Actor I (sage ability)

Actor I is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Acting, granting the character the ability to perform supporting roles on stage with passable skill. These parts include minor characters as well as those pivotal to a production, such as a best friend, love interest, henchfolk or villain. While such roles do not demand the commanding presence of a lead, they are nonetheless crucial to the narrative, requiring a balance of expression, movement and delivery to maintain the illusion of performance.

The characters played may be ordinary or eccentric, spanning a wide range of personalities and appearances. The performer may take on the guise of humanoid monsters, drunks, fools, mad persons, foreigners, pompous courtiers, arrogant soldiers, slaves, religious figures and countless other colourful or volatile personalities. These roles, though diverse, serve to enrich the stage with layers of intrigue, comedy or menace, drawing the audience deeper into the illusion of the play.

Skill & Deception

As amateurs, characters with this ability lack the confidence and refinement of true professionals, performing their parts adequately but not flawlessly. However, with accumulated knowledge and experience, their skill grows. A 20-point actor is twice as convincing as a 10-point actor, while a 30- or 40-point actor may blur the line between performance and reality, their persona so immersive that witnesses accept it as wholly real, whether on stage or in another setting.

Despite this increasing ability, an actor may only master one truly iconic role per ten points of knowledge. This means that a character may excel at portraying drunks or fools but will require additional study and practice before they can convincingly adopt other personas, such as soldiers, courtiers or humanoid monsters.

Any role that demands a significant departure from the actor's natural appearance requires two hours of preparation, during which makeup, costume and posture must be carefully arranged. Failure in this process may expose the deception, drawing unwanted attention or breaking the illusion. The manner in which such failures manifest should be handled fluidly between the player and DM, ensuring that the ability serves as an avenue for roleplaying rather than granting special powers. The skill of acting is not about transformation through magic, but rather through craft and guile, allowing the character to slip into another identity with the willing complicity of those who observe.

As such, the DM should remain open-minded in facilitating this ability, allowing the player to explore the opportunities and consequences that arise from a convincing — or poorly executed — performance.

See Drama (sage field)