Archives of Nethys
Inspiration comes from many places, including the perverse. Renowned wit can be beloved in many social circles provided it remains centered on appropriate targets, but a daring few poke and prod at the boundaries of society even further. A bored academic surrounded by those who can't keep up with her sets up puzzles and harmless traps in the restaurants she frequents. A charismatic charmer wonders just how much he can get away with before someone calls him out on his absurd lies. A daydreaming student hits upon a ridiculous idea and can't stop herself from wondering, “What if...?”
Bards with these impulses are often driven to new heights by a trickster muse, a roguish agent of chaos who inspires them to pursue ever more outlandish ways to manipulate people and circumstances yet still leave them none the wiser. If your muse is a creature, they might be a legendary, rakish folk hero, a capricious and powerful fey, or an underground performer who uses sleight of hand to astonish audiences and stay ahead of the law. If your muse is a deity, it might be Calistria, Grandmother Spider, or Nyarlathotep. Art inspired by a trickster muse celebrates cleverness, ingenuity, and melodrama and is as likely to take the form of an elaborate scheme or public spectacle as it is to take a more traditional form of composition. If a bard's actions cause a stir in society, that's good, but if the bard slips away leaving their audience none the wiser for their involvement, then that's even better. Of course, cunning is a double-edged sword for many—a trickster who has no one to brag to might as well have done nothing at all, and even the most cunning of manipulators finds it hard not to perform a grand reveal when their plans unfurl.
Tricksters can also be too clever for their own good, especially if they're not quite as skilled as they believe they are. Furthermore, the whims of fate might sometimes snatch a hard-planned victory out of a trickster's hands at the last second. When such things happen, there's little left for the trickster to do but to concede defeat with a smile: No one likes a sore loser, after all. For obvious reasons, the fey are often involved with trickster muses, either as the inspirer or inspired. Even fey who are too dour for jokes and japes are still bound by the First World's complex web of rules and laws, and knowing how to subvert them can give a fey a powerful and desirable advantage.
As a bard with a trickster muse, you excel at using your silver tongue and razor-sharp wit to extract your allies from sticky situations—even those you got them into.
Muse Feat Bamboozling Performance
Muse Spell biting words
Shelyn's Corner
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Classic Feel
Classic Feel
The classic look for the Archives of Nethys.
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Book Feel
Book Feel
Book Feel
An alternative feel, based on the Rulebooks.
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Round Feel
Round Feel
Round Feel
A rounded, modern look for the archives.
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Slim Feel
Slim Feel
Slim Feel
A variant of the Round feel, more compact.
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