One of the magi in my saga took this as her story flaw, specifically choosing the "general enmity from faeries" option suggested in the book. Unfortunately, other than causing her to avoid stories that might involve faeries (and avoid the saga's Strong Faerie Blood companion), we cann't think of any stories that might center around it.
I was wondering what other peoples experiences with this flaw have been. Do you too find it to be an "anti-story" flaw, excluding the character from certain stories rather than generating stories? If it has generated stories for you, what kind?
Because when she is traveling, she can accidentally tread where the faeries travel. Because the covenant might encounter a problem where her specialty is required and faeries are involved?
Without knowing more of her arts, skills, focus and personality, it is hard to come up with specifics but think of all the common household type faeries that are around outside of the covenant in villages and such and the mischief they can make.
No, because I make it clear to the players that you really do need to pay for your flaws and if it doesn;'t work for us, you need to pick a new one.
So, this means that in our case, the flaw would not be the centre of the story, it would just play a major role: for example, she may not know this is a "faeries story" until after she's the one who has to deal with them.
My understanding of the Supernatural Nuisance flaw was that the faeries would antagonized you for no particular reason. Given these circumstances, the character's avoidance of faeries makes perfect sense. The fae, however, are under no compulsion to avoid her.
My advice would be introducing a group of minor faerie to bedevil the character and her companions in minor ways (hiding vis & lab equipment, laming livestock, souring wine etc) hopefully forcing the character into action either by confronting the faeries herself or finding someone else to do it for her.
In any case, so long as the character is hindered in some way I'd allow her to play the character as she chooses. If you feel she's using the flaw as an excuse to avoid stories, tell her to pick a different minor flaw. Fear (Faeries) and Susceptibility to Faerie seem particularly appropriate.
First off, the mage should not be seen as "having taken" this flaw, not yet. The player may ~want~ to take it, but that's not their right.
"If a General Flaw will not hinder a character, it is not a Flaw, and the character should not be allowed to take it. Similarly, if a Story or Personality Flaw will not enhance stories, a character should not be allowed to take it. Thus, if you do not want to involve demons (or the Fae) in your saga, no character can take Plagued by Demons (or etc.) as a Flaw..." (AM, p 36, col i)
We can make suggestions, but if the the Flaw doesn't speak to you, the SG, then don't allow it. Even if you "want it", if you don't see it, the end result is the same - time for a new Flaw.
Much depends on the player and their personality and their gaming style (and how well you know them, and your relationship to them), and the character and their concept and particular abilities. A good SG will work the faeries in to something that will push the player's buttons while ensuring that there is no simple solution that the character can employ to (completely) solve the situation - they might delay or evade it, but it will return, in one form or another. (And some solutions, like "killing" all the faeries involved, should just make things worse, imo. Dull, obvious, short-sighted, unimaginative, brute force solutions should not be rewarded, unless that is the player and/or the character. Again - the player must be considered, and "fun" is the goal, not endless torture.)
Most importantly, the fae don't need "a reason", not any reason that makes sense to mundane logic. It's like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd - they do it because they can, because that's simply the way they're wired.
When I've used this flaw, I've used models from movies or literature and adapted them. Bugs is one - I had a puck/buccha* cause endless, pointless trouble for one character. Especially if given the ability to shapechange - nothing more than that and a taste for cruel practical jokes is needed. The character is traveling somewhere? The puck gets there ahead of them, racks up a monstrous hostel bill, seduces the sherrif's daughter and moons the local priest - all in the guise of that character, who then arrives, blissfully ignorant, at the end of that very day. The mage is trying to negotiate with a difficult noble? The "noble" appears at their doorstep, and the deal is made! Hunting a monster? It becomes painfully clear that the "local priest" is the guilty party, as the character witnesses that priest committing the crimes... Anything that character ever does could be sabotaged or derailed by a malicious fae with the shapechange ability.
(* actually a "tenuki", in a medieval fantasy Japanese game, if that word means anything to you.)
(Oh - and it's important for the character to see the fae in their "normal" form, laughing itself silly at the "pranks", just to get under the player's skin, but too far away (or too fast, or too awkward) to react against then and there - a good enemy is hard to find.)
Or, remember the "pixies" from the movie Willow (played by Lenny and Squiggy)? Cross them with the evil "mini-Ash'es" from the movie Army of Darkness (when he breaks the mirror in the creepy cottage/windmill). A whole tribe of those, who traded any small items that caught their eye (read: that the magi would miss!), replacing it with something purely at random that they had stolen earlier, and challenging each other and themselves to feats of bravery - belling the cat, braiding the magi's whiskers to his nightrobe while he sleeps, etc etc.
Maybe the character unknowingly insulted a fae noble from the local forest - now any time they leave or return, they must run a gauntlet. And if magical defenses are used, fae always have a way of achieving what they want indirectly...
And don't define these "powers" for the players - the Flaw is a flaw, not a lab total to be surpassed, problem solved. If the player gets tired of it, then it's time for a climactic solution to the problem... and a new Flaw to be chosen (or assigned) to take its place.
The entire point of flaws is to encourage stories, generally speaking. This is explicitly true of "story" flaws, but applies to them all. While it is perfectly reasonable for the character to avoid obvious faerie situations, its not true that all such situations are obvious.
Presumably, the reason for the enmity has been determined? That ought to suggest some stories in its own right. There is also the 'bait and switch', where something doesn't seem like a faerie story until its too late. Beyond that, you can play this flaw as flavor in other stories rather than as the focus on one.
Examples:
The inn the maga is staying at has a household faerie (brownie, domovoy, etc) resident. It takes a dislike to her and spoils her milk, spills her favorite perfume, etc.
The maga goes to consult a local expert on the city's history, finding out too late that the expert is an urban faerie masquerading as a local.
Bogimeer the Fest-King decides to have his Festival of the Blue Moon in and around the player covenant, having schemed to get an invite into the Aegis if necessary. Everyone has to deal with the resulting chaos, including the maga.
Presumably, the player took the flaw because he wants to be involved with faeries since taking a story flaw involving faeries is explicitly asking for the storyguide to write such stories. Just remember that faeries are everywhere....even churches can have Church Grims.
Just remember that Supernatural Nuisance, while a Major Story Flaw, isn't Enemies or Plagued by. Faeries should regularly be causing minor (hopefully fun/amusing) problems for the character, not usually endangering said character's life and well being.
I agree in general with your post but I think most of your examples are more suitable for "Plagued by" than for Supernatural Nuisance. Nuisance should be just that... a nuisance. Bigger problems can arise from it, but causing trouble on the scale of that shapeshifter is probably more than called for by the flaw.
I agree, which I rather my problem. All the examples I can think of are likewise more suited to Plagued by and Nuisance.
Upon some discussion, what we have determined is that the maga suffers an effect akin to the Blatant Gift when dealing with faeries, even those who would be otherwise unmoved by the Gift.
Once you realize that faeries are (or could be) pretty much anywhere that isn't specifically warded against them and that "nuisance" doesn't need to be the focus of a story, I'd think that options should present themselves fairly regularly.
Nuisance faerie activities include stealing things, spoiling food, practical jokes, appearing at awkward times just to the maga, obvious "spying" on the character, weaving flowers into her favorite robe (or hair when she's sleeping, if you can get past the parma issue), etc.
The point is that the faeries should make an appearance in low key ways regularly, doing things that mage has to deal with but that generally don't take over the story. Things that faeries would do on the spur of the moment when the mage's presence comes to their attention. Big, elaborate plans are the realm of the Plagued. Spontaneous pesterings are the realm of the nuisance.
