I've been going back over the various OSR rules I have to soak up ideas. My current favorite, Old School Hack, borrows the race-as-class concept from the earliest editions of D&D. So I thought I'd come up with something new in that vein. In one of my early playtest games of OSH for my group they met a creepy dark fairy lurking in a vine-tangled gorge but were able to bribe her with pie. Dark Fairy sounded like a pretty cool name for a new class so here it is.
The Dark Fairy
- Dark fairies are a fey race famous for their gloomy dispositions. The drift through life on an apparently destination-less journey with somehow makes sense to them. They are slender humanoids with grayish skin, hair of muted shades, and a pair of small moth wings which are colored in shades of brown, grey, and black. They also traditionally wear a lot of black, brown, and gray and prefer silver jewelry.
Inherent Talent:
I Am Smiling/constant: you are immune to emotional states such as
fear, sadness, joy, panic, etc. because they have been your constant
companions for as long as you can remember--not that anyone cares
Classic Weapon: blowgun
Class Talents
Touch of Sadness/encounter: you can share your apathy and ennui with other creatures merely by touching them. If the one touched cannot pass an opposed Commitment check they collapse into a semi-catatonic state of depression for 24 hours so you'll have one friend who truly understands you. You can also transmit this touch via any item held in the hand, such as a rose or a willow branch.
Twinkle, Twinkle/focus: with a sweeping gesture you conjure a bit of fairy dust to sprinkle. Any creature or object, including yourself, sprinkled with it will remain weightless for an hour. While under the effect of fairy dust dark fairies can use their small moth wings to flutter around. One tiny handful of dust may be put in a small container instead of being used immediately but only a fairy's most recent conjuring remains magical and effective.
Nobody Even Notices Me/focus: with a sweeping gesture you conjure a bit of fairy dust to sprinkle. Any creature or object sprinkled with this dust becomes invisible for an hour. The affect only makes the recipient undetectable by vision; they can still be detected by hearing, scent, etc. If the invisible person sneezes the affect is dispelled. This spell can be cast in reverse to make a dust which dispells magical invisibility effects and makes normally invisible creatures visible for an hour.
Fairy Ring/focus-rested: you can create a magic fairy ring on the ground by dancing in a circle while making music, including simple humming, singing, or whistling. The ring will be 20 feet across from the center point you danced around. By sleeping in this ring for one hour a person will be as rested as after a full night's sleep. However, there is a risk: the person must make a Commitment check and if they fail they will instead fall dead asleep for 24 hours and can only be awakened with magic.
A Rose By Any Other Name/focus: you conjure a magic vampiric black rose. By touching another living creature you transfer life energy from them into yourself (causing them to lose 1 HP and you to heal 1 HP); if this kills the victim you gain 1 Awesome Point.
Dart of Darkness/focus: you infuse a dart, delivered by hand or shot through a blowgun, with dark ennui. Any victim struck must pass a Brawn save or go blind for one hour.
