Yakk
2009-12-04, 01:35 PM
Fey and their Favours
Don't deal with the Fey. Especially the Nobles.
The Fey have some strange hang up about being in debt to another, or another being in debt to them. Even if the other doesn't think there is a debt.
A Fey who you are in debt to has certain ... freedoms. Fey don't have slavery -- they have enforced obligation. A Fey to whom you owe enough debt feels perfectly justified in taking their debt as they wish -- they may take your sight, your love of life, your laughter, or one of a myriad of things that today the Fey finds worthwhile.
Being in debt to a Fey is a dangerous thing.
Having a Fey in debt to you is more dangerous.
A Fey who is in debt to you will seek a way to repay you, ideally in a way that places you in debt to them. The easiest way for that Fey to have something you desperately need is to place you in a really hard to solve situation, then offer you a Gift or a Favour that helps you out of it, which they hope you accept freely.
The Fey can arrange so that you are in debt to the Fey, instead of the other way around. And the Fey will resent all of the effort it took to right the balance.
Fey Nobles are, if anything, worse. The Fey Nobles are enmeshed in a network of debts and favours. What is worse is that a given Fey Noble may disagree with another what the balance of their debts and favours is. So you can have two Fey Nobles, both of which think they are endebted to each other, desperately trying to undermine the other in order to encourage the other party to accept a Gift, or to use up Favours on 3rd party Nobles with which this Noble can negotiate to transfer newly freed up obligation...
Each Noble is thus trying to do Favours for other Nobles that end up causing that other Noble problems, and then offering to help that other Noble with their problem. They also work in teams, where one Noble causes problems, another Noble helps, and a third Noble seeks revenge for the problem -- all acting in cahoots (or not, as the case may be).
Players can be exposed to this by running into a Fey Noble trapped in this realm. The Noble offers something (maybe freeing the enslaved villagers she has been amusing herself with) in exchange for help from the PCs (freeing her).
Now, the Noble knows that her freedom is worth far more than the enslaved villagers, but does not want the PCs to know this, because then they would know that she was in their debt. So the Noble seeks to set up a situation where the PCs accept gifts from her, to discharge this unacknowledged debt.
The PCs do this, and the Noble frees the villagers ... but they are scattered. The Noble offers to help the PCs find the villagers, and gives them medallions as a gift that will track them down. Possibly the Noble also offers additional aid (magic items, blessings, etc).
The villagers have been scattered to various locations, where other Fey Nobles have scooped them up as interesting toys. The PCs, in finding and rescuing the villagers, could cause problems for these other Nobles (to the benefit of the one they are working for). Some of those Nobles may seek to enlist the PCs in undermining the Noble they are working for. Others will seek to hinder the PCs in order to find out why the Noble they are working for is working to free these mortals.
And it can get more confusing from there.
If the PCs refuse the gifts of the Fey Noble and don't go looking for the villagers, then the Fey Noble has a problem: she owes the PCs. Other Fey might try to leverage this (without letting the PCs know they have something valuable). Which means that the PCs are being hindered all over the place by various Fey, all of whom want the PCs to get into trouble so they can "help" them out of it. And as the PCs are interesting to other Fey, some Fey will want to recruit the PCs to cause problems for those other Fey, so they can help those other Fey...
There is no escape.
This can then segway into a different campaign, where the debts and obligations of the Fey act as a background element to add complications or solve various problems.
Don't deal with the Fey. Especially the Nobles.
The Fey have some strange hang up about being in debt to another, or another being in debt to them. Even if the other doesn't think there is a debt.
A Fey who you are in debt to has certain ... freedoms. Fey don't have slavery -- they have enforced obligation. A Fey to whom you owe enough debt feels perfectly justified in taking their debt as they wish -- they may take your sight, your love of life, your laughter, or one of a myriad of things that today the Fey finds worthwhile.
Being in debt to a Fey is a dangerous thing.
Having a Fey in debt to you is more dangerous.
A Fey who is in debt to you will seek a way to repay you, ideally in a way that places you in debt to them. The easiest way for that Fey to have something you desperately need is to place you in a really hard to solve situation, then offer you a Gift or a Favour that helps you out of it, which they hope you accept freely.
The Fey can arrange so that you are in debt to the Fey, instead of the other way around. And the Fey will resent all of the effort it took to right the balance.
Fey Nobles are, if anything, worse. The Fey Nobles are enmeshed in a network of debts and favours. What is worse is that a given Fey Noble may disagree with another what the balance of their debts and favours is. So you can have two Fey Nobles, both of which think they are endebted to each other, desperately trying to undermine the other in order to encourage the other party to accept a Gift, or to use up Favours on 3rd party Nobles with which this Noble can negotiate to transfer newly freed up obligation...
Each Noble is thus trying to do Favours for other Nobles that end up causing that other Noble problems, and then offering to help that other Noble with their problem. They also work in teams, where one Noble causes problems, another Noble helps, and a third Noble seeks revenge for the problem -- all acting in cahoots (or not, as the case may be).
Players can be exposed to this by running into a Fey Noble trapped in this realm. The Noble offers something (maybe freeing the enslaved villagers she has been amusing herself with) in exchange for help from the PCs (freeing her).
Now, the Noble knows that her freedom is worth far more than the enslaved villagers, but does not want the PCs to know this, because then they would know that she was in their debt. So the Noble seeks to set up a situation where the PCs accept gifts from her, to discharge this unacknowledged debt.
The PCs do this, and the Noble frees the villagers ... but they are scattered. The Noble offers to help the PCs find the villagers, and gives them medallions as a gift that will track them down. Possibly the Noble also offers additional aid (magic items, blessings, etc).
The villagers have been scattered to various locations, where other Fey Nobles have scooped them up as interesting toys. The PCs, in finding and rescuing the villagers, could cause problems for these other Nobles (to the benefit of the one they are working for). Some of those Nobles may seek to enlist the PCs in undermining the Noble they are working for. Others will seek to hinder the PCs in order to find out why the Noble they are working for is working to free these mortals.
And it can get more confusing from there.
If the PCs refuse the gifts of the Fey Noble and don't go looking for the villagers, then the Fey Noble has a problem: she owes the PCs. Other Fey might try to leverage this (without letting the PCs know they have something valuable). Which means that the PCs are being hindered all over the place by various Fey, all of whom want the PCs to get into trouble so they can "help" them out of it. And as the PCs are interesting to other Fey, some Fey will want to recruit the PCs to cause problems for those other Fey, so they can help those other Fey...
There is no escape.
This can then segway into a different campaign, where the debts and obligations of the Fey act as a background element to add complications or solve various problems.