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Argos Firstpass Developed PDF
Argos Firstpass Developed PDF
Harbingers
The Underworld's unsettled spaces are vast and hostile. Spectres, Plasmics, Maelstroms, and
stranger hazards threaten the unwary traveler. Subjective distance and protean terrain render
cartography an exercise in futility. The only reliable method of navigation through the Tempest
is Argos, the ancient Arcanos of travel. Only the desperate and foolhardy sail the Sunless Sea
without a Harbinger guide, whose expertise can make the difference between a narrow escape
and an unexplained disappearance. When unencumbered by companions, a traveler versed in
Argos can evade or outrun even the Tempest's greatest dangers.
Guildmarks
As Argos affects the Tempest, so too does a bit of the Tempest soak into each Harbinger. A
wraith skilled in these arts gradually develops jet-black eyes, and her clothing flutters in
intangible winds that gust with her emotions.
The Guild
Harbingers' Guild folklore holds that the guild existed long before it became the dominant body
of Argos practitioners. Its apocryphal founders were victims of the first shipwrecks who
continued their seamanship after death. The tale's accuracy is debatable, but the Harbingers
have always been closely associated with mariners, and guild culture shows heavy influence
from maritime (and, later, aeronautical) customs.
Harbingers have always been travelers; their Arcanos' very nature enables and sometimes seems
to compel it. Some are messengers, vital in an environment where communication moves at the
speed of travel. Others are explorers, plumbing the Tempest's depths or seeking the farthest
shores or Dark Kingdoms. Those of a more mercantile bent become traders or guides, moving
wraiths and their goods throughout the Underworld. All but the most cynical, however, adopt
the sailor's ethos of always aiding vessels in distress, adapting it to the Underworld. Many
wraiths owe their continued existence to a Harbinger's timely intervention. Stygian tradition
holds that interfering with a Harbinger brings ill luck.
In the Guild's heyday, its members' constant motion forestalled any attempt at rigid organization.
Harbinger society was a loose meritocracy ranked by navigational prowess and deeds of
exploration or rescue. What structure existed hinged on the Harbormasters, veteran Harbingers
who retired from travel to serve as a given Necropolis' trade factor, lighthouse keeper,
shipwright, weather forecaster, and occasional lifeboat captain. The Harbormasters also
maintained the Harbingers' relationship with the Hierarchy, working closely with the Stygian
government but never becoming part of it.
Focused on the Tempest, the Harbingers had few conflicts with Charon's laws. Any
participation in the revolt was individual choice, not guild mandate, and most Harbormasters
counseled early withdrawal. The Breaking had little impact on the Harbingers' comings and
goings or their roles in the Underworld. Most Harbormasters remained discreetly in place; the
few Necropoli that did eject them quickly became Maelstrom-wracked backwaters.
Factions
Beyond the Harbormasters, the guild's internal divisions mark out the Harbingers' trades and
agendas. Circuit Riders travel between smaller Necropoli, either alone or as part of like-minded
Circles, providing skilled services that the Hierarchy can't or won't. The Anemographers study
the Tempest and plumb the Underworld's darkest recesses. Privateers enjoy a mixed reputation,
capable of moving any sort of goods but also likely to flout Hierarchy law and common decency
for the right price. By contrast, Emissaries cultivate an aura of incorruptibility, serving not only
as messengers but as trusted mouthpieces for wraiths who can't themselves travel to conduct
critical business. The most-respected Harbingers, though, are those for whom patrolling the
Tempest and rescuing distressed wraiths is not a duty but a calling – one which yields a complex
and not always warm relationship with the Ferrymen.
Argos Systems
Unless otherwise specified, a wraith using an Argos art may apply it to additional voluntary
traveling companions, providing the same benefits that she herself receives. All members of the
group must hold hands. Each "passenger" who lacks Argos increases the difficulty of all
associated rolls by 1 (maximum 10). Any passenger who loses his connection to the wraith falls
into the Tempest.
When the wraith uses any Argos art to travel to one of her Fetters, the difficulty of any associated
rolls is reduced by the Fetter's rating (minimum 4).
• Enshroud (Ancient)
The wraith can manipulate the membrane between the Shadowlands and the Tempest, drawing
the sunless sea over herself for concealment or plunging herself into it without entering a Nihil.
System: When the wraith attempts to enter the Tempest, the player rolls Wits + Argos (difficulty
7). One success is enough to open a momentary portal, which irises shut as soon as the wraith
slips through it.
To use the Tempest for concealment, the player spends 1 Corpus and rolls Wits + Argos
(difficulty 7). Each success adds one die to all Stealth dice pools for the rest of the scene.