Roleplaying a Phiarlan Elf
The flashy costumes, fearsome beasts (properly caged, of course), and the ever present festive music and sweet aroma of confections being baked are the stuff of dreams for every child in Khovaire, it means the Shadow Circus has come to town! Beyond this, the greatest of artists in Khovaire are members of your house, or have been expertly trained at one of the demesnes dedicated to the arts. From the highest king to the lowliest begger, all know the beauty that comes from word and music, motion and emotion that can only be truly conveyed by a Phiarlan. And while some whisper of the Phiarlan shadow, such things are hushed as being utter nonsense by most. But not all.
As a Phiarlan Artificer, you are most likely to be a great artist, combining skilled craftsmanship with a touch of magic that turns even the most wondrous of statues into a marvel as it begins to move and speak, entertaining those who pass by as if it were flesh and blood. The finest of musical instruments come from your shops, capable of providing their own ghostly accompaniments to the musician’s own playing. The stage comes alive as it is draped in the illusions of the deepest forests, or the mightiest of castles, and the voices of the actors reach even the furthest of ears, for even the most gentle of whispers thanks to your devices and tricks. To you, nothing is more rewarding then the smile on a child’s face, or the tear in the theater goer’s eye, each placed with equal ease by your skill in both the art of entertainment, and the art of artifice.
Well, almost nothing. Perhaps you are no more than what people see, the garish entertainer, always tinkering with the next great prop that will wow and astound the audiences. Or perhaps you are something more. Do your finely wrought items carry hidden secondary purposes? Does the magically animated marble bust that you just sold to the wealthy patron merely look pretty and bat it’s eyelashes at passers by, or does it remember what it sees, only waiting for your next visit to reveal the secrets it has amassed?
As an adventuring Phiarlan Artificer, you likely accompany a traveling troupe of entertainers, perhaps with the Shadow Circus itself. Your best work is on stage, or might even be the stage itself, while you make minor trinkets to sell as souvineers to the patrons, tiny crystals with the image of a dancer forever going through her steps, or wooden cards with lifelike carvings of fearsome beasts that appear to move and roar as you watch. Or perhaps you are a member of the darker side of the House, the eyes and ears of an information network that spans the continent as well as the centuries. Is your Furtive Filcher homunculi simply for the entertainment of the townsfolk, from whom it snitches small belongings from so that you can “magically” pull them out of your hat, or is it very much an active spy, crouching in the corners of dark rooms, listening in on conversations thought secure? Who knows, as a Phiarlan, it could be both!
