Sometime near the beginning of your party's campaign, they unwittingly assisted a fox spirit and in turn they sometimes get extremely odd luck, almost as if someone was playing a prank on their enemies at opportune moments.
>Beset upon by highwaymen, outnumbered 3 to 1
>Money or your life!
>Before anybody moves, a familiar looking fox darts out from the treeline, skips across the dirt road and disappears into the treeline again
>Highwaymen move to advance on your group
>Instead, they trip over their own feet tightly tied together with rope
Not enough to be an outright 'you win', but still more than feasible random chance occurrence. The group is suppose to slowly realize something fucky is going on, preferably with the fox as a calling card every time something happens.
What else might a trickster do in order to help his favourite band of adventurers?
Tip them off about an incoming ambush.
Give them not very useful advice on a regular basis
>>44046795
A little bit too one dimensional, but I like it.
>Party is relaxing at tavern
>Thugs start planning an ambush for their most hated nemesis, the Party
>One bloke in the thugs group drops by the tavern to pick up beer for his lads, starts bragging about their upcoming ambush strategy
>Whole tavern is quiet as the party absorbs this information
>Upon giving chase, the thug disappears into an impossible dead end alleyway never to be seen again
>Broken sign of a fox hanging overhead somewhere...
>>44046812
>It's actually extremely useful if you put it all together and puzzle it out
>provided you heed the signs
>Or helping you unfuck that thing you did
>You know what you didDon't you?
>>44046771
Depends if the trickster is *entirely* benevolent, which is always kind of up in the air where they're involved. If this particular trickster is genuinely grateful and chooses to help them out from time to time in ways that amuse him while not being outright *helpful*, then that seems like a convenient out when they get in over their heads.
What if he keeps getting them *into* these situations in the first place, but doing so to slowly stack the odds in their favor? Said highwaymen come after them while they're broke and tired after a long journey because the trickster somehow sent them, but then made it easy for them to defeat the brigands so that they could return all the stolen goods to the nearby town and be lauded as heroes, showered with praise and gifts and given a nice place to stay for a short while.
Maybe he somehow makes them a sort of magnet for bad people with powerful treasures, magic weapons, spell scrolls, etc., which makes their lives very dangerous, but when they beat these people then hey! They got a shiny new magic sword! Wasn't that *so* helpful of me? If you want to make him a *bit* more of an asshole then that's a good route to go down. You could also have him lead the party to certain magical gifts that turn out to be cursed, but aren't readily apparent. That magic bow that never misses is a great gift... until you cut your finger on the string and find out that it feeds on blood and has to be sated regularly. Things like that sound like a trickster, especially one who doesn't quite "get" humans. I gave you all this magical shit, why aren't you grateful? What? Yeah the sword has to bathe in the blood of orphans or consume your soul, and? Where do you think the magic comes from?
>>44047081
Yeah, kinda like how people take a lot for granted but when they are pushed to the end of their rope, they realize all along they had what they really wanted anyway.
>>44047454
Exactly. I think the Trickster being responsible for a bunch of the trouble they run into would be a really fun thing when/if they figure it out and finally confront him. They'll be angry and annoyed and point out how many times they almost died because of him and blah blah blah. Then the thing just smiles and tells them "That may be so, but you didn't. You're powerful and righteous, so I knew none of those petty problems I threw at you could truly harm you, but they *did* prepare you. You learned from all of them and more. Without those highwaymen, you'd have slept on the cold ground that night and been too weak to slay the goblin king the next day. Without the mad wizard you would not bear the magic staff that vanquished the dragon. Without me, you would have failed, but to hand you victory would be hollow. You *earned* all that you have reaped, and you are better for it."
It may sound a bit hokey, but it's a damn trickster-like thing to do. They help, but they do it in a backhanded way, and in a way that can also give them amusement. They get to watch you do your thing, and fuck around with the bad guys in amusing but mostly harmless fashion and when all is said and done, you come out of the ordeal ahead, even if you had to work a bit to do it.
>>44048370
Seems a little too personal and long term for a traditional trickster mindset, rather he just sees opportunities here to give his adventurers a good laugh and some help when they stumble into a kobold cave filled with deadly arrows trap that just 'happen' to malfunction and explode into splinters that send several kobolds running in panic clutching their bums ripe for the slaughter. The party would obviously come to understand someone is giving them a helping hand, but I don't see the trickster bothering to have a conversation with them and putting in effort to make them understand their true strength, etc.
>>44048370
>>44048691
On a related note, what would a champion of a trickster god look like? Laughing monk with high dexterity rolling around the battle make people trip over? Mischievous rogue who sleight of hands exploding glitter into people's pockets?
>>44046771
>What else might a trickster do in order to help his favourite band of adventurers?
We're talking about a Kitsune, right?
Because if we're talking about a Kitsune, the adventurers would find their fortunes lifted in almost everything they do, while their opponents will be cursed with idiocy or disease. The fox spirit will do whatever it can to return the favor to the PCs, but once that's done they usually leave (unless the fox spirit takes a liking to a PC, in which case start the courting process because things get intense.)
It's worth mentioning that, while fox spirits have surprisingly human morality and ethics, they still don't "get" certain things. Specifically, they have no problem with stealing from people that "deserve" it, often corrupt bureaucrats or boastful soldiers, so there's a good chance the Fighter will wake up with a +2 Longsword by his bed, and later discover it was the stolen blade of the local veteran.
Most importantly, never portray the fox spirit's gifts as a curse - they can be an annoyance that gets the party into trouble yes, but treat these as semi-humorous, whimsical problems that can be overcome with a little smooth talking and level heads, because ultimately that's what a fox spirit's trying to encourage.
>>44048849
Sure, it can be kitsune, but mostly it's about brewing up and getting creative with a god or spirit concept, like a personification of luck (or something that influences luck) to help the group in a metaphysical way, rather than just a fox thingy that walks and talks and does things alongside the group.
>>44048915
>but mostly it's about brewing up and getting creative with a god or spirit concept, like a personification of luck (or something that influences luck) to help the group in a metaphysical way, rather than just a fox thingy that walks and talks and does things alongside the group.
Then in that case see the last bit I wrote.
The fox spirit's boon could be something as easy as literally taking the edge off encounters. What might be a fatal encounter with savage trolls becomes a game of wits that ends with the trolls realizing the error of their ways and either leaving the party alone, or leaving the area entirely.
Turn it into a battle of wits, because that's what fox spirits are all about.
>>44048778
>Laughing monk
I couldn't help but pictured a Gnoll Monk in The Lion King's style...
>>44049035
Chaotic neutral monk who specializes in laughing his enemies to death with bad jokes.
>>44048778
>what would a champion of a trickster god look like?
Either a Kitsune or a Coyote.
Going to be ambushed in your sleep one night?
Well that would be if you could get to sleep but there is some horny bastard fox outside your window yipping and shrieking to attract a mate.
Starving to death?
Good thing you found this half eaten chicken, sure there's not a lot of dignity in scavenging but there's none in dying.
Your home base got blown up?
Man thank fuck you were outside fixing the mess someone made of your bins, must have been stray dogs or something looking for food.
>>44048778
A village(tribe, clan, city) fool. Everyone know about him, not everyone loves him or hate him, but he can be useful.
>>44049255
Well, the OP already said it was a fox. And all a kitsune IS is a really old fox, so...
>>44046771
but do you get to TOUCH FLUFFY TAIL
>>44053683
Kitsune range from old fox to grand divine sorcerer who bends reality to prank people. The number of tails is important
>>44056424
"When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold.[14] These kyūbi no kitsune (九尾の狐?, nine-tailed foxes) gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales credit them with infinite wisdom (omniscience).[17]"
>>44048778
>On a related note, what would a champion of a trickster god look like?
>>44048778
Anyone.
Could be an old guy, a local whore, a fat barbarian, local child of a well-off family. Doesn't matter, likely candidates as long as they appeal to the god in spirit.
The moral of the character should be in line with the god's, but if it isn't then the Trickster God's being shady and plotting something.
tldr: Personality over looks. Moral alignment should be the same, but the Trickster God being tricky if not similar.
>>44048778
>>44048778
>implying the trickster god wouldn't be their own champion in disguise
>>44056424
Except even that grand divine sorcerer...is just a fox. With a bunch of tails.
>>44046771
take all their yencoins for heals
