Trickster

The trickster kitsunes are named for their ability to deceive. It's not the same as the others. A trickster can create powerful illusions, make a person believe they are in free fall when they're on firm ground, create the voice of a lover, or even subtly alter reality. These abilities are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they aren't great for fighting. They lack heavy-hitting abilities like power over fire. They cannot become invisible like the fighters. Except they can create illusions. In a battle, they can turn friends on each other, create distractions, and sneak into their enemy's most secure locations. They make for excellent spies, sabateurs, and pranksters.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The tricksters are differentiated from their fellow kitsunes by a pair of abilities, one a deception and the other a truth. These abilities working in conjunction allow these kitsunes to weave a path of chaos and confusion like no other. Once tricked, someone might ignore an illusion, only to discover it has become reality. Power over experience and the real world allows them to defy any rule: you cannot distinguish reality from imagination around them.
They are able to create illusions that extend beyond mere sight. Their illusions can effect every sense, creating an absolutely perfect experience for their victim. This ability can create anything, from an illusory wall to the real experience of being lit on fire. While no physical damage is done, the pain is there. The memory is there. It has been proposed that these kitsunes could scare a person to death with the appropriate illusion. Even without burning to death, someone will still experience the physiological reaction, the rush of their heart, the adrenaline, and all that it entails.
As with all things, the scale of these illusions will depend upon the age and experience of the kitsune. A younger kitsune may only be able to conjure a simple costume or an illusory wall for a few people. Even that, it may take great effort. These novice illusions are often incomplete and can often be seen through once enough missing details are noticed. Elder kitsunes however, can weave hallucinations that effect entire crowds with utter perfection. There is however, a trade off. The illusions exist only so long as the kitsune concentrates on them, they will fade shortly thereafter. More than that, the level of detail relies on age and experience. Elders can create more elaborate works with ease, but they are not fool proof when they don't try.
Their greater power may come from the ability to alter reality. It is a far more difficult skill that requires older kitsunes to perform with any level of consistency. This ability is based on their illusions and therefore has two essential components: creation and manipulation. A created aspect of reality may be to synthesize an explosive or water filling a room. A manipulation may be causing a surface to become impossibly hot. A wall could be made to be hot as the sun, yet not burn. These require discipline and focus to pull off. A kitsune must have perfect understanding of the object they wish to create. If they do not have this, then the object will at best be malformed but safe, and at worst, the mere creation may be dangerous (for example, an explosive could detonate mid-creation). Simpler conjurings are often able to survive indefinitely, imbued with a tiny spark of existence. More elaborate conjurings however will break down. As great as the kitsunes are, this takes an immense amount of energy, and longer-lasting things take more energy, more substance.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Kitsune

Origin/Ancestry

Asian