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Princess: The Hopeful
Road of Dawn
The Darkness knew of the Light’s nature, and constructed a trap in the Dreamlands with the help
of three beings who were once intimate to the Light. These avatars of the darkness were the gods
amongst the tides of Darkspawn. Although not all light can be devoured by a black hole, and in
the same way did some light escape the Fall. They have survived the Fall and existed through the
Long Night.
Now how did these courts live in the Kingdom’s time?
But this still doesn’t answer how these Queens existed in the Kingdom, or even if they were
always like this. Would the Queen of Tears' actions be truly necessary in the World of Light?
The very existence of the Court of Tears is a controversy to the Kingdom and to the Light. How
does an invocation manipulate the Darkness? How does it even allow for turning a paragon of
the Light into a Creature of the Darkness? One thing that can be researched for information is
Alhambra’s archives. Out of all of the descriptions of the Kingdoms, the Lost Invocation of
Coppe bears few similarities with Lacrima, but perhaps notably, it can affect Ghosts and share
the ability to transform into another supernatural creature. This ability to touch magic not of the
Light has drawn the few who have knowledge of it’s existence to name it Coppe, taking to name
the Lost Invocations that Alhambra has, after the same card motif the Radiant Queens follow.
Like the Court of Tears, the Queen and Court of Storms are a controversy to the Light for
various reasons. For one, the Queen seems to have lost her fundamental humanity, unable to take
actions beyond “see darkness, kill darkness”. Perhaps even more frightening is how her
invocation, nay, her very magic utterly destroys the darkness. She has forgotten the Fall, and all
sources involving her before then had came from Alhambra’s archives, which some scholars say
may be biased against Storms. However, the Queen of Storms is a pillar of determination in her
effort to destroy the Darkness. Not even death could stop her vengeance. Those who know of the
Lost Invocation “Bastoni”, one of the charms regularly used still in Alhambra, freely admit it
would be grasping at straws to say Tempesta is its successor. It at least cannot be denied that
there are similarities, but nothing could ever say for sure.
Simply put, everything about the Queen of Mirrors is enigmatic. Her Kingdom, her Court,
everything known of her is but a fairy tale she tells of crystal towers and looking glasses. Even
whether she is a Twilight Queen or not is a subject of debate and division in the Radiant. Perhaps
the most stunning and signature of Specchio’s charms is the ability to predict the future with
crystal clear accuracy. It also carries the ability to bend space and time, an aspect that intrigues
members of Diamonds. However, what is known for sure is that deep in Alhambra’s vaults lie
bequests of mirrors and spyglasses, enchanted with the Lost Invocation of Pentacolo. Their
charms lead you down the right path. There have been attempts to bring forth the Queen of
Mirrors to answer these queries, but she never picks up the call. After all, the only ones qualified
to speak to her are her prospective True Heirs.
The Road to Dawn
There are so many questions to the Twilight Courts. How they’ve existed during the Kingdom,
what precious bits of lore they have of what was before the Fall. Perhaps equally suspicious are
the Lost Invocations present in Alhambra seem to bear a link to an appropriate Twilight Court, if
only in certain functions. In short, many of the lucky Radiant and Tortoises who were able to
read on Alhambra’s Archives could easily piece together that the Twilight Courts were once
Radiant Courts in the time of the Fall. But during it, they became Twilight and thus their
Invocations changed to reflect that. This is the telling of the Twilight Courts’ precursors: the
Pre-Twilight Courts.
If there’s anything we lost, it was how to know where “I” begins compared to the labels from
everyone else and to face even that which makes us afraid of ourselves.
We need to learn how to know ourselves again. But we can’t start until we take the first step.
The Queen of Cups believes that many people have lost the ability of someone to know their
own identity apart from the masses of other people. Her followers believe that such a way is still
possible, and seek to learn everything they can about themselves and to help others on the path.
It’s quite simple to approach her. The Queen always adjusts her wavelength to meet the
Princess’s own, holding few standards and accepting of how even the most unruly of Nobles are.
The best way to name a conversation with her is as if she serves as a mentor to all Princesses.
She will advise and give her thoughts on the matter, but ultimately, she leaves the Princess to
make the decision herself.
The Queen is known for moving about her kingdom, never worried of her own safety nor that of
her Kingdom’s. Some may say that she is too careless, but she is perhaps the most in tune with
her kingdom's needs and to the voices of her people. Perhaps this clues into the subject of her
being the Mentor of Ten Paths. The Queen from her first few incarnations has attracted ten
Nobles whose duties to the Queen and her Invocation have gained her heart, and she has
accepted them as both her personal guard and as her advisors. All are, of course more than
qualified to be her companions in her quest.
Philosophy
The Queen of Cups has only ever asked one question to her Princesses: “Who are you?”
Duties
A Cup’s Duty is to find themselves or help others on the way of their own path. To taste new
things and try new experiences, to face the darkness within and without and to feel strange
sensations if only to see how she’ll react to them. Every step with a Cup can be a revealing
experience.
Champions of Cups face just as much of the darkness within as they do the darkness without.
They are often drifters, heading from city to city, giving words of wisdom to those willing to
hear. Sometimes a person or two goes with them, perhaps to start a quest of their own with the
princess holding their hand on the first few steps.
Graces of Cups often work their way as leaders to twelve step programs and self-help groups.
Not only working to help others be themselves, they also discourage those who seek to corrupt
said things for their own benefits. Another movement that has caught their attention, and that
many Wanderers are found leading, are pro-LGBT rights movements.
With Graces leading said self-help groups, it is the Menders who often work as the counselors to
same groups working away at both the addiction itself, but they also work away at how such
groups tend to force the label on people even if they have successfully been cleaned out. Another
tendency for Menders of Cups is working as counselors in schools or juvenile centers, where
children and teens are forming their own identities and place in the world.
Seekers with the Philosophy of Cups tend to work not only on their own enlightenment, but to
show others the same route. But given Cup’s penchant for being able to understand the states of
other supernaturals, Seekers can also serve as middle ground and perhaps as informants to other
Nobles of the lives of other Supernaturals. Of course, some do exist who seek to corrupt them as
infiltrators, but Seekers are just as good at escaping as they are at fitting in.
Art by Troubadours of Cups usually have only one meaning: to let people come up with their
own meaning. Finding what you think of something can reveal oodles of things about your
identity. The job of the Troubadours of Cups is just to create intricacies and abstract thoughts for
each person to discover for themselves what the art means to them.
Background
Those who join the Court of Cups tend to be those who want to find or create some meaning in
their life. Other times, they are rebels against some form of oppressive societies and want to defy
it all in favor of their own selves and prove that they are able to live on without it. There are
factions of Princesses who have joined the Court of Cups because the prospect seemed to sound
admirable. However, the thought of having to face their fears, and even darker parts of
themselves that they repress, keep some away, as does the tendency for its members to be the
most foremost to admit their possession (whether they actually dabble is another story) of the
Twilight Invocations.
The Court of Cups is also known for gaining the most Nobles or Sworn who were previously
Twilight. Tears who can no longer take defending Alhambra’s bleak future, Storms whose
apocalyptic rage has finally settled and viewed the destruction behind, or Mirrors who’ve
managed to gain a sense of responsibility or have broken hard and are sensible enough to leave.
Of this, the Court of Cups is often a transitory court that they don’t stay in for long before
changing to another court.
If Self-Discovery is the road, then Enlightenment is probably the end of the road. It doesn’t
necessarily have to mean reaching a state of divinity, it can also refer to one managing to find
their own place in the world in a brilliant flash of lightning.
Character Creation
The Queen and Court of Cups can be said to not have any favored Attributes or Skills. Each path
one walks to find their best path requires them to walk alone. As such, Princesses of Cups gauge
what they should do by what they think is best. Attributes and Skills vary. Presence and Resolve
tend to be practiced, as they assert their identity and strive to keep searching for themselves.
Occult and Empathy traits are practiced the most when it comes to Skills. Occult for Fulmine
charms on the supernatural world and Empathy to understand the path another takes.
Merits also tend to vary with each Cup. The most common amongst the Cups is picking up
Emotional Intuition through their sojourns and understanding of another.
Heraldry
The Court of Cups Regalia is amazingly devoid of a theme that other Courts regalia follows. The
Queen of Cups has decreed that her Princesses have the right to decide for themselves what their
regalia appears like. As such, it always appears like the Princess’s own idealized self. However,
as time goes on and they feel like the more they’ve found out about themselves, the more their
regalia tends to change itself based on the Princess’s new sense of self.
Echo
The Court of Cups echo is like a small shock of electricity. How did that make you feel?
Practical Magic
It is the nature of the Masks to take different routes to find themselves at the end of the day, to
gain a taste of roads she may yet travel. At the beginning of each Scene, a Princess of Cups may
declare one set of Attributes: Physical, Social, Mental, Power, Finesse or Resistance. Upon doing
so, at any time after can the Princess simply spend a wisp to fully use this Practical Magic. She
can split up her bonus dice of Fulmine x 2 amongst the group of attributes in any configuration
she likes. She may spend a wisp later on to reconfigure the bonus to her chosen attributes.
High Belief increases this effect, the Princess may increase her Fulmine rating by her Belief - 7.
Invocation: Fulmine
The Unchained Madame brings the senses and emotions into the Invocation of Fulmine, and the
Wanderers who follow the Court of Cups find themselves learning it better than any other. It is
linked with the virtue of self-discovery, the attempts to connect with new and unfelt experiences
and the connections formed through emotions and Electricity, the element where positive and
negative, two opposites come together to form one. It is also bound with the means to facilitate
self-change, in which it is known for being able to change into other types of Supernaturals.
Fulmine applies for no cost when the target of a Princess’s charm is electricity or is a type of
technology that uses electricity. It also applies at no cost if the Princess is attempting to discover
something about herself or to help someone else do the same, when she is attempting to
understand another’s emotions or if her target is a Supernatural who has given her their consent
to be the target. It also applies for free if she’s trying to protect her own nature from external
domination.
Fulmine does not stand for any attempt to crush another individual or crush another’s
individuality. If a Princess should attempt to force someone to do something against their will or
to continue do something that they do not want to do anymore, the Princess may not apply
Fulmine for the rest of the Scene.
Quote
How many steps are needed on the path to enlightenment? Let’s find out.
Vampires: You can blame the society and the people responsible for it, but the people who live
underneath it aren’t entirely blameless either. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth saving.
Werewolves: Like dogs in the corner, they are afraid and will lash out at anything that threatens
them. Unless you know of the same circumstances, never approach without protection.
Mages: They’ve been known for hubris, but when someone gains total dominion over reality,
how else are they expected to act?
Prometheans: They themselves have many paths with the same goal: to become human. What
happens when they do? The journey continues.
Changelings: Perhaps some of what you have lost can be offset by what you have gained and
that you’re not as feeble as you were. One example of this? You’ve escaped that hell with
nothing but your own power.
Sin-Eaters: In making death a complete joke to themselves, they’ve also in a way made their life
one as well.
Mummies: The first step to freedom is a leap of faith for them.
Demons: They know what it’s like to walk a different path. Except they use it to hide and steal
other people’s chances to walk on their own.
Beasts: They’re the type of monsters who enable monstrosity in their so called “kin” while
decrying it as painful “lessons” that crushes people’s selves underfoot.
Mad Scientists: The line between brilliance and madness is surprisingly thin. They’ve found a
way to reach both at the same time.
Leviathans: I would like to say it’s the society, but the people are messed up in a way too.
Hunters: Half should realize what they hunt have some form of humanity. The other half should
realize that they’ve become the monsters.
Mortals: It’s okay, it’ll only hurt the first time. I mean it.
Inspiration
Byakuren Hijiri, Riku
The Queen of Wands rallies her Princess to go forth and put their all into making the world a
better place. The Followers of Wands find that the world can be made into a better place, all it
takes is a willing hand and hard work to make the world stronger and shine brighter.
The Queen herself looks intimidating, whether up close or from afar due to her enormous,
bodybuilder physique. Her clothes tend to be airy, allowing flexibility and freedom of
movement, giving practicality in all areas and almost always showing off the guns. She listens to
all proceedings in the court, after having everything she needs, she gets to work and cuts through
proceedings with ease and efficiency.
Appearances deceive however. The Queen is a kind and gentle woman, sweeping aside any first
impression based on looks by her unbridled personality. For hers is a keen eye; she can pick up
on missing details or parts in a Princess’s problems that’s actually at fault. She’s never
degrading, for to her life is a work in progress and everyone has their flaws, even a Queen still
has to sharpen her sword to be at peak condition.
Whenever the Queen is travelling amongst her Kingdom, it serves as part inspection and
appraisal. There is merit in those who do their parts well as well as those who have shown their
work. The only way to fail at anything in Wands Kingdom is to not try and give it your best in
the first place. Some wonder how such a Queen who sees fault in herself can rule a Kingdom.
She and her kingdom agree that they are at heart perfectionists who always seek to improve
things.
Philosophy
Out of all the merits the Queen of Wands has for her Kingdom, the greatest merit she holds to
her heart is the hard work and humility.
Duties
The Laborer’s duty is to work hard. Whether it’s at getting rid of a Taint, helping a person kick
their harmful habits or learning a piece of information that is forbidden to them, it’s their job to
work hard and never give up until they succeed.
Champions of Wands don’t just stand at the front of the lines. They’re the first to lead the charge,
the ones in the middle of the fray and the very last to leave when making sure that every enemy
is dead. When not fighting, they tend to do work that involves manual labor, enlisting at
construction sites, farm hands, or even military basemen/women.
Graces of Wands tend to use their magic as foremen of labor forces or leading teams on building
sites. Their authority comes more from their use in practical skill and experience, and when it
comes to having a title they make little use of it for anything, seeing no need for them.
Menders of Wands work to perfect themselves as well as pushing to exceed their own limits, and
work just as well when helping another in this endeavor. This leads to a tendency of being fitness
trainers as well as on-site doctors for laborers.
The Seekers of Wands tend to find themselves working on mapping out places where they can
next work or as architects on the next project to be done. They may also work within research
and development for companies in creation of merchandise as well.
There is no greater epitome to the saying “Work Hard, Party Hard” when it comes to the
Troubadours of Wands. To do their work, they have and promote a good work ethic to all of their
coworkers and when everything is well and done, have a good time when enjoying their labors
when they bear fruit.
Background
The Court of Wand’s Nobles tend to come from those who enjoy labors or, you guessed it, hard
work. There is little difference to the court between keeping up a good work ethic or steely
determination, but rarely do the two ever clash when it comes to types. Due to the nature of the
court, athletes or bodybuilders are as common as laborers, but the existence of critical thinkers
and determined souls also find their way to Wands and make their home in the Court.
In a sense, the Court of Wands plays its philosophies straight, but downplays them a small bit as
well. Having access to Metallo Charms simply makes everything easier to the Worker. This can
lead to a degree of reliance in their magic. It’s not because they can make things easier, it’s
because they have the appropriate means to do so.
Once humility has settled in, then people can get to work together to make great wonders
together. One of the most constraining factors is how much time it will take until their work is
done. If humility is what creates the foundation for the Court of Wands, then it is the
Determination to see the job done right that encourages everyone to work hard to make
something that will last for all time.
Character Creation
It goes without saying that the Court of Wands tends to love having Strength, Dexterity and
Stamina as they are the outward most expression of showing the benefits of hard work, and even
those not so great in them find them being developed the longer they stay in the court. Resolve
and Presence are also equally practiced, due to the strength to keep oneself past their limits or by
the force of their personality. Athletics and Crafts are common as is Investigation. Given the use
of customizable Fight Charms, some of the more martially inclined had or picked up on
Weaponry, Brawl and Firearms.
When it comes to merits, Wands tends to disproportionately lean towards Physical Merits. Of
these, Double Jointed, Iron Skin and Iron Stamina are common, as are the presence of one or
more Fighting Styles. Socially, the Court of Wands practices the Mandate merit more than the
Circle Merit, but otherwise lack most social merits due to self-reliance. Mental Merits aren’t
entirely common, but Indomitable and Tolerance for Biology are present.
Heraldry
The Regalia for Nobles of Wands have the tendency to follow the same structure as their queen.
Clothing that is non-restrictive and practical for most occasions, but regalia that looks more
armored or has some fashion of metal in them exists as well. Colors tend around grey, white,
gold and silver. Though humble looking, they aren’t accustomed to hiding all of their opinions
and some promote those on their regalia.
Echo
A Laborers’ Echo is simple. It dulls out vanity and brings attention to your personal bests.
Practical Magic
The Laborers are comrades and teammates first above anything else, that hard work can conquer
anything and know that a strength of a group can last longer than the strength of one. Once per
scene, the Princess may spend a Wisp to add her Metallo to all Extended rolls, effectively
granting herself more dice to use and more rolls she can make for it. If the Princess is working
within a teamwork roll where she's an actor, this benefit extends towards the whole group and
grants the roll the Rote Quality, and the time between each roll is also divided by how many
actors are present.
High Belief increases this effect. The Princess's Metallo rating is increased by Belief - 7 dots.
Invocation: Metallo
The Ironclad General sharpens the virtues of hard work into the Invocation of Metallo and the
Laborers learn it more easily than any other. Metallo encourages a Princess to work their hardest
and give it their all, the Modesty and determination to improve themselves and everyone else.
Metallo applies at no cost when the target of a Princess’s Charm is any sort of metal or machine.
It also applies at no cost if the Princess is acting out of loyalty to another, in the process of doing
or completing a task or when pushing or helping someone else push past their limits. It also
applies for no cost when the Princess “takes one for the team” (as in she decides to suffer for
someone else’s sake).
Metallo will not help those who exaggerate or become vain in their endeavors. Any Princess who
claims more than what they have done in the hopes of raising their own importance to be greater
than others makes them lose access to Metallo for the rest of the Scene.
Quote
There’s so much Darkness in the world…alright girls, let’s get to work!
Vampires: You’d have to wonder how much headway a group of immortals would make if they
put the same effort they put into hiding into other plans.
Werewolves: Underneath all that unwillingness to get close to others, you can see the bonds they
have with each other and the toll their work has taken on them.
Mages: Alright, I get it that you have magical powers, but so does almost everyone else in this
world.
Prometheans: Just keep it up. You’ll have to go elsewhere, but just keep it up. You’ll get it
someday.
Changelings: Not really a problem since they seem to hide a lot, but carrying a bit of Cold Iron
never hurt for protection.
Sin-Eaters: Color me impressed! How’d you survive that?
Mummies: I’d like the lengths you go to complete your duties if you weren’t such a sociopath.
Demons: A lesson on why you never take the easy way out, because there is consequences for
signing the line.
Beasts: The only thing they “serve” with their lessons is themselves and their unyielding hunger.
Mad Scientists: That’s amazing! But how does it work?
Leviathans: Come on you guys! Cut the shit or I’ll have to do it for you!
Hunters: Alright men, time to work on your exercises! You will be using this stuff when you’re
going against the atrocious ones!
Mortals: Evening miss, anything I can do to help today?
Inspiration
Emiya Shirou, Finn the Human, Applejack
Other Courts on Wands
Clubs: Hard work leads to a life of honor, but true work comes from being able to have
discipline from doing so. Yet where would we be if they did not put forth the effort to make the
works of others possible?
Diamonds: They’re definitely more than muscle. I wish they’d take the chance to realize that.
Hearts: The attitude of a laborer with the strength of a group. Perhaps the best we all could be if
they didn’t keep it to themselves.
Spades: They take being at the end of the jokes all in stride and make up for what they can’t do
with what they can take.
Swords: Hard work and tempering in fire is all it takes.
Tears: Perhaps their hearts can be bought once more.
Storms: They fucking understand it perfectly! Now if only they’d join our Court and do even
more!
Mirrors: Wouldn’t it just be easier if you just shut up and did everything I said?
The Queen of Pentacles believes that the Light is present already within humanity, but she
believes that it can be found by those who look down the right path. Her nobles follow suit,
looking in all directions for gleams of information that can better the world and set it down the
right path wherever it goes.
A conversation with the Queen of Pentacles often sounds out easily like a dispute. It can take
from hours to minutes depending on how much time is on the Princess’s hands. Both sides come
up with their factors and positions as well as the circumstances of the trial. Sometimes these do
become a bit emotional, but these are only within limits and if the Queen senses it clouds the
Princess’s judgment, then she says such and leads back to normal conversation. She normally
doesn’t stand outbursts and either patiently waits until the Princess cools down or leaves.
In all forms of the word, the Queen of Pentacles is a peerless ruler to her Kingdom, fixing most,
if not all of the problems that would plague it. As such, she often joins her Princesses and other
scholars of the Kingdom not to dispute the fates of the material world, but rather to dispute the
definition of the Light and Good, to find out what that is in the world. They are as much
Philosophers and Theologians as they are Judges.
Philosophy
The Queen of Pentacles calls for understanding and wisdom as well as judgment to carry out
what the princess believes is good for the situation.
Duties
A Prophet’s duty is to be wise and to make judgments. Often this leads them to take up positions
where it is the hardest to make decisions, yet thanks to their power of precognition can they can
make them with near crystal clear accuracy.
Champions of Pentacles often work to practice the best policies and often end up in the line of
fire as much as they stand outside of it. With their magic, they hit from far away or even before a
problem has a chance to become one. Lines of work often set them up in law enforcement, such
as working as policemen and women.
Graces of the Court of Pentacles often live up to the emphasis of Judgment, finding most of their
work as judges with the ability to lead their courtroom and make crystal clear judgments as well
as to inspire those in the room to keep their heads clear of nothing but the facts. Another
tendency of Graces in this court is to work as Priests or Priestesses, spreading the light through
sermons and teachings.
Menders of Pentacles tend to work with more than just unhealthy bodies. More often than not do
they help those with broken minds and sickened consciences, finding work within mental
institutions and centers for criminal rehabilitation.
If the Seekers of Diamonds are Engineers, then perhaps the Seekers of Pentacles are the
Theologians to that statement, as given the powers of Vuoto they can see far along the future as
well as venturing into parts unknown before to man. They also debate on “what is good” rather
than “what will work”.
The Troubadours of Pentacles seek to envision clarity of sight in their artwork, helping people
look to the future with a brightened mind and to destroy the chains of the past.
Background
The people who have joined the Court of Pentacles tend to have known the values of caution and
wisdom. Some have formed it from the simple sense of decency whereas others have often had a
sense of the predestined or of mystic proportion, always on the edge of the supernatural but
never actually getting through until they have blossomed and finding the Court of Pentacles
much to their liking. Often those of religious upbringing find themselves in this court the most as
it helps them make sense of the world now through the lenses of the Hopeful.
After they have had enough time to contemplate upon their actions and paths, then it’s time for
the Judges to act out whatever plans they have thought out for it using their best judgement in the
matter for the best outcome.
Character Creation
The Court of Pentacles values insight and clarity, and as such many tend to form or have high
ratings in Composure, Wits and Intelligence, as they are often the most used traits in precision
decision-making and to review facts and details as well as noticing minute changes. Academics
and Investigation are similarly practiced, as well as Occult for those who study planes or beings
beyond the normal mortal realm. Expression and Subterfuge are practiced to spread their wisdom
as well as hiding knowledge lest it fall into the wrong hands.
The Court of Pentacles tends to use Mental Merits such as Common Sense, Eye for the Strange
and Trained Observer, even Eidetic Memory and Encyclopedic Knowledge. However, perhaps
more so than other courts the Court of Pentacles tends to practice Princess only merits if it means
to understand the nature and forms of the Light even better than before.
Heraldry
The Court of Pentacles Regalia tends to have an air of dignity and precognition to it, looking
sage-like in its manifestation. Religious like regalia is common as are, if almost stereotypical
looking, Princess clothing throughout the ages. What a “Princess” denotes tends to vary with
each Judge. The more historically minded tend to draw from the likes of the Dark Ages and
fashions of royalty from the Long Night. Those more intimate to the themes of Princesses and
their powers tend to draw from the themes of Magical Girls, looking with more pomp and style.
All colors are present, but often Black, White and Grey are a common theme when it comes to
them.
Echo
The Priestess’s Echo helps clear thoughts to focus on problems without any distractions.
Practical Magic
The magic of Pentacles is the path of clairvoyance and choosing the correct path, and it’s
reflected within the practical magic of the Judges. At any time, the Princess may spend one wisp
to take an Aspiration, Dream or Vocation and make it into the Destiny Condition. The Princess
may craft her Destiny with one path in mind for fulfilling the Aspiration/Dream/Vocation. For all
rolls involved in fulfilling the Destiny Condition, the Princess gains her Vuoto Invocation as a
bonus to these rolls until the Destiny is fulfilled. With High Belief, the effect heightens. The
Princess may increase her Vuoto rating by Belief - 7 dots.
Drawback: When one path is chosen, the Judge closes off all other alternate routes. If the
Princess attempts to fulfill the Destiny in other ways than how she specified, the Princess takes
her original rolls as penalties to all other attempts to fulfill it. High Belief doesn’t grant further
penalties nor bonuses to this. So a Princess whose Destiny is to “convict Al Capone for the death
of Luigi” has sealed herself off from “convicting Al Capone for tax evasion”.
Invocation: Vuoto
The Queen of Pentacles value of clarity and foresight is emphasized within the invocation of
Vuoto, through which her Priests and Priestesses learn better than any other. It is the invocation
that emphasizes contemplation, cognition, the clarity of insight as well as the Element of Void.
Unlike the Lacrima invocation, the Element of Void isn’t the Darkness that takes Light from the
world, but rather it is the emptiness that constricts reality into a form and that can be passed
through, where Space expands for eternity and Time runs out forever.
Vuoto applies at no cost if the Princess is standing below a star filled sky or a full moon without
any sort of obstruction to it. It also applies for free if the Princess’s target is a device or form of
ritual that she does to help herself decide on a conflict, or even a tool she uses for scrying, if the
Princess is trying to clear her mind, to stop distractions from a cause or to aid her in judgment. It
also applies at no cost if she’s trying to stop a bad action from being taken.
Vuoto does not appreciate those who let bias do their thinking for them. Should the princess let
herself be swayed by someone else’s preconceived notion on a subject or let herself be kept by
her own biased opinions stopping someone else from doing an action, Vuoto is banned for the
rest of the scene.
Several Vuoto charms distort time and space, and while the latter is much easier to use or
withstand, Time is always running and unyielding, the farther along one wishes to affect the
more it’ll stand in the way of the Princess. Consult this table when it comes to Vuoto charms that
deal with Temporal Flux. This deals with both pulling from the past as well as from the future.
Pentacles Practical Magic can negate these modifiers.
\
Quote
The light can only shine if the ways showing it are unclouded.
Pentacles Stereotypes on Others
Clubs: They are willing to stay blind to the future if they can change along with the present as
well, yet they shall still prosper.
Diamonds: Relying on equations can only lead you so far, how shall you explain the nature of
the Light? Take as much time as you need, I would enjoy a debate any time.
Hearts: The future is constantly changing unlike the past, but they are right in the sense that
history repeats itself.
Spades: Such uncertain factors, maybe just by standing outside of events they are capable of
acting as they please.
Swords: Beware should the flame’s light be all you can see.
Cups: I can show you the end of your journey, but I doubt you’d want spoilers. Knowledge
without understanding is hollow.
Wands: Their power lies not in their actions, but how their perseverance will keep their actions
echoing throughout time.
Tears: I want to say what they’re doing isn’t necessary. But if I do, then I fear their Queen will...
Storms: They take their duty as Judge, Jury and Executioner all at once without even listening to
any of the defendant's testimony.
Mirrors: A parent has the right to making decisions for the child should the child’s decisions
prove to be…obviously flawed. The same applies between us, brat.
Vampires: There’s simply no easy answer, these beings are bound to the past by their nature.
Werewolves: Be wary of what lives beyond your fields.
Mages: To be able to touch a higher world and return with its power…if only the Light were as
simple.
Prometheans: Can we do your scrying over the phone? I don’t mean to insult but your aura
alone is kind of distracting.
Changelings: They have reasons to hide. That’s all I’m willing to say about Them.
Sin-Eaters: If you share a bond with something that’s dead, then you really haven’t escaped
death, haven’t you?
Mummies: I know for a fact that I would be a better judge than whatever is behind you.
Demons: Believe me, I can handle the truth if you’d just stop lying.
Beasts: You do realize that the monster always gets slain at the end? Now wasn’t supposed to be
your end, but for the interests of everyone else I have to make it that way now.
Mad Scientists: Tread lightly and warily, ye who enter here.
Leviathans: …There are just some things I’d like to forget I saw too.
Hunters: Do any of you ever look into who you hunt? Whether it would be good or not to take
them down?
Mortals: The past has passed, that’s why it’s called as such.
Inspiration
Princess Zelda, Shikieiki Yamaxandu
Chapter Two: The Forgotten Powers of Love
The powers of the Pre-Twilight Courts is very much like the powers of the Hopeful. In this
chapter, the charms and Practical Magic they’ve held shall be reviewed.
Charms
The Charms of the Pre-Twilight follow the same system and set of rules from the Corebook as
with all charms. Given whatever drawback that follows Twilight Courts, they do not seem to
plague the Radiant Courts, which is a blessing in of itself. Therefore, none of the Pre-Twilight
Invocations have any drawbacks into their charms that stem from the invocation itself.
Noble Merits
The Fall didn’t only cause the Kingdom and many of the invocations lost to present day
Princesses, but it also caused many things attached to that magic to fade as well. Unless
otherwise stated, these merits are reserved for the Hopeful.
Of course, if your Storyteller allows for buying charms in the other version than the one you’re
using for playing Princess the Hopeful, then by all means it can be applied toward the
supplement as well.
Appear
Phantom (Appear 2) - Upgrade: Sensory (Fulmine 2)
Requires Lasting
The illusion lasts as long as it is within the Princess’s sensory range.
Upgrade: On and Off (Vuoto 2)
Requires Lasting
The Princess may choose to stop the illusion from existing and choose to apply it elsewhere, but
the illusion lasts for only a Scene.
Even monsters can stop racking up sins if they knew in some form they were disappointing
someone else they loved. The Princess may use this charm if someone is in the process of a
horrible act that would constitute as at least a Breaking Point for the offender carrying it out.
How the Princess appears differs from target to target. An unrepentant murderer may see the face
of their mother in shame. A hunter might see the face of his deity turned away from his actions.
However it appears, the Princess’s image inspires shame into the target and imposes her
successes as a penalty to his actions while the target is in the Princess’s vicinity.
The Princess is free to attack her target, but her successes can’t impose a penalty greater than the
Target’s Integrity or Equivalent. The charm fails to activate against beings with no Integrity, and
it automatically ends if the Princess is outside of the target’s vicinity or if the Target succeeds in
their act.
Bless
We Rely On You (Bless 1)
This charm remains the same as it was in the books, but given this book adds in three further
Invocations, they can color the charm with their own upgrade (Dream Version) or that can apply
for the Queen’s Commission Upgrade (Vocation Version).
For the Dream Version, the upgrades strengthen the Blessing to dice per success, but also limits
the blessing to a narrower set of rolls. These upgrades are as follows:
● Path of Lightning (Fulmine 1): Rolls that untrained skill penalties apply to, or that the
target lacks a skill specialty/
● Tough As Nails (Metallo 1): Rolls using Physical Attributes or Skills.
● Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit (Vuoto 1): Rolls that involve fulfilling a Dream or an Aspiration.
Upgrade: Beginner’s Luck
Prerequisite: Tough as Nails Upgrade
When using Tough as Nails on any roll where a dice are added to a Skill ignores the Unskilled
Penalty.
The target gains a brilliant flash from the Noble, something he knows for an instant before
forgetting. Success grants the Floating Blessing Condition with the Transferred Modifier: the
affected traits are any Skills that the Princess has higher than the Target. The successes that can
be transferred by the Princess can apply to any skills she has higher than the target, but the
amount the target can benefit from are capped by how much higher she has than him. It is
possible to choose Transformed Skills instead.
Upgrade: Enlightening
The affected traits are now Attributes and Skills the Princess has higher than the target.
With a wave of the Princess’s hand, she finds the future smiling upon the target. Success grants
the target the Floating Blessing condition with Negated Penalty Modifier: affected traits are any
traits suffering penalties to their roll and the pool starts with two dice per success. The charm
only has the power to negate penalties rather than add to rolls.
For Fulmine, the Princess may decide up to her Fulmine in terms of attributes, meaning a
maximum of five attributes may be affected. For Vuoto, the attributes are chosen at random as
per normal.
Blessings Be Upon This House (Bless 4) - Upgrade: Intervention (Fulmine 3)
Version: Vocation
The Princess prepares the place for tolerance and acceptance. She sets up chairs for groups,
prepares vouchers and sets an atmosphere for the start of self-discovery. By applying Fulmine to
the charm, the Princess may create a Blessing that enhances any Attribute or a two attribute roll
in which one of the attributes is one selected beyond her own knowledge.
Upgrade: Workshop (Metallo 3)
Version: Vocation
The Princess prepares the place for work. She gets tools, materials, and able hands and
workspaces to get the ball rolling. By applying Metallo to the Charm, she may create a Blessing
that enhances a Physical Attribute, a Physical Skill and Crafts beyond her own knowledge, or a
two-Attribute roll in which one of the Attributes is Physical. She may also help the group make
grand feats by weaving in the Specialities Blessing beyond her own knowledge.
Upgrade: Rectory (Vuoto 3)
Version: Vocation
The Princess sets up a place for spiritual occasions or philosophical disputes. She sets the place
apart from the rest of the world to speak of higher concerns. By applying Vuoto to the charm, a
Princess may create a Blessing that negates Penalties upon rolls using Attributes she selects or
enhance the skills Academics, Investigation, Occult, Science, Expression, or Socialize (beyond
her own knowledge). She may also encourage people to work upon the better half of themselves
by setting in the Virtue Blessing which is considered to work for Virtues not of the Princess’s
own.
The Queen of Cups was the first person to enter the journey of Self-Discovery, and ended it upon
discovering who she wanted to be. One of the first disciples of her philosophy was with her when
she reached it, and, in honor of her reaching that exalted height, her story was forever sealed and
taught it in the form of Cup’s Avatar Charm. When using this charm, the Princess must target a
mortal with no amount of a supernatural template to him, and he must’ve given his full consent
to be targeted with this charm.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot help someone on the path of self-discovery as he
becomes lost on the path. The Princess is unable to Transform for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess cannot lead someone else. The charm fails.
Success: The Princess doesn’t undergo a second transformation, as she remains herself, gaining
the Mentor Condition: She may trade dots of Attributes, Skills, Specialties, Merits (as long as it
pertains to the person rather than outside forces. most Mental and Physical Merits apply, while
most Social ones do not), Charm, Invocation and Inner Light Dots between herself and the target.
The Target, however, receives the Your Truest Self Condition: He gains the innate powers of the
Noble Template, one dot of Inner Light and he gains a number of wisps equal to Integrity for the
duration of the charm. His calling and court are the same as the Noble’s. They also always know
where the other is at, gaining a Fulmine bonus to sense each other.
Exceptional Success: The Light bloomed within the target shines deeply. He gets the Floating
Blessing Condition: On his next Breaking Point Roll, he gets a +3 Bonus to it, as the magic of
Fulmine helps him keep his sense of self.
Becoming a Noble for a short while is certainly an enlightening experience, as the target
becomes the ideal form he’s always held. As an instant action, the Noble and Target may trade
dots as mentioned in the Mentor Condition (the Noble always initiates the trade) and dots traded
cannot exceed Inner Light Limits nor can a Noble give someone dots in something that the target
has higher dots in, nor can they reach zero dots in an Attribute either. Charm and Invocation dots
are limited by the Noble’s own knowledge. Any dots given are Transformed Dots upon the
Target, and all dots traded between the target and Noble are returned upon the charm ending.
This charm gives an enlightening experience to both the Noble and the Target. Usually the Noble
wants to understand the target’s life or their abilities, and the Target perhaps gets a taste of what
it’s like to become a Noble. Does this mean the Target becomes a noble though in soul? The
answer is no, but it may inspire the target to take the journey of self-discovery after seeing how
their “true form” appears and how it’s like with heightened abilities. Perhaps one or two people
today have became Nobles thanks to this charm inspiring them.
Drawback: Use of this charm puts many responsibilities onto the using Princess in a way that she
truly becomes a Mentor. She gains the Mentor’s Fatigue Condition as well. She doesn’t halve or
double her modifier if she takes a Belief Compromise by the Setting a Bad Example when the
perpetrator is the target. She also takes 9 Again on Sensitivity rolls if the target is a perpetrator or
victim of such. Having less dots in skills from trading them is its own drawback, as well as the
factor of the Target facing Sensitivity as well. Finally, if the Target has any Shadows, the Noble
takes them into herself when the charm ends. For these huge drawbacks, the charm is usually
enacted upon someone the Noble trusts and cares about.
She also gains the Invocation Lock Condition keyed toward Fulmine.
Connect
The Naked City (Connect 1) – Upgrade: On Your Side (Fulmine 2)
No matter where the Princess goes, she will always fit in with the locals of any city. When using
Streetwise to deal with urban dangers or gangs, she may spend a Wisp and treat the threshold as
if it’s Fulmine dots lower. If this lowers the threshold to zero, the Princess is able to hit off
sparks and connect instantly.
Helping Hand (Connect 1) - Upgrade: Determined (Metallo 2)
Version: Dream
Modified by Commonality
The Princess helps not just the primary actor, but the secondary actors as well. When activating
the charm, the Princess may add her Metallo rating to all the other secondary actor's dicepools.
The Queen of Cups stands for all those who would find themselves and stands firm against those
who would challenge that integrity. Whenever a Princess is a target of someone attempting to use
the “Mean Girls” sidebar in the core books and set for causing a Belief Compromise in the
Princess, the Princess may add her dots in Fulmine to the number of Doors required to open in
paying the cost of this charm.
If the scene should end and the perpetrator has opened all of the normal doors but not the ones
added through this charm, then the Princess is counted as having at least one door left unless she
reactivates the charm, in which they return to how many doors were left from when the charm
was still active. If any of the ones that were opened and were the doors added by Fulmine, then
the doors remain open until either all of the Princess’s doors are opened or the Princess reaches a
Hostile Impression of the perpetrator.
Invocations do rely on the emotions used to invoke them though. Should the Princess decide to
Go With the Flow, she forfeits the use of this charm for the rest of the Scene.
An Introduction (Connect 3) – Guided By The Stars (Vuoto 2)
Version: Dream
Cost: 1 Willpower
The tie between the Princess and her target is exact and nearly bound by fate. When activating
the charm, the Princess doesn’t add penalties if the traits she decides on are equal to or lower
than her Vuoto. She may only negate the penalty a number of Traits introduces for as many dots
as she has in Vuoto. For example, at Vuoto 3 a Princess could negate any Traits so long as said
Traits had introduced -3 or lower penalties to the roll, and given Vuoto 3 the Princess could only
affect three traits in this fashion.
A Grace of Wands is both leader of their forces and worker at the front. Their duty binds a
group’s dedication to their task and to each other with a thread of pure silver. When the Princess
and a group make a teamwork action roll on a task that is non-combative, all actors within gain
the Rote Quality to their Dice Pools for the duration of the scene.
“You couldn’t last one day in my life” is a very common phrase when two people are fed up with
each others’ antics. Wouldn’t it be simple to actually see if that’s the case? The Queen of Cups
thinks so. In using this charm, the Princess may select two targets in which both must have given
their consent. If one or both targets hasn’t given their consent, then the charm acts as if it
suffered a Dramatic Failure.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess may not use this charm on her targets for a number of weeks
equal to her Fulmine.
Failure: The charm fails.
Success: The Charm succeeds. When the targets both next sleep, they find themselves waking up
in the other’s body. For all intents, the two targets are in each other’s body with the sensory
information fed to their original body’s brain. Apply the Freaky Friday Condition. Each target
retains their Mental and Social Attributes, Skills and merits and in the case of Physical they
retain their Skills, but their Physical Attributes and Merits are replaced with the others for the
duration of the Switch. When in the other's body, the person will feel echoes of mannerisms,
beliefs and the perspective of the other. The Princess can target herself or other Princesses and
she keeps her powers even in a different body, but she cannot swap anyone or herself with
another supernatural.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.
If the charm is ended early (the using Princess can force it to end prematurely with the consent of
one of the affected), the two affected simply go back to their original bodies. If a target with the
Freaky Friday Condition is targeted by a power that conflicts with it, such as some form of
possession or something that cancels control on a body, such as gaining the Doll Template from
the “Crafted with Love and Care” Caligo, a clash of wills is initiated. The target with the Freaky
Friday Conditions gains a bonus to their roll equal to the Charm’s activation successes or the
using Princess’s Fulmine, whichever is higher. If the invading effect wins, the Freaky Friday
Condition ends immediately and the new effect takes hold.
If one of the affected dies (Princesses who use this charm often stick around or keep tabs to make
sure this doesn’t happen, especially if they gave their body to someone else), the Freaky Friday
condition ends immediately. The person whose body had died dies while the one whose body
remains alive still lives.
The powers of Vuoto allows for travel beyond the capacity of vehicles and transportation, guided
by the stars above to her destination. The charm is simple: the Princess disappears from one
place and reappears somewhere else wherever she chooses. Intimacy is measured to the place
where the Princess arrives. The charm is kind enough to usually drop her off where nobody is
looking or noticing within the defined place. If there is no such place, the charm fails and the
princess knows why.
This charm doesn't bear the power to cross into other realms. The Shadow, The Hedge, the
Underworld, The Dark World and whatever other worlds that parallel the World of Darkness
cannot be entered. Should the Princess be in those realms however, then she can use this charm
to travel across them.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is caught in the gaps or the boundary between “here” and
“there”. The Princess suffers her Vuoto dots in Lethal damage.
Failure: Nothing Happens.
Success: The Princess transports to the target area and suffers a -2 penalty on all actions on the
turn she reappears.
Exceptional Success: Upon appearing, the Princess may immediately move up to her speed.
Sidebar: Magic Mirror, wherever you're lent, where are you in this supplement?
A peculiar thing, the change that a Twilight Court has on their invocation. Specchio and Vuoto
have some effect over the same elements, yet they're fundamentally different by their nature.
Why is this how it is? Is Mirrors too reliant on glass for her charms? Is it because an invocation
with an element of Void cannot simply be contained in a mirror?
Perhaps it's simply just this very simple truth: Pre-Twilight Invocations are completely and
fundamentally different from their Twilight Invocations, even if there remains similarities in
charms. For the same reason, Fulmine will not be able to transform oneself into a Creature of
Darkness nor be able to have any powers dealing with the Dark, nor will Vuoto seem to rely on
reflections or glass of Mirrors nor their vain self buffing and Metallo physical use of labor shares
extremely few similarities to Tempesta’s fanatical killing of the Darkness.
Upgrade: Descendant
Cost: +1 Wisp per additional person
With this upgrade, the Princess may lead others with her power. Each extra person or 5 Size
points of equipment beyond what she can carry costs an additional wisp. With this upgrade, the
charm manifests in an entryway that looks akin to the using Princess’s crawlspace and that can
be travelled through to the destination.
Upgrade: Seeking (Vuoto 3)
With this upgrade, the Princess can use her intimacy modifier to a person rather than a place. The
Princess shall appear to the closest location where she can be dropped off to by the charm.
Upgrade: Writ of Passage
Version: Dream
The Princess learns how to combine her teleporting powers with that of magic to travel beyond
the fields of which we know. If the Princess knows of a Charm, Privilege or Edict that allows
access of another world or she works with someone who does, she may use Astral Chart to
appear somewhere in that world permitted by Intimacy. Doing so requires paying the cost of the
power in full. She may use this power to escape, but most Pentacles may realize that some
worlds are easier to escape than others. Realms without Physical Substance, such as the
Dreamlands, are never acceptable destinations.
It is possible for the Princess to use “Crown of Another Kingdom” to become another
Supernatural type and then use this charm along with any power the type uses for entering an
alternate plane to enter that world.
Upgrade: Umbral (Vuoto 4)
Version: Vocation
Even the Dark World isn’t safe from being peered into by the Gazer of the Beyond. But you
know what they say, “peer into the abyss and it peers back into you”. If the Princess desires to
enter the Dark World, she may do so by standing in the area she has intimacy to. The area must
be Tainted for this charm to work. The Princess will appear in the Dark World’s reflection of the
area.
Upgrade: Ascendant (Vuoto 4)
Cost: 1 Willpower
Sometimes a vision occurs sooner than expected, or an opportunity arises and the Princess can
grasp it at the exact moment it occurs. To use this upgrade, it requires some form of foresight,
knowledge that an event is occurring that the Princess could help in that instant, or something
which can help a Princess’s Aspiration or Dream/Vocation. As long as any of those criteria are
met, the Princess may waive the Intimacy modifier in using this charm.
Drawback: The benefits are obvious, but the drawback is that in using this upgrade the Princess
can only go to that spot without any detours. If she tries mental gymnastics to go to some
destination, such as using this to go to a funeral when her friends need help fighting darkspawn,
not only does she apply the Intimacy modifier, but she cannot apply Vuoto to the Charm’s dice
pool and instead the Princess’s dots in Vuoto are added as a penalty to the roll. On a Dramatic
Failure with this upgrade attached and this drawback tripped, assume the charm throws the
Princess directly where she needs to be and that she cannot use it for the rest of the scene. This
drawback can be waived if the Princess does have a legitimate reason for a detour, such as if she
was making a stop at home and bringing her jade sword to fight off Darkspawn before popping
over to help her friends.
In a lengthy ceremony, invoking all she knows of him, the Princess weaves the thread of her fate
into another’s, becoming an exemplar in his life of one of the Queens. Each Queen teaches a
different version of this Charm, with her favored Invocation as a prerequisite; these versions
must be learned as separate Charms.
Unlike natural Entwined Destinies there is no guarantee that the people involved are suited for
new connection with each other. Even if the target actively resists the destiny selfish or
incompetent uses of this Charm can be seriously unethical, harmful and just all round messy.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess cannot use the Charm on the target for 1 month, and suffers a -2
penalty to all Social rolls involving him during that period.
Failure: The Princess makes no progress. If she does not reach the threshold, she cannot use the
Charm on the target again for 1 week.
Success: The Princess makes progress. When she reaches the threshold, the target gains the
Blessing Condition. The Blessing creates the Entwined Destiny Merit, with the appropraite
relationship and the target of the Princess’ choice.
Exceptional Success: The Princess makes great progress tying her destiny to the target’s.
● It's The Journey Rather Than Destination (Fulmine) - Guide. The Princess gains
willpower if she's helped her target find out something about himself, and takes penalties
when she passes up on doing so.
● Training Montage (Metallo) - Trainer. The Princess gains willpower if she helps her
target on the way to or achieving something that takes hard work, and takes penalties
when she passes up on opportunities to do so or if steps go backwards.
● No Fate But What We Make (Vuoto) - Judge. The Princess gains willpower if she
helps the target make important decisions in their life, and takes penalties when she
doesn't help on doing so.
Fight
Empty Hands (Fight 1) – Upgrade: Down and Out (Fulmine 2)
The Princess’s grapple shocks the nerves of her target in her arms. During the grapple, the
Princess may spend a wisp. If her Fulmine is equal to or greater than the grappled opponent’s
Stamina, then the opponent immediately suffers the Beaten Down Tilt for Fulmine turns.
Upgrade: Restraining (Metallo 2)
During a grapple, the Princess’s hold feels like a cage designed to hold the target. During a
grapple, if the Princess attempts a Hold move and applies Metallo, if they get even one Success
over the opponent, they can automatically move into Restraining the opponent as a reflexive
action and inflict the Immobilized Tilt as long as they hold onto the opponent.
Upgrade: Enchained (Vuoto 2)
The Princess’s opponent fails to move, time freezing their feet and space constricting their body.
The Princess may attempt a grapple move if she spends a Wisp and her target is within Vuoto
yards. On a successful attempt, the Princess can hold her opponent in place as a Hold move. She
cannot do any other moves to him unless if she moves to physically grapple him. The target faces
a Vuoto penalty to escaping and the Princess can hold up the grapple as long as she concentrates
wholly on it. If she stops concentrating (doing something that would require a dice roll), moves
outside of Vuoto yards of her target or she physically grapples him, the charm ends.
An annoyance for a Princess's weapons is how a certain type of style or combat can apply to it
while cutting off all the rest. Not anymore. This charm allows the Princess to have one extra
form of Kensai or Levinbolt (she chooses when she learns the charm). The Princess's "second"
Kensai or Levinbolt is the same in all respects to the first in having all of the same upgrades,
save that she can choose a different form for her second version for the purpose of having
multiple Fighting Styles. The other versions can be switched out with a transformation action.
Upgrade: Why Not Both?
Requires Kensai and Levinbolt
Action: Permanent
If the Princess owns both Kensai or Levinbolt, but she already has this charm and chose one of
the Fight charms, upon purchasing this upgrade the Princess may have a second version of the
Fight Charm she didn't choose at first.
Upgrade: Armory (Fulmine 2-5)
Stacks: Up to 4 Times
Each time the Princess purchases this upgrade, she may gain another version of Kensai or
Levinbolt for the purpose of Fighting Styles. If she has the "Why Not Both" Upgrade, or
purchases it after purchasing this, the Princess also automatically gains a weapon for both Fight
charms for the purpose of Fighting Styles.
Like the prophecies of the Oracles of Delphi, no amount of hiding will protect you from destiny,
and the Judge makes her blow fated to hit her enemy even if they’re behind cover. When
attacking a target behind Cover, the Princess may use this charm. She may reduce the Cover's
Durability by her Vuoto for the purposes of hitting the target.
Upgrade: Unharmed
Cost: 1 Willpower
Some denizens of the World of Darkness are cruel enough to use people as their shield. No
matter, for the Princess's attack will find the true perpetrator without harming those they're
hiding behind. If the Princess is attacking a target and he's using someone else as a Human
Shield, the target will not gain the benefit of reducing the damage by his "shields" Stamina nor
will the "shield" be harmed. All Damage goes directly toward the target using someone as a
Human Shield.
The Princess creates an electrical arc that destroys a Target's ability to function. When she next
attacks with her Levinbolt, which cannot have any Invoked upgrades (including Fulmine) the
Princess inflicts the Sensory Deprivation Tilt for a Fulmine turns.
Upgrade: Chain Lightning
Cost: 1 Willpower
The shot bounces around a group of the Princess's enemies. If a target is in Fulmine Yards of one
of the Princess's enemies, they suffer the damage and effects as when it was first shot. The target
may not dodge or defend against the rebounding bolt, but general Armor can apply against it.
The battlefield is where you must stay in the moment if you merely wish to survive, only woe
follows those who can’t keep up. Upon success with this charm, the target suffers the Lost in
Time Tilt. For each success, the target loses a point of Defense as well as halving their speed. If
the target is attacking with a ranged weapon, other people in the scene may apply their defense
against it, as the target is moving slow enough to get ready for it.
Govern
Forgotten Lore (Govern 1) - Upgrade: Supernatural (Fulmine 2)
Version: Vocation
Requires an enhanced specialty for a specific supernatural type. Only one at a time can be
targeted for the purposes of this upgrade.
The Princess has wondrous knowledge of the workings of other supernaturals. During any
research action of studying supernaturals covered by the enhanced specialty, the Princess may
spend one wisp to reduce the successes she needs by her Fulmine.
Consecrate (Govern 1) – Upgrade: Fruits of Labor (Metallo 1)
Consecrations take time and energy, something most Princesses find hard to take of both. When
the Princess is consecrating an area, she may treat her Stamina as Metallo dots higher. This
cannot go above Inner Light Maximum when it comes to stats however.
By spending one wisp, a Princess of Cups can view past any mortal facades and see what
someone really is. For the remainder of the scene after use of this charm, whenever the Princess
comes across any supernaturals, she may reflexively roll Wits + Composure - the Supernatural
Advantage of the Supernatural in question.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess is convinced the supernatural is human unless if there’s
undeniable proof of otherwise.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess sees the person’s true form. She can see the true form of a supernatural for
successes turns. If she’s come across any supernaturals before, she can differentiate between
them if she was able to identify one of them before. This charm is limited to sensing
supernaturals or possessing beings within mortal bodies, she cannot view within Twilight or
view into the Shadow.
Exceptional Success: Extra Successes are their own reward.
Trading wisps in this method does not endanger a supernatural to negative effects of regaining
that fuel.
This upgrade’s stack potential is up for question however. After all, how many things go bump in
the night in your World of Darkness? This upgrade with PtH alone can only empower Spirits that
represent an emotion or identity and Ghosts. Either way, this power’s maximum stacking
potential relies on what the Storyteller decides to incorporate into the game as well as what fits
its criteria for exchange. In the most definite words from this book, splats that deal with emotions
or identities to some degree from World of Darkness gamelines (Official and Fanmade) can
benefit from this upgrade. This includes Changelings, Mummies, and Geniuses.
The Hopeful are beings of light and hope. And yet there are those out there that would feast upon
primal emotions of fear and cause them to feed from it. An Actor may instead give a Beast faux
feelings of fear, with the hope of sating them. The Princess merely spends a point of Willpower
alongside each wisp she spends, and it causes a clash of wills.
The Princess Dramatically Fails or the Beast Exceptionally Succeeds: The hunger within will
not be sated by mere offerings of hope and light, and instead becomes ravenous. The Beast
instead loses a point of Satiety.
The Princess Fails or the Beast Succeeds: The offering simply fails, or the Beast asserts himself.
Either way, nothing happens.
The Princess Succeeds or the Beast Fails: The offering goes as intended. The Beast gains a point
of Satiety per Wisp and Willpower spent.
The Princess Exceptionally Succeeds or the Beast Dramatically Fails: The Princess asserts the
authority of the light over fear itself. She gains a Luminous Experience.
There are some monsters in this world who are nothing but pure darkness. Who cause pain and
suffering and nourish themselves with it by breaking down the innocent. Many forget what it
means to suffer from an evil act, but a Mask knows how to make them into a lightning rod for
that pain and remember what it was like being the prey. Whenever a Beast attempts to gain
Satiety through hurting someone else, the Princess may force a Clash of Wills onto the Beast
with the Princess working against the Beast.
The Princess Dramatically Fails or the Beast Exceptionally Succeeds: The Beast proves itself
too monstrous, too righteous of the hunt and the Princess is shaken from the thought of evil
winning. The Princess automatically rolls for Sensitivity.
The Princess Fails and the Beast Succeeds: The Beast gains Satiety as normal.
The Princess Succeeds and the Beast Fails: Instead of feasting on pain, the Beast suffers it
instead. The Beast gains no Satiety, and gains 1 Point of Aggravated Damage as the electric
suffering of their victim courses through the aggressor as well.
The Princess Exceptionally Succeeds or the Beast Dramatically Fails: The Light shoves the
monster back under the bed, tail between it's legs and (hopefully) never to harm an innocent
again. The Beast suffers 1 Aggravated Damage PER point of Satiety he would've gained.
The Princess’s energy taps into the blessing another person has, and can reconfigure it to that
person's desires. This charm can be used on someone under the effects of the Blessing or
Floating Blessing Condition. Successes equate to the number of dots the Princess can reconfigure
within the blessing. For example, she can move around an increase to Social Attributes thanks to
Crown Jewels, such as changing a +3 increase to Manipulation to +1 in Manipulation, +1 in
Presence and +1 in Composure.
The amount is still bound by the original Charm's parameters. Using Crown Jewels as an
example, the Princess cannot add more to one attribute than the original princess’s Terra, nor
would she be able to make the Blessing apply to Attributes that are not Social Attributes.
Upgrade: Otherworldly
The Princess can tap into the effects that Supernatural Creatures can bestow. As known before, it
cannot change what the original parameters allow for bestowing buffs.
Unweaving (Govern 4) - Upgrade: Not In Kansas Anymore (Fulmine 3)
Cost: 1 Willpower
Normally, Princesses' magic is incompatible with other magic save through the help of
Embassies. However, Fulmine connects to other powers, and can dispel them just as easily. The
Princess may now target powers outside of Charms and powers of the Darkness, cast by other
supernaturals.
Inspire
Fire On The Mountain (Inspire 1) – Upgrade: Communal (Metallo 2)
The Princess’s performance brings people together and fosters relationships. When holding a
performance using Expression as an extended action before a crowd, her threshold is equal to the
highest Resolve rating in the crowd and she makes a roll once per dot of Resolve she possesses.
If she reaches the threshold, the crowd gains a Commonality Modifier, with one step added per
dot of Metallo the Princess has. One dot is Casual, two is Interested, three is Interested and four
dots makes the crowd dedicated. This typically only lasts one scene.
Working on an event for a long time can come to a crashing halt no matter how close you were.
If the Princess uses this charm and the Extended Roll she used this charm for comes up as a Near
Miss [GMC 188], if the remaining successes required is less than or equal to the Princess’s
Metallo dots, she may succeed on the attempt as if she were able to reach the threshold. She may
use this on another target if desired.
The Princess ensures for her target that every storm shall pass, and afterwards it shall be clear as
day. When using this charm, the target must be under the effects of any temporary condition that
clouds a character’s mind. This charm seeks to remove or alleviate the condition. If a
Condition’s resolution is based on the passage of time, then the time can be cut in half. If a
character is addicted to something and deprived of said addictive object, then the charm might
lead to the nearest fix for the target. The biggest prerequisite for this charm is that the Princess
must know what the condition entails, and persistent conditions may not be targeted.
Don’t Cry (Inspire 3, Fulmine 4)
Action: Instant, Resolve + Persuasion
Cost: 2 Wisps
Duration: 1 Scene
Don’t you cry tonight. There’s a heaven above you baby.
The Princess’s performance inspires resilience to traumas that would fracture a human’s mind.
The Princess rolls Composure + Persuasion. On a success, she gives the Floating Blessing
Condition. The bonus is equal to the successes on the roll and it applies only upon Breaking
Points where the target is witness to a supernatural event.
Learn
Keen Observation (Learn 1) - Upgrade: Piercing (Metallo 2)
Version: Vocation
Investigating the World of Darkness lead to obstacles more often than not, but a Laborer’s razor
sharp eyes see her through them all. If the Princess makes a Wits + Investigation or Wits +
Composure roll, she may choose to spend a wisp to reroll the pool. She must keep the second
result, even if it’s worse. She also may add her Metallo to any dice pools when it comes to
reacting to surprise.
Know Name (Learn 1) - Upgrade: Unauthorized Biography (Vuoto 2)
The Princess may take photographs, recordings, and even drawings of people to learn what their
name is. Using this upgrade makes Know Name require using Wits + Empathy as well as adding
the Temporal Flux Modifier, set for how old the visage of the person has lasted. Using an old
photograph of an elderly man may set loads of penalties the Princess’s way, while a freshly made
drawing doesn’t suffer as much.
Using Know Name this way sidesteps most supernatural veils, but it also limits the Princess’s
awareness of the person’s name. The name shown on the image of the person is the name they
went by at that time, and in the case of drawings the name of the person is what the artist thinks
the name of the person is.
Many people simply desire to know what the future holds, what may be at stake or the simple
outcome of a decision. While a Princess of Pentacles is definitely unable to scry at this level of
Learn, she may still read a tiny portion of what can be. This Charm is like the Common Sense
Merit (GMC 161). The Princess can benefit from both the merit and this charm within a scene.
The Princess asks a question, looking through a target’s eyes and straight into their soul. The
Princess must at least touch the target’s skin for this charm to have an effect. She may use this
charm on the same target again, but later activations during the scene take a cumulative -1
penalty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Princess. The storyteller describes a vision that is the
opposite of who the target truly is. The Princess will believe in the vision unless confronted with
clear evidence contradicting it. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t reveal anything
that refutes the vision - the Princess must discover her mistake by other methods. She may not
use the Charm on this target for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for
the rest of the scene.
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight into her target’s identity. The Storyteller
must answer one question from the following list truthfully for each activation success:
● The target’s Vice(s).
● How t he target sees himself.
● The people or organizations or events that have had considerable influence on the target’s
identity.
Exceptional Success: The Princess gets considerable insight to her target’s identity.
Upgrade: Personal (Fulmine 2)
The Fulmine Invocation flashes brightly with someone’s self enlightenment. The Princess may
look for insight into the target’s character and abilities, so far as these resonate with the Fulmine
Invocation or the credo of the Queen of Cups. Add the following to the list of questions the
Princess may ask.
● The target’s Virtue(s).
● Any of the target’s skills or any specialty to a skill.
● A merit dealing with someone that makes up the target’s identity (Allies, Contacts,
Mentor, Alternative Identity or True Friend Merits).
● The events that constitute breaking points for the target.
With nothing more than a pat of encouragement can the Princess learn how refined the target is.
She may use this charm on the same target again, but later activations during the scene take a
cumulative -1 penalty.
Dramatic Failure: The Charm misleads the Princess. The storyteller describes a vision of the
target that gives the wrong impression of his physical feats. The Princess will believe in the
vision unless confronted with clear evidence contradicting it. Further uses of the Charm on the
target won’t reveal anything that refutes the vision - the Princess must discover her mistake by
other methods. She may not use the Charm on this target for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The Princess learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for
the rest of the scene.
Success: The Princess gains flashes of insight to the target’s prowess. The Storyteller
must answer one question from the following list truthfully for each activation success:
● Someone or something the target has worked hard for.
● Someone or something the target is willing to work hard for
● What motivation the target has for their actions.
Exceptional Success: The Princess gets considerable insight to her target’s will.
Upgrade: Personal (Metallo 2)
The Metallo Invocation favors those who work hard and maintain modesty. The Princess may
look for insight into the target’s character and abilities, so far as these resonate with the Metallo
Invocation or the credo of the Queen of Wands. Add the following to the list of questions the
Princess may ask.
● The target’s current Willpower.
● The target’s Strength, Dexterity or Stamina.
● One of the target’s Physical Skills or Specialties.
● Any of the Target’s Physical Merits.
The distance of vision between a Noble of Pentacles and those who have caught her eye becomes
irrelevant. With a simple thought she gets a vision of the target from any viewpoint she desires as
long as the viewpoint remains within Sensory range of the Target. Prophecies and portents are
not instant insight but like a book that must be read through, therefore this charm requires
concentration. If she breaks her concentration (anything requiring a dice pool to do qualifies),
then she returns to her present state and must use the charm again if she desires to spy upon
someone. She automatically loses it if she’s attacked as she forgoes defense while viewing on the
target. If she spends two wisps, then she may choose an avenue of calling (any reflective surface
no matter the quality works) the person through that, whereas the charm connects to the closest
viewpoint (and the most private) of the target and makes it two way as well.
Should a Princess use the 2 Wisps option, then the reflective surface decides what quality the
vision or sound is. A bad reflection gives bad quality for example.
Upgrade: I Can Hear You
The Princess can hear as clear as she can see.
Upgrade: Scrying Tools
The Princess doesn’t need to experience this as a vision. She may instead throw her vision onto a
surface capable of showing it to her, such as a crystal ball, a pool of unbroken water, or even
onto a polished mirror. It will play out the vision as normal and the Princess doesn’t need to
concentrate.
Upgrade: Intimate Spy (Vuoto 3)
The Princess doesn’t need to choose a person with this charm. She may instead choose to target
objects or places where she has an Intimacy with. The modifier targets the object or place with
the lower intimacy if both can apply.
Upgrade: Whodunnit? (Vuoto 4)
Cost: +1 Wisp
The Princess may decide upon criteria for whom she searches for that may not require
precognition and the answer must be a person. “Who killed those ten people?” and “Who is a
follower of the Dark Cult” are fine. “How do I find the Lost Kingdoms” and “Who will win
Mrs.Universe” are not. The Charm uses the intimacy modifier with the lowest penalty if multiple
people apply and the Storyteller may roll in secret to avoid revealing the Intimacy.
Success shows a vision the person who best fits the Princess’s criteria and descriptions must be
given in good faith, whereas Dramatic Failures may allow for low tricks and creative
interpretation of the question.
One of the most prominent powers of Specchio is perhaps the signature power and theme of its
precursor Vuoto, the power to behold the future and walk down the right path, never making a
wrong choice in ignorance.
To prophecy, the Princess must decide which question she wishes to know an answer to that
deals with a single person. Anything within her own personal timeline can count as criteria for
this charm, even things that have happened within her past. The Temporal Flux chart for Vuoto
can tell a Princess much.
Dramatic Failure: Time distorts the vision toward an unwelcome portent, be it a fate the
Princess fears or a horrible memory of the past. Though it must be noted that Prophecies are
what can be rather than what shall be, the vision hits the Princess personally and she must make
a sensitivity roll.
Failure: Future is foggy, please ask again later. The Princess may also get a random vision of a
clear blue sky, the night sky, the depths of space, or tv static.
Success: The Princess receives a vision of the future. For each success, the Princess may ask a
question that the vision will answer. The visions shown are true and accurate, but may change as
time remains in motion. Not to mention the strange beings in the World of Darkness that can
enter time and change history by it. Perhaps even the Princess seeing the vision changes the
future as well.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.
A Princess may only use this charm once per day, On a question about the present (as defined by
the scene), roll as normal and on a success reveal that it’s happened with no further details. For a
question with multiple answers or multiple events in the criteria, the charm tends to favor the
most likely outcome or event. The vision tends to take as long as she wishes to view the future,
to which she is barely aware of her surroundings and foregoes Defense. If the princess is
attacked or must react, the charm ends instantly or she must roll Wits + Composure - Activation
Successes to end the charm early.
There is a glimmering light behind all beings, both Mortal and Supernatural that illuminates their
actions and is the center of their identities. This is of course the Soul. And there are many things
in the World of Darkness that can take them from people. She may use this upon someone should
she find that they’re afflicted with Soul Loss (GMC 186).
Dramatic Failure: The Princess loses the connection between the soul and it’s body. For the rest
of the scene, she suffers from the Lost Condition (GMC 182) in terms of finding that soul.
Failure: The Princess is simply unable to establish a connection with the Soul.
Success: The Princess gains an innate sense of where the soul is at. It’s less of direct coordinates,
but rather a sense for the general area of where it might be. As well, there might be wards or
various other powers that keep a soul from being discovered that Govern charms might help
with.
Exceptional Success: The Princess gains the Informed Condition (GMC 182) in terms of finding
the soul.
Perfect
Barrier Jacket (Perfect 1) - Upgrade: Insulated (Fulmine 2)
Version: Vocation
The Princess’s Fulmine based armor is lightning proof. For the purposes of protecting against
Electricity (nWoD core book 178), treat the Princess’s Fulmine dots as if it were double for the
purpose of protecting from mundane sources. For magical lightning or mundane but not
continuous source (such as getting hit by a natural thunderbolt), subtract the Princess’s normal
Fulmine+1 from the attack.
Upgrade: Polished (Metallo 2)
Version: Vocation
The Princess’s armor is unyielding to lesser blows. When adding Metallo to her armor, the
Princess doesn’t suffer from Bashing Damage. The damage inflicted must be Lethal damage or
greater to hurt her.
Celestial Dance (Perfect 1) - Upgrade: Steel Body (Metallo 2)
The Princess’s body sharpens itself against blows to defend another. The Princess may forgo
defense and act as a Human Shield [GMC 201] for someone else. The Princess can downgrade
any number of damage taken in a turn by her Metallo.
Valiant Mind (Perfect 1) - Upgrade: Spiritual Shield (Fulmine 2)
Version: Dream
The Princess’s powers protects her soul as much as it protects from mental influence. The
Princess may penalize attempts of any power targeting her soul by her Fulmine.
This charm is greatly mundane and simple, yet useful as well. The Princess may detect the
presence of metals within 5x her successes in yards. This applies 360 degrees around her, and is
not sight but rather an additional sense akin to Read the Waves or Read the Wind. She may
discern shape, size, texture and positions of metals within her radius of sensing, but cannot tell
their color or if anything was written onto them.
The Princess transforms herself into another type of supernatural, near human but with a touch of
another world upon them. Her form varies with the supernatural type chosen, but in all forms she
looks undeniably human. She has benefits and drawbacks appropriate to each template, which is
a minor splat of a chosen one. She may only ever have one Template active at once, and she may
not have both this charm and Empty Heart or Shadowmask active at the same time.
Each version of this charm are considered to be separate charms due to interacting with separate
Supernaturals. As such, if the Princess knows “Going Native - Blood of Wolves”, then she needs
to buy “I See Dead People” or “Wonders of Science” if she wants to take those forms
respectively.
● Blood of Wolves: The Princess gains features of the Wolf-Blooded, whose Savage Fury
literally runs in the blood. Her eyes gain a wild gleam in them and her hair looks wild no
matter how well combed it is. For the purposes of various Werewolf Rites or Gifts or the
like that call for it, the Princess may act as and counts as a Wolf Blooded.
● I See Dead People: The Princess becomes akin to the Sin-Eaters, those irrevocably
connected to death and Second Chances, Her skin may pale and feel dry as she appears
“old”, no matter how young she is. The Princess gains the ability to look through
Twilight and see Ghosts.
● Wonders of Science: The Princess learns how to think like a Mad Scientist, practitioners
of Forbidden Science. When interacting with or using wonders, if the Princess’s Inner
Light is equal to or greater than the Inspiration of the Genius who created the Wonder,
the Princess never suffers penalties for using them. As well, the Princess may use Wisps
to power wonders. Drawback: The Light of Inspiration also shocks the Princess’s mind,
to which she suffers in a similar way the Geniuses do. While she is under the effects of
Wonders of Science, the Princess suffers from the Madness Condition for the duration of
the transformation [GMC 182].
Upgrade: Magical
The Princess also gains powers appropriate to the Template she has chosen, should they have
any. She may choose what powers she gains and may only use them in the template they apply
to. Like the charm, she needs to buy each upgrade separately like they’re different upgrades.
● Tells: (Stacks up to Belief times) The Princess may choose Tells of the Wolf Blooded.
For each dot of Belief, the Princess may choose one Tell as described in the Werewolf
The Forsaken 2E Corebook [300-304]. She gains the benefits and drawbacks of it.
● Medium: The Princess’s ghostly powers extend, allowing her to enchain ghosts on earth.
By spending a wisp, a Princess can bind a ghost to an artificial Anchor for Inner Light
Days. She may also convert any anchor to have the Open Condition [GMC 225-6].
● For Science!: Along with being able to interact with Wonders, the Princess may aid in
their creation as well. She may help a Mad Scientist in creating the wonder as if it were a
Teamwork Action, and if Mania is required, the Princess can substitute Wisps for them.
She rolls Intelligence + appropriate Skill in helping of creating the Wonder. She still
suffers the Drawback of “Wonders of Science” however. (Madness never penalizes
creating wonders.)
Appearance doesn’t matter, it’s how you act that truly counts, and the Princess knows how to
keep herself running when she should be shutting down. If the Princess is suffering from Fatigue
[nWoD core 179-180] and is taking penalties from it, she may reduce the penalties by her
Stamina. A Princess who has gone one day and 18 Hours without sleep (-3 Penalty) but has
Stamina 3 will fully negate the penalty.
Drawback: The Princess still can take penalties if they exceed her Stamina, and she still
automatically passes out after staying awake for a number of days equal to the lower of Stamina
or Resolve.
The best offense is a good defense. When the Princess transforms, she may apply greater
reaction time to her reflexes and move as fast as an Olympian athlete. She adds her Metallo to
her dots in Dexterity and recalculates all traits using it. For the purposes of Defense, treat it as if
the Princess uses the higher of Wits or Dexterity for recalculating it. Best Offense isn’t
compatible with Kensai, Empty Hands or Levinbolt Upgrades that increase base damage, any
supernatural effects that would increase her Dexterity or the Best Defense charm. If she desires
to change between this charm and her enchanted weaponry, she may do so as a transformation
action.
Faster Than A Speeding Bullet (Perfect 2, Metallo 2)
Prerequisite: Celestial Dance with Steeled Body
Action: Instant, Unrolled
Cost: 1 Wisp
The Princesses of Wands are men and women of steel, and are expected to move in their allies
defense when harm comes to pass. The Princess may move their full speed as a reflexive action.
The Princess may only use this charm a number of times in a scene equal to her Metallo.
The Princess is able to slow her perception of time to a crawl, allowing her to mull over a topic
to herself or think of a good comeback to someone’s snarky remark. Success allows a Princess’s
mind to step outside of time for minutes or even hours as she thinks, and may only think, about
things. She may not use any powers or even react lest she ends this charm. She is considered to
have the Blessing Condition with the Negated Penalty Modifier, the bonus equal to each success
rolled and it may only be used on whatever circumstances the Princess is able to conceptualize
on during that period that have a reasonable chance of occurring in the first place.
As a note, it is possible to apply the Temporal Flux modifier for Vuoto onto this charm as it does
use “Within a Day” for its use, but doing so for any longer than that is a notoriously bad idea.
There are stories of those who after using this charm and setting the charm for a long time to
come out raving mad from the experience of being completely and utterly isolated in time for
days or even decades.
Of all courts, it is the Masks who change their forms the most with each step of enlightenment.
The Princess can change her Transformed State’s appearance, up to and including hair, voice,
clothes, appearance, height, weight, ethnicity, and even gender. Each success on the roll allows
the Princess to change one of the selected traits to anything of her own choosing while she
remains transformed.
Upgrade: Many Masked (Fulmine 2-5)
Stacks up to Fulmine - 1 Times.
Each time the Princess takes this upgrade, she may specify one trait listed above. When she rolls
to activate the charm, she may treat it as if she’s gained automatic successes equal to the number
of times she’s bought this upgrade. However, she may only ever use these automatic successes
for the trait she’s chosen.
The Princess gains the ability to shift into Twilight, becoming a fly on the wall and unreachable
by normal means.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess shifts into Twilight, but she’s unable to leave it for 24 hours.
Failure: The Princess is unable to shift into Twilight for now.
Success: As long as the charm lasts, the Princess now walks within Twilight. She is capable of
viewing into reality without being seen by any means other than supernatural ones and may even
use charms on people in her Twilight state. She is also fully tangible to Spirits and Ghosts who
are in Twilight as well, which may or may not be a welcome experience.
Exceptional Success: The Princess may choose to shift into and out of Twilight at her whims as
an instant action for the rest of the Scene.
Pangea, Atlantis, Irem, there are various capitals and cities that each Supernatural seems to claim
descent from, but none of them exist to this day. Who better to connect to another Kingdom than
the Nobles who are centered around them? When the Princess uses this charm, she gains the
Crown of Another Kingdom Condition. She may choose one of these effects for it.
● Thorned Crown: The Princess takes a crown from Arcadia, realm of beautiful madness.
She shrinks down to two feet high, gaining dragonfly wings and Striking Looks 2 if she
hasn’t had it already. If a Prince uses the charm, then he becomes a female for the
duration of it. The Noble can fly up to a speed equal to her 5 + Strength + Dexterity +
(Fulmine * 2) and she may see through the Mask.
● Feral Crown: The Princess’s crown is taken from the Shadow, a realm of primal fury.
She takes the form of a wolf in Urhan Form. If she has Kensai her teeth become her
Kensai weapon; but may only be used with fighting styles appropriate for a lupine form.
If she does not then her teeth become +1 Lethal Damage weapons that do not require a
grapple in order to bite. She gains a +4 bonus to all Perception rolls based on wolf senses
and her traits are affected. Dexterity and Initiative +2, Stamina +1, Manipulation and Size
-1, Speed +5. She may also throw her senses across the Gauntlet and peer into the
Shadow as a reflexive action, and she may treat her Inner Light as Primal Urge when it
comes to factoring Regeneration (Werewolf the Forsaken 2E 93-94). If she has the Going
Native upgrade “Tells”, she retains whatever powers she had in that form.
● Pallid Crown: The Princess’s crown comes from the Underworld, home of the dearly
departed. She becomes immaterial, her form being pure essence that becomes a light in
the bleak world of Twilight. For the purposes of this charm, the Princess is considered to
be a Ghost Princess and can be affected by powers that target ghosts for the duration of
the scene. She shifts automatically into Twilight and is considered to have the Anchor
Condition for all Ghosts. The light of hope within also rouses old emotions of life, any
ghost that sees her automatically gains one point of essence, which may only be done
once per day. The Princess is only stated to be “considered” as being a Ghost Princess to
simplify explaining the Charm. She does not pass on to a next life due to her being most
likely alive in using this charm (Alhambra does still carry Bequests from the time of the
Kingdom which Ghost Princesses can use), nor does she Dethrone if her Shadows equal
her Belief.
Upgrade: Numinous (Fulmine 4)
Requires: Crown of Another Kingdom - Pallid Crown.
Stacks up to Belief Times.
The Princess who takes up the Pallid Crown of Ghosts also gains powers acquainted to them.
For each dot of Belief the Princess has, she may take up Numina that ghosts have access to and
she may use Wisps to power them in place of Essence.
Restore
Jumper Cables (Restore 2, Fulmine 1)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Crafts - Size
Cost: 1 Wisp per Size
Duration: Permanent
Technology is everywhere, and the Princess knows how to tap into any without energy and
resupply it. When the Princess uses this charm, she spends a wisp per point of size of the object.
Success automatically refills the energy it once had (and it must work on electricity) to 100% and
from there it will steadily deplete.
Logic ensues however. A Princess cannot Recharge a drill if it needs to be plugged into an outlet
for it to function, nor can she make a car with an empty gas tank run. She also cannot recharge a
dead battery in a cell phone if the battery is completely fried and unable to store energy or
without one in the first place.
Upgrade: Generator (Fulmine 2)
The Princess may power any electrical piece of technology, even if they do not have any power
sources. The object functions as if it was full of energy for one scene, in which at it’s end it shall
go back to its original state.
With nothing more than a zap, the Princess keeps someone else awake. When using this charm,
the Princess rolls Stamina + Medicine - the Fatigue penalties the target (which may be the
princess herself) faces (nWoD core 179).
Dramatic Failure: The target immediately falls asleep, unable to be awakened until they’ve slept
for 8 hours of sleep plus an hour for each 6 hour period they went without sleep.
Failure: The Charm fails.
Success: For each success, the target loses a -1 penalty per success from fatigue and more awake
in general. This charm may not be used more times in a week than the Princess’s Metallo dots.
Exceptional Success: The target’s fatigue is wiped clean. They feel like they’ve been asleep for 8
hours and freshly woke up for a new day. They also receive a Willpower point as if they’ve slept.
The willpower point can only be received if the target was subject to penalties from fatigue.
One problem with memories is how they twist and distort with time. Nothing a quick charm
can’t fix. The Princess chooses a memory of hers or another's, in which an appropriate penalty of
Temporal Flux is applied from how far in the past it was.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess simply can’t call up the memory and it remains lost. She may
not use the charm for the rest of the scene and suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to using this charm
to recall the memory.
Failure: The Princess is unable to recall anything for the time being, but is free to try again.
Success: The Princess makes progress. If she reaches the Threshold, the target recalls the
memory as if it happened yesterday.
Exceptional Success: The princess makes great progress.
The reason for the threshold remaining under the Storyteller's discretion is due to the nature of
memories, which can be called forth easier and which are buried deep. If there's some form of
supernatural power preventing a memory to be recalled at all or as it truly was, then it's
activation successes may serve as a threshold for this charm. It might be possible to use this
charm to help recall the time of the Kingdom...but given that it’s been before human history and
most Princesses were warped by the Gales in the Long Night, you might be better off reading
about it from Alhambra’s Archives.
The Princess’s hands spark with light, reattaching a soul back to its mortal shell. If a target is
under the effects of Soul Loss (GMC 186) and the target is suffering from the Soulless,
Enervated or Thralled Conditions, and the Princess has the target’s soul by some means, she may
use this charm. Success upon reaching the threshold binds the soul back to the body,
If the target is suffering from the above conditions but he’s controlled by a possessing entity, it’s
certainly required to remove that thing first, as well as perhaps any wards or beings protecting
the soul from being taken back. At the very least, the Target and Soul must be within the same
vicinity to begin the process of reattaching the soul.
The Gazer of the Beyond speaks that if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back into you.
Beyond safe boundaries of the world can lie horrors unbidden, although a Princess often faces
them in her life. For this purpose, this charm was created to keep their mind clear and sane.
The charm can affect specific memories the princess chooses upon using the charm. They
must’ve been formed during the last scene in order to be able to be targeted by this charm. The
Temporal Flux modifier may be attached to target memories further back. Overall, this charm
can erase Hauntings caused by Sensitivity. It also erases negative mental conditions and lasting
magical effects that affect the mind such as facing a Promethean’s Disquiet. For the latter case,
the penalty incurred is equal to the powers activation successes (if it’s magic affecting the mind)
or the Supernatural Advantage in question (if it’s something along the lines of a Prometheans
Disquiet).
Dramatic Failure: The Princess accidentally deleted something from her mind for a scene. Pick
a wide ranging topic in the Princess’s memories. For the duration of the scene, she gains the
Amnesia Condition [GMC 181] when it comes to recalling the topic in question.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The Princess is able to delete the memory she’s chosen from herself as described above.
Nothing remains of the memory, and no amount of magic or psychological technique will
retrieve it. She does however know her reasoning of why she’s deleted the memory.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.
The Princess’s power is strong enough to halt the coming of the reaper by placing his next victim
outside of his reach. When a target is bleeding out or suffering from wounds that would surely
kill him, the magic will stop the process of bleeding out, making medical attention possible to be
given to the patient, be it mundane or through other Restore Charms. Even if he’s missing or has
damaged vital organs, he’ll still be alive, although if the organ in question is the brain the target
will be a vegetable. This charm lasts for a scene however so it would require maintenance to
keep someone alive for longer.
It doesn’t work on someone whose health boxes are completely filled with Aggravated or who is
suffering from Decapitation. The target is also still susceptible to being damaged.
Upgrade: Snow White’s Slumber (Vuoto 5)
Cost: +1 Willpower
The Princess can keep her target alive for even longer. She may add the Temporal Flux modifier
to the roll. If the target was bleeding out, it’s completely possible for him to begin healing from
the wounds without any medical attention.
A prophet is not just someone who clears their mind and vision to see the future, they experience
it in it’s entirety as well. And those who would imitate the Hierophant Queen can experience it
too. She gains the Right Time Condition. When she activates the charm, the Princess may go
forwards or backwards in time up to one scene. If she goes backwards, she returns to the
beginning of the last scene from when this charm was used and she may change events that have
happened in the past by knowledge of the future. If she goes forwards, she instead experiences
time as normal, what would happen in the scene and snapping back at the scene’s end.
However, time travel isn’t something that can be easily toyed with. If the Princess goes
backwards and she makes changes, second uses of the charm cannot undo what the Princess has
changed in using this charm. She may not change the actions she’s taken if she’s experienced the
future.
As well, this charm being potentially game breaking and the like, should there be a group playing
and this charm is allowed, the consent of the group might be required to use this charm. If a
player attempts to do so anyway though, it can be accepted to simply say the charm
automatically failed and could be explained as “The stars are not in position for this tribute”.
While wearing the mantle of Pentacles, the Princess’s eyes seem to appear like pure and
gleaming silver while her presence gives a serene feeling to all about her. She also gains the
Invocation Lock Condition keyed to Vuoto.
Shape
Barricade (Shape 1) - Upgrade: Craftsman’s Eye (Metallo 1)
When using her magic upon the object, alongside reinforcing it, it also affects any other
interlocking parts. As well, the Princess may will the object to open, shut, or do anything as she
commands it.
Conductor (Shape 1, Fulmine 1)
Action: Instant, Intelligence + Science
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 Scene
The Princess’s hands can sap electricity from whatever she touches. When the Princess touches
something that utilizes electricity, she may make it non-conductive for a scene, making it useless
machinery.
Metal is rigid and unmoving, but even it needs to be tempered to become yet stronger. The
princess may manipulate metal as if it had the same consistency as clay. As soon as she lets go of
it, it regains its normal consistency. To sculpt complex shapes requires a Dexterity + Crafts roll.
If she gains an Exceptional Success in making this charm, the Princess may add her Metallo to
rolls where she reshapes metal.
The powers of Vuoto can age objects past their prime, decaying them into uselessness. The
Princess must touch an object and choose how much she wishes to age the object by, giving a
penalty as per Temporal Flux chart. Durability resists against time however, and instead of
requiring more successes, the Princess needs to subtract it from the roll as well.
Dramatic Failure: The Princess instead suffers Lethal damage equal to the number of 1s rolled.
Failure: The charm fails and nothing happens.
Success: The object suffers a level of Aggravated Damage equal to the number of successes
rolled, in which the damage looks naturally done by wear and tear through time.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.
Upgrade: Inevitable (Vuoto 2)
Cost: +1 Wisp
Everything breaks down with time, and nothing is exempt from this. By spending a wisp, if the
object’s durability is equal to or lower than the Princess’s Vuoto dots, she may ignore it.
Song of the Metal Siren (Shape 2, Metallo 2)
Action: Instant, Presence + Crafts
Cost: 1 Wisp
Duration: 1 Use
The Princess can sweetly sing to the tools she works with, forging them into greater than what
they are. The Princess may add an equipment bonus to the item in question equal to her
successes for a single use of the item.
Mrs. Poppins Bottomless Bag (Shape 2) - Upgrade: Time Capsule (Vuoto 2)
The items the Princess places inside the bag is no longer subject to the rules of time as long as it
remains closed. When the Princess uses Mrs. Poppins’ Bottomless Bag and applies Vuoto, she
may choose a number of objects equal to her Vuoto. As long as the bag remains sealed, the
objects are frozen in time. Food doesn’t spoil, plants don’t wither, and objects don’t deteriorate.
Upgrade: Hammerspace (Vuoto 3)
The insides of the Princess’s bag are so huge that she may hold even improbably large things in
her bag without it looking distended. The Princess may add her Vuoto to the Size of objects
being capable of being placed within her bag.
Made to Order (Shape 3) - Upgrade: Metalworking (Metallo 2)
Version: Dream
A chunk of ore twists and bends in the princess’s hands, becoming her ideal tool for the job and
hard to break. Under this upgrade, the tool is considered to have a Durability equal to the
Princess’s Metallo rating.
The Princess may take electricity in an object and store it in herself for later use. When using this
on an object, it is considered to have a number of Charges equal to its Size. A Princess may take
these charges onto herself, but she can only safely hold a number of charges equal to her
Fulmine. Any excess is immediately suffered as Bashing damage. She may use these charges to
overload a technological object or to shock a human being. Using the charges on an object deals
automatic loss of structure while using it on a human being requires an established grapple, to
which the charges can be reflexively released to cause one bashing per charge. If the scene ends
and the Princess has unused charges, they disperse automatically.
The Princess is able to charm the materials she works with, making a weapon superior to those
made by mundane hands. When holding either a mundane weapons or a weapon the Princess is
crafting and working on, the Princess may work this charm into the weapon creation. Upon
reaching the threshold, the weapon immediately gains the Illuminated Condition. Blessed by the
Light, it deals magic damage as well as physical. Along with gaining this condition, the Princess
may work more functions unto the weapon adding further traits. She may not add more traits to
the weapon than how many dots she has in Metallo. Dealing magic damage does not count
toward this limit for the purpose of this charm.
● Lower the Strength requirement for wielding the weapon (Minimum of 1)
● Negate the Initiative Penalty for wielding the weapon (Minimum of 0)
● Add a point of Armor Piercing to the weapon (Maximum = Metallo rating)
● Add the 9-Again Quality to the weapon in attacking.
● Make the Illuminated Condition indefinite until the weapon is broken.
If the Princess gains an exceptional success in the initial roll to Illuminate the weapon, she may
add one another quality per success over five that does not count toward the Metallo rating limit.
...Is not gold, but for a Princess with this charm, things might as well be such anyways. The
Princess is capable of transmuting a type of metal into another type of metal, and she may only
do so with size 1 objects of a homogenous nature. The Princess may affect anything the
Invocation of Metallo can affect (Metals of all kinds), but it must be solid at room temperature.
The Princess may freeze an object in time. She can keep valuable documents from facing decay
or keep a bomb from going off while she evacuates people. Each success she gets is how many
minutes it remains frozen. Any physical contact more significant than a raindrop however puts it
back into the flow of time from where it left off.
Upgrade: Temporal Flux (Vuoto 4)
Cost: 1 Willpower
The Princess can make the object remain frozen for longer. She may apply the Temporal Flux
modifier to the object, deciding for how long it remains frozen and how much of a penalty is
applied to the charm roll.
The Princess calls electricity to rampage across the sky, to dance at her fingertips. Once she
reaches the threshold, the sky grows dark and lightning begins rolling through the sky. As an
instant action, the Princess may call down Lightning. She uses a dicepool of her activation
successes of this charm and may target anyone in sight, dealing one lethal damage per success.
Furthermore, for every 3 successes the Princess accumulates over the threshold, she can apply
one of the following effects. She may wait to choose which effects to apply until the turn she
needs one.
● Heavy Rain: The storm pounds on those caught in it, making being outside near
intolerable. Until the charm ends, the area has the effects of the Heavy Rain tilt [GMC
209]. Cold weather does not change this to the Blizzard tilt.
● Thundering: The storm above heaves an aural assault at the Princess’s command. With
the same dicepool and targeting parameters as using Lightning, the Princess may inflict
the Deafened tilt [GMC 207] upon the target. He is considered to be deaf in both ears.
● Duration: This charm and the tilts it creates last for another scene.
Current weather conditions modify the activation roll: Already raining (+3), thick clouds (+1),
clear sky (-1), or drought (-3). This charm cannot be used more than once per day on a single
area.
Upgrade: Sheltering (Fulmine 4)
The Princess’s mien shelters all the people who search for themselves in the midst of a storm.
The Princess herself suffers from none of the tilts she has created and may name a number of
people up to her Inner Light + Fulmine that won’t be harmed by the storm.
The land that would be Gonel was once wild, untamable and uninhabitable. However, the Queen
of Wands has claimed this land as her own, doing the impossible through hard work and a touch
of magic to turn it into a thriving Kingdom. A Princess who touches upon the Queen of Wands
fortitude may also do great feats even if she’s alone.
When a Princess uses this charm, she gains the Unlimited House Works Condition. She may give
inanimate objects orders as if she used Tool Whispering with the Dancing Upgrade, and may
change their orders or drop them as an instant action, or even take control of the objects
employing a dicepool of Metallo + Appropriate Skill and move them as she pleases. Unlike Tool
Whispering, inanimate objects without any ability to move under their own power are now able
to, having an effective speed equal to the Princess’s Dexterity + Metallo. All objects affected
must be in sensory range, and the Princess may only affect a maximum number of objects equal
to her Metallo.
While the Princess wears the mantle of Wands, she and her regalia becomes more detailed, each
line or scar of motif telling a story of what she’s done. Silver threads also spool from her hands
and connect to the objects she’s controlling, though nothing is able to cut through them. The
Princess also gains the Invocation Lock keyed to Metallo.
Chapter 3: Kingdoms
The Kingdoms
Calat, Gonel, and Crystal Heril - The three missing Kingdoms that have vanished completely in
the Fall, save perhaps Calat in the form of its capital Alhambra. Nowhere do they exist in the
Dreamlands nor do the Twilight Queens speak of them. Nobles have few memories, but even
they have twisted far by the Gales and do not recall what those Kingdoms were exactly like.
The notions of these Kingdoms follow the same format as the descriptions of the Radiant
Kingdoms in the Corebook of Princess: the Hopeful. This is intentionally written to be like they
were in the Dreamlands should they be desired to be included in a modern setting. It also gives
info on what the Kingdom’s styles were like without divulging into what the Pre-Fall world once
was.
The Shores of Calat, Domain of the Queen of Cups
Along the shorelines of continents and islands, one may run into the settlements of Calat, the
Kingdom of the Queen of Cups. Being the most vast of the Queen’s Kingdoms, Calat is based at
where warm sands, tropical weather and the endless blue of the sky and ocean are at. The waves
are always soft and welcoming and the sand comforts the feet of those who’ve travelled long.
This is helpful as most of the people of the kingdom know how to handle sea transportation and
handling. The cities, walls, and roads were made through either using the architecture practiced
by Calat or by using the way of another Kingdom, often forming a mixture of the kingdom’s
styles.
From here it can be said that Calat could simply be a mix-match of what the rest of the
Kingdoms have, and to an extent that is true. There are many citizens from other Kingdoms and
places who live within Calat, but there is no demands for them to change to exist in the society.
No, often people are able to put so many cultures together without any of them being subsumed
into a whole. That’s not to say that Calat doesn’t have its own style. The pagodas, open
courtyards and buildings are perhaps the hallmarks of Alhambra, Calatian capital and where the
Queen has put her most personal touches on.
Though not as good at manufacturing nor as good at merchandising, Calat makes up for it
through variety and has a healthy economy based on handling imports and exports as well as
transportation and food. Few language barriers exist, but it also helps that the most of the
citizens can speak more than one language, and the most seasoned of sailors and merchants know
at least five languages and can flip between them on a moment’s notice.
Organizations and government between the towns and Alhambra tend to mold into a democratic
form, where the leaders are chosen from the people and by the people. And should the form of
government or leadership not work for the people, then they have the complete right to change
out the leaders with new ones. The Queen of course is fit for almost all stations in her city and
nowhere on any part of her Kingdom does she face fear of dethronement.
Upon finding these settlements, the Princess can see that they’re tightly knit communities that
can make do with, or without one or more people in them. Newcomers or returning peoples are
welcomed warmly into the fold. They easily work best in teams, and they have had many
accomplishments under their belts. They’ve been able to move rivers off their course, grow
plants where none could thrive and herd livestock amongst it all.
The People of Gonel tend to work as a community when it comes to any arising problems and
major positions in assignments come to those who have the best skills in the department of work.
Gonel as such follows a meritocracy style of ruling with a community that can rely on each other
for support.
Gonel is finally an extroverted nation, if not due to imports when there’s the rare shortages, then
due to the factor that Gonel can provide some of the largest labor forces willing to work for their
keep. Also given the factor that underneath the Kingdom’s lands lie rich metal ore deposits, this
has also lead to a healthy relationship to the Dannan Archipelago in their use of raw materials.
The Ecclesia Crystal Heril, Domain of the Queen of Pentacles
The Kingdom of Crystal Heril is a mix of deciduous forests that holds the palace of spyglass and
crystal towers that is the Queen’s castle. The cities often pile atop of each other, steadily
reaching outward from the center. Beyond these cities lies the plains that constitutes the
farmlands. It’s a true fact that the Court of Pentacles makes wise use of their charms, and their
lands reflect this by being one of the Kingdoms least beset by any troubles from events, natural
or otherwise, and thus needing few emergency resources for living in their conditions.
There is an even mixture of farming villages and the minor aristocracies that make up the bigger
communities. Those in power are often chosen by the Queen of Pentacles or one of her highest
Priestesses and are graded not by their power or influence, but by what they can or will do with it
by judging on their character as well. People within the domain have a good discerning eye for
quality, and don’t often fret when it comes to minor problems that were simply unavoidable,
such as a storm that cuts off the power and the like.
Ultimately, despite the foremost duties of Pentacles Kingdom matching that of inquisitors,
judges and investigators, there is no paranoia of “Big Sister Pentacles” watching. The farthest
that anyone in the service of the Kingdom would look is only for the biggest events towards the
Kingdom as a whole. If a plague is killing off the crops for example, they will stockpile
beforehand or import if worst comes to worst. Invasion of privacy is only tolerated when it
comes to major disputes.
The Court of Pentacles is an oddity when it comes to its introversion. They are known to try to
grasp the uncertainty that is the Light, and debate on what is good or just. These nightly sessions
often attract a great audience from across the kingdoms when it comes to these discussions, and
sometimes they are part of a case the Kingdom has been dealing with. Sometimes these disputes
carry out amongst the kingdoms on the bands of knights, who are as much evangelists as they are
crusaders. They carry them to the ears of those unable to attend but desiring to be a part of.
To the Queen of Cups, the Foundation appears like the first winding road she took when she
began her trip to Enlightenment, each step of hers, and all those before her who attempted being
outlined in great detail. The Beyond appears as a storm upon the horizon of the road, although
the Queen has been said that there has been a gleaming light behind the storm.
The Queen of Wands sees the Foundation as the lands her Kingdom was before she settled upon
it, badlands with dried up grasses and few living things under the sun. The Beyond appears as a
great crevice at the edge of the Foundation, where it leads quite easily into pitch blackness. The
sight unnerves the Queen, if nothing else.
The Queen of Pentacles views the Foundation as a crystal spire jutting up into the night sky,
where it’s decorated by constellations upon constellations of stars. The Beyond appears as the
full moon in the sky, shining eternally without the radiance of a Sun to draw upon.
Chapter 4: The Road to Twilight and Dawn
“I can’t go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then.”
Alice
Even though the Queens have certainly changed, one thing remains certain about the Light. Even
if something is touched by Darkness and corrupted, if it is cared for, then it can be redeemed
back to what it once was. It is very possible for a Princess to take these Philosophies into herself
and recreate the courts of old from them, although the Queen of Tears would understandably be
pissed at the notion of someone taking the Mantle of Cups, her rightful mantle, away from her.
Although despite all of this information on the Twilight Courts’ Precursors, it still doesn’t
explain one crucial detail amongst all of them that any Princess in the know would desire the
answer to. Perhaps the one detail that perverts the Light and fractures it with Darkness. “How did
these courts turn into what they are today?”
Indeed. How does a Radiant Court turn to Twilight? And inversely, can a Twilight Court be
turned back to Radiant? Like so many disputes amongst the Hopeful, there’s many theories and
ideas, but not one definite answer as of yet.
Invocation
One thing for certain is that in all respects, a Twilight Court seems to be created and function
almost exactly the same as a Radiant Court does. No matter whether it follows the vague
processes that follows Queens within the Vocation Version, or the outline that the Dream version
provides. One thing though that is definite within both versions is that an Invocation is
influenced by its Queen’s beliefs. And of course, the more one lives, the greater possibility there
is for the beliefs of a Queen to shift. If an Invocation changes, then it could mean that it was
influenced by a change in behavior by the Queen herself.
Invocation Drawback
Perhaps a peculiar sentiment of the Twilight Courts is that their powers demand something extra
to be paid in accordance of their powers. Something that hurts the user. These take the form of
the Twilight Invocations Drawbacks. Respectively, Lacrima holds Belief Compromises or
Sensitivity rolls, Tempesta holds Resistant Damage, and Specchio calls madness. The peculiarity
of these is that none of the Radiant Invocations hold these drawbacks, they are Twilight
Invocation only. How exactly is such a thing possible?
Fall and Redemption
If you can be tormented by the Darkness, then you can fall. But if someone else cares for you,
then you can be redeemed. This is a simple part of the cycle of Light and Darkness. Does the
same go for a Twilight Court? It sure can, but it depends on how it fell in the first place to see
how it redeems.
Belief Theory
Perhaps in another fitting fashion, the Invocation can also hold on to some aspects it once had if
it has changed. One known fact among princesses is that an invocation exists because of a
Queen, not the other way around. If it changes, then the Queen the invocation belongs to changes
too, right? If a Princess today had picked up the philosophies of Cups, lived by them and
cultivated a new Kingdom and she became the new Queen of Cups, the Fulmine Invocation
presented in this book wouldn’t be exactly the same as the Fulmine the Princess-now-Queen has
made since it bears her personal touch and not the Queen of Tears’.
This is perhaps the most understandable theory, as the Twilight Invocations do have some piece
of their Precursors in them as explained in Chapter One. Vuoto’s free manipulation of Time and
Space would explain how Specchio bears control of the same, but not in the exact same fashion
as it once held. Through this example, it also holds that something of the old remained with the
new as well, and therefore falling to Twilight is plausible by the unnatural circumstance that was
the Fall.
For example, the Queen of Cups was about Self-Discovery and Enlightenment. When the Fall
occurred, it’s plausible that in order to survive, she desired to become the person who could
withstand the compromises required to keep the last remnant of the Kingdom alive. Only now
though through her twisted enlightenment she now cannot break free and her eyes, which could
once see the light ahead, are now clouded by endless tears.
As for the Invocations’ Drawbacks, they’re explained away as the Princesses’ beliefs being
magic. In turn, the Twilight Queen’s beliefs, which are twisted in their showing of the light, have
taken the shape of these drawbacks to compensate their shift in power and philosophy. The
Queen of Cups, again in example, has wanted to become a person able to take compromises and
be able to deal with them. The shifting of Fulmine into Lacrima has produced it to demand Belief
Compromises or bearing more Sensitivity in turn, requiring those who would wield Lacrima to
be able to take the same compromises the Queen-Who-Was-Cups had.
To rise back to what they once were, as Radiant Courts, it would require the Queen to be able to
shift her Beliefs back to what they once were, perhaps fixing the damage they have once done.
This is where the theory’s fault comes in, as each queen is directly different. The Queen of Tears
is most definitely at Belief 1, and an attempt at changing beliefs would only cause a Compromise
on her own part. The same goes to Storms, except that whatever her circumstances for falling
had tied into her power surge upon the Fall. In these two cases, the best way to reassume their
duties as Radiant would probably require Reincarnation first to build a clean slate upon, both
belief-wise and Kingdom-wise. Afterall, they do recall their times as Queens during the
Kingdoms without the trouble of Galewarped memories, so they can recall how to do it much
better than any other. The only problem is persuading them to let go. As she is, the Queen of
Tears would not leave Alhambra unattended and especially Queenless, and Storms must
eliminate the darkness before she can rest.
Perhaps the Queen of Mirrors is a bit more fortunate. Her ambiguity to whether she’s Radiant or
Twilight, the factor that she could be a living Queen and that her invocation has relatively a few
changes from her time as Pentacles (in both element and Belief) means that she could potentially
return to being Radiant. Now if only someone could actually find out where she’s at and go to
her….
For those who ascribe to this theory, the Queens are simply stuck at different standpoints of the
grieving process, making the problem purely psychological and thus able to deal with. The
Queen of Tears seems to be stuck within Depression, unable to create a future past her glorious
Kingdom and seeing others suffering as less than her own. The Queen of Storms is stuck within
Anger, raging past the end of the world and into the new one, striking against everything that is
amongst her enemies that took everything away before. The Queen of Mirrors could be seen as
some odd mix of Bargaining and Denial. She calls out to others to reign as the True Heir, when
by all means she could do so herself and yet she never does.
Their grief then could strike out as their Invocations Drawbacks. Tear’s Depression drowns those
who would use her invocation in sorrow and misery (regardless of the Corebook being used with
the Compromises/Sensitivity divide). Storm’s Anger rages against everything: friend, foe, ally,
enemy, the world, the Darkness and even the Light. Mirror’s Denial coalesces into Madness,
denying loss of Belief with Madness and the True Heirs failures.
Therefore, the problem here is simply psychological and could be solved as such. Queens,
despite being demigods and rulers of nations, are still human in the end, and as such need the
same comforts and needs for respite as people do. Helping the Queen of Tears move past her
Depression, getting the Queen of Storms to take a breather, making the Queen of Mirrors look
upon what she’s doing and acknowledge that she’s not helping anything could potentially help
them move back to Radiance.
Even those who haven’t laid eyes upon Alhambra’s archives, or even Alhambra itself, do know
of the Memorial in the Queen’s Palace that speaks of the Fall in minor detail.
“In the nal days of the Kingdom, the minor courts turned from the Light to contend with one
another, and to resist the efforts of Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing to impose order and peace
upon them. None now can say who was the rst to use monsters of the Darkness as weapons in
these battles; but those who did were inevitably betrayed, as are all who think to master
Darkness.
Their lands became the monsters’ bastions, their peoples (if they were fortunate) were killed or
(if less blessed) changed into abominations and sent to conquer other courts in turn. Some few
Queens, realizing the world’s peril at last, came at the invitation of Her Majesty the
Ever-Flowing, with their subjects and armies to this, the eternal city Alhambra.
Here they prepared to carry war into the lands taken by Darkness, under the command of the
Seraphic General, the rst of all Queens after Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing. From the gates of
the eternal city the armies set forth, and within a day’s march the swollen horde of abominations
fell upon them and broke them. Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing, with her loyal knight
commanders, looked out from this place and saw the Seraphic General rise from the eld of
battle, transmuted into a living storm; they knew in that moment that all the world save
Alhambra was lost forever. In this place Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing and her knight
commanders performed the Grand Sacrice of Inversion, enveloping the eternal city within a
perpetual ward and shield, so that the last refuge of the Light would be preserved undimmed.
The wisdom of Her Majesty the Ever-Flowing shall illuminate the cosmos forever.” (From both
Princess the Hopeful Corebooks)
Although Tears tends to tell things in her point of view (and thus it’s at least a little bit
unreliable), some do contend that there’s still a glimmer of truth in the morsels leftover from the
Fall. From this text it would seem that in the days of the Fall, many Kings and Queens were
tempted by the Darkness and consequently used it or even controlled it, if to only ultimately
become corrupted by it. One thing though is still to note, that out of the many Kings and Queens
who might’ve once existed, they do not now. Even the ones that were supposedly welcomed to
Alhambra.
The belief behind this theory is that the Twilight Queens had struck some sort of Pact with the
Darkness itself somehow. Based on how normal mortals pact with the Darkness, for a Queen to
do so is perhaps so great a deal that something great had to be offered in return to the Darkness.
The most common story is that in exchange for Alhambra’s protection from the Darkness, the
Queen of Tears would offer the world’s hope, and the lives of the Kings and Queens who had
once come for her aid. For the Queen of Storms, if it is believed that when she was surrounded
by Darkness as the story goes, she made her deal in the midst of it to perhaps be able to rage
forever without losing herself to the darkness. The Queen of Mirrors is unknown as all things go.
Maybe she bargained for safety, and the catch was that all those who she would seek out to
succeed for her would eventually fail.
Quite honestly, this theory is known as both “The Darkness Theory” and “The Dark Avatar
Theory”, as the Darkness could carry out on it’s own. However, Alhambra’s records speak of
three other beings, masterminds behind the Fall and the Trap that were gods amongst the
Darkness. The Black Queen of Despair, the Red Queen of Violence, and the White Queen of Self
Loathing. The existence of the Dark Avatars are simply too suspicious to be avoided when it
comes to the three Twilight Queens and that their invocations do bear the flaw presented by the
Dark Avatar. Indeed, if the Avatars did ever exist, there isn’t any information that they exist
today.
Through this, it’s believed that the Invocation Drawbacks are caused from a clause in the pact
made, or perhaps an additional term in exchange for what the Queens bargained for. Lacrima
does spread about Despair and forces it upon its users. Tempesta creates violence upon
everything. And Specchio demands perfection and chides flaws.
As for changing the Queens back to Radiant, it then becomes a form of wordplay or seeking for
the terms of the Pacts made and trying to void them. How to void them may vary. It may require
trying to find a loophole in the pact that the Queen can use to get out of it. It may require the
death of the Darkness (or the respective Avatar if they’re used). Or perhaps it can simply be
voided by the Queen’s death. All of these are bound to be extremely hard, and with what this
theory supports, it is both the most shunned and least talked about, for it describes the possibility
of betraying the Light to the Darkness.
Conditions
Crown of Another Kingdom
The Princess has taken the crown of another kingdom, and as such she claims a part of another
supernatural template into herself. She gains powers appropriate to the crown taken as explained
in the Crown of Another Kingdom Charm.
Crown Taken and Powers:
Beat: Gain a beat whenever interacting with a supernatural type while under the effects of the
charm.
Causing the Condition: Using the Crown of Another Kingdom
Ending the Condition: The Charm Ends.
Destiny Condition
The Character is set to walk upon a path, and they may not leave it until she finishes it or the
time simply runs out to fulfill it. The Character has one Aspiration, Dream or Vocation selected
as the Destiny. Whenever the Character would take up actions that would further the cause, they
receive bonuses to any roll that applies. Completion of the Destiny Condition grants the Princess
her choice of Luminous or Regular Beats.
Drawback: The chosen Destiny bears only one path, and doesn't favor any deviations. The
Character takes an equivalent penalty to trying to get the same end from different ways.
Chosen Destiny:
Roll Modifier:
Mentor’s Fatigue
Becoming a Mentor under the banner of Cups has it’s own problems, as she is responsible for
someone else’s failings and mistakes. The Princess gets 9 Again on Sensitivity Rolls if the target
of “The Trail We Blaze” charm is a perpetrator. If the Princess faces a Belief Compromise
through Bad Example rules due to the target, she doesn’t half or double her modifier with her
own Compromise Roll.
Beat: The Princess suffers a haunting or loses a dot of Belief.
Ending the Condition: This condition fades at the end of the scene, this does not grant any
beats.
Tilts
Lost In Time Tilt
Your character was in a fight, but now he can barely keep up with anyone else. As long as he’s
under the effects of this tilt, his defense is penalized by however many successes were gained on
the time warping magic that slows him down. He also may only move half his speed (to a
minimum of 1, round up) and others may apply their defense against his ranged attacks.
Causing the Tilt: The “Lag” Fight Charm or magic that uses some aspect of time to slow down
the target.
Ending the Tilt: The power expires or other magic forces it to expire.