Swindler beta

Description

+Spirit, +Skill, +Luck*

*Choose from among all three when determining your two Class-based Personality Traits (the final may come from any Stat).

“Cheater’s just a fancy word for Winner.”

— Twisted Fate, League of Legends

You’re a swindler, a crook, a gambler who nudges the odds into your favor, regardless of how fair the methods are! You get people together and swindle them out of their life savings (or just a favor or two, if you’re feeling a bit nice), then book it away before they get back at you after uncovering your cheats! You excel at getting groups of people together and getting things from them, but are nigh useless in actual fights.. and suck at getting away from them.

Conduits designing a mission for you should give you plenty different kinds of NPCs to swindle interact with. You can get a lot of mileage out of a won game against an influential lord or merchant, but even when there’s just peasants around, getting a favor or two owed can be quite helpful. You do best when there’s neutral or helpful NPCs around, so if the conduit wants to challenge you, they can give you mainly hostile beings to interact with (especially non-human ones).

Grounded in con-men and cheats who trick people for benefit and scurry away before people catch on and confront them with the consequences of their actions.

Examples from history and pop-culture include:

  • Phil Ivey (20th-21st century American)
  • Mat (Wheel of Time)
  • Nikaido Hiroshi (Poker King)
  • Howard Ratner (Uncut Gems)
  • Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
  • Gambling King (Ranma ½)
  • D’Arby Brothers (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
  • Gambit (X-Men)
  • Celestia Ludenberg (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc)
  • Twisted Fate (League of Legends)
  • Setzer Gabbiani (Final Fantasy VI)
  • Gambler/Gamer/PI, Grimsley (Pokemon Franchise)

Edition: Advent v2

Public: Yes

Class PDF

Unlock this class to gain access to the PDF.

Signature Gear

Base Gear

Gambler's Hat

Base

A short hat with a wide, sweeping brim, decorated with small ornaments.

  • Partially obscures owner’s face, making their expressions more difficult (M) to decipher.
  • Can take the hat off to Galvanize (M) others towards believing you’re playing fairly.
    • Galvanization lasts until user puts the hat back on (Mid Cooldown).

Two-Headed Coin

Base

A coin with heads on both of its sides.

  • Looks like a regular coin until a coin toss with stakes is performed with it.
    • Remains visibly two-headed for a Low Duration.
  • Expend and toss into a public body of water to make a Wish (L), which comes true after a Mid Delay.
    • May find a copy of this Signature a Mid Duration after the wish came true (found in a Pitched location).

Cheater's Deck

Base

A plain-looking deck of playing cards, marked with magical ink.

  • Owner can identify cards via the magical markings on their back (only visible to them).
  • Can swap out any cards currently held by the owner with any cards still remaining within the deck (Low Cooldown).
    • This is treated as a double Teleport (L).
  • Appearance can be altered to fit any kind of card (Mid Duration, Low Cooldown).
    • Does not impart any of the functions of the new appearance.

Elective Gear

Loaded Dice

Elective

A set of dice with extra weight on the inside.

Quantity
Low
  • Always land on the side that the owner wishes.
  • Extra weight is Inconspicuous (M).
  • Hitting a throw at someone’s head with a die Dazes (M) the target.

Thimblerig

Elective

Three small containers and a ball that fits under them.

  • Summons a flat surface (at around torso level) to play atop if needed (Mid Duration, Mid Cooldown).
  • Boosts (L) user’s hand speed and dexterity while shuffling the containers.

Gam(bl)e Master

Elective

Fancily-dressed individual with intimate knowledge of all matters of games, there to act as an arbiter.

  • Will act as a mostly neutral party during games and oversee them, but is still controlled by the player.
    • Seeks out ongoing games to arbitrate, though will always prioritize games that the owner is involved in.
    • Will always judge in the owner’s favor during uncertain situations (e.g. cheating accusations, tied games, uncertainty about rules…).
  • Galvanizes (M) others towards trusting their rulings.

Abilities

Wanna Bet?

Offer someone to bet on something.

Essence Cost
Mid
Range
Low
Cooldown
Low

Paired Action: Ask your target(s) to bet something on a game’s outcome in a friendly manner.

  • May target up to a small (L) group if they all belong together (e.g. a mob boss and some of their underlings).
  • Galvanizes (L-H) the target(s) towards betting on the offered game, scaling on the perceived friendliness of the Paired Action.
    • Loser of the game is Compelled (L) to keep up their end of the bet.
  • May make a Boosted (M) Happenstance on the subject of the game (e.g. betting that a solstice is about to happen, betting how quickly a bird of a nearby rooftop takes off…).

Raise the Stakes

Galvanize (H) one or more targets towards raising the stakes of either an ongoing or about-to-happen game.

Essence Cost
Mid
Cooldown
Mid

Paired Action: Raise the stakes of your bet, then wait for your target(s) to do the same.

  • Target(s) will try to match their raise to the user’s (e.g. user betting their life -> target(s) betting something worth as much as their life/lives, user betting their clothes -> target(s) betting their clothing).
    • If used on multiple targets, raise will be split amongst them.

See Right Through You

Spot someone’s “tell” to make a Query (M) about their emotional state or intentions.

Essence Cost
Low
Cooldown
Low

Paired Action: Focus your attention on one target for several seconds, then Pitch a specific behavioral pattern you have picked up on as a quiet mumble to yourself.

  • Alternatively, if the target was already acting suspiciously, you may instead Pitch why they are acting that way.
  • May make another follow-up Query (L) for an additional Low Cost.