Name Charms

 

Imposition Of Law

Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 4 gossamer

Duration: One story

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Heart: 1

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: None

The raksha defines a truth about herself — some mundane task she cannot fail at. The player chooses an Attribute, an Ability and a specialty when purchasing this Charm. This Charm only affects normal dice actions rolling the relevant Attribute + Ability that fall under that specialty. This Charm gives the raksha automatic success on the roll — a minimum of one success, after taking difficulty and any defenses into account — unless opposed by Charms or stunts. If someone opposes the raksha with Charms or stunts, Imposition of Law does not give automatic success. It gives two bonus successes on the roll instead.

For example, a raksha might choose Dexterity + Melee (Swords) to make herself a perfect master of the blade. If she attacks someone with a sword, and her player rolls three successes, and the target parries for six, she still hits with one success. If he then uses a reflexive Dodge Charm to dodge, she misses outright — five successes to attack, versus a six-success parry and a dodge.

Similarly, a silver-tongued thief might choose Charisma + Larceny (Appearance of Innocence). If caught stealing a king’s crown from his head, she can automatically laugh the whole thing off — unless someone uses a stunt or Charm to expose her. A heroic minister might do so by pointing out “faint stains on her hands where they touched something too perfect for a guttersnipe,” by soliloquizing about the dignity of the crown and the importance of the occasion or by tricking her into admitting her crime, but a typical mortal court will accept her story of “just adjusting it, sirs.”

The Storyteller can permit the player to choose a normally unrolled task instead of an Attribute, Ability and specialty combination — something like “fertility” or “attracting the notice of the Realm.”

Players can purchase this Charm up to once per dot of the raksha’s Heart.

 

Bastion Of The Self (Grace)

Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 4 gossamer

Duration: One story

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Heart: 2

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: None

This Charm provides partial immunity against certain effects. The player chooses one effect from the following list when purchasing this Charm.

• Bastion of the Self (Cup) — this Charm protects against normal attacks and effects that weaken the raksha and Cup-shaping attacks.

• Bastion of the Self (Ring) — this Charm protects against undue mental influence and Ring-shaping attacks.

• Bastion of the Self (Staff) — this Charm protects against undue social influence and Staff-shaping attacks.

• Bastion of the Self (Sword) — this Charm protects against normal attacks with damaging effects and Sword-shaping attacks.

This Charm provides full immunity against mundane effects unaugmented by Charms or stunts. They fail entirely. If an attacker uses a Charm, stunt or shaping action, Bastion of the Self instead increases the difficulty of attacking the raksha by two.

For example, a raksha purchases this Charm to make himself immune to physical damage. He can walk pleasantly through an army of extras and their spears, for they have no chance to harm him. Against a hero using even a one- or two-die stunt — “Hidden by the forest of aimless spears, my blade slips through his defenses to strike his vulnerable spot” — this Charm increases the difficulty to hit the raksha by 2.

Players can purchase this Charm only once.