Claimh Solais

Wednesday Weird #2: Charmed

Well, the second Wednesday Weird is coming out a few days late. Maybe, I shouldn't have put the day in the name.....

The second Wednedday Weird is dedicated to both Valentine's Day and the amazing Dr. Berkmann. The topic is :The "Charm Other" spell.

This spell shows up in several roleplaying games by many different names. Leaving the target charmed by the spellcaster, it can turn an enemy into a friend. Generally, the target will be susceptible to suggestion by the caster and will completely believe anything the caster says.

This effect is not restrained to the fantasy genre. A telepath might gain the same effect through mental powers and one of the most famous examples of this "spell" was in a certain film by George Lucas. "These are not the droids you are looking for."

Now your job: How does this spell get weird?

Brok looked concern as he approached Grakk. Grakk had been acting weird since the encounter with the human plunderers in the dungeon. He had been moping around the campfire and did not even get involved on the ritual feasting on the felgerbeast the night before. Grakk had been the only survivor of the party that faced those humans. His companions had been butchered, so Brok had an idea what might be going on.

"You are concerned, little one. You fear that you could have done more to save Urk, Frogarth and the others...."

Grakk looked up at Brok. He was confused and then his face dropped to the ground.

"No grand-groopa. That is not it."

"Then why is your face so green with sorrow?"

"I ran away."

Brok sighed. Sitting beside Grakk, he placed his hand on the young goblin's soldier.

"It is not possible to always be brave. Sometimes, when faced with an overwhelming danger, the only option is to run."

Grakk looked up. "You don't understand! I did not run because I was scared!"

"Then why?"

"There was a woman there, a human woman. She played a beautiful song on a harp.....a song just for me. It made me feel something I had never felt."

"What was that?"

"For the first time in my life, I felt warm and fuzzy inside."

"How horrible!"

"No, it was really nice. I felt like the most important person in the world. I had felt so....special. This embaressed me and I ran."

"The witch must have enchanted you, Grakk."

"No, was not it!"

"You must think no longer about this!"

That night, Grakk left the village.

-------------------------------------------------

For several days after an encounter with goblins, the bard or wizard in an adventuring party keeps finding the strangest things left for him or her: A dead fish in his or her sleeping roll, a large rat with a broken back left on the trail that the group travels on, the entrails of a deer left at the door of the inn where the party sleeps.

When the character charmed a monster in a dungeon a while back, the monster just looked nervous and fled. Now, the sneaky little monster (I'm picturing a third level Goblin rogue in D&D myself) has felt that noone could ever make him feel as special as that wizrd or bard did that day and decided to leave signs of his devotion and love for that person, but is too nervous....too afraid of objection to be seen. Of course, the creature's idea of "courting" could be a little different than a humans. "Everyone knows that stringing the entrails of a deer on a person's hut is the truest way to win their heart."

Posted by Nuadha at February 13, 2004 10:50 AM