative fae and so on, even when acting so is stupid, harmful to them or both.

Any thoughts or corrections?

[Belial666]

@High Sidhe:
They cannot initiate intervention in mortal affairs; if a mortal interferes with their affairs first (knowingly or not), they can do stuff in retaliation just fine.

@Sidhe:
They don't have to obey per se - the High Sidhe just usually hold their oaths of fealty. There are plenty of Sidhe that haven't given such oaths at all or are masters of smaller kingdoms.

@All Fae:
1) Fae cannot utter something they believe to be false; saying something anyone else will think is a lie is just fine. I.e. Mab promising Harry he would not punish him for failing in Summer Knight... and then causing him pain out of spite The pain wasn't because he failed - it was because she felt like it.
2) Fae are not allowed -not can't, just not allowed- to violate free will. I.e. they wouldn't be allowed to just mindtrick you into doing stuff for them or killing you. If however you owe them for any reason -a broken oath, a debt, attacking them and so on- that protection is lifted and they can pursue their due in any way they want.
3) Fae always act according to their nature. Humans can choose to act contrary to their moods, character traits, duties and positions and suffer the consequences. They can be persuaded to make such choice, bribed, threatened or otherwise change their minds. Fae can't; a fae bully will always be a fae bully, a manipulative fae will always be a manipulative fae and so on - even when acting so is stupid, harmful to them or both.
4) Fae (all unchanging creatures) have a Name that defines them. This True Name doesn't magically make you able to command a fae outright. However, it is a mystical link you could always use with thaumaturgy; since fae rarely leave other sympathetic links around (read: never), it is basically the only way to use thaumaturgy on them at all. Thaumaturgy having no upper limit in its power, it IS a big deal and most Fae will do what you want them to out of fear you'll give their Name to their enemies or use them yourself.

[devonapple]

Belial66: These are great edits - thank you!