Apologies, anon. I was in the middle of typing this out when I accidentally posted it, so I panic-deleted it. Regardless...
Slyphs are an active Champion class. They’re meant to lead by example, strong idealists. Paragons, crusaders, paladins, whatever. The actual way you do this can vary. Maybe you kill stuff, maybe you heal, maybe you’re just a hardass diplomat. In any case, be true to yourself, and remember that Slyphs are active to the Bane’s passive, so play “offensive” rather than “defensive”.
Sand is simultaneously the best Aspect and the worst Aspect. Fun for the players, awful for the team. Their domain includes evasion of rules, deceit, fragmentation, and weakness. When faced with a wall, Might would strengthen themselves up so they could blow it up with one punch, while Sand would make the wall fold like wet tissue, even when baby-tapping.
So congratulations! As a Slyph of Sand, you managed to draw the vaguest Class and the most unruly Aspect! It sounds intimidating, but finding out what you need to do to keep your RP value up is simple addition. Actively back a cause or an ideal with deceit and weakness.
First, that vagueness is a strength, not a weakness (ironic, I know). You don’t actually have to attach a flag to your lancekind or swear loyalty to some entity (sidenote, mega don’t do that for the Prospition or Dersite Queen). Maybe one day you’re helping a benevolent yet poorly-spoken Prospitian into office over the other guy who’s going to pull strings to make winning the game harder, the next day you’re fighting a horde of Imps marching on some Consort village, and after that you’re dungeon-diving with a buddy with the stated goal of “get ALL THE LOOT, ALL OF IT”. Whatever you do, keep in my why you’re doing it, and make sure that you actually want to do it.
Now that we know what to do, let’s discuss how you do it. Sand. Bending the rules. Breaking them. Lying. Trickery. Matching their strength with your weakness. Dragging down others to your level. Despite me likening Slyphs to paladins, you’re going to have to break the law. A lot. Never tell anybody the truth, even if they can see you’re lying. If you’re eating hamburger, tell them it’s ice cream. If you’re anticipating a fight, set traps, reposition stuff in your favor, destroy anything that gives the enemy an advantage, and always ambush. if you’re playing politics on Prospit or Derse, then be the dirtiest politician imaginable (read: any politician ever). And if you’re ever in a position where you have to meet someone face-to-face, eye-to-eye, pull the rug out from under them. Throw dirt in their eye! Literally, if you can manifest actual sand. Pull dirty tricks! Never anticipate to overpower them, only wear them out! If you’ve got 5 Mangrit and they’ve got 500, think of how you can turn theirs into a 3.
While that entire paragraph more or less encourages you to be the best little goblin you know you were born to be, remember three things. One, you’re still a Sylph, and it might be best to follow the “lead by example” tenet. Don’t just be a bastard, be a Magnificent Bastard. Two, while you’re encouraged to be something of a heel, you’re still trying to win the game with your Coplayers. Lie to them about what you’re doing and what you’re going to do, but don’t take too much joy out of it. Further, don’t sabotage your own guys, or play the “Chaotic Neutral Tiefling Bard”. If your ideas of “breaking the rules” is something dangerous like “steal all of my friend’s Grist so I have the best equipment” or something scummy like “cheat on my romantic partner”, you’re doing it wrong. Finally, while deception is not only acceptable, but encouraged concerning everyone, never lie to yourself. Whatever principles a Sylph champions, they’re true to themselves. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, then it doesn’t matter how many moves ahead you are in 3d chess, how many irons in the fire you have, or how according to keikaku everything is going, you’re doomed to failure. You should face adversity with a subversive attitude, an ace up your sleeve, and a strong heart, even if nobody else actually knows your agenda. If you don’t have all three, the only one who’s going to be reduced to fine particles is yourself.
