White Wolf's World of Darkness

[The Laurent]

The Laurent's Supernal Shoppe: The Aether and its Angels

The Aether is a land of light and fire, a land of pure magic, and one inhabited by beings as righteous as they are alien. They are beings that do not see things the way humans do: many see the world as black and white, and their standards are not those of normal morality. For the Aether is not heaven, and these beings, while many of them do share deep connections to various religious traditions, do not fully fall into one tradition or another, despite being popularly called Angels.

Of all the entities that can be summoned, Angels are often the most willing to help those in a time of need, and some Angels are 'moral' in a way that is as straightforward and unyielding as the best of people. To summon such beings, most Mages feel the need to purify and sanctify themselves. What this means can vary, often by faith tradition, but the toil and troubles of life are alien to Angels, and this purification can, at times, be very painful indeed. And also quite personal.

The Angels of Forces are the Seraphim, unyielding and powerful, often almost literal forces of nature: they do not see nuance or clarity. They are the kinds of angels that would destroy a city for its sins without asking about whether there are innocents, the kinds of angels for whom a drop of sin is enough to poison the water. They might be a thunderstorm rolling across the sky, a burning bush or a horned being whose very touch brings painful, burning enlightenment. To see a being such as a Seraphim is to be face to face with a seeming cause for worship itself, and The Shifting Sky, a forceful angel that teaches endurance against storms, and grants magic beyond human understanding, is only one such being.

Cherubim, Angels of Prime, are more subtle. They are aware that there are shades of grey, even if many of them still view the world in a straightforward way. They are mystic teachers, the angels that write names into the book of life, the gurus of the world. But they might also manifest as a child, bright and full of life, their joys a lesson, or a craftsman who might create a powerful artifact… but only for the pure of heart. The Cherubim that I will be sharing is Oriphalos, the Cherub of Joining, one of the most powerful and strange beings, whose Trial is its Service, truly, and who might be part of a larger mission, one far beyond any individual Mage.

******

A/N: Alright, here we go.

 

[The Laurent]

Oriphalos, The Cherub of Joining

Spoiler: Character Sheet

Rank 5

Cherub (Angel of Prime, Mind Secondary)
Prime 5, Mind 5, Life 4, Fate 3, Space 2, Forces 2

Intelligence 9, Wits 6, Resolve 8, Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Presence 10, Manipulation 6, Composure 4

Description: Oriphalos is a strange Cherub indeed, one whose very nature is spoken of in a whisper, and of whom there are a thousand rumors and stories, each more improbable than the last. They are the servant of a Supernal God that was part and parcel to the creation of the Omphalos that separates the Anima Mundi from the Temenos, that they are scheming with the Silver Ladders to remake the world, or that they are a rogue Angel, whose very nature is hostile in some secret way…

Enough rumors that even half of them can't be true at the same time, though what is very certain is that they are powerful and wise, knowing human nature as well as many Demons, but with an understanding of magic that surpasses any un-ascended Mage, and their understanding of the Astral is equally great, though tilted towards an understanding of its Supernal significance.

They do not lack a gender, but neither do they identify with a single gender. Their appearance is generally based on the physical desires of the Mage summoning them, and they are not liable to judge, except in cases where this desire conflicts with the sanctity of other minds and souls, and it refuses to come for those who have abused others without their consent in order to fulfill their desires. More often than expected, the being is hermaphroditic or otherwise possessing features that fit into neither extreme, and while at times the being has had wings, at times they have also had multiple sets of arms. For those who are asexual, the appearance usually tends to resemble themselves, or include aspects that the Mage finds aesthetically, though not physically, pleasing.

They rarely speak, instead communicating entirely in telepathy, their telepathic voice sometimes seeming to boom, and sometimes to whisper, and in all cases the voice changes often. They are kind and usually gentle, and willing to discuss all manner of things. Their knowledge of magic is great and they are willing to put this at the fingers of the person who summons them, sometimes even giving out hints of it before the Trial itself, which must be chosen, and can be prepared for. As well they are surprisingly happy to talk about the nature of desire and the function of man, debating philosophy with a skill that likely indicates a surprising awareness.

Beyond the limits that it sets for its summoning, it is unlikely to directly judge, or at least be open in its judgement, understanding all humans as flawed, and if not forgiving them for it, at least not blaming them for it.

Trial/Service: But while all of the above can be a service of sorts, the real Service, the one that so many summon it for, is also the Trial.

A Mage who summons them, and chooses to do so (and it would be a rare Mage who would not know what they were getting into before summoning such a powerful being) must couple with them. For those who are not asexual, this includes a sexual act, but those who desire not others may still bond and join, for the total act itself is sexual, physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional, a joining in which the boundaries between the mind of the Mage and the mind of the Angel are dissolved.

This experience can be incredibly traumatic, like pouring out a cup of water into the ocean, and the sheer power and Supernal knowledge, as well as the pleasure--which the Angel heightens using every inch of magic it has--is often overwhelming. The visions the Mage has, the feelings and thoughts and emotions, are all sacred and magical, and thus they can overwhelm a Mage if their will is not strong enough, or their mind, or their magic, or the strength of their character.

(A Mage with Gnosis of 3 or below finds their use of magic scarred temporarily, effectively losing a dot for a month as their souls strive towards magic they cannot grasp, leaving them confused and weak, while a Mage whose willpower is less than 6 loses a dot of willpower, and one whose Intelligence is less than 4 takes a penalty on all mental skill checks for a month. And as for an unwise Mage? Those with Wisdom below 4, if they even qualify to summon it, find themselves almost driven mad with an obsession towards the Angel, a very unhealthy one.)

Even among those whose mind and soul are strong enough, and this is a small number, it can still be difficult and traumatic (and likely involve some form of extended dice roll with a high number of targeted successes, with failure meaning that they cannot interpret what they see), though the Angel expresses regret at those who are harmed. It cannot reduce itself, cannot 'go easy' no matter what.

The visions it gives are of great significance and wisdom, but are hard to understand, and the overwhelming feeling, which many describe as becoming one with another in the way that many religions try to characterize marriage, can be addictive in its own right.

A Mage who successfully endures the visions gains 2 Arcane XP (for 1e) or three Arcane Beats (if using 2e), though this represents, in many ways, just a fraction of what, for a brief time, the Mage understands. This is all that they can take away from the act, and yet it is valuable indeed, and few are the Obrimos who stumble away afterwards without feeling, if they completed the Trial, that they have truly and deeply touched something divine. Thus any Obrimos who completes the trial automatically regains all Willpower as if they had fulfilled their Virtue.

Different Mages, obviously, see different things, but many have claimed that they understood the visions and sensations to somehow have to do with both the Temenos and the Supernal.

Summoning/Obscurity: It is at once incredibly obscure, and yet among a certain class of powerful Obrimos, it is held in great esteem. Among two Orders is the knowledge most widespread, though this phrase is almost meaningless considering how powerful the Angel is and how powerful the Mage must be to even approach it.

First, many Silver Ladder Obrimos claim to see in its vision a plan for toppling the Exarchs and uniting all humanity in Awakening, involving the Astral and the Supernal at once, and they think that this mastery can be achieved if only they can interpret enough of the clues to come to a solution.

Second, among the Mystagogues, the Angel is often almost-worshipped, because some Hierophant Superiors claim, among their very-exalted peers, that the visions they received from the Angel track perfectly with their own initiation into the highest mystery that a mortal Mage can reach, and yet also seemed beyond that, speaking to higher Mysteries that might yet be uncovered. And Egregore of some traditions appreciate the reminder and the evidence that far from being impure or holy, as the Exarchs would have it be, sex can be part of a joining and a passion that is in fact sacred, significant, and awesome in the ancient sense of the word.

Beyond these two orders, knowledge is spotty.

One can more easily summon Oriphalos through quite a few methods, for such a powerful being can be hard to call. First, any symbols that to the Mage express pure and (in an absolute sense) innocent desire can aid in the summoning, be it mood music, the picture of a loved one, or a particular scent that they associate strongly with physical or emotional desire. Second, if the Mage ritually purifies themselves, bathing and engaging in self-care so that they are as rejuvenated as they can be, this helps. Those who have lovers should check that their bonds with the lovers (whether seen through Space or other methods) are solid and healthy, and those who commit Paradox will find their way doubly-barred. Already more difficult than for those without, it is even harder for such a being.

There are many other methods, and Oriphalos is such a being that might have a short book written about it… and indeed, it has.

Bonus section: Archmage Games--Unlike a mortal Mage, if one is playing an Archmage, it is possible to engage with it as an equal or better, learning fully its intentions from its vision, and talking with it and learning things that it could not dare to explain to Mages.

What is its purpose? That is for the ST to decide. Is it a servant of some Supernal God? Then by coupling with it, one may find more information and track it down, seeking to aid or hinder whatever purpose it has.

Is it a servant of the Oracles, or in some way related to them? If this was so, it'd be significant, for the Oracles are beings as far above Archmages as Archmages are above the average Mage.

Perhaps its goal is the Awakening of all mankind, or the enlightenment of people one at a time, perhaps it has no goal, or (going wild) perhaps it is a dedicated worker in some form of Human Instrumentality Project, designed to Awaken all souls and dissolve all consciousness into one vast, harmonious Temenos, teeming with magical energy and at last enlightened and at peace.

This is, being frank, for the ST to decide. I will not put a limiter on the imagination of anyone willing to use this being.

******

A/N: This is an experiment of sorts.

 

[The Laurent]

The Laurent's Supernal Shoppe--The Shifting Sky, Angel of Force

Spoiler: Character Sheet

Rank 3

Forces 3, Space 3

Description: It comes as fire and rain, and darkening clouds. To summon the Shifting Sky, one must be above ground, wherever you are, and with the sky visible. Only then will it arrive, falling from the sky, invisible to everyone except Mages who can see entities in Twilight--of which, in truth, there are many--before it lands down.

He lacks a humanoid form, instead appearing as a crackle of lightning and the clap of thunders, powerful and brutal, and he--the old tomes describe it in male terms, though there is little in the way of logic behind this choice other than tradition. He is curt, and not all that intelligent, but he is quite powerful, and rather fast, moving as quick as lightning when he needs to, and few call him down for his skill as a conversationalist.

Trial: Only the worthy can wield the power of the Gods. The worthy are those who are powerful, but also those who are willing to seize it. Powerful winds buffet the area, as the weather turns dark and it begins to rain. The storm is not usually fatal--though the Mage is responsible for its consequences--but when combined with careful use of Force and Spaces, it can be very, very hard to reach him.

When one does, one must push one's hands into his body. Doing so electrocutes the Mage, dealing one bashing damage, and probably not being very good for those with weak hearts.

When one pulls their hands out… there. There is the Service.

Service: On one hand is burned a lightning bolt, while their other hand is damp, as if very sweaty, and even drips water of pressed against a surface for long enough. Each of these hands, these marks, holds a single use of a single powerful spell. The left hand, the hand of lightning, allows one to control the weather with a number of free Reach equal to the Mage's Gnosis+Willpower. This works as the Control Weather spell, and has an automatic Potency of 4.

Second, the other hand, which drips water, can drip enough to form a pool of it, given time and the right surface. The Mage may automatically cast Scrying on any subject. Though it follows the rule of sympathetic casting (one must have a sympathetic object), the sympathy is bumped up one degree on the chart. Thus, a person's car keys (weak sympathy) can be used as if they instead have Medium sympathy. Secondly, in any clash of Wills (such as someone trying to Ward the area), the Mage using it uses Shifting Sky's Rank x2 (6) as their Gnosis, unless their Gnosis is higher.

A Mage may use Yantra to cast either spell, but it does not count towards their spell control limit.

Upon using a particular power once, the mark fades, and the signs stop. To gain it again, one must summon him again.

Summoning/Obscurity: Often a very blatant and obvious thing to Summon, he has something of a reputation among Obrimos, for his Service is one whose mark is obvious, and while quite useful, those who are more subtle, such as Guardians of the Veil, find that there is very little they can do with it. However, for those who wish to flaunt their mastery of the Supernal, it is popular, and controlling the weather can certainly be useful.

One must summon him outside, and if it is storming, this is thought to help. Paradoxically, the less prepared an area is for a storm, the better. A house that is, despite regulations, not earthquake proof, not prepared for a tornado… for one who commands the powers of the Gods should not have to fear the weather, or so the logic goes. Finally, those that were struck by non-manmade (including Mages) lightning within the last week find calling him down oddly easier.

******

A/N: So here we go!

 

[The Laurent]

The Laurent: Changeling--Proposed Frailty Modifications

As a sort of attempt to try something new, I'm going to codify some ideas I've had. Ever since a conversation on Changeling's weaknesses, I felt like I might as well at least offer this out there. It's been a while, but it just occured to me that I might have something to really offer. Feel free to use this or not.

First, the common weakness remains the same. Relatively pure iron, not mixed in with anything else, can cut through Fae defenses, and Fae armor, both of which are quite common in battle. Unless your players choose to have it be a weakness, iron is not a frailty, and touching it does no harm to a Changeling, a fact that often leads Changelings to hand-forge iron weapons that are a weakness greater than frailties, dealing aggrevated damage to the Gentry.

Now, what are Frailties? They come, as in canon, in two types, of two severities. Banes are frailties that do damage to the Changeling. The chiming of bells, the touch of a virgin, a goat's blood, being quite literally pained by intentionally forced rhymes… or by the presence of children. For as long as a Changeling is exposed to the bane, they suffer either a point of bashing damage per turn (if a minor frailty) or a point of lethal (if a major). Taboos are actions they cannot do. One Changeling might be unable to cross a line of salt, another has to speak in limerick, a third cannot walk under the light of the moon, and the last cannot enter a home without an invitation. Minor taboos can be resisted for a scene by spending a single willpower, while one has to spend willpower every turn to resist the compulsion.

Minor frailties are inconvenient, but shouldn't be common in everyday life. Needing permission to enter a private home is a minor taboo, while being burned by the touch of children, literally burned, is in fact a major bane.

Major frailties, then, are things that can and do impact someone's entire life. You'll face them and live a life shaped by them, and many of them are very inconvenient, though other times they are the annoying kind of convenient, where an honest man suddenly finds it impossible to lie, or a vegan's mouth burns at the touch of meat.

Now, in traditional Changeling, the first Frailty wasn't until you hit Wyrd 6. This has its virtues, let it be known. Because it's sudden and a definite sign that you've become incredibly powerful, it can often be a kick in the head to PCs, in character at least. Asha Ashblood, a character in Kansas City Shuffle, had her entire life changed by her first major frailty, the details of which she had hidden well.

An accomplished swordswoman, but also a tree, her Major Taboo was the inability to wield metal weapons, forcing her to rely entirely on her famed and infamous (and dangerous) Token wooden-sword, and to bluff and keep away from duels in which she'd be likely forced to 'play fair' by using an ordinary blade, an act that would have quickly drained her willpower to keep up.

Thus, it can create story opportunities, as the malady and limit of the elite: powerful Changelings, steeped in this power, now have to hide or deal with increasing restrictions.

But if one imagines a society where everyone has frailties, and it's merely that the most powerful have more and stronger ones, then it creates a very different atmosphere.

Thus, the following chart, after this brief note on choosing frailties. They should be thematic, they should be interesting, they should be in service of the play, and for the first two, the sub-6 Wyrd ones, both should be references in different ways to their Durance.

Chart:

Wyrd 1: 1 Minor Frailty.
Wyrd 2: 1 Minor Frailty
Wyrd 3: 2 Minor Frailties, the newly chosen frailty has to be the opposite type as the first (if you chose a bane, now choose a taboo.)
Wyrd 4: 2 Minor frailties
Wyrd 5: 2 Minor Frailties
Wyrd 6: 1 Major Frailty, 2 Minor Frailties
Wyrd 7: 1 Major Frailty, 2 Minor Frailties
Wyrd 8: 1 Major Frailty, 3 Minor Frailties
Wyrd 9: 1 Major Frailty, 3 Minor Frailties
Wyrd 10: 2 Minor Frailties, 3 Minor Frailties

Of course, if one wants to make it harsher, they can make it 2 at Wyrd 9, and 3 at Wyrd 10, but I was trying to emulate the actual chart, but have it start earlier, and then smooth it out.

But the important thing about this is: what does it mean? In a world where all Changelings have frailties, hiding and protecting them is important. They're things you only reveal to those you trust, like your Motley, and they're weapons in the hands of both your Keepers, the traitors and enemies you will face… and in your own hands, since that which can be used against you can also be used by you.

This, of course, is all but a mantra among Changelings, whose very powers and nature are distressingly similar to that which changed them.

Contract of Nemesis

In a world where frailties were more fundamental, one powerful and ambitious Changeling made a deal with the very frailties that bound her, that were destroying her life, and that would later lead to her death. By making herself all but a slave to them, she was able to forge a Contract, one she taught to others.

While any type of Changeling can learn it, and equally well, as a Contract it is poorly understood, and thus knowledge of it is often scattershot: well known and taught by almost anyone in one Freehold, but nothing more than a whispered rumor of strange powers in the next, though at the rate it's spreading, no doubt one day it might be a universally known Contract.

This Contract covers Frailties of all sorts, first learning to understand them, then to protect against them, and finally to use them as a weapon, albeit a double-edged one.

(*) Bane-Sense

The first step to being able to use an enemy's banes against them is to know that they have them. With this simple Clause, a Changeling may be able to find out how many Frailties the target (who must be within line of sight) has, and thus, indirectly, how powerful their Wyrd.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wyrd+Investigation
Action: Instant
Catch:The user is in the presence of one of their own frailties

Roll Results--
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling's look into other frailties has consequences. For the next scene, the effects of frailties are doubled (two bashing damage instead of one for a minor bane, two willpower a turn instead of one for a Major Taboo.)
Failure: Nothing happens, the Changeling cannot get a grasp on the slippery nature of frailties.
Success: The Changeling knows how many Frailties (and whether they are major or minor) the target has.
Exceptional Success: As before, but the Changeling knows whether these frailties are taboos or banes.

Modifiers: +1, the target is currently touching or under effect of a frailty, -1, the target has not been harmed by their frailty, or effected, in at least one week.

(**) Sinner's Contagion

Learned and discovered via careful understanding of the possibilities of turning the failure-states of the previous clause outwards, a Changeling can make a person's Frailty worse, though they must physically touch them in order to use it.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Intelligence+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling is currently under the effect of their own frailty.

Roll Results--
Dramatic Failure: Their own power is turned on themselves, and they lose one willpower, disheartened at the failure.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: All frailties the target has are doubled for the next Wyrdx3 hours. Thus a single bashing damage a turn becomes two, a single willpower a scene also becomes two.
Exceptional Success: This weakness instead lasts for a number of days equal to the Wyrd of the Changeling who used it.

Modifiers: +1 (The Clarity of the Changeling using it is below 4), -1 (The Clarity of the Changeling using it is above 7.)

(***) Sinner's Gloves

Frailties are difficult to live with. But through careful study of their nature, a Changeling can figure out how to mitigate the costs, at least a little.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Resolve+Wyrd
Action: Reflexive
Catch: The Changeling is wearing literal gloves

Roll Results--
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling loses one willpower and takes one bashing damage as his own protect backlashes against him.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: For the next scene, the Changeling may spend Glamour one-to-one, subject to all glamour-per-turn limits that their Wyrd allows, to cancel a frailty. They may spend one glamour to make it so that a minor taboo is inactive, just as they could have spent one willpower. They can cancel out the bashing damage on a one-to-one basis. For a Major Bane, it instead requires three glamour spent for every lethal damage that would have been dealt.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the Changeling regains one willpower, as they feel accomplished, as masters of their weaknesses.

Modifiers: +1 (Occult is higher than 3), +1 (The Changeling has avoided any contact with frailties for the last 24 hours), -1 (The Changeling lacks entirely in Occult Skills.)

(****) Exchanging Maladies

Changelings often hate their frailties, and many wish they could discard them, or think that someone else had it lucky. With this clause of the Contract, a Changeling can touch someone and exchange one of their frailties for that of another. Neither Changeling can be in contact or under the power of their frailty when it works, and yet both as a means of willing exchange, and as a trap meant to doom an enemy, it is feared by many.

Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Occult+Wyrd, if resisted, contested with Wyrd+Composure
Action: Contested/Instant
Catch: The target has complained about the nature of their frailty in the past day, while the user listens in, unknown to them.

Roll Results--
Dramatic Failure: Instead of switching a single frailty for another, the user gains the frailty that the target has, without
Failure: Nothing happens at all! Failure states are pretty boring, I admit!
Success: The Changeling pickes one of their frailties, and exchanges it with a frailty of the same strength that another person possesses. Major for Major, Minor for Minor. The Changeling does not know what the nature of this new frailty is, nor does the target automatically know what frailty they were given.
Exceptional Success: The Changeling automatically knows the nature and details of the frailty he gains.

Modifiers: N/A

(*****) Frailty Plague

All can suffer as the Changeling suffers. Anyone who the Changeling can see--and thus whom their eyes can infest, in a very old-fashioned view of how such things come to pass between people--can be stricken down with the same frailties that hurt the Changeling. A taste of the Changeling's own dangerous medicine. This works on all types of beings, including those with major templates.

Cost: 4 Glamour (7 for Major Frailties)
Dice Pool: Occult+Wyrd, contested by Wyrd+Resolve (or relevant power-stat)
Action:Contested
Catch: The Changeling chooses to make the gained frailty one of their own.

Roll Results--
Dramatic Failure:Gain a Major Frailty for the next week.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: A number of targets within line of sight equal to ½ Wyrd (minimum of 1, may target less than the number you can target) gain one Frailty that the clause, which is actually two closely related clauses that are learned together, allows. The target possesses this frailty for twenty-four hours. With a minor frailty, they do not know what it is until they find out the hard way, but the impact and power of a Major Frailty is so great that they instinctually know its nature.
Exceptional Success: The Changeling may pick two of their frailties, and 'infect' a number of people equal to their Wyrd.

Modifiers: +1 (The Wyrd of the user is above 8), +1 (The target/s is someone who has broken an oath with the Changeling), -1 (If cast in a hospital or church, places of healing, symbolically.)

*******

A/N: And yes, that's a juicy capstone. It might be too juicy, and I'll have to nerf it, but I thought it very thematic.

The Contract as a whole might not be balanced, it was made in a rush, and would need to be refined. It also only makes sense as a common (or semi-common) set of Contracts in this particular everyone-has-Frailties world. If one is using the original rules, then this would be the personal and custom Contract of a high-Wyrd Changeling who uses it to fuck over other High-Wyrd Changelings, and it'd never spread beyond them by the various ways I imagine Contracts might spread.

 

[The Laurent]

The Many Directions--The Court of the South (The Vermillion Court, the Court of Ink and Song)+2 New Contracts

"My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!"--Edna St. Vincent Millay

Description: What is ecstasy? It is frenzy, it is transcendance, it is freedom and overindulgance. It's too much of a good thing, except that beyond that valley, rests peaks yet unexplored by those who are willing to stop. A Vermillion Courtier doesn't know limits, or views them merely as something to surpass. Something to move beyond. Changelings, their powers and emotions, they are things of aesthetic, not ascetic, worth. It is thus that the True Fae are held off. Artists of a thousand types, from the literal to the figurative: for a man might move through religious circles, seeking ever greater openness, or might cut down enemies as an artist of the blade, the South Court is at once fragile and dangerous.

They are not, as some more western-minded people might think, mere hedonists or vice-ridden fools. For both virtue and vice can be pursued into the thickets of absolute passion. Instead, they are philosopher-artists, whose whole life is the performance of their beliefs and their art. They might burn out, and there is madness and even the threat of Clarity loss in some of their acts, but there are benefits to the right sort of madness. Benefits to pushing further and further beyond.

Courtiers of the South: The stereotype, of course, is the criminal, and the orgyiest, but that is far from the truth, or rather it is merely one piece of a larger picture. The rebel who fights against the government, and dies to a firing squad laughing and struggling to the last, the religious person who struggles with their God not in some distant way, who doesn't talk to their God about tea and manners, but screams and shouts their passion and their fury, the buttoned up man who has a punk rock band that he goes to the moment his 9-5 job is finally, finally done. These are that, but so is the serial killer, who seeks greater and greater passion in the worst way, and so is the criminal who desires to steal more, and then more still, and then, for a finale, how about even more?

Courtiers push each other, helping and hindering their own search for higher and higher plateaus. They are not content at merely 'good enough' and they often aren't content with merely one transgression when they could enact a thousand. These transgressions can be dangerous, or they can be revolutionary: they break down what needs to be broken down, though often a Vermillion Courtier is far better at destroying a taboo or unjust situation or… anything at all then they are at rebuilding something better in its place.

Sometimes the revolution eats its own children: and that too is a part of the world. To burn bright is to burn out, and to burn out is to acknowledge and understand that one's life might well be short, but it will not be brief.

Mantle of the South: At a low Mantle, the courtier gives off or radiates heat: sometimes this is merely physical, sometimes this is metaphorical, rousing anger or desire or any number of other emotions in those around them. As the Mantle increases, other signs appear. They leave behind bird-like footprints, or excite passions by their very nature. They look hungover even when they're sober, and red-eyed and tipsy even in the middle of a board meeting. There can be something beautiful about the ravaged, and yet enthusiastic look of a high-Mantle South Courtier.

At one dot, the courtier gains an Empathy specialty.
At two dots, they may take the Virtuous or Vice-Ridden (pick one) merit for only a single dot of cost.
At three dots, they get a 50% discount on Expression and Empathy skill dots bought.
At four dots, the courtier is hard to read in an odd way. If a character fails an empathy roll to figure out the courtier's emotions, that character gets an impression of happiness and fun-time spirit, whether it's there or not.
At five dots, they may take the Inspiring Merit, or the four dot (or second level) Striking Looks merit with a look related in some way to their Virtues and Vices both.

Crown of the South: I'm not sure of the specifics, but I do like the idea of getting rid of impediments to pursuing one's Virtues and Vices, perhaps once a session? As in, even if they're blind, they don't have any trouble chasing the person who has caught their Wrath, while they don't let a broken leg stop them from climbing up a tree to save a cat, etc, etc. More feedback would be nice.

Emotion of the South: I think that quoting the book is alright? It's just the fluff, and I actually specifically used the book as a jumping-off point for my slightly homebrewed and refluffed version of this. And yes, it's a bit different than the book. Anyways, since it's only a few lines, I hope this isn't over the line to quote it? I've tried to avoid it otherwise, though, and if it's not okay, I can take down the quoted section and write it in my own words:

"Unlike the Spring Court, the Vermilion Court isn't about desire — at least, not exclusively. Desire is just one emotion among many, and the goal is to experience all emotions as profoundly as one can manage. This, to them, creates a kind of ecstasy, a nearly indescribable Zen-like satori.

Every Vermilion courtier finds this ecstasy in different ways. One might be caught smoking opium on a rusty junk boat, while another may endeavor to sit still for weeks amid a grove of cherry trees (and in the process honing in on a single emotion to experience utterly). Another might fall in love every ten seconds, while one of his motley might engage in such supreme outbursts of gleeful violence that it must be seen to be believed. In grasping at emotions, the Court claims one will feel ecstasy, and through this ecstasy, enlightenment."--Changeling the Lost: Winter Masques, pg. 130. You should buy it, it's really a trip!

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Contract of the Ecstatic Brush

Themes: Vice AND Virtue, Willpower, Overindulgence, Madness, the Monkey King.

The Contract of the Ecstatic Brush is a Contract with an emotion, and one that is as tricky as it is powerful. With it, the Southern courtiers make their reputation as unpredictable, dangerous, and passionate, capable of great evils and (on occasion) great goods, just as able to overindulge in their lust as they are to drive a stake into the heart of a tyrant despite all of the logical reasons why they might want to lay low.

These contracts often throw a Vermillion courtier close to Clarity breaking points, and to pursue one's passions in this way is certainly dangerous… but also quite useful.

(*)Ecstatic Intuition

The first step to bringing oneself or others into ecstasy is to know just what it is that drives them. Not what they want, but what they *are*. By learning their Virtue or Vice (one per usage), they can more fully understand them.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Manipulation+Empathy+Mantle (South)- Target's Composure
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling is currently indulging in their Vice or Virtue at the very moment they activate the Contract.
Dramatic Failure: The lack of knowledge of others turns into a lack of self-knowledge. They lose the ability to regain willpower via their Virtue or Vice for the rest of the scene.
Failure: They get nothing, and like it.
Success: Learn the Vice or Virtue of one target!
Extraordinary Success: Learn both!
Modifiers: The target is in a place where their Virtue or Vice discovered might be indulged (+1), the target is in a place where their Virtue or Vice is extraordinarily unlikely to be indulged (-1), They have indulged their vice or virtue in the same scene that this Contract is activated (+2)

(**) Strength of Passions
A member of the Vermillion Court is larger than life. Their passions, whether for violence, love, or artistry, are legendary. And part of why it is is that they can fortify them, strengthen them until they are incredibly powerful.

Prerequisite: Mantle (South) *, or Court Goodwill (South) ***
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Presence+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling has spent Willpower in pursuit of their Virtue or Vice within the last scene before activating this Contract.
Dramatic Failure: Lose two willpower.
Failure: Lose one willpower, as your passion turns to just as powerful disappointment
Success: The Changeling strengthens the power of their Virtue or Vice. If the former, then whenever they spend a Willpower within the next scene for an action aligning with their Virtue, it counts as +5 instead of +3 towards a roll. If the latter, fulfilling the Vice allows one to gain two Willpower instead of one, and one can temporarily go beyond the limit of their willpower, but disappears at the end of the Contract.
Extraordinary Success: This lasts for a day, instead of for a scene.
Modifiers:

(***) Astete's Theft

To influence the Virtues and Vices of others is the height of artistry, or so many Changelings believe. Not only that, but it's a chance to experiment and find new experiences to overindulge in.

Prereqs: Mantle (South Court) **, Court Goodwill (South) ****
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Empathy+Wyrd (Contested vs. Composure+Wyrd)
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling has personally fulfilled the target's Virtue or Vice within the last scene.
Dramatic Failure: Instead of swapping, taking, or copying, one gives away… to nothing. Lose one's Virtue or Vice for a scene, as well as the ability to spend Willpower.
Failure: Nothing happens, the swap doesn't work.
Success: The Changeling can swap their Virtue or Vice with that of a person they are currently touching, they can copy or gain the Vice of the target person, or if they are touching two people and both people are consenting, they can swap the Virtue or Vice of the two targets. All such changes last a scene.
Extraordinary Success: Both the Virtue *and* the Vice can be swapped, or the swap can last 24 hours.
Modifiers: Objects of the Changeling's Virtue or Vice are present (+1), it is an environment non-conducive to the Changeling's virtue or vice (-1)
(****) Empty Ecstasy

To be empty is not a bad thing. To lose oneself is in fact downright Zen. This emptiness can bring with it Clarity, and it can also bring with it safety from the risks and dangers of Clarity. Itself not the mark if a very well adjusted Changeling, this Contract is both famous and infamous among many.

Pre-req: Mantle (South Court) ***, Court Goodwill (South) *****
Cost: 3 Glamour, 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Resolve+Wyrd
Action: Reflexive
Catch: The Changeling destroys one attachment, or severs it, whether this is tearing at their own paintings with a knife, dissatisfied with the strenmgth of
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling feels bound by guilt and their own deeds. For the purpose of all negative effects, their Clarity is 1, for the next day.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Changeling's Clarity for the purpose of Kenning is temporarily increased to 10 for one scene. In addition, no matter how many Clarity breaking points a character goes through within that scene, they are only penalized for the worst, or most clarity-destroying, act they do. However, for the duration of the scene, they must act on all virtues, vices, and desires (whether aspirations in 2e form, or merely stated intentions). They cannot hold back who they are and what they are, and this ecstasy is often addictive.
Extraordinary Success: The Changeling rolls one more dice on any Clarity roll after the Contract is done. The Changeling can choose either their Vice, Virtue, or one goal, and can avoid being forced to act on it.
Modifiers: The Changeling has fulfilled both their Virtue and their Vice in the last day (+1), the Changeling has a Clarity over 7 (-1), the Changeling has a Clarity below 5 (+1), the Changeling has had a Clarity breaking point in the last day (-1)... and it involved their Virtue or Vice being acted upon (+1)
(*****) Set Free the Cloud Horses

Pre-req: Mantle (South Court) ****
Cost: 5 Glamour, 2 Willpower
Dice Pool: Empathy+Presence+Wyrd vs. Resolve+Empathy+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling has fulfilled both his Virtue and Vice within a few minutes of using this Contract (only pays for the Glamour, not the Willpower).
Dramatic Failure: Instead, the Changeling becomes unable to regain Willpower from their Virtue or Vice for the next 24 hours.
Failure: Nothing happens!
Success: All targets within the same room as the Changeling have to roll to resist (unless they choose not to). The user chooses either Virtue or Vice. All targets who fail the roll are forced to act on this Virtue or Vice to an extreme level. The generous man empties his bank account and goes out to hand it to beggars, the lustful person seeks orgies, the pious person loudly prays all night… in every case, this is an act of complete overindulgence, and each target is locked in this state for one hour per success. The Changeling can target a maximum of Wyrdx10 people with this Contract, but cannot exclude anyone: if a room has 40 people, and they can effect forty people, they cannot choose not to target their best friend, or their ally.
Extraordinary Success: Target both the Virtue and the Vice of everyone.
Modifiers: At a party (+1), at a traditionally somber event or location (-1).

Contract of the Southern Compass

Themes: The South, Ink, Song, Rebirth, Vermillion Birds

South is the Vermillion Bird, that plumes and picks and chooses. South is the ink and the song of the lands of tong and artist, and of that journey away from the old, and the reinvention of the new.

Thus the Southern Contracts are potent things, but also odd ones as well. They are also fundamental enough to the South that one must have a Mantle or Goodwill to learn them, even the first Clause.


(*)The Firebird's Migration

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour. And sometimes it is best to exit stage right. The phoenix may never die, but her courtiers are often less lucky, and escape can be the difference between fighting another day and never fighting again at all.
Pre-req: Mantle (South) *, or Court Goodwill (South Court) *
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Mantle (South)+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling has created some sort of long term chaos or problem whose effects will follow him even if he escapes
Dramatic Failure: Sometimes the wings are damp, and sometimes the many parts of the fenghuang get in the way. Reduce speed by 2
Failure: Sometimes a bird just isn't that fast. Nothing happens.
Success: Per each success, gain either +1 Speed for a number of turns equal to the total successes, or reduce the enemy's speed by one or more. This latter bit represents not so much them going slower as the world and luck itself conspiring against them and in favor of the Phoenix. They slip on the wet floor for a moment, the train comes between you for long enough to slow them down that much, so on and so forth.
Exceptional Success: More successes is its own reward!
Modifiers: +1 (The situation has been caused by the Changeling pursuing his or her vice or virtue)-1 (The Changeling is chasing after someone instead of being chased.)

Ideas: Vermillion Majesty,

Actor's Ink? (Or something like that?)

Flaming Rebirth

Song of something…

(**) Inken Lies, Inken Masks

Rebirth and reinvention can sometimes be quite literal. With this simple Clause, one can. By painting the name of a role, one can convince others of its truth. By writing the Kanji for janitor, one can slip into a school that's just closing for the night, or by writing 'VIP' one can get into a club, as long as others believe in it.

Pre-Req: Mantle (South) 2, Court Goodwill (South) 3
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Craft+Wyrd+Mantle (South)
Action: 1 Turn
Catch: The Changeling instead tattoos the word on their body. The tattoo has to have been created within the last month.
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling looks like someone else… someone completely inappropriate for the setting. When sneaking into a school, instead of a teacher they look like a 'Registered sex offender', when going into a fancy party they instead look like a 'Homeless man.'
Failure: They appear, to others, to just be themselves, for better or worse.
Success: The Changeling picks one short phrase to write on themselves, somewhere on their body. This can be specific to some small degree, 'Female schoolteacher' or 'Old teacher' is fine, but 'Beloved female teacher' isn't. For the next Wyrd hours, all those who view them see them as this. Those who have a Power Stat, or those whose Will is 7 or higher, may roll Power Stat+Wits+Resolve, with the goal of beating the number of successes that the user has accrued. If they do so, they see through the deception. This deception does not change the body, but people tend to ignore the parts that don't make sense unless someone really points it out. Furthermore, they react normally in all other ways: just because someone is a teacher, and thus allowed to be in school, doesn't mean they won't react if the Changeling is caught breaking into a locker, and in fact they'll expect the teacher to go to their class, whether they have one or not...
Extraordinary Success: This instead can be made to last Wyrd+3 hours, and more details can be specified.
Modifiers:

(***) Vermillion Majesty

Beauty and grace, even if it is often shabby and spendthrift, is the rebirthright of a Vermillion Courtier, as the bird that is their name. They can take on the friendship and goodwill of someone for a single night, and leave them in the morning before first light.

Prerequisite: Mantle (South) 3, or Goodwill (South Court) 4
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Presence+Wyrd+Mantle vs. Empathy+Composure+Wyrd
Action: Contested
Catch: The Changeling is in a disguise, and thus appears like someone who would have the relevant Merits.
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling is instead seen as an enemy, and the Changeling takes a -3 penalty to all social interactions.
Failure: The Changeling can't get a grips on the target.
Success: For the rest of the scene, the target considers the Changeling to have a number of social merit dots equal to the successes, with all of the positive feelings and ease of relationships that involves. Merits that can be spent on: Mentor (the target feels the Changeling is someone they should take under their wing), Friend, Ally, or Retainer (the target finds themselves happy to help the Changeling. This cannot be used to make a character act outside of what they find moral, or force them to a morality breaking point. They do not think the Changeling is their life-long friend, or Ally, but instead feel the closeness that you can sometimes find with someone you just met. After the merit wears off, the person is back to normal, but the Changeling can capitalize on this closeness to try to set something up that's more long-term or real.
Extraordinary Success: The dots can last all of one night, or one day (until sunset), and the target feels oddly fond of the Changeling for a week after the dots wear off, granting them a +1 to all social interactions.
Modifiers:

(****) Flaming Rebirth

One can shed one's skin. In fact, some say, one should. For this is an act that can not only allow you to escape your past, but it can also be an interesting way to try new things, and try to see what it looks like to look different. When combined with some of the other Clauses and some clever disguise-artists work, it can work real miracles.

Pre-Req: Mantle (South) 4, or Court Goodwill 5
Cost: 4 Glamour
Dice Pool:
Action:
Catch: The Changeling sets themselves on fire in order to to effect the change.
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Changeling not change in appearance, but they take two lethal wounds as their skin burns from the effort.
Failure: The Changeling is the same as before.
Success: The Changeling's appearance changes. This is a physical change, and is in every way true: it cannot make a Changeling appear as another Kith, or as lacking in another Kith, but it otherwise changes both Mask and Mien, and can do so in dramatic ways, though to people that know the user, there's something oddly familiar about them no matter how different they look, and recognizing them can be somewhat easy. This cannot change the sound of their voice, which is often the major giveaway. They cannot intentionally look like another person, and this is useless for that purpose. The transformation lasts Wyrdx6 hours, or one day, whichever is shorter.
Extraordinary Success: The Changeling may reapply half the glamour cost at the end of the day to keep it up for another day.
Modifiers: The change is minor (+1), the change is major, decades of age, apparent sex, so on (-1), multiple major changes (from a twenty year old man of five feet tall to a six foot tall, sixty-year old woman) (-3)

(*****) Muse's Song

Ultimately, the South Court cannot merely exist as a self-serving entity. It believes in the joy it causes, it believes in this indulgence, and it believes in art and beauty and all that it brings: not merely a little bit of it, not merely a smile, but a grin, not merely one painting, but a gallery. They want more and more, they want it all. And they ultimately think everyone else is crazy not to want more.

Prerequisite: Mantle (South) 5
Cost: 6 Glamour, 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Expression+Mantle
Action: Extended
Catch:
Dramatic Failure:
Failure:
Success: All those who hear the song regain all Willpower, and more than that, they gain, unless they try to resist, a drive to act upon their loves, and their interests. The artist comes back after hearing the song to start a new project, the politician decides to run for office again, despite his humiliating loss… criminal decides to pull a bigger, even more dangerous heist. This is far from always a positive thing, and just because people are reinvigorated to try further and harder doesn't meant that they will succeed. It also doesn't mean that their ambitions have to be positive. Perhaps the artist is already overwhelmed, perhaps the politician was rightfully driven out by a sex scandal, perhaps the criminal's scheme will harm dozens of people. But this legitimately can change the course of the world. Anyone trying to resist it can roll Willpower+Wyrd to resist it. A Changeling may only use this power once per month, and those that can are famous, at least among certain circles. It only works on those that can hear the Changeling's voice directly, without help of a microphone, let alone in recorded form.
Extraordinary Success: The Wyrd itself blesses the actions, for better and worse, of those who are so effected. Rolls to achieve the dream or passion that is ignited get a +1, and for those areas where rolls will not be done, a greater chance of success is to be assumed.
Modifiers: N/A (willing to take suggestions.

((Note, this last one… I like the general song idea, but I do think it could use a lot of work, and at the moment it doesn't hang on a decent enough mechanical framework. But I figured I'd rather have something then just have a ??? for the fifth dot.


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A/N: This makes only two South Court contracts, compared to three for each of the Seasonal Courts, but it's a good start, and they also have access to the Cardinal Center Contracts (as all Directional Courts do, with the requirement being refluffed as Mantle (Any Directional Court)). And finally, they are going to be getting access to the short South-East and South-West chains, which I think might be just three-clauses long, and serve as a center.

Next up is East Court… sometime. Maybe next week? We'll see when I get time to write. And then I'll do South-East Contract, and then move onto North (then North-East… you get the drift.)

 

[The Laurent]

Directional Court--The Court of the East (The Serpent Court, the Trident, the Court of Wealth)

Description: Every Durance is different, but the lack of control is something definite about most of them. Leaving was a choice, but one that requires great effort. One left a miserable situation, or an undesired one, to return to life.

And some of these Changelings find themselves into the East Court, whose founding ethos is wealth: wealth, which can grant the Changeling the power and security that he lacked, the control that she so desperately wanted. The Court of Wealth uses its money to bankroll Freeholds, buy off True Fae, and make their own lives as pleasant as possible.

But too, they use wealth as a measure of everything: those who are most powerful have the most wealth, and are most able to make the world one in which all things they desire fall into their laps.

This is not a court of peerless, fearless people without vice: but neither is it a court of fools, unaware of the nature of want, the nature of the drive for more, more more that pushes one onward.

Envy them, and they will envy you back. The Court and its Emperors are not sentimental, they are practical, and those who join them learn to use all that they have to protect all that they value.

Courtiers: Not all who join the court are rich. For every wealthy miser, there is an up-and-coming shoe salesman, a prostitute who knows that at the end of the day, it's money that can lead her out of her rut. Anyone who has that envy, that desire to acquire more wealth, and the willingness to do whatever it will take, might join the Court.

Wealth isn't required… but those who join the court tend to start accumulating it in great amounts. Courtiers are rarely inclined to refuse to use their magic to gain money, and their magic is very, very good at getting them wealth, if their own get-rich-quicker attitude didn't already help their cause.

Courtiers compete with each other, and in many Freeholds, the East Court resembles any number of less than savory schemes. The traditional way for courtiers to interact with each other is in a pyramid scheme: a new courtier can only be inducted at the behest of an older courtier, who then is owed monetary compensation, and often obedience and loyalty. In theory this goes all the way up to the Emperor, who owns the loyalty (and a share of the wealth) of everyone.

In practice, some East Courts have devolved into warring 'parties' of bribesters, owing only nominal loyalty to the puppet at the top, competing corporations of the supernatural world that view and treat each other as bitter foes.

The East Court also practices ancestor veneration, and celebrates a variety of holidays to give wealth to the dead, for just as the new Courtier owes his wealth to the older one, so too does even the most powerful courtier owe celebration and gifts to the dead: or to those who are the beneficiaries of the dead. Friends, family, loved ones designated so.

Yet for all of this veneration of those above… they also envy those who are higher-ranked than them, and as much as loyalty can win greater plaudits, so can a greedy grasping for advantage and power: at most it is unseemly in the eyes of most Serpents, not immoral.

Mantle and Crown:

The Mantle of the serpent Court is all about power and envy. The courtiers appear larger than life even at a low Mantle, and as they grow more powerful, there is a look of… superiority. Intellectual, moral, in every sense they seem to almost excude the allure of wealth, which excuses vices and failings that in those less wealthy might be castigated. At the very highest Mantles, they often seem to be made of money quite literally, moving with the odd clink of money or ding of a cash register, teeth of diamond, and a slight perfume of fresh money… these are signs of the truly powerful East Courtier.

Mantle 1, Gain an extra dice on all socialize rolls.
Mantle 2, May purchase the Obscene Wealth Merit (**) dots.
Mantle 3, Gain a bonus die on all rolls involving subterfuge to stir envy or cut a deal.
Mantle 4, May purchase the Obscene Wealth (*****) Merit. Only one Changeling in a Freehold's East Court can possess this much wealth.
Mantle 5, the Changeling may add his or her full Resources score (excepting Obscene Wealth) to any social roll once per day.

Eastern Crown: "Once per session, the character may gain Resources equal to the character's Mantle. These resources come seemingly by fate, appearing when needed, and are without strings. The resources vanish at the end of the session--whether there is a hole in the bottom of the Changeling's pants, or the gold bar he found suddenly turns out to be fools' gold--and cannot be used for any long-term purchase. The resources are compared to the Resource number of the object the Changeling wants to buy, and the latter is subtracted from the former. By spending one willpower, the Changeling may grant this boon to another."

New Merit:

Obscene Wealth (** or *****)
Pre-req: Can only be obtained with Resources 5 already purchased. A Changeling cannot normally purchase this.

Effect: The 2-dot version grants one, effectively, Resources 6, which in this case means two things. First, Resource 4 purchases can now be made as often as one likes. Second, one gains a social bonus of 9-again among those who are shallow enough to be impressed by conspicuous consumption and wealth, as long as this money is openly known (such as a Fame 1 among "Rich Assholes" or some other group that indicates the monied sets). The five-dot version gives one Resources 7, meaning that even Availability 5 purchases can be made easily, and certain purchases now become possible. This represents the kind of obscene wealth that most people can only dream of. Hundreds of millions is the very start of this level of wealth. With a Fame of 2 or more, gain 8-again in social interactions with, again, those liable to be impressed more by wealth than virtue… which in this world is quite a few people.

Drawbacks: The two dot version automatically gains the drawback of Fame 1, The five-dot version the drawback of Fame 3. Additionally, this money comes with obligations. In order to maintain it, one must be devoted to wealth on a level that leaves little time for other things. The Status, the Retainers, the tools it brings are all chains that make it very hard for a Changeling to escape. He cannot go to ground and hide if the True Fae come, not without losing this Merit, and if lost once, while the dots are refunded by the Sanctity of Merits, they cannot be regained easily. This wealth is a big target, and it should be used by the ST as such.

Emotion: Envy is more than greed: it's wanting what you don't have, it's needing it, too much. What Changeling hasn't felt it? What human? And to be the source of envy… how many people desire the limelight for just that purpose? By dressing up and strutting around, a courtier can harvest the Envy, and feel better about themselves. Envy is cheap and universal: each person envying something else, something more than they have.

They whisper into the ears of people, if they are not the target of envy, they can be the source, carefully manipulating people into envying another, only to reap the rewards.

In the world as it is, there is no end to the envy, to the desire for more. There are no limits... and certainly none that an East Courtier would want to encourage.


Contract of the Serpent's Whisper

Envy is an emotion that coils around the heart, that drives the rich, the poor, and all in-between. It is a complex, vicious emotion, drawing on greed and lust, hope and compassion, all of it in equal measures. Courtiers who learn this Contract start by seeing things in terms of the simple valuation of resources: they approach it with a novice's understanding of the emotion to mean nothing more than money.

But as they grow in understanding of their court's ethos, they begin to see that desire is subjective, that greed can take many forms, and that envy is a universal weapon, one that they can deploy to devastating effects.


(*) Everything's Cost

Value is something that can be determined, and exploited. There is no such thing as an object without value, or a person without worth… but that worth may not be very great at all. With the first clause of the Serpent's Whisper, they gain the ability to tell this value, often to the cent.

Prerequisite: Mantle (East) 1, Court Goodwill (East) 1
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice-Pool:Investigation+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling is in a situation in which he has the authority to declare the value of an object or person (an art appraiser, an interviewer, or other such positions)
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling believes the object or person to be without value, leading to them underestimating its value in-character (to potentially disastrous effects), or creating tension and rude treatment that means that the Changeling takes -2 to all social rolls involving the character until they see something that alters their valuation.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Changeling can tell the market-price of any non-supernatural item they see, down to an exact Resource cost for the player. As well, they can get an understanding of two other things. First, they can ask the Storyteller what it would cost to make the target do something, if this is possible in a monetary or direct sense. What would it cost for them to slip a little pork into that legislation, for instance? Second, they can ask about the general 'worth' of a person, that is to say their Resources as it currently stands.
Exceptional Success: The Changeling can tell even more subjective or personal value, such as whether one person would die for another, how good of an ally another person views them as, and so on. It can also sniff out social 'costs' for a person to do something.
Modifiers: +1 (The objects value is well known and almost everyone would value it as such (eg: a famous painting, a gold bracelet)), -1 (The object has value only among rare circles, such as a signed painting among aficionados of the artist)

(**) False Valuation

As a courtier grows in understanding envy and want, they understand just how subjective it is. A woman envies the woman married to such a famous man: while that woman envies those who live without abuse… a man buys a knockoff painting, and yet treasures it in his heart the way he would a real one, none the wiser. What value is, truly, can be manipulated, and what people want can be similarly toyed with.

Prerequisite: Mantle (East) 2, Court Goodwill (East) 3
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice-Pool: Manipulation+Wyrd vs Intelligence+Wyrd
Action: Contested
Catch: The object whose value is being measured has been killed for in the past.
Dramatic Failure: The target finds the object either more valuable or less valuable… the opposite of whatever the Changeling wants to happen.
Failure: The person's perception of the object's value is unchanged.
Success: For the next scene, a person's valuation of an object is increased or decreased by one per each success, to a maximum of three times (or 1/3rd) the actual value. Thus, an object worth 1 Resource, may be valued as being essentially worthless, or as being quite valuable (3 Resources). Only objects that are worth 1 Resource can be reduced to zero, essentially making them seem worthless to the target, but nobody else.
Exceptional Success: The effect instead lasts one full day, and the effect can be spread memetically to anyone present in the scene, rather than a single target, provided they fail the check against it as well.
Modifiers: The Changeling themselves values the object differently than what it's worth, in accordance with the changes of the clause (such as a broke Changeling pawning a precious heirloom that to them is worth Resources 4, and using this Clause to get their money's worth) (+2), The object has sentimental value to the target (-1).

(***) Poisoned Tongue

Envy is easy to spread. Once you understand what value is, and how to manipulate it, envy is easy to see even without magic. This man values the lover on his rival's arm, that man wants said rival's gold watch… and if they don't want it, they can be made to want it, with the right bit of magic.

Prerequisite: Mantle (South) 2, Court Goodwill (East) 4
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice-Pool: Persuasion+Wyrd+Mantle vs. Composure+Wyrd
Action: Contested
Catch: The target regards the Changeling as a friend, as well as the person that the Changeling is trying to make them envy.
Dramatic Failure: Far from envying them… they admire the person that the Changeling wants the target to dislike. As well, they realize that the Changeling is poisoning the well with lies.
Failure: It fails. Depending on how it is enacted, the target might realize an attempt was made, and might react accordingly.
Success: The target, provided they feel envious of anyone at all, can have this envy redirected and shifted to another target. By talking to them, the Changeling makes their victim envy some aspect of another person, though the nature of this envy is down to the ST's fiat, and the Changeling cannot decide the exact reasons/form of the envy, merely the person or thing envied, and the aspect of it envied (IE, "You envy his love life" but not, "You really wish you were fucking his boyfriend"). This effect lasts for one day for every three Wyrd that the Changeling possesses. This envy can be used as a target for social manipulation, doubling as a Vice for all social effects, as well as a desire/aspiration/etc. ((Specifically, I have ideas for how I'd slot it into the 2e social system, but I'm slightly fuzzier on the 1e, but I hope this is enough to go off of.))
Exceptional Success: The target's envy does not fade with time, though after the time of the contract slipping, it may naturally go away. The target also doesn't remember the source of the envy, forgetting that the Changeling whispered the poison in their ear in the first place.
Modifiers:

(****) Envy's Scales

Those who envy you are weak, their words pathetic, the result of nothing more than their own pathetic desires. The Changeling may armor themselves socially, shrugging off the social pressures of others, aware that their attention is not worth your time, and their blandishments are meaningless.

Prerequisite: Mantle (East) 3, Court Goodwill (East) 5
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice-Pool: Resolve+Mantle+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling is naturally the envy of at least five people currently present in the room.
Dramatic Failure: Every barbed word hurts, every envious gaze makes the Changeling feel the odd, and to an East Courtier almost heretical, desire to please others so that they might envy them less. Others gain +2 on all social rolls related to them, or improve impression by two degrees, if interacting with the 2e Impression system.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: For the next scene, the Changeling becomes inured to the blandishments of anyone the ST deems envies them, including those that have been made to envy the Changeling. They cannot spend willpower on social rolls against the Changeling, and they take a penalty of -2 to all social interactions with them. The Changeling knows that their harshest words, or most honeyed compliments, are merely the idle prattle of those envious of their success.
Exceptional Success: The Changeling's armor is stronger than even they know. Any rolls to use any magical power that influences the user's mind automatically take a -2, and if they are not contested (few enough), they become contested, rolling against the Changeling's Composure+Wyrd.
Modifiers: The Changeling is dressed in a way, or possesses something, of great value to all in the room (+1), The Changeling is pathetic or in other ways not the subject of much natural envy (-1).

(*****) Donning the Green-Eyed Coronet

Sometimes one must play the villain… or make themselves the dark hero of the tale. By this Clause, a Changeling can make himself the envy of all around him, the one they plot against, the star of the show. Hated and loved, this clause is often used in conjunction with the weaker, earlier clauses, for it is in combination that it is truly terrifying.

Prerequisite: Mantle (East) 4
Cost: 5 Glamour, one Willpower
Dice-Pool: Presence+Wyrd+Mantle vs. Presence+Wyrd
Action: Extended (3 turns)
Catch: The Changeling allows envy to overtake them, their Vice being changed to envy, and they are unable to spend willpower, and suffer a -2 to social interactions with anyone they envy (which is to say everyone.)
Dramatic Failure: Instead of being the envy of all… he is the object of contempt and pity, disliked and rejected.
Failure: It doesn't work.
Success: The Changeling flaunts around, making an extended show lasting at least three turns, and then completes it with a public statement indicating their superiority. All those within the room, up to a total of Wyrdx10 people begin to envy them with a gnawing hunger that in some might make them far more willing to please (a bonus to social interactions), and in other cases might make them bitter… which can be just as easily manipulated, either by the Changeling themselves… or any carefully planted associates. This envy lasts the rest of the scene, and feels natural and understandable, thus making it very difficult to notice. Only those with a powerful will (Willpower 7 or more) will be able to notice… at least at the time. This envy can be somewhat directed if the Changeling knows their particular targets, but is otherwise determined by the ST. This envy can be used as the Vice for any attempt to persuade someone else, and is often combined with other Clauses.
Exceptional Success: This Envy instead lasts in all participants a total of Wyrdx8 hours.
Modifiers: +1 (At least half of the people in the room would count the Changeling as an enemy before this Contract is used.)


Contract of the Eastern Trident

Money makes the world go around: it is power, it can be love, it drives friendships… or tears them apart. The East Court is devoted, like the dragon whose fractured mythology (sharing much with western stories, and yet having its own twists) they embody, to accumulating more and more wealth and power.

This is a weapon, and this is a defense: those who do not know it cannot truly master the clauses, and this requires an understanding of the East Court and its ways.

(*) Exchanging Properties

Some people would say that value is merely the subjective whims of people, that there is no absolute truth: gold is valuable because people value it, simple as that. And these people aren't wrong… but in a supernatural sense, neither are they right. With this Contract, a Changeling may exchange and create value within objects.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice-Pool: Craft+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Object being transferred from has sentimental value to the Changeling.
Dramatic Failure: Both objects instead degrade in value, losing one Resource in value or usefulness.
Failure: The transfer doesn't go through.
Success: The Changeling may transfer up to successes dots of Resource value from one object into one or more other objects. No object changed this way can have its Resources value more than doubled, and the limit is, as normal, five. A Changeling can take an expensive watch, and by this strange power turn it into a valueless, cheapo, disposable watch in exchange for making a shabby suit finer, and a pair of glasses sharper. The objects increased in value do not functionally (except for the social function that a fine suit or valuable item might have) become better: a gun subject to this might become gold-plated if need be (or made of cherry wood, or anything else required), but it will not become another, better version of the same gun.
Exceptional Success: Any object can have its value increased up to five.
Modifiers: The objects being used in the transfer are both similar (a dress for a suit, a sword for a gun) (+1)

(**) Friendship's Rewards

Your friends are your strength? Well, my friends are my wealth. So says the cunning serpent. One's contacts can be a source of wealth, as well as a source of conviviality.

Prerequisites: Mantle (East) 2, Court Goodwill (East) 3
Cost: 2 Glamour, 2 Willpower
Dice-Pool: Wits+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling sacrifices one dot of an Ally (or similar) Merit permanently.
Dramatic Failure: They instead lose a dot of Resources.
Failure: Nothing happens
Success: Once per month, the Changeling may gain one pip of temporary Resources per dot of Social Merit they possess, up to a limit of Mantle x 2. A temporary resource can be spent as if it is money, to match the value or cost of the item that the Changeling wishes to purchase, and is tracked separately. This money comes by happenstance: a dropped wallet with nobody asking where it came from, a diamond found lying on the beach. This money also disappears by happenstance after one week if it is not spent, and thus many Changelings follow a very predictable buying spree, going from feast to slow periods, and then back to feasts.
Exceptional Success: There is no limit. They may gain as many 'pips' as they want, equal to the Social Merit dots they have.
Modifiers: The Changeling has more than 15 dots of Social Merits (+1), The Changeling has neglected any of their social duties in any way within the last month (-3.)

(***) Friend-Buying Technique

The person who has the money, and buys the drinks, is everyone's friend. By using the power of their wealth… and yet also abandoning it, at least for a time, a user of this Clause can gain useful contacts that might prove as useful as money… or more importantly, might prove able to grant the user money, especially those who have further mastered the Contract.
Prerequisites: Mantle (East) 3, Court Goodwill (East) 4
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice-Pool: Presence+Wyrd+Mantle
Action: Instant
Catch: At least one dot is given up permanently.
Dramatic Failure: The Changeling temporarily loses their dots of Resources… but gains absolutely nothing in return.
Failure: Nothing happens either way.
Success: The Changeling may temporarily sacrifice one dot of the Resources Merit for twenty four hours: if they do so, they may gain two dots of certain Social Merits, temporarily, for the rest of the scene. People misremember knowing them, and thus are willing to act as a Contact to give information, they think the Changeling is a Mentor… or everyone might briefly mistake them for someone famous. The following Merits can be temporarily purchased with these dots: Ally, Contact, Retainer, Fame, Striking Looks, and Status. Characters may make a Composure+Wyrd roll against the successes gained by the technique to realize these emotions are false: they wake up as if from a spell to any delusions at the end of the scene, either way. The Changeling can only sacrifice a number of dots equal to their successes per use of this Contract, and cannot regain the Merit dots lost before the end of the twenty-four hours.
Exceptional Success: While extra successes can be their own reward, the Changeling may also purchase the Mentor merit with the temporary dots
Modifiers: The Changeling already has strong social ties among the group he's talking to (+1), the group he's trying to get into, or ally with, seriously and legitimately hates him (-3).

((Worries: I fear that it's too similar to the South Court technique, but at the same time it feels thematically resonant?))

(****) Serpent's Scales

Wealth is its own protection: from the misery of the world, from the nightmarish experience of many Changeling's Durances… it's the foundation of the Eastern Court, and when they say that wealth is what allows them to survive, they don't merely mean it in some metaphorical sense. When the True Fae come calling, it is this clause that allows even the often less-than-martial East Courtiers to stand up against them.

Prerequisites: Mantle (East) 4, Court Goodwill (East) 5
Cost: 4 Glamour, 1 Willpower
Dice-Pool:Mantle+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Changeling is wearing a piece of clothing that provides absolutely no protection, but is incredibly expensive, as in, of a value of Resources 5.
Dramatic Failure:
Failure: The armor fails to materialize.
Success: For the rest of the scene, the Changeling who uses this Contract has Armor equal to their Resource Merit dots, with the Obscene Wealth Merit counting as two additional points of armor. The Changeling may only have armor equal to their successes x2. This armor is effective against all kinds of damage, but can be bypassed with pure iron, as well as any weapon whose base cost, without any clauses used upon it, is Resources 5. On the Changeling, this manifests as a blue-green glow, and a subtle pattern of scales on their skin.
Exceptional Success: The Changeling also gains slow regeneration, as long as they possess their great wealth, during the scene that this is active. They heal one bashing damage every five turns, and may spend Willpower on a one-per-one basis to turn Lethal damage taken into Bashing damage. (? Not sure!)
Modifiers: The Changeling is fighting someone who is notably poor, uncouth, or inferior (+1), the Changeling is fighting a superior, or someone who acts in a lordly and disdainful manner (-1).

(*****) Wrath of the Dragon

The fury of one who is stolen from or crossed is great. Money is power, and so is the wrath of the envious courtier who is crossed. While they are not rated great warriors like many in both North and West Court, with this clause they can hold their own, the power of their money, and their terror, warding off hordes of enemies, and

Cost: 5 Glamour and 1 Willpower dot.
Dice-Pool: Mantle+Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The Contract is being used to hunt or attack someone who has stolen an object (or person) of value to the Changeling.
Dramatic Failure:
Failure:
Success: The Changeling transforms, both in nature and in features. Most often he takes on slight draconic tells. Warm skin, dark red eyes, breath that is oddly hot, but more pressingly, his very Mien itself is terrifying. Those who are not Changelings (or other supernatural beings) cannot attack the Changeling except in self-defense, and must spend one Willpower per turn they combat the Changeling, rather than fleeing before their wrath. Changelings must spend one Willpower per scene that they either attack or directly bar the way of the Changeling. The Changeling takes one lethal damage, resistant to any magic and unable to be healed by magic, for each scene they maintain this form, which increases their Strength or Presence by half of the Resources merit (round up) plus successes, and grants them a 0L armed attack. All attacks made are 8-again.
Exceptional Success: Reduce the Armor of any target by two, and the durability of anything that gets in the way by three. All attacks are Rote. May also increase the Dexterity of the Changeling, and the maximum Strength, Presence, or Dexterity of the Changeling for the purpose of this clause is six.
Modifiers: The Changeling has the Obscene Wealth Merit (+1), The Changeling did not use this by activating the Catch (-1).
******

A/N: The New Merit is something that needs work, and I think at least some of these clauses could really use work, or are vague. But I've been sitting on top of this for weeks now, working at it, so I want to release it.

Please give feedback. If you're willing to debate five-rounds with Paulie about Personal Horror, it shouldn't be hard to give feedback on homebrew?

 

[notanautomaton]

Here's my write-up for the Traditions I use in my game. Thought you might find it interesting. If I get some interest I'll expand on each entry in future posts.

Rebuild of the Traditions

The Traditions were formed in the early Renaissance in response to the rising power of the Order of Reason. The Houses of the Order of Hermes were the primary impetus behind it, and were soon joined by the Choir Celeste and the Solificati. These three agreed to seek out other mystics across the world in order to unify against the Technocracy. They also decided that each major tradition would have a seat, based on the Hermetic Sphere system. The Hermetics took Forces, the Choir Celeste Prime, and the Solificati Matter.

However, their further expansion hit a snag in that few traditions were both as unified or as willing to join as them. While the European pagans were willing to join, they were not unified, resulting in them being lumped together as Verenbrae under the powerful Nightshade. Likewise, most non-europeans were lumped together as Dreamspeakers, which caused many of the more proud orders to leave in disgust.

This grouping was able to persist through the political acumen of ancient mages, which resulted in the Nine Seats crumbling due to the Avatar Storm and the Cessation of the Pogrom. No more were Christian and Jewish mages content to serve in the universalist order of the Celestial Choir. No more were pagans and shamans and death-cultists content to be lumped together.

This resulted in the Nine Seats being dissolved and replaced with a council. On the Council each tradition has a spokesperson with a number of votes proportional to the power of their tradition.

The Order of Hermes

The Order of Hermes is currently the most powerful of the Traditions due to their united 'foreign policy.' While the houses disagree internally, they typically attempt to put up a divided front. This is because unlike other Traditions, they refused to allow other factions to join them without a long vetting process and compatibility with their magic.

Additionally, they are among the best of the non-technologist factions at teaching their magic to individuals that aren't already Awakened.

They are divided into houses, each of which focuses on a different aspect of magic, giving them diverse options within their Tradition

The Celestial Choir

The Celestial Choir originated as a heretical sect of Christianity, which claimed to speak for all religious mages. Due to having a number of powerful Masters they were able to get away with this for hundreds of years. While Jewish, Muslim, and Christian mages were allowed under the aegis of the Choir, they were effectively second-class citizens.

However, after the turn of the millennium, many of these groups declared their independence, largely on existing religious lines. The remaining Choir is much reduced, though it still has a great amount of power. It often feuds with other monotheistic Traditions over recruits.

The Verbena

The Verbena are divided into three main groups. The Old Guard are old style witches. Their magic is often bloody and rather dark. They have lost a great deal of their political power recently due to loosing their old Masters. The New Agers are the opposite of them, and typically use herbal remedies, crystals, and homeopathy in order to perform magic. They tend to hate each other.

The third group is actually several groups; the European Pagans. Each subgroup worships a different pantheon of gods, or the same pantheon in a different way. They have split from the mainstream Verbena due to not really fitting in with the less religious group.

The Euthanos

The Euthanos death cults are descended from a number of old orders, including Celtic worshipers of the Morrigan, Greek Hades worshipers, African mages that put spirits to rest, Islamic assassins, and, primarily, an Indian cult of assassins. However, each group believes that some people need to die, and they found common cause with that.

They have not splintered much, though a group of cybernetic ninja have decided to go their own way, and they groups have drifted apart slightly.

The Dreamspeakers

The Dreamspeakers used to encompass almost all non-European mages, and have accordingly splintered massively. While many of the tribal shamans have remained for political reasons, most of the groups have choosen to depart. The Schismed groups include Aztecs, Incans, Shinto exorcists and shrine tenders, and the False Face Society.

The Akashic Brotherhood

While the mainstream Akashic Brotherhood is mostly unchanged, they have lost some of their affiliated groups. For instance, an order of Samurai and an order of sumo wrestlers have left the Brotherhood.

In the more mainstream group, they are divided between those that favor internal enlightenment and those that favor external martial arts, though this is mainly an internal issue and has not yet resulted in a full schism.

The Cult of Ecstasy

The Cult divided into three groups: The Seers of Chronus, who maintain their original rituals involving the Greek Gods, the Cult of Ecstacy, which seeks enlightenment through drugs and sex, and the Seekers of Ecstacy, who are more interested in the material world.

The Sons of Ether

The Sons are divided into two main groups; the mechanics and the scientists. The scienists care deeply about their theories, while the mechincs don't really care what they use so long as it works. They are still quite unified, giving them a great deal of political power..

The Virtual Adepts

While the Virtual Adepts are nominally unified, each individual is so egotistical that you wouldn't think that they are. Getting them to actually work together is like herding cats, and is only that easy if you're a notable figure, like Dante.

 

[ganonso]

Could I have comments on this WTA setting hack? Thanks by advance.


Some time ago. Perhaps at the dawn of the Industrial Age perhaps scant decades ago, the Wyrm was wounded in its very essence.

Four Packs, heroes and legends all of them embarked on a mighty quest: To slay the Elemental Wyrm and thus pave the way to the destruction or redemption of Gaïa's balance. Long were these quests, paved with corruption and bloodshed. The packs were forced to replace their membership several times along the way until they were only legacies, four groups of werewolves determined to slay the Four Lords.

The First Pack called Desirable Dominion decided to war against smoke-crowned Choke whose touch deludes and beffudles those whose lungs and skins are not gnawed by the acrid Smog. Persuaded the airy parts of the Wyrm could clear the skies of the material world of their filth, or at least not despoil them more, the pack spoke to many lords and ladies of air, reminding them of their obligation to Gaïa. By guile, force, cajoling and threatening they assembled a mighty host of the mightiest air spirits that ever were. This same guile and quickness of thought enabled them to bring their forces to Choke's domain and engage in battle. The Lord of Smog was torn apart by his many foes, his essence dispersed to the sixty-four directions and thus, no Maeljin took his place.


The Second Pack called Best Righteousness decided to war against balefire-cloaked Kerne whose touch brings no renewal only lingering death and pure destruction. Persuaded that the fiery parts of the Wyrm could be returned to their role as purifiers, they consulted many oracles to know their course. They learned no force in the world of spirits could destroy Lord Kerne, yet despite all warnings and the cries of their kin, they travelled to his castle of radioactive flame. There they fought him ten days and ten nights before encasing him in chains of lead. While the rogue spirit boasted no matter could resist his touch, the pack opened a gateway to the World of the Dead where all flame is stilled. Thus, the fury of Balefire was calmed and no Maeljin rose to this station.

The Third Pack called Wholeness decided to war against fertile Yul whose womb endlessly spawn the abominations of the Wyrm and whose touch fouls the clearest water in poisonous liquid. Persuaded that the watery part of the Wyrm would once again give life and wash away corruption rather than foul and corrupt, the pack wandered far in search of a means to poison the poisoner. What they used in their mixture is unknown but tales are told of their travels through the worlds to harvest the purest ingredients until they submitted their creation to the madness of the Flux Realm. Whatever they put in the silver cup they brought to Malfeas, this was life in its rawest form. Lady Yul drank this potion and knew what she once forgot, love, emotions, purity and thus the toxins of Waasha were cleansed and no Maeljin held power over them.

The Fourth Pack called Holy Devotion decided to war against sterile Lord Collum who gives no life and makes the earth bear no plants but creates more and more of itself until the universe is Sludge. Persuaded that the earthen parts of the Wyrm could heal what they once destroyed and bare life where they supported none, the pack wandered in search of secrets seeds to plant in the most desolate grounds. One they found on Earth, the second they took in Pangea, the third they created by magic and science wielded together, the fourth was brought by human will and the fifth took roots in one of their members. And all these plants they managed to fix to the Maeljin himself, looking as the sewage creature became the most powerful plant elemental to ever walk. No Maeljin claimed the throne of Sludge after that.

And at the moment they did all this (because like in all legends they killed their Maeljin at the same time), the corrupt elements of the Wyrm became pure again. They became purifiers again, lost in a land of corruption. Uncountable billions of Wyrm creatures, Banes and twisted living things died in this instant, consumed in blind and howling agony as the elements ravaged all that was physical in Malfeas. In the material plane, sorcerers and Black Spiral Dancers were consumed by the very powers they tried to summon. In the end Malfeas still stood, for Lies, Desire, Paranoïa and Despair are not so easily defeated. However it was a land of nightmare for all corrupt being, walled off by angry elements now beyond corruption.

But, the Garou Nation has far from won. While environmental pollution is no longer a top priority for the servants of Corruption, they remain in the world twisting minds rather than twisting bodies. If sludge, oil or smog were not enemies to be clawed on, what can be said of Hatred, of racism, of depression or madness? The Garou have less physical enemies to fight but the Wyrm is more cunning than ever and its servants subtler.

Also what the Garou knows not, what perhaps not even the servants of the Dragon know not, it's that the madness of the Destroyer has receded. He still seeks to escape his prison by destroying the world but no longer his heads work at cross-purpose. He has a goal now, clear and unclouded sight, peerless passion and understanding of all emotions.

It will be free.
..................................................

So good news everyone no more Pentex or Pollution cultists
Bad news everyone, werewolves are still not built to fight foes seeking to turn humanity against them.

 

[SinisterPorpoise]

Well this is apparently a Thing now;

The Long Night returns! White Wolf and Dziobak Larp Studios high concept Vampire:The Dark Ages larp, The Convention of Thorns returns for an encore engagement in 2017!
Set at a pivitiol time in the history of the kindred, this fully immersive larp hosted at a castle in Poland is unlike any that has come before it.
Take part in this unique "what if" event where you decide the future of World of Darkness!
Additional information and ticketing information for Convention of Thorns 2 can be found at http://www.cotlarp.com/

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[EarthScorpion]

Oh, and I like the WoD setting but not its themes. Luckily you can keep about 90% of the setting and get rid of the themes you don't like. Eat the chicken and throw away the bone.

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It's been ages since I played WoD, but I'm fairly sure that the themes are pretty much the only things separating it from the real world.

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We've been over this before, and Paulie is being more economical with the truth than a £1 shop that only sells metaphysical concepts. To quote TenfoldShields from the last time this came up:

It's a modified WoD in the same way a horse drawn Hummer is technically a hybrid.

Ie. Not really, also you ripped out everything important and now there's horseshit everywhere

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This is the same person who decided that the humanity-denigrating pagan vampire witches and the insane vampire pseudo-scientist occultists are the good Covenants and re-wrote things to make them the good guys.

Also, does anyone have a link to that interesting ES post (I think it was ES) where he has an idea of where Second Sight Low-Magic might fit into a Mage: The Awakening Paradigm/Universe? Like, I remember seeing it, or he might have been linking someone else saying it, and thinking, "Huh, that actually makes sense."

I think it also explained away Psychics/etc. It was nifty.

Click to shrink...

Here. It's oooooooooooold (from 2008).

[WoD] The Manifold Masses of Mages