Contents

Date of last revision: June 14, 2024

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Charms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Lexicon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Bless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Noblesse Oblige . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
The Light and the Dark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Fight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Govern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Being a Princess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Inspire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Noble Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Coronations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Creating a Princess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Character Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Fighting Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Inner Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Outer Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The Dark World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
Wisps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 The Dark Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Umbrae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Caligines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Luminous Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Sample Darkened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Sample Darkspawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Transformed Abilities and Skills . . . . 44
Sample Mnemosyne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Sample Cataphractoi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Sample Dark Cults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Seeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Tainted Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Mender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Dethroned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Troubadour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Wardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
The Queen of Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Amanojaku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
The Queen of Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Tears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Ghost Princesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
The Queen of Hearts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Storms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
The Queen of Spades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Stormwracked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
The Queen of Swords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Goalenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Beacons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Sworn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Dreamlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Shikigami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Embassies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
The Power of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Embassy to the Arcane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Echoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Embassy to Childhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Embassy to Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Dual Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Embassy to the Dreamlands . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Merits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Embassy to the Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Blessed Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Embassy to Ephemera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Invocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Embassy to Fortune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

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 Embassy to Lilith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 The Protectorate of Amethyst . . . . . . . . . . 383
Embassy to Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 The Protectorate of Garnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Embassy to Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
The Protectorate of Heliotrope . . . . . . . . . 386
Embassy to the Ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Embassy to Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 The Protectorate of Pyrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Alhambra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

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 Introduction
My name is Shoutan Himei. I’m sixteen years old, and I’m very tired.
– Sailor Nothing

No matter how old we may be now, all of us shook our heads, wondering how we could ever be
were once young. The world was unexplored dumb enough to make them in the first place. Our
and exciting, full of possibility. What we lacked potential was replaced with reality. We found out
in experience and wisdom, we made up for in that no, life wasn’t going to be an open book for
possibility and enthusiasm. We dreamed of fame, us. We became jaded, we figured out we’re not
fortune, wealth, glory, respect. We wanted to be that special, that the things we love aren’t really
astronauts, cowboys, firemen, doctors, singers, rock the best things in the universe, that our fresh new
stars, or all of the above at once. After all, we ideas had been tried before a thousand times.
didn’t know what was possible – and that meant Yet even after learning this, we still long for the
ANYTHING was possible. We looked at the world fire and passion of our youths. Yes, we know that
through guileless eyes, felt it as fully and intensely we’re not that special and yes, we know the things
as anyone ever could. When we came to a new we believed were silly... but wouldn’t it be nice
idea, we embraced it zealously and whole-heartedly, if they weren’t? The promises of our youth could
convinced we’d found the secret that would change never be fulfilled... but it still felt good to think
the world. When we loved, we were convinced it they could, right?
was the most passionate ever felt; when we hurt, They can. We didn’t get wiser when we grew
we thought it was a tragedy the likes of which had up, we just became more cynical. We weren’t
never been seen. We were convinced that we had stupid back then, and our greatest mistake, our
the whole thing figured out, that we could make only mistake, was telling ourselves that we were.
everything perfect if we just had a chance, if the We stopped putting all of our selves into everything
grown-ups would just listen. After all, we could do we did because we became too afraid of failing, of
anything if we put our mind to it. We were fearless. letting ourselves get hurt by the effort. So we told
We couldn’t wait to grow up so we could grab life ourselves that trying was silly. We abandoned the
by the horns. dreams we had rather than see them fail. We gave
And as we mature, we realize the follies of in to our fears.
our youth. We learn that our love and pain are And now it’s time to overcome them.
not unique, that everyone in the world has gone
through the same; this was comforting, but it
was also disappointing. We found out that there
are no more cowboys, that we didn’t have the A Game Of Fighting Fear
money or determination for medical school, that
we couldn’t pass the physical to be an astronaut or Princess: The Hopeful is a game about the promises
that becoming a famous musician is just a matter of our youth fulfilled, inspired by the “maho shoujo”
of luck and we’d probably have to get a job doing or “magical girl” genre of Japanese anime and
something boring, even worse, something LAME. manga. Princes and Princesses are those who
We learned that growing up isn’t about suddenly haven’t given in to that fear of inadequacy and
being able to do everything you ever wanted; it’s failure. They come from a world unlike the World
mostly about learning how stupid you were when of Darkness, a better world, a kinder world, a just
you were young. We learned from our mistakes and world. They come from the world we all wished we

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could make before we knew it was impossible – and change things, even if you’re too small for the
they seek to prove us wrong. A better world wasn’t cosmos to notice just yet. You’re a force of chaos,
impossible, and it still isn’t. As a Princess, power shaking people from the sleep they’ve been in. Once
isn’t a gift to you, it’s a responsibility. you start performing your little miracles, people
You can fix problems. There’s too much we will take notice. Living with and for others means
just resign ourselves to. We say, “That’s just the you can’t always be discreet. You’re different.
way it is,” and live with the pain. You don’t have You’re not playing by the rules anymore. You’re
to. You can do things, real things, to solve people’s laying down new rules and once people understand
problems. You don’t have to feel frustrated. You them, they’ll try and exploit them, like they did
can be their white knight against the cruel world. with the old rules. You are a revolutionary force.
Few people have the power to do this and the You’ll just have to find out for yourself.
chance to see the world work the way we think it In the end, a world of darkness is a world of
should is too tempting to pass up. possibilities. Many of them are not pleasant – we’ve
But some problems don’t want to be fixed. spent millennia creating societies of light expressly
Life is a Gordian knot. There’s not always an out of fear of them. Under the blanket of night
easy way to do things, even against apparently lies an undiscovered country. It might be empty,
supernatural threats. People are complicated and waiting for you to build your own palaces. It might
confused. They will often act against their best be flush with danger, patiently lying just out of
interests without thinking. Many insist on the sight. And it might be hiding the very treasures
Status Quo because they know how to live with we’ve thought were impossible. The darkness, the
the Status Quo, and something new makes all of shadows, the occult – it is like Pandora’s Box. In
their supposed wisdom worthless. it might lay evils we can’t imagine. But slam the
Because doing good can be terrifying. lid too fast and you lock away Hope forever.
An angel is another kind of monster. Those
who do what they believe is right, relentlessly,
unapologetic, frequently frightening those around
them. It’s understandable – you have power and Theme: Fighting Fear
they don’t. No matter how kind you try and
be, you’re taking the decision out of their hands. Princess is a game about making a difference.
Not everybody will be thankful. Many will try to A Princess can defeat the monster, she can win
destroy you or chain you down. They might be the election and start instituting reforms, she can
right. They might be wrong. To act, you need the rescue the cute boy. However to do it she’s
resolution to decide what is what and many will going to have to face her fears. The monster
call that inhuman. isn’t a harmless creature from a Saturday morning
And sometimes the good guys can’t win. cartoon: Death is a real possibility, serious injuries
You’re powerful, but you aren’t all powerful. You are likely, nightmares are almost inevitable. The
can’t be every where at once. You can’t account for election isn’t won with a short speech about hope,
simple bad luck. No matter how much you want to it’s a dirty campaign where her good name is
believe otherwise, you can and will fail. People will viscously dragged through the mud. Sometimes the
die. People will suffer. And because you’re in the hardest part about being a hero is just ignoring how
thick of it, you’re going to feel their pain worse than embarrassing it is to stand up for what you believe
if you stayed at home and turned on the TV. Doing in when everyone says you’re wrong. A Princess
the right thing can be a trial without end. can save the day, but she’s probably going to have
But you can’t walk away. Because to stare down her own nightmares to do it.
sometimes they do. Blissful ignorance is no
longer an option. You can’t hide behind the excuse
that there’s nothing you can do. And sensitive
to the hearts of others, you can’t shut out their Mood: Exhaustion
pain – or their joy. Those rare moments of beauty
and happiness are what make the fight worth it. Sure you can solve one problem, but can you solve
You need to protect that, because without those all of them? Can you find the energy to run for
occasions of hope, life is not worth living. Once mayor, mentor the people who need it and spend
your eyes are open to that fact, it’s hard to shut all night fighting monsters? When will you sleep,
them again. and when will you have room for some desperately
Nothing will be the same. The world will needed me time to think about your own problems?
never be the same after you. You are going to A Princess’ magic makes her feel like every problem

5
in the world is her personal responsibility, it’s the horror inherent in the concept of young girls
an impossible burden that will wear her mental, fighting monsters rather than relying on some dark
physical and even emotional stamina to nothing. secret at the heart of the magical girl powers.
The only way she can survive is if she can find With the focus given to mundane evils and the
friends to support her and allies to share the load. importance of friendship Sailor Nothing is perhaps
the quintessential inspiration for Princess. It
inspired us when we wrote Princess and we hope

How to use this Book it will inspire you as well.

Information on the Nobility, and their obligations Mai-Otome

are divided into several sections
Mai-Otome takes the magical girl genre into places
Chapter One: Noblesse Oblige provides it does not normally venture: Politics. At
information on the Nobility: their magic, their heart Mai-Otome is about two girls (one a literal
culture, and their world. princess) forced to grow up by the harsh realities
of Realpolitik, and in the process learning that
Chapter Two: Coronation explains how to create a being a magical girl is so much more than looking
Princess character and describes the innate traits amazing. With friendship, growing up, magical
of Princess. girls and Realpolitik Mai-Otome serves well as an
inspiration for Princess: the Hopeful.
Chapter Three: The Power of Love lists the many
wonderful magics and new character traits available
to a Princess. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Chapter Four: Fighting Fear lists the monsters and As one of the most popular Maho Shoujo to be
antagonists who oppose the Hopeful and all they created in recent years this list cannot be complete
stand for. without a mention of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
The truth at the heart of the Puella Magi makes
it harder to use Madoka for inspiration but around
Credits the edges, those Puella Magi who never learn the
truth, show all the struggles and heartache you
might find in a Princess.
Princess: the Hopeful is a collaborative effort of
posters on the RPGnet forums
Special Thanks To: Azunth, Cruton, Darinas,
EarthScorpion, Huitzil, Kearin, Film
Luc “Nickname” French, Michael Brazier, Naomi
Li, TheKingsRaven, Brave
and everyone else on RPGnet and elsewhere
helped in the development of Princess: the Hopeful. A story about a rebellious princess with a
Title page by: Kaya Oldaker difference. It shows the consequences when a
princess rebels against her obligations; that alone
makes it a worthwhile inspiration for Princess:

Sources and Inspiration the Hopeful. The themes of growing up and the
importance of family only sweeten the deal.

Maho Shoujo Coraline

Sailor Nothing Coraline falls under the archetype of “girls
underground” stories. This archetype provides
Sailor Nothing is one of the oldest deconstructions, themes for the Dreamlands and for that purpose
and also reconstructions, of the magical girl Coraline does not disapoint. Coraline’s adventures
genre. Sailor Nothing sets itself apart from help her to grow as a person and she returns
many of the later deconstructions by showing better able to face the real world. Her antagonist

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also provides the quintessential inspiration for a
Warden.
The School for Good and Evil
When the lonely outcast Agatha and her only
friend, the beautiful and popular Sophie, are sent to
The School for Good and Evil both girls are shocked
Peter Pan to discover that Agatha has been labelled good
and Sophie has been labelled evil. Together they
Another girls underground story, Peter Pan (the
struggle to cope with the school’s strict rules and
live action film released in 2001) is a brilliant
the narrow archetype to which they are expected
portrayal of what we fear about growing up and
to perform.
why we overcome those fears. It can serve as an
The School for Good and Evil makes
inspiration metaphorically or more literally to show
inspirational material for Princess: the Hopeful for
why living a utopian life in the Dreamlands isn’t
a simple reason. Sophie is a note perfect example
always the perfect choice. Not even for Beacons
of how a Princess of Mirrors could think and act.
who have no royal duties to call them back.

Live Action Television

Spider-Man: Homecoming
When Spider-Man debuted in 1962 the concept
Black Lighting
of an ordinary person with realistic, relatable, Black Lightning’s quest to free his hometown from
problems as a superhero was revolutionary and the all-powerful drug gang, “The One Hundred”,
today Spider-Man’s struggles to balance his covers many notes appropriate to a Princess story.
superheroics with his secret identity is a good The conflicting demands between Black Lightning’s
example of the struggles a Princess might face; superheroics and mundane life as well as Black
while his over-active sense of personal responsibility Lightnig’s consistent use of both his superpowers
is a common trait to the Nobility. The recent and his day-job as a high school principal to help
film: Spider-Man: Homecoming demonstrates both his community are useful inspirations for Princess;
this traits, but many other portrayals of the iconic even if they would fall under different Callings in
character cover the same ground. the Princess setting. The outburst of hope seen
in the early episodes when Black Lightning returns
from retirement is also good inspiration for how a
Princess’ fans might react to her activities.
Literature
Animorphs Lexicon
Five human teenagers (and later one alien teenager)
• Acqua: The Invocation of the Queen of
are granted body-morphing powers by a dying alien
Diamonds.
prince in order to fight a guerrilla war against
a clandestine invasion of brain-controlling alien • Aria: The Invocation of the Queen of Spades.
slugs. The series delves freely into the darker
realities of being a child soldier: dead friends and • Alhambra: The last surviving city of the
allies, captured family members, impossible moral Kingdoms, ruled by the Queen of Tears and
choices, the fog of war, and PTSD. Over the course sustained by stealing hope from the world.
of over 50 books, the main characters go from
being innocent children to battle-hardened soldiers • Beacon: A human with enough kindness and
before they’re even old enough to vote. Animorphs optimism to manifest a tiny fragment of the
serves as a stark reminder that being a teenager Light.
with superpowers is not quite the wish-fulfillment • Belief: A Princess’ ideals, principals, and hope
fantasy it’s made out to be... but it’s also a that the world can be saved. Belief serves as
reminder of the importance of keeping up the fight, the Integrity replacement for Princesses.
even when the best you can do is stall for time until
backup arrives, just to keep the spark of hope from • Bequest: A magical item that grants the
going out completely. wielder access to a Charm. Only Beacons,

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 Princesses, Shikigami, and Sworn may use a • Darkness, the: A force of despair, cruelty,
Bequest. decay and corruption. Little is known about
what the Darkness actually is.
• Blessed Place: A place where a great good
has taken place, people within feel uplifted and • Darkspawn: The most common minion of the
discover themselves to be more capable. Darkness. Darkspawn are animalistic and
always evil. They cannot be cured, and must
• Calling: The method by which a Princess be slain.
attempts to help the world.
• Dark Door: A portal found within Tainted
• Cataphractoi: Rare and powerful creatures of Places that leads to the Nightscape.
the Darkness. Cataphractoi are ocasioanlly
created when a human commits suicide, and • Dark World: A parallel reality controlled by
attempt to mimic habits from that person’s the Darkness. An apocalyptic hell-scape no
life. They don’t really distinguish between Princess will willingly enter except in the most
self and other, and have an innate ability to dire need.
command Darkspawn, so they often end up
leading Darkspan in their activities. • Dethroned: A Princess who has abandoned
all hope and become a warped and twisted
• Campaign: A large gathering of Princesses monster. Most Dethroned live in isolation and
who’ve come together to solve an emergency. suffering, but occasionally they can become
a terrifying danger to humans and Princesses
• Champion: Princesses who seek to help the alike. Dethroned can be redeemed with great
world through their own physical prowess. difficulty.
This often means by fighting evil but other
manifestations of the Calling exist. • Diamonds, Queen of: The Queen who
teaches her followers to solve problems through
• Charm: A magic spell that a Princess may knowledge and reason.
learn and use.
• Dreamlander: An inhabitant of the
• Clique: A social group of Princesses. Cliques Dreamlands. Most are a personification
keep an eye out for each other and help each of something from humanity’s collective
other relax after a hard day’s work. Contrast unconscious. That said, all sorts of other
with Nakama. creatures have ended up settling in the
• Clubs, Queen of: The Queen who teaches her Dreamlands, including the souls of most of
followers to find harmony with others and the the Kingdoms’ inhabitants.
world around them. • Dreamlands: The collective unconscious of all
• Commonality: The strength of the emotional humanity, as perceived by Princesses.
bond between a group. A Princess may • Dual Identity: An innate magical effect
use some Charms upon an entire group, the common to all Princesses, Dual Identity makes
stronger the bond the easier it is to do so. it exceptionally difficult to realise a Princess’
• Court: The collective term for a Queen and all mundane and transformed identities are the
her followers. same person.

• Crawlspace: The astral representation of a • Echo: A side effect of a Princess’ Inner Light,
Princess’ own mind and soul. A Crawlspace an Echo makes her actions more noticeable and
is always uncomfortable and hard to traverse emotionally impactful, for good or ill.
because one use of the Crawlspace is to • Embassy: The Z-Splat of Princess: the
travel through it to the Dreamlands, and the Hopeful. Princesses join an Embassy by
Princess’ subconscious tries to warn her away accepting a foreign concept into their own
from The Trap (even though the trap is no magic, most do so because they wish to redeem
longer functional). that concept.
• Darkened: A human infected by the Darkness, • Enlightened, the: Another term for a
they may wield dark magic and risk loosing Princesses.
their humanity. Darkened may be cured by
Charms or by rebuilding their Integrity. • Fuoco: The Invocation of the Queen of Swords.

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• Gales: A natural feature of the Dreamlands • Mender: Princesses who seek to help the world
which warps the mind and memories of anyone by restoring damaged things; be it a man, a
who stays in the Dreamlands too long. The mind, or a machine.
Trap worked by keeping the inhabitants of the
• Mirrors, Queen of: The Queen who tells her
Kingdoms in the Dreamlands long enough to
followers to sit back and let destiny hand them
be affected by the gales.
victory on a sliver platter.
• Goalenu: A part of the Queen of Storms
• Mnemosyne: The most human-like minions of
given temporary independence to serve her
the Darkness. Mnemosyne favour using social
will. Goalenu are ephemeral beings, but may
acumen to corrupt or torment people. Though
inhabit specially crafted bodies.
intelligent, they have absolutely no humanity
• Grace: Princesses who seek to help the world or morality and cannot be cured, they must be
through encouragement or leadership. slain.
• Hearts, Queen of: The Queen who teaches her • Mundane Identity: A Princess when she has
followers to build and lead societies. not Transformed. In most regards she is little
more than a mortal.
• Heraldry: Items and apparel that are part of a
Princess’ transformed identity but are merely • Nakama: A social group of Princesses who
decorative, such as clothing. support each other in both their personal lives
and noble duties. Contrast with Clique.
• Hopeful, the: A collective term for Princesses.
• Nightscape: The part of the Dark World
• Inner Light: The overall strength of a Princess’
immediately below a Tainted Place. A
magic.
Nightscape is safer than the Dark World itself
• Intimacy: The strength of the emotional bond and many Princesses willingly enter them to
between a Princess and another. A Princess destroy the Taint at it’s source.
may use some Charms at distance over an
• Noble: Another term for Princesses.
intimate bond, and the stronger the bond the
easier it is to do so. • Outer Darkness, the: Another term for The
Darkness.
• Invocation: The philosophical ideals of a
Queen. A Princess who acts in accordance • Palace: A place to which a Princess feels a
with an Invocation may strengthen her great emotional bond. Some Charms are more
Charms and unlocks the potential to learn new effective when used upon a Palace. Palace may
Charms that align with the Invocation. also coloqualiy refer to anywhere a Princess
lives.
• Kingdoms, the: The nations ruled by the
Queens before the fall. Commonly held to be • Perfected self: Another name for a Princess’
as close to utopian as humanly possible. transformed self.
• Lacrima: The Invocation of the Queen of • Phylactery: A physical item that represents
Tears. a Princess’ Beliefs. A Princess must use her
Phylactery to transform.
• Legno: The Invocation of the Queen of Clubs.
• Practical Magic: A magical ability that a
• Light, the: A force of hope and virtue
Princess may use even when not transformed.
responsible for the existence of Princesses.
Each Court provides a different form of
Little is known about what the Light actually
Practical Magic.
is.
• Prince: A male Princess.
• Light Touched: A collective term for: Beacons,
Princesses, Sworn, and Shikigami. • Princess: A human touched by the Light who
may transform into a perfected magical self.
• Luminous Beat: One fifth of a Luminous
Only people of great virtue with a strong drive
Experience.
to improve the world may become Princesses,
• Luminous Experience: A unique source of however after doing so they will reincarnate
Experience available to Princesses. Princesses upon death and reclaim their power even
earn Luminous Experience through helping without living up to the standards of their first
others. life.

9
• Protectorate: Another form of Embassies. • Spades, Queen of: The Queen who teaches her
There is no metaphysical difference between followers to live free and think outside of the
Embassies and Protectorates, but they have box.
a significant ideological difference: Where as
Embassies wish to redeem, Protectorates wish • Specchio: The Invocation of the Queen of
to rule. Protectorates are created by the Court Mirrors.
of Tears.
• Swords, Queen of: The Queen who teaches her
• Queen: A Princess who has mastered her followers to help the world through personal
magic, completed her character development, heroism.
and become the beloved leader of a nation’s
worth of people. Queens are significantly • Sworn: A human bestowed power by a
more powerful than Princesses, and their very Princess. Sworn often serve as assistants or
existence empowers an Invocation. support to Princesses.

• Radiant: The Courts of: Clubs, Diamonds, • Tainted Places: Areas where acts of evil have
Hearts, Spades, and Swords, as well as any been committed. They inflict penalties upon
member of those courts. everyone except the Darkness’ minions within,
and humans who suffer a Breaking Point
• Regalia: Items that form when a Princess within risk becoming Darkned. Tainted Places
assumes her Transformed Identity. Each piece must be purified or destroyed.
of Regalia is linked to a specific Charm and
must be used to invoke that Charm, but most • Tears, Queen of: The last Queen to rule a
Charms have no associated Regalia. living kingdom, and who demands her subjects
defend Alhambra at any cost.
• Royal Favour: A unique benefit granted to
the Court of Storms whereby the Queen of • Terra: The Invocation of the Queen of Hearts.
Storms will enact a Charm through one of her
followers, at the cost of that follower’s health • Tempesta: The Invocation of the Queen of
and possibly their life. Storms.
• Seeker: Princesses who seek to help the world • Transformed Identity: What a Princess
by uncovering or teaching knowledge. becomes by transforming, in this form she has
greater skill, ability, and may use Charms.
• Sensitivity: Sensitivity: Sensitivity refers to
a Princess’s special vulnerability to emotional • Trap, the: The Trap was a powerful illusion
shocks, which can send her magic haywire. constructed within the Dreamlands. It
• Shadows: The lasting negative effects of trapped the five Radiant Queens and their
an emotional shock, which can dampen a followers for millennia. Currently the Trap is
Princess’ power and cause severe issues if they barely functional.
grow unchecked.
• Troubadour: Princesses who seek to help the
• Shikigami: A Dreamlander granted a physical world through art.
body so that they may assist and advise
Princesses. Most Shikigami come from a • Twilight: The Courts of: Tears, Storms or
Radiant Court, but any Dreamlander can Mirrors, as well as any member of those courts.
become a Shikigami.
• White Rabbit: A message created by a
• Storms, Queen of: The Queen who teaches Princess’ subconscious to alert her that she
her followers to destroy the Darkness without should see something in the Dreamlands. Most
mercy or hesitation. commonly White Rabbits lead to an event in
the Dreamland that portents a future event on
• Stormwracked: A Sworn of Storms, noteably Earth.
Stormwracked are usually created directly
by the Queen of Storms and often act • Wisp: Perfectly ordinary human emotional
independently from Princesses. energy, Princesses use it to fuel their magic.

10
 Chapter 1: Noblesse Oblige
I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.
– Mahatma Gandhi

we ourselves are the Dark’s true origin, our sins

The Light and the Dark created it and we shall forever be haunted by our
crimes until such a day as we rise above them.
That’s the thing about morality, it’s complicated. The contrast between Light and Dark is
Sages and philosophers have debated for thousands something every Noble is glad for. For as much
of years to answer the simplest of questions. “What as she looks to the Light, even the Nobility live
is good?”, “What is evil?” But is morality always somewhere between Light and Dark. Sooner or
so complicated? Are there not easier questions to later every Princess will have to make some tough
ask? For every tough question like “Is it justified moral choices; it comes with the job. On a
to kill one to save five?” is there not an easier bad day a Princess could find herself trapped for
question like “Is it justified to kill another for your an unconscionable time with no clear answers.
own personal profit?” Struggling to stitch together some semblance of a
Ask any of the Nobility and they will tell you that moral solution to an impossible problem. On those
of course there is such a thing as objective good days the existence of the Light can be the only thing
and evil. To the Radiant the world they inhabit reminding them that good exists and it is worth
makes this as clear as daylight. A Princess draws fighting for.
her magic from the Light. A force created by love,
friendship, by effort to improve the world or just
effort to help a stranger out. The Light probably
isn’t the absolute axis for all that is good but if
The Kingdom's Fall
it could think you could say it’s making a sincere When the Nobility speak of the Kingdoms they
effort to reach that exalted height. For the Nobility refer to at least eight sovereign nations: Alhambra,
this is enough to point at for proof that good really Andarta, Aztallan, The Confederacy of Four
does exist, because what Princesses compare the Winds, Crystal Heril, Danann, Gonel and Wen-
Light to is the Dark. Mung. There are others, but their names, histories
The Dark is the Light’s opposite in every way. and even their existence are debated with little
It is a force of banal corruption; the absence consensus. Each lived the ideals of the Light in
of all hope, the absence of all belief that things their own way, guided by the Queen who ruled
can get better. It festers where people commit them. None were perfect but by all accounts they
acts of cruelty and inflict suffering on each other. were fantastic places to live. Prosperous, just, kind
Everything it touches is tainted with its own and peaceful.
nature. If left unchecked it would cause an Yet for all its Light the Kingdoms did not last
unending torrent of corruption until the Dark forever. Even in a world of Light some things are
finally succumbed to its own nature and starved universal, one is the necessity of compromise. A
upon an empty wasteland. The scholars among the land of individual freedom must accept a lack of
Nobility are divided upon one key question about organisation as its due. Each of the Queens chose
the Dark. Its origins. Some say that it is a dreadful what they deemed to be good and accepted the
alien being attacking our world through humanity’s cost. In time they forgot that this was a choice of
cruelties for it’s own sustenance. Others say that preference and believed they alone had chosen the

11
one true way. In their own way each turned rigid history the Radiant hardly had any presence at
and dogmatic; from this simple vice the Darkness all. Reincarnations have always formed the vast
gained its first foothold in its eternal war against majority of the Nobility and with the reincarnations
the Kingdom. locked away anyone who Blossomed was most likely
The Kingdoms rallied and drove the Darkness alone and untrained. If they were lucky a group of
back to whatever terrible domain it came from as friends might Blossom together. They would do
they had done countless times before but this time what they can, but standing alone there was little
they were blinded by their dogma. Small traces chance of changing the world.
of Taint were overlooked, festering as “inevitable Only the Twilight Queens created any form
drawbacks” of the Light’s civilisation. Rotting of continuity for the Nobility during the Long
away in secret the Darkness began to grow within Night. The Lady of Alhambra kept the last
the heart of the Kingdom. Its attacks became remnants of the Kingdoms alive. The Saraphic
more frequent, more destructive, and every time General inducted mortal forces to throw against the
it was defeated the same growing rot remained Darkness. The Queen of Mirrors searched for her
unnoticed. In the end the Darkness broke over the True Heir. The Twilight Queens were a temptation
Kingdom like a tidal wave, the armies were routed to the Princesses who Blossomed during the Long
and the cities fell, still trying to understand how Night, but they were a temptation because they
the Darkness’ presence was even possible. were so vital. The only constant source of support
Today little remains of the Kingdom. The a young Princess could turn to.
domains of the five Radiant Queens live on in the
Dreamlands, but the warping Gales make it hard to
tell how accurate a portrayal those dreams are. If
any true records of the Kingdom exist they would The War of Hope
be locked away deep within Alhambra’s vaults, for
of the Kingdom only Alhambra has survived to this In July 1969 mankind first set foot on the moon.
day. Protected by it’s Queen’s formidable magic The hope released by this single event was so great
deep within the Heart of the Darkness. that for the briefest instant the Light shone brighter
on Earth than it did in the Dreamlands. In a
flash every soul trapped within knew that they
The Long Night and the Dream were not on Earth as they believed. The five
Queens mustered their armies against their jailors
The Darkness cannot create, it can only corrupt. and shattered the machinery of their prison. Their
This was always its greatest weakness. Among victory was swift and brutal; after millennia of
those who were Tainted by the Darkness during the imprisonment the Kingdom was once again free.
Fall were three mighty creatures known as The Red The effects were far from instantaneous. The first
Queen, The White Queen and The Black Queen: reincarnated Princess to once again Blossom was
The avatars of violence, self loathing and despair. in 1987 and the second was not until 1994. Today
These creatures knew the Light intimately, they the Nobility are still small in number but they’re
knew that even as the Darkness turned upon itself growing fast with multiple Blossomings a year. At
the Light would ready itself to build something new this point they are a minor force in the world
and wonderful to reclaim its place. but have had some noticeable successes in areas
Guided by the Darkness’ instinctive opposition where Princesses are common; Blossomings have
to the Light the three constructed a trap deep shown a tendency towards geographical clustering.
within the Dreamlands: A mirror to reflect the The first generation of Princesses have now reached
Light of the world. The trap tricked the souls of the middle age and many have gained positions of
Nobility travelling towards reincarnation and drew prestige and influence. In doing so they have
them away from Earth. They incarnated within caused a backlash from established power blocks,
the Dreamlands where wonderful and elaborate both mortal and otherwise. The Twilight Queens
illusions clouded their minds; letting them believe have also experienced a renaissance; each was
they lived and did their duties on Earth even while active through the Long Night and were perfectly
the centuries ticked away. placed to take advantage of the release. New and
The Radiant call this period of history “The vulnerable Princesses have been eagerly snapped up
Long Night”and the trap that held them is by all three Courts.
simply called “The Dream”. For much of human As the saying goes, we live in interesting times.

12
 Alternative Dates
As 1969 recedes further into the past the implications of moon landing triggering the release
change: The average age of Princesses increases. Princesses have more time to improve the
world, and questions of what they have or have not accomplished become more pressing. One
solution to these questions is to choose a later date for The Release, or perhaps a much earlier
date to facilitate a game set in a historical era without inflicting the problems of the Long Night
upon your players. Some possible alternative triggers for the release are:

•The enlightenment of Gautama Buddha; 528 or 445 BCE — The Light meets the original
enlightened. Princess’ focus on community and the world contrasts with Buddha’s philosophy of
detachment. What shall they learn from each other?
•The end of the Black Death, 1350 — Though a time of terror and suffering even the Black
Death had it’s silver lining, such as increasing social mobility and freeing peasants from serfdom.
Could Princesses have helped usher in these changes?
•The Reformation; 1517 — A time of religious dogma enforced by the Inquisition,
Machiavellian and mercantile intrigue, a time crying out for reform and the Light.
•The ascension of Tokugawa Ieyasu; 1603 — Tokugawa’s coronation marked the end of a
brutal civil war and the start of the Edo period. A time of peace, prosperity, strict social order,
and flourishing arts. It is the period that first comes to mind upon hearing the words “feudal
Japan”. Did Nobles play their part in creating this peace and prosperity?
•The 13th amendment; 1865 — The abolition of slavery, but the beginning of a long struggle
for equality. A struggle worthy of any Princess’ dedication.
•The Battle of Shiroyama; 1877 — The Meiji Restoration was A time of growth and renewal
as Japan reconsolidated and prepared to renter the outside world. While Saigō Takamori’s last
stand at Shiroyama would dignify Bushido in the eyes of the nation, creating a conflict between
old and new. A conflict a Princess could find herself on either side of.
•VE day; 1945 — The end of World War II would release Princesses just in time for Nobles
to come of age in the 60s, a time of massive social change, clashing cultures and counter-cultures,
and the Cold War.
•The eradication of smallpox; 1980 or the fall of the Berlin Wall; 1989 — For groups who
want to preserve Princess’ default setting by moving the release forward by a small amount and
keeping Nobles as a new Phenomena.

achieves her potential and first becomes the woman

Being a Princess she will be. It is an unmistakeable and turbulent
yet joyous time in any Princess’ life. Facing a
problem that seems beyond her, and beyond the
Blossoming adults or authorities who shelter her, the Princess-
to-be declares or discovers that no, she is able to
A Princess may be born as the reincarnation of her solve this and she decrees that with her capability
past self with a dormant seed of magic in her heart, comes the responsibility to act. Princesses describe
or she may be a mortal who’s purity and passion this as self affirming, the realization of their agency
has such strength that it will erupt into a Light so and the actualization of their ideals and self-
strong it will shine through every life she lives, but development in one critical moment. Many report
a Princess is always born as a seemingly ordinary a feeling that they could “never forgive themselves”
mortal. She lives, grows, and learns in the safety or “would no longer be me” if they had acted
of her parents home until she is ready to step forth any other way. If the Princess is faced with a
into the darkness and face the evil therein. time critical emergency she might Transform on
Nobles call the transition between mundanity the spot, striding forward to meet the challenge
and Nobility a Blossoming. The moment a child with new magic. Others Blossom over hours, days,

13
or even weeks, as the Princess works towards a most if not all Princesses regain their power every
solution or explores her new-found sense of self in time they’re reborn. The requirements to become
the aftermath of her victory. As she progresses a Onceborn are far more stringent, and far more
towards her Blossoming the world opens up before interesting to the Enlightened for Onceborn are the
her, she finds answers to questions and doubts that only way to truly increase the Noble population.
had plagued her, and feels ever more certain of her The individual must not be a creature of the
place in it until she accumulates a critical mass Darkness - but, then again, a few spontaneous
of positive emotions that condense into her Noble Blossomings have been noted among individuals
magic. who, of their own free will, managed to cast off
Because Blossomings begin when a Princess the taint. Onceborn must be paragons of virtue
realises that she is capable and responsible for and morality and this is by far the most rigorous
solving real issues the majority of Blossoming and important requirement to Blossoming, but not
occur from the mid teens to early adulthood as the only requirement. Onceborn are frequently
the individual establishes their own social identity idealistic or visionaries in some way, and proactive
and faces new challenges. Younger Princesses are about putting their visions into practice although
usually sheltered from the kind of problems that that does not necessarily correlate with naivety; one
prompt a Blossoming, but circumstances push some can be aware of the flaws of the world and still want
to accept responsibility beyond their years and to improve it. Enough Sworn have Blossomed as
anything from taking care of a younger sibling Onceborn to be significant but this is still a small
while mother works to running away from home minority of Sworn. The orthodox view among the
can result in a young Princess claiming the magic Nobility is that it is the life of a Sworn is conductive
she needs to overcome whatever troubles she faces. to Blossoming, not any supernatural trait of Sworn.
Not all of these child Princesses have a specific In the end, all that the Hopeful have been able
trigger to their Blossoming. Some reincarnated to detect among the circumstances which granted
Nobles describe their Blossoming as a natural their powers are broad trends and patterns. Almost
product of a growing awareness of themselves inevitably, there will be an exception to any rule
and their role as their brains developed and they they devise.
explored the world around them. As though
they already were a Princess and only needed to
realise it. Blossomings in adulthood are relatively
rare because so many Princesses have already
Callings
Blossomed before they settle down into their adult A Princess Blossoms when she is faced with a crisis
life, and such Blossomings normally occur when a and chooses to act, she accepts responsibility for
major life event such as falling in love, an encounter the problems surrounding her and declares it is her
with the supernatural, or becoming pregnant forces duty to fix things. Through accepting duty and
the Princess to re-evaluate herself and her place responsibility the Princess finds the inner strength
in the world. These Blossomings can be harder she’ll need to fulfil her new role, and unlocks her
on the Princess as an older Princess has more magic. Although Blossoming (usually) has no
responsibilities and less time for magical quests. effect on a Princess’ brain development or hormonal
Alhambran tales claim that the girl who would balance many Nobles consider their Blossoming to
become the Queen of Tears Blossomed at her birth, signify the moment they became adults: Ready to
and the delay in Blossomings today is merely a sign handle their own responsibilities, make their own
of the corruption of the world; but most Radiant decisions to govern their life, and go out into the
Nobles dismiss this as the self-aggrandisement world to make their mark.
common to the Court of Tears and choose to believe This combination of a Princess’ new duties, and
that it has always been this way. the strength and magic that flow from them is
immigrant workers against oppressive employers, called her Calling; the foundation stone of any
and in a flare of blinding light suddenly straighten Princess’ power. Through her Calling a Princess
up in the garb of a knight of old. can recharge her spent magical and emotional
But to the Nobility when a Blossoming occurs is energy: By fulfilling the responsibilities she has
less interesting than why some people Blossom and accepted she refreshes her spirit and her surety
others do not. Princesses know that single most about her place in the world. A Calling also brings
important trait that predicts a future Blossoming a Princess affinity for the magic that is most helpful
is to be a reincarnation of a Princess. Once a person to fulfilling her duties, making it easier for her to
has achieved a Blossoming she needs fairly little to learn those abilities. Finally a Calling also imposes
regain her powers in future lives. It is believed that a code of behaviour, for a Princess has magic to

14
help her fulfil her purpose and make the world a or act as the intermediary between their daughter
better place, not to indulge herself in the privileges and the adult world.
of noble rank. But most Nobles keep their second life hidden,
A Calling does not confine a Princess into a other Princesses can help, and many Nobles have
narrow role, and few Princesses would argue that a system of sleepovers or after school clubs where
it should. The world is chaotic and always has the Nobles who don’t have any duties today cover
more problems than Princesses so the ability to for the ones who do. Magic is of course used
step outside your comfort zone to deal with a too, and many Princesses use the intelligence
different kind of crisis is always praiseworthy; while or maturity of their Transformed self to get
accepting a Calling makes it easier for a Princess through homework quickly. It’s not unknown for
to learn certain types of magic, it does nothing to Nobles to impersonate each other with magical
hinder her exploration into other fields. disguises or weave illusions to hide their absence
Perhaps most importantly of all a Calling is an from family. Some Princesses even hide their
understanding and an acceptance that a Princess’ Transformed identity behind a screen when texting
duties are not a job she performs or a role she their friends or boyfriend, as the empathy and social
fills. A Princess’ duties are who she is, and who acumen she acquires through Transformation can
she wants to be. help smooth the hurt from a hastily cancelled date.
At a slightly older age, there are the young
adults, typically at university or just entering the
Common Lives workplace. In some ways, they are luckier, because
they do not have to face the fact that they’re not
For most hours of the day a Princess exists as her legally adults; on the other hand, many a Princess
mundane identity, with little in the way of magical has lost her job or been forced to drop out of
power, and for most Princess their activities during university due to the stresses and demands of her
this time are as mundane as their bodies. They calling, and unlike younger ones, their social safety
have work for school or college, friends to see, net of family is in another city which means that
and family to have dinner with. As a rule Nobles the issue of rent and bills starts to come up. For
are social creatures, the kind of person who’d cut every problem a young adult avoids through their
contact with their friends and family to dedicate increased freedom they must face another one due
themselves to hunting monsters twenty four hours to their increased responsibilities. However young
a day is less likely to Blossom than one who’d adulthood is a time of transition, and a disruption
want to balance their friends and family alongside at this point in a Princess’ life is often easier than
their new duties. What’s more, the good times at other times. Drifting away from friends you’ve
and pleasant emotions she experiences eating a met recently in university hurts far less than a
simple family meal are the fuel for Noble magic. A Calling forcing a wedge between a Princess’ and her
competent princess cherishes and invests time into parents. This is the age Nobles where Nobles find
the friendships that give her strength. it easiest to transition into a new social circle that
The majority of Princesses are in their teenage is compatible with their duties. Either because it
years and frequently (though, sadly, not always) is full of people in the know, or just full of people
have their parents as passive support, but must who’re comfortable with hectic schedules and share
suffer problems with their task and how it interacts the Princess’ passion and Beliefs.
with their youth and the demands that society Nobles who Blossomed as adults can find it the
places upon them. Not too many people are pleased hardest of all, even before they Blossom a Princess
with their teenage children sneaking out, and are tends to be outgoing and socially skilled, meaning
even less pleased when they find out that the child an adult Princess is likely to have responsibilities,
has been going down to the area of town where and perhaps even a family of their own. While
the drug dealers hang out, especially on a night teenagers can have strict boundaries set by their
when there are later reports of gang violence. Even parents, such boundaries often allow regular sleep
Princesses whose duties do not involve violence overs or nights out with friends. Sleeping regularly
still face scrutiny, for in the World of Darkness at a friends house is a whole different question
the supernatural is known to be dangerous. A when you’re married with young kids. A teenager’s
Princess’ protests that she’s just working as a funds are more modest than an adult, but they
hospital volunteer that happens to have healing can easily transfer money spent on video games
magic often fall on deaf ears. That said a lucky few and socialising to fulfilling one’s Calling. Money
Princesses have parents who’re willing and able to tied up in school fees and a mortgage is not so
help them keep their secret and provide assistance easily moved. Nobles who Blossomed younger then

15
grew up into adulthood often build their adult lives
trapped under a car, suddenly gains the strength
around their dual identities and make full use of she needs to lift that car; a Princess can draw
the freedom and flexibility adulthood provides, butupon her emotions to find the strength she needs to
those who Blossomed late are often too tied down conjure fire, to heal wounds with a wave of a magic
to start a life of adventure; and instead balance wand, or to fly.
their Calling around their mundane life. The pain But just as a Princess’ emotions can go forth
of knowing you can help, and knowing it’s your and affect the world in ways unimaginable to mere
responsibility to do so, but being too tied down mortals; her magic, her very nature, means that the
can be devastating to these Princesses. Most think world can always come into her heart and affect her
very hard about simply telling their family. emotions. Imagine a grown woman who’s heart still
Pre-teen Princesses can find it just as hard as flutters at every kiss as though it was her very first.
adults. Many live in families who expect that they,Imagine a life time of fighting evil or practising
or a known trusted adult, will know where they medicine when every life lost hurts like the very
are at all times. Even other Princesses can oppose first. And in the world of darkness for every kiss
their activities, teenage Princesses are often as that burns with the passion of the first there are a
uncomfortable with a six year old fighting monstersdozen hurts that strike her exposed heart. This is
as anyone else (for their part The Radiant Queens the price a Princess pays. She can never form the
have seen enough young Nobles to easily recognise armour around her heart that comes so easily to
who’ll sneak out to fight against a Queen’s advice mortals, her own magic rips such protection open
and teach them how to survive rather than waste as it travels outwards. All she can do is grow strong
their breath telling them to stay home). One enough to bear the weight and grow mature enough
thing that must be taken into account is that to deal with her emotions constructively.
young Blossomings (usually) don’t happen without As a Princess grows in power and magic her
a reason, so more child Princesses than you might emotions grow even stronger. This Sensitivity can
expect have a parents who need their kid’s help quite literally make life unbearable. Simply walking
and are forced by circumstances to be open minded, among people batters her with every hardship she
this can grow into a partnership. With supportive sees, each and every one feels like her personal
parents and placement with a new peer group that responsibility. When she goes home the faces of
matches her quickly growing maturity there’s no everyone she couldn’t help lie like Shadows over her
reason a pre-teen can’t thrive. But when the thoughts. They flash before her eyes as she lies in
Princess doesn’t want her parents to know, or they bed, pushing her to go back out and fix things. Too
know but insist their child has a normal childhood many Princesses get trapped in a downward cycle,
a young Princess can be well and truly trapped. inaction or failure to help form Shadows upon their
No matter what age she is in balancing work mind, leading to more failures and more Shadows,
and friendship will require skill, and quite possibly
until she collapses in exhaustion and despair.
magic. While Princesses can get lucky or build a But just as her emotions are stronger than any
life designed to be compatible with their second mortals, strong enough to summon storms and
career, most Princesses find that there can be as raise palaces from the ground, a Princess can also
much drama and difficulty in their mundane life be stronger than any mortal. Every princess has
as there is in their magical life, if perhaps not ironclad Beliefs. A set of ideals that she knows,
as much danger. While many Princesses wish to deep within her soul, that if she follows they will
change society so the next generation will be free lead her to a better future no matter how dark
from the problems they face, few begrudge the time today seems. Even when a Princess’ is suffering
and effort it takes to keep their mundane life and emotional pain a regular mortal couldn’t conceive
their mundane friendships. If they were the kind of, let alone bear, her Belief can give her the
of person who did they probably would never have strength to get out there and fight to fix whatever
Blossomed in the first place. is upsetting her. The Sensitivity that opens her
heart to the suffering of the world also opens her
heart to the love of friends and family, and by
Emotions are Magic spending time in their company and reconnecting
with what is most important a Princess restores her
The first bloom of magic in a Noble is joyous, but will and moves on from past pain. For every face
soon she realizes the price she must pay for it. A that looks to her in pain and need, another looks
Princess’ power comes not from some exotic energy to her in gratitude for the aid she has given, lifting
that only she can see, her powers come from her the burdens on her soul and allowing her to start
emotions. Just as a mother, upon seeing her child fresh. Rested and energised for the fight ahead.

16
 The cycle of Sensitivity and Shadows is easiest like her mundane identity would act in a formal
to stop at the beginning, but with support and situation such as job interview; in addition to minor
strength of character it can be broken at any time. differences like knowing the correct way to formally
And as for those who cannot bear the weight, address the Emperor of Japan.
or can’t break the cycle. Their only choice is to It’s when a Princess’ current life is radically
run and hide. Stick to the quiet hours, find a nice different from her past lives that a strong
walled palace or quiet village somewhere away from personality difference emerges. Because a Princess
all the pain and cruelty of the world; but anyone has the same innate nature in every life this usually
who could easily abandon the world is unlikely to requires a strong external factor to shape her life
Blossom. experiences. For example, a Princess’ who’s curious
innate nature led her to many lives as scholars
and investigators, but who spent this life growing
Transformation up in a fanatical cult that crushed independent
thought, will discover that she Transforms into
From the moment she Blossoms every Princess the independent free thinker she usually is. Such
has the ability to Transform. She is gifted with Princesses can experience an identity crisis but,
a phylactery. An icon of her nobility and a with time and support, they usually bring there
permanent reminder of her dreams and aspirations. mundane self closer to their Transformed self. After
With the simplest effort she takes those dreams and all, her Transformed self incorporates her beliefs
aspirations and adorns herself in her nobility. They and ideals, no matter how hard the world has
flow through her body, transforming her into the tried to beat them out of her, and the more lives
woman she always wanted to be. a Princess has experienced the closer the average
The Nobility often tell each other that of those lives comes to harmony with her innate
Princesses don’t do magic, they are magical and nature. A Princess’ Transformed self can be a
Transformation is the proof. In her mundane guide, helping her become the best and truest
identity a Princess is barely more magical than the version of herself. Some Princesses need that more
average man, but in her transformed identity... Ah, than others.
what a difference that is. Magic flows through her Some Princesses experience personality changes
body; it is on the level of blood or bone. Her magic from having a different biology in their two
makes her stronger, more charismatic, or smarter. identities. Many child Princesses are “Shazams”
Under magical examination a Princess can see that or “Shazs” and Transform into older bodies or are
spells and enchantments are as much a part of her “Nanohas” whose Transformed body has a fully
body as carbon atoms or neurotransmitters. developed brain despite having a similar age to
Even her personality is different, but usually not their mundane self. In such cases her Transformed
by much. Part of it is the just the natural result personality is more strongly affected by her past
of her magic: She is more confident because she lives, as she has less current-life experiences to
is more capable, she makes more witty remarks balance out her previous incarnations, but even
because she can think of them faster. Both of her then someone who knows both identities will
two selves are fundamentally her. In her mundane usually recognise the Transformed identity as a
self the Princess is a product of her innate nature person she could see the mundane identity growing
and her life experiences. In her transformed self into. That said there are Princesses running around
she is also the product of her innate nature and with magical powers, Sensitivity, and the mind
her life experiences, but she adds and a smoothed and maturity of the children they are. Something
out average of her life experiences from all her past similar happens to many teenage Princesses, some
lives and her dreams and aspirations into the mix transform into young adults and some just have
to create her idealised self. less turbulent hormones in their Transformed
The resulting Transformed Identity is still selves. Transgender Princesses, usually experience
recognisable as the same person, or it would be if a personality shift as their Transformed self will
Princess’ didn’t have an innate magical defence to have the correct biological sex and the hormones to
protect their secret identity. The personality traits match. As most people are born in a body of the
she shares with the average of her past laves are correct sex, a transgender Princess will have had
emphasised and the traits which conflict are de- the correct body in most if not all of her past lives
emphasised, the result is a Transformed self who and her Transformed self will incorporate those
resembles the mundane self in a specific situation. experiences into her personality.
The Transformed identity of a Princess who spent Princesses who have a physical disability often
her past lives as diplomats and courtiers might act find that upon their first Transformation that

17
their magical body is unaffected by that condition, in the air. If she’s lucky the ghost may materialise
or comes with some innate magical regalia that and discorporate for her, allowing her to watch
compensates. However this does not apply to the transition. And then, something clicks. The
injuries acquired after Blossoming, which must be symbols are now meaningful, she sees the ghost as
treated with magic or medicine. The question of clear as she sees you or me. Charms don’t have
mental health is too broad to summarise, every to come from a deliberate attempt to produce a
mind is unique. specific effect either. A Princess comes across a
new problem and tries to solve it, sometimes the
solution she reaches is a new Charm: She cannot
Charms and Invocations defeat a Darkspawn in combat so she returns to
her Palace to practice her swordsmanship. As she
When she is Transformed a Noble’s magic doesn’t experiments and tries new things she might realize
just perfect her body and mind; it overflows into that the deft twist of her wrist she just stumbled
powers that are quite beyond mortal ken, magic upon will slip under her opponents guard, or she
in the most obvious sense. And yet, to the Noble might come upon a stance that sets her blade alight.
herself these Charms are no more (and no less) A Charm can feel like a mental trick she performs
magical than anything else she can do. One of in her own head, an attitude she applies to a
the first things a Princess learns is that she does problem, a new physical ability that came with
not do magic. She is magical. A Charm that lets practice like learning to cross your middle fingers.
her take on another’s appearance might feel like It could feel like anything, the only constant is that
she’s an actress getting into character. A Charm there is always some emotion behind her Charm
that unlocks new ways of seeing doesn’t feel like (though truth be told there’s nearly always an
she’s gotten a sixth or seventh sense, but that she’s emotion behind anything a Princess does), it’s not
started to notice things she never paid attention to always the same emotion behind the same Charm.
before. Even blatant magical effects like learning Simply that, a Princess must Believe and Feel in
to fly don’t feel that different from, say, learning to her actions for the magic to flow. A Charm that
swim. will cause vines to burst forth and entwine her foes
An observer might see a Princess jump to avoid will only function if she wants to trap her foes on
a blade then throw a fireball, and conclude that the an emotional level. Which emotions she feels will
jump was mundane while the fireball was magical. flavour the Charm: the vines will be more vicious
Yet to the Princess they wouldn’t feel that different. and visibly threatening against a foe she hates and
She chose to jump and her body reacted, she chose wishes to entwine in battle than when she invokes
to throw fire and her body reacted. No speaking in the same Charm with the excitement of a tough but
Enochian, no need to memorize arcane principles enjoyable practice match.
of correspondence or chant spells in her head. The Invocations are a different matter. They come
observer might even be wrong; if the Princess put not from a Princess’ innate magic but from outside,
all her hopes and Belief into that jump it could be from the Queens. So long as a Queen exists,
a more magical action than throwing fire. her philosophies resonate through the souls of
So, if magic is not a skill what does it feel like to everybody who shares her ideals. For those
learn a new Charm? A new magical ability already Princesses and Sworn with an innate connection to
exists within the Princess as raw potential, she only the Light this resonance allows her to draw upon
has to discover it. Practice it until it becomes a measure of the Queen’s magic. Through their
second nature. Any of us has the potential to read shared values she feels the reassurance of knowing a
a foreign language, if we practice then over time we trusted authority supports her actions, and through
no longer see meaningless symbols. We look at the her shared values she channels the magical power
page and see meaning. Even if that’s not actually of the Queen. Both emotionally and magically the
supernatural it is amazing enough that it deserves Invocation forges a stronger Charm. When we fight
to be called magical. Learning a Charm is much to save someone we love our love gives us strength,
the same. and when a Princess versed in Fuoco fights to save
A Princess might have the ability to sense ghosts someone she loves the Invocation resonates with
but not to see them, so she seeks out ghosts and those feelings, drawing power from the Queen of
when she feels that pricking on the back of her neck Swords into her magic, making her strength all the
she tries to focus her senses. She walks around greater.
searching for where the sensation is closest, she
traces her fingers through the air searching for
inexplicable cold spots, she looks for a distortion

18
The Dreamlands Débutante
Within her dreams a Princess travels beyond Princesses who live near to each other rarely remain
her mind and into the very soul of humanity. strangers for long. A new Princess is often eager
Within the Dreamlands the hopes and aspirations to meet peers who can help her master her new
of mankind take life, they form vast cities. magical abilities and provide support when dealing
Beautiful vistas with all the incomprehensible with the new dangers she faces from both within
forms of a dream. The Dreamlands are more and without. While tracking down a Princess’
than just a metaphor; they are a true world. mundane identity is near universally considered to
The inhabitants have lives, hopes and dwell in be horrific behaviour beneath all but the Court of
functional societies. Many Princesses are surprised Tears, no such taboo exists against making contact
to discover something so ordinary amongst dreams with a stranger’s Transformed identity (which is
and flights of fancy, but is it really so surprising the easier one to find anyway). A large community
than a Princess’ dreams would form after how she of Princesses creates a wealth of rumours and
sees the world? For the Princess who cares so much urban legends to investigate, meaning that a freshly
about friendship and community when she is awake, Blossomed Princesses unaware of her peers but
what else would she dream about? eager to find some has a place to start. It is even
Travelling to the Dreamlands offers many easier for an experienced Princess to find a newbie.
practical advantages to a Princess; she can In cities where there is an established Princess
find friends and mentors among the population population there’s usually more than enough people
including the Radiant Queens. Objects of power, plugged into the social grapevine (or prone to
often created and traded by Dreamlanders, can be prophetic dreams) to notice the waves a new
formed into Bequests. However the Dreamlands Princess makes, and there’s plenty of magical tricks
is not just frolicking and sunshine; it contains all that can be applied to finding another Princesses.
mankind’s fears and hates as well as it’s hopes A smaller town may have far fewer Princesses, but
and dreams; and it was once used by the Darkness news travels far faster, so it usually balances out.
to construct a trap for the souls of the Kingdom. Even if there are no other local Princesses the
Though the trap is broken it’s creaky machinery social waves made by the Nobility often end up
and the remnant of the prison’s old wardens still online, like most information in the modern world.
seek to imprison the Enlightened in a blissful A freshly Blossomed Princesses who’s curious to
dream. know if there are others like her can search the
internet for the gossip in the nearest city and
then plan a trip to visit for a couple of days.

Noble Culture These early investigations can be dangerous for the

young Noble is away from familiar environments
and many dangers lurk in the shadows of the
A Princess was never meant to exist in isolation. World of Darkness; what’s more rumours about
Her strength comes from the friends she makes and Princesses often place them near whatever threat
the grateful smiles of the people she protects. In they’re trying to deal with. However most people
the Long Night Princesses Blossomed so rarely that raised in the World of Darkness are raised to be
most would never meet another of their kind, and cautious and so a young Princess will take care
most suffered struggled dearly to fulfil their Calling when looking for peers.
alone or turned to the only easily available support All this presumes the responsibility for
on offer: The Twilight Queens. In modern nights introducing new Nobles to the local community falls
things are different, since the Release it has become upon that community or the new girl. While this is
rare for a Princess to exist in isolation and cities increasingly the case as Nobles get more established
that are especially receptive or have special need and better at finding each other, responsibility for
for Princesses’ help can have hundreds of Nobles. finding each other has never fell upon Princesses
The Radiant find support is readily available from alone. Shortly after the Release the Queens
a Princess’ peers, the Queens and their agents, gathered officials from their courts and bid them
and even ordinary people who were helped by one to follow the souls of Princesses to earth. These
Princess and are now eager to help another. officials became the first Shikigami. Their spirits
took possession of animals and set out following
dreams in search of newly reincarnated Princesses
to mentor, and are quick to introduce their protagé

19
to the Queens and their courts.
Nakama
Not all Princesses have the option or the desire
Cliques to distinguish between their friends and their co-
workers. For these Princesses a Nakama serves as
Once a new Princess has been introduced to the an alternative to a Clique. The word “Nakama”
community, it’s only natural for her to start making means a group of friends; translated into English
friends; as a rule Princesses are sociable and you might say “buddies” or “gang” in the playful
agreeable. And so, in a city with a large Princess kids’ use of the word. Among the Nobility (if they
population friendship Cliques will inevitably form. aren’t Japanese) Nakama has a more restricted
Cliques are just what the name implies, sense: a small group of Nobles who joined together
friendship groups. They go shopping, see movies, or were thrown together (perhaps all Blossoming
plait each other’s hair or compete in fun magic in the same town, or facing the same great crisis)
contests. There is no obligation that a Clique will and have become something very close to a family
work together as a team to fulfil their duties. A because of it. They share in each other’s duties,
Grace may find that of the local Princesses she lending the skills of their Callings and Courts to
has the most in common with a Champion and Nobles of different backgrounds or learning enough
a Troubadour, they share tastes in books, balls, of another Nobles work to participate. They
and boys, so even though they might disagree on have compatible Beliefs, or have already negotiated
politics, and their contrasting Callings guarantees a mutually beneficial compromise between their
they’ll have different opinions on the most effective various Beliefs. Many Nakama go so far as to
way they can help the city they still seek each other share the secret of their mundane identity with each
out when there is a new film to watch, a formal other, especially if they wish to live together to save
dance to attend, or when they need emotional on rent or pool their magic into creating a magically
support. But when it’s time to work the Champion defended home.
patrols the night while the Grace goes campaigning While more city Princesses are in Cliques than
with people who share her Beliefs and politics, be Nakama in small towns and rural areas the reverse
they Nobles or mortals. is true. If there’s only one Champion in town,
Many Cliques go out of their way to avoid and she’s too new to have found or trained reliable
“talking shop”. The primary purpose of a Clique mortal monster hunters to work with, the only
is to help Princesses de-stress and recharge after backup she can call upon on is the other local
the pressures of the job by providing friends who Princesses. A Mender is perfectly capable of
understand what it means to be a Princess and learning the same battle magic as a Champion if
know when to (and have the power to) force a she puts her mind to it, and her regular healing
Princess to get a good nights sleep – no ands, ifs or magic can remove wounds in the middle of a fight.
buts. If the two Graces in a Clique are supporting While a lot of Princesses swear by the importance
rival political parties then getting into political of having a space and some Noble friends who are
debates can ruin what should be a relaxing night separated from their work life, having backup when
(or it can be fun and invigorating). While Nobles facing down monsters or when a political rival is
usually have the social skills to avoid getting into spreading lies about you is even more important. So
an unwanted argument, part of those skills involve when needs must, Princesses can and will negotiate
knowing when a Clique should have a rule against through their conflicting Beliefs to work together.
talking shop. A Nakama can include the actual families of the
However when Princesses are reacting to a Nobles, as well as their Nakama in the Japanese
problem: Be it the Darkness, the Twilight Queens sense - people with no trace of magic in them, but
or something mundane like an earthquake, and a who are intimate parts of the Nobles’ mundane
Princess’ usual co-workers aren’t sufficient a Clique lives. This is especially common if the Nakama
is usually her first point of call for extra backup. was formed in response to a common threat, as
Members of a Clique trust each other, know each Princesses are very defensive of their loved ones and
other well enough to work well together, and of if the only way to convince someone that monsters
course they all have each other’s phone numbers. are real and they’re infesting this town is to reveal
your secret; then you may as well go a bit further
and bring them into the Nakama’s communal home
where there’s usually a Princess around to keep an
eye out for danger and magical defences.

20
Co-Workers and defend vulnerable citizens pro bono in court
rooms, the lawyers around her assist in her cases
and are inspired to go the extra mile by her belief
Princesses may be driven by strong and often
in justice. Champions serve as police officers and
conflicting Beliefs but that never stopped humans
when she sees a nest of Darkspawn she knows
from organising to further their goals, and the
exactly which officers will face it alongside her.
Nobility can be far more empathetic and persuasive
After all, Princesses consider themselves to be
than mortals. When Princesses want to find
human, it’s their society too.
collaborators without committing to the all-
Of course given the demographics of the noble
encompassing intimacy of a Nakama they usually
community a fair number are using magic to appear
seek out like minded Princesses with compatible
older than they are or working with organisations
Beliefs. The constant hum of online forums,
who accept younger volunteers.
socialising in the Dreamlands, and local Princess
hangouts mean that Princesses searching for like-
minded peers have no shortage of places to look.
But Princesses are not limited to seeking out The Queens and their Courts
fellow Nobles. While a Princess’ virtuous nature
and magical power makes her an ideal co-worker Every Princess knows that to make the world better
no one should discount the abilities of ordinary she must improve herself, she must rise to the
mortals. In fact, many Radiant consider the challenge. And Princesses knows that if she works
idea of ignoring the possibility of working side by hard enough and holds faith in herself she can
side with mortals and working only with fellow become so much better, for the Nobility are guided
Nobles, perhaps with mortal subordinates, is a by the Queens. The greatest champions of the
sign that a Princess is sliding down the slippery Light, and a living testament to the heights any
slope towards the vanity of The Court of Mirrors. Princess might one day reach.
Rather than seek out a group of Princesses to It is not known exactly how many Queens (or
found an organisation dedicated to a specific cause Kings) once ruled the Kingdoms, of this unknown
most Princesses skip re-inventing wheel by joining number only eight Queens still have the power to
a mortal institution that already works in the area. affect the world. Of this eight: Five are dead,
Perhaps she’ll meet like minded Nobles there? one is living, another is presumed to be living,
Even Champions who wish to pit their mettle and one is... Transformed. Collectively the five
against the Outer Darkness and it’s monsters can dead Queens are known as the Radiant, for they
find old boy’s networks of police clubs who trade remain loyal to the light in spirit as well as word,
information and jade knives, hunting clubs with for centuries the Radiant Queens were trapped deep
a higher purpose than sport, and all manner of within the Dreamlands, but now their trap has
mortal societies dedicated to protecting mankind fallen. From their Palaces within the Dreamlands
from supernatural predation (admittedly as a they call out to Princesses, seeking Hopeful agents
supernatural being herself a Princess might not who will restore the Light upon Earth.
be welcomed with open arms, so Champions are The Queens are the leaders and linchpins of
more likely that other Callings to build their own Hopeful society in more ways than one. Their
organisations from scratch or work exclusively with courts and kingdoms in the dreamlands can be
Nobles and Sworn). reached by any Princess from the comfort of her
As a result Princesses can be found at all levels bed, and Princesses frequent them looking for
of society, though the number of public figures places where they can help, Nakama’s to join,
rumoured to be a Noble’s mundane identity is far tutors to train them in their new magical abilities,
greater than the number of Princesses who actually or just where to find new friends in their local
are in high office. Menders are more likely to area. On a personal level a Queen is a living
be found working in hospitals and clinics than in (or otherwise, these days) font of magic. Her
some enchanted shrine hidden in the inner city Beliefs have become a coloured mirror that shines
and publicised through rumour and word of mouth. additional Light onto the world; everyone who
The friends she makes among the doctors and shares her ideals can draw upon the Queen’s
nurses might be in on the secret and help deflect Invocation to gain greater power or unlock new
rumours of miraculous recoveries, or they might abilities that they would not otherwise have been
just gladly take the regular patients to free their possible. So while a Princess may disagree with a
“genius but entirely mundane” colleague to work Queen’s philosophy she is sure to be familiar with
on the hardest cases. Graces manage corporations it and have given it due consideration.
The Court’s philosophies tend towards general

21
applicability. The Queen of Diamonds, who the Princesses are still in the closet (at least under
emphasises clear and careful thought, is more this username).
interested in teaching Princesses how to think than Inevitably debates between so many young,
what to think. The Queen of Hearts emphasises the passionate ideologues often becomes full of
role of communities and traditions while supporting intractable arguments. Since Princesses are almost
her courtiers in following their traditions, not invariably socially competent these arguments are,
her own. Partly because each remembers what if not productive, at least good at getting Princesses
happened the last time they became dogmatic, to think from multiple points of view. People
but mostly this is because the Queens must now often wonder how Princesses, a group who live by
speak to a wider audience than a single nation the maxim “School, friends, royal duties, sleep,
state built around a shared culture. As a result choose three” ever find the time to argue on the
Princesses as far flung as Tokyo and Timbuktu internet. In truth it’s common for Princesses to
have taken the same core philosophies and adapted vanish entirely from their online community when
it to their needs, while retaining enough of a an actual problem comes to their town; lives have
common reference to enable communication and even been saved because somebody decided check
collaboration. up why a someone stopped posting.
While no Queen is capable of using her full power When compared to the Dreamlands the internet
on Earth. The five Radiant Queens are dead, the has two advantages. Firstly it’s more convenient,
Queen of Tears will not leave Alhambra, the Queen meeting another Princess in the Dreamlands
of Storms will not abandon her battle in the Dark requires luck or a pre-arranging a meeting time.
World, and while nobody knows what is up with the If two Princesses only know each other through
Queen of Mirrors it is generally accepted that she the Dreamlands it can take several nights of back
doesn’t act directly. The Queens can still provide and forth messages through a court functionary
advice and guidance. They are people who have to arrange a meeting. The second advantage
built and won the hearts of nations. As monarchs is precisely that it is open to more than just
and rulers they were perhaps the very best in all Princesses. A Princess taking part in a national
of history; their Kingdoms may have fallen but all conversation on the issues on the day will want to
kingdoms fall in time, few were utopian at their reach both mortals and other Nobles; and she might
apex. As mentors and teachers the Radiant Queens feel more comfortable with debating her peers in
have more to often than a young Princess could public than getting together with other Princesses
imagine. to debate in secret and decide on the party line.
Even if nobody outside the loop knows who’s Noble,
having the discussion in the open is the important
The Wider Community thing.
As a rule the internet is used for bigger
Like the modern mortal societies they serve, much impersonal issues and as a second way to relax and
of a Princess’ social life happens online. Once socialise outside of Cliques. It helps a Princess
you go beyond the close friendships of a Princess’ quickly and conveniently keep her finger on the
Clique or Nakama, and Nobles or mortals who pulse of social issues, Noble or otherwise, build
work alongside her in the day job, the Princess’ her network of contacts and emergency phone
community continues on the internet. numbers, and means that if you suddenly stop
In the short time since the Release a sprawling posting another Princess or two might notice
culture has grown across a network of blogs, and check if you’re overworked or in trouble and
forums and social networking sites. The Hopeful need help, if you’re lucky. But when things get
community covers more than just Princesses; serious Princesses move the conversation to the
Beacons and Sworn are welcome and even ordinary Dreamlands or phone calls (while calls can be
people can often be found on the comment traced, the people with the resources to do that
threads. The online Radiant community is hardly a usually aren’t interested in random youngsters like
walled garden; it spills forth onto related subjects. a Princess’ mundane identity). In the Dreamlands
Princesses can often be found blogging about and a Noble can ask the other Nobles who’ll be joining
arguing in forums related to art, politics, current the same university at her if any wish to form a
affairs, activism and social justice. Many blogs Nakama with a degree of confidence that everyone
or forums are considered to be both hubs of the in the room is at least a Princess. Or she can just
Radiant community – for the author or prominent discuss Charms and magical techniques without
members are Princesses – and considered to be attracting the wrong sort of attention.
ordinary websites by their mundane viewers – for

22
Campaigns reason to stay away from their responsibilities back
home a little longer. When the campaign succumbs
to this temptation the leader begin expanding the
Princesses may disagree with each other about
Campaign’s scope and a ideological commitments,
how to improve the world, and even about what
after the Darkspawn are chased out the leader
a better world would even look like, but in the
proposes the Campaign beings fighting for political
face of an emergency they are quick to put their
reforms to prevent new Taint forming. Once
philosophising and debates aside and unite behind
this happens Princesses who disagree with the
a Campaign. Whole Nakamas, Cliques, and
new direction quickly depart, usually the Court of
independent Princesses travel from all over the land
Spades leave first and serve as the proverbial canary
to pit their combined strength against a problem.
in the coal mine. This has happened often enough
A Campaign always starts when Princesses face
that it’s become a running joke among the Radiant
a large immediate problem. In a long career
and Campaigns that do formally disband after
a Princess might see Campaigns against large
achieving their aims often announce their end with
Darkspawn incursions or to rebuild after natural
a bombastic speech announcing a radical expansion
disasters. More complicated problems where every
of their mission, followed by a good natured prank
political ideology has it’s own mutually opposing
from the Spades.
solution may draw campaigns of like minded
It’s not unusual for a completed Campaign to
Princesses, sometimes this require negotiations to
leave behind a few Nakamas who do continue it’s
prevent two Campaigns arriving in the same town
original mission with an expanded scope. And
and working at cross purposes and sometimes
many Princesses who arrived alone go home as part
the negotiations fail and two campaigns do
of a Nakama or Clique, but it’s considered a very
end up competing for resources and a political
worrying sign when a Princess insists she is still the
mandate. Most campaigns though, form around
leader after everyone’s departed or tries to prevent
large attention grabbing problems. Princesses have
people from leaving.
a lot of responsibilities on their plate, it can take
something big to call them away from home.
The concept of a Campaign is well known to
the Noble community, and most begin deliberately. Language
Princesses announce that there will be a meeting in
a Queen’s palace (usually the Queen of Hearts) at The Hopeful are for the most part a young
a certain time and see if enough people turn up. It culture and even the parts of it that regularly
is generally considered a bad sign if only one Noble communicate don’t have any formal body to
starts trying to arrange a Campaign, if a problem standardise language. While there is a linguistic
doesn’t convince several Nobles they need to start a legacy that pre-dates the Release, three in fact:
campaign it is unlikely to convince a large group of One is in the Royal Tongue (which many Princesses
Nobles they should join a campaign. Of course, this find cumbersome, or just annoying) another is in
rule of thumb depends on the size of the Princess Alhambran (which many Radiant refuse to use on
population at ground zero. principle), the third comes from the Embassy to
A Queen’s palace not chosen just because it’s the Dreamlands (which is specialised and relatively
a convenient meeting point, the gathered Radiant obscure). Consequently the Radiant use a fast
often ask the Queen to select a Campaign’s leader changing system of slang, memes and technical
and officers. Even Princesses with an ideological terms that vary across geographical regions and
commitment to democracy, and there are a lot even parts of the internet. The language of the
of them, usually agree that if a Queen can’t pick Radiant is young enough that most words can easily
a leader who’s acceptable to everyone then this be traced back to their origin. The following terms
issue isn’t the sort of direct problem suitable for are usually used by Princesses in the anglosphere,
a campaign and it would be better for Nobles to having been spread across that portion of the
work on solving the issue in their own way than internet. Some of the more specific terms are
spend their time arguing about how to solve the unique to American Princesses.
issue. The tradition of naming Queens after playing
A Campaign doesn’t always formally end when cards came early after Princesses searched for
it achieves it’s aim. After working or fighting with an alternative to the Queen’s titles in the Royal
fellow gregarious Nobility everyone is sure to have Tongue. The Queen of Diamonds suggested “The
made friends and that provides a powerful incentive Queen of Diamonds” (as well as “The Crystal-
to keep the campaign running and give everyone a eyed One”) as a two very rough summaries of
her most important titles. One of the Princesses

23
present at the time started referring to the other the Long Night, tended to use names taken from
Queens with different playing cards, since none of people both living, Dreamlander and even fictional
the other Queens had made English suggestions yet (these are rarely distinct categories). Few of these
(or been asked yet, this happened quite early) it terms are still in use.
stuck. There are actually several alternative card Finally English is, obviously, the de-facto
based naming schemes, most attempt to try and language of English speaking Princesses. Anything
match the Queens to card based symbolism. Either that did not get a catchy enough name quickly
through their invocation’s element or by trying to enough is likely to be in English. One unusual,
match their character to a feudal class. Neither and uniquely American, fact about English is that
are popular, partly because the symbolism doesn’t many Princesses adopt a more “royal” manner
work too well, partly because if the symbolism of of speaking in their Transformed identity, which
playing cards has any useful magical properties it is to say a British accent ranging from “BBC
doesn’t apply to Noble magic, and partly because English” to “not even The Queen lays it on that
the Queen of Diamonds prefers to be called the thick”. Princesses who are actually from the United
Queen of Diamonds. The common system is found Kingdom usually use their natural accent, though
throughout the English speaking world. Different as the British will parody anything some have
naming schemes can be found elsewhere, but been known to play up, or adopt, incomprehensible
it is more common for each Queen to offer a regional accents when around Americans.
set of unrelated rough translations into the local
language.
Terms in Japanese originate from Bonnie
Getsuei, an American (and complete Japanophile)
The Twilight Courts
who forged much of the Radiant’s community in Among the Nobility there is no agreed way to help
San Francisco and even provided a common entry the world. Princesses who advocate for collective
point to the online Radiant community for English solutions spar across the debating stage with Nobles
speaking princesses (presumably actual Japanese who focus upon individual liberty. In laboratories
Princesses also use their native tongue). Princesses push the boundaries of technology while
Italian words can often trace their origin to the on the other side of the university campus their
Queen of Heart’s earliest followers in the United peers argue for a return to the good old ways.
Kingdom (The Court of Hearts had a late start But among the Nobility an informal understanding
in America, as the first impressions of that court holds, to Princesses it’s so natural and obvious that
often clash with America’s national ideals. Today nobody gave it a name. The understanding states
few Princesses even remember what the fuss was that even when you disagree with a fellow Radiant’s
about.) Influenced by Andartan culture those idea of a better world you can still respect her as a
Princesses chose to use a romance language, and person, and while her utopia may not be yours it is
since they didn’t want to use French; Princesses at least better than today’s world under a shroud
everywhere sprinkle their magic with Italian terms. of Darkness.
Greek and Latin words both share origins in But this understanding only holds to the
the Court of Diamonds; the early Lights were the Radiant. No such benefit of the doubt is given to
first to attempt to begin classifying and studying the Princesses of the Twilight Courts.
Noble magic and related phenomena. This project The Twilight Courts are thrice separated from
was split between those who were more influenced the Radiant. They are separated by politics,
by their Danann aesthetics and wanted to use the Radiant and Twilight courts will at best
Greek and those who were more influenced by clench their teeth and swallow their distaste before
human academia and wanted to use Latin. The teaming up against a mutual foe and at worst
argument was never settled and various words violently oppose each other. They are separated by
from both languages have become part of the magic, for the five Radiant Queens are neighbours
Princess lexicon, mostly for things a Princess can in the Dreamlands and their Invocations demand
go a while without encountering as everything nothing more than virtuous behaviour as each
else was named through informal, and therefore Queen defines it. The three Twilight Queens each
faster, channels. Exceptionally nerdy Princesses exist alone and their Invocations take a toll upon
sometimes use Greek instead of the Latin terms the user’s mind, body, or soul. Finally they are
or Latin instead of the Greek, and Latin or Greek separated by morality, for the philosophies of the
instead of English, Italian and Japanese terms. Twilight Courts directly harm innocents in a way
The Embassy to the Dreamlands, perhaps the that the Radiant Courts do not (On this point the
only lasting Radiant organisation to exist through Court of Mirrors is more complicated, and so it is

24
sometimes held to be on the Radiant side). Thus once even Nobles want to remain in conflict. Alone
even the most inexperienced Princess cannot help or among their trusted friends the Radiant admit
but see that there is a division between Radiant that a part of them is tempted by the philosophies
and Twilight on the deepest levels. of the Twilight Courts. What Princess hasn’t put
And though the five Radiant Queens and their her beloved sister’s safety above a stranger’s? Felt
Courts stand together. No such camaraderie exists hatred for the Darkness’ evil? Clung a little too
amongst the Twilight Courts: The Courts of Tears hard to a reassuring Belief or assumed a fellow
and Storms have been in open war for perhaps as Radiant is good and virtuous when they first met
long as they have existed. And the harsh dogmatic just because she’s Noble? And when the Radiant
outlook of those two Courts means that they are reject the part of them that’s tempted to walk down
less tolerant of the Court of Mirrors than Radiant that long road paved with good intentions they also
Princesses. Each Twilight Court stands in isolation reject their kinship to every Princess who’s walked
or with the Radiant. that road to the very end.
But perhaps the deepest reason for conflict For all their light, Princesses are still human and
between the Radiant and Twilight Courts is that for think in very human ways.

25
 Chapter 2: Coronations
Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are
gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God’s Grace and Mercy,
be given to reign and serve you as your Queen
—Queen Elizabeth II

such a story seed resulted in a Champion heavy or

Creating a Princess even an all Champion group. When this happens
the Storyteller should consider giving additional
Charm and Merit dots to the players so they can
Step One: The Story Seed cover the basics add still have room to give their
character’s unique talents.
A story seed can either be the Storyteller’s pitch or
created collaboratively by the group; but either way
it’s a good idea to have a quick outline of what kind
of game you’re playing before creating characters.
Step Two: Character Concept
Is your game about inspiring your classmates The second step is to try and distil your character
in a demoralized school? Then everyone has down into a single concept. You want something
to be a student who cares about education and that you can easily hold in your head, this concept
has a background which places them in a poorly will serve as the anchoring centre to your character.
performing school. Is your game about a Nakama When you start adding details later it should be
hand-picked by a Queen to track down and destroy quick and straight forward to ask yourself “does
a powerful Darkspawn hiding in the jungle? Then this detail strengthen my character concept?”
everyone should create a character who has useful A good character concept focuses on who your
skills for the quest and nothing in their backstory character is. Is your character’s self-identity defined
which will prevent them from going away for a by her mundane side, her supernatural side, or
week. a balance of both. Because Princesses invest so
The story seed doesn’t have to be complex or much of themselves in their work it is often hard
well defined. It just needs to be enough for players to separate who a Princess is from what she does,
to design their character’s background and their but try to cut out the specifics and drill down to the
character’s abilities appropriately. core of your concept. Consider a “young politician”
Some story seeds result in narrower mechanical instead of the “student president.”
choices. A story where the characters are trying Character’s often change during character
to turn around a failing inner city school has creation as ideas bounce around, and once play
a lot of flexibility. Characters could focus on starts circumstances can change fast. It’s good to
helping their classmates study, on diplomacy with have a little flexibility in your core concept.
the faculty and local government, or even on
fixing the building themselves. However with a
story seed about fighting Darkspawn everyone will
probably want Celestial Grace, Barrier Jacket and
Step Three: Fleshing it Out
at least one offensive Charm; with Upgrades that’s Are you playing a Prince or a Princess? Does your
a serious investment of a starting Princess’ dots in character fight evil in a frilly sailor fuku or spandex
in Charms. It would not be odd or inappropriate if and a cape?

26
 Now that you have your core character concept as an opportunity to make their characters stand
you can add everything else: Appearance, out from the stereotypical Noble and avoid taking
personality, background, family, friendships and a trait which would be redundant on top of Belief.
perhaps romances. In short, it’s time to write your You should also think about what your character
character as a character rather than a collection of wishes to accomplish, which means it’s time
attributes and a list of magical powers. to choose her Aspirations and her Dreams.
Some players can write for pages while others will Aspirations (see Chronicle of Darkness page 28)
prefer a few paragraphs. There’s no right or wrong represent a Princess’ goals while Dreams (see page
answer, except that it never hurts to discuss things 35) are a varient form of Aspiration that provide an
with your group and try and make sure everyone’s additional benefit when a Princess’ goal is to help
style fits together nicely. others through her Calling. A Princess has a total
of five Aspirations and Dreams, two of which must
be Dreams and the remaining three can be either.
As a guideline, you should try to have at least
one Aspiration or Dream that reflects upon your
character’s self image, and you should have at least
one Aspiration or Dream that ties you directly into
Burdens of the Crown the story seed.
There are several persistent conditions Using the examples above, a player in the game
that are appropriate to take at character about turning around a demoralised school could
creation. Players may wish to consider: consider a Dream such as “Help Harriet realise she’s
Adult Supervision, Body Dysmorphia, better than her mother says ”. In one sentence you
Embarrassing Phylactery, Heartfelt Vow, have chosen an ambition which fits the story’s core
Name of the Moon, Truly Mundane, themes, connected your character to two NPCs, one
Sensory Overload, Slow Transformation, of whom is an antagonist for your character, and
Still Phylactery, Supernatural Heraldry, you’ve identified social combat as a skill to start
Two Hearts One Soul or Unstable with or explicitly start without and develop in play.
Transformation. The example of a quest into the jungle might be
The usual persistent conditions from too specific to easily create unique Aspirations; and
the Chronicle of Darkness book such as there’s nothing wrong with that.
Addicted, Blind, Crippled or Mute, are of
course appropriate options for Princesses
and function normally, at the player’s Step Five: Add Attributes
discretion a Condition may only affect the
character in one of her two forms, so long as Now is the time to define your character
it makes sense. mechanically, starting with the most fundamental
aspects. First choose which of the three categories
(Mental, Physical and Social) is your character’s
primary, secondary and tertiary focus. Then place
Step Four: Virtues, Vice, five dots (in addition to your starting dot in
every Attribute) into your primary category, split
Aspirations and Dreams between the three Attributes as you wish. Place
four dots into your secondary focus and three into
A Princess is a magical being, but she’s still your tertiary focus.
human. She has human wants and human needs. When choosing your attributes ask yourself
To complete your character assign two, yes two, which will be most helpful for your character’s
Virtues and a Vice. It is recommended that calling in life, and then decide if she’s good at
Princesses do not take the Hopeful Virtue. Nearly them of if she relies on her magic. Starting as a
every Radiant Princess demonstrates that Virtue competent and successful Noble or starting with
every day of their lives, players should use Virtues lots of room to grow are both valid choices.

27
 Daddy's little Princess
The mahou shoujo genre has a long and proud tradition of child and early teen protagonists.
If you wish you can combine Princess with WoD Innocents, the Princess template will function
as intended if applied to a character built using the rules in Innocents. Any Charm that uses
Science or Academics will use the Study skill instead (or if you prefer you can split your character’s
Study dots into Academics and Science upon Transformation). WoD Innocents gives characters
different starting skill dots depending on their age (see Innocents p47), however Innocents also
suggests that Storytellers might prefer to start all the player characters on an equal footing. When
playing Princess Storytellers can give extra Transformed skill dots (which do not count towards
the maximum) as an additional way of achieving balance.
Child characters are limited to three dots in Skills unless they have one of the three Prodigy
Merits, this limitation does not apply to Transformed Dots and the cap on mundane Skills is
increased by one at Inner Light four and five. In addition so long as a Princess has at least one
relevant Transformed Dot she is considered to be an adult for all rules purposes related to that
Attribute or Skill while she is Transformed. The same applies to anyone who has 6+ dots in
an Attribute or Skill, including anyone under the influence of an appropriate Bless Charm. For
example a Princess with a Transformed dot in Strength: Would not subtract an Adult target’s
Stamina from attack rolls, would use the adult strength chart, and an adult would not gain 8-
Again in a Contested roll against her if Strength is part of the Princess’ dice pool. A Princess’
magical body is more than a match for size and leverage. (A complete list of special rules for
adult-child interactions can be found in WoD Innocents p193). How this manifests is up to the
player. A Princess with Transformed Composure might acquire adult emotional maturity every
time she Transforms or overcome her fears through a supernaturally potent child-like sense of
adventure.
With a little cunning Princesses can have access to Social Merits that are usually off limits
to children. A Troubadour could earn Resources by working as an artist for commission, nobody
can see that she’s nine years old over e-mail and her work will likely put grown adults to shame.
Similar tricks, and if necessary the occasional Appear Charm to disguise oneself as an adult could
allow a Princess to acquire 4+ dots in Allies or Contacts.
All this assumes that the young Princess doesn’t become an adult upon Transformation. If
she does then just treat the Transformed Princess like any other grown-up.
The other characters’ reaction to a Noble child should be negotiated between the group to
identify the correct trade off between realism and fun. While most adults, Noble or otherwise,
would not approve of children running towards danger; a Princess sitting at home and waiting
until she’s eighteen will not create a dramatic story. A child Princess could be treated equally to
the adults for no reason except that the character wouldn’t be fun to play otherwise. Alternatively
the child protagonist(s) being sent home only to sneak out again and save the adults is a time
honoured trope. While a mortal (or Sworn) who’s constantly dragged onto his Noble kid sister’s
dangerous magical adventures because he’s powerless to stop her could make an interesting
character. Especially if the rest of the players take care to avoid acquiring magic that would
overshadow his special power of being a grown-up.

Step Six: Add Skills As with Attributes it’s worth thinking about
whether you wish to start off competent or if
you wish for your character to begin the game
Skills are chosen like Attributes. Divide Mental,
dependant on her magic.
Physical and Social Skills into your primary,
secondary and tertiary focus. You get eleven
primary dots, seven secondary dots, and four
tertiary dots to spend. Unlike Attributes the first
dot in a skill is not free.

28
Step Seven: Add Skill Specialities • Troubadour: Artists and exemplars who
inspire greatness in others. (Presence or
Dexterity)
Skills are extremely broad categories, which means
your choice of skills is an imperfect reflection of your
character. Does three dots in Expression make her
a singer or a poet? Specialities let you correct this. Step Nine: Add a Queen
Each speciality is a one or two word description
chosen by you that can demonstrate what fields Once the five Radiant Queens governed their
your character specialises in. Pick three specialities Kingdoms in the name of the light, now they are
for your character. dead but their minds and souls live on in the
There are many simple Charms available to Dreamlands. From beyond the veil of sleep the
starting character’s that can enhance a Princess’ Queens mentor the Radiant, a Princess can accept a
specialities. It might be worth examining them position in a Queen’s court, a bond of both personal
before selecting your specialities. loyalty but also mystical affinity that enhances a
Princess’ magic.
There are five Radiant queens that a player can
Step Eight: Add a Calling and a follow, while it is rare some Princesses choose not
to join any Court. In addition there are three
Twilight Queens who are not usually available to
Transformed Attribute Dot player characters.
The first step in creating a Princess is to choose • Clubs: The Queen of Wilds leads the coven of
her Calling. A Calling is the fundamental way Princesses who seek to live in harmony with
the individual Princess brings hope to the world, the world.
her Calling determines which Oaths are part of
her Belief, what Duties she performs to regain • Diamonds: The Queen of Lights leads the
Wisps, which Attributes are increased when she conclave of progressive-minded Princesses who
Transforms and to which three of the ten Charm believe in constantly adapting and refining the
families she has affinity, allowing her to purchase Kingdom’s techniques.
Charms from these families at the reduced cost.
• Hearts: The Queen among Queens leads the
• Champion: Defenders of the weak and court of Princesses who focus on communities,
helpless. (Strength or Resolve) and their place within society, first and
foremost.
• Grace: Elegant and noble, the voices and
diplomats of the Reborn. (Presence or • Spades: The Queen of Knaves leads a
Composure) confederacy of winking scoundrels and
good-hearted rogues who believe the best
• Mender: Those who take wounded flesh application of the rules is to break them.
and wounded hearts and make them whole.
(Intelligence or Dexterity) • Swords: The Queen of Heroines leads the
company of Princesses who believe that inner
• Seeker: Hunters of truth, banishers of lies, strength and passion should always light the
revealers of the hidden. (Intelligence or Wits) way.

29
 Choosing a Queen
It is rare for a Princess to ever agree with her Queen on every single point, and it is almost
universal for a Princess to have some affinity for the teachings of several Queens. This can make
it hard for Princesses (and players) to know which Court is right for them. Should a naturalist
join the court of Diamonds with her fellow women of science, or the court of Clubs with her fellow
nature lovers? In all likelihood such a Princess will show her shared ideals by acquiring both the
Acqua and Legno Invocations, but the player still has to decide which Queen goes on the top
of the character sheet. The answer is which Queen shares her approach to making a brighter
tomorrow:
• If you believe that self discovery and mutual understanding brings people together in harmony
you will always be welcome in the court of Clubs.
• If you believe that clear and careful thought will lead us to a better tomorrow you’ll find
minds that think alike in the court of Diamonds.
• If you believe that a Princess’ role is to build and lead communities into the light then you
have a place in the court of Hearts.
• If you believe that the world’s ills are best solved outside of any boxes then you’ll fit right in
at the court of Spades.
• If you believe that the world needs individual heroes led by all consuming passion then you
can proudly join the court of Swords.

The Twilight Queens also have an approach:

• If you believe that destroying the Darkness matters more than helping the world you are
ready to enlist in the armies of Storms.
• If you believe that being a Princess makes you the most important and special person in the
world, and a utopia is just going to happen because you’re around then consider the Queen
of Mirrors.
• Finally the Queen of Tears would say that if you believe in protecting your people no matter
the cost, bring them to Alhambra where they will be safe. Yet remember that of all the
Queens only the Lady of Alhambra rules a kingdom that survives to this day. She asks,
and offers, more than any other Queen. A Princess who believes in protecting her people no
matter what should still think if she wishes to be a part of Alhambra and if not she should
choose another Queen or perhaps become a Courtless Lacrima specialist.

Step Ten: Add Invocations place all three of their dots in the same Invocation.
There are eight established Invocations, each
favoured by a Queen.
All Princesses draw magic from their Beliefs and
hopes, but when a Princess becomes a Queen her • The Queen of Clubs teaches the principles of
beliefs and philosophies echo across the souls of harmony and inner strength in the Invocation
humanity. Any Princess can feel that echo within of Legno.
her own soul and she can draw on it to enhance her
own magic. Each Princess starts with three dots in • The Queen of Diamonds focuses the lights of
Invocations, one of which must be placed into her knowledge and reason into the Invocation of
Queen’s favoured Invocation. Courtless Princesses Acqua.
have a free choice of Invocations, but they may not • The Queen of Hearts builds her society upon a

30
 foundation of the Invocation of Terra. • Learn Charms confer knowledge, and reveal
what has been hidden. (Affinity for Seekers.)
• The Queen of Spades teaches the Invocation of
Aria, the enviable lightness of being. • Perfect Charms grant new personal abilities.
(Affinity for Champions and Menders.)
• The Queen of Swords raises passionate
devotion into magic in the Invocation of Fuoco. • Restore Charms repair damaged objects, heal
the injured and tend the sick. (Affinity for
• The Queen of Tears has embodied the laws and
Menders.)
requirements of her city within the Invocation
of Lacrima. • Shape Charms shape materials as you will,
or make things out of nothing. (Affinity for
• The Queen of Storms distills rage against
Menders and Troubadours.)
Darkness into the Invocation of Tempesta.
• The Queen of Mirrors uses the Invocation of To take a 2-dot Charm, you must also take a
Specchio to cultivate those who may be the different 1-dot Charm of the same family. To take
Kingdom’s heir. a 3-dot Charm you must take 3 dots worth of
Charms in the same family, for this purpose an
Upgrade counts as a single dot. If the Charm has
Step Eleven: Add Charms and a prerequisite on an Invocation, you may treat it
as part of a pseudo-family and use it to unlock
access to other Charms that depend on the same
Transformed Skills Invocation.
If you wish you may also trade Charm dots for
In her perfected self every Princess has exceptional
additional transformed Attributes and Skills. You
skill and knows Charms, special talents and magical
may not spend your 3 affinity Charm dots in this
spells that she knows how to use. A Princess starts
way. A Charm dot is worth 1 transformed Skill dot
with three Dots in Transformed Skills and nine dots
and three Charm dots are worth one transformed
in Charms, at least three dots must be for Charms
Attribute dot.
in the 3 families the character’s Calling has affinity
for; the others may come from any family. You
may take upgrades for any Charm you know; each
upgrade costs 1 of your starting Charm dots. If
you take an invoked Charm or upgrade, you must
have the prerequisite dots in the Invocation. The
ten families of Charms are: Free Affinity — An optional rule
• Appear Charms change a Princess’ Some players have character concepts that
appearance, and produce other illusions. don’t fit neatly into the five Callings,
(Affinity for Seekers and Troubadours.) for they need Charms from two families
favoured by no single Calling. To facilitate
• Bless Charms enhance people, pushing their such characters the Storyteller may rule to
abilities to a peak and bringing their actions play each Calling with two fixed Charm
to perfection. (Affinity for Champions and affinities and a free pick for the third affinity.
Graces.) Once chosen the third affinity is fixed, and
can no more be changed than a Princess’
• Connect Charms trace and use the connections
Calling.
between people, or make and break such
Under this scheme the affinities are:
connections. (Affinity for Graces.)
• Champion: Fight and Perfect.
• Fight Charms enhance a Princess’ ability to
fight. (Affinity for Champions.) • Grace: Connect and Bless.

• Govern Charms control supernatural powers • Mender: Restore and Shape.

and those who possess them. (Affinity for
• Seeker: Learn and Govern.
Graces and Seekers.)
• Inspire Charms lift people’s hearts, spark their • Troubadour Inspire and Appear.
passions, and exhort them to action. (Affinity
for Troubadours.)

31
Step Twelve: Add Inner Light fixed. Why is the world in such a bad state? Is
it all down to public ignorance and apathy or is
it because mankind lost touch with nature? No
A Princess’ magic shines out of her soul to
matter how justified the means, any Princess
illuminate the world. The raw power of her hopes
who uses or encourages what she believes to be
and feelings is represented by her Inner Light. A
the world’s flaws is betraying her principles.
Starting Princess has one dot in Inner Light, but
she may spend five Merit dots to increase it to two, • What is your character’s perfect world?
or ten Merit dots to increase it to three. Ghandi apocryphally said “be the change you
want to see in the world”. What is your
character’s ideal world? Is it a vegan nature
Step Thirteen: Add Wisps utopia or something more along the lines of
an technological post-scarcity utopia? How
Wisps are the fuel for a Princess, a measure of both would a person from such a society act? What
raw magic and emotional energy. A Princess begins unusual and idealistic cultural values or codes
with half her starting Wisp pool, as measured of chivalry does your Princess follow and how
by Inner Light, plus the higher of her Circle and does her ideal utopia give context to her
Mandate. actions?
• Who influenced your character’s philosophy?
Step Fourteen: Add Belief Did your character learn her idealism from
her parents? Her wise and outrageous
Belief is the Integrity trait for Princesses. It grandmother? A teacher? Think a little
measures her confidence that the world can about their relationship and your mentor’s
be improved and by extension how moral and personality, how do they influence your
principled her actions are; for a Princess is innately character’s relationship to her ideals? If
moral but as her confidence breaks she may your character grew up without guidance it
become desperate enough to consider unprincipled is perfectly acceptable to use someone from a
or outright immoral solutions to the problems past life.
facing her. Starting characters begin with a Belief • What is the best argument against her Beliefs
of 7, representing idealism and confidence with your character has ever heard? Ultimately
some concessions to practicality. utopia is subjective. A life of peace and
During character creation ask yourself the tranquillity would bore some people to tears.
following questions. These questions will help Every Princess is going to find people who
define a Princess’ belief system. These questions disagree with her vision, from practical
are not intended to identify specific Compromises, problems to ideological conflicts. Of all the
though you will probably discover some, rather they people who disagreed with her, who left your
are to help you create a moral framework that can character speechless with a perfect argument
be used to identify new Compromises and which or irrefutable fact and how did this affect your
can be modified as dots of Belief are lost or gained. character?
• What does your character’s calling mean to • What does your character care about more
her? Is your Champion a modern day knight than her Belief? Princesses are still people,
in shining armour who uplifts and inspires the and people’s moral codes are rarely proven in
public with her virtuous deeds, or does she formal logic then rigorously applied to every
fight a thankless secret war in the shadows situation. Would your character do anything
so civilians can sleep soundly; unaware of the to save her boyfriend, or perhaps herself. Most
monsters all around? Is your Grace a mentor, a people have an instinctive wish to survive. The
judge, or a leader? A character’s core concept goal here isn’t to create a hypocrite but to give
can be the starting point of her Beliefs. Her depth to a character beyond pure perfection.
ideals and principles explain why she chose this
mission instead of another. A Princess risks losing Belief when her actions go
against her own principles. Now that you have
• What does your character believe is wrong with fleshed out your character’s belief system it should
the world? As a rule Princesses are trying to be straight forward to identify ways she might
improve the world, so it stands to reason that violate it. Further details on the mechanics for
the Hopeful see the world as needing to be losing Dots of Belief can be found on page 36.

32
Step Fifteen: Add Merits heart wins friends and allies. Additional Merits
unique to the Hopeful are presented in chapter
three, additionally some Merits presented in the
As a supernatural being a Princess is given three
God Machine Chronicle are inappropriate or work
merit dots to spend at character creation, for a
differently for the Hopeful. This is discussed in
total of ten merit dots. Her magic makes it easier
more detail in Chapter Three.
to acquire resources and skills, while her shining

Character Advancement
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being
superior to your former self.
— Ernest Hemingway

Mundane Attribute 4 Experience per dot

Mundane Skill 2 Experience per dot
Transformed Attribute 3 Experience per dot
Transformed Skill 1 Experience per dot
Transformed to Mundane 1 Experience per dot
Affinity Charm 1 Experience per dot
Other Charm 1 Experience + 1 Experience per dot
Upgrade 1 Experience per Upgrade
Favoured Invocation 2 Experience per dot
Other Invocation 3 Experience per dot
Merit 1 Experience per dot
Inner Light 5 Experience per dot
Belief 2 Experience per dot
Willpower 1 Experience per dot (bought back after sacrifice)

learns to use her nature to its fullest extent, but

Traits also must face its unique drawbacks.

Becoming a Princess does not just grant you

magical abilities, it is a fundamental change to your Inner Light
state of being. Many Princesses use the phrase
“Magical Girl ” to emphasise this point. A Princess When a Princess’ power first blossoms, it is barely
is not a girl who uses magic, she is magical. Magic the tiniest of sparks deep within a princess’ soul.
is as much a part of her as blood and a part of her However, as time passes and the ancient spirit
emotoins emotions as blood is a part of any human. within her awakens, her power begins to shine like a
As a Princess learns in wisdom and experience she roaring fire, strong enough to support great magics
and bright enough to become an invisible presence

33
in the material world. her mental and physical self. Characters with high
As Inner Light increases, it not only gives Inner Light can have physical prowess beyond the
a character more magical ammunition to throw limits of mere humanity. Finally, high Inner Light
around, but also represents her magic bleeding into makes a character more vulnerable to Sensitivity.

Inner Light
Inner Light Ability Max Wisps / Turn Charm Max Sensitivity
1 5/7 10 / 1 3 1 die
2 5/7 11 / 2 4 1 die
3 5/7 12 / 3 5 2 dice
4 5/7 13 / 4 6 2 dice
5 5/7 15 / 5 7 3 dice
6 6/8 20 / 6 8 3 dice
7 7/9 25 / 7 9 4 dice
8 8 / 10 30 / 8 10 4 dice
9 9 / 10 50 / 10 11 5 dice
10 10 / 10 75 / 15 12 5 dice

Ability Max: The highest a regular attribute or are active with a Transformation action.
skill may be raised using XP. The number before
the slash is the maximum level of any attribute Sensitivity: The base number of dice rolled when
or skill in normal form, the number after the a princess’s Sensitivity to suffering is triggered.
slash is the maximum including bonus dots from
Transformation.

Wisps / Turn: The maximum number of Wisps

a character may have available in their pool and
Wisps
the maximum number they may spend in a single A “Wisp” is perfectly mundane emotional energy.
turn. We all perform at our best in times of great passion,
excitement, fear, or other moments of heightened
Charm Max: The highest level at which a Charm emotions. For a Princess “her best” is outright
may be invoked. Basic Charms do not go beyond supernatural. Princesses use Wisps to fuel many
5 dots, but a Charm’s effective rating is increased of their abilities, and like any human she becomes
by one by every Upgrade. Inner Light caps the tired and drained if she runs low. The maximum
effective rating. The Princess may know more amount of Wisps you can store, as well as the
Upgrades to a Charm than would push the Charm number you can spend in one turn, is determined
above her Charm Max, but must choose which ones by your Inner Light.
to apply when she uses the Charm. For Charms
which apply a passive effect, such as manifesting
Regalia, the Princess may change which Upgrades

34
 Inner Light Wisps plus one Wisp per success.
Spending Wisps An Exceptional Success grants her next roll
• Charm Activation: While Transformed, a the Rote Action modifier. This ability can
Princess may spend Wisps to activate Charms; only be used when the Princess is in immediate
the cost of which is particular to each charm. danger, such as in combat, and is not meant
to be an everyday means of regaining power –
• Practical Magic: Whether or not she is a good rule of thumb is, if it doesn’t matter
Transformed, a Princess may spend Wisps to that this action is Instant and thus takes up
power Practical Magic. The abilities of which a character’s action for the turn, it’s probably
are determined by the Queen she follows. not dangerous enough to work. If the Princess
makes a speech asserting herself and her Beliefs
• Holy Shield: While Transformed, a Princess
she gains 9again to the roll, with the Royal
may spend a Wisp to protect herself from
Tongue she may do this as part of the same
one occurrence of damage from a external
instant action.
source, such as a single attack or one turns
worth of damage from an Environmental Tilt. • Circle of Light: Princesses with mundane
Aggravated damage becomes lethal damage, families and friends often find that spending
Lethal damage becomes Bashing damage, and time with them, sharing their troubles or
all but the first point of Bashing damage is happiness, refreshes them for the supernatural
negated. Only one Wisp can be spent against fight. The Circle Merit represents these
any single source of damage. The attack could relationships; see that Merit for a full
be turned aside from a vital spot at the last explanation.
second, grazing her instead of striking home, or
could be visibly stopped by a shower of sparks • Voluntary Work: During downtime a player
and light. can say that her character spends her time
fulfilling her Calling duties, in-between school,
• Quickened Transformation: A Princess may family or other commitments. State how
spend a Wisp to transform reflexively without your character fulfils her Calling and roll an
rolling. appropriate Attribute + Skill - Shadows, each
success grants one Wisp. If the Princess has
If the Princess’ pool of Wisps ever falls to (10 - the Mandate Merit a Successful roll grants one
Belief) she gains the Condition Running on Fumes. additional wisp per Mandate dot.

An Exceptional Success on any roll to regain

Regaining Wisps Wisps removes a dot of Shadows.
• Call of Duty: A Princess normally regains
Wisps by going out and making the world a
better place in a way that fits with her Calling. Dreams (Aspirations)
At the end of every scene where the Princess
All people aspire to great things, it’s in our nature.
successfully performs a task appropriate to
For the Nobility it’s not in their nature, it is their
her Calling the Storyteller may call for a
nature. Her Belief in making a better world is what
roll with the same Attribute and Skill as the
gives her strength, it’s what powers her magic, and
task (if there is more than one applicable
it can consume her every waking moment. This
roll use your best judgement, supernatural
desire to make a better world is represented by a
bonuses and penalties do not apply) penalised
Princess’ Dreams.
by Shadows and grant one Wisp per success.
Dreams are a form of Aspirations unique to the
If the Princess upholds her duty in a way that
Hopeful. In it’s simplest form, a Dream is an
honours her Queen’s philosophy she gains one
Aspiration, where the primary purpose is to help
additional Wisp from the task, provided she
somebody else, in a manner fitting the Princess’
scored at least one success.
Calling. For a Seeker getting an A+ on the science
• Inner Strength: When the chips are down and test is an Aspiration, helping your friend get an A+
the situation is dire, a Princess can call upon is a Dream. Winning a noble prize is an Aspiration,
her own inner reserves of determination and creating a cure for cancer (if it is motivated by
draw out power she didn’t know she had. As an saving lives) is a Mender’s Dream.
instant action, she spends a Willpower point A Princess has a total of five Aspirations and
and rolls Belief; if the roll succeeds she regains Dreams, two of which must be Dreams and the

35
remaining three can be either. Her Dreams replaces the Integrity system from the God-
provides all the same functions as an Aspiration, Machine Chronicle. Where as Integrity measures
and provides one additional bonus. Whenever an whether or not a character has managed to
Aspiration would provide a Beat a Dream will cope with experiencing traumatic and supernatural
provide one Beat and one Luminous Beat. events, Belief represents a Princess’ ability to cope
with pain and trauma. Belief is core of inner
strength and hope that allows a Princess to carry
Luminous Experience on going even while she is suffering more than
grown adults could expect to bear; and Belief works
A Princess works harder than most people, she hand in glove with the Sensitivity system, which
has to if she hopes to improve the world. As a represents how much emotional pain a Princess is
direct result she also learns faster, this advantage dealing with at this moment.
is represented by Luminous Experience. Characters with high Belief are confident that,
Luminous Experience is earned in one of two no matter how dark today may seem, things will
ways. Firstly a Princess’ Dreams provide Luminous be brighter tomorrow. When they are facing what
Beats in addition to regular Beats, a Princess grows looks like unsolvable problems, the principles they
the fastest when she focuses on others. The second cherish shine like a lighthouse in their heart to show
way is through Voluntary Work, when a Princess a path forwards; they believe that if they remain
rolls an Exceptional Success to regain Wisps true to their ideals and keep fighting things will
through volunteering she gains one Luminous Beat. work out for the best. This makes Princesses with
In any situation where you can only gain a finite high Belief literally superhuman in their ability
number of Beats, track Luminous and regular Beats to cope, between Sensitivity and the horrors they
separately. experience on the job they have to be. A nine year
Five Luminous Beats form a Luminous old Princess might cry and hug her parents after
Experience which may be spent on Inner Light, seeing her brother’s mangled body in a wrecked
Belief (mortals with Luminous Experience may car, no amount of Belief prevents her from feeling,
spend it on Integrity) or removing Shadows at the but that pain wont hold her back until she’s pulled
usual rate. Luminous Experience may also be spent everyone from the wreckage, provided medical aid,
upon social merits which represent the friendship and organised the bystanders.
and gratitude of the people the Princess helped Characters with low Belief are wrecked with
earning that Luminous Experience. doubt and despair. They see the problems of the
When calculating exp costs one Luminous World of Darkness but no longer see a way to a
Experience is equivalent to one regular Experience. better world. The ideals that once marked the path
Luminous and regular Experience may be combined are, in her eyes, now proven to be naive, ineffective,
for an expensive purchase. or even harmful. At low Belief a Princess’ ability to
cope is no more than the average man’s, and that is
not enough for a Noble who must bear the weight
Belief (Integrity) of the world on her shoulders. Without a clear path
forward her deeds are marked by desperation, and
Being a Princess is not something that just happens she begins to consider solutions she’d have once
at random, a fortunate circumstance that gives you rejected as immoral.
neat-o magic powers to do whatever you want with. As Belief falls and rises players should consider
You are here on Earth with a purpose: to make the how their character’s views change. If a character
world a better place and bring the Light of Hope to —who’s Beliefs include typical Western views on
everyone suffering. The existence of the Kingdoms fair trials —acquires proof of a crime through magic
proves to you that it can be done, and a Princess’s and administers vigilante justice because magic
conviction is one of her greatest assets. It is a source isn’t admissible in court, then her actions call her
of strength, it keeps her going when times are bad, Belief in justice into question. This conflict is
and it’s what fuels her magic. If her Beliefs begin to represented by a Compromise roll. A failure, and
slip, as doubt creeps into her mind over her cause the lost dot of Belief, can represent her now feeling
or ability, the Inner Light within her is beset by the that fair trials are not necessary, or an impractical
darkness of the world. ideal until the world has improved. A likely
Belief tracks the strength of a Princess’s consequence is that similar acts of vigilante justice
convictions, her belief in herself and the ideals in the future will not trigger a Belief Compromises,
she believes can make a better world. It though a material difference such as a lower
standard of evidence or a more brutal reprisal might

36
still be a Compromise. The Princess may also inure There is a another way for a Princess to loose
herself to Compromises that come from the same Belief, and that is through draining her spirit with
foundation of respect for the law, such as interfering the magic of Lacrima. This works like a normal
with an active police investigation. Compromise roll but with a different dice-pool, the
Even if the Princess succeeds in her Compromise details can be found in the section on Lacrima on
roll and does not loose any Belief she may still page 302.
change her views. Of course she might simply
feel her actions were wrong and resolve to behave Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ faith in her
differently next time. But she may adjust her ideals has been damaged, she is convinced that
Beliefs and create a new but equally idealistic an ideal or principle she valued is unworkable
framework that contextualises her actions and puts or harmful and scorns her younger self for being
sets new checks and balances for the future, ones naive enough to believe in it. Lose a dot of
more appropriate for a world of hidden magic and Belief and choose from the following Conditions
secrets. (or create a new one with Storyteller approval)
as her negative emotions send her magic haywire:
Shattered Confidence, Dissociation, Scars of the
Compromises Past, Abdicated or Madness. Alternatively you
can take one of: Doubting, Heavy Crown, Self-
Moral Compromises threaten a Noble’s Belief. Doubt, Obsession, or Over-compensatory Guilt
Belief comes in three tiers: Paragon, idealist, and as a Persistent Condition. Either way, take
pragmatist. A Princess is affected by Compromises a Beat. For a third option, and only when
in her tier and those below. If a pragmatic it would be a serious inconvenience, loose your
Princess considers an act unconscionable, she’s powers for the remainder of the scene and take
surely would reject it even more strenuously if she one of: Heavy Crown, Self-Doubt, or Over-
were an idealist. Each tier lists the dice pool for a compensatory Guilt, and take two Beats.
Compromise roll, and it should be understood that Failure: The Princess’ sense of hope is shaken.
this refers to the tier of the act, not the Princess. She is convinced that an ideal or principle she
A paragon who’s actions are a Compromise at the valued cannot work in this cruel world and
idealist level rolls 3 dice, not 5. As always a player is willing to put it aside until the world is
may choose to downgrade a failure to a Dramatic ready. Lose a dot of Belief and choose from
Failure in exchange for a Beat. the following Conditions (or create a new one
Willpower cannot increase the dice pool for a with Storyteller approval): Befriendable, Heavy
Compromise roll and magic cannot modify the roll Crown, Self-Doubt, or Over-compensatory Guilt.
in any way unless explicitly stated otherwise, but Alternatively and only when it would be a
some situational modifiers may apply. If the Noble serious inconvenience, loose your powers for the
Compromises in pursuit of her Vice she subtracts remainder of the scene and take a Beat.
one die, as her selfish behaviour demonstrates
disregard for her ideals. If she acts in pursuit of Success: The Princess comes through with her
one of her Virtues, she adds a die, for this shows sense of idealism intact. Either she believes that
she is trying to navigate an ethical conundrum she was wrong to go against her moral code and
rather than simply disregarding her morals. If resolves to do better next time next time, or
acting against her principles resulted in a positive she adjusts her Beliefs to incorporate new life
outcome for the Princess she loses a die as this experiences, resulting in a different but equally
success encourages similar unprincipled behaviour, idealistic moral code. However she will still
but if her actions cause trouble that principled feel guilty at her lapse or vulnerable during this
behaviour could have avoided this reinforces the period of transition. Choose one of the following
value of her principles and adds one die. A support Conditions (or create a new one with Storyteller
network can help a Princess process dilemmas in approval): Befriendable, Heavy Crown, Self-
a healthy way: A dot in Circle gives an extra die Doubt, or Over-compensatory Guilt.
to Compromises at the idealist and paragon level, Exceptional Success: The Princess’ experiences
and at four dots Circle also provides an extra die taught her the value of both her principles and
to Compromises at the Pragmatist level. Finally, pragmatism, and how to best combine them in
if the Princess currently has a Condition caused by a complex world. She takes a beat and gains a
using the Invocation of Specchio, she gains one die; point of Willpower.
it becomes easier to protect her idealism through
doublethink and denial.

37
 an education is worth a little conformity, but give
Belief Tiers different advice whenever wearing that uniform
Belief 8 - 10, High / Paragon (6 dice) would require someone to suppress their sense of
self.
A Princess at this level acts like she lives in the Compromises occur at this level when something
world of her dreams. A Princess of Diamonds goes beyond challenging the practicality of a
might provide tuition at any time to anyone who Princess’ Beliefs in today’s dark world, it must
asks while a Princess of Spades might personally challenge the underlying principle. When a
sneak into government offices to chat with officials Princess of Clubs fails to prevent violence from
without regard to social norms or trespassing laws. breaking out because she insisted on integrating
This is not to say these Princesses are naive fools. two communities, rather than giving them some
Maintaining this level of Belief for any length space apart, this would only be a Compromise if
of time requires a Princess to be both skilled she is a paragon. But if she came across two
and astute. It can only work if the Princess groups living peacefully by ignoring each other and
of Diamonds is a fast and effective teacher with her attempt to integrate them into a harmonious
great time management and the Princess of Spades whole was the root cause of violence, or a seemingly
leaves every official too impressed with her to press successful integration results in something less than
charges. either of the original two groups, then the Noble is
Some paragons believe that the world is simply forced to ask if integrating different groups is a good
the product of our actions, it cannot improve until idea in the first place and the Compromise falls
people behave like the citizens of a better world under this level. If a Princess’ actions demonstrate
and someone must make the first step; this view disregard for her ideals, such as giving up on
is popular in the Courts of Clubs and Swords. In an attempt to integrate two groups in favour
the Court of Hearts paragons warn that seemingly of something unrelated to her Beliefs like exam
sensible Compromises can become embedded in revision, then this disregard suggests a Compromise
societal systems and say prevention is the best cure. roll is appropriate. Breaking the second oath of
The World of Darkness is not kind to such idealism, one’s calling lands here.
not only must a paragon roll for Compromise when Inflicting severe emotional pain, manslaughter,
she fails to live up to her own high standards; she and other crimes of a similar level usually fall here,
must also roll when she is faced with evidence that with obvious caveats. Sending a murderer to jail
forces her to question whether she can live her might inflict emotional pain upon him, but few
ideals in this World of Darkness, such as failing an Princesses will take that as a challenge to their
important task because her ideals held her back. Beliefs. Each Princess has different ideals, but
Violating the third Oath of one’s Calling is also a whether a Princess of Diamonds sees her strategy
Compromise for paragons. Any successful paragon result in someone’s death despite hours of careful
is sure to have faced several compromises and planning; and has to ask herself if getting everyone
refined her Beliefs through every test until she has to think things through like she did is enough
created a code of behaviour that, with all her magic to make a better world. Or if a Princess of
and inner strength, she can make work. Spades badly timed prank leaves the pompous but
Belief 4 - 7, Medium / Idealist. (4 dice) well-meaning official in tears; and is forced to
reconsider if being an authority figure who makes
At this level a Princess acknowledges the kind of bad decisions means it’s automatically ok to take
world she lives in and has made concessions to you down a peg or two. If a Princess inflicts real
practicality. She has given up on some of her harm to another person her Sensitivity will require
Beliefs, and now calls them unworkable or even her to ask how she ended up making such a mistake,
a bad idea, but she retains her Belief in her core and since she personally failed so drastically those
ideals. For example a Princess of Hearts who sees questions will ask if the underlying principles
herself as a knight in shining armour may now feel behind her actions were themselves flawed. A
ideals such as courtly love belong in romance novels Champion who kills her opponent in battle is no
and announcing herself to the Mafia goons with a exception. Magic provides so many non-lethal
formal challenge just gets you shot in the middle of options that a modern day samurai who fails to take
a speech. However she is still a chivalrous knight, a human opponent alive will have to ask herself if
she fights only in tournaments or when necessary to Bushido is capable of making her into someone who
defend the weak and defeats her foes while inflicting can wield violence without inflicting undue harm.
the minimum harm. A Princess of Spades might However killing Creatures of the Darkness (apart
tell her fans to put on a school uniform because from Darkened) is never an issue, as such monsters

38
are avatars of evil. They have no moral worth and governance society falls apart. For simplicity this
cannot be redeemed. example will only look at Polly’s Beliefs that relate
Belief 1 - 3, Low / Pragmatist. (2 dice) to journalism, and it will treat Polly’s Beliefs as
static, not something that grow and adapt during
When a Princess has been beaten down by the play.
world she may decide to let the world win. She tried As a paragon Polly would roll for compromise
acting idealistically and that didn’t work, so now every time she failed as a journalist. When
she’ll try doing whatever she thinks is necessary. she notices her bias leaked into an article that’s
This is not to say she is happy about it. Her actions already gone to print, or when she learns a slick
pain her greatly, but she presses on because deep politician’s lies got past her scepticism and into the
down she still believes that things can get better mourning edition, the dice must roll. When Polly’s
and in the end all her suffering will be worthwhile. experienced but cynical mentor says she needs to
Nor does this mean she has no principles beyond spend more time on money making celebrity gossip
mere pragmatism, she may no longer have an and less on informative political news, that alone
elaborate and all encompassing Belief system but would not be a Compromise roll, but if she took
she will cling very tightly to whatever principles his advice or if the Polly’s insistence on focusing
she has left. A Princess of Storms will cut through on reporting real news caused her a significant set
innocents to destroy Darkspawn, but no matter the back such as failing to get the job at a prestigious
practical benefits she will never ever aid a servant paper she wanted, that would be a Compromise.
of the Darkness. She will not give him so much as a To succeed as a Paragon Polly would have to be
drink of water, not even if he’d give her the name of the ideal journalist, she would have to reach a
every Darkened associate he knows in return, not level of professionalism and competence that only a
even if she could shoot him immediately afterwords. magical being imbued with Nobility could achieve.
Compromises at this level require more than At the idealist level Polly would roll when
a challenge to a Princess’ ideals. If a Princess something challenged the idea that good journalism
has sunk to this level then she surely has faced leads to an informed public making good decisions.
so many challenges that she is inured to further Polly would no longer risk her Belief by making
questions, and if she hasn’t sunk to low Belief those a mistake, or writing a truthful gossip piece to
challenges will fall under a previous category. To pay the rent. But if she saw that none of the
face a Compromise at this level a Princess has to major papers were reporting on an important issue
actively act in opposition to her own principles. and ignored this problem that would demonstrate a
No matter how many times she’s successfully made worrying disregard for a journalist’s core purpose,
justifications to herself in the past, making the as Polly understands it, and this disregard is
decision to oppose her own principles creates a represented by a Compromise roll. If Polly
challenge she cannot ignore. For a similar reason provided the public with accurate information on
abandoning an attempt to fulfil a goal based on her an important topic only to watch as it makes
principles for purely selfish reasons like accepting everything worse — say, the public saw the
bribes falls at this level. Most pragmatists and all problem and lept into the arms of a demagogue
idealists will face a compromise for torture, murder, peddling easy answers — that would trigger a
and other heinous crimes, as such actions are in Compromise roll. A long career as an idealistic
opposition to most principled behaviour. Finally journalist is within the reach of any Princess, most
breaking the first oath of one’s calling lands here. of circumstances that could trigger a Compromises
are the results of Polly’s own choices and within her
power to avoid, and the exceptions are rare enough
Worked Example that good dice rolls or the occasional Experience
expenditure can keep Polly’s Belief stable, though
Polly P. Peterson is a Seeker of Hearts who works collaborating with mortal institutions or other
as a journalist. As a Princess of Hearts she believes Nobles to ensure demagogues aren’t the loudest
strongly that authority belongs to those who earn voices responding to her exposé cannot hurt.
it by winning the support of the demos through As a pragmatist Polly would be willing to use
virtue and competence. She also believes that and abuse her position as a journalist to fulfil her
this system cannot work without good journalism. royal duties. She could pretend her investigation
Without accurate and unbiased sources of news into corruption found nothing, if the executives
the public cannot make an informed decision about at the heart of it agree to demolish a Tainted
who should run their society. Without a public building and put affordable housing in it’s place,
mandate there can be no governance. Without or she might investigate the political candidate

39
she dislikes and publish every skeleton she finds
in her closet while writing nothing about the roll every turn of combat, with the winner
candidate she supports. Neither of these would opening a Door. Once again player consent
require a compromise roll, however if she actively is required. Princesses are defined by their
works against the public’s ability to get accurate strong Beliefs, so it would be very unusual if
news or the fourth estate’s ability to provide it they were constantly at risk of throwing in
then she would face a Compromise. Sabotaging a fight because of a few well placed words.
another journalist’s investigation by destroying But when the circumstances are right it is
evidence or just distracting them with the intent very fitting for the genre for a magical girl to
of foiling the scoop would require a roll. As would defeat (and perhaps befriend) her rival with
intentionally spreading falsehoods to the public via words.
journalism. Polly, like most Princesses who falls to Triggering Sensitivity doesn’t always
the pragmatist level, can only fall further through require Social Manoeuvring. Taking
her own actions. advantage of an appropriate Condition like
Embarrassing Secret or doing something
emotionally shocking like executing a
hostage might be enough to trigger
Sensitivity there and then. This depends
on the severity of the Condition and the
emotional resilience of the Princess.
Mean Girls
A Princess’ magic flows from her Belief.
Destroying her self confidence can be an
effective way to weaken her powers and a
Bad Example
devastating precursor to a physical attack. Most moral philosophies, and most Princesses,
The rules for Social Maneuvering (Chronicle agree that acting immorally through a proxy is still
of Darkness p81) can be applied for this acting immorally. If it is wrong to murder, then it
purpose. is wrong to ask someone to murder on your behalf;
The aggressor sets the goal of “inflict a and asking would be a Belief Compromise as though
Belief Compromise” or “trigger a Sensitivity the Princess held the knife herself.
check”. Calculate the Doors as normal, if But even if the Princess doesn’t ask directly
the aggressor is targeting Belief this always her Belief may still be in danger. If her follower
counts as opposing a Virtue. When the violates her principles while acting on her behalf
last Door is opened make a Compromise and has a good justification to think the Princess
roll with a dice pool based on the Princess’ would approve of his actions (in this case the
current Belief level or a Sensitivity check justification is judged by a hypothetical average
as normal. The Princess can’t offer an and reasonable man) then the Princess is forced to
alternative. Vices and leverage can work consider whether she has truly been championing
as normal; tempting a Princess with tickets her ideals or whether her behaviour has fallen short
to her favourite band gives means she’ll be of the standards she expects of herself without her
spending an evening with her tormentor, realising.
who can use that time to challenge the For example: Princess Rosa, a Champion of
Princess’ ideals and chip away at her self Hearts with Belief 6, ascribes to a code that says she
confidence. must always attempt to resolve a conflict peacefully
Targeting a PC requires cooperation before using violence. Somewhere down the line she
from a player. If someone is intentionally concluded that it is acceptable to use her Emotional
trying to ruin a Princess’ Belief in her Intuition to check how a character will react to an
ideals and her self-esteem that’s a very attempt to resolve things peacefully and if they will
good justification for the player to say her not respond reasonably she can save her breath and
character’s impression just reached hostile. use the time she’d waste talking helping someone
Remember though, there’s Beats for Going else. (This would be a Compromise but in this
With the Flow, and for Compromises. example Rosa succeeded on that Compromise roll
Two Princesses can attempt to spar and modified rather than abandoned her code).
verbally alongside a physical fight. This However Rosa’s followers, a neighbourhood watch
time both parties make a contested social group she founded, do not have the Emotional
Intuition Merit, so when Rosa discovers that they’ve

40
been following her example, only with mundane If darkness is the absence of light, the absence of a
Empathy rather than supernatural intuition, she Princess’ Light is very Dark indeed.
realises that her code of ethics is unstable for her When a Princess hits Belief 0, the anchor of her
position and must make a Compromise roll. self is shattered. As her sense of hope, drained
Storyteller’s should use the Bad Example rules by so many Compromises, finally runs out her
sparingly. It should only lead to a Compromise Inner Light starts to go out. She decreases her
roll when the Princess’ actions or the example she Inner Light to 0 dots, nothing more than a few
sets leads to bad behaviour that would not have fading embers. Her Phylactery shatters, suddenly
otherwise happened and when the link between age-rotted, and she forcefully de-Transforms, back
the Princess’ behaviour and her subordinates’ to her normal identity. Without a Phylactery,
behaviour is clear and straight forward. she cannot Transform. She is barred from the
Dreamlands; the Queens can offer no comfort.
Even the Twilight Queens are disgusted by a Noble
Effects of Belief who falls this far, for Tears sees her as a threat to
Alhambra, Storms as just another Dark creature
As Belief rises, the Hopeful’s inherent magic glows waiting to happen, and Mirrors as a failed True
more brightly and grows more potent. Her inner Queen to be forgotten.
strength is magical strength, Belief is part of a Many would say that this is enough of a curse;
Princess’ dice pool when she competes in a Clash of that, stripped of rank and privilege, she is left to
Wills. A high Belief Noble radiates confidence and wander the Earth. It may be. But that is not what
optimism, increasing the odds she’ll inspire people happens. She is not merely a fallen Princess but a
through a positive Echo. High Belief also enhances fallen human, little more than a shuffling husk that
a Princess’ practical magic. drifts through life; something barely recognisable
Characters with low Belief find themselves as something which once championed the cause of
lacking the strength to bear the world’s pain. As the Light. Stripped of all drive she may just lie still
Belief falls, the lash of Sensitivity becomes ever until she starves, unable to see the point of eating.
more threatening and her doubt begins to inspire If she is pushed she will go about her life, she is too
similar feelings in those around her, increasing the empty inside to say no, to say I hurt too much to do
risks of spreading a negative Echo. this. She is a hollow shell of a woman. Lacking the
strength to fight for what she believes in, always
folding at the least pressure, unable to even cry for
The Enlightened at Belief Zero help.
When a Princess becomes Belief 0, the final act
I used to think that you were a guardian
that broke her Beliefs inflicts the Soulless (CofD
angel, come to answer our prayers… But
290) and Enervated Conditions. For as long as
Lucifer was an angel too, wasn’t he?
her Belief remains zero, she cannot access any of
— Professor Emil Hamilton,
her powers from the Princess template. Since the
Justice League Unlimited
Princess’ soul is not actually missing, just falling
When she Blossoms the Princess feels a strength apart, finding a replacement soul cannot heal her.
of optimism never known to those who have not The only solution is for the Princess, with the help
touched the light. Nothing seems impossible. of her friends, to rediscover her Belief before she
With hard work, dedication and conviction every looses her last dot of willpower. Her friends use the
problem can be solved. No one needs to suffer Social Maneuvering rules [CofD 81-84]; the number
any more. Only the most sheltered Princess can of Doors they must open equals twice her Shadows
keep such attitudes for long, belief and optimism dots. If all the Doors are opened, and the Princess
must give way to reality. She will learn that the spends 2 Experiences, she sacrifices a Willpower dot
real problems can’t be solved in an afternoon, that to remake her Phylactery, her Belief returns to 1,
scars take more than a impassioned speech to heal and the Soulless and Enervated Conditions end.
and she will learn that she herself is limited. She A soul-dead Princess who does not get help from
does not have the time or energy to fix every single others faces a final choice when her last dot of
problem. Willpower fades: to die as a mundane human, or
Most Princesses remain here for most of their life. to yield to the Darkness and rise as a horror. To
They have compromised their impossible idealism determine which, the Storyteller rolls the Noble’s
in the name of practicality, yet retain a strength of Shadows as a dice pool. If the roll fails, the Princess
conviction few can match. Some fall much further. drops into a coma from which she never wakes - her
heartbeat ceases within a day at most. If it gains

41
even one success, the former Princess attempts to hope and optimism, her Belief that no matter
Transform despite her lack of a Phylactery. She how bad things look now they will get better is
turns towards the Dark to fill the empty void where her bulwark against doubt and heartbreak, the
she once held her Light. She focuses on everything foundation of her emotional and magical stability.
that hurt her, everything that went wrong in her life Whenever the Princess first enters a state of
and focuses on the grief and bitterness they invoke, significant emotional pain or turmoil she rolls a
for in her deranged state even that is better than Sensitivity dice pool as defined by Inner Light.
nothingness. The mad will of a Princess in this Deliberate acts of cruelty are especially shocking to
state is a terrible thing to behold. She laughs with an empath and add an extra die. This increases to
pure grief, she cries tears of crystal clear despair. two dice if she is intimate with the villain or victim,
Her feelings echo around her, calling pure Taint up or three dice if she performed the action herself.
from the Dark World and shaping it into twisted The Storyteller may add up to three additional
reflections of her own life. She even calls the Taint dice if the act is especially heinous or emotionally
into her own body, fuelling her final Transformation shocking.
into a being drawn from the depths of her own When a Noble’s attention is drawn to someone
nightmares. else’s emotional pain the effects can be worse than
A Transformation in this manner should not her own problems. Her Sensitivity means she feels
be possible. Properly, it is impossible, for no she cannot help but feel their pain herself. More
Princess could do it, none could take this Last than that. She knows her own emotions intimately,
Transformation. But those who do so are no she is experienced at handling them and she knows
longer among the Enlightened, they are no longer that when push comes to shove she has magic. She
even human. They shed their mortal forms, as can take harder blows than most people. Sympathy
Darkness rushes into the void within them which rolls made because of a mortal’s emotional pain
the Light once filled, and are both twisted and takes the 9again modifier, if that someone is an
empowered by this blasphemous process. They innocent (such as a child) the modifier rises to
wear blackened crowns on monstrous heads; they 8again. If a single action inflicts emotional pain
become the Dethroned. upon multiple people the strongest modifier applies.
Even the Enlightened’s empathy has limits. If
a Princess witness a sadist in great emotional
Sensitivity pain because she rescued his victim her empathic
nature means she would sense that pain but it is
Being born from a shining, empathetic, heart; so alien to her own emotional self that it’s easily
A Princess is by her very nature emotionally compartmentalised and ignored. Many Princesses
vulnerable. Emotions strong enough to destroy describe this as like reading of someone’s feelings
Darkspawn or outrun cars flow through her, in a book, or like feeling butterflies ten feet outside
and when those emotions turn against her the their stomach. When this happens no Sensitivity
consequences are debilitating at best, and in the roll is required. The Storyteller is the final
wrong circumstances they can be outright deadly. arbitrator of who’s suffering can trigger Sensitivity.
When the Dark Cultists kill a hostage in the middle
of battle the horror paralyses her and leaves her Dramatic Failure or Failure: The Princess retains
open to attack. When her sadistic teacher bullies a control over her emotions.
classmate every flinch feels like ice in her veins and Success: The Princess is staggered. She loses
she is compelled to act even though she knows she her Defence and cannot act for the next turn.
can do more good in private after class. All magic If she is Transformed she loses a Wisp in a
comes with a price, and this is a Princess’. She random magical discharge. In addition to any
will pay it all her life, neither age nor experience other effects the Princess gains both a Dot of
will free her for her emotions only get stronger as Shadows and the Fresh Shadows Condition. If
her Inner Light grows. Any attempt to develop the Storyteller and player agree, she may also
emotional armour is futile, her own magic breaks take the Girl Underground Condition.
such walls open to let her emotions get out and Successes/2 (rounding down) + Shadows is
affect the world. equal or greater than Belief: Take one of
But the Nobility don’t spend their entire the following Conditions (overtly magical effects
life one bad breakup away from spontaneous require her to be Transformed) or with the
combustion. A Princess’ positive emotions are just Storyteller’s permission the player may choose
as superhumanly potent, allowing her to shoulder or create a new one of similar severity: Abject
grief that would crush a grown man. Her eternal Denial, Primal Scream, Shadow Takeover. The

42
Condition should represent the Princess loosing
control over her actions, over her her magic, Shadows
or the consequences of the aforementioned loss
Shadows are the painful product of Sensitivity.
of control. If an emotional shouting match
They the if onlys, should have dones, and could
will have serious consequences then a Condition
have beens that haunt a Princess. A cancerous
representing those consequences is a valid choice.
train of thought that can grow and spread its
Alternatively, when it would be a serious
tendrils through her mind and force it’s way
inconvenience, the Princess may take a Beat and
to the front of her thoughts at inappropriate
lose all her magic for the scene, reverting to her
moments; and for a women whose emotions are
mundane form. In addition to any other effects
magic they can be as debilitating as any illness.
the Princess gains both a Dot of Shadows and
A Princess with Shadows upon her soul not only
the Fresh Shadows Condition. If the Storyteller
feels sympathy for the suffering she witnesses,
and player agree, she may also take the Girl
but internalizes them. She suffers flashbacks, at
Underground Condition.
the worst moments she remembers the event that
created shadows and feels her confidence fade. If
she couldn’t help then, why should she expect to do
better now? These thoughts become self fulfilling:
Because she feels lesser, her magic becomes lesser.
It can too easily become the beginning of a
Sensitivity and Compromises vicious cycle: the Princess believes she cannot
help, therefore her magic weakens, therefore she
The events that trigger Sensitivity and has trouble helping people, therefore she believes
provoke Compromises are often one and she cannot help.
the same. A Princess who Believes in It is fortunate then, that so many Princesses
both the power of romance and in healing cultivate friendships and allies who can help them
the sick could face both Sensitivity and a break the cycle.
Compromise when her boyfriend says he’s Dots in Shadows impair a Princess’ access to her
leaving her because she neglects him by powers in two ways. First, they are subtracted
spending too much time at the hospital. from her Transformation roll, which becomes Belief
In order to uphold one principle she must + Inner Light - Shadows. Secondly, Shadows
Compromise on the other and a sudden impair a Princess’ ability to recover Wisps: Her
breakup is an emotional shock. Wisp income from the Circle Merit is reduced by
However that same Princess would only Shadows and all the dice pools she rolls to regain
face a Compromise if she came to that Wisps subtract 1 die for each dot in Shadows she
realisation herself, talked it over with her possesses.
boyfriend and they mutually agreed to end When a Princess gains a Shadows she also takes
their relationship in a way that let her the Fresh Shadows condition, it is fresh in her mind
gradually process the emotions. A Princess and hasn’t yet sunk in roots. If she finds closure
may not be able to build emotional armour before the end of the scene she may remove the
against the shock of a breakup, but an dot again. After the scene ends, the dot “sticks”
experienced Princess can see it coming and and can’t be removed so easily. If a Princess with
avoid the shock. Shadows fulfils her Virtue, she may remove 1 dot of
Meanwhile an entirely different Princess Shadows in addition to regaining Willpower. If a
who didn’t Believe the power of love was Princess rolls an Exceptional Success on any roll
integral to building a brighter future would to regain Wisps, she may also remove a dot of
only face Sensitivity but not Compromise Shadows. Finally, a Princess may spend Beats to
after a sudden breakup. remove a dot of Shadows; to remove one Shadow
If the same event triggers both a she pays one Beat for every Shadow she has.
Compromise and a Sensitivity roll, roll for
Compromise first.

43
New Trait: Transformed Abilities Society and Skills
and Skills As a general rule a Princess who practices
in her mundane body will earn mundane
Next to each Attribute and Skill on a Princess’s
attributes and skills while training in her
character sheet, in addition to the five blank
Transformed identity, in the Dreamlands or
dots normally present, there are another set
by remembering abilities from past lives will
of dots in parentheses. These dots represent
create Transformed attributes and skills.
additional skill or attribute dots the Princess
Though many Princesses seeking mundane
has while Transformed. While Transformed,
skills prefer to train twice, it takes the same
your Transformed Attributes and Skills are
amount of time but splitting the task in two
automatically added to your normal Attributes and
is nice.
Skills; this can change Advantages such as Speed,
Willpower, Initiative and Health, so record these
values for both your mundane and Transformed In terms of gameplay this doesn’t have
forms. If you take damage in Health boxes derived much impact. If you can only justify
from transformed Stamina, you may spend Wisps earning a Transformed dot now but want
to heal that damage when you return to mundane a mundane dot you can usually fit one
form as per the rules for Holy Shield - if you don’t experience point’s worth of training into the
do so, the damage wraps around, as per usual next downtime.
for temporary Health. Willpower points derived It’s only when the Princess is
from transformed Resolve and Composure can be constrained by external factors that
spent only while you are transformed; however, she might be unable to transfer skills from
if you have spent them, you can regain them at her transformed identity to her mundane
any time. If you have spent both mundane and identity. In many parts of the world even
transformed Willpower, you regain the mundane getting access to a gun is difficult for a
Willpower first. If you sacrifice a Willpower dot, grown adult let alone a young girl whose
you lose a transformed Willpower dot first. parents would certainly show concern if she
Your total Transformed ability may not exceed suddenly developed an interest in learning
the maximum rating for Transformed abilities as to shoot with no explanation. In such cases
determined by your Inner Light, and you cannot the players will have to dedicate screentime
have more dots in Transformed abilities than you and magic to overcoming these problems.
have Belief + Inner Light; Transformed Skills
only count as one third of a dot when counting
against this limit. A Princess who loses Belief loses
Transformed Dots and is refunded the experience
spent.

44
 Champion
When I started I thought this would be some grand adventure, sneaking out with my best friends to fight
monsters. I never thought any of us would actually die. But even after everything that’s happened I’d
still choose this life, because somebody has to. Either it’s me or this burden is forced onto somebody else.

Champions epitomize the ancient concept of a hero

– those who accomplish. In the Kingdom, they Magic
were the defenders and the conquerors, the dragon
slayers and the chain smashers. Their counterparts Champions have affinity to the Bless, Fight and
in the Reborn world value strength for altruistic Perfect Charm families.
reasons. They serve the weak. Moreover, they Starting Champions get one transformed
enjoy physical accomplishment for its own sake – Attribute dot in either Strength or Resolve.
Champions frequently sprout from athletes, those
with a penchant for construction or day labor, and
even brawlers. Anyone who loves to push their
body to the limit or appreciates the simple need for Duties
a sturdy pair of hands makes for a grand Champion.
Given their emphasis on physique, some tend to Champions regain magic whenever they perform
mistake Champions as simple-minded or naturally a task for somebody who physically incapable
violent. Rather, they just look for direct solutions. or overwhelmed and don’t have the time and/or
To them, a problem is something that needs to resources they need. This can mean doing chores
be done. If they can’t find a physical solution, for an elderly neighbor, building homes for the
something they can flat out do, then Champions poor, protecting a classmate from a bully, or
will break the situation down until they can. They otherwise making a sacrifice of your time and effort
cut the Gordian knot, instead of puzzling over it. If for someone else’s benefit.
there is a weakness that stems from this tendency, Champions can also restore their magic by
it’s that Champions tend to be blind to someone’s protecting the innocent. Wiping out a nest of
more sublime pain or motivations, but it also makes Darkspawn, defending a child from a wild animal,
them refreshingly straight-forward and realistic. even walking the beat as a police officer can all fulfil
a Champion’s duties.

Dreams of the Kingdom

Oaths
Champions dream of victories on a grand level
– armies defeated single-handedly, mountains First Oath: I am a protector, not a tyrant. I am
knocked down, rivers wrestled from their paths, given a sword to defend the weak and the innocent.
buildings held up for days at end. Their exploits Inflicting violence for personal gain betrays all that
are the stuff of Gilgamesh, Hercules, and Samson. the Light has invested within me.
But when they dream of the Fall, they see weapons
snatched from their hands, their own bodies turning Second Oath: I must never abandon or ignore
sickly and weak, and dark throngs they overpower those who need my protection. If someone is facing
and humiliate them. danger and I have the power to protect them my
power gives me the responsibility to step up to the
challenge.

Third Oath: I shall swear myself to a code. Might

is never the ends, only the means. My code shall

45
determine when violence is acceptable, and for what • Mummies: You can’t remember why you’re
reasons a sword may be drawn. I may change my fighting, I wouldn’t want to be you. Not for
code but I must always have one, and once sworn all your power and immortality.
I must uphold the values and principles enshrined
by my code. • Beasts: Spare me the bullshit. Are you going
to stop hurting people or are we going to fight?

• Mad Scientists: So, could you show me how to

Stereotypes use that thing?
• Leviathans: RUN! I’ll buy you time... and
• Graces: By the time you have raised an army, goodbye.
I will have already won the battle.
• Hunters: You guys are crazy! How can I help?
• Menders: You tend to the wounded. There
will be plenty of them soon enough. • Mortals: My job would be a lot easier if these
guys would step up, but some of them just
• Seekers: You want the truth? Ask a Seeker. can’t. That’s why I’m here.
You might not like what you hear, but you
probably need to hear it.
• Troubadors: Why are you just standing there
singing? Hit something!
Concepts
• Vampires: We have a word for these where I Knight in shining armour, firefighter, beat cop,
come from – “targets.” volunteer construction worker, inspiring general,
wilderness guide, old school warrior prince,
• Werewolves: Nice doggy... we’re on the same
swashbuckling adventurer.
side, remember?
• Mages: Don’t make me come over there.
• Prometheans: I feel sorry for you, really, but
you have to move on now.
Inspiration
• Changelings: Yes, your life sucks. Now what Shoutan Himei, The Sailor Senshi, Nagisa Misumi,
are you going to do about it? Buffy Summers, and the Magic Warrior archetype
in general.
• Sin-Eaters: If you narrowly escape death, but
then make yourself a slave to a dead thing, you
haven’t really escaped death at all, have you?

46
 Grace
Leadership is so much more than making the hard choices. To be a leader you must represent the best
in the people you serve, so that when you make those hard choices they can see themselves in you the
and find the strength to make that choice too.

If we lost anything in the Fall, it was each other. uniqueness and common humanity the world had
People now wrap themselves in an shell of cynicism to offer. They partake in enormous ceremonies
and distrust to save themselves from humiliation to forgotten gods, and debate in enormous
and risk. They carry popular opinions like armour, parliaments of wise and dedicated leaders. But as
not with conviction. People can’t save each other the wind turns cold and the stars fall from the sky,
if they can’t understand eachother and they can’t the people turn into silent shadows who drift about
save themselves if they don’t even know who they in a monochrome haze and everywhere she travels
are. is the same unending silence.
Graces are the fair maidens portrayed in song and
art as a symbol of order in stability. In ages past,
they were teacher, leaders, lawmakers and judges
who helped a species of almost-monkeys become Magic
something more. Now they continue their duty,
although muted, in the modern world. Graces force Graces have affinity for the Bless, Connect and
those around them to look at the people around Govern Charm families.
them and confront what they find there. They are Starting Graces get one transformed Attribute
not malicious and they are not cruel – they know dot in either Presence or Composure.
there can be pain, but they only want to show
everybody what they can already see: the golden
light that could shine in all of humanity.
Graces are people people. They like to know Duties
people, they like to hear about people, they like
to be around people, and they like when people are Graces recover their magic whenever they convince
people. Nothing pains them so much as someone people to act on their virtuous impulses or bring
denying their own humanity. Others would them closer to their fellow man. This covers
describe them as “intrusive” or “presumptuous” situations such as convincing an addict to seek
– always nosing into other people’s business and out help, easing the anger between antagonistic
offering advice when none is solicited. A Grace relatives, getting a classmate to study for her
might be written off as naive or idealistic, for all own sake instead of cheating, or even just helping
her proselytizing about friendship. They do tend to someone act on their crush.
be outspoken and emotional. They never restrain Graces also refresh their magic by leading
themselves from speaking what’s on their mind societies. Turning a petition into a law, making
or in their heart – and might be no strangers to executive decisions in a company, debating in the
embarrassment because of it. student council, working as a judge, or just making
a convincing speech are all sacred duties to the
Graces.

Dreams of the Kingdom

Graces dream of fantastic journeys across the Oaths
world, witnessing moments of beauty and love
unique to civilizations they’ve never even dreamed First Oath: I must never force another to do as I
of. On their travels they celebrate all the wish. I can persuade and inspire but blackmail, or

47
worse, mind control betray everything the I stand • Sin-Eaters: This mythology was stolen from
for. Nothing good can come from such rotten dragonlance, and it sounds like you wrote this
foundations. code of honour while you were drunk! Is there
nothing of substance to your society?
Second Oath: My purpose is to help people be
the best version of themselves, I should always seek • Mummies: A leader and a servant, I would
to uplift and never push anyone to give into their like the dichotomy. If only it wasn’t so
vices and worse impulses. dysfunctional.
• Beasts: I’ve dedicated my life to helping people
Third Oath: I must be honest, not manipulative. unlearn the lessons you teach.
Mine is the magic to build trust and bring people
together, not the power to turn people into tools. • Mad Scientists: So if I get the institute to
apologise for laughing at your research will you
destroy the killbots? No? Do you even know

Stereotypes what you want?!

• Leviathans: A society is it’s citizens not it’s
• Champions: What will you fight for? Me leader. If you don’t believe me just look at
perhaps? those monsters.

• Menders: You can only do so much by treating • Hunters: Defending yourself is admirable, but
the symptoms. fighting outside society can lead to dark places.

• Seekers: Look as much as you want, I have no • Mortals: Stop calling it cheesy when it’s true.
skeletons in my closet. The power really is inside you if you just
believe in yourselves.
• Troubadours: I’ll lead them, you shall inspire
them.
• Vampires: Explain to me again how your
civilisation is anything of the sort.
Concepts
• Werewolves: I might never know loyalty like Literal princess, class president, owner of the local
you, but your pack has five. In a week I could pub, priestess, member of parliament, mentor,
make fifty friends. activist.
• Mages: Their magic isolates them from their
fellow man. Nothing good can come of it.
• Prometheans: You want me to teach you how Inspiration
to be human? Well you’ve come to the right
person. Hinamori Amu, Madoka Kaname
• Changelings: If you’re not careful a faerie can
turn your words on you.

48
 Mender
Medicine looks simple, a sick person comes before you and leaves healthy. But healing is really about
people, most injuries and illnesses trace their roots to someone’s decisions. Maybe they were careless
and had an accident, maybe they were lazy and let their body weaken from a lack of exercise. Healing is
complicated because you’re not treating a body, you are always treating a person.

All of the Nobility feel the pain of others, but

Menders are those who can’t bear to live with it. Magic
Their first impulse is always to treat pain, either
physical or spiritual. These were the great sages Menders have affinity for the Perfect, Restore and
and physicians of the Kingdom, who studied the Shape Charm families.
science of the human conditions on levels undreamt Starting Menders get one transformed Attribute
by modern science. A good Mender is always dot in either Intelligence or Dexterity.
looking around to see how she can make those
around her better. Todays dark shrouded world
is like a ravenous beast, they say, and it mangles
us all, all the time. Without care, none of us will Duties
ever be strong enough to break out of the mire that
swallows us whole. Nobody should be made to lie Menders regain magic whenever they provide
crippled as their dreams run on ahead of them. consolation, comfort, and aid. They can volunteer
Menders are typically described as either their time as medical facilities or to provide home
motherly or child-like – always blindly over- care, work as part of emergency hotlines, design
protective or naively concerned with the problems new treatments, be a shoulder for someone beset
right before without seeing the big picture. by loss and grief, or do any other number of things
They are natural caretakers. They easily take to relieve the pain of others.
responsibility for those around them and are quick A Mender can work with machines as well as
to worry. Often, they will display great maturity, people, a broken brake line can cause as much
although they are also frequently overcome by suffering as a broken rib. In the end though, it
feelings of failure or helplessness when they lose a really does come back to suffering. A Mender builds
patient. A large number are pacifists, even in this and repairs machines to help people rather than for
dark world. Their uniting characteristics are a deep the simple joy of creation.
respect for life and horror in the face of suffering.
The latter may sometimes be a weakness, but the
best turn it into an iron resolve.
Oaths
Dreams of the Kingdom First Oath: To be a healer is a sacred trust. My
patients put their bodies or mind in my care, above
all else I vow to do my patients no harm and respect
Menders’ dreams are messianic in tone. They see their autonomy. The healer’s sacred duties have
themselves healing the sick and the lame with a survived the fall of our kingdom and I am proud to
touch or consoling those who cry and comforting uphold their traditions.
those who mourn. In the hospitals and temples of
the Kingdom, they nurse even the most far gone Second Oath: When my help is needed, I will
patients back from the edge. As the skies darken, provide. Now, I don’t have to be stupid about it –
though, all around them rot in their living graves if I don’t have the skills it is not my help they need
and beg for death in a resounding chorus deafens and I shouldn’t make things worse by taking on a
the would-be healers’ very thoughts. task I’m incapable of. If a dangerous creature seeks

49
my aid, I can take precautions to protect myself • Changelings: Why do those feathers make me
and my friends even as I administer that aid, and think of scars?
I don’t always necessarily need to give aid in the
particular manner requested or unconditionally. • Sin-Eaters: I know you had one miraculous
And it’s ok to prioritize or delegate; I can’t be in recovery, but as your doctor I must
two places at once. But I am here because people recommend you cut back on the drink, and
are hurting, and to ignore people’s pain is to betray the drugs, and the unprotected sex.
my Calling. • Mummies: I could help you remember yourself,
why are you only interested in the wands I
Third Oath: I am here to mend, not to break. make?
I shall do no harm to another person. Even in
cases of self defence or defending innocents, with my • Beasts: I’ve fixed up enough of their students
magic I can resolve the situation without hurting to know the lessons aren’t worth the cost.
anybody. Of course, Darkspawn are no longer
people. • Mad Scientists: Do you want to talk about it?
Of course I’m not calling you mad!
• Leviathans: I can’t decide if they need healing
Stereotypes or cutting out.
• Hunters: If you want, I’m willing to listen to
• Champions: Bring the wounded back here, I’ll why you’re so hurt.
be ready.
• Mortals: No this isn’t going to sting, I’m better
• Graces: Stop making speeches about the stars than that.
and look at how people live in the gutter.
• Seekers: The truth isn’t hidden, it’s right in
front of us. People need our help. Concepts
• Troubadours: Just keep their spirits up for me.
Emergency physician, IT support, miracle working
• Vampires: Incurable. technician, anti female genital mutilation or anti
• Werewolves: You could do so much good circumcision activist, hospice nurse, candy striper
if you’d just let me try and duplicate your who’s the hospital’s real magic, doctor without
cellular regeneration. borders, animal rescue, environmental clean-up
technician.
• Mages: Give me one good reason you’re not
curing somebody’s cancer right now, just one
good reason.
• Prometheans: Bringing the dead back to life...
Inspiration
growing replacement souls... it’s possible? I
Shamal
need to know more.

50
 Seeker
I followed my calling because I wanted to help people but once you learn to see you can’t close your
eyes. I’ve seen the victims I’ve helped turn around and abuse in turn. I’ve seen the heroes I looked to
for strength crying in secrecy. But if you can see all that and still see hope you can do anything. The
truth might be scary, but the truth will set you free.

The desire to know is universal human trait, possess high Intelligence. Subterfuge comes in
embedded in the heart and soul and genetic handy when a Seeker needs to investigate things
code of every man and woman on the planet. without creating suspicion.
What isn’t common is the will to keep chasing
after those answers when things start getting
dangerous. That’s what sets the Seekers apart. In
their previous lives, Seekers were the detectives, Dreams of the Kingdom
scientists, and scholars of the Kingdom. Their
dreams of the Kingdom are filled with colleges Seekers dream of secrets and discovery. They walk
where the secrets of the universe are revealed and within libraries beyond imagination and delve deep
cities where no lie is uttered and not even the into forgotten temples to uncover the lore of the
smallest misunderstanding is present to obscure the past. With the knowledge they uncover the people
truth. When they dream of the Cataclysm, they build magnificent edifices and intricate devices that
see grand libraries and academies burned to the amaze and bring joy to people’s lives. Then, a
ground, and lies entwined with lies in a web of Seeker’s dreams turn to the fall, the secrets she
deception so deep that even the most fundamental uncovers speak only of her own failings and the
truths are uncertain. failings of that she holds dear. She desperately
Seekers are a varied bunch. Many Seekers act searches libraries for answers that do not exist while
like detectives or journalists, ferreting out crime the darkness creeps ever closer.
and deception from the communities under their
protection. Others resemble the scientist-heroes or
adventurer-archaeologists of the pulp era, braving
danger and using the secrets they discover to Magic
fight evil and better the world. Some Seekers
act as stoic guardians of Things Man was Not Seekers have affinity for the Appear, Govern and
Meant to Know, keeping forbidden knowledge out Learn Charm families.
of unworthy hands. Others are stalwart enemies of Starting Seekers get one transformed Attribute
lies and deceit, and those who would use them to dot in either Intelligence or Wits.
pacify and control a population. But no matter
how they approach their duty, all Seekers share
the common goal of unearthing hidden secrets and
more importantly, using those secrets to make the Duties
world a better place.
Seeker often prioritize mental attributes to aid A Seeker regains Wisps whenever she uncovers new
them in their search for the truth. Resolve is prized facts or information, and whenever she teaches
by all Seekers to keep searching after the truth another something that they do not know. A Seeker
despite hardship or weariness. Wits, Larceny, and could be a scientist or explorer uncovering secrets
Investigation are prioritized by Seekers who favor no man has ever known. She could be a detective
classic detective work, along with Manipulation, uncovering that which unscrupulous individuals try
Empathy, and Persuasion to tease the truth out hard to keep hidden. She could be a teacher passing
of reluctant witnesses or suspects. Those who what she knows to the next generation. Many
were scientists or scholars before Blossoming often Seekers do a both. A reporter uncovers a political

51
scandal, then she publishes it. A Professor does • Changelings: They’re full of valuable insights.
exciting scientific research, then writes a paper and It’s gaining their trust that’s the chore.
gives lectures on it.
• Sin-Eaters: They probably have useful
information to share. If only we could get them
to talk about anything but doom and gloom.
Oaths • Mummies: The truth is still there, burred
beneath the sands. I could help you find it.
First Oath: My eyes shall always be open to the
truth, I will never stop investigating for fear of • Beasts: Something isn’t right here. If they
learning that which I do not wish to know. were created to teach lessons why are they so
Second Oath: The knowledge I learn serves a bad at it?
higher purpose than satisfying my own curiosity,
I will never hold back information that could aid • Mad Scientists: You’d be surprised how much
society or prevent serious harm. If revealing that they know, if they ever bothered to remember
information also risks causing serious harm I will there’s a difference between what they know is
choose my response with care and discretion. real, what they think might be real and what
Third Oath: The world is full of mysteries and they think is cool.
they should not be left unexplored. I shall work to • Leviathans: There are some things even I don’t
increase my understanding of the world every day. want to know.
• Hunters: They’re great in a fight, but half the

Stereotypes time they keep shooting up what I’m looking

for!

• Champions: I understand how you feel, but • Mortals: People have been lying to you your
punching people isn’t the solution. whole lives. I’m gonna put an end to that, just
you wait and see.
• Graces: If only they asked any questions that
actually mattered...
• Menders: I admire your dedication, but you’re
treating the symptoms, not the disease.
Concepts
• Troubadours: Stop prattling on about art and Research scientist, intrepid reporter, spiritual
actually do something. scholar, meddling kid, dreamlands explorer, hippie
psychonaught, going to change the world from your
• Vampires: Friggin’ lying bastards hurting
garage, sociologist, Google-fu grand master, Nobel
people and lying all over the friggin’ place. I
laureate.
hate them.
• Werewolves: Great sources of lore if you
convince them not to bite your head off.
• Mages: A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside
Inspiration
an enigma. Nothing that secretive can be any Yuki Nagato, Sakura Kinomoto, Ms. Frizzle,
good. Yuuno Scrya
• Prometheans: Don’t blame them for what they
are. Who’s the bigger monster, the creature or
Dr. Frankenstein?

52
 Troubadour
I spend my life under the spotlight. Every word I say and every song I sing is taken apart by people
looking to make a quick buck or claim I endorse them. You have to keep dancing to stay one step
ahead; that’s how you say what words cannot express to tell the world what it needs to hear. Come on,
it’s showtime!

Soul is not a silent, static egg that we must shelter

from the outside world until the time comes for it Dreams of the Kingdom
to hatch. Troubadours know the truth – the soul is
a living, breathing maelstrom and unless we open Troubadours dream of their own artist ambitions
up and let it out, it can smother to death within us. displayed on an epic scale – murals that span cities,
And the Troubadours have the keys to let it out. songs that resonate to the heavens, whole countries
Each Troubadour is a master of some artifice dancing. In these dreams, they are the conductors
– singing, dancing, painting, sculpting, baking, that make the whole world come to life with their
cracking jokes, or even just folding paper cranes. energy and enthusiasm. The Cataclysm descends
In their past lives, they were the queens of and they find themselves singers in the land of the
bards, storytellers and chanters, masters of divine deaf, painters in the land of the blind, clowns under
instruments who imparted the wisdom of the ages the flag of melancholy, wandering a cold world as
in grand halls and shady grooves. Now their they starve in rags.
mission now is to set us free from ourselves. Art,
the Troubadours teach, gives shape to things that
people can’t or won’t express themselves. Every
song or painting or performance lets the silent and Magic
unassuming realize and crystallize the beautiful
internal forces they otherwise overlook. The people Troubadours have affinity for the Appear, Inspire
of the Fallen World suffer through with souls and Shape Charm families.
buried under the rubble of the Kingdom. The Starting Troubadours get one transformed
Troubadours are archaeologists of Joy. Attribute dot in either Presence or Dexterity.
Most people would describe Troubadours as
people with their heads in the clouds. If they aren’t
visualizing a statue or planning a new routine or
reviewing the forms of a plot, then a Troubadour Duties
is admiring the natural art of the world around her
– the patterns woven out of everyday life and the Troubadours draw magic from the release of others’
people who populate it. Troubadours are vibrant, souls. Their duty encompasses providing art that
expression personalities, not shy about baring their inspires or consoles those who otherwise draw into
souls. Their chosen art tends to consume their themselves, encouraging and teaching those looking
life and they want to involve as many people as for a way to express themselves, and energizing
they can in It. Unfortunately, they are artists first those around them with their own vibrant talents.
and foremost – they easily get lost in a world of
symbols and frequently can’t understand people’s
impatience with their “frivolous” hobbies.
Oaths
First Oath: I will use my talents to inspire, not
to dissuade. My art should hearten my audience,
never make them ignore and accept injustice.

53
Second Oath:My art will ever be for my audience. • Sin-Eaters: Such a dynamic and energetic
I must not become so wrapped up in my own ego people, pity there’s no substance behind it all.
that I forget the people around me. Without the
mortals who need it, my art is merely a selfish • Mummies: I admit it, I’m jealous. My works
exercise in solipsism. haven’t stood for thousands of years.

• Beasts: I used to tell my little sister monster

Third Oath: My art will be. As long as I draw stories when she was naughty. I still have the
breath I shall not cease creating and sharing my art books, they never knifed anyone and stole their
to improve the world. wallet.
• Mad Scientists: I know how it feels to be

Stereotypes inspired, but there’s really no excuse for what

you did.

• Champions: When you can use it to aim public • Leviathans: That’s just horrible, and maybe
opinion at a threat to the community, a song just a little bit beautiful. Wait! What am I
is a sharper weapon than a sword. saying?!

• Graces: Laws don’t make a society, art makes • Hunters: You fight monsters? Without any
a society. special powers to help you out? And you win?
[bites lip] Do you want my number?
• Menders: You can heal their body, I can enrich
their souls. • Mortals: I’ve got something to show you, I
think you’ll quite like it.
• Seekers: Do you remember your teacher’s
lecture on the states and their capitals? No?
Do you remember that song from Animaniacs?
Yeah, it’s like that. Concepts
• Vampires: You dress yourselves up and act so
elegant, but you’re really just wearing funeral Painter, baker, pop star, surrealist who’s works
makeup. contain hidden wisdom, dancer, star athlete,
graffiti artist, practitioner of traditional styles.
• Werewolves: Such strong emotions, hold still.
I need to get this on canvas.
• Mages: I don’t understand, if you experienced
a revelation like that how can you not be
Inspiration
shouting it from the rooftops.
Creamy Mami, Fancy Lala, Lucia Nanami, Kongou
• Prometheans: To literally touch god through Shin, Haruhara Haruko, Jem and the Holograms,
your creations... the EBA
• Changelings: They’re very secretive, but you
can see their pain in their art if you know how
to look.

54
 The Queen of Clubs
AKA: The Matron of the Forests, The Mother
Followers’ Epithets: Wilds, Turtles
Kingdom: Wen-Mung

In any battle your greatest foe is yourself. You The Matron of the Forests sees no need to hurry.
must ask yourself why you fight, what can you hope She lets the Princess speak at her own pace and get
to gain and is it worth the risk of what you might to the end of her story before she replies. When
lose? The enemy who says you cannot back down presented with a tough problem she likes to work
is none other than yourself; overcome it and look up to it, focusing first on a minor but easily solved
at the other options. You could surrender, often it parts of the issue. This usually includes coaching
costs you nothing but an apology and some pride. the Princess about the right attitude to a problem
You could examine yourself, what did you do that before fixing the problem itself; though it must be
lead up to this moment. Why couldn’t you live here said that the Matron of the Forests sees the first as
in peace? If you can learn to live in harmony with a vital part of the second.
your surroundings, isn’t that a better result than
whatever you could win in a fight?
You can’t fix the world by yourself, but the best
place to start is within. Philosophy
The Queen of Clubs leads those Princesses who seek The Queen of Clubs asks a question: “The world
balance and harmony, they believe that a better speaks to us. Have you ever stopped to listen?”
world can be achieved if we just learned to live
peacefully with each other, with the world around
us, and most importantly: with ourselves. Through Harmony; Light
The world is a place of conflict. Not just the

Tales of the Kingdom obvious conflicts where nation fights nation but
also the conflicts that arise from the simple act
of existing. The Queen of Clubs teaches her
The Queen of Clubs has no palace and wears no daughters that they and everything in existence
crown. Her court travels at a slow walking pace has a nature. It is from the struggle to be true
through the forests of Wen-Mung. Wherever they to this nature within the confines life imposes that
rest their tired feet the trees grow to shelter her suffering arises. Through introspection and self
from the elements. With nothing but bare soil discovery a Princess can find a way for her nature
for a throne The Matron of the Forests welcomes to exist in harmony with the world and free herself
her subjects. Of all the Queens she is the most from suffering.
intimately connected with the eternal cycle of life,
death and rebirth. She allows herself to age
naturally, and in her current iteration of the cycle
has grown into a slightly plump middle aged woman
Things Change My Dear
who radiates warmth and kindness. She wears only Harmony is not a destination, it is a way of moving
spare clothes gifted to her by the working women with the world. Everything has a nature and
of her kingdom and rejects all finery. When she change is part of that nature: Water flows, plants
speaks her words are plain but carry the wisdom grow and planets dance around the stars. With
and empathy of lifetimes. great effort a Princess can maintain a harmony by
A good way to describe a conversation with the opposing negative change but this is a false path.
Queen of Clubs is patient; protracted works too. The true harmony is effortless. A state of grace

55
where every action moves with the world and every Graces are common, the Mender deals with the
change creates a new harmony free from discord. physical symptoms and the Grace teaches a way
When the world changes the court of Clubs must of life that removes the root cause.
move with it, and they shall becomes greater from Seekers delve deep into the jungle seeking new
the experience. herbs, undiscovered animals or just beautiful vistas.
Others travel beyond the borders of earth. They
delve into the lore of the Spirit wilds, the hidden
Be The World You Wish For half of the natural world, and try and use the
wisdom they find to shape and heal the spirit
To the Queen of Clubs the world is the lives and community around them. A few Seekers blur the
actions of every living being. From this simple lines between Clubs and Diamonds as they work on
truth she forms her final philosophy. Harmony renewable energy and cleaner technology.
cannot be won through conflict for the very act Troubadours are inspired by nature and paint
that claims to create a world free from conflict magnificent scenes of the natural world, others
becomes part of the world. To create a better world work with nature directly as landscapers, flower
a Princess must become a teacher and a mediator arrangers or bonsai artists. A surprising number
who lives a life of harmony and helps others achieve are architects and urban planners who attempt to
the same through her example and guidance. reintegrate nature with cities in the most literal
manner.

Duties Background
A Turtle’s Duties are to bring things together.
People certainly but that’s only a small part of Appropriately for a Court so focused on Harmony,
it: Man and nature, reason and emotion, city and the Wilds are often classified into two groups with
countryside. The Wilds dream of a world where little conflict or divisions between them. On the
what were once opposing opposites are now part of one hand you have the naturalists: Everyone from
a balanced whole. professional park rangers and conservationists to
Champions of Clubs help people directly. They people who really love their pets. They are drawn
are park rangers and wilderness guides who help by Clubs’ belief in harmony with the natural world
people brave the dangers of the natural world so and often leap for joy when they learn how Legno
that they may see it’s beauty first hand. More than lets them talk to animals.
any other Calling it is the Champions of Clubs who On the second hand you have the spiritualists:
earn the epithet of Turtles. In battle they favour From gurus and philosophers to pacifistic hippies
defensive tactics and seek to gradually wear their and suburbanites yearning for something with more
opponents down with a minimum of harm. meaning than materialism. That is not to say
Many Graces are environmentalists who seek to that every spiritual Princess is drawn to the Wilds.
preserve natural world and preach the importance The Court of Clubs has its own philosophies
of living in balance with our surroundings. Other which draws students interested in learning about
Graces are mediators without peer who work to harmony, balance and the quest for inner peace.
bring conflicting parties together in a harmonious When the Court of Clubs gathers it is not rare
balance. The lessons of harmony are not limited to for a laboratory biologist to talk long into the
those with an external enemy. The Queen of Clubs night with a self taught student of Taoism, each
teaches that harmony begins with inner balance delighting seeing the world through eyes that on
and many of her Graces are teachers who help their the first glance are so different from their own. The
students learn to live in harmony with themselves Queen herself knows that the two sides are both the
and the world around them. inevitable result of each other and smiles every time
In the Court of Clubs Menders are rarely one of her sons or daughters experiences the joy of
simple healers. Under the Queen’s philosophy learning so for themselves.
the disease itself is often a symptom and her
Menders teach their patients to live a lifestyle
that avoids further sickness. The court’s focus
on the natural world attracts membership from
vets and environmentalists who work to clean
pollution. Partnerships between Menders and

56
Signature Emotions: Harmony common in the Court of Clubs.
many favour the Wisdom style.
In conversation

and Tranquilly Heraldry

The Queen of Clubs teaches that harmony is the
In their Transformed state, Wilds tend to be more
goal. To be in harmony with your community,
subdued than other Princesses. White, green, and
your surroundings, and yourself is to be free from
blue are common colours, although occasionally
suffering. Everybody deserves nothing less. And
red, orange and yellow make appearances for those
if she is to achieve harmony a Princess must first
with an autumn theme. Ivy and leaf motifs are
embrace tranquillity. Through calm and inner
also common, with water themes being only slightly
peace a Princess can accept the world around her
less popular. Outfits tend toward the elegant and
with all it’s flaws and love it for what it is. It is
practical, the Wilds favour tough clothes well suited
through accepting the world’s imperfections that
for the outdoors, but also with a sense of balance
she can see how to weave a harmonious whole out
that lends grace to their appearance.
of imperfect parts.

Echo
Character Creation A Wilds echo tends to give people feeling of
serenity. People feel calm and peaceful around the
Composure is highly desired among the Turtles
Princess, as if her mere presence somehow brings
to examine their own feelings while it takes
the world into greater harmony.
considerable Resolve to always keep striving for
self improvement. Wilds always put at least some
effort into keeping themselves fit, meaning that
Physical Attributes are at least average. Most Practical Magic
Wilds make a point of familiarizing themselves
with nature, so skills such as Survival and Animal The Queen Mother teaches her students that
Ken are common. Athletics come in handy conflict is a cycle that must be broken and her
during hiking, swimming, climbing, and otherwise Court can find strength or victory through refusing
navigating around in the wilderness (or at least the battle. Once a scene, when a Wild is the target of a
state park). Wilds who wish to convince others to resisted or contested action, she may spend 1 Wisp
embrace the natural world often pick up Persuasion to twist her opponent’s action in her favour. Her
and Expression, while those who have a theoretical resistance doesn’t apply, or she gets no successes
understanding of nature often possess Science. The in the contest; but if her opponent succeeds she
spiritual mindset of the court lends itself well to imposes a negative Condition on her opponent or
Academics, Wilds interested in Spirits often pick takes a positive Condition herself. The Condition
up Occult. can be any Condition that flows naturally from
Socially the Court of Clubs tends to have fewer the situation, if none seem suitable an improvised
dots in Allies than Contacts. It is the way of condition [CofD 76] can be used. As a rule of thumb
Clubs to coexist, not control. Circle however the Condition should be of a similar strength to the
is often staggering as the Court’s focus on co- effect that the other character is trying to inflict
existence brings them closer to whoever is around on the Princess. The Storyteller remains the final
them. It is not unknown for a Wild to count arbitrator of which Conditions are acceptable.
an entire community as their Circle, whether that High Belief softens the blow from the force the
community is an ordinary suburban neighbourhood Wild redirects. At Belief 8 she adds 1 to the
or a commune built on principles of friendship successes her opponent needs for an exceptional
and love seems to make little difference. The success; at Belief 9 she adds 2, and at Belief 10
outdoor life enjoyed by many Wilds makes Physical she adds 3. So at Belief 8 her opponent needs 6
Merits common, many are exceptionally healthy Successes to score an Exceptional Success.
people who enjoy a Natural Immunity and a good
Direction Sense is common among both wilderness
explorers and hikers. Mental Merits are rarer, but a
Meditative Mind and Holistic Awareness are both

57
Invocation: Legno the world back or the world can trample them
underfoot. It cannot end well.
The Queen of Clubs teaches the principles of • Spades: Flexible, adaptable they can fit
harmony and inner strength in the form of Legno anywhere yet they lack the permanence to ask
and the Turtles find it easier to master than any the same respect of the world. Somehow I
other. Legno encourages a Princess to work with, don’t think that matters to them.
not against. To find balance not overpower. To
defend not attack. It also guides a Princess to seek • Swords: If you are strong enough, you can
inspiration in the natural world. move the world, but unless you teach the world
Legno applies at no cost when the target of a to move itself it will always return when you
Princess’ Charm is a living plant or wood, and remove your hands.
when her Charm’s target is a natural, non-sapient
• Tears: The world changed, until you can
animal. It also applies without cost when a Princess
change with it you will suffer. I would like
intends to restore things to their natural state, to
to help you, but only you have the power to
restrain the reckless and calm the fearful, to find
help yourself.
a harmonious compromise between two positions,
to protect against an attack, to prevent or calm • Storms: When you learn to take every blow the
violence without committing violence herself, to Darkness throws at you, then you will learn to
conserve and cultivate over time, and to influence fight without falling to hate.
without drawing attention to herself.
Those who would make use of Legno must live • Mirrors: You claim that you shall solve every
for harmony in all things. A Princess who attempts problem yourself by the virtue of your crown,
violence against someone not involved in combat, but your claims of strength are to hide from a
or who helps another to do so, may not apply weakness within. It is an appropriate paradox,
the Invocation until the next sunrise. Self-defense, in a mirror everything is back to front.
protecting a non-combatant, and using Charms to
• Vampires: We’ve all heard the tales, that they
stop a fight without violence are unexceptionable,
are creatures of pure Darkness who run away
but if a Princess gives tactical support to an ally
from the Light’s touch. I didn’t want to believe
and the ally attacks one who has not begun to fight,
them. Then I met one.
she loses access to Legno just as if she had struck
the blow herself. Darkspawn and other creatures • Werewolves: Their mission is to keep two
of the Darkness (except Darkened) are not covered worlds apart, ours is to bring two worlds
by this ban. together. But I wouldn’t recommend telling
them that.

Quote • Mages: I’ve been watching you, I saw you

drawing maps but did you notice every path
you found was first found by the ants? This
You can’t control the world, but you don’t need to. glade that delights you so, did you see that
every moss and mushroom grows to face the
centre? You can feel the Earth’s power, but

Stereotypes you cannot master it until you listen to her

heart. I could teach you so much if you only
had the humility to listen.
• Diamonds: They seek knowledge only for the
• Prometheans: I met one once. It’s been
sake of knowledge. They build a future with no
the only time in my life were I was sure I
idea where it leads. Yet we must ask ourselves:
had met something that couldn’t belong in
Would we have time to contemplate without
an harmonious world. The next time I met
their agriculture? Would we understand the
him, he was just a man. How could anyone
life of the butterfly without their tables of
overcome such a burden? I have to know.
numbers? Ask them to free us from necessity,
our work comes after. • Changelings: You are trying to balance two
natures in your heart. I would say we were
• Hearts: They are living in traditions built for
alike if your other nature was not so different.
the world of yesteryear. Either they can hold
Instead I offer the kiss of a Princess for luck.

58
• Sin-Eaters: Behind their denial of death is a and violence. I’m sorry, but we’ve come so far
clear understanding that death is a natural since then and until you do the same there’s
part of life. just no place for you here any more.
• Mummies: I can think of no curse greater than • Hunters: The only thing you can say they have
an unchanging immortality. in common, is that they define themselves by
what they are in opposition to. They do good
• Beasts: They adapt to new environments by for the world, but they could do so much more
finding justifications to avoid change. Is it any if they found themselves first.
wonder why they bring harm to all they touch?
• Mortals: We live the world we want for them so
• Mad-Scientists: Trying to force the world
it may come to be. It’s not easy, but I believe
to change is bad enough. Trying to force
they are worth it.
the world to change just because you can is
madness. I’d offer guidance if there wasn’t a
forcefield in the way.
• Leviathans: You look old, timeless, like
Inspiration
something from the early days when the world
hadn’t learned there was more to life than sex Nausicaä

59
 The Queen of Diamonds
AKA: The Crystal-eyed One, Lady of Clear Water, The Philosopher Queen
Followers’ Epithets: Crystals, Lights, Hope-Engineers
Kingdom: The Danann Archipelago

Contrary to popular belief, people aren’t stupid. It’s Those who know the Queen in private see a very
just that people don’t think, or they don’t know how different person. Barely reaching five foot stands
to think, or they just didn’t have the right facts. a young woman just entering her twenties, wearing
If you don’t think, you miss all the flaws in your casual clothes, unkempt mousy hair and a tee shirt
plans. If you don’t have all the facts, you make adorned with an obscure and highly technical joke.
stupid assumptions because you didn’t know any She even wears glasses having never bothered to
better. If you don’t think and don’t understand the fix her eyesight. Far from the regal Philosopher
world around you, you’ll put all your efforts into Queen she stumbles over her words, gushing like
a plan that simply won’t work. And then things go a bubbling brook in her excitement over the latest
wrong. Sometimes, they go very, very wrong. technical and scientific discoveries. When gifted
That’s why thinking and knowledge and education with some unseen device or research from Earth
are so important. If you know why a problem she squees, yes squees, in delight. Among her many
happens, you’re halfway to solving it. If you think friends and frequent one night consorts she values
clearly, you can find that solution. And if you nothing more than someone with whom she can
educate people, you give them the ability to solve share her boundless passion for learning.
their own problems. By understanding the world, The Lady of Clear Water tends to assume
and teaching others to do the same, we can find a that the sort of Princess who pledges to the
way to make it brighter. Court of Diamonds is the kind of person she can
So. Want to help build a better future? introduce to her private self; she is usually right.
When talking to the Queen in her public persona
The Queen of Diamonds teaches that the Light it is best to speak as she does, clear, precise,
of Hope is best accompanied by the twin lights with a focus on the facts and an explanation
of knowledge and reason. The Hope-Engineers of your reasoning. In private talking to the
say that to create a better world they must Queen of Diamonds is like sailing down a river;
harness their passions and emotions through careful her excitement leads the conversation and the
planning and forethought. A better world will be Princess must choose whether to follow or fight the
built, but first it must be designed. currents to steer the conversation in more practical
directions. Some Princesses become tributaries,
their own excitement joining with the Queen’s

Tales of the Kingdom to become greater than either alone; it is these

Princesses most likely to win the Queen’s friendship
and the royal favour.
From her palatal starscraper the Queen of Wherever the Queen travels Plato, her ever-loyal
Diamonds rules the Danann Archipelago. Upon owl, is sure to follow. To her court, and even her
a throne of whale ivory and pearl sits The close friends Plato is nothing more than her pet
Philosopher Queen: Regal as a glacier, six foot tall and her idea sounding board. In truth Plato is
and adorned in the latest sleek future-chic fashions the Queen’s loyal spymaster. Among the Court
of her court. Here she judges the petitions and the wise owl is second only in intellectual might to
arguments of her subjects. Her replies are lengthy the Queen herself and among the strongest magical
and explain the facts, theories and reasoning behind practitioners.
every decision. Every word spoken by The Lady of
Clear Water is precise and rehearsed, as calm as a
moonlit pond.

60
Philosophy Light Shines Through Clear Minds
However unusual a fact is, however much a theory
The Queen of Diamonds has taken as her motto, encompasses, it has no power if people know
“Think, then act.” nothing of it, or lack the training to understand
it. So, the Hope-Engineers take the further duty of
education, and of clear communication. Knowledge
Through Understanding, Triumph and knowing how to reason are invariably good,
lack of either a weakness, withholding of them a
Everything has a cause; everything has a purpose; dereliction of duties. A Crystal pushes everyone
nothing that happens is inexplicable. The servants she has any influence over to learn, to think, to
of the Philosopher Queen take the duty of finding question, and to teach, and she pushes herself most
causes, purposes and explanations, and bear it of all. To the Lights the bond between teacher and
with pride. The Crystals would inquire, as a rule, student is sacred, and must never be tainted with
for the sheer love of knowledge even if no benefit lies or laziness.
could be expected. Nonetheless there usually is
some practical use to the Lights’ studies. When
they come across a problem, the Hope-Engineers
analyse it carefully, and reach as complete an Duties
understanding of it as they can; then they strike,
they cut the problem off at the source and watch The Lights’ Duty is to use her brain. The Courtiers
it drain away. Analysis is obligatory, assumptions of Diamonds seek positions where problems can
and intuitions can be a starting point but they must be solved with thought and intelligence alone.
be tested, since an ill-planned strategy is usually Sometimes it falls upon them to personally
worse than none. When no problem is at hand a implement the solutions they conceive. Sometimes
Light studies new frontiers to push the boundaries society expects them to start at the bottom and
of knowledge or re-examines old traditions and learn the ropes. But whatever situation she finds
accepted wisdom, looking for errors or outdated herself in, the ideal is to earn a Mandate to use her
ideas. The more widely a Crystal has studied, the mind.
more swiftly she takes hold of a new problem and What Champions of Diamonds lack in combat
supplies its correct solution. power they make up for in strategic ability. As
much a general as a fighter the Champions of
Diamonds have the mind to plan a grand military
Guide the River's Path campaign and organise the logistics of keeping
her army fed and battle ready. When battle is
A Princess can solve many problems with magic joined her quick wits let her adapt to changing
or the raw intellect of her perfected self, but circumstances and match her foes gambit for
even in the days of the kingdom Noble magic was gambit. If so many Champions of Diamonds are
finite resource. The Philosopher Queen teaches seen with shield and spear in hand against the
that the best solutions are those that sustain Darkness, that’s because so few of them have an
themselves. It is for this reason (among others) that army to lead. While her Nakama will benefit from
the Hope-Engineers are enamoured with mortal a well thought out plan to raid a Darkened cult,
technology. Instead of curing diseases with magic, a group of five can scarcely afford to leave their
create vaccines and medicines to banish the disease Champion away from the front line.
forever. But at heart any self sustaining answer The Graces in the Diamond Court might not
will find the Queen’s favour. While a Crystal could be the best at managing people but they are the
personally organise an economy, it is better to best at managing their kingdoms. The Grace’s
design an infrastructure that makes the economy pen closes loopholes in the tax code, defines laws
easy for anyone to organise. Whatever problem she in clear and understandable terms or just balances
faces, a Crystal should look at the big picture and the national budget. So long as she can keep her
craft an elegant solution that will last long after her head above the confusing tangle of special interests
reign has ended. and the reins of policy away from those who pander
to badly thought out populism she should have no
trouble running a kingdom.
Seekers of Diamonds are perhaps the purest
expression of Diamond’s Philosophy. They truly

61
believe that knowledge is inherently good and only
application can be evil. Deep within their ivory Signature Emotions: Curiosity
towers the Seekers of Diamonds study everything,
from atomic physics to the Twilight Invocations.
The future is built on what they discover.
and Wonder
If The Queen of Diamonds’ Seekers are scientists,
then her Menders are the engineers. A Mender of This world is amazing. Science, nature, history,
Diamonds is more likely to be found in a laboratory culture, there is more to learn than can ever be
researching new cures and vaccines than in the known. Let others look at the world and despair,
hospital, helping patient after patient. Rather than Diamonds see beauty and wonder everywhere they
fixing a broken machine, she will design a new look; and in that beauty they see a path to a better
machine free of the fault that broke the first model. future. In the shell of a darkling beetle is the secret
The Hope Engineers can be found in research to bringing water to the desert. In journals written
and development teams, developing technological and read by obscure mathematicians are formulas
policy, contributing to open source, and running that hold the key to a fairer and more democratic
crisis response centres. electoral system. Everywhere a Light looks she sees
The Troubadours of Diamonds tend to dedicate things worth fighting for and ways to win that fight.
their talents in a very specific direction. Their duty And if the world is so full of wonders, how could
is simple: make learning fun! Whether they write you not be curious? How could you not want to see
a sci-fi epics where the plot hinges on an accurate what lies around the next bend, under the next
understanding of science or whether they’re the rock, over the next page? A crystal’s curiosity
cool chemistry teacher who manages to tie every compels her to always look further, look deeper.
topic into a practical that ends with something The more she learns the more problem’s she’ll know
blowing up. When Troubadours of Diamonds are how to solve, and the more beauty she sees the more
teaching, you might not even know you’re being she’ll want to learn. It’s a cycle as endless as the
educated. tides.

Background Character Creation

No matter what cultural or geographical Intelligence and Wits are both highly prized among
background they come from, the court of Diamonds Crystals. Intelligence is vital for making sense of
were always people who appreciated the importance data, while Wits is valued for spotting patterns
of thinking things through. Access to education is and noticing important details. Many also focus
not nearly as important as some might think, but on Composure or Resolve, either to keep their
whether she was educated in a first world university heads clear and emotions under control, or to keep
or self-taught in a third world slum a would be Light one’s mind on the facts no matter how strong their
tends to make the most of whatever educational emotions run. If a Light doesn’t have Investigation,
opportunities she had. The Hope-Engineers recruit she tends to pick it up fairly quickly in their efforts
heavily from the ranks of teacher’s pets, library to get the facts of whatever problem she’s facing.
bookworms and self professed nerds. Professors and Many Crystals have at least a few dots spread
PhD students are rarer, most Princesses Blossom across Computer, Crafts, Academics, and Science.
before graduation. Those who seek to understand the strange things
Despite their Queen’s love of science and of the World of Darkness often take dots in Occult.
technology, it is not necessary for a Hope-Engineer Persuasion and Expression also are fairly common,
to be (or aspire to be) a scientist or work in a Persuasion for convincing other to follow the plan a
technical field. The Court’s welcomes anyone who Light has made, and Expression for explaining and
believes in the value of thinking things through. teaching. Larcanay and Stealth see use in getting
Only around half the (adult) Court can be said information that can’t be obtained any other way.
to work directly in an academic or technical Socially the Court of Diamonds favours
profession, which includes a large crop of librarians, Contacts, for the access to information it
teachers and other educators. Regardless of provides. Many find themselves joining scientific
background, most of the Court sincerely believes or engineering projects and a tight community
in the potential for technology to create a better with shared goals can easily lead to both Mandate
world. and Allies. Those who act as ambassadors for

62
their work typically pick up the Scientific Rhetoric At the start of any later scene that fits her goal
conversation style. More than any other Court the player may declare that the character planned
the Hope-Engineers enjoy access to mental Merits. out this scene. Then for the remainder of the
Many have strange abilities such as an Edetic scene the Princess may, up to Acqua times, spend a
Memory or Common Sense granted to them by Wisp and declare that she’s planned ahead and her
their Blossoming, others have studied all their life preparations are about to pay off. For example, if
and have abilities like Encyclopaedic Knowledge the players discover a finger print lock, she may
to prove it. Champions of Diamonds usually have declare that she already acquired a copy of the
know Small Unit Tactics (the only reason they prints. The storyteller may call for an appropriate
don’t have large unit tactics is because it’s so hard roll depending on the difficulty of the actions, and
to get a large unit). may disallow anything that would be an entire
scene in of itself. Following someone and stealing
a cup with their prints from a café could be done
Heraldry with a couple of rolls. Breaking into a CEO’s secure
mansion and stealing their prints would probably
Lights often have a scientific, technological, or require a scene. The Princess does not need to make
futuristic feel to their heraldry. For some, their these rolls herself, she could delegate the actual
Regalia calls to mind science fiction: computer theft to the Nakama’s Knave.
readouts built into sleeves or gloves, gadgets such as The Princess may not undo anything that’s
scanners, energy weapons, or palmtop computers. already happened in the scene. If the players
Many Regalia shed light in some manner. Clothing trigger the alarm she cannot declare that she
can be made from metal, plastic, or some strange disabled the alarms, but she could declare that she
material that defies categorization. The superhero hacked the telephone line so that the alarm makes
look is fairly common among the Hope-Engineers, a lot of noise inside the building but won’t call the
with colours tending towards white or the brighter police (at least, not until the security team notice
shades of blue. Others have heraldry that call to the problem).
mind professions of learning; many Lights wear High Belief increases the number of time a
glasses as part of their transformed identity or Princess may declare her planning bears fruit. She
their Regalia, whether or not they normally need may do so an additional time at Belief eight, nine
them. Some have long coats reminiscent of a and ten for a maximum of three extra uses.
lab coat, while others have vests, boots, and Once the scene ends the Princess needs another
practical looking clothing suitable for explorers, planning session before she can use this power
archaeologists, or others who look to learn things again.
far from a lab. No matter the style, the appearance
of many Crystals features a distinct lack of anything
that would be inconvenient or unwieldy a normal
costume, despite the fact Princesses don’t suffer
Invocation: Acqua
any drawback from impractical garments. The Philosopher Queen focuses the lights of
knowledge and reason into the Invocation of Acqua,
and the Crystals gain mastery of that Invocation
Echo more swiftly than any other. It is linked with
the virtues the Crystal-eyed holds dear, such as
A Light’s Echo is like a cold splash of water, it clarity of mind, honesty in word and deed, deep
removes the sleepiness from the corner of your eyes understanding, and to the emotions of curiosity
and makes it easier to think. and wonder. It is also tied to the classical element
of water, and to liquids in general. The invoked
Charms and upgrades based on Acqua relate to
Practical Magic these things and to phenomena connected to these.
Acqua applies at no cost when the target of a
The Queen of Diamonds’ first lesson is “think, then Princess’ Charm is water or ice, or when she has
act” and her Princesses are her PhD students. spent at least one turn studying her target during
Through intellect and magic, a Hope Engineer’s the scene and nothing significant has happened to it
planning is a thing of beauty to behold. The player since. It also applies without cost when a Princess
declares broad goal like “prove that GlobaBank is intends to teach someone, to master a body of
defrauding inner city customers” and the Princess knowledge, to prove or refute a theory, to discover
spends at least an hour researching and planning. things previously unknown to anyone, and to carry

63
out a strategy she has previously formulated. • Vampires: You’re a problem. I solve problems.
The Invocation aids only those who are open
and candid in all their dealings. A Princess who • Werewolves: I’ll stay out of your way, try and
deceives another person in any fashion, be it simple stay out of mine.
falsehood, sophistry, or material omission, cannot • Mages: They’re dangerous – not because they
apply Acqua for the rest of the scene, unless the have fireballs, but because their understanding
deception is necessary to shield an innocent from of reality is fundamentally wrong.
harm, to keep a secret given her in confidence, or
to protect a Princess’ secret identity. A Princess • Prometheans: What “are” you?
may also refuse to answer a question and is not
obliged to go into exhausting detail. • Changelings: The more I learn, the less sense
they make. Thankfully, they don’t seem to be
an issue.

Quote • Sin-Eaters: They know a lot about working

with the dead, but they don’t seem to
understand how death works.
Your heart can show you where you need to go, but
only your head can get you there. • Mummies: It sounds like your magic was far
better understood than ours. Don’t let that
be lost to history, teach me.

Stereotypes • Beasts: One of us has studied psychology,

educational theory and gets informed consent.
• Clubs: You’ve got some good points, but I The other needs to turn themselves in to the
have absolutely no idea what you’re trying to police before I shoot them.
accomplish. • Mad Scientists: They’re dangerous – not
• Hearts: We can learn a lot from the past, but because they have death rays, but because
you can’t just imitate old ways blindly and their understanding of reality is fundamentally
expect them to work today. wrong.

• Spades: They’re excellent when it comes to • Leviathans: Find wonders in the deeps,
making you think ... but are they never whoever said that can’t have known what’s
serious? really in the deeps.
• Swords: When you need a grand, dramatic • Hunters: They do study mysteries, I’ll give
gesture, call for them. When you need them that. I wish they weren’t so quick to
subtlety, call for someone - anyone - else. shoot them.
• Tears: Look, it’s obvious. If you didn’t live in • Mortals: If we can teach them to think, they
that dank hole you wouldn’t need to steal the will make the world perfect.
world’s hope. Why don’t you move out?
• Storms: The ones who let their hate and anger
control them, I can deal with. They ones who
are still rational, I understand and that scares
Inspiration
me like nothing else.
Jonas Salk, Sailor Mercury, Washu Hakubi,
• Mirrors: Someone needs to deflate their egos Watanabe Eriko, Hermione Granger
before they get someone killed.

64
 The Queen of Hearts
AKA: The Rose Bride, The Gentle Patroness, The Queen Regnant
Followers’ Epithets: Jewels, Flowers (female), Gallants (male), Rocks (often derogatory)
Kingdom: Andarta

I know what you think of society, you see nothing use their predictability for reassurance. She will
but the people at the top having dinner with call the Queen by her title, and the Queen will call
politicaians and hiring expensive lawyers. A big the Princess with her title. It helps that the Queen
system to keep the rich rich, and the poor poor. of Hearts can spot nervousness or awe a mile away
Read a history book some day. You will see that and deftly puts the Princess at her ease. When
opression used to be the sword, not the law. That the Princess speaks the Queen is an active listener,
is why I believe in our society, where you can only guiding the Princess with short questions but never
see how far we have left to go I see how far we’ve taking the conversation until it is her time. In turn
come. We are on the right path, the future will be she expects the same courtesy from the Princess.
built upon the foundations of our history. While the formality and protocol can make it hard
So, can I count on your vote? for a Princess to connect with the women beneath
the crown; as two crowns talking for the good of
The Queen of Hearts bids her subjects to restore their peoples it could not be more ideal.
the Kingdom’s spirit to the modern world. The The Queen of Hearts is a Queen wearing a mask.
followers of Hearts believe a better world has She is not a woman wearing the mask of a Queen,
already been built on the back of principles of the few people who have seen her in private all
civilisation and by serving the people as judges, agree she is a queen through and through. No, the
leaders and lawmakers the Flowers believe they can The Gentle Patroness is a Queen with a crown for
make it better yet. every occasion. In times of peace she is a public
speaker without peer and a patron of charities and
the arts. In times of uncertainty she is a diplomat,

Tales of the Kingdom a peacemaker and a rock of stability. In times of

war she is a warrior-queen, the first to charge and
the last to retreat.
The Queen of Hearts rules the city states of the Among her titles is The Rose Bride. How the
Andarta Plains from her palatial estate. Within Queen of Hearts gave her own heart to another is
the Queen presides over her court from a throne of a tale sung by bards throughout her kingdom. In
red granite and gold. She is everything a Queen her very first life, many many incarnations before
could be. Regal, dignified, just, kind, possessed of she became a Queen, she married a young Prince.
a gentle sense of humour and easy upon the eye. Their devotion to each other was so strong that in
Her skin is delicately adorned with ointments and every life that followed the two fell in love and wed
perfume. She is clad in elegant and extravagant anew. Not once in any of their lives has either been
styles drawn by the royal tailors from all across the unfaithful to their marriage. Though a diplomat
world and history to show the reach of their lieges by nature and profession the Prince Consort is also
influence. However she presents herself she is as known as the Queen’s Champion. He does not
composed as a flawless diamond, every word and defend his’ wife’s life, for any foe that can threaten
action is deliberate. When she hears the request a Queen has nothing to fear from a Prince. He
of her petitioners her court fills with the rustle of defends the Queen’s honour, for in the court of
paper as an army of clerks search through scrolls Hearts it is considered proper that the stronger
and tomes for precedent of similar problems long fighter in any duel takes a handicap. When one is
since solved. as powerful as a Queen the only possible handicap
It is easy for a Princess of Hearts to talk with her is to send a champion to fight in your place.
Queen. She can learn the protocols in advance and

65
Philosophy Honour Tradition
Tradition is a trust – a store of wisdom laid in
At the core of the Queen of Hearts’ creed is by past generations, to guide us in the present,
potential for of society itself to be a force for good. and be handed on to the future. More than
She teaches her court how to unlock that potential that, traditions are also our shared social identity.
and to fulfil their own responsibilities as part of Shared traditions are what turns a group of people
society. All this rests on a simple foundation stone: into a community, traditions builds trust between
“A crown is a symbol that must be honoured”. neighbours and a willingness to work for the
communal good. The Flowers and Gallants do
their best to breathe life into the rules and customs
Authority Must Be Earned of the societies they find themselves in, especially
the one they’re born to. They are reluctant to
A Princess of Hearts, by her nature and training, flout a convention, especially when they don’t know
becomes the keeper of many people’s trust; the reasons for it. However, the Radiant are here
therefore she must be worthy of it, both in her own to improve the world, not preserve it as it is,
conduct and in the behaviour she tolerates. More and when the Flowers see a Tradition they cannot
than any other Hopeful, Flowers and Gallants are condone they seek to replace it rather than remove
expected to hold authority and wield it responsibly. it. The Gallants often use those Traditions they
When a threat to a whole society appears, Flowers remember from past lives in the Kingdom when
are the ones who rouse its members to action, they need a substitute, but they can just as easily
coordinate their responses, and ensure everyone borrow something from the neighbouring culture
does what’s needed. In ordinary times, Gallants are (especially if they wish to bring them together),
courteous, friendly and compassionate to all, lest bring back a tradition from the “good old days”, or
they give anyone pain; but they have their burden, formalise that awesome party their friends repeat
heavier than most, and don’t allow themselves to every year.
forget it. Moreover, they must not take their
position for granted. If her society rejects a
Flower’s rule, or deposes her from it, the fault is
hers not theirs; and if they proceed to disaster that Duties
she would have avoided, her failure to gain their
trust is all the more grievous. A Flower’s duties can be to build societies, to
govern with grace and wisdom, to guard the
traditions of the past, or even to stand vigilant
Flourish in Community at the border, but they always share one common
theme. A Flowers duties revolve around people.
No one can stand alone against all the Dark and Champions of Hearts lead from the front, they
survive; but people who trust each other prevail specialise in inspiring and leading their troops.
against anything evil can do. The Flowers and On the battlefield tactical acumen and a strong
Gallants take it upon themselves to weave webs commanding voice are as important as a good
of trust, standing with friends and allies, obeying sword arm. Off the battlefield a Gallant must
rulers, and guiding followers; in these webs they know how to keep moral high and foster a spirit
hope to catch the fitful gleams of Light that fall into of brotherhood among her troops. If she is skilled
the world and collect them into eternal beacons. at her tasks a Gallant’s fighting prowess shows itself
Jewels seek positions of respect and authority in through every one of her companions.
their community and exert their influence through Graces of Hearts are sometimes called Hearts of
the system. When they don’t they build and tend Hearts for the Queen and Calling fit together hand
new communities, write codes of law and establish in glove. A Heart of Hearts builds societies, they
customs for people who have none of their own, lay down and exemplify the virtues people aspire
or have abandoned the societies they were born in. too. They are both diplomats and leaders. It’s a
The ordered community, in which everyone has a huge amount of work, but you are expected to have
place and no one is an exile, is the strongest possible help from your friends.
bastion the Light can have. Menders of Hearts focus on human problems.
They are more likely to be counsellors and
therapists than doctors or nurses. The tools of a
Mender are a good common sense understanding

66
of people, words of encouragement and a winning
smile. Signature Emotions: Trust and
Seekers of Hearts seek to understand their
societies from tip to toe. They can be historians
unearthing long forgotten traditions, reporters and
Duty
bloggers who speak about the lives of their fellows.
Yet to the Gallants understanding is not for its Even the most powerful Princess with a blazing
own sake, it is for a purpose. They understand not Inner Light cannot accomplish as much as a
only the unwritten rules of society, but the purpose whole nation working together for their common
of those rules and they use that understanding to good. Duty is the source of a Jewel’s strength.
purge corruption and fight abuses of the system in By willingly subsuming herself into an ordered
all their forms. community where everyone knows their role and
Troubadours of Hearts incorporate the themes every role fits together like the stones of a
and virtues of their society into their work. They magnificent castle, the Princess becomes something
honour the heroes of old and create monuments to greater than herself.
the ideals people aspire to. But at heart their work But there can be no duty without trust. A Jewel
is simple, through their art the Troubadours bind cannot obey orders from her superiors unless she
people together with a strong group identity. trusts their judgement and their morality. She
cannot delegate duties to her subordinates unless
she trusts them to wield the authority she invests
responsibly and competently. Duty is the stones,
Background trust is the mortar that binds them. Separate they
are worthless, but together they are what a better
Even before they Blossomed the followers of Hearts world is made of.
often had a lot of respect for the institutions of
society. They (or at least their parents) hail
from backgrounds in politics or law. Others cut
their teeth with the codes and institutions of the
Character Creation
playground or come from tight knit communities
whose values fit neatly into the Court of Hearts. A Flowers and Gallants try to involve themselves
lot of Princesses are attracted to the court because in the lives of people around them, so many
they wish to be one of the glamorous leaders they have above average Social Attributes. Those who
see among the Gallants but the Court’s belief that actively strive to lead people emphasize Presence,
leadership is hard work and duty means few stay. while those who prefer more low-key or personal
However the Court of Hearts does have a number means focus on Manipulation. Empathy is a vital
of converts from the other Courts who felt working skill in order to notice the feelings, undercurrents,
with Mortals and building societies provided a way and motives of the people a Gallant wishes to help.
to work on the big picture their own Court’s had Socialize and Persuasion are common, allowing a
lacked. Flower to integrate herself into a group and sway
Regardless of their Background Flowers are others into doing the right thing and upholding
always ok with the idea of others depending on the ideals of the Kingdom (whether they know of
them. Nearly all have some prior experience the Kingdom or not). Politics is also a common
in being the responsible one, even if only to a skill, used to improve the local political situation
younger brother or sister. While the Court doesn’t or simply use existing bureaucracies to their own
exactly reject introverts or the socially unskilled it ends. Subterfuge sees occasional use, mainly to
does expect them to work hard to overcome these keep important information from people who would
limitations. Even the Gallients who have prior use it selfishly or to protect the identities of a
experience in taking responsibility for another have Princess’s allies from those who would persecute
rarely held another’s life in their hands, and they them.
better start preparing for that first time. Gallants who see merit in the society and
political structure of the Kingdom frequently lean
Academics to better understand both the society
of the Kingdom and the modern world. Many
old traditions generally involve art or music of one
kind or another, so Expression is fairly common
even for non- Troubadours. A Flower often favours

67
Social then Mental and finally physical Attributes;
Champions are the exception here, who emphasize Practical Magic
their Physical attributes in order to fulfil their roles
Through her leadership a Princess of Hearts
as protectors.
inspires people to exceed their limitations. A Jewel
A Flower often places Social Merits over Mental
has a pool of dice equal to the sum of her Social
Merits and Mental over Physical ones. Their
Attributes. She beings each scene with the pool
ability to build and lead communities can lead to
empty and may fill it once per scene by Reflexively
Circle, Mandate and a whole host of allies, contacts,
spending a Wisp.
retainers and staff. Most Flowers also master
At any point the player may reflexively take dice
at least one conversation style, Noble Bearing is
from her pool and add them to rolls; however
common and even Jewels who lead and cherish the
she cannot enhance her own rolls, only her ally’s
traditions of anti-authoritarian or counter-culture
roll. She cannot add more than Terra dice to a
groups have picked up some of the art through
single roll, and the recipient must be in the process
osmosis. Populist Rhetoric is also common but
of following the Princess’ instructions. For this
all styles have been seen in the Court of Hearts.
ability instructions must be kept short and simple:
The Small Unit Tactics merit is near universal for
“Investigate the mayor for corruption” is too broad,
Champions of Hearts, as is merits such as Danger
“distract the mayor for a bit” or “take a deep
Sense and Inspiring to help keep the troops at
breath and tell me about the man who attacked
maximum effectiveness.
you” is acceptable.
High Belief adds more dice to the Princess’ pool.
She gains two extra dice at Belief eight, nine and
Heraldry ten for a maximum of six extra dice.
Heraldry for the Nobles of Hearts strongly favours
clothing in traditional styles, particularly formal
dress. Elegant ball gowns and elaborate jewellery Invocation: Terra
for phylacteries are very common among the
The principles of the Queen of Hearts find their
Flowers, as are flowers or flower designs (roses
magical expression in the Invocation of Terra, and
especially) as accents, and pastels, rose-pink or -
her Flowers and Gallants learn it more easily than
red, and shades of white. (It’s not unknown for
any other. It is bound up with the things the Queen
this sort of heraldry to be mistaken for a wedding
values: mutual trust and peace, the responsible use
dress.) Many Gallants follow the complementary
of authority, sensitive compassion, and punctilious
mode of mens’ formal wear, appearing in tuxedos,
courtesies. It is also tied to earth and stone,
or in white tie, top hat and tails. While modern
especially when it has been refined and property
formal is common a Princess of Hearts can adorn
constructed for human service, as proud cathedrals,
herself in the trappings of past civilisations to
elegant jewellery or solid stone walls.
honour cultures she believes have valuable lessons
Terra applies at no cost when the target of a
for the present. The more practically minded
Princess’ Charm is earth or stone, including all
(usually Champions) model their Heraldry on styles
forms of gemstones; and when her target is a
no less formal but less confining; the swashbuckling
non-supernatural human being who gives informed
Cavalier, the wuxia hero, the knight in shining
consent to the Charm. It also applies without
armour. These turn up on both sexes. In all cases,
cost when a Princess intends to resolve a conflict
a Flower or Gallant is dressed well, showing off the
without violence, to make someone or something
best appearance of a high and civilized age.
beautiful, to give requested aid without expecting
any return, to coordinate the efforts of several
people in a project, or to help a lawful authority
Echo in their mandated duties, or if you are a lawful
authority undertaking your mandated duties.
A Gallant’s Echo makes it easier for people to get A Princess of Hearts is a representative of her
along, it helps smooth over many of those tiny community and must always uphold its traditions
unintentional bits of rudeness that can add up to and standards. Unless it would cause harm to
ruining your day. another, breaking her community’s social rules or
standards of decorum blocks access to Terra for the
rest of the scene

68
 • Mages: You talk about Atlantis a lot but you
Quote only ever talk about its magic. What were
the people like? Were the citizens content, the
We’re not calling ourselves Princesses because our rulers just and the judges fair?
childhood fantasies came true. Nobility means
• Prometheans: They share a culture, even
something.
when they haven’t met another of their kind.
There’s something we’re not seeing, something
important.
Stereotypes • Changelings: They had nothing to work with
but scars and they built it into a society.
• Clubs: Rough and unmannerly, but their Respect them for that if nothing else.
hearts are in the right place.
• Sin-Eaters: You don’t snub death by laughing
• Diamonds: Those towers of abstract reasoning in its face. You snub death by building
leave me cold. You can’t keep faith with real something that will last long after you’re gone.
people by a theorem.
• Mummies: Our kingdom’s have both fallen,
• Spades: Yes, I suppose the mayor does deserve but I’m trying to rebuild mine.
to have something happen to him ... why are
you giggling? • Beasts: Teaching is a position of trust and
authority. That is why we have so may rules
• Swords: It’s easy to sacrifice yourself, and about it, and you broke all of them.
easier still when you know you’ll be reborn.
Living every day with duty, that’s hard. • Mad Scientists: How did you convince him to
turn himself in... An equation for the human
• Tears: We both talk about nobility and duty. mind? That can’t be right, I don’t believe it!
The difference is you use it as a justification, I I won’t believe it!
remember what it actually means.
• Leviathans: Every city you build eats itself
• Storms: At least the Swords only risk alive, you can’t even live with your own family,
themselves ... and that’s why I’m not afraid of you!
• Mirrors: For the Light’s sake, grow up and be • Hunters: If you claim to serve the Light then
responsible for once. work in the light not the shadows.
• Vampires: Not all traditions are worth • Mortals: It’s their world, they just need
preserving. someone to teach them that.
• Werewolves: Herd? Damn right I’m part of the
herd. A herd billions strong who’ve claimed
this whole earth. Now tell me, what is your
little pack going to do about that?
Inspiration
Queen Serenity, Minky Momo, Princess Celestia

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 The Queen of Spades
AKA: The Queen of Knaves, The Queen of Thieves
Followers’ Epithets: Knaves (affectionately derogatory), Rogues (affectionately derogatory),
Scoundrels (affectionately derogatory)
Kingdom: The Confederacy of Four Winds

Why does everyone think we are lazy? Being a is a turbulent affair. The Queen changes her
Knave is hard work, last week I had five parties, style frequently; always trying to keep one step
five! That was a lot of planning, and dancing all ahead of fashions. This has memorably led to her
night really tires you out. Then I spent all last occasionally preceding over a court of punks and
night watching great stand ups and making notes. ravers while dressed in ermine robes.
I know everyone in school’s name, that took weeks In conversation with her Princesses the Queen
of work, I had to write songs to help me remember, of Knaves breezes from topic to topic; she actively
and then there’s birthdays and everyone’s favourite resists her Princess’ trying to pin her down to a
foods and what kind of jokes they like. After all single topic. It’s a game to her and unlike the
that you have to keep yourself full of energy because citizens a Princess is expected to be skilled enough
any time something goes wrong people expect you to play. Asking the Queen to stay focused (or
to be the fast thinker or have a joke ready to soften worse: Get annoyed) is the fastest way to lose
the blow, and you can’t do that when you’re tired. the game. If a Princess keeps her wits about
her she may discover the Queen has answered all
But it’s all worthwhile when I see my friends smile. her questions (though not always in the order the
questions were asked; and the answers may be
A lot of the world’s problems aren’t nearly as hard hidden in riddles or metaphor). The Queen favours
as we “know” they are. If we could just step outside Princesses who play well, any Knave who can adopt
the box and give ourself space to look at other her Queen’s breezy style of casual conversation and
ideas, space to breathe, we could accomplish so trick the Queen of Knaves into answering a hidden
much. The Queen of Knaves leads a Confederation question scores highly indeed.
of Princesses who challenge common knowledge and Her critics say that the Queen of Knaves was a
teach people to laugh at the absurdities of the rules rebel before her coronation and remains a rebel
which define them. They do the Light’s work with at heart. Her supporters and citizens ask who
a quick wit, nimble hand and lateral thinking. better to lead a nation of tricksters, scoundrels
and merchants than the Queen of Thieves herself?
However the weight of truth travels with these

Tales of the Kingdom accusations. The Queen is nostalgic for her days as
a rebel and frequently leaves her throne unattended
to travel her kingdom as a commoner, playing
Drifting above the mountain-side settlements that pranks and jokes before departing with the winds.
form The Confederacy of Four Winds the Queen of She’s infamously responsible for about half the
Spades rules from a palace carved out of the clouds graffiti in her kingdom. Her supporters again retort
themselves. Blessed with limitless energy the that what she lacks as an administrator, she makes
Queen breezes through her palace and amusements up for by being the laughing heart of her people.
trailing courtiers and petitioners in her wake. Her
regal presence comes not from her appearance
but from her character. She is youthful, yet she
possesses a presence that blows from her; carrying Philosophy
with it a sense of confidence and power, the smell
of windswept desert sand, spices and the Queen’s The Queen of Spades shows that you can solve any
infectious laughter. Fashion at the royal court problem with an open mind and a smile.

70
Find the Centre of the Problem of modern communication systems they served as
a vital backbone in communication, trade and
governance. Their powers of speed and flight made
The Queen of Spades delights in unorthodox
the knaves vital despite their carefree attitude.
solutions. She has reached infamy for immediately
Graces of Spades are not the teachers, mentors
suggesting one sentence solutions to complicated
or diplomats you’d find in the other Courts. They
problems and insisting her followers prove it won’t
don’t want to change the way you think, a Grace
work or else carry it out. Many of these suggestions
of spades just wants to turn that frown upside
are obviously absurd but it doesn’t matter, their
down! The life of every party and the first onto
purpose is not to solve the problem. By playing
the dance floor; everyone has a great time if there’s
the devils advocate with a bad idea she forces
a Grace of Spades around. Graces of Spades are
her followers to question “obvious” assumptions
often called upon by their counterparts in the other
and ingrained dogma and so learn the first of her
Courts, especially when they’re working with large
Philosophies: To look beyond the obvious and the
groups of mortals. It is easier to keep people’s
assumed, to question what the real problem is, and
attention when they’re enjoying being here but it’s
to act only when she has found it. If the best
a double edged sword for the Knaves bring a party
answers are obvious after they’ve been found, then
atmosphere that can be counterproductive when
they are already obvious to she who just looks in
the Princess is working on serious matters.
the right way.
Menders of Spades have an unusual focus, but
a vital one. They heal the ills people inflict upon
themselves. Closer to a teacher than a psychiatrist
Free as the Wind the Menders seek out those who’ve internalised
harmful views of themselves; whether it’s a cruel
A caged bird’s music is never quite as sweet. The
parent’s insults or a demeaning cultural stereotype.
Queen of Spades says that Light is innate, let loose
They subtly and deftly they force their patents to
the chains and let it shine forth. A Rogue should
confront their opinion again and again until they
always let her spirit soar and express herself fully,
realise at last that it was no more solid than a dark
no matter what anyone might say and they should
cloud before the sun and vanishes in a puff of wind.
extend the same courtesy to everyone she meets.
Seekers of Spades are taught to think laterally
High above the clouds the Queen teaches her court
and to keep there eyes open. Often the answers
how to live on their wits, their feet and beyond the
to the toughest problems is just lieing out in the
reach of anyone who might chain them down.
open, just waiting to be seen by someone open
minded enough to accept it. In a Nakama a
Seeker of Spades is the one to come up with
Laughter is the Best Medicine the plan, directing the group to unorthodox but
effective solutions, they do their best work with
You can’t change the past, but you can choose how small focused goals.
you react to it. Who would prefer to cry than to Whatever medium she uses, a Troubadour of
laugh? To the Queen of Spades laughter really is Spades is the mistress of two arts: How to make
the best medicine, and a positive attitude is just people laugh and how to make people think. Some
the thing to get a Princess who’s feeling down out are out there day after day in the worst, most
the door and fixing her problems. deprived areas showing people how to laugh despite
it all. Others are renowned for art that looks at
old ideas in new ways and finds fresh answers to
Duties questions that were long thought solved. The very
best combine thought with laughter as peerless
satirists who can have you laughing riotously at
Champions of Spades often rely on speed and agility your ideological foes until you realise the jokes been
in favour of raw power, if they have a weakness on you.
it’s a tendency to rely on their ability to avoid a
blow and consequently Knaves can’t take a hit as
well as some other Courts. When fighting alongside
other Princesses many specialise in harassing their
foes support while their allies fight the main
Background
battle. Outside of combat Champions of Spades are The free spirit of the Knaves is usually evident even
peerless scouts and messengers, before the spread before they Blossom. The Court of Spades draws

71
its members from various countercultural groups Most have high scores in at least two Finesse
(or as close as it can get given the young age of attributes: Wits to live life outside the normal
the average Blossoming), quite a few members were systems, Manipulation to get away with it.
even outright criminals who Blossomed through a Dexterity isn’t always favoured but if it is needed
heroic effort to turn their life around. Even when it tend to be high. Skills often emphasise the free
they aren’t actually members of countercultural spirited lifestyle: Survival to live on your own wits,
groups would-be spades often have some of the Streetwise to make a fast buck without getting tied
attitude. They are the self proclaimed jokers, down to a nine to five job. Many knaves mix
slackers and class clowns who fight with authority, Persuasion and Subterfuge to talk their way out
usually for the fun of it. of trouble.
Joining the Court of Clubs encourages these For Merits many Rogue’s dashing charm and
traits, but also softens them in its own way. witty nature leads to a high Circle, which
Declaring war upon “The Man” is less of an issue compensates for how her philosophy is at odds with
when you can just fly away, and when you can live the responsibilities of a Mandate. Knaves often
on magic instead of a nine to five job. Knaves have very broad Contacts, especially Graces for
are more likely to make fun of what they see as she who throws great parties shall never want for
wrong in society than they are to take up arms, friends. Physically Fleet of Foot and Fast Reflexes
and when they do decide to make a change their come naturally to a practitioner of Aria. The Fast-
approach is often subtle, finessed and sometimes Talking style is vital to get out of trouble in one
incomprehensible to others. It is usually delivered peace.
with a smile.

Heraldry
Signature Emotions: Laughter The Heraldry of Spades is the light blues of wind,
the greys of the clouds and the oranges and browns
and Surprise of falling autumn leaves. The Knaves tend to
be very individualistic in their choice of Regalia
In this tainted world of darkness the paths of least but light breezy outfits mixed with countercultural
resistance and standard strategies are shrouded, to symbols are common. So are subtle visual puns for
follow them will perpetuate the problems you wish the observant viewer.
to solve. Thus, say the Knaves, the best solutions
will be surprising. They may be clear and logical
after you’ve found them but at the moment of Echo
discovery you’ll smack your forehead and ask how
come you didn’t think of this before. A true Knave A knave’s Echo tickles like a soft breeze, it’s easier
must embrace surprise, both her own surprise at to laugh and easier to let go of what hurts you when
the moment of inspiration, and the surprise of a Princess of Spades is around.
those around her when she proposes unorthodox
solutions, defies social conventions, or just lives
freely in a world that’s forgotten freedom. Practical Magic
But Surprise is a fast and fleeting emotion.
Something is needed to fill the gaps between Knaves are unbound by any law except their
each moment of inspiration and that something isown morality and have little problem evading
laughter. A sense of humour will keep everyone’sthe consequences imposed by those try to insist
spirits up in this shrouded world, and laughing otherwise. Whenever the Knave is about to get
at herself takes away the sting of embarrassmentinto trouble she may Reflexively spend a Wisp to
automatically avoid it.
whenever an unorthodox solution attracts ridicule
or turns out to be unorthodox for a good reason. Trouble is defined broadly, she could avoid
a teacher looking for an assignment she hasn’t
finished as easily as she could avoid a pack of
roaming Darkspawn. Avoiding means that so long
Character Creation as the Princess focuses her full attention on the
problem she will be unaffected for the remainder of
As befitting a Court built in individualism and the scene. So long as she continues to keep an eye
independence Knaves can be incredibly varied. out for the teacher he will not be able to find her but

72
if she stops to gossip with friends he might sneak Aria will not support any assertion of authority
up on her. And of course nothing stops the teacher over another person. A Princess is free to advise,
from waiting for the next scene and catching her in to persuade, to appeal to friendship, and even to
the classroom. deceive (within the limits of Belief) while using
The methods Knaves use to stay out of trouble Aria, but if she issues a command she cannot apply
are varied, but this Practical Magic always favours the Invocation for the rest of the scene.
the path of least magic and the path of least
resistance (in that order). She might duck into
a classroom with all the stealth of a professional
spy or think up a lightning fast fib that sends Quote
the teacher away for a few moments while she
makes a hasty exit but she wont avoid trouble Lighten up! This will be fine, and if not we’ll just
by magically completing her essay in seconds or run for it.
magically compel the teacher to let her off.
When determining the path of least resistance
this power takes into account the opposing
character’s mundane abilities but not their magical Stereotypes
abilities, and if this results in the Knave trying
a trick her opponent has a magical counter for a • Clubs: Good-natured sort, by and large -
Clash of Wills ensues. Example: If that teacher except when they’re not. The little groan from
was a Seeker of Diamonds who’s Perception dice a “Let’s go clubbing” joke never gets old.
pool is superior to his dice pool for seeing through
deception the Knave’s magically enhanced instincts • Diamonds: I probably shouldn’t take quite so
would direct her to spin a story only to trigger a much pleasure in pointing out when they’re
Clash of Wills when the teacher used the Open Heart wrong. It’s a rare enough thing that it’s a
Charm. treat, though.
Once the Princess is in trouble, once the teacher • Hearts: The bigger you make your castles the
begins dictating her punishment or the Darkspawn more places there are for me to hide in. You’re
spot her and rolls Initiative for combat, then it far too easy a target my dear.
becomes too late to use this ability to escape.
A Knave may invoke this power no more than • Swords: Halt dogooder! This is one of those
Aria times per Session. High Belief increases this bridges where you have to answer my riddles
limit, granting one extra use a Belief eight, nine to pass.
and ten.
• Tears: You might have kept part of the
Kingdom alive, but you haven’t made it worth
Invocation: Aria living.
• Storms: They are so predictable, traps,
The Invocation of Spades is Aria, the enviable ambushes, they just charge straight in.
lightness of being. It is the principle of detachment,
the paradoxical unity of speed with forethought, • Mirrors: Those special powers, did you know
and the laughter in the wind. Aria is taught by the they stop working if... oops! Too late!
Queen of Spades and her followers learn it easiest
of all. • Vampires: They seem to be at the heart of
Aria applies at no cost when a Princess is any rotten power structure. I wonder; do they
blown by strong winds, is sprinting or moving corrupt things, or are they just drawn to such
at equivalent speeds under her own power, or is things like flies to meat?
at risk of falling from a height; and when the • Werewolves: Discretion is often the better part
target of her Charm is the air, or other gases. of valour when a pissed-off eight foot monster
Aria also applies at no cost when the Princess is on the prowl. But sometimes you just have
aims to escape the consequences of her actions or to get between them and their victims to draw
help others do the same. It also applies without them off.
cost when a Princess intends to catch someone by
surprise, to make someone laugh, to cast doubts, to • Mages: Look at the puppet-masters, making
expose pretensions and humiliate arrogance, and to society dance on strings to their tunes. Never
subvert formal rules of an organisation or society. let them catch you with scissors.

73
• Prometheans: Well it’s like... where to begin... beautiful lab assistants and shout “It’s Alive!”
I don’t usually have to explain what a joke is. or something?
• Changelings: Ticksters and lawyers to a man. • Leviathans: Um, right, yeah, living in the sky
Don’t try to beat them at their game of words is starting to look like a good idea.
and promises unless you’re sure you’re very
good, or they’ll ensnare you. • Hunters: Why are you so serious, ok I know
why you’re so serious, but you’d cope better if
• Sin-Eaters: Partying in the face of death; you laughed once in a while anyway.
you’ve got style! Hey, I’ve never tried rum
before. Want to share a bottle? • Mortals: Come on everyone, smile! Fill my
heart with sunshine!
• Mummies: What would happen if I woke you
and commanded you to see the world and
decide who you want to be?
• Beasts: Yeah, you’re a troll, an internet troll.
Inspiration
You’re not scary, you’re pathetic.
The Doctor, Psiren (Fullmetal Alchemist), Saint
• Mad Scientists: Oh, don’t mind us. We’re Tail, Captain Jack Sparrow, Ikuto Tsukiyomi,
just watching but um, can we like, be the Pinkie Pie, V (V for Vendetta), Aladdin.

74
 The Queen of Swords
AKA: The Brightly Burning One, The Faithful Marshal, The Queen Errant
Followers’ Epithets: Adventurers, Heroes, Martyrs
Kingdom: Aztallan

Fire, fire gets a bit of a bad name these days, but fire servants quickly follow suit, decorating the palace
is really life. Almost every living thing on the planet and statues of past heroes to match. Visiting
owes its life to the sun, and we owe everything Princesses are expected to dress and act with
that makes life worth living to the fire inside us. appropriate formalities until things return to
Life is meaningless if we don’t feel anything from normal.
it: Laughter, hope, wonder, even sadness. Without The Faithful Marshal treats her Princesses with
them what’s the point? the same unpolished honesty she treats her court.
I guess, what I’m trying to say is. I love you, Though she is never actually rude she won’t hide
won’t you come on an adventure with me? We’ll her emotions if she feels the Princess’ petition to
see the world, try new things and maybe get into a be uninteresting or something that the Princess
few scrapes on the way. Even if we get burnt, pain should have been able to solve on her own. If
is part of life and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. the Queen comes to befriend a Princess it colours
her public interactions just as much as her private
Just as their magic lets them master the fire interactions. The Queen of Swords has the unique
without, those who follow the Queen of Swords ability to simultaneously be running her kingdom
are consumed by the fire within. They are blazing and relaxing with her friends (or even canoodling
heroic figures, driven by their passions. They on the throne).
will follow their hearts wherever it leads, even to Whenever the opportunity presents itself The
their own deaths. The Court of Swords are called Queen Errant leaves her throne and wanders her
Martyrs too. kingdom. Righting wrongs, doing odd jobs and
exploring the jungles which she claims dominion
over. She sleeps rough, or in whichever subject’s

Tales of the Kingdom house is close at hand. While her people are never
quite comfortable with their Queen asking for a
job, how does one give orders to his own Queen,
In the jungles of Aztallan the Queen of Swords they have at least had plenty of time to get used
dwells in her capital built upon an artificial plateau to her habits. When she can’t get out the palace
atop a mighty pyramid. Here The Faithful Marshal she enjoys study, gymnastics or spending time with
rules from an obsidian throne and burns through one of her many consorts. It is said that long
the royal itinerary in bored and clipped, but time residents of Aztallan can tell when the Queen
supremely competent tones. She is a powerful falls in love anew from cities away by watching the
looking woman, beneath her skin lies well-defined wheels of government slowing down. Famously she
wiry muscles, her eyes positively smoulder with will not kiss a man or woman unless she is deeply
power. Outside the excitement of a crisis The in love.
Queen Errant makes little attempt to pretend she
wouldn’t rather be digging up new insects in the
jungle; usually she appears before her court in
rugged outdoor wear. The Queen of Swords is Philosophy
skilled at managing her image, she just usually
doesn’t care; but when it is required (and she The Queen of Swords only ever gave one order.
always knows when it’s required) she’ll appear “Whatever you do, do it out of love ”.
before her court dressed in anything from formal
robes to full military uniform. Her household

75
In the End, Only People Matter The Princess should always know when it is time
to let go lest she consumes herself. Yet when her
very heart is at stake, her passions should burn
The Queen of Swords is not one for abstract
everything in her path, even herself – like a flame.
morality and long Socratic debates about what is
good and what is evil. Nor is she fond of formal
systems of morality, duty or obligation, referring
to them as either training wheels or a crutch. To
the Queen of Swords morality can be reduced to
Duties
a simple idea that everyone with Light in their
The followers of Swords are defined not so much
hearts knows intuitively: If it hurts people then it is
by common duties but by a common approach to
wrong. So don’t do that. Furthermore The Queen
duties. They seek positions where they are free
believes that if one does not hold this truth in their
to follow their own methods and their own moral
heart then no amount of rules or regulations can
compasses rather than toe the line, and where
make them good, but if a person is at heart good
their passion and energy can inspire those around
forcing them into an inappropriate social construct
them. Many see their duties as much about growing
can crush their light. And so she teaches her
themselves as a person as it is about helping others
followers to do what’s right regardless of the rules,
and so seek to always find a new approach or a
and she trusts them to know what’s right.
tougher challenge to stretch their limits.
Champions tend to find jobs outside of the
normal social structures. They’re more likely to
Specialisation is for Insects be a private detective than a policewoman. More
likely to specialise in deep sea rescue than be a fire
A Princess of Swords should be able to: Compose
fighter. They boast the most full time Darkspawn
a sonnet, survive a shipwreck, design an aircraft,
hunters of any Court. Champions of Swords are
recite the epic poems, win her true love’s heart, set
often trained to work independently, having the
a bone, clean a building, cook dinner, give orders,
intelligence to plan, the strength to fight and the
take orders, fight like a gentleman in the arena,
charisma to turn whoever is around them into an
fight dirty in the streets. The Philosophy is a lot
ally.
more complicated than just saying you should be
Graces often mentor on an individual level,
able to do everything, rather it consists of two
seeking the maladjusted or the outcasts and helping
related ideas. The first and simpler is simply to
them find where they can belong even if it’s just a
always be broadening your horizons, try new things,
space within themselves. While often less versed
learn new skills. The second, like all The Brightly
in diplomacy than the other Courts Graces of
Burning One’s Philosophies is about people. While
Swords have some of the best connections to a
she has nothing against relying on another, Queen
variety of different cultures on a personal level
of Swords teaches that dependence must always
thanks to the courts wanderlust and tendency
be a matter of convenience not necessity. True
to go adventuring. In more than a few cases
dependency is a chain, it allows others to force you
they have turned someone’s life around simply by
away from being true to yourself. That path leads
encouraging them to move to a culture to which
away from the light.
they are better suited. Graces who focus on larger
scale projects are often exceptional at inspiring the
public, but they usually ride of into the sunset once
Love Like a Flame the immediate problem has been dealt with.
Menders are more likely to volunteer in a small
The Brightly Burning One teaches her followers African village than a major, regulated, hospital,
that their passions should blaze forth from them. those who work with machines often do the same
They should feel with every fiber of their being: working in oil rigs or digging wells, or they
hope, joy, lust, sadness, fear, friendship, and specialise in obscure but still important technology
especially love. Like a flame, their passions should where their unique skills let them demand to work
light the way and bring warmth to the Princess their way. In both cases they are likely to become
and those around her. One person cannot save experts at doing more with fewer resources.
the world alone, but if she blazes bright enough Seekers often specialise in fields that blend
she just might light the way. But a Martyr must academic learning with either demanding physical
always be aware that her love is like a flame and or social requirements. Archaeology in war torn
left unattended it will consume all before dying. parts of the world, private detectives knowledgeable

76
in both forensic science and the seedy underworld, that transcended base biological urges to survive
botanical trips through the Amazon rainforest or and reproduce, creatures capable of selflessness and
they are successors to the great and dangerous self sacrifice. What could be greater than that?
explorations of the past delving deep into the And what better way to become a truly noble being
Underworld or the Shadow. More social exploits capable of self sacrifice than finding something or
can include living with remote tribes for years someone you love?
or finding other cultures closer to home, no
few Seekers of Swords have spent time living
with dangerous criminals or supernatural predators
simply to learn of their lives. Character Creation
Troubadours of Swords are like a change on the
wind. They breeze into town smelling of foreign For Attributes Swords favour Intelligence, Strength
and exotic ideas – if you travel enough you can be and Presence equally and most are skilled at
foreign and exotic everywhere. Their art challenges combining them in unusual ways to solve unusual
norms but rarely opposes them (though some do problems. Heroes often have one or two dots in a
take a delight in finding and shaking up repressed wide variety of Skills to be self sufficent and because
societies). She isn’t saying the status qou is bad, of their unusual, transient lifestyles. Survial is
only that it isn’t the only way. Most take the effort common among members who take the title of
to leave behind at least a few people who’ll continue adventurer literally, as is Streatwise to find one’s
in the styles she teaches. way around cities from London to Hong Kong.
Many Heroes know how to fight, and Persuasion
is often favoured for finding allies or peaceful

Background solutions.
For Merits the Martys often favour physical
merits, social and even mental merits are harder
Many members of Swords were adventurers before to cultivate with an independent lifestyle. The
they Blossomed, they may not have faced terrible Retainer Merit is surprisingly common, often
danger or performed heroic deeds but from representing a Sworn travelling companion. The
backpacking across Europe to teaching English in philosophy of Swords makes it easy to form
China they showed the Court’s spirit of adventure attachments. However it also teaches that one
and self reliance. Others tapped into a confidence cannot live forever in another shadow so Princesses
they never had before their Blossoming, when you of Swords see this time as almost an apprenticeship
gain magical powers and a new body that’s stronger where they teach and broaden their companion’s
and smarter than your old one confidence is a horizons with a grand adventure before parting
natural result. Regardless of when they discovered ways.
it, Heroes are comfortable living on their own
abilities and often eager for new experiences or just
to push themselves further.
Just as the Swords are the most adventurous of
Heraldry
the Radiant, they are also the most passionate of The court of Swords tends to favour blazing
the Radiant. Even before Blossoming they thought iconography. Reds, golds and whites are common.
with their emotions, or really wished they had the While it would not be accurate to call them
confidence to do so. The court is overflowing with flamboyant the Heroes wear their hearts on
incurable romantics and people who are confident their sleeves. Their appearance often contains
enough to follow their hearts into adventure, danger iconography that boasts of virtues they uphold and
and whirlwind romances. While the Heroes are heroic deeds in their past and their Regalia radiates
hardly stupid, they put little emphasis on personal power.
safety when the alternative is an adventure.

Echo
Signature Emotion: Love A Hero’s Echo inflames both passion and self
confidence in those around her. She seems to light
Love is not the oldest emotion, but it is the greatest the path with her presence and blazing charisma.
of them all. Or so say the Court of Swords, for
was it not with Love that nature created creatures

77
Practical Magic Conditions or supernatural effects are merely
suppressed for a short while. In time critical
situations such as combat they are suppressed for
Love conquers all and a Princess of Swords can do
Fuoco * 2 turns, in other situations Fuoco * 2
the same. Once per scene she may spend a Wisp
minutes. A Clash of Wills is required to deal with
to automatically break through a barrier, whether
any supernatural influence.
she kicks down a door or finds words able to reach
High Belief makes the Princess’ love shine
her love through the haze of madness.
brighter. She effectively increases her Strength and
A barrier is defined as either a physical
Fuoco by Belief - 7.
obstruction, a Condition, or a supernatural effect
which prevents the pair from communicating
properly. In turn proper communication is defined
as the target’s ability to comprehend the Princess, Invocation: Fuoco
process what she is saying, and then act upon it.
If there is a seemingly mundane solution the The Queen of Swords raises passionate devotion
Princess will try that first (or at least she should, into magic in the Invocation of Fuoco, and the
otherwise she risks her secret identity). If she Adventurers learn it more easily than any other.
has appropriate mundane equipment it’s equipment Love, heroism and sacrifice are its fuel, the noblest
bonus increases by Fuoco. If the Princess leaps things the Queen Errant knows. It is equally bound
over a barrier she adds Fuoco feet to her maximum to literal fire, heat and light.
jumping distance. Otherwise she may try to tear Fuoco applies at no cost when the target of a
through it and may do so if it’s Durability is Princess’ Charm is a flame, on fire, or hot enough to
less or equal to (Strength – 4). If the barrier is burn; and when the target is someone or something
supernatural or supernaturally reinforced a Clash the Princess loves. It also applies without cost when
of Wills ensures, if the Princess wins treat the a Princess intends to aid a person she loves, to strike
barrier as mundane, otherwise she cannot breach at enemies with her full force, to take great risks for
it. Any damage inflicted is permanent. great gains, to inspire others to heroic endeavors,
and at the culmination of a major campaign.

Nature Colour Strength Intensity

Love for an ”idea” of a person not Translucent Acquaintance 1st degree
intimately known (+0)
Romantic love red/orange Good friends 2nd degree
(+1)
Parental love Purple Lover, close 3rd degree
family (+2)
Other familial love Blue Total devotion White hot
(+3)
Courtly love Gold (+3)
Friendship love White (+3)
Obsession Shifting,
unnatural
“As you wish” Rainbow

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 The Invocation abandons Princesses who • Werewolves: If I was sure they wouldn’t rage
abandon their beloved. A Princess who betrays or and splatter my intestines everywhere, I’d be
otherwise injures a person she loves cannot apply their closest friend.
Fuoco until the one she has hurt forgives her for
the injury, or until a full lunar month has passed. • Mages: I don’t care how long your theory is,
Several Fuoco Charms create flames out of the it’s still wrong. If anything is real it’s what’s
love one person feels for another. The nature of the in your heart, not magic.
love determines the colour of these flames, and the • Prometheans: See! I told you, it all comes
love’s strength fuels their heat. Consult the table down to the same thing. Fire and Humanity.
when a Princess uses these Charms.
• Changelings: You loved something so much it
let you defeat gods and escape hell. You can’t

Quote give up now!

• Sin-Eaters: Keeping the flame alive in the face
I have no regrets, I’m doing this because I love you. of death; I’d respect that, if I thought it meant
anything to them.
• Mummies: I’m only sort of immortal, but at
Stereotypes least I’m alive.
• Beasts: “If it hurts people then it is wrong.”
• Clubs: I think after spending so much time That’s all they do and all they are.
trying to be part of everyone else, they’ve
forgotten who they are. • Mad Scientists: I think they are missing
something. I think that they became what
• Diamonds: It’s easy to say “slow down and they are to try and find it, and they’re still
look at the big picture” when it’s not your looking.
lover being held hostage.
• Leviathans: Everyone changes other people
• Hearts: Sometimes traditions and etiquette are just by being near them. If we’re all like
just a crutch. If you really know who you are beautiful stars orbiting each other then these
and what mattered to you then you wouldn’t are black holes drawing in and giving nothing
need them. Not like they do. back. Pure perfect evil.

• Spades: Great for a laugh, I just wish they • Hunters: HEY! Why the hell are you shooting
cared more deeply. at me!? I’m on your side, here!

• Tears: There’s no love in what they do, it’s • Mortals: I’m going to take you on an adventure
nothing but fear. and break you out of that shell. Just you watch
me.
• Storms: Find something to love, then fight for
it. If you do it the other way around you’ll end
like these girls.
• Mirrors: You’re not supposed to be in love with
Inspiration
yourself!
Sailor Uranus, Nanoha Takamachi, Iron Man,
• Vampires: I think the reason fire hurts them Indiana Jones, Robin Hood, Sayaka Miki,
so much is that it reminds them what they’ve Aquaman (from the Batman the Brave and the
lost. They really are dead, on the inside. Bold TV series)

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 Beacons
Dear Diary the Wardens’ notice and instead discovered the
I had the dream again. The one with me and Sir strength to face problems in the waking world
Rufus on a quest or the Heart of Earth that I always through their nocturnal experiences.
used to have when Alison bullied me. It made me Princesses usually keep an eye out for Beacons.
feel much better, just like it always used to do. If they seem in trouble they’ll offer help before the
Maybe I had the dream because everyone’s being Beacon’s idealism fades and her Light is crushed.
so mean and pretending Jane doesn’t exist. I should There are pragmatic reasons to keep an eye on
just talk to her, if I can make it through the Swamp Beacons: Their light tragically makes them a target
of Sadness I can talk to one girl no matter what to any Dark creatures they encounter, and they are
anyone else tells me! disproportionately likely to Blossom. Being ready
to ease a new Princess into her role can make a
The Light of hope is far from unique to the Radiant; world of difference. But even if that weren’t so, the
it belongs to all mankind. In the millennia of the Hopeful would seek out Beacons anyway, just for
Long Night mankind built civilisations and made the pleasure of their company.
wonders in the arts and sciences. It was regular
humans who achieved the impossible and walked
upon the moon, bringing a new dawn to end the
Long Night. The Beacons are people whom the
The Nature of A Shining Heart
Light illuminates somewhat more brightly than A Beacons optimistic and empathic personality
most. Some Princesses say that in a better world gives them an Echo that functions identically to
everyone would be a Beacon. Some (usually the a Nobles, Beacons use Integrity in place of Belief.
same people) say that in the Kingdom everyone Like a Princess a Beacon may have Dreams in
was a Beacon. place of Aspirations, these Dreams do not need
A Beacon has a strong sense of hope, morality to fit a Calling since Beacons have no Calling.
and idealism that radiates outwards. That’s all it A Beacon may have up to three Aspirations or
takes - there are no astrological portents during Dreams, in any combination, at a time. When a
their birth or inexplicable transformative events, Beacon acquires Luminous Experience they may
only a person with a heart full of hope, empathy spend it on Integrity, removing Shadows, and Social
and kindness. Their presence encourages people to Merits.
make the best of themselves. The effect is subtle Beacons can use Bequests, they roll Integrity to
enough that it could be taken as nothing more than transform a Bequest. As Beacons have no Wisps
the force of personality, if a Princess’ magical sight they are limited to Bequests with their own pool of
did not show that Beacons carry a tiny spark of the Wisps or Bequests containing Charms that do not
Light. require Wisps to use. If the Charm’s effects vary
Most Beacons don’t ever discover their with Inner Light a Beacon is treated as having a
supernatural potential. They live ordinary lives, single dot of Inner Light.
and if they tend to be popular people surrounded by If a Beacon has the Girl Underground Condition
loyal friends or unusually sensitive to acts of cruelty (or the Dream Traveller merit) they may travel to
that’s only what you’d expect to happen when the Dreamlands. They use the same mechanics as
someone is extraordinarily kind and emphatic. Princesses, though they lack the ability to protect
But Beacons do have their magic and their curses. themselves from the Gales with Transformation.
Given the chance the Outer Darkness will go out Because a Beacon is simply a regular person
of its way to kill a Beacon, and a Beacon carrying with a certain outlook on life Beacons qualify as
Shadows becomes vulnerable to the trap within mortal for all mechanical purposes. Supernatural
the Dreamlands. Fortunately, as they entered the powers that detect the presence of the supernatural
Dreamlands far from the Radiant Courts where the will generally fail to notice a Beacon, unless they
Wardens were strongest, many Beacons escaped are especially sensitive or specialised to detect

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Light. Unlike an unTransformed Princess, a Beacon connections they make by being so nice. In all other
cannot hide their Light by storing inside their respects Beacons are created as ordinary mortals.
Transformed identity. As an optional rule the Storyteller may allow
If a Beacon loses their sense of hope and idealism protagonist Beacons to increase their three bonus
their Light fades and they become an ordinary merit dots to five dots and allow them to be
mortal, they retain any Luminous Experience spent on either social connections or supernatural
they’ve already acquired or spent but must replace abilities, be they innate abilities like Dream
any ongoing Dreams with Aspirations. Though Traveller or Bequests. This rule is intended for
they may keep the original Dream as an Aspiration. Beacons who are aware of and make use of their
If they regain their hope they regain their supernatural nature, such that there are.
Beacon status, as would any Mortal who became
sufficiently kind, virtuous and idealistic (and buys
the Virtuous Merit if they do not have it already).
There are no hard rules for when a Beacon loses the
template, but it will probably involve a Breaking
Point.
Finally Beacons suffer from Sensitivity, with a
Heir Apparent
base of one die. Beacons use Integrity in place of Reincarnated Princesses are born as
Belief when calculating the effects of Sensitivity. Beacons before regaining their full powers.
Most have the right attitude, and even
if they don’t the Beacon template is a
Character Creation suitable representation of a Princess’
dormant power. Reincarnated Princesses
Beacons are given the Virtuous Merit for free, they have no special advantages over other
may also buy the Sympathetic Merit for a single Beacons, save that they cannot become
dot like Princesses. Beacons also have three free any supernatural being that a full Princess
dots of Social Merits to represent the friends and could not.

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 Sworn
Everyone thinks I should be jealous of my big sister Consider if you will a Princess who creates Bequests
because she’s the one who can transform into a that grant intuitive insights into the working of
beautiful princess and has really cool magic. legal codes and hands them out to a think tank
But they don’t understand. They’re not the ones drafting a complex new social justice law. If it
who have to help her sew her wounds closed, they works a simple investment could have an enormous
don’t wake up early to help her cover up scars or long term payoff but such plans are risky. The
hold her when she cries all night. I love my sister, Princess usually ends up running against one or
she’s amazing and works so hard for everybody, I more of the vested power groups within the World
wouldn’t want to be her. of Darkness.
But I will always be there for her. Other Princesses just like to share their magic
with people. Granting the powers of a Sworn to a
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was a Princess? beloved friend or family member can help another
If nobody could commit cruelty without suffering understand the Princess’ new life and preserve
from Sensitivity? If encroachment of the Darkness the bond between them. It is unfortunately not
could be beaten back by the magic of billions? If that uncommon for a friend or family member to
wishes were Blossomings then everyone would be be jealous and giving them some power can help
a Princess already, but the Nobility know it’s no smooth things over. A Princess who worries for her
good wishing for a better world. You have to roll loved one’s safety can do worse than giving them
up your sleeves and get to work. Even if there is the power to run away at superhuman speeds, or
no way to force a Blossoming, a Princess with the to work the magical defences around their shared
Accept Fealty Charm can create a Sworn. home.
Even though Sworn lack the Inner Light of the Among the Radiant Courts most Sworn got their
Nobility they can still draw upon the Beliefs of position by sharing a close bond with a Princess. A
their Queen like a Princess. A Sworn can feel his friend, a family member, a rescued civilian who’s
Queen’s Invocation like a guiding light, it gives gratitude blossomed into friendship and loyalty.
him a sense of hope and purpose that lets him Creating and supplying a Sworn is a big investment,
push himself beyond human limits. That lets him and working closely with someone often means
perform magic. they’ll learn your secret identity, so the Radiant
While a Queen’s light is powerful enough to have two good reasons to select someone they trust.
endow ordinary humans with magic it is also Besides, when you think with your heart it often
distant, shining from the far away Dreamlands. A tells you to chose someone you care about.
Princess’ Light shines from just a few feet away. For In Alhambra Sworn have served as a vital and
a Sworn working with a Princess they know and prestigious pillar of society. The kingdom of
trust is an uplifting experience. Her Light shines Tears possesses vaults filled with Bequests, some
upon the Sworn, filling him with hope and magic. dating back to the Kingdom itself. The Queen
The Sworn fill many roles. Sometimes a Princess can produce Sworn in greater numbers than a
is impressed by a Mortal (or a Beacon) and offers Princess (but even her capabilities isn’t infinite)
them magic. This is an significant investment: not and the reuse of old Bequests means the Court of
only must the Princess invest a portion of her power Tears is able to maintain a large standing force
to create a Sworn, but she must make Bequests to of Sworn. Alhambra’s civilisation depends on
provide the Sworn with Wisps and any Charms she Sworn, Bequests and magic much as we depend on
wishes to offer. Other Sworn work closely with the technology.
Nobility. A team of Princesses who notice a gap in The armies of Storms also make much use of
their skills could seek out a new member who has Sworn, who seem to form spontaneously from
the mundane abilities. The powers of a Sworn and ordinary people who hold Tempesta’s fury in their
a few Bequests can provide the magical skills. hearts. These Sworn seem to be self sufficient, but
Some Princesses create Sworn for special tasks. lacking Bequests their powers are limited.

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 The rarest kind of Sworn is an deliberate attempt
to redeem someone by using Sensitivity to show Character Creation
them the truth of their actions. This is rare
Sworn begin play with a single dot in their Queen’s
not only because creating a Sworn is a significant
Invocation. In all other respects they are created
effort, but also because no one can become a Sworn
as regular mortals.
without giving full and informed consent. Still
As an optional rule the Storyteller may allow
people who believe their actions to be just may well
protagonist Sworn to begin play with five bonus
consent to Sensitivity.
merit dots which may be spent on supernatural
abilities, be they innate abilities like Dream
Traveller or Bequests.
The Nature of a Loyal Companion
Sworn draw their power from their Queen.
When they act in accordance with their Queen’s
Philosophy, they can feel their magic grow stronger.
And when they act against it, their powers weaken.
Every Sworn follows a Queen and may purchase Sworn Beacons
that Queen’s Invocation at an out of affinity rate.
Becoming a Sworn does nothing to damage
Sworn also have access to practical magic based on
a Beacon’s optimistic personality, when a
their Court, but their powers are less potent than a
Beacon becomes Sworn they gain both sets
full Princess’ (and yes, the Court of Mirrors offers
of powers which makes Beacons a popular
no useful Practical Magic to its Sworn).
recruit for the upwardly mobile Princesses.
Sworn can use Bequests, they roll Integrity to
Mechanically start with the Beacon
transform a Bequest. If the effects of the Charm
template, then add a Sworn’s Invocation,
within vary with Inner Light a Sworn has an
Wisp pool and practical magic.
effective Inner Light of one.
Sworn may travel to the Dreamlands but (barring
the Dream Traveller Merit) they require the Girl
Underground Condition or a Princess to show them
a Crawlspace entrance every time. Once they Practical Magic
have seen a Crawlspace entrance they use the
same mechanics as Princesses; though they lack the Sworn use a different set of Practical Magic than
ability manifest Regalia. Princesses:
Sworn have a Wisp pool equal to Integrity. They
may regain Wisps through the Dedication Merit, • Clubs: The Queen of Clubs teaches her Sworn
alternatively any Princess of the same Court may that Harmony comes from adapting to their
transfer Wisps through a ritual that re-confirms surroundings. At any time they may spend
the Sworn’s oaths. The ritual requires a minute to a Wisp as an instant action to gain a Merit
perform, and the full concentration of both parties. appropriate to their surroundings. He could
A Sworn may leave the Queen’s service at acquire Danger Sense in a jungle or Scientific
any time, becoming mortal once again. This Rhetoric in a university but would be hard
may be a precursor to joining another Court. pressed to do the reverse. Merits acquired
Experience spent on traits inapplicable for mortals in this way cannot be supernatural in nature
are refunded. or represent an external asset like Allies or
For mechanical purposes a Sworn qualifies as Resources. They last until the end of a Session
a normal mortal under an enchantment. A a Sworn may only create up to Legno dots of
supernatural power that detects supernatural Merits at any one time.
beings will not register a Sworn, but one that • Diamonds: The Queen of Diamonds cannot
detects the presence of active supernatural effects give the power of magic to all her people, so in
will. Powers that detect the Light will also detect it’s place she grants the powers of technology
a Sworn. and intellect. A Sworn of Diamonds can spend
Finally Sworn suffer from Sensitivity, with a base one Wisp to add his Acqua to a single roll to
of one die. Sworn use Integrity in place of Belief to create equipment. This does not include Jury
calculate the effects of Sensitivity. Rigging but it does include abstract equipment
like plans and repositories.

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• Hearts: As a Princess of Hearts acquires in so many places at once. Each trait may
positions of leadership and responsibility she only assist one Sworn per turn. Naturally this
is sure to want lieutenants that she can trust. power does not work if the Princess is already
A Sworn of Hearts may spend a Wisp to a Secondary Actor to the roll.
add the lower of their Status and Terra to Example: A Sworn rolls Wits + Investigation
any roll where they are acting to fulfil their and spends a wisp, adding one third of his
duties within an organisation represented by Princess’ Transformed Wits + Investigation as
the Status Merit. bonus dice. In the same turn another Sworn
created by the same Princess spends a Wisp
• Spades: The Queen of Spades is an egalitarian while rolling Wits + Empathy. he only adds
above all else. Her Sworn are taught the same a third of the Princess’ Transformed Empathy.
principles as her Nobles, within the limits of Both Sworn reduce the bonus dice by Intimacy
their magic. By spending a Wisp a Sworn of to a minimum of -0.
Spades may add Aria to one roll to create a
false Clue or tamper with an existing Clue. • Tears: As the Sworn of Alhambra protect their
They may also spend a Wisp to add Aria to city they in turn are protected by the Queen of
an Athletics, Stealth, Streetwise or Subterfuge Tears. A Sworn of Tears can spend a Wisp to
roll to get out of trouble but not on a roll to gain half Lacrima (round up) general armour
get into trouble. So they couldn’t boost their for the remainder of the scene.
Stealth to sneak into a secure building, but
they could boost their Stealth to sneak back • Storms: The Queen of Storms’ transformation
out again. lets her bestow greater gifts to her followers
than any other Queen. This, and her
• Swords: Love knows no distance, and a laser focus means her Sworn share the same
Princess of Swords is always there to help Practical Magic as Princesses of Storms.
her Sworn. By spending a Wisp a Sworn
• Mirrors: The True Heir has no need for
of Swords may add one third (round up)
assistance, and her sworn may cheer her
of the Transformed dice pool belonging to
on while she takes care of any problems.
the Princess with whom she has the highest
Consequentially the Sworn of Mirrors have a
Dedication. She may only do this on rolls
notably inferior Practical Magic: So long as
where she is the Primary Actor. This bonus
they can see the Princess who swore them in a
is reduced by Intimacy, and though a Princess
Sworn of Mirrors may spend a Wisp to add a
may have many loves she can still only be
single die to any roll made by that Princess.

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 Shikigami
“This symbol seems familiar. Do you think they for signs and portents and when they found omens
took it from Andarta or did my memory of Andarta of Nobles or future Nobles they permitted trusted
come from here?” advisor’s to possess animals so that they might find
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence. It’s a stag, lots and offer tuition to young Princesses.
of people put stags on their logos.” These days the loose Princess community shares
“Mmhmm. You can tell their only interest is the responsibility for finding freshly Blossomed
money, the reception is marble and polished wood Nobles and bringing them up to speed with
but the staff work in dark and cramped spaces. You Shikigami. Many Princesses are introduced to their
should talk to their leader, it will be educational for Court by an experienced Princess or independent
you.” Shikigami and given a chance to meet potential
“Don’t be silly, there’s no way they’d let me in candidates and choose her own full time advisor.
there.” As Nobles on Earth are able to meet their advisor in
“Of course they will, you’re royalty. Making the Dreamlands there is rarely a need for Shikigami
yourself belong anywhere is an easy Charm, but to inhabit animals. Today most Shikigami are
if you don’t believe you have a right to talk to inhabiting action figures, dolls, or plushies.
CEOs you’ll never convince anyone else. Just
walk in there like you know where you’re going
and have every right; otherwise I’ll have to eat all
those sweets you think you’ve hidden in that empty
The Nature of a Cute Mentor
shoebox.” A Shikigami contains the mind, but not the
power, of an astral being woven into a physical
The Kingdoms may be fallen, the power of their shell by a tapestry of Light. While in this
mighty armies and enlightened Queens might only form they gain many of the powers a Princess
exist within the Dreamlands, but they still have possesses, just so long as they remain allied to
their skills and experience. a Princess who sustains them. Shikigami who
Shikigami are Dreamlanders who have formed a possess an animal share their mind, as sentient and
symbiotic bond with a Princess. Her magic sustains experienced beings their personality is dominant
the Shikigami allowing it to remain upon Earth but many develop powerful but harmless vices such
indefinitely, in return it aids her with it’s knowledge as excessive napping, a sweet tooth or chasing
and magic reflected from her Light. pieces of string. Even Shikigami who inhabit
Most Shikigami were originally inhabitants of the artificial animals such as teddy bears are affected
Kingdom. They were men and woman of learning by the astral resonance of their new body, usually
and renown who have pledged to aid the Nobility to similar results.
as they once did long ago; and yes, this does mean Despite their unusual body, a Shikigami is
that in theory any living person could become a treated as a regular character with the full spread of
Shikigami but that almost never happens. Attributes and Skills. The Size modifiers (see page
Those Shikigami who didn’t come from the 203) remain in permanent effect for a Shikigami.
Kingdoms were regular Dreamlanders who were Unlike an animal, who’s Attributes are designed to
persuaded of the existence of the waking world, and reflect a creature of their size, a Shikigami must
chose to accompany a Princess on her way back. pay extra and overcome the penalties if they want
The real world may not add up like a mystery novel, to pack human strength into a doll sized body.
but the astral reflection of Sherlock Holmes is still All Shikigami have the dexterity of eight fingers
a great detective. and opposable thumbs in their mouth, paws, tail or
When the Release took place the Queens had whatever. If they are being observed Larcanay rolls
plenty of time to prepare for the newly free souls are required to make this look like anything other
to be born and grow until they were capable of than blatant magic.
Blossoming. Their agents scoured the Dreamlands

85
 Shikigami can swear themselves to a Queen. the Nobility. Any Princess bound to a Shikigami
They may then learn her Invocation at an out of automatically has an Intimacy equivalent to Love
affinity rate and use Practical Magic as though they to that Shikigami and every other Princess bound
were a Sworn. to her. Taken as a group they have a Commonality
All Princesses have an innate ability to from a of Dedicated.
bond to a Shikigami, and much of a Shikigami’s
power depends upon this bond.
Shikigami are skilled travellers of the
Dreamlands, they use the same rules as a Princess
Character Creation
except that whenever the Princess’ Inner Light is Shikigami are created as an ordinary mortal
added to a dice roll the Shikigami instead gains character, except that their starting Size is
a flat +3 bonus. A Shikigami’s Transformation somewhere between 1-3. Most are animate dolls,
protects against the gales, just like a Princess’. So plushies or small animals. Shikigami can buy dots
long as a Shikigami is within the Dreamlands they of Transformed Size, one point of Transformed Size
may sever all ties to their bodies and Dedication costs one Merit Dot. A Shikigami can buy enough
to the Nobility and return to being a normal Transformed Size to reach Size eight, and no more.
Dreamlander. A unique ability of Shikigami is If Shikigami is a player character he starts play
to see and, if invited, enter the Crawlspace of any with one free dot of White Rabbits, as astral
Princess they are bonded too. They can navigate beings Shikigami are intimately connected to the
the Crawlspace as a Teamwork action and when Dreamlands. NPC Shikigami experience prophetic
travelling to the Dreamlands either character can dreams whenver the Storyteller wishes.
be the primary actor and use their own Intimacy Shikigami may buy physical abilities for their
to the destination. This makes Shikigami uniquely body as Merits. A Shikigami with wings can fly
qualified to help a freshly Blossomed Princesses at it’s usual speed for four merit dots, one with
reach the Queens. sharp teeth or claws may buy damage zero or one
So long as it is bound to a Princes a Shikigami weapons for one or two Merit dots respectively.
can Transform, and has access to Transformed Physical abilities that emerge or enhance when
Attributes and Skills. A Shikigami’s maximum a Shikigami Transforms should be represented by
dots in a Transformed Attribute or Skill, and their acquiring Charms.
maximum total Transformed dots, are both defined Finally Shikigami being play with five points
by the highest Inner Light among all the Princesses of Experience which they may spend upon Merits
they are bonded too. (including physical abilities), Transformed Abilities
Shikigami have a Wisp pool equal to their or Skills, Charms or Invocations.
Integrity. Shikigami automatically gain a Wisp
every time a Princess they are bound too gains
a Beat from an Aspiration or Dream (Dreams
grant one only Wisp, not one for each kind of
Binding a Shikigami
Beat). Princesses can an also transfer Wisps Every Hopeful has the ability to form a bond
directly to their bonded Shikigami, this requires a with an inhabitant of the Dreamlands. To do
physical contact and a minute. While touching is this a Princess needs two things. The first is
sufficient, petting, grooming or playing makes it a Dreamlander who is willing to travel to Earth
easier. Without a Bond a Shikigami has no natural with her and who has a Rank of 5 or less (former
way to regain Wisps and must rely on somebody inhabitants of the Kingdom don’t have a Rank
who knows the Charm Charge. but they all qualify except the Queens). This
While Transformed a Shikigami can use Charms, is usually quite easy, the Dreaming Kingdoms
however the maximum Charm rating a Shikigami have institutions whose soul purpose is to match
can learn is limited by the highest Inner Light Princesses with potential Shikigami.
among the Princesses a Shikigami is bonded to. The second thing is a body for the Dreamlander
At Inner Light one a Shikigami can learn one dot to inhabit. Usually this means a doll or a plush toy.
charms, every two Dots of Inner Light increases An animal can also be used but inanimate objects
this limit by one. Shikigami have no affinity for are favoured for ethical reasons. The body should
any Charm trees. This pusedo Inner Light rating resemble the Dreamlander, usually this means a
also applies when a Shikigami uses a Charm that’s thematic resonance, such as a toy fox for a shrewd
effects vary by Inner Light. and cunning Dreamlander. However if the Princess
However the last and greatest ability of finds a Dreamlander who actually is a talking fox
Shikigami is that they serve as magical relays for

86
then naturally a toy fox will make an appropriate nature and in exchange gains the ability to travel
body regardless of his personality. between Earth and the Dreamlands at will.
When the Princses has both a recruit and a Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
vessel for him she must go to the Dreamlands while progress.
her sleeping body cuddles the vessel. Then the
Princess can perform the rite of binding upon the Suggested modifiers: the vessel is appropriate
Dreamlander. for the Dreamlander (+1 to +3), the vessel is
inappropriate for the Dreamlander (-1 to -3)
Action: Extended, Inner Light + Presence
(10 minutes/roll, threshold = 3x Dreamlander’s A Princess may only be bound to one Shikigami
Rank, 6 successes for former inhabitants of the at a time; The Charm Astral Companion allows the
Kingdom) Cost: 1 Willpower Nobility to invite Dreamlanders to Earth she may
still only share the Shikigami bond with one of her
Dramatic Failure: The Princess wakes without
companions.
transforming the vessel. She can never make this
If a Princess meets a Dreamlander who’s visiting
Dreamlander into a Shikigami.
Earth with the aid of the Charm Astral Companion
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she (or through some other means) she may use the
fails to bind the Shikigami she gains the Stuck above roll to create the full bond without needing to
Magic condition. visit the Dreamlands. If the Dreamlander is already
Success: The Princess makes progress. If she inhabiting an object or a small animal halve the
reaches the threshold the Dreamlander becomes required successes.
a Shikigami, he takes on some of his new body’s

87
 Chapter 3: The Power of
Love
I never renounce my feelings. True Love can not be taken away by anyone.
—Sailor Moon

A Princess is still human, and she is able to use all Advantage roll.
of humanity’s varied and dangerous talents to her As a rule of thumb Echoes don’t provide Princess’
own advantage. A Princess is also magical, and she with any advantage over their antagonists or
is capable of focusing her hopes and beliefs into all enemies. If a police officer forces a vigilante
sorts of unique and potent advantages. Champion to stand aside for the authorities he
In this chapter we present all the unique abilities won’t be Shaken by her hurt feelings. Her feelings
possessed by the Enlightened, from the magical will be more noticeable but the officer’s own belief
Charms they wield to new Merits. in the importance of due process is more than
enough of a shield. This goes double for people who
actually want the Princess to suffer, while some

Echoes Princesses have witnessed their enemies having a

“my god, what am I doing” moment any Princess
who expects or relies on her Echo protecting her
The name you choose is a promise, and the from her enemies is an idiot. If you prefer more
Enlightened have chosen the name “Noble.” The defined rules for when a Princess’ Echo can help her
Radiant know they are the example, they literally against her antagonists: A character who triggers
cannot help it, and so they have promised to be a a Princses’ Echo by acting in accordance with their
good example. When a Noble is at her best people Virtue or Aspirations (or equivalents) will not be
take notice, they are impressed and want to imitate Shaken by by it.
her. When a Noble loses heart people notice and it Princesses have their Echo in their mundane
scares them. identity.
This is magic, but only a little bit. A Princess’
Inner Light makes her every action, good or bad,
shine brighter. Human empathy does the rest.
Whenever the Princess fulfils one of her Virtues Transformation
roll Belief. On a success everyone who witnessed
the Princess takes the Inspired condition which The most essential expression of a Princess’ power
they may use on any roll to act in accordance with is the ability to transform. She calls on the magic
that Virtue. she’s gathered to herself and assumes the form of
However if the Princess has a clear opportunity her “perfected self”, an idealized version of herself
to fulfil her Virtue and chooses not to do so she unfettered by this world of sorrows. Although
must also roll Belief. If she fails the roll then she can only maintain this immense power for a
everyone nearby takes the Shaken Condition unless limited time, a transformed Princess is a force to
they Succeed on a Composure + Supernatural be reckoned with.

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 The first time a Princess transforms is called
her Blossoming. This is an unconscious act, Phylacteries
usually in response to some great need or danger.
Every Princess has a Phylactery, a physical item
After her Blossoming, a princess’ Phylactery will
that symbolises exactly what being a Princess
manifest. This is the physical representation of
means to her. A Phylactery is also the source
the power sealed away inside of her, and may take
of a Princesses power to Transform, she must
the form of any small simple object. She must
activate it, open it, apply it to herself, or at least
have her Phylactery with her later to transform.
touch it if she wishes to Transform, this limit
When a Princess wishes to transform, she has
affects anything described as a Transformation
two options: she may either spend a Wisp or
action. Many Phylacteries also Transform with
make a transformation roll. If she spends a Wisp,
the Princess, becoming larger and more ornate or
she transforms automatically as a reflexive action.
becoming the Regalia linked to a Charm strongly
The transformation roll is Belief + Inner Light -
associated with her duties (a Phylactery is simply
Shadows.
a specialised piece of Regalia and share most of
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ Phylactery their rules). The rest remain as they are, but are
discorporates. She must spend a Wisp and incorporated into her Heraldry.
a Willpower point to resummon it, which A Phylactery has a Durability equal to Inner
takes a full round and requires her absolute Light and a Structure equal to Belief, typically
concentration. it will have a Size of 0 - 2. If her Phylactery
is destroyed or lost, the Princess can recreate or
Failure: The Princess fails to transform and summon it. She must spend a Wisp, a point of
spends the full round. Willpower and concentrate for a full round.
Success: The Princess transforms as an instant If another was to steal a Princess’ Phylactery
action. they would be unable to use it, but they would be
Exceptional Success: The Princess transforms as able to target the Princess through an unbreakable
a reflexive action. Intimacy link with a strength equivalent to
love. Fortunately any technique that would cut
A Princess can return to her ordinary self at any the connection Princesses use to summon her
time as a reflexive action. She must de-transform if Phylactery would, by definition, destroy it.
she spends her last Wisp, or when she falls asleep. If
a Princess tries to Transform while her wisp pool is
empty she fails. Also, transformation grows harder
to sustain as time passes. When a Princess reaches
Dual Identity
the end of a scene transformed, or after half an hour
spent transformed, she rolls Belief + Inner Light: One aspect of the Hopeful’s transformation is
subtle but amazingly convenient: the mundane and
Dramatic Failure: The Princess returns to her Transformed selves always appear to be different
mundane self and her Phylactery discorporates. people. Even if the two identities look as similar as
She must spend a Wisp and a Willpower point Clark Kent and Superman differences in a Princess’
to resummon it, which takes a full round and posture and bearing, and powerful supernatural
requires her absolute concentration. protection, will make the very idea that they are the
Failure: The Princess must spend a Wisp to same person laughable. A simple perception roll
remain transformed in the next scene, or the next never reveals a Noble’s two identities are connected,
half-hour, and future rolls to remain transformed nor can a simple subterfuge or empathy roll uncover
take a -2 cumulative penalty until she ends a the Princess’ deception when she claims to have
scene in her mundane self. only one identity.
Learning a Princess’ secret identity requires
Success: The Princess remains transformed at no iron clad proof, such as witnessing the Princess
cost. Transform with your own eyes. If the proof
Exceptional Success: The Princess remains is solid but not iron clad, such as finding the
transformed, and need not make this check at Princess mundane identification in her Transformed
the end of the next scene, or for a full hour. self’s possession, the character may make a roll to
uncover her identity there and then. Usually this is
While transformed, a Princess has full access to a Contested Wits + Empathy vs Manipulation +
all of her Charms and abilities. Subterfuge roll as the Princess makes her excuses.

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 The investigator rolls Dramatic Failure: The progressing: People that the Princess helped in
investigator dismisses his evidence entirely, and the past warn her about people asking suspicious
takes the Incredulous Condition making future questions. A surprising amount of vans are parked
attempts to identify that Princess even harder. near areas the Princess is known to frequent in
The Princess wins the roll: The investigator fails her Transformed identity. The Princess’ mundane
penetrate the Princess’ dual identity. But gains identity might even be interviewed as a potential
a Clue that will help in future investigations. witness. If nothing else makes sense one of the
players could have a prophetic dream warning her
The investigator wins the roll: The investigator that she’s under investigation. This gives the
he identifies the Princess correctly. players a chance to cover up their tracks, or if they
The investigator wins with an Exceptional can’t remove the clues, at least do something to
Success: The investigator also takes the Informed throw doubt upon them.
Condition regarding the Princess. A careful balance must be struck. Players should
not be able to play fast and loose with their secrecy
If the Princess rolls an Exceptional Success identity and then cover everything up at the last
downgrade her rivals result by one step: moment. But at the same time friends, family, and
Exceptional Successes becomes Successes, having a mundane life are thematically important
Successes becomes Failures and Failures become to Princess, so if the friends or connections of a
Dramatic Failures. On the other hand if the Princess’ mundane identity are harmed the players
Princess rolls a Dramatic Failure then upgrade should always think “this is fair, this happened
the witness’ result by one step. because I screwed up.” That said if the players
If the investigator doesn’t have a smoking gun befriend a someone with supernatural traits in their
the only other way to uncover the Princess’ identity mundane identity then that character will naturally
is to undertake a full investigation which requires remain exposed to the occult world and it’s dangers.
at least five Clues to uncover the truth. More if Even beacons, who cannot hide their Light like
the Princess has the Veiling Merit. A Princess an unTransformed Princess, can find themselves
should be careful because just as her enemies might targeted by the Darkness.
investigate her Transformed Identity in the hope Storytellers could consider tracking major
of finding out her secret, worried friends, truant blunders like talking about your school while
officers, or a Princess’ mundane enemies might Transformed separately from minor events like
instigate to find out where her mundane identity regularly sneaking off to the bathroom to
keeps disappearing off too. Transform, and using the first for serious threats
If the players are investigating a Noble and the latter as a justification to introduce low
antagonist they can use the rules for investigations threat antagonists like snooping mortal youtube
as written (Chronicle of Darkness p79). Unless they journalists for players to bamboozle or persuade.
are distracted or dissuaded from continuing they For serious threats a storyteller might consider
will eventually succeed. The question is how long withholding second chances if a player repeats a
it takes and what dramatic complications they face mistake that already caused them trouble, reducing
on the way and as a result. But if the Princesses the amount of breathing room players have to cover
are the ones being investigated some tweaks will be up old mistakes as the story progresses, or being
needed: For player characters every Clue should be especially harsh on mistakes made during an active
directly linked to a mistake they made on screen. investigation.
If the Princess sneaks away to the bathroom just Supernatural powers that could reveal a Princess’
before her Transformed identity enters the room identity are also blocked by the innate protections
one too many times that could create a Clue. If guarding a Noble’s Dual Identities. Introducing
she makes a call on her cell phone from somewhere an antagonist who’s powers could discover and
her mundane identity has absolutely no business attack the Princess’ mundane family without any
being but her Transformed identity is known to mistake on her part will hardly qualify as a fair
have visited that’s a Clue. If she leaves some of her game. Any supernatural power that would outright
mundane identification behind while Transformed reveal the Princess’ identity will fail: Reading a
that is definitely a Clue. Princess’ mind will not reveal her secret or directly
Unless the players have gotten extremely careless uncover Clues, though it might provide leads to
Storyteller’s should avoid having a supernatural investigate. Abilities that detect the presence of
antagonist follow the Princess back to her mundane the supernatural, such as the Charm Reflected
life. Instead as the Princesses create more Light, will not detect a Princess in her mundane
Clues you should show signs of the investigation identity (which is unsurprising, without an external

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source of power like a Bequest or a Queen an
unTransformed Princess only has her Echo, which Modified Merits
is barely magical at all). Even abilities that
specifically detect the presence of Light fail. An
unTransformed Princess converts a little of her Mentor (•- •••••)
Light into her Echo and hides the rest safely in
her Transformed self until it is time to use it. The The Mentor Merit detailed in the World of
storyteller may consider relaxing this protection if Darkness Rulebook focuses on relations within
the players are investigating a Princess, but not mortal or supernatural society. While both of
playing them. those can be of great help to a Princess, a further
However supernatural abilities can certainly option is available to a lucky few Princesses:
assist in an investigation. Reading the minds of Personal mentorship from their Queen. Even
witnesses is more effective than interviewing them. though a Queen cannot leave the Dreamlands, she
Money the Princess handled in both identities still has such a wealth of power and experience
could reveal a Clue under Psychometry. If a that she would be far beyond a five dot Mentor.
Princess covers her house with magical defences and However the Queens have many obligations that
someone else can sense that magic that is probably demand their time besides tutoring a Princess.
enough to earn a roll to identify the Princess there Therefore when applied to a Queen the Mentor
and then. An ability that detects the active use of Merit represents not her skill (rather than three
magic could catch an unTransformed Princess using skills, Queens can be assumed to have every skill.
Practical Magic. Even the Queen of Clubs has the raw intellect and
magic to master computer programming in an hour
or so if she was ever given a reason), but how much
Dual Identity and Intimacy of her attention she will bestow upon the character.
As a general rule you may assume that for each
When targeting magic against a Princess Intimacy Dot in Mentor you get at least one chance to talk
or similar traits such as Sympathy or True Names with your Queen per Session. A chat can be just a
that connect to one of the Princess’ forms does few moments before the throne, but at high dots it
not connect to her in the other form. Even if the can be significantly longer. After a consulting with
Princess uses the same name in both identities, your Queen you either gain the Advised condition
there’s a lot of people called John Smith and they or more direct clues about what you should be
all have a unique True Name. However if a Princess doing next.
interacts with the same person in both forms her When portraying the Queens the Storyteller
Intimacy can quickly reach parity in both identities, should always remember that they have had
after all her feelings are (usually) similar in both no contact with earth for millennia and are
identities. Even for those who know her secret, consequently out of touch. Therefore no matter
a Princess is still two versions of the same person how many dots a Princess has in Mentor and no
rather than one person who uses a disguise. If a matter how important it is; the Queen of Hearts
power is currently targeting a Princess through a cannot reveal to her followers the innermost secrets
Intimacy connection, Transforming automatically of the Chinese political system. Instead she can
causes it to loose track of her. teach the Princess how to discover such secrets
herself.
A Princess must follow a Queen before she can
place dots in Mentor in a Queen. Neither Storms
Practical Magic nor Mirrors will serve as Mentors. A follower of The
Queen of Tears cannot place more than three dots
In addition to the immense power each Princess of Mentor into her Queen. The Queen of Tear’s
wields in her Transformed identity, the Nobility can kingdom is under siege and conforms to the normal
also wield Practical Magic. A subtle magic that she rules of time, she just does not have enough time
can call upon in both her Identities. Which abilities to spare.
a Princess possesses depends upon which Queen Zero dots: As a Princess you are always welcome
she follows and the details can be found under the to attend court, but unless you have important
relevant Queens. business your Queen will focus her attentions
on those who do. When the players have an
emergency they can usually get a chance to explain
and some advice. The amount of time received

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depends on how serious the emergency is, and or travel with Shikigami.
whether the Princess should be able to handle it For a Beacon or Sworn, their magical abilities
or needs significant help. Remember that both of are basic add a single additional Dot to their
these are opinions and two Queens might see the effectiveness, and merit cost, as a Retainer, this
same situation differently. The Queen of Swords remains true even when one person wields both the
considers loosing a boyfriend as roughly equivalent magic of a Beacon and a Sworn.
to a small crisis. Even her own followers often think Shikigami who work side by side with or for a
that’s taking things too far. Princess can also be represented by the Retainer
With one dot a Princess can usually get the Merit. Since the typical Shikigami is a person of
occasional snatch of time whenever there is a lull note in the Dreaming Kingdoms and has access to
in court proceedings. Enough time to talk about magic they’re rarely worth less than four dots as
recent events or ask questions and get a brief bit of a retainer. As a special rule a Nakama can split
advice. the cost of a Shikigami between them, after all
At three dots the Queen often has your name one of a Shikigami’s most useful abilities is serve
in the royal itinerary for time with you alone, or as a magical relay between all the Princesses it is
perhaps group sessions with your Nakama. You bonded with. Shikigami who come and go as they
have the opportunity to talk at length about your please or who laze around the Princess’ home and
progress in the war of hope and receive private dispense advice or clues to drive the plot forward
tutoring. You also know what your queen is like in-between binging on cakes and MMORPGs do not
when she has an opportunity to take off her crown, need to be represented by a Merit.
so to speak. Generally speaking a Princess with
three dots of Mentor has something special about
her that caught her Queen’s eye. Something the
Queen is especially keen to nurture. She may be
Sympathetic (•)
the only Onceborn in the Court or have the largest Princesses are good, perhaps too good, at letting
following among the Queen’s court. Perhaps she others get close. The Sympathetic Merit can be
was someone the Queen respected in a past life brought by Princesses for only one dot.
or maybe the Princess works full time as one of
the Queen’s agents upon Earth and must report in
often (This can be especially helpful for beginner
players as it both justifies clear goals for the
Taste (•)
character and advice from the Storyteller). A Princess’ Transformed self, and the Regalia she
At five dots the Princess is spending at least wears are the innermost expression of who she
an hour or so with the Queen most nights, and wishes to be. This expression is influenced by her
if they don’t show up the Queen may even get culture, this is why Princesses in Europe who wish
worried and send one of her other followers to to be “pure” often have white as a prominent motif
check on the Princess. This level of attention is in their Regalia, while Princesses in much of Asia
exceptionally rare and Characters who have five often wear white if they wish to work with ghosts.
dots are either vital to the Queen’s agenda or When used to study Regalia the usual questions
have an exceptionally strong personal connection. answered the Taste Merit can be asked about the
Perhaps the Queen believes the Princess might Princess herself. On an Exceptional Success gain
become a Queen herself and has dedicated herself the Informed Condition, applying to the Princess’
to making sure it happens. The Princess may self identity.
be the first Ambassador to a concept the Queen Drawback: Studying a person isn’t quite the
cares for greatly. Alternatively the Queen and same as studying an object, the Princess can
Princess might have an immense personal bond of contest the roll with Manipulation + Subterfuge to
friendship, or maybe the character is the Queen’s cloud the issue. If the Princess disguises her regalia
consort (though this is usually only an option for with magic the benefits of Taste are no greater than
followers of Swords). when studying the fashion of any other disguise.

Retainer (•+) Virtuous

While Princesses have as much benefit from a Being virtuous is a prerequisite for Blossoming,
normal human retainer as anyone else they may consequentially a second Virtue is part of the
also seek out Beacons, accept the fealty of Sworn,

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Princess template without requiring a Merit and
thus a Princess may not take the Virtuous Merit.
Transformed Merits
Sometimes a Princess has a merit which only
Noble Merits applies in her Transformed identity. Her
perfected self may be significantly prettier
than her mundane self (that’s a common
The Hopeful may buy Merits with Attribute one), she may transform into a tougher
or Skill prerequisites that they only meet when person. Alternatively a Princess may live
transformed. If they do so, they only gain off the grid in her mundane identity but
the benefit of the Merit in question while in have achieved fame for her exploits in
their transformed identity. You may convert her Transformed identity. Every time a
transformed dots to mundane dots unlocks Merits player buys a Merit she can declare it only
with prerequisites in the mundane identity if the applies to one identity and take a Beat.
character’s new mundane traits are high enough to Transformed Attributes and Skills count
support the Merit. towards any Prerequisites, but only in the
Below are new Merits related to the Princesses. Transformed identity of course.
Unless otherwise noted, all these Merits are If the Princess puts in some effort most
reserved to the Hopeful. merits can be expanded to cover both
identities. A Princess who is Fleet of Foot
in her Transformed body could train herself
Circle (• - •••••) at running in her mundane body. This costs
nothing more than repaying any Beats given
The human mind was not designed for large for taking a Transformed Merit.
numbers. When the suffering of millions feels This only applies to merits that are
incomprehensible, you can turn to the small every part of the character. Resources, Contacts,
day problems and triumphs of friends and family and any merit that represents something
to remind yourself what you are fighting for. external to the Princess do not provide
The Circle Merit represents healthy relationships Beats. They are assumed to belong to
between a Princess and her family, close friends, or one identity by default, unless the Princess
mentors, who are ordinary mortals (at most they wants her Contacts to know about both her
may have supernatural merits like Psychokinesis, identities.
Beacons qualify too.) The more dots a Princess
has, the more or the stronger these relationships
are and the healthier her social life is. Describe the
people your character is intimate with when you
buy dots in Circle.
Emotional Intuition (•••)
Once per day a Princess with this Merit can People are always being told to follow their heart,
spends an hour socialising with her Circle and and when your emotions are the source of magical
regain up to (Circle * 2) - Shadows Wisps. She powers following your heart can lead you right.
doesn’t have to speak to every friend she has in an Once per chapter you may ask the storyteller one
hour, like most people she probably sees different of the following questions. Roll Belief, on a Success
friends or family members at different times. the storyteller answers truthfully. On a failure
Friends and family are good for more than you get no answer. An Exceptional Success lets
Wisps, they also provide a support network which you ask a second question. If a character has
provides pervasive modifiers to Compromise rolls. been attempting to deceive the Princess they get
A Princess with two dots of Circle gets +1 to all a roll to contest any questions asked about them.
Compromise rolls, at four dots the bonus increases Even if they are not present they can contest,
to +2, however a Princess with no Circle has a -1 the defensive roll represents any false impressions
penalty to all Compromise rolls. the Princess retains from past deceptions. The
Drawback: Friendships require investment, Storyteller should roll the target’s Manipulation +
family is more forgiving but even a family Subterfuge in secret. If the target wins the answer
relationship can grow distant. If a Princess goes a is what they would want the Princess to think.
significant amount of time without socialising with
her Circle she may loose dots. • How will this character react to this action?

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 • How does this character feel about this thing?
Palace Veiling (• to •••)
• How does this character feel about that
Something odd happens to some Palaces, when its
person?
mistress deliberately associates her domicile with
• What is this character hoping to achieve? her mundane self and avoids associating it with
her Transformed self. The effects of her Dual
• Can I trust this character? Identity seeps into her home, preventing others
from connecting it to her Transformed Identity.
Each dot assigned to Palace Veiling provides a -
Iaijutsu Kensai (••) 1 penalty to any attempt to find the location of
the Palace when searching for the home of it’s
You have learned to use Transformation itself as mistresses’ Transformed Identity. Searching for her
a weapon, manifesting your Regalia mid-motion to Mundane Identity’s home has no penalty. Anyone
catch your foes by surprise. Whenever your Kensai inside the home suffers the same penalty to notice
weapon is not manifested and you Transform any evidence of the Princess’ identity. This is not
reflexively you may roll Wits + Brawl or Weaponry infallible, a -3 penalty is not enough for her to
vs Wits + Brawl or Weaponry. If you win you greet guests in full Regalia and though she might
may make an attack using your Kensai weapon that get away with leaving her magic wand on her desk,
bypasses your opponent’s Defence. don’t risk it.
A character who witnesses you using Iaijutsu Charms that take advantage of the Palace’s
Kensai is immune to it for the remainder of the innate Consecration enjoy an even greater
scene. protection as though they were protected by the
Grey Masquerade Charm. Passive supernatural
abilities such as the Charm Reflected Light
Onceborn (••) automatically fail while active abilities such as
the Charm A Magical Girls Eyes must beat you in
Available at character creation only. a Clash of Wills to notice any Charms that take
A reincarnated Princess is sure to Blossom sooner advantage of your Palace’s Consecrated Condition.
or later, and usually sooner. For anyone else You add your dots in Palace Veiling to the Clash
the requirements are much stricter and yet you of Wills.
qualified. You were born with a noble heart, you Finally a Veiling also serves to protect those
lived a life that pushed you to achieve ever greater inside from hostile scrying, penalising all attempts
heights, and you reached the Light itself. to scry into the affected area by the dots in this
Your lifetime of experience means your Belief Merit. This does not stack with any other Merits
begins at 8, not 7. that penalize scrying – apply the larger penalty if
a character with such a Merit scrys upon a veiled
Drawback: You have no experience from past lives Palace.
to call upon. Palace Veiling has no effect on anyone who
already knows both the Princess’ two identities and
has connected them to each other.
Palace (•)
There is a difference between a house and a
home. A Palace is not a place to live, though
Royal Tongue (•)
a Princess may live in one. A Palace is a place Prerequisite: Sworn or Hopeful. It might be
with such an intimate emotional connection to a possible for other supernatural creatures to find
Princess that her magic works better there than a way to mimic its effects, but that would require
anywhere else. A Palace automatically has the the active use of powers (such as the Mind Arcanum
Consecrated Condition, which lasts indefinitely or a Majesty Devotion), and so they cannot learn
just so long as the Princess’ emotional connection the Merit.
remains strong. Any additional benefits of a Palace
may be represented by Merits such as Safe Place or You know how to speak the Royal Tongue. You can
Gallery, or as Equipment. use it to enhance your Charms.
As languages go the Royal Tongue is unique,
it is quite possibly the densest language there is.
Meaning is conveyed not just by words but also

94
tone and the placement of stresses, two different
words could be completely identical except for Second Calling (••)
where it’s grammatically acceptable to use them. A
Available at character creation only.
monosyllabic prefix or suffix can completely change
a word within it’s conceptual space; the Royal
Your character feels two Callings in her Heart.
Tongue has over a thousand words for friend, (and
Choose a second Calling for her; she may recover
just as many for lover or sister or brother) each
Wisps from that Calling just as well as first, and
defines the exact details of the relationship and not
she may follow Dreams from either Calling.
only do they all come from the same root word,
She does not gain an extra transformed Attribute
they all sound like that root word.
dot or affinity to any Charms from her second
The hardest thing to do with the Royal Tongue
Calling.
is speak a straight sentence. Between the
grammatical rules and the enormous amount of
Drawback: Your character is bound by the Oaths
information in every word a simple sentence like
of her second Calling, just as much as those of her
“thank you for helping” would, if translated into
first - both sets of Oaths are breaking points for
English, look like two paragraphs of flowery purple
her.
prose about the inherent virtue of teamwork. When
asked how such a language came about the Queen
of Hearts implied that it was deliberate, the Queen
of Spades burst into laughter and the Queen of Tomoyo's Touch (•)
Diamonds (who’s fluent in, and prefers, most
Your character is unusually adept at manipulating
Earthly languages) gave a put upon sigh.
her Regalia. When a Charm that creates Regalia
Mortals can hear the the Royal Tongue but
specifies that it’s parameters may be modified by
they cannot understand it. Many Princesses swear
a Transformation action your character can make
blind that the Royal Tongue uses magic as well
those modifications, as well as switch which of
as sound waves as a carrier to pack even more
that Charm’s Upgrades are active, as a Reflexive
information into each word. The cost of this
action without needing to spend a Wisp or make a
is that only Princesses, Sworn and Beacons can
Transformation roll. She may do this once a turn,
learn to understand the Royal Tongue. Beacons
but when she does so she may affect as many pieces
can’t even speak it. To anyone else it sounds like
of regalia as she wishes.
someone singing in an unknown melodic language,
the emotional intent comes across clearly but the
words are incomprehensible. The Royal Tongue
can’t be recorded by mundane means either, a Troupe Magic (•)
Princess who hears a recording of the Royal Tongue
catches at best the occasional word, it sounds as Prerequisite: A Commonality of Dedicated.
though someone has removed 40% of the syllables
and all the grammar. This is considerably more Your character belongs to a performing Nakama
confusing than it would be in a normal language. who’ve learned to reinforce each other’s magic, as
The most useful aspect of the Royal Tongue well as their vocals. You may perform Inspire
is to enhance a Princess’ Charms (Though some Charms as a Teamwork action even with secondary
Troubadours insist it’s use in lyrics and poetry is actors who do not know the Charm providing the
more useful... Deep purple prose is an acquired secondary actors are part of your Nakama.
taste). If you spend a turn speaking the Royal
Tongue, declaring that you will use a Charm on
a target, and forcing the qualia, the experience and Unfinished Business (• - •••)
feeling of what you are about to do, into the musical
speech, your activation roll for the power gains the Something in your character’s past life still haunts
9-again quality. her, and when an opportunity to address the
Use of the Royal Tongue is a supernatural ability, issue arises (which usually means tracking down
and triggers the sense of individuals with Unseen the reincarnation of someone else involved) your
Senses related to Princesses or the Light. character’s past self may replace her current
personality for a short while. Once per Session,
while you are Transformed, you may elect to
have your character’s past self take over and
peruse her goal. You get two experience points

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per dot of this Merit to represent the skills
and abilities your presumably older and more Bequest (•+)
experienced incarnation knew at the moment she
Prerequisite: Princess, Beacon, Shikigami, or
died, you do not have to spend the experience the
Sworn
same way each time. If your past self causes a
Your character possesses an object that contains
significant hardship for your present self, take a
a Charm bound within. This might have come from
Beat.
within your own soul, to be granted to another
Princesses who manifest their past self this way
or used to boost your own powers, or might have
don’t manifest all of their former self. In behaviour
been obtained on a quest to the Dreamlands. Some
and attitude they are identical, but they are clearly
senior members of the Nobility (such that there are)
people outside their own time. They have trouble
make a habit of gifting trusted friends with them
forming emotional connections to present day
for, despite the cost, they can give a Princess access
people or situations, which is extremely unusual for
to powers that she might not otherwise be able to
a Noble, and relate to the world as though they were
reach.
just reading about it in a particularly dry history
Every Bequest, like the Princesses, has two
text book. They show a similar lack of concern
appearances: a mundane one from the vessel,
about the fact they are dead. Only something
and a glorious one from the Charm. And,
which relates to her unfinished business or her own
like the Princesses, a Bequest’s power can be
time can form an strong emotional reaction.
used only when the Bequest is transformed.
Not every Princess agrees with her past self and
Transforming a Bequest is somewhat more difficult
others simply don’t have the time. Some find
than transforming yourself; you can spend a
closure through therapy rather than a quest, and
Willpower point to do it reflexively (not a Wisp)
others seek inner peace through meditation or in
or make a transformation roll of your Belief
their Crawlspace.
(not Belief + Inner Light.) A Bequest, once
It is recommended that Characters with
transformed, remains so for 1 scene. You need not
Unfinished Business also take the White Rabbits
be transformed to transform or use a Bequest, and
Merit as that ability makes a great way to provide
you do not have to transform a Bequest yourself to
clues to her Unfinished Business and find situations
use it.
where you can bring out your character’s past self.
Any of the Hopeful, whether transformed or not,
If you resolve your unfinished business remove
may recognize a Bequest as such; she rolls her
the Merit and refund it’s cost.
Inner Light the first time she touches it in a scene.
Bequests also show up on an Unseen Sense for the
Light.
Veiling (• - •••) Bequests based on permanent Charms apply
their Charm’s effect to the person holding them
Some Hopeful’s perfected selves differ so much as long as they are transformed. Bequests based
from their mundane selves that they are excessively on activated Charms require the person holding
difficult to identify, even beyond the norm. A them to pay the Charm’s cost, and then apply
Princess with Veiling is one such; whenever an the Charm’s effect. If a Bequest is based on an
observer tries to connect her two identities, they upgraded Charm, every upgrade included in the
subtract Veiling from all rolls, and each dot of Charm applies every time the Bequest is used, and
Veiling adds an additional Clue as a requirement you must pay the upgrades’ cost in full – a Bequest,
to uncover her identity. unlike a Charm, is not flexible. If you have an
If a Princess has Veiling and Anonymity the two Invocation that’s compatible with the Bequest’s
merits have distinct roles. Anonymity makes it Charm, you may apply it when using the Bequest,
hard to find information about the Princess (or one with the same effect as it would have on the Charm.
of her identities). Once you have that information If the contained Charm’s effects very by Inner
Veiling makes it hard to connect it to her second Light, the user’s Inner Light applies as normal.
identity, or even realise she has two identities. Some Bequests simply cannot be used by anyone
without an Inner Light of their own (that is,
Princesses and Queens); This includes Bequests
Common Merits that contain the Charms: Bequeath, Accept Fealty
or Long May She Reign. Bequests containing an
Avatar Charm cannot be used by anyone who does
The following merits are available to both not have four dots in the related Invocation.
Princesses and mortals.

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 Many Bequests carry a pool of Wisps within
themselves, which their holders can spend to Entwined Destiny (•••)
activate them (but not for any other purpose.) The
You were bound to another before you were born,
capacity of the pool is 10 Wisps. To add Wisps to
and both events and your inmost will urge you
the pool, the Bequest’s owner has to carry out a
towards a specific role in his life. When you take
duty while the Bequest is on her person, roughly
this Merit, choose the nature of your relationship
equivalent to a duty of a Calling (and using the
with its subject – true love, rivalry, protection,
rules for them); the specific duty, and the dice
loyalty, and enmity are all possible, and if none
pool the owner rolls, are fixed at the Bequest’s
of these fit you may define your own, with the
making. A Princess cannot extract Wisps from
Storyteller’s approval. You may also choose the
a Bequest, without the Charm Charge and the
subject’s name and general nature, or leave that
upgrade Accepted. If the Bequest itself provides
up to the Storyteller to decide. Once a scene,
the Charm charge it can transfer it’s own wisps
whenever you succeed in a significant task that
freely, as well as wisps from the user’s pool.
plays into your destined role, you regain 1 point of
A Bequest’s base Merit dot cost is equal to the
Willpower. While there can be exceptions, nearly
level of the Charm (so, for example, Charge, a
all occurrences of an Entwined Destiny are mutual,
Govern 2 Charm, costs two dots), plus one dot per
if you are destined to be somebody’s rival they
upgrade, plus one dot if the Bequest has a Wisp
share an equal destiny to be your rival.
pool. For more details on Bequest creation, see the
Entwined Destiny cannot directly influence an
rules for the Bequeath charm.
person’s choices, but when you have this merit Fate
will attempt to nudge you in certain ways. For
example if you have an Entwined Destiny of love
Destiny (• - •••••) Fate cannot make you feel love. Instead Fate can
and will create coincidences where you and your
Your character’s fate is a thread of gold in a destined bump into each other in circumstances
tapestry of cloth. She may be fated to shake nations appropriate for heart to heart talks. If the destiny
or just change her own family but in the cosmic is natural it can also be assumed that your destined
scheme of things she matters, perhaps more than true love are compatible people, your destined ward
she will ever know, and the universe itself guides will need a protector, or similar.
her actions down a fated path. You gain one point Drawback: In any scene when you have an
of Destiny for every dot in this Merit, spent points opportunity to fulfil your destined role in dramatic
refresh at the start of every chapter. A point of action, and deliberately forgo it, you take a -2
Destiny can be spent before rolling to turn any penalty on all your actions until the scene ends. For
single mundane roll into a Rote Action, or to reroll example, if your destined rival challenges you, you
a single mundane action after you see the result of must accept; if you discover your destined enemy’s
the roll, the second result stands. plot, you must oppose it; if your destined ward is
When taking this Merit name your character’s in peril, you must rescue him.
destiny, the storyteller may veto anything that
doesn’t fit the story. If your character successfully
achieves her Destiny remove and refund this merit.
Gallery (• - •••)
Drawback: Your character’s success is not
Humans are social creatures and Princesses even
guaranteed. Every fate has a escape clause, a way
more so. A Gallery is a set up designed to
that it might be prevented. This is the destiny’s
help with anything from dinner parties to theatre
Doom. A person, object, situation or even a
shows. Each Gallery covers one Speciality. When
concept that can drag your character into a horrible
performing any Expression, Persuasion or Socialise
fate. It either kills her, or leaves her alive and
action which fits under a Gallery’s speciality the
suffering. If the Princess doesn’t like her destiny
Princess gets a bonus equal to the dots, so long as
the Doom should be even worse. (See the Fate
she inside the Gallery at the time.
optional rule [CofD 177] for examples of Dooms.)
Example. Princess Gwendolyn of Hearts wants
Mechanically if your Doom is active in the
the mayor to invest more in the town’s cultural
current scene you cannot spend points of Destiny.
heritage. Gwendolyn has Gallery (•• Dinner
Beyond that it is up to the Storyteller to ensure that
Parties) and has invited the mayor to discuss
conflicts involving the Doom are climatic moments
her proposals over a meal. She gains +2 to all
with high stakes for failure.
Persuasion rolls during the evening.

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Locus of Destiny (•••••) and even more frequent among their Transformed
Selves. Maintaining awareness in the Dreamlands,
a universal ability for Princesses, is not much
Prerequisite: Destiny.
different from remaining aware in a regular dream.
Your character’s destiny is so potent that fate
When only the Transformed self is a lucid dreamer
will not leave it to you alone. For every dot in
it is the Princess’ Transformation within the dream,
Destiny you gain one free instance of the Entwined
not her physical body, which applies. This means
Destiny Merit, if you gain more dots of Destiny
that a Princess who is attacked in her dream and
new companions or rivals will soon show up. The
instinctively transforms achieves lucidity.
player and the Storyteller should work together to
While asleep a lucid dreaming Nobel uses
decide how the various other characters fit into
Belief instead of Integrity, though most use their
your character’s destiny. Your destined mentor or
Charms instead as they are often significantly more
mentors could train you for the task ahead, while in
powerful.
a cruel twist of fate your destined rival could even
be your destiny’s Doom; forcing your character to
overcome your fate in order to fulfil it.
Drawback: Your Destiny is especially hard to Mandate (• - •••)
resist and with fate offering temptations even your
closest companions can be surprisingly pushy or Prerequisite: Princess or possession of a Bequest
even unsympathetic if you act against your fate. with a duty.
At any time your character is trying to avoid
their fate all characters who you have an Entwined Every Calling has it’s Sacred Oaths, the means by
Destiny with switch their destined role to “getting which a Princess feels is her duty to help the world.
you back on track”. Though they will do so in The Mandate Merit represents not an emotional
a manner that befits their personality, and thus connection to one’s Calling, but a practical ability
probably their original role. When the character is to fulfil it. Any Grace could take it upon herself to
once again moving towards their destiny everyone’s help the local bully apologise and make amends but
destined role returns to normal. As always Fate she’ll only come across so many bullies in a month.
cannot actually force your character’s companions A Grace who works as a relationship councillor,
to turn upon you, but there is a world full of she’ll be seeing clients every day. A Champion
potential destined companions and Fate has a habit could work on the police force, a Troubadour could
of picking ones who’ll stick to the path. have a popular blog where she posts poetry.
Your character’s destined companions will not Whenever a Princess rolls to regain Wisps
intentionally push you towards your Fate’s Doom. through Voluntary Work a successful roll grants an
However their attempts to push you towards the additional Wisp per dot of Mandate.
destiny’s conclusion may throw you into the path Drawback: A lot of Mandates are
of the Doom. Their role is to keep you on track, responsibilities as well as opportunities. A Mender
regardless of whether your doom is planted right in who’s parents own an animal rescue centre can
the middle of the tracks or miles off to the side. leave the animals in her parent’s hands while she
goes of to deal with some Darkspawn. A Mender
working as a Doctor at the local hospital will be in
Lucid Dreamer (••) trouble if she doesn’t put in her hours. Generally
Mandates without responsibilities tend to be worth
few dots.
Your character is aware of when she is dreaming
The Storyteller is encouraged to see a Mandate
and has the ability to act consciously within her
as a way to start interesting plots, not just a
own dreams. This is especially useful if someone
time sink that keeps players from the adventure.
else is inside your dreams, as it gives you the
Darkspawn victims could come into the hospital
ability to interact with and oppose intruders.
emergency ward. A police officer could assigned
While in their own Dreams a mortal can roll
and interesting case, mundane or supernatural. A
an appropriate Mental Attribute + Integrity to
blogger might meet a fellow blogger who reports on
perform any physical action imaginable. Whether
supernatural events.
that’s imagining a gun and shooting an intruder
with it or imagining the entire dream flooded with
lava. A success is a success, dream guns and lava
are equally powerful barring special circumstances. Regal Bearing (• to •••••, Style)
Lucid Dreaming is common among Nobility,
Prerequisites: Composure 3 Socialise 3.

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 Your character carries herself with an air of
sophistication and grace. Whether she rubs Poplulist Rhetoric (• to •••••, Style)
shoulders with European royalty or commands
Prerequisites: Presence 3 Manipulation 3.
respect by walking through the door of an inner
Your character has been trained in making
city church in Sunday best there’s no denying she
friends and influencing people. She might be a
is noble.
politician or a cult leader, even if she is not she
Figure of Authority (•) Your character was
sees words as tools to make people do what she
born to authority and wields it well, whenever she
wills. Such power can be used for both good or ill.
adds Status to the dice pool of a mundane action
Anecdote (•) Your character brings up a
she gains an additional die.
heartwrenching story. Arguing against her is like
Effortless Elegance (••) Your character
arguing against little orphan Annie. Roll Presence
knows every unwritten rule of manners and
+ Expression vs Composure + Expression, on a
never misses a beat. In a formal situation
Success your target has a -2 to social rolls against
Socialise specialities also provide their full bonus
you on this topic for the rest of the scene.
to Composure rolls within the speciality’s domain,
Polispeek (••) Your character can talk at
so long at the roll is mundane and not supernatural.
length while saying nothing. By spouting a
If the roll is Composure + Socialise the Speciality
never ending stream of ambiguous statements and
applies twice.
platitudes you can dodge questions while appearing
Stiff Upper Lip (•••) A gentleman is not
to give answers. When someone is debating against
a fancy suit and elocution lessons, a gentleman is
you, you may reflexively forgo your action for a
a way of life and your character lives this truth.
turn to subtract twice your manipulation from your
At any time you can spend a point of Willpower
opponents Persuasion or Expression rolls. This
to lesson the effects of a Condition representing
works best at stalling for time or when you can’t
a mundane mental or emotional effect upon your
win a debate and hope to simply minimise the scale
character. For the remainder of the scene any dice
of your loss.
penalties that Condition applies to Social rolls is
Catch phrases (•••) People are naturally
reduced by Composure. This Merit cannot affect
tribal and like a social chameleon your character
Conditions representing a supernatural or physical
can fit in anywhere by spouting catchphrases and
effect (such as wound penalties or intoxication).
speaking with the correct lingo. Once per scene
Dry Wit (••••) Whether your character
you may spend a point of Willpower and gain a
looks down her nose at the help or reminds the
bonus equal to half her Subterfuge to all social rolls
room that an old family name does not make a
with a certain group. This cannot be done if the
pompous buffoon into a gentleman; she does with
target group has Prerequisites your character does
such grace and subtlety that nobody can accuse
not meet, an adult could not join a teenager only
her of impropriety without desecrating their own
group for example. Using this technique is not
dignity. Any attempt to tarnish your character’s
declaring loyalty to a group, in fact it’s probably
reputation based on her words, but not her deeds,
best to avoid doing so, but if she’s good people will
takes a penalty equal to her Expression. This does
naturally feel more comfortable around her.
not apply when her words provide evidence of her
Drawback: By getting in with a group your
deeds.
character is placing herself outside other groups.
Manners Maketh Man (•••••) Your
She gains an equal penalty to those who dislike
character radiates authority and poise, she is a
the group, for example if she creates a bonus with
pillar of strength in times of chaos. Whenever
Republicans she’ll take a penalty while talking to
your character begins Social Manoeuvring with
Democrats for the rest of the scene.
a character who is not opposed to them
Encouragement (••••) Your character
and currently has a non-Persistent Condition
can convince people to associate what they
representing a mundane mental or emotional effect
like about themselves with herself. You try
they automatically open a number of doors equal
to treat all people politely, that’s not because
to half your character’s Composure, rounding
you’re a good person. That’s because you’re a
up. This Merit provides no benefit when the
Christian/Liberal/Humanist/Feminist/Conservative.
target is suffering from Conditions representing
You can apply a variant of the Inspired Condition
supernatural or physical effect (such as wound
to your listeners, it may only be Resolved on actions
penalties or intoxication).
in line with their Virtue but when it is resolved you
open a door.
Rally (•••••) Your character can call play

99
the crowd like a fiddle, alienating and isolating herfetch books. Internet access is worth +1, unless you
opponent. Both your character and her opponent have a Library of bookmarks to hand.
pick a social merit that gives you influence over Just the Facts (•••): A quick tongue doesn’t
people (Usually: Allies, Fame, Mystery Cult matter, for the facts speak for themselves. You may
Initiation, or Status though others may be aloud. fall back to established facts, allowing you reroll
The people represented by that merit must be one failed social roll per scene providing it is on a
present, be they in the audience, waving placards scientific or academic topic.
outside or posting comments on the blog with the Burden of Proof (••••): You stand your
debate). Roll Presence + Persuasion + Merit Dots. ground and insist debate will be decided on the
For every (Targets Composure + Merit dots - your facts. Make a contested Manipulation + Persuasion
successes) rolls the target must spend one point of roll (or a Presence + Expression roll when debating
Willpower to keep going in the face of such hostility.
in front of an audience). If you win you and
This does not count as the target’s one willpower your opponent must use an appropriate mental
per turn. skill (such as Science or Medicine for a debate on
evolution) in place of social skills for rolls connected
Example: Gwenaëlle is a columnist having a to that debate.
public debate about obesity with Desmond, the Scepticism (•••••): There is a reason
director of public relations in a greedy fast food reproducibility is one of the principles of the
chain. Gwenaëlle rolls Presence + Persuasion scientific method. After a social encounter has
+ her Status in the newspaper to fill her next opened one of your Doors you can take the time
column with catch phrases that sound a call to to double check the other guy’s claims. Is that
arms. She gains four successes. Desmond has a salesman’s product really the best in it’s field?
Composure of 3 and chooses to play his Status 4 Make an extended research roll with a target
in the corporation, getting subordinates to ghost equal to the dice pool used to the door. If you
write and give him some emotional distance. succeed that door closes again. You may only ever
Every third roll Desmond loses a willpower as use this maneuver once for any door and it fails
his corporate blog is hammered with aggressive automatically if the claim you are investigating
comments by Gwenaëlle’s supporters. turns out to be true or is too subjective to be true
or false.

Scientific Rhetoric (• to •••••, Style)

Prerequisites: Intelligence 2, Academics or
Spiritual Temperance (• to •••••, Style)
Science at 3 or at 2 with a speciality in academic Prerequisites: Composure 3, Academics 2 or with
methodology or practices. a speciality in an appropriate school of thought.
For your character a debate isn’t about winning Your character is attuned to the spiritual side
or convincing others, it’s about spreading the truth. of the world. She may be a Buddhist monk, a
Scientific Rhetoric works best against the open Christian monk, or simply read a lot of paperback
minded, even if your character loses the debate she philosophy. Her spiritual attunement helps him
learns something. above the temptations of everyday life. Spiritual
First Principles (•): Quantum nonsense, Temperance excels at resisting persuasion, it is least
pyramid power, “I’m not a doctor but I play one effective when directness is a virtue and against
on TV”. People have been using scientific lingo those who cannot understand it’s hidden meanings.
to promote rubbish for years, to a real scientist Unclouded Eyes (•): Like the fool your
it usually sounds ridiculous. As a reflexive action character favours the simple explanation. She plays
you may inflict a -1 penalty on anyone making an little attention to distractions or complex word
argument based on science or academics (the fields, games. Ironically this makes her exceptionally hard
not the skills). This does not work if their science to fool, all subterfuge rolls against your character
is sound, assume that a speciality or three dots in take a -1 penalty.
a relevant skill confers immunity. Less for basic Cessation of desire (••): By focusing on
topics. the spiritual your character has freed herself from
Citation (••): You don’t need to prove your temptations. Mundane social rolls gain no benefit
point, just point to someone else who has already from tempting her with her vice.
proved it for you. You may apply the Library Drawback: No vice means no Willpower. They
merit to social rolls, provided you have access to player may choose for their character to indulge in
your Library and your conversation partner lets you

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their Vice but then the provider gains the usual or some other painful medium. The exception is
bonuses. if you are currently in your Transformed Identity,
Mediation (•••): Your character speaks a Princess’ magical body is better able to regulate
peace to the world. So long as she gives her full supernatural senses.
attention to mediating a conversation all characters
treat their impression as one level higher. As soon
as your character stops the impressions return to
their usual level. Example: two people with an
White Rabbits (• - •••••)
average impression can roll to open doors once per Prerequisites: The ability to travel to the
day, providing that each roll was made while your Dreamlands.
character is mediating.
Drawback: Your character cannot use Your Character has an especially strong connection
mediation when she wants to open a door herself. to the Dreamlands; when she sleeps she is called to
Koan (••••): Your charter tells a short story witness prophecies and portents applicable to her
or gives a riddle with layers upon layers of hidden life and her goals. When her character sleeps for
meaning and a kernel of wisdom hidden at it’s long enough to reach REM sleep, the player can
core. Roll Expression + the target’s Wits. On a declare that her character witnesses a prophecy in
Success the target gains the Informed Condition, the Dreamlands or relieves a memory that contains
however when they resolve the Condition open a relevant clues to the current story. Then, ask the
door. Understanding and following your koan is Storyteller one or more yes or no questions about
another step along your path. her character’s life, surroundings, a task at hand,
Inner Peace (•••••): Your character has or the world at large. The Storyteller must answer
risen above desire, she could live comfortably on these questions truthfully. Every Session the player
nothing but rice and water. This lack of desire may ask one question per dot in this Merit, they
makes it incredibly hard to push her into anything. may use all the questions at once or split them over
In any social roll where your character’s only goal several nights.
is to resist she may roll add Integrity (or Belief) to
her dice pool.

Mortal Merits
Taint Awareness (••) The following merits are only available to Mortals.
Prerequisites: Beacon, Sworn, Shikigami or
Hopeful.

Your character’s sensitivity to corruption from the

Dedication (• - •••••)
Darkness is so finely tuned that she can perceive Prerequisite: Sworn or Shikigami
it from miles away. Whenever a creature of the
Darkness enters our world from the Dark World, A Princess’ Light shines forth into the world
or the size or Severity of a Tainted area increases and those Sworn to her service reflect that
within Inner Light miles of your character (1 light becoming brighter themselves. Dedication
mile for a Beacon or Sworn) she is instantly and represents one Princess who the Sworn respects and
unambiguously aware of it. She may roll Wits + follows, or one Princess a Shikigami advises. The
Sensitivity to acquire a sense of the direction and Merit’s rating reflects the scale of that intimacy.
rough distance to the Tainted area or the place When the character spends time with the
where the creature crossed over. Princess (or a Queen), either socialising or assisting
Some character’s are especially sensitive, with her duties, he may roll Empathy + Dedication
however these lucky or unlucky people have senses once per scene or once per hour during downtime.
so refined that it is painful to feel an intrusion. You Each success grants one Wisp, no more than two
may, for the same Merit Dots, opt to have your times Dedication Wisps can be gained in one day.
character sense Taint or intrusions within Inner If the Sworn is Dedicated to a Princess of the same
Light * 3 miles and gain a +3 bonus to determining court and assists her in a task that fits the court’s
the location and distance. If you do so you take philosophies then providing he got a single success
the moderate version of the Sick Condition for one on the roll he gains a bonus Wisp, this can take
scene as you sense the Taint through a medium of him to a maximum of 2 * Dedication + 1 Wisps
nasuia, headaches, uncomfortable periods, cramps per day.

101
 A Sworn may buy this merit multiple times for you apply the Rote Action rule. The three dot
Dedication to multiple Princesses. The daily limit version of this Merit applies to an entire Clique or
applies to each Princess independently, however Nakama.
only one roll may be made per scene or hour. Players who wish for their character to have a
NPC secret keeper should invest in the True Friend
Merit.
Dream Travel (• or •••)
Prerequisite: Not supernatural
Blessed Places
Your character has psychic powers, specifically
he can project his mind into the Dreamlands. HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET
For the most part this uses the same rules as EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE
Princesses, spending Willpower instead of Wisps MOON JULY 1969, A.D. WE CAME IN
where appropriate. See the dreamlands appendix PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND
for more details.
There may be some small differences, some The classroom of an inspirational teacher. A
psychics might prefer to use meditation or humble yet gifted artist’s studio. The best, hardest
concentration instead of REM sleep and so working hospital in town and the underfunded free
gain different situational bonuses to reaching the clinic opening against the odds in the most deprived
Dreamlands. The only significant difference is that area. A truly welcoming and tolerant church. The
psychics are not targeted by The Trap and so must laboratory tirelessly working on the latest disease
discover their abilities unaided. A strong desire to to evolve and the library that preserves wisdom of
escape regular life or a coincidence where someone ages gone by. These are the Blessed places, they
with the gift decides to train themselves in lucid stand on a legacy of the very best of humanity.
dreaming are the most common method. Anyone touched by the Light - any Beacon,
The three dot merit allows the psychic to create Sworn, Shikigami, or Noble - feels her heart lift
a shield against the gales using the power of their when she arrives in a Blessed area, though she
mind, this provides the same protection as Regalia. may not realize why. The Storyteller makes a
The shield can take any form, from nothing at all Perception check, rolling Wits + Composure +
to transforming into an astral avatar. However it Sensitivity - Shadows; if it succeeds the character
looks the psychic may spend a point of Willpower notices the Light-touched quality of the place she
to manifest their shield for the duration of a trip to enters.
the Dreamlands.
Dream travelling psychics may buy the White
Rabbits merit. It is also not unknown for them Traits
to have additional psychic gifts, such gifts usually
work in both Earth and the dreamlands but at A Blessed Place has the following traits:
the Storyteller’s discretion an exp discount may be
applied if gifts that typically work in both worlds
are modified to only in the Dreamlands. Size
The Size of a Blessed place is measured on the
Drawback: Doors allow travel both ways, your
Sanctuary scale. It’s determined by the scale of
character is especially accessible to astral threats
the acts that created it - roughly, the number of
like Amanojaku. Hopefully he has the training or
people directly affected by them. Blessed areas can
gifts to defend himself.
grow larger, if deeds inspired by those that made
it are done close by. The table below defines how
large a Blessed Place will grow.
Secret Keeper (•• or •••)
Prerequisite: Player character
Beauty
You know of a Princess’ secret identity, and you’ve Rated from 1 to 5, and determined by the level of
sworn above all else to honour her trust in you. excellence demonstrated by the acts that created
When rolling to protect against any attempt to pry the Blessed place. Their excellence may be
the secret from you, be it mundane or supernatural, aesthetic, intellectual or moral. The fame of the

102
acts also influences Beauty; spreading the tale of area or amount of people affected in the table
a great deed far and wide often makes the Blessed below. To determine the Blessed Place’s beauty,
place formed by it stronger. find the class of deed in the table below.
To determine the Blessed Place’s size, find the

Size of Blessed Place created People Beauty Class of deed

or Area
Affected
0 One 0 Minor: Creating beautiful art, original
person and useful research, successful
humanitarian works.
Sanctuary • Neighborhood
1 Significant: Creating a masterpiece, a
discovery that shapes a discipline,
lifesaving and difficult humanitarian
works
Sanctuary •• Small +1 Multiple deeds accomplished over a long
town period.
Sanctuary ••• City +1 Deeds required overcoming personal
demons.
Sanctuary •••• State, +1 Deeds are accomplished at a great risk
small of ostracisation or social censure.
country
Sanctuary ••••• Continent +1 Deeds are accomplished at great risk of
or world injury or death.

Aspirations one, their presence may add or open Doors in

social maneuvers, and so on. Light-touched
characters can do the same, Princesses and Beacons
A Blessed place has from one to three Aspirations,
may use the Aspirations as Dreams if they are
the types of deeds it inspires people to imitate.
fitting, while Dark creatures can’t benefit at all;
These should be generally phrased, and reflect the
other supernatural beings may be swayed at the
people responsible for the place’s creation - an artist
Storyteller’s discretion. Since the Aspirations
motivated by his love of art? A scientist dedicated
belong to the place they don’t disappear when
to discovery? A good Samaritan? It’s unusual for
fulfilled - the place never loses its power to inspire
a Blessed place to have more than one Aspiration,
- though each character may fulfil each Aspiration
however great its Beauty; when it happens, it’s
only once a session.
generally thanks to a complicated history in which
Furthermore, any action taken within the bounds
several people were doing very different things,
of a Blessed place that directly opposes the fulfilling
which were nonetheless connected.
of any of its Aspirations takes a penalty equal to
While they remain within a Blessed area,
the place’s Beauty rating. Conversely, any action
any mundane characters treat its Aspirations as
that directly furthers one of the place’s Aspirations
their own - they gain a Beat if they fulfil
takes a bonus equal to its Beauty. This effect

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applies to all characters: mundane, Dark, Light- Invocation may be used to increase the Charm’s
touched, or other. Students feel inspired in the potency.
great artist’s workshop, while bratty children feel Applying an Invocation is a reflexive action, and
guilty and hesitate in their boasts of one-upmanship so a Princess may apply multiple Invocations within
within in the tomb of past heroes. a single turn if she has the opportunity and has the
Wisps needed to do so. She may apply the same
Invocation as many times as she wishes.
Corrupting a Blessed Place
Like so many beautiful things, Blessed Places can
be fragile, and need to be looked after. Whenever
Invoking For Willpower
an act generates Taint within a Blessed Place, the Aside from adding power to Charms, an Invocation
Blessed Place gains Shadows equal to the Severity can inspire Nobles who strive to live up to its
of the act. If the evil that has been done can principles. What could be more encouraging than
be mended in some way (the murderer found and knowing a person of almost divine wisdom supports
brought to justice, for instance) before the end of your actions? If the Storyteller agrees that a
of the current Story, then the Shadows dissipate; Princess’ actions during a scene reflect the ideals
however, each Shadow left on a Blessed Place of an Invocation the Princess has learned, and she
when a Story ends, reduces its Beauty by 1. If hasn’t broken its ban, the Princess rolls her dots in
a Blessed Place drops to 0 Beauty in this way, it that Invocation as a dice pool. (This pool cannot be
is immediately destroyed. Any excess Shadows are modified in any way - she may not spend Willpower
lost, the last remnants of Light at least preventing a on it, and no magic or Condition affects it.) She
Tainted Place from forming in its stead right away. may do this once per session, for each Invocation
separately. She need not be transformed to use her
Invocations this way.

Invocations Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ recent actions

feel a bit hollow; she doubts the ideals that
Invocations are Beliefs of the Queens. A Queen’s inspired them. Until the scene ends, she may
light shines out onto the world and Princesses not spend Willpower on actions that reflect the
reflect that light to shine ever brighter. A Princess Invocation.
may buy up to 5 dots in an Invocation. A Failure: The Princess goes on with her life.
Princess may apply an Invocation to boost her
Success: The Invocation confirms the Princess’
Charms, normally this means adding her dots in the
actions. She regains one spent Willpower point.
Invocation to her dicepool for the Charm but some
Charms list different effects. In most circumstances Exceptional Success: The Invocation revives the
applying an Invocation costs a Wisp, but each Princess’ flagging will; she regains all spent
Invocation has a set of situations which removes Willpower.
the cost. There is also, for each Invocation, a
prohibition that a Princess should not break; if she
does she loses the right to apply that Invocation Choosing Your Invocations
for a period of time, she may still use Charms that
depend upon that Invocation as a Prerequisite. The choice if Invocations is an important one, an
Charms that don’t require a roll to activate gain Invocations shapes empowers a Princess’ magic.
power from Invocations in other ways; for example, The easiest trap for a player to fall into is jump
Barrier Jacket uses an Invocation to increase a to thinking which Charms she wants. Invocations
Princess’ armour. It is never possible to apply are not a neatly packaged source of power for any
two Invocations to a single dice pool, or to stack Princess’ who likes the look of a certain Charm.
Invocations in any other way. Some Charms, Rather, an Invocation is the ideals and Beliefs of
called Invoked Charms, are linked to one specific a Queen given form, resonating in the souls of
invocation. These are denoted by having dots in mankind through the inherent magical nature of
an Invocation, as well dots in a Charm family. A a Queen.
Princess may not learn an Invoked Charm unless When choosing Invocations a player should think
she has sufficient dots in the relevant Invocation, about what views and beliefs a Princess shares with
and when using an Invoked Charm only the linked a Queen. The more a Princess has in common with
a Queen, the more she upholds a Queen’s ideals,

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the brighter the Invocation shines within her. With philosophical ideal of the Twilight Queen’s is pure
practice (represented by spending experience) she evil to be rejected by any right minded Princess.
can draw on that Invocation to enhance her magic. Protecting those you love or opposing the Outer
The Queen’s philosophies can provide a yard stick. Dark in all it’s forms are ideas commonly found
A Princess who only follows one of the Queen’s among the Radiant. So what stops a Princess
philosophies is unlikely to advance beyond one or waking up one morning and realising she now has a
two dots in an Invocation. Agreeing with two Dot of Lacrima? The answer is choice. A Princess
philosophies can reach three or perhaps even four who believes in protecting those she loves can feel
dots. A Princess who broadly agrees with and lives a connection to Lacrima deep within herself and
up to all three philosophies can with time master an knows she can draw power from it, but she can
invocation. (For Lacrima, a Princess is considered choose not to. The connection to an Invocation
to uphold the philosophies if she applies similar does not shape her beliefs, it is shaped by her
ideals to her own friends, family or some other beliefs. An Invocation she chooses not to use, or
organisation instead of Alhambra.) vows to stop using, cannot turn her to the dark
And what of the Twilight Invocations? Not every side.

Dancing in Twilight
One of the dirtier secrets of the Radiant is the sheer number of Nobles who, at one point in
their life or another, dabble in the Invocations of the Twilight Queens. Dabbling in this case
can be anything up to buying two or three dots in the Invocations; more requires a strength of
commitment to the ideals of the Queen which is largely incompatible with remaining a member
of the Radiant (for one, one’s own Queen will tend to object). The truth is that, the flaws in
the Twilight Queens are ones which are within the hearts of man as a whole, and so most of
the Enlightened have felt the same urges at some point in their life. Note that, however, such
dabblers still consider themselves part of the Radiant, and, in the case of those who feel affinity
for the Queen of Mirrors, often consider the The Child Queen to be Radiant. They still oppose
the Darkness, and will fight against the loyalists of Tears and Storms. One of the greatest topic
of debate in the multiple, disparate groups of the Enlightened is how to respond to people who
use Twilight Invocations, and whether or not they’re doing anything wrong.
The Invocation of Lacrima, tool of the Last Empress, the Queen of Tears, is an object of fear
and mistrust to the vast majority of the Radiant. It is apparently evil, in a way that neither
Specchio nor Tempesta are, because it’s Charms are an inherent Compromise of one’s Belief, and
to many, it is irrevocably tainted by the fact that it has the Charms used to drain Light from
the world or transform oneself into a creature of the Dark. But, nevertheless, there are those
Princesses who learn it, and who do not follow the Queen of Tears. One of the fundamental
things about Lacrima is that it can always be used to protect those you care about, and to
a Princess who wants to do exactly that, the expediency of methods means that Lacrima can
look attractive. When a friend died because you pushed your views on someone and so Legno
was sealed off, the universal applicability of Lacrima for protecting your own starts to look very
tempting. The dabblers are typically more experienced, and more able to justify to themselves
the moral compromises involved, in part because although there are Lacrima Charms which are

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 Belief Compromises, dabblers tend to only have access to the ones which are Compromises against
very high Belief or not Compromises at all, and so there are less of an objection. Moreover, there
exists a notable sub-faction of the followers of the Queen of Diamonds who specifically learn
Lacrima for its use in studying the dead and the Underworld, and, aggravatingly to some others,
the Queen has even given her support to the practice. Such dabblers often have a strict moral
code restricting their use of the Invocations to only using it to study the dead - never to harm,
and they point to the gains in knowledge that they have provided to the Radiant; their detractors
point out that once the power is there, it can be hard to resist.
The Invocation of Tempesta, tool of the Seraphic General, the Queen of Storms is for most
of those who dabble in it, purely a weapon. It is something that is learned as a tool against
the Darkness, and it is used for that role. It does not (generally speaking) heal or right wrongs,
but it does eliminate the followers of the Darkness and of Alhambra. In Atlanta, in the mid-90s,
almost an entire generation of Radiant Princesses knew at least the basics of Tempesta. So hard-
pressed were they by the Darkness and a major, well-organised Alhambran Outpost that it became
unofficial policy for elder Enlightened to guide each newcomer towards it, because the universal
applicability and raw power of the Invocation in such circumstances was too much of a boon. That
large numbers of Nobles in the city were driven towards extremism was viewed as an acceptable
price, even if by the end, and the arson of the Alhambran Outpost, there were Enlightened just
as callous as the worst of Storms, still officially among the Radiant. For those Princesses in the
know, too, Tempesta can also be seen as the most moral of the Twilight Invocations, because the
innate costs to it, the damage it does to the user, is known, and only affects the self. The common
consensus is that it is dangerous, and a sign that a Noble is starting to spiral into extremism, but
whether the use of it should be enough to ostracise one of the Radiant is a lot more contentious,
especially since in areas where it is done, there are frequently not the Enlightened to spare.
The Invocation of Specchio, tool of the Crown’s Custodian, the Queen of Mirrors, however,
is the most subtle and insidious of the Twilight Queens, and the influence it is. In part, it is
because of the lack of an overall enemy that the Invocation is linked to; while both the Ravens
and the Furies provide a highly visible “there but for the grace of the Light I go” example which
other dabblers can keep away from, the egotism and self-righteousness implicitly promoted by
the Queen of Mirrors, and the lack of a solid adversary is hard to fight against, especially since
many Princesses have tendencies in that direction naturally. Dabblers can slip into following the
Queen of Mirrors much more easily, especially since the Queen does not demand fidelity, which
means that some elder Radiant are much more harsh in opposing its use. There are those who
argue that, unlike Tempesta and Lacrima, use of this Invocation makes you a de facto follower
of Mirror’s agenda. And on the other hand, there are those who count the Queen of Mirrors as
among the Radiant Queens, despite the objections of the other five. Moreover, there us also a
faction in the Court of Diamonds who study Specchio for the unique sources of information it
provides, or even to study the strange achronal or spacewarping Charms unique to Specchio, once
again the Queen has given her consent. Even outside the Court of Diamonds there are Radient
who find these Charms to be exceptionally useful and irreplaceable with more moral Invocations,
not just an improvement over them. In the Court of Diamonds these dabblers protect themselves
from the effects of madness by only using Specchio while supervised by a Princess who knows the
Reclaim Charm. Of all the Twilight Invocations Specchio might be the easiest to learn, too; all
one needs for it is self-belief in ones own cause, and a spark of the brilliance needed to reshape
the world. And neither are rare among the Enlightened.

Calling has an affinity to 3 of them, learning the

Charms Charms within them more easily.
Each Charm has an Action attribute, giving the
The basic magics of the Hopeful are called Charms. type of action using it is:
Each is a unique ability available to the Nobility,
some are obviously supernatural, some are subtle, • Instant: Activating the Charm is an instant
but all are truely magical. action, taking a turn. The dice pool to roll for
The Charms are divided into 10 trees. Each the action is noted.

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 • Full turn: Activating the Charm is an instant While Charms need not be learned in any fixed
action, but it also requires forgoing Defence in sequence, the more advanced Charms can’t be
the turn you activate it. learned without practice with simpler powers. To
learn a Charm at its basic level, a Princess must
• Reflexive: Activating the Charm is a reflexive have a sufficient number of dots in other Charms
action; it doesn’t interfere with your normal in the same tree (counting each Upgrade as an
action and can be done at any point in the additional dot), as defined in this table.
initiative cue. A dice pool to roll is noted.
• Reactive: Activating the Charm can be done at
any point in the initiative cue but it consumes
your action for the turn. A dice pool to roll is
noted.
Charm Rating Dots Required
• Permanent: The Charm enhances another 1 0
ability. No action is required to activate 2 1
it – if the proper conditions obtain, it just 3 3
works. A Princess can always disable a
4 6
permanent Charm if she so chooses. If no
other method is presented a Transformation 5 10
action will activate or deactivate any number
of permanent Charms. Example: Before she can learn a Govern Charm
rated at three dots, a Princess would have to know:
• (one of the above) and resisted: The Charm
Three one dot Govern Charms, a one dot and a two
has a target, and you must subtract one of his
dot Govern Charm, two one dot Govern Charms
traits from the dice pool.
one of which has an Upgrade, or a single Govern
• (one of the above) and contested: The Charm charm which has two Upgrades.
has a target, who reflexively rolls an opposed A Princess may also treat Invoked Charms (see
dice pool; you must roll more successes than below) as a pseudo tree for the purposes of learning
he does for the Charm to take effect. Charms. For example: If a Princess knows three
one dot Perfect Charms that each require Acqua,
Other than the permanent Charms, each Charm she is able to acquire any one, two or three dot
has a duration, ending when the stated time runs Charm that has an Acqua prerequisite. She may
out; and a cost, usually in Wisps. Powerful not acquire an unInvoked Charm that has an
Charms call for Willpower points; many Charms Upgrade which depends upon Acqua, however if
favoured by the Queen of Storms inflict damage she buys an Upgrade to an unInvoked Charm that
on their user, which resists magical healing; and requires Acqua that counts as another dot towards
using some Charms favoured by the Queen of Tears learning further Acqua Charms.
transgresses against Belief. Example: Before she can learn Pierian Spring, a
A Charm with a duration of “lasting” changes two dot Learn Charm that is Invoked by Acqua, a
its target permanently in a flash of magic but Princess would have to know any one dot Learn
the Charm itself ends immediately. Charms with Charm, or any Charm or Upgrade that has an
an “indefinite” duration leave a continuing trace Acqua preprequisite.
of magic on their target (often a Condition or A few Charms have another Charm as a
Tilt) which other supernatural powers can detect prerequisite; to learn these Charms, a Princess
or influence. A Charm with a duration of must have learned the prerequisite Charm, as well
“concentration” needs its user’s active attention, as meeting the total dots required for its basic
and ends if the user spends her turns action on effect. Finally, your Inner Light limits the dots
anything but maintaining the Charm. you can put in a Charm; a Princess cannot learn a
If a Charm is used on a person, a Princess can use Charm with more than Inner Light + 2 dots.
it on herself Charm specifically states she cannot.

Upgrades
Learning Charms Many Charms have Upgrades which enhance the
Each Charm has a rating in dots, which sets the Charms effects or expand the Charm into new
price and difficulty of learning its basic effect. areas. Upgrades may have prerequisites and each

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Upgrade increases the effective rating of a Charm
by one for the purposes of a Princess’ maximum Charm Modifiers
Charm rating as determined by her Inner Light.
So a Princess with one dot of Inner Light could Intimacy
not apply an Upgrade to a three dot Charm and
could only apply one Upgrade to a two dot Charm. Some Charms can be used on distant targets by
However she could learn multiple upgrades for a taking penalties to their activation roll. If a
two dot Charm; she would simply be limited to Charm’s dice pool is modified by Intimacy, the
applying one Upgrade at a time. strength of the emotional connection between the
Many upgrades change the cost or duration of Princess and her target affects the power of the
their Charm, add a modifier to the activation Charm. Consult this table for the penalty to the
roll, or have a Drawback, or trigger Specchio’s activation roll:
drawback. Therefore, you are not required to apply
any upgrade when using a Charm. When Charms
require an activation roll the Princess can choose
which Upgrades to use at the point she invokes the
Charm. While for Charms that are always on she
can enable or disable upgrades as she desires with Penalty Strength of Connection
a Transformation action. 0 Sensory: You can see the
target directly.
-2 Love or hate: The target is a
Invoked and General Charms longtime friend or enemy, a
member of your family, a
By default a Princess can learn any Charm, romantic lover, hurt you
providing she knows enough dots in the relevant badly, or a prized possession.
Charm family. Once she knows a Charm she may -4 Friendship or enmity: You
apply whichever Invocation she wishes to increase know the target well; or the
the Charm’s potency. target is something you own
A fair number of Charms work differently. These and care about.
Charms, known as Invoked Charms, require dots in -6 Compassion or dislike: You
an Invocation to purchase. They can be recognised know the target slightly; or
by the presence of Invocation dots along side the the target is an a typical
Charm’s dots. Invoked Charms cannot be learned item you own.
until the Princess has the listed dots in the linked -8 Acquaintance: You have met
Invocation and cannot be cast with any Invocation the target briefly; or the
but their prerequisite. When using such a Charm, target is an item you have
a Princess can apply the prerequisite Invocation held.
to gain its bonus (if conditions permit) or she can
-10 Few feelings: You have a
make the activation roll without any bonus, but she
verbal description of the
may not apply any other Invocation’s bonus.
target, but nothing more.
A Princess who breaks an Invocation’s ban
- Unknown: You cannot affect
may still use that Invocation’s Invoked Charms.
the target via Intimacy.
Naturally she cannot apply any Invocation for
bonus dice.
There are also general Charms with upgrades A Princess does not have to use her own
that require Invocation dots – applying such an emotional connection. By touching another person
upgrade converts the Charm to an invoked one she may use their Intimacy instead of her own. This
– and some invoked Charms with upgrades that increases the Intimacy modifier by one step (add
require more Invocation dots than the basic Charm the intermediary’s Composure as an additional
does. Upgrades that require different Invocations penalty if they are unwilling). A Princess can
are not compatible; you may not apply both of also use the connection between a person and a
them to the same activation of a Charm. treasured object, this increases the penalty by two
steps.
If the Princess has a keepsake, a treasured object
that symbolises her relationship with another (such
as a love letter) this reduces the penalty by one

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die. If she uses somebody else’s connection she can
reduce the penalty by one die if she touches the that Rating Sanctuary Size
person and one of their keepsakes. The benefit does X Just enough room for one
not stack with multiple keepsakes. person to stand or lie down
If a character is targeted via Intimacy and (Typically Charms using
they are aware of it they may respond by using the Sanctuary keyword
any of their own abilities that work via Intimacy can’t affect an area this
at the same dice pool modifier. If a Princess small)
witnesses someone or something else being targeted • A small apartment or a
via Intimacy they may respond using the original cabin in the woods; 1-2
dice pool modifier plus one or two steps as is normal rooms
for using a proxy. In essence, the character sends •• A large apartment or small
their magic back down the channel someone else remote house; 3-4 rooms
created through Intimacy. At the Storyteller’s ••• A converted church,
discretion this can work with mechanics that work warehouse or large house;
similarly to Intimacy, such as a Mage’s Sympathy. 5-8 rooms
•••• A mansion or apartment
building; 9-15 rooms
Sanctuary ••••• A vast palatial estate, a city
Several Charms affect large areas, and the effort block, a skyscraper or a
required to invoke most of those Charms scales with small village
the affected area. These charms will refer to the
target area using the keyword Sanctuary.
Charms that use the Sanctuary keyword are
typically easier to activate when the area in
question is one the Princess values, and conversely
Commonality
are difficult to use in areas she dislikes or fears. Some Charms are modified by Commonality and
Consult the following suggested modifiers: can be applied to an entire social group at no
additional cost. Commonality does not increase
• +5 Exceptionally strong memories of love and the range of a Charm and cannot be combined
safety, such as a childhood home with Intimacy, so only the members of the targeted
• +3 Strong memories of love and safety, such social group who are present will be affected. If
as a long time friend’s home such a Charm is resisted, the member of the group
with the best resistance trait resists for the whole
• +1 The Princess owns the property group; for a contested Charm, each member rolls
to contest individually but the Storyteller may
• +1-3 The area is a Safe Place for the Princess combine rolls for groups of NPCs to keep the
(bonus = half the Merit dots, rounding up) game moving along. The difficulty of extending
• -2 General feeling of dislike, such as a school the Charm over a social group depends on the
room where the Princess was board. commitment the members have towards each other,
or towards the common goal for which the group
• -3 The Princess has never been in the area exists. Consult this table for the appropriate
before penalty:
• -5 Strong memories of fear or horror

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 Penalty Strength of Connection
0 Individual: one person, the default.
-3 Dedicated: everyone in the group affected is mutually friends, or the group’s goal
takes up the majority of its members’ time and thought; an established nakama, a
family.
-6 Concerned: everyone in the group knows eachother, or all the members make
significant sacrifices for the common goal; a new nakama, the long term employees
of a small business.
-9 Interested: everyone in the group is mutually acquainted or better, or the
members share an interest in the group’s goal; a social club, employees of a large
corporation.
-12 Casual: some members of the group have only encountered each other; the group
is merely a lot of people gathered in one place, with no common interest.

Extended Actions and Charms Clash of Wills

Charms do not exist in isolation, they are deeply When two Princesses (or anyone with magical
tied into a Princess’ hopes and beliefs. Usually powers) attempt to invoke conflicting magics a
a Princess’ Charms are influenced by her hopes, Clash of Wills occurs. This could be two Hope
but a particularly strenuous act of magic can have Engineers fighting to control the same body of
a noticeable if fleeting affect upon a Princess’ water, a Wild trying to magically calm a crowd
emotions. while a Fury tries to whip that crowd into a
If a Princess performs a Charm or uses an murderous fury or a group of Jewels each trying
Embassy Privilege as an Extended Action she may to inspire people to believe in their political party.
gain the following conditions, in addition to any When a Clash of Wills occurs each party makes
effects of the Charm itself: a contesting roll to resolve the clash, the winning
party’s magic takes precedence. The dice pools are
• Exceptional Success: Luminous
as follows:
• Failure: Stuck Magic
• Princess (including Ghost Princesses): Inner
• Dramatic Failure: Shaken Light + half Belief (rounding up)

• Sworn or Beacon (with a Bequest): half

Teamwork Actions and Charms Integrity (rounding up)
• Shikigami: half Integrity (rounding up)
Princesses are very good at working together and all
Charms with an activation roll can be invoked as a • Dreamlanders (including Wardens but not the
Teamwork action, just so long as every participant former inhabitants of the Kingdom): Power +
knows the base Charm. Only the primary actor Rank
needs to spend Wisps, Willpower, or take Damage
in the case of Tempesta Charms; however when • Goalenu: Power + Rank (unvesseled) or
invoking a Lacrima or Specchio Charm (including Attribute + Rank (vessled)
an Invoked Upgrade) the Invocation’s Drawback • Creature of the Darkness: Shadows
applies to all participants. All participants in a
teamwork action must apply the same Invocation or • Dethroned: Inner Darkness
no Invocation at all, and secondary actors must still
pay a Wisp for the Invocation unless they qualify Any character may spend a point of Willpower
to apply the Invocation without a cost. to bolster their Clash of Wills roll. Charms and
The Merit Troupe Magic removes the need for other supernatural abilities with long durations are
secondary actors to know the base Charm, but only more durable and more likely to succeed in a Clash
for Inspire Charms. of Wills. If the effect lasts a day add one die. For

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a week long effect add two dice, three for a month,
and add for dice if the effect lasts a week or longer. Appear
The Appear Charms change your appearance, and
produce other illusions. Seekers and Troubadours
Disabling Charms have affinity for them.
Some Charms have Upgrades that provide passive
or automatic abilities. When a Princess Transforms
the player may choose which Charms are in effect
Flair Emotion (Appear •)
and a further Transformation action may be made Action: Instant
at any time to switch which Charms are in play. Cost: 1 Wisp
This also applies to individual Upgrades. Dice Pool: Unrolled
Duration: Lasting

Regalia The Princess takes a Wisp’s worth of emotional

energy and releases it into the air. To psychic
Some permanent Charms add equipment to the empaths, Princesses using Passion’s Light, and
Princess’ Transformed self, or give her the ability similar abilities it shines like a flair and can be used
to add equipment. This gear forms the Princess’ as a signal. Usually no roll is required, the Princess
Regalia. When a Charm states that an item is spends the Wisp and barring a large distraction any
part of the Regalia it can appear on her person, empath in the area will notice, but a Composure
ready for use, when the Princess transforms if she + Empathy roll may be used to get into the right
wishes it to. A single piece of Regalia can hold the emotional state if the Nakama have agreed to use
power of multiple charms if the player wishes. If specific emotions as specific signals.
a Charm does not state that it creates Regalia a An alternative use for this Charm is to release the
player may still declare that it does so, but this has Wisp in close proximity to an empath, this hits like
no mechanical effect. a flashbang and triggers a Presence + Empathy vs
A Princess can switch any number of Regalia Composure + Supernatural advantage roll. If the
pieces into or out of solid existence with a Princess wins the roll she inflicts an appropriate
Transformation action; the dice pool for this action Tilt for either a turn or one turn per success.
is the same as the one for full Transformation. The Tilt chosen depends on how the target senses
However, if she returns to mundane form she must emotions and the duration depends on the severity
dismiss all her Regalia as well. Naturally, pieces of of the Tilt. A character who hears emotions might
Regalia help a Princess with her goals only when take Stunned for one turn, or Deafened for several
they are in existence - any bonuses they confer are turns.
lost if she sends them away.
All Regalia has a Structure equal to Belief
and a Durability of Inner Light. If a piece of Grey Masquerade (Appear •)
Regalia is destroyed or lost, the Princess can
recreate or summon it while transformed; as with Action: Instant
a dissolved phylactery, she must spend a Wisp and Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy
a Willpower point to recreate a piece of Regalia, Cost: 1 Wisp
which takes a full round and this requires her Duration: 24 hours
absolute concentration.
If another was to steal a Princess’ regalia they Princesses enjoy powerful protection to keep their
would be unable or have great difficulty in using secret identity secret but not everyone is so lucky.
it, but they would be able to target the Princess Beacons cannot hide the unusual amount of Light
through an unbreakable Intimacy link with a they produce by storing it inside a Transformed self.
strength equivalent to love. Fortunately any Sworn are visibly under an enchantment. So helpful
technique that would cut the connection Princesses Princesses can use this Charm to disguise the signs.
use to summon Regalia would, by definition, After all, if your goal is to give your sister the magic
destroy the Regalia. she needs to fly away from danger painting a target
on her back defeats the purpose.
This Charm can only be used on Beacons, Sworn,
or Shikigami. It is commonly known by Shikigami

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who travel independently of their Noble sponsor to Upgrade: Close the Third Eye (Acqua
seek out Princesses to mentor. ••)
By studying esoteric lore of the human mind the
Dramatic Failure: The Princess accidentally
Princess can learn to shield a mortal psychic’s
sends out a flair of magic, perceivable over a
signature, hiding Supernatural Merits such as
reasonable distance by anyone who can sense
Psychokinesis from magic that might sniff out a
such things.
psychic. This changes the dice pool to Wits +
Failure: The target’s supernatural nature Occult, and allows the Princess to invoke this
raiment. charm on a pure Mortal with an appropriate
Success: The target takes the Masquerade Merit. Apart from that the Charm works as
Condition, any passive supernatural power which normal.
would detect their supernatural nature, such as Upgrade: Gold Masque (Aria ••)
the Charm Reflected Light, will automatically
Cost: +2 Wisps
fail. Active supernatural powers, such as the
Charm A Magical Girl’s Eyes, must overcome The Princess’ ability to mask a supernatural
a Clash of Wills against whoever invoked this nature grows more potent, strong enough to hide
Charm. If it cannot overcome the illusion the a Transformed Princess.
target registers as a completely normal human Upgrade: Perennial Veils (Lacrima •••)
(or a completely normal something else in the
Cost: +1 Willpower Dot
case of Shikigami). This Charm provides no
protection to active uses of power by the Charm’s The Charm’s Duration extends to Indefinite.
subject. If a Sworn activates his Practical Magic Upgrade: Funerary Masque (Lacrima
near someone with Reflected Light they will feel ••••)
it as normal.
The Princess’ twists her ability to conceal the
Exceptional Success: The duration lasts a whole supernatural, and instead conceals the mundane
week. from supernatural eyes. Any supernatural being
Upgrade: Masqued Ball must make a Clash of Wills in order to notice
the target. If they fail the contest they will only
Cost: +1 Willpower
remember the target as a generic unimportant
The Princess can mask the enchantments she person and will never directly interact with them.
or another Princess created, hiding it from A hungry Darkspawn who’s willing to eat any
discovery through abilities like A Magical Girl’s human it can find will fail to consider the target
Eyes. She could invoke Masqued Ball upon even if no other options are available. Princesses
artwork enchanted by Living Image, a character are a special case to this rule, in their mundane
under the effects of a Bless Charm, an inanimate form they can see a person under the effects of
object with the Held Charm Condition, or any Funerary Masque as clearly as any mortal, but
other magic that lingers after the invocation of a in their Transformed identity they must make a
Charm, Privilege, or Edict. For the duration of Clash of Wills to penetrate the veil.
the Charm all Noble magic affecting that object
Funerary Masque can only be invoked upon
or person is hidden. As with regular uses of
Mortals and Beacons.
Grey Masquerade the illusion can be penetrated
through a Clash of Wills.
If the Charm the Princess wishes to hide works on Light the Way (Appear •)
a Sanctuary scale the roll becomes an Extended
Action with a target number equal to twice Action: Instant
the Sanctuary’s size. If the Princess hides Cost: 1 Wisp
the Consecrated Condition then the duration Dice Pool: Unrolled
extends until the end of the Consecrated Duration: Inner Light or Invocation hours
Condition and it will hide all Charms that are
built atop the Condition. It will not hide other The Princess can, at any time, create a soft light
Charms that happen to be within the bounds that banishes the thickest natural darkness. The
of the Consecrated area, such as a person under light source can take any source the princess wishes,
the effects of a Bless Charm relaxing inside a from a torch or a glowing halo to a simple ambient
Consecrated house. glow. She can bring the light up or douse it

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reflexively, and set it to shine at any intensity short The illusion does not alter her features - anyone
of full sunlight. who has seen her transformed self will recognize
While this Charm is for seeing in dark her if they meet her - but her status as a Noble is
environments it can be used as an emergency hidden. Supernatural powers that pierce illusions
defence. The Noble can also focus the light to a must beat the Princess’ successes to see her true
bright, narrow beam into someone’s eyes to inflict appearance.
temporary blindness. This is a normal attack using Exceptional Success: The illusion blurs the
Dexterity + Athletics, and the target’s Defence Princess’ features. People who have met her
applies. On a normal success the target is Blinded transformed before don’t recognize her, unless
[CofD 281] in one eye; on an exceptional success he they make a special effort to identify her
is Blinded in both eyes. Either way, the Tilt lasts (succeeding on a Wits + Investigation roll.)
for one turn.
Upgrade: Fashionable
Upgrade: Dazzling (Fuoco •) The Noble can choose to stand out from the
crowd rather than blending in. She may reshape
The Noble can reflexively make her light burn her heraldry into high fashion [CofD 277] suitable
at a constant eye-watering intensity, blinding for her current venue, or one she’s about to
anyone nearby who looks at her, by spending a attend. The equipment bonus of her new apparel
Wisp. Anyone who can see her must succeed on is half the applied Invocation or half Inner Light
a Stamina + Composure roll, penalized by the (round up) to a maximum of +3.
Noble’s Fuoco, or be Blinded in one eye until he If she stays within the general theme of her
looks away from her, or she dims her light again, normal Regalia (colors, decoration, motifs etc.)
whichever comes first. and is recognizable as herself, the Noble may
use Charms and other Regalia without resetting
her clothes, but doesn’t grant the benefit of
Twenty Faces (Appear •) appearing mundane.
Upgrade: Disguised
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge Cost: +1 Wisp
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene The Noble can change her features dramatically.
By spending 1 Wisp, she may alter all aspects of
As the purest expression of a Noble soul a Princess’ her appearance - ethnicity, height, build, even
regalia and heraldry can look like anything, but sex - within the limits of her Size trait. (A
it’s almost certain to stand out in some way when Princess with the Giant Merit will always be a
compared to outfits made of mere physical matter. very tall man or woman, no matter how this
Even a Princess of Hearts who wears savile row style Charm is used; a child Princess can look like
suits will have some some je ne sais quoi about an adult with dwarfism but cannot significantly
her. Not enough to gain mechanical advantages increase her hight, and an tall Princess cannot
(unless represented by taking Merits like Striking pass herself off as a child.) All mundane attempts
Looks as single form Merit) or be outed as a to see through the illusion fail automatically, and
supernatural being, but enough to be memorable. supernatural powers that pierce disguises start
And sometimes standing out isn’t what the Princess a Clash of Wills. Applying Disguised does not
wants. With this charm she can hide her heraldry give her extra protection from being mundanely
and adorn herself with appropriate clothing to detected as an outsider or impersonator. If she
blend in wherever she goes. disguises herself in a punk outfit then attends
a black tie dinner she’ll still stick out as a sore
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use thumb.
Twenty Faces for the rest of the scene.
The Princess can even attempt to take on the
Failure: The Princess’ appearance and raiment appearance of a specific person, applying the
are unchanged. Intimacy modifier for her connection to the
Success: The Princess wraps herself in an illusion person she wishes to impersonate. The Princess
that conceals her heraldry; she seems to be and her target must still have the same Size.
dressed in appropriate clothes for the area. In an
office she will manifest a suit or business causal, Drawback: Any use of Charms dismisses the
on a military base she will acquire a uniform. illusion. Even when disguising herself as another

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 Princess, a Noble’s magic is so distinctly hers illusionary body will feel an illusionary solidity
that it is incompatible with this kind of disguise. and prevent themselves from passing their hand
through the illusion. However if they are
Upgrade: Mantle of Maturity moving at speed they might not be able to
stop themselves pushing through the illusion and
Prerequisite: Disguised any thrown object will pass straight through the
illusion. The effects of this are unique to every
The Princess can change her apparent size to Princess: One Princess’ illusionary body might
anywhere between five and six feet, allowing a distort like an out of tune television, another
child Princess to disguise herself as an adult. The might burst into butterflies that fly around the
Princess’ actual size doesn’t change, meaning obstruction before reforming. Regardless of the
that her real physical body will not match up exact effect, it will always expose the illusion as
to her illusionary body. People who touch her supernatural.

Flaunting Frills at Formal Functions

Elaborate outfits are one of the most recognisable features of the magical girl genre, so of course
Princesses have their heraldry too. But what happens when a Princess walks into a town hall
meeting while dressed in frills and lace?
Given the how central costumes are to maho shojo your group might feel it defeats the point
if they have to constantly replace or change out of their iconic outfit. In this case Princesses
could have a supernatural trait that makes their Heraldry seem normal. It could be a product of
a Noble’s own innate magic or an extension of the unique psychological traits that make mortals
in the World of Darkness try to keep their head down and ignore the supernatural. The Twenty
Faces Charm remains useful for when the players need to disguise themselves as a specific role
or change the image they project. The public may ignore the fact that a Princess of Diamonds
is dressed like she’s stepped out of science fiction, but people will still notice her outfit is rather
nerdy.
However if you prefer a mortals could react to a Princess’ appearance as they would react to
anyone else who dresses the same way; depending on your preferences this could either require
Princesses to carry spare clothes with them or to use Twenty Faces if they wish to avoid awkward
questions when interacting with people outside the know. As some completely valid styles of
Heraldry, such as the Embassy to the Economy’s fashion for suits and ties, become mechanically
advantageous under this style of play the Storyteller may wish to impose a Merit requirement
on discrete Heraldry to keep things fair. It would go against the themes of Princess if the frilly
dresses where mechanically disadvantageous.
Regardless of your group’s choice the Supernatural Heraldry Condition can be taken for a
character who’s heraldry draws far more attention than the average Princess’.

Dice Pool: Dexterity + Stealth vs Wits +

Gone With the Wind (Appear •, Aria •) Composure
Action: Reflexive Cost: 1 Wisp

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Duration: Lasting Exceptional Success: If targeting a living being
the Princess also inflicts the Shaken Tilt through
For a few crucial seconds the Princess becomes the sheer wrongness of not being able to hear
elusive and all eyes slide off her. This Charm may one’s own body.
be invoked reflexively when someone is attempting
to track or follow the Princess. Each subsequent
attempt to use this Charm on the same person Tranquillise (Appear •, Legno •)
in a scene grants a cumulative +3 bonus to their
Contesting roll. Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Wisp
Dramatic Failure: The Princess attracts Dice Pool: Composure + Survival
attention. The target may reroll to track the Duration: 1 scene
Princess and takes the better result.
Failure: The Princess’ appearance and raiment The Princess wraps herself in an illusion of a
are unchanged. peaceful glade.
Success: The target is suddenly dazed and Dramatic Failure: The Princess takes the
cannot spot the Princess, he must scramble to Sensory Overload Condition and is considered
find her again. All successes on his last roll to be in an uncomfortable environment until the
are removed but he may try again the next scene ends.
turn, assuming the Princess hasn’t used this that
time to vanish. If the Princess is attempting to Failure: Nothing happens.
pick the target’s pocket, or some similar instant Success: For the remainder of the scene, or
action, this essentially gives her a second try at a until she ends the Charm, the Princess can hear
Contested roll. If the target beats her mundane nothing but a gentle stream in the distance,
roll then so long as she has a single Success she smells nothing but a spring breeze, and
she can use this Charm to erase her opponents the temperature feels cool and dry. If the
successes and win the mundane roll. environment is extreme enough to cause actual
Exceptional Success: In addition to the usual harm the Princess will still feel pain even though
effects the Princess’ first Stealth roll in the next she feels like she is at a comfortable temperature.
few turns gains 8again This Charm is usually used to remove situational
penalties when trying to study, meditate, or fall
asleep.
A Minute of Silence (Appear •, Lacrima Exceptional Success: For the duration of the
Charm the Princess takes the Blessing Condition
•) and adds +2 to all meditation rolls.
Action: Reflexive, unrolled or Instant, Drawback: The Princess takes the Deafened tilt
Cost: 1 Wisp for the duration of the Charm, and cannot smell
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Stealth vs Wits + either.
Composure
Duration: 1 scene
Zephyr’s Track (Appear •, Aria •)
The Princess spends a wisp and shrouds herself in
silence. All attempts to locate her by listening Action: Instant
fail automatically, though the right supernatural Dice Pool: Dexterity + Stealth
power may trigger a Clash of Wills. Moreover, she
may spend a Wisp and roll Dexterity + Stealth vs Cost: 1 Wisp
Wits + Composure to make an object or person she
touches totally silent for a number of turns to her Duration: Scene/Lasting
Lacrima.
The Noble floats through the world like a breeze,
Dramatic Failure: A banshee like wail emanates leaving no trace of her passing except by her own
from somewhere close to the Princess for a turn. will.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess inflicts the Silenced Tilt
on her target.

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 Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes clumsy, illusionary car. This requires her full attention,
prone to slip and make noise when she wants to if a roll is required the dice pool is Wits +
hide. She takes a -2 penalty on all Stealth dice Expression though the Storyteller may nominate
pools until the scene ends. a different dice pool if the situation warrants
Failure: The Noble leaves traces of herself behind it. E.G. Wits + Subterfuge to make an
her as usual. illusionary person decieve someone. Intelligence
+ Academics to create an illusionary chalkboard
Success: Gentle puffs of air follow the Noble, with accurate scientific equations.
cleaning away any traces the Noble leaves in
the wake of her movements. Footprints and Exceptional Success: The Princess manipulates
fingerprints are brushed away; hairs and skin cells her illusion deftly. Her mundane actions to
float behind her without settling; drops of sweat control it gain a +2 bonus.
or blood evaporate. Any attempt to follow her Upgrade: Dancing
trail or deduce her actions from physical evidence The Princess may create an image that moves
fails. This wind follows the Princess for one without her conscious attention. When her
scene, but it’s effects are Lasting. concentration lapses, the image continues to act
Exceptional Success: The Noble can choose to on the instructions she last gave it.
leave false evidence behind her that suggests a Upgrade: Glowing
person quite unlike herself passed where she has
gone. Requires Light the Way
Upgrade: Multiple The Princess can make her illusions give off light,
just as her Regalia does with Light the Way. As
Modified by Commonalty long as she is concentrating on an image, she
The breezes can clear away traces of many people may vary the light coming from it reflexively,
at once. The Noble uses the Charm on the independently of her personal light. If she has
members of an organization she can see, using upgraded Light the Way, she may apply all that
the Commonalty modifier. If she succeeds, all Charm’s upgrades to the image’s light as if it
traces of their passing are erased. were her own.
Upgrade: Consecrated

Phantom (Appear ••) The Princess may sustain a illusion upon the
blessing of a Consecrated area. Doing to
Action: Instant keeps the illusion intact until the Consecrated
Dice Pool: Wits + Expression Condition ends, but the illusion can never
manifest beyond the area covered by the
Cost: 1 Wisp Condition.
Upgrade: Singing
Duration: 1 scene
The Princess may create an illusory sound, or
add sound to an illusory image. A sound without
The Princess forms a Wisp into an illusory object.
an image seems to come from any point the
The illusion affects only sight, and material objects
Princess can see, which she can move while
pass through it without stopping. The Size of the
concentrating.
image is limited to 2 + Inner Light or any applied
Invocation, but within that limit she can show any Upgrade: Solid
image she is capable of imagining. The image becomes substantial. As long as
it lasts it has a degree of solidity, as well as
Dramatic Failure: The Charm fails with a burst a firmness and texture appropriate to what it
of light and a loud crack, alerting anyone nearby depicts. However, just because it projects an
who could see or hear to the Princess’s presence. image of solidity does not mean it is solid; the
Failure: No image appears. image shatters if force is applied to it (by kicking
Success: The Princess creates the image she an illusionary wall, for example) or with it (an
desires, somewhere within her sensory range. illusionary wrench won’t tighten or loosen a
The image remains until the Charm ends. The bolt).
Princess may manipulate the image for no cost, Upgrade: Thinking (Acqua ••)
for example she could make an illusionary person Requires Dancing
walk around but could not turn it into an

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 When the Princess releases her concentration, in reminder of the scene.
addition to providing the illusion with further Success: The Noble’s face shifts into someone
instructions she may grant it a measure of the target loves and they are compelled to react
adaptability. For each dot of Acqua she may appropriately, pulling their blow aside before the
instruct the image to recognise one condition and Princess can be hurt. The wasted attack still
react in response. The illusion has mundane consumes their action for the turn. They also
senses within the human range. If a roll is take the Blessing Condition and gain +3 dice to
required the illusion has a dice pool equal to resist this Charm for the remainder of the scene.
the Princess’ Acqua, for an illusionary watchman
who sounds the alarm when someone approaches Exceptional Success: As above, and the target
and could roll Acqua to contest stealth. takes some small Tilt. They might unbalance
themselves and take Knocked Down.
Upgrade: Multiplied (Aria ••)
Upgrade: Inviolate (Specchio •••)
Requires Dancing
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess may create multiple distinct images
with a single Charm activation. She can make Just as the Princess shifts into someone the
one image for each dot of her Aria; for each image target loves, someone else in reach of the target’s
beyond the first, the maximum Size of all the weapon takes the Princess’ form. The Princess
images is reduced by 1. The Princess can try to nominates another person within range of the
control more than one image at once but takes a attacker’s weapon, if she wins the Contested roll
-2 penalty to her dice pool for each image beyond the target must attack them instead.
the first. If she applies Singing, each image may Upgrade: Doomed (Specchio ••••)
have its own sound and images can be replaced Cost: +1 Willpower
with sounds, but the number of distinct illusions
remains limited to her Aria. Does the mirror reflect the truth, or does it show
things how they should be? If the individual
Upgrade: Scented (Legno •) whom the Noble mimics is present, and within
The Princess may create an illusory scent, or add the attack range of the form of weapon used to
scent to an illusory image or sound. If the image attack her, the attack is transferred to them.
is Solid, she can give it a taste as well. A scent If the Princess wins the contested roll the
without an image seems to come from a point target must make an attack roll against the
the Princess can see, which she can move while her, subtracting her Defence as normal, but the
concentrating. damage goes to their loved one. In the case of a
melee weapon, the target might swing wide and
hit their friend; for a ranged weapon, it can be
Face of Lover's Alarm (Appear ••, Specchio more improbable, as ricochets, arcing electrical
conduits, and exploding fire extinguishers all
••) conspire to hurt their ally. If the loved one
has armour or similar protections they apply as
Action: Reflexive
normal.
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy vs Wits +
Composure
Cost: 1 Wisp
Speaking Eyes (Appear ••, Acqua •)
One would not threaten a loved one, would they? Action: Instant
And as the Queen of Mirrors teaches, the True Heir Dice Pool: Wits + Persuasion
will be beloved by all. This Charm is activated in Cost: 1 Wisp
response to an attack before the target rolls and the Duration: 1 scene
Princess must be able to apply her Defence to the
attack. The movements of the Princess’ body are saturated
by meaning. She uses this Charm on a single
Dramatic Failure: The target sees the Noble as a
individual who can see her.
perverted mockery of one they love, and gain +3
dice on their attack roll. They cannot be affected Dramatic Failure: The Noble destroys her
by this Charm for the reminder of the scene. natural ability to communicate. All her
Failure: The target sees through the illusion Expression rolls take a -2 penalty for the rest of
and cannot be affected by this Charm for the the scene.

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 Failure: The Noble’s gestures convey no special as one minute’s worth of speech per success.
meaning. Regular speech, not the Royal Tongue. When
Success: The Noble can convey the most any of the intended recipients examines the
complicated thoughts to her target with a turn object containing they immediately know it is
of the head, a twist of the hand, or a facial significant. No roll is necessary to decode the
expression, as quickly as with normal speech; the message but some time and attention might
target will understand her intent even if he shares be. If the object is destroyed or significantly
no languages with her, as long as they can see modified or damaged the hidden message is lost.
her. Nobody else looking at her will understand If the message falls into the hands of anyone but
her meaning; indeed, unless onlookers examine the intended recipient they will not be able to
her carefully (succeeding on an Intelligence + decrypt it without magic and a Clash of Wills.
Investigation roll) they won’t realize that she is Exceptional Success: The Princess may
“saying” anything at all. The Charm does not optionally add a duration to the magic, just
help the Noble understand the target. encase it falls into the hands of a magical
Exceptional Success: The Noble may combine opponent.
her gestures with her speech. Her Expression
rolls to communicate with the target gain a +2
bonus until the Charm ends.
Summon Backup Dancers (Appear •••)
Upgrade: Collective (Acqua ••) Action: Instant
Modified by Commonalty Dice Pool: Dexterity + Expression
Cost 3 Wisps
The Princess can convey her thoughts to Duration: 1 scene
members of an organization that can see her,
using the Commonalty modifier. Those not Sometimes a Princess just needs to wow a crowd.
in the organization will not understand her With this Charm a Princess can summon her own
gestures. support team with a maximum of Inner Light
members.
Before casting Summon Backup Dancers the
Words on Water Writ (Appear ••, Acqua Princess must declare what kind of action they’re
going to support. The Princess could declare
•) singing in which case they’d be able to perform
Action: Instant dance routines or backup vocals. The Princess
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression - could declare painting and summon a model to
Commonality paint. The backup dancers primary task must
Cost: 1 Wisp involve giving some sort of performance, she cannot
Duration: Lasting summon a team of stage hands and set them wiring
up her stage.
The Princess encodes a message into a seemingly Backup dancers are solid but only when
innocuous display. First she must create a physical performing the task they were created, an actor
display to contain her message, and it could be would be able to interact with props, and wear
anything. She could arrange her collection of costumes, but would not be able to fetch a cup of
stuffed toys into a symbolic order, or write a letter coffee. A cunning Princess might still be able to
with a second coded message. Then she names the use them for other roles, she might ask her trope
recipient or recipients. She may choose one person, to dance around waving their arms in front of her
a group (applying a Commonality modifier), a enemies face while she hides, or to attack foes who
Court (-5) or the Nobility as a whole (-5). don’t realise the backup dancers cannot hurt them.
(Assume a 1 die pool on any social actions, mental
Dramatic Failure: The Princess message is not and physical tasks fail automatically). If attacked
hidden as well as she thinks. At some point in the a single point of Damage, even Bashing, causes a
future the Storyteller should introduce a problem Backup dancer to vanish into a puff of ephemera
caused by it falling into the wrong hands. appropriate to the Princess.
A Princess can only have one instance of Summon
Failure: The charm fails to activate.
Backup Dancers active at a time.
Success: The Princess creates a message
which contains roughly as much information Dramatic Failure: You summon Inner Light
performers but have no control over them. They

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 immediately run riot, while not actually harmful Wisps than the minimum of 2 - each extra Wisp
they can be very very annoying and are certainly doubles the time before the Droplet disintegrates,
inappropriate to the Princesses wishes. Think cumulatively. She cannot, however, spend more
clowns, not monsters. Wisps for this purpose than half her Inner Light,
Failure: No Dancers appear. rounded up. She may choose the total number
of Wisps spent after the activation roll, though
Successes: The Noble creates several assistants. she must spend at least 2. She may end the
The crew acts as equipment for the chosen task, Charm prematurely by touching the Droplet and
giving an equipment bonus equal to the Successes concentrating for a turn. A Princess cannot create
rolled (maximum of 5) to the Noble, or to anyone a second Droplet before the first Droplet dissolves
else she tells them to help. However, they carry - the Charm just fails if she tries.
the Volatile Condition [CofD 102]. If the Princess By default the Droplet is an automaton which
performs badly her backup will follow her lead, follows any instruction given to it which does not
potentially following her off a metaphorical cliff. pose a threat of physical harm, and otherwise stays
Exceptional Success: he crew doesn’t flake out wherever it is put; it takes no action on its own.
when their principle blunders. They don’t carry If the material used to make it resonates with an
the Volatile Condition Invocation the Princess may apply that Invocation
to the Charm (Aria uses thick mist or smoke, or
a strong breeze, Lacrima can use total darkness
Goccia Astrale (•••) or dark shadow.) Droplets so formed have some
initiative and the rudiments of a personality; in the
Action: Instant absence of clear instructions they follow the tenets
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts of the applied Invocation, to the extent allowed by
Cost: 2+ Wisps the knowledge and abilities the Princess possesses.
Duration: Variable
Upgrade: Integrated
“I can’t be in two places at once!” is an all-too- It’s often useful to know what your double has
common complaint from just about anyone; the been doing during your absence. If the Princess
Hopeful especially find it necessary to be two people dissolves her Droplet prematurely by touching it
at once, when mundane obligations interfere with and concentrating, she can recall to memory a
fighting a supernatural incursion. With this Charm description of the actions the Droplet took and
a Princess can partly resolve such dilemmas, by the events it saw and heard. A roll to recall any
making a facsimile of her mundane self that moves detail of the account is at -2 in addition to any
and speaks, and can pass as herself if not examined other penalties.
too closely.
Upgrade: Lifelike (Specchio •••)
To use the Charm, the Princess must have a
mass of material that she can shape barehanded, A Lightbringer can use that indescribable quality
or else a quantity of fluid, of roughly Size 2. that makes her reflection “her reflection”instead
Infusing this material with Wisps, she transforms of a simple image and use it to place mind and
it into an Astral Droplet: an exact physical copy of will into the Droplets they make. To apply
herself just before her last transformation, wearing Lifelike the Princess needs a reflecting surface
identical clothing. The Droplet has the same large enough to hold an image of her upper
mundane Attributes and Skills as its creator, and body; she takes the hands of her image and
access to all her memories as of the time of its pulls it out of the surface. The resulting Droplet
creation. However, it lacks energy and imagination; is flipped left-to-right, and with the opposite
it does not get 10-again on any dice pool, or any dominant hand. The real difference though, is
other quality that allows rerolling dice, cannot that the Droplet gains a nearly-human initiative
spend Willpower, and has neither Virtue nor Vice. and will; it has the Belief dots, Virtues and Vice
The Droplet is also fragile - a single point of damage of its creator, gets 10-again on its dice pools, can
of any type is enough to dissolve it into the stuff benefit from other qualities that permit rerolls,
it was made of and glimmers of light. Finally, and may spend and regain Willpower (though
the Droplet has none of the Princess’ Light-derived it begins with none.) The only supernatural
powers, not even Practical Magic. ability the Droplet possesses is the ability to
The Droplet’s basic duration is 30 minutes Transform and benefit from Transformed skills
for each activation success. The Princess may and attributes, created by Specchio it possesses
choose to extend the duration by spending more the Queen of Mirror’s Practical Magic. The
first time the Princess creates this Droplet, its

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 personality exactly matches her own (including Any use of Charms ends this power, as does
any forms of madness) and aside from the Swords or Tears’ Practical Magic. Any act of
physical inversion they can’t be told apart. violence, or any act that could be described as
Drawback: By invoking a Lifelike a Princess “attention grabbing” such as yelling or jumping up
is summoning an independent being. The and down while waving your arms ends the effect.
Droplet’s personality does not vanish when its This protection extends to anyone viewing a
body dissolves; it returns to being her reflection, recording or photo of the Princess that is both made
until she makes another Lifelike Droplet. At and viewed during the current scene. However once
that moment it returns and inhabits the new- the Charm ends so does her psychic invisibility,
made body. Since the droplet is created meaning that evidence of her activity will no longer
from a reflection it sees nothing wrong with be ignored. If she is caught on camera opening a
going back behind the mirror (and finds acting door then once the Charm ends anyone reviewing
independently a bit weird and uncomfortable, the footage will see a door mysteriously open by
but nobody said being a Princess or her reflection itself.
was easy). However every time the Princess
Dramatic Failure: The Noble makes herself
invokes Lifelike there is a chance that Specchio’s
memorable without realizing it. She takes the
madness will infect her Droplet. Each time it
Inverse Curse Condition, all Perception rolls to
inhabits a new body the Droplet rolls Resolve +
notice her take a +2 bonus for the rest of the
Composure, with a -2 penalty if the Princess is
scene.
suffering from Specchio induced madness. If she
fails, the Droplet’s falls to Specchio’s arrogance; Failure: Nothing happens.
she is convinced of her excellence and her right Success: The Princess stops emitting any light
to rule, and resents the Princess taking her in the visible spectrum and clouds the minds
rightful limelight. The Droplet will do what it of any who might notice her regardless. She is
can to avoid returning to behind the mirror. It essentially impossible to notice with mundane
can lengthen the Charm’s duration by spending senses. Supernatural senses allow a Clash of
its own Willpower; it may spend 1 point each Wills roll to penetrate the Princess’ invisibility.
day for this, which adds 24 hours of continued A mortal who suspects the Princess is present my
embodiment. (The Droplet cannot do this if the track her by looking for footsteps, opening doors,
Resolve + Composure check succeeds.) or other evidence of her passing. This requires an
Just what the Droplet does is up to the Extended Wits + Investigation roll with a target
Storyteller, but it should avoid Compromising of the Princess’ Composure + Stealth + Inner
the Princess’ own Beliefs. Light. Even with useful equipment like an infra-
red camera it will take a while for the tracker to
If the Princess applies Integrated and Lifelike, all
force his mind to except that heat patch is the
her memories since the Droplet’s first creation
Princess and not a glitch or passer by.
become available to it on the same terms as its
are available to her after she dissolves it. Other Exceptional Success: The Princess can shout and
than that, neither personality can remember wave her arms as much as she wants. Unless she
what the other has done. intends for someone to notice her the Charm will
not end. Violence, Charms and Swords or Tear’s
practical magic will still end the Charm.
Wallflower (Appear •••) Upgrade: Collective
Action: Instant The Princess can hide an entire group by
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Stealth applying the Commonality modifier.
Cost: 1 Wisp Upgrade: Veiled
Duration: 1 scene Using another Charm does not automatically end
this Charm, though the results of the Charm are
The Princess shies out of view entirely. She not masked, neither are any flashes or sparkles
becomes both physically invisible and mentally created as a side effect.
invisible as people find themselves incapable of
focusing on evidence of her activities. If she opens Upgrade: Full Spectrum (Acqua ••)
a door and walks through nobody will notice the The Princess’ invisibility extends into the infra-
door move, though they may unconsciously move red and ultra-violet spectrum. In addition the
to avoid being hit by the door. mental effects of the Charm extend to affect

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 mundane technology, making her all but invisible blast. If the target is using a gun capable of
to all technological means. A door that is set Autofire she could easily shoot at both to be on
to issue an alarm when it is opened will remain the safe side.
silent unless the Princess leaves it open when the Exceptional Success: In addition the illusion
charm ends or someone else jostles it. persists for a moment longer. The Princess may
invoke this Charm a second time before the end
of the turn without paying Wisps or Willpower.
A Flight of Furious Fancies (Appear •••,
Aria •••) Know My Pain (Appear •••, Tempesta
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge - Composure ••)
Cost: 1 Wisp Action: Instant
Duration: 1 Turn Dice Pool: Resolve + Intimidation vs Composure
+ Supernatural Advantage
The princess conjures an host of illusionary attacks Cost: 2 Wisps
on any target she can see clearly. Their attacks Duration: 1 scene
can do no damage, but the target may waste their
attention defending against non-existent foes. There are those who would tell you that pain is
Dramatic Failure: The swirling of the host bad, and to be avoided at all costs. They are weak.
leaves the Princess dizzy and confused. She Pain is a tool, just like any other. It is not only
immediately takes the Stunned Tilt [CofD 286]. useful, but even necessary, to use it against those
who would try to stop you.
Failure: No attackers appear.
Successes: The target is thoroughly distracted Dramatic Failure: The Princess gives pain only
by the host’s attacks. Each success reduces the to herself. For the rest of the scene she suffers a
target’s Defence by two for the rest of the turn. -1 penalty to all her actions.
Exceptional Success: In addition the target takes Failure: The target ignores the Princess’ pain.
the Stunned Tilt. Success: The target suffers phantom bashing
damage, equal to the number of boxes with
damage of any type on the Princess’ Health track
Doppelgänger Defence (Appear •••, Aria •••) or his unmarked Health boxes, whichever is less.
The target suffers wound penalties from this
Action: Reflexive
damage if it goes into the last three boxes, and
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge vs Wits +
must check their Stamina to remain conscious if
Composure
it fills the last box, as normal. However, the
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
damage is not real; it vanishes when the Charm
Duration: 1 Turn
ends as if it were healed, and if the target takes
real bashing damage when the track is full, that
At the perfect moment the princess creates an
damage replaces the phantom damage instead of
illusionary double of her ally, or herself, just as her
wrapping into lethal damage. Phantom damage
enemy prepares to strike. If the Princess wins the
also has no effect if the target has no empty
contested roll her opponent targets the illusion, if
Health Boxes to fill. The phantom damage can
she fails her enemy sees through the ruse or gets
also be healed magically, or mitigated as it’s
lucky.
inflicted by targets who have that ability.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is unable to tell Exceptional Success: The phantom damage from
herself and the illusion apart. She immediately the Charm is lethal. The target does not bleed
takes the Stunned Tilt [CofD 286]. out if the phantom damage incapacitates him,
Failure: No illusions appear. and real lethal damage replaces it instead of
wrapping into aggravated damage.
Successes: The target is fooled by the illusion.
The effects of this Charm depend on what the Upgrade: Shared (Tempesta •••)
target was planning to do. A sword stroke is Cost: +1 Wisp
entirely wasted but throwing a grenade at the Modified by Commonalty
illusion might still catch the real person in the

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 The Princess may use Know My Pain on a social Failure: The Princess makes no progress towards
group, applying the Commonalty modifier; every the Threshold.
member of the group takes phantom damage. Success: When the Princess reaches the
The member with the highest Composure resists threshold, the appearance of every nonliving
for the whole group. thing in the targeted area is transformed to
match a theme the Princess chooses. (For
instance, “formal ballroom”, “open bazaar”,
Imaginary Friend (Appear ••••, Aria •••) “African jungle” and “undersea grotto” are all
valid themes.) Permanent fixtures are always
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Subterfuge vs.
changed; she can choose whether to change
Wits + Subterfuge + Supernatural Advantage
people’s possessions, but cannot affect some
Cost: 2 Wisps
possessions and not others. As long as the Charm
Duration: 1 scene
lasts, the changed objects look, sound, feel and
even smell like what they appear to be; observers
The Noble creates the illusion of a man or woman,
may make Perception rolls to spot something
especially crafted for a single person.
wrong with the illusion, but they take a penalty
Dramatic Failure: The target becomes deeply equal to the Princess’ successes.
suspicious of the Noble; for the rest of the scene Exceptional Success: If the Princess scores an
all her Social rolls aimed at him take a -2 penalty. Exceptional Success on her extended roll then
Failure: The Noble fails to create the illusion. mundane senses cannot penetrate the illusion.
Success: The Noble chooses a role for the Upgrade: Palatine
illusion; the target perceives a person who The Princess may take advantage of a
behaves appropriately for that role in the Consecrated Condition. When she does so,
present situation, according to the target’s the illusion covers all the Consecrated ground
beliefs. However, if she doesn’t beat the target’s and lasts until the Condition expires or she
successes, he realizes that this person is an dismisses the Charm; treat the duration as 0
illusion within moments. If she does get more when calculating the threshold
successes, the target will treat the imaginary
person as fully real, and respond to it as to a
person of the role the Noble chose. No one else -
including the Noble - will see or hear the illusion;
Bless
she has no control over its behaviour. The Bless Charm enhances people, pushing their
Exceptional Success: The Noble can see the abilities to a peak and bringing their actions to
illusion. perfection. Champions and Graces have affinity for
it.
A Princess is perfectly capable of using Bless
Garden of Bright Images (Appear ••••) Charms upon herself, however bonuses from Bless
Charms don’t contribute to Charm activation rolls,
Requires: Phantom or any roll to activate a supernatural power.
Action: Extended, Presence + Expression (1 Exceptions to this are noted in the individual
minute/roll, threshold = Sanctuary + duration in Charm’s text.
hour).
Cost: (Sanctuary rating) Wisps
Duration: 1 or more hours We Rely on You (Bless •)
The Princess decorates her surroundings with a Action: Instant, Presence + Empathy
beautiful glamour. She chooses an area to affect
and a time for the glamour to last when she starts Cost: 1 Wisp
working on the Charm.
Duration: scene
Dramatic Failure: The Princess deceives only
herself; she sees the area transformed according A few words of encouragement can inspire anyone
to her intentions, but everyone else sees it as it to succeed despite the odds. No person may be
really is the target of We Rely on You while they currently
benefit from a previous invocation of the Charm.

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 Dramatic Failure: The botched magic breaks the
target’s confidence in their abilities. Apply the
What's That Sound (Bless •, Aria •)
Shaken Condition. Action: Instant
Failure: Nothing happens. Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Wits + Composure
Success: Success grants the target the Floating
Duration: 1 scene
Blessing Condition. It applies to all rolls except
for invoking Charms (or anything equivalent)
With a breath of excited air the Princess sends her
and the pool starts with one die per success.
target into a state of extraordinary alertness. The
Exceptional Success: Extra Successes are their target gains the condition Alert.
own reward.
Upgrade: Collective
Each Invocation has an Upgrade to We Rely on
Cost: +1 Wisp
You that strengthens the Blessing to two dice per
success, but also limits the blessing to a narrower The Princess may use the Charm on a social
set of rolls. These upgrades are as follows: group that can see or hear her, using the
Commonalty modifier.
• Sea-Foam’s Touch (Acqua •) - Rolls using
Mental Skills or Attributes.
• Wits of Wind (Aria •) - Rolls using Finesse
I'm the Best! (Bless •, Specchio •)
Attributes. Action: Reflexive and Resisted, Presence + Wits
- Composure
• Engine Heart (Fuoco •) - Rolls using Power
Cost: 1 Wisp
Attributes.
Duration: 1 extended action
• Steady Resolve (Legno •) - Rolls using
Resistance Attributes. Others might say that they are the masters of their
fields. But, simply, the Enlightened of the Queen of
• Bejewelled Visage (Terra •) - Rolls using Mirrors know this to be false. They can’t be better.
Social Skills or Attributes. This Charm can be used to enhance any contested
action against an opponent who has a higher dice
• Count No Cost (Tempesta •) - Any attack
pool than they do.
rolls.
• Burden of Rule (Lacrima •) - Any rolls made Dramatic Failure: The Noble refuses to accept
to protect an organisation, group or person of that she is the less skilled and covers her
the Princess’ choosing. As a rule of thumb defeat with bluster and bravado. She takes the
the roll should immediately prevent some clear Narcissism Condition.
form of harm like Damage or a Breaking Point. Failure: Nothing Happens
If the Princess names Alhambra this explicitly Success: Each success removes one dice from the
includes protecting the city’s Wisp supply. target’s pool, and adds one dice to the Noble’s
• Royal Glory (Specchio •) - Like the base pool. The number of dice transferred is capped
Charm the bonus applies to all rolls while by the Specchio rating of the Noble; such glorious
providing two dice per success, but a Princess victory comes from one’s own strength, after all.
can only use this upgrade upon herself. This may not reduce the target’s pool to less than
zero.
Upgrade: Beginner’s Luck Exceptional Success: The Noble makes her
Prerequisite: Sea-Foam’s Touch or Bejewelled victory look easy. She gains an exceptional
Visage success in the contest with 3 successes instead
of 5.
When using either Sea-Foam’s Touch or
Bejewelled Visage any roll where a dice are added Upgrade: Triumphantly (Specchio 4)
to a Skill ignores the Unskilled Penalty. The limitation that the target must have a higher
initial dice pool than the Noble is now waived.
In addition, if the foe is reduced to a dice
pool of zero, the Noble may reflexively spend a
Willpower point to force a Dramatic Failure.

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 Cost: +1 Wisp
Intuitive Flash (Bless ••)
The Princess grants a stronger blessing; the rolls
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Academics affected by the Charm gain the 8-again quality.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Upgrade: Perfected
Duration: 1 scene
Requires Strong
The Princess opens new pathways in the target’s Cost: +3 Wisps
spirit, allowing them to draw deeper from the well
The blessed actions become deceptively easy;
of their experience and expertise.
instead of gaining 9-again the rolls affected by
Dramatic Failure: The Noble seals off pathways, the Charm gain the rote quality. Strong and
the target takes the Cursed Condition and loses Perfected cannot both be applied to the same
a random Speciality for a scene. activation.

Failure: Nothing Happens Upgrade: Touch of Misfortune (Lacrima

••)
Success: The target gains the Informed
Condition as a Boon Condition (which means it The target takes the misfortuneate Condition,
does not grant Beats), the topic covered by the they do not gain 10again and subtract any 1s
Condition is one of their Specialities. This does from their Successes. Negative Successes become
not create knowledge but enhances memories and a Dramatic Failure.
allows the target to combine old information
through magically enhanced intuition. After
benefiting from Touch of Fortune the target Take Backsies (Bless ••)
cannot benefit from a second Invocation until at Action: Reactive, Wits + Empathy
least once scene after they Resolve the Condition. Cost: 2 Wisp
Exceptional Success: The Informed Condition is Duration: Duration: Lasting
broader, the topic covers two Specialities.
Spotting a friend on the verge of trouble, a
Princess bestows the gift of a second chance. This
Touch of Fortune (Bless ••) Charm may only be invoked immediately after
another dice-roll.
Action: Reactive, Wits + Empathy
Cost: 1 Wisp Dramatic Failure: If the original roll was a
Duration: Duration: 1 scene Success it’s downgraded to a Failure. If it was
a Failure it is downgraded to a Dramatic Failure.
The Princess grants a blessing of good fortune to a (The Storyteller should veto any attempt to
person she can see. penalise a foe with this effect.)

Dramatic Failure: The target loses her Failure: Nothing Happens

confidence. She gains the Shaken Condition Success: The target immediately re-rolls their
Failure: Nothing Happens last roll, the better of the two results stands.

Success: The target gains the Fortunate Tilt, Exceptional Success: The second roll also
blessing a number of rolls up to the activation benefits from 9again, or 8again if the target
successes. A Noble may cast Touch of Fortune already has 9again.
at the same moment another person acts to bless Upgrade: No Chance (Lacrima ••)
that action. The Princess invokes this charm upon her enemy.
Exceptional Success: The target gains the The worse result of the two rolls stands.
Fortunate Tilt for many rolls.
Upgrade: Well-timed
The target’s good fortune comes when most
Tranquil Glade (Bless ••, Legno •••)
needed. Before the target makes a roll, he Action: Reactive, Composure + Empathy
declares whether the Charm will affect it. The Cost: 1 Wisp
number of rolls affected does not change. Duration: Duration: Scene
Upgrade: Strong

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 By enveloping a friend in the calm of a peaceful • Wind-Borne Grace (Aria ••): Roll
forest glade the Princess protects him from mind or Presence + Expression to enhance a Finesse
emotion affecting supernatural abilities. Attribute.

Dramatic Failure: The Princess takes a psychic • Stoke the Furnace (Fuoco ••): Roll
backlash and cannot add Inner Light to rolls to Strength + Persuasion to enhance a Power
protect herself from mind or emotion affecting Attribute.
abilities.
• Forest Sanctuary (Legno ••): Roll
Failure: Nothing Happens Stamina + Survival to enhance a Resistance
Success: The target gains mental shield Attribute.
equivalent to the defensive effects of Inner
• Crown Jewels (Terra ••): Roll
Light or similar supernatural advantages. Each
Manipulation + Persuasion to enhance a Social
Success is equivalent to one dot of Inner Light.
Attribute.
This shield cannot stack with Inner Light or
other Supernatural Advantages, use the higher • Sic Semper Proditor (Lacrima ••): Roll
defence. Presence + Intimidation to apply the Cursed
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their Condition and reduce a Social Attribute. An
own reward. Attribute cannot be reduced below one.
Upgrade: Forest Bastion (Legno ••••) • Avenger’s Might (Tempesta ••):
Cost: +1 Wisp, +1 Willpower Tempesta’s Charm of Enchantment does not
enhance an Attribute. Instead Roll Resolve +
The Princess may apply Commonality to the roll
Brawl to enhance every roll in combat.
to protect multitudes.
• Regiis Gloria (Specchio •••): Roll
Presence + Expression and split the Successes
Charms of Enhancement (Bless •••, Invocation among any Attribute. No attribute can be
raised by more than Specchio dots. A Princess
••) can only invoke Regiis Gloria upon herself, and
she may stack the benefit with another Charm
Action: Instant
of Enhancement.
Dice pool: Variable Upgrade: Flexible (Invocation •••)
Cost: 2 Wisps The Noble may add dots to all of the target’s
Attributes within the Charm’s purview. She
Duration: 1 scene distributes her successes across the Attributes;
she still cannot add more than her Invocation
Charms of Enhancement are a set of Charms that to any one Attribute. This Upgrade must
provide the Blessing Condition adding Activation be purchased separately for each Charm of
Successes, up to a maximum of the relevant Enhancement and cannot be acquired for Regiis
Invocation, in dots to one of the target’s Attributes Gloria.
for a scene. A character cannot benefit from two
invocations of the same Charm of Enhancement
at the same time. She may benefit from multiple Light’s Aegis (Bless •••)
different Charms of Enhancement providing they
Action: Instant, Presence + Resolve
affect different Attributes (Regiis Gloria is an
Cost: 2 Wisps
exception and can stack with any other Charm
Duration: 1 scene
of Enhancement). Charms of Enhancement
cannot increase any Attribute above the (Princess’
The Princess extends a portion of her mantle over
maximum Transformed Attribute rating + 5). The
another person, granting him the power to ward off
Charms are:
injuries. The Charm may not be used on anyone
• Drawn by the Moon (Acqua ••): Roll currently affected by it or anyone who has been
: Intelligence + Science to enhance a Mental affected by it in the current scene.
Attribute.

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 Dramatic Failure: The Princess mishandles her Cost: +1 Wisp
power and injures herself. She takes 1 resistant
lethal damage. The Princess may use the Charm on a social
Failure: The target is unprotected by the Charm. group that can see her, using the Commonalty
Success: The target has limited access to the modifier.
Princess’ Holy Shield. He takes the Aegis Tilt:
each activation success each creates one shield-
point which is equivalent to one Wisp spent Oaken Fortitude (Bless •••, Legno •)
on Holy Shield: A shield-point can be spent Action: Instant, Strength + Medicine
to downgrade Aggravated to Lethal damage, Cost: 1 Wisp
downgrade Lethal damage to Bashing damage, or Duration: 1 scene
negate all but the first point of Bashing damage.
The Aegis may spend the same number of shield- The Princess’ presence fortifies, allowing the one
points per turn as the caster’s Wisps per turn. she blesses to endure and throw off wounds. The
The Tilt stacks with the innate Holy Shield if target gains the Temporary Health condition with
used on a Noble; both may be used against an one Health box per Success, this condition comes
attack. with the Healing modifier.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their If the target already has Temporary Health this
own reward. charm can not be used.
Upgrade: Queen’s Guard (Lacrima •••)
Cost: +1 Wisp Jade Palm Strike (Bless •••, Terra ••)
The Aegis remains dormant until it is needed. Action: Instant, Presence + Expression
The Duration of the Charm extends to Indefinite, Cost: 2 Wisps
but once the first shield-point is used the Charm Duration: 1 scene
will fade at the end of the scene.
The Princess wraps a friend’s hands in a magical
aura that mimics jade and cuts the flesh of servants
Lucky Escape (Bless •••) of Darkness.

Action: Instant, Presence + Resolve Dramatic Failure: The target’s arm turns into
Cost: 2 Wisps solid Jade. Take the Arm Wreck Tilt for the
Duration: 1 scene scene.
Failure: For a moment, the target feels spiritually
The Princess places a blessing upon someone, cleansed.
allowing her to survive the seemingly impossible. Success: The target acquires the mystical purity
This Charm cannot be invoked upon anyone with of jade. His flesh has the same effects on
the Lucky Escape Tilt or who has benefited from creatures of Darkness that jade does until the
that Tilt in the current scene. Charm ends and he gains a bonus die to resist
Dark magic. Jade Palm Strike cannot stack
Dramatic Failure: The Princess mishandles her
bonuses with physical jade.
power and injures herself. She takes 1 resistant
lethal damage. Exceptional Success: The target also gains the
Blessing Condition and gains +2 dice to resist
Failure: The target is unprotected by the Charm.
any Breaking Point caused by the Darkness.
Success: The target takes the Lucky Escape Tilt.
Upgrade: Armed
If the their last health box is filled with Lethal or
Aggravated damage they replace that box with The target’s enchanted aura spreads to his
bashing Damage. This happens at the start of weapons. A weapon in his hands acts on Dark
the target’s next turn. creatures as if made of jade. The aura comes
from the target, not the weapon, so it fades from
Exceptional Success: The last two Health boxes
a weapon when he releases it; however, it lingers
are affected.
long enough for a thrown object or a bullet to hit
Upgrade: Collective its target.
Upgrade: Multiple

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 Cost: +1 Willpower transformation on activating the Charm, assuming
traits that suggest a large and powerful animal
The Princess may give a jade aura to all the – typically a lion, though bear-like and eagle-like
members of an organization in her presence, miens are known, and there are rumors of one
applying the Commonalty modifier. Hopeful who evokes a dragon. The change always
suggests a king or queen of beasts, and the peril and
majesty of the natural world; any mortal seeing the
Tendril of Nothing (Bless ••••, Lacrima •••) Princess is somewhat shaken, and she gains +1 on
all Intimidation rolls against them until the Charm
Action: Instant and resisted, Presence + ends.
Intimidation - target’s Composure However, the main effect of the Charm is on
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower, Compromise at Belief beasts who see it. Any natural animal that can
4+ with a -3 modifier perceive the Princess when she activates the Charm
Duration: 1 scene has its Intelligence raised by 1 dot, becoming
sapient. Further, the animals affected gain instant
The void can seep into every mind. Give in, it says. fluency in her native language, and the Charm
Do not resist. Give up, and let your sorrows drown grants them the ability to speak it comprehensibly
you. if they have any ability to vocalize at all. The
Princess may use Social Skills on the animals as
Dramatic Failure: The Princess lets the void she would with mortals, and gains a bonus on such
only into your own mind. She suffers from the rolls equal to her activation successes. When the
Depression condition, it cannot be Resolved but Charm ends, the animals return to their former
fades on the next full moon. non-sapient state. If the Princess use the Charm
Failure: The power does not activate. twice on the same animal, it remembers everything
that happened during the first use.
Success: The stillness of the void settles into Until the Charm ends, the Princess gains the
the heart and mind of a foe. The target Invocation Lock condition keyed to Legno.
gains the Condition Cursed, the affected trait is
a Resistance Attribute of the Princess’ choice,
which is decreased by the Princess’ activation
successes. This Charm cannot reduce an
Sheltered by Her Hand (Bless •••••, Lacrima
attribute to zero dots. ••••)
If the last box on the target’s Health track fills
with aggravated damage, the Charm ends and Action: Instant, Resolve + Empathy, modified by
the Condition is removed. The target still falls Commonalty
unconsciousness and if the target’s Stamina is Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower, Compromise at Belief
cursed then any leftover damage is immediately 4+ with a -3 modifier
applied to their restored health boxes. When the Duration: 1 scene
Charm does end, the target’s Attributes return
to their normal values; all restored Health boxes To preserve her city and her subjects is the first
are empty. principle of the Queen of Tears, and those who
incarnate her are able to guard their allies from
Exceptional Success: Such a show of force all harm. A Princess uses this Charm to protect
terrifies the foe, showing them the foolishness citizens of Alhambra (no other Commonality group
of standing up to the Princess. In addition to may be used; Lacrima may not be magically linked
the other effects, he suffers from the Depression to Alhambra, but the avatar of Alhambra’s Lady
Condition until the next time he sees the sun. certainly is).

Dramatic Failure: The Princess fails utterly to

Peaceable Kingdom (Bless •••••, Legno ••••) protect her allies, and is crushed. She loses a
point of Willpower and cannot spend or regain
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Animal Ken Willpower for the rest of the scene. In other
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower words, she gains the Depression Condition but
Duration: 1 scene automatically suffers it’s full effects without
needing to fail in her goals first.
The Queen of Clubs’ avatar is guardian and teacher
Failure: The Princess cannot protect her allies.
of the beasts. The Princess undergoes a second
The Charm fails.

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 Success: The Princess undergoes a second
transformation that drains all the colour from Connect
her body and Regalia. All members of the
Connect Charms trace and use the connections
target group who can see this transformation
between people, or make and break such
feel a breath of cold pass over them, penetrating
connections. Only Graces have affinity for them.
through all clothing for a moment.
Until the Charm ends, the transformation
expands and substantially modifies the Princess’ Fair Welcome (Connect •)
Holy Shield; creating the Sheltering Hand Tilt:
When anyone affected takes damage the Princess Action: Instant, Manipulation + Empathy
automatically protects them by spending Wisps Cost: 1 Wisp
at her usual rate for Holy Shield. If she does Duration: 1 scene
not have sufficient Wisps she drains the land
around her. At the end of each turn in which the Every person is intimately connected to a culture
Noble took Wisps from the area, the Storyteller by a thread woven from a lifetime of experience,
rolls dice equal to the number of Wisps she took. and through that experience a person learns a
The drain generates Taint in the area of Severity thousand little ways to act in order to belong. With
equal to the successes on this roll, and Size large this Charm the Princess can temporally move her
enough to include all the people it protected. connection to wherever she is now; allowing her to
fit in and make a good impression wherever she
Exceptional Success: The Princess touches the
goes.
determination that has sustained the Queen of
Tears in her mission. She also gains the Blessing Dramatic Failure: The Charm works in reverse,
Condition. The affected trait is Inner Strength making the Princess naive and awestruck by
rolls and the increase is 2. The Blessing ends new people. She applies the Fresh Impression
when the Sheltering Hand Tilt does so. condition to herself, increasing her impressions
of anyone she hasn’t already formed an opinion
Drawback: The Queen of Tears perpetually
about by one step.
mourns for the lost Kingdom, and the sacrifices that
must be made to sustain its remnant; her avatar Failure: Nothing happens.
bears the burden of her grief, and so also gains the Success: Until the Charm ends she automatically
Queen’s Grief Tilt. At the end of every turn where applies the Fresh Impressions Condition to
she protected someone with this Charm roll Resolve anyone she interacts with for the first time as well
+ Composure: as anyone who has spoken to the Princess before
but has no opinion about her. Essentially, if the
Dramatic Failure: The princess collapses into phrase “first impressions ” fits then the Charm
a hysterical mess for the scene, and suffers all functions. The Condition increases the target’s
accumulated Depression. impression by one step beyond what they would
Failure: The Princess takes a -1 penalty to all naturally be. In addition so long as the Charm
future Resolve + Composure rolls to maintain is action the Princess removes any penalties for
Sheltered by Her Hand for this scene. In lacking a Speciality to a social skill or wearing
addition she adds one day of Depression to her inappropriate clothing.
accumulated total. Exceptional Success: The Princess also gains the
Success: The Princess takes a -1 penalty to all Blessing Condition, she has a +1 to all social rolls
future Resolve + Composure rolls to maintain with the affected people.
Sheltered by Her Hand for this scene. Upgrade: Second Chances
Exceptional Success: Nothing happens. Instead of an all-encompassing aura the Princess
may instead focus this Charm on one single
When the Charm ends the Princess mediately
person, even one who has met the Princess
falls into Depression for the number of days
before. The activation roll is Contested by the
accumulated during this Charm.
target’s Composure + Supernatural Advantage.
Until the Charm ends, the Princess gains the
Invocation Lock condition keyed to Lacrima. Upgrade: Introductions
The Princess may invoke First Impressions on
someone other than herself.

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 mundane activity, unrelated to the actual use of the
Helping Hand (Connect •) Charm, and these divides can be linear, or enclose
Action: Instant an area. It can also empower pre-existing divides,
Dice Pool: Inner Light + Empathy such as a doorway, or a river. These divides must
Cost: 1 Wisp either measure no more than (Inner Light x 20)
Duration: Lasting yards in any direction, or be in an area affected by
the Consecrated Condition.
If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing together.
When the Princess assists in an instant teamwork Dramatic Failure: The Princess’s clumsy magic
action, she may activate this Charm instead of temporarily manages to scramble her memories.
rolling the relevant dice pool. Each success on She gains the Lost Condition, she is no longer
the activation roll becomes a bonus die for the able to remember how place connects to place.
primary actor. In effect this Charm replaces the Failure: The Charm fails to activate, with a
usual dice pool for a secondary actor with Inner slightly pathetic spluttering noise.
Light + Empathy. In an extended teamwork action Success: The divide is empowered, gaining the
The Princess can use Helping Hand multiple times, Line in the Sand Condition. She nominates
once for each roll. Any bonuses or penalties on certain targets and instantly knows if they cross
the teamwork dice pool also apply to the charm the line (and which line, if she has more than one
roll, and a dramatic failure penalizes the primary active). The Princess can nominate everyone, a
actor’s roll as usual. single individual, or she may nominate a social
group by adding Commonality to her roll. By
Upgrade: Enduring
default the duration one scene. If used on a
Cost: +1 Willpower permanent natural divide, such as a doorway,
When assisting in an extended teamwork action, fence or across a bridge, the duration is increased
all the Princess’ rolls are Inner Light + Empathy to one day. If used on Consecrated ground
instead of the relevant dice pool. the duration is until the area is no longer
Consecrated.
Upgrade: Guided
Exceptional Success: The magic flows easily, the
Do not apply penalties on the teamwork dice pool
divide feeling natural, and so the Princess is
to the activation roll.
refunded the Wisp cost for the Charm.
Upgrade: Twinned
Suggested Modifiers: Naturally secure building
Cost: +1 Wisp (+ Safe Place). Exceptionally strong memories
When the Princess activates the Charm, she also of love and safety, such as a childhood home or
rolls the relevant dice pool, and adds successes childhood holiday home (+5). Strong memories
from both that roll and the Charm. The pools of love and safety, such as a long time friend’s
are separate; any bonuses and penalties apply home (+3). The character does not have position
to both. Twinned cannot be combined with of the owner of the land to do this (-2).
Enduring. Upgrade: Illuminated
Cost: +1 Wisp
Laying Down The Line (Connect •) Reaching out, the Princess sketches the bounded
area in her mind, painting the delineation in
Action: Instant, Resolve + Streetwise liquid light. She is not required to make a
Cost: 1 Wisp mundane divide, and so may encompass any area
Duration: One scene (Consecrated) up to the limit as part of the activation Instant
action, and the line may not be removed by the
A Noble is a creature of divides; between Light destruction of the mundane component.
and Dark, Transformed and mundane, Hope and Upgrade: Unnatural
despair. Drawing a line on the ground, she
separates one area from another, and so becomes The Princess has additional options when
aware of anyone that crosses that line. Before this deciding who the lines should target. She
Charm can be used, the Noble must first make some may now choose anyone Supernatural, the
kind of line or divide to empower, such as a chalk Light touched (Transformed Princesses, Sworn,
line drawn on tarmac, a rope thrown down, or even Beacons, Shikigami), or Creatures of the
putting up a picket fence around a house. This is a Darkness. For the purpose of this Charm

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 “supernatural” has a minimum threshold of a got one of his employees to deliver the car on his
Minor Template. behalf that would fulfil the contract unless either
Upgrade: Sheltered (Lacrima •) party considered it important that he made the
delivery personally.
The Princess has additional options when
deciding who the lines should target. She Exceptional Success: No further benefit.
may now choose the Court of Storms, including Upgrade: Guild Charter (Terra •)
Princesses, Stormwracked and Goalenu. She does Modified by Commonality
not need to add Commonality to her roll.
The Princess’ awareness is not limited to a single
Upgrade: Righteous (Tempesta •) person. When invoking the Charm the Princess
The Princess has additional options when may nominate an organisation for which the
deciding who the lines should target. She may signatory has Status in and who he represents
now choose Creatures of the Dark or the Court of in this negotiation. if she does so she’ll become
Tears, including Princesses, Ghost Princesses (if aware when anyone in that organisation fulfils or
they are part of the Court of Tears) and Sworn. breaks the terms of the agreement.
She does not need to add Commonality to her Upgrade: Queen’s Arbitration (Lacrima
roll. •••)
The Princess enforces the contract with all the
Royal Witness (Connect •) authority of the Last Empress. Any party who
breaks their side of the deal must roll a Breaking
Action: Instant Point or Compromise with a penalty equal to the
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Politics Princess’ Lacrima. The Storyteller decides if and
Cost: 1+ Wisp how other Supernatural beings are affected.
Duration: 1 Month per Wisp

A Princess is royalty and may be called upon Small Providence (Connect •)

to witness a contract in her official capacity. This
charm may be invoked upon any written or spoken Action: Instant
contract, but everyone with obligations must be Dice Pool: Manipulation + Streetwise
present and consent to the Princess bearing witness. Cost: 1 Wisp
This Charm is a lot less powerful than some Duration: 1 day
Princesses wish, it can only work with clear and
discrete actions and stands no chance when used The Princess (or one she helps) finds, and obtains,
on something complicated like a corporate merger. that one thing she was looking for, at a surprisingly
If the Princess wishes she can invoke this Charm low price.
multiple times to ensure that all signatories to the
contract uphold their obligations. Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s finances are
thrown into disorder. For the next week, the
Dramatic Failure: Instead of creating a Availability of any equipment or services she
connection to the contract the Princess just gives wants counts as one dot higher.
herself a headache. She takes moderate Sick Tilt Failure: The target gains nothing from the
for the scene. Charm.
Failure: Nothing happens. Success: The target of the Charm gains one
Success: The Princess connects herself to one instance of the Bargain Condition applicable to
signatory of the contract, and knows when the any purchase. The Condition is wasted if it is
terms are fulfilled or broken, but only for clear not used when the Charm expires.
and discrete actions. If a contract required a Exceptional Success:The target of the Charm
mechanic to deliver a car in good repair by gains two instances of the Bargain Condition.
Saturday the Princess would know the moment Both will end when the Charm expires
he delivered the car or the deadline passed
with no delivery, but she would have no clue
if the car is in good repair without walking Open Heart (Connect •)
over and checking herself. Unlike most such
powers Royal Witness works on the spirit of the Action: Permanent
agreement and not the letter. If the mechanic

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When she is transformed the Noble’s heart opens unrestricted. The Charm fails if the Noble or her
to all around her. She may apply an Invocation to target is engaged in combat.
mundane Empathy rolls.
Dramatic Failure: The target sees the Noble as
Upgrade: Loving (Fuoco •) a fraud or a lunatic, and will react accordingly.
The Princess’ heart opens further to those she Failure: The target sees nothing significant
loves. If she has a crush on someone she gains about the Noble’s phylactery.
9again on empathy rolls with them. Love, or Success: For the rest of the scene, the target
the short term high of the Swooned Condition, assumes the Noble has diplomatic privileges. He
increases this to 8again. will not try to search her or detain her, no
Upgrade: Leading (Terra ••) matter what she’s been doing, though if she lacks
Authority comes from responsibility and duty to permission to be where she is, he may escort her
those below you and a Princess must always be out. The target also will not initiate combat
receptive to their mood and needs. She may add with the Noble unless ordered to do so by his
her Status dots to mundane Empathy rolls when superiors, though he will respond if she attacks.
the subject of the roll is below her in the same Exceptional Success: The Charm’s effect persists
Status hierarchy. for a full day before it ends.
Upgrade: Studied (Acqua •) Upgrade: Collective
Provided she has sufficient reference materials to Modified by Commonalty
study the Princess takes no penalty for rolling Cost: +1 Wisp
empathy on someone she has never met. For
example by referencing news articles and debate The Noble may use the Charm on members of
transcripts the Princess could determine if a an organization that can see or hear her, using
political candidate is being dishonest. the Commonalty modifier. The member with the
highest Composure + Status (not Supernatural
Advantage) Contests for the group.
Trace the Threads (Connect •) Upgrade: Membership
Requires: Collective
Action: Unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp Cost: +1 Willpower
Duration: 1 Scene or Lasting The noble reweaves the threads that bind an
organisation together to include herself. When
The Princess can unerring seek out the right person she uses Collective on an organisation large
and she may learn many things from an hour of enough to have a Status Merit she gains
polite talk. In essence she spends a Wisp to apply the Blessing Condition adding half her Terra
the Blessing Condition to herself, acquiring a dot (rounding up) in Status to an organisation. This
of the Contacts Merit for a scene which she may organisation cannot be supernatural in nature
then use using the usual rules. The Contacts must (which includes any organisation that offers a
represent people who can plausibly be found in the supernatural Merit or Endowment as a benefit
local area. to members). In addition to Status the Princess
If the Princess wishes, and has given a good knows how to talk and act like a member of
impression, she may spend Experience to make the the organisation, and if she has appropriate
Contacts permanent. Charms (such as Phantom) she knows how to
create accurate markers of identity. However her
membership is fragile, she will need to come up
Mantle of Authority (Connect •, Terra •) with her own reasons for why nobody has met
her before and if she gives people a reason to
Action: Instant and Contested
investigate her membership they will discover the
Cost: 1 Wisp
truth.
Dice Pool: Presence + Politics vs Composure +
Supernatural Advantage
Duration: 1 scene
Pull Together (Connect •, Terra ••)
The Noble claims her authority from the Light Action: Reflexive
to keep her person inviolate and her movements Dice Pool: Unrolled

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Cost: 1 Wisp Whenever the target of this Charm experiences
Duration: 1 scene intense fear or pain (physical or emotional) the
Princess is immediately aware of it. If she has used
In the face of a crisis the Princess takes charge, this Charm on multiple people she is aware of which
with a few quick commands and a hastily tied knot one is in distress.
in the web of interpersonal connections. When Minding Madoka can be Invoked as at Intimate
the Princess uses Jury Rigging [CoD page 102] to range or on a group via Commonality, however a
create an organisation she may spend a Wisp before Princess cannot use both modifiers simultaneously.
rolling. If she does so then upon a regular Success
the resulting equipment is not Fragile or Volatile,
however it will only last for one scene. Mercury's Blessing (Connect •, Acqua •)
Action: Instant
Sweet Fragrance (Connect •, Legno •) Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Action: Instant and contested Duration: 1 scene
Dice Pool: Composure + Socialize
Cost: 1 Wisp With a touch of the hand and a look in the
Duration: 1 scene eye, the Princess may converse with anyone in
The Princess releases a subtle scent into the air the world. She touches someone to activate the
around her, that relaxes those who breathe it and Charm. With an ordinary success, she acquires
inclines them to be friendly. She affects a circular a basic understanding of the one of the target’s
area with a radius up to (Inner Light + Legno) language until the Charm ends. She gains the
yards, centred on herself. Blessing Condition, the affected trait is a dot in
the multilingual merit applied to a single language
Dramatic Failure: The scent the Princess releases the target knows. On an Exceptional Success the
is mildly offensive. She takes a -1 penalty on all Princess gets the Language Merit instead.
Social rolls for the rest of the scene, or until she
cleans herself with soap or magic. Upgrade: Lasting
Failure: The Princess releases no scent. Cost: +1 Wisp
Success: Anyone within (Inner Light + Legno) Duration: 1 day
yards of the Princess who cannot match her The Princess’ magical fluency persists for a full
activation Successes with a Composure + day from the moment she gained it.
Supernatural Tolerance roll gains the Trusting
Upgrade: Overflowing (Acqua ••)
Condition. The Princess must roll to avoid
gaining the Condition herself. If a person speaks more than one language, the
Princess can learn them all. The effects apply to
Exceptional Success: The Princess is immune to
one language for each success rolled, up to her
her own scent.
Acqua.
Upgrade: Subtle (Legno ••) Upgrade: Instructing (Acqua ••)
The Princess may permeate an object with her The Princess can use this Charm in reverse,
fragrance by touching it. The charm functions as granting others the ability to speak a language
normal save that the area surrounds the affected she knows.
object.

Minding Madoka (Connect •, Lacrima ••) Better Together (Connect ••)

Action: Instant
Action: Instant Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Composure + Empathy - Intimacy or Dice Pool: Manipulation + Socialise vs
Commonality Composure + Supernatural Advantage
Cost: 1 Wisp Duration: Until the condition is resolved
Duration: Successes in days
With deft fingers the Princess weaves two people
Like the Queen of Tears, a Raven never lets together, using each as support for the other so
those she protects stray from the front of her mind. that they may reach greater heights. The Princess

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may be one of the two people. The is contested by
the higher dice pool of the targets, but if everyone
The Right Word (Connect ••)
consents the Charm is unopposed. Action: Instant and contested
Dice pool: Manipulation + Persuasion vs.
Dramatic Failure: Both parties take the Fresh Composure + Supernatural Tolerance
Impressions condition, setting their impressions Cost: 1 Wisp
one stage lower for a day. Duration: instant
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The charm takes effect, one or both of The Princess can read the hearts of those she
the targets, the Princess’ choice, gain the Guided meets, discovering what they most desire and what
Condition connecting them to the other target. she can do to help them reach it. At the start of
a social maneuver with a person, the Princess may
Exceptional Success: In addition both parties activate this Charm.
take the Fresh Impressions condition, setting
their impressions one stage higher for a day. Dramatic Failure: The Princess is led to believe
the target has an Aspiration which is, in fact,
repugnant to him. If she offers to help him
Shared Interests (Connect ••) achieve the spurious goal, add one Door to her
social maneuver and lower the impression by one
Action: Instant
step.
Dice Pool: Presence + Socialise
Cost: 1 Wisp Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
Duration: One scene or one day target’s desires. The social maneuver proceeds
normally.
The Princess turns common knowledge and Success: The Princess learns one of the target’s
training into a bond among the people near her. current Aspirations in the course of her first
The Princess may use this Charm on a person she attempt to open a Door. She may appeal to
can touch, when the target is in the company of at that Aspiration after the first attempt resolves,
least four other people, and he and the others all whether it succeeds or fails. If the target
have at least 2 dots in the same Skill. The Princess has a Dream, or any other trait similar to
may not use the Charm on anyone already under Aspirations, the Princess can discover it instead
its effects. of an Aspiration.

Dramatic Failure: The Princess becomes Exceptional Success: The Princess learns two of
flustered and distracted when the target can see the target’s Aspirations (or Vocations, or similar
her. She takes the Nervous Condition, which traits) as she tries to open her first Door.
resolves when she has left the target’s presence Upgrade: Convincing
for at least one scene. Cost: +1 Wisp
Failure: Nothing happens. The Princess knows just how to appeal to
Success: For the rest of the scene, the target her target’s wishes. When she appeals to an
has the benefits of the Hobbyist Clique Merit, Aspiration revealed by the Charm during the
related to the Skill he shares with the others social maneuver she used it, she opens two Doors
who are present. The benefit is limited to one instead of one.
Skill at a time; if more than one clique can
be formed around the target for different Skills,
the Princess chooses a Skill as she activates the Beast Speaker (Connect ••, Legno •)
Charm. The target needs the help of at least four
clique members to get the benefit; the Charm Action: Instant, Intelligence + Animal Ken
does not end if the clique disperses, but it has no
effect unless five members including the target Cost: 1 Wisp
are working together.
Duration: 1 scene
Exceptional Success: The Charm grants its
benefits to the target until the next sunrise. Beast Speaker allows a Princess to speak to any
animal, and understand its replies.

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 Dramatic Failure: The targeted animal, and any
other animal of the same species, turns hostile
Hail to the Homecoming Queen (Connect ••,
and will attack the Princess if it can until the
Charm ends.
Specchio •••)
Failure: The animal does not understand the Action: Instant, Presence + Expression
Princess, and behaves as it normally would.
Cost: 2 Wisps + 1 Willpower
Success: The Princess acquires the Blessing
Condition, the affected trait is the Language Duration: 20 turns
Merit, applied to the species of animal targeted.
Exceptional Success: The Princess acquires a With a dramatic entrance all eyes turn adoringly
second Blessing Condition. The trait is social towards the Princess.
rolls with any member of the species targeted
and the bonus is +2 dice. Dramatic Failure: The Princess draws no
attention as is compelled to try harder. Take
the Drama Queen Condition.
Flash of Brilliance (Connect ••, Specchio •••) Failure: The Charm has no effect.
Action: Reflexive, Presence + Subterfuge. Success: For the next 20 turns (one minute)
Cost: 1 Wisps every character who sees the Princess and has
Duration: Indefinite not yet seen the Princess this scene, and who’s
Composure is lower than her activation Successes
To an Heir, mundane history and trivia often seem takes the Swooned Condition. The Condition
so… trivial. Shouldn’t an Heir’s magic be proof fades at the end of the scene if it hasn’t been
enough of their genius? This Charm enhances any resolved.
action with the goal of convincing others that the Exceptional Success: Extra Successes are their
Noble is well-informed about some topic. own reward.

Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s action is an

automatic dramatic failure. Whatever she says, King of the Road (Connect ••, Specchio •••)
the audience perceives only foolish ignorance of
the topic. Action: Instant
Failure: The action is neither helped nor
hindered. Cost: 2 Wisps + 1 Willpower
Success: The Noble passes herself off as an Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation
expert. If her roll for the action fails, the Duration: 1 scene
audience perceive it as though she rolled one
success; if it succeeds, they see an exceptional In American culture no item is more symbolic of
success. Listeners will remember hearing a person’s status than their car and a Brat can
only the things the Noble said that were exploit the connection between man and machine to
appropriate to the topic, but will believe the full demonstrate her superiority through a flashy ride.
speech conveyed an accuracy and understanding When invoking this Charm the Princess selects to
appropriate to the result of the roll. The Charm either flaunt her car’s speed or beauty; beauty is
affects only what the audience hears; dictation, defined as the highest equipment bonus it gives to a
recordings, and so on capture only the actual social skill. The Heir may also use this Charm upon
speech, although listeners will not realize it until a truck or motorcycle, or a Transformed Bequest
the Noble is done speaking. for the Charm Royal Chariot that takes the form
Exceptional Success: The Noble’s apparent of any of the aforementioned vehicles.
mastery of the topic prevents anyone from
challenging her claims. If her action succeeds, Dramatic Failure: The Princess damages her car,
listeners must spend 1 Willpower to dispute it immediately loses a quarter of it’s structure.
anything she says on the topic for the rest of the Failure: The Charm has no effect.
scene.
Success: For the remainder of the scene anyone
who sees the Brat’s vehicle, and who derives
social status from their own (or their spouse’s)

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 vehicle, cannot help but compare the quality Upgrade: Partners in Crime (Aria
of their rides. If their ride is of the same ••••)
type inferior they must roll Composure + Cost: + 1 Wisp
Supernatural Advantage or take the Shaken
Condition as the magic forces them to doubt You can use the Charm on another person you
their social status or masculinity. When the can speak to. The target must give their consent
Princess’ ride is a Bequest it’s speed can be for such a thing to occur.
calculated as normal and it’s appearance can be Upgrade: Band of Thieves (Aria •••••)
treated as the higher of Inner Light or the applied Requires: Partners in Crime
Invocation, if Specchio was applied it counts as
double. Cost: + 2 Wisps

Exceptional Success: As above, except that there You can use the Charm on a social group you can
is no roll to resist the effects. speak to, extracting yourself from a Commonalty
group. If combined with Partners in Crime
the Princess can extract multiple people at no
Queen's Burden (Connect ••, Lacrima ••) additional cost.

Action: Reflexive
Dice Pool: Unrolled Cherish (Connect •••)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Empathy -
target’s Composure
With a tug the Princess pulls the emotional pain Cost: 1 Wisp
of another onto herself to support her people as Duration: One Charm or Inner Light days
the Queen supports all of Alhabmra. Queen’s
Burden can be reflexively invoked upon witnessing A person she’s met, a place she’s been – these fix
a Mortal or Beacon undergoing a Breaking Point. themselves in a Princess’ heart. The Princess uses
The target immediately feels their emotions numb this Charm on a target within sight, to grant herself
and no longer has to face that Breaking Point, temporary Intimacy to it.
but the Princess must bear the emotional turmoil,
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use any
enhanced to a Noble scale, and must immediately
Charm through an Intimate connection to the
make a Sensitivity check.
target until she sees it again.
Failure: The Charm has no effect.
You're Only in Trouble if you Get Caught Success: The Princess and her target gain
the Entwined condition, linked to each other.
(Connect ••, Aria •••) For every Success the Link Strength is one
step stronger than her natural Intimacy, to a
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Composure
minimum of Love. The Condition ends when a
Cost: 1 Willpower
Charm is invoked across the new connection.
Duration: Lasting
Exceptional Success: The connection lasts for
Sometimes, one must learn to lose, to give up, and, several Charms, though it frays each time the
to put it bluntly, to run away. By using magic Princess uses it. The first Charm she uses has an
taught by the Queen of Thieves a Knave may escape Intimacy modifier of 0, the second has one of -2,
from her past, and those who would use it to track the third -4, and so forth until she returns to the
her down with magic. original level of Intimacy.
Each success on the activation roll reduces your
Intimacy to a chosen subject by one degree per Note that the Intimacy made by Cherish works
success. If this reduces the connection below Few both ways; if the target has a power that exploits
Feelings, it breaks altogether. Intimacy, he can send that power through the
The effects are permanent, but the connection connection the Princess made.
can reform quickly if the Princess does not avoid
Upgrade: Durable
contact with whoever she has left behind. Her
actual fealings remain unchanged. Cost: +1 Wisp

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 Using Charms no longer ends the Entwined meet someone. She defines up to one characteristic
condition, it lasts for Inner Light days and no per dot of Inner Light or any applied Invocation. A
longer. characteristic can be trait (e.g. an Attribute, Skill
Upgrade: Mama Bear or Merit) or something less quantifiable like having
a sunny disposition.
The Noble pulls the one she cherishes into
a tight embrace, protecting him from others Dramatic Failure: The Princess learns how to
who might magically molest him. As long as find someone who satisfies all her requirements;
the Entwined Condition remains, any Intimacy however, if she meets him, the storyteller should
connection to the target other than the Noble’s inflict some hardship upon her.
is weakened by one step. The Charm can Failure: Nothing happens.
make a weak connection unusable. At the
Storyteller’s discretion this effect may apply to Success: The Princess twists fate ensuring that
other connections similar in nature to Intimacy. portents and omens will guide her to someone
who satisfies all her requirements. If she follows
the signs (the Storyteller provides signs) she
Leading the Way (Connect •••) meets the person in question.
Exceptional Success: In addition, she will meet
Action: Instant, Presence + Persuasion the person in favourable circumstances and
Cost: 1 Wisp create an initial impression one step higher than
Duration: Until the condition is resolved she naturally would have.
Upgrade: Proxy
We put a lot of ourselves into our leaders. We trust
them, we follow them, we even base parts of our Cost: +1 Wisp
identity on which leader we follow. A Princesses The Princess can act as an intermediary. She
can work with the connections between people and may use the Charm on a person she can touch.
their leaders, bringing herself closer to the people The Charm affects the target exactly as it would
she serves. if he activated it himself, except that the Princess
sees the signs and must tell them to the target.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess shakes her
confidence in her goals. Take the Self-Doubt Upgrade: Meet Cute (Specchio •••)
Condition. When the Princess follows the signs and meets
the person she seeks, both immediately take the
Failure: Nothing happens.
Swooned Condition.
Success or Exceptional Success: Choose one
Dream of Aspiration and mark it with the
Guiding Light Condition. When you fulfil it Whispers from Afar (Connect •••)
everyone who helped you do so in the current
Session takes a Beat, Princesses who help you Action: Instant, Wits + Socialize, modified by
fulfil a Dream also gain a Luminous Beat. Intimacy
Upgrade: Light from Above (Specchio Cost: 2 Wisps
•••) Duration: 1 scene

Every mortal within the Princess’ presence, What need is there of speech between you and
whose Composure is lower than the Princess’ those you love? A Princess uses this Charm to
Specchio, removes one of their Aspirations for communicate with another person; if he is not
the remainder of the scene or until they leave present, the Intimacy modifier applies. If the target
the Princess’ presence. Thus ensuring they will has Wisps, he can share the activation cost; both
focus their efforts on where they are most useful. the Princess and the target spend 1 Wisp, and the
target does so reflexively.
An Introduction (Connect •••)
Dramatic Failure: For the duration, the Princess
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Empathy imagines the voice of her target is speaking to
Cost: 2 Wisps her; what it says is what she generally expects
A Princess’ true power comes from the lives she has him to say, but it chooses the most distracting
touched, so sometimes it’s important to touch the moments to speak. She takes a -2 penalty on all
right person. The Princess invokes this Charm to Wits-based rolls.

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 Failure: The Charm has no effect. way into another person’s Crawlspace is to travel
Success: The Princess can speak directly to the through the Dreamlands, but while two people are
mind of her target, without using her voice, and connected by an Invocation of Ivory Gate they may
the target can reply the same way. The Charm see the entrance to each others Crawlspace. Only
conveys only sounds that the Princess and the the owner of the Crwalspace may unlock it, but
target could actually speak; so, for example, if they may lead others through. Every traveller must
one thinks in a language the other doesn’t know, pay 1 Wisp or one Willpower.
he hears the words but cannot understand them. The other, even more obscure, use of Ivory Gates
On the other hand, anything said is heard as is to invoke it on oneself. This seems to be a
clearly as if the two of them stood together in waste of good Wisps, but while she is within her
a quiet room. The first time someone is the own Crawlspace and under the effects of a self-
target of this Charm, he must roll Resolve + applied Invocation of this Charm, she will be able to
Composure to learn how to speak through the navigate from her Crawlspace into a regular dream
link (and, possibly, to persuade himself that he (and yes, she can bring others too but they don’t
isn’t imagining the voice in his head.) benefit from lucidity or clear memories unless Ivory
Gate is invoked upon them). An expensive but
Exceptional Success: In addition, by effective cure for insomnia or a fun night of lucid
concentrating the Princess and the target can dreaming.
share a memory. The one who has the memory If the Princess wishes she can apply
makes a memory roll (see p. 44 of the nWoD core Commonality to the roll, allowing mutiple people
book) to recall it; whatever she recalls passes over access to a Crawlspace.
the link, and the other makes a memory roll to
retain the information. This takes an instant Upgrade: Distant
action from both characters. Modify the roll by Intimacy
Upgrade: Party Line The Princess can share her dreams from any
Cost: +1 Wisp distance. She still requires permission, but a
simple phone-call or arranging in advance is
The Princess applies the Commonality modifier
sufficient.
to create a channel of voiceless speech among
several people. She can speak to any or all of Upgrade: Dream of Me (Specchio ••)
the targets’ minds, and they can speak to her The Princess no longer needs permission to enter
and each other in the same way. another’s dreams, and can even open an Ivory
Upgrade: Borrowing (Aria ••) Gate without giving the gift of lucid dreaming
to the other party. This Upgrade can also
The Charm’s link between minds carries
be used to invade somebody’s dream from the
sensations. Anyone in the link can make a
Dreamlands and even allow a full invasion of
Perception roll at a -2 penalty to borrow the
another person’s dreamscape (see Amanojaku in
senses of another person in the link for a brief
Chapter four for more details on how to access a
moment, seeing what the other sees and hearing
person’s dream from the Dreamlands, and how to
what she hears in that moment.
invade a dreamscape), doing so requires that the
Princess navigates through the Crawlspace into
the target’s dream. They may not detour or use
Ivory Gate (Connect •••) the Crawlspace in any way except as a path into
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Socialize the target’s dreams, this Charm simply doesn’t
Cost: 2 Wisps have the power.
Duration: 1 night

The Princess binds her mind to another; when they Dehumanization (Connect •••, Speccho •••••)
next fall asleep they will share their dreams. The Action: Instant
Charm grants both the gift of lucid dreaming for Cost: 1 Wisp
the night and clear memories the morning after. Dice Pool: Presence + Socialise, vs Composure +
To open an Ivory Gate a Princess needs permission Supernatural Advantage
from the target, and the pair must sleep close Duration: Scene
enough to touch.
A lesser known use of this Charm is that it To those at the apex of Specchio’s solipsism they
interacts with Crawlspaces. Normally the only alone are a real person. Everyone else is a

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secondary character. Their lives contain the details Upgrade: Shuffled
relevant to the Heir’s story and nothing else; and by Cost: +1 Wisp
enchanting the connections between an individual,
a group, and society’s perceptions of that group she The Princess can take an object from one distant
can protect herself from any inconvenient reality. place and send it to another with one activation.
Before invoking this charm the Princess must Apply the worse of the Intimacy modifiers for the
name an archetype that the target could be two locations.
identified with. She could turn an ordinary family
man who happens to work as a software engineer
into a walking talking stereotype of a star trek Hymn to Orpheus (Connect •••, Legno ••)
obsessed socially outcast computer geek, but she
Action: Instant and resisted, Presence +
couldn’t turn him into a corporate raiding Wolf of
Expression - targets’ Composure
Wall Street banker.
Cost: 2 Wisps
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ solipsism Duration: concentration
reaches a fever pitch. She automatically rolls a
dramatic failure for the Specchio backlash on this In the myths, the songs of Orpheus were so
charm beautiful that all the natural world came to hear
them. The Princess can, in a small way, emulate
Failure: Nothing happens. him. When she has a natural animal within sight,
Success: The target takes the Stereotypical she sings or plays music pleasing to it, and all
condition. Their Vice becomes acting as the animals of the same species who hear the song
expected, they need to spend a point of willpower gather together to listen. The Charm ensures that
to act against their archetype, and they take the the music can be heard anywhere within 100 times
Open Condition to Spirits or Dreamlanders who her successes in yards; natural acoustics may carry
align with their archetype the song further, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Exceptional Success: The duration increases to (Note that while only animals of the same kind as
two scenes. the target are certain to come, anyone and anything
with ears can follow the music if they like.) Once
Upgrade: Group Identity they arrive, the summoned animals will stand or
The Princess can invoke this Charm on a group, lie near the Princess, quietly listening, as long as
applying Commonality to her roll. The highest she performs; when she stops, the Charm ends and
dice pool among her targets contests the roll the beasts revert to their normal behavior in the
for the entire group. The Princess must choose following turn.
the same archetype for the entire group and any
members who cannot be linked to the archetype Upgrade: Calling (Legno •••)
are exempted from the Charm’s effects. The Princess may perform for an animal that
is not within sight, provided she knows it well.
Apply the Intimacy modifier to the chosen target;
Up in Smoke (Connect •••, Aria •••) animals of that species will come to hear her.

Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Larceny, modified by
Font of Truth (Connect •••, Acqua ••)
Intimacy Action: Instant
Duration: Lasting Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression -
The Noble summons and banishes objects in puffs Commonality
of colored smoke. She can move an object of Size Duration: scene
up to her successes between her current location
and a place she knows of; the Sympathy modifier A student of Acqua must tell the truth, but mere
applies to the other place, not to the object, so she honesty doesn’t convince everyone. The Noble
can’t summon an object that’s been moved since can clothe the truths she speaks with magic that
she last saw it. Also, to send an object somewhere makes her honesty clear to all. She may invoke this
the Noble has to be carrying it, and when she takes Charm on a person or a social group by applying
an object it ends up in her hands; the Charm can’t Commonality.
be used on anything the Noble can’t lift.

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 Dramatic Failure: The Noble achieves the The Charm will not take anyone back from
opposite of her intent: those who hear her Alhambra - the Queen of Tears does not wish
assume she lies. She takes the Cursed Condition anyone to leave her who has not proven their fidelity
and suffers a -2 penalty on Social rolls to to the true Kingdom
communicate or persuade people for the rest of As an incidental benefit, those who learn this
the scene, and may not use the Charm again until Charm can light lamps in Alhambra as its citizens
then. do... it’s not clear why.
Failure: The Noble’s words are as convincing as
Upgrade: Driven
usual, no more and no less.
Success: The Princess smooths out her social Cost: +1 Wisp/every 5 points of Size above 5
connections, removing obstructions and letting The Princess can drive a vehicle into Alhambra,
all see hear her intent clearly. Any mundane carrying along all its contents. She takes a
attempt by the target determine if she is telling penalty on the activation roll of -2 for 5 points of
the truth (as she understands it) becomes an the vehicle’s Size exceeding 5; that is, a Size 10
automatic Exceptional Success. vehicle takes a -2 penalty, a Size 15 vehicle takes
Exceptional Success: The Noble’s honesty begets -4, and so on. As with the basic effect, the vehicle
trust. The target takes the Fresh Impressions must be in darkness to travel, and will arrive over
Condition and sets the Impressions one level water; most Hopeful using this Charm travel in
higher than they would otherwise be. boats.
If she rolls a dramatic failure, the Princess cannot
Drawback: If the Princess is dishonest her targets use the Charm for one full day.
will have little trouble seeing through her lies.
Upgrade: Returning (Lacrima •••)
The Princess may use the Charm to travel from
Ferryman's Shroud (Connect •••, Lacrima •) Alhambra to a place she knows well; apply the
Intimacy modifier for the destination. As with
Action: Instant, Composure + Athletics the basic Charm, the upgrade only works in
Cost: 2 Wisps, Compromise at Belief 7+ with no complete darkness (and in Alhambra that carries
modifer risk; see the rules in that section.) On the other
Duration: instant hand, activating the Charm to leave Alhambra is
not a sin against Belief at any level.
The Queen of Tears has deemed that all Princesses
are entitled to the freedom of her city. To use this The followers of Tears only teach this Charm
Charm, the Princess must be in complete darkness; to people who have proven their loyalty to
light bright enough to see by, from any source, Alhambra, but nothing other than the Lacrima
makes the Charm fail. Prerequisite and the risk of retaliation prevents
anyone else from learning the Charm.
Dramatic Failure: The Noble touches the Dark
World through her magic instead of Alhambra.
The Compromise roll for the Charm takes a -2 Mirror Walk (Connect ••••, Specchio ••)
peanlty, and the Noble cannot use the Charm
again for one full day.. Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics, modified
by Intimacy
Failure: The Noble stays where she is.
Cost: 3 Wisps
Success: : The darkness the Noble stands in Duration: Instant
thickens to an utter negation of light for an
instant; then the ground vanishes and she falls, A simple trick but a very useful one. The
splashing into the black salt lake of Alhambra. Princess targets two mirrors before stepping into
The Charm is generally considerate enough to one and out the other. Both mirrors must be large
drop her near a shore, where she can reach dry enough for her to fit through. Intimacy is measured
land in a single turn. It doesn’t, however, have to place the Princess wishes to arrive at, if it has no
to leave her in a specific place within the city; Mirrors large enough to squeeze out of the Charm
she may have to walk an hour or two to reach automatically fails and the Princess knows why.
the district she wanted. If it has more than one suitable mirror than the
Exceptional Success: The Noble appears in Princess can choose to rive at any mirror she knows
Alhambra, at the nearest shore to the place she about. The Intimacy modifier applies to the place
wants to be.

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the Princess wishes to arrive at, but she must know city’s defences are strict about what may enter.
the exact location of the mirror she is to arrive at. Realms without physical substance, such as the
The Charm cannot cross between realms. This Dreamlands, are never valid destinations for
may not be used to gain either egress or entrance to Mirror Walk.
Alhambra, nor may it be used to exit or leave the
hisil of the shapeshifters, the twisted thorn-world
of the fae-folk, or any other such hidden place. Charms of Entwined Destiny (Connect ••••,
However, should a Princess find herself in any of
these alternate worlds, it may be used for transit Invocation •••)
within them if such a thing is possible within the
alien dimension. Action: Extended, Manipulation + Empathy (30
minutes/roll, threshold = Princess’ Willpower),
Dramatic Failure: The Princess enters the modified by Intimacy
mirror, but gets lost. She rolls Wits + Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Composure each turn after using the Charm; Duration: 1 month
when she succeeds, she emerges from the mirror
she left. If the mirror is shatters in the interim In a lengthy ceremony, invoking all she knows of
she emerges somewhere nearby. him, the Princess weaves the thread of her fate
into another’s, becoming an exemplar in his life of
Failure: Nothing happens.
one of the Queens. Each Queen teaches a different
Success: The Princess transports herself to the version of this Charm, with her favored Invocation
target mirror. as a prerequisite; these versions must be learned as
Exceptional Success: When the Princess emerges, separate Charms.
she may immediately move up to her Speed, even Unlike natural Entwined Destinies there is no
if she had to move to reach the mirror she left. guarantee that the people involved are suited for
new connection with each other. Even if the target
Upgrade: Leading
actively resists the effects of selfish or incompetent
Cost: +1 Wisp per additional person uses of this Charm can be seriously unethical,
With this Upgrade the Princess can now lead harmful and just all round messy. Likewise, unlike
others through mirrors. Each extra person or natural Entwined Destinies the Princess doesn’t
5 Size points of equipment beyond what she can automatically modify the subject of the Charm’s
carry costs an additional Wisp. fate. When Fate itself wants to bring two people
together it has no reason not to work both ends.
Upgrade: Seeking (Specchio •••)
When a Princess uses magic to twist fate she finds
With this Upgrade the Princess can use her it’s easier to work on her own.
Intimacy modifier to a person or object instead of
a place. She will arrive at the nearest appropriate Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use the
mirror, assuming their is one in Inner Light x50 Charm on the target for 1 month, and suffers a
yards; -2 penalty to all Social rolls involving him during
Upgrade: Writ of Passage that period.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she
The Princess learns how to combine her magical
does not reach the threshold, she cannot use the
mirrors with complementary magic to travel
Charm on the target again for 1 week.
beyond the world. If she knows a Charm, Edict
or Privilege that allows access to another world, Success: The Princess makes progress. When
or she works with someone who does, then she she reaches the threshold, the target gains the
may use Mirror Walk and travel to a mirror Blessing Condition. The Blessing creates the
in that world, Intimacy permitting. Doing so Entwined Destiny Merit, with the appropraite
requires that the activation cost of the other relationship and the target of the Princess’
power be paid in full. She may also use Writ choice.
of Passage to return from other worlds –though Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
some worlds are infamous for being easier to enter progress tying her destiny to the target’s.
than to escape.
The five versions of the Charm each confer a
The ability Enter Darkness, known to all
different form of Entwined Destiny:
creatures of the Darkness can be used to walk
to a Mirror in the Dark World. Ferryman’s • Better Living Through Education (Acqua)
Shroud cannot be used to enter Alhambra, the - Mentor. The Princess gains Willpower

140
 when she has taught the target something of Love, regardless of the connection they had
important, and takes penalties if she passes up before. When the Charm ends their Intimacy
an opportunity to educate. returns to it’s natural level.
• Manic Pixie Dust (Aria) - Gadfly. The
Princess gains Willpower when she exposes the
target to unusual situations (for him) or alters
The Old Allegiance (Connect ••••, Lacrima
the pattern of his life in a benign fashion, and •••)
takes penalties if she ignores a chance to do so.
Doing the target permanent or serious harm Action: Extended, Presence + Intimidation (30
does not fall under the Destiny. minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Willpower),
modified by Sympathy
• Red String of Fate (Fouco) - Lover. The Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Princess gains Willpower when she has Duration: 1 month
furthered the target’s love for her, and takes
penalties if she misses a chance to do so. The It is right and proper, the Last Empress teaches,
love in question need not be erotic or marital, for the Nobility to reward those who serve the
but it must involve mutual affection and trust. Light, and punish those who refuse to serve. In
• Under Ursa’s Star (Legno) - Guardian. The a lengthy ceremony, invoking all she knows of him,
Princess gains Willpower when she rescues the the Princess weaves the thread of another person’s
target from harm, and takes penalties if he is fate, calling him to assist her in her labors.
harmed when she is present.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use the
• Great Expectations (Terra) - Sponsor. The Charm on the target for 1 month, and suffers a
Princess gains Willpower when her target’s -2 penalty to all Social rolls involving him during
social standing improves, and takes penaltes that period.
if she lets a chance to help him rise go by. Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she
does not reach the threshold, she cannot use the
Upgrade: Proxy (Invocation ••••)
Charm on the target again for 1 week.
The Princess can weave the thread of another
Success: The Princess makes progress. When
person’s life. The threshold for doing so is the
she reaches the threshold, the target’s fate makes
Willpower of the person being given an Entwined
him a loyal servant of an organisation of the
Destiny, and the Intimacy modifier is either the
Princess’ choice, until the Charm ends. The
Princess’ connection to that person, or to the
target gains Willpower when his actions serve the
Destiny’s subject, whichever is worse. If either
organisation’s goals, and suffers penalties when
person being given a Destiny is not willing to
he flouts them, or ignores them to serve another
accept the role the Charm gives him, the Princess
goal. Most Ravens use this Charm to instill
suffers the effects of a dramatic failure towards
loyalty to Alhambra.
him.
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
Upgrade: Mutual (Fouco ••••) Requires
progress weaving the target’s destiny.
Red String of Fate
Cost: +1 Willpower Unlike the Radiant Queens’ Charms of Entwined
Destiny, it is perfectly possible to use The Old
When the Princess casts Red String of Fate both
Allegiance on an unwilling target. It is however
herself and her beloved gain an Entwined Destiny
a Belief compromise to do so, the modifier is at
of lovers to each other. The two destinies are
-3 (note that this isn’t Lacrima’s Drawback, it’s
the natural compliment such as motherly love
just very unethical). Further degeneration checks
to daughterly love, or romantic love to romantic
may be called for if the Princess takes advantage of
love. If the target does not give informed consent
people she has woven a destiny for. As a general
the Princess suffers a Dramatic Failure.
rule, it doesn’t count as consent if they’re only
Upgrade: Taut saying it as a result of an artificial destiny.
Cost: +1 Wisp
Upgrade: Collective (Lacrima ••••)
The thread that ties the Princess to her target
pulls them together. The Princess and her target Cost: +1 Willpower
gain the Entwined condition. The strenght of The Princess may bind all of a social group to her
the link is equivalent to an Intimate connection goals at once. When she reaches the threshold,

141
 all the members of the target group who see swearing to it. If it becomes impossible to attain
her are affected. The Charm is modified by the Cause for any reason (say, the six-fingered man
Commonalty of the target group, instead of by dies before they can get their revenge), not only
Sympathy. does she not regain the Willpower dot, she must roll
Resolve + Composure, with each success inflicting
one point of resistant aggravated damage, as her
Ultimate Fidelity (Connect ••••, Tempesta •••) soul seeks redemption in coruscating flames that
erupt from her mouth and burn at the tongue that
Action: Extended, Resolve + Composure (1 swore an oath it could not uphold.
minute/roll, threshold = 11 - Belief)
Cost: 1 Willpower dot Upgrade: Proxy (Tempesta 4)
Duration: indefinite Cost: 2 Wisps from you, 1 Willpower dot from
the target
The original Sworn Guard and the One-Who-
The Princess may use the Charm to seal another
Became-Storms swore this oath when they stood
person to a Cause they willingly swore to. The
before the gates of the last city of the Kingdom,
target is affected as if he had cast it himself.
alone against the hordes of the Darkness. And
they retain it. The Alhambrans know nothing of
it; why would those treacherous curs know anything
about loyalty or devotion? This was an oath of the
Standing on a Pedestal (Connect ••••, Specchio
Army of the Kingdom, not the soft weaklings who
betrayed it from within.
•••)
When using the Charm, the Princess declares Action: Extended, Presence + Persuasion (30
a Cause. This may be anything that can be minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Willpower),
described in a sentence or so, consisting of an modified by Intimacy
end-goal that is important to her. For example, Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
“Kill the six-fingered man who killed my father” Duration: 1 month
is a valid target, while ”Buy some milk from the
shops ” is almost certainly not. The Princess In a lengthy ceremony, invoking all she knows of
repeats these words over and over again, drumming him, the Princess weaves the thread of another
them until they become all-consuming. The Charm person’s fate into hers, giving him opportunities to
is complete when the scars blossom across her prove himself worthy of her.
chest, spelling out the Cause for all who would see.
Whenever the Princess advances the Cause; finding Dramatic Failure: The Princess gains the
a list of men with six fingers, finding which one he Yandere Condition focused on the target.
is, finding where he lives, watching his routines, Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she
breaking into his house, she gains one Willpower. does not reach the threshold, she cannot use the
At most one Willpower per scene. Charm on the target again for 1 week.
In addition, the Princess cannot be dissuaded;
Success: The Princess makes progress. the target
she doubles her appropriate Resistance Attribute
gains the Blessing Condition. The affected trait
against any attempts, whether mundane or
is the Entwined Destiny Merit.
supernatural, to prevent her from fulfilling the
Cause. This covers things like torture, which would Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
double Stamina, just as much as Composure might progress tying her destiny to the target’s.
be used against magical mind-control or mundane
The target’s Entwined Destiny makes him a
persuasions. However, the Cause consumes those
seeker for the Princess’ approval; she can choose
who have willingly sworn it. When faced with a
what kind of favor he is destined to seek. He may
choice between advancing or fulfilling the Cause,
be a romantic suitor, and fulfil the destiny when
or taking another action, the Princess rolls Resolve
he earns a sign of her affections. He may seek
+ Composure. If she succeeds , she may perform
her social favor, and fulfil the destiny when she
the other action; otherwise she must continue with
compliments him on his apparel, or invites him to
the Cause, and ignore the other situation, even if it
a party. He may even seek her intellectual favor,
would seem to be more important to an objective
and fulfil the destiny when she publicly approves
observer.
of an idea he had. The general rule is that the
Once the Cause has been accomplished, the
target gains Willpower when the Princess chooses
Princess regains the Willpower dot lost when
to bestow a sign of her approval upon him, and

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suffers penalties when he refuses an opportunity and record the Successes. At any time she may
to seek the Princess’ favor. He does not suffer reflexively apply the recorded successes as a bonus
penalties when he makes a genuine attempt to win or penalty to any roll for someone she can see - the
her favour, regardless of how the Princess reacts. sticky cake she threw onto the ceiling falls of and
Unlike the Radiant Queens’ Charms of Entwined lands on the Brat just as she was starting to brag.
Destiny, it is perfectly possible to use Standing on The Princess may store a one roll per Aria and
a Pedestal on an unwilling target. It is however a she may modify any number of rolls per turn, but
Belief Compromise with a -3 penalty to do so (it is she may only apply one modifier to any given roll.
not a compromise to use it against targets who give While the Princess wears the mantle of Spades
informed consent). Further degeneration checks she is permanently surrounded by gusts of wind. It
may be called for if the Princess takes advantage smells of exotic lands and is as elegant and chaotic
of people she has woven a destiny for. As a general as the Queen herself. The Princess also gains the
rule, it doesn’t count as consent if they’re only Invocation Lock Condition keyed to Aria.
saying it as a result of an artificial destiny.

Upgrade: Collective (Specchio ••••) Call for Aid (Connect •••••)

Cost: +1 Willpower
Action: Instant
The Princess may bind many favor-seekers to Action: 3 Wisp, 1 Willpower dot
herself at once, if they are all present. The Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion
Charm is modified by Commonalty of the target Duration: Lasting
group, which must include the Princess, instead
of by Intimacy. The Princess reaches across time to send out a call
Upgrade: Taut for aid and bends fate to guide her allies swiftly to
Cost: +1 Wisp her side. She rolls Presence + Persuasion.
The thread that ties the Princess to her target Dramatic Failure: The Princess feels a sudden
pulls them together. The Princess and her target crushing sense of abandonment and the shock
gain the Entwined condition. The strength of forces her to make a Sensitivity roll.
the link is equivalent to an Intimate connection
Failure: The Princess cannot reach her allies.
of Love, regardless of the connection they had
The Charm fails.
before. When the Charm ends their Intimacy
returns to it’s natural level. Success: After invoking this Charm the Princess
may immediately begin making rolls to ask Allies
If the Princess applies Collective and Taut,
for help, and may roll once for every instance of
she gains the Interwoven condition becomes a
the Allies Merit owned my her or a member of
member of the target group for the purposes
her Nakama. The messages sent travel back in
of Commonalty Charms, instead of improving
time, and fate ensures that the aid provided will
her Intimacy with any of them. The link
arrive within the current Scene or at a designated
strength is whatever the group members have
future Scene. That warrior lodge of Darkspawn
with eachother.
hunters the Princess met in the uncharted heart
of the Amazon rainforest? Turns out they knew a
shaman who can arrange transportation through
Becoming the Fulcrum (Connect •••••, Aria the spirit world and they’ll show up in the heart
••••) of London ready to fight. The chef you saved
from bankruptcy? Well an army marches on it’s
Action: Instant, Wits + Investigation stomach. This Charm cannot do the impossible,
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower but it is very powerful magic and can accomplish
Duration: 1 scene the improbable.
As with all uses of the Allies merit the Princess
With a gust of air the Princess’ eyes see open will be expected to be there for her allies in turn.
to strange sights. As Spades’ avatar she see how Especially if they had to go far out of their way.
everything fits together and how those connections
can be exploited with the slightest touch to make Exceptional Success: When rolling to summon
great change. She gains the Living Fulcrum allies the Princess applies 8again.
Condition. The Princess may make mundane
instant actions (they must use a Finesse Attribute)

143
 Charm is hurt attempting to follow her orders or
Wearing a Heavy Crown (Connect •••••, Terra does something shocking in the process of following
••••) the Princess’ leadership. In addition, if anyone
blessed by this Charm causes her to face a Belief
Action: Instant compromise through setting a Bad Example, she
Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower does not halve or double the perpetrator’s modifier
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion, modified by when making her own Compromise roll.
Commonalty She also gains the Invocation Lock condition
Duration: 1 scene keyed to Terra.

To be the Queen of Hearts’ avatar is to become the

leader people need, the leader the people may one
day deserve. The Princess assumes that role and
Fight
leads any who will follow to greatness. This Charm The Fight Charms enhance a Princess’ ability to
is used on members of a social group who are willing fight. Only Champions have affinity for them.
to work at the Princess’ direction, or towards a goal
that she has set. She can let others come up with
plans (what leader doesn’t have advisers?) but the Defensive Emplacement (Fight •)
final decision of what the members do must rest on
her shoulders alone. Action: Special
Cost: 2 Wisps
Dramatic Failure: The Princess proves herself Dice-Pool: Unrolled
unworthy of leadership and may not use Terra Duration: Scene
again for 11 - Belief days.
Failure: The Princess cannot claim a crown. The The Princess focuses on feelings of safety and
Charm fails. protection, then manifests those feelings into an
automated defensive emplacement which will act
Success: The Princess undergoes a second on it’s own accord to defend the area around it. It
transformation; a heavy crown appears upon her takes a minute and a half (30 turns) of the Princess’
brow. All members of the target group gain full concentration to invoke the Charm, and if she is
the Light’s Unity condition, the maximum is interrupted she must roll Resolve + Composure or
equal to the Princess’ activation successes. Also, the Charm fails and the invested wisps are wasted.
when the targeted people or a subset of them At no time may a Princess have more emplacements
are working as a team to carry out the Noble’s active than her highest Invocation.
plans, each secondary actor adds dice equal to When the Princess acquires the Charm she
the number of actors on the team or the Noble’s chooses one model from the following list, many of
activation successes (whichever is less) to the dice which require the emplacement to be created with
they contribute to the primary actor’s roll. (For a specific Invocation. Unless otherwise stated each
example, in a team of 3, the 2 secondary actors emplacement acts with dice-pool equal to twice the
can contribute up to 3 dice, for a total of 6, Invocation applied when this Charm was invoked;
beyond the dice from their rolls.) if the Princess currently qualifies to apply that
The Princesses leadership also motivates her invocation for free against the space where the
followers to stand together in the face of emplacement’s will go then it’s dicepool increases
adversity, they also get the Blessing Condition. to three times the invocation’s dots.
The affected trait is Resolve, when it is used An emplacement’s health is equal to it’s creator’s
to resist being dissuaded from following the Belief, and it has Armour equal to the applied
Princess’ plan. The Blessing increases their Invocation. Unless stated otherwise it’s range is
Resolve to the same dots as the Princess’ 60/120/240 and it’s Damage rating, if applicable,
Presence (if they have a higher Resolve than the is equal to the applied Invocation.
Princess’ Presence they get no blessing).
• Focused: The emplacement makes one attack
Exceptional Success: Everyone blessed by this
a turn with an Armour Piercing equal to the
Charm also gains a free point of Willpower
applied invocation. It favours attacking the
Drawback: The Princess gains the Burden of enemy with the largest Size.
Leadership Condition: She gains 8again on • Spread: The emplacement makes one attack
Sensitivity rolls when someone blessed by this a turn using a medium burst. It favours

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 attacking the largest group of enemies it can ability to tell how powerful something is equal
hit. to a trained mortal fighter.
• Blazing (Fuoco): The emplacement shoots fire. Upgrade: Palatial Guard (Lacrima ••)
The Princess may create emplacements within a
• Camouflaged (Aria): The emplacement blends consecrated area which will last for as long as the
into it’s surroundings and cannot be seen Consecrated Condition. These Emplacements
without a Perception roll, the Princess’ can only be invoked with Lacrima, nor do they
Aria subtracts from the roll. Camouflaged reduce her Invocations for the purposes of Fight
emplacements will remain hidden until a battle Charms. Each one costs one Willpower to create
has started, but if the Princess can vocally and the Princess cannot have more than Lacrima
order them to attack at any time. emplacements bound to Consecrated conditions.
• Grasping Vines (Legno): Instead of harming Upgrade: Imperial Safehold (Lacrima ••)
the target the emplacement will attempt to The emplacement’s health becomes five or the
grapple and immobilise any enemies within Princess’ Inner Light, whatever is higher.
reach.
• Guardian Earth (Terra): The emplacement
makes one attack a turn with the stun Empty Hand (Fight •)
property. It never suffers penalties from
Action: Permanent
shooting into a melee and focuses on whichever
attacker did the most damage in the last turn.
Many of the Hopeful have weapons in their Regalia,
• Purifying (Tempesta): The emplacement rolls but some prefer to master control over the ability
with 8again against any Creature of the to inflict harm. She may apply an Invocation to
Darkness, as well as Sworn and Princesses of rolls to start grappling, to her maneuvers within a
Tears. grapple, and to rolls to touch an opponent without
hurting him.
• Supportive (Specchio): So long as the
Princess is within range the emplacement Upgrade: Binding
acts as a secondary actor to all uses of Cost: +1 Wisp.
Empty Hand, Levinbolt, Javelot, or Kensai.
In addition these emplacements do not The Princess is never without a way to harmless
reduce the Princess’ Specchio when using restrain her foes for she can manifest the
the aforementioned four Charms. The necessary equipment by spending a Wisp; it has a
emplacement takes penalties based on it’s Durability equal to her Inner Light or any applied
distance to the Princess as though it was Invocation. She must still roll like normal to tie
making a ranged attack her target up.
Upgrade: Crushing
Drawback: For every emplacement currently
While grappling, the Princess delivers immense
active the Princess treats all her Invocations as
force in her grasp. She may do either lethal or
one dot lower for the purpose of all Fight Charms
bashing damage to her opponent, once she has a
except for Defensive Emplacement. However she
hold on him.
may still benefit from her Invocations in full when
using abilities from other Charm families to assist Upgrade: Grasping
in combat. Stacks, up to 3

Upgrade: Blueprints Whenever the Princess may apply an Invocation

because of the Charm, she always adds a +1
Stacks, indefinitely equipment bonus for each time she takes this
Each time the Princess buys Blueprints she upgrade.
unlocks another model of emplacement. Upgrade: Penetrating (Acqua ••)
Upgrade: Networked (Acqua ••) The Princess knows how to put opponents out
All networked Emplacements will work as a of action quickly. When she applies Acqua to a
team, they will attempt to focus fire on the same grappling roll, and does damage to her opponent,
target to wear down his Defence. They favour she rolls dice equal to the damage done. If she
attacking the most powerful combatant, their gets any successes, her opponent must roll his

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 Stamina; if he fails this roll, he is frozen for turns The Princess throws herself against a door,
equal to the damage done. holding it fast with her own body and magic. For
Upgrade: Disarming (Aria ••) as long as she devotes herself to holding the door
shut it’s Durability increases by her Stamina.
While grappling, the Princess can manuever
objects on her person or her opponent’s with
startling speed. When she applies Aria, she
draws and attacks with a weapon on her person
Kensai (Fight •)
with a single roll; if her opponent holds a weapon, Action: Permanent
she may take it from him and attack with a single
roll, or take it and throw it away, or pocket it. A melee weapon becomes part of the Princess’
Upgrade: Blistering (Fuoco ••) Regalia, manifesting her courage and belief.
Initially the weapon’s Damage is 3 but when she
During a grapple, the Princess’ skin and clothes
attacks the Princess may apply an Invocation to
grow hot to the touch. In each turn that she
add Damage, this stacks with any bonus dice from
applies Fuoco, her opponent automatically takes
Upgrades. The damage can be either Bashing or
1 bashing damage, in addition to any results of
Lethal and the Princess can swap between them
manuevers that turn.
with a Transformation action. The princess may
Upgrade: Entrancing (Legno ••) also apply an Invocation to boost the weapon’s
The Princess’ opponents, if once they touch her, accuracy, adding the Invocation’s dots directly to
find it strangely hard to do anything that would her attack dice pool (boosting her weapon counts
really injure her. During a grapple, in any turn as the Princess boosting herself, so she may always
the Princess applies Legno, any roll her opponent apply Specchio at a reduced Wisp cost). A Princess
makes that would damage her, either barehanded may wait until after the dice are rolled then boost
or with a weapon, is penalized by her Legno. her accuracy or damage, once it is clear where her
powers are most needed. If Princesses fight each
Upgrade: Unbroken (Terra ••)
other with Kensai the Princess with the lowest
The Princess stands unmoved, and her hold is initiative decides where to apply Invocations first.
almost impossible to escape. During a grapple, She may not apply the same Invocation to both
in any turn that she applies Terra, any roll her Damage and Accuracy in a single turn but she
opponent makes to break the grapple or to render may apply two different Invocations to gain both
her prone is penalized by her Terra. benefits unless she is using an Invoked Upgrade,
Upgrade: Draining (Lacrima ••) which would limit her to only applying the linked
The Princess’ mein unsettles anyone who comes invocation.
too close. During a grapple, in any turn that she The Princess chooses either Brawl or Weaponry
applies Lacrima, her opponent must roll Resolve as the Skill for using her weapon when she learns
+ Composure. If he fails, he cannot do anything the Charm. The weapon always has a Size between
that turn but try to break the grapple, unless he 1 and 4. For anyone but the Princess, the Initiative
spends 1 Willpower. penalty and the minimum Strength needed to
use the weapon equals 3 + the Princess’ Inner
Upgrade: Shove Nerds Into Lockers Light. For the Princess herself, both are 0 – as
(Specchio ••) an extension of her beliefs, the weapon obeys her
The Princess puts those beneath her back into desires as well as her own hands.
their place with all the strength of an ogre. When
she starts grappling or makes a maneuver within Upgrade: Accurate
a grapple she may reflexively spend a Wisp to Stacks, up to 3
increase her dice pool by the higher of her target’s The Princess wields her weapon with
Intelligence or Academics. supernatural skill. Each time the Princess
takes this upgrade, she gains 1 bonus die when
attacking with her weapon.
Hold the Door (Fight •) Upgrade: Cleave The Princess strikes with
Action: Reflexive a strength or speed that defies physics, hitting
Cost: 1 Wisp multiple targets. She may spend a Wisp to use
Dice Pool: Unrolled the Autofire rules and attack with a medium
Duration: Concentration burst. All her targets must be within striking
distance.

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Upgrade: Clinging The Princess’ weapon target’s Size is halved for the purpose of applying
helps her grapple her foes. Most weapons with the Stunned Tilt (GMC 212)
this upgrade resemble gloves or whips, but some Upgrade: Soothing (Legno ••)
Princess have more unusual ways of binding their
foes like pinning their shadow with a sword or If the Princess applies Legno to an attack, and
weakening their control over their muscles with a target takes damage from it, the tranquillity
a boink to the head. of nature enters the target. He must roll his
Stamina + Resolve - the Princess’ Legno. If he
With this upgrade a Princess can apply an fails, he suffers the Drugged Tilt. If he already
Invocation to add dice to all mundane grappling has the tilt there is no further effect.
rolls so long as she is holding her Kensai weapon.
If she attempts to do damage while grappling Upgrade: Draining (Lacrima ••)
she can also apply an Invocation to increase her The Princess’ weapon draws shadows to itself,
Damage. unsettling anyone with the bad luck to touch
Upgrade: Durable it. If she applies Lacrima to an attack, and the
target takes damage from the attack, he must
The Princess’ weapon becomes nearly impossible roll Resolve + Composure, and loses 1 point of
to break. Add her Inner Light to the weapon’s Willpower if he fails. Using this upgrade is a
Durability. Compromise at Belief 6+ with a -1 modifer.
Upgrade: Sword Beam Upgrade: Berserk (Tempesta ••)
The Princess’ weapon can strike at range using The Princess’ weapon’s blows come so furiously
her usual dice pool. Doing so costs one Wisp, that they catch their targets by surprise. If she
the weapon range is (20/40/80), and she must makes an all-out attack with the weapon and
apply any Invocations before rolling. Princesses applies Tempesta to the attack, she doesn’t get
who learn this Upgrade are usually skilled Kensai the normal +2 bonus; instead she subtracts her
specialists looking for a quick edge when they Defence from the target’s Defence (to a minimum
get into a corner. Generalist Champions usually of zero). If they are enhancing their defence
practice with both Kensai and Levinbolt, which through Supernatural means, a Clash of Wills
sometimes also results in sword beams. ensures.
Upgrade: Precise (Acqua ••)
The Princess places her strokes with marvelous
accuracy. If she applies Acqua, she may ignore
up to her Acqua in penalties from aiming at a
specified target (see pp. 203 in the GMC) on top
of the Invocation bonus. Fighting Styles
Upgrade: Swift (Aria ••) Just because a Princess is firing rainbows
The Princess strikes quick as a flash, her from a cheerleading baton doesn’t mean
weapon seems to disappear and reappear inside she can’t benefit from a few days training
her opponent’s flesh. If the Princess applies down at the firing range. Princesses can use
Aria to an attack, she gains Armour Piercing fighting style merits just like anyone else.
equal to her weapon’s Damage + Aria, however A Princess may pick one type of
this significantly reduces her weapon’s power mundane melee weapon for Kensai
reducing her weapon’s damage to zero. She does (including fists or things like twin daggers),
gain one bonus die for any point of Armour and mundane ranged weapon for Levinbolt
Piercing above her opponents Armour rating. and Javelot (it does not matter if the
Upgrade: Burning (Fuoco ••) mundane weapon would use Firearms or
Athletics). She may also choose a mundane
The Princess’ weapon erupts into flame. If she
piece of defensive equipment (like a shield or
applies Fuoco to an attack, it gains the 9-again
parrying dagger) for Kensai. The Princess
quality and if the target is as flammable as dry
may use any fighting style that requires
wood it will likely catch fire.
her chosen equipment, even if this means
Upgrade: Knockout (Terra ••) she’s using the Light Weapons style with
Strikes with the Princess’ weapon have the force an enormous hammer.
of avalanches. If the Princess applies Terra to
an attack, the attack gains the Stun quality: the

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 Upgrade: Beacon (Acqua ••)
Javelot (Fight •)
The Princess’ weapon remains in her target and
Action: Permanent glows like a beacon. The next mundane attack
(including Kensai, Levinbolt, and Javelot) takes
A thrown weapon becomes part of the Princess’ a bonus equal to the lower of her Successes and
Regalia, delivering the her will to harm from afar. her dots in Acqua. After Acqua turns the bonus
Javelot lacks raw damaging power when compared is wasted.
to Levinbolt but presents a verity of useful tactical Upgrade: Revealing (Legno ••)
options. It can appear as nearly anything: A deck
of playing cards, shuriken, seeds that grow into The Princess’ weapon remains in her target and
weapons during flight. Regardless of the weapon’s beings to telegraph it’s attack, warning anyone
form it is an aerodynamic weapon and the Princess nearby of his intentions. The target’s next action
uses the Athletics skill to throw it. Initially the which directly harms someone takes a penalty
weapon’s Damage is 1 but this may be increased equal to the lower of the Princess’ Successes and
with Upgrades. When the Princess attacks she may her dots in Legno. After the target’s next action,
apply an Invocation to increase her accuracy, but regardless of what action he takes, the effect
not her weapon’s Damage. Invocations must be ends.
applied before dice are rolled. Upgrade: Draining (Lacrima ••)
The weapon’s damage can be either Bashing or The weapon drains the will of the target if it
Lethal and the Princess can swap between them strikes home. If the Princess applies Lacrima to
with a Transformation action. The weapon always an attack, and the target takes damage, he also
has a Size between 1 and 4. For anyone but the loses 1 point of Willpower. Using this upgrade is
Princess, the Initiative penalty and the minimum a Compromise at Belief 5+ with a -2 modifier.
Strength needed to use the weapon both equal Upgrade: Trickshot (Specchio ••)
three + the Princess’ Inner Light For the Princess
herself, both are 0 - as an extension of her will, the The Princess’s throws her weapon in an
weapon obeys her desires as well as her own hands. impossible shot. She might aim over her
Generally a Javelot cannot be caught by anyone shoulder with a mirror, ricochet the blade several
except the Princess, or a character with enough times to her target or curve a boomerang
Armour to catch the knife by the blade as it were. around several corners. She ignores up to her
Specchio in penalties for long range, called shots,
Upgrade: Accurate concealment and other similar modifiers.
Stacks, up to 3
The Princess wields her weapon with Levinbolt (Fight •)
supernatural skill. Each time the Princess
takes this upgrade, she gains 1 bonus die when Action: Permanent
attacking with her weapon.
Upgrade: Damaging A ranged weapon becomes part of the Princess’
Regalia, delivering the her will to harm from afar.
Stacks, up to 2 It can appear as nearly anything: wizards’ staffs,
Each time the Princess takes this upgrade, she futuristic pistols, wands of ice. Even weapons that
adds 1 to her weapon’s Damage. shouldn’t function at long range, such as arbitrarily
Upgrade: Spread long spears and thrown daggers that fly like a rifle
shot can function as a Levinbolt. Regardless of the
Stacks, up to 2 times weapon’s form, the Princess uses the Firearms Skill
The Princess weapon comes in bulk, or bounces to attack with the weapon. Initially the weapon’s
between her foes. She may spend a Wisp to Damage is 2 but when she attacks the Princess
perform a short burst of autofire. With two may apply an Invocation to add Damage or to
purchases spending 1 Wisp allows the Noble to boost her weapon’s accuracy, adding her dots in
fire three short bursts or one medium burst. the Invocation to her dice pool, this stacks with any
Upgrade: Breaking (Aria ••) damage or bonus dice from Upgrades. Invocations
must be applied before dice are rolled. The princess
The Princess’ weapon strikes the most vulnerable may not apply an Invocation to both Damage
points. For the purposes of calculating whether and accuracy in a single turn, she may apply two
an attack Inflicts a Tilt it’s Damage is considered different Invocations to gain both benefits unless
to be Aria + 2 points higher. she is using an Invoked Upgrade.

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 The weapon’s range is (30/60/120) * Inner Light target takes 1 bashing damage for each success
in yards. The damage can be either Bashing or on this roll.
Lethal and the Princess can swap between them Upgrade: Penetrating (Aria ••)
with a Transformation action. The weapon always
has a Size between 1 and 4 but for rules purposes it The weapon’s shot guides itself around obstacles
is treated as size one; A Princess’ magical weapon and penetrates protective clothing. If the
is never unwieldy in close quarters. For anyone Princess applies Aria to an attack, she gains
but the Princess, the Initiative penalty and the Armour Piercing equal to her weapon’s Damage
minimum Strength needed to use the weapon both + Aria, however this significantly reduces her
equal three + the Princess’ Inner Light For the weapon’s power reducing her weapon’s damage
Princess herself, both are 0. As an extension of to zero. She does gain one bonus die for any
her emotions, the weapon obeys her desires as well point of Armour Piercing above her opponents
as her own hands. Armour rating.
Normally attacking with her Levinbolt weapon Upgrade: Burning (Fuoco ••)
requires no Wisps, but a Princess can spend a Wisp The Princess’ weapon erupts into flame. If she
to make a short burst of Autofire. applies Fuoco to an attack, it gains the 9-again
quality and if the target is as flammable as dry
Upgrade: Accurate
wood it will likely catch fire.
Stacks, up to 3
Upgrade: Soothing (Legno ••)
The Princess wields her weapon with
If the Princess applies Legno to an attack, and
supernatural skill. Each time the Princess
a target takes damage from it, a dose of an
takes this upgrade, she gains 1 bonus die when
opiate enters his bloodstream, and he must roll
attacking with her weapon.
his Stamina + Resolve - the Princess’ Legno.
Upgrade: Damaging If he fails, he suffers the Drugged Tilt. The
When the Princess takes this upgrade she adds 1 magic ensures there are no after effects and no
to her weapon’s Damage. possibility of an allergic reaction.
Upgrade: Long Upgrade: Quaking (Terra ••)
Stacks, up to 3 If the Princess applies applies Terra to an attack,
the earth bucks under the target’s feet as the
Each acquisition of this upgrade doubles the
weapon’s shot strikes him. In addition to taking
range.
damage, the target must succeed on a reflexive
Upgrade: Spread roll of Dexterity + Athletics, penalized by -1 per
Stacks, up to 2 times success, or take the Knocked Down Tilt.
The Noble improves her weapons’ automatic fire. Upgrade: Dimming (Lacrima ••)
With one purchase, spending 1 Wisp allows the The weapon’s shot assaults the will of the target
Noble to fire three short bursts or one medium if it strikes home. If the attack hits a target with
burst, after which she must spend another wisp a Wisp pool (not including Bequests) they loose
to fire more bursts. A second purchase lets her one Wisp. Using this upgrade is a Compromise
fire short bursts at no cost, and spending a Wisp at Belief 6+ with a -1 modifier.
lets her fire two medium bursts or one long burst.
Upgrade: Irradiating (Tempesta ••)
As with mundane firearms, one turn of covering
fire is equivalent to one medium burst. The Princess may increase the Damage of the
weapon’s shot by inflicting resistant damage on
Upgrade: Forceful (Acqua ••)
herself. 1 level of bashing damage gives a +1
In addition to taking damage from the weapon’s bonus, and 1 level of lethal damage gives a +3
shot, a target is pushed away. If the Princess bonus. The Princess chooses whether to take
applies Acqua to an attack, for each success, the bashing or lethal damage for each attack.
target must succeed on a Stamina + Athletics -
Upgrade: Trickshot (Specchio ••)
Acqua roll or move half the Princess’ Speed away
from her, unless pushed into an obstacle. Targets The Princess’s weapon fires a bolt of pure light
that hit an obstacle are crushed against it, and in an impossible shot. She might aim over
take extra bashing damage. Roll 1 die for each her shoulder with a mirror, ricochet the bolt
success, minus 1 for each step of Speed/2 the several times to her target or shoot a target 100
target moved before impact (rounding up); the foot away from the hip. She ignores up to her

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 Specchio in penalties for long range, called shots, no Defence without dodging. She may return to
concealment and other similar modifiers. normal Defence with a transformation action.

Okenshield (Fight •, Legno •)

Action: Reactive
Cost: 1 Wisp
It's Magic dice pool: Stamina + Athletics
Regardless of their form weapons created Duration: Lasting
by Kensai, Javelot and Levinbolt are
treated as magical damage. They are the The turtle redirects force to strike her hard shell,
emotions behind a Princess’ willingness to keeping it away from those weaker than her. She
hurt another, or to defend another, made may invoke this time she witnesses a character
manifest. performs an attack, and she is in range of that
This means that a Princess’ may create attack. The Charm’s activation roll Contests the
a sword of the purest silver, but it will not attack roll, and if the Princess wins the contest the
inflict Aggravated damage to a Werewolf attack strikes her instead. She may twist to put
(though the Werewolf might not know that), herself between a knife and it’s target, or bullets
but contrawise it will not be stopped by that may redirect in mid-air towards her waiting shield.
anti-silver forcefield the Werewolf brought If the attack has an area of effect that functions
off a Mad Scientist. like normal, from it’s new origin at the Princess’
Invoked upgrades can change this rule, position. If the attack uses the Autofire rules than
for example after applying the Fuoco the Princess nominates one person to defend before
Upgrade Burning a Princess’ attack consists any dice are rolled.
of both magic and fire. Apply the greater
Defence against either magic or fire, but any
damage that gets through is counted as the Scholar at Arms (Fight •, Acqua •)
more effective of the two.
Action: Permanent

The Princess is a master of all weapons and

never takes a penalty to using an unusual weapon
Courteous Parry (Fight •, Terra •) she’s never encountered before. If she finds an
Action: Permanent antiquated mortar and black powder in a museum
she’ll be measuring charges and finding ranges like
A smile and pleasant voice disarms a Princess’ a professional in no time.
attackers, or a calculated remark at the right
moment throws them off-balance. When
the Princess takes a Dodge action, she may Lighting Charge (Fight •, Aria •)
choose to roll Manipulation + Persuasion or Action: Reflexive, unrolled
Intimidation instead of rolling double her defence. Cost: 1 Wisp
Unfortunately, social acumen doesn’t do anything Duration: 1 Turn
to inhuman foes; against an animal, a spirit and
similar beings the Princess’ Defence remains at its The Princess charges into battle with the speed of
base value, even when she dodges. lightning, she may spend a Wisp to make a charge
action (CoD, p92) without sacrificing her Defence.
Upgrade: Instinctive
Using social talent to evade injury becomes
almost a reflex. When the Princess transforms, Shield Wall (Fight ••, Terra •)
she may choose to use her Manipulation +
Persuasion or Intimidation instead of Wits, Action: Reactive, Special dice pool
Dexterity and Athletics when calculating Cost: 1 Wisp
Defence, again this only applies against attackers Duration: 1 Turn
with a basically human mind. The drawback, as
before, is that against inhuman attackers she has

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The Princess stands firm as a rock, and holds the Success: The Princess’ Regalia weaponry
line together. She spends one Wisp and uses her inflicts phantom damage The target suffers
action to activate the Charm for a turn, from that wound penalties from this damage and risks
point onwards she forms the lynchpin of her team’s unconsciousness if it fills the last box, as normal.
defence. When one of her companions within Inner However, the damage is not real; it vanishes
Light yards is attacked she may shout a warning, when the Charm ends as if it were healed, and
direct a fighter to their ally’s aid or parry the blow if the target takes real damage when the track is
herself. full, that damage replaces the phantom damage
To do this the Princess nominates a defender who instead of wrapping over. Phantom damage also
must also be within Inner Light yards (the Princess has no effect if the target has no empty Health
herself may be either the target of an attack or the Boxes to fill. The phantom damage can also be
defender but no one person can serve both rolls) healed magically, or mitigated as it’s inflicted
and rolls her Presence + the defender’s Brawl or as though it were regular damage. Phantom
Weaponry. damages is removed at the end of the charm’s
duration. The Princess may reflexively end
Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s clumsy move the Charm; restoring the lethal capacity of her
exposes her to attack without helping her ally. weaponry and removing any phantom damage
Her Defence takes a -2 penalty during the current she has caused.
turn.
Exceptional Success: The Princess may choose
Failure: The Noble’s parry is not effective. whether to inflict normal or phantom damage for
Success: Each activation success reduces the each attack.
damage from the attack on its target by 1, to Upgrade: Suggestive
a minimum of 0.
Cost: +2 Wisps
Exceptional Success: The Noble’s parry
Any Charm the Princess casts that inflicts
confounds the attack so much that its target
damage inflicts phantom damage instead of
doesn’t notice it. The ally’s Defence is not
normal damage.
reduced by the countered attack.

The Damage from any single attack can only be

reduced from Shield Wall once, even if (especially You Might Hurt Yourself (Fight ••)
if) multiple Princesses are trying to direct the Requires: Kensai
defensive line. Action: Reactive and Contested, Dexterity +
Drawback: The defender loses a point of Defence Brawl or Weaponry vs Defence.
for the reminder of the turn, as though they too had Cost: 1 Wisp
been attacked. If they have sacraficed their defence Duration: Lasting
this turn they cannot serve as a defender.
People ought to know better than to swing heavy or
sharp objects around. When a foe close enough to
Strike False (Fight ••) attack has a tool or weapon in hand, and is about to
Requires: Kensai, Javelot or Levinbolt use it (on herself or anyone else) the Noble activates
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Brawl, Firearms or this Charm. She must have both hands free but
Weaponry. may reflexively drop anything she is holding to
Cost: 1 Wisp invoke this Charm.
Duration: 1 scene
Dramatic Failure: The Noble leaves herself wide
open to her target. If he attacks her in the next
The Princess’ weapon becomes a phantom, creating
turn, she cannot apply Defense.
the appearance of danger without inflicting actual
harm. Failure: The Noble misses her catch.
Success: The Noble takes hold of the target’s
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ attacks are real, equipment and pulls it away, just before he does
but she is convinced they are not, and does not whatever he meant to do. The object moves to
realise otherwise until the Charm ends her possession.
Failure: The Princess’ attacks remain Exceptional Success: The Noble’s theft is so well
unchanged. timed that the target actually tries to carry out

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 his intention without the necessary tool. He gets attacking anyone - her enemy need not be a
the Stunned Tilt [CofD 286]. creature of the Darkness.
Upgrade: Confiscating (Acqua •••)
Weapons and technology yield to the rule of the
Philosopher Queen. In a fluid movement, the
Guardian Angel (Fight ••, Fuoco •)
Princess pulls her enemy’s weapon into her grasp Action: Reactive, Strength + Presence
and may make an action using it in the same turn
Upgrade: Replacing (Aria •••) Cost: 1 Wisp
The Princess places new equipment into her
Duration: successes in turns or 1 scene
target’s hand as deftly as she removes the old. If
the new equipment is similar (such as replacing
A true Heroine gladly risks her life to save
a gun with another gun loaded with blanks) the
another from harm. The Princess uses this Charm
target will attempt their original action using the
on someone she can see; she cannot use it on herself,
new equipment. If the equipment is significantly
someone who is already using it, or anyone with
different (such as replacing a gun with a chicken
a Supernatural Advantage equal or greater to her
drumstick) the target will only attempt to use
Inner Light - 2.
it on an Exceptional Success. This upgrade
can be used outside of combat, and also allows Dramatic Failure: The Princess is struck by
the Princess to use Larceny instead of Brawl or dizziness and loses strength, as if suffering a high
Weaponry. fever. She takes the moderate form of the Sick
Tilt (GMC p. 212). The fever fades if the
Princess rests long enough to reduce the penalty
Safety in Stillness (Fight ••, Legno •) to 0.
Action: Instant Failure: Nothing happens.
Cost: 1 Wisp Success: Everyone who can see both the Princess
Dice Pool: Composure + Brawl and the target realizes that she has put him under
Duration: 1 scene her protection; those who wish to harm him must
first defeat her. For turns equal to the activation
The Princess stands unperturbed by the assaults successes, any character who attacks the target
of many foes. After activating the Charm, her cannot apply Defense against an attack from the
Defense is not reduced until she has taken (1 + Princess until their next action.
her successes) attacks in a turn.
Exceptional Success: The Princess’ protection
lasts for the rest of the scene.
Seraphic Fury (Fight ••, Tempesta ••) Upgrade: Everyone’s Angel (Fuoco 2)
Cost: +1 Wisp
Action: Reflexive
Cost: 1 resistant lethal damage The Princess offers her protection to members
Duration: 1 turn of a group that she can see, applying the
Commonalty modifier for that group; while the
The Princess channels fire and fury through her Charm lasts, anyone who attacks a member of
veins into the flesh of an enemy of the Light. that group loses his Defense against the Princess
Her weapon seeks the heart and severs arteries. until his next action.
She may activate the Charm when she attacks a
creature of the Darkness or a follower of Tears,
before making the roll. If the attack hits the Contest of Champions (Fight ••, Fuoco ••)
creature, it does aggravated damage. Seraphic Fury
Action: Reflexive, Presence + Intimidation vs
may enhance Kensai, Levinbolt or any mundane
Composure + Supernatural Advantage
weapon.

Upgrade: Discretionary (Tempesta Cost: 1 Wisp

••••)
Duration: One fight
The Princess judges for herself who the Light’s
enemies are. She may use the Charm when

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In the midst of battle the Champion challenges her
counterpart to single combat, drawing her foe away
Spite Strike (Fight ••, Tempesta •)
from weaker targets. Action: Reflexive, Dexterity + Intimidation
Dramatic Failure: The Princess loses all Defense Cost: 1 Wisp
against the target for one turn. Duration: Reflexive
Failure or the Princess loses the roll: Nothing None may strike a Fury without reprisal. The
happens. Princess is attacked, she may forgo her Defence
Success and the Princess wins the roll: The and activate Spite Strike. If she takes damage from
Princess and her target both gain +1 Defence the attack, she may retaliate against her attacker
against all attackers other than each other. by rolling her normal dice pool + the amount of
In addition, if either chooses to do anything damage received, the type of damage done is the
other than attack the other in single combat, type of damage the Princess receives. The Princess
or perform some other action suited for single must actually take damage – if she mitigates any
combat, she loses all defence against her of it by spending Wisps, or if the attacker fails to
opponent for the turn and ends the charm. inflict any damage, the Charm fails.
Exceptional Success and the Princess wins the
roll: As above, and the Princess immediately
gains a point of Willpower. If she chooses she Befriending (Fight ••, Specchio ••)
may reflexively spend this point to make an Inner
Action: Reflexive, unrolled
Strength roll.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Upgrade: Arena of the Gods The Queen of Mirrors wants everyone to get along,
Cost: +1 Wisp in service to the True Queen. Isn’t that nice?
When the Princess and her opponent close into Sadly, violence is sometimes necessary, but violence
melee range a ring of fire springs up around should always serve a higher cause, and bind people
them. This ring has a radius of 10 feet, and together. If a character is defeated in combat by the
though the flames are only three foot tall they Princess this Charm can be used to apply the Fresh
will burn anyone up to ten feet in the air. If Impressions Condition to the target, no cost or roll
there is insufficient space the arena will shrink to is required. For one week the Condition sets their
accommodate it’s limitations, and it will never Impressions to Good. Some storyteller discretion
form if anyone but the Princess and her opponent may be needed to define defeated.
would be inside the ring. It may, however, start This power does not work upon Creatures of the
small and grow out, pushing others away to give Darkness, not even Darkened. At the Storyteller’s
the champions room. discretion other fundamentally evil beings may also
be immune.
The flames have the size of a bonfire and the heat
of a bunson burner (WoD core p180), and can be Upgrade: Slap, Slap, Kiss
treated as normal flames except that they never
Cost: +1 Wisp
ignite anything else and cannot be extinguished
by non-magical means.
Drawback: Obviously enough, by invoking this Prove yourself superior, the Heirs say, and those
Charm the Princess has cut off her escape with you defeat must admire you. The Princess may
a big wall of fire. This can by mitigated with spend 1 Wisp when she bests a foe to give him the
charms like Barrier Jacket, but in a formal dual Swooned Condition in addition to Befriending’s
it is considered cheating to exit the arena. usual effects.
Upgrade: Radiant Victory Cost: +1 Wisp
With the enemy’s champion defeated and their Cauterising (Fight ••, Tempesta •••)
own champion claiming a heroic victory the
fighters are rallied and ready to turn the tide. Action: Instant, unrolled
They can add the winner’s Presence to their next Cost: 2 Wisps 1 Willpower
roll. This requires some storyteller judgement, as Duration: 1 scene
defeating an obviously inferior foe will not inspire
anyone. For the remainder of the scene any damage the
Princess inflicts upon a Creature of the Darkness
Drawback: If your opponent wins they gain the
bonus.

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is Resistant. Despite what the Furies believe Success or Exceptional Success and the Princess
about the Court of Tears, this Charm only affects wins the roll: The Princess’ target takes the
monsters that actually are of the Darkness (though Knocked Down Tilt.
that would include a Princess who temporarily
transformed herself into one through Lacrima
magic). Load Cartridge (Fight •••)
The exception to this Charm is that it cannot
enhance attacks caused by or reinforced by other Requires Kensai, Javelot or Levinbolt
Invocations. If the Princess applies any Invocation Action: Instant, Unrolled
but Tempesta or uses a non-Tempesta Invoked Cost: 2 Wisps
Charm the damage can be healed like normal. Duration: 1 Scene

The World of Darkness is full of strange and

One Woman Warband (Fight ••, Specchio weird monsters, and sometimes a Princess’ magic
isn’t the right tool for the job. By taking a sample,
•••) at least the size of a bullet, of any mundane physical
material the Princess may load it into her Regalia
Action: Reactive, unrolled weapon. For the remainder of the scene attacks
Cost: 1 Wisp with the enhanced weapon count as both the
Duration: 1 turn loaded material and magic and should be treated
appropriately when compared to a supernatural (or
What’s more impressive than flamboyantly natural) weakness and when up against defences
taking down an opponent without a scratch? that protect against specific materials. If Princess
Flamboyantly taking down ten opponents. When applies an Invoked Upgrade to her attack, the
this Charm is activated the Noble’s Defence is attack counts as magical, the loaded material, and
reduced to twice her Specchio (if her Defence is the Invocation’s element all at once.
already less than this, it’s unchanged.) However, Any Transformation action that modifies the
when facing multiple attackers, every attack after Princess’ weapon will end this charm early.
the first increases her Defence by 1 rather than Drawback: The sample of material is
decreasing it. She may improve Defence with consumed.
Willpower as normal.

Upgrade: Countered Flash Step (Fight •••, Aria •••)

At the end of the turn the Princess may make
one counter attack with a dice pool equal to the Action: Reactive, Wits + Athletics
number of people who attacked her this turn. If Cost: 1 Wisp
her target attacked her and missed this turn she Duration: Lasting
gains a bonus die.
The Princess dodges her foe’s attack so swiftly that,
by the time it lands, she’s somewhere else. She
Willow’s Wisdom (Fight ••, Legno ••) may activate Flash Step whenever she can Dodge
an attack but may not use it more than Aria times
Action: Reflexive, Stamina + Brawl or Weaponry in a single scene.
vs Dexterity + Athletics
Cost: 2 Wisps Dramatic Failure: The Noble trips over her own
Duration: Lasting feet. She loses Defence against the attack she was
avoiding.
Whenever a melee attack against the Princess Failure: The Noble stays put, and defends
misses her, the turtle can turn her foes own against the incoming attack normally.
momentum against them.
Success: The Noble moves up to her Speed
Dramatic Failure: The Princess takes the times (1 + activation successes) in yards; if this
Knocked Down Tilt. takes her out of the attacker’s reach, the attack
misses. On her next action, anyone she attacks is
Failure: The Princess’ maneuver amounts to surprised and must equal or exceed her activation
nothing. successes on a Wits + Composure roll to apply
Defence against her.

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 Exceptional Success: The Noble moves in the
blink of an eye. On her next action, Defence
Tangling Vine (Fight •••, Legno ••)
does not apply against her attack. Requires: Empty Hand
Action: Special
Cost: 1 Wisp
Refutation in Arms (Fight •••, Acqua ••) Duration: concentration
Action: Instant and Contested
A net of brambles, grasping vines, iron hard cloth,
Cost: 1 Wisp
or some other magic forms in the Noble’s hands,
Dice Pool: Wits + Athletics, Brawl, Firearms,
and she throws it at a target [CofD 90]; the net
or Weaponry vs target’s Wits + Athletics, Brawl,
is not aerodynamic. If she succeeds, she entangles
Firearms or Weaponry
the target in the net, and the brambles grapple him
Duration: 1 scene
[CofD 89-90]. The Noble may spend her action
in the next and subsequent rounds maintaining
The attacks of a fighter fall into patterns, and the
the grapple, and may use any move except Take
Princess can read those patterns. The Princess may
Cover or Restrain. If the target Breaks Free, or the
activate this Charm against any opponent she has
Noble takes any action other than maintaining the
attacked or who has attacked her in the last turn.
grapple, the Charm ends. Essentially the Princess
The dice pool depends on which weapons are in use
rolls to throw a net using the usual rules, and if
at the point the Charm was Invoked, so a Pricness
she succeeded she may use the mundane grappling
with an enchanted rifle fighting a Darkspawn with
rules at a distance.
teath and claws will roll her Firearms and her
If the Princess has the Charm Binding she
opponent will roll it’s Brawl.
may invoke it at any distance if she applies the
Dramatic Failure: The Princess misreads her foe. Immobilized tilt through grappling vine, and if the
For the rest of the scene, all her attacks on this target is already Immobilized she may create the
opponent take a -1 penalty, and she cannot use net, throw the net and invoke Binding all in one
Refutation in Arms again. turn. In Essence she uses Binding to make her net
last until the target breaks free.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing from her
foe’s movements. Upgrade: Thorny
Success: The Princess gets the Blessing Tilt; all The net grows sharp thorns; it may inflict lethal
her attacks on this opponent gain a +1 bonus damage in the grapple.
until the Charm ends. In addition every turn
Upgrade: Wide
she spends fighting that opponent increases the
bonus by one die, up to a maximum of Acqua Stacks, up to 3 times
times two. Cost: +0-2 Wisps
Exceptional Success: As above but the bonus The net is broad enough to ensnare more than
starts at +2. one person. Use the autofire rules [CofD 90].
The first purchase gives the net the bonus of a
For the purposes of this Charm “fighting an short burst. The second purchase adds 1 Wisp to
opponent” is defined as attacking that opponent, the cost, and allows the equivalent of a medium
using a Charm upon that opponent, taking an burst. The third purchase adds 2 Wisps to the
action designed to prevent the opponent’s action cost, and allows the equivalent of a long burst.
from succeeding, or assisting one of her allies in The Noble must use the same move on everyone
doing any of the aforementioned actions. caught in the net; if a move doesn’t apply to a
The designated opponent must be the primary target, it’s wasted.
target of the Princesses action. If one Darkspawn
plans to support the Princess’ designated target;
then preventing that supporting action will not Salted Wounds (Fight •••, Lacrima •••)
qualify. The Princess can still do so but it will
not increase her bonus. Action: Instant, Resolve + Medicine
A Princess can gain a bonus from this Charm Cost: 2 Wisps, Compromise at Belief 5+ with a -2
against only one target at a time; if she uses it modifier
again before the scene ends, the first use of the Duration: See text
Charm ends immediately.

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The Raven imbues her weapon with salty despair This Charm spreads the Anti-War Zone tilt to
and resignation, when she next attacks the curse the surrounding environment, applying a penalty
sinks into the wounds and takes hold. When the to all combat rolls equal to the successes rolled.
Princess next strikes a target she gains the Inverse
Curse Tilt, which penalises any attempts to heal
the victim (by herself or others). The penalty Nova Strike (Fight •••••, Fuoco ••••)
is equal to the amount of Lethal or Aggravated
damage the Princess inflicts, after reductions, and Requires: Levinbolt or Kensai with Sword Beam
lasts for one scene. Healing the damage does not Action: Instant, Strength + Firearms or
end the Curse, though specialised Charms such as Weaponry
Unweaving can do so. Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: instant

Demilitirzation (Fight ••••, Legno •••) The Princess conjures an attack that explodes in a
gout of consuming fire. The attack’s range is the
Action: Instant, Composure + Expression same as the Princess’ Levinbolt; when it hits, it
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower explodes with a blast area equal to the Princess’
Duration: 1 scene Inner Light and a Damage equal to her Fuoco. The
explosive is also an incendiary – anything damaged
The greatest victory is the battle won without by it ignites, both the direct explosive damage and
violence, and magic is good at sharing victory with any damage from fires set by it is lethal. All such
all. By calling upon the Matron of the Forests fires are mundane, though the explosive is not.
a Princess can snatch the weapons from her foes This charm uses Firearms with Levinbolt or
hands, but she cannot do it without taking violence weaponry with sword beam. Its range is that of
from her friends as well. the weapon it duplicates, and there is no extra wisp
cost for using sword beam.

Strength of Heart — An optional rule

Most role playing games, including Chronicle of Darkness, take a realistic view on combat where
characters bring a certain amount of resources — health, willpower, ammunition, — into a battle
which gets used up as the fight progresses. In fiction most magical girls start a battle with a base
level of magical power and get stronger over time as the stress of battle forces them to tap
into reserves of emotional strength they never knew they had. This optional rule recreates that
paradigm.
A Princess begins always starts a battle with a single effective dot of Inner Light which
increases over the course of a battle to a maximum of the dots on her character sheet. She
increases Inner Light by one at the end of a round where any of the following occurs:
• She takes a point of Lethal or Aggravated damage (not counting points downgraded by Holy
Shield or similar) or a Tilt.

• She witnesses an Noble or Sworn ally receive an injury that prevents her from continuing to
fight.

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 • She witnesses a mortal ally who is a significant character in the story receive an injury that
prevents him from continuing to fight.
• She witnesses a non-combatant face a significant risk of serious harm.
• She successfully regains Wisps through the Inner Strength mechanic.
• A new significant threat, like a second wave of Darkspawn, enters play.

• She makes a speech. With the Royal Tongue Merit this takes an Instant action.

If the Princess has permanently active Charms with more Upgrades than she can have active
at her current Inner Light she reflexively activates new Upgrades as her Inner Light increases. If
she enters battle with a partially more than ten Wisps then she unlocks additional wisps as her
Inner Light increases and her maximum Wisp pool increases. For example a Princess with Inner
Light three and 11/12 Wisps will start at an effective Inner Light one and can access ten of those
Wisps. When she takes a point of lethal damage her effective Inner Light rises by one and she
unlocks the last Wisp.
Antagonist Princesses may be exempt from this rule, to ensure that a powerful opponent
cannot be quickly and easily overwhelmed by weaker but more numerous player characters without
ever reaching the heights of Inner Light that make her into a threat.
With a little thought it should be easy to adapt this mechanic to other risky situations, like
rescuing people from a burning building. However you should not feel obligated to ensure it
applies to all Callings equally, or even all fights.

Duration: 1 scene
Strength of Ten (Fight •••••, Terra •••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Expression The Princess draws upon the dedication and resolve
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower the Seraphic General displayed during the fall, and
Duration: 1 turn recreates her own lesser version of that courage to
become Storms’ avatar.
Blows delivered by the Princess’ friends become
steps in a great dance, and her strike against a foe is Dramatic Failure: The Princess is overcome with
its culmination. The Charm may be activated only a feeling of utter futility and defeatism. She
during combat. For each activation success, add loses all Willpower and must flee all combat for
the successes rolled for a mundane action by one the scene. She is considered to have broken
character on the Noble’s side of the fight as a bonus Tempesta’s ban.
to her dice pool in the next turn, provided that her Failure: The Princess cannot focus.
action that turn is a standard attack (an attack Success: The Princess enters a combat trance,
using Kensai or Levinbolt counts). If the Princess a tranquil fury, or even a screaming hysteria.
does anything other than attack a foe as her next In this state she is one of the most powerful
action, she gains no benefit from the Charm. She and terrible combatants known to the Radiant.
must choose whether an eligible action is part of the She gains the Seraphic Fury Tilt: Any damage
attack before the player for that character rolls. If she inflicts is Aggravated, she gains temporary
a character rolls a dramatic failure on an action health equal to her Inner Light + Resolve and
that’s part of the attack, the Princess takes a -4 every time she kills someone she believes to be in
penalty to her dice pool. league with either the Darkness or the Court of
Tears she completely refreshes her Willpower and
gains a single box of temporary Health. There
The Finest Hour, the Last Hour (Fight is no upper limit to her maximum health, in
extreme cases a Fury could continue fighting long
•••••, Tempesta ••••) after her body has been utterly destroyed (she
Action: Instant, Resolve + Composure would resemble an unusually solid Goalenu at
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower, 1 Resistant this point).
Aggravated Damage Exceptional Success: The Princess develops such

157
 as strong aura of violence and power that her day. The Princess may continue working to
foes flee at the very sight of her. She also extend the Charm’s duration:
gains the Terrifying tilt, the people affected are 2 * Sanctuary Size = 1 day
Mortals (including minor templates like Sworn
and Darkened) and Darkspawn. 4 * Sanctuary Size = 1 week
6 * Sanctuary Size = 1 month
Drawback: Once this Charm is active the
8 * Sanctuary Size = 1 year
Princess must fight to the death - she simply cannot
conceive of not fighting for as long as one foe 10 * Sanctuary Size = indefinite
remains standing. The Princess also gains the Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
Invocation Lock condition keyed to Tempesta. progress.

If an area is already Consecrated, Consecrate will

Govern not take effect until the Princess reaches enough
successes to exceed the remaining duration of the
The Govern Charms control supernatural powers previous Consecration. (For instance, if an area
and those who possess them. Graces and Seekers will be Consecrated for five days, the Princess must
have affinity for them. reach enough successes for a week’s duration, after
which the area will be Consecrated for a week.)
If any part of an area is Tainted, the Charm
Consecrate (Govern •) automatically fails. Consecrate ends if the area
suffers major alterations or damage, or someone
Action: Extended, Presence + Expression (10 manages to bring Taint into it.
minutes/roll, threshold = variable) If the Princess has access to gems created by
Cost: 3 Wisps the Charm Enduring Beauty she can use them
Duration: special to empower Consecrated ground, extending the
duration of the protection. A gem worth Resources
The Princess blesses the ground she stands on, three increases the duration by one step (so 2 * the
and dedicates it temporarily to her Queen and the area’s size successes creates a duration of 1 week).
Light. By using this Charm a Princess applies the A gem worth Resources five increases the duration
Consecrated condition to the area until the Charm by two steps. It takes five gems worth Resources
ends. Many Charms, distinguished as such in one to increase the duration by one step. Multiple
their description are more durable or effective when gems may be combined for a greater effect but the
invoked upon consecrated groups. The Princess required successes can can never drop below 2 *
needs to cleanse and purify every part of the area the area’s size. Naturally the duration cannot be
she wishes to sanctify; this can be as simple as increased past indefinite.
giving it a thorough spring cleaning, or it can Gems used to empower Consecrated Ground
be an elaborate rite for casting out evil spirits, must be reworked into part of the ground, becoming
depending on the Princess’ cultural background. beautiful statues, stained glass windows or other
However, if she applies an Invocation, the method features. This happens as part of the Charm.
of purification invokes the relevant Queen and must They must be displayed prominently but can be
use symbols appropriate for her. protected by any anti-theft measure that doesn’t
Consecrating a large area is naturally harder spoil their beauty. If even one of these reworked
than a small one, Consecrate is a Sanctuary based gems is removed from the Consecrated ground the
Charm. Charm ends. Once the gems are transformed
happens they can never again be used to enhance
Dramatic Failure: The Princess ruins the area’s magic, however they are still beautiful and may be
blessing - all her accumulated successes are lost, worth money as works of art, and they can still be
and if the area has the Consecrated condition used to return beauty to whomever it was taken
immediately loses it. No one can use Consecrate from.
there for a full month. Making use of Consecrated ground that is built
Failure: The Princess makes no progress, but on stolen beauty is a Belief Compromise, unless
may continue her efforts. there is good evidence to suggest that the beauty
was taken consensually. There is no modifier for
Success: The Princess progresses in her work. the Compromise roll.
When she reaches the threshold, the area gains
the Consecrated condition and retains it for 1 Upgrade: Purifying

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 The Princess may apply the Consecrated x Inner Light yards. Any being with a Rank or
condition on top of Taint. The Taint will always Potency trait (including creatures of the Darkness,
overcome this Charm given enough time, but as they use Shadows as a pusdo-Potency) will
it can allow the Princess some vital breathing trigger her sense upon stepping within Inner Light x
space. Invoke Consecrate like normal, but take 10 yards of the Princess, and any active use of their
the Taint’s Severity as a penalty to your dice powers will trigger her sense again. A Mortal with
pool, then: Supernatural Merits or a template that doesn’t
grant Potency (such as Sworn) will not trigger her
• Outside of its Nightscape, the Taints’ sense, but active use of their abilities will do so.
Aspirations go dormant. The Princess may roll Wits + Empathy
• Outside of its Nightscape, the Taint will not reflexively when her sense is triggered, and may
attempt to Corrupt, nor will it affect dice apply an Invocation to this roll. If she sensed
pools with its Severity. something of the Light or the Darkness, success
• The Taint no longer provides access to and identifies the power as of the Light or the Darkness.
from its Nightscape, the Dark Door is sealed For other powers the Princess must learn about
shut and the Enter Darkness ability fails. the nature of the power through research or
investigation. So if a Princess felt a power
• The Taint remains vulnerable to any belonging to a Vampire a success will inform her
technique that might purify it, including that it was the same kind of power as every other
Cleansing, if anyone happens to be inside use of a Vampire’s power she previously felt. But
of its Nightscape when it is closed off they she would not know that all these powers belonged
remain trapped in the Dark World. to Vampires without old fashioned investigating.
However once per day reduce the Princesses If the character using the power has the ability
Successes by the Taint’s Severity. When her to conceal itself from supernatural detection, then
Successes are reduced to zero or when the the Princess must overcome that concealment as
duration expires, as measured by her unmodified per the usual rules.
Successes, the Consecrated condition ends and
Upgrade: Sensitive
the normal effects of Taint return. The Princess
may invoke Purify again before its duration ends, Double the range of the Princess’ Unseen Sense,
replacing the existing instance of Purify with the to 20 x Inner Light yards.
new one upon completion (she still takes a dice Upgrade: Light Attuned
pool penalty equal to the Severity of the Tainted
The Princess recognizes individual powers
Place).
springing directly from the Light; when she rolls
Purifying only protects against the existing to identify a Charm, she learns the exact Charm
Taint, any new Taint generated in the area will along with any Upgrades and which Invocation,
end the effects. if any, was applied.
Upgrade: Bastion Upgrade: Dark Attuned (Tempesta •)
Several charms have special benefits when cast The Princess recognizes individual powers
upon Consecrated ground. When Consecrate is springing directly from the Darkness; when
invoked with Bastion another benefit is added: she rolls to identify an Umbra or Caligo, she
Charms that benefit from the Consecrated learns the specific power, not just “power from
condition are immune to being dispelled (such the Darkness”. If the Storyteller rules that
as by the Charm Unweaving) for as long as the other supernatural entities draw powers from the
condition remains. Darkness; the Princess can identify any such
It is important to note that Consecrate itself powers.
can be dispelled and this Upgrade offers no
protection against that.
Dreaming Sight (Govern •)
Reflected Light (Govern •) Action: Reflexive

Action: Permanent Cost: 1 Wisp

The Princess gains the benefits of the Unseen Sense dice pool: Unrolled
merit for all supernatural phenomena within 10

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Duration: 1 Scene
of ephemeral beings described in the
The Princess can see into Twilight to perceive Chronicles of Darkness. We left it out,
natives of the Dreamlands who have escaped to along with any other explicit reference to
the waking world, along with similar phenomena the God Machine, because in our opinion
like astrally projecting psychics. With a Successful it’s not possible to add the God-Machine
Perception roll she can notice Manifestation to a game of Princess: the Hopeful without
Conditions related to a Dreamlanders in her turning it into the centrepiece of the story.
vicinity (If playing a crossover with Mage: the A campaign in which a nakama discovers
Awakened, remember that native Dreamlander is the God Machine and tries to do something
the Nobility’s term for Goetica). Physical objects about it could be an excellent thing, but we
still block her sight, so a Dreamlander can hide would need much more than a few Charms
behind - or inside - such objects to evade her. to do justice to it.

Upgrade: Granted
By touching the eyes of another the Princess may
bestow the benefits of this Charm upon them Study Inheritance (Govern •)
with an Instant Action.
Action: Extended, Intelligence + Empathy (5
Upgrade: Touching minutes/roll, threshold = Bequest’s Merit rating)
By spending an additional Wisp, the Princess The mysteries of the Kingdom’s relics can be
shifts her flesh partly into Twilight, allowing unveiled. The Princess uses this Charm on
her to touch or attack Dreamlanders, and they a transformed Bequest; when she reaches the
her, until the Charm ends. All of her regalia threshold, she discovers what Charm the Bequest
(including weapons and armour) are carried into is based on, the cost of activating it, whether it
this state with her, as are the effects of Charms. carries a pool of Wisps, if it is empowered, and the
If the Princess has Spirit Sight or Second Sight duty one must carry out to refill the pool.
she may choose which types of ephemeral beings
(along with their related phenomina) to apply
Touching too when she activates the Charm. Charge (Govern ••)
Upgrade: Spirit Sight (Legno •) One of Action: Instant, unrolled
the Wilds may attune herself to the presence of Cost: none
spirits. The Princess also sees spirits in Twilight Duration: Lasting
Form, and can make Perception rolls to notice
Manifestation Conditions related to a spirit, or The Princess may transfer some of her own Wisps
the presence of a locus [GMC 220] and related to to another. She and the target must be
phenomena. physically near to each other, as a rule of thumb
Upgrade: Second Sight (Lacrima •) they need to be within shouting distance, and
the Princess must be able to create an emotional
A follower of Tears can part the veil and see
reaction, no matter how small. Once both
into the great beyond. The Princess also sees
conditions are satisfied the Princess wills her magic
ghosts in Twilight Form and structures made of
to travel and it does so, in a glowing, sparkling bolt
ghostly ephemera, and can make Perception rolls
of energy, filling the target’s emotional reaction
to notice Manifestation Conditions related to a
with magical power.
ghost, a ghost’s Anchor or an Avernian Gate
The Princess can also transfer Wisps into an
[GMC 226] and related phenomena.
object, providing it has a Wisp Pool. This is harder,
and requires the Princess to touch the target object.
Transferring a Wisp through Charge counts
as spending a Wisp when measuring against a
Princess’ Wisp per turn limit, and she cannot give
What About Angels? more Wisps than the target can hold.

Upgrade: Accepted
Readers may wonder why there isn’t
an upgrade to perceive the third type The Princess may take Wisps from other people,
if they are willing to give them. If the target
consents, the Princess may use this charm in

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reverse to draw wisps into herself. Inanimate dry can shake a Princess’ Belief harder than
objects like Bequests are obviously unable to give the Lacrima backlash for this Upgrade, but as
consent to anything. always a single action can only cause one Beleif
Upgrade: Distant Compromise.
Cost: 1 Wisp The Storyteller has discretion over how much
a Beacon can be drained without permanent
The Princess may use the Charm on people who effects, but as a rule of thumb they can recover
are not present. She spends a Wisp and rolls from loosing around half (Integrity + Willpower)
Presence + Empathy - Intimacy, and may apply wisps. After a month without being targeted any
an Invocation to the roll. If she succeeds she previous thefts no longer apply.
creates a magical link through which she can
transfer Wisps, this link lasts for a scene. If Upgrade: Capitation (Lacrima •••)
the Princess has Accepted, she can take Wisps Prerequisite: Accepted
through this link as well. Cost: Compromise at Belief 4+ with a -3
Upgrade: Sweet Dreams modifer
The Princess can convert between Wisps and Alhambra is the one true nation for all humanity,
Astral Essence at a 1:1 ratio, in either direction, and so Alhambra’s officials have the duty to
she may also use Charge and all it’s Upgrades on take the city’s due from all of humanity. The
a Dramlander. Princesses cannot store Essence, Noble can extract hope and joy from a mundane
she must convert Wisps into Essence before human, converting them into Wisps for herself.
offering it to a Dramlander, and transform any After at least fifteen minutes of uninterrupted
Essence received into Wisps. conversation, during which she touches her target
As there are an awful lot of Dreamlanders with at least once, she rolls Resolve + Intimidation
Essence pools and loyalty to a Queen and her - target’s Composure. The Charm may not be
Court the Storyteller should be careful not to let used on anyone more than once a scene and may
the Dreamlands become an infinite source of free not be combined with Distant.
Wisps. Running low on Wisps is one of the ways Dramatic Failure: The target becomes deeply
Princess: the Hopeful can give mechanical heft to disturbed by the Noble. She takes the Notoriety
the Mood of Exhaustion. But at the same time, Condition (CofD page 290) related to him.
when it’s dramatically appropriate one good Failure: The Noble gains nothing from the
night’s sleep recharging the player characters can target.
be a big part of portraying exhaustion. Use your Success: The Noble taxes the target’s hope. She
judgement and everything should be fine. gains one Wisp per success and the target takes
Upgrade: Stolen (Lacrima ••) the Depression Condition for a number of days
per success. Until the Condition is resolved the
Prerequisite: Accepted
target cannot be drained by Capitation.
Cost: Compromise at Belief 4+ with a -3 Exceptional Success: As for normal success, and
modifer the target becomes captivated by the Noble, and
The Princess can take Wisps from the Light- wants to talk to her again. He gains the Spooked
Touched, even without consent. She must Condition (CofD page 291) linked to the Noble.
roll Presence + Intimidation - Composure and Upgrade: In Memoriam (Lacrima ••)
cannot Transfer more Wisps per turn than her
The Princess can convert between Wisps and
Successes. Stolen cannot be combined with
Ghostly Essence at a 2:1 ratio, in either direction,
Distant.
she may also use Charge and all it’s Upgrades
A Raven can also steal from a Beacon, even on a Ghost. Princesses cannot store Essence -
though Beacons do not have Wisps their Light she must converted Wisps into Essence before
is fragile and can be stolen away entirely. offering it to a ghost, and transform any Essence
Any Beacon who is successfully drained takes received into Wisps.
the Running on Fumes Condition until they
Upgrade: Significance (Legno ••)
next regain some Willpower. If a Beacon is
drained too much they can permanently loose the The Princess can convert between Wisps and
template and develop a Persistent condition such Spiritual Essence at a 2:1 ratio, in either
as Depression to represent the consequences of direction, she may also use Charge and all it’s
having their optimism stolen. A Breaking Point Upgrades on a Spirit. Princesses cannot store
is probably appropriate. Draining a Beacon Essence - she must converted Wisps into Essence

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 before offering it to a Spirit, and transform any obscure Embassies mastering anything substantial.
Essence received into Wisps. Ghosts are easier to work with but to learn Charms
that affect Ghosts she would have to first become
a practitioner of Lacrima, even though Lacrima’s
Gold Abhors Ebon (Govern ••) Ghost Charms do not compromise Belief few among
the Radiant are willing to take that step.
Action: Instant and contested, Presence + So if Princesses want to deal with an Ephemeral
Intimidation vs. Resolve + supernatural advantage Being they’ll either call the an Embassy, or they’ll
Cost: 1 Wisp turn to the same tricks that mortals use (see GMC
Duration: 1 scene p230). It is fortunate then, that a Princess’ own
Invoking the Light’s authority, the Princess drives magic can reinforce mortal techniques, with Light
off a being of the Darkness. If the Princess wins over All she can apply an Invocation to the rolls.
the contest, the target becomes irrationally afraid In addition, the following dice bonuses and
of her for the duration; gaining the Terrified Tilt. penalties apply, based on the entity:

Upgrade: Ruling • +3: The entity was never human, and is

Inhuman monsters must acknowledge the anathema to humanity (Some creatures of the
Princess’ authority. She may use the Charm on Darkness)
non-human supernatural beings, such as ghosts
• +1: The entity was never human, but is not
and spirits.
anathema to humanity; or was human, but
Upgrade: Majestic thinks nothing like a human (most Spirits and
Prerequisite: Ruling Dreamlanders, some ancient Ghosts)
Cost: +1 Willpower • -1: The entity was once human, and still
All those with power bow to the Light. The thinks in somewhat human ways (Ghosts, some
Princess may use the Charm on humans with Dreamlanders)
supernatural powers that aren’t derived from the
Light. This includes anyone with a major or Upgrade: Blood Magic (Tempesta •)
minor template, and anyone with powers they During any roll where Light over All applies, the
would lose if they gained a template, except for Princess may take a point of resistant bashing
Beacons, Sworn and Hopeful. damage to add +3 to one roll.
Upgrade: Fearsome (Lacrima ••)
Cost: Compromise at Belief 6+ with a -1
modifier
Seed of Light (Govern ••)
The Queen of Tears claims the right to rule all the Action: Extended, Dexterity + Expression ((20
world, mortals, Nobles and supernaturals alike. - Willpower) minutes/roll, threshold = 3 * seeds
The Princess may use the Charm on humans made)
without supernatural powers, and on Beacons, Cost: 1 Willpower, 1+ Wisps (special)
Sworn and other Princesses.
The Light exists within the world, within the
hearts of all men. However, with will and effort,
Light over All (Govern ••) the Hopeful may calcify Wisps into gem-sized,
imperishable Seeds, proof against the ravages of
Action: Permanent chance. Each Wisp spent on the Charm forms
a separate Seed. The Princess does not have to
Mortals may not be magical, but they can use decide how many Seeds to calcify beforehand; after
magic. Some forms of magic used by mortals are spending the Willpower, she starts to concentrate
impossible for a Princess to perform, others are on her pool of Wisps. Each three successes
rendered obsolete, and then there are some types accumulated allows the Princess to transform one
of magic that Princesses find come even easier after Wisp into a Seed, and she may roll a number of
they Blossom. times equal to her dice pool, or until she runs out
On the whole Princesses aren’t that great of Wisps. Extra successes are wasted
at working with or against Ephemeral Beings The shape of a Seed is a profound expression
(Dreamlanders excepted). The noble magic that of its creator’s soul, and is heavily influenced
affects such beings tends to be basic, with only by the Invocation (if any) applied in its making.

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(Applying Legno, for instance, often creates Seeds the Darkness, and no soldier of the Seraphic
in the form of living, unchanging flora.) Any General should be caught without her arms!
character examining a Seed, if they make a Wits + When creating the Seed, the Noble may choose
Occult roll, can recognize a Seed as coming from the to make it release its energy quickly. If Tempesta
same hand as one they’ve seen before (Invocations was applied, the Wisp can be recovered from
are usually clear without a roll). the Seed as a reflexive action, at a cost of 1
Any character with a Wisp pool can recover resistant Bashing damage, with no more than
the Wisp from a Seed, to do so they must spend skin contact with the Seed. There is no limit
a minute in concentration. No actions may be to how many Seeds can be tapped in this way
performed while doing this, and the character is at per round, beyond the limits of one’s well-being.
-3 to all Wits-based rolls, so deep is their focus. The The followers of the Queen of Swords are less
Seed glows, and becomes incohesive, melting into rash, but no less aware of the dangers of the
their soul, and adding the Wisp to their pool. If the world. By applying Fuoco, they create Seeds that
character’s Wisp pool is full, the Seed vaporizes and release their Wisp as an instant action.
releases the Wisp into the air, where it dissipates.
As tiny fragments of solidified Light, Seeds are
incredibly alluring to creatures of the Darkness.
Any character with the Darkened template can
Safety in Mortality (Govern ••)
consume Seeds to regain Willpower, gaining one Action: Full turn, Resolve + Intimidation
point of Willpower per Seed eaten. The Darkened Cost: 1 Wisp
can smell out Seeds kept in quantity - they gain Duration: 1 scene, (Consecrated)
a cumulative +1 bonus to all Perception rolls to
notice a person carrying Seeds for each Seed above A Princess is as much a being of mortality as she is
the carrier’s Composure, and tend to aim first at of the Light. Just as the Transformation allows her
opponents carrying the most Seeds. Moreover, to switch between these worlds she may push these
any location where large numbers of Seeds are changes outwards, creating a safe space through
stored can be noticed for miles. For this reason, which magic cannot enter. The Charm is used on
Alhambran outposts tend to either be very heavily an enclosed space, such as a building or a fenced
protected, or to try to move their ill gotten gains park - if the Princess needs to protect an area that
back to their rain-soaked city as fast as possible. isn’t enclosed, she must mark its border somehow,
And for the same reason, servants of the Queen of by (for instance) drawing a chalk line or throwing
Storms have been known to use captured Seeds as down a rope. The area must not extend more than
Darkspawn bait. (Inner Light x 20) yards in any direction, unless the
area is Consecrated.
Upgrade: Bereaved (Lacrima •••)
The production of Seeds by Alhambrans occurs Dramatic Failure: The Princess makes herself
on an industrial scale. Reduce the time per roll vulnerable to others’ magic. Any supernatural
to once per turn. power that is normally resisted, when used on
As a side effect of applying this Upgrade, the her, gets a +1 bonus on its activation roll for 1
character removes the unique traces of their day.
identity from the Seeds they make. Instead, the Failure: The area gains no protection.
Seed forms as one of the seals of the Kingdom,
Success: The Princess applies the Warded
the crown of the Queen of Tears prominent on
condition to the target area for one scene; any
it. The production of such a Seed is frequently
attempt to direct magic from outside to inside
used as a test of identity by an Alhambran
the protected space triggers a Clash of Wills
outpost sent a new Noble, and documents and
against the Princess’ Clash of Wills dice pool
packages sent between groups are sealed with
at the point this Charm was invoked, and the
wax imprinted with this mark. This leaves
Princess is aware of any such attempts. If this
unmistakable magical traces, which a character
Charm was invoked as a teamwork action the
with Lacrima 1 or higher, or the ability to see
Primary Actor’s Clash of Wills dice pool is used,
auras, can detect with a Wits + Occult roll,
but all participants are aware of any attempts
making forging the seal harder.
to breach the Wards. If the enclosed space
Upgrade: Militant (Tempesta ••or Fuoco has the Consecrated Condition, the Charm lasts
•••) until the area is no longer Consecrated and the
One cannot simply wait for the Light to diffuse Warded Condition extends to cover the complete
into one’s soul! All of existence is a war against Consecrated are.

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 Exceptional Success: The Charm’s protection into a usable form. A dog could wear a scarf
lasts for a full day. that bestows Celestial Grace, but would struggle
to use a pair of magical shoes tied to it’s back.

Accept Fealty (Govern ••, Invocation •••)

Light's Riposte (Govern ••, Fuoco •)
Action: Extended, Presence + Persuasion -
Intimacy (10 minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Action: Reactive and resisted, Wits + Occult -
Willpower) target’s Stamina
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll, 1 Willpower dot. Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting Duration: instant

Through a Ceremonial induction the Princess can Those who cast hostile magics at the Princess shall
invite mortals to join her Court, becoming Sworn. suffer for their temerity. When she is the target of a
The ceremony is typically held in a relatively quiet supernatural effect that she recognizes as such, she
and isolated location. This is for pragmatic reasons, may activate the Charm. For each success rolled,
as the process of the Charm creates a rather the magic’s user takes 1 bashing damage. This may
impressive light show. For the Sworn, the ceremony be done only once per effect.
is an enlightening experience, no pun intended.
They see the image of the Queen they have chosen Upgrade: Lethal (Fuoco ••)
to serve, for a moment they share in everything the Cost: +1 Wisp
Queen means to the Princess accepting their fealty,
The Princess’ rebuke grows harsher; for each
and in that moment they share in the Princess’
success rolled, the target takes 1 lethal damage.
magic. When the ceremony ends a small spark of
Light remains.
The target must understand what he is doing,
and do it voluntarily; on an unknowing or unwilling
A Magical Girl's Eyes (Govern •••)
target, the Charm fails. It also fails on mortals Requires: Reflected Light
steeped in villainy; the target must not be
Darkened or be a supernatural being (the exact line Cost: 1 Wisp
is fuzzy and up to the Storyteller, but anything with
a Potency trait is out). Each Queen has a different Action: Reflexive, Unrolled
version of this Charm, and a Princess can learn or
use only the one for her own Queen. Duration: 1 Scene
Note that while Accept Fealty subtracts Intimacy
from it’s dice pool it cannot be performed at a In her Transformed identity a Princess is an
distance, and penalty is not reduced to -0 for havinginherently magical being. Her shining heart is
line of sight. Many Princesses will gladly swear a comprised of both muscle tissue and solid magic,
mortal into their Court as a favour to Princesses her fingers are made of flesh and clever little
who don’t know this Charm or belong to another enchantments, her eyes, those are magic too. By
Court less suitable for the Sworn-to-be, in exchange spending a Wisp the Princess can see (or smell,
for a Bequest or a favour worth a dot of Willpower. or taste or somehow sense) magic. This includes
They power through the Intimacy penalty through both magical beings, magical items or places, and
high attributes. the presence of lasting magical enchantments. This
sense extends as far as she can see with her eyes
Upgrade: Light’s Best Friend
and can be enhanced with binoculars, a telescope
The Princess can accept an animal companion or remote vision Charms, but not over a television
into her service. The animal must give informed or camera.
consent which usually takes the Beast Speaker By rolling Intelligence + Empathy (for a
charm, though some species such as dogs are Princess’ magic), Science (for a mad scientist’s
naturally good with humans and can figure it out. work), or Occult (for anything else) the Princess
They gain the same practical magic as a human, can also determine what kind of magic she is
which may or may not be useful for their species. looking at. She may apply an Invocation to this
And like any sworn they may use Bequests, to roll. However the Princess cannot see in any detail.
the limit of their species’ abilities. Though some At best she might get something like “it looks
care may need to be taken to place a Bequest angry” when looking at a werewolf or a werewolf’s

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spell. If the Princess sees the same kind of magic and brings the Dreamlander with her in an
again she can recognise the similarity; to the normal immaterial state (if she was asleep). The
limits of her memory. If the Princess learns that Dreamlander gains the Fettered Condition, it is
the angry looking person is a werewolf she can tied to the Princess. When the Charm expires
conclude that all the other people or enchantments the Dreamlander does not have to worry about
with the same angry look are also werewolves or Influences or Manifestations, lingering magic
their creations. means that it can spend one Essence to renew
If she is looking at an active magic effect or the Condition for another day or travel through
magical item she can determine its purpose to the Princess’ Crawlspace to return home.
a similar level of detail, such as “protect this Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
building”. If the Princess has the Reflected Light progress. The Dreamlander’s stay in the waking
upgrades Light Attuned or Dark Attuned she gains world is prolonged; the Charm lasts for Princess’
their benefits when using Magical Girl’s Eyes, if Presence in days.
she has Study Inheritance then she only needs to
look at a Bequest to learn it’s particulars. As with When summoned to waking life by this Charm,
all uses of vision this power is less effective over Dreamlanders’ powers are somewhat limited. See
distance, as a rule of thumb the Princess’s ability the Appendix on the Dreamlands for full rules
to analyse magic fades with distance at the same governing Dreamlanders.
rate as her ability to recognise faces.
This Charm provides no ability to see into Upgrade: Vesseled
Twilight, though if the Princess has some other Cost: +1 Willpower or +1 Willpower Dot
means of seeing into Twilight it will apply to it’s
full extent upon the residents of that plane. If The Princess can bind Dreamlanders into
the enchantment itself is constructed to be hidden physical vessels, allowing them to affect
from poking and prying, or if the enchantment the physical world without worrying about
conceals things such as by making them invisible Manifestations for the duration of the Charm.
the Princess may roll a Clash of Wills to overcome Mechanically this can be treated as a Shikigami
such deceptions. without a bond to any Princess (unless they
acquire one later of course). At the cost of
a Willpower Dot the Shikigami binding can be
Astral Companion (Govern •••) made to last Indefinitely, allowing the Shikigami
to remain on Earth without a Noble’s support
Action: Extended, Inner Light + Presence (10 or the need to use Manifestations upon a living
minutes/roll, threshold = 3x Dreamlander’s Rank being. Shikigami who receive this boon may
or Inner Light) travel too and from the Dreamlands in their sleep
Cost: 1 Wisp and may form and break the Shikigami bond with
Duration: 1 day or Presence days. Nobles without risking their new body.
Every Princess can bind herself to a Shikigami, Upgrade: Dreaming Exile (Specchio ••)
but some Princesses can sustain a Dreamlander
Cost: +1 Wisp and 1 Willpower
on Earth without requiring the full bond. A
Princess can use this Charm on a Dreamlander who The Noble can bind a Dreamlander into the
(somehow) ended up on Earth, but mostly it is used body of a human. In essence she grants the
on a Dreamlander who has followed the Princess Dramlander one use of the Greater Possession
through her crawlspace and stands on the threshold Manifestation (identical to Possession, save that
of waking. The Charm does not require a vessel (or it’s duration is indefinite) on a target of her
allow for one). choosing. This allows the Dreamlander to bypass
the need for any Manifestation Conditions.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess wakes without If the Princess is in the Dreamlands she can
bringing the Dreamlander with her; she cannot use this to give herself (or another Dreaming
use the Charm on him again. Princess) access to the Greater Possession
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If Manifestation, but she will need to use the
she stops rolling before reaching the threshold Charm Ivory Gate along with Dream of Me to
number, she wakes without bringing the target a physical body while in the Dreamlands.
Dreamlander with her. In short, she must use the same methods as an
Success: The Princess makes progress. When Amanojaku.
she reaches the threshold number, she wakes

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 the Charm and can learn it again by re-training
Bequeath (Govern •••) herself in the Charm, she may also use some of
Action: Extended, Inner Light + Crafts (10 that exp to immediately buy back the Willpower
minutes/roll, threshold = 3x Bequest’s Merit dot.
rating) Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll, 1 Willpower point or 1 progress.
Willpower Dot, potentially one Charm.
Suggested modifiers: vessel resembles the
Duration: Session or Indefinite
Charm’s form (+1 to +3), vessel significantly
unlike the Charm’s form (-1 to -3)
The Princess binds the form of a Charm into a
physical vessel, creating a new Bequest. Before a When creating a Bequest a Chosen can embed
Princess can invoke Bequeath she needs to acquire a gem created by Enduring Beauty as a source
an item of power by undertaking a quest through of power. If she does so the Bequest has an
her Crawlspace or the Dreamlands. When she equipment bonus to its activation roll equal to the
has found the form in the Dreamlands, and has a Resources value of the gem she used. She may trade
suitable vessel with her sleeping body, she carries two points of the equipment bonus to allow the
the form into her Crawlspace, and standing at the Bequest to generate 1 Wisp per day into it’s own
threshold between wakefulness and dreams begins pool. The Charm Study Inheritance will reveal the
casting Bequeath. details of a Bequest’s Empowerment but anyone
If the Princess spends a Willpower point the with experience of Bequests will have little trouble
Bequest will last for a Session, however if she figuring it out.
spends a full Willpower Dot then Bequest lasts By pressing an Empowered Bequest to the
Indefinitely. forehead of the gem’s original owner, the owner’s
Bequeath cannot be used by Sworn or Beacons beauty may be restored; doing this destroys the
even if it itself is crafted into a Bequest. The Bequest beyond repair.
production of new tools for the Radiant is limited The question that haunts many Nobles is
by the Willpower of it’s Nobility. whether using such tools is an endorsement of their
Dramatic Failure: The Princess wakes without creation. Knowingly using an Empowered Bequest,
transforming the vessel. She can never make the unless the Princess has reason to believe the Gem at
target Charm into a Bequest. its heart was created consensually, is often a Belief
compromise.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress.
Success: The Princess makes progress. If she Upgrade: Charged
reaches the threshold, the Charm merges with The new Bequest carries a pool of 10 Wisps,
and transforms the vessel, becoming a new which is initially empty. The Princess must
Bequest. If the Princess took the Charm from her define a duty the Bequest’s owner can fulfill to
Crawlspace she loses access to it for the duration fill its pool. Note that this adds a dot to the
of the Charm. If the duration is Indefinite she Bequest’s Merit rating, raising the threshold.
immediately regains any experience spent upon

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 Items of Power
When a Princess quests through the dreamlands for the Bequest’s form what exactly is she looking
for?
The answer is just about anything suitable. Lets say the Princess wishes to create a Levinbolt
Bequest, to do so she’d need to find a powerful ranged weapon in her dreams.
If she knows Levinbolt she could search through her own Crawlspace for her Levinbolt Regalia
and use that (a different Charm that does not create Regalia will still have a physical form
symbolising the Princess’ mastery of the Charm in Crawlspace). This will enable her to create a
Bequest that has the same, or some of the Upgrades, that she already knows.
Or she could look for a suitable weapon in the Dreamlands, and she can find one anywhere
where it is sensible for her to do so. The Queens’ domains are sure to have equipment that can
power the more basic charms, and as Nobility she would have little trouble asking for some. Out
in the wider Dreamlands she could for example, go to Starfleet (the Dreamlands city reflecting
the Star Trek franchise) and take a phaser from any red shirt or principle character. However
despite phasers being highly advanced futuristic weapons only the most die-hard fan places much
mental or emotional significance on a phaser and thus acquiring one would only create a weak
Levinbolt Bequest with no Upgrades. If instead the Princess acquired Robin Hood’s bow and
arrow (a difficult task given that Robin Hood is a skilled outlaw even before taking into account
the Rank fame bestows upon his Dreamlands reflection) she could create a mighty bequest, for
Robin Hood’s archery is a core part of a very well known legend.
Robin Hood’s bow has another advantage: A Bequest’s Transformed from resembles the
Dreamlands object it is made from, and making a Bequest that looks like a bow and arrow in
it’s transformed state and is less overtly supernatural than one that looks like a phaser. At least
until mortal science creates directed energy weaponry.

absolute protection against anything less powerful

Ofuda (Govern •••) than a Queen.
Action: Extended, 5 minutes/roll, threshold = 4x If there is already an Ofuda in place the Princess
strength may cast additional invocations of this Charm into
Cost: 1 Wisp the same object to expand the Charm’s affects to
Dice Pool: Presence + Crafts more kinds of supernatural beings; if she does so
Duration: 1 scene she only needs four successes.

Upgrade: Exemption
The Princess imbues an object with the power to
repel a type of supernatural beings. The Princess may allow a number of trusted
The Princess begins by choosing the type of individuals, up to her Inner Light, to bypass her
monster she wishes to repel, she may choose any protections. Alternately, by adding Commonalty
type of supernatural being she has encountered to the roll she may allow a social group to
before or create a blanket prohibition against all enter unbarred. The Princess may change who
Creatures of the Darkness, and she chooses an is permitted and who is not after the Ofuda is
object to enchant. Usually Ofuda are made from a created by casting Ofuda again while touching
photo or small scroll of text symbolic to whatever the imbued Item. This will not change the
it protects against. Then she rolls to create the strength of the defences.
Ofuda. If she Succeeds she bestows the Ofuda Upgrade: Sanctuary
Condition on the object: It will repel any of
The Princess may intertwine an Ofuda with
the target being within 2x Inner Light Yards
Consecrated ground. This both extends its range
unless they succeed on a Resolve + Supernatural
to cover the entire Consecrated area and extends
Tolerance - the Ofuda’s strength roll. Chance dice
the duration until the area no longer possesses
are automatic failures, meaning that a Strength
the Consecrated Condition or until the imbued
of 20, if a Princess could manage it, will provide
object is destroyed.

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 An Ofuda invoked with Sanctuary must be built The Queen of Spades will say that if a promise
into the physical structure of the Consecrated must be enforced through automagical violence
ground it protects, even if only by nailing it to it’s not worth anything at all. With this upgrade
a wall. If it is removed from the Consecrated a Knave can nullify an entire contract. She may
ground the Charm ends. It’s minimum size is not selectively nullify part of it.
equal to Sanctuary Size.
Upgrade: Lasting (Legno 2)
Cost: +2 Wisps; Duration: 4 x Inner Light hours
Spirit's Friend (Govern •••, Legno ••)
The Princess’ Ofuda wards lasts for longer, Requires: Light over All
instead of one scene they last for 4 x Inner Light Action: Instant and Contested
hours. Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion vs.
Resistance + Rank
Royal Arbitration (Govern •••) Duration: 1 scene

Action: Instant The creatures from the spirit world are alien and
Cost: 1 Wisp dangerous, but they need not be hostile. The
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Academics Charm is used to influence a spirit.
Duration: Lasting
Dramatic Failure: The Noble offends the spirit;
Many magical abilities, such as the Charm Royal it either attacks her or runs from her.
Witness, bind people into magical contracts. And Failure: The spirit is not influenced.
when a contract is vague or made in bad faith it is
Success: The spirit feels an attraction to the
the duty of the crown to arbitrate.
Noble. It takes the Swooned Condition [CofD
With this Charm the Princess may modify the
291] linked to her, lasting until the Charm ends.
terms of a magically binding contract but must
remain within the spirit of the original. If the Exceptional Success: The spirit is strongly
contract specifies that a cleaner will clean a house attracted; the Swooned Condition lasts
every day in exchange for money the Princess could indefinitely.
modify the contract to allow the cleaner to take Upgrade: Resonant
time of for illness in exchange for reduced pay, or
Cost: +1 Wisp
allow the cleaner to subcontract. She could add
a clause saying the cleaner cannot be hassled at The Noble’s person becomes attuned to the
work. But should could not rewrite things until spirit’s Influence. As long as the spirit remains
the cleaner is paid for nothing, paid to work as a under the Swooned Condition, the Noble is
carpenter, or working for nothing. Resonant with it [CofD 135].
If the Princess has the consent of all parties
she spends one Wisp. If one or more party is
unreachable or unwilling to renegotiate she also Publican (Govern •••, Lacrima ••)
spends a point of Willpower and if the unconsenting
party invested magic into the contract the Princess Requires: Charge
must make a Clash of Wills. Action: Instant
Cost: 2 to 6 Wisps, Compromise at Belief 4+ with
Upgrade: Legal Limits (Terra •••) a -3 modifier
Dice Pool: Resolve + Politics - Sanctuary Size
A contract isn’t a licence to enforce any terms
Duration: Special
against anyone. By appealing to a higher power
such as national law the Princess is free to
All humanity ultimately owes allegiance to the
make any changes that are required to bring
Kingdom-which-is-Alhambra. Though they may
the contract in line with the regulations, up
not follow their oaths, it is still possible to extract
to and including nullifying the entire contract.
the taxes rightfully owed. Like most feudal
The higher power the Princess invokes must have
kingdoms, in Alhambra land is the defining symbol
clearly defined rules that govern contracts, and
of wealth and the basic tax is on property rather
the Princess can only invoke a power if she
than income. Publican allows Alhambra to drain
respects and lives by the rules it sets.
Wisps out of the very soil, but at a terrible cost.
Upgrade: Scott Free (Aria •••)

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 Before casting Publican the user must choose to gain, the Condition ends 24 hours later and any
the Size of the estate they wish to tax, as per ungathered Wisps are lost. Single successes transfer
the Sanctuary Size scale. A success inflicts the onwards to the next roll.
Property Tax condition, draining Wisps from the Alhambra survives by stealing hope itself from
land. At first the process is slow, but as Wisps the world, and the Nightscape (see page 277) of
come loose it becomes significantly faster. Every the Tainted place should reflect that. Without
week the land produces (Size * weeks active) Wisps. actual acts of cruelty to form the focus of the the
On a Blessed place double the Wisps produced. Taint instead becomes scene depicting the decline
The cost in Wisps is 1 + Sanctuary Size of of whatever once stood there. The Nightscape of
the area affected, so barring a Blessed Place it a tranquil forest is filled with diseased trees and
requires at least two weeks for Publican to turn a starving animals, while the old hospital building
profit. Alhambrans nearly always scout extensively left empty when everyone moved to the newer and
and prepare an enclave to monitor and protect better building has a Nightscape where stressed
their efforts; Publican requires daily maintenance, and overworked doctors take dangerous shortcuts
this costs nothing but requires fifteen minutes of around medical ethics due to overwork and a lack of
work by someone who knows the Charm (or has resources. These impersonal Nightscapes are often
a Bequest). The Unweaving Charm can also stop Mazes.
Publican in it’s tracks. The Tainted Aspirations reflect the flaws of
Anyone who knows the Publican Charm can also Lacrima, and like all Tainted Aspirations they
gather the Wisps it creates, they must stand inside require inflicting cruelty. Examples include
the affected area and may gain up to Lacrima wisps destroying hopes or crushing dreams — a reflection
every five minutes. Bequests containing Publican of Alhambra’s harvests — or forcing your views
can refill their own pool or their user’s Wisp pool. onto the unwilling — a reflection of Alhambra’s
imperialistic ambitions.
Drawback Draining the Light from the land ruins
it. At the end of each week roll the Wisps produced. Upgrade: Supply Line
Every two Successes removes one point of Beauty Prerequisite: Seed of Light, Bereaved
or inflicts one point of Taint severity, what is left When the Princess gathers Wisps exposed by
behind after Alhambra steals all which is good. Publican she does not add them to her pool,
Once there is 5 points of Taint there is little left instead each Wisp becomes a Seed of Light.

Not in my Backyard
One question that must be asked. Why doesn’t the Court of Tears just get their whips from
the Sahara Desert, Antarctica, or the middle of the ocean? They have enough magic to set up
enclaves in hostile environments far away from humans and the risk of Darkspawn created by
regular human society.
Perhaps there is nothing stopping them. If you want to throw some enormous ancient Tainted
Place at your players while they’re exploring the Amazon an abandoned Tears enclave is one way
to do it. You could even say that once you get past the inhabited parts of the planet centuries
of Wisp harvests have led to a blighted Earth swarming with monsters kept from the public eye,
creating a setting along the lines of Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru.

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 But if you want Tears to keep their harvests in the shadows of human society, like most
monsters in the World of Darkness, just stick a Wisp penalty when Publican is invoked far away
from humanity, and a smaller penalty when it is invoked near but not within civilisation.

and drips blood from the cut onto a Tainted area.

Monument to Me (Govern •••, Specchio •••) As she continues to invoke Purgation the blood
Action: Instant writhes and boils, calling the endless fury of the
Cost: 1 Wisp Queen of Storms. When she reaches the threshold,
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion the blood running down her arm immediately
Duration: Successes in Days catches alight with green fire, and she scatters it
across the Tainted Place to start a blaze.
We stand on the shoulders of giants, but sometimes Purgation’s fire is mostly mundane, but it feeds
we respect the giants more than the person who can on Taint with an unnatural hunger. So long as it is
see furthest. With this Charm a Heir can correct inside a Tainted Place, it can consume any material
that mistake and refocus a Blessed Place where it infested with its Taint, even those not usually
should be: On her. flammable, even water. What’s more the flames
echo through the Nightscape, and may consume
Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s clumsy attempts monsters cowering from the Queen’s judgement
to hi-jack a Blessed Place permanently damage within. When used in an attempt to remove a
it. Remove a point of Beauty. Tainted Place by Purging a single activation of
Failure: The Blessed Place remains unchanged. this Charm is sufficient, if it is unopposed by the
Taint’s residents or ignorant fire fighters. Every
Success: The Blessed Place’s Aspirations twist five minutes purgation’s fire accumulates another
to focus on the Heir. For example an Aspiration Success on the arson roll, and if anyone attempts
to create artwork will become an Aspiration to to extinguish the flames it is treated as a severity 3
create artwork glorfying the Heir. fire while inside the Tainted Place. If the Princess
Exceptional Success: The new Aspirations last a stays to assist the destruction, she rolls her usual
whole week. dice pool for arson every five minutes and adds her
successes to the total.
Any of the green fire that crosses the border of
Purgation (Govern •••, Tempesta ••••) the Tainted Place immediately turns an ordinary
orange, and drops to Severity 2 instead. It loses
Action: Extended, Resolve + Intimidation (5 all supernatural properties. Purgation cannot be
minutes/roll, threshold: 7 Successes) invoked outside of a Tainted Place; the fury of the
Cost: 1 resistant Aggravated damage, 2 Wisps Queen of Storms can only be roused there where it
Duration: Lasting is needed.

The Princess invokes the power of the Queen of

Storms to scour away the Darkness with blood and Catch a Falling Star (Govern •••)
fire. To use Purgation, the character cuts herself

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 Duration of Suspension
Successes At will Improbable Infrequent Common
1 10 minutes 30 minutes 1 hour 1 day
2 30 minutes 1 hour 1 day 2 days
3 1 hour 1 day 2 days 4 days
4 1 day 2 days 4 days 6 days
5 2 days 4 days 6 days 8 days
Each success beyond 5 adds 2 more days to the duration.

Action: Instant additional Success on the Charm’s activation roll

Cost: 1 Wisp and requires the Princess to pay the Charm’s
Dice Pool: Wits + Empathy activation cost in full.
Duration: Special

The Princess delays a Charm’s effects. She must Resting Place (Govern •••, Lacrima •••)
touch the intended target, then use another Charm
on him; the second Charm does not take effect Action: Instant
immediately, instead the target gets the Held Dice Pool: Presence + Occult (vs Composure +
Charm condition for a time depending on her Supernatural Advantage)
successes and wheather she can activate the delayed Cost: 2 Wisps
charm at will or if it automatically triggers when a Duration: Inner Light in days
condition is met; and how probably that condition With access to both a ghost and any object
is. If she the charm hasn’t been triggered when a Raven can bind a new anchor for the ghost,
the duration expires, the delayed Charm dissipates applying the Anchor Condition to a target of her
without effect. choice. This is temporary and only with great and
The Princess must tell the target what will constant effort can a Princess keep a loved one
happen when the suspended Charm takes effect, on this plane, more commonly it is used by the
and if she sets a condition, she must tell the target Followers of Tears to position their ghostly retainers
what it is; but she can be as cryptic (“ When all where they can be of greatest service to the Last
eyes turn toward you, you’ll find the strength to Empress. When used on an existing Anchor
carry on”) or as direct (“ Hey, jackass! Try stealing Resting Place can apply the Open condition.
someone’s purse again, and you’re going to get set If the target is a living being he may resist
on fire!”) as she wishes. She can keep up to her the charm by rolling Composure + Supernatural
Inner Light in Charms suspended at once – once Advantage, inanimate objects have no roll to resist.
she reaches that limit, she must release a Charm It should be noted that while ghosts can
before she may use this Charm again. normally teleport to an anchor, the defences
The Princess may also set a negative condition around Alhambra prevent them from crossing the
as the trigger, such as (“ Turn yourself in to the boundary of the fortress city.
police by midnight or you’ll be set on fire!”).
Dramatic Failure: The Noble offends the ghost;
Upgrade: Inanimate it either attacks her or runs from her.
The Princess can place Held Charms on things Failure: The ghost is not anchored to the object
other than living beings. She could for example Success:The object gains the Anchor Condition
enchant a corrupt lawyer’s bag to teleport to her [CofD 133] linked to the ghost for a number of
hands with Up In Smoke as soon as someone puts days equal to the Princess’ Inner Light.
a laptop in it.
Exceptional Success: The ghost finds manifesting
Upgrade: Repeating near the object an easy feat. The new anchor
The Princess may declare that her Charm gains the Open Condition.
will activate every time the condition is met.
Each activation beyond the first requires an

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Unweaving (Govern ••••) Princess cannot unpick the threads and end
the magic.
Action: Reactive, Instant, or Extended This is true, unless you, the Storyteller,
Dice Pool: Clash of Wills or Dexterity + Empathy decides it is not. Allowing Princesses to
(5 minutes/roll, Threshold = Special ) undo the magic of other’s is certainly an
Cost 2 Wisps advantage over other creatures, but if all
the players are Princesses or the other
To unravel magical defences, to unpick a curse creatures are given an equivalent ability to
upon a beloved little sister, to tear apart a hostile undo Charms this might not be a problem.
Charm flying at you. There are many reasons why You might choose to allow Unweaving to
a Princess might need to unweave the Charms and work against all forms of magic. Against
magic of another. foreign magic she rolls Occult (or Science
Unweaving can be thought of as two Charms in against Geniuses), not Empathy, at say a -
one, both work on the same underlying principle: 2 penalty for targets unrelated to Princesses
The charm allows the Princess to interact with (waive the Penalty if the Princess belongs to
magic as though it were a physical thing, and if an appropriate Embassy, or make Embassy
she can tough magic she can destroy it. membership a prerequisite if you prefer).
The first effect allows the Princess to trigger a
Clash of Wills against any supernatural effect.
If invoked reactively the Princess grabs hold of When used against Ephemeral Beings, such as
the unfinished magic and tries to rip it apart while Dreamlanders, Unweaving can be used to undo
her opponent tries to hold the magic together. In the effects of Influences and Numina. Unweaving
short, Unweaving lets the Princess trigger a Clash cannot be used to undo Manifestations, it can
of Wills at any time her opponent casts a spell on remove Manifestatinon Conditions if they were
a target within arms reach. created by an appropriate method. For example,
The second effect allows the Princess to end Unweaving can remove the Anchor condition if was
a magical effect that is already active. An created with the Charm Resting Place, an Infleunce
enchantment that has been completed and taken or a Numina. It could not remove the condition
hold is tougher to break: Instead of a Contested from a natural Anchor such as a ghost’s old bones.
Action the Princess must score more Successes than
Dramatic Failure: The Princess gets her magic
her opponent’s Clash of Wills dice pool. She can
into a horrible tangle, and is at -2 to perform
attempt to grab the magic magic and rip it apart
Unweaving for the rest of the scene.
as an Instant action, or she can delicately unweave
it thread by thread as an Extended action. Failure: The Princess makes no progress.
Unweaving can only be used against “magic Success: Progress is made, when enough
power” abilities like Charms. Innate abilities such Successes are reached the target magic fall apart.
as Transformation or Sensitivity are unaffected.
Exceptional Success: In addition to making great
The Princess also needs to be able to touch the
Progress, the Princess also learns some detail
magic, usually this means being within the affected
about the magic’s origin, or why this thing was
area or within arms reach of the target.
enchanted. Take the Informed Condition.
Suggested Modifiers: The target magic is cast
on a human (including Sworn and Princesses)
(+2); The target magic is cast on something
other than a living being (-2); the target
Disciplines, Gifts and Contracts. Oh magic is a Charm (+1), the target magic is
My! a Charm and the Princess knows a Charm
from the same family (+2), the target magic
Can a Princess unravel a Gift, or unpick a is a Charm and the Princess knows it (+3);
Contract? Well no. By default a Princess the Princess applies an emotionally appropriate
can only use Unweaving on magic created by Invocation, such as Fuoco to unpick magic that
Princesses, the Darkness and other things turns love to loathing or Acqua to remove a
found in the Princess books. Even when a curse of ignorance (+2), the Princess applies
Gift is mechanically similar to a Charm they an emotionally inappropriate Invocation (-2),
are metaphysically different enough that a the Princess applies an elementally appropriate
Invocation, such as Acqua or Fuoco to extinguish

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 a magical fire (+2), the Princess applies an Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower. Using this Charm is
elementally inappropriate Invocation (-2). suicide.

The Seraphic General is Hate, and what she hates

I am Become Light (Govern •••••, Fuoco is The Darkness and the Nobility who betrayed
mankind to the Darkness. Most such filth can be
••••) found hiding in Alhambra like the cowards they are,
but others fell deeper into despair. Their crowns
Action: Instant were shattered, their titles stripped from them,
Dice Pool: Presence + Empathy they were Dethroned.
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower The sad truth is that, much like Princesses, you
Duration: 1 scene can’t really kill a Dethroned. They reincarnate.
Driving a Dethroned away or killing will normally
A Blazing crimson light shines forth from the keep it away for a very long time but for a
Princess’ heart, glowing through her body and truly permanent solution you have to redeem the
Regalia. The Queen of Swords’ avatar may walk Princess it once was.
among things not of the light, and know that they This doesn’t sit right with the Court of Storms,
are the ones at the disadvantage. they don’t believe the fallen deserve redemption,
and so they have their own method. Reaching
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ phylactery
deep into the Dethroned they grab hold of their
shatters, and she reverts to mundane form.
soul, they incinerate their body and drag the
The normal procedures for obtaining a new
Dethroned’s rotten soul into the afterlife.
phylactery must be followed.
To use this Charm the Princess must touch their
Failure: White light scintillates from the target. Note that after the Dethroned is killed it’s
Princess’ clothes, but there is no further effect. body remains for around ten minutes or so, during
Success: The Princess goes through a second this time Martyr can be cast and the Dethroned
transformation, her normal Regalia replaced with cannot resist the Charm.
ones of even greater purity and a golden light
shines out from her heart. The shift releases Dramatic Failure: The Princess dies for nothing,
a burst of the Light that burns away magics the Dethroned remains dead and will eventually
alien to it; all supernatural powers not of the reform as normal.
Light with fewer successes than the Princess’ Failure: The Princess takes Resistant Lethal
roll within a radius of Inner Light + successes Damage equal to the Dethroned’s Inner
yards immediately end, if the successes for their Darkness, and the Dethroned takes Resistant
activation were less than her successes. Powers Lethal Damage equal to the Princess’ Inner
that did not require activation remain intact. Light. If this kills either of them the Charm
In addition the Princess gets both the Shining dosn’t affect what happens next.
Heart Tilt, with the same activation successes Success: The Princess grabs the Dethroned and
and radius, which bathes the affected area in both ignite with green fire. In seconds only ash
true sunlight as well as applying her activation remains.
successes as a penalty to all supernatural powers
not of the Light. Finally Swords’ avatar gains Exceptional Success: No additional effect.
the Terrifying Tilt which affects all Creature’s of
The Furies claim that the Dethroned’s rotten
the Dark except the Dethroned.
soul will be dragged before the Queen to be burnt
Exceptional Success: The extra successes are to nothing by the Her righteous fury while the
their own reward. martyr will remain as a part of the Queen of Storms
and lend their strength to Her crusade. While
there is some evidence that the Furies do join with
Martyr (Govern •••••, Tempesta ••••) their Queen, what happens to the Dethroned is
unknown. Since no one has kept a record of which
Action: Instant
Dethroned were killed in this manner they can’t
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + the
even prove it permanently kills Dethroned. The
Princess’ Health Boxes without Aggravated
Furies are right, but they can’t prove it.
Damage - Inner Darkness + the Dethroned’s Health
Boxes without Aggravated Damage.

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Inspire Starting right now I’ll be strong
I’ll play my fight song
The Princess’ music spreads courage and
Inspire Charms lift people’s hearts, sparks their
determination in the midst of battle. Unlike other
passions, and exhorts them to action. Only
inspire Charms which take effect at the end of
Troubadours have affinity for them.
the performance, this Charm begins it’s effects
Many Inspire Charms list a performance, these
immediately and lasts until the Princess stops
Charms require the Princess to sing a song, do
performing. While she is performing the Princess
a dance, read poetry, or put on some other kind
can take other actions, but doing so sacrifices her
of show before she rolls to invoke the Charm. In
Defence for the turn, she cannot take any action
essence invoking the Charm is an instant action
which requires sacrificing Defence. If a target
but one which takes longer than a single turn. A
can no longer perceive the Princess’ performance
Princess does not need to do a performance in
they loose the benefits until they can perceive the
order to fill artwork created by Living Image with a
performance again, which means most Princesses
charge of an Inspire Charm, nor is any performance
use music, oration, or some other audible form of
required for the charm to take effect beyond how
art.
a person would normally appreciate art of that
type. Unless stated otherwise, the Commonality Dramatic Failure: The Princess immediately
modifier may be applied to any Inspire Charm causes a panic among the listeners. The
which requires a Performance. Storyteller adjudicates the exact results of a
panic.
Hear Me, O Muse (Inspire •) Failure: Nothing happens
Success or Exceptional Success: The target’s feel
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Expression ready for battle. They gain the Battle Theme
Cost: 1 Wisp Tilt which enhances their Resolve and delays
Duration: 1 scene any Breaking Point until after the Princess’
performance ends.
The Princess calls on the Light for inspiration. If
she is Successful she grants the target (which may
be herself) the Blessing Condition. The affected
trait is “creating art”. The increase is equal to the
Living Image (Inspire •)
Princess’ activation successes. Requires: 2 dots in Crafts or Expression, and a
The blessing also has an end trigger, it vanishes speciality in a form of art
after one applicable action. If the action in question Action: Instant
is extended, the bonus applies to all rolls until the Dice Pool: Inner Light + Presence
task is complete, or the Princess turns her attention Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower
to something else; she loses the bonus if she stops Duration: Indefinite
the job partway, and doesn’t get it back if she
resumes it. Artists among the Hopeful can infuse the Light
into their art, and make it bring forth magic.
Upgrade: Cooperative This Charm enchants artwork, turning into a vessel
Cost: +1 Wisp to hold and invoke another Charm. The art to
When others assist the Princess (she is primary be enchanted may be created through mundane,
in a teamwork action) they gain the same bonus technological or magical means but it must be a
on their rolls as she does. product of the Princess’ creativity and it must be
designed specifically to carry the chosen Charm.
The art is about, means, the Charm it holds, so a
Fight Song (Inspire •) wholly or partly finished work on another subject
cannot carry the intended Charm.
Action: Instant The Princess first chooses the Charm, Upgrades,
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression and the precise effects (for example, which emotion
Cost: 2 Wisps the Charm Feel So Close will enhance) she desires.
Duration: Concentration The Charm chosen must be one that affects a
Performance: Concentration targeted individual, she cannot choose something
like Levinbolt. Next the Princess creates art to
My power’s turned on. express the ideas and emotions of the chosen charm,

174
using the normal rules for creating equipment. always rolls two successes on it’s internal Charm.
The equipment bonus must equal the dots of the A gem worth Resources 5 produces 2 Wisps a day
Charm the Princess wishes to cast, not counting and rolls three success.
any Upgrades. When the artwork is ready the
Princess casts Living Image upon it to turn her art Upgrade: Composed
into a vessel. The Princess does not enchant art, but
instructions for creating art such as sheet music
Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s magic goes out of or a dance choreography. The instructions must
control and ruins the artwork. She must recreate be for a form of art where the instructions are
it from the beginning, using new materials followed in front of a live audience.
Failure: The Noble fails to prepare the artwork. Creating instructions follows the usual rules for
Further attempts to use the Charm on it take a this Charm. She creates the instructions first as
cumulative -1 penalty mundane equipment then invokes Living Image
Success or Exceptional Success The artwork upon them in order to apply the Held Charm
becomes a valid target for the Charm it’s based Condition to her instructions. The Princess does
on. It gains the Held Charm Condition: If not need to write anything down or otherwise
the Princess casts the chosen Charm upon the create a physical object, she could apply
artwork (she pays the usual cost, but if the Held Charm to performers directly, creating “
Charm requires a performance that requirement equipment” through a teaching session. However
is waived) then she fills her container and written instructions are easier to pass between
that Charm will affect the next person who different performers.
experiences the art in the proper way - a painting From that point on, the Charm will activate upon
must be looked at, recorded music must be someone who appreciates the artwork when the
listened to etc. If the Princess invokes a Charm instructions are performed, as is usual for Living
with Commonality then when the Charm is Image.
released it will affect the largest Commonality Upgrade: Duplicated
group among the present audience, within the
While some methods of creating artwork do not
limits of the dice pool penalty taken. The
lend themselves to duplication, others are the
Condition is also renewable meaning that once
exact opposite. A story can be photocopied
the Charm is used up the Princess can simply
without loosing any of it’s artistic value.
invoke it upon the artwork again. Damage to the
artwork ends the Condition (if the artwork must With this upgrade a Princess can convert her
be damaged to be appreciated, such as culinary artwork into vessels en mass. She could invoke
arts or fireworks, then the Charm takes effect Living Image on a computer document and
before it is destroyed). start printing out copies or she could invoke
Living Image on a bowl of cake mixture and
The Princess may add Intimacy to her roll. If she start pouring it into individual cupcakes. Each
does so only then the Charm within her artwork instance of her artwork beyond the first costs one
will only affect the targeted person, no matter how Wisp and all enchanted works must be created
many people appreciate it before them. within the same scene. In addition each one must
At any one time a Princess may have Inner Light be filled with Charms independently, though at
+ Belief different works of art enhanced with Living the Storyteller’s discretion the player may be
Image. Artwork that has used up it’s Charm still permitted to roll only once to keep the game
counts towards this limit. If the Princess touches moving quickly.
the art she can remove the enchantment without Duplicated artwork only counts as a single work
damaging the artwork to free up a slot. towards the Princess’ maximum uses of Living
Gems created by the Specchio Charm Enduring Image. If the Princess touched one copy of her
Beauty can be used to empower art created by artwork to end the enchantment she ends the
Living Image, doing so requires that the artwork effects on all copies.
revolves around a depiction of the human form. As
these are Brats, it’s often a depiction of the Princess Upgrade: Gallery
creating the artwork. Stacks, up to 4
The gems embedded in the artwork cause it The Princess can now sustain magic in more
to constantly produce Wisps allowing the art to artwork. Each time she takes this upgrade,
replenish it’s own Charm again and again. A gem she adds two to the number of Living Image
worth Resources 3 produces 1 Wisp a day and activations she may have up at once.

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 Upgrade: Light Attuned Duration: 1 scene
The Princess may specify that her artwork will Performance: 30 seconds
only invoke Charms upon Beacons, Princesses,
Shikigami, Sworn, or any combination of those I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal.
three groups. Alternatively, she may specify that
her artwork won’t affect the Light touched. The Princess puts on a performance that inspires an
emotion of her choice in its hearer. If the Princess
Upgrade: Remote applies an Invocation to the Charm, the emotion
The Princess may refill her artwork with fresh inspired must be appropriate for that Invocation.
Charms without being in it’s physical presence.
She must modify her Charm activation roll by Dramatic Failure: The Princess inspires the
her Intimacy to the artwork itself. wrong emotion, the storyteller chooses something
likely to cause the Princess problems. The target
Remote can be combined with Duplicated, but
gains a +2 bonus to all actions in line with it
not easily. Unless a Princess feels different
their emotion, and taking a -2 penalty to actions
emotions about the various copies of her artwork
opposed to it.
she will be unable to choose which copy she refills.
Failure: Nothing happens
Upgrade: Dark Attuned (Tempesta •)
Success: The player inflicts a Condition upon the
The Princess may specify that her artwork
target. The Condition should be relatively mild
will only invoke Charms upon Creatures of the
and must represent an emotional state, such as
Darkness. She may not specify a specific kind of
Swooned or Guilty. If no suitable An Improvised
Dark Creature.
Condition (Chronicle of Darkness page 76) may
And yes, with the right Charm it is indeed be used instead.
possible to create artwork that makes Darkspawn
Exceptional Success: As above but stronger
feel so bad they explode. After all, emotions are
Conditions may be chosen instead. The
magic.
Condition must still represnt an emotional state.

The Princess may use the Charm on a

Fire on the Mountain (Inspire •) social group, applying the Commonalty modifier.
The member with the highest Composure +
Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle
Supernatural Advantage contests for the group.
hard.
A musical instrument, a microphone, dancing
shoes, or some other artistic tool for use in
live performances becomes part of the Princess’
Cooking By the Book (Inspire •, Acqua •)
Regalia. The tool is of excellent make, giving Action: Instant
an equipment bonus equal to Inner Light, or the Cost: 1 Wisps
Princess’ dots in an Invocation for the turn in which Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression -
she applies it. Commonality
Duration: The lower of one Extended Action or
Upgrade: Heartthrob (Specchio ••)
one day.
The Princess’ performance leaves all who hear Performance: Variable length
it cowed by her manifest superiority, and ready
to obey her. When she applies Specchio to You gotta do the cooking by the book. You know
a roll to play her instrument, all members of you cant be lazy.
the audience with a composure lower than the If something is worth doing, it’s worth taking
Princess’ Successes gain the Swooned Condition the time to plan it out first. Before beginning an
focused on the Princess. Extended Action in which she is a secondary actor
the Princess may invoke Cooking By the Book, she
must apply Commonality to all the actors involved.
Feel So Close (Inspire •) The length of the performance is a single iteration
of the extended action, and this consumes one of
Action: Instant and Contested, Manipulation the rolls.
+ Expression vs Composure + Supernatural
Advantage; requires 1 minute of performing. Dramatic Failure: The Princess inspires
Cost: 1 Wisp confusion in her targets, for the rest of the

176
 Extended Action discard the first Success of Cost: 1 Wisps
every roll (after rerolling). If it is a teamwork Dice Pool: Composure + Expression
action this only applies to the primary actor. Duration: One Scene or one day
Failure: Nothing happens Performance: Thirty seconds
Success or Exceptional Success: The Princess Out of the darkness, a light shines
inspires clarity and confidence, the target knows Burning through the coldest night
exactly what they need to do. Halve the duration And we can find a way
between rolls for the affected extended action.
This does not stack with other effects that reduce The princess’ harmonious art calms the shaken
the time between rolls. If an extended action mind and soothes the soul. Through her art she
takes more than one day per roll it is too can duplicate the effects of meditation (Chronicles
complicated for this Charm. of Darkness p75).

Dramatic Failure: The Princess shakes her

I Like Boys (Inspire •, Specchio •) audiences composure. They take the Shaken
Condition.
Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Wisps Failure: Nothing happens
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy Success: The target gets +1 to their next
Duration: One day Breaking Point or Compromise roll.
Performance: Thirty seconds
Exceptional Success: As above, but the effects
last an entire day.
I’m throwing out my doll house
I’m giving up my toys
I realized this morning:
I like boys!
Carry On (Inspire ••)
Action: Instant
The most amazing beautiful princess in the land Cost: 1 Wisp
will surely wear the most handsome prince upon Dice Pool: Presence + Expression
her arm. But the heart is a fickle thing, sometimes Duration: Lasting
it yearns for that quite but sweet boy who liked you Performance: One minute
before you became the prettiest and most magical
girl in school. Sometimes it likes another girl! But Give me the strength to carry on
a quick Charm to control your own emotions can With all our love we cant go wrong
ensure you fall for the right boy.
Naturally the other courts consider this idea to The Princess performs for a target who can see or
be utterly stupid. hear her, and her performance bolsters the target’s
will. The Princess cannot use the Charm on herself.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess takes the
Yandere Condition as she becomes obsessed with Dramatic Failure: The Noble undermines her
the person she wants to fall for. own confidence. She gains the Shaken Condition
Failure: Nothing happens [CofD 290].
Success: The Princess takes the Swooning Failure: The target may be pleased, but he isn’t
Condition for a person she chooses when casting helped.
this Charm. Success: The target feels the the strength to
Exceptional Success: As above and in addition, carry on in his quest. He gains the Steadfast
if the Princess currently has the Swooning Condition [CofD 291].
Condition for anyone else the Condition is
Exceptional Success: The target also gains a
discarded (but not resolved).
point of Willpower. A character can only gain
one point of Willpower a day with this charm.
The Dream Must Stay Alive (Inspire •,
Legno •)
Action: Instant

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Fighting Evil by Moonlight (Inspire ••) go without sleep is a number of days equal
to the lower of Stamina or Resolve.
Action: Instant

Cost: 1 Wisp

Dice Pool: Stamina + Expression

You Must Remember This (Inspire ••,
Acqua •)
Duration: 1 scene
Action: Instant
Performance: 1 minute Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression
Cost: 1 Wisp
Winning love by daylight Duration: Lasting
Performance: Variable length, but no shorter
School, friends, royal duties, sleep, choose three. than 1 minute.
If the Princess has chosen to skip on sleep then a
Troubadour can inspire her to keep going through The fundamental things apply as time goes by.
the night, or day as the case may be. She may
target a group by applying commonality to the roll. The Princess turns a lesson into a performance,
sticking it fast in the audience’s memory. Naturally
Dramatic Failure: : The Noble feels her energy the Princess must be knowledgeable on the topic
drain away. She becomes as exhausted as her she wishes to teach or use reference materials to
target, taking the same fatigue penalty, and must create a lesson plan before she starts teaching, and
immediately roll to stay awake. her students will gain no benefit if they already
Failure: Nothing happens know the material.
She may use the Charm on herself, but she
Success: The target does not take penalties from
must still make a performance. She may also
fatigue for the rest of the scene, no matter how
use the Charm on a social group by applying the
long he’s been awake. The Charm doesn’t remove
Commonalty modifier.
the fatigue itself, but only defers it - any roll the
target makes to stay awake is delayed until after Dramatic Failure: The Noble takes the Cursed
the Charm ends. Condition inflicting a -3 penalty to the Skill that
Exceptional Success:A bit of energy remains with covers the topic of her lesson for the remainder
the target after the initial jolt fails. Reduce the of the scene.
target’s fatigue penalty by 1. Failure: The target’s attention wanders.
Success:The target indelibly remembers the
lesson. They take the Informed Condition.
Exceptional Success: The Princess’ lesson is
packed with useful and memorable knowledge.
The targets may used the Informed Condition
Fatigue twice.
Characters can remain awake for up to
24 hours without too much trouble, but
fatigue sets in past that point. At 24 hours,
Drive Me Crazy (Inspire ••, Aria •)
and each 6 hours after that, a character Action: Instant
trying to stay awake must roll Stamina + Dice Pool: Manipulation + Expression vs
Resolve. If he fails that roll he goes to Composure + Supernatural Advantage
sleep. If he succeeds, he stays awake, but Cost: 1 Wisp
he takes a cumulative -1 penalty to all his Duration: Lasting
actions, including the roll to stay awake, and Performance: 1 minute.
unless they get an Exceptional Success they
also have to take a Condition. Physically Baby, you spin me around
demanding actions can increase a fatigue Oh, the earth is moving, but I can’t feel the
penalty by -1 to -3. The longest anyone can ground.

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Satire is the sharpest rapier in the witty artist’s need for a performance the Charm can still be
arsenal. A skilled satirist can tear down sureties used with Commonality.
and force people to question accepted answers. Like
the wind the Knaves can blow through any gap in
someone’s armour, and with wild chaotic chords or Let It Go (Inspire ••, Acqua •••)
biting oration throw their sureties into doubt.
Action: Instant
Dramatic Failure: The target becomes Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
strengthened, even stubborn in their opinions. Dice Pool: Intelligence + Persuasion
They take the Stalwart condition. Duration: Indefinite
Performance: 3 minutes
Failure: The target’s attention wanders.
Success: The target takes the Confused condition And the fears that once controlled me
as what they thought they knew comes into Can’t get to me at all
question once again.
Exceptional Success: Facing new questions is Princesses of Diamonds consider their minds to be
scary, but it also opens new possibilities. The their most important tool and learn take good care
target may choose to take the Inspired Condition, of their minds, or anyone else’s. Before invoking
but if they do so they must open a Door to the this Charm the Princess first designates a safe
Knave’s social manoeuvring. and controlled environment, with a Sanctuary Size
rating equal or less than her Acqua Dots, then she
invokes the Charm to make her target know she’s
Giggle at the Ghostly (Inspire ••, Aria •) in a safe place.

Action: Instant Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ mind rages out

Cost: 1 Wisp of control. Inflict a suitable Condition, the more
Dice Pool: Wits + Expression negative mental Conditions she has at this point
Duration: 1 scene the worse the new condition should be.
Performance: 1 minute Failure: The Princess cannot quell the storm
inisde.
Learn to face your fears
Success: So long as the target, who may be the
You’ll see that they can’t hurt you
Princess herself, remains within the designated
Just laugh to make them disappear.
area any mundane Conditions that affect her
mind or emotion are suppressed. The Storyteller
Bullies, tyrants, even the horrors of the Dark – all
must use their own judgement for supernatural
these lose their terrors if you can just show them
conditions. However a controlled environment
their absurdity. The Princess may use this Charm
is key. The Condition returns if the target is
to protect people against fear, if she targets a group
exposed to suitable stimulus, for example, if she
she must apply Commonality.
opens the Facebook profile for the boy she’s
Dramatic Failure: The Charm backfires, Swooned towards. If she leaves the designated
inflicting the Shaken Tilt on her target. area all the Conditions return and the Charm’s
effects upon her end. By carefully introducing
Failure: The target is not enocuraged. the correct stimulus a Princess can reactivate
Success: The target laughs at his fears, he gains and then Resolve her Conditions one at a time.
the Protective Blessing Condition, the affected Conditions that represent a short term emotional
trait is “causing fear” and the decrease is equal state (such as Spooked) can also be rendered
to the Princess’ successes. harmless until they naturally expire but no Beats
Exceptional Success: Laughing at his fears are awarded if the Condition is not Resolved.
completely robs them of their power, the target That said, a Princess who makes a habit of
also gains the Steadfast Condition. suppressing a long term mental health issue
rather than resolving it will likely make the
Upgrade: Swift (Aria ••) situation worse.
The Princess may invoke the Charm reflexively, Exceptional Success: So long as they remain in
replacing a general message of courage with a the affected area the target may voluntarily roll
swift satirical barb that counters an imminent Resolve + Composure to prevent a stimulus from
attempt to create fear. Though this removes the reactivating a Condition.

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 they instead take the Terrified Tilt. If they
Queen's Sorrow (Inspire ••, Lacrima ••) already are Terrified there is no effect.
Action: Instant and contested Failure: Nothing happens.
Cost: 1 Wisp, Compromise at Belief 6+ with a -1
Success: The Princess nominates one character
modifier
who is actively contributing to dealing with the
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Intimidation vs.
danger to be the flag-bearer, the flag-bearer
target’s Composure + supernatural advantage
need not be a target of this Charm. Anyone
Duration: 1 scene
affected by this Charm gains two benefits. Firstly
they take the Steadfast Condition, secondly and
The Princess speaks to another, and drains his
Conditions or Tilts representing fear, such as
strength of conviction.
Shaken, are suppressed while the character can
Dramatic Failure: The Noble undermines her see the flag-bearer. If the target loses sight of the
own conviction. She gains the Shaken Condition flag-bearer, or the flag-bearer stops contributing
[CofD 290]. for any reason, the suppressed Conditions and
Tilts re-emerge and the Steadfast Condition is
Failure: If the Noble does not get more successes, suppressed.
the target is unmoved by her words.
Exceptional Success: The Princess can nominate
Success: If the Noble wins the contested roll, two flag-bearers.
the target takes the Willpower Blocked Tilt: he
cannot spend Willpower to add a bonus to his
dice pools. The Tilt ends if the character regains
at least one Willpower point.
Play Your Part (Inspire •••)
Exceptional Success: The target is disturbed for Action: Instant
a considerable time. At the end of the scene he Cost: 3 Wisps 1 Willpower
gains the Shaken Condition. Duration: Lasting
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion
Upgrade: Heavy (Lacrima •••) Performance: 5 minutes
The target’s depression is deeper. If he loses the
contested roll, the Willpower Blocked Tilt also You are a princess; you’ll play your part
stops him from spending Willpower to improve
his Defense or resistance to supernatural powers. The Princess makes a stirring performance about
the future she wants to build, and the audience’s
place in it. Through her art she inspires people to
Rally Round the Flag (Inspire ••, Terra help build that future.

•••) Dramatic Failure: The Noble shakes her

confidence in her goals. She takes the Doubting
Action: Instant Condition.
Cost: 2 Wisps
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression Failure: The Charm does not activate.
Duration: Scene Success or Exceptional Success: The target may
Performance: 3 turns choose to take an additional Aspiration (Nobles
and Beacons may choose a Dream instead) over
We will welcome to our numbers and above their usual limit. The Aspiration must
The loyal, true and brave reflect the goals and Beliefs of the Noble, as
explained during her performance. The player,
In the face of danger the Gallant rallies the the target’s player, and the storyteller should
panicked and fearful with a performance or stirring work together to choose an Aspiration.
speech. There must actually be present or clearly Aspirations and Dreams created by this Charm
imminent danger, such as a horde of Darkspawn at last until they are fulfilled or until the target
the gates, before this Charm can be invoked. chooses to stop perusing them. Under no
circumstances can anyone possess more than one
Dramatic Failure: The Princess spreads panic
Aspiration or Dream from Play your Part at any
among the targets. They take the Shaken
given time (nor can a character acquire both an
Condition. If they already have that Condition
Aspiration and a Dream).
or a similar Condition or Tilt representing fear

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 Dramatic Failure: The Princess manages to
Rousing Song of Heroism (Inspire •••, Fuoco revert the Charm on herself and takes the Peace
••) on Earth Tilt.
Failure: The Charm does not activate.
Action: Instant
Cost: 2 Wisps Success: The target’s will to fight is replaced with
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion feelings of peace. The target gains the Tilt Peace
Duration: 1 scene on Earth. They cannot perform any action that
Performance: 5 minutes intentionally causes damage to another, or aid
anyone else who wishes to do so. They can use
Who are you? their abilities to quell a fight, but not to help one
Just a man or a super-man? side triumph.
Exceptional Success: The Princess also gets a
The will of a person the Princess can see becomes flash of insight into why her target wishes to fight.
nearly insurmountable. If successful the target She gains the Blessing Condition, it grants +1 on
gains the Inflamed Will Condition, with one flame any social rolls with the target for the rest of the
per success. When spending a Willpower they may scene.
spend a flame for an additional +2 (for a total of +5 Upgrade: Collective
per Willpower) or +1 when defending (for a total
of +3) Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a social
Upgrade: Intense group that can see or hear her, applying the
The target gains a further +1 when spending Commonalty modifier. Each member contests
Willpower, for a total of +6 dice, or +4 to the effect independently.
Defense or a Resistance Attribute.
Upgrade: Do it for us
Name Your Poison (Inspire •••, Tempesta
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may use the Charm on a distant •••)
target, applying the Intimacy modifier. As Action: Instant,
always, she cannot combine Intimacy and Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Commonality. Dice Pool: Presence + Expression vs Resolve +
Supernatural Advantage
Duration: Six hours.
Peace on Earth (Inspire •••, Legno ••) Performance: 5 minutes
Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Wisp If you don’t name your poison; I’ll have to get the
Dice Pool: Composure + Persuasion vs boys in.
Composure + Supernatural Advantage
Duration: 1 scene The magic of Tempesta unerringly seeks out the
weaknesses of the Outer Darkness, the Furies tend
Give me love to favour the obvious weaknesses of unarmoured
Give me peace on Earth. joints and vital organs but properly used Tempesta
can be more diverse than that.
With their focus on harmony and understanding To perform this Charm the Princess must have
the Wilds are never entirely comfortable with some object or person and name a way Creatures
controlling another’s opinions. Rather than making of the Darkness might fulfil their Vice using that
another want peace a Princess of Clubs might use thing. For example she could use herself and
this Charm to prevent violence, allowing her to the possibility of eating her flesh. The Princess
pursue peace in more traditional ways: with hearts makes a performance mocking the Darkness for
and voices. the perverted Vice she’s targeting and then rolls
This Charm cannot be used if the Princess has Presence + Expression, if she’s using an unwilling
attacked anyone or used a combat Charm within living being as the focus he may roll Resolve +
the Scene. Supernatural Advantage to Contest the Princess’
magic.

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 If the Princess wins any contest then every conceal herself, or ceasing her attention grabbing
Darkspawn in Inner Light miles with a Composure performance, immediately ends the Charm.
lower than her successes instantly gains the Exceptional Success: The targets perceive
Depraved condition; the only way they can get their nothing but the Princess. Their Perception rolls
fix is by indulging their vice on the Charm’s focus. are penalized by her dots in Aria.
The Darkspawn don’t gain the ability to sense the
location of the Charm’s focus but they’ll know it
when they see it. What’s more the focus’ location
is revealed to them for an instant at the moment
Don't Stop Believing (Inspire ••••)
the Charm is cast. Action: Extended, 1 minute per roll.
The Princess then sits down with a big gun and Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower
waits for the monsters to come to her. Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion, Threshold =
2x target Belief or Integrity.
Duration: 1 day
Notice Me (Inspire •••, Aria ••)
Hold on to the feelin’
Action: Instant, Presence + Subterfuge, modified
by Commonalty The Princess’ song revive in her target memories
of lost innocence. This Charm can be used on
Cost: 1 Wisp anyone with an Integrity or Belief Trait, except
Dice Pool: successes in turns Ghost Princesses or Princesses at Belief 0.
Duration: successes in turns
Performance: successes in turns (for this Charm Dramatic Failure: The target takes the Blocked
roll before the performance) Willpower Condition.
Failure: The Princess makes no Progress, and
I’m drawn to you and I can’t look away
must take a Condition to continue rolling.
Sometimes it’s necessary to provide a spectacle to Success or Exceptional Success: If she succeeds
draw people’s attention away, while an accomplice the target’s gains the Blessing Condition. The
does the real work. The Princess uses this Charm affected trait is either Belief or Integrity and
on the members of an organization who can see her, it is increased to a number chosen by the
applying the Commonalty modifier for them. Princess before she begins her performance, to
a maximum of the Princess’ own Belief. The
Dramatic Failure: The Princess can’t get Storyteller has discretion on whether this Charm
attention from her targets to save her life. For affects alternative Integrity traits other than
the rest of the scene, her Social actions aimed at Belief.
the targets take a penalty equal to her Aria. It should be noted that magically enhanced
Failure: The Princess fails to distract her Integrity or Belief does not protect against
targets. Breaking Points or Compromises (the modifier
Success: For one turn per activation success, to the roll for high or low Belief is affected).
and as long as the targets can see the Princess, If Princess with Belief five that is magically
their eyes remain fixed on her and everything enhanced to seven fails a Compromise roll the
else slips from their notice. Outside of combat, result is Belief four magically enhanced to six.
the targets must succeed on a Perception roll Upgrade: Collective
to notice the presence of any other person Cost: +1 Wisp
or object beyond the most generic description
(e.g. ”man”, ”woman” or ”child”; ”car” or The Princess may use the Charm on a social
”truck”; ”chair, ”desk” or ”table”) and anyone group that can see or hear her, applying the
who actively conceals themselves will gain an Commonalty modifier.
automatic Success. The Charm is less effective
during a fight, when people are keyed up and
attentive, but even then the targets take -1 to No Choice, No Hope (Inspire ••••, Lacrima
their Defense against anyone but the Princess,
and fail to notice anyone who doesn’t attack
•••)
them. However, the Princess herself can’t avoid Requires Queen’s Sorrow
attention - any use of Stealth, attempts to Action: Instant

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Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower, Compromise at Belief Success: The target gains the Berserk Tilt
3+ with a -4 modifer focused on whatever they consider to be the
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Intimidation - target’s greatest threat or obstacle in the vicinity. The
Resolve Tilt grants +2 on all rolls to inflict violent harm
Duration: Lasting on another and inflicts a -1 penalty to all other
rolls. However they must move towards or attack
The Princess’ voice acquires the blighting and somebody every turn.
consuming quality of the Darkness, sapping the Exceptional Success: The duration increases to
wills of those who hear it and bringing them under one scene.
her sway for a time. For each activation success, the
Upgrade: Collective (Tempesta ••••)
target loses a point of Willpower, feeling drowned
in apathy. If the target still has Willpower left Cost: +1 Wisp
when after the Charm takes effect, he rolls Wits + The Princess may use the Charm on a social
Composure at -5 to realize that the despair they felt group, applying the Commonalty modifier. The
was not natural. If the target runs out of Willpower member with the highest Composure resists for
because of this Charm he gains the Suggestible the group.
Condition; until he regains Willpower or the Scene
ends.
On a dramatic failure, the target instantly Jumping Jack Flash (Inspire •••••)
realizes the Princess is responsible for the moment
of despair and reacts with outrage and becomes Action: Instant
immune to this Charm for a full 24 hours. Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression, modified by
Upgrade: Collective (Lacrima ••••) Commonalty
Cost: +1 Wisp Duration: Concentration
Performance: Concentration
The Princess may use the Charm on a social
group, applying the Commonalty modifier. The
You were born in a crossfire hurricane. And you
member with the highest Resolve resists for the
howled at your Ma in the driving’ rain. But it’s all
group. On a dramatic failure, all those in the
right now.
group, and any group they belong to, are immune
The Princess puts on a performance that inspires
to the Charm for 24 hours.
people to the heights of their abilities – and beyond.
Everyone in the group she uses the Charm on gets
the Blessing Condition, it applies to every possible
Consumed With Hate (Inspire ••••, Tempesta roll, but only applies for one roll. This Charm
•••) is, essentially, a Teamwork roll that applies to
everyone.
Action: Instant and resisted, The effects only last as long as the Princess
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 resistant lethal damage continues performing, spending her action for a
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion - turn. Every member of the target group gains the
Composure bonus once, but if they haven’t used it by the time
Duration: Tempesta turns she finishes performing the bonus is used.

With only a few words, the Princess can Deep in the Darkest Night (Inspire •••••)
cause a person’s rage to boil over, driving him
uncontrollably to lash out. The Princess has no Action: Instant
control over who is attacked, so she would be wise Cost: 3 Wisps 1 Willpower
to steer her target appropriately before invoking Duration: 24 hours
this Charm. Dice Pool: Presence + Expression
Performance: 5 minutes
Dramatic Failure: The Princess goes too far in
her rhetoric; the target sees her as a crazy person
We must be points of light!
he needs to get away from. None of the Charm’s
effects take hold.
The Princess makes a stirring performance,
Failure: The Princess gets nowhere with inciting denouncing the atrocities of monsters and rousing
the target’s rage. the townsfolk to fight back.

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 Dramatic Failure: The targets may choose
to take the Hunter template and those who
Data Wizard (Learn •)
do immediately turn against the Princess, Action: Permement
denouncing her as a witch.
Failure: The Charm does not activate. The A portable computer becomes part of the Princess’
Princess may also acquire a reputation for Regalia. It has an equipment bonus equal to
breaking the unwritten rule to never mention Inner Light. The computer can store data in
monsters that most people in the World of practically unlimited quantities, has adapters to
Darkness follow religiously. connect to any computer networks available where
the Princess lives, and reads from or writes to
Success: The target may choose to take the
all common forms of removable media she can
Hunter template, gaining all associated bonuses.
find. The Princess still has to supply passwords
After 24 hours they may choose to keep the
to gain access to a network, or else defeat
template or to half-suppress the memory, turning
the network’s security. The Princess cannot
it into something alike a rarely remembered but
connect to supernatural computers unless they were
fondly remembered youthful indiscretion.
specifically created to be compatible with The
Exceptional Success: Anyone who chooses to take Light or mundane networks.
the Hunter Template also fully refreshes their
Willpower as they decide to seize control of their Upgrade: Remote
own destiny from sinister supernatural forces. The Princess can connect her computer to any
other she wishes over a magical Intimate link.
The Princess may apply Commonality to target Spend a Wisp and roll Intelligence + Computer
a group. - Intimacy, an Invocation may be applied. This
does require an Intimacy link directly to a
computer, but Hope Engineers do love their
Everything is Awesome (Inspire •••••) gadgets. Once the Princess is connected the link
Action: Instant, functions as though the Princess was standing
Cost: 2 Wisps next to the target machine and connected to
Dice Pool: Wits + Manipulation it by wire. She still needs to defeat any
Duration: Concentration relevant security, but might bypass security
that’s located on a separate machine such as a
Everything is cool when you’re part of a team! firewall. Unless the Princess has the Discrete
or Traceless Upgrades, system administrators
The Princess brings focus to a group working for a trying to trace the Princess’ connection will see
common goal. Activate this Charm before assisting something like “direct magical link” from their
in a teamwork action. For each success, one administrative tools. They may not believe what
secondary actor contributes his successes directly they see.
to the goal, instead of adding dice to the primary Upgrade: Crawling (Acqua ••)
actor’s roll. The Princess cannot be an actor Since the 1960s humanity has been hard at work
in the roll, she must direct her full attention to making information and knowledge available to
encouraging the team: She must remain performing all. It is a beautiful act of humanity and it sits
for the entire duration of the Extended Action, at a Princess’ fingertips.
which limits this Charm to tasks that can be
The Princess’ computer includes it’s own
completed in a reasonable time.
software for searching the web, software that
search based on the emotional intent behind the
Princess’ questions. She may spend a Wisp,
Learn roll Acqua + the computer’s equipment bonus
to gain the Informed Condition For most topics
The Learn Charm confers knowledge, and reveals
this takes between one and ten minutes to find,
what has been hidden. Only Seekers have affinity
read, and digest new information. Exceptionally
for it.
complicated topics like rocket science might take
significantly longer.
The web crawler can only find publicly available
information, but this includes information on
the deep web. It can normally register itself

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 for websites and even defeat basic tests that Action: Reflexive, Unrolled
check the viewer’s humanity. It can’t access paid
content for free, but it might ask the Princess to When a Princess looks at someone, she learns their
buy access if there’s no equivalent information name. Under most circumstances this Charm is
available for free. unrolled, the Princess looks at someone and one
Upgrade: Fishing (Acqua ••) name just feels right or she sees a floating name
tag. However some characters have multiple names.
The Princess’ computer monitors networks
They might go by a different name in different
constantly, looking for scraps of data she might
languages, most people have at least one screen
need. Once in a scene, if she is connected to a
name on the internet, and some people have a
local computer network, the Princess may spend
more deceptive reason for dual identities. In these
three wisps and roll Acqua + the computer’s
cases the Princess learns what the target personally
equipment bonus. For every success she may
considers to be their name. Against Princesses
ask one short factual question which the local
this Charm will of course provide the name of the
computer network may know as a reflexive
Princess’ current identity no matter how strongly
action. Applicable questions include asking for
she identifies with her other name.
directions or a password. The Princess does not
If somebody uses supernatural veils to hide their
need to ask all her questions at once, the player
name the Princess may need to oppose the roll with
may save them for the right moment: Such as
Wits + Empathy, an Invocation may be applied, or
having her computer ping her with the door code
make a Clash of Wills depending on the effects of
when she’s sprinting for the exit.
the defensive power.
Upgrade: Discrete (Aria ••) Know Name cannot work on recordings, drawings
When the Princess is connected to the or photographs. However it works fine over live
internet her computer automatically routes her video or Charms that allow remote viewing.
connections through a network of proxies that
inflicts a -Aria penalty to all attempts to trace
her. Despite it’s supernatural origins this is a Passion's Light (Learn •)
purely mundane countermeasure.
Action: Instant, Unrolled
Upgrade: Traceless (Aria ••) Cost: 1 Wisp
When the Princess’ computer is connected to a Duration: One scene
mundane network it automatically sends pulses
of magic along with mundane data, rewriting The Princess perceives the emotional state of the
electronic logs to cover the Princess’ tracks. people around her. Most Princesses see a wash of
Mundane methods cannot track the Princess, the colour around their bodies but others have been
trail simply isn’t there, unless the Princess slips known to smell emotions, see floating messages, feel
up and posts useful information to a website. flashes of intuition, or see floating emoticons.
Supernatural methods still function, at a -Aria While Passion’s Light is active the Princess can
penalty. perfectly perceive the emotional state of anyone
Drawback: By it’s very nature this magic is around her. At any time the player may ask what
hidden, a rival Princess using A Magical Girl’s emotion a character is feeling most strongly and the
Eyes takes a -Aria penalty to spot magic rushing Storyteller or that player must answer truthfully. If
through an internet cable, however providing the Princess wants to examine closer she may roll
that rival an opportunity roll with -Aria is Wits + Empathy, an Invocation may be applied,
worse than not letting her roll at all. If the and ask one of the following questions per success:
Princess connects to or her signal passes through
• How strongly is he feeling an emotion?
a supernaturally defended computer she may
trigger all sorts of alarms by inadvertently trying • What is causing a particular emotion?
to hack the logs. In short, Traceless provides
very strong protection from mundane tracing for • Have the character’s emotions been chemically
an increased risk of supernatural tracing. or supernaturally manipulated?
• What is the character’s Virtue?
Know Name (Learn •) • What is the character’s Vice?

Cost: 1 Wisp • What is the name and details of one Condition

affecting the character’s emotional state.

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 Upgrade: Unmasking exceptional success, she learns exactly what the
The Princess can recognize supernatural beings target knows of the subject of his lie.
by their aura’s unusual appearance. A Upgrade: Alert (Aria •)
Transformed Princess’ aura, for instance, is When the Princess detects a lie, she gains
connected to nearby people that she cares about additional insight into the liar’s motive for
by ribbons of aura and appears to shed light up deception. For example, she could smell the
other auras in her vicinity – things and people difference between a lie told out of envious malice
near her reflect her current colour, in addition to and one told out of fear, or tell the difference
any aura they have themselves. between a sleazy propagandist and a dedicated,
noble spy.
Sense Falsehood (Learn •) Upgrade: Guilty (Terra •)
When the Princess detects a lie, the liar
Action: Instant and Contested experiences a strong pang of guilt, and finds
Cost: 1 Wisp it far harder to deceive again. He gains the
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge vs Composure + Cursed condition for the scene, this reduces
Supernatural Advantage all Subterfuge rolls by the Princess’ Activation
Duration: 1 scene Successes. Further lies in the scene do not trigger
this Upgrade.
The Princess develops an additional sense that can
sniff out lies and dishonesty. Upgrade: Remote (Acqua •)
The Princess’ sense can now function on
Dramatic Failure: The Charm fails, but the technological communications (no Upgrade is
Princess believes it has worked, and thus will required to use this Charm through Charm based
believe the target implicitly, unless and until he magical communications), from the humble pen
says something she knows is not true. to real time video-conferencing. A Princess
Failure: The Charm fails, but the Princess is cannot detect truth or falsehood from any
aware of the failure. message over a month old.
Success: Whenever the target says something Upgrade: Righteous (Tempesta •)
he doesn’t believe, the Princess perceives the When the Princess detects a lie, she may punish
falsehood automatically. The Charm detects the liar with impunity. If she attacks the liar
the underlying emotions behind untruths, any as her next action, he may not apply Defense to
attempt at deceit or factual assertions made in resist the attack.
conscious ignorance also ping her new sense.
Most Princesses who make frequent use of this
Charm develop habits of asking people how they X-Ray Vision (Learn •)
know something or how confidant they are to
filter out honest mistakes. Action: Instant
Exceptional Success: The Princess’ nose catches
subtle misleadings as well as direct falsehood; Cost: 1 Wisp
when the target’s statements are true but
significantly incomplete, she will know that Dice Pool: Wits + Composure - Durability
something has been left unsaid.
Duration: Scene
Upgrade: Collective
Cost: +1 Wisp The Princess can peer straight through solid
The Princess may use the Charm on a social objects. Before invoking this Charm the Princess
group, using the Commonalty modifier. The chooses a Durability then rolls Wits + Composure,
member with the highest Composure resists for subtracting the chosen durability from her roll.
the group.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess takes the
Upgrade: Unwitting Blinded Tilt for the Scene. She sees straight
When the Princess detects a lie, she rolls Wits through everything, which is the same as seeing
+ the activation successes on the Charm as a absolutely nothing.
reflexive action. If she succeeds, she gains a Failure: Nothing happens.
hint of the truth the target is concealing; on an

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 Success: Any object with a Durability equal or makes an extended research roll she halves the time
lesser than the nominated durability becomes taken for each roll.
transparent to the Princesses eyes. She can see
through it but still remains aware of it’s shape
and general location. If she focuses her attention Wayfinding (Learn •, Acqua ••)
on an object it solidifies to her eyes, this Charm
imposes no perception penalties. If the Princess Action: Instant
wishes to look through several objects at once, Cost: 1 Wisp
such as a wardrobe and the wall behind the Dice Pool: Intelligence + Survival
wardrobe, she must be able to see through their Duration: Lasting
combined durability.
To discover the unknown one must first travel to
X-Ray vision provides no advantages to
the unknown. For scholars to collaborate they
penetrating supernatural concealment or seeing
must first have the means to communicate. Safe
into Twilight, but if the Princess has some other
and stable transport is the lifeblood of learning.
way of doing either it stacks with X-Ray vision.
For centuries it was the sea that connected distant
Exceptional Success: No extra benefit. philosophers and far flung institutions, it is no
wonder then, that the Court of Diamonds are
almost as comfortable upon a ship as they are in
Elementary Deductions (Learn •, Acqua ••) scriptorium. A Hope Engineer needs only read the
waves to know exactly where she is.
Action: Permanent
Dramatic Failure: The Princess does not know
When faced with mysteries and conundrums the where she is, she takes the Lost Condition and
Princess’ mind focuses, approaching such problems cannot use this Charm until she Resolves it.
with a crystalline clarity. For every three Clues
Failure: Nothing happens.
she has, she reduces the threshold for Exceptional
Success by one on all rolls to acquire further clues Success: The Princess knows the exact distance
to the same mystery. Each Clue builds on it’s and direction she needs to travel to reach a
predecessors in web of logic, catching errors and coastal location in where she has spent at least
ruling out unnecessary avenues of investigation twenty four hours at some point in the past. If
before the Princess wastes time. the Princess has the Lost Condition she may
Naturally the threshold cannot go below one discard (but not resolve it) by choosing to sail
Success. away from this area.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the Princess
can nominate three different spots, meaning that
Intuitive Leaps (Learn •, Aria ••) with a little mathematics she can identify her
exact position and navigate to this spot again.
Action: Permanent

The Princess may see links between seemingly

unrelated scarps of information that more rigid
Second Glance Wrongness (Learn ••)
minds are sure to overlook. When the Princess Requires: Scent Falsehood
Uncovers the Truth she treat three Clues with the Action: Reflexive
Incomplete tag as equal to one complete Clue. Cost: none
Dice Pool: Clash of Wills
Upgrade: Instictual (Aria ••••) Duration: 1 turn
The Princess only needs two Incomplete Clues to
form one Complete Clue. Sometimes magic gets you good. The Enlightened
are all too aware of that. Sometimes your mind can
be wrapped in irrational fear by the Dark-Spawn
Liberal Artist (Learn •, Acqua •) hanging from the ceiling, pale-faced, sometimes
the warrior of Storms can drive you into a frenzy,
Action: Permanent some things can pass by invisible. Princesses learn,
though, to listen to the subtle wrongness that they
When the Princess transforms, she connects to get when their senses are being messed with, and
mankind’s desire to learn and grow. Whenever she

187
it’s possible to stoke the radiance within, to burn Upgrade: Unbroken (Lacrima ••••)
away the clouds that fog the mind. Alhambra has stood unbroken in the face of
Whenever the Princess’ mind is influenced or the Darkness’ hunger, and her Nobility can
controlled by a supernatural power, the player may remain unbroken in the heart of their enemies
declare this Charm activates and make a Clash of enchantments. On a Success the Princess may
Wills against whoever has influenced her mind. opt break free for up to Lacrima + Inner Light
This Charm may only be rolled once per scene. turns at the cost of one Willpower.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is so utterly
fooled by the deceit that her mind is rendered
susceptible to follow-up blows. She takes the Spectrum Receiver (Learn ••)
Cursed condition, inflicting a -3 penalty to realise Action: Extended, 1 roll/turn, threshold = Area
she is under a supernatural compulsion. This of effect (per Sanctuary scale)
lasts for a day. Cost: 1 Wisp
Failure: Nothing happens. Dice Pool: Intelligence + Computer
Success: A distorted perception wavers for a Duration: 1 Scene
moment, showing what it conceals; an imposed
emotion falters, revealing the Princess’ true The Noble focuses, taking in the signals all around
feelings; a compulsion falls slack, and is disclosed her.
as instilled by another. The Princess may spend Dramatic Failure: The Noble hears every signal
1 Willpower point to bypass it for that action - at once. She is Deafened for the duration of the
penalties don’t apply, compulsions don’t restrict scene.
her
Failure: The Noble can’t receive signals.
Exceptional Success: The power holding the
Princess’ mind slips. During the Princess’ next Success: The Noble can tune in to any
turn, she ignores its effects on her, without unencrypted signal being broadcast through the
spending Willpower. air within her area of effect, such as radio
and television broadcasts, computer activity,
Upgrade: Meditative (Legno •••) and cellphone calls. She gets audio at any
When the Princess sees through an illusion she volume of her choice; if she closes her eyes, she
may opt to enter a tranquil state instead of also gets the video. If she knows the precise
breaking free for a turn, the same Willpower frequency/channel of the signal or where it is
cost applies. If the Princess chooses tranquillity being broadcast or received, she can tune in as a
she remains still, unmoving and unthinking, for Reflexive action. Otherwise, the Noble may take
Legno minutes. This is often enough for the an Instant action to search for it.
Princess to fail at whatever crime she was forced Exceptional Success: The Noble can tune in to
to attempt. signals being carried through cables/lines.
If the Princess is under an effect with a limited
duration, the time she spends tranquil does count
towards the duration. Weight of Memory (Learn ••)
Upgrade: Furious (Tempesta •••) Action: Extended, Intelligence + Investigation
A Fury can breaks free from enchantments (10 minutes/roll, threshold = 4)
through the pure cleansing power of hatred. If Cost: 1 Wisp
she succeeds on the roll and spends a Willpower Duration: Instant
point she remains free for as many turns as
she spends attacking someone (guns, Charms, While scrutinizing an object she is touching,
so long as she is trying her hardest to kill it the Noble catches a glimpse of the emotional
doesn’t matter how) or charging in the direction impressions left behind on it by a significant event
of someone she intends to attack. Furies have in its past.
been known to go on frenzied rampages against Dramatic Failure: The Princess misreads the
anyone and everyone nearby to keep their minds emotions and takes the Misled Condition.
free. Alternatively if she is reading a Tainted Place
This is also notable for being one of the more she may become overwhelmed by the negative
common results of a Royal Favour from the emotions permeating the structure and make a
Queen of Storms. Sensitivity roll.

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 Failure: The Princess makes no progress. When finding the target, the Princess also gets a
Success or Exceptional Success: The Princess moment’s glimpse of him and his surroundings.
successfully reads the emotions lingering beneath Upgrade: Passionate
her fingers. For each emotionally significant Cost: +1 Wisp
event that took place involving the object (or
Requires: Passion’s Light
inside it, in the case of a room, a grove, or similar)
the princess gains a sense of the dominant When the Princess first finds the target, she also
emotion, as well as which events are more recent. gets a moment’s glimpse of his aura, as if the had
For each success above the first she may ask one used Passion’s Light in his presence.
of the following questions:

• When did the event happen? (The Pierian Spring (Learn ••, Acqua •)
Storyteller gives a timespan to the first unit
- hours in a day, days in a week, etc.) Action: Instant and resisted, Intelligence +
Empathy - target’s Composure
• Who was involved in the event? (The Cost: 1 Wisp
Storyteller names one person, or describes Duration: Instant
him if the Noble doesn’t know his name,
each time she asks this.) As the Princess touches her target’s bare skin, she
• Did anyone involved in the event have learns how much he has drunk from the wells of
inhuman emotions? (The Storyteller knowledge. The Princess may use the Charm on
answers yes or no, but may specify if it is this target again, but later activations during the
one of the people revealed by the second scene take a cumulative -1 penalty.
question. If a Princess is intimately familiar
with the emotions of a kind of supernatural Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the
being she may recognise them when using Princess. The Storyteller gives a false rating
this charm.) for one or more of the target’s Skills; the
Princess will believe the target has the stated
• One of a Tainted or Blessed Place’s ratings unless confronted with clear evidence
Aspirations (Only when within a Tainted or contradicting them. Further uses of the Charm
Blessed Place) on the target won’t reveal such evidence - the
Princess must discover her mistake by other
methods. She may not use the Charm on this
Watchful Mind (Learn ••) target for the rest of the scene.
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Investigation, Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
modified by Intimacy target. She may not use the Charm on this target
Cost: 1 Wisp for the rest of the scene.
Duration: 1 scene or 1 day Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight
into her target’s education and mental training.
Like a bird to its nest, the Princess finds her way The Storyteller must answer one question from
unerringly to another person. the following list truthfully for each activation
success:
Dramatic Failure: The Princess gets an entirely
wrong idea of her target’s location. Until the • One of the target’s Mental Skills or
scene ends or she actually sees the target, she specialities
is convinced he is somewhere chosen by the • A Merit representing knowledge (e.g.
Storyteller that is not where he really is. Encyclopedic Knowledge) or access to
Failure: The Charm has no effect. knowledge (e.g. Contacts, Library).
Success: For the rest of the scene, the Princess • A subject which the target teaches.
knows the direction and rough distance from • The name or description of one person who
herself to the target. taught the target something of importance
Exceptional Success: The Princess retains her fix to him.
on the target’s location for 1 full day. • The name or description of one person
whom the target is currently educating or
Upgrade: Visionary
has educated, significantly forming their
mind and character.

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 • The nature of the relationship between the following list truthfully for each activation
teacher and student,(e.g. the advisor for his success:
doctoral thesis).
• The time and place of an event that turned
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains the target’s life to a course he did not expect
considerable insight into her target’s mental • One detail of what happened during that
training. event
Upgrade: Personal (Acqua ••) • The name or description of one person who
The Acqua Invocation favors any exercise of the was involved in that event
intellect. The Princess may look for insight into Exceptional Success The Princess gains
the target’s character and abilities, so far as considerable insight into events that changed
these resonate with the Acqua Invocation or the the target.
credo of the Queen of Diamonds, or flaws which
Upgrade: Personal (Aria ••)
impair his reason. Add the following to the list
of questions the Princess may ask. The Aria Invocation favors those who can handle
surprises, good or bad, with a smile. The
• The target’s Intelligence, Wits or Resolve. Princess may look for insight into the target’s
character and abilities, so far as these resonate
• Any Mental Merit that reflects an innate with the Aria Invocation or the credo of the
ability, such as Good Time Management. Queen of Spades. Add the following to the list of
• A mental disorder or other non-supernatural questions the Princess may ask.
mind affecting Condition. • The target’s Wits, Dexterity or
• A subject which the target is studying or Manipulation.
wishes to learn. • A surprise the target is planning to spring
upon another.
• How the target is likely to react to a given
For Want of a Nail (Learn ••, Aria •) surprise.

Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Empathy -

target’s Resolve Love's Beacon (Learn ••, Fuoco •)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Instant Action: Instant and resisted, Intelligence +
Empathy - target’s Resolve
As the Princess touches her target’s bare skin, the Cost: 1 Wisp
moments when his life took strange turns become Duration: Instant
apparent to her. The Princess may use the Charm
on this target again, but later activations during True love illuminates the beloved. The Princess
the scene take a cumulative -1 penalty. touches her target’s bare skin to learn something
of the people he most cares for. The Princess
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the may use the Charm on this target again, but later
Princess. The Storyteller describes an event activations during the scene take a cumulative -1
involving the target that never happened; penalty.
the Princess will believe in the vision unless
confronted with clear evidence contradicting Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the
them. Further uses of the Charm on the target Princess. The Storyteller describes a vision that
won’t reveal such evidence - the Princess must gives a quite wrong idea of the target’s affections;
discover her mistake by other methods. She may the Princess will believe in the vision unless
not use the Charm on this target for the rest of confronted with clear evidence contradicting it.
the scene. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t
reveal anything that refutes the vision - the
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
Princess must discover her mistake by other
target. She may not use the Charm on this target
methods. She may not use the Charm on this
for the rest of the scene.
target for the rest of the scene.
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight into Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
the drastic changes her target has undergone. target. She may not use the Charm on this target
The Storyteller must answer one question from for the rest of the scene. Success: The Princess

190
 gains flashes of insight into her target’s loves. perform that act unless confronted with clear
The Storyteller must answer one question from evidence he has done so. Alternately, the act
the following list truthfully for each activation described can be one the target won’t do, in
success: which case the Princess believes that he will.
Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t
• The name or description of one person the reveal anything that refutes the delusion - the
target loves or has loved Princess must discover her mistake by other
• The nature of the target’s love - marital, methods. She may not use the Charm on this
romantic, familial, comradely, etc. target for the rest of the scene.
• How the beloved feels about the target, to Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
the best of his knowledge. target. She may not use the Charm on this target
for the rest of the scene.
• Where the beloved is most likely to be,
again to the target’s knowledge. Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight
into her target’s moral scruples. The Storyteller
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains must answer one question from the following list
considerable insight into her target’s loves. truthfully for each activation success
Upgrade: Personal (Fuoco 2)
• The target’s Vice.
The Fuoco Invocation is brightest in people’s
• One act which would put the target’s
loves, but the fire prized by the Queen Errant
Integrity (or equivalent trait) at risk.
burns in more than the bonds of affection. The
Princess may look for insight into the target’s • The name or description of one person or
character and abilities, so far as these resonate thing for which the target would risk bodily
with the Fuoco Invocation or the credo of the harm or moral degeneration to protect.
Queen of Swords. Add the following to the list
of questions the Princess may ask. Exceptional Success: The Princess gains
considerable insight into her target’s moral
• The target’s Virtue(s). scruples.
• The target’s current Willpower. Upgrade: Personal (Legno ••)
• The target’s Intelligence, Strength or The Legno Invocation blesses a calm mind, an
Presence. enduring body, and communion with all living
things. The Princess may look for insight into
• A trait that inspires, or helps inspire,
the target’s character and abilities, so far as these
the target to heroics. Anything from a
resonate with the Legno Invocation or the credo
distressed damsel to a code of honour.
of the Queen of Clubs. Add the following to the
• A trait that causes, or helps cause, the list of questions the Princess may ask.
target to fall in love.
• The target’s Resolve, Stamina or
Composure
Scent of Irises (Learn ••, Legno •) • A Skill or speciality that helps the target
live harmoniously in any situation: Crafts,
Action: Instant and resisted, Intelligence +
Medicine, Survival, Animal Ken, Empathy
Empathy - target’s Composure
or Socialize, or one appropriate speciality of
Cost: 1 Wisp
any Skill
Duration: Instant
• A Merit representing physical health (any
The Princess learns how much her target is at peace Physical Merit with a Stamina prerequisite)
with himself, and what might disturb that peace, by or mental stability (e.g. Common Sense,
touching his bare skin. The Princess may use the Meditative Mind)
Charm on this target again, but later activations • The name or description of one animal the
during the scene take a cumulative -1 penalty. target cares for.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the
Princess. The Storyteller describes an act the
target really has no objection to performing; the
Princess will believe the target will refuse to

191
 • The name of an organization the target has
No Man is an Island (Learn ••, Terra •) great respect for.
Action: Instant and resisted, Manipulation + • The target’s Presence, Manipulation or
Empathy - target’s Composure Composure.
Cost: 1 Wisp
• One of the target’s Social Skills or
Duration: Instant
specialities.
”No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is • Any of the target’s Social Merits.
a piece of the Continent, a part of the main ...”
The Princess sees what links her target to the
mass of his society when she touches his bare skin. Tisiphone's Call (Learn ••, Tempesta •)
The Princess may use the Charm on this target
Action: Instant and resisted, Wits + Empathy -
again, but later activations during the scene take a
target’s Composure
cumulative -1 penalty.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Duration: Instant
Princess. The Storyteller describes a vision that
associates the target with a social group he has Injuries must be discovered and avenged, Taint
no connection to; the Princess will believe in must be rooted out. When touching the bare
the vision unless confronted with clear evidence skin of her target, the Princess learns how he has
contradicting it. Further uses of the Charm on suffered, and who to pursue with Furious justice.
the target won’t reveal anything that refutes the The Princess may use the Charm on this target
vision - the Princess must discover her mistake again, but later activations during the scene take a
by other methods. She may not use the Charm cumulative -1 penalty.
on this target for the rest of the scene.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her Princess. The Storyteller describes a false vision
target. She may not use the Charm on this target of the target being injured, by people who are
for the rest of the scene. actually innocent; the Princess will believe in
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight the vision unless confronted with clear evidence
into her target’s social standing. The Storyteller contradicting it. Further uses of the Charm on
must answer one question from the following list the target won’t reveal anything that refutes the
truthfully for each activation success: vision - the Princess must discover her mistake
by other methods. She may not use the Charm
• An organization in which the target has on this target for the rest of the scene.
Status, and the degree of that Status (AKA
Merit dots) Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her
target. She may not use the Charm on this target
• The name or description of the target’s for the rest of the scene.
immediate superior in his organization
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight
• The name or description of the target’s
into her target’s enemies and tormentors. The
Retainer, or a person immediately
Storyteller must answer one question from
subordinate to the target in his organization
the following list truthfully for each activation
• The name or description of one of the success:
target’s Allies, and the degree of debt
between them (AKA Merit dots) • The name or description of someone who
has harmed the target - physically, mentally
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains or socially
considerable insight into her target’s social
standing. • The nature of one harm harm done to the
target
Upgrade: Personal (Terra ••)
• Where a person who harmed the target
The Terra Invocation favors all aspects of human is most likely to be, to the target’s best
sociability. The Princess may look for insight knowledge
into the target’s character and abilities, so far as
these resonate with the Terra Invocation or the • The name or description of a creature of
credo of the Queen of Hearts. Add the following Darkness the target has encountered.
to the list of questions the Princess may ask.

192
 Exceptional Success: The Princess gains The Princes asks a mirror a question to which
considerable insight into her target’s enemies. the answer must be a person and cannot require
Upgrade: Personal (Tempesta ••) precognition to determine. “Who murdered Miss
Daisy?”, “Who snitched on me to the teachers?”
The Tempesta Invocation encourages all are good examples. “How do I break into the
attempts to fight injustice. The Princess may Alhambran stronghold?”, “Who will win the
look for insight into the target’s character and student election?” are bad examples.
abilities, so far as these resonate with the
Tempesta Invocation or the credo of the Queen of The Storyteller should answer in good faith to
Storms. Add the following to the list of questions the best of her ability by presenting a glimpse
the Princess may ask. of a scene that answers the question. Creative
interpretation of the question and other low
• A description of one of the target’s favourite tricks should only be used on a Dramatic Failure.
weapons, or the full stats for the target’s Unlike other uses of Mirror Mirror, this upgrade
Empty Hand, Kensai or Levinbolt Charm. does not make use of the Princess’ connection to
• The target’s Brawl, Firearms or Weaponry her target, but draws answers directly from the
Skill, or one appropriate speciality of those tapestry of fate. This means you do not apply an
Skills. Intimacy modifier. On the other hand you only
• A Merit that helps the target on the field of get to watch for 1 turn per success.
battle (e.g. a Fighting Style)
Moving Finger (Learn •••)
Mirror Mirror (Learn ••, Specchio ••) Action: Instant, Inner Light + Investigation
Action: Instant, Inner Light + Investigation - Cost: 1 Wisp
Intimacy. Duration: 1 scene
Cost: 1 Wisp or 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 Scene The Princess mentally describes an object. She
becomes aware of the location of the nearest
With this trick a Princess of Mirrors can look into object matching the description within 25 yards
one mirror and see out another. Choose one person, and may increase the range by taking a penalty
the Princess will see out of whichever mirror gives to the dice roll at a rate of 25 yards per
the best viewpoint of that person. If she spends a die. Mundane concealment cannot defend against
second Wisp then both mirrors will show each other this Charm. The description must be phrased
(this is usually used with the Upgrade I hear you in terms of the object’s composition and form,
to create magical phones). The Intimacy modifier not its significance or intended use. For
is of course measured to the person, not the mirror. example, “audiotapes”, “letters in my father’s
The Princess is limited by the quality of the two handwriting”, and “weak places in the wall” all
mirrors used, a low quality mirror that gives a bad work; “incriminating evidence”, “letters about my
reflection gives a low quality image. father”, and “something that will help me escape”
do not. A Princess can find only one object at
Upgrade: I Hear You a time; if she activates Moving Finger when she
already has it active, the first use ends immediately.
The Princess can also hear through mirrors. If a
mirror gives a bad picture it also gives bad audio. Upgrade: General
Upgrade: On The Wall (Specchio •••) Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess does not have to look for a specific The Princess becomes aware of every object
person, she can see out of any mirror she wishes. matching the description within range. She can
Perhaps a mirror she secretly placed overlooking find objects matching only one description at a
that Darkspawn’s lair. The Intimacy modifier time.
applies to the place she wishes to see, or the
Upgrade: Significant (Acqua ••)
mirror she’s looking out of. Whichever gives the
lower penalty. The Princess may describe an object by its
meaning. For example, she can find documents
Upgrade: Who’s the Fairest in the Land?
about a specific subject in a wall of file cabinets,
(Specchio •••••)
or search the scene of a murder for clues to the
Cost +1 Wisp. killer’s identity.

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 Note: The presence of Taint, and the property of
being a focus of Taint, is considered part of an
Genius Loci (Learn •••, Legno ••)
object’s meaning, so applying Significant allows Extended, Manipulation + Occult - Gauntlet
the Charm to find a Tainted area’s focus. Strength (5 minutes/roll, threshold = twice
Sanctuary Size)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Psychic Impression (Learn •••) Duration: 1 scene
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Crafts
Places, especially buildings, have their own sort of
Cost: 1 Wisp
life; as they age and people care for them, they
Duration: 1 turn
acquire a distinctive Spirit and a voice that speaks
in creaking boards or rustling leaves. With careful
By holding an object in her hands, the Princess is
attention and a touch of magic, the Princess can
able to catch a glimpse of the emotional impressions
rouse a place’s spirit and listen to its voice. When
left behind on it, by significant events it was used
activating the Charm, the Noble meditates inside
in. With one success, this Charm grants her a
the place she wants to listen and speak to.
fleeting vision of the most emotionally significant
event the object was involved in within the past Dramatic Failure: The Princess rouses the
week; each additional success doubles the range of place’s spirit, but offends it. Until she leaves it,
time she can see into. Especially important events, a curse of ill luck dogs her; all her actions suffer
such as the marriage proposal a ring was used for, a -1 penalty. If she returns at any time during
may remain visibile years after they occurred at the next day, she suffers the same penalty until
the Storyteller’s discretion. Using this Charm on a she leaves again.
bullet might show a vision of the shooting it was
used for, a painting may show the emotional state Failure: The Princess cannot hear the place’s
of the artist who created it, etcetera. The vision spirit yet.
lasts between three and thirty seconds, and appears Success: The Princess makes progress in
to the Princess’ eyes as if she were at the event in waking the place’s Spirit. When she reaches
question – it’s up to her to interpret what she sees. the threshold, the Spirit is fully roused and
communicates with her in a fashion only she
Upgrade: Lasting understands (patterns of creaks, flickering in the
Cost: +1 Wisp lights, etc.) In essence the Princess applies a
the Reaching Manifestation Condition onto the
Duration: 1 scene
Spirit of the local area and temporally grants it a
The vision the Princess receives includes the Numina that allows it to hear the and understand
context of the significant event. She sees a full the Princess’ voice and to send messages which
scene of events, to which the key event serves as the Princess alone will understand. However
a climax. The time it takes her to experience magical abilities may allow others to eavesdrop
this scene is the same as the time it originally on the conversation and translate.
took, and while the vision lasts she enters a
Exceptional Success: The place’s spirit finds the
meditative trance, only vaguely aware of your
Princess agreeable. Her she presents a First
immediate surroundings; she forgoes Defence
Impression one level higher than she otherwise
until the Charm ends. If something happens near
would have.
her, the Princess rolls Wits + Composure - 3 to
end the Charm prematurely; if she takes damage,
the Charm ends immediately.
Unearth the Foundations (Learn •••, Terra
Upgrade: Specific
The Princess can look for events other than the •)
most significant one. In a repeated use of the Requires: Passion’s Light
Charm, she takes a penalty equal to the number Action: Extended and resisted (1 turn/roll,
of events she has already seen from the target threshold = 4), Composure + Empathy modified
object to see visions of an event she hasn’t seen by Commonality.
before (-1 for the second event, -2 for the third, Cost: 1 Wisp
and so on.) Repeating a vision she has seen Duration: instant
already is at no penalty, though it may require
more successes if enough time has passed by.

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The Princess watches a social group from afar,
Within a week: -1
seeing how they fit together. When she reaches
the threshold she asks the Storyteller one of the Within a month: -2
following questions.
Within a year: -3
• What is one of the group’s common causes.
Within five years: -4
• How the group is organised (mailing lists,
phone tree, weekly meetings, etc). Within 10 years: -5

• Who leads the group. Every additional ten years: an

additional -1
• How the group is led (democracy, autocracy,
do-ocracy, etc).
Dramatic Failure: Guided by Fate, or perhaps
• Why people join the group, if there are an unwelcome hint from her own subconscious
common reasons. the Princess sees a horrifying vision. Such as
• Does the group work well together. the brutal murder of a close friend. Like all
prophecies it’s not guaranteed to come true, but
she still needs to make a Sensitivity roll.
Reflected Portents (Learn •••, Specchio •••) Failure: The future remains unclear, either
nothing happens or the Princess gets a
Action: Instant, Composure + Investigation completely accurate vision of a clear blue sky
Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower sometime in the future. Or the depths of space,
or tv static.
How does the Queen of Mirrors know who is the
Success: After a few moments the mirror fades to
true heir? Simple, she can see the future. Or maybe
reveal a vision of the future. The player asks one
not, since none of her many True Hairs fulfilled
question per Success which the vision will answer.
their supposed destiny. Regardless of the truth
Both sight and sound are provided by the mirror,
surrounding the Lightbringer’s mysterious Queen,
though both are limited by the quality of the
it is a fact that the Invocation of Specchio unlocks
mirror. Anyone looking at the mirror (which
powers of precognition beyond the dreams common
doesn’t have to be the Princess, if she turns
to all Enlightened.
the mirror away after the Charm takes effect)
To perceive the mysteries of time and space the
can see the vision. Visions revealed in Reflected
Princess decides which question she wishes to ask,
Portents are entirely true and accurate, but may
she has to ask about a single person’s future. “Will
nevertheless change for the future remains in
I be crowned the prom queen?” or “when will I
flux. Strange beings move outside of Fate, time
next be attacked is ok?”. The princess could even
travellers occasionally change history, even the
ask “who will next attack me” because that is part
Princess’ vision of the future may introduce new
of her personal timeline but she could not ask “who
variables into the timeline; perhaps allowing her
will be the next Miss America”.
to escape a horrible fate.
The Princess doesn’t have to ask about herself,
she could ask who will next attack any specific Exceptional Success: Extra Successes are their
person. All she needs is a mirror positioned so she own reward.
can see the subject of her question within.
There is a modifier to the roll based on it’s The Princess can only invoke this Charm on
temporal proximity, because of this the Storyteller the same event once per day. Additionally she
should always roll for Reflected Portents. A smart cannot learn anything from the past or the present
player can learn much from just the modifier. (defined as the current scene). If the Princess
asks about a past or present event roll as normal.
On a Success reveal that it has already happened
but give no further details. If the question has
multiple answers; such as asking who will I marry,
for someone likely to marry many times, choose the
Temporal Flux soonest event as defined by the dice pool modifier.
If there are multiple events within the same time
Within a day: 0 period favour big and “noticeable” events.

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 Upgrade: Distant (Specchio ••••) use only those Charms that influence minds,
The Princess can prophecies about a distant or Charms she can cast through a sympathetic
target by adding Intimacy to the roll. She must connection (her connection to anything she sees
name who she is targeting before rolling. is Sensory) and she may not use Charms that
require her target to perceive her. While she
Upgrade: What will be? ( Specchio doesn’t suffer Essence bleed, the Charm expires,
•••••) waking her, if she can’t stay transformed. Should
The Princess no longer needs to name a specific her Dream Form be destroyed, the Noble wakes
person to scry against. She can instead ask with the Soul Shocked Condition.
a freeform question like “where will the next Exceptional Success: The Noble finds it easy to
Tainted Place in this town appear?”If more than sustain her Dream Form outside of her body. She
one person, place or other fits the question then adds +2 to her rolls to stay transformed until the
the Charm favours the lowest dice pool modifier Charm ends.
from temporal distance. If there are multiple
possibilities at the same modifier, the Charm Upgrade: Phantasmal
favours big and “noticeable” events. Until the Charm ends, the Noble may spend
a Wisp to make her Dream Form visible and
audible to material beings for one scene. When
Journey in Reverie (Learn ••••, Fuoco •••) she does so, she may use Charms that require
others to see or hear her.
Action: Instant,
Cost: 2 Wisps
Dice Pool: Composure + Empathy
Duration: Lasting
Dire Warning (Learn ••••, Fuoco •••)
Action: Reflexive, Wits + Composure
The Noble dreams of reality, casting her mind Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
forth to walk, invisible and untouchable, in the Duration: instant
waking world. The Embassy to the Dreamlands can
combine this Charm with Christopher’s Parallel The Princess sees a vision of immediate
Lives, but twisting their privilege in this way is catastrophe, with barely enough time to stop it.
mentally draining and requires one willpower per Everything since the start of the previous turn did
scene in which the Charm is active. not happen; it only occurred in a prophetic vision.
The Princess is free to act differently a second time,
Dramatic Failure: The Noble immediately falls and a shouted warning allows any other character
asleep without dreaming, and can’t be wakened to do the same.
by any normal means; magic to wake her up faces
a Clash of Wills. The sleep lasts long enough to
refresh her Willpower Zone of Truth (Learn ••••, Terra •••)
Failure: The Noble remains awake.
Action: Instant, Presence + Investigation
Success: The Noble falls into reverie similar to
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Dreamlands travel, but rather than pass the
Duration: 1 scene
threshold of her Crawlspace her dream form
remains within the real world. In this state the
The Princess enchants her immediate area, making
Noble acts as an ephemeral entity in Twilight
deception impossible. This Charm creates the Zone
Form, with the traits of her Dream Form, and
of Truth Condition, with an area with a radius of
in phase with other psychic projections, Astral
Inner Light x 10 feet. On an exceptional success
beings and Dreamlanders. Thus supernatural
the Condition is forceful.
powers that influence minds or Dreamlanders in
Twilight work on her, but nothing material can
touch or perceive her without such a power. The
Noble may end the Charm at any time, which
Books in Running Brooks (Learn •••••, Acqua
returns her to her body and wakes her; until it
ends she knows nothing of her body’s condition.
••••)
The Noble’s own powers are sharply limited in Action: Instant, Intelligence + Academics
her Dream Form - unless her target is another Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
ephemeral entity in phase with her, she may

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Duration: 1 scene
Celestial Grace (Perfect •)
... finds tongues in trees, books in the running Action: Permanent
brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.
The Queen of Diamonds is a scholar without When the Princess transforms, she moves with the
peer, and her avatar has all knowledge at her grace and speed of an Olympian gymnast. She may
fingertips. The Princess’ memory instantly fills apply an Invocation to mundane Athletics rolls.
with information on the things, people and places She may also Reflexively apply an Invocation to
she encounters, arranged in the fashion she finds her Defence trait, increasing it by her Invocation
easiest to understand. Until the Charm ends, the dots for an entire turn.
Princess gains the Living Library Condition. She
gains the equivalent of a 3 dot Libary on one topic Upgrade: Swift
per success and may make research rolls on the Stacks, up to 3
covered topics at a rate of 1 roll a turn. The
only limitation is that the topics chosen must be The Princess moves a little faster than any
knowledge that is available to all of humanity. The normal human can. She adds +1 to her Defence,
Princess is of course free to discover new knowledge Speed and Initiative while Transformed each
but her starting point, her library, is common time she takes this upgrade.
knowledge. Upgrade: Danmaku Dance
In practice this covers just about any topic the The Princess develops a spider sense that alerts
Princess is likely to be interested in, except for inner her to ranged attacks before her attacker even
details of the supernatural and uncharted jungles, pulls the trigger, allowing her to apply her
the far reaches of space or deep ocean trenches. Defence to firearms attacks. However this
When the Princess activates the Charm, her eyes sense draws focus away from her usual combat
appear to become depthless azure pools (without awareness. Her base Defence becomes Athletics
affecting her vision in any way) and the immediate alone (or Brawl/Weaponry with the Defensive
area is dimly illuminated, as if by moonlight combat merit), but applies to both close combat
reflected on water. She also gets the Invocation and firearms. On top of this the Princess adds
Lock Condition keyed to Acqua until the Charm the lower of her Wits and Dexterity to her
ends. Defence against either close combat or firearms.
She may switch where she applies the lower of
her Wits and Dexterity with a Transformation
Perfect action, or spend a Wisp to apply it to both for a
turn. If a Princess applies an Invocation to boost
The Perfect Charms grant new personal abilities. her Defence it boosts both categories.
Champions and Menders have affinity for them.
Thrown weapons (weapons which use Athletics
instead of Firearms) are treated as close combat
for the purposes of which defence category they
Barrier Jacket (Perfect •) fall under.
Action: Permanent Dodging bullets requires room to move into, and
going prone is a bad idea when your defence
Whether a shining suit of plate mail or a sailor fuku depends on maximising your mobility.
the Princess’ heraldry and body becomes iron hard,
Upgrade: Leap of Faith
this grants her two general Armour covering her
whole body. The Princess may reflexively apply an The very air bears the Princess up whenever she
Invocation at any time to add her Invocation dots leaves the ground. When she jumps she may
to her general armour for a turn. spend 1 Wisp to increase her jumping distance
Barrier Jacket cannot be stacked with mundane to three feet per Success. With this magic a
armour. Princess can jump the same distance vertically
and horizontally, and will not hurting herself so
Upgrade: Adamant long as she does not fall beyond her jumping
The Princess’s armour becomes harder to distance.
penetrate. She gains 1 more point of general Upgrade: Skating (Acqua •)
Armour from her Jacket. Ice, wet floors and oily slicks and other liquids
pose little risk to the Princess’ balance; indeed,

197
 her movements across them are uncommonly While transformed the Princess gains a
deft. When the Princess would take a negative permanent mental shield.
modifier due to their presence she reduces all Upgrade: Tranquil Mind (Legno ••••)
such penalties by her Acqua. Moreover, she may
spend 1 Wisp to add her Acqua to her Speed and While transformed the Princess gains a
Initiative for a single turn, as long as she stays permanent mental shield.
within the affected area. Upgrade: A Terrible Thing (Tempesta
Upgrade: Whirling (Aria •) •••)

The Princess’ sharpens her reflexes, and enhances When somebody reads the Fury’s mind, or
her ability to evade attacks. When she applies when someone connects to the Fury’s mind
Aria to her defence she uses the higher of Wits in an attempt to control it, everything they
and Dexterity, not the lower, as part of her touch is burning acidic hate. The Princess
Defence trait. may roll Presence + Intimidation, and may
apply Tempesta, vs Resolve + Supernatural
Upgrade: Leap of Air (Aria ••) Advantage to inflict the Shaken Condition. On
The very air bears the Princess up whenever she an exceptional success she inflicts the Terrified
leaves the ground. When she jumps and applies Tilt instead as memories of the Fury’s battles
Aria to the roll, she may spend 1 Wisp to increase reveal just whom they have provoked.
her jumping distance to five feet per Success. A Terrible Thing takes place before the effect it
With this magic a Princess can jump the same is retaliating against.
distance vertically and horizontally, and will not
hurting herself so long as she does not fall beyond Upgrade: I’ve Known Worse (Lacrima
her jumping distance. •••)

Upgrade: Heaving (Fuoco ••) When the Raven falls under unnatural influence
she may drown it out with the grief of Lacrima.
The Princess can lift and throw objects of great When a mental power is used on her the
weight. She may apply Fuoco to her rolls to lift player may declare they are using I’ve Known
an object that exceeds her Strength limit (see p. Worse and take the Depression condition. This
47 of the core book), and adds her Fuoco in yards automatically adds Lacrima Successes to a
to the distance she can throw an object (see p. Contesting roll, or reduces the Successes on
67.) Moreover, she can spend 1 Wisp to throw a Resisted roll by Lacrima (to a minimum of
an object with a Size equal or greater than her zero Successes). If she uses I’ve Known Worse
Strength, but less than her Strength + Fuoco. the Princess cannot use any other Charm or
Upgrade: Gripping (Legno ••) Invocation to bolster her resistance to the mental
In high places, the Princess cannot put a hand power.
or foot in the wrong place. When she is climbing Upgrade: And so shall you (Lacrima
and applies Legno, she does not lose her grip •••••)
on a dramatic failure; she only loses her next Prerequisite: I’ve Known Worse
action recovering from her mistake. Moreover,
she may spend 1 Wisp when she applies Legno to
a climbing roll to double the distance she travels Cost: +1 Wisp
on that attempt, moving 20 feet for each success.
When a Raven uses I’ve Known Worse she
can pull her attacker into her own grief.
Valiant Mind (Perfect •) Roll Presence + Empathy vs Composure
+ Supernatural Advantage, Lacrima may be
Action: Reflexive applied to the roll. If the Princess wins her
attacker takes the Depression Condition for the
The Princess may reflexively apply an Invocation remainder of the scene.
to raise a shield against unwanted attempts to
supernaturally influence or read her mind or
emotions. Once shielded the Princess triggers a Fireproof (Perfect •, Fuoco •)
Clash of Wills against all relevant effects for the
next Invocation Dots turns. The heat of the natural world does not trouble
the Princess. She reduces penalties inflicted by
Upgrade: Glacier Mind (Acqua ••••) appropriate natural environments by her Fuoco, to

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a minimum of -0 or adds her Fuoco as a bonus an object; she can’t use it to perceive what is in an
to resist the effects of natural environments. If water-tight box.
the environment imposes a time based penalty, Her rolls to avoid being surprised by people in
such as damage from extreme heat, she adds a range of the additional sense ignore penalties from
number of hours equal to her Fuoco to the time lack of vision – darkness, silt clouds, or just having
she spends in extreme temperatures before taking her back turned.
damage. If she reduces the penalty to -0 she can
remain indefinitely without issue.
Against supernatural environments Fireproof Read the Wind (Perfect •, Aria •)
triggers a Clash of Wills.
Action: Instant, Wits + Composure
Cost: 1 Wisp
Trains of Thought (Perfect •, Acqua •) Duration: 1 scene

Action: Instant, unrolled The air touches all things. Flowing and all-
Cost: 1 Wisp encompassing, it feels the shapes of objects by
Duration: length of extended action where it is not. By using Read the Wind,
the Princess enjoys a reflexive knowledge of her
The Princess can think about two things at once. surroundings, up to a range of 10x her successes in
At the same time she is carrying out normal yards. This applies to 360 degrees around her. This
actions, she may also perform an extended action to ability is not sight, but an additional sense that is
accomplish a purely mental task – one that requires identical to the one provided by Read the Waves,
no physical exertion, or physical tools. (For except that it works when the princess is immersed
example, composing a speech, doing calculations, in some form of gas (most commonly air).
or solving a tactical problem.) She may apply
Acqua to the mental task, if she has an appropriate
Charm. The Charm ends when the Princess has Long Fast (Perfect •, Legno •)
either succeeded or failed in the mental task.
Action: Instant, unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp
Read the Waves (Perfect •, Acqua •) Duration: 1 day

Action: Instant, Wits + Composure The Light sustains the Princess when she can find
Cost: 1 Wisp no other food. She does not require food or water
Duration: 1 scene until the Charm ends, and does not take damage
from deprivation or progress towards taking such
The water touches all things. Flowing and all- damage. If she applies Legno, she adds 12 hours
encompassing, it feels the shapes of objects by to the Charm’s duration for each dot in Legno she
where it is not. By using Read the Waves, has.
the Princess enjoys a reflexive knowledge of her
surroundings, up to a range of 5x her successes Upgrade: Airless
in yards. This applies to 360 degrees around her. Until the Charm ends, the Princess sinks into a
This ability is not sight, but an additional sense. trance, in which she does not need to breathe.
The slight drawback, is that she can only sense She also does not require food or water while
her surroundings underwater or when submerged entranced. She cannot move or act, but is aware
in some other liquid. of what happens around her, and may awaken
The additional sense has a resolution of about from the trance as a reflexive action, which ends
1/2” (2 centimeters) and the Princess knows the the Charm.
shapes, sizes, textures and positions of all objects
Upgrade: Immune (Legno ••)
in the area within that level of detail. It does not
provide colour; a book appears identical whether The Light within the Princess’ flesh expels alien
filled with profane words or chick-lit, although in substances from it. If she applies Legno, for the
the former case, a Wits + Crafts roll may be duration of the Charm, she adds her Legno to
permitted to identify the characteristic texture of all rolls to resist the effects of drugs, poisons and
human skin binding the book. The sense only works diseases.
if water currents can flow between the Princess and

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Waterproof (Perfect •, Acqua •) Beauty is Talented (Perfect •, Specchio •)
The cold and depths of the natural world does not Action: Instant, Presence + Composure
trouble the Princess. She reduces penalties inflicted Cost: 1 Wisp
by appropriate natural environments by her Acqua, Duration: successes in turns
to a minimum of -0 or adds her Acqua as a bonus
to resist the effects of natural environments. If the Don’t you know that beautiful people are just
environment imposes a time based penalty, such better than you? Pretty people are stronger, faster,
as damage extreme cold, she adds a number of smarter, more talented than regular people. Until
hours equal to her Acqua to the time she spends the Charm ends the Princess can add her Striking
in extreme temperatures before taking damage. Looks bonus to any roll. In situations where
If she reduces the penalty to -0 she can remain Striking Looks usually applies this Charm does
indefinitely without issue. not allow the Princess to apply her Striking Looks
Against supernatural environments Waterproof bonus twice.
triggers a Clash of Wills.
Upgrade: So Sexy it Hurts
When invoked during combat the Charm’s
Weatherproof (Perfect •, Legno •) duration increases to successes times three turns.
The natural world does not trouble the Princess.
She reduces penalties inflicted by natural
environments by her Legno, to a minimum of -
Only a Flesh Wound (Perfect ••)
0 or adds her Legno as a bonus to resist the Action: Instant
effects of natural environments. If the environment Dice Pool: Stamina + Medicine
imposes a time based penalty, such as damage Cost: 2 Wisps
from extreme heat or cold, she adds a number of Duration: Scene
hours equal to her Legno to the time she spends
in extreme temperatures before taking damage. A Princess’ body is comprised of both flesh and
If she reduces the penalty to -0 she can remain magic, and when the flesh is injured she can turn
indefinitely without issue. to the magic to compensate.
Against supernatural environments Weatherproof
triggers a Clash of Wills. Dramatic Failure: The Princess injures herself
with clumsy magic and takes a point of Lethal
damage.
Woodland's Bounty (Perfect •, Legno •) Failure: Nothing happens.
Action: Permanent Success: The Princess creates a magical
When the Princess transforms, she walks through workaround to remove a single Tilt that
a wilderness as easily as the beasts who call it home. represents a physical disability. A Princess of
The Princess can automatically tell which direction Clubs who took a nasty blow the the leg may
is (magnetic) north and she can eat raw meet and grow a living skirt of vines that walks for her,
uncooked plants without risking illness (this Charm or a Princess of Diamonds might manifest some
does not improve the taste). The Charm will not sort of scanning visor with a mental uplink to
help with poisonous or toxic substances, as a rule use until her blinded eyes recover. The effect
of thumb, if a fox, a deer, or a goat could eat it lasts for one scene, until the Princess reverts to
then the Princess can do so. her mundane form, or until the Tilt is inflicted
again: A second sword strike could cut the vines
Upgrade: Tracking open, or another flashbang could short out the
The Princess’ nose grows sensitive, nearly as visor.
much as a dog’s. She may always add her Legno Exceptional Success: The Princess’ enchantment
to Perception rolls based on smell and taste, and is tougher than her flesh. She takes the
to rolls to smell out a target while blind. Also, Protective Blessing Tilt: Any attempt to re-
she is able to track things by scent - she can follow inflict the Tilt needs two more successes than it
trails over hard ground, that most people can’t normally would.
even see, and she can take scents from people’s
clothing, giving her a equipment bonus to track
them.

200
 how light it was to begin with, and her pupils
Last Breath (Perfect ••, Legno ••) expand to fill the entire eye, making her look
Action: Reflexive unhealthy but undeniably human. She has all the
Dice Pool: Unrolled benefits and drawbacks of the Darkened template,
Cost: 1 Willpower except that she keeps her normal Sensitivity and
Once per scene, when an attack is going to fill suffers the usual Drawbacks when it is triggered.
her last health box is filled with either Lethal or Even with this Charm a Princess cannot buy
Aggravated damage, the Princess may spend a traits that are restricted to Dark Creatures, such
point of Willpower to reduce the incoming damage as Caligos. Though she could use a Tainted Object
so that it fills all but her last health box. if she found one, and she would have to find one,
because the Court of Tears knows how dangerous
the Darkness is. They may use Dark power when
Wreathed in Flame (Perfect ••, Fuoco •) it is necessary, but they don’t store it in their city.

Action: Instant, Presence + Athletics Upgrade: Umbral

Cost: 1 Wisp Stacks, up to 7 - Belief
Duration: successes in turns
If the Princess has dots in Shadows when she uses
the Charm, she may assume Umbrae up to her
Passion for her beloved ignites in a fiery nimbus,
current dots. Each time she takes this upgrade,
burning anyone who interferes with the Princess.
the Princess learns a new Umbra; she may choose
She chooses someone she holds in affection. For 1
freely among the Umbrae she knows when using
turn per success, her flesh and anything she wears
the Charm.
or carries is a source of flame, of a colour and
Intensity set by the affection’s nature and strength
(see table in the Fuoco Invocation.) This grants
the Wreathed in Flame Tilt. Anyone and anything
Composed Come What May (Perfect ••,
that touches the Princess is burnt as by a Torch-
sized fire of the given Intensity, as is anyone or
Terra ••)
anything she touches that was not on her person Action: Permanent
when she used the Charm. The Princess may try to
touch an opponent in combat to burn them, instead Elegance is not a pretty gown and tasteful jewellery;
of attacking them, but this Charm will not stack it’s a state of mind and the Princess knows how
damage with a regular attack. to be elegant when up to her elbows in mud.
Any sensory effect that would grant her a negative
Upgrade: Banked situational modifier to social rolls is reduced by her
The Princess can temporarily suppress the Composure. A Princess who is covered in blood (-
flames, allowing her to handle things without 5) and has Composure 2 will only take a -3 penalty.
burning them. Drawback: This power does not prevent a
Upgrade: Granted Princess from looking bad, it merely allows her
to overcome its effects with grace and poise.
The Princess can turn someone else’s passion into
Additionally because elegance is a state of mind
an aura of flame. She must know of someone
a Princess must be in the right state of mind to use
the target holds in affection; when she touches
this power. If she cannot justify her appearance
him, he gains a fiery nimbus exactly as if he had
then she cannot benefit from this Charm. Being
activated the Charm himself.
covered in mud because you were searching for a
missing child and didn’t have time to change is fine;
turning up in dirty clothes because you’d rather
Empty Heart (Perfect ••, Lacrima ••••) sleep in than wash isn’t.
Action: Full turn, Stamina + Persuasion
Cost: 1 Wisp, Compromise at Belief 4+ with a -3
modifier Best Defense (Perfect ••, Tempesta •)
Duration: 1 scene
Action: Permanent
The Princess becomes a being of Darkness, a
The best defence is a good offence. When the
manifestation of the Void. Her skin becomes sallow,
Princess transforms, she may add power to her
her hair either whitens or darkens, depending on

201
muscles, striking harder and moving more swiftly; her current Speed and is Knocked Down (CofD 284)
she applies Tempesta to add her dots in it to her by the sudden stop.
Strength, and recalculates all derived traits. Best The Invocation of Aria embodies the principle
Defense is not compatible with Barrier Jacket, or of speed, and as this Charm massively increases a
any other supernatural effect that gives Armour; it Noble’s maximum speed it also raises the threshold
is also not compatible with any other supernatural for applying Aria at no cost while it is active. The
effect that increases Strength. Princess may apply Aria for free if she is moving
As always a Permanent charm may be activated above her Safe Speed.
or deactivated with a Transformation action,
allowing the Princess to reclaim her armour Upgrade: Royal Chariot
anytime she wishes it. While running the Princess may carry others
with supernatural ease, to her they become
weightless. While they are being carried by
Persistently Peachy Pretty Perfect (Perfect the Princess other characters also share her
protection against air resistance.
••Specchio •) Theoretically the Princess can carry one person
Action: Permanent per dot of Inner Light or her applied Invocation
at any one time. In practice it’s really hard to
A Princess is so stunning the universe itself cannot carry more than two people of your size at a time
bear to mar her exquisite form. Any sensory without their feet dragging the ground (which
effect that would grant her a negative situational is not recommended at these speeds). However
modifier to social rolls is automatically nullified there are solutions, like growing massive with
if her Specchio is equal to or greater than the Royal Stature, turning into an animal better
modifier. For example a Princess with Specchio 2 is suited for carrying others through Skinchange,
sprayed with mud by a passing car. Since this only or creating a very large Bequest for everyone to
gives a -2 penalty it is magically prevented, not ride in.
a drop of mud sticks to the Princess. This effect
protects the Princess from humiliation on all five
senses, she wont smell of mud, nor will her skin feel Naiad's Paths (Perfect •••, Acqua ••)
muddy to the touch.
Requires Celestial Grace with Skating
Drawback: Only the effects on appearance are
protected. A Princess with Specchio 5 might be
Action: Instant, Resolve + Athletics
able to walk through miles of raw sewage and still
Cost: 2 Wisps
look and smell fresh as a daisy afterwords but she
Duration: 1 scene
is not protected from catching horrible diseases.
In all its forms, water will support the Princess
wherever she might wish to go.
Outrace the Sun (Perfect •••)
Dramatic Failure: The Charm stops working
Requires: Celestial Grace
when the Princess is standing on a particularly
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics
deep pool, dropping her into the water (or
Cost: 2 Wisps
somewhere as inconvenient as that, at the
Duration: 1 scene
Storyteller’s discretion.) The Princess cannot use
the Charm again for the rest of the scene.
Until the Charm ends, the Noble follows the rules
for vehicles when moving (CofD 98-99). Her safe Failure: The Princess gains no ability to walk on
Speed is (Inner Light + the Applied Invocation) liquids or atop snow.
x20. (To convert from Speed to miles per hour Success: As long as the Charm lasts, the Princess
divide by 1.46) She rolls Dexterity + Athletics to walks on the surface of any liquid, or along
keep control of her movements whenever a driver the top of a snowbank, as if it were solid
would roll Dexterity + Drive to control a vehicle; ground, without sinking in. Running water
her Dice Modifier, when that applies, is -1. If the can throw the Princess off balance or carry her
Noble collides with another object she can be the with it. For example the Storyteller may call
light object in the crash. If the Charm ends, and for Athletics actions to stay upright atop white
the Noble is moving faster than her normal running water, though Skating reduces these penalties
Speed, she takes bashing damage equal to one-tenth like normal and she may use Skating to travel

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 faster while travelling upon water. The Princess standing without tiring, and may take any instant
may end the Charm prematurely if she wants to action that can be performed one-handed. She can
get under water. If she uses the Charm while also double her climbing Speed for one turn by
submerged, the Princess will rise to the surface forgoing an instant action that turn.
at her maximum running Speed.
Exceptional Success: The Princess can turn the
Charm on and off during the scene without Royal Stature (Perfect ••••)
ending it, walking on water or swimming in it Action: Instant, Stamina + Athletics
as she pleases.
Cost: (change in Size + 1) Wisps
Crawling the Walls (Perfect •••, Legno ••) Duration: 1 scene
Requires: Celestial Grace (Gripping)
Action: Instant, Strength + Athletics The Princess can assume titanic sizes or shrink
Cost: 2 Wisps herself until she is no bigger than a mouse. A
Duration: 1 scene Princess cannot change her Size by more than the
higher of Inner Light and any applied Invocation,
The Princess clings to walls as easily as she walks nor may she shrink below Size 1. Multiple
on floors. Until the Charm ends, she can climb invocations of Royal Stature do not stack; measure
objects at her Speed in yards per turn as her the maximum or minimum size and the Wisp cost
movement action, may remain cling to a wall or from a starting point of the Princess natural Size.
ceiling without tiring for as long as she can remain Finally the Princess may return to her natural size
at any time with a Transformation action.

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 Size Effects
1 -4 Health, -3 Strength, -3 weapon damage, -3 Speed, +2 Dexterity, +4 Defence, +4
when hiding or avoiding notice, +2 when jumping or climbing
2 -3 Health, -2 Strength, -2 weapon damage, -2 Speed, +2 Dexterity, +2 Defence, +3
when hiding or avoiding notice, +2 when jumping or climbing
3 -2 Health, -1 Strength, -1 weapon damage, -1 Speed, +1 Dexterity, +1 Defence, +2
when hiding or avoiding notice, +2 when jumping or climbing
4 -1 Health
5 None
6 +1 Health
7 +2 Health, +1 Strength, Iron Skin ••, -1 Defence
8 +3 Health, +2 Strength, Iron Skin ••, -1 Defence
9 +4 Health, +2 Strength, Iron Skin ••, -2 Defense
10 +5 Health, +3 Strength, Iron Skin ••, -2 Defense
11 +6 Health, +3 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -4 Defense
12 +7 Health, +3 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -4 Defense
13 +8 Health, +4 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -6 Defense
14 +9 Health, +4 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -6 Defense
15 +10 Health, +4 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -6 Defense
16 +11 Health, +4 Strength, Iron Skin ••••, -6 Defense

A change of size cannot decrease any trait below applies whether the princess has those abilities
zero. from Upgrades to Wings of Air or from unrelated
Charms.
The Princess can use Airline on up to the
Wings of Air (Perfect ••••, Aria •••) higher of Aria and Inner Light people at a time,
she must be physically carrying them, though
Requires: Celestial Grace (Leap of Air)
forming a human chain or having them hold onto
Action: Instant, Wits + Athletics
the edge of her sceptre is sufficient.
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: Inner Light hours If somebody is falling the Princess may use
Airline to catch them. If she can match their
The Princess is wrapped in the air’s gusty embrace, speed and slowly decelerate they’re fine (and
and takes to the skies as a leaf on the breeze. Her would be with an unUpgraded Wings of Air) but
Speed in the air equals 5 + Strength + Dexterity if the Princess does not have the time or the
+ (Aria * 2). If the Princess is airborne when the knowledge of basic physics she may roll Dexterity
Charm expires, she gently drifts downward until + Athletics + Aria. Each success prevents one
she touches a surface, and takes no damage from point of falling damage.
the fall. However if the Princess’ Transformation Upgrade: Sonic Rainbow
ends while she’s flying she falls.
While flying the Princess may spend a Wisp
Wings of Air is infamous for being the single most
to massively increase her speed, at the cost of
popular Charm to create a Bequest from.
precision. If she does so use the rules for Outrace
Upgrade: Airline the Sun while she flies. Returning to her regular
flying speed costs nothing but the time it takes
While flying the Princess may carry others with
to decelerate.
supernatural ease, at her touch they become as
weightless as the air. While they are being As with Outrace the Sun, the Princess is
carried by the Princess other characters also protected from the effects of air resistance. She is
share her protection against air resistance, cold, also protected from the Heavy Winds Tilt while
and low oxygen levels at high altitude, this flying at Sonic Rainbow speeds.

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 Upgrade: Stratospheric Despite being wood, she still speaks, thinks, and
The Princess can safely ascend to great altitudes. acts normally, protected by the Living Oak Tilt.
As long as she is outdoors and flying she can
breath as easily as she would do at sea level is
immune to temperature extremes. Shadowmask (Perfect •••••, Lacrima •••)
Requires: Empty Heart
Action: Instant, Resolve + Stealth
Skinchange (Perfect ••••, Legno •••) Cost: 2 Wisps, gain 1 Shadow, Compromise at
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Animal Ken - Belief 3+ with a -4 modifier
difference in Sizes Duration: varies
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: until detransformation Wrapping herself in the darkness in which the
only true remnants of the Kingdom reside, the
The Princess assumes the shape of a beast. The Princess becomes a true, immaterial figure of
new shape is of one particular species of animal; shadow. Glowing eyes may glare from the head
her mundane Physical Attributes become equal to of the figure, or it may be a featureless mask.
those of a normal animal of that species, while Occasionally, long-lost stars twinkle within the
her Mental and Social Attributes, and her Skills, cut-out from the universe, before being swiftly
remain unchanged. The Princess’ transformed extinguished. Certainly, there is no way that she
dots still apply, and she gains the animal’s could be mistaken for human.
natural abilities and attacks, and the ability to
Dramatic Failure: The Princess only attracts the
communicate with other animals of the species. She
Darkness. She gains half her Inner Light dots in
may also activate Charms in animal form.
Shadows.
The Princess cannot, however, speak any human
language except the Royal Tongue unless the Failure: The power does not activate.
animal is able to mimic human speech (like a Success: The Princess becomes a living figure
parrot); she is unable to undertake any task that of shadow for the rest of the scene. She gains
calls for hands, unless the animal has them (like the Cloak of Shadows Condition. Becoming a
a monkey) or capable manipulators (an octopus’ being of living shadow. She is an Ephemeral
tentacles); and her Regalia are transformed away Being, similar enough to Ghosts to touch and
and unavailable. Finally, any object she picked up be touched, but she is permanently Manifested
after transforming out of mundane form does not without the need for a Condition. The Princess
change with her. does not gain Influences or Manifestations but
The Princess subtracts the difference between she may use her Charms, except Perfect Charms
her normal Size and the animal’s Size from the which do not work on her shadow-body.
activation roll when using the Charm. She may
The Princess may attack others by rolling
remain in beast form as long as she can remain
Strength + Lacrima, she does Lethal damage
transformed normally, and may end the Charm at
but a successful attack also drains a point of
any time with a standard transformation roll or
Willpower. She may also speak as normal,
by returning to mundane form. The bonuses or
her strange form grants a Lacrima bonus to
penalties for Size provided by the Charm Royal
Intimidation. The Princess also has all the
Stature do not apply, it is assumed that the base
Benefits of the Darkened Template, but she uses
attributes for an animal will take into account it’s
the Noble rules for Sensitivity.
size.
Strong light can harm the Princess, as can magic.
If she takes more than 3 damage from a single
Dryad's Child (Perfect •••••, Legno ••••) action she reverts to her Transformed identity
and loses a point of Willpower from shock.
Action: Instant, Stamina + Survival Exceptional Success: The Princess may become a
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower figure of shadow until the next sunrise, changing
Duration: 1 scene between that form and any others she possesses
with a Transformation action.
With a shout, the Princess’ flesh and clothes
become beautifully-sculpted, flawless wood, and
she continues the fight as an animated statue.

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 a real gremlin, as far as the Hopeful know, a
One Perfect Woman (Perfect •••••, Specchio Princess-mechanic named this Charm after them,
••••) as it preserves the delicate mechanisms of aircraft
(and other machinery) in perfect working order,
Action: Instant and contested, Presence + keeping the local gremlins friendly. The Princess
Persuasion - Commonalty vs. Composure + uses this Charm on any Size 5 or larger machine
supernatural advantage with multiple moving parts. For each activation
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower success or Wisp spent (whichever is less), one roll
Duration: 1 scene made to operate the target machine gains the 9-
again quality. Neither the Princess not the operator
The true heir to the Kingdom, according to the chooses which rolls gain the benefit - the “gremlin”
Queen of Mirrors, is a living personification of the blesses the next set of rolls made, no matter when
Light itself - her word becomes truth, her actions or by whom, to operate the machine. Friendly
mighty, her presence a bastion of hope across the Gremlin cannot be used on a machine currently
land. Mirrors’ avatar, who may be that heir under its effects.
someday, can assume the heir’s attributes for a
time, when her followers need her. Upgrade: Helpful
The Princess uses this Charm on members of a Cost: 2 Wisps/success
social group over whom she has some influence or
The gremlin’s help is more effective. For each
authority, none of whom are Hopeful; the member
activation success or 2 Wisps spent (whichever is
with the best Composure rolls to resist. If the
less), one roll to operate the machine gains the
Princess gets more successes - even just one -
8-again quality. If the Princess applies Helpful,
she gains a personal presence and magnetism that
she cannot give any rolls 9-again with the same
sways all who see or hear her; she has the benefits of
activation.
the Pure Perfection Condition granting the Royal
Tongue merit (if she does not already have it) and Upgrade: Perfected
Striking Looks two, she looks like “The Best Person Requires Helpful
Ever!” which covers most things.
Cost: 3 Wisps/success
The Princess’ magnetism is even stronger on the
targeted social group; they perceive the Princess The gremlin makes it nearly impossible to fail
as a paragon, the epitome of beauty and charm. when using the machine. For each activation
They all get the True Follower Condition. Against success or 3 Wisps spent (whichever is less), one
them the Princess’ striking looks counts as five dots, roll to operate the machine gains the rote quality.
and the Princess may spend their Willpower in If the Princess applies Perfected, she cannot give
place of her own Wisps at a 1:1 ratio. Note that rolls 8-again or 9-again with the same activation.
taking Willpower from anyone without permission
is a Belief Compromise at the idealist level.
Bedside Manners (Restore •, Terra •)
Action: Permanent
Restore The Princess becomes a beacon of calm and comfort
among the sick, so long as the princess is busy
The Restore Charms repair damaged objects, heal
attending to their health her patients may ignore
the injured and tend the sick. Only Menders have
up to her Terra in situational penalties. They may
affinity for them.
assist the Princess in patching their wounds, or
provide useful information about their ailment and
how they acquired it.
Friendly Gremlin (Restore •)
Action: Extended, Dexterity + Crafts, (5
minutes/roll, threshold = size) Call Back Yesterday (Restore •, Terra •)
Cost: 1 Wisp/success
Action: Extended, 5 minutes/roll, threshold = 1
Duration: variable
per 20 years of object’s age
Cost: 1 Wisp per 5 Size points of the target
Soon after airplanes were invented, flyers began
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts
to speak of gremlins, small spirits who liked to
Duration: Lasting
sabotage planes. While no one has ever seen

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To the Flowers, nothing that is past is gone forever,
and anything can be restored if only a fragment
Laugh It Off (Restore •, Aria •)
remains. By painstaking inspection of an object Action: Instance
that has suffered the ravages of time - wear, rust, Cost: 1 Wisp
corrosion or neglect - and some judicious scrubbing, Dice Pool: Manipulation + Expression
the Princess can remove every trace of time’s Duration: Special
passage from it, bringing it back to the condition Laughter is the best medicine and a Princess of
it was in when newly made. The threshold for the Spades can teach anyone how to laugh off serious
Charm is set by the object’s age; an item made diseases. She must spend a few moments giving
less than 20 years ago needs 1 success, one made words of advice and encouragement before invoking
up to 40 years ago needs 2, one made up to 60 this Charm.
years ago needs 3, and so forth. The Charm does
not fix damage to the object, as represented by Dramatic Failure: The Princess only manages to
lost Structure points; if a Princess uses it on a bar her patient from the solace of humour. They
damaged object, the damage is transformed into take the Depression Condition for one day.
hidden structural flaws, and the penalty for damage Failure: The patient is not affected.
that exceeds the item’s Durability remains.
Suggested modifiers: appropriate tools Success: The first time in a scene the patient
(+equipment bonus), major parts missing (-1 to laughs heartily they may make a Stamina +
-3) Resolve roll. On a success reduce the total
number of rolls needed before a disease is cured or
Upgrade: Selective (Terra ••) goes into remission by one. They may make one
The Princess can restore an object to the state such roll for every Success scored by the Princess.
it was in at any time during its existence. The Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their
threshold is now set from the number of years own reward.
between the object’s unmodified age and the age
the Princess wishes it to be; at the same rate of
1 success per 20 years. Warmed by Hate Alone (Restore •,
Tempesta ••)
Calm Compassion (Restore •, Acqua •)
Action: Reflexive, unrolled
Action: Permanent Duration: 12 hours.
The Princess remains calm and rational in a crisis, Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower.
and her calm mind and clear instructions help The Princess can call upon her hatred of the
bring back others from panic. When she makes Darkness to keep herself warmed against the most
a mundane Medicine roll she may ignore up to her bitter and tainted chills. She treats the Severity
Acqua in situational penalties for stress, panic, loud of Taint as though it were half her (Resolve +
noises, disgust and other similar distractions. If Tempesta) lower. Round down. The Fury’s
she is the primary actor in a teamwork Medicine Practical Magic adds to this Charm; if the Princess
roll, she may spend a Wisp to apply her Calming is sufficiently injured add any bonus she gets from
presence to every secondary actor. practical magic to her Resolve + Tempesta before
rounding.
If she reduces a Taint’s Severity to zero she never
Emergency Medicine (Restore •, Fuoco •) needs to roll to see if she acquires the Nightmares
Come Alive condition. At a Resolve + Tempesta
Action: Reflexive, Unrolled of 10 or more she can comfortably survive in the
Cost: 1 Wisp Dark World, though she gains no protection from
Duration: Lasting the many more active dangers in that physical hell.
At the moment of crisis the Princess may accelerate
herself to superhuman speeds. She spends one wisp
and then may make up to Fuoco mundane Medicine Balm (Restore ••)
rolls in a single turn. However she may only do
this in a situation where even a few turns delay Action: Instant
may make the difference between life or death, Cost: 1 Wisp
such as when somebody is bleeding out from Lethal Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine
Damage.

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Duration: Lasting
Mesmerize (Restore ••, Aria •)
The Princess lays hands on a person’s flesh, and Action: Instant
minor injuries fade away. For each activation Cost: 1 Wisp
success, the target heals 1 bashing or lethal damage. Dice Pool: Manipulation + Empathy
Duration: Lasting
Upgrade: Miraculous
Cost: +1 Wisp By speaking a few words, the Princess helps a
The Princess’ hands bring relief from the most person remember something they have forgotten.
horrible forms of injury, by spending an extra The target immediately makes a memory roll (as
Wisp she heals aggravated damage instead of per the rules on p. 44 of the nWoD core), adding 1
lesser injuries. If the Princess rolls a Success bonus die for each success on the activation roll. If
the target heals 1 aggravated damage. If the the target contests the Charm, only successes the
Princess gets an exceptional success, the target Princess rolls in excess of his have any effect.
heals 1 aggravated damage and downgrades 1 Upgrade: Deep
other aggravated damage to lethal damage.
Duration: Lasting
The Princess can fix something on the surface of
Stitch (Restore ••) a person’s mind. Each activation success gives
+1 to all the target’s attempts to remember
Action: Instant something, until he succeeds.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Strength + Crafts
Duration: Lasting Flame in the Heart (Restore ••, Fuoco •)
The Princess swiftly repairs damage done to a Action: Full turn, Manipulation + Persuasion
single object she can hold or touch. For each success Cost: 1 Wisp
rolled, the item regains one point of Structure, up Duration: Indefinite
to its normal maximum.
By touching a person, the Princess ignites a flame
from the warmth of their affections for another.
Bath of Souls (Restore ••, Acqua •) Taking fire in this way does not affect the target’s
emotions, just as lighting one candle from another
Action: Instant and resisted doesn’t put the first candle out. The Princess must
Cost: 1 Wisp know the subject of the target’s affections when you
Dice Pool: Presence + Empathy - target’s activate Flame in the Heart; she can’t simply take
Composure “the person he feels most strongly for”, without
Duration: 1 scene or 1 day knowing just who that is.
The flame created is candle-sized (base damage
The Princess brings someone lost in madness back of 0) and dances on the tip of the Princess’ finger;
to rationality for a time. Bath of Souls can be its colour and Intensity depend on the nature and
used to suppress any Condition which represents strength of the affection. (See the table in the
a malign mental state, such as Shaken or Fugue. Fuoco Invocation.) Add 1 to the flame’s Intensity
if the Princess gets an exceptional success. The
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ intervention
flame may be sustained indefinitely if transferred
makes matters worse. The target immediately
to a flammable substance such as a candle wick. It
has a panic attack, episode or suffers whatever
will continue to burn without consuming its source
seems appropriate for the Condition. The
until it is deliberately extinguished (which is as
Princess cannot use Bath of Souls on him for a
easy as snuffing out a non-supernatural flame of
full week.
the same size) or the target dies. A Princess may
Failure: The Condition is not affected. maintain a number of these flames equal to her
Success: The Condition is suppressed, it vanishes Inner Light, if she wants more they must feed on
and reappears at the end of the scene. mundane fuel. Extinguishing a flame manually (to
allow maintaining a new flame, for example) has no
Exceptional Success: The Condition is
effect on the relationship that originated it.
suppressed for a full day.

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 The Princess can use a flame at any time to set Exceptional Success: The Princess makes
something on fire. However, its proper use is to extensive repairs.
preserve the relationship that inspired it. If the
target’s emotions fade they can put the flame back Suggested Modifiers: Simple machine (+2),
in their heart by holding it against their chest (this appropriate tools (+equipment bonus), proper
is quite safe, don’t wear anything flammable) doing replacement parts (+2), very inappropriate parts
so grants the Fresh Impressions Condition: Their (-2), complicated problem (-2), exceptionally
Impressions of whomever the flame represents is complicated machine (such as trying to patch up
reset to what it was at the moment the flame was a circuit board) (-4)
taken. This only lasts for a day, but that can be
long enough to rebuild something more durable.
Using a flame to reignite a relationship does not Panacea (Restore ••)
consume the flame.
Action: Extended, Resolve + Medicine (1
With a lifetime on the road Princesses of Swords
turn/roll)
can go months or years without seeing their lovers.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Distance can dull the strongest emotions and some
Duration: Lasting
Princesses like to keep their feelings safe and take
them out again for a night of passion. Others
The Princess can cure mundane diseases. The
are trusted custodians of stable relationships,
threshold for this application equals the threshold
reigniting the spark after time smothers the flames.
the infected target must reach to throw off
Finally, as long as the flame exists, it provides
the disease himself, plus 1; if the target has
an Intimacy connection to both the target of the
accumulated any successes on his rolls to beat the
Charm and whomever the flame Represents. The
disease, subtract those successes from the Princess’
strength is the strength of the relationship, however
threahold. The target is cured when the Princess
like all uses of Intimacy there is a two step penalty
reaches the threshold.
when using an inanimate object as a proxy.
Even incurable diseases are no match for magical
treatment. If the Princess rolls enough successes to
send the disease into remission she does just that
Jury Rigger (Restore ••, Fuoco •) —the disease goes into remission —but if she rolls
Action: Extended, Wits + Crafts (10 seconds/roll, double the successes the disease is cured forever.
threshold = target’s Size) Upgrade: Fever Pitch (Fuoco ••)
Cost: 1 Wisp per 5 Size points of the target.
Duration: 1 scene or 1 hour using the device Cost: +1 Wisp
With a few tools and enough duct tape a Princess When the human body is infected it can raise it’s
of Swords can get anything running, at least for a core temperature to burn the disease out and the
time. To repair a device she requires basic tools and Princesses of Swords know how to wield fire well.
vaguely appropriate replacements for any missing A Princess of Swords can invoke fever pitch upon
pieces: for a car, for instance, she could use cheap a consenting patient before she invokes Panacea,
alcohol for missing petrol, several packs of AA doing so causes them to burst into flames as per
batteries to replace a car battery, a circular piece of the strength of their feelings for the Princess (or
wood for a missing wheel and lots and lots of duct somebody who is emotionally present). This fire
tape for structural damage. will not harm the patient or the Princess but
it will paralyse the patient and can spread to
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’s crude repairs nearby flammable objects or terrify witnesses. So
collapse into a pile of junk, damaging the long as the patient remains aflame the Princess
machine further. Remove all Successes and a adds it’s Intensity as bonus dice to her Panacea
quarter of the device’s Structure. dice pool.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. Upgrade: the Corrupted (Legno •••)
Success: The Princess makes some repairs. Cost: +1 Willpower
When the Princess reaches the threshold the The Princess can cure supernatural diseases. She
device is fully functional; the duration is 1 scene must first win a Clash of Wills, and if she does
or 1 hour, starting from the first turn it is used. so treat the disease as though it were mundane.
The device is fully functional and has no negative Panacea cannot remove a supernatural template
modifiers. or any innate part of something’s supernatural
nature.

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 Cost: +1 Wisp
Purify (Restore ••)
The Princess heals the most grevious damage to
Action: Extended, Resolve + Medicine (1 ghosts; the ghost heals 1 aggravated damage.
turn/roll, threshold = Toxicity + 1)
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting Their Blood Cries Out (Restore ••, Tempesta
The Princess destroys all poisonous substances •••)
within her patient’s body with nothing more than
a caress. When the Princess reaches the threshold, Action: Extended and resisted (1 turn/roll),
the continuing effects of the foreign substance end Manipulation + Empathy - target’s Composure
immediately. For a drug (in a dose too weak to Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Lethal
cause damage) the threshold is equal to the penalty Duration: 1 scene
to resist the drug’s effects, plus 1; for a poison, it’s
the poison’s Toxicity + 1. If the Princess reaches The Queen of Storms knows that mortals forget
the needed threshold before, or in the same turn their sufferings in time, and teaches her dedicated
as, a poison would inflict damage, that damage is followers a way to repair this flaw. The Princess
prevented. may use this Charm on a target who has recently
been injured, physically, mentally or socially. The
Upgrade: the Corrupted (Legno •••) threshold to reach depends on how long ago the
injury was; 1 success reaches an injury in the past
Cost: +1 Willpower
week, and each success beyond the first doubles the
Even supernatural poisons yield to the Princess’ interval. On reaching the threshold, the target’s
ministrations. She must first win a Clash of emotional state returns to where it was when he
Wills, and if she does so she may treat the poison discovered the injury, and his memories of events
as though it were entirely mundne. The Toxicity since then seem vague and unimportant.
generally equals the Successes rolled to inflict. Until the Charm ends, the target get’s the Cursed
Unrolled powers generally use the attacker’s Condition: He has a -2 penalty to resist any
Supernatural Advantage or Rank. Purify cannot suggestion that he revenge himself upon those who
remove a supernatural template or any innate injured him and a -2 penalty to recall anything
part of something’s supernatural nature. his enemy did in apology, or any penalty he paid
– though if restitution was made to the target’s
satisfaction, and he remembers this, the Charm
Memento Mori (Restore ••, Lacrima •) ends immediately. In addition the target gets
the Blessing Condition which provides a +2 bonus
Action: Instant, Composure + Occult
on attempts to take that revenge. The bonus
Cost: 1 Wisp
and penalties apply to whoever the target believes
Duration: instant
injured him, even if he is mistaken.
Bringing back someone’s outrage at an injury
The Princess giveaid and succour to the dearly
triggers a Princess’ innate sympathy with suffering.
departed. If she touches a ghost’s anchor, she helps
On reaching the threshold, the Princess must roll
it to materialize; her activation successes become
her Sensitivity.
bonus dice on the ghost’s roll to manifest. The
ghost is instantly aware that someone wishes for Upgrade: Collective
it to appear and manifest, and it can recognise
Cost: +1 Wisp
the Princess’ touch if it knows her. The Princess
can also direct this Charm at the Ghost itself to The Princess may use the Charm on a social
heal minor wounds; for each activation success, the group whose members can hear her, applying the
ghost heals 1 bashing damage. Commonalty modifier. The injury done must
have been to the group, or to some members
Upgrade: Loving as representative of the group, as far as the
The Princess can heal more serious damage to a group believes; that is, the group must believe
ghost; for each success, the ghost heals 1 lethal that their members were injured because of
damage. their membership, and not for any other reason.
As with the basic Charm, this belief need not
Upgrade: Grieving (Lacrima ••)
be accurate. The member with the highest
Requires: Loving Composure resists for the group.

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 teaches her Handmaidens how to cope with the
Stain Removal (Restore •••) necessity of duty.
Action: Extended, Resolve + Empathy (10 At any time the Princess may spend one
minutes/roll, threshold = 10 or 20) Willpower to ignore a single Belief Compromise
Cost: 2 Wisps roll. She may not do this if the Compromise was
Duration: Lasting caused by Lacrima’s drawback (doing so would
prevent the other Charm from functioning) and
The Princess may cleanse the Darkened of invoking this Charm with a Belief of four or more
corruption. Invoking Stain Removal is an Extended is essentially pointless.
Action, roll takes a -1 penalty for each of the
target’s current Umbrae. The Princess takes this Drawback: Without this charm, whether a
penalty even if the target is cooperating (and Princess succeeds or fails on a Compromise roll
if he doesn’t, she must subtract his Resolve as she is dealing with her internal conflicts, denying
well.) Getting 10 successes removes one Umbra. A them simply lets the problem fester. Every time
dramatic failure triggers the Princess’ Sensitivity, a Princess invokes It Was Necessary she gains the
and adds the number of the target’s Umbrae to the It Wasn’t Necessary Condition which penalises her
pool. A Darkened target with no Umbrae can be next Compromise roll, or increases her stacks in
returned to full humanity with 20 successes while a that condition by one.
mortal with the Tainted Condition is cleansed after
five successes.
Somebody Else's Problem (Restore •••,
Choke It Down (Restore •••, Tempesta ••) Specchio ••)
Action: Reflexive, Intelligence + Composure -
Action: Reactive, unrolled
Shadows
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 resistant Lethal or Aggravated
Cost: 1 Wisp
damage
Duration: Lasting
Followers of the Queen of Storms don’t have time
No matter how may of her Heirs fail spectacularly
to atone for their actions or aid those in need;
the Queen of Mirrors never shows pause in her
there’s far too much killing to do. The Shadows
search. Some speculate that she wants her chosen
of all the pain they see, a great deal of it caused by
to fail, those who know of this Charm often give a
themselves, haunt their dreams and waking lives,
different reason. They say that unable to bear the
but this only serves to make them angrier. They
weight of so many failures she has chosen to forget
swallow the pain, armour themselves in rage, and
about them and so she crafted a Charm to do just
allow their hate to eat at them – literally – so long
that. Only those Princesses with memories of the
as it takes the guilt with it.
Palace of Five Folded Stars itself remember that the
When the Princess is faced with a Sensitivity
Queen of Mirrors was once the Hierophant-Queen.
roll, she may spend 2 Wisps and take a point of
With her magic she could see across time and space
resistant lethal damage to automatically score zero
and often saw secrets best forgotten; hinting that
Successes. Alternatively she may spend 2 Wisps
there was once a more noble purpose to this Charm.
and take a point of resistant Aggravated damage
Somebody Else’s Problem erases the user’s
to destroy a dot of Shadows at any time.
memories. It’s as simple as that. This Charm
can take the weight of Sensitivity off a Princess’
shoulder, for what she does not know cannot hurt
It Was Necessary (Restore •••, Lacrima her. The most common use of this Charm is to
••••) undo the effects of a Sensitivity roll by forgetting
all about the action that caused it.
Action: Reflexive
Cost: 1 Willpower, Compromise at Belief 4+ with Dramatic Failure: The Princess completely
a -3 modifier messes up her own mind. Choose one wide
ranging topic like “Academics ”, “my family”
To survive Alhambra has done many terrible things or “Connect Charms”. The Princess gains the
and Alhambra must survive. The Queen of Tears Amnesia Condition covering that topic, it goes
away at the end of the scene.
Failure: Nothing happens.

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 Success: The Princess erases everything she attempts, so long as the enchantment leaves her
remembers of the last few minutes, up to at mostthe freedom of mind to do so.
3 minutes for each success. The memories are If the Princess gets more successes than the
not just suppressed, they are gone as though power’s wielder did when they activated it, the
they had never existed. The Princess knows power’s effect is overridden by a feeling of intense,
only that she has erased her own memory. No nauseated rage, and the target suddenly becomes
magic or psychological technique will let the aware that someone has tried to violate his mind.
Princess regain her memories; however, she is If the power affected dice pools between the target
not prevented from forming new memories about and the perpetrator, the Princess gains the same
the topic. The effects of all Sensitivity rolls benefit on any roll to persuade the target to avenge
during the forgotten time are nullified, including
himself on the perpetrator, using the Inverse Curse
Conditions and new Shadows. Somebody Else’s Condition. The Charm also works on powers that
Problem cannot give free dots of Belief, but don’t require a roll to activate (such as a vampire’s
erasing all memory of a Belief Compromise will blood bonds). To defeat these, the Princess must
allow a Princess to buy back lost Belief with get more successes than the supernatural advantage
experience and erase and Conditions from the of the perpetrator.
Compromise roll. The experience cost is purely The Charm lasts as long as the effect it destroys
an out of character rule, but the Storyteller iswould have, for it is built on the fragments of
free to explain the lost experience as valuable life
that effect. If the perpetrator cancels or removes
experiences being erased if she wishes. the effect himself, the target’s rage immediately
Exceptional Success: No further benefit. dissipates. The Charm costs 0 Wisps (just the
Willpower point) when the Princess uses it on
Upgrade: Retroactive herself, and 1 Wisp plus a Willpower point if used
The Princess may erase her memories up to one on another person. If a Princess uses the Charm on
day after they have formed. The maximum time a target whose emotions are not being influenced,
erased by a single use remains the same, but she pays the cost but nothing happens. If she uses it
she can now use multiple invocations to erase on a target subject to more than one eligible effect,
longer periods. Some Princesses use the extra the Charm breaks the least potent, and among
time to write notes to themselves, but knowing effects of equal strength it breaks the one with the
what happened is no substitute for experiencing shortest remaining duration.
it.
Upgrade: Shattering (Tempesta ••••)
Cost: +1 Wisp
Freed By Burning Hate (Restore •••,
Tempesta •••) The Princess can break chains forged in deeper
layers of the mind. Supernatural powers that
Requires: Their Blood Cries Out alter memories or instill compulsions become
Action: Instant or Reflexive, Presence + Empathy vulnerable to the Charm, as does possession by
Cost: 0 or 1 Wisps, 1 Willpower a spirit or ghost. As with emotional influences,
Duration: special the Princess must get more successes than the
power’s user did when activating it, or than
Those who follow in the path of the Queen of the user’s supernatural advantage for unrolled
Storms know that the world will always seek to effects.
hold her in chains, to imprison her so that the When used on a compulsion, the Charm
misdeeds of the world will be permitted to hold transforms the effect into a urge to attack the
her and others captive. But the Queen of Storms perpetrator; should the target lack the means to
shows her how to break those chains, and how to do so, he will act to frustrate the perpetrator’s
break them in others. With a snarl, the bonds of intent as best he knows it. Any rolls the
the mind are broken. target was entitled to make to resist the original
The Princess may use this Charm on anyone compulsion, he may make to resist this urge as
currently affected by a supernatural power that well.
alters their emotional state. If she is affected by an
When used to break a false memory, the Charm
applicable supernatural power she may reflexively
sends the target into a bitter fury whenever the
use this Charm on herself, she may make one
implanted memory would have arisen. When an
attempt per turn with no penalty for successive
effect simply suppresses a memory, the target is

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 enraged whenever he recalls the memory that it Condition was caused by using Speccho then the
suppressed. The Charm cannot restore a memory target’s dots in Specchio are subtracted from the
that was permanently removed - in this case Princess’ roll.
the target becomes aware that his memory was Reclaim requires a conscious target and informed
altered, and feels sick rage at the violation for a consent.
few moments, but no longer.
On any successful use of the upgraded Charm,
the target experiences a sudden sharp headache, Disenchant (Restore ••••, Acqua ••••)
similar to a migraine attack, which inflicts 1 point
Action: Instant and resisted, Manipulation +
of bashing damage. Targets who were already
Academics - sucesses rolled on the effect
wounded have been known to suffer nosebleeds
Cost: 2 Wisps
when the Charm took hold.
Duration: 1 scene or 1 day
The Princess relieves her target of a supernatural
effect that alters his mind. This does not banish
Reclaim (Restore ••••, Acqua •••) the effect, but only prevents it from swaying the
Requires: Bath of Souls target for the duration. On an ordinary success,
Action: Extended (10 minutes/roll) the Charm lasts for the scene; on an exceptional
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower success, it lasts for 1 day.
Dice Pool: Presence + Medicine
Duration: Lasting
Regenerate (Restore ••••)
The Princess restores a shattered mind to sanity.
Action: Extended (10 minutes/roll), Intelligence
Reclaim can remove any Condition that represents
+ Medicine
a malign mental effect. The exception is those that
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
are innate to a Supernatural Template, a Princess
Duration: Lasting
cannot heal a Werewolf’s rage or a Mad Scientist’s
madness. She also cannot heal Conditions gained
The Princess may restore the permanently injured
from a Belief Compromise, or Conditions arising
to their original full health. Regenerate can
from an Integrity Breaking Point that was caused
cure any Conditionor Tilt based on a physical
by perpetrating an immoral action. For Conditions
disability, and restore Attribute dots lost from
caused by damage to other Integrity like traits the
physical damage. The threshold depends on the
Princess cannot cure them if they came from an
extent of the damage (the Storyteller should use
immoral action by human standards of morality.
the table provided as a guide.) Any opposition
Belief Compromises caused by Lacrima Charms
from your target makes Regenerate fail; active
always count as immoral, Specchio does not
cooperation isn’t needed, so you can use Regenerate
automatically count as immoral but like any
on unconscious targets, but a conscious refusal
Invocation it can be used for good or ill. If the
frustrates the Charm.

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 Threshold Injury
3 Non-Flaw injuries: scarring, missing tooth, lost finger joint
6 Restoring lost function: 1 lost Attribute dot, paralyzed limbs
9 Full replacement of small organs: eye, muscle, skin, etc.
12 Full replacement of large organs: arm, leg, stomach, etc.

the Princess will need a container to guide them

Resuscitate (Restore •••••) into. Afterwords they can be recycled or disposed
Action: 3 minutes of full concentration, Presence safely.
+ Medicine One thing to bear in mind is that most pesticides
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 permanent Willpower dot would be affected by this Charm. That might be
Duration: Lasting exactly what the Princess intended but it’s worth
mentioning that before you start the Charm in a
The Princess is able to stave off another’s death farmer’s fields.
and return him to life – though the experience is The target number depends on how intertwined
not a pleasant one, nor does it come free. The the pollutants are with the environment. Piles
target must have died within the current scene, or of litter sitting on the surface require three *
the Charm fails. The sheer mental and emotional Sanctuary Size Successes. Liquids that don’t fully
exertion required, and the traumatic process of mix, like oil on water, require four * Sanctuary
dying result in the loss of a dot of Willpower for Size Successes. Finally something like heavy metal
both the Princess and her target, and the ebbing of pollution that gets into everything, soil, plants,
his life force causes his highest Attribute (if there animals, requires five * Sanctuary Size Successes.
is a tie, she chooses) to be reduced by one dot. He
returns to life with a number of Health boxes equal Dramatic Failure: The Princess makes a
to the activation successes filled with lethal damage Sensitivity roll as she feels the environment’s
and the rest filled with aggravated, and a -3 penalty pain.
to all actions due to the Reaper’s grasp upon him. Failure: The Princess makes no progress.
Each week of rest and recuperation without any Success: The Princess makes progress. Once she
strenuous activity reduces this penalty by one. reaches the threshold all pollutants in the target
On an Exceptional success, the target doesn’t area will begin to roll, slide, or flow to a place
lose a dot from his highest Attribute. of the Princess’ choosing. Usually a prepared
container which can be used to safely take them
away.
Captain Planet (Restore •••••, Legno •••) Exceptional Success: The Princess makes good
Action: Extended, 30 minute/roll, threshold = progress. In addition, until she finishes the
special extended action any animals in the general area
Cost: 5 Wisps will make their way towards the Princess to cheer
Dice Pool: Stamina + Survival. her on and to be within the affected area. While
Duration: Lasting this Charm can’t get poisons out of animals body
(only out of plants, soil or water) it can do stuff
In a powerful feat of magic the Princess can like clean the oil off birds.
purify entire fields of toxins and pollutants. For
the purposes of this Charm any chemical which
is seriously harmful to animals or plant-life, and Long May She Reign (Restore •••••,
which is not naturally created by a resident plant
or animal is affected. She could scour oil slicks from Lacrima •••••)
the ocean (or at least part of one, given the sizes Action: Instant.
an oil spill can cover), draw heavy metals out from Cost: 5 Wisps, 1 Willpower dot (if successful)
the soil, or scour the air of smog. The affected Dice Pool: Composure + Occult.
compounds are not destroyed or transformed, so

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Duration: Indefinite Exceptional Success: As above, but the
Durability increases by an additional point.
This rare and powerful Charm is the source of the
Ghostly Princesses who dwell within Alhambra and
serve its Queen. Because of the enormous political Bubble Shield (Shape •)
power and prestige it brings the Protectorate of
Amethyst guard all knowledge of it jealously. Action: Instant or Reactive, Stamina + Crafts
The target Princess must be at death’s door, Cost: 1 Wisp
but must not actually be dead. For instance, a Duration: 1 turn
Princess with a Health track filled with lethal and
aggravated damage is a valid target for the Charm. The Princess manifests a protective shield around a
circular area. She may create the shield around any
Dramatic Failure: Instead of creating a ghost, area within sight, taking a penalty on the activation
the Princess accidentally kills the target. roll equal to the area’s radius in yards, and may
Failure: Nothing happens. The Princess may try do so in response to any action taken by another
again at a -1 penalty, if the target still lives. character within her line of sight. A bubble shield
cannot form when it contain someone who does not
Success: The target dies, and rises again as a wish to be contained. As a rule of thumb non-
Ghostly Princess. Long may she reign over us. combatants that the Princess wishes to protect are
Exceptional Success: The target loses a dot of acceptable targets.
Shadows just before she dies and rises. Normally creating a Bubble Shield takes an
instant action, the Princess may forgo her Defence
The Princess using the Charm always spends the for a turn to invoke the shield as a Reactive action.
Wisps to activate it; she sacrifices a Willpower dot Bubble Shields only last for a turn but if a
only if the Charm succeeds. Princess uses Bubble Shield to protect the same
area as her next action, the new shield replaces the
old with no gap of time.
Shape Dramatic Failure: The shield fails to appear, and
The Shape Charms shape materials as you will, the Princess leaves herself open to attack. She
or make things out of nothing. Menders and has -2 to her Defense this turn; if she sacrificed
Troubadours have affinity for them. Defense, she loses her action this turn.
Failure: The shield does not appear.
Success: The shield appears, taking the form of
Barricade (Shape •) a bubble of pure magic. It will not cut through
Action: Instant any solid object; if the shield cannot enclose an
object it will stop at the object’s surface. In such
Cost: 1 Wisp cases the shield still forms a fully enclosed shape
that presses tightly against obstructions. If there
Dice Pool: Stamina + Crafts - Size are no obstacles the shield simply forms a perfect
sphere. The shield is not subject to the force of
Duration: Scene gravity - as long as it exists, it stays exactly where
the Princess created it.
A Princess pushes her magic into an object, The shield blocks both movement and attacks
reinforcing it’s structure. through itself, in either direction, until the
Charm ends. Unlike normal objects the shield
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the Princess has no Durability, but it has a Structure of 3x the
fail, if the object is capable of opening she forces activation successes; attacks made on targets on
it open and cannot close it without first clensing its other side are absorbed by the shield until the
it of her own magic. last Structure point is gone. (Should this happen
Failure: Nothing happens. the shield breaks, ending the Charm.) Damage
in excess of the shield’s Structure passes through
Success: The target object’s Durability increases
to the intended target normally.
by the higher of Inner Light and any applied
Invocation. If the object is capable of locking Exceptional Success: The shield will take a great
the Princess may will it to close and lock as part deal of punishment before breaking.
of this Charm. Upgrade: Adamant

215
 The shield behaves like a normal material, with currently driving. The vehicle’s Durability
Durability and Structure both equal to the increases by the general armour rating provided
activation successes. It provides transparent by Barrier Jacket, after taking into account any
cover [GMC 200] against all attacks that must applied Invocations.
pass through it, in either direction. Removing
the shield’s last point of Structure breaks it and Drawback: The Princess Barrier Jacket
ends the Charm, as before. provides no armour to her for this turn.
Upgrade: Elastic
The shield stretches when struck, and springs
back unharmed; it is immune to bashing damage.
Skeleton Key (Shape •, Aria •)
Only lethal or aggravated damage will reduce its Action: Instant, Dexterity + Larceny
Structure. Cost: 1 Wisp
Upgrade: Lasting Duration: Lasting
Duration: Invocation or Inner Light turns
Proof of a criminal or a handsome don in distress,
The shield endures for several actions before it often a Princess has to get past locks without a
must be renewed. proper key. With this charm she may conjure up a
Upgrade: Partial pair of magical lock-picks or unlock a door with a
snap of her fingers.
The shield can be shaped to cover parts of the
To qualify for this Charm the lock must be
circle, without surrounding the whole area; it can
physical. A lock and key, a dial lock safe, a bolted
also be shaped as a flat plane
door and even something held shut by a knot all
Upgrade: Rainbow (Acqua •) qualify. An electronic key pad qualifies, but only
The shield manifests as an iridescent film, which if it controls a physical lock. She could not use
bends light that passes through it. Attacks from this Charm to disable an alarm. If supernatural
outside on those inside, or vice versa, take a defences are in place the Princess must overcome
penalty equal to half your successes, rounded them as normal.
down. Attacks on the shield itself are not Wholly supernatural doors such as an Avernian
penalized. If Adamant is also applied, the shield Gate are immune to this Charm.
instead provides opaque cover against attacks
Dramatic Failure: The Princess sets of an alarm
that pass through it.
or makes a very loud noise.
Upgrade: Confining (Lacrima •)
Failure: The Princess cannot get through the
The Princess may create the shield around door.
anyone, even her enemies.
Success: The lock is unlocked and opens.
Upgrade: Beauteous (Specchio •)
Exceptional Success: If the Princess wishes it the
Like a brilliant pearl, the shield gleams richly lock will snap shut when she is done.
in the light of the Noble’s soul. Against
such beauty, who dares raise a hand? All Upgrade: Traceless
sapient or sentient beings must pass a Resolve The Princess’ magic hides her presence. It locks
+ Composure roll, with a penalty equal to the the door behind her, it places that piece of paper
lower of the Princess’ Inner Light or Specchio back into the door jam. Any mundane attempts
Invocation, to attack the Bubble Shield. to notice her passing fail, while supernaturally
enhanced senses suffer a -Aria penalty. Any traps
or other equipment designed to notice passage
Star Driver (Shape •) provide no bonus. However this only applies to
Action: Reflexive the object affected by the Charm itself.
Cost: 1 Wisp
Dice Pool: Unrolled
Duration: turn Wellspring (Shape •, Acqua •)
Prerequisite: Barrier Jacket Action: Instant, Dexterity + Science
Cost: 1 Wisp
The Princess can force her magical armour Duration: Lasting or Indefinite
outwards, protecting a vehicle which she is

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The Earth is mostly water, and by speaking Condition and can’t attempt to cast this Charm
to the Earth the Princess can find fresh water again until it’s resolved, or goes away.
whenever she needs it. If there is water in the Failure: The Princess fails to create a bubble
Earth the Princess draws it up into her hands sturdy enough for her purposes.
but when the ground is parched she instead
turns earth into water. Drawing up water has a Success: The Princess creates a gust of air which
duration of Lasting while the Transformation lasts hangs in a bubble around her head. The magic
Indefinitely, either way she gains one pint of water filters the surrounding atmosphere so that inside
per Success. (Drinking Indefinite water is perfectly its protection the Noble can always enjoy a
safe. Digesting it destroys the water and thus it’s breath of clean, fresh air. The standard duration
supernatural identity a transformed soil). of this Charm is 1 minute/success, but at any
time the Princess may reflexively spend a Wisp
Upgrade: Purified to lengthen the duration by Inner Light minutes.
Other liquids turn into fresh water as the Exceptional Success: The bubble is woven so well
Princess stirs them. Each success turns 1 gallon it lasts an extra minute each time a Wisp is spent.
of liquid into drinkable water. The Princess need Upgrade: Puff Up
not be touching the ground to change an existing
Cost: +1 Wisp
liquid.
The Princess is so proud of her powers she can
Upgrade: Flavoured
make the bubble swell! By paying a Wisp once
The Princess may create any liquid that is safe for when activating or refreshing the Charm she can
humans to drink. Each success draws up 1/2 pint extend the area the Charm covers up a radius of
of the drink you desire. If she applies Purified, Inner Light yards, centered on herself.
each success transmutes 1/2 gallon of a liquid
The Bubble is not, however, a shield. Its
into something drinkable.
function is to merely provide breathing space and
Upgrade: Oily (Acqua ••) therefore any direct attack can harmlessly enter
Cost: +1 Wisp and leave its confines. Any attempt to alter the
air composition inside the bubble however forces
Duration: Indefinite
an instant Clash of Wills between the Princess
The Noble may now create any organic and her opponent.
compound that is liquid at current temperatures,
at the same rates as Flavored. For this purpose,
a chemical is “organic” if it’s either produced by a Painting Roses (Shape •)
living organism, or contains carbon and no atoms
of a metallic element. The Noble takes a penalty Action: Extended, Wits + Crafts (1 Turn/roll)
on her dice pool equal to the Availability rating Cost: 1 Wisp
of the liquid she wants to create.
With a touch the Princess makes something
explode in a riot of colour. She can affect a Size up
Bubble Wrap (Shape •, Aria •) to her dots in Inner Light or the applied Invocation
and may do anything from simple blocks of colour
Action: Instant, Wits + Survival to a masterpiece, if she has the skills. The effects
of this charm last as long as high quality paint.
Duration: Successes Minutes, pay 1 Wisp for This charm is best used for leaving marks and
Inner Light minutes clues in the field or making art. Some Princesses
of Spades, politely described as “urban artists”, use
Cost: 1 Wisp, additional 1 Wisp to extend this Charm to avoid the suspicions of carrying spray
duration paint around. It functions as a normal roll to create
equipment (see Chronicles of Darkness p100) but
A Princess needs to breathe, but fresh air may not works at supernatural speed.
be always available. When this happens, she may
just make her own.

Dramatic Failure: The Princess doesn’t manage

Afterburner (Shape •, Fuoco ••)
to weave an adequate protection, and the failure Action: Instant
disorients her. She takes the Deprived (fresh air) Cost: 1 or 2 Wisps

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Dice Pool: Unrolled In addition the Princess must be able to see the
Duration: Lasting object. She can target individual components, so
The Princess can pump her magic into a vehicle long as she can see them. While a car is too large
that she is currently driving. The vehicle instantly to ignite a rubber tire is not.
accelerates to it’s safe speed, if it is already at or
above it’s safe speed it accelerates to it’s maximum Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ magic grows
speed instead. For two Wisps the vehicle instantly out of her control. Instead of catching fire,
accelerates to it’s maximum speed regardless of it’s the object explodes spreading flaming shrapnel
present speed. No matter what she is riding it everywhere and almost certainly causing the
will never take damage from the internal stresses Princess trouble.
of acceleration, but without protection like Barrier Failure: The object does not ignite.
Jacket passengers may do so.
Success: The object immediately catches fire, the
This Charm cannot be used on supernatural
fire is completely mundane in every way.
vehicles unless their magic derives from the Light.
Which usually means a Bequest created from the Exceptional Success: For the next three turns any
Wings of Air or Outrace the Sun Charms. If the attempt to extinguish the fire by anyone except
Princess is driving one of those Bequests then the the Princess takes a penalty equal to her Fuoco.
Upgrades Royal Chariot and Airline can be used
to ensure passengers are unaffected by extreme
acceleration. Nature's Harvest (Shape •, Legno •)
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Survival
Fire's Warm Kiss (Shape •, Fuoco ••) Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting
Action: Instant The Princess coaxes a plant to produce its
Cost: 1 Wisp harvest ahead of time. If she isn’t touching a plant
Dice Pool: Stamina + Survival reasonably near maturity or at least large enough to
Duration: 1 scene produce its crop, or if anyone has used the Charm
Fires under the Princess’ hands burn without on the plant within the past season, the Charm
consuming their fuel. Until the Charm ends, reduce fails. (The plant must also have adequate soil
the damage the target fire does by the number of and not be severely deprived of water or sunlight,
successes rolled. Things ignited by the fire, but but it need not be in season.) The normal use of
separated from it, burn normally. A Princess may this Charm is to obtain edible fruits, nuts, and/or
use Fire’s Warm Kiss multiple times on one fire, berries from appropriate trees and bushes – in this
until its damage has been reduced to 0. If a fire’s case, each success is as effective as two successes
damage is reduced to 0, it cannot ignite anything in foraging by mundane methods, but successes in
and feels merely warm to the touch, though it still excess of the plant’s Size are wasted. Alternatively,
sheds light. It can even be scooped off its fuel it’s quite possible to use the Charm more frivolously
source, held in cupped hands, and poured into a (e.g. to produce lots of flowers) or productively
container, like a liquid with the consistency of thick (to get lots of acorns from an oak tree or other
syrup. Fire so treated ignites its container once the appropriate seeds, for example).
Charm wears off, or goes out after 1 turn if the The crops are guaranteed to stay fresh at least
container is not flammable. one day per dot of Legno unless some supernatural
effect gets in the way. Nature’s Harvest does not
harm the plant.
Ignition (Shape •, Fuoco •) Upgrade: Ascending
Action: Instant, Strength + Survival Cost: +1 Wisp
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: Lasting
The plant grows under the Princess’s touch, even
The Princess causes a mundane object to burst
if it began as a mere seed; it achieves up to
into flames at her command. The object must have
(activation successes) or its natural maximum in
a Size equal or less than her Fuoco and it must
Size, whichever is lower, over the same number
be naturally flammable, a penalty is applied to the
of minutes, and produces the expected harvest in
roll based on how flammable the object is. So dry
the process. (The plant’s growth will generally
wood would have no penalty but wet wood will.
be limited by available soil for its root system.)

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 Once the Charm is complete, the newly-grown
plant remains a normal plant of its species
Corrosive Grasp (Shape •, Tempesta •)
(although it’s advisable to water it well if one Action: Instant, Dexterity + Brawl
wants to keep it around). Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 resistant bashing damage
Upgrade: Miraculous (Legno ••) Duration: 1 scene
Prerequisite: Ascending
The index finger of a single hand (the Princess’
choice) secretes a powerful, sharp-smelling acid
The plant no longer requires adequate soil, until the Charm ends.
sunlight, or anything else as long as there’s
enough room for its base to be planted in the Dramatic Failure: The acid only burns the
earth. However, the Charm’s magic will only Princess’ hand. She takes a -3 penalty to any
sustain the plant for (Legno) minutes after its action which uses that hand until the damage
growth is complete – if it doesn’t have enough heals.
water and room to grow, it obviously won’t last Failure: Although the Princess’ hand may smell
long. vaguely vinegary for a while, the acid isn’t
Upgrade: Transfigured (Legno •••) concentrated enough or has too high a pH to have
Requires Ascending an effect.
Cost: +2 Wisps Success: The acid can be used to get an
equipment bonus of the activation successes for
At the Princess’s discretion, the plant produces any action where it is appropriate. For example,
any crop she needs regardless of its actual species. in an interrogation, the ability to scar with acid
She can grow oranges from an apple tree, apples can be used to get a bonus to Intimidate, while
from a pine tree, or roses from a barrel cactus when opening a lock, the ability to dissolve the
if she chooses. A single activation produces a hinges gives a bonus to Larceny. If the Princess
harvest of just one species of plant. attacks this is treated as a damage 0 weapon, but
it will do Lethal damage.
Shape Earth (Shape •, Terra •) Exceptional Success: No additional bonus,
beyond the extra successes.
Action: Instant, Strength + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene Mirrored Item (Shape •, Specchio •)
In the Princess’ hands, dirt and stone become Action: Instant, Wits + Larceny
as malleable as clay. She may manipulate rock Cost: 1 Wisp
or hard-packed earth (but not man-made rocklike
materials like asphalt or concrete) with her hands Duration: 1 Scene
as if it had the consistency of modeling clay, and as
soon as she lets go of it it will retain its shape and Manipulating a reflection is child’s play for a
regain its normal hardness. To sculpt a complex Brat, and it shows, by spending a wisp a Princess
shape from the stone, the Princess rolls Dexterity of Mirrors may reach into any mirror and pull the
+ Crafts. reflection of an item of a size up to her Specchio.
On an exceptional success on the activation roll, This reflection works just like the original, guns fire,
the Princess adds her Terra to the rolls to shape phones make calls, but there is one exception: The
rock. reflection is a mirror image of the original, text is
reversed and the grip may be uncomfortable.
Upgrade: Artificial After the scene the reflection returns to its proper
The Princess may reshape man-made minerals, place inside mirrors. Until it does so the origonal
such as asphalt, concrete and glass. object has no reflection.
Upgrade: Metallic (Terra ••) Upgrade: Stored (Specchio ••)
Cost: +1 Wisp Requires: Miss Poppins Bottomless Bag
The Princess may reshape metals as easily as A reflection is not always be needed immediately
earth and rock. but later instead. To make this possible a
Princess that knows Miss Poppins Bottomless

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 Bag may pull a reflection into her bag instead Inner Light (rounded up), unless she applies an
of using it right now. This item suffers the Invocation when she unlocks the bag. If she applies
same limitations as any normal stored item. an Invocation, she can store objects of Size up to her
Reflections in the bag do not expire until they dots in the Invocation; the objects are the Charm’s
are pulled out, at which point they are considered targets, so to apply an Invocation at no cost, all the
the same as a reflection that has just been pulled objects stored or removed must be costless targets
from a mirror. A reflection may not be put back for that Invocation.
into the bag after having been removed from it Putting an object in the bag is an instant unrolled
and it may also not have been used prior to being action. Taking an object out is also an instant
put into the bag. action, and succeeds automatically as long as the
number of items in the bag is less than Inner Light
+ Larceny. If the number equals or exceeds this
Infinite Item Works (Shape ••) limit, the Princess must roll Wits + Larceny to
find the right item in among the clutter; she takes
Prerequisite: Miss Poppin’s Bottomless bag. a penalty on this roll of -1 for each item in the bag
Action: Instant, unrolled over Inner Light + Larceny.
Cost: 1 wisp
Duration: 1 scene Dramatic failure: The Princess finds nothing in
the bag, and is so occupied with searching that
The Princess can create magical simulacrum of she loses her Defense for 1 turn.
items by pulling them from her bottomless bag at Failure: The Princess pulls out the wrong item.
will. To do so she must first acquire a stock of ten Success: The Princess takes out the item she
roughly similar items such as a pile of chocolate wanted.
bars, which may be of different brands or flavours,
and place them into her bottomless bag. Then, Exceptional success: The Princess finds the item
by spending a wisp she creates a magical duplicate immediately; she removes it as a reflexive action.
of each item. So long as she has Wisps to spend Items that are put into the bag are safe from
she can do this infinitely. Removing the magical harm and protected from loss, as they are bound to
duplicates from the bag works like normal, save the Princess rather than the bag itself. However,
that the Princess always chooses randomly between they aren’t held in stasis; food will spoil if kept
the copies currently in the bag. This charm creates long enough. Moreover, while the bag is closed air
a separate compartment so neither the seed items can’t get into it, so anything living will suffocate
or their duplicates count towards the item limits if trapped inside when the bag locks. Should
for Miss Poppin’s Bottomless Bag. the Princess herself die all items in the bag are
The duplicated items must have an Availability lost. With the appropriate supernatural power it is
rating of one. This limit increases by one dot at possible to steal from a Princesses bag, but doing
Inner Light three, six and nine. They are magical so requires a Clash of Wills.
constructs and fade away at the end of the scene
whether or not they have been used. A Princess Upgrade: Enlarged
may keep only one set at a time. Stacks, up to 4
Add Inner Light again to the maximum number
of items that can be put into the bag safely.
Miss Poppins' Bottomless Bag (Shape ••) Upgrade: Deepened
Action: Instant, unrolled Stacks, up to 2
Cost: 1 wisp Add 1 to the maximum Size of the items that can
Duration: 1 scene be put into the bag.
Upgrade: Stretched
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Princess adds a
securely fastened bag or pouch of some kind to her Cost: +1 Willpower
Regalia. Activating the Charm unlocks the bag for The Princess can stuff a very large object into
a scene, after which it can be used freely. The her bag. Double the maximum Size of items the
Princess may store any number of items in the bag bag can normally hold; the Princess can put one
indefinitely, as long as each item is small enough to object up to that Size into the bag at a time. As
fit through the opening, and is light enough for her long as that object is in the bag, the Princess
to lift without help. The Size of an object being can’t put anything more into it, or take anything
stored or removed cannot exceed half the Princess’ else out - the large object must come out first.

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 If the bag locks before she takes the large object transformed Dexterity. She may apply her Skills
out, the Princess must apply Stretched again to to perform tasks through the hand, but takes a
remove it. -2 penalty on all rolls.
Upgrade: Lightened Upgrade: Forceful
Cost: +1 Wisp Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess can lift extremely heavy objects, The hand can exert a strong, momentary
for just long enough to drop them into her bag force, lifting objects too heavy for its sustained
or pull them out. Add the Princess’ Inner Light strength. Its Stamina for this purpose equals the
to her Strength when checking whether an object Princess’ Inner Light.
being stored or retrieved is too heavy for her to Upgrade: Free
move.
Requires: Dextrous
Upgrade: Conjured (Aria ••)
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess can pull things kept in the bag
Duration: 1 scene
out of thin air. When she applies Aria to take
something from the bag, it appears in her hand The hand moves and acts without the Princess
as a reflexive action, ready to be used in the same constantly steering it; she has only to give it
turn. The object so taken returns to the bag directions. She may perform other actions while
again just before the start of the next turn. (This the hand manipulates objects. Because her
allows weapons that give a bonus to Defence to attention is divided, all her actions take a -2
do so even after they’ve been used to attack.) penalty, and in any turn she acts the hand cannot
borrow her skills – its Skill for any action becomes
Upgrade: Ordered (Acqua ••)
0.
The Princess arranges the contents of her bag
Upgrade: Touch of Air (Aria ••)
in careful order. She may choose a number of
objects in the bag up to her Acqua; when she The Princess forms a hand out of air itself, it
applies Acqua to take those objects from the bag, is completely invisible unless you can see magic
she finds and withdraws them without a roll, no itself.
matter how many other things are stored inside.
She may rearrange the objects within the bag,
putting a different set on top, as with a few Tool Whispering (Shape ••)
minutes as an unrolled action.
Action: Instant and resisted
Dice pool: Wits + appropriate Skill - object’s
Ghostly Hand (Shape ••) Size/2
Cost: 1 Wisp
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics Duration: concentration
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: concentration The tools of a Princess’ craft are so eager to serve
The Princess shapes a Wisp into an immaterial her desires that she may operate them from afar.
hand which can grasp things and move them around The Princess uses this Charm on a single object
but not use them. It’s form may be anything from that she can see; the Skill she uses to activate it
a floating glove to a nebulous magical glow but it is the one used normally to operate that object
will be visible. The hand has a Strength equal (e.g. Computer for electronics, Drive for a vehicle,
to the activation successes, to a maximum of the Firearms for guns, and so on.)
Princess’ transformed Strength; it forms around an
object within sight, and can lift or move it if it has Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ occult force
enough Strength. Its Speed, when moving a light mishandles the targeted object and breaks it.
object, equals the Princess’. It can drop an object Remove 1 point of the object’s Structure.
to pick up another close to it, but it cannot move Failure: The object remains inert.
more than one thing at a time. Success: The object animates, responding to
the Princess’ will. As long as the Princess
Upgrade: Dextrous concentrates, she may take mundane actions
The hand can now manipulate what it grasps. that manipulate the object’s internal mechanisms
The Princess may distribute successes to the - pushing buttons, flipping switches, turning
hand’s Dexterity, to a maximum of her own knobs, and so forth. She cannot pick the object

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up, or directly move it from its location; actions adaptability. For each dot of Acqua she may
which require that fail automatically. Thus, instruct the object to react to one condition,
the scope of possible actions depends on the altering its behavior in response. For conditions
complexity of the target object. A simple tool that require senses to recognize, the object has
with no moving parts can’t do anything; a gun a Perception dice pool equal to the Charm’s
can be made to unlatch its clip, or to fire, but activation successes.
can’t be aimed; a car can be made to start
its engine and drive itself; a computer can be Upgrade: Free (Aria ••) The Princess may
operated almost normally, except for plugging set her will not on a solid machine, but on the
in cables and peripherals. The Princess cannot air that surrounds her. Until the Charm ends,
control the object if she loses sight of it, and she can manipulate any object that she can see,
the Charm ends when she stops controlling the as long as operating that object is covered by
object. If someone else is using the object at the the Skill she used to activate the Charm. The
same time the Princess controls it, that starts a Princess cannot manipulate more than one object
Clash of Wills; a mundane operator uses the same at a time; when she moves to a second object, the
dice pool for the Clash as he does for operating first is no longer animated.
the device.
Exceptional Success: The Princess controls her
tool with great skill. Her mundane actions to Royal Roads (Shape ••)
control it gain a +2 bonus.
Action: Instant, Dexterity + Crafts
Upgrade: Charged
Cost: 2 Wisps
Cost: +1 Wisp
Duration: 1 scene
The modern world runs on electricity, but when
that’s lacking, the Princess can create a few The Princess crafts a path from herself to her
sparks to get it moving. When the targeted destination. She may target anywhere that can be
object is a machine powered by electricity, the reached in Inner Light * 10 yards of construction
Princess may turn an extra Wisp into the power without penalty, every additional ten yards applies
it requires, so it will run with a dead battery or a -1 penalty.
while unplugged during the Charm’s duration.
However, a dramatic failure when activating the Dramatic Failure: The Princess tangles herself
Charm overloads its circuits - remove points of up and cannot move until she succeeds on a roll
Structure equal to the Princess’ Inner Light. with the same dice pool as she activated this
Upgrade: Dancing charm with, each turn she gains a cumulative +1
bonus to escape.

Cost: +1 Willpower Failure: No road is formed.

Success: The Princess creates a path to her
Duration: 1 scene destination. This path will be as straight as
possible, baring intervening obstacles. If this
The targeted object, once animated, will carry path would be too steep to walk the Princess
out the Princess’ wishes without her conscious creates a ladder instead. The road is wide enough
attention. The Charm does not end if the for a single person to walk or run comfortably.
Princess stops concentrating on the object;
during any turn when the Princess does not Exceptional Success: Anyone travelling on the
control it, the object repeats whatever action road gets +2 to speed and +1 to Athletics rolls
she most recently used it for. The object as the magic beneath their feet propels them
can’t adapt to changed circumstances, and will onwards.
continue mindlessly repeating itself until the Upgrade: Winter’s Way (Acqua •••)
Princess controls it again or the Charm ends. Touching water the Princess freezes a path of ice.
Upgrade: Thinking (Acqua ••) Winters Way can only be used to create flat paths
across water but it allows for longer and wider
Requires Dancing paths. The maximum length doubles and the
width increases to four meters. Though only the
When the Princess releases her concentration, in thinnest layer of ice it is magically reinforced and
addition to providing the object with further can carry even heavy traffic. Unless the Princess
instructions she may grant it a measure of

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 applies Skater’s Paradise her magical ice will be Duration: 1 scene
steady beneath the feat and creates no Tilt.
Upgrade: Skater’s Paradise (Acqua •••) With a touch the Princess freezes an inanimate
object in place.
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may apply the Ice tilt to any path Dramatic Failure: The Princess freezes herself,
created by Royal Roads. not what she touches; she suffers from the effect
of an ordinary success, at a level equal to her
Acqua.
Hedge Magic (Shape ••, Legno •) Failure: The target is chilled briefly, but suffers
no impediment from it.
Action: Instant, Stamina + Survival
Cost: 1 Wisp Success: The target’s temperature immediately
Duration: 1 scene drops below freezing. A solid object is encased
A dense thicket springs up somewhere in sight, in a thin layer of ice, and any attempt to use
forming a six foot high wall. The hedge-wall has it during the current scene is penalized by the
a Structure of 3x the activation successes and 0 activation successes (maximum of -5, again) as
Durability however it can only be damaged by the user’s hands slip off it, though this effect is
appropriate tools. Bullets won’t do much. The not magical and can be countered. Objects with
length of the Hedge is Legno x5 Yards. When buttons may be entirely inoperable.
the Charm expires, the thicket wilts, losing all its Exceptional Success: A targeted object is
Structure. damaged if the Princess’ Acqua exceeds its
Durability - warping from the sudden chill
Upgrade: Thorny removes 1 point of Structure.
The hedge is covered in vicious thorns. Anyone
who is thrown onto the hedge takes Bashing
damage. Roll the Princess’ Legno. If they try Made to Order (Shape •••)
to climb the hedge they take the same damage
every turn of climbing. Action: Extended , Dexterity + Crafts (1
turn/roll, threshold = object’s Availability rating)
Cost: 2 Wisps
Darkling's Treasure (Shape ••, Lacrima •) Duration: 1 scene

Action: Instant, Manipulation + Occult The Princess crafts a useful tool from whatever
Cost: 1 Wisp, Compromise at Belief 8+ with a +1 material is at hand. The materials need not be
modifier appropriate for her desired tool but they must be
Duration: 1 scene in the same ball park. For example to create a
shovel she will need wood or plastic for a handle
By brushing her hand across an object, the Princess and metal for the blade, but a few aluminium cans
makes it deeply attractive to the servants of the and a pile of twigs could create a shovel superior
Darkness. She may apply the Dark Lure condition to any mundane object. Once she has reached
to any mundane object of size 4 or less. The Lure’s the required successes she may continue rolling
radius is equal to the activation successes x 100 to add successes to the equipment bonus (with a
yards. maximum of +5). She can make anything that
a skilled craftsman, such as a blacksmith, could
Upgrade: Trapped (Lacrima ••) create without power tools. Afterwords it functions
When the Princess applies the Dark Lure as a mundane tool, the items created by this charm
modifier she may add the destructive modifier. are not particularly well suited for combat, their
The monsters will be unable to part from the primary function cannot be a weapon and they
lure without destroying it. always suffer from the improvised weapons penalty.

Upgrade: Grown to Order (Legno ••)

Touch of Frost (Shape ••, Acqua •) Duration: Lasting
Action: Instant and resisted, Dexterity + Crafts - With a seed in her hand the Princess compels
target’s Defense it to grow, in mere seconds, into a suitable
Cost: 1 Wisp tool. The result must be made completely from

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 wood or plant fibre but in exchange it will last Duration: concentration
permanently, unless it breaks.
Upgrade: Ice Sculptures (Acqua ••) The Princess takes control of a body of fire within
sight, making directing it as she wills. The Charm
The Princess is freed from chains of logistics, she controls all fire within a cubic area where each side
can craft tools from the very moisture in the equals the activation successes in yards. This may
air instead of any convenient nearby materials be a subsection of a larger fire, you don’t need to
or the contents of her backpack. The material control an entire forest fire if your goal is to hold
properties of ice impose no limit on the resulting back the closest flames. The Princess may push her
object save that it is cold to the touch. Anything controlled fire in any direction she wishes, but it
that can be created with Made to Order can be can only travel along a solid surface. She may also
created with this Upgrade. This costs an extra shape it into complex shapes by rolling Dexterity
wisp unless there is dense fog or water nearby. + Crafts. However it is still fire, making a fire walk
Upgrade: Armoury (Tempesta ••) out of the hearth in the shape of a lion is a neat
The Princess can create weapons as easily as any party trick, but if it walks over a flammable surface
peaceful tool. She is still limited to what an the lion’s footsteps will ignite it.
expert can create with their hands, but even guns If the Princess wishes to extinguish the fire she
were hand-made once. may shrink it by one Size point per turn.

Upgrade: Free (Fuoco ••••)

Diamonds are Forever (Shape •••, Terra •••) Cost: +1 Willpower
Duration: 1 scene
Action: Instant
Dice pool: Dexterity + Crafts - target’s The Princess can release the fire, do other things,
availability and take control of it again. In any turn she is
Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower not shaping the fire it will continue to burn and
Duration: indefinite consume it’s fuel but it will not spread. It can,
however, ignite anything placed inside it. If the
A Princess of Hearts can always find a noble gift. fire runs out of fuel it will fade away.
The Princess can transmute the substance of small
objects into minerals of her choice - earth, sand,
rock, even precious stones. The penalty to her dice My Home is My Castle (Shape •••)
pool equals the Availability of the object after the
Charm takes effect; it’s much harder to turn things Action: Extended, 30 minute/roll, threshold =
into jade than granite. The Charm’s target must Sanctuary Size + shield’s Structure (choose before
be an inanimate object of Size 1 or less, made of a rolling)
nearly homogeneous material, that the Princess is Dice pool: Resolve + Crafts
holding in her hands. Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Duration: Indefinite
Dramatic Failure: The object explodes into
jagged shards. The Princess takes 1 lethal The Princess enchants a Consecrated place,
damage from fragments in her hands. creating an enormous invisible dome of magic
Failure: The object is unchanged around it, the borders of this magical shield adhere
to the edges of the consecrated ground. When
Success: The object is transmuted into the any ranged attack, magical or mundane, attempts
desired mineral. to cross the dome it instantly solidifies becoming
Exceptional Success: The object is transmuted both visible and impenetrable. For the remainder
into a perfect example of the desired mineral. If of the scene the barrier is essentially a solid
the mineral is valuable, the Availability of the transparent object. It has a structure equal to the
object’s final form is one dot higher. Charm’s Activation Successes - Sanctuary Size and
a Durability equal to the Princess’ Inner Light or
any applied Invocation, whichever is higher. At the
Heart of the Flames (Shape •••, Fuoco ••) end of the scene where the barrier blocks an attack
the Charm ends, unless the Princess spends a Wisp
Action: Extended (1 turn/roll) and a Willpower point to extend the duration for
Cost: 2 Wisps/roll an additional scene.
Dice Pool:Strength + Survival

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 Any attack which penetrates the barrier will best defenders in the Nobility. When calculating
leave physical gaps, as though the barrier was a the durability of the barrier, double the Princess’
solid object. Attackers may use aimed shots to Lacrima up to a maximum of 10.
shoot through holes left by a successful attack Upgrade: Rebuilding (Legno •••)
or attempt to create an opening through which
attackers can enter. Security minded Princesses When the barrier is destroyed the foundations
make sure to choose defensible locations, because remain and begin creating a fresh shield. They
even a powerful Princess is unlikely to create a begin immediately after the barrier falls, either
barrier that can stand up to a truck being driven due to taking too much Structural damage or due
into it at speed. Most Princesses just throw barriers to a scene ending. After approximately 24 hours
around their family home because they don’t get to the new shield is ready to go.
choose where their loved ones will live.
Until the barrier blocks an attack anyone may
pass through. Once the barrier solidifies only the Strength of the Tides (Shape •••, Acqua ••)
Princess herself may pass through the barrier and Action: Extended, Resolve + Athletics (1
she does so as though it was not there. She may also turn/roll)
shoot through the barrier using Levinbolt or other Cost: 2 Wisps/roll
magic, however if the Princess uses a mundane gun Duration: concentration
the barrier will not recognise the bullets as the the
Princess’. The Princess takes control of a body of water within
sight, making it flow and push as she wills. The
Upgrade: Garrisoned
Charm controls a circular area of water of the
Modify the roll by Commonality activation successes in yards, to a depth of 1 yard;
The Princess names an organisation when left in that shape, it lifts and moves everything
she activates the Charm, and applies the inside it with a Strength of 1. The Princess may
Commonalty modifier for that organisation. gather the water into a taller mass of smaller radius
Members of the organisation can pass through to concentrate its power; each halving of the radius
the barrier as though they were the Princess quadruples the water’s depth or height, and adds
herself and may shoot through the shield with 1 to its Strength. She may also move the water in
Levinbolt. Moreover, if any of these members has a wave or spout, carrying along whatever floats in
a pool of Wisps, he can spend Wisps to sustain it; the water’s top Speed is 8 if moved this way.
the dome just as the Princess can. Beacons may The Charm does not create water – if the Princess
use a point of Willpower in place of a Wisp. gets more successes than she needs to control all the
water available, the extra successes have no effect.
Drawback: Unless the Princess is a member of
the organisation she loses all privileges of access Upgrade: Violent (Acqua •••)
and is treated as no better than a stranger by the
shield. The water becomes violently agitated, creating
smashing waves and sucking undertows that
Upgrade: Barricades (Fuoco •••) batter anything caught within it. Each turn,
The time per roll decreases to one minute. the Princess may choose to inflict bashing
Drawback: The duration also decreases to 1 damage equal to the water’s current Strength on
scene. everything in or floating on the water.
Upgrade: Free (Acqua ••••)
Upgrade: Forward Base (Tempesta ••)
Cost: +1 Willpower
Cost: +1 Aggravated Damage
Duration: 1 scene
The time per roll decreases to one minute and the
Charm no longer requires consecrated ground to The Princess can release the water, do other
function. The Princess names whichever border things, and take control of it again. In any
she wishes. turn she is not shaping the water, it flows to
its natural level, dropping anything it was lifting
Drawback: The duration also decreases to 1
that doesn’t float.
scene.
Upgrade: Queen’s Protection (Lacrima •)
The Court of Tears will do anything to protect Mist's Protection (Shape •••, Aria ••)
what they love, and the Ravens are among the
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Stealth

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Cost: 2 Wisps • Acqua: Art deco made from ice, crystal or
Duration: successes in turns glass.

The Princess summons a thick fog that conceals • Aria: Straight out of Arabian Nights in gentle
her presence. An area with a radius equal to blues and greens.
(10 x Inner Light) yards, centered on her, gains • Fuoco: Ancient Inca with lots of gold.
the Mist Tilt. This persists for at least as long
as the Charm. In strong sunlight or moderate • Legno: Brightly patterned tents on a living
wind the cloud disperses when the Charm ends; in wooden frame.
calm, cloudy weather, it may last as long as the
Storyteller wishes. • Terra: Gothic made from red granite and
shining marble.

• Lacrima: Pagodas adorned with funerary flags.

Burrow (Shape •••, Terra ••)
• Tempestra: Steel military fortress.
Requires: Shape Earth
Action: Extended, Stamina + Crafts (5 • Specchio: A fairytale palace covered with
minutes/roll) statues of the Princess.
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll
Duration: Lasting The Princess may build a more humble abode at
a -3 penalty (though this breaks Specchio’s Ban).
Using her hands alone, the Princess digs a tunnel
Upgrade: Forest Lodge (Legno •)
through earth, stone, or similar materials such
as concrete or asphalt. Each activation success The Princess enchants her palace to protect
allows the Princess to shape or remove around 30 against the environment of the Earth. No
cubic feet of dirt or 15 cubic feet of stone in any animal will attempt to enter her home uninvited,
arrangement she desires (though she must be able a good way to keep those pesky mosquitoes
to touch the earth to move it, so the tunnel made out. Supernatural animals are unaffected while
should be at least wide enough to accommodate animals under a supernatural compulsion that
her.) The tunnel is permanent, but depending on compels them to enter trigger a Clash of Wills
it’s size and shape the Storyteller may call for a roll between the Princess and their controller.
Wits + Science roll to see if Princess ensured it This upgrade also duplicates the benefits of every
was structurally sound; if this roll fails, the tunnel other upgrade.
will collapse after an hour or so.
Upgrade: Summer Palace (Fuoco ••)
The Princess enchants her palace to protect
Shelter Sweet Shelter (Shape ••••) against the fiercest heat. It wouldn’t do much
good on Venus but it’s good enough for just
Action: Strength, Intelligence + Crafts (15 about anywhere on Earth. While inside the
minutes/roll, threshold = 15) temperature will remain at 25 degrees or lower.
Cost: 2 Wisps
Upgrade: Winter Palace (Acqua ••)
Duration: until sunrise
The Princess enchants her palace to protect
The Princess creates a small building, no larger against the fiercest cold. It wouldn’t do much
than sixteen feet by sixteen feet. Her structure is good on Pluto but it’s good enough for just
well made and will protect her from any reasonable about anywhere on Earth. While inside the
amount of rain or cold but not from extreme temperature will remain at 20 degrees or higher.
weather such as a hurricane or even a normal day in In addition the shelter never takes damage from
a harsh desert. Against physical danger the walls a mundane blizard and neither snow nor water
have a durability of five and the doors will not open will enter unless carried in.
to anyone but the Princess and her invited guests.
The drawback is that these buildings tend to be
exceptionally noticeable, by default they follow a
similar theme to the Princess’ Regalia but after
applying an Invocation it will instead follow the
appropriate Queen’s style:

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Breath of Boreas (Shape ••••, Acqua •••) Bring Down The Sky (Shape ••••, Aria
Action: Extended, Intelligence + Science + •••)
weather modifier (5 minute/roll, threshold = 5)
Cost: 3 Wisps Action: Extended, Strength + Science(threshold
Duration: 1 or more scenes = 5, 1 turn/roll)
Cost: 3 Wisps
The North Wind blows and winter comes at the Duration: 1 scene
Princess’ call. When she reaches the threshold,
clouds come from the north and cover the sky in The Princess raises her hands to the sky and
a 1 mile radius centred on the Princess, creating summons the wrath of a storm. Once she reaches
the Heavy Rain tilt [GMC 209]. The storm lasts the threshold, the sky fills with dark clouds and
for the rest of the current scene. The Princess is winds start to blow in a radius of 1 mile, building
not protected from the weather she has summoned in seconds to a gale (the Heavy Winds Tilt [GMC
(not, at least, by this Charm.) 209]) that lasts until the Charm ends.
Furthermore, for every 3 successes the Princess Furthermore, for every 3 successes the Princess
accumulates over the threshold, she can tune the accumulates over the threshold, she can apply one
weather further to her liking, adding one of the of the following effects. She may wait to choose
following effects. which effects to apply until the turn she needs one.

• Biting: The North Wind brings forth the • Heavy Winds: The winds grow even stronger,
winter. The Extreme Cold Tilt [GMC 210] increasing level of the Heavy Winds Tilt [GMC
applies throughout the affected area with a -1 209] by one to a maximum of three
penalty or the existing penalty increases by -1
• Lightning: As an instant action, the Princess
to a minimum of -5.
rolls her activation dice pool; a bolt of
• Hailstones: Ice begins to fall from the sky. The lightning strikes one target within sight, doing
Hailstones Tilt applies throughout the affected 1 lethal damage for each success. General
area. armor reduces this damage.

• Icy: Freezing rain falls in the area, coating all • Duration: The Charm, and the Tilts it creates,
surfaces in ice. The Ice Tilt [GMC 210] applies last for another scene.
throughout the affected area.
Current weather conditions modify the activation
• Snowing: Snow falls in great quantities, roll: already windy (+3), thick clouds (+1), clear
imposing the Blizzard Tilt [GMC 208] sky (-1), or calm (-3). The Charm cannot be used
throughout the affected area. more than once a day in a single area.
• Duration: The weather, and the tilts it creates, Upgrade: Uplifting (Aria ••••)
last for another scene.
The storm guides itself to help the Princess who
Current weather conditions modify the activation summoned it. High winds do not penalize her
roll: cold extreme environment (+ level), other actions, and hailstones do not strike her if she
extreme environment (- level), already Raining calls them to the place she stands. Moreover,
(+3), thick clouds (+1), clear sky (-1), drought (- she can apply accumulated successes for another
3). The Charm cannot be used more than once a effect:
day in a single area.
• Speed - the storm winds always blow at the
Upgrade: Loyal (Acqua ••••) The Charm Princess’ back, carrying her more swiftly to
encloses the Princess in a bubble of warm air, her destination. The Princess adds +1 to
protecting her from the cold she has invoked. her Speed and Initiative until the Charm
The Princess takes no penalties or damage from ends. She can apply this effect a maximum
the extreme environment, and if she wishes she of 3 times.
can suppress any or all Tilts imposed by the
Charm within a radius of Inner Light yards
of herself, or reimpose them, as an instant
action. Each Tilt can be suppressed or released
independently.

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 Finally, she may allocate 2 successes to give
Sacred Grove (Shape ••••, Legno •••) anyone who sleeps in the garden 1 additional
Action: Extended, Presence + Crafts (1 hour/roll) Willpower point, on top of the point regained
Cost: 2 Wisps/roll, 1 Willpower normally through rest.
Duration: 2 + Inner Light days

The Princess cultivates an area into a calm, tranquil Earthquake (Shape ••••, Terra •••)
garden that bolsters the abilities of herself and
Action: Instant and contested, Strength + Brawl
her allies. She takes the appropriate supplies (ie,
vs. Dexterity + Composure
plants, seeds, soil, water, etc.) and augments them
Cost: 2 Wisps
with her magic to create a grove that instills peace,
Duration: 1 scene
confidence, and competence. The garden may have
The Princess claps her hands, then touches
any appearance, though most Princesses who take
them to the ground, and the earth buckles and
this Charm follow the lead of Bonnie Getsuei and
shakes, pitching wildly and throwing her enemies
make serene Japanese-style gardens, with cherry
off-balance. She applies the Earthquake tilt to a
blossoms constantly floating through the air.
circular area with radius equal to the activation
Apply the Sacred Grove to Condition to the area,
successes in yards.
allocate blessings as you desire. Each activation
The Charm cannot be used if the Princess is
success may be allocated to one of the following
above ground level. If she is underground the
benefits, which apply to anyone within the garden:
earthquake will be exceptionally potent, though it
• +1 on rolls with a specific Skill (to a max of may simply cause a cave in destroying everything
+3). and potentially killing everyone nearby.

• +1 Defense (to a max of +3). Upgrade: Sheltering (Terra ••••)

People the Princess chooses, up to her Inner
• +1 to meditation rolls. Light, are not affected by the Tilt. Their balance
• +1 to social rolls to resolve differences is enhanced and falling rocks avoid them. This
peacefully. protective magic is powerful but limited, if the
Princess completely destroys the area she is in
• +1 to Resistance Attributes when resisting or or it is otherwise implausible for somebody to be
opposing supernatural effects. unaffected she cannot protect them.

The total number of successes allocated may not

exceed 10. The area of the garden (measures in Enduring Beauty (Shape ••••, Specchio ••••)
square feet) cannot exceed 50x Inner Light square
feet. The physical garden remains after the Charm Action: Extended, Dexterity + Larceny (1
ends, though the supernatural effects lapse, and theminute/roll, threshold = target’s Stamina +
Princess may use the Charm again to re-create the supernatural advantage + dots in the Striking
garden’s calming qualities. However, the Charm Looks Merit)
cannot be used on a garden already under its Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
effects, or on any part of such a garden. Duration: Lasting
Beauty is the only true constant in the world,
Upgrade: Tranquil (Legno •••••) the Queen of Mirrors knows. Not personal beauty,
The garden may be arranged to soothe disturbed for that can fade and die, but the beauty that
minds and prick consciences. When cultivating comes from righteousness and enduring strength.
it, the Princess may allocate up to two successes It is the calculus of rule that inspires her to
to preserve anyone in the garden from internal take beauty from fools who might waste it. The
torment. For the purposes of Conditions that Enlightened learns to peel the beauty from others,
depend on Belief, Integrity or equivalents (such and craft it into valuable gems. These gems also
as Madness), treat Belief or it’s equivalent as have metaphysical potency, and can be used to
though it were one higher for each success. enhance magic. This Charm must be used against
a target who is asleep, or otherwise incapacitated
She may also allocate 2 successes to give +1 to
or restrained.
Breaking Point or Compromise rolls made by
people who have spent at least one hour in the Dramatic Failure: The noble can only mar her
garden within the past 48 hours. own beauty. She inflicts 3 points of aggravated

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 damage, as the beauty peels away from her flesh, was stolen to, it need only be pressed against their
and furthermore suffers the “Ugly” Condition forehead to restore their former beauty.
until all of this damage has healed. Unless used on a consenting target this is
Failure: She cannot properly get her fingers typically a Belief Compromise. Knowingly using a
under the flesh, and inflicts a point of Bashing gem created by Enduring Beauty without evidence
damage on the target, who if they are asleep can that it was created consensually can also be a
roll Wits + Stamina to wake. If she has not got Compromise.
the necessary number of successes by the time the
roll has ended, the target wakes automatically,
and the Princess suffers a point of Lethal damage, Through the Looking Glass (Shape ••••,
as her fingers wear away.
Specchio •••••)
Success: Successes are gained. The target suffers
a point of Bashing damage, and if they are asleep, Action: Instant, Dexterity + Occult
may roll Wits + Stamina, at a -3 penalty to wake. Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
Incapacitated or restrained targets have no such Duration: Indefinite
defence.
Exceptional Success: If 5 successes are gained in The Princess can enter the world behind any
a single roll, the target does not take damage, Mirror. Inside she will find a perfect reflection of
and does not get a roll to wake. If five successes everything the Mirror can see. This does mean
are gained over the target number, the Princess that any text is backwards and climbing into a
is feeling generous, and can leave a residual funhouse mirror is... weird. One thing worth
of beauty to the target; they do not gain the noting about objects inside a mirror - including
Ugly Condition, unless they had no dots in the the counterpart of the mirror itself - is that they
Striking Looks merit to begin with. There’s no are entirely immovable and indestructible: the only
helping some people. way to affect them is to affect the real object they
are reflections off. Real items the Princess brings
If the required number of successes are attained, with her behave as normal. Any person or item she
the princess peels the metaphysical beauty away brings into the mirror world will cast an intangible
from the face of her target, which comes away like reflection back into the real world.
a thin layer of skin, which then coalesces into a Inside a mirror any area that cannot be seen
gem. If the target had no dots in the Striking Looks by that mirror (from any angle) is nothing more
merit, it is a cheap stone, dull and lacking lustre, than solid glass that stretches on for infinity, or
worth Availability 1. If they had Striking Looks until the next place visible from that mirror. By
1, it is attractive and valuable, a moderate value rolling Specchio (no Wisp cost, this glass counts as
sapphire, emerald or ruby (frequently matching targeting a Mirror) the Princess may carve out one
the colour of their eyes) worth Availability 3. If Size point of Material per Success. This creates
the Princess is lucky enough to find someone with a little hidey hole invisible from the outside world
Striking Looks 2, it is a diamond almost without perfect for storing weapons, valuable Bequests or
compare, worth Availability 5. An individual bringing boyfriends you don’t want your mother to
targeted with this Charm loses all dots in the know about. These hidey holes last until the mirror
Striking Looks merit, if they had any, and gains the is destroyed or moved, Once either occurs nothing,
Ugly Condition. The effects on appearance are not not even returning the mirror to it’s origonal spot
obviously magical; even the most beautiful target is can recover any stored items. No one knows what
recognisable themselves after this is used, merely... happens to a person lost this way but it probably
lacking the gleam of beauty they once had. isn’t pretty.
The gems produced are metaphysically potent. While inside the mirror any area that usually
When holding one in her hand, the Princess may, can be seen by that mirror but cannot due to
reflexively, cause it to crumble to dust, destroying circumstance, say someone’s thrown a blanket over
it utterly. It adds a number of Successes equal to the mirror in the real world, is covered by pure
its resources value to any one roll of hers which are darkness (no relation to the Outer Dark) that
in line with the Specchio Invocation. The Princess numbs all five senses. This however is not any
who uses the gem need not be the Princess who more dangerous than normal sensory deprivation
created it. In addition, if taken to Alhambra, the and some Princesses even make use of it for such.
followers of the Queen of Tears convert them into Two mirrors reflecting the same area will lead to
lantern fuel. If the gem is returned to the person it the same mirror world, though parts of it may well

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be separated by walls of glass. This world would requires eight size points worth of stone or Earth
be safe until the last mirror is removed. However and the target material’s Durability is subtracted
two mirrors set up to reflect each other can be quite from the roll, normally the bare soil beneath her
dangerous. While inside the mirror world you can feat will be sufficient (it’s certainly easier and less
use the second mirror to recursively enter a second destructive than animating a building’s wall).
mirror world. Some Princesses use sequences of When the Princess reaches the Threshold make
mirrors as elaborate “passwords” but the risk of one final roll to determine the servitor’s attributes.
being lost forever in an ever deeper chain of worlds If this roll scores no Successes the Servitor is still
means most stay far away. created, but weaker.
Exiting the mirror world requires using this As a mindless being Servitors use the same
Charm a second time. Any Princes who knows this Power, Finesse and Resistance attributes as
Charm can also escape by simply jumping through Ephemerial Beings. They do not however have
the mirror. Knowing the Charm permanently Banes or Bans. Servitors begin with one dot in each
gives a Princess the ability to bypass the usual attribute and the Princess may assign an additional
indestructibility of reflected objects for this one Inner Lights + Successes dots to each attribute, up
purpose. Of course, this has all the usual effects to her maximum Transformed Attribute rating as
of jumping through glass. determined by Inner Light. In addition a Servitor’s
size is seven and it’s speed is equal to Power (they’re
Upgrade: Secure not very fast), however if they get up a head of
By spending 1 Wisp a Princess can fix a mirror in steam they can really get going. A Servitor can
place. It gains Durability equal to her Specchio sprint up to four times it’s normal speed, but it
against both damage and any attempt to move can only accelerate or decelerate by it’s speed every
it requires Specchio successes on a Strength turn without running into a wall (and sometimes
+ Athletics roll. This Upgrade is meant to not even then).
provide security for a Princess’ use of a mirror Unlike many such magical constructs a Princess’
world, using indestructible mirrors as defensive Servitor is powered by emotions, beliefs and intent.
positions should not be permitted. Charms do As such it is very good at understanding it’s
depend upon the emotions that invoke them. instructions. For example if a Princess instructs
it to build a wall it will understand exactly where
This durability does not apply to deliberate
the Princess wants the wall and how she wants it,
attempts to smash (say, by jumping through) the
at least as well as the Princess herself knows her
mirror by the princess herself, it does however
own desire. If she tells it to put a box in the car
cover accidents.
the Servitor will understand she wants it to open
Upgrade: Leading the door first (whether it’s fingers can gently open
With this Upgrade the Princess can now lead a door is another question). What a Servitor can’t
others through Mirrors. Each extra person or do is react to changing circumstances without the
five Size points of equipment costs an additional Princess giving it fresh instructions, if she asks it to
Wisp. dig a well it will dig straight through any historical
artefacts it might uncover.
The Princess does not have to go first. It is
In battle servitor’s are deadly, but slow and
acceptable to push someone through with the
clumsy. For this reason their attack dice pool is
intent of trapping them.
Finesse alone, however their fists are treated as
weapons with a Damage rating equal to Power,
maximum of five. Regardless of their actual
Stone Servitor (Shape •••••, Terra •••) strength, being hit by a large mass of stone is
Action: Extended, Presence + Crafts - Durability dangerous and causes lethal damage. Servitor’s
(1 minute/roll, threshold = 10) also have Armour equal to half their Resistance
(round down). Servitors act at the same initiative
Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower ranking as the Princess who created it. They are
also vulnerable to being hijacked by magic, though
Duration: 1 scene if their creator is nearby she can defend her creation
by initiating a Clash of Wills. If a Servitor is
More than any other Court the Princesses of Hearts injured it can be healed by magic, the Charm Stitch
wish to become leaders, and just sometimes when will do it, but without magic it has no ability to
they have no followers they can create their own heal.
from the Earth itself. Performing this Charm A Princess may only ever have one servitor at a

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time. must discover for herself what it means to be a
leader and a figure of adoration, and she must learn
Upgrade: Tireless Duty how to channel other people’s Belief in her into
Cost: +1 Willpower Dot magic just as she uses her own Beliefs. In practical
terms she must decide on her philosophies, and
The Princess can create a Servitor that will last
she must construct a new Invocation from those
indefinitely, barring physical destruction. The
philosophies (in all honesty, if she has come this
drawback is that, in addition to the increased
far she probably knows her philosophies already,
cost, the Princess cannot change it’s instructions
but creating an invocation from them requires a
after it has been given it’s first and only orders.
significant amount of magical experimentation).
If the Princess changes her mind or the Servitor When the Princess is ready she spends 12 exp to
completes it’s duty then she may regain her buy six dots in her own Invocation. The churning
Willpower Dot (or her experience if she as mass of her people’s belief has been given direction,
already brought back her Willpower) by touching both in a mundane-political sense by her leadership
the Servitor and withdrawing her magic. Even if and in a metaphysical sense by her Invocation. She
the Servitor is destroyed the Princess can recover is now a Queen.
her magic so long as it’s ruby heart is intact. The
ruby heart has only one point of structure but a
Durability equal to the Princess’ Inner Light +
Terra.
Royal Magic
The power wielded by the Queens is the power
of a leader, the power of a people united. A
Queens Queen’s Charms are not much greater than a
Princess’ but they are far larger. Just as a Queen
makes her nation greater through her rule, she
To say that the Queens are impressive is an makes it greater through her magic. A Queen can
understatement. The leaders of the Nobility are use an enhanced Commonality where she doubles
nothing short of demigods. Currently there is only the penalty in order to affect every member of
one living Queen that a Princess is likely to meet a social group regardless of distance, spreading
face to face, and The Lady of Alhambra certainly her blessings across millions almost as easily as a
does live up to expectations. She has demonstrated Princess might bless a small intimate gathering.
a life span of millennia and her personal magic is Simply by existing a Queen’s Philosophies resonate
strong enough to keep her city safe deep within the through the souls of every man and woman who
heart of the darkness. shares her values, becoming an Invocation.
Becoming a Queen is not a core theme of Princess On a personal level Queens benefit from some
but it is a minor theme, one possibility among modest benefits. A Queen’s maximum Attributes,
many, and it is entirely possible for the Queen of Skills, and Invocations are increased by five, except
Tears to appear as a character in your game. So for her own Invocation which may go up to fifteen.
how does one become a Queen? What can her A Queen may also use her own Practical Magic and
Royal Majesty accomplish with her magic? use Royal Charms. The increase in power between
a five dot Charm and a Royal Charm is comparable
to the increase between a four and a five dot Charm.
Coronation
Becoming a Queen requires two things, an Inner Sample Royal Charms
Light of six or more and a people who follow you
and love you as a leader. Specifically it requires Boolean Magic (Royal Govern)
at least a small country’s worth of people who
follow your leadership and an approval rating of A personal favourite of The Lady of Clear Water.
around eighty percent to support one Queen. It This Charm allows the Queen to create a free
goes without saying that the love and support of floating knot of magic that, if supplied with
your people is by far the harder requirement. wisps, can run preprogrammed magical routines
When a Princess has both she begins to feel a using boolean logic and if-than-else conditions,
connection to her people growing within her soul. these conditions can depend upon information
The churning mass of public opinion echoes within from the ordinary five senses or the results of
her, looking towards her for guidance. The Princess other Charms (including information gathered from

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Learn Charms). the Queens, for they are able to reincarnate just as
any other Princess.
Immortality (Royal Perfect) When a Queen dies her invocation does not
immediately vanish from the world, it fades
This Charm allows a Queen to stop herself from gradually along with her emotional and cultural
ageing permanently, it has no other effects and legacy. So long as the kingdom she led remains
does not protect the Queen from the psychological stable this process can take generations, more than
consequences of immortality. enough time for the Queen to be reborn.
Pocket Realm (Royal Shape) A reincarnated Queen is born without magic
and Blossoms into a Princess, not a Queen. She
By using similar principles to Miss Poppin’s has only one tiny innate advantage over any other
Bottomless Bag, but on a much vaster scale, a Princess, she can always buy her own Invocation
Queen can create her own private reality. A pocket at it’s favoured rate (and if her Invocation has
realm is entirely empty save for what the queen faded from the world, this benefit fades with it).
brings herself, it doesn’t even contain air. The However the former queen can have enormous
realm’s size depends on the successes rolled but external advantages: The hardest part of becoming
has no upper limit, if the Queen wants more space a Queen, building a Kingdom, is already done
she can simply invoke this Charm again to expand and her former people are probably eager to
her realm. help the next incarnation of their beloved Queen
regain her former splendour. This combined with
Pocket Realm is one of the Royal Charms memories and experience from her past lives is often
suspected to be used in the construction of enough for a Queen to retain her Kingdom across
Alhambra, but it is far from the only possibility. reincarnations.
Some Princesses believe Alhambra exists on the Something else must be mentioned, what
inner surface of a city sized bubble shield that holds happens if the Kingdom falls before the Queen?
back whatever power destroyed the Kingdom. The A Queen’s power comes from her people, without
Queen of Tears keeps the details of Alhambra’s them she is “only” a Princess. She can retain
security close to her chest; like so much about The her Attributes, Skills, Transformed Attribute and
Fall, the truth is unknown. Transformed Skills even if they are beyond her
normal maximum, all other benefits are lost.
Resurrection (Royal Restore) The active Queens shows that the magic behind
this process is not quite as simple as that (is
A Queen can bring back the dead, so can Princesses, magic or emotions ever simple?). Tears still has
but Queen’s are better at it. Resurrection works her Kingdom of course, but the inhabitants of
just like the Charm Resuscitate, but with a couple the Radiant Queens’ Kingdoms live only in the
of key advantages: Firstly it is possible to bring Dreamlands, and this is enough for the Radiant
someone back who has been dead for up to a Queens to retain their thrones, however their
number of days equal to the Higher of the Queen’s enormous powers only exist within the Dreamlands.
Inner Light and the Applied Invocation. Secondly Outside of those sleeping realms they have no
the target does not loose a dot from her highest power, save that Princesses can learn and use their
attribute. Invocations and Practical Magic. The Queen of
However the power required restore life to Storms seems to need no kingdom and the Queen
someone who has been dead for a while is of Mirrors... well no one knows what’s going on
enormously taxing even for a Queen, and costs a with Mirrors.
Dot of Inner Light instead of a dot of Willpower.
This dot can be brought back with experience, but
even so no Queen brings back the dead casually.

Death and rebirth

A Queen is not immortal without the aid of certain
Royal Charms, and even if she can live forever it
would not be psychologically healthy to go on for
more than a few centuries. None of this concerns

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 from exemplifying an ideal that resonates
Empresses? in the souls of those who believe in your
philosophies, to literally becoming an ideal
The Queen of Storms has led scholars and existing within the souls of humanity.
among the Radiant to question if there is Opponents of the theory point out that
a stage even beyond the rank of Queen. that the Queen of Storms is the only
Proponents of the “Empress Theory” say Queen known to have lost her fundamental
that it is a logical progression to transition humanity, something which goes against the
principles of the Light.
The question therefore becomes: Is the
Queen of Storms an Empress gone wrong?
Or is the very concept of an Empress a
betrayal of the Light?

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 Chapter 4: Fighting Fear
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he
who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
– Nelson Mandela

surrounds them. They are tragic, and monstrous.

Antagonists
The Radiant wish to create a better world, standing
in their way is everyone who benefits from the world The Outer Darkness
being just as it is. The most obvious, and common,
threats they face come from The Darkness: The “By my Queen, I can’t recall the last time I was in
Darkspawn, and the tainted areas they lurk in, a fight like that! No moral ambiguity, no hopeless
where human evil has worn holes into the fabric battle against ancient and overwhelming forces!
of reality itself. They were the bad guys, we were the good guys, and
Sitting half way between allies and enemies are they made a very satisfying sizzle when they felt my
the followers of the three Twilight Queens. The last light.”
surviving inhabitant of the Kingdom, her majesty
the Queen of Tears, sends forth her mortal followers The creatures that live in Darkness, and emerge
led by Princesses both living and dead to steal hope from Tainted areas hunting for scraps of light and
from Earth so her city may survive another day. warmth, were once creatures of flesh and blood;
The Queen of Storms still fights the war that many were men and women. The infection that
destroyed the Kingdom. She calls mortals and comes of staying in a Tainted place twists mortals
Princesses alike to her banner if they only hate out of the human shape, and tempts them with
the Darkness as she does. Leading the charge are offers of occult power if they consent to being
the terrible Goalenu, fragments of the Queen given twisted farther.
form to fight the Darkness.
With crystal crowns and gleaming sceptres do the
Princes and Princesses of Mirrors lead, destined to
be the True Heir and restorer of the kingdom. Their
mysterious Queen of Mirrors watches behind glass
and silver as her chosen attempt to heal the world,
and fail in their endeavours at great consequence
Virtue and Violence
to those who depended upon them. Be it by the Killing a Creature of the Darkness doesn’t
Darkness who were attracted to their unhidden actually reduce the total amount of Taint in
light or their descent into madness. the universe. The creature’s identity, and
Even the Dreamlands, the hopes and very soul any lasts traces of the human it once was,
of humanity, is not safe. The Wardens patrol for are destroyed but the Taint itself sloughs
souls carrying the Light, hoping to return them to a off back into the Dark World, joining the
blissful prison while the Amanojaku steal mortals’ reservoir of Taint waiting for something else
identities to taste of life on Earth. to corrupt and consume.
Most terrifying of all are The Dethroned, Nobles
who have given in to the pain and despair that

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 Integrity of seven or above then gaining a point of
It is only virtuous action that can truly
Integrity automatically cleanses them of Taint.
reduce Taint, purifying it and returning it to
the light. That said, fighting the Darkness
for the right reasons is a virtuous action in
and of itself. a Princess who kills a typical Darkspawn
Darkspawn will purify most if not all of it’s
The end result of a Darkened is the Darkspawn.
Taint upon it’s death. (Using jade or Light
Vicious beings who are little more than beasts
derived magic helps, but fighting for the
driven by cruel sadistic instincts. It’s not clear
right reasons is the key).
if Darkspawn are person changed magically by
One known exception to this is
the Darkness until nothing of the man they once
Tempesta. Princesses don’t know how
were remains or if they’re just a stain of Darkness
(Crystals are working on it) but when a
puppeting a body after devouring its original
Creature of the Darkness is fought with
occupant; but whatever they are a Darkspawn is
even a tiny amount of Tempesta, just
utterly devoid of morality and no magic known to
activating Storm’s practical magic without
the nobility has found any trace of their human
wound penalties or applying Tempesta to
past that might be restored. Darkspawn are by
add dice to an attack roll is enough, then
far the most common creature of the Darkness for
any damage destroys flesh and Taint with
the stronger and more intelligent verities are rare,
equal viciousness. This doesn’t actually
and the Darkened are, sadly, often just a brief
make the fight easier, it makes no difference
transitional state between an innocent human and
to a Darkspawn if it’s severed limb is still
a Darkspawn.
Tainted or not.
Most Princesses neither know nor care
about these principles. When a Darkspawn
is threatening to eat someone the theoretical Mnemosyne
underpinnings of it’s existence are relatively
unimportant. While some Princesses might More dangerous creatures of the Darkness than
wonder about what’s lost when Taint is the animalistic Darkspawn do exist. One such are
destroyed rather than purified, most believe the Mnemosyne; these are Darkened who welcome
that since the Light can create; even if Taint into their minds too many times. Their
the entire Dark World was destroyed with bodies have not shifted to welcome in the Darkness,
Tempesta they’d still be more than enough so they retain their lives and intellects, though
Light left over. Once again, when a Fury badly twisted by the multiple Breaking Points they
is causing collateral damage the theoretical went through. While not Darkspawn themselves,
underpinnings of Tempesta are relatively they can organize and direct the Darkspawn;
unimportant. and being utterly without scruple, they invariably
direct their minions to commit acts of monstrous
depravity.
As the most human creatures of the Darkness
Mnemosyne often specialize in manipulation, many
Darkened live on Earth preferring to sow suffering in their
own quiet way. The reason is simple, they retain
Darkened are the earliest form of Darkspawn. They enough of their former self to yearn for the luxuries
are still human, but infected by the Darkness. of Earth (even as they work to corrupt everything
The Taint flowing through a Darkened’s veins dulls they desire) and for all that a Mnemosyne delights
virtuous thoughts and transmuting cruelties into in it’s supernatural abilities, it knows that it
fine delights. As the Darkened sinks further into is unlikely to survive a direct fight against the
depravity the Taint grows, warping their mind and Radiant. And so it hides, and it spreads it’s Taint
body. Yet until the final moment the Darkened through cults and subtle manipulations.
remains a human infected by Taint, and infections While Mnemosyne have no Umbrae, their warped
can be cured. minds do connect them to the Darkness, and nearly
Darkened gain Integrity with acts of great all of them draw on this connection to gain dreadful
repentance and sacrifice, and if a Darkened’s supernatural abilities, the Caligines. What’s worse,
Integrity ever rises above the rating he had when they are able to train other creatures of the
he first became Darkened he is cleansed and loses Darkness in these techniques. It’s dismayingly
the template. Alternatively if the Darkened has an common for a Mnemosyne to found a cult that

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teaches people to meditate for hours in Tainted models are painted in clashing colours, frequently
areas, thus Darkening them, and then teach the broken by clumsy Darkspawn, and the Cataphract
new Darkened Caligines and send them off to use will use blood if they can’t get their hands on paint
them. (or, frequently, because all their paint has dried up
because they couldn’t remember to close the lids);
the “lovely home” that she cleans over and over
Cataphractoi again is in the Dark World, and so the mildew-
soaked carpet won’t come clean no matter how
Cataphractoi (singular; Cataphract) are intelligent much she scrubs, and the Darkspawn she sends out
creatures of the Darkness, above the bestial on household chores in her place cause all sorts of
Darkspawn in comprehension, and sometimes havoc. Despite all this, it means that they can...
mistaken, by the ill-informed for a Mnemosyne. well, not function, per se, in society, but they
Indeed, those who have only encountered can at least walk down the street without mauling
Darkspawn before tend to conflate the two, because people to death, and possess higher level thought
they are both intelligent, albeit in a warped and planning, which combined with their tendency
manner. However, their origins are rather different. to twist any Darkspawn in sight into an extension
A Cataphract does not need to have been a man or of themselves means that more than one Princess
woman tainted by the Darkness. Instead, a human has dubbed them ’the Generals of the Darkness’.
must come to accept, in their heart of hearts, that And that is something that must not be forgotten;
despair is better than hope, that the evil of men they may be the hollow shells of what were once
is all that humanity can ever aspire to, and that men and women, but now they are only creatures
there is nothing of value in the world. Too often, of the Darkness.
these are the people who have seen the horrors of Cataphractoi have access to both Caligines and
the world and who have nothing to live for. If hell Umbrae. In either case they may be limited to their
is the absence of light, of goodness, of anything Transformed sate. It is rare for a Cataphractoi to
worthwhile... then these people know hell. And if have a power that physically transforms their body
they die in that state - and sometimes they will just in their untransformed state. All Cataphractoi
lie down and cease to breathe - then, sometimes, have the Umbrae Subsumed by Another Shadow
at the moment of death, and all the horror and in both forms.
emptiness and cold and silence of the Darkness In addition, flooded as they are with the Outer
comes rushing into this empty body, and a new Darkness, they possess the capacity to shed the
Cataphract opens their eyes, the space behind their limits of human form imposed by their false
eyes flooded with the void. There are Cataphractoi memories, in a sort of “false Transformation”.
who are aware of how they form, and will take While a Transformed Princess is still human(oid),
people and subject them to tortures to break them, just a different human, no such condition applies
just so they reach that empty point. to the Cataphractoi, and their forms plumb the
Initially, they appear like the human they once depths of monstrosity. Dark-skulled, two-headed
were (although many acquire inhuman traits as hellhounds the size of a car, silhouettes of walking
time passes), save for the fact that, if one holds void, spectral blots of stillness and silence; all
their gaze too long, their pupils appear to writhe, of these can be forms that a Cataphractoi might
as if something was trying to get out. In a feat of take. As a result, they have access to Transformed
irony, the Cataphract clings to the memories and dots, and other appropriate mechanical means
recollections that the human rejected, because it for building their monstrous form. This is
is aware, at an instinctual level, that they are all trying for them and their mimicry of humanity,
that distinguish them from the formlessness of the though. It costs them a dot of Willpower to
Outer Darkness. As a result, they display a painful do this, and lasts a scene; should they go a
mockery of their former behaviour, a simulacrum month without using their false Transformation,
that would be pathetic if it were not the fact that the dot of Willpower returns. Should they
it’s a monster collecting tiny model soldiers and ever fall to Willpower 0 from use of this, the
painting them, or who has their ex chained up in the human memories are utterly destroyed, and they
“marital home” in the Dark World that she dragged become just another Darkspawn, albeit one in the
him to. It’s pathetic because... they don’t get it. “false Transformation” form, so considerably more
A Cataphract has barely any sense of self beyond dangerous than the norm.
the Darkness itself. It gathers up Darkspawn and
forces them to collect soldiers because it cannot
see how that is different from doing itself. The

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Cults Enlightened have been here more than once, but
they feel its presence. Tainted Areas connect to
this place, like arterial wounds pumping light to
The Darkness may corrupt your soul and melt
this place, and in such areas, the Darkness within
your mind down to a bestial being of sin and
stirs to light. Its Taint leaks into the world, and
hunger but it does offer power. The temptation
in return, the sleeping monsters wake, and begin
of power has always attracted people, from sinister
to make their way to the real world. This is the
and skilled sorcerers to easily duped fools. When
main source of Darkspawn - for men and women
the opportunity presents itself those who have
are not yet evil enough that they can be made in
access to Dark powers often try to become it’s
the numbers which Princesses encounter - and it is
gatekeepers, demanding loyalty and servitude in
the secure bases used by Mnemosyne cult-leaders
exchange for access to Tainted Places and the
and Cataphractoi dark generals. And from within
secrets of Caligines.
the depths of the Dark World, Dethroned howl at
Some cults are led by devout practitioners of
the blackened sky, the fallen Nobles and near-gods
fringe beliefs, others are cynical organisations
to monsters, and the Darkspawn shiver, for there
designed to accrue power and wealth for their
are things that even monsters fear.
leaders. Cults worshipping the Outer Dark are
There are ways to the Dark World. All Creatures
exclusively of the latter verity; for if they’re not
of the Darkness possess the capability, via the
it’s only a matter of time before the Darkness’
“Enter Darkness” ability, to both enter and leave.
corrupting influence removes any theology or
Some of them can grab human men and women,
morals that might impede cultists from spreading
and take them to their place as playthings and
Taint. Whatever creed of sin and hopelessness they
meals; certainly, all can take corpses, meaning
preach, it is merely a tool for controlling the lives
that some people are forever lacking closure for
of newer cultists who aren’t fully corrupted or for
a disappeared loved one. Certain blasphemous
luring in fresh recruits. Many Dark cults aren’t
rituals and powers can open wider holes, and it is
exactly well run and they can be almost transparent
under these circumstances that a Princess may find
in promising immoral power or luxuries to their
herself in this cursed place. But, certainly, it should
members (and if people aren’t tempted, locking
be understood that the Dark World is a terrible
them up in a Tainted Place often takes care of
place, that nevertheless must be acknowledged for
those pesky morals). Such cults rarely last long,
it is the source of the most dire threats that the
even without a Princess around the police usually
Enlightened must face.
take care of them and if that doesn’t happen their
actions create Stormwracked.
It is usually Darkened or Mnemosyne who lead
the Dark’s Cults for both are human enough to
The Nature of the Dark World
interact with people and human enough to desire The perpetual bane of Princesses who wish to
power and luxury. understand this place is that, as creatures of the
Light, they are not welcome here. Most of the
knowledge which has been gathered comes from
The Dark World those who have dabbled in Lacrima, for it grants
the ability to temporarily become a Creature of
Beyond the fields we know, just outside the field of the Darkness, and that way it is possible to reach
vision, in the sins of mankind and the slow rot of that place. Moreover, defectors from Tears have
entropy, there is another place. A place where the bought more hard-earned knowledge, from aeons
streets are ruined and the crash of rotting concrete of the Alhambran attempts to maximise the light
as it falls from gutted buildings is just a whisper. they can steal from the world. Some knowledge has
A place where the sun is a faint red dwarf, barely also come from the Queen of Storms, who hates
brighter than the other stars in the blackened sky, that place in all its manifestations, and teaches her
and the moon is a void in the night’s sky which followers ways to cauterise the wounds in the world
devours light, warping the twisted skies of this which are Taints. Knowledge is scarce, but some
place around it. A place where the air hangs still facts have been established, which are generally
and chill, where nothing lives and everything rots. reliable enough to be used as rules of thumb.
A place where frozen Creatures of the Darkness, Firstly, in most places, and certainly around
bereft of their contaminated life, line the streets, Taints, the Dark World looks like the real world,
like corpses. reflected through a mirror darkly. The worst
Welcome to the Dark World. Few among the images of a post-nuclear apocalypse Earth do not

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equal this place of rot and cold and damp and
decay, but they do at least provide some fuel to
The Enlightened in the Dark World
the imagination. Imagine your house, your street, Entering the Dark World is almost suicide for most
every place you know and love. Now, kill all the things. Even Creatures of the Darkness must cling
plants, and leave their rotting, slimy remains to to areas around Taints, if they wish to retain
smear the frozen earth. Let water pool in very agency and free will, monsters huddling around a
corner and every recess, freeze and melt, freeze and campfire. Mortals are doomed. But sometimes the
melt, over and over again, until the damage has Nobility find themselves in this place, and before
cracked and weakened everything once solid. Let the mechanics are dealt with, a few points should
the buildings crumple from neglect, staying just be noted.
upright enough to endanger those who go in them, Firstly, the Dark World is dangerous. This has
and fill the air with the scent of decay. Make it been said before, but it bears repeating. It is not
eternally cold, a cold which bites at the soul and the Dreamlands which, though as full of natural
fills one with melancholy. And let it exist like dangers as any other world, have an allure and an
this forever, always at the end of all things, never elegance and a certain safety to them. They are
quite permitted to end. Around a Taint, things not even like the stranger otherworlds which some
are lighter, warmer, less soul-crushing. And that’s Embassies can reach, for even in the place of the
where the Dark’s monsters are awake. spirits that the members of the Animist’s Embassy
This is the Dark World, even before the more can reach, not everything is a foe. In the Dark
supernatural elements are bought in. And those World, everything, without exception, wants you
are there en masse. Outside of Taints, all the dead. Even the world will seem to contort to kill
worst Dark-tainted dregs of humanity sleep, dead, a Noble within it, roads collapsing and buildings
undreaming, for even Creatures of the Darkness crumbling on their heads. Away from a Taint-
cannot survive in this hellish place. It is a massacre lightened area, the entire World is more Tainted
of monsters, the hunting dogs of the Darkness than even the most-corrupted places on Earth. And
betrayed by it, too. Sometimes fogs of Darkness that ties into the second point, which is...
come down from the void of the moon, and rot Secondly, they know where you are. Technically,
and corrode everything they touch, leaving empty this isn’t quite true. Technically, it is merely
scars on the landscape behind them. Sometimes the presence of the Transformed self which alerts
Dethroned - who, alone, perhaps due to their the Creatures of the Darkness in the Dark
former connection to the Light, can wake sometimes World. However, as previously noted, given that
- pass through, and the Darkspawn are twisted into everything around you wants you dead, going
the figments of their insane dreams, along with the unTransformed is not an option for anyone but the
landscape. Sometimes everything freezes and the most subtle and sneaky of the Nobility. Moreover,
air snows down, in a moment of bitter purity, for evidence suggests that, although it is not a common
the frozen air rots and melts almost as soon as it thing, the mere proximity of a Transformed self for
reaches the ground. And then there are the Other extended periods can wake the Darkspawn in an
places, drifting through the sky and through the area, like a Taint does. Therefore, the Noble can
land, which do not mimic the world as we know be tracked like a beacon of Light by the things that
it, but may be something that the Darkness is are awake and so will face frequent attack, but they
digesting. Some say that they’re remnants of the cannot rest, for resting will wake more Creatures.
Kingdom. Other say that they’re other worlds. This gives it a feel like a survival horror film, with
And as one gets further from the nearest Taint, a depth and intensity few of the Enlightened will
things get stranger. More viscous, as if the world is have felt before.
melting. Maybe the Dark World is only a real place So would anyone go there? That’s a very good
when it leeches light, but if that’s true, where do question. Some among the Enlightened hold that
the Darkspawn sleep when a Taint is not around? there is never a good reason to go there. Ever. Even
Some Princesses have claimed that this is the if a loved one is taken, at least they will probably
future, this is what the world will be like just before die quickly. Most cannot be so cold-hearted. And
the Darkness wins. Even if they’re not right, it’s a that is the most common reason by far; rescues,
good metaphor, at least. which all too often turn into revenge when they find
the person already dead. Some believe that there
are secrets within the Darkness, a way to destroy
Alhambra - which hides within the Heart of the
Darkness, lost Queens trapped in the Dark World,
secrets, even the remnants of the other cities in the

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Kingdom which fell so long ago. And to date, few of are an unappetising meal and so they roll Resolve +
those explorers have returned alive, and even fewer Stamina + Shadows instead of Integrity, and may
with anything worth the losses to them and their spend a point of Willpower to remove the need for
hollow eyes. physical equipment. They also face no dice penalty
The Darkness has such places. Let it keep them, to neutral actions (like climbing). These creatures
and concentrate on stopping it taking anything else. can survive longer in the Dark World, perhaps
long enough to traverse the distance between two
Nightscapes, but even they will eventually succumb
Rules for the Dark World to the cold. A Darkened who’s health track fills
up from the cold dies like any other mortal, but
Long term survival in the dark world is impossible, other creatures simply freeze solid. If exposed
but it may be important to measure how long a to the Light, which usually means basking in the
character lasts before they succumb. stolen light leaking from earth into a Nightscape
Getting to and from the Dark World is easy (should one form around them) but can also mean
enough. All but the smallest Tainted Place the presence of anyone touched by the Light, they
(see page 277) has a Dark Door. A physical quickly thaw and heal all Damage inflicted by the
portal that allows passage to and from a twisted Dark World’s cold.
reflection of the Taint and it’s history. Most Those carrying Light can use it to protect
Princesses distinguish between these reflections, themselves from the Dark World, a single success on
these Nightscapes, and the Dark World proper for a Belief or Integrity roll allows them to benefit from
a Nightscape is suffused with stolen Light leaching their equipment’s full potential. Success on this roll
from our world which shelters those within from the also allows them to treat the Dark World’s biting
full fury of the Dark World. However Nightscapes cold as mundane, allowing Charms like Waterproof
are found within the Dark World, and one only and Weatherproof to protect against damage from
needs to step outside the front door or climb over the cold. However the best protection is the
the garden wall to confront the full horror of the Charm Warmed By Hate Alone, which not only
Dark World. protects against the cold without requiring a Belief
Beyond a Nightscape the Dark World is a hellish or Integrity roll but also reduces the general dice
apocalyptic nightmare. Go too far away from a penalty. However there is a catch, every hour
Nightscape and even that consistency fades, but roll the total Inner Light of the group — treating
that requires a fair trek. The distance is large Beacons, Sworn, and Shikigami as Inner Light one
enough that an entire city with Taint here and — on a Success the storyteller introduces a new
there will be reflected fully in the Dark World, threat as the Dark World shifts to try and kill the
any new Taint within that city will manifest it’s intruder. Princesses can hide their Inner Light by
Nightscape in the corresponding location within remaining unTransformed but this of course leaves
the Dark World. The most basic danger of the them vulnerable to the many many dangers they’ll
Dark World it’s very nature. A hungry absence, encounter.
an absence of heat, an absence of hope, that gnaws
at the body and soul. Anyone in the Dark world
takes a -5 penalty to all action except those with
a sadistic or malicious intent, they also suffer five
The Rising Darkness — an optional
Bashing Damage per hour which cannot be healed
before leaving the Dark World or finding refuge
rule
in a Nightscape. This damage can be protected
The life of a Noble is difficult and dangerous. She
against, but only by guarding both body and soul.
must oppose the plots of powerful Dark creatures,
Each equipment bonus from appropriate equipment
along with the simple human wickedness that adds
(cold weather gear, hand warmers, an open fire)
to the Darkness’ power. The pain of the world
reduces the damage per hour by one per point
weighs upon her soul and so she she must build and
of equipment bonus; however every hour a mortal
preserve her ties to friends and family to keep her
must roll Integrity, the damage reduction is capped
spirits up and fuel her magic. Few Princesses can
to the successes rolled.
stay strong and carry on the fight for long without
Darkened find survival even harder than regular
someone to remind them to take time to recharge
mortals as their tainted souls are open to the Dark
and recover, and someone to recharge with. The
World’s predation, they subtract Shadows from
more intelligent forces of the Darkness are well
their Integrity roll and face a Breaking Point on a
aware of this. Thus whenever a Noble Blossoms
Dramatic Failure. Other creatures of the Darkness
and takes up her Calling and faces against the

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Darkness it’s creatures will try to identify, isolate stretches to ensure all Callings get to participate. It
and destroy her. Few creatures of the Darkness works best for more free-form games. Storytellers
can best an experienced Champion, but they can who wish to focus on a specific antagonist may not
keep her busy, and ensure she’s too busy to rest, want the dice to determine when he can and cannot
that there’s always another nun or orphan in mortal attack strategic targets. Or you may not want the
danger, until the Princess collapses from exhaustion Darkness turning up for a fight in the middle of a
while monsters are waiting to strike. game about politics and investigations.
The Rising Darkness provides a simplified The core of the Rising Darkness is Tension, a
mechanic to represent the overall threat of zero to six rating which defines the strength of the
Darkness in a the area of play, with a few necessary Darkness in the local area.

Tension Description Threats

0 For all intents and purposes the Darkness is No special threats.
absent from this area. This usually means
the area is away from humanity, or a small
community that’s proactively protecting itself
from the Darkness.
1 The Darkness hides away in it’s lairs. A No special threats.
Princess could keep herself busy rooting it
out but at this level doing so is more a
precautionary measure than anything else.
2 Taint is beginning to spread and the No special threats.
occasional roaming Darkspawn or indulging
Darkened strike during the dead of night.
Another typical city for the World of
Darkness.
3 Intelligent monsters have arisen to lead the Once per session the Storyteller nominates
Darkness. No longer do wild monsters roam a strategic target group represented by the
seeking to indulge their vices. Now scouts and Allies or Contact merit (police, city hall, etc).
spies lead the way, choosing strategic targets All Princesses treat their Allies as Tension
to attack or corrupt. dots lower and subtract Tension from rolls to
make use of their Allies and Contacts merit
for that group. These penalties lasts until the
Princess does something to fix the issue, but
if the players wait too long they may loose
the dots entirely. A corrupt internal affairs
officer breathing down your Allies throat is
less urgent than Darkspawn besieging the
safehouse used by mortal monster hunters.
4 Corruption and Taint has spread into mortal The usual grace applied to a Princess’ secret
institutions, or pre-existing corruption identity is reduced. The Darkness still needs
has fallen under an organised banner Clues to find her secret identity but if they get
transforming it from petty abuses into an those Clues there are no second chances. The
organised conspiracy dedicated to furthering Storyteller does not need to warn the players
the Darkness. The economy begins to suffer that antagonists are getting close.
and civil institutions become increasingly
ineffective. The conspiracy does not control
mortal institutions, not yet, but it can use
their knowledge and resources to track a
Princess

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 5 Taint and monsters are beginning to spread As paranoia, pain, and anger spread it
from the shadows and encroach on everyday becomes difficult for anyone as Sensitive as a
life. Regular citizens become fearful and rarely Princess to function in day to day life. The
venture outside after dark. Suspicions and Storyteller should ensure that every Session
paranoia spread, friendships begin to brake, each Princess faces at least one trigger per die
factions form, weapon sales soar and the ranks in their Sensitivity pool. Unless she retreats
of both Stormwracked and mortal monster from the world or chooses to suffer through it
hunters swell. she will need to make risky Transformations
or come up with creative ways to diffuse the
strife around her. A single mistake could lead
monsters to their door.
6 The Darkness no longer hides in the Shadows. The principal that a Princess’ mundane
The area resembles something between an connections are safe from harm unless the
inner-city hellhole of crime and poverty and an player screws up is revoked. Even if the
actual war zone. Law and Order is breaking Darkness doesn’t know a Princess’ identity
down, people evacuate if they can, and things are just that dangerous for average
monsters attack mortals in broad daylight. If citizens. Princesses must send their circle
the Princesses don’t find a solution soon a away or ensure they have constant protection
more powerful faction (like the government) and even the most careful Princess can still
may step in and the player’s probably won’t find herself attacked by monsters in her
like how they deal with things. mundane identity through pure bad luck.

Cleansing a notable Tainted Place, destroying a

The Darkness Surges powerful Creature of the Darkness, or getting the
Roll to see if Tension increases when the Princesses corrupt (but entirely mundane) mayor impeached.
fails to prevent evil: The Seeker doesn’t find the The higher the Tension the harder this should
kidnapped child in time, the Grace’s intervention be. At Tension 2 finding and cleansing Tainted
doesn’t turn the disenfranchised teenagers away Basement below a seemingly unoccupied suburban
from a life of crime, a Darkspawn fleeing the home where the inhabitants use stealth and mind-
Champion’s wrath escapes to prey upon civilians. affecting magic to torment the neighbours might
Do not worry about how strong the link between be enough. At Tension 4 the Princesses may need
what happened in the scene and new Taint is. You to cleanse and entire tower block swarming with
want all five Callings to be equally invested and this aggressive Darkspawn or track down a Mnemosyne
system is abstract enough that there doesn’t need mastermind who hides behind layers of pawns and
to be direct causality between what caused the dice proxies.
roll and why the Darkness is strengthening. Alternatively Princesses can reduce tension by
The Storyteller chooses a dice pool between one making a significant effort to empower mortals
and ten based on the seriousness of the failure. This against the Darkness. A Champion could teach the
pool is then given a bonus based on the number of local police everything she’s learned in her career
previous rolls: fighting monsters. A Grace could help the Hunters
organise. This should never be easy, as a rule
Dramatic Failure: The cumulative bonus resets. of thumb it should require a player’s share of the
Failure: Nothing happens. Session’s spotlight and at higher Tensions it might
Success: If the roll results in more Successes than take more than one Session. The Champion may
the current Tension the Tension increases by one have to take the police against a Tainted Place as
and the bonus resets. Otherwise all future rolls part of their training. The Grace may find that the
have a cumulative +1 bonus. Hunters have formed factions based on historical
prejudices and each group hates each-other only
Extraordinary Success: No special effect unless
slightly less than the Darkness.
the Storyteller wishes it.

The Light Rallies The Dark Template

Tension can be reduced by a significant victory Those corrupted by the Darkness acquire these
against the Darkness or the causes of Darkness: powers and flaws. The Darkened still have the hope

241
of recovery, should they turn that hope into reality the innate protections of a Princess’ mundane
the powers and flaws go with it. identity, automatically trumps Predator’s Eye.
The Darkness’ minions need an Umbrae or Caligo
to see through magical disguises and veils.
Moral Inversion
The Darkened reverse their Virtue and Vice; they Jade's Burn
can still perform acts of Virtue, but these are
shallow and meaningless, the moral equivalent of Creature’s of the Darkness cannot stand the touch
junk food, compared to the rewards that the Vice of jade (jadeite, nehprite, and perhaps surprisingly,
at the heart of their soul gives them. They may bowenite). Furies and Stormwracked claim this is
fulfil their Vice twice a session, and regain all because jade is the calcified essence of their Queen,
their Willpower when they do; while fulfilling their an idea with little support outside that Court.
Virtue can be done once a scene, and restores Every turn spent in physical contact with Jade
1 point of Willpower. Moreover, this inversion inflicts one Lethal Damage (Darkend only suffer
blights their consciences: the Darkened gain a - Bashing damage). Some hunters have remarked
2 to all Breaking Point rolls, their minds become that the burn wounds look more human and
brittle and quick to decay into a mindless beast of healthier than the rest of the Darkspawn’s body.
Darkness. In addition The Caligo Zombie’s Flesh will not
downgrade damage inflicted through contact with
Jade, jade buckshot (stone bullets are a bad idea),
Sadism a jade edged sword, or any other jade weapon. Nor
can they gain defence from Scuttling Spider’s Sense
When another suffers from an intentional act of against jade.
cruelty in the Darkened’s presence, the Darkness In addition having Jade upon your person
within feeds on the heady cocktail of malice and provides some modest protection against the
suffering. It’s growth strengthens the Darkened’s Darkness. Add one extra die when rolling to
power. When significant emotional or physical defend yourself from harmful Dark magic, including
harm is inflicted and the victim is a mortal or Light corruption. This does bonus does not protect
touched being they roll 1 to 10 dice depending on against taking damage and it will not stack with
the severity of the harm inflicted. If the Darkened is a protective amulet (GMC p243). Most amulets
merely a passive observer rather than a participant designed to offer protection against the Darkness
they take a -2 penalty. Harming a Sworn or include jade anyway.
Shikigami grants a bonus die, Beacons grant 3
bonus dice and Princesses grant 3 + half Inner
Light bonus dice. If the Darkened scores more Tainted Heart
Successes than their current Shadows rating they
gain a dot of Shadows. The more Shadows they The Darkened know a Tainted area for what it
have, the stronger their dark powers. is the moment they enter one, and can estimate
The Storyteller decides if harming other the depth of its corruption. As an instant action,
supernatural beings may provide Shadows, as a a Darkened may learn the Severity and Tainted
rule of thumb the more human the victim the more Aspirations of the place he’s in, the location of the
appropriate it is. Taint’s Dark Dore, and the Size of the area affected.
Further, the Darkened can sometimes benefit from
Taint, and gain 9again on rolls that take bonus dice
Predator's Eye from a Tainted Aspiration.

Creatures of the Darkness have an innate ability

to detect the Light. Including people, objects Enter Darkness
(Transformed Bequests, Seeds of Light) and Blessed
Places. Unless they have a relevant Umbrae or In the long ages since the Kingdom fell, the
Caligo a Dark Creature can only use Predator’s Darkness has bled a great deal of substance out of
Eye through their mundane senses meaning they the world we know; and while most of it has been
need a clear look. As a rule of thumb, if they’re consumed, and is gone past recall, the part that
not close enough for a human to identify their remains uneaten still keeps the general shape of the
friend they’re not close enough to pick out the Light world it came from. In the annals of Alhambra,
Touched. Supernatural concealment, including this crepuscular otherworld is named “the Lost

242
Provinces”; the Radiant Hopeful who know of it who’s instincts are the Darkness’ will to degrade
just call it “the Dark World”. Only Darkspawn and destroy.
subsist there (you can’t say they live there, really) On the surface those who invite the Darkness
but when they stand in a Tainted place with a in appear unchanged, their bodies remain human,
Nightscape, the Darkened can go there, and return. but hidden within is something even more sinister.
When trying to cross, a Darkened rolls the total Every time the Darkened chooses to allow the Taint
Taint’s Severity + their Willpower - the highest into their mind they choose one Breaking Point
Integrity (or equivalent) of all people in the Tainted trigger — which must represent an immoral action
area or its Nightscape; he adds his Shadows rating, on their part — that trigger will not result in
if any, to this pool when going to the Dark World, a Breaking Point for as long as they retain the
but subtracts his Shadows rating when coming from Dark Template. However each time they do this
it. (The Darkened’s Integrity is not excluded from the Taint replaces a bit more of their minds, if
consideration for this roll – if his Integrity is highest they choose to protect themselves and this brings
among those present, subtract it from his pool.) the total triggers they have removed to (Integrity
- Shadows) or higher then the process completes.
Dramatic Failure: The Darkened cannot use Nothing of the human they once were remains, any
Enter Darkness for the remainder of the scene. taint congealed in their bodies is reclaimed into
Failure: The Darkened fails to cross. their mind; reversing any Umbrae. All that is left
is a Mnemosyne, an intelligent creature devoted
Success: The Darkened vanishes and appears in
utterly to the Darkness’ will of corruption and
the equivalent location within the Nightscape.
carnage; keeping only the pieces of personality that
Or they vanish from the Nightscape and appear
can be twisted to serve in it’s new role.
in the equivilent location within the real world.
Extraordinary Success: The Darkened emerges
from the shadows in an advantagious position
and gains +2 to it’s next roll.
Umbrae
The following list of Umbrae should not be taken
as comprehensive; the Darkness has many ways to
Dark Warping distort its servants. Each Umbra confers a benefit,
balanced by a drawback.
Unlike the other more advanced verities of the
Dark’s creatures, the Taint within the Darkened
is still taking root. As the Taint grows it twists
the Darkened away from humanity. Dark Warping
Animate Shadow
grants the Darkened power but alienates him from Your shadow has developed a mind of it’s own and
the uncorrupted. Every time the Darkened looses serves you as a familiar. A Shadow is statted out
Integrity the Taint grows and surges, pressing as a normal person, with at least 1 dot in each
against the cracks in the Darkened’s psyche. He Attribute plus extra dots allocated 5/4/3 and Skill
must make a choice, he can either resist the invasion dots allocated 9/6/3. Its Size is the same as the
and push the Taint back to the furthest reaches of person casting it, and its Willpower, Initiative and
his body where it will settle into his flesh; deforming Speed are calculated as for a normal person of its
his body into something monstrous. Or he can type. The Shadow can not speak as a normal
accept the Darkness and invite it into his psyche person would and it’s actions seem to make less
where it will eat away at his morality, creating noise than it would. The Shadow’s default shape
somebody monstrous. is a silhouette of a person. A Shadow moves by
Students of the Darkness have noted frequent crawling along the ground or across the walls, but
ways in which the Darkeneds’ bodies are twisted, always remains attached to the feet.
and call them the Umbrae. Each is a step on a path Shadows are naturally stealthy and gain 8again
towards damnation. When the Darkened looses on both Larceny rolls and Stealth rolls to avoid
their final dot of Integrity the monster growing in being noticed as anything but a normal shadow.
their flesh bursts free like an insect emerging from Though Animated Shadows are easy to destroy,
it’s cocoon or it awakes and spreads it’s rot through never having more than three Health Boxes, only
every healthy cell that’s left, devouring it’s host jade or magical weapons can affect them. If
from within and using his body as it’s own. Either destroyed they will naturally reform after around
way the human does not survive this transition, all ten minuets. Shadows automatically gain any
that is left is a Darkspawn: An animalistic monster Caligo or Umbrae possessed by the Darkened that

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changes the body’s shape such as most Claudendum
Caligines, think literally: if the Darkend’s shadow
Corruption of Flesh
looks differently the Shadow share’s the benefits. The Taint on the character’s soul is only attached
There is one exception: Shadows may never gain by the thinnest of threads, it is eager to go forth and
Armour. corrupt the world. Every time it leaves, it carries a
bit of it’s host away.
Drawback: Your shadow really does have a mind When ever the character kills a mortal human he
of it’s own, and seeks out opportunities to indulge loses a Dot of Shadows, Intelligence or Stamina (in
it’s Vice. Being a shadow it is limited but makes that order), this dot is consumed by the darkness
up for that by stooping to rather petty levels. within his soul in order to pollute the body of his
The Shadow of a greedy man will swipe loose victim. The body then rises as a fresh Darkspawn.
change. The Shadow of a lusty woman will take Darkspawn created through Corruption of Flesh
any opportunity to pinch a cute hunk’s bum. If have all the Umbrae known to their creator as well
the character is paying attention they may roll as any Claudendum Caligines. The only exception
Composure to restrain their Shadow. is the Umbrae Subsumed by Another Shadow.
Not only does the freshly risen Darkspawn lack
Subsumed by Another Shadow, it also begins it’s
Cold Flesh unlife loyal to it’s creator.
The Darkened’s skin turns cold, as if they have poor
Drawback: The Drawback is the lost Attribute
circulation. They are now immune to all negative
dots. Most Darkened with this Umbrae tend to rot
modifiers for low temperature, and will not suffer
away as their Stamina is consumed.
hypothermia or frostbite, no matter how low the
temperature gets.

Drawback: The sun’s touch is now painful against

Cruel Confidence
their chilled skin. They take 1 point of bashing The darkness warped personality of the character
damage every 5 minutes from direct sunlight, inflates ego, conceals weaknesses, and buries their
manifesting as severe sunburn. Completely fears and compassion deep inside their suffering
covering up and use of strong suncream can reduce heart. Other people become tools, their dreams
this to one point every 15 minutes. exist for them to abuse.
While the ability is in effect, the threshold to
open the Character’s doors through Intimidate,
Corruption of Blood Persuasion or Socialize actions is doubled, while
they gain +1 bonus to rolls for all the above.
The character’s blood, spittle and sweat are laced
with necrotic fluids. He need only touch someone
Drawback: Though the character is confident
barehanded to inflict a moderate Sick Tilt [GMC
on the surface, they are only delusional, and
212]; if he injures someone with his natural
disconnected, ignoring their pain while it eats
weapons (even bashing damage) he inflicts a grave
them away. They are under constant stress with
Sick Tilt. Moreover, when the Sick Tilt ends
no apparent source(to them), becoming impulsive
(or immediately, outside of combat) an infectee
and irritable. Furthermore, they can’t gain the
must roll Stamina + Resolve, penalized by the
Swooning condition, as they are “superior” to
Darkened’s Shadows (for a moderate sickness) or
everyone, and can’t roll Empathy, as they are
the Darkened’s Shadows + Stamina (for a grave
convinced they “don’t care what anyone else feels’”
one) once an hour to avoid taking lethal damage
even when they feel concerned.
equal to the character’s Shadows, a number of times
equal to the Darkened’s Stamina.
Though the source of the sickness is supernatural
the sickness itself is not, and responds normally to
Dark Dreams
medical intervention. The Darkness is everywhere there is sin or vice or
Drawback: The character’s fluids are always absence, and some of this knowledge is fed into the
necrotic. He cannot touch anyone without infecting Darkened’s brain. The Darkened gains the White
them. Rabbits Merit, at 1 dot. On any night they use the
merit, they do not regain Willpower.

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Drawback: There are three potential drawbacks touches. In any Social rolls against a person the
for this Umbra. Dark Dreams can be taken up to 3 character has ever put a hand on, he suffers a -2
times, each time increasing the level of the Dream penalty; in social manoeuvres against such people,
Merit by 2 dots, to a maximum of 5, and taking the character must open one extra Door.
another drawback.

1. The eyes of the Darkened cloud over with

cataracts that surgery can do nothing for.
Hollow as a Shadow
They gain the Blind Condition. The Darkened becomes hollow and empty within,
with effort they can twist themselves to become
2. The taint of the Darkness seeps into their
hollow and empty without as well. The Darkened
mind. They are at -1 to all later Breaking
can rolling Stamina + Composure to shift between
Point rolls.
one of three states: Solid, intangible and Twilight.
3. The dreams come unwillingly, and every night. This takes an Instant action. It is not uncommon
As a result, the Darkened never regains for Darkspawn with this Umbrae to forget how to
Willpower from sleeping again. This does not become solid. No matter what state the Darkened
increase the frequency of useful dreams. is in, they take full damage from Jade.

Drawback: When you’re hollow you’re hollow.

Faceless in the Crowd The Darkened always feels unsubstantial, like they
have little to offer and don’t belong. Their default
The Darkness begins to subsume the Darkened’s state is intangible. In any stressful social situation
identity. People just ignore them. All individuals where others are not directly paying attention to
are at -3 to even notice them, and must roll you, such as preparing to enter an interview room,
Intelligence + Composure each time they want the Darkened must roll Composure, on a failure
to remember them, failure producing a description they shift into Twilight and must remain there for
of “Well... he... I think it was a he... was sort of the rest of the scene.
tall? Maybe?” Mechanical and electronic records
are not affected.
Hunger Means Nothing
Drawback: This applies to all rolls to notice or
remember the Darkened ... not just their present The Darkened is now immune to deprivation from
life, but their past deeds, before they gained this dehydration or hunger. They no longer need to eat,
Umbra. Childhood friends forget their names, old nor drink; though they can, they gain no benefit
acquaintances don’t recognize their faces, neighbors from it, nor do they taste anything.
are startled on noticing them in a home they’ve
owned for years. Drawback: Quite apart from the fact that they
can never eat again, the character wastes away.
They are at a permanent -1 to all actions from
Grip Onto Your Fear the weakness and slowness of thought, they reduce
their Health by one box, and look too thin, like
The flimsiest Darkspawn’s grip can become the a cancer patient, or (some more cynical Princesses
unheeding grasp of death once it locks its palm might remark) a top fashion model.
around you, and woe to the ones who panic, for
the darkness feeds off of their despair. When the
character is in a grapple, he gains a +2 bonus to
the Hold and Restrain moves. Against an opponent
with a Condition or Tilt that implies fear, such as
Shaken, the bonus is +3. In actions that involve
gripping an object, the character gains a +1 bonus, Hunger means anything?
and attempts to remove an object from his grasp So what happens to Darkspawn who don’t
take a -1 penalty. have Hunger Means Nothing? Where
Drawback: The character’s hands, while normal exactly do monsters get enough food to
to the eye, are repulsive to the touch. His palm survive without constantly revealing their
could always be sticky with sweat, rough as if presence to humanity?
covered in wood chips or cold as ice. Only thick
gloves can stop the sensation of disgust in those he

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 thematically reflect the accusations. A Darkened
Most Darkspawn do need sustenance,
manager who fires his employee, inflicting a
but they have alternatives to fresh meat.
Breaking Point, and calls him a leech who profits of
Any Creature of the Darkness, except
his coworker’s hard work might create the Thief’s
Darkened, can spend one Shadow for three
Touch or the Loathsome Jaw Umbrae with a
days of sustenance. However a Darkspawn’s
horrifying leach-like mouth.
most common food is Light itself. A seed
Drawback: Before you can infect people
of light, a Bequest, or a Princess’ dead
with your hate, you must first possess hate.
body is a nourishing and delicious meal.
When acquiring this Umbrae Creatures gain the
However the most common source of Light is
Obsession Condition, which cannot be resolved
to rest in a Tainted Place or it’s Nightscape,
without removing the Umbrae. The obsession, of
supping on the Light as it leaches out of the
course, reflects their drive to destroy people who
world. A Tainted place can only support a
fall under whatever category they hate, though
finite number of Darkspawn, depending on
they may put a more noble sounding euphemism
it’s size and severity, and Darkspawn often
around it. Many Darkened with this Umbrae begin
prey upon each other for their sadistic sport
by inflicting their curse and then deciding that
so necessity can still drive Darkspawn to the
the monstrous form inflicted by their victim’s new
surface in search of food or a new home.
Umbrae “proves them right” and justifies more
Darkspawn frozen within the Dark
drastic action. Other creatures of the Darkness
World have no need of food, though many
don’t need a justification.
are ravenous upon waking.

Light is Dark
Infectious Hate The Darkened’s eyes transform; he now sees by the
absence of light. Complete darkness is for him what
Every Princess who knows of this Umbrae agrees bright light is for normal people, and he suffers no
that it has one and only one positive side. It’s rare. penalty from low light.
Infectious Hate allows a Creature of the Darkness
to inflict the Darkened template upon innocent Drawback: Contrariwise, bright light is to him
mortals. As with the usual way that the Darkness what complete darkness is for normal people – the
infects innocent victims, the target must suffer a Darkened is blind when directly illuminated, and
Breaking Point and loose Integrity. Shortly before, takes penalties for any task that requires looking
during, or after the Breaking Point the Creature at things that give off light. Darkened with this
with this Umbrae must tell the target why they Umbra are forced into a largely nocturnal existence.
are a bad person (this requirement means that
Darkspawn with the Umbrae are often incapable
of using it). There is no controlling the Umbrae, if Loathsome Weapon
you have Shadows and accuse someone in a moment
of vulnerability the Umbrae takes effect. Part of the Darkened’s body transforms into a
Spend a Dot of Shadows and roll Presence + lethal weapon - his mouth grows into a muzzle full
Intimidation - Integrity of fangs, or his fingers stiffen into knife-like claws.
Exceptional Success: The target gains the Attacks with the altered body inflict Shadows
Darkened template and an Umbrae. damage, maximum of 5. The Darkened need not
Success: The target gains the Tainted condition, grapple to attack with the altered part, even if
their Tainted Aspiration is based on what the that would be necessary before the alteration (as
Creature said. bites often are.) A Darkened may take multiple
Failure: The dot of Shadows is wasted. Loathsome Weapons, with each one affecting a
Dramatic Failure: Hate drips off the Creature’s different part of his body.
words. Everyone who hears them sees the Creature
as a bigot of the worst kind. Drawback: The body part cannot be used
Umbrae inflicted by Infectious Hate don’t for anything but attacking foes while it is
manifest immediately but develop over around ten changed: a Darkened with a changed mouth cannot
hours, they develop much faster during night. speak intelligibly, one with changed hands cannot
While the Creature has no control over what grasp or manipulate objects. Naturally if the
Umbrae are developed they often, but not always, Darkened cannot hide his weapon people will react
appropriately.

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Miasma of Madness Sight in Blackest Night
The Darkened exudes a colorless, odorless mist with The character gains the ability to navigate clearly
a radius of Presence + Shadows. Anyone breathing by sound alone. They take no perception penalties
in the mist must make a Resolve + Composure roll for Darkness or other related penalties.
to prevent the mist from clouding their mind for Drawback: At the cost of their vision. As a
the rest of the scene. Any one affected suffers from general rule their new hearing can substitute for
the a Tilt for the rest of the scene. The exact Tilt sight but automatically fails any roll that requires
varies by the individual Creature. sight, such as reading. Deafening noise can be
completely debilitating.
Drawback: The Darkened must make the same
roll or spend a Willpower point every scene.
Sound of Silence
Night Raptor The character’s hearing becomes exceptionally
acute. They gain +3 to all aural based rolls.
The Darkened’s grows wings. It’s speed while flying
is equal to it’s normal Speed + Shadows. Darkened Drawback: So acute, in fact, that they are pained
are short distance flyers who use their wings to by voices, even their own. The many subtleties
maneuver around a battlefield or to assault their and emotions in speech are overwhelming to their
foes from above. They can fly for Stamina minuets sensitive ears. They cannot speak above the level
without rest before they start taking penalties from of a soft whisper. This, as might be guessed, makes
fatigue. day-to-day life rather hard. They cannot drive a
motorcycle, or attend concerts while in this state.
Drawback: The Darkened’s bones grow light and Should they go to a supermarket, they must use the
hollow. Treat Stamina as two dots lower for self-checkout, to avoid clamorous small talk with
determining the damage required to inflict Arm the girl at the checkout counter. All social rolls
Wrack, Leg Wrack, or Wing Wrack. (Wing Wrack conducted at a normal volume take a -3 penalty.
uses the same mechanics as Arm and Leg Wrack. Insisting on whispering can impose penalties of it’s
Make the called Shot at a -1 penalty. If it inflicts own.
the Tilt damage the Darkened looses the ability to
fly, and plummets if it was already flying).
Subsumed by Another Shadow
Scuttling Spider's Sense Whenever the Creature comes within (Willpower +
number of Umbrae) yards of a Darkspawn (and not
The character becomes hypersensitive to sounds other Creatures of the Darkness), he reflexively and
and changes in air-pressure, so sensitive that they automatically rolls Presence + Resolve, contested
gain a kind of limited precognition. The character by the Resolve + Composure of the Darkspawn.
may apply their full Defence to ranged attacks, The Creature makes this roll separately for each
moving to dodge bullets before the trigger is pulled. Darkspawn he meets, but no more often than once
a scene. If the Creature gets more successes, the
Drawback: People move constantly in a hundred Darkspawn believes him to be its natural superior,
small ways, every twitch, every breath could be and will seek to protect him as best it can, and
a threat and the character can’t keep up with gratify what it thinks are his desires.
all of them. When in the same room with more The duration of this effect depends on what kind
than Composure people the Darkened starts to get of creature possesses the Umbrae. A Darkened
panicky. After Resolve minutes he must spend a or Darkspawn will assert domimence until it’s
Willpower, run for somewhere alone (and stay there servant separated for Shadows hours. A Darkened
for at least ten minuets) or violently lash out at the or Darkspawn retains control for Willpower +
threats. Shadows hours. Cataphractoi, for whom this
The lifeless Creatures of the Darkness, even umbrae is a fundamental part of their being, retain
Darkened, do not trigger this instinctive panic even control for one week per dot of Shadows. After
though they are far more likely to commit casual the duration expires the Darkspawn forgets it’s
violence upon their own kind. master’s existence.

247
 The Creature can try to give his servant an order automatically reduced to a chance die; on a
as an instant action; the dice pool is Presence Dramatic Failure, the target becomes convinced
+ Composure, and the order can have no more that the Darkened is lying to them.
than (successes) conditions (so, “Break the light”
is one, while “Break the light outside” is two.) By
default, a Darkspawn servant will also use all its Tainted Allure of Vice
powers/abilities to prevent others from seeing it,
but it will break cover if an order requires it. The There is something... fascinating about the
one order it won’t obey is to leave and not return. Creature of the Darkness which calls to mortal
souls; a sick, degrading allure to its presence
Drawback: Of course, most people don’t which draws others closer. The character gains
really want vicious Darkness-beasts following them the Striking Looks merit, at the 2 dot rating, as
around. Darkspawn servants consistently assume the entire way they move, speak, act becomes
that their master wants them to do harm, and attractive, even if they do not change much
will kill or wreck anything that seems to be an physically. Darkspawn with this Umbra retain
obstacle, or even inconvenience. A Darkspawn sent some allure and do not become ugly, instead
to buy groceries will attempt to pay, but if the gaining a beauteous depravity in their inhumanity.
cashier takes too long with the change, says it’s not
enough money or more likely tries to lock the door Drawback: ... and it brings out the worst in
as soon as she sees a monster approaching, then the others, for it is a guilty pleasure that wracks at
Darkspawn will probably try to kill her. the soul. At the time of purchase, the Creature
Any expression of dislike for somebody, even for chooses a Vice such as Cruel, Violent, Lustful. As
a trivial reason (being pushed aside by a passing soon as they use the bonus dice from Striking Looks
stranger, say) might inspire the Darkspawn to on a person (which is not a choice), for all future
deliver his severed head to your doorstep. In interactions that individual gains the Vice as a
addition, most Darkspawn aren’t the prettiest of secondary Vice along the lines of “Cruel towards
things, and being followed by monsters that don’t that Darkened” (if it is redundant with an existing
seem to show themselves to others is quite nasty on Vice there is no further benefit). The Vice can only
the psyche. restore Willpower if indulgence harms, subjugates,
Darkspawn that possess this Umbrae are immune or degrades the Creature of the Darkness in some
to its effects; they are not going to serve another, way, and will likely be a Breaking Point for any
and will often attack anyone or anything else moral person. In packs of Darkspawn, ones with
which possesses it. Moreover, they seem prone to this Umbra are right at the bottom of the pack,
retaining a worrying cunning quite unlike human because they suffer the indignities of their “peers”
intelligence; the limited use of language (enough to just as much as they had in life.
call out “help me” in a normal voice while trying to
lure someone in), tactics (send weaker ones to make
a noise outside while it and the stronger ones it Taste of Sin
controls come in through the roof), and the ability
The Darkened may assess a character’s morality
to control other Darkspawn make them notably
with a Wits + Empathy roll. This is phrased in
more dangerous, especially since there is no way,
terms of the worst sins that the character has no
on sight, to tell them apart.
problem with (so, for example, “This character has
no issues with non-lethal violence against his fellow
man”). On an exceptional success, he also knows
Subtle Tongue the worst action the individual has committed.
Devious cunning becomes easy for the Darkened, Moreover they get +2 on social rolls if the target
as the nothingness and antipathy for form of has the Vice-Ridden Merit.
the Darkness enters through the mouth. All
Manipulation-based rolls, except for activations Drawback: ... and the consequence is that the
of supernatural powers, are at +1; this is increased virtuous are painful to be around. They have a
to +3 if the character is lying. -2 to social rolls against people with the Virtuous
Merit, the Beacon Merit, or Princesses with a Beleif
Drawback: Correspondingly, forthright openness of 7+. Moreover, they need to pass a Resolve +
becomes hard. All Presence-based rolls, again Composure at the same penalty to even talk to
except for activations of supernatural powers, are people with such a moral nature; if they fail, they

248
lose a Willpower point, as a sudden shame hits
them.
Armaendum
This set of Caliganes uses the power of the Darkness
as weapons.
Thief's Touch
The character’s fingers are quicker and more
nimble, subtly guiding the character in dark deeds. I Have You Now, My Pretty (••)
They gain the 8-again bonus in all Larceny and
Subterfuge and rolls Action: Instant, Strength + Crafts + Shadows

Drawback: The character is always the first to be Cost: 1 Willpower

suspected of any wrong doing, even if he made a
clean getaway or is innocent. Duration: Lasting

The Darkspawn develops some grotesque power

Roteater that allows it to capture it’s foes. Arachnid like
web spinners, fast growing tentacles or a dark
The character can eat anything, up to and including sorcery that conjures rusty bloodsoaked chains
broken glass, and will suffer no more than one out of shadows and fears. The Darkspawn may
point of bashing damage as the “food” goes down. make normal grapple rolls at a distance of five *
Anything less resilient than metal will be digested; Shadows feet. The dice pool is Strength + Crafts
things undigested will be passed, again causing no + Shadows, but otherwise the usual rules apply.
more than 1 point of bashing damage. They also
receive a dot in the Hardy merit for free, ignoring
the normal prerequisites for it.
Shadowblade (•, •••or •••••)
Drawback: Of course, with such a universal diet,
one can always have... preferences. In this case, Action: Instant, roll Intelligence+Craft+Shadows
whenever they are hungry or thirsty, the character (Successes are capped by Taint Severity or 5,
must succeed on a (Resolve + Composure) roll or whatever is lower)
else spend 1wp to not try to eat any rotting meat or
drink stagnant, dirty water they see. They suffer a Cost: 1 Willpower
penalty on this roll equal to the Size of the rotting
meat. Darkspawn with this Umbra almost always Duration: Scene
have Grotesque Bulk, and tend to make themselves
larders of hung corpses (which need not be human; The Darkened can manipulate the Taint around her
to form a weapon of pure Darkness that cuts at
the first sign may well be all the pets going missing)
in case they get peckish. both the flesh and the happiness within, growing
claws or forming swords. Despite it’s unusual
nature this weapon can be treated as a normal
Caligines attack.
A Single Success creates a mundane melee
The Darkened can choose to twist themselves even weapon chosen from the list in WoD Core p170.
farther, drawing on the Darkness for supernatural If you possess WoD Armoury you may choose from
powers, the Caligines. Each Caligo is rated from 1 that book, it is acceptable to design a new weapon
to 5, and costs two dots of experience to purchase. if it has identical stats to any existing weapon.
Darkspawn, Mnemosyne, and Cataphractoi, being Each additional success may be spent to: increase
entirely Creatures of the Darkness, can have any Damage by one, increase durability by one, reduce
Caligo on this list. Learning a Caligo is always a the Strength requirement by two.
Breaking Point with a -5 modifer, for it directly At one dot the Shadowblade can only do Bashing
damages the soul. Many Caligines uses are also Damage. It might be some form of club, or just
Breaking Points, the descriptions note which and a have a surprisingly dull edge. At three dots the
their modifers. weapon does lethal damage, at five dots it may do
Aggravated Damage.

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Shadowbolt (•, •••or •••••) Despite the unusual nature of this attack treat it
like a normal firearms weapon. Damage is Bashing
Action: Reflexive to charge. Instant to shoot, however a blast from Voidbolt drains the Light from
Dexterity + Firearms + Shadows. the heart with it’s infinite hungry emptiness. Every
point of damage inflicts a -1 general penalty which
Duration: Lasting decreases by 1 each turn. At five dots the penalty
remains for the rest of the scene.
Cost: 1 Willpower to charge. Penalties from Voidbolt do not stack, use the
The Darkened gains the ability to perform greater penalty. They do not stack with Voidbomb
a ranged attack powered by magic or some or Voidblade.
obscene biological mutation. Before attacking
the Darkened must spend a point of Willpower
to charge Shadowbolt, one Willpower provides
Shadows times three shots.
Voidbomb (•••or •••••)
Despite the unusual nature of this attack treat it
Action: Reflexive to charge. Instant to throw,
like a normal firearms weapon. Damage is Bashing,
Dexterity + Athletics
at three dots it becomes Lethal and at five dots
Aggravated.
Duration: Lasting

Cost: 1 Willpower to charge.

Shadowbomb (•, •••or •••••)
The Darkened gains the ability to charge an
Action: Reflexive to charge. Instant to throw, item with explosive power with magic or some
Dexterity + Athletics obscene biological mutation. Before attacking the
Darkened must spend a point of Willpower to
Duration: Lasting charge Voidbomb. A Voidbomb has a Blast Area
of Shadows and a Damage of half Shadows
Cost: 1 Willpower to charge. Despite the unusual nature of this attack treat it
like a landmine or a grenade. Damage is Bashing
The Darkened gains the ability to charge an however a blast from Voidbomb drains the Light
item with explosive power with magic or some from the heart with it’s infinite hungry emptiness.
obscene biological mutation. Before attacking the Every point of damage inflicts a -1 general penalty
Darkened must spend a point of Willpower to which decreases by 1 each turn. At five dots the
charge Shadowbomb. A Shadowbomb has a Blast penalty remains for the rest of the scene.
Area of Shadows and a Damage of half Shadows Penalties from Voidbomb do not stack, use the
Despite the unusual nature of this attack treat it greater penalty. They do not stack with Voidbolt
like a landmine or a grenade. Damage is Bashing, or Voidblade.
at three dots it becomes Lethal and at five dots
Aggravated.
Voidblade ( •••or •••••)
Voidbolt (•••or •••••) Action: Instant, roll Intelligence+Craft+Shadows
(Successes are capped by Taint Severity or 5,
Action: Reflexive to charge. Instant to shoot, whatever is lower)
Dexterity + Firearms + Shadows.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Duration: Lasting
Duration: Scene
Cost: 1 Willpower to charge.
The Darkened can manipulate the Taint around her
The Darkened gains the ability to perform a ranged to form a weapon of pure Darkness that cuts at
attack powered by magic or some obscene biological both the flesh and the happiness within. Despite
mutation. Before attacking the Darkened must it’s unusual nature this weapon can be treated as a
spend a point of Willpower to charge Voidbolt, one normal attack.
Willpower provides Shadows shots.

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 A Single Success creates five mundane melee push the stolen flesh through their veins to where
weapon, usually in the shape of needles, small it’s needed. The flesh must be consumed or
daggers, and caltrops. Each additional success may acquired in the current scene and fresh enough to
be spent to: increase Damage by one, increase safely eat (which can be very old if the Darkspawn
durability by one has the Roteater Umbrae). If the Darkspawn takes
Voidblade can only do Bashing Damage. Every flesh from a living person they must take eat one
point of damage inflicts a -1 general penalty which point of Lethal damage’s worth of flesh for every
decreases by 1 each turn. At five dots the penalty point of Lethal or every three points of Bashing
remains for the rest of the scene damage they heal. With some sort of bite attack
then the Darkspawn may reflexively swallow after
a Successful attack to stock up.
Claudendum
The Caligines in this set warp the body of the
Darkened, marking him an exile from humanity. Grotesque Bulk (•, •••, or •••••)
Action: Permanent

Diminutive Size (•, •••or •••••) The Darkened swells and bloats, becoming gigantic.
This Caligo increases the Size of those who learn it;
Action: Permanent the 1-dot version adds 1 to Size, the 3-dot version
adds 2, and the 5-dot version adds 3. The Caligo
Duration: Scene provides the full effects of increased size, as per the
size chart (page 203).
The Darkened twists and shrinks, often becoming Grotesque Bulk and Diminutive Size are not
animalistic or insectoid. At 1 dot, the Darkened compatible - a Darkened that has one at any level
becomes Size 3. At 3 dots, the Darkened becomes cannot learn the other.
Size 1. At 5 dots they’re size 0. The Caligo provides
the full effects of decreased size, as per the size chart Undying Heart (•••••)
(page 203).
A Darkspawn with this Caligo often shows Action: Permanent
more animal cunning than the simple brutality
of it’s peers by virtue of Darwinian necessity. Cost: 1 Shadow
Many seek powerful protectors like Cathrophacti
or Menosynes and earn their keep as spys or scouts. Duration: Scene

The Darkened cuts out part of their body, usually

their heart, and hides it far away. So long as their
Flesh of my Flesh (•••) heart remains safe the Darkened cannot be killed
Action: Instant, Stamina + Medicine + Shadows by anything less than complete destruction of their
body. If the heart is destroyed, they die instantly.
Cost: 1 Willpower If the Darkened’s health is filled with Lethal
damage they will not begin to bleed out, instead
Duration: Scene they fall unconscious until they have had sufficient
time to heal. Undying Heart does not increase the
When all is reduced to an empty bleakness such Darkened’s ability to heal, it only provides infinite
trifling things as property will hardly matter a bit. time for the healing process to take hold. If the
In a Dark world you have far more important things Darkened health track is filled with Aggravated
to worry about than someone trying to steal your damage, he’s still dead.
money, your goods, or your flesh. If the Darkened retrieves his missing heart he
With this Caligo a Darkspawn can heal may sacrifice the Undying Heart Caligo, and all the
themselves from physical injury, replacing damaged experience invested in it, to instantly heal to perfect
flesh with stolen flesh. Every Success heals health. However if any other Darkened finds the
1 Bashing or Lethal damage, providing the heart they may eat it for a free dot of Shadows.
Darkspawn has some spare human Flesh. Some
stitch new flesh to old, but most simply eat and

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Zombie's Flesh (•- •••••) Cost: 1 Willpower

Action: Permanent Duration: Scene

The Darkened pulls his blood away from the The Dark Creature gains the ability to shapeshift.
outer layers of his flesh, and calls upon Taint to They can change their ethnicity, sex, height,
harden them; his skin takes on the waxy pallor weight, and appearance, given a reference to work
of a corpse embalmed for burial. This hardening from they could mimic a real person. However
preserves the Darkened from nearly all forms of they cannot change their overall body plan, a
injury; he gains General Armor equal to the dot Darkspawn that resembles some sort of canine will
rating of this Caligo. In addition even one dot always resemble some sort of canine, a Darkspawn
causes the Darkness to downgrade the effects of that remains mostly humanoid will always look
mundane damage: Aggravated damage becomes mostly humanoid and never fully humanoid. If
Lethal and Lethal damage becomes Bashing. the Creature has any Caligines or Umbrae with
Bashing damage is unaffected. However jade a drawback that affects their physical form they
weaponry will bypass this effect. cannot mask it, a Creature with Hunger Means
However, it also inspires revulsion in anyone not Nothing will always look thin and starved. The
Darkened who can see his skin - the Darkened best they can do is adopt a disguise where looking
suffers a -2 penalty on all Empathy, Persuasion and starved makes sense or wear a thick padded coat to
Socialize rolls for interacting with non-Darkened. hide the thinness of their body.
This is a true change, a good perception roll
cannot see through the illusion to the truth
Cleptam underneath however supernatural senses (such as
A Magical Girl’s Eyes) can spot the magic holding
With these powers Creatures call upon darkness to the Creature’s body in an unnatural shape if they
mask their misdeeds. roll more than the Creature’s activation successes.

Dramatic Failure: The Darkspawn turns into a

Cloak of Shadows (•) black vicious sludge from which various horrific
body parts constantly form and dissolve. It may
The Darkspawn becomes a creature of night, do nothing except use this power again or wait
invisible in the Darkness. So long as the light is dim for the scene to end.
enough to impose even a single die penalty and the
Darkspawn is untouched by natural or supernatural Failure: Nothing happens.
sunlight the Darkspawn adds Shadows to all Success: The Darkspawn changes as desired.
mundane Stealth and Larceny rolls. Exceptional Success: The Darkspawn’s change
is unnaturally convincing. Any attempt to see
Liar’s Heart (•) through it takes a -2 penalty.

The Darkspawn’s hides it’s Taint in lies and self- Face in the Crowd (••••)
righteousness. Supernatural powers that would
reveal it to be anything other than mundane must Action: Instant, Manipulation + Suberfuge vs
prevail in a Clash of Wills. The Darkspawn adds Composure + Supernatural Advantage
the higher of Stealth or Subterfuge to it’s usual
Clash of Wills Dicepool of Shadows. Cost: 1 Willpower
Liar’s Heart only protects against supernatural
detection. It does nothing to stop someone looking Duration: Scene
at the Darkspawn’s appearance and noticing it’s
obviously a monster. Darkened and Mnemosyne The Darkspawn curses it’s target to see it’s from
are the most likely to make use of this Caligine. wherever they look. The Darkspawn first names a
trait of their appearance which can be as broad
Mask of Skin (•••) as “humanoid” or something narrower like “red
jacket”.
Action: Instant, Stamina + Suberfuge + Shadows
Dramatic Failure: The target cannot fail to
recognise the Darkspawn for the remainder of the

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 scene. Any attempts at disguise automatically Failure: The character’s scorn falls flat; no one
fail against the target. joins him in condemning the target.
Failure: Nothing happens. Success: The audience believes the character’s
Success: The target sees everyone who possesses denigration and regards the target with mistrust.
the chosen trait as though they were the The target gains the Notorious Condition.
Darkspawn. This extends to all senses, including Exceptional Success: Even the target half-
magical senses such as those granted by Charms. believes that he has somehow transgressed. He
However the effect only applies to senses, the also gains the Guilty Condition, related to what
target is free to react to the illusion however they the character said about him.
wish.
Exceptional Success: In addition to the above the Handful of Dust (••)
target loses all ability to perceive the Darkspawn
for three turns, giving them that much more of a Action: Instant and contested, Presence +
chance to blend into the crowd. Persuasion + Shadows vs. Composure +
supernatural advantage

Confudendum Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -2

This sequence of Caligines twists senses and
Duration: Lasting
darkens minds.
The Darkened utters a sentence that blights the
confidence of one to whom he speaks.
Avoid All Eyes (•)
Dramatic Failure: The Darkened cannot use
Action: Instant, Wits + Shadows Handful of Dust for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The sentence means nothing to the
Duration: One scene target; there is no effect.
Success: The words haunt the target,
The Darkened blurs in the sight of all witnesses; no condemning him as incapable and worthless. The
one who sees him can tell exactly where he is. He target gains the Shaken Condition.
gains the Protective Blessing Condition, the affectd
trait is ranged attacks and the modifier is equal to Exceptional Success: The target gains two copies
his activation successes. This penalty stacks with of the Shaken Condition.
other forms of concealment.
Bogeyman (•••)
Scapegoat (••) Action: Instant, Presence + Intimidation +
Shadows.
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Subterfuge -
target’s Composure Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -3

Cost: 1 Willpower Duration Concentration.

Duration: Scene The Darkened wraps himself in the deepest fears

of those around him. As long as he concentrates,
Throw mud enough and some will stick ... and others see him as whatever they dread most.
servants of the Darkness know just where to throw
Dramatic Failure: The Darkened only appears
it, and how to make it stick. To use this Caligo
ridiculous, like a man dressed in a Halloween
the character publically accuses another person of
costume. He cannot use Bogeyman for the rest
something heinous or humiliates and mocks him.
of the scene.
Dramatic Failure: The audience sees the Failure: Nobody is frightened by the Darkened’s
character’s words only as proof of his bigotry and appearance.
barbarity. He gains the Notorious Condition.

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 Success: The Darkened gains the Terrifying Tilt, specific person to show, who is the target’s friend
which affects everybody. This lasts for as long as (+3)
he concentrates fully on inflicting fear. If he does
anything that requires a roll, the Tilt is removed.
Exceptional Success: The Tilt lasts for a full Ducem
scene.
These Caligines allow a Darkspawn to control other
Creatures of the Darkness.
Everyone Dies Alone (••••)
Action: Instant and contested, Manipulation
+ Persuasion + Shadows vs. Composure +
Gathering Shadows (•••••)
supernatural advantage
Action: Instant
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -4
Cost: 1 Willpower, breaking point at -1
Duration: Indefinite
Dice pool: Animal Ken + Shadows
The Darkened offers to show the target a vision of
Duration: Shadows minutes
the hatred and despair that lies under everything
she loves. He can activate this Caligo without any
When the character calls, other Darkspawn
knowledge of the target, but the more he knows
gather to him.
of her and the people she loves, the easier it is for
him. This Caligo creates a false vision, it does not
require an actual betrayal to function. Dramatic Failure: For the rest of the scene,
any bestial Darkspawn the character meets either
Dramatic Failure or the target wins the roll with
attacks him or runs from him.
an Exceptional Success: The target sees a vision
that reminds her of how much her friends need Failure: No Darkspawn respond to the summons.
her, renewing her will to fight. She regains one Success: Every bestial Darkspawn within
Willpower. If the target is a Princess, if she (activation successes * 1000) yards, and in the
prefers she may instead reflexively roll Belief - same world, goes where the character is if it can
Shadows, gaining one Wisp per Success. move at all, and remains within walking distance
Failure: If the Darkened does not get more of him for turns equal to his Shadows. Intelligent
successes than the target, no vision appears. Dark Creatures can hear the call and may choose
how to respond.
Success: The target sees a vision of a friend
or loved one betraying her. Depending on the Exceptional Success: The character can claim
Darkened’s Successes this may be as simple as one of the Darkspawn he summoned as a servant.
insulting her behind her back or a deadly betrayal He gains the Bonded Condition to one bestial
that puts her life in jeopardy. Etched into her Darkspawn.
mind by dark magics the target can’t help but
believe it’s true. As a result she gains the
Cursed Condition and subtracts the Darkened’s Intelligent Dark creatures within the affected
successes from all social rolls with the friend and area automatically know who used Gathering
teamwork actions with him. This has an ending Shadows and where he was when he activated it,
trigger, the friend can convince the target that but are not compelled to respond to the summons.
their friendship is real by beating the Darkened’s
activation successes. Magic can also break the
curse. I am Your Master (•••••)
Exceptional Success: In addition to the benefits
of many successes, the target gains the Avoidance Action: Extended, Presence + Intimidation +
Derangement triggered by the person seen in the Shadows - targets’ highest Resolve; make 1 roll
vision. each sunfall, target number is the highest Resolve
among the Darklings + the number affected
Modifiers: The Darkened does not know the
target’s name (-3), the Darkened chooses a

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Cost: 1 Lethal Health Level per Darkling, 1 WP Attribute. The new dots remain as long as the
each night, Breaking Point at a -5 penalty Darkened’s control persists.

Duration: Indefinite
Duratum
A taste of the true Darkness in the heart is enough
to break a beast to the will of someone stronger These powers let the Darkspawn manipulate cold.
for life. To begin using this Caligo, the Darkened Any ice or cold created by these Caligines is laced
feeds a measure of his own flesh or blood to the with Taint and so it bypasses does not count as
Darkspawn he wants to influence, enough to do 1 natural for the purposes of Charms like Legno’s
lethal damage per Darkspawn. He need not remain Weatherproof. However it can be overcome by the
within sight of his targets after the first night; the Charm Warmed By Hate Alone.
process works from within. Once this is done, the Any attempt to use Charms to manipulate
Darkened spends 1 Willpower at sunfall each night elements created by Duratum take a -Shadows
and rolls reflexively. If he fails to do this, the penalty.
Darkspawn react as if he had rolled a dramatic
failure.
Yamr’s Breath (••)
Dramatic Failure: The Darkened’s control over
Action: Instant, Stamina + Althetics + Shadows
his servants breaks. The Darkspawn now desire
nothing more than to feast upon his flesh again,
Cost: 1 Willpower
and seek him out to kill and eat him. They know
exactly where their former master is for a number
Duration: Lasting
of nights equal to their Wits; if the Darkened
evades them longer than that, they lose the trail.
The Darkspawn spends a Willpower to breath
Failure: The Darkened keeps any control he had, out a mist that drains the heat out of all it touches,
but makes no further progress. freezing the very air itself. The mist doesn’t move
Success: The Darkened accumulates successes. that fast, so characters can escape it’s path with
Before he reaches the target number, the a Dexterity + Athletics roll of their own, a single
Darkspawn will obey verbal orders the Darkened Success will suffice.
gives them during the hours of darkness, to the
best of their abilities, but they won’t risk their Dramatic Failure: The Darkend loses a turn to
lives, and they return to their normal activities violent choking.
when the sun rises. Giving an order follows the Failure: Nothing happens.
same rules as the Umbra Subsumed by Another Success: Each Success applies one square foot
Shadow. of the Icy Tilt. Mundane objects caught in the
After reaching the target number, though, the area may be rendered inoperable until they’re
Darkspawn become fanatically loyal. They gain defrosted or smashed out of the ice. Characters
the Dominated Condition with an indefinite who are caught they take the immobilized tilt,
duration and both the Unethical (not that treating the ice’s durability as equal to the
Darkspawn have ethics) and Suicidal modifiers: Darkspawn’s Shadows.
They will continue to carry out an assigned task Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their
until it’s complete without regard for day or own reward
night, and will fight to the death if so ordered.
They will attack anyone who tries to break their
master’s control, doing as much damage as they Cold of a Dead World (•••)
can (making all-out attacks, spending Willpower,
etc.) until either they or the other is dead. Action: Instant, Strength + Survival
In addition, the Darkened can give his servants
orders mentally, without speaking aloud. Cost: 1 Willpower
Exceptional Success: The bond between master
and servant becomes a source of power. One Duration: Scene
of the Darkspawn affected gains the Blessing
Condition, it adds 1 dot in a Physical Attribute; The Darkspawn calls up cold from the Dark
the master chooses the Darkspawn and the World to freeze the land.

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 Dramatic Failure: The Darkspawn falls into the as the base; Integrity and Shadows add bonuses
Dark World beneath it’s location. and penalties as usual.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The monster creates the Extreme Cold
Tilt with a severity equal to the lower of Walk in Darkness (•••)
Successes and Shadows, maximum of five.
Exceptional Success: The maximum severity Action: Instant, Stamina + Athletics + Shadows
increases to Shadows + 1 or 5, whichever is lower.
Beyond the Nightscapes of Tainted places, the form
of the Dark World distorts away from that of the
Nocendum land it came from. Those who dare to travel in the
Dark World, if they have learned this power, find
These Caligines exploits the Dark World. paths that lead from one Tainted place to another,
far more swiftly than any road in the world of light.
The Darkened must use Walk in Darkness in
the Dark World. If he succeeds, the landscape
Open Hellmouth (•) of the Dark World has shifted, opening a path
from his current location to the place he wants to
Action: Reflexive, unrolled go that is significantly shorter than the smallest
distance between the places they are images of.
Cost: 1 Willpower Each activation success cumulatively doubles his
effective Speed in the real world for the next hour,
Duration: Scene or until he next leaves the Dark World, whichever
comes first.
When the Darkened enters a Tainted area from
its image in Darkness, he opens a wide breach
through which his servants can follow him. If the
Darkened spends a Willpower point as he uses Dark Ascension (••••)
Enter Darkness in the Dark World, then for a
number of turns equal to his Shadows any other Action: Permanent
Darkspawn that Enters Darkness from the same
place he did gets a bonus on its roll equal to the The reverse of Nowhere Untouched, the
Darkened’s successes on his Enter Darkness roll. Darkspawn may ascend from the Dark World
The Darkened does not get the bonus himself if he outside of Tainted Places, if it can reach it’s
Enters Darkness again, and if Open Hellmouth is destination without freezing solid. Ascending from
used again before the last activation expires, the the Dark World requires an unlit spot to arrive
second activation supersedes the first. in, and this Caligine provides the ability to see
However the real advantage of this Caligine is potential exits while within the Dark World.
that if the Darkened used Nowhere Untouched to Note that the further you get from Tainted Places
travel outside of a Tainted Place then others may the more warped the Dark World becomes. Even
follow. with Walk in Darkness finding any specific spot
that’s far from Taint may not be feasible. As a rule
of thumb a typical city will have enough Taint that
Nowhere Untouched (••) their auras overlap giving the entire city a mostly
stable reflection in the Dark World, but isolated
Action: Permanent rural often have no stable reflection.

The Dark World exists everywhere, gnawing at

all that is real. With Nowhere Untouched, the
Darkened may use Enter Darkness outside of Shadow Step (•••••)
Tainted areas; all he requires is a place large enough
to stand or sit in, and which is not currently lit - Action: Instant, Dexterity + Athletics
a deep shadow will do. If there is enough light to
read by he cannot cross over. Cost: 1 Willpower
When crossing in unTainted areas, a Darkened
treats the local Taint as 0, using Willpower alone

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Duration: Lasting Duration: Scene

The Darkspawn may enter and exit the Dark World The Darkspawn calls up darkness from the Dark
in a single action, vanishing from one unlit area and World to blot out the sun.
arriving in another mere seconds later. To teleport
the Darkspawn must be able to see his destination, Dramatic Failure: The Darkspawn falls into the
even as just a patch of shadow, and it must be Dark World beneath it’s location.
within Shadows * 10 yards of his departure. Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The monster creates the Low Light Tilt
Dramatic Failure: The Darkspawn falls into the with a severity equal to the lower of Successes
Dark World beneath it’s location. and Shadows, maximum of five.
Failure: Nothing happens. Exceptional Success: The maximum severity
Success: The monster sinks into the shadows and increases to Shadows + 1 or 5, whichever is lower.
reappears at it’s destination.
Exceptional Success: Until the Darkspawn’s next
action any attempts to see or otherwise detect it Polluendum
take a -2 penatly.
This sequence of Caligines exploits Tainted Places.
Modifiers: Every three points of Taint Severity:
+1, maximum of +5.

Defiling Touch (•)

Noctem Action: Permanent
These powers let Darkspawn manipulate darkness
itself. The character has bound himself to the Darkness,
and it reaches through his evil acts with special
virulence. When he commits an act that generates
Blackout (•) Taint, the amount it creates is read from the row
on the chart one step lower than its true level. This
Action: Instant, unrolled cannot increase Severity above 5.

Cost: 1 Willpower
Burying the Crime (••)
Duration: Scene
Action: Extended, Intelligence + Occult. (10
By spending a point of Willpower the Dark minutes/roll, threshold = Severity)
Creature instantly snuffs out a light that they can
see and where the source has a size equal or less Cost: 1 Willpower
than Shadows.
For the purposes of this Caligo the definition of a Duration: Variable, maximum Shadows Days
light source is anything that makes sense to refer to
as one object. For example ”one streetlight” or ”one This Caligine can be used to hide Tainted Places
chandelier” are both valid targets, even though a from agents of the Light or humanity. The
streetlight has a single bulb and the chandelier has Taint’s effects fade, the Dark Door fades into the
many. When measuring the size of the light source surrounding structure and for a time the area
only count the part that actually emits light, a is normal. No action outside the Dark World
streetlight would be size one. can damage the Tainted Place (remember that
the Charm Purgation burns in both worlds), and
no magical or mundane sense will detect Taint
Sundown (•••) (however it may detect that there used to be taint
here or will be taint here in the near future). As
Action: Instant, Strength + Survival Caligines go this one is rare, most Creatures of the
Darkness lack the forward planning to make use of
Cost: 1 Willpower it.
Taint may remain hidden for up to one day per
the user’s Shadows, the exact duration is chosen

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before activating the Caligine, after which it returns and decay will radiate out from the icon until it
at a rate of 1 Severity point per hour. The user covers a Size equal to the original Tainted Place,
may choose to end the effect early, but to do so it takes one day per dot of size. If the icon is
they must be within the Nightscape. found and destroyed before this is complete the
If a Princess invokes Consecrate upon the hidden nascent Taint is destroyed, otherwise a new Severity
Taint than the Consecrate Condition is removed 1 Tainted place is formed. It’s Nightscape is a copy
when the Taint returns. If she applies the Upgrade of the old one, adapted into it’s new surroundings.
Purifying than upon it’s return the Taint begins
removing the Princess’ Successes like normal.

Profanation (•••••)
Twisting the Bane (•••) Action: Instant, roll Shadows

Action: Extended, Presence + Occult + Shadows Cost: 1 Dot of Shadow (after rolling)
- Severity (10 minutes/roll, threshold = 2x
Severity) Duration: Lasting

Cost: 2 Willpower, Breaking Point at -4 The apex of any Darkspawn’s ability to manipulate
Taint is the ability to will a Tainted Place into
Duration: Until sunrise being. Before invoking this Caligine the Darkspawn
must make a Strength + Brawl roll to cause as
Taint, the Mnemosyne say, only anticipates the much damage as possible and they must get at least
final state of the world under Darkness. With five successes per dot of the desired Tainted Place’s
this Caligo, the Darkened calls up a different Size (it is assumed that there are no people around,
aspect of that final state in a Tainted area; while if there were potential victims then there would be
touching the Taint’s focus, he prays to the powers easier ways to create a Tainted Place).
of Darkness. On reaching the threshold number If the extended action is a Success the Darkspawn
of successes, the Darkened may change one of the may roll Shadows. Each Success creates one
Tainted Aspirations. It remains altered until the point of Size or Severity, Severity may not exceed
next sunrise, and then returns to its original form. the Darkspawn’s dots in Shadows (before rolling).
The Darkened may use Twisting the Bane for a Profanation, and the preceding extended action,
number of times a week equal to his Shadows. may be invoked as a Teamwork Action. Only the
primary actor needs to know Profanation but every
actor must donate a Dot of Shadows to the cause.
The Aspirations and Nightscape of the new
Copycat Crime (••••) Tainted Place are formed from whatever cruelties
created the Shadows invested in Tainting the
Action: Instant ground; but the Storyteller is explicitly encouraged
to ignore this aspect of the metaphysics if it
Cost: 2 Willpower, Breaking Point: Roll a Chance interferes with creating interesting Tainted Places.
Die

Duration: Lasting Sopiendum

The Dark wants to Taint everything, and its This sequence of Caligines steals energy from a
servants can channel it towards the best places Darkspawn’s foes, leaving them weak or stunned.
to infect. Within a Tainted Place the Darkened
prepares an icon symbolic of the Tainted Place.
Success transfers 1 dot of the Taint’s Severity
into the icon, with an associated Aspiration; the Enervation (•)
Darkened chooses which Tainted Aspiration to
copy. While stored in the icon the Taint is inert Action: Instant, unrolled
— it doesn’t register to Sensitivity, and doesn’t
affect anyone’s dice pools. Cost: Breaking Point with no modifier.
At any time the Darkened can plant the icon
where it will become the seed of a new Taint. Rot

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Duration: Lasting Willpower to nightmares, the Darkened gains a
point of Willpower.
The Darkened steals the will to live from others, Exceptional Success: The nightmares last for an
leaving them listless. If he has a target immobilized additional day.
– pinned in a grapple, unconscious, tied up, or
otherwise unable to act – then he can touch the Suggested Modifiers: The target has had the
target to transfer 1 Willpower point from the target Caligo used on him within the past month (-1
to himself. The Darkened cannot use Enervation for each use)
if his Willpower pool is full, or the target’s pool is
empty.
Tentendum
This sequence of Caligines exploits Vice, twisting
Enervating Hex (••) desire into a perverse mockery of all that is humane.

Action: Extended, Intelligence + Crafts +

Shadows - object’s Durability (1 turn/roll,
threshold = object’s Structure)
Serpent's Tongue (•)
Action: Permanent
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -1.
The Darkness has a grip on everyone, and the
Duration: Indefinite
Darkened can find it and bring it out. The
Darkened adds his Shadows to all Social rolls to
The Darkened converts an object to a sink for
discover another person’s Vice, or to persuade a
others’ will and energy. Once the threshold has
person to indulge his Vice.
been reached, the target gains the Draining Hex
Condition, with a potency equal to the Darkened’s
Shadows and a willpower pool equal to the Hex’s
maximum structure. Evil Influence (••)
Action: Instant, Presence + Persuasion +
Shadows
Call the Black Dog (•••)
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -1.
Action: Instant, Manipulation + Empathy +
Shadows - target’s Resolve
Duration: Scene
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -2.
The sight of the Darkened rouses the Darkness
in one’s heart, and inspires impulses to crime. For
Duration: Successes days
the rest of the scene the Darkened gets the Blessing
Condition, it adds his Activation Successes to all
The Darkened deprives his target of the comforts
the Darkened’s attempts to induce other people
of nightly rest, by sending a shadowy hunter to
to perform acts that cause suffering. This bonus
pursue him in his dreams. The target must be held
stacks with any bonus from Serpent’s Tongue when
immobile, unable to act, as with Enervation.
the suggested act plays to a person’s Vice.
Dramatic Failure: The target’s dreams withstand
all assault; the Darkened can never use Call the
Black Dog on this target again. Sin Whisperer (•••)
Failure: The target has a nightmare when he next
sleeps, but it does not affect him further. Action: Instant, Manipulation + Subterfuge +
Shadows - target’s Resolve
Success: The target has a dream every night
of being mercilessly hunted. He gains the
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -2.
Nightmares Condition, it lasts for one day per
success rather than the usual duration. In
Duration: Indefinite
addition, every time the target loses a point of

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The Darkened infects a victim’s psyche, inflaming Action, Extended, Presence + Crafts + Shadows
his target’s worst impulses. vs Composure + Power Stat. (Threshold: Targets
Integrity + Resolve. Dark Creature’s Presence +
Dramatic Failure: The target resists the psychic Shadows)
infection - the Darkened can never use Sin-
Whisperer on this target again. Duration: Indefinite
Failure: The target is not affected.
Ingredients: One helpless captive held fast,
Success: The target gets both the Sweet
Darkness fresh from the Dark World, tears and
Sin condition, Vice becomes that much more
raw material. Plastic or burlap will do. With this
tempting.
profane Caligo the Darkspawn physically creates
Exceptional success: The Darkened also gains +1 some kind of doll around the victim. Trapping their
to social rolls with the target for the rest of the body and their mind.
scene.
Dramatic Failure or the defender wins with
an Exceptional Success: The half finished doll
Drink Pain Like Wine (••••) explodes, freeing the victim from their bonds, at
least temporally.
Action: Extended, Manipulation + Persuasion
+ Shadows (5 minutes/roll, threshold = target’s Failure: No progress is made. If the defender
Composure + Empathy) reaches the threshold the half finished doll
becomes nothing more than inert material which
Cost: 1 Willpower, Breaking Point at -3. can be easily removed.
Success: The Dark Creature makes progress.
Duration: Variable When they are finished the complete doll sinks
beneath the victims flesh. Only supernatural
The Darkened preaches a creed of suffering and senses, and curiously a canine or feline’s sense of
cruelty, and instills his words with a dreadful smell, can detect anything wrong. Dolls created
power to convince one who listens to them. When by this power have the targets original Physical
he reaches the threshold number of successes, his Attributes, the Doll Template: They have the
target gains a secondary Vice of Cruelty; he regains usual benefits of The Dark Template and the
one point of Willpower in any scene where another Umbra Tainted Allure of Vice. They are also
person suffers as a direct result of his actions entirely mindless and act as the people around
(that is, when his action would trigger a Princess’ them expect them to act. They even use the
Sensitivity.) This Vice applies independently of the Mental Attributes, Social Attributes and Skills
target’s normal Vice - he can gain Willpower from of those around them, if a gourmet chef expects
both in the same scene. Treat this as the Blessing a Doll to cook his steak at exactly 550 degrees,
Condition (well that’s how the Darkness sees it). it will.
By default the Caligo’s duration lapses at the Exceptional Success: Great progress is made.
next sunrise. However, if the target loses Integrity
as a result of indulging Cruelty, the Caligo’s
duration lengthens by 1 full month for each dot Killing a doll kills the person trapped within, and
of Integrity lost. On the other hand, if the target so it counts as killing an innocent when measuring
ever fulfills his Virtue, and regains any Willpower Belief of Integrity.
by doing so, the Caligo ends immediately - the Drawback: Being entirely mindless Dolls do
target remembers his true character and shakes off not have Integrity and so cannot loose Integrity.
the Darkened’s influence. Barring an external influence there is no transition
from a Doll to other types of Dark Creature. So
long as the Doll exists there is a possibility to break
the curse with magic. Of course, this is only a
Crafted with Love and Care (•••••) Drawback from the Darkness’ perspective.
Perquisite: Mnemosyne or Cataphractoi

Cost: 2 Willpower.

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 Success: The ritual empowers a weapon, once
Other Caligines this weapon has been used to inflict sufficient
damage (as per the usual rules for Dark Pacts)
Breath on your neck (••) the payment is complete and a Caligo is
bestowed. The Caligo may be bestowed on
Action: Instant Wits + Stealth + Shadows the ritualist or upon whoever used the weapon,
modified by Intimacy or both for two point of Willpower and two
payments of Lethal damage. And yes, the
Cost: 1 Willpower ritualist can just leave cursed weapons where
people are likely to use them, but anyone who
Duration: Turn touches the weapon may roll Composure +
Empathy to get a bad feeling about it.
The Darkspawn focuses upon a Princess (or
someone else touched by the Light) and feels a Exceptional Success: In addition the rush of
great yearning hunger that reveals to them the power invigorates the ritualist. This is treated
exact location of their target. The Darkspawn must as the ritualist immediately fulfilling their vice.
be able to picture their target in their mind to
use this ability, and they may need to overcome
supernatural defences. Grasping at Shadows (••)
Dramatic Failure: The power works in reverse,
Action: Instant and resisted, Dexterity + Brawl
revealing the Darkspawn’s location to the target.
+ Shadows - target’s Defense
Failure: The Darkspwan feels a great hunger, but
cannot identify the target’s location. Duration: Variable
Success: The Darkspawn learns the rough
location of the target. To within an area the size With a sweep of a hand or foot, the Darkened
of a large building like a school. catches hold of an opponent’s shadow. Aside from
the dice pool, this is a normal close attack. If the
Exceptional Success: The Darkspawn learns the
target is not casting a shadow (for instance, he isn’t
exact location of the target.
illuminated) the Caligo has no effect.

Dramatic Failure: The Darkened cannot use

Drawback: Regardless of the result, the target is
Grasping at Shadows for the rest of the scene.
always aware that something horrific is watching
them through supernatural means. Failure: The target feels a momentary weakness,
but is not otherwise affected.
Success: The target is paralyzed, unable to move
Devil at the Crossroads (••) or act. He remains in this state as long as
the Darkened keeps hold of his shadow. The
Action: Instant
Darkened must remain close enough to touch
him, and have one hand free – any action that
Cost: 1 Willpower
requires both hands or requires leaving the target
breaks the hold. Also, if the target is attacked, he
Dice Pool: Presence + Occult - Caligo Dots
may apply his Defense, and the sudden motion
also breaks the Darkened’s hold on him. The
Duration: Shadows Days
Sopiendum Caligines do not count as an attack.
The Darkened forms a Dark Pact, naming Exceptional Success: The target is paralyzed
themselves as the middleman between the Outer as above, and remains so for one turn per
Darkness and some mortal sucker. the Darkspawn’s dots in Shadows, even if the
Darkened releases his shadow; he cannot act until
Dramatic Failure: The ritual backfires, sending he is attacked or until several turns pass.
the ritualist into a dangerous part of the Dark
World, summoning a powerful Darkspawn, or
some other effect that’s dangerous even to a Fearful Instincts (•••—••••)
creature of the Darkness.
Action: Permanent
Failure: The ritual fails.

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 The Darkspawn may apply his Defence against also choose to see from one of his eyes and one of
Firearms, at four dots they also increase their the target’s eyes (or two different victims) which
Defence by Shadows. The four dot bonus does not inflicts -3 due to the mental taxation of seeing
apply against jade weapons. two viewpoints at once.
Exceptional Success: The target forgets the cause
Self-Consuming Hunger (•••) of her weeping eyes and gains the Avoidence
derangement that prevents her from talking
Action: Instant about or showing her eyes to anyone.

A Darkened may have up to Intelligence + Shadows

Cost: 1 Resistant Lethal Damage
people tagged with this power at any one time.
Duration: Scene

With this Caligo a Creature of the Darkness can Sweet Tooth (•)
use their own body as fuel for their dark magic.
They take a point of Resistant Lethal Damage and The Darkspawn gains Unseen Sense (Light).
gain a special pool of (Shadows +1 Willpower), this They can sense Light touched people within
Willpower can only be spent to pay the activation Shadows * 20 yards. Transformed Princesses
cost of other Caligines. Unspent points are lost at are even easier to detect and double the range,
the end of the scene. unTransformed Princesses are of course completely
invisible to this sense. If the Princess magically
conceals her nature she can roll a Clash of Wills
Such Pretty Eyes, I Think I'll keep Them (•••) against it.
Something small like a (Transformed) Bequest
Action: Instant, Presence + Intimidation +
isn’t enough to trigger the Unseen Sense, but a large
Shadows vs Resolve + Supernatural Advantage
pile of Transformed Bequests or Seeds of Light will
do so. As will a Blessed Place.
Cost: 1 Bashing Health Level, 1 Willpower

Duration: 10 – Target’s Integrity days. The Venom of the Soul (•••••)

Darkened may end it early as an instant action.
Action: Instant, Presence + Empathy + Shadows
The Darkness knows that a touch of evil lies in
every heart, and a hint of envy blinds every eye. Cost: 2 Willpower, Breaking Point at a -4 penalty
This Caligo makes use of that truth, allowing the
Darkened to see through another’s eyes. Some Duration: Lasting
Darkened use this to spy through their enemies
eyes, others use it on their own minions to help The touch of the Darkened wracks those whom the
lead and organise their assets. To use his Caligo Darkness has marked. For the rest of the scene,
the Darkened smears a drop of blood on the eyes when the Darkened touches a target or attacks with
of his target. a natural weapon (punch, kick, grapple or bite) the
target’s system is attacked by a magical poison.
Dramatic Failure: The Darkened sees through The poison does lethal damage for one turn (if
the target’s eyes, just for a second. But he sees not resisted) and has a Toxicity equal to 7 - the
not just images but the targets viewpoint. If the target’s Integrity + the target’s Shadows (if any),
target’s Integrity is higher than the Darkened’s or the Darkened’s activation successes, whichever
Integrity – Shawows he sees himself for what he is less. If the target’s Integrity reduces the Toxicity
truly is and gains the Guilty Condition. to 0 or less, the target is immune to the poison.
Failure: Nothing happens. The Darkened’s natural attacks still do damage as
Success: The target’s eyes begin weeping small normal - the poison adds to the natural damage.
amounts of black pus (The Cursed Condition (See the World of Darkness Rulebook, p180-181 for
giving -2 to all social rolls if visible). The target more details on poison.)
also gains the Stolen Sight Condition. As an Any character killed by the poison (as opposed to
Instant Action the Darkened can choose to see an attack) reanimates the next turn as a mindless
from the targets eyes instead of his own. He can puppet of the Darkness, shadows spilling forth from
the frost-edged wound. Reduce all Mental and

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Social Attributes, and Physical Skills to 1, and her feet melts in her black, stinking footsteps, her
Mental and Social Skills to 0. It has Health equal clothes turn to dust on her back, all her hair flakes
to its Stamina + Size, and does not suffer wound away and dies, and trails of dark ooze streak down
penalties. The creature will attack the nearest non- her face as her tears hiss and boil on her skin. In
Creature of Darkness. It collapses, dead again, at a grapple, she does 1 point of aggravated damage
the end of the scene. per round on her action, from the contact. When
attacking with a natural attack, one level of damage
is upgraded to aggravated damage, no matter what
Voice-Eating Hunger (•) the original kind of damage done was.
This Caligo can, as an instant action, be
Action: Permanent converted into a permanent duration Caligo.
The Charm does not need to be activated, but
The Darkness is eternally silent. Within the depths the effects are permanently on, and cannot be
of the Dark World, there is no noise but what deactivated. There are deep pits in the Dark
outsiders bring with them, and what little the World which form where Darkspawn who know
Creatures of the Darkness retain from their old this Charm are trapped, for even when trapped
lives. The Darkness takes that too, in time. in dormancy they still corrode the ground below
This Caligo enhances a Creature of the Darkness’ them, until they fall at last into Utter Darkness
natural attacks. Whenever they injure a target or and are seen no more.
damage an object, the target gains the Silence Tilt
for of turns equal to the successes rolled on the
attack. This only covers direct noise; she cannot
scream no matter how hard she tries, but if she
knocks a vase from the table in her flailing, when it Merits
hits the ground it will still shatter and make noise.
As a passive benefit from knowing this Caligo, Vice-Ridden (•)
the Creature only makes sound when it wants to,
giving it a Stealth Speciality in “Moving Silently”.Being corrupted by the Darkness can’t give you
an additional Vice directly, but it makes vice that
much sweater. That much easier to get addicted
Void Magic (•) too. Any Creature of the Darkness can buy the
Vice-Ridden Merit for one dot.
Action: Permanent Despite this the Vice-Ridden Merit is actually
rather rare for Darkspawn, they are such simple
The Dark World is always hungry, especially for creatures that most focus exclusively on one Vice.
magical power, and it readily feeds on power Most other kinds of Dark Creatures have two Vices.
directed at those it touches. The Darkened adds
his current Shadows to his Resistance when he is
the target of a supernatural power that is resisted
with a contested roll.
Dark Sacrifices
In the World of Darkness supernatural power isn’t
rare, it’s actually quite common. Unfortunately
World-Corroding Entropic Touch (•••) all the known easy ways to gain magic are either
jealously hoarded by secretive occult societies, self
Action: Instant, unrolled destructive or just plain evil.
The Outer Darkness offers it’s Caligos to anyone
Cost: 1 Willpower, 1 lethal health level that knows how to ask. All it takes is the right
ritual and enough suffering. Designing or knowing
Duration: One Scene about these rituals requires an Occult Speciality
in The Outer Darkness and the suffering is paid
Within the Darkness, all things shatter and break. through inflicting Lethal damage, one point for
Taking the Darkness into her flesh, the Creature every dot in the Calagine, to a human or another
imbues herself with that alien property. For being with both intellect and morality, including
the remainder of the scene, the Creature of the yourself. Killing the sacrifice is always sufficient
Darkness inflicts 1 point of Aggravated damage per regardless of how much damage is actually inflicted.
turn to any object she touches. The ground under

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 A full ritual takes about an hour or so. At it’s
Dark Rituals are easy to learn and easy
conclusion Roll Presence + Occult - the Caligine’s
to perform, relatively speaking. It’s easily
dots.
accessed, but it’s also inferior merchandise
Dramatic Failure: The ritual backfires for a hefty price. The Darkness is limited in
spectacularly. The participant might be thrown the kinds of magic it can enhance and there
into the Dark World, summon a dangerous are other patrons who offer better rates
Darkspawn, or put in some other life threatening on sacrifices. People turn to the Darkness
danger. because they don’t have the knowledge or
the time to get a better deal.
Failure: The ritual accomplishes nothing.
Success: The ritualist gains the desired Caligine.
They become Darkend if they’re not already
a Creature of the Darkness. If they have no
Shadows they immediately gain one.
Sample Darkened
Exceptional Success: In addition the rush of
power invigorates the ritualist. This is treated Deluded Vigilante
as the ritualist immediately fulfilling their vice.
Given a choice the Darkness dosn’t do Virtue.
Inviting Dark Power into your body will of course Sometimes it dosn’t have a choice, sometimes the
have consequences. As always leaning a Caligo is only hook it has is a person’s Virtue so the Darkness
a Breaking Point with a -5 modifier. This usually does it’s best to twist that Virtue right around and
subsumes any modifiers from the ritual itself. back into Vice again.
Creatures of the Darkness, except Darkened, The Deluded Vigilante always wanted to be
cannot perform Dark Pacts without a Caligo such someone special with cool powers. Not to be
as Devil at the Crossroads. The short version is superior or to abuse them, but to do something
that the ritual pulls Taint primed with the Caligo positive and interesting with their life. This
into your body, but Creatures of the Darkness wouldn’t be a problem except that powers they
are already saturated with Taint. If they wish got came straight from a realm of pure evil. They
to learn new Caligos they must do so through think that they can use their powers for good,
experimentation and practising how to manipulate protecting the night from hidden threats be it
the dark energy inside them. crime or Darkspawn; as their name implies they’re
deluded. Their powers are isolating them from
humanity and tempting them into pouncing on
flimsier evidence with ever increasing brutality.
The Darkspawn created when a Deluded
Vigilante falls often resemble urban legends.
Mysterious killers who hunt down anyone who
Dark Theurgy commits a seemingly innocent “crime”.
Fortunately a Deluded Vigilante considers herself
The Darkness offers power freely, and all it
on the side of the angels. If the Princess arrives
takes is one dot of Occult and a speciality,
soon enough this makes it easier to talk some sense
the sort of knowledge anyone with an
into them, offering powers that aren’t inherently
internet connection and a grudge could
evil - such as becoming Sworn and a couple of
come across. What about someone more
Bequests - usually works.
knowledgeable in the Occult arts?
The possibility of an undeluded vigilante exists,
Could a Mage call upon the Darkness
such an exceptional individual would almost
to empower their spells? Or could a
certainly have at least 7 Willpower and could be
mortal with some skill in magic? Well
a great ally if the Princess needs to work with
yes. The Outer Darkness could serve as
powerful Taint or the Dark World. Though even
a Patron Yantra for a Mage and provide
then such potential is probably put to better use
similar benefits to mortals, hunters, and
as a Sworn.
other supernatural beings who know how to
use it.
Creature of the Darkness: Darkened
The key is to remember that the
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve
Darkness’ primary offering is convenience.
3, Strength 4, Dex 3, Stamina 2, Presence 3,
Manipulation: 1, Composure: 2

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Skills: Crafts 1, Investigation 2, Medicine 1, Defence: 4
Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Drive 2, Firearms 2, Stealth Initiative: 5
2, Intimidation 3, Persuasion 2, Streetwise 2. Speed: 10
Health: 7 Umbrae: Umbrae: Faceless in The Crowd.
Willpower: 5
Vice: Cruel - Brutal justice, Arrogant - the city
needs me! Malicious Gossip
Virtue: Righteous - A typical expression.
Integrity: 4 (Irrationality) Humans are social creatures, they easily learn the
Size: 5 importance of forming a coherent group with a
Defence: 2 cultural identity. Like most things to do with
Initiative: 5 humanity it has both it’s good side and it’s bad side,
Speed: 12 and like most things to do with humanity it can be
Merits: Iron Stamina 2, Street Fighting 3, corrupted by the Dark. Conformity becomes the
Unarmed Defence 1, Vice-Ridden 1 goal instead of the means. Relationships become
Umbrae: Umbrae: Faceless in the Crowd, Dark a way of scoring points. People outside the group
Dreams (-1 to resist Breaking Points). become “the enemy”.
Caligines: Shadowbolt 1 Malicious Gossips rarely become true
Darkspawn, their Sins are just too... petty. Slander
and malicious gossip rather than serial murders
Invisibles and gruesome torture. They remain as Darkened
putting on a smiling face and living their lives. The
A common form of Darkened, though you wouldn’t communities they call home tend to be cesspits of
be able to tell – few people without magic are petty one-upmanship (even if they remain pretty or
able to spot them even when they look for them. idyllic on the surface), either because they dragged
Invisibles are Darkened people who were overlooked it down or because every better community saw
to begin with. Most were homeless, the mentally through them and sent them packing. Living alone
ill, and others who society might pretend don’t exist of course was never an option.
until they had no choice but to shelter in a Tainted
Place; but some were middle class folk who just had Creature of the Darkness: Darkened
nothing noticeable about them. As the Darkness Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve
takes hold what little social life they had is lost to 2, Strength 2, Dex 2, Stamina 2, Presence 2,
them as their friends stopped calling them to the Manipulation: 3, Composure: 3
few meetings they’d have normally gone to, their Skills: Academics 1, Computer 1, Investigation
love life lost it’s modest little sparkle and all which 2, Occult 1, Politics 2 (Neighbourhood), Athletics
remains of them is destined to slowly die as they 1, Drive 1, Stealth 2, Empathy 2, Expression
are stripped of any self-esteem, living with an ever 2, Intimidation 1, Persuasion 2, Socialise 3 (My
decreasing sense of purpose. Or they might learn to People), Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2 (slanderous
abuse their Darkness-given asset to commit crime, gossip).
and plummet deeper into depravity. Health: 7
Creature of the Darkness: Darkened Willpower: 4
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 1, Vice: Ambitious - Socially.
Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Presence 1, Virtue: Loyal - Though a cancer to the group,
Manipulation: 2, Composure: 2 they will defend it form outsiders.
Skills: Craft 1, Investigation 3, Athletics 1, Brawl Integrity: 5
1, Stealth 4, Persuasion 1 Size: 5
Health: 7 Defence: 2
Willpower: 3 Initiative: 5
Vice: Petty - The Invisibles’ lives lack any Speed: 9
trait outside normalcy, and cling into any minor Umbrae: Umbrae: Subtle Tongue and Tainted
achievement or object they can claim credit for. Allure of Vice (Ambitious - people always want to
Virtue: Humble - The Invisibles expect little of get one over a Malicious Gossip, often by sinking
life – just don’t threaten what little they have left to it’s level.)
to hold dear.
Integrity: 5
Size: 5

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 but some say what it does is bring out the truth
Serial Killer in people. Sometimes it would be best if the truth
The Darkness pushes everyone it infects to become remained hidden. Eating human flesh when you’re
as wicked and cruel as it is. Sometimes it strikes starving isn’t enough to make a Darkspawn, it’s
paydirt and creates a Darkened as bad as any not even enough to make a Darkened but when
Darkspawn, a monster that delights in the ultimate the ground’s already Tainted by whatever sins put
crime of murder. Darkened serial killers are rare a human being into such a position, when the
though, and certainly rarer than Darkened who face Darkness already has a hold. Some people get a
the full wrath of the law after their first murder or taste for human flesh, and if the supply dies up
even on charges of attempted murder before anyone they’ll take matters into their own hands.
died. The Darkness pushes it’s victims to peruse Corpse-Eaters still look human, under the thick
their vice with reckless abandon, to engage in brute layer of filth and the accumulated results of terrible
sadism, and to erode their Integrity. None of these table manners. Then they open their mouths,
traits create a calculating and precise killer who can stretching their human looking lips back to their
get away with repeated murders. However the stats ears and unhinging their jaws to reveal a mass of
below represent an exception, someone with the broken stained teeth in all shapes and sizes three
willpower to contain their urges until their tracks layers deep.
are covered and skills to have a successful career
of murder. At least until their own crimes reduce Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn
them into a simple Darkspawn. Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve
If you want your antagonist to have a longer 5, Strength 4, Dex 3, Stamina 4, Presence 1,
career, or a longer backstory, you can replace the Manipulation: 1, Composure: 3
Umbrae with the Caligines Shadowblade and Cloak Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2 (grapple, bite), Stealth
Of Shadows and use these stats for a Mnemosyne. 2, Survival 3, Intimidation 2
Health: 9
Creature of the Darkness: Darkened Willpower: 8
Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve Vice: Gluttony - A Corpse-Eater go to any lengths
4, Strength 2, Dex 2, Stamina 2, Presence 1, to eat human flesh.
Manipulation: 3, Composure: 3 Virtue: Cautious - Survival whatever it takes.
Skills: Academics 1, Investigation 2, Occult 1, Corpse-Eater’s regain Willpower when they give
Athletics 2, Drive 2, Larceny 3 (homes), Stealth up on something they desire to further the odds
3, Weaponry 3 (against non-combatants), Animal of survival.
Ken 1, Expression 1, Intimidation 3 (isolated Size: 5
situations), Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 3 Defence: 2
Merits: Anonymity 3, Untouchable 1 Initiative: 6
Health: 7 Speed: 9
Willpower: 7 Umbrae: Loathsome Weapon (Jaws), Roteater
Vice: Hateful - He has a favoured type of victims. Caligines: Flesh of my Flesh 3.
Virtue: Patient - A good crime takes time and
planning.
Integrity: 4 Cradlesnatchers
Size: 5
Grotesque fat sloshing around within drooping
Defence: 4
folds of loose skin. It’s the voice in the cupboard,
Initiative: 6
the presence under your bed. It’s every mother’s
Speed: 9
worst nightmare: The Cradlesnatcher. They pass
Umbrae: Faceless in the Crowd, Loathsome
like a shadow of silence and leave behind empty
Weapon
beds and broken families. In life Cradlesnatchers
were the servants of organised crime and politicians
everywhere. The briber and blackmailer who
Sample Darkspawn corrupted or at least neutered the innocent so they
could not oppose their employers, though even
Corpse-Eaters those scum of the earth would pale in horror if
they saw what they would have eventually become.
Survival... needing to survive can bring out the
best in people, it can bring out the worst in people Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn

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Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve Skills: Investigation 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 4 (Jaws),
3, Strength 4, Dex 1, Stamina 3, Presence 3, Stealth 3 (in darkness, moving silently), Intimidate
Manipulation: 1, Composure: 2 3 (growl)
Skills: Politics 1 (School) Science 1 (physics of Health: 7
light), Athletics 2 (Squeezing into things), Brawl Willpower: 4
3 (grapple), Stealth 4 (Bedroom, Moving Silently), Vice: Cruel - vicious sadistic monsters.
Survival 2 (The Dark World), Intimidation 2 Virtue: Loyal - who nevertheless show genuine
(Children) loyalty, if compelled by an Umbrae or Caligo.
Health: 9 Size: 5
Willpower: 5 Defence: 6
Vice: Cruel – Children have the innocence it once Initiative: 4
had. It will see that corrupted and destroyed! Speed: 14 (Specifies factor: 7)
Virtue: Loyal – It knows the Darkness exists to Umbrae: Light is Dark, Hunger Means Nothing,
corrupt and has faith that it’s hard work will see it Loathsome Weapon (jaws), Scuttling Spider’s Sense
rewarded, by the Darkness or it’s master. Caligines: Shadow Step 5
Size: 6
Defence: 3
Initiative: 3 Heartleeches
Speed: 10
Persistent Conditions: Phobia (Dogs), Phobia Sometimes, when a new Darkspawn tears itself
(Cats), Phobia (Being under a blanket). out of someone who has betrayed all they love
Umbrae: Light is Dark, Faceless in the Crowd. and given everything in the name of their own
Caligines: Void Magic 1, Nowhere Untouched 2, hubris, the corpse is left behind, putrid and
Grotesque Bulk 1, Zombie’s Flesh 2, Voice-Eating rotting. Instead, that traitor’s tongue squirms free,
Hunger 1 sprouting centipede-like legs of whispy shadow, and
crawling around far, far too quickly. Such beings,
Heartleeches, are the epitome of the madness of
Duskhounds paranoia and the terrible things that mistrust does
to a man, for no-one even remembers them when
Were Duskhounds human who warped into canine they’re gone. Small, globules of inky darkness
bodies, or dogs who grew into grotesque parodies roiling off them, they find sleeping people, and
of their masters and mistresses? It’s impossible to whisper into their ears, filling their dreams with
tell for sure, for the hounds’ bodies lie somewhere Darkness. Some say that they can even crawl
halfway between man and beast. A patchwork of down the throat of a sleeper, and whisper from
human and canine parts which walk and stalk and within their gut, in the mad, sensless burbling of
hunt on all fours. In mind though, there is no the Beyond, but that is just paranoia in its own
question. Duskhounds are half wolf, and half pure right. Right?
evil sadism.
They are pack hunters who have no need to Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn
eat, only a love of the pain and suffering they Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve
inflict. In combat Duskhounds fight like wolves; 1, Strength 2, Dex 4, Stamina 2, Presence 2,
one monster will keep their targets attention and Manipulation: 5, Composure: 4
fight defensively while others circle around to strike. Skills: Investigation 1, Athletics 2 (Scuttling),
They favour quick attacks to inflict Tilts then fall Brawl 1 (Trying to Escape), Stealth 5 (Bedrooms),
back before retaliation. Duskhounds will use this Survival 3 (The Places No-One Thinks To Look),
strategy even against obviously inferior foes, for Animal Ken 3 (Inspiring Fear), Empathy 4 (Only
cruelty’s sake if nothing else. for the purposes of negative emotions and judging
Duskhound packs always have a leader. The someone’s morality or Integrity; 0 otherwise.),
pack leader has the Umbrae Grotesque Bulk 1 and Intimidation 2 (Inspiring Paranoia), Persuasion 4
Subsumed by Another Shadow, and the Caligo (Everyone Dies Alone)
Open Hellmouth, in addition to the listed traits. Health: 3
Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn Willpower: 5
Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve 3, Vice: Cruel - Heartleeches live to ruin lives. It’s
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Presence 4, that simple. Tearing down the foundations of trust
Manipulation 1, Composure 1 another has is their purpose for existence, much like
it was in life.

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Virtue: Patient - ... and they have all the time in 5, Zombie’s Flesh 2, Sundown 3.
the world to do it.
Size: 1 More powerful Hundred-Handed have five dots in
Defence: 4 Shadowbolt, Shadowbomb, Voidbolt, Voidbomb,
Initiative: 8 and Firearms.
Speed: 16 (species factor +10)
Umbrae: Light is Dark, Faceless in the Crowd,
Scuttling Spider’s Sense Filthcrawlers
Caligines: Diminutive Size 3, Avoid All Eyes 1,
Everyone Dies Alone 4 Filthcrawlers are large slimy centipedes that
in many ancient cultures were associated with
spiritual filth for their ability to spread Taint.
Hundred-Handed Physically they are a bit larger than most
centipedes with a distinctive red head. Individually
Hundred-Handed are monstrous Darkspwan that they’re no threat to a Princess or even a mortal.
resemble bulging cancerous lump of flesh striding Their only weapon, a poisonous bite, cannot
atop two thick legs, many mismatched arms penetrate a thick boot let alone a Champion’s
emerge from the flesh and reach inside to rip supernatural armour and they have no more
out tainted poisoned organs to throw at anyone durability or fighting skill than a common
nearby. Nobody knows what kind of sin and centipede. All that taken into account, a wise
depravity creates this strange monstrosity, through Princess will not underestimate Filthcrawlers. If
it is commonly assumed that they are formed they do manage to bite skin their jaws contain a
from many Tainted bodies. The relatively deadly supernatural toxin, and their poisons create
large population of Hundred-Handed mean that Taint as they chew upon furniture, buildings, and
Princesses often assume they’re somehow capable whatever they can get their little jaws on. Worst
of creating more of themselves, either from human of all, with their tiny size they find it very easy
victims or from other Darkspawn but this has to sneak out of a Tainted place in search of a new
not been observed. As far as anyone has seen home to corrupt.
all Hundred-Handed do is feast upon dead flesh,
and try to kill anything living they come across. Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn
Unlike most Darkspawn they lack even animalistic Attributes: Intelligence 0, Wits 0, Resolve
intelligence. But do not take their mindlessness for 1, Strength 1, Dex 2, Stamina 1, Presence 1,
weakness, Hundred-Handed are strong combatants Manipulation: 1, Composure: 1
and being mindless means they are more easily Skills: Brawl 1, Stealth 3
controlled by smarter Darkspawn who can use their Health: 1
strength to it’s full potential. Willpower: 2
Vice: N/A
Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn Virtue: N/A
Attributes: Intelligence 0, Wits 0, Resolve Size: 0
0, Strength 2, Dex 5, Stamina 4, Presence 0, Defence: 2
Manipulation: 0, Composure: 0 Initiative: 3
Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1 (wild flailing), Speed: 3, no penalty for climbing.
Firearms 3 Umbrae: Corruption of Blood, Light is Dark,
Health: 12 Roteater
Willpower: 1 Caligines: Shadowblade 5 (venomous bite),
Vice: N/A Voidblade 5 (venomous bite), Diminutive Size
Virtue: N/A 5, Gathering Shadows 5, Walk in Darkness 3,
Size: 8 Profanation 5
Defence: 7 Filthcrawlers can only call out to other
Initiative: 6 Filthcrawlers with Gathering Shadows. Since their
Speed: 12 Shadowblade and Voidblade Caligines represent
Umbrae: Corruption of Blood, Sight in Blackest toxins they must do at least one point of damage
Night, Sound of Silence, Roteater after applying armour before they can benefit from
Caligines: Shadowbolt 3, Shadowbomb 3, Self- their weapon Damage rating.
Consuming Hunger 3, Voidbolt 3, Voidbomb 3,
Void Magic 1, Flesh of my Flesh 3, Grotesque Bulk

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Lickermen Shadowpuppets
Long of arm and hunched over are the Lickermen, They say all evil needs to win is for good people to
those among the Darkspawn which hunt for the nothing. Well evil won here and it won because the
innocent and sup from the taste of violation. They good person who was Tainted simply did nothing.
are shrivelled, like a long-dried, starved corpse, For convenience they turned a blind eye to the
their leathery skin loose around their too-small curse that surrounded them, the living shadow that
bones, and a vile, blackened tongue as long as a delighted in others suffering.
man’s arm protrudes from a mouth otherwise sewn Perhaps they still find it convenient, they still
up with stitches of their own bone. Examination don’t need to worry about the shadow. They don’t
reveals that they are sexless; whatever they were need to worry about anything any more. Now
before they were monsters is gone. As they the shadow thinks for both of them, but then the
pass by, they wuffle, like some kind of tracking Princess sees a flash of recognition, terror and guilt
hound, and they are often used for that purpose deep within the glassy zombified eyes. Not so
by Mnemosynes and Cataphractoi who want a convenient then.
stalking hound which is mostly reliable. In combat,
they will flee against anything they think they Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn
cannot beat, but will gleefully attack anyone alone, Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 1, Resolve
especially children under the age of seven, and 1, Strength 4, Dex 1, Stamina 4, Presence 1,
exceptionally moral individuals. They do not eat Manipulation: 1, Composure: 1
the body, however, for they cannot open their Skills: Brawl 2, Intimidation 2
mouths; it is the destruction of innocence that they Health: 9
seem to feed off. Willpower: 2
Vice: Cowardly - It’s so easy to just avoid the
Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn problem, how do you confront your own shadow
Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 5, Resolve anyway?.
3, Strength 1, Dex 3, Stamina 2, Presence 2, Virtue: Hopeful - maybe if you wait long enough
Manipulation: 3, Composure: 2 the problem will solve itself.
Skills: Craft 1 (Improvising Weapons), Size: 5
Investigation 2 (Lost Things), Physical Skills: Defence: 1
Athletics 3 (Climbing), Brawl 2 (Tongue), Stealth Initiative: 2
4 (From Surprise), Survival 1 (The Dark World), Speed: 10
Animal Ken 1 (Inspiring Fear), Empathy 3 (Only Umbrae: Animate Shadow, Cold Flesh, Hunger
for the purposes of negative emotions and judging Means Nothing, Loathsome Weapon (Claws), Light
someone’s morality or integrity; 0 otherwise.), is Dark
Intimidation 2 (It’s Behind You) Caligines: Zombie’s Flesh 5
Health: 4 (one lost due to Hunger Means Nothing) The Shadow
Willpower: 5 Creature of the Darkness: Animate Shadow
Vice: Cruel - The Lickerman lives for the moments Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 4, Resolve
when it chokes a small child or good person to 2, Strength 2, Dex 5, Stamina 2, Presence 2,
death. It’s like chocolate-coated chocolate to this Manipulation: 3, Composure: 2
monster that cannot eat. Skills: Investigate 1 (shiny things), Athletics 3,
Virtue: Patient - It’s better to run away and live Brawl 2, Larceny 5 (Slight of hand), Stealth 5 (just
to fight another day, after all. a shadow), Survival 2, Intimidation 2, Subterfuge
Size: 3 2.
Defence: 5 Corpus: 3
Initiative: 5 Willpower: 4
Speed: 9 Vice: Greedy - As a creature without flesh it is
Umbrae: Taste of Sin, Hunger Means Nothing, denied the pleasures of the flesh. The pleasures of
Loathesome Weapon (a blackened, barb-like glittering gold are another matter.
tongue) Virtue: Loyal – The shadow actually likes the
Caligines: Diminutive Size 1, Void Magic, Darkness, it gave life and freed it from just being
Enervation another’s Shadow.
Size: 5
Defence: 5
Initiative: 2

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Speed: 17 (Species factor 10) tenants in the most awful manner. His cruelties
Reflected Umbare: Loathsome Weapon (Claws). tainted his tenancies and through that, himself.
At first Mr Arnow delighted in his status,
believing he held vast powers at the tips of his
Shadow-Wraiths fingers. All too soon he learned that he could
never master the Darkness, instead the Darkness
Not all Darkspawn were once people. Shadow- had already mastered him. Now a Mnemosyne
wraiths are formed not from people, but from called Dr Arnow he resides in the Dark World and
their little mementoes. Sometimes when a prized sends his Darkspawn servants to capture victims
possession is lost within a Tainted place or the from the world above as parts for his Dolls. Every
Darkworld the memories, the humanity, invested Doll he creates is another chance for people to fall
in such an object can give form to the Taint. It to temptation, to Darkness.
becomes twisted and corrupt, a hungry creature of Dr Arnow is old (though a good chunk of his life
the Darkness. was spent frozen in the Dark World) and powerful,
Shadowwaiths are immaterial beings, however but he is a coward at heart and prefers to avoid
they have far more in common with material direct involvement.
Darkspawn than their fellow ephemeral Beings. For
all intents and purposes they are a material being Creature of the Darkness: Mnemosyne
who has the ability to shift into Twilight and simply Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 3,
defaults to that state. Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Presence 2,
Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn Manipulation: 5, Composure: 5
Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve Skills: Academics 2, Crafts 5 (dolls, flesh),
3, Strength 4, Dex 5, Stamina 3, Presence 1, Investigation 2, Medicine 1, Brawl 2, Firearms
Manipulation: 1, Composure: 2 3, Expression 2, Intimidation 3 (Psychological
Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2 (grapple, bite), Stealth manipulation), Persuasion 3 (Psychological
2, Survival 3, Intimidation 2 manipulation) Subterfuge 2.
Health: 8 Shadows: 4
Willpower: 5 Health: 11
Vice: Hatered – Against everyone, born of twisted Willpower: 8
emotions it’s a simple, destructive being. Vice: Ambitious – Money no longer has any
Virtue: Fortitude – But it possesses an animalistic meaning for him, but power is always the sweetest
need to survive. currancy. By spreading Vice and Taint he increases
Size: 5 the Darknesses power and thus the portion of it
Defence: 6 delegated down to him. Treacherous – What did
Initiative: 6 you expect from a man who see’s people as things?
Speed: 18 Virtue: Patient – Moderation is the key, don’t
Umbare: Hollow as a Shadow, Roteater, Light is overplay your hand. Find a method that works,
Dark, Scuttling Spider’s Sense than stick to it.
Caligines: Avoid all Eyes 1, Enervation 1, Size: 8
Loathesome Weapon 2 Defence: 2
Initiative: 10
Speed: 14
Sample Mnemosyne Merits: Safe Place 3
Caligines: Grotesque Bulk 5 (He’s ludicrously tall
but thin and spindly), Zombie’s Flesh 3, Handful
Dr Arnow of Dust 3, Everyone Dies Alone 4, Void Magic
Needs must be met, I merely provide a 1, Enervation 1, Enervating Hex 2, Grasping at
service. Shadows 3, Shadowbolt 3 (He sends puppet dolls to
attack), Such Pretty Eyes, I Think I’ll keep Them
Mr Arnow as he was called was a fine upstanding 3, Voidbolt 5 (He sends puppet dolls to attack),
Victorian gentleman. By fine and upstanding we I am Your Master 5, Serpent’s Tongue 1, Crafted
wish it to be understood that he had a great deal of with Love and Care 5
money. He was in fact the rotten scum of the Earth.
A man who saw his fellow humans as nothing more
than a resource, and a slum lord who treated his

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 Tamila was one of the first things Dewain used
Dewain his dark powers for. Even before he became a
A lie is such a blunt tool, I find a well Mnemosyne he sought out powers that would give
placed truth to be far more dangerous. him control over others, the Caligo I Am Your
Master. With it he sought out Darkspawn to make
Dewain does not seem like much, a crippled his own. Tamila was the first he found, and the
African man in his late teens who speaks with one he kept by his side when he began his current
impeccable manners. This is his greatest defence, subtle way of life. When Dewain found Tamila
he slides beneath notice. Unlike many of his peers she was just another Corpse-Eater, nothing more
he has no power base to defend him from Princesses than an animalistic monster in human flesh, but
or even mortals, only by avoiding attention does he he’s trained her beyond that. Now she serves as a
survive. one woman domestic staff, bodyguard and pushes
Behind the mask is the banal evil of the the wheel chair.
Darkness. A born Sociopath even before he first Tamilia is a striking African woman who wears
encountered Taint, the Darkness has eroded the an increasingly tattered maid’s uniform at all times.
edges of his personality, leaving behind something
simple and directed. Once he manipulated for Creature of the Darkness: Darkspawn
personal gain, now he manipulates people simple Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve
simply because he can. The worse atrocities he can 5, Strength 4, Dex 5, Stamina 4, Presence 1,
push people into, the better. His usual method is Manipulation: 1, Composure: 5
simple, tell the right person the right truth and Skills: Crafts 2 (Domestic), Athletics 2, Brawl
watch the fun begin. 2, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weaponry 4 (Polearms),
Wherever he travels, Dewain is always Intimidation 2
accompanied by his maid Tamila. Health: 9
Willpower: 10
Creature of the Darkness: Mnemosyne Vice: Ambitious - For a Darkspawn being the right
Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2, hand of a successful Mnemosyne is about as good
Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 1, Presence 2, as it gets. And no one will take it from her.
Manipulation: 5, Composure: 3 Virtue: Loyal - It’s a minions life, take every blow
Skills: Academics 2, Investigation 3 (Horrific so Dewain dosn’t have to.
Truths), Medicine 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2, Size: 5
Expression 2, Intimidation 3, Persuasion 4 (Telling Defence: 5
the right truth), Streetwise 2 Subterfuge 2. Initiative: 12
Shadows: 2 Speed: 17
Health: 6 Merits: Fast Reflexes 2, Fleet of Foot 2, Iron
Willpower: 5 Stamina 3, Striking Looks 2.
Vice: Cruel – Hurting people because, why not. Umbrae: Loathsome Weapon (Jaws), Roteater
Corrupt – it’s easier to twist a system than to break Caligines: Grasping at Shadows 2, Shadowblade
it. 3, Flesh of my Flesh 3, Voidblade 5.
Virtue: Supportive – Supporting people to hurt
others.
Size: 5 The Bogeyman
Defence: 3
Initiative: 6 I am the who when you call who’s there?
Speed: 2 The Bogeyman is not the strongest Mnemosyne,
Persistent Conditions: Disabled though he is one of the strongest Mnemosyne. The
Caligines: Void Magic 1, Nowhere Untouched Bogeyman is not the oldest Mnemosyne, though he
2, Walk in Shadows 3, Serpent’s Tongue 1, Evil is one of the oldest Mnemosyne. But the Bogeyman
Influence 2, Sin Whisperer 3, Drink Pain Like Wine is the worst Mnemosyne because in his reign of
4, Such Pretty Eyes, I Think I’ll Keep Them 3, I terror he has a special focus. Children.
Am Your Master 5. For over two thousand years he has ruled one
kingdom or another in the Dark World, drawing
Tamila minions and wining their loyalty with bread and
circuses: an unending supply of young children to
You are working too had again, I’ll run
torment and consume. It hasn’t all been fun and
you a bath and cook dinner.
games, no matter the culture, not matter how much

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people disbelieve in the supernatural. If you target 2, Walk in Darkness 3, Enervation 1, Grasping at
children their parents are going to come after you. Shadows 3, Voice-Eating Hunger 1, Such Pretty
Aided by the priests of Nox the centurion Eyes, I Think I’ll keep Them 3, I am Your Master.
Cornelius led his legionaries into the Dark World
and slaughtered the Bogeyman’s citizens. The
shamans from a dozen native American tribes
joined together to send an unending swarm of
Sample Cataphractoi
maggot Spirits to devour the Bogeyman’s kingdom.
The Caliphs’ greatest scholars created alchemical Dr. Goldstein (the Ring-Eater)
fires and the Japanese crafted swords of pure jade.
Don’t leave. We can’t leave until we figure
In time every kingdom the Bogeyman has
out what the problem is between you two.
founded fell to those it prayed upon but the
Pay no attention to the rattling.
Bogeyman itself survived, fled deep into the Dark
World to found it’s kingdom anew. No seriously, it’s a good idea to get away
Whenever The Bogeyman creates it’s kingdom he from here. I said get away. *demonic*
builds it to look as much like the world above as he GET AWAY!!!! (Dybbuk)
can, but with hidden and grotesque traps in every
corner. He builds with a particular focus to schools, Once, he was a shrink. He’s pretty sure of
playgrounds parks or homes – places children are that, even if his memory isn’t so good. He used
likely to know well. This as much as everything to be the person failing marriages went to before
he does is a cruelty, it blurs the nice safe divisionthe divorce lawyer, and he was good at it too-
between the Dark World and Earth for any child not the best, but he was regularly referred to by
to escapes. Children do escape too, The Bogeyman other, successful customers. The fact that they
finds the sweetest sensation is hope breaking apart appreciated him was probably good for his sanity,
and so he plays fair and gives children hope. He too-Ishmael Goldstein himself had struggled with
always has a soft spot in his heart for the children borderline personality disorder and depression for
who try to keep their companion’s hope alive, if most of his life, a product of his parents’ own
they fail he keeps them apart from the others. He relationship difficulties being visited on their son.
tries to turn them into a Mnemosyne and set them Eventually though, everyone fails, and for Ishmael,
to destroying the hope they once protected. it couldn’t have happened at a worse time in his
life. His own wife had begun to cheat on him,
Creature of the Darkness: Mnemosyne his daughter grew distant for reasons he couldn’t
Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 4, explain, and to top it off, the failed treatment
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4, Presence 4, happened to be that of a city councilman, meaning
Manipulation: 3 Composure: 3 Ishmael was facing losing his medical licence to
Skills: Crafts 5 (The Dark World), Investigation make his patient happy. Caught in a spiral of self-
2, Medicine 2, Occult 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 4, loathing and feelings of rejection, Mr. Goldstein
Stealth 1, Survival 3, Expression 2, Intimidation came home, kissed his sleeping wife, locked himself
4 (Children), Persuasion 3 (Followers) Subterfuge in the guest room, and proceeded to follow in the
4. footsteps of many psychiatrists and BPD sufferers
Shadows: 8 before him-with a bottle of sleeping pills.
Health: 9 The Darkness had other plans. Thus, even
Willpower: 7 as Ishmael’s soul left his body, an infinitesimal
Vice: Cruel – It’s simple really, all he wants is to fragment of the Outer Dark filled the vacuum left
make people suffer. Cowardly – ultimately, survival behind. Now an enigmatic, cerebral Cataphract
comes first. with a soft, too-white smile and a penchant for
Virtue: Generous – The Bogeyman rewards his nibbling the flesh off the ring-fingers of his victims,
followers well. Dr. Goldstein has a new, growing, practice in
Size: 6 the Dark World, kidnapping couples he sees in
Defence: 3 the midst of even the tiniest, most inconsequential
Initiative: 6 argument for “therapy” in his hidden office within
Speed: 12 the Dark World. A very composed and lucky
Merits: Safe Place 3 few able to keep up the appearances of “working
Caligines: Grotesque Bulk 1 (Loathsomely fat through their difficulties” to his satisfaction and
and sweaty), Zombie’s Flesh 5, Avoid all Eyes 1, are returned to their homes, likely to face a
Bogeyman 2, Void Magic 1, Nowhere Untouched life of traumatic stress from thereon, but alive,

272
(and probably Darkened). Those who are too Initiative: 4(7)
panicked to coherently address-or even remember- Willpower: 5
the “issues” he sees or too quickly for his liking Shadows: 5
are killed and returned to Earth, their ring fingers Umbrae: Animate Shadow, Dark Dreams
nothing but bone. (Nightmares), Hollow as a Shadow and Subtle
...Except for some reason, there’s two Dr. Tongue, Miasma of Madness (Depression/Melancholia),
Goldsteins. One is the font of Dark energies Tainted Allure of Vice, Subsumed by Another
wearing his skin, and the other is, in fact, the Shadow.
real Ishmael Goldstein-or at least, his unusually Caligines: Avoid All Eyes 1, Bogeyman 2, Handful
cognizant phantasmal afterimage in Twilight. of Dust 3, Everyone Dies Alone 4, Enervation
Needless to say, the shock of finding himself floating 1, Enervating Hex 2, Call the Black Dog 3,
above his bed was nothing compared to finding his Shadowbolt 3, Such Pretty Eyes, I Think I’ll Keep
body had apparently decided to get up without Them 3.
him (after that, realizing it was a monster born Transformed Caliganes: Flesh of My Flesh (uses
from a force of entropy disincarnate was almost mouth in center of body)*, Grotesque Bulk (3
a relief). Always a fairly calm man in between dots)* Voidbomb 5 (Uses the storm in his heart)*
his BPD-induced stormy moods however, Ishmael
logically deduced that what God wanted to remain Ishmael the Dybbuk
on Earth for (though he wasn’t a devout person Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 2, Resistance 4
before, being unliving proof of an afterlife tends to Virtue: Generous. Dr. Goldstein was indeed an
change your mind) was to stop the monster now ideal psychiatrist. He was very kind in life, and
wearing his body like a coat (and given how ghosts he remains so in death - even if he can’t exactly do
work, destroying Dr. Goldstein the Cataphract much now other than save people from his possessed
will probably resolve Ishmael’s unfinished business body.
and allow him to move on to the afterlife). The Vice: Pessimistic. When Dr. Goldstein was alive,
problem with this is that, due to Ishmael’s religious he suffered from a creeping sense of self-loathing,
convictions about what a ghost is, he has become a combined with a tendency to demonize people close
dybbuk, the Jewish version, noted for it’s inability to him for every perceived fault and slight (and
to communicate with the living. While his powers beggingfor forgiveness by said people when he came
of possession are most useful in warding away to his senses). Sometimes, the Dybbuk wonders if
potential victims so far he’s had no setting a his path is an attempt to prove to himself he isn’t
monster hunter on his body. completely worthless. (The Ring-Eater has reduced
this Vice to a caricature.)
Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 2 (5), Resolve 3, Willpower: 8
Strength 2, Dexterity 3 (5), Stamina 1 (4), Presence Essence: 10
4 (5), Manipulation 4 (6), Composure 2. Integrity: 6
Skills: Occult 3, Academics 4 (Psychology), Corpus: 9
Investigation 2 (Psych Profiling), Medicine 3 Initiative: 6
(Pharmaceuticals) Athletics 1 (4), Drive 2, Defense: 4
Firearms 2 (5), Empathy 4 (Psychological Speed: 16 (species factor 10)
Diagnosis), Intimidation 3 (5) (Creepily Serene), Manifestations: Twilight Form, Fetter, Possess
Persuasion 5 (Break The Cutie), Socialize 2 Numina: Dement, Host Jump, Innocuous
(Lowering Psychological Defenses), Subterfuge 2. Persistent Conditions: Mute. As a restless spirit
Merits: Meditative Mind, Safe Place 1. Ishmael’s belief that he is a Dybbuk of Jewish
Vice: Pessimistic. The Ring-Eater also honestly folklore has affected his fundamental nature.
believes that even the slightest faults of character Anchors: Dr. Goldstein the Cataphract, His
will doom a relationship without his counsel. He house (still lived in-since Ishmael is usually hanging
invariably puts the worst construction possible on around Dr. Goldstein and doesn’t possess the
anything his clients say. inhabitants, it’s only slightly morbid due to the
Virtue: Generous. The Ring-Eater honestly deathly Essence saturating the area).
believes he is helping people avoid the utter despair Ban: Ishmael cannot cross a doorway to which a
of loneliness that led to his creation. mezuzah is affixed, or on which the prayer Shema
Health: 6(11) Yisrael has been written.
Size: 5(7) Bane: Jade (shared with the Ring-Eater.)
Defense: 2(5)
Speed: 10(12)

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 she died has congealed into a toxic hate that latches
Maria, The Cleaner onto any convenient target.
For most of her life Maria was just a face Virtue: Dilligant. Like the tortoise Maria believes
in the crowd, a number on a spreadsheet, that slow and steady wins the race.
her only misfortune was to be an immigrant Health: 8 (9)
working as a housekeeper for a politician. The Size: 5
newspapers accused her employer of employing Defense: 2 (3)
illegal immigrants and though Maria was in fact Speed: 10 (12)
a legal immigrant her employer decided that if the Initiative: 5
voters demanded deportations the voters would get Willpower: 4 (7)
deportations, if a few strings had to be pulled then Shadows: 3
so be it. Umbrae: Light is Dark, Sound of Silence,
The stress of fighting a rigged system, combined Scuttling Spider’s Sense, Subsumed by Another
with a nerochemical imbalance led to Maria’s Shadow
suicide and rebirth as a Cataphract. Caligines: Shadowblade 3, Shadowbolt 1,
The monster that thinks it’s Maria has trouble Voidbolt 5, Open Hellmouth 1, Nowhere Untouched
remembering what it’s supposed to be doing. It 2, Walk in Darkness 3, Dark Ascension 4, Defiling
knows it’s supposed to clean, but like all it’s kinds Touch 1, Copycat Crime 4, Profanation 5, Void
the details elude it. Consiquently it directs it’s Magic 1.
minions to clean different houses throughout both
the Dark World and on Earth. Inhuman monsters
know nothing of sanitation, and so their attention Sample Dark Cults
looks closer to a ransacking. Maria remembers that
buisness hours exist but she can’t remember what
time they are and so like most Dark Creatures
The Cult of Broken Dreams
she defaults to operate at night, which means Pain. Sadness. Suffering. Misery. None may
people are usually at home when the monsters come escape these things completely.
knocking at their door. This is because, the Cult of Broken Dreams
If her minions fail to clean to her standards preaches, suffering is the one genuine noble thing
then their punishment is brutal. Maria’s criticism in human life, one should seek them out. Embrace
resembles a physical enactment of self-loathing, but them.The Cult of Broken Dreams is a Darkness-
directed against Darkspawn it makes an effective influenced organization that idolizes suffering.
way of whipping her minions into shape. Maria Happiness is a sham and only through suffering
can essentially beat Polluendum Caligines into her to we experience reality and have the opportunity
Minions, for Tainted is the closest to clean in her to grow. Its temples are built on Tainted places,
Dark addled eyes. sites of great suffering that have “grown ” itno
A town cursed by Maria’s attention finds itself supernatural powers. Its leaders seek out to spread
the target of a vicious campaign of terror and misery and indoctrinate more and more people
Tainting targeting the homes of the richer residents, into the fold. For most though, the doctrine is
the sort who can afford to hire domestic help. meaningless. It is nothing more than a way to
Other servents of the Darkness, even those that fear learn Caligines and inflict their sadistic whims upon
enslavement to a Cataphract’s will, often move in others with the Cult’s protection.
to colonise the Tainted Places that Maria creates The Cult grows by targeting people who have
and forgets about. If not delt with quickly, Maria’s recently suffered a tragedy, they offer them a way
presence can lead to a rapid escalation of both the to find meaning in their suffering. In truth they’re
Darkness and the Stormwracked. just trying to keep them coming back to the Cult’s
Creature of the Darkness: Cataphract Tainted Temple long enough to become Darkened,
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2 (5), after that many can be pursuaded to join out of
Strength 2 (4), Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 (4), Presence power and vice.
2, Manipulation 2, Composure 2. Initiation into the cult provides the following
Skills: Accademics 1, Crafts 3 (Domestic), benefits:
Athletics 1, Drive 1, Firearms 2 (3) Larceny
2, Stealth 2 (3), Survival 2 (3), Weaponry 2 •: New recruits are shown how to torture their
(3) (polearms), Empathy 2, Intimidation 3 (5) own bodies, to steel them for the pain of living.
(subordinates), Streetwise 2. The knowledge applies for torturing others too; the
Vice: Hateful. The justified anger Maria felt when

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recruit thus gains a free Intimidation speciality in always blackmail. No one gets far enough to learn
Torture. what the Pleasure Principle is about without doing
••: Full members are partly hardened against something they were once ashamed of, and if they
physical pain; they receive one dot of Iron Stamina insist on wearing a leash, the cult is happy to hold
free of charge. its other end.
•••: Promising members start a course of study Initiation into the cult provides the following
within a temple, learning to expose others to the benefits:
reality of pain. On completing it they gain the
Vice-Ridden Merit granting a Vice of Creulty (if •: For the recent recruit, the Pleasure Principle is a
you already have the Vice-Ridden Merit there is no constant party with hints of depravity to add spice.
benefit). Regular attendance gives a recruit a free Socialize
••••: The inner circle of the Society are expected specialty in Seduction, Carousing, Debauchery, or
to take students/victims. They have three dots in some other kind of sensual indulgence.
Retainers, allocated as the player wishes. ••Junior initiates are taught to assess people’s
•••••:The Society’s leaders know a mystical weaknesses and exploit them for social advantage.
phrase which shows its hearers, ineluctably, that They gain the Pusher Merit free of charge.
nothing of them is true but their pain. They receive •••Those who fully accept the Pleasure Principle
the Caligo Handful of Dust free of charge. can feast on others’ reserves of will; caresses, or
more intimate relations, become opportunities to
feed. Even if they haven’t yet become Darkened,
Pleasure Principle trusted and established members can use the
Enervation Caligo.
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” ••••The higher ranks of the cult define
Civilization, laws, morals - all these are cages. The themselves by their appetites, and easily insinuate
free man, the true man, is a barbarian, a wolf who themselves among those who share it. The free
walks the world, taking what he wishes, stalking specialty they gained from the first dot becomes
the sheep who stay fearfully within their fenced Interdisciplinary, and they gain a variant of the
pastures. Those who build the fences are predators Barfly Merit tied to places where that specialty
too, just cleverer hypocrites than the honest wolves commonly applies.
who break them. So says the Pleasure Principle, •••••The masters of the Pleasure Principle
who will help anyone who asks to shed their learn how to impose their will to devour on an
inhibitions and indulge all their appetites. object, consuming other people’s willpower from a
For this cult, the early stages of recruitment are distance. They gain the Enervating Hex Caligo free
fairly easy. They fish regularly in the clubs and bars of charge.
where people go to drink themselves blind and find
sexual partners whom they can forget the morning
after, baiting their hook with offers of nights of Pongamia Coven
pleasure beyond what most ever experience. While
the claim is not untrue - the Pleasure Principle In a word, witches. Medieval lore says that a witch
does know how to stage an orgy - the cult’s masters gains her power from a deal with the devil, and
carefully study anyone who accepts their invitation, they’re not always wrong. Pongamia never sat
looking for the vices they keep secret from the across a negotiating table with representatives of
world. Once these are identified, the cult arranges the Outer Darkness, but the atrocities they commit
situations to tempt the prospect, break down his for power are close enough to a Faustian bargain.
sense of shame, and keep him coming back for more. The coven is a loose alliance of several families
Tainted places with the right kind of curses come who trade lore and help each other hide from justice
in handy for staging these. — though they didn’t help each other hide as
Deeper initiation reveals more and more of the well as they like. Much of the coven was rightly
cultist’s life outside the Pleasure Principle to be destroyed by the Catholic Church but the coven
a foolish self-imposed crippling of what he ought was never quite eradicated and partially managed
to be: an illimitable appetite. The bonds of the to rebuild itself in America.
criminal law, of conscience formed in childhood, Today Pongamia acts much like it always
of friendship and family, all must yield to naked did. They’re more focused on Caligines to keep
desire. Those who accept this doctrine are brought themselves alive than they used to, but they’re
to live in the cult’s Tainted houses of pleasure. For still gathering occult lore, breaking down their own
those who balk when they hear it ... well, there’s children to remake them into Mnemosyne. Mostly

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though, they acquire occult power for powers sake. have faced great difficulties in establishing itself,
Any greater motive they once had has been eroded but the rise of the Internet has given this
away by the Darkness. cult incredible opportunities for expansion and
Initiation into the cult provides the following recruiting. These days an Harpuiai need only
benefits: log onto a forum where college students go to
discuss the latest political cause and drop a few
•: Like most occult societies through the ages the honeyed suggestions, and dozens of prospects will
Coven works on a system of apprentices, and new fall over themselves to learn from the Sodality.
initiate is given tuition by an experienced Witch, Demonstrating the heady power of destroying an
who serves as a dot of Mentor. opponent with a few whispered words leads to
••: The coven reveres the Outer Dark as the personal meetings with the fascinated recruits,
source of their occult power, and a full initiate where the credo that advantage as such is criminal
is will be taught enough to acquire an Occult and should be punished can be thoroughly taught.
speciality in The Outer Dark. The effects of this doctrine, when believed and
•••: To become a senior member of the coven followed, are not pretty. Sodality members are far
requires mastery of Occult knowledge. Members more inclined to defame and sabotage the work
who rise far are given enough training to gain a of other people than to attain excellence on their
free dot in Occult. own merits (since to have merit is itself proof
••••: At the highest ranks members are taught of complicity in crime) and therefore consistently
not just theory, but practical magic to supplement alienate themselves from anyone who does not
the products of their own experiments. After share their beliefs. Older cultists, self-deprived
their long prosecution The Covern teaches defensive of any healthy aspirations, take pleasure only in
abilities to keep their teachers and knowledge alive. denigrating the “guilty”, blight their environment
Take three dots in the Zombie’s Flesh Caligine. with Taint, and fall to the Darkness almost without
•••••: The longest serving members of the noticing. (Among Dark cults, the Harpuiai are
coven learn to heal themselves from any injury. unusual for not seeking out Tainted areas to live
Take the Flesh of My Flesh Caligine. in - and alarming, because they seldom need to.)
Initiation into the cult provides the following
benefits:
Sodality of the Harpuiai
•Good prospects for the Sodality learn the delicate
“Behind every great fortune there is a crime”, and art of verbal knife-work. They gain a free
that crime ought to be punished. Let anyone Expression specialty in Damaging Reputations.
who has profited from a sin be shamed, disgraced, ••Full initiates have been trained to look for the
held up to scorn, outcast; the Sodality of the small but telling detail that exposes a shameful
Harpuiai gladly bear the duty of humiliating them secret. They gain the one-dot version of Trained
and driving them into the wilderness. Secretly they Observer free of charge.
know that to be wealthy or successful, to be learned •••Senior Harpuiai have not only mastered
or trained, even to be born with an unusual talent character assassination, but can apply it to a host
- in short, to be in any way better than some poor of problems; they acquire the Area of Expertise and
wretch born in squalor - is to profit from a crime; the Interdisciplinary Specialty Merits, both for the
all are guilty, so any may be punished. Damaging Reputations specialty they gained at the
The Sodality named itself after the wind-spirit first dot.
of Greek myth, who was a divine punisher and ••••When the Darkness first enfolds Sodality
torturer. Its methods are as bodiless as a wind, members, it grants them insight into the crimes of
and as cutting: the members are masters of others. They gain the Taste of Sin Caligo free of
rumormongery, spreading scandal, and judicious charge.
character assassination. Those with the ill luck •••••The oldest members of the Sodality of the
to cross the Sodality soon find themselves the Harpuiai can lay their enemies low with an accusing
subject of malicious tales, coming from almost any letter. Take the Scapegoat Caligo.
direction and untraceable to its source. If they
are only moderately unlucky they will be baseless
(though hard to refute); but the Sodality has an The Pleasure Parlour
unnerving nose for the embarrassing or humiliating
truth. The idea of law and morality is a joke. A complex
In prior decades a cult like the Sodality would scam designed to make the world nice and safe for

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people with money, the whole system is rigged. When a place is this far gone there’s nothing
When you see the wealthy use lawyers to ignore to do but burn it, and it burns so beautifully in
the law. Why shouldn’t you do the same? emerald fire.
At least that’s what The Pleasure Parlour says,
their hook is simple. They have a few magic tricks The field where mass graves lie hidden. A house on
that lets them provide services outside of morality an island where 10 people were killed one by one
for cut throat prices (money may be a scam but by a sadistic murderer. An abandoned apartment
you’ve still got to eat) without fear of repercussions.where the worst gangs always gather. A hidden
In truth The Pleasure Parlour acts more like a temple where a dark wizard sacrificed people for
drug dealer, it’s all about getting you hooked. The infernal power. These are the Tainted places, where
first dot of initiation is easy, it just represents a the evil that men do has lingered. Some are well
customer, and in truth a person could go their known, while others are forgotten. The one thing
whole life at this level if the Parlour thinks it’s toothey all have in common is that the Darkness was
risky. Most people, however, given the opportunity - or is - strong there, and it doesn’t want to leave.
to indulge their vices in a Tainted Place begin to A place becomes Tainted when someone commits
loose their Integrity until they find it hard to resista grave sin there, that causes others to suffer, or
temptation. When they’re truly hooked the Parlour else when vicious and cruel acts become routine
raises the prices beyond the affordable, and makes and customary there. The very substance of the
an offer. If they can acquire a person to be made area is bruised by minor sins, cut or torn by major
into a new Doll they can keep said Doll for free. ones, and the Darkness comes quickly to infect
Usually that’s enough to turn someone into a the wound and open it farther. Each Tainted
Darkspawn, but if they’re still alive they’re usually area is marked by the cruelties that created it
quite willing to pursue further opportunities. and strengthens anyone whose actions echo those
Initiation into the cult provides the following crimes, while weakening anyone trying to resist.
benefits: And each time someone yields to temptation, the
Taint deepens, and its malign influence steals more
•: Joining the society in their parties and games faculties from the innocent. Finally, staying within
provides fresh initiates with a Socialise Speciality a Tainted area slowly drains the hope and life out of
in debauchery. people even if they do nothing at all; a part of the
••: Senior initiates are given their first taste of Darkness stays in them afterward, trying to seduce
vice without consequence. Take a one dot retainer, them into joining it.
someone with the Doll template.
•••: If they want another fix and further
advancement, a cultist must now recruit further
initiates. Take the Pusher Merit.
Traits
••••: Senior members of the cult have refined A Tainted Place has the following traits:
temptation into an art form. Take The Serpent’s
Tongue Caligo.
•••••: At the apex of membership The Pleasure Size
Parlour teaches further secrets of tampation. Take
the Evil Influence Caligo. Size is determined by how widespread the cruelties
that lead to its creation were. If someone
committed suicide in a bathtub, it may just the

Tainted Places bathtub. If a coach of a children’s football team

went crazy, locked them into the club building and
killed them one by one in horrific ways, the entire
You can feel it in the air all around. This place building may become Tainted because of it. As
chills you to the bone and squelches underfoot with a rule of thumb Size will conform to conceptual
rotting damp and the stench of mildew. The sounds boundaries. Ask yourself what would be said on
don’t carry right, the city outside feels so distant. the rumour mill, if the gossip is “the coach killed
Even your feelings for your dead parents, your rage them in the clubhouse” the Taint will spread to the
and hate for their murder, even they feel distant. entire clubhouse.
Casually you slide your knife across your wrist, The busier a place is, the more the impressions
your blood wells up like liquid green fire. The drops of many people mix together, and the less likely
fall and the stinking rotted boards catch light as you it is to become a Tainted Place. A place that is
pray to your Lady of Cleansing Flame. only used by a specific subset of people (a club

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house, a dark alley, etc...) will be more likely to victim escapes the confines of a Tainted Place, but
become Tainted when one of the few people who is caught and cut down by her assailant just outside
come there becomes the victim of a crime of cruelty, of it), but Darkened also instinctively know this and
or perpetrates it himself. A busy intersection is will try to work towards expanding their lairs.
very unlikely to become Tainted, even if someone
is murdered right there and all other conditions are
met. Severity
Rated from 1 to 5. Starting Severity is based
Expanding a Tainted Place upon the event that caused the Tainting. Repeated
instances of a crime of the same Severity level
When crimes in line with the Tainted Place’s happening inside the Tainted Place (or events of
aspirations (see below) are committed just outside higher Severity happening) can increase its Severity
of it’s borders, it may grow to encompass those over time.
areas as well. Often this happens by accident (a

Severity Event
0 Petty crime: bullying, theft, threatened violence
1 Impassioned crime: spontaneous violence, mass property damage (eg. arson)
2 Premeditated crime: violence, mass property damage, etc
3 Suicide or heinous crime: murder, torture, rape.
+1 Multiple instances of the same crime in a short time period. A double-murder
suicide, for instance. Or the same event is repeated many times over a longer
period of time.
+1 Acts are especially cruel or generate a large amount of despair (someone being
murdered by their beloved boyfriend who has been corrupted by the tainted
place). Or the victim is someone with a connection to the Light, such as a
Princess, Sworn, Shikigami, or Beacon.

Most importantly, the crime must have an aspect Tainted Place always has at least one Aspiration,
of cruelty and cause anguish in its victims. A fist- but gains a second one at Severity 3, and a third
fight between two people may be impassioned or at Severity 5. These Aspirations are referred to as
premeditated violence, but has little to do with “Tainted Aspirations”.
cruelty, even if the loser might be quite anguished Mortals who enter the Tainted Place gain its
by it. Tainted Aspirations as if they were their own, for as
long as they remain there, and may gain Beats from
them as normal. The Light-touched are immune
Tainted Aspirations to this effect, other supernatural beings can be
affected at the Storyteller’s discretion. Since the
A Tainted Place has between one to three aspiration belongs to the place, it never disappears
Aspirations. These represent the kind of acts it when you resolve it; the Tainted Place always
drives those within its bounds to commit. A hungers for more. These Aspirations should be

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clearly sadistic and framed in general terms, such
as “commit murder”. At most the Aspiration Integrity Time spent in Tainted
should name a specific type of victim such as “bully - Severity Place before becoming
schoolboys”. Tainted
Tainted Aspirations reflect the history of the 0 or lower Right away when entering.
Tainted Place, and they can change over time 1 -3 An hour.
as the location’s story grows with new atrocities. 4 -6 A day.
When a Tainted Place gains a new Aspiration (from 7 -9 A week.
increased Severity) the new Aspiration will either
encourage repetitions of the new crimes, or all
the Aspirations will shift to create a new set of Giving in to temptation and fulfilling the sadistic
Aspirations that reflect its entire history and the Aspirations found in a Tainted Place will cause a
correspondence between all past crimes. Breaking Point to any individual with a healthy
Any action that occurs within the boundaries moral compass. There is nothing supernatural
of the Tainted Place and directly opposes one of about this, but there is something supernatural
its Aspirations takes a dice penalty equal to the about the consequences.
Tainted Place’s Severity. Conversely, any action A Breaking Point caused by fulfilling, or trying to
that directly furthers one of the Aspirations receives fulfil, a Tainted Aspiration takes the same penalty
its Severity as a dicepool bonus instead. that actions opposing a Tainted Aspiration do
Any action inside of a Tainted Place that doesn’t (both dice pool penalties, as well as an increased
further the cause of one of its Tainted Aspirations risk of Dramatic Failure), in addition to any
suffers a Dramatic Failure instead of a regular penalties the roll would normally incur. Failing the
Failure if the final dice pool rolled, after all bonuses roll gives the perpetrator the Darkened Template,
and penalties, was equal to or smaller than the rather than a Condition. Even on a success, the
Tainted Place’s Severity. character still takes the Tainted Condition, if he
didn’t have it already. Breaking Point rolls not
suffered in pursuit of the Taint’s Aspirations cannot
Becoming Corrupted turn you Darkened, but a failed roll may still inflict
the Tainted condition.
Taint, once established in an area, infects the A person of integrity who becomes Tainted will
people in that area if given an opportunity to feel the Tainted Aspiration as a nagging desire at
do so; any act of cruelty, if done in Tainted the back of their mind, or as a dark, twisted fantasy
places, opens the perpetrator to the Darkness, and that they don’t quite understand. Left on their
even prolonged exposure wears people down. If own, most will be able to resist the temptation,
a mundane character does anything that would though cases where a Tainted Aspiration was
create Taint, in even the slightest degree, while in a just the final straw needed to make a harsh
Tainted place, he takes the Tainted Condition — as argument turn into manslaughter are unfortunately
if a small part of the place nestles inside of him and not uncommon.
stays along for the ride, pushing him to fulfil one More frequently, followers of the Darkness will
of the Tainted Aspirations. Also, after an interval attempt to lure (or bring) others into a Tainted
of time determined by his Integrity and the area’s Place, and then carefully manipulate them into
Severity, a mundane character gains the Tainted doing the unthinkable and becoming Darkened
Condition even without doing anything at all: themselves. This is generally handled through
subtract the place’s Severity from the character’s Social Manoeuvring, with a goal of getting the
Integrity and consult the table below. target to fulfil the Tainted Aspiration. Remember
that one Door will be automatically opened,
because the stated goal would complete one of the
character’s aspirations, and so long as the mark is
inside the Tainted place its Severity will support
rolls to persuade them, and oppose their rolls to
resist. In addition, the Taint causes the initial
impression of the character to be one step better
than it otherwise would be, as if a Vice was being
leveraged.

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 and consecrate the ground. Another session to
Getting Rid of a Tainted Place get funding from city hall, secure the deed from
a stubborn homeowner, and get the word out on
New Tainted Places can be made, but luckily for the street. Then there might be a finale where
humanity and the forces of the Light, there are ways the player characters run their first meeting, look
to unmake them as well. Three known methods to for someone to be responsible for future meetings,
unmake a Tainted Place exist: and deal with a bunch of drug dealers who have
started to ply their trade nearby, to ensure their
• Purifying a Tainted Place through long-term new meeting place doesn’t become a hub of broken
effort from the outside, healing the Taint by dreams and relapsing addicts instead.
feeding it positive feelings opposed to its dark Once the venture is running smoothly, the
origins. characters might have to drop by frequently for a
while to keep the Consecrate (Purify) Charm up,
• Cleansing a Tainted Place by finding its Dark until the Tainted Place is finally Purified once the
Door and stepping into its inner workings in Storyteller feels sufficient time and effort has been
the Dark World, and undoing it from within. expended to balance out the ills committed within

• Purging a Tainted Place by taking drastic it.

measures and destroying the entire site it is Consider keeping this new asset to the
linked to, at the risk of making matters worse community a part of the story after the purification
if the attempt fails. is complete. After all, the characters and their
players are likely to have become quite invested in
it, and it would be a shame just to toss all of that
Purifying a Tainted Place built-up characterisation out the window!

A Tainted Place may be purified if events that

directly oppose the themes and intents of its
Simplified Purification
Aspirations and origins take place within the If the Tainted Place is not central to the plot,
Tainted Place. Taint that formed from an drug resolving it can be abstracted into an Extended
abusing parent tormenting their family might fade Action. The target number is 3, 12, 27, 48, or
if the house becomes the site of a Narcotics 75 for Severity 1, 2, 3, 4, & and 5 respectively.
Anonymous group, or becomes the home of a loving The dice pool depends on the task at hand, hosting
and stable family. a Narcotics Anonymous meeting could require a
The Consecrate Charm with the Purifying Manipulation + Persuasion roll every week to
upgrade is advised for using this method against all ensure the group provides effective support to its
but the weakest Taint. Not only does it prevent the members. If the Princess delegates the task to
Severity from affecting the dice pool, but it ensures Allies, Staff or Retainers the usual rules apply
that monsters will not wander in from the Dark (Allies provide successes equal to the value of the
World. favour, Staff provide one success, and Retainers
Depending on the needs of the story, undoing have their roll). Unless some external factor
Taint through such opposition could be a single forces the Princess to abandon her efforts, she can
extended dice roll, the focus of a session, or a source continue to roll until the Taint is removed.
of frequent plot hooks as characters deal with new This is a good way of handling it if you don’t
obstacles and problems. want to spend much time on the purification itself,
but it’s still important to know whether or not a
particular site has been purified before a certain
Purifying as the Focus of a Story point in the story.
If the Taint is central to the story, resolving
it might require a session’s worth of work for
each dot of Severity, or more at the Storyteller’s Cleansing a Tainted Place
discretion. Purifying a Tainted Place resulting from
an alcoholic parent’s abuses might involve setting Every Tainted Place at least the size of a single
up an alcoholics anonymous support group on the room and a Severity of two or more has a
grounds and look something like this: One session Nightscape, a nightmarish representation of its
to discover the origins of the Taint in order to inner rot that can be found in the Dark World
know how to purify it, clean out the monsters, “beneath” the Tainted Place.

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 A creature of the Darkness (including one of instead. If the atrocities that created the Tainted
the Darkened) may enter the Nightscape from Place were committed by a supernatural being who
any point within the Tainted Place as an instant still frequents it to this day, the Nightscape may
action, appearing in the corresponding location form into a Lair. Finally, if the act that creates
within the Nightscape. Likewise, he may cross a Tainted Place or increases one’s Severity also
from the Nightscape back to the Tainted Place from transforms a Darkened into a Darkspawn, the new
anywhere within it. Darkspawn may merge into the Nightscape in body
For everyone else, it’s a bit more complex. Every and soul, leaving their flesh behind to become a
Tainted Place with a Nightscape has what is known permanent fixture of the Tainted Place, making it
as a Dark Door, a portal to the Nightscape. It is Guarded. This last one isn’t a separate type, but
found near the place where the Taint first appeared, an additional threat to intruders layered upon one
the site of the original act of cruelty that gave birth of the other three types.
to it. A Dark Door always appears as a portal of When a Tainted Place is successfully Cleansed,
some sort, normal enough to be ignored but sinister creatures of the Darkness (aside from the
enough to catch the eye of anyone who knows what Darkened) inside of the Nightscape are left behind
they’re looking for, though they seldomly appear in the Dark World, while all others translate
in plain sight. It is a physical portal that forms back to the mortal world, appearing in the spot
with the Taint, and anyone can spend a Willpower corresponding to where they were within the
point to gather their courage and open the door. Nightscape.
Passage through the Dark Door leads to a fixed
point within the Nightscape. This is also the
only point from which the character may leave the Echoes
Nightscape again, anyone in the Nightscape can
open the Dark Door and flee back to the mundane Inside of an Echo, the crime which shaped it (or the
world, this does not cost a point of Willpower. crimes which shaped it) is repeated over and over by
The first step in gaining access is figuring out shadowy versions of the original perpetrators and
where the Dark Door can be found. This could victims. The shadows have attributes and skills,
be a simple Perception check to find the spot with just like people they represent. Regardless of their
faded blood stains and peel back the wallpaper, original form these Echos are modelled as Dark
or it could require a through search through an Creatures. They can never leave the Nightscape
abandoned facility, all the while fighting off the and may posses Caligines and Umbrae that reflect
monstrous residents. Given the dangers involved their history. A sadistic prison guard may have I
many Princesses like to identify likely spots before Have You Now, My Pretty while the echo of a Mage
even setting foot on Tainted grounds; piecing might only have Cloak of Shadows as the only spell
old newspaper reports back together, talking to she cast when she created the Taint was to conceal
witnesses, and reconstructing the history to find herself. The higher the taints severity, the more
the site of the original crime. This uses the supernatural powers the echoes can acquire, as a
Investigation rules (Chronicle of Darkness page 77). rule of thumb they have Shadows equal to Severity.
A successful investigation narrows the location of The Tainted Place can be purified by giving the
the Dark Door to one or two likely locations, but events a “good” ending: usually saving the victims.
insufficient Clues might result in complications such The higher the Severity, the trickier this tends to
as: Blundering into an ambush, a race to find be. Not only will a high Severity Tainted Place have
the Dark Door before hostages are eaten, or even more wrongs to right (and thus often more victims
mortals following the Princesses in and getting into to save), but the events can blur together into a
danger. narrative that is more than the sum of its parts,
The Tainted Place’s Aspirations remain in effect a story of cruelty that almost seems to adapt to
inside of the Nightscape, as do the penalties the efforts of those trying to Cleanse it, actively
associated with its Severity rating, and any other thwarting them. Indeed, many Princesses fervently
effects for being inside of the Tainted Area. believe Echoes to do just that.
Once inside, the way to cleanse the Tainted Place Aside from the Darkspawn monsters and
depends on the type of Nightscape it possesses. shadowy perpetrators that inhabit these Echoes,
The base type, which most Nightscapes belong to, would-be cleansers face another danger: that of
is the Echo type. Tainted Places which diverge being drawn too deeply into the story. Thoughts
greatly from their origins, or that were formed and memories contrary to the narrative of the
by an amalgam of various different crimes with echo begin to fade, buried under intrusive self-
little common theme, may be of the Maze variety recriminations, doubts and fears. It requires effort

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to convince yourself that what you are seeing is
not real, for once you believe it to be real for even
Mazes
just a moment, it gains power over you. Whenever When the crimes defining a Tainted Place become
a character acts in line with the narrative — she too diverse to maintain a coherent image, or simply
pretends to be another prisoner to avoid a monster’s become so numerous that none of them really stand
notice, she fails to rebuff a Darkened treating her out above the others anymore, its Echoes may
like an echo — she makes a Resolve + Composure coalesce at the heart of a new type of Nightscape:
roll. a Maze.
Where an Echo is awash with sounds and images
Dramatic Failure: The character utterly forgets endlessly replaying past crimes, Mazes are often
herself and is sucked right into the scene around eerily silent. Harsh winds sweep through dusty
her. She takes the Nightmares Come Alive corridors, doors creak ominously, shadows seem to
Condition, and cannot leave the Nightscape until reach and claw at those who pass by, and a subtle
it is resolved. aroma of rot underpins everything.
Failure: The character’s concentration lapses, Underneath this all, a malign presence broods.
and that short moment of weakness is enough Hallways shift to confound intruders, doors lock
for the Echo. She takes the Nightmares Come behind the unwary, and swarms of rats, insects or
Alive Condition. She can still leave the Tainted churning shadows appear as if out of nowhere to
Place, but will not do so unless pushed. chase invaders from its halls.
Success: The character stays focused, and does Deep within the Maze, its Heart can be found,
not forget herself. looking like nothing so much as a cancerous
lump made up of a grotesque collection of icons
Exceptional Success: The character sees the representing the key crimes committed to form the
pitiful shadows playing around her for what they Tainted Place. There might be manacles used to
really are; pale imitations only. Armoured in restrain victims, a replica of a gnashing jaw, a
her resolve, she is ready for whatever the Echo sacrificial knife, or all manners of torture devices,
may throw at her next. She gains the Steadfast all sticking out of a misshapen pulsing lump of
condition. bloody flesh and tar.
While its appearance may not be reminiscent
Creatures of the Darkness are immune to this
of a “heart”, the name becomes more appropriate
effect. Darkened may willingly take on a role in
once you know that destroying it will cleanse the
the story in order to make a good resolution harder
Tainted Place. The destruction itself is generally a
to reach, but they retain awareness that they are
pretty simple task: it can’t defend itself at all and is
playing a role.
vulnerable to both mundane and magical weapons;
Example Echo: To cleanse the boarding school
however, actually getting to the Heart tends to be
of horror you have to get the bullies to repent
anything but easy.
and bring the evil headmaster, who made naughty
A Maze’s power isn’t endless. If it was, it would
kids “disappear”, to justice. You enter at the
just block off its Heart completely and be done
dorms and talk (or beat, if talk fails) some sense
with it. Generally, a Maze has enough strength
into the bullies. After that, you walk across the
to assail intruders with one obstacle for each point
Nightscape to get from the bully’s dorm room to
of Severity it has. It never repeats obstacles of the
the headmaster’s office. Possibly while dodging, or
same type, diversifying instinctively so that if one
fighting, echoes of prefects and teachers who think
of its defences doesn’t prove to be a suitable barrier
nothing of using corporal punishment to discipline
against the invaders, another one will. These
a “student skipping class.” The original teachers
obstacles can take nearly any form imaginable (and
and student may still be present, now mutated
several forms that are altogether unimaginable),
into monstrous forms and possessing supernatural
from three dimensional mazes, to harrowing climbs
powers that they will use to defend their home.
up a ladder made from dangerously hot heating
If the Taint has stood for a while any manner of
pipes, to air conditioning vents that release choking
monster may have wondered in to take up residence
fogs to madden intruders, and even to walls that
in a comfortable Nightscape. If the Princesses
seize and grasp as if the Maze itself were striking
haven’t investigated the history of the school they
back.
may have to thoroughly explore the Nightscape to
If the Maze has Dawkspawn subsisting inside
find what they need to fix.
of it, one or more of the obstacles can be geared
towards assisting the Dawkspawn in dealing with
the intruders for the Maze, providing a battlefield

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that is hindersome or downright dangerous for temptation upon Darkspawn to accept the offer,
the average Princess, Hunter or mortal, but not which is stronger the more bestial the Darkspawn
bothersome to that particular Dawnspawn breed at is.
all. Becoming Guarded doesn’t change the
All in all, traversing a Maze is a harrowing Nightscape, it remains an Echo, Maze or Lair,
experience, and few will make it through unscathed. like it was before.
When he merges with the Nightscape, the
Guardian receives a number of Shadows dots equal
Lairs to the Severity of the Tainted Place. These
Shadows do not count when measuring if the
It doesn’t take the touch of the supernatural to Guardian can increase Shadows the normal way.
create a monster, but supernatural monsters can If the Tainted Place later grows in Severity, the
leave their mark upon the Taint they create in a Guardian gains a new Shadow dot as well. In
way a mere mortal cannot. When a supernatural addition, the Guardian heals rapidly while inside
being inhabits a space, reworks it to their liking, the Nightscape. At the start of each of its
Taints it through their actions, and continues to turns, downgrade the rightmost box of damage
frequent the locale, the Nightscape might form into in its healthtrack once. A Guardian is not
a Lair. negatively affected by having its health track filled
Lairs are the most curious form of Taint for with bashing or lethal damage (aside from wound
while they can be purified or purged like any other modifiers), and when its health track is filled with
Tainted Place, cleansing a Lair might not require aggravated damage, it simply discorporates, losing
entering the Nightscape at all. In fact, if the physical form until its wounds are fully healed and
master is not in residence, entering the Nightscape its health track is empty once more. Finally, by
might not even be an option. The Dark Door is spending a willpower point, the Guardian can move
sealed and barred while the master is away, and from one spot inside of the Nightscape to any other
if he stays away too long the Nightscape begins to spot, as an Instant action.
lose coherence, eventually exposing any Darkspawn
lurking there to the unmitigated cold of the Dark
World. Cleansing a lair instead requires dealing
with the monster that created it, whether that
Purging a Tainted Place
means destroying a it in battle, convincing it to The final option for cleaning up a Tainted Place is
repent, or even bringing a Slasher to face justice to destroy it. At a minimum this requires stripping
before the courts. it down to the walls and power-hosing out every
Of course, if the Taint’s creator makes regular last trace of the past, but the most common tool
use of the Nightscape, Princesses might have to for purges is fire.
follow them in (especially if they spot it dragging The risk of purging a Tainted Place, aside
along its latest, still living, victim). The Nightscape from police investigations and monster hunters
of a lair warps and reflects its owner. A serial investigating an “inexplicable” case of arson, is
killer’s lair manifests grizzly trophies and shrines that anything less than total destruction can
to their victims, past and future, while the lair of strengthen the Taint. Each Tainted Place is the
an animalistic Darkspawn might be covered floor product of its history and a failed attempt by
to ceiling with claw marks. Within the Nightscape, monster hunters or Princesses becomes another
the Lair’s master adds Severity to all their rolls, chapter in the tale. If any Taint survives it will
not just the ones that match one of the Taint’s spread back to reclaim the damaged area, and it
Ambitions. will come back stronger. A failed attempt to purge
a Tainted Place increases its Severity by one, to a
maximum of five. If the Severity was already at
Guarded five, the Tainted Place will grow in size instead.
Whenever a Darkened transforms into a Darkspawn The Court of Storms have access to the
at the same time as they create a new Tainted Purgation Charm which avoids this risk. Without
Place, or increases the Severity of one that isn’t fresh crimes, Taint can never reclaim anything
yet Guarded, they may leave their corporeal form burned by Purgation. If the fire never spreads
behind and merge with the Nightscape, making it beyond a single room, then that room will become a
Guarded. No roll is needed for this, making the gap in Taint, a safe refuge in the centre of a Tainted
choice is enough. Tainted Places instinctively wish Place. Purgation is a potent charm, and Furies
to be Guarded in this way, and exert a subtle who do not have access to it overcome the risks of

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purging a Tainted Place simply by being dedicated everything), but peel back the surface and you’ll
enough to finish the job even if they have to fight see that the residents have become embroiled in
firefighters or sacrifice their own lives. constant games of one-upmanship, false smiles and
Purging Taint is resolved as an Extended Action social backstabbing.
with a target number equal to the square of the Size: 5 — An entire neighbourhood.
Taint’s size, as measured by Sanctuary Size. If the Aspirations: Destroy someone’s trust in another
Tainted Place is size zero, only a single success is person.
needed. The time per roll depends on the method Severity: 1
used. It takes 20 minuets per roll if the characters Nightscape: A gravity defying, three dimensional
use hammers and other wrecking tools, 10 per roll Maze of suburban streets.
for arson, and 5 per roll for construction machines
or explosives. Characters may mix methods; if
they can only afford a little bit of explosives, they Ellinson Junior Utility Shed
can soften the building up with their supernatural
strength first. In 1925, there were repeated instances of students
The characters can continue to roll until they disappearing from the Ellinson Junior High
have finished the Taint. It might take a while but campus. When the number reached 6, the
so long as you’re willing to keep smashing walls school was nearly forced to close down, but they
a building will come down eventually. However finally discovered the schools janitor was behind it.
the longer the characters take the higher the risk Disturbingly, he had kidnapped, sexually assaulted
that Darkspawn or the police will turn up. If the and murdered the girls right on campus, in his
characters are forced to leave the job half done their utility shed.
progress is erased and the Taint profits. This place was briefly much more powerful,
but the police investigation provided symbolic
Dramatic Failure: Demolitions is a dangerous opposition that partially purified the taint, but
job. The Storyteller inflicts a Condition or they never finished the job. Unfortunately, today
Environmental Tilt. Punching through a load the shed mostly remains as a popular location for
bearing wall might drop a ceiling on a character, students to sneak a cigarette, or have an illicit tryst.
or the fire might start early forcing the characters It’s private and out of sight, but the Taint makes
to work with an inferno or flee. things uncomfortable and clumsy at best; at worst,
Failure: No progress is made. neither sweetheart is likely to be feeling very good
about what the other gets up to.
Success: Progress is made. If the target number Usually no one stays long enough to actually
is reached the Taint is destroyed, or one spark risk becoming Tainted themselves, but one repeat
away from going up in flames. truant hid there just a few too many times. She’s
Exceptional Success: Significant progress is currently running on the rush; being in that shed
made. makes her feel strong in a way nothing else ever did.
She doesn’t know why, but she knows she can grow
the taint and is looking for ways to do just that.

Sample Tainted Places Size: 1 — A single shed.

Severity: 2
Aspiration: Emotionally uncomfortable sex.
Nightscape: Echo.
White Picket Lane
White Picket Lane always was a superficial place,
a place where appearances counted for more than
Mary Ann's Bathtub
substance. Then it turned spiteful. The correct After a breakup with her boyfriend of four years,
appearances became ever narrower. Those who did Mary Ann ran herself a nice hot bath, poured
not fit in were passively aggressively driven away. herself a glass of wine, and slit her wrists. Four
The Taint is mild, but widespread. years of emotionally manipulating her vulnerable
Today, White Picket Lane doesn’t feel that boyfriend condensed into one single act, tainting
different from normal. The minor amount of the bathtub. When they came for the body, it
Taint is not enough to compete with the lovely was cleaned up of course; the tub was bleached
climate and obsessive cleaning performed by the and washed until it gleamed and not a drop of
residents. On the surface, the people wouldn’t be blood remained, but simply cleaning isn’t enough
seen dead as impolite (keeping up appearances is to remove Taint.

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 Even to this day, no matter how hot you run just could not let go.
the water, the porcelain always feels uncomfortably
cold against your flesh. Lying in it for a good soak
comes with feelings of loss and distance from the
people you care about, and a deep inner emptiness.
Size: 0 — Just a bathtub.
Severity: 3 Aspirations: 1: Emotionally abuse
someone close to you. 3: Commit suicide.
Tainted Objects
Nightscape: None; Tainted places acquire a Not all Taint infects an entire location, a
Nightscape at Size 1. smaller item such as the murder weapon can
become Tainted if it was integral to an act of
infamy. Mechanically these Tainted Objects
Meditech Universal are treated as a Tainted Place, anyone
holding or touching the object (gloves
Meditech Universal started as a hopeful venture,
are no protection) is treated as though
the kind of place that would have any Princess’
they were standing inside the Tainted
full approval. In its early years, it lead research
Place. Naturally a Tainted object has no
into many topics which benefit the medical world
Nightscape. Apart from that limitation it
even today, and collaborated on a handful of well-
can be dealt with in all the same ways as a
known project. Sadly, the dream was not to last.
Tainted Place. As disposing of a simple item
A string of fruitless projects and the loss of a
is much easier than destroying an entire
governmental grant brought the lab to the brink of
building most Princesses just smash any
financial ruin. Many jumped ship, but the founding
Tainted Object they see and call it a day.
core remained. They worked tirelessly to save the
A Tainted Object contains one Caligo
company, but it was never enough. Whenever they
rated at or below it’s Severity, a character
neared a breakthrough, larger organisations like
who possesses the object is able to use this
the Cheiron Group released a similar product just
Caligio. The exact method of channelling
weeks before theirs was ready to go. Eventually,
the Caligo is unique to each Tainted Object
their ideas became more “out there”, their methods
but it is usually what you’d expect based on
more radical. Corners were cut, and at some point,
the item’s mundane function, however using
human rights )and whether or not someone had
Dark magic always has it’s consequences. In
volunteered to be a test subject) simply ceased to
addition to the usual drawbacks of using
matter.
a Caligo the character instantly takes the
The situation devolved rapidly when figuring out
Tainted Condition if they do not already
ways to dispose of the bodies became a recurring
have it. Light Touched characters cannot
theme, and eventually the remaining lab members
use these Caligos, and usually face a
slaughtered one another in a fit of paranoia. All
consequence like the Sick Tilt if they try.
but one, who became one with the taint.
With the lab members having been long
estranged from any friends or family in their
obsessive drive, nobody ever came to check on the
remote lab in the woods. The corpses and the taint
are all still there, waiting for a hapless explorer
The Dethroned
to wander in and continue the researcher’s bloody
work... They had been watching the warehouse for hours
Size: 4 — A large medical research facility. when the Darkspawn came. It wasn’t an attack,
Severity: 5 no, they were running. The Darkspawn ran straight
Aspirations: 1: Steal someone else’s precious into the firing lines in a blind panic. In moments
work and take credit for it. 3: Kidnap someone monsters were reduced to smouldering corpses in a
and hold them against their will. 5: Perform rain of noble magic
questionable medical experiments on someone. If Then the Princesses saw what the Darkspawn
you’re not scientifically inclined, this could amount were running from.
to just cutting someone open bit by bit to “see how It was enormous, taller than the warehouse and
they work”. tearing the building apart like tissue paper as it
Nightscape: Guarded Echo. Labs full of twisted strode forward. It’s body was human, with it’s
experimentation are still stalked by the man who flesh pealed away exposing muscles intertwined with
unearthly clockwork. It’s movements stuttered in

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an unnatural mimicry of human grace. It gave out suffer no other effects.
a scream of screeching metal, the sound staggered Hexes: Several Hexes abilities grant additional
the Princesses. In it’s cry they felt it’s despair, ways to recover Shadows. See those abilities for
impotence, and something else. details
“My god. That thing’s a Princess!”

The Dethroned are born from suffering, and from

their birth they’ll create little else. It’s not as if she
Fortress of Regrets
plans it, for all intents the Dethroned are incapable Every Dethroned still contains a spark of the Light,
of planning anything. No, things just happen no matter how deeply it’s burried. Like the Light
around her. A fallen Noble is like a poisoned streaming through Tainted Places to shine upon the
wound, spreading toxins through the Dark World. Dark World a Dethroned’s faded embers gives form
Her very presence twists the Darkness around her and definition to the dead world around her.
until it reflects the events and pain that led to her But the Dethroned do not carry the Light of a
fall. world, imposing geography onto the Dark World.
Most Dethroned live deep within the Dark World Theirs is the Light of a human mind, formed of
in perfect isolation where they can harm no one thoughts and emotions. Bitter, bitter, emotions.
save themselves, but on occasion a Dethroned rises
from her self-reproach to rampage across the Dark
World or Earth and when the fallen encounter lesser Laments
minions of the Darkness they can reshape them; the
chaotic and selfish creatures of Darkness become A Dethroned’s Fortress of Regrets consists of a
something, that if not a unified force, will at least number of Laments. Mechanically a Lament works
focus their efforts away from each other. like a Lair Nightscape save that a Lament exists
exclusively within the Dark World, it has no
corresponding Tainted Place on Earth, and it can
The Nature of the Fallen only be destroyed by killing the Dethroned. If
a Dethroned reforms, so do her Laments. The
When a Princess calls upon the final Storyteller chooses whatever curses feel appropriate
Transformation her Inner Light is snuffed out, to the Belief Compromise.
and the Darkness rushes in to fill the void within, Each Lament is tied to one Belief Compromise
creating the ultimate Creature of the Darkness. and resembles a surreal dreamlike portrayal of that
The Outer Dark can only corrupt, it cannot memory. As a Dethroned’s fall is a continuity
improve and so the once Princess’ soul cannot rather than a series of individual events so too are
develop further. A Dethroned has Inner Darkness her Laments bound by a common theme.
equal to her former Inner Light and cannot increase The physical location of Laments is of no
it. For all mechanical purposes, Inner Darkness is interest to the Dethroned herself. Most can
identical to the Inner Light. be found near the Dark World’s reflection of
Where the Enlightened have Wisps the wherever the Dethroned lost her Belief. Though
Dethroned use Shadows themselves. Her own this may place Laments continents apart or deep
regrets are the fuel for her dark powers. The within the distant formless reaches of the Dark
maximum amount of Shadows a Dethroned can World, all Laments in a Fortress of Regrets are
hoard, as well as the number she can spend in a linked by passageways that resemble the emotional
turn, is determined by her Inner Darkness. The connections between memories. If a person
Dethroned has several methods to regain Shadows. remembering the real event behind one Lament
could follow the train of thought to the event
Endless Angst: The life of a Dethroned is not a behind a second Lament then anyone in that first
happy one. For as long as she exists she is eternally Lament could walk, catch a bus or find a door to
surrounded by reminders of the hurts that led to the second Lament. Traversing these passageways
her pitiful state. Her unceasing misery generates is not instantaneous but never takes more than half
one Shadow a day. an hour.
Sadism: Misery loves company. Dethroned
replace the Sensitivity of the Hopeful with the
Sadism of the Darkness, rolling a base pool of their Awakening the Devil
Inner Darkness. When a Sadism check is triggered On their own Dethroned are mostly passive beings.
the Dethroned gains one Shadow per Success. They They wonder from Lament to Lament expressing

286
their despair and self-loathing in ways as surreal the Dethroned. The Darkness seeps out from
as their Laments. Both Princesses and Creatures them, warping other Creatures of the Darkness
of the Darkness are usually happy to give them a to their form. Darkened count spending a scene
wide berth. near a Dethroned as a Breaking Point with a -
But when times are desperate any Creature of 5 penalty. All other Creatures of the Darkness
the Darkness can manipulate the Dethroned into must roll Resolve + Stamina for every Composure
taking a more active role. All they need is the turns they spend within sight of the Dethroned.
Caligo Copycat Crime. Moving a Lament works Failure subsumes them into the mythos of the
identically like moving a Tainted Place, however Dethroned. Mnemosynes and Cataphractoi may
Laments cannot be split, the Caligo must be spend a Willpower dot to resist this change.
invoked several times in sequence, one for every Often a warped minion is simultaneously a
two points of Inner Darkness. Once a Lament manifestation of the Dehtroned’s worst memories or
is contained within the icon it can be moved to a fantasy of how things might have gone differently,
anywhere within the Dark World, or even on Earth. and they are twisted in mind and body into form
The most common strategy is simply to place the thematically appropriate for their new role. Both
Lament in a Nightscape (where always overwrites the memories and the fantasies are a torment to
the Nightscape, regardless of the Taint’s Severity). Dethroned; who seem universally powerless to rid
So long as the Lament is beneath a Tainted themselves of their new companions.
Place, and the Dethroned is presently within that The creatures warped by a Dethroned become
particular Lament, she is able to abduct people loyal to their maker and at least tolerant of their
from Earth. Spend a Shadow then roll Presence new siblings, though as few Dethroned are able
+ Intimidation vs Composure + Supernatural to communicate this loyalty is more instinct than
Advantage. obedience. Mnemosynes and Cataphractoi are
Dethroned target people who resemble characters transformed into simple Darkspawn, but often
present in whatever event created the Lament; unusually powerful and cunning examples of the
or anyone touched by the Light. For a Dark species.
Creature in a tight spot, the thought of a Dethroned
targeting the Princesses coming to cleanse your
home might be worth loosing safe access to the
Dark World. The Dark Door remains, and leads to
Redemption
an appropriate place in the Lament, but Dethroned So long as someone cares for you then Redemption
are dangerous even to Dark Creatures. If there’s no is always possible, but sometimes, it’s fucking hard.
where to run too, hoping for a Dethroned’s rescue A Dethroned is too far gone to redeem herself, it
is better than getting frozen. Dethroned beneath will need someone to carry it for that first step on
a Tainted Place are able to cross to Earth like any the way.
other Dark Creature, they just rarely do it. After a Dethroned is defeated –it’s health must
The second most common strategy is to place be filled with Lethal damage or worse – but before
the Lament on Earth. If a Dethroned leaves it is swept away on the formless currents of the
her Lament, usually because she was pushed, Darkness (about ten minuets) any Princess can try
sometimes voluntarily, she is most likely to go on to reach out to it through Sensitivity. She makes an
a rampage before returning home. It’s pointless Extended Belief roll with one roll per turn, accruing
in the Dark World but many Creatures of the one Shadow per roll, magic may not be used to
Darkness may wish to see the most powerful of their boost this roll. Unlike most extended actions there
kin attack Earth. is no limit to the number of rolls, so long as
Few Creatures move Laments to create a you are willing to accept another Shadow. If the
transportation network; the risks imposed by Princess reaches the threshold of Inner Darkness
encountering a Dethroned is too high even for the Dethroned feels that somebody understands it’s
monsters. Only when a Dethroned has already suffering. The soul of the fallen Noble departs from
subsumed other monster’s into her own woes will it’s tainted body and takes up residence deep in the
they make regular use of Laments for travel. Princess’ soul. This does mean that the Princess
has to carry an extra Inner Darkness Shadows.
From this point on the Princess simply has
Misery Loves Company to remove these Shadows, she may not use
Charms that remove Shadows, such as Choke
There is a reason that sapient Darkspawn who It Down, while she is carrying a Dethroned
value their own senses of self keep away from within her soul. Overcoming the Shadows upon

287
her soul is easier said than done when she’s
probably collapsing under the emotional weight of
Cry of Anguish
the Dethroned’s unceasing grief (not to mention A Dethroned exists in eternal torment and some
possibly rolling Chance Dice for Transformation have learned to use their suffering as a weapon.
and Wisp recovery), but if somehow she does ever By spending a point of Willpower rolling Inner
remove all her Shadows then when she next falls Darkness + Presence + Intimidation vs Composure
asleep she will see for the first time the face of the + Supernatural Advantage - Target’s Shadows she
one she’s sacrificed so much for. Together they will can force a sensitivity check upon others with a
climb through the Crawlspace, travel through the dice modifier equal to her Successes - her target’s
Dreamlands, at the edge of the Light itself they Successes. To be targeted someone must have a
will say their tearful goodbyes before the redeemed Sensitivity rating, and they cannot be a Creature
departs. of the Darkness. Each person can only be targeted
As for what happens next? Who can say. once per day. Commonality may be added to the
Perhaps the Princess will have a chance to make up roll to target multiple people.
for what she has done in her next life, perhaps she
hangs up the crown that grew too heavy and moves
on to some manner of afterlife? As for the rescuer, Everywhere Is My Pain
unless she wants to leave her life behind to enter
the Light and return to the cycle of reincarnation By spending a number of Shadows equal to Inner
she’ll have to get back to her royal duties the next Darkness the Dethroned can move any of their
day. But redeeming a Dethroned does grant two Laments to their present location, so long as it
dots of Belief, as well as fully refreshing her Wisps is not already a Lament. While there are some
and Willpower. practical uses for this Hex, such as placing a
Lament inside a Nightscape, or at least close
enough to one that geography and Hexes like
Hexes One Thousand Weeping Eyes and Welcome to my
Personal Hell will function; most Dethroned with
The dark powers of the Dethroned are known as this Hex are simply trapped in a cycle where they
Hexes. They are the inverse of the magic she once struggle to escape their Lament only to reform it
wielded. Whereas a Charm is drawn from her hopes around themselves again and again.
and her loves, Belief given form, a Hex is formed of Some Dethroned have a variant on this Hex
solid misery, damning the user even as it curses the that allows them to move their Lament into a
world around her. Tainted Places on Earth. Doing so requires that
the Tainted Place has a Severity equal to half their
Inner Darkness and a point of Willpower.
Blast
The Dethroned sends a blast of dark magic to Infectious Madness
destroy her enemies. She has a range equal to
Inner Darkness * 10 yards, the storyteller decides The despair of the Dethroned spreads out for
the damage when he creates the Dethroned from a them. Anyone who encounters the Dethroned
range of 0 to Inner Darkness + 5. The Storyteller takes a penalty to Breaking Point or Compromise
also decides if the damage is lethal or aggravated, rolls equal to half the Dethroned’s Inner Darkness.
though usually aggravated damage requires an Mental protection can defend against this effect and
Inner Darkness of 5+. Most Dethroned may use triggers a Clash of Wills.
the auto fire rules. Each shadow spent gives the
Dethroned 10 shots’ worth of ammunition.
Kiss of a Princess
Covetous Form The Dethroned can bind a Shadow into a Mortal by
rolling Inner Darkness + Presence + Intimidation
With a hair of coiling serpents or a body of vs Composure + Integrity. If the Dethroned wins
grasping vines the Dethroned can reach out in every the roll the target immediately gains the Depression
direction at once. She may apply the Autofire rules Condition. In addition the Dethroned may regain
to any attack using Brawl. Shadows through the victim. Any time the Victim
commits or is the target of an applicable action
as per the rules for Sadism the Dethroned can roll

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Sensitivity. If the Dethroned is a Misery Glutton one Shadow for each Success they roll. This power
she may also benefit from the victim’s misery as does not function on Creatures of the Darkness.
per the rules for that ability. The effects of the If a Dethroned is a Misery Voyeur it’s Familiars
Kiss last until the Dethroned is destroyed, chooses will be as well.
to end it, or the Kiss is removed by magic. The
Dethroned cannot regain the spent Shadow for as
long as the victim remains under the effects of the Mistress’ Care
Kiss.
If a Dethroned knows the Kiss of a Princess her The boundary separating a Dethroned from the
Familiars will as well; any Shadows are bound from beings she has warped through Misery Loves
the parent Dethroned’s pool. Company. When one such being takes damage
or falls into distress, the Dethroned reflexively
makes a Perception roll. On a success, the
Mark of Torment Dethroned becomes aware of her minion’s situation,
understanding it as well as the minion does itself.
The Dethroned can hex someone to become a
magnet for suffering much like they have become.
The Dethroned spends two Shadows and rolls Monstrous Size
Manipulation + Expression vs Composure +
Supernatural Advantage. If the Dethroned wins The Dethroned has swelled into immensity. Her
the target gains a unique Umbrae that functions Size is, at minimum, 10.
like Tainted Allure of Vice except that it functions See the size table for the effects of the
for all Vices providing the Vice is indulged by Dethroned’s titanic form (page 203)
someone with an Integrity (or equivalent) score
equal or lower than the Dethroned’s Successes.
Using mark of Torment does not turn a person One Thousand Weeping Eyes
into a Darkened, the Dethroned is able to inflict
The fallen Noble is keenly, painfully aware of events
an unwanted Umbrae on a mere mortal. The Mark
that mirror her own fall. If anyone commits a
of Torment remains until the hex is removed with
similar action within Inner Darkness miles of the
counter magic. Either charms that remove the
Dethroned’s location (in either Earth or the Dark
Umbrae, or Charms that generally undo lasting
World) she is instantly aware of it. This Hex does
magical effects may be used.
not imply she reacts in any particular way, though
If the Dethroned knows Mark of Torment, its
more than a few Dethroned mindlessly lash out
familiars will as well.
when their unnatural senses are triggered.

Misery Glutton Queen of Misery

The Dethroned are everything a Princess should
When the Dethroned warps a Mnemosyne or
not be, and they draw mindless strength from that.
Cataphractoi their latest victim retains the
Whenever an individual faces a Breaking Point (or
Mnemosyne or Cataphractoi template. They do
equivalent) around them, they gain 1 Shadow if
not retain their original personality however. Their
the person degenerates. Whenever a person falls
minds are remade in the Dethroned’s image. A
to 0 Willpower, the Dethroned gains a point of
Mnemosyne that acted like a Mafia don might turn
Willpower. Should a person, through their own free
into a cult leader like the ones who turned the
will or otherwise, commit suicide around them, they
Dethroned’s family against her, with powers and
regain all their Shadows and all their Willpower.
a new appearance to match.
If a Dethroned is a Misery Glutton her Familiars
They replace their Virtue and Vice with the
will be as well.
Dethroned’s and gain an instinctive loyalty to their
new liege, though she is unlikely to give any orders.
Additionally while they do not coordinate or work
Misery Voyeur together on grand plans they gain some measure
Misery loves company, and the Dethroned finds her of trust. They’ll at least try not to disrupt each
existence easier to bear when others suffer as she other’s plans (usually in a simplistic “you take west
does. Whenever anyone within the Dethroned’s line of the river, I’ll take east” sort of manner) and
of sight makes a Sensitivity roll the Dethroned gains may unify against outside threats. Few threats

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the Nobility face come close to having several Darkness + Current Number of unfilled health
Cataphractoi active at once without infighting. boxes). She follows all the normal rules for Swarms.

Regeneration Toxinous Kiss

By spending a Shadow the fallen Noble regains The Dethroned perpetually surrounds herself in
either one point of lethal, or two points of bashing a haze of polluted emotions and her own sins.
damage per action as a reflexive action. Bashing Everything within Inner Darkness yards of her
damage heals first, lethal only being removed when is exposed to a Toxicity 3 poison, resisted with
there is no Bashing Damage in her Health track. Stamina + Resolve + Inner Light. Should she kiss
someone, which requires her to be in control of a
grapple, the spiritual poison is far more acute, and
Spawn Darkchild its Toxicity rises to 7.

From Darkness, comes... if not life, something close

to it. The fallen Princess can create a Darkspawn Unceasing
with an instant action and the expenditure of one
Willpower point. The newly made monster takes The fallen Princess is perpetually alert and awake,
a turn to get its bearings, before it begins to unable to sleep or dream. She never takes penalties
act independently. If the Dethroned is currently for tiredness, and as a roleplaying note, will always
under attack, it will attack those who threaten its be aware and twitchy, never letting her attention
creator, but if not, it will wander off. Darkspawn slip. Any powers which would cause her to lose
created this way should be created in a thematically focus or cease to pay attention automatically fail.
appropriate form for the Dethroned, and most will
only make two to four “species” of Darkspawn,
which will be unique to it. Many a Princess has Unnatural Senses
realised the first sign that a Dethroned is in the area
is often the similar Darkspawn who start entering What is mundane darkness to a creature like
the world. this? All penalties to actions based on poor visual
conditions are reduced by three, to a maximum of
0.
Spawn Familiar
The Dethroned can bud a piece of herself into an Walpurgisnacht
independent being. This costs 3 Shadows and one
dot of Willpower. The Familiar is smaller than The Dethroned is capable of leaving the Dark
the parent, usually around Size 5, and has an World under it’s own power by spending two
Inner Darkness of 1 and an Empty Shadows pool. Shadows while in a Lament. It can appear
Familiars also lack Hexes save for a few exceptions anywhere that one of the Belief Compromises
that are shared between parent and child. These associated with the Lament took place, so long
exceptions are noted in the Hexes’ text. Familiars as it took place on Earth and not somewhere
are usually sent out of the Dark World to spy and stranger. However if the Lament is close
gather Shadows, most instinctively return to its enough to a Nightscape that it can be said to
parent when they have a good crop of Shadows. have a geographical location then the Dethrone
Consuming a familiar transfers all its Shadows back usually emerges in it’s present location instead of
to the parent and restores the Willpower Dot (or somewhere relevant to it’s history.
the experience if the Dethroned brought the dot This Hex can also be used anywhere on Earth to
back). return the Dethroned back to the Dark World, it
arrives at one of it’s Laments.

Swarming Horror
We are alike
Even the integrity of the body is not sacrosanct to
the Darkness. The Dethroned no longer has a single If Princesses are creatures of the Light, here to
body, instead existing as a Swarm of radius (Inner spread hope and help. How could one become
something like this? With a scream the Dethroned

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hits the a Princess with the emotional summery malformed children that she has eaten. More
of her entire reign, starting at her Blossoming serious wounds can cause her to discorporate into
and ending at her fall. She rolls Presence + a swarm, as severed body parts return to life to
Intimidation vs Belief + Inner Light. If the defend themselves and to stitch themselves back
Dethroned wins the Princess gains the Abdicated into a whole. If the fight is going her way The Witch
Condition. This lasts for 8 - Belief hours, or until is likely to see her attackers as her own misbehaving
the Condition is Resolved. children, and offer to forgive them if they apologise
Princesses with a Belief of eight or more are (and she will, until one day she eats them for their
immune. own good) but if the fight turns against her she will
recast her attackers as the villagers who turned her
out and begin begging them to spare her because
Welcome to My Personal Hell she has a family.
Attributes: Intelligence 0, Wits 3, Resolve 4,
Perhaps most terrifyingly, the Dethroned have the Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6, Presence 2,
almost unique capacity to seize people through the Manipulation: 1 Composure: 2
barrier between this world and the Dark World. To Skills: Athletics 3 , Brawl 2, Stealth 1, Weaponry
do this they must be in a part of the dark world that 4 (Knife)
clearly reflects a location on Earth (which means Inner Darkness: 4
in a Nightscape or it’s surrounding environs) and Health: 15
positioned so they would be able to touch someone Willpower: 6
if they were in their current location but on Earth. Vice: Hatered –she still hates the people who
Then they spend a Shadow and roll Inner Darkness turned her out and anyone who reminds her of
+ Strength vs Stamina + Inner Light. them.
Virtue: Loving –A Dethroned cannot feel genuine
love but she mimics it quite well.
Sample Dethroned Size: 5
Defence: 3
Initiative: 6
The Witch in the Woods Speed: 15
Her memories come in snatches. She remembers Hexes: Unconscious Warping, Spawn Darkchild,
being cast away from her village for her magic. Fortress of Regrets, Welcome to My Personal
She remembers trying to raise two children alone Hell, Cry of Anguish, Unceasing, Regeneration,
in the forest, sometimes she can even remember Swarming Horror, One Thousand Weeping Eyes
their faces. She remembers relying on her magic to
feed her family, she remembers hating her magic
for making her an outcast, and she remembers her
magic failing her because she hated it. Sometimes
Wardens
she can almost remember enough to ask why she
ate her own children, but most of the time she can’t “Of course I’m your mother Button, It’s not the
even remember why you wouldn’t. sort of thing you forget.”
The Witch in the Woods dwells deep within You’re know this is a dream, but you’re starting
the Dark World, she is most often found within to forget what wasn’t. Your quest to find the holy
a Lament resembling a log cabin deep within a ace, and your friends Benny the Bear, Herick the
(small) forest that looks like a washed out water Repentant Knight, and Cedric the Priest. That’s
colour. She puts up a good pretence of being able to real and this is an illusion woven by the evil Lidia?
think, but it’s all a script, eternal and unchanging. Or is it your school and your friends Rachel,
She lures Darkspawn to her, and sometimes living Amanda and Lacy. But how can anything so
children, she attempts to take care of them as a unrealistic as sending kids somewhere they hate
mother should but it never lasts. In the end she every day be real? It’s starting to get scary, you
always eats them alive to keep them safe deep hope your friends would rescue you soon (but which
within her own Tainted body. friends?)
In battle the Witch is a deceptively dangerous That’s not right either, you’re a heroine. You
foe. Though she appears as a frail old women The should be rescuing yourself. Why are you thinking
Witch can take an enormous amount of damage. like this? There aren’t any guards here, it should
If she is significantly injured she is likely to call be easy to escape. You just need to get your... Your
Darkspawn to her aid, disgorging the strange

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what? Why is it so hard to remember things? Darkness Warden’s have a Bane of jade, however
only real jade will do, Dreamlands jade won’t
When servants of the Darkness formed a Trap deep work. So far no Princess has figured out a way
within the Dreamlands the builders knew better to bring solid objects into the Dreamlands, it may
than to rely on it lasting forever. They placed be impossible, but Wardens aren’t much of a threat
powerful guards to watch over their prisoners, in physical combat anyway.
endlessly adjusting the illusions and dreams to keep
the souls of the kingdom in a satisfied slumber.
Upon the Release the Radiant Queens saw the
Wardens for what they are. They summoned their
Influence: Gales
armies and rode against them, slaughtering them Strengthen: When the Gales are strengthened the
in countless masses. Yet some Wardens survived, apply a penalty equal to the Warden’s successes to
far too many Wardens survived. Fleeing to the wild all rolls to resist the gales. Characters only roll to
regions of the Dreamlands they lie in wait for the resist the Gales once per day and so spending a day
opportunity to fulfil their dark purpose. in a quiet safe place then walking into a Warden’s
Today the Wardens are scattered far and wide domain just as the clock rolls over is not enough
upon the face of the Dreamlands, yet they are to gain the penalty. Every 6 hours within the
unbroken. They remember their purpose and yearn strengthened area inflicts one forth (round down)
to fulfil it. When they see one carrying the Light of the Warden’s Successes as a penalty, up to a
walk the realms of sleep they will stop at nothing maximum of the warden’s full successes if the target
to imprison her in a blissful dream for all eternity. spends the full day in the affected area. Some
magical protections, including a Princess’ Regalia,
remove modifiers based on the strength of the gales,
The Nature of the Jailkeepers this also applies against Gales Strengthened by a
Warden’s Influence.
Wardens are a form of Dreamlander, to be precise Manipulate: Manipulating the Gales lets the
they are Actors. A Warden instinctively knows Warden make small changes to the Dreamlands. It
that it’s purpose is to trap people and expose them cannot create or remove traits entirely but it could
to the Gales but they are unaware of the deeper emphasise some traits over others. For example
reasons for their being. Cupid City, the Dreamlands reflection of love,
Like all Dreamlanders Wardens are ephemeral contains reflections of both healthy relationships
beings, however in the Dreamlands that counts and broken hearts. A Warden could emphasize
for little. Within the Dreamlands Wardens are either (at least in a small area). It takes a while for
effectively material beings, for more details see the manipulated gales to create the desired change
the Dreamlands appendix. They have a Rank of and the results are normally blown away by future
one to three and their only Influence is the Gales. gales.
Unlike most ephemeral beings and even other Control: Controlling the Gales allows for drastic
Dreamlanders, Wardens have no Manifestations changes. The Warden can create or remove traits
and have no equivalent to conditions like Anchor or entirely within the confines of the subject matter.
Resonant. In the Dreamlands this is no issue but It couldn’t create traits about nautical mechanics
if a Warden somehow ended up on Earth it would in Cupid City but it could create re-sculpt a city
be powerless to affect anything outside of Twilight block until it reflects a nonsensical concept like
and soon fade into oblivion. Abilities that affect love being a side effect of the moon’s gravitational
the Gales are also useless outside the Dreamlands. pull. Fortunately for all concerned the Dreamlands
Wardens only target souls touched by the reflect concepts and does not influence them. As
Light. Princesses, Sworn, Beacons and any of the with Manipulation, it takes the Gales time to work
Kingdom’s original inhabitants. They could use the desired changes and after some time further
their powers on any Dreamlander or any visitor Gales will reset the area to normal.
with a Galemark but they only care about people
touched by the Light, and anyone who tries to stop
them.
The Warden’s Ban is that they must always try
New Numina
to ensnare any soul touched by the light, the only As Dreamlanders the Wardens have access to
exception is when they have multiple victims at Numina, most only have the ones listed below
one. Then they may pick one target and let the which provide a more precise and efficient way to
others leave, for now. Like all creatures of the

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manipulate the Gales. A powerful Warden might
have additional Numina.
Fruit of the Lotus
The most direct power of the Warden’s is to inflict
a penalty to resisting the Gales. To do this they
Web of Illusions must target one of the five senses: Sight, Smell,
Hearing, Touch or Taste. It takes roughly a minuet
Cost: 1 Willpower. 6 - target’s Galemarks in
of the target focusing on the sense for the Numina
Essence, minimum of 1 Essence.
to take effect. Flashing an image wouldn’t work
for sight but getting the target to study a trapped
The Gales that blow through the Dreamlands
painting would. To turn a sensory experience into a
change the memories of visitors, making them
trap the Warden spends a Willpower point and rolls
believe they have always been a part of the
Manipulation + Expression with a bonus based
Dreamlands. From the perspective of the Wardens
on how tempting the trap is to their intended
this is good, but it does not go far enough. The
target. If the target falls for the trap they
Gales give the visors a past within the Dreamlands,
roll Resolve + Composure against the Warden’s
the Wardens wish to give them a future. A reason
original Successes. Every additional Success rolled
to stay. Sometimes it is necessary for a Warden to
by the Warden becomes a -1 penalty to the target’s
manipulate the Gales personally. With a Successful
next roll to resist the Gales. Regalia does not
Power + Finesse + the days outwards from the
protect against Fruit of the Lotus.
Centre vs Resolve + Composure roll the Warden
may add one fact to the target’s Gale-marked
history. The Gales will soon write that fact in large
upon the Dreamlands.
Cage of Delights
The facts created by a Warden cannot contradict Wardens want their victims to stay put, preferably
the target’s established Gale-marked history. If a somewhere in the wilder Galestruck regions of the
Princess remembers that she ran away from the Dreamlands. Creating somewhere worth staying for
palace where she grew up to escape her cruel a while can only be an advantage. The Warden
father then a Warden cannot add any fact that must choose a target size (measured on the same
would make the Princess’ father nice. The Warden scale as Sanctuary) and the chosen area must not
however could add a fact along the lines of “The be occupied by anyone but the Warden. Then
cruel king has been overthrown by the Princess the Warden spends a number of Essence equal to
noble brother, who loves her dearly.” the chosen size and rolls Power + Finesse. If the
Warden succeeds the Gales will create whatever
area they desire, and even include a Chorus.
Mask of Many Faces Further gales will not change this area beyond
it’s specifications while the Warden remains in
Just as the Wardens can shift the Dreamlands they
residence.
can shift themselves. By spending one Essence
The limitation is that such areas are fleeting even
and rolling Wits + Subterfuge the Warden can
by the Dreamlands standards and as soon as the
transform into any shape they wish. The physical
victim realises this their escape is imminent. The
advantages are minimal, a Warden who turns into
warden might build a tough jail cell but if it’s
an enormous dragon will not gain the ability to
victims ever try to kick the doors down they will
challenge armies. At most they can adapt to
have little trouble. The chorus might appaer to be
survive in unusual environments or acquire minor
a mighty army but in a direct battle against an
combat advantages around the level of 1 point in
actor, star or visiting dreamer they are powerless.
Armour and +0 Lethal weapons. The real benefit
to this Numina is as a disguise. Every Success
rolled on this Numina becomes an automatic
Success on all future disguise rolls. It is very hard Sample Warden: Prince Charming
to spot a Warden for what it is directly, indirect
The Warden’s don’t have personalities, they
methods such as witnessing a Warden using one of
have masks. Very very good masks but masks
their unique Numina work as normal, of course.
nevertheless. Yet there is something buried behind
those masks, some small spark of personality... or
perhaps just preferences. Prince(cess) Charming
is a Warden who specialises getting romantically
entangled with his targets and making them choose

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between love or their real life. That is, if he can’t “I hope you enjoyed working in a real library, but
sweep them of their feet so fast that they forget you have to give that body back now.”
they have a real life at all.
Storytelling Hints: Prince Charming can appear Once the Radiant believed that the Amanojaku
in any form that his victim finds attractive: Animal were a unique being, a strange mental parasite
mineral or vegetable, but usually an ordinary man that resided within the Dreamlands seeking the
or woman. He has an instinctive knowledge of opportunity to possess human bodies. Now they
people’s romantic inclinations and preferences and know better, Amanojaku are just Dreamlanders
prefers to set the mood before his first meeting. who’s desire for a physical body is stronger than
Depending on his victims preferences he may their ethics.
arrange for his own rescue, run an inn under a Some are ordinary Dreamlanders who became
romantic moon or ride up in shining armour to obsessed with getting closer to the real concept that
recruit nobles to his quest. they reflect. Others are inhabitants of the Kingdom
As a Warden Prince Charming isn’t able to feel who wish to return to life, but fear the partial loss
genuine romantic affection and so he pushes hard of self inherent in reincarnation. Rumour has it
before his victims see through his shallow mask. there’s even a Brat or two.
If he’s on a quest the danger and post danger Most Dreamlanders consider the Amanojaku
adrenaline fueled romance come one after another to be criminals who dabble in profane magics.
without time to rest. A more traditional royal Consequently most can be found in the wild regions
romance swings from feast to parade to ball without of the Dreamlands, far from Dreamlander law and
pause. Even questioning this frantic pace is enough the eyes of the Radiant Queens. Others can be
to make Price Charming fear he is loosing his found among the brightest cities of the Dreamlands,
latest victim causing him to overcompensate either lurking in the shadows as criminals have always
by creating emergencies or turning to emotional done.
blackmail.

Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 4, Resistance 2 The Nature of the Body Thieves

Rank: 2 Amanojaku are Dreamlanders, pure and simple.
They follow the usual rules detailed in the
Willpower: 6 Dreamlands Appendix. There is one additional
constant, for a Dreamlander to attempt possession
Speed: 11 they must have the Possession or Greater
Possession Manifestation and, unless it is being
Defence: 2 helped or has some other path to Earth, it will also
need the Dream Invasion Manifestation. Graeter
Size: 5 (usually) Possession is identical to Possession, save for the
fact it has no limit on the duration.
Influences: Gales 2 Though Amanojaku are ephemeral Beings they
posses people via an unusual route and thus use
Numina: Mask of Many Faces, Web of Illusions, different rules to most ephemeral Beings. On earth
Cage of Delights. it is possible for an Amanojaku to move from
one body to another this uses the usual rules for
ephemeral beings, see the Dreamlands appendix for
more about Dreamlanders on Earth.
Amanojaku
It was obvious if you knew what to look for,
The Dream Invasion Manifestation
thought Princess Gwendolin as she watched the Doorways, windows and cave mouths can be half-
librarian. Nobody was that much of a stereotype, seen everywhere in the Dreamlands, in the corner
the clothing, the glasses, the hair bun, the ridiculous of one’s eye or half-hidden behind a boulder. For
over reaction to the slightest noise. It looked like it most Dreamlanders these passages vanish if sought
was very good at it’s job too, every book was exactly for, turning out to be shadows or optical illusions.
in it’s place, every student got exactly the material In truth, though, these mysterious doors are the
they needed. There was only one problem. places where some human’s dreaming soul drifts

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against the Dreamlands. While ordinarially sealedthe body exceptionally vulnerable to possession:
and impenetrable, these doors are vulnerable to the
The Open Condition is applied and no rolls are
Dream Invasion Manifestation. An Amanojaku can necessary to retain control of the body. As most
wrench one of the doors open, enter the dream of Dreamlanders have no other way to apply the Open
the mortal that lies behind it, and hunt it for his
Condition to a mortal in the physical world this
soul. To accomplish this the Amanojaku spends 1 Manifestation is nearly universal to Amanojaku.
Essence, and rolls Presence + Wits - the target’s Other beings in the Dreamlands (usually other
Composure. Amanojaku, but some Princesses who follow the
Queen of Mirrors participate in the hunts) can
Dramatic failure: The door vanishes - no follow an Amanojaku into a dream and help him
Amanojaku in the area can open it tonight. in the hunt. The assistants need not roll to open
Failure: The Amanojaku fails to open the the door themselves, but have to spend an Essence
door. Subsequent attempts take a cumulative -1 or Wisp to pass through the door with the primary
penalty. hunter. During the hunt the possessing Amanojaku
Success: The Amanojaku opens the door, enters is the primary actor in a teamwork action, and
the dreamscape behind it and begins to hunt. the others are secondary actors contributing bonus
dice to his pools. Carrying out a possession or
Exceptional success: The Amanojaku has a +2 helping an Amanojaku to possess a mortal is a
bonus while pursuing the dreamer. Belief Compromise with a -4 penalty.
Once within a dream, the Amanojaku twists it
into a nightmare of being pursued by something
alien, through scenes of growing surrealism and Life Among Mortals
menace. At this stage the dreamer may still
escape by waking up, which ejects the Amanojaku During a possession, the Amanojaku takes over
whence he came; the hunter must catch his quarry the body of his host, and has access to the host’s
before then to proceed. The hunt is an extended memories. Initially, however, he has some trouble
and contested action similar to a physical chase. using them properly. An Amanojaku uses the usual
The Amanojaku rolls Wits + Intimidation, calling rules for Possession. While on Earth an Amanojaku
up threats and obstacles to frighten his quarry; is treated as an ephemeral Being, or rather they
the dreamer rolls Resolve + Composure to resist always were ephemeral Beings and are treated as
the assault. The dreamer must gain successes material beings in the Dreamlands.
equal to the Amanojaku’s Resolve + Composure
to escape. If the dreamer escapes, the dream
collapses around the Amanojaku, sending him back Banishing Amanojaku
to the Dreamlands and possibly doing him an
injury; the Storyteller rolls the dreamer’s Resolve Twilight is dangerous for Dreamlanders so
+ Composure, and for each success the Amanojaku Amanojaku usual use Dream Invasion in reverse
loses 1 point of Willpower. to return to the Dreamlands upon banishment or
If the Amanojaku ever matches or exceeds the the death of their hosts (Amanojaku, it should be
dreamer’s current successes he finds and captures noted, often don’t understand the effects of being
his quarry. Unless the dreamer is capable of injured; in the Dreamlands injury and loss of will
controlling his own dreams - the Lucid Dreamer are equivalent, and neither impedes your actions.
Merits, certain psychic powers - capture is the They are, thus, prone to recklessness. Their first
end of the matter; a normal mortal cannot resist experience of wound penalties is quite a shock),
when an Amanojaku throws his soul into the though they lose a dot of Willpower which they can
Dreamlands. When the Amanojaku catch a lucid buy back. Short of that, they can be forced out by
dreamer, though, they must break the dreamer’s a successful Abjuration – the Amanojaku’s usual
will before sending him off. This is a standard high Willpower makes this a bit dicey, but it can
combat under Dreamlands rules; damage removes be done. Unfortunately this does not restore the
points of Willpower, not Health boxes. If the host’s soul or mind to his body; the host falls into
dreamer is reduced to 0 Willpower the Amanojaku a state akin to coma. The Amanojaku reappears
sends him into the Dreamlands; if the Amanojaku in the Dreamlands near the host’s location there,
loses all his Willpower the dream ends, sending him drained of Willpower and at risk of death; but as
back to the Dreamlands on the point of death. If long as the host’s soul is in the Dreamlands, the
the Amanojaku wins both the victim’s mind and door into his mind and body stands open there,
soul thrown into the Dreamlands. This makes and any Dreamlander may enter it and possess the

295
host again. Indeed, the original Amanojaku may him. Meanwhile the possessing Amanojaku lives
do so, if he recovers. On the other hand, if the in the waking world impersonating him, and all
host is free in the Dreamlands, and still aware of who sleep near him – most likely, his family and
his waking life, and if he finds the door to it, his intimate friends – dream of lands near the Gate,
entering the door will restore him completely. where the other Amanojaku in the band can hunt
Other Princesses, having more skill in navigating and possess them in turn. The first band of
the Dreamlands than in exorcism, prefer to banish Amanojaku with a Gate had captured nearly fifty
Amanojaku from the Dreamlands side. This mortals before it was destroyed.
requires the Charm Ivory Gate (The mortal soul in Overuse of a Gate of Polished Horn can
the Dreamlands can give permission); they search lead to what is tentatively referred to as a
out the door into the host’s dreamscape, then enter Gatecrash. An entire region of the Dreamlands
it to do battle with the possessor there. She must collapses, sending it’s inhabitants falling into
spend 1 Wisp to enter the host’s dreamscape while Twilight. The Dreamlands usually repairs itself
the Amanojaku is unconscious (the dreamscape is soon enough, replacing lost inhabitants but this
impassible when the host’s body is awake) just as is little comfort for the Dreamlanders trapped
any Dreamlander would. (The host himself is the outside their native realm or for the people scared
only person who may pass that door without a and panicked Dreamlanders end up possessing.
Wisp.) Past the door, the Princess appears next The poor Dreamlanders cannot return to the
to the Amanojaku, ready to negotiate or fight for Dreamlands and unless they remain near the
the body. Once the Amanojaku has been forced out Resonant Condition or use their Manifestations
(or left on its own), guiding the host’s soul back to they will die from Essence Bleed. Most do within
his body is simply a matter of the host entering his a day of the Gatecrash.
door. The most recent (and therefore well known
Finally, an Amanojaku can return to the Gatecrash) was in 1992 when part of the Dreamland
Dreamlands voluntarily, and end the possession city of Crystal Tokyo fell into the actual city
by guiding the host’s soul back through the door of Tokyo. Even today there are still Beacons
himself. Few Amanojaku will do this, however, with harmonious human and dreamlander gestalt
unless threatened with the death of their vessel personalities fighting for the Light with Bequests
– and killing a vessel is murder, as long as the forged from the wreckage.
mortal’s soul still exists.

Officer Doe
Gates of Polished Horn In the dreamlands there is a city where lost things
Once upon a time, a band of Amanojaku found, go. The residents hearts ache for homes that never
or made, an object of power to help them in their existed. It is a sad and lonely place, few of the
hunts. This dark art was destroyed by a band residents bother to make a home, fewer still ever
of wondering Dreamlander knights. Unfortunately leave.
the Amanojaku who used it had learned how to Officer Doe was once a resident of this city. He
duplicate it elsewhere, and other Gates have been was not lost himself but was the emanation of a
built since. closely related concept: Detectives who find missing
A Gate of Polished Horn does not look like a gate, people. In a long career Doe did not close a single
though it is made of a substance very like horn, with case for that is the nature of The Lost City, nor
the colour of aged ivory, maybe. It is shaped as an did he find this unusual until the day he met an
obelisk, roughly twice as tall as a man, and carved Amanojaku. When the Officer learned of Earth he
with eye-twisting designs. When an Amanojaku saw it as an escape from a life suddenly revealed to
has successfully bound himself to a mortal’s body, be meaningless.
and the mortal’s soul is reasonably close to the Like most Amanojaku Doe tends to favour
Gate, every mortal in the waking world who sleeps people with a connection to the concepts they
when the Amanojaku is nearby has their dreams represent. Partly that’s a reason of practicality,
touched by a region of the Dreamlands, within a many Amanojaku prefer to do their deeds in secret
few hours’ travel of the Gate. Bands of Amanojaku at home rather than brave the dangerous wilds of
that acquire a Gate of Polished Horn exploit this the Dreamlands. Partly it’s because most of them
property ruthlessly. Once one of their number has want to do something related to their concept when
changed places with a mortal, his companions seize they get to Earth.
the mortal, carry him to the Gate, and imprison For Officer Doe it’s the practical advantages. He

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is part of a band of Amanojaku in possession of Defence: 3
a Gate of Polished Horn and Officer Doe is the
pointman. As a missing persons detective in the Size: 5
Dreamlands he is as suitable as an Amanojaku
can be to take over a missing persons detective Influence: Loss (the emotion) 2
in the real world. Currently he is in the body of
one Samantha O’Reilly, a respected detective from Manifestations: Dream Invasion, Greater
a long line of police officers. With her position Possession
on the force Officer Doe has been able to deflect
investigations, keeping the missing missing and Numina: Innocuous, Stalwart, Pathfinder (non-
providing bodies for his cohort. functional on earth)
As for Samantha. She’s making a reasonable
go of her predicament, all things considered. She Ban: Office Doe must stop and make detailed
escaped her captors and is applying her detective notes every time somebody starts talking about
skills to her new surroundings. Samantha is evidence to a missing person case. He is exempt if
actually somewhat glad this happened to her, she he or his unit already have that evidence, such as
considers it a second awakening that revealed the a during police briefing.
hidden truths of the world. Sadly her optimism
is misplaced for the Gales are slowly blowing her Bane: Homes. Not any home will do but a home
mind away. that has been lived in the same family for at least
three generations. As a being who is fundamentally
Attributes: Power 3, Finesse 3, Resistance 4 a reflection of being lost something so profoundly
tied to being home is alien and painful to officer
Rank: 2 Doe’s nature. Prying up a floorboard or unscrewing
a pipe makes an effective weapon until it loses it’s
Willpower: 7 symbolic connection, which usually takes months.
Luckily for Doe, Samantha is the first of her family
Speed: 11 to live in her apartment.

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 The Queen of Tears
AKA: The Ever-Flowing One, Lady of Alhambra, The Last Empress
Followers’ Epithets: Handmaidens, Esquires, Ravens, Witches (derogatory), Crybabies (derogatory)
Kingdom: Alhambra

Have you ever really looked at the world? Not

casually, I mean, really looked at it? It’s broken. Tales from Alhambra
It’s flawed. People fight each other in stupid,
pointless wars. Everyone just want to hurt each In the centre of Alhambra’s noble quarter the
other, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. But Queen of Tears holds her court upon the roofs and
you know it too, don’t you? Everything was better battlements of her palace. As she speaks hey eyes
in the Kingdom. are constantly inspecting the defences of her city
And I follow its Queen. for weakness. Once the Lady of Alhambra was
Alhambra is out there. I’ve seen it. The Kingdom considered the worlds great beauties but no longer.
is not dead, it has survived, under the guidance Her tan skin has faded and become grey under the
of the Ever-Flowing One. She’s not a ghost in a weight of her sorrows. Her dark brown eyes, once
Darkness-made dream-world, not a monster who’d hailed in song and poetry, have become dull and
burn the world. She cries for what the world has liquid with never ending tears that mingle with
become. She’s kept the Kingdom safe for thousands the rains. She has discarded all the adornments
of years, and she asks our service to help her, so and embellishments of royalty for dark purples and
that the last parts of what which was once glorious blues of mourning worn above her armour, for
don’t fade. I give mine willingly. Sometimes it Alhambra is a city under siege. One hand always
hurts, what she asks us to do. I know it makes grips Ever Dutiful, her simple naginata that has
a few people suffer, but it’s only a lesser sacrifice, defended Alhambra from countless threats. The
for the greater good. Because we need to save the Lady of Alhambra is quiet and softly spoken, when
Kingdom, need to keep it safe and hidden and safe... she speaks the whole court falls silent and strains
and then, maybe one day, we can get all of world their ears.
back under the guidance of the Queen, and we won’t The only people the Queen will pause her endless
have to have wars any more and... and no-one will vigil for is her fellow Nobles, she receives them in
hurt anyone. private and in the presence of those she calls her
I really hope so. almost-equals she promptly allows herself to fall to
pieces. The endlessly crying Queen turns hysterical
The Queen of Tears is unique - she is the only as she unburdens centuries of unceasing sorrow
known, still-human survivor of the Kingdom who upon the Princess and begs her for help. Even the
remains to the modern day. For uncounted aeons most composed Grace, knowing what to expect is
she has dwelt in Alhambra, the last remnants of the swept away by the flood of emotion. Dedicated
capital of her Kingdom, and ruled it from where Radiant Princesses have been known to become a
it hides, within the heart of the Darkness. Her Handmaidens from this display, either out of guilt
domain holds off the Darkness with Light stolen or because they saw a possibility of redemption
from the world, bringing misery and sorrow to when they looked behind her composed mask.
the so-called “Occupied Provinces”, and though
she weeps for what she does, she will never stop,
because she will do anything to protect her city, and
so she teaches her followers, native Alhambrans, Philosophy
and Princesses from the outer world lured into her
service, alike to do the same. The archives of Alhambra are filled with texts and
teachings from the products of uncounted numbers
of scribes, analysing every word of the Queen

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(and she seldom speaks, now), and building a Thus far the time has never been right. Attempts
philosophy, a faith around it. You could spend ten have been made, of course; there are tales of
lifetimes, and only scratch the depths of paper. But strange castles ruled by pale figures from Beyond
at heart, the principles of Alhambra are remarkably the Fields We Know in medieval England, and
simple. of pale-skinned ladies in Central America before
Cortez, but they all failed, partly because the lack
of Alhambran comprehension of the sheer scale
Alhambra Must Survive of the outside world, partly because of the self-
destructive draining of the Light from their lands,
Alhambra is the Kingdom. The Kingdom is Good. and partly because there is always the green-fire of
The Kingdom is the Light. The Kingdom must Storms waiting for them.
be Protected. Alhambra must remain unchanged Officially these failures have been put down
and true to the Kingdom. Anything done in to the kings and politicians of Earth. Tear’s
the name of Alhambra is done in the name of doctrine states that the population of Earth have
the Light. If Alhambra falls, the Kingdom falls, been brainwashed by rulers who sized power
and the Darkness wins. This is fundamental and through collaboration with the Darkness. How
unchallengeable dogma. else could they not see Alhambra’s superiority?
It is the Court of Tears’ duty to liberate the
Occupied Provinces from their corrupt rulers
There Is No Price Too High and the deceptive culture those rulers built so
the provincials can be free to live according to
This is the vital corollary to the first principle. Alhambra’s better way. They may have to fight
This is what leads to the draining of Light, and armies in the fields and brainwashed civilians in
the horrors that result. Every action which in the streets to do it, but they will befriend
which furthers the cause of Alhambra is not only their misguided citizens and lead them back into
good, but mandatory. This is the hardest part the Kingdom. And with the Release swelling the
of the Alhambran cause for many Earth-born Court’s Noble ranks some in Alhambra’s hierarchy
Enlightened; the idea that they serve the last say the time is now.
remnants of the Kingdom is both romantic and
admirable, but they blanch at the idea that they
must hurt Earth to allow a rain-drenched city in
the heart of the Darkness to survive. But this
Duties
goes beyond the actions of Alhambra, and into the
mind of the Queen of Tears. She, and those who As the Princess of the only living remiment of
internalise her, will do whatever it takes to protect the Kingdom the duties placed upon the court of
their people, no matter what it involves, and she Tears are further removed from the ground than
would do it if she led a small charity in Tokyo just the subjects of any other Queen. It is common for
as much as she does as the Lady of Alhambra. even young and inexperienced Princesses to lead a
A few Princesses of Tears have asked why the small number of Sworn retainers.
Queen does not simply leave the bubble-realm, and Alhambra still holds to old social ideas and
stake out a claim of the real world. If they were any Princess who swears loyalty to Alhambra is
very lucky, no one heard them ask it. guaranteed status and luxuries, but the city lives
under a constant threat of destruction and even
the most important citizens must do their part for
Liberate the Occupied Provinces survival. A Princess’ status means that she can
normally push her way onto choice assignments in
Protecting Alhambra is about more than protecting whatever area of her Calling she desires.
buildings. It’s more than protecting the people. Champions of Tears fight in Alhambras cautious,
Protecting Alhambra is protecting a way of life, even conservative manner, they specialize in using
the last bastion of the Kingdom’s civilisation. their magic to control the battlefield and curse their
Alhambra keeps it’s legacy safe for all of humanity. foes.
And thus comes Alhambra’s final philosophy: Graces of Tears are bureaucrats, their job is to
When the time is right Alhambra will give the keep the city functioning despite all the hardships
Kingdom’s glory back to all of humanity, and they face. Out in the occupied provinces Graces
everything it has taken from Earth will be repaid a tend to be given the largest commands, up to and
hundredfold. including running entire Enclaves where they direct

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Sworn and even other Princesses to tax hope for underestimate the influence that a simple “You are
Alhambra. doing the right thing” can do to someone whose
Alhambra runs on magic, and it is the Menders of will is flagging; Tears does not. Likewise, the
Tears who keep that magic running. In Alhambra families of Princesses too frequently become targets
they serve as a one Calling worker caste, they in the War of Hope, and Alhambra offers sanctuary,
are not denied prestige so much as frequently somewhere safe and away from enemies, taking in
overlooked. So long as nothing is going wrong it friends and family of the Princesses who serve them.
is easy to take the Mender’s for granted, at least That these guests can become hostages, and that
as much as you can when social mores dictate you some of them arrived in Alhambra against their
curtsey when a Noble passes by. will, is something that it would be tactless to say.
Tear’s Seekers would perhaps be more accurately It must be noted that while Radiant Princesses
called Spies. They serve Alhambra as infiltrators, usually see the Court of Tears as a threat or
blending into the occupied provinces to find enemy, as Ahalbmra’s practice of draining hope
undefended targets ripe for taxation. In established threatens the Radiants’ communities, the Court
enclaves the Seekers keep an eye on Alhambra’s of Tears sees the Radiant as members of the
enemies, making sure the forces of Tears can vanish Kingdom’s privileged and noble class who have
back into their city before retaliation strikes. been unfortunately misguided by their upbringing
The Court of Tears is somewhat of a loss for what in the Occupied Provinces. Ravens can be
to do with Troubadours. There is only so much absolutely vicious and underhanded in pressing a
art you can create on the subject of Alhambra’s Radiant into Alhambra’s service or dealing with
glorious past before creativity and artistic integrity a Radiant who is opposing their Wisp harvests
demands you experiment. Unwilling to endorse but this requires a conflict or an opportunity to
new thoughts and ideas Alhambra actually uses acquire the Princess, without either Alhambra’s
it’s Troubadours as Champions, it turns out default position is to make time for Radiant who
that Troubadours magic is actually very good comes calling. Partly they do this because being
at battlefield control and inspiring the troops. open and fair in their dealings (even if condensation
Unsurprisingly the Troubadours themselves are not sometimes leaks through) rarely hurts and can lead
happy about this. to mutual benefit or a new recruit down the line,
and partly they do this because Alhambrans are
raised to respect Nobility.

Background
There are two broad categories of followers of Tears.
The first of these are the young, inexperienced
ones. They are found by Alhambran operatives
shortly after Blossoming, or are drawn to the
Queen of Tears in their dreams, perhaps renewing
old oaths, and so are inducted to Hopeful society
via Alhambra. Their point of view is rather
different from the majority of Princesses, because
they have internalised the philosophy of Tears.
Likewise, instead of a largely-self-taught mess of
other Radiant Princesses, they know they are the
Handmaidens and Esquires of Tears, and so are
far more well informed about the technical matters
of the Hopeful than Princesses years their senior.
Some followers of Diamonds are mildly concerned
by how much terminology of the Radiant comes
from defectors from this time, and worry that
the influence of Tears might be seeing into the
paradigm.
The other kind are usually older, and broken
by their duties among the Radiants. Tears offers
support, help, mortal Sworn to aid you, and can,
above all, guarantee safety and support. Many

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 of other Tears Princesses given a refuge from the
Requisitioning Bequests Provinces, or worse, rebels and non-conformists,
rather than loyal Alhambran citizens.
The nobility may not be able to mass Most Nobles can see the flaws in their society,
produce Bequests like technology, but how else can they attempt to fix them. Even
Bequests do not wear out and the Court of the youngest Princess, brought to Alhambra and
Tears has been building up their stockpile taught the ways of Tears, will eventually grow up
since before the Fall. In Alhambra and question the world around her. When they do
magic has replaced the need for most they surely will see the flaws in Tear’s Kingdom.
technology and Princesses of Tears can Some retreat into denial, this is common among
acquire Bequests with nothing more than those who have frequently been making use of the
paperwork. Charm It Was Necessary, but a Princess of any
If a Bequest is necessary for a Princess of background or habit may favour denial. Most of
Tears’ task and there’s a good reason why these Princesses know deep down in their hearts
the Princess can’t be sent to Alhambra to that what they are doing is wrong. But so long
be taught the Charm herself a player can as they keep lying to themselves they can remain
just spend the experience points and receive effective at their duties; if desperately unhappy.
a Bequest from Alhambras storehouses. If Other Princesses fully acknowledge that what
the Princess doesn’t need the Bequest then, they are doing is wrong. They continue because
providing she is in good standing, she can they are too afraid to leave, tears provides
arrange to trade in Bequests for one of something: Support, “sanctuary” for their families,
the only home they’ve ever known, something that
they’re scared to leave behind. These Princesses
equal value. Once per story a Princess rarely master the magic of Lacrima beyond it’s
of Tears or even a Radiant Princess who most basic level, which is held against them as a
asks for a favour from Allies among the mark of shame and they are limited to positions
Court can trade in their Bequest(s) for positions of minor prestige and authority.
different Bequest(s) with the same dot And then there are the Princesses who pack their
value. However once a Bequest is in the bags and leave.
system Alhambra takes care of it, a Princess
who makes a trade (or one on behalf of an
ally) and loses her new Bequest can expect
consequences, this usually involves creating
a replacement or two and depending on her
Signature Emotions: Depression
luck anything from a stern lecture to being
reassigned to a bad posting.
and Resolve
The Court can even provide access
to irreplaceable Bequests created by For eons the Court of Tears have mourned the fallen
Invocations that no longer exist but getting kingdom. On the streets of Alhambra they weep
access to these is not easy. While the openly for a lost past, and for the necessary evils
experience cost is unchanged they require they commit to keep their city alive. Generations of
significant trust or accepting a large debt grief have drained the Court of Tears. Experienced
from Alhambra and a Princess who loses Ravens, their souls hollowed by the power of
one can expect serious consequences. Some Lacrima, struggle to feel anything save cold, alone,
Metallo Bequests are so vital to running and mournful.
Alhambra’s civil infrastructure that they But despite it all the court strive onwards. No
cannot leave the city at all. Any Princess matter what it takes they will protect the last
who asks for Tempesta Bequests from city of the Kingdom and they will not allow the
Alhambra’s war spoils can expect to be sacrifices of generations before them to be in vain.
watched very closely for a while.

In addition, there have been a few Blossomings in

Alhambra itself since the Release. This is viewed as
Character Creation
a great blessing itself, and would tend to be more of
The Queen of Tears does not discriminate based on
one, if they did not have a regrettable tendency to
grounds of physical fitness or social abilities. She
be of the “guests”, those relatives and loved ones
is the Last Empress, after all, and all the Hopeful

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should serve her. With that said, there are remedial
training facilities in Alhambra for any Noble who Echo
cannot carry out their tasks, and, notably, for
A Raven’s Echo gives a feeling of safety and
teaching them the Alhambran language, so they
solidarity, but with a hard edge. As though it was
can actually interact with the natives. For the
saying right here and right now is safe. All else is
duties that they must carry out, though, the Queen
danger, only I can protect you.
desires most high Resolve and Composure. It
is a shame that so many of those experienced
Princesses, who have served another Queen but
who are now called to her are often lacking in those Practical Magic
Attributes. It is one of the reason that she prefers
Many Princesses believe that Nobility should lead
young, newly Blossomed Princesses, who can be
the common people, but only the Court of Tears
moulded into the proper, Kingdom-trained Nobility
teach that it acceptable to rule without the consent
that they should be.
of the governed (even the arrogant Princesses of
Mirrors justify their actions through imaginary
consent or by not thinking about it). By spending
Heraldry a Wisp a Raven may speak a command to
anyone except a Princess who can hear her with
One might expect the Alhambrans to have strict
mundane or supernatural (but not technological)
codes for the form of Regalia, but, actually it has
means and roll Presence + Persuasion + Lacrima
been long-held tradition that the Regalia is the
vs Composure + Supernatural Advantage as an
innermost expression of the Hopeful’s soul, and
Instant Action.
it would be wrong to interfere with that. There
are certain standards of propriety, but at most, a Dramatic Failure: The victim sees through the
Princess who breaks them and parades around in raven’s attempt to control his mind and gains
hotpants, a tank top and an unbuttoned jacket will the Steadfast Condition.
only suffer informal censure, as long as the colour is
correct for formal events. The Regalia of an follower Failure: The victim proves stronger-willed than
of Tears, especially out in the Occupied Provinces, she’d thought.
can be just as flexible as that of a Radiant Princess Success: The Princess may issue a command of
in its manifestations. up to four words and her victim must obey, the
Now with that said Alhambra is a repressive and command must be clear, unambiguous, and it
conformist society, so any Princess who grew up must be something the target can consciously
in Alhambra or has assimilated will project their do. “Lie down” is fine. “Fall asleep” is not.
conformity through their choice of Heraldry. This Characters break free after taking three bashing
is the way the court likes it; the handmaidens are damage, one lethal or aggravated damage, or
free to express themselves, and they freely choose after Lacrima hours. If they suffer a breaking
to follow Alhambran traditions. Or so the Court point while subjugated they roll Resolve +
tells themselves. The official colours of Alhambra Composure and break free on a success.
are dark purples and blues (but never, ever, black), Exceptional Success: The Princess’ command is
and white. The Queen still mourns for the lost smooth and natural, as it should be. She regains
Kingdom, and so should her followers. Veils are not the spent Wisp.
uncommon, and garments are oft-times long and
flowing, like how the water cascades from the roofs At Belief eight the Princess may issue commands
of the Plaza of Dignities. Many ravens incorporate to two separate people at once for a single Wisp.
symbols of their official positions within Alhambra At Belief nine this rises to four people, and eight
into their heraldry. These can include coats of people at Belief ten.
arms, medals, and even hairstyles. Most of these
date back to the kingdom and fit uncomfortably
with Alhambran mourning fashion; bright cheerful
colours are burred under veils like happiness lost
Invocation: Lacrima
beneath grief, or are warn openly like a grieving The Invocation of Lacrima is protecting what you
widow offering a welcoming smile to family arriving hold dearest at any cost. It is the principle
for the funeral. embodied and founded by the Queen of Tears,
and which her Handmaindens and Esquires find
come naturally to them. It draws strength from

302
grief and memorialisation, and so has influence
over ghosts, silence, and the element of void, as Quote
well as “necessary” actions, and protective powers.
Princesses loyal to Tears are encouraged to attune Ignorance of the law is no excuse, you are all
to this Invocation as fast as they can, because subjects of Alhambra.
Alhambra depends upon Charms which require it,
and use of Lacrima inures them to the compromises
required to sustain Alhambra. However, many
non-Tears Princesses have been known to dabble Stereotypes
in it, especially more mature ones, who have seen
their loved ones threatened, and have begun to feel • Clubs: Delusional. The strength of the
the echoes of the devotion that the Last Empress Kingdom always lay in its cities, not the
feels towards her own. This will make them wilds, and she will only weaken us against the
suspicious, especially to younger, more idealistic Darkness.
Princesses, but there is an acknowledgement that
it happens sometimes, and so such dabblers should • Diamonds: It is a shame to see such brilliance
be watched, but are not automatically followers of going to waste, frittered away.
Tears. • Hearts: So close. So very close... and yet so
Lacrima has the unique disadvantage that far.
many of its Charms are Compromises of
Belief. This is counted as part of their activation • Spades: Insubordinate curs! Born traitors who
cost, and so may not be bypassed. The cold, serve someone who shows no regard for the
hard necessities of Lacrima wear down at the soul, burdens of leadership!
smother Belief in a fog of sorrow through which
• Swords: With their loyalty, Alhambra could
nothing can be felt. As a result, many Lacrima
be rendered safe, and the Occupied Provinces
Charms are more powerful than their equivalents
pacified - but they will not be loyal.
from other Invocations, because of the greater
cost paid to use them. When a Lacrima Charm • Storms: Monsters. They may once have
Compromises Belief it is given a Belief rating. been the loyal army of the Kingdom, but now
Princesses with Belief at or above that rating they’re nothing less than crazed beasts who try
always make a Compromise roll. The dice pool is to thwart our every effort!
Resolve + Composure with the the listed modifier.
Princesses with a Belief lower than the Charm’s • Mirrors: Hubris-filled egotists. To think that
Belief rating may use it freely. Sworn use the same anyone but our Lady could be a True Queen...
rules with Integrity in place of Belief. it makes me sick!
Lacrima applies at no or reduced cost when a • Vampires: We are nothing alike.
Princess is within Alhambra or the Underworld;
and when the target of her Charm is a ghost or a • Werewolves: Beasts. Keep away, and do not
ghost’s anchor. It also applies without cost in times carry out operations in the savage areas they
of true desperation, when failure means death or claim. It’s easier in the long run.
ruin, to act on behalf of the Queen of Tears or her • Mages: They claim we both lost our kingdoms,
subjects, and when a Princess intends to protect they are wrong. Alhambra survives, pity them
those she cares about. for what they have lost.
The Invocation does not resonate with those
who will not do everything for those they protect, • Prometheans: Walking corpses, fueled by some
who show any moral compunctions in the deeds kind of fire? Clearly some kind of Darkened, if
needed for survival. If people a Princess is sworn to they actually exist.
protect are under threat, and can be safeguarded
• Changelings: Why should we care, as long as
at the least cost to herself and her people by
all they do is hide?
Compromising Belief, and she chooses another
course of action, she cannot use Lacrima for the • Sin-Eaters: We know about ghosts in
rest of the scene, and for a further number of scenes Alhambra. But these things aren’t quite
equal to a third of her Beleif rounding up. normal ghosts possessing people.
• Mummies: Just another rebellious province
time has turned to dust. Only Alhambra is
eternal.

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 • Beasts: Before Alhambra’s rise they kept us habit, magic which affects one will usually affect
alive at the cost of our humanity but now we the other. Like a Ghost a Ghost Princess’ self
have our Lady to teach us. She scoured them image is set at death, she retains her Virtues, Vice
from the Earth and when Alhambra is restored and Belief. A Belief Compromise might have a
she’ll do it again. noticeable effect for a short while, and then the
memories fog over and the Princess is reset to her
• Mad Scientists: They’d tear the world down Belief at the point of death. In other ways the two
just to see what would happen if they did. are very different for the Ghost Princesses retain
Despicable! Despicable yet very dangerous. their Sensitivity and vulnerability to Shadows.
• Leviathans: No! It can’t be! They were said to As a royal Ghost acquires shadows its pure form
be extinct! They can’t be back! They can’t... loses its shining light. Its body becomes marked
not again. with signs of obvious decay and Darkness while
its mind grows cracked and damaged. The more
• Hunters: Collaborators from the occupied Shadows the more unstable they are until when
provinces. Why am I not surprised? they finally acquire a number of Shadows equal to
their Belief they experience a crash similar to what
• Mortals: Why won’t you see? It’s a necessary happens when a Princess falls to Belief 0, some have
sacrifice. even become Dethroned forming new bodies from
the Darkness itself. To prevent this all the usual
methods of removing Shadows apply but a Ghost
Inspiration Princess’s Shadows can never fall below what she
had at the moment of her death.
Ghost Princesses also have no Rank, Essence,
Homura Akemi, Madame Gao Influences or Numina, they use Inner Light, Wisps,
Charms, Practical Magic and Invocations instead.
They also have the full range of Attributes and
Ghost Princesses Skills they had in life but this rule is mostly for
convenience when calculating Charm dice pools.
Like Ghosts a royal Ghost exists in Twilight
She sits in an empty palace, the tapestries are (Ghosts and Ghost Princesses are similar enough
moth eaten and threadbare. The floor is covered to interact) and they need to Manifest to interact
in dust, no one has been this way in years. In a with material beings. To do this they use a
ghostly whisper she answers petitions from courtiers power mechanically identical to the Materialize
and subjects long departed from their mortal coil. Manifestation, but since this is a form of Noble
And yet she carries a presence about her, she still magic rather than an actual Manifestation they do
radiates with the power of her magic. The Princess not need a Condition to use it.
is dead but her subjects still need her. Long live the Royal Ghosts require Anchors, and suffer Essence
Princess. Bleed (well Wisp Bleed) without them. Unlike
regular Ghosts a Ghost Princess without Wisps
Princesses do not naturally form Ghosts, the cycle or an Anchor will be drawn back into the cycle
of reincarnations draws the royal soul onwards with of reincarnation rather than the Underworld. As
a gentle call that cuts the threads of anchors. To will one who’s undead body is destroyed through
the followers of Tears this is a problem, Ghosts are violence or some other means. As a royal Ghost’s
useful and the ghost of a Princess would be more existence is the result of deliberate magic and not
so. With powerful magic they can keep a Princess genuine unfinished business a royal Ghost dose
on this plane after death so that she may continue not actually have Anchors of it’s own. They are
her duties to Alhambra. entirely dependent upon Anchors created with the
Charm Resting Place or the Edicts issued by the
Protectorate of Amethyst. If a Ghost Princess had
The Nature of the Departed those powers in life, she can sustain herself in death.
It is worth mentioning that in Alhambra there is no
Though similar in demeanour and appearance the risk of Essence Bleed for royal, or any, Ghost. The
Ghost of a Princess is an entirely different order Appendix on Alhambra has more details.
of being to the Ghost of a Mortal. In many ways Like other ephemeral Beings, Ghost Princess
the soul of a Princess is not so different from an do have a Bane Condition: Any Mortal who
ordinary Ghost; both are creatures of routine and has willingly abandoned someone they care about

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(regardless of how virtuous or despicable their before dying. The damage can be healed but that
motivations are). It is not the act that burns will only delay the inevitable.
the royal Ghost but the emotions behind it, so The Protectorate of Amethyst are responsible for
a Resolve roll to dredge up old feelings might be caring for the Ghosts of departed Princesses. They
required. In theory a psychic might also be able to keep them in walled luxurious palaces far from
read and replay the emotions to match the Bane. any sight that might trigger their Sensitivity and
A Royal Ghost’s ban is identical to Lacrima’s, and when they are called to perform royal duties for
being created from Lacrima magic they cannot go the Last Empress the Protectorate endeavours to
against it without unravelling. If they do they take travel with the Ghost to keep it safe from violence
one Lethal damage every Belief - Shadows minuets and Shadows.

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 The Queen of Storms
AKA: The Seraphic General, Lady of the Cleansing Flame, The Dragon-Slayer
Followers’ Epithets: Seraphim, Furies, The Sworn Guard, Crazies (derogatory)
Former Kingdom: Gonel

The world hurts. The world always hurts. The from, and is backed up by strange ghost-like beings,
Darkness is everywhere, subtly writhing in the night which build bodies for themselves out of flesh and
and in the hearts of corrupt bastards, and those clay; now, with the Release, Nobility join their
fucking parasites in Alhambra make the world a ranks.
worse place just by existing.
So we burn it out. We burn it all out. When some
bastard takes children, we’re there to make sure he
dies and make sure that the Taint he leaves doesn’t Tales from the Dark World
get to spread. We’re not soft-hearted fools like the
so-called ’Radiant’, who prattle on about hope and Deep within the Dark World there is a storm that
self-belief and innate kindness and the like. The never ceases. Green fire scorches the sky. Bolts of
world is stinking and wretched and corrupt, and, thunder split mountains and carve the ground open.
like a cancer, the evil must excised. By any means The wind sings hymns of defiance. The clouds are
necessary. formed of people in their millions, they burn with
rage hot enough to warm the frozen heart of the
It’s better to light a fire than curse the Darkness,
after all. Darkness. Wherever this Storm travels, it leaves
Because the Kingdom was betrayed from within. nothing but ash.
We were all betrayed. Our Queen gave her life The Queen of Storms died during the fall. She
protecting something which wasn’t worth protecting, died faithful to her duties, she died untainted, and
and we now know that you can flap around talking she died fighting. In her final battle she burnt
about the Light all you want, but what the world herself to ashes with the fury of her rage and
the power of the magics she invoked against the
needs is for all the bastards to die. They all deserve
Darkness. Her body was destroyed, her mind was
to die. And we’re willing to give our lives to do so.
We won’t compromise, and if we die, we’ll keep on consumed by hate, and her soul was transformed.
fighting. Even in the face of the end of the world. The Queen has become the very embodiment of
Even after the world ends, we’ll keep fighting byTempesta. She battles the Darkness itself within
our Queen’s side. We’ll keep on fighting until the it’s world, she exists deep within the soul of any
Darkness is ash. who knows hate and rage within their hearts. Every
feeling of rage is a petition for the Queen, all hatred
The Queen of Storms was once a mortal woman, is a prayer, and the requests of those who feel hate
but is one no longer. As the hordes of the Darkness at the Queen’s ancient enemies are granted. The
closed in on the last city of the Kingdoms, she Queen bestows her powers and her favour on all
led the fight back, at the head of an army. And who would take up her banner and fight for her
they were slaughtered. The Queen fought on, cause.
transcending her mortal flesh as rage burned her
alive.
Since the Fall of the Kingdom she, and her
followers, have sought to cleanse the Darkness, and Philosophy
the traitors of Alhambra, from the world no matter
the cost. She was not trapped in the Dreamlands, Let the scholars of Alhambra mumble over the
and she has raged and she has fought all this vague pronouncements of the Traitor Queen. The
time. The forces of Storms are composed of mortal commands of the Seraphic General are clear, and
soldiers, those who the world has taken everything she gives them to everyone in her service.

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Death to the Darkness hurt the Darkness (as filtered through her warped
perspective), it’s wrong.
This is perhaps the simplest order given. Kill
the Darkness. Kill Darkspawn, kill Darkened,
kill Mnemosyne, kill Cataphracti, burn Tainted
locations to the ground and salt the earth so that
Duties
no-one returns to them. Of course, when it’s your
If asked, the Radiant will tell you that the duties
sister, who became Darkened through no fault of
of the Seraphim are summed up in a single word:
her own, it’s different for you. Not for the Queen of
Fight. Fight the Darkness until your last breath
Storms. Every Darkened is a potential Darkspawn
leaves your body, and then fight on until it’s purged
and must die.
from the world. This is essentially true, but it
does gloss over the details. The “duties” of a
Fury are the complex byproduct of her burning
The Flesh Is Weak hate and the practical advantages of their Calling.
Among young Enlightened and fresh recruits, the
This principle has rather more depth than might
hate is bright like acidic lightning. All of them
at first appear. It is simultaneously a warning, a
fight. Champions are the purest expression of the
message for self-improvement, an encouragement,
purgatorial violence of Storm’s call, but they are
and a promise. It warns that human beings,
not alone. Graces empower and boost themselves
whether mortal or Enlightened, cannot always
and any allies they have with destructive hatred,
maintain the level of dedication needed to save the
ramping emotions up so they fight to the very
world, and so flagging souls may be spurred on
last. Menders are armoured titans whose control
further. It is a message that followers of Storms are
of their environment and their own bodies makes
weak physically, and so should strive to improve
them surprisingly effective fighters. Seekers blind
themselves, so that they may continue to fight
foes with illusions and hunt down targets who try
better. And it is an encouragement, for whenever a
to flee into Twilight, their magic homing in on
Fury finds it hard to press on she remembers that
the Darkness’ weaknesses. Finally, Troubadours
her weakness is only as deep as her flesh. Her hate
control the battlefield with magic and illusions, and
is strong and she can, she must, press on despite
as heralds of Storms’ rage leave scenes of battle as
exhaustion or injury.
a warning to those who would oppose them.
And finally it is a promise, for those who die
Older Furies tend to be a little more cynical
from use of Tempesta Charms; they transcend their
about matters - or, rather, the ones who survive
weak flesh, and join with the Queen in her eternal
longer are the ones who are more mentally flexible.
battle. One day, the heralds of Storms promise,
They are still driven by hate and rage, yes, but the
when enough souls have joined their Queen she with
burning emotions are banked, waiting. When they
vanquish the Darkness and scour it’s every trace
need them, fresh fuel is thrown onto the fire and
from all the worlds that ever were, are and will be.
they flare to terrible life, but until then they are
Only then will The Sworn Guard know rest.
better at thinking in the long run. The icy cold rage
of an experienced Seraphim is a terrifying thing to
behold. Time and hatred has worn away any last
Burn the World to Save the World inhibitions, and taught her every dirty trick. A
young Fury might not care about collateral damage,
The final statement is one of their purpose, and, but kicking down the door gives people some sort
again, it is both instruction and warning. Although of warning, while a bomb does not. Experienced
the nature of their powers is such that they Furies can appear from nowhere in a whirlwind of
frequently cause collateral damage, it does not destruction and vanish, leaving only the bodies of
matter, as long as they are doing it to save their enemies to mark their passing.
the world. The opposite also stands; they are Unlike the five Radiant Courts, the Furies are not
not like the Traitor Queen of Tears, and they alone. Mortals who hate the Darkness may become
do not drain the world for their own selfishness. Sworn to the service of The Seraphic General, and
Even in the rage-filled mind of the Queen of they can become allies and even companions to
Storms, burning down an apartment to destroy the a Princess of Storms. It is among these cells,
Tainted Site within it is completely different from especially if multiple Seraphim are in a single cell,
random violence. Collateral damage is acceptable that more conventional Calling-based roles start
- indeed, even meaningless - but if it doesn’t to emerge. Champions take to the front, using

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their abilities to tie down the strongest opponents Disturbingly to the forces of the Radiant Queens,
so their weaker allies are free to fight. Graces there are also those among the Seraphim who
often gravitate to the unenviable task of trying to are not merely bereaved or distressed. There are
organise the cell, though most find it far easier those who appear to have logically thought about
to express their calling on the front line, blessing the state of the World of Darkness, and decided
their allies and countering their enemies’ magic. it is better that it burn than it be smothered
A Mender often finds a speciality in arms and in Darkness. Worse yet, this ideology can be
armaments and on the battlefield she heads where attractive to inexperienced Princesses, especially
the fighting is thickest, taking the blows others since Storms can provide money (though logistics is
cannot. Of all the Callings Menders are the closest not a Fury’s speciality most cells have some ready
to the terrible Goalenu, learning to maintain and cash from liquidating the assets of fallen comrades),
repair Vessels and acquire the parts - one way and training, and allies from the networks, and
or another - to construct fresh ones. Seekers so such more-rational members can attract a
make expert scouts and trackers, and when they younger Princesses, in the same way that the
find their foes the fury of the Storm is rarely far more experienced among the Radiant do. This is
behind. A rare few have the will to overcome both obviously a threat, but on the other hand, such
Tempesta’s demands and their own hate, to scout cells are more willing to deal with the Radiant if
and depart unseen. If you meet such a Seeker, fear doing so will aid them in the destruction of the
her. Troubadours turn their hatred and combat Darkness. In such areas, Storms can become an
into a macabre work of art, inspiring their allies uneasy ally, which usually lasts until the levels of
in battle. When the fighting is over the more collateral damage becomes unacceptable for more
rational Troubadours use their skills to hide the moral individuals.
Cell’s presence from the investigations righteous Among the Radiant, there is a perception that
battle invariably spawns. the Queen of Storms is the one of the Twilight
Queens who gets the most defectors. In part, it
is because of the relative publicity of such defectors

Background (Tears tries to hide, and Mirrors isn’t quite as loud

as an explosion even if they try to be), but it is
also true that the Queen of Storms offers much to a
For those who are called to the Queen of Storms certain type of Noble. When one has seen too many
from their Blossoming, one thing is frequently true. friends (and, then their replacements, barely out of
The world has treated them badly. Many of them childhood) die, when one has seen the Darkness
were exposed to the World of Darkness before come back and ruin everything you’ve worked for,
their blossoming, and the Seraphic Legion counts a when one has had enough of vague platitudes from
notable number of former Hunters among it; some Queens who live in the Dreamlands and don’t know
have retained their links, and both offer support what the world is like... well, then Storms, with
and request assistance from their own allies. Others its cells of organised mortal soldiers, and its simple
have broken homes, or anything else which would mission to destroy the Darkness no matter the cost,
have exposed them to the things that people do. starts to sound awfully tempting.
The Queen of Storms, for all her flaws, offers a
home to such people, enables them to get back at
the things in the world.
One of the notable things about the Queen of Signature Emotions: Rage and
Storms is the sheer number of Twiceborn who join
her ranks. In some ways, it is not surprising.
The Twiceborn, those among the Hopeful who
Hate
Blossomed in the long years before the Release only
The All Consuming Darkness is evil incarnate.
to be trapped during or after their first life, never
Anything it touches is corrupted, becoming as sick
knew the Kingdom. They are those who fought
and twisted as itself, or it is tortured and killed in
a desperate struggle against a world of darkness,
horrific and sadistic ways. The Darkness has no
and died. While those among the Kingdom-born
redeeming factors whatsoever.
can call upon their memories of a better time,
So what other than hatred, asks the Furies,
the Twiceborn have only memories of failure and
should you feel about the Darkness? Hatred is
Darkness, and moreover many of them have served
not a path to the dark side. The Darkness is cold
Storms in another life. Her call is the call of
and empty, hate burns hot. Love weakens every
familiarity.

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time the Darkness kills your boyfriend, duty cracks
with every superior who falls to Taint, until you Practical Magic
are left cold and empty. But hate is pure, it gets
The Seraphic General sustains her acolytes in
stronger with every atrocity you witness, a fury who
battle; the Furies can shrug off blows that would
embraces her hate may be bested in battle but she
put down any lesser fighter, and strike all the harder
will never fall to Darkness.
as their own flesh bleeds. In either Transformed or
As for rage. If hate is the fuel than rage is the
mundane state, a Princess of Storms may spend
flames. Face to face with her foe, a Fury’s hate
1 Wisp. For the rest of the scene, she reverses
flairs into rage and her rage gives her strength in
wound penalties into bonuses (-1 becomes +1, -2
battle.
becomes +2 -3 becomes +3) and does not check
for unconsciousness if her last Health box fills with
damage. The Iron Stamina Merit does not reduce
Character Creation these bonuses. If the enhanced roll is an attack,
then Creatures of the Darkness cannot downgrade
the damage via Zombie’s Flesh.
The Queen of Storms not only admires strength,
With high Belief this effect strengthens. At
but demands it. Seraphim tend to have above-
Belief 8 the first wound penalty adds two dice
average Physical Attributes. Strength or Dexterity
instead of one, at Belief 9 the first two wound
are favoured, depending on what weapon the Fury
penalties each add two dice, and at Belief 10 all
favours. While Stamina is even more important
three wound penalties are enhanced.
because it allows Furies to keep going longer and
absorb the negative consequences of the use of the
Tempesta Invocation better, the Court of Storms
still teaches it’s members to focus on raw killing Invocation: Tempesta
power. In addition, both Presence and Resolve are
The Invocation of Tempesta is the principle
prized; the former is the force of will needed for a
embodied and founded by the Queen of Storms,
soldier, and the latter the ability to keep going, no
and which her Enlightened find come naturally
matter the odds against you.
to them. It is the principal of righteous hate
and sterilising destruction. Practitioners can make
weapons out of emotions and any substance that
Heraldry embodies Tempesta’s ideals, including acid, fire,
and radiation.
The colours of the Seraphic Legion are steel grey,
Tempesta has the unique disadvantage
brilliant acidic green, and white. These colours
that many of its Charms inflict damage
are proudly displayed, and mandatory; they are
upon the user. This is counted as part of
the Last Legion, who remain loyal to the idea of a
their activation cost, and so may not be bypassed.
Kingdom betrayed by its leaders. Thus the clothing
Damage so inflicted is Resistant, and so may not be
of Seraphim tends to be militaristic. However the
healed by magical means of any kind, as the rage
raw fury of Tempesta embraces pain and will not
and hatred of Tempesta burns at the Enlightened
sacrifice offence for defence so the court favours
body and soul alike. Should a character die
light amour, often a simple skirt and protective
due to damage from Tempesta Invocations, or
shirt that maximises mobility (though the court
bleed-out because of such damage, the character
often insist on referring to their armour by it’s
does not reincarnate, but instead joins with the
correct historical name). Where the clothing is
Queen of Storms. Because of these costs, many
not militaristic, it instead takes on elements of
Tempesta Charms which have such a price are
authoritarian counter-cultures.
more powerful than equivalent ones which lack such
painful payment.
Tempesta also has two unique advantages. The
Echo first is a new method for regaining Wisps. After
any scene in which a Princess battles against the
A Fury’s Echo is a simple thing. It screams that Darkness (or the Court of Tears) she may roll
the time for action is right now. Tempesta and gain one Wisp per Success. The
Princess cannot benefit from this rule and Call of
Duty in the same scene. Sworn cannot benefit from
this rule and the Dedicated Merit in the same scene.

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 The second advantage is Royal Favours. The
player (not the character) may declare, once per Quote
session, that the Queen is working her magic
through the character. The result is an invocation It doesn’t matter if I die, just how many I take with
of any Tempesta or general Charm with a rating me.
equal or less to half the character’s Tempesta,
round up. There is no cost or roll. The player
simply chooses the number of successes and take an
equal to the number of Resistant Lethal Damage Stereotypes
(and yes, the Queen has killed her followers by
filling their Health track with Aggravated damage • Clubs: So... when’re you actually going to do
before). something useful, then?
Tempesta applies at no or reduced cost when
a Princess has taken enough bashing damage • Diamonds: You’re real smart. Now look at the
to suffer wound penalties, or any amount of real problem.
lethal or aggravated damage; and in the midst of
• Hearts: The kind of cattle who followed the
violent storms, earthquakes, explosions or other
Traitor Queen into betrayal.
widespread devastation. It also applies without
cost when a Princess is fighting servants of the • Spades: Yeah, let’s go prank the Darkspawn on
Darkness or agents of the Queen of Tears. Fifth, who’re there because some fucker killed
Those who would use Tempesta must be his kids. That’ll make things better.
merciless and swift, striking without hesitation and
never showing fear. Displays of mercy to those who • Swords: We kinda get them. They just need
have wronged the Princess or those she protects to focus on the real problem.
or loves, ignoring a foe, or retreating from battle
• Tears: You’re in with the Darkness! Your
(Pulling back from a foe for tactical advantage
Queen is a traitorous bitch! So just die already!
is acceptable; fleeing or refusing to fight is not.),
render this Invocation inapplicable until the sun • Mirrors: Arrogant blind self-righteous
next rises. If the target spared is a servant of the bastards.
Queen of Tears or the Darkness, the Invocation
cannot be used until the Princess’s final health box • Vampires: Bloodsucking parasites. The world
is filled with damage, for their flesh cannot channel will be a better place when you are all ash.
these powers until the weakness has been forced
• Werewolves: Sometimes... I just want to
out through pain. (A Princess may injure herself
smash everything, too.
to regain use of Tempesta; in fact, such penance is
expected and encouraged among the Furies.) • Mages: Our magic burns us, but at least we
can rely on it in a fight.

• Prometheans: They’re like the Goalenu, I

think. I saw one tear something that looked
like a Darkspawn apart.
Resistant Damage • Changelings: Keep out of our way.

Some forms of damage, such as cost of many • Sin-Eaters: Huh. I see a dead person who isn’t
Tempesta Charms, are Resistant Damage. dead anymore.
Resistant Damage cannot be healed through
any form of magic, but is otherwise no • Mummies: Priest, I gain nothing from your
different from regular damage. Magic death. Send your god against the Darkness
such as Barrier Jacket or a Princess’ Holy and I shall let you live.
Shield can prevent Resistant Damage like • Beasts: Fear leads to anger, anger leads to
normal, though trying to avoid the cost of hate, and hate makes me strong. You want
a Tempesta Charm will prevent the Charm my fear, monster? Take it and choke on it!
from functioning.
• Mad Scientists: Who cares how the fuck this
works, we can nuke Darkened from orbit with
it.

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 • Leviathans: I’m not running, not even from Mortals can become Sworn and so unlock a measure
a fucking god. I hope I fucking give you of the Light’s power.
indigestion. Of the Queens none have demonstrated such a
strong connection to their followers as the Queen
• Hunters: They get it, you know. We’re like of Storms. She goes beyond resonance, she exists
them. in every heart that echo’s the ideals of Tempesta,
• Mortals: FUCK! How can you just sit back even those who have not learned her Invocation. To
and... argh! the Lady of Cleansing fire every feeling of hatred is
a petition and she judges them all, if the anger is
strong enough and directed at her ancient enemies
she will ask those who feel it to fight in her name.
Inspiration In return she offers potent weapons.
No one knows why the Queen of Storms alone
The Punisher, Hit Girl, Doomguy among the Queens is able to do this. Perhaps it is
because her transformation unlocked new abilities,
maybe it’s because she has no other way to interact
or possibly the consolation of many souls into a
The Stormwracked greater entity has made the Lady of Cleansing Fire
stronger than the other Queens. Her followers, of
In his dreams he stands upon a plane covered course, don’t care either way.
in the legacies of war from all eras. Ruined
buildings pockmarked by cannonfire and machine-
gun bursts rise up beside ruined statues of Egyptian The Nature of the Storm
kings. Damaged arms and armour from a
hundred centuries lie where they fell, tanks beside The most basic Stromwracked template consists of
horse-barding and stone axes, trenches dug for the Sworn Merit and a single dot of Tempesta.
crossbowmen. There are never any bodies, but the The most common way to gain this is to feel
dried splatters of blood tell their own tale. Above overwhelming hatred towards the Darkness, and
it all is the Storm. The wind screams hymns to swear the oaths that instinctively flow from your
her rage. The lightning branches like fingers to own hate. In game terms, the Queen of Storm’s
pummel the ground. She cries out in a voice made unique nature means that any Mortal who truely
of the screams of dying women and horses and the hates and wishes to fight the Darkness may spend
staccato beat of automatic weapons. She promises become Sworn simply by spending 2 experience
and demands vengeance, vengeance against the points to buy a dot of Tempesta; however any
monsters who took his family. Sworn who learns a dot of Tempesta becomes a
Stormwracked by definition.
Wherever the Darkness treads it creates it’s own The Stormwracked have all the usual advantages
enemies. The Darkness is cruel, it hurts, it tortures, and drawbacks of being Sworn, and more.
and it leaves behinds friends and loves weaping Stromwracked benefit from Tempesta’s ability to
over broken bodies. Their tears turn to hate, their create Wisps and can operate independently of the
rage spurs them to action. All across the globe Nobility. They may access Royal Favours and
individuals take up arms against the Darkness and may buy the Unseen Senses Merit for one dot,
fight. providing it is applied to The Darkness. They
They fight under the banner of the Seraphic can also buy the Merit Stromwracked Dreams.
General. Stormwracked Dreams mechanically works like the
Merit White Rabbits; but it functions not through
the Dreamlands, but through the Queen of Storms
Royal Patronage sending information and orders. The Queen
being who she is always sends information about
A Queen is more than just a person with Dark tainted monsters to be killed (or the Court
immeasurable magical power. A Queen’s power of Tears). Ignoring orders from Stormwracked
resonates in the heart of everyone who follows Dreams breaks Tempesta’s Ban.
her ideals. Through this her followers unlock All these benefits are also available to any
new potential: Princesses can apply Practical Princess with dots in Tempesta, except for Royal
Magic and enhance their Charms with Invocations, Favours, which are only available to members of
the Court of Storms, and Unseen Sense which is

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limited to mortals.
Merit: Checkmate Firing Pattern (••)
Stormwracked Cells A depressingly large amount of Darkspawn,
and nearly every Princess of Tears, the
Whenever the Stormwracked can they organise Stormwracekd fight are capable of dodging
themselves into military cells. They have no bullets. In response Stormwracked cells
supernatural ability to find others of their kind have developed strategies to counter it.
(though Stormwracked Dreams may send several There is some suspicion that the Queen of
at the same target), and people Sworn to a life Storms or her Goalenu may be teaching
of hate and rage rarely find the time to set up these strategies, as uncannily similar
an infrastructure. However the Stormwracked techniques have been spotted on multiple
are most commonly created as a reaction to the continents.
Darkness, so where the Creatures of the Darkness The idea of a Checkmate Firing Pattern
are many soon the Stormwracked will be so as well. is simple, no matter where you move a bullet
In time they may find each other. will hit you. A Stormwracked may declare
Stormwracked Cells tend to be small self he’s shooting to limit a target’s movement
contained groups. Following Tempesta’s ideals and nominate one other character. Roll
makes for an effective but short career as a hunter your usual ranged attack dice pool, do not
of all things Tainted; meaning that most die in subtract Defence, Each success allows the
battle before they have long enough to think nominated character to ignore one point of
about recruitment and long term strategy. The the target’s defence. Multiple people can
tactics used by the Stormwracked tend to be loud each contribute to helping a single character
and noticeable, though a few small groups can bypass defence.
blend into the background of crime statistics as
Stromwracked Cells grow in size they inevitably
draw the attention of law enforcement and anti-
terrorist task forces, effectively putting an upper
limit on the size of Stromwracked organisation. Goalenu
When there is enough Stormwracked present
to form a Cell they may buy the Mystery Cult A man strides down the street, in a long, greenish-
Initiation merit. The benefits offered tend to blue coat and broad-brimmed hat. He keeps both
be small, due to such Cells small size and covering him as best he can. If you could see his
poor infrastructure, and focus near exclusively on flesh, you could see the cracks of green fire which
combat. The following is an example of what an spread out from his joints, skin cracked and dried as
established twenty to forty man Cell might form. this shell weakens. He walks, legs overly stiff, past
the shops, and towards the school. The colour is
•: A Specalty of “When injured” in Firearms being drained from the surface of everything around
or Weaponry. him, leaving a fine grey ash layered all around.
••: A Dot of the Improvised Weaponry
Fighting Style. They are the most trusted lieutenants of The
Seraphic General; a fragment of her vast
•••: A dot in Firearms or Weaponry. consciousness given independence for a time, or
one of the many souls who died from Tempesta’s
••••: Two dots in the Iron Skin merit backlash detached from the Queen and sent on a
(regardless of perquisites). mission. Perhaps even a little of both. Wherever
•••••: The Small Unit Tactics Merit. they go the Goalenu carry the living fury of
Tempesta, in a sense they are Tempesta itself.
They incarnate to wage rightous war against the
darkness.
When not in a vessel, a Goalenu often looks like a
stormcloud forced into the shape of a man - grey or
black smoke, lit from within by green flickers - or a
shimmering distortion of the air, outlined in ghosts
of colour. It is always taller than most mortals,
never less than six and a half feet, and usually more

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than seven feet tall; it always has a generally human hatred, or destruction is present,. Goalenu may also
body plan, with two arms, two legs and a head; use their Influence to apply Tempestuous to anyone
and its bulk is such that, were it substantial, it with Tempesta dots, this is the easiest way for a
would be taken for a bodybuilder. But a Goalenu Goalenu to create a lasting Condition to maintain
is never quite substantial, even when it has fully it’s presence.
materialized, and the glimmers and flickers that Goalenu may have any Manifestation except
delineate its form sometimes shift when the Guard Claim and Fetter, they always have the Materialize
itself is still, showing eyes on its hands or a face in and Possess Vessel Manifestations as well as the
its stomach. Craft Vessel and Blast Numina. It is acceptable
A Goalenu’s speech and behavior show an to convert Charms into Numina for Goalenu. If
odd combination of monomania and absent- a Goalenu uses the Possession Manifestation it
mindedness. In moments of direct threat, or inflicts a point of Aggravated damage on both
when a spawn of Darkness is present, the Guard itself and the target, so most favour their vessels
focuses wholly on the enemy’s destruction; at instead. In addition the following variants on the
other times it grows a bit forgetful and indecisive, Seek Numina are common to all Goalenu.
needing a few moments’ thought to recognize old
acquaintances. Goalenu have even been heard • Seek Darkness –A Goalenu can sense the
talking to themselves, when they thought no one locations of servants of the Darkness, agents of
else was in earshot. To those who have questioned the Queen of Tears, within (two * rank miles)
them about this, the Goalenu explain that they are miles, this increases to (ten * rank miles) if the
“many by birth, one by the General’s will” and Goalenu spends a Wisp. Roll Finesse, this may
that to those who fight the General’s war, death is be resisted or contested by magical defences.
promotion to a post of greater trust. And in proof
• Seek Tempesta –A Goalenu can sense the
of this, Goalenu who lead a cell of Stormwracked
location of the Tempestuous Condition and
very often remember, in detail, the lives of hunters
anyone who has even a single dot in Tempesta
who have died in the cause ... suggesting that the
within (two * rank miles) miles, this increases
deceased are now one with it, ready for the eternal
to (ten * rank miles) if the Goalenu spends
war.
a a Wisp. This Numina has Rank automatic
successes, so only roll if the target contests it’s
discovery.
The Nature of Her Lieutenants
A Goalenu is an ephemeral being and uses the
normal traits of such beings with the exception of
The Craft Vessel Numen
using Wisps instead of Essence (Tempesta’s unique Craft Vessel is an exceptionally unusual Numen,
advantage in regaining Wisps apply to Goalenu). only ever found among the Goalenu, and (if you
Its Rank is 3 and it has three dots in Influence are to believe them) taught directly to the first of
Tempesta, it may have no other Influences. Unlike their kind to take upon new bodies of ephemera
ghosts or spirits, a Goalenu can have Skill dots, by the Queen of Storms herself. The Vessel is a
but these only matter when it inhabits a vessel. construct, of flesh and clay in varying proportions,
Goalenu retain the Virtue and Vice they had in which provides a host which can contain the essence
life. Their Ban is the same as Tempesta’s and their of Tempesta, and unleash its powers to the full.
Bane is an emotion, anyone feeling true forgiveness Indeed, it is not quite a body, but more of a siege
can harm a Goalenu with a touch. If a Goalenu platform, fuelled by the essence of the Goalenu, and
runs out of either Wisps or Corpus, it discorporates, manifesting it to ends that the ephemeral creature
returning to the train of the Queen of Storms. could not have reached on its own.
Though Goalenu are living avatars of Tempesta Mechanically, the Goalenu requires two things
they retain enough of their human nature to be before the ritual construction can start; flesh
affected by any magic that affects human souls. and clay. In order to be able to even
Among ephemeral beings they are rather unique, no start, moreover, the lieutenant must be able to
other known class of ephemeral being can interact manipulate the material world, generally through
with them in Twilight unless it has the ability to use of the Materialise Manifestation, Possession of
interact with different orders of being. a convenient mortal, or by directing Stormwracked.
To Manifest a Goalenu must use the usual rules. When the pieces are gathered together, the Goalenu
The base Condition is called Tempestuous, which spends 5 Wisps, and begins an extended roll of
forms where a large amount of Storm’s followers, Power + Finesse, one roll per hour. (It must be

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noted that, as usual, the number of rolls is capped Vessel’s Resolve, plus the number of clay parts
by the dice pool.) It must accumulate a number of used to craft it, must exceed 4. Derived traits
Successes equal to its Power + Finesse + Resistance are calculated normally. The vessel’s Skills are
to craft the vessel properly. those of the Goalenu, except for those provided by
Not all Vessels are made alike. Although certain flesh parts used in the crafting - when a flesh part
constraints must be followed: The heart must be provides a Skill, the vessel uses the higher of the
flesh, torn from a human chest, while the brain part’s Skill rating and the Goalenu’s.
must be replaced by a tiny clay sculpture, of When in a vessel, the Goalenu still gain Wisps
the self-image of the lieutenant. For all other from their tie to the Tempesta Invocation, but
things there is a wonderful degree of flexibility in cannot use any other power open to them in
their creation. Flesh and clay may be merged the unbound state, such as Numina, Influences
almost without limits. The face of that woman is or Manifestations. In exchange they use the
wonderful, but her body? Well, let’s just say that advantages and powers inherent in their vessel. A
a much better job could be done. And it has been vessel also protects a Goalenu from Wisp Bleed.
found that the way the essence of the Goalenu fuels
the Vessel changes depending on whether certain
major organs are flesh or clay. It comes at a Vessel Advantages
cost, though; Vessels which are mostly clay are
more resilient to the vitriolic sun that lives within A newly-made Vessel has a Revelation track, with
it, but far less able to pass for human, while the a number of dots equal to the Vessel’s Resolve +
opposite is true for the ones which are mostly flesh. the number of Clay parts - 4, to a maximum of
The appearance of the Vessel is averaged out over 10 dots. Many of a Vessel’s special powers, called
the parts; one which is entirely flesh, apart from Reprisals (for that is what the Goalenu believe
the brain, is almost identical to a human, perhaps they are doing; taking revenge) fill in dots on the
with a little cold skin, while a clay Vessel (apart Revelation track; when the last dot of Revelation
from the heart) is an exquisitely painted china doll, is filled, the Vessel reduces the track’s length by
squatting at the bottom of the Uncanny Valley. 1 permanently, and empties the remaining dots.
The vessel has the nine Attributes of a human or When a Vessel’s Revelation has been reduced to 0,
natural animal, which all begin at 1. The Goalenu the Vessel explodes, as if it had used the Reprisal
distributes twice its Power dots across the vessel’s Let There Be Light.
Intelligence, Strength and Presence; twice its As Revelation dwindles, the Vessel’s basic
Finesse dots across the vessel’s Wits, Dexterity and inhumanity grows more obvious. Some effects
Manipulation; and twice its Resistance dots across always appear; others appear when the Goalenu
the vessel’s Resolve, Stamina and Composure. The uses a Reprisal, and last until the end of the scene.

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 Revelation At All Times After Reprisal Use
8 and up No effect No effect
7 No effect The Vessel’s eyes change color; they
now have green irises.
6 The Vessel’s eyes always have green The Vessel’s eyes become a brilliant
irises. green. Those familiar with the
Goalenu can roll Wits + Occult, at -4,
to notice this.
5 The Vessel’s eyes are a brilliant green. Babies, animals, and, oddly, car
Those familiar with the Goalenu can alarms in the area all start wailing in
roll Wits + Occult, at -4, to notice terror. The source of the disturbance
this. can’t be located, though.
4 The Vessel’s presence terrifies The Vessel’s eyes glow, now, and a
animals; none will dare to attack it. Wits + Occult roll notices this. Even
Just walking down a street sets all the if you’re not familiar with the
dogs howling. Goalenu, he had glowing eyes, man!
3 The Vessel looks slightly sick and The skin cracks when it bends, and a
pallid, the flesh around the joints raw. network of fine green lines can be seen
When it touches things, there’s a across them. If a good look can be
slight discharge of static electricity. got, the Vessel’s certainly
supernatural; most Vessels at this
point wear heavy clothing to conceal
the cracks.
2 There is a greenish cast to the Vessel’s Around the Vessel, the environment
features, as if it’s nauseous or ill from chars and flakes. Where it stands, the
some disease. Its lips are cracked, and pavement cracks, and ash accumulates
the bits where clay and flesh merge in the corners; ash that no-one left.
are now clear to the sight, forcing it Touching it is like touching a weak
to wear long garments to cover up. electrical source (2 bashing).
1 The Vessel’s skin is bone dry, and if There are no eyes any more, just
it’s dark, the eyes radiate a slight blazing green holes into an inner sun.
light... and so does the mouth, when When the Vessel opens its mouth,
open. It’s spread to the environment, green light spills out. Everywhere the
too; things around it slowly bleach, skin bends, it is cracked like broken
like in intense sunlight, and there’s a clay, light glowing through. Lightning
thin layer of ash, like cigaratte ash, crackles off it; anyone who touches it
covering surfaces left unwatched. takes the same damage as someone
who touches mains electricity.

Vessels do not heal naturally. All damage

done to them remains forever unless repaired by
Flesh and Clay
a supernatural power that directly heals damage. The composition of the Vessel affects what the
Powers that restore the Structure of an object Goalenu can do, while materials provide their own
will heal bashing damage in a Goalenu at a 1:1 advantages and disadvantages.
ratio, lethal damage at a 1:2 ratio, and aggravated
damage at a 1:8 ratio. • Each Clay part increases the maximum
Revelation by one, but imposes a -1 to social
rolls.
• Flesh parts come with memories attached.
Each organ is linked to certain skills, and if

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 the organ is Flesh, the Vessel begins with the part.
original owner’s Skill Rating. That means that
some Vessels are made from a truly horrendous • The Reprisals cannot be used by the Goalenu
number of individuals (rather than the just when they are not in a Vessel. All Vessels have
one, which every one needs for the Heart), 9 powers, which cost Wisps and/or Revelation
as the Goalenu, often using Storms-serving to activate. 2 are common to all Vessels,
hunters, finds the experts in its fields in order while all others have a choice of 2 powers;
to take their skills. And, although you can depending on whether you take the Flesh or
survive the loss of an arm, you certainly can’t the Clay option. There are rumours of other
survive the loss of your spine. powers (what happens if you cast an organ out
of Iron, for example), but these are the only
• Some Clay parts provide persistent bonuses. ones known about and used regularly by the
These are noted in the Reprisal entry for that Goalenu servants of the Queen of Storms.

Organ Attribute Flesh Skills Flesh Reprisal Clay Reprisal

Heart Resolve Animal Ken, Let There Be Light n/a
Politics
Brain Intelligence n/a n/a Ever Glowing
Sun
Eyes Wits Investigate, Taken Revelation Cleansing Fire
Empathy
Right Strength Weaponry, Crafts Honesty of Purpose Rip and Tear
Arm
Left Arm Dexterity Firearms, Larceny Betrayal of the Immaterium
Betrayers
Legs Stamina Athletics, Brawl The Hunting Beast Unstoppable
Tongue Manipulation Expression, Taste of Sin Warcry
Streetwise
Lungs Presence Intimidate, Venomous Words Storm’s
Persuasion Vengeance
Spine Composure Medicine, Occult Killing Words Unseen Hunter

Activating a Reprisal requires a roll based on the Success: The Reprisal activates as desired.
associated Attribute + 5: Exceptional Success: The extra successes are
Dramatic Failure: The shell of the Vessel their own reward.
weakens, as the unconstrained power of the Ever Glowing Sun (Clay Brain)
activation proves too much for the clay and
flesh. The character erases the final dot of their Cost: 1 Revelation
Revelation track, reducing it by one.
Failure: The Reprisal fails to activate. The Dice Pool: Intelligence
Wisps and the Revelation are wasted.

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Action: Instant Action: Reflexive

The Goalenu sacrifices some of the Vessel’s integrity The Vessel is a supreme unison of flesh and clay
for fuel. It gains resolve Wisps plus 1 additional and Light and ghost and spirit. What lesser
Wisp per success rolled. object, of only inanimate matter, can stand against
it? This power enhances an attack against an
Taken Revelation (Flesh Eyes) inanimate object. When resolving damage, the
Durability of the target object is counted as 0,
Cost: 2 Wisps, 0 - 2 Revelation meaning that all damage is inflicted directly to
Structure. A Goalenu with this active may punch
Dice Pool: Wits - target’s Resolve their way through a bank vault with no signs of
effort. Against supernaturally hardened objects a
Action: Instant Clash of Wills ensures.
If the Goalenu takes 1 Revelation when
The Goalenu locks eyes with the target, dissolving activating this power, the blow against the object
memories with a single vitriolic thought, before also counts as a Killing Blow, with dice converted
letting the solution return to their own mind, to be directly into successes. This may only be used
studied at will. One memory per success is taken; against mundane inanimate objects, or those
the lieutenant knowing it in full, and the target belonging to servants of the Darkness (those with
permanently losing access to it. The Goalenu may the Darkened template, and Alhambrans, including
select an area of knowledge, or may just chose to Princesses of Tears).
take memories important to the target; either way,
the ST decides which memories exactly are taken. Rip and Tear (Clay Right Arm)
Any character may only suffer this Reprisal once
per week, regardless of the source. Cost: 1 Wisp, 0 or 1 Revelation
A Goalenu may take 1 Revelation to inflict the
Phobia condition for a day, or 2 Revelation to Dice Pool: Strength
inflict it for a week. The subject of the Phobia is
something prominent in the memories that were Action: Reflexive
stolen.
The Goalenu’s blows can leave grievous wounds.
Cleansing Fire (Clay Eyes) This Reprisal supplements an attack, and adds it’s
Successes as Damage; moreover, the Vessel does not
Cost: 0 or 1 Revelation take a penalty for making a targeted blow, with the
goal of crippling or killing (ripping out their guts
Dice Pool: Wits is acceptable; trying to disarm them is not, unless
you take the word “disarm” literally).
Action: Instant If the Goalenu takes 1 Revelation when
activating this power, the attack does aggravated
The Vessel closes its eyes, and when they open, damage.
they provide a sight into an inner green sun. With Vessels with this Reprisal do lethal damage with
thought of hatred it unleashes it’s internal fire. unarmed attacks.
Treat this as an ordinary ranged attack with a short
range of 20, a medium range of 40 and a long range Betrayal of the Betrayers (Flesh Left Arm)
of 80 yards. The damage is Lethal but spending one
Revelation will upgrade it to Aggravated Damage Cost: 1 Wisp, 0 or 1 Revelation
for a turn. The Damage rating is the higher of
Stamina or Presence. Dice Pool: Dexterity

Honesty of Purpose (Flesh Right Arm) Action: Reflexive

Cost: 2 Wisps, 0 or 1 Revelation The Goalenu strikes with blinding speed. This
Reprisal enhances an attack. Its target must
Dice Pool: Strength succeed on a Wits + Composure roll to apply
Defense against it, just as if it were delivered from
ambush.

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 Once per scene, the Goalenu may take 1 automatically has the Edge in every turn
Revelation when activating this Reprisal. If the
target fails the Wits + Composure roll, the attack Unstoppable (Clay Legs)
becomes a Killing Blow. Cost: 2 Wisps, 0 or 1 Revelation
Dice Pool: Stamina
Immaterium (Clay Left Arm) Action: Reflexive

Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 or 2 Revelation Death did not stop the Last Guard of the Kingdom.
Why would you believe that you can? Whenever
Dice Pool: Dexterity the Vessel is attacked, they may activate this
Reprisal. Each success on the activation roll
Action: Instant downgrades a point of Aggravated to Lethal, Lethal
to Bashing, or ignores a point of Bashing.
It has been believed that man was created from If the Goalenu takes 1 Revelation when
dirt; flesh from clay. But the lieutenants have activating the Reprisal, the damage from that
shown that both clay and flesh are but a shell for attack is capped at 1 point, of whatever kind it was,
the spirit. Raising their arm to the skies above, instead of being downgraded. This works against
hand clenched, the Vessel tears itself apart into environmental effects just as much as it does more
a cloud of blood and sand, reforming in another direct attacks (in which case the Goalenu must
location within sensory range in (10 - successes) activate this power once per damage increment);
turns. The Goalenu is not aware of what happens few things are more horrifying than a Goalenu
when so dematerialised, and may require a Wits + climbing out of the vat of liquid metal you just
Composure roll to be able to act on the turn they pushed it into.
reappear, if the situation has changed drastically in Vessels with this Reprisal are not subject to the
that time. effects of Knockdown.
If the Goalenu takes 2 Revelation when
activating this Reprisal, it can reform anywhere Taste of Sin (Flesh Tongue)
within Dexterity miles. In that case, the delay until Cost: 1 Wisps
reformation is increased to (10 - successes) minutes. Dice Pool: Manipulation
The Goalenu may not use this option if leaving its Action: Extended; 1 roll per round, target number
current location would break the Goalenu Ban. equal to the victim’s Willpower
Vessels with this Reprisal add +3 to their Speed.
A Vessel is but flesh and clay. But as the Queen of
The Hunting Beast (Flesh Legs) Storms teaches: Flesh is weak. It can be tainted. A
Goalenu can use that weakness to find it’s ancient
Cost: 1 Wisp foe.
To use this Reprisal, the Goalenu must consume
Dice Pool: Stamina a human being, cramming bloody meat into their
mouth, inflicting 1 lethal damage for each success
Action: Instant rolled. The flesh itself is not digested, but burns
to smoke and a fine white ash which is exhaled
Duration: Instant by the character. Once the target number has
been reached, the Goalenu instantly knows of every
You cannot run. You cannot hide. The Chimerical encounter with the Darkness their victim ever had.
Barons are ready for you, and you will not Taste of Sin can be used on humans, and any
escape them. This Reprisal enhances any kind of creature of the Darkness.
physical chase [CofD 84-85] whether vehicular or
on foot. The Goalenu becomes tireless and gains Warcry (Clay Tongue)
a Speed equal to 1 + their target’s (unless it was Cost: 1 Wisp/person affected
already higher) for the chase’s duration, increasing Dice Pool: Manipulation vs highest targets’
the opponent’s required successes by 3. On an Resolve
exceptional success, the Goalenu’s Speed increases Action: Instant, contested
to twice the opponent’s, raising the opponent’s
threshold by 5. The Goalenu’s rage overwhelms and bewilders
If the Goalenu takes 1 Revelation, it controls the those who see it. To use Warcry, the Goalenu
terms of the chase, whatever the circumstances; it must spend 1 Wisp for every person in its line

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of sight. Each person affected takes the Terrifed two magical cannons. The cannons are expensive,
Tilt for a number of turns equal to the Goalenu’s costing one Revelation to arm for a single shot.
Successes. They do not loose their Defence. They are however quite powerful: Each shot is
explosive (see WoD Core p 179), with a Damage
Venomous Words (Flesh Lungs) equal to the Successes rolled and a Blast Area equal
Cost: 1 Wisp to the Wisps spent. The damage done is lethal, and
Dice Pool: Presence vs. targets’ Composure they ignite their targets with Tempesta’s green fire.
Action: Instant, contested Shooting a cannon is of course a Dexterity +
Firearms roll. It also takes a full turn to cool off a
The Vessel incites its hearers to madness. Everyone cannon after shooting (that’s why there are two of
who hears the Goalenu speak and rolls fewer them).
successes than it does gains the Hatred Vice for A Goalenu’s magical cannons are many things,
the rest of the scene. Naturally they hate The but weight balanced is not one of them. While
Darkness and the followers of Tears. the cannons are enabled the Goalenu cannot
run without unbalancing itself (roll Dexterity +
Storm’s Vengeance (Clay Lungs) Athletics to remain steady), it certainly cannot fire
Cost: 1 Wisp/roll, 1 Revelation a cannon without a firm rooted stance unless it
Dice Pool: Presence wants to go flying; which means no moving and
Action: Extended, each roll is 1 turn. Threshold shooting in the same turn.
4 Successes.
Let There Be Light (Flesh Heart)
The Goalenu summons the fury of its Queen. Cost: The Vessel’s destruction
As it accumulates successes, the sky fills with Dice Pool: Resolve
thunderclouds, and rain and high winds buffet Action: Extended (1 roll per round, threshold =
everyone and everything standing. When it reaches remaining unmarked health boxes)
the Threshold apply the Heavy Winds Tilt to the
local area. The cataclysmic energy contained within the Vessel
Vessels with this Reprisal are immune to inhaled is released all at once, in one, terrible explosion.
toxins. They do require oxygen, but toxic gases Raising its face to the skies, the Goalenu sings
don’t affect them. out, a scream of hate and rage and betrayal in
the Royal Tongue, as they crack and glow, before
Battlefield Neurology (Flesh Spine) finally, exploding. That is not the end for them,
Cost: 1 Wisp though, for the newly freed Goalenu is ready to
Dice Pool: Composure continue its war.
Action: Reflexive When the target number is reached, the Goalenu
explodes as an explosive device (WoD Core, p178-
The Goalenu hightens it’s Vessel’s reactions to an 179). It has a Damage of 2 or its Relevation Dots, a
inhuman degree. Each Success adds one to Defence Blast Area equal to the number of unmarked health
for the turn, in addition it will not decrase Defence boxes it had remaining, and sets survivors alight.
when faced with subsequent attackers for the turn. This happens whether Let There Be Light was
activated, or the Goalenu merely had its Revelation
Seraphic Wings (Clay Spine) emptied through use of powers. However, if the
Cost: 1 Revelation, Wisps equal to the blast radius activation was deliberate, then, in the middle of this
in yards. inferno, the unbound Goalenu appears, with the
Dice Pool: Composure benefits of the Manifestation Numen activated for
Action: Reflexive (it takes an instant action to free, ready to wreak havoc on those who survived
form or remove the cannons and an instant action the blast. If the Vessel’s Revelation ran out, the
to shoot a cannon) blast throws the Goalenu into Twilight.
The Goalenu roots it’s stance, and pushes the
clay of it’s Vessel’s spine through it’s body to form

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 The Queen of Mirrors
AKA: The True Queen, The Child Queen, The Hierophant-Queen, The Crown’s Custodian
Followers’ Epithets: Lightbearers, Heirs, Brats. (derogative)
Former Kingdom: Crystal Heril
Come on! Just a little bit more! You can do it! I’m leading you, and you don’t want to let me down!

Yeah, see, I was just a 13-year old, wandering all, and they were only poor farmers living at the
ignorant and doing silly things. But then I started furthest reaches of their kingdom. And the girl
having these odd dreams, and I found I could do was taken away, and raised well, and on her eighth
these strange things that I could never before. I was
birthday, she came into her own, and remembered
really scared at first, but this really pretty lady with
that she was truly the Hierophant-Queen, the
silver hair told me about what I was, and how the adjudicator of disputes between the other Queens.
Light had chosen me to lead it, how it was destiny. For the priestesses of the stars were the judges as
Everyone’s just got to work together, and follow my well as the priestesses, and by night, they held
orders, and we can beat the Darkness do it forever. their courts and found the guilty, and helped the
I believe in you, you see, so that means you have innocent, and the Hierophant-Queen was the first
to believe in yourself. It’s your duty to fight for the
among them all, to ensure that thoughts of the
Light. Light were prime among them all, and that nothing
And when we rebuild the Kingdom, everything bad could occur. And all was wonderful, and the
won’t just be okay again, it’ll be better. Light burned ever stronger in the world.
I really hope so. But she did not live happily ever after; only
a single year passed between her coronation and
The Crown’s Custodian is an enigma. Those who the Fall. The little girl wept when her priestesses
have seen her sometimes describe a silver-haired brought her news of the wars, and she trembled
child, with eyes that twinkle like stars and an with fear when she was asked for guidance; for all
infectious crescent-grin of a smile. But most often the paths she could see held their own tragedies.
they say she looks like the one she meets, their For such a young child it was too much to bear.
chiral twin... apart from her ever present serene One morning the chambermaids opened the royal
smile and her hair, which is always silver. They quarters to find that the Queen had vanished, the
say travels behind every mirror, and looks among young child had used her magic to run away during
mankind through glass, looking for Princesses of the night. She returned to the home of her parents
unusual talent and drive and skill and will. They but the village had already been overrun.
say she’s looking for one Princess with the power The greatest knights and the most powerful
to save the world, the True Heir to the Kingdoms. magicians were sent to find the Queen, but they
could not find the Queen. With no one upon
the throne the defenders could not hold back the

Tales from Behind the Mirrors Darkness, the people were slaughtered and the
crystal towers fell. Triumphant the monsters of the
Darkness hunted all across the land.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl But they could not find the Queen.
with silver hair, and she was the fairest maiden in
all the lands. Now, when she was six years old, the
priestesses of the stars came, and told her parents
that their daughter was the reincarnation of the Philosophy
Hierophant-Queen, marked by her hair, and it was
necessary to take her away from them, so they could The Philosophy of mirrors is a simple ideal, an ideal
raise her properly. And her parents were happy, of self exultation that reflects a Princesses own light
because the Hierophant-Queen was the fairest of back at her. Dazzling her eyes so that she may be

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spared the painful sights of Sensitivity.

What's so Bad About

The Mandate of Light
It’s all in the name: “Princess”. The Lightbringers
These Girls?
know that as royalty they posses the divine right When talking about the Heirs asking what is
of queens. No earthly authority is above them for so villainous is a fair question; and in truth
they derive their mandate from the Light itself. even the Radiant don’t always consider the
Lightbearers among their enemies. Unlike
the Ravens – who steal hope to let
False Modesty is a False Virtue Alhambra live another day – and the Furies
– who’s crusade against the Darkness often
A Blossoming is not a random occurrence. It’s a kills innocent bystanders – the Lightbearers
rare event that only affects the best of humanity usually don’t do anything that’s so blatantly
and bestows ability beyond mortal men and women. immoral. While it is quite possible for a
Trying to be just another of the masses is neither Brat reach levels of insanity where they
honest nor helpful. No matter the circumstances, believe outright evil is perfectly just, most
one of the Enlightened should use hear natural don’t sink to anything worse than vanity
brilliance to take the lead. Anything less is a waste and general bitchiness.
of her talents and a disservice to everyone who is The truth is that while the Brats aren’t
depending on her. It is their duty to take charge, evil, their views are completely impractical
and therefore it is the duty of everyone else to and can often get people hurt. For example
acknowledge that duty, and aid them in that goal. a Radiant Princess when called to defend
They’re only trying to help, after all. a village against a raid might train the
people into a militia, she knows that some
will die in battle but their sacrifice will
Hard Choices Imply You're Not keep the village safe. In contrast a Brat
might tell everyone to relax and let her
Looking Hard Enough protect the village single handedly with her
“unstoppable” magic, so no one needs to
Throughout her life every Princess will come across sacrifice anything. When it turns out that
a situation which seems hopeless. No matter what she cannot fight one hundred people alone;
she does someone is going to get hurt and all she the untrained villagers are slaughtered.
can do is accept responsibility, take tough choices Even when it is not a matter of life
and look for the least of many evils. To a Noble of and death, the Lightbearers thrive among
Mirrors this is defeatism and laziness of the worst the sort of idolisation that causes one to
order. Of course there is a good solution! It is their rely utterly on the Heir; then inevitably the
duty to never accept defeat, never look for the least- Court’s impractical philosophies causes the
evil outcome but instead to throw everything they Brat to fail everyone who placed their trust
have into the search for a solution without sacrifice. in her.
The very idea that they accept the death of one
person to save five more is abhorrent! They should
save all six, and they will, because they have justice
on their side!
If only the World of Darkness didn’t put so many Duties
hard choices in their way.
One might imagine that the Court of Mirrors duties
revolve around becoming the True Heir, maybe
fulfilling an ancient prophecy or two. In fact the
Queen of Mirrors is quite clear that becoming the
True Heir isn’t something you accomplish. You just
be yourself and it will happen, because the True
Heir is destiny.
Consequently the Court don’t really have formal
duties, they are aloud to go at their own pace.

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Take some time off for dating. Having permission,
and a philosophical justification, to get some much Signature Emotions: Solipsism
needed sleep once in a while is perhaps the most
tempting reason to join the Court. and Vanity
If you ask the Heirs they will tell you that their
Background emotions are honesty and benevolence. Honesty
because they admit the simple fact that a Princess
Like the other Twilight Queens it is possible to is morally, mentally, physically and magically
divide the Heirs into those who were once among superior to commoners and benevolence because
the Radiant and those who were not. Those who they use their superiority to help those lesser than
left the Raident for the Lightbringers tend to have themselves.
been among the best. They were the leaders of Nobody believes a word of it. Ask any other
their Nakama, they were martyrs who went above Court and they’ll tell you that the Brat’s are awash
and beyond for the least of people and they were with solipsism and vanity; a narcissistic love of
isolated. They had to stand brave while their allies the self that rejects both common courtesy and
were allowed to be scared, they gave expecting objective evidence.
nothing when others could ask for help in return,
and they couldn’t cope. The Hierophant-Queen
told them that it was ok to think of themselves.
That they could still make a difference, the biggest
Character Creation
difference of all, without such self sacrifice and
hardship. Like a drowning man grabbing a lifebuoy Followers of Mirrors favour flashy and impressive
they took her philosophy and her quest. She in turn actions over subtly and favour Power over
showed them how to build a mirror around their Resistance and Resistance over Finesse.
souls reflecting the light inwards. Lightbringers typically cultivate skills that focus
As for the others. It would be nice if there were a on what their fellows deem important. When
uniform background that drew the newly blossomed they maintain a level of self awareness the
to the Hierophant-Queen, but, sadly, that is not Heirs tend to favour Manipulation and Wits to
true. The followers of the Radiant Queens may call manage underlings and make the quick decisions
them hubristic and shallow, but the Lightbearers leadership requires. No matter where they find
can have been the nerdy boy sitting in the back themselves grace and dignaty are always key for
just as much as they can have been the queen bee a leader so more successful Lightbringers have
socialite prior to their Blossoming. They come from good Composure. While all members adore the
all socioeconomic brackets, and can be driven by an spotlight the court is divided between those who
urge for respect and dignity never known before can lure others into their vainglory and those who
just as much as arrogant entitlement. Many of only think they can meaning that Presence tends
them, after the Blossoming, though, have an odd to either extreme.
duality of self-belief and neediness; they can believe A Socially successful Princess of Mirror’s tends to
in themselves, but they need others to see them be attract sycophants or distant but fawning crowds
self-reliant. They are people who need other people but few true friends meaning that while she may
around, even when they are in charge. have dots in Retainer or Allies, Circle tend to
Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the Queen of be low. This attitude also lends an affinity, if
Mirrors is that she seems to have a particular allure not always a talent, for Poplulist Rhetoric. Since
for the youngest Blossomings. It is unclear whether they base their Transformed self on how they wish
they find her more attractive than any of the to be seen by others Striking Looks is common.
other options, or whether she specifically believes Those who take the Mandate of Light literally may
that they are more likely to be the True Heir attempt to cultivate White Rabbits to better speak
to the Kingdom, but too many of those precious with the light itself. Whether the answers they
Blossomings have been lured to her. The Queen hear come from the Light, within or elsewhere the
of Mirrors is already tempting for the idealism of wisdom found in dreams is only as effective as the
many Enlightened, with her promises and her easy Princesses willingness and ability to follow it.
solutions and self-belief; how much worse must it be
for the young mind, suddenly exposed to Sensitivity
and given power?

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Heraldry and which her favoured find comes naturally
to them. Specchio is usually turned inwards,
more than any other Invocation it can propel
Like any true egotist the courters of Mirrors care
a Princess upwards to monumental heights, the
very deeply about other people’s opinions. They
abilities it grants tend to be flashy and showy
care about how other people look at them. Nothing
but no less effective for them. Fittingly Specchio
reflects this truth more than their Transformed
can sometimes be inverted as though looked at
appearance. When a Princess adopts the ideals of
through a mirror, though less common to making
the Court of Mirrors her Transformed appearance
the Princess better than others it can also be used
stops reflecting how she sees her true self and
to make others worse than the Princess.
embodies how she wants others to see her. There
Specchio has a unique disadvantage that
is certainly a lot of room for verity, she may wish
it’s powers lead to madness. This is counted
to appear powerful, intelligent, beautiful, pure or
as part of the activation cost, and so may not
pious but at heart she is reflecting the ideals and
be bypassed. The first time the Princess adds
standards of those who surround her.
Specchio to her dice pool, gains a passive bonus
When she is reflecting mortal culture rather
from a Specchio Charm or invokes a Charm that
than that of her fellow Hopeful this can make
requires Specchio in a scene she rolls her Specchio
the Princess of Mirrors seem almost ordinary; the
(for a Bequest that contains a Speccchio based
most popular cheerleader at school simply doesn’t
Charm, including a Charm with an Upgrade that
stand out in a Nakama of gallivant knights and the
requires Specchio, use the higher of the Charm’s
nobility of future civilisations. Their iconography
Specchio prerequisite and the Princess’ dots in
tends to compensate as hard as it can within
Specchio). On a Success choose one of the following
the rigid confines of social normality. Expensive
Conditions: Drama Queen, Give them Cake, It’s
designer clothing, jewellery and subtle hints of the
Her Fault, Name of the Moon, Narcissism or Special
superhuman. It is not unknown for a Princess of
Snowflake. On an four Successes she gains one
Mirrors to glow, have a spotlight follower her, or
of: It’s Her Fault with the severe modifier, Mirror
generate some other visual or sound effects while
Blindness, Madness, Yandere or one of the previous
she is Transformed.
Conditions as a Persistent Condition. If none of the
conditions fit you may create new Conditions that
fit Specchio’s themes with storyteller approval.
Echo As with any other Condition, a Specchio
Condition does not necessarily apply immediately.
A Heirs’ Echo is like a warm quilt, it makes you
If a Heir generates a Specchio condition while
feel safe and sleepy and why not? The Princess
raiding a nest of Darkspawn it is entirely
will take care of everything for you.
appropriate to say the Condition will represent her
victory going to her head and ignore the Condition
until after the victory. You can even plan ahead
Practical Magic and pick Drama Queen because you know in a few
scenes time the Heir will be at school and boasting
The Heirs of the Crown’s Custodian are always at about a magical fight in public resolves Drama
their very best. They can assume their transformed Queen in an appropriately inadvisable way.
self at any time with a reflexive action and remain Any persistent Charm that would trigger
Transformed indefinitely. Power is there for a Specchio’s drawback may be disabled with a
reason, not to be hidden. In fact it requires Transformation action, it will remain dormant until
deliberate effort to become mundane; a Princess of the Princess chooses to activate it again.
Mirrors must make a Transformation roll to resume Specchio can be applied without spending a Wisp
their normal form, much as a normal Noble would when the target of a Princess’ Charm is the Princess
have to do to Transform. herself, it also applies without a wisp when the
High Belief has no effect on a Heir’s Practical target is a literal mirror constructed for purpose,
Magic. when the Princess intends to set an example, to
convert others to her cause, to impress others, when
failure would lead to humiliation or embarrassment,
Invocation: Specchio to focus attention on herself or to prove how unique
and special she is.
The Invocation of Specchio is the principle Those who would use Specchio are expected to be
embodied and founded by the Queen of Mirrors, the shining light for the world, the Invocation does

323
not resonate with Princesses who show humility,
who deny or attempt to downplay their own Stereotypes
accomplishments, or let others shine brighter. Even
on a simple disagreement the Princess must prove • Clubs: Wasting your life where no one but the
herself correct, or at least convince the crowd, or beasts can see you, how does that help anyone?
else she loses access to this Invocation until the next
day. • Diamonds: Maths class is Boooring!

• Hearts: Formality and protocol. You wouldn’t

need any of that if you were as good as me.
• Spades: What’s the point of a joke if people
don’t realise how funny you are?

The Cheer Squad • Swords: You know, your bravery and... stuff is
pretty cool. But I think you should do it this
Not everyone who uses Specchio is a vain way instead! Chop-chop!
Princess preening in her magic mirror. • Tears: Why are you wasting your life defending
Lightbringers can have Sworn retainers a city. You’re more important than a city.
or Shikigami mentors just like any other
Princess; many seek them out after realising • Storms: You fight, and then you die. Get
few of her fellow Noble are impressed by the someone else to die, royals are too important.
prophecy of the True Heir or willing to work
around her primadonna tendencies. But • Mirrors: You’re not the True Heir! I am!
thematically it wouldn’t make sense for the • Vampires: Creature of the night, begone in the
queen bee’s minions to think of themselves name of the Light! Unless you’re one of the hot
as above their queen. ones that I can save, of course!
Thus Specchio’s Drawback inflicts
different Conditions on a Brat’s retainers. • Werewolves: You’re the archtypical wild man,
They can still get conditions representing filled with raw animal strength and passion.
vanity but such Conditions are interpreted How on earth did you make that look savage
to reflect their position as number two and unattractive?
on the totem pole. They can also get
Conditions such as Swooned that represent • Mages: Years of study, and you can’t even do
adoration or blind worship of the Heir magic in front of people? You got the boring
or Conditions that degrade their self powers.
confidence or self identity and thus cause • Prometheans: God, is that thing ugly
them to cling harder to the Heir as an
external source of validation. • Changelings: You’re hiding, that means you’re
There are no hard rules saying which scared. Now me, I’m not hiding from anything!
variant of Specchio affects a character;
though any Princess will get the standard • Sin-Eaters: Sweet party. Real nice... um,
drawback. The Storyteller must decide death-theme. And the... ghosts. And... um. I
based on a Sworn or Shikigami’s role in a have to go.
story, the more clearly they are subordinate • Mummies: Stop worshipping it! It’s old and
to a specific Princess the more likely they are ugly. I’m the one you should be worshipping!
to take the alternative Specchio drawback.
• Beasts: I’ll vanquish you and show the world
how awesome I am!
• Mad Scientists: You can’t show them all with
Quote a death ray, there’d be no one left to be shown.
It’s a good thing I came along, clearly you need
my help.
Why don’t you let me do that for you. You could
at least be grateful, commoners! • Leviathans: Um, eww! I think it’s trying to
talk to me.

324
• Hunters: I’m glad someone’s trying to do
something, I think I’ll make you my knights. Inspiration
• Mortals: Don’t worry everything will be
Libby Chessler, Sailor Galaxia, The Great and
perfect, you just have to do every little thing I
Powerful Trixie, the Heathers, Sophie (The School
say.
for Good and Evil), Judge Claude Frollo, Kamilah
Al-Jamil, the evil cheerleader archetype in general.

325
Appendix A: The Dreamlands
I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.
—Alice

The home of the Five Queens, a land of infinite

wonder that, for every Princess, lies just beyond the The Release
wall of sleep. The hopes, hearts and aspirations
of all mankind are writ large into a patchwork And then, everyone within the dreaming Kingdom
of kingdoms and cities, ... and a land where, was struck by revelation: they knew, quite
once upon a time, the Hopeful slumbered, trapped abruptly, that they were dreaming, and life in a
within in webs of illusion, drawing them away from truer reality lay open to them. Many of them
the real world’s pain. took the opportunity immediately, returning to the
bodies of fetuses just conceived; and these were
born, and grew, and flourished, and before long
The Trap they Blossomed, becoming the first Princesses of
the modern age. And as they Blossomed, the new
Princesses discovered that the lands of dream they
The monstrous armies that conquered the Light’s had left to become human again still existed; for
Kingdom in the age before history were led (or so gates to those lands stood open to them whenever
modern Princesses assume) by subtle and devious they slept, and the souls they left behind welcomed
generals who wished to secure the Darkness’ victory their visits, begging for news of the waking world.
for all time. They found a way to prevent the return Many more souls have followed those first pioneers;
of Princesses, the Light’s most capable servants, by new Princesses are born and Blossom every year.
constructing a trap for their souls, deep within the Naturally, the Hopeful wondered what it was
mind and soul of the world. The trap was a mirror, that revealed the Dreamlands’ true nature to its
reflecting the Light shining on the world; it drew inhabitants. Over the decades since the Release,
to itself the souls of the Princesses who died in speculations have been floated, arguments proposed
the Kingdom’s fall, and enfolded them within an and refuted. No shortage of Lightbearers have
endless dream where the kingdom’s glories stood claimed credit. It’s now generally believed that
eternal and it’s armies fought the Darkness and the key event was the first landing on the Moon
defeated it at every turn, without disputing its sway in July of 1969. The Queen of Diamonds argues
over its new conquest. that the Dreamlands are in some metaphysical way
And the trap worked, possibly beyond its makers’ linked to the Moon, that their property of reflecting
expectations: not only were the Princesses of the a more fundamental reality is tied to the Moon’s
Kingdom’s day drawn into the dream and held, appearance of shedding light that in fact is reflected
but so was everyone whom the Light touched and from the Sun. And so, in her opinion, when a
empowered in all the long ages since. And as the human foot trod the lunar surface, by proving the
millenia passed the Queens basked in the memory of Moon to be not luminous in itself, it also proved
long forgotten glories deep within the Dreamlands the Dreamlands to be not real in themselves ...
while the Darkness shrouded the world.

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 for an extended Inner Light + Empathy + Shadows
Entering the Dreamlands roll (for the trap calls loudest to those with a heavy
heart), with a target of eight Successes, the Princess
Have you been half asleep and have you now rolls once every five minutes.
heard voices? I’ve heard them calling my
name. Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot find an
Is this the sweet sound that called the entrance in this location, or anywhere else before
young sailors? The voice might be one she’s had a full night’s rest.
and the same... Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If the
— Kermit the Frogextended action fails the Princess cannot find an
entrance in this location, or anywhere else before
Even now, after the Release, the last fragments she’s had a full night’s rest.
of the Trap call out to the Hopeful as they sleep,
Success: The Princess progresses. Once
and it may show any Princess a passage back to the
she accumulates eight successes, she finds an
Dreamlands. The Trap, or what remains of it, finds
entrance.
it easiest to tempt a mind in pain, one who yearns
for somewhere better to escape to. Most freshly Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great
Blossomed Princesses first discover the Dreamlands progress. The Princess also gains the Steadfast
through the pain of Sensitivity, in the midst of their Condition, as she searches for an entrance into
pain they feel a promise of comfort and guidance the Dreamlands the thought of stepping into the
that lingers in the back of their mind. fantastic unkown fills her with excitement and
With the Trap’s hook in her she will, apparently resolve.
by chance, come across an entrance to her Modifiers: The Princess is sleepy (+1), the
Crawlspace when she next falls asleep. Just how Princess is wide awake (-1), hot chocolate or
this happens varies – one Princess notices an odd- warm milk (+1), old building with mysterious
looking animal and follows it to a burrow; another corners (+1), other people are present (-1 per
gets up in the middle of the night for a glass of witness)
water and notices a door that wasn’t there before.
The entrance is, however, always difficult to get Once found, a Crawlspace entrance continues to
through in some way; usually, it’s too small to exist as long as the Princess remembers it, and
walk through standing up, forcing the Princess vanishes if she forgets it. (One Princess had a
to crawl (This and the uncomfortable conditions doorway in the depths of her bedroom closet, which
inside the Crawlspace are essentially an attempt faded while she went to university. A few days
by the Princesses’ subconscious to keep her out of after coming home, when she needed to visit the
the Dreamlands’ trap, despite the Dreamlands no Dreamlands, she remembered the old door and
longer functioning as a prison). there it was.) Opening a known entrance is not
For most Princesses it can be assumed that quite automatic, but only a simple Inner Light +
they acquired and resolved the Girl Underground Empathy + Shadows roll is required, with modifiers
Condition before the game begins or during the as above. A dramatic failure on this roll means
prelude, and they might learn of the Queens and something has gone wrong with the entrance - the
joining a Court in the process. More experienced door remains locked, or sticks shut; or it seems to
Princesses can recognise the trap’s siren song for open, but the path is blocked by a deadfall too
what it is and are less likely to take the Girl heavy to move; or the trail along a high cliff has
Underground Condition, and those who do acquire washed out. Whichever it is, the Princess can’t
the Condition often keep themselves awake until reach the Dreamlands that night.
they can arrange for friends to meet her in the
Dreamlands. Escaping the creaking remnants of
the Trap might be easy these days but why take
unnecessary risks?
A Princess who has visited the Dreamlands,
even once, can deliberately search for a passage
anywhere and those who haven’t can still search The Threshold of Sleep
for an entrance if they have guidance from someone
If the Princess enters the Dreamlands in the
who has. Shikigami are skilled at helping their
presence of witnesses it can be helpful to
students find the Dreamlands and a Court to join.
know when exactly she falls asleep.
Searching for an entrance to the Dreamlands calls

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 see the Princess drop off to sleep at this point, or
If the Princess is awake when she travels walk off in a reverie to bed.
to the Dreamlands, she falls asleep the Inside the entrance, Crawlspace is narrow and
instant she spends a Wisp to unlock the claustrophobic, governed according to dream logic
Crawlspace. She may collapse on the spot by both the Princesses subconscious and the
or sleepwalk to her bed. If the Princess’ trip form of the entrance. The Princess who climbs
to the Dreamlands is triggered by the Girl down the bottom of her own bed could spend
Underground Condition or a White Rabbit the entire Crawlspace climbing down the folds of
she never wakes up at all. She transitions her bedsheets cramped between the mattress and
to the Dreamlands as part of REM sleep; the tailboard or she could quickly find herself
climbing out of bed and into the Crawlspace climbing down actual cliffs with freezing winds and
is simply part of the dream. Footsteps, claustrophobic mists but she probably will find
animal tracks, or other small reminders that herself climbing.
she finds in the morning may be the result of Normally, a Princess in Crawlspace simply
sleepwalking or a subconscious use of magic. presses on to the Dreamlands, or turns back
Usually that only happens the first time she and awakens. Waking up in Crawlspace requires
opens a new Crawlspace. nothing more than a wish to do so. Pressing on
calls for more effort, as the difficulty of the path
Crawlspace entrances are not truly physical is nothing more than the Princess’ subconscious
passages, though they appear as such; they are in warning her about the Dreamland’s Trap it cannot
fact mnemonic devices. Thus one Princess cannot stand against a Princess’ concious desire to press
use another’s entrance – in fact, she can’t even see onwards. Even the weakest, least athletic Princess
the other’s entrance. It’s possible, though, for one is guaranteed to scale to harshest cliffs if she only
Princess to help another Princess or dream traveller tries. A Princess who follows the Dreamlands’
find an entrance she knows of. This works as a lure along the easiest path, never turning aside,
form of teamwork; the Princess rolls Presence + always emerges somewhere in her Queen’s capitol
Expression as she tries to get her friend excited (Courtless Princesses arrive in the Dreamlands
about the “ magical door” she found. If the representation of something they have a strong
Princess succeeds her friend rolls the lower of her Intimacy to) and no roll is required to do so. From
usual dice pool to enter the Dreamlands and the that point (and only that point) the Princess can
Princess’ successes,. If the friend fails the roll than return and awaken at will.
even the Princess cannot access the Crawlspace Side passages abound, though, and a Princess
tonight (this restriction has led to quite a few dream can find her way to almost anywhere in the
travellers embarrassing themselves when they tried Dreamlands she knows well by choosing her steps
to show mortals a Crawlspace). wisely. A side-path takes just as much time
Even if two Princesses can see the same and labour to follow but also requires a Wits +
Crawlspace they cannot enter together without Empathy roll to find the correct path. The roll has
invoking the Charm Ivory Gate. Without that a modifier based on the strength of her Intimacy
Charm an experienced Princess who wishes to to whatever her intended destination is a reflection
introduce a newcomer to the Queens must arrange of in the real world, and a further modifier for
to rendezvou at a location they can both find each day’s travel outwards from the centre of the
and then travel through the Dreamlands together. Dreamlands that her destination lies.
Shikigami do not have this restriction, they can
follow any Princess they are bonded with into the Dramatic Failure: The Princess emerges in the
Crawlspace. wrong place within the Dreamlands, and cannot
Entering the Crawlspace requires spending a reopen Crawlspace there; she must find a useful
Wisp. Exactly how a Crawlspace opens varies with landmark (a Dreamlands reflection of something
the shape of the entrance. It could be as simple she has Intimacy to). Take the Lost Condition.
as turning a button handled key to unlock a small Failure: The Princess emerges at her usual
door, but spending the Wisp might instead make entrance point.
the Princess dexterous enough to squeeze through Success: The Princess emerges within an hour’s
a rabbit hole, turn her insubstantial so she can slip walk of her desired destination.
between the join where two of her bedroom walls
Exceptional Success: The Princess emerges at her
meet or shrink down until she’s small enough to
desired destination.
climb down the gap between her mattress and the
tailboard of her bed. Onlookers, on the other hand, Modifiers: Emotional connection to whatever the
destination area represents (Intimacy modifier);

328
 her entrance point, her Queen’s domain or Success: The Princess makes progress to finding
her Embassy’s building (no Intimacy modifier); a the memory she wants. If the memory doesn’t
distance from the centre of the Dreamlands (- exist she discovers this. If the roll passes the
1 per day’s travel outwards); the Princess takes threshold the Princess experiences the memory in
others along (-1 per two people); the Princess is whatever way best fits the story: She may watch
travelling a familiar route (+1); the Princess has it through a keyhole, find it written in a book,
some suitable prop for navigating her Crawlspace pick up a memento and suddenly remember
such as a torch for a dark cave, climbing gear or everything, relive the event, or even enter a fully
warm clothes for freezing cliffs (+1, regardless of interactive recreation of the past.
the usual equipment bonus). Exceptional Success: When the Princess
accumulates enough successes she will discover
Whatever form the Crawlspace takes, it is filled
the memory is particularly useful. In addition
with memories from both her current and past
to any other benefits she takes the Informed
lives. A Princess climbing down freezing cliffs
Condition.
might catch sight of cave after cave; one crawling
through mud and crumbling brickwork at the Modifiers: Eidetic Memory (+2), strong
bottom of a well could find peep-holes formed by emotions attached to the memory (+1), dull
cracks in the masonry. Often snatches of sound, memory such as hours spent in a library
smells, or fleeting glimpses try to grab the Princess’ searching for an enemy’s weaknesses (-1), the
attention with promises of important forgotten Princess has some suitable prop for navigating
knowledge or memories of happier times, another her Crawlspace such as a torch for a dark cave,
way the Princess’ subconcious tries to keep her from climbing gear or warm clothes for freeing cliffs
the Trap. Many Princesses turn aside from the (+1, regardless of the usual equipment bonus).
Crawlspace’s main path to search through these
memories, hoping to find bits of wisdom from a life Once the Princess has found the memory the
in the Kingdom’s day, or to witness again a scene player may make an additional roll or rolls to
that has faded from their conscious memory. derive some practical benefit from it. She could
If a player character tries this, she first names the roll Resolve + Investigation to see past the
memory she wishes to find. Something like “the distorted face of a childhood nightmare and see the
last time I saw my father before he mysteriously real appearance of her father’s terrifying business
disappeared” or “my previous life’s first meeting partner and gain a Clue into his disappearance.
with a Queen”. The description must be specific Or by revisiting an enormous row with her friend
enough to identify a single memory, if a Princess she can speak to representations of the emotions
wishes to trawl through her memories for useful that overwhelmed her during the argument and
information she needs to use the White Rabbits roll Manipulation + Empathy to work through her
Merit. feelings and create a proper Plan for repairing the
Once the Princess has chosen the object of relationship.
her search she makes an extended Intelligence + As a generalization Princesses search through
Empathy roll; the Storyteller sets the threshold, their Crawlspace to confront complex emotional
according to the importance the memory being knots or to access memories that are impossible to
sought for has to the Princess. connect to consciously such as those from a past life.
A Princess who’s simply forgotten her computer
Dramatic Failure: The Princess finds the password will likely prefer to sit down and rack
wrong memory, or worse, she stumbles upon a her brain than to crawl through a muddy thorny
nightmarish memory; the Storyteller may call for briar looking for it while the nature of dreams and
a Sensitivity check. memories means that dreaming your way into the
Failure: The Princess makes no progress to memory of a crime scene can’t provide the same
finding the memory. purely factual record as photographs.

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 Who can enter the Dreamlands?
Princesses are not the only the only ones who can access the Dreamlands. The Dreamlands
belongs to all of humanity after all.
Psychics and Thaumaturges with the Dream Travel Merit or Ritual are able to enter the
Dreamlands of their own accord. The Dreamlands are not the only collective mindscape of
mankind. As a rule an individual Psychic will only have access to one mindscape, one that’s
appropriate to his personality or perhaps his powers. Similarly Thaumaturges can only access
one mindscape, but in this case the defining variable is which Tradition she belongs too.
It is worth noticing that most Psychics and Thamaturges have no greater connection to
the Light than most Mortals. The Dreamlands trap is not targeted at them, and they have
no subconscious warnings when entering the Dreamlands: To them the Crawlspace looks very
different. It resembles the door to wherever they strongest associate with feelings of home, safety
and security. Stepping through the door they find themselves in an idealised memory of that
place. This functions identically to the crawlspace for all practical purposes: Including reliving
memories and short-cutting through the Dreamlands.
Beacons and Sworn do not have the natural ability to enter the Draemlands, they must be
lead by a Princess or another astral traveller. They can however allow themselves to be lifted into
the Dreamlands by the mechanisms of the trap and may enter if they have the Girl Underground
Condition.
Changelings can walk through and reshape dreams, when they are personal to the dreamers.
The Dreamlands, though, aren’t private, but shared among all those touched by the Light. A
changeling can observe them through a sleeping traveller, and even join the dreamer there, but
attempts to shape the Dreamlands fail abjectly. A changeling treats a Dreamlands traveller as
a dreamer in a Bastion with the normal traits; entering the Bastion takes the changeling to the
Dreamlands near the traveller, and he may leave the Dreamlands as if they were a Bastion as
long as the traveller has not left. However, if the traveller wakes before the changeling leaves, the
changeling becomes trapped - he can leave only by finding another traveller and persuading her
to guide him to the entrance she used. Dreamweaving doesn’t work at all.
The Beasts (from Beast: the Primordial) walk between supernatural realms with remarkable
ease, and their nature as embodied nightmares makes the Dreamlands especially amenable to
them. If a Beast successfully uses Under the Bed on a character in the Dreamlands, he appears
next to the character’s Dream Form and may choose to stay there rather than continue to his
Lair. Any Beast who knows of the Dreamlands may open a Primordial Pathway to a location
within them, at the same modifier he uses for places in the Temenos. And Beasts can make
Chambers in their Lairs from places in the Dreamlands just as they do in the waking world.
Finally some Mortals simply dream their way into the Dreamlands by accident. From their
perspective it is nothing more than a particularly vivid dream.

of the definition chosen by Enlightened scholars.

White Rabbits Quite a few Princesses really do see White Rabbits
(sometimes straight out of Alice’s Adventures in
A White Rabbit, in the jargon of the Nobility Wonderland). This appears to be a result of
refers to any time when the Princess is called to the Princess’ unconscious associations, caused by
the Dreamlands. Her subconscious mind detects a Enlightened scholars using the term White Rabbit
change within the Dreamlands and sends a signal – for the phenomenon.
a White Rabbit – to alert the conscious mind that
there is something they should see. The creaking
lures of the Dreamlands trap and the resulting
Girl Underground Condition are not considered
White Rabbits but this is just an arbitrary quirk

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Prophecy Rabbits start a plot. If the Storyteller believes she can
provide clues in a more interesting way by going
to a memory from the Princess’ past life than a
A Prophecy Rabbit calls the Princess into the
prophecy in the collective dreamscape of mankind
Dreamlands to witness an event that foretells the
then she is free to do so. Memory Rabbits can also
future on Earth. The Princess is fully present in the
be used to justify buying Skills or Charms when
Dreamlands and may interact with the portentous
the Princess knew them in a past life, or just to
events she witnesses in all the normal ways: She
develop a character by confronting key issues from
might investigate to uncover more clues, or perhaps
the Princess’ past.
try to derail the event in the Dreamlands. This
doesn’t actually help, but it can feel very satisfying.
If two or more Princesses are experiencing a
prophecy about the same event, they are both are Royal Rabbits
in the same place within the Dreamlands and can
simply start talking to each other. Debating the Trapped within the Dreamlands the Queens cannot
vision or making plans. In essence, this can be affect Earth, but they can affect the Dreamlands
considered another clue both Princesses learn from and a Princess’ subconscious can notice such
the dreams. Something along the lines of “This changes. The Queens have gotten quite good at
other Princess cares about the same issue, perhaps making the precise changes needed to create a
you could work together?” Royal Rabbit that summons a Princess to wait
How Prophecies work is unknown. It is upon her liege.
generally accepted that the Princess is reacting Royal Rabbits typically manifest in some way
to a pre-existing event in the Dreamlands but appropriate to the Queen, such as a white rabbit
what causes those events is a mystery. The wearing the royal colours and carrying a letter of
two most popular theories are the clairvoyant summons stamped with the Queen’s seal. They can
model and the analytical model. The clairvoyant serve as a third alternative to provide clues via the
suggests that every human has microscopic traces White Rabbits Merit or to kickstart a plot.
of psychic abilities which when combined in some
sort of shared unconscious – like the Dreamlands
– becomes effective on a practical level. The Black Rabbits
analytical model also sees the pooling of human
talent and knowledge at the cause, but argues Black Rabbits are spoken of in hushed terms, their
rather than psychically foretelling the future mere existence makes the Princess question her own
humanity simply predicts it using knowledge and mind and doubt her visions. It goes like this: If
reasoning. the Princess followed a Prophecy Rabbit to the
Prophecy Rabbits are most common the result of dreamlands and saw a woman in green and white
the White Rabbits Merit, the Storyteller can also tearing through the reflection of her home town
create a Prophecy Rabbit to get a story going. she might conclude that she better deal with any
Princesses of Storms before it’s too late.
Now what if this happened in reverse. Someone
Memory Rabbits with access to the Dreamlands – such as a Princess
of Tears – wants the Princess to go after local
Unlike most White Rabbits a Memory Rabbit Furys. She could travel to the Dreamlands, dress
leads a Princess not into the Dreamlands, but in green and white and attack. The destruction in
deep into her own Crawlspace. The Princess’ the Dreamlands would alert the Princess: A fake
subconscious mind is signalling her conscious that Prophecy Rabbit, a Black Rabbit.
she has forgotten some vital information and calls Now it’s not easy, the Dreamlanders will defend
her deep into her own mind and soul to fish it out. their home and the deception is only as good as the
Most Memory Rabbits lead to memories from a skill of the one who crafts it. This doesn’t mean it
past life, the ordinary human processes of memory hasn’t happened, it has. Many times.
are usually sufficient for memories gathered in
this incarnation (and sometimes even for stronger
memories from past lives). Empty Rabbits
In game terms a Memory Rabbit functions as
an alternative result when a player uses the Merit Empty Rabbits are almost as mythical as Black
White Rabbits or when the Storyteller wishes to Rabbits. Sometimes a Princess’ intuition is simply
wrong. She follows a White Rabbit to the

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Dreamlands and finds nothing more than a mad tea Tongue. You may stumble across a town which
party or a highly symbolic heap of nonsense. Some appears almost like the real world, save that none
Princesses believe Empty Rabbits do not exist, that of the brands match, and the streets are filled
they actually mean the Princess has overlooked with a parade of strange, eternally dancing figures
some vital clue pointing to one of the other Rabbits. of bronze. A Princess could be walking down a
But how would you tell? quiet forest path only to turn a corner and find
Empty Rabbits rarely have an impact on the herself facing an elegant renaissance city where
story, but sometimes Princesses can confuse a the buildings all merge together into a solid block
Rabbit for an Empty Rabbit, or a Empty Rabbits that gently curves away from the ground. Or she
for a Rabbit. might find arriving at a quiet country village where
the people are friendly, the sun is shining but the
buildings look like cubist art and the inhabitants
March Hares seem to have stepped from the scrapbook of a
slightly drunk dada artist. One Nakama found a
While not as mythical as Black or Empty Rabbits cursed area, almost overshadowed by the Darkness,
the March Hares are considered to be the most where the sharp-fanged folk ritually consumed their
unsettling of all the Rabbits. A Princess who victims. Only one made it out alive, the monsters
follows a March Hare travels deep into her own dragging the others to their altars and eating them
Crawlspace and comes face to face with a deep in a way that killed them in the real world, hunks of
division in her own psyche. She may do battle flesh torn out of their sleeping bodies, in the name
with her own madness or sit down for tea, scones of the “Red Word”.
and high brow debate with both sides of the ethical The wild districts where these things can be
dilemma that has puzzled her all week. found are all, however, some days’ travel from
In game terms March Hares are simply an excuse the centre of the Dramlands – the Dreamlands’
for more roleplaying. A Princess who wins a cartographers say that one moves outward to
battle with her own madness is not cured, but she find them, and inward to return. The most
understands what that madness means to her and confusing thing about navigating the Dreamlands
might be energised to seek therapy (or less inclined is that “inward” and “outward” have no simple
if she lost the fight). Facing her own dilemmas gives relationship with the ordinary three dimensions of
screen time to the Princess’ thoughts and feelings, space... and there are any number of districts
and maybe even some character development. that lie further inwards of other districts, but
March Hares can even be used when under the at the same north/south and east/west position.
effects of hostile magic: If the Princess is unaware Dreamlanders say their home is folded on itself;
of the enchantment or magically prevented from north/south, east/west and up/down they call the
acknowledging her situation, then when the magic traveling directions, and in/out are the folding
wares off going into her own Crawlsapce to fight directions.
the spell and unlock the memory vaults is a more Arranging the Dreamlands’ counties by their
dramatic way to reveal the truth than just saying folding positions, ignoring their travelling positions,
the spell has worn off. shows that the Dreamlands lie within a roughly
Since March Hares are at heart a way to give circular area with the Foundation at its rim,
screen time to important moments of a character’s and a trip straight from the Foundation to the
internal conflicts the player is always entitled to Dreamlands’ center (if that were possible) would
forgo the dice and choose the result they prefer. take seven days’ or so walking. Arranging
the Dreamland’s by it’s travelling directions and
ignoring the folding directions shows that the

Topography Dreamlands is a simple globe. Some Princesses

describe the Dreamlands as a series of globes
ordered from innermost to outermost. Moving
The Dreamlands are an exceedingly varied place. north, south, east or west moves across the surface
Sometimes you can stumble across one man’s of a globe, walking inwards or outwards travels
neuroses writ large across the landscape (while between the globes. This sounds a lot simpler than
most other humans never even feature), while when you’re standing on a Dreamlands crossroads
in other places you can walk along a stairway and can see six directions, which in turn is a lot
made of light, up into the heavens to walk along simpler than when you wake up the next morning
the surface of a Mars covered in unknown ruins and try to remember how you understood it.
inscribed in runes which do not resemble the Royal The Dreamlands often changes quickly as one

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travels. There’s a feeling the the Foundation is too. Regardless, the question is academic. There
below, and “below” is consistent. Apart from that is no way physically affect them and people almost
all bets are off. Despite appearances ranging from never come out, they simply exist. These strange
bizarre to normal places within the Dreamlands houses are unrelated too the dwellings used by
often seem to reflect places on Earth, or the Dreamlanders, which are much less mysterious and
popular idea of places of earth, or (more strangely) easier to enter.
places found only in novels, or ideas, or concepts. In the most distant, farthest outward lands, the
Even odder is that regardless of how normal Gales blow wildly, falling still for a moment only
or how bizarre the places look, a visitor can to burst anew with immense force. It is here
(eventually) learn to understand how they work. that the traveler may find herself walking through
A city might look like it was designed by a a man’s nightmare, magnified to a country of
collaboration between M.C. Escher and Dr Seuss dread. It is here, also, that she may find a space
but it still has a government, an economy, trade grown strangely thin and tenuous, where objects
with nearby settlements, residents with homes, jobs can sometimes vanish while her back is turned; or
and families. With lots of time and effort a Princess a place jumbled with curios and wonders brought
can learn how it all works. Just as she can learn together, though by no obvious means, from every
what it reflects from Earth, and even discover new corner of the world. There are tales of monstrous
things about what it reflects. or alien things to be found in the far outward
The distance outwards from the center has districts: a redoubt of Alhambra in a district
an importance in the Dreamlands beyond the haunted by Darkness; a waste of ash and cinders
way it allows districts to overlie each other. where Goalenu mold porcelain figurines that hunt
The mysterious, reality-bending Gales that blow with burning green eyes; a snow-capped peak,
through them rise and fall constantly, but how topped by a fortress made of clockwork ticking away
swiftly they change depends on how far away the in a slow rotation, from which gray-robed figures
center is. Near the center itself, when reflections gaze through telescopes at the Dreamlands’ stars.
of those concepts most stable within the hearts
of humanity lie, the Gales hardly vary at all, and
the districts there remain stable. Going outwards,
the districts have Gales that are normally calm, Travel
but gust occasionally and strongly, leaving behind
drastically altered landscapes. At the outermost For all that they function according to dream logic,
reaches the Gales are a constant maelstrom and the the Dreamlands resemble something close to a
land shifts hourly at best. coherent if surreal world. A Princess who wishes
A further oddity of these reflections is that, to get from one part to another can simply walk or
while they frequently contain things with writing (with the right Charm) fly to her destination. One
on them, the writing never looks like the text that wishing for an easier trip may negotiate passage
would appear in the reflected place. In minor with a Dreamlander. Depending on where she is she
cases, Princesses might find a discarded fast-food might find anything from 19th century sailing ships
box, but the script on it is flowing and cursive, that glide across the ground, to friendly dragons
elaborately decorated in gold leaf. In more extreme happy to take a passenger, to Heath Robinson-esq
cases, everything is written backwards, or there are contraptions piloted by anthropomorphic frogs, to
never any vowels, or the scripts are from another a modern airport with helpful travel agents. All the
part of the world entirely. Less obvious is that Courts have established modes of transportation
these reflections are chock full of houses. Wherever available to a Princess.
the Princess travels she will occasionally catch a When travelling through this immense
glimpse of a door, window or a snatch of a wall in landscape, the Hopeful also have a unique
the corner of her eye only to realise it was just a tree advantage: as long as they have any Willpower
and a trick of the light. If the Princess really looks, left, they are able to open a way into Crawlspace
the dream domains can seem to be built of nothing from almost anywhere in the Dreamlands, and
but houses folded in on each other in defiance of any return through there to waking life or a place in
sane geometry. Scholars are divided as to whether the Dreamlands they already know well. A Princess
these houses are merely a representation of some trying this rolls Resolve + Empathy, with am
human’s connection to the place or concept this Intimacy modifier for the strength of her emotional
Dreamlands domain is reflecting. Or if these houses connection to her current location, and a further
are physically a person’s soul, visible everywhere in modifier for each day’s travel she is outward from
the Dreamlands they have an emotional connection the Foundation. (If she is at her entrance point, no

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roll is needed.) an exception if a Princesses who is a member of
the Embassy vouches for her, however this is not
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot open without drawbacks. The embassy building are not
Crawlspace here; she must move at least an just part of the Draemlands; joining an Embassy
hour’s walk before trying again. is a change to a Princesses magic and something of
Failure: The Princess fails to open Crawlspace. this seeps into the structure of an embassy building.
Upon entering the private parts of an unrelated
Success: The Princess notices one of the many
Embassy a Princess must roll Stamina + Resolve,
houses that forms the dreamlands and realises it
on a failure she gets a headache that lasts for
is her home, she opens the door, steps inside and
around an hour, and inflicts a -1 to all mental
enters her Crawlspace.
actions. If Princess is a member of an Embassy
Exceptional Success: The Princess enters with a particularly incompatible concept this rises
Crawlspace, and is at +2 to navigate it. to -2.
Modifiers: Modifiers: Emotional connection
(Intimacy modifier); her entrance point, her
Queen’s domain, her Embassy (no Intimacy
modifier); distance from the center of the Time
Dreamlands (-1 per day’s travel outwards)
The relationship between time in the Dreamlands
Opening Crawlspace from the Dreamlands side and time in waking life is strangely variable; it
does not cost Willpower, but a princess at 0 seems to depend much more on the density of one’s
Willpower cannot manage it until she recovers at experience than on any objective clock. So, for
least 1 point. Once a Princess re-enters Crawlspace instance, an exciting fight can consume half an hour
in this way, she must clamber through a maze of in the real world’s time, but appear to last only
side-passages, looking for the main path back to five minutes or so; but a long journey through safe
waking life, or another door to the Dreamlands; the districts might compress a full day’s experience into
rolls for this are the same as those for reaching the only an hour of dreaming time. (As a rule of thumb,
Dreamlands from the waking world directly. an event in the Dreamlands takes as much time
in the waking world as it would take the players
to play out the scene, while the time it takes in
Travel and Embassies the Dreamlands is what it would require in real
life.) There are even cases of Princesses parting in
One advantage to joining an Embassy is travel the Dreamlands, and finding on their next meeting
within a Dreamland. In all domains that have that one has experienced a few hours packed with
a strong connection to an Embassy, an actual incident, while the other has been traveling for days
embassy building appears. Fully staffed with ...
Dreamlanders – though usually only a Chorus – Remaining Transformed in the Dreamlands is a
who attend diplomatic conferences, socialise with good deal easier than it is in waking life. A Princess
high society and try to persuade political figures. rolls to remain transformed only once every 24
Any Princess who belongs to an Embassy is hours, by the Dreamlands’ clock. A dramatic
welcome at any of its embassy buildings. The staff failure on that roll, however, has a more serious
treat her as appropriate for her position; only for consequence; even after the Princess recovers
the Chorus to forget her when she heads on her way. her phylactery, she cannot transform within the
The staff will gladly provide her with information, Dreamlands for 24 hours after her failure.
office space and things of that nature. Depending
on if she’s a Secretary, Consul or an Ambassador
they might give her orders or obey her orders. Most
of this is quite pointless, the real benefit is that a Inhabitants
Princess can look up the details of every embassy
building run by her Embassy in the files, and can There are at least three different types of beings
use a Crawlspace to travel between them without found within the Dreamlands. They were named
a penalty to the roll for an insufficient emotional by a theatrically minded Princess as the chorus,
connection. the actors, and the stars. The chorus, from all
Princesses cannot go further than the public appearances, are less independent people, than
parts of an embassy building unless she is a member moving parts of the places where they’re found;
of that Embassy. The Dreamlanders will make they walk, and talk, and do what you would

334
naturally expect people to do in the situation you If forced into Dormancy a Dreamlander will return
find them in, and nothing else. Actors, in contrast, home.
are fully realized people, with minds, memories, Outside the Dreamlands a Dreamlander’s power
desires and aspirations. They differ from the stars only affects thoughts and emotions: They retain
(and the Princesses) in only one way: They are their Influences, but can only use them to influence
unaware that a waking world exists, and nearly all peoples thoughts. For example a Dreamlander with
who are told of it refuse to credit it. The stars, Influence: San Francisco could use it to Create
finally, are Dreamlanders who realise the truth of or Strengthen a thought about San Francisco
their home. Most are human souls drawn into the but, unlike back in the Dreamlands, it could not
Dreamlands who have not chosen to pass on to influence a building.
the true afterlife. Stars native to the Dreamlands Numina are under similar restructions: If a
are rare and usually trouble. Many Actors and Dreamlander has Numina that affects thoughts.
Stars can wield strange powers, and some Stars who emotions or their own body they may use
were once living Princesses and inhabitants of the it, no other Numina will function outside the
Kingdom still hold the Charms they knew in life. Dreamlands. A Dreamlander’s restrictions on
Native Dreamlanders are Ephemeral Beings supernaturally affecting the physical also means
formed of Astral Ephemera, however in the they cannot heal their stolen bodies with Essence.
Dreamlands everything is Ephemeral. Even a Dreamlanders do have Manifestations but they
Princess, for she has left her body safely tucked may only acquire Manifestations from the following
in bed. Therefore in the Dreamlands everyone list:
can touch each other easily. Build Dreamlanders
as normal Ephemeral Beings but while in the • Fetter –A Dreamlander may only use Fetter on
Dreamlands ignore their Manifestations entirely, ordinary mortals and supernatural beings who
for simplicity Princesses and other dream travellers have a connection to the Dreamlands, such as
use their normal stats. However in her Ephemerial Princesses.
dream form a Princess uses Dream Health, see the • Harmonious Merge –This requires the
section on Dream Combat below. Controlled condition and a target with a
A Dreamlander’s Rank depends on how much similar personality to the Dreamlander. The
humanity as a whole thinks of a concept (this is Dreamlander and the target trade control
separate to how stable a concept is, which defines of the body frequently, over time their
how far outwards to look for it’s representations): personalities become more similar until they
An obscure philosophy would only have a small become a single entity.
village of low Rank Dreamlanders while a universal
concept such as friendship would have a mighty • Possess –no special rules.
metropolis with inhabitants ranging from Rank
one all the way up to mighty rank six or seven • Greater Possession –As posses, but it lasts
Dreamlander gods that tower over the Queens in until the Dreamlander ends or is forced to end
power. the possession.
The former inhabitants of the Kingdom and any • Unfetter –no special rules.
Princess who chooses to stick around after her body
dies are of course not astral beings. They are
normal Beacons, Sworn, Princesses and, of course,
Queens who happen to be without a body at the
Sample Dreamlander: Harpy Pirates
present time. No different from a sleeping Princess
To mankind the seas have always represented the
travelling the Dreamlands. great unknown. Infinite possibilities lie just beyond
the next horizon, but the seas also carry the danger
of the storm, and pirates. Who doesn’t love a good
Dreamlanders on Earth pirate story?
Harpy pirates have congealed out of stray ideas
A Dreamlander who ends up on Earth are limited from Greek mythology, sword and sorcery, and
in what they can achieve. Like all Ephemeral fantasy tinged pirate stories. As they are loosely
Beings they need a Condition to prevent Essence tied to several concepts they can be living in a
Bleed, for a Dreamlander a place is Resonant if wide verity of Dreamland locations, or traveling
people are thinking about whatever concept the freely across the seas between them. They’re not
Dreamlander represents. Both conscious thought particularly powerful or populous, but despite their
and subconscious or emotional thinking qualifies. small number they always travel in crews looking

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for ships full of booty to plunder, preferably shiny proportion of the Kitsune population in areas that
objects. are also influenced by Western folklore, where it’s
When they do find a prize, they isolate the ship nearly universal for folklore to portray foxes as
using their ability to influence wind, then fall from tricksters.
the sky, attacking sailors and stealing what they Kitsune Tricksers are usually more mischievous
can in the confusion. While they can, and will kill than truly dangerous but they can prove a real
if necessary, most of the time they are happy with threat if they feel threatened. Conversely, they can
just stealing whatever they can before retreating. become precious allies to people they grow found
Attributes: Power 3, Finesse 7, Resistance 4 of. Most are Actors, but some Princesses among
the court of Spades have been able to convince a
Rank: 2 Trickster that there is a real world and thus recruit
it as a Shikigami.
Willpower: 10 Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 6, Resistance 3

Corpus: 9 Rank: 2

Essence: 15 Willpower: 8

Initiative: 11 Corpus: 8

Speed: 20 (Species Factor 10 thanks to flight) Essence: 15

Defence: 4 Initiative: 8

Size: 5 Speed: 19 (Species Factor 7)

Ban: Pirate Harpies feel compelled to steal shiny Defence: 6

objects. This doesn’t mean that’s the only thing
they can still, but when offered the opportunity Size: 5
to steal two things, they will typically go for the
shinier of the two. Ban: Kitsune Tricksters cannot evade people who
manage to grab their tail; until said tail is let go,
Bane: Wax. they have to stand here.

Influence: Wind 2 Bane: The teeth of a hunting hound.

Numina: Blast (Guns), Speed, Starlwart, Influence: Luck 2

Innocuous, Firestarter (Incendiary bombs)
Harpy pirates inflict lethal damage in hand-to- Numina: Blast (magical foxfire), Innocuous,
hand combat thanks to their sharp talons. Firestarter, Mortal mask, Hallucination
Note that while there are few true mortals within
the Dreamlands, most areas are populated with
Sample Dreamlander: Kitsune Dreamlanders who reflect the concept of a normal
human and so Mortal Mask remains a useful ability.
Trickster
In times long ago foxes and humans lived close
together on the islands of Nippon and kitsune Dream Combat
became a staple of Japanese mythology. They
were messangers of the Kami, they would adopt The inhabitants of the Dreamlands often wield
human guises to become guardians, friends or strange powers that only make sense by the
lovers. And of course to play tricks on humans. dreamlike logic of that place, and not all are nice.
Kitsune can be found in regions of the Dreamlands A Princess travelling the Dreamlands may well find
that reflect Japanese mythology, folklore, or pop- her self in battle.
culture. Kitsune Tricksters can of course be found A Princess entering the Dreamlands leaves her
in all these places, but tend to form a larger physical body behind her, and projects her mind

336
and soul into a body formed from the Dreamlands’ a penalty on the next such roll of -1 for each day’s
substance. If she is injured there, she does not take travel outwards from the centre she stood.
damage on her Health track – her physical Health
simply isn’t relevant. Instead, Princesses have Dramatic Failure: The Gales’ force envelops the
Dream Health equal to resolve plus her Attribute Princess, body, mind and soul, catches her up
Maximum based on Inner Light. If she Transforms in a chaotic whirl, and commingles some of the
she uses the usual rules for having extra Health Dreamlands’ essence with her sprit and self. The
Boxes in one form. If the Princess dies in the Princess gains a Galemark, partly adapting from
Dreamlands she wakes up the next morning (or a mere visitor into a permanent settler in the
sometime later) with the Soul Shocked Condition. Dreamlands.
Native Dreamlanders use the usual rules for Failure: The Gales push the Princess off-balance,
ephemeral beings in combat, save that they they scattering odd thoughts and scraps of imagined
are always fully material within the Dreamlands. memories in her mind. Nothing overt happens
If Actors or members of the Chorus die the Gales at this point, but future rolls to resist the Gales
usually form a replacement after a short time. Most suffer a -1 penalty. These penalties accumulate
Princesses, and indeed most native Dreamlanders, until the Princess gains a Galemark, or wakes
don’t really consider this to be death in any up, and they stack with the penalties for going
meaningful sense. They do however feel pain, so unTransformed.
casual violence is still unethical. Stars however Success: The Princess resists the Gales’ force.
are gone for good, Princesses are forced back into She remains as she was, getting neither better
the cycle of reincarnation as though they died in nor worse.
the real world. Star Dreamlanders are replaced
by an Actor without any of the experiences they Exceptional Success: In a flash of insight, the
developed through their knowledge of the real Princess recognizes some of the Dreamlands’
world. essence mixed into herself for the fiction it is.
She loses one Galemark. The effects of the lost
Galemark on the Princess’ appearance, and on
the Dreamlands, may remain or fade away at the
Phenomena player’s discretion - if they remain, the Princess
can enact the role the Dreamlands wish her to
play, and not become lost in it.
The Gales Galemarks track a Princess’ progress along a
The Dreamlands are the combined hopes, thoughts, path that ends with her as indistinguishable, even
feelings and aspirations of mankind. The risks to herself, from a Dreamlands native who has
of travelling such a place should be obvious: nightmares of an unhappy world, overshadowed
Humanities thoughts change on a daily, nay, a by fear and despair. The effects of a Galemark
second by second basis. Against such a tide as all of are threefold. First, the Princess’ Dreamlands
humanity, what can one mind do to remain static? body changes – in both mundane and transformed
Any Princess who travels too far from the stable identities, she gains a new, exotic physical feature.
regions of the Dreamlands risks being blown away, The change reflects what the Princess has seen
transformed as just another fleeting thought in the and done: if she travels much among trickster
vast collective identity. foxes, she becomes foxlike, with pointed ears or a
The Nobility do have a defence. Some say this pelt. Galemarks don’t always turn Princesses into
is because a Princess is supposed to be a shepard fantastical beings - many places in the Dreamlands
that guides mankind’s hopes, that helps people have inhabitants who could pass for normal in
achieve their dreams. Others say it is because waking life - but a Princess with several Galemarks
transformation includes is a thick layer of magical always looks very unlike her waking self.
armour. Regardless, while transformed a Princess’ Second, the Dreamlands weaves the Princess
is protected from the worst the Gales can do, and into its history and society. As a Princess gains
the farther outwards she travels, the more necessary Galemarks, the chorus members she meets are
its protection becomes. likely to “remember” past encounters with her, or
For every 24 hours (by the Dreamlands’ clock) “recognize” her as a native of a particular district
that a Princess remains in the Dreamlands, she in the Dreamlands, or refer in some other way to
must roll Resolve + Composure; if she remains in a history that (before the Gales marked her) never
her mundane identity for an hour or more, she takes really took place. Dreamlands locations sometimes
change physically to support the false history, too.

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(If you want a rule for this, either the player or the Tainted places, Darkened and even Darkspawn.
Storyteller may roll the Princess’ Galemarks as a This is not the Darkness Princesses remember
dice pool once per scene; for each success, narrate from Earth. It is a lesser Darkness or perhaps this
one “fact” from the imagined backstory that the a greater Darkness: Is the darkness in the back
local chorus “knows”.) The life invented for the of every man’s mind worse than the monster of
Princess is internally consistent - once a part of it rotting shadows attempting to eat you? Regardless
is established further Galemarks don’t alter it. of such debates; Dreamland equivalents of Tainted
Third, and strangest, the Princess’ own memories places, Darkened, Darkspawn and all the rest can
twist, and she finds that she also knows the be be found in the Dreamlands. Build them as
details of her imaginary past which the chorus normal Dreamland natives, including whether they
members know. Moreover, as her knowledge of are a Chorus, Actor or Star then add the Darkened,
that life grows, her memory of waking life becomes Darkspawn or other template.
disjointed, surreal and incoherent, as if it were the Regardless of which Darkness is “worse” the
dream. Each Galemark is attached to one of the Darkness in the Dreamlands is closer to the
Princess’ Willpower dots, starting with the leftmost Princess’ psyche. Any Sensitivity roll caused by
and moving right. When the Princess spends a the Darkness – be it Darkened, Tainted Place,
point of Willpower from a dot with a Galemark, Darkspawn or other – has 9again.
she temporarily assumes the role the Dreamlands The only other noteworthy difference is that
have given her, abandoning thoughts of the waking there is no Dark World within the Dreamlands. So
world as fictions of no importance. This delusion few humans have ever experienced it (and fewer
lasts for the rest of the current scene; while it has survive) that it is not a part of the Dreamlands.
no mechanical effect, the Storyteller should reward The Tainted places within the Dreamlands to not
players for keeping to it. permit entry to a Dark World. It is still possible to
When a Princess gains Galemarks equal to her for a Darkened to use the Enter Darkness ability,
Willpower, marking all her Willpower dots, the last but it functions more like a slow teleport between
of these effects becomes permanent - she ceases to two Tainted spots.
believe in the waking world’s reality, just as the Fighting the Darkness in the Dreamlands can be
actors disbelieve. The Gales’ work is complete, and a useful way to uncover clues about the Darkness
the Princess no longer checks for Galemarks; on the on Earth, or a way to give new Princesses a lifelike
other hand, she also loses the power to open ways training session with far less risk of permanent
into Crawlspace, and therefore cannot wake up on injuries. But attempting to cleanse Taint from the
her own. Only another Princess can rescue her, by Dreamlands is a futile endeavour, so long as the
tracking her down in the Dreamlands and opening thoughts and emotions still exist human hearts the
Crawlspace for her. Gales will continue to create Tainted Places every
Galemarks do not fade while a Princess remains time the region is reworked. The only true way to
in the Dreamlands. They begin to fade if a cleanse the Dreamlands is to deal with the problem
Princess chooses to avoid the Dreamlands for a on Earth. Be it by cleaning up a crime ridden town
while. After a Princess has had one full night’s sleep or helping people heal from old wounds.
for each Galemark she carries without entering the
Dreamlands, she loses one Galemark, recovering
from its baneful on her mind. As with an
exceptional success on the roll to resist the Gales,
The Light
the Princess’ player chooses whether the changes to In Dreamlands domains that reflect something
the Princess’ Dreamlands body, and her imaginary strong and positive it is possible for the Princess
past, remain when the Galemark is gone. to come across a manifestation of the Light itself.
This either requires a lot of luck, or an Extended
roll to track it down. One the Princess finds a
The Darkness manifestation of the light she may choose to bathe
her soul in it, this has three effects: The Princess
The Dreamlands reflects all of humanity, once you may choose to fulfil her Virtue, if she has not done
leave the Queen’s domains this includes the bad so already twice this chapter. The Princess may
as much as the good. Whenever the Dreamlands regain all her Willpower; or, the Princess gains 1
reflects a bad part of Earth; be it a reflection Luminous Experience.
of a city that includes a reflection of the crime But there is a danger, the longer the Princess
ridden ghetto, or a reflection of a historical period spends in the Light the harder it is to return to
including long past atrocities. Visitors can find the grubby shadowy mortal world where her duties

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lie. The Princess’ Sensitivity dice pool increases the eye. It appears differently to every traveller
by 1 die if she regained Willpower, and by 3 dice but always gives the impression of being some form
if she gained a Luminous Experience. After a of stability in contrast to the wild unkowable places
number of days equal to her increase in Sensitivity outside the Dreamlands. While a city-dweller
the Princess’ Sensitivity returns to normal. If the might see a mighty concrete tower run through
Princess touches the Light again before this time with pipes, wires and air-conditioning outlets a
not only does the timer reset, it stacks with any Princess from a remote desert dwelling tribe might
further benefit she may gain. see The Foundation as the edge of a lush oasis
abruptly shifting into endless desert sands. Past
The Foundation is a place usually called Beyond,

Places of Note or Outside. Beyond is a mystery to the Nobility.

Like The Foundation Beyond appears differently
to every viewer but it always has a feeling of
vastness; of infinite wonder and potential. Yet
The Foundation Beyond also feels of danger, not hostility or anger
but the impersonal danger of a storm wrecked sea
The Foundation is a mystery. As far as can be or the harsh desert sand. Looking Outside is a very
discerned the entire Dreamlands is built upon it’s personal experience as awe, fear, wonder and desire
surface. As one approaches the borders of the flow through the Princess. Each will discover for
Dreamlands the Foundation becomes exposed to herself which emotion dominates.

Some Examples
To give you some examples of what The Foundation and Beyond might look like here is how each
Queen perceives it.
The Queen of Clubs sees The Foundation as the edge of a simple grassy clearing surrounded
by enormous forests that comprise Outside. The forests are so dense and thick she cannot see
more than a finger’s length Beyond the Dreamlands. The Queen of Clubs is neither awed nor
scared of Beyond. She simply accepts that it is something greater than herself, and so makes
peace with it.
The Queen of Diamonds sees The Foundation as the beaches of her youth. Beyond lies a calm
sea at night time. A perfect velvet black that mirrors the enormous stars and planets in the sky
Outside the Dreamlands until you cannot tell where the sea ends and the sky beings.
The Queen of Hearts sees The Foundation as a marble tower. It is carved with a relief of
people climbing to to the top over one another in a mass of humanity. They show nobility with
the strong helping the weak, the old and the infirm. As they crest the top of The Foundation the
carved faces show expressions of dignified triumph over adversity. Beyond The Foundation lies
nothing more than simple barren rocky hills. The Queen claims she can sometimes see movement
down there, and that it makes her feel uncertain like nothing else.
The Queen of Spades sees The Foundation as the undercarrage of an enormous airship holding
the entire dreamlands aloft. With a practised eye she judges and concludes that all is ship-shape
and airworthy. To this Queen Beyond looks like a vast plain of clouds drifting far bellow, if there
is a ground further below she has not seen it.

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 To The Queen of Swords The Foundation looks much like her homeland. The crest of an
enormous pyramid; Beyond which lies vast rainforests. The Queen claims to have spotted signs
of ruins and signs of inhabitation.

No matter the appearance of the Foundation, it They build their homes between or around the
is always adorned with strange writing in every trees – natural clearings are rare and reserved for
imaginable language, linguistic subdivision and important buildings like village halls or temples –
even every imaginable appearance: From typed and farm strange plants; as productive as wheat
to archaic and cursive. Princesses can read the yet growing up the side of trees like ivy. The
Foundation, or at least the parts in the languages villages are simple, designed to be easily built for
they know, but they can learn nothing from it. Like the people are occasionally nomadic. If the rains
a million voices talking at once the Foundation is fail to come or disease beings to spread they’ll
just too much to understand. It’s unknown if there build again elsewhere. Only important buildings
even is something too be understood. Sometimes such as temples are stone, and even these can be
strange mists are released from the Foundation, abandoned, left to wait patiently until they are
a Princess who inhales them can comprehend any needed once again.
language created by humans (including the Royal Most of the population is employed in agriculture
Tongue and Alhambran) until she next leaves the or forestry. Individual communities are usually
Dreamlands. If she dedicates the nights sleep to entirely self sufficient. Though most residents
memorisation and spends the exp she may retain a posses only a basic education the citizens have
language permanently. impressive practical intelligences and a versatile
array of skills useful to their daily lives. While
they don’t show any animalistic behaviours, they
The Lighthouse do occasionally show animalistic skills: After being
asked for directions, a young farmer sniffs the air
The five Queens have been curious about the before pointing with confidence. An old woman
Foundation and Outside ever since they were first clicks her tongue as she walks, only by looking
noticed shortly after the Release. The Lighthouse closely does one realise it’s because she’s as blind as
is a small Danann outpost built in a retro rough a bat. It would appear that as much as the forest
stone style that pre-dates the Queen of Diamonds itself has become slightly tame, the people have
Coronation. Within is accommodation for a few taken just a slight touch of the wild into themselves.
scholars and some scientific equipment. It also has Wen-Mung exports food and timber and rarely
some mild fortifications; looking Outside makes a imports anything. Centuries of a trade surplus have
lot of Stars nervous (Actors can’t see Outside at given the Queen of Clubs an enormous financial
all). The torch itself is usually only lit if the Queen reserve, though not nearly as large as it should
of Diamonds is present, not everyone sees Beyond be. During the winter months, when the forests
as permanently night time. and farms sleep, the Queen sponsors enormous,
pointless, public work projects to avoid too much
of the economy stagnating in the royal treasury.
The Forests of Wen-Mung, domain Often these projects start by tearing down last
year’s work. The other Kingdoms consider Wen-
of the Queen of Clubs Mung a perfect neighbour, it’s quiet, respectful and
exports at great prices.
Wen-Mung is the largest of the Queen’s Kingdoms,
and the most sparsely inhabited. Yet no matter
how far you are from the nearest settlement sings
of people are everywhere, colourful paper talismans
and wind chimes adorn every tree. Even the
animals show subtle signs of domestication: That
rabbit wears a little bow, there’s a deer with
decorated antlers, this wild horse has a braid in
her mane.
When the Princess finds the people they are a
hardy folk who live in harmony with the forest.

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 the physical sciences – gravitate towards her. A
Gales in the Queen’s Domains
vast academy of science, technology and academics
The five Queens hold their seats within
has formed around the royal palace (Technically
the Dreamlands in districts a fair distance
beneath, she lives in the penthouse).
outward, though not in the most volatile
Danann is an extroverted nation, the fisheries
lands; the Kingdoms are two days’ walking
and hydroponics cannot keep up with the
outward from the centre. Conveniently,
population and so the economy depends on foreign
trade. They export technology, technicians,
the Gales are not as dangerous within engineers and offer advanced education to citizens
the Kingdoms (or the Lighthouse) - the of other Kingdoms in return for food and raw
roll to resist them takes no penalty there. materials. Dannan has formed an odd friendship
The magical defences around the Queen’s with the Confederacy of the Four Winds, another
domains mean that everyone is treated as leisure filled Kingdom heavily built around foreign
though they were a Transformed Princess. trade; they do dislike admitting that their most
advanced aircraft cannot match the Confederacy’s
mastery of the winds.

The Danann Archipelago, domain of The City States of Andarta, domain

the Queen of Diamonds of the Queen of Hearts
The Danann Archipelago stretches for over a
hundred islands. Most are either densely populated Andarta is a land of flowing fields, peaceful rivers
or uninhabited with the populated islands growing and gentle hills. The people are equally divided
in the only direction they can: Up, in magnificent between urban and rural. No matter where you
towers of ivory and glass. Sleek hydrofoils and travel the architecture is ornate and beautiful.
flying wing aircraft surround the islands in a Even the smallest farming community is built of
never ending dance of motion. Danann has a solid stone with masterly carved decorated touches.
subarctic climate, the inhabitants consider central Following the paved roads or aqueducts to the cities
heating among the greatest miracles of technology. reveals unsurpassed architecture splendour, from
Cocooned in their artificial climate they prefer sleek marble clad defensive walls to streets so clean they
future-chic fashions. sparkle in the sunlight. The people too are fit
The people are a contented lot and welcoming looking and healthy who always manage to look
to outsiders, although they tend to posture sharply dressed and spotlessly clean, even when
about their intelligence and education in front coming home covered in mud from a hard days work
of foreigners. The observant visitor will quickly in the field.
notice that everyone is either engaged in their pet The Queen of Hearts loves everything in it’s
scientific or creative projects, or they are obviously proper place, and she has made her mark on
at leisure. The Queen of Diamonds had pretty her Kingdom. Andartan life is an organised
much every necessary job replaced by machines one. The government is feudal with cleanly
long ago freeing the population to focus on the defined hierarchies. The trades and professions are
sciences and the arts. Though not quite the post organised into guilds. Stability is both prized and
scarcity society promised by futurists it’s as close abundant, it leads to a sense of confidence. People
as most Princesses are likely to experience. know what’s expected of them, how to deliver it,
With an abundance of free time and ubiquitous and who will help them if they get a little over
communication technology the locals often form their heads.
social groups based on common interest. Be it Social roles in Andarta are well defined, but
pre industrial music, advanced mathematics or social mobility is high. A simple farmer would be
abstract philosophy. Even though most people expected to obey his superiors but she would also
belong to several such groups the largest or most have many opportunities to advance her position,
dedicated groups often develop residential clusters she could become a skilled artificer, a scholar or a
to be closer to their friends and any museums, self employed merchant; advancing her position and
concert halls, bulky equipment or social spaces earning new rights and responsibilities. Foreigners
they’ve appropriated or built. Though the Queen would quickly notice that while social climbing
does not officially take part in this system, the clearly does grant new rights Andaratns never use
topics she is most interested in – technology and the word, a noble doesn’t have the right to give

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orders, they have the responsibility to govern. This are interested word will spread. Everyone gets
is the direct influence of the Queen, she only ever together then they go home and decide if they
uses the word responsibilities, her subjects usually agreed with the consensus or if they plan to ignore
take the hint. it. Those who have the talent to get things done will
Andarta is the most introverted of the Kingdoms. lead the way and those who disagree, lacking that
While they are not quite xenophobic they are highly talent themselves, are unable to hold the kingdom
resistant to new ideas and find it uncomfortable in an argumentative paralysis. Reputation is
when foreigners don’t fit their expectations. They supremely important. The unofficially officially
possess the common courtesy to hide it of course, unofficially non-binding congresses which discuss
as a people Andartans are socially gifted, to anyone issues of national importance tend to meet wherever
not as talented as the locals at reading people the Queen’s palace has drifted to this month to take
Andartans come across as trying too hard to be advantage of her wisdom. Somehow, everything
welcoming. that needs to be done gets done in a timely manner.
Of all the Kingdoms, the Confederacy is the most
extroverted of them all. As masters of the winds
The Confederacy of the Four Winds, no kingdom can match their mobility, their love
of the foreign and exotic sends a steady stream
domain of the Queen of Spades of merchant airships beyond the five Kingdoms to
trade with the wider Dreamlands.
The Queen of Spades calls the Four Winds
her home, a vast snow-capped mountain range.
Actually four mountain ranges all smooshed The Aztallan Alliance, domain of the
together to the amusement of geologists. The
population is predominantly urban and take great
care on the placement of their cities, seeking out
Queen of Swords
sun-facing river valleys with warm prevailing winds. Aztallan is a land of lush rainforests, ever-blue
Transportation is handled almost entirely by a wide skys and above all an enormous golden sun. The
variety of airships, balloons and gliders, from a very rainforest is hot, humid and teeming with life.
young age the inhabitants learn to pilot enormous They are also very dangerous to the unprepared
kites. For a few specialized tasks the local species of traveller and unsuited for any population beyond
giant mountain spiders are domesticated, they are small tribal societies. The Aztallani have overcome
favoured for their prodigal strength and peerless these limitations in their usual direct manner,
climbing abilities. by constructing enormous stepped pyramids and
The kingdom is a mercantile one, trade is the dwelling high above the rainforest. Houses,
backbone of the economy. The Confederacy also commerce and even farming all take place atop
has a large amount of artisans and craftsmen who massive artificial plateaus. Aqueducts and bridges
specialize in delicate hand crafted arts and crafts, stretch for miles above the rainforest.
for the Confederation lacks the raw resources to The people are a rugged independent sort, but
compete in bulk manufacturing. The Confederates loyal unto death to those who’ve won their trust.
take delight in foreign trade and the exotic wonders Self sufficiency is still a respected way of life and
it brings to their homes. Enormous bazaars the more formal economy is dominated by small
wind through the city streets. Stalls carry all businesses and independent artisans who provide
manner of exotic goods and services from the five services to the local community. The cities often
Kingdoms and the wider Dreamlands. The people look less like a zoned metropolis than a large
are colourful and passionate. Any customer is a collection of individual towns and villages that
beloved friend. Haggling is a social requirement grew into each other, usually because that’s exactly
filled with blistering insults against the quality of what they are. Government is distributed and
the goods and blatantly nonsense stories about decentralised with local government at the level of
starving kids to feed. As soon has money is town or city district being the most relevant to the
exchanged everyone is once again true friends. average citizen’s life.
The Confederacy is an anarchy, organized on The larger organisations and the government are
an ad-hoc basis by it’s residents. Admittedly best described as a meritocracy with posts decided
the organization is somewhat haphazard and purely by a person’s skills. It is considered a sign
ramshackle. Along with the weekly general of untrustworthiness if people know the identity of
assemblies, anyone simply tells friends and a candidate they might hire, it is suspected that
strangers they are hosting a meeting and if people they will choose their friends or family and to be

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fair with the Aztallani ideals of personal loyalty it’s beloved emperor. A Dreamlands reflection
they probably would. “Not even for the Queen’s of the government of San Francisco; with the
consort” is a common way of declaring integrity, personality of Emperor Norton and the fashion
you can guess how the term originated. Since they sense of Napoleon Bonaparte.
often work alone or in small groups many Aztallanis
have a wide verity of skills, this attitude is carried
on to the larger organisations. It is not uncommon
to see one person with two or more vastly different Note for those who have read
jobs.
As a society Aztallan shows the same self
sufficiency and independence that it’s people do.
Astral Realms
While welcoming to outsiders the kingdom usually
The Dreamlands are similar to what the Atlantian
waits for foreigners to come to it. One noticeable
Mages call the Astral Realms. How would a
exception is adventurers: bright young Aztallani
Princess perceive the Astral, and how would a
often undertake a mission to develop or prove
Mage perceive the Dreamlands? In many ways
their merits. All forms of merit are valued but
the question is purely academic. Only in the most
adventurers dominate the international perception
bizarre and unlikely circumstances could a Mage
of Aztallan as they are the largest group to wander
enter the Dreamlands or a Princess arrive within
beyond their homeland.
the Astral.
But for the sake of academic curiosity let us
pluck a Princess of Diamonds and a Mage of the
Saint Frances' City Mysterium from their lives and give each a copy
of Princess: the Hopeful and Astral Realms to
In the middle of a wide field beneath an eternally
read. Over the course of much debating they
sunny blue sky, cooled by gentle breezes travellers
would touch upon several ideas: They might say
may catch sight of Saint Francis. The saint is
the two realms are one and the same, seen from
dressed in the humble brown robes of a monk
different points of view. Perhaps they are different
and sits unmoving on a simple wooden chair, at
manifestations of the same phenomena. They may
a simple wooden desk, endlessly copying “Bibles
question the possibility that both the Dreamlands
” that actually contain a rough mixture of political
and the Astral Realms are like metaphysical “web-
speeches, travel guides and local news. All from
browsers”; they are mostly separate but one may
San Francisco of course. Saint Francis is also three
see the effects of the other by observing the changes
hundred foot tall.
in the “website” they connect too. Perhaps one
As he writes Saint Frances supports an enormous
might propose that the two realms are simply
bright red kite tied to his right shoulder by a tail
unrelated. The possibility to test this theory is sure
that looks like someone took several golden gate
to delight both. What would happen if the Princess
bridges and wrapped them around each other like
stood patiently in St Frances’ City while the Mage
the threads in a length of twine. To this enormous
used an ancient Atlantian artefact, The Scythe, to
kite several more kites are anchored, and to those
destroy the Tenemos realm of San Francisco. When
even more. On and on in an enormous widening
the Princess sees the destruction St Frances’ City
cone of many coloured kites. All interconnected by
followed by it’s restoration when the Gales next
a labyrinthine network of bridges, cable cars and
blow through they would be forced to conclude that
even subway tunnels hanging from the undersides.
there is some overlap. At this point they would
This is Saint Frances’ city, an enormous
begin debating which of the earlier theories were
metropolis built onto the backs of thousands of
true, but after much thought they would be unable
kites. In many ways it is an exaggeration of the
to determine if the theories are even meaningfully
perception of San Francisco. In other ways it’s
different.
as nuanced as the original but places the popular
And what would our scholars think of their
perception front and centre so it cannot help but
opposites realm? The Princess would look at the
colour a visitor’s impressions. In the more tourist
layers of the Astral with bafflement, and a little
and commercial areas it seems every other building
distaste. How can the Oneiros and the Tenemos be
is a coffee shop where locals debate politics and
separate? The concept of an individual human is
recite amateur poetry or music. There is normally
meaningless outside the context of humanity, and
at least one parade every day.
how can you have humanity without the individual
Atop the very highest kite is the imperial
humans that comprise it? While any follower of
palace, where Saint Frances’ City is ruled by

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the Court of Diamonds would have little trouble be made. Some deductions are clear; like the
understanding the concept of travelling through Foundation and the Omphalos being the same.
word or symbolic associations she would be baffled It will not take long for the Mystagogue to broadly
as to why the Astral runs on such principles. From conclude that the Dreamlands are a very peculiar
a Princess’ point of view they’re far too small a hybrid of the parts of the Astral that they call
part of human existence to underpin humanities the Tenemos and the Dreamtime, constructed
collective unconscious. She might conclude that the from sealed representations of millions of Oneiros.
Astral was built by something inhuman trying to Trying to go past the low hanging fruit leads only to
understand humanity, and muse what this implies confusion. Inhabitants of The Kingdom are present
about the Mage. This can only end in a heated in the Dreamlands but there is no trace of them
argument. in the Tenemos. Not even of the vast territories
Wishing to map the unknowable The governed by the Queens. Attempting to find a
Mystagogue would focus on the structure of the relationship between the association-connections
Dreamlands. That part looks like the equivalent of the Tenemos and the physical distances in the
of this Tenemos realm. This section looks like Dreamlands gets nowhere. As the Mage works
an Oneiros. But how does it all fit together? he might mutter words like “Less True” or “only
While the two realms don’t always map to each Fallen”. This can only end in a heated argument.
other this does not mean that progress cannot

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 Appendix B: Embassies
If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see
things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.
– Henry Ford

Embassies are the “Z-Splat” of Princesses, pool of 5 or more while transformed. A Secretary
representing a cause or concept that the Princess typically gains three powers:
takes responsibility for, by incorporating it into her
• A personal power related to the Embassy’s
very nature.
domain, that the Secretary can use at any
In the days of the Kingdom Embassies were
time, even in mundane form;
actual organisations. They offered training to their
recruits and had elaborate long term plans. Some • A change in her transformed state, or access to
were Embassies to specific concept with a broader a new transformation, that permits interaction
goal to improve that concept. Some Embassies with the Embassy’s domain;
were actual Embassies, a kingdom’s representative
• The ability to spend Wisps to give other
in foreign lands. They wielded magic half way
people a part of the Secretary’s freedom in the
between the Kingdom’s and their contemporaries
Embassy’s domain.
and this provided common ground for diplomacy.
At least, that’s what the Princesses remember Reaching Inner Light 4, and 7 in the Embassy’s
in their fleeting dreams of the Kingdoms. No one dice pool, qualifies a Secretary to advance to the
knows if that’s what Embassies actually did, but it rank of Consul. This usually grants two powers:
could have been. Today’s Embassies might not be • A new, greater personal power related to the
the grand and organised diplomatic missions of the Embassy’s domain, or a further change in the
Kingdom in it’s prime but they are still a way for transformed state;
a Princess to meet another half way.
• An extension of the freedom the Consul could
extend to others as a Secretary, or a second

Designing Embassies such freedom.

Finally, a Consul with Inner Light 6, and 9
in the Embassy’s dice pool, rises to the rank
Embassies are essentially efforts to humanize or of Ambassador. Becoming a full Ambassador
redeem a concept, or at least make it less hostile invariably reshapes a Princess’ magic in a
to humanity. Some of them permit easy access significant way – a great change in her transformed
to other realms, as with Death, Ephemera and state, the power to command the Embassy’s
Ocean; others make it easy to deal with unusual domain, and a beneficial alteration to her Charms
creatures as peers, as with Arcane and Ephemera. are all possible. However this is a fundamental
Some focus mostly on parts of the mortal world, change to her magic and always comes with some
like Machine and Economy. Then there are sort of Drawback. Unless specified otherwise the
Embassies like Fortune, that open relations with Drawback is always active, even in a Princess’
a preternatural power ... mundane form.
When a Princess first joins an Embassy, she A Princess joins an Embassy by accepting
becomes a Secretary. She must have an Inner Light a fragment of its domain into her magic.
of 2, and usually must also have a specific dice Every Embassy, therefore, marks its members’

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transformations in some way. For most Embassies, hurt people. Others complain that magic is too
as already noted, the marks are linked to one of exclusive, most of the best powers are locked away
the powers the Embassy gives; but even when until you’re chosen or sell your soul to the devil;
a link is absent, the Princess’ transformed state metaphorically or sometimes literally. And yet it
will always reveal her status. When designing has such potential. Many Sparkles are enamoured
an Embassy, note how the transformations of a with the way (some) magic comes from within
Secretary, Consul and Ambassador alter to reflect people and see it as morally superior to the way
their offices and privileges. An Embassy also technology invests power into expensive machines.
marks its members’ psyches, which are expressed in Others are drawn to the raw power of magic,
new habits, attitudes and tastes; attraction to the especially in the areas where it still has a lead on
Embassy’s domain, or a resemblance to examples technology. Regardless of their motivation, making
of it, are typical. the right sort of magic easily available to the
masses is a common focus for this Embassy. The
irony that they themselves have powerful magic

Embassy to the Arcane that cannot be shared with the masses is not lost
upon the Spooks, but finding some way to bestow
Blossomings upon everyone is usually considered a
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, because fools errand. As far as anyone can tell not even the
they are subtle and quick to anger ... Of course, Kingdom at the height of it’s power managed such
I’m very, very good at not being caught. a feat.
Most of the day to day duties of the Embassy
Alternative Titles: The Sorcerer’s Embassy, the revolve around talking to magic users or watching
Order of the Witch-Finders them from a distance to learn about their magic.
Like Princesses, magic users are regular humans
Informal Name: Spooks, Sparkles, Witches (not who can touch forces others cannot so the socially
by the Embassy themselves; they consider Witch gifted Hopeful can often find common ground,
a technical term for a specific kind of magic user, but it doesn’t pay to be careless. While many,
though they rarely agree which name should be perhaps the majority, magic users are not capable
used for each kind of magic.) of anything more than cantrips some magic users
are more powerful (or at least more dangerous)
The power of the Light, with its Charms and its than an experienced Princess and far too often
Transformations, and the corrupting power of the magic requires or causes madness or malice in
Darkness which degrades all that it touches, are not it’s practitioners; so all in all a Princess should
the only unseen forces on the Earth. The arcane be careful about who she gets close to. Yet for
and the sorcerous are all around you, if only you some Sparkles this is what brought them to the
know where, and, perhaps more importantly, how Embassy. Not all members have some grand design
to look. A middle-aged housewife carries out small for changing magic, some just want to help mages
rituals on her kitchen table, her manipulations of recover from their own powers.
luck allowing her children to get scholarships for
the fancy private school down the street. A coven
meets out in the woods round the back of town,
and when they do so, pets from all around the place
Marks and Requirements
go missing. In an obscure civil service department The ambassadors to the Arcane might not actually
magicians archive binding treaties between the be witches, but they sure do look like them.
ancient druids and nature, the government pays The Embassy wears a lot of black and pointy
them to prevent the penalty clauses from coming to hats are hardly unknown, others sparkles favour
pass. And in the high-rise skyscraper in the middle purples or greens. Unsurprisingly regalia often
of town, rich, intelligent and prosperous men and resembles magical amulets and similar trinkets:
women meet, and have a pleasant dinner together. Silver jewellery in “ occult” styles like pentagrams
Over coffee, they discuss the will of the immortal, are common, with natural motifs or Celtic imagery
once-human sorcerer-kings who they claim rule the being a joint second, but Sparkles can adorn
world, and, through dreams and portents, make themselves with Heraldry and Regalia from any
their will known to their servants upon the Earth. magical tradition. To join the Embassy requires at
Yes, magic is indeed everywhere. least some study of Occult lore and so any mystic
But it isn’t right, many Princesses say. Some runes included in Regalia is usually accurate. This
say it is far too easily used for control or to can give away more than the Princess would like

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– but then as an expression of her idealised self, and roll Intelligence + Occult: A success reveals if
Regalia typically does that. the target is a magic user. For each further success
As an Embassy dedicated to study of the the Princess may ask one of the following questions:
Arcane; the required Attribute for the Embassy is
Intelligence, and the required Skill is Occult. • What kind of magic is involved? The
Storyteller should answer in broad terms such
as “This magic requires the practitioner to
suffer in exchange for power”.
• Have I seen this kind of magic before?
The Storyteller should say if the Princess
Ritual Magic has seen the same tradition (E.G. Theban
Sorcery, Crúac, an Awakened Mage Legacy,
When the Embassy’s Privileges refer to a Thaumaturge Tradition, a Hunter
ritual magic, read it as any supernatural Endowment, ect) and if they have where they
power that requires an Extended Action last saw it.
and some form of physical ritual. Drawing
• What are the emotions behind this style
chalk circles, chanting, stirring a cauldron
of magic? If the magic involves more
full of eye-of-newt would all qualify.
than one person (including sacrificial victims,
The supernatural power must also be
paying clients, or summoned beings) pick the
magic, usually it’s safe to assume that
strongest emotion.
a supernatural phenomena is magic but
psychic powers, mad science, and divine • How competent is this practitioner?
intervention (excluding gods of magic such
as Isis) are notable exceptions. If the magic is intentionally obscured the
storyteller should assign a penalty or allow the roll
to be Contested. If the obfuscation is supernatural
a Clash of Wills ensues. A Princess can’t notice a
witch’s unusually accurate occult jewellery if she
Secretary Privileges leaves it all at home, so the witch should get a
roll to make sure she’s hidden all the signs. It is
Maiden's Intuition important to note that this Privilege is designed to
compete with mortal level or Princess level magic
The Sectary intuitively understands the strange users. A Secretary to the Arcane is not going to
and unpredictable logic of magic. In both her uncover any startling revelations about the Queen
transformed and mundane identities she applies of Mirror’s true nature just by watching a Brat
half her Inner Light (round up) to all Occult rolls perform a Charm. Whatever reason the Queen had
except those used to activate a Charm or other for telling people that Specchio was the magic of
supernatural power. the True Heir, when a Witch studies the symbols
of a Brat everything she can see only confirms the
Queen’s word.
Witchsight
With the right Charm any Princess can see
the presence of a supernatural being but most
Hectae's Daughter
magicians are not inherently supernatural. They While transformed the Princess may spend a Wisp
are ordinary people who have learned to wield the Princess may grant the benefits of Maiden’s
hidden powers though study and dedication. Intuition to another for one scene. The beneficiary
A Sectary to the arcane can learn to spot the may hold onto their intuition and activate it at a
signs: Symbolic adornments, peculiar wounds or later scene, but the benefits vanish at the stroke of
odd habitats that hint of magic’s presence. Just midnight.
about anyone might wear a crucifix but the ones
still carrying traces of the rare incenses used by
the Catholic Church’s secret order of witch-finders
shine like a beacon to the Sectary’s eyes. At any
time, but no more than once per session for any
single character, the Princess may examine a person

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Consul Privileges is also immediately obvious to any competent
magician observing the Princess’ ritual what she
is attempting to do.
Omen Eyes The other thing the Princess can do is change
who or where a spell is targeting. Normally
The Princess’ Witchsight expands. She may now this will cause a magician to stop the ritual
examine things as well as people. The first success immediately, but if he’s targeting the Princess
tells her if the target is either magical or a direct through sympathetic magic there’s a good chance
result of magic, for example a car crash caused by he won’t be able to see the Princess’ counter ritual.
a curse of ill fortune. Further successes allow her to This does require that the spell takes long enough
ask the same extra questions as Witchsight to learn for the Princess to retaliate with a ritual of her
more about the people and principles behind the own, but any Ambassador to the Arcane worth her
magic; as though she was looking at the practitioner salt will protect herself with wards (like the Charm
with her Witchsight. Safety in Mortality) and do so well enough that a
If the Princess can sense magic directly (such lengthy ritual will be required to break though.
as with the Charm A Magical Girl’s Eyes) then To hijack a spell the Princess rolls as a secondary
she may examine an active enchantment created by actor like before and allocates her successes to
ritual magic to learn about the person who created changing the target, if she allocates more success
the spell. This functions identically to targeting than the primary actor’s total successes she may
the magician directly with Witchsight (Normally choose any appropriate target she likes. If the ritual
A Magical Girl’s Eyes can only tell you about the uses either Intimacy or Sympathy as a modifier
spell itself). (similar systems may apply at the Storyteller’s
discussion) the Princess may redirect it across an
Intimacy link; she applies her Intimacy penalty as
Mother's Guidance normal unless she’s redirecting the ritual to it’s
source. In that case apply the lower of Intimacy
The Princess may grant her eyes to another. By and whatever Intimacy or Sympathy penalty the
spending a Wisp while transformed she may give magician is under.
her target the benefits of Witchsight for one scene.
The recipient may choose to hold onto Witchsight
and activate it during a later scene, they may hold
onto Witchsight until the stroke of Midnight and
not a moment longer.
Embassy to Childhood
If the Consul also spends a point of Willpower I assure you, my credentials and references are
the recipient also gets the benefits of Omen Eyes. practically perfect in every way.

Alternative Titles: Governesses

Ambassador Privilege: Crone's
Informal Names: Mary/Maries, Julia/Julias,
Wisdom Roger/Rogers, any title used to refer to
childminders or babysitters.
At the apex of understanding the Princess can not
merely participate in magical rituals (even the ones The Nobility wish to build a future, but children
usually incompatible with an Enlightened soul) she are that future. The Embassy to Childhood know
may also use her own natural magic to empower this better than most, whether they work with one
them. When the Princess acts as a secondary child at a time or entire classrooms they invest
actor for a ritual she may spend 1 Wisp for every their time into humanities youngest. Equal parts
fuel point (including willpower points) spent by the compassionate and critical, the Embassy expects
primary actor, if she does so then she may apply her great things from future generations and will give
Successes to any spell factor other than potency, or them all the tools they need to achieve that
as a +1 to the primary actor’s roll like normal; at greatness.
most the Princess can contribute half the primary Mostly they do it because they really love
actor’s total Successes directly into Spell factors. working with kids.
The Princess has full control on which spell
factors she affects but she may discuss it
with the other participants before hand, it

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Marks and Requirements Secretary Privileges
Princess who join the Embassy to Childhood are
without fail enamoured with children. Their Supernanny
maternal or paternal instincts form a powerful
The simplest power of the Embassy is to get along
bedrock to their magic. Most members of the
with children. In either form the Princess applies
Embassy are at least in their late twenties, a
the 8-again rule to any social roll targeting a child
demographic rarity among the Hopeful, and it’s
gains and her impressions are always one level
expected that rather small Embassy will grow once
better than they would normally be, to a maximum
the current generation begin to start their own
of perfect. This does not apply to activating
families.
Charms other supernatural abilities.
Graces and Troubadours are the most common,
In addition, if the Princess has any Dreams that
children have unlimited potential for a Grace to
centre around helping a child - and as a member of
nurture and they make enthusiastic audiences and
this Embassy she is sure to do so - if she gains
honest critics for a Troubadours art. Seekers and
a Luminous Beat in the presence of that child
Menders are rarer and usually specialise in child-
they also gain a Taught Beat. As always five
focused subsets of their Calling. Champions are
Taught Beats is equal to one Taught Experience,
the rarest and only found in more dangerous parts
but Taught Experience cannot be spent without
of the world. The most common Queens are Hearts
the help of the Embassy’s later Privileges. If the
and Clubs who both have strong communal values
child Blossoms any Taught Beats or Experience
they wish to pass to the next generation. The
they have convert into their Luminous equivalent.
carefree and irresponsible values of Spades make
(This is less unlikely than it sounds, since many
members rare.
Governess’ choose their students by following a
Governesses tend to one of two extremes, their
White Rabbit to the child.)
transformed selves and regalia either adopt the
youth and energy of children or the dignity and
authority of adulthood. Exceptions are rare. The
required Attribute is Composure and the Skill is
Maternal Instinct
Empathy. The Embassy to Childhood is not a combative
embassy. Even in the worst war-torn parts of the
world their powers and attitudes are best suited to
keeping the children as happy as possible while the
Champions and more political Graces try and deal
with the bigger issue. Yet if the situation leaves
Childhood them the responsibility of protecting a child from
harm they will not be found lacking.
The definition of childhood used by this Whenever a child is in significant danger the
Embassy is intentionally kept vague. It Princess may spend a wisp to turn any roll intended
depends upon emotional, mental and to protect the child into a rote action, as a rule
physical maturity; as a guideline most of thumb physical harm should be at least Lethal
children no longer fall under the Embassy’s damage and psychological damage should be worth
purview around early to mid puberty. a Breaking Point, less immediate dangers such as
Anything with a Calling or a similar slow acting poisons or kidnapping also qualify of
unchangeable trait is automatically outside course.
the Embassy’s purview (no matter how The purpose of this privilege is to protect
much some Maries want to teach Brats children, not kill Darkspawn. Sometimes killing
maturity), whether this is because they have the Darkspawn is the best way to protect a child
already found their “path in life” or because but in a serious firefight it is permitted to ask why
all such traits come with an innate magic the Secretary is attacking monsters rather than
resistance is a matter of some debate. shepherding the children away from the action.
Intentionally exposing a child to danger to unlock
this privilege is naturally a Belief compromise.

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 Taught Experience spent through this privilege
Setting an Example may only be spent on Integrity or Mentor. The
The Embassy isn’t supposed to go around mentor Merit manifests as the man thinking back
upstaging a child’s regular parents and teachers on what he learned in childhood. In extreme
so they can get all the love and adoration for situations he may even meet his memory of his
themselves, for one thing it would break the governess in a dream. The maximum dots in
parent’s hearts. They are supposed to lead mentor depend on the Governess’ competence, but
by example and help the child-rearers who need a Princess with Inner Light 5 is probably worth five
support. To this end they can spend one wisp to dots.
grant an adult the benefits of supernanny on all
social rolls with children for a day.
The Princess can reflexively revoke this blessing Ambassador Privilege: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
if she believes it is being misused.
The final Privilege of the Governesses may be
the most powerful, or perhaps just the most
Consul Privileges unexpected, ability known to the Radiant. With a
touch they can take a dot of their own Inner Light
and put it inside a child.
Nanny we need you! Children given this blessing benefit from the full
Princess template except that they retain Integrity
The Consul can teach children a magic phrase, instead of Belief. When a Princess’ magic varies
preferably something they won’t say by accident. with Belief treat the child’s as 5. The child does
If a child she has personally taught the phrase says not have a Calling, they’re too young to have
the magic words then the Princess will immediately chosen their path in life, nor do they start with
get a vision of the child at that exact second, Charms, Transformed dots, Invocations, allegiance
which shows the context behind why they said the to a Queen or membership of an embassy.
magic words. If the Princess thinks it’s important While they hold their Governess’ Inner Light the
she can spend one Wisp and one Willpower to children can earn Luminous Beats like a Princess,
instantly teleport to the child’s side; if she prefers but any such beats are automatically converted into
to be less blatantly magical she can instead teleport Taught Beats at a 1:1 ratio.
somewhere nearby like outside the front door. When recovering Wisps they may use any
The Princess cannot teleport without being in her Calling’s duties but only gain half the Wisps (round
Transformed identity, but she can receive the vision down) but they gain the full benefits of their
in her mundane identity and then Transform before Circle. They can’t buy Charms, Inner Light,
teleporting. or Transformed Dots and they cannot join an
Drawback: Every time the magic phrase is Embassy, though they can be granted Charms
invoked the Princess gains a very distracting vision and Invocations by their Governess, granting
for one turn. Normally this is no issue but if she Invocations does require the child to follow the
can’t wait a few seconds any action that turn takes philosophies. The ban functions as normal.
a -3 penalty. The child retains their granted powers until
the Governess chooses to revoke it, they reach
adulthood, or they Blossom of their own accord.
The Winds Change This also severs any connection to a Queen. Any
The bittersweet truth of the Embassy is that every Shadows remain, they have no mechanical effect
child they mentor will eventually outgrow them. but should be roleplayed until they’re removed for
This privilege reminds Julia that even if they part good.
ways, the time she invested in a child will always Drawback: Giving a child part of your Inner
remain inside the adult he becomes. This privilege Light is not metaphorical. Any dots of Inner Light
may be invoked shortly before or after a child given to a child are removed from your sheet, until
becomes an adult; and it always marks the last you take them back. The same goes for Charms, if
time the Embassies’ Privileges will treat a person you give one of your Charms to a child you cannot
as a child. To do so the Consul gives some parting use it or loan it to any other child until after you’ve
advice and spends three Wisps. When she does taken it back. The Ambassador cannot benefit any
so the child can spend any Taught Experience (and traits that she no longer has the Inner Light for,
supplement it with regular Experience if he desires) with the exception of her Privileges which always
he gained from being mentored by a Governess. remain available.

350
 While there’s no end of educational outings you The Regalia of the Reapers often bears the
can enjoy if you’ve given someone the right Charm, trappings of death. Many dress in colors associated
and sometimes it’s necessary to give power and with death such as dark grey or black in the west,
guidance to people you trust, no matter how young, or white in the east. Many take on a mythical
in an emergency. Recruiting young children as symbolism. Some appear as kindly reapers in
your minions for your own benefit will damage your long black robes, others resemble compassionate
Belief and your connection to the Embassy. angels of death with grey-feathered wings. (Despite
his inhuman nature, the kind, solemn manner of
DEATH from Discworld is a good example of how

Embassy to Death a Reaper might act.)

Death is an end. But it is not the end. Secretary Privileges

Nickname: Reapers
Still Masque
Long ago, the nature of death was different. Before
Few things ever seem to faze one who entreats
the Fall, death was merely another step on a greater
beyond the mortal coil. In situations where she
journey. The grief of losing a loved one was
is being directly threatened with violence or death,
leavened with the knowledge that they were in a
or in any scene where a mortal dies, the Secretary
good hands, safe hands. And when death took you
gains the Blessing Condition, giving her a dot of
suddenly, you could always linger for a little while
Composure. This only happens once per scene. It
to say goodbye. This is no longer the case. Death
counts as a normal dot for dice pools, resistance,
is common, sudden, and often painful. Death’s
and all derived attributes, including initiative and
old air of solemn, bittersweet tranquility has been
maximum Willpower, though she does not gain a
replaced with bereaved grief and fury at an unjust
point of Willpower in these circumstances.
or senseless death. Ghosthood, once a way for the
Further, she can draw strength from facing her
departed to set their affairs and say goodbye, has
own demise; if she takes at least 3 points of lethal
become a torturous trap for wounded souls.
damage in a single attack, she counts as having
The Reapers try to ease the transition from
fulfilled her Vice. If she begins to bleed out from
life to death. Ambassadors to Death and the
lethal damage, she counts as having fulfilled her
dead, they comfort both the dying and those who
Virtue. Note that the usual rules for how frequently
survive them. They both honor the souls of the
Vices and Virtues can be fulfilled still apply.
departed and appease the ghosts that linger. When
Death is wrongfully called down, denied, or shunted
onto another, the Reapers approach to reconcile
the imbalance. All Reapers hope that one day,
Envoy to the Departed
humanity looks upon death not in fear or desperate While transformed, a Secretary can see and speak
denial, but with peaceful, solemn acceptance. with ghosts (even if they don’t share a language) in
Twilight, and interact with them as if they were
solid. She can also see, touch and manipulate
Marks and Requirements inanimate objects in Twilight providing that a
Ghost could do so. This power also allows a
Reapers have a connection to death. Many of them Secretary to spot the presence of death around an
have felt the pain of losing a friend or loved one, and area or a person, and gives her an Unseen Sense
even those who haven’t lost anyone personally have (Death Magic).
suffered vicariously through the loss of a patient.
They often seem old or unusually mature for their
age. Reapers tend to be calm and tranquil types, Clothing the Dead
often comforting others with a soft, quiet kindness.
However, some are energetic and rambunctious, Once per scene, the Secretary can spill ectoplasm
living life to the fullest while the Kindly Boatman out of her nose and mouth. Ectoplasm is a white,
waits in the background. Either way, the key some-what sticky film in which ghosts can manifest
Attribute for the Reapers is Resolve, and the key easily, and it can be shaped into a glossy surface
Skill is Empathy. that reflects images of nearby ghosts in Twilight
that anyone can see. She spends 1 Wisp and

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rolls Empathy + Inner Light. With 1 success she bind or summon them. She can also be abjured
produces enough ectoplasm to form 1 handheld or exorcised as ghosts are; abjuration forces her
mirror; 5 successes is enough for a full-length to avoid the abjurer or materialize, and exorcism
mirror. Coating an object or structure in ectoplasm
forces her to materialize, and remain materialized
gives it the Open Condition for all ghosts [CofD for at least 24 hours.
134]. The ectoplasm and the Open Condition last Note that, as the ability is reflexive, it may
for 1 scene. potentially be activated multiple times in a single
turn, permitting the character to “phase in”,
attack, and return to Twilight, without giving an
Consul Privileges enemy a chance to attack.
Drawback: This drains the solidity and vitality
of the Ambassador in a less concrete sense. Each
Avernian Key time the ability is used, whether to enter or leave
Twilight, the Ambassador suffers a cumulative -
The Consul’s bond with death allows her to walk
1 to all physical and social actions for the rest
into the Underworld freely. She can open an
of the scene. Moreover, Twilight is often not a
Avernian Gate; she need only touch the Gate and
happy place; some might say that being solid to the
spend 2 wisps. The Gate remains open for minutes
denizens of that state of existence is flaw enough in
equal to her Belief, and anyone may pass through
its own right.
it ... in either direction.

Euthanasia Embassy to the Dreamlands

Pain is felt only by the living. By touching
the target and spending 1 wisp, a Consul can We live two lives, in two worlds. Each is missing
bring down a tiny touch of death onto herself or something we dearly need. Our task is to bring
another, enough to utterly wipe away all pain for them together, to build something new, something
a scene. While this power is often used to soothe whole and complete.
the suffering of the dying, it is just as often used
to allow an alley or oneself to ignore the pain of Alternative Name: The Lords and Ladies of
grievous wounds. Give the Pain Immunity Tilt. Sleep

Informal Names: Daydreamers, Somninaughts,

Ambassador Privilege: Flesh without Terriers, The Resistance (defunct), Heralds of the
Rooster (defunct).
Substance For centuries the Dreamlands has kept the souls of
An Ambassador to Death may throw off the bounds the Kingdom imprisoned, but not all souls touched
of solidity that hold her body in the world of by the Light were from the Kingdom. A rare
flesh, and walk, as immaterial as a shadow, in the few souls Blossomed without any help from a past
grey world that exists just beyond the visible. As life during the Long Night. Most were alone and
a reflexive action, the Ambassador may spend 2 without guidance but a some found a tradition left
wisps, or 1 lethal damage (the damage manifests in to them by their forebears: The Embassy to the
a form appropriate to her Threshold, if Geist: the Dreamlands. It was passed down the generations
Sin-Eaters is being used), and enter the state of through books Charmed to find their way into the
Twilight. To leave the state of Twilight, and return hands of another Princess. Within was a simple
to the material, she performs the same reflexive mission: Learn about the dreamlands, find a way
action. To those who see this change in state to free the souls trapped within.
happen, the Princess either falls apart in a shower The efforts of the Embassy amounted to naught
of grave-dust and fog, or pulls herself together from when the moon landing beat them to the release,
the thin air, dust-motes building a new body from but the Long Night is only the beginning of the
the air in a sudden blur of motion. While in story. The Dreamlands remains a source of hope,
the state of Twilight, the Ambassador counts as power and danger to the Enlightened. Today new
a ghost, for the purposes of magic which detect, Princesses flock to the banner of the Daydreamers,
harm, ward against, or permit interaction with eager to explore the world that waits for them in
ghosts, though explicitly not ones which would their dreams. Though the release was not a silver

352
bullet for all the world’s ills the Daydreamers still
see it as a chance to heal the world. To hear them Secretary Privileges
say it, Earth has reality but is short on hope. The
The long history of the Embassy has left records
Dreamlands is full of hope buck lacks reality. By
of several heroes and heroines. To pay tribute to
becoming a living bridge between dream and reality
their forebears’ memories the Lords and Ladies of
the Daydreamers hope to forge something shining
Sleep have named the Embassy’s Privileges in their
and new, the best of both worlds.
honour.
As a Secretary a Princess is far from being the
living Bridge the Lords and Ladies of Sleep seek
Marks and Requirements to become. She can become the anchor points but
cannot span a bridge between her-selves until she
The Embassy to the Dreamlands has one of the advances further.
odder styles of Regalia. They are sleepers and
dreamers but they are also explorers searching for
new horizons in the Dreamlands. Their Regalia
draws from both, adorning the Daydreamer in a
Alice's Daydream
clashing contrast of exploration gear and pyjamas. By spending a Wisp the Secretary can instantly
As though they were woken up in the middle of find a Crawlspace anywhere she wishes (it still costs
the night and told they had five minuets to grab a Wisp to open the Crawlspace). A roll is only
what they needed for an expedition and get out. required if some magical barrier attempts to block
Thick hiking boots are worn below a nightdress. access to the Dreamlands, in which case the usual
Torches and climbing gear hang from a dressing Wits + Empathy + Shadows dice pool can be rolled
gown belt. A plinth helmet and sturdy backpack to overcome the barrier.
are combined with flannel pyjamas. Even their The obvious implication of this power is that the
bodies shift becoming rugged and built for tough Secretary can fall asleep whenever she wishes by
outdoor conditions yet also soft and dreamy in opening a nearby Crawlspace. Without magic it is
movement with a faraway look in half closed or literally impossible to prevent her from dropping
entirely shut eyes. No matter how awake and off.
perceptive the Princess really is.
Most Somninaughts are Seekers. Many follow
the Queen of Diamonds. They seek to study and Christopher's Parallel Lives
understand the Dreamlands itself or they believe
that the Dreamlands offers a fresh perspective that Most people must sleep to reach the Dreamlands,
can lead to new discoveries in other fields such but a Lady of Sleep need only daydream, allowing
as sociology or the history of the Enlightened. her to act in both worlds. When she stands at
Followers of the Queen of Clubs are also well her Crawlspace exit, on the edge between dream
represented. The Wilds are often drawn to and waking, the Secretary may spend a point of
experience the world and no one – certainly not Willpower to divide herself in two, sending her
their Queen – said the world ends at the physical. transformed identity into the Dreamlands while
Yet it is the Court of Mirrors where the Embassy the mundane remains awake. The identity in the
finds the most eager followers (if not the most Dreamlands is in Dream Form, and the identity
common, given the relative size of the Court). in waking life uses her normal traits, but both
Before the release Onceborn Lightbringers often identities share one pool of Wisps and one of
felt that freeing the Enlightened souls from the Willpower points.
Dreamlands was a simple one step solution to Both the Princess’ bodies calculate their stats
fixing the world (and being crowned True Heir and as normal and share any variable stats like Wisps,
saviour of course). Even now that it has been Willpower or Shadows. There is no Intimacy link
proven that things are not that simple many Brats between the Princesses two selves, the protection
still find that they prefer life in the Dreamlands, of Dual Identity ensures it. However both are able
where their greatness is fully appreciated and to talk with each other, but this requires their
honoured. full concentration. If the Princess is a Consul
The Attribute and Skill of the Daydreamers are and has begun to build her bridge communication
those used to navigate the Dreamlands: Wits and between her two selves becomes as easy as talking
Empathy. to someone standing by your side. If the Princess’
self in the Dreamlands returns to Earth, or if her

353
mundane form falls asleep, the two halves instant people from the Dreamlands, and to hang onto her
reunite. mundane self in the face of the Gales.
Drawback: While the Princess is daydreaming
of her perfect self having fantastic adventures in a
fantasy world, a part of her mind is devoted to her Dorothy's Farmhouse
Transformed self. Both her two lives must accept
a -1 penalty on all Wits rolls and a -2 penalty So long as the Princess’ is using Christopher’s
to Initiative. In addition she looks like she is Parallel Lives she can use her connection to her
daydreaming, which may be considered rude and physical body and the walking world as an anchor
inflict social penalties. Finally neither of her two to protect herself from being blown away by the
selves are able to Transform until they reunite. Gales. If the Consul is fewer than her Resolve days
outwards (or in a Queen’s Domain) she does not
have to roll to resist the Gales. Once she travels
Lucy's Wardrobe far enough outwards this Privilege has no effect at
all and the Consul must face the Gales as other
By touching another person and spending a Wisp Princesses do.
a Secretary can instantly show them a Crawlspace,
it is up to the target if they wish to go through.
Mortals and others who cannot use Wisps may Calvin's Tiger
unlock the Crawlspace with a point of Willpower.
With her growing connection to the Dreamlands a
However this Privilege does not grant the target the
ability to open Crawlspaces within the Dreamlands Consul can call nearly anything small item from
so unless the target naturally has that ability beyond the wall of sleep, bring it to the real world
or finds a Princess in the Dreamlands willing and turn it into something real and tangible. When
to lead him back they could easily be trapped. a Consul is transformed, needs a special tool and
Crawlsapces leading to the Dreamlands function doesn’t have it or anything like it, she may roll
like normal. Crawlspaces leading to Earth return Inner Light + Wits.
Success draws upon her connection to the raw
the user to their sleeping body, or if they don’t have
one it will lead to just about anywhere. stuff of the Dreamland to create a piece of
equipment well-suited for the task she currently
If the Princess is a Consul and is currently using
faces, this is a Reflexive action if she is using
Christopher’s Parallel Lives she may instead choose
to have the Crawlspace cross upon her Bridge and Christopher’s Parallel Lives. Otherwise she must
touch an open Crawlspace and spend an instant
arrive within the vicinity of her other self. If the
Princess is an Ambassador and has the Crawlspace action to summon Dreamstuff without the use
travel across her bridge then it will only requireof her bridge. She may then hold or touch a
a single Success (instead of eight) to travel the real object of roughly the right size and shape,
complete length of the Crawlspace. concentrate for a full turn (losing her Defence,
Crawlspaces created by Lucy’s Wardrobe remain if in combat), and spend 2 Wisps to transform
for the remainder of the scene. However if the the object into useful tool. The transformed tool
target can naturally reach the Dreamlands and theyhas an equipment bonus equal to her Successes
-1 and must function identically to a piece of
choose to enter the Crawlspace, it instead lasts for
as along as any other Crawlspace would. mundane equipment, though it may have an odd
appearances or unusual operating principles. The
If the target chooses not to enter the Dreamlands
transformation lasts for the rest of the scene, after
they remain awake, so this Privilege cannot be used
to send enemies to sleep in the middle of a fight.which the object returns to its original shape. The
Like Alice’s Daydream it can be blocked by magic, Consul may use this Privilege a number of times
the Princess makes any rolls needed to contest per day up to her Intelligence.
magic that blocks access to the Dreamlands. When Though the Daydreamer can bring Dreamlanders
they succeed the Crawlspace appears. to Earth with Lucy’s Wardrobe it still requires the
Charm Astral Companion to ease one into a new
body, while Bequeath remains necessary to create
Consul Privileges more powerful tools from the Dreamland’s. But
the ability to draw power from the Dreamlands
When she becomes a Consul a Princess can form makes both charms easier. So long as Christopher’s
the framework of a Bridge between her two selves, Parallel Lives is in effect she can use her bridge to
allowing her to transport small items and even aid the Charm’s Invocation - the threshold for those
Charms drops to 2x the target’s Inner Light, Rank

354
or dot rating. If she is an Ambassador and has
completed her bridge the threshold for the Charm Go back to the beginning of modern economics;
becomes just the target’s Inner Light, Resonance to Adam Smith himself and you will find very
or dot rating and she may make one roll a minute. different ideas to some free market ideals endorsed
today. Adam Smith wrote as much on the subject
of morality as he did upon economics and he tied
Ambassador Privilege: Wendy's Boys his two fields together. Writing at length upon the
need for a moral dimension to economics. Even one
An Ambassador becomes a living bridge between governed by, well, the government.
both worlds pulling the impossible idealism of the According to the Suits there is nothing wrong
Dreamlands and the hard reality of Earth into with the theory of capitalism, some go so far as
a happy medium. This Privilege can only be to say there is nothing wrong with our current
activated when the Princess is using Christopher’s implementation of capitalism. The problem they
Parallel Lives and has has two effects, one on Earth say is people twisting the system for their own
and one in the Dreamlands. greed. You can’t defeat greed by adjusting the rules
On Earth the Princess creates what the Embassy any more than you can defeat thieves with a stroke
has termed a daydreaming zone; in this zone of the legislator’s pen. No, the only solution is to
the world begins to take subtle cues from the call a policeman.
fantastic aspect of the Dreamlands: colours seem
brighter and livelier, sounds seem to spontaneously
harmonize, the rustling of leaves seems to be hiding
something you can’t quite believe is an animal, but
Marks and Requirements
may be so, mortals feel brighter as they bask in the Hopeful who join the Auditors tend to be well
fantasy of the Dreamlands, gaining +1 to Breaking above the average age for a Princess. Most have
Point and Compromise checks. Dreamlanders in a had significant experience working in the corporate
daydreaming zone never suffer Essence bleed and world, or the financial sector specifically. Seekers
can manifest, becoming physical for one Willpower are predominant among the members, fighting
per scene. If they do so then assume they are in white collar crime calls for a keen intellect and a
the Dreamlands for all rules purposes. deductive mind, not a good right hook. Graces have
In the Dreamlands the Princess bestows what the also begun to show greater interest in membership,
Embassy calls a lucid zone. The Dreamlands does turning from the Embassy’s traditional focus
not loose it’s fantastic nature but it seems more towards building sustainable ethical businesses.
solid, more stable. In this place of sanctuary the Diamonds are unsurprisingly the most common
gales do not blow at all. Both zones remain centred Queen but surprisingly Swords comes in at second
on the Princess at all times and extend to Inner place with a strong showing among financial
Light * 10 yards. lawyers but also turnaround consultants and
Drawback: By completing the bridge between corporate brokers who can fix or fund a good
her two lives the two tracks of the Princess’ mind company with a sharp mind and a blazing presence
reunite. So long as Wendy’s Boys is active the that burns through red tape. A minority of
Princess only has one action a turn, which she may corporate executives in stable companies follow the
spend in either world. She may still use Reflexive Queen of Hearts.
actions in either world as per the normal rules for Members of the Smith Institute favour formal
Reflexive actions. and mundane attire appropriate to the culture. In
Europe and America this means suits, with ties for
the Princes. Princes often favour executive style

Embassy to the Economy hair while the Princesses often possess power hair.
Many members have slightly idiosyncratic tastes,
one might prefer the finest hand tailored Italian
That is a common mistake, the actual quote is “The suits while another dresses in the sharpest of fifty’s
love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” suits, always with a matching hat.
Regardless of their job title, all members of the
Alternative Names: The Accountant’s Embassy, Accountant’s Embassy are very good at economics.
The Auditors, The Smith Institute The required Attribute is Intelligence and the
requires skill is Academics.
Informal Names: Suits (formally pejorative),
Taxmen (pejorative), Lamars (pejorative)

355
Secretary Privileges It's Not What you Know, It's Who You
Know
Cutting the Red Tape
It doesn’t matter what you know about finance, if
In both her Transformed and Mundane State a you know a Secretary to the Economy you’ll be fine.
Secretary to the Economy finds it very easy to By spending a Willpower point the Secretary may
understand finance. They can hold vast tables in lend another her dots in Academics, Investigation,
their head and fit them together like jigsaw puzzles. Politics, Persuasion or Empathy for use in financial
By spending a Wisp the Secretary may add half her matters alone. The recipient gains the Held Charm
Inner Light to all rolls to understand a financial condition, which lasts for up to a day. At any
system, including: Academics, Investigation and point during that day they can activate the held
even Empathy to see through the person sitting charm gaining the Blessing Condition increasing
across the desk trying to trip you up with lots of the chosen skill to the Secretary’s dots for the rest
meaningless numbers. If the Secretary spends a of the scene. If their own Skill is greater they gain
wisp during an Extended Action she applies the a +1 bonus instead. Lending another her dots does
bonus to every roll for that action. not deny a Secretary access to them.

Following the Money Consul Privileges

While Transformed the Secretary can divine basic
facts about an organization, and clues to its recent Money Talks
activities, by following the flow of money through
it. To use this Privilege the Secretary must have The Consul can trace the flow of money in fine
access to a portion of the organization’s funds detail. When she uses Follow the Money, the
(actual cash, checking account numbers, credit Consul may ask for the answer to a specific question
card numbers). If no other opportunity offers the about the organization – one that can be answered
Secretary can establish a link by buying something “yes” or “no” , or that has an answer from a small
from the organization, and using Follow the Money set of alternatives, as far as the Consul knows.
on her payment. The Secretary tags the money Success gives the Consul the true answer to her
by spending a Wisp; over the next 24 hours the question; exceptional success gives her, in addition,
Wisp touches all the organization’s assets and an idea of the reason why the answer is true. On a
sends data back to her subconscious. After a full dramatic failure, the Consul is convinced of a false
day has passed, the Secretary rolls Intelligence + answer. If the correct answer is not one the Consul
Investigation + the equivalent in Resources dots of considered when she framed the question, she can
the assets she tagged. learn only that the truth is something she didn’t
think of.
Dramatic Failure: The Secretary gets a radically
false idea of the organization’s nature, purpose
or recent activities. King Midas Has Asses' Ears
Failure: The data does not form a coherent
There’s often a big gap between knowing something
picture; the Secretary learns nothing.
is true and being able to prove it; a Consul
Success: The Secretary establishes, to her own can, however, bridge that gap, if she’s willing
satisfaction, one of the following sets of facts to take risks. Whenever the Consul has learned
per success: The organization’s financial status a fact about an organization by examining its
(stable, near bankruptcy, etc), a significant finances (either mundanely or magically) she may,
source of expenditure, a significant source of by spending 2 Wisps, discover clues to a course of
income, a suspicious expenditure (a family values action which will end in that fact becoming public
politician paying a prostitute), a suspicious knowledge.
income (a gun store making a sale without When she activates the Privilege, the Storyteller
putting it on the books). If appropriate the rolls her Wits + Politics in secret; for each
answer may be provided in the form of a Clue. success, the Storyteller gives the player one clue
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their to the location of relevant evidence, the means of
own reward. obtaining it, or the best person to receive it. The
Privilege does not consider the Consul’s safety or

356
social position - it gives the surest and quickest path animistic universe may sound like a nice idea, and
to the fact’s exposure, no matter how high the cost theoretically, the spirit world could be used to get
of following it might be. The Consul cannot use the Hope spirits to spread their emotion, and help the
Privilege more than once on any given fact. world; but once you’ve seen a spirit of Love steal
the body of a person, then build an orgiastic cult
around it with no limits and no safe words... well,
Ambassador Privilege: Shaking the idea doesn’t seem like such a nice one. Add
that to the fact that, really, the Hopeful don’t have
Hands with the Invisible Hand much of a grasp on the spirit world (and so are
prone to making rather nasty mistakes, as they
The Ambassador’s understanding of money is so misinterpret it in ways that are only prevented by
deep that she can predict what organizations will hard experience and/or natural talent), and there’s
do, even before they know themselves. As with no wonder that many Princesses try their best to
Follow the Money, the Ambassador must tag a keep away from spirits, driving them away as best
portion of an organization’s funds with a Wisp they can when they cause trouble, and not even
and wait for a day while the Wisp finds the noticing them the rest of the time.
organization’s assets. Ah, but some among the Hopeful ... well, others
The Ambassador then spends 1 Willpower and might say that they can’t leave well enough alone,
rolls Intelligence + Politics + the Resources value but the Ambassadors to Ephemera argue that they
of the tagged money, and asks a question about will not turn a blind eye any longer. They hunt
a future action of the organization, the question down spirits which steal the bodies of men and
must be straight forward and answerable in a few women (in a way different to the Amanojaku;
sentences, for example “when will the bank start physically and much harder to get rid of), and
shredding incriminating evidence” . If the roll force them out. They study the changes in the
succeeds, the Ambassador knows the true answer spirit world, and use it to locate problems in
to her question; for each success past the first, she the real world; in one famous case, a Hopeful in
learns the answer to one further question about the Rome located a serial killer before anyone had even
same action, expanding on the details. reported their victims missing, by following the
Drawback: Submerging her mind into the flows upsurge in murder spirits in the locale. They talk to
of money removes the Ambassador from the normal the werewolf-folk, who are natives to that strange
human perspective, and hinders her ability to relate place in a way that the Hopeful are not, and try
to people in other than financial terms. After to dissaude them from hurting people (the record
activating this Privilege, for a number of days equal there ... has not been good, compared to other
to her successes the Ambassador takes the Cursed tasks in the Embassy. It’s like those things don’t
Condition, gaining a -2 penalty to all her Empathy find hideous amounts of violence morally wrong.).
and Socialize rolls. Because that’s one of the things that the
Ambassadors to Ephemera warn those interested
in their duties. The spirit world isn’t nice. It isn’t
safe. Unlike even the most degenerate bloodsucker
Embassy to Ephemera or hubristic sorcerer, spirits were never human, and
so don’t think like people. And the hounds of the
Listen, you idiot. I know you mean well, but you’re moon which claim domain over the spirit world
creating fear-spirits like you wouldn’t believe it with don’t appreciate anyone fleshy wandering around
your anti-mugger campaign. We’re going to have in that place. Some have strange rituals which can
to find a better way to do this than just appearing force a Princess back through the barrier between
and attacking anyone who looks suspect. worlds. Others ... prefer a more terminal solution.
After all that risks, one might wonder why
Alternative Titles: The Animist’s Embassy, any Princess might take up the duties of an
Speakers to the World, Guardians of the Silent Ambassador to Ephemera. Why not just focus on
Hillside that which isn’t from a hellish spirit world which
has more in common with Silent Hill than with
Informal Names: Shamans, Jumpers. the Dreamlands? The answer is, so they say,
that the spirit is a reflection of the real world in
There is a world beyond the one we know. And, a much more immediate and real sense than the
frankly, it isn’t very nice. As in, it’s pretty nasty Dreamlands. Destroy the spirit of an object, and
even compared to the real world. Oh, sure, an the thing weakens and breaks down; smash the

357
object, and the spirit dies. If the spirit world, the draw), grant a bonus to the roll.
hisil is bad, then that’s only because the world is As a side effect of this, the character also becomes
bad. If you can change the real world, you can fully fluent in the First Tongue when speaking
change the spirit. And, perhaps more interestingly, to spirits and Shadow-linked shapeshifters. This
if you can change the hisil, you can change the ability cannot be used to communicate with other
real world. Moreover, spirits don’t go away if you members of the Embassy, nor with any other
don’t believe in them (though research from the character who may have learned it for some reason.
Embassy to Stories seems to suggest that faeries It can only be used on natural denizens of the
don’t, either). Yes, it’s often unpleasant to deal Shadow. Moreover, the Secretary automatically
with spirits, to be forced to kill a host to get the feels if they are in a Loci, Barren, Glade,
spirit of rape out of the world. But the world of Shoal, Wound, or Verge, and can reflexively and
Darkness doesn’t isn’t one for pleasantries. unconsciously roll Wits + Inner Light or a Clash of
Wills to contest any supernatural power that would
obstruct this.
Marks and Requirements
The Regalia of the Shaman begins to take on the See the Unseeable
strange properties of the unseen world which she
deals with constantly. Firstly, it begins to reflect The invisible is laid bare to a Secretary to
the ambient Essence and Resonance, shifting and Ephemera. While Transformed, she can always see
flowing to take on the nature of the surrounding. A unmaterialised or unmanifested spirits, as well as
sudden burst of anger in a bar across the street, and possessing entities. Note that this does not give
the colours deepen and become more vibrant, as the her any special ability to detect them; a spirit
emotional intensity shifts the local Resonance. The hiding behind the sofa is as hard to see as a person
bottom of her skirt might begin to drip blood at a hiding behind the sofa. This affects (by default)
murder scene, sometimes long after the death if the sight, hearing, taste, and smell. The character
manner of it was especially violent. In the city, may spend a Wisp to add touch to the list for
it greys and becomes regimented; in the country, a scene, allowing them to make unarmed Brawl
it hugs close to her body and twines around her. attacks against spirits in Twilight. If the character
Moreover, especially if the Princess spends a lot is wielding a Regalia weapon she may use that as
of time in the strangeness of the spirit world, the well.
garments become somewhat decoherent and... well,
ephemeral, starting to resemble something more
like a very thick fog (still patterned, just slightly... Open Wide the Doors
fuzzy) rather than fabric.
To minister to the Ephemeral, one must be able to
Personal force and persuasiveness are essential
go to the Ephemeral. The Secretary has the ability
traits when dealing with inhabitants of the hisil.
to open portals to the Shadow, although at this
The required Attribute for a Shaman is Presence,
level, this ability must be used in a Locus (which
and the required Skill is Persuasion.
poses its own problems). The Secretary spends a
Wisp, and rolls Resolve + Occult as an extended
action, one roll per turn, to open the gateway.
Secretary Privileges It stays open for a number of turns equal to the
successes rolled, and then closes. The portal is of
Essential Feelings Size 6, so only one person may pass through it per
turn. It is usually not best to linger around such
First comes a sense for the illusive, invisible, yet places; not only do the lupine theriomorphs tend
omnipresent patterns of Resonance that surround to object to people around the areas where you can
the world. The invisible world is laid bare to the open such gates, but things can come through the
Princess, and she can understand it when it talks other way.
to her. As an instant action, the Secretary can
study an object or area, and roll Wits + Empathy.
Success tells her of the Resonance of the object,
with one characteristic being revealed per success,
strongest first. Particularly strong resonances (like
the hate on a murder weapon, hidden in the knife

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Consul Privileges Ambassador Privilege: Queen of the
Spiritual Harmonic Spirit World
A Consul to Ephemera may grant hospitality to So long has the character interacted with the
the spirits, or banish a spirit that has outstayed unseen, that she has acquired status among them,
its welcome. The Consul may spend 2 Wisps as as they accept her as one of their own. The
an instant unrolled action to create a Resonant character gains a Spirit Rank equal to her Inner
Condition. This Condition may be tailored to Light / 3, rounded down. Spirits of lesser Rank
a specific spirit, or apply to any spirit with an will typically treat her with respect, while ones of
appropriate Influence, as the Consul wishes; it equal Rank will not (barring them just disliking
remains for one day. The Consul can also suppress her) go out of their way to aggravate her. Even
one of the Resonant Conditions that exist at her spirits of higher rank may at least grant a little
location, or on an object or person she can touch, courtesy, though the Princess remains vulnerable
for one day; the cost and action are the same. If a to their displeasure. The full rules of Rank apply.
spirit has applied any Conditions that depend on a Moreover, the character may spend a Wisp as an
Resonant Condition, suppressing it starts a Clash instant action, accompanied by a proud declaration
of Wills. of their self, to subtract their nominal Rank from
In addition, the abilities of Essential Feelings any dice pool used by a spirit-based (including
expand. The Consul may, as an instant action, roll spirits, Claimed, and Uratha) which would affect
Wits + Empathy while studying a target. Success them. This benefit lasts for a scene.
reveals if they have spiritual Essence (Essence Drawback: Every time the character declares
from the spirit world or loci; ghostly Essence, their Rank, a little of the spirit world seeps
for example, does not count) in their bodies; into them, changing their appearance. The body
this includes the Uratha, the Changing Breeds, reasserts itself, but it is disconcerting to see the
Skinthieves, and the Claimed. It also gives a hint to flames flickering in the pupils of a Princess who
the nature, in the form of Resonance traits equal to declared her Rank in the spirit world reflection
success- es. (E.g. success against a Uratha won’t of a burned-out tenement... especially when they
tell you that they’re a werewolf, but will tell you spread to her tear-ducts. For the scene after the
“Moon”, “Wolf”, “Rage”, or an appropriate link to declaration of Rank, the character gains the Cursed
their tribe, for example). An exceptional success Condition, she subtracts their nominal Rank from
tells their nature, if the Consul has encountered all Social rolls for dealing with people who are not
and studied that type before. spirits or spirit-based (the spirits find it perfectly
normal).

The Sight Unveiled

At this higher level of competency, the Consul may Embassy to Fortune
grant the effects of See the Unseeable to another
person, by touching them on both eyelids and You should realize by now, Your Highness. A cat
spending a Wisp (either the Consul, or the target, has no duty but to do exactly as he pleases.
may spend an extra Wisp to activate the ancillary
effect to allow physical interaction). This gift lasts Alternative Titles: Embassy to the Cat, Those
for a scene, and may be extended by reflexively who Walk by Themselves
spending a Wisp at the end of its duration.
In addition, as per Essential Feelings, anyone Informal Names: Dancers, Stalkers, the Cat’s
granted this ability also understands the First Girls (only used by the Cat himself)
Tongue when spoken by spiritual entities.
It is oft-times boasted or bemoaned by the
Princesses that they are the luckiest or unluckiest
people of all, for on a whim fortune chose for them
among all the world’s brightest to Blossom in this
life or another. They were given power and a
purpose in life, but also duty and a Sensitivity to
the suffering of others. Lucky or Unlucky?

359
 Some of the Hopeful take this further. When an
entire nation can stand or fall to a single roll of the Marks and Requirements
dice, well lady luck is a fickle lover, if we want a fair
The marks of the Embassy to Fortune are of two
and just world someone’s going to have to load the
separate kinds. The Stalker invariably acquires
dice. Some of the Embassy want to rig the game so
a mask; it can be as small as a thin half-mask
the moral get the luck. Others would be content if
around her eyes, or as elaborate as a full helm that
good and bad fortune would be spread a little more
covers her hair and face completely. The rest of
evenly or if the stakes were lowered. The Embassy
her Regalia shifts to clothing that combines elegant
may well change Fortune some day, but if they do
beauty with freedom to move; somehow, it suggests
will they get what they hope for? Kiss the dice for
the Dancer would be equally at home in a formal
luck.
ballroom or leaping between rooftops. In that they
The Embassy to Fortune is a rarity; its members
imitate their patron, who likes to quote from the
have opened relations with a creature who claims to
Just-So Stories: “I am the Cat who walks by myself,
be the concept of Fortune incarnate, the opposite
and all places are alike to me.” Accessories often
and foe of ineluctable destiny. He most often
come in the form of a small tasteful lucky charm or
appears as a handsome ginger tom, with piercing
two, it’s not that rare for these charms to be bribes
green eyes and a the scars of many lucky escapes;
for the Embassies’ feline patron.
since he never names himself, the Embassy just
The Cat’s Girls also imitate their patron bodily –
calls him the Cat. He has appeared in many other
their eyes become green even in mundane form, and
forms – a white Persian queen-cat with a diamond
when transformed many of them develop pointed
collar, a tall thin lazy-eyed man in an elegant and
ears, vertically slit pupils that gleam in low light,
expensive power suit, a gamine girl in a catsuit
and teeth that all come to points. The senior
hanging off a building cornice – but even the ones
Ambassadors might easily pass for sisters of the
who aren’t cats have a feline character, brilliant
Cat’s most human forms – and there’s even a tale
green eyes, and all of them have a shadow that
of a new Secretary who met a woman she took for
writhes and churns with the pure chaos of ramdom
an Ambassador, and learned much later that she
chance.
had really been the Cat herself.
Why this living representative of luck chose to
The Cat looks for Princesses that already have
work with the Hopeful (for the Embassy seems to
a touch of the feline nature, in the form of social
have been his idea) is still a mystery. The Cat
aplomb and physical grace. The prerequisite
himself always answers to his girls, but rarely does
Attribute for his Embassy is Composure, and the
he give the same answer twice. Sometimes he says
prerequisite Skill is Athletics.
the world’s fate has grown so interwoven and heavy
that the world is doomed to sink under it and be
destroyed; that it is his particular task to prevent
this by by tangling the weaving of destiny with the
randomness of luck (and maybe chase lose threads,
just a little), and the release of the Hopeful offers
him the best opportunity he can remember to carry Patronage
out his mission. Sometimes he explains how a
Blossoming is such a stroke of fortune for an entire One of the nice things about being on
community that it uses up everyone’s luck; the good speaking terms with your Patron is that you
deeds a Princess’ does is supposed to balance it out, can ask him for favours. The Cat can do
but with the Nobility trapped in the Dreamlands just about anything he wants with fortune
the whole system fell out of balance and now they’re or luck; and as he can indirectly affect
back he’s got to fix things up. Sometimes he other things through fortune his powers are
explains that the Fall itself was nothing more than essentially godlike. He can grant good luck
a stroke of bad luck; since good and bad luck must to endeavours, and less intuitively break
always balance out the Radiant are owed so much destinies and curses by throwing enough
good luck only his personal assistance can repay random chance at them. The inevitable
the debt. And sometimes he explains it’s simply drawback is that The Cat asks for something
because the Embassy is full of so many beautiful in return, the more you ask for the more
women, for he is a tom cat; if he gets too amorous you have to do. Sadly this means there’s
a plate of fish or a ball of yarn will make him forget no easy path to restoring the Kingdom,
all about you. becoming a Queen, or any other large scale

360
 negative consequences (such as the Secretary’s face
accomplishment worth fighting for. appearing on a wanted list, after the car she found
The most common request is to send to be fortunately unlocked turned out to have a
the Princess on what seems like a simple boot full of crack cocaine).
quest, but a whole host of improbable events
will soon turn it into a convoluted mess
with the Princess bouncing from one highly
embarrassing (for her or for those around
Hunter's Eyes
her) situation for another. The pervading To find and seize the fleeting moments when destiny
theory is that The Cat does this for the lulz. can be turned against itself, a Secretary to Fortune
Smaller favours can be as cheep as a plate of needs sharp eyes and ears, and swift reflexes. While
fish, scratching behind the ears, or sleeping she is transformed, the Secretary adds her Athletics
with him (which is not recommended, even to all her Perception rolls, including her rolls to
in a female human form he is still a tom cat). avoid being surprised, and her eyes have the light-
On the positive side, if the Princess does amplifying membranes of a cat’s eyes; she can
pay The Cat’s price she doesn’t seem to see shapes, though not colours, in any lighting
face luck turning sour, as she would if after conditions short of total darkness.
using her Privileges. Some of the debt was Moreover, while she is Transformed her eyes see
probably paid upfront, as for the rest. The the flow of Fortune around her. It doesn’t show
Cat just dumps it where it wont do any her what is about to happen, or even likely to
harm. happen; instead, the Secretary sees whether an
improbable event is natural luck, or that luck has
been magically tampered with. This is an Unseen
Sense for powers that twist luck to someone’s
Secretary Privileges benefit (like the Charm Touch of Fortune) or
which override it to force an outcome (such as
imposing a geas) that registers at the moment
It Might Be the power influences someone’s actions. When
such a power first affects the Secretary herself,
The world is full of unseen things, and one of
if her consent was not sought, she twists away
the Cat’s Girls wanders through it, the invisible
from the undesired bond; she adds her Athletics
bestowing fortune upon her. By spending a Wisp,
to the relevant Attribute to resist of contest the
and making a statement out loud like “This sucks. I
power. She even resists powers which normally
never win at anything like this,” the Secretary can
can’t be resisted – for these, she rolls Composure +
enjoy a sudden bestowal of good fortune. These
Athletics - the attacker’s supernatural power stat.
small manipulations are always within the realms
Success means that the power does not take effect;
of possibility (she finds a high value note lodged in
an Exceptional Success means that the target is
a drain, the waiter knocks over the drink that her
unaware that she was not affected.
rival had spiked), but often come about in rather
surprising ways. If used to generate wealth or
obtain objects, any thing so obtained cannot have
a value more than Resources one, if she wants it to
Bless the Child
be permanent. Nevertheless, lesser purchase can be It doesn’t matter how lucky you are, a little luck
multiplied up; the £50 found in a bin, if invested at just the right time is better than a lot of luck
wisely, can become many times more, while the at the wrong time. A Secretary to Fortune has an
good one-night stand can, if bought breakfast in instinctive knack for knowing when it’s the right
bed, possibly become a stable relationship. time. While transformed, she gains the ability, as
Drawback: Luck always balances out, and for a reflexive action, to spend a Wisp to grant a +2
every use of It Might Be the Secretary suffers bonus to an ally’s action. The dice lands on lucky
some small misfortune. For a small blessing seven, a wild sweep of the blade blocks a bullet, the
this misfortune is nothing more than a minor book falls open on the page with the answer. Such
inconvenience, but a Princess who asks for too manipulations of luck can be felt with the Unseen
much will surely loose whatever they gained when Sense of Hunter’s Eyes if the ally is also a Dancer,
bad luck conspires against her at the end of the and will also trigger the senses of any other creature
scene. If the Princess really over does it, such sensitive to manipulations of fortune. This ability
as trying to obtain things worth Resources four may be invoked an number of times equal to the
or more, her reversal of fortune will come with

361
Secretary’s Presence every turn, but may not be + Composure. Successes on this roll become a dice
used on the same target twice in one scene. pool which is attached to a target character within
Drawback: It should be noted that, as a minor sight. They gain the Blessing Condition: The next
side effect, characters who benefit from this tend time the target spends a Willpower point, these
to suffer minor misfortunes over the next week dice are liberated, and added to the +3 that the
or so. It’s never life threatening (inflicting at Willpower point grants. Only one such pool may
most 3 points of bashing, as they spill hot coffee be extant at once. This Privilege trips the Unseen
over themselves), but the friends of a Secretary Sense of Hunter’s Eyes when the target spends the
to Fortune might just have to get used to getting Willpower.
splashed by a car or panhandled by the smelliest Drawback: After using their bonus dice the
tramp on the street. target suffers the Cursed Condition. They gain -1
to all rolls until they pay back their debt: A number
of rolls equal to their bonus dice.
Consul Privileges
It Matters Ambassador Privilege: It Must Be
The Ambassador to Fortune manipulates luck so
The Dancers know that you can’t create good luck
cleverly, that once per Session she may ensure that
without creating bad luck, but if you’re skilled in
her actions will succeed, no matter the obstacles
the Cat’s games then you can move good luck to
or that her opponents actions will fail, no matter
where it matters, and bad luck to where it does
the odds. The character spends 3 Wisps and one
not.
Willpower, then she rolls Composure + Athletics.
The Consul can Reflexively spend one Wisp
For the rest of the turn (it is recommended to hold
before making a roll. She then rolls twice and
your action so that you can act first on the following
records both results. Before she rolls the Princess
turn) she may move Successes around from one roll
chooses if she wishes to take the higher or the
to another, after the roll is made.
lower result, this is the accepted result while the
She may move a total number of Successes equal
discarded result is the rejected result. The accepted
to the Successes she rolled to activate this privilege.
result becomes the outcome of the roll. The next
Moving a Success is defined as removing it from
time she rolls a number of Successes equal to
one roll and adding it to another; all the rolls
the accepted result under any circumstance the
affected must be made this turn with the only
Princess must substitute in the rejected result.
exception being the Princess’ next roll at any point.
Record this in the Traded Luck Condition.
She can grant Successes before deducting them
Example: When rolling to resist being cursed from another roll; but if the turn ends before
Selina spends a Wisp and rolls twice; she gets she has deducted those Successes then they must
2 Successes and 4 Successes. She chose to come from her next roll. If that reduces her
take the higher result so the accepted result into negative Successes she suffers an automatic
is 4 Successes and the rejected result is 2 Dramatic Failure.
Successes. Selina scores 4 Successes to resist This Privilege trips the Unseen Sense of Hunter’s
being cursed, the next time she rolls 4 Successes Eyes every time the Ambassador acts. Unlike every
under any circumstances the roll is replaced with other luck manipulating Privilege, It Must Be has
2 Successes. no Drawback when used correctly.

If the accepted result shows up again as one of the

two rolls when the Consul is shifting luck around,
make the substitution before naming the accepted Embassy to Lilith
and rejected result.
Drawback: Substituting the rejected result At heart, people aren’t afraid of the dark. They’re
back in at a later point is the drawback. afraid of what calls it home. But what about the
monsters who have no home but the dark?

It Will Be Alternative Titles: Children of the Night,

Heralds of the Dawn
It’s truly said that Fortune favours the brave. At
the cost of 1 Wisp, a Consul can roll Inner Light

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Informal Names: Dusks, Rehab Counsellors,
Grave Tamers (Derogatory) Secretary Privileges
Humanity is a social creature. From the moment
we wake up crawling to the end of our deathbeds, Blush of Unlife
we learn from watching others, live from the life
lessons of those before us and all the while make The Princess learns to attune herself to blood,
our own path for others to follow. But there are the animating force of Vampires. She gains the
those who loose their lives, and with it their step Unseen Sense (Blood Magic). The Princess learns
on the common path of humanity. Lost lambs who to identify the greatest manifestations of Blood
must be returned to the flock. Magic: Disciplines, Crúac, and Blood Bonds and
There are people who walk after the day ends, can tell them apart. If a Kindred is Frenzying or
who wake from deathlike slumber to feast on using the Predator’s Aura, it’s shines like a beacon.
the living. They form secret communities, an Not all Blood Magic is the property of Kindred
eloquent masquerade hiding a rotten unbeating and this Privilege makes no distinction. A
heart. From the shadows they spread their puppet Secretary can, for example, detect the Tempesta
strings and sup upon the blood of life to prolong Charm Purgation.
their undying requiem. The night and shadow hide
them from mortal who would put them to the torch
if they were found for one reason alone: They are Rejecting Lilith’s Kiss
monsters.
But even though a Kindred is now part of a The kiss of Lilith has lead many a person astray
monster, it doesn’t mean he lacks a human side. into rapturous, addictive, pleasure until they were
It doesn’t make the Man irrelevant and it doesn’t enslaved to their own desires. This temptation is
mean that they can’t struggle to retain humanity. omni-present in the Vampire’s night bound society
Princesses, the Dusks argue, are paragons of and a Princess who wishes to walk amongst them
Humanity and would be as damned as... well, must be able to resist it. In her Transformed
the Damned, if they refused to help rekindle their state, a Secretary adds the lowest of her Resolve or
sparks of life and remember how the Light shined. Empathy to any roll to resist a supernatural power
stemming from blood magic. In addition, if the
Princess has been fed upon by a vampire and is
Marks and Requirements suffering from the Scarred or Swooning Conditions
because of it, she may spend a point of Willpower
With the Embassy dedicated to creatures of the and roll Resolve + Empathy + Invocation - the
night, it’s an unspoken requirement that members amount of vitae the Vampire has gained from the
of the Embassy must night owls. A Dusk can feeding. Success removes the condition.
be power her night life on caffeine binges, but
most Princesses tend to have an appropriate sleep
schedule. Emotionally speaking, the members Light Is Life Is Blood
tend to feel a need to help people break out of To Vampires, blood is the very essence of life and by
and stop cycles of abuse. Many escaped such feeding upon life they can prolongs their unlife. But
cycles themselves and so can emphasise with those as they move beyond their natural lifespan it takes
trapped within. Graces and Menders respectively more to keep them going. A mere Secretary cannot
are the most common Callings for this Embassy. pull a vampire back to life, but they can pull them
The Marks of the Embassy come off as rather back to the earlier days of unlife. The Princess
subtle, mundane even to normal transformations. spends a Wisp and rolls Resolve + Empathy. For
They can look and be anyone, though it’s noticeable each Success treat a Vampire’s blood potency as
that there is an unhealthy tinge to the Dusk. though it were one lower when determining who
Overtly pale skin, arms that feel cool as though they can feed upon for the remainder of the night.
they had poor circulation. The details only get
worse and more noticeable as a Princess advances
in the Embassy’s ranks, but even Ambassadors are
still recognizable as a human, if a sick looking one
that hasn’t seen the sun for a year or so.
The required Attribute is Resolve, and the
required Skill is Empathy.

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Consul Privileges Ambassador Privilege: The Light’s
Chain the Beast Forgotten Kiss
From the moment a vampire rises in unlife, a The Princess is now a beacon of light against
monster lurks beneath their breast. A creature of Lilith’s curse, calling forth remnants of forgotten
shadows and domination, it hides from the light Humanity. The Princess rolls Resolve + Empathy
and if roused it attacks all in it’s path forcing a and spends 3 Wisps. For each success, the Vampire
Vampire further into the shadows to hide from their gains a dot of Humanity which lasts for Inner Light
misdeeds. But a Princess carries her own light and Nights. This cannot raise a Vampire’s Humanity
she can drive the Beast back. above the Princess’s own Belief.
When a Vampire is frenzying a Consul can spend
two wisps and roll Resolve + Empathy. Success Drawback: A Princess’s sympathetic magic
adds an Inner Light penalty to all rolls made by is attuned to the Vampire. She gains Blood
the Vampire for the duration of the frenzy, and by Sympathy for the duration of the Privilege’s effects.
spending a Willpower point she may add a Ban of The more Humanity she bestows the stronger this
hear choosing. The Ban can restrict the vampire’s effect is. One dot makes the Princess four times
actions but it cannot harm the vampire or be life removed. Two makes for three times. Three makes
threatening (such as forbidding them from seeking for two times, and four dots of Humanity and above
shelter from the sun). The Ban automatically makes for one time removed.
disperses at five minutes before sunrise or when the
Frenzy ends.
Embassy to Machines
The Princess’s Boon Now that is a beautiful piece of work
A Princess is a creature of empathy and love,
something stronger than the addiction and abuse Informal Titles: Machinists, Techies
that surrounds a vampire. If she consume Vitae
she can roll Inner Light + The Highest of Resolve or We live in an ordered universe, one defined by
Empathy – Vitae ingested to resist being addicted coherent laws and systems. Since Newton’s time,
to blood vitae and prevent Blood Bonds. If she is people have viewed the universe as the machine,
already addicted or Bonded she can do the same, a perfect and precise clockwork, predictable and
but must spend one Wisp per point of Vitae she orderly. Some people find this a cause for despair,
injected. Freeing other people also costs a point of feeling that they are doomed to be crushed beneath
Willpower. the gears of the universe.
A Princess can free Ghouls from their bonds, but The Ambassadors to the Machine know better.
to truly master this Privilege and turn a Ghoul back The universe is a beautiful and wondrous thing,
to human she must be an Ambassador. Doing so awe-inspiring in its vastness and fascinating in its
requires an extended roll of Resolve + Empathy complexity. How can someone look up at the stars
with a penalty equal to how many decades the and not feel awe at the vastness of space? How
Ghoul has survived underneath the blood bond, can someone not look upon a rainbow and admire
The threshold is equal to the Vampire’s Resolve not just its beauty, but also the dance of light and
+ Composure + Blood Potency. Each roll takes 5 water that brought it into being? How can someone
minutes, but the benefits are permanent. Success look upon the incredible complexity of the miracle
makes the Ghoul into a mortal again, breaking any that is life and not be amazed? The universe is
blood bonds and curing addictions. In addition the a wondrous place, and knowing how it works just
Ghoul’s apparent age becomes their natural age. makes it even more beautiful.
And that is perhaps the greatest miracle; the
universe can be known. Mankind can comprehend
the universe in all its subtleties, and with this
knowledge they can work wonders that can improve
the lives of millions. Of course, those same tools
and machines can destroy cities as well as feed
them, but the Hopeful have never been pessimists.

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The Techies know that the machines and tools are
an extension of man’s will, and strive to make
Calling, Calling
sure those tools are used for noble ends. The The Secretary has a natural intuition for systems
Ambassadors to the Machine take a little bit of the and technology. She never takes a penalty on
universe into their souls and thus take upon them unfamiliar applications of a skill when using,
the mantle of machines; extensions of human will repairing, or analyzing a machine. While an
built upon the system of the universe. ordinary person may take a penalty for using
Computer for both Linux and Windows, or have a
hard time applying Drive to handling a motorcycle,
Marks and Requirements driving a big rig and flying a helicopter, the
secretary does not. In addition, once per scene the
One would assume that the Enlightened who join Princess can add half her Inner Light (rounding
this Embassy are extreme technophiles, obsessed down) to any single roll involving repairing,
with the new, the sleek, and the shiny. One would building, or using a complex technological device.
mostly be right. The aesthetics of this Embassy An interesting side effect of this ability is that
have changed multiple times, even over the short when a Secretary watches a machine in use, or tries
time since the Release, and, typically, the best way to use it herself, she will instantly notice if the
to judge what they were was to look at the sci-fi at machine functions on something other than natural
the time. The current dominant is very much the principles; such as a Werewolf’s Fetesh or a Genius’s
sleek, post-cyberpunk, white look which is probably Wonders. The blind spot in the Princess’ intuitive
best described as iPrincess. Regalia is tight without understanding stands out like neon pink dreadlocks
being gratuitous, rounded, and often hard, not at a lawyer convention.
deforming to the touch, like an outer carapace.
Unusual eye colours are the norm for Machinists;
greyish white, purple, and just-having-the-entire- Rise and Falling
eye-be-a-metal-globe are all common. Purple hair,
too, is not uncommon. The skin itself is different The rise and fall of a piston as it converts heat
from the untransformed form; it is slightly cool to and energy into productive work is something that
the touch, and often has tattoo-like lights shining is truly wonderful to watch. The Machinist can
through the skin, usually in blue or green. emulate this. When Transformed, and spending a
There is, however, another school, which has point of Willpower to add to a dice pool involving
remained since the Release. These ones are machines, she can instead choose to convert it into
less about the rampant technophilia of the more a single automatic success. This counts before
common ones, and more about machine as function. the dice are rolled; as a result, in an uncontested
These self-described Wrench Wenches and Hammer roll, she can always ensure that she succeeds.
Men take pride in their apron-like armour, oil- Such predictability comes at a cost, though. dice
covered Reglia, and often bouncy demeanour. pools where this ability are used don’t count the
Every Machinist is an excellent craftsman, and automatic success towards the five needed for an
treats her tools with loving care. The required exceptional success, as the spark of brilliance is
Attribute for the Embassy is Dexterity, and its directed towards not failing rather than exceeding.
required Skill is Craft.

Depths of Longing
Secretary Privileges Machines long to be used, and, moreover, they long
to be used correctly. The Machinist can aid in this.
Note: The mechanics refer several times to the
With the expenditure of a Willpower point, she
concept of a machine. For the purposes of this
can “lend” another individual her dots in Crafts,
Embassy, a machine is a tool or object with an
Computer, Science, Medicine or Drive. For the rest
electrical circuit or multiple moving parts integral
of the scene, the target gains the Blessing Condition
to their function, specifically designed to fulfil a
increasing their Skill dots to the Secretaries. If their
purpose by human or otherwise sapient beings.
own are higher, they simply get a +1 bonus. The
Moreover, for any dice bonuses or special effects
Princess does not lose access to the skills; one of the
granted by these powers to apply, the primary
wonderful things about machinery is how it saves
function of such a machine must be derived from
labour, and allows division of tasks, after all.
mundane, mechanical principles, or from the Light.
With no other forms of magic included.

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Consul Privileges thick user manual. As a general rule any Charm
in which the user has options for how to invoke it
(such as Phantom where the user may choose which
Blessed Tools image they wish to create) or is highly dependent on
external factors (such as Balm, which depends on
The Consul’s intuitive grasp of technology lets her which injuries one wishes to heal) can be considered
hone a tool to perfection. She spends a turn to require a complicated interface. Anyone but
working on a machine (forgoing Defence, if in other Techies (and other people with a power like
combat), then spends 1 Wisp and rolls Intelligence Calling Calling that allows the use of unfamiliar
+ Inner Light. If she succeeds, she applies the technology) suffers a -3 penalty to use Bequests
Blessing Condition to the machine itself: She adds with a complicated interface unless they have a
half her Inner Light to the machine’s equipment Speciality along the lines of “Ambassador Eriko’s
bonus for anyone who uses it, for the rest of Medicine Engines”.
the scene. On an exceptional success, the bonus Drawback: Not only must the Ambassador
remains for a full hour. pay a Willpower dot as normal for the creation
of a Bequest, all her works have an Intimacy to
both her forms equivalent to love. Such is the
Watch in Awe bond between the craftsman and her creations.
This sympathetic connection is not vital to the
With the expenditure of a Wisp, the Machinist functioning of the device, it’s actually irrelevant,
can grant another person the power of Rise and but it is exceptionally hard to remove. Most magic
Falling to ensure success with machines. For the which dampens sympathetic connections will not
rest of the scene, the beneficiary can choose to add 1 make a dent, and anything powerful enough to
automatic success, instead of 3 dice, when spending remove the connection would probably destroy the
Willpower on a roll involving machines. As with Bequest and hurt the ambassador.
Rise and Falling, the automatic success does not
count towards the five needed for an exceptional
success.
Embassy to Night
Ambassador Privilege: Magnum Opus The night belongs to humanity too, leech. It all
belongs to humanity.
The most beautiful thing you can do with a machine
is to build one, to encode your understanding of the Alternative Names: Lord/Lady of the Night,
natural world into a device that anyone can use to Night Witches, Moon Knights
enhance their lives. An Ambassador can use her Informal Name: Bats
Privilege to duplicate the Charm Bequeath with the
Upgrade Charged, with only three modifications: How beautiful is night!
Firstly the dice pool becomes Dexterity + Crafts, A dewy freshness fills the silent air,
Invocations may be applied as usual. Secondly No mist obscures, no little cloud
the Machinist can only make Bequests based on Breaks the whole serene of heaven:
Charms they know, but do not need to quest In full-orbed glory the majestic moon
through their Crawlspace to do so. But the most Rolls thro the dark blue depths.
important advantage is that a Techie’s creations Beneath her steady ray
can be used by anyone, they have only one form The desert circle spreads,
and do not need to be Transformed to function. Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky.
They are undeniably magical Bequests powered How beautiful is night!
by the Light, but their magic responds to anyone —Thalaba the Destroyer by Robert Southey
who presses the buttons. (The rule limiting some
Bequests to Princesses still applies) The night is a time of peace and rest. It is a
The final form of these Bequests depends both time of beauty, when the world is recast in grey
on the Ambassador’s personal style and the Charm and silver.
within. A simple Charm might require nothing So why then, do people fear the night. Why do
more than an on off switch, but a complicated people hide from it behind closed doors and electric
Charm might be covered in toggles or have a lights? It is because the night cloaks thieves and
complicated computer interface and come with a monsters in darkness, it’s beauty is hidden away

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behind walls of fear and danger. Walls that the caves) her powers only function if her current
Embassy has sworn to break down. location receives enough sunlight during daytime to
impose no Perception penalties; and the room must
currently be dim enough to impose a Perception
Marks and Requirements penalty to a moral human.

Champions fighting evil by moonlight still form

the bulk of The Embassy to the Night, and Wearing Midnight
while linguistic drift is inevitable most Princesses
still consider the name “Night Witch” to Under the cover of night the Princesses becomes
refer exclusively to the Embassy’s Champions exceptionally hard to find. By spending a Wisp
(ironically “Moon Knight” includes Seekers). After the Secretary veils herself. All attempts to locate
Champions, Seekers and Troubadours are drawn to or notice her through mundane or magical means
the Embassy. Seekers use the cover of night to take a penalty equal to her Composure.
go where they shouldn’t and uncover the secrets
therein while Troubadours express the beauty of
the world after sunset. Daughter of the Moon
Swords form the most common Court, because While she is Transformed the Princess can see
that Court has a large supply of Champions and perfectly in pitch darkness, she also reduces the
because it’s rugged independence is well suited penalty from Extreme Cold by one, acquires
to action when the rest of the world is sleeping. vitamin D from moonlight and starlight as though
The Court of Clubs is overrepresented among the she was out during daytime and never suffers
Embassy’s Troubadours for the Wilds are the Court adverse psychological effects such as Seasonal
most likely to appreciate natural beauty. The Affective Disorder from going too long without
Graces in the Embassy are most likely to be Spades seeing sunlight.
and hold court among urban nightlife.
A Night Witch’s regalia blends with the night.
Either she adorns herself in the blacks and blues of
the night sky or she wears the silvers and whites
Sister to the Sunset
of the moon and stars. Whichever she chooses, the By spending a Wisp and touching another person
other is sure to be seen as a complement. Silver the Secretary grants them the benefits of Daughter
jewellery lies over a black gown and regalia sparkles to the Moon. The effect lasts until they next see
in hidden folds of cloth, or a princess in white sunlight, videos and remote viewing charms do not
robes that shine like the moonlight channels magic count though a telescope would.
through amethyst Regalia. Masks are uncommon,
but far from unkown.
In addition the Night seeps into the Princess’
magic. Her Charms never create light as a
Consul Privileges
secondary effect. For example, if the Princess
invokes Nova Strike it will burn with the ethereal Left Eye of Horus
silvers or deep blues of the night sky and shed
almost no light. Charms that are intended to create As a guardian of the night the Princess’ gaze sees
light are unaffected, though their appearance may all miscreants and misdeeds that hide within her
change appropriately. domain. When rolling to penetrate or Contest
The Embassy considers the night to be peaceful stealth or subterfuge, both the Skills and the
and secretive, and they embrace that within concepts, the Princess adds her Composure to
themselves. The required Attribute is Composure the roll. This includes Clashes of Wills and
and the required Skill is Stealth. supernatural senses like Govern Charms.
The Princess needs to be able to make a roll to
benefit from this privilege.
Secretary Privileges
The Embassy’s Privileges only work during night; Guide on the Moon’s Roads
this means that they function between sunset and By spending a Wisp the Consul may grant the
sunrise while the Princess is outdoors. If she benefits of Wearing Midnight to another person for
is indoors (including natural enclosures such as a scene.

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Ambassador Privilege: Midnight explore places not yet touched by the Light, and
make them friends to the Princesses and mankind.
The oceans themselves, being easily accessible, are
Noon an obvious place to start...though many Explorers
also display an interest in the Spirit World, outer
At the apex of the Embassy’s power night and
space, and areas of the Dreamlands outside the
day are hers to command. By spending 3 Wisps
Princesses’ control. And more.
and a point of Willpower she can create the
The Vanguards of the Depths appear to many
Environmental Tilt Midnight Noon in an area
as a rather fearless lot, willing to dive head-on
centered upon herself and with a radius of 50
into the unknown, and able to make themselves
yards. The affected area will not extend beyond
feel at home in any environment. The Embassy,
the borders of the natural night.
for its own part, holds that any place humans can
Any supernatural trait or ability that makes
thrive in was unknown and frightening before it was
a reference to daytime, nighttime, sunlight,
explored; the ambassadors seek to shine the Light
moonlight or starlight, etc (but not a more specific
on the places where mankind will, one day, prosper.
time like noon or the witching hour) acts as
though it was under whatever conditions the
Princess would prefer, even if she is unaware of
it. A Changeling defending innocents may find his Marks and Requirements
contracts with the Sun blazing to full power at
When members of this Embassy transform,
midnight, while a Vampire looking for food may
symbols of the sea tend to mingle with their forms:
discover that the starlight burns like a clear blue
Seashells appear in their hair, while the latter seems
sky.
to be blowing in a salty breeze; patterns reminiscent
of designs in sand form on their skin, their eyes go
Drawback: The Princess becomes a true creature
deep green-blue, and if one listens, one may hear the
of the night, and shuns the daystar. During
sound of waves lapping on a far-off shore following
daytime she takes a -1 penalty to both Wits and
them in their wake.
Composure, becoming cranky and slow as though
The prerequisite Attribute of the Embassy is
she was sleep deprived. In the presence of direct
Wits, and its prerequisite Skill is Survival.
sunlight this penalty increases to -3. Unsurprisingly
most Night Witches sleep through the day in a
darkened room. So long as she has thick curtains
this Drawback will not affect the quality of her Secretary Privileges
sleep.
Mermaid's Knowledge
Embassy to The Ocean The Explorers cannot become lost, physically or
socially. The Secretary gains the Direction Sense
Merit, if she didn’t have it already; she always
Look down there. It goes for nearly a mile down knows which way is north, no matter how she’s been
here; much further in other places. Dark, cold; no spun around, and even when blindfolded or in total
air, and many creatures we don’t fully understand darkness. She can retrace any journey she’s made
yet. once before, if she was conscious while travelling;
But that doesn’t mean we should fear it. It’s a falling asleep in a vehicle driven by someone else
lovely place, really. puts a break in her memory, but she will remember
any motions the vehicle made while she was awake.
Alternative Titles: Explorers, Vanguards of the Socially, a Secretary can learn to converse with
Depths anyone she meets with amazing speed. While
listening to someone speak in a language she isn’t
Informal Names: Mermaids, Magellans, Divers fluent in, and trying to speak to that person, the
Secretary rolls her Inner Light + Intelligence as an
Even in the modern world, mankind only touches extended action; each roll represents five minutes of
on a small portion of existence. Even the larger part attempted conversation. When the Secretary has
of the physical planet is located underwater, beyond accumulated 4 successes, she gains the benefits of
our reach. The Ocean Embassy is comprised 1 dot in the Language Merit for the language the
of explorers and trailblazers - those who seek to other person is speaking. She may use this ability

368
until she has the same fluency as the other person. target. If the Consul gets an exceptional success,
Dots gained this way fade at the rate of 1/hour; if this bonus rises to +2. Record this effect with the
the Secretary has the XP, though, she may spend Inverse Curse Condition.
it to acquire the Language Merit instantly before
the magic fades.
Mermaid's Love
Mermaid's Form When the Consul uses Mermaid’s Kiss, she may
spend an extra Wisp (2 total) to transform her
At her transformation, the Secretary’s legs can target fully into a merman or mermaid like herself,
merge together into a tail, either delphine or with all the abilities and drawbacks of that form.
fishlike, and her body adapts in other ways to the The target may return to his human form at will
rigors of swimming in deep water. On land, her at any time, and must do so at the next sunset.
Speed drops to her Strength alone (she can only
sit or crawl, not stand) but in water her effective
Speed is 4 times its base value. She can hold her
breath for a whole scene, or an hour, regardless
Ambassador Privilege: Mermaid's
of her Stamina, and never suffers from nitrogen
narcosis. Finally, she gains a form of echolocation,
Crown
which gives her a reflexive knowledge of all her The Ambassador to the Ocean adapts to her
surroundings like that from the Charm Read the surroundings completely and never takes penalties
Wind, out to a range of Inner Light + Wits yards from environmental hazards. She could survive at
in the air and twice that under water. She can sense the bottom of the Mariana Trench or the depths of
either in air or in water, but not both, depending space, she has limits and can’t actually survive on
on whether her head is submerged. the surface of the sun but for all practical intents
The Secretary can switch between the mermaid environmental hazards don’t matter. Supernatural
form and her original transformed state by hazards still apply, unless they’re derived from
successfully transforming. She has all the benefits the Light (such as with the Charm Call Down
of her transformed state as a mermaid, and all The Thunder) or astral phenomena like a heavy
Charms that alter her transformed state stack with storm within the Dreamlands. The Gales bypass
the mermaid form. Mermaid’s Crown.
With magic intent matters, so someone who
wants to kill her could strangle her even after her
Mermaid's Kiss body has adapted to an airless environment.
Drawback: The Ambassador’s mood varies
While transformed as a mermaid, the Secretary can with the tides. For an hour of low tide (thirty
pass on part of her resilience to another. She kisses minutes before and thirty minutes after the ebb)
the other person on the lips and spends a Wisp. she suffers from the Depression condition. For an
Until the next sunset, the target can hold his breath hour of high tide she takes the Mania Condition.
for a scene or an hour, exactly as the Secretary can,
and is also immune to nitrogen narcosis.

Embassy to Stories
Consul Privileges
So Santa Claus married The Little Mermaid to
Mermaid's Song The Little Match girl and they all lived happily
ever after.
The Consul’s voice, like a siren’s, becomes
fascinating, turning the heads of those who hear Alternative Titles: The Storytellers Embassy,
it. The Consul spends a Wisp and rolls her Inner The Authors.
Light + the higher of Presence and Manipulation to
charm another person; the target contests the roll Informal Names: Godmothers/Godfathers,
with his Composure + any supernatural advantage. Bards, Editors.
If the Consul wins the contest, the target is
entranced; for the rest of the scene, the Consul It is a truth not commonly acknowledged that the
has a +1 bonus on all Social rolls dealing with the world runs on stories. Reoccurring patterns and

369
symbols are woven into the narrative of our lives.
But nothing, claim the Storytellers Embassy, says which body she is in at the time. Sometimes
that these stories must be tragedies. Pain might any public role called a princess will do:
make for better art but happy ever after makes for Homecoming princess, Mardi Gras princess.
better lives. Sometimes it’s so loosely defined that
The Ambassadors to Stories make this their “daddie’s little princess” can break the
mission. They seek to unravel the great tapestry of curse. Other times:
stories and weave in their own amendments. They A member of a noble cast by birthright:
enter a tale and throw the narrative off it’s tracks, Princesses usually qualify for this one,
hopefully to something better: Tragedy becomes except Onceborn. The Nobility probably
comedy, the hero defeats the villain, the lovers ride were the noble classes in the Kingdom,
off into the sunset and yes, the little dog lives till and they certainly are in the Dreamlands
the end of the story. It’s not easy, it’s certainly not kingdom and Alhambra. Unless “birthright
safe but you can do it. ” is specifically defined by parentage
reincarnating ready to Blossom counts as a
birthright.
The daughter of a Queen: Surprisingly
Marks and Requirements Princesses of Hearts actually do qualify.
Princesses of Hearts are adopted by the
If a Princess joined the Editors it’s because she
Queen, a mere traditional formality left
understood the power of stories, some studied
over from the days when Andarta was a
literature while others simply read everything they
confederation of hereditary feudal states; at
could but books alone are not enough. She must
least that’s how they remember it. Other
also have seen how reoccurring patterns from the
princesses generally don’t.
stories also reoccur in life, this requires a perceptive
The ruler of a principality: This one
individual who has the detachment to look at her
varies, to qualify does the principality have
own life with a critical eye.
to be a sovereign country or does “ruling”
Upon joining the Embassy her regalia becomes as
the school debating society and calling
much a part of the story she is. It takes on aspects
yourself a Princess count?
that foreshadow her role in the story and reflect her
In general fate is complex and
character traits. When rushing to save innocents
unpredictable, if a Princess sees a talking
from a Darkspawn attack she is recognisable as
frog she might as well give it a shot.
The Hero. When teaching a younger Princesses a
critical eye will notice marks of The Wise Mentor.
The only constant are hints of the Storyteller, a
thick leather bound book, a pair of reading glasses
perched on the nose, an ink stained quill or some What's the Story?
other mark.
The first skill an Editor learns is to feel the
Before changing a story a Godmother must first
flow of the narratives around her. She gains
be able to tell a story. The required Attribute is
the Merit Unseen Sense (Wyrd). The Wyrd is
Manipulation and the skill is Expression.
omnipresent, it is the connection between all things
and a Princess soon learns to block out all but
the largest manifestations of this power, including:
Secretary Privileges Changelnigs, True Fae, Tokens, Hedge Gates and
active effects of faerie magic such as Pledges or
Contracts. Talecrafting is especially noticeable.
About that Frog The Princess can even attempt see through the
Mask with a roll of Wits + Composure – 3 vs
When the Embassy of Stories is in play you Wyrd + Composure. Resistance is Reflexive and
might end up with one of those stories where automatic.
only a princess or the kiss of the princess
can break the curse, open the door, marry
Prince Charming, or advance the plot. Are Entering the Tale
Princesses princesses?
The answer depends on the story and The easiest way to change a story is to become a
character within it. By entering another person’s
story the Princess is in a privileged position to

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guide it the way she wishes to, or just make a this penalty.
complete pigs breakfast of the whole thing. To
enter a story it must have one or more unfulfilled
positions: If a sword can only be drawn from
a stone by the rightful king, then the position
Consul Privileges
of rightful king is open until someone successful
pulls the sword. Entering a story about corporate Becoming the Tale
corruption would require an open position in the
As a Consul the Princess isn’t limited to assuming
management hierarchy, or perhaps a well placed
a role, she can become the role. When she
sectary job. To enter a story the Princess
Transforms the Princess creates a new self from
rolls Inner Light + Manipulation + Subterfuge
threads of narrative to create a form appropriate
modified Commonalty vs the highest Composure
to her role. While she still cannot create an
+ Supernatural Advantage of her targets. The
appropriate history or documentation for her role
Storyteller will have to use his own judgement when
she can fool dna tests, looks appropriate for her
measuring the dice pool of things like the Sword
position to people outside the story, gets a +Inner
in the Stone, using Merlin’s attributes would be
Light bonus on appropriate Subterfuge rolls to stay
appropriate as he was the person who put it there.
in character and generally fits in much better.
This power does not change the Princess herself,
Because this new form is built from scraps of
nor does it force reality to conform to her new
narrative it triggers the Unseen Sense (Wyrd). Any
role. It is easiest explained as a mental effect
role that’s narrative includes entering the Hedge
that simply causes people (those covered by the
(and since every Hedge journey is a story an Editor
Commonalty group) to percieve her as appropriate
may use Becoming the Tale just for this purpose)
for the role. The Sword in the Stone considers her
has peculiar effects. So long as the Princess is
the rightful king (yes king), the knights of the round
in this form her Regalia armours her against the
table consider her to be a worthy leader, Guinevere
Thorns. Rather than loosing Belief she loses Wisps
considers her to be someone she could marry (for
as a Changeling would loose Glamour. Loosing
obvious reasons entering any role with a romantic
her last Wisp will cause her Transformation to
element is extreemly unethical without informed
end, though being lost in the Thorns is definitely
consent). People outside the Commonalty group
a good justification for regaining Wisps through
will notice everything that’s obviously wrong with
Inner Strength. She can navigate the Hedge rolling
this picture.
Inner Light instead of Clarity. Finally she may be
For the purposes of this power opening a Hedge
affected by Goblin Fruit in ways both positive and
Gate is considered to be a very short story with two
negative however she cannot gain either Wisps or
characters, the Hedge Gate and “the one who fulfils
Glamour from them.
the Gate’s Key”. Using Entering the Tale tricks
Drawback: Assuming a form built out of faerie
the Hedge Gate into thinking the Godmother has
magic is very dangerous to one’s sense of reality.
fulfilled it’s Key, just like Entering the Tale tricks
After using this power for a Princess gets -1 to resist
everyone in a story into thinking the Godmother
Derangements for the rest of the day. A Princess
fills a particular role. Only Hedge Gates with a key
who gains a Derangement while Transformed in
can be opened in this fashion.
such a manner may find the her role taking a
Leaving the story requires the Princess to spend
life of it’s own giving her the Multiple Personality
twenty four hours isolated from any of her fellow
Derangement.
characters before spending a point of Willpower
to break the connection. A Princess automatically
leaves the story at it’s natural conclusion.
A Story About You
The Princess can now extend her power of Entering
Literacy Criticism the Tale to other people. This requires an
open role as always and she rolls Inner Light +
By spending a Wisp the Princess can grant another
Manipulation + Expression – Commonalty vs the
all the benefits of What’s the Story? for one scene.
highest Composure + Supernatural Advantage. In
Drawback: Because of the omnipresent nature
this case Commonality only applies to the people
of the Wyrd this Unseen Sense is distracting and
in the narrative, not the person she’s trying to
imposes a 4 – Composure penalty to Perception.
add to it. The highest Composure + Supernatural
Repeated use of Literacy Criticism on the same
Advantage includes both the narrative and, unless
person will allow them to acclimatise and removes
he is willing, the character to be.

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 When a Godmother forces someone into a tale +2 The outcome of The Hook helps confirm a
it’s harder for them to leave. They must isolate story she has made another part of through A
themselves and spend a point of Willpower like Story about You
a Godmother but they must also roll Composure +1 The Editor is a Troubadour
+ Supernatural Advantage vs the Godmother’s
origonal dice pool. As an Instant Action the +1 The Editor follows the Queen of Spades
Godmother may spend a Wisp to grant an +1 The Editor has any Charms in Connect
automatic Success on the next roll. Only the +1 The Editor has a Belief of 4 to 7
godmother who pushed someone into a story may
unpick their own magic in this way, but any -1 The Editor has a Belief of 8 or more
Godmother can offer some assistance by serving as -1 The Editor has a Belief of 3 or less
secondary actors in the escape roll. -1 The Editor has no dots in Academics
-2 The Editor has a mild Derangement
Ambassador Privilege: Editing the -2 The Editor has any of the following Flaws:
Amnesia, Forgetful or Behaviour Blind
Tale -2 The Editor is attempting to go against a story
she has made another part of through A Story
The Princess can bend the power of stories to her about You
will. Like a needle she dips in and out of the
-3 The Editor is attempting to go against a story
narrative tapestry bringing in elements to suit her
she has become a part of through Entering the
purpose. Once per game session she can twist
Tale
events and fortune as she wishes. A power as
dangerous as it is useful. So continuing our example thanks to the
The first step is The Pattern. Simply put Godmother’s nudge the fight is now going to play
she must identify, or create, the potential for a out according to the power of friendship. This of
narrative pattern in her current situation. Lets say course does not mean they’re untouchable: Their
she and her Nakama are fighting a very powerful foe might give them a huge battering before a last
foe, ordinarily this foe would be able to take down moment surge of team spirit. In short while they
the entire Nakama single handedly. However the will win this power won’t necessarily grant a perfect
Princesses of Hearts in the Nakama has just started victory. At worst they might just drive their foe off
making a speech about how their foe has no chance for a short while, that’s a “win” . Still, it is better
because the Nakama have friendship on their side. than getting soundly defeated by a stronger foe.
In the stories the power of friendship can defeat The final step is a Cruel Twist of Fate. Unless
impossible odds, this is something a Godmother the Godmother scored an Exceptional Success the
can use. Storyteller should introduce a complication to the
The second step is The Hook. Having seen a plot. The Wyrd does not like being tampered with.
potential narrative thread an editor must weave This Twist will never undo the effect of The Hook.
it into the story. She pays two Wisps and rolls The battle will be won, but maybe the Nakama
the lowest of her Inner Light, Manipulation and only think they killed the villain and he’s set to
Expression as an Instant Action. reappear when they least expect it. Their enemy
might have some devious plan that required their
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the action fail
victory, or the entire battle was a distraction.
the Editor also suffers a Cruel Twist of Fate.
Drawback: It’s addictive. Bending the world
Failure: The desired effect does not happen. to your whim is very very addictive. A Godmother
Success: The effect occurs, however the results may Weave the Tale once safely, after every time
come with a Cruel Twist of Fate. after that she must roll Resolve + Composure with
an cumulative -1 penalty, up to a maximum of -5. A
Exceptional Success: The effect occurs with no
Failure means that she’s addicted. The effects vary
Cruel Twist of Fate.
according to each individual but a common theme
Suggested Modifiers: is being unable to see the world as anything but a
+3 The outcome of The Hook helps confirm a collection of reoccurring narrative threads. “She’s
story the Editor has become a part of through got a cruel stepmother and two ugly stepsisters.
Entering the Tale. Of course she wants to marry the charming prince,
what is a lesbian?”

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 Getting clean requires going cold turkey. She again as though she had never used this power
must spend a number of days equal to her before. Careful godmothers flush their system
Manipulation + Expression in an isolated place. before getting addicted.
Somewhere serene is best but in the end isolation And yes, this power is Talecrafting (so is Entering
is isolation. During this time she may not use the Tale, A Story about You and Becoming the
any of her powers from this Embassy, or any Tale in a much more limited and safer fashion),
Charms that manipulate other people. It is best more details along with plenty of example threads
to avoid Charms entirely. Finally she spends one and Cruel Twists of Fate can be found in Swords at
Willpower a day and rolls Resolve + Composure. Dawn starting at page 60. Editors cannot Force the
Once she has Successes equal to her Manipulation Pattern or inflict a Reversal of Fate, though they
+ Expression her system is clean and she can start can certainly be targeted by one.

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 Alhambra
Depression is the inability to construct a future.
– Rollo May

The city streets appear, at first, to be thronged

The City with people. A visitor soon notices, though, that
the crowd seem washed out. Their large eyes,
Alhambra exists on the inner surface of a bubble, adapted for the perpetual gloom, are downcast
nearly six miles in diameter deep within the heart of and empty as they drudge through a dreary
the Darkness. Roughly half the surface is covered existence. No pleasant conversation fills the air,
by a saltwater lake, out of which rise a number of the people’s mouths are small and pressed tight
islands, made of what appears to be black volcanic against the omnipresent damp. Generations away
rock. One seldom sees that rock, however, because from the sun’s embrace has turned their skin as
nearly every acre above the waterline has been pale as death, and that’s just the living. Roughly
built over, in an intricate maze of streets and four out of five of the figures one passes in the
courtyards winding between houses faced in brick, street on any given day are of the “venerable”
granite and marble, and lit by blue-burning lamps or “departed”, for nearly all Alhambrans whose
set on iron poles. Above the buildings and the lake, bodies die remain as ghosts to oversee and advise
in the bubble’s center, clouds form and dissolve their living descendants. Memorial prayers to one’s
constantly, and let fall a rain of slightly salted, departed ancestors are a point of honor and pride in
but still potable, water; water that tastes almost Alhambra; to have the venerable of your household
exactly like human tears. The rains move around always substantial and active is a mark of piety.
Alhambra on a remarkably regular schedule, on a Those aware of how ghosts behave on Earth will
cycle of 24 hours and 10 minutes; the city keeps be surprised by Alhambra’s departed. For one,
time by this cycle, not by the days and years of while they usually prefer to remain near the places
Earth. or people they knew in life, they aren’t bound
The lamps in Alhambra are its only source to them as Earthly ghosts are to their anchors.
of light, and they are kept burning constantly... Alhambra’s departed are free to roam at will and
for darkness within the bubble is more than a can use their manifestations freely, all of Alhambra
mere absence of light; it is a destroyer, eating has the Necropolis Condition.
away anything left within it. Moreover, any
place left unlit for long tends to spawn darkspawn
monsters, which resemble shadows of the things History
(or people) caught within the darkness. The
monsters invariably seek out any and all lights The Alhambrans boast in a thousand ways of the
they can, and destroy whatever lights they reach. Kingdom’s rise and glory, but none will speak of
Every Alhambran is taught from childhood to fear its fall; so it’s very difficult to learn how Alhambra
darkness as one fears death; every Alhambran came to be. Throughout the city, in fact, only one
learns, from a very early age, how to light the lamps memorial of that event is known to exist: a bronze
that burn in every street and room in the city, plaque, mounted in the Observation Room at the
and as part of his schooling serves a term in the top of the highest tower in the Queen’s palace in
lamplighter squads that patrol the city and keep Alhambra. The tale inscribed on that plaque runs:
the lamps burning.

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 In the final days of the Kingdom, first, then other living things; once nothing alive
the minor courts turned from the Light remains, the attacks begin destroying objects, up to
to contend with one another, and to and including the walls. On an exceptional success,
resist the efforts of Her Majesty the Ever- a Darkspawn (most commonly a Shadowwraith,
Flowing to impose order and peace upon but any verity can be swept into Alhambra on the
them. None now can say who was the Darkness’ strange tides) emerges from the dark area
first to use monsters of the Darkness as into the light, and immediately attacks the nearest
weapons in these battles; but those who light source. (If there are two separated dark areas
did were inevitably betrayed, as are all in a scene, the Storyteller should roll separate pools
who think to master Darkness. Their for each area.)
lands became the monsters’ bastions, their The lamps that keep Alhambra safe are designed
peoples (if they were fortunate) were to be used by anyone. Simply holding a lit lamp
killed or (if less blessed) changed into near to an extinguished lamp will cause the latter to
abominations and sent to conquer other ignite, so long as it has fuel. Unlit portable lanterns
courts in turn. are easily found throughout Alhambra, like you
Some few Queens, realizing the world’s might find fire extinguishers in a safety concious
peril at last, came at the invitation of building on Earth.
Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing, with their
subjects and armies to this, the eternal
city Alhambra. Here they prepared
to carry war into the lands taken by
Alhambra's Defences
Darkness, under the command of the Alhambra is a fortress in the most literal sense,
Seraphic General, the first of all Queens it’s foundations were Charmed by the Queen of
after Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing. Tears herself to stand firm against all invaders.
From the gates of the eternal city the Sympathetic magic cannot cross Alhambra’s
armies set forth, and within a day’s march borders unless the caster scores more Successes
the swollen horde of abominations fell than the Queen rolled to create Alhambra’s
upon them and broke them. defences; do not bother rolling, just assume the
Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing, with Queen wins. The same goes for the strange magic
her loyal knight commanders, looked out wielded by other beings in the World of Darkness;
from this place and saw the Seraphic if they reach across the borders of Alhambra they
General rise from the field of battle, must roll against the Queen.
transmuted into a living storm; they The only two exceptions are Charms invoked
knew in that moment that all the world with Lacrima – which are permitted through the
save Alhambra was lost forever. In this defences – and the Darkness itself. Deep within
place Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing and the Dark World the Darkness exists everywhere the
her knight commanders performed the Light does not. This fact is absolute, even for a
Grand Sacrifice of Inversion, enveloping Queen. In an effort to breach Alhambra’s defences
the eternal city within a perpetual ward it is possible to disguise other magic as the work
and shield, so that the last refuge of the of Lacrima; but again one must roll against the
Light would be preserved undimmed. defences the Queen built to detect such subterfuge.
The wisdom of Her Majesty the
Ever-Flowing shall illuminate the cosmos
forever.
Language
Darkness in Alhambra As far as can be determined, the day-to-day
language spoken in the closed sphere which is
When a part of Alhambra is not lit by the lamps Alhambra is a hybrid tongue, despite the claims
(other source of light provide no protection, and of the inhabitants of that place. Linguistic drift is
are usually avoided least they result in accidents), inevitable, even though imposed stasis, and there
anything in that area is gradually destroyed. At the are an incredible number of concepts and ideas that
start of each turn a dark area exists, the Storyteller exist in the modern day that are widely agreed to
rolls 1 die for each 10 square feet left unlit; each have not existed in the cultural purity of latter
success on this roll inflicts 1 bashing damage to days of the Kingdom. It has picked up words
something within the dark area. People will suffer from modern English, from Revolutionary French,

375
from Han-Dynasty Chinese and from Ngurai-illam- a Raven’s maidservants will be loyal to her and not
wurrung, and a hundred other dialects which have reporting on her every activity.
existed throughout the millennia the last remnants If a Princess is prepared visiting Alhambra
of the Kingdom have stood in their rain-drenched need not be dangerous. The Court of Tears has
realm. Moreover, it contains sounds, especially in a standard policy of not permitting Princesses
the emotional words, which resemble the glossolalia to leave Alhambra until they have demonstrated
of the Royal Tongue, which violate the normal loyalty, “for their own safety”, but a prepared
structure and flow of the language. Princess can over come this. The much more
The base of the language has some noted important policies of recruiting Radiant Princesses
similarities with the language of the Kofun culture, and respecting Nobility requires the Court of Tears
including a logosyllabic writing system, and similar to honour deals from the Radiant if they’re made in
grammatical and noun-formation structures, yet it good faith and don’t threaten Alhambra’s safety.
also has some differences such as a rarely used use If a Princess agrees to visit Alhambra on the
of colour to make minute clarifications that appears condition that they’re permitted to return at a time
to be adapted from the Royal Tongue. Some think of their choosing that deal will be honoured.
the similarities are just a coincidence, there are a If she forgets to specify a right of return escaping
lot of languages after all. is rarely that hard. A visitor’s maidservants will
The later words, clearly alien to the root report on her every activity, but they are still
language and most likely absorbed from Alhambran expected to cook, clean, and run errands for their
agents returned home, are moulded to fit into Noble guest, and Alhambrans are raised to defer to
the standard structure, including the imposition Nobility. As such a visiting Princess can distract
of the dual grammatical genders, the animate her minders with errands while she slips off and
and the inanimate, meaning that, even with the browbeats some poor Sworn into taking her home.
influx of modern words from the developments of She will, sadly, get everyone involved into serious
the previous century, their structure fits into the trouble.
rigid grammatical structure which the rest of the The real danger is accidentally violating
language is composed of. The linguistic divergence, Alhambran law, which is bureaucratic, frequently
too, is notable; many of the living inhabitants of thecontradictory, and worst of all forbids everyone
city would have problems understanding the elder from speaking against either the Queen or the
shades which haunt the place, let alone the dictates harvests. A visitor’s servants will try to steer her
from the Queen. safely, but following their advice will also steer
Like any Language, Alhambran may be learned the Princess away from accomplishing anything
as a one dot Merit. However Old Alhambran significant. Trying to turn your minders into double
is treated as a separate language which must be agents can work but carries risks, but so does
learned separately. trying to work around your servants. Though the
pro-nobility bias in Alhambra’s culture will allow
a visiting Princess to be judged according to the

The Radiant in Alhambra more favourable interpretations of the law it’s still
possible for a Princess to accidentally commit a
crime. If this happens house arrest is the best a
While the Ravens have a verity of unflattering visitor can hope for. A Noble trying to fight her
opinions on the philosophies of the Radiant Courts way out of trouble will rapidly attract the Queen
(and the Court of Mirrors), they see the individual of Tears’ personal attention.
Princesses as people to flatter and recruit, and Because of this, but mostly because Radiant
Alhambra’s culture includes a strong bias to look Princesses don’t even like the Court of Tears,
up to and respect the Nobility. Any Radiant Alhambra gets few visitors. However there’s
Princess who finds herself in Alhambra will discover usually a couple of Radiant in Alhambra; either
that she’s treated better than the average local waiting for their request to visit the uncensored
citizen so long as she obeys Alhambran law. She part of Alhambra’s archives to crawl through the
will be provided with a modest mansion and a bureaucracy, nurturing a friendship that formed
couple of maidservants or menservants of her own across party lines, or just curious to see what the
for the duration of her stay, as well as access to last remainder of their heritage actually looks like.
luxuries like food from outside and electricity (this
may come from an imported generator or a Bequest
capable of powering technology). This is similar to
what a new Princess of Tears can expect, save that

376
 City is the province of the other Orders, the proper
The Orders time, place and manner for all actions whatsoever
is set down in the records of the Parrots, and the
Under the law of Her Ever-Flowing Majesty, the Order is ready at any time to counsel the perplexed
people of Alhambra are divided into nine great citizen on the path of proper conduct. Moreover, as
chivalric Orders, whose knights and officers direct keeper of the calendar the Mistress of Ceremonies
the city’s affairs. Each of these carries the name tells all Alhambra of the proper times and methods
of a bird or beast of Earth – an ascription dating to celebrate the City’s past, so that the ongoing
to the Kingdom’s day, and therefore never altered, work to establish the City’s rule in the occupied
though not one Alhambran in a thousand knows provinces is not allowed to obscure the goal of
anything about the animals for which the Orders bringing the Kingdom back in truth.
were named. (There was a tenth Order, in the days Lest there be any in the City who neglect the
just after the Fall, and children told to recite the proper way of things, the Order of the Parrot has
Orders’ names always list it last ... but no one the duty of teaching every child born in Alhambra
belongs to it now, so no one but children thinks between the ages of six and thirteen those things
about it. Even the ghosts of its members ceased which every subject of the Kingdom must know:
to appear many centuries ago.) Each also has the city’s history and poetry, mathematics, rituals
a representative at the Queen’s court, appointed and etiquette, and the threat of the Darkness. It is
by Her Majesty to carry Her word to the city as they who set the rota of the lamplighter squads,
needed. sending their charges into otherwise deserted
building with fuel cans and cleaning rags to keep
them in order; and while a Spotted Hyena is
Order of the Parrot normally in charge of a squad, in case of trouble, a
Parrot is expected to accompany his students if he
Representative: Mistress (Master) of Ceremonies is capable.

A tragedy ancient in Alhambra relates the tale of

a boy and girl of the City, who loved without the Alhambra's Calendar
knowledge of their ancestors. Because they lived
Alhambra uses a calendar that, by tradition, was
on islands separated by a strait, and the boy was a
invented in the later days of the Kingdom. It is
strong swimmer, the girl took up a lamp and shone
basically lunisolar, with 12 months of alternating 30
a beam across the water, making a clear path for
and 29 days in a normal year; 123 years out of 334,
her lover, when they wished to enjoy one another.
a 13th month of 30 days is added, to keep the start
One night, however, the girl’s mother found the
of the year on the first new moon after the spring
lamp and turned it away when the boy was in mid-
equinox. This calendar would be quite accurate,
strait; the boy was never seen again alive, and when
if Alhambra counted the months in Earth’s days;
the girl learned what had passed she plunged herself
alas, the “day” of the calendar is the cycle of the
into the strait to join him. To this day the monsters
rains, so the months and years drift out of sync
that breach the water in that strait look almost
with the real planetary movements by more than 2
human, and sometimes even beautiful. The lesson
days each year. This does not trouble the Order of
drawn from this tragic tale - in Alhambra, every
the Parrot; the cycle of festivals in the Kingdom’s
tale has a lesson, or it isn’t told - is stern: never
capital is far more important than the seasons in
grasp at love untimely. Court within the rules of
occupied provinces.
courtship and the knowledge of your elders; follow
the established ceremonial rites of the City in love
as in all other things, for else the Darkness rises.
It is truly said that the only god or goddess Order of the Beaver
worshipped in Alhambra, apart from the Ever-
Representative: Serene Architect
Flowing Herself, is Ceremony; the Order of the
Parrot, first in precedence of the nine knightly
Even in a city as unusual as Alhambra, the
Orders, bears more resemblance to monastic orders
necessities must be taken care of. The Serene
on Earth than to the warriors the title of ”knight”
Architect is responsible for Alhambra as a physical
suggests, and its head the Mistress of Ceremonies,
city. Her order manufactures the raw materials
who bears no weapon but an orb of crystal and
the city is built from in charmed furnaces, and
a measuring rod, is a hierophant not a general.
While the substance of most things done in the

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fashions them into the streets and buildings that group protecting it’s members interests from being
form Alhambra. drowned out by the more focused Orders. The
Architecture in Alhambra is defined by two Premier in Craft, official chosen for being the best
constants; the near omnipresent rains and the need craftsman in Alhambra, is something of a career
for constant light. Buildings are built with large politician.
sloping roofs and large open drains can be found For all that it is an oddity, the unusual design
on every street to carry the rains away. Indoors of the Order is perhaps the only way it could
Alhambrans use large open plan spaces to maximise function. There are some tasks that require
the spread of light, what furniture they use is often a certain flexibility of mind, even in the rigid
set into the walls or at floor level – mats instead of environment of Alhambra. The Pelican never
tables, cushions instead of chairs – to avoid casting formed the rigid hierarchies found in the other
shadows. Only important buildings can afford to orders, partly because skill as a doctor does not
light narrow corridors, and even then only when qualify you to manage craftsmen, but mostly
they are needed for defence. because the Pelicans felt that they didn’t spend
years studying medicine to go into management.
Instead they form their own smaller hierarchies
Furnaces under the umbrella of their Order, hierarchies
small enough to still have the flexibility craftsmen
Furnaces of various sizes, from half a man’s require.
height to a large room, dot the neighborhoods of
Alhambra. These are all built to the same plan:
a ring chamber filled with taffy blocks from the
refineries, around a shaft driven into the ground
Order of the Tortoise
covered by a hatch, which lets into a room above Representative: Vicegerent of Ages
that can be sealed off. The hatch can be opened
and closed by a lever outside the upper room. The Order of the Tortoise blend the role of a
The purpose of these furnaces is a strange magiclibrarian, an archivist and a castellan. Like
that creates the stone and metal from which the their namesake, the Order makes it’s home in a
city is built. Samples of the stuff desired are fortress on the same square as an imperial palace.
placed within the upper chamber, which is sealed, Behind it’s enormous Charmed walls they archive
leaving it in darkness; then the hatch above the millennia’s worth of records from all walks of
shaft is opened. This lets the Darkness, lying thick
Alhambran life and they drill themselves hard to
under the hatch, spring out to attack whatever is defend those documents. They are scholars and
in the upper chamber. But, when the first sound of librarians who are mostly interested in their work.
Darkspawn attacking can be heard, the taffy blocks You could call them reserved, even shy, but if they
are ignited, bringing the upper chamber to a red ormust they’d lay down their very lives to protect
yellow heat. When enough time has passed to melt their archive.
everything within, the hatch is closed, the upper Of all the orders, few can claim the prestige that
chamber’s seals are broken, and the substance left is given to the Order of the Tortoise. In Alhambra,
inside (now multiplied several times) cools off. The
history is everything. The present is bleak, the
corpses of Darkspawn that dared attack Alhambra future is more of the same, but the past, the past is
are usually melted in this way as well. glorious. As the keepers and trustees of Alhambra’s
history the Order of the Tortoise is considered the
closest thing to that glorious history, save for the
Order of the Pelican Lady of Alhambra who was alive even in those
shining times.
Representative: Premier in Craft It would therefore break an Alhambran’s heart
to know that if any order were to doubt the
In every society there are jobs that can only be righteousness of their civilisation it is the Tortoises.
done by people with years of skill and experience. Deep within the very heart of their fortress
In Alhambra these jobs, the doctors, the master they keep their greatest treasure: documents and
craftsmen, the bankers, they all belong to the artefacts that pre-date the Fall: Treatises on
Order of the Pelican. The Pelican is in many philosophy, codes of law and the diaries of people
ways something of a historical anomaly, it is who would deplore Alhambra’s sad and parasitic
the ex miscellanea of the Orders. In many existence. Those few who have read these prised
ways the Pelican is more of a special interest texts, like their namesakes, withdraw into their

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shells and hide their doubt’s deep in the heart of police. It is the Hyena’s who’s strong sword arms
Alhambra. guard every Enclave within the occupied provinces,
and who patrol every district of Alhambra in search
of Darkspawn. The Marshal of the Virtues boats
Bequests that his men are the best of Alhambra, and this
claim has some merit for in a city under siege the
The Tortoise stores more than just documents, Queen of Tears has granted her Marshal a royal writ
their treasuries serve as Alhambra’s central of conscription. The Hyena’s have the first pick of
repository for Bequests; this makes the Tortoises each new generation as they leave school. The right
perhaps the best armed group in Alhambra, and the of conscription causes the inevitable conflicts, other
order is drilled daily in use of the various magical orders fear being starved of talent and even attempt
items they stockpile. All in case they are ever called to hide the abilities of promising individuals until
to fight in defence of their archives. they are past the age of recruitment. Like so much
The most valuable Bequests in Alhambra are else in Alhambra there is no chance that this shall
those that date back to the Kingdom themselves, change, even if it is divisive the defence of Alhambra
some of which still contain a spark of Invocations must come first.
that have long ceased to exist. Most of these Because of Alhambra’s perpetual manpower
Bequests are far to valuable to actually use, for shortages the soldiers of the Spotted Hyena are
they contain unique and irreplaceable magic that trained as light skirmishers, their drills cover both
cannot be duplicated in today’s day and age. Three the ars militants and ars magica and specialise
of these lost Invocations are detailed below. Alhambra’s military for urban conflicts both in
Alhambra itself and in the cities of the occupied
• The principles of Fulmine are one of provinces, where most taxes can be collected. The
contrasts. They are sensual, yet serene. They Hyenas favour working in small squads and using
are giving, yet also take. Fulmine gives the their magic to control the terrain or establish
power to enhance the senses and experience defensive positions, they also train hard on how to
from another perspective. The most powerful evacuate back to Alhambra with a minimum threat
Fulmine Charms can temporally transform a to resources or the all important Wisps Alhambra’s
Princess some types of Supernatural being, operatives harvest.
and even transfer all a Princess’ powers to a
mortal for a short time.
• The Invocation of Metallo emphasises Order of the Otter
humility, hard work, a practical approach to
magic, and sacrificing one’s own goals and Representative: Steward of the Household
desires for the good of others. Metallo Charms
often specialise in domestic tasks, with powers There once was a man, of noble birth but
that aid in farming, cooking, homemaking and undistinguished occupation who nonetheless reveled
other aspects of everyday life. It is the only in his work. He often encountered six people, his
lost Invocation that is regularly used within equals in birthright but revered for their different
Alhambra; these powers are just too useful to occupations. The six alike oft mocked the man from
forsake. the height of their seats. Why would one choose
such a menial job as gathering food? And so they
• Vuoto is the invocation of forethought and offered to take him under their wing and work with
judgement. It’s Charms could guide you down one of them, but met with his refusal they shrugged
the right path, and even predict the outcome and went on, for food was aplenty and the sun
of an action. Masters of Vuoto could see across always shone.
time and space, and rarely made a decision in And yet, one day, the Night fell. The six
ignorance. panicked, for they knew not where or how to find
nourishment! So they turned to the little man for
assistance, and so he answered their pleas: “You
Order of the Spotted Hyena mocked me and called me a knave from the height
of your seats, yet you come running my way when
Representative: Marshal of the Virtues it now suits your fancy. My only request therefore
is this: I want to stand among you, equal in birth
The Hyenas are one of the most prestigious Orders; and importance, and you shall never forget who has
their members are both Alhambra’s army, and it’s helped you during this time of duress.”

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 The six were appalled, such boldness! But their plunge beneath the weeds come back corroded and
strength would soon wane, and who knew what battered, or not at all.
lurked in the night, and so they accepted him among
their group.
Thus, the six became seven. Order of the Ghost Owl
This old Alhambran tale, of whom many different Representative: Fool of the Summit
tellings exist, has a twofold purpose. Firstly, it is
a cautionary tale, telling one of the basic morals of Once, long ago, before the Darkness consumed the
the city: in the Darkness, nothing is free. Only the world outside, a foolish man decided to climb a vast
mercy of Her Everflowing Majesty has no price, for pile of stone; so vast, that its peak was concealed
she herself already paid it herself. by rainclouds. Still, step after step, he climbed,
Secondly, it has been unofficially adopted as an until he reached the top. But he had climbed long
allegorical retelling of the Order of the Otter’s enough that, head in the clouds, he was sure that
creation. The Order’s history is an interesting there must be another step. So he fell down, and
one, for it can be said to be both the oldest and broke every bone in his body, and died. Do not try
youngest of the city. Some of the oldest Ghosts still to exceed your station in life, children, or you too
inhabiting the City claim to have heard of stories of shall die.
groups with similiar goals to the Otters being active
before the Fall but, as any Tortoise will be quick From this story, told to Alhambran children, comes
to point out, no official recording of such activities the traditional role of the Fool of the Summit.
taking place during the Kingdom can be found in Face painted like a skull (to remember that first,
their archives. dead Fool), dressed in black, white and red, the
The Order’s job is to procure the means for Fool holds a position much akin to that of a court
the city’s continued sustainment, and their main jester and devil’s advocate combined. Their job
means to do so is by harvesting the Lake of is to observe proceedings and they are tasked to
Tears, for which they thank their Queen daily. provide distractions, through silent mummery and
The Steward of the Household oversees both the witty commentary alike. Their life depends on
gathering process and the distribution, and in this their ability to keep others entertained, for if they
respect some find a third meaning to the old tale: are boring (or, worse, unfunny), the best that can
never run afoul of an Otter. For they are the ones happen to them is a honour duel. The worst does
that best know the depths of Alhambra’s wilds, not bear thinking of. They are tragic figures, forced
and their skill in herblore is unmatched by all but to break the minor social conventions of Alhambra
the most experienced Pelican. For this reason, the in pursuit of a tradition which mostly dooms them.
lesser Stewards seem to hold a strange amount of However, notably, the Fool does not have any
hold in the city, for nobody wants to displease one immunity to ramifications from his comments.
of the people who may very well decide of their He is not granted freedom to mock anyone, and
family’s foreseeable future. must always consider the complex ramifications
The Alhambrans draw their daily meals from the of any of his remarks on any member of the
lake. A few feet below the surface begins a layer court. As a result, a Fool who manages to survive
of weeds strongly resembling kelp, among which any time is almost inevitably a laconic figure, a
swim a host of fish, pale white or ink black. Fleets master of the double-entrendre and the loaded
of small boats row out constantly with nets to statement. In a sense, it is their weakness that
trawl the lake, bringing up weeds and fish, both gives them strength, because they are a pathetic
of which the Alhambrans eat. The weeds are tough figure, below the attention of any true aristocrat
and stringy, the fish turn rubbery when cooked, to eliminate for anything but an overt insult,
and both taste strongly of salt, but they’re edible and too many will take killing a Fool to be an
and plentiful enough. Oddly, in any place where admission that their insinuations are grounded in
the weeds can be found, no one has ever found fact. The greatest art a Fool can manage is
a bottom to the lake. The plant stalks continue to make ones target humiliate themselves, slowly
downward into unlit depths, as far as any diver has goading a chosen target through passive-aggressive
dared to go, without ever reaching soil. Few divers remarks and subtle insinuation until an improper
have dared go far, of course, since the darkness is outburst results, and the consequences fall upon
just as hostile under the water as it is on land, their target’s head.
and Alhambra’s usual lamps are extinguished by And in that, the Fool’s true purpose is revealed;
water. Those reckless (or desperate) enough to for one who cannot withstand the jibes and

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insinuations of a Fool, will not be able to resist
the temptations of the world outside nor the
Refineries
whispers of the Darkness, and are thus unworthy Scattered through the islands and neighbourhoods
of their status. Fools of the Summit are chosen of Alhambra are the refineries, the Order of the
from the Order of the Ghost Owl, whose remit Vulture’s most important installations. These are,
is the discovery of hidden weakness, both within from the outside, square towers of black basalt, five
the city and in the occupied provinces outside it. stories high – the only places in the city where
Lesser Fools walk in every neighborhood, observing the rock of the islands appears undisguised. It’s
and satirising as they go, and many Alhambrans within these towers that refining masters distil
believe these are the whole of the Order; in fact, the priceless fuel for Alhambra’s lamps. Seeds of
though, many citizens belong to both that order light and Bequests full of Wisps are brought to
and another, and report suspicious behaviors to the refineries by the cartload. The refiners crack
the Ghost Owls’ officers in secret. Those who the Seeds in enormous Charmed engines, developed
wear the skull mask are honing the arts of social shortly after the Cataclysm, that separates it into
assassination in preparation for the most delicate the rarefied spirits of lamp fuel and a gum-like taffy,
mission: being sent to a land under the Darkness which they mould into blocks. These blocks, like
to root out secrets of Alhambra’s enemies. lamp fuel, will burn, but produce heat instead of
light.

Order of the Vulture

Representative: Bearer of Eternal Flames
Order of the Raccoon
Representative: Inspector General
Once it grows past a certain size every civilisation For many years it was questioned why Alhambra
seen so far has required some form of central needed an Inspector General at all; only
organisation and governance. This in turn requires Alhambra’s dislike of change kept the Order alive.
resources, the administrators must be fed, paid, and The reason is simple enough, the Order of the
supplied with ink and parchment. Alhambra uses Raccoon deals with the strange and the usual,
one of the more common methods: Taxation, and they investigate anomalies and create plans for
it is the Order of the Vulture who tax Alhambra’s contingencies that fall far outside Alhambra’s
citizens and advise it’s Queen on economics and standard operating procedures. Constituently
matters of the royal treasury. Alhambrans often fear and distrust the Raccoons
But Alhambra needs something far more than it as a representation of everything they fear.
needs mere currency, to survive Alhambra needs For all of the Long Night the Order of the
hope. Under Alhambran law all of Earth is Raccoon were underfunded, understaffed, and a
governed by Her Majesty, the Queen of Tears. It (sometimes self selected) dumping ground for those
was therefore a simple decision to say that instead who’s out of the box thinking was unwelcome
of being taxed in money, the provinces will be taxed in the other Orders. They spent their time
in hope. The vultures, delighted by the expansion wargaming unlikely situations, sometimes just plain
of their duties and prestige, eagerly accepted their wargaming, writing plans for bizarre and often
Queen’s decree. completely fictional threats, and wondering if
When the forces of Alhambra steal into the anybody was going to file an anomalous phenomena
Occupied Provinces to collect their taxes they do report this month.
so under the banner of the Vulture. They may But since the Release, now the Raccoon’s star is
travel with a guard of soldiers from the Hyena and rising. Alhambra’s immediate post release strategy
travel to a target suggested by the Ghost Owl, was based on one of the many plans generations
but it is the Vultures who started it all with their of Raccoons had been dreaming up for exactly
dispassionate tables of numbers saying how much this situation. As the world begins to notice the
they must tax for Alhambra to survive another year Nobility even the quiet Alhambrans are finding it
and it is also the Vultures who sit at the top of every harder to hide, and it is the Raccoons who are called
Enclave, and at the bottom doing the physical work to investigate reports of all the strange weirdness
of collecting Wisps. that is beginning to cross paths with Alhambra’s
operatives on Earth. If anything, now that the
Raccoons are symbolic of actual changes rather
than potential they are liked even less than before.

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Order of the Peacock (extinct) and Parrot still have a committee going over where
the archived weather reports should be stored, and
this argument has been going on for longer than
Representative: Blessed Merrymaker
Alhambras own written records can reliably tell.
Entertainers, revellers, perhaps even pop-stars.
Once the Order of the Peacock provided leisure
and relaxation to all of Alhambra. Now they
are no more. Alhambra is a city in mourning,
Protectorates
revelry it was considered distasteful under such
The Queen of Tears claims absolute sovereignty
circumstances and so the Order was suspended
over all but this is rather a big task for one
on a temporary basis. The last entertainers died
woman, no matter how mighty. To facilitate
millennia ago still on paid leave, now all that
her dominion she has divided her claim into
remains of the Order are some old Ghosts still
numerous protectorates and appointed Regents and
entertaining empty auditoriums.
Governors to execute her will.
Protectorates are the Alhambran equivalent of
an Embassy, though the culture of a Protectorate is
Judiciary very different. Their Edicts are either based around
achieving dominion, or assume the Protector
Careful readers will note that none of the above
already has dominion. The three ranks – Secretary,
is dedicated to resolving disputes between citizens,
Governor, Regent – are just that: Ranks in the
nor what is and what isn’t legal.
protectorate’s chain of command. Culture aside the
There exists a code of laws, with the usual
difference between a Protectorate and an Embassy
items (no stealing, no murder, etc.), but the most
is simple: There is no difference. Once you peel
important item is that any of the Orders (but
away the cultural differences Protectorates and
usually either the Spotted Hyenas, Raccoons, or
Embassies are entirely the same thing.
Vultures) may, with a proper Writ signed by The
By policy each Protectorate forms one hierarchy
Queen, do whatever is ordered on the Writ.
per location where it is active. Each hierarchy has
How a member of an Order goes about getting
one supreme leader; either a Governor or a Regent
a Writ is ambiguous; you talk to the next person
and only one member of that rank may be stationed
up in the chain of command if you think you or
within that region. In Alhambra the Queen servers
one of your underlings needs one (going above your
as the de-facto Regent for all Protectorates, though
CO’s head, unless you can’t find them or the matter
there’s usually at least one actual Regent around
involves them personally, is heavily frowned upon),
under a legal fiction that she’s merely a Governor
and sometimes the Writ comes down. Sometimes
(with the appropriate position in the hierarchy) or
the Writ comes down at the request of another
spending most of her time on leave but “willing to
Order; sometimes, the Writ comes down without
lend a hand”. Secretaries are forbidden to operate
anybody asking for it.
outside an established region though if their job is
If you need binding arbitration of any other kind
temporary they may be permitted to do so under
of dispute, you just go to the Order who covers your
the governance of another region, usually Alhambra
dispute. Food? Go to the Otters. Who owns a
itself.
particular bit of land? Beavers. Who owes what to
The Court of Tears has a unique advantage
whom when? Vultures. Criminal matters? Spotted
in its Protectorates. In the many centuries
Hyenas. And so on. Each Order has Arbiters who
Alhambra spent short of Enlightened manpower
hears cases; but note that the Queen can, at whim,
they developed a powerful Charm that can promote
override any Arbiter. (When a corrupt Arbiter is
a Sworn to the rank of Secretary. The Sworn
discovered, expect the Ghost Owls to get her to do
must meet all the usual Requirements for the
so; otherwise, the Arbiter’s word is usually final;
Protectorate except for Inner Light; instead they
wasting the Queen’s time is, after all, against the
must possess three dots in Lacrima. Most
law, such as it is.)
Secretaries are Sworn, in fact it’s rare for a Princess
Just don’t expect an Arbiter to resolve a matter
to be invited until she qualifies to become a a
hinging upon an ambigiuty in the law anywhere
Governor. Sworn spend a point of Willpower to
near fast, as milennia upon milennia of records
unlock the Transformed Edict of a Secretary for a
and precedents take time to work through, and
scene.
most such judgements are pronounced years after
In theory this Charm could be used by the
they have been taken for consideration. Tortoise
Radiant, but it is rightly considered an invaluable

382
strategic asset and the court of Tears goes to great employed caretaker might be responsible for
lengths to protect their advantage from their foes. providing aid to the elderly or the disabled. The
The Charm was intentionally created to require bread and butter of Ghosts, and thus of the Grave
Lacrima. Even understanding of the Charm is Tenders’ trade is performing funeral services. The
strictly limited, instead each Protectorate typically required Attribute is Presence and the required skill
has one Bequest capable of admitting Sworn to is Expression.
its ranks that is kept under the tightest security The Grave Tenders are expected to mostly
available. cut ties with the living in favour of living as
All Protectorates are named after a mineral, one of the dead. In doing so something of a
the names below are the translations of the the Ghost’s unsubstantial nature sinks into their
Protectorate’s name from Alhambran into English. Transformed identity. Their skin becomes pale,
but not unhealthy. Their regalia acquires funerary
shrouds and turns snow white. Colours themselves

The Protectorate of Amethyst seem muted and distant. The official hair style is
long and swept back in white or silver.

Alternative Titles: The Grave Tenders, The

Keepers of the Necropolis, The Keepers of Memory Wait, something is missing

Informal Names: Funeral Priests, Corpse-Brides The Keepers of Memory are Alhambran
(derogatory) through and through; their Edicts reflect
the realities of Ghosts in Alhambra and lack
Parent Order: The Order of the Parrot. some obvious powers that would be useful
when they travel beyond their borders; such
They say all are equal before death, but the people as the ability to see Ghosts in Twilight.
of Alhambra know this is not true. Death is a This doesn’t stop them from carrying
transition, but something of the individual remains. out their duties; it simply means that they
Even when you’re dead, life, as it were, goes on. use more Lacrima Charms than, say, the
The dead still owe loyalty to the Last Empress. Embassy to Death.
They are still expected to serve for the survival of
Alhambra if their Queen requests it. In turn the
Last Empress has her royal duties to keep her dead
subjects safe and protected.
The Protectorate of Amethyst represent the Secretary Edicts
Queen in her role as Lady Protector of the Dead,
in Alhambra they they are responsible for taking Sharing Life with Death
care of the Ghosts and performing the funeral
services. In the occupied provinces they are sent The Keepers of the Necropolis are expected to live
to rule and safeguard the dead in the Queen’s in as though in death, and so bring the comforts of
name. Though officially all forms of undead fall life to the death. No method they have is more
under the Protectorate’s jurisdiction they have direct than by inviting a Ghost into their own
body to share the comforts of the flesh themselves.
little experience with forms of the dead other than
Ghosts, and to a lesser extent dead Princesses. Though in recent nights a more common use of this
power is to transport ghosts between Alhambra and
various Enclaves in the occupied provinces.
Marks and Requirements To invite a ghost into her body a Secretary must
touch it and spend a Wisp, if the Ghost wishes
Corpse-Brides don’t have a connection to Death it may freely enter the Secretary’s body, applying
itself, they have a connection to the dead. Their the Union of Life and Death Condition to her.
role is closer to that of a caretaker than a The Condition lasts for one day, unless both the
psychopomp. They are expected to ensure that the Princess and the Ghost mutually agree to end it
honoured dead are kept comfortable and provided early.
for; much in the way that that a government Drawback: It is a possession, and nothing
prevents the two from fighting for control of the

383
body. If any disagreement arises a clash of wills
occurs. Roll Resolve + Inner Light vs Power. If
Bequeathing Funerary Gifts
the Ghost wins apply the Possessed Condition for In Alhambra all are expected to do their part for
a number of turns equal to Ghost’s Successes + the survival of the city, and the departed are no
1. If the host wins the Ghost cannot try again for exception. Yet beyond Alhambra’s borders most
a number of turns equal to the host’s Success + Ghosts can do little but watch or spy. The Corpse-
1. Regardless of who wins, the first turn is wasted Brides are occasionally asked to help prepare a
fighting over the body. Ghost for more involved tasks.
This Edict allows a Governor to turn a Bequest
into a Numina. This requires preparing the Bequest
Honouring the Ancestors with an Extended Inner Light + Occult roll with
a target of the Bequest’s Dots as a Merit. Once
Ghosts gain Essence when remembered by the
this is done the Governor hands the Bequest to the
living and the primary duty of the Protectorate
Ghost, the physical objects rots and crumbles and
of Amethyst is to provide this Essence by leading
the Ghost has a new ability, spending Essence in
funerals and rituals of remembrance. Every time
place of Wisps where required. (Ghost Princesses
a Corpse-Bride in her Transformed identity helps
use Wisps as usual).
someone remember someone who has passed away
If the Ghost is given a Bequest that is able to
the Ghost gains two Essence instead of one.
create Wisps such as Capitation; the Ghost creates
Essence instead. If the ghost is given a Bequest
that can transfer Wisps, such as Charge, the Ghost
Blessing the Union of Life and Death can transfer Essence. The one absolute limit is that
By touching a person, a Ghost and spending a Ghosts cannot benefit from the Bequeath Upgrades
Wisp a Secretary can ease them into a harmonious Charged and Empowered. If Bequeathing Funerary
possession as per Sharing Life with Death. The Gifts is used on a Bequest with either Upgrade, the
target is willing no roll is required. If the target effects of that Upgrade are lost in the transition.
is unwilling she rolls Presence + Occult vs Resolve There is no way to transfer the granted Numina
+ Supernatural Advantage. The Ghost may spend or recover the Bequest.
a point of Essence to roll Power + Finesse as a
Secondary Actor to the roll.
Regent Edict: Bearing the Burdens
Governor Edicts of the Dead
By touching the Ghost of a Princess a Regent
Hallowing the Necropolis can draw the Ghost’s Shadows into her own soul,
protecting the dead Princess from its greatest
Ghosts suffer; they suffer because they have threat. Using this Edict requires touching the
unfinished business among the living and they royal Ghost and spending a Wisp as an instant
suffer because their nature separates them from the action. The Regent peels off the darkness and decay
living. In Alhambra the departed have no such from the ghost and hides it deep within herself.
restriction and the Keepers of the Necropolis can Each activation of this Edict transfers one dot of
bring this peace to the provinces. To do this she Shadows, but the Regent may use it as many times
spends two Wisps and begins an extended Presence as she wishes.
+ Expression + Lacrima roll to consecrate the The player should track the number of ghost
ground. She must achieve Sanctuary Size * 2 Shadows separately from her regular Shadows using
Success. the Ghost Shadows Condition. This is because
When sufficient successes are accumulated the they have a second use. Shadows can corrupt on
target area gains the Necropolis Condition. Under royal ghosts in a ways a living Princesses is immune
ordinary circumstances a Necropolis lasts for Inner too, and Lacrima can turn Darkness to it’s own
Light days, if cast upon Sanctified ground it will purposes. As a Reflexive action the Regent may
last as long as the ground remains Sanctified. This expel angry wraiths from her body, removing one
also harmonises the boundaries of the Necropolis ghost Shadow per wraith. These wraiths are a
with the boundaries of the Sanctified Ground. form of Darkspawn, not Ghosts, though they are
immaterial and usually exist in Twilight. They
are similar enough to the Darkspawn known as

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Shadowwraiths that the Storyteller may use those when new Nobility raised the power and ambitions
creatures. If the Regent spends a Willpower point of Alhambra that the Queen has once again began
when releasing Ghost Shadows she may roll Resolve to appoint new Questers and send them out beyond
+ Composure. Success allows her to direct the the city’s walls to inspect the royal holdings.
released Darkspawn to attack targets of her choice, Where they tread the Radiant quake in fear, for
though they always put their own survival first. The Protectorate of Garnet is the Protectorate of
Releasing Darkspawn into the world is a Belief Orders itself. With their word alone whole nations
Compromise at a -4 penalty, releasing them for the can be claimed for Alhambra.
purpose of destroying them is not a Compromise or
a lesser Compromise depending on the Princess.
Drawback: Working with Shadows always has
its downsides. Shadows taken from a Ghost
Marks and Requirements
Princess have all the same disadvantages as regular
The Royal Emissaries are representatives of the
Shadows. The Princess may remove them as per Queen and often begin to look just a little bit like
normal Shadows, the player decides what kind ofshe did, before millennia of sorrows took their toll.
Shadows to remove first. Princes are often mistaken for a woman at first
glance. Like their Queen, Questers eyes are never
free from tears but their gaze is no less terrifying

The Protectorate of Garnet for it. Wherever they go the Queen’s Emissaries
are as regal and commanding as she is. The official
hairstyle is long and loose with two long ringlets,
Alternative Titles: The Queen’s Questers, Her one on either side of their face.
Eyes and Ears. To be an Emissary requires more than other
Protectorates. It is not only enough to have a
Formal Epithets: Quester, Royal Emissary, Your regal Presence and the ability to Intimidate rebel
Majesty (Questers represent the Queen Herself) governors grown fat and lazy. She must also
be a paragon of Alhambra, someone worthy of
Informal Epithets: Inspector, Inquisitor representing the Queen. Lacrima must be at five
dots. All Questers are Princesses, for the Queen to
Parent Order: None, the Protectorate of Garnet be represented by a commoner would be improper.
is directly attached to the royal palace.

Ten Orders run Alhambra. Ten Orders keep the

city alive. Ten Orders, each independent of each
Secretary Edicts
other.
Whatever reason governed the creation of Inspection
Alhambra’s divided politics, the reason it remains
is tradition. When the Spotted Hyena howls that The first purpose of the Protectorate was always
Alhambra’s police cannot investigate another order to serve as the Queen’s eyes upon her Orders, and
it is tradition that closes it’s jaws. When the they can do this terrifyingly well. The Princess
Vulture feels the Beaver’s constructions are an needs only ask for a report and citizens willingly
inefficient use of light, it is tradition that blinds it. tell her what they know, even state secrets.
Even the Queen respects tradition, She hesitates to To use this Edict the Secretary looks at a person,
command one Order to interfere with another. thinks of one organization to which he belongs,
Still, governance must proceed and to resolve to and rolls Presence + Intimidation – Composure +
conundrum the Queen created The Protectorate of Supernatural Advantage. On a Success the target
Garnet. By law each Quester is to be treated as believes the Secretary to be his immediate superior.
though she were the Queen Herself. The Orders The spell is broken if the Princess gives a command
once swore they answer only to the Queen, and so but so long as the Princess asks questions the
they do just that. target’s superior has a right to know, she will get
You would think therefore that the Protectorate answers.
of Garnet would be a powerful dominant force in The target might lie about things he would also
Alhambran society. The truth is that Alhambra have lied to his superiors about, such as slacking
is only one city and it’s Queen is far more than a off at work. The Protectorate of Garnet teaches
mortal. What problems arose the Queen simply it’s members both mundane and magical means to
dealt with Herself. It is only since the Release, sniff out lies, and often punishes them severely.

385
Freedom of the City My Agent
As the Queen’s Emissaries a Secretary of Garnet is By spending a Wisp the Governor appoints
entitled to go where she wills. So long as she is in someone to keep an eye on things for her: They
her Transformed Identity it is hard to even question gain the Entwined Condition with a link strength
her presence. If the Secretary is trespassing in of Sensory. In addition the target may send a
the property of a government, corporation, guild, short report, no more than a few sentences, to the
criminal cartel or other formal body (most places Governor at any time by spending a Willpower (or
except public land and private homes) anyone a Wisp if they have one).
who sees her must roll Wits + Composure – her
Lacrima. On a failure, not only do they believe she
has every right to be there they’ll even open locked
doors or direct her to top secret facilities.
Regent Edict: Royal Appointment
This power does not work on anyone who Sometimes an official just has to be replaced. The
specifically knows that the Secretary should not be Queen of Tears, and her proxies, is entitled to fire
present, such as a security guard who has been told or apoint anyone she pleases to any role.
to find her and escort her out the building. At a To perform this the Regent rolls Presence
minimum this requires a visual description of the + Intimidation + Lacrima - Commonality vs
Secretary. Composure + Persuasion + Status. If the Regent
wins the roll the target loses all Status dots and
the Regent gains them herself. Everyone in the
My Words affected commonality group is convinced that the
target has been fired or placed on temporary leave
Alhambran is the formal language of diplomacy, by their superiors (even if this makes no sense) and
trade and governance. Most of the provinces the Regent has been appointed in his place. This
have become intolerability lax in ensuring proper effect is permanent but it is reversible.
fluency. If the Protectorate wished to punish this The Regent may only ever have one set of stolen
transgression they’d have no time for anything else, Status dots at any one time. If they want to
so they correct it with a minimum of fuss. take another they must first appoint a successor
By spending one Wisp a Secretary can apply and transfer their Status dots to them. Once
the Blessing Condition, granting full fluency in the Regent leaves the magical effects convincing
Alhambran for one day. everyone that she should be there ends, in theory
the Regent would have used her time to establish
her chosen successor. In practice Alhambrans tend
Governor Edicts to underestimate how hard it is to convince the
occupied provinces of the Last Empress’ legitimacy.
Usually the original guy is back within a week.
Final Report In the old days the Regents of Garnet used
A Governor of Garnet is entitled to judge the to replace kings and emperors with the Queen
competence of any public official in service to the of Tears’ vassals, even with the widest possible
Queen of Tears, that includes just about everyone Commonality this unfailingly got them killed by
with a job in both Alhambra and Earth. By witch hunters or other supernatural beings with
rolling Presence + Intimidation vs Composure + their own political agenda. The Protectorate tends
Supernatural Advantage the Governor can issue a to be a bit more subtle about things now.
scathing critique of someone’s competence. For
every Success over the target’s result she may
remove one Willpower, for every Willpower she
removes the target gains the Artificial Aspiration
Protectorate of Heliotrope
Condition with an Aspiration of fixing the
Governor’s critique. Alternative Names: The Night Audit. Informal
The Governor’s roll is modified by how sensible Names: Night Vultures. Parent Order: Vulture.
her criticisms are, by the target’s standards. A good Wisp harvest is not quick. It takes at
least a full week to break even, and the largest
bounties come at the end of the harvest. The agents
of Tears cannot emerge from Alhambra, cast their
Charms and escape to safety within their fortress

386
city with the loot. An Alhambran Enclave may not contains a Vampire and has a Dedication of at least
be a permanent outpost, eventually it will dissolve Interested.
in the face of the Taint it creates, but for a while
it needs a permanent presence to watch over and
protect the Wisp farms. Princess of Darkness:
All that requires infrastructure. They need a
place for agents to sleep, a regular source of food Vampires may call themselves lords of the night,
and water, transportation to and from the Wisp but the Court of Tears knows that night is simply
farms, and they need to do it all without attracting the absence of sunlight, filled with starlight and
the hostility from of Radiant, Stormwracked, moonlight. True Darkness, which Lacrima can
Hunters, or even mundane mortal authorities. Over manipulate, is greater than mere night and one
the years Alhambra’s agents have become quite who can master it has nothing to fear from the
competent at setting up their Enclaves, but they’ve lesser darkness. The Secretary adds Lacrima to
also learned that often the fastest and cheapest all rolls to resist blood magic, including Disciplines
way to get a working infrastructure is to find and Devotions.
someone who already has one and steal theirs. If
it eliminates a rival power who’d object to Taint in
their territory, well that’s even better. Let Them Go:
The Protectorate of Heliotrope specializes in
The Secretary can hijack the mental manipulations
killing vampires and stealing their stuff. Officially
Vampires use and redirect a vampire’s minions to
the Protectorate of Heliotrope represent the Queen
the service of Alhambra. Spend a Wisp and roll
in her aspect as a benevolent ruler to the
Presence + Politics + Lacrima vs the Vampire’s
downtrodden and a bastion of order who banishes
Blood Potency + Composure. If the secretary wins
slumlords, gangs and other predators; for the
the roll:
working class’ place in life is to toil in the farms and
the factories, not be preyed upon and victimised. In 1. If the target has the Scarred or Swooning
practice though, they just kill vampires and steal Condition from a vampire feeding on them,
their stuff. they gain the Leveraged Condition to the
Secretary.

Marks and Requirements 2. If the target has a blood bond to the Vampire
the blood bond connects the target to the
The Protectorate of Heliotrope consider themselves secretary instead.
to be saviours, sent to deliver a vampire’s
minions from slavery and into a life of meaningful
productivity in service of Alhambra. Their
appearance thus defines itself in contrast to the
Governor Edicts
Vampire. Their skin becomes darkened by the sun
and the Protectorate’s official hairstyle is a crest Breaking the Chains:
of golden spikes to represent the rising sun’s rays.
The power of Let Them Go increases. The
Naturally they quickly learn that is the sort of style
Governor can now undo Dominate and Majesty, or
only a Princess can get away with wearing that in
free Ghouls.
the occupied provinces.
The required Attribute is Strength and the 1. If the target is a Ghoul they become a Sworn of
required Skill is Investigation. Tears, in addition to any other effects such as
transferring a blood bond. Long term Ghouls
do not restore to their natural age when freed
Secretary Edicts by this Edict, but permanently deage to their
apparent age.
My New People: 2. If the target is under the the effects of the
Dominate or Majesty discipline (or a similar
The Secretary gains a unique variant of the
Bloodline Discipline or Devotion) the effect
Unseen Sense Merit. It applies to Vampires, but
ends and they take the Leveraged Condition
also uses the magic of Commonality to detect
to the Governor.
mortal (including Ghoul) members of a group that

387
 In addition, by touching the ashes of a Vampire Alhambra may be a repressive and conformist
who’s suffered Final Death within the last day and society strangled by traditions and bureaucracy,
spending a point of Willpower the Governor can but how bad is it really? It’s a very safe city
proclaim this Edict, penalised by Commonality to guarded it’s ever vigilant Queen, the food may
claim all or some of a Vampire’s former servants. be monotonous but the citizens sleep with full
bellies. While people living in a modern democracy
might find thought of living in a society that lacks
Uplifting the new Generation: freedom, luxury, or even sunlight to be appalling;
people suffering through famine, plague, or war,
The Protectorate of Heliotrope specialises in freeing might find Alhambra a significant step up.
a Vampire’s victims so that they might find The Protectorate of Pyrite represent the Queen
fulfilment and purpose in the service of Alhambra. of Tears in her aspects as a patron of refugees and
It stands to reason that once the vampire is dead a provider of charity whose eyes can see the lowest
and the slaves are freed their work is done. All victim and fills with tears at their suffering. When
that remains is to put someone else in charge of the chaos and Darkness strikes the occupied provinces
stolen Enclave before they hunt the next vampire. the Protectorate of Pyrite lead Alhambra’s forces in
By touching a Sworn of Tears or any Princess the a humanitarian intervention, building or converting
Governor may transfer any combination of loyalty enclaves into safe-zones and deputising provincial
they’ve gained from Let Them Go or Breaking the subjects to manage the crisis. After all, everyone
Chains to that Sworn or Princess. is a citizen of Alhambra. In times of trouble they
Alhambra is always willing to listen when a are entitled to their Queen’s protection and duty-
Radiant Princess comes begging for them to break bound to muster under her banner.
a loved one out of a vampire’s control. Even the Radiant agree that this sounds like a
good idea, and the Protectorate is very popular
among Radiant Princesses who ended up joining
Regent Edict: Queen of the Night the Court of Tears for one reason or another.
But the Radiant courts are also quick to point
The night itself bends the Regent’s will, at her out that the Court of Tears’ dogma gives them
command it turns against Vampire’s who sulk in some enormous blind spots when it comes to
it’s shadows. By spending 3 Wisps and a point of international geopolitics. Sending soldiers armed
Willpower she can create the Environmental Tilt with supernatural weapons into a conflict zone can
Midnight Noon in an area centered upon herself quickly make everything worse. Even when a Pyrite
and with a radius of 50 yards. The affected area run enclave doesn’t attract trouble Alhambra’s
will not extend beyond the borders of the night. disdain for any culture other than it’s own and the
Any Vampire’s supernatural trait or ability that Protectorate’s belief that teaching it’s charges how
makes a reference to daytime, nighttime, sunlight, to farm wisps is a vital part of getting them back
moonlight or starlight, etc (but not a more specific on it’s feet can cause their humanitarian missions
time like noon or the witching hour) acts as though to fail.
it was under whatever conditions the Princess At it’s best the Protectorate of Pyrite sweep
would prefer, even if she is unaware of it. Given into a crisis to protect the people then depart
the Protectorate’s mission this typically means that with a bounty of Wisps and new Sworn eager
Vampire’s in her presence treat the night as though to repay their savours, leaving behind people
it was midday. who’ve had the time and safety they needed to
get back on their feat. At it’s worst they just
add Alhambran soldiers and Darkspawn born of
The Protectorate of Pyrite Wisp harvests to whatever crisis they blundered
into. With the Protectorate’s membership swelling
with ex-Radiant who do understand international
Alternative Titles: Alhambra’s Outstretched politics, but aren’t always as loyal to Alhambra as
Hand, The Liberation Guard (Sarcastic) they claim, the Patrons are more active and less
predictable than ever before.
Informal Epithets: Patrons

Parent Order: Order of the Spotted Hyena

388
Marks and Requirements Radiant Princesses are quick to point out
that this Edict is as useful at getting mortals
to overcome their worries about Ahambra’s less
As Alhambra’s representatives in times of chaos
savoury activities as it is at keeping them from
and strife Patrons make themselves look like
having a break down in the middle of an emergency.
bastions of order and stability. They dress in
elaborate styles with tasteful jewellery to advertise
the benefits of Alhambran civilization, unlike many
Alhambrains they look well fed and healthy. The
Welcome to Alhambra
official hairstyle is long black hair, with straight It is not enough to protect the body from war and
bangs. famine. Alhambra is a promise, that one day when
A Patron must be a beacon of stability in times the occupied provinces are free all can be restored
of chaos. The required Attribute is Presence and to the culture of the Kingdom. Times of great crisis
the required Skill is is Persuasion. are also times of great opportunity, and it would be
remiss to let them go to waste. Patrons spend the
long days sheltering in an enclave teaching their
Secretary Edicts charges of their true heratage, and by spending a
Wisp a Patron may give anyone everything they
need to fit in among Alhambrans. For the reminder
Field Promotion of the day they gain the Merits: Language (Old
The Protectorate of Pyrite are responsible for going Alhambran), Language (Modern Alhambran), and
into a crisis and organising the people there. A a speciality to Alhambran in both Politics and
crisis will not wait for a convenient time, the first Socialise. In addition, you can assume they have
thing Patrons learn is how to grab whoever is a basic knowledge of Alhambra as though they had
around and turn them into an effective response read the appendix on Alhambra in the Princess:
team. Effectively, every Sworn of Tears has a the Hopeful rulebook. The Patron may choose to
dot in Dedication applied to every Princess in withhold information if they wish.
the Protectorate of Pyrite. This increases to The recipient may spend experience points to
three dots for Governors and five for Regents. make some or all of the benefits permanent, the
The Princess can also transfer Wisps to Sworn in costs are unchanged.
speaking distance as a reflexive action, this counts
as spending Wisps for her per-turn maximum.
If the Sectary is a Sworn then the benefit works Governor Edicts
differently. They may gain up to Lacrima Wisps
per day from Call of Duty when working to protect
people from a large scale crisis such as a war,
The Queen's Shilling
famine, or plague. The Governor’s of Pyrite can create Sworn with
an ease beyond any but the Last Empress herself.
This Edict functions like the Accept Fealty Charm
Trail of Tears except that it costs a point of Willpower, and the
duration decreases to one Session.
The service of Alhambra is fought with perils and
If the Governor knows the Accept Fealty Charm
compromises, Alhambra’s grief is legendary but so
they may combine it with the Edict, this allows
is it’s ability to keep moving forward despite their
them to create Inner Light Sworn for every dot
pain. Patrons teach use the lesson’s of Alhambra
of Willpower spent. Aside from the increased
to help their charges cope with tragedy. While
effectiveness the Charm functions as normal.
Transformed they may reflexively spend a Wisp and
a Willpower point, then roll Presence + Persuasion
to protect a mortal from a Breaking Point, applying
the Condition It was Necessary in the Process. If
Binding Service
the target wishes they may contest the roll with The chosen of Alhambra must work together for the
Composure. Either way, this triggers Lacrima’s good of the Last City. To bolster and give their
Drawback to inflict a Compromise or Breaking armies sustenance, a Governor may spend a wisp
Point on the Secretary with a -3 modifier if the and roll Manipulation + Politics – Commonality as
Secretary has a Belief or Integrity of four or higher. an extended action with one roll per ten minutes.
If she reaches seven successes the group’s gains

389
the Interwoven Condition. Their Commonality is result is a fort built to traditional Alhambran styles,
strengthened by one level; and the Governor can it benefits from the Consecrated condition with
begin again to continue increasing Commonality indefinite duration and counts as a Safe Place with
until she reaches Dedicated. one dot per dot of the Regent’s Lacrima.
The increased Commonality lasts for a month, A regent may only have one such fortress at any
measured from the last use of Binding Service. given time.
Drawback: As the last empress is tied to her
city, so too is the Regent tied to her enclave; while
Regent Edict: Royal Sanctuary she is outside it’s walls she cannot apply Lacrima
to boost any dicepool. Should the Regent die or
At their apex Patrons can call an entire fortress cut her ties to the enclave the building begins to
from the soil, sheltering entire populations within decay, ageing one year every day until it collapses.
Alhambra’s safe embrace. This requires an The only way to prevent this is to perform so
extended Presence + Crafts roll with a target many repairs that the result is essentially a new
successes equal to Sanctuary Size squared. The building, given the effort and the strict time limit
these fortifications rarely last.

390
 Appendix D: Conditions
Presented below are the new Conditions found in Princess: the Hopeful. These can be printed on double
sided paper and cut out to make condition cards.
With their magical powers Princesses can often apply conditions to people as quickly as one two three.
This can lead to a lot of duplicate conditions. Unless it is stated otherwise when a condition is duplicated
only one instance of the condition remains. As a general rule, if the condition is a positive thing the
affected character chooses which instance remains. If it is negative the player (or storyteller) inflicting
the condition chooses which one they consider worse.
The following modifiers apply to Conditions:
Duplicable: It is possible to have multiple identical instances of this condition. As always, a character
can only get one Beat from Conditions in a scene but all other effects of the condition can apply multiple
times if it is appropriate.
Variable: The condition can applies to a verity of things. You may have this condition multiple times
providing each instance of the condition applies to different things. E.G. you may have both Advised
(science exam) and Advised (school bullies) but you could not have Advised (school bullies) twice. Nor
could you double the benefit if a school bully targets you during a science exam. Conditions without the
Variable keyword cannot be stacked, but one instance of the condition may be expanded to apply to a
wider situation. For example Adult Supervision is still one Condition when it applies to mum, dad, and
the occasional babysitter.
Tainted and Boon Conditions: Do not grant beats. If a magical power grants a positive Condition
it is a Boon Condition unless stated otherwise. If a magical power inflicts a negative Condition it is a
regular Condition unless stated otherwise.
Some Conditions are marked with Tilt in the top right, these Conditions can be either a Condition or
a Tilt depending on circumstances. A Condition that grants +1 Strength in an athletics contest would
be a Tilt during a street brawl. Some causes of the Condition will explicitly say to use it as a Tilt, but
others will require Storyteller judgement.
Finally if a Condition has any lines beginning Resolution (as Persistent): it is designed to be used
as both a temporary and persistent Condition. Convert Resolution into Beats, and use Resolution (as
Persistent) as resolutions.

391
Condition Condition

Abject Denial Abdicated (Persistent)

Condition Condition

Adult Supervision
Advised (Variable)
(Persistent)

Condition – Boon Condition – Boon

Alert Bargain (Variable)

Condition Condition

Abdicated (Persistent)
The Princess has abandoned her duties to the Light. She Abject Denial
cannot peruse any action that falls under the purview of her
Your character witnessed an act of cruelty so terrible she
calling without spending a point of Willpower, at which point
refuses to accept such a thing is even possible. She must flee
she is free do so for the remainder of the scene. If the Princess
immediately from the perpetrator, the victim and any clear
is forced to perform relevant actions, such as a Champion
reminders of the crime and its results. If she is forced to
who’s attacked and must defend herself she subtracts her
confront them all rolls take a penalty of Shadows until she
Shadows from all relevant rolls. Again a point of Willpower
escapes the area.
can remove the penalties. Resolution: The Princess achieves
Resolution: The scene ends.
an exceptional success on an action related to her Calling
Resolution: The Princess gains or loses a Dot of Belief.

Condition Condition
Adult Supervision (Persistent)
Advised (Variable)
Your character is expected to follow rules set by an older
Your character has consulted someone of exceptional skill and authority figure, who probably dose not realise she is a
knowledge upon a problem. Perhaps one of the Queens, who Princess and would most likely be horrified to learn about
are nothing short of demi-goddesses with lifetimes of dangerous activities such as fighting Darkspawn.
experience. It could also be one of the greatest native The strictness of the rules placed upon a Princess depends on
Dreamlanders, a living avatar of the sum of mankind’s the her age, cultural norms and the individual personality of
knowledge on a topic. Even an exceptional mortal along the her supervisor. An exceptionally young Princess may be
lines of Sherlock Holmes would qualify. forbidden to leave the house alone, but a slightly older Noble
Resolution: When your character is confronted with a may be given a free reign providing she is back by dinner and
problem she has received advice on she can cash in the advice, remains reachable by phone.
replacing one roll with automatic successes. If the advice Beat: The character suffers a significant hardship because of
came from a person represented by the Mentor merit the the rules set down by her guardian.
character gains one success per dot of Mentor, otherwise the Beat: The character breaks the rules and faces a significant
storyteller must decide. punishment.
Topic: ______________________________ Resolution: The character acquires independence.
Bonus Successes: ________ Resolution: The guardian learns of her activities and is
convinced to be supportive (consider buying a dot in Mentor).
Condition – Boon Condition – Boon

Bargain (Variable) Alert

Your character has a one time way of making a purchase at
Your character has entered a state of heightened awareness
exceptional prices. Maybe they just have a coupon for a
and no detail escapes her sight.
discount. Perhaps some televisions have “fallen of the back of
Cash In: Your character converts a failed Perception roll to
a lorry”, but hurry while stocks last.
a Success or a successful Perception roll into an Exceptional
This Condition reduces the Availability of an item by one dot.
Success. This cannot be used on contested rolls.
Cash in: Your character acquires goods or services a
Cash In: Your character gains +2 dice to a Contested
discounted Availability.
Perception roll.
Applicable purchases: ____________________

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition – Boon Tilt

Blessing (Persistent,
Befriendable
Variable)

Condition Condition

Burden of Leadership Body Dysmorphia

(Persistent) (Persistent)

Condition – Boon Condition

Cloak of Shadows Courpted Eye

(Persistent) (Persistent)
Condition – Boon Tilt Condition

Blessing (Persistent, Variable)

Befriendable
Your character is enchanted by magic which increases her
Your character’s ideals have been shaken, and now she is
abilities. This might apply to a named trait, a category of
reaching out for advice and guidance. Her new open
traits, or a speciality like field that works across skills.
mindedness can result in good or ill.
Ending the condition: Blessings are temporary, and vanish
Resolution: Increase your character’s impressions of another
after a while.
by one level for their next attempt at Social Maneuvering.
Ending the condition: Some blessings end when a certain
Your character’s impressions remain artificially high until her
condition is met.
last door is open or until the Social Manoeuvring concludes
Affected trait: _________________________
some other way. The chosen character must be one who’s
Increase:_____
actions will introduce drama and plot complications to the
Duration:_______________
story.
End trigger: __________________________

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition Condition
Body Dysmorphia (Persistent)
Your character does not feel comfortable in her mundane Burden of Leadership (Persistent)
identity. She might have body image issues, be transsexual or
feel incomplete without her Transformed Abilities and skills. The Princess has donned the Mantle of Hearts, and the
Choose triggers that are appropriate for your character such responsibility to be a paragon of morality that her people may
as hearing insults about her weight or failing a roll in a guide themselves by.
certain skill. When this happens your character immediately The Princess gains 8again on Sensitivity rolls when the victim
excuses herself to Transform and tries to remain Transformed or the perpetrator is someone blessed by this Charm. In
for the rest of the scene unless she Succeeds on a Resolve + addition, if anyone blessed by this Charm causees her to face
Composure roll. a Belief compromise through setting a Bad Example, she does
Beat: Your character gets into trouble because she had to not halve or double the perpetrator’s modifier when making
Transform at an inappropriate time. her own Comrpomise roll.
Beat: Your character gets into trouble from trying to move Beat: The Princess suffers from Sensitivity or loses a dot of
part of her mundane life to her transformed identity. Beleif because of this condition. (For Compromise rolls, roll
Resolution: Your character receives therapy or surgery and the lost dice separately to see if this Condition is responsible.)
becomes comfortable in her mundane identity. Ending the condition: The Condition fades at the end of
Resolution: Your character joins the Court of Mirrors and the scene. This does not grant a Beat.
removes any need for her Mundane identity.
Condition Condition – Boon

Cloak of Shadows (Persistent)

Your character has become a being of living shadow. She is
an Ephemeral Being, similar enough to Ghosts to touch and
be touched, but she is permanently Manifested without the
Courpted Eye (Persistent) need for a Condition. The Princess does not gain Influences
or Manifestations but she may use her Charms, except Perfect
A magical being has taken your sight for it’s own. You can Charms which do not work on her shadow-body.
still see fine but be warned, anything you can see it can see. The Princess may attack others by rolling Strength +
Ending the Condition: Magic will fade in time. Lacrima, she does Lethal damage but a successful attack also
Beat: Your sight is used against you. drains a point of Willpower. She may also speak as normal,
Resolution: Magic fades in time. her strange form grants a Lacrima bonus to Intimidation. The
Who stole your sight: ________________ Princess also has all the Benefits of the Darkened Template,
Duration: __________ but she uses the Noble rules for Sensitivity.
Ending the Condition: Strong light can harm the Princess,
as can magic. If she takes more than 3 damage from a single
action she reverts to her Transformed identity and loses a
point of Willpower from shock.
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition – Tainted Condition

Cursed (Persistent,
Confused
Variable)

Condition – Object Condition – Object

Consecrated
Dark Lure (Persistent)
(Persistent)

Condition – Object Condition

Daydreaming Zone Depression (Persistent)

Condition Condition – Tainted

Cursed (Persistent, Variable)

Confused Your character is enchanted by magic which decreases her
abilities. This might apply to a named trait, a category of
Your character is a bit unsure about what’s going on, perhaps traits, or a speciality like field that works across skills.
he is busy trying to survive while processing the existence of If a Curse reduces an Attribute to zero then all rolls using
vampires. Perhaps a con-artist just pulled the wool over his that attribute automatically fail, in addition to roleplaying
eyes. Regardless of why, poor information leads to poor considerations. Supernatural abilities powerful enough to do
decisions. this will explicitly state so in their description.
Causing the Condition: Chaotic circumstances beyond Beat: The character fails a significant roll because of this
what your character faces in day to day life can be confusing. Condition (roll the missing dice separately).
Causing the Condition: An Exceptional Success on a Resolution: Curses are temporary, and vanish after a while.
subterfuge roll can often inflict this condition. Resolution: Some curses have an escape condition which end
Resolution: Your character makes a bad decision because of the curse as soon as it is fufilled.
his poor information. Escape Clause: ________________________
Resolution: Your character discovers appropriate facts and Affected trait: _________________________
gets to grips with the situation. Decrease:_____
Can reduce Attributes to zero?: Y/N
Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition – Object Condition – Object
Consecrated (Persistent)
The area has be saturated with Noble magic, and serves as a
foundation for certain Charms. The benefits are listed on the
Dark Lure (Persistent) Charms themselves. Only the Princess(es) responsible for
Consecrating a place may use it to enhance their Charms, but
The object has become irresistible to Creatures of the other Princesses can do so with her help.
Darkness. Every Creature of the Darkness within the affected Causing the Condition: The Palace Merit or Charm
area must make a Resolve + Composure - activation successes Consecrate can Consecrate ground.
roll or immediately try to acquire the object. Ending the Condition: Unconsciously consecrated ground
If the condition has the destructive modifier, the monsters will fade if the bond of intimacy is disrupted.
instead try to destroy it rather than acquire it. Ending the Condition: If the Condition was created by
Ending the Condition: The scene ends. Charm Consecrate it may expire after some time.
Lure radius: ____________ Ending the Condition: A Tainting ends the condition.
Activation Successes: ____________ Ending the Condition: Suppressed Taint can slowly erode
Destructive: Y/N the Condition.
Duration: ___________ Activation Sucesses:
___________
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats. Supressed Taint: ___________ Sanctuary: Y/N
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Condition Condition – Object
Depression (Persistent)
Your character is suffering from depression.
Whenever your character fails a roll which is important to
achieving an Aspiration (including variants such as Dreams) Daydreaming Zone
roll Resolve + Composure, on a failure loose a point of
Willpower and you can neither spend nor regain Willpower The area has been saturated with the raw power of the
for the rest of the scene. Dreamlands. Any Dreamlanders in the area gain the
Beat: Your character succumbs to a bout of depression. Materialise Manifestation, while materalised treat them as
Beat: Your voluntary declare your character has a bout of though they were in the Dreamlands for all rules purposes. In
depression. This only grants beats when the hardship is addtion Breaking Point and Comrpomise rolls gain a +1
significant. The hardship includes more than the lost bonus.
Willpower, such as declaring your character does not to Causing the Condition: Only Ambassadors to the
peruse an opportunity because of her depression. Dreamlands can cause this Condition
Resolution: Gain a dot of Integrity (or equivalent) Ending the Condition: The Ambassador ends the effect.
Resolution: Roll an Exceptional Success on a Breaking
Point (or equivalent)
Resolution: Therapy, medication or a significant lifestyle
change overcomes the fog of depression. Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Condition Condition

Dissociation (Persistent) Dominated (Persistent)

Condition Condition

Doubting (Persistent) Drama Queen

Condition – Object Condition

Draining Hex Entwined (Persistent)

Condition Condition
Dominated (Persistent)
Your character has come under the mental domination of
another and will obey their orders. She may still refuse orders Dissociation (Persistent)
that violate their sense of self (anything that would be a
Breaking Point or Beleif Compromise) unless this condition Your character did something so terrible that she refuses to
has the Unethical modifier. She may also refuse orders that accept it. Instead she separates her two identities, using one
pose a significant risk of harm to herself, unless this Condition to shield the other. Every time the Princess transforms into
has the Suicidal Modifier. If the modifiers are partial, then her guilty identity (whichever one committed the act) lose one
your character may roll to contest those orders. She must point of Willpower. In addition neither identity are able to
beat the origonal activation successes using the same traits remember what they did while in the other identity.
she used to resist the mental domination magic. Beat: Your character gets into trouble because she could not
Beat: Your character suffers a significant hardship during her remember something.
service. Resolution: The character admits to her crime and makes
Resolution: The magic wears off or is broken. amends.
Loyal to:_____________________________ Resolution: The character gains a dot of Belief.
Duration: ____________________________
Unethical: Y/N/Partial
Suicidal: Y/N/Partial
Condition Condition

Drama Queen Doubting (Persistent)

Your character must always be in the centre of attention; The character’s higher calling or guiding principle has been
whenever she is in a situation where somebody other than put in question, and she is beset by doubts. While the
herself has the limelight she is compelled to act out. character is affected by this Condition, she cannot spend
Resolution: Your character acts out inappropriately and Willpower on any action that simultaneously reflects both her
causes a scene. Beliefs and her Calling.
Resolution (as Persistent): Your character confronts her Resolution: An exceptional success on a roll in which the
inner insecurities and learns that the respect of the world is Princess cannot spend Willpower. Resolution: A Success or
worth less than self respect. Exceptional on a Compromise roll

Condition Condition – Object

Entwined (Persistent)
Your character has been magically linked to another and may Draining Hex
be affected by magic across any distance, of course such links
The object has been hexed and drains the will of everyone
work in both directions.
nearby. Once per scene any mortal who remains within five
Beat: Your character suffers a significant hardship because of
yards for an hour or more must roll Resolve vs the hexes
long distnace magic.
potency. If they fail a point of Willpower is transferred into
Resolution: The magic that forms such links is temporary
the Hex’s pool. If the pool is full the hex it has no effect.
and will fade in time.
Any Creature of the Darkness can use the Enervation Caligo
Resolution: Like most persistent magical effects, these links
to drain Willpower points from the hex.
can be broken with counter magic.
Willpower pool: ____ / ____
Linked to: ____________________________
Potency: ____
Link strength: _________________________
Lasts until: ___________________________

Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.

Condition Condition

Embarrassing
Enervated (Persistent)
Phylactery (Persistent)

Condition – Boon Tilt Condition – Boon Tilt

Floating Blessing Floating Sucesses

(Persistent, Variable) (Persistent, Variable)

Condition – Boon Condition

Fresh Impressions
Fortunate
(Persistent)
Condition Condition

Embarrassing Phylactery (Persistent)

Some Hopeful have a Phylactery which has an uplifting, even
Enervated (Persistent) moral meaning to them personally but if presented in public
causes nothing but trouble. This may be because the Princess
The character is in the second stage of soul loss. Her
is from an oppressed minority group and her Phylactery is a
instinctive efforts to shore up her Willpower by giving into her
symbol of her people. It could be because her Phylactery has
urges have failed, her Integrity has gone and her Willpower is
a different meaning to different cultures, because her
now fading. In addition to the effects of Soulless, she can no
Phylactery has an obviously magical or Princessey experience,
longer regain Willpower through her Virtue, only her Vice.
or because her Phylactery isn’t appropriate for her age, social
Indulging herself brings diminishing returns — whenever she
standing or gender.
does so, her permanent Willpower drops by one dot before she
Beat: Your character suffers a significant hardship because of
regains Willpower points to the new maximum.
reactions to her Phylactery.
Beat: Loose a dot of willpower.
Beat: Your character’s attempts to conceal her Phylactery
Resolution: Regaining a lost soul; returning to Belief 1.
causes her a significant hardship.
Resolution: At the player’s discretion a major life event may
reshape the Phylactery.

Condition – Boon Tilt Condition – Boon Tilt

Floating Blessing (Persistent, Variable)

Floating Sucesses (Persistent, Variable)
Your character is enchanted by magic which will temporally
Your character is enchanted by powerful magic which grants
increases her abilities when she needs it. This might apply to
automatic successes when she needs it. This might apply to a
a named trait, a category of traits, or a speciality like field
named trait, a category of traits, or a speciality like field that
that works across skills. It never applies to chance dice.
works across skills. Cash in: On any roll using the traits affected by the
Cash in: On any roll using the traits affected by the enchantment you may remove dice from your Floating Dice
enchantment you may remove successes from your pool and
Pool and add them to your roll. You may transfer up to five
apply automatic successes, in addition to your roll. The
dice, but once they’re gone they’re gone. The enchantment
enchantment can also decrease an attackers dice pool by
can also decrease an attackers dice pool by increasing
increasing attributes that subtract from the attacker’s dice
attributes that subtract from the attacker’s dice pool. Each
pool. Each reduction affects one roll. reduction affects one roll.
Ending the condition: Most enchantments that grant Ending the condition: Most enchantments that grant
Floating Dice wear off after a while, any remaining dice in the
Floating Dice wear off after a while, any remaining dice in the
Floating Dice Pool are lost. Floating Dice Pool are lost.
Affected traits: ________________________ Affected traits: ________________________
Successes remaining:_____ Duration: _________ Dice remaining:_____ Duration: ____________
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition – Boon

Fresh Impressions (Persistent)

Magic has been used to change your character’s impressions of
another. Perhaps with your permission, for the head often Fortunate
knows better than the heart.
You have been blessed with a dollop of good fortune. A
This Condition does not prevent later changes in opinion.
number of rolls are enhanced:
Beat: Your character’s new impressions are used to take
Benefit: 9again, 8again, rote
advantage of her. Ending the Condition: Magic will fade
Rolls remaining: _____
in time.
Rolls affected:All, Chosen
With who? __________________________
New impression level: ___________________
Duration: _____

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition – Tainted Condition

Fresh Shadows
Girl Underground
(Duplicable)

Condition – Tainted Condition

Ghost Shadows
Give them Cake
(Persistent)

Condition – Boon Condition

Guiding Light
Guided
(Persistent)
Condition Condition – Tainted

Girl Underground
Fresh Shadows (Duplicable)
During a moment of vulnerability the Dreamland’s trap sunk
Your character has experienced an episode of emotional
it’s hooks into you. When you next sleep you will enter the
turmoil and it has left a Shadow upon her soul. If she acts
Dreamlands (uncovering a new Crawlspace entrance if there is
quickly the Shadow can be removed.
none nearby) and you may not leave the Dreamlands without
Resolution: The Princess finds emotional closure. Perhaps
Resolving this Condition.
she helps a victim of a cruel act or enforces justice upon the
Resolution: Remove a Dot of Shadows.
perpetrator – Resolving this Condition removes a Dot of
Resolution: Earn at least five Beats after taking this
Shadows.
Condition, and spend at least one experience on a trait that
Ending the Condition: The scene ends.
will help resolve the issue that led to this Condition.

Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition Condition – Tainted

Ghost Shadows (Persistent)

Your character has trapped a Darkspawn in her soul. This
Give them Cake effectively gives her additional Shadows.
Remove Shadows: Any event that removes a permament
It’s simple, if people agree with you then you don’t need to Shadow can remove a Ghost Shadow instead. The player
discuss anything and if they don’t agree with you they’re chooses which kind is removed first.
wrong so you can safely ignore them. Resolution: At any time your Character can release all the
Resolution: Your character gets into trouble or creates a Shadows into the world as Darkspawn (by default use the
conflict by ignoring other people’s feelings and opinions. Or Stats for a shadow-wraith). You may even release them with
not bothering to learn them in the first place. a goal, roll Resolve + Composure, on a success they will
Resolution (as Persistent): Your character confronts her attack a target of your choice unless their survival is in
inner insecurities and learns to listen to those around her. jeopardy. Releasing Darkspawn into the world is a Belief
Compromise with a -4 penalty, unless you destroy them all in
the current scene.
Number of Ghost Shadows: ____

Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition Condition – Boon

Guiding Light (Persistent)

Guided Your dreams serve as an inspiration to others. When you fulfil
the affected Dream or Aspiration everyone who significantly
Your character follows another. Their joy is your joy, their
helped you fulfil it this session takes a Beat, characters
success is your successes.
capable of having Dreams who help you fulfil a Dream also
Resolution: When the one you are bonded to gains a Beat
gain a Luminous Beat.
from an Aspiration, Dream, or an equivalent, take a Beat
Ending the Condition: When you fulfil the affected
Guided by: __________________________
Aspiration or Dream, the condition ends.
Affected Aspiration/Dream ________________

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition Condition

Heartfelt Vow
Heavy Crown
(Persistent)

Condition – Boon Condition

Held Charm Incredulous

Condition – Boon Tilt Condition

Inflamed Will Interwoven (Persistent)

Condition Condition

Heavy Crown
Heartfelt Vow (Persistent)
Your character has failed the people who depend upon her
Your character’s Belief and magic rest on a great vow, which and feels that she is no longer worthy to lead. She suffers a
demands that she follow a specific code of conduct while dice penalty to all actions where other people depend on her
acting as a champion of the Light. Her Charms fail to success. -1 for five people or less. -2 for six to 15 people. -3
activate, or give no help to mundane actions, if the result of a for 16 to 45 people, -4 for 46 to 100 people and -5 for
success would break her vow. Moreover, if the Princess does anything over 100.
break the vow, she must immediately return to her mundane Resolution: Your character succeeds on an important roll
form and cannot transform for the rest of the scene. where people depend on her, at least as many people as she
Resolution: The Princess undergoes a moral crisis, resolves originally failed.
it by abandoning her vow. This requires a Belief Compromise. Resolution: Your character fails an important roll with the
Beat: The Princess suffers a significant setback due to above penalties.
keeping her vow. Resolution (as Persistent): Your character, and her
people, learn her value as a leader with her imperfections.

Condition Condition – Boon

Held Charm
Your character has been enchanted with a Charm which will
take effect only under certain conditions. While the Held
Incredulous Charm Condition does not provide Beats, the effects of the
Charm can create a new Condition which just might do so.
The character has considered, and rejected, the idea that a Ending the Condition: The condition takes place and the
supernatural being is, in fact, supernatural. Any roll he Charm performs it’s usual effect, after using up any
makes to recognize the being as anything but a mundane repetitions, and it is not renewable.
human takes a -2 penalty. This Condition may be taken Ending the Condition: The duration expires and the
multiple times, each for a different supernatural. Charm is wasted.
Resolution: The character discovers the supernatural Stored Effect: _________________________
being’s true status despite the penalty. Activation conditions: ____________________
Deactivation conditions: __________________
Charm’s Activation Successes:_____
Duration:__________
Repetitions:_____ Renewable:Y/N
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition – Boon Tilt

Interwoven (Persistent)
Inflamed Will
Your character has been magically linked to a social group
and falls under mystical effects that affect the group itself , of Your character’s Willpower has been magically stoked to
course such links work in both directions. superhuman levels.
Beat: Your character suffers a significant hardship because of Cash In: When spending point of Willpower to add dice to a
group affecting magic. roll, cash in a flame to increase it’s effectiveness.
Resolution: The magic that forms such links is temporary Ending the condition: When the duration expires en the
and will fade in time. Condition, any remaining flames are lost.
Resolution: Like most persistent magical effects, these links Willpower bonus: ____
can be broken with counter magic. Defensive Willpower bonus: ____
Linked to: ____________________________ Flames: ____
Link strength: _________________________ Duration: ________
Lasts until: ___________________________

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition – Boon Tilt Condition – Tainted

Inverse Blessing Inverse Curse

(Persistent, Variable) (Persistent, Variable)

Condition Condition

Invocation Lock
It’s Her Fault
(Persistent)

Condition – Tainted Condition – Boon

Light’s Unity
It Wasn’t Necessary
(Persistent)
Condition – Tainted Condition – Boon Tilt

Inverse Curse (Persistent, Variable) Inverse Blessing (Persistent, Variable)

Your character is enchanted by magic which modifies people’s Your character is enchanted by magic which modifies people’s
ability to affect you. People may find tormenting you to be ability to affect you. People may find their combat skills
unusually satisfying or know exactly what words will fill you fading if they attempt to harm you or be unusually brilliant
with fear. at choosing the right present for you.
Ending the condition: Curses are temporary, and vanish Ending the condition: Blessings are temporary, and vanish
after a while. after a while.
Ending the condition: Some curses end when a certain Ending the condition: Some blessings end when a certain
condition is met. condition is met.
Affected trait: _________________________ Affected trait: _________________________
Modifier:_____ Modifier:_____
Duration: ____________________________ Duration: ____________________________
End trigger: __________________________ End trigger: __________________________

Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition
It’s Her Fault
How could a perfect being like the True Heir fail? The only
possibility is that she was too good, too nice, and offered
friendship and mercy to someone who didn’t deserve it. If the Invocation Lock (Persistent)
heir is to succeed she must ensure that this person (who in
reality probably did nothing worse than offer helpful advice Each Queen has an Avatar Charm, and your character has
that contradicted the Brat’s ideas or stood nearby at the just used one. She has become an exemplar of one Invocation,
wrong time) is unable to sabotage her again. and cannot use any of the others.
Resolution: The Brat takes steps to ensure the target cannot She can still use Charms linked to other Invocations, she just
“sabotage” her again. For example she may ensure an erudite cannot add dice to them through an Invocation.
fails her exams so that everyone will know not to listen to her Beat: Your character faces a significant hardship because she
the next time she criticises the Brat’s childish logic. Any cannot access other Invocations.
Belief Compromises that result are measured as though the Ending the Condition: The avatar Charm ends. (Do not
target was guilty of whatever the Brat accuses her off. grant a Beat)
Resolution (when severe): As above, but the Brat’s Invocation: __________________________
retribution must be far more extreme. Such as permanently
disfiguring the woman who “tricked and seduced” the Brat’s
charming prince into her arms.
Condition – Boon Condition – Tainted

Light’s Unity (Persistent)

The Queen of Hearts knows that when people are guided by a
great leader, the fruits of their labours become greater than It Wasn’t Necessary
the sum of it’s parts. Guided by Hearts’ avatar, your
character now knows this too. The Princess has suppressed her internal conflict and such
Whenever you work as the primary actor in a Teamwork roll problems tend to fester if they are not dealt with. Every time
you gain a bonus equal to the number of secondary actors the Princess faces a Compromise roll (and doesn’t invoke It
multiplied by the total number of actors (only actors with Was Necessary) apply a -2 penalty and decrease the number
Light’s Unity from the same Princess count) or the of stacks by one.
Condition’s maximum, whichever is lower. (For example, in a Ending the Condition: The condition ends when the
team of 3, the 2 secondary actors will contribute three dice, number of stacks reaches zero.
for a total of six, in addition to the dice from their rolls.) This Stacks:____
condition fades at the end of the scene.
Leading Princess: _______________________
Maximum:____

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition – Object Condition – Boon

Line in the Sand Living Fulcrum

(Persistent) (Persistent)

Condition – Boon Condition – Object

Living Library
Lucid Zone
(Persistent)

Condition Condition

Luminous Mania
Condition – Boon Condition – Object

Living Fulcrum (Persistent)

The Avatar of Spades sits at the heart of all things, with the
slightest touch she can unbalance the mightiest edifice. Line in the Sand (Persistent)
At any time the Princess may spend one turn and roll a
The Princess has drawn a line, keeping watch for certain
Finesse Attribute + an appropriate skill. Record the
people. If one of those people cross the line, the Princess
Successes, whenever the Princess wishes she may reflexively
instantly knows about it.
increase or decrease any dice pool by the stored Successes.
Causing the Condition: Only the Charm Laying Down
The Storyteller is entitled to expect creativity, verity and a
The Line can cause this condition
minimum of sense in the Princess’ actions and how they affect
Ending the Condition: The charm expires.
her target.
Ending the Condition: The physical form of the line is
The Princess may store a one roll per Aria and she may
broken.
modify any number of rolls per turn but she may only apply
Targets: _____________________________
one modifier to any given roll.
Duration: ____________________________
At the end of the scene the Condition fades, unspent
modifiers are lost.
Stored Modifiers: ______________________
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Condition – Object Condition – Boon

Living Library (Persistent)

Knowledge is how we make the world better, and avatar of
Diamonds is knowledge incarnate.
Lucid Zone For topic covered by this Condition the Princess has the
equivalent of a three dot Library upon that topic in her head.
this area of the Dreamlands has been saturated with the
She may perform research rolls on those topics, with the usual
solidity of the waking world. Everyone in the area resists the
library bonus, at a rate of one roll per turn.
Gales automatically. Causing the Condition: Only
At the end of the scene this Condition fades. The memory of
Ambassadors to the Dreamlands can cause this Condition
the Princess’ research remains, as well as any other memory
Ending the Condition: The Ambassador ends the effect.
would.
Topics: _____________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________

Inanimate objects cannot gain beats. Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition

Luminous
After sending a particularly large amount of her magic, her
hopes and dreams, out into the world the Princess’ Inner
Light has become luminous. Leftover residue from her spell
metaphorically sticks to her skin, lighting the world around
Mania her. The Princess, and people around her, find it easier to act
upon their own hopes and dreams.
Your character is awash with energy and cannot sit still. You Resolution: Whenever someone within Inner Light * 10
take a -2 penalty to all rolls to resist impulsive behaviour or yards of the Princess (including the Princess herself) performs
temptation, the penalty increases to -5 when the action in a virtuous action (or not so virtuous, for Twilight Charms)
question aligns with your Vice. Resolution: You suffer a that falls under the Duties of the Princess’ Calling, they may
significant drawback because you couldn’t resist acting. cash in the Condition for a +1 bonus to the roll. If an
Invocation was applied to the Charm the bonus increases to
+2 if the act matches both the Queen and the Calling.
Charms without an applied Invocation default to the
Princess’ liege. The Princess gets a Luminous Beat (not a
regular Beat) no matter who gets the bonus.
Condition – Boon Condition

Masquerade Misled

Condition Condition – Tainted

Mirror Blindness Misfortunate

Condition Condition

Name of the Moon Narcissism

Condition Condition – Boon

Masquerade
Misled A magical illusion hides your character’s supernatural nature.
Any passive supernatural ability that can detect your innate
The character has been persuaded to believe something that
supernatural nature will automatically fail. Active
isn’t actually true. When he is taking an action where the
supernatural abilities that can detect your supernatural
false belief could be relevant, you may choose to fail the roll
nature must first defeat whomever blessed you with this
and resolve this Condition. If the character discovers clear
condition in a Clash of Wills. Any ability which could detect
evidence that his belief is false, you may choose to shed the
you making active use of your own supernatural abilities
Condition without resolving it.
functions as normal. Ending the Condition: The magical
Resolution: The character acts on his false belief and fails a
protection fades with time.
roll as described.
Duration: ___________________________
Clash of Wills Dice Pool: _________________

Boon Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition – Tainted Condition

Mirror Blindness
Looking into the mirror your character was struck blind by
her own beauty and can no longer see her flaws. She can
Compromise her own Beliefs without questioning herself, or
Misfortunate even realising she has done so. The obvious drawback is that
she is as likely to commit a serious Compromise that gets her
You’re character has been cursed with ill fortune. She does
into serious trouble than to get away with a minor
not gain 10again and subtracts any 1s from her Successes.
Compromise that works to her benefit.
Negative Successes become a Dramatic Failure.
Resolution: When your character Compromises her Beliefs
Rolls remaining: _____
you may cash in Mirror Blindness. Do not make a
Compromise roll for your character does not realise her
actions go against her own Beliefs. This applies even to
ridiculously large leaps of logic. Your character could break
her athletic rival’s leg and not realise she’s hurt her.

Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats

Condition Condition

Name of the Moon

Narcissism
In any conflict your character cannot use Bequests or Charms
Your character believes the is the best, brightest and most
(but keeps effects that are already active) until she makes a
special person in the world. She probably isn’t, and her false
speech about why she is fighting. This requires a minute of
confidence causes her to jump to conclusions and accept
speaking, or a turn if she uses the Royal Tongue, and her
challenges beyond her capabilities.
opponents must be able to hear her speech.
Resolution: Your character chooses to confront a problem
Resolution: Someone takes advantage of the character’s
she cannot handle, or goes unprepared to confront a problem
speech to move against her.
she is only able to handle with proper preparation.
Resolution: The Princess ruins an ambush or gives up an
Resolution (as Persistent): Your character confronts her
advantage by announcing her presence.
inner insecurities and learns to accept herself and her
Resolution (as Persistent): At the player’s discretion this
limitations.
Condition may be resolved any time she gains a dot of Belief.
Condition – Object Condition

Necropolis (Persistent) Nightmares (Persistent)

Condition Condition – Object

Nightmares Come Alive Ofuda (Persistent)

Condition Condition

Over-compensatory
Phobia (Persistent)
Guilt
Condition Condition – Object

Nightmares (Persistent) Necropolis (Persistent)

Your character has suffered something traumatic and it This area is a Necropolis, a paradise for ghosts. Any Ghost
disturbs her sleep. She does not regain Willpower at night. within the affected area does not suffer essence bleed, in
Nightmares usually last for 10 - Integrity days. If not therapy addition when using Manifestations a Necropolis counts as an
may be required. Anchor with the Open Condition. Finally all Ghosts within a
Lucid Dreamers cannot just imagine their nightmares away, Necropolis can use the Materialise Manifestation even if they
this condition represents subconscious trauma that is not so do not have access to it normally.
easily fixed. However they may fight their nightmares in a Causing the Condition: Only Governors of Amethyst can
combat scene to claim their night’s rest. cause this condition
Resolution: Your character has time to process the trauma. Ending the Condition: The duration expires.
(Do not take a beat). Duration: ___________________________
Days remaining: ____ Area affected: _________________________

Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.

Condition – Object Condition

Ofuda (Persistent)
The target of this Condition is an Ofuda, a protective Nightmares Come Alive
talisman that drives monsters away. Unless an affected
monster succeeds on a Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance - The character has been assimilated into the fake reality of an
Strength roll they must immediately leave the affected area. Echo. She no longer has access to her own memories, believing
When an Ofuda is created all affected beings in the target instead that she is whomever the Echo has cast her as. She
area must immediately roll to overcome the Ofuda or depart. believes the environment around her is real, disbelieving
Causing the Condition: Only the Charm Ofuda can cause anyone claiming otherwise. She can’t use any supernatural
this condition abilities, and neither can she spend Willpower points.
Ending the Condition: The charm expires. Should the character leave the Nightscape, or should the
Ending the Condition: The Ofuda is destroyed or moved Tainted Place be cleansed, purged or purified, this Condition
more than ten feet. disappears without resolving.
Affects: _____________________________ Resolution: Suffer harm or greatly imperil yourself by acting
Strength: _______ in line with your new fake persona, rather than your true self.
Duration: ___________________________ Trapped Y/N
Area affected: _________________________
Exemptions: __________________________
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Condition Condition

Over-compensatory Guilt

Phobia (Persistent) Your character has done something she feels guilty about, as a
result she is attempting to counter her feelings by making
Your character is scared of something, really scared. When amends in every way except addressing the real issue: If she
she encounters her phobia she must roll Resolve + stole something she might compulsively give charity, if she
Composure, on a failure she flees in terror. told a dangerous lie she might become compulsively honest.
Beat: Your character is forced to flee. Resolution: The character suffers a hardship or gives up on
Resolution: Your character overcomes her fear. something she wants through misplaced penance.
Resolution (as Persistent): The character confesses her
original crimes and makes amends.
Condition Condition

Primal Scream Property Tax

Condition – Boon Tilt Condition – Boon

Protective Blessing Pure Perfection

(Persistent, Variable) (Persistent)

Condition Condition – Object

Running on Fumes
Sacred Grove
(Persistent)
Condition Condition

Property Tax
Alhambran magic is stealing hope from the land. Primal Scream
Every week the land produces (Size * weeks active) Wisps,
which can be gathered by anyone who knows Capitation. At The Princess’ magic has gone wild and is flowing out of her in
the end of each week roll the wisps produced. Two successes a magical storm. Every turn she spends as many Wisps as
removes one point of Beauty from a Blessed Place or inflicts possible and everyone within Inner Light yards of the
one point of Taint Severity, what is left behind after Princess, including the Princess, takes one die of Bashing
Alhambra steals all which is good. damage per Wisp spent. The Princess may do nothing unless
Ending the Condition: After 24 hours without being she succeeds on a Resolve + Stamina roll, in which case she
refreshed the Condition ends. Leftover Wisps are lost. may move at a walking pace for a turn.
Ending the Condition: The Condition ends 24 hours after Resolution: The Princess’ incapability causes her a serious
the Taint reaches 5 points. Leftover Wisps are lost. inconvenience.
Ending the Condition: If Purgation is used on the Resolution: The Princess significantly hurts a friend or ally.
underlying Taint, remove this condition. Ending the Condition: The Princess falls unconscious.
Size: ______ Ending the Condition: The Princess runs out of Wisps.
Weeks the charm has been running: ______
Wisps availabile: ____________

Condition – Boon Condition – Boon Tilt

Pure Perfection (Persistent)

Your character has become the avatar of Mirrors, the True Protective Blessing (Persistent, Variable)
Heir destined to save the world. She is pure perfection.
Your character is enchanted by magic which protects her from
You get two dots in Striking Looks, with the appearance of
others, reducing the dice pool of anyone who tries to affect her
“the best person ever!” (it provides a bonus to most things)
in certain ways. This might apply to a named trait, a category
and the Royal Tongue Merit.
of traits, or a speciality like field that works across skills.
Perfection is nothing without people to recognise it. Any
Ending the condition: Blessings are temporary, and vanish
Princess with this Condition has her True Followers, for her
after a while.
True Followers the Princess’ Striking Looks is considered to
Ending the condition: Some blessings end when a certain
be five dots and grant a +5 bonus. The Princess may also
condition is met.
spend her follower’s Willpower instead of her own, or instead
Affected trait: _________________________
of her own Wisps at a 1:1 ratio. She may not however refill
Decrease:_____
her pools from her followers.
Duration: ____________________________
Note that taking Willpower from anyone without permission
End trigger: __________________________
is a Belief Comprimise with a -3 penalty.
Ending the condition: The scene ends.
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition – Object Condition

Running on Fumes (Persistent)

A Princess’ magic is her hopes, beliefs and emotions given
form. Your character has used up all her magic, she hasn’t lost
her emotions but she is out of fuel and running on fumes. It’s
an uncomfortable situation, but thankfully a temporary one.
Sacred Grove When adding Willpower to a dice pool you only get +2
instead of +3, in addition you take a -2 penalty on rolls that
The area has been sculpted into a beautiful garden that calms depend upon your emotions. Typically this covers making
all within. emotional connections with people, expressing yourself and
Area affected: _________________________ enjoying works of art. Wisp regeneration rolls and Charms
Duration: ___________________________ are unaffected (the lack of Wisps already covers the effects on
Blessings: ___________________________ magical ability).
Beat: The character fails a roll because of this Condition
(roll the missing dice separately to determine if it was because
of this condition).
Resolution: The character refills her Wisp pool. The
condition ends when she has more than (10 - Belief) Wisps.
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Condition Condition

Scars of the Past

Self-Doubt
(Persistent)

Condition Condition

Sensory Overload Stereotypical

(Persistent) (Persistent)

Condition Condition

Shattered Confidence
Shadow Takeover
(Persistent)
Condition Condition

Self-Doubt
Scars of the Past (Persistent)
Your character has done something that shakes her confidence
in herself and now she looks to other’s for guidance. Your character has a scars from a past trauma, and when
When someone attempts social manoeuvring in order to exposed to stimuli that causes that trauma to resurface she
recruit the Princess’ support for their plan or to otherwise must make a Sensitivity roll. As a rule of thumb this
follow her lead the Princess starts with two fewer Doors than Condition should only be used when your character rolls
she would normally have. Sensitivity for something vastly different from the normal
Resolution: Someone takes advantage of your character. causes. A sheltered character who rolls Sensitivity at a simple
Resolution (as Persistent): The character reaffirms her fist fight would not qualify, but one who rolls Sensitivity at
sense of self worth by overcoming a similar problem to the one the smell of her dead mother’s favourite perfume would.
that shook her self worth. Beat: Score at least one Success on a Sensitivity roll cased by
Resolution (as Persistent): The character reaffirms her this Condition. Resolution: Time and therapy can resolve
sense of self worth by sucessfully applying her ideals to a the condition, but some scars never heal right.
difficult or dangerous task.

Condition Condition

Stereotypical (Persistent) Sensory Overload (Persistent)

Your character has been magically transformed into a walking Your character does not cope well in over stimulating
stereotype. environments. When you take this Condition choose one or
Your vice is replaced with acting in character for your more environments such as: Loud places, crowds, loud
stereotype where as taking any action that goes against the crowded places, strong plastic smells, or something else along
stereotype requires a point of Willpower. Finally you also those lines. Upon entering the designated environment your
take the Open conditions to any Spirits or Dreamlanders who character takes a -1 penalty to all Social rolls which increases
personify the stereotype. by one every half an hour. After an hour you also take a -1
Duration: ___________________________ penalty to Mental and Physical rolls which also increases by
Stereotype: __________________________ one every half an hour. Neither can grow beyond -5.
Beat: Your enforced behaviour causes you a significant Beat: Your character gives up an opportunity or suffers a
setback. significant set back to avoid an uncomfortable environment.
Ending the Condition: The magic affecting your behaviour Resolution: Most characters with this Condition are born
will wear off after time. with it and cannot remove it without powerful magic.

Condition Condition

Shadow Takeover
Shattered Confidence (Persistent)
The Princess’ Jungian shadow has overflowed with magically
Your character has completely lost her confidence in herself.
charged negative emotions and become sentient. No longer a
Emotions are magic, and her lack of faith in her herself and
healthy container for negative aspects of the self, it has sized
her magic has become a self fulfilling prophecy. Your character
control of the Princess’ body and seeks to redress issues that
cannot Transform, use Charms or Practical Magic. Even A
the princess has repressed or suppressed.
Princess of Mirrors will be limited to her mundane identity.
Beat: The Jungian shadow causes the Princess a significant
Beat: Your character is harmed or fails a significant goal
problem.
because she could not access her magic.
Ending the Condition: The magic bestowing sentience to
Resolution: The character gains a dot of Belief.
the Shadow wears off after a few hours.
Condition Condition Tilt

Tainted Sick

Condition Condition

Slow Transformation
Soul Shocked
(Persistent)

Condition Condition – Object

Special Snowflake Spit and Gum

Condition Tilt Condition

Tainted
Your character has been partly corrupted by a Tainted place.
Sick One of the place’s Aspirations is rooted into his mind, felt as
a nagging desire or a twisted fantasy he doesn’t fully
Your character is ill. This condition can be moderate or sever. understand. He may fulfil that Aspiration at any time. If
In the moderate version you take a -1 penalty to all actions, doing so causes a breaking point (which it very likely will) the
which increases by -1 for every few minuets of strenuous work results of the roll play out as if the character were still in the
or turn of combat, the penalties reset after a good rest. A Tainted place, except that it cannot reapply this Condition.
sever sickness inflicts the same penalty but you also take 1 The seed of corruption within your character’s soul inflicts
bashing damage for every few minuets of strenuous work or nightmares. He cannot regain Willpower from sleep. Also, the
turn of combat. touch of jade is mildly irritating to the character. This has no
Beat: You suffer a significant setback or hardship because of mechanical effect, and the character may not even notice it
your illness. consciously, but an attentive observer might take note of his
Resolution: Magic, medicine or bed-rest will cure most aversion to handling the gemstone.
illness. Tainted Aspiration: _______________.
Resolution: Fulfil the Tainted Aspiration.
Resolution: Fulfil your character’s Virtue.

Condition Condition

Soul Shocked Slow Transformation (Persistent)

Your character has been killed while on a sojourn outside her For whatever reason the Princess takes time to Transform,
physical body, resulting in a shocked sense of self. Upon roughly about five minutes. Her Phylactery might be a small
gaining this Condition, roll her current Willpower points (not bag that somehow containing her entire regalia, which she
dots) as a dice pool. Ignore 10-Again on this roll, and do not must change into as with any other clothes. She may simply
roll a chance die if she has no Willpower left. She keeps one hover, twirl and sparkle for five minutes before the
Willpower point per success, and immediately loses the transformation is complete. Spending a Wisp to Transform
remainder. While this Condition is in effect, your character reduces this to one minute.
does not regain Willpower from Virtue, Vice, or equivalent Beat: Your character’s suffers significant hardship because
traits. She still regains Willpower from rest, surrender, and she could not transform quickly.
any other means of regaining Willpower. Resolution: At the player’s desecration acquiring a dot in
Resolution: Regain full willpower. Inner Light may grant her the power to transform quickly.

Condition – Object Condition

Special Snowflake
Your character must always be the most unique and special
person in the room. If all the boys play rugby and the girls
play rounders, she must be the one girl who insists on playing
Spit and Gum rugby. If both sports are open to both genders she has to be a
captain or practice distance running by herself.
Amazingly this thing works but it is held together by nothing The exception is the Princess’ explicit rivals. There are
more than spit and gum. Use it quickly before it collapses. usually two captains in a sports match but the Princess
Duration ____________ doesn’t have to be something silly like empress of the blue
Ending the Condition: The duration expires, returning the team. She can just (try to) prove herself as the one and only
device to whatever sorry state it was in before it bashed into victorious captain.
service. Resolution: Your character causes a scene by refusing to be
Ending the Condition: The device takes damage, ruining part of the group.
whatever fragile repairs were in place. Resolution: Your character gives up on something she wants
because other people are doing that too.
Resolution (as Persistent): Your character confronts her
inner insecurities and learns that the respect of the world is
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats. worth less than self respect.
Condition Condition

Still Phylactery Stuck Magic

Condition Condition

Supernatural Heraldry
Suggestible (Persistent)
(Persistent)

Condition – Tainted Condition – Object

Sweet Sin Tempestuous

Condition Condition

Still Phylactery
Stuck Magic
Unlike most Princesses you have never been able to summon
After trying and failing to perform a large act of magic your your phylactery to your hand and must transport it through
character’s magic has gotten stuck. It is partly a blow to her mundane means. You can recreate a destroyed Phylactery but
confidence and partly an almost physical blockage in the flow unless you are inside your palace it takes a full hour.
of her magic. A good push should clear it. Beat: You face a significant disadvantage because you cannot
Resolution: At any time when rolling to Transform or summon your phylactery.
invoke a Charm the Storyteller may apply a -2 penalty. Ending the Condition: You may choose to discard this
Condition any time you gain Inner Light.

Condition Condition

Supernatural Heraldry (Persistent)

Your character’s Heraldry is obviously supernatural. If your Suggestible (Persistent)
group has decided that the mortals of the World of Darkness
treat Heraldry as normal clothing then for one reason or Your character has entered a fugue state where she will follow
another your character is an exception. If your group has any instructions given for she lacks the willpower or initiative
decided that the public reacts realistically to a Princess’ to do otherwise. For the same reason she will follow her
appearance than your character’s heraldry causes her more instructions in a literal and uncreative fashion.
problems than the average Princess; wearing a sailor fuku in Blatantly suicidal or heinous orders are ignored, when
public might be unusual but the crown made of flowers multiple people are ordering someone around the most recent
floating above her head is clearly supernatural. order takes precedent.
Beat: Your character suffers a significant hardship because of Beat: Your character does something against her interests
reactions to her Heraldry. because she was asked to.
Beat: Your character’s faces a significant hardship because Resolution: Your character exits her fuge state, how she
she avoided a situation where her Heraldry would be does this depends on how she got there in the first place.
inappropriate. Awakes when: _________________________
Resolution: At the player’s desecration a major life event
may reshape your character’s Heraldry.

Condition – Object Condition – Tainted

Tempestuous
The place or person resonates with Tempesta. Nearby
Goalenu do not suffer from Wisp Bleed and a Goalenu may
spontaneously appear, if the Queen of Storms desires it.
Causing the Condition: Add up the Tempesta dots of Sweet Sin
everyone nearby, as well as the Inner Light dots of any nearby
Princesses of Storms. If there is 20 or more dots apply the Your character’s darker desires have been enchanced by magic.
Tempestuous condition. Cash In: When you indulge your Vice cash in this Condition
Causing the Condition: In the presence of great hatred or to gain an extra point of Willpower. This may not take you
destruction apply the Tempestuous Condition. above your maximum Willpower.
Causing the Condition: A Strengthen Influence of
Tempesta may apply this condition to anyone with a dot of
Tempesta.
Ending the Condition: If the violence ends or the followers
of Storms disperse remove the Condition.

Inanimate objects cannot gain beats. Tainted Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition – Boon Condition

Traded Luck Truly Mundane

Condition Condition

True Follower
Trusting
(Persistent)

Condition Condition

Two Hearts, One Soul

Ugly (Persistent)
(Persistent)
Condition Condition – Boon

Truly Mundane
The Princess’ connection to the Light is hampered while
untransformed; in her mundane form she is almost an
ordinary human. A Princess with this Condition cannot use a Traded Luck
Bequest, add her Inner Light as Supernatural Tolerance, or
Good luck for bad. Your character has traded some luck, but
spend Wisps for any reason other than to transform
will have to uphold her end of the deal.
reflexively. However she may regain Wisps and suffer
Ending the Condition: On any diceroll, if you get a
Sensitivity like normal, and she still has her Echo and
number of Successes equal to the Traded Successes you
Dreams. While mundane she cannot benefit from any
instead have just rolled the Stored Successes. Do this before
supernatural Merit related to the light that represents a skill
any using power that can grant the Traded Luck Condition.
or ability, such as speaking the Royal Tongue.
Traded Successes: ____
Beat: The Princess is significantly impeded by this
Stored Successes: ____
Condition, or falls prey to a hostile supernatural effect while
in her mundane form.
Ending the Condition: Gaining a dot of Inner Light can
optionally resolve this Condition.
Boon Conditions do not provide Beats
Condition Condition

True Follower (Persistent)

You have seen the majesty of the True Heir, and know that
next to her nothing you accomplish will amount to anything.
You perceive the True Heir as a paragon, the epitome of Trusting
beauty and charm. In effect, in your eyes she has five dots in
Striking Looks as “the best person ever!” (it gives a bonus to The character feels a bond of fellowship with everybody; he
most things). accepts friendly overtures without suspicion. Anyone
In addition realising the futility of attempting anything when beginning a social manoeuvre on the character can accept a
someone else is sure to do anything worthwhile faster and Condition to open two Doors without rolling, as if they had
better than you saps your Willpower: The True Heir may take the Sympathetic Merit (see GMC page 171); a character who
your Willpower for her own uses. actually has that Merit also raises their impression by one
Beat: Some Willpower is stolen. step when using it.
Beat: The Princess manipulates you into a serious hardship Resolution: Someone takes a Condition to open some of
with her Striking Looks. your Doors.
Your True Heir: _______________________
Willpower available for the taking: ____
Ending the Condition: The scene ends.

Condition Condition

Two Hearts, One Soul (Persistent)

Ugly (Persistent)
There is nothing the Light cherishes more than a true bond
There’s no polite way to put it, your character looks hideous.
between people, but sometimes the Light itself Blossoms
You gain a -2 to all Persuasion and Socialise rolls with
through such a bond. In rare cases two Princesses are
strangers who can see your face. This penalty does not apply
connected at the most fundamental level. They Blossom side
to close acquaintances unless you are specifically trying to
by side and they share a bond closer than sisters, closer than
seduce them, unless of course their tastes run that way.
lovers. A Princess with this Condition needs another Princess
It is in fact possible to have both the Ugly Condition and the
to Transform. She and her partner must invoke their
Striking Looks Merit, this usually implies a fearsome visage
Transformations together while standing within a few feet of
which is good for intimidation but bad for making friends.
each other. She has no problem using other abilities, such as
Beat: The character fails a roll because of this Condition
Practical Magic and Charms, without her partner; only
(roll the missing dice separately to determine if it was because
Transformations need the partner’s presence.
of this condition).
Beat: Your character’s suffers significant hardship because
Resolution: Your character gets plastic surgery or
her partner was not present when she needed to Transform.
permanently improves her appearance with magic.
Resolution: The Princess’ partner dies.
Condition Condition

Unstable
Union of Life and Death
Transformation
(Persistent)
(persistent)

Condition – Object Condition

Warded Yandere

Condition – Object Tilt

Zone of Truth Aegis

Condition Condition

Union of Life and Death (Persistent)

Unstable Transformation (persistent)
Using the magic of Amethyst your character has is host to a
Your character doesn’t have full control over her Ghost. Normally she remains in control but that can change.
transformations. Meeting with a specific trigger while In addition the following benefits apply so long as the two of
Transformed makes her lose control, and she reverts to you are working together:
mundane form. The trigger must be an event not under the She may access one the Ghost’s Numina, rolling Wits +
her control, though it shouldn’t be frequent. (A few examples: Resolve to use it.
being splashed with hot water, hearing a specific nonsense She may spend one Willpower to replace her Mundane Dots
phrase.) After losing control the Princess can’t transform in a Skill with the Ghost’s, however all rolls made using that
again during the current scene. Skill are at a -1 penalty.
If a Princess of Mirrors has this condition it works in reverse. If your character and the Ghost disagree on what to do next
Beat: The Princess gets into difficulties due to involuntarily roll Power vs Resolve + Supernatural Advantage. If the
returning to her mundane form. Ghost wins apply the Possessed Condition for the scene,
Ending the Condition: Gaining a dot of Inner Light can otherwise the Ghost cannot try again for the scene.
optionally resolve this Condition. Beat: The Ghost successfully possesses you.
Ending the Condition: Join or leave the Court of Mirrors. Resolution: The condition vanishes at the end of the day
Resolution: You and the Ghost mutually agree to part ways.

Condition Condition – Object

Yandere Warded
Your character’s attraction to another reaches outright The area is protected against incoming magic, this doesn’t
insanity. Whenever they’re doing an action in the name of protect anyone when the foe is already inside the protected
their crush, in their perspective, they gain a +3 bonus. area.
However, any actions taken that goes against their obsession Any attempt to project magic into the defended area triggers
takes an equal penalty. They will not stop, even if asked by a Clash of Wills against the Princess’ Class of Wills dice pool
the person of their obsessions until they either receive at the point this Condition was created. The Princess who
psychiatric help, or the magic causing it ends. created the wards is also immediately aware of any attempt to
Resolution: You suffer a significant hardship as the result of breach her defences.
your insanity. An area cannot be defended by multiple wards at the same
Resolution: You inflict a significant hardship as the result of time, only the strongest ward applies.
your insanity. Defence dice pool: ____
Resolution: You receive psychiatric help. Who’s aware of attacks: __________________
Resolution: The magic affecting your mind wears off. ___________________________________

Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.

Tilt Condition – Object

Zone of Truth
The area has been magically saturated with the power of
truth. Anyone with a Composure less than the Activation
Aegis Successes is unable to knowingly lie, make statements without
regard for the truth, or make statements that are true but
Your character has been blessed with magical protection much intended to deceive. If they try the find themselves blurting
like a Princess’ Holy shield. You have a number of Aegis out the truth or something like “I don’t know” They may
Points that may be spent just as a Noble would spend Wisps hold their tongue, unless the Condition is forceful, in which
on her Holy Shield. case they must roll Composure + Subterfuge to remain silent
The Aegis Tilt can not be replaced with a more powerful when asked a question.
Aegis, and for the purposes of this rule the Tilt is considered It takes a sensitivity to magic for someone to notice the
to last one scene even if all the Aegis Points are used sooner. presence of a Zone of Truth, but the effects are obvious to
Aegis Points: ____ most people after a while.
Aegis Points per turn: ____ The effects fade at the end of a scene.
Radius: ____________
Activation Successes: ____________
Forceful: Y/N
Inanimate objects cannot gain beats.
Tilt Tilt

Anti-War Zone
Battle Theme
(Environmental)

Tilt Tilt

Battlements
Berserk
(Environmental)

Tilt Tilt

Hailstones
Lucky Escape
(Environmental)
Tilt Tilt

Anti-War Zone (Environmental)

Battle Theme The area has been magically blessed with peace and
tranquillity, which takes the edge of the enormous fight
Your character is inspired by a Princess’ magic and feels
happening within. Bullets turn into a puff of petals mid air,
ready to face battle. You gain +2 to Resolve rolls to resist
swords grow dull and anger fades. All combat rolls within the
fear, panic, and similar. In addition you cannot suffer from an
affected area take a penalty. This is measured by intent, so
Integrity Breaking Point while benefiting from this Tilt,
healing rolls to help someone back into the fight are penalised.
however when the Tilt ends you will have to roll any Breaking
Healing rolls for the sake of healing are not.
Points you ignored as the effects catch up to you.
If the penalty reduces a combatant to a chance die, a
Ending the Tilt: The Princess stops performing her battle
Dramatic Failure might destroy their weapon. A gun or sword
music.
turns into beautiful flowers.
Ending the Tilt: You move out of earshot.
Ending the Tilt: This tilt lasts for one scene.
Penalty: ____

Tilt Tilt

Battlements (Environmental)
The area is protected by a dormant shield, when it is attacked
the shield will spring into existence in time to block incoming
Berserk fire. The size of the shield covers the whole area, it’s shape
conforms to the boundary.
Your character is in such a rage that they cannot control
Battlements cannot be instantly replaced or repaired by
themself. They must move towards or attack the focus of this
casting Bubble Shield but if the shield has the Rebuilding
Tilt every turn. They also get +2 to all attack roll, but -1 to
Upgrade anyone with permission can spend either a Wisp or a
all other rolls.
point of Willpower to take the shield down before it is
Ending the tilt: The duration ends.
destroyed. If they do so reapply the battlements condition at
Ending the tilt: Take twice Stamina Bashing Damage or
the end of the scene.
Stamina Lethal Damage.
Ending the tilt: The Scene ends.
Duration: ____
Ending the tilt: The shield’s Structure is destroyed.
Structure: ____
Durability: ____
Upgrades: ___________________________

Tilt Tilt

Hailstones (Environmental)
Lucky Escape Chunks of ice are raining down and they’re large enough to do
serious damage.
If your character’s last health box is filled with Lethal or
Effect: Everybody standing under clear sky takes 5 dice of
Aggravated damage erase the damage in either the last box or
bashing damage a turn.
last two boxes then them with Bashing Damage. Do this at
Causing the Tilt: Short of supernatural abilities, only
the start of the character’s next turn, then remove the Tilt.
mother nature can create a hailstorm.
Health boxes affected: 1/2
Ending the Tilt: Most weather clears up in a while, until
then get indoors or at least under some solid cover.
Tilt Tilt

Low Light
Living Oak
(Environmental)

Tilt Tilt

Low Light Midnight Noon

(Environmental) (Environmental)

Tilt Tilt

Mist (Environmental) Pain Immunity

Tilt Tilt
Living Oak
The Character has been transformed into a living statue of
perfectly carved wood. The magic of her transformation
preserves her ability to move and think but not perfectly:
Halve her speed. Her weight is also multiplied by five, so
don’t walk on anything fragile.
Low Light (Environmental) Being made of solid wood grants the Princess incredible
resilience, she gains one point of general armour for every
It’s dark. Barring supernatural abilities or specialized success which stacks with any other kind of armour. This is in
equipment all visual perception rolls and ranged attacks take addition to outright immunity against some types of damage
a penalty equal to the severity. such as poisons or radiation. Having no organs or blood to
Severity: ____ loose, physical damage is a significantly reduced threat. Any
physical attack which does less than five points of Lethal
damage is downgraded to Bashing damage. Fire damage is
not downgraded.
Ending the Tilt: The scene ends.
Ending the Tilt: Magic is used to revert the
Transformation.
Tilt Tilt

Midnight Noon (Environmental)

Any supernatural trait or ability that makes a reference to Low Light (Environmental)
daytime, nighttime, sunlight, moonlight or starlight, etc (but
There is little light, all perception penalties that depend upon
not a more specific time like noon or the witching hour) acts
sight take a penalty.
as though it was under whatever conditions the Princess
Causing the Tilt: Magic can dim the lights, bust this Tilt is
would prefer, even if she is unaware of it.
usually natural
Causing the Tilt: Only Ambassadors to Night or Regents of
Penalty:_________
Heliotrope can create this tilt.
Vampires only?: Y/N

Tilt Tilt

Pain Immunity
Mist (Environmental)
Your character does not feel any pain. Effect: Ignore any
wound penalties, in addition you will not fall unconscious if A strong mist blankets the battlefield.
your health track is filled with Bashing Damage. However Effect: Mist isn’t that harmful, but it does impose a -3 to -5
without pain you may not even notice you’re hurt, any attack penalty to visual perception. Be careful while driving.
that does less than three points of damage requires a Wits + Causing the Tilt: Supernatural powers or a lot of dry ice
Composure roll to notice. Effects that depend entirely on pain machines could do it, but most Mist is merely natural
fail to affect you. Finally anyone trying to torture you for weather.
information takes a penalty equal to your composure. It’s Ending the Tilt: Most weather clears up in a while.
unnerving watching your character ignore pain.
Tilt Tilt

Queen’s Grief Seraphic Fury

Tilt Tilt

Peace on Earth Sheltering Hand

Tilt Tilt

Shining Heart Silence

Tilt Tilt
Seraphic Fury Queen’s Grief
The character has assumed the mantle of Storms. The character has assumed the mantle of Alhambra’s Lady,
Effect: Any damage caused by the Princess in any way is she bears the suffering of all her people.
Aggravated. In addition she gains Resolve + Inner Light Effect: At the end of every turn where she protected an
temporary Health Boxes. Finally every time she kills a Alhambran with Sheltering Hand roll Resolve + Composure -
Creature of the Darkness or a follower of Tears she completely the penalty:
refreshes her willpower and gains a single box of temporary Dramatic Failure: The princess collapses into a hysterical
Health. If the Princess wrongly suspects someone of being in mess for the scene, end both Queen’s Greif and Sheltering
league with her ancient enemies, they still provide the bonus. hand. She suffers Depression for the listed days.
Princesses affected by Seraphic Fury must fight on until the Failure: Increase the penalty and days of depression by one.
end. They simply cannot imagine giving up. Success: Increase the penalty by one
Causing the Tilt: Only the Charm The Finest Hour can Exceptional Success: Do nothing
cause this Tilt. Ending the Tilt: The scene ends. The Princess suffers
Ending the Tilt: The scene ends. Damage is redistributed Depression for the listed days.
according the rules for tempoary health in WoD Core. Ending the Tilt: The Princess chooses to end Sheltering
Ending the Tilt: There are no enemies left to fight. Hand. She suffers Depression for the listed days.
Damage is redistributed according the rules for tempoary Penalty:_________
health in WoD Core. Days of Depression:_________
Tilt Tilt

Sheltering Hand
The character has assumed the mantle of Alhambra’s Lady, Peace on Earth
and the duty to protect Alhambra’s people.
Effect: Whenever a mortal or Sworn Alhambran takes Your character cannot perform any action that intentionally
damage within the Princess’ presence she automatically causes damage to another, what’s more your character cannot
prevents the damage by spending Wisps with the same costs give tactical aid to participants in a battle. This covers but is
as her Holy Shield, ignoring her per turn limit. At the end of not limited to shouting advice, manipulating the environment,
each turn where the Princess sheltered her subjects the or providing equipment. Intent matters, creating magic
Queen’s Grief Condition is triggered. If the Princess lacks the shields to stop the fight is ok but creating those same shields
necessary Wisps she reflexively drains them from her to give one side an advantage is impossible. Ending the
surroundings. The Storyteller should roll the number of Tilt: The scene ends.
Wisps drained in this manner, each Success inflicts one point Ending the Tilt: Someone attacks your character or her
of Taint upon the Princess’ location. allies.
The Princess qualifies for regaining Wisps by Inner Strength Ending the Tilt: The character who created this tilt attacks
and can apply no Invocations except Lacrima. someone.
Ending the Tilt: The scene ends.
Ending the Tilt: The Princess chooses to end the Tilt.

Tilt Tilt

Shining Heart
Silence The character has assumed the mantle of Swords, her passion
burns through all obstacles.
The character is surounded by utter silence and will not make
Effect: Within a small area surrounding the Prinecess all
a noise.
supernatural powers not of the Light take a penalty equal to
Effect: The character’s body will not make a noise, they can
the activation successes, in addition the affected area is
punch or run without fear of being overheard and not matter
bathed in true sunlight.
how much they try they cannot scream for help. The
The Twilight Invocations, as unethical as they may be, are
character can still make noise indirectly, such as by throwing
drawn from the Light.
a vase.
The Princess qualifies for regaining Wisps by Inner Strength
Ending the Tilt: The duration ends.
and can apply no Invocations except Fuoco.
Duration: ___________________________
Ending the Tilt: The scene ends.
Ending the Tilt: The Princess chooses to end the Tilt.
Tilt Tilt

Terrifying Terrified

Tilt Tilt

Temporary Health Willpower Blocked

Tilt

Wreathed in Flame
Tilt Tilt

Terrified Terrifying
Your character is in combat with something so terrifying that
The character possess a fearful, almost certainly supernatural,
they can only think of fleeing.
aura that can drain the courage from even the most hardened
Effect: Your character must spend every turn moving at
warrior. Supernatural sources of fear can sometimes be
their maximum speed away from the source of their terror, if
idiosyncratic on who is affected.
he is cornered he may stand and fight but only until an
Effect: The first time a susceptible person lays eyes on the
opportunity to escape presents itself.
character they must roll Resolve + Composure. On a Failure
Causing the Tilt: Exposure to characters with the
they take the terrified Tilt.
Terrifying Tilt causes this tilt.
Causing the Tilt: This Tilt is usually created by some
Causing the Tilt: Supernatural abilities can reach into the
supernatural ability.
brain’s fight or flight response to cause this Tilt.
Ending the Tilt: The scene ends.
Ending the Tilt: Your character escapes.
Ending the Tilt: The magic affecting your character fades.
Ending the Tilt: The magic affecting your character fades.
Affected: ____________________________
People affected: _______________________

Tilt Tilt

Temporary Health
Your character is under a pharmaceutical, psychological or
Willpower Blocked magical influence which lets her to take damage beyond her
normal limits and remain functional.
A magical force has prevented your character from spending
When the condition ends redistribute any damage according
Willpower.
to the rules for Temporary Health in WoD Core (p173) unless
Ending the Tilt: The magic fades. When can’t you
this condition has the Healing modifier, in that case remove
spend Willpower: ______________________
any damage recorded in Temporary Health dots
Duration: ____
Ending the tilt: The human body cannot be pushed beyond
End trigger: __________________________
it’s limits for long. The extra health is temporary and will
vanish in time.
Healing: Y/N

Tilt

Wreathed in Flame
Your character is burning with a magical fire, she is unharmed
nearby but others would be advised not to get too close. She
should also avoid curtains, books and other flammable objects
unless her fire is safe.
Unless the fire is Aggressive, damage from the flame dose not
combine with attacks in close combat but the character may
attempt to touch a target if the fire is more dangerous than a
punch.
Causing the Tilt: This Tilt is usually created by some
supernatural ability.
Ending the Tilt: The magic affecting your character fades.
Flame Size:____________
Flame Intensity:____________
Duration:____
Safe:Y/N
Aggressive:Y/N