Mountebank

Overview

Streetmages, Spell Artists and Coincasters are but a few of the cutting titles given to these tall characters. Arcanists skilled in misdirection, silvered words, and careful application of luck, Mountebanks are a homegrown mage discipline befitting legend city. But beneath the cocky grins is a history of infighting and two warring philosophies, for is it better to be lucky and skilled or skilled and lucky?

Need:

Magus

As much as Mountebanks are con artists, they do actually use magic to set themselves apart from their mundane brethren.

Shouldn’t:

Nil

Costume Marker:

Gamblers Loyalty

Mountebanks are divided by their philosophies; Dicers and Deckers. Dicers are epitomised by the simple six-sided die, a symbol of true luck and glory willing to be taken. Deckers are marked by the humble playing card, a symbol of a larger plan if you can stick it through. Any Mountebank worth their coin will fall into either camp and will adorn themselves accordingly.

Dicers

Dicers tend to always have a set of lucky dice to hand in a style befitting their personality but further, than this will often mark themselves with dice or dice-like designs. A trim of white squares with different numbers of dots, a pair of dice earrings, or a scabbard marked with dice imagery.

Deckers

Deckers personal decks are things of beauty, often retrieved from far afield and marked with strange and unique designs. These decks are immensely personal and treasured. Beyond this, deckers will often mark themselves with classic playing card styles. Perhaps a favoured card tucked into a hatband or bracer. A tattoo of the Queen of Hearts on your bicep or a single spade beneath an eye.

History:

The first School of Magic in Lerona Mere was an insular and expensive affair, as anything of style was back at the time. The legend of the streets has it that the ‘Jupitus Academy’ was so expensive that they screened students based on how white their teeth were before they even looked at their coin purses.The issue with money is that there is always a chance that someone will luck into a nice pile of it.

The Briganti family was never one of note, but when Paolo Briganti pulled a lost chest of silver from the bottom of the bay, the man resolved to triple his money at the cointables. Lucky for him, his sister Nadia was of a cooler head. She forced Paolo to send his twin children Santo and Sofia to the Jupitus Academy, if only for a semester. Surely even that amount of magical training would change the family's fortunes.

Santo and Sofia found themselves ridiculed and ignored from classroom to classroom. And while the two were moderately skilled and blessed in Arcane Matters, what they had really inherited was their father's hunger for risk and their aunt's shrewd mind. In dormitory basements and teenage parties, they earned their tuition two times over, fleecing rich stupid children with a mixture of raw skill and daring. Santo’s skill at card counting and sleight of hand was only matched by his sister's nose for trouble and knack for knowing when to roll the dice, just one more time.

The two graduated from Jupitus Academy, the first and only low-born to do so before the academy mysteriously burned to the ground four years later. But the twins could never agree on the source of their success. Santo always claimed it was their ability to analyse risk and use intelligence (something he held in high esteem) whereas Sofia asserted it was their daring and good fortune (which she held in spades). This disagreement rose to the point where the two couldn’t stand to be around each other. So when they went on to establish their own streetside schools of magic, they always competed with each other. Was it better to be skilled and lucky or lucky and skilled?

No one knows what happened to Sofia and Santo, or if they ever existed, but what is known is that there are two competing schools and streetmages in Lerona Mere. Those that are shrewd tacticians with a mind for chance and those who are daring gamblers with a glint of skill. Together, these Mountebank’s can be found across the city, as part of gangs, theatre groups, ships crews and mercenary companies. Where they are found, they can always be relied upon to for a daring plan, rebellious spirit, and a hunger for just one more game.

Three Things Mountebanks Are:

Skilled or Lucky?

Whether you identify as a Dicer or a Decker, Mountebanks value skill and luck above all. Be good at your craft, master it and always endeavour to be in the right place at the right time.

Silvered Tongue from the Lowest Gutter

To truly embrace the life of a Mountebank, one has to be lowborn and hungry. You have to want to take from the world and do it with skill and style. Mountebanks are known for being talkative wordsmiths and masterful linguists. Being quick-witted and sassy is a hallmark of the brand.

Ambitious and Ravenous

Like Sofia and Santo, Mountebanks want to make it big. To rise above humble beginnings with nothing but some chutzpah and chance. All Mountebanks have a hunger for pride, wealth and fame. To varying degrees and focuses.

One Thing Mountebanks Aren't:

Bad hearted

While they are con-artists, thieves and card-sharpers, Mountebanks are rarely cruel. To break the world to your will or control it is the wrong energy of their profession. You twist the rules, shift the circumstances and come out on top. Because if you killed everyone, who would be left to see how smart you are?