Grandma Mara

Grandma Mara is a True Fae who spends her time fortunetelling.

Biography[]

Overview[]

Most Lost who encounter Grandma Mara assume she is a Wizened or some sort of hob. In truth, she is a True Fae who uses her fortune-telling (or more specifically, the trinkets she gives clients following the telling) to direct the thoughts of her clients. The Other believes that the mortal world is created by the collective thoughts and desires of humanity and that, by influencing them, she can move closer to her true goal: the complete absorption of the mortal world into Arcadia.

Appearance[]

To mortals, she appears to be an old woman of Eastern European descent. Her hair is completely white and she wears it pulled back and covered with a scarf. She dresses like a stereotypical gypsy, with long, colorfully embroidered skirts and a flowing blouse. Her face is heavily lined with age, particularly around her eyes, which are very dark brown. Under the Mask, she appears to be even older and more cronelike. Her nose is hooked and her teeth are pointed. Her hair is still white, but it is much sparser and wiry. She also has a hairy wart on her chin, but her eyes remain the same.

Character Sheet[]

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 4, Resolve 5
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 6, Composure 4
Mental Skills: Craft (Tokens) 3, Investigation 3, Medicine 2, Occult 2, Politics 4
Physical Skills: Brawl 2, Larceny 4, Stealth (Moving in the Hedge) 4, Survival 2, Weaponry (Blades) 2
Social Skills: Empathy 1, Persuasion 4, Socialize 2, Subterfuge (Lying) 4
Merits: Harvest (Emotions) 3, Harvest (Pledges) 4, Hollow (Amenities 3, Size 1, Wards 4) 8
Willpower: 9
Virtue: Prudence
Vice: Greed
Initiative: 7
Defense: 3
Speed: 10
Health: 8
Wyrd: 8
Contracts: Dream ••••, Fleeting Spring ••••, Mirror •••
Glamour/per Turn: 30/8
Frailties: Rigid thinking (major taboo), the mortal world (minor Bane)
Mien Blessings: Flicker, Lyrical Voice, Panomancy (Oracle)

Fae Aspects[]

• Create Temporary Token: Mara is able to create a temporary token to give to her clients so that they carry out her plan. Each token is able to bring about a specific situation when triggered, based on the desires of the individual client. It does this by radically altering the client’s thoughts and beliefs, using Glamour. Unfortunately, the rewiring expands beyond just the character’s limiting beliefs and can leave the character with a new derangement and/or changed Virtue and Vice.

• Ruled by Passion: The True Fae are entities almost embodied by their passions and vices, with higher morality and self-denial little more than a whim to them. For them, passion is virtue, and denial of passion an affectation. Their supernaturally amoral nature is reflected in an inverted ability to regain Willpower. Grandma Mara regains one Willpower point from indulging her Virtue, but refreshes her whole pool when satiating her Vice.

• Immortal Flesh: Grandma Mara does not age, and she is immune to mundane disease or illness. She does not take bashing damage at all, unless the source is iron. An iron weapon inflicts bashing damage as normal; a cold iron bludgeoning implement will inflict lethal damage. A cold iron slashing or piercing implement inflicts aggravated damage.

• Unraveling the Knots: Mara doesn’t actually see mortals as individual people; she sees them as clusters of ideas. By talking with a client and examining her auras and the layout of her dream landscape, Mara can discover what core truths the client holds to be real. She can use that information to give an accurate “psychic” reading and to lay the seeds for changing the person’s beliefs later on.

References[]

• CTL: Night Horrors: Grim Fears, p. 64-67