Legerdemain
Skill, Performing
Side-show 'magician' tricks: sleight of hand (card tricks, shell games, palming small objects) and ventriloquism.
Also called Sleight of Hand, Ventriloquism
From the book
Legerdemain is the stock in trade of the side-show conjurer, covering the small feats of stage magic rather than real spells. Its first part is sleight of hand: card tricks, the shell game where a mark tries to find the hidden pea to win a silver piece, and palming small objects out of sight. This succeeds 90% of the time, plus 1% per level, to a maximum of 99%. Mountebanks often make their living this way, but cheating at a game of chance is risky: every time the cheat wins there is a cumulative 2% chance of arousing suspicion, rolled separately for each person in the game.
The second part is ventriloquism, which lets the character throw their voice up to 5 ft per level of ability. The skill costs 1,000 XP, with 1-3 months of tutoring for anyone other than a Harlequin.
At a glance
- Skill group
- Performing
- Cost
- 1,000 XP (non-Harlequins need 1-3 months of tutoring)
- How it works
- 90% +1% per level (max 99%); cheating at games carries a cumulative 2% chance per win of arousing each player's suspicion
- Ventriloquism
- Throw one's voice up to 5 ft per level of ability (no separate % given)
- Includes
- Sleight of Hand and Ventriloquism