Sluagh

*“I know many secrets… the secrets of the living and of the dead… and maybe even some of yours.”*

Dark and mysterious, the sluagh are little understood, and truth be told, they prefer it that way. Many call them the underfolk, and rumors persist of vast catacombs where they perform hideous rituals or sacrifice and carnage, but these are just wild suppositions… at least for the most part. Some do make their homes in abandoned tunnels and sewers beneath the city streets, but most sluagh prefer crumbling Victorian mansions or ancient stone buildings. They are alternately mistrusted and feared, taunted and ignored. The sluagh ignore the taunts and indignations and go about their business of collecting secrets and lost lore. They are by their very nature collectors, gathering things left behind and thrown away — broken toys, curious knickknacks, ancient manuscripts, worm-eaten books, and discarded correspondences are all fodder for the sluagh’s thirst for knowledge. Outsiders are often mystified by the sluagh’s penchant for collecting these apparently useless things, but then again, perversity is the sluagh’s trademark.

Mortals have always feared the dark and the slithery things that live beneath the earth. Perhaps the only thing humans fear more than the dark is the dead. Death and decay are reminders that we all must one day return to the soil. It is from these dreams or, perhaps more accurately, nightmares, that sluagh are born.

While it is true that sluagh prefer the quiet and spending time alone, some of the more adventurous sluagh do spend time in the surface courts, usually loitering around the edges. They have also been known to cultivate friendships with changelings and other beings, and even enter into oathbonds or join motleys. They also go out of their way to aid or protect an outsider who shows them respect or friendship. Still, even sluagh who find a clique they can trust need to have a secret place to which they can retreat.

Their penchant for pursing secrets often takes sluagh to dark and mysterious places. Of the Kithain, they are among the most likely to interact with other supernatural beings, especially vampires and wraiths. They often find acceptance among these others that they cannot find among the Kithain, and much lost lore and many secrets can be learned from them.

## Appearance

Sluagh are slender and pale and move in an unsettling manner, as if they have cartilage rather than bone. They lack teeth, their lips are black, and they have small, tired-looking eyes. They rarely look anyone in the eye, instead usually staring off at something that no one else can see. The scent of the grave lingers about them like a heavy perfume. They favor antique clothing, usually black and always ornate.

## Lifestyles

Hermits and recluses by nature, sluagh do not fit in well with mortal society. They struggle to find a means to survive. The most civilized of their kind find employment in book stores, occult shops, and as antique dealers. The rest eke out an existence in sewers and abandoned buildings. They are shy, yet territorial, adhering to extensive codes and rules of etiquette that are unfathomable to other Kithain.

## Seemings

### Childlings

These sluagh are in awe of the sunlit world, yet they fear it as well. They are intensely curious about those who live in the light and can be found lurking in the shadows, watching and listening. They only rarely leave the darkness, and when they do they usually find one changeling to whom they cling. They enjoy gathering in small groups, whispering for hours, and sharing secrets and stories.

### Wilders

Wilder sluagh are always digging, scratching, and searching for lost and forgotten lore. They haunt libraries and delve into ancient ruins, ever seeking new tidbits of knowledge. Most of a wilder’s time is devoted to the uncovering of hidden wisdom and secrets. Wilders are the most sociable of the sluagh, though this is not saying much, and are the most likely to be found out and in the company of other changelings, but even then it is most often because they are hoping to uncover some dark secret. However, it is not uncommon for wilders to form friendships with other fae and even spend a great deal of time with them.

### Grumps

Holders of many dark secrets, grumps cling onto their knowledge with a death-like grip. Convincing a grump to leave her lair is no easy task. They prefer dark places where they can pore over their libraries of ancient and forgotten manuscripts and examine their collection, constantly arranging and rearranging these treasures.

## Revelry

Sluagh find Revelry in slinking through forbidden tunnels, learning new secrets, and otherwise playing to their reputation as scholars and recluses. A little-known fact about sluagh, though, is that they also regain Glamour for scaring wicked or selfish people “straight” — the dreams that spawned them were cautionary tales of the things in the dark.

## Unleashing

Silvery wisps of chimerical spider webs often accompany cantrips cast by the sluagh. The pungent scent of grave mold or the reek of rotting flesh is also common.

## Birthrights

### Squirm

Confining or restraining a sluagh is almost impossible because they are able to contort their bodies with ease. They cannot change their mass, but can contort into almost any shape. The player must roll Dexterity + Athletics, with the difficulty ranging from 6 to escape from ropes to 9 to worm through the bars of a locked cell. A sluagh cannot use this Birthright when restrained or confined by cold iron.

### Sharpened Senses

Sluagh reduce the difficulty for all Perception rolls by one. They can also see through any illusory magic; this requires the expenditure of a point of Willpower and a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7).

Sluagh are also capable of seeing lurking ghosts. This requires the player to make a successful Perception + Kenning roll (difficulty 7). By spending a point of Glamour, the sluagh can also converse with these spirits.

## Frailty

### Curse of Silence

No matter how hard they try, Sluagh cannot speak above a whisper. Even a scream only comes out as a soft sigh. They are very awkward in social situations and must add two to the difficulty of any Social rolls when interacting with anyone other than other sluagh.