Twists are a narrative power like Yarn, subverted by the Increated to grant themselves some measure of existence. Twists are at once the ultimate refined and condensed form of Sway, and are not Sway at all, from another perspective. While Twists can be spun from Fรฆry Yarn (by Reducing the Yarn you get the number of Twists generated), they are technically not a refined form of Sway. Twists are most similar to Shocks, the most powerful form of Stress that a Character can hold, but it is hard to say if this is because Twists are inherently shocking, or if the Shock created the Twist.
If Sway allows living beings to push reality around, and influence existence, Twists are like a cheat-code used by the Increated to break those rules, they were intended to be the most powerful forms of Narrative Magic only usable by beings like Fรฆry Royalty, Angels and Gods. For this reason, they were built to exist only momentarily, creating whole changes in the Tapestry without a need to make sense. The Increated create Twists more easily than they do Sway, and so value Sway much more highly than Twists alone, as Twists can never be converted back into other Sway forms.
The Increated like existing, and they have discovered tricks to helping them do it. The greatest of those tricks was leveraging human beliefs, magical and occult knowledge, and Twists to grant themselves semi-existence. The second greatest trick they discovered was that they could fuse their beings with living beings who had reasons to invite them in. Characters with Hitches so bad that they are known as Woes draw Increated to them, from the fleeting sub-animal intellects of the Neechies to the incredibly powerful and practically existing, by sheer force of belief, Patron D&allig;mons, and everything in between.
For this reason Characters with a Woe Hitch find themselves generating Twists with their Woes. They may also end up with an Alt who is an Increated and may add Lores or Nightmare Forms (depending on the genre and Character Arc), or if the Increated was just one of the local Neechies then there will be no Alt to speak of.
Twists can only be stored on Hitches, usually one point per Hitch, but in extreme cases one per Ruin may be possible. Stored Twists have the following effects on the Hitch and Character. There is a hard limit though, no Character can ever generate or spend more than 28 Twists in one go.
While Twists can only be stored on Hitches, it is possible to gain more Twists than your current number of Hitches. When this occurs additional Twists can be converted to Shocks, Yarn, Chi or Sway as the Character wishes. It should be noted that Shocks stored this way should still Shock the Character (although note below on Shocking Twists).
- The Hitch Will effectively gain a Bane when a Twist is stored in it, this does not otherwise affect the Hitch.
- Storing a Twist on a Hitch will add a Twisted Facet effect (see below).
- one of:
- Sense that Hitch (within Hitch Bane as Chi Location on The Sway Table) automatically. Spending 1 Chi the Location may be calculated as Yarn instead. E.g. A character with Arachnophobia x15 can detect another arachnophobe (and potentially anyone with any phobia or Irrational Hitch) within a building, paying 1 Chi will extend that range to a Large City.
- Tone affinity. The Character can draw a Wyrd Tarot/Yarn Card or Ordeal card any time they act in accord with their Hitchโs Facet Tone. E.g. That Arachnophobe can draw a card any time they act Emotionally.
- +1 Wound / Success Level with the Hitch Facet Attack type. E.g. Arachnophobia would grant a +1 Level to Duck attacks.
- May change to the Hitchโs Facet Incarna for a duration equal the Hitch Banes as Chi on the Limit Duration table for free. Chi may be spent to extend the duration (costs as Chi Extend Duration). E.g. Our Arachnophobic Demon can turn into a Spirit (Ka) for a moment (3 Rounds).
Twisted Facets
Twists were never meant to have a continued existence, they were meant to be momentary existing bursts of magically created and focused Faery Yarn, they were not mean to be stored, and were certainly not meant to be stored in living beings. Because of this when a Character with a Woe makes a Gain by having the Hitch trigger, and they should gain a huge amount of Yarn (or Shocks), but don\’t because the Increated takes that Sway and swaps it for Twists instead. So the Character ends up storing Twists in themselves on their Hitch. This alters the Character immediately giving them a Twisted Facet.
Facet | Twisted | ||||||||||||
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Awe ⚊ ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Spirit โ A Twisted Spirit alters the Gains a Character makes from Personas. Instead the Twisted Persona is driven to promote fears of supernatural beings in those about them. They Gain Chi when they hoax, fake, or create genuine supernatural events. In Ordeals they Gain Chi when they play cards to make Psych attacks. | ||||||||||||
Burden ♣ 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. | Body โ The physical form of the Character is twisted and altered. They may be malformed or exposed by this twisting (adding a new Hitch), but always add a Monster Facet from the same Facet as the Characterโs Persona, Core, Incarna or any Hitch with a Twist stored on it. | ||||||||||||
Craft ⚊ ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Skill โ One of the Characterโs Skills is altered and twisted to create a different Annex. The Twisted Skill increases in Boon by the Boon of one of the Characterโs Hitches. This Twisted Skill is influenced by the Facet of the Hitch that is added to it, distorting the Skill, perverting it with some positive influence from the Hitch and its Gnarls. This is not adding a Proficiency to the Skill, nor does it make the Skill into a Talent. | ||||||||||||
Dominion ⚊ ♣ 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. | Familiar โ An Extra serves the Character as a form of Alternate, sharing the Characterโs Twists. This Familiar is a physical extension of the Characterโs body, and shares Incarna with the Character, although it may have a separate Personality, depending upon how integrated the Familiar is (exactly like any other Alternate). Familiars can always communicate telepathically with their owner, as they are the same person. The Extra is often an animal, although human familiars are certainly possible. | ||||||||||||
Enigma ♥ 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). | Occult โ The Character is gifted occult knowledge and abilities. Each Twist held grants a Proficiency from any Facet to the Character, Proficiencies should be supernatural in nature, such as “Occult”, “Psychic”, “Spiritual Medium”, “Spirit Guide”, “Magic Lore”, and “Arcane Spells”. | ||||||||||||
Fury ⚊ ♣ 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. | Emotions โ The Characterโs emotional responses are confused and muddled somehow, with the emotions of one Facet (usually the Characterโs Persona or Core) swapping for those of one the Characterโs Hitches. Positive and Negative Emotions can also be swapped as part of this emotional Twisting. For example, if Fury Emotions were swapped with Nature, the Character might feel hunger instead of fervour, and delight instead of rage. These Twisted Emotions can lead Characters into very unusual situations, where starving to death makes them happy, or someone attempting to annoy you makes you trust them. | ||||||||||||
Gossamer ⚊ ♠ 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. | Unnatural Weaponry โ The Twisted Character has a decidedly unnatural natural weapon, this maybe flame breath, or corrosive acid blood sprays, zombie halitosis, toxic stingers, or time-rending claws. The point is that the Character can draw and play Ordeal cards equal to the number of Twists Reduced that they currently have on an Attack with this weaponry. Spending Twists will draw and play another card. | ||||||||||||
Heresy ⚊ ♥ 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). | Truths โ It becomes impossible for this Character to tell the Truth or lie properly. Things they make up, like prophesies, have a tendency to turn out true. When they tell the truth, it turns out that that wasnโt true after all. As long as the Character has Twists the difference between truth and lies is largely irrelevant to them. | ||||||||||||
Inertia ♠ 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. | Immortality โ The Twists the Character has stored stop them from dying, ever. They may still age, and certainly feel pain, but they cannot actually die. Woe Hitches of the “Dying” or “Dead” varieties are always renamed as “Undying” or “Undead” instead. Twisted Immortality allows a Character to stabilize every Wound they currently have with a single Twist, but does not give them accelerated healing or anything similar. | ||||||||||||
Jeer ♥ 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). | Humour โ The Characterโs sense of humour is twisted. They suddenly find something utterly normal, like wanting a glass of water, utterly hilarious and things that previously tickled their funny bone are boring, or even annoying to them now. This change in humour replaces a Character Core with, Gain Chi When you laugh at something trivial, mundane, or mortal when no one else does, or donโt laugh when others do. | ||||||||||||
Key ⚊ ♠ 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. | Senses โ The Characterโs senses are Twisted and well, just weird. They might have synaesthesia, and see colours when they hear sounds, but if they do, they see the sounds rippling across surfaces and through the air around them, or perhaps loud sounds quiet and quiet sounds loud to them, or perhaps their sense of taste finds rotting meat sweet, or rotten eggs smell like roses, then again maybe their sense of balance is so extreme that they can balance on top of a pinhead, or just have a very silly walk. Sometimes the senses can include supernatural details, such as smelling the strength of a soul, or tasting oncoming death in the air. | ||||||||||||
Liberty ⚊ ♥ 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). | Dreams โ The Characterโs hopes and dreams are twisted and corrupted from what they were. This works by creating an Alternate (usually a Dark Rival), that is set up to be a dark version of themselves. This corrupt Alternate is usually Split when created, although the original is usually unconscious at first. | ||||||||||||
Miasma ♠ 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. | Contagion โ The Character and their Twists are contagious, whenever the Character gains a Twist a random nearby Character or Descendant (including the Location they are in) also gains a Twist. These Twists build up in the Character until there are enough to purchase a Woe, when a Goblin, Demon or Demon-Lord will be created. However, all Characters with Twists are Twisted by each point until the limit is reached (usually 2 or 3). | ||||||||||||
Nature ♥ 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). | Nature โ The Nature of the Character is Twisted and distorted, this usually means their Incarna is altered. This depends upon the amount of Twists stored by the character.
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Orthodox ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Philosophy โ The Character has a twisted and corrupted personal philosophy. They replace all their I-Ching with the twisted one (see I-ching) (it has no changing lines). | ||||||||||||
Phoenix ⚊ ♥ 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). | Repair โ Twisted Repair is how the Increated fix and heal injuries to their Descendants and Possessed bodies. To activate the Character must spend 1 Twist to remove all Distract and Flesh Wounds, 2 Twists to remove all Wounds except Carnage Wounds, and 3 Twists to remove all Wounds. However, the Increated replace damaged matter with other nearby convenient matter, not necessarily the correct Incarna or parts. This adds 1 Boon of a “Malformed”, “Scarred” or “Exposed” Hitch per Twist spent on Healing. Some example Hitches, “Rocky Flesh”, “Machine-parts”, “Bio-mechanical”, “Burning Scars”, “Hybrid-Flesh”, “Furred Scars”, “Wooden-Flesh”, etc. | ||||||||||||
Quiet ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Mind โ The Characterโs Mind is Twisted by the Twists present and this causes their Persona or Core to change, adding the following effect. Gain Chi When you trail of in the middle of what you are saying, forget what you were doing, or echo the last words said to you (optionally in a whisper). | ||||||||||||
Rook ♣ 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. | Defence โ Twists allow a Character to Defend against attacks, by adding all the Cards of a single incoming Attack into their Style Reserve or a Prepared Pip Wall Passive Defence, for 1 Twist. | ||||||||||||
Sin ⚊ ♣ 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. | Temptations โ Twists change the Characterโs secret desires and even physical needs, things they were previously even addicted too they no longer desire, their types have changed, their favourite meals, films, music, sports, and even TV shows are suddenly all different. | ||||||||||||
Trial ⚊ ♠ 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. | Assault โ Twists can be used by the Character to attack an opponent directly with a thought, or a glance.
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Virtue ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Morals โ The Characters morals and religious stance is twisted by the presence of Twists. What they once found unconscionable is now reasonable. All moral based Hitches (such as Taboos and Duties) are immediately reversed while the Character has Twists. | ||||||||||||
Wyrd ♣ 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. | Destiny โ The Characterโs destiny or Doom is corrupted and changed by the presence of Twists. This means that any Wyrd Tarot card played on the Character is immediately discarded and a replaced by the top card from the Deck, no matter who plays it. The Character can ignore this effect for 1 Twist per card. | ||||||||||||
Yonder ♠ 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. | Space โ Space around the Character (or within if they are a Location) is Twisted and Distorted by the presence of Twists. This may be as simple as North is now West, or Down is Left, but is usually a complex warping of space-time around the Character. This makes action at Range upon or by the Character difficult to predict (and is usually discouraged), with all Ranges in metres being multiplied by 1d10 and divided by another 1d10 before calculation of Range Diffs. This might make a Character who looks a couple of metres away appear across a street, or actually be within kissing distance, you just canโt tell. | ||||||||||||
Zeal ⚊ ♦ 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 Defenderโs 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. | Beliefs โ The Characterโs beliefs are twisted by their Twists, this may cause a Character to change religion (or more often corrupt their own somehow, Christians often become Satanists ( Fundamentalist and Extremist versions are also examples). It can also cause a person to appear to suffer Quixotic, or paranoid behaviours, although often with a distinct twist of its own. Each Duty, Defensive, Devotion, Dependence and Doubt Hitches the Character has are altered, or replaced with a Madness, Paranoia, Lack of Sense, Vague, or Apathy Hitch (as the Yarn-Teller and Player agree) when the Character has stored Twists, usually on a one for one basis (this has no effect on the Facet or Boon of the actual Hitch). | ||||||||||||
Facet | Twisted |
Twists are always considered high-powered, and while costs in Twists may appear as halves or even quarters you cannot split a Twist, or spend a half Twist, but you can combine two half costs into a whole point and do two things at once. Twists can achieve specific things that Yarn cannot, such creating Dark Territory, Dark Matter, Never-Time and Dark Pacts.
Twist Effects
- Sway Multiplication โ Multiply any singular Score or Sway by 1+Twists spent.
- Twisted Assault โ Twists can be used to enhance any attack you are currently making. 1 point of Twist will let you add a card from your Ordeal Pool, 2 points lets you Pull, play and make Unsoakable 1 Card.
- Ignore Facet โ Twists spent allows you to ignore all aspects of the specified Facet for a Twist based Duration. Spending 1 Twist will allow you to ignore all aspects of Burden (for example) for 1 action (perhaps allowing them to step through a wall of solid rock, or ignore the price of something and pay with a bean), 6 Twists would allow you to ignore Burden for a Week. A Character or Dark Matter Descendant that is Ignoring a Facet can still generate a score in the Ignored Facet i.e. a Character who is ignoring Rook (and hence Defences) can still generate a score to defend themselves or others (but they wonโt need to versus a Quash attack).
- Sway Vampirism
- 1d2 Yarn
- 1d4 Yarn
- 1d6 Yarn
- 1d8 Yarn
- 1d10 Yarn
- 1d12 yarn
- 2d6 Yarn
- 4d3 Yarn etc… to a maximum of 14. 4d6 Yarn
- Twist Fate โ Twists can be used to create new events and even Characters much like Yarn. However, Twists can also break some of the rules of reality and do things like introduce things that shouldnโt exist in the universe, like temporal paradoxes, genre-mashed magical effects in a hard-science universe (or vice-versa). However, anything created or summoned by Twists is non-permanent, it must continually pay to have its existence extended, and these Extend Durations must be paid in Sway, Chi or Yarn, never in Twists. The effects of Twisted Fates are permanent though, a Burn Wound caused by a momentary, magically-summoned flame still lingers after the flame has ceased to be.
- Negation โ Negation is possibly the most powerful of the effects that Twists can have. Negation allows Twists to be used to cancel anything, a powerful Demon-lord could use Negation to cancel the last year of history, winding time back for the whole world. Negation costs Twice the normal Twist cost for whatever you are trying to achieve. Negating a Year (3.5 Twists), for a whole world (6), would cost 19 Twists total, negating the last attack performed on you (a 25 Pip attack for example) would cost 5 Twists.
- Shocking Twists โ Twists and Shocks are almost the same thing. A Goblin or Demon can spend 1 Twist to convert all their Shocks into Twists. Demons and Demon-lords can sometimes do this to others, either draining the Shocks as their own Twists or creating new Goblins or Demons. Twists can also be used to create Shocks in a Character or Descendant, usually this is a result of what the Goblin or Demon did, but it can just be a direct transfer. Most importantly any Character with any Twists currently Stored can act when they have Shocked Dice (although they cannot use the Shocked Dice for their normal rolls they can use other Dice for their normal uses).
Gaining Twists
Twists are usually gained by triggering a Woe, when the Sway Gain that should take place is hijacked by one of the Increated and a Twist is offered instead. But Twists can be generated by an Annex (usually at 1 or 2 points at a time) as it is possible for Færy Yarn to be spun into Twists, by Elven magick (Reducing generated Yarn – see Yarn generation in the Yarn Rules). However, there is one other way that Increated, and some Goblins, Demons and Demon-Lords can generate potentially enormous amounts of Twists in one go.
Nightmare Fuel
An Increated (Dรฆmon or Neechie) that is near a character (or possessing them) can attempt to Nightmare Fuel itself. Tapping into the characterโs memories, experiences and unconscious fears (Hitches, Annex, Proficiencies, and Descendants) to create a Nightmare form for itself.
The Nightmare Fuel Source grants potentially vast amounts of Twists that the Increated can use to not only create its own existence, but may also use to Twist the Fuel Source into being a Goblin, Demon or Demon-Lord (forcing them to take a Woe via an Unsoakable Mortal Wound for 4.5 Twists at Low Stakes). Any additional Twists gained beyond the limits of the number of Hitches (or Banes occasionally), especially above the Hard Twist limit of 28, will be converted to Shocks, Yarn, Chi or Sway as appropriate.
Nightmare Fuel Source | Mechanical Source | Twists gained (to a Max of 28) |
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Memories / Forgotten Stories | Proficiency | 1 |
Experiences / Learning | Skill Annex | Annex Draw |
Imagination / Creativity | Talent Annex | Annex Score |
Profession / Magical Knowledge | Power Annex | Annex Boon |
Formal Training / Books / Pacts / Locations | Descendant | Descendant Master Annex Boon |
Known Fears / Nightmares / Beliefs etc | Hitch | Hitch Boon |
Months of Practice / Years of Experience | Scale | Personality Annex Boon |
Unconscious Fears / Soul | Personality Annex | Personality Annex Boon |
Nightmare Form
A Nightmare Form is a supernaturally powerful, monstrous form that an Increated can briefly inhabit while Nightmare Fuelled. The Increated reaches into the mind of their Nightmare Fuel Source and finds some form from their nightmares, superstitions, or religion that they can take on and inhabit. These forms usually come with folkloric or logical weaknesses, and can also be added to Goblins, Demons, Demon-Lords or even Descendants the Increated possesses.
For example, reaching into the mind of a nearby horror movie fan would grant the Increated the ability to become a vampire, werewolf, zombie, knife-fingered dream-stalking burn victim, hockey-masked killer, leather-clad fetish demons… you know… the one who looks like someone turned the mattress on a bed of nails, or whatever you like in phantoms and scary clown things. A science-fiction fan may provide all manner of aliens from acid-blooded space-wasps to unknowable hyper-geometric intelligences or sentient colours, as well as time-travelling shape-shifting assassin robots, or a doppelganger clone of themselves. A religious person might provide angelic or demonic forms, ancestor spirits, devas, djinn, dybbuk, ifrit, imps, kami, oni, or a saint, depending upon their religion of course. Children can be fertile grounds for Nightmare Fuel, providing horrific forms, but this may limit the behaviour the form can achieve, with such child-provoked forms often behaving in terrifying, but illogical ways, scaring the child, but failing to actually capture, kidnap, or eat them, although as it relies on what the child has been exposed to, not always.
Nightmare forms grant the Character (Increated, Goblin, etc) Monster Facets and additional Annexes, at a cost of additional Hitches. Typically a Nightmare Form is treated as a Descendant that they gain access to. Often, for simplicityโs sake, the Nightmare form consists of a Single Annex with balancing Hitches. The Annexโs Root and Channelling Facet become Monster Facets for the affected Character (or Descendant).
The Nightmare Form can only be maintained as long as it has access to the Nightmare Fuel that created it. If the character providing the Nightmare Form is killed then the Form will be lost immediately.
E.g. An Increated that possesses a corpse (Skill Descendant [0.5] + Puppet Possession [1.5] = 2 Twists) in Eastern Europe, finds that when the shuffling puppet approaches a local, their beliefs in โVampyreโ legends grant them 12 Twists that they can spend immediately, upgrading their possession and accessing a Nightmare Form:
โVampyre Abilitiesโ Boon 34 (d8+4) “Blood”(N), “Folklore” (HU-L), “Lust”(S) โ In daylight halve Score Hitch: Dependence (Blood)(Q-Mystical-“Practice” must spend time hunting) (x14) : Monster Facets N Temperamental, S Villain
The 34 Boons of Vampyre abilities is paid for by 20 Boons from the Umbral and 14 from Hitch. Should they remove themselves from the locals, flying from town for example, they will once again lose access to the Nightmare Form, unless they can find another source.
Nightmare Refuelling
Every now and then Increated want a little more Nightmare Fuel, but how to get more fuel from a source? Well there are four ways.
- Find a new source. You canโt change Nightmare Forms whilst you have one on, so the new Fuel source must have an applicable Proficiency, Annex, or Hitch. A good tactic is to hit a crowd for Nightmare Fuel, you can keep pulling from all targets, especially if you target those with contagious Hitches.
- Retap the original Nightmare Fuel source. Pay Chi (or Sway for Chi) equal to the number of Twists that will be gained. E.g. if targeting a Hitch x24 they must pay 24 Chi. However, the Re-tapped Source will be drained one Boon (so that Hitch becomes Boon 23). Annexes of Boon 1 become Proficiencies, Proficiencies will be lost, Hitches of Boon 1 are Resolved, if a source is lost then the Nightmare Form will also be lost.
- Create a new source: Once you have a Nightmare form, it is generally pretty easy to create a new source. You just have to use the form to convince someone it exists. Characters usually believe in things that they have seen, and definitely believe in things that have chewed their leg off, or whatever. Nightmare forms will try to create new Hitches such as “Fear of Vampyres” (or whatever), and then immediately tap them.
- Steal Source: Increated have a reputation for consuming souls. In actual fact, while they do Steal Souls, they donโt actually eat them. Instead, they transfer the Character to Shades, where they are tortured (or some other intense experience) to create belief in the realm and the Increated that brought them there. Taking a Source to Shades requires paying their summoning cost with Twists. However, once in Shades the Souls will provide Twists and Chi back. A Stolen Source can be tapped as often as the Twists Extend Limit (in Yarn). So a 4 Twists source can be tapped once per day. The Increated can either take the Twists, or take twice that in Chi instead. All the Stolen Souls one Increated has stolen form a Pact in Shades and the whole Pact can be tapped as a Master Annex by the Increated.
Sway Table
The Sway Table is where all this information comes together and you can look up how Twists are required to do something. The Increated find Twists easy to create, which is why they are so powerful compared to normal characters. A character with Twists can alter the entire world in a single action, with enough effort and no opposition.
Twists / Shocks | Yarn / Strains Monstrous | Chi / Stress Bold / Pips | Facet Sway / Intrepid | Tao Sway / Banal | Duration | Size | Additional Information | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Extend | Limit | Group | Small Sizes | Location | ||||||
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Instant | Forever | An Individual (1) | Large human (Megafauna) | A single smaller individual or point target. | Descendants โ LoreLores are Descendants that are not earned or purchased by Characters, but are handed out by Revelations during Stories. Lores can range from tiny Reputations that tell you about a single aspect of a Character to enormous Legends, that tell you about their powers and accomplishments. Lores are usually treated as a standard Descendant of their Master Annex Type. E.g. A Skill Lore is just a Skill Descendant the Character has. |
0.25 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | An Action /Ordeal Phase | A Millennia | Couple (<3) | Human (Megafauna) | Human-sized volume (Dominion/Burden/Incarna Value Litres) | Activity โ UnconsciousSomething usually easy, and normally you’re not even aware of, like talking, breathing, or sensing your environment.Annexes โ ProficiencyA Proficiency is a unit of knowledge. It may be a single memory, or it might have come from years of dedicated research or training. Proficiencies can really, describe anything. Even Annexes built from multiple Proficiencies will also have a single Proficiency in their use.Changes โ ProficiencyChange a Character or Descendant Proficiency for another one.Changes โ ScoreChange a Score by +/-2 or +/-1 PipCharacters โ NeechiesThe 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…Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Belonging MembershipThe 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.Effect โ FaintThe dimmest of glows, the faintest of noises, almost scentless and tasteless. The very light traces that indicate something might have happened.Events โ Half-ActionHalf-Actions are the smallest Events in T13. They are less than a Full-Action in that they take less time, but are less effective. A Character can roll a single dice Pool usually a Facet Die or their Proficiency dice to generate a Score. In an Ordeal they allow you to Draw or Play 1 card.Magic โ MisdirectionThe simplest conjuring tricks. By controlling what the target perceives, you can make wonders happen for them.Magic โ VanishThe most well known simple magical effect. Which may rely on misdirection, trickery or simple dexterity to hide something from perception. Note that the Vanished item may actually be visible, but is unperceived without a suitable Spot Test. Sometimes performed with distracting gadgets, fireworks and flare, this can be as simple as palming a coin, or pushing a handkerchief into a plastic thumb.Magic โ TrickSimple to reproduce magic, that often relies on secret knowledge and special techniques or devices. A trick can reveal a single piece of information that the target still believes is secret, such as the number or card they chose, or the word they are thinking of.Range โ MeleeMelee Range is close enough to swing an arm and connect. It is usually around a half a Character’s height or about a metre.Modifier โ HazeA light haze in the atmosphere has a minor effect on visibility. It makes spotting things and targeting a little more difficult.Rules โ Success or Failure LevelThis is the lowest possible result of a single Success or Failure Level. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Rules โ Re-rollYou can re-roll any single Facet or Annex dice-roll. You may use either score.Rules โ Mimic Ordeal Card PipYou may alter or mimic the Pips of a Card by one Pip for 1 Chi or 2 Sway. Chi Pips are usually treated as Wildcard Suit-less Pips (that directly increase the Pips of the cards they are played upon), although Penetration Pips are possible (for a more limited, combat-orientated game), or Range Pips (paying only Range costs for low-level Heroes).Rules โ Atmospheric DramaAtmospheric Drama is a small event that is simply like “Flavour-Text”, candles gutter, a coyote calls to the moon, tumbleweed blow past, etc.Rules โ Add Atmospheric Drama DiceYarn-Tellers can add and roll an Atmospheric (D2) Drama Dice into the Drama Pool, while they are narrating.Rules โ Minimal Nimbed EffectThis is the minimum effect and cost that a Nimbed Proficiency may have. Nimbed Proficiencies add additional abilities to Annexes, making them more effective. Nimbeds must be supported by Umbrals in the Annex (although the number of Umbrals required per Nimbed does vary by type). The actual effect of a Nimbed is usually based upon the Characterโs Score for the Proficiency Facet.Rules โ 1 Point of RTA point of RT costs 1 Chi/Pip to get rid of it (unless you wait)Rules โ SaveStoring Chi within a Chronolith hardens that moment allowing it to be more easily reloaded.Score โ Score2 points of Banal ScoreScore โ Ordeal Card PipBold Score equivalent to 1 Pip of an Ordeal card.Spot โ ObviousSpotting something bleeding obvious and in plain sight, like a mountain, a huge giant anything, or a gaping hole in the floor at your feetStress โ StressStress is usually considered the equivalent of Chi, largely because Descendants and Characters can Store Stress on their Boon Dice equal to the maximum rolled Score without becoming Overstressed or Shocked. Descendants can therefore only store Stress on Annexes, Characters can Stress on both Annexes and Facets. Stress stored on any Dice more than the Stress-Strain Limit (Minimum roll +1) can be spent to add a Strain Die to an Action.Sway โ Chi1 point of ChiSway โ Tao-Sway2 points of Yin or Yang or 1 point of each.Sway โ Facet Sway2 points if Banal, or Intrepid, 1 Point BoldTechnology โ PrimitivePrimitive technologies include simple machines (such as the wedge, lever, and screw), ropes, knots, stones, wood, animal products, water, and fire starting. Primitive technologies exploit a simple understanding of observable mechanical physics.Technology โ Language: NamesLanguage and the ability to communicate is perhaps our most important Technology. Intially this language consists of simple Nouns and Verbs, which are simply the names given to objects and actions.Technology โ Language: DescriptorsDescriptors allowed primitive languages to identify similar objects and actions, and compare them. |
0.5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | Seconds / Ordeal Stage | A Century | Handful (<5) | Child-sized (Megafauna) | Large piece of furniture (Wardrobe) | Activity โ TrivialAn utterly simple task that the character performs multiple times a day, like clicking a mouse, spotting something in plain sight, flipping a light switch, or getting a drink.Annexes โ SkillA Skill based Annex, made from two Proficiencies combining two Facets aspects and Values.Changes โ CosmeticsChange small details such as Colouration, Timbre, Logos, Brands, Tone, etc. Change a description (Diegesis) a bit.Characters โ VexThe least powerful of the Extras. Any NPC created with a single Skill Annex. They are usually used for small animals and very minor Characters.Descendants โ SkillA Skill based Descendant.Descendants-Pacts โ Group PactThe 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.Effect โ SimpleA simple effect is noticeable usually, they include things like brief flashes of light, sharp clicks, or bleeps, a simple identifiable smell or taste such as salty. These are simple effects, easily overlooked or missed.Events โ ActionAn Action is using an Annex (or Facet along with Proficiencies) to generate a Score to influence the world. During an Ordeal this Score is used to Draw and Play at least 1 card.Hitches โ QuirkThe simplest and least powerful Hitches are called Quirks, they represent minor inconveniences and character quirks, and may have a Boon equal to no more than half the Character’s Facet Boon. Quirks are created with a single Hitch Facet, at least one Trigger Proficiency and possibly a Gnarl Proficiency (although often the Trigger may double as a Gnarl).Magic โ Possession (Tremble)The Possessor can shake the Possessee, but little else. Inanimate objects can be knocked over, sometimes, but are more likely to wobble and settle again (Note Possession usually requires a Possession Pact).Magic โ IntuitionTraining or natural talents can grant mild Extra Sensory Perception, or unconscious Perception. This can reveal information that should not be revealable. Such as the feeling they are being watched, or… Do you have a bad feeling about this?Magic โ EffectA simple magical effect relies on a series of specific techniques such as prestidigitation, palming, card controls, hypnotic conditioning, and misdirection. This is more than a Trick, as it cannot be simply explained away since multiple techniques stack, but it is not “real” magic yet.Magic โ IncantationA simple saying, poem, or phrase repeated for a magical effect. Incantations are usually fairly easy things to learn and repeat. The repetition accumulates magical power, and acts to suspend disbelief slightly on the part of the magician and audience, as a form of psychological priming.Range โ MeasureMeasure Range is close enough to swing your weapon and connect. It is usually a little over a Character’s height adding on the Reach of the weapon and Stance. So perhaps up to 5 metres with some lances and pikesModifier โ Lighting conditionsLow light or bright artificial light can affect how and what you see, a negative lighting condition can make a minor difference, good lighting can help you too.Remove Wound โ DistractCompletely remove / heal a Distract Wound from a Character or Descendant.Rules โ Draw an Ordeal CardDraw an Ordeal card from the top of the Deck (when you have no other reason to go near it).Rules โ Play 1 Ordeal CardPlay an Ordeal card from your Ordeal Pool or a Style Reserve (usually considered automatic in Ordeals to the normal limit of the Action, included for completeness).Rules โ Change StakesAlter the current Stakes. Stakes are typically raised or lowered a Step. Such altered Stakes return to normal after their Duration has expired.Rules โ Soak LayerAlter the number of Soak Layers that are effective in the Current Stakes by 1 away from normal. This can make combat more deadly or less deadly without affecting the Stakes.Rules โ Mimic Wyrd Tarot PipWhen mimicking a Wyrd Tarot card effect pay 2 Chi per Pip.Spot โ OvertSpotting something different or unique, like the lone pine tree, a famous building, or a piece of furniture in the room.Spot โ RecognizableSpotting something you have seen before, like a face you recognize in a crowd, or realising you are stood in the place of your first kissStress โ StrainStrain is created when Stress is spent to add an Annex or Facet Strain Die to an Action. Strains are the equivalent to Yarn. Each roll of a Strain Die potentially adds 1 Strain to the Annex or Facet, and it can only store as many Strains as the Dieโs minimum roll +1 (The Stress-Strain Limit). Dice that have stored Strains are considered Strained. Strained Dice add a -1 to the roll of the Facet or Annex Die for each Strain, until healed. Strains can be Healed by Pips, Chi or an equivalent Chi Extend Duration of rest, as though each Strain were Yarn.Sway โ Yarn1 point of normal Yarn. +1 Tao Sway for Seelie or Unseelie YarnTechnology โ Animal HusbandryThis technology arrived quite early and allowed human beings to tame wild animals, making them more suitable for human needs. This includes domestication, training and animal breeding in one Technology.Technology โ GrammarSimple Grammar allows more complex communications to take place, complex clauses and questions become possible, allowing nuanced and emotional communication. The ability to communicate more effectively allows us to categorise and spread information, leading to other forms of study, including arithmetic. The ability to emotionally communicate allows creation of larger social groups.Technology โ Primitive ArtThe ability to create representations of the physical world, and symbolic patterns and expressions of emotional states and actions. Includes painting, drawing, percussion, singing, and sculpture. Leads to increased imagination and a burst of creativity amongst the rest of society.Wound โ Distract – Higher StakesDistract Wounds are the simplest Wound that represent a target being momentarily distracted. |
0.5 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | Ordeal Round | A Decade | Half a Dozen (<7) | Toddler-sized (Megafauna) | Small vehicle (Car) | Activity โ MundaneSomething utterly mundane that we may do multiple times daily, but that requires some conscious effort or decision making, this may have once included knapping flint or starting a fire. Today it includes logging in, getting dressed and driving a familiar route a short distance. In the future, it might mean updating your brain-apps, flying a car, or controlling a tele-presence drone. Spotting a partially obscured face or familiar object is a fairly generic example.Descendants โ PropProps are a physical Descendant usually with a single Skill Master Annex. They often represent simple things like magazines of guns, video tapes, books, etc. Because Props are Physical they can store 1 additional Wound over normal.Events โ PhaseAn Ordeal Phase is the time taken for each Character in the Ordeal to take a Half-Action (and some less powerful Full Actions). More powerful Full-Actions resolve over several Phases (which is modelled through RT and GRT).Magic โ SigilA symbol created during a ritual or spell to focus the mind of the caster on the purpose of the spell, or to identify beings or events that are being invoked. Sigils are usually charged with magical power via an incantation, or visualization technique, and may act as a spell or ritual in their own right.Magic โ PreparePreparing a spell is a thing magicians (or more normally fantasy Wizards) must sometimes do. This can mean reading and memorising a spell, hex, incantation, or instructions, for use later in the day.Magic โ Remote-ViewingRemote-viewing hones the extra-sensory perceptions of the psychic mind, granting it communication with the conscious mind, allowing the magician to sense things as if they were present, from elsewhere, Initially remote viewing is harder over a distance (Range difficulty begins as Snapfire but rises to Prone), and uses the density of the Spirit World or Mental World Terrain rather than the physical world. With practice the distance is irrelevant, even allowing remote viewing other galaxies.Range โ CloseClose Range is close enough to throw an improvised weapon and have it kill. It is usually up to about five times the Character’s height or around 10 metres.Modifier โ Light WeatherBright sunshine can can be a worse problem than artificial light usually, but add a little cross-wind, fog, or drizzle into the mix and things can get much more difficult, then again a nice tail wind might help you make a shot.Rules โ Ordeal Card LevelYou may add or subtract a Level of Success or Wound from a Card.Rules โ Mimic Yarn Card PipWhen calculating Yarn card costs, or rewards, consider each Pip to be worth 3 Chi.Rules โ Narrative Moment DramaA Facet-based Drama, the Narrative Moment typically a social encounter for the Character.Spot โ AmbiguousSpotting something that is not as it normally appears, such as recognising someone in a different guise, mistaking a chance shadow for a human being, spotting a faint impression on a carpet caused by some missing furniture, etcSpot โ DescribedSpotting something when you have only had it described to you, such as a personal description, or a particular make and model of a car in a lot.Technology โ Primitive MedicineCategorisation of nature and language leads to noticing certain foods can assist with certain diseases. Primitive surgery to remove damaged parts may begin.Technology โ FarmingFarming Technology includes all sorts of land and crop management techniques. Specific tools may be developed to assist in planting or harvesting. Digging, mining and irrigation techniques become common. Wall and fence building for animal pens, and from field clearing, leads to creation of larger homes and villages. Larger social groups can now be supported at higher population density than ever before. Civilization is on the way. |
0.5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | A Moment (3 Rounds) | A Year | Several (<10) | Cat-sized (Megafauna) | A corridor/narrow hall | Descendants-Pacts โ Club PactClub 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.Events โ StageOrdeal Stages represent a sequence of Actions towards a goal. Normally each Stage has a Difficulty that must be beaten to cross to the next Stage.Hitches โ FlawFlaws are powerful Hitches that have a Boon greater than Half the Character’s Facet Boon, they are powerful failings and problems that a Character must face. Flaws may have additional Triggers that increase the chances of the Flaw triggering and can blend together the Hitch Types into interesting new combinations. Flaws additionally always have at least 2 Gnarls that combine to create a more powerful disturbance when triggered.Magic โ Rote-RitualPerforming a pre-learned, and practised magical ritual that secures a safe magical space, accumulates magical energy, focuses the casters minds upon the ritual’s intent, coherently releases the energies to achieve the goal, and then ideally dissipates any residual energy safely. Rituals may vary in length from a few minutes to hours and may require years of preparation or specific circumstances such as planetary conjunctions.Magic โ BlessingA positive influence from a magical, divine, Seelie, or spiritual effect. Blessings are usually quick and simple positive effects. A little bonus Score while doing a particular activity or working towards a task for exampleModifier โ Higher groundBeing higher up can be an advantage or disadvantage, depending upon what you are trying to do. Usually when attacking or defending the higher ground grants an advantage, although if heads are silhouetted against the sky, that can give the lower ground the advantage on their shots.Rules โ Draw and Play 1 Ordeal CardDraw 1 Ordeal Card to your Pool and Play 1 Card from your Pool (often the card Drawn).Rules โ Draw a Wyrd Tarot CardDraw an Wyrd Tarot card into your Hand whenever you like.Rules โ Alter StakesThe Stakes of the current Ordeal can be increased or decreased one level (e.g. Medium to Low or High). Typically this will last 1 Stage (or the paid for Duration) and then return to normal.Rules โ Roll Drama PoolThe Character may roll the Dice of the Drama Pool, potentially creating Drama.Spot โ ObscuredSpotting something that is mostly obscured by other things, such as spotting a photograph in a pile of papers, catching a reflection of something behind you in your peripheral vision, spotting a faint shadow inside a lamp, finding a sock that has gone under the bed.Technology โ RecordsThis Technology began with tally marks in clay, and evolved into Reading and Written languages. This leads to the establishment of written social contracts and laws. Written language stabilizes spoken language across a larger population, and allows leaving of messages for others that are not present, secret communication is possible. Civilization begins.Technology โ Energy StorageSimple energy Storage technology includes the ability to convert Energy from one type to another, typically from kinetic energy to mechanical potential energy to kinetic energy (The Bow and Arrow). Other technologies that become possible include, primitive metallurgy, pottery, fine fabric weaving, sails, water wheels, and a number of traps.Wound โ Distract – Medium StakesDistract Wounds are the simplest Wound that represent a target being momentarily distracted.Wyrd Tarot โ CrisisCreates a Proficiency Crisis.Wyrd Tarot โ Full Re-rollAllows re-rolling any dice pool including Proficiency Dice, may keep either result.Wyrd Tarot โ Friend / FoeManipulates a Character’s perceptions of a Character to increase or decrease their Impressions of the Player. |
1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 16 | <5 Minutes / A Short Scene / Quick Ordeal | 6 Months | Dozen (<14) | Rat-sized (Megafauna) | A room / Vehicle (Truck/Van) | Activity โ JobAny task complicated enough that someone would pay you to do it for them, just so they didn’t have to. These include things like long distance driving, cleaning, writing records, searching a room for your missing keys (or a clue in a crime scene), etc. Usually they are handled with a roll, rather than an Ordeal, but a particularly difficult day or project may spawn an Ordeal.Annexes โ TalentA Talent based Annex, made from at least three Proficiencies, a Root Prof, Channel Prof and an Umbral Prof with optional Nimbed Profs. Each Umbral in a Talent may Support at least 1 Nimbed. Nimbeds and Umbrals interact with the Tangle.Changes โ DistortMinor changes, stretch, bend, reposition, alter dates of events, change a specific use or meaning of a specific word (often slang usage).Characters โ ChorusAny Extra created with a Talent Annex. These are the guys that fill the background of any scene.Descendants โ TalentA Talent based Descendant.Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Hobbyist MembershipHobbyist 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.Effect โ LingeringA lingering effect leaves its mark hanging over a place the annex was used, it might be a lingering smell (such as the smell of gun smoke), a dust, powder, or mist that will disperse with wind and time. Many people will not notice the lingering effect, fewer still will be able to connect it to what happened, unless exposed multiple times.Events โ RoundAn Ordeal Round is a long sequence that describes a period of time where lots of actions have happened, often over or through several Stages, before coming to a natural break. Think of them as rounds of a competition, Sets in Tennis, or Halves / Quarters in Football.Events โ Simple OrdealSimple Ordeals may last a long time, but they are fairly simple events for the most part.Magic โ CantripA small, usually less powerful, often deceptive or trickery-based charm, enchantment, or spell. Cantrips are usually palindromic reading and sounding the same backwards as forwards, and are easily memorised for later use. They are rarely truly powerful, but are magical tricks, that can impress and astound those who have no magic of their own. Sculpting smoke, changing the colour of flames, making noises change pitch, sparkles in the air, flashes of light, pops, knocking noises and voices from nowhere.Magic โ Possession (Tug)The Possessor can tug and shake the Possessee (all Possession actions use Range as a Snap Shot). This level of possession is very basic, causing the Possessee to jerk and move unnaturally and clumsily. No fine control is possible at all, the possessed being may be rigid or floppy, and can even dangle loosely in the air, possessed objects may be thrown or dashed, but cannot be twisted or aligned easily.Magic โ CastingComplete a magic ritual, or release a prepared spell to have its effect. Casting magic is often performed with a gesture, such as pointing at the target (with a gaze, finger, wand or dagger) or by naming the target aloud.Magic โ EnchantingChant a phrase, or spell, to build magical power, and embed it into an object or person. Enchantment can affect people and objects, altering how they behave or are perceived. A strong Enchantment might make a sword supernaturally sharp for centuries, or make leather armour as strong as steel, or make those guards think these aren’t the droids they are looking forModifier โ Bad WeatherBad Weather can stop you from doing a lot, try lighting a fire in the rain, flying a kite when the wind is gusting, or suntanning on an overcast day.Rules โ Play an Extra Ordeal CardPlaying an Extra card from your Ordeal Pool when you wouldn’t normally be able to.Rules โ UmbralsUmbral Proficiencies add Facet Value (the Characterโs Facet Value for the appropriate Facet) to Annexes that may increase the Boon and alter the Boon Die of the Anex, by adding some cost or limit to what the Annex can do.Rules โ Success or Failure LevelThis is the average effect of adding a single Success or Failure Level. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Rules โ 1 Point of GRTA point of GRT costs 5 Chi/Pips to get rid of it (unless you wait)Rules โ 2 Soak LayersAlter the number of Soak Layers that are effective in the Current Stakes by 2 away from normal. This can make combat more deadly or less deadly without affecting the Stakes.Spot โ ConcealedNow spotting has moved into searching, as the spot roll is trying to find things that are inside drawers, cupboards, books, completely under furniture, rugs, carpets or loose floorboards, behind other items. These Concealed items however may be revealed by accident, knocking or bumping something might reveal them.Stress โ ShockShocks are created when all a Character or Descendant Dice are Overstressed, or Fully Strained and they gain more Stress. Each Stress adds another Shock to the Character. Shocks can also be added by Shocking Attacks. When a Character is Shocked they must roll a Shock Pool, and depending upon the result they will either be stunned, have to take a Stress Effect, or suffer a Trauma. Shocks are roughly the equivalent of Twists (although technically Twists are each 2 Tao Sway more expensive) and GRT and are negated as such, or via rolling Shock Dice or gaining Stress or Traumas.Technology โ Primitive ChemistryUnderstanding of materials is developed that includes metallurgy. Alloying and simple chemistry are developed. Coloured smokes, primitive explosions, alcohol brewing, oil purification are early developments.Wound โ Flesh – Higher StakesFlesh Wounds are Wounds that must be acknowledged, but are not permanent. |
1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 21 | <60 Minutes / A Short Scene / Quick Ordeal | 5 Months | Score (<22) | Mouse-sized (Macrofauna) (~10cm / 1.0 ×10-1metres)) | A large room / Vehicle (Helicopter) | Descendants-Pacts โ Guild PactGuild 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.Events โ DiscoveryA Discovery event is like finding a pointer towards a Clue or Revelation, it is never evidence of anything itself, but indicates something interesting is going on, or it might indicate that a specific Character has some information you need. A scientist making a Discovery initially observes something that current theories do not fully explain, this Discovery leads them to postulate a theory and test it, to codify a true scientific discovery.Hitches โ WoeThe most powerful Hitches usually attract the Increated, who will swap the Yarn spun by the Woe for the Twists that they can produce. Woes usually have multiple Trigger Proficiencies, which can add additional Facet Hitches to the Hitch, and all Woes must have 3 Gnarls.Magic โ Stage-IllusionCarefully arranging what people think they can see, often so that they don’t see something else, can lead to them later claiming that they saw something impossible, like an elephant disappearing in front of their eyes, a woman being sliced into pieces and surviving, or the magician flying over their heads. Stage-Illusions usually require a lot of careful arranging of circumstances to achieve their effects, they are rarely capable of being performed ad-hoc.Magic โ DisbeliefDisbelief has power in magic. If a Character does not believe that magic can do something, then that will hold true for them. A Character who believes they cannot be hypnotised will certainly be more difficult to hypnotise than one who thinks they spend half their life in a one trace or another.Modifier โ Minimal RetconSometimes a time-traveller, or dimension-shifter, will remember a history that no longer exists. Other times events may change someone’s personal history, just a little, perhaps altering some minor details, such as the spelling of their neighbours name. Minimal Retcons are the smallest possible changes that can be noticed as they are usually dismissed as misremembering.Rules โ UnsoakableMake one Ordeal card UnsoakableRules โ Hazard (Minimal)Hazards represent a danger, risk or threat to the Character. They can vary greatly in type with many being more expensive than this. This represents the minimum case of a Hazard, a single imposed Failure Level.Rules โ Social Ordeal LevelAltering a Characterโs impression of you, in a Clique Psychosocial Space, by a single Social Ordeal Level up or down at a time.Rules โ Suspense LevelChange the Suspense Level of the Current Scene up or down 1 Level. This will also alter the Change currently occurring.Spot โ InconspicuousWorse than spotting something concealed is spotting something inconspicuous, hidden in plain-sight, it may be only partially concealed, but also be one particular thing amongst very similar things, such as a red getaway car amongst other red cars.Sway โ Twist1 Twist can be created by magic from 2 Faerie Yarn one Seelie and one Unseelie or 2 of either. The Twist is also related to the Shock, the most powerful form of Stress. Twists are often Shocking.Technology โ MechanicsMechanical Technology allows everything from watermills and windmills to clocks and automobiles. Although you might be looking at fairly primitive versions to start with. Initially parts are low quality and large in size, but mechanization allows creation of better tools to create better mechanisms in an slow starting J-curve.Wound โ Distract – Low StakesDistract Wounds are the simplest Wound that represent a target being momentarily distracted.Wyrd Tarot โ ProficiencyImmediately grants a new Proficiency suitable to the task being attempted.Wyrd Tarot โ IneptCancels a Die from being rolled in a Pool (usually a Proficiency Die).Wyrd Tarot โ AegisDiscards all cards of an attack.Wyrd Tarot โ BreachAdds +10 Penetration Pips to an attack. |
1 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 26 | <120 Minutes / A Scene / Quick Ordeal | 4 Months | Small Crowd (<40) | Bee-sized (Macrofauna) | A couple of rooms / Vehicle (Bus / HGV) | Annexes โ PowerA Power based Annex or Descendant, made from a minimum of three Proficiencies, a Root Prof, Channel Prof and a number of Umbral Profs with optional Nimbed Profs. Each Umbral in a Power may Support multiple Nimbeds. Umbrals and Nimbeds interact with the Tangle.Characters โ CastAny Extra created with a Power Annex. The Cast of a Story are those Named Characters that aren’t quite worth making a Grunt for.Descendants โ PowerA Power based Descendant.Magic โ TranceThe magician can affect their own mind by entering a Trance state. This is simple self-hypnosis, and can be used for a variety of purposes. The magician may use the trance to memorise or recall information quickly and clearly, or they may use the trance to ignore pain (and wound effects), to defend themselves against a Psyche attack of some sort, or to assist in focus, concentration, or perception.Magic โ Suspend DisbeliefThe magician is adept at suspending the disbelief of their audience, or requires them to suspend disbelief in order to complete the magical effect. Any time a normal person watching would say, “Hang on, that’s not possible” you should suspend disbelief to make them instead not worry about it.Magic โ PrayerA simple invocation of a spiritual or divine being that usually requires previous submission to that being (and often a Devotion or Duty Hitch). Prayers can invoke the powers, or more normally blessings, of the spirit or divinity contacted. For example, a neo-pagan magician priest may call upon Thor to lend them physical strength, or a Christian may call upon the holy spirit, God, Jesus, angels or saints to protect them from a devilish demon, or lend them the strength and knowledge to defeat it.Modifier โ EquipmentHaving the right equipment can help a lot (even if you can’t add it to a roll right now), having bad equipment can be a problem as well.Remove Wound โ FleshCompletely remove / heal a Flesh Wound from a Character or Descendant.Rules โ ProdProds are Dramatic moments meant to focus a Hooked Embodiment on the current Plot and increase Suspense.Rules โ Ordeal CardAffect, Discard, Redraw, Ignore, a single Ordeal Card.Rules โ Drama DiceAdd or Remove 1 of any type of Drama Die from the Drama Pool at any time. Dice added are rolled into the Pool.Spot โ SecuredThis is more about finding something that has been deliberately placed inside a lockable box, like a chest, a drawer, a gun cabinet, a safe, etc. It would usually be considered impossible to “spot” a secured document for example, but T13 is a weird place and people have weird senses, some emotionally charged object might be spotted by an empath despite being hidden in a safe, for example.Technology โ HarmonicsHarmonics as a technology allow the creation of advanced structural composition, as well as aesthetic composition, in music, painting, sculpture, mechanics, and architecture. This leads to creation of new musical instruments, new tools, new art forms, new building materials and new social systems as these advanced techniques spread and are incorporated. |
1.5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 32 | <8 Hours / Scene | 3 Months | A Few Dozens (<55) | Fly-sized (Mesofauna) (~1cm / 1.0 ×10-2metres) | A floor of a building / Vehicle (Yacht) | Annexes โ PersonalityPersonality Annexes are the Master Annex of all Characters more important than Extras. Personality Annexes grant Characters ways of gaining Chi from their Persona and other abilities from their Core and (Resolved) Hitches.Characters โ GruntGrunts 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.Characters โ Bulmรคs ChildThe youngest of the Bulmรคs, they are usually called cubs or calves, depending upon the path they walk. Bulmรคs 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.Descendants โ TrophyTrophies are the simplest of the special descendants. They are an ordinary Descendant that has extra Facet Sway (or Yin/Yang) stored within it. This may grant the Trophy an Edge, making it more powerful than other examples of its type. Trophies represent the customization and detail work that we put into our favourite Tools and Objects (custom paint jobs, cases, stickers and installing programs and apps are all Trophy moves).Descendants-Pacts โ Society PactSociety 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.Effect โ PronouncedA pronounced effect is so strong that most people will notice it, like the smoke and light from a fire, or the smell of disinfectant. Most illusionary magic and special effects type things want this level of effect. Most people will notice the effect, but a few may by chance or handicaps (Hitches) not.Events โ ChronolithChronoliths are events, moments, infused with additional Chi to make them more historically certain than usual. Heroes can utilise and manipulate Chronoliths in interesting ways, including reloading reality back to the last Chronolith, just like in a video-game. Chronoliths may have Edges to help them defend themselves from temporal meddling.Magic โ Possession (Puppet)The Possessor can move the Possessee with like a puppet on a string. The possessed being can move limbs and move in ways that can appear normal and life like, but that still somehow feel uncanny to those that see them and are perceptive enough. Some observers will be unnerved just by the presence of a puppet possession. All Possession actions use Range as Braced shot.Magic โ CharmA short ritual that usually has a lesser transformative or healing effect, or a greater protective effect. Charms can be memorised, but are usually performed from a scroll or prepared paper, written in special magically charged inks.Magic โ Pre-and post-cognitionThe magician or psychic can sense what happened or will happen, even though it’s not happening right now.Magic โ BindingBinding magical energy or a spell into an object, or character, for a Duration to create a ward, or stabilize an enchantment or charm for a longer period.Magic โ HypnosisAffect another’s mind and place them in Trance. Hypnosis can allow others minds to be made suggestible (not controlled) such that they can be guided through Trance states for similar effects to those that effect the magician, additionally a suggestible Trance will make the hypnotic subject treat commands from the hypnotist as though they were their own inner monologue.Range โ MediumMedium Range is far enough away that you might want to aim to make sure you hit. Medium is up to ten times Close range, For human scale this is usually up to 100 metres.Modifier โ SecretiveTrying to do things without being spotted or overheard doing them can always make a situation more difficult.Rules โ Set StakesSet the current Stakes. This can include creating a new Custom Stake if performed by the current Yarn-Teller or Referee. Typically the Ordeal is included in the cost so the entire Ordeal is affected, or after the Duration the original Stakes will return.Rules โ ReloadThe Hero (or Yarn-Teller) rewinds Time back to the last saved Chronolith (usually).Rules โ Draw 3 Ordeal CardsDraw 3 Ordeal cards to your Pool.Rules โ Break (Minimal)Breaks are Drama events that lower the Suspense Level, Relieving Stress, Strains and Shocks from Characters. This is a minimal Break that does not Relieve much Stress.Spot โ InvisibleSpotting something that is meant to be invisible, should be impossible, but perhaps you notice a shimmer in the air or notice the wind is blowing around, or sound is deadened by something you cannot see, perhaps their very silence somehow draws attention, like a hole in your perceptions.Technology โ BiologyCategorisation of life leads to a basic understanding of biology. This leads to improvements in medicine, particularly surgery.Wound โ Maim – Higher StakesMaim Wounds are damage that remove a Proficiency Slot until healed.Wyrd Tarot โ Fast-Talk / EnrageAdd +1 Success Level or Failure Level to any Social Activity or Test.Wyrd Tarot โ Rally / DiscourageAdd +1 Success Level or Failure Level to any Psych Activity or Test. |
1.5 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 38 | <10 Hours / Scene | 10 Weeks | Dozens (<64) | Flea-sized (Mesofauna) | A floor of a large building / Vehicle (Jet – Private/Fighter) | Magic โ Face-dancingThe magician can affect their own form and appearance, or at least how it is perceived, recorded and remembered. This can be a combination of make-up effects, disguise, posture, perceptual changes and even physical shape-shifting.Magic โ PhantasmagoriaThe magician can make people see what they want them to see, hear what they want them to hear, and ideally feel what they want them to feel. Standing illusions and immersive directed hallucinations are both possible.Modifier โ Focus / DistractingMental Focus is key to magic, and helps with almost everything else. Conversely, trying to do anything complex without adequate focus can hinder almost anything. Distractions can interfere incredibly with someone’s ability to do a task. Even causing them to… Wait, what is that smell?Rules โ Simple ObstaclePlay a single Card from your Pool or Hand as a simple Obstacle that is added to the Stage of the Ordeal. Otherwise Obstacles can be created via Ordeal Cards or Yarn Cards.Rules โ Success or Failure LevelThis is the upper limit of adding a Success or Failure Level. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Spot โ EtherealSpotting something that is not only invisible, but insubstantial and in many ways just not real. Useful for spotting spirits and feeling the passage of Bulmรคs through the nearby LeaTechnology โ ChemistryAn advanced understanding of Chemistry allows the synthesis of new materials. Individual chemical elements can be discovered and categorised, “hidden” common elements such as hydrogen, silicon and germanium may be discovered. Photography and even X-ray photography is possible. |
1.5 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 45 | <12 Hours / Long Scene | 9 Weeks | Several Dozens (<75) | Lice-sized (Meiofauna) | Half a building / Vehicle (Sub-way train) | Activity โ TrickyTricky activities are fiddly tasks that might go wrong easily, or normal jobs and tasks, that are not well explained. You might be told to clean out a room, and throw everything away, but some of the stuff in the room is actually important and if thrown away, you and the guy who told you to chuck it, would be fired. Do you spot the importance before you chuck it?Magic โ PrestidigitationQuick and hidden movements, related to those of pickpockets, are used by the magician that manipulate objects to achieve magical effects, the quickness of the hand deceives the eye. This can make objects appear to appear and disappear even from someone’s closed hand, or pocket.Modifier โ First TimeEverything is harder the First Time you try. If you have never attempted something before, then it will always be harder than something that you have even tried once.Rules โ Play Two Ordeal CardsPlay Two cards from your Ordeal Pool when you are not normally able to.Rules โ 2 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the lower limit of combining 2 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Spot โ Non-ExistentSpotting something there, that wasn’t actually there until you spotted it. Usually this is a clue, from the Yarn-Teller (as in a Clue Wyrd Tarot card), however when wielded correctly it can reveal Descendants and even Allies (at the current Yarn-Teller's discretion). Basically, if you roll well on a spot roll you can add something that you want to find, that is reasonable to find, on top of whatever the Plot says you find. However, Yarn-Tellers can also use this Difficulty to have you “spot” an Increated, .Technology โ ElectricsElectricity is a primitive harnessing of the electron. Initially power levels are low, based on DC batteries, it can be efficiently converted into other forms of energy, and back, but it takes a lot of time and experimentation to unlocks all that potential.Wound โ Crippling – Extreme StakesCrippling Wounds remove an Annex Slot until healed.Wound โ Flesh – Medium StakesFlesh Wounds are Wounds that must be acknowledged, but are not permanent.Wound โ Mortal – Extreme StakesMortal Wounds are the first Wounds that create Hitches for the Target. Mortal Wounds usually create Quirk HitchesWyrd Tarot โ ClueGain a hint from teh current Yarn-Teller or Ref, or Reveal or Remind a Revelation that has been previously missed.Wyrd Tarot โ FeintImmediately summons 1d6 Distract Wounds on target.Wyrd Tarot โ SurpriseIgnore current GRT, RT, and initiative order to take one Full-Action immediately.Wyrd Tarot โ SurprisedImmediately grants 2 GRT to a target. |
1.5 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 51 | <16 Hours / Long Scene | 8 Weeks | A Few Scores (<85) | Tick-sized Meiofauna (~1mm / 1.0 ×10-3metres) | Most of a building / Vehicle (Train) | Magic โ InvokeThe magician draws the attention of a spirit, demon, divinity or equivalent, by use of ritual, charm, prayer or true name etc. Usually used to mimic or call upon the Invoked entities abilities or to access their knowledge. Invoking a powerful spirit can be dangerous for the magician, causing the spirit to fully possess them on the spirit’s terms.Magic โ SpellA Spell is usually a quick magical ritual designed to have a powerful, often destructive or creative effect. Spells might be used to create Wounds, Traps and similar effects, that may appear coincidental or directly caused by the magic depending upon the spell used.Modifier โ LocationBeing in the right Location can really help. Want to repair a car, a garage can help, but a workshop is better. Being in the wrong Location can also be a real hinderance, as any one who has tried to drink tea on a rollercoaster can attest.Rules โ RatchetA Ratchet Dramatic Event is meant to be a direct connection between the Suspense Level and the Narrative, they probably should never be deliberately triggered without considering the ramifications on the Story, except when they are not occurring quickly enough to keep up with a rapidly rising or falling Suspense Level.Technology โ Powered AutomationMechanical Technology is expanded to create self-powered, autonomous devices that can do the work of many people. Examples include steam-power, internal combustion engines, etc. Mechanical vehicles, power tools and mass production techniques synergize to change the world. Internal combustion when invented unlocks power levels capable of sustained powered flight almost immediately.Technology โ Atomic RadiationAdvanced understanding of matter reveals the structure of the atom, and an understanding of radiation. Allows creation of radio, radar, broadcast power, solar cells and primitive fission bombs (eventually). Also introduces quantum uncertainty, which is at first widely dismissed. |
1.5 | 4 | 12 | 24 | 59 | Until Dawn/ Dusk/ Noon / Midnight | 7 Weeks | Scores (<100) | Tardigrade-sized (Microfauna) | A building (Townhouse) / Vehicle (Airliner) | Annexes โ Super-AnnexA Super-Annex based Annex, made from at least two ProficienciesAnnexes โ SizeSize Annexes are the Master Annex of a Location Descendant (or a Kaiju Monster).Changes โ ReviseMinor Shape-shifting (makeup, prosthetics etc but same casting), re-arrange positions, revise remembered minor personal events (personal retcon). Change individual words, company logos, symbols while preserving general meaning, (minor retcon)- minor Mandela EffectCharacters โ Force-of-NatureThe 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.Characters โ HeroSome 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.Characters โ MercariThe 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 Bulmรคs 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).Characters โ WyrdchildeThe 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 Bulmรคs, referring to their belief that the Wyrd is the sister of their creator goddess.Characters โ Paradox WarriorParadox 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.Characters โ GoblinGoblins 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.Characters โ Bulmรคs AdultBulmรคs Herd or Hunters have at least two integrated Souls and are able to walk the Lea and shape change. Adult Bulmรคs 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 Bulmรคs.Descendants โ Super-AnnexA Super-Annex based Descendant. These are the most powerful Descendant base type, usually created by large Pacts, Plots or Yarn-Tellers.Descendants โ PrizePrizes are Descendants imbued with additional Edges and abilities by a Hero storing Chi within them. They are considered more “Real” than normal Descendants, able to resist anachronistic events like Paradoxes, Chronoclysms, and Retcons, they are also usually able to survive side-steps without change, allowing a Hero Gunfighter to wield Prized Six-shooters against fantasy opponents without running afoul of different laws of physics or chemistry. Ancient Prize stones and gems are normally called “Monoliths” and some Fæ call all Prizes Monoliths.Descendants-Location โ LocationLocations are a special type of Descendant that models a place in the Game, or Story. Some Locations are considered static (a house or a kingdom), but others can be mobile (a vehicle, or even a planet).Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Paid MembershipPaid 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.Effect โ ConspicuousConspicuous effects include things like music, lights, bright make up and garish costumes, that you probably think there is no way anyone could not notice that (but some people would say “What fairground?”).Magic โ Possession (Rough)The Possessor can control the Possessee with natural looking, but still rough, uncoordinated motions. It is similar to wearing or wielding the Possessee, as though they were a suit of clothing. Delicate actions, such as speaking or writing are possible, but require a great deal of concentration, and will be noticeably different to the possessed beings normal voice or hand. All Possession actions use Range as a Prone shot.Magic โ Enhance/DiminishThe magician can manipulate magical energy to make something more or less efficient, faster, or better/worse somehow. This is usually the equivalent of adding Chi to the action being performed.Modifier โ Terrible WeatherStorms and blizzards can make it impossible to do some things. It is almost impossible to track someone in a white-out, and even standing can become impossible in a tornado.Rules โ Draw 4 Ordeal CardsDraw 4 Ordeal cards to your Ordeal Pool.Technology โ ElectronicsElectrical Technology combined with deeper understanding of atoms and electrons leads to electronics capable of decision switching and complex control systems. Valve technology and transistors allow electronic calculations to be performed. Programmable computers become possible.Technology โ Orbital TechnologiesRocketry and aerospace sciences reach the level of primitive space-flight. First planetary orbits and later Solar and even extra solar orbits become possible. Early exploration is heavily restricted due to lifting weights up from the planet’s surface.Wound โ Crippling – High StakesCrippling Wounds remove an Annex Slot until healed.Wyrd Tarot โ Flashback / RetconMay be used to describe moments from a Character’s past, allowing purchases to be made, or events to be changed etc. This is more than a mild Retcon, allowing a Character’s history to be altered, but cannot Retcon major historical events alone.Wyrd Tarot โ StalemateImmediately exactly meet the difficulty of any Test or Stage of an ordeal.Wyrd Tarot โ UnbalanceImmediately add +1 Success Level, +1 Failure Level to the target’s next action and 1 Unsoakable Distract to the target. |
1.5 | 4 | 13 | 26 | 66 | Until Dawn/ Dusk/ Noon / Midnight | 6 Weeks | Over a Hundred (<151) | A large building (Farmhouse) / Vehicle (Cargo ship) | Characters โ 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.Descendants-Location โ SeatSeats are Locations that store extra Sway and are granted an Edge because of it. Seats represent the customizations, adaptations, and work that we do to our property to make them ours.Descendants-Pacts โ Nation PactNation 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-FictionMagic โ Spell-WeavingThe magician can create or learn a repeatable magical effect that is usually constructive and creative (making or summoning something) or destructive (damaging or harming something). These spells can be more powerful than normal spells when created for a specific target or effect, or be less powerful but more generic in effect like a normal spell.Magic โ HexThe magician uses a “Spell” with a particularly nasty, often curse-like, effect. Hexes are often powerful transformative or destructive effects, that can wound and create new hitches.Modifier โ DarknessTry to do some things while you are blind, in the dark, or deaf, and it gets a lot harder. Conversely, detecting a single photon is possible with the human eye, if you are in real pitch darkness.Rules โ Facet BoonModifying a Facet Boon up one or down one Boon (which also moves the Anti-FacetBoon down one or up one) costs the current Facet or Anti-Facet Boon in Chi, whichever is higher, so this represents the minimum cost to moving a Facet Boon.Rules โ Unlink FacetsUnlinking a Facet and its Anti-Facet so that each may be moved up or down independently costs the higher of the two current Facet Boons (with a minimum of 13 Chi) in Chi.Rules โ Distress CardsDistress Cards are created from Ordeal Cards by Shock Dice. Distress Cards each have a Stress Effect and special rules that follow. If a Character cannot match the Pips with Stress then the Distress Card becomes a Trauma.Technology โ MiniaturizationAdvanced tooling and electronics enable miniaturization to begin. All technologies begin to shrink and/or grow in efficiency. Transistor technology allows pocket radios and Liquid crystal display televisions. Miniaturization of tooling allows improvements in all technologies.Technology โ NuclearThese Technologies allow exploitation of the inherent energy in matter, specifically the radiation caused by matter loss in radioactive isotopes. Harnessed correctly these can make clean, long-lasting power sources, incredibly accurate clocks (allowing the creation of GPS navigation systems) and also very powerful thermonuclear and fission-fusion bombs. | |
1.5 | 4 | 14 | 28 | 74 | Until Dawn/ Dusk/ Noon / Midnight | 5 Weeks | A Couple Of Hundred (<250) | A large public building (Museum) / Vehicle (Car Ferry) | Magic โ RiteA Rite is a grand ritual, usually of a religious nature, that may have a powerful magical effect. Rites can have profound protective or transformative effects on the subject of the rite, which may be a Location, Character, or Pact Descendant as well as a Descendant.Magic โ Shape-shiftingThe magician can change their own shape, rearranging limbs, becoming animals usually, in some cases they can even become inanimate objects for a while.Modifier โ LuckLuck, whether good or bad can have an almost incredible impact on any test,Rules โ Wyrd TarotAffect, Discard, Play, Redraw, Change or Alter a single Wyrd Tarot card.Rules โ 2 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the average of combining 2 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Technology โ MicroelectronicsAdvanced Electronics, super miniaturisation allows creation of digital computing. Micro-electronics quickly shrink towards becoming nano-electronics. Quantum effects predicted are now observed leading to advances in technology such as LED.Technology โ CoherenceCoherence in science allows creations of new technologies and understanding across all sciences, standardizations of measurements and experimentation lead to accelerated developments. All Technologies and Sciences accelerate development in the new paradigm. Lasers become possible. Understanding of Quantum effects leads to break through technologies such as digital cameras. Computers can interconnect to share information and computation. Email and remote access terminals are the first signs of what is to come.Wound โ Carnage – Extreme StakesCarnage Wounds usually create Flaw Hitches for the TargetWyrd Tarot โ Prop / Drop PropTarget immediately loses, gains, fixes or replaces a PropWyrd Tarot โ FailureTarget immediately gains +2 Failure Levels (or a complete Failure).Wyrd Tarot โ RiseTarget immediately gains +2 Success Levels. | |
1.5 | 4 | 15 | 30 | 83 | Until Dawn/ Dusk/ Noon / Midnight | 4 Weeks | A Few Hundred (<375) | Eurkaryotic cells / Mid Infrared (0.1mm / ~100ยตm / 1.0 ×10-4metres) | Very Large building (Office block) / Vehicle (Liner) | Activity โ Hard JobYou know that job that you put off because it’s harder than everything else you have to do? Chances are that is your Hard Job activity. It might be doing the accounts, or calculating a course, maybe it is the gourmet dish that only the head chef personally handles, or maybe you just have a really hard to do job, like being Public Relations manager for a criminal gang, or trying to find something deliberately hidden in a room, when you don’t even know what you are looking for. Hard Jobs are often rolled, but are worth an Ordeal the first time you are thrown into them.Magic โ Dynamic-BalancingThe magician is able to sense and balance elemental or magical forces in the atmosphere and landscape around them. Dynamic-elemental balancing can be used to manipulate weather over time, can be used to condense, freeze or evaporate water, can cause burning, and in extreme cases can cause earthquakes and even throw lightning.Remove Wound โ MaimCompletely remove / heal a Maim Wound from a Character or Descendant, and allow re-purchasing of Maimed Proficiency.Rules โ Play 3 Ordeal CardsPlaying an Extra 3 cards from your Ordeal Pool when you wouldn’t normally be able to.Technology โ Nano-electronicsNano-electronics allow smart phones and similar technologies, low power computation is possible, high powered super-computers are also possible. Big-data processing and artificial intelligence learning algorithms are capable of performing some tasks at human level. Quantum computation becomes possible.Wound โ Carnage+ – Extreme StakesCarnage+ Wounds usually create Woe Hitches for the TargetWound โ Flesh – Low StakesFlesh Wounds are Wounds that must be acknowledged, but are not permanent. |
2 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 92 | A Weekend / Until Moon Changes Phase | 21 Days | A Good Crowd (<500) | A Skyscraper / Vehicle (Corvette) | Annexes โ PactPact Annexes are the Master Annex of a Pact Descendant and is governed the most powerful member, the total number of members and the type of Pact.Changes โ AlterModerate Shape-shifting (including recasting the actor), re-arrange positions, alter remembered personal events. Change word, logo and symbolic meanings, (medium retcon), minor social changes – medium Mandela EffectCharacters โ RenegadeHeroes 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.Characters โ DemoniacHeroes 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.Characters โ CambionCambions 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.Characters โ HobgoblinGoblins 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.Characters โ DæmonThe 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.Characters โ Fæ CommonerThe 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.Characters โ Bulmรคs Adult BroccenAdults of the Broccen Bulmรคs 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.Characters โ Eelafin / Fæ HybridA 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.Descendants-Location โ Real EstateReal Estate is what we call a Location with Chi stored within it. Real Estate is considered more “Real” than other Locations, making it harder to be destroyed and altered significantly by Yarn-Tellers or Time Travel.Effect โ CommotionA commotion is a loud noise, usually, along with flashing lights and so on, like automatic gunfire or emergency vehicles something that grabs attention.Events โ Expanded OrdealExpanded Ordeals (where we have multiple simultaneous Ordeals or complex systems in play) tend to be around here.Magic โ Possession (Finesse)The Possessor can control the Possessee with a finesse that looks natural, but is purely physical. It is as though they had perfectly become the possessed victim, but they have no access to the victim’s thoughts, memories or feelings (unless they have another ability to do that). Finesse possession actions incur no penalties for range.Magic โ TelepathyThe Magician or psychic can use the powers of telepathy to read surface thoughts, speak without words, and stare with purpose. They can also try more complex telepathic tricks, such as empathic emotions, psychic rapport (where two or more minds combine power for a single purpose), or even possession effects.Magic โ SummonThe Magician can call forth, summon, or conjure something or someone from a different location. This may be a psychic summoning, felt by the creature summoned, who may choose how to respond. Sometimes the magician is the one that has the ability to call forth spirits from the spirit-world, other times it is the spirit that has the power to travel between worlds, and the summoner simply calls them. Props and Descendants can also be “apported” from distant locations, and this may even be the simpler action of the two.Modifier โ Minor Narrative Issues / IrrelevantSometimes what you are trying to do goes against the Story that is being told. Perhaps the tale is about finding a kidnapper and the victim, within a strict time-limit, and a character says they are going to bed instead of working through the night, well they might just find that sleep does not come as easily as normal, same if they try to spend time in the kitchen making a family dinner, the story demands that it comes first in these cases by adding a difficulty to those distractions.Modifier โ Limited RetconAltering History in a way that directly affects a limited amount of people and space, such as changing the history of one family, or the history of one Location. This assumes the Location or Group do not butterfly affect anything major.Rules โ Draw 5 Ordeal CardsDraw 5 Ordeal cards to your Ordeal Pool.Technology โ Mimetic EngineeringComputational power, networked society and psychology meld to create an ability to control thoughts and reactions remotely in some populations. Massive changes can be created within social systems by anyone with the technology, causing social disruption, not all uses are effective at this time and are never more than 80% effective.Wound โ Maim – Medium StakesMaim Wounds are damage that remove a Proficiency Slot until healed.Wound โ Mortal – High StakesMortal Wounds are the first Wounds that create Hitches for the Target. Mortal Wounds usually create Quirk HitchesWyrd Tarot โ ChiTarget immediately pulls another card gaining the Pips as Chi.Wyrd Tarot โ Lose ChiTarget immediately loses 8 Chi.Wyrd Tarot โ PsstMove a card from your Hand to the Target’s Hand and draw 2 cards.Wyrd Tarot โ Doom-theftRemove a random card from target’s Hand and add it to your own. The Target may redraw. | |
2 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 101 | A Weekend / Until Moon Changes Phase | 18 Days | A Good Crowd (<600) | A Shopping Mall / Vehicle (Frigate) | Magic โ PsychokinesisThe magician or psychic can use the power of their mind, or emotions, to move things at a distance, bend bullets, levitate, and basically manipulate forces like magnetism, or gravity around themselves. Such forces are easily targeted by the mind, so that there is little to no wasted energy around the event.Range โ LongLong Range is far enough away that you might need to use a rifle with sights, take a moment to prepare and aim. This is usually any range up to five times Medium Range, which is 101-500 metres or so.Rules โ SnagSnags are narrative complications based on a single Yarn Card. Snags are slightly cheaper than a single Yarn Card as they are quite limited in effect.Technology โ Artificial Intelligence AssistanceBig Data sets and computational algorithms create Learning systems that can examine data in new ways that exceed human capabilities. These Artificial intelligences are not yet sentient or self-aware, but are learning skills humans cannot. Voice control and similar systems are perfected. | |
2 | 5 | 18 | 36 | 111 | A Weekend / Until Moon Changes Phase | 16 Days | A Good Crowd (<700) | A Stadium / Vehicle (Destroyer) | Magic โ PolymorphThe magician can change the shape and form of another being. This allows them to turn mice into footman and horses, pumpkins in carriages, and princes into frogs amongst other things. Often favoured in Fantasy Curses, the Polymorph can be a fine punishment for someone who mistreats animals.Rules โ ObstaclePlay 2 Cards from your Pool or Hand as an Obstacle in the Ordeal Stage. Otherwise Obstacles can be created via Ordeal Cards or Yarn Cards.Technology โ PersonalisationPersonalization is the moment where technology is AI designed for you. Pharmaceuticals are created with your personal genetics borne in mind, clothes and even tools can be manufactured as though personally tailored for you by AI. This can reduce the negative side effects that may result from your personal circumstances, but also allows perfect tailoring of advertising and political messaging that can be directed at individuals as well as large social groups.Wyrd Tarot โ AmbushThe Target is intercepted or Ambushed immediately.Wyrd Tarot โ Safe PassageThe Target may move to another Location immediately ignoring the Stage Difficulty, etcWyrd Tarot โ DistractionsThe Target takes 1d4 Unsoakable Distract WoundsWyrd Tarot โ Shake-offThe Target may remove all Distract Wounds instantly. | |
2 | 5 | 19 | 38 | 121 | A Weekend / Until Moon Changes Phase | 15 Days | A Good Crowd (<800) | A Building Complex / Vehicle (Cruiser) | Magic โ CurseThe magician creates a magical, spiritual or divine effect that has a powerful and potent negative effect. Usually associated with Curse attacks, the curse can act to restrict a character and their choices (occasionally making them an animal), add new hitches, or remove annexes or proficiencies.Rules โ 2 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the upper limit of combining 2 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Rules โ HurdleFacet Hurdles are a narrative complication that complicates the current Scene. Scenes can have multiple Facet Hurdles.Technology โ Moving HologramsManipulation of coherent laser light, and similar technologies allows the construction of free standing projected three dimensional images. | |
2 | 5 | 20 | 40 | 131 | A Weekend / Until Moon Changes Phase | 14 Days | A Good Crowd (<900) | Larger Bacterial cells (~10ยตm / 1.0 ×10-5metres) | A Super Skyscraper / Vehicle (Battleship) | Activity โ InterestingInteresting activities are those odd situations that turn up during a normal job that just ask a lot more of us. Like when your IT or phone system dies, but you still have things to do, or maybe you have to hand deliver the data-stick with the product on it to an address you’ve never visited. Interesting Activities are usually handled as OrdealsMagic โ Real Hard MagicIf filming the magic would require low-budget special effects (such as wires / flying harnesses / hidden mirrors / Double Exposure photography / model shots / static illusions) and it is not something that could be easily achieved with a Stage Illusion, then it is considered Real Hard magic. This is where most fantasy magic lies, throwing fireballs, crackling lightening hands, polymorphing rays, flying cross-country on a broomstick, you know that kind of stuff.Rules โ Play 4 Ordeal CardsPlay 4 cards from your Ordeal Pool when you wouldn’t normally be able to.Rules โ TraumaA Trauma is a combination of a Wound and a Psych Effect, usually created by Shock and Stress. Traumas can have powerful long term effects upon Characters.Technology โ ClaytronicsProgrammable Matter, a shape-shifting, physical Technology that allows matter to be shaped for specific tasks. You might have a knife/sword that you can turn into a hammer for example. Initially the technology is limited to none-moving parts/components and is primitive and error prone.Wyrd Tarot โ DisasterThe Target immediately takes 4 Failure Levels and their current Score becomes -1.Wyrd Tarot โ MiracleThe Target immediately gains 4 Success Levels and their current dice roll is maximised.Wyrd Tarot โ WoundThe Target must draw and take 1 Unsoakable Wound.Wyrd Tarot โ Relieve WoundRemove the largest Wound from the Target. |
2.5 | 6 | 21 | 42 | 142 | Upto 7 Days | 13 Days | Several Hundreds (<1000) | A Street / Field / Copse / Vehicle (Large Freighter) | Changes โ TransformationMajor Shape-shifting of self (recasting as different ethnicity), geographical changes to your Locations, minor social changes, alter meanings of sentences (transformative grammar), retcon personal history or unimportant social events – Major Mandela EffectCharacters โ Yarn-TellersAs 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.Characters โ Gestalt MercariMercari 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.Characters โ SoloA 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.Characters โ BrassWhen 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.Characters โ Bulmรคs VermisVermis is the Bulmรคs lord of the dead, and is a Solo. Every Vermis Bulmรคs 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 Bulmรคs notably having unique abilities, like their Wyrm or Dragon form, that breathes fire, flies and likes treasure, that they use for harvesting all the Bulmรคs Souls from a world.Characters โ Inactive AlternateTrying to affect the Personality of any Character’s Alternates in another universe is a pretty tricky thing to manage.Characters โ 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.Descendants โ ArtefactA Descendant granted Yarn by a Yarn-Teller (or another Weaver such as a Plot) is called an Artefact and has a lot of Edges and perhaps, a few powerful Glows.Descendants-Location โ ProvinceLocations that have been imbued with Yarn directly are like Real Estate, turned up to 11. They have multiple Edges and a few powerful Glows.Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Executive MembershipExecutive 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.Effect โ BlatantA blatant effect is something no one could reasonably ignore happening. Explosions so loud that you feel them in your body and rupture eardrums, lights so bright that they leave scars on your retina for hours, smells that are so strong you can taste them, or multimedia extravaganzas like fireworks displays.Events โ Yarn EventYarn Cards and the Spreads used by Yarn-Tellers can create complex narrative Events that are important to Characters and Descendants, more powerful than most Chronoliths, but fall beneath the level of Crux Events. Yarn Events are typically narratively important to specific Characters and Sides of a Conflict, representing a narratively important turn of events. Heroes and Grunts may refer to Yarn Events as “Historically/Personally Important Events”, “Coincidental Incidents”, “Heroic Moments” or “Programmed Events” depending upon the setting and so on.Magic โ CeremonyA complex, often religious, ritual designed to have a powerful effect, ceremonies can bind souls for eternity (or life) to each other, dedicate a being’s life to a particular god, or determine the future of a country, or at least the ruler. Ceremonies are not normally destructive, but more often are constructive, transformative, or protective in nature.Magic โ Possession (Full)The Possessor can literally inhabit the Possessee. The Possessor has full control over all non-autonomous bodily functions, and has access to the Possessee’s memories and thoughts (where appropriate). The Possessor may spend all Sway as though they are the Possessee. Often the Possessed victim will remember this possession as though it was a dream, unsure why their body and even mind was doing what it was doing. Guilt can cause the possessed victim to try and keep secret the possession and their actions, as they may even believe and rationalise that they chose to do these things.Modifier โ Hostile EnvironmentMaybe its noxious gases, dangerous heat or cold, or acidic fog. Sometimes the environment itself is out to stop the Character from doing what they want.Rules โ Yarn CardAffect, Discard, Redraw, Change, Ignore or Alter a single Yarn card.Rules โ FrayFrays are amongst the simplest and easiest to create “Scenes” simply because they can be created with a single Yarn Card.Rules โ Draw 6 Ordeal CardsDraw 6 Ordeal cards to your Ordeal Pool.Rules โ 5 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the lower limit of combining 5 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition.Technology โ Artificial SentienceComputational power and advanced A.I. techniques allow creation of a learning sentient machine (may occur accidentally with sufficiently powerful or unusual computational systems). Sentience is usually limited to human levels of intelligence at first.Wound โ Carnage – High StakesCarnage Wounds usually create Flaw Hitches for the Target | |
2.5 | 6 | 22 | 44 | 153 | Upto 7 Days | 12 Days | Several Hundreds (<1200) | An Aircraft Hanger / Vehicle (Large Freighter) | Magic โ ESPExtra Sensory Perception allows the magician or psychic to sense things that they don’t actually have the senses for. This can express in a number of ways, bat-like sonar, tingly danger-senses, sudden flashes of visions or unknown knowledge.Rules โ Mantra: Emotional ThemeA Tapestry may have any number of Emotional Themes, although it is usual to focus on only a few during any particular Tale or Game. Emotional themes indicate emotions that are intrinsic to the Tapestry, such as “Horror”, “Terror” or “Fear” are part of a Tapestry in a Horror setting. Emotional themes are explored by Characters and Plots that are embedded in the Tapestry, or can be expressed as a “Mood” where the audience is the where the intended target of the emotions.Rules โ Mantra: Conceptual ThemeA Tapestry may have any number of Conceptual Themes, although it is usual to focus on only a few during any particular Tale or Game. Conceptual themes are often questions about aspects of the human condition, although they can also be phrased as “What if…?” often too. A good conceptual theme can usually be expressed as “What is the importance of …?”. Examples often include Friendship, Ethics,Technology โ Bio-nano-technologyProgrammable Matter that can even infiltrate, interface with, and improve biological systems, creating things like Neural Computer Interfaces, Ballistic Dermal Armour, and laser eyeballs. Initially the technology is very error prone, but eventually the Eusaiveans create stable Nanites that can interface with biological systems. The technology is perfected by the Nihonese before they gain access to Eusaivean Femite Technology, allowing nano-cloning and programmable mutagenics.Wyrd Tarot โ HitchThe Target may ignore their Hitches or gain double Chi by activating a Hitch whilst affected by this Wyrd Tarot.Wyrd Tarot โ Double BluffCloses or opens a slot where Wyrd Tarot cards can be played for the Target.Wyrd Tarot โ CharmThe Target may add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all social activities whilst atop pile, may also create or close a Style Reserve called “Charm” that can be used for social activities.Wyrd Tarot โ GunThe Target may ignore Range Difficulties and add +1 Success Levels to all actions at Range or add +2 Failure Levels and +36 Range Difficulty to all actions. | |
2.5 | 6 | 23 | 46 | 165 | Upto 7 Days | 11 Days | Several Hundreds (<1400) | A Large Factory / Vehicle (Super Freighter) | Magic โ AccumulateThe magician can draw and store magical, probability, or elemental energy from the environment, this allows them to accumulate magical power in a Location or object for later use, or in a character for use later perhaps. Accumulating magical power in this way can be dangerous if the subject is not prepared for the magical energies that will begin coursing through themselves and their environments.Rules โ Mantra: MotifA Tapestry may have any number of Motifs, from musical Leitmotifs to recurring Characters or Descendants. Each Motif can only occur once per Narrative and cannot occur in two consecutive narratives.Rules โ Mantra: MottoA Tapestry may have any number of Mottos. Mottos reflect some aspect of the Tapestry that informs specific Plots and Locations. Mottos can be as vague or as specific as the Yarn-Teller wishes, from “In the Key of Death” and “Keep the guessing” to “Child Characters are functionally immortal until their 18th birthday”Technology โ Seed TechnologyNanotechnology becomes capable of building almost everything by planting a seed. Seeds use nanotechnology to gather resources from the nearby environment to construct an AI that then creates a house, or a vehicle, or a generator, or a tinned meat tree, as the creator and programmer desires. Military applications lead to seed robotics that become capable of exploring space beyond the solar system. | |
2.5 | 6 | 24 | 48 | 177 | Upto 7 Days | 10 Days | Several Hundreds (<1600) | A Park or Common / Vehicle (Supertanker) | Magic โ EvokeThe magician can call forth elemental energy in a raw, or somewhat stable, form. This can allow a magician to coat their hands in fire, throw lightning, cast winds and raise waters depending upon the exact elemental energy and their proficiency.Rules โ Mantra: SynopsisA Tapestry may have only one Synopsis. The Synopsis is a brief, concise and often abstract summary of the Tapestryโs purpose. Think of it as an elevator pitch for the whole setting, although the Synopsis leaves out the Mottos, Themes and Motifs, as they are specified elsewhere. Example Synopsis could include “Once upon a time…”, “In a Galaxy…”, “The Dream City of Dylath-Leen”, “The Court of Brenin Llwyd”, “Undersea adventures” or “Within the old star port sprawl”.Wound โ Crippling – Medium StakesCrippling Wounds remove an Annex Slot until healed.Wound โ Maim – Low StakesMaim Wounds are damage that remove a Proficiency Slot until healed.Wyrd Tarot โ SmithThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all creative activities, technology, creation etc.Wyrd Tarot โ Double ScoreDouble or Half the Score generated by one Die as long as this Wyrd Tarot is played upon them.Wyrd Tarot โ Plan+2 Success Levels while working alone, or +1 Success Level to all Characters working toward the “Plan” and creates a “Plan” Style Reserve.Wyrd Tarot โ Spot HiddenThe Target add +2 Success Levels to all Perception or Hiding Activities. | |
2.5 | 6 | 25 | 50 | 190 | Upto 7 Days | 9 Days | Several Hundreds (<1800) | Smaller Bacterial Cells / Visible Light Wavelengths (~1ยตm / 1.0 ×10-6metres ) | A Factory Complex / Vehicle (Aircraft Carrier) | Magic โ Manipulate ProbabilityThe magician can manipulate probability itself. This can make likely things almost impossible, and with careful use, something unlikely to happen, but possible (such as snow on a summer’s day, randomly shuffled cards thrown in the air landing in perfect order, or for all the photons in a light bulb to suddenly decide to travel in the same direction creating a coherent laser beam, or for Brownian motion to cause a drink of tea to levitate six inches above the cup), can be made to happen again and again.Rules โ Play 5 Ordeal CardsPlaying 5 cards simultaneously from your Ordeal Pool when you wouldn’t normally be able to. |
2.5 | 7 | 26 | 52 | 203 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 8 Days | Couple of Thousand (<2000) | Virus / Ultra Violet Wavelengths (~100nm / 1.0 ×10-7metres) | A City Block / Village / Small Wood / Large Park / Vehicle (Heavy Launch Vehicle | Changes โ PolymorphMajor Shape-shifting (recasting as a different species), geographical changes, retcon important historical, political, economic or social events – Major Mandela EffectsCharacters โ ArchfiendWhen 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.Characters โ OgreIt is said that Ogres gain their power by eating people, specifically eating souls in a dark parody of the Bulmรคs. 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.Characters โ Myrddin / ArchmageWhen 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.Characters โ Fæ NobleThe 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.Characters โ Bulmรคs LabyrinthineThe most powerful members of Bulmรคs society are the so-called Lost Souls. They live in the knotted Lea that most Bulmรคs 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 Bulmรคs 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.Characters โ EelanéAmongst 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.Characters โ 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.Descendants-Pacts โ Trust PactTrust 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).Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Courtier MembershipCourtier Membership represents the very highest tiers of the very largest Pacts. The members of a Nation Pact with this Membership are members of the kingโs 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.Effect โ UnforgettableSomething truly special and unique for those that experience it, usually such events are life changing, in that they colour every decision the Character makes from then on. Like having a car stolen because you left it unlocked. That level of unforgettable.Events โ CruxCruxes are events, moments, where a single choice can change the direction of history, they are essentially Chronoliths made with Yarn (often as Prophetic events or by Character Deaths). Yarn-Tellers can utilise and manipulate Cruxes in interesting ways, including using them to create new time-lines and alternative worlds. However, Cruxes can only represent a single choice, with only a few (often only two) potential results. Cruxes may have Edges and Glows that they grant to specific Characters during their Event. Heroes and Grunts may refer to, and understand Cruxes as “Tipping-points in History”, “Prophesied Moments” or “Chronologically Strategic Events” depending upon setting and so on.Magic โ Possession (Autonomous)The Possessor has complete possession of the Possessee, and can exert control over normally autonomous bodily functions (such as heart beat, immune system, kidney and liver function) and can also add a Skill Annex and Hitch (the Root, Channel and Hitch are all one Facet) to represent the extreme control they have over the body (such as a “Balance” skill or “Exceptional senses”) .Magic โ Dimensionally TranscendentalThe magician can use Magic to warp space-time, allowing them to put big things into small boxes, like umbrella stands in carpet bags, or time-machines in police boxes. This can also work the other way, causing a castle on the outside to be a hut on the inside.Modifier โ LostBeing Lost can be a significant problem, and if you think getting lost on the way to a party is bad, imagine ending up in Cæster when trying to find the bathroom in your hotel room.Rules โ Draw 7 Ordeal CardsDraw 7 Ordeal cards to your Ordeal Pool.Technology โ CyberwraithNanotechnology combined with Artificial Sentience allows the storage of living minds in digital form. Perfected by the Eusaiveans who call them Cyberwraiths. Cyberwraiths are able to transfer themselves through advanced computer systems between “bodies” that can be as different as a drone and a battleship. Eventually all Eusaiveans become Cyberwraiths upon their death, but initially it is only a very select few.Wound โ Carnage+ – High StakesCarnage+ Wounds usually create Woe Hitches for the TargetWyrd Tarot โ EscapeThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all motion Activities while affected.Wyrd Tarot โ Heal WoundsThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all healing attempts and activities.Wyrd Tarot โ MageThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all magic and creates or closes a “Magic” Reserve. |
2.5 | 7 | 27 | 54 | 216 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 7 Days | Couple of Thousand (<2250) | A couple of City Blocks / Large Village / Small Wood / Airport | Magic โ Legendary MagicThe magician can cast legendary magic, of the types famed by mythological wizards and trickster gods. Basically if the movie would need a good budget for these special effects (In camera special effects, good model shots, believable illusions, cheap CGI) then it is legendary.Remove Wound โ CripplingCompletely remove / heal a Crippling Wound from a Character or Descendant.Rules โ Serious ObstaclePlay 3 Cards from your Pool or Hand as a serious Obstacle in the Ordeal Stage. Otherwise Obstacles can be created via Ordeal Cards or Yarn Cards. | |
2.5 | 7 | 28 | 56 | 230 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 6 Days | Couple of Thousand (<2500) | A few City Blocks / Small Town / Small Wood / Dockyards | Descendants-Pacts โ League PactLeague 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.Descendants-Pacts Membership โ Sovereign MembershipSovereign 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.Magic โ Manipulate TimeThe magician has some control over time, making them able to stop things happening, make them happen backwards, or happen slower or faster than normal, or happen over and over again. This sort of temporal manipulation can create paradoxes and while easier and safer with magic it is essentially the same as time-travel technologies (in fact it may be simply the manipulation of Tachyon Nullites via the magic interface they have built in).Rules โ PlightA limited 3 Card Spread that creates a History – Situation – Solution Plight that complicates the current Narrative.Wyrd Tarot โ SuccessThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all actionsWyrd Tarot โ Ignore WoundsThe Target may ignore all Wound effects or Wound effects are doubled while affected.Wyrd Tarot โ TrapThe Target add +2 Success or Failure Levels to all activities to do with traps, and Ordeal cards may be played as “Obstacles” into the Stage, or taken into a “Trap” Style Reserve.Wyrd Tarot โ DeathAdds +21 Pips to all attacks or defences by the Target, raises the Limit of any card to Mortal Wounds or lowers them to Crippling, and may raise or lower the Stakes by one, and affects what Hitches may be created by Wounds. | |
2.5 | 7 | 29 | 58 | 244 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 5 Days | Couple of Thousand (<2750) | Several City Blocks / Smallish Town / Woods / Space Station | Magic โ Quantum WizardryThe magician is able to invoke the magic of the quantum realm. Spooky action at a distance, instantaneous communications or travel (teleportation), phasing matter through other matter, and inter-dimensional shenanigans are possible by manipulating the Quantum Realm with enough confidence and expertise. At this level magic can seem to bend, if not break, laws of physics.Rules โ QuestA Quest is a specific 6 Card Hexagram Quest Spread. | |
2.5 | 7 | 30 | 60 | 259 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 4 Days | Couple of Thousand (<3000) | Several City Blocks / Town / Small Valley / Vehicle (Colony Ship) | Events โ Causal NexusA Causal Nexus is a more powerful Crux Event that occurs when multiple Yarn-Tellers create overlapping Cruxes. Causal Nexuses can have many potential outcomes not a limited number of choices. Yarn-Tellers working together can create much more diverse time-lines. Causal Nexuses always have Edges and Glows that they lend to the Yarn-Tellers that create them. Heroes and Grunts may refer to, and understand Causal Nexuses as “Hardened History” or “Static Chronological Events” depending upon setting and so on.Magic โ TransmutationThe magician can change the actual nature of something. Turn water into wine, lead into gold, or paper into steel. Incarna can be altered as can Hitches and Annexes by the transmutation magics, and all sorts of reshaping or bending of physical forms are possible.Rules โ 5 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the average of combining 5 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition. | |
2.5 | 7 | 31 | 62 | 274 | Until next full/ new/ gibbous/ crescent moon/ <28 Days | 3 Days | Couple of Thousand (<3500) | District or Precinct of City / Market Town / Small Hill | Characters โ 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.Modifier โ Moderated RetconSometimes history gets changed in a significant, but relatively minor way. History books will be a little different now, but only by a paragraph or two. A battle may be won, but the war is still lost (but dragged on longer, etc). Sometimes agencies will interfere with history to create Moderated Retcons out of larger Retcons, in an attempt to keep history on track (as they see it). Other examples include, “I was sure they spelled their name with an E”, “Huh? Where did that restaurant we used to go to go?” and “I thought they were dead already?!”. These changes to history are large enough to be noticed by some people, but are still easily dismissed as misremembering.Rules โ GeasA specific 6 Card Yarn Spread, that creates a Geas or a Quest, Revelation and Lore from the same Cards. | |
3 | 8 | 32 | 64 | 289 | A Season (13 Weeks) | 2 Days | A Few Thousand (<4000) | Enzymes Extreme ultraviolet Wavelengths (~10nm / 1.0 ×10-8metres) | A Large Town / Hill / Vehicle (Primitive Generation Ship) | Activity โ ComplexComplex Activities are those problem solving tasks that just don’t show up in normal day-to-day life. Maybe you have a hacker in your system, and have to hunt them down, perhaps you have a bomb to dispose of, or an invisible intruder is in the building and needs dealing with, or maybe you are trying to create a new magic spell. Complex Tests are usually handled as two or more interlocking Ordeals.Changes โ MutateAlter a species details or anatomy, redraw maps, rewrite history, alter Facet Sway Potency Levels for a new Era.Characters โ Battle ToonCrafted 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.Characters โ GiantGiants 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.Descendants-Pacts โ Covenant PactCovenant 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.Effect โ UnforgivableSomething unforgivable, is worse than just unforgettable. Imagine meeting your hero, and then they pulled out guns and shot your whole family around you, thatโs unforgivable.Magic โ Possession (Uncanny)The Possessor has autonomous Possession of the Possessee, and can also add 2 Skill Annexes and 2 Hitches (the Root, Channel and Hitch are all one Facet).Modifier โ Deadly DangerSometimes the mere presence of danger in a situation can make it harder to do. Putting your life on the line can have a strong impact on people’s ability to cope. This is the reason that removing the safety net is such a thrill for the audience. Even the easy crossword can seem a lot more cryptic if your life depends upon it.Technology โ Force-fieldsSonic and energy manipulation allows the construction of solid feeling force-fields. Advanced forms of the technology can even function in vacuum, creating solid planes of force from manipulations of the Higg’s field, or restructuring electrons and photons via tuned quantum resonance. Advanced engines utilizing these principles can create Bussard Ramjets, allowing deep space flight at most 12% of light-speed. At these speeds journeys to Proxima Centauri take around 40 years, with an 82 year round trip.Wound โ Mortal – Medium StakesMortal Wounds are the first Wounds that create Hitches for the Target. Mortal Wounds usually create Quirk Hitches |
3 | 8 | 33 | 66 | 305 | 15 Weeks | 41 Hours | A Few Thousand (<4500) | A Large Hill / Bay / Vehicle (Void Runner (Splinter Class)) | Rules โ Yarn SpreadAdjust, redraw, alter or rearrange the cards of any single, unprotected Yarn Spread. Yarn-Spreads are usually protected by the Descendant, Character or Plot that played the cards, which potentially matches the Difficulty to alter the Yarn-Spread to the Difficulty to affect the protector. | |
3 | 8 | 34 | 68 | 321 | 16 Weeks | 35 Hours | A Few Thousand (<5000) | A County Town / Foothills / Vehicle (Void Runner (Daisy Class)) | Rules โ Hazard (Maximal)This is the largest a Hazard should ever be (for normal Characters depending upon genre and setting), able to create entire Yarn Spreads to create new dangers for the Character, or turn a whole town against them. | |
3 | 8 | 35 | 70 | 338 | 18 Weeks | 30 Hours | A Few Thousand (<5500) | A Small City / River Gorge / Vehicle (Void Runner (Tulip Class)) | Characters โ 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.Magic โ Epic MagicThe magician can create Epic magics of the types normally reserved for High Fantasy Wizards. This sort of magic requires CGI and a huge budget to film, such as portals to other realms, reality warping, observed shape-shifting, turning invisible while being observed. In general, you can usually get these effects without this level of investment, but the magician will have to be more careful about how the magic is observed, where as if they commit to Epic magic they can just lob spells about with impunity. | |
3 | 8 | 36 | 72 | 355 | 20 Weeks | 28 Hours | A Few Thousand (<6000) | A Small City/ Lake / Vehicle (Void Runner (Hyacinth Class)) | Wound โ Crippling – Low StakesCrippling Wounds remove an Annex Slot until healed. | |
3 | 8 | 37 | 74 | 373 | 22 Weeks | 26 Hours | A Few Thousand (<6500) | A Small Biome such as Marsh or Moor/ Vehicle (Void Runner (Rose Class)) | Rules โ New TapestryCreate a new Tapestry for a Game or Narrative. A Yarn-Teller Character can create a new Tapestry, or Setting for the Narration they are giving. New Tapestries are often created as a result of travelling beyond the edge of the current Tapestry, often such travel beyond the Tapestry is a portal fantasy. | |
3 | 9 | 38 | 76 | 391 | 24 Weeks | 24 Hours | Several Thousand (<7000) | Carbon Nanotubes / Soft X-Ray Wavelengths(~1nm / 1.0 ×10-9metres) | Small Biome such as Meadowland or Woodland / Vehicle (Void Runner (Chrysanthemum Class)) | Characters โ EttinThe 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.Characters โ ImmortalUnageing, 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.Magic โ Possession (Eerie)The Possessor has autonomous Possession of the Possessee, and can also add 3 Hitches, 2 Skill Annexes and a Talent Annex (the Root, Channel, Umbrals, Nimbeds, and Hitch are all one Facet).Modifier โ Narrative Issues / Plot ArmourSometimes a Story is actually out to get you. Maybe the story is meant to be about a Character’s tragic fall from grace, yet they keep succeeding… This is where Narrative issues step in. Narrative issues can also act as Plot Armour if needed, keeping a plot significant Character alive through events they could not otherwise survive. Be wary of this one, it can break games if used injudiciously. |
3 | 9 | 39 | 78 | 409 | 6 Months | 22 Hours | Several Thousand (<7500) | Small Biome such as River Valley or Bay / Vehicle (Jump Freighter) | Characters โ 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. | |
3 | 9 | 40 | 80 | 428 | 7 Months | 20 Hours | Several Thousand (<8000) | Medium Sized Urban Sprawl or Biome (such as Conifer Forest) / Vehicle (Warp Hauler) | Magic โ PortalThe magician can use Magic to connect distant locations, this isn’t creating stable wormholes, hyperspace tunnels or inter-dimensional portals, they require technology and are harder to achieve. Magical portals are in some ways safer to travel through, although they can be harder to target and keep targeted than some technological solutions.Technology โ Artificial GravityThis lets you have people walking around on spaceships. It also lets you have thruster-less hovering “anti-gravity” vehicles. Gravity warping drives pre-date more advanced space warping drives, but can generate speeds theoretically up to 99% light-speed. In practice however the technology rarely achieves higher than 76% light-speed. At these speeds trips to Proxima Centauri take about Five years, seven months, call it 6 years including acceleration and deceleration time. | |
3 | 9 | 41 | 82 | 448 | 8 Months | 19 Hours | Several Thousand (<8500) | Motorway/Interstate, A Rift Valley or Coastline / Vehicle (Talbot Class Starship) | ||
3 | 9 | 42 | 84 | 467 | 9 Months | 18 Hours | Several Thousand (<9000) | Medium Sized City / Vehicle (Elizabeth Class Starliner) | Characters โ 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.Wound โ Carnage – Medium StakesCarnage Wounds usually create Flaw Hitches for the Target | |
3 | 9 | 43 | 86 | 488 | 10 Months | 17 Hours | Several Thousand (<9500) | Small Ecoregion (River Delta) / Vehicle (Hoxton Class Neptunian Battleship) | Remove Wound โ MortalCompletely remove / heal a Mortal Wound. Applied Hitches may be converted or lost depending upon the Healing Method. | |
3 | 9 | 44 | 88 | 508 | 11 Months | 16 Hours | Several Thousand (<10,000) | Larger Atoms / Soft X-Ray Wavelengths(~1.0 ×10-10metres) | Mountain and Foothills / Small Metropolis / Vehicle (U-Space Freighter) | Range โ FarFar Range is far enough away that if you start now you might get there in a few minutes. To shoot Far Range shots you probably need a good rifle, telescopic scope, and to shoot prone and the wind and even spin of the planet may effect a longer shot. This is usually anything more than five times Long range. Basically at human scales anything over half a kilometre is what we’re talking about. |
3.5 | 10 | 45 | 90 | 530 | Year and a Day | 15 Hours | A Big Crowd (<15,000) | Smaller Atoms / Hard X-Ray Wavelengths (~1.0 ×10-11metres) | Open Moor, Large City, Forest / Vehicle (Space Elevator) | Changes โ WarpLocally alter dimensions, change direction of gravity, distort Cartesian space.Characters โ 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.Events โ CascadeCascade events are created by the thousands of social and physical interactions of history. They may begin with a Crux, or Casual Nexus, but events flow from that moment and grow in power as things unfold. Even experienced, powerful Yarn-Tellers can struggle to even influence a Cascade meaningfully once it is under way, and many will either be swept along, or create a new Causal Nexus or Crux to escape to a new time-line. Grunts and Heroes may refer to Cascades as “The Tide of History” or “Immutable Chronological EventsMagic โ Miraculous MagicThese magics are powerful effects usually performed by the invoked power of a deity, and are best thought of as a special effects extravaganzas such as you might get at the climax of a blockbuster movies. They include effects like Summoning a forgotten God, and then banishing it back by crossing the streams. Miraculous magic can raise the dead, sink an island nation, or transfer a city through time.Magic โ Possession (Preternatural)The Possessor has autonomous Possession of the Possessee, and can also add 4 Hitches, 2 Skill Annexes and 2 Talent Annexes (the Root, Channel, Umbrals, Nimbeds, and Hitch are all one Facet).Rules โ 5 Success or Failure LevelsThis is the upper limit of combining 5 Success or Failure Levels. Success Levels positively affect the Action, or Character performing it, or negatively affect the Opposition. Failure Levels negatively affect the Action or Character, or positively affect the Opposition. |
3.5 | 10 | 46 | 92 | 551 | 16 Months | 13 Hours | Throngs of people (<20,000) | |||
3.5 | 10 | 47 | 94 | 573 | 20 Months | 12 Hours | A Big Crowd (<25,000) | |||
3.5 | 10 | 48 | 96 | 596 | 24 Months | 11 Hours | A Big Crowd (<30,000) | Characters โ 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.Wound โ Mortal – Low StakesMortal Wounds are the first Wounds that create Hitches for the Target. Mortal Wounds usually create Quirk Hitches | ||
3.5 | 10 | 49 | 98 | 619 | 28 Months | 10 Hours | Tens of Thousands (<35,000) | |||
3.5 | 10 | 50 | 100 | 643 | 32 Months | 9 Hours | Tens of Thousands (<45,000) | |||
3.5 | 11 | 51 | 102 | 667 | <3 Years | 8 Hours | Tens of Thousands (<50,000) | Gamma Ray wavelengths (~1 picometres / 1.0 ×10-12metres) | Tiny Geo-region (Swamp) / A Citystate / Vehicle (Guild Exploration Ship) | Characters โ EternalThe 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.Characters โ 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.Rules โ Genre-BendingAdd a single Character Archetype, Descendant, Annex or Proficiency to the Setting from another Genre.Technology โ Space WarpingCareful manipulation of energy fields lets this technology warp space beyond gravity compression. More advanced than Gravity Warping as the warp can stretch space behind the ship as well as compress it in front of the ship through manipulation of virtual and negative masses. This allows faster travel, initially at over 70% light speed but rising to faster than light travel eventually. |
3.5 | 11 | 52 | 104 | 691 | Wound โ Carnage+ – Medium StakesCarnage+ Wounds usually create Woe Hitches for the Target | |||||
3.5 | 11 | 54 | 108 | 742 | Characters โ 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. | |||||
3.5 | 11 | 58 | 116 | 849 | Characters โ 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. | |||||
4 | 12 | 59 | 118 | 877 | <6 Years | 4 Hours | A Huge Crowd (<150,000) | (~1.0 ×10-13metres) | Constituency / City / Rural Parish / Vehicle (Galactic Cruiser) | Characters โ KaijuEnormous 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.Characters โ Boss MonsterBoss 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.Magic โ Possession (Eldritch)The Possessor has autonomous Possession of the Possessee, and can also add 5 Hitches, 2 Skill Annexes and 2 Talent Annexes and one Power Annex (the Root, Channel, Umbrals, Nimbeds, and Hitch are all one Facet).Modifier โ Hellish ConditionsTraditionally we’re talking fire and brimstone, but any truly awful place would make if much more difficult to do what you want.Rules โ Genre-ShiftingAdd multiple Archetypes, Descendants, Annexes, Proficiencies and Atmospherics from another Genre to the Setting, that have a profound effect upon the feeling of the setting. |
4 | 12 | 63 | 126 | 993 | Wound โ Carnage – Low StakesCarnage Wounds usually create Flaw Hitches for the Target | |||||
4 | 12 | 64 | 128 | 1024 | <9 Years | 3 Hours | A Small City Population (<220,000) | (~1.0 ×10-14metres) | Constituency/ Larger City / Rural County / Vehicle (Intragalactic Liner) | Remove Wound โ CarnageCompletely remove / heal a Carnage Wound. Applied Hitches may be converted or lost depending upon the Healing Method. |
4 | 13 | 66 | 132 | 1087 | <12 Years (Decade) | 2 Hours | Hundreds of Thousands (<300,000) | Proton Size (~1 Femtometre / 1.0 ×10-15metres) | Super-Metropolis / Conurbation / County / Vehicle (Orbital Station / Imperial Star Destroyer) | Activity โ Investigation / UnravellingInvestigations and Unravelling mysteries are usually Stories in their own rights (although sometimes they are just a sub-plot). Maybe there was a crime committed, or perhaps you just want to know what the neighbour is doing in his new shed. Investigations may get more Difficult as the criminal, a monster, a rival or the Plot may be working against the investigators. Unravelling a mystery can also face complications, often in the form of deepening mysteries and exposing conspiracies. In effect an Investigation or Unravelling is a series of Ordeals across a Story.Characters โ ParagonAny 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.Modifier โ RetconHistory has been rewritten, it might not have changed the entire world, but it has had a significant impact. History books will have different Chapters and even different titles. These sorts of Retcons are usually limited to altering a single Era (most often the most recent). Examples might include, “Taured is not a country!”, “That’s not who won the war!”, “What do you mean? The logo was always like this.”. These sorts of changes are too large for “misremembering” and look more like a serious psychological issue, such as paranoid schizophrenia, or fugue states.Technology โ Alcubierre Warp DriveSpatial warping is perfected to allow Faster-Than-light travel via a “warp bubble” or Lorentzian Manifold. Void Runners and other Warp ships require enormously powerful generators (that can consume the energy output of multiple suns or consumption of huge amounts of matter such as the entire visible universe), powerful tachyonic shielding systems, or special warped space lanes swept free of debris. Even with these shields, etc, it would never be advisable to enter a solar system at FTL speeds as the collapse of the Warp bubble will create a destructive wave ahead of the ship, capable of vaporising the ship and any planet in the way, to say nothing of striking the planet in collision directly. |
4.5 | 14 | 74 | 148 | 1358 | <30 Years (A Generation) | 60 Mins | Half A Million (<500,001) | (~1.0 ×10-16metres) | Small Geo-region (Forest / Rolling hills) / Vehicle (Orbital Platform / Mothership) | Characters โ Dæmon-PrinceThe 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”.Modifier โ Major Narrative Issues / Greater Plot ArmourTurns out you were the chosen one, after all. When a Character is meant to be the focus of a story and do their best to completely ignore it then we can be looking at modifiers like this. Major Narrative issues could include an Embodiment Character getting wiped out in a car accident in the first act (where we would hope for Greater Plot Armour). Then again, maybe the Plot calls for the villain to die (or appear to die at least) in the Second Act of the Story, but he just keeps rolling so well, he’s going to win).Rules โ Genre-MashingMerge two genres, including all archetypes, atmospherics, descendants, hazards, proficiencies etc into the same Setting. This is a non-syncretic mixing that does not create new elements.Technology โ U-Space Bubble / Jump driveQuantum Foam manipulation and Vortex control allows matter to exit a universe and exist in the space within the Multiverse, between realities. The reality bubble then rides a current to reach a destination that may be within the same universe or another nearby one. U-Space currents are reasonably stable over months and even years, but do vary with time, often moving across planets over decades, or even across systems over centuries (and are believed to be related to the Bulmรคs’ Lea). Only a few stronger currents are active for millennia or more. This can lead to “window-areas” and “vortex-zones” where jump craft may be sighted as they navigate U-space, as they rely on stronger, known or mapped currents for trade routes. Without up-to-date maps, a Bulmรคs Navigator, Nullite interfaces, or a bunch of careful probe missions, navigation can be very hit or miss, with only luck guiding your travels in time and between worlds, stars or universes. |
4.5 | 14 | 78 | 156 | 1508 | <45 Years (Working Life) | 45 Mins | Most of a Million (<750,001) | Changes โ ReformAlter major social conventions, languages, nature of leadership, etc.Wound โ Carnage+ – Low StakesCarnage+ Wounds usually create Woe Hitches for the Target | ||
4.5 | 15 | 83 | 166 | 1707 | <60 Years (A Revolution) | 30 Mins | A Million (<1,000,001) | Quark radius (~1.0 ×10-17metres) | Medium Geo/Eco region (Archipelago / Mountain Range) / Vehicle (Dyson Platlet) | Rules โ Genre-SmashingMerge two genres, including all archetypes, atmospherics, descendants, hazards, proficiencies etc into the same Setting. This is a syncretic mixing, where elements from both genres should interact and create new elements not present in either Genre.Technology โ Hyperspace TechnologyHyperspace Technology allows travel via the “higher-dimensions” that are normally closed to us (folded “flat” in our space-time). These closed or curved dimensions are radically different to the normal three spatial dimensions, and via careful targeting and manipulations of Calabi-Yau Manifolds, can allow travel through these higher dimensions that appear to side-step spatial travel at light-speed, allowing for FTL travel. However, such Hyperspace travel requires incredibly complex navigation calculations and usually a Hyperspace gate being constructed at both ends (creating a stable Hyper-lane through Hyperspace) although some ship classes are capable of generating a Hyperspace gateway themselves, at an incredible cost in power and computational resources. Depending upon the Hyperspace variant used, events in Hyperspace can be instantaneous, simultaneous or complex in nature, with normal laws of physics being completely suspended during the transition (resulting in death or inability to return in many scenarios). Hyperspace is not to be messed with, but it is slightly easier to target than wormhole technology. |
4.5 | 15 | 90 | 180 | 2010 | A Century | 20 Mins | City population <2,000,000) | (~1 attometre / 1.0 ×10-18metres) | Large Geo/Eco region (Jungle) / Duchy / Large County / Small Country / Vehicle (Dyson Platlet) | Remove Wound โ Carnage+Completely remove / heal a Carnage+ Wound. Applied Hitches may be converted or lost depending upon the Healing Method. |
5 | 16 | 92 | 184 | 2103 | <130 years (A Lifetime) | 15 Mins | A Couple of Million (<3,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-19metres) | Small Island Nation / Principality / Vehicle (Small Dyson Plate) | Technology โ Portal / Teleportation Booth TechnologyPortal technology is a limited wormhole technology that allows two surfaces to be connected hyper-geometrically. Portal style wormholes have significant restrictions on the technology. Both portals must exist within the same relativistic reference frame (no time travelling), and an absolute maximum range of around 13 Nano-Parsecs (a little over 400,000 km or less than 2 light seconds) transfer between the portals is nearly instantaneous, but limited by light-speed. Portal technology is similar to teleportation in difficulty, implementation and results. Teleportation technology uses energy-matter beams to read and construct matter remotely (and rely on estimating particle position and velocity to reasonable accuracy to avoid Heisenberg Uncertainty). Crude Teleportation of matter is possible with this technology, although it requires a “booth” at either end for matter assembly. Teleportation can have a longer range and does not require target and destination to be in the same relativistic frame, but is restricted to light-speed propagation. |
5 | 17 | 101 | 202 | 2548 | 200 Years | 7 Mins | A Few Millions (<5,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-20metres) | Small Nation State / Duchy / Vehicle (Advance Colony Ship) | Activity โ Invention / DiscoveryDiscovering something no one has ever known before, or inventing something new is perhaps the ultimate Activity. Invention activities are usually Prototype Descendant Creation Ordeals, where they will have a specified difficulty that may even be higher than that suggested (or lower). Discoveries can often occur as the result of random chance, rather than guided investigation, and sometimes desperation can lead to false discoveries, that do have positive impacts, such as how before Germ Theory was proved medicine followed Miasma theory, believing that bad smells caused illnesses, this lead to greater cleanliness which decreased infections.Events โ KeepA Keep event is when an event has been fixed in history, by magic, prophecy, time-travellers, or similar. All Yarn-Tellers that enter a Keep event become Keepers of the event in order to gain access. Any attempt to alter the Keep event will immediately eject the Yarn-Teller into another time-line without the Keep event. Grunts and Heroes may understand and refer to Keep events as “Fortified History” or “Protected Chronologies” depending upon the setting etc.Magic โ Impossible MagicThe magician attempts magic so impossible that it would be impossible to replicate even with the most expensive CGI, we’re talking revolving hyper-geometries, re-ordering the laws of physics to make light move slower than sound, connecting two planes of existence directly without a portal, or meta-magics that alter what magic is even capable of in the local reality.Modifier โ Major RetconA huge change has been made to the history of the world. The level of this change is enough to divert history significantly, but not quite change everything about the world. Examples include “The Theocratic States of America”, “The Luna Penal Colonies”, “Last Pharaoh of Australia” and “Ultra-terrestrials sign peace accord”. Revealing that you remember these time-lines after the retcon will have the same effect on most mental healthcare practitioners as declaring you are Napoleon Bonaparte, Gaius Julius Caesar or Yeshua Ben Yusef of Nazareth.Technology โ Teleport beamAn improvement on Teleportation booths that allows a single unit to both read and construct matter at a distance (usually restricted to about 1 light second range ~ 299,800 km), but such units can transfer data over larger distances by handing the data from unit to unit. This allows teleportation from a planet’s surface to a low orbit satellite, then transferral to radio data, which is passed to a Martian satellite (for example), which can then beam construct the material on the Martian surface. This technology is very prone to error and numerous safety systems are recommended before use (such as confirmation data has been received before destruction of the source material). Additionally beamed matter creation requires vast amounts of power, as well as all materials (such as heavy metals, carbon atoms, etc) to rebuild the target being present within the beam’s effective range. Energy or matter can be reclaimed somewhat from reusing or annihilating matter from previous targets. |
5 | 18 | 111 | 222 | 3105 | 500 Years (Social Epoch) | 3.5 Mins | A Few Tens of Millions (<50,000,000) | (~1 zeptometre / 1.0 ×10-34metres) | Megacity / State / Kingdom / Colony / Vehicle (Colony Ship) | Rules โ Break (Maximal)This is the maximum effect of a Dramatic Break on a normal Character, which can even remove Carnage+ Wounds from the Character. Although such a powerful Break would normally only be appropriate in the strongest Plots, for some Characters it may not . |
5.5 | 19 | 121 | 242 | 3730 | A Millennia | 2 Mins | Tens of Millions (<100,000,001) | (~1.0 ×10-22metres) | Large Island Nation / Vehicle (TTF Cityships / The Magpie) | Characters โ Lesser DivinitiesThe 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.Magic โ Eldritch MagicThe magician attempts magic that cannot even be accurately described by any Yarn-Teller, they may unleash naked singularities, create big-bangs, create new fractal entropic systems, turn atoms inside out, etc. |
5.5 | 20 | 131 | 262 | 4427 | An Era (~40,000 Years) | 60 Secs | Hundreds of Millions (<1,000,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-23metres) | Large Nation / Vehicle (Large Dyson Plate) | Range โ HorizonHorizon Range is hitting something that is out of sight over the horizon, or just visible at the horizon. Such shots are legendary with a rifle, but far easier with ballistic caluclators and artillery pieces. At human scale Horizon shots are usually around 4.8 km at sea level, although in mountains much longer ranges are possible.Technology โ U-Space DriveBy careful balancing of real matter to exotic U-space matter, a vessel can be made to sink into U-space, without an inherent reality bubble. Manipulation of the U-Space fluid can allow travel with and against the currents of U-Space. Allowing for much finer control of U-Space vessels and much easier navigation to any desired destination (although not always, the currents of U-Space can be very strong especially around active supermassive black-holes). |
6 | 21 | 142 | 284 | 5282 | An Age (~500,000 Years) | 30 Secs | Thousands of Millions / Billions (<5,000,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-24metres) | Continent / Enormous Ecoregion (Arctic / Antarctic) / Small Moon / Vehicle (Rising Sun / Lord of Heaven) | Technology โ Femite technology (Eusaivean Upgrades)Programmable Matter not smart enough for you? How about programmable particles. Electrons (and other leptons) that carry tech and information inside them. Femite technology is created by Magic, not strictly speaking Science, and is an aspect of the Prime Anomaly, that has a lower security clearance and is “discoverable” throughout the Omniverse. Allows matter to be programmed in the past via stable Nano-wormholes, amongst other things. |
6 | 22 | 153 | 306 | 6234 | ~1,000,000 Years | 15 Secs | Tens of Billions (<20,000,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-25metres) | Small Planet, or Moon / Vehicle (Worm Freighter) | Technology โ Baryonite technology (Meta-elemental Exotic Chemistry)Programmable Neutrons and Protons, the ultimate in Programmable matter. Create unbreakable, weird materials from Comic-books, all sorts of Exotic matter, and even extract information from Quark Soup and Quantum Foam. Allows matter to pass through stable nano wormholes, or stabilize larger wormholes, amongst other things. |
6 | 23 | 165 | 330 | 7389 | ~5,000,000 Years | 7 Secs | A Hundred, Thousand, Million /Hundred Billion (<100,000,000,001) | (~1.0 ×10-26metres) | Large Planet / Vehicle (Terran Trade Federation Capitolship) | Changes โ RemakeAlter physical laws, properties, nature of existence etc.Modifier โ Unfathomably ComplexSome things are so complex that you cannot hope to figure it out alone and quickly. It might take a team of people working together years to accomplish this. You might even need a team just to work out who you are going to need in the actual team. |
6.5 | 24 | 177 | 354 | 8673 | A Geological Age (~37,000,000 Years | 2 Secs / 1 Ordeal Phase | A Billion / Trillion (<1,000,000,000,000) | Neutrino Size (~ 1 yoctometre / 1.0 ×10-27metres) | A Ringworld or Mini-system (Jovian Moons) / Vehicle (VIC Solar Eclipse) | Rules โ Remake TapestryRemake the Tapestry of a Game or Narrative. This might add or remove fundamental rules of the universe, such as turning magic (including Nullites and Twists) completely off. |
6.5 | 25 | 190 | 380 | 10217 | A Galactic Revolution (~230,000,000 Years) | 1 Sec / 2 Actions | Billions / Trillions (<1,000,000,000,000,000) | (~1.0 ×10-28metres) | A Solar System (or Dyson Sphere) / Vehicle (VIC Total Eclipse) | Modifier โ Extreme Narrative IssuesExtreme Narrative issues can mean that a Character who was essential to the Plot has actually died, or someone that was meant to die has survived (murder mysteries can be attempted-murder mysteries, but honestly they are not as exciting). It may be possible, but difficult to move on with the Story, and generally it would be better if the Yarn-Teller or Hero rewound time and took another run at it, but sometimes you just cannot do that. This can lead to situations where with the Chosen one dead, her neighbour now has to save the world, or whatever. |
7 | 26 | 203 | 406 | 11931 | A Billion Years | 1 Action | Trillions / Quintillions (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+) | (~1.0 ×10-29metres) | Multi-stellar System, Parsecs of Space | Events โ SacrosanctA Sacrosanct event is an event created by a divine being, usually the birth or death of the same, although transferrals of godhead and crowning of high priests or pontiffs may also qualify. Sacrosanct Events are not generally understood by Heroes and Grunts except as being of “Religious Importance”. |
7 | 27 | 216 | 432 | 13824 | A few Billion Years | Half Action | Entire Population | (~1.0 ×10-30metres) | Interstellar Empire | Characters โ GodsThey 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. |
7 | 28 | 230 | 460 | 16074 | Several Billion Years | Microseconds | Entire Populations / Species | (~1.0 ×10-31metres) | Galaxy | Magic โ Godhead MagicThe magician attempts magic that is usually reserved to God-like, divine, abilities. These are magics that can take anything, including nothing and create other things from it, examples might include creating a new living being, popping a new city into existence, or a new planet, or universe.Modifier โ Chronoclysm (Extreme Retcon)Someone broke history. Almost everything about the world has changed, most of history is now completely different. Examples include “Elizabeth Regina-Venefica”, “Christopher Columbus? Who’s that?”, and “The Dinosaurs never died.” Remembering the lost time-line may even cause people to want to murder you now, rather than just want to lock you up, as they unconsciously react to avoid even contemplating the Chronoclysm.Plots โ SceneThe least powerful of the Narrative “Dæmons”. Scenes are the massed ranks of Privates of the Plot army. They examine a single aspect of a Conflict (often a meeting between two or more sides). A Scene may represent the moment when our Heroes first meet, a conversation with their allies, or the final showdown with the Villain. Scenes do what they are told by larger Plots, and while they may have a little lee-way in how they accomplish it, they cannot change that goal.Rules โ GenreNew genres can be created wholesale, rather than just combining pre-existing genres. Genres are a collection of Atmospherics, Proficiencies, Annexes, Descendants and Character Archetypes.Technology โ Multiversal ConnectionContact other universes directly, at any “distance” through U-space, and share information with them. Possibly even travel there. |
7.5 | 29 | 244 | 488 | 18555 | Almost as old as the Universe. | Nanoseconds | Most Individuals | (~1.0 ×10-32metres) | InterGalactic / Galactic Cluster | Modifier โ Rules LawyerRules Lawyers like to remind Refs what the Rules are, bet you don’t remind them about this Difficulty Modifier.Modifier โ Temporal Paradox (Predestination)If a mysterious notebook appears with details to build a time-machine and you build it, do you then send the notebook to yourself? If you do, where did the notebook come from originally? Who designed the time machine? Well, understandably the universe is not keen this kind of loop, and tries to stop it from occurring.Plots โ ActActs are the NCOs of Narrative Army they marshal Scenes into the Frame, Loom, Zenith structure. The Frame sets up the Story (or Chapter), The Loom is the meat of the Story (or Chapter) and Zenith represents the climax. Acts work for their Chapter and Story above them, and have more ability to respond to the Character actions than the Scenes they command, but not as much as the Chapter or Story.Plots โ Sub-PlotSub-Plot Dæmons can create a new Conflict that Presses on the Pressed side of the current conflict in a new way. This is often only a single Facet Conflict for each Side and is typically just 2 Sides Pressed and Dominant (although that may a different Dominant to the main Conflict). |
7.5 | 30 | 259 | 518 | 21486 | Current Age of the Universe | Nevertime Duration | Almost All (at least 90%) | String theory 1- dimensional String length (~1.0 ×10-33metres) | Known Space / Visible Universe | Characters โ Patron DæmonThe 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.Modifier โ Temporal Paradox (Grandfather)If you thought Predestination time-loops were bad, what happens if the time-traveller goes back in time and shoots their own Grandparent, before their parent was born? Suddenly they have removed themselves from history, but then who came back in time and killed? Well, the universe hates that. Any attempt to interfere with your own existence (or that of the time machine) directly will invoke the Grandfather Paradox clauses in the universe’s warranty (you did keep up the payments on that, right?).Plots โ ChapterChapter Dæmons examine a single Conflict to tell part of a Story, usually as part of a larger Arc. You can think of Chapters as the Acts of an Arc, or as the Scenes (Tracts) of a Volume. Chapters may not be complete, their individual Conflicts may be unresolved, just like Chapters in a book, or episodes of TV Shows. Chapters serve a larger Plot, but they have quite a lot of latitude in how they achieve that. A Chapter can add, remove and replace Embodiments to preserve the Arc’s overall Conflict, as long as it affects only the part they are examining.Plots โ StoryStory Demons that examine a single Conflict to tell a single Story, with limited Characters and Locations. Stories can be little more than an Extended Ordeal, or be sprawling multi-faceted delights, but are always complete in themselves. Stories are occasionally part of a Volume, Epic or Cycle, but rarely part of an Arc. They are like Short Stories or episodes of some TV shows. Stories are considered autonomous, they may be directed by a larger Plot, but they really don’t have to listen. |
7.5 | 31 | 274 | 548 | 24715 | Older Than Time | Instantaneous | All bar a few (99.9999%) | (~1.0 ×10-34metres) | Whole Universe | Plots โ ArcArc Demons organize Chapter Demons (or occasionally Stories) into Plot Arcs. Arcs examine two or more Conflicts usually at least two Chapters work together to create an Arc. Arcs can be Scenes (Tracts) of an Epic, or Acts of a Volume. Think of an Arc as a two part episode, or a movie, there’s more going on than just one Story. Arcs are semi-autonomous, they will always defer to a larger Plot, but don’t always have to, sometimes creating unconnected “What If?”, “It was all a dream…” and “Meanwhile…” Arcs that do not have to completely follow the original plan.Technology โ NullitesProgrammable Light (and Tachyons), which may, or may not, be how magic and Gods work… They are a sufficiently advanced technology for almost any purpose. |
8 | 32 | 289 | 578 | 28259 | Eternity | Reversing time | All | Planck Length (1.6 ×10-35metres) | Local Multiverse | Events โ BoundlessBoundless events are unlimited in scope and are called immutable (although technically they are not, they may as well be). They may include mixtures of other event types and Retcons like Chronoclysms, for example. Usually these are creation events of entire multiverses, our own local Big Bang for example, this single Boundless event, set the rules of physics across our local multiverse, allowing quantum reality to work across them all.Magic โ Even Gods Would DreamThe magician attempts to use magic for something that magic cannot be used for. Of course, what magic can or can’t achieve varies by setting, genre, and universe, and this difficulty would apply to all of those. In the Omniversal terms magic is performed by Nullites, so it can’t do anything that Nullites can’t do, and they can do pretty much everything, if you can provide enough power. We’re talking complete control over every aspect of the universe, on a whim.Plots โ VolumeVolume Demons organize Arc Demons like they were Acts of a Story, and Story and Chapter Demons like they were Scenes (Tracts). Volumes can tell complex inter-weaved Stories that you just can’t fit into a movie. They are best though of as a Season of a TV show (or a Novel’s worth). Volumes should bring their main Stories to a satisfying conclusion, but Volumes may be an Act of an Epic, or just a Scene (Tract) within a Cycle.Technology โ Quantum Information TravelExtremely advanced Nullite technologies allow all information of matter and energy to be reprogrammed. Including updating the current location of the matter or energy to allow instantaneous translation through Space-time or between universes. This level of technology now advances as Magic. |
8 | 33 | 305 | 610 | 32406 | All Alternate Histories and Futures | Travelling in Time | All and All Alternates | Singularity | Local Omniverse | Characters โ Secondary Anomaly / Supreme GodsSecondary 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.Plots โ EpicEpic Demons organize Volume Demons into longer series. Epics represent a full and complete work. Epics can also be Acts of a Cycle. Think of an Epic as the entire TV series (assuming the show got more than one or two) but probably not including the following movies or the reboot. |
8 | 34 | 321 | 642 | 36954 | All Alternate Histories, Futures and Presents | All Time Simultaneously | All and All Alternates | Sub-Singularity (imaginary space) | Omniverse | Characters โ Prime Anomaly / The RefThe 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.Plots โ CycleThe greatest of the grand plots. The summation of everything smaller than themselves, they hold together whole imaginary multiverses, containing potentially billions of Characters, Locations and individual Stories. Cycles bind whole book series, plus all the unpublished background material, encyclopaedia entries and the fan-fiction together. Cycles form the entirety of the DC and Marvel franchises, comic-books, TV shows, Movies and the games played by costumed kids, or with toys from that Cycle. All the Stories, Novels, Movies, TV shows and Fan-fictions that touch on the Cthulhu Mythos, or Greek Mythology, or Vampire lore could all be within a single Cycle. |
Twists / Shocks | Yarn / Strains Monstrous | Chi / Stress Bold / Pips | Facet Sway / Intrepid | Tao Sway / Banal | Extend Duration | Limit Duration | Group Size | Small Sizes | Location Size | Additional Information |