Many people throw the word “trickster” around like candy, never really understanding the full implications of the word. Some think that anyone who uses pranks and witty rapport to accent their magical or combat skills deserves the label of “Trickster,” but the truth is that there’s more to it than that.
What follows are the criteria that your resident adventurer here at We-Are-Trickster uses to separate a true Trickster from your average mischief-maker.
1. The Trickster is an Other
Tricksters, for whatever reason, are always a societal other. They are an outside viewpoint that looks inwards, which gives them a unique perspective and allows them to make more poignant commentary on the society they have been “adopted” into.
2. The Trickster is a Teacher
Trickster pranks are rarely played without reason. All of the best Tricksters teach some sort of lesson; sometimes the lesson is overt, sometimes the lesson is subtle. But very rarely do Tricksters have no motive or act completely randomly. There’s a method in the madness.
3. The Trickster is a Border-Crosser
Tricksters, thanks to their outsider status, have the unique ability to cross borders both mundane and magical. These borders can include things like race and class as well as planar or country-borders. Sometimes they are the only being that can cross these borders, making them unique and powerful go-betweens.
4. The Trickster Reshapes the World
One way or another, in one aspect or another, the Trickster affects some form of change on the world, literally to the point they must be acknowledged as the catalyst or designer for the change.
Hermes re-orders the Gods of Olympus through song.
Loki causes the world to die and then be reborn anew.
Raven steals the sun for humanity.
In some cases, life itself is impossible if it were not for the Trickster. The term is a badge of honor and should be treated as such. Our methods may seem odd, but without us the world is a darker, more dreary place.
What is a Trickster?
Published
Loki is the Philosopher King 