Sluagh

Called the underfolk by many, the sluagh are often pariah even among other fae. Though rumors persist of undergound catacombs and mazelike lairs, most sluagh prefer crumbling Victorian mansions to dank sewers. Places dark and forgotten attract them. Those who intrude into their inner sanctums often leave with nightmares. Just as they value secrets and mysteries, sluagh treasure their privacy, and do a great deal to foster reputations that discourage visitors.

Loremasters say that these Kithain were once Russian faeries who lived under mountains or mortal hearths. Now they live out of sight in the cracks of the world, hidden until they choose to venture out, sometimes to court, sometimes to mortal environs. Whether they live in parlors or crawlspaces, sluagh are unsettlingly polite and have a great love of formality. Such is even more unnerving to the other kithffooggan rumors hint at secret sluagh rituals, sacrifice and wild carnage under the,earth. The underfolk enjoy the effect they have on outsiders, and are amused at the reputation they have acquired. Even redcaps fear their clammy touch.

Despite their preference for quiet, adventurous sluagh do visit the surface courts, cultivate friendships and enter oathbonds with outsiders. They will go out of their way to aid or protect an outsider who has shown them respect and friendship. These good deeds are frequently misinterpreted by other suspicious changelings, so such relationships are often brief. Still, even sluagh who find a clique they can trust need to have a secret place to which they can retreat.

The underfolk collect information (secrets are better, though), and barter their knowledge to interested parties. Revelation is joy; the more unsettling the revelation, the greater the joy. While Seelie use their knowledge for more noble ends, Unseelie can make a crooked living through blackmail. Secrets are but one commodity to them, though. Broken toys, strange knickknacks and anything resonant with nostalgia makes for an excellent item of trade. Outsiders are mystified by the value sluagh place on these items, but then again, perversity is the sluagh's trademark.

Though it is said that all sluagh follow Unseelie ways, they rarely throw in behind either Court, keeping instead to themselves. Among their own kind, these kith are generous and almost painfully formal. They regard each other with deep respect, and band together against outsiders if need be. Shrouded in mystery, the sluagh hold the secrets of their kith closest of all as they cultivate their image. In darkness they thrive.

Appearance: Sluagh are pale and grotesque, yet oddly compelling. Some unfathomable deformity seems to cling to them like leprosy. They lack teeth and have small, tired, mysterious eyes. They carry a vague odor of decay, a smell that grows more pungent with age. Sluagh favor archaic clothing, usually black and always intricate.

Lifestyle: The most civilized sluagh frequent dusty mansions, antique shops or musty libraries. The most decrepit seek out theunderworld, lurking in sewers, crawlspaces and forgotten places beneath metropoli. They are shy, yet territorial, demanding adherence to extensive rules of etiquette and protocol other fae don't fully understand. Hermits and recluses by nature, they don't like to be disturbed without good reason. They always main tain private spots to which they can retreat, even if theyare in motleys.

Seeming

Childlings are street urchins who take very poor care of their appearance. Their clothes are torn, their hair is disheveled, and they arouse great sympathy for their suffering. They delight in all that disgusts hu man children, and hold a strong affinity for hidden places.

Wilders are the guardians of the uncovered spots of the world. As they grow older, their skin grows paler and their hair turns jet black. They have dark hollow eyes and elongated limbs, fingers and toes.

Grumps age at an alarming rate. Their skin hangs on them like it is somehow too large for them, their hair is soon streaked with shocking gray, and their bodies become warped, stooped and crooked. Oddly enough, they seem to enjoy this, Sluagh prize decay in many forms, and this is but one more.

Affinity: Prop

Birthrights

Squirm — Dislocating body parts is a popular amusement for these desiccated creatures. Confining them is almost impossible. Although they cannot change their shape or mass, underfolk can contort into disquieting shapes with unnatural ease. This requires a few minutes of entertainment and a roll of Dexterity + Athletics; the difficulty ranges from a 6 (escaping from ropes) to a 10 (worming through the bars of a locked cell). The only substance that can completely imprison them is, of course, cold iron. A sluagh cannot use this Birthright in the presence of mortals or the unenchanted.

Sharpened Senses — The unusual upbringing of these fae heightens their senses. Subtract two from any Perception roll a sluagh makes (to a minimum of 3). They may see through illusory magic by making a roll of Perception + Alertness (difficulty 7). This Birthright always functions normally. It is impossible for sluagh to botch Stealth or Alertness rolls.

On Boggans — How ambitious! To creep and listen and gossip!

On Eshu — Their stories are their secrets, warm living things, not the cold knowledge we drag from the grave. Listen well when they speak.

On Nockers — How singularly insecure they are, eternally seeking praise. The best one might hope for is to learn some new profanity.

On Pooka — Good for a laugh, even if they do live in a world of lies.

On Redcaps — These pit bulls know only madness, not fear. I know things that would leave them shaking.

On Satyrs — They believe knowledge is hidden only in joy and lust. They do not know the wisdom of silence and sadness.

On Sidhe — They are not without their shame, the mightiest of all. If you knew what I know of them….

On Trolls — So stoic and brave., .what hides in your heart? What pain do you bear? : :

Frailties

Curse of Silence — Sluagh cannot speak above a whisper, no matter how hard they strain to be heard. Since they dislike social situations and hold to very odd rules of etiquette, add two to the difficulty of all of their Social rolls. While a sluagh may not appear to whisper to mortal ears, the individual in question is usually quite soft-spoken.

Quote: Why did you come here to my attic and disturb my rest? Are you here to find something from long ago? Be careful you don't open something you can't close….