[Build Advice] One of the PCs is secretly a powerful archfey

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Seneschal

[*]outwardly humanoid - no tiny body or wings;

Passing Appearance (Human) perk, Secret (Not Actually Human) [-30 points]

For combat durability, also consider extra HP, Combat Reflexes [15 points], Damage Resistance [5/lvl], High Pain Threshold [10 points], and levels of Hard to Subdue [2/lvl].

For non-combat durability consider Resistant (Disease/Poison/etc.)

Good basic HT (12+) is also a decent way of modeling a durable character.

All these traits, especially Unkillable, might be countered by disads like Revulsion, Vulnerability, or Weakness to things like church bells, cold iron, silver, etc., but those sorts of disadvantages can get dangerous really fast.

Originally Posted by Seneschal

[*]charming, foppish and playful, at least at first glance;[*]offputting and creepy at a second glance;

So, serious "sociopathic superficial charisma."

In addition to previous suggestions: Attractive or better Appearance [4+ points]; Charisma [5 points/lvl], Talent (Allure [5 points/level] or Smooth Operator Talent [15 points/lvl]), and Voice [10 points].

All suit the "only pretty on the outside" sort of noble faerie.

For creepy and offputting behavior, in addition to the suggestions that others have made: Bad Temper, Bully, Callous, On the Edge, bad Reputation, Sadism, Supernatural Feature, Trickster, or Unnatural Feature.

Bad Temper seems especially appropriate for the genre.

Possibly any of these traits could have a house-rules Accessibility limitation "Not immediately obvious" or "Not well known" worth at least -40% which limits negative reactions to just people who spend significant time in the character's company.

Keep in mind, however, that many traits which carry reaction modifiers conflict with the sort of social manipulation skills required for a bard-like character.

Originally Posted by Seneschal

[*]implacable alien mindset;[*]a heartfelt yet fleeting fascination with mortals;

Additional Suggestions: Clueless, Code of Honor, Delusion ("Human society is like Fae society"), Hidebound, Oblivious.

Absent-Minded and Short Attention Span might be appropriate if the character is particularly flighty. Odious Personal Habit (Capricious) [-15 points] applies if the character has limited control over their moods.

I agree that you should choose which disadvantages are most important and choose the rest as "Controllable Disadvantage" or "Likes and Dislikes" Quirks. E.g., "Fascinated by mortals," "Capricious," "Never forgets an insult or a favor," "Views human society from a faerie point of view."

Originally Posted by Seneschal

[*]deceitful and manipulative, although incapable of lying directly;[*]constrained by laws which they only respect the letter of;

Classic faerie disadvantages. Model these as Quirk-level Honesty ("Obeys the letter of the law") and Truthfulness ("Cannot Tell Outright Lies"). They could be subsumed into a broader -5 point Code of Honor ("Faerie Rede").

Originally Posted by Seneschal

[*]powers of enchantment, illusion and travel between worlds, but generally has to bargain, coerce or persuade the consent of mortals before affecting them;[*]a limited ability to manipulate reality, or just access to untold treasures and ancient lore, enough to "grant wishes" of sorts.

This is a massive list of powerful advantages, especially the plane-shifting and wish granting bits.

If your preference is a low-powered character, it might be fairer to the player to start play with most of these traits as "potential advantages" which can be accessed as the character develops. Especially for a 5e player, the concept of "leveling up" should be simple to understand.

Amnesia or Partial Amnesia is an expensive disadvantage would could easily explain the character's lack of full access to their powers and would a good way to reduce the point cost of a low-point character.

Some form of Racial Memory could explain access to ancient lore. Blessed, Destiny, or Unusual Background might also justify very limited wish-granting power. Detect might be useful for detecting caches of valuable goods, with the quirk that the character can't benefit from such riches themself.

Everything else depends on how magic works in your game and how much "new system crunch" your player is willing to put up with.

In particular, any system of GURPS Magic will work very differently from AD&D magic, so the player will have to know what they're getting themselves into.

IQ 13+, Magery 2-3, and 15-20 points in spells is a relatively cheap method of creating a character with reasonable "buff"/"debuff" powers. Another possibility might be Modular Abilities and variants on the Affliction advantage.

For 500 points, you could build an incredibly formidable GURPS Magic archmage character capable of casting powerful spells like Enslave, Planeshift Other, or even Wish using the standard GURPS Magic system.

For limited relatively inexpensive "enchant" powers, Imbuement powers might work best.

Jumper (World) is a very expensive advantage which could possibly be reined in using Accessibility (Only from certain places and at certain times of the year) and Limited Uses, Requires Preparation, and Takes Extra Time to bring the cost down to a more reasonable level. This power isn't necessary for an archmage with the prerequisites and power to cast spells like Gate or Planeshift Others.

Illusion effects can be handled using the Create or Mind Control advantages with the Magic power limitation. GURPS Psionics has a list of illusion powers which could easily be adapted to have a magical basis. Standard GURPS Magic also has an extensive list of Illusion and Creation spells.

"Bless," "Curse," or Probability Alteration powers could be magic spells, or variants on Affliction (Attribute Reduction, Bestow Dis/advantage, Negate Advantage, Irritating or Incapacitating Condition). Take a look at GURPS Powers and the Dungeon Fantasy series for inspiration.

For background material, GURPS 3E Faeries has lots of good "fluff" and some templates which could be updated to 4E.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Amnesia or Partial Amnesia is an expensive disadvantage would could easily explain the character's lack of full access to their powers and would a good way to reduce the point cost of a low-point character.

"Exile from Faerie" might be a good limiting disadvantage. Until the exile is rescinded, he doesn't have access to his higher powers. The way to get back is to bring his liege a new story, which is what he is trying to get from the PCs.

[Seneschal]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

For combat durability, also consider extra HP, Combat Reflexes [15 points], Damage Resistance [5/lvl], High Pain Threshold [10 points], and levels of Hard to Subdue [2/lvl].

For non-combat durability consider Resistant (Disease/Poison/etc.)

Good basic HT (12+) is also a decent way of modeling a durable character.

All these traits, especially Unkillable, might be countered by disads like Revulsion, Vulnerability, or Weakness to things like church bells, cold iron, silver, etc., but those sorts of disadvantages can get dangerous really fast.

I've begun assembling the character in GCS and it's, almost to the letter, everything you've listed. I'm actually quite surprised at how (relatively) economical it is. I've opted for iron as a weakness (but not steel, only pure iron - fire pokers, horseshoes, nails, musket barrels...) for its "magical insulator"-qualities. The final write-up looks something like this:

Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]
Hard to Kill 2 [4]
Hard to Subdue 2 [4]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Regeneration (Slow; Magical, -10%) [9]
Regrowth (Bane (Iron, occasional), -30%; Magical, -10) [24]
Resistant (Metabolic Hazards, +3) [10]
Revulsion (Iron, occasional) [-5]
Unaging [15]
Unkillable 1 (Achilles' Heel (Iron, occasional), -30%) [35]
Unusual Biochemistry [-5]
Vulnerability (Iron, occasional; ×2 injury) [-20]

A mere 84 points to be the fantasy equivalent of Jason Voorhees, shrugging off whatever you pump into them and getting up eventually no matter what's sticking out of them... unless your enemy brings an iron weapon. Then you're at -5 to everything if you get hit, and you treat killing blows from it as if you were a normal human. This is an acceptable dichotomy that comes with playing a "monster character", and the danger it presents is a good motivator to keep your inhuman nature under wraps.

I like that none of the abilities are absolute - you can still try to blow the faerie lord up with gunpowder, or put them to sleep by dipping them in a vat of opium, but most solutions are unreliable unless you know their weakness. Also, it allows the character to have fairly modest attributes, and thus play on a similar level as the rest of the party.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

So, serious "sociopathic superficial charisma."

In addition to previous suggestions: Attractive or better Appearance [4+ points]; Charisma [5 points/lvl], Talent (Allure [5 points/level] or Smooth Operator Talent [15 points/lvl]), and Voice [10 points].

All suit the "only pretty on the outside" sort of noble faerie.

For creepy and offputting behavior, in addition to the suggestions that others have made: Bad Temper, Bully, Callous, On the Edge, bad Reputation, Sadism, Supernatural Feature, Trickster, or Unnatural Feature.

Bad Temper seems especially appropriate for the genre.

Possibly any of these traits could have a house-rules Accessibility limitation "Not immediately obvious" or "Not well known" worth at least -40% which limits negative reactions to just people who spend significant time in the character's company.

Keep in mind, however, that many traits which carry reaction modifiers conflict with the sort of social manipulation skills required for a bard-like character.

Additional Suggestions: Clueless, Code of Honor, Delusion ("Human society is like Fae society"), Hidebound, Oblivious.

Absent-Minded and Short Attention Span might be appropriate if the character is particularly flighty. Odious Personal Habit (Capricious) [-15 points] applies if the character has limited control over their moods.

I agree that you should choose which disadvantages are most important and choose the rest as "Controllable Disadvantage" or "Likes and Dislikes" Quirks. E.g., "Fascinated by mortals," "Capricious," "Never forgets an insult or a favor," "Views human society from a faerie point of view."

This is a very comprehensive list, thank you. I particularly like Clueless, which I hadn't considered previously - it fits the idea of an immortal trickster who doesn't really comprehend the passage of time, and thinks that the TL2 tribes he toyed with a few hundred years ago still function the same at TL4.

Given the sheer number of disadvantages, all appropriate, I'll make a list and consult the player on what they'd most be interested in roleplaying. We'll probably stick to one or two major ones; the rest, as you point out, are best left at quirk-level.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

This is a massive list of powerful advantages, especially the plane-shifting and wish granting bits.

If your preference is a low-powered character, it might be fairer to the player to start play with most of these traits as "potential advantages" which can be accessed as the character develops. Especially for a 5e player, the concept of "leveling up" should be simple to understand.

Amnesia or Partial Amnesia is an expensive disadvantage would could easily explain the character's lack of full access to their powers and would a good way to reduce the point cost of a low-point character.

Some form of Racial Memory could explain access to ancient lore. Blessed, Destiny, or Unusual Background might also justify very limited wish-granting power. Detect might be useful for detecting caches of valuable goods, with the quirk that the character can't benefit from such riches themself.

Everything else depends on how magic works in your game and how much "new system crunch" your player is willing to put up with.

In particular, any system of GURPS Magic will work very differently from AD&D magic, so the player will have to know what they're getting themselves into.

IQ 13+, Magery 2-3, and 15-20 points in spells is a relatively cheap method of creating a character with reasonable "buff"/"debuff" powers. Another possibility might be Modular Abilities and variants on the Affliction advantage.

For 500 points, you could build an incredibly formidable GURPS Magic archmage character capable of casting powerful spells like Enslave, Planeshift Other, or even Wish using the standard GURPS Magic system.

For limited relatively inexpensive "enchant" powers, Imbuement powers might work best.

Jumper (World) is a very expensive advantage which could possibly be reined in using Accessibility (Only from certain places and at certain times of the year) and Limited Uses, Requires Preparation, and Takes Extra Time to bring the cost down to a more reasonable level. This power isn't necessary for an archmage with the prerequisites and power to cast spells like Gate or Planeshift Others.

Illusion effects can be handled using the Create or Mind Control advantages with the Magic power limitation. GURPS Psionics has a list of illusion powers which could easily be adapted to have a magical basis. Standard GURPS Magic also has an extensive list of Illusion and Creation spells.

"Bless," "Curse," or Probability Alteration powers could be magic spells, or variants on Affliction (Attribute Reduction, Bestow Dis/advantage, Negate Advantage, Irritating or Incapacitating Condition). Take a look at GURPS Powers and the Dungeon Fantasy series for inspiration.

For background material, GURPS 3E Faeries has lots of good "fluff" and some templates which could be updated to 4E.

This is what I've been struggling with the most. While the aim wasn't to make a low-powered character per se, I did want to see how few points I could spend (or how heavily I could limit powers) and still end up with an otherworldly entity with a suite of unusual abilities. I've found that Illusion, built correctly and used imaginatively, could stand in for a variety of fey powers, and still be 30-40 points; Snatcher with Recall, Fickle and Unpredictable is a cheap way to represent access to a pot of gold, a dragon's hoard, or a mansion in the faerie realm, complete with a grumpy goblin majordomo that appears to take your order...

However, I'm currently leaning towards using Ritual Path Magic. We've used similar systems in the past, the player had expressed interest in flexible magic, and RPM is the kind of system where I can take a fair amount of cognitive load on myself and just go, "Sure, that could work, it would be a 30 energy ritual."

Plus, it can represent the full scope of fey powers with even a basic point investment. Sure, you can't do crazy high-fantasy stuff without investing a ton, but the starter package is probably the most flexible a GURPS mage can get on a budget. The downside—low-powered RPM magic having to be subtle and hush-hush—actually strikes me as a feature for a mystery/horror campaign.

[RedMattis]

Originally Posted by Seneschal

A mere 84 points to be the fantasy equivalent of Jason Voorhees, shrugging off whatever you pump into them and getting up eventually no matter what's sticking out of them... unless your enemy brings an iron weapon. Then you're at -5 to everything if you get hit, and you treat killing blows from it as if you were a normal human. This is an acceptable dichotomy that comes with playing a "monster character", and the danger it presents is a good motivator to keep your inhuman nature under wraps.

You'd need Supernatural Durability to really shrug things off, or some variety of 'immunity to unconsciousness' (probably [30 points], but not helping if you go down to -5x hp). Well, or higher levels of Regeneration (with Bane) so they get up this evening and not a week from now.

Currently the fairy could be beat down to 0 hit points and then aside from wound-penalties the fairy would need to roll to avoid unconsciousness every turn they do something. Even with high HT and Hard to Subdue they probably won't last for a minute. They could also be killed with non-iron weapons since Unkillable still doesn't help you if your enemies simply dismember you (HP -x10).

Though I don't really see a reason to make the fey be like Jason. I'd probably look at something like DR that works against anything except iron, unless your fey is supposed to get run through and have their throat slit only to drag themselves up (bloodied) from the ground to continue fighting. The latter doesn't seem very fey-like. Well, except Red-Caps and such.

[Pursuivant]

[QUOTE=Seneschal;2387016]
Snatcher with Recall, Fickle and Unpredictable is a cheap way to represent access to a pot of gold, a dragon's hoard, or a mansion in the faerie realm, complete with a grumpy goblin majordomo that appears to take your order...[/quote[

That's a nice choice that I hadn't considered, and fairly cost effective. Also consider the "temporary disadvantage" limitation if the snatched items come with consequences - such as an irritated owner who wants the item back.

In such cases Jumper or Warp with enough limitations to bring the cost down by -80% would suit a character with limited non-combat ability to reach across space/dimensions.

[Donny Brook]

It strikes me that character traits are just one part of the challenge of including such a PC into a campaign. Traits can govern how the setting and it's NPCs behave toward a PC. It is more challenging to have NPC traits govern how the PCs behave toward NPCs. And it seems even more challenging to have traits govern how PCs will behave toward another PC. For example, how will you convey to the other PCs that they are supposed to find the fey PC creepy after a while?

I'm not trying to disagree with the idea; rather curious about how you will approach implementation.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

For example, how will you convey to the other PCs that they are supposed to find the fey PC creepy after a while?

Change your descriptions of the NPC after a while (gradually or suddenly as the NPC may call for). In this case, you can also let them know it's not how they used to see him. Any decent player will pick up on the cues and respond. (After all, that's how they knew to respond to him as charming in the first place.)

Cases of enchantment or mind control are harder. The PC might have loathed an NPC, but after being enchanted, they think they're BFFs. The player, of course, doesn't have an abrupt rewriting of their memory, so they're not suddenly going to have a new view of the world. Again, a good player will catch on, but you can also just drop them a private note: "you've been enchanted. The Dark Lord is your new best friend. Please play along." The people I've gamed with are more than happy to play a twist or stooge a bit when needed.