You have always had a way with people, allowing you to thrive in front of an audience regardless of venue. You know what people want and you give it your all to deliver. You know how to entrance, entertain, and inspire them; perhaps more importantly, you have them come back for more. Your sonnets, songs, and shows stir a range of emotions: grief, joy, laughter, awe. People are captivated by your stage presence and are willing to part with their coin to experience your spectacle. Your art is life: it’s a talent you’re perfectly willing to use to your advantage to deliver the the best performance you can muster.
There is, however, a fine line between entertaining and manipulating; if you’re not careful, you can easily go down a charlatan path. Not because you would be terrible at it; rather you would be too good at it.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two: Acrobatics, Performance, Sleight of Hand, Deception
- Tool Proficiencies: Choose two: Forgery kit, Disguise kit, one instrument of your choice
- Languages: Throughout your travels, you’ve picked up smatterings of different tongues and dialects; choose one language of your choice that you don’t already know how to read, write, speak, and understand.
- Equipment: Entertainer’s pack, musical instrument (one of your choice), forgery kit (optional) and the favor of an admirer (love letter, lock of hair, or trinket).
Routines and scams are two sides of the same coin. While every grifter has an angle they use in preference to other schemes, entertainers are versatile. Choose up to two favorite scams OR up to three routines.
Alternatively, you can roll for any three options below for a mixed background.
| d20 | Artist Routines and Grifter Scams |
|---|---|
| 1 | Routine: Actor |
| 2 | Scam: I cheat at games of chance. |
| 3 | Routine: Dancer |
| 4 | Scam: I shave coins or forge documents. |
| 5 | Routine: Fire-Eater |
| 6 | Scam: I insinuate myself into people's lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes. |
| 7 | Routine: Jester |
| 8 | Scam: I put on new identities like clothes. |
| 9 | Routine: Juggler |
| 10 | Scam: I run sleight-of-hand cons on street corners. |
| 11 | Routine: Instrumentalist |
| 12 | Scam: I convince people that worthless junk is worth their hard-earned money. |
| 13 | Routine: Poet (beat, soliloquy, and/or sonnets) |
| 14 | Scam: I create distractions in large crowds, making it easier to lift coin purses. |
| 15 | Routine: Singer |
| 16 | Scam: I stage sham monster hunts to fleece coin from concerned citizens. |
| 17 | Routine: Storyteller |
| 18 | Scam: One of your own design. |
| 19 | Routine: Tumbler |
| 20 | Scam: One of your own design. |
You can always find a place to perform, usually in an inn or tavern, but possibly with a circus, carnival, theater, or even in a noble's court. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard (depending on the quality of the establishment), as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.
Suggested Characteristics
Performance Artists are a lot like entertainers: the audience is life. They have to be able to capture and hold an audience's attention, so they tend to have flamboyant or forceful personalities. They're inclined toward the romantic and often cling to high-minded ideaIs about the practice of art and the appreciation of beauty.
Grifter variants are a lot like charlatans: the audience is a means to an end. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe, and how they see the world. Grifters are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind carefully construed personas. However, their true selves are sometimes plagued by an uneasy conscience, an old enemy, or deep-seated trust issues.
| d16 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I know a story relevant to almost every situation. |
| 2 | Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want. |
| 3 | Whenever I come to a new place, I collect local rumors and spread gossip. |
| 4 | I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone. |
| 5 | Nobody stays angry at me or around me for long, since I can defuse any amount of tension. |
| 6 | I have a joke for every occasion, especially occasions where humor is inappropriate. |
| 7 | I get bitter if I'm not the center of attention. |
| 8 | I'm a born gambler who can't resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. |
| 9 | I change my mood or my mind as quickly as I change key in a song. |
| 10 | I pocket anything I see that might have some value. |
| 11 | I love a good insult, even one directed at me. |
| 12 | I lie about almost everything, even when there's no good reason to. |
| 13 | I'll settle for nothing less than perfection. |
| 14 | I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment. |
| 15 | Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice. |
| 16 | I can figure out what a person needs after a short conversation. |
| d12 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Aspiration: I'm determined to make something of myself. (Any) |
| 2 | Greed: I'm only in it for the money and fame. (Evil) |
| 3 | Creativity: The world is in need of new ideas and bold action. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Cleverness: I never run the same con twice. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Independence: I am a free spirit; no one tells me what to do. (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Beauty: When I perform, I make the world better than it was. (Good) |
| 7 | Charity: I distribute the money I acquire to the people who really need it. (Good) |
| 8 | People: I like seeing the smiles on people's faces when I perform. That's all that matters. (Neutral) |
| 9 | Fairness: I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins. (Lawful) |
| 10 | Tradition: The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are. (Lawful) |
| 11 | Friendship: Material goods come and go; Bonds of friendship last forever. (Good) |
| 12 | Honesty: Art should reflect the soul; it should come from within and reveal who we really are. (Any) |
| d12 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My instrument is my most treasured possession, and it reminds me of someone I love. |
| 2 | I fleeced the wrong person and must work to ensure that this individual never crosses paths with me or those I care about. |
| 3 | Someone stole my precious instrument; someday I'll get it back. |
| 4 | I owe everything to my mentor, for better or worse. |
| 5 | I want to be famous, whatever it takes. |
| 6 | Somewhere out there, I have a child who doesn't know me. I'm making the world better for him/her/them. |
| 7 | I idolize a hero of the old tales and measure my deeds against that person's. |
| 8 | I come from a noble family, and one day I'll reclaim my lands and title from those who stole them from me. |
| 9 | I will do anything to prove myself superior to my hated rival. |
| 10 | A powerful person killed someone I love. Some day soon, I'll have my revenge. |
| 11 | I would do anything for the other members of my old troupe. |
| 12 | I swindled and ruined a person who didn't deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself. |
| d12 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'll do anything to win fame and renown. |
| 2 | I can't resist a pretty face. |
| 3 | I know my scams hurt people, but it’s the only thing I know how to do well. |
| 4 | I'm always in debt. I spend my ill-gotten gains on decadent luxuries faster than I bring them in. |
| 5 | A scandal prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around. |
| 6 | I'm convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. |
| 7 | I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will likely repeat. |
| 8 | I'm too greedy for my own good. I can't resist taking a risk if there's money involved. |
| 9 | I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. |
| 10 | I can't resist swindling people who are more powerful than me. |
| 11 | Despite my best efforts, I am unreliable to my friends. |
| 12 | I hate to admit it and will hate myself for it, but I'll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets tough. |
Your audience is ripe for harvest. You know what makes them tick, you can tease out their hearts' desires after a few minutes of conversation, and with a few leading questions you can read them like they were children's books. Common sense should steer people away from things that sound too good to be true, but you are capable of disarming the crowd with your silver tongue. The bottle of pink colored liquid will surely cure that unseemly rash, this ointment – nothing more than a bit of fat with a sprinkle of silver dust can restore youth and vigor, and there's a bridge in the city that just happens to be for sale. These marvels sound implausible, but you make them sound like the real deal.
You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. Additionally, you can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy.
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