[BNW] Bargainer tricks

[Kirk Monsen <munchwolf@yahoo.com>]

I know most people will probably wait for a Bargainer
source book before trying to mkae tricks for them. 
Here are some ideas though to pass the time until
then.

Thrifty:  Assuming the average totem costs about
$1,000 to make (pretty much up to the guide, I
personally think they should have a cash cost), this
skill allows the caster to substitute more expesive
reagents with cheaper ones (with no decrease in the
totems power).  Have the player make an occult roll
when making a totem at TN 10.  For each extra success,
reduce the cost of making the totem by 10%.

Well versed:  You know all the shortcuts when casting
spells.  When making a totem, or attuning one to you,
make an occult roll.  For each extra success reduce
the time it takes to make the totem by 10%.

So now for some totems (althought they arn't really
totems).  At your discretion these might even be
considered tricks, but I'll leave that up to you:

Golums and Familiars:
Everyone knows all good witches need a familiar.  Well
bargainers don't summon familiars, they make them. 
Familiars (for the unfamiliar :) are personal pets
that are linked directly with the bargainer.  These
creatures give power to there masters, plus look
really cool to have around.  Golums are mindless
servants created to do simple tasks.  So how does
someone make a familiar or golum?  First you need some
primal clay:

Primal Clay:  Adam's first wife, Lilith, was made from
the dust of the earth.  In a similar fashion
bargainers make a form of primordial ooze and give
life to it, creating creatures to do their bidding. 
To make some primal clay requires a spirit roll
(difficulty 30) and a weeks worth of time (just like
any other totem so far).  On a success this creates 1
glob of primal clay.  For each extra success the
bargainer creates an extra glob of clay (so 3 extra
successes yields 4 globs total).  All the globs
together only count as 1 totem as far as their limit
is concerned.  Note a glob will last about 1 month
before it degrades into usless mush.  So theoretically
the bargainer could spend every week of a month making
clay just to merge them all together into one big
ball.  So what good is primal clay.  Basically each
glob invested in making a familiar or golum increases
the final size of the creature by 1.  So 5 globs will
make a human sized creature (note that's 5 total
successes on a TN 30, or about a roll of 50 on a
spirit roll, not easy to do which is why someone might
spend several weeks collecting clay).

Golum:  As stated each glob adds 1 size to the
creature.  Golums are simple lifeforms (note primal
clay is only a name, golums are flesh and icher
creatures).  To make a golum requires 1 day per glob
(so a human sized golum would take 5 days) plus
another  spirit roll (TN 30).  Extra successes could
be used to enchant the creature with special abilities
(like 1 and only 1 delta power).  This will make a
simple servant of whatever form the golum was
fashioned in.  The creature will follow basic verbal
commands and will always be loyal to the bargainer. 
The creature is considered a totem and counts against
the bargainers total limit.  If the bargainer chooses
to 'get rid of' the creature (no longer support it
with it's totem limit) the creature will melt into an
icky blob of goo.  The bargainer can give the creature
to another bargainer and he can follow the rules for
attuning it to himself to switch ownership.  The down
side of the creature is it has no natural healing
abilities.  If it takes damage it can only be healed
if the bargainer has some spare primal clay and spends
an hour (target number 10, each additional success
heals another wound, taking another hour). The
bargainer can have as many golums as he has totem
slots available.

Familiars:  These work similar to golums except they
do have natural healing abilities (like anyone else),
as well as being healed by primal goo.  They cannot be
passed onto another bargainer, and the owner can never
choose to get rid of one.  Once you make a familiar
it's yours until you die.  These are intelligent
creatures who are psychically linked to the bargainer
(in truth they are lesser demons/imps locked into a
physical form).  With simple concentration the
bargainer can see/hear/smell anything the familiar
can.  The familiar automatically sees/hears/smells
anything the bargainer does.  Finally if a familiar is
around the bargainer gets +5 on skill rolls for making
totems.


Any suggestions?

-Munch Wolf

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