Thirty for November: A Folk Witch Grog a day

[size=150]Lionel, a Whitelighter[/size]
Sex: male.
Age: 30
Overview: a medium-sized man with brown curled hair and a soft and round face, always looking for new ways to help people. He Comes and go without warning, healing wounded peasants, fighting the wild beasts of the forest or counselling the priests and the old ones about what must be done to protect or save the village. He is a nice guy.
Characteristics: Com+1, Dex-2, Int+1, Per+2, Pre0, Qik+2, Sta+2, Str-1
Virtues & Flaws: Intuition, Lesser Purifying Touch (wounds caused by claws), Monstrous blood (Magic spirit – grants Orbing, his skin glows whenever he uses it) (Folk Witch Flaw), Noncombattant, Overwatch, Protector.
Abilities: Athletics 1 (lift), Awareness 2 (weapons), Charm 1 (women), Chirurgy 1 (bleeding wounds), Concentration 1 (supernatural concentration), Divine Lore 2 (creatures), Etiquette 3 (folk witches), Finesse 2 (overwatch), Intrigue 1 (demons), Living Language 5 (religious matters), Orbing 3 (in a house), Overwatch 3 (at night), Swim 1 (quickness).
Personality traits: Benevolent +3, Pious +2, Curious +2

New Flaw: Protector (Minor, Supernatural, Status flaw)
This character is linked to a specific human being, referred to as his “charge”. The Whitelighter feels responsible for this character and must make all what he can to protect her. They may not be blood-related, and the Whitelighter might receive his mission without never having viewed his charge, beginning to protect her from the day he is confirmed a true Whitelighter (basically during the season he becomes a member of a coven). This Flaw works in a similar way as Dutybound, though the duty of the Whitelighter is to protect his charge, and he cannot switch to another duty as long as his charge is alive. If the charge dies, the Whitelighter must either choose another charge, or change this Flaw to the Flaw Depressed. The Whitelighter may increase a sole Ability about Realm Lore during the character creation.

New Ability: Overwatch
Characteristic: Perception
Form: Imaginem
Method: Incantation.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to lose his senses (including the magic sense granted by Overwatch).
The Whitelighters have the supernatural power to watch over a specific “charge” –aka a guarded human being. They can constantly hear the lives of their charges in their heads, too. Supervised characters most of the times aren’t aware of this privilege.
The Whitelighter makes an Overwatching + Perception roll against an Ease Factor of 12. You may reduce the Ease Factor from as many points as the higher Reputation the Whitelighter has concerning his charge, if any. This roll is subjected to the rules of aura interactions, both for the aura surrounding the Whitelighter and the aura surrounding the charge. The Whitelighter must pass the charge’s Magic resistance, except if they both have an arcane connection to each other.
If the roll is successful, the Whitelighter may see his charge and the immediate surrounding area, changing his point of view with Finesse + Int roll. This vision lasts as long as he maintains his concentration. The charge may make an Awareness + Per roll to notice the Whitelighter’s eye and she may make a Concentration + Sta roll against an Ease Factor of 9 to banish the observer – this could require her to pass the Whitelighter’s Magic resistance granted by his Folk Witch Defense.
When this spy activity ends, the Whitelighter must make a Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 6, and if he fails this trial he loses one Long-term Fatigue level.
Virtues like Acute Senses, Piercing gaze, Poor Eyesight, etc. do have impact on the Ability Overwatching as if the character was using his mundane sight.
Specialties: at night, a specific season, a specific day of the week.

New Ability: Orbing
Characteristic: Quickness
Form: Corpus
Method: Special (see below).
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to move against his will.
All Whitelighters possess the ability to teleport in a swarm of tiny blue orbs, whenever they feel the urge to reach their “charge”. They intervene when necessary to help this person along her path and keep her safe; a Whitekighter can also be called by their charges. If the charge calls her Whitelighter's name, the protector can usually show up at a moment's notice.
This Ability may be used in two ways. The first case, the spontaneous orbing, is the Whitelighter noticing his charge need some help; this advice being given either when he directly watches her in a dangerous situation, or when he uses the Ability Intuition to have a tail about her current destiny. The second case, the summoned orbing, is the charge pronouncing the name of her Whitelighter, while she currently is in great danger (this requires the charge both is aware she is under a Whitelighter’s guard and knows his name).
In both cases, the Whitelighter makes an Orbing + Qck roll against an Ease Factor of 12. You may reduce the Ease Factor from as many points as the higher Reputation the Whitelighter has concerning his charge, if any. This roll is subjected to the rules of aura interactions, both for the aura surrounding the Whitelighter and the aura surrounding the charge.
If the roll is successful, the Whitelighter is teleported at the place of the charge, arriving at Range: Touch, then he suffers one Long-term Fatigue Level. If the roll fails, he doesn’t move and suffers two Long-term Fatigue level. In both cases, he cannot recover from his lost Fatigue levels of any kind, as long as he hasn’t saved his charge’s life, or until she is in a well-defined safe area.
In the case of a spontaneous orbing, the Whitelighter must pass the charge’s Magic resistance, if she has one. In the case of a summoned orbing, the Whitelighter ignores the charge’s Magic resistance, if any.
Specialties: spontaneous, summoned, when the Whitelighter is in a specific place.

Notes: even if he tries to follow the Will of God and makes his best to follow the good path, his supernatural virtues and abilities are not necessarily linked to the Divine Realm. Most of the Whitelighters think they are servants of God, when they truly are pawns for another supernatural being. In that case, consider switching the Flaw Dutybound to the Flaw Delusion or Manufactured Ignorance. In the rare case they are aligned to the Evil, you should modify his Lesser Purifying Touch so that it mends wounds caused by supernatural beings from another Realm.
Please take note the Folk Witch Flaw Monstrous blood applies for all supernatural powers and abilities, meaning the character shines even if he uses the Ability Overwatch, or any other Supernatural Ability he could learn later.
This character is a tribute to Leo Wyatt from the sitcom "Charmed".

About Folk Witch Traditions: the Whitelighters form a society and don’t like to mess with other Folk Witches. They are only a few, because their kind is very rare. They are scattered across Mythic Europe, but they deploy impressive efforts to contact their fellowship, report their adventures and discover new members of their sort. Whitelighters covens are uncommon and frequently count only three or four members. The Whitelighters are dedicated to their task, choosing and protecting random people when they think it is the Will of God. They obey to their masters and superiors unconditionally.
Other characters from the same Folk Witch Tradition may have other versions of the Virtue Lesser Purifying Touch, like healing pneumonia, mending bleeding neck wounds or healing acid corrosion - all sorts of dangers a casual life rarely bring.

Story hook: What a Kind Neighbour
Lionel settles in the village neighbouring the covenant and start to help the servants. He obviously takes a look on them. Even if he is nice and kind, Magi may start to worry about that too curious guy. He may have chosen one of the servants as his charge, or his coven sent him to protect the apprentice of one of the Magi. This is not great, because Lionel could start to mess in the Magi's business, elaborate plot against the baron so that he couldn't harm his precious protégé, or even try to kidnap the apprentice in order to keep her in a safer place - maybe a monastery.

Story hook: Good versus Evil
Lionel is a part of a small group of dedicated people, who comes in the area looking for evil things and sinners. Maybe they are an inquisitor's retinue. They start to observe and interrogate locale inhabitants. If the Magi let them proceed, they will discover the covenant's existence, sooner or later. Lionel in fact searches new children from his kind, but will fight against those his master will interpret as "devil worshipers".

[size=150]Mathiou, a Waywalker[/size]
Sex: male. Female Waywalkers are as rare as male ones. This Folk Witch Tradition is not rare at all.
Age: 30.
Overview: Mathiou is a middle-aged Breton man who was born in a small village near the city of Nantes, an isolated place surrounded by swamps and moors. He quickly became a solitary child, and grew as a pariah in his own village. He only appreciated the wild forests and the scent of savage places. As he couldn't stand the life among the poor and uncomprehensive peasants, he quitted his hamlet and started wandering in the duchy of Brittany. He is a good marksman and a very talented pathfinder, so he rent his talents to knights, robbers and other travellers.
Characteristics: Com-2, Dex+2, Int-1, Per+3, Pre+1, Qik+1, Sta-1, Str-1
Virtues & Flaws: Appease, Outcast, Puissant Survival, Sheltered Upbringing, Track Sense, Warped magic (eyes roll upwards) (Folk Witch Flaw).
Abilities: Appease 3 (wolves) (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Area Lore: Brittany 2 (bandits), Awareness 3 (projectiles), Brawl 2 (attack), Guile 1 (authorities), Living Language: Breton 5 (geography), Survival 3+2 (forest), Stealth 2 (villages), Swim 2 (breath-holding), Track Sense 4 (human) (Folk Witch Favourite Ability).
Personality traits: Silent +3, Wild spirit +2, Rude +2

New Virtue: Appease (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This ability grants you the power to calm wild animals and other dangerous beasts. This Virtue gives you the Supernatural Ability Appease 1. You cannot have this Virtue if you have any Flaw bringing hindrance for relationship with animals, like The Gift, Disturbing the Animals or Magical Air.

New Virtue: Track Sense (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This ability grants you the power to see with your very eyes the many marks, spoors and footprints on the ground. This Virtue gives you the Supernatural Ability Track Sense 1.

New Ability: Appease
Characteristic: Presence
Form: Animal
Method: Incantation or Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to become angry or furious.
The WayWalker may try to quiet animals, offering his hand and mumbling soft words. Animals with an Intelligence score are immune to this effect (e. g., Familiars). The target must be at Range: Voice.
The character makes an Appease + Pre roll against an Ease Factor of 3 for a single animal, 6 for a duo, 9 or higher for a pack, counting +3 for each additional beast, up to 24 for a group of 8 beasts. Larger bands cannot be cajoled. If the check is successful, the character calms the animals. They now are neither aroused nor aggressive, and will ignore the WayWalker; the appeased animals simply ignore her, until she interacts with them again. If the check fails, the beasts are made savage; they immediately attack the Waywalker, trying to kill him before any else.
You can ignore the Personality traits of the targeted animals, because this Ability specifically trigger fierce beasts; but if one of the targets has Magic Resistance, the higher one is added to the Ease Factor.
Note this Ability doesn’t allow the Waywalker to speak with animals, and has no effect against herbivorous animals, contrary to Animal Ken.
Specialties: a wild, carnivorous and dangerous animal species.

New Ability: Track Sense
Characteristic: Perception
Form: Imaginem
Method: Potion or Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to be disorientated or physically lost (bur grants no bonus against mental confusion).
A character may use that ability to observe the ground around her, so that all the footprints and animal marks appear like shining shapes. It may be used like the ability Hunt, but the Ability Track Sense is influenced by locale auras, and may bring information that a mundane search couldn’t: even smooth and hard stone ground will display tracks of the beings that passed here.
Spirits and non-living things (like chariots) are not felt through that supernatural sense though – it can detect living passing only.
The character must make a Track Sense + Per roll. The storyguide should decide if the total is high enough to grant information. Big groups or bulky beasts (like a troup of mercenaries, a bear or a group of boars), may be easier to catch. The longer time passed before the observation, the less easy will be the try. The Might or Magic resistance of the passers-by may increase the difficulty of the check. E.g., an Ease factor of 3 will reveal the footprints of yesterday’s bandits, 9 is high enough to spot marks of a knighted horse a few days ago, but you might require a roll of 24 to spot the passage of a mouse a month ago.
Specialties: human, an animal species, a specific type of ground.

Notes: the Folk Witch Flaw (rolling eyes) particularly is incapacitating if the Waywalker want to aim or fight ad adversary just after he used one of his supernatural abilities, because his sight requires some moment to re-establish (the character may rub his eyes, making a Concentration + Sta roll against an Ease Factor of 9 to quickly readjust them in a round, otherwise it takes two minutes).

About Folk Witch Traditions: Waywaklers are a large kind of wanderers, some of the grogs one could encounter on the roads of Mythic Europe very easily. There are a lot of outcasts in the wild areas of feudal society, pilfering and erring in the forests or over the hills. A significant part of them are aligned to supernatural powers, developed and increased by their life outside the Dominion. Consequently, Waywalkers are quite ordinary. Even if a Waywalker is not against the idea to learn and develop new supernatural Abilities, his wild nature (represented by his Personality traits and his Flaw Sheltered Upbringing) implies a tendency to refuse management. They may orbit around a coven, being an informal and accidental member of a Folk Witch community, but they are not the core of such a fellowship.

Story hook: The Untamable Deer
The magi are forced to hunt a famous supernatural deer (maybe a powerful Beast of Virtue, or a spiritual animal being with the shape of an animal) in order to prove their potential to the Tribunal, to impress the local lord or simply because the thing disturb their laboratory activities. Sadly the beast is quite fast and discrete when it wishes to, meaning Mathiou could be the only hope to track down the deer to its lair (probably in a deep regio).

Story hook: All Roads Lead to Rhum
Mathiou was involved in a great traffic of alcohol. A lot of people assure beverage transport from Aquitania or other more meridional countries. The merchandise is unloaded in hidden harbours dispersed in the marshy coast of South Brittany, where smugglers and traffickers store it, carry it and trade it to other respectable merchants. Mathiou is one of the main figures among the swamp guides who lead the bands across the marshes. It is a pity he refused to serve the new chief of the bandits, because he know have to flew and hide until he find a better place – maybe the covenant ?

[size=150]Syllia, a Candlebearer[/size]

Sex: female. Male Candlebearers are a slightly less group than the female ones, because pagan fire traditions tend to be linked to woman initiation in Mythic Europe (that could be different in Mythic Africa or Mythic Asia). The Cult of Hephaistos is an isolated case.
Age: 30
Overview: a redhead woman with freckles and green eyes, wearing a long and white dress. Her outfit resembles those of ancient Greek priestesses: her dress hangs and covers her body loosely, and people could see a naked leg or a nice cleavage, from time to time. She might pose as a strange nun for unlettered persons, but churchmen look at her with disdain.
Characteristics: Com+1, Dex-2, Int+2, Per+2, Pre0, Qik+2, Sta+2, Str-2
Virtues & Flaws: Deleterious Circumstances (small light sources) (Folk Witch Flaw), Fear (bulls), Incomprehensive, Inferno Ken, Lesser Immunity (hot wax), Maze Sense, Wanderer.
Abilities: Athletics (contortion) 2, Awareness (smoke) 3, Etiquette (with elementals) 3, Folk Witch Magic Theory (during summer) 4, Inferno Ken (lighted candles) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Legerdemain (lock picking) 4, Living language (philosophy) 5, Maze Sense (underground) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Stealth (silent) 4, Survival (fire) 3, Teaching (conscious fires) 2.
Personality traits: Homebody +3, Fortifying speech +2, Curiosity +2

New virtue: Inferno Ken (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This Virtue grants you the power to communicate with fire. Note that despite its name this Virtue is not forcibly related to the Infernal Realm. This Virtue grants the Supernatural Ability Inferno Ken 1.

New Virtue: Maze Sense (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This ability grants you the power to find your way in constructed, artificial and non-natural environments. This Virtue grants the Supernatural Ability Maze Sense 1.

New Ability: Inferno Ken
Characteristic: Communication
Form: Ignem
Method: Incantation or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect slowing character her speech rate or muting her.
This character has the power to understand the frizzle, snore and moving convolutions of any fire. As long as she concentrates (with a Concentration + Com roll), she can hold a mundane fire awaken and speak with it, or simply speak with a supernatural and conscious fire (e.g. Ignem Aeries, Ignem elementals, fires under Intellego magic effects
). This character may converse with it as if it were ordinary people. You can refer to InIg spells in the core rulebook, which grant details about how to discuss with fire. Many candles are timid, whereas a blaze typically is vain and threatening. During a talk with a fire, this Ability is treated like a Living Language Ability. When the chat ends, the Candlebearer suffers a fatigue level.
Specialties: a particular subject, a type of conversation, a category of burning thing.

New Ability: Maze Sense
Characteristic: Perception
Form: Mentem
Method: Incantation or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect either reducing or restricting the abstraction ability, the cognitive capabilities or the common sense of this character.
This ability can be ruled like the Ability Wilderness Sense, with the difference that the Ability Maze Sense applies in buildings (houses, castles
), tunnels, cities and very unnatural regions only, like mythic labyrinths and other supernatural regiones mimicking mundane towns or typical human dwellings.
The character may add her Warping score to any Maze Sense + Per roll, though this will require a Tense die roll and adds additional botch dices.
Specialties: a type of place, a type of action.

Notes: the Folk Witch Flaw Deleterious Circumstances requires this character to be near a source of light in order to benefit from her full supernatural potential. A small, fragile and artificial light source (like candles, oil lamps or a torch, but neither a hearth nor a camp fire) must be at Range: Touch, otherwise her Supernatural Ability scores (and any other supernatural means) are halved.

About Folk Witch Traditions: Candlebearers are a rather uncommon Folk Witch Tradition, one which goes back to long-lost Roman and Greek Traditions, like the few official sororities of Vesta, the pompous cult of Juno or the mysteries of Mithra. Even if they are not many in Mythic Europe, they mix very well with other more usual and sociable Traditions. Despite living alone in remoted ruins of ancient times is a Candlebearer’s casual life, a few may find a comfortable place in small covens. They prove themselves useful, and that is more obvious to Folk Witch communities surrounded by Dominion auras. There Candlebearers are very important members of the coven, as long as they help their fellows to find and settle in hidden and powerful places in forgotten tunnels, remote caves or discrete areas of the cities.

Story hook: Master of the Labyrinth
Syllia lives in a desacrated old temple hidden deep underground, in the last remains of a Roman city who was destroyed and buried by an earthquake. Some of the biggest buildings are still more or less usable, though they lack of light. The catacombs, the temple of Vesta and an undefined number of insulae are lying on their side, under 20 or 30 meters of mud, rock and debris. Sand and ground accumulated on the site, and now a forest grows where a brilliant city shined. A small cavern is the entrance of the labyrinth. In the knocked-down city, the mysterious Candlebearer studies the supernatural auras who survive in the ancient ruins. Creepy things and strange beasts hide in the dark, sometimes visiting the nearest villages. and lost treasures may attract adventurers.

Story hook: The Web of the Spider Queen
The legends say a terrifying creature lives in the high mountains of Breathertop, near the marshes of Evermoore. Here giant webs cover the ground, the trees and the rocks. The Spider Queen terrifies neighbouring populations and summon swarms of spiderlings who suck blood from cattle, devour the crops and ruin the water sources. Something must be undertaken to end her reign of terror. Only Magi could beat her, but they will need the help of a Candlebreaker. Syllia is the sole character able to find a way through the maze of the spiderweb.

[size=150]Aymeri, a Heartbreaker[/size]

Sex: Male. Female Heartbreakers do exist too.
Age: 30
Overview: a sinister man with coal-black hair and burning eyes. A dreadful scar crosses his face.
Characteristics: Com-2, Dex0, Int+1, Per+2, Pre-3, Qik+2, Sta+3, Str+2
Virtues & Flaws: Deleterious Circumstances (uninjured) (Folk Witch Flaw), Disfigured, Heartbreak, Mythic Courting, Outcast, Puissant Folk Witch Magic Theory.
Abilities: Athletics (climb) 3, Awareness (ambushes) 3, Brawl (attack) 5, Folk Witch Magic Theory (at night) 4+2, Guile (women) 4, Legerdemain (pickpocket) 2, Living Language () 5, Mythic Courting (pretty women) 4 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Mythic Tormenting (pretentious ones) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Penetration (Corpus) 3, Stealth (hide) 2, Survival (towns) 4.
Personality traits: Lier +3, Intimidating +2, Unfriendly -2

New Virtue: Heartbreak (Minor, Supernatural Virtue)
This Virtue gives you the power to directly harm other people’s hearts, as long as you have a particular kind of Sympathetic connection, i.e. a Hypocrite connection, to them. It cannot be aligned with the Divine Realm. It grants you the Supernatural Ability Heartbreak 1.

New Virtue: Mythic Courting (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This Virtue gives you the power to momentary make other people fall in love with you. It grants you the Supernatural Ability Mythic Courting 1.

New Ability: Mythic Tormenting
Characteristic: Stamina
Form: Corpus
Method: Incantation or Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect inflicting pain.
This is a Mythic Ability making any target at Range: Voice to suffer chest pains and heartache, which could make this person be disturbed, writhe in pain or even, in extreme case, instantly die.
The character makes a Folk Witch Magic Theory + Mythic Tormenting + Sta roll, against an Ease Factor equal to the desired effect. The allowed effects are those described in the PeCo hermetic guidelines, using the Range: Voice, Duration: Momentary and Target: Individual. Here are some examples: an Ease Factor of 10 causes tormenting pain, an Ease Factor of 15 inflicts a light wound, and an Ease Factor of 40 finally kills somebody. After each roll, the Heartbreaker loses a Long-term Fatigue level.
If the target has Magic Resistance, you must add it to the Ease Factor score.
Specialties: a particular type of person.

New rule: Hypocrite connection
Whenever a cunning character develops an enjoyable or courteous relationship with another innocent person, feelings may occur; if things go very well, this innocent person might grow friendship, marvel or love.
When the cunning character become aware of these positive emotions (whatever is the way he discover them, e.g. direct talk, missives or rumours), he instantly get an impalpable Hypocrite connection to that innocent person.
Each Hypocrite connection is ruled as a Sympathetic connection, one granting a bonus of +1 to the Penetration multiplier. An Extrinsic connection lasts until the positive feelings cease or switch to bad tempers.
The way those false feelings are forced to a target is not defined. This could be treated through a Guile + Com roll, be represented by a Reputation score, a relevant Personality Flaw (e.g. Compulsion, Obsessed, Vow, Weakness...) granted to the target through storytelling, or managed through Personality trait rolls, amongst various means.

Ability: Mythic Courting
Characteristic: Presence
Form: Mentem
Method: Incantation or Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect changing the feelings of this character.
This Ability is a Mythic Ability (as explain above) and allows a character to captivate other people. This character makes a Folk Witch Magic Theory + Mythic Courting + Pre roll against an Ease Factor equalling the desired level of effect, following the core rulebook CrMe guidelines. This Ability may only create love emotions, and must be used with the Target: Individual and with a Range higher than Personal. This activity requires significant time and conventional behaviour, forcing the character to hold it fifteen minutes for each magnitude of the desired level of effect. The target must stay at the Range of the effect during this preparation, otherwise the roll automatically fails. E.g., if the character wants to make the person next to him to have a flirt with him, this would require an Ease Factor of at least 15 (Base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). If he wishes to inspire deep love for full moon duration, this would require a score of at least 25 (Base 4, +2 Voice, +3 Moon).
If the target has Magic Resistance, you must add it to the Ease Factor score. Characters with relevant Personality traits may add them to the Ease Factor too. Characters with the Virtue True Love (or True Friend), or with the Flaw Lost Love, Depressed or similar others, are absolutely immune to that Mythic Ability.
Specialties: a particular type of person.

Notes: a Heartbreaker is neither glamorous nor elegant (this is illustrated by the Flaw Disfigured). His charming air purely is magical, and not a passive effect at all. Most of the times, they look dark and tormented.

About Folk Witch Traditions: Heartbreakers are asocial people and don’t like others, though they do like enchanting them, having benefits, then rejecting them. But this is not a nice move, to be honest. Most of the covens fly them, and a coven full of a pack of Heartbreakers would be both chaotic for themselves and for their environment.

Story hook: I Want to Break Three
Aymeri used to love three women of the country, one after the other, but all the three ladies rejected him after a few months. The Heartbreaker maybe truly loved them all, each in her kind. The first one, Angelica, was his greatest love, and they hanged out when they were 15 years old, then the girl married another peasant. Then he fell in love with Merdith, a young gipsy who then chose to move to another city. Aymeri finally became the paramour of Hyacinth, a noble lady who see him as a toyboy. He now wants to take revenge; but not by killing all the three women. No, his revenge will bill slow and painful, scourging all of their three families. Maybe one of those ladies is a servant, a friend of the Magi, or one of their enemies?

Story hook: Another One bite the Dust
Aymeri has been recruited by a baron to kill a young princess, the youngest daughter of the current king. This crime will provoke turmoil and chaos in the kingdom, because Aymeri soon will manage to seduce other gentlewoman, a way for him to help his master to grow in power. All those who oppose the Baron are approached by the Heartbreaker, befriend him, are taken to remote places with high supernatural aura (related to that Ability) and then quickly killed. Jerbiton, Tytalus or Trianomae Magi should worry about it.

[size=150]Balaphax, a Bone-teller[/size]
Sex: male.
Age: 30
Overview: a cold and greyish man with pale flesh and rolling eyes, mumbling and mourning when he slacks in the streets, looking at people with sharp and suspicious glances. He wears a great brown coat, stained with dust. Some whisper he prowls in the cemeteries in the dark of the night.
Characteristics: Com+3, Dex+2, Int+2, Per+1, Pre-3, Qik-2, Sta+2, Str0
Virtues & Flaws: Bone-telling, Depressed, Decay, Decay Mastery, Outcast, Warped magic (skull head) (Folk Witch Flaw).
Abilities: Awareness (at night) 2, Bone-telling (churchmen) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability; Infernal Realm), Concentration (magic practices) 3, Folk Witch Magic Theory (necromancy) 4, Infernal Lore (necromancy) 4, Leadership (laboratory) 3, Living Language (esoteric) 5, Medicine (death cause) 3, Decay (pagan ones) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability; Infernal Realm), Stealth (cemeteries) 2.
Personality traits: Dreary+3, Calm+2, Sarcastic+2

New Virtue: [Supernatural Ability] Mastery (Minor, General virtue)
This virtue grants you the opportunity to improve your practice in a specific supernatural Ability, in a way only few may. You may place experience points in new Abilities representing some very particular uses of this mastered Ability, like a Maga similarly could develop spell masteries. This Ability Mastery is treated like a Spell Mastery, with the usual effects, adding its level to that Ability rolls, and granting special masteries for each acquired level (penetration bonus, botch pool reduction, Concentration bonus, Finesse bonus, etc.)

New Virtue: Bone-telling (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This virtue grants you the power to interrogate deceased people. It cannot be aligned with the Divine Realm. This grants you the protean Ability Bone-telling 1.

New Virtue: Decay (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This virtue grants you the power to make other people rot. It cannot be aligned with the Divine Realm. This grants you the protean Ability Decay 1.

New Rule: Protean Abilities
A protean Ability is a supernatural Ability and an accelerated Ability as well. It represents a very flowing and loose understanding of esoteric matters. Each sample of a protean Ability is linked to a specific supernatural Realm, and each character must have all of her protean Abilities linked to the same Realm.
When a character gains a protean Ability, she has to specify to which Realm it will be connected. If this Ability is granted by a Supernatural Virtue, they must have the same Realm connection. If this character is aligned to a Realm, her protean Abilities are aligned to that Realm.
A character cannot change the bound between her protean Abilities and their Supernatural Realm; if she switches her Realm alignment, all of her protean Abilities switch altogether - no one of them is lost in the process; but the process grants her 1 Warp point for each level in a protean Ability.
Whenever a character makes a protean Ability roll, she may add her level in the corresponding Realm Lore to the total (e.g., a Folk Witch aligned to the Faerie Realm might add her level in Faerie Lore). In this case, the Ability check is resolved by rolling a tense die, and if a botch occurs, you have to add one additional botch die.
A character with a protean Ability is granted the right to learn and train the corresponding Ability Realm Lore at the character creation.

New Protean Ability: Bone-telling
Characteristic: Communication
Form: Corpus
Method: Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect harming or impairing this character’s hands.
Ask a single question to a deceased character whose you can touch the corpse – it requires this body hasn’t received holy sacraments. This character makes a (Realm Lore) + Bone-telling + Com roll against an Ease factor of 5 if the target died less than 2 minutes ago, 10 if it died between the last sunrise or sunset and the present time, 15 if he deceased during the last moon, 20 if the corpse rots from less than a year, 25 if its death was a more distant event. If the targeted corpse had Magic Resistance when it was alive, half it and add it to the Ease factor. If the check is successful, the target must answer the question, taking account what she knew and what she suspected, making her answer as complete as possible. A skeleton or a burnt corpse may have speech impediment.
Specialties: people who died in specific circumstances; during a cyclic event.

New Protean Ability: Decay
Characteristic: Stamina
Form: Corpus
Method: Incantation or Fetish.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect breaking the bones of this character.
The character makes a (Infernal Lore) + Decay + Sta roll against an Ease factor equal to the target’s Stamina score plus 9. You must add the Magic Resistance of the target, if any. For example, a character with Ability Decay aligned to Infernal Realm will have the following total:
Decay maximum total: Infernal Realm + Decay + Stamina (+ aura)
Ease factor: 9 + Target’s Stamina (+ Target’s Magic Resistance)
If the check is successful, the target suffers as many damages as the exceeding points above the Ease factor, ignoring the target’s Soak. If the check fails, the attacker loses one Fatigue level.
Specialties: a particular type of people

Notes: If this character learns the Ability Animal Ken and maintains it at a higher level than his actual level in the relevant Realm Lore, he may be able to use the Ability Decay against cattle and wild beasts, switching the related Form to Animal.
The Folk Witch Flaw (skull head) means this character’s head takes the shape and the appearance of a skull whenever he performs a supernatural action – which is disturbing.

About Folk Witch Traditions: the Bone-tellers are not very popular amongst the mundane inhabitants of Mythic Europe, though a lot of stories and legends talk about necromancers, those who are able to speak with the Dead. Maybe Bone-tellers are not very friendly, but there is a reasonable amount of them in the desecrated and isolated places, like small towns in desert or remoted areas (Bavaria forests, Russian steppe, arid Spanish hills
) Even if they are not fond of the Dominion aura, they often settle near pious villages, because Christian people (and Jewish and Muslim people also) are in the habit of burying their deceased, whereas pagan people most of the time burn them. Some of the more talented Bone-teller may use their powers to summon the soul of dead Folk Witches, bringing back good teachers for any Tradition – they might integrate a coven with the sole purpose to call a long-lost master or a precious but dead mystagogue.

Story hook: The Rise of The Dead
Balaphax starts to summon a lot of dead people in the country, gathering and collecting a lot of valued information. With all that knowledge, he might be able to control, bargain or blackmail a lot of inhabitants’ influence, so that he may reach a good place in the locale community. But that is only the beginning. He truly want to find a way to resuscitate his puppets endlessly, making him a true king of the dead. Maybe he could give some servants of the covenant (those being under his thumb) the command to steal Corpus or Intellego books from the covenant.

Story hook: An Hermetic Matter
Another Maga has been killed in the covenant’s area and the locale Magi are suspected to have part in that crime. Guernici and other Magi might consider interrogating them or wandering in the covenant’s area, messing with the business of the innocent Magi. They may seek a good way to both prove their innocence and find who the true murderer was. A strange Bone-teller who arrived in the town last week could help. Who was the assassin is not established – maybe another Folk Witch, or a jealous Sodale ?

[size=150]Lyllia, a Vouivre[/size]
Sex: female.
Age: 30
Overview: a short-sized and blue-haired woman with a scaled skin from her feet up to her waist, with a white face, jaded eyes and red lips. She looks like a very genuine and innocent 15-year-old girl.
Characteristics: Com+2, Dex+1, Int-1, Per+1, Pre-2, Qik+3, Sta+2, Str-2
Virtues & Flaws: Awe, Carefree, Childish appearance, Environmental magic Condition (out of water), Magical blood (Fish, bonus in Swim, scales), Skinchanger (water snake), Wanderer.
Abilities: Animal Ken (snakes) 5, Athletics (acrobatics) 2, Awe (swamps) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Awareness (animals) 3, Brawl (defend) 4, Etiquette (peasants) 2, Hunt (fishes) 3, Living Language (esoteric) 5, Stealth (hide) 3, Swim (swamps) 4.
Personality traits: Nice +3, Timid +2, Vengeful +2

New Virtue: Awe (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This ability grants you the power to stupefy human people. This Virtue gives you the Supernatural Ability Awe 1.

New Flaw: Childish Appearance (Minor, General Flaw)
That character seems to stay a child, even if it may be way older. Her apparent age is the half of her real age – it is a matter of look, but it changes nothing regarding aging rolls. As long as she is less than 30 years old, most of the people will treat her as a prepubescent girl. Even if she reaches 60 years or more, nobody will see her as an old lady. Characters with Ability Double Sight or similar powers cannot guess her true age through supernatural means – there is no magic here. She may fell in love with other characters, but that will most of the time fail to be reciprocal. An InCo could detect her true age, though. This virtue is about social interaction, not about hacking the rules of ageing. Benediction of Venus cannot be selected for this character. Curse of Venus fully apply.

New Ability: Awe
Characteristic: Presence
Form: Corpus
Method: Incantation.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect preventing the character to move.
The character makes an Awe + (absolute Presence) roll against a Personality trait check (based on an appropriate trait, like Proud, Brave or Tenacious). Note that for this check, the Presence characteristic is used as a with its absolute value.
The target may add her Magic Resistance to the required Ease Factor, if any. If the check is successful, the Vouivre makes a Finesse + Int roll (with a simple die) and her target is amazed and petrified for as many rounds as the score of that secondary roll. If the Presence characteristic is negative, the target is frightened. If it is positive, the target is delighted.
Specialties: in a specific natural environment.

About Folk Witch Traditions: even if Vouivres are not very sociable, most of them tend to accept the friendship of a few people; some of them manage to catch fishermen and make them love their true nature, though it is quite arduous. Other Vouivres manage to mate with Faerie or Magic beings, conceiving children of their kind, and these families may stay together as long as they can, constituting covens of Vouivres.

Story hook: The Lady of the Snake
Lyllia was seen by a wandering knight and the man fell in love with her. Despite the Vouivre escaping, he tried to find her and sought her during months. She finally accepted his attentions and now lives in his castle, where she try to both hide her supernatural nature and live without being hampered by the Dominion aura. Lyllia might be a valuable inhabitant in the covenant’s nearest castle or the source of new problems for the Magi, because she might try to gather Aquam Vis to make her baths.

Story hook: The Poor Girl of The Moor
Peasants and covenant’s servants speak about a young girl who has been seen in the moors nearby; a small girl with fascinating eyes, who kidnap and eat people. This of course is not true – not entirely. But the creature might interest the Magi: is she a Faerie being? A wild creature filled with valuable Vis? Or is she a magical being with useful powers? How has she arrived here and why?

[size=150]Nel, a Childminder[/size]

Sex: female. Male Childminders are unusual, but may exist. If you design one, consider switching the Folk Witch Flaw to another one.
Age: 30
Overview: a blond-haired crookbacked woman who tries to please everybody and take care of children, whenever she can, even if people don’t ask her to. She may be a nurse for the child of a noble woman, a craftsman’s daughter or any other rich enough people.
Characteristics: Com+3, Dex0, Int-1, Per0, Pre+1, Qik-2, Sta+3, Str-2
Virtues & Flaws: Corrupted Abilities (Etiquette), Deleterious circumstances (breastfeeding) (Folk Witch Flaw), Hunchback, Mythic Babbling, Mythic Endowing, Peasant, Skinchanger (goat).
Abilities: Athletics (lift) 2, Bargain (services) 4, Carouse (children) 3, Craft: Cooking (pastries) 3, Etiquette (children) 4, Folk Witch Magic Theory (laboratory activities) 3, Living Language (children) 5, Medicine (children diseases) 4, Mythic Babbling (crying ones) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Mythic Endowing (Fragile Constitution) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Profession: Farmer (milking) 2.
Personality traits: Love the children +3, Overprotective +2, Thrust lettered people +2

New Virtue: Mythic Babbling (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This Virtue grants you the power to make babies fall asleep. This Virtue gives you the supernatural Ability Mythic Babbling 1.

New Virtue: Mythic Endowing (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This Virtue grants you the power to make babies gain minor virtues or flaws. This Virtue gives you the supernatural Ability Mythic Endowing 1.

New Ability: Mythic Babbling
Characteristic: Communication
Form: Mentem
Method: Fetish or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to be childish or credulous.
The character makes a Folk Witch Magic Theory + Mythic Babbling + Com roll, against an Ease Factor of 20 for Duration: Diameter, 25 for Sun, 30 for Moon and 35 for year. The target must be at Rang: Touch and must be a small baby (for human people, not older than 3 years). If the check is successful, the targeted baby falls asleep for the selected duration.
If the target has Magic Resistance, you must pass it with the effect’s penetration.
Specialties: a particular type of babies.

New Ability: Mythic Endowing
Characteristic: Stamina
Form: Corpus
Method: Fetish or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to gain or loss a virtue or flaw. This could make her initiations arduous, and may prevent her to learn new supernatural virtues as well.
The character makes a Folk Witch Magic Theory + Mythic Endowing + Sta roll, against an Ease Factor of 20 for a minor Virtue or Flaw, 40 for a major Virtue or Flaw. If the check is successful, the targeted character gains a Supernatural, General or Personality Virtue or Flaw. This effect must target babies only (up to 3-year-old characters), and forces the Childminder to lose a Long-term Fatigue level as long as the effect lasts. The Mythic Endowing effect may stay until it is dispelled, when the Childminder passes a full season to cancel it, or it automatically ceases when the baby enters her 4th year. This character cannot recover from any Fatigue level lost because of a Mythic Endowing effect, as long as this effect is still active.
If the target has Magic Resistance, you must pass it with the effect’s penetration.
Specialties: a particular type of babies.

Notes: The Folk Witch Flaw Deleterious circumstances makes this character to half her supernatural Ability scores when she is not breastfeeding a child. Note this doesn’t require the character to actually breastfeed a child whereas she casts a supernatural effect; but she must have been nursing one during the past day. In the case of abilities without required roll, like Skinchanger and Animal Ken, the character halves her Ability’s level if she didn’t breastfeed a child during the past day. This forces this character to find nurse employment in each village she reaches.

About Folk Witch Traditions: Childminders usually try to live amongst small mundane communities, but prefer those with appropriate supernatural auras to other else. Divine (and sometimes Infernal) Childminders love to settle in big cities, whereas Faerie and Magic ones like better taking refuge in hamlets or wild places – there founding or joining covens. When a coven welcomes a Childminder, it is a great place for her to prosper, in this way Childminders are great supporters of their coven (but are not great in a fight).

Story hook: The Faerie Pupil
Nel currently is nursing a child of a powerful Faerie King, maybe the Lord of the Hunt, or the Great Wolf of the Wind. This child has both an animal and a human shape, and appears to switch whenever it is a bad idea. Nobody knows why the Faerie King choose a human nurse for his heir, but there must be a good reason. The Faerie child may be able to do disasters, destroying a vis source’s harvest, frightening a covenant’s servant or attracting the Church’s attention.

Story hook: The Deferment of the Cursed Child
A devil cursed one of the pregnant servants of the covenant, making her new-born child to be a monster. He might have horns, a red skin or the hoofs of a goat. The mother desperately try to hide this to the father and to the Magi, but this might be difficult. Fortunately, another servant may have heard of that great nurse who settled in the town and may dissipate hexes. Nel could grant a specific Virtue in order to cancel the devil’s curse, but this will require additional studies because she never did that before. This would only be a provisional remedy, because Nel cannot hold her power indefinitely.

[size=150]Chryserpine, a Craft Mime[/size]

Sex: female. Male Mimes exist too.
Age: 30
Overview: this long-haired and refined woman is a talented goldsmithery artisan. Everybody knows she creates great works, sometimes even works of Art. But there is more. She is quite attractive and well-dressed, and she knows how to flatter or please people. She uses her talents to distract, seduce and kill important people, usurping their place.
Characteristics: Com+2, Dex+1, Int+2, Per+2, Pre+2, Qik-2, Sta-2, Str-1
Virtues & Flaws: Afflicted Tongue, Aptitude for sin (usurping someone else’s works), Craftsman, Deleterious Circumstances (outside) (Folk Witch Flaw), Faerie Blood (), Meddler, Venus’ Blessing.
Abilities: Awareness (movements) 3, Brawl (strangle) 3, Carouse (distracting investigators) 4, Charm (clever people) 4, Craft: Apothecary (poison) 5, Craft: Glass-blower (vases) 2, Craft: Goldsmithery (goblets) 2, Craft: Weaver (tapestries) 2, Folk Ken (craftsmen) 2, Living Language (folk witches) 5, Guile (lying) 5, Survival (towns) 2.
Personality traits: Shameless +3, Sceptical +2, Flatterer +2

Virtue Faerie Blood: Doppelganger (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
Doppelgangers are spiritual Faerie creatures, strange and frightening aerie beings who love to imitate the life of their preys. Some of them even live in lieu of their victim, mating with their significant other. Such intercourse could give rise to characters with Doppelganger Faerie blood.
As long as the Mime has a positive level in an Ability Craft or Profession, she can imitate the works, gestures, behaviour and tone of another person who has that same Ability. Pay attention a character with this Virtue must choose a single model and is not an exact replica of her victim. Switching to a new model takes a full season activity. Once it is made, the Doppelganger offspring get a +1 bonus to any roll involving her model’s craft, profession or family. This is treated as a supernatural passive effect with a base magnitude of 0, and it could be either resisted by characters with Magic Resistance, or dispelled through Perdo Vim magic.
As long as the effect lasts, the Mime counts as an arcane connection to her target (if she is still alive). If the target dies, the effect doesn’t vanish, but the arcane connection fades away.

Notes: the Folk Witch Flaw Deleterious Circumstances applies to any activity where the Supernatural Virtues of this character (like Aptitude for sin and Venus’ Blessing) are involved. This means she is much less talented
Chryserpine is here specializing in assuming a role of Goldsmith, either as the spouse of a Craftsman, or as a craftsman herself. She used to assume other roles in her previous travels, hence her other Craft abilities. Of course other Mime could exist for completely different craft activities. Almost every Mime do develop Craft: Apothecary because making poisonous beverages is a splendid way to get rid of a prey. Chryserpine uses her Doppelganger bonus to have the same behaviour as the women they kill, so that she more easily can replace them near by the widowed man who needs tender loving care.

About Folk Witch Traditions: The Craftsman Mimes haven’t basic Folk Witch favourite abilities at the character creation, though some of them could learn new Abilities if they earn the corresponding Virtues. That is why some of them could have benefit from living in a coven, though most of the Mimes try to survive by themselves, lurking and usurping social roles in the mundane society. They mislead and kill unfortunate people and take their place, wedding their husband or becoming mother-in-law for their children, which makes them revolting characters for prudish or morally-good Folk Witches. Most of the times, Mimes aren’t popular amongst other Folk Witch Traditions, and don’t need them to survive. They may ally with Hedge Crows or Heartbreakers, but oppose to well-meaning Folk Witches like Childminders, jolly Fellows and Whitelighters.

Story hook: One Ring to Rule Them All
As an expert in jewellery (or passing as one), Chryserpine could use her influence, her new husband’s guild or any other means to help her coven forging a powerful ring; a ring to rule them all. A ring to bring them in the coven’s influence, where the plots lie. Maybe her help would be asked by a Nibelung’s child (or a Surly Smith), or they could all associate to craft a magical item, following the instructions of a Gifted Folk Witch. The supernatural effects of that artefact are not defined, but they could improve any Folk Witch Favourite Ability, grant control over metal objects, or similar powers at the storyguide’s will.

Story hook: A Worm in The Apple
Chryserpine seduced one of the Magi's servants, or proved being useful and was recruited by their covenant. She now lives in their magic lair, where she starts to assure her position. If the locale aura is not pleasing her, (i.e., if she is aligned with the Dominion, Infernal or, to a lesser extent, Faerie Realm), she will try to switch the aura or to create a fitting Lacuna. She also may be trying to usurp the other craftsmen’s work, and killing those who are not charmed by her sweet little face. As long as she uses mundane means to reach her goals, hermetic magic cannot detect her activities. Intellego Mentem could unveil her true deceiving nature, though. She could then be sent to the covenant’s adversaries, where she can disrupt their craftsmen. Chryserpine wouldn’t protest, as long as she can have a tempting status.

There are so many sagas worth of ideas in this thread already, I can't thank you enough.

I'm finding this thread enjoyable to browse through (Though to be honest, I tend to browse it on breaks at work, so can't go too deep into the numbers to my regret). Sadly I don't know much about the Folk Witch traditions, but this is very interesting. I always like finding new ideas for supernatural abilities.

Well, you're welcome ! I made my best to make something useful.

here are a few others, sorry for the late publishing...

[size=150]MĂ©liane, a Frog Queen[/size]

Sex: female. Frog Queens cannot be male humans.
Age: 30
Overview: this nice lady lives in the swamps near the village, which is unusual for a sole woman. She goes in the town more or less any week, trading herbs and other useful plants in exchange of food and daily tools. Many of the peasants do appreciate her, even if she is quite strange, speak not much and elude lasting contact.
Characteristics: Com+3, Dex+3, Int+1, Per+2, Pre+3, Qik+2, Sta-2, Str-2
Virtues & Flaws: Animal Ken, Dutybound (protecting frogs), Faerie Upbringing, Lesser Malediction (primacy of the Queen), Skinchanger (frog), True Love Kiss, Wanderer.
Abilities: Animal Ken (frogs) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Area Lore (swamps) 3, Awareness (in a swamp) 1, Charm (noblemen) 2, Craft: Apothecary (gathering herbs) 3, Etiquette (noblemen) 2, Folk Ken (noblemen) 2, Leadership (peasants) 3, Living Language (women) 2, Medicine (bleeding) 4, True Love Kiss (men) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Stealth (in water) 2, Survival (swamps) 4, Swim (quickness) 5.
Personality traits: Proud +3, Gladly Swimming +2, Doesn’t care about the mud +2

New Virtue: True Love Kiss (Minor, Supernatural Virtue)
That Virtue grants you the power to check the true love of other people when you kiss them. This gives you the Supernatural Ability True Love Kiss 1.

New Ability: True Love Kiss
Characteristic: Presence
Form: Mentem
Method: Incantation or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect making the character to change her love feelings.
The Frog queen may use that Ability to test the true feelings of her relatives. The character makes a True Love Kiss + Pre roll against an Ease factor of 9. Targets with Magic Resistance may add it to the Ease factor. If the check is successful, it has three consequences. Firstly, the Frog Queen loses one Fatigue level. Secondly, she instantly knows if that character truly loves her. Thirdly, if the kissed character pretended to love her, but lied, he loses a Long-Term Fatigue level; but a character who never said he loved her, and actually doesn’t, loses a simple Fatigue level; characters who love her aren’t hampered.
Specialties: a group of persons.

Notes: despite her title, the Frog queen is neither a noble women, nor has she wealth. Note that her Folk Witch Flaw Lesser Malediction makes her lose all of her supernatural powers and abilities as long as another Frog Queen is alive within a radius of 10 leagues (around 50km). Frog Queens in their Skinchanger shape are stuck in that appearance until they distance themselves. If two or more Frog Queens live in the same area, or are forced to stay close each other, they may suffer from the Deprivation rules, as if they were lacking food. This phenomenon could kill them. Frog Queens instinctively are aware of that drawback, unless they attribute their occurring fatigue to another cause, thus having the Flaw Delusion.

About Folk Witch Traditions: Frog Queens tend to be very appreciated by other Folk Witches, especially those who are fond of nature and animals. Frog Queens are used to the ways of the Wild (even if they don’t have the Wilderness Sense) but tend to be quite confident in dealing with mundane people, which is very useful for a coven filled with magic nerds and strange wizards. The only inconvenience is: there can only be one Frog queen per coven.

Story hook: Queen Battle Royale
Four Frog Queens have settled in the immediate area, each of them accompanied by their own Folk Witch court. Many of those Hedge wizards of course are linked to the animals, the swamps or the nature in a way or another, like Snake Charmers, specific Marsh-themed Firstborn Maleficers, Old Cursers or Genii Laturariae related to the moor gods, water sprites or amphibian species. Each of the foor queens has no power as long as this situation lasts, but each of them will use all of their influence to eliminate the others. All these battles, manoeuvres and plots will have consequences on the Magi’s covenant.

Story hook: Looking for the Long Lost One
A few years ago, MĂ©liane encountered and kissed a brave traveller, maybe a wandering knight, a rich merchant, a powerful Magus or a Redcap. Duty and time forced them to separate, but the Frog Queen soon started to loose happiness and joy. She started to search information and news about her beloved one. She now seeks him actively, making her best to recover him. Maybe the poor guy was killed in a battle or was lost in Twilight, which could cause despair and sorrow if the Frog Queen knew it. Her beloved one might be one of the NPCs the Magi or the servants of the covenant murdered in a previous story. How will MĂ©liane acknowledge the true and how will she react?

[size=150]Hemnilde, a Swan-Lady[/size]

Sex: female. (Swan-Ladies obviously cannot be male, but the storyguide could design Crow-Princes or Eagle-Sons).
Age: 30
Overview: a young blond-haired girl with beautiful appearance and a voluptuous body. Her skin is white like pure snow and her eyes are blue like sapphire. Her tender voice is able to make people cry or laugh whenever she sings. She lives in remote places, where violent men and intolerant admirers cannot find her.
Characteristics: Com+3, Dex-2, Int+1, Per-2, Pre+4, Qik+2, Sta0, Str-2
Virtues & Flaws: Continence, Deleterious circumstances (men) (Folk Witch Flaw), Enchanted Music, Faerie Blood: Sidhe (+1Pre), Incomprehensible, Lesser Benediction: Swan Wings, Wanderer.
Abilities: Athletics (fly) 5, Awareness (imminent dangers) 2, Charm (men) 4, Concentration (magic matters) 3, Enchanted Music (happiness) 5 (Folk Witch Favourite Ability), Etiquette (faerie beings) 4, Faerie Lore (creatures) 3, Finesse (Mentem) 3, Living Language (prose) 5, Survival (lakes) 2, Swim (apnea) 4.
Personality traits: Softness +3, Harmless -2, Manual -2

Notes: the Lesser Benediction: Swan Wings is treated like the Virtue Skinchanger (swan), with a circumstantial bonus and a passive restriction. The circumstantial bonus is she more or less maintains her human shape and only switches her arms and hands into wings. This may have a few advantages, like still being able to speak in a Living Language. In her alternate form, she still is able to fly, as if she were a swan (see the Ability Flight in RoP:Magic or HMRE for more details about this Ability).
The passive restriction is related to the item allowing the shape shifting. Like in the Virtue Skinchanger, the Swan-lady requires a specific item to metamorphose her body. This item also allows her to stop the metamorphosis at will. It is treated like a Folk Witch Fetish, though this item requires four seasonal activities to be manufactured. It may be a dress, a belt or a crown including some swan feathers, and she cannot bear it when she takes a bath – if she does so, the Fetish loses its power and she instantly turns back into a full human woman.
The Folk Witch Flaw Deleterious Circumstances (men) means this character halves all her supernatural Ability totals whenever there is a man (or a vaguely-human male being like a Faerie Prince, an Incubus, a Magic Giant or a Divine Golem) at range: Voice. Of course her Folk Witch Flaw also applies to her Virtue Lesser Benediction: Swan Wings; as long as there is a man near her, she still is able to use her swan-arms, but she halves her Atltetics, Finesse and Concentration totals as long as this man is at range: Voice. A major Flaw alternative could be manufactured with a bigger range (e.g. Sight).
As this character has the Virtue Enchanted Music, but no score in (mundane) Music, she must song and cannot use musical instruments in order to use that power. She of course may improve that lately.

Story hook: The Messenger of the Gods
Hemnilde is the word-bearer of an ancient and forgotten god from the Viking mythology (probably a god linked to the sky or the animals, like Thor, Odin or Njord). Some could have confound her with the legendary Valkyries, when she was flying from a point to another, during the previous centuries. Now only a few people still thrust in the Viking gods, but her patron might have sent the Swan-lady to a Swedish king, a Scottish jarl or a Rus’ lord in a last attempt to re-establish the pagan ways. Hemnilde now secretly lives in the court of this man, trying to influence him.

Story hook: The Tournament of The Sea of Clouds
One of the servants has been kidnaped by Hemnilde, who brought him up to a secrete and unknown region, dissimulated in the deep clouds of the Alps. On the top of the highest mountains, people walking in the mist might enter in a fabulous city where many remnants of supernatural folks live together: Swan-ladies, Hawk-men, Harpies, etc. Every fifty years, they fly across the Mythic Europe, capture brave fighters and bring them in their arena, where they fight for the delight of their frightening and cruel queen.

[size=150]Salia, a Daughter of Guimen[/size]

Sex: female.
Age: 30
Overview: this young lady is very soft and quiet, constantly trying to make people stay calm and in peace. She inhabits in a small house in a remote village, where all people love and appreciate her. She fights against warriors, traitors, false men and plotters, thus helping the village to avoid turmoil and scourges. But this is not a great goal or anything; she simply hates lies and treason. She doesn’t want to save the world. She wants to protect and help those she likes. Those who are her friends can trust her and count on her if they are in danger.
Characteristics: Com-1, Dex+3, Int-1, Per-1, Pre+2, Qik+1, Sta+1, Str-1
Virtues & Flaws: Continence, Deleterious circumstances (covered) (Folk Witch Flaw), Magical blood: Guimen, Folk Medicine, Magical Sensitivity, Noncombattant, Peasant.
Abilities: Area Lore (towns) 2, Awareness (diseases) 3, Charm (wounded people) 5, Chirurgy (bleeding wounds) 4, Concentration (precision) 3, Etiquette (churchmen) 4, Leadership (wounded people) 2, Living Language (prose) 5, Magical Sensitivity (auras) 4 (Folk Witch favourite Ability), Medicine (venom) 5 (Folk Witch favourite Ability), Survival (animals) 3.
Personality Traits: Courageous +3, Chastity +2, Fidelity +2

New Virtue: Folk Medicine (Supernatural, Minor virtue)
This Virtue modifies the way this character understand the Ability Medicine. For this character only, the Ability Medicine is understood as a supernatural Ability (related to a specific Realm). This means any Medicine roll follows the aura interaction table as stated in the core rulebook. This character cannot learn the Ability Medicine by reading books or following apprenticeship or school study, except if the book was written, the apprenticeship is tutored, or the class is given, by a character who had Folk Medicine too.

Magical Blood: Guimen (Minor, Supernatural virtue)
This is a specific version of the supernatural Virtue Magical Blood (Magic Animal) described in the RoP: Magic rulebook. Guimen was a fair damsel who offered to serve as bait for an evil snake who was cursing Karadoc, son of Karadoc, one of the brave knights of the Round Table. She survived this first ordeal and later passed another one, proving her faithfulness in both occurrences. Guimen and Karadoc, the son of Karadoc, lived happily and had many beautiful children, though their offspring kept marks of the snake’s adventure. This character is a distant descendant of their children. The Magical Blood not necessarily manifests at each generation.
This character gains a bonus of +3 to any official ordeal, when she faces morality trials or must defend herself against a judgement.
Male characters have a tumid black arm (usually the right arm), and female characters have a part of their body made of pure gold (usually the left breast’s teat, the left hand or the hair). These deformities aren’t hampering them, apart from the surprise they may cause. They usually can be hidden easily.

Notes: the Flaw Deleterious Circumstances means she halves her supernatural totals (Medicine totals) whenever she is not naked (either fully dressed or partially covered up). She must be totally stripped in order to use her powers at full potential. This is a thing which clashes with her prude nature. Even if operating at night, underwater or with blinded people could help; even so, this restriction lead her to use her Mythic abilities with close friends only, and she undertakes her laboratory activities away from prying eyes.

About Folk Witch Traditions: the Daughters of Guimen aren’t dedicated to a great quest, because they only follow their heart. They most of the times simply help and assist those they love or respect, meaning two Daughters of Guimen might fight each other as easily as they could ally, depending what their respective friends do or want. They are not organized in a great Folk Witch Tradition, and may apparently randomly defend some and destroy others.

Story hook: Because You Are a Nuisance, Are You?
The Magi might have wounded or killed beloved friends of Salia, even though they didn’t know about her. Salia gathered and trained a group of fighters and protectors in order to destroy the covenant, because the powerful Magi are a true danger for the other forms of magic. Maybe good Magi could convince the Daughter of Guimen the Order of Hermes is not pure evil, but how?

Story hook: The Liars Must Die
Salia ocassionaly joins a secrete group of Hedge wizards who are fond of concepts like verity, justice and kindness. They kidnap brave and powerful people time to time, hiding them in the ruins of an old castle. Here, with the help of Faerie spirits (or Magic Ghosts maybe ?) they force their guests to pass ordeals and other trials, so that they can prove they are good persons. If they fail, they are forced to stay forever. Salia was assured nobody will be killed in the process, but some of the other members of this fellowship might try to be more extreme.

Ooops ! It appears I forgot to post the 30th one. Here it is :

[size=150]Menetrius, a Mythic Epicurean[/size]
Sex: male. Women are good Epicurean practitioners as well.
Age: 45
Overview: a big man with curly hair, jovial face and chubby hands, a very funny and pleasant comrade for the people he encounters. He travels from place to place; he takes benefit from each meeting and lives the bohemian lifestyle.
Characteristics: Com+3, Dex-2, Int+1, Per+1, Pre+2, Qik+1, Sta-1, Str-1
Virtues & Flaws: Educated, Enchanted Speech, Hedonism, Obese, Thriving, Wanderer, Warped magic (people around are thirsty) (Folk Witch Flaw).
Abilities: Area Lore (libraries) 1, Artes Liberales (logic) 6, Carouse (orgy) 5, Charm (scholars) 1, Church Lore (lettered persons) 4, Dead Language : Greek (Ancient Athens) 1, Dead Language : Latin (literacy) 2, Folk Ken (married women) 2, Guile(philosophers) 2, Enchanted Speech (angry people) 6, Living Language (poesy) 5, Philosophiae (morals) 2, Profession: Poet (satiric) 4, Roman Empire Lore (poets) 5.
Personality traits: Optimistic +3, Inconsiderate +2, Poser +2

New Flaw: Hedonism (Minor, Personality Flaw)
This character catches the day and don’t think about consequences. Why bother about tomorrow, better be sure today is pleasing. An Epicurean cannot have seasonal activities, except those granting experience points in the following Abilities: Carouse, Charm, Folk Ken, Guile, Leadership, or any Ability related to some sort of Art (Music, Artes Liberales, Enchanted Speech, Enchanted Music, etc.). This restriction includes Laboratory activities. Craft Abilities or Profession Abilities cannot be learnt, except those about immaterial forms of Art, like Profession: Poetry, Profession: Dancer, or Profession: Minstrel. That character cannot have virtues related to hard labour or duties, like Craftsman, Warrior, Priest or Knight.

New Virtue: Enchanted Speech (Minor, Supernatural Virtue)
This Virtue grants you the ability to influence crowds with the very power of your words. This gives you the Supernatural Ability Enchanted Speech 1.

New Ability: Enchanted Speech
Characteristic: Communication
Form: Mentem
Method: Incantation or Potion.
Defense: grants a bonus to the Magical Resistance, against any supernatural effect forcing the character to be sad or frightened.

This Ability allows the Mythic Epicurean to spread a emotion or a desire in masses. Whenever this character wants to persuade a mob, he makes an Enchanted Speech + Com roll against an Ease factor following the rules of the Enchanted Music as stated in the Core Rulebook.
Those two Abilities are very similar, and follow the same rules, limitations and effects, for the most part. Nevertheless Enchanted Speech is a fully distinct Ability. Books about Enchanted Music cannot grant experience points in Enchanted Speech, and vice versa. Enchanted Speech is based on eloquence, fecundity and persuasion; hence it may be combined with an Artes Liberales + Int roll describing the style of the talk and its mundane effect (contrasting with Enchanted Music which can be described by a Music roll).
Specialties: on a church’s place, on an agora, at the top of an hill, warriors, clerks, peasants, during spring, during fall, during a town’s siege.

Notes: any Mythic Epicurean could switch the Flaw Obese for another appropriate Flaw, like Nocturnal, Noncombattant, Corrupted Abilities (Carouse), Depraved, Weakness (wine). The Flaw Hedonism makes a character bad at Laboratory activities, especially when brewing potions, except if she brews vine or other alcoholic enchanted beverages.
Mythic Epicureans cannot be related to the Divine Realm, and only a few are related to the Faerie Realm. A tainted character could have the Flaw Tainted Virtue Enchanted Speech, meaning it can instil only sinful penchants in his audience – this tainted character could replace the Flaw Obese with another Flaw like Greedy, Lustful or Obsession.
Of course the name of “Epicurean” comes from the Greek philosophy started by Epicures, though the actual Mythic Epicureans in the year 1220 could be from Roman lineage as well; they may simply be pagan, Christian, Muslim or Jewish profiteers, or even free-spirit pleasure-seekers.

About Folk Witch Traditions: Mythic Epicureans makes friends everywhere and often find a place either in a mundane village or in a coven. They may work with Jolly Fellows, combining their powers and abilities to manipulate crowds. Those two Folk Witch Traditions share the same need for amusement and entertainment. Some creepy, egoistic or maleficent Epicureans might ally with evil spirits or evil-doing witches, while others could serve the True God or be at the orders of Faerie queens – especially Faerie Gods which incarnate ancient pagan divinities.

Story hooks: Words of Jericho
Menetrius remembers the power of the God’s words in the Old Testament, when Joshua and the folk of Yahve destroyed the walls of the fierce city of Jericho with the mean of trumpets and songs only. This demonstrates the power of the sound born by supernatural speakers and musicians. Now this Mythic Epicurean tries to recover such power, hoping to be able to knock down castles and fortresses with his very words. He may look for books and items of ancient wisdom, gathering information about such prowess. The Magi could interest him if they possess summae or tractati about Imaginem, Mentem or Terram (even if he cannot understand them, he might appreciate their fine writing). Please note Menetrius doesn’t actively look for new books, because that would be harassing! He cannot creep around the covenant more than one time a year.

Story hooks: A Lettered Party-goer
The Magi may hear about a curious guy who himself hold a vast amount of personal works about supernatural matters, a funny and optimistic traveller who halted in the town. Menetrius currently is renting a chamber in the fanciest inn of the area, where he passes his time with wine, poetry, women and other funny or artful activities. Even if peasants and mundane travellers couldn’t truly understand the content of these publications, these books are not religious studies, judging from the few pages some lettered people watched (maybe the village’s notary, the parish priest or an educated merchant?). And the man himself cannot be a clerk – he obviously is a flashy party-animal.