Stress can have powerful effects on a Character, some of them are ongoing, and some of them create Attacks on the Character that can have permanent effects upon the Character too (exceptionally permanent in the case of “Dead” Woes). When a Shock Die is rolled it can create a Distress / Trauma situation. Each Shocked Die that rolls a Distress / Trauma result adds a Distress Card to the Character or Descendant. Typically a Character must Discard one of their own cards from their Style Reserve, Ordeal Pool, or Hand to become the Distress Card. The Stress Effects vary by Distress card as follows:
| Card | Stress | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 🃁 A♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The AmbitionThe Card of new Ambitions, sudden monetary gains, new business opportunities, new treasures or rumours of treasures and money being made. There may be conflict and collisions, new obstacles in the way or a Rival’s ambitions may block progress. | Indifference — Sometimes a Character will become so detached and disinterested, that it impacts their ability to feel or care even slightly. In some cases this indifference is nothing more than a brief apathy, a limited lack of drive or moral guidance that will soon pass, but for others this coldness may be a lasting problem. | Character must discard all Diamonds (♦) suited cards from Ordeal Pool, Style Reserves and Wyrd Tarot Hand, this continues with automatic Discarding of all Diamonds until they have zero Stress, Strain and Shock, when the Indifference Effect will end. Each Diamond (♦) Card Discarded removes Pips Stress or 1 Shock or 1 Strain from a Character or Descendant. |
| 🃂 2♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The WraithWhether an expression of the supernatural or simply the psychological forces at play. The card is about People’s Emotions and especially Fears. These can be as simple as a fear of missing out, or falling behind others, or expressions of deeper phobias. It is a card of small gains and intense, but limited resistance. | Worries — Worries make a Character think about their issues, dwelling on what questions or issues are stressing them out. Time and time again their mind will return to their | Character may reduce their Stress, Strain, or Shock by 1 for each statement they make, that relates to their worries. Additionally they may reduce their Stress by spending Diamond Pips equal to the Stress on pacing back and forth, or they may pay Chi equal to their current Stress to remove a point of Shock, Strain or Stress. |
| 🃃 3♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The GrindstoneThe Grindstone is the card of hard work, wearing down opposition, or training yourself to a finely sharpened point. It is a card of determined hard-won success for little reward or bitter, grinding defeat. | Working — You can always work through Stress. Sometimes you can just put your head down and get on with things, and when you lift your head something has changed. Sometimes this time is best spent working a physically demanding job, or one that keeps your mind occupied, other times the best way to work through it is a nap. | A Character may remove 1 point of Stress, Strain or Shock by working on, or working at ignoring, their problems for twenty-minutes. |
| 🃄 4♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The BookThe Book is the card of knowledge, authority and responsibility. Books are information in permanent form, frozen thoughts, and as such are technology, language and magic. Books are granted authority, and define monotheistic religions, for example, but they may sometimes contain mistakes (in translation, spelling, or printing), or the author’s opinions presented as facts, that can lead one astray. By the Book Characters act with this same occasionally flawed authority. | Escapism — Characters who use escapism avoid their Stress by throwing themselves into something else. This might be a fictional universe, a fantasy, a paranoid world view, or escape an old relationship for a new love or change job. | Escapism Characters create a new Emotional, Inept, Bias, Mild, Duty or Devotion Quirk with a Bane of 1. Characters may move Stress into this new Hitch, increasing the Banes by 1 costs the current Banes in Stress. |
| 🃅 5♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The ForestFar from the City, beyond the farms lie the deep, dark woods, the ancient forests of the world. This is the card of quiet woodlands and quiet yearnings, the Forests are places of plenty, but they are also places of darkness. Animals that know no fear of man haunt these places. It is a card of loneliness, abandonment, and very real needs — such as comfort, warmth and security. | Complicated — Stress can interfere with your life, making it more complicated in every way. Self-sabotage can play a part too, stress acts against our better judgement and instincts at times, interfering in what we do. | All Actions in the suited Facets (Awe, Craft, Orthodox, Quiet, Virtue, Zeal) add a Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Tao Sway / Score. If any penalised Action Succeeds it will reduce the Character’s Stress, Strain or Shock by 1 for each Success Level created. |
| 🃆 6♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The SunThe Card of light, warmth and hope. But one should also be aware that light can blind, warmth can burn and hope can be false. While everything about this card is direct and to the point, just as the sun appears to move straight across the sky, this is not the actual truth and things appear to change, as we see them in different lights. | Faith — Stress and its results can do odd things to a person. Sometimes it can drive them wild, other times it can “save” them, driving them into the loving arms of religion. Usually this will be a new religion for the Character, perhaps a new church or pastor if their old religion, but something about what they are selling the Character really seems to be buying. This can represent a spiritual awakening, or a vulnerable sort being preyed on by a cult. | Characters are offered a choice. They may take a new Hitch (Emotional, Inept, Bias, Mild, Duty or Devotion) with Banes equal to the the Character’s current Stress, or they may increase another Hitch by 1 Bane for Stress equal to the current Hitch Banes, or they may discard parts of their Character such as Proficiencies, Descendants, Allies or even Annexes which will negate Stress equal to the Cost of the lost part in Chi. |
| 🃇 7♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The DriveThe card of vehicles, engines and powerful motivations. The Drive is about speed, motion and pressing forwards, regardless of dangers or costs. Sometimes these motivations to move are internal to a Character, and they may be driven by Faith or Doubts, other times they are external, being driven on by some force beyond their control. | Hardship — Stress makes things harder. Things that we could previously bear with grace become impossible to cope with, and all too often the Stress interferes with our skills and talents. Stress can even make us revel in these hardships, justifying and internalising the failures. | All Diamond suited Actions (Awe, Craft, Orthodox, Quiet, Virtue, Zeal) add Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Intrepid Facet Sway. If a penalised Action fails the Character may reduce Stress or Strain by 1 per Success Level. |
| 🃈 8♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The CultistThe Cultist is the card of the dark sides of belief and belonging. Everyone holds at least one belief that another would find dark, extremist, or just plain weird. Sometimes it is a religious belief, sometimes its just your weird head-cannon to tie the classic series to the reboot directly. This is the card that shows us those parts of a character. It asks questions of them, such as: What do they really believe? Do they identify more with a Villain or Hero? What is their inner darkness? How far will they go? What lines will they never cross? and exactly how bad was that last instalment/season? | Struggling — Characters deep in Stress can struggle to cope. It can feel like they are drowning, unable to catch a breath between the wild buffets of fate. If they were less stressed they would cope, but it seems like everything is more difficult for these Characters now. Somehow though they will often struggle through, barely making ends meet until the stress lifts. | Diamond Suited Facet Actions (Awe, Craft, Orthodox, Quiet, Virtue, Zeal) add Difficulty equal to the current Stress in Chi, all other Facet Actions add Difficulty equal to the current Stress as Tao Sway. If a penalised Action is a Stalemate then the Character may reduce Stress, Strain and Shock by 1. |
| 🃉 9♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The PriestThe Priest is the card of the mortal and divine interacting. This can be literally a Priest (or other religious figure), or it can be some interaction that seems charged by divinity, ethics or morality, one of those times when the universe seems to be teaching us a lesson. These lessons are usually some allegory for an aspect of a religion, or a universal deity of some sort, but can be humanistic lessons such as “Don’t be a Dick.”. These Lessons often involve loss, anguish and difficult ethical and moral choices — one could easily interpret the card as the death of a loved one, for example. | Health — Stress, especially high stress over time, can have a very deleterious effect upon a Character’s health. Commonly a weakened immune system takes longer to shrug off infections and heal, and the Character may find themselves run down and exhausted from minor illnesses that would not normally affect them so much. | Healing times for all Diamond Suited Wounds add the Current Stress as a Chi Extend Duration, even a Distract Wound can take a while to shake off when you are Stressed. Additionally all Diamond Suited Wounds that the Character takes will add current Stress to their Pips, including the Difficulty to treat and Stabilise (increasing the chances of Wounds Festering). |
| 🃊 10♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The LonerThe Loner is the card of someone who while they may appear to succeed in some aspects of life, they are often failing in others. They may be rich, but lonely, or have many friends, but no true love. They may not feel they lack anything, and are content, but still are pitied by others. Then again the loner may seek solitude, moving far from home (to a new location), or driving others away for their own safety, as they know that what they undertake is not safe for others to assist. It is a card of collateral damage, Pyrrhic victories and great costs, but also huge rewards, if potential dangers are limited by careful planning. | Disturbed — High Stress for hours, days, weeks or perhaps even years can profoundly alter a Character. Some people freak out if their schedule is disturbed even slightly, others need their sleep cycle disturbed before it becomes a problem. Others find themselves physically or emotionally disturbed. But this all amounts to the same thing. | A Character who has become disturbed (by the latest Stressor) cannot rest or settle while this latest stressor continues. If they can find a way to cease the disturbance they will relieve all current Stress (but not Strain or Shock) and cease being disturbed, but until that time they will add their current Stress and the Tension-Level as a Chi Difficulty to all Actions that are not based on ceasing the disturbance (or at least getting far away). Even Actions that act to cease the disturbance will add the Character’s current Stress in Chi as additional Difficulty. |
| 🃋 J♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The TeacherThe Teacher card represents not just teachers, but schools in general, and the Teachings that the Teacher gives. The Teacher represents patience and courtesy, but is also a taskmaster, that demands you demonstrate what you have learnt. | Phantoms — Stress can have profound effects on the mind, causing one to see and hear all sorts of things that are not happening. Memories, waking dreams, and stress can easily combine to create Phantom Characters, hallucinations who take on the appearance of people from the Character’s past. | The Character’s current Stress and the current Tension Level are added together to create an amount of Chi. This Chi must be paid by the Character and is used to either purchase a “Phantom” version of a Character or create an entirely new “Phantom”. The Phantom may haunt the Character, accusing them, often seemingly feeding on the Character’s own guilt and continues for a period of time equal to the Current Stress as Intrepid Facet Sway after which the phantom will vanish relieving Stress equal to the current Tension Level. Typically the Phantom will reappear anytime the Character’s current Stress plus the Tension Level is high enough to create them again. Phantoms are typically an extension of the Character, even if they do appear as ghosts, grey aliens, faeries, or shadow people, so trying to harm them with magic, for example, will usually harm the Character experiencing the Phantoms, of course sometimes Increated will use Phantoms as the basis of a Nightmare Form, in which case they can be targeted separately. |
| 🃍 Q♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The ForgeThe Forge is the card of the workshop, or factory. It is a magical place, a womb of creation, where earth, air, water and fire are combined to create new objects like swords. The Forge is a place of sweat and hard work, but offers great rewards for this work. | Monsters — Stress can make monsters of us all, but worse still Stress can make Monsters, not just mountains, out of molehills. | The Character must pay Chi equal to the Character’s current Stress as Yarn. This Chi is used to purchase a new Character that can be a Force-of-Nature Extra with Monster Facets (Awe, Craft, Orthodox, Quiet, Virtue, Zeal). These “Monsters” may actually be physical issues such as natural disasters, or they may be aspects of the Character’s own Psyche, given hallucinatory or supernatural form. Then again they can be the Character themselves, unaware in their Stress-induced black-outs what they are doing. Other times the Character will project their problems on an actual Monster, tying their Arcs together. The only catharsis available to a Character here is to defeat, or at least survive the Monster, which will relieve Stress equal to the Monster Facet Boon. |
| 🃎 K♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The StarThe Star represents the pinnacle of success, the height of fame. It is the card of glory, excesses and undreamt of achievements, but it is also the card of jealousy, betrayals and rock and roll suicides. The Star may burn bright, but ultimately the night is dark. | Dangerous — Stress is dangerous, it can turn a simple mistake into a deadly danger, make a simple shock cause a heart attack, or make a Character hold a loaded gun to their own head. | All Diamond (♦) Suited Ordeal cards that target the Character for an Attack add the Character’s current Stress as Yarn so 13 Stress adds 66 Pips to each card, but then relieves Stress equal to the original Card Pips, plus all Strains and Shocks. Unsuited cards add current Stress as Chi (13 Pips), but remove only the Pips Reduced, 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🂱 A♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The LoversThe Lovers card represents the forces of romance and love, and the tough choices that they bring. As a force, Love is usually seen as positive, building and holding together families even through the most trying times, but love can also be destructive. The torrid affairs of untamed hearts ruin families’ lives and destroy homes everyday. These are powerful forces, Soul Stakes that play with people’ hearts. They are not for the faint of heart, but then what romantic is truly a coward? | Hardened — Sometimes a Character can become hardened, insensitive and incapable of caring. Hardboiled detectives, grizzled war veterans and the like, shrug off the ability to heal themselves and empathise, in favour of losing Stress. | Character must discard all Hearts (♥) cards from Ordeal Pool, Style Reserves and Wyrd Tarot Hand, until they have zero Stress. Each Heart Discarded removes Pips Stress, or 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🂲 2♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The Burn-OutThe Burn-Out is the card that represents the lingering embers of the once great. Where once a mighty, powerful fire roared, now there is just smoke and warm ashes. It can represent collapse after a great effort, or a futility in beginning. | Worries — Worries make a Character think about their issues, dwelling on what questions or issues are stressing them out. | Character may reduce their Stress, Strain or Shock by 1 for each question they ask, or statement they make, that relates to their worries, or each Pip that they dedicate to “Healing Prayers”, “Meditation” or similar Stress reduction techniques, or they may pay Chi equal to their current Stress to remove 1 Stress. |
| 🂳 3♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The QuestionThe Question card stands for nothing more, or less, than a question. It could be an unspoken question, or a question that is asked over and over again. Sometimes the question will be the same, other times it will be unique. Sometimes the question has an answer, other times it is rhetorical, and just occasionally the answer itself is the question. | Questioning — Asking the right questions at the right time can alleviate a lot of Stress for some people. Knowing what might be on the Test can make revision easier, for example. | A Character may relieve Stress equal to the current Tension Level by asking any Character for advice about their problems. |
| 🂴 4♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The MythThe Myth represents those untruths that can gather a truth of their own. It maybe a simple lie that was believed, a complex misunderstanding, or story told as an allegory or warning, such as the stories of Ginny Greenteeth teach children to avoid water, and the myth of the the Big Bad Wolf teach them to avoid the dark woods. | Coping — Coping mechanisms for stress vary from person to person. Some people drink, or take drugs (both illegal and medically prescribed), some throw themselves into religion, a hobby or work, and a few may cut or tattoo themselves. These coping mechanisms can grow rapidly becoming Flaws or even Woes as a Character relies on them to cope with Stress. | Coping Characters create a new Vague, Consuming, Doubt, Odd, Taboo or Scars Quirk automatically initially with a Bane of 1. Characters may move Stress into this new Hitch, increasing the Banes by 1 relieves Stress equal to the current Hitch Banes. |
| 🂵 5♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The JokeThe Joke card represents a funny situation. It may be as simple as a pun, or as complicated as a wildly complex sequence of rational, normal seeming events that leads to an ultimately absurd situation. | Joking — Stress can make Characters feel tense and a natural way to relieve that tension and Stress is by making jokes, even if they are inappropriate to the situation at hand. | Making a joke will relieve 1 Stress at any time, even if no one laughs because it is so inappropriate a joke or time. |
| 🂶 6♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The UnicornThe Unicorn card represents either a powerful, magical engine of transformation and freedom, that is difficult to find, obtain or master, or it is something entirely imaginary. It is a dream that is chased, sometimes the dream is achieved, often it is not, but may have led you to a better or worse place than you started. Occasionally the Unicorn is nothing but a Nightmare. | Rebellion — Stress and its results can make a person feel like their life is spiralling out of their control, so they try to seize control again, often by an act of rebellion. This can result in all sorts of problems as parts of the Character’s life are damaged, discarded, lost, chased away, replaced, or forgotten. | Characters who are rebelling are offered a choice. They may take a new Hitch (Consuming, Vague, Doubt, Odd, Taboo or Scars) with Banes equal to the the Character’s current Stress, or they may increase another Hitch by 1 Bane for Stress equal to the current Hitch Banes, or they may discard parts of their Character such as Proficiencies, Descendants, Allies or even Annexes which will relieve Stress equal to the Cost of the lost part in Chi |
| 🂷 7♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The StagThe Stag card represents nature in the form of visceral, animal life. Animals are driven by base desires, the simplest principles, and so the card shows us this, indicating that the events are concerned with an individual’s strength and survival, and perhaps more importantly the long term survival of the species. The Stag is usually timid and will avoid threats, but may be quick to fight during the rutting season, and vicious with those antlers. It is this rutting behaviour that sets the Stag apart. | Hardships — Stress makes things harder. Things that we could previously bear with grace become impossible to cope with, and all too often the Stress interferes with our skills and talents. Stress can even make us revel in these hardships, justifying and internalising the failures. | All Heart suited Actions (Enigma, Heresy, Jeer, Liberty, Phoenix, and Nature) add Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Intrepid Facet Sway. If a penalised Action fails the Character may reduce Stress, Strain or Shock by 1 for each Success Level achieved. |
| 🂸 8♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The WizardThe Wizard card represents a person with complete mastery of their surroundings and in complete control of themselves. A talented, skilful, and powerful person who has the ability to create and achieve almost any goal they set themselves. | Struggling — Characters deep in Stress can struggle to cope. It can feel like they are drowning, unable to catch a breath between the wild buffets of fate. If they were less stressed they would cope, but it seems like everything is more difficult for these Characters now. Somehow though they will often struggle through, barely making ends meet until the stress lifts. | Hearts Suited Facet Actions (Enigma, Heresy, Jeer, Liberty, Phoenix, and Nature) add Difficulty equal to the current Stress in Chi, unsuited Facet Actions add Difficulty equal to the current Stress as Tao Sway. If a penalised Action is a Stalemate then the Character may reduce Stress, Strain and Shock by 1. |
| 🂹 9♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The LadyThe Lady card represents luck, freedom and liberty. Symbolic of gambling and games of chance, the lady can seem carefree and easy, but she can turn on you in an instant, especially if you disrespect her. The Lady is the card of random factors, bizarre coincidences, and insightful synchronicities, never dismiss her as dumb luck. | Health — Stress, especially high stress over time, can have a very deleterious effect upon a Character’s health. Commonly a weakened immune system takes longer to shrug off infections and heal, and the Character may find themselves run down and exhausted from minor illnesses that would not normally affect them so much. | Healing times for all Heart Suited Wounds adds the Current Stress as a Chi Extend Duration, even a Distract Wound can take a while to shake off when you are Stressed. Additionally all Hearts Suited Wounds that the Character takes will add Current Stress to their Pips, including the Difficulty to treat and Stabilise (increasing the chances of Wounds Festering). |
| 🂺 10♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The JesterThe Jester card represents satire, comedy, and the absurd. It might be a witty exchange of insults, a bit of rec-room banter, a carefully arranged practical joke, or simply a sense of disjunction in a world turned upside-down. There might be mimicry, disguises, acting, buffoonery, or the delicate terror of a vacant stare. | Disturbed — High Stress for hours, days, weeks or perhaps even years can profoundly alter a Character. Some people freak out if their schedule is disturbed even slightly, others need their sleep cycle disturbed before it becomes a problem. Others find themselves physically or emotionally disturbed. But this all amounts to the same thing. | A Character who has become disturbed (by the latest Stressor) cannot rest or settle while this latest stressor continues. If they can find a way to cease the disturbance they will relieve all current Stress and cease being disturbed, but until that time they will add their current Stress and the Tension-Level as a Chi Difficulty to all Actions that are not based on ceasing the disturbance (or at least getting far away). Even Actions that act to cease the disturbance will add the Character’s current Stress in Chi as additional Difficulty. |
| 🂻 J♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The MaskThe Mask card represents the false fronts that we play. There are few people who are completely open and honest with everyone in their life, most of us choose to hide aspects of ourselves from view and don a mask. For some, undercover agents and those running for their lives, the mask becomes their only existence. | Delirium — Stress can have profound effects on the mind, causing one to see and hear all sorts of things that are not happening. Simply missing too much sleep can cause a healthy mind to micro-sleep and confuse the Character’s real and dream lives, and for some minds the confusion is more easily started, unusual brain chemistry and even normal development can lead to all manner of hallucinatory voices and imaginary friends knocking about the place. | The Character’s current Stress and the current Tension Level are added together to create an amount of Chi. This Chi must be paid by the Character to side-step the Character partially into a Psycho-social “dream-space” or “metaphorical representation” that they will explore, encountering aspects of their own Character, and perhaps their mental image of close friends as metaphors and hallucinatory Extras. The Delirium continues for a period of time equal to the Current Stress as Intrepid Facet Sway after which the delirium will fade away removing Stress equal to the current Tension Level. Typically the Delirium will reappear anytime the Character’s current Stress plus the Tension Level is high enough to side-step them that far again. Deliriums are typically an extension of the Character, even if they do appear as faery forests, cloud castles, creepy dungeons or alien vistas, so trying to harm them, or the character’s within with magic, for example, will usually harm the Character experiencing the delirium. |
| 🂽 Q♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The CloakThe Cloak card is symbolic of the warmth and protection of a good coat, privileges of rank, and the hidden aspects of life. This can be those parts that are private, or actual secrets, perhaps even hidden passages, or secret tunnels. It is the card of secrets, thieves and cowards, as well as nobility, cunning, and superheroes. | Monsters — Stress can make monsters of us all, but worse still Stress can make Monsters, not just mountains, out of molehills. | The Character must pay Chi equal to the Character’s current Stress as Yarn. This Chi is used to purchase a new Character that can be a Force-of-Nature Extra with Monster Facets (Enigma, Heresy, Jeer, Liberty, Phoenix, and Nature). These “Monsters” may actually be physical issues such as natural disasters, or they may be aspects of the Characters own Psyche, given hallucinatory or supernatural form. Then again they can be the Character themselves, unaware in their Stress induced black-outs what they are doing. Other times the Character will project their problems on an actual Monster, tying their Arcs together. The only catharsis available to a Character here is to defeat, or at least survive the Monster, which will relieve Stress equal to the Monster Facet Boon. |
| 🂾 K♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The PhysicianThe Physician card is representative of medicine, healing and bad news. If a character is injured, or sick they can seek relief and respite through the Physician. If they aren’t then the bad news could be simply that the Apple-a-day isn’t actually medical insurance, but more likely there is a new Hitch on some character’s horizons. | Dangerous — Stress is dangerous, it can turn a simple mistake into a deadly danger, make a simple shock cause a heart attack, or make a Character hold a loaded gun to their own head. | All Hearts (♥) Suited Ordeal cards that target the Character for an Attack add the Character’s current Stress as Yarn so 13 Stress adds 66 Pips to each card, but then relieves Stress equal to the original Card Pips, plus all Strains and Shocks. Unsuited cards add current Stress as Chi (13 Pips), but remove only the Pips Reduced, 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🃑 A♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CourtThe Court card represents both the Courts of Law and the Legal System, and Royal Courts and Parliaments. It can represent legal and political situations, but also social judgements too. | Sanctioned — Sometimes a Character can be told they must cease and desist some activity by lawyers, or a Character may finally let down their guard, or they may be captured and rather than being chained or imprisoned are kept under guard. | Character must discard all Clubs (♣) cards from Ordeal Pool, Style Reserves and Wyrd Tarot Hand, until they have zero Stress. Each Club Discarded removes 1 Stress, 1 Strain, or 1 Shock. |
| 🃒 2♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The EelafinThe Eelafin card is representative of the hybrid-faeries, who are characterised as having strong, graceful bodies, with just a hint of madness or wanderlust. Normal humans fear the Eelafin Doom-Weaving, that they usually imagine as curses. The Fae consider themselves half-doom and half-dream, the Eelafin they usually call Changeling, and consider them part-doom, part-doomed, part-dream, part-dreamer, and fear their Liberty and envy their mortality. | Worries — Worries make a Character think about their issues, dwelling on what questions or issues are stressing them out. | Character may reduce their Stress by 1 for each statement that relates to their worries that they make, or each Clubs Pip Played on Psycho-social Actions that relate to their worries, or they may pay Chi equal to their current Stress to remove 1 Stress, 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🃓 3♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The SerpentThe Serpent card represents words spoken with forked tongues, duplicity, shedding one’s skin, rebirth, or abandoning the past. It is the card of liars, sinners and the untrustworthy. However, as duplicitous and sinful as the Serpent may be, it is also a card of cool, creative, rational thought and reasoning. | Avoiding — You can always avoid Stress, sometimes if you are being stressed by a task you can just get it done, better yet, sometimes you can tell someone else to do it, and go and do something else. | A Character may remove 1 point of Stress by ordering or paying another Character to help them with what ever is stressing them. |
| 🃔 4♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The WatersThe Waters is a card that can literally mean waters, in the form of a river, a lake or an ocean that is important as a location, motif, or symbol, but it can also be symbolic, standing for the darker, violent emotions, that suddenly explode from out of someone. It can be hidden, deep motifs and meanings too. In these waters unconscious acts stir unpredictable actions. | Coping — Coping mechanisms for stress vary from person to person. Some people throw money away, chasing a new fling, others will pick a fight or become irritable, or defensive, a few may turn to magic with dubious repercussions. These coping mechanisms can grow rapidly becoming Flaws or even Woes as a Character relies on them to cope with Stress. | Coping Characters create a new Lacking, Harrowed, Unstable, Defensive, Desires or Doomed Quirk automatically initially with a Bane of 1. Characters may move Stress into this Hitch, increasing the Banes by 1 for the current Banes in Stress any time the Hitch is Triggered. |
| 🃕 5♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The ShieldThe Shield card stands for those that defend us, and those who in turn defend them. The Shield is defence, armour, the thin blue line and a standing army. It can mean that something needs defending, that an attack is coming, and serves as a warning. | Complicated — Stress can interfere with your life, making it more complicated in every way. Self-sabotage can play a part too, stress acts against our better judgement and instincts at times, interfering in what we do. | All Actions in the suited Facets (Burden, Dominion, Fury, Rook, Sin, or Wyrd) add a Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Tao Sway. If a penalised Action Succeeds it will reduce the Character’s Stress by 1. |
| 🃖 6♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The HordeThe Horde card signifies a huge crowd and the madness of crowds. Hordes are not calmly queuing citizens. Hordes ravage, pillage and loot, they are rioting, revolutionary, reactionary things. They may be formed from a stampede, panic amongst an orderly crowd can quickly create an unthinking horde. | Lost — Stress and its results can make a person feel lost, directionless and adrift, and usually this leads a Character to wander away from their old life and worries and into new trouble. The thing to remember about trouble is that it can often be quite a lot of fun, at first… | Characters who are spiralling are offered a choice. They may take a new Hitch (Lacking, Harrow, Unstable, Defensive, Desires, Doomed) with Banes equal to the the Character’s current Stress, or they may increase another Hitch by 1 Bane for Stress equal to the current Hitch Banes, or they may discard parts of their Character such as Proficiencies, Descendants, Allies or even Annexes which will negate Stress equal to the Cost of the lost part in Chi |
| 🃗 7♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CrystalThe Crystal represents both riches and the fragility of finery. Riches are easily bestowed by the card, but easily taken away again too. The Crystal can represent a change of circumstances, clarity of purpose, or signify a flaw or weakness that is hidden, but very important. | Harder — Stress makes things harder. Things that we could previously bear with grace become impossible to cope with, and all too often the Stress interferes with our skills and talents. Stress can even make us revel in these hardships, justifying and internalising the failures. | All Club suited Actions (Burden, Dominion, Fury, Rook, Sin, or Wyrd) add Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Intrepid Facet Sway. If a penalised Action fails the Character may reduce Stress by 1. |
| 🃘 8♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The ScytheThe Scythe card represents an honest day’s work, usually manual labour, often field or yard work (throughout human history) in a hot harvest sun, but it can represent any work with tools, labour, gathering or harvest activities. The Scythe can also represent danger at work, and of course has a long association with both Death and Time. | Struggling — Characters deep in Stress can struggle to cope. It can feel like they are drowning, unable to catch a breath between the wild buffets of fate. If they were less stressed they would cope, but it seems like everything is more difficult for these Characters now. Somehow though they will often struggle through, barely making ends meet until the stress lifts. | Club Suited Facet Actions (Burden, Dominion, Fury, Rook, Sin, or Wyrd) add Difficulty equal to the current Stress in Chi, other Facet Actions add Difficulty equal to the current Stress as Tao Sway. If a penalised Action is a Stalemate then the Character may reduce Stress, Strain and Shock by 1. |
| 🃙 9♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CrownThe Crown is the card of Leadership. It stands for Leaders, Commanders, Monarchy and Politicians. Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown though, and those in power have additional worries, responsibilities and other troublesome Hitches. The Crown can serve as a warning for Leaders to look within, to act for those they lead, not themselves or ruin may follow. But it can also warn followers to watch those they choose to follow. | Health — Stress, especially high stress over time, can have a very deleterious effect upon a Character’s health. Commonly a weakened immune system takes longer to shrug off infections and heal, and the Character may find themselves run down and exhausted from minor illnesses that would not normally affect them so much. | Healing times for all Clubs Suited Wounds adds the Current Stress as a Chi Extend Duration, even a Distract Wound can take a while to shake off when you are Stressed. Additionally all Club Suited Wounds that the Character takes will add Current Stress to their Pips, including the Difficulty to treat and Stabilise (increasing the chances of Wounds Festering). |
| 🃚 10♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The GuardianThe Guardian card represents the people who protect us. From Parents and Teachers to friends and even social systems such as City Watch or Police. The Guardian will always look out for us, helping us to avoid the worst situations and injuries, as long as we heed their warnings, and they are trustworthy. | Disturbed — High Stress for hours, days, weeks or perhaps even years can profoundly alter a Character. Some people freak out if their schedule is disturbed even slightly, others need their sleep cycle disturbed before it becomes a problem. Others find themselves physically or emotionally disturbed. But this all amounts to the same thing. | A Character who has become disturbed (by the latest Stressor) cannot rest or settle while this latest stressor continues. If they can find a way to cease the disturbance they will relieve 10 Stress and cease being disturbed, but until that time they will add their current Stress and the Tension-Level as a Chi Difficulty to all Actions that are not based on ceasing the disturbance (or at least getting far away). Even Actions that act to cease the disturbance will add the Character’s current Stress in Chi as additional Difficulty. |
| 🃛 J♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The TempestThe Tempest is the card of violent disturbance. People are scared, afraid, and otherwise perturbed by the violence of this situation, be it of the weather or a Character. Tempests can be tumultuous events of almost any sort, storms, wars, shipwrecks, political upheavals, coups, etc. It is a period of destruction, where the old is torn down, not necessarily to make way for the new. | Nightmares — Stress can have profound effects on the mind, but real stress upsets the unconscious, making dreams become nightmares. | The Character’s current Stress and the current Tension Level are added together to create an amount of Chi. This Chi must be paid by the Character to side-step the Character partially into a Psycho-social space where they work through their stress confronting a series of nightmare scenarios that the Stresses represent. The Nightmares continue for a period of time equal to the Current Stress as Chi when the Character sleeps after which the nightmare will cease relieving 1 Stress. Typically the nightmares will reappear anytime the Character’s current Stress plus the Tension Level is high enough to create them again. Nightmares are typically an extension of the Character, so trying to harm them with magic, for example, will usually harm the Character experiencing the nightmares, of course sometimes Increated will use nightmares as the basis of a Nightmare Form, in which case they can be targeted. |
| 🃝 Q♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The InnThe Inn card represents the den of iniquity, impropriety, sins and vices that every society has. The Inn may simply be the place that exotic outsiders stay in town, but more often it is the place of shady deals, criminal and immoral activities and recreational intoxicants. It offers satisfaction, comfort, protection, anonymity, and a certain lack of consequences to those who visit, with hints of adventure, rebelliousness, risk, and even danger for those that seek it. | Monsters — Stress can make monsters of us all, but worse still Stress can make Monsters, not just mountains, out of molehills. | The Character must pay Chi equal to the Character’s current Stress as Yarn. This Chi is used to purchase a new Character that can be a Force-of-Nature Extra with Monster Facets (Burden, Dominion, Fury, Rook, Sin, or Wyrd). These “Monsters” may actually be physical issues such as natural disasters, or they may be aspects of the Characters own Psyche, given hallucinatory or supernatural form. Then again they can be the Character themselves, unaware in their Stress induced black-outs what they are doing. Other times the Character will project their problems on an actual Monster, tying their Arcs together. The only catharsis available to a Character here is to defeat, or at least survive the Monster, which will relieve Stress up to Monster Facet Boon. |
| 🃞 K♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The Færy NobleThe Færy Noble card stands for the Lords of the Fae. It represents power, of an unearthly, paradoxical, fateful, magical, cruel or capricious nature. It can be a sign of erratic, irrational, or even insane seeming behaviour, but says there’s a reason beneath. The Færy Noble can be involved in important historical events, but you are just as likely to find one engaged in something mundane (at least from their point of view) such as painting the dawn red to warn shepherds of rain. Then again sometimes the card represents a Leader or Mentor who is “(Fairy-)Touched(-in-the-head)”. Here again, the irrationality may be signs of genius, prophecy, or insanity, or a mixture. | Dangerous — Stress is dangerous, it can turn a simple mistake into a deadly danger, make a simple shock cause a heart attack, or make a Character hold a loaded gun to their own head. | All Clubs (♣) Suited Ordeal cards that target the Character for an Attack add the Character’s current Stress as Yarn so 13 Stress adds 66 Pips to each card, but then relieves Stress equal to the original Card Pips, plus all Strains and Shocks. Unsuited cards add current Stress as Chi (13 Pips), but remove only the Pips Reduced, 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🂡 A♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ThresholdThe Threshold Card represents doorways, portals and liminal spaces. It is the edge of something else, a place where one goes from one place to another, often with different rules. It is a card of paradigm shifts, of new places. Great changes, events and dangers may lie ahead, and it is not too late to turn back, but then fresh understandings will not be gained, and no new discoveries will be made. | Between — Sometimes a Character is neither one thing or the other, in neither one place or the other, and this can make it difficult for them to act | Character must discard all Spades (♠) cards from Ordeal Pool, Style Reserves and Wyrd Tarot Hand, until they have zero Stress. Each Spade Discarded removes 1 Stress. |
| 🂢 2♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SwampThe Swamp is a card the represents a dichotomy. The Swamp is to be feared, it is a place of corruption, decay, stagnation, and many believe it magical, for those who enter it unprepared will die, but for those that know its secret ways, recognise its dangers, then medicinal plants, herbs, and other medicines and magics are revealed. The Swamp can represent potions and medicines that are as foul-tasting as swamp-water, and yet somehow help. | Worries — Worries make a Character think about their issues, dwelling on what questions or issues are stressing them out. | Character may reduce their Stress by 1 for each statement they make, that relates to their worries, character that they talk to about it, or they may pay Chi equal to their current Stress as Tao Sway to remove 1 Stress. |
| 🂣 3♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The KeyThe Key card is representative of a key itself, but also what a key can do, opening, unlocking, or revealing something that was locked away. The Key is not normally associated with the act of locking away again, except when the phrase “throw away the key” is used. It most often represents liberation, escape, or discovery. | Release — Sometimes a single event is enough to release some Stress. If it is the right event | A Character may remove 1 point of Stress after a period of any unrelated activity equal to the Current Stress as Chi Extend Duration. |
| 🂤 4♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The TowerThe Tower card can represent physical buildings, places, and stability. Less commonly, in the form a Wizard’s or Watchtower it may represent research, viewing, observation or looking-out. The Tower is a stable landmark, not prone to collapse, except when struck by lightning, which happens often before the lightning conductor, or earthquake, which is considered an act of the gods before the modern day also. The card has a hint of divine retribution about this meaning, which is why it may be called the Tower Struck By Lightning in negative positions. | Coping — Coping mechanisms for stress vary from person to person. Some people will talk about what is stressing them, creating a new narrative out of the situation at had, others will let stress get the better of them, corrupting them, or driving them to attack, others will hide themselves away, and very few may lose senses. These coping mechanisms can grow rapidly becoming Flaws or even Woes as a Character relies on them to cope with Stress. | Coping Characters create a new Binding, Laments, Confined, Corrupted, Offensive or Loss-of-Sense Quirk automatically initially with a Bane of 1. Characters may move Stress into this Hitch, increasing the Banes by 1 for the current Banes in Stress any time the Hitch is Triggered. |
| 🂥 5♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SailThe Sail card represents the act of harnessing an external, or higher, power to your needs. Just as a ship’s sail, or windmill’s turbine harnesses the elemental wind to drive the ship or mill, so the card can imply that you will make headway, perhaps travel. | Complicated — Stress can interfere with your life, making it more complicated in every way. Self-sabotage can play a part too, stress acts against our better judgement and instincts at times, interfering in what we do. | All Actions in the suited Facets (Gossamer, Inertia, Key, Miasma, Trial or Yonder) add a Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Tao Sway. If a penalised Action Succeeds it will reduce the Character’s Stress by 1. |
| 🂦 6♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ClockThe Clock card represents Time and timings, obviously, but a clock is a complex and difficult to construct mechanism, and so the card also represents long, complex tasks and procedures. The appearance of the card may indicate that a deadline is in place, that action must take place within a certain time, or that patience and waiting are the only way forwards. | Spiralling — Stress and its results can make a person feel like their life is spiralling out of their control. This can result in all sorts of problems as parts of the Character’s life are damaged, discarded, lost, chased away, replaced, or forgotten. | Characters who are spiralling are offered a choice. They may take a new Hitch (Binding, Laments, Confined, Corrupted, Offensive or Loss of Sense) with Banes equal to the the Character’s current Stress, or they may increase another Hitch by 1 Bane for Stress equal to the current Hitch Banes, or they may discard parts of their Character such as Proficiencies, Descendants, Allies or even Annexes which will negate Stress equal to the Cost of the lost part in Chi |
| 🂧 7♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SwordThe Sword Card represents danger, combat and peril. The Sword is a weapon, and so it represents warfare, weaponry and attacking forces. Sometimes arguments escalate, the Sword shows us the precise moment that things escalate to High Stakes. | Hard-times — Stress makes things harder. Things that we could previously bear with grace become impossible to cope with, and all too often the Stress interferes with our skills and talents. Stress can even make us revel in these hardships, justifying and internalising the failures. | All Spades suited Actions (Gossamer, Inertia, Key, Miasma, Trial or Yonder) add Difficulty equal to the Character’s current Stress in Intrepid Facet Sway. If a penalised Action fails the Character may reduce Stress by 1. |
| 🂨 8♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The RivalThe Rival card represents another Character that rivals or opposes a Player or Non-Player Character in some way. The Rival may be an opponent, a competitor, an enemy, or just interested in the same love interest. Rivals can be strangers or friends, and the card can indicate a rivalry that is growing within a group, or indicate an external threat. In many ways the Rival card be tied to the Friend or Foe Wyrd Tarot cards, as Rivals can become friends, as well as friends become Rivals. | Struggling — Characters deep in Stress can struggle to cope. It can feel like they are drowning, unable to catch a breath between the wild buffets of fate. If they were less stressed they would cope, but it seems like everything is more difficult for these Characters now. Somehow though they will often struggle through, barely making ends meet until the stress lifts. | Spades Suited Facet Actions (Gossamer, Inertia, Key, Miasma, Trial or Yonder) add Difficulty equal to the current Stress in Chi, all other Facet Actions add Difficulty equal to the current Stress as Tao Sway. If a penalised Action is a Stalemate then the Character may reduce Stress by 1. |
| 🂩 9♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The RobotThe Robot card represents the automatons, and workers, be they real robots, or people who live rigid, regimented lives, like the Eusaiveans. The Robot can represent the unconscious mind, which operates the body for the consciousness, or the mechanistic body itself. It can also represent those who are unawakened (or ain’t woke) to what is really happening. They might be muggles, grunts, slaves, serfs, or actual robots. | Health — Stress, especially high stress over time, can have a very deleterious effect upon a Character’s health. Commonly a weakened immune system takes longer to shrug off infections and heal, and the Character may find themselves run down and exhausted from minor illnesses that would not normally affect them so much. | Healing times for all Spades Suited Wounds adds the Current Stress as a Chi Extend Duration, even a Distract Wound can take a while to shake off when you are Stressed. Additionally all Spades Suited Wounds that the Character takes will add Current Stress to their Pips, including the Difficulty to treat and Stabilise (increasing the chances of Wounds Festering). |
| 🂪 10♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The LionThe Lion card represents strength, not just individually (which it does) but also strength in numbers. The Lion may indicate also heroic deeds and actions or proud behaviour. The Lion can be seen as a symbol of success and power, but more often it represents a test of that strength, and shows that pride comes before a fall. | Disturbed — High Stress for hours, days, weeks or perhaps even years can profoundly alter a Character. Some people freak out if their schedule is disturbed even slightly, others need their sleep cycle disturbed before it becomes a problem. Others find themselves physically or emotionally disturbed. But this all amounts to the same thing. | A Character who has become disturbed (by the latest Stressor) cannot rest or settle while this latest stressor continues. If they can find a way to cease the disturbance they will relieve 10 Stress and cease being disturbed, but until that time they will add their current Stress and the Tension-Level as a Chi Difficulty to all Actions that are not based on ceasing the disturbance (or at least getting far away). Even Actions that act to cease the disturbance will add the Character’s current Stress in Chi as additional Difficulty. |
| 🂫 J♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ExplorerThe Explorer card represents the urge to wander, to seek out new places, and make new discoveries. Exploration, investigation and travel are all indicated by the card, but there is another side to the Explorer, sometimes they come as an invader, or a crusader. If you are the Explorer it warns you that you may not be seen as just a tourist by the natives. | Hallucinations — Stress can have profound effects on the mind, causing one to see and hear all sorts of things that are not happening. Simply missing too much sleep can cause a healthy mind to micro-sleep and confuse the Character’s real and dream lives, and for some minds the confusion is more easily started, unusual brain chemistry and even normal development can lead to all manner of hallucinatory voices and imaginary friends knocking about the place. | The Character’s current Stress and the current Tension Level are added together to create an amount of Chi. This Chi must be paid by the Character and is used to either purchase a new “Hallucinatory” Character or to side-step the Character partially into a Psycho-social dream space. The Hallucination continues for a period of time equal to the Current Stress as Intrepid Facet Sway after which the hallucination will vanish removing 1 Stress. Typically the hallucination will reappear anytime the Character’s current Stress plus the Tension Level is high enough to create them again. Hallucinations are typically an extension of the Character, even if they do appear as grey aliens, faeries, ghosts or shadow people, so trying to harm them with magic, for example, will usually harm the Character experiencing the hallucinations, of course sometimes Increated will use hallucinations as the basis of a Nightmare Form, in which case they can be targeted. |
| 🂭 Q♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ScopeThe Scope card represents vision, examination, and focus. A scope can be used for assisted vision, it might be a telescope, a microscope, a periscope, reading glasses or a magnifying lens. It is a card that teaches us to focus on details, and to closely examine the facts or the scene. | Monsters — Stress can make monsters of us all, but worse still Stress can make Monsters, not just mountains, out of molehills. | The Character must pay Chi equal to the Character’s current Stress as Yarn. This Chi is used to purchase a new Character that can be a Force-of-Nature Extra with Monster Facets (Gossamer, Inertia, Key, Miasma, Trial or Yonder). These “Monsters” may actually be physical issues such as natural disasters, or they may be aspects of the Characters own Psyche, given hallucinatory or supernatural form. Then again they can be the Character themselves, unaware in their Stress induced black-outs what they are doing. Other times the Character will project their problems on an actual Monster, tying their Arcs together. The only catharsis available to a Character here is to defeat, or at least survive the Monster, which will relieve up to 12 Stress. |
| 🂮 K♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ButcherThe Butcher card represents blood, death and carrion, but it also represents sustenance, food and support within a community. The hard part of reading the card is knowing when the card is a sign of disaster and when it means a mighty feast, or more importantly who that feast is for. | Dangerous — Stress is dangerous, it can turn a simple mistake into a deadly danger, make a simple shock cause a heart attack, or make a Character hold a loaded gun to their own head. | All Spades (♠) Suited Ordeal cards that target the Character for an Attack add the Character’s current Stress as Yarn so 13 Stress adds 66 Pips to each card, but then relieves Stress equal to the original Card Pips, plus all Strains and Shocks. Unsuited cards add current Stress as Chi (13 Pips), but remove only the Pips Reduced, 1 Strain or 1 Shock. |
| 🃏 *✱ Suit: Wildcard ✱ Ordeal Trump: Anything Description: Wild cards can pretend to be any Non-court card from any Suit, but always retain their own Pips. Tarot Meaning: Wild, chaotic, dreamlike or insane Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wild Ordeals should either take place far from civilization or should be beyond normal in scope or scale somehow. Parry:Lucky ParryThe Defender may discard all cards from the Attack, but both weapons take the Parry card as damage. Soak: WildWild Soak discards the entire attack, but draws one new card to pass through. The WorldThe World card represents the whole world, not just the Earth, or any particular planet, or dimension but the Omniverse as a whole. In fact, any wholeness, or completion is indicated by the card, as well as the wilderness and wild places in particular (due to the wild-card nature of the Joker). The World is generally seen as a positive card, but it can be negative in the sense of endings mean farewells, good byes and moving on from one phase to another. The World contains everything and everyone, and so can represent any Facet or all Facets at once. This interpretation of “Everything” can be useful when considering Questions as The World asks us to Question everything, accept nothing at face value and always be on guard, against potentially anything. | Berserk — Stress can cause a Character to snap, becoming a furious engine of destruction. This creates a glorious moment of cathartic release, with the Character burning the Stress to augment their damage, as the Character attacks friend and foe alike, relieving huge amounts of Stress. However, the repercussions of this event may create more Stress than is lost. | All Ordeal cards played that attack another Character or Descendant add current Stress as Chi to the Pips of the Attack and reduce the Stress by 1 until the Character has no Stress remaining. However, after the dust has settled the Character will gain Stress equal to highest Character or Descendant type (or the total Group Size whichever is higher) injured or destroyed in Chi. E.g. A Berserker that killed a Hero or almost 100 Extras and Grunts would add 12 Stress after the Berserk had finished. |
| 🂿 #✱ Suit: Wildcard ✱ Ordeal Trump: Anything Description: Wild cards can pretend to be any Non-court card from any Suit, but always retain their own Pips. Tarot Meaning: Wild, chaotic, dreamlike or insane Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wild Ordeals should either take place far from civilization or should be beyond normal in scope or scale somehow. Parry:Lucky ParryThe Defender may discard all cards from the Attack, but both weapons take the Parry card as damage. Soak: WildWild Soak discards the entire attack, but draws one new card to pass through. The AmbitionThe Card of new Ambitions, sudden monetary gains, new business opportunities, new treasures or rumours of treasures and money being made. There may be conflict and collisions, new obstacles in the way or a Rival’s ambitions may block progress. | Indifference — Sometimes a Character will become so detached and disinterested, that it impacts their ability to feel or care even slightly. In some cases this indifference is nothing more than a brief apathy, a limited lack of drive or moral guidance that will soon pass, but for others this coldness may be a lasting problem. | Character must discard all Diamonds (♦) suited cards from Ordeal Pool, Style Reserves and Wyrd Tarot Hand, this continues with automatic Discarding of all Diamonds until they have zero Stress, Strain and Shock, when the Indifference Effect will end. Each Diamond (♦) Card Discarded removes Pips Stress or 1 Shock or 1 Strain from a Character or Descendant. |
The rules for whether a Distress / Trauma result creates a Distress ongoing Stress Effect or a Trauma are as follows:
- If the Character or Descendant has enough Stress, then they can easily match the Pips of the Stress Effect card and take the Stress Effect.
- Distress Card Stress Effects fill a Trauma slot unless replaced by an actual Trauma.
- If a Character already has filled all their Trauma Slots with Distress Cards then the new Distress should replace any Distress that it has more Pips than.
- If no Slot is available the Distress Card will automatically become a Trauma Card instead (and the Stress is still Relieved).
- If a Character or Descendant cannot pay Stress equal to a Card’s Pips then the card is instead a Trauma.
- Traumas are treated like Attacks or Wounds, with a Trauma Limit card and total Trauma Pips, except Traumas have additional Stress, Strain and Shock effects over a normal Wound and Traumas are not soaked (see Traumas).
| Card | Trauma | Rules | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 🃁 A♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The AmbitionThe Card of new Ambitions, sudden monetary gains, new business opportunities, new treasures or rumours of treasures and money being made. There may be conflict and collisions, new obstacles in the way or a Rival’s ambitions may block progress. | Intrusive Thoughts — Shocks and Traumas can cause a mind to become obsessed with a particular, persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image. These thoughts are experienced as intrusive thoughts, and are often inappropriate to the current situation, and can seem so intrusive as to seem alien. Characters can often become Stressed by these thoughts and agitated when they occur. | The Trauma creates a specific thought, which is given a rating between 1 and 16 (may be randomly rolled) to determine the “severity” or “inappropriateness” of the thought, image or impulse. A 1 would represent a recurring fleeting thought, an 8 might be a single word or short-phrase repeating in their mind, a 16 would represent profoundly disturbing imagery being hallucinated. Intrusive Thoughts move at random through the Psychosocial space, when they are in an Unconscious Space they can be ignored, but upon entering a conscious space (such as Thoughts or any space where their Conscious Self is currently) then the intrusive Thought will immediately occur, causing Stress equal to the “Severity”. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃂 2♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The WraithWhether an expression of the supernatural or simply the psychological forces at play. The card is about People’s Emotions and especially Fears. These can be as simple as a fear of missing out, or falling behind others, or expressions of deeper phobias. It is a card of small gains and intense, but limited resistance. | Flashbacks — Shocks and Traumas can create vivid, incredibly strong memories in the mind. Later the mind can replay these traumatic experiences as though they are currently happening, often doing so involuntarily as a result of Stress. These experiences can include delusions, hallucinations and paranoia in addition to simple revelries and nightmares. | The Trauma creates an Involuntary Memory, which consists of the events leading to the trauma and the exact emotions (including the Pips and Limit card of the emotional effects) felt at the time. Whenever the Character becomes Overstressed or reminded of this Traumatic event (by similar events) the memories will replay as though the Character was living through them again, this will include all Emotional states once again affecting them with the same intensity. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃃 3♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The GrindstoneThe Grindstone is the card of hard work, wearing down opposition, or training yourself to a finely sharpened point. It is a card of determined hard-won success for little reward or bitter, grinding defeat. | Compulsion — Shocks and Trauma can make a Character do things, and more importantly want to do things, that they did not want to do before. Compulsions create compulsive behaviours, where even normal behaviours such as exercise, eating, talking, or shopping, become compulsions. Typically the compulsion will be some normal behaviour that is performed to excess, as in binge-eating, or some lack of impulse control, such as over-spending when shopping. | The Trauma creates a compulsion that affects the Character thereafter. This compulsion is given a “Severity” rating between 1 and 16 when created, this may be assigned randomly or based on how dangerous the compulsion is (1 being a mild, or easily overlooked compulsion and a 16 being suicidal or psychotic behaviour). The Compulsion then moves at random around the Character’s Psychosocial space. When in the Unconscious mind the compulsion is ignorable and if performed will relieve Stress equal to the Severity, but when in a conscious part of the Mindscape the Character will be compelled to perform the Compulsion or Gain Stress equal to the “Severity” of the Compulsion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃄 4♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The BookThe Book is the card of knowledge, authority and responsibility. Books are information in permanent form, frozen thoughts, and as such are technology, language and magic. Books are granted authority, and define monotheistic religions, for example, but they may sometimes contain mistakes (in translation, spelling, or printing), or the author’s opinions presented as facts, that can lead one astray. By the Book Characters act with this same occasionally flawed authority. | Perfectionism — Trauma can have strange effects on people, obsession and compulsions can mix and create strange new behaviours and patterns, such as making a person obsessed with being perfect, and achieving perfection. This can create serious issues for a Character, making them unable to perform Tasks unless they can succeed perfectly, leading to procrastination, additional work, micromanagement and unfinished tasks. | Perfectionist Characters Gain 1 Stress if they roll less than Maximum on any roll, or play non-court cards on Actions. However, if they roll Maximum on any individual die, or play all court-cards in an Action, then they may relieve Stress equal to the number of dice rolled (e.g. a 2d6 relieves 2 when a 12 is rolled) or Pips Reduced. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃅 5♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The ForestFar from the City, beyond the farms lie the deep, dark woods, the ancient forests of the world. This is the card of quiet woodlands and quiet yearnings, the Forests are places of plenty, but they are also places of darkness. Animals that know no fear of man haunt these places. It is a card of loneliness, abandonment, and very real needs — such as comfort, warmth and security. | Withdrawal — Trauma and Shock can have profound effects on a Character’s social behaviour, often anxiety and Stress from the Trauma will combine in social situations, which can lead to a withdrawal away from all social activities as an avoidance method for more pain. This withdrawal will often lead to less interactions with friends, and abandonning hobbies and activities that might encourage further socialisation. Typically this withdrawal does not cause the Character to abandon friends or allies completely. | The Trauma can either create a suitable Mild, Taboo or Social Hitch or can permanently delete one Annex that may represent the abandonned hobby or the loss of social skills. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃆 6♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The SunThe Card of light, warmth and hope. But one should also be aware that light can blind, warmth can burn and hope can be false. While everything about this card is direct and to the point, just as the sun appears to move straight across the sky, this is not the actual truth and things appear to change, as we see them in different lights. | Hope — Trauma and Shock can be powerful forces on a Character’s mind and behaviour, but minds can be resilient even in the face of odds that others may call hopeless, and for some individuals hope will remain. | The Trauma alters the Character making them more Hopeful. Whenever they Gain Stress they will also Gain Hopes (Liberty Facet Sway) equal to the Stress. Whenever they Gain Strains they will also Gain 2 Hope, and whenever they Gain Shocks they will Gain 5 Hope. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃇 7♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The DriveThe card of vehicles, engines and powerful motivations. The Drive is about speed, motion and pressing forwards, regardless of dangers or costs. Sometimes these motivations to move are internal to a Character, and they may be driven by Faith or Doubts, other times they are external, being driven on by some force beyond their control. | Escape — Sometimes when Trauma hits, the only thing the Character feels is an urge to escape. This urge can drive them to leave town, change jobs or schools, or even leave their home planet or time. | The Trauma creates an urge to leave a place. The Size of the Location that the Character must move outside of is equal to the total Stress (as Chi). If the Character moves that far they may discard that Stress, so a Character with only 1 Stress must make only a single step, but a Character with 140 Stress would be leaving the continent. Time Travellers can insteaed escape through time, with Extend Duration defining how far they must move in time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃈 8♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The CultistThe Cultist is the card of the dark sides of belief and belonging. Everyone holds at least one belief that another would find dark, extremist, or just plain weird. Sometimes it is a religious belief, sometimes its just your weird head-cannon to tie the classic series to the reboot directly. This is the card that shows us those parts of a character. It asks questions of them, such as: What do they really believe? Do they identify more with a Villain or Hero? What is their inner darkness? How far will they go? What lines will they never cross? and exactly how bad was that last instalment/season? | Cultism — Trauma can be spiritual and religious in nature, and can alter beliefs, or at least lead a Character to seek answers beyond the normal orthodoxy of their religion or culture. Trauma causes the Character to question something about their religion, culture, society or politics, and these questions lead them to others with answers (*veracity of answers will vary between cults). Cults vary a lot, some are just reactionary religious sects (Satanists for example), others are led by charismatic narcissists for their own glorification (cults of personality), still others are pervasive terrorist idealogies, you just don’t know what you might find. | The Trauma leads the Character to question, and seek answers, beyond the cultural confines of their upbringing. This makes them vulnerable to cults who will attempt to recruit them, giving oneself over to the cult allows all Stress to be removed (although cultish living will invariably create new Stress later). This Trauma can create Hitches for the Character as they become members of the cult. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃉 9♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The PriestThe Priest is the card of the mortal and divine interacting. This can be literally a Priest (or other religious figure), or it can be some interaction that seems charged by divinity, ethics or morality, one of those times when the universe seems to be teaching us a lesson. These lessons are usually some allegory for an aspect of a religion, or a universal deity of some sort, but can be humanistic lessons such as “Don’t be a Dick.”. These Lessons often involve loss, anguish and difficult ethical and moral choices — one could easily interpret the card as the death of a loved one, for example. | Conversion — Trauma can be political, social, spiritual, or religious in nature as well as psychological or physical, and this can cause a Character to change their opinons about things. When someone has a profound change of opinion about something, like the religion they follow, or political idealogy they subscribe to then we call it a conversion (unless the religion isn’t legitimate somehow when we are in Cultism territory). | Trauma alters the Character’s opinions about their religion, political beliefs or some other factor. This Trauma immediately relieves Stress equal to the Banes of any Hitches that are converted. E.g. If a Character converts to Christianity following a traumatic possession, then their former Devotion to Pagan gods × 12 becomes Devotion: Christian × 12 and relieves 12 Stress instantly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃊 10♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The LonerThe Loner is the card of someone who while they may appear to succeed in some aspects of life, they are often failing in others. They may be rich, but lonely, or have many friends, but no true love. They may not feel they lack anything, and are content, but still are pitied by others. Then again the loner may seek solitude, moving far from home (to a new location), or driving others away for their own safety, as they know that what they undertake is not safe for others to assist. It is a card of collateral damage, Pyrrhic victories and great costs, but also huge rewards, if potential dangers are limited by careful planning. | Loner — Trauma can cause a Character to change, become insular and introverted, hateful and anti-social, or they can come to their senses and realise that some people they call friends are not really their friends at all. Whatever the reason, whether betrayal, hazing, secrecy, or mental illness, this Trauma urges a Character to think about who their friends and Allies are very carefully. | The Character may remove friends and allies from their life (usually without violence, although there may be tears, accusations, and harsh words). Each friend or Ally removed will relieve Stress equal to the Character Type (“unfriending” a Chorus Extra would relieve 5 Stress). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃋 J♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The TeacherThe Teacher card represents not just teachers, but schools in general, and the Teachings that the Teacher gives. The Teacher represents patience and courtesy, but is also a taskmaster, that demands you demonstrate what you have learnt. | Lessons — Trauma can be a teacher, at least there are often lessons to be learned from the traumatic experience. Trauma can teach a Character a new skill, reveal a hidden talent, or unlock a power. Depending upon the genre, trauma may unlock psychic abilities, unusual perceptions or senses, language, art, memory, musical or mathematical abilities. | The Trauma allows a Character to purchase with relieved Stress, a new Annex (or just a Proficiency depending on free Slots). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃍 Q♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The ForgeThe Forge is the card of the workshop, or factory. It is a magical place, a womb of creation, where earth, air, water and fire are combined to create new objects like swords. The Forge is a place of sweat and hard work, but offers great rewards for this work. | Invention — Trauma can lead to new necessities in a Character’s life, these become the mothers of invention, with the Character creating some new device or technique to deal with the necessity. Sometimes the trauma itself is the necessity, with the mind coming up with some invention as the trauma is occuring, other times the invention may be some safety system to prevent this kind of trauma from occuring in the future. | The Trauma converts all Stress the Character currently has into Yarn-equivalent Chi that can only be used to create Prototype Descendants. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃎 K♦ Suit: Diamonds ♦ Ordeal Trump: Preparation (Research / Work / Patience) / Movement (Sneaking / Sprinting) / Listening Description: Diamonds represent the finer things of life, they are bright and sparkling. Representing the creative even spiritual aspects of materialism such as beauty and art, that transcend base materialism like wealth. Despite this the Diamonds are recognised as being the Coins suit of the Tarot, with a strong tie to Elemental Earth. Tarot Meaning: Travel, Money, Business, Contracts, Deals, Voyages. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Travel (e.g. Chase, Race) / Creativity (e.g. Smithing, Painting). Diamonds act as Trump for the following Action Types: Art, Building, Charming, Crafting, Driving, Emoting, Forgiving, Keeping Your Cool, Listening, Meditation, Motion, Prayer, Preparation, Research, Sprinting and Working in general. Any type of action can be prepared with a Diamond. Parry:Seize the initiativeThe cards of the original attack (less the matched card) are immediately added to the Defender’s Ordeal Pool. They may then play as many cards as their Descendant/Annex normally plays including the Parry card (1-4) usually into one of their Style Reserve, and then immediately discard any cards over Pool Limit. Soak: ReadyThe matched Attack card is immediately Prepared by the Defender (as they wish). The Soak card is discarded. The StarThe Star represents the pinnacle of success, the height of fame. It is the card of glory, excesses and undreamt of achievements, but it is also the card of jealousy, betrayals and rock and roll suicides. The Star may burn bright, but ultimately the night is dark. | Notoriety — Trauma can lead to a Character gaining fame within their community or society. This notoriety can be “positive” with celebrity bringing benefts that may offset the trauma somewhat, but notoriety is as often negative, as some folk will try to exploit their knowledge of who the Character is in negative ways. | The Trauma grants the Character recognition by the masses. This becomes tied to a “Media Impression” similar to a Character’s Impression of them. Most Characters who did not meet the Character before the Trauma will match their Impression of the Character to the media impression, although often those with media exposure themselves will be less quick to adopt the media impression. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂱 A♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The LoversThe Lovers card represents the forces of romance and love, and the tough choices that they bring. As a force, Love is usually seen as positive, building and holding together families even through the most trying times, but love can also be destructive. The torrid affairs of untamed hearts ruin families’ lives and destroy homes everyday. These are powerful forces, Soul Stakes that play with people’ hearts. They are not for the faint of heart, but then what romantic is truly a coward? | Romance — Trauma can change Characters in wonderful and terrible ways, making them more open, truthful, emotional, or simply causing them to show a more vulnerable side for a while. Vulnerability and emotional-openness can be profoundly attractive, and being openly vulnerable and being cared for by another can also be attractive in return. Although it should be noted that this is rarely the case with professional carers such as Doctors or Nurses, where ethics committees and professional bodies would have something to say about it. Such Romances are often short-lived things, although as with any romance Soul-Stakes are involved. | The Trauma can alter both Impressions of the Character and the Character’s Impressions of others (increasing the impressions one step for each Stress Relieved) to make them completely trusting of each other, and can create a “Will-They-Won’t-They” Soul-Stakes romance Plot between the two Characters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂲 2♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The Burn-OutThe Burn-Out is the card that represents the lingering embers of the once great. Where once a mighty, powerful fire roared, now there is just smoke and warm ashes. It can represent collapse after a great effort, or a futility in beginning. | Burn-Out — Trauma can cause a Character to burn-out, whether through fatigue, mental exhaustion, or emotional breakdown. Depression can overwhelm anyone, and will often cause a Character to abandon projects and even relationships. A Burned-out Character should usually be retired from active duty, but may struggle on a shadow of their former selves. | Trauma causes the Character to Burn-Out, this usually includes relieving all current Stress by creating “Burnt-Out” Hitches that effectively negate the Character’s Annexes. These Hitches can effect only one Annex or all Annexes as the Player, Author, Referee and Yarn-Teller agree. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂳 3♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The QuestionThe Question card stands for nothing more, or less, than a question. It could be an unspoken question, or a question that is asked over and over again. Sometimes the question will be the same, other times it will be unique. Sometimes the question has an answer, other times it is rhetorical, and just occasionally the answer itself is the question. | Questions — Trauma is bad enough, but sometimes traumas can be compounded by additional problems, such as inquests, political inquiries, insurance problems, as well as disputes over responsibilities and liabities, which all involve a number of very pointed question being asked of the Character. | The Trauma creates Questions for the Character to answer, these questions are usually based on the Character’s Annex Facets, and the Difficulty in answering the Question is usually based on the amount of Stress relieved from the Annex, with the Stress acting as a Chi (Pips) Difficulty usually. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂴 4♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The MythThe Myth represents those untruths that can gather a truth of their own. It maybe a simple lie that was believed, a complex misunderstanding, or story told as an allegory or warning, such as the stories of Ginny Greenteeth teach children to avoid water, and the myth of the the Big Bad Wolf teach them to avoid the dark woods. | Lies — Trauma can bend a Character’s mind, making them have a more loose connection with the truth than they had previously. It may be that the Character is lying to themselves, protecting usually some aspect of their own ego from the truth of what happened during or to cause the trauma, but other times they are pathological lies that serve a different purpose, such as attention-seeking, or deflection. The Character can also become a compulsive liar, who are just more comfortable lying than telling the truth. | The Trauma alters the Character’s mind, such that whenever they tell a lie they may immediately relieve 1 Stress, some Characters will lie to themselves, others will lie pathologically or compulsively to others. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂵 5♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The JokeThe Joke card represents a funny situation. It may be as simple as a pun, or as complicated as a wildly complex sequence of rational, normal seeming events that leads to an ultimately absurd situation. | Humour — Trauma can alter a Character’s sense of humour dramatically, things they previously found funny, may now seem cruel and malicious. Conversely, things the Character previously would have found, trite, sickening, morbid, or boring may now strike them as hilarious. Some Character’s find their sense of humour is destroyed by a trauma, where as others find it to be the ultimate coping mechanism. For others it is a change in styles of humour, moving from whatever they did find funny to puns and wordplay, or sarcasm, satire, prop-comedy, wit, shaggy-dog stories, offensive jokes, sick jokes, crude comedy, physical clowning, sight gags, punchlines, or dad jokes. | The Trauma alters the Character’s sense of humour in some way. The Relieved Stress from each Annex will change one thing the Character finds funny, either finding something new funny or not liking a style of humour they previously enjoyed. This is usually handled by the Character relieveing 1 point of Stress by laughing or groaning at a Joke that they previously would not or would have found funny, as appropriate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂶 6♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The UnicornThe Unicorn card represents either a powerful, magical engine of transformation and freedom, that is difficult to find, obtain or master, or it is something entirely imaginary. It is a dream that is chased, sometimes the dream is achieved, often it is not, but may have led you to a better or worse place than you started. Occasionally the Unicorn is nothing but a Nightmare. | Nightmares — Traumas always make a deep psychological impact on the Character, and can effectively create damage deep into the brain, these scars express themselves during sleep with night-terrors, corrupted or disturbing dreams and reliving waking memories. Sleep itself can become problematic for the Character, as it is not restful at all, unless they can drink or drug themselves into dreamless sleep. | Trauma creates Night-terrors, disturbing dreams and nightmares for the Character. The Trauma initially converts all Stress into Nightmare Zones, which a placed in the Character’s Psychosocial Dreamspace. Each Nightmare Zone may have between 1 and 5 Nightmare Points within it, these Nightmare Points are created by the Stress that was placed in them.
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| 🂷 7♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The StagThe Stag card represents nature in the form of visceral, animal life. Animals are driven by base desires, the simplest principles, and so the card shows us this, indicating that the events are concerned with an individual’s strength and survival, and perhaps more importantly the long term survival of the species. The Stag is usually timid and will avoid threats, but may be quick to fight during the rutting season, and vicious with those antlers. It is this rutting behaviour that sets the Stag apart. | Beast — Trauma can inhibit or push aside the higher mind, revealing the beast underneath. For some the beast is a crazed carnivore, a deadly predator, who has a strong fight response to any stimulus, others revert to fleeing, or freezing in place, we all have base instincts that we repress, sometimes unknowingly. For the beast there is no thought beyond the perception of stimuli and the physical, instinctual, animal response. For some this is a once in a lifetime break, for others it can become a repeatable mental state. | The conscious mind of a Character is shutdown, or on pause, often this is represented in the Psychosocial Action Space by removing the conscious areas of the mind, instead the Character is reduced to instinctive, animalistic behaviours, they may forage and hunt for food, and often retain instinctual tool use (especially with tools they are familar with holding), empathy and occasionally limited language use, especially at understanding others. Characters in this “mode” cannot Gain Stress from any conscious source, such as Personality Hitches, however they are still effected by emotional effects (perhaps, it could argued, more profoundly without rationalization to inhibit the emotional display) and Psych Attacks (although Psych attacks can only move the Character in the Psychosocial Action Space). The animalistic Character can relieve Stress only by Straining, but can Strain any Facet or Annex Die for 1 Stress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂸 8♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The WizardThe Wizard card represents a person with complete mastery of their surroundings and in complete control of themselves. A talented, skilful, and powerful person who has the ability to create and achieve almost any goal they set themselves. | Gifted — Trauma can profoundly affect the mind, creating new pathways that can open new mental abilities, often abilities unlocked by trauma can be surprising, such as suddenly being able to play a musical instrument, speaking a foreign language, or beoming a lightning calculator. If the Trauma is healed or repaired however the gifted ability is often lost. | The Trauma immediately creates a Gifted Annex Slot. While the Character has the Trauma they may have an extra Annex Slot. When unlocked all the Character’s current Stress can be relieved by purchasing the Annex and its Proficiencies as though it was Chi. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂹 9♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The LadyThe Lady card represents luck, freedom and liberty. Symbolic of gambling and games of chance, the lady can seem carefree and easy, but she can turn on you in an instant, especially if you disrespect her. The Lady is the card of random factors, bizarre coincidences, and insightful synchronicities, never dismiss her as dumb luck. | Unlucky — Trauma can be the first sign that a Character’s luck has changed for the worst. Once Lady Luck has abandonned a Character she does not return her favour quickly or easily. | The Trauma relieves all current Stress. However the Stress is replaced by a number Unlucky Failure Levels equal to the total Stress Reduced. While the Character has these Unlucky Failure Levels they can Relieve Stress at any time, converting them into more Unlucky Failure Levels, as long as they add 1d6 Unlucky Failure Levels (or as many as they have left if less) to their last, current or next Action. Once they are out of Unlucky Failure Levels, this Trauma effect is over. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂺 10♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The JesterThe Jester card represents satire, comedy, and the absurd. It might be a witty exchange of insults, a bit of rec-room banter, a carefully arranged practical joke, or simply a sense of disjunction in a world turned upside-down. There might be mimicry, disguises, acting, buffoonery, or the delicate terror of a vacant stare. | Folly — Trauma can cause confusion and disorientation, shutting down former pathways in the brain and making things make less sense for the Character. This is not necessarily a loss of “intelligence”, but more an indication that significant parts of that intelligence may now be working illogically or irratically. Where before the Character may have been sensible, even reasonable, this is simply no longer the case. Their confusion may become Quixotic imprudence (tilting at windmills), or Panzaic dullness (skeptical dismissal of the fantastic), or some other delusional reality. | The Trauma creates a confusion or delusion in the mind of the Character, this is often expressed as a Hitch, but also works as follows: The Character can Relieve 1 Stress by either identifying something fantastic and even supernatural as entirely banal (swamp-gas reflecting the light of venus, failed real-estate-developer in a costume, low resolution video of a bird, etc), or by identifying and behaving as is something banal was something fantastic and extraordinary (those are not windmills, they are giants — whirling their swords to attack — we must charge!). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂻 J♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The MaskThe Mask card represents the false fronts that we play. There are few people who are completely open and honest with everyone in their life, most of us choose to hide aspects of ourselves from view and don a mask. For some, undercover agents and those running for their lives, the mask becomes their only existence. | Masking — Trauma can alter Characters dramatically, but it can also cause Characters to pretend it has affected them differently than it actually has. Some people enjoy the attention that comes with trauma, and will exaggerate the effects for more attention. For others, pretending to be someone without the trauma is the game, if they pretend hard enough perhaps the trauma will go away. In some other cases, the Character may assume an unrelated symptom is part of the same thing, which can become incorporated into their diagnosis. | The Character decides to mask the trauma in some way. Typically the mask will pretend the effects of the trauma were different to the actual effects in some way, often either more or less profound than they actually were. Characters can create an Alt that will act as the “mask” Character, or they can create a “Masking Behaviour” Annex or Descendant to help them hide what is happening (this will relieve Stress to Chi to purchase the Alt, Descendant or Annex). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂽 Q♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The CloakThe Cloak card is symbolic of the warmth and protection of a good coat, privileges of rank, and the hidden aspects of life. This can be those parts that are private, or actual secrets, perhaps even hidden passages, or secret tunnels. It is the card of secrets, thieves and cowards, as well as nobility, cunning, and superheroes. | Cloaking — Trauma can sometimes hide other problems. For example, during an accident a Character may snap a limb obviously, they are only concerned about the blinding pain coming from the broken limb. Only once the limb is set does the Character (or the medics treating them) become aware of the muscle damage in their back, or the concussion. | The Trauma hides a Wound so that it cannot be seen or treated (effectively filling the same Wound Slot with another Wound). The Cloaking Wound is created by relieving Stress, with the Stress relieved equalling the Pips of the Wound, a Limit Card is usually Drawn and Played, that adds Suit and Wound Limit for the Pips. Once this Cloaking Wound has been treated and healed away, the Cloaked Wound will reappear in that Wound Slot. Both the Cloaking Wound and Cloaked Wound occupy the same Wound Slot at once, but the Cloaked Wounds effects and damage are hidden until healed. While a Character has a Cloaking Wound, they may relieve Stress at any time by adding the Pips to their Cloaking Wound, making it potentially Fester, Re-Open or even get worsse as they must Draw a new Limit Card that will replace the old Limit if Higher. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂾 K♥ Suit: Hearts ♥ Ordeal Trump: Healing (Survival / Magic) / Deception (Hide / Feint) / Magic (Positive) Description: Hearts represent Love, Family and the comforts of home. Hearts are the warmth of a cosy fireplace, and social wealth rather than material. In the Tarot the suit is called Cups, and represents the feminine and elemental Water. Tarot Meaning: Love, Relationships, Affections, Family, Sympathy, Peace. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Nurturing, Farming, Relationships, Medical. Hearts act as Trumps for the following Actions: Blending in, Cooking, Escaping, Healing, Hiding, Hunting, Insulting, Joke-telling, Lying, Magic, Mimicry, Riddling, Spinning a tale, Surgery, and Survival. Any type of Wound can be healed with a Heart. Parry:Locked RespiteAll unmatched Cards from the original attack are Discarded by the Defender, however with each card they Discard they may either use the card to Heal/Stabilise one of their own wounds (or damage to the Parrying Descendant), or they may use the card to slow their attacker with additional RT (Pips) or GRT (Pips/5). Soak: DisengageThe Soak Card acts as a Heal card, and is discarded along with the Attack card. This immediately Heals all Wounds in play that have less Pips, including the remaining Wounds in the Attack, by one Wound Level (discards Distracts). The PhysicianThe Physician card is representative of medicine, healing and bad news. If a character is injured, or sick they can seek relief and respite through the Physician. If they aren’t then the bad news could be simply that the Apple-a-day isn’t actually medical insurance, but more likely there is a new Hitch on some character’s horizons. | Medicinal — Trauma can sometimes be medicine, surgery is carefully engineered trauma designed to lessen the damage of other Wounds, but such things can happen randomly. Sometimes a fresh wound will cure, or reveal to medics, a lingering problem allowing treatment to actually cure the underlying problem. It is worth remembering though that despite the narrative trope, a blow to the head will most likely cause a concussion, not cure amnesia. | The Trauma can affect a Hitch or lingering Wound, using Stress as Chi to directly heal Wounds, and reduce the Banes of Hitches. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃑 A♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CourtThe Court card represents both the Courts of Law and the Legal System, and Royal Courts and Parliaments. It can represent legal and political situations, but also social judgements too. | Punishment — Trauma can sometimes act as a punishment, sometimes this is deliberate, other times the nature of the punishment maybe karmic, poetic justice or irony. Sometimes this punishment seems unjustified, as if randomly assigned (by a card no less), but usually careful examination of the circumstances can reveal some reasonable justification. | The Trauma creates some kind of punishment for the Character, this is often in the form of a Hitch or a lingering Wound affect (Maiming and Crippling Wounds particularly). The Character can Relieve Stress by complaining about the “punishment” they have received, how unjustified it was etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃒 2♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The EelafinThe Eelafin card is representative of the hybrid-faeries, who are characterised as having strong, graceful bodies, with just a hint of madness or wanderlust. Normal humans fear the Eelafin Doom-Weaving, that they usually imagine as curses. The Fae consider themselves half-doom and half-dream, the Eelafin they usually call Changeling, and consider them part-doom, part-doomed, part-dream, part-dreamer, and fear their Liberty and envy their mortality. | Fae-Touched — Trauma can create delusions, hallucinations, waking dreams, and strange beliefs. At one time, those who were touched by such madness were considered blessed, or cursed, by the Fae, and many suspected that there was some deeper truth to this madness. There are stil lingering traces of this, with fairies associated with psychedelic mushrooms, dreamstates and nonsense fantasy. | The Trauma creates a “Faery-Delusion”, these are powerful delusions that may or may not be actually connected with Færy (the other other world of the Fæ). If the Character is genuinely seeing Fairy beings around them, or spending the night in Færy to return tired to ouur world in the morning, then trying to convey these stories will cause the Character to instead speak nonsense. Otherwise speaking nonsense, pointing out imaginary or hallucinatory beings, or holding one-sided conversations with an imaginary friend, will Relieve 1 Stress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃓 3♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The SerpentThe Serpent card represents words spoken with forked tongues, duplicity, shedding one’s skin, rebirth, or abandoning the past. It is the card of liars, sinners and the untrustworthy. However, as duplicitous and sinful as the Serpent may be, it is also a card of cool, creative, rational thought and reasoning. | Sexual — Trauma can affect the base part of the mind, sexual function, fetishes, and attaction can all be significantly altered by Traumas. Characters who are affected by sexual trauma often have profoundly altered sexual tendencies, insecurities and practices. Some shutdown those aspects of themselves, others may seek to claim ownership by revelling in their changed behaviours. | Trauma can affect a Character’s sexual behaviour, and desires. Often this will take the form of new sexual behaviours, fetishes and can reveal hidden aspects of a Character’s sexuality, other times this may shutdown sexual drives. The Character may Relieve 1 Stress by indulging in (or repressing) these new sexual desires and fetishes. Typically the number of new behaviours created is equal to the total Stress Reduced when the Trauma occurs (all current Stress is Relieved). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃔 4♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The WatersThe Waters is a card that can literally mean waters, in the form of a river, a lake or an ocean that is important as a location, motif, or symbol, but it can also be symbolic, standing for the darker, violent emotions, that suddenly explode from out of someone. It can be hidden, deep motifs and meanings too. In these waters unconscious acts stir unpredictable actions. | Turbulent — Trauma can make a mind unstable, with the emotions unchecked, hormones and neuro-transmitters sloshing around their brain at heightened levels. Their neurons are too easily stimulated, which can make them easier to emotionally affect, but such emotional states are never long-lived, as the next stimulation will alter that too. | Trauma reduces the ability of the mind to defend from Emotional Effects. At the time of the Trauma all Current Stress is Relieved and creates a “Turbulent” Pool. This Pool can spend this Stress as Pips / Chi adding to all Emotional Effects the Character is struck by, increasing the chances of being affected. Additionally, the Character may Relieve Stress, moving it into the “Turbulent” Pool, any time their Emotional State changes (Relieving 1 Stress for each Card of the emotional effect). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃕 5♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The ShieldThe Shield card stands for those that defend us, and those who in turn defend them. The Shield is defence, armour, the thin blue line and a standing army. It can mean that something needs defending, that an attack is coming, and serves as a warning. | Defence Mechanism — Trauma can occasionally be helpful, just as surgery is a case of trauma excising some weakness of the body, so too can trauma remove a perceived weakness of the mind. Characters who are used to certain forms of abuse or trauma will develop coping and defence mechanisms, some of which are more effective than others. | The Trauma teaches the Character a new Defence Mechanism that they may employ in future.
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| 🃖 6♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The HordeThe Horde card signifies a huge crowd and the madness of crowds. Hordes are not calmly queuing citizens. Hordes ravage, pillage and loot, they are rioting, revolutionary, reactionary things. They may be formed from a stampede, panic amongst an orderly crowd can quickly create an unthinking horde. | Deindividualisation — Trauma can make a Character feel like they are less themselves than before. Such Characters find themselves drawn to share the opinions of others, to do what they do. In extreme cases a Character can experience a complete loss of self, feeling that they have become a gestalt entity with those they are living with, reflecting more the opinons of those around them than any opinion they may have previous had. | The Trauma instantly Relieves all Current Stress, but adds a new Persona to the Character’s Personality Annex. Typically this is a “Mocker” Persona, but the Yarn-Teller, Referee, Author or Player can instead pick the Persona of any other Character that the Character spends time with. Additionally, a Deindividualised Character will Relieve 1 Stress whenever they can copy the actions or opinons of another Character, regardless of whether they had other opinions previously. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃗 7♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CrystalThe Crystal represents both riches and the fragility of finery. Riches are easily bestowed by the card, but easily taken away again too. The Crystal can represent a change of circumstances, clarity of purpose, or signify a flaw or weakness that is hidden, but very important. | Pay-Off — Traumas can sometimes lead to a pay-off, this could be an insurance policy paying out, or damages from whoever was responsible, but something happens to give the Character a payment of some sort. | The Trauma immediately Relieves all Stress converting it all into Chi immediately. The Trauma will also pay Chi equal to the Wound the Trauma involves and the Chi cost of any Hitch generated as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃘 8♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The ScytheThe Scythe card represents an honest day’s work, usually manual labour, often field or yard work (throughout human history) in a hot harvest sun, but it can represent any work with tools, labour, gathering or harvest activities. The Scythe can also represent danger at work, and of course has a long association with both Death and Time. | Workaholic — Trauma can drive a Character to focus on their work as a coping mechanism. Some people find work a lot less anxiety inducing than the rest of their life, and for them it becomes an easy decision to invest more of their time into their work. | The Trauma makes a Character reprioritize their life, such that they can now Relieve 1 Stress by focusing on their work over everything else. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃙 9♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The CrownThe Crown is the card of Leadership. It stands for Leaders, Commanders, Monarchy and Politicians. Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown though, and those in power have additional worries, responsibilities and other troublesome Hitches. The Crown can serve as a warning for Leaders to look within, to act for those they lead, not themselves or ruin may follow. But it can also warn followers to watch those they choose to follow. | Crown — Shakespere wrote “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, and this is usually now phrased as “Heavy lies the head that wears the crown”. Anxieties compound upon Trauma and can disrupt a Character’s equilibrium and sleep patterns, slowly driving them towards paranoia and insomnia. | The Trauma restricts a Character getting to sleep, costing them 1d6 hours of racing thoughts before they can sleep at night, however this sleep deprived state allows the Character to Relieve 1 Stress by thinking the worst of a situation or another Character. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃚 10♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The GuardianThe Guardian card represents the people who protect us. From Parents and Teachers to friends and even social systems such as City Watch or Police. The Guardian will always look out for us, helping us to avoid the worst situations and injuries, as long as we heed their warnings, and they are trustworthy. | Guardian — Trauma can create all sorts of self-protective behaviours in a Character. Some people will create protective guardian imaginary friends, others develop a new psychological defence mechanism, a few others will learn to attack first, to limit their future risks. | Trauma can create an new Alt, new defence mechanism
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| 🃛 J♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The TempestThe Tempest is the card of violent disturbance. People are scared, afraid, and otherwise perturbed by the violence of this situation, be it of the weather or a Character. Tempests can be tumultuous events of almost any sort, storms, wars, shipwrecks, political upheavals, coups, etc. It is a period of destruction, where the old is torn down, not necessarily to make way for the new. | Tempestuous — Trauma can make a Character unbalanced, so that they can become emotionally tempestuous, as well as prone to outbursts of violence or loud outbursts such as screaming. | The Trauma makes the Character more emotional, erratic and prone to outbursts. When they initially take the Trauma all current Stress is Relieved instantly, creating a “Tempestuous Temper” Hitch which will interfere with the Character’s ability to control their emotions, perhaps even creating emotions, or instinctual responses. However the Character will be able to Relieve 1 Stress by using violence outbursts, whether physical or verbal, such as screaming, yelling, cursing, ect. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃝 Q♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The InnThe Inn card represents the den of iniquity, impropriety, sins and vices that every society has. The Inn may simply be the place that exotic outsiders stay in town, but more often it is the place of shady deals, criminal and immoral activities and recreational intoxicants. It offers satisfaction, comfort, protection, anonymity, and a certain lack of consequences to those who visit, with hints of adventure, rebelliousness, risk, and even danger for those that seek it. | Temptation — Trauma can create all sorts of problems for Characters, and can place them in situations where they discover things about themselves that even they never suspected. Sometimes the trauma can be directly responsible for a fetish, addiction, or mania for something, othertimes it may be a reaction to the trauma that leads a Character “astray”. Medical treatments, as well as recreational activities can become addicting, or problematical, temptations come from many sources, and new temptations are all the more tempting. | The Trauma grants the Character the ability to Relieve 1 Stress by indulging in a temptation, however they can Relieve all current Stress if they indulge in a new temptation. New temptations can, of course, be dangerous as well as tempting, with Stakes ranging from Medium to Paradoxical depending upon the genre and temptation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃞 K♣ Suit: Clubs ♣ Ordeal Trump: Defence / Trade / Control / Magic (Negative) Description: Clubs represent the power of politics and a stoic, blind materialism. Clubs can be seen as a dark corrupting force on the world, crass materialism, sin, magic and anger, but the club is also symbolic of protection, law and justice. In the Tarot the Clubs are called Staves or Wands, in some traditions they represent Intellectual Air, but in most they are Fire. Tarot Meaning: Power, Fame, Politics, Ability, Money. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wealth, Politics, Power. Clubs act as Trump for following Actions: Bartering, Controlling, Corrupting, Emotional-intensity, Guarding, Magic, Displaying might, Politics, Self-Defence, Socializing, and Trade Negotiations. Clubs can be used to defend any type of attack. Parry:DisarmAll the cards of the attack are immediately discarded, along with the Parry Card. The remaining cards of the Defender’s Parry can now each be used to cause the Attacker to drop a Descendant (starting with the attacking weapon usually), can also cut armour straps, belts etc, or steal hats. This basically adds RT equal to the card Pips to the Annex that was used to attack. Every 5 Pips also creates a point of GRT for the Character (representing how much time the Character must spend picking up, or readying the weapon again. Court cards additionally may damage the Descendant that was disarmed, as standard for the Stakes. Soak: WardThe matched Attack card, and one other randomly selected Attack card are discarded. The Færy NobleThe Færy Noble card stands for the Lords of the Fae. It represents power, of an unearthly, paradoxical, fateful, magical, cruel or capricious nature. It can be a sign of erratic, irrational, or even insane seeming behaviour, but says there’s a reason beneath. The Færy Noble can be involved in important historical events, but you are just as likely to find one engaged in something mundane (at least from their point of view) such as painting the dawn red to warn shepherds of rain. Then again sometimes the card represents a Leader or Mentor who is “(Fairy-)Touched(-in-the-head)”. Here again, the irrationality may be signs of genius, prophecy, or insanity, or a mixture. | Sorcery — Trauma can unlock abilities that the Character had no idea could even exist, let alone that they had access to them. Usually the Trauma will unlock some latent magical, or mutatagenic, power, this is not often a mental or emotional ability, but some physical effect usually. Of couse, genre and setting will greatly effect what “sorcery” can be unlocked by trauma. Of course, in certain genres and settings any useage of “Magic” can appear delusional, and even in fantasy settings some mages are considered crazy for the things they attempt with their magic. | The Trauma unlocks a Character’s “magical potential”, typically this means that one of their Annexes can access “Magic” Boldly (as Chi). They will calculate Difficulty as though using magic (which is often easier). The Character with this Trauma can Relieve 1 Stress by laughing maniacally as they use their magic, regardless of the consequences. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂡 A♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ThresholdThe Threshold Card represents doorways, portals and liminal spaces. It is the edge of something else, a place where one goes from one place to another, often with different rules. It is a card of paradigm shifts, of new places. Great changes, events and dangers may lie ahead, and it is not too late to turn back, but then fresh understandings will not be gained, and no new discoveries will be made. | Uncertain — Trauma can push a Character to their breaking point, to the very edge of sanity, or to borderline of the beyond. Some Characters never quite come back after they have been that far, they forever seem to exist in the liminal space at the edge of rational thought, neither fully rational or irrational, and never certain of anything again. To some they may seem to have retreated into a fantasy world, but some others will note that events from the real world are seemlessly integrated into their fantasies, and often this fantasy may offer deeper insights into what is going on than the “real-world” can suppy. | Trauma pushes a character to the edge of their sanity. Creating a Psychosocial Location (purchased with Relieved Stress acting as Chi) within their mind that may have overlaps or connections to any other point of the Psychosocial mindscape (which will affect the nature of the Location — for example placing it deep in the Dreamscape may make it seem fantastical, connecting it to Supernatural may allow it limited telepathy, even allowing the Character to retreat beyond their own mindscape for safety in another’s mind. The Character can thereafter Relieve 1 Stress instantly by retreating to this Psychosocial Location, or by acting as though they are Uncertain (what is real, what is right, what they shoud do, etc). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂢 2♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SwampThe Swamp is a card the represents a dichotomy. The Swamp is to be feared, it is a place of corruption, decay, stagnation, and many believe it magical, for those who enter it unprepared will die, but for those that know its secret ways, recognise its dangers, then medicinal plants, herbs, and other medicines and magics are revealed. The Swamp can represent potions and medicines that are as foul-tasting as swamp-water, and yet somehow help. | Toxic — Trauma can twist a Character, easily making personality traits and behaviours more toxic. This toxicity will usually express in passive-aggressions, unwarranted criticism of others, snide remarks, sarcastic attitudes, elaborate excuses for their behaviour, seeking to blame others for any failures, manipulating others for their own ends. | The Trauma instantly Relieves all current Stress, which is used to purchase a “Toxic” Hitch, that will typically interfere with relationships, create bad impressions and hamper the Character socially. The Toxic Character can Relieve 1 Stress by acting toxic somehow to another. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂣 3♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The KeyThe Key card is representative of a key itself, but also what a key can do, opening, unlocking, or revealing something that was locked away. The Key is not normally associated with the act of locking away again, except when the phrase “throw away the key” is used. It most often represents liberation, escape, or discovery. | Lock — Trauma can create locks, with abilities, knowledge and memories being locked away from the conscious mind by the trauma, often as some form of psychological defence mechanism. Sometimes abilities can also be unlocked by traumas, and other times doors, portals and pathways can be unlocked in the Lea or Psychosocial layers of reality. | The Trauma takes all current Stress and Relieves it converting it to Chi. This Chi is immediately used to lock or unlock something about the Character. For example, any Bulmäs tasting blood for the first time unlocks the Red Carnivore paths, any tasting “dead” meat unlocks the Black Vermis Paths. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂤 4♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The TowerThe Tower card can represent physical buildings, places, and stability. Less commonly, in the form a Wizard’s or Watchtower it may represent research, viewing, observation or looking-out. The Tower is a stable landmark, not prone to collapse, except when struck by lightning, which happens often before the lightning conductor, or earthquake, which is considered an act of the gods before the modern day also. The card has a hint of divine retribution about this meaning, which is why it may be called the Tower Struck By Lightning in negative positions. | Tower — Trauma can lead a Character to seeking safe spaces, building panic rooms, buying and installing security systems, and generally developing vigilance against future Traumas. | The Trauma causes a Character to feel physically unsafe for a majority of their time. It immediately Relieves all current Stress, but creates an “Unsafe” Pool. They may seek to purchase armour, secure Locations and the like, of a value at least equal to the “Unsafe” Pool, as this will reduce the Pool by 1 each time. They may also Relieve 1 Stress gained later by checking every potential entrance and exit is secured. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂥 5♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SailThe Sail card represents the act of harnessing an external, or higher, power to your needs. Just as a ship’s sail, or windmill’s turbine harnesses the elemental wind to drive the ship or mill, so the card can imply that you will make headway, perhaps travel. | Runaway — Trauma can make a Character not feel safe in their own home, and many choose to leave. Some will make careful preparations, purchasing a new place, arranging a new job and selling up, others will just abandon their entire life and escape without a plan. Of course, the second types usually end up in a spiralling descent to more Trauma, and worsening situations, but occasionally they will make progress and build a new life for themselves. | The Trauma creates a desire to escape their home and situation. The Character may Relieve 1 Stress anytime they make any Action that leads towards escape from their current situation (for example, placing your home on the market, notifiying a landlord you are moving out, applying for a job in another country, being interviewed for a job, or riding a shuttle away will all relieve Stress). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂦 6♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ClockThe Clock card represents Time and timings, obviously, but a clock is a complex and difficult to construct mechanism, and so the card also represents long, complex tasks and procedures. The appearance of the card may indicate that a deadline is in place, that action must take place within a certain time, or that patience and waiting are the only way forwards. | Scheduling — Trauma can have profound effects on a Character, altering how they perceive time and sequences of events. It can cause them to become regimented, adhering to a strict time-table for everything in their life, but it can also adjust a schedule, so that a Character becomes aways early or late. | The Trauma alters a Character’s relationship with time and changes it. The Character may now choose how they wish to Relieve 1 Stress which can be: by always being exactly, strictly, on time, by always being significantly early for anything, or by always being exceptionally late for anything. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂧 7♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The SwordThe Sword Card represents danger, combat and peril. The Sword is a weapon, and so it represents warfare, weaponry and attacking forces. Sometimes arguments escalate, the Sword shows us the precise moment that things escalate to High Stakes. | Sword — Trauma can make a Character more dangerous, quicker to anger, and more likely to be carrying a deadly weapon. | The Trauma can Relieve all current Stress, but creates a “Sword” Pool from the Stress. The Character must keep a weapon Descendant with a cost at least equal to the Sword Pool near them at all times, and can Relieve 1 Stress by using this weapon at High Stakes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂨 8♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The RivalThe Rival card represents another Character that rivals or opposes a Player or Non-Player Character in some way. The Rival may be an opponent, a competitor, an enemy, or just interested in the same love interest. Rivals can be strangers or friends, and the card can indicate a rivalry that is growing within a group, or indicate an external threat. In many ways the Rival card be tied to the Friend or Foe Wyrd Tarot cards, as Rivals can become friends, as well as friends become Rivals. | Rivalry — Trauma can alter not just who a Character is, but who their friends are. It can also create new Rivalries, with Trauma revealing a comptetive nature in a Character, directed against their former friends. Then again Trauma can also create new Rivalries in other ways, for example, if two Characters suffer the same Trauma, but cope very differently with aspects of the lingering effects, then those Characters may develop a Rivalry. | The Trauma relieves all current Stress, converting it into Chi that is used to improve a Rival Character or develop a new Rival. The Rivals may both Relieve 1 Stress by demonstrating their superiority over the other in some way (often by winning a quick Opposed Facet Test or Ordeal). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂩 9♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The RobotThe Robot card represents the automatons, and workers, be they real robots, or people who live rigid, regimented lives, like the Eusaiveans. The Robot can represent the unconscious mind, which operates the body for the consciousness, or the mechanistic body itself. It can also represent those who are unawakened (or ain’t woke) to what is really happening. They might be muggles, grunts, slaves, serfs, or actual robots. | Robotic — Trauma can make a Character seem like a robot in a number of ways. Many victims of Trauma will suppress or numb their emotions, some focus on logic and rationalism, others can settle into a strict regime of work, so that they don’t have time to think about their past traumas, and for a few injuries may have been healed with mechanical or cybernetic parts (for some such as Eusaiveans they may even be converted into a Cyberwraith), dissociation, psychoses, and delusions convince them that they are no longer really human, embracing their idea of robotic behaviour. | Trauma may cause a Character to become Cybernetic (with associated Hitch(es) created from current Stress relief), or simply to behave in a robotic way. The Character can Relieve 1 Stress by acting robotically or “inhumanly” in any given situation (working mechannically, suppressing or numbing their emotions, speaking in a flat monotone to avoid displaying emotional cues, ignoring social pleasantries, having no discernable sense of humour, acting “robotic”, “undead”, or “inhuman” in some way, etc). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂪 10♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The LionThe Lion card represents strength, not just individually (which it does) but also strength in numbers. The Lion may indicate also heroic deeds and actions or proud behaviour. The Lion can be seen as a symbol of success and power, but more often it represents a test of that strength, and shows that pride comes before a fall. | Fierce — Trauma can unlock hidden strengths and courage within a Character, it can be odd to think that a powerful trauma that can make some Characters afraid of everthing around them, can have the opposite effect on some other Character, making them bold and self-assured to the point of fierceness. Fierce Characters are scary not scared, aggressive not defensive, and have either physical or mental strength and willpower. | The Trauma allows the Character to Relieve 1 Stress by being bold, assertive, fierce (aggresive), or demonstrating strength of will, or physical strength. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂫 J♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ExplorerThe Explorer card represents the urge to wander, to seek out new places, and make new discoveries. Exploration, investigation and travel are all indicated by the card, but there is another side to the Explorer, sometimes they come as an invader, or a crusader. If you are the Explorer it warns you that you may not be seen as just a tourist by the natives. | Stranger — Trauma can confuse and delude the mind, making a Character who should feel at home, feel like a foreigner, a stranger in a strange land. The Character may suddenly be bothered by their own culture, what was once traditional and reassuring, can become alien and disturbing, or they may feel drawn to explore some other culture, retreating from their own, and the traumas they associate with it. | The Trauma will often create a Hitch with Relieved Current Stress, that may reflect this oddness, delusion or strangeness that they feel. The Character will Relieve 1 Stress when act as a stranger or outsider to their own culture in someway, questioning or rejecting aspects of a tradition or cultural more. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂭 Q♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ScopeThe Scope card represents vision, examination, and focus. A scope can be used for assisted vision, it might be a telescope, a microscope, a periscope, reading glasses or a magnifying lens. It is a card that teaches us to focus on details, and to closely examine the facts or the scene. | Vigilance — Trauma can make a Character wary in the future, they become vigilant, or even hyper-vigilant, always watching the shadows around them, always aware of what is happening, they will awaken if a floorboard creaks, and know exactly which stair it was. Their mind is constantly scanning their environment for any threat, no matter how large or small, no matter how unlikely, they are almost impossible to surprise, although they may drop their guard slightly immediately after they have spotted and avoided a potential threat. | The Trauma makes a Character vigilant, or even hyper-vigilant, this typically adds the Character’s current Stress as Pips to all Actions to do with watching, vigilance or paranoid defensive behaviours (such as never sitting with your back to a door, keeping a gun or knife under your pillow, or sleeping in the hotel bath after arranging the bed to appear occupied) but this does not count as Straining. The Character can Relieve 1 Stress by finding a potential threat in their environment (such as spotting a figure hiding in shadows, or noticing a loose bit of carpet, and not tripping on it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂮 K♠ Suit: Spades ♠ Ordeal Trump: Attack / Perception / Penetration (Opening / Navigation / Logic) Description: The Spades Suit is the suit of suffering, said to be good for the soul, but miserable for a Monday. Competition, perception, endurance and curiosity are positive aspects associated with the suit, but spades also represent destruction, betrayal, distance, might and death. In the tarot, the Suit is replaced with Swords, which (depending on the tradition) may represent either damaging Fire, or more commonly the cutting intellect of Air. Tarot Meaning: Misfortune, Suffering, Loss, Mourning, Treachery, Betrayal, War, Lawsuit, Conflict. Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Confrontation (e.g. Warfare, Lawsuit), Competition (Sports, Quizzes etc), Perception (Spot Hidden). Spades act as Trumps for the Following Action Types: Attacking, Balance, Climbing, Contagion, Desecration, Destruction, Feats of Strength, Lock-picking, Navigation, Perception (Search/Spot), Staying power, and Stoicism. Spades can be used for any type of attack. Parry:Redirect-AttackThe damage from the original attack (less the Parried Card) is redirected by the Defender to the Attacker, their Descendants or their Allies. Soak: Counter-AttackThe matched Attack card is reflected back at the Attacker, or their Descendant, as Narratively appropriate. The ButcherThe Butcher card represents blood, death and carrion, but it also represents sustenance, food and support within a community. The hard part of reading the card is knowing when the card is a sign of disaster and when it means a mighty feast, or more importantly who that feast is for. | Butcher — Trauma can do odd things to people, making them change their diet, or their behaviour, temperament or even make them hear voices in their head that they can only silence by killing. Sometimes an intense trauma will break a person to their moral core, unleashing a predator, that may appear more monster than person. | The Trauma Relieves all Current Stress, converting it to Chi and using this to purchase a new Hitch, Alt or Monster Facet (the new Alt can also be a Monster if you like). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🃏 *✱ Suit: Wildcard ✱ Ordeal Trump: Anything Description: Wild cards can pretend to be any Non-court card from any Suit, but always retain their own Pips. Tarot Meaning: Wild, chaotic, dreamlike or insane Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wild Ordeals should either take place far from civilization or should be beyond normal in scope or scale somehow. Parry:Lucky ParryThe Defender may discard all cards from the Attack, but both weapons take the Parry card as damage. Soak: WildWild Soak discards the entire attack, but draws one new card to pass through. The WorldThe World card represents the whole world, not just the Earth, or any particular planet, or dimension but the Omniverse as a whole. In fact, any wholeness, or completion is indicated by the card, as well as the wilderness and wild places in particular (due to the wild-card nature of the Joker). The World is generally seen as a positive card, but it can be negative in the sense of endings mean farewells, good byes and moving on from one phase to another. The World contains everything and everyone, and so can represent any Facet or all Facets at once. This interpretation of “Everything” can be useful when considering Questions as The World asks us to Question everything, accept nothing at face value and always be on guard, against potentially anything. | Worldly — Trauma will sometimes change everything or anything about a Character, and sometimes Trauma will pass without any repercussions, this is one of those times. | This Trauma instantly Relieves all Stress. This Stress is used as Chi to remove any effects from the Trauma. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🂿 #✱ Suit: Wildcard ✱ Ordeal Trump: Anything Description: Wild cards can pretend to be any Non-court card from any Suit, but always retain their own Pips. Tarot Meaning: Wild, chaotic, dreamlike or insane Ordeal Text: Ordeal Types: Wild Ordeals should either take place far from civilization or should be beyond normal in scope or scale somehow. Parry:Lucky ParryThe Defender may discard all cards from the Attack, but both weapons take the Parry card as damage. Soak: WildWild Soak discards the entire attack, but draws one new card to pass through. The AmbitionThe Card of new Ambitions, sudden monetary gains, new business opportunities, new treasures or rumours of treasures and money being made. There may be conflict and collisions, new obstacles in the way or a Rival’s ambitions may block progress. | Intrusive Thoughts — Shocks and Traumas can cause a mind to become obsessed with a particular, persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image. These thoughts are experienced as intrusive thoughts, and are often inappropriate to the current situation, and can seem so intrusive as to seem alien. Characters can often become Stressed by these thoughts and agitated when they occur. | The Trauma creates a specific thought, which is given a rating between 1 and 16 (may be randomly rolled) to determine the “severity” or “inappropriateness” of the thought, image or impulse. A 1 would represent a recurring fleeting thought, an 8 might be a single word or short-phrase repeating in their mind, a 16 would represent profoundly disturbing imagery being hallucinated. Intrusive Thoughts move at random through the Psychosocial space, when they are in an Unconscious Space they can be ignored, but upon entering a conscious space (such as Thoughts or any space where their Conscious Self is currently) then the intrusive Thought will immediately occur, causing Stress equal to the “Severity”. |
Characters and Descendants can store one Trauma on each Annex Die. Traumas cannot be stored on Facet Dice, however Characters with Facets can store additional Traumas on their Incarna Wound Slots.