hiding and social stigma

[asher marquering]

ok i have this idea bout a character,Denver, who has magic abilities (duh)

but in this world most of those that have the ability to use magic have the appearance of blue pimples and a beast like appearance(in Denver's case bison-like) (is this a bit clique)

ok now because he developed the abilities society has stigmatised him including his own family: his father (a well known states men) disowned him because he developed the abilities

because of this he developed alcoholism

ok now to the question because of his "hideous" appearance he hides it from the surroundings im just looking for ideas of how exactly he would do this my first idea would be a hood of a jacket/cloak

any ideas? o i don't want him to hide his face so no masks or the like

please

thank you

[j. d. worthington]

The problem with a hood is that, if the light enters at the right angles, people will still be able to see that difference. And, depending on how extreme the disfiguration is, it may also cause alterations in ability to speak (slurring of vowels, inability to pronounce plosives like "b", "v", "p", etc.), and this would be noticeable as well. There is also the likelihood that anyone marked with such an alteration, in earlier periods of the species, would be unlikely to be allowed to survive (neither animals nor primitive human societies tend to be any too comfortable with the different, and thus tend to hunt them as either dangerous or for sport; and it's best to remember that your society didn't spring -- in the world you are dealing with fictionally -- full-blown into being, but evolved like a genuine society... hence a lot of what lies in our actual past would also be a part of the growth of such a society). So the alteration had best not be too strong, but rather something more subtle or more easily hidden.

[The Ace]

If he's a magic-user, why not cast an illusion ?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by The Ace

If he's a magic-user, why not cast an illusion ?

Without meaning to speak for Asher, I suppose that would depend on what kind of magic he is able to use....

[asher marquering]

i think that doing that would just be too easy

i don't want magic to be an answer to everything

[asher marquering]

o jdp if the hood is not such a good idea wat do you suggest

[asher marquering]

o i was playing with the magical "disease" and came up with an idea to make the hair, of the person infected with it, flamelike not in appearance but in behavior(always moving, apex at top) i want to do this so that the "beast" look is not so clique


wat you guys think also any more ideas bout methods of concealment pls

[Mammon]

How about something like a cape and something covering the nose and mouth so that only the eyes can be seen. But maybe you still think that the face is too much hiden.
He can also hide in shadow or try to stay on the roofs of buildings or something, so he moves through places where people have a hard time seeing him or recognising him.