AWW: Other Qualities

[alexandraerin]

Okay, so, here are the Basic Qualities that I'm adding to the 24 currently available.

In keeping with the idea of having three Qualities to represent D&D-style core classes, I'm adding three that specifically match the concept of a bard:

• Minstrel: The minstrel's abilities revolve around influencing people through music and knowledge of stories and songs. They have a Bardic Magic option that allows them to use a fine musical instrument as a wizards' implement (including the ability to give it implement traits), but which hampers their ability to use magic quietly. Note that if the option's not taken, this is not a magical Quality... the option is just there so that someone who wants to make a musical magical character doesn't need to take two overlapping Qualities.
  
• Illusionist: The illusionist can create images as Trivial or Ordinary Magic (depending on whether it's an obvious illusion or not), inflict mental damage with physical spell attacks, and gets a nice bonus to spells that deceive or hide.
  
• Booster: As in "Morale Booster". This is based around the "Leader" combat role as articulated in D&D 4E, especially as it's realized in the "Lazy Warlord" build and the Bard class. Basically, it's the combat cheerleader.

Now, if you've been following the development, you're probably thinking that Wayfarer and Smooth-Talker fit the bard concept pretty well, too. And that's the fun of it. There's no chart that says "a bard is this, this, and this." It's all plug and play.

Then I'm adding three new Folk Qualities.

• Ancient is a celestial (or sometimes infernal) spirit that wraps itself in a mortal form in order to walk in the world. Ancients typically gray-bearded sages, wizened crones, and little stoop-backed elders who smile knowingly at everything. The direct inspiration here is Gandalf and other Maiar spirit "wizards" of Middle-Earth, but there are a lot of potential antecedents in fantasy and fiction and folklore. Despite their appearance, an Ancient is not in any way infirm (unless you stack their Attributes that way) and so they can be used to make a venerable fighting master as easily a mystic one, though their abilities tend to lean towards wizardly things. Ancients aren't born, they simply will themselves into being, so a character with the Ancient and Elf Qualities would be one who'd manifested as an Elf.
  
• Zirathikul (the name's been expanded to something with no Google results) are the arachnoid merchants that I described previously.
  
• Gnomes are the quiet, unobtrusive folk who live in holes. Their abilities reflect their ability to fade into the background and go unnoticed by larger folk, and their love of interesting puzzles and mechanisms with lots of little fiddly bits.

That brings the total up to 30, which I think is probably more than enough for the Basic Guide. I have some half-formed ideas for a 7th and/or 8th Folk Quality to add, so that there are more ones that aren't as human-like in their presentation, but I'm going to be capping Basic Qualities at 32. If I only come up with one more Folk Quality, I'll probably add a generic Adventurer Quality to get an even number.