Hobs (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Alternate Names: Brownie, Gnome, Halfling, Goblin, Kobold, Leprochaun, Boggart, Gremlin, Redcap, Spriggan.

Attributes and Schticks

Body: 2-7
Mind: 5-10
Reflexes: 6-11
Move: 5-6

Mockery

Trigger Action (Combo)

Use this after you've hit or successfully interacted with someone. The target suffers a -3 penalty on all attacks and interactions directed at a creature that did not use Mockery against him this round.

Mystic Form

Inherent

You have an association with a Form of power. Using powers of this form is natural to you. Your use of this power cannot be affected by Metapowers used by others. This means that powers of your Mystic Form can be detected and dispelled based on their Form, but not because they are powers or because of your power origin. You can use powers of this form, even if you lack a power tradition. You never lose these powers as a result of your Methods or Power Loss limitations.

Hobs are bound to the form of Illusion.

Obsession

Inherent

You are obsessed with a specific craft, task or ability. Your obsession is a goal in itself, sometimes to your peril. You spend much time learning every variation and nuisance of this single ability. Obsession is prized in craftsmen and artists, and objects thus made sometimes even display wondrous magical enchantments, as appropriate to their nature.

Chose an area of specialization. This can be a skill, but also an area related to a part of several skills. Examples include gems, gardening, playing the lyre, explosives, rocketry, and so on.

When working in this field, after making a die roll, you can spend a Fortune point and roll 1d6 and add this to your Outcome. This additional die is not open-ended.

Hobs have different obsessions depending on their aspect. Some examples: As gnomes they are fascinated by fine crafts such as alchemy, jewelry, and precision mechanics. As halflings and leprechauns they are obsessed with down-to-earth chores like cooking, gardening, animal husbandry, or homemaking. As goblins, they are fascinated by fire and loud! As kobolds they are fascinated by mining or traps. Note that each hob must choose one of these areas, not all of those indicated for their kind.

Description

Hobs are a varied mix of small humanoid pranksters, often regarded as different races altogether. All varieties of hobs are fey, magical beings with powers of Illusion.

Appearance

Hobs are diminutive but clever humanoids, merely 90 to 120 centimeters (3' to 4') tall. They have short stocky bodies, long thin limbs, and large heads with pointed ears. They are generally not considered attractive, nor are they very strong or powerful. Beyond this, details vary greatly from hob to hob and clan to clan.

Role

Hobs are fey creatures, not completely comprehensible to normal Folk. All hobs are at least somewhat tricky. Their word lacks worth, for it is known they lie readily in order to bargain, amuse and pique. They are rarely malicious liars, however, and those fooled are often simply told to be less gullible in the future. But hobs live by strange rules understandable only to them, and when these rules are broken, they are quick to anger. Hobs love crafts and can be obsessive with perfection, but place little regard in the finished product. As long as they get their due of praise they can be very generous, even careless, with the product of their labor.

Hobs are not recognized as one race. Instead, there are many different varieties of hobs, seemingly different races altogether. Even hobs subscribe to the idea that they are several different species. What species a hob appears to be is not fixed, however. Traumatic events can change the inclination and demeanor of a hob, not gradually over time as with other folk but suddenly and dramatically. Note that hobs are not aware of their changing natures. To them, these distinctions are not meaningful. They are who they are. Different kinds of hobs do not recognize each other as kin, even if they easily assimilate with other hobs of similar disposition. Some kinds are hereditary enemies, like kobolds and gnomes.

Hob Rules of Behavior

Here are some hob rules and customs, but be careful, not all hobs know or care about all rules. Note that these are not the actual rules, which only hobs can understand. This is a translated and abridged version of the rules for general consumption, any of which can be wrong in any particular case.

• An offer of clothing offends a hob greatly, implying its not maintaining its guise properly. This is a grave insult to a creature of illusion.
• An offer of food is almost always appreciated.
• Accepting a hob gift without reservations is rude. A hob gift is almost always some kind of trick or riddle, and merely accepting it without questioning it proves you are either a dullard or ignoring the challenge of the gift. Hobs have the same attitude to the gifts of others, and might be disappointed with a gift that merely is what it appears to be.
• Games of wits are fun, such as riddles, tricks, and double meanings. The more formal and elaborate, the better.
• Trade is a serious matter, a word-game and match of wits. It is generally much more convenient to steal, at least small everyday items. Stealing is not a crime unless the previous owner really cherished the stolen item.
• A hob wants respect, first and foremost. They want respect for their skills and first pick of everything related to their specialty, but are otherwise quite generous.

Hob Kinds

Hobs have lots of different names in different locales and roles, and an individual hob sometimes changes role and personality. Even when in the same role, their manners are in flux. The same hob can be malign one day, boisterously friendly the next. In general, types of hobs have three dispositions, friendly, neutral, and hostile. Here is what a hob might be called in each disposition.

Friendly

Brownie: Individual benign hobs, often adopting a place or person to protect and help, brownies are very friendly, tough they still have quirks. They might show themselves to individual persons, often children, but don't like crowds.
Gnome: A gnome looks and behaves much like a Dwarf, only thinner and with humor. Gnomes live in tribes and nations and travel the world like respectable folk. They enjoy crafts, jewelry in particular, and to tinker.
Halfling: These are the most human-like of hobs, looking like rotund human children and living in idyllic settlements that almost seem like parodies of rural humanity. Halflings are the most mundane of hobs, very rarely using illusion except to hide.

Neutral

Goblin: Feral creatures, living in tribes in the wild. They are territorial and do mischief to travelers in what they consider their lands.
Kobold: Associated with mines, a kobold can be either a friendly comrade or a fierce competitor to miners and spelunkers.
Leprochaun: A lone trickster on the edge of civilization, the leprochaun thrives on respectability and mimics the actions of nearby folk. It loves to play the role of rich covetousness.

Hostile

Boggart: A lonely malicious trickster, the boggart is rarely seen but cause untold pranks and general destruction.
Gremlin: The gremlin delights in causing malfunction and misfortune, mainly targeting technology and industry.
Mite: Small, bluish, and cruel, mites delight in pranks and theft. Friends of insect pests, they breed giant insects.
Redcap: The most direct and dangerous hob, the redcap is a murderer that soaks his cap in the blood of his victims. They sometimes form bands or work as enforcers for other grim faerie folk.
Spriggan: A fey of wild chaos and the deep wilderness, small bands of spriggans set traps for the unwary and raid settlements.

Politics

Hob tribes are usually trouble. The more remote they are from civilization, the more idiosyncratic they are. Tough rarely large, an offended hob tribe can be a menace to isolated homesteads and a blight on an entire region. Keeping the hobs placated is an important thing when you live close to the wilderness.

Hob countries are rare, and consists of halflings or gnomes. A whole nation of these little creatures, living in a good place with plenty of things to play with is an asset to friendly neighbors and the most folk-like of all hobs.

Integration

Good hobs interact famously with most other Folk and are seen as happy, clever, and somewhat childish, but even they are usually able to disappear at will. Even if their faith is good, their word is not to be trusted. It is better to make friends with them and tolerate their odd ways and occasional thefts than to try to bind them with business contracts. The best hobs are the ones that focus so deeply in a task or craft that they have no time for mischief, such as craftsmen or alchemists. Not all communities are willing to tolerate them, the rich usually distrusting them more than the poor. The existence of a hob in a community is often kept secret from the lord or the land.

Family

Hobs have families depending in their attitudes. This means outsiders sometimes see a family idyll of glowing health and happiness, other times a disgusting hive of filth and tyrrany. It is almost as if the hobs were putting on a show for outsiders. If you ask them, answers are just as ambiguous. It is almost as if the entire issue of family was a charade to hobs.

Pantheon

No official sources consulted, the following are excerpts from [1].

Charmalaine

Charmalaine (TCHAR-mah-lain) is the halfling hero-goddess of Keen Senses and Narrow Escapes. She gained her nickname "the Lucky Ghost" from her ability to leave her body to scout ahead in spirit-form. In this form, she is believed to warn halfling adventurers of impending danger. Her holy symbol is a burning boot-print. Charmalaine is a young halfling woman with alert eyes, black oiled leather armor, and boots coated in mud. She carries a mace called Fair Warning and is usually seen with Xaphan, her ferret familiar. She is energetic, spontaneous, and fearless. Charmalaine preaches vigilance and attention to one's environment. Her followers are urged to hone their reflexes, to be quick on their feet, to enjoy exploration but also safety. They are taught that too many material things can be too much weight.

Roykyn

Roykyn (ROY-kihn) is the gnomish hero-goddess of cruelty, particularly cruel pranks. Her favored animal is a feral cat, and her symbol is a furled scroll dripping dark fluid. Roykyn is commonly depicted as a dark-haired gnomish woman with a wicked gleam in her eye, but she can appear in almost any humanoid form. Roykyn was formerly a priestess of the gnomish deity Urdlen, but her apotheosis was sponsored by Erythnul, who perhaps in selecting this particular servant was seeking to broaden his appeal beyond simple violence.