Fable : The Innocent

[Xornik]

Fable - The Innocent

Fluffless Version | Book 1 Style Expanded Fluff

A child's innocence brings with it a sense of imagination and wonder, and for children growing up around the great wheel this is no different. Unfortunately, the grim darkness that lurks within each crystal sphere is far more likely to taint a child's mind than in our realm. However, there are some strange cases of individuals who appear to be 'special', and are able to retain their sense of childlike wonder regardless of whatever travesties they encounter. Nobody really knows how or why these children gain their abilities, with academic speculation pointing to contradictory sources on a case by case basis - fae magics leaking from the umbra, the influence of strange warp entities and even divine intervention. They only commonality that seems to link these children together other than their abilities is a strange tendency to be drawn towards fantastical adventures which almost always inspire tales and stories shared by those they encounter.

Their adventures usually take them to lands far from their home, to lands filled with mystery, amazement and of course - peril. Around the wheel, these children have been nicknamed 'Fables' for the stories that they tell of their travels and adventures would seemingly belong on a bookshelf between fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
Protected by their own innocence and with a boundless amounts of imagination and a growing sense of wonder, Fables always leave a lasting impression upon those they meet.

Abilities

Once upon a time...
Time warps strangely around A Fable, as their very nature is tied to their innocence, imagination and age. All Fables are considered children and can't just 'grow up' in the same manner others can, a fable's magical innocence protects them from the ravages of time, leaving them stuck in their child state in a state of immortal longevity. Their age varies from culture to culture with some fables being tweens or teenagers, but they will never be considered an adult. There are many who would love to never have to grow up - but being a kid has it's drawbacks. All Fables start with the Hindrances Kid, Wimpy and Impulsive. These cannot be purchased off with XP and do not count towards the starting Hindrances limit.

In a land far, far away
Fables have the ability to find and perceive strange patches of reality where the web-way, umbra or warp overlap at points within crystal spheres. It may not be deliberate, but they can often find small entrances - portals, transporters and wormholes where others would see mirrors, wardrobes and rabbit holes. Some of these lead to other worlds, realms or spheres, or cave-like pockets to hide in. It's important to note that these aren't these points aren't always two-way, leading to many Fables tumbling down into strange places with no immediate means of return.

Once per session the Fable can spend Imagination points to discover and encounter the replicated effects of a 'teleportation' spell. The number of Imagination points spent dictate which spell occurs as follows: (1: Blink, 2: Jaunt, 3: Porte, 4: Teleport, 5: Gate). The Fable must make a Willpower + Wonder Test with a TN 10+(5*Imagination Spent), if they pass this test they can select a destination (including the creation of a second Portal for Porte/Gate), if they fail the effect still occurs but the Fable has no control over the destination - which is instead determined by the SM. However the end destination can not place the Fable in imminent danger, but Porte or Gate may lead to portals in strange places or worlds unseen.

Filled with magical characters
Realistically, the Wheel is no place for a child to adventure alone, thankfully you're not. Powerful fairy godparents, royal relatives, daring tin-men woodcutters, mad hatters, talking lions and even that friendly baker from down the road... You've got people out there keeping an eye out for you. Some are able to lend a hand when you see them, others might lend you that pair of Orichalcum slippers and pumpkin Spelljammer you need to get to Sigil, while others may even be the one to show up and save you from that big bad werewolf. Gain five additional dots of Backgrounds able to be spent only between Mentor, Contacts and Allies.

There lived an innocent child...
A child's innocence is a precious commodity which is easily lost or whittled away, a Fable's innocence however is even more precious as it shields them from the harsh reality of the world around them.
At the start of each session, you have one point of Innocence. As long as you have an innocence point remaining, you may add 1/2*Wonder rounded up as a bonus to your Resilience and Maximum Resolve, and 3*Wonder to your Static Defense and Mental Defense.

Many things can cause a fable to lose this point of innocence: People being unusually cruel, excessive violence, fearful sights, exposure to drugs, alcohol or narcotics, witnessing Perils of the Warp, alignment checks or watching others severely break the Fable's alignment tenets. The Fable can choose to maintain their naivety and pretend nothing happened by spending a point of Imagination to counteract this and not lose the Innocence. However, the cost increases linearly and each subsequent spend will require an additional Imagination point each time. This cost resets back to 1 at the start of each session.

Power Stat: Wonder
Living the life of a Fable is a wondrous experience, and as their journey continues across the Great wheel, their sense of wonder and amazement can only grow at all of the strange, majestic and interesting sights that they behold. As the child's experiences grant them more and more wonder, they discover more tricks and and traits at their disposal.

Resource Stat: Imagination
To a child with a good imagination, anything and everything is possible! A Fable has a maximum number of Imagination points equal to Charisma + Fellowship + Wonder.

Imagination can be recovered by spending time actively playing childish games or having good innocent fun! For each hour the Fable spends playing, they regain Imagination equal to twice their wonder.

Power Stat: Wonder
Dots	Ability	Description
●◌◌◌◌	Pretend Play	Fables love playing games and tend to do so even at the most inopportune times. At the start of each session, you roll on the Pretend Play table to select a game the Fable will be playing and declare it. For the duration of the session, they gain their Wonder as rolled dice to all Skill checks involving the associated skill. If the Fable would pass a skill check of their current game they regenerate (Wonder) points of Imagination. SPOILER: Click to show Pretend Play Result Game Skill 1-2 Hide and Seek Stealth 3-4 Tag Athletics 5-6 I Spy Perception 7-8 Simon Says Persuasion 9 Tale Asset Game Varies 10+ Players Choice Varies
●●◌◌◌	Talking to Strangers	Unlike most children, Fable's don't know better than to talk to Strangers, or Animals for that matter. A Fable can spend Imagination points to gain the ability to communicate with someone or something for a scene. The amount of points required depends on the target, as outlined in the Talking to Strangers table. This grants the the Fable Speak(Applicable Language) and the ability to use social skills on the target. To observers other than the target, it appears the Fable is speaking a poor attempt at mimicking the language, or in the case of inanimate objects and animals - saying the name of the object or sounds it makes over and over. The target can respond to the Fable even if it normally couldn't. SPOILER: Click to show Talking to Strangers Point Cost Target 1 Plants, Rocks, Inanimate Objects 2 Mortals, Animals, Robots 3 Exalts, Demons, Supernatural beings
●●●◌◌	Moral of the Story	A Fable and their friends take a lesson away from each of their adventures. At the end of each session, a Fable can choose a skill that any party member succeeded with that session and gain Wonder+Level as a flat bonus to all rolls with that skill for the next session. All present party members will also gain a flat bonus equal Fable's Wonder to that skill for the next session. You may not choose the same skill you have chosen within he last three sessions.
●●●●◌	I Think I Can	To a Fable, a stick is a sword, and a bag of dust can make you fly as high as a jump-pack. By spending a number Imagination Points and a Hero Point, the Fable can warp reality and manifest their imagination. They can replicate the effect of any Artifact with a level equal to the number of Imagination Points spend on the roll. This lasts for a Scene.
●●●●●	Happily Ever After	Everything somehow works out for a Fable in the end. If they're in danger - a nearby lumberjack will feel compelled to jump in and help, or maybe their attacker will have a sudden change of heart allowing everyone to talk things out. Once per session a Fable can raise the disposition of any thing nearby that they specify by three steps. This can affect all sentient lifeforms, and additionally all target types listed on the Talking to Strangers Chart. The number of beings affected by this is equal to the amount of imagination points spent. The effects of this last until the end of the scene.

Fable Tale Assets
Dots	Ability
Tale of the Bully	Not every Fable has a nice ending, but some aren't nice to begin with!
Tale of the Daydreamer	Fables with their heads in the clouds, giving them visions of things here, then, now and when?
Tale of the Defiant	Bossy-boot fables who don't like being told what to do.
Tale of the Ordinary	Sometimes, those who seem plain are the most special of all.
Tale of the Outcast	Quiet, reserved children who are masters of fabricating falsehoods.
Tale of the Popular	One of the 'cool kids'. You wish you could be like them.
Tale of the Wimp	Scaredy-cats who are so afraid of everything that they aren't as frightened by actually scary things.

Bully
Bullies are mean, nasty and often bigger than the other Fables, Bullies do not lose innocence from witnessing or partaking in excessive violence and gain a free raise to Intimidate rolls against all those with a lower strength characteristic then them. Bully Fables add "Don't Flinch (Intimidate)" to their Pretend Play table.

Daydreamer
Daydreamers days and nights are filled with dreams of wondrous places and amazing things, with some of them being prophetic. At the start of each session, A daydreamer fable can spend a point of imagination to have a semi-prophetic dream about what may occur during the session. What the dream reveals is up to the SM. Dreamers often have had encounters with all kinds of substances and do not suffer Innocence loss from exposure to drugs, alcohol or narcotics. Daydreamer Fables add "Staring Contest (Scrutiny)" to their Pretend Play table.

Defiant
Defiant Fables are stubborn children, who think they know everything and don't like being told what to do. They refuse to do as their told and instead prefer to be the ones in charge, often ending up with them being labeled as a 'Bossy-boots'. Defiant's gain one extra reaction action per turn that can only be used to refute and they do not lose innocence from alignment checks or witnessing excessive breakages of their alignment tenets. Defiant Fables add "Red-light, Green-light (Command)" to their Pretend Play table.

Ordinary
Ordinary's are often "Middle children" and are overlooked as a boring normal kid. However unbeknownst to them they are the most special of all. This asset can only be purchased at character creation and grants little initial benefit. At some point after reaching Wonder 3, the SM will give your character a special plot-relevant reveal with powerful benefits. You might be the long lost heir of a fantasy kingdom, perhaps you have mixed-heritage with a dragonborn and gain the ability to breath fire, or maybe those old beans you've been carried around are magical! Ordinary's have their Max Innocence points increase by 1 at Wonder 1, 3 and 5.

Outcast
Outcasts could never really fit in anywhere and are typically regarded as the 'weird kid'. Which to be fair, isn't too far from the truth as they are often twisted in one way or another but can hide it well behind a series of clever little lies. Outcasts can spend a point of imagination to re-roll a failed Deceive test, each subsequent use per session of this ability comes with an additional check on the roll. They do not lose innocence from witnessing Perils of the Warp. Outcast Fables add "Two Truths and a Lie (Deceive)" to their Pretend Play table.

Popular
Beloved by as many as they are despised, the popular fable is a charismatic and social individual able to influence and dictate what's hot and what's not. They are the center of their own world, and believe they should be at the center of everyone's. They can spend imagination points to gain temporary points of fame or status for the duration of a scene, they does not lose innocence from witnessing excessive harshness and cruelty. Popular Fables add "Mother May I (Charm)" to their Pretend Play table.

Wimp
The great wheel is a scary place, but to a wimp, it's absolutely terrifying. With Dangers lurking around every corner, it makes sense to be afraid. But when you're not only afraid of the danger, but also the corner itself, the path leading to the corner and the cracks in between the path - the danger becomes just another fear. Wimps do not suffer innocence loss from Fear rolls and gain +2k0 on any fear roll they make. Wimp Fables add "The Floor is Lava (Acrobatics)" to their Pretend Play table.

Fig. 10 - A Dryad Fable and a Viashino Fable, aboard a spelljammer.

Taking Inspiration from:

• Fairy Tales, Fables, Bedtime Stories and Nursery Rhymes
  
• Children's Literature Fantasy worlds -( Narnia, Wonderland, Oz, Neverland, Giant's Kingdom) etc 
  
• Parts of Changeling
  
• New World of Darkness: "Innocents"
  
• Grimm (2003) RPG 
  
• Little Fears RPG
  
• Monsters and Other Childish Things RPG
• Fables (comic).

[/ul]

[Xornik]

Fables - Children of Fantasy

Fable Physical Features

Fables have quite an advantage when it comes to hiding their exalthood, to many it comes almost second nature. For the truth of the matter is that many of them don't even realize that they're different from other children. They don't have any visible mutations, deformities or strange growths like other exalts may have. To the casual observer they appear to be exactly what you would expect from a child of their race. This by de-facto is likely their most distinguishing physical feature - they will always appear youthful and exuberant - to an alarming extent for those who stay in their company for a long period of time. For the 'older' Fables who appear to be teenagers, this is not be as much as a problem than their younger peers - as hiding the lack of aging is much harder when you're perpetually pint-sized and your friends are now twice your height.

           Of course, Fable's aren't the only Exalt's who don't age and thus getting to know every child you meet and waiting to see if they age isn't exactly the most accurate way of identifying one. You wouldn't want to confuse every eternally 17 romantic Toreador with a Fable, lest you end up sparkling and with a craving for blood. If you examine one closely, there might be a few little hints an observer can discern that might help identify them. Wide-eyes filled with wonder, an expression filled with whimsy and a little extra bit of bounce that seems to lie within every step, hop and skip that they make. Fable's do also have a tendency to appear as somewhat actualized and exaggerated versions of stereotypes of children from their races culture. One may appear to be an ideal, well behaved prim and proper youth, while another might appear to be a pretentious and melodramatic rebel defiant to the last - that's not to say that there aren't a few extra special fables who appear to simply be ordinary children with nothing special about them.

Fable Tells

           Every Fable by their very nature is to some extent a beacon of innocence and naivety among the horrors of the wheel, but at first glance this may not be apparent. As the only visible effect on the Fable itself when using their abilities, is that they appear to be even more sweet, innocent and naive than they already are. However over-time, exposure to a Fable's prolonged presence tends to amplify the social responses and demeanor of those non-exalts around them. This heightening and strengthening of empathic and behavioral responses only increases as the Fable uses their imagination to power their abilities.

           Those nearby mortals who happen to be motherly or nurturing types may begin to feel strangely compelled to bake something as a gift for the Fable or offer them a place to sleep out of the 'goodness of their heart'. A person who happens to have a protective streak may find themselves throwing themselves before the fable as a shield, or offering to be their guardian and seeing them safely through the treacherous woods. And of course those with malicious hearts or predatory instinct might feel a sudden need to prey upon the innocence and naivety of the Fable.

           When fables let their imagination run wild, it often results in almost storybook scenes playing out filled with the exaggerated reactions from those around them! Villains twirling their mustaches as they cackle and reveal their malicious plots in elongated soliloquies. Suddenly brave warriors gaining a newfound hero-complexes, puffing out their chests and exuberantly vowing to aid the Fable in vanquishing their foes. And when the Fable uses it's most powerful abilities, sometimes... Just sometimes, if you're quiet and listen very carefully, you might hear a strange voice from afar, describing the scene unfolding around the Fable - as if narrating it from a land beyond.


Becoming a Fable

           The exact origins of a fable may differ from Fable to Fable, which makes the path to becoming one for those who wish to somewhat difficult. For starters, it goes without saying that all Fables begin their tales as children, tweens or teenagers. How old exactly they must be depends on their race and culture, races with natural longevity may still see those centuries old still as children and thus Fables from these races can occur at such ages. The next step that many Fables have in common is slightly heightened sense of curiosity and imagination. Those who dare to wonder what lies behind the wall, beyond the forest or in the bushes off the beaten path. For many, this sense of excitement and officiousness leads them to leave their homes and seek adventure, leaving the normality of an ordinary childhood behind them.

           For many, it is actually the tales of other fables who set this spark within the youth of the wheel, hearing precautionary stories designed to frighten or ward unscrupulous children away from disobedience may achieve the opposite result, prompting them to run away from home. There's also a noticeable trend of Fables who originate from oppressed or constrictive background, with poverty, abusive families or wicked step-relatives causing them to dream and imagine better and happier worlds for them to occupy.

           Of course, not every child who runs away from home seeking adventure becomes a Fable, there's always a special unquantifiable ingredient that acts as the final trigger. It might be a powerful warp entity, benevolent deity or mischievous fae, it varies from Fable to Fable. However once a Fable has become a Fable, there's no turning back from the constant adventure until they eventually reach ever after. Occasionally there are stories of Fables who attempted to return to their home - only to forget where it had been or unknowingly arrive a few centuries too late.

Playing a Fable

           Fables are characters driven by a combination of curiosity and imagination, driven by an internal desire for change, excitement and adventure. Finding adventures to partake in and fantastical worlds to visit isn't the easiest task when you're surrounded by people who seem intent on reminding you that it's too dangerous for a child to venture forth into the Great Wheel. Quite frankly, they're right. With malicious entities around every corner, you can expect to run into your fair share of murderous monsters, terrifying technology and fearful freaks. Thankfully, a Fable is no mere child, otherwise they would be likely reduced to a quivering sobbing mess with traumatizing nightmares for the rest of their life - that's if they survive. It's only due to your sense of imagination and innocence that you are able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other exalts. When you put your imagination to work a scary robot can become a heartless tin man, a snarling ferocious guard beast can become a cowardly lion defending his scratching post and a abhorred mindless nightmare stitched together from various corpses can become a silly scarecrow without a brain.

           Innocence and Imagination can only protect you from so much, as a Fable you must constantly be aware of the intentions of the mortals you encounter. Your appearance and nature will affect the way that you interact with them in ways that other exalts won't encounter, not only due to your tell but also due to your naivety. Merchants might refuse to sell you things that deem unsuitable for a child to have, even if it's a dagger that you hope to use to protect yourself. You can expect those salesmen who have no moral qualms about selling weaponry to a fable to be exactly the kind to charge exuberant prices for goods that don't deserve them.
For the most part, these people are right. Fables have a habit of getting themselves into nefarious circumstances by trusting the wrong people, so figuring out who you can rely upon when things get tricky is very important.

           When playing a Fable, don't be afraid to make the most of your own imagination when using your abilities to create make-believe artifacts out of thin air, engaging in made up languages with inanimate objects or explain away innocence-breaking scenes as something fun and whimsical. Getting into the spirit of wonderment and fantastical experience will allow you to add depth to your character and hopefully gain a few extra stunt die. Try to find new ways you can make the Pretend Play game you rolled for the session apply to the situation at hand. Playing hide and seek might just lead to you hiding outside someone's window and overhearing an interesting plot point. Remember that to a Fable, the story does really revolve around them, so you might start taking things the Villain does more personally and allow yourself to feel the deaths of friendly and allied NPC's more than a typical adult adventurer would.

Fables in Game

           Encountering a Fable in an adventure is an interesting experience for other exalts and reactions will vary greatly depending on the parties alignment due to their polarizing nature. You should always be wary at what lurks behind a Fable's innocent demeanor and playful nature, they likely have their own happy ending in mind and it likely won't be the same as yours. Each Fable likely has a cast of supporting characters backing them up and it's probably worth taking into consideration if they've got a Fairy Godmother, town of singing halflings or ragtag group of adventures missing vital organs backing them up, before you decide to pick a fight with them and become their Big Bad Wolf.

           When dealing with Player Fables as an SM, give them opportunities to decide if they want to risk breaking their innocence or not. Most important is give the player a chance to use their imagination and apply their abilities to the situation in strange and whimsical way. Due to their nature, things might get a little more storybook-esque than usual, changing the way you describe a scene when their tell is active can help reflect this. If you have multiple Fables in your party, this can stack cumulatively, allowing you occasionally narrate scenes and begin sessions with "Once upon a time..."


Fable Culture

           Fable's don't have a cohesive culture in the usual sense of the word as there aren't really enough of them to establish one with any kind of uniformity. Combined with their general immaturity, nomadic and impulsive natures results in no real cohesive set of norms or customs that is common between them. A small group of fables that adventures together will form its own set of rules and traditions, but many of these are based upon where they came from rather than based upon their adventures. It's not uncommon for groups of friends, siblings or twins particularly to end up becoming Fables together. These groups will often stay together and place high priority on unity and looking after one another. If one Fable from the group leaves or is tempted away, the rest will often stop at nothing to get them back. In the rare circumstance that a group of Fables does settle down and make a home for themselves - you can expect it to look like a child's dream. It might be a fantastical treehouse, a princess castle or a fort shaped like a replica rocketship, but it'll definitely have play equipment sticking out the side of it. A spiraling swirling slide, several rope and tire swings dangling, a lookout, a steering wheel that doesn't actually do anything and maybe even a hand-drawn flag waving from the top.

           Things can get a little strange when the paths of two solo Fables who had previously been on their own cross - especially when mid adventure. Many stories don't have room for two protagonists and they can often find themselves butting heads and rapidly seeking to end their crossover tale and return to their solitude. This is not always the case, particularly when more then one Fable's tales intertwine, groups of solo fables can work together effectively, once they put their minds to it, after all, playing by yourself isn't any fun, is it? The only real problem with these gatherings of Fables, is that when their rabbit holes cross their yellow brick roads there's usually a reason and that reason is someone who isn't interested in having fun. There's a fair chance that their respective nemeses will meet, forging alliances of malevolent intent with the common enemies of the different Fables.

Adapting Fables

           Fables abilities are tied intrinsically to themes of childhood and fantastical adventures found within Fairy Tales and children's literature. But there's still plenty of wriggle room to adapt the Fable to play other types of characters that might not exactly fit the definition of Fable defined in this Exalt.

           The Fable template can be applied to different variations on the themes covered - you could perhaps played someone cursed with eternal youth who travels the great wheel searching for a cure. Alternately you could be a newly born Warp entity which is the embodiment of innocence who is simply learning about the materium in it's travels. Perhaps your character isn't actually the Fable tself but is in fact a powerful child sorcerer in a coma far away, dreaming of having fantastical adventures while they slumber. Maybe your character just doesn't seem to age or mature no matter how many adventures and fantastical places you go to, leaving a trail of older abandoned travelling companions behind you.

[Xornik]

Reserved for Fluffless Fable Port

[GuardianTempest]

I present to you the most obvious example character for a Fable, Nursery Rhyme from Fate/Extra (and by extension, Grand Order). A personification of her namesake and other children's stories.

---

EDIT: I think this is a better image to use.