In T13, we consider any group of people that share a common goal, no matter how loosely they are associated, as a Pact Descendant.
Pact Descendants can be used by Characters to summon allies from the Pact, get training, or in the case of companies draw a salary of Chi from the Pact. Pact Descendants can be as small as two people in a partnership of any type, to as large as the entirety of humanity across the Omniverse (an Omniversal Species Pact), and everything in between.
Anatomy of a Pact
Pacts are built much like any Annex, as a collection of Proficiencies and Annexes, the Master Annex of a Pact is a variant of a Size Annex called a Pact Annex. A Pact Annex is is built not from Proficiency Threads, but from the Characters in the Pact. Technically you could consider each Character to add a portion of their own Personality Value to the Pacts they join, but that implies the Value is used up, when this is not strictly the case, and would require a complex model that no one has time for.
Instead, the normal way to calculate the Pact Annex Boon is based on the number of members and the most powerful member of the Pact (where the power of the Pact is based on their Character Type).
| Character | Description | Chi Bold |
|---|---|---|
| Neechies | The least powerful of the Increated, Neechies are the non-beings (they have no Annexes or Facet Boons, but do have a “Non-Existent” hitch that may vary in form) but are able to cause movements you catch from the corner of your eye. They are often willed into existence by someone spotting something that isn’t really there. When they will take the form the mind suggests for what was observed, often a small insect or animal that if closely examined might appear to be made of densely woven shadow. Neechies are generally harmless unless they find a Nightmare Fuel source… | 1 |
| Vex | The least powerful of the Extras. Any NPC created with a single Skill Annex. They are usually used for small animals and very minor Characters. | 2 |
| Chorus | Any Extra created with a Talent Annex. These are the guys that fill the background of any scene. | 5 |
| Cast | Any Extra created with a Power Annex. The Cast of a Story are those Named Characters that aren’t quite worth making a Grunt for. | 7 |
| Grunt | Grunts are the name we give to any potential Protagonist or Player Character that does not have any reality-bending or Yarn-Telling abilities. That isn’t to say that a Grunt is generic, these are full detailed Characters who are more fully developed than any Extra (in fact Cast Extras that appear in Stories more than a few times should be upgraded to Grunts). Grunts are also referred to as Folk, Commoners, Plebs, Normies, Muggles, the People, and so on… These are true characters that should each have their own compelling character arc (often an actual Arc plot), or that have a sad death with unfulfilled potential, depending upon the genre and plots. Grunts are very much like the PCs of most TTRPGs, they are subject to the whims of the Wyrd, blown about by the winds of fate. | 8 |
| Bulmäs Child | The youngest of the Bulmäs, they are usually called cubs or calves, depending upon the path they walk. Bulmäs Children have only their own original soul and cannot walk the Lea (except by migratory paths that even humans can walk) until they receive a travelling soul. | 8 |
| Force-of-Nature | The most powerful of Extras created with a Super-Annex, and often a Size Annex. They are often used to represent large scale events, such as natural disasters or weather, very easily. | 12 |
| Hero | Some Characters are more than Grunts, they may be even more than mortals, with faery or divine powers and blood. Sometimes they are just magical beings, other times they are just another name for someone who is managing to survive or even thrive in a crap-sack universe. Heroes usually can spend Chi to augment their own actions, empowering themselves to achieve impossible things at great personal costs. A few can learn to access reality-bending, time travel, precognition, abilities that allow them to be classified as Mercari. | 12 |
| Mercari | The Fae call some heroes Mercari, referring to the ability of Heroes to trade their future destinies with others, and their ability to make deals with Wyrd herself. The Bulmäs usually refer to Mercari as having Souls (if not True Souls or Great Souls), although they also use the term Brightling or Starborne Souls. Mercari have the ability to trade their destinies with others and manipulate reality (with access to Wyrd Tarot). | 12 |
| Wyrdchilde | The Wyrdchilde are Faery-blessed beings, similar in power to Heroes, but they are Faery-Human hybrids with tiny amounts of Fae blood in the mix. This can often make them Mercari or grant them other magical abilities. These are usually called Cousin Souls or Starborne Souls by the Bulmäs, referring to their belief that the Wyrd is the sister of their creator goddess. | 12 |
| Paradox Warrior | Paradox Warriors are Grunts fortified with Eusaivean Femite and Nullite Technologies to effectively turn them into Heroes, capable of surviving time-travel. Most Paradox Warriors are actually Heroes anyway, and after only a short tour of duty or even a single mission, many Grunt Paradox Warriors become indistinguishable from Heroes, Mercari or Wyrdchildes beyond the abilities they gain, and many that survive most of tour generally rise to Brass Rank. | 12 |
| Goblin | Goblins are Grunts with access to Twists, usually as result of a Woe Hitch (or two). Goblins can be the lowest ranks of the Unseelie Fae, who have Twists rather than Yarn, but more often they are created by fusing a mortal animal with the power of the Increated or Unseelie Fae. | 12 |
| Bulmäs Adult | Bulmäs Herd or Hunters have at least two integrated Souls and are able to walk the Lea and shape change. Adult Bulmäs are powerful beings, although their beliefs and training over lifetimes often limits those abilities, restricting them to walking specific Lea paths and wearing specific animal shapes. Later the All-Walkers beliefs lifted these restrictions on Adult Bulmäs. | 12 |
| Monster (I) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class I) have 1 Monster Facet. | 13 |
| Renegade | Heroes that have at least one Woe Hitch are usually called Renegades (although they are also called Wargus, Warlock, Hobs, Devils and Demons depending upon their allegiances). They can generate and use Chi and Twists as normal, and may use them as they have been trained or learned. | 16 |
| Demoniac | Heroes that are possessed by Increated, Unseelie Fæ or powerful evil spirits are called Demoniacs. There is a great deal of variation in these Characters with some representing a being in conflict with itself, while others invite the possession for power. They can generate and use Chi and Twists as their Possessor desires. | 16 |
| Cambion | Cambions are very rare, a blend of mortal and Increated that can only occur when the Increated is granted a Succubus or Incubus Nightmare form. Cambions occasionally live in secret among mortals, but most have been taken to Shades. Cambions can generate and use Chi and Twists (if they have at least one active Woe). Cambions are also capable of converting Chi into Twists and back, which makes them very valuable to their Increated parents, but also difficult to control. | 16 |
| Hobgoblin | Goblins that have at least three Woe Hitches are called Hobgoblins, they are more powerful than other Goblins and closer to Heroes in power level. They can generate Chi as well as Tao Sway and Twists to subvert the Narrative. Hobgoblins can be either low-ranked Unseelie Fae or powerful creatures created by fusing mortal flesh with Increated and Unseelie energies. | 16 |
| Dæmon | The Rank and File of the Increated, devious and desperate for existence these Increated usually have experience of the real world and understand how to cultivate the Nightmare Fuel Twists that they desire. Most Dæmons serve individual Princes, or Lords in the strange hierarchies of Shades, but some operate as “Uncivil Servants” within the Twisted Bureaucracy called “Blakkhall” and “The Parliament of Shades”, where they are tasked with gathering and managing the Souls of the damned. | 16 |
| Fæ Commoner | The Commoners of the Færy folk, who shift continually between Seelie and Unseelie forms as days and the seasons pass. They all have access to Wyrd Tarot, and add +2 Cards to their Hands compared to a similar human Hero. Fæ Commoners will have access to Twists only when they are Unseelie, otherwise they behave as Mercari. | 16 |
| Bulmäs Adult Broccen | Adults of the Broccen Bulmäs can walk any of the Lea Paths. They are omnivores themselves, and keep territory, they do not migrate from place to place. Broccen are also capable of creating new Lea Paths, which also creates a new creature to fill the niche if there is none available. Broccen are also capable of partial transformations. | 16 |
| Eelafin / Fæ Hybrid | A blending of mortal and immortal beings, the Eelafin are a particular example of Faery Mortal Hybrid. Eelafin means “Traveller” in their own language. They add +1 Card to their Hand, but are otherwise similar to Fae-commoners. | 16 |
| Yarn-Tellers | As Heroes are beyond Grunts so Yarn-Tellers are beyond Heroes. Heroes have stories told about them, Yarn-Tellers narrate their own tales, weaving new narratives into the universe as they go, often through Yarn-powered magic. Yarn-Tellers are able to spawn Plots and create entire worlds by altering reality with their Yarn-enhanced abilities. | 21 |
| Gestalt Mercari | Mercari that have accumulated multiple Alternate personalities, and have coalesced at least two personalities into a gestalt, are able to manipulate reality in ways that go beyond even the simple Wyrd Tarot abilities of the Mercari. Gestalt Mercari can manipulate narratives directly as a Yarn-Teller, as well as stepping between their own native realities often at will. | 21 |
| Solo | A special type of Gestalt Mercari where all their Alternates are completely integrated. Solos are always themselves in any universe that you may encounter them. Some Solos get there by killing Alternates that will not join the Gestalt. Their power-level is broadly similar to Gestalt Mercari, although they are usually more focused and specialised, granting them advantages in their field, but disadvantages beyond it. | 21 |
| Brass | When Paradox Warriors get older and more experienced they are usually promoted (or dead). Either way, this gives them access to Executive Nullite Commands (or Eusaivean Narrative Technologies or Yarn-Telling). The dead ones are usually designated as Cyberwraiths, but are considered similar in Rank, and have additional abilities due to their computational nature. | 21 |
| Bulmäs Vermis | Vermis is the Bulmäs lord of the dead, and is a Solo. Every Vermis Bulmäs is an aspect of Lord Vermis himself, although recently they have begun to differentiate themselves from each other, somewhat. This seems to have occurred as a Personality Schism in the original personality of Vermis following his involvement in the Paradox War. Vermis Bulmäs notably having unique abilities, like their Wyrm or Dragon form, that breathes fire, flies and likes treasure, that they use for harvesting all the Bulmäs Souls from a world. | 21 |
| Inactive Alternate | Trying to affect the Personality of any Character’s Alternates in another universe is a pretty tricky thing to manage. | 21 |
| Monster (II) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class II) have access to 2 Monster Facets. | 21 |
| Archfiend | When Yarn-Tellers have a Woe Hitch they become incredibly powerful beings known as Archfiends. Archfiends who are allied with the Increated in anyway are known as “Demon-Lords” and are often only a step in power below the true Increated Dæmon-Princes, with many of them serving as Generals, Royalty and Bureaucrats in the hierarchy of Shades. These beings can deal in Yarn and Twists as they see fit. | 26 |
| Ogre | It is said that Ogres gain their power by eating people, specifically eating souls in a dark parody of the Bulmäs. It is certainly true that Hobgoblins that eat enough, gain enough strength and power to become able to manipulate Yarn as well as Twists. Ogres come in variety of sizes and specific forms (including Bogeymen, Crones, Grendels, Hags, Orcs, Vampires, Wendigo, Werewolves, and Zombies), but are always hungry, usually carnivorous, and often cannibalistic. | 26 |
| Myrddin / Archmage | When a Cambion rises in power to where they can manipulate Yarn as well as Chi and Twists they are described as Archmages, and are often given the name, Ambrosius, Emrys, Myrddin, or Merlin. Such beings rarely occur in Shades, as they rarely are granted the chances to improve themselves and learn, and because holding a Archmage is practically impossible. Archmage is however often the goal and destiny of secretive Cambions in the mortal world. In some circles and settings the alternative name for an Archmage is an Antichrist. | 26 |
| Fæ Noble | The most powerful members of Færy society are called the Fæ Nobles. Nobles are always Yarn-Tellers, Doom-weavers, and magicians of some sort, and always have a Wyrd Monster Facet. Fæ Nobles may store +2 Cards in their Wyrd Tarot Hand automatically. | 26 |
| Bulmäs Labyrinthine | The most powerful members of Bulmäs society are the so-called Lost Souls. They live in the knotted Lea that most Bulmäs ignore and avoid, which also coincidently is knotted by human paths. The Labyrinth is the Lea of Urban environments, and cross-connects them in both time and space, bound in the centre of the urban labyrinth is the city of Cæster a transdimensional metropolis. Labyrinthine Bulmäs have an ability to both find lost things, and lose anything (including themselves), which can allow them to counter and match the power of Twists, allowing them to fight and beat Increated. | 26 |
| Eelané | Amongst the Eelafin there are those who are called the Eelané which means “Travel-sure”. Some Eelané are the result of strong noble bloodlines, or years of magical or spiritual training, others are the result of curses, or Demonic influences, such as the Parratonerre. Eelané are able to create Twists from Faery Yarn for additional effects. Parratonerres are a special class of Eelané created by powerful curses for each of the Houses (and many of the extended families) of Eelafin. Parratonerres are gifted with additional abilities, such as additional magical, fairy or Doom-weaving abilities, in exchange for which they are made the lightning-rod for all the bad luck of the family. | 26 |
| Monster (III) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class III) have access to 3 Monster Facets. | 26 |
| Monster (IV) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class IV) have access to 4 Monster Facets. | 31 |
| Battle Toon | Crafted from force-fields and holographic technology originally, Battle Toons are adaptable chaotic battle engines that can mess up the carefully laid plans of any general, and for the Eusaiveans often are the Generals. Battle Toons are usually programmed with Nullite Executive commands, allowing them access to Twists as well as Yarn. Eusaivean Battle Toons are almost indestructible beings made from data, photons, electrons, tachyons, and virtual matter. Battle Toons are capable of generating forms that have Size Annexes. | 32 |
| Giant | Giants are the largest of the Færy races, and are usually associated with natural elements, such as the invisible wind giants that can be observed running through forests bending the trees, the rumbles of earth giants passing beneath during tremors, or storm giants crossing the heavens. Many Færy nobles will grow in size, with both age and elemental power accumulated, until they have grown so far that they need a Size Annex to represent this. | 32 |
| Monster (V) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class V) have 5 Monster Facets. | 35 |
| Ettin | The largest Ogres become giant-sized creatures, always hungry for meat, and call themselves Ettins (or Trolls, Fomorians, Cewri, Gogmagog, Jabbirun, Nephilim, or Titans). Ettins can also occur when Fæ Giants gain a Woe Hitch, although these usually Unseelie Giants are more properly named Jotunn, and feature heavily in the myths of the Norse. Jotunn or Ettin are both essentially Ogres with a Size Annex, able to manipulate Yarn and Twists with ease. | 38 |
| Immortal | Unageing, even undying, beings that look human, but are far from it. Some humans may become Immortals, but most are born that way. Immortals come in several types. Some do not age, others cannot die by any means (although they can suffer greatly). Immortals are usually immune to Mortal and Carnage Wounds of the “Dying” and “Dead” types. | 38 |
| Monster (VI) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class VI) have 6 Monster Facets. | 39 |
| Monster (VII) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class VII) have 7 Monster Facets. | 42 |
| Monster (VIII) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class IIX or VIII) have 8 Monster Facets. | 45 |
| Monster (IX) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class IX) have 9 Monster Facets. | 48 |
| Eternal | The most powerful Immortals with Yarn-Telling abilities are known as Eternals. The cost to affect or change an Eternal is always far greater than expected, making them effectively immune to Maiming, Crippling, Mortal and Carnage Wounds (requiring at least 51 Pips to summon any of these Wounds on an Eternal). However the minimum cost for an Eternal to change anything about themselves always adds +11 Chi to the cost. This means Eternals are also largely unaffected by a Crisis, with only every thirteenth Crisis allowing them to add a Proficiency as normal. | 51 |
| Monster (X) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class X) are exceptionally powerful monsters with 10 Monster Facets. | 51 |
| Monster (XI) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class XI) are incredibly powerful monsters with 11 Monster Facets. | 54 |
| Monster (XII) | Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least a single Monster Facet. Monsters are usually created by Plots as a more powerful form of character Embodiment, granting the character additional powers based on the Monster Facet. This type (class XII) are incredibly powerful monsters with 12 Monster Facets. | 58 |
| Kaiju | Enormous Monsters that are built with a suitably large Size Annex that causes them to create massive amounts of collateral damage as they move around. Kaiju have a size that defies all laws of physics and usually the Kaiju will use enormous amounts of Twists and Yarn just existing (although for ease of play we never usually calculate exactly how impossible a Kaiju might be, although you are welcome to try), they will often have a little spare for breath weapons, Twisted attacks, and the like. Kaiju typically destroy famous world monuments, and may trash Tokyo, New York, or another metropolitan area during use, your results may vary. | 59 |
| Boss Monster | Boss Monsters are characters of any type that have been given access to at least 13 Monster Facets by an exceptionally powerful Conflict and Plot. Boss Monsters are among the most powerful characters in the game, and are capable of so much due to the their numbers of Monster Facets, they are intended to be the culmination of at least a Volume of an Epic or Cycle, as they are so devastating. | 59 |
| Paragon | Any Character that reaches Scale 13 is known as a Paragon of its type. Paragons may always roll dice or draw cards twice and keep whichever they prefer (usually the highest). Cards should be dealt to them in pairs and they may choose between them, automatically discarding the alternate. | 66 |
| Dæmon-Prince | The most powerful of the Increated, secondary only to the Patron Dæmons, these Increated characters are aligned with at least one and often two or more of the Patron Dæmons, serving them as in various roles. . While they are called Princes in fact various Ranks exist such as King, Prime-Minister, Arch-Duke, Grand-Prince, Duke, Prince, Marquis, Count, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Minister, Patrician, General, Judge, Author, and even Knight all of which may all be feminized if appropriate. Ranks are usually assigned according to duties and sometimes do not reflect the power of the Increated at all. Prince ranks usually grant a “Prince of …” Lore Descendant that reflects the duties they have been tasked with, such as “Prince of Darkness”. | 74 |
| Lesser Divinities | The Lesser Divinities are the greatest, most powerful of spirits. They are also known as Loa, Angels, Small Gods, Nephilim and Great Spirits, amongst other things. They are impressive individuals of great age, that are imprinted upon the operating system of the universe. They are tasked with guarding and guiding groups and important individuals according to the Wyrd’s memories of the future. Lesser Divinities are usually immune to Sway based effects (including Facet or Annex-based (Dice roll) Scores, Ordeal card Pips, Wounds, and Wyrd Tarot effects, except where Hitches, Annex Umbrals, Nimbeds, Monster Facets or I-Ching may interfere). They can be affected by Yarn and Twists, and many are affected by Chi-based effects (although not all). Lesser Divinities may have Monster Facets, and can occasionally even have all Monster Facets (allowing all their Actions to act at Divine Yarn level). Lesser Divinities are often a guardian, patron or protector of some place, person, lineage, occupation, proficiency or some other aspect of the society that worships them. These are usually created as a “Tutelary Spirit of …” Lore Descendant of any type, that can be won, lost, transferred, stolen, traded and gifted. | 121 |
| Gods | They might be divine beings, or the ultimate in Toon technology, no one is really sure if there’s a real difference any more. They are completely immune to all but the largest Twist and Yarn based effects. Sway in any form and Chi simply cannot effect them, unless they choose, and exert effort in letting it. Gods create Divine (or Færy) Yarn as Facet Score for all Facets (as though all their Facets were Monstrous). Gods usually patronise some aspect of the society that worships them. These are usually created as a Power or Super-Annex (depending upon their power level) “God of …” Lore Descendant, they can be lost, transferred, traded and gifted. | 216 |
| Patron Dæmon | The Increated rulers of Shades, notable amongst the Increated for all having single Syllable names, like “Blakk”, “Baal”, “Tokk”, “Ah!” etc. Each Patron has a Facet that they rule (or co-rule) over; Blakk is the Patron of Dominion having shortened the original name he was given “Ba’al’Akkad’narram-sin” as he climbed in power. The Ruler of the Facet may generate Facet Scores in Twists for that Facet allowing them to achieve god-like things. This Patronage is represented by a Patron Annex created as a Super-Annex “Patron Dæmon of …” Lore Descendant, that can be won, lost, transferred, stolen, traded and gifted. | 259 |
| Secondary Anomaly / Supreme Gods | Secondary Anomalies are the Great gods. These Divine beings carry echoes of the Prime Anomaly, which is why in their own universe they are considered Creator Gods. They usually lead pantheons or councils of gods, or establish Monotheistic religions, with Lesser Divinities filling the roles of the other gods. Supreme gods can generate Divine-Yarn or Twists with Facet Actions. The supreme gods always have Super-Annex “Supreme God of …” Lores in at least two mortal spheres. For example, Odin could have Lores in Lightning and Runes (amongst others), Norridi has Lores in Computation and Technology. | 305 |
| Prime Anomaly / The Ref | The original paradox that creates the whole Omniverse, and later herself. (See the Paradox War Trilogy). The Ref represents the whole Omniverse during play, and can invoke this if they need to. All Scores generated by the Prime Anomaly are Sway, Chi, Yarn and Twists at the same time, calculating Difficulties as preferred. | 321 |
| Character | Description | Chi Bold |
You want the Chi Cost for the Character Type. So a Pact with a Yarn-Teller member has a minimum Boon of 21.
The Group size of the Membership is also important again adding the Chi for the size of the appropriate size of the Membership.
| Group Size | Chi Bold |
|---|---|
| An Individual (1) | 0 |
| Couple (<3) | 1 |
| Handful (<5) | 2 |
| Half a Dozen (<7) | 3 |
| Several (<10) | 4 |
| Dozen (<14) | 5 |
| Score (<22) | 6 |
| Small Crowd (<40) | 7 |
| A Few Dozens (<55) | 8 |
| Dozens (<64) | 9 |
| Several Dozens (<75) | 10 |
| A Few Scores (<85) | 11 |
| Scores (<100) | 12 |
| Over a Hundred (<151) | 13 |
| A Couple Of Hundred (<250) | 14 |
| A Few Hundred (<375) | 15 |
| A Good Crowd (<500) | 16 |
| A Good Crowd (<600) | 17 |
| A Good Crowd (<700) | 18 |
| A Good Crowd (<800) | 19 |
| A Good Crowd (<900) | 20 |
| Several Hundreds (<1000) | 21 |
| Several Hundreds (<1200) | 22 |
| Several Hundreds (<1400) | 23 |
| Several Hundreds (<1600) | 24 |
| Several Hundreds (<1800) | 25 |
| Couple of Thousand (<2000) | 26 |
| Couple of Thousand (<2250) | 27 |
| Couple of Thousand (<2500) | 28 |
| Couple of Thousand (<2750) | 29 |
| Couple of Thousand (<3000) | 30 |
| Couple of Thousand (<3500) | 31 |
| A Few Thousand (<4000) | 32 |
| A Few Thousand (<4500) | 33 |
| A Few Thousand (<5000) | 34 |
| A Few Thousand (<5500) | 35 |
| A Few Thousand (<6000) | 36 |
| A Few Thousand (<6500) | 37 |
| Several Thousand (<7000) | 38 |
| Several Thousand (<7500) | 39 |
| Several Thousand (<8000) | 40 |
| Several Thousand (<8500) | 41 |
| Several Thousand (<9000) | 42 |
| Several Thousand (<9500) | 43 |
| Several Thousand (<10,000) | 44 |
| A Big Crowd (<15,000) | 45 |
| Throngs of people (<20,000) | 46 |
| A Big Crowd (<25,000) | 47 |
| A Big Crowd (<30,000) | 48 |
| Tens of Thousands (<35,000) | 49 |
| Tens of Thousands (<45,000) | 50 |
| Tens of Thousands (<50,000) | 51 |
| A Huge Crowd (<150,000) | 59 |
| A Small City Population (<220,000) | 64 |
| Hundreds of Thousands (<300,000) | 66 |
| Half A Million (<500,001) | 74 |
| Most of a Million (<750,001) | 78 |
| A Million (<1,000,001) | 83 |
| City population <2,000,000) | 90 |
| A Couple of Million (<3,000,000) | 92 |
| A Few Millions (<5,000,000) | 101 |
| A Few Tens of Millions (<50,000,000) | 111 |
| Tens of Millions (<100,000,001) | 121 |
| Hundreds of Millions (<1,000,000,000) | 131 |
| Thousands of Millions / Billions (<5,000,000,000) | 142 |
| Tens of Billions (<20,000,000,000) | 153 |
| A Hundred, Thousand, Million /Hundred Billion (<100,000,000,001) | 165 |
| A Billion / Trillion (<1,000,000,000,000) | 177 |
| Billions / Trillions (<1,000,000,000,000,000) | 190 |
| Trillions / Quintillions (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+) | 203 |
| Entire Population | 216 |
| Entire Populations / Species | 230 |
| Most Individuals | 244 |
| Almost All (at least 90%) | 259 |
| All bar a few (99.9999%) | 274 |
| All | 289 |
| All and All Alternates | 305 |
| All and All Alternates | 321 |
| Group Size | Chi Bold |
So you can see that a Pact of 5 Vexes would have a Boon of 5, but a group of around a hundred Heroes would have a Boon of 25.
This gives us the Boon of the Pact, but tells us nothing about the structure or even what sort of membership the Pact has. Or even how a Character becomes a member.
| Pact | Description | Chi Bold |
|---|---|---|
| Group Pact | The most simple Pact type. These are simply any group of people who happen to have something in common. They could be friends, family, waiting in the same queue, or just in the same Location. They may share Proficiencies, but cannot have Sub-Annexes. Group Pacts are often defined accidentally during play, rather than planned. | 2 |
| Club Pact | Club Pacts are usually smaller groups, that have Sub-Skills. Clubs grant access to the Sub-Skills and select Proficiencies to certain members. Clubs are also known as Clan Pacts as they are also often used to represent families and tribes. Club Pacts are often defined by Plots as Embodiments. | 4 |
| Guild Pact | Guild Pacts (sometimes called Company Pacts in more modern settings) indicates a larger society usually a professional, trade organization, company or corporation that includes Sub-Talents among its annexes as well as Sub-Skills and Proficiencies. Guild Pacts includes Costs (in the form of Umbrals and Hitches) and Benefits (in the form of Nimbeds, Proficiencies, and of course Skill Annexes as well as the Talent). Guild Pacts are often defined as part of a Plot or tapestry depending upon their importance. | 6 |
| Society Pact | Society Pacts represent huge numbers of people working for common goals. Often large corporations and most towns or cities will fall in this tier of Pact. Society Pacts are sometimes called Town Pacts, as they often define the people of a town. A Society Pact has at least 1 Sub-Power as well as Sub-Talents and Sub-Skills as well as Proficiencies it makes available to some members. Society Pacts are often defined at the Tapestry level, rather than Plot. | 8 |
| Nation Pact | Nation Pacts are huge cultural and economic Pacts that are have a Super-Annex (often a Super-Talent or Super-Power) as well as a selection of the Sub-Powers, Sub-Talents and Sub-Skills from the list available. Nation Pacts are sometimes called Species Pacts as they can be used define entire Species of Characters, such as Eldritch god, Mountain Dwarf, Wood Elf, Black Dragon, Martian, etc. in Fantasy, Horror and Science-Fiction | 13 |
| Trust Pact | Trust Pacts have additional Sway stored in them, representing the Trust between all members as they each sacrifice something to the Pact beyond mere membership. This sacrifice (whatever it is and they vary immensely between Trust Pacts) will grant these Trusted members an Edge. Note that a Trust Pact may have both Trusted Members and Untrusted Members (who do not gain Edges). | 26 |
| League Pact | League Pacts have additional Chi stored in them, usually by Hero level Characters. League Members are granted additional Edges by the Pact. Note a League Pact may have League, Trust and common (untrusted) members. | 28 |
| Covenant Pact | Covenant Pacts have additional Yarn stored in them by powerful Characters like Yarn-Tellers. Covenants are often supernatural Pacts, and grant the members all manner of Edges and Glows. It is possible that a Covenant may have League, Trust or Common (untrusted) members as well, but this is less likely. | 32 |
| Belonging Membership | The very lowest and cheapest membership of a Pact possible. Belonging Members have little interest in the Pact, although they may feel some connection to other members, they have no access to any Sub-Annexes, but may have access to Proficiencies from the Pact. The number of Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Belonging Purchased. | 1 |
| Hobbyist Membership | Hobbyist Membership represents a limited, non-professional, but interested membership of a much larger Pact. Hobbyist membership can grant at most a Skill to members and often grants a number of Proficiencies. The number of Skills and Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Hobbyist Membership Purchased. | 5 |
| Paid Membership | Paid Membership indicates improved membership of a Guild, Society, Nation, Trust, League or Covenant Pact. Paid Membership includes Costs (in the form of Umbrals and Hitches) and Benefits (in the form of Nimbeds, Proficiencies, and of course Skill Annexes as well Sub-Talents). The number of Talents, Skills and Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Paid Membership Purchased. | 12 |
| Executive Membership | Executive Pact Membership represents powerful people in huge, or influential, pacts (Societies and Nations usually). This grants them a Power Annex. Those who have the Power Pact Membership would be influential within the corporation or town. They will have access to Skills, Talents and a Power from the Pact. The number of Powers, Talents, Skills and Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Executive Membership Purchased. | 21 |
| Courtier Membership | Courtier Membership represents the very highest tiers of the very largest Pacts. The members of a Nation Pact with this Membership are members of the king’s court and council, secretaries of state, Lords, or Parliament members. Members at this level get access to the Pact Super-Annex as a Super-skill (note this is not necessarily the original form of the Super-Annex) as well as a selection of the Sub-Powers, Sub-Talents and Sub-Skills. The number of Annexes and Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Courtier Membership Purchased. | 26 |
| Sovereign Membership | Sovereign is the highest membership of a Pact possible, they are the leader of the whole Pact, whether it is a Club, Guild, League or Covenant. Sovereign is similar to Courtier Membership, but they gain access to the Super-Power or Super-Talent of the Nation rather than just a Super-Skill version. The number of Annexes and Proficiencies available equals the Tier of Sovereign Membership Purchased. | 28 |
| Pact | Description | Chi Bold |
Every Pact has a Pact Boon, and several Proficiencies, and depending upon the Pact Type a number of Sub-Annexes. The Pact also has a number of Tiers. The Maximum number of Tiers is equal to the Pact Score. So those 5 Vexes we discussed, their Pact would have 2 Tiers.
If a group of Characters come together in the same space then they have formed a group, and along with it technically a Group Pact, although no one has necessarily paid to join the group, or paid to create it, it just exists.
In this “unpaid” situation we consider all members to be Tier 0 Members. Tier 0 Belonging Membership offers no benefits, but has not associated costs either.
So Purchasing membership is the only way to get the benefits of the Pact.
Pact Descendant Costs: Pacts Base Costs are calculated like any normal Descendant:
Base Cost = Pact Type Cost + Pact Boon + each Sub-Annex cost Reduced – Bane of any Hitches +1 Per Extra Proficiency.
Membership Tiers
Pacts have a number of Tiers equal to the Pact Score. A Character can purchase any Membership Type at any Tier (and yes you can have Tier 0 Sovereigns, typically they know nothing about the Pact and what their duties in the Pact are, but are technically in charge).
The Tier that a Character has purchased controls the number of Annexes and Proficiencies that a Character can access in the Pact. A Character with Tier 4 Executive Access can access 1 Power, and 3 Talents, Skills or Proficiencies from the Pact. It is usual with Pacts to purchase the most powerful type of Annex for that membership first, as there are no requirements unless stated by the Pact itself.
Purchasing Membership has a cost equal to the Base Cost of the Pact + the Membership Type Cost × the Tier being purchased. This creates the Membership Base Cost.
So a Tier 0 always adds 0 to the Pact Cost no matter what Tier is being purchased, but they equally add no Annexes or Proficiencies.
This Membership Base Cost can be modified by the Commonality Reputation and History of the Pact, as follows.
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Ubiquitous | Found literally everywhere, like stones generally, or computers in a Cyberpunk setting. Ubiquitous Pacts typically include the Pacts that Characters are automatically born into, like their citizenship, nationality or species. | Base Cost is paid in Banal Tao Sway. |
| Everyday | As common as cutlery, a coffee mug, or a daily newspaper. Everyday Pacts are usually memberships of particular social media platforms, or the readership of a particular daily paper, however the most common one is membership of a huge world religion, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianity. | Base Cost paid in Intrepid Facet Sway. |
| Common | At one time the Knife, or Cooking were common, most people had them, these days a mobile phone or a car are Common. Common Pacts will obviously vary greatly by setting, in a fantasy setting, your Class Guild would be a Common Membership, in the modern day it might mean a membership to a particular big international charity organization, a smaller world religion such as Sikhism, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism, or working for a huge multi-national company. | Base Cost is paid in Chi or Bold Facet Sway. |
| Uncommon | Not everyone owns one, in medieval times Armour and Swords were around this Commonality, these days a high specification PC, a sports car, or military equipment is this common. Uncommon Pacts are usually the powerful political party memberships, big national chains, international fan clubs, or religions that are not common to the area although they may be more common elsewhere, like African and Asian “Ethnic” religions such as Shinto, Shamanism, Bantu, San, Akan, Edo religions, etc, Rastafarianism and generic Neopaganism are also around here. | Base Cost × 2 is paid in Chi or Bold Facet Sway. |
| Rare | Rare objects are extremely expensive, and difficult to source, but are still mass produced objects. In medieval times such objects included Jewellery, field plate armour and even clocks. In the modern era, Super-cars, Jet-liners and pre-production test models are around this Commonality. For Pacts Rare means exclusivity, these may include small sects, secret clubs and societies, a membership of a Coven or particular church may fall at this level. | Base Cost × 3 is paid in Chi or Bold Facet Sway |
| Unique | Truly one of a kind. These are Artisanal masterpieces, uniquely designed, fitted, tailored, they are usually irreplaceable, and utterly personal. Prototypes and Crown Jewels usually fall into this commonality. Unique Pacts can be tricky to define, as a lot of Pacts are unique, by virtue of their membership being unique, but a truly one of a kind Pact is usually either secretive to the point of obscurity, but powerful, or infamous, but exclusive (and often still powerful). These are societies that hand-pick new members, and always have some strange reason for existing, and often have a cause they are working towards. | Base Cost is paid in Yarn (or Value Chi). |
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Null | A Null Pact is completely inconsequential, have no purpose, and are often groups created by people standing together. Typically Null Pacts have no members above Tier 0, although some charisma types may automatically purchase Tier 1 or even seize Sovereign status if available. | Base Cost is Reduced (to a minimum of the Type Cost). |
| Public | A Public Pact lets anyone join the Pact, such Pacts usually have a distinct and stated mission or purpose, a Public Library promotes reading, as well as maintaining a suitable collection of literature and a building suitable for storing them in. Public Pacts are usually not well funded and often rely upon Sway from lower Tiers to support higher Tier membership, in the Library the Librarians are paid by the local taxes usually. | Base Cost Halved (÷ 2). |
| Notorious | Notorious Pacts have a infamous reputation, people have heard of the Pact, but not for good reasons. In most cases Notorious Pacts are exclusive, for example you must be a criminal to join a criminal gang. Notorious Pacts often have Hitches that help explain the Pact exclusivity such as a Social Hitch that causes members to be persecuted by law-enforcement. | Base Cost Three-Quartered (75%) / ÷ 4 × 3 (× ¾). |
| Accepted | Accepted Pacts are groups that are recognised and accepted by other larger groups. Most clubs and guilds fall into this type, they are accepted by the social structure above them. For example society as a whole accepts most corporations and companies right to exist. Although individual Accepted Pacts may have rivalries and exclusivity with other Pacts, these do not affect the Accepted status. | Base Cost Unmodified. |
| Enterprise | Enterprise Pacts are groups that have commercial, political, or military objectives. Such Pacts are usually exclusive in their higher tiers, although they allow clients to have limited low tier access without exclusion. Enterprise Pacts are the pacts of corporations, business, armies and political parties. | Base Cost × 2. |
| Renowned | Renowned Pacts have a very good reputation, for whatever it is they do. Such Pacts are necessarily very exclusive, cultivating their membership carefully to maintain that renown. Renowned Pacts will often cast out or exile members who do not live up to the standards of the Pact, and a Character can find their membership revoked, without any return of their investments (although sometimes the Character may be offered some inquisition, tribunal or appeal, and may just be penalised a tier of membership or similar rather than losing all access). | Base Cost × 3. |
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
|---|---|---|
| New | When a Pact has basically just formed they have no history, usually not a lot of power or authority, and what they do have, they will often be uncomfortable wielding. | Base Cost Halved (÷ 2). |
| Fresh | Fresh Pacts are no longer new, but have little track record. Depending what they are they might be a few months or years old, if they are clubs or guild, or a few decades for a society or nation. | Base Cost Two-Thirded / ÷ 3 and × 2 (× ⅔). |
| Established | Established Pacts have a history, it may not be the best, or longest, but they certainly have a track record. They are usually still on the rise, although they may have begun to slow that growth. | Base Cost Unmodified. |
| Mature | Mature Pacts have a long history, and represent a group at their peak of power and influence. These are long established organisations and nations with enough history to span a few centuries. | Base Cost 150% × 1.5. |
| Traditional | Traditional Pacts are so old that their true origins are long forgotten, and were probably forgotten before anyone thought to ask what they were and write them down, or may be so old that they extend back into pre-history and legends. This is the case for most old world nations, almost all town societies and guilds, and some clubs. | Base Cost Doubled × 2. |
| Ancient | Ancient Pacts are so old that even their traditional phase is long forgotten. These Pacts extend back into depths of time, and even the original meanings of words and rituals will have been completely lost, as that language went extinct long before writing was invented, and yet somehow the Pact continues to exist. | Base Cost Tripled × 3. |
| Type | Description | Cost Modifier |
All applicable modifiers on the Pact should be applied, so a Common Traditional Public Pact (such as membership of the local library) should have a cost equal to the Base Cost in Chi or Bold Facet Sway.
Pact Ages
Each Pact is given a Significator Card. This card defines the Age of the Pact. A Pact Age defines the social age that the Pact is currently experiencing, that might be an Age of Opportunity all the way through to an Age of Incursion.
| Card | Social Age | 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. | Opportunity — An Age of Opportunity is occuring. Opportunity can come from a lot of different sources, historical examples include, expansion into uninhabited territories, colonization, access to new or better goods and services, creation of faster trade routes, gold (and other) rushes, technological developments, popular social movements, cultural shifts, and they generally follow the rules of supply and demand. | During an Age of Opportunity multiple new goods and services will appear, along with a demand for each good and service. All Suppliers will be in competition to fulfil the same demands. For the suppliers the goal is to corner as large a proportion of all demands as possible. Securing all of a demand creates a monopoly, an ideal situation for a supplier, but not for the economy, which will often stagnate. Technologically there is always a demand for a “Better …” that can break any monopoly. |
| 🃂 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. | Retrospection — An Age of Retrospection is occuring. During this age a society dwells upon its past, such times can be both positive and negative for a society. Fashions, for example, often fixate upon some period look, reproducing, or reflecting it in someway, and similar cycles can be seen in popular arts, music, movies and television programming. Even nation states can go through an age of retrospection, with varied results. | An age of retrospection can examine the past truthfully and shortly, without harm. Even celebrating a false (or heavily “edited” or “reframed”) version of history can be good for a society, no one wants to be the bad guy in their own history. However, dwelling in the past, trying to recreate past glories, undo progress, or “go back to a simpler time” are all doomed to failure, as they usually always represent that time period unrealistically in the first place, glorifying some aspects while ignoring a host of others. If retrospection continues too long the society stagnates and collapses. |
| 🃃 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. | Endeavour — An Age of Endeavour is occuring. During this age a society works towards a common goal, not all members will necessarily be directly working on the goal, but they will support the Endeavour of the age in some way. Examples can include building infrastructure, construction of new buildings, towns or cities (although these are sometimes better handled by an age of expansion), development of some new required technology (such as the clock, space race, or sustainable power generation), survival usually of a diaspora, exodus, or migration. During this age the wealth of the society is tied up in the project and the society may appear poorer as a result. | The society sets some enormous goal and then works towards it, with thousands of individuals contributing Score and Sway to complete an enormous Pact Ordeal, often due to the scale of such projects they require years or even decades of work to achieve their final goal, and along the way many individuals will have to complete smaller, but equally important sub-Ordeals, to actually complete the work. |
| 🃄 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. | Reason — An Age of Reason is occuring. During this age, knowledge and logic are valued, this usually enables a scientific, technological or cultural advance to be made by the society. Such periods usually include a host of discoveries, developments or rediscoveries, that can quickly, and often, lead onto another age. | An age of reason where science, history and knowledge are celebrated and expanded upon, are always revolutionary somehow for a society, but always short-lived turning into another type of age after a few discoveries have been made. |
| 🃅 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. | Dispersal — An Age of Dispersal is occuring. During this age a society sheds members, sometimes due to death and old age, more often they dissolve into other (neighbouring, related or more popular) societies, some few may remain in the original, but it will now be a smaller, more tightly aligned group. | More than half of the members of the society fade away, ceasing their membership, often including former leadership roles. There must be a change of orientation or direction for the group, along with a change of leadership, or this age will end when the social group has completely collapsed. |
| 🃆 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. | Enlightenment — An Age of Enlightenment is occurring. During this age great discoveries are made, it is an age of exploration, both geographically and culturally. The society looks beyond itself, and seeks betterment by incorporation of ideas it finds there. These ideas may come from the society’s past, a neighbouring culture or group (as during the actual enlightenment), some distant colonised land, or as a result of some out-group within the society (such as mathematicians, scientists, clergy or magicians). A society will often evolve culturally and technologically during this age, and may not resemble itself at all following the age. | Enlightenment is pictured as shining a light upon oneself and one’s culture, but this must usually be done from an exterior position, such as through the window of a foreign or ancient culture. Elightenment can have a profound affect upon a society, changing almost everything about its culture in a revolutionary way. |
| 🃇 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. | Vehicles — An Age of Vehicles is occurring. During this age a society gains access to a new method of travel, this opens up new vistas of trade and exploration for the society, granting them additional freedoms and responsibilities. Examples from history include the “Age of Oars”, “Age of horse”, “Age of Sail”, “Age of Steam”, “Automobile Age”, “Jet Age” and “Space Age”. Although technically every new vehicle creates its own age, many are short-lived events for that society, where as others can continue for a very lonng time. | Access to a new vehicle or mode of transport within the society will have dramatic impacts upon that society. Additional freedom of movement, speed of travel, cheapness of trade and so on will positively affect the society, although responsibilities such as rail-road or fleet building can cost a society in the short-term the eventual benefits usually outweigh the costs. |
| 🃈 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? | Schism — An Age of Schism is occurring. During this age a society fractures and schisms as the society breaks apart due to internal pressures. During this period ideological or political differences will create internal groups following individual leaders within the society. During the age of Schism the internal sides will compete to control the society as a whole. | During an age of Schism a group will break apart, creating internal factions each with their own leadership, who will compete for actual control. |
| 🃉 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. | Belief — An Age of Belief is occurring. During this age the beliefs a society holds are considered more important and true than any evidence that may disprove it. During this age a society will ignore advice, avoid evidence, declare science to be false without evidence, and double down on nonsensical beliefs. | During an age of Belief members of a society will only accept information that supports the belief they have adopted, all other information will be ignored, dismissed or rejected. |
| 🃊 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. | Isolation — An Age of Isolation is occuring. During this age a society reduces connections with other societies, this may be an active choice to limit association, or this can be an ostrasization, where they are forced out of contact by an external factor. This insularity within a society will always have a deleterious effect, resulting in stagnation, contraction and occasionally collapse. | Connections to other societies are lost, restricted or limited, usually caused by external factors such as criminal enterprises, larger politics, and geo-politcal events such as wars. |
| 🃋 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. | Teacher — An Age of a Teacher is occurring. During this age a teacher will be revealed within the society, this teacher may act as a leader, guiding the society towards some improvement or advancement, or more often they will train the next generation, inspiring rather than leading, sometimes to be a revolutionary force within the society. It should be noted though, that while the teacher has a profound impact, this is not necessarily and age of learning, and may be a rejection or reaction to the actual teachings. | A Character within the society will become a Mentor to either the whole society or to the youth of the society, that will encourage, lead, or inspire improvements, advancements and change in the society. |
| 🃍 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. | Industry — An Age of Industry is occurring. During this age a society is working, often maufacturing some item, or providing some service, that is well desired far beyond the society, producing an enormous amount of trade and wealth. Things are obviously positive economically, with close to full employment within the society and a sense that there is more work to do than time or available people-power. Societies and the individuals they are made from get rich during this age, even the poorest members of the society will be well off compared to another society. | The entire society has an economic and industrial boom, often driven by a single product or service that the society may have a monopoly on. Such booms often have a limited duration, after which the society may move to another industry or service, or enter a new age. During Ages Industry the Potency Level of the Craft Facet is often, at least temporarily, increased a level, as some new Tool, procedure or technology is invented that changes the paradigm. |
| 🃎 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. | Glory — An Age of Glory is occurring. During this age a society reaches the next level somehow, although often such glories are followed by failures, for the moment everything the society attempts is successful. Ages of Glory are often claimed to be caused by some technological achievement, but there are always multiple foundations for the success in this age. An age of Glory can often cause a society to defeat or even consume their enemies, as kingdoms rise to become empires and colonial powers. | During an Age of Glory everything the society attempts will be successful (at least until the age is over, when repercussions and consequences may emerge from that initial success). Often Ages of Glory will allow Pacts to alter the Pillar Proficiencies, adding a new Pillar as they also increase the Potency Level of a particular Facet. |
| 🂱 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 — An Age of Romance is occurring. During this age narratived (often at least one Arc Plot and several Stories) will shape the society, often these narratives include love, attraction and betrayals, usually this narrative is based upon a choice, perhaps a society will be presented with two potential alliances, siding with one will alienate the other, another example is that two sides within society are opposed to each other, within that context members of both sides fall in love. Note that during an age of Romance many narratives may unfold, concurrently and in series. | During an Age of Romance the entire age is woven by Plots for the society. Embodiments will be chosen exclusively from within the society. An age of romance can tie directly into Mythic Cycles for that universe, although that is not in any way guarranteed. |
| 🂲 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. | Collapse — An Age of Collapse is occurring. During this age the society suffers some setback or blow, members may be lost, people may flee the area and society, another society may grow more popular, this may be a temporary setback, a compacting, or it can represent a complete collapse to nothingness. | During a Collapse a society loses a significant number of members due to some external factor, sometimes dramatic geo-political events such as war, famine, pestilence or plague, other times members simply drift away to find new hobbies, or lands. Major collapses of society can cause Pillar Proficiencies of the Tapestry to fall, lowering the Facet Potency Level as the old ways are forgotten or displaced. |
| 🂳 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. | Inquisition — An Age of Inquisition is occurring. During this age some power arises within the society that calls for some investigation of the society. Often an inquisition is religious or political in nature, rooting out heretics, dissidents, terrorists, or revolutionaries, but scientific and medical inquisitions can also occur. Inquisitions are usually characterised by a loss of individual rights, prejudicial examiners, biased courts and cruel and unusual punishments. | Some faction within the society achieves a position of power and uses it to root out supposed opposition, usually in the form of a witch hunt or inquisition against this supposed opposition. Success in this inquisition can be beneficial for a society (if they have been infiltrated by a foreign power for example), but failure to find supposed opposition while being convinced of its existence will have a negative effect upon the society, paranoia and mistrust can quickly destroy a society from within. A failing inquisition will sometimes create new factions who are opposed to the inquisition which can tear a society apart. |
| 🂴 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. | Myth — An Age of Myth is occurring. During this age aspects of legend and the world’s Mythic Cycle will shape the society during this age. This can include a shift of tone and genre, adding elements of horror, fantasy, science-fiction and folklore to any other genre. During an Age of Myth fantastical monsters and wizardly magic may appear, in Terminal Thirteen this often includes an Fæ incursion, Bulmäs migration, or some spiritual awakening. | During the Age of Myth additional fantasy, horror and mythic tropes may be added to stories, a magical emergence will often occur, and Monsters are often more extreme and obvious. An Age of Myth will often add mythic, magical or monstrous Pillar Proficiencies to the Tapestry, and raise which ever Facet the mythic force draws power from a Potency Level. |
| 🂵 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. | Whimsy — An Age of Whimsy is occurring. During this age a society values play, sport, entertainment and escapism over industry or advancement. During an age of whimsy artists, musicians, sportsmen, actors, writers, and similar individuals are seen as social leaders and revolutionaries, and new artforms and styles will emerge during the age. Politics during this age is often more driven by character than by policy, which can lead to popularism and extremist politics arising to end the age. | A period of cultural growth and diversity that creates new artforms, musical genres, styles and fashions. The Age will often end with some reactionary event or social force. During an Age of Whimsy a new Pillar Proficiency will replace one of the current Pillars, as some new art form or style appears, but this often does not involve a change in Facet Potency Level. Cinema replaced Theatre as a Pillar Proficiency in the Tapestry of western civilization about a century ago, but it didn’ increase notably in potency until sound recording and colour film was invented, which created the Golden Age of Holywood. |
| 🂶 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. | Liberty — An Age of Liberty is occurring. During this age the society grants freedoms, liberties and rights to members of the society, often there is a general relaxation of rules, as police and militias are stood down, take, or are given a more liberal approach to their roles. An Age of Liberty relaxes societies mores, making society more permissive and experimental as a whole, but this does not always sompletely translate to the most conservative members of the society, who may relax a little, but not to the excesses of the more liberal. An age of Liberty has a lot in common with the ages of crime, decadence, chaos and ostentation, in that it is often (although not always) followed by a collapse of some sort. | During an Age of Liberty society will be pushed towards being more open-minded, granting members of the society additional rights, privileges and responsibilities, this is usually achieved by more permissive leadership, less conservatism in society in general also helps, as does a free press, media, uncensored communications, art and culture, and a youth-engagement in politics, although there is always a conservative reaction within the Age of Liberty (which can result in the creation of new stories) that often focuses on some singular aspect of the age as a step too far. Age of Liberty can create and alter Pillar Proficiencies of a Tapestry, but often this change will indicate a lowering of some Facet Potency Level, and a loss of a Pillar Proficiency somewhere, in exchange for an increase and new Pillar Proficiency elsewhere. |
| 🂷 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. | Plague — An Age of Plague is occurring. During this age the society is afflicted by some plague, often an abundance of a particular animal, although plagues can also be bacterial or viral in nature. Plagues devastate societies, mice and locust plagues target foods destroying crops and stores, any plague can spread disease, tainting water supplies, or bringing people in close proximity to dead and living animals. | An animal species explodes in population, such that they appear everywhere, this creates a tremendous negative effect upon the society, as too many animals spread disease and damage property and food stores. Plagues can indicate a shift towards a more natural, overgrown, chaotic, polluted or corrupt world, increasing the Potency of Nature, Quiet, Miasma or Sin, but reducing the potency of Craft, Fury, Phoenix or Virtue, depending upon the nature of the Plague. |
| 🂸 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. | Wizardry — An Age of Wizardry is occurring. During this age great masters of some art, craft, magic or technology arise within the society. These wizards can usher in a new technological or artistic age as they alter the whole world around their society trough their great works. Often these wizards are forever remembered as great philosophers, scientists, engineers and artists. | Among the society several Characters are selected as Wizards, these Characters can work seeming magic as they shift the Difficulties of a Test from Banal to Intrepid, onto Bold, Monstrous or even Twisted for all who attempt similar feats following them. Wizard Characters can create new Pillar Proficiencies for the Tapestry increasing the Facets they use in Potency Level. |
| 🂹 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. | Chance — An Age of Chance is occurring. During this age unlikely coincidences and examples of extreme luck dominate the society, there is often an air of gaming, gambling, and an association with underclasses, criminality, and this creates great unbalances and destabilising forces within a society, as the old fabric may be destroyed as some rich become poor, and some poor become rich randomly. These need not be economic riches, cultural mores and fashions can shift randomly, what was unfashionable and ostracizing before can become cool. An Age of Chance can create charmed individuals who always seem to land on their feet, no matter what, as well as cursed individuals who never catch a break. | During an Age of Chance all members of a society will receive Chance Success Levels and Chance Failure Levels that are randomly assigned, this number is created by Liberty and Wyrd Annexes each rolling a die roll based on Facet Values from all members of the society. For societies greater than 15,000 members assume a 6d20 rolled Score Reduced for both the Successes and Failures, this gives each member a Score between 6 and 120 or between 2 and 18 Success and Failure Levels each. These Success and Failure Levels are activated by the Referee, Yarn-Teller or Author/Player randomly throughout the Age. |
| 🂺 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. | Jest — An Age of Jest is occurring. During this age wits, humour and comedy are greatly valued within the society. While they generally do not become leaders themselves, comedians, clowns, jokers and jesters are accorded great fame and often some political power within the society in this age. | During an Age of Jest Stakes are usually limited to Medium at best, unless a weapon is drawn. However, comedy and humiliation can operate at Higher Stakes (including Soul Stakes) if the comedian wishes to humiliate and harm their target. |
| 🂻 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. | Pretence — An Age of Pretence is occurring. During this age the society values lying and pretence more than actual accomplishments. During this age the leaders of the society will also be liars and deceivers, and the society will usually be misled by them, for their own personal goals. The society will treat gossip, stories and anecdotes with equal validity often without checking for evidence. | During the Age of Pretence clearly showing disbelief will be viewed as rude, insulting and have a negative impression within the society. Appearing to believe something that is probably false will be viewed positively within this society at this time. |
| 🂽 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. | Secrets — An Age of Secrets is occurring. During this age a society becomes secretive and self-protecting. A society in an age of secrets may make the society into a secret society, with membership never revealed beyond the society, but this is not guarranteed. Secrecy may protect the society from some external threat, or it may be intended to keep some secret, such as a source, technique or technology to maintain a monopoly. Historically the greatest example is probably the silk trade, which caused the nation of China to maintain an age of Secrets, protecting knowledge of the silk worm for around a millenium. | Certain information within or about the society is protected by a veil of secrecy, how far the society will go to keep those secrets will vary with the secret and society, but most will consider killing more acceptable than dying to preserve a secret. |
| 🂾 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. | Recovery — An Age of Recovery is occurring. During this age a society heals and recovers from the wounds of the past, rifts will be mended, and the society will resettle into a new harmony. There may be a few scars and other signs of damage left behind, but most members have put the bad times behind them, whatever they were. During this age economic and cultural recovery will also occur, which may advance the society into a new age. | During an Age of Recovery a society will recover from whatever harm has previously befallen them. Typically this will mean a period of steady growth in membership, economic, artistic, technological and cultural successes are also possible to recover something previously lost. |
| 🃑 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. | Law — An Age of Law is occurring. During this age a society will become increasingly law-abiding and litiguous, where as once in a society members may have discussed their differences, or even dueled, now such disputes are settled before a magistrate or judge, often with the aid of numerous legal counsellors, barristers, lawyers, solicitors, clerks and bailiffs all being involved and paid. An Age of Law will usually involve an improvement in law-enforcement for the society, with police or guards being paid more, better trained and equipped, as well as being bolstered in numbers, typically. | During an Age of Law Characters will attempt to resolve all disputes by legal proceedings, rather than other, less expensive methods. Criminality will always impart a negative impression during this age, even to other criminals. |
| 🃒 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. | Jumbling — An Age of Jumbling is occurring. During this age the society encounters and merges with another society. This intermingling of societies causes both to grow and approach the other culturally. Societies often gain or swap proficiencies, technologies, artistic styles, words or grammatical peculiarities, as well as creating a new culture during this time. | During an Age of Jumbling a society blends itself with at least one other, essentially creating a new culture within the society, this new culture may later move to dominate the society, or may later be rejected by the spciety as a whole. |
| 🃓 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. | Crime — An Age of Crime is occurring. During this age criminal enterprise is most important for the society, whether created by draconian prohibitive laws, or liberal market forces this society contains a strong criminal underworld. Black markets, drug dealing, thefts, bank robberies, violence and criminals, thieves, and gangsters rule the streets and the headlines, and the police if active at all, are either corrupt, or act as just another gang. In this age it can seem like crime not only pays, but may be the only pay-day. You will find few rich people in this time who do not have criminal contacts and investments. | During the Age of Crime a society tends towards criminality and violence. Even high ranking members of society will have criminal contacts, such as drug-dealers, black marketeers, fences and even assassins. |
| 🃔 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. | Inundation — An Age of Inundation is occurring. During this age pressure builds within society, like water gathering behind a dam, exactly what is the cause or experession of this pressure will vary everytime the age occurs. Usually this pressure pushes Characters together, as a flood will push a community further from the river. | An Age of Inudnation creates a pressure on or within the society, this may be a literal pressure, too many people in too small a Location, or dramatic cliff erosion taking houses from the town, but is more likely a metaphorical pressue, such as the economoic pressures placed on high streets by out of town supermarkets, or the cultural pressure between neighbouring sports teams. This pressure is often expressed through Push Embodiments of the Facets within the society (and beyond) that best represent the sources and expressions of the pressure. |
| 🃕 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. | Protection — An Age of Protection is occurring. During this age the society acts to create a safe environment for itself, its members and its allies. Protective societies often include social outreach, charities for the poor and disadvantaged (at least members, sometimes allies), as well as socialised, and sometimes professional, military and health care (usually). | During the Age of Protection the society attempts to protect itself, its members and its allies, often by building defences, obstacles, training guards or police etc. |
| 🃖 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. | Congestion — An Age of Congestion is occurring. During this age a society swells in numbers, but not in territory, leading to overpopulation and complications for the society. This can appear similar to Inundation, however there are no external forces at play only internal pressures, which results in different problems and solutions. | During an Age of Congestion Characters competition for space is greater, this increases Stress for all members of the society based on the difference in the society Group Size versus the Location they occupy as Chi. E.g. a couple of Thousand people (26) require the space of a city block (26) to live comfortably, if they all try to live in a single large public building like a Museum (14) this would create 12 Stress each day for every member of the society. This Stress will often force the society to expand their territory (although this can lead to an Age of Inundation as they encounter exterior forces). |
| 🃗 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. | Ostentation — An Age of Ostentation is occurring. During this age a society becomes obsessed with demonstrations of wealth, power, bravado, pagentry and general excess. The society is rich, but is not humble, spectacles, splendor and splurges are the fashion of the day, as the society swaggers around flaunting its own magnificence. Usually this age is as a result of previous economic success, with little done during the age to prepare for future hard times, the fashionable baubles purchased at great expense now, will be worth nothing when the collapse comes. | During an Age of Ostentation a society fritters away the wealth it has previously created on fashions, parades, excessive and often questionable celebrations, rather than saving that wealth for leaner times, or reinvesting it to secure the future (although some within the society may do this and be rewarded later for their forward thinking). |
| 🃘 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. | Accumulation — An Age of Accumulation is occurring. During this age a society reaps the rewards of their hard work and planning. This is a time of production, resource gathering, and manufacturing success and generates wealth for the society, individual members get richer, financially and culturally and society improves as a result. The age cultivates new cultural, artistic, manufacturing, management, and educational trends within the society, bringing in new knowledge, resources, techniques, styles and sciences from other societies, which benefit the society greatly moving forwards. This accumulation of knowledge, wealth and power leads to firther innovations and gains that can be made before the age ends. | During an Age of Accumulation a society and the individual members make Gains, often of wealth, resources, technologies, knowledge and fashions that lead to further accumulations. |
| 🃙 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. | Governance — An Age of Governance is occurring. During this age a society is lead by a powerful leader, this leader may be a benign dictator, a progressive emperor, a democratically-elected successor, a regressive oppressor, a tyrannical despot, or an unfeeling bureaucrat, amongst many other things. Regardless of their way of attaining power and leadership, they are truly in charge of the society, they may be a pinickity micromanager or a sweeping generalizer, but their leadership will have a profound effect (either positive or negative) upon the society. | During an Age of Governance a leader will arise from within the society that is accepted and followed without question by most of the society. Depending upon the nature of this leader the society may be dramatically positively or negatively effected by them. |
| 🃚 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. | Surveillance — An Age of Surveillance is occurring. During this age a society watches itself, perhaps by introducing journalism, watchmen, police officers, video surveillance cameras, or internet tracking systems. Typically this watching simultaneously makes a society safer and more paranoid, until you reach a situation where you have nothing to fear, but are constantly afraid. | During an Age of Surveillance a society increases both social paranoia and physical security, there will be less crime (possibly even zero crime), but this is replaced with increased paranoia and Stress for anyone who lives in the society. Typically all members of society gain Stress whenever they see signs of the surveillence (police, security guards, cameras, cell towers, etc), with Traumas often causing paranoid behaviour . |
| 🃛 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. | Chaos — An Age of Chaos is occurring. During this age a society experiences upheavals, disturbances, tumults and uproar from within. Normal functioning within the society, such as trade, travel, leadership and communications are disrupted, usually this is not a complete disruption, but a limited period of disruption. Historically ages of chaos can include natural disasters, political upheavals, invasions, wars and similar historical events. | During the age of Chaos, everything changes, trade, communications and travel beyond and within the society is interrupted or confused somehow. Life within the society is more stressful and at higher Stakes than normal, during the age of Chaos. |
| 🃝 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. | Decadence — An Age of Decadence is occurring. During this age society revels in immorality, iniquity, sinfulness and wrongdoing, rather than just the excesses of wealth. Although the wealthy will display impropriety too, extravagant debaucheries that rival those of an age of ostentation, for the underclasses of society there is just as much excess in some ways, but it often involves stronger or at least cheaper booze. | During the Age of Decadence most members of society will develop at least one additional Hitch that reflects the dark hobbies they are developing during the age. |
| 🃞 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. | Magic — An Age of Magic is occurring. During this age there is within a society some belief in magic. This is not necessarily a Mythic age that actually contains magic, although that can occur too, but more a rejection of materialistic mainstream knowledge, particuarly sciences. Magical thinking and beliefs may include fantastical or just misapplied mystical or scientific concepts, that can have positive and negative effects upon the society. Shared rituals, experiences and beliefs can draw a community closer together, but lead to irrational decision-making, social stagnation, and extremism. | Magical thinking and beliefs are accepted within the society, often causing a rejection of materialistic scientific beliefs and counter-evidence. Often accompanied by a profound change in the society, often with a shift towards more popularist and extremist politics. |
| 🂡 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. | Emergence — An Age of Emergence is occurring. During this age society stands upon the brink of a great sea-change in thinking, some paradigm shift is underway, and after the age has finished some aspect of society will be forever altered. The whole society will be affected and altered by this shift in perspective, historically these revolutionary ideas have caused huge changes in culture and the path of history, the industrial revolution changed how the world worked, the assembly line altered businesses and factories forever, the internet altered communications and information retrieval completely. | During an Age of Emergence some new paradigm, theory or technology sweeps the world, changing all societies. Societies that fail to adapt to the Emerging new world usually swiftly collapse, hoever those that can exploit some new niche of the new world quickly thrive. |
| 🂢 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. | Corruption — An Age of Corruption is occurring. During this age society begins to break down, individual members of the society behave in their own self-interest, rather than the interest of their society. Corruption, extortion, exploitation, fraud, profiteering, racketeering, malfeasence and nepotism are the order of the day, often with a hint of social injustice and base criminality. A corrupt society does not serve its membership and they will often form new societies, abandonning their old, where they cannot fix the society’s ills. | During an Age of Corruption most members turn aside from the society, whether to exploit the other members, make a quick buck, or to excape the corruption within the society. This allows exploitation narratives and corruption stories to Embody within the society. Allowing an age of corruption to continue unchecked always has a negative effect upon the society, costing them membership to other nearby, and less corrupt societies, and often leading to a complete collapse. |
| 🂣 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. | Crux — An Age of Crux is occurring. During this age a society must make an important choice or decision, that will later appear as a tipping point in history (a crux event). Typically during this age a society will choose between one action and another (whether to side with neighbour A or neighbour B during the war), although action and inaction (whether to invade or not) choices also occur. While the society as a whole may feel this crux age upon them, it is often the choice of a single individual that defines and ends the age, although no decision is made in a total vacuum and the beliefs of the society around the individual will have a powerful part of that decision-making process. | During an Age of Crux a single crucial decision (often important for a variety of reasons, most of which will not be obvious until after it is made) affects a whole of society, often an individual will make the crucial decision (usually a leader within the society), but decisions can be voted upon by the whole, or a section, of a society too. The decision that must be made during an Age of Crux is usually a Crux Event or Causal Nexus Event (see Events for details) with all members of the Society contributing Sway to creating and enforcing the event, adding Edges and Glows, etc. |
| 🂤 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. | Expansion — An Age of Expansion is occurring. During this age a society will seek out new territories and locations, and construct and build upon this new land they have acquired. Societies in this age will often build an impressive building or buildings that will become historically significant with time, such as churches, cathedrals, tithe barns, exchanges and official market buildings, banks, palaces, henges, castles, citadels, town walls, town halls, public baths, court buildings, etc. | During an Age of Expansion a society and the individual members will undertake various Ordeals to capture, colonise, explore, find, gain, purchase or rent a new location, and convert that location to their purposes, often by constructing infrastructure and buildings in the new Location. Such a society-wide Ordeal is similar to an Age of Endeavour, where the society works for a common goal, in this case the common goal is less common to all members of the society, but the society will benefit from the expansion as a whole. |
| 🂥 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. | Dependency — An Age of Dependency is occurring. During this age a society hitches their wagon to another. Sometimes this is a deliberate action by the rulers of the society, to ally with a more powerful society, other times it comes as a result of an invasion or similar geo-political crisis. During the age the society is dependent upon the “root” society for something, often this is a trade agreement, or military self-defence pact with a more powerful partner. Dependence on others can cause friction within a society, especially if this comes after past glories, and the society may feel they are not well enough respected by other allies during this dependence (although often this is simply projection, or rose-tinted nostalgia making some members of the society feel weak compared to their previous position). Typically an age of dependence ends with a breaking away, an indepence revolution, internal collapse, merging into the “root” society, or by politically or technologically manoeuvring into a more dominant position. | During an Age of Dependency a society is dependent upon another usually larger society, smaller societies may spend the vast majority of their time dependent upon the national or (inter-)planetary society above them. Villages are often associated with towns, towns with counties, counties with states, provinces or principalities, and those with countries, countries with unions and empires etc. Typically a dependent society pays Sway into the root society and the root society returns it as though it were one level higher, but this it is still paid back in the same Sway (e.g. Paying in Chi returns Chi equal to the Value of the Boon). |
| 🂦 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. | Urgency — An Age of Urgency is occurring. During this age a society seems to lose patience, everything becomes hurried, with members pressured by society to be swift or even hasty. This urgency throughout society can appear in the individual as boldness, excitement, enthusiasm, fervor, insistence, persistence, desperation, uneasiness, frustration, weariness or hesitency. Sometimes an Age of Urgency is brought on by a need to complete some endeavour or great work quickly, but more often it is a general acceleration of life creating a lack of patience in society. Human progress can largely be tied to the speed of travel and communications that we have achieved. | During an Age of Urgency all members of a society will gain Stress equal to how long their task will take as an Extend Duration as Yarn (e.g. any task that takes longer than a second will add at least 1 Stress, longer than a moment, but less than two hours will add 2 Stress. Taking on a year or two year long task will add 10 Stress, etc. |
| 🂧 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. | War — An Age of War is occurring. During this age a society engages in warfare with another society. Wars come in various types, from the chaotic and bloody, firey mess that is total war, to the relative paranoid quiet of a cold war, or anything in between. All wars contain battles, which are always bloody wastes of lives for both societies, although during cold wars often proxy societies will sacrifice the most, fighting direct, but proxy battles for their cold war allies. | During an Age of War a society is engaged in armed (and often armoured) comabt against at least one other society. Wars are complex strategic Ordeals that rely on logistics, intelligence, equipment ease of maintenance, long-term morale and discipline more than actual battlefield prowess. |
| 🂨 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 — An Age of Rivalry is occuring. During this age a society develops a profound rivalry with another society, often a neighbour and ally. This rivalry is usually expressed within some sport or competition, although this rivalry may in time develop into a more aggressive and violent situation, it rarely becomes a war. In fact, such rivalries are more commonly a result of a changing geo-political landscape that creates allies of former enemies, this ancient enmity becomes the basis for bitter rivalry in sports, economics, art or some other field. | During an Age of Rivalry a society will select a rival society from its current allies, often a previous enemy, and compete against them scoring small vitories and loses against the rival society. This rivalry will often cause a growth of both societies as they repeatedly compete and improve. |
| 🂩 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. | Drudgery — An Age of Drudgery is occurring. During this age a society becomes almost robotic, it is in many ways a zombie society, dead already, but still going through the motions. A society in this state may wake up, revitalise and move formward, but then again it does require someone within the membership realising what is happening and changing something before a complete collapse occurs as some new society offers a better way of life to its members. | During an Age of Drudgery a society appears to continue their last age, although not to the same result. The society may be blindly producing outdated technology, they may be using a traditional manufacturing method that is no longer competitive, may be fighting an enemy that no longer strictly speaking exists, or they may be following some ancient contract or programming that is long out of date in some other way. |
| 🂪 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. | Predation — An Age of Predation is occurring. During this age a society draws closer together, either as they prey upon a weaker society, or as they are preyed upon by a larger society. Typically this predation is in the form of exploitation, manipulation and abuse, whether through invasion, theft, warfare or more nefarious means such as trade agreements, enslavement, post-war reparations, aid foundations, international politics, or unchecked commercial practices. Usually the weaker, prey society is “consumed” by the predatory society, who will gain the members (sometimes as prisoners, slaves or as part of a brain-drain). There is some overlap here with Jumbling Ages, but one society is always clearly dominant in an age pf Predation. | During an Age of Predation the society preys upon and consumes another, usually smaller or less technological society. Members of the smaller predated society may be able to move into the predatory society and those able to move will often do so. Sometimes a prey society may manage to survive, or at least preserve some of their original culture within the new society. |
| 🂫 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. | Exploration — An Age of Exploration is occurring. During this age a society explores beyond its borders, seeking unsettled lands that they can add to their own territory. A society often becomes obsessed with the latest exploratory missions, and the discoveries they have found, with new plants, animals, feathers or cultural artifacts. Settlement or colonization of the new land is usually the result of this age. | During an Age of Exploration a society encounters a new territory that they must explore, uninhabited territories may provide new animals, minerals or plants. Inhabited territories will expose the society to a new external (most often ancient or dead) culture, which captures the public imagination for a while. |
| 🂭 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. | Inspection — An Age of Inspection is occurring. During this age a society performs an inspection, sometimes this is a retrospective, examining the past, but it is more often introspective, where a society looks within itself. The exact reasons for this can be due to an political, judicial or scientific inquiry that catches the public attention, an artistic, journalistic, political, or social movement, or due to a new broom at the top, sweeping away corruption and criminality. Depending upon what is found and how the society responds to this knowledge can profoundly effect whether this age will be perceived later in a positive or negative light. | During an Age of Inspection some society wide inquiry or inspection takes place, often this becomes an inspection of the society itself. With similar Questions (defined often by the society’s highest Facet) being asked throughout the society. |
| 🂮 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. | Feasting — An Age of Feasting is occurring. During this age a society has reasons to celebrate and is often quite rich, but food rather than riches is how society demonstrates those riches. Vast banquets, lavish meals, bountiful harvests, and fat farm animals are the order of the age. Quite what the society is celebrating will depend upon the previous age. Although the age of feasting is a celebration of some sort, it is also a bloody period, death and carrion are all around, flies and rats swarm the back alleys and sickness is never more than a few neighbours away. | During the Age of Feasting a society celebrates the last age or its end, the society is food rich due to good harvests or strong trade. All members of society will be well fed, and healthy, at least at the start of the age. Depending how long the situation remains stable, with trade good, harvests rich and animal stocks well maintained, eventually most members of society will be over-fed, and become quite unhealthy, sickness will inevitably sweep through the society, if famine, drought or trade disruption does not end the situation ealier. |
| 🃏 *✱ 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. | Completion — An Age of Completion is occurring. During this age a society riches the end of their story. Typically the society accomplishes some great task, raising a monument for all the ages, crossing some “impassable” barrier such as sailing first across an ocean, conquering some ancient empire and in this great accomplishment, the society then seems to vanish from history. Whatever happened to this society history will not record it, although often that just means that the society changes name, or breaks into a number of smaller societies, occasionally this society collapses, its task complete, the goal accomplished, the society loses cohesion, and the members simply fade away, joining neighbouring societies, or creating a new one. | During an Age of Completion a society completes some great task, and then collapses, this collapse may be total, partial, or simply a revolution within the society or a change of name. However the story of this society is over. |
| 🂿 #✱ 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. | Opportunity — An Age of Opportunity is occuring. Opportunity can come from a lot of different sources, historical examples include, expansion into uninhabited territories, colonization, access to new or better goods and services, creation of faster trade routes, gold (and other) rushes, technological developments, popular social movements, cultural shifts, and they generally follow the rules of supply and demand. | During an Age of Opportunity multiple new goods and services will appear, along with a demand for each good and service. All Suppliers will be in competition to fulfil the same demands. For the suppliers the goal is to corner as large a proportion of all demands as possible. Securing all of a demand creates a monopoly, an ideal situation for a supplier, but not for the economy, which will often stagnate. Technologically there is always a demand for a “Better …” that can break any monopoly. |
The Social Age defines what issues face the Pact at this time, although it is up to the Yarn-Teller how much these effect the current Plots and so on. Although, it is recommended that the Social Age reflects the situation of the Tapestry and the current Plots whenever possible.
Typically, the Social Age of the Pact is defined by the Yarn-Teller or Author who created the Pact (or the Tapestry) when they built it. However, Social Ages are not fixed and some circumstances can force a the Social Age to change.
- Narrative Necessity — If the Plot needs the Social Age to change then the Yarn-Teller running that Plot can play a card to replace the Social Age. Typically the Plot will require a specific Age, but perhaps one close will substitute if the card is not available.
- Rule Requirement — Each Social Age has rules that govern how that Age works, sometimes the Age also has rules that define what brings the Age to an end. If these Rules Requirements are met the Social Age is changed to the current card atop the Discard Pile.
- Durational Demand — Social Ages have a natural lifespan that is based on the Boon of the Pact as a Chi Extend Duration. So a group of 5 Vexes will change Age every few minutes or Short Scene. The hundred(ish) Heroes will change Age every week. Human societies are also limited to a maximum Social Age of 60 Years regardless of their actual Boon, but Immortals and other races can have much longer limits, depending upon the setting. Although even Gods are usually limited to at most a Galactic Revolution of 230 million years for a Social Age.