Author Topic: A Charlatan's Modus Operandi  (Read 1825 times)

Offline Mellohero

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A Charlatan's Modus Operandi
« on: December 05, 2011, 02:25:08 PM »
Since just about everyone in my old gaming group is moving away or getting lives, we've decided to keep the fun alive by playing a role-playing heavy game by facebook post. I've created the most fleshed-out character I've ever done for it, but I need to hammer out some details before I call it done. I've built a human Factotum/Charlatan. After his father's death, as he was to frail to continue the family business of farming, he left home to make a living to ensure that he and his mother were well cared for. He has wandered the land ever since, doing odd jobs and swindling the unwary as was necessary to ensure his and his mother's welfare. Recently he has discovered there is money to be made in the magical persona he created. My question is: should this persona be that of a divine caster or an arcane one? As an arcane caster he could be more convincing, from his Factotum abilities and the use of the Obtain Familiar feat, but the only way I can think of to turn that into money is as a high-fantasy snake oil salesman, which doesn't really fit in with the Fearsome Reputation ability he gets later. On the other hand, as a divine caster, he would be more accepted/less likely to be feared by his potential marks, and there is the added story hook of real clergy getting suspicious, but he would be much less convincing until he gains some of his better abilities, probably limited to doing mostly Benny Hinn-style tall tales and parlor tricks, with or without helpful volunteers. Also, he's left the care of his mother to a local priest, so it may be less likely that he would be willing to impersonate a man of the cloth because of that. Or perhaps just not a priest of that deity.

What would you suggest for my charlatan to play at, and how would you do it?

Offline SneeR

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Re: A Charlatan's Modus Operandi
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2011, 05:20:49 AM »
Sorry for late reply.

I would have to say divine caster. The average commoner can't tell the difference between arcane and divine spells. You can hold a holy symbol in one hand and cast with the other, playing the motions off as if you were getting overzealous and the verbal components as if praying.

I have to mention that some of the most fun I've had is with high-CHA clerics who WAY oversold their religion. My dwarven cleric of Saint Cuthbert would thrust his holy symbol bearing the face of his god into people's faces and cry, "GAZE INTO THE EYES OF ST. CUTHBERT! TREMBLE IN YOUR SIIIIIN!" I had a cloistered cleric of Ehlonna who embodied free love and got into the pants of every woman he met of any race, despite being a 50-year-old human. He would always relate what presently occurred to some crazy story from his life, like "I haven't smoked tobacco since I was mugged in a tobacco field twenty years ago! They left me naked and battered, and I survived on tobacco and field mice for seven days before being rescued!"

Divine casters are more fun! Arcane casters are so dreary and by-the-book. Let's just say that divine casters are expected to get hard for their religion in public!  :cool
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