Tricksters
We’re wrapping up Trickster Week today with a selection of mythical trickster spirits. The following Top Ten countdown looks at what kinds of trickerster spirits might arise in fantasy cultures, where dragons and unicorns are real creatures. Check it out!
1. The Devil Comes as a Child. A malicious spirit known to some plains-dwelling humans, the devil that comes as a child is used to teach tales of never underestimating your opponent and not making foolhardy deals. The child always appears the same way: as a young, blonde human with a round face and blue eyes, who appears at fairs and festivals making absurd wagers with townspeople. The child often asks for seemingly small stakes that turn out to be critical in preserving the life of the individual later. Though the child seems to have no powers of its own, it never loses a wager, and its wagers always prove fatal.
2. The Human Alone. A tricky spirit known to the elven peoples, the human alone appears as a nondescript male human in his middle years, who comes to elven villages alone seeking shelter. The human alone largely serves as a cautionary tale about keeping secrets from your neighbors. He visits communities and spends time with the residences to learn about them and their town. When he visits, he always convinces the elven folk to drink with him to great excess until their tongues loosen, and he later spreads their secrets through the community, causing the residents to turn on each other. As the chaos reaches its height, the human departs, never to be seen again.
3. The Old Owlbear. A powerful spirit thought to dwell in the woods of a remote village, at first appearance the old owlbear seems to be injured and looks upon travelers for mercy. To those that stop to aid him, he rewards them with a gem. As for the rest, the old owlbear uses his magic to make them appear as owlbears themselves, so that when they arrive in the village, the villagers will seek to kill them and force them to flee into the woods.
4. The Hound. A fairly straightforward spirit, the hound is a shapeshifter which appears to goblins in the shape of a great hound and leads them to ruin. The hound builds the goblin’s confidence and offers to serve as his mount, so that his fellows might serve him. The hound then encourages the goblin to strike out against his people and claim rulership. He helps the goblin to rally his fellows, but abandons him in the critical moment, allowing fate to take its course.
5. The Green Maiden. A spirit of the sea, the green maiden appears as a gorgeous mermaid in the middle of open oceans. She sings to attract the attentions of sailors and lure them to her, offering to guide them to great treasures if they will give her something of theirs. Regardless of what the sailors give to the green maiden, however, she never leads them to treasure, instead bringing them to islands featuring great perils, as well as horrible monsters, to which she is beholden.
6. The White Crow. Appearing as a particularly tall, ghost-white tengu, the white crow is an odd spirit that who desires only chaos, but lacks the power to affect the physical world. However, the white crow can perfectly mimic the voice of any human being, and he uses this power to shout heckling remarks in crowds and stir up riots by instigating ideas no one remembers ever having.
7. The Wish Granter. This spirit appears as a noble djinni dressed in a golden robes and a silken turban, and is encountered in places where people experience strong desires, but with little hope of achieving them. The wish granter appears and demonstrates great power, then offers to grant the wishes of the three people who can prove their worth to him. Typically, the people destroy themselves as they all look to have their selfish desires fulfilled, and as the town collapses in on itself, the wish granter pretends disgust and leaves. The wish granter has vowed to grant the wishes of any town whose residents do not turn on each other and compete with each other, but he has yet to deal with this outcome.
8. The Roc. The roc prefers to challenge its victims to impossible tasks that seem easy on the surface, and then enjoy watching the mortal undertake the challenge. Common examples include slaying creatures that are extinct, or performing actions that can only be performed by members of another race or class. The roc is known to grant exceptional favors to those who somehow satisfy its extraordinary tasks.
9. The Serpent of Deceptions. Allegedly a lillend with a cruel streak, the serpent of deception appears as a beautiful winged serpent woman. The serpent of deception is a fairly unkind spirit, known to tell lies in order to convince people to do things that will have dire consequences. For many, the serpent of deception lacks subtlety and seems petty and cruel, doing things like poisoning food and then convincing mortals to eat it, or starting blatantly false rumors to ruin a person’s life before the truth can be sorted out. No one knows why the serpent of deception does these things, but she is relentless in these petty antics.
10. The Cockatrice and the Basilisk. These two trickster sprits from the same mythos constantly compete with each other at the expense of their mortal victims. Typically, one of the pair will play various practical jokes against a single mortal target, and then the other will step in with an offer to save the target from the first, but always at great expense. The two can never agree on anything except a dislike for another spirit from their pantheon, the weasel, who seems immune to their tricks.