Hey all. Just looking for options on this little game-snag. I've come up with one so far, but I'd rather there be several. So, have at it!

The game setting: Urban Fantasy - teenagers. Magic is a secret, but many of the NPC's are wise to it. The PC that this little hook involves (Beth) is a blood mage with a heart of gold.

The NPC (Julian) is also a blood mage. He was being held captive by his mentor, and abused -very- badly. Eventually the PC's rescued Julian and (as a complete shocker to me) used the city mages' 'legal system' to get the mentor put in a place he could never harm anyone again. Julian has been staying at one of the major magi's homes since.

However, said major mage (Toys) has vanished. Julian doesn't want to be left alone. Beth has offered for Julian to stay with her family, which is a -little- tricky, as everyone knows Julian has very little self-control, and a burning crush on Beth.

The problem: Oddly, it's not the crush. They've worked that part of it out. The problem is what to tell the not-in-the-know mortals at Beth's school about this. Her best friend is the school gossip and will want to know why this guy suddenly started living at her family's home. Also, who he is / where he's from / the like. He was imprisoned by his mentor for at least five years, and his own mother doesn't know he's still alive (he's trying to figure out how to explain all this to her. She's unaware of magic, and was told her son was dead five years ago.).
Right now the PC's are considering saying that Julian is just a long-lost relative who was foster-raised, and just got out of a bad foster situation. But other stories might be useful.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

Exchange student. Charity work.

The best however is the truth, minus the magic part. He was held captive and abused by a criminal for five years, and since Beth is one of the few people he knows, he staying with her. Could embellish with how a shrink suggested it.

Is it going to damage Beth in any way that she cares about to let the other students think that they're together? If not, then Beth and Julian can both refuse to comment and let people draw their own conclusions.

(Also, how much does Beth's family know? That may factor into what options they have.)

family friend. lived with his "father" who recently died tragically. now lives with beth until the mother can be found/contacted.

It will in a way - Beth is trying to live a 'normal life', and (in some of the better RP I've seen) actually cares what sort-of image she has in school in a more-than-superficial way.

Beth's parents (and her cat) are aware of magic (Beth 'came out' to them recently). They actually want to know more because, well, they're concerned parents.

Could be a cousin, or foster sibling as well.  Friend of the family whose parents are traveling overseas for work or something like that.

I suppose the main thing is whether the players want something that could be comedic (wacky foreign exchange student!), or something as mundane as possible to keep Julian's profile as low as possible.

I rather like Darklight Hitomi's take on it:  tell the truth as far as it goes.  This has a number of advantages:

Firstly, there's less to remember.  Lies are twisty, slippery things that have a way of slithering out of control, which can cause a situation to unravel spectacularly.  In fact, in a magickal setting, lies can take on a life of their own.

Secondly, there's less angst if concealing the essential truth by divulging innocuous truths is useful.  Yeah, there's a slippery slope there, too, but it's a durian sight less slippery than spewing a bunch of lies would be.

A lot of the most insidious deceptions in history are those which relied on turns of phrase to tell the truth in such a way that the listener inferred incorrect conclusions from what is said.

A lie is a falsehood told with the intent to deceive.  What your characters must do is tell elements of the truth with the intent to lead the listener to deceive themselves.  This approach will usually appeal to the listener's emotions and will be couched with some knowledge of his or her personality profile and mindset.

EDIT:  I might add that the class gossip is likely to be a person who will chase any wild rumor.  Using the truth deceptively will get this person to have more buy-in for the ideas planted, because she(?) will have done the planting herself(?).  Do either of your characters possess any mind-altering magick or abilities with hypnosis? (Always good to have a backup plan, it is...)
This message was last edited by the user at 01:06, Sun 25 June 2017.

In a high school/'normals' setting "held captive and abused" is going to attract more interest than they want. I like the "distant cousin, bad foster" as most likely to provoke little curiosity.

or if they're young teens, just a straight up foster child. not old enough to be on their own yet, so gets shuffled between homes hoping for a good fit. currently has found a home with beth's family. could help explain his disappearance should he ever return to live with his mom (unless his mom is in the same area).