Faery's Tale Deluxe - Etud

For example, on a quest to save children
stolen by a hag, the sprite knight Flynn comes
across a wall of thorns grown by the witch to
protect her hut. Zach, Flynn’s player, intent on
his faery’s mission, doesn’t want to spend time
trying to find a way around the thorns. He says
he’ll spend Essence to have a friendly squirrel
show Flynn a hidden path through the thorn
bushes. The Narrator decides that, while it avoids
a particularly clever puzzle she’d planned, Zach’s
proposal could happen in a faery tale and doesn’t
harm the adventure. She approves the proposal,
but tells Zach he must expend 2 Essence for the
plot twist, which essentially negates a key part
of the hag’s defenses. Zach decides to spend the
2 Essence, and the adventure continues.
Later in the same adventure, Flynn
confronts the hag inside her hut while the
captive children cower in a nearby cage. Zach
says he’ll spend Essence to have the hag run
away at the sight of the mighty sprite. The
Narrator decides to disallow this plot twist,
since it isn’t a very exciting way to end the
adventure and doesn’t seem plausible. Rather
than simply refusing the plot twist, however,
the Narrator suggests that Zach could instead
— A Sense of Wonder —
Sample Plot Twists
• Solve a riddle that has everyone stumped (1 Essence)
• Find a clue or receive a message that leads to the next scene (1 Essence)
• An attacking goblin clumsily trips over a rock (1 Essence)
• Discover a secret passage bypassing the trolls guarding the sorcerer’s tower (2
Essence)
• Catch a ride to the giant’s cloud castle on a friendly passing bird (2 Essence)
• Open the magical lock on the gate of the enchanted citadel (2 Essence)
• Accidentally knock a magic potion off a shelf onto the sorceress, turning her into
a harmless toad (3 Essence)
• Find out that a little girl lost in Brightwood is really a princess (3 Essence)
• Sing a song to soften a mean giant’s heart of stone (3 Essence)
Plot Twist vs. Adding Complications
At first glance, a Plot Twist, which costs Essence, and Adding Complications, which
gains Essence rewards, seem fairly similar—both are player-inspired changes to the
storyline. But there’s an easy way to tell them apart. If a proposed change makes things
easier for the faeries, it’s a Plot Twist and costs Essence. If it makes things harder, it’s
Adding Complications and may be worth an Essence reward.
— 45 —
spend 3 Essence motes to have Flynn’s bravery
inspire the children, who escape the cage and
come help the sprite fight the hag.
Against All Odds
Summoning every bit of resolve, your plucky
faery shoots an apple off her friend’s head,
figures out how to open the magically locked
door, or hides from the goblin patrol.
When your faery just has to succeed, spend
5 Essence motes for an automatic success
on a single challenge, contest, or duel. This
completely bypasses the normal dice-pool
rules. Your faery succeeds at the task, period.
The desired result must be within the realm
of possibility, at least as defined in faery tales,
though. No amount of Essence can help a
faery lift a mountain or fly to the other side of
the world in a single second, for example.
Losing Essence
When your faery uses Essence to work
wonders, she temporarily loses that amount of
Essence. Lost duels also can cause your faery
to sacrifice Essence.