Table Of Contents

Introduction
Opening Fiction
Callings and Queens
Main Story Part 1
Setting History
Main Story Part 2
Character Creation
HERE COMES MANTIS SHRIMP
Magic
Main Story Part 3 (UNWRITTEN)
Storytelling
Main Story Part 4
The Forces Of Darkness
UNWRITTEN FICTION
Dark Magical Girls
Main Story Part 5
The Dreamlands
Extras
Appendix I: Regalia
Appendix II: Tilts and Conditions
 Introduction
"If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, well, then, I'll just tell them they're wrong. And I'll keep
telling them 'til they believe! No matter how many times it takes." --Madoka Kaname
Princess: the Hopeful is a game of fighting fear.
It’s about magical girls -- young heroines (and
heroes) who discover magical powers that serve to
express their personality and journey. They retain
their normal lives with their normal friendships and
obligations and worries, and transform into an
alternate identity that uses magical powers to do
something they couldn’t do in their normal identity,
which is usually fighting an evil force of some kind.
In their alternate identities their costumes are
outlandish and ornate, their magical abilities huge
and flashy. They shout out the names of their
attacks, they give speeches about their friends and
their principles to their opponents -- everything
about them is an open and vivid expression of their
emotions and identity, their alternate self is a bold
and magnified version of who they are. They value
principles like friendship and love and loyalty and
are not shy about proclaiming them; when they
overcome a monster or its evil leader it’s a
validation of their ideals as much as an expression
of their strength because in the magical girl genre
those are the same thing.
The Chronicles of Darkness don’t seem like the kind
of place that would have magical girls, which is why
it’s exactly the kind of place that would have
magical girls. The world in a magical girl story is very
dark and full of evil and predation, without the
magical girls to fight it back. The Chronicles of
Darkness are ruled by fear and monstrosity, where
every creature is cruel and lives in fear of an even
crueler creature deeper in the shadows. There is no
place for friendship nor love here, life is cheap,
ideals are disposable. Anyone or anything with the
slightest knowledge of the awful truths of the
Chronicles of Darkness’s world would erupt in
sneering, contemptuous laughter at the thought
that all the vulnerabilities and emotions they have
hardened themselves against are what truly matters
in the world. They turned their back on these ideals,
became cynical and selfish and wicked, believed it
was the only smart and mature thing to do. Feelings
are a vulnerability, so they detached themselves
from feeling.
That’s always how the villains treat the ideals of a
magical girl, right up until she proves herself by
triumphing over their heartlessness with the power
of friendship. A magical girl’s entire shtick about the
power of love only works in the magical girl genre,
and it’s just foolishly suicidal to count on love and
friendship in a true horror story. That’s why any
conflict with a magical girl character is ultimately a
conflict about what genre the story is. Is this a world
of sorrows and terror and subjugation and cruelty?
Or is this a world where love and friendship and
kindness matter?
Now, the stigma against role-playing games in
general has largely faded away thanks to media like
Critical Role and Stranger Things, so you likely aren’t
embarrassed by the idea of reading a role-playing
book. You probably wouldn’t think twice about
letting someone see you’re reading Vampire: the
Requiem or Mage: the Awakening, unless you’re
tired of explaining the difference between World of
Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness. Yet, if you
aren’t a little bit embarrassed by reading the
magical girl game called Princess: the Hopeful,
you’re keenly aware that there’s a group of people
who think you should be. Why do you think that is?
Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be judged for it in a way
you wouldn’t be judged for something else. It’s
almost like you know there’s people who would
erupt in sneering, contemptuous laughter at the
thought of wholeheartedly and unironically
embracing “childish” things and championing the
Power of Friendship. People who turned their backs
on pure and guileless sincerity, because it was the
only smart and mature thing to do. Feelings are a
social vulnerability, so they became ironically
detached to avoid judgment. The fear of being
judged makes people seal away sincerity and causes
them to judge others, spreading that fear.
Princess: the Hopeful is a game of fighting fear.
Motifs: Sincerity and Expression
“If we want the rewards of being loved, we must
face the mortifying ordeal of being known.” -- Tim
Krieder
No matter how old we may be now, all of us were
once young. The world was unexplored and exciting,
full of possibility. What we lacked in experience and
wisdom, we made up for in possibility and
enthusiasm. We dreamed of fame, fortune, wealth,
glory, and respect. We wanted to be astronauts,
cowboys, firemen, doctors, singers, rock stars, or all
of the above at once. After all, we didn’t know what
was possible … and that meant ANYTHING was
possible. We looked at the world through guileless
eyes, felt it as fully and intensely as anyone ever
could. When we came to a new idea, we embraced
it zealously and whole-heartedly, convinced we’d
found the secret that would change the world.
When we loved, we were convinced it was the most
passionate ever felt; when we hurt, we thought it
was a tragedy the likes of which had never been
seen. We were convinced that we had the whole
thing figured out, that we could make everything
perfect if we just had a chance, if the grownups
would just listen. After all, we could do anything if
we put our mind to it. We were fearless. We
couldn’t wait to grow up so we could grab life by the
horns.
What the hell happened? We got scared, is what.
Sometimes when we believed in ourselves it wasn’t
enough, and from it we learned that we shouldn’t
believe in ourselves. We saw other people had our
ideas before and we taught ourselves that meant
we weren’t special. We had our hearts broken by
dashed hopes too many times, and taught ourselves
that raising our hopes was too dangerous. We were
judged for foolishness and naivete and taught
ourselves that pain was so bad we had to fear it
above all. We became afraid of being ourselves so
openly and brazenly, so we shrunk ourselves, we hid
ourselves behind veils and masks. We live in an
irony-poisoned society because we’re so afraid that
sincerity will be thrown back into our faces, that
hopes exist only to be crushed.
The Chronicles of Darkness are ruled by fear too. It’s
not just social sanction and crushed hopes, those
ideas manifest as much darker, much crueler, much
less human forces that prey on vulnerability both
physical and emotional. Detaching yourself from
your ideas, your own personhood, is a survival
strategy, and over there it’s a much more relevant
one. Opening your heart is only going to get you
hurt, and this time, it might be by a vampire.
You cannot be a magical girl ironically. The magical
girl genre explodes with sincerity at every turn.
When you put on the mask of another identity it’s
not to avoid yourself, but express yourself. A magical
girl has an outfit and magical accessories and special
magic attacks and a sidekick and speeches and
color-coordination and an image song and a special
transformation sequence. Her eyes get huge and down others, letting down yourself, of the doubters
sparkly when she’s in love and she gets a huge being right, of being not good enough -- determine
sweatdrop on her head when she’s frustrated and who you are?
her entire face turns red when she’s angry. Every
single thing about her and her actions screams “This
is who I am and this is what I feel!” Theme: Fighting Fear
The true meaning of courage is not to act without
When you take the role of a magical girl, you’ll take
fear, but despite it.
the role of a good-hearted person who finds that
the power to combat the evil forces of the world
Princess’s monsters are borne of fear in some way,
was within them all along. To fight evil, you’ll
and its central thesis is about how fear lies at the
protect the innocent, heal the injured, uncover the
heart of so many of our miseries, how fear spreads
hidden, sway hearts, and uplift spirits. In every one
and magnifies itself by passing from one to another.
of these actions you’ll proclaim “This is who I am!
Fear itself is literally the supernatural corruption the
This is what I am about! This is my heart!” Ironic
All-Consuming Darkness infects people with to warp
emotional detachment is not an option here. Your
them, and it is so pervasive we think it’s not
power itself comes from your ability to emotionally
supernatural in origin at all. People collapse under
invest yourself so much it can bend the heartless
the weight of their fears and are imprisoned in
rules of the world. And if you win, you will triumph
Nightscapes, which leak monsters into the world
because you committed your heart and your
that are literally their fears manifested. Fear warps
identity and proclaimed this was the hill you were
them metaphorically or literally until they become
willing to die on.
grotesque caricatures of themselves, willing or
unwilling puppets whose every action proclaims
If. Because you still might fuck it up. People might
what they’re afraid of in a dark parody of a
still react with hate and revulsion at what you
Princess’s sincerity. People spread fear to others in
expose of yourself, and your hopes might still get
an attempt to ward it away from themselves, to
crushed after you lifted them up, and sometimes
prevent what causes it or prevent themselves from
your belief in yourself isn’t going to be enough to
feeling it. People are afraid of being preyed on, so
carry through. Sometimes your ideals are actually
they must prey on others first. People are afraid of
going to be insufficient or even laughably wrong.
being known, so they can’t let themselves be loved.
Sometimes the voices of doubt are going to actually
have an accurate assessment of the situation.
Your opponent is then not just something you
should be scared of because it is dangerous, but
As a Princess you won’t just put your body at risk of
springs from fear itself. You don’t just destroy the
being ripped apart by claws made of sharpened
things people fear, you need to fight fear itself. But
nothingness. That’s what everyone in the Chronicles
for as terrible as fear is, it is part of us now, you
of Darkness does. You’re going to put your heart at
cannot get rid of it. To save the world, you’re going
risk. And you’re going to have to suffer for it, and
to have to overcome fear and what it does. You will
you’re going to have to decide how much you can
feel it as a part of you, and you will have to act
afford to risk and keep going. Can you hold on to
despite it. You can’t just blast the monster, you have
your ideals? How much of those ideals really should
to get to its source, you have to learn and confront
be discarded in order to live in the real world? How
the fears that created it. To make the world a better
much are you going to let fear -- that fear of letting
place, even when the world resists you every step of friends if nobody else. Her band of friends is going
the way. In a world of fear and isolation, you have to to face danger and horror together, and it’s going to
become someone people can trust with their hopes draw them together…
and their very lives.
Or it’s going to smash them all.
Oh, but your opponent is still something dangerous.
Terrifyingly dangerous. Your soul hails from a world
of beauty, love, and peace, and the creatures of fear
were enough to annihilate it -- and now the
Chronicles of Darkness are full of fears they couldn’t
have even imagined. You will have to overcome fear
to have a chance to save the world. That might not
be enough. And you might not know that until your
courage and strength fails and everyone who relied
on you is weeping in terror.

Mood: Tension and Camaraderie

“I don’t know who I’d be without you guys.”

A Princess has to balance a lot of factors that pull

against each other. She can’t abandon her mundane
life, but it conflicts with her magical mission. She
has two identities that want different things despite
both of them being completely and emphatically
her. The more she commits herself, the greater her
power, but the worse it will be when she does fail.
Her enemies all deserve empathy but may be too
dangerous to permit it. There’s always more she can
do, somewhere else she can stretch herself thin,all
at the cost of wearing herself down. Each of these
things, each of these competing needs, each creates
a rising tension in your life and the thought that one
of these tautly-pulled wires might snap becomes
worse and worse.

Her friends are her best asset, the thing she can
truly rely on. Her friendships have to be what carries
her through these trials, she needs to be as close to
them as anyone can be, rely on them and let them
rely on her. Fear wants us to be alone, and shield
ourselves, so she has to open herself to her close

Sidebar: Gendered Pronouns
The magical girl genre is, rather obviously,
typically about girls. Magical girls are feminine
and use markers of femininity as power, as part of
their self-expression. This is a refutation of how
our society outside the text views femininity,
strength, and weakness; but that reasoning can’t
exist INSIDE the text or it would be incoherent. In
a magical girl story, the idea that being feminine
might make one weaker or less worthy is so
nonsensical it doesn’t even come up. So magical
girls both are and are not about being feminine:
embracing femininity is a refutation of an idea
that femininity should hold them back, and not a
statement that femininity is better. The ideals and
story they embody is resonant to people of any
gender or presentation.
If you do the slightest digging, you will find a LOT
of shonen anime and its tropes are very similar to
the core ideas expressed by the magical girl
genre. Especially in terms of the power of
friendship! Yusuke Urameshi of Yu Yu Hakusho
doesn’t have a fancy outfit, but all his actions
declare his vividly defined personality and his
unbreakable ideals, and his magical powers
express those in a larger-than-life way which
cause his victories to be validation of those ideals.
In Princess, you don’t have to be a girl. There’s
plenty of male Princes, and they don’t have to be
particularly effeminate: the Inner Light of
humanity is common to us all and your gender
doesn’t determine your worth or virtues. But for
some reason nobody’s quite figured out,
Princesses do outnumber Princes by a fair margin,
at least 2 to 1.
For this reason, the assumed default word is
“Princess” to refer to a magical girl, or a magical
person of unknown gender. “Prince” is only used
specifically for a magical boy. It’s kind of like
falcons -- did you know that “falcon” is the word
for the female of the species, used as the default
to refer to all of them, but a male one is called a
“tiercel?”
Similarly, the assumed character that sentences
are constructed around is female by default; the
object of the sentence or other person she
interacts with will be male by default.
Sources and Inspiration
Vampires and werewolves and wizards have existed
in our common mythology for centuries, even if the
codified rules of how they work are more recent
than people think (Vampires didn’t die in sunlight
until 1922’s Nosferatu). Stories of the Fair Folk go
back as far as the history of Europe’s forests, and
Promethean will remind you that tales of attempts
to raise the dead go back further than Shelley’s
Frankenstein.
The first piece of magical girl media ever created
was the manga Akko-Chan’s Secrets in 1962, and the
first magical girl anime was Sally the Witch in 1966.
Magical girl warriors weren’t a thing until 1973’s
Cutie Honey and the tropes weren’t really cemented
and codified until Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon in
1992. 1992! If the Sailor Moon franchise were a
person, it wouldn’t even have had a midlife crisis
yet! It couldn’t have voted for Obama’s first term,
even if it was an American citizen!
It’s a very recent invention, is what I am saying. It’s
like zombie stories in that it couldn’t really exist
without a modern storytelling environment. So
while there are plenty of core magical girl stories to
take inspiration from, there’s also plenty of works
that are partially related that you should check out
anyway.
Core Mahou Shoujo
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: What almost everyone
thinks of when you talk about magical girls and a
massive influence on everything that came after it,
Sailor Moon is the story of a complete crybaby klutz
who discovers she is the superheroic Sailor Moon,
the reincarnation of a princess from a beautiful
fallen kingdom on the Moon, with a great destiny to
fight evil. Why are magical girls associated with
being princesses? Sailor Moon is why. What parts of
Princess: the Hopeful are particularly influenced by
Sailor Moon? “Yes.”
Mai-Otome takes the magical girl genre into places
it does not normally venture: Politics. At heart
Mai-Otome is about two girls (one a literal princess)
forced to grow up by the harsh realities of
Realpolitik, and in the process learning that being a
magical girl is so much more than looking amazing.
With friendship, growing up, magical girls and
Realpolitik, Mai-Otome is a great example of the
magical girl as a leader figure.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Nanoha is like if
magical girls and mecha battles had a love child,
where a cute girl in a costume colored like a
Gundam unleashes FULL POWER TOTAL FRIENDSHIP
BEAM. The dark and pained Fate Testarossa,
Nanoha’s rival in her search for the Jewel Seeds, is
the definitive Dark Magical Girl and prototype for
Princesses of Tears, and Nanoha’s quest to redeem
Fate no matter how hard she has to beat sense into
her is a perfect summary of what Princesses of
Swords are about.
Sailor Nothing: Stefan “Twoflower” Gagne’s web
novel is not important because it subverts the
magical girl genre by introducing very serious and
mature themes like rape, murder, and suicide. It’s
important because it’s still a magical girl story all the
same, and hope and love and friendship still matter
in a world with all those horrible things. It’s a huge
inspiration for this game and definitely worth
reading for anyone who was interested enough in
this book to read this paragraph.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The series that most
people think of when they envision a
“deconstruction” of the magical girl, though like
Sailor Nothing, it wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t also a
reconstruction. Wishing for things to be better isn’t
enough, but you can still fight. Even in a fallen world
of secret evil, trapped in an unfair situation,
someone is always fighting for you, and as long as
you remember her, you are not alone. On top of its
tone and resolve to keep hope alive and change
things for the better, Madoka’s Witches, and the
Labyrinths they occupy, are the inspiration for the
Enthroned and Nightscapes in this game.
Other Works
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Oh, like you
didn’t know this was coming. Friendship is Magic
has a colorful cast figuratively and literally, learning
about friendship and trust and togetherness in ways
that kids appreciate and adults want to be reminded
of, in a deeply interesting fantasy land of Equestria
full of creatures, mysteries, discoveries, horse puns,
John DeLancie as the incarnation of chaos, and
buckets upon buckets of pure charming sincerity.
The relationship between Twilight Sparkle and her
mentor Princess Celestia is a great potential model
for the relationship between a Princess and her
Queen.
Devil May Cry: Dante, Son of Sparda, shows that the
human spirit and human emotion are more
powerful than heartless demonic power despite
demonic lords holding them in contempt. But more
importantly, Devil May Cry is about sick combos.
There’s no better exhibition of the idea that “how a
character fights expresses who they are,” and your
play can express your own creative stylish action.
Almost the entire Kiai Charm is a love letter to DMC,
and Vergil perfectly shows how dangerous a Prince
of Mirrors can be.
Spider-Man: Homecoming: Peter Parker’s struggle
to balance his mundane and superheroic identities,
as well as his motto “With great power comes great
responsibility,” are a great inspiration for Princess.
While the friendly neighborhood spider-man has
been in a lot of adaptations over the years,
Homecoming does an excellent job of showing how
his two lives collide with each other.
Coraline: If you want to venture heavily into the
Dreamlands, check this out. Coraline’s journey in
the symbolism-drenched other world can be a great
Dreamlands inspiration -- or the torments the Other
Mother inflicts on her prisoners could show you
how an Enthroned operates.
Yu Yu Hakusho: Juvenile delinquent Yusuke
Urameshi is given a second chance at life after
sacrificing himself to save a child, and finds himself
a spirit investigator tasked to keep the human world
safe from ghosts and demons. Hot-blooded,
expressive, driven by ideals and friendship, Yu Yu
Hakusho has all the determination and
self-improvement of the archetypal shonen battle
anime, without the multi-episode powerup
sequences. Plus, the author is married to the author
of Sailor Moon! How weird is that?
Glossary
• Alhambra: The last surviving city of the Fearless
Kingdoms, ruled by the Queen of Tears and
sustained by its Princesses stealing hope from the
world.
• All-Consuming Darkness, The: A primordial force
of evil and destruction that instinctively seeks to
crush humanity’s Inner Light and spread misery. Its
direct manifestations are the primary opponents a
Princess will face. The supernatural corruption it
spreads is the emotion of fear. Also simply known as
“the Darkness.”
• Beacon: An ordinary person in whom the Light of
Hope is so bright it grants them a little sliver of
magical power without any formal training or visible
source. They have a slight uplifting effect on those
around them.
• Belief: A rating of a Princess’s ideals, conviction,
and faith in herself that she can save the world.
Belief functions as an Integrity replacement for
Princesses.
• Bleed: An uncontrolled area where the membrane
between worlds is porous and damaged, where the
Dark World intrudes into our own.
• Blossom: The moment when the Light of Hope
radiates inside you so powerfully that it surges out
into the world and you realize your power and
destiny as a Princess.
• Calling: The method by which a Princess seeks to
fix the world. Your Calling determines your affinity
Charms and has a major effect on your Oaths.
• Cataclysm: The sudden, devastating fall of the
Fearless Kingdoms due to the creation of fear.
• Cataphract: An extremely powerful minion of the
Darkness, created when a mortal human willingly
gives in to the Darkness’s power or dies in utter
terror and despair, leaving an intact shell for the
Darkness to occupy.
• Champion: One of the five Callings. A Champion
seeks to defend the innocent, most often but not
exclusively through combat and physical prowess.
• Charm: A manifestation of a Princess’s magic, a
spell a Princess can cast to express her identity and
her Inner Light to the world. All Charms start with
one simple function and have a list of upgrades,
which expand on that and on each other.
• Court: All of the followers and assistants of a given
Queen. Very rarely used, as Princesses don’t draw
power from a court, they draw power from their
relationship to their Queen.
• Crawlspace: A physical location connecting a
Princess’s own mind and soul to the Dreamlands
that can be physically traversed. Unlike her soul
itself, it’s tight, cramped, and uncomfortable.
• Currents, Queen of: One of the five Radiant
Queens. Teaches her followers to think clearly and
guide their lives with reason.
• Darkspawn: A creature created from the Pure
Darkness but not from a Nightscape, accumulated
around a mote of stolen Light. Soulless and driven
only to spread fear.
• Dark World: The remains of the parallel world that
held the Fearless Kingdoms, hanging onto this world
like a desiccated parasite or vestigial organ. Filled
with inert Darkspawn that stir in the presence of
light.
• Defiler: A normal mortal human who has
harnessed the Darkness’s power in the form of black
magic or discovering sinister abilities.
• Dread: The most powerful fear a Princess faces,
abstract or tangible.
• Dreamlands: A collective magical space created by
humanity’s dreams and aspirations. Within it, all of
its elements are real, but are merely thoughts and
ideas when brought out into the real world. The
Radiant Queens have their strongholds here.
• Drive: The vividly defined core of a Princess’s
identity that her actions express.
• Dual Identity: A magical effect protecting a
Princess’s Transformation that makes it extremely
difficult to link her two identities together.
• Embassy: An optional third type of grouping a
Princess can choose to join in addition to Calling and
Queen. An Embassy accepts and takes responsibility
for a certain aspect of the world in order to redeem
it, incorporating its magic into themselves.
• Enthroned: A Princess who has abandoned hope,
utterly fallen to Darkness, and completely accepted
the bargain to inflict fear on others to spare herself.
Has a permanent Nightscape around her that she
fully controls.
• Fear: The supernatural corruption of the
All-Consuming Darkness that has cursed humanity.
Fear is not the idea of caution or awareness of
danger; fear is what tortures and paralyzes you
when danger might be near.
• Fearless Kingdoms: The previous iteration of the
world, where almost all Princesses are reincarnated
from. It was the best of all possible worlds and
serves as proof and model that such a world can
exist.
• Flowers, Queen Of: One of the five Radiant
Queens. She teaches her followers to embrace
harmony and resilience, find balance, and
appreciate nature.
• Gales: A natural feature of the Dreamlands that
warps the perceptions of anyone exposed too long
into accepting dream-logic as normal.
• Gale-Blind: The condition of being aware of the
unreal nature of the Dreamlands, but still affected
enough by the Gales to interfere with remembering
what is real and what is part of the dream. The
Radiant Queens all suffer this.
• Grace: One of the five Callings. A Grace seeks to
use her words to reach out to, unite, and redeem
others.
• Heraldry: The visual aesthetic and motifs found in
a Princess’s Regalia that express her Inner Light.
• Hopeful, The: A collective term for Princesses,
especially Radiant Princesses.
• Inner Light: The power of the Light of Hope inside
a given Princess, which determines her maximum
Attributes, Wisp capacity, and the number of free
Upgrades she gets on her Charms..
• Invocation: The act or statement that comes with
casting a Charm to declare its existence and intent.
At lower levels of Inner Light, it doesn’t have to be
obviously magical, but it is always noticeable.
• Jewels, Queen Of: One of the five Radiant
Queens. She teaches her followers to build
relationships and trust as durable as the Earth.
• King: A specifically male royal figure who
Princesses could follow and be inspired by. No Kings
are known to be active today, but that doesn't mean
there never were.
• Kingdom Come, The: A hypothetical united nation
of Radiant Princesses who can freely communicate
and coordinate worldwide. If this network is
compromised while creating it, the Radiant will be
destroyed.
• Light of Hope, The: The magical force of good
inside all humanity that embodies our hope: our
ability to envision a better future and act to bring it
about. Stronger in Princesses and the source of their
powers, and can be suppressed or extinguished by
fear.
• Luminous Experience: A special kind of
experience used by Princess characters to purchase
magical abilities. Made up of Luminous Beats.
• Mender: One of the five Callings. A Mender seeks
to fix what is wounded or broken.
• Mirrors, Queen Of: One of the three Twilight
Queens, teaches her followers that they are the
destined True Heir and that only they matter.
• Mundane: Something not-magical, referring to a
Princess’s identity and abilities while not
Transformed, mechanically referred to as “mundane
state”.
• Nakama: A Japanese word meaning “a group of
friends whose common experiences have brought
them closer than family,” it refers to a small and
tightly-knit group of Princesses.
• Nightmare: An ephemeral being created by a
human Prisoner of a Nightscape, driven to spread
and re-create the fear that created it in order to
feed the Nightscape.
• Nightscape: A mini-dimension created by
someone crushed and suffocated by their own fears.
The creator is both its king and its prisoner, its
structure reflects that person’s fears and trauma,
and it creates Nightmares that leak into the real
world.
• Noble: An explicitly gender-neutral term for
Princesses. Refers more to “noble soul” than “holds
landed title.”
• Perfected Self: The magical identity a Princess
takes on when Transforming, the expression of who
she could have been in the best of all possible
worlds. Grants access to most of her powers and the
protection of Dual Identity. Mechanically called
“transformed state.”
• Phylactery: A physical object used as a focus for a
Princess to Transform. Transforming without it is
extremely difficult and losing it is dangerous.
• Prince: A specifically male Princess.
• Princess: A person whose Inner Light shines
through them and allows them to cast magic in
hopes of saving the world. Refers to females or
groups of mixed / indeterminate gender.
• Pure Darkness: A term sometimes used to
distinguish beings and powers that are granted
directly by the Darkness, as opposed to being
expressed through another idiom affected by the
Darkness’s taint. To most other supernatural beings,
Pure Darkness appears to have no unifying thread
and is a bunch of unrelated and inexplicable
phenomena.
• Queen: A royal figure of great power who a
Princess follows as a mentor and source of
inspiration, teaching her a Signet and affecting her
outlook on life.
• Radiant: The Queens of Currents, Flowers, Jewels,
Spades, and Swords as well as their followers, who
recently emerged from the Trap in the Dreamlands
and seek to whole-heartedly redeem the world.
• Regalia: All of the items and equipment that
manifest when a Princess Transforms.
• Seeker: One of the five Callings. A Seeker finds
hidden truths and objects.
• Shikigami: An occupant of the Dreamlands who
was sent by a Queen to help awaken and guide
Princesses. Very weak on their own, often take the
form of small animals and objects.
• Storms, Queen of: One of the three Twilight
Queens. Teaches her followers to hate the Darkness
and do anything to annihilate it.
• Stormwracked: A special term for Sworn of
Storms and those consumed by the Queen of
Swords’s hatred.
• Spades, Queen of: One of the five Radiant
Queens. Teaches her followers to embrace joy,
freedom, and unconventional methods.
• Swords, Queen of: One of the five Radiant
Queens. Teaches her followers to embrace love and
unbridled passion.
• Sworn: A mortal human who has pledged
allegiance and friendship to a Princess the way a
Princess pledges to a Queen, granted a small
measure of her powers to help her mission. Though
Radiant Princesses can name Sworn, most of them
are loyal to Twilights.
• Tears, Queen of: One of the three Twilight
Queens. The last ruler of a living Kingdom, teaches
her followers to do anything to hold onto the last
few scraps of good they have.
• Transformation: The act of a Princess transitioning
from mundane state to transformed state, assuming
her perfected self or vice versa.
• Trap: The supernatural illusion that imprisoned
the Radiant Queens and their followers in the
Dreamlands.
• Troubadour: One of the five Callings. A
Troubadour uplifts and inspires emotion.
• Twilight: The Queens of Mirrors, Storms, and
Tears, as well as their followers, who have remained
in the real world since the Cataclysm and have
compromised or cheated their values.
• Ultimatum, The: The extortionate “bargain”
offered by the Darkness to all living things who feel
its fear: “I will make you suffer, and the only way to
make me stop is to inflict me on others.”
• Wisp: A mote of emotional intensity from a
Princess’s surging soul overflowing its boundaries.
Refined from expending her Willpower. Used to fuel
her magic.
Modified Terms
• Brief Nightmare: The Chronicles of Darkness core
rulebook uses Brief Nightmares to describe Horrors
with abbreviated stat blocks that don’t need a full
array of statistics. Since there is a type of creature
called Nightmare here, and it’s usually not created
with the Brief Nightmare rules, this would get very
confusing very quickly. As “Brief Nightmare” is not
an in-game term and is just used in the rules, the
mechanic will be referred to as Simplified Horror
just to avoid confusion of having the word
“Nightmare” refer to two different types of thing.
• Integrity: The Integrity of a regular person does
not just represent their exposure to overtly
supernatural horror, but the general state of
constant fear: how they have been broken down by
the All-Consuming Darkness and the sorrows it
inflicts on the world. The average Integrity a regular
person is supposed to start at is 7 -- but for most
actual people it hovers around 5.
• Mortal: A mortal is a human without a
supernatural template. It is used here for
consistency in terminology, but Princesses don’t
refer to them as “mortals.”
• Soul: Mage: the Awakening defines a soul as a
thing that supports the mind and morality, and can
be replaced; other game lines hew to this definition
extremely “irregularly” and most of the time they
talk about a soul, it’s something that makes
absolutely no sense in that context. So this game
will explicitly use the definition that is implicitly
used in many other places. You ARE a soul, you
HAVE a body -- your soul is you and your ability to
feel and experience. The thing Mage refers to as a
“soul” is called a Soul Shard, if it comes up, and is
more like a support structure for your actual soul to
link to the world and maintain its coherency. A body
truly without a soul is either comatose, or acting
purely on limbic-system instinct.
• Turn: A normal combat turn in the Chronicles of
Darkness is defined as taking three seconds. While
nothing about the mechanics change (you can move
exactly as far in one turn as before, an instant action
takes just as long, effects with durations measured
in turns still last the same number of turns), a turn
also takes 30 seconds, to accommodate long flashy
magic visuals and lots and lots of talking in combat.
Out of combat, effects that last one turn last for 30
seconds. If other people will join combat in one
minute, they show up in 2 turns.
How can a turn take both 3 seconds and 30
seconds? By the same process that DIO can deliver a
five-minute soliloquy about how he’s stopped time
for five seconds.
Opening Fiction
It’s not like it is in the comic books. Or it’s too much.
It’s cliched, but in all the wrong ways.
I thought I was going to be a superhero. I am. I
feared that my life was going to be some brutal
deconstruction of the idea of heroism. Thankfully, it’s
not. I hoped that I was going to be a bright,
four-color superhero. Unfortunately, I’m not that
either.
Right now I’m standing on a skyscraper and staring
down at the streets. That’s the cliche image, right?
The superhero standing atop the building, looking
down over the city they protect. Maybe you think it’s
cheesy or maybe you think it’s inspiring. I don’t think
it’s either. All I can think right now is how useless it
is. You can’t see shit from up here. All you see is
people moving about as little shapes. I knew that
already. You can’t see what the little shapes do to
each other, and that’s all that matters.
I just get up here to catch my breath and clear my
head. I can jump up here no problem, there’s a path
up the north end where I’ve bounced from wall to
wall so often they don’t bother cleaning the scuff
marks anymore. It’s not an exertion at all. I’m
scratched up and bruised from my last fight, but I
don’t even feel it, the wounds mean nothing to me
and if they did they can be healed easily. You should
see the other guy -- well, you can’t, because I
reduced it to a fucking mist. Didn’t break a sweat.
I have magic powers. They don’t drive me insane, I
don’t steal them from a dead god or a machine that
runs on baby spines. I have powers because it’s who
I am. Because what is inside of me, that need to fix
things, that knowledge the world can be better, that
Power of Love, it’s more important than physics. I
can wall-jump up thirty stories because the fact that I
am a person who can do that is more important than
the fact that the human body shouldn’t be able to.
My magic is who I am. My magic is every part of me.
My magic flows endlessly from my very soul.
I am so, so fucking tired.
There’s someone here in the city up to some dark
magic bullshit. I can’t even be bothered to put it in
the proper terms like Kitsune insists I should. As if
he knows I’m thinking about him, the little fox looks
up to me for a moment, but he sees I’m in no mood
to talk. Yeah, dark magic bullshit. We’ve found the
ugly little bastards he or she is using to drain
people’s energy, and when we do, we blast the shit
out of them. With the Power of Love.
The cliche thing the superhero does is swoop in to
stop a purse snatcher. I’ve never done that. Nobody
snatches purses any more. There’s not going to be
anything easily fencable in them, it’s not worth the
risk. A purse snatching isn’t really a rebuke of the
Power of Love that the Power of Love must answer.
A purse snatching is such a bad idea it’s almost a
self-solving problem. The Power of Love is about
deeper things than purse-snatching. It’s about what
it means to be human and what world we can create,
because you believe in the Power of Love you can
do anything. The cliche response to that would be to
say it’s all a cruel joke and love doesn’t matter. That
would be a lie.
The Power of Love is a cliche. And yet it’s true. Love
conquers all. When you love someone, you fight so
much harder than you fight for yourself. Love is what
makes the world go round. Because the world is
made of people, those little shapes moving about,
and the things we do to each other are what we use
to build anything and everything. We’re atoms and
love lets us make molecules, or, fuck, I don’t know.
I’m too tired for a good analogy. The Power of Love
is something so true and so fundamental that we’ve
tricked ourselves into thinking that since we can’t
notice it, it must not matter. It does. You have to
believe in the Power of Love. It can do anything.
The cliche is also that man is the real monster. And
it’s true. You can’t split them neatly. Man makes
monster and monster makes man. Man is monster
because man allows monster and monster is
monster because it incarnates what man does to
man. So many of those little shapes moving about
are people hurting each other. If they were snatching
purses, it would be easy, I could see that. When the
shapes shouldn’t be there, when the shapes
coalesce out of a shadow, I can try to see that, and
stop it. The shapes from the shadow are the
monsters.
The other cliche is that nobody is truly evil and
everyone is the hero of their own story doing the
best they can. That’s also true. So much of what
they do is because they’re afraid, afraid of each
other, afraid of the future, afraid of what they see
when they look at themselves. Nobody wants to be
hurt, and everyone sees how everyone can hurt
them.
The police here were worse than the criminals. They
were a force of fear and brutality. Charged to protect
people, they just beat and intimidated them, and
their violence and terror became so powerful and so
monstrous it didn’t need anyone there to carry it out
any more. It would call forth the bodies of monsters
to perpetuate itself through people’s fear. The
demons that haunted their minds became so strong
they didn’t need to stay as figments of the
imagination. They became real monsters that
existed only to sow fear and pain and death.
We found the heart of darkness; the most vicious,
most fanatical, most brutal cop of them all. A man
who’d committed murder after murder and gotten
away with it. He was trapped in the world as he saw
it: himself as an honest man doing the best he could,
the hero of a story about protecting the innocent,
surrounded by ravening lunatics who were going to
snap at any moment and kill him and everyone who
relied on him, who existed only to sow fear and pain
and death.
He needed love too. He needed to be free of fear. It
didn’t change the horrible things he did. The horrible
things he did didn’t change the fact that he suffered
from the human condition. I liked to think we fixed it,
that we put an end to it. We didn’t completely solve
the mundane problems of the police force when we
defeated the literal Forces of Darkness, but we didn’t
fail either. Things started to get better. We did what
we could to make sure that could happen. People
know we exist as a local curiosity and I think a few of
them have really started to look up to us, even if
what we did about the situation wasn’t something
they could see. We showed them the Power of Love.
That kindness really can win out over brutality. That
cruelty can be supplanted by something other than
greater cruelty. That caring about each other isn’t a
weakness, that it is strength.
But now there’s some kind of evil wizard lurking
about, harvesting human energy and using monsters
to do it. Apparently, there are some people who just
like to slip into abandoned supplies of dark magic
and dark creatures and act like they earned it. I
know why there was a supply of dark magic and
dark creatures hanging around, waiting for the
taking. It was left over from a job not quite done.
Something not quite perfectly resolved.
Did the Power of Love fail or did I fail the Power of
Love? Did I foolishly give a cruel and unrepentant
murderer comfort when he deserved none, or did I
let my own disgust overwhelm me and stop me from
truly reaching out to someone whose pain was as
real as anyone else’s? How am I going to know?
Whoever found this dark power laying around…
what horrible things are they going to do with it?
What horrible things do they imagine will happen to
them if they don’t?
I thought about it tonight, the whole deconstruction
thing, when I saw the dog. A dog carcass in an alley,
though there wasn’t a tire tread on it. How did it go?
“This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.”
No. That’s not how it goes, Rorshach. Wrong order.
Wrong emphasis. Not enough cliches. I have seen
its true face. This city is afraid. The streets are
extended gutters, because we’re all in the gutter, but
some of us are looking at the stars. The gutters are
full of blood and we’re trying to keep our heads
above water. And when the drains scab over… I
don’t know a cliche for that. Everyone’s going to be
grabbing at each other, pulling each other down, and
amid all this callousness and cruelty all the cops and
the killers and the would-be-purse-snatchers and the
would-be-purse-holders and the innocent victims
and the dark warlocks are going to shout “Save us!”
And I’ll look down and whisper “I don’t know if I can.”
 Somewhere To Belong

Chapter 1: Calling and Queen

and each has their own way to interpret and
embody their Calling. A Princess’s Calling is what she
Calling does, and everything a Princess does is an
expression of who she is.
Every Princess has a Calling -- something that spoke
to her, her idiom of what it meant to make a better
The five Callings and their goals are:
world, that she realized in her Blossoming. This
determines the nature of her magic, the nature of
- Champion: Defend The Defenseless
the Oaths she holds to, the Charms that most easily
- Grace: Speak to the Fallen
come to her and express who she is, and the first
- Mender: Fix What Is Broken
free Transformed dot she gets. These Callings were
- Seeker: Find The Hidden
not created by edict, they’re more like observed
- Troubadour: Uplift The Spirit
patterns. And since each Princess chooses one
Charm to have an affinity with other than the two
provided by her Calling, they aren’t homogenous,
 Defend the Defenseless

Champion
Monsters are real. Of course they are. Even when you didn’t think monsters were real, you thought they were
real. The taint of the Darkness is fear and it’s soaked into our hearts, and everyone is cowering down in the
pitch-black, wincing as they hear the screams of those around them, only hoping not to be next. Monsters are
monsters for the same reason people are monsters: if they aren’t the predators, they must be the prey. Someone
has to stop the cycle. Someone has to protect the vulnerable.

Champions embody the concept of a hero -- of those who accomplish great deeds in the face of great
opposition. They are the warriors, the generals, the harriers, the guardians, the tireless fighters, the ones who
are too determined or too damn stubborn to know when to quit. They wade directly into danger to place
themselves between the wicked and the weak, whether metaphorically or literally. They confront the Darkness
where it lives and get right up in its face.
single-handedly, wrestle rivers into new positions,
outrun, outfight, or outplay any challenger. When
Hearing the Call
they met a challenge they could not overcome, they
Champions are often those who value improved themselves until they could. They were
accomplishment for its own sake, who push the ones others could depend on.
themselves to their limits to prove their worth,
whether to the world or to themselves. But when they dream of the Cataclysm, they see
weapons and tools falling from their shaking grasp.
Champions seldom neglect their physical attributes, They see themselves overwhelmed and humiliated.
even if they aren’t of the utmost priority -- in the They see those they love screaming for help and
thick of things, you will always need to be able to know there is nothing they can do.
rely on yourself. While not simple-minded by any
means, Champions prefer immediate problems with
Magic
immediate solutions, dealing with an issue with as
few layers of abstraction as possible. Their first A Champion gains a Transformed dot in either
solution to a Gordian knot is to try cutting. An Strength or Resolve. They have a natural affinity for
archetypal Champion of Swords is a courageous the Kiai Charm to master the chaos of combat, and
warrior, a Champion of Currents a brilliant tactician, the Force Charm to exert their will on the world.
a Champion of Jewels a charismatic leader, but all of Like all Princesses, they have an affinity for the
them have their boots on the ground. Buster Charm, and one additional Charm of their
choice.
Dreams of the Kingdom
Sample Oaths
Warriors, athletes, rescuers, even builders,
Champions dream of victory. In the days of the Third Oath: “When I’m beaten at something, I
Fearless Kingdom, they could slay monsters should always try harder for a rematch.” - “If my
opponent calls for a time-out or assistance, I should
give it to them.” - “I should always be working on
improving myself.”
Second Oath: “I must take the opportunity to save
someone.” - “I must always give my opponents the
chance to surrender.” - “I must never kill unless the
opponent cannot be non-lethally subdued first.”
First Oath: “I will never inflict violence for personal
gain.” - “I will never allow the people I care about to
be endangered.” - “I will never harm an innocent.”
Stereotypes
• Grace: Sometimes words fail, and sometimes
deeds fail. There are times when words could never
work, but there is never a time when all action is
futile.
• Mender: If I do my job right, you don’t have to do
anything at all. But since I know I’m not perfect, I’m
glad you’re here.
• Seeker: If you want the truth, you want to ask
them. And if you’re afraid of the truth, that means
you need to hear what they have to say.
• Troubadour: Remember that you’re here to do
something too. If you fall into just telling others to
do your work for you, I will have to slap you.
• Werewolves: Violence for violence’s sake is the
rule of beasts.
• Mummies: You don’t know who you are, much
less what you fight for. All the powers, riches, and
immortality you have couldn’t get me to trade
places with you.
• Mortals: Get behind me. When I give the word, I’ll
charge it and you run like Hell—. And the next time
you see me, I’ll be wearing its teeth as a necklace.
Concepts
The knight in shining armor, the last good cop, the
first into the burning building, the dashing
swashbuckler, the sukeban delinquent with a heart
of gold, the tireless worker with the world on her
shoulders.
Inspirations
The Sailor Guardians (Sailor Moon), Nagisa Misumi
(Pretty Cure), Captain America (Marvel), Yusuke
Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho), Buffy Summers (Buffy
the Vampire Slayer), John Henry (folklore).
 Speak to the Fallen

Grace
They say people’s number one fear is public speaking, and number two is death. I see people suffer in silence out
of the fear of speaking up and revealing they need help. People die rather than admit they might have been
willing to compromise because they’re afraid it makes them weak. I have seen how nightmares feed on
loneliness rather than blood. Someone has to open up and reach out first.

Graces are promises, offers, extended hands. A thousand voices with a thousand messages that all say one thing:
“You aren’t alone.” They are diplomats, negotiators, liaisons, even merchants: people who reach out and connect
to others as equals. They offer ways to cooperate; failing that, they offer ways to avoid conflict; even failing that,
they offer the path to peace.

helps people to find balance and harmony in

Hearing the Call
Graces are those who are willing to see the best in
others, even their opponents; they know that
opponents don’t have to be enemies.
Graces have no supernatural ability to compel the
behavior or emotions of others, the Light of Hope
can’t disrespect another thinking being that deeply.
They offer information and arguments to help
someone realize that their offer is a good one, and
to help reward them for seeing the right way. A
Grace’s first instinct in a conflict is to try and see if it
needs to be a conflict at all. Most of them aren’t so
naive as to think that a fight is never necessary, they
can and will defend themselves, but even then they
will usually try and give their opponents
opportunities to surrender gracefully. Their Mental
and Social Attributes are far more valuable than the
Physical.
The archetypal Grace of Jewels offers someone a
place where they can lay down their arms and feel
they belong, while a Grace of Spades can run verbal
circles around someone to trick them into
confronting their own follies, and a Grace of Flowers
themselves, but all of them know words can be
more powerful than weapons.
Dreams of the Kingdom
Graces were people in the Fearless Kingdom who
delivered messages: messages of truth, hope,
security. Some were diplomats, yes, but some
remember being newscasters or merchants or
executives or attorneys or even something like
motivational speakers. Others listened to what they
had to say and knew it would make the world a
better place.
But when they dream of the Cataclysm, their words
fall upon deaf ears. The people who need them
most are blinded by fear and unwilling to believe
them. They may open their mouths and scream but
no noise comes out.
Magic
A Grace gains a Transformed dot in either Presence
or Wits. They have a natural affinity for the Plea
Charm, their ability to reach out to the hearts and
minds of others, and the Conjure Charm, their
ability to call upon aid. Like all Princesses, they have • Troubadour: I reach out to them, and then you
an affinity for the Buster Charm, and one additional inspire them when they come. We make a perfect
Charm of their choice. pair.

• Vampires: Everything you do to people is built on

Sample Oaths
Third Oath: “I should appeal to people’s better
nature.” - “I should provide a good example of living
right to anyone who looks up to me.” - “I should
never deceive anyone.”
a single lie: the lie that you are monsters who can’t
do any better.
• Prometheans: If you need someone to teach you
to be human, I’m up to try.

Second Oath: “I must always leave open an avenue • Mortals: Just trust me, okay? Trust me and we’ll
of peaceful resolution.” - “I must never incite get through this together.
conflict where it doesn’t currently exist.” - “I must
try to learn of the motivations for every party
Concepts
involved with a conflict, no matter how hostile they
are to outside investigation.” Actual Literal Princess, upstanding merchant, fair
maiden offering her favor, lawyer, activist,
First Oath: “I will never go back on my word when I orchestrating information broker, advice-offering
make a promise.” - “I will never extort or blackmail bartender.
anyone, or anything like it.” - “I will never use my
skills for selfish gain.???” - “I will never betray those
Inspirations
who have placed their trust in me.”
Madoka Kaname (PMMM), Tea Gardner (Yu-Gi-Oh!),
Jean-Luc Picard(Star Trek), Roger Smith (The Big O),
Stereotypes
Sophie Devereaux (Leverage), Daniel Webster (The
• Champion: I know sometimes the only option is to Devil And Daniel Webster). Pretty much any of the
fight, so I am glad you are here. I wish you weren’t Disney Princesses.
so eager to conclude the time for talking has
passed.

• Mender: Whoever said “sticks and stones may

break my bones but words will never hurt me” was
lying, but whoever said “an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure” was telling the truth. It’s
better to reach out first than to wait until damage is
done.

• Seeker: The great thing about being fair and

forthright is there’s no skeletons in your closet for
anyone to dredge up.
 Fix What is Broken

Mender
Do you know what the worst injustice in the world is? That pain makes you worse. We want to believe that
through suffering we’ll become more worthy or virtuous, because we need to believe it wasn’t all for nothing. But
it is. The more we hurt, the more we’ll hurt others, because that’s simply the cycle we slide into. It gets harder to
see beyond the fear of that pain coming back. Someone has to bring us out of that cycle. Someone has to heal
that pain.

Menders are the ones who feel the pain of others most deeply, the ones for whom that pain is the most
powerful motivating force. She is always looking around to see how she can make things better. They fix bodies,
objects, minds, souls. The taint of the Darkness is fear, and only by healing the wounds that fear leaves on us can
we be strong enough to hold it at bay.
Hearing the Call
Menders are those who see the broken and want to
fix it. They know things, people, our world can be
better than this, they know it all WAS, and they
know they can bring it back. Fix the crumbling
foundations and everything can be set right.
A Mender looks to the consequences of evil before
anything else. Sometimes it can feel like bailing the
ocean out with a paper cup, but seeing people able
to go back to living happy lives reminds you how it’s
all worth it.
Menders need Mental Attributes to diagnose
whatever problem faces them, and often have
Physical Attributes to withstand the damage they
have to endure to reach the injured, literally or
metaphorically. The archetypal Mender of Flowers
is about offering holistic peace and wellness and
personal completion, while a Mender of Jewels may
focus more on healing divisions between people
and groups, or a Mender of Swords might bring back
the passions to those beaten down and in danger of
forgetting.
Dreams of the Kingdom
Of course people still got hurt and got sick in the
Fearless Kingdom -- a world where people have
freedom means a world where they can mess up.
Menders see themselves as the ones who ensured
that nobody in the Kingdom got hurt too badly or
too long. Physicians or repairmen, counselors or
mediums, they were there when things broke to
make them whole again.
But when the skies darken and the Cataclysm
encroaches, they see damage they can’t repair. They
gaze, powerless, and see pain twisting the human
soul until it can only spread the same fear that
injured it. They see people beg for the release of
death and know they cannot offer even that.
Magic
A Mender gains a Transformed dot in either
Intelligence or Stamina. They have a natural affinity
for the Restoration Charm to most directly undo
injury, and the Ward Charm to abolish ongoing
threats and dangers. Like all Princesses, they have
an affinity for the Buster Charm, and one additional
Charm of their choice.
Sample Oaths
Third Oath: “I should never use fear or
intimidation.” - “I should never initiate hostility.” - “I
should always try to do something about suffering
around me.”
• Troubadour: You can only inspire them onwards
once I’ve brought them back up to where they
started.
• Mages: You seek nothing but power with
absolutely no concern with who you might hurt
along the way, much less when you get it.
• Sin-Eaters: It’s never too late for anyone, even the
dead. I thank you for making sure of that.
• Mortals: Sssh, sssh. I know it hurts. It isn’t fair. I’m
going to make it all okay.

Second Oath: “I must never exploit someone who

needs my help.” - “I will not use experimental
treatments with a high risk of harm, without taking
every possible precaution and alternative
beforehand.???” - “If I have to choose between
risking my life, or my patient’s, I must always risk my
own life first.” - “I mu
st always try to communicate with my patients so
that we can create a road to recovery together.”
First Oath: “I will never refuse a sincere request for
aid.” - “I will never take a life, no matter how
justified it is.” - “I will never purposefully harm
someone under my care.”
Concepts
EMT, technical miracle worker, the candy striper
who’s the hospital’s real magic, Mrs. Fixit, romantic
wingman, environmental cleanup, the eternal
shoulder to cry on, warrior therapist, the janitor
with the true wisdom.
Inspirations
Orihime Inoue (Bleach), Shamal (Nanoha), Josuke
Higashitaka (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), Aragorn (The
Lord of the Rings), Rebecca Chambers (Resident
Evil), Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother).

Stereotypes
• Champion: You do know I only have so much time
and energy, right? I understand what you do is
dangerous, but if you could try a little harder to
protect yourself I wouldn’t have to patch you up so
often.

• Grace: People can’t listen to you when they’re

hurting too much to believe anyone.

• Seeker: The truth isn’t hidden. It’s right in front of

us: people need our help right now.
 Find What is Hidden

Seeker
They say there’s truths Man was not meant to know. That’s bullshit. The most powerful fear is the fear of the
unknown and all it takes to destroy it is a little sunlight. When we’re shrouded in Darkness we can’t take a step
for fear of running into something horrible, and every secret is what keeps us quivering and hopeless. Someone
has to find the things that Darkness wants to keep hidden. Someone has to light the world up.

Seekers are the ones who expose and reveal, the ones who believe the truth will set us free. Darkness conceals
and to fight it, they illuminate. Tell them they can’t know something and they just have to. Tell them they can’t
have something and they resolve even further to get it. And they don’t stop until they have it.

Hearing the Call Dreams of the Kingdom

Seekers are those who were curious, inquisitive, and
had a hard time staying out of things. They see
things go wrong and they need to know what is
happening and why. They have to find things out.
Finding things out isn’t only a detached, academic
pursuit -- it’s getting in there to grab what’s hidden
from the grasping hands of who hides it. Some
Seekers focus more on the cleverness to see the
truth behind it all, and some focus on the skill and
speed to get to your prize and get out in one piece,
but all of them need at least a little bit of both.
Seekers may have shown the future or shined a light
on the distant past. Scientists or treasure-hunters,
through investigation or exposure, Seekers of the
Fearless Kingdom expanded humanity’s knowledge
and illumination. Thanks to them, we knew who we
were and what we could do, and we knew how we
could keep rising to do more.
But when the Darkness came, they could find no
answers. They had no idea what to do or where to
go. People they loved suffered and died without
even understanding why.

The archetypal Seeker of Currents might be a

tireless pursuer of knowledge through hands-on
experimentation, while a Seeker of Spades may be a
thief who filches things that don’t belong in hidden
vaults, and a Seeker of Jewels might tear open
corruption in institutions or groups.
Magic
A Seeker gains a Transformed dot in either Dexterity
or Composure. They have a natural affinity for the
Detect Charm to discover what they search for, and
the Step charm to get out with it. Like all Princesses,
they have an affinity for the Buster Charm, and one
additional Charm of their choice.
Sample Oaths
• Beasts: You’re a forbidden grimoire that warns it
Third Oath: “I should never lie.” - “I should freely contains secrets to shatter the mortal mind, and
share what I’ve found with as many people as then I open you up and you just say “BOO!” on
feasibly possible.” - “If there is an investigation every page.
afoot, I should always seek to help in whatever way I
can.” • Mortals: Everyone has been putting a lid on
something that stinks and now the world’s buried in
Second Oath: “I must never accept that I am better them. I’ll get you out from under it.
off not knowing something.” - “I must never
knowingly endanger others in pursuit of my truth.” -
“I must never accept that a mystery is in any way
‘unsolvable’.”
Concepts
Investigative reporter, heroic thief, Dreamlands
First Oath: “I will never stop seeking the truth.” - “I explorer, world-changing inventor, Mythbuster,
will never help someone cover up their hippie psychonaut, gumshoe, meddling kid.
wrongdoing.” - “No matter what harm others
threaten or inflict upon me for what I know, I will
never abandon my studies.???” - “I will never use
Inspirations
the knowledge I gain to help a Servant of Darkness.” Detective Conan, Saint Tail, Yuuno Scrya (Nanoha),
Indiana Jones, Robin Hood, Black Widow (Marvel),
Columbo
Stereotypes
• Champion: Without me, I think you wouldn’t
know who to punch, much less why.

• Grace: Revealing yourself can be as hard as

revealing the world, and I respect that. But I think
you could be asking a bunch of different questions
than the ones you do.

• Mender: You’re treating the symptoms and not

the true disease, but then again the symptoms are
usually what end up killing you, so that’s triage.

• Troubadour: Okay, you think I can do it, and

sometimes I do need to be reminded of that, but
come on, I don’t need it that often.

• Hunters: If all of you just stood up at once and

said who you were and what you wanted, the
monsters you fear wouldn’t have a chance.
 Inspire the Spirit

Troubadour
I’m the one in the spotlight but you’re the star. A performer is nothing without an audience, whether they perform
up on a stage or just for their friends. I’m here to speak to you in a way language can’t even handle. You’ve been
beaten down by the Darkness into thinking you’re helpless and weak, afraid to even try and live. Someone has to
take you to that place where you can see someone not afraid to live. Someone has to help you know that person
can be you.

Troubadours are those who, more than any other, see the power in others. Champions defend them or Graces
entreat them but Troubadours know that the true strength is inside of them all along and it’s their job to coax it
out. Uplift others and they will be able to take off and fly for themselves.

Hearing the Call Dreams of the Kingdom

Troubadours are all masters of some kind of
performance, though it may not be what comes to
mind when asked to imagine a performance. Maybe
they sing, maybe they play guitar. Maybe they tell
stories and maybe they crack jokes and maybe they
paint and maybe they sculpt and maybe they fold
origami and maybe they even bake. But they always
keep in mind the artist’s most important creed:
show, don’t tell. Whatever they do, there is an
emotion to experience within it, a resonant
message at its heart.
Social and Mental attributes are both important, but
the Physical can still matter for the execution of
your art. The archetypal Troubadour of Spades
might be a quick-witted singer or talespinner who
always seems to have an appropriate song or
anecdote, while a Troubadour of Currents might be
a teacher who inspires her students further than
she could have gone, while a Troubadour of Swords
could ignite the fighting spirit and rouse the crowd
to get up and shout.
Troubadours in the Fearless Kingdom may have
been the focus of attention like the lead singer, or a
subtle presence like the bassist, but their art and
emotion was what elevated us and helped us to
make meaning in our lives and be who we truly
deserved to be.
And when they dream of the Cataclysm, they don’t
see themselves stumble over words or fat-finger
chords. They see themselves delivering perfect
performances that reach nobody, a world that has
no use for their message. They see themselves
shouting into the void of total irrelevance.
Magic
A Troubadour gains a Transformed dot in either
Manipulation or Resolve. They have a natural
affinity for the Anthem Charm to uplift and inspire
the souls of others, and the Illusion Charm to
illustrate their thoughts into the world. Like all
Princesses, they have an affinity for the Buster
Charm, and one additional Charm of their choice.
Sample Oaths
Third Oath: “I should never let my ego get the
better of me.” - “I should try to brighten others’
days whenever the opportunity comes.” - “I should
never hide my true feelings.???”
Second Oath: “I must never use my artistic ability to
burden the hearts of others.” - “I must never let an
imagined world come before this one.???” - “???” -
“I must never create a piece of art that has a
message I don’t genuinely believe in.”
• Mortals: Now here’s a very special something I
hope you’ll really like.
Concepts
Magical idol singer, bard, the one who unites the
city with the power of dance, the plucky comic
relief, hard-shredding Power of Rock, graffiti artist,
abstract painter with hidden messages, famous
actress.

First Oath: “I will never stop making art.” - “I will

never accept there’s no way to make things
better.???” - “???” - “I will never create anything
that I know will make the world worse.”
Inspirations
Fancy Lala, Jem and the Holograms, IRyS (Hololive),
Miss Frizzle (The Magic School Bus), Kazuma Azuma
(Yakitake!! Japan), the Elite Beat Agents, Bob Dylan,
Geddy Lee (Rush).

Stereotypes
• Champion: No one of us could ever be as strong
as all of us.

• Grace: Sometimes, words aren’t enough to move

us. But if you want to bring the lyrics, I’ll bring the
instruments.

• Mender: Heal their bodies so I can strengthen

their souls.

• Seeker: Do you remember your teacher lecturing

you about state capitals? Okay, now do you
remember the song from Animaniacs? Yeah, it’s like
that.

• Changelings: I’m so sorry. Following a melody,

following your feelings, should never lead you into
danger.

• Demons: Tell me a story. No, don’t give me a

cover, don’t evade and disseminate. Tell me a story.
Queen
The second way in which Princesses are categorized
is by what Queen they follow; the way a Princess
approaches her problems and her life is generally
exemplified by her Queen. They tend to naturally
gravitate toward the Queen who best embodies
their worldview and attitude, though sometimes the
way they embody it is not what an outside observer
would have expected. The followers of the Queens
do fit general archetypes most of the time, but
people will always surprise you.
A Queen is a leader, an ideal, an exemplar, and a
community of followers to be in. She is not simply
an abstract idea or philosophy, she is someone who
teaches and embodies that philosophy in their
deeds and in their personality. A Princess can visit
the Dreamlands -- the path will always be easy to
find to get to her Queen -- and see her, meet her,
talk to her. Your Queen is like a parent, or a teacher,
or a friend, who wants to see you succeed.
The Radiant Queens all suffer from a condition
called Gale-Blindness: just like how you can realize
you are dreaming but still be swept away, they know
their existence in the Dreamlands isn’t “real” but it’s
nearly impossible for them to consistently discern
what they remember is from the Dreamlands or
from reality. Your Queen cannot help you by telling
you exactly what to do or who to go to to solve the
problem based on outside information. Instead, a
Queen can only act on the information you
personally bring to her, meaning that as Mentors
they must serve to guide you to find the solution
down your own path rather than provide it for you.
Sidebar: Why No Kings?
All these leaders are presented as women, in line
with the mahou shoujo genre, where generally
these sorts of authority figures are women. They
have distinct personalities and identities, so they
can’t be presented as abstract principles that
could be any gender. Of course, in your Chronicle
you are free to determine some are men or
nonbinary or whatever you decide, just as you
can re-emphasize or change those personality
traits (You are, however, forbidden from even
implying Miguel is not a good boy). But still it kind
of raises the question: there was no gender
discrimination in the Fearless Kingdoms, and
nothing about your gender made you more or
less virtuous or capable, so why are there eight
Queens and no Kings? The odds of that seem low.
There were actually some Kings, namely a group
called the Four Heavenly Kings. The Radiants were
a tightly knit nakama even before the Cataclysm,
and one more betrayed them in order to survive
as a Twilight King. Their closeness and familiarity
actually allowed these Kings to awaken and
escape the Trap quickly, and gathered their own
followers and heroes in an era long, long since
past. They confronted their Twilight counterpart
and defeated him so badly that he had no choice
but to become their friend, and then they all set
out on some mission, some quest of vital
importance -- and were never seen again. There
could still be lost lore out there that illuminates
their lives, and Nobles could seek out or Blossom
into their ideals.
 A Stream of Knowledge

The Queen Of Currents

The Queen of Diamonds, The Lady of Clear Water, The Philosopher Queen, The Guiding Lighthouse
Followers: Hope-Engineers, Illuminators, the Inquisitive
Kingdom: The Glittering Archipelago of Danann

Your heart can show you where you need to go, but only your head can get you there.

The Queen of Currents leads Princesses whose love is found in curiosity and wonder. The desire to know more,
to endlessly seek understanding. The Light of Hope is best accompanied by the twin lights of knowledge and
reason, casting away the shadows and revealing the truth for us to discover. Our emotions are precious, but
careful planning and forethought are the best way to harness them. We will build a better world -- but first, we
must design it.

tempted to take her as authoritative and resign

Tales of the Kingdom themselves to failure, if they are unfamiliar with her
and her philosophy. When the Queen refuses a
The islands of the Danaan Archipelago host a series
request, the discussion isn’t over, it’s beginning --
of glimmering cities, spires of metal, glass, crystal.
she wants you to defend your thesis by arguing back
Each one has its own aesthetic, its own vision of the
with her, showing you’ve taken her objections into
future. Between them, upon the clear waters, travel
account, you understand your proposal well enough
countless ships bearing both goods and ideas to
to survive an attempt to poke holes in it.
share.

Off her throne, she appears as a very different

Rising from the waters in the center is the palatial
person. Barely reaching five foot stands a young
starscraper of the Queen of Currents herself. Upon a
woman just entering her twenties, wearing casual
throne of synthetic ivory and natural pearl sits The
clothes, unkempt mousy hair and a tee shirt
Philosopher Queen: Regal as a glacier, six foot tall
adorned with an obscure and highly technical joke.
and adorned in the latest sleek future-chic fashions
She even wears glasses, having never bothered to
of her court. Here she judges the petitions,
fix her eyesight. Far from the regal Philosopher
proposals, and arguments of her subjects.
Queen, she stumbles over her words, gushing like a
bubbling brook in her excitement over the latest
Every word spoken by The Lady of Clear Water is
technical and scientific discoveries. When gifted
precise and as calm as a moonlit pond. Her replies
with some unseen device or research from Earth
are lengthy and explain the facts, theories and
she absolutely squees in delight. She loves learning,
reasoning behind every decision, and why she
she loves knowledge, and she loves to share it. Even
denies every single one of them. One might be
Gale-Blind as she is, she loves fundamental
discoveries and axioms, she loves working through a
problem with someone and what they know, and
her advice isn’t much different than it would be
without Gale-Blindness.
When talking to the Queen in her public persona it
is best to speak as she does: clearly, precisely, with a
focus on the facts and an explanation of your
reasoning. But in private, talking to the Queen of
Currents is like rushing down a river; her gushing
enthusiasm pushes the conversation into interesting
fact after interesting fact -- once she gets into the
groove she will not stop talking unless someone
interrupts her, which she doesn't mind at all. A
Princess must choose whether to follow or fight the
currents to steer the conversation in more practical
directions. Some Princesses become tributaries,
their own excitement joining with the Queen’s to
become greater than either alone; it is these
Princesses most likely to win the Queen’s friendship
and the royal favor.
From Understanding, Hope
Everything has a cause; everything has a purpose;
nothing that happens is inexplicable. The servants of
the Philosopher Queen find causes, purposes and
explanations.
Even if it wasn’t so useful, the Illuminators would
still learn as much as they could for the satisfaction
of sating their curiosity. But it is useful: after all, no
problem can be solved at the same level of
awareness that created it. The more widely a
Illuminator has studied, the more she's been able to
feel and fulfill her curiosity, and that’s what she’s
about. And the more widely a Illuminator has
studied, the more swiftly she takes hold of a new
problem and supplies its correct solution, which is a
nice side benefit.
Their duty, therefore, is to use their brains. When
they come across a problem, the Hope-Engineers
analyze it carefully, and reach as complete an
understanding of it as they can; then they act,
cutting the problem off at the source and further
studying as it resolves. Analysis is obligatory.
Assumptions and intuitions can be a starting point
but they must be tested, since an ill-planned
strategy is usually worse than none. If you can’t
explain it to your grandmother you don’t
understand it yourself, and if you can explain it, then
you should. You should push everyone you have
influence over to learn, think, and question; the
most respected and most important position of all is
not Queen, but teacher.
All Nobles know that their form of magic is an
expression of humanity’s drive and aspiration, but
the Hope-Engineers take this belief the furthest. To
them there’s no sense categorizing “magic” as a
separate thing from “mundane.” They lie on a
continuum with all mortal capability, not a distinct
category. Others critical of their philosophy -- most
often Jewels -- think this too often leads them to
shirk their duties by not understanding what it is
they have to do and cannot delegate or teach.
Backgrounds
No matter where you come from, you are welcome
if you see the value of thinking things through. Like
followers of Flowers, the Hope-Engineers have a
wide variety of views and origins; unlike the
Flowers, they will constantly argue and debate
about them. There’s no acrimony or resentment
there, they argue to ensure they can hold up to
argument. The fact that a lot of them are nerds, for
lack of a better word, helps this tendency.
Science is a mindset, not an aesthetic. You don’t
have to be someone who works in a scientific field,
nor do you have to work in education or academia
(even though a lot of them do). You have to be
someone willing and eager to learn from your
experiences, someone who is curious about what
you can find out. If you can offer a perspective
nobody else has, perhaps an insight others
overlook, so much the better.
Character Creation
Princesses of Currents favor the Mental Attributes
of Intelligence, Wits, and Resolve. Princesses of
Currents gain a free Transformed dot in one of these
attributes.
Intelligence is vital for making sense of information,
while Wits is valued for spotting patterns and
noticing important details, and Resolve keeps one’s
head clear, as does Composure. There’s about an
equal split of Currents who neglect their Physical
attributes for pursuits of the mind, and Currents
who neglect their Social attributes from being so
caught up in their own contexts.
If a Current doesn’t have Investigation, she tends to
pick it up fairly quickly in her efforts to get the facts
of whatever problem she’s facing.
Many Illuminators have at least a few dots spread
across Computer, Crafts, Academics, Occult, and
Science: all of these are subjects it’s just a good idea
to know a bit about, you never know when they
come in handy. Expression is more common than
Persuasion, as they favor explanation over
persuasion to sway one’s position. Larceny and
Stealth see use in getting information that can’t be
obtained any other way -- they often see it as a very
minor sin if it’s to get some crucial information they
don’t think should be hidden.
Socially the Court of Currents favors Contacts, for
the access to information it provides. Many find
themselves joining scientific or engineering projects
and a tight community with shared goals can easily
lead to Allies. More than any other Court, the
Hope-Engineers enjoy access to mental Merits.
Many have strange abilities such as an Eidetic
Memory or Common Sense granted to them by
their Blossoming, others have studied all their life
and have abilities like Encyclopedic Knowledge to
prove it. Champions of Currents usually have Small
Unit Tactics, and the only reason they don’t have
large unit tactics is because it’s so hard to get a large
unit.
Heraldry
Currents often have a sci-fi sort of feel to their
heraldry, though it’s not unheard of to evoke
Classical philosophers with togas or Imperial
scholars bearing the Mandarin Square.
Most of the time, though, they favor a futuristic
look, from the retro-futurism of hovering rings and
silver jumpsuits to the cyberpunk edgerunners with
Regalia of palmtop processors, cybernetic limbs, and
translucent computer eyepieces. Their outfits are
most likely to fit the “superhero” aesthetic, though
they wear more lab coats than capes, and the most
common colors are silver and bright blue.
Their Echo is like a splash of cool water, washing
away sleepiness and inattention and invigorating
your mind.
Signet: Acqua
Acqua, the path of crystal-clear water, is gifted to all
who follow the teachings of the Queen of Currents.
It grants powers of clear thinking and
communication, as well as the ability to control and
utilize water.
Stereotypes
• Flowers: Lots of good points, but you need to be
the one who assembles all their knowledge into a
plan.
• Jewels: We can learn a lot from the past, so long
as we understand why the past was like that instead
of revering it blindly.

• Spades: They’re excellent when it comes to

making you think. I’m not sure that’s their goal, but I
appreciate it anyway.

• Swords: Convince them that you know the best

path forward, and they will blaze a trail for you
better than you could have asked for.

• Tears: Look, it’s obvious. If you didn’t live in that

dank hole you wouldn’t need to steal the world’s
hope. Why don’t you move out?

• Storms: You know what the definition of insanity

is, right?

• Mirrors: Ask yourself: what are the odds she

found the real Heir this time?

• Mummies: You could know so much that has been

forgotten. Don’t let that be lost to history!

• Mages: We grant meaning to symbols, not the

other way around. Whatever it is you’re digging up,
it sure isn’t the truth.

• Mortals: We’re going to get through this together.

I promise. I’m going to help you through every step
of the way until we all figure out how to fix this.

Inspirations
Jonas Salk, Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon), Washu
Hakubi (Tenchi Muyo!), Hermoine Granger (Harry
Potter), Miss Frizzle (The Magic School Bus), and the
“Professor” or “Gadgeteer Genius” archetypes.
 Harmony’s Embrace

The Queen Of Flowers

The Queen of Clubs, The Matron of Forests, The Speaker To Animals, The Sense of the Seasons
Followers: Rangers, Shugenja, Turtles, Leaves
Kingdom: Grand Forest of Wen-Mung

You can’t control everything, but you don’t need to.

The Queen of Flowers leads Princesses whose love is found in Harmony. Balance, peace, tranquility. Our world
will be peaceful and just when we get along. The natural world is varied and uncontrolled and wildly diverse but
everything fits together into a harmonious system of perfect cycles and renewal. A better world will come, when
we nurture it and create the conditions where it can grow.

laughter. She is patient and kind, listening

Tales of the Kingdom attentively to any Princess and waiting for them to
get to the end of the story before responding.
The Queen of Flowers has no palace and wears only
(Somehow, she has managed to figure out how to
a crown of leaves and simple traveler’s clothing
bake cookies over a simple campfire, and always has
adorned with flowers. Her court walks through the
a warm batch ready for anyone she must lend an
forest of Wen-Mung, changing its seasons as they
ear to.) Knowing she is Gale-Blind, her advice
travel. Where they walk, leaves appear on branches,
focuses on coaching the Princess through forming
cherry blossoms open, and flowers bloom, heralding
the right attitude, then starting at a small aspect of
Spring with each footstep. Where they rest, boughs
the problem to work upward. When it is her turn to
extend to shelter them. When they thirst, rainwater
talk, though, she is so affectionate and nurturing it
will trickle from the canopy. When the Queen
can be a bit overbearing. She feels so close to
wishes to sit and hold court, she will always find a
everyone, most of all her followers, that she might
perfectly sized tree stump or stone covered in moss
give out too many hugs or pinch too many cheeks.
from which to welcome all her subjects.

She is the most intimately acquainted with the cycle Let Hope Flourish
of death and rebirth, and even though she did not
The world is a place of conflict. Not just the obvious
escape the Dreamlands, she has aged, died, and
conflicts where nation fights nation and man fights
been reborn again and again throughout the Long
man, but also the conflicts that arise from the
Night. Right now, she’s a plump and matronly
simple act of existing. Clashes of personality, of
woman who looks to be about in her late 50s, hair
opinions, of needs. The Queen of Flowers teaches
streaked with grey, face creased with wisdom and
her children that they and everything in existence
have a nature. It is from the struggle to be true to
this nature within the confines life imposes that
most conflict arises. Through introspection and self
discovery a Princess can find a way for her nature to
exist in harmony with the world, to find clarity in
seeking what we need and what we don’t, to let
conflict drift away as we understand each other’s
natures and how we can fit together.
But harmony is not a destination, it is a process. It is
a way of moving with the world. Everything has a
nature and change is part of that nature: Water
flows, plants grow and planets dance around the
stars. A tree does not sit inert, but grows around
obstacles.
One must always act with wisdom, but one must
always act. A Princess cannot just count on things
working themselves out, but needs to take an active
hand in ensuring they have the room and
framework to work themselves out. Harmony itself
takes effort, not to impose your own will and plan,
but to ensure things can flourish. All too often a
Princess is called to violence, and knows claws and
thorns are a part of nature just as fur and flowers.
She must use her power to prune away the dead
and twisted branches and the parasitic growths that
cause life to wither away.
For this reason, Flowers' philosophy sometimes
faces criticism from other Princesses (and violent
opposition from Princesses of Storms) as the most
“accepting” of the Darkness. Princesses of Flowers
oppose the Darkness and the disharmony and
suffering it creates by twisting the nature of things
against themselves, but they don’t entertain
fantasies of utterly defeating it forever -- to them,
that would be like defeating gravity. The existence of
fear is now a fact of the world, and we have to find a
new balance with that fact. To create a better world
a Princess must become a teacher and a mediator
who lives a life of harmony and helps others achieve
the same through her example and guidance. As the
saying goes, grant them courage to change what can
be, serenity to accept what cannot, wisdom to tell
the difference.
Backgrounds
Appropriately for a Court so focused on harmony
and coexistence, Flowers are often from wildly
different perspectives and backgrounds yet little
conflict or divisions exist between them. Though
they have a reputation for favoring the relationships
with nature -- and it’s true there are a lot of them
who focus on that -- it’s not the only way to follow
the Queen of Flowers. Harmony and coexistence are
the focus, not only plants and animals. A Princess of
Flowers may do all her work in the city, entirely with
other people and their philosophies and outlooks…
though she probably has a great deal of potted
plants in her apartment.
When the Court of Flowers gathers, it is not rare for
a laboratory biologist to talk long into the night with
a self taught student of Taoism, while across the
meadow a mathematician and a shaman discuss
how the focused and conceptual nature of spirits
leads to the most efficient distribution of their
Essence. Each delight in seeing the world through
eyes that are so different from their own. The
Queen herself knows that these differing viewpoints
are all incomplete pieces of a beautiful whole that is
realized by coming together and letting each other
be who they are. Every time one of her sons or
daughters experiences the joy of learning so for
themselves, she smiles… and she prepares another
batch of cookies.
Character Creation
In general, Princesses of Flowers tend to favor the
Resistance Attributes: Stamina, Resolve, and
Composure. A follower of the Queen of Flowers
gains a Transformed dot in one of these three
Attributes.
Composure is highly desired among the Flowers to
examine their own feelings, while it takes
considerable Resolve to always keep striving for self
improvement. Flowers always put at least some
effort into keeping themselves fit, meaning that
Physical Attributes are at least average. Most
Flowers make a point of familiarizing themselves
with nature, meaning skills such as Survival and
Animal Ken are common. Athletics come in handy
during hiking, swimming, climbing, and otherwise
navigating around in the wilderness (or at least the
state park), and Brawl ensures that no matter where
you are, you’re never unarmed. The fact that you
shouldn’t start fights doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be
prepared to finish them.
Flowers who wish to convince others to embrace
the natural world often pick up Persuasion and
Expression, while those who have a theoretical
understanding of nature often possess Science.
Flowers interested in Spirits often pick up Occult.
Politics is rarer, as Flowers want to bring people
together but squirm in such formal power
structures, as is Computer -- it’s not like they’re
tech-illiterate, but delving deeply into something
that is so purely artificial seems kind of pointless.
Socially, the Court of Flowers tends to have fewer
dots in Allies than Contacts. It is the way of Flowers
to coexist, not control. Circle, however, is often
staggering as the Court’s focus on coexistence
brings them closer to whoever is around them. It is
not unknown for a Flower to count an entire
community as their Circle, whether that community
is a commune explicitly built on principles of
friendship and love, or an ordinary neighborhood
that arose simply through the common existence of
people near each other, seems to make little
difference. The outdoor life enjoyed by many
Flowers makes Physical Merits common, many are
exceptionally healthy people who enjoy a Natural
Immunity and a good Direction Sense is common
among both wilderness explorers and hikers. Mental
Merits are rarer, but a Meditative Mind and Holistic
Awareness are both common.
Heraldry
In their Transformed state, Flowers tend to be more
subdued than other Princesses. Greens and earth
tones are common colors, with many evoking the
images of colors changing in autumn. Ivy and leaf
motifs are also common, with water themes being
only slightly less popular. Outfits tend to be practical
first and elegant second: the Flowers favor tough
clothes well suited for the outdoors, but also with a
sense of balance that lends grace to their
appearance.
A Flower’s Echo tends to give people feelings of
serenity. People feel calm and peaceful around the
Princess, as if her mere presence somehow brings
the world into greater harmony.
Signet: Legno
Legno, the path of blooming life, is gifted to all who
follow the teachings of the Queen of Flowers. It
focuses on resilience and adaptability and grants the
ability to influence plants and animals.
Stereotypes
• Currents: They seek knowledge only for the sake
of knowledge. They build a future with no idea
where it leads. We need to be there to help guide it
for them.
• Jewels: They are living in traditions built for the
world of yesteryear, but we shouldn’t disregard
them entirely -- they became tradition for a reason,
after all.
• Spades: Flexible, adaptable. They can fit anywhere
yet they lack the permanence to ask the same
respect of the world. Somehow, I don’t think that
matters to them.
• Swords: If you are strong enough, you can move
the world, but unless you teach the world to move
itself it will always move back. When they lift, use
your hands to guide them.
• Tears: This kind of stagnation and stubbornness is
akin to death.
• Storms: You can’t force the world to conform to
what you think it should be, no matter how violent
you get.
• Mirrors: You want to make everything about
yourself and yourself alone, as if you can even
understand that without understanding the world
around you.
• Werewolves: No, “harmony” is not the halfway
point between “wears pants” and “kills everyone.”
• Deviants: It doesn’t matter how fractured you are.
You can find a place to belong, I’m sure of it.
• Mortals: I hope this helps. I hope that by living the
world we want for you, we can earn for you the
world you deserve.
Inspirations
Nausicaä, Fluttershy (Friendship is Magic), Yoko
Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho), Alexstrasza the Life-Binder
(World of Warcraft), Lily White (Touhou Project),
and the “Friend To All Living Things” or “Simple Yet
Wise” archetypes.
 Bedrock of Society

The Queen Of Jewels

The Rose Bride, The Gentle Patroness, The Queen Regnant, The Queen of Queens
Followers: Scepters, Dames (female), Gallants (male), Rocks (often derogatory)
Kingdom: The Most Beautiful Palaces of Andarta

If you can’t believe in yourself, believe in me. Because I believe in you.

The Queen of Jewels leads Princesses whose love is expressed through pride. The swell of emotion that comes
with sincere accomplishment, of having done something, made something -- or to have seen someone you love
rise to become greater with your help. The Queen of Jewels implores her followers to bring the Fearless
Kingdoms back to the modern world. The principles of civilization and order built a better world, and with the
Jewels as its trusted leaders and judges, we will rebuild a paradise that can endure.

The Queen herself presides from a high-backed

Tales of the Kingdom
The provinces of Andarta hold many types of land,
all beautiful: sweeping fields of grain, colorful
forests, mighty mountains. But there is nothing that
can compare to its palaces. They are not scattered
around the land, but rather, all merge together into
one continuous, seamless expression of history to
modernity through its architecture. One could walk
from the very first pyramid monuments, through
ancient temples to a God-Queen, to round and open
fora, a bustling city of carved blocks hewn from the
living earth, ornate and solemn catacombs to honor
the passed, an awe-inspiring Baroque chamber, halls
of Renaissance sculpture, a vast yet intimate
Victorian manor, to the Art Deco pillars and arcs and
filigrees where the Queen currently holds court.
And you can -- her courtiers are happy to give tours
and can recall in depth what each place was made
for and how it was used and what about it stood the
test of time. Their history is something to be proud
of.
throne of gold and red granite, illuminated by tiny
spotlights to serve as a beacon to everyone’s
attention. She is everything a Queen could be,
should be. Regal, dignified, just, and kind.
Statuesque and stunning, wearing the finest gown
and cape, bearing a crown and scepter that strike
awe but never verge onto ostentatious. The
protocols and formalities she obeys are not stifling,
but freeing, allowing everyone to perfectly know
what is expected of them. As she hears petitions in
court, the room around her fills with the sounds of
shuffling papers as her clerks search volumes of
records for judicial precedents, proven solutions.
None are hurt more than the Queen of Jewels by
their Gale-Blindness, she’d love nothing more than
to be able to tell a struggling Princess about
someone they can trust to seek out. Instead she has
to be that rock of stability for all her charges, a
weight she happily bears. She may not be able to
tell you who to rely on, but she can help you
become that person for others, and she can be
there to lay down your burdens.
Trust in Hope
More than anyone else, a Princess of Jewels is
royalty. This is not simply something that makes
them special; a Jewel knows a crown is a symbol
that must be honored. They must be a figure to
place trust into. Whatever authority they
individually bear is their sacred responsibility.
Nobody can stand alone against the Darkness, but
together with bonds of trust we can triumph against
anything. Jewels are those who weave those bonds
between individuals, forming strands into webs to
capture the fitful gleaming motes of Light falling
into the world, then forming tapestries of history
and accomplishment.
Jewels believe in a hierarchy that uplifts instead of
oppressing. It is the duty of subordinates to trust
their leaders, and a much more vital duty for leaders
to trust their followers, to help them, guide them,
and together to build them into people both can be
proud of. And as leaders or subordinates, they hold
themselves to high standards and strive to exceed
even those. A follower cannot obey a leader without
trusting their judgment, and a leader cannot lead
without trusting her subordinates with invested
authority.
Tradition, too, is a trust, a means of our forebears to
instill in us everything they could to let us flourish,
help us in common belief to become a community.
Jewels respect traditions and try to bring them to
life, though they don’t follow them blindly. A
tradition bears with it a pedigree of
accomplishments but does not often come with an
explanation, and Jewels are hesitant to break with
tradition when they don’t at least know why the
tradition exists and thus when it is safe to discard. If
there is truly no tradition that provides guidance in
the current situation, well, it’s time to come up with
one to pass on to others.
Backgrounds
Even before they Blossomed, most Gallants had
respect for the institutions of society. If they were
well-off, they or their parents often had
backgrounds in politics or law. Others may have had
extended families, a local business, a Student
Council. Even those living where crumbling
institutions provide no protection place their trust
and their pride in tight-knit communities who look
out for one another. Nearly all of them have held a
position of responsibility, even if it’s only for a
younger sibling.
Some Princesses are at first attracted to the glamor
and finery of the Court of Jewels, but they don’t
wear costume jewelry. Leadership is hard work, and
the pride in it must be earned. That tiara is a symbol
that must be honored. Your pedigree is something
to live up to.
Gallants are more likely to be found in roles of
leadership, but that doesn’t mean all of them or
even the majority are -- there are far more people
who need to be led, after all. Gallants can be found
as faithful retainers, loyal aides, dedicated
bodyguards -- positions where trust is paramount.
Even with their equals, they seek to be people to
confide in and depend upon. In their works they
want one thing above all else: to build a reputation
they can be proud of.
Character Creation
Princesses of Jewels favor the Social Attributes of
Presence, Manipulation, and Composure. Princesses
of Jewels gain a free Transformed dot in one of
these Attributes.
Presence helps you lead from above, while
Manipulation helps you be a solid member of the
group or take a more personal focus, and
Composure is vitally important to maintain your
status as someone others can depend on. You don’t
have to be socially outgoing to follow the Queen of
Jewels, but you will at least be working on that and
becoming more comfortable around others, so that
they can be more comfortable with you. Most of the
time, Champions and Seekers place a secondary
focus on Physical attributes, while Graces, Menders,
and Troubadours go for Mental Attributes: that
which is needed to fulfill the role they occupy.
The single most important Skill a Gallant would say
she has is Empathy. Empathy comes before
everything, Empathy is how she can see what is
needed and what she must do. Socialize and
Persuasion are as common as one would expect
them to be, given the focus on social structures, and
Academics or Politics are good for those who want
to rise in existing organizations and help them adopt
the Kingdom’s ideals. Subterfuge is often useful to
protect a community from those who would usurp
it. Even if one isn’t a Troubadour, the traditions of
art and beauty are deeply important, so Expression
and Crafts are very common.
A Gallant most often places Social Merits above
Mental, and Mental above Physical; no matter how
adept she may be on her own we will all be stronger
together. Circle, Allies, Retainers, Contacts, Status, a
Gallant is always making new friends to rely on.
Champions of Jewels in particular see Inspiring as
the top priority Merit, because Inspiring is what
they should be.
Heraldry
Heraldry for the Nobles of Jewels strongly favors
clothing in traditional styles, particularly formal
dress. Elegant ball gowns and elaborate jewelry for
phylacteries are very common, colored in pastels,
pinks and reds, and multiple shades of white. (It’s
not unknown for this sort of heraldry to be mistaken
for a wedding dress.) Many Princes follow the
complementary
mode of mens’ formal wear, appearing in tuxedos,
or in white tie, top hat and tails. While modern
formal is common, a Princess of Jewels may adorn
herself in the trappings of past civilisations to honor
cultures she believes have valuable lessons for the
present. The more practically minded model their
Heraldry on styles no less formal but less confining;
the swashbuckling cavalier, the wuxia hero, the
knight in shining armor. In all cases, a Jewel is
dressed well, showing off the best appearance of a
high and civilized age. And more than any other
Court, as they grow in power, their Regalia tends to
grow in frills.
A Jewel’s Echo provides a sense of stability and
security, of being grounded, and helps to smooth
over minor bits of rudeness or misunderstanding
that might otherwise cause insult.
Signet: Terra
Terra, the path of the enduring foundation of stone,
is gifted to all who follow the teachings of the
Queen of Jewels. It focuses on security and building
foundations, and allows users to manipulate stone
and earth.
Stereotypes
• Flowers: They want to take it slow and build, but
don’t realize how much work we need to put in
instead of relying on natural growth.
• Currents: I love their enthusiasm and they can
make great things, but they might spend more time
asking how they could, than if they should.
• Spades: Formality isn’t “stuffy,” it’s reliable, it
helps us communicate by telling us how to speak to
each other even from different backgrounds.
• Swords: I’m not going to let you go out in a blaze
of glory. You need to be here for all of us.
• Tears: I understand how important Alhambra is to
you. We can both thank it for how it helped you,
and then let it pass into memory where it belongs.
• Storms: You don’t have a community, you have
mass hysteria. You don’t know anything about each
other because you’re afraid having anything to
know might make you weak.
• Mirrors: If there was a True Heir at all, she’d have
to be someone who understood that people
weren’t here to serve her, she was here to serve
people.
• Mages: You talk about the power and magic and
mystery of Atlantis all the time. I’ve yet to hear a
single word about how the people there lived.
• Sin-eaters: The best defiance of Death is to help
make something that will live long after you pass.
• Mortals: It’s incredible you managed to survive
this far, against all this. I’m proud of all of you who
make it through. Now it’s time to take back the
world you deserve, and I’ll be behind you every step
of the way.
Inspirations
Queen Serenity (Sailor Moon), Princess Celestia
(Friendship is Magic), Minky Momo, Sakuya Izayoi
(Touhou Project), Princess Zelda (most especially
Twilight Princess and Hyrule Warriors), or the “High
Queen” or “Team Mom” archetypes.
 Laughter on the Wind

The Queen Of Spades

The Queen of Knaves, The Queen of Thieves, The Subtle Hand, The Dancer with Danger
Followers: Knaves (affectionately derogatory), Rogues (affectionately derogatory),
Scoundrels (affectionately derogatory)
Kingdom: The Confederacy of Four Winds

What’s life without a little sunshine?

The Queen of Spades leads Princesses whose love is expressed through joy. Seekers of laughter and thrills, a
confederation of Nobles who are always ready with a joke, who can find the silver lining, or who are just having
the time of their lives -- and whose happiness is infectious to their friends and loved ones. Surprise begets
laughter and laughter defeats terror. When the world tells us “this is how it has to be,” a Princess of Spades
smiles, winks, and does something the world didn’t see coming.

palace is her royal airship, the Blackjack II, and her

Tales of the Kingdom throne is the captain’s chair. She drifts around just
like the clouds, stopping and settling here or there
The Confederacy of Four Winds exists in a towering
to slide in and see what’s going on. That is, when
mountain range, with cities and plains carved as
she isn’t using her mastery of Aria to leap from
terraces out of the slopes. The wind is always
terrace to terrace just because she can.
blowing there, turning the windmills that power
their civilization, propelling the airships and hot-air
The Queen of Spades shows up when there’s a
balloons they use to travel from place to place,
problem that needs to be solved, and most often,
whirling the sky full of clouds into constantly
that problem is “someone needs to lighten up.” You
changing patterns. Each terrace-city is its own
don’t petition her for aid, she finds you when you
independent realm, though always on friendly
need it. She does not give orders, but her “subjects”
terms with the others, and has its own culture and
cherish the wisdom and unconventional viewpoints
aesthetics, leading any kind of gathering to be a riot
she offers on their problems, and even if they have
of different colors and styles.
no particular need of advice, she’s simply a delight
to be around. Her fashion is ever-changing but
The Queen of Spades has wispy white cirrus hair,
always striking and eye-catching, and the only
sky-blue eyes, sun-bronzed skin, and the utterly
difference when traveling in disguise as a commoner
inexhaustible energy of the wind. She doesn’t rule
is that she follows the trend instead of creating it.
from a palace on high. She has no actual legal
authority here -- everyone is free to ignore anything
she says, so it can hardly be called ‘ruling’. Her
In a conversation with her she breezes from topic to
topic, nearly impossible to pin to one subject. She
never seems to answer a question directly, and
asking her to stay focused is the surest way to lose
her favor. But reflecting on a conversation with her,
you realize she’s touched on everything you asked,
just never from the angle you approached. If this
was an intentional method of teaching, she’d never
be able to keep it up all the time. It’s just how her
mind works.
When a Princess comes to her for advice -- or she
comes to them -- she bears wisecracks, or
complicated fast-paced games, or even an array of
Jello shots. Don’t talk about the problem, just roll
with her energy and you’ll find you may not have
the advice you sought but always got the advice you
needed.
Smile In The Face Of Fear
You can solve any problem with an open mind and
confidence, and nothing makes confidence like
happiness. The unexpected is funny, but it also
works, approaching problems from new directions.
Fear drives us into the mud and entrenches us
where we are, and happiness and laughter uplift us
to see all the possibilities we never noticed from the
ground.
The Queen of Spades teaches you to be
light-hearted. Never too serious, and never too
dragged down. Dance out of the grasp of any hand
that seeks to bind you. Then laugh at their
frustration.
Backgrounds
There are only two types of people who Blossom
into the Court of Spades: Those who were free
spirits, and those who needed to be. If you point
out that according to their philosophy these two
groups encompass everyone, the Knave just puts a
finger to her lips and shushes you as if you revealed
a big secret.
Knaves were free spirits, countercultures, slackers,
and class clowns, or they Blossomed in a beautiful
moment of realizing they could be. The criminals
who society opposed not for harming its members
but for flaunting its conventions. The quick-witted
or quick-fingered, the ones who can defy the face of
authority.
The kind of people who take it as a compliment
when you call them “Knaves”.
Character Creation
Princesses of Spades favor the Finesse Attributes of
Dexterity, Wits, and Manipulation. Princesses of
Spades gain a free Transformed dot in one of these
Attributes.
Wits lets you live outside of the rules, Manipulation
lets you get away with it, and Dexterity helps when
you don’t get away with it. Strength is also valuable
for the self-reliant, as is Resolve to keep your own
spirits up so you can elevate others.
Physical skills are usually prized. Survival, Stealth, or
even a smidge of Larceny help you to stay
independent, and Athletics and Drive help you get
to where you want to be. Socially, Streetwise,
Socialize, and Subterfuge get you into and out of
groups when they need you and back out again
when you’re done. Expression is great for friends or
strangers, to communicate what you mean without
being tied down to specific words and topics. It’s
also the Skill involved in being a wiseass.
For Merits, a Knave's dashing charm and quick wit
leads to a wide Circle and diverse Contacts and
perhaps a good friend as Retainer, but they often
lack the more structured relationships implied by
Allies, Status, or Mentors other than the Queen
herself. Fleet of Foot and Fast Reflexes come
naturally to practitioners of Aria, and the
Fast-Talking Style is vital to get out of trouble in one
piece. It may seem counterintuitive to recognize
many Knaves have the Common Sense merit, but it’s
true. They intuitively grasp what’s going on without
deep analysis, and you need to know what common
sense says before you decide to ignore it.
Heraldry
The Heraldry for Nobles of Spades is extremely
personal and expressive. Colors are vivid, blacks and
whites are high contrast, scarves and capes to billow
behind movements are common, and outfit designs
hold subtle visual puns for the attentive. Being quick
and working subtly does not mean going unnoticed,
though a lot of Knaves pick up at least the basic
Illusion Charm to disguise when needed. They often
take existing styles but add twists that make them
uniquely their own: from a customized school
uniform to a stylish swashbuckling pirate, a dapper
stage magician or a classy cat burglar. Outside of the
US and UK -- where fear of clowns is so omnipresent
they think it must be universal -- the laughing
white-faced pierrot is a very popular choice.
The Echo of a Princess of Spades tickles like a
feather propelled by a soft breeze. It lightens the
spirit, makes it easier to laugh, makes it easier to let
go of your burdens, if only for a little while.
Signet: Aria
Aria, the path of the free winds, is gifted to all who
follow the teachings of the Queen of Spades. It
allows its users to evade capture and burdens, and
grants power to control air and wind.
Stereotypes
• Currents: The thing where they repeat a word you
just said and go “Of course! You’re a genius!” is
what we’re all about, and you don’t even have to
understand what they’re working on to do it.
• Flowers: Good-natured sort, don’t really stand on
propriety, their willingness to accept things makes
them great at playing along with a bit.
• Jewels: All that ceremony and tradition is just too
much potential comedy to ignore. I love the looks
on their faces when they’re trying to look mad at
you while also trying not to laugh their asses off.
• Swords: They know how to cut loose. Whatever
you’re up to, if they’re your friend, they’re down
with it. One-upping each other can lead you to a
night you’ll remember forever, or a night you’ll
never remember because you just woke up in a
motel wearing a zebra costume. Highly
recommended.
• Tears: If it’s not something you feel happy about
working for, then it’s not something worth saving.
The only reason you all embrace sadness is to avoid
seeing that.
• Storms: I don’t get it. You don’t laugh, you aren’t
happy, some of you barely have personalities. What
the hell is the point of fighting the Darkness if you’re
not making a world we can enjoy?
• Mirrors: If THAT’s how you react to people
laughing at you, that just proves how much I need
to get people to laugh at you.
• Prometheans: Okay, I guess a ‘joke’ is something
that’s funny because it’s unexpected and
unconventional. Unless it’s slapstick. Or it’s a
running gag where you know the punchline and it’s
about building the anticipation for it. ‘Happiness’ is
when you… okay, you guys are a pretty rough
crowd.
• Sin-Eaters: Don’t mess with them. They’ve been
drinking with skeletons.
• Beasts: Blah blah primordial blah blah dark
mother blah blah teaching lessons blah blah fear is
good. You’re a bunch of self-important hypocritical
assholes and you need to be taken down at least
nine or ten pegs.
Inspirations
The Doctor (Doctor Who), Psiren (Fullmetal
Alchemist), Saint Tail, Featuring Dante From The
Devil May Cry Series, Pinkie Pie (Friendship is
Magic), Joseph Joestar (Battle Tendency), and the
“Lovable Rogue” or “Trickster” archetypes.

• Mortals: If I can break through all this gloom and

just bring a smile to your faces, this will all be worth
it.
 Burning Desire

The Queen Of Swords

The Brightly Burning One, The Faithful Marshal, The Queen Errant, The First Crush
Followers: Adventurers, Heroes, Martyrs
Kingdom: The Jungle Heart of Aztallan

I am going to love and tolerate the absolute shit out of you.

The Queen of Swords leads Princesses whose love surges out in the purest and most intense way: passion.
Committed, intense, ready to carry on the fight, it is this overwhelming and passionate love that drives
everything they do. Don’t hold back. Don’t mess around. Don’t hide your feelings. Find what you love, who you
love, and move mountains and sunder the heavens for them. Let the flames of passion in your heart warm
everyone around you and blaze a trail to the future.

seen in lifetimes -- the layers of paint on them are

Tales of the Kingdom
Aztallan is a beautiful and thriving jungle that
constantly offers up rich bounties and must always
be tamed. Its people enjoy a bounty of exotic foods,
shining gold, nearly limitless raw materials, so long
as they venture into the jungle and wrestle their
prizes from its grip. Its thriving cities extend upward
over the jungle mists, ziggurats and treehouses and
cabins and overlooks are all linked by bridges and
elevators. On every square inch of their walls and
every available surface there are monuments,
murals, paintings, graffiti, all extolling loves current
and past. When the vibrant paint these love
declarations are drawn in finally bleaches in the sun,
someone else will draw over them with their own
proclamations, as vivid as if it was the first time
anyone felt anything.
The palace of the Queen of Swords lies on a plateau
from which the whole kingdom can be seen in its
splendor. The stone walls are carved with etchings
and bas-reliefs of heroic battles, which haven’t been
inches thick by now. The Queen’s chambers are lit
by blazing torchlight so intense it seems as though it
were perpetually noon, and at the center lies her
obsidian throne: stark, sharp, imposing, and covered
with dust from disuse.
The Queen of Swords doesn’t rule from her palace.
She’s out on an adventure. Atop her riding iguana
(his name is Miguel and he’s a very good boy who
loves bananas and slurps them up by the bunch) she
charges from one place to the next, sword
perpetually unsheathed and pointing onward. Led
by her blazing heart, she rights any wrong in her
way, smites any injustice that dares show its face,
repels any invading force foolish enough to try,
reunites any lovers separated by fate, and sweeps
up an endless series of paramours in whirlwind
romances that leave them a hair away from being
completely overwhelmed. Her court follows her:
skalds proclaiming her deeds and her new loves to
anyone who wasn’t quick enough to catch her on
her path, eager Princesses joining on her
adventures, and harried administrators desperately
trying to keep up with her.
Any Princess who takes her as a Mentor finds it hard
not to deepen their relationship, because the
Queen of Swords is the very definition of “ride or
die.” If you have a problem, she has a problem. If
you need guidance, she tells you to be yourself but
moreso, pouring out her emotions until it’s hard not
to feel them yourself. If you doubt yourself, it’s time
to prove how strong you are on another quest. If
your heart is broken, it’s time to eat passionfruit ice
cream right out of the tub and talk about what a
total dirtbag that guy was and how much better you
deserve.
Love Conquers All
Whatever you do, do it for love. In the end, the only
thing that matters is people. The Swords are not
interested in complicated debates on the nature of
good and evil; to them, it’s simple and intuitive. If it
hurts people, it’s evil. Don’t do that. If someone else
is doing that, make them stop. There is no amount
of rules or philosophy that can guide the wicked into
virtue; the only way to do that is to re-ignite the
spark of goodness that lies in all our hearts.
Fear tells us to hide from who we truly are and hide
what we truly care about, to conceal it from the
world and ourselves behind a shield of detachment.
To reach someone, you need to break that shield.
Sometimes that means reaching out with your
utterly unguarded enthusiasm. And sometimes that
means slapping them silly until they’re ready to
listen.
Suppressing our emotions smothers them, and fear
seeks to snuff out everything but itself. Yes, express
your passionate love, but when you feel something
else, don’t be afraid to embrace it with every fiber
of your being. Hope, friendship, yearning, joy, even
negative emotions like anger and sorrow. Stoke their
flames so their light beats back the Darkness from
your soul. The only things to bar from your heart are
fear and hate, for love overcomes hate every time.
Love is kind, love is invigorating, and love is life
itself. But love is not patient. Love drives us upward
and onward to bring it to the world. Love lets us
protect what matters most, and lets us see how
everything matters.
Backgrounds
Heroes don’t have a common place they came from,
but a common path to go forward. They followed
their hearts wherever they led. They were
adventuresome, even if until they Blossomed they
didn’t have many opportunities to delve into danger
or face monstrous foes. They were driven more by
emotion than abstractions, and when opportunities
to do the right thing arose, they tried to take them.
Yet for most of them, there was something missing,
and it was only when they Blossomed that they felt
complete, empowered and confident enough to be
who they always should have been.
The Court of Swords is also absolutely lousy with
hopeless romantics and idealists. It’s nearly
impossible to track all the relationships that even a
medium sized group of Heroes leap into and out of
with each other and with outsiders. If their hearts
break again and again on the search for their
idolized True Love, then so be it, they will bounce
back. True love is worth any danger.
Character Creation
Princesses of Swords favor the Power Attributes of
Strength, Intelligence, and Presence. Princesses of
Swords gain a free Transformed dot in one of these
Attributes.
The direct approach is the best approach and if
smashing headlong into the problem didn’t solve it
maybe you didn’t smash hard enough. Strength
shatters obstacles, Intelligence outsmarts
opponents, and Presence inspires others to follow
your example. Physical Attributes are a common
focus even for Graces and Troubadours (though by
no means universal) -- when you lead from the front
you need to be ready to rumble.
And when you lead from the front you don’t know
what you may encounter, so Heroes often have one
or two dots in a wide variety of Skills, just in case --
Survival, Athletics, Streetwise, Persuasion,
Investigation, and Crafts are versatile picks. And a
Hero almost always has some experience in Brawl or
Weaponry. Sometimes, people’s hearts are too
wrapped in fear to hear your message of love and
redemption. When that happens, the only option is
usually to beat the snot out of them until they’re
ready to listen.
Physical Merits are also most common among
Swords, with an equal split of Mental and Social
after that. Demolisher, Iron Stamina, Relentless, all
can describe a Princess of Swords -- and mastery of
a Fighting Style is never a bad idea. Common Sense
represents the innate gut sense of right and wrong,
while Encyclopedic Knowledge can come from a
discovered passion for a subject. In terms of Social
Merits, Swords favor Fame over Anonymity, and
personal relationships like Retainer and Mentor over
broader Allies and Contacts. They also toss out True
Friend Merits like Halloween candy.
Heraldry
Red, white, and gold are the signature colors of
most Swords, with “cool” colors usually relegated to
accents if they appear at all. Everything is bold and
glorious and it’s often flamboyant. Regalia often
evokes the image of a battle-tested field officer, a
storied adventurer, a heroic crusader, all the way to
a badass sukeban delinquent: someone who, even if
it isn’t their primary task, can absolutely jump into a
fight and look amazing while they do it. If the
Princess herself or her nakama has a special symbol,
expect it to be displayed prominently and proudly.
The Echo of a Princess of Swords inspires confidence
and passion in those around her. Her presence and
charisma invigorates those around her and inspires
them to embrace their passions.
Signet: Fuoco
Fuoco, the path of burning desires, is gifted to all
who follow the teachings of the Queen of Swords. It
grants powers of love and passion, rewards for fully
committing yourself, and the ability to control
flames.
Stereotypes
• Currents: They want to step back and look at the
big picture. They can do that, while you’re out there
painting it.
• Flowers: They aren’t as passive as I first feared
when I heard about them, but they’re too willing to
follow trails instead of making them.
• Jewels: True nobility is leading by example, not
edict. There could be a lot of passion going on with
them, but it can get stuffy and stagnant under all
that formality.
• Spades: Wonderful friends, probably our closest
allies among the Noble. But they can often be
flighty and shy away from commitment.
• Tears: That isn’t caring about something. That’s
being afraid of not caring about something. There’s
a huge difference.
• Storms: They say there’s a thin line between love
and hate, and when I see them, I believe it. If you
start to care more about what you defeat than you
do about what you champion, you can end up here,
and forget why you even fight.

• Mirrors: It’s not enough for people to love you.

You have to love them back.

• Vampires: You twist emotions into sick parodies of

themselves to serve your heartless aims, emptying
people out until they depend on you just to feel the
faintest echo of anything at all. That is why I am
going to set you on fire.

• Changelings: They made it back because there

was something they cared about so much it let
them accomplish the impossible.

• Mortals: I love all of you so God-damn much and

I’m not going to stop until all of you feel it too.

Inspirations
Nanoha Takamachi, Kazuma Kuwabara (Yu Yu
Hakusho), Sayaka Miki (Madoka), Simon the Digger
(Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann), Nero (Devil May
Cry), and the “Soft-Hearted Warrior” or “Hopeless
Romantic” archetypes.
Main Story Part 1

THIS WHOLE THING NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE THAT FOCUSES ON MEETING A
THREAT

I AM WRITING IT BUT IT ISN”T FINISHED YET

Fucking raccoons.

There’d apparently been a spate of raccoons messing with people’s garbage cans in the neighborhood, and when
her mom had heard rustling and clanking outside, she’d demanded that Janet go do something about it.

Janet had objected, of course, because it was past midnight and SHE didn’t think that a racoon messing around in
empty garbage cans was something worth losing sleep over. But then Mom started to guilt-trip her about still living
at home even thougheven, though both of them agreed it was a better option than living on campus, and what
began as something small soon devolved into 10-minutes of screaming that ended with Janet having to go
outside anyway. But now everyone was mad and the neighbors were up. Janet had kind of hoped the yelling
would have driven the stupid thing off. That way she technically wouldn’t have lost the argument to her mother.
But the damn raccoon hadn’t stopped making noise the entire time. It was almost musical. Well. If not musical,
rhythmic.

Bang, clank, ba-bang bang.

So now it was almost 1 AM, and she was wearing an old sweatshirt and pajama pants and holding a broom like a
baseball bat, ready to scare off a forest animal that would be better off left alone. No matter how much noise it
was making, she knew she just had to disturb the area around it and it would bolt off in pure panic. She jabbed the
broom’s handle at the recycling bin next to the garbage, prepared for the startle she’d get from the creature’s
sudden movement --

“Hey! Calm down! I’m almost done with the solo!”

“WHAT THE FUCK IN THE FUCK WITH THE FUCK?” Janet screamed, jumping backwards and nearly dropping
the broom.

The raccoon hadn’t bolted. The raccoon had hopped up on the rim of the recycling bin, resting on its little tiny
raccoon elbows, and was now looking at her with its adorable tiny raccoon eyes in its adorable tiny raccoon mask
of a face and then talked to her with its adorable tiny raccoon mouth in the way that adorable tiny raccoons
absolutely shouldn’t. Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest, and the fact that her surprise had
been provoked by a cuddly woodland critter didn’t make it any better. It made it feel worse.

“It was supposed to be ‘Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida.’” the little creature said. No way. It couldn’t have been the raccoon
saying it. It had to be a puppet. “Did you not hear it? Bumpa-bumpa-bump bump, ba-BUM!
Bumpa-bumpa-bum--GAH!”

Now it was its turn to scream in shock, as she thwacked the bin he was sitting in, not just to jostle it but to expose
whatever mechanisms puppeted the little guy. Of course, she revealed nothing but the raccoon’s legs, but at least
it scampered likeike she had originally thought it was going to, so that was delayed validation.

“You’re a talking animal,” she said.

“Yeah, and you’re a person trying to hit me with a broom!” it shot back. “One of those things is ruder than the
other!”

“Why are you a talking animal?”

“Because I have a message for you!” it said. “I’ve been rummaging around the neighborhood because I knew you
were close, but didn’t know who you were exactly. But now I’ve found you.”

“Okay. But why are you a talking animal?”

“I’m a Shikigami. I have been sent here by your Queen, the Queen of Swords.”

“Who sends talking animals? Why does she send talking animals?”

“Yes, she --” it swatted at its face like the current thread of conversation was a fly and it wanted to be rid of it. “She
sends shikigami! I’m a shikigami! I’m a helper spirit from the Dreamlands who takes on the form of an animal,
spirit, talisman, companion… guy!”

“So there’s a Queen who wants me to talk to animals.”

“Yes, there’s -- no, I mean -- Yes, there is, but not this -- Gah!” It dragged its hands down the sides of its little
snout. “Are you always this difficult? I’m here to tell you about your destiny!”

“To talk to--”

“TO LISTEN TO ANIMALS!” it snapped. “I know you’ve been having dreams! Big dreams about a world where
you’re powerful and everyone looks up to you and you’re some kind of figure of royalty or nobility or respect or
SOMEONE who doesn’t argue with everyone about every little thing! Dream visions! I’m magic! I’m here about the
dream visions!”

She was silent for a moment. “...Lots of people have dreams like that.”

“Lots of people don’t talk to animals!” it hissed back. “That wasn’t a coincidence! I’m here to tell you they meant
something. That you are Nobility, reincarnated from the Fearless Kingdoms, a hero in a past life! A Grace, sworn
to the Queen of Swords! In a past life you used to be a paragon of hope and your words reached out to pull others
from darkness and, and, I had a whole speech prepared and you made me forget it! Anyway now you’ve finally
been reborn into a world full of monsters and it needs your help to save it!” She parted her lips, and he cut her off.
“And yes in your past life you talked to animals! Animals talked! It was normal! Can we move past that?”

She paused. “...That didn’t sound anything like Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida, you know.”
 Never Upon A Time
Chapter 2: Setting
Lemme sketch out something for you. It’s probably a
familiar concept if you are aware of sci-fi or fantasy
or the occult, but just follow along.
There’s a force of sinister, dark corruption out there
that seeks to consume everything. It gets its hooks
into your soul and corrupts you, it changes you. And
it’s always there, whispering to you, promising that
if you listen to it and give it what it wants things will
be so much easier. Just give in a little more, let it
claim a bit more of your soul. The more dominion
you give it, the worse you become. The things you
used to value don’t matter as much as giving in to
this corruption and doing what it demands. It
consumes your thoughts and your personality. You
want to spread it to others. You feel enraged by
those who aren’t yet subject to it. You can no longer
understand those who aren’t drowning in the
corruption. Everything it touches turns destructive
and ruinous but it always tells you that it’s right, it’s
the only way, it needed to happen, you wanted it to
happen. It wants more and more of you, it wants
more and more of the world, and as it makes you
crueler and more heartless it only rewards you with
more cruelty and heartlessness. But you’re so
enthralled to it you think this is good, this is
empowering, this is who you should be.
What I have just described is a metaphysical force
called the All-Consuming Darkness. A force that
creates and motivates supernatural evil,
destruction, whispering madness, warping the
living, claiming souls, and corroding reality to bring
about endless suffering. It congeals in fell places and
bubbles like ichor. It reacts to the presence of the
Light by manifesting beasts that seek to consume
and destroy it. It imprisons humans in miniature
dimensions called Nightscapes where the horrors of
their mind are made physical and loosed to torment
them. It offers up dreadful power and foul magic to
those who embrace it, eroding their souls in
exchange.
Far more importantly than that, what I have just
described is the emotion of fear.
Fear whispers madness into you with the gnawing
anxiety of the unknown and the urge to panic. It
demands you lash out blindly and claw at everyone
around you in order to feel safe for a few moments.
When you should think and plan, fear says “don’t
think, act right now, just for that moment of relief
from the anguish I inflict on you.” Fear wants you to
sacrifice the future for the sake of avoiding the pain
of right now. Fear wants more and more of you
every time you give in. Fear drives you away from
anyone who could help by telling you that to expose
yourself to love means they will see that you are
weak and terrible on the inside, and you should hide
in the shadows alone. Fear wants you to tremble,
alone and weak, unable to overcome it.
The taint of the All-Consuming Darkness is fear. The
hold of the All-Consuming Darkness on the human
soul is fear. The powers it offers are the ability to
spread fear to others to keep it away from you, like
how someone can abuse and cow everyone around
them in order to have their own safety assured. The
monsters it creates are a person’s fears manifesting
and terrorizing others, just as the paranoid turn
their fears into actions and ideas that spread.. It
claims souls as fear devours more and more of them
until everything they are is defined by their fears.
Their prison keeps shrinking as more and more
ground becomes too horrifying to tread.
The Darkness is not invading our world. The foul
black ichor of its presence does not surge from
outside of reality. It congeals from the world around
us like morning dew collects water from the
atmosphere. The difference between the power to
harvest energy from human beings and the power
to abuse humans into compliance is only in degree,
not kind. Nightmares coalesce in the physical world
by the same process they come to dominate our
thoughts. The Darkness is not invading our world.
The Darkness is already here.
And right now it’s winning. It’s winning by a lot. The
modern world and everyone in it is dominated by
fear. And through their pained attempts to ward it
off they spread it to others. I have to get you
because otherwise you’ll get me first. I have to take
from you or there won’t be enough for me. I can’t
help you because you might be lying to me to
exploit me. If people are afraid of me, maybe I don’t
have to be afraid of them. If I become Fear’s agent,
maybe it will spare me its tortures.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. We know, because
we remember, even though it didn’t happen. At
least not in this world’s history.
The Fearless Kingdoms
The stories of cultures both supernatural and
mundane are filled with the idea of a long-lost
Golden Age whose grace we have fallen from.
Mages and mortals both believe in infinitely wise
Atlantis. The Uratha long for the time before Father
Wolf’s fall. Christians imagine life before Original
Sin. The Nameless Empire the Mummies hearken
from was an archaeological fact, but it never had
the glory and power they now invest in it. And even
now the idea of a beautiful Tartarian Empire who
existed a mere generation ago who held secrets of
beauty that we are now denied gains traction
among those beaten down by the mundane ugliness
of modernity. All of them look around at the world,
at what a miserable mess it is, and think “It can’t
have always been like this. This isn’t the best of all
possible worlds. I know we could do better -- we
must have lost that.”
The best of all possible worlds is what we, the
Hopeful, refer to as “the Fearless Kingdoms.”
It wasn’t “perfect” because nothing can be. There
was anger, hatred, and sorrow; they are a part of us.
If there is freedom, if we have independent minds
and fates, then we must have the freedom to screw
up, even very badly. We can’t have joy without
sorrow… but we don’t need nearly this much
sorrow, and the Fearless Kingdoms found that
balance. There was strife, but not nearly so much or
so deep, and all parties involved knew that
ultimately their opponents were human and wanted
to settle with as little conflict as possible. There
were forces of evil, even fiendish monsters from the
dark, but against heroic champions it never even got
a foothold. Even so, people died. When they died
too young, their ghost would return for a while, say
its goodbyes, and finish its business. If you thought
your life wasn’t well-lived, you reincarnated and got
another go at it. Until you could look back and say
“Yeah, I’m happy with that.”
“The Fearless Kingdoms” wasn’t the name back
then, of course, it was just “the world” or “reality”
or “Earth.” It wasn’t a single unified governing
kingdom; different people with different ideas and
needs were able to determine their own fates.
Some of them had monarchs, but not all of them;
you had democracies and anarchists who lived their
own lives too. Yet the name isn’t inaccurate,
because no matter how they were governed, these
Kingdoms all had Nobility.
There were leaders, wise and just and empathetic,
whether they ruled by edict or example. Leaders the
people could genuinely trust, both in their good
intentions and their skill. Leaders with truly noble
souls to believe in and rally toward. Whether
absolute monarchs, elected politicians, informal
figures of wisdom, even parental figures, they all
had Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses. The
Noble were the ones you could trust because they
loved you as much as you should love yourself.
Finally, magic was not a thing we HAD, magic was a
thing we WERE. Magic was the expression of our
humanity, our ability to make things better and keep
growing upwards -- the Light of Hope, the ability to
see a better future and make it come to pass. Some
people would just find the love and kindness and
humanity inside them couldn’t be contained and it
would surge out. You would Blossom, and realize
your destiny as a shining beacon of Light, a bearer
of Hope. As a Noble, as Princes and Princesses given
to magic as birds are given to song.
And as a Noble of the Fearless Kingdoms, you would
be utterly without fear. Because fear, as we know it,
didn’t exist. People could feel caution, or wariness,
or concern for their safety; it’s not like they were
blind or suicidal. But fear? An emotion that doesn’t
just tell you about danger, but paralyzes you from
doing anything about it and then tortures you until
you give in and do something you know will hurt
yourself? Absolutely incomprehensible.
The Darkness and the Cataclysm
The Darkness existed back then, as there is no light
without darkness and there is no good without evil.
Maybe Darkness and Light existed as counterparts
when the universe was born. Light was instantiated
as the Light of Hope in humankind, but Darkness
just stayed itself. Whether or not the Darkness was
the source of misery and hatred doesn’t really
matter, for it loved all forms of suffering and sought
to spread them either way.
But the Darkness was weak, easily destroyed. After
all, evil cannot create and can only destroy. What
the hell was it going to make as its exemplars? How
could it seduce the creatures of light to its dark side
when it had nothing to offer them? Evil isn’t
powerful. Evil is pathetic and useless and futile, and
in the Fearless Kingdoms that was clearly
illuminated for everyone to see.
The Darkness has a will, but it doesn’t have
thoughts. It simply is, without aspiration beyond the
most immediately spiteful impulse to tear down and
destroy. What little might it gathered it would
futilely throw at the Light as soon as it could,
accomplishing nothing. So what happened wasn’t
the Darkness’s own doing. It couldn’t have been,
because it required a plan, an aspiration, the desire
to change things. But to make them worse, not
better. The creation of fear was the greatest
betrayal possible, humans turning against humanity
for no reward other than to make them suffer, and
we don’t even know who it was.
We are pretty sure there were three figures who
orchestrated the creation of fear, but we know them
only by descriptive titles: the Red Queen of
Contempt, the White Queen of Self-Loathing, and
the Black Queen of Despair. We don’t know what, if
anything, they call themselves, or even if they ever
were human enough to have identities, much less
have them now. We think we know something each
of them did to destroy the Fearless Kingdoms, but
were there other “Dark Queens” we didn’t
catch?Were they even done by different beings or
just one thing with many masks? Even the existing
records of what people observed back then,
preserved in Alhambra’s library, are spotty and very
incomplete. Dispassionate observation is nearly
impossible in the moment when you, everyone you
know, and everyone you don’t, are all first
introduced to fear.
The fall of the Fearless Kingdoms was not a slow
decline into decadence and lost ideals. It was a
Cataclysm; sudden, destructive, and omnipresent.
With no warning, fear erupted in every corner like
earthquakes on a fault line. No one understood
what it was or why. Panic spread as a wildfire in
people who didn’t know what panic was, or how to
deal with it. As love and kindness can surge outward
and cause someone to Blossom, so too can fear
create a Nightscape, a horrible realm of terror and
torture crafted around its creator to both exalt and
imprison them, birthing and loosing yet more
shrieking, quivering creatures of terror to spread
further, a wading flood leaving more Nightscapes in
their rippling wake.
For all the many virtues of the Fearless Kingdoms,
they had no courage. For the meaning of courage is
not the absence of fear, it’s the ability to act despite
it. How could they have known what that was, much
less cultivate it?
Bonds of trust shattered and ideals suffocated
under the assault of fear. Friends became enemies
not because of what they had done but what they
might do. The Red Queen of Contempt did not come
riding with an invading force to destroy the
Kingdoms. She rose among the people and rallied
them against each other, screaming “Destroy them!
Slay them! They are cruel and greedy and want you
to suffer! They aren’t as important as you! They
don’t deserve love!” And the next day, she said the
same thing to their neighbors, spreading hopeless
violence outward.
The Noble fought against it. Immediately,
vehemently, they did their utmost against the
sudden and catastrophic existence of fear.They
struggled through emotions they thought
impossible, desperately trying to regain their footing
and establish a strategy. But they stumbled in their
first efforts, not knowing how to approach the
problem yet. And for each of them, when exhausted
from effort, the White Queen of Self-Loathing
appeared. Standing beside them to say “You can’t
do it. You’re a sham, a fraud, a failure. You will never
be able to save anyone, and everyone who ever
depended on you should have known better than to
believe in you. All you will do is let them down.”
The people looked to their leaders, to each other,
trying to find answers and solidarity as their
communities crumbled around them and the lights
of their friends and loved ones were obscured by
inky Darkness. As surely as the pleas they made
went unanswered, the pleas they heard back were
fearfully dismissed as the Darkness trying to trick
them into vulnerability. The only voice they seemed
to give credence to was the Black Queen of Despair,
whispering only two words into each ear: “Give up.”
We fell to blind fear, all of us, in one way or another.
The Noble faced an assault by evil they were utterly
unprepared for. This was not a timeless and mythic
war across aeons. The world fell within 18 months.
The Darkness won. It consumed nearly everything
we had made and reduced it to a useless,
desiccated husk. The only option was escape,
hopefully to regroup and defeat it.
The Trap and the Dream
The territory where the Noble would muster a
counterattack against the Darkness was known as
the Dreamlands. Opinions are divided on whether
the Dreamlands existed at all before the Cataclysm.
Were they always there as a tangible manifestation
of our ability to dream both figuratively and literally,
or were they created by the escaping Nobles as a
safe place to hold out and plan? The Dreamlands
may or may not be where our dreams come from,
but it is certainly where they exist. Unbounded by
space or time, all that we imagine gathers there.
Ideas there can take on a literal life of their own,
just as we do.
The Noble would not have been satisfied with this,
even if it could be a paradise, because they knew
aspiration meant nothing without the will to see it
done in reality. Yet they were betrayed and
entrapped there. The Light of Hope was reflected
back upon them and they were swept into the
narrative of the dream, offered a place where they
had won back all they fought for. Their Kingdoms
were rebuilt not by thought and effort but simply by
the wish that they be so, and all the Noble could see
was that humanity had made what it wanted to be
true.
Instead of striking back to cast off the Darkness and
save the suffering, their leaders, now known as the
Radiant, slumbered in unreality. Not knowing that
anyone needed their help, they played out the best
of all possible worlds as an impossible fantasy.
The Dark Queens knew that the Light would build
again. At least, they must have been the ones to
figure that out, because the Darkness is incapable of
those thoughts. The Darkness wanted only to
consume and torture and ruin, and was finding itself
in a world where there was little to nothing left to
despoil. It couldn’t be content in success, but could
only desire to endlessly repeat itself. To do that, the
world would be redone, skewed from the beginning
in the Darkness’s favor.
The Dark Queens found creatures called the
Wardens, bizarre beings made up of disjointed and
discordant stories and ideas. They enlisted these
Wardens to monitor and maintain this Trap and
keep the Radiant dreaming. With them out of the
way, the Darkness would be given an endless buffet
of helpless humans to inflict suffering on.
The world was started anew -- nobody is certain
how. It was begun again with the taint of the
Darkness, the taint of fear, drenching it down to its
very foundations. Everything that was good was
twisted to its worst, most painful, most fearful
incarnation. Sources of comfort would become
sources of terror. Every friend, a potential enemy.
Humanity restarted, suffocating under the thick
shroud of Darkness, with its most dedicated leaders
and protectors entrapped far away. The previous
incarnation of reality withered into the Dark World,
a dead and lightless place hanging off the new
world like a diseased appendix. The Darkness was
turned loose to feed but held from overfeeding.
Humanity would only see the barest, guttering
glimpses of the Light, and our aspirations and hope
would be stunted, slow, and each new discovery
would bring with it a new form of fear and misery.
With the Noble entrapped, the people’s lives would
be a trap as well, one they couldn’t conceive of
escaping.
The history of humanity would be rewritten from
page one as a chronicle of darkness.
The Twilight Noble and the Long
Night
From there, the history of this world began, the
Chronicles of Darkness. If you want the official story
you can look at a history book. If you want the true
story there’s at least eight types of supernatural
creature claiming to offer it and none of them can
see all of it. The time the Light was suppressed in
the world is known as the Long Night. And even the
powerful and knowledgeable huddled together in
the darkness, in secret, fearful of the massive world
outside their little communities and fearful of all the
things they couldn’t know.
The Light of Hope is not something humanity has
that can be taken away by an external power, it’s
something that humanity is. But it can be
suppressed, snuffed, choked away by the oppressive
taint of fear. Those who hold it can be crushed, but
there will always be a few who awaken its power,
even with nobody around to hold as an example and
nobody to help. Blossoming still happened during
the Long Night, but it’s pointless and reductive to
say “oh, this or that figure from history was a Prince
or Princess,” since the Light is what we all are. You
can’t say that people did or didn’t need the Light to
be good people because the Light is already in all of
us.
And not all of the Noble were trapped in the
Dreamlands. Some escaped or endured in other
ways, costing them their virtue and hope. There are
at least four, though one of their number - a Twilight
King - fell so long ago that little is known of him or
his followers. The others are the three Twilight
Queens. During the Long Night, the period of the
Radiant’s imprisonment in the Dreamlands, they
were the only organized Noble presence in the
world.
The Queen of Tears is she who rules Alhambra, final
bastion of the Fearless Kingdoms, a city of eternal
rainfall and gloom that yet stands as the last open
light in the Dark World. Fear has little purchase
here, but neither does any other emotion. Alhambra
is a city of depression, of weak and lifeless feeling,
its existence only maintained by parasitism. The
eternally dim but never dark lanterns of Alhambra
burn hope in order to keep the city safe, and its
Princes and Princesses venture into the real world
to steal it away from humanity in order to keep the
city lit another day. Alhambra is the last remaining
testament of the beauty and goodness of the
Fearless Kingdoms, and they see the struggle to
fight back the Darkness from what it owns as futile.
The only thing they aspire to is to hold the one last
thing that matters in their hands against the
darkness, at any cost. They don’t enjoy what they
must do, but they see the world, and they see the
beauty of Alhambra even in its rain and sorrow, and
they know they must do it.
The Queen of Storms once ruled the powerful
kingdom of Gonel as a wise and impartial judge, her
love for her charges great, and her wrath at injustice
as sudden and devastating as a bolt of lightning.
When her followers felt cowardice and retreated
from their duties, she did the only thing she could,
which was to search out evil and destroy it. Over
and over and over again. One foul thing slain led to
the next, and the next. She gathered followers, but
leading them wasn’t as important as slaying the
enemy. They followed her even as her eyes grew
more tired and sunken, her once mighty roars
hoarser and raspier, her thoughts ever more sparse
and incogent. Her affinity for lightning was worn
down by her vitriolic hatred along with her very
soul, and her hands no longer called forth the
heavens but the blistering acid that had etched
everything else about her away. She never left the
Dark World or its limitless supply of lifeless
monsters stirred up by her presence.Waging her
personal war is all she does now. She doesn’t sleep,
she doesn’t eat, she barely speaks. She is a
one-woman crusade who happens to be followed by
preaching acolytes.
The Queen of Mirrors did not fall into the Trap of
the Dreamlands -- she made her own. All that
remains of her kingdom of Heril is the uppermost
level of her palace’s spire, unmoored in
nothingness. She survives only in the reflection of
her own radiant Light. She pines for the prophesied
True Heir, the Noble among Nobles who has the
power to win back the world from the Darkness
with effortless grace. Her only role in her existence
is to find this True Heir and foster them into the
glorious hero who will make it like it never
happened. They say she looks out of every mirror in
our world, endlessly searching for the next potential
Heir. Each Princess she takes under her wing, each
one she mentors, she treats as if they are the only
and obvious potential Heir, no matter how many
others she is likewise supporting at the same time.
She teaches them to worship themselves and
encourage others to worship them as well. She
teaches that only their power and happiness matter,
that she should be exalted and nobody can be her
equal, because nobody else could possibly take on
the unbearable weight of saving the world. Each
one inevitably falls, and so she lies to herself that
she never believed in them in the first place. She’s
told the lie so often she believes it.
Each of them has fallen from their ideals and virtue
in some way; each has been worn down by
compromises or blindness or denial.But during the
Long Night, they were the only ones to follow. And
each of them sincerely did what they thought was
best.
When humans Blossomed, when one slipped
through the cracks of the Trap and was reincarnated
here, the Twilight Queens were all they had. The
Queen of Tears was the only stability, the Queen of
Storms the only driving purpose, and the Queen of
Mirrors the only source of pride. They didn’t just
offer someone to follow, some way to make sense
of the world. They offered a way out of the horrible
loneliness. They were the only choice to make.
Until the Radiant returned.
The Revelation and Return
On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
became the first human beings to walk on the
Moon. They didn’t do it for NASA, they didn’t do it
for the United States of America, they didn’t do it
for personal glory. They came in peace for all
mankind.
When Armstrong’s boot first made a print on the
lunar dust, the Trap cracked. Again, it’s hard to
determine why, because it’s not like many knew
what to be looking at at the time. Some scholars say
this was the ultimate act of peace and aspiration.
Some say it was an accomplishment that even the
Fearless Kingdoms hadn’t achieved. Some think that
it stirred up some lurking intangible creature and
caused it to leave its guard post. But every human
trapped in the Dreamlands heard him say those
words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind.” They instantly knew they were
imprisoned in a reflection of the real world. And
they knew they needed out.
The Queen of Currents, of the glittering Danaan
Archipelago. The Queen of Flowers, of the Tranquil
Forest of Wen-Mung. The Queen of Jewels, of the
Beautiful Palaces of Andarta. The Queen of Spades,
of the Confederacy of Four Winds. And the Queen
of Swords, of the Jungle Heart of Aztallan. They
rose, they rallied, and they beat back their Wardens
and destroyed the Trap as soon as they knew of its
existence. They explored outward into the
Dreamlands and found lore lost to them, secrets
long neglected. They were free of the Wardens, and
still imprisoned.
They were made of dreams. Their armies and
kingdoms didn’t actually exist, not in the sense that
they could come charging out of a portal and
liberate the world. Worse yet, even though they
knew they were living in Dreamlands, it’s the nature
of dreams to sweep you up in their stories despite
what you know of the real world. It’s a phenomenon
called the Gales, and it meant that the Queens and
their Kingdoms couldn’t perfectly orchestrate a plan
of attack to rise and beat back the Darkness. They
were and are Gale-Blind. For all their wisdom and
grace, they can’t discern what they know about the
real world from what they “know” with the same
dream-certainty that you “know” a bulldog with
your third grade teacher’s face will eat your soul if it
catches you. To their great dismay, they couldn’t
lead us directly into the Light like they all yearned
to.
With the Trap shattered, all the imprisoned souls in
the Dreamlands could escape and be reincarnated
into reality. That would have to be their plan. Souls
who were born here, not blinded by the Gales, who
understood this world as natives. The Queens would
have to nurture and guide a new generation of
Noble as best they could and entrust them with the
task and their legacy. Some would Blossom on their
own in moments of great joy or great need,
empowered by just that little bit of extra light
leaking into the world. Others would be sought out
by shikigami, weak familiar spirits from the
Dreamlands with the power to find and awaken
Princesses.
The Twilight Queens face a Renaissance from this as
well. They have more potential recruits and converts
than ever before. Each of them also believes they
are the natural allies and leaders of the Radiant
Queens and their Princesses, and that they need
only exert a little influence to get the Radiant to see
it their way. And spontaneous Blossomings happen
like never before among people in their first
incarnations, illuminated by the brighter Light
coming to the world.
The State of the World
Other creatures of the dark have secret societies
and hierarchies, or at least traditions to follow. The
Radiant don’t. They don’t have a system for who is
in charge of this city or that city or how to resolve
disputes, they don’t have any sort of formal
community in the real world. The first Blossoming --
the first time someone awakened fully to the power
of the Light of Hope and realized their destiny -- of
someone sent by the Queens to be reborn was in
1992. There weren’t many of them, but their
numbers grew over time, and they still made an
impact on the world. Blossoming is now much less
rare, though not actually common by any means,
and Princesses tend to awaken in clusters to seek
each other out rather than as isolated individuals
unable to face their duty alone.
The first generation of Princesses is growing up, and
some few have even attained positions of power or
influence. But they are too few, far too few to rely
upon. You can speak to the Queens, seek their
guidance, even visit their Kingdoms in the
Dreamlands. You can meet thousands and
thousands of other Princesses and subjects, and
have no idea which of them, if any, actually live in
the real world.
The Radiant could try and come together
worldwide. It’s not a new concept; it’s known as the
“Kingdom Come.” In theory, with the Internet, it
wouldn’t even be that hard if everyone came out
and spoke up at once. Then the Radiant would be
able to apply all that they have in the best possible
way to save the world. And if anything went wrong
in the process of making the Kingdom Come, if their
efforts were discovered and undermined, or if the
Radiant weren’t yet up to the challenge, then they’d
be slaughtered at the moment they were needed
most and would never again have a chance. Is the
fact they still hide proof that the Darkness holds
power over them, or is it just common sense?
No, in this day, there’s just one thing a Princess can
truly rely upon: her nakama. A Japanese term
meaning “a group of friends whose common
experiences made them closer than family,” your
nakama are your steadfast friends and allies. You’ll
survive with them, and then live your life with them.
True friends are the ultimate power.
But while the Radiant don’t have resources and
secret societies, the Twilight do. Alhambra has the
intelligence, the organization, the maps, the library,
that the Princesses of Tears have accumulated over
lifetimes of stealing hope from the world. Armies of
loyal soldiers are being raised by the Princesses of
Storms, cells of people illuminated by their sickly
light and caustic hatred. Throngs of loyal followers
gazing up in adoration are enraptured by the
Princesses of Mirrors, believing each one to be the
perfect True Heir.
These dark magical girls can be allies… at least,
until they are inevitably forced to cross purposes.
The War for Hope
Today, Princesses are fast approaching the tipping
point that will determine if they can save the world
or if their efforts will be crushed by backlash. The
taint of fear suffuses our hearts and our reality, and
no matter how much we wish we can never be
utterly rid of it. But we knew we’d never be free of
hatred or sadness either, and we made something
wonderful despite them. It won’t be easy, and it
might not be possible, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t try.
Most immediate is the issue of Nightscapes. Just as
a Noble will Blossom when the love surging in her is
so great it can’t be contained by her body, the fear
and anguish in the human heart can explode
outward into a Nightscape, a trapped miniature
realm of dark dreams where its involuntary creator
is both the ruler and the tortured prisoner -- and
from which beings of fear are birthed and escape
into the world, compulsively re-enacting their own
creation, spreading fear further and further. Other
occult powers of the world caught glimpses of this
but were unable to grasp their full extent because
they couldn’t imagine that the Taint of the Darkness
was so fundamental to this world that this wasn’t
simply a natural thing that happened. The Noble
know better. They don’t know how many
Nightscapes there are, or how many new ones
flourish each day – but they know they need to be
stopped, their predations warded off, their injuries
undone, and their creators freed.
The Dreamlands, the Dark World, and even this
world hold lost lore of the Fearless Kingdoms that
could mean the difference between victory and
defeat. What techniques have been forgotten? Are
there ancient alliances that could be called upon
again? What do we know of the foes that face us?
Who came before us, and what did they accomplish,
and what can we finish? Are there any more Kings
or Queens, caught and still swept in the Gales?
What denizens of the Dreamlands can be convinced
to join our cause, and what can they offer?
And a Princess knows that she will have to be a
leader. That above the immediate fights and the
quests she is going to have to unite people in belief
in themselves and belief in her. Princesses today are
capable of Transforming into their “perfected
selves,” a different identity of a different person
who is what they could have been. It lets them hide
their actions and maintain their normal lives, but it
didn’t exist in the Fearless Kingdom. And eventually,
she’s going to have to fully assume that perfected
self, cast off the pretense of transformation, declare
her true identity to the world and face its scorn and
judgment and opposition.
And the Darkness may not be able to create or
aspire, but people can. In a world blinded and
blanketed by fear, that fear can be a powerful tool.
Darkness demands people give in to it, lash out to
make the fear go away for a moment, but there are
those who see the Darkness and the Nightscapes it
creates as means to power. If they inflict the
Darkness upon others they will be spared. Whether
or not they are aware of the source of their power,
they are enriched by Darkness and do not take
kindly to anyone trying to take that from them.
Others go further, lost entirely to fear, hollowed out
utterly, unfeeling conduits of terror into the world.
Princesses who cannot stand the pressure and
shatter their Belief yet still cling to life and long for
power become the Enthroned, shrieking parodies of
what humanity can be who embrace their own
Nightscapes in order to have a realm to rule and
punish others within. The world is full of awful
beings, eldritch horrors, callous monstrosity, all
from a thousand disparate origins but all coming
from the same thing: the taint of the Darkness, the
taint of fear.

Princesses need to gather together, seek allies,

uplift each other and the people they protect. They
must convince those they can that their cause isn’t
just right, but possible; then thwart those they can’t,
all of whom outnumber them greatly. They need to
unravel the mysteries of a world corrupted to the
bone with something that should have never
existed. The Queens can offer them mentorship and
guidance and love but they cannot solve the
problems themselves.

Against this, to have any hope of success, a Princess

will need power. She will need to grow and mature
into someone who can handle this burden. She will
need to believe in herself and her ability to change
the world even when it all seems hopeless. She will
need unbreakable bonds of friendship to carry her
through horrors and trials. And all of that still might
not be enough.

Welcome to the moment that will save us or doom

us all. Welcome to the War for Hope.
Main Story Part 2

“Fry me.”

“You know, that sounds like you want her to cook you, instead of…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fry me!”

The girl across the table from Janet fed one long, crinkle-cut French fry into her unzipped backpack, where the
raccoon Shikigami inside grabbed it with his little raccoon hands to nibble up with his little raccoon mouth. Which
could also talk. Which Janet still found so, so weird. The guy just looked at Janet, worried.

They’d needed a neutral meeting place, and without any cool outdoor bistros like one spy might meet another in,
they had to take a booth at the local Boing Boing Burger. Janet, and her two new “friends”, and their respective
burger combo platters. The raccoon -- Register or something like that, a weird name -- was the only one of them
eating.

“Is she…” the guy said, “Are we sure it’s her? Is she, you know, safe?” He looked down into the backpack for
some assurance, but the raccoon was too busy chomping away to speak. “Is she cool?”

“You know what you should have done?” Janet asked, gesturing with her own French fry. “You should have come
here in your secret identities. Now I’ve seen your real faces. If I’m not on your team, if I’m a bad guy, now I can
come after you.” She took a bite and chewed it, thoughtful. “I mean, I’m not a bad guy. I don’t know if I’m on your
team, though.”

“Shit, she’s right,” the guy muttered. “Why did I…” He shut his eyes, shook his head to clear away his
self-recrimination. “It’s too late now. I’m Mike. I’m also Amethyst Knight. Faithful servant to Her Majesty, the
Queen of Jewels.”

The girl said nothing, just stared at Register, until Mike prodded her to bring her thoughts back to reality. “Oh!
Right! Hi! I’m Saleah, and I’m Black Rose. Mine is the Queen of Flowers. That’s not why I picked the name,
though. It’s more of a heavy metal kind of thing. You ever listen to Babymetal? That kind of vibe.”

“Hi. Uh. I’m with the Queen of Swords, apparently?” Janet extended her hand for a handshake because she didn’t
know what else to do. “I don’t have, like, a special superhero name. I also don’t remember being with any Queen
of Swords. The raccoon just told me about it.”

“Scarlet… Scarlet Something,” Saleah muttered, mostly to herself. “Scarlet Wind. Scarlet Voice.” She fed Register
another fry. “Scarlet Truth. Scarlet Pimpernel.”

“Yeah, it’s…” Mike was flustered, not at his inability to explain but at what he had to explain. “You did join her, but
you don’t remember it. It happened in a dream.”

“Lots of things happen in dreams that don’t mean anything,” Janet replied. “I keep dreaming I’m in jail for pirating
soap. Doesn’t mean I actually pirated soap. That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Scarlet Order. Study in Scarlet. Scarlet Letter. Scarlet Letterer? Scarlett O’Hara.”

Mike’s frustration only grew. “Yeah, okay, you have dreams like that, but they all GO somewhere, and it’s real,
except it’s not, and the Queens are there, and they can find you, and, and, Her Majesty would be able to explain
this so much better--” He waved his hands in front of his face like he was trying to ward off verbal attacks. “Look,
how it works doesn’t matter, okay? You’re magical. You know you have powers. I know you’ve transformed at
least once to try it out. That power inside you came from somewhere. You know you’re magical.”

Janet produced the magical pen from her pocket and wiggled it by the center, like when you do the whole ‘rubber
pencil’ trick. “I don’t know that. Maybe I’m not magic. Maybe it’s the pen that’s magic.”

“Scarlet… Scarlet… Scarlet Redness. Scarlet Crimson. Crimson Scarlet.”

“It’s you, it’s not the pen!” Mike snapped. “And whatever! Let’s say it was, the pen only works for you! The point is,
I need you. We both need you. Destiny gave us the chance to meet, and now, I need your help.” He seemed to
settle down a bit, more comfortable with his words now, like he was back to what he prepared for. “The Light of
Hope shines inside all of humankind, and it shines in you brighter than most. And just like us it gives you the
power to help fight the All-Consuming Darkness. And we’re going to be stronger together than we are apart.” His
voice sped up, like he was cutting himself off before he embarrassed himself. “Monsters, okay? There’s monsters.
There are monsters attacking people around campus and spreading disease.”

“Scarlet Fever,” Selah muttered. “Was that the one in the Velveteen Rabbit? Where they burned the rabbit at the
end?”

“And yeah, yeah, okay, I hear you, it’s just mono, right?” Mike continued to ward off an objection nobody made.
“Everyone thinks it’s mono, but it’s not. It’s a dark sickness and the only way to cure it is to find the source of the
monsters and get rid of it. We don’t know if anyone’s died yet but we sure as hell know someone is going to
unless we do something. And we know where it is but we don’t want to go in without a full team. I fight the
creatures of Darkness. Black Rose uplifts and inspires. And you, okay, there is something about you that only you
can do. There is a strength in your radiant soul, something that is core to who you are, that gives you the power to
fight the All-Consuming Darkness. And whatever it is, I know it’s going to make us stronger when we’re together.”

“Core to who I am?” Janet scoffed. “What, like a talent or something? It’s not like I can fight or shoot or, I don’t
know, do monster fighting things. I mostly just argue with people.”

He dragged his hands down his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I noticed that.”
 Coronations
Chapter 3: Character Creation
Princesses are magical girls (and Princes are magical boys) who are aware of a great responsibility on their
shoulders, and a great destiny that they must fulfill. A hero facing a task that might be impossible, but definitely
will be if she doesn’t believe she can do it. To play the game, you need to make one of these characters, creating
their mundane identity and the perfected transformation must live up to. They can be very much like you or
almost nothing like you, but they need to be someone you find interesting; someone you want to spend a lot of
time with and occupy the shoes of.

So let’s get on with doing that!

uncle works for Nintendo. Your backgrounds are

Step 0: Session Zero
“Session Zero” is a relatively new concept in
roleplaying groups, and it’s a great idea for anyone,
but especially so for Princesses. In Session Zero,
everyone gets together and hashes out what the
game is going to be about. Is there a core premise
or motif? Do you all need to come from similar
backgrounds? What do you need to be able to
cover?
going to be similar and the diversity of skills you
have are going to mostly come from different
hobbies and interests rather than professional
training. On the other hand, if the Storyteller’s pitch
is “A group of friends who grew apart after
graduating college are reunited when they discover
there’s something horrible only they can stop,” now
you know you need to pay extra attention to your
character’s history after growing apart from the
group and how that’s affected their life.

Generally the Storyteller has a pitch for the game,
and this is the time where the group suggests
additions and modifications. If the Storyteller says “I
wanted to run a game where everyone was a
student at the same high school who Blossomed at
about the same time, and you’d be running into all
sorts of problems created by just being in high
school,” this tells you all something about where
your characters are going to come from. It’s not
going to be the kind of chronicle where you play a
jaded ex-black ops soldier, although your character
might claim to be when they aren’t claiming their
You don’t just accept or reject the pitch entirely,
Session Zero is when you make changes and ask
questions. You might ask “Hey, if we’re going to be
in a high school, how about if we have one of those
absurdly powerful student councils that rules with
an iron fist?” or “Is it okay if I’m a student who isn’t
the same age as everyone -- what if I’m an
undercover officer like in 21 Jump Street?” You
might want clarification, like “When we split apart
after college, does that mean we’re like 25 now, 30,
how long has it been?” or to establish boundaries
like “Can we please not have anyone show up as a
drunken Wine Aunt? Because I get enough of that
from my real aunt.”

You’ll also hash out in general who you want to be Step 1: Concept
and how they fit into the group, though you won’t
Who do you want to play and who do you want to
nail everything down. The whole group is going to
be? You don’t need to know all the details, but you
be a nakama, and you can try and see what
want to know the general gist of what you’re doing.
character dynamics you would like to have and with
Are you a klutz who can hardly believe she’s
whom. You think it’d be fun to have two friends who
supposed to be a graceful Princess to look up to?
constantly rib each other because that’s just how
Someone who leapt at the chance to fight evil
they communicate? Is there someone who you’d
because she just loves her job? Are you a hero
like to share the one single braincell with? Dynamics
because you never stop fighting, or a hero because
between characters are as important as the
you only fight as a last resort?
characters themselves, and if both of you know
what you want to do, you can both build toward it.
There’s no shame in just copying an anime character
What does the group need, and how do each of you
for this, too. We’ve all thought about it. You can just
want to fulfill it? A Chronicle that is heavy on
come in with the concept of “Naruto,” or “Asuna,”
combat can still have Graces and Troubadours, but
or even “Drizzt,” if you can manage to make that fit
showing up to the first session with three Graces of
somehow. Your central concept or emotion doesn’t
Jewels because nobody talked to each other about
need to be something totally unique and never
what they were doing is going to suck.
before seen, it’s okay to be cliche here. Magical girl
media has a lot of well-worn concepts and they’re
Roleplaying is a collaborative storytelling process,
well-worn because they work. You'll flesh out this
and Session Zero is about making sure everyone is
premise and make it your own in the following
on the same page about what that story’s going to
steps. Like Roger Ebert said -- it’s not what you’re
be. Of course it can grow and change in the course
About but how you’re About it.
of play, but you want to start from the same place,
or at least know why you’re starting from different
ones. The proliferation of computer RPGs leads a lot
of people to form a mental model of a role-playing
Step 2: Drive and Dread
campaign as something that has to exist flawlessly Shoujo and shounen characters tend to be defined
unto itself, as if it could have accommodated any by vivid emotions or principles, even if they arrive at
group of characters you wanted to make. They think them by many different ways. Your character isn’t
an RPG has to be like a film, all the artifice hidden, just someone who was there. Blossoming as a
all the wires airbrushed out. It’s not, though -- Princess is not like being taken by the Fair Folk or
you’re going to make a story for the people playing Embraced by a vampire, it’s not something that
in it. Roleplaying isn’t a film, it’s live theater. You’re happens TO you, it IS you. Your destiny. Even if your
going to see that the sets are painted murals, you’re character can hardly believe it, even if they think it
going to see the wire rig the actor uses to float, must be a mistake and they can’t possibly live up to
someone might drop a prop and have to improvise a it, this is what they were building toward.
quip about that before getting back on-script. You’re
going to know it’s staged and just not care. Session Your character is About something, with a capital A.
Zero is how you do that. That single vivid idea or principle is at their core,
and everything they do -- from their mundane
attributes to their magical powers to their choice of
tools to their fashion sense -- is an expression of
who they are. That’s why you do this first, even
though it’s technically a part of the Princess
template which you haven’t technically applied yet.
It’s that important.
Drive
And that single vivid thing at the core of your
identity is your Drive. Princess characters have a
Drive instead of a Virtue, and any effects that key off
of Virtue will also key off of Drive. Your Drive is a
single word or short evocative phrase that sums up
the thing you’re About with a capital A, the
character you reveal through your actions. When
you go out of your way to act in a manner that
shows your Drive is the core of who you are --
whether it’s a principle you uphold knowingly or a
deep-seated way in which you see and interact with
the world -- you regain a Willpower. When acting
with your Drive puts you at great risk but you do it
anyway because it’s just who you are, you regain all
your Willpower.
Dread
There is also something that terrifies and repulses
your character, something they need to stay away
from in body or spirit. Your greatest fear is your
Dread, and it too can be a source of Willpower
because it too defines your character. Princess
characters have a Dread instead of a Vice, but like
before, anything that keys off a Vice will also key off
a Dread and they can take the Vice-Ridden Merit for
a normal Vice alongside it. (Being Vice-Ridden
doesn’t necessarily mean you’re cruel or wicked --
usually it means you have bad habits that blow up in
your face) Like your Drive, your Dread is a single
word or short evocative phrase that sums up what
your character fears most of all, what fear does the
most to determine their actions. When you want to
act in a way directly opposed by your Dread, you
have to spend a Willpower. When your character
recoils away from this source of Dread, does
something immediately comforting but impulsive to
stave off the fear, you regain one Willpower from
relief. When your character goes far out of their way
to triumph in the face of their Dread, they regain all
their spent Willpower.
Sample Drives and Dreads are on p. XXX.
- Choose a Drive instead of a Virtue, the core
expression of what you’re About with a
capital A.
- Choose a Dread instead of a Vice, the thing
you fear most and that most motivates your
behavior.
Step 3: Attributes
Okay, so you know what your character’s about and
what they want to do. Your Attributes form the
baseline of that character’s capabilities: are they
strong, smart, charismatic, quick, resilient? How do
they use those attributes to get what they want?
Maybe the relationship is obvious -- someone who
cares about keeping her friends together could
focus on Social Attributes to maintain their bonds.
Or maybe it’s unexpected -- that same character
might focus on Physical Attributes because what her
friends need is to have their heads bonked together
from time to time.
Attributes are divided into three categories:
Physical, Mental, and Social. You’ll decide which is
the most important for your character, which is
second most important, and which is last. You start
with one dot in each Attribute; you assign five more
dots to the Attributes in your primary category, four
to the Attributes in your secondary category, and
three to the tertiary category. One dot is the
minimum and represents a below-average
capability, two is about human average, three is
quite competent, four is exceptional, and five is
extraordinary. No Attribute can go above five dots at
creation.
Step 4: Skills
Skills are more specific aptitudes and knacks your
character has. They also come in Physical, Mental
and Social categories, and you assign them primary,
secondary, and tertiary status, but you don’t need
to pick the same distribution as you did for
Attributes. Skills are what you’re good at, and can
represent what you deliberately sought out and
trained in, or what you’ve picked up along the way.
They can be used to flesh out who you are through
what you’ve learned how to do.
Your primary category gets 11 dots, your secondary
category gets 7 dots, and your tertiary category gets
4 dots. Skills start at 0 dots, unlike Attributes. Once
you assign your Skills, choose three Specialities:
narrower applications of a Skill that grant an
additional die.
Step 5: Add Princess Template
Now is when you Blossom, and add in most of the
Princess-specific traits. A Princess is not inhuman,
not some kind of monster; they don’t even use the
word “mortals” to refer to normal non-Princess
humans, but this book does just for consistency. The
fact that they lose some traits common to normal
mortal humans is not a reflection of distance from
them, just a change in emphasis.
Calling
Every Princess has a Calling -- something that spoke
to her, her idiom of what it meant to make a better
world that she realized in her Blossoming. Your
Calling grants you one free Transformed Dot in an
attribute and most notably determines the nature
of your magic, the Charms that most easily come to
you and express who you are. These Callings were
not created by edict, they’re more like observed
patterns. And since each Princess chooses one
Charm to have an affinity with other than the two
provided by her Calling, each has their own way to
interpret and embody their Calling. Choose a Calling
for your character, and choose their third affinity
Charm to go along with it.
The five Callings, their affinity Charms, and the two
attributes they may gain a Transformed Dot in are as
follows:
- If your Calling is to Defend the Weak, you’re
a Champion, the ones who put themselves
between the innocent and danger. Get
affinity for Force and Kiai, and a
Transformed dot in Strength or Resolve.
- If your Calling is to Speak to the Fallen,
you’re a Grace, the ones who reach out with
their words. Get affinity for Conjure and
Plea, and a Transformed dot in Presence or
Wits.
- If your Calling is to Fix What is Broken,
you’re a Mender, the ones who focus on
undoing the damage wrought by Darkness.
Get affinity for Consecrate and Restoration,
and a Transformed dot in Intelligence or
Stamina.
- If your Calling is to Find What is Hidden,
you’re a Seeker, the ones who root out lost
or hidden knowledge and items. Get affinity
for Step and Trace, and a Transformed dot in
Dexterity or Composure.
 - If your Calling is to Inspire the Spirit, you’re
a Troubadour, the ones who fill hearts with
emotion and determination. Get affinity for
Anthem and Illusion, and a Transformed dot
in Manipulation or Resolve.
Queen
Most every Princess follows a Queen; the way a
Princess approaches her problems and her life is
generally exemplified by her Queen. They tend to
naturally gravitate toward the Queen who best
embodies their worldview and attitude, though
sometimes the way they embody it is not what an
outside observer would have expected. A Queen is a
leader, an ideal, an exemplar, and a community of
followers to be in. She is not simply an abstract idea
or philosophy, she is someone who teaches and
embodies that philosophy in their deeds and in their
personality. A Princess can visit the Dreamlands --
the path will always be easy to find to get to her
Queen -- and see her, meet her, talk to her. Your
Queen is a like a parent, or a teacher, or a friend,
who wants to help you and see you succeed.
The Queen a Princess follows grants her another
Transformed dot in an Attribute, access to a special
form of magic taught by that Queen’s philosophy
called a Signet Charm, and the ability to take that
Queen as a special type of Mentor. The five Radiant
Queens, their outlooks, and their benefits are:
- If you believe that clear and careful thought
light the path to a better tomorrow, then
you’ll find minds that think alike with the
Queen of Currents. She grants a
Transformed Dot in Intelligence, Wits, or
Resolve, and access to Acqua, the path of
crystal-clear water.
- If you believe that self discovery and mutual
understanding brings people together in
harmony, the Queen of Flowers welcomes
you. She grants a Transformed Dot in
Stamina, Resolve, or Composure, and access
to Legno, the path of blossoming life.
- If you believe that a Princess’ role is to build
and lead communities into the light, then
you should swear fealty to the Queen of
Jewels. She grants a Transformed Dot in
Presence, Manipulation, or Composure, and
access to Terra, the path of solid earth.
- If you love freedom and think that when
presented with two choices you should
always pick the third, then you’ll love the
Queen of Spades. She grants a Transformed
Dot in Dexterity, Wits, or Manipulation, and
access to Aria, the path of unburdened
winds.
- If you believe the burning intensity of your
passions should blaze a trail for you, you’ll
find a kindred spirit with the Queen of
Swords. She grants a Transformed Dot in
Strength, Intelligence, or Presence, and
access to Fuoco, the path of roaring flame.
There’s also three Twilight Queens, each with their
own outlooks and benefits. They are not assumed
by default to be character options, but it’s not
unheard of for Twilight Princesses to work with the
Radiant when their goals align, the Radiant to fall to
Twilight, or for Twilight Princesses to be redeemed
by the power of love.
- If you believe in preserving what’s left for
you is more important than any false hope
of changing things for the better, you belong
with the Queen of Tears in Alhambra. She
grants four bonus Merit dots and access to
Lacrima, the path of shadow and sorrow.
- If you believe that destroying the Darkness
is more important than saving the people it
hurts, you rally to the crusade of the Queen
of Storms. She grants a Transformed Dot in
Strength, Dexterity, or Stamina, and access
to Tempesta, the path of caustic hatred.
 - If you believe that exalting yourself is more
important than uplifting those around you,
the Queen of Mirrors would like you to
know that you -- yes, you! -- are the one and
only True Heir. She grants another
Transformed Dot in whatever your Calling
granted and access to Specchio, the path of
distorted reflection.
Finally, a Princess who is unmoored, uncertain, or
truly does not find any path suits her can swear
allegiance to no Queen. They don’t gain any
Transformed dots from their Queen, but they will
gain them the moment they swear to that Queen’s
path. When they buy a Charm, though, they can
choose their initial upgrade as if they had the Queen
of their choice.
But the leaderless are very uncommon. It is rare for
a Princess to agree with her Queen on everything,
and usually there’s at least something she finds
resonance with in the teachings of most of the
Queens. There are going to be multiple Queens who
speak to her and the choice is up to her about what
one seems the most important.
Mechanically, there are obvious and clear paths
to align Drive, Calling, and Queen: you can have a
Drive to always let one truth prevail, be a Seeker
who looks for the truth, and follow the Queen of
Currents who says to use your mind to uncover
the truth. And that’s fine -- that’s not even a
stereotype, that’s an archetype. You’ve basically
created Detective Conan and there’s a reason that
show has lasted for one billion seasons.
But don’t feel like you have to do this! The
difference in power level between a character
whose Drive, Calling, and Queen all line up
perfectly in the most obvious way is not that
much more than one who splits out in
unexpected ways (so it isn’t like you’re holding
the group back or missing out), and the broader
character can flourish in more kinds of situations.
Maybe your Drive is that “one truth prevails,” but
you’re a Grace because the truth can’t prevail
unless people are convinced of it, and you follow
the Queen of Spades because people often resist
new information unless you slip it to them in an
unexpected way. Your character who loves all the
adorable animals in the forest might be a
Troubadour of Currents who wants to understand
them and their ecology and help them do their
best. The same core Drive can be expressed in
lots of different ways, and finding new methods
to do that is part of what makes creating
characters fun.
Belief
Instead of Integrity, a Princess character measures
her Belief -- her belief in her ideals, and in her own
ability to be a hero and exemplar. It starts at 8,
unlike most Integrity stats which start at 7.
Oaths
You will choose three Oaths, three representations
of your values and principles, to add to the list of
Belief compromises. The Third Oath is something
that would be nice to do but we don’t really expect
normal people to have to carry out, the Second
Oath is an important way to hold to your principles
that you might be tempted to abandon when things
get too hot, and the First Oath is something so close
to your heart that breaking it means you barely
know who you are any more.
Breaking your Oaths causes a Breaking Point.
Holding to Oaths grants you special Beats of
experience.
Inner Light
Your Inner Light is how intensely the Light of Hope
shines from you. It dictates your Wisp reserve and
your maximum Attributes, normal or transformed. A
starting Princess begins with 1 dot of Inner Light,
but you can spend 5 of your Merit dots to increase it
to 2, or 10 of your Merit dots to increase it to 3.
Wisps
Wisps are the fuel for a Princess’s magic, the
representation of how her swelling emotions can
fuel her powers. Your maximum Wisps are
determined by your Inner Light and you start every
Chronicle with half of them full and half of them
empty.
Charms
Charms are the fundamental magic of the Hopeful,
a magnification of the drive and aspiration of the
human spirit and our ability to change the world.
There are eleven normal Charms, and each one has
a simple basic action to it, like a “verb”. Each Charm
also has 15 or more upgrades that are like adjectives
or adverbs, each of which modify its capabilities and
power in ways that combine and enhance each
other. Your Calling dictates two Charms you have an
affinity for, all Princesses have an affinity for the
Buster Charm, and you choose one more normal
Charm to gain affinity with. Normally, you have to
be Transformed to cast them.
Anthem: Inspire and lift the spirits of your allies and
instill powerful emotion. Troubadours have an
affinity for this.
Buster: Surge your magic outward in a pure attack
of radiant power. All Princesses have an affinity for
this.
Conjure: Bring things or people to you, or move
around. Graces have an affinity for this.
Detect: Look through the threads of Fate to learn
new information. Seekers have an affinity for this.
Force: Manipulate and move objects and energy,
creating barriers or constructs or shaping the world
around you. Champions have an affinity for this.
Illusion: Make things appear that aren’t really there.
Troubadours have an affinity for this.
Kiai: Make powerful, versatile attacks with your
weapons. Champions have an affinity for this.
Plea: Reach out to sway the hearts of others. Graces
have an affinity for this.
Restoration: Fix and heal things back to the way
they were, should be, or might have been. Menders
have an affinity for this.
Step: Perform feats of quickness and speed. Seekers
have an affinity for this.
Ward: Place blessings and effects on a talisman to
ward off danger and undo corruption. Menders
have an affinity for this.
For each Charm you have affinity with, you get the
starting Upgrade gifted by the Queen you follow. On
top of that, you get 7 affinity Upgrades, or 4 total
affinity Upgrades and 2 non-affinity Upgrades. You
can also buy Signets as if they were Upgrades.
Transformation
A Princess has the ability to transform into her
perfected self, who she could be with the full
illumination of the Light of Hope. It’s also an
alternate identity used to protect herself and her
loved ones because the illuminating Light of Hope is
hard to conceal. You already have two Transformed
Attribute dots from your Calling and Queen; now
you add three dots of Transformed Skills. Gain the
Dual Identity benefit to separate perception of your
mundane and Transformed self. If your character is a
child in mundane form, she becomes an adult while
Transformed.
Step 6: Merits
tracks. While not Transformed, those boxes are
inactive, and you ignore anything marked in them.
So you cannot use a Willpower you only get from a
Transformed Dot in Resolve while not Transformed,
but if you take a point of lethal damage in a Health
box you only get from your Transformed dot in
Stamina, it vanishes when you end your
Transformation and does not roll over into your
“normal” health. Even when not Transformed, you
can recover what’s in those boxes when you regain
Willpower or heal damage.

As supernaturally-empowered beings, Princesses

Important to note, while you are tallying Willpower:
get three extra Merit dots at character creation for a
a Princess is not limited to 1 Willpower per turn. She
total of 10: their powers make it easier to gain
can spend any number per turn, but may only spend
resources, and they make friends very easily. They
1 Willpower on any given thing.
can spend 5 Merit dots to increase Inner Light to 2,
or all 10 of them to increase it to 3.
- Your Health track is your Size + your
Stamina, and your Size is 5 unless otherwise
All Princesses get three dots of the Regalia Merit for
specified
their starting gear. They also get a special 3-dot
- Your Willpower track is your Resolve +
Merit for free based on their alignment, called a
Composure. Note that you can spend any
“Loyalty Merit”. Radiant Princesses gain the
number of Willpower per turn.
Shikigami Merit, representing the helpful familiar
- Your Defense is your Athletics plus the lower
that will aid the nakama on behalf of the Queens.
of your Dexterity or Wits.
- Your Initiative is your Dexterity + Composure
Followers of the Twilight Queens each get a
- Your Speed is your Strength + your Dexterity
different Merit: Raven Key, Self-Scourging, or
+5
Warped Reflection. Other Princesses may purchase
- Your Belief is 8
these Merits, but only if they have enough dots in
- Start with half your Wisps full
the associated Queen’s Signet. Finally, Princesses
who follow no Queen get three more dots of
Regalia.
Step 8: Details
Step 7: Advantages When you know what your character is about at
their core, and what they do, and how they do it, it’s
Now, you determine all your derived attributes. Due
time to fill in the gaps of all the things that don’t
to your Transformation, you may have different
have fields on a character sheet. Do you have any
derived values in different forms. These are what
existing relationships with other members of the
the boxes and fields in parentheses are for: record
nakama, or has Destiny just recently chucked you
the Transformed values of those things, and use
together? What is your name, and what is the name
them when Transformed. Open additional boxes in
you use as your Perfected Self?
the parentheses on your Health and Willpower
Visuals are important, even if you have no artistic
skill, you probably want to think about how you look
(and most play groups will have at least one person
who can draw well, you could ask them!). As your
Perfected Self, your general character design will be
another way you express who you are. What is your
Regalia like, what is your style? If this was animated,
would you be followed by shoujo sparkles or would
your lines get thick and sketchy with hot-blooded
passion? Do you have an array of weapons, or a
bunch of toys you use as weapons? Charms grant
you wide arrays of possible abilities but don’t
specify what they have to look like, so what do they
look like -- do you Trace with a feng shui compass,
throw chicken bones for auguries, or consult one of
those origami fortune-tellers made of notebook
paper?
 Princess Creation: Quick - Gain your Loyalty Merit for free (Shikigami,
Raven Key, Self-Scourging, Warped

Reference -
Reflection)
Get three dots of the Regalia Merit
- Assign 10 more dots of Merits
- Choose a Drive instead of a Virtue, the core - Your Health track is your Size + your
expression of what you’re About with a Stamina, and your Size is 5 unless otherwise
capital A. specified
- Choose a Dread instead of a Vice, the thing - Your Willpower track is your Resolve +
you fear most and that most motivates your Composure. You can spend any number of
behavior. Willpower per turn
- Assign primary, secondary, and tertiary to - Your Defense is your Athletics plus the lower
your Physical, Mental, and Social attributes of your Dexterity or Wits
in any combination. Assign 5 dots to the - Your Initiative is your Dexterity + Composure
primary category, 4 to the secondary, and 3 - Your Speed is your Strength + Dexterity + 5
to the tertiary. - Your Belief is 8, not 7
- Assign primary, secondary, and tertiary to - Start with half your Wisps full
your Physical, Mental, and Social skills in
any combination. Assign 11 dots to the Mundane Attribute 4 XP / dot
primary category, 7 to the secondary, and 4
to the tertiary. Mundane Skill 2 XP / dot
- Choose three Skill Specialties.
- Pick a Calling Transformed 3 XP / dot
Attribute
- Pick a Queen, or “none”
- Change Integrity to Belief Transformed Skill 1 XP / dot
- Choose three Oaths to follow of increasing
severity Transformed Dot to 1 XP / dot
Mundane
- Start with 1 Inner Light
- Choose one affinity Charm in addition to Skill Specialty 1 XP
Buster and the two granted by your Calling.
Get those Charms. Merit 1 XP /dot
- Get the starting Upgrade for all your affinity
Affinity Charm 2 XP / upgrade
Charms and rank 1 of your affinity Signet
- Allocate 7 total Upgrades for affinity Affinity Signet 2 XP / dot
Charms and Signet, or 4 affinity and 2
Other Charm 3 XP / upgrade
non-affinity Upgrades. Buying the first
Upgrade for a non-affinity Charm unlocks Other Signet 3 XP / dot
that Charm for use.
- Gain the ability to transform, mark down Inner Light 5 XP / dot
the two Transformed Attribute dots from
Belief 1 XP / dot
your Calling and Queen, then gain three
Transformed Skill dots of your choice. Lost Willpower Dot 1 XP per dot
 Special Rules And Systems
Transformation
Even though it didn’t exist in the Fearless Kingdoms,
the Transformation is probably the most
fundamental and useful part of a Noble’s magic.
Transformation allows them to assume the mantle
of the person they could have been, known as their
“perfected self,” someone untainted by this world of
clawing Darkness. When you aren’t Transformed,
you’re in what’s known as your “mundane identity.”
It’s not a separate identity with its own wants and
desires with whom you war for control -- as your
perfected self, you’re the same person but moreso.
Your Perfected Self will grow and develop with you,
as you learn more about yourself and who you truly
are and wish to be.
Transformation grants Princesses increased skills
and capabilities, allows them to cast Charms,
summons their Regalia to them -- and perhaps most
importantly, looks like a completely different
person. This is what allows a Princess to maintain
her personal friendships while engaging in activity
that malicious powers want to put a stop to.
Creatures of the Darkness can’t target your loved
ones when they have no idea who your loved ones
are. Princesses and their magic are generally terrible
at remaining hidden or inconspicuous, even rogues
and thieves work by misdirection rather than
concealment, and remaining in your mundane
identity is recommended for when you need to
escape notice.
Transformation takes one turn, during which the
Princess can neither move nor act as their body is
wrapped in shimmering light, adorned with their
Regalia, and changed to realize its Perfected form.
Once transformed, you can end your Transformation
and return to your mundane identity as a reflexive
action at any time, and it will also lapse if you lose
consciousness for more than a minute. Sustaining a
Transformation over time can be exhausting:
anything a Princess does in her Transformed state,
from intense physical exertion to simply “staying
awake,” taxes her mundane body as if she had done
it for three times as long.
Transformed Attributes and Skills
Next to each Attribute and Skill on a Princess’s
character sheet, in addition to the five blank dots
normally present, there are another set of dots in
parentheses. These dots represent additional skill or
attribute dots the Princess has while Transformed.
While Transformed, your Transformed Attributes
and Skills are automatically added to your normal
Attributes and Skills; this can change Advantages
such as Speed, Willpower, Initiative and Health, so
record these values for both your mundane and
Transformed states. When expending Willpower or
Health while Transformed, the Transformed-only
boxes are always used first.
If you take damage in Health boxes derived from
transformed Stamina, when you end your
transformation that damage will remain in that box
instead of rolling over into your normal health boxes
like would usually happen with temporary Health.
Willpower points derived from transformed Resolve
and Composure can be spent only while you are
transformed; however, if you have spent them, you
can regain them at any time. If you have spent both
mundane and transformed Willpower, you regain
the mundane Willpower first. If you sacrifice a
Willpower dot, you lose a transformed Willpower
dot first, even if you make the sacrifice while not
Transformed.
Blossoming
The first time a Princess transforms, it’s known as
Blossoming, and the perfected self they assume is
already fully-created. (You, as a player, decided what
it would look like, but the character didn’t make any
conscious decision. It was just the instant expression
of who they are.) It can be disorienting and flat-out
weird, but isn’t alien or disturbing.
Just because it’s your “perfected self” doesn’t mean
it won’t change or grow. Your transformed identity
will grow with you, as you learn more about
yourself, who you are, who you could have been,
and who you could yet be.
Blossoming happens in one of two ways. A Princess
may spontaneously Blossom in a moment of great
need and emotion as she realizes what it is she
needs to do and that she can do it; but shikigami
sent from the Queens in the Dreamlands can also
locate those with the potential to be Princesses and
inform them of their destiny, getting it done before
the moment of crisis so they can prepare. A Princess
who Blossoms against a powerful enemy and then
dies anyway is a horrible tragedy that still happens
far too often.
Regalia
Princesses begin with three dots worth of Regalia,
and can buy more with Merit dots. Princesses who
don’t have a Queen or a Shikigami start with three
more Regalia dots.
“Regalia” refers to all of the things that appear with
a Princess when she Transforms, from her clothing
to her tools, or that transforms with her from a
mundane to a magical form. Items can be added to
one’s Regalia with the Regalia Merit, and when they
are, the Princess chooses a new form for them that
matches her aesthetic. Regalia has a set of stats, and
examples of what form it might take, but you’ll
decide what it has for you, and its function is not
impeded by its form. You might have a piece of
Regalia that helps your Detect Charm that looks like
one of those paper cootie-catcher fortune tellers; it
might have the stats of a computer, and if so, it can
do the things a computer does by turning up the
little paper corners to reveal information.
The full rules for Regalia creation and modification
are on p.XXX. Dots of Regalia aren’t necessary for
your Princess to have items as part of her
transformation, like jewelry or a magic wand or a
badass pair of shades or even a robot arm. Regalia
dots are just necessary for those items to have a
mechanical effect.
If you don’t want to use all of that whole system,
the Storyteller might declare that you can just get
one Availability worth of mundane gear per dot of
the Regalia Merit you have. You still get to change
its form to whatever you want. This is probably not
balanced, because the Availability of gear is based
on how hard it is to find and not how good it is, but
it’s quick and easy.
Phylactery
Princesses have Phylacteries, physical objects that
are the manifestations of what being a Princess
means to them. If they spontaneously Blossomed,
the phylactery appears on them, while if they were
scouted by a shikigami, the shikigami will generally
provide it. A phylactery is a mundane object that is
used in the Transformation and becomes part of a
Princess’s Regalia -- a makeup compact may apply a
Grace’s blush and lipstick, a pen may become a
magic wand, a fidget spinner becomes a triangular
cloak clasp, a handheld gaming device become a
cyber-gauntlet. The phylactery is always some type
of object that is important to the Princess, but the
specific object itself doesn’t necessarily have to be,
especially if it was provided by the shikigami.
No matter how frail the object should normally be, a
Phylactery has Durability equal to the Princess’s
Inner Light and Structure equal to her Belief. All
other rules for Regalia apply to them normally while
they are pieces of Regalia. If a Phylactery is
destroyed during Transformation, the Princess
immediately ends her Transformation and goes back
to her mundane state, but can recreate it like any
other piece of Regalia. Attempting to Transform
without the Phylactery is difficult: it costs one
Willpower and requires a success on a Belief + Inner
Light roll.
Phylacteries cannot be dismissed or resummoned as
an instant action, unlike other Regalia. Anyone who
acquires a Princess’s Phylactery cannot use it
themselves, but will be able to exploit the
sympathetic magic connection common to Regalia
without having it vanish from their hands. A
Princess can create another Phylactery as if it had
been destroyed, but the only way to get rid of the
old one without physically reclaiming it is to go
without Transforming for a number of days equal to
twice her Inner Light.
Dual Identity
A Princess’s Transformation into her perfected self is
not an illusion you can look through, it is a different
identity she assumes. Simple Perception rolls cannot
link the two identities, any more than you could
make a sufficient Perception roll to determine that
guy in the mailroom who looks kind of like Elvis
Presley is secretly, somehow, the real Elvis Presley.
Similarly, no simple Subterfuge or Empathy roll can
determine a Princess is lying when asked about
having a dual identity, and lying to cover your
identity is never a Compromise.
But there’s more. The Dual Identity, as in when it’s
capitalized, provides incredible magical
concealment. It doesn’t stop others from seeing the
Princess’s nature like a Changeling’s Mask would. It
doesn’t stop others from remembering a Princess
like a Werewolf’s Lunacy would. The magic protects
a much narrower bit of information and protects it
much more strongly:
Any attempt to use magic or supernatural ability to
link a Princess’s two identities provides no useful
information. The caster doesn’t know it failed, the
ability goes off, but the information they get is
useless. The supernatural ability provides no useful
information even by omission: if you telepathically
scan a crowd to see who is thinking about secretly
being a Princess, you can’t see that there’s one
person blocking your scan and determine they have
magical protection. They appear to be as normal as
everyone else. The sympathetic connections
between the two identities aren’t utterly and
unnaturally severed, they’re as weak as you would
expect two people who have been to the same
location at different times to be. You can’t magically
track where a Princess walked from and then scry
into the past to see someone transform into her,
you won’t see that your vision is blocked, she just
appears to come out of nowhere. Dual Identity
doesn’t negate the magic used against you, it
prevents that magic from gathering useful
information that would link your two identities.
Which is extremely strange when you think about it,
right? It’s as bulletproof an anti-magic protection as
they come, and that would be remarkable even if
that protection wasn’t something that seems to be
the diametric opposite of what the Transformation
is doing, which is expressing your true self for the
world to see. It’s like you took all the magical oomph
of one of those magical thingies that keeps other
supernaturals secret, and you focused it into a super
narrow band like putting your thumb on the mouth
of a hose to make the spray more powerful. There’s
no way that’s natural, and yet, it seems to come
bundled with the Blossoming. Somebody definitely
had to have created some kind of enchantment on
purpose… and if the Radiant knew who it was, that
would be real helpful. The best guesses right now
are that the Queen of Tears worked some great
magic that protects her agents, or the Queen of
Mirrors did it in a flurry of denial about the self, but
neither will say anything about it.
Dual Identity Protections
While Dual Identity’s magical protection isn’t
perfect, it’s damn near close. There’s only really two
circumstances where magic can link two identities:
if a magic user has a Princess’s Phylactery, then they
can gather information by omission, meaning they
know what’s being blocked and will very quickly
figure out who their target is by process of
elimination. The other is that if a magic user has
already gathered enough information about the
Princess that the magical scrying is basically
confirming their existing theory, then Dual Identity
can’t throw them off -- it’ll confirm their suspicions.
Because that’s the thing. Dual Identity protects you
from magic linking your two identities, and it
protects you from the most casual sort of
observation. But it does nothing to stop good
old-fashioned mundane deduction. An Investigation
that is able to find mundane clues will be able to
uncover the secret, if there’s enough evidence to
believe a conclusion as wild as “that guy in the
mailroom really is Elvis.”
Unless players have been extremely careless, the
Storyteller shouldn’t have a supernatural antagonist
follow them back to their mundane lives. Very few
supernatural antagonists are even aware that
Princesses have mundane lives and won’t even try
to look; if they do, they will most likely use magic
and not be aware it’s giving them useless junk data.
There might be some other ways to pierce the Dual
Identity’s protections, but they aren’t a matter of
throwing more dice at the problem, and they will all
come down to some kind of interaction with the
Princess herself. Any clue a supernatural antagonist
gets should be directly caused by some major error
the player made, and there should always be a
warning that something is happening: people start
asking questions, there are mysterious vans parked
where she often Transforms, someone interviews
her as a witness to an event she was secretly a part
of. This gives players the chance to destroy or cast
doubt on the clues.
A careful balance has to be struck. A Princess can’t
be careless and cavalier with their dual identity,
they shouldn’t be able to do anything they want and
then just clean it up at the last second. But the
mundane relationships a Princess has are incredibly
important thematically and mechanically and the
best course of action should never be “cut off
everyone so I don’t put them in danger.” There are
things a character could do to make that
relationship safer, but they’re tedious and get in the
way of playing the actual game, so you don’t want
to do those either. In other areas of the game it is
very possible to do everything right and still fail, but
if a mundane relationship is put in danger, the
player should always be able to say “Okay, that’s fair,
that’s on me, I messed that up.”
It’s more appropriate to have minor mundane
antagonists come close to figuring out the Princess’s
identity, but who can’t pose a major threat and
don’t grasp the scope of what it fully means. This is
appropriate to the genre -- you don’t worry about
the police tracking you, you worry about that
weirdo classmate who always has his eye on you --
and makes sense that someone who is working on a
much pettier level will focus more on petty things
like “why do you always excuse yourself to the
bathroom when a monster shows up,” because they
don’t have any resources to look for something
bigger than that.
Belief (Integrity)
The first piece of advice a magical girl gets is
“believe in yourself.” Belief can move mountains,
Belief empowers her magic and her ability to grow.
But believing in yourself is not simple, and for most
of us, it isn’t a choice we can just decide to be
convinced of our own abilities.
enduring, she can make a path out for everyone,
and the best of all possible worlds can be reached.
The thing is, though, you can only believe in yourself
so much. You have to actually believe you are good,
and you are capable. Failures and compromises of
your ideals prove you really shouldn’t have believed
in yourself that much. If you resort to blackmail to
accomplish your goals, well, that kind of proves that
you aren’t a good enough person to never stoop to
blackmail, or a smart enough person to never need
it. If your loved ones get hurt, doesn’t that prove
you weren’t strong enough to protect them?

Belief replaces Integrity for Princess characters.

The Darkness takes a tighter and tighter grip on the
Anything that references Integrity or Breaking Points
hearts of Princesses whose Belief falls, either due to
is considered to also reference Belief or
compromise or failure, and fear plays a greater part
Compromises. A Princess’s Belief starts at 8 rather
in their thoughts. At first, loss of Belief isn’t that
than the starting point of 7 for most other Integrity
much of a deal. It’s healthy to know your own
equivalents. Should a character Blossom during play,
limitations, and while commitment to an ideal is
their Belief becomes equivalent to their previous
great, you shouldn’t be naive or delusional -- yes it’s
Integrity plus 3 (to a maximum of 8) -- they may
letting in fear, but fear is a part of the human
have been shaken by the world but now they have
condition, and it’s a very reasonable amount of fear
the chance to do something about it, which renews
to have. As Belief dwindles further, so too does the
their resolve and stability.
Princess’s psyche. They can’t handle everything by
holding to their virtue and trusting themselves, so
Where Integrity tracks a character’s ability to cope
how the hell are they going to handle things? They
with traumatic fears and the constant crushing
shouldn’t have to do terrible things to succeed, and
pressure of the All-Consuming Darkness, Belief is a
they wouldn’t if they were perfect, but they’ve
measure of a Princess’s conviction in her ideals, her
proven they aren’t. How bad do they have to be?
ability, her virtue -- a mechanical measurement of
How badly is it possible for them to screw up? How
how deeply she believes in herself. She is here on
much of humanity’s hope can they truly be trusted
this Earth with a purpose, to oppose the Darkness,
with? How much are these ideals really worth if this
and it is something she must do because it’s
is all they result in?
something only she can do. It is a source of strength
to keep going through bad times, and a reserve of
power in the magical and mundane senses. A Compromise
Princess with a high Belief is confident that there’s
A Breaking Point for Belief is called a Compromise.
always a brighter tomorrow and she can be the one
Princesses know horror and the supernatural exist,
to bring it. Virtue and simple kindness will overcome
and they know why. That isn’t news to them. Belief
the most difficult problems so long as she endures
is worn away when a Princess’s view of her ideals
and holds to her ideals. As long as she keeps
and self-worth are worn away. An ordinary mortal
human might lose Integrity when they find out
vampires exist. A Princess loses Belief when she
learns she had to kill a vampire despite it still being
a thinking, feeling being. Belief Compromises fall
into three major categories:
- The Princess performs an action that
violates her conscience or her
understanding of what aids or hinders the
Light of Hope.
- The Princess fails to protect innocents from
the malevolence of the Darkness.
- The Princess discovers a good reason to
doubt that her ideals work.
There are three tiers of Belief: Belief 10-8 is the high
range “Paragon,” Belief 7-4 is the medium range
“Idealist,” and Belief 3-1 is the low range
“Pragmatist.” Actions that cause a Compromise roll
at a given tier don’t cause Compromise rolls for
characters below that tier, but do cause
Compromise rolls for characters above that tier. A
Compromise roll generally means a Princess’s
worldview has adapted to that compromise and it
won’t provoke another Compromise roll unless the
act is more severe, especially heinous, or breaks one
of her active Oaths -- that is always a Compromise.
In addition to becoming inured to specific types of
failures and sorrows, moving down in Belief tiers
Compromise
Compromise occurred due to information character couldn’t have known
Character is able to figure out how to avoid Compromise in the future
Compromise was in direct service of Drive or Virtue
Compromise was to directly protect an innocent
Compromise occurred with no time to find alternative
Compromise or failure happened while Belief was Flared
Failure of something explicitly covered by Calling
makes certain ideals seem too foolish to bother
with, and finding they are not steady isn’t a new
revelation. A Princess who has had to resort to
poisoning people to get them out of the way of her
goals is at the Pragmatist tier, and the fact that she
just never happened to tell a lie to someone’s face
isn’t going to shake her up when she finally does.
Her understanding of the world has already figured
out that that’s just not an ideal she can hold on to.
To roll a Belief compromise, start with a dice pool
dictated by the Belief tier that the compromise
violates -- 7 for Paragon, 5 for Idealist, and 3 for
Pragmatist. Use the dice rating for the level of the
compromise, not the tier the Princess currently
occupies: a Paragon committing murder rolls a base
of 3 dice, not 7. Willpower cannot be spent on this
roll (unless a special ability states otherwise), nor
can any other effect that adds bonus dice that does
not specify it affects Compromises or Breaking
Points.
Compromise rolls are modified by circumstances. An
example of how appears below, though the
Storyteller is encouraged to add others if they seem
appropriate.
Modifier
+3
+2
+1
+1
+1
-1 per Flare
-1
 Compromise ties into Dread or was due to Dread or Vice -1

Failure of something that is character’s direct area of expertise -2

Action would be a Compromise anyway and also breaks active Oath -2, don’t roll twice

Failure occurred due to something the character noticed they could do and didn’t -2

Little to no attempt made to find alternative -3

Character figured out how to avoid Compromise, then had to do it again -3

Assists or empowers forces of Darkness -3

Add the modifiers to the base roll of 7, 5, or 3 dice,
and resolve the result as follows:
Dramatic Failure: The Princess’ faith in herself
has been damaged, she is convinced that
an ideal or principle she valued is unworkable
or harmful and scorns her younger self for being
naive enough to believe in it. Lose a dot of
Belief and choose from the following Conditions
(or create a new one with Storyteller approval):
Broken, Fugue, or Hypervigilance (p. XXX). Then,
take a Beat.
Failure: The Princess’ sense of hope is shaken.
She is convinced that an ideal or principle she
valued cannot work in this cruel world and
is willing to put it aside until the world is
ready. Lose a dot of Belief and choose from
the following Conditions (or create a new one
with Storyteller approval): Guilty, Shaken, or
Doubting (p. XXX).
Success: The Princess’ faith is mildly disturbed, but
either she resolves to do better or adjusts her ideas
to a new but no less idealistic belief system. Choose
from the following Conditions (or create a new one
with Storyteller approval): Guilty, Shaken, or
Doubting (p. XXX). Don’t lose a Belief.
Exceptional Success: The Princess has her faith and
hopes renewed; in violating that Belief she not only
is reminded of its importance but learns from the
experience of how to avoid it in the future. Gain the
Inspired condition related to the cause of the
Compromise roll, and do not lose a dot of Belief.
As Belief (the rating) rises and falls, players should
consider how their character’s beliefs (actual ideals
and things they understand to be true) are affected
by this. A character who has a typical Western view
of justice and fair trials might roll a Belief
compromise after obtaining evidence of wrongdoing
that a court refuses to act on, and taking matters
into her own hands. If she succeeds, does she
consider herself part of the system, some kind of
minor adjustment? If she fails, she might think that
the justice system is useless in its current form, or
she is too weak and incompetent to figure out how
to get it to help. In either case, she won’t lose
further Belief from acts of vigilantism, unless she
does something much worse or on much shakier
evidence.
Belief 10-8: Paragon (7 dice)
A Princess at the Paragon tier perfectly embodies
the change she wishes to see in the world. She acts
like she wants everyone to act in a world taken back
from the All-Consuming Darkness. She isn’t
necessarily naive, but she’s certainly brushing up
against the concept. She has to believe that this
world can be saved by embodying the person we
should all be. She knows that she can only triumph
if she believes in herself. Her ideals are stars in the
night sky, beautiful illumination that serves as an
inspiration to all who gaze up at them.
Compromises at the Paragon tier challenge the
practicality and plausibility of the Princess’s ideals.
They include failing to live up to your own strict
standards, directly seeing your ideals fail when
carried out by other people, being a dick to other
people, recklessly endangering innocents,
witnessing terrible consequences of the works of
Darkness, violating your Third Oath, and other
things the Storyteller finds appropriate to this tier.
Belief 7-4: Idealist (5 dice)
A Princess at the Idealist tier still holds her ideals
and values but realizes she isn’t perfect and the
world isn’t perfect and this is going to take a lot
more than just being a paragon. Some of her ideals
have been abandoned, and the Princess finds that
reasonable because those ideals were just wishful
thinking, not appropriate for the real world. She still
believes in herself, she just thinks that believing in
herself too much is just delusion -- and that’s okay,
it’s part of maturing to know your limits. Her ideals
are stars in the night sky, anchored points of
navigation to guide us in the world below.
Compromises at the Idealist tier don’t just challenge
the practicality of ideals, they challenge the
underlying premise of the ideal itself. They include
directly acting against your ideals, failing when you
act in line with those ideals even though it was
practical, inflicting significant and unwarranted
emotional or physical harm to others, knowingly
endangering innocents, seeing truly horrific
consequences of the works of the Darkness,
violating your Second Oath, and other things the
Storyteller finds appropriate to this tier.
Belief 3-1: Pragmatist (3 dice)
A Princess at the Pragmatist tier tells herself that
higher levels of belief in herself was just a foolish
delusion, but is filled with regret that it was. What
matters now is trying to do whatever she can to just
make something good happen, anything. Maybe the
world can be better than her, maybe in the future
there will be someone strong enough to save it and
make these dreams count, or at least she can keep it
all from slipping away entirely. Her ideals are stars in
the night sky: trillions of miles away, shining lights
that went dead centuries ago.
Compromises at the Pragmatist tier don’t challenge
ideals. They challenge if there’s even a point to
trying to do this at all, however you carry it out -- is
the world savable at all, and are you too weak and
worthless to contribute? They include murder and
manslaughter, callous disregard for the innocent,
failing at something you truly put all your efforts
into, spreading the kinds of fears and misery you’re
meant to prevent, losing close friends and loved
ones, violating your First Oath, and other things the
Storyteller finds appropriate for this tier.
Belief 0: Fallen
When the Inner Light is snuffed out, the darkness it
leaves is cold and silent.
When a Princess hits Belief 0, she may not even
notice right away. Her Transformation doesn’t
immediately end, she can even keep using her
powers and Charms while it stays up. At Belief 1,
she already felt pretty numb and deadened, and
this… doesn’t feel like anything. Nothing feels like
anything, not any more.
It’s only when she tries to Transform again while at
Belief 0 that it will truly hit her that she’s become
Fallen. Instead of transforming her, her Phylactery
will corrode, turn to ash, rot as if it had existed a
billion years. That’s when it all comes rushing at her
at once: this crushing realization is torturous, but
never a surprise. It’s gone, it’s all gone, anything
that let her pretend she wasn’t the useless failure in
a hopeless world of suffering she knew deep down
she was all along.
She can’t go to the Dreamlands, the Queens can’t
reach her, and even the Twilight Queens cast her
out as a danger or a failure.
Once she has entered her mundane identity, a
Fallen Princess can’t Transform and loses access to
all aspects of the Princess template, including Inner
Light, Wisps, all her Charms, her Drive, and even her
Dread. She gains the Dead Inside Condition (p. XXX),
which stops her from regaining or expending
Willpower, Wisps, or Beats, and causes her
Willpower dots to crumble away.
She’s a shuffling husk of a person at this point. She
might starve because she doesn’t see the point of
eating. If pushed she will emptily imitate the
motions of her former life, because she’s too weak
to even object. She lacks the strength to fight for
what she believes in, she lacks anything to believe
in, she cannot even cry for help.
A Fallen Princess has gone to the abyss of Darkness
and despair, but not all hope is lost. If she has the
Circle Merit, she can reroll her final Belief loss as her
friends remind her of who she is. Even if that fails,
they can reach deeper: If her friends are able to
help her rediscover a shred of something to believe
in before she loses her last Willpower dot, she can
be pulled out before falling out of reach.
Accomplishing this is a Social Maneuvering task
(CofD p. 81-84) with a Difficulty equal to the
Princess’s former Inner Light, which focuses on
reminiscence just as much as persuasion. If all Doors
are opened, one of her friends can spend an
Experience to regain one Belief for her and return to
a tenuous grip on herself. When she refills all her
Willpower from embodying her Drive, she recovers
one Willpower dot that she lost to the Dead Inside
condition.
If those Doors aren’t opened by the time she loses
her last Willpower, then she has one last choice.
Those who lost Belief due to failures almost always
die, if not willfully by their own hand then because
their bodies simply don’t see the point in
continuing.
But there are those who want to live more than
they want to mean something. Usually those who
lost Belief through their own willful abandonment
of principles, they can accept the bargain of the
Darkness more fully than any other and become
one of the Enthroned: the resident of a permanent
Nightscape where she is absolute ruler, existing only
to torment others.
Oaths
Every Princess has three Oaths, sworn to herself
more than anything else. They are personal
representations of her values and ideals as she
understands them through her Calling.
Choose three Oaths for your character; they are
added to the list of Compromises at a given tier of
Belief and breaking them will trigger a Compromise
roll. They are also treated like Lasting Conditions, in
that when you are impeded or your behavior
significantly changed by holding up an active Oath,
you gain a Luminous Beat (more on those below).
Your three Oaths all have to cover different things --
some overlap is inevitable but you can’t just have
one Oath be the same as another oath but bigger.
Oaths are personal and about what you fight for and
why. They can change, but only after massively
life-changing experiences. Ask yourself: What does
my character think a world reclaimed from Darkness
looks like? What did my character’s principles come
from, what shaped them? What has made my
character doubt their ideals in the past, or their
cause, or their fitness to be a Princess? What does
my character value most?
In descending numerical order and ascending order
of importance, the Oaths are:
The Third Oath
The Third Oath always begins with “I should,” and is
something that you would ideally carry out, but
honestly, we don’t expect people to have to hew to
and it’s not really a big deal if you break it. You’re
only human. Yeah, okay, it would be great to never
lie to anyone, but reality kind of gets in the way of
that and it would be just exhausting so no foul on
you if you give up on it. It should be something that
comes up pretty often, which is why it’s such a pain
in the ass that normal people don’t bother.
The Third Oath is only active at Belief 8-10, the
Paragon tier. You have a lot of opportunities to
break it and a lot of opportunities to gain Beats
from holding it. Since Princesses start at Belief 8,
you will start with the ability to gain Beats from it,
and if you decide it’s too much of a pain you can just
not care about breaking it, drop to Belief 7, and
know that you don’t believe in yourself THAT much
that you’re a person who can just deal with all that
nonsense, but who expects you to, right?
Examples include a Mender saying “I should never
use fear or intimidation to get what I want because
that is inflicting more of the Darkness on the world,”
a Champion saying “I should always strive to
overcome any challenge that defeats me and try for
a rematch,” or a Seeker saying “I should never lie.”
The Second Oath
The Second Oath always begins with “I must” and is
something that’s a very important part of your
principles or value system. These are things we do
expect people to hew to if they want to be decent
people, and the kind of things people are tempted
to do but to hide away. It’s a bad thing to exploit
someone who is dependent on you, and for most
people that means “don’t do it and let anyone find
out,” but for you it really means “don’t do it.”
The Second Oath is active at Belief 7-4, the Idealist
tier, and is a compromise at that tier. It should be
something that you have less opportunities to break
than your Third Oath, for good and for ill.
Abandoning this Oath means you don’t believe in
yourself enough that you can triumph while
remaining a good person, but maybe you’re
sacrificing your own virtue in the hopes it saves
others.
Examples include a Troubadour pledging “I must
never crush people’s spirits and burden the hearts
of others,” a Grace pledging “I must always give my
opponents an opportunity to surrender,” or a
Mender pledging “I must never abandon people
once I have started to give them help.”
The First Oath
The First Oath always begins with “I will” and it’s
the most important one of all. It’s the core of what
you think you’re here to do, what you care about.
It’s a horrible crime to break it, something there’s
no excuse for.
The First Oath is always active and is a compromise
at Belief 1-3, the Pragmatist tier. It is something you
have even fewer serious temptations to break,
which is good, because if you find yourself often
thinking of breaking it to get what you want done
then you’ve gone down a dark path indeed. (An
Oath like “no violence for personal gain” doesn’t
mean you’re tempted every time you see someone
with a wallet, it has to be a serious temptation in
context and at your current Belief level.) Breaking
this Oath means you barely know who you are any
more, it would make you look in the mirror with
disgust. Abandoning this Oath is abandoning the
pretense that you deserve to do anything at all, that
any good can come of your actions. You don’t
believe in yourself enough to think you can do any
good, or that there’s any purpose in continuing to
breathe.
Examples include a Grace vowing “I will always keep
my word when I made a promise others rely on,” a
Champion vowing “I will never inflict violence for my
own personal gain,” or a Troubadour vowing “I will
never suppress my voice and stop expressing
myself.”
Sensitivity
It isn’t just her heroic character that drives a
Princess to fight the Darkness, though. The strength
of her Inner Light pushes against the Darkness, and
the Darkness pushes back, building up a pressure
inside her. She’s better able to pick up on the
Darkness of the world to fight against it.
Unfortunately, even for those who are specially
attuned to be able to detect the Darkness, the fact
that Darkness underlies the world makes it
extremely hard to pin down. Since there’s such an
overwhelming amount of Darkness as “background
radiation,” Sensitivity can’t really provide a compass
and waypoint to sources of problems. It just lets you
know something is wrong -- whether you want it to
or not.
Acute Sensitivity
Princesses are able to detect major spikes in Pure
Darkness at the moment they occur, such as the
opening of a Dark Gate, an attack by Nightmares or
Darkspawn, especially severe Integrity breaking
points, or major use of powers granted by Pure
Darkness. This might manifest as pain, a sense of
urgency, panic, or impending doom, but it’s never
pleasant. It also doesn’t tell you WHERE the
problem is, only that it exists somewhere in your
radius and the general direction it’s in.
The stronger the Potency of whatever pinged Acute
Sensitivity, the stronger the feeling of Acute
Sensitivity and the further away it activates…
except that if the base (as in, unmodified by Tension
Conditions or other buffs) Potency of the effect is 3
or more dots higher than the Princess’s Inner Light,
it doesn’t ping her Sensitivity at all. The surge is too
big. You can’t pick it out from the rest of the world,
it would be like trying to take a picture of an entire
city while you’re standing inside one building. Most
Princesses are quietly grateful that this stops them
from being aware of problems that are far above
their “pay grade” and would be certain to kill them.
That’s because the Princesses who aren’t quietly
grateful for this seek out problems far above their
“pay grade” and very often get killed.
Chronic Sensitivity
The pressure of the Darkness pushing back against
your Inner Light can be draining, exhausting. It
wears on you, it wears you down, and any way to
hide or build shelter from it won’t last. It pushes in
on you from every direction, and the brighter your
Inner Light, the more the Darkness pushes back
against it.
When the Darkness pushes on you too hard, or for
too long, it wears you down. You feel worse,
physically and emotionally. Positive emotions feel
numb while negative emotions feel intense. You’re
exhausted but you can’t sleep. The Light of Hope
inside you feels weaker and the pressure from the
Darkness builds up from all directions.
While you’re relatively near an ongoing font of Pure
Darkness -- an active Nightscape, a Bleed or Dark
Gate through which people are being dragged, a
loose Darkspawn in the real world, a Cataphract,
repeated patterns of Integrity breaking points,
something that both spreads the taint of the
Darkness as fear and is empowered by it -- and
haven’t been making progress against it, you roll
your Inner Light dots at a fixed interval. If the base,
unbuffed Potency of the source of Darkness is equal
to your Inner Light you roll every 3 days, if it’s within
one point you roll every week, and if it’s within two
points you roll every two weeks. If it’s further off
than that, you don’t roll. You also may be forced to
make this roll when confronted with absolutely
overwhelming suffering wrought by Darkness, even
if they weren’t sufficiently your fault to trigger a
Belief Compromise.
When you get more successes on this roll than your
current stacks of the Shadows Condition (p. XXX), or
if you choose to skip the roll, you get another stack
of Shadows. (The Storyteller might choose to make
the same roll for everyone, just so the group doesn’t
get wildly out of sync.) If you don’t, you get +1 to all
subsequent Sensitivity rolls until you make progress
or gain a stack of Shadows.
The good news is, as someone native to this reality,
there is a baseline level of Darkness you can
tolerate, and that’s one stack of Shadows. The
existence of fear itself won’t debilitate you, and the
presence of the evils you are meant to fight doesn’t
immediately weaken you against them. It will cause,
at most, intermittent headaches or nausea or
psychosomatic symptoms. The first stack of
Shadows comes quickly when there’s a font of
Darkness, but that’s the level you can handle, and as
long as you make progress fighting it in a timely
manner, you’re letting off the pressure way faster
than it can build up.
Each stack of Shadows past the first is way, way
more than you can handle. Each one lowers your
effective Inner Light by 1, to a minimum of 1. The
only way to resolve these Conditions is to make
progress against the source of Darkness that
inflicted them, or to get lucky and have it resolved
by someone else. A victory against the force of
Darkness that caused the Sensitivity hit removes
one stack of Shadows. Defeating the source
conclusively removes all the stacks. Either way, you
don’t get Beats for resolving them.
Chronic Sensitivity is, unfortunately, also the only
sense that a Princess can use to narrow down the
source of Darkness. Each time you gain a stack of
Shadows, your pain and discomfort and emotional
exhaustion gets worse, and you receive some clue
about where the source of the Darkness is and how
you have to locate or fight it. They may take the
form of shocking, haunting visions from which a few
bits of information can be divined, coincidental
encounters with those affected, or even
opportunistic attacks by Darkspawn.
It’s, at the very best, a mixed blessing. If you’re
flummoxed and out of options, then it can draw you
to where you need to be, but may very well leave
you too weakened to fight it once you get there.
And if you try to abdicate, to leave the War for
Hope, you’ll find the War won’t leave you.
Darkness Everywhere
The All-Consuming Darkness is not a “new” and

distinct siloed-off phenomenon in the Chronicles
of Darkness. It’s as omnipresent as fear itself.
Other beings run into it all the time and don’t
know it’s anything separate from how the
inexplicable world works. Werewolves run into
Nightscapes and think “this is a very strange
Wound in the hisil,” and try to fix it the best they
can without knowing the full scope of how it has
to be fixed. Vampires, Changelings, the
Unchained, all run into Darkspawn and think
“these are more of those Horrors that just follow
their own rules and don’t make sense.”
And it goes the other way, too. Though it’s on a
different “frequency” when the Darkness is
expressed through the idiom of some other kind
of magic, the Darkness is all over -- and whatever
idiom it comes from, it spreads the taint of the
Darkness because it spreads fear. Any
supernatural abilities that directly inflict fear, like
a vampire’s Nightmare discipline, will ping
Sensitivity like Pure Darkness, because it pretty
much is Pure Darkness. At the Storyteller’s
discretion, and particularly in a crossover
Chronicle, other types of supernatural
phenomena might trigger a Princess’s Sensitivity
as well -- they might detect Pandorans as they do
Darkspawn, or feel a Mummy’s awakening like an
emotional earthquake.
If they do, then the Princess’s Darkness sensitivity
is still inferior to whatever means that
supernatural creature has of detecting or
interacting with its related supernatural
phenomenon, it’s harder to detect than Pure
Darkness, and it doesn’t inflict Chronic Sensitivity
as often. No numbers are given for these because
they’ll all be up to Storyteller fiat anyway.
Inner Light
Inner Light is the measure of a Princess’s radiant
soul and how powerfully it can beat back the
Darkness. It is only a few flickering embers when
she Blossoms, but it will grow with her, and warm
and illuminate everyone around her.
Inner Light determines a Princess’s maximum
Attributes in her mundane and Transformed states,
her pool of Wisps, and the extent of her Sensitivity.
Due to the fact Princesses can Flare their Belief or
have it penalized by Shadows, their effective Inner
Light can go up and down. You are perfectly able to
buy Merits, Attributes, and other character aspects
that require higher Attributes, Skills, and Inner Light
than you have at baseline; if so, they are inert and
inactive until you flare your Inner Light enough to
meet the required criteria.
Flaring Belief
Inside all of us is the potential for greatness so long
as we’re willing to push ourselves. Our Inner Light
may seem weak, but that is only when we keep it
shrouded and hidden. The more we expose, the
more we invest, the more we risk ourselves and our
self-image as we place more importance on our
goal, the brighter and more powerful the Inner Light
blazes. Stoking this power is known as Flaring your
Belief.
Flaring takes no action or roll. When you Flare,
several things happen. First, if you Flared in
response to a dice roll you made, you may reroll it
(you must take the second result).
You then take a stack of the Emotionally Invested
condition (p. XXX), which increases your Inner Light
by 1 and adds a penalty of -1 to Compromise rolls.
You have got your hopes up, you have invested your
self-image in this task in order to push beyond your
limits and succeed.
When you Flare, you note an overall goal you are
pursuing with this use of magic. The goal is a
medium-term objective, not just “succeed at this
roll.” Each time you Flare thereafter, you amend or
extend this goal, making it more narrow, difficult, or
long-term.
Flaring once should result in a goal that you can
accomplish in one scene, twice should be a goal that
would take some deftness to carry out in one scene
but you could pull off afterwards, three times
should be a chapter-long goal, and four or five
should be difficult chapter-long goals or even
multi-chapter goals.
Flaring the first time against a Nightmare might
declare your goal as “I’m going to defeat this
monster.” The second, you change it to “I am going
to defeat this monster and save everyone it’s
threatening.” The third, it becomes “I am going to
save the person at the heart of the Nightscape that
made this monster.” The fourth, “I am going to get
the person at the heart of this Nightscape to
reconcile with his family because the monsters here
indicate he’s afraid of how he’s alienated them.”
Each one is a more specific and difficult
continuation of the previous goal.
If you fail to accomplish the goal in a reasonable
amount of time, you lose all stacks of the Condition,
AND an entire dot of Belief. At least the experience
of this crushed hope grants a single Beat. Without
the Circle Merit (p. XXX) you don’t even roll for this,
you automatically suffer a Dramatic Failure on the
Compromise roll, and any Lasting Condition from
this failure is removed when and if you get the
Belief back. The Circle merit allows you to convert
automatic losses into Compromise rolls, but you can
still fail those.
You won’t resolve separate stacks of Emotionally
Invested at separate times: when it’s time for one to
go, they all go.
Putting It All On The Line
A Princess may only have a maximum number of
stacks of Emotionally Invested equal to half her
Belief, rounded up. Once she has that many, she’s
invested as far as she can go -- she is Putting It All
On The Line.

The Emotionally Invested condition resolves in one
of two ways: success or failure. When you
accomplish the overall goal you Flared in pursuit of,
resolve all stacks of the condition without gaining
any Beats. Your Inner Light is returned to its baseline
level, the Compromise penalty ends, and you can
Flare again if and when you decide to.
If a Princess gains the maximum stacks of
Emotionally Invested in pursuit of a significant goal
and then resolves it successfully, she may choose to
regain one dot of Belief. At higher Belief levels, this
is more difficult because it requires more specific
and difficult goals, but at lower Belief levels the
consequences of failure are more dire.

Inner Light 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Max 5/6 5/6 5/7 5/7 5/8 5/8 6/9 7/9 8/9 9/10 10 10
Attributes

Max Wisps 8 10 12 14 16 20 24 30 45 60 80 108

Free Upgrades 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 7 10 15 108

Wisps
Wisps are like refined, purified Willpower, glimmers
of the Light of Hope shining brighter as it is
channeled toward human aspiration. They’re the
fuel for a Princess’s supernatural powers and
abilities.
When another being expends Willpower, they
deplete their reserves of strength; a Princess is just
revving it up.
Spending Wisps
Recovering Wisps
Every time a Princess spends a Willpower on
something a mortal could do -- gaining bonus dice,
adding to a Resistance Attribute, activating a
non-magical ability or Merit that costs Willpower,
etc. -- she also regains a Wisp. If she finds herself
needing more Wisps than she has available, or
about to recover more Willpower than she can hold,
she can reflexively lose any amount of Willpower
and gain that many Wisps. (Willpower spent on
penalties, like acting in spite of your Dread or being
drained by an enemy’s ability, or to activate magical
abilities, don’t grant Wisps.)

Other types of supernatural creature have their own

If a Princess chooses to take an instant action to
fuel source for their powers -- Glamour for
consume a Willpower to no other end, she regains 2
changelings, Vitae for vampires, Pyros for
Wisps by focusing on the interplay between her
Prometheans, etc. To one extent or another they
normal and magical forces.
can only channel so much of it at a time; the
amount they can control this outflow increases as
their power increases, and is represented by the Defiance
maximum amount of points they can spend per
When under attack, a Princess’s surging soul flares
turn.
up to protect her body and identity, a phenomenon
known as her “Defiance”. Princesses are as resilient
There is no such restriction for Princesses. Just as
as the human spirit, and a Princess does not die
she can exert Willpower into everything she does in
until she is utterly emotionally exhausted.
a turn, even a freshly Blossomed Princess can spend
as many Wisps per turn as she wants, limited only
When a Princess is subject to a damaging attack, she
by her capacity and her ability to fit actions into a
may spend Wisps to downgrade incoming damage.
turn. This ability to channel as much as she wants is
Each Wisp spent reduces one point of lethal or
most often used to deflect damage, but multiple
aggravated damage to bashing damage from the
Charms can be stacked together with one action if
incoming attack, or prevents all bashing damage
you’re clever about it, and spending extra Wisps
from the incoming attack..
allows you to apply more Upgrades.

Begin every chapter with Wisps equal to half of your Drive

character's maximum.
Just as a Princess’s Transformation is “herself but
moreso,” Princesses are defined by vivid
personalities and beliefs, an inner life that is larger
than life, their reality also serving as dramatic
metaphor for itself. A Princess doesn’t have magic,
she is magic, and everything about that is an
expression of who she is at a fundamental level. This
central thing, her expressed identity, the vivid
me-ness, is her Drive. Drive replaces Virtue on the
character sheet, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have
virtue as normal humans understand it. A Drive is
something that could be said to be a virtue, even if
it isn’t a traditional one, and unlike other such
replacements it doesn’t stop you from taking the
Virtuous Merit (in which case you get a Virtue that
works by the normal rules, not another Drive). Any
mechanic that references or keys off of a Virtue will
also key off of a Drive, and regaining all Willpower
from a Drive is the same as regaining all Willpower
from a Virtue. Your Drive is ultimately a positive
thing even if it may not always seem that way to
everyone else, or even to yourself; it’s what pushes
you upward and how you push upward in equal
measure.
Once per scene, you gain one Willpower point back
when you, the player, go out of your way to act in a
manner that expresses your Drive and reinforces
that vivid identity. For your character it may have
been a conscious choice, or the possibility of doing
something else may never have crossed their mind.
Once per chapter, when you express that Drive in a
way that puts yourself or what you value at risk
because that’s just who you are, regain all your
Willpower points. The Drive doesn’t have to actually
cause harm -- it’s okay, it’s even good, if it turns out
to have been the right call to stick to your guns --
but it has to be something that looked risky from a
neutral outside perspective. If it does turn out to be
the right call, and embodying your Drive caused you
to succeed, you also gain a Luminous Beat.
Your Drive can be a simple word, or a short
evocative phrase to sum up what you’re About.
Some sample Drives, their conditions, and
characters who hold them are:
Level-Headed
You think things through, you don’t leap into
uncertainty half-cocked. You take the effort to make
sure everyone’s on the same page and are
approaching from the best angle.
Regain One Willpower: Step into an argument to
calm everyone down. Use your powers to inhibit
hostile action so you can think of a plan. Address a
situation by calming it down or slowing it down so
people have time to think about and observe what’s
going on.
Regain All Willpower: Ignore what seems like a
great opportunity or pressing need that requires
you to act before you can fully figure things out.
Examples: Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon), Twilight
Sparkle (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
One Step Ahead
You pride yourself on outmaneuvering your
opponents. When they think the game is starting,
they don’t know that you’ve already won.
Regain One Willpower: Predict an opponent’s
actions. Negate someone’s best advantage. Use
prior knowledge to your advantage.
Regain All Willpower: Allow an opponent to do
something dangerous because you are confident in
your ability to plan for everything.
Examples: Batman (DC Comics), Michael Westen
(Burn Notice)
Hidden Power Level
Knowing yourself and your capabilities is important,
you need to know what you can and can’t do. Giving
110% is silly, you can’t sustain that, and if you try
then maybe you can only give 80% when it counts.
Regain One Willpower: Restrain your power against
a weaker foe to preserve yourself for a bigger
challenge. Go above and beyond to fill a promise
because you determined it wouldn’t cost you too
much. Determine the maximum amount of effort
you can safely put into a task, and then do that.
Regain All Willpower: Hold back against a serious
challenge for fear of overcommitting.
Examples: ???
Hot-Blooded Power
You’re not level-headed. Your heart makes the calls
and your brain is along for the ride, blasting past
doubt and through deception with instinct and
vibes.
Regain One Willpower: Punch a bad guy in the
mouth before he’s even done talking. Grab
something new and figure it out as you go. Address
a situation with immediate and startling action.
Regain All Willpower: Endanger yourself by rushing
into a situation where caution was really called for.
Examples: Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann),
Star-Lord (Marvel)
If It’s Worth Doing It’s Worth Overdoing
There’s no kill like overkill, baby! You throw yourself
in at full force to make sure whatever you deal with
isn’t going to be a problem again.
Regain One Willpower: Make sure you stomped on
all the monsters to make sure they’re really dead.
Use “giga” when “mega” might have sufficed. Use
excessive effort or force.
Regain All Willpower: Endanger yourself by
overcommitting resources.
Examples: Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia),
Future Trunks (Dragon Ball Z).
I Fight For My Friends
The people you love are more precious than
anything, and they grant you more power than
anything. There’s no point getting to the top if you
can’t bring them with you.
Regain One Willpower: Provide moral and
emotional support. Check in on people’s emotional
state after things that probably wouldn’t warrant
getting upset over. Focus on the well-being of others
before your main objective.
Regain All Willpower: Save or protect someone else
by placing yourself in greater danger.
Examples: Sailor Moon, Tea Gardner (Yu-Gi-Oh!).
Absolute Loyalty
You value your friends, but there’s one person in
particular that’s deeply important to you. Whether a
fallen comrade whose spirit you uphold or an ideal
to aspire to or a person who makes you feel like you
can be a person too, there’s someone in particular
you are About.
Regain One Willpower: Honor that person’s
memory. Obviously and noticeably revere that
person. Advance that person’s goals or ideas as if
they were your own.
Regain All Willpower: At a major decision point, do
something that you disagree with because it’s what
they would want you to do.
Examples: Simon the Digger (Tengen Toppa Gurren
Lagann), Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka
Magica).
Naked And Unafraid
What you want matters, and what matters is what
you want, if that makes sense. You won’t achieve
your dreams by apologizing for what they are or
who they are. Shamelessness is the only path to
victory.
Regain One Willpower: Tear off your shirt at the
slightest provocation. Say what everyone is thinking
but nobody wants to speak aloud. Act regardless of
politeness or propriety, exposing a lot about
yourself in the process.
Regain All Willpower: Expose yourself to
humiliation or sanction in order to accomplish a
goal that matters more than your public standing.
Examples: RYUKO MATOI! (Kill la Kill), ???
Super Star
It’s not enough to do something, or to be
something. Everyone has to know it. You have to
sign your work, make sure there’s no mistaking who
had the power and drive to make this happen.
Recognition makes it all worthwhile.
Regain One Willpower: Encourage a fan club about
yourself. Take a selfie with a defeated monster and a
cutesy hashtag. Go out of your way to ensure your
actions are recognized by others.
Regain All Willpower: Take credit and responsibility
for something when it would have been a much
better idea to just keep your head down.
Examples: Sailor Venus (Sailor Moon), Hercule
(Dragon Ball Z)
I Want To Be The Very Best
Perfection is a goal you can’t reach but must always
strive for. There is nothing more human and nothing
more deeply satisfying than improving, seeking out
ever greater challenges and overcoming them.
Attaining mastery of what you do strengthens who
you are.
Regain One Willpower: Accept or offer formal
challenges at what people are good at. Argue with a
villain you think is wrong. Show interest in finding
ways to test your skills.
Regain All Willpower: Give Cell the fucking Senzu
Bean.
Examples: Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Ash Ketchum
(Pokemon)
Loving Life
What the hell is the point if you’re not having a
good time? Whatever you’re doing, you want to
enjoy it. That doesn’t mean you’re lazy (I mean, you
can be, it’s just not mandatory), it means you should
make everything enjoyable. If life is a game, you can
still play to win!
Regain One Willpower: Challenge a foe to a
dance-off. Shout “YEEEE-HAW!” when you grapple
and ride a monster. Do things in a way that puts
effort into making them fun.
Regain All Willpower: Face something serious and
treat it as if it were a joke.

Examples: Bayonetta, Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic)
Lovably Cranky
You’re busting chops today -- it’s true, ask anyone.
Believing in dreams doesn’t mean putting up with
nonsense. And even the people you love, you can’t
let them be too secure all the time, right? You’re
prickly like a cactus and just as full of delicious
quenchiness on the inside.
Regain One Willpower: Make a cutting observation
that deflates something’s inflated importance. Go
out of your way to tease others. Bonk someone and
leave them with a big anime lump that has two
bandages in an “X” on it.
Regain All Willpower: Refuse aid or cooperation
from someone out of crotchetiness.
Examples: Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon), Old Joseph
Joestar (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust
Crusaders)
Messianic Love
Everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone
deserves as many chances as it takes to redeem
them. You love your friends and you know a
stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet and an
enemy is a stranger you haven’t calmed down yet.
Everyone needs love, and you love to give it.
Regain One Willpower: Offer solace or friendship to
someone regardless of what they offer you. Get
really, really huggy. Bring out emotions at the drop
of a hat.
Regain All Willpower: Show trust or mercy in a way
that allows someone to betray you.
Examples: Flonne (Disgaea)
Absolutely Seiso
Nothing dirty, nothing nasty, nothing mean! You stay
pure, wholesome, and on the bright side of things at
all times.
Regain One Willpower: Clean up naughty language.
Put smiles and sunshine on things. Restrain yourself
to passive aggression even when incensed. Present
yourself and your situation as clean and
family-friendly.
Regain All Willpower: Refuse to engage with or
acknowledge the nasty, mean, or gross parts of a
situation when they otherwise seem important.
Examples: Fluttershy (My Little Pony: Friendship is
Magic), Kyrie (Devil May Cry).
Dread
Your Drive is something ultimately positive to you,
even if it may not seem that way to the outside
observer. Your Drive is who you are and who you are
happy to be. Your Dread is just the opposite. Your
Dread is the thing you fear, the thing you can’t
stand, the thing you flee from, the thing that
weakens you and most allows the Darkness to seize
control of you. It is the thing most akin to a Vice a
Princess has, though she can still take the
Vice-Ridden Merit for a normal Vice. (Vice-Ridden
are not really the worst or most vicious people;
they’re the ones with the most bad habits. A
Princess who drinks too much and fears being alone
is still a Princess, just a self-destructive one.) Any
mechanic that references Vice will also interact with
Dread, and regaining a single Willpower from a
Dread is considered the same as regaining
Willpower from a Vice.

Your Dread is something that isn’t good about you,
it’s not a virtue, it’s something that more often than
not makes you hurt others or yourself. All else being
equal, you would probably prefer not to have this
Dread, or any Dread, but the Darkness in the world
is a fact of the human condition now. The same
concept might be expressed as a Drive or a Dread,
and it’s down to if your character views it as positive
or negative. Someone who is empowered by the
need to always be the best has it as a Drive.
Someone who is terrified and enraged at not being
seen as the best has it as a Dread. Even though they
seem similar, they will manifest in different ways. A
Drive to be the best provokes action and ambition; a
Dread of not being the best causes reluctance and
hesitation and fear of trying things you might not
excel at.
Once per scene, you can restore one Willpower by
acting in a way to recoil from, avoid, or mitigate a
source of your Dread. The Willpower comes from
that sense of short-term relief at mollifying the
Darkness inside you and making the fear go away.
However, acting despite your Dread costs one
Willpower, and each new action or extended period
of exposure costs another Willpower. If you can’t or
won’t pay that Willpower, you panic and act
impulsively and quickly to get away from the Dread,
and if that’s not possible, you go catatonic until you
can be removed. Minor sources of Dread don’t
warrant this expenditure: if your Dread is Fire, you
can probably be okay with your Swords colleague’s
fire powers being used when they aren’t right up in
your face, and you don’t have to spend Willpower to
enter a room with a lit candle -- though if you flip
out at them anyway, you’ll restore a Willpower.
Once per chapter, you can restore all your
Willpower by acting to defeat or overcome a source
of your Dread. This doesn’t mean “ignore your
Dread and get Willpower from it.” If you’re afraid of
fire, and you just rush into a burning building to
save someone, you’re not going to get more
Willpower for that, you’re going to be spending a lot
just to go in there. If you heavily play out your
character’s panic and difficulty in dealing with this
and how they struggle and how much harder it is for
them to do what they want because of this fear,
then the Storyteller can grant you a refill to your
Willpower (and you’ll need it, since you probably
had to spend multiple Willpower to do it). If you
realize you can’t go into the burning building but
you can go way out of your way to overcome the
obstacle in some other way, with a much greater
difficulty, you could also get a refill of your
Willpower.
A Dread can be abstract, like the fear of letting
others down. Or it can be concrete, like the
aforementioned fear of fire. This choice can let you
decide how much you want your character’s Dread
to be a factor in your roleplay. An abstract fear
about relationships with others can always be
relevant, making you pay the Willpower cost more
often, giving you more opportunities to regain
Willpower from it, and making it far more pertinent
to your character. A fear about a specific concrete
thing can only come up when that concrete thing is
present. You can pick as narrow a Dread as you like,
it’s not an “exploit.” It just means that you won’t be
getting Willpower from it. But it does have to be
something the Storyteller is able to bring up. You
can’t pick a Dread of “being on Mars” unless you are
in a very specific sort of Chronicle where that is
likely to happen.
Some sample Dreads and their conditions are:
Fire
Something terrible happened to you involving fire,
or you’re transfixed by the possibility it could. Fire
just keeps going, it keeps burning and consuming
without anyone helping, it’s the illuminating version
of the Darkness in that it is this insubstantial
abstract principle that wants to destroy and does
everything it can do to keep destroying.
Regain One Willpower: Freak out at a fire in a
non-dangerous context. Stay in the forest being
eaten by mosquitos rather than stay by the bonfire.
Conspicuously avoid an enemy with a flame-based
attack.
Regain All Willpower: Directly extinguish an
ongoing inferno.
Dead Weight
You were too weak to save something or someone,
and you can’t let it happen again. The possibility of
being weak and useless sends you into panic and
rage as that horrible helplessness is brought back to
your mind.
Regain One Willpower: Start a fight over someone
implying you’re useless. Try and handle something
you probably shouldn’t. Make a big deal of needing
to contribute even when you only have tangentially
related skills.
Regain All Willpower: Prove to someone who
doubted you that you can handle a challenge better
than they can.
Drowning
This has to be the worst way to go, right? Dark and
oppressive and heavy and you try and get one
life-giving breath but you can’t, your lungs fill with
water and you thrash and thrash and only drive
yourself deeper.
Regain One Willpower: Spend the beach episode
entirely on the sand. Refuse to enter a body of
water to chase someone. If you have to get on a
boat, obsessively go over the safety protocols and
stay as far from the edge as possible.
Regain All Willpower: Do something that would
require you to be completely submerged longer
than you can comfortably hold your breath.
Being Alone
One is the loneliest number that you’ll never stand.
With nobody to talk to and nobody to rely on,
you’re nobody yourself. Being nobody is terrifying.
Being nobody is being hollow, and that’s a lot of
space for the Darkness to fill up.
Regain One Willpower: Insist on companionship.
Stick together when it’s better to split off. Pester
people to go bowling with you.
Regain All Willpower: Do something that would
require you to remain completely isolated for an
extended period.
Heights
People weren’t meant to fly. No, it doesn’t matter if
you can do it with magic, you shouldn’t! One false
move, one error in your magic, one slip, and then
you’re falling and you can see the ground
approaching and you can’t do anything about that
certain oncoming doom and then SPLAT!
Obliterated by the cold, unfeeling ground.
Regain One Willpower: Insist on taking whatever
role keeps you on the ground. Stay as far as possible
from railings and ledges. Close your eyes while
doing something high up just to avoid having to look
at the possible fall.
Regain All Willpower: Succeed despite a real and
significant risk of an uncontrolled fall that would kill
or severely hurt you.
Humiliation
You have to keep part of yourself hidden. If people
knew too much about you, they’d know the worst
parts of you, and they’d leave you. They’d hate you.
The esteem of your peers is how you know you have
value and it can all be taken away.
Regain One Willpower: Keep unnecessary secrets.
Avoid doing something that might look stupid.
When you think you might have done something
that looks dumb, put a bunch of effort into trying to
clarify it.
Regain All Willpower: Succeed at something that
would require you to be exposed to humiliation in
front of people you care about.
The Dark
It’s called “The All-Consuming Darkness,” for crying
out loud! The fear of the dark is the worst and most
primal fear, because in the dark, you have no idea
what is coming, and you have no way to defend
yourself. This Dread is extremely common among
native Alhambrans.
Regain One Willpower: Keep some lights on at all
times. Refuse to go down that dim alley. Want
nothing to do with anything you’re not able to see.
Regain All Willpower: Succeed at something
requiring travel through or extended action in total
darkness.
Disorder
Plans are good. Plans are what keep our world safe
and structured. Knowing where everything is is key
to knowing how everything will work is key to
knowing how to stay safe and alive. When things are
out of order, when they are uncontrolled, things will
spiral outward in a cascade failure.
Regain One Willpower: Micromanage things to
make sure everything is just so. Excessively focus on
organizing and straightening. Amass too much
information, just to be sure.
Regain All Willpower: Completely trust someone
else to succeed in a way you don’t understand and
have no control over.
Bugs
oh my God they are the absolute worst who told
them it was okay to have that many legs and that
many eyes and carry that many diseases and be full
of so much disgusting bug goo
Regain One Willpower: Prepare for an outside
excursion by drenching yourself in mosquito
repellant. Respond to the existence of a bug with
ludicrous overkill. When you see a cockroach, jump
on a table and don’t get down until it’s gone.
Regain All Willpower: Do something that requires
you to be extensively touched by bugs. (And then
probably take a very long, very hot shower.)
Betrayal
You can be friends with people! Good friends, even!
But you can’t let them get too close. You need to
maintain a healthy, arms-reach distance in case one
of them decides to get close enough to stab you in
the heart. You love your friends, but you’re painfully
aware you can never truly know anyone.
Regain One Willpower: Prefer to be alone over
doing something non-critical in a group. Keep a
secret about yourself that doesn’t seem important,
just in case.
Regain All Willpower: Do something that requires
you to give someone you don’t know that well the
chance to betray you.
Being Conspicuous
The magic of a Princess is a radiant and vivid
expression of her identity, and is nearly impossible
to conceal. But since her magical capabilities are
extensions of who she is, this doesn’t necessarily
mean you get instantly identified as magical the
moment you’re seen. In your transformed identity,
you can act like a normal person, you’re just very
attention-grabbing.
I mean, after all. If you saw someone in a frilly
armored gown with a magic scepter, what would
you think? “Magic is real?” Or would you think
“There must be some kind of convention going on?”
As you Flare your Belief, you become more vivid and
more obviously magical. If you cast a Charm and
take special effort to conceal its magical nature, roll
your Inner Light and then add the number of stacks
of Emotionally Invested you have (basically, each
Flare counts for two): On one success, your action
draws attention from observers but you can play it
off as something else, something mundane, as long
as it was clearly a thing you were doing. On two or
more successes, whatever you did was obviously
not humanly possible. If what you did was obviously
magical, like a Force Barrier or a Buster, then don’t
bother rolling, you’re not fooling anyone.
While your Dual Identity makes it pretty much
impossible to link your mundane and transformed
selves, the radiance of the Light of Hope makes it
very obvious SOMETHING is up. At the end of a
scene in which characters used magic, roll one die,
plus a number of dice equal to the highest number
of stacks of Emotionally Flared anyone had. Subtract
one die for each existing Tension Condition. On a
success, add a new Tension Condition. (p. XXX),
representing the growing awareness of the forces of
Darkness.
Luminous Experience
Princesses gain Luminous Beats that add up to
Luminous Experiences the same way normal Beats
add up into Experiences. Luminous Beats are
specifically tied to a Princess’s Transformation into
her perfected self, they represent learning about
and better filling that role.
A Princess gains a Luminous Beat when holding to
one of her three Oaths, for major victories against
the forces of Darkness, for triumphing while
embodying her Drive, and for experiences that
would normally grant a Beat that occur entirely due
to her Transformation and magical nature: if there is
any limitation on how often you can get a Beat from
something, track Beats and Luminous Beats
separately for this purpose. Luminous and normal
Experiences can be used together to pay costs. You
can choose to combine normal Beats and Luminous
Beats together into a Luminous Experience, but not
into a normal Experience; you do not have to do this
and can keep them separate as well so that you can
use normal Experiences to buy things Luminous
Experiences cannot.
Luminous Experience has two important properties:
First, Luminous Experiences can only be used on
aspects exclusive to your Transformed state:
Transformed Attributes, Transformed Skills, Charms,
Inner Light, and Princess-exclusive Merits. Normal
Experiences can contribute to or pay entirely for
these things as well. Second, if at least one
Luminous Experience is spent on a purchase,
regardless of how many normal Experiences were
also spent, the new ability can be gained as a
reflexive action at any time. While practice and
planning and honing yourself in your off-time is
important, Princesses very often find their magic
and abilities expand in moments of great need.
Becoming a Queen
Character Advancement Being a Princess is about expressing who you are,
but you do it behind a mask, a false identity. There
is one further step to take, though none have taken
it yet: fully inhabiting your perfected self and
Mundane Attribute 4 XP per dot
abandoning the pretense it isn’t who you are.
Mundane Skill 2 XP per dot
This is not something done lightly, heck, so far in
Transformed Attribute 3 XP per dot
this history of this world it hasn’t been done at all.
Transformed Skill 1 XP per dot It’s not something expected of most, but it is a
niggling thing at the back of the mind of a few.
Upgrade Transformed 1 XP per dot
Dot to Mundane Becoming a Queen will be detailed further in a later
Skill Specialty 1 XP supplement, but in case it comes up: a Princess
must have a permanent Inner Light of 6 or higher
Merit 1 XP per dot and have at least 21 Sworn followers to become a
Queen. Her Transformation becomes permanent
Affinity Charm 2 XP per upgrade
and she loses all benefits of Dual Identity (though
Affinity Signet 2 XP per dot she can still summon and dismiss her Regalia). She
gains 1 XP for every dot of mundane Attributes and
Other Charm 3 XP per upgrade
Skills she possessed, as they are all now
Other Signet 3 XP per dot Transformed dots; she buys everything as a
Transformed dot from now on and can spend
Inner Light 5 XP per dot Luminous Experiences on anything she wishes. She
may now develop her own Signet, and other
Belief 1 XP per dot
Princesses may now swear to her as their Queen
Recover Lost Willpower 1 XP per dot and learn those Signet abilities. The actual process
Dot of developing that Signet is beyond the scope of this
book, so if you don’t have access to the supplement
where it’s detailed, you’re gonna have to eyeball it.
 Merits
Split Merits
It is possible to have some Merits in your Transformed state, without having them in your mundane state, or
even having contradictory ones! When you buy a Merit that only represents something about your body (like
Small-Framed, Giant, Striking Looks, Iron Stamina, etc. but not any Styles, Eidetic Memory, Contacts or Resources
or Allies, etc.) you can choose for it to only apply to your mundane state or only to your Transformed state. They
do not cost any less, but every 2 dots of split Merits you have grants anyone trying to deduce your identity a -1
dice penalty. You can buy Merits that can normally be bought at character creation for your Transformed state at
any time, as you learn about your potential and identity.

Modified Merits
Alternate Identity (••-•••)
(CofD p.50)
Having an Alternate Identity is part of being a Princess,
so the only difficulty is getting the paperwork. Princess
may purchase Alternate Identity •• once for just 1
Experience, or Alternate Identity ••• for 2 Experiences,
to get her perfected self a set of convincing
identification and paperwork. Extra Alternate Identities
beyond the first cost full price.
Destiny(•-•••••)
When you take this Merit, choose a long-term
Aspiration as your Destiny. Each chapter, you gain a
pool of Destiny Points equal to the dots in this Merit.
Before making a mundane roll that would advance you
toward this Destiny, you may spend a Destiny Point to
make it into a rote action. After making a mundane roll
to advance you toward your Destiny, you can spend
one Destiny Point to reroll the result once. You must
take the second roll, even if it’s worse.
Compared to the version of Destiny available to Mages,
it doesn’t come with a Doom, but also can’t be used to
cast spells.

(M:tAw 2e p.100)
Sympathetic (•)
Requires: Princess or significant figure in a Princess’s
life. (CofD p. 55)
A Princess’s Echo allows her to get closer to others, so
Destiny was the force of fairness in the Fearless a Princess can buy Sympathetic for one dot instead of
Kingdoms, now, it is the force of things trying to be put two.
right, the world’s first shaky steps toward trying to fix
itself. Destiny does not ensure any outcome will come
Taste (•)
to pass, only that it will have the opportunity. Our fates
are our own, but Destiny gives us a little boost to (CofD p.55)
decide our fates. A Princess’s Regalia is an expression of herself, her
personality, her goals. ANYONE with the Taste Merit --
not just a Princess -- who studies the Regalia of a
Princess can ask questions about the Princess’s
personality herself, though she gets no useful
information about her mundane identity.
True Friend (•)
(CofD p. 56)
A Princess’s Echo allows other people to get to know
her much better and more quickly. Princesses are able
to buy the True Friend Merit for one dot, instead of
three.
Unseen Sense (••)
(CofD p. 60)
Unseen Sense (Inner Light) is what keys into the magic
of the Noble. It will detect shikigami, transformed
Princesses, currently active Charm effects, and will
weakly ping when in the presence of Beacons. It does
not detect Princesses in their mundane state, nor does
it detect Sworn.
The feeling conveyed by this Unseen Sense isn’t
unnerving or spooky; it’s the feeling of the Echo of the
Princess who pinged it, and the sense this is coming
from somewhere. You can’t take the Spooked
Condition to narrow down the source of the feeling.
Unseen Sense (All-Consuming Darkness) does not exist.
It would be like taking Unseen Sense (Oxygen). The
presence of Pure Darkness, when active, often makes
most people feel unnerved and anxious anyway, but
they can’t take the Spooked condition to learn more
about it. The only known ways to suss out Pure
Darkness by its origin are a Princess’s Sensitivity, and a
Mage’s Active Mage Sight, both of which are spotty
and the latter of which is really spotty.
Mage Sight and Darkness
Mage Sight detects anything supernatural. The
supernatural are things which come from outside
the rules of the world as we understand it. The
All-Consuming Darkness, though, is not from outside
the world. It’s already here, and it’s omnipresent. As
far as Mage Sight is concerned, that’s as normal as
gravity. It’s the first thing they learned to tune out in
order to pick up anything useful; detecting Darkness
is like detecting “yup, time here is moving forward at
one second per second.”
Princesses and Pure Darkness are not detected at all
by Peripheral Mage Sight, the always-on passive
sense of magic detection. Active Mage Sight reveals
information as if they were subject to Passive Mage
Sight, and Focused Mage Sight reveals information
as if they were subject to Active Mage Sight. There is
no way to subject these phenomena to actual
Focused Mage Sight.
Mage Sight always expresses what it sees in terms of
the Mage’s Arcanum, the different types of magic
they understand the world through. The Light of
Hope and Pure Darkness, being native to humanity
and reality, are really hard to pin down this way.
Most of the information a Mage gets about Arcana is
just their own hunches, biases, and preconceptions
magnified back at them, and so often end up
thinking the phenomena is exactly what they
suspected from the outset. Though it is not
impossible to notice something is up and
compensate, it still can’t ever get useful information
linking a Princess’s identities.
Everyone finds it hard to detect Pure Darkness, but
other forms of magical awareness pick up active
Princess magic normally. It’s just Mage Sight that has
a problem with the Light of Hope. The way the
magic of the Noble and the Awakened interact is
extremely weird and has some bizarre implications.

New Merits
Past Life (•-•••••)
A great deal of Princess characters won’t be able to
access Professional Training -- after all, if you’re 16
years old, how much on the job training have you really
had? But then again, a Princess could have had
lifetimes of experience in the Fearless Kingdoms. Most
people don’t carry over much from their past lives, it’s
kind of like a New Game + thing, but a Princess in tune
with her Past Life is able to recall bits and pieces and
draw on it for expertise.
When you take the Past Life Merit, choose a role you
had in this previous incarnation and two important
Skills for it (use the chart on CofD p.50 for inspiration,
or make your own) to be your Asset Skills. The benefits
of Past Life and Professional Training do not stack, an
Asset Skill for one is not the same as an Asset Skill for
the other and a Skill that is an Asset Skill for both only
gains the benefit of one or the other (so don’t take
both, it will just confuse you). If your character has a
profession that deeply ties into their Past Life, you can
choose to take more dots in Past Life to represent
knowledge in that profession instead of increased
affinity with a previous incarnation, so you don’t have
to have a weird melange of two Merits for the same
Skills.
• Distant Memories: You remember
this. Or you remember that you used
to remember this, and expertise
seems to want to come to your
hands. When you spend a Willpower
on a mundane roll with an Asset
Skill, you also gain 8-again.
•• Wait, I Should Know This: You can
now call upon memories of your
past life to help avoid mistakes you
knew you made then. After making a
mundane roll with an Asset Skill, you
may spend a Willpower to reroll it
once. You must take the second
result, even if it’s worse.
••• Confident Competence: The breadth
of experience you had is coming
back to you. Choose another Skill
that was part of your previous role,
and add it to your Asset Skills. Gain
two Specialties in your Asset Skills
(two total, not two each).
•••• Like Riding A Bicycle: This is all like
second nature -- you’re just in tune
with it and the knowledge you had
and the knowledge you gained flow
naturally from and into your
perfected self. Gain a Luminous Beat
for every mundane dot you have in
your Asset Skills. When you buy or
upgrade to a mundane dot in an
Asset Skill, gain a Luminous Beat.
••••• Surpassing the Past: You’re better
than you were in your past life by
now -- you’ve merged that
experience with your own to figure
out things neither life could
accomplish individually. When you
make a mundane roll with an Asset
Skill, you may spend a Wisp to make
that roll a rote action.
Queen Mentor (•-•••••)
A Princess can take the Mentor Merit like any other
character to represent a relationship with another
person in the real world who offers guidance and help.
However, a Princess also has the option of taking her
Queen as a Mentor, which has different rules.

The dot rating of a Queen Mentor does not represent
their power and willingness to help you -- those would
be seven or eight dots no matter what. And it’s not like
they have very limited time, because in dreams things
can take as long as they want. Instead, because the
Queens are Gale-Blind, the dot rating in Queen mentor
represents how close your relationship is and thus how
much they are able to remember that is particular to
you -- they can’t use outside knowledge, they see a lot
of Princesses most of whom aren’t real, it all comes
down to how much they can recall about your
relationship and history when they meet you. At one
dot, each time you meet is like the first time for them;
at two dots, it’s like the first time meeting but they’ve
been told about you through a mutual friend. At three
dots, you’re someone they know, but haven’t seen in a
long time. At four and five dots, they’re ready to jump
in to whatever problem is facing you right away; at five
dots you’re practically roommates. Your Queen Mentor
requires no favors from you other than that you
continue to carry out your Calling in their name.
Queens cannot give material support in the real world
or provide information that you didn’t give them, but
they CAN guide you through your own skills to reach
your own conclusions. Choose three Skills for your
relationship with your Queen to focus on. Once per
session, you can contact your Queen (or your Queen
will contact your character, but you the player made
the choice for the meeting to occur) in the Dreamlands
to get counsel. If what you ask for is something the
Queen can do in that meeting without access to
outside information -- help you put together some
clues you have, or console you after an awful breakup
-- then she does so and is considered to roll automatic
successes equal to your dots in Queen Mentor. If you
need her help with a Skill that you will use, and can
plan for it and walk through it ahead of time, your
Queen’s guidance will allow you to score automatic
successes equal to your Skill dots or your dots in
Queen Mentor, whichever is lower.
The Twilight Queens are not Gale-Blind, but two have
their own extenuating circumstances limiting their own
ability to help. The Queen of Storms can only be taken
as a one-dot Mentor, because the only counsel she
gives is in the form of watching visions of her violence.
The Queen of Tears can only be taken as a Mentor up
to 3 dots, because she only has so much time for each
of her disciples. The Queen of Mirrors, though, can be
given any number of dots as Mentor, even above 5.
You’re the one and only True Heir, after all!
Veiling (•-•••)
It is already difficult to piece together that the two
identities of a Princess are the same person when they
seem to look similar. Veiling represents even more
extensive changes between mundane and Transformed
state, like an entirely different facial structure or even a
different gender. For each dot in Veiling, rolls to
deduce the Princess’s identity are -1, and the number
of Clues required to piece it together is increased by 1.
Yes, this means you have to pay dots to be transgender,
but that’s because it has objective mechanical benefit
so it balances out.
Regalia (•+)
The Regalia Merit allows the Princess to incorporate
equipment into her Regalia that will manifest when she
Transforms. This makes it always reflexively available
while Transformed, allows her to resummon, recreate,
or dismiss it as necessary, and allows it to provide
equipment bonuses to Charms.
Detailed rules for the creation of Regalia are found in
the appendix (p. XXX). If you don’t want to use the
detailed rules, then one dot of Regalia buys one
Availability worth of equipment (this is actually a worse
return on investment than Resources, which can buy
multiple equipment, but you can take it anywhere and
never lose it). Equipment that provides a skill bonus
can provide that bonus to a Charm using the same skill.

Whatever the mechanical traits of your Regalia, it takes
whatever physical form you want and isn’t impeded by
it. For example, you can buy a pair of night vision
goggles as Regalia, decide that they look like red and
blue cellophane 3D glasses, and when you Transform
you will have a pair of red and blue cellophane 3D
glasses that provide all the abilities and benefits of
night vision goggles. Whatever form your Regalia takes
is for self-expression, not concealment; whatever you
use will obviously be providing some effect.
Wisp Gatherer (•• or ••••)
Your character’s emotional reserves refill quickly. At
two dots, if you’re not in combat when you take an
action to convert Willpower into Wisps, you gain 3
Wisps instead of 2.
At four dots, when you Flare your Belief, the extra Wisp
capacity you get from the increased Inner Light comes
with half that many Wisps.
Wisp Regeneration (••)
Rather than the ability to amass Wisps more quickly,
your character has a steady trickle they can always
count on even when exhausted. At the start of any
scene, if you have fewer Wisps than your Inner Light,
gain Wisps equal to the difference.
Nightmare Occultist (•)
Your character is in tune with the psychological
landscape created by Nightmares and how to interpret
those incarnate dreams. She may substitute an
Intelligence + Occult roll for any other type of skill
check that might be required to get into a Nightmare.
White Rabbits (••)
Named more for that part in The Matrix than Alice in
Wonderland, a White Rabbit is a clue from the
Princess’s subconscious mind that leads her on a path
into the Dreamlands, where some hint or clue to her
predicament lies.
Once per chapter, a Princess with the White Rabbits
Merit can seek out a vision in the Dreamlands. She has
an opportunity to gather a Clue there tied to an
ongoing mystery, or get a hint as to where she should
start looking for answers. The Storyteller can also use
this to provide plot hooks for the group, but this won’t
consume the Princess’s one use per chapter.
Dreamlands Delver (••)
Your character’s extremely good at finding her way into
and out of the Dreamlands. She gets +2 on all rolls
related to actually crossing through a Crawlspace, and
when inside the Dreamlands, she can move the “exit
portal” out of a given Crawlspace along with her, so
that the next time it’s used it will deposit her at the
new location.
Defiant Deflection (••••)
Requires: Inner Light of 4 or higher.
When your Defiance flares up to protect your radiant
soul, the surging outward energy actually throws
danger backwards. When you prevent incoming
damage with Defiance, each Wisp you spend removes
one success from the attack roll entirely; it doesn’t
downgrade to bashing damage, it’s just gone. If you
reduce the successes to zero, then the attack doesn’t
hit you, and you don’t need to do anything to negate
the weapon damage rating.
Defiant Resistance (••••)
Requires: Inner Light of 4 or higher.
Your Defiance preserves your mind just as well as your
body. When subject to a non-damaging magical effect,
you can activate Defiance to defend against it: each
Wisp you spend negates one success from the power’s
activation roll.
Iaijutsu Strike (••)
Requires: Kiai Charm or the Ready Conjure upgrade
Iaijutsu is the art of dealing a killing blow in the same
motion you draw your sword, and the same principle
applies to your Regalia. When you summon something
into your hands, you reflexively strike with it as part of
the same action. Roll Wits + Brawl or Weaponry, minus
the target’s Wits. On success, the target is denied his
defense against your attack.
Fates Entwined (••)
Requires: Destiny • or more
Destiny does not merely have a role for you -- it has a
role for two. Your destiny is entwined with a Storyteller
character, and random chance will keep conspiring to
put you two together and give you the chance to carry
out a destined pairing. You might be destined lovers,
you might be destined rivals, you might go from one to
the other, but you’re going to be running into each
other again and again. Destiny can’t make you feel
love, it can only give you the chance.
Choose a Storyteller character, or give an outline for
the Storyteller to make one for you, to entwine your
fate with. Taking the Fates Entwined Merit gives the
same Merit to the Storyteller character you entwined
your fate with. You can use your Destiny Points on any
interaction with that character, no matter what the
goal is -- but your actions will never end up killing or
permanently removing this character from your life
without a huge destiny-charged event. The same
applies to them; they can use Destiny on rolls with you
(they have the same number of dots as you even if
they don’t qualify for the Merit), and cannot kill or
permanently remove you.
The Storyteller character you are entwined with will
appear frequently in your life, in one way or another. If
your entwined character has a double life, expect to
run into them in both “lives.” No matter how obvious it
is to you, the player, your character will remain
completely oblivious to the link between the two
unless bludgeoned over the head with it.
Circle(•+)
A circle of friends is paramount to being able to keep
yourself grounded in the real world and keep you from
spiraling off into despair. Dots in the Circle Merit
represent not just your larger circle of friends, but your
ability to connect with and let your guard down around
them -- whether they are members of your nakama or
other people you know.
The Circle Merit allows a Princess to play out a short
scene of interaction with her circle of friends, either by
playing it out ahead of time or “flashing back” to an
appropriate scene during the middle of a serious
scene. She can then call on the benefit at any point
later in the chapter.
Having played out the Circle scene grants one of two
benefits: you may refill a number of Wisps equal to
your dots in Circle, or reroll any one failed
Compromise, with a bonus equal to your dots in Circle.
This can convert an automatic Belief loss from failing
while Emotionally Invested into a Compromise roll for
an equivalent failure (rolling 7, 5, or 3 dice as
appropriate).
There are two criteria for the scene to grant its
mechanical effect: one, it must substantially involve
interaction with one’s friends, and two, it must have
absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with your
supernatural mission. You don’t gain the saving roll
from talking about how you did everything you could
to save that poor victim. You get the saving roll for
attempting to play matchmaker with your hopelessly
awkward bestie, pulling an all-nighter studying for a
test you have no clue about, getting obsessed with
winning a radio call-in contest and coming up with
schemes to increase your odds, putting together the
coolest party in the city, desperately covering up the
coolest party in the city when you realize your friend’s
parents are coming home early…
You know. Antics.
Multiple player characters can (and should) gain the
benefit of the Circle Merit from playing a single scene
with each other.
Flash Transformation (•)
You can transform reflexively, as part of casting a
Charm. Try not to do this where too many people can
see you -- even if they don’t recognize you in particular,
they’ll know your Perfected Self transforms from a
mundane mortal human, as opposed to whatever
other theory they had.
Longer Transformation (••)
Ordinarily, your Transformed state takes three times as
much personal energy and tires you out three times as
fast as the same activity in your mundane state. With
this Merit, being Transformed only tires you out 50%
faster than normal. You can even catnap and sleep for
up to two hours without losing Transformation.
Custom Elemental Attuned (•••)
Requires: Inner Light 2+
You have an affinity for magic that works on or through
a specific element, particular to you. Treat this as an
Elemental-Attuned Signet (p. XXX), except it’s an
element you designated instead of a pre-existing
Signet, and instead of using an associated Signet’s dots
you use your non-Flared Inner Light.
The element you choose should be about as limiting as
the ones already provided by Radiant signets. It
doesn’t have to be traditional -- if you can figure out
how to make something like “math” or “boundaries” a
meaningful but usable restriction, you can go with that
-- but it can be a traditional element like lightning,
metal, or spirit as well.
If you are a Princess of Currents, and the element you
choose is lightning/electricity, this Merit only costs ••
and you may use your Acqua Signet dots.
Custom Elemental Infused (••••)
Requires: Custom Elemental Attuned, Inner Light 4+
Just like the above, only you make an
Elemental-Infusion Signet (p. XXX) for the same
element you chose before. Just like above, you should
assign abilities to it that are roughly as strong as the
existing Elemental Infusion Signets.
If you are a Princess of Currents and the element you
chose was lightning/electricity, this Merit only costs
•••.
Defiant Last Stand (•••)
Requires: Inner Light 3+ or Shikigami
When you spend a Wisp for Defiance to protect
yourself from incoming damage that would upgrade
bashing to lethal or lethal to aggravated damage,
prevent all but one of that damage. You can’t then
prevent that one damage with another use of
Defiance.
Defiance makes it clear that your magic is repelling
some of the damage, but if you fall over while using
this ability, you can make it look like your magic tried
and failed to protect you from a hit that would knock
you out.
Shikigami(•••)
You are aided by a shikigami, a delegate from the
Dreamlands sent by the Queens to help your nakama
in your mission. Shikigami are able to channel the
abilities of the Princesses they aid and are very useful
for supporting your efforts.
This Merit is granted freely at creation to all Radiant
Princesses. As long as a Princess is a member in good
standing of a Radiant nakama and has the shikigami’s
trust, it will still be active even if they are Twilight or
Queenless.
Rules for building and using Shikigami are found on p.
XXX.
Raven Key (•••)
Your Phylactery becomes attuned with the Last City of
Alhambra, allowing you to enter there for respite. A
Raven Key allows the bearer to open a Dark Gate to
Alhambra without outside assistance, in a process that
takes about two minutes. The bearer can take others
with her, but only one at a time and they have to pass
through security.
Alhambra is not just an impenetrable, untraceable
refuge that a Princess of Tears can use to recover,
re-arm, and gather intelligence, though. The Raven Key
is a gift that symbolizes the trust the Last City has
placed in her, and the resolve they must have to see it
protected. Bearers of a Raven Key may spend
Willpower on Compromise rolls so long as the
Compromise wasn’t something that benefitted them
personally, but was done for something greater than
themselves.
This Merit is granted freely at creation to Princesses of
Tears. If the Princess is a current follower of the Queen
of Tears, it is always active. Other Princesses can use
this Merit if they have 3 or more dots of the Lacrima
Signet; to actually make it through Alhambra’s gates
they must be considered allies and pass a security
screening every time.
Self-Scourging (•••)
Anything is worth the sacrifice to fight the Darkness,
and that starts with yourself. You know how to hurt
yourself deeply to call out more power when needed --
tearing yourself up inside becomes second nature.
Any time you take bashing or lethal damage from any
source, including yourself, you may choose to make
any amount of that damage Resistant and unable to be
healed by magical means. If you do, immediately gain 1
Wisp for each bashing damage and 3 Wisps for each
lethal damage you turned Resistant. When that
damage heals naturally, you lose that many Wisps
again -- if you still have that many, that is. Spend them
before you heal.
This Merit is granted freely at creation to Princesses of
Storms. If the Princess is a current follower of the
Queen of Storms, it is always active. Other Princesses
can use this Merit if they have 3 or more dots of the
Tempesta Signet.
Warped Reflection (•••)
You’ve built up a fortress of delusions to stay in denial
about what would destroy you. Instead of having a
core personality that is naturally and vividly expressed,
you distort yourself into caricature and reduce yourself
to what you think that core personality should be, in
the way that absolves you of guilt because this is what
the True Heir is.
Any time you would lose Belief for any reason, you may
instead take one of the five Fractured conditions at
random, all of which inhibit your Willpower and
interact with your Drive and Dread as the psychological
strain of your denial increases. They are Fractured:
Avoidant, Fractured: Compulsive, Fractured: Insecure,
Fractured: Obsessive, and Fractured: Unmoored. (p.
XXX.) Roll a die to determine which Condition you get,
without eliminating any Conditions you already have. If
the roll comes up a Condition you already have,, but
you gain the Dissociated Tilt (p. XXX), which sends you
into a fuguelike state where your mind rejects the
messy reality, and substitutes the world in your head,
where everything works exactly like you think it should.

All Fractured Conditions have the same resolution

criteria. They can’t be resolved in any other way, unless
the ability that granted them specifies it, and do not
grant Beats.

Resolution: Lose all Fractured Conditions when you

regain a Belief by Putting It All On The Line.

This Merit is granted freely at creation to Princesses of

Mirrors. If the Princess is a current follower of the
Queen of Mirrors, it is always active. Other Princesses
can use this Merit if they have 3 or more dots of the
Specchio Signet.
HERE COMES MANTIS SHRIMP

He had thought this little grotto was perfect for some late-night necking. It didn’t matter that he’d never seen it
before, it shouldn’t have existed on this part of the beach. He’d been too excited at the prospect of making out to
notice that, or how long the swim was to get inside when it should have been only 20 feet in. And now he was
going to die.

He thrashed helplessly, trying to somehow get a gasp of air, but all he was doing was tiring himself out. His
screams just rose to the surface as more bubbles, carrying away more precious oxygen. And the woman -- the
thing he’d thought was a woman -- couldn’t have that.

She yanked his head back as far as it would go, barely getting his nose above the surface of the stinking ocean
brine. She grinned at him, and those luscious red lips he found so inviting parted over two rows of needle-sharp
teeth. Those alluringly mysterious eyes were now orbs of pure black.

She sniffed deeply of the brine and the panic and the last remnants of cologne on him. “Do you know how long
you can go without air and still barely survive? How long it takes to drown?” she asked, clearly not caring for the
answer. “I do. You know some people can only get off by choking themselves? Maybe that’s you. Maybe you
should thank me. I got you what you deserved all along.”

Even if he could object, even if he could fight back, it’s not like it would matter. She didn’t care what he actually did
or deserved. He was just a prop for whatever was going on in her head. And that was how he was gonna die: not
even a person, just something to project on.Maybe that was what he deserved for thinking someone would ever
love him.

Then she turned at a sudden noise, a half an instant before two rubber boots struck her dead in the face. Her
hand ripped out a clump of his hair as she was yanked away by a full-body dropkick, and he spun and dunked
into the water again. He didn’t even see who had saved him – he just started to thrash and drown in panic, until a
gloved hand grabbed him and pulled him to his feet.

Another woman, in some kind of diving outfit maybe? A diving outfit covered in sequins, although that might have
been just hallucinatory flashes of light from hypoxia. She definitely had green hair woven with some kind of
seaweed, and a starfish on her head. The grotto was still only lit by dim reflected moonlight, so he had no idea
how she looked so bright.

“Are you okay, dude?” she asked him, smiling. “I showed up as soon as I could, the mermaids said-- whoop, hang
on--”

The woman-thing righted itself in the water and hissed, its teeth extending outwards from its mouth. The flesh of
its hands exploded away, revealing horrible, malformed claws oozing poison and disease. It leapt at them, arms
poised to flay them both. The woman with the starfish in her hair lunged, grabbed the monster’s wrists, and
deflected its momentum to send it flying over them into the cave wall.

“--sorry, I was saying, the mermaids around here had a bad enough reputation without the monster problem!” He
had nothing to say -- if he wasn’t gasping for air, he’d have been balking at what he saw, and if he wasn’t balking,
he’d be overwhelmed by emotional whiplash. “Did it bust you up any, or just choke you? I have--”

The creature abandoned its approach of direct attack. Now it had its arms spread and its head thrown back and it
emitted a screech that should have been a siren song but sounded like a dozen anchor chains grinding against
each other.
“-- I HAVE SOME OCEAN POWERS!” she shouted over the noise. “DID YOU KNOW? THE LINCKIA STARFISH
CAN REGENERATE THEIR WHOLE BODIES FROM ONE ARM!” The waters around them started to foam and
bubble. “HERE, STICK THIS ON!” She handed him the starfish from her head, completely unperturbed as the
water roiled with more and more intensity, boiling without heat, rising with the awful crescendo of the creature’s
discordant voice. “AND DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MANTIS SHRIMP?”

He didn’t, and it didn’t look like he’d have time to learn. He had to get back to the sand, but in the water up to his
waist, he could only wade slowly and clumsily, still gasping, hoping beyond hope those bubbles were just roiling
water and not some more creatures being summoned. The starfish clung onto his arm as he tried to move, and
the girl wasn’t helping him -- she was half-running, half-swimming toward the creature.

“BECAUSE HERE COMES MANTIS SHRIMP!” she bellowed, and punched the creature in the stomach. For a
horrible moment, nothing happened. He didn’t even have time to fully process the hopelessness before the
creature’s entire abdomen was just gone, liquefied and spattered across the cave wall in a thick black ichor. Its
legs remained standing, but there wasn’t enough flesh to support its upper body, much less a spine, and it
slumped down and to the side like a cardboard box open on both ends.

The shrieking stopped. The boiling stopped. The starfish started to climb up his arm to get to his shoulder, the
place where the creature had wrenched it when he first tried to escape. There was one single moment of perfect
still silence.

“...Mantis shrimp have the most powerful punch in the animal kingdom!” she gushed. “Biologists don’t know how,
but there’s a little delay between when they wind up and when they release and they think that's the key to why
they can hit so hard!” She bounded over to him, like the water didn’t inhibit her at all, and took him by the hands to
lead him up to the sandbar. “Isn’t the ocean so cool?”

He looked toward her in complete disbelief.

“... I mean, other than the people-eating monsters?”

 The Power Of Love
Chapter 4: Magic
There are 11 basic Charms. One of them, Buster, is universal affinity: everyone purchases it at a reduced rate,
and it covers your standard magical ranged attacks in the form of inefficient but potentially very powerful blasts.
The other 10 are affinity to one Calling; each Calling has an affinity for two Charms and, on creation, you choose
a third Charm from any of the 8 other Charms to be your third affinity, allowing more customization.

Anthem: Inspire and lift the spirits of your allies. Troubadours have an affinity for this.

Buster: Blast away at Darkness with the overflowing power of your Light. Everyone has an affinity for this.

Conjure: Call upon aid, bringing things or people to you. Graces have an affinity for this.

Detect: Examine the world around you with supernatural skill and insight to divine the truth. Seekers have an
affinity for this.

Force: Directly manifest your will to push, pull, guard, and manipulate your environment. Champions have an
affinity for this.

Illusion: Make things appear that aren’t really there. Troubadours have an affinity for this.

Kiai: Make powerful, versatile attacks with your weapons. Champions have an affinity for this.

Plea: Reach out to sway the hearts of others. Graces have an affinity for this.

Restoration: Fix and heal things back to the way they were, should be, or might have been. Menders have an
affinity for this.

Step: Perform feats of quickness, speed, and aptitude in interacting with your environment. Seekers have an
affinity for this.

Ward: Place blessings and effects on a talisman to warn or guard against future threats. Menders have an affinity
for this.
Basic Action
Each Charm has one simple action that it does by default, something minor and limited in scope. It has a listed
Attribute and Skill combo to cast it, and casting it costs 1 Wisp. Its description will list several underlined terms
and then provide their definitions, which are generally pretty narrow. Everyone’s basic action for their Charm is
the same.

To cast a Charm, you have to be Transformed, unless you have some Regalia that says otherwise.

Upgrades
Upgrades are where the meat of the magic system lies. Each Charm has at least 15 upgrades that alter or add to
its function as you cast it, often by providing new definitions of those key underlined terms. Based on your Inner
Light, you can apply a number of Upgrades for free, and each one after that costs 1 additional Wisp.

The expanded capabilities Upgrades provide multiply with each other. For example, a Plea functions as a fast
social maneuvering roll that requires more successes instead of more time to reach someone based on their
Impression. But a Viral Plea can allow the target to spread the results of the social maneuvering roll and repeat it
to others, and a Calming Plea can add a Tilt that penalizes hostile action and provides time to negotiate -- so a
Calming Viral Plea can hand out a Tilt that penalizes hostile action that its subject can then spread onto others if
you use the time you bought to convince them to do that.

These effects are designed to be versatile and create unexpected powers; there is a list of example Charms at the
end of each Charm’s Upgrades, but it’s not limited to that by any means. Many Upgrades can’t provide
exhaustive mechanical definition of what they do, they’ll say “in addition to other effects,” before specifying a
mechanical effect: Light Step grants the ability to selectively weigh no more than a playing card, and makes it so
you take feats of grace or agility as rote actions while it is active -- this doesn’t mean the only thing it does is
provide rote actions to feats of grace or agility. It means that even without combining it with other Upgrades
weighing as much as a playing card grants rote action to feats of grace or agility, and you can combine it with
other effects to do things that being as light as a playing card allows you to do, such as a Light Redline Step able
to launch a car hundreds of feet in the air even though neither one of those Upgrades specifies you can do that.

The book would be 1,000 pages long if they covered every use case. You can use Purifying Restoration, Stat! to
spray poison out of your eyes like a toad but we’re not going to give you a different dice pool for the attack. You
always use the activation successes for the Charm as the successes on whatever specific roll would be made,
with situational bonuses as determined by the Storyteller based on how creative or unexpected the effect is,
contested or resisted by an appropriate statistic if the Charm doesn’t have a listed contested or resisted statistic.

However, there are general “fair play” rules for Charms, and Princesses in particular have to fight more fairly than
other types of creature. If you think you have found an upgrade combination that allows you to just kill someone
without any chance to escape or resist, then you’re wrong and it doesn’t work like that. Contrary to what people
who argue about superheroes might claim, you can’t use telekinesis to make an obstruction inside someone’s
brain and give them a stroke, and you can’t teleport a bomb inside their body. If it would be complete nonsense
if you saw it in a story, that must not be how it works.

Buying Upgrades
Buying a base Charm costs the same as buying an Upgrade for it; when you first purchase a Charm, you gain a
free Upgrade based on what Queen you follow (Some Charms also come with a bonus Upgrade that everyone
gets). If you don’t follow a Queen then you choose a Queen and gain that associated Upgrade. After that, you
may purchase any Upgrades in any order you want. Even two Princesses with the same affinity Charms won’t
have exactly the same spells as each other.

No Upgrades are good or evil. Though three Upgrades for each Charm are assigned to Twilight Princesses by
default, there’s nothing wrong with anyone else taking them. A Princess of Mirrors naturally picks up the ability
to create illusory duplicates of herself because of her self-obsession, but a Princess of Spades or Currents can
want the same ability because it’s just really, really useful.

Casting Charms
When you cast a Charm, you spend one Wisp, then choose a number of Upgrades to apply to it. You choose the
Upgrades the moment you cast it, you don’t need to set them ahead of time, and may apply different Upgrades
each time you cast it. Your Inner Light determines the number of Upgrades you may apply to a Charm for free;
you can apply more Upgrades than that, but it costs 1 Wisp for each one over the limit.

Once you pick out your Upgrades, roll the Attribute + Skill + Inner Light + any applicable Equipment bonus from
Regalia Equipment, and add up the successes. Apply the effect as noted in the Charm’s rules and as modified by
the Upgrades you chose to add.

Charms do not have special effects for Dramatic Failure and usually only have minor benefits for Exceptional
Success -- the number of effects they could have is simply too broad to make an appropriate Dramatic Failure for
each, and almost all castings that roll dice have a benefit that scales directly with successes.

Many Upgrades allow you to use a different Attribute or Skill when casting the Charm, but unless otherwise
specified you don’t HAVE to apply them, and can choose which if any replacements you use. You can’t replace
the Charm’s Attribute or Skill more than once. If you apply two upgrades that require a specific Attribute or Skill
to be used, you get to pick one of them to use and ignore the other.

Charms, as an expression of your vivid soul and shining Inner Light, are not things that stay hidden. It will always
be clear you are doing something magical when you use them, and many of them will require you to shout out a
name for the spell -- the combination of Upgrades you use can serve as the name you shout out, but you’re
encouraged to come up with your own name. One Princess may call out “Ready Conjure: Assistance!” while
another shouts “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!” to cast a Charm with the same upgrades. This manifests in
different ways with different Charms, and each Charm will provide examples of how they might be announced.
 Teamwork Charms
Of course, with the Power of Friendship, a Princess doesn’t need to cast her magic alone. Any Charm may be cast
as a Teamwork Charm: doing so requires all involved parties to have the requisite Charm and be in touching
range of at least one other caster who is in touching range of another caster, etc as long as all casters are in the
same chain. When casting a Teamwork Charm, determine the available Upgrades using all of the linked
characters, and any resources spent on the Charm can come from any individual member. One member will be
the primary actor and the others will assist as normal, but the primary actor may be able to use an Attribute or
Skill they wouldn’t normally have the Upgrade to use.

Charges
Some Charms use charges as part of their effect. This is just for things that have multiple dimensions of
effectiveness, so you don’t have like three different effects all scale with successes and you don’t have to roll
your Charm, and THEN decide how to allocate those successes to different effects.

A Charm that uses charges allows you to allocate bonus power to your Upgrades ahead of time, without needing
to wait until you roll. Each Upgrade that uses charges has a normal effect, but then you can add additional
charges to enhance it further. The number of charges you get is equal to your Inner Light unless something
specifies otherwise, and you choose how to allocate them upon casting the Charm. Since the amount of charges
you get is consistent regardless of your roll, you’ll have more control and reliability in creating your effects, but
you might get a couple more on an Exceptional Success.

Clash of Wills
Sometimes, two supernatural powers will be in clear and direct conflict. Either one of them is actively dispelling
the other, or they have two effects that cannot possibly coexist (like two Anthems playing to the same audience
with diametrically opposed vibes). When this happens, it’s called a Clash of Wills, and only one effect will win.
Whoever loses, their magical effect loses out where it conflicts with the winner’s.

A Princess engages in a Clash of Wills by rolling her Inner Light + whatever Transformed Attribute she rolled for
the Charm in question, or whatever Transformed Attribute is most relevant if it’s not a Charm. Other creatures in
the Chronicles of Darkness have their own rule to determine a dice pool for a Clash of Wills.

If a Princess uses the Calming Plea Charm to inflict the Pacify Tilt on someone who has previously been affected
by a vampire’s Dominate and commanded to attack her, obviously, those two can’t co-exist even though Calming
Plea doesn’t have a specific dispel effect attached. The vampire rolls Blood Potency (their Supernatural Tolerance
trait) + their dots in the Dominate Discipline, and the Princess rolls her Inner Light + Presence. If the vampire gets
more, the Plea fails to impart Pacify, but if it had other Upgrades they might work. If the vampire gets less, the
Dominate command is ended. If there’s a tie, reroll until there isn’t.

Don’t roll a Clash of Wills for a magic ability trying to undo or peer past Transformation or Dual Identity -- the
caster gains no useful information no matter how many dice they can swing.
Anthem
This is the anthem, throw all your hands up, y’all got to feel me, sing if you’re with me!
-- Good Charlotte, “The Anthem”

Before we had language, we had art. A Princess who seeks to uplift and inspire remembers that. Reaching deep
inside someone to draw out their true potential, to pull them out of the suffocating Darkness of fear, to let them
become the person you believe in -- this is something that requires you to speak to the heart, not the ear.

The Anthem is the Charm dedicated to doing that: expressions of a Princess’s emotions that sweep up others
who experience them. It’s so named because the most common way to express it is with music, but it’s not the
only means. Dance, inspirational speeches, wisecracks, stage magic, any kind of performance that can convey
emotions, all can carry an Anthem, and all can uplift the spirit.

Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Inner Light - target’s Composure (if resisted).
Duration: Special. Anthem lasts for at least two turns, plus one additional turn for each charge spent on its
duration. The caster can spend an instant action at any point later in the scene to continue their performance
and “refresh” Anthem, starting it up again without spending additional resources or rolling again.
Scaling: The number of successes determines the ability to counteract other sonic, performance, or emotional
effects.
Exceptional Success: Increase the number of charges by 2.

Basic Action: The Princess delivers a performance to an audience, which evokes a feeling and applies the Stirring
Performance Tilt.

- A performance is “an act of self-expression through some manner of live artistic communication.”
- The audience is “everyone who can directly experience the performance out to a distance of roughly 20
yards.”
- The feeling is “an emotion of your choice, evoked in the audience, that can encourage certain actions
and discourage others.”

When you cast Anthem, you gain a number of charges equal to your Inner Light. Each charge you spend on the
basic action increases the duration before you need to resume your performance by 2 turns. These charges can
also be expended to enhance many Upgrades. While Anthem is active, your performance continues without you
taking actions, maybe without you even visibly creating it: it can become the “background music” or the
atmospheric groove that just seems to play in the environment.

The Stirring Performance Tilt (p. XXX) is keyed to the feeling the Anthem applied. While Anthem is active, Stirring
Performance grants +2 to all dice pools that are taken in line with the Anthem’s feeling.
Nobody can benefit from the Stirring Performance of more than one character at a time (but multiple Princesses
can cast it as a teamwork action to boost the main performer) and the caster is not part of their own audience
unless another ability says they are. Anthem conflicts with other Anthems as well as similar musical or sonic
effects like a Sin-Eater’s Dirge or mass emotional manipulation abilities, at the discretion of the Storyteller. When
Anthem causes a Clash of Wills, add the successes from the Anthem spell or the other effect to the dice pool for
the Clash of Wills as if it was a cooperation roll. Rocking harder will always make your spell more powerful.

Invocation: The act of performing and communicating through your performance is considered the Invocation
for this Charm; you don’t need to shout something special in addition to that.

Regalia: Anthem Regalia is all instruments of performance. Usually, this is a musical instrument of some kind -- a
flute, a lyre, an ocarina, a steel drum, a BC Rich Warlock electric guitar, a magical cordless microphone, a
chakram tambourine, a piano synthesizer or set of DJ turntables that hover in front of their user. For other forms
of performance, Regalia is something used to do the performance, or something that augments it: tap dancing
shoes could be Regalia, but so could the decorated dreadlocks that whirl and whip with the movement of a
capoeira dancer. Spotlights might hover in the air to cast their light on the performer when she’s ready for
everyone to be watching.

-
 - Bassline Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Composure
to be used instead of Presence
“I’m gonna fight ‘em off. A seven nation army
couldn’t hold me back.”
You may now expend charges to enhance the dice
bonus conferred by your Stirring Performance Tilt.
One charge enhances it to a +3 bonus, three charges
enhances it to a +4 bonus, and six charges enhances
it to a +5 bonus.
- Instructional Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Intelligence
to be used instead of Presence
“You’ve gotta do the cooking by the book. You know
you can’t be lazy!”
Choose up to 2 audience members, plus one more
for each charge spent. Pick a Skill that one of them
has, or that you have. While affected by Stirring
Performance, every chosen audience member has
that Skill exactly as the original character has it,
including Skill dots, specialties, and relevant Merits.
- Inspirational Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows
Composure to be used instead of Presence
“We are the champions, my friend… And we’ll keep
on fighting ‘til the end…”
Your Stirring Performance Tilt now also applies a
variant of the Inspired Condition: once per scene,
when taking an action in line with your feeling, the
audience may reduce the number of Successes
required for an Exceptional Success by one, plus one
more for each charge spent. If they get that
Exceptional Success, they regain a Willpower.
Using this Upgrade costs 1 Willpower. A given
character can only gain this Willpower once per
chapter per performer; if you have multiple
Princesses who perform for each other to restore
communal Willpower that’s not “an exploit” that’s
“forming a band.”
- Liberating Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Dexterity to
be used instead of Presence
“Back off your rules, back off your jive! ‘Cause I’m
sick of not living to stay alive!”
Any audience member who is currently under a
mental or psychological Tilt may make an
appropriate roll to throw it off. For each charge
spent, they may try this roll again on a subsequent
turn.
- Romantic Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Intelligence
to be used instead of Presence
“If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll be there on the double,
just send for me oh baby!”
Everyone under your Stirring Performance Tilt is
considered to have an Impression for Social
Maneuvering one stage better than it would
otherwise be, and a similar positive predisposition
for non-Maneuvering purposes.
 - Glamorous Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows
Manipulation to be used instead of Presence
“Watch out for my medallion, my diamonds are
reckless / It feels like a midget is hangin’ from my
necklace!”
The overwhelming charisma and sparkle of your
performance is hard to deny: anyone in the
audience with Composure less than your activation
successes has a -2 dice penalty to all actions that
run counter to your feeling, plus an additional -1 for
each charge spent.
- Face-Melting Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Dexterity to
be used instead of Presence
“Do ya wanna, do ya wanna dance -- with a
JAWBREAKER!?”
Anyone in the audience acting against the feeling
you inspire requires a Resolve + Composure roll
contested against this Charm. On a failure, they
immediately take 2 Bashing damage, plus one for
each charge spent.
- Heart-Rending Anthem
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Wits to be
used instead of Presence
“Feels like pins and needles in my heart, so long I
can feel it tearing me apart…”
Anyone in the audience acting against the feeling
you inspire requires a Resolve + Composure roll
contested against this Charm. On a failure, the
action costs a Willpower. This can only drain one
Willpower per scene, plus an additional Willpower
for each charge spent.
- Secret Anthem
“This one goes out to a very special someone in the
audience right now.”
Your audience now includes only those people you
choose, and not everyone who can perceive the
performance.
- Thrilling Anthem
“Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul can ever
dare try!”
You can lead your audience in specific actions --
anyone under the effect of your Stirring
Performance who doesn’t resist can use their turn
to mimic your actions exactly. The audience will use
your own Skills and Attributes to make rolls this way,
but they can’t do supernatural things they don’t
otherwise have the ability for.
If you apply this Upgrade, it costs two charges for
each turn you want to extend your Stirring
Performance by.
- Breakup Anthem
“I don’t wanna be a fool for you / in this game for
two / so I’m leaving you behind!”
Your Anthem can now reflexively trigger a Clash of
Wills against someone using a supernatural ability
on or in your audience, even if it doesn’t directly
oppose the Anthem. If you win the Clash, the
opposing spell or ability fizzles out, unable to pierce
the groove. This only works once per scene, plus
one additional time for each charge spent, and you
must spend a Wisp each time it triggers.
- Lingering Anthem
“Thanks, you’ve been a lovely audience, we’re out!”
The basic effect of Stirring Performance -- the +2 to
die rolls in line with the feeling part -- persists for
the rest of the scene, but none of the other effects
that you spent charges on persist.
- Harmonized Anthem
“If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll be there on the double,
just send for me oh baby!”
Your Anthem applies two different Stirring
Performance Tilts simultaneously. They must be
distinct feelings, but any bonuses and penalties
from them stack so long as an action fulfills / runs
counter to both of them.
When you do this, the same Upgrades apply to each
Stirring Performance, but you have to divvy up the
charges separately.
- Window-Rattling Anthem
“Are you ready to rock? Because I’m gonna blow
your hair to the BACK OF THIS AUDITORIUM!”
Your Anthem now affects a large enough area to
make an audience of everyone in a stadium’s worth
of space, all the way up to the cheap seats.
- Recorded Anthem
Your performance can be captured in some form
that the audience can access later. The performance
will only apply the effect of Anthem once; after that,
the performance may be stirring but it won’t apply a
Tilt for it.
This means you can make a musical or oratory
performance through a record of your sound and
voice. It also means you can make your
performance in the form of any other art that can
convey your emotions and doesn’t require you to be
there to perform it: a sculpture, a written poem,
even a loaf of bread baked with absolute care and
passion.
- Jumpin’ Jack Anthem
“I was booorn in a crossfire hurricane! And I
hooowled at my Ma in the drivin’ rain! But it’s all
right now, in fact it’s a gas!”
Channel the power of your audience’s blazing spirit,
lead a performance that crackles with the brilliant
power of the Light of Hope. Any time an audience
member willingly spends a Willpower, or scores an
Exceptional Success on a roll to support the
performance (dance, sing along, call-and-response,
chime in, provide setups to punchlines, clap and
stamp their feet, etc.), you gain a Wisp and may give
that Wisp to any other audience member that can
use it.
- Tribute Anthem
“This is not the greatest song in the world, no. This is
just a tribute.”
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
You can mimic and repeat an Instant action
performed by an audience member under your
Stirring Performance Tilt, so long as it’s something
you understand how to do; you do not have to have
a power or Merit you’d otherwise need. Use the
casting roll for Anthem to resolve this action instead
of the normal dice pool, but you can’t get more
successes than the action you mimic.

- Max Volume Anthem

“These go to eleven.”

This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two

Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

Spend an additional Wisp to cast Anthem; when you

do, double the number of charges you gain.
Sample Anthem Charms
Thrilling Instructional Anthem: “Folks, here’s a story about Minnie the Moocher…” The sound of the blues fills
the dilapidated warehouse, and if they could pin down where it came from, they’d be able to finish off the
nakama. “She was a red hot hooooooochie-coocher…” Instead, following their sneakiest member, each one
slipped right out from under their noses.

Inspirational Romantic Anthem: “It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do…” The moment
is magical and the enchanted strings have almost nothing to do with it -- but everything has to be perfect. The
proposal has to be the very best. His drops to one knee and opens the tiny box as the musician sings “Hey baby, I
think I wanna marry you,” and he knows the answer is yes.

Liberating Bassline Anthem: Being trapped and facing certain death isn’t really all that different from being at
fourth and long with seconds left in the game. The worst thing in the way of you pulling it off is the certainty you
will fail -- and by God no cheerleader worth her enchanted pom-pom ever lets the team onto the field with that
gloom hanging over their heads.

Secret Glamorous Anthem: “Is that the best you got?” he says as he steps out of the way of another clumsy
assault. “Because if you need some help monstering, buddy, you can ask. This is just embarrassing.” Humiliation
burns inside it as it hears its would-be victims snickering at its expense, driving it to make sloppier and sloppier
mistakes.

Window-Rattling Face-Melting Anthem: “JUST CALL MY NAME ‘CAUSE I’LL HEAR YOU SCREAM!” His fingers are a
blur as he shreds out the notes. “MASTER! MASTER!” The crushing silence of the Dark World cannot withstand
the might of heavy metal, and as far as the eye can see, the Darkspawn scream in anger and agony.

Jumpin’ Jack Heart-Rending Anthem: “Mu-sic LIVES! Mu-sic LIVES!” the assembled crowd chants. The howling
vortex that encloses around them seems no more important than a light show. “MU-SIC LIVES! MU-SIC LIVES!”
Every chant, every clap, every stomped foot, every thrown up pair of horns sends white-hot power up onto the
stage where the Holograms are raining down magical devastation, and even the mindless beasts of the Dark
struggle to overcome the groove.
Buster
“HERE I GO! This hand of mine is burning red! Its loud roar tells me to grasp victory! ERUPTING… BURNING…
FINGER!”
-- Domon Kasshu, G Gundam

The Buster is the most iconic and pure form of the Princess’s magical power because it’s the most raw. Her Inner
Light is her soul, her fighting spirit. When she spends her Willpower, it doesn’t go away: it becomes purified into
her magical Wisps. When she spends her Wisps, they don’t evaporate into nothingness, they burn. They burn
brighter. They gather in a corona around the Princess’s spirit, ready to erupt into a solar flare.

And when they do, when the Princess makes the purest declaration of everything she IS and everything her
victory PROVES, it manifests in a Buster: the loudest, flashiest, most explosive, most devastating tool in the
Princess’s arsenal. A staggering light show of pulsating neon hearts, a volcanic plume spraying from the Earth, a
storm of a billion rose petals, the enormous fist of a ghostly god-figure, a sword of energy so long it breaches the
clouds, a dance of whipping marionette strings, an ultrasonic ultraviolet pulsar of pure dubstep, a spray of
molten heart’s blood -- Buster is what happens when you open up a window to your pure and raw Inner Light
and then blast away.

Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Inner Light + Buster Overcharge
Duration: Instant
Scaling: Determines the damage of the attack.
Exceptional Success: More successes are their own reward.

Basic Action: Over time, you accumulate Buster Overcharge dice when you spend Wisps. When you cast Buster,
you gather and discharge your fighting spirit and will into a devastating, vivid blast of energy at a single target.

This Charm is a ranged attack. Any penalties or bonuses that apply to ranged attacks, including but not limited to
aiming, cover, and concealment, apply to this Charm’s activation roll. Buster’s attack range is Short (up to about
30 meters), and there are no penalties for firing at Close or melee range if you don’t use a Regalia Weapon for it.
A Princess may choose to deal bashing or lethal damage with her Buster any time she applies it.

Special: A Princess’s Buster accumulates power over time; just as her Willpower filters into her Wisps as her
resolve purifies, the Wisps she expends on her own magic rise to the surface of her fighting spirit, ready to surge
outward in the form of pure power. Every time a Princess spends a Wisp, she gets two Buster Overcharge dice.
When she casts Buster, she can consume any number of her Buster Overcharge dice to add to the activation roll.
If not spent, Buster Overcharge dice are lost at the end of a chapter.

Other Upgrades allow Buster Overcharge dice to accumulate from other events. Don’t keep track of them
separately (that would be exhausting). When you have a chance to accumulate Buster Overcharge dice from
something that you have the Upgrade for, just note what Upgrade you’re using; your next cast of Buster has to
have that Upgrade.

Invocation: Buster must always be shouted out and declared as loud as you god damn can. Time will appear to
stop as you call out the name, do the moves, and display the light show.

Regalia: Buster Regalia is impossible to ignore. It might be a magic wand or an unfolding vector cannon. It might
be a regal scepter or a toy raygun. A whirling set of ribbons that bind together into an elegant spiral pattern or a
spiked, sparking cybernetic arm cannon. Whatever it is, it’s going to appear vivid, attention-grabbing, anyone
who looks at it will know it’s Serious Business. The only thing they have to have in common is that they be
something you can point at your enemy while you shout out everything your attack comes from and everyone it
protects. All Buster Regalia are ranged weapons with the “Buster” tag; the Buster inherits properties from the
weapon other than Burst and Autofire.

- HARMONY BLOSSOM BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers
When you spend a Willpower and gain a Wisp, you
also get two Buster Overcharge dice.
- ULTRA REVELATION BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Currents
When you gain the Informed or Inspired Conditions
(or similar Conditions), gain 3 Buster Overcharge
dice.
- BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels
You gain one Buster Overcharge die every time an
ally spends a Willpower in your presence. Only one
other ally can get Buster Overcharge dice from a
given expenditure and the spender decides where it
goes.
- BENDING REED BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Spades
When you resolve a negative Tilt or Condition, gain
3 Buster Overcharge dice.
- BLAZING OVERDRIVE BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Swords
You gain 3 Buster Overcharge dice instead of 2 when
you spend a Wisp.
- HEROIC ASCENSION BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors
When you gain a Beat, gain seven Buster Overcharge
dice.
- PETADRIVE ANNIHILATION
BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Storms
When you lose Wisps directly to gain Buster
Overcharge dice, you gain 4 per Wisp, not 2.
- SHATTERING SPIRIT BUSTER!
Gifted to Princesses of Tears
You gain one Buster Overcharge die every time an
opponent spends a Willpower or any quantity of a
supernatural resource in your presence. You get one
die per Willpower but only get one die total from
other supernatural resources per turn, no matter
how much they spend. Only one person can get any
kind of resources from their opponents spending
them; if multiple people or monsters try, then the
closest one gets it. (But one ally and one enemy can
both get resources from the same expenditure.)
- BOTTOMLESS INFINITY BUSTER!
Ka… Me… Ha… Me…
When you cast Buster, don’t roll for it or consume
your Buster Overcharge dice yet. Your Buster fires
off on your next turn, taking your movement and
action. If you took damage from a melee attack in
the intervening time, the Buster fails. Otherwise,
resolve the dice pool then, using your target’s
current cover, concealment, range, etc, and allowing
them to apply their Defense -- but double your dice
pool before subtracting any penalties.
…HA!
- RELENTLESS HOMING BUSTER!
Your Buster can now go around corners and over
obstacles. You still have to know where your target
is to within 2 meters -- a spotter is very helpful --
and they can still attempt to get out of the way of
the attack when it’s coming, but you ignore
line-of-sight, cover, and the target’s Defense if they
have an effect that lets them apply it to ranged
attacks.
- PINPOINT SNIPER BUSTER!
The range of your Buster extends to Long (up to
roughly 300 meters). You also hit with pinpoint
accuracy, reducing penalties for distance, called
shots, and tiny targets by your Inner Light.
- ECHO BURST BUSTER!
When you cast Buster, roll all your Buster
Overcharge dice separately from the rest. (Penalties
are subtracted from your normal dice first, not your
Overcharge dice.) Any die that doesn’t result in a
success isn’t consumed and can be rolled on your
next Buster attack.
- WITHERING DEMONBANE
BUSTER!
You empower your Buster with occult magic and
apply the supernatural Bane or Ban properties of
one other kind of event or material to it, causing the
Buster to serve as that Bane or Ban. You pick one
kind of bane when you buy this Upgrade that you
may always apply (like sunlight, fire, silver, salt, jade,
tungsten, etc). You may apply Bane and Ban
properties of anything else so long as you have a
sample or example of it, or had it in the past few
hours.
- EVERLASTING DEVASTATION
BUSTER!
Your Buster damage repeats against anyone and
anything it strikes. Each subsequent turn, the target
must succeed on a reflexive (Resolve or Stamina) +
Potency roll, penalized by the activation successes
of the Buster hit, or take the Buster attack’s weapon
damage again. This roll gets a stacking +2 bonus
each round after the first.
- JUDGMENT LIGHT BUSTER!
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
When your Buster targets any being with a Potency
Trait, roll additional dice equal to three times that
Trait. This can’t provide more dice than the total
number of Buster Overcharge dice you spent. (This
doesn’t add Buster Overcharge, so ECHO BURST
BUSTER! won’t save them to reroll.)
- HYPER-EXPLOSIVE BUSTER!
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your Buster is now an explosive (CofD: Hurt Locker,
p. 134). The damage bonus of your Buster Regalia is
the base damage of the explosion, and resolve your
Buster roll as the Force of the explosion. There is no
ground zero to this explosion, but the primary blast
area is equal to four times your Inner Light in
meters.
If you apply this Upgrade, you only roll half of your
Buster Overcharge dice, rounded up. The other half
are lost, diffused out over the blast area.
- JOYOUS REFRAIN BUSTER!
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm, AND you also
need the Storyteller’s explicit permission to buy it.
Whenever you make the Storyteller laugh, gain 2
Buster Overcharge dice. It doesn’t count if they’re
laughing at something you already gained dice for,
and the Storyteller can cut you off if they think
you’ve gained enough this session.
Sample Buster Charms
WITHERING DEMONBANE ULTRA REVELATION BUSTER! “I know your crimes!” she bellows to the ghost. “And the
bones of your own family pass judgment!” She throws up her arms, and the train mouth appears behind her.
“SOUL TRAIN OVERDRIVE! FINAL DESTINATION!” The spectral locomotive passes through her harmlessly at 100
miles an hour. The ghost, who sees his grandmother’s judgmental spirit riding on the cowcatcher with her eyes
ablaze, will not be so fortunate.

BOTTOMLESS INFINITY PETADRIVE ANNIHILATION BUSTER! “Come on, Dahlia! Let’s give ‘em a little taste…” His
cybernetic arm glows brighter, then shakes, threatening to rip itself apart with all the pure power he pours into it.
“...Of that GOOD SHIT!” If the scythe-wielding creature had been ten feet closer, it would have been fast enough
to get to him in time and smack his arm to bits. Instead, it’s caught in the blinding beam of white-hot light and
juggled in the air until it disintegrates utterly.

RELENTLESS HOMING BENDING REED BUSTER! “Aww, come on, leaving the party so soon?” she shouts to the
swinging exit door. “You played that mind trick on everyone here, but I didn’t get to show you a trick of my own!”
Somehow, though he’s halfway down the stairwell, he still hears her. “BALLROOM BLITZ!” A neon outline of the
dancer he’d just fled from streaks through the door and bounces off the wall, leaving glowing lines in his vision,
before it kicks him in the face so hard he spins three times before he hits the ground.

PINPOINT SNIPER BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP BUSTER! The choir’s chanting doesn’t drown her out, it seems to uplift
her voice, as they all devote their effort to her power. “God’s judgment be upon evildoers!” she declares. “Like a
BOLT FROM THE HEAVENS!” And as she says it, a bolt of holy lighting strikes into the crowd, blasting the one
Darkspawn who thought it was blending in, forcing it to reveal itself.

BLAZING OVERDRIVE EVERLASTING DEVASTATION BUSTER! Every parasite the doctor pulls from their bodies, he
incinerates in his hand, and the flames from each flow into the burning nimbus around him. “I think it’s time you
had a taste of your own medicine, you fuck!” he spits at the insectile creature. “AUTOCLAVE INCINERATOR!”
Bathed in flame, it skitters about in panic, but the heat doesn’t stop until the subject is completely sterilized.

SHATTERING SPIRIT ECHO BURST BUSTER! “Enough of this.” Her words are only a whisper but yet they boom into
the ears of all around her. “The power of all your futile efforts will be put to better use destroying you. Doom
Ripple. Doom Ripple. Doom Ripple.” They had strived so far, pushed themselves to the limit, and now all of the
spirit they poured into their attacks has been released back in their faces, again, and again, and again.
Conjure
The Power of Friendship is metaphorical -- the more of us are together, the greater our resilience and strength.
The more of us are together, the greater the odds that one of us will have just the thing needed to deal with the
problem. The Power of Friendship is also very literal: our spirits are empowered by our bonds with our friends,
and our Inner Light blazes brighter when fighting not for ourselves but for those we value.

When those two meanings overlap, you get the Conjure Charm. Conjure is how a Princess calls upon her tools
and allies, bringing things and people together to have just the right thing for the situation. While a Princess can
theoretically include anything as part of her Regalia, each one takes an investment of her power and identity --
Conjure lets you grab anything. At its base level, Conjure is like a pocket-dimension portal to a storage unit full of
useful stuff. With Upgrades, you can grab things you didn’t think of, create them from scratch, copy them. It can
go from a simple pager for your Shikigami to the ability to call upon and even empower expert assistance in any
field.

A master of Conjure is never caught unprepared and never caught alone.

Action: Extended. Each roll is one turn. No matter how many rolls you make for a single casting of Conjure, it
only takes one Wisp.
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Science + Inner Light.
Duration: One scene.
Scaling: Successes determine the Size of the thing you can summon.
Exceptional Success: You complete the summoning so quickly that the action was reflexive and you can still act
this turn.

Basic Action: At some time before using Conjure, you must attune to an object or an actor at no cost (You can
attune to any number of things, but it gets hard to keep track of more than 3 times your current Inner Light
worth of things). When you cast Conjure, you start to summon that object or actor from its point of origin. You
must accumulate a number of successes on the extended casting roll to equal the object or actor’s Size. If you
summon something of Size 0, you treat it as summoning something of Size 1.

- You attune to something by “being familiar with and having spent a significant amount of time in its
presence and specially marking it in some way.”
- To summon is to “magically transport an object or actor from wherever it currently is to a spot directly in
front of you.”
- An object is “a piece of equipment that falls in the ‘physical object’ category (CofD, p 100).” Without the
Upgrade to do so, you can’t summon “mystical equipment;” the magic aura of being summoned messes
with the mystical qualities in some way. You can’t summon an object that someone is using or otherwise
attending to.
 - An actor is “your Shikigami.” If you take any combat actions, the stress will cause the link to shatter and
the actor will return to its point of origin. You can’t summon an actor who doesn’t agree to be
summoned, and can send a short message to any actor you attempt to summon explaining why they
should accept.

The object or actor is ready to use on the turn after it was summoned. You can only have one actor summoned
at a time, but any number of objects. The object or actor will return to its point of origin at the end of the scene
unless it was destroyed or consumed (if you summon some food and eat it, you won’t have the energy sucked
out of your body).

Invocation: Conjure must be Invoked by shouting or declaring a call to what you are summoning, what literal or
metaphorical thing you take it from, or how you summon it.

Regalia: Conjure Regalia usually takes the form of something that the conjured thing will pass through (even
without Conjure Portal), a representation of the thing you summon, or some manifestation of how a conjured
thing is tied to you. A ring might expand to the diameter of a hula hoop and have a box of supplies fall through,
or a magician’s hat or bag of tricks might produce a stream of rabbits. Little plastic miniatures or a quickly folded
origami vehicle might grow into the form of the real thing. Something could be called over with puppet strings,
or a fishing pole and line.
 You are now attuned to “anything that you have
- Conjure Wild handled for at least one turn in the current scene.”

Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows (and

requires) Animal Ken to be used instead of Science
- Ready Conjure
Your valid actors now include “animals.” You must
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Presence to
still be attuned to them, and it’s a good idea to
be used instead of Manipulation
make sure you have some means of telling them
what to do.
Anything you summon is point-locked and ready to
go, becoming active and available the moment you
summon it instead of the turn after. Add 1
- Conjure Schematic automatic success to the first successful casting roll,
then add 2 to the second, 3 to the third, and etc.
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Intelligence
until the extended action is complete.
to be used instead of Manipulation

You can attune to an object by “having a detailed

plan or schematic of it, or understanding it so well
that you would be able to create such a schematic.”
You construct a new device out of raw materials,
either some that are present or that you are also
able to summon (without additional cost).
If you apply this Upgrade, the interval for each roll is
3 turns instead of 1 turn.
- Conjure Aid
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Persuasion to
be used instead of Science
- Conjure Reflection
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows Crafts to be
used instead of Science
You may now summon multiple copies of an object
or actor. All of these copies are phantasmal
duplicates, and the original is not moved from its
point of origin (but an actor still has to be willing to
be summoned if you ask.) After accumulating
enough successes to summon the thing, you may
immediately apply remaining successes to the next
copy, and the next, continuing to roll for as long as
you want to keep making copies.

Your valid actors now include “other human beings

or things close enough to humans.” - Hostile Conjure
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Dexterity to
be used instead of Manipulation
- Light-Fingered Conjure
You may now summon objects that are actively
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Larceny to be
being attended by someone else, and unwilling
used instead of Science
actors. The casting becomes contested by the
Dexterity + Resolve of someone who is attending
the object, or the Dexterity + Resolve + Potency of
an unwilling actor. If the other side accumulates
successes equal to your Inner Light, the spell fails.
- Conjure Occult
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Wits to be
used instead of Manipulation
Your valid objects now include “mystical
equipment.” The mystical powers of these things are
no longer fizzled out by the summoning process.
- Conjure Widget
You are now attuned to “anything that is Availability
1.” For things that don’t typically have an
Availability, like those allowed by other Upgrades,
you’ll have to use your best approximation.
- Distant Conjure
You now summon to any point in line of sight.
- Echo Conjure
Once you have summoned something, you can
summon the same thing again, any number of times
in the scene, without rolling or expending resources.
This doesn’t make a copy, it returns the same object
or actor to a location you could have summoned it.
- Conjure Ephemera
Your valid actors now include “ephemeral beings.”
This counts ghosts, spirits, Figments, angels, and
Nightmares, though the latter two are going to be
pretty hard to attune.
- Conjure Portal
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your valid objects now include “a location” that you
are otherwise attuned to. You create a portal linking
that location and the area where you summon it to
that lasts until the end of the scene; anything that
goes in one portal comes out the other as if there
was no physical distance between them.
The portal doesn’t have a fixed size; you can choose
any Size you want for the portal, and that will be the
maximum Size of thing that can fit through it. You
have to pay an additional Wisp for each roll you
make to cast it, though.
- Channel
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
When you summon an actor with this Upgrade, they
are not physically transported to you. Instead, you
synchronize their presence, skills, and assistance
with someone in the scene: usually yourself, but it
can also be anyone else that’s a valid actor for your
summon (or an object an ephemeral being could
possess). This summoning is not broken when
combat starts.
While channeling, you (or the other synchronized
subject) and the actor each appear surrounded by a
glowing translucent aura of the other one. You only
get one turn between you, even if you summoned
an actor already physically present, but you have all
the combined resources and abilities of yourself and
the actor and any dice pool is made using the best
options from either one of your Attributes, Skills,
and Merits.

If you Channel another Princess, for example, you

could cast a Charm she knows but you don’t,
spending your Wisps and her Willpower, use one of
her Upgrades that allows her to substitute a
different Skill and then use your rating in the Skill,
use whoever has the best Attribute, etc.

This can’t be used on an uncooperative target even

if you have the Upgrade that lets you do that.

If a Shikigami is Channeled this way, you add the

Shikigami’s appropriate Attribute to yours instead of
picking one or the other.

- Gigadrive Conjure
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

Your Conjure overflows with power. Instead of only

spending 1 Wisp to cast Conjure, you may spend 1,
2, or 3. Multiply the activation successes of the
Charm by the number of Wisps spent to cast it.
Sample Conjure Charms
Hostile Light-Fingered Conjure: “Thieving fingers of fate!” The sinister blood-drooling chain vanishes from his
hands as if yanked away, and reappears in her grasp. “Yeah, hitting me once with that was enough, how about
you just give that here now.”

Hostile Conjure Aid: One moment, he was sitting in the back of his limousine. The next, he was in a chair in a
bare concrete room. “Hi there, Chairman,” the boy says with a crack of his knuckles. “You know, I asked you very
nicely for a meeting. Now, I don’t think I’m going to be so nice.”

Conjure Widget Aid: “Hey, Triple A? You do roadside assistance, right?” Her fingertips are already glowing and
tracing out lines. “No, no, don’t bother with the address, I’ll bring you right here.”

Conjure Wild Widget: “Oh, magpies are everywhere around here. See? Mother Gaia, grant me aid!” The black
bird appears on her outstretched arm. “There we go! Hey, buddy, you see that shiny object there, I bet you want
to grab it, don’t you?”

Distant Conjure Wild: “Wotjek, mighty bear, come to me!” The warlock readied his counterattack for whatever
burst of primal strength the boy would try to use, but the boy just stood there, smiling. It wasn’t until he heard
the roar that the warlock turned around to see the bear tearing his dark orrery apart.

Distant Ready Conjure: “What are you going to do now?” he chortled form his perch. “I’ve got the high ground,
and I’ve got the sniper rifle, and all you have is all your little machines waaaay down on the ground, where
--URK!” The cartoons were right. Dropping an anvil on someone was hilarious.

Ready Conjure Reflection: “O lord Poseidon, grant me your oceans…” A stream of water surged from each of her
hands, and it grew thicker, stronger. “ALL OF THEM!” The water wouldn’t stop coming, and whatever plans they
had to attack her had to be abandoned for plans to escape the rising flood.

Light-Fingered Conjure Reflection: “Oh no, now you’ll take your death prism back from me!” He laughed, and
then threw out his arm, scattering dozens of identical-looking crystals around. “If you can find the real one,
anyway!”
Detect
A Princess can’t sit there and wait for the Darkness to come to her. Well, she can, as the Darkness is everywhere,
but she won’t accomplish much. She needs to go looking. Looking for secrets, looking for magic, looking for
friends, looking for those in need, looking for trouble. The Detect Charm is how she does that.

Sharpening the senses, or opening them to new concepts. Examining the red string of Fate or the emotional
echoes of deeds. Through a crystal ball, a dowsing rod, a translucent scanner eyepiece, a scrying mirror, a chorus
of helpful voices -- Detect allows the Princess to perceive the world around her in greater fidelity than ever
before, to pierce the shroud of Darkness and let the Light stream in.

Action: Instant
Dice Pool: (Wits or Composure) + Investigation + Inner Light.
Duration: One scene.
Scaling: Each success allows the caster to ask an additional question.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.

Basic Action: You expand your senses and focus, taking in the details around you. For each success, you may ask
the Storyteller a simple question about the objects and information available to you within 10 yards per Inner
Light (You can intentionally reduce your range so you don’t pick up results from too far away). You don’t have to
ask the questions all at once; your Detect stays active for the remainder of the scene or until you run out of
questions and you can ask new questions as new information becomes available or new circumstances arise.

Each question you ask follows the same form: “sense, query subject?” where each underlined term can be
substituted with one of the listed phrases. Upgrades add more options for each keyword. You combine the
options to make a complete sentence, the question that the Storyteller answers. When you ask a question, you
may use any of the options available to you based on your initial casting of Detect, not necessarily the same ones
every time.

Sense is the medium or group of senses your Detect can search for information with. It can only return answers
to your questions that can be perceived by this sense. You can combine multiple sense options into one
question, if the information you need is something that’s seen through the intersection of two different senses.
By default, the terms for Sense are:

- “According to the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch…” Without other sense options, this
can essentially make the Charm into a Perception roll using the Charm’s dice pool that only takes a single
round.

- “According to my Sensitivity to things of Pure Darkness…”

Query is the specific information you’re trying to obtain about your subject. You will get the result obtainable
with the sense you used; note that it doesn’t have to be something immediately perceptible (there wouldn’t be
much application for that), just that what you are asking about has to be something that could be found out with
the sense you used. The default options of query are:

- “...what is/are the nature or state of [this]…”

- “...where is/are the nearest…”

Subject is what you’re asking for information about. You don’t have to necessarily know exactly what your
subject is if you can specify some criteria for it, but the more narrow the criteria the better; the vaguer the
criteria, the narrower the range that Detect can gather information. A specific subject, even if it isn’t something
you’ve directly perceived before (like “the keys to this 1996 Honda Civic”), uses the normal range. An unknown
subject based on defined observable criteria (“an escape vehicle I can drive out of here”) uses half the range,
while an unknown subject based on vague or wide observable criteria (“a way to get out of here”) uses 20% of
the normal range. The default options for subject are:

- “...object, person, or area?” With this option, you can specify the type of thing you’re looking for, you
don’t need to simply ask about all possible nouns that could fill the sentence.

- “...my general surroundings?” Use this to scope out around you when you aren’t sure what you’re
looking for, or when you have access to a sense beyond usual sight.

The Storyteller gives answers, but they don’t have to be direct and exhaustive. Whatever the idiom of your
Detect is, that’s what will filter the information to you. If you ask where the nearest danger is, you may not get
an immediate pop up of a detailed threat analysis -- you may hear a shriek from a certain direction, you may see
a trail of smoke leading to it, letters in nearby neon signs may flicker out the name of a nearby street…

Invocation: Detect isn’t necessarily Invoked verbally, though it can be. Visually, either the active Charm makes it
obvious that it’s in use, or the information gained is perceptible to everyone. Someone who simply enhances
their own senses will have their eyes glow and possibly display strange symbols for the entire time Detect is
active. Someone who sees information projected in a video game-style HUD will diegetically project that HUD
out into the world where other people can see it, like in Dead Space. Someone who gazes through a crystal or
piece of cellophane is conspicuous enough that anyone looking at her will know “she can see something special
by looking through that.”

Regalia: Detect Regalia is something that allows the user to see or gather or process information. From scrying
pools to translucent cyberpunk eyepieces, from holographic simulation models to chicken bones for augury.

Detect Danger
Gifted to all Princesses in addition to their default
Upgrade.
You may now pick the subject option:
“...most severe source of immediate danger?”
Unlike every other subject option granted by
Upgrades, this one has range penalties according to
how specific you make it; you get the full range
when it’s widely defined, and specific types of
danger make it narrower.
“Looking over the entire electromagnetic
spectrum…”
You can listen to unencrypted information, like radio
waves, as if they were just normal sound. If you pick
up encrypted data, like from a cellular or wireless
network transmission, you can see or record it in
encrypted form but it won’t help you crack the
code.
- Detect Connection
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Empathy to
be used instead of Investigation

You can see the connections between people, most

- Detect Traces
often called the “red string of fate.” You may now
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Survival to pick as the subject:
be used instead of Investigation
“...a social or emotional relationship with this
You gain postcognition, or the ability to see into the thing?”
past. You may now pick the sense option:
Only one of the ends of the relationship needs to be
“According to what happened in the past…” in range as long as you can specifically define the
other one.
The range in which you can look into the past is 1
day per Inner Light, and it is reduced by vagueness
the same way physical distance is.
- Detect Trickery
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Subterfuge to
- Detect Rays
be used instead of Investigation
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Science to
be used instead of Investigation It takes a trickster to know a trickster. You may now
pick the query:
Visible light consists of electromagnetic radiation at
a wavelength of about 400 to 700 nanometers. “...what is being hidden from me in/about…”
Outside that are infrared and ultraviolet light, and
beyond those are gamma radiation, radio, and
television signals. You can interpret all of those as
easily as you see light. You may now pick the sense
option:
 - Detect Passions
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Presence to
be used instead of Wits or Composure
You can now perceive the emotions radiating off of
people and animals. Some see multicolored auras,
some hear whispers that have an emotional tenor
but no language, some see normal signs of emotion
like bulging veins or sweat drops exaggerated to
gigantic proportions. You may now pick the sense
option:
“According to people’s emotions…”
- Detect Usefulness
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows Persuasion
to be used instead of Investigation
You may specify your goal and choose the query
option:
“...what is the most immediately beneficial way to
use…”
- Detect Weakness
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Brawl or
Weaponry to be used instead of Investigation
You may choose the query option:
“...what is the best way to disable, destroy, or
negate the defenses of…”
Remember that Detect can only use the senses in
your sense option. You can’t use this to determine
the Bane or Ban of any given entity with no other
information -- but if there’s a slight hint, if there’s
something nearby that can lead to a clue, Detect
will be able to pick it up even if it’s too fast or small
for normal perception.
- Detect Energy
Gifted to Princesses of Tears -- allows Resolve to be
used instead of Wits
In addition to Pure Darkness, you may now observe
quantities of stored or potential energy, such as
Willpower, Wisps, or Essence. If you are familiar
with another source of supernatural power like
Glamour or Pyros, you can observe that too. You
may choose the sense option:
“Looking at the concentrations of Willpower,
Essence, and other supernatural energy…”
- Remote Detect
The range of your Detect is tripled, whether the
physical distance or another form of range added by
another Upgrade.
When you ask a question about a subject, you are
also able to perceive and gather data about the
things immediately around it; instead of just
knowing where the thing is you can see or hear
what is happening around it.
- Passive Detection
Use this when you ask one of your questions and
get no useful answer, usually because you asked for
the nearest example of something and there isn’t
any example in your effective range. The effect
remains active and when something that does
match your question pops into your effective range,
you become immediately aware of it. Using this
Upgrade, you can intentionally set a certain
threshold of size or severity for the Detection to go
off; you don’t have to consume your Passively
Detect Danger to find out there’s a rusty nail in
someone’s yard.
- Detect Ephemeral
Allows Occult to be used instead of Investigation
You may choose the subject option:
“...an ephemeral being or area?”
This extends your range into the spirit world on the
other side of the Gauntlet, but only in the same
areas corresponding to your range in the real world.
- Hacker’s Detection
Allows Computers to be used instead of
Investigation
You may choose the subject option:
“...the files in this computer system?”
Your normal senses are sufficient to get information
about files and programs, you don’t need to use
Detect Rays. You do need a device that is capable of
displaying or interfacing with computer files, but
really anything with a screen and input works.
- Detect Future
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
You gain precognition, or the ability to look into the
future -- or the most likely possible future, anyway.
You gain the sense option:
“By looking into the future…”
By default, you may look into the future a number
of turns up to your Inner Light. You may spend 1
Willpower and five minutes casting this Charm to
look up to that many hours into the future, or you
may spend 2 Willpower, 2 Wisps, and an hour
casting this Charm to look up to that many days in
the future. Reduce the range for vagueness like
normal.
This Charm only reveals the most likely future based
on current trends and probability; it can change
based on people’s actions and decisions. It never
takes the information that it gives you into account:
each potential future shown by Detect Future
always starts with the caster failing to get a single
success on their Detect Future casting and every
subsequent supernatural ability to detect the future
failing.
- Gigadrive Detect
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your senses overflow with power. Spend 1-3
additional Wisps when casting this Charm to
subtract that many dice from your pool and add
that many automatic successes to a successful roll.
Sample Detect Charms
Detect Passions and Trickery: [Looking at emotions / what is hidden about / this person?] She slaps the smiley
face sticker on his hand. “Mister Smiley turns into Mister Frowny when you lie to me. And you don’t want him to
turn into Mister Frowny, do you?”

Detect Passions and Connections: [Looking at emotions / what is the nature of / the connection between these
people?] “Is he your booooooyfriend? Do you have a cruuuuuuuush on him?” The flame glows pink for a
moment. “Ha! I knew it!”

Detect Energy and Connections: [Looking at supernatural energy / what is the nature of / the connection
between this and its surroundings?] He sets down the burning censer and lets the smoke fill the room. “All right,
you naughty boys, now what kinds of Resonance have you been feeding from?”

Detect Energy and Danger: [Looking at supernatural energy / what is the nature of / the nearest source of severe
danger?] The spirit camera flashes so bright it blinds everyone for a second, not just the vampire. When it
develops, there will be a picture of whatever dreadful powers the guy has.
(This Charm can be used to determine what a being’s supernatural powers are, but you only get one power per
question you ask.)

Detect Useful Danger: [According to my Darkness sensitivity / what is the best way to use / the nearest source of
severe danger?] Fighting the monster isn’t enough -- she needs to make an entrance. With a swirl in her scrying
mirror, she doesn’t just see where the beast is, she sees the choreography to make the most stunning defeat.

Detect Useful Weakness: [According to my senses / what is the weakness of / this monster?] She taps her
translucent visor. “I’m getting a reading!” she calls. “It’s recoiling away from… the fish? Wait, how the heck do
we use that?” [According to my senses / what is the best way to use / fish?] “Oh, someone find some fish oil!”

Detect Rays and Weakness: [Looking across the EM spectrum / what is the weakness of / this security system?]
The oscilloscope’s reading is clear: a burst at 2170 MHz will shut the cameras down and leave everything else up.

Hacker’s Ray Detection: [Looking across the EM spectrum / what is the nature of / this file system?] She flicks
open her cell phone, adorned with keychain charms. “All right, I’m on the network. Let’s see what they’re saying
to each other.” (This combination is what lets you log in to network systems remotely if you have some kind of
interface device. Add Detect Trickery to break encryption.}

Hacker’s Detect Traces: [Looking into the past / what is inside of / this file system?] “Ordinarily, trying to
reconstruct deleted files is a huge hassle,” she says with a grin as her fingers fly over the keyboard. “Ordinarily.”

Detect Traces and Trickery: [Looking into the past / what is concealed from me about / this area?] A handful of
powder blown over the area reveals the secret: there was a hidden passage the whole time, and the Defiler had
escaped before they were even past the front lobby.
Force
The Light of Hope is a fundamental force upon the world, because it is not just the ability to aspire to a better
future but the capability and drive to see it come about. The most literal manifestation of this from the Light’s
exemplars is the Force Charm. Her will first stirs her own thoughts, then it moves her body to manipulate the
world, and when that aspiration is so powerful it escapes the confines of her own muscles, she operates on the
world directly.

With Force, a Princess can move and manipulate objects around her, shape and construct surfaces, protect
others from impacts with walls or barriers, isolate or hold down attackers. It is as if her hands are everywhere, all
working to see her vision come true.

Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Strength + Crafts + Inner Light.
Duration: Until dispelled or one scene.
Scaling: The successes rolled to cast the Charm are the Strength it uses to take actions.
Exceptional Success: The first action the locus takes has a +3 dice bonus.

Basic Action: Make a locus at a visible point in space. The locus affects an area about one meter in diameter
around the point you summoned it, it has a Speed of 5, and on subsequent turns can manipulate this area.

- A locus is an intangible but visible area in space about the size of both your hands together.
- To manipulate is to perform actions in the area of the locus that require physical contact. You can
perform non-combat actions that require a Strength roll, using your casting successes as its Strength and
your applicable Skill.

This Charm requires concentration to maintain, and while concentrating, you can re-direct the locus. While you
are not concentrating on this Charm, it is inactive: it remains visible but inert and intangible until you
concentrate on it again.

Invocation: Force must be invoked by shouting or declaring the manifestation of your power.

Regalia: The most common Force Regalia are ornamental or stylized gloves, magnifying the Princess’s hand
movements to carry out her work. Tools meant for working and shaping things also serve as Regalia; if a Princess
often uses Barrier, she can have a shield or other protective device, and those whose Force usually manifests in
the same shape might carry metal or glass models of that shape.
 Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Presence to
- Barrier be used instead of Strength

Gifted to all Princesses in addition to their default

Your locus may now track an individual or object,
Upgrade.
retaining its position and factoring its movement
relative to that thing. This anchor point is chosen
Your locus now is capable of manipulating the area
when you cast Force and can’t be changed without
by becoming entirely solid: providing a stepping
casting Force again.
stone, or stopping objects and attacks that would
pass through it. To block damage, treat it as cover
If used on an unwilling target, they may roll
(CofD p. 92) that has a Structure equal to successes
Dexterity + (Brawl or Crafts) to escape each turn,
and a Durability equal to your Inner Light. It
penalized by your successes. Each subsequent roll
recovers all Structure each turn you concentrate on
gets a +2 bonus. If they break free, or another
it.
person frees them, the locus dissipates.

- Enduring Force - Dextrous Force

Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Stamina to
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows, and
be used instead of Strength
requires, Dexterity to be used instead of Strength

Your locus remains active while you aren’t

The locus may now manipulate to carry out actions
concentrating on it, though you can’t give it new
that require a Dexterity roll, using the activation
orders -- it will stay stationary or repeat the last
successes as its Dexterity.
order given to it, and can’t adjust position or facing.
Any dice pool for an action lowers by -1 on each
subsequent turn it acts without your concentration,
as things slip out of alignment. - Immediate Force
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Intelligence
- Flowing Force to be used instead of Strength

Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Intelligence

When you first create your locus, you do so
to be used instead of Strength
reflexively and may still take another action. While
concentrating, you can take the action to command
Multiply the movement speed of your locus by your
your locus at any time in initiative order,
Inner Light + 1. If your locus is capable of persisting
interrupting someone else’s turn if necessary.
while you don’t focus on it, it can continue its
movement on the same trajectory.

- Synchronized Force
- Guardian Force
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows
Manipulation to be used instead of Strength

You move in sync with your magical force. You no
longer have to concentrate to direct your locus, so
long as what you do with your locus is part of the
same action you’re performing (and the locus is
capable of the action). Among other benefits, this
will usually allow you to get a Teamwork bonus for
actions at the very least.
- Assault Force
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Weaponry or
Brawl to be used instead of Crafts
Your locus can now manipulate to perform an
attack. If this requires you to aim the attack from
somewhere other than the locus’s location, this
attack is at -2 and the target always applies their full
Defense even if something would otherwise reduce
or ignore it.
- Clutching Force
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows
Your locus can now manipulate to perform a
grapple. If this requires you to aim the grapple from
somewhere other than the locus’s location, this
attack is at -2.
- Spread Force
Your locus now encompasses a larger area, equal to
a sphere with a diameter equal to twice your Inner
Light in yards. Your locus can manipulate freely in
that area without needing to be moved and may
interact with multiple distant things at once as part
of the same action.
- Elemental Force
When you take this Upgrade, choose a type of
material or energy. It is often the same element
linked to your Queen and her Signet, but doesn’t
have to be. When you apply this Upgrade, the locus
only interacts with that material or energy, is made
of that material or energy, has all the properties of
that material or energy, and manipulates that
material or energy as if it was weightless,
frictionless, and required no roll.
You may purchase this Upgrade multiple times to
choose multiple elements. When you do, it only
costs 1 XP each additional time.
- Selective Force
The counterpart to Elemental Force. When you
create your locus, you reflexively designate a
number of specific people or objects you can
perceive; the locus only acts on/against those
people or objects. Everything else is completely
intangible to the locus, meaning there is no penalty
or opposition or difficulty from interacting with any
other object or material. but you have to deal with
their mass and resistance like normal.
- Sensitive Force
You can project your senses through the locus as
you act through it. You can manipulate things you
can’t perceive but the locus would otherwise be
able to interact with as if you were standing right on
top of it.
- Metaphysical Force
Your Force now spreads deeper than the realms of
the physical alone. Your locus and its ability to
manipulate extend into Twilight and act against
other, non-physical phenomena. If you can create or
infuse physical phenomena into your locus, now you
can do the same with metaphysical properties. If
you can block passage of physical objects, you can
now intercept spells and magical effects, and etc.
You still need to know about the kind of effects you
intend to interact with.
- Echoing Force
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
When you make your locus, you can summon an
additional locus for each time you applied this
Upgrade (You may apply this Upgrade multiple
times, up to a maximum of your Inner Light, but it
costs an extra Upgrade slot or a Wisp for each one).
You may direct multiple loci at once to all
manipulate together -- you don’t have to do this for
all the loci if you have some that are already doing
what you want with Enduring Force but you can’t
give two directions in a single turn. If this requires a
roll, consider it a teamwork action where one locus
is the primary actor and the others all assist.
- Gigadrive Force
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your Forces overflow with power. Spend 1, 2, or 3
extra Wisps when casting Force; subtract that many
dice from your pool and add that number to the
activation successes of the Charm, or, if the Charm
is rolling an effect, add directly to the activation
successes of that effect.
Sample Force Charms
Selective Spread Force: “Cut guns in half with my mind!” she shouts, and just like that, the pistols of the whole
gang are sliced in half out of their hands. “See? I warned you I could do it,” she adds, then sticks out her tongue in
defiance.

Dextrous Sensitive Force: She’s not touching anything, and her fingers waggle in mid-air. “Nothing on one…
nothing on two… Ooh, this is a good lock. This one cost him some money. Might take me more than thirty
seconds. Nothing on three… Here we go, four is binding. Back to one… two is binding…”

Clutching Flowing Force: “Grasp of the Underworld!” A shadowy hand emerges from the ground to grasp at her,
and she struggles to no avail. “All right, I’ve had enough of you now, get out of here.” With that, she gets yanked
backwards out of the doorway, pulled away from the action.

Immediate Barrier: He holds out his palms, and 20 feet out, the shining shields zip through the sky in sync with
his movements. “Just like Missile Command,” he thinks, as he swats the incoming attacks from the sky.

Synchronized Guardian Force: It was bad enough that everywhere the Defiler stepped, there was a pair of hands
right behind him, helping her disarm him by trying to slap the crystal from his hands and into the Princess’s. But
did it really have to literally look like a basketball player guarding him? That was just unnecessary.

Elemental Assault Force: It isn’t really “Iron Rain.” She shouted “Iron Reign,” and the metal spikes didn’t just
come from the sky -- they’re pointed at his head from every angle. And when she clenches her hand into a fist,
they’ll make a pincushion of his face.

Enduring Metaphysical Barrier: “ANTI-MAGIC SHELL!” A swirling sphere of glowing green runes wraps around
her, buying her a couple of precious minutes to complete the ritual before the creature’s spells overwhelm her.
Already, she sees a couple of runes glowing bright and falling off as they absorb the incoming attack. She has to
work quickly.
(Enduring Barrier allows you to refresh the Structure of a Barrier each turn without concentrating on it. Each
subsequent turn, it refreshes to 1 less Structure than before. If you do this, you can’t manually refill the Structure
to restart the timer.)

Spread Assault Echoing Force: “We only get one shot,” she grins, “so we’d better all do it at once!” She raises her
hands like a conductor, and two dozen muskets take aim as if she were leading a unit of Minutemen. “Volley…
FINALE!”
Illusion
This allows you to make things appear to be what they’re not. The problem, as opposed to the illusion abilities of
everyone else, is that you can’t use this to hide. Well, almost never; you can use it to look like you belong, or you
could make a door appear like a wall, but there’s no invisibility or anything like that.

But a Princess can’t hide her radiant Inner Light. Your illusions are meant to be seen. Your illusions are for
painting the world with what you want to see, and what you want your opponents to see to trick or misdirect
them. A master of Illusion can seem to be a master of every other Charm, leaving her opponents with no idea
what’s happening or how to proceed.

Action: Instant and contested.

Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge + Inner Light vs Perception (Wits + Composure)
Duration: Simple and small illusions last for one day. All other illusions last for one scene.
Scaling: Successes on casting Increase the number of successes required to see through the illusion.
Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward.

Basic Effect: You flicker , which creates an image. You can direct that image on subsequent rounds. You may
reflexively dispel your image at any time. You can only have one image active at a time without the Versatile
Illusion upgrade.

- To flicker is to “apply this magic effect as an instant action onto an area or object about two cubic meters
worth.”
- Your image is “an independent illusory entity of your design that is visible and creates sounds but has no
other sensory profile and fits entirely within the area flickered.”
- To direct is to “mentally focus effort into an image to make it appear to perform actions and make
sounds, occupying your attention while you focus on it.” If you change the appearance of something to
something else that can carry out the same kinds of visible actions, you don’t need to direct it to mirror
the actual movements of the thing.

Those who see the image and have reason to doubt its existence are entitled to a reflexive Perception roll to
contest the effect; obtaining more successes than the Charm rolled allows the viewer to see the illusory nature
of the image. This roll gains a bonus or penalty depending on how plausible the image is in context, from a -3
penalty for images that have no reason not to be there to a +3 bonus for images that don’t make any goddamn
sense. Interacting with an image in a way that proves it is not real dispels it entirely, even for people who didn’t
interact with it. Even if someone can’t see through the illusion, they may still believe something is up if the image
behaves nonsensically.

Images are capable of making attacks against other targets using the appropriate Attribute + Skill of the caster.
These attacks deal no damage, but can lower the target’s Defense as they attempt to fend them off, or force
them to move to escape damage they think is coming.
Invocation: The Illusion Charm is often (but not always) used for deception, but still can’t be hidden. If you cast it
ahead of time and visibly create the illusion (such as by painting it or condensing it from smoke), you don’t need
to shout it out, and hopefully your target isn’t seeing you do it. Cast in the heat of things, the Invocation for this
Charm has to be shouted out and declared like other Charms, but the Invocation doesn’t have to have anything
to do with the effect of the Charm. You can Invoke as if you were teleporting to put up an image that blocks your
position, or call out “Summon Monster IV!” when you make an illusory entity, and etc.

Regalia: Illusion Regalia has to be something capable of creating the image, even if the image doesn’t stay linked
to it. A light projector could serve as Regalia and make the image, but then you could direct the image to move
somewhere the light projector couldn’t reach. Paintbrushes or ink pots could draw up images on demand, they
could coalesce out of the voluminous smoke from a pipe, or they could appear to spring forth from a bag of
tricks, a cloak, or a magician’s hat.
 - Disguise
Gifted to all Princesses in addition to their default
Upgrade.
If everything you flickered was clothing or Regalia or
some kind of outfit, and the image was also clothing
or some kind of outfit, you can maintain it
reflexively, it doesn’t count against your maximum
number of images, and it can’t be magically
dispelled. You can cover multiple different people’s
outfits if you all scooch together.
- Cunning Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Crafts to be
used instead of Subterfuge
With Cunning Illusion, you do not need to focus to
direct your image; you may have it carry out actions
according to a script. The image is not intelligent,
but essentially runs off of your intelligence in the
“background”; thus, the script you give it need not
be machine-readable but must be something you
could carry out while distracted by music or dicking
around on your phone. “If anyone comes by, blow
them off and make an excuse” and “stomp around
and make monster noises” are acceptable types of
commands, while “explain to everyone that I have
cancer and can’t come to class” or “follow that guy
at a distance of 15 meters and look like you are
trying to stay hidden but make sure he can see you”
are not.
- Blunt Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Intelligence
to be used instead of Wits
With Blunt Illusion, your images will have mass and
no longer be dispelled by physical contact. They
have no more strength than required to lift a single
sheet of paper but can occupy space and aren’t
revealed by indirect or glancing contact. Direct,
forceful, and deliberate contact will still dispel the
image.
- Distracting Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Expression to
be used instead of Subterfuge
A Distracting Illusion grabs the attention of its
viewers, focusing them on it to the exclusion of
anything else. Up-close magic is all about
misdirection. Viewers of your image must roll Wits +
Composure, penalized by the your Illusion
successes, to notice anything else going on or to
apply their Defense. Once they have succeeded on
this roll once, or have taken damage from an attack
they couldn’t apply their Defense against, they don’t
need to roll again for the same image.
- Extensive Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Composure
to be used instead of Wits
Images normally only fool sight and sound, and can
somewhat fool touch with Blunt Illusion, and those
are normally all you need. But with Extensive
Illusion, you get the full package. Your image can
fool any and all senses, supernatural or mundane,
and give out false sensations in any combination
you wish. Any attempt to see through the image no
matter what means of sense or divination or magic
is used has to overcome the successes of the
Charm, instead of a normal Clash of Wills.
- Enduring Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Manipulation
to be used instead of Wits
An Enduring Illusion will stick around even after you
stop devoting attention to it. Your image persists
even if you lose focus or go to sleep. Large and
complicated images last for a full day, while small
and simple ones last a full week.
- Signature Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows Expression
to be used instead of Subterfuge
Your Signature Illusion is something you always have
close at hand, something that’s easy to recall.
Choose a specific type of image or a few closely
related ones to be your Signature; when you flicker
that image, you do so reflexively instead of instantly.
If you use Versatile Illusion, additional copies of your
Signature Illusion do not cost any Wisps to create,
but you still roll for them.
Princesses of Mirrors get the Signature of “illusory
copies of myself,” but that doesn’t stop Radiant
Princesses from taking the same ability.
- Painful Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Dexterity to
be used instead of Wits
If an illusion can fool the senses, well, pain is a
sense, isn’t it? A Painful Illusion is capable of dealing
damage to living things by inflicting phantom pain.
An image may deal two damage per turn to
everyone within it (if it’s something like an illusory
flame) or may be used to execute attacks that deal
damage normally. Use the Princess’s appropriate
dice pool for any attack roll the image makes, not
the dice pool for casting. Damage inflicted by the
image is Illusory: the damage is always Bashing and
subsequent “real damage” will replace “illusory
damage” instead of being added to it.
- Obscuring Illusion
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Stealth to be
used instead of Subterfuge
An image can’t appear to be nothing, but that
doesn’t mean it can’t be used to hide. If they can’t
see through anything, they might know there’s
something on the other side but not what.
Obscuring Illusion creates an image that fills an area
with something that blocks perception, a cloud of
shadow, a freezing mist, a blinding light, etc.
Regardless of what the image appears as, the area is
subject to the Low Light Tilt (p. XXX) for anyone who
hasn’t seen through the image; physical interaction
cannot dispel it because it does not appear to have
physical mass without Blunt Illusion, but Blunt
Illusion can make it feel like a sandstorm or
something along those lines. An Obscuring Illusion
can be extended to 10 times the normal area of
your image.
- Grand Illusion
The total area of your image can increase to up to
200 cubic meters. This does not increase the
difficulty of directing it but a large and complicated
image may be easier to see through if you are
creating it from memory and don’t get all the details
right.
- Versatile Illusion
You may now flicker another image while you have
one active without dispelling it. It can be directed
independently of the others and maintaining all the
images does not cost any more focus or attention
than one. When you flicker, the activation roll gains
a -2 penalty for each existing image and the
successes rolled for any of all your images are
considered to be the lowest roll you made for any of
them; failing a roll causes all the images to dispel.
- Idealized Illusion
Your image doesn’t have to be of your own design.
You can flicker in something based on someone
else’s thoughts or perceptions; if that target is
unwilling, this is automatically contested by Resolve
+ Composure in addition to the Wits + Composure
roll to see through the image. You cannot read the
target’s mind and must specify the kind of image
you will summon with somewhat loose criteria; you
can specify “the guy you are waiting here to meet”
or “the dinosaur you designed and asked me to
make an image of” or “the annoying bullshit you
knew, you just fucking knew you were going to have
to deal with today.” You can’t use this to retrieve
specific information like “your credit card number”
or “the contents of the documents in your
briefcase,” but nice try. The target gets a -2 dice
penalty to see through the Illusion due to its
plausibility.
- Pandering Illusion
Normally, you are aware of your own illusions, but
they appear the same to everyone else unless they
are dispelled. With this upgrade, you can let anyone
you choose in on the secret. An image made with
Pandering Illusion will be either visible, translucent,
or utterly imperceptible to anyone you specify,
either as individuals or as a group. You can’t specify
criteria you aren’t personally aware of for Pandering
Illusion, so you can’t say “only vampires can see
this” and then root out vampires by seeing who
flinches at the image, but Extensive Illusion can help
you with that.
- Tricky Illusion
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Illusions are about misdirection, so why not take it a
step further? Why should you have to decide where
the queen is before the mark picks a card? A Tricky
Illusion must be used with an image based on an
object or willing person; when you do, the image
and the original subject are both at the same time.
So long as neither potential image does anything
impossible (such as flying, if you don’t have a means
of making it fly), you don’t have to decide which is
the image and which is the real one until something
dispels it. If you have multiple identical images from
Versatile Illusion, you don’t have to decide which is
the real one until the second to last image is
dispelled. If the image is of another person, they will
direct both of them and decide which one is real,
not you.
- Gigadrive Illusion
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your Illusion overflows with power. You may spend
up to three additional Wisps when casting this
Illusion. If you do, reduce your dice pool by that
amount and add that many automatic successes to
a successful roll.
Sample Illusion Charms
Pandering Obscuring Illusion: “Flashbang out!” It’s not really a flashbang, but she’d rather the other guys think
they were just as blind. The enemies duck behind cover, wincing, believing their blindness is due to an explosive
light -- but she and her friends can see just fine.

Extensive Idealized Disguise: He’s obsessed with someone, this one person, one lost love that shattered his whole
psyche. And if she had the slightest idea who that person was, she might be able to bring him the real thing. “Noh
Mask.” Instead, she’s going to have to walk up to the man’s Caricature like she knows who she is, and hopefully
grab enough clues from context to figure out how to act.

Signature Versatile Illusion: She stands in a crowd, all by herself. “Ah, yes, I thought you’d come,” says every
single mouth in sync. “But which of us is the REAL duck, Mr. Frischberg, and which is just an illusion?” The beast
doesn’t understand the reference, but she does, and that’s all that matters.

Cunning Distracting Illusion: When she shouted out “Beautiful nimbus! Bishoujo sparkles GO!” they thought it
must be a joke. Those sparkles and bubbles orbiting her were what you draw in a girly comic to show someone is
pretty. As they try to put her down, and those sparkles and bubbles keep blasting in every direction like chaff from
a fighter jet to throw off their aim, the joke is no longer funny.

Enduring Blunt Illusion: The moment he rounds the corner he shouts “Teleport circle, get us the fuck out of here!”
and throws up the illusion. The corridor he ran down has vanished, and there just appears to be another wall in
the Nightscape. There’s no way the Nightmares will actually try to smash the fake wall down… he hopes.

Grand Painful Illusion: “Have a taste of the fires of Hell!” she screams. “OBLIVION INFERNO!” Caustic green
chemical flames erupt through the entire banquet hall, impossible to extinguish. They will run screaming long
before any of them thinks to investigate if the fire is real.

Blunt Cunning Tricky Illusion: They weren’t expecting two identical escape vehicles to come out of the garage.
Now they’re going to have to guess which one is the real one -- and whichever guess they make is going to be
wrong. The ball’s never under the first cup, the second, or the third. It’s in the dealer’s hand the whole time.
Kiai
While all Princesses have access to Buster and the overflowing of magic destructive power it commands, it’s a bit
of a hammer in search of a nail. Buster is big and heavy, great at dealing damage, not great at controlling the
battlefield or sustained assaults. Those who focus on combat itself usually take up the Kiai Charm, granting them
the ability to focus their magic through weapons and their fists.

How someone fights is an expression of who they are, and nowhere is that more apparent than the use of Kiai.
Every move a Princess makes with Kiai shows off who she is when she is fighting for what she believes.

Kiai is much more sustainable and efficient than Buster, allowing Champions and those who specialize in it to
sustain a fight long enough to protect their allies, as well as control the flow of combat. Masters of Kiai can swat
away enemies as easily as they defend allies, and they don’t completely expend their power to do so.

Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Special -- same as the attack used.
Duration: Instant.
Scaling: Successes determine the damage of the attack.
Exceptional Success: Damage is the very definition of “extra successes are their own reward.”

Basic Action: You steel yourself and gather your focus, executing a strike against your target. The target’s Defense
is lowered by 2.

Your strike is a Weaponry or Brawl attack.

Your target is a single person or object in the normal range of that attack.

When you cast Kiai, you gain a number of charges equal to your Inner Light. Each charge you spend on the basic
action reduces the target’s Defense by 1 on top of the -2 penalty you already got, which can’t end up providing a
bonus to hit. These charges can also be expended to enhance many Upgrades.

Invocation: The caster must somehow call out their attack. While you can give specific attacks specific names, a
key phrase like “Catch this!” or “Here I go!” works, and the titular kiai shout will be enough to Invoke the Charm.

Regalia: Kiai Regalia are all weapons. Marionette strings that cut like razors, swung from each finger. A sword
that revs like a motorcycle to engulf itself in flame. A classic 1950s sci-fi raygun. Gauntlets with rivets on the
knuckles. A bladed yo-yo in each hand, and another on each ankle. A suitcase that opens up into a machine gun.
A kanabo, a club covered in steel spikes, taller than the girl wielding it.
 Your strikes flow effortlessly from one to the other
- Royal Guard as if one fluid movement. When you apply this
upgrade, then if your next action is to perform a Kiai
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels
strike, it costs 1 less Wisp. That Kiai may also have
the Hyper Combo Upgrade, meaning any string of
The target of your strike may now be a source of
unbroken attacks will only cost 1 Wisp -- but if you
incoming damage; this attack becomes reflexive if
do anything other than cast Kiai or make a normal
you do so. Your blow parries the damage, reducing
non-Kiai attack, your combo is broken and you must
the successes of the incoming attack roll by your
pay a Wisp to strike again.
Charm’s successes. You do not add your weapon’s
damage to this, and if you fail to negate all the
successes on the incoming attack, you will still take
the guaranteed damage from the weapon damage - Aerial Rave
rating.
Gifted to Princesses of Spades.

This works on absolutely any form of incoming

Your strike moves the target around, bringing them
damage that your strike can interact with and that
towards you or sending them flying. The distance is
you can see coming. Deflect gunfire and slice the
determined by the number of charges you spent on
bullets from the air. Shoot a rocket out of the sky.
this Upgrade; you always get one “free” charge to
Cut a falling skyscraper in half and shout “RULES OF
spend before choosing to spend more.
NATURE!”
If used to send someone flying horizontally away
Activating this Upgrade costs 1 additional Wisp.
from you, the strike will move the target by 1 meter
for every charge spent, and they will collide with
- Precision Strike anything you smash them into. You can choose to
follow the target to wherever you launched them.
Gifted to Princesses of Currents

If used to bring the target toward you, the strike will

Reduce the total penalty for firing at extreme range,
move the target three meters for every charge
striking into a chaotic melee, striking a specific
spent; a target is valid even if they’re outside the
point, hitting a tiny target, or other precision-based
weapon’s normal range as long as your Aerial Rave
penalties by 2, and an additional 2 for each charge
would bring them into your range.
spent. This can’t end up providing a bonus.

If used to send the target flying upwards, then you

send them upwards 1 meter by spending a number
- Hyper Combo of charges equal to their Stamina. Anyone you
knocked into the air is denied their Defense unless a
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers
supernatural speed effect or air control allows them
to retain it, remains airborne for one turn, and does
not suffer falling damage afterward. You can follow
them upwards, and you won’t be denied your
Defense in the air. You can keep them in the air with
successive Aerial Rave hits on successive rounds; if
you apply enough charges to launch them they stay
in the air instead of trampolining into the ground
and back.
- Helm Breaker
Gifted to Princesses of Swords
Ignore one point of the target’s General Armor, plus
one more for each charge spent. This Upgrade adds
a -1 die penalty for each charge spent.
- Duel Challenge
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors
When you want to fight, you get a fight. You can
force the target into a position where they must
fight you; when you hit, the target gains a stack of
the Challenged tilt (p. XXX), which penalizes their
next action that requires a die roll by -2 unless that
action is directly attacking you with a weapon or
their fists. For each charge spent, the penalty
increases by another -1.
- Rend Flesh
Gifted to Princesses of Storms
Your blows leave your opponents wounded and
reeling. Spend a charge to have your strike apply
one of the following Tilts: Arm Wrack, Leg Wrack,
Blind, Deafened, Knocked Down, Burning, Bleeding,
Winded, or another combat Tilt as the Storyteller
finds appropriate.
You may apply this Upgrade multiple times, but
each time you do, increase the number of charges it
costs by 1.
- Devastating Blow
Gifted to Princesses of Tears
In addition to dealing damage normally, your strike
drains one Willpower from the target, and inflicts
the Beaten Down Tilt for a number of turns equal to
the amount of charges you spent on this Upgrade.
- Gunslinger Style
You can strike with a ranged weapon, like a bow,
gun, javelin, or a baseball, using Firearms or
Athletics as appropriate. You can also use a melee
weapon and attack by expelling shockwaves of
slicing vacuum, using your Athletics to attack.
- Wide Sweep
Expand the range of your strike from its primary
target by two meters, plus two meters for each
charge spent. You perform the same strike against
all targets in that area, whether it takes the form of
a burst of gunfire, a whirlwind strike that catches
everyone in an area, or a flurry of attacks chaining
from one to the next.
- Opportunity Strike
When a potential target attempts to move past you
or is hit by an ally, you may take your action
immediately to cast Kiai with this Upgrade against
that target. If the opportunity was given by an
attack from an ally, apply the damage from that
attack as bonus dice as if it were a Teamwork roll.
(This isn’t a free action, it consumes the next action
you’d take. If the next action you’d take has already
been consumed or reserved in some way, you can’t
use this Upgrade.)
- Weapon Master
You rapidly swap through your arsenal of weapons
as you execute a stylish attack combo, leaving your
opponents dizzied and helpless against your
onslaught. Add one additional weapon to your total
attack, plus one more for each charge spent, up to
the total number of weapons you have in reach or
available (on your person, laying around the
environment, or currently able to Conjure into your
hands). Your strike uses the highest Damage rating
of all of the weapons you used, gets +1 die for each
weapon used, and applies all special properties of
every single weapon you use in the combo to the
entire attack. At the end of the combo, you may
choose to have any of the weapons you used be the
one active and in your hand.
- Round Trip
Your weapon dances out of your hands, striking on
its own. On subsequent turns until you choose to
recall the weapon, your weapon independently
repeats the same strike you used this upgrade on,
against the same area to within 3 meters; if targets
move further than that, your Round Trip won’t hit
them. Round Trip lasts for one turn, plus one
additional turn per charge spent on the initial
attack.
- Counter Stance
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
You enter a dangerous counterattack stance as part
of your attack. After performing the strike, until
your next turn, when someone attacks you, you may
spend a Wisp to immediately and reflexively strike
back at them. This strike also has to have the
Counter Stance Upgrade. If you are able to strike
reflexively by another method, like Royal Guard, you
may apply Counter Stance to that strike and then
immediately perform your counterattack.
- MAX-Act
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
You infuse your blows with magical power and
determination at precise moments to make the
most complicated maneuvers seem easy. Spend one
extra Wisp to double the number of charges you
get.
- Grievous Wounds
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
One Lethal damage dealt by this strike is upgraded
to Aggravated, and one additional damage is
upgraded per charge you spent.
Sample Kiai Charms
Helm Breaker into Sweeping Blow: “Slay… all!” he growls before he draws his blade, the iaido slice filling the air
all around him with slashes so thin nothing can obstruct them.

Helm Breaker into Precision Strike: “I got your number now!” As if they’d practiced this dance a hundred times,
she ducks and twirls in time with the creature’s movements, landing a palm strike right in its solar plexus, sending
shuddering force right to its twisted heart.

Gunslinger Style Precision Strike: “Ain’t nothing wrong with you that a critical to the eyes won’t cure!” With a
thunderous BOOM, her sniper rifle drills right into its most vulnerable spot.

Gunslinger Style Royal Guard: “Who let you play with RPGs?” With a single bullet, he shoots the tip of the rocket
and causes it to detonate harmlessly in midair.

Royal Guard into Aerial Rave: “Get away from her you BITCH!” Its rending claws collide with her daggers, and
the CLANG of the impact sends it staggering backwards.

Aerial Rave into Round Trip: “C’mere, knucklehead!” No sooner does she have the man wrapped up in her yo-yo
than she bounds off to the next target, leaving him tangled in her twirling strings.

Round Trip into Duel Challenge: “You’re about fifty years too early to take me on!” The whirling blade blocks his
path to her, but all he can look at is her shit-eating grin instead of the incoming danger.

Duel Challenge into Counter Stance: “You wanna go? LET’S FUCKING GO!” He presses the attack, forcing the
beast into a corner, forcing it into a position where the only way out is through him and going through him has a
horrible cost.

Weapon Master Counter Stance: The punch draws blood from her lip. “Oh, you’re gonna fuckin’ regret that,” she
smiles, before releasing wildly disproportionate retribution.

Weapon Master Rend Flesh: “Here comes everything I got!” After a barrage of blows from a ladder, a rotary saw,
an extension cord, and a lamp, the creature is beaten, tied, and maimed in just about every way possible.
Plea
A Grace needs to be able to touch the hearts of others to move them, and to do that, she usually must give a
heartfelt Plea about her dreams, her values, her hopes. By showing who she truly is inside, she can sway others
to her cause. This Charm is not capable of compelling or forcing any behavior; rather, a Plea offers another
person information, incentives, and assists with mundane attempts at persuasion, but ultimately the decision
must be theirs. Princesses are incapable of mind control and the Light of Hope is incapable of disrespecting
another person so deeply.

Action: Extended. Each roll is one turn.

Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion + Inner Light - target’s Composure.
Duration: One scene.
Scaling: The successes rolled on the Charm is effectiveness of your persuasion of Social Maneuvering test.
Exceptional Success: Like with Social Maneuvering, an Exceptional Success allows you to open two Doors.

Basic Action: You beseech an audience, asking them to perform a request and/or a favor. You initiate a special
Social Maneuver, rolling to beseech them each turn. On the first successful roll, the request is granted, and the
scale of the effect is based on the successes rolled. When all of the audience’s Doors are opened and the Social
Maneuver is successful, the favor is granted.

- To beseech is to “communicate an argument or persuasive attempt by talking to someone.”

- Your audience is “one individual who can hear and understand you.”
- A request is “Please perform this action that you can and would be willing to do as the result of a simple
persuasion roll.”
- A favor is “Please perform this action that you can and would be willing to make as the result of an
extended Social Maneuvering attempt.”

The Social Maneuvering roll caused by Plea is different from other Social Maneuvering rolls. The Impression of
the audience does not determine the interval at which you can make maneuvering rolls; instead, like in Psyche
combat (p. XXX), it determines the required successes to open a Door:

Impression Example Target

Perfect Someone whose life you’ve 1

saved.

Excellent Someone personally 2

impressed with you and your
deeds.

Good Someone who has heard of 3

 and believes in you and your
mission

Average Someone who thinks you look 4

awful silly but probably
harmless.

Hostile Someone actively opposed to 5*

your efforts.
* You cannot normally make Plea rolls against hostile targets who are actively fighting you, but an Upgrade
allows this, and if so, this is the target number.

Plea may also be used to augment Psyche combat itself. If used in Psyche combat, instead of altering how
Impression functions, this Charm improves the Distance by one stage (but as specified in those rules, can’t
improve it to “None.”) The favor is granted once the target’s Psyche damage track is filled with damage, if still
applicable - the Nightscape’s prisoner will be able to hear you out just fine, but a Nightmare will have mere
moments before it dissolves into frightful nothingness.

You cannot force open Doors while using Plea. Upgrades allow you to add multiple components to the request
and favor; each addition to the request after the first lowers your dice pool by -1 and each addition to the favor
after the first increases the audience’s Doors by 1.

Invocation: The Plea Charm requires communication with another entity. The act of communicating is sufficient
for Invoking the Charm, so long as you clearly care about what you are saying.

Regalia: Plea Regalia can be things that directly help you transmit your message (those little stage microphones
you stick to your cheek are always an option), but more often takes the form of something that helps get your
message across or helps indicate you should be taken seriously and listened to. Cosmetics like rouge, lipstick,
blush, anything that makes you look good can be Regalia to make people pay attention to your message; so can
formal wear, a corsage, a tie, even a lab coat that helps sell your intelligence. (There are rumors of some
extremely detail-oriented Princesses of Currents or Jewels with charts, whiteboards, or magical PowerPoint
presentations. Take of those what you will.)
 - Calming Plea - Clarion Plea
Gifted to all Princesses in addition to their default
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Intelligence
Upgrade
to be used instead of Presence

Why can’t we all just get along? A Calming Plea begs

You want to stir emotion, but to do that, sometimes
a stop to the violence. The request you ask for may
you need to clear away what obscures or muddles
now add “and please become affected by the Pacify
the clarity of the call. They can’t listen if they don’t
Tilt, as will I.”
understand.

The Pacify Tilt (p. XXX) causes a penalty to any

With Clarion Plea, the favor you ask for may be “and
hostile action equal to this Charm’s activation
please remove this mental Tilt or Condition from
successes and transforms Failure into Dramatic
yourself, or suppress this Persistent mental
Failure for affected rolls. Once someone suffers this
Condition from yourself for the rest of the scene.”
penalty, the Tilt expires from everyone. If you use
Sweeping Plea, it also applies this Tilt to all of your
While making rolls for Plea, you completely ignore
allies.
the effects that targeted Tilt or Condition would
have on your ability to make those rolls, but not
- Natural Plea anything else you’re doing until you actually
succeed.
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Animal Ken
to be used instead of Persuasion
Removing a supernatural Tilt or Condition triggers a
Clash of Wills. You don’t have to know the specific
You don’t need to share a language with your
name of the Tilt or Condition but you do need a
audience to beseech them. In fact, your audience
general idea of what’s wrong, and if you use
may now include animals, inanimate objects, and
Sweeping Plea you choose the same Tilt or
other things not normally capable of
Condition for everyone; you can’t pick for each
communication. Animals will usually grant a favor
individually.
after opening a single Door, though they won’t
understand complex concepts. Asking for more
complex favors still increases the amount of Doors
that need to be opened. - Honest Plea
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Socialize to be
When you beseech an inanimate object, you can ask
used instead of Persuasion
for the request “and please have a bonus on all rolls
to keep you functional and operational equal to my
Other creatures have the ability to lie and make it
activation successes.”
convincing, even compel belief. You don’t. You don’t
need it. You speak from the heart, you bare the
truth.
Your request may now include “and please make a
Wits+Empathy roll to see if I am lying, where you
gain automatic bonus successes equal to my Inner
Light.” This is not a supernatural compulsion upon
them, it opens yourself to their ability to discern lies
(and obviously doesn’t work if you’re lying).
Among its other effects, if their Wits + Empathy roll
plus the number of successes required to open a
Door from them is 10 or more, then improve
Impression or Distance by 1. (This means it’s harder
to get this benefit the fewer successes you require).
If they were already at the maximum, this has no
benefit.
- Sweeping Plea
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Wits to be
used instead of Presence
We have more in common than we have
differences, and if you speak to one, it should be
able to speak to all. Your audience can now consist
of multiple people at once who can all hear your
speech, and all are affected. For any resisted or
contested roll, use the highest applicable Attribute
or dice pool in the audience.
- Warrior’s Plea
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Weaponry or
Brawl to be used instead of Persuasion
Sometimes people need to get some sense slapped
into them. You may beseech a hostile audience in
combat, and even do it reflexively while fighting or
defending yourself. Each turn you do so counts as an
additional roll for the purposes of determining the
maximum number of rolls you can make. If you deal
lethal or aggravated damage to the audience, the
Plea automatically fails.
- Plea of Fealty
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows
Manipulation to be used instead of Presence
Your favor may now include “and for the rest of the
chapter or until I take hostile action against you,
please provide one Social Merit dot for me, of my
choice, whose function you are able to carry out.”
You could ask a character to serve as a dot of Allies,
Contacts, Circle, Staff, Status, Resources, Retainer,
etc, so long as they’re able to do something that
would justify that dot -- loan you some cash for
Resources, speak on your behalf to a group for
Status, reach out to people who know things for
Contacts, and etc.
When you use this Upgrade, it costs 1 extra Wisp for
each active bonus dot you have from Plea of Fealty.
No person can provide more than one bonus dot at
any time.
- Terrifying Plea
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Intimidation
to be used instead of Persuasion
When you apply this Upgrade, you don’t determine
Impression based on how much the audience likes
or respects you. Determine Impression based on
how afraid the audience is of your ability to hurt
them. You can apply Hard Leverage as part of a Plea.
The “plea” part doesn’t come from the caster -- it
comes from the audience pleading for mercy.
- Manipulative Plea
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Manipulation
to be used instead of Presence
Tug on their heartstrings -- grab them and yank.
Expose your heart and make them feel terrible
about wounding it.
Your favor may now include “and please take a
variant of the Beaten Down Tilt, applying a
Willpower cost to all actions that get in the way of
my stated goal so long as that goal doesn’t directly
harm you.”
- Sincere Plea
To truly reach someone, you must stick your hand in
your heart and spill it all over the stage.
Your request may now include “and please take a
Condition or Tilt related to my emotional state
before beseeching that I either take as well or
already had before I started.”
- Artistic Plea
Allows - and requires - Expression to be used
instead of Persuasion
The purpose of art is to stir the emotions, make you
think, make you feel. Art can speak like words can’t.
You may now beseech in the form of a piece of art,
or a recorded or written message. The audience
must still spend as much time observing or engaging
with it as they would otherwise listen to you, and
you have a stacking -1 penalty to each roll to
represent the difficulty of communicating without
direct feedback from the audience. Each person
may only be affected by a given Artistic Plea once.
The work of art loses its magic after a number of
days equal to your Inner Light.
- Piercing Plea
Sometimes you don’t have a minute. Sometimes
you need to utter a simple fact that pierces right to
the heart of the matter, something universally
understood that stops the audience dead in their
tracks.
Your request may now include “and please don’t do
anything that would inhibit your ability to carry out
the favor -- other than defend yourself and your
allies -- until I either succeed, fail, or cease trying to
convince you.”
- Haunting Plea
Your words echo in the ears of your audience,
sticking with them like an annoyingly catchy song.
You may delay your request or favor to only kick in
at a later time, in a later condition specified by you.
This delay can’t be more than one day per Inner
Light you have.
- Viral Plea
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Not viral like an infection -- okay, it is, but only
because it’s viral like a video. Your favor may now
include “and please cast this Plea again on someone
else, with all the same Upgrades I had, my Inner
Light and the Wisps I spend on it, but using your
own Attributes, Skills, circumstance bonuses, and
Willpower.”
If you want the Viral Plea to spread multiple times,
you have to pay a new Wisp each time it does and
you can’t do it more times than your Inner Light.
Each affected audience member can only spread
Viral Plea once, but they may do it up to one day
after hearing it per point of Inner Light you have.
- Plea of Friendship
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your favor may now include “and if you weren’t
already actively planning on betraying or harming
me, please become my True Friend, as the merit
(CofD p. 56), until the end of the current chapter or
I do anything to betray your trust. This won’t
improve the Impression you have of me for the
purpose of other Social Maneuvering attempts.” If
you then purchase the merit with an Experience,
they’ll remain your friend after the chapter.
- Gigadrive Plea
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your Plea overflows with power. You may spend 2 or
4 additional Wisps when casting Plea; if you do,
reduce your dice pool by that amount and open 1 or
2 additional Doors on your first success.
Sample Plea Charms
Sweeping Calming Plea: “HEY!” Somehow, his shout carries over all the gunfire, and for a brief moment it quiets
to hear what he has to say. “Everybody calm, and I cannot stress this enough, the FUCK DOWN!”

Terrifying Plea of Fealty: Her words are as precise, measured, and sharp as a scalpel piercing flesh. “Now, I want
somebody to tell me what goes on at that gathering. And you are going to be the person who tells me that,
aren’t you?” All the man can do is nod. “Because if you don’t, that means I don’t need you. And you don’t like
what I’ll do if I don’t need you, do you?”

Warrior’s Honest Plea: “Every single time -- ha -- I’ve seen you I’ve asked myself the -- hup -- the same question!”
Dodge. Parry. Riposte. “And I’ll never figure it out until you tell me!” She swats away another incoming blow,
sends her opponent into a spin. “So why?” She lunges forward, her opponent raises a defense at the last second,
and they’re close enough to touch noses if their crossed blades weren’t between them. “Why are you fighting me
when you know I want to save your life?”

Haunting Clarion Plea: “I know you’re going to be scared, okay?” he says with his hands on the woman’s
shoulders. “I know it’s going to seem like he is the biggest, scariest, most awful thing in the world, and there’s
going to be something inside you that says you should do whatever he wants so he won’t hurt you.” He fixes her
with his most determined glare. “But that voice isn’t yours. It’s the Darkness lying to you. And you don’t have to
listen. I believe in you.”

Artistic Manipulative Plea: It’s impossible to make it through the foyer without seeing it. It’s cheesy, it’s more
Kinkade than Rockwell, some bit of by-the-numbers schmaltz of a sad little girl with puppy dog eyes looking up at
the viewer. But there’s something about it, something so real, like the tears welling in her eyes could spill at any
moment -- and as cruel and selfish as they usually are, for some reason, they feel like they don’t want to make
that little girl cry.

Sincere Piercing Plea: “Come on, it’s Carnival, people are getting wild!” she says. She offers the shadowy creature
a longneck. “You can’t say you aren’t a little excited… What do you say we maybe party a bit, and then you
decide if you really want to unleash Hell on the festivities?”

Natural Plea of Friendship: Whatever it is, alien or cyborg or mutant or alien cyborg mutant sent from the future,
it looks down at her, mulling to itself in its own growling, clicking language. At last it taps its recording device, the
only way it can emulate her language: “The only way out of this is if we work together.”
Restoration
A Mender is just that -- someone who mends things. Broken bodies, broken blades, broken hearts. A healing
touch is empowered by the desire to bring things back to how they should be, beating back grief and fear. The
hope of the brighter future comes with the knowledge that the brighter past proved a better world could exist,
and with Restoration, a Princess can undo the damage the Darkness wreaks on the world.

Action: Extended. Each roll is one turn.

Dice Pool: Intelligence + (Medicine or Crafts) + Inner Light vs Stamina + Resolve.
Duration: Permanent unless otherwise specified.
Successes: Expended to heal points of damage.
Exceptional Success: More successes are their own reward.

Basic Action: You mend either a patient or an object, and attempt to undo its injury. Almost all applications of
Restoration are benign and won’t be resisted, but if a patient is unwilling, they will resist with Stamina + Resolve.

- To mend is to “apply magical healing to something by touching it and forfeiting your Defense for the turn
as you examine and apply to the specific area that needs attention.”
- A patient is “a living person or animal.” You can’t use Restoration on a patient who is dead without an
Upgrade to let you.
- An object is “any inanimate object of up to Size 20, or a Size 20 segment of a larger object.” You can use
Restoration on an object that has been utterly destroyed as long as you have most of the parts present.
- An injury is “damage to a patient or missing Structure from an object.” Each success can be spent to heal
3 bashing damage, 1 Lethal damage, or 1 Structure. 2 successes can be spent to downgrade an
Aggravated damage to Lethal. Whatever the injury is, you don’t need 100% understanding of it, but you
do need to have a pretty good handle on the gist of it, which may require another roll to diagnose.

You do not declare a total target successes when you start to cast the Charm; each roll will heal what it heals
based on its own successes and you can stop at any time to just take what you’ve rolled so far. Once you stop
casting or you are disrupted, you have to expend the Wisps and any other resources to start casting again.

When mending a person, use Medicine; when mending an object, use Crafts.

Invocation: Restoration must be Invoked by shouting or otherwise declaring your healing spell.

Regalia: Implements of comfort, repair, or healing serve as Restoration Regalia, even if Restoration is used in a
way that doesn’t make sense for that particular implement. A gigantic syringe can be Restoration Regalia even if
the only thing you “inject” is generalized good vibes. Gauze bandages or even little plastic Band-Aids, a
regenerative animal, first aid spray or healing herbs, all can work for Restoration focused on living patients
(unless you’ve taken another option that says otherwise), but will apply to objects as well; likewise for a welder’s
torch, tongs, or endless roll of duct tape working to heal injury on living people. If you want to use a syringe to fix
objects, you can probably use it like a caulking gun.
 - Regrowing Restoration The injury you treat may now be “a Mental
Condition or Tilt, or a memory being too vivid or not
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Resolve to
vivid enough.” The required successes are
be used instead of Intelligence
dependent on the Condition in question, with more
complex and long-lasting Conditions taking more
Nature and life are able to bounce back and flourish
successes and Tilts only taking one or two. The
of their own accord, as long as you help start the
interval between rolls extends to one day, each roll
process. Once you cast Restoration to mend a
costs a Wisp, and you can interrupt and resume
patient or object, you do not need to remain next to
your cast as many times as you want. (Note that this
them and take your action to continue casting; you
only applies to casts that treat Conditions, and not
can continue the extended roll while applying your
memories.)
Defense, moving away, and just doing something
else. If you cast another Charm, or if either you or
If you finish treating a Lasting Condition, the patient
the patient is disrupted by taking damage, the
has to sacrifice a Willpower dot to avoid the
Charm ends.
Condition coming back. This can only remove
ego-dystonic (against someone’s personality and
self-image) Conditions.
- Crafty Restoration
Memories can’t be altered, but they can be made
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Crafts to be
more or less important. The successes for the
used instead of Medicine
Charm allow you to place an equally sized bonus or
penalty to the Intelligence + Composure roll to recall
You can creatively bend, twist, and break an object
certain memories; penalties represent a memory
in order to restore it to a condition it was never in,
becoming less important and bonuses represent it
even combining it with other objects. The injury you
becoming more important. Without either
treat may now be “not having the Equipment
Rewinding or Caustic Restoration, you can’t erase
Modifications I want.” Each success spent on this
memories altogether. The patient can always spend
Upgrade provides a single point of Equipment
a Willpower point to counter a cast of Soothing
Modifications (see the Regalia chapter on p. XXX) to
Restoration (which will not prevent you from casting
the object and lowers its Structure by 1.
again but does use up any resources you had), so
ask first.

- Soothing Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Empathy to - Rewinding Restoration
be used instead of Medicine
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Dexterity to
be used instead of Intelligence
This is that whole “mending broken hearts” thing,
allowing you to treat a patient’s mental and
If you want things to be like they were before, why
psychological injury.
not just… do that? Rewinding Restoration is able to
mend injuries by rewinding time. A Rewinding
Restoration still heals the same amount of damage,
but does so by reverting the patient to a previous
condition and location -- meaning that all sorts of
secondary effects, appearances, and even physical
position get reset as well. Memory and mental
resources are unaffected without another Upgrade
that lets you do that. Each round you want to
rewind a patient costs 1 success for the first, 2 for
the second, etc; if the patient is unwilling the first
round costs successes equal to their Resolve and it
goes up from there. It’s your responsibility to make
note of where people were if you think you might
rewind them.
- Reinforcing Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Medicine to
be used instead of Crafts
Some injuries last longer and run deeper than the
things modeled by damage. You need to put people
back together, sometimes.
The injury you treat may now be “A physical
Condition or Tilt.” To remove a Condition or Tilt, the
required successes are dependent on the Condition
in question, with more complex and long-lasting
Conditions taking more successes and Tilts or very
recent Conditions only taking one or two. Unless the
Condition you are treating was added in the current
scene, the interval between rolls extends to one
day, each roll costs a Wisp, and you can interrupt
and resume your cast as many times as you want.
If you finish treating a Lasting Condition, and it
wasn’t just applied in the current scene, the patient
has to sacrifice a Willpower dot to avoid it coming
back.
- Reputation Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors -- allows
Manipulation to be used instead of Intelligence
Sometimes it’s not enough to just heal what is
internal to the patient. Sometimes you gotta heal
how people see them.
The injury you treat may now be “a Social Condition
or Tilt, or blocked access to one or more Social
Merits.” To remove a Condition or Tilt, the required
successes are dependent on the Condition in
question, with more complex and long-lasting
Conditions taking more successes and Tilts only
taking one or two. The interval between rolls
extends to one day, each roll costs a Wisp, and you
can interrupt and resume your cast as many times
as you want. You must also interact with other
people who create the Social Condition, even if you
don’t have to do all the things you’d normally do to
patch up the Condition without magic.
If you finish treating a Lasting Condition, the patient
has to sacrifice a Willpower dot to avoid the
Condition coming back.
- Caustic Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Strength to
be used instead of Intelligence
You can now mend the injury wrong, like when a
bone knits together at the wrong angle. Instead of
healing damage, you cause it to become Resistant
and unable to heal by magical means. (This is itself a
magical effect so it can be dispelled, but dispelling it
is part of the same injury so you need to accumulate
enough successes to get through both.) Every roll
you make as part of the extended action to cast
Caustic Restoration costs one Wisp, instead of just
the first one.

Applied in tandem with certain other Upgrades, this
allows you to flip their effect and make them
negative. Invigorating Caustic Restoration can lower
Attributes that are equal to or lower than your
Attribute, Crafty Caustic Restoration can allow you
to put a negative modifier on the object in question,
and etc.
- Arresting Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Occult to be
used instead of another skill
Some problems might take longer to solve than you
have, and some problems need to be frozen in order
to keep them from making things worse.
The injury you treat may now be “this patient or
object isn’t in stasis,” and it mends by putting it into
stasis. The required successes are equal to the
patient or object’s Size. A patient or object in stasis
does not move or act, does not experience the
passage of time, and is immune to any action taken
against it other than to physically move its location
or dispel the Stasis effect. Stasis lasts for one scene,
but can be extended by spending two more Wisps
for each day you want the effect to continue..
An unwilling and living patient is entitled to repeat
their Stamina + Resolve roll any time something
new and potentially threatening happens, which
includes every turn in an active combat situation.
- Purifying Restoration
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Medicine to
be used instead of Crafts
Some injury comes and goes. You get stabbed, and
now you have a stab wound, and the knife isn’t
really relevant any more. Sometimes, it’s a bit more
sticky and pervasive. The injury you treat may now
be “the presence of foreign substances or
contaminants,” with a required successes
dependent on the nature of the contaminant and
how pervasively it is integrated. Not only can this
cure poisons and diseases, but also purify
substances -- you could make any liquid into pure
drinking water, clean the blood off your clothes, or
turn a lump of bronze into a lump of copper and a
lump of tin, if for some reason you needed to do
that.
- Abolishing Restoration
The injury you treat may now be the existence of an
ongoing magical effect. This always triggers a Clash
of Wills against the original caster; effects innate to
something’s nature aren’t able to be removed this
way. If the injury is currently being suppressed by
the Ward Charm, add the successes of that Charm
to the successes of your roll in the Clash of Wills.
- Invigorating Restoration
You can mend people and things to tip top shape,
the most optimal they’ve been, beating back stress
and exhaustion.
The injury you treat may now be “this object
doesn’t have a high enough Durability” or “this
patient has an Attribute that is lower than mine.” To
add Durability to an object, the first costs 1 success,
the second costs 2, etc.
Used on a patient, you add to their Attribute dots.
The first dot costs 1 success, the second costs 2, etc.
You cannot raise any Attribute to a level higher than
your own rating in that Attribute (counting your
Transformed Attribute dots, but not counting buffs
from any other source).
Invigorating Restoration lasts for a scene.
- Remote Restoration
You don’t need to touch something to mend it. You
now mend by “focusing healing energy into one or
more targets you can directly perceive.” If you
attempt to mend an uncooperative patient, subtract
their Defense from your dice pool as if it were a
thrown weapon. (Restoration, Stat! lets you ignore
their Defense if they don’t have an effect that allows
them to retain their Defense against firearms.)
You can even designate additional targets for your
Restoration by paying 1 Wisp for each, up to a total
no more than your Inner Light. If you do, you have
to treat the same Injury on all of them, and if you
use an Upgrade that makes every roll cost a Wisp
then you don’t have to pay the extra Wisps on
subsequent rolls.
- Vaccinating Restoration
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,
and all that. You can mend to fortify against injury in
the future, bolstering defenses physical and
spiritual.
If you choose a specific type of injury you could
treat but the patient or object doesn’t necessarily
have right now, then they gain the Vaccinated
Condition (p. XXX), which will activate Restoration
on them when they suffer that injury.
You have to be somewhat specific when naming the
injury. You can say “bullet wounds,” but you can’t
say “lethal damage,” and you don’t have to be as
specific as “.357 magnum hollow-points.” They can
already have the injury in the case of Upgrades like
Invigorating Restoration or Arresting Restoration, in
which case you put a time limit on it.
You can also choose to make the patient or object
develop resistance to your own treatment. If you
do, then when you mend an injury, set a condition
or time limit on it -- once the condition is met or the
time expires, the injury reappears.
Either way, the Vaccinated Condition only lasts 12
hours per Inner Light; after that, it fades without
activating.
- Restoration, Stat!
Get moving! You need this patient stable and
healthy yesterday! Restoration, Stat! allows you to
mend an injury in the blink of an eye. You no longer
need to forfeit your Defense to mend, the effect
happens instantly rather than over the course of a
turn, you may cast this Charm at any point in
initiative order, and the process of your mending is
so fast it can send things flying, which you can use
to your advantage with several Upgrades. Used with
an Upgrade that increases the interval between rolls
to 24 hours, you can instead change the interval to 8
hours.
- Desperate Restoration
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
You can now mend the most dire wounds. You may
now mend aggravated damage for 1 success per
point. You can even mend the last health box of
aggravated damage that killed a character, so long
as they suffered that injury in the current scene -- so
you can raise the dead if you get there right away. If
they were brought back to life, the patient
automatically loses a dot of Integrity, Belief, or its
equivalent. Being truly dead, even for a few
seconds, is an experience that shakes you to the Your Restoration overflows with power. You may
core. spend 2 additional Wisps when casting this Charm;
if you do, subtract 2 dice and add 2 successes to the
first successful roll, then add 1 success to every roll
- Gigadrive Restoration
you make thereafter.
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Sample Restoration Charms
Rewinding Restoration, Stat! “Oh, hey, guys!” she says with her hands on her hips, disappointed. “You left a big
mess with all these bullets laying around. Hey, why don’t I just give them right back to you? INVERTER!” And just
like that, the projectiles are very rapidly trying to find their way home, towards the thugs with rifles that just left
them out.

Soothing Rewinding Restoration: “Yeah, that was… pretty fucked up,” she admits. “You wanna just forget any of
this ever happened? I sure as hell would if I could make this power work on myself.”

Soothing Purifying Restoration: “I rebuke thee, evil spirit, to release the soul of this poor child! Get out!” He
grimaces as if wrestling with something in the child’s aura. “I said get out, you little bastard! Get out here so we
can punch the shit out of you!”

Vaccinating Purifying Restoration: As each course of the meal is served, the host gets more eager to see his
guest’s reaction. Then he gets angry, then disappointed. It isn’t until dinner is presented that the guest says “You
know, if you’re going to poison someone, try not to grin so eagerly when you think they’re gonna die. Maybe also
wash the jar you make ricin in before you throw it in the trash.”

Remote Arresting Restoration: “FREEZE!” he shouts in a panic, and indeed the claw coming to take off his head is
encased in ice. He’d better move quickly -- already the monster is starting to crack out of its frozen tomb.

Arresting Reinforcing Restoration: The other passengers gasp as the man’s scream is silenced midway, and his
body becomes a still sculpture of agony. She’s having none of it. “Someone turned to stone is a problem I have a
LOT more time to solve than someone missing half of his body, now quit gawking and find where his legs went!”

Caustic Reinforcing Restoration: She’d never seen a creature regenerate like this one. Its wounds had healed
before you even recovered your balance after an attack. “Wither away!” she screams as she claws for its eyes,
hoping that she could blind it for long enough to matter.

Caustic Crafty Restoration: She spat blood and grasped the spear through her gut with both hands. “Twist. Bend.
Shatter.” The Defiler summoned it back to his hand, but it was too late -- the fell material was warped and
off-balance and he’d never land another throw with it.
Step
Move fast baby, don’t be slow. Step aside, reload, time to go. A Princess’s magic is a radiant declaration, an
affirmation, of who she is. Who she is is more important than what physics tells her is possible, and thus she can
perform the impossible. When who she is is more important than where she can be, and thus, the Step Charm.

Step is how a Princess controls her interactions with her space and environment. It makes her faster, smoother,
and more coordinated -- she moves like she can in her mind, and her body follows along. Step lets you go where
you want to go and not be held anywhere you don’t. At its base, it allows her to avoid bullets as easily as she
avoids a slap. As she masters her environment, she can be so light that she can balance on a hair and
simultaneously so heavy nothing can move her. She can crash through with such force she scatters all foes in her
path and such precision she can dodge falling raindrops. A master of the Step Charm is in control of her body and
movement like nobody else.

Action: Reflexive
Dice Pool: None. Step is not rolled. If you perform a non-combat physical action involving speed, grace, or
athleticism with your Step, add your Inner Light to the roll.
Duration: One turn + one turn per Inner Light.

Basic Action: Gain a burst of movement that allows you to apply your Defense against ranged attacks; this is a
supernatural speed effect for the purposes of other things that negate Defense via supernatural speed.

Invocation: Step can be Invoked verbally or visually. If you don’t shout the names of your techniques or declare
what your powers are, you might leave a trail of flower petals wherever you run, or be followed by glowing
afterimages tracing your movements, be wrapped in blurry lightning, or something along those lines --
something that makes it unmistakable that your movement is magically augmented.

Regalia: Since Step is not rolled, its Regalia usually grants bonuses to Athletics, Movement, Defense, or (with
certain specific Upgrades) Drive or Stealth. A rocket booster extending from the shoulders of a suit of magical
power armor, sandals with Hermes’s wings, a racer’s helmet and scarf for a Redline Step user, or a jacket or cape
that twirls beautifully with your graceful movements, all could be Step Regalia.

-
 render yourself immune to someone’s attempts to
- World Step throw you off of a wooden scaffold because they
can’t lift a ton but you won’t fall through the
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers
wooden scaffold because you only weigh 125
pounds. In addition to the other possibilities this
Where you leap, the ground meets -- or what you
opens up, nothing can grapple you or move you
meet, becomes the ground. During Step, you may
from your position unless it could move a multi-ton
orient your own relative gravity to any surface you
weight, and you do not take damage from impact,
touch -- you will stand on, run on, jump off of, and
either from you hitting the ground, or incidental
fall toward that surface. If this surface is a person or
collisions with your environment.
other entity that can act, they must make a grapple
check opposed by your (Strength or Dexterity) +
Athletics to break this Upgrade’s effect. - Light Step
Gifted to Princesses of Spades
- Brilliant Step
During Step, you selectively weigh no more than a
Gifted to Princesses of Currents
playing card, allowing you to perform astonishing
Super. Hot. Super. Hot. Super. Hot.
feats of grace. It takes no conscious effort to
determine what purposes you have your normal
Your perception of time slows to a crawl; indeed,
weight for; you can stand on the tip of someone’s
time only seems to move when you do. You get no
sword because you weigh no more than a card, but
penalties for being rushed or not having adequate
you won’t be blown off their sword by the wind
time to react and can perform actions that would be
because you weigh 125 pounds. In addition to the
impossible due to how quickly you would have to
other possibilities this opens up, feats of grace or
perceive. Among other effects, this allows you to go
agility that aren’t attacks gain the rote quality.
first in any combat round unless there are other
combatants present with supernatural initiative
effects, like this Upgrade or Celerity or etc; in that - Braced Step
case everyone who goes first acts in order of their
Gifted to Princesses of Swords
Initiative and then everyone else goes in order of
their Initiative.
While under the effect of Step, your Strength is
tripled for all non-attack purposes.
- Decisive Step
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - Blinding Step
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors
You move yourself, and nobody else does. During
Step, you selectively have the mass and inertia of a
You can make a God-damn entrance, is what you
boulder that weighs one ton per Inner Light you
can do. The first time someone sees you move with
have. It takes no conscious effort to determine what
Step active, they make a Wits + Composure roll. If
purposes you have your normal weight for; you can
they fail to get higher successes than your Inner
Light, you have taken them by surprise for this
round even if they knew you were coming. Among
other things, this completely negates their Defense
even if they have an ability that lets them retain it
against certain attacks, they cannot take actions
against you, and makes them unable to react to
your actions by delaying their turn.
This Upgrade can only affect anyone once in a given
scene.
- Crashing Step
Gifted to Princesses of Storms
Nothing stands in the way of your goal. When you
move in a straight line during Step everyone and
everything within 1 yard of you per Inner Light, at
any point in your movement takes 1 lethal damage
(ignoring Durability) and must make a Stamina +
Potency roll or be shoved that many meters away
from you. Inanimate objects are thrown out of your
path as if they were pushed by someone with
Strength equal to your Inner Light and weren’t
externally braced or reinforced.
No person or thing can be damaged by this more
than once per turn.
- Step Away
Gifted to Princesses of Tears
Melt into the shadows and escape. One of the only
abilities in a Princess’ entire repertoire that can
actually conceal them, when you move with Step
Away, you are able to make a Dexterity + Stealth roll
to evade detection even from people who were
looking right at you.
Even though it doesn’t cost an extra Wisp to
activate, you can only apply the benefit of this
Upgrade once every three turns, so you had better
end your movement out of their sight.
- Redline Step
While you’re piloting a vehicle or riding an animal,
it’s considered “you” for the purposes of Step, and
all your Step abilities apply to it.
- Rapid Step
During Step, double your Movement.
You may apply this Upgrade multiple times to the
same Step cast. Each instance of Rapid Step adds
+100% of your base Movement to your Movement;
they won’t double it then quadruple it then octuple
it then hexadecimuple it.
- Tireless Step
When you cast Step for the second time in a scene,
it lasts the rest of the scene. This doesn’t prevent
you from having to pay for Upgrades that require
additional costs to activate, like Flash and Phantom
Step.
- Marching Step
Wherever you’re going, you’re going together.
When you activate Step, you begin leading your
allies in a march - for the duration of the Charm, up
to 5 allies in your line of sight also gain the effects of
Step for the full duration.
- Gliding Step
Gravity has less of a hold on you. During Step, you
selectively fall at one-tenth the normal speed of
gravity, as does anything you interact with. You, or
anyone or anything you bring with you, won’t be
able to change trajectory in the air without
something to kick off of or some other ability to
alter your momentum, like Force.

- Flash Step
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

During Step, you can spend extra Wisps to

reflexively move a distance equal to your Movement
rating. As long as there is no barrier in the way, you
disappear and reappear with a “zwee” and don’t
actually physically cross the distance. Invoking this
ability costs 1 Wisp, plus one additional Wisp for
each time you’ve used it this turn.

- Phantom Step
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

During Step, you may spend one Wisp to enter a

Twilight state for one turn. In Twilight, you are
completely intangible to the physical world, and can
interact with ephemeral beings in Twilight as if they
were entirely physical.
Sample Step Charms
Brilliant Light Step: She didn’t expect to have to deal with a bunch of rockets from an Apache gunship today. To
be fair, the gunners didn’t expect their target to use the volley to run up to the cockpit, stepping on the missiles
like they were sturdy platforms. Today was full of surprises!

Braced Decisive Step: Three tons of pickup truck, rolling downhill, striking against one girl in a dress who couldn’t
be more than 125 pounds soaking wet. There’s no way she could think she’ll just stop the oncoming impact by
standing there, and she doesn’t. The asphalt buckles and cracks under her feet when she grabs it by the grille,
swings it up and over, and suplexes the vehicle into the pavement.

Braced Redline Step: “Hey, I’m pretty good at this!” he says as he works the levers on the wrecking ball,
sundering the fortification in a few moments. “Maybe I should get into construction. Or demolition. Either’s fun!”

Redline Phantom Step: The insubstantial ghost cackled, telekinetically hurling knives everywhere, confident it
was immune to any retribution. Confident it absolutely never, ever, could get run over by a truck. Well HONK
HONK, MOTHERFUCKER!

Tireless World Step: Nobody ever looks straight up. She just has to saunter onto the ceiling, crouch, and wait for
the ambush. The target might not be here for an hour, but that’s okay -- her phone is attached to her wrist so she
can’t drop it while she plays her gacha games.

Rapid Tireless Step: The eleven-legged spiders skitter away into the darkness to feast on their prizes. Then they
realize she’s coming after them. And further they realize: they are going to get tired before she does.

Marching Crashing Step: One on the south entrance, two on the west, and her on the east, waiting for the
command. “Three, two, one, PUNCH IT!” The windows are the only things they don’t crash through -- rappelling
through windows is too pedestrian. Every other wall exploding at once, now that’s breaching a room.

Blinding Step Away: He vanished in a flash but can’t have gotten far -- it can still smell him. It chuckles darkly to
itself, anticipating a long, delicious hunt full of looming dread before it devours him. When he reappears seconds
later, the thunderous fanfare isn’t just so bright it has to avert its eyes, the creature has to avert its nose.
Ward
As long as we have tried to understand the metaphysical and the spiritual, we’ve created talismans, symbols,
wards. PIeces of magic we have written down, rules we’ve passed, lines physical or metaphorical that we say
won’t be crossed and we’re willing to fight for. Menders use Restoration to undo the wounds of the past, and
with Ward, they declare “This isn’t going to happen any more.”

Ward is used to place traps, alarms, blessings, and protection. The Princess can leave her mark around her,
showing “this is under my guardianship” and “this is off limits” and “this is against the rules.” At its most basic,
Ward can stave off magic and alert the Princess from afar. When mastered, a Ward user can chain together a
whole series of conditions and effects to ensure that even when she’s absent, things happen how she wishes.

Action: Instant. If the talisman is stuck to someone with an attack, it’s part of the same action.
Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult + Inner Light
Duration: The ongoing effects of the Ward last for the rest of the scene after being triggered.
Scaling: Someone else trying to to overcome, negate, or disarm the Ward contests their efforts against your
successes.
Exceptional Success: Gain +2 charges.

Basic Action: Imbue a talisman with magic, place it on a bearer, and name a trigger. Starting from your next turn,
when the trigger happens, the talisman activates, consuming it and applying its blessing for the rest of the scene.

- The talisman is “a special magical paper or other small symbol that you prepared ahead of time and is
clearly for magic or religious purpose and has no other function.” You don’t have to pre-cast Ward and
decide all of its effects when making the talisman, you just need to have them to be able to infuse the
magic in them.
- The bearer is “a person or inanimate object that you can stick the talisman to.”
- The trigger is “a circumstance that can be seen or heard happening to or around the bearer.”
- The blessing is “The Ward’’s caster is immediately alerted that the trigger has happened.”

Sticking the talisman to an uncooperative person requires a successful touch attack, or to be applied as part of a
grapple. If the Ward is stuck to the top dead center of the forehead or directly between the shoulderblades it
can’t be removed without overcoming its successes even with a mundane roll; if not applied as part of a grapple,
precisely sticking the talisman in place takes a -3 penalty to the attack roll.

When you cast Ward, you get a number of charges equal to your Inner Light. These charges are expended on
Upgrades to power up their effects. Any effect that says “and/or” allows you to pick which effect you want, or
both of them, when you cast Ward. You make all the decisions about Ward’s upgrades and effects when you cast
it, not when it’s triggered.
The Ward lasts 1 day before being triggered, plus one additional day per charge spent to enhance its duration.
Once triggered, it lasts for the rest of the scene, and blessings that have a momentary effect will repeat every
time the trigger happens during that scene.

Multiple Wards can apply to the same bearer, but no more than one instance of each Upgrade can be active.
Whichever version of the Ward had the most charges put into that upgrade, that’s the one that wins out.

Invocation: The talismans are clearly unusual, and their use must be called out when they are cast. When they
trigger, it will be visually obvious that something is happening unless great pains are taken to hide them. Without
Everyday Ward, it’s nearly impossible for a talisman to look like it belongs anywhere you’ve stuck it.

Regalia: Ward Regalia can be the talismans themselves, a tool used to make them, or a tool used in concert with
them. Engraved beads, sacred twine, paper symbols, decal stickers, trading cards, yellow caution tape, all could
be talismans. A traditional shrine maiden may have a stack of ofuda talismans serve as her Regalia (and she
doesn’t have to worry about running out, any more she makes will be part of the same Regalia). Or, the talismans
could be normal paper and ink, and her Regalia is the gohei stick she waves around as she chants her blessings.
 - Magic Ward
Gifted to all Princesses in addition to their default
Upgrade.
Your blessing may now include “Any attempt to use
magic by and/or on the bearer has a dice penalty of
-2, and an additional -1 for each charge spent on
this Upgrade.” If magic used on the bearer is
penalized, then any magic effect that would
encompass the bearer is affected, even if they are
not the primary target. For example, if someone
tries to scry on the room a person is in, and the
bearer is also in that room, then the roll is
penalized.
Your trigger may now include the use of a magical
spell or ability, even if you can’t otherwise perceive
it.
- Cleansing Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Flowers - allows Survival to
be used instead of Occult
Your blessing may now include “Conditions and Tilts
you specify are prevented from being applied and
ongoing Conditions are suppressed while near the
talisman. This doesn’t work on Lasting Conditions.
This works on one Condition or Tilt plus one more
for each charge spent.”
If you define the Conditions and Tilts too broadly,
the Ward will trigger too early, consume its uses
preventing or suppressing Conditions or Tilts you
don’t particularly care about, and won’t be able to
work against the things you really need.
- Tracking Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Currents - allows Science to
be used instead of Occult
Your blessing may now include “The caster can
perceive the activation of the trigger and the full
details of how it happened. For the rest of the
scene, they can perceive the bearer and its
immediate area with any senses available to them.”
- Heavy Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Jewels - allows Composure to
be used instead of Resolve
Your blessing may now include “The bearer
becomes heavier, making it more difficult to move
or act.” Among other effects, a person’s Speed and
all physical dice pools are -1, and an additional -1 for
each charge spent on this Upgrade. And/or increase
the required Strength to use an inanimate object or
move the bearer by 1, plus 1 more for each charge
spent on this Upgrade.
- Deflecting Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Spades - allows Wits to be
used instead of Resolve
Your blessing may now include “All attacks made by
and/or against the bearer suffer a -2 penalty, and an
additional -1 for each charge spent on this
Upgrade.”
- Heart-Feeling Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Swords - allows Empathy to
be used instead of Occult
Your trigger may now be “an emotion or intent that
is felt by the bearer or close by to them.” You will
know when the trigger happens but not the exact
details, without Tracing Ward.
- Reflective Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Mirrors - allows
Manipulation to be used instead of Resolve
Your blessing may now include “This Charm repeats
the action of the trigger against whoever or
whatever triggered it, using the same successes. The
maximum successes for the repeated effect is 1,
plus an additional 1 for each charge spent on this
Upgrade.”
- Retaliation Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Storms - allows Stamina to
be used instead of Resolve
Your blessing may now include “This talisman
explodes, dealing 2 lethal damage to targets within
1 meter per Inner Light of the bearer, plus 1 more
lethal damage for each charge spent on this
Upgrade. The caster may choose if the bearer is
immune to damage or not. This damage persists,
applying one less damage each turn until it runs out
or is successfully removed.”
- Repulsion Ward
Gifted to Princesses of Tears - allows Crafts to be
used instead of Occult
Your blessing may now include “Anyone or anything
who sets off the trigger is repelled away from the
bearer.” People are thrown backwards if they do not
succeed on a Strength + Athletics -2 roll with an
additional -1 for each charge spent on this Upgrade.
If the bearer is not firmly secured to the ground,
they will be thrown the same distance in the
opposite direction.
- Sticky Ward
When the trigger happens, you may choose for
whoever or whatever did that action to become the
new bearer. This happens once, plus one additional
time for every charge spent on this Upgrade. The
new bearer doesn’t have to be touching the
talisman to have it stick to them.
- Consecrate
You may now name as the bearer “an area three
meters in diameter around a single talisman” or “an
area up to about the size of a large classroom whose
corners are marked with talismans.” Things and
people in the area are affected or unaffected by the
blessing based on how you choose to apply it when
you cast it, but without Selective Ward you cannot
split Upgrades and apply some to one group and
some to another, it’s all or nothing.
- Selective Ward
You may now designate separate triggers for each of
the Upgrades on your Ward. These Upgrades will
only apply to the individual triggers they name,
instead of it being all-or-nothing.
- Homing Ward
You may now attach the talisman to a bearer as a
ranged attack using Athletics or Firearms. This
attack doesn’t ignore the target’s Defense and has a
range of 10/20/40. If a casting of Ward requires you
to place more than one talisman, you can send
them all out at once, but each ranged attack is -1 for
each talisman past the first.
 - Everyday Ward
Your talisman may now be “an object that you have
spent one turn preparing by applying special
symbols to it.” Increase the required successes to
remove or bypass the Ward by 2, and it requires a
successful Perception check when inspected to
notice the symbols.
- MAX-Act Ward
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.
Your Ward overflows with power. You gain double
the charges for enhancing your Ward Upgrades.

- Suppressing Ward
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

This is an enhanced version of Magic Ward. It must

be applied to a cast that also has Magic Ward
applied. The blessing of Magic Ward now reads
“Reduce the successes of all magical effects used by
or on the bearer (other than this one) by 2, plus an
additional 1 for each charge spent on this Upgrade.
Existing, ongoing magic effects are reduced in
successes under this blessing and if the effect’s
successes become 0 or less, it’s temporarily
suppressed until the blessing runs out.”

That “by or on” is not a “by and/or” on; if you apply

this it has to work in both directions.

- Charming Ward
This is an advanced Upgrade. It counts as two
Upgrades when applied to a Charm.

Your blessing may now include “Cast a Charm that

you pre-loaded when you cast Ward.” Spend all the
resources, choose who and what will be targeted by
the Charm, and determine the dice pool when
loading that Charm, but don’t roll the dice pool until
activated.

Unless you pay the resources for the Charm multiple

times when loading it, this blessing won’t go off
again when the trigger happens again.
Sample Ward Charms
Tracking Heart-Feeling Ward: “I got a ping… oh, this dude is NOT happy. This is some pure-ass murderous intent.
Not sure what he’s after, but he’s going to the access tunnel, we’re gonna want to meet him before he can do
whatever he’s doing.”

Repulsion Consecrate: “Be thee GONE!” he bellows as the five points of the pentagram light up. “Get out of here,
we’re busy!” The gibbering Ravenous are flung backwards, outside the protective magic circle, and their efforts to
flow back in are thwarted when they just keep bouncing off.

Homing Heavy Ward: “Kun! Gen! Qian! Weight of the Mountains of Heaven!” The priestess flings the paper
talisman towards the fleeing monster and tags it right on the thigh. The shadowy skitter becomes a languid
amble, and the monster nearly trips under its own weight.

Sticky Deflecting Ward: He thought one headshot to the Princess in the back, while they were distracted fighting
his Darkspawn, would be enough to take her out. But his bullet was deflected -- and then, to his horror, he found
every shot he fired from his backup weapons veering wildly off target. “Hey, man,” she said to him, “I shouted out
‘Peacemaker’s Pact,’ if you didn’t get it that’s on you.”

Cleansing Reflective Ward: Three rows of needle-sharp teeth sink into the poor man’s skin, and it draws blood --
but the paper charm bursts into flames, and when the monster yanks backwards to rip the flesh open, its own
body is the one that starts to leak blood.

Everyday Retaliation Ward: “Anything I touch becomes an explosive!” she cackles as the smoke clears. “A
doorknob, a chair, a pen, anything in this building could be my bomb trap! So come on, try your luck, see how far
you can make it!”

Magic Suppressing Consecrate: The blessed twine over the doorways flares with light, like a bug zapper, each
time one of the zombies tries to walk in. The moment they cross the threshold, the magic animating them is cut
off, they fall over, and the nakama can decapitate it. The only question now is: is that necromancer going to run
out of zombies before they run out of space to put them?

Everyday Heart-Feeling Charming (Conjure) Ward: It was like instinct -- he didn’t even remember what his
girlfriend told him about clutching the locket when he was in danger, he just felt the terror rise in his heart, and
he grabbed onto it. He thought he had a vision of her face as he was going to die, but no, he’d found himself
transported to her apartment.
Signet Charms
Overall summary of what they are and what they are about

Elemental Attuned
Each Signet has an option you can take to designate some of your non-Signet Charms as elemental-attuned and
name a specific element. Elemental attunement is not an Upgrade, but a modification to the basic Charm.
Elemental attuned Charms can only act through or on things in line with that element, and this limits the
function of what they can do in some way because it only works through or on things associated with that
element (If you want elemental ability that ADDS power to the Charm, you want element-infused from later in
the Signet). Each Signet provides a list of examples of how an elemental-attuned Charm might work and what
restrictions that might apply. Note that the Twilight versions of elemental attunement can work through the
signature emotion of their Princesses, but Radiant ones can’t and are locked to the literal expression of that
element.

The benefit for all elemental-attuned Charms is the same: add your dots in the associated Signet to your dice
pool, apply an additional free Upgrade, and you may cast the Charm for 1 less Wisp a number of times per
chapter equal to your dots in that Signet but still get the Buster Overcharge as if you spent the Wisp. You can use
the Charm without the elemental affinity if you really, really, really need something the element can’t handle,
but it’s costly: not only do you not get the attunement benefits, but you need to spend an additional Willpower
to cast it.

You can designate the same Charm as attuned to more than one element. If you do, you can pick what elemental
attunement you apply when you cast the Charm, you don’t have to always meet the criteria for both. If you do
manage to do something that is in line with both elements (like combining a fire affinity and a water affinity to
cast a Charm that uses hot steam), you apply both bonuses.

Elemental Infused

Each Signet also has an option, further in its development, to gain the ability to infuse elemental power into your
Charms. Taking this Signet Charm gives you an Infusion Upgrade, which is just an Upgrade that you can now
apply to all of your Charms like any other (It doesn’t count as an Upgrade for the purposes of qualifying for
Advanced Upgrades though, but nice try). Each of them has the same basic text: it infuses the Charm with the
power of the element, granting it an additional ability or capability tied to that element.

Just like Elemental Attuned Charms, the list of what possible mechanical effects this can have is too large to fit in
the book (it’d double the length of the Charms section at the very least since you can apply them to a given
Charm in multiple ways), so only a list of example abilities is given. You can and should make your own, just aim
for an effect that’s roughly about as powerful as a normal Upgrade.

Also like Elemental Attuned Charms, the Twilight versions of these infusions can apply powers from the signature
emotion of the Princess, but the Radiant ones can’t.
Acqua
Acqua is the Signet of the Queen of Currents, controlling water and ice and empowering a clear mind and
rational approach to problems. Water from rain grows crops and quenches our thirst, but water in currents --
water in rivers and oceans -- bears vessels with new developments and new ideas. Trade and the exchange of
ideas is what truly draws the Queen to her affinity with water, though the crystal clarity of pure and untainted
water certainly helps too. She developed it not just through extensive personal research and study, but
conferring with everyone she could, from as broad and diverse a set of viewpoints as she could. She’s had a
major hand in developing EVERY Radiant Signet, at least their modern forms; the Queen of Currents is probably
the reason Signet Charms for the Radiant don’t stop at 3 or 4 dots and how they were able to catch up to the
Twilight Signets in so little time and cover the areas they needed to cover.

Each of the Radiant Queens are supposed to only teach their Signet to those who uphold their values, it only
seems right and natural to do so. The Queen of Currents is… extremely flexible on that front. She’ll teach the
first 3 dots to just about anyone, including followers of Tears, Storms, and Mirrors who have no intention of
turning their back on their Queen or their values. She thinks that being able to do things with a clear mind will
help anyone discover that her path is the best way forward, but she also just wants as wide a range of feedback
as possible on how the Signet is working and how it could be improved.

Acqua • : Student

Surging Mind: When making a mundane roll studying ahead of time (like an Aim action), you get
involving a Mental Attribute (Intelligence, Wits, or +3 dice, an Exceptional success on 3 or more
Resolve), you can spend any number of Wisps to successes, and an extra Wisp.
add twice that many dice.
Proper Planning: When you spend a Willpower on a
mundane task involving science, deduction, or

Acqua •• : Postgraduate

Blue Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to your

Acqua dots to become Water-Attuned. Examples include a Detect that searches for answers
Water-Attuned Charms act through or on water, ice, by scrying into a pool of water (but needs a calm
currents, or coldness. pool of water to see into), a Ward that is applied by
sprinkling holy water (but you have to make sure it
doesn’t dry out), or an Illusion that manifests
images from cold mist (but doesn’t work if the area
is too warm for the mist to form).
Take Time To Get It Right: You may increase the
time it takes to cast a non-Signet Charm: any instant
Acqua ••• : Bachelor’s
Perfect Tools: Add your Acqua dots to your Regalia
Merit. You can freely recustomize and rearrange
your Regalia loadout when you purchase this Signet,
even if you did it reflexively with Luminous
Experiences.
Just As I Planned: Spend a Wisp and a Willpower
and take an hour to research and prepare for an
upcoming event, up to 1 day in the future per Inner
Light you have. During that event, you can declare
Acqua •••• : Master’s
Books in Running Brooks: Once per scene, spend a
Willpower to activate ultra memory. For a number
of turns equal to your Acqua dots, you perform
research rolls as an instant action, and you are
considered to have access to any library you’ve ever
studied (even the information you pull from that
library is stuff you didn’t see when you were there).
action becomes one minute, and anything longer
than that takes three times as long. If you do, add
your dots in Acqua to the roll and double your
equipment bonus from Regalia.
you have foreseen and planned for one obstacle it
was possible for you to have turned up.
This can’t change things that have already
happened -- the Charm is a mechanical
representation of things you have already done, not
actually changing the past. If you trip an alarm, you
can’t say “Actually, I didn’t trip that alarm,” but you
could say “I cut the telephone line the alarm uses to
call the security company when tripped, so it’s
making a lot of noise in the building but nobody else
knows yet.”
Hydro Infusion: You gain the “Hydro” Infusion
Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Acqua,
granting it an ability related to water, ice, currents,
or coldness.”
Examples: A Conjure that can immediately spit out a
lake’s worth of water. A Force, Kiai, or Buster that
freezes things solid. Restorations and Ward
talismans in the form of holy water to be split up,
sprinkled about, and used by anyone you give the
Acqua •••••: Doctorate
Hydro Trigger: Reflexively spend a Wisp to assume a
liquid form for one turn. You retain the same shape
and features, but you and all your gear are a
translucent liquid, the color of your choice, and you
control your entire shape as if it was your natural
body, flowing into or through anywhere that isn’t
watertight. Any physical attack relying on kinetic
force deals only one point of bashing damage to
you.
water to. A Step that allows you to drop into a
puddle and emerge from another. An Illusion that
can mass-manipulate temperature.
King Crimson: Once per scene, at the start of a turn,
spend 3 Wisps and one Willpower to jostle time.
Everyone but you, acting in initiative order, has to
declare what they are doing that turn. They cannot
deviate from that plan when their turn comes up,
even if you have done something that would
otherwise change their priorities.
Aria
Aria is the Signet of the Queen of Spades, affecting air and wind and empowering a flexible, expressive,
unconventional approach. Air goes everywhere, it respects no border or boundary. If there is any way out or
through something, air will find it. Air is light. Air is here, then it’s gone. Air is everpresent, yet escapes notice.
And nobody thinks about how deeply they need air until they’re in danger of going without it. Freedom and
flexibility draw the Queen of Spades to the element of air: to be free as a bird, to blow like the wind, and to see a
thunderhead on the horizon and crank the engines on the Blackjack II to full power and race the lightning itself.

Aria doesn’t have any formal development process, no classes or tutors. The Queen of Currents has written
down a lot more about Aria than the Queen of Spades ever will. She doesn’t teach by lecture, she teaches by
experience. Spending time with the Queen -- playing games or sports, racing each other, capturing flags, telling
stories, telling jokes, living it up. As you fall into the Queen’s groove, the abilities of the Aria Signet come
naturally to you.

Aria • : Cheerful

Graceful Touch: When making a mundane roll
involving a Finesse Attribute (Dexterity, Wits, or
Manipulation), you can spend any number of Wisps
to add twice that many dice.
Tricky, Tricky: When you spend a Willpower on a
mundane task involving being deceptive or
misleading without actually lying, you get +3 dice,
an Exceptional success on 3 or more successes, and
an extra Wisp.

Aria •• : Blissful

Wind Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to
your Aria dots to become Air-Attuned. Air-Attuned
Charms act through or on air, wind, or sound.
Examples include a Force that redirects air currents
(but doesn’t work if there’s not enough space for
ventilation), a Buster that attacks through sonic
force (but can be insulated against), or an Illusion
that manifests images out of smoke (but can be
blown away).
Like A Reed In The Wind: You can adapt your magic
to new situations that arise. On your turn, you may
reflexively change the Upgrades on one of your
ongoing or extended-action Charms without
spending Wisps or time to cast it again. The effect
proceeds from there as if you’d always cast it with
the new Upgrade set, but previous effects aren’t
undone (you’re not changing the past, you’re
hot-swapping).
You can do this a number of times per chapter equal
to your Aria dots. You can’t swap away Upgrades
that only altered your initial casting (like Ready
Conjure) or Upgrades that are the only reason the
Charm had an ongoing effect (like Round Trip and
BOTTOMLESS INFINITY BUSTER!).
Aria ••• : Alluring
“Yes, And”: When someone attempts a resisted or
contested roll against you, you may automatically
fail it. If you do, you then add some kind of
condition idk
Freedom of Movement: When something prevents
you from moving out of somewhere, you may
reflexively spend a Wisp to ignore that effect. You
can’t phase through solid objects, but you can
escape any bindings, cross any hindering terrain,
Aria •••• : Sparkling
Aero Infusion: You gain the “Aero” Infusion Upgrade
for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Aria,
granting it an ability related to air, wind, or sound.”
Examples: A Plea or Anthem carried on the wind to
any other outdoor location. A Buster or Force that
captures all unattended objects in a whirlwind and
Aria •••••: Slick Sparkling Style
Aero Trigger: Your Devil Trigger. Buffs only yourself,
costs a bunch, lasts a scene, does sick-ass shit.
Quicksilver: You become so fast and slippery that
time can’t grasp you. Once per scene, you may
reflexively spend one Willpower to freeze time. You
take one turn in the frozen time during which
nothing but you can move, interrupting another
character’s action if necessary. You don’t encounter
end any stasis or paralysis or compulsion to stay still,
even momentarily escape the notice of a guard or
monitor (but it won’t keep you undetectable, just
stop the moment they’d prevent you from leaving).
Against magical effects, this provokes a Clash of
Wills, but your effect gets the +4 bonus for
long-lasting magic even though it only activated this
turn. If it sucks -- hit da bricks!
drops them wherever you like. A Step that can
interact with clouds or visible vapors as if they were
solid objects, standing on or bouncing off of them.
An Illusion that can create a perfect soundscape of
gargantuan size and complexity.
Option 2: An ability that infuses the element into
the Princess herself.
air resistance, but liquids act as solid surfaces unless
you have another ability that would change that.
Acting inside the frozen time is still difficult: when
you make a roll to affect the outside world in this
free turn, you have to spend one Wisp per each
success that you actually want to keep. Rolled
successes that you didn’t pay a Wisp for are lost.
If anyone else in the area has the ability to stop
time, they may reflexively activate it when you
activate this ability (and vice versa); if you’re
matching an opponent’s time stop, you can do it
even if you’ve already used Quicksilver in this scene.
If this happens, Quicksilver lasts the entire duration
of whatever time stop ability the other being used,
and you both move inside the frozen time, taking
combat turns where only you two act. You don’t
have to pay Wisps for the successes on rolls made
against them.
Fuoco
Fuoco is the Signet of the Queen of Swords, and just like her, it’s simple and straightforward: fire. Fire, the heat
fire brings, the illumination fire sheds, and the explosions fire causes when focused and directed. Fire gives us
warmth and light and danger and is impossible to ignore. Fire doesn’t mess around, fire neither hems nor haws
nor dillies nor dallies. Just like the Queen of Swords, fire just goes for it, as hard as it can, growing in size and
power as far as it can. Fire, like passion, can be a destructive force if left completely unguided. A life without fire,
like a life without passion, is cold and lonely and miserable and short.

Fuoco is taught and refined through experience (though not as informally as Aria). The Queen of Swords or one
of her disciples can tell you the basics of how it works, but the only way to actually be sure you’ve learned it is by
trying it out. The Dreamlands offer endless opportunities to do so, riding with the Queen on the back of Miguel,
smiting evil and righting wrongs and finding love.

Fuoco • : Spark

Surging Power: When making a mundane roll
involving a Power Attribute (Strength, Intelligence,
or Presence), you may spend a number of Wisps to
add twice that many dice.
The Heart Knows What She Wants: When you
spend a Willpower on a mundane roll to pursue,
preserve, or strengthen a romantic relationship, you
get +3 dice, an Exceptional success on 3 or more
successes, and an extra Wisp.

Fuoco •• : Ember

Red Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to your

Fuoco dots to become Fire-Attuned. Fire-Attuned
Charms act through or on fire, heat, combustion, or
illumination.
Examples: A Step that propels with explosive force
(but doesn’t let you make fine adjustments), a Kiai
that wreathes your weapons in flames (but paints a
target on you in ranged combat and can’t choose to
deal bashing damage), or a Detect that reveals
information by staring into flickering flames (but
requires you to be in a dark area to see them well
enough).
Blinding Beacon: When you cast a non-Signet
Charm, you may choose to infuse it with such magic
that it completely declares everything about itself to
the world. You shout it out to such an extent that
anyone who can see or hear any part of its effects
knows exactly who cast it (you), what Charm it is,
what upgrades you applied, what your dice pool
was for it, and what each of those dice came from.
If you do, add your dots in Fuoco to the roll, and
double the dice you get from your Inner Light. You
will need to be creative to use this with Illusion.
 Fuoco ••• : Torch
Headlong Into Danger: An adventurer doesn’t have
time to make sure the situation is all optimized
before rushing in! You may spend a Wisp when
making a roll to negate dice penalties from Tilts,
non-Persistent Conditions, unusual circumstances,
and unskilled penalties. The number of dice you
Fuoco •••• : Blaze
Blazing Infusion: You gain the “Blazing” Infusion
Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Fuoco,
granting it an ability related to fire, heat,
combustion, or illumination.”
Examples: Any Charm can radiate out a searing light.
Flaming Buster and Kiai attacks that start fires on
anything they strike. A Force that manifests a
tangible wall of heat like walking up to a blast
furnace. A Step or Anthem where your footsteps /
Fuoco ••••• : Wildfire
Blazing Heart Trigger: Once per chapter, you may
spend a Willpower and name someone you truly
love (though not necessarily in a romantic sense).
You are infused with their power in a blazing corona
of passion. Each of your Attributes and Skills is
raised to your beloved’s dots in that Attribute or
Skill if it’s higher. You gain Wisps equal to their
Integrity + Willpower. At the end of the scene, lose
cancel out is equal to your Fuoco dots. This can’t
end up providing a bonus.
Option 2: Something that you feel like could have
been an alternate take on Practical Magic.
fire lyrics leave burning trails that can ignite
anything. Detect that immolates a target to burn
away all deception but leaves them unharmed.
Restoration that turns an engulfing inferno into a
source of warmth and cauterized wounds for those
you designate and that still burns everyone and
everything else.
Option 2: An ability that infuses the element into
the Princess herself.
all those Wisps, if you still have that many; you
return to your mundane state and can’t Transform
until you have a good night’s sleep.
Love conquers all.
Option 2: Your ult. A once-per-scene ability with big,
flashy consequences.
Legno
Legno is the Signet of the Queen of Flowers, the path of nature. The path of growth, blossoming, flourishing, of
life itself. Not just a metaphor or symbol, Legno allows the Queen of Flowers and her followers to most directly
interact with what they value and study. Though not all Princesses of Flowers work directly with nature in the
sense of animals and plants, all of them work with the “nature” of things themselves, they think about whatever
“ecosystem” they occupy, and they seek to use the means that nature uses: resilience, growth, becoming or
creating the solution to your problems.

The Queen of Flowers teaches Legno directly, without saying a word. Students of the Signet are left alone in the
forest of Wen-Mung, either to meditate or observe their surroundings until they arrive at a revelation
themselves… but the Queen always has to pick out a spot for them, because she’s made sure there’s a special
place where they will flourish and find what they were searching for.

Legno • : Walker of Paths

Enduring Renewal: When making a mundane roll
involving a Resistance Attribute (Stamina, Resolve,
or Composure), you may spend any number of
Wisps to add twice that many dice.
Cultivation: When you spend a Willpower on a
mundane roll to prepare someone or something for
a later action or event you won’t be directly doing,
you get +3 dice, an Exceptional success on 3 or more
successes, and an extra Wisp.

Legno •• : Hearer of Song

Green Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to humans), or a Restoration that is applied by a

your Legno dots to become Nature-Attuned.
Nature-Attuned Charms act through or on plants,
animals, or the natural environment.
Examples include a Force that calls up surfaces of
shaped wood (but are opaque and flammable), a
Plea that calls out to animals and objects (but not
poultice of medical herbs (but can’t fix inorganic
objects).
Option 2: Maybe when you use a Charm purely in
response to what someone did? How do you
adjudicate that?
 Legno ••• : Nurturer of Life
Holistic Stewardship: You can spend a Willpower to
attune yourself to an environment, either
meditating within it or scouting around it or
something similar to get a deeper understanding of
its current state and nature. Whatever the method,
it’s an extended roll using an appropriate Attribute +
Skill with a total of 5 successes needed and an
interval between rolls of 1 minute. Once completed,
for the rest of the scene, you have general
awareness of all things happening in the area: not
direct observation of all details, nothing as good as
the Detect Charm, but you know what’s going on
outside your normal perception as if someone was
Legno •••• : Welcomer of Voices
Primal Infusion: You gain the “Primal” Infusion
Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Legno,
granting it an ability related to nature, life, growth,
or flourishing.”
Examples: A Restoration or Consecrate Ward that
can instantly turn a barren area into a lush and
bountiful grove. A Plea that grants listeners healing
Legno ••••• : Knower of Harmony
Unyielding Trigger: While Transformed, you may
reflexively spend three Wisps to engulf yourself in
an aura of fighting spirit and unbreakable resolve.
For the rest of the scene, when you spend
Willpower on a roll, add 2 dice to the benefit: you
will gain +5 dice or subtract 4 dice from a resisted
describing it to you. You also get Influence (this
area) ••, as a spirit would, and don’t have to pay
Essence costs to use it.
Special Helpers: You may spend a Willpower to gain
the Special Helpers Condition (p. XXX) for the rest of
the scene, which grants a special version of Staff
that is able to act directly and quickly in your
immediate environment. This is usually, but not
always, expressed in terms of little woodland
creatures and forest friends coming together to
assist you like a Disney princess.
and a minor portion of the caster’s power over
nature. Kiai attacks carried out by branches, roots,
and stems. Busters that leave the target wrapped in
clutching vines. A Detect that doesn’t just gather
information relative to the Princess, but relative to a
host of wild animals.
Option 2: An ability that infuses the element into
the Princess herself.
roll. For the rest of the scene, spending Willpower
does not create Wisps for you.
Option 2: Your ult. A once-per-scene ability with big,
flashy consequences.
Terra
Terra is the Signet of the Queen of Jewels, tied to earth, rock, crystal, gemstone. Earth is heavy and reliable,
stone is the fundamental basis of what we build together, and gems are rewards offered by the Earth that let us
grow in wealth and show off what we have earned. Of course, no other element could suit the Queen of Jewels.
With Terra, her Princesses can build, reinforce, protect, and exalt; they can create things to be proud of.

Princesses of Jewels learn Terra at the Queen’s feet, but never alone. There’s always a full class there, learning
with you -- in fact, it’s impossible to solve any problems she presents or learn any insight she has to offer alone.
Only by collaborating with others can you gain the knowledge of Terra.

Terra • : Marble

Social Foundation: When making a mundane roll multiple other people (like a Build Equipment action
involving a Social Attribute (Presence, Manipulation, to make an organization), you get +3 dice, an
or Composure), you may spend any number of Exceptional success on 3 or more successes, and an
Wisps to add twice that many dice. extra Wisp.

Social Construction: When you spend a Willpower

on a mundane task involving the coordination of

Terra •• : Opal

Stone Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to
your Terra dots to become Earth-Attuned.
Earth-Attuned Charms act through or on earth,
stone, crystal, or weight and solidity.
Examples include a Force that creates barriers
faceted like gemstones (but can’t be reshaped once
created), a Conjure that sculpts people and objects
from clay, dirt, or stone (but doesn’t work without
enough raw material to make them), or a Detect
that senses tremors and vibrations (but requires you
and the target to be touching connected solid
surfaces).
Focusing Crystal: When you cast a Teamwork
Charm, you may have every member of the nakama
contribute (even ones who don’t have the requisite
Charm). If you do, add your dots in Terra to the roll
and double the amount of dice you gain from
Teamwork.
 Terra ••• : Emerald
Pavise of Protection: You can extend the protection
of your Defiance ability to others. While
Transformed, spend a Willpower as an instant action
to activate this ability for the rest of the scene. You
get a number of Wisps equal to your Terra dots that
can only be used to activate Defiance on behalf of
other people in sensory range.
Terra •••• : Sapphire
Earthen Infusion: You gain the “Earthen” Infusion
Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Terra,
granting it an ability related to stone, earth, gems,
weight, or solidity.”
Examples: Any Charm might become more solid and
permanent, increasing the successes required to
dispel it by your Terra dots. Ward talismans or
Conjured objects made of nearly indestructible
diamond. Buster and Kiai attacks that scatter sharp
Terra •••••: Diamond
Luster Trigger: You may reflexively spend a
Willpower on your turn to take on the lustrousness
and hardness of gemstone until your next turn. You
have a Durability of 2, meaning you automatically
subtract 2 from all damage you take; you also lower
the successes of any hostile non-damaging spell
against you by 2. You can only activate this on your
turn, not in response to incoming attack.
Burden Of Law: The Jewel's sense of duty is as
heavy as a mountain, and the bonds of society
Main Story Part 3 (UNWRITTEN)
Shotoku’s Ear: It is said Prince Shotoku was so
skilled at conversation that he could listen to ten
people converse with him at once and respond
correctly to each one. You’re pretty good too. Spend
a Wisp to activate this ability for one scene: for the
rest of the scene, you may make a Socialize,
Empathy, or Streetwise roll reflexively once per turn
no matter what else you’re doing.
gemstones. Step that allows the user to sink
through and rise from stone. Force barriers that
remain permanent. A Plea that entices with wealth
and jewels.
The Shoulders Of Giants: You may contribute to
Teamwork Charms even if you lack the requisite
Charm, and do so reflexively. If you do, you may
apply the Upgrade that is normally gifted to
Princesses of Jewels to that Charm, even though
you don’t have it.
confer that weight upon others. Once per scene, as
an instant action, spend a Willpower and name a
rule of conduct; it must be something that applies
equally to everyone and that everyone is equally
able to break (so you can’t say “no casting Dread
Powers but Charms are fine”). For the rest of the
scene, every single roll to do something that breaks
that rule -- by anyone, even your allies! -- is opposed
by your Inner Light + Terra as if it was a Clash of
Wills.
Janet banged her tin cup along the prison bars, making the most awful xylophone sound she could imagine.
They’d finally caught her, broken her lucrative soap pirating ring and thrown her in prison for a trillion years, and
now her only hope was that maybe she could be so annoying to her jailers that they’d let her leave rather than put
up with her.

Wait, no. That’s not how it worked. And a trillion years is very long, isn’t it? There’s no way that’s in the sentencing
guidelines. And she didn’t know how she would -- ah, shit, she was having that dream again. Some people
supposedly could shape the dream world to their liking when they realized they were dreaming, and Janet wasn’t
one of them. Usually, zombies or Martians or something started attacking everyone as her subconscious tried to
reset the scene. Until then, she was just stuck in a jail cell that looked like it was furnished by Ikea, and there
wasn’t even anyone to talk to, and what was that noise anyway? That thumping sort of--

THIS IS THE THIRD PART OF THE MAIN STORY

THREAD

IT’S NOT FINISHED THOUGH

THE STORY IS 2 PAGES LONG
 Insurmountable Odds
Chapter 5: Storytelling
At first blush, it seems like Princess should be a very
difficult game to run. The Chronicles of Darkness are
a horror setting, after all. The specter of the “occult
superhero” looms over every game (except maybe
Promethean), where the players aren’t afraid or
horrified or exploring dark themes, they’re just cool
Midnight Sons heroes with superpowers cleaning up
the streets. Magical girls often refer to themselves
as superheroes, so they’d seem especially
predisposed to collapsing from a horror story into
an occult superheroes game.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course
-- there’s a reason games fall into the “occult
superheroes” mold, and that’s because it’s fun. Be
honest with yourself, when you first read Celerity,
your response probably wasn’t “I don’t see how this
reflects my inner vampiric angst and fall from
humanity,” it was “sick, I can run up a wall and kick a
guy in the face.” If you want occult superheroes, you
go right ahead, Princesses make great occult
superheroes.
But most Storytellers and troupes are going for a
dark horror tone. One that seems at odds with the
frills, the sparkles, and the magical heart lasers the
magical girl genre brings with it. On the other hand,
nothing in the world has ever needed
deconstructing less than the magical girl genre. Why
bother if you’re just going to say “that isn’t how it
would work in real life?” That’s a lousy way to play a
game about hope and fighting fear. We know that
magical girls rely on genre assumptions to work, but
so does every kind of story, even the dark and
cynical ones that claim not to. The conflict is over
what genre the story is going to be.
Comparing the bright and hopeful tone of Princess
and the dark looming horror of the Chronicles of
Darkness, how do you bring those together without
breaking your necks from the mood whiplash? How
can you get players to take seriously something that
is so fundamentally silly? How can you even make
magical girls belong in this setting?
There’s an answer to this question. It’s an answer to
a lot of questions about roleplaying, not even just
this game. It’s a mystical piece of gnostic wisdom,
and if you don’t already know it, it can change your
entire understanding of the hobby.
Are you ready?
Every Roleplaying Game Is A Comedy
It’s impossible not to be a comedy on some level. In
the introduction we compared roleplaying to live
theater, where the wires and sets and artifice are
clear for all to see. But there’s a bit more detail
there: roleplaying is live theater on the first take.
And what do actors do on the first take? They laugh.
Every single dramatic scene and emotional climax in
film and television has an outtake reel where the
actors just crack up. There’s too much tension there,
that’s how our emotions need to level it out. Any
roleplaying game that takes place in real-time that is
reliant on everyone being serious all the time is
doomed to failure. Even if this wasn’t a game about
magical girls with heart-shaped laser wands.
To get a dark tone, or a horror game, you need to
make a dark comedy. Some people resist or decry
this because they think “comedy” has to be a Zucker
Brothers sort of zany, where nothing is taken
seriously and details of the setting pop into and out
of existence as needed for a joke, but that’s only
one type of comedy. In a dark comedy, and in a
roleplaying game, you actually get humor by taking
things seriously, in the sense that you accept them
in their own context and let them play out. A
situation can be deadly serious -- Dr. Strangelove is
literally about an apocalyptic nuclear war -- and also
absurd. Subverting our expectations of how
something is “supposed to” go is both comedic and
helps emotionally ground the events; Burn After
Reading derives all of its humor from the
observation of how common human incompetence
doesn’t mesh with spy games. Something can be
threatening, but you can let the characters react to
it in ways that show off their own personality and
observations, like in Ghostbusters: Venkman isn’t
“making a joke” of the events, he’s someone who
responds to things with extremely dry humor.
Heck, like half of all black comedies are about
characters who do terrible things to escape the
consequences of the last terrible thing they did,
only to have it blow up in their faces unexpectedly,
necessitating more terrible things. Is there a better
summary of the average plot of a modern-day RPG?
So let a situation play out, even when the
consequences or implications are funny. Show
comedic ways that a modern horror-fantasy
archetype scrapes against real-world hassles. Let
characters make funny observations or theories that
show who they are. And then don’t make any of
those situations less threatening. Convincing a
human minion of a Defiler to surrender by getting
them to complain about how little they’re paid, for
example, lets players spare someone and turn them
away from an evil path while also being funny
because it points out the Defiler’s disconnection
from empathy from an unexpected angle, and lets
that minion show off their personality. A
Cataphract’s incompetent and destructive attempts
to emulate the life of an actual human are almost
the definition of “tragicomic.”
Maybe a monster just looks absurd and is still as
threatening as ever. Sailor Moon’s monsters of the
week usually look absolutely ridiculous, and the
show is a very light-hearted tale most of the time,
but nobody ever acts like the fact a monster is
clearly made out of an elephant vacuum cleaner
means it should be taken less seriously.
Show Off Personality
Princess is a game about people, what they believe,
and what they feel. It’s a game about personalities.
You want to give characters opportunities to show
off who they are by how they act and how they
react and how they view things. You need to give
them oodles of opportunities to show off their Drive
and Dread and probably should remind them about
those opportunities if they aren’t proactively
seeking them. And you want their interactions to
always be with someone or something else’s
personality. Everything in a Princess game is about
interacting with personality.
Having a villain of an adventure who has an in-depth
backstory and motivations that you only find out
posthumously because the moment you two are in
the same room one of you has to die sucks. Princess
antagonists should be showing off their personality,
or the personality of something they stand in for, all
the time. Twilight Princesses are antagonists you
will fight against several times because you don’t
want to kill each other, and each fight can show off
who they are and what they want. A Nightscape is
basically an exploded diagram of aspects of
someone’s personality. A Defiler wants something
and is using all of this black magic to get something
they want -- what is it and why do it like this? Is
there something they are protecting, something
they want to avoid, something they need to see
done? If all they want is black magic power, why is
that the only thing that’s important to them? The
buildup to a climactic confrontation with an
antagonist is about interacting with their personality
as you learn things about them and you get the
ability to put an end to their actions.
You may have seen murder mysteries that focus on
“how did the culprit pull off this impossible crime”
or “what was the hidden motive,” but a murder
mystery for Princesses would be about “who were
these people and what was their past that ended up
driving them to this event?” Is there a less
personalized force, like a wave of riotous unrest or a
Bleed with no master that’s just creating a rising and
nameless dread, well, how is that expressed through
the people there and how they see it, what is it
doing to them? How does its interactions with
others reveal or express things about them? What’s
the character of the place or the community it
interacts with?
If nothing else, if there’s a situation where there’s
really no compelling personality to latch on to, the
Darkness itself has a personality -- it’s a cruel, petty,
vindictive, small-minded dick. It’s the ultimately
pathetic and stupid nature of evil and it’s the
ultimate grotesque tragedy that something so
useless and self-defeating has ended up dominating
the world and our lives. Evil is inferior to good in
every way and yet evil is everywhere we look and
just seems inexhaustible. If the assholery of the
world itself was to talk to you, what would it say?
Monsters of the Week
Nightmares and Darkspawn serve the roles of
“monster of the week”. The “monster of the week”
is a term in TV series for the, well, the monster in
this week’s episode. Beating the monster is the
subject of one episode’s worth of story; the
capabilities and mysteries of that monster are what
drive the plot of that episode, and the other
non-monster related things in the episode (as with
the mundane scenes you play out for the Circle
Merit) will tie in some thematic way to what the
monster is or what the monster does. Now, that
might not match up to the pacing of an RPG session
-- if you run short weekly sessions you can work
with one monster per week, but if you want longer
sessions you generally want a couple of monsters or
a couple of fights that help lead up to the big
showdown either at the end of the session or the
end of a short arc. Where a more mundane monster
hunter learns information about the situation in
order to be able to kill the monster of the week, a
Princess kills a monster of the week in order to learn
more information about the situation and ultimately
the personality behind it.
Monsters of the week are completely morally okay
to kill, there’s absolutely no need for doubt or
recrimination, that would slow the game down and
distract from what it’s supposed to be doing. (It’s
not that that kind of thing has no place in the game,
it’s just not what monsters of the week are for.)
Monsters of the week have no interiority or
personhood, because they aren’t people, they are
expressions of an aspect of people. They don’t have
individual personalities, they are the medium
through which the higher antagonist expresses their
personality. It’s how you spend time in the same
room as an enemy who is trying to kill you on sight.
Let monsters talk, echoing words of their masters or
emphasizing what their masters find important.
Describe how they fight and what that might mean.
If you’re going after someone who is a vicious
rumormonger who uses words to tear others down
-- okay, so, if each word was itself a monster you
could fight, how would the fight go? Do they seep
bubbling acidic venom or do they crush everything
they interact with, and how would each of those
options reflect on the personality of the character
behind them?
Dark Generals
Monsters of the week are the minions, and Defilers,
Dark Magical Girls, Nightscapes, Cataphracts, and
Enthroned are the major personality-driven
antagonists you have commanding them, the
“generals” that command the “grunts” that are
monsters of the week. They use the Darkness and
the Darkness uses them (anything that uses the
Darkness is serving the Darkness, it’s not like the
Darkness cares about being “exploited” for power)
in order to spread fear and suffering. None of these
kinds of enemies are disposable because they need
to have and express personality; the lowest rank a
Defiler gets is “miniboss.” Dark Generals are the
focus of an overall plot arc built in whole or in part
around their personality. One major lengthy session
might be about taking down a Dark General, or a
short arc of a handful of minor sessions; if you only
get together for an hour or two once a week that’s
probably not enough time for a whole-ass Dark
General in one session.
Nightscapes count as “Dark Generals” for this
storytelling purpose even though there isn’t agency
behind their actions, because they are an
expression of personality that is behind events.
Defilers and Ravens and other malefactors can take
over a Nightscape, but the thing the Nightscape is
about will always have some parallel to what they’re
about, they’ll always mesh or complement in some
way even if it’s not a 1:1 match.
Every roleplaying game is on some level a comedy,
and every Dark General is on some level a tragedy. A
Dark General is a person or pieces of a person and,
as a Storyteller, a level of empathy for them is
absolutely crucial. This is someone who should not
have ended up like this, someone who could have
been better, if fear and sorrow and the works of the
Darkness had not broken them down. A Defiler had
to choose to embrace the power of the Darkness
and there was a reason they thought they had to do
it. Even a Cataphract, who is not a person, is the
smoldering ruins of someone’s personhood emptily
carrying out an imitation of what was once
important to them as a vessel to just spread pain.
You’ve got to know why and how this story is a
tragedy to have a full grasp of the personality that
the players will be interacting with. They’ve got, or
they are, or they are the wreckage of, emotions.
Unlike monsters of the week, moral quandaries
might arise from how you deal with certain Dark
Generals, particularly Defilers. The basic assumption
of the game is that Princesses are good people, and
their Belief is compromised not because they are
slipping away from humanity but because they can’t
uphold their values. Characters who are confronted
with a situation that asks “what is the right thing to
do here?” have an opportunity to show off their
personality by what they decide and how they
arrive at that decision.
Being Flexible
A model of the Dark General’s personality, or the
personality of whatever person or group of people
is driving the scenario without being responsible
(sometimes called “victim of the week”) is far more
important than a map of how the entire scenario is
going to play out. Princess characters need to be
able to express their personality in how they
approach problems, which means they need
multiple ways to approach each problem, which
means you can’t stick to a detailed adventure path
that relies on certain problems being approached in
certain ways. Sketch out some free-floating scenes
that could be instigated by a number of potential
actions instead of one specific one. Have a
repertoire of a few stock characters for when they
need to run into someone you didn’t expect (it’s
okay to just rip off characters from other media to
make a minor character, it’s not nearly as obvious as
you feel like it is). Know what the driving personality
is, so that when a player goes somewhere
unexpected, you can fill it in by asking “well, what
would be the thing to put here that matches the
personality?”
You don’t have, say, a map of the Defiler’s house if
you didn’t expect the players to find his address. But
if you know who the Defiler is and you know a list of
things to find out about him, you can describe what
kind of house he’d have and how it might reveal
information. You can go “okay, so this guy would live
in an unfurnished apartment because he doesn’t
care about a mundane life any more and just needs
an address to receive mail. He might have left tools
or plans that involve his dark deeds just right out in
the open because this is a place he doesn’t really
think about that much.” Or you could go “This guy is
telling himself he’s still normal and clinging on to
the idea that what he does is what anyone would
do, so his place is probably aggressively normiecore
and I can show off things about him by showing how
and how deeply he hides anything related to his
sinister double life.” If you know what it is you need
to express about the personality, it’s easier to build
up the scenes to express that personality. Don’t be
afraid to call a time out if you need to, to come up
with something that will express that personality
that you hadn’t prepared.
Magic As Dramatic Metaphor
The mahou shoujo genre leans very heavily on
dramatic metaphor. Everything is built around
dramatic metaphor. The thrilling, dangerous,
supernatural events that play out in the story
symbolically parallel things in mundane life.
Dramatic metaphor is how you ensure a
through-line for your Chronicle. On some level, we
care about stories filled with impossible things
because they are actually about the normal things
we interact with, and you need to be conscious of
that.
The most obvious and recognized dramatic
metaphor in the mahou shoujo genre is the
coming-of-age story. The protagonist discovers
powers, and with them responsibility. She grows in
power, she improves as a person to be someone
who can handle these new responsibilities and
protect those she loves. It’s like the process of
becoming an adult, except with more giant energy
beams. Why do anime characters get new powers
and new transformations and visual upgrades? As
dramatic metaphor mirroring what they’ve
developed and earned in their growth as people.
Well, that and to sell toys.
A Princess’s magical abilities are an extension of her
personality, they’re what she’s good at and how she
interacts with the world magnified. Nobody ever
has inappropriate powers that don’t mesh with who
they are, because that’s not what powers are for in
this genre. How you do things is an expression of
who you are and your magic powers are just
exaggerating that for detail. Someone who isn’t
comfortable with their powers is someone who isn’t
comfortable with who they are, and haven’t figured
out who that is.
Fighting monsters and thwarting evil plots (or failing
to do so) should not be a “distraction” from the
“real work” that saves the world. Don’t think that
you have to also detail how Princesses also need to
get involved in political activism or go around the
hospital healing everyone or do community
organizing if they want to “make a real change.”
They’re already doing that in the form of dramatic
metaphor, that’s what it’s about, and splitting time
and attention between the magical monster-fighting
and mundane versions of the same action is what
they call “putting a hat on top of your hat” and just
leads to weaker themes and wasted time. You can
assume that anyone with Restoration is putting in
whatever time at the ER that they can offscreen,
without requiring them to devote screen time to it.
Darkness As Dramatic Metaphor
Princess has a central thesis, and that central thesis
is “the evils that face us are fundamentally based in
fear.” The vast majority of sources of pain ultimately
stem back to someone being afraid and doing things
that hurt others to placate their fear. When you’re
making a story for this game, that’s what the
elements are set up to do: engage with evils spread
from fear.
That’s most notable in what a Nightscape is, how its
dramatic metaphor works. The Prisoner isn’t
responsible, they aren’t making decisions to do
what the Nightscape does, but it’s literally someone
who has been imprisoned by fear and because of
this their fears go out and spread to others. When
you deal with a Nightscape, that’s the thing you’re
dealing with. A Nightscape is a destructive view of
the world enforcing itself on others because the
Prisoner can’t imagine the world working any other
way. That’s because people who are imprisoned in
their own fear-driven destructive worldview end up
enforcing it on others because they can’t imagine
the world working any other way.
Dramatic metaphor doesn’t have to map 100% to
every aspect of the thing it’s a metaphor for,
otherwise why use the metaphor? You use dramatic
metaphor to talk about specific aspects of a thing.
Nightscapes can be abandoned when the Prisoner
inside them is talked out of it without really
understanding why it was caused in the first place,
like people can be socially coaxed into abandoning a
worldview without understanding why. And
someone else can get caught up in the abandoned
Nightscape like how someone can create a
destructive fear-driven worldview they spread to
others even after abandoning it themselves. But
when that happens, you don’t need to make it work
exactly like someone falling for a conspiracy theory
the original creator abandoned, you just need the
general gist of it.
Darkspawn embody a thing people are afraid of.
Defilers are people who make others afraid of them
in order to get what they want. Nightscapes are
places where someone has trapped themselves in a
prison of their own fears. Dark Magical Girls are
people who could be doing so much good but are
afraid of getting hurt. The taint of the Darkness is
fear and everything comes back to fear. Like the
introduction implied, you take the archetypal “evil
corruption” or “fel energy” from fantasy and sci-fi,
and you look at how it mirrors people giving into
and letting their worldview be twisted by fear.
This also means you don’t have to worry about one
common problem in a modern-supernatural-horror
setting: you don’t need to make a distinction
between the supernatural evil and man’s cruelty.
There’s no need to avoid implying that the
supernatural somehow diminishes human
culpability in our own evil acts by siloing them off.
You can’t say the Nazis were secretly run by
vampires, because then the Nazis weren’t our fault.
But you can say the Nazis were tainted by the
Darkness, because the taint of the Darkness is
literally fear, and by doing so you are making the
argument that the rise of the Nazi party was driven
by people’s fears -- which doesn’t excuse it at all.
Knowing why something happened doesn’t mean it
didn’t happen.
Some people callously use the Darkness for power
and some people are used by the Darkness for
power by being subject to its fear and spreading it
to others to make the pain stop. The Darkness
doesn’t care if it’s being exploited. It’s fine either
way. There is no way to use the Darkness that
doesn’t serve its goals.
Mental Powers As Dramatic Metaphor
Mind control -- magical ability to forcibly override
someone’s thoughts, actions, emotions, or
personality -- is extremely common in fantasy horror
fiction. It seems like everyone can do it: hell,
Prometheans, who are reviled by and shunned by
human beings, still have the ability to mentally
manipulate them. There’s a preposterous number of
powers in various settings and sources that just go
“boop, you do this now.” Mind control shows up in
magical girl stories all the time, but it’s always in the
hands of villains, never the heroines. (It’s not a
coincidence that Princesses don’t have a mind
control Charm, they have an “ask very nicely”
Charm.)
Mind control is also extremely easy to mess up and
wreck your atmosphere, theme, or even your whole
world. You have to approach it very carefully, and
this goes triply so for Princess. That’s why it bears
very special mention.
Princess is a game about personality. Every time you
interact with the world you’re supposed to be
interacting with someone’s personality. So if magic
can just flick a switch and override someone’s
personality, the whole theme goes to shit. The
power of love and friendship and loyalty don’t
matter if they get outranked by a single dice roll for
an abstract game system that was designed to
facilitate something completely different.
Don’t use mind control. Don’t ever have someone
just go “boop, don’t care what you were doing
before, now you do and are what I want.” That’s just
not how it works. That’s not even a dramatic
metaphor any more! Any attempt to mentally
override a Princess should probably just straight up
fail because that’s not the thing they’re About, the
only reason to ever show it is to show how it
doesn’t work. If a vampire with Blood Potency
coming out of his wazoo grabs a random guy and
Dominates him to be a suicidally loyal servant, it’s
still childishly easy to break him out of it by
reminding him of literally anything else he wants or
is. For it to work, for it to stick, the victim needs to
actually buy into it.
So what exists is mental influence. Any mental
abilities need to feed into or key off of who
someone is, what their personality is, what they find
reasonable. Mental influences push them down a
dark path, but it’s one they could have found all on
their own. That’s how the mental Dread Powers in
this book work; effects that only do anything if they
key into personality.
Think of Grima Wormtongue and Theoden in the
Lord of the Rings. Theoden is Saruman’s “puppet,”
but it’s not literally Saruman’s words coming out of
his mouth, he isn’t commanding Rohan to go aid the
forces of Isengard. Grima Wormtongue is his trusted
advisor and tells him things that make lots of sense
at the time and seem like very trustworthy and
reasonable pieces of advice. What they have is a
dramatic metaphor for a poisonous exploitative
relationship where someone in a position of trust is
taking advantage of someone. The magic element
just made it happen faster, more severely, and more
dramatically.
This means, when dealing with a character who is
under mental influence, their personality becomes
more important instead of irrelevant. Whoever is
influencing them knows more about their
personality and how to twist it. You cannot solve
this problem until you learn enough about their
personality to break the hold.
Magical girls are magically turned against their
friends all the time. What you never do is have it
happen just because the monster was more
powerful than the magical girl and just made it
happen. A magical girl who goes to the side of evil
always, always does so because her own emotions
and doubts and loneliness and resentment and all
the negative things about herself get inflamed by
the villain, and all of the things she values and
enjoys get undermined. In Pretty Guardian Sailor
Moon (the live action tokusatsu series), Sailor
Mercury gets brainwashed by the villain Kunzite to
join the forces of the Dark Kingdom, because she
feels lonely and neglected and undervalued by her
friends, she feels like she doesn’t belong. Her dark
persona is made of all of the worst qualities of her
personality emphasized. Evil Mercury does things
that Sailor Mercury is capable of doing if she feels
really terrible and lonely and worthless. She breaks
out of it when presented with things that actually
and deeply go against her own personality, and
when reminded of everything else about herself she
could be instead.
Making Challenges
Mechanically, there are three sorts of styles of
gameplay in the Chronicles of Darkness, mapping to
the three stat groupings: you have your physical,
your mental, and your social. You fight things with
Health tracks, you gather Clues about what’s going
on, you talk to people with Doors. Even without the
mechanical tracks of progress -- even if you’re in a
different system altogether -- things will often break
down these lines. Usually, in most RPGS, the combat
/ physical style is extremely separate from the
others: you can Figure Stuff Out and you can Talk To
People interchangeably, but once Combat Has
Started, combat is what you’re doing and the time
for the other things is over. Princess is built so that
isn’t true -- you should be able to flow through and
combine all three. This is most obviously observed
in how Nightscapes work, where there’s no such
thing as “you raised the alarm and took a hostile
action so now it’s all fighting time.” Characters are
usually built towards specific gameplay types and
approaches, that’s how the Attribute distribution
works, so they need to be able to do their thing
without being locked out.
Princess characters need to be able to solve
problems in ways that show off their personality,
which means they can do things you’re not
“supposed to” (which can also be a source of
humor, embrace it). Princess characters can and
should punch some sense into people sometimes,
that’s why Buster and Kiai both have the ability to
deal bashing damage instead of lethal as a baseline
behavior, and then go back to other kinds of
interaction. Bashing damage isn’t a fight to the
death and you don’t have to interpret it as a
dangerous and traumatic assault; remember the
Beaten Down and Surrender rules (CofD p. 87) and
know that it doesn’t have to be expressed as “I can
no longer withstand your malice and I have to
submit to your cruelty,” it’s just as easily “All right,
all right, all right, I get it, calm down, Jesus!” Don’t
let the players solve every problem in the same way,
that’s repetitive, that’s not expressive, but let them
think laterally and let them sprinkle in combat
gameplay without locking out the other types. In
particular, let them fight an antagonist multiple
times before the big finale. Always make sure to
give the antagonist a credible escape route or
escape power if the players don’t want to willingly
let them go for the sake of genre convention.
Facing Challenges
Failure also needs to be a possibility: the possibility
of characters investing emotionally in their acts only
to be crushed by seeing that their ideals have failed
is a core and load-bearing mechanical pillar of how
they work. Failure can’t mean “well, the adventure
can’t move forward at all because you didn’t find
the clue,” because that’s just bad Storytelling, it’s
frustrating for everyone. Failure creates
consequences in the story that players have to deal
with or witness, it doesn’t stop the story from
happening. Okay, so they didn’t find any of the
information that would have led them to the site of
the ritual. You can just hand them the clue, BUT,
only after they’ve lost valuable time spinning their
wheels. Maybe their goal is harder to achieve or
maybe the Dark General already did some of what
they were trying to prevent. They pissed off
someone they really needed to be on good terms
with, so that guy is going to make things harder for
them. They got the shit beaten out of them, they
have to regroup and try again. Each of those events
makes things harder and might be crossing off goals
that characters Flared in pursuit of. Sometimes, the
end of the story is “you didn’t get there in time and
fail altogether,” but this should only happen as a
result of multiple failures leading up to it. The most
fundamental elements of the challenge, they should
still be able to attempt unless they have truly,
spectacularly fucked it up, but they might make the
last attempt harder. Intermediate failures often
make the final challenge far more difficult, or make
complete success impossible but partial success still
on the table. But once you’re at the end, you may
very well have to watch, powerless, as something
terrible happens that you were too weak to stop.
Tension
“Tension” is the watchword in how to make Princess
an emotionally effective horror game while able to
hit the comedy elements any game has and able to
utilize the light elements it needs for balance. The
horror element to a Princess character is not that
they’re utterly powerless. It’s that they might have a
chance. Someone could save the world, but that
someone has to be them, and they might not be up
to the task. They might let down everyone in the
entire world.
Tension is when you know something horrible is
COMING, and you’re trying to avert it. Tension
ratchets up when the horrible thing gets closer, or
clearer, or more powerful, or something meant to
stave it off failed. This is another reason why
interacting with the antagonist’s personality is so
important: the more you know about them the
greater the tension can rise.
This type of tension only works because the
characters can do something about it and thus have
to. A character who has no chance knows the
correct course of action: evade the danger as much
as possible. (Amnesia: the Dark Descent becomes a
LOT less scary when you realize this.) If you can and
have to confront it, now there’s a whole bunch
more possibilities to be wrong.
Dread is when you know the bad thing is coming,
and the tension is not knowing if you can stop it.
Failing without having a chance isn’t scary, because
there wasn’t anything you could do about it. Sure,
the description of the events might be grotesque,
but it’s hard to even jumpscare someone when
you’re either in a Discord channel with them or
across a table covered in dice and Doritos. Tension is
emotional investment. So you need to make sure
players get emotionally invested. The possibility of
success is what gets the players emotionally
invested. Hopes have to be raised if they can be
dashed.
Failures
So your job is basically what the setting describes
Destiny as: you don’t ensure they succeed but you
have to ensure they had a fair chance to. Failures
should result from the consequences of their
decisions. Failed attempts count as “bad decisions”
in that they chose one approach over another and
thought they would be good enough but were
wrong, but don’t force one specific type of die roll
for the entire adventure to rest on and then crush
the whole attempt because they failed at it -- that
wasn’t their decision. If they try their hardest and
do their best and still fail, it can’t feel like it was
because you cheated them.
This also means that you shouldn’t give them a lot
of failures that didn’t spring from their decisions.
Magical girls want to help people and save the
world. Many adventure hooks you see for other
games or other settings start off with the players
finding out a bunch of people have been killed
already -- don’t do this, or at least, don’t do it often.
Let them find out about things they need to take
care of BEFORE they accumulate a body count;
Rumors start spreading before bodies start
dropping. A dude says he was attacked by a monster
in the woods and only barely escaped. Nightmares
harvest terror but haven’t needed to kill anyone to
fully feed yet. There’s a looming mass of dark energy
and it’s clearly Up To Something. Acute Sensitivity,
the warning to Princesses that there’s forces of
Darkness they need to deal with, pings at the first
major surge of energy. That’s going to correlate with
things being summoned, Bleeds being opened,
Nightscapes bursting with power, fell rituals begun
-- the stuff that allows the horror and slaughter to
get started, instead of just pinging when the
slaughter starts. They’ll know when to start being
on the lookout and, hopefully, take measures to find
and take care of it. Shikigami are really helpful for
this purpose.
Before they can possibly get a handle on the
problem, innocent people can get hurt, get
kidnapped, get their energy sucked out, they might
face Breaking Points, but nothing truly irreversible
has happened: nobody has died or faced truly
life-destroying trauma yet. The players want to
prevent it from happening, not clean up after the
fact, and they need to have a chance to. Allowing
them to come into the story before the bodies have
started piling up allows them to be proactive in
what is usually a reactive role, and proactive
decision-making is an important way to express
personality.
And when people do die or face life-destroying
trauma, they can know it was completely their fault.
The personal horror in Princess is not the idea that
you’re slipping away from or losing humanity, it’s
that you’re failing humanity.
This also means it’s important to keep the stakes
lower than you might think. The impulse in both
anime and roleplaying is a threat of a world-ending,
apocalyptic scale, but ironically making the stakes
too high means the stakes are nothing. You can’t go
through with a consequence of failure that basically
makes the setting cease to exist, therefore, it’s not
going to happen. The focus of the Chronicles of
Darkness is at the local level. Failure on the part of
the players should result in terrible things
happening, and the world around them being a
tangibly worse place to live, but still recognizable
enough as the world that they can actually live with
the consequences of the failure.
Making Friends
One thing that’s present in mahou shoujo stories
(but more present and identifiable in shonen), is
that characters make a lot of friends. They want to
redeem people, they want to save their opponents
because they empathize with what happened to
them. This can make the cast of a series absolutely
balloon, which results in tragically underutilized
characters like PIccolo and Tien or the Inner Sailor
Guardians, and can result in a group of player
characters having access to too many allies with too
much supernatural powers and too much help when
the focus is supposed to be on them and a source of
pressure is the responsibility on their shoulders. So
you need to give the players the chance to help or
redeem their opponents, but you need to make sure
they aren’t too useful.
Most of Princess’s antagonists are designed to
facilitate this. A Nightscape has lots of supernatural
power, it’s resolved by saving the Prisoner inside,
and that guy is saved and thankful but also has
absolutely no supernatural power to deploy. A
Defiler can be a powerful warlock, but if redeemed
and turned off the path of evil, they can’t be doing
magic any more -- they got it from Pure Darkness
and not any other idiom so being a good person
again means not getting involved with it at all. These
characters work best as minor supporting characters
that might hand out adventure hooks or be
contacted for some crucial information. Have them
show up every couple of sessions or so, the players
want and need to see their actions have done good
and meet people from their past. But they can’t
solve major problems for the players. They can
provide access, or information, or contacts, or
overcome minor hurdles when the players decide to
employ their assistance. They’re one to two dots of
Social Merits at most, in areas the players haven’t
chosen to optimize for.
The exception is Dark Magical Girls (or other
full-blown game-line supernaturals in general). They
will have all their supernatural power if they go to
the good side, and the character archetype of the
Dark Magical Girl literally exists to be redeemed. For
them, you need to remember that they also have a
vividly defined identity, and principles they uphold --
a fight with a hope-stealing Raven or a murderously
self-destructive Fury is not a conflict of good vs evil
but a conflict of two sincerely held and diametrically
opposed ideals of good. Princess antagonists are
going to be the ones most capable of “making a
case” for their ideals, had the most thought put into
them, and need the most effort to shake out of --
more than anyone else you need to prove how they
see the world is wrong. This means they aren’t
redeemed quickly or easily. If your story isn’t a
self-contained one-shot, a Twilight needs to be a
recurring antagonist or else the players just got a
powerful supernatural ally to take weight off their
own shoulders. A Twilight won’t completely flip
sides, they’ll adjust their positions and behavior
more gradually; their worldview is so deeply held
and such a part of their personality that it’s not
going to be disproven by a single incident. They’ll
retreat for now, or give up an objective, instead of
utterly surrendering and switching sides. They’ll
know of the players and give them small amounts of
help when their goals align, but only, say, about as
much help as a one or two dot Merit most of the
time. Sometimes, it’s appropriate (and fun!) to team
up with the Twilight at full power to take down a
common enemy, but it shouldn’t be a permanent
alliance, it should be tense, and it should only be for
really serious situations. A Twilight ally at full
strength is part of the premise of the story, not
something you throw in on top of things. And the
focus should still be on the players and how the
presence of the unlikely ally affects how they do
things and gives them chances to express their
personality.
This only applies to Twilights as Storyteller
characters. If you do the thing where one player
who can’t show up regularly plays a Twilight, and
when they do show up it’s because their goals
aligned with the party, you don’t have to worry
about how much help they give out. They’re a
full-fledged player character, but they should still
get to be able to show off their personality and
worldview by putting it in conflict with other
characters.
Swapping Identities
Princess characters have two identities: magical,
and mundane. It’s tempting to make a story where
they’re just in magical form all the time, and
sometimes you will have to, but try your best to
incorporate mundane lives too. Not just because it’s
emotionally centering and thematic, not just
because it gives more opportunities and contexts to
show off character personalities, but because
there’s an important gameplay function as well.
Mundane scenes give you even more opportunities
to embody Drive and Dread, gain Willpower, and
thus spend Willpower to refill Wisps. Spending
Willpower on a mundane activity is often a good
idea because you get the Wisp and then you’re
going to refill the Willpower anyway! Mundane slice
of life or comedic antics scenes are how you activate
the crucial Circle Merit, which the players are going
to want to do, and how you set up themes and facts
you want to be relevant later. Is there a certain key
factor that they need to know to understand the
story, or an inference you want them to be able to
make, but it isn’t really a “clue?” Have it come up in
the mundane activities. Hey, in today’s biology class,
we learned that cave newts are blind because
they’ve lived so long in a lightless environment that
their eyesight was evolutionarily too expensive!
That’s a fun fact, I wonder if this will come up later
when we’re confronted with a monster of the week
that’s lacking some kind of sense or capacity
because it hasn’t needed it for so long.
Princesses in their transformed state aren’t
obviously supernatural, but they are
attention-grabbing. Even in terms of the
supernatural mission to save the world, anything
that requires you to be under the radar is something
you should probably be in mundane form for. In
mundane form, there’s a lot less attention and the
threats are smaller but you’re much less able to deal
with them. Risks to their Dual Identity should be
entirely due to their own decisions, so when you put
pressure on that, you have to make it an interesting
choice. What if something happens that would be
way easier to deal with if the players were
transformed, but they’re in their mundane identities
fully out in public? How are they going to handle
that? Are they going to try and create a situation
where they can believably slip out of sight and
return Transformed? Do they decide there’s no time
and they have to risk it? Do they try and finesse the
situation without Transforming at all?
One thing you shouldn’t have threaten their Dual
Identity then, is merely “being close to / interested
in / talking to and about all these people who had
weird supernatural stuff happen to them.” Players
should never be afraid of interacting with the same
people or phenomena in both mundane and
Transformed identities at different times. This is
because there are mundane ways to get around the
risk of discovery, and they’re not difficult to do
(work through proxies and indirectly and not let
yourself be seen around spots of interest too often),
but they’re tedious. They take too much time, they
really restrict avenues of character expression, and
in short they don’t make for a good story. Enforcing
a rule of “you can’t interact with things in both
mundane and magical identity because it’s
suspicious” takes away interesting interactions
instead of adding them, so it’s not a thing that
happens. If the players balk, remind them that the
characters in the fiction don’t benefit from the Law
of Economy of Characters and don’t know that
these two interactions someone had are the only
story-relevant interactions and thus must be
connected.
Remind them of this when you present a character
who is obviously an alternate identity of an
antagonist they’re facing, when you want them to
be able to interact in their mundane identities.
Because that’s a fun dynamic, it’s interesting, and
you don’t want to ruin it by meta-gaming. Sure, YOU
know this new student at the high school must be
dramatically important because your attention was
brought to it. But your characters don't know,
because there’s a lot of new students they know
about off-screen.
Main Story Part 4

“I don’t even know why they have tunnels like this,” Amethyst Knight complained, clutching his rapier with one
hand as he peeked around the corner. “Like. Why is it always colleges? If steam tunnels are such a good idea,
why doesn’t anything else have them? It’s like they’re just here to be spooky.”

If had been earlier today, at 2 PM, when these corridors were well-lit,and she was with her friends taking them as
a shortcut to their next class, Janet (who should have had some dumb special name by now but she still hadn’t
come up with one) might have thought that this was a stupid question. The tunnels existed because Back In The
Day they needed to pipe steam to the various buildings in the university and the attached hospital, and they
needed to be accessible because steam pipes burst all the time. But now? At 1 AM? Alone with two people she
barely knew? With too much darkness and not enough lightbulbs to banish all of it? With the buzz of the pitifully
few fluorescent lights nagging at her ears? With the knowledge that actual honest-to-goodness-I-shit-you-not
monsters were lying in wait to do… whatever it is that monsters did? Yeah. Janet couldn’t even muster the
courage or the wit required for a rebuttal. This place was spooky as shit.

“I think Disneyland has them too,” Black Rose said from behind her. “Oh, have you guys seen ‘Mazes and
Monsters?’ With Tom Hanks? All about steam tunnels. He goes crazy and thinks they’re a dungeon. That movie is
nuts.”

“Rose, if this tunnel isn’t a dungeon already, it’s about to become one in like five minutes.” Janet said. After seeing
that the coast was clear, Amethyst waved them forward and away from the pitiful comfort of the bulb hanging
above them. Hurrying as quietly as possible, they rounded the corner and made their way to the next shaft of light
cast by another bare lightbulb ahead of them. It’s presence did nothing to make Janet’s heart beat any slower.

“Exactly!” Black Rose said. “So If this place is ‘Mazes and Monsters’ themed, I got us covered.” She stroked the
neck of her electric bass like a pump-action shotgun for emphasis.

“Sssh!” Amethyst whispered. “I hear something.” In the quiet, they could hear it too. Footsteps. Dragging
footsteps. If they were lucky then those footsteps were a shuffle... no, Janet could hear a full-on shamble, and
anything shambling in a place this spooky was bad news.

“Random encounter,” Rose whispered.

“I will slap that black metal makeup right off your face, you just try me,” Janet hissed back.

Amethyst beckoned Janet forward, while Rose started to play. Janet wasn’t used to that magic yet; it was weird
because of how not-weird it was. She figured she would be invigorated with magical inspiration, maybe giant
musical notes would fill the air. But it was just “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, and yet, it was
impossible for them not to start moving in time with the beat, and damned if everything didn’t seem to sync up.

Doooooo, doo doot-doot-doot doo dooooooooooo.

“Right over there,” Amethyst said, pointing to the next corner. “Pin it so she can charge a shot.”

Janet’s own magic was much more natural to her, which in its own way was weirder still. That storage locker she
rented was full of useful stuff, and she didn’t need to draw a magic circle or even do arcane math to retrieve any
of its contents. She just said , at a conversational volume, “Point Conjure: Trap Set.” And those weren’t even
magic words. They were like a mnemonic device to guide her hand as she reached behind her to grab what she
sought from the storage locker across town.

I’m gonna fight ‘em off… A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back…

On-beat, as if she had practiced, she flung it like a frisbee onto the floor in front of her, and it didn’t even exist until
it landed. A steel bear trap sprung into existence a couple yards ahead of them, cocked and ready to snap, bolted
into the ground to stop it from sliding away.

Whatever was shambling heard her, and the shamble sped up. A fast shamble was the only thing worse than a
normal shamble. Anything that was fast-shambling was gonna be something that would feast on things. No eating
or snacking for fast-shamblers. Feast or nothing.

They took a step back, and another, as the thing approached. Amethyst took position.

They’re gonna rip it off… Takin’ their time right behind my back…

A disfigured humanoid, eight feet tall. Skin covered in rashes and sores, one arm twice the length of the other, its
feet dragging against the tile floor at a pace that didn’t match up with how fast it was moving. Amethyst gave it a
split-second to turn toward them, to show that its face was pulled so tightly to the left it wasn’t lined up with its
skull. Janet’s breath caught in her throat. The thing was hideous, yeah, and probably full of awful contagions, and
she knew it meant something. Somehow. This was a thing that happened to a person – maybe how someone saw
their persecutors - maybe how someone saw themselves.

Amethyst didn’t balk. He stepped forward, put his gauntleted forearm to the creature’s throat and then lunged into
the thing’s momentarily open defense. “Thousand Blades!” and his rapier was stabbing faster than her eyes could
track, like the weapon had five tips for every blade and five blades for every handle. He had his cape draped in
front of him to shield him from the oozing pus each blow produced, holes opening and closing in the purple satin.
“Heel Driver!” He ducked low, made a full revolution with one leg outstretched, and kicked the creature in the
stomach, right where he’d done the most stabbing. It staggered backwards, fell, and the bear trap snapped
against its back, momentarily pinning it.

“GIGASONIC ROCK AND ROLL BLASTER!” Rose screamed in that death-metal voice, and power swirled at the
neck of her guitar, distorting the air with a cloud of infrasound before she fired it at the monster. The creature
could have dodged while she charged up her shot, if it wasn’t pinned. It desperately writhed against the steel
jaws, sloughing off the diseased flesh caught within in a furious attempt to escape. To no avail.. With a low THUD
everyone could feel as much as they heard and saw, Rose’s shot collided with the creature. And it just liquefied.
Exploded like a burst abscess and scattered reeking pus everywhere. Janet nearly vomited at the sudden stench.

“At least it went down easy,” Amethyst said. “Come on. We need to get out of here before more of them come to
investigate.”
 Fighting Fear
Chapter 6: The Forces Of Darkness
The taint of the All-Consuming Darkness is fear. The
existence of fear is the supernatural corruptive force
through which it works its evil. It has a hold on
every living soul, whether it’s a tight grip or a loose
grasping reach.
Fear is the tool the Darkness uses, and thus fear is
the greatest tool and ally of evil. Fear is how it
corrupts and enlists us to do its bidding. Slaves of
the Darkness do not have glowing or blank or
swirling mind-control eyes -- they have the sunken,
sleepless eyes of those ruled by fear and who will
do anything to make it go away. All of us know the
Darkness’s offer, less of a bargain and more of an
ultimatum: “Inflict me on others, and I will stop
tormenting you for a moment.”
So the fear in our hearts is not the only power of
the Darkness. Our fear is spread all over humanity,
and the Darkness suffuses our reality down to its
fundamentals. It collects. It thickens. It exerts its
power over reality the way fear exerts its power
over our hearts. It warps things in accordance with
its will. It offers ruinous powers to those humans
who are its greatest servants, knowing or
unknowing. It manifests creatures to lash out at the
Light of Hope. It overwhelms minds and dreams to
create Nightscapes where our fears tangibly spread
and inflict themselves on others.
It creates monsters.
Monsters
Fighting monsters is a core part of the magical girl
genre. Since her magic is an expression of who she
is and her victories are validation of her ideals, the
monsters are magical dramatic metaphors for her
fears, challenges, and trials. In Madoka, the witch
Oktavia von Seckendorff represents a person who
has been trapped searching for love in the
memories of the past rather than face the uncertain
future, a greatly personal fear the magical girl can
see herself falling into. In Yuuki Yuna Is A Hero, the
Vertex are the impersonal idea of nihilism and
destruction. With Sailor Moon’s monsters of the
week, Nephrite’s energy-sapping servants are
imbued into the important items of skilled prodigies
to represent themselves devoting so much of their
efforts to this one field that it destroys the rest of
their lives, while the family of bouncing monster
balls in Sailor Moon SuperS represent how hard it is
to come up with a new monster every week.
The Darkness cannot create anything itself. It can’t
exist without Light, it can’t do anything without
Light. The Dark World, the reality completely
devoured by the Darkness, would be utterly inert
without Light leaking in from our world. Every
minion, every so-called “creation” of the
All-Consuming Darkness must be somehow formed
from or around a source of Light, like cave water can
only form crystals on a solid surface. Creatures of
the Darkness are all based on the Horror rules [CofD
p. 140], which won’t be reprinted here, with some
modifications and access to new Dread Powers and
Numina. There are many different creatures of
Darkness that the Noble have identified, based on
their origin: Darkspawn, Nightmares, Cataphractoi,
Defilers, the Enthroned… What’s important to note
here is that other than the Enthroned, Princesses
believe that none of these are “new” types of
Horror, but additional information about existing
ones that people have already observed in the past.
The Horror rules encompass the creatures and
phenomena that occupy the Chronicles of Darkness
that have no easy explanation or categorization.
Hobgoblins exist due to the rules of the Hedge,
Pandorans exist due to the failed act of creation by a
Promethean, but these horrors are just there.
Princesses say that the common factor is easy to
spot: They exist because the taint of the Darkness
suffuses this world on every level. Fear and the
cruelty of the Darkness is spun into this world as
fundamentally as the laws of physics, and that is
what causes these horrors to exist.
This explains everything about the inexplicable
horrors of the Chronicles of Darkness while also
explaining absolutely nothing.
Pure Darkness
So while everything in the Chronicles of Darkness is
(or at least could be) made by the Darkness in some
way, there are certainly types of monster a Princess
can be expected to fight more often. They’re what’s
called “Pure Darkness,” or the malevolence of the
Darkness expressed directly and not through the
idiom of some other form of magic or phenomena --
what appear to be disconnected Horrors to others.
It bears repeating that other supernatural beings
encounter the Pure Darkness all the time and simply
don’t know what they’re dealing with. A werewolf
thinks a Nightscape is a Wound that’s really ornery
and doesn’t seem to get cleansed by normal means
because to them the thing that defines the world is
spirits. A Changeling bumps into a Warden while
travelling dreams and says “this is clearly some True
Fae bullshit, I’m steering clear of that”. The
Unchained sometimes stumble upon holes to the
Dark World, where the God-Machine has no power
or perception, and think that this thing’s existence
must itself be an aspect of the God-Machine -- the
“null pointer” where discarded data goes to die --
because they can only interpret reality as a thing
structured around and by the God-Machine.
(If there are indeed Horrors that are not Darkness,
does that prove Princesses are wrong about the
All-Consuming Darkness being the unifying thread
behind everything? Or does it show there’s some
other system and idiom of magic that’s still hidden?
Can you ever even conclude something isn’t due to
the Darkness?)
Where other beings of other types of magic need to
be very powerful or take a lot of effort to take
physical form, it’s absolutely piss-easy for Pure
Darkness to create a body with mass. Why wouldn’t
they? They live here. The Darkness is already here.
And if that’s not enough, the Dark World is hanging
off this reality and it’s got piles and piles of
Darkness-stuff laying unused.
Pure Darkness is all about inflicting and feeding on
fear, directly and openly rather than indirectly as
filtered through another type of magic. They are not
led by a singular intelligence (the Darkness has no
thoughts), but align to a common pattern. Many of
these monsters have a Dread like a Princess does,
but their Dread is different -- in all cases, their Dread
is the fear they embody or inflict, not what they
recoil from. They regain one Willpower from
inflicting it in minor or major ways, regain all
Willpower from using it to cause an Integrity loss,
and do not need to spend Willpower to confront it
unless otherwise specified.
Monster Scaling
Princesses can get some very high attributes and
dice pools with their Regalia and Charms. They’re
supposed to, they need to be able to focus their
resources to become good at what they do and face
down foes that are too threatening for others. So
the monsters do need to provide a threat, and
without some way to keep up with the numbers, a
basic Horror by the core book rules can get reduced
to chunky salsa in one or two attacks while being
unable to touch the players.
The Pure Darkness Dread Power addresses that.
While most Dread Powers are there as an
expression of personality of some kind, Pure
Darkness is just about numerically keeping up,
which is why Darkspawn get it for free and it doesn’t
count against their normal allotment. Horrors,
Darkspawn and otherwise, need to be able to
convey some aspect of personality in how they
fight, but that’s hard when one shot reduces them
to a greasy smear without even trying. Characters
who express themselves in how they fight can’t do
that if everything they face just dies right away.
The worry is always scaling. You want to have some
players be better at fighting than others so they can
express their personality through that choice. And
you need to have monsters that can threaten to
harm the players who are good at fighting. But you
don’t want something that can threaten the
dedicated fighter to just obliterate the ones who
aren’t. The Potency-based power scaling of Pure
Darkness (and other things in Princess’s power
suite) follows a model of “increasing defensive
bonuses vs negating defensive bonuses” as opposed
to “increasing defensive bonuses vs increasing
offensive bonuses.” The more Potency a Horror with
Pure Darkness has, the harder it is to hit, the harder
it is to damage, and the more it overcomes your
defenses.
This way, the dedicated tank is very well defended
against things that pose moderate threats to the
less tanky ones, but the threat to the more tanky
character comes in the form of “lowering your
defenses to be closer to the level of your less tanky
allies” rather than “overwhelming your defenses
with power that would utterly body anyone who
doesn’t have those defenses.”
To hear Princesses tell it (which means it’s true if
you’re playing a Princess game and might not be if
you’re using Princess content in another game), all
Horrors are creatures of Darkness, so the Storyteller
may opt to give any Horror the Pure Darkness Dread
Power. If it’s presented to a group of characters with
less combat prowess -- or a group of Princesses in a
Chronicle where all of them have very little combat
ability -- then finding the Bane that turns off this
Power is going to be really, really important.
Dread Power: Pure Darkness
This Horror is expressed through Pure Darkness, and
not another magical idiom. This means that in terms
of raw physical threat, it is absolutely coked-out
compared to other monsters of similar Potency,
because it hasn’t been “watered down”.
A creature of Pure Darkness has several bonuses
based on its Potency:
- Attacks against it suffer a penalty equal to
its Potency. This is lowered by things that
lower Defense, but isn’t bypassed by things
that ignore Defense.
- Its attacks ignore dice penalties from
Defense (and other effects that make
attacks miss) equal to its Potency. This can’t
end up providing a bonus, just lower
penalties.
- It has General Armor equal to half its
Potency, rounded down.
 - It has Ballistic Armor equal to half its
Potency, rounded up.
Tension Conditions
- Its attacks pierce Armor by an amount equal The forces of Darkness aren’t interlopers or
to half its Potency, rounded down. invaders. They belong here. The world is in the grip
- It gets a bonus to Initiative equal to its of the All-Consuming Darkness, and it empowers
Potency. them. The tighter the Darkness’s grip, the more
- It gets a bonus to non-combat uses of Dread powerful its creatures become. Tension Conditions
Powers equal to its Potency. are special Environmental Conditions that represent
- If it uses the Simplified Horror rules, then the grip of the Darkness on an area and on the
instead of a specific bonus to Dread Powers hearts of the people who occupy it. The most basic
and negating Defense, it gets a bonus to its and most important Tension Condition is:
Best At ability equal to its Potency. It gets a
bonus equal to half its Potency, rounded up,
to its All Other dice pools.
All-Consuming Darkness
Any Horror with Pure Darkness has a Bane, even if
Condition - Environmental - Tension
it’s a type of creature that normally doesn’t have
one. The Horror’s Bane is able to negate all these
The taint of the Darkness threatens this place.
bonuses, and the specific form of the Bane will
The Light of Hope pushes it back, but the
determine if the mere presence of the Bane is
Darkness is always pushing that little bubble of
enough or if you have to hit it with the Bane as an
illumination inward as hard as it can.
attack. Attacks to a monster’s weak point bypass the
Armor and, depending on the monster, might turn
All Horrors with Pure Darkness here increase their
off other abilities. The Bane of a creature is more
Potency by 1, and the use of Pure Darkness by
difficult to find depending on its (base, unbuffed)
those who don’t have the Dread Power itself get
Rank or Potency; if you adjust a creature’s stat
+1 die, for each stack of All-Consuming Darkness
block, make the Bane appropriately rarer or more
in the area.
common.

Causes / Removal: The strength of the Darkness,

All creatures of Pure Darkness (Darkspawn,
both in terms of its current forces and the grip it
Nightmares, Cataphracts) have this Dread Power for
has on the people who live there, determines the
free. Other forms of Horror might also have it.
stacks of All-Consuming Darkness. Defeating
Darkspawn, Nightscapes, and Defilers in the area
For a Nightmare in specific, the bonus from Pure
can lower it; so can uplifting and inspiring people
Darkness isn’t based on its own Potency, but the
there to resist fear and let in hope. Increasing the
Potency of the Nightscape it’s from. Increasing or
grip of fear on an area, opening Bleeds, allowing
lowering the Nightscape’s Potency will alter the
major physical manifestations of Darkness to exist
stats of its Nightmares.
unchallenged, or the direct use of Dread Powers
like Fortress of Terror (p.XXX) can all add stacks.

It’s often very useful to make little cards or notes to

mark different Tilts and Conditions. It’s VERY useful
to have a reminder of All-Consuming Darkness
stacks! Even if you don’t use cards for other Tilts
and Conditions, you should use some for the stacks
of All-Consuming Darkness in the area. Get a little
3x5 note card and write something like
“ALL-CONSUMING DARKNESS : +1 POTENCY FOR
PURE DARKNESS HORRORS” on it.
Then make another copy of that note card.
Then tape them to the table, because the default
level of All-Consuming Darkness is 2.
All-Consuming Darkness is not an aberration in the
world. It is not a new and unusual event to see. It is
not an incursion that raises immediate alarms to be
swiftly quarantined and fought back. Your entire life
and the lives of everyone who lives in the Chronicles
of Darkness has taken place with two layers of the
supernatural “the power of Fear is stronger here”
Condition. That’s what it means to say the Darkness
is already here. That’s what it means to say you’ve
been living with this for so long you don’t even
notice it. If you’ve never been to Alhambra, you
have never in your entire life been somewhere that
was not empowering the force of Fear Itself.
The bonus Potency doesn’t give the Horror extra
Attribute dots or other things available at creation,
it just affects things that care about the current
Potency value, like contested rolls and the Pure
Darkness Dread Power. The stat blocks of the
Horrors and other creatures in this book are built
with this +2 Potency already factored in. Two stacks
of All-Consuming Darkness is the norm for you. Just
note that you might need to add or subtract from
that if in an area with higher or lower Darkness.
Lvl Example Locations
0 The centers of the Radiant Kingdoms, the
Last City of Alhambra
1 Most of the Dreamlands, Real-world sites
of great sanctuary and comfort, like
certain shrines and havens.
2 Nearly everywhere on Earth. Nightmarish
areas of the Dreamlands, like Makai or
Astral Pools about horror and death.
3 Especially fear-crushed areas like war
zones. Areas associated with Astral Pools
that are entrenched with Darkness. Open
Bleeds to the Dark World.
4 Areas intentionally fortified and
empowered by users of Darkness, the
Dark World on the other side of a Bleed
to the real world.
5 Deeper in the Dark World than the
immediate area of a Bleed.
6+ Oh, no.
If you don’t want to devote too much time or
energy to keeping track of the relative changes to
Potency, you can just round most of it off and go
“Darkspawn get +2 Potency while in the Dark
World, which is +2 Defense, 2 defense-negation, 1
general armor, 1 ballistic armor, and 1 armor
piercing.” Then you only have to bother with the
relative changes from the default level when
someone, player or Storyteller character, has made
a deliberate effort to shore up or reduce it.
Darkspawn
Darkspawn are the simplest monstrous creatures of
Pure Darkness -- they are formed near shafts and
sources of Light leaking into the Dark World, stirring
from potential into actualization. They are impulsive
in both action and design; they appear to have been
put together by someone or something who
resented having to create a form for them.
Recognizable human and animal and mechanical
forms are slapped and smeared together with little
regard for how they are supposed to function, other
than displaying spite for it. Too many limbs, or too
few, or in the wrong places. Heads on backwards, or
without features, or mismatched to the body. Rigid
structure made of flesh, or organs made of metal
and concrete. Even the most normal-looking
creatures have something obviously wrong about
them, even if you can’t put your finger on what it is
right away.
When first created, at a Potency of 1, a Darkspawn
is capable of nothing other than attempting to move
toward the nearest source of Light and destroy it. It
grows more powerful with time and by devouring
other Darkspawn, which can only happen when it is
somehow prevented from fulfilling its impulses -- if
it is blocked from the Light source somehow, either
by happenstance or deliberate action from someone
who wants to use them. Higher-Potency Darkspawn
develop into more recognizable and stable forms
based on impersonal and generalized fears rather
than specific experiences of them. They develop
something almost like intelligence but clearly resent
having it, much less using it. A more powerful
Darkspawn may whisper promises of wealth and
love to lure unsuspecting humans into its grasp, but
when rebuked, it is more likely to drop the mask and
start swearing at and denigrating its would-be
victim rather than try to salvage the situation.
They never have any plan or aspiration higher than
the urge to cause harm, though they can evolve
greater and more complex methods of carrying it
out, which makes them ideal minions and cannon
fodder for those able to command them -- and
commanding them is not difficult. Cataphractoi,
Enthroned, Defilers, and some Princesses of Tears
are able to do so, and even when a Nightscape
compulsively carries out its own psychodrama, a
Darkspawn might naturally slip into its vibes.
Darkspawn don’t feed by spreading fear and misery.
They draw energy from sources of Light. There’s no
physiological need for them to create suffering, but
they do nothing else because they can do nothing
else. The suffering of others is what they are.
Creating Darkspawn
Darkspawn follow the rules for Horror creation
[CofD, p. 140] with some exceptions and additions.
Many Darkspawn are simple enough to use the
Simplified Horror rules, even those that have
developed into more advanced forms. The
Storyteller may choose to declare any kind of horror
in the world originated as a Darkspawn, so the
Dread Powers added for Darkspawn are available to
any Horror the Storyteller deems appropriate.
Darkspawn don’t have Aspirations. Aspiration is part
of the Light of Hope, our ability to see a better
future and work to see it become real, and they
don’t have that. Even in the abstract
game-mechanical sense that an “aspiration” can be
“a zombie horde’s need to bite people,” Darkspawn
don’t have Aspirations, because they’d all be the
same one: “Spread suffering by inflicting fear on
others.” Darkspawn all have a Dread, and depending
on their complexity, might have a Virtue and/or Vice
as well. Their Dread works as described earlier,
where they recover Willpower for inflicting it.
All Darkspawn in the real world will almost always
benefit from 2 stacks of the All-Consuming Darkness
Tension Condition, so just add 2 to their effective
Potency once you’re done making them. This bonus
Potency doesn’t give them more Attribute dots or
Dread Powers, it’s just a stat buff on the top.

Sample Darkspawn
Following are some Darkspawn to use in your
Chronicle, either as-is or as a source of inspiration.
All Darkspawn develop uniquely, and only a few
types of them reproduce, but they still develop into
identifiable strains -- Alhambra’s diaries have
identified hundreds. Alhambran convention names
every Darkspawn with an adjective: “What is it? It’s
Calamitous.”

All of them already have the +2 Potency bonus from

2 stacks of the All-Consuming Darkness Condition
factored in.
 Endless Hunger

Ravenous
<sounds of drooling and biting> discover another path when one runs into it by
Background: One of the simplest and most accident.
elementary Darkspawn, a Ravenous is meat and
teeth crudely slapped together around a glimmer of
Light, embodying the impersonal fear of mindless,
Best At (10 Dice): Biting Things. Larger hordes get
nameless violence. A shaft of Light stirs them up like +1 to this pool for each Health over 7 they have.
motes of dust caught in a sunbeam in a long-disused Other Pools (5 Dice): Propelling Forward To Bite
room and they leap into action immediately, moving Things
in a straight line toward the source of Light and Worst At (1 Die): Literally Anything Not Directly
trying to chomp it. They’re often found by Bite-Related.
Dread: Being bitten by a gross little gribbly
unfortunate travelers in the Dark World, having
creature.
sprung into existence maybe a minute before they Initiative: +4
attacked. Speed: 5
Defense: 4 (1 base, 3 from Pure Darkness)
Description: Ravenous are tubelike wads of dark, Health: 7
rubbery flesh, six inches to two feet long, with thin Willpower: 3/scene
arms all over that propel them forward and tendrils Armor: 1/2
that extend from their back ends like flashing, those
Attacks:
thin bits of excess plastic on an injection-molded
model. Their heads are nothing but big red mouths
Bite 2L Melee 10 Dice
with swollen lips and overly large teeth and a
swaying tongue. They gibber and slobber but there
is no intelligence or meaning behind these noises. Special: For every point of damage the horde has
suffered, it has -1 to Biting Things. A Ravenous
When damaged, they explode like a water balloon
horde may split its attack dice pool against
full of ink that quickly evaporates. multiple targets in melee range. Attacks from the
Ravenous ignore 3 Defense and pierce 1 point of
Storytelling: They come in a carpet of seething, Armor.
roiling black pseudo-flesh, a wave of hungry mouths
climbing on top of each other, stumbling over each Bane: Possession of an object of comfort and
safety, like a child’s blanket or homemade comfort
other, mindlessly moving toward the nearest living
food.
chompable things. If there is an obstruction in the
Dread Powers: Pure Darkness, Feel No Pain,
way, they will ram into it and gnaw on it until it gives Hunter’s Senses [whatever stirred it], Jump Scare
way. If the obstruction isn’t so easily destroyed, Potency: 3 (base of 1)
then they will just futilely keep trying; they only
 Voice of Unreason
Traitorous
“Look at her. Eating crackers like she owns the place.
She knows I’m better than her, that’s why she can’t
stand me.”
Background: “I was angry with my friend / I told my
wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe / I
told him not, my wrath did grow.”
A Traitorous is a Darkspawn that inflicts its own
frustration on its victims, stoking their fear into
anger and preventing their action until they’re ready
to explode and tear down everything they have in a
shortsighted meltdown. Traitorous is spun around
the fear of being lied to, being lied about, having to
let others hurt you to not make waves.
Description: Born from Darkspawn who can
constantly sense but cannot reach Light for an
extended time, Traitorous appears as an inanimate
object, no bigger than an apple. If it’s artificial, the
craftsmanship is weird, and if it’s organic, it looks
like it is just starting to wilt or rot. When it needs to
move, it extends seven spiderlike legs to skitter
about when it’s sure nobody is watching.
Storytelling Hints: Traitorous uses its Know Soul
Dread Power to scan the thoughts of everyone
around it, locating juicy targets and mapping out
their relationships. It fixates on a specific individual
and begins using its Whisper of Madness to feed
them information. It makes its insertions feel like
things the victim just “notices,” or like intrusive
thoughts at the worst.
Traitorous uses its powers to stoke resentment and
paranoia in its victim by keeping its paranoid
observations plausible based on the thoughts of
everyone around him. If the victim doesn’t have a
secret to keep and think people resent him for,
don’t worry, Catastrophize can handle that.
Everyone is secretly laughing at him, every slightly
ambiguous phrase should be interpreted as a threat,
every offer of kindness is cruel mockery. The victim
stews in this isolation until some seemingly
innocuous act finally hits the breaking point and he
explodes in anger, shattering friendships and lives.
Best At (8 Dice): Being Manipulative.
Worst At (Chance): Defending Itself.
Dread: Other people are Out To Get You.
Initiative: +7
Speed: 4
Defense: 8 (1 base Defense, 3 from Pure
Darkness, 4 for being very small)
Health: 1
Armor: 1/2
Willpower: 3 / scene
Size: 1
Attacks:
Skitter 0B Melee Chance
Bane: Presence of a gift or gesture of kindness
given by someone to the Traitorous’s victim.
Dread Powers: Pure Darkness, Know Soul,
Whisper of Madness, Catastrophize
Potency: 3 (base of 1)
 The Burden of Genius

Envious
If you don’t share this gift with the world, does your
life even matter?
Best At (11 Dice): Using its Key Skill.
Other Pools (6 Dice): Miscellany.
Background: Ben Parker said “with great power Worst At (1 die): Being a productive member of
comes great responsibility,” and it’s true. What society.
power do you have? What are you good at -- is that Dread: You are wasting your potential.
a power, and if so, what responsibility do you have Virtue: Emotionally cruel.
Initiative: +8
to make sure it isn’t wasted?
Speed: 8
Defense: 6 (2 base Defense, 4 from Pure
The Envious doesn’t care about any of those Darkness)
questions. But it knows that those questions can Health: 7
sow fear in people who are gifted. And it absolutely Armor: 2/2
despises the gifted, it loathes anyone with potential Willpower: 4/scene
and aspiration. It wants to turn your hope into pain. Size: 5
Attacks:

Description: The Envious looks almost like a normal

person, but very stereotypical and demanding; they Bludgeon 2B Melee 6 dice
don’t let you get close enough to notice the deep
cracks in their features. They appear as teachers or Special: Ignores 4 points of Defense or other
tutors or enthusiastic mentors who promise a secret attack penalties. Pierces 2 Armor. Its Miracle
Power is a lesser form: it can only give out 5 dots
way to bring out someone’s gifts to their full
in a skill, and its effect wears off if not reapplied,
potential as long as they’re devoted. but the victim doesn’t know that they’ll lose an
Aspiration as long as they have the Skill bonus.
Storytelling: Each Envious has a specific “Key Skill”
it is tied to. It seeks out people with potential in that Bane: Having its victim reject its qualifications or
Skill, who want to get better at it, and offers them a ability to teach them (and not just because
“gift,” a special object that will make them better they’re revealed to be a monster).
than they could have dreamed. Maybe it’s a tennis
Dread Powers: Pure Darkness, Desiccate,
racket or a clarinet or set of pencils, maybe it’s a Poisonous Gift, Miracle*, Sinister Calling
lucky charm or pair of programming socks, or even a Potency: 4 (base of 2)
bottle of “undetectable” performance-enhancers.
This is of course their Poisonous Gift and it allows
them to use and maintain Miracle, Desiccate, and
Sinister Calling remotely to push the victim to
neglect every other aspect of their lives.
 Forced Compliance

Insidious
“If you don’t toe the line on this, we’re going to people who are already shaken up. If they are
crush your entire life.” exposed, rather than try to salvage the situation,
Background: A more complex Darkspawn, the they drop all pretense and start blasting.
Insidious is made around the fear of organizations,
of impersonal things like government agencies who
INT 4 WIT 2 RES 4
care nothing for the plight of the individual. They STR 3 DEX 4 STA 3
don’t need to infiltrate structures of power; they PRE 5 MAN 2 COM 4
simply take their authority for themselves, use their
[INFILTRATE] to seamlessly take minor positions of Dread: Being crushed by an impersonal
power, and use it to bludgeon others into organization.
Virtue: Never forgets a slight.
compliance for compliance’s sake. Whoever you are,
they will find some pretense to claim you’ve done Skills: Investigation 1, Politics 1, Brawl 2, Firearms
wrong by their rules and you’re going to be 3, Larceny 3, Empathy 2, Intimidation 4,
punished for it. Subterfuge 3
Merits: Patient, Anonymity 2, Pusher, Status
Description: An Insidious appears as an authority [relevant organization] 3.
figure: a policeman, a federal agent, a compliance Initiative: +12
Speed: 12
officer, a church inquisitor. It always claims to
Defense: 7 (2 base, 5 from Pure Darkness)
represent a nebulous “we” of an institution that has Health: 8
turned its ire toward its victim. Its uniform and Willpower: 13
identification have errors, but not so obviously Size: 5
flawed they can’t berate victims into ignoring them. Armor: 2/3
Attacks:
Physically, Insidious hide almost all of their bodies
beneath clothing and uniforms; they often wear Handgun 2L Short (20M) 7 dice
gloves so that the only exposed skin is of their
Fists 0B Melee 5 dice
heads. And even from that small glimpse, they are
clearly unwell, pale, sweaty, spindly, their flesh grey
Special: Ignores 5 points of Defense or other
and sharklike. When wounded, they have no blood
attack penalties. Pierces 2 Armor.
or organs, just black ichor with teeth swimming in it.
Bane: Citation of a specific rule for its claimed
Storytelling: Insidious serve the same role as the role the Insidious has broken.
mythical Men in Black, bullying those who have Dread Powers: Pure Darkness, Awe (Numen),
seen the supernatural into silence; the fact that this Coercive Illusion, Nightmare Trigger.
serves to cover up phenomena of the Darkness is a Potency: 5 (base of 3)
coincidence borne of the fact they like to terrorize
 Sudden Disaster

Calamitous
“SURPRISE, ASSHOLE!”

Background: Fear of the known and fear of the allows it to strike using the destruction and terrain
unknown don’t have to be exclusive. You know around it, causing pipes to burst, rock to slide,
enough to know you will be helpless, and what you buildings to crumble, leaving wreckage that is
don’t know is if or when it will happen. A sinkhole perfectly explained by mundane means.
could open and swallow you and your home
without a trace. Someone you’ve never heard of
INT 5 WIT 3 RES 2
could launch the nukes to end civilization. A gamma STR 7 DEX 5 STA 4
ray burst could incinerate the Earth from space. The PRE 5 MAN 1 COM 2
only time you will have once you’re warned is just
enough to collapse, helpless, and know there is Dread: A sudden and overwhelming calamity that
nothing you can do. From this fear, the Calamitous you are powerless to stop.
Vice: Plays with its food.
arises.
Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Crafts 4, Intimidation 6,
Description: Calamitous are massive, hulking, cruel Investigation 3, Stealth 3, Survival 2
beasts. Imagine you had a one-ton bear, and you Merits: Danger Sense, Fast Reflexes 2, Fleet of
scaled it up to a two-ton bear. But you didn’t expand Foot 3, Style: Parkour 2
the skin any, so as the bear grew the skin stretched Initiative: +15
to the breaking point and tore open in ragged, Speed: 20
Defense: 10 (6 base, 6 from Pure Darkness, but
irregular holes that revealed glistening bloody
then +2 to hit it because it’s huge)
sinews on its limbs and a burning heap of tires Health: 13
inside its hollow chest. Then make its movements Willpower: 10
jerky like a stop-motion Ray Harryhausen effect, and Size: 9
that’s how the Calamitous appears. Armor: 3/3
Attacks:
Storytelling: The worst part of the Calamitous is the
fact that its size doesn’t stop it from being incredibly Calamity 3L 5 Meters 11 Dice
stealthy and fast as hell. It uses its Chameleon
Horror Dread Power to track prey nearly undetected Special: Ignores 6 points of Defense or other
until it decides to reveal itself, at which time it attack penalties. Pierces 3 Armor.
comes in the most catastrophic entrance it can
manage, destroying everything around it. It doesn’t Bane: Touched with a manmade object that
survived a certain type of disaster.
specifically seek to kill people in these attacks, but
Dread Powers: Pure Darkness, Bad Daydreams,
makes no effort to avoid it either. When it fights, it’s Chameleon Horror, Jump Scare, Reality Stutter,
not enough that it can run like hell, it has the ability Ruinous Strike
to teleport short distances, constantly striking from Potency: 6 (base of 4)
unexpected angles. The Ruinous Strike Dread Power
Nightscapes
As humanity’s collective hope and dreams made the
Dreamlands, and every mind is a world unto itself, a
Nightscape is when the Darkness of fear twists the
Light of aspiration with terror. Instead of flowing
together with the rest of our thoughts into the
Dreamlands, the Nightscape expands outward to
the Dark World to make its own horrible domain.
From the Nightscape, Nightmares rise to spread fear
to others and harvest Essence from it.
Nightscapes bulge out from our world like an
aneurysm bulging from a vein, spreading out into
the margin of space between us and the Dark World
and thus overlapping and butting against it; they
often create Bleeds that allow the Dark World
passage to ours just by abrading the membrane of
reality. Nightscapes have existed as long as
supernatural and occult phenomena have existed,
yet haven’t been conclusively named or identified
by other supernatural cultures because they didn’t
appear to be a single and unified phenomenon --
the Darkness is so fundamental to our world that its
manifestations don’t seem like some specific force.
A Nightscape has a Prisoner, the mortal who
involuntarily made it. Though it’s a location, it has
stats as if it were an ephemeral entity: Power,
Finesse, Resistance, Potency, Numina, Dread
Powers, Essence. Most importantly it has three
forms of durability: Corpus, Psyche, and Enigma. The
only way to truly resolve a Nightscape is to fill all of
those damage tracks by understanding the Prisoner
and their fears, fighting back the manifestations of
fear that hold them there, and convincing them it is
possible for them to free themselves.
Leaving one or more of those damage tracks unfilled
is leaving the job unfinished, and results in a
broken-off or abandoned Nightscape that will still
churn out horrors for some time until it runs out of
Essence. Those who encountered Nightscapes or
Nightmares simply thought that this was an
unfortunate and inevitable consequence of their
inexplicable dark magic, because they didn’t yet
trust the power of hope to make things better. A
Princess, a proper Princess, knows she needs to
resolve the Nightscape fully to keep everyone safe
and free its Prisoner. She will also have to deal with
the fact that sometimes she might not be up to the
challenge of doing so.
Breaking In
A Nightscape tries to enforce and carry out its own
view of the world, but it doesn’t want to give others
the same opportunity to affect it. Unless it’s built
around a Prisoner Fleeing (more on that later), the
physical dimensions of the inside are always going
to be much larger than the dimensions of the space
it occupies, so even if it wasn’t trying to keep you
out it would be difficult to walk in because the
entries just can’t line up.
Nightscapes always have some way in and out, and
the Nightmares therein can always enter and leave
freely to go out, inflict their fear, and return with
Essence. Anyone else getting in has to be attuned to
the Nightscape somehow. Of course, for some
Nightscapes, being attuned just means you found
one of the designated doorways where you can
walk in and out, but those that are more removed
might require you to solve some symbolic puzzle or
riddle to open a gateway, wander into a Bleed and
then wander out in the right way, or locate a spot of
significance and then re-create some situation or
action that aligns with the Nightscape’s fear to carry
you over into its world. If you’re really unlucky, the
Nightscape is only accessible from the Dark World
and you have to go in through a Gate or Bleed first
and then get access from the other side; this is
usually how Defilers reinforce a Nightscape they’ve
taken over.
Prisoners
The Prisoner of a Nightscape is the one who made
it. The name is apt, as they are trapped by their
Nightscape, usually physically and always
emotionally. Sometimes they seem to be the ruler
there, but their apparent power is only to carry out
the compulsive psychodrama the Nightscape
embodies for them. They command the Nightmares
within, only in how they will carry out the Prisoner’s
punishment.
A Nightscape forms around a Prisoner after they
suffer a Breaking Point due to fear. Obviously, not
every time -- everyone in the world would have one
-- but whatever strange phenomena are a
prerequisite for it, one of them is a fear-based
Breaking Point. The Nightscape then forms around
their fears, primarily the fear that drove the
Breaking Point and supported by all the other fears
that were gnawing at them. Sometimes this fear is
obvious, and sometimes it is very serious.
Sometimes it isn't. It’s uncommon, but not unheard
of, to run into a Nightscape created by a fear that
the nakama finds so utterly ordinary and
unremarkable it’s hard to imagine how it could
break someone. It’s just a reminder that you never
truly know what others are going through, and we
all have different weaknesses.
The Prisoner of a Nightscape is imprisoned in some
way, but not always the same way. Nightscape
creation lists the potential relationships a Prisoner’s
physical body has with the Nightscape, and while
the options presented seem to be pretty exhaustive
(there, not there, there some of the time…) there
are extremely rare Nightscapes that have Prisoners
that are weirder still. Never be confident you know
all the ways the Darkness can manifest.
There’s no obvious magical solution to figure out a
Prisoner’s identity or location. It’s too deeply
embedded in the Prisoner’s human nature and the
Darkness that blankets reality, and any attempt to
divine this magical relationship is so deeply
obscured it’s only possible to detect with the
magical equivalent of an electron microscope. Other
forms of magic, even Mage Sight, are terrible at
determining if someone is a Nightscape Prisoner.
The magic of a Princess, so attuned to the Light of
Hope that can shine from every human being, is just
as terrible -- being a Prisoner is, on a deep level,
what the person has convinced themselves is right
and what their Light of Hope naturally builds
towards. There’s no warping or external influence
you can even track.
A Prisoner cannot be passively magically detected,
ever, by any form of magic. Not Princesses, not even
Defilers of the Darkness itself. MAYBE the Dark
Queens, but it’s not exactly like we can check.
Actively examining a potential Prisoner for any signs
of magical influence or tampering or connection
barely works. Whatever means of magical detection
you have, the Detect Charm or something else, the
ONLY way you can get useful information about if
someone is a Nightscape prisoner is if you have a
full theory of their relationship to the Nightscape.
Not just the Nightscape they might be a Prisoner of,
but what the fear was, and why it hung on them in
particular. Then, you’ll be able to determine a
yes-or-no answer of if your entire theory is correct.
If you scan the Prisoner, and you know what the fear
was, but you’re wrong about why it was them in
particular, they come up clean.
If you’ve filled at least half the Enigma track of the
Nightscape without figuring out who the Prisoner is,
that’s enough to start using magical detection to
rule Prisoners out.
Psychodrama
The psychodrama is the core psychological narrative
the Nightscape exists for and through, the
fundamental story the Prisoner sees themselves
occupying. Whether the Prisoner’s role in it looks
like they are in charge or they are the victim, they’re
the Prisoner because they can’t escape it. When
they think of what their life is, or what all life is, this
is the only thing they can think of. If the Nightscape
can be said to have an Aspiration, it’s the
psychodrama.
Often, the geography and terrain is exaggerated or
stylized: looming walls made of cribs, bodies made
up of collages of advertisements, all color save black
and white drained from the world -- what a visitor
sees is how the Prisoner interprets the world in
their mind, not the pure data their eyes conveyed to
them, and the “art style” is often a hint to the
personality of the Prisoner or the nature of their
pain.
Some psychodramas are narrow. Bruce Wayne’s
Nightscape, for example, is going to be one single
thirty-second span of time repeating over and over,
tiled endlessly, of his parents being killed in an
infinite procession of Crime Alleys. Some are
broader. Someone deeply traumatized in high
school might be in a Nightscape high school, where
all sorts of high school activities are taking place, all
tinged with the same emotional atmosphere.
Someone else’s Nightscape might look like the
normal world, but the things happening in it are
always scenes about the same core pain, where
there’s a basketball court and a corner store and an
office with all the expected people there but the
things each of them are doing are all scenes of
betrayal and humiliation.
Combatting the psychodrama is the major way to
deal Psyche damage and eventually resolve the
Nightscape. This is a locked pattern the Prisoner
thinks is all there is to the world -- you have to show
them things don’t have to work this way. You can
deal Psyche damage to the Nightscape by direct
conversation with the Prisoner or important figures,
but often -- especially when you can’t get at the
Prisoner in the core -- you’ll do this by taking on a
role in the psychodrama and forcing it off the rails,
into a situation that contradicts the narrative. You
can’t just run in and end the psychodrama scene by
punching everyone (unless it’s a very rare and
specific kind of scene), you have to grab the role
assigned to you and then “yes, and” it in a different
direction.
Residents
The Nightscape is populated from the Prisoner’s
mind, memories, and perceptions. The most
immediately notable occupants are Nightmares, the
monsters who actively go out and inflict fear on
others to fuel the Nightscape -- but there are others.
(If you want to get technical, you can say all of them
are “Nightmares,” but that’s not a useful category
any more.) The population of the Nightscape’s
psychodrama scenes are filled out with Extras, who
have less definition and independence than
Nightmares and just exist to fill their specific roles in
the psychodrama. Rather than having specific
individual stat blocks, just use the dice pools of the
Nightscape itself to adjudicate their actions.
Halfway in between is a Caricature -- a special case.
It’s not a Nightmare but it’s not an Extra, instead,
it’s a copy of the Prisoner. Sometimes they’re left as
a replacement for the Prisoner in their real lives,
sometimes there’s multiples of them inside the
Nightscape when the Prisoner is seeing too much
happen to them to just be the only one
experiencing it. The Caricature isn’t self-aware and
has the limited cognition of the Extras, and doesn’t
“know” it’s a construct of the Nightscape, nor does
the Prisoner know what happens to it. It has no
supernatural powers whatsoever, not even the ones
that the Nightscape itself can manifest.
Physical: Corpus
The most obvious way a Nightscape has to be dealt
with is the physical. It lies in a bubble between
dimensions, but it has a defined space, physical
mass, and creates Nightmares that coalesce into
matter. Like all entities of Pure Darkness, creating
physical forms is extremely easy for it, and
Nightmares use special Manifestations that begin
with physically materializing and return them to a
material state when exorcized or abjured.
Much like with ephemeral entities, Corpus is the
physical integrity of the Nightscape. Corpus is tied
to its ability to create and send forth Nightmares;
destroying Nightmares causes the Nightscape to
deplete its Corpus by spawning more of them and
brings the Nightscape closer to total destruction. A
Nightscape loses one Corpus to spawn a total
Potency of Nightmares equal to its own Potency,
and it always does that to replenish lost Nightmares
even if it’s not tactically advantageous to do so.
Unfortunately, a Nightscape always has much more
Potency worth of Nightmares active than its Corpus;
usually five to six times as much total Potency as it
has Corpus, but it varies. Only a small portion of
Nightmares are active and harvesting Essence at any
one time, with the rest back in the Nightscape
acting out the psychodrama.
The Corpus of a Nightscape can be damaged directly
from within it, as well, by destroying key parts of its
physical structure; this will always draw an
immediate hostile response from the Nightmares,
who can then be destroyed to deal more Corpus
damage… if you can handle the onslaught, anyway.
Not every scene in the Nightscape will have
load-bearing destructible infrastructure, and
infrastructure that looks like actual walls and pillars
and building material is usually worth 1 Corpus and
highly symbolic structures, like pillars made of faces
and infinite bottomless pits, are 2 or 3.
Filling the Corpus damage track means you’ve
beaten the Nightscape down enough it can no
longer create Nightmares or enforce its terror on
the Prisoner or the world around it. It can’t hold on
to anyone any more. When the Corpus track isn’t
filled, the Nightscape can still serve as a stronghold
and nesting ground for its terrors.
When a Nightscape has its Corpus track completed
but not its other damage tracks, it can be
Destroyed, which shatters the structure without
resolving it. No further Nightmares will be made,
but the existing Nightmares -- and there are always
more of them than you ever encountered -- still
have a compulsion to enact and feed the
psychodrama, turning them into Rogue Nightmares.
Killing the Prisoner will immediately destroy the
Nightscape, though the Nightscape will manifest
means of defending them.
Mental: Enigma
A Nightscape is not just a blob full of monsters, but
it is one of those too. It’s a puzzle, a riddle to figure
out: who did this happen to, and why? It can’t truly
be resolved unless it is understood. This is its
Enigma track. Enigma damage tracks are separate
for each nakama or other group of people who are
coordinating information about the Nightscape.
Unlike Corpus and Psyche, Enigma is not literally a
trait of the Nightscape’s being. It represents how
difficult it is to understand and how much
information can be gleaned about it. The Nightscape
is an investigation (CofD p. 77), and the Enigma
damage track is how many total Clues are necessary
to complete it.
Clues about Nightscapes can be uncovered, and
thus Enigma damage dealt, from looking into events
in the area of the Nightscape, investigating victims
and near misses, discovering who the Prisoner is,
learning about the Prisoner’s life and history, finding
out significant recent events, examining Nightmares
and their activity, analyzing the scenery and events
of the Nightscape for symbolism or hidden stuff,
solving puzzles and riddles within the Nightscape,
physically gaining access to locked and hidden areas
of the Nightscape, and so on.
Each clue and thus point of Enigma damage
represents some bit of information about the
Nightscape and its Prisoner (though if, as the
Storyteller, you realize you’ve given out a bunch of
information quickly and are running out of things to
reveal, you are allowed to say a given Clue gives you
“a deeper understanding” of something the group
has already learned). Potential Clues to uncover
start at the obvious and can extend to the esoteric:
- Who is the Prisoner?
- What is their Virtue/Vice, or their
Drive/Dread?
- What are or were their Aspirations?
- What is the particular nature of the fear
that created the Nightscape?
- Why does that fear have a special hold over
them? Why is it particularly relevant?
- What do they think about that source of
fear that others might not?
- What have they lost and what do they stand
to lose?
- What was the specific incident that pushed
them over the edge, if there was one?
- Why did this fear break them now, and not
earlier?
- Why do they think they deserve to be here?
- What has the Prisoner hidden from
themselves about this thing?
- What about the event or source of the fear
does the Prisoner not even know, but need
to?
- What can they do about the source of fear
in the future?
Filling the Enigma damage track means you
understood the Nightscape enough to actually
refute what it stands for on its own terms. Without
filling it, you haven’t disproven it, and the idea still
lurks -- it is a lurking doubt and worry that can
reform and spring back into existence.
When a Nightscape has its Enigma track completed
but not its other damage tracks, it can be
Subverted. Unlike the other two forms of
incomplete resolution, Subverting a Nightscape
can’t be done by accident: the person Subverting it
uses their deep knowledge of the Nightscape to
take control, subtly redirecting the psychodrama to
their own ends. Defilers and Princesses of Tears are
usually the ones who do this.
Social: Psyche
The mind of the Prisoner at a Nightscape’s core is
vital. It’s what created the whole thing in the first
place and what has to be liberated. Ultimately, the
only one holding the Prisoner there is himself. If he
understood himself and his fear and knew how to
work through it, he’d be able to walk away.
His own resistance to doing that is the Nightscape’s
Psyche damage track, and damaging that track is
Piercing Through. The Nightmares spawned from
the Prisoner’s mind that manifest his own mental
imprisonment might have their own independent
Psyche damage track, but filling it up will unmake
that Nightmare and not deal Psyche damage to its
Nightscape.
Each box of Psyche damage is essentially a Door;
Psyche damage works like the Social Maneuvering
system (CofD p. 81), and most things that modify
Caricature of a
Social Maneuvering, like the Plea Charm (p. XXX) Nightscape Prisoner.
will modify Psyche attacks. But where Social
Maneuvering is about applying pressure to get a Distant Supporting cast in the 4
favor, and Doors represent unwillingness to give out psychodrama.
those favors, Piercing Through is about getting Who? Extras in the 5
someone to accept or realize an idea, and their psychodrama.
Psyche damage track represents their psychological
defense mechanisms and rationalizations keeping
them from seeing it.
Effects that increase Impression for normal Social
Maneuvering will reduce Distance by an equal
(For an example of how this works, check out The
number of steps with one exception: nothing can
Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. Though written in a
ever decrease Distance to “None” if the Distance
context of Christian apologetics, its vision of Hell is
didn’t start at “None.” The only way to get that is to
emotionally resonant and recognizable to a lot of
directly communicate with the Prisoner.
us. Lewis depicts Hell as a place of suffering where
anyone can just take a bus and leave at any time,
Unlike Doors, the Psyche damage track is not
but refuses to. Because it would require them to
separate for each character and each thing they are
admit or accept something they can’t bear to
trying to communicate; it represents the overall
accept, they instead rationalize why they should just
thickness of the person’s self-sabotaging
stay in Hell.)
psychological defenses and so the same damage
from multiple sources accumulates on the same
Instead of Impression being based on how likable
track. Multiple ideas and concepts will need to be
the character is and determining how long between
conveyed to break through someone’s Psyche
attempts the character has to wait, Piercing
barrier, so you can’t track each proposal differently.
Through uses Distance, based on the emotional
distance from the Prisoner of the thing the
Piercing Through is an extended, repeatable action.
character’s talking to, and it determines how many
The interval is always one turn in combat, and two
total accumulated successes are necessary to equal
minutes out of combat (being in combat tends to
one point of Psyche damage.
make things a lot more emotionally intense). The
Distance of the entity determines the number of
successes required to inflict one point of Psyche
Distance Example Target damage; up to one extra success can be saved up
and applied to subsequent attempts. Any ability
None The Prisoner of the 1
that allows more than one Door to be opened by a
Nightscape.
successful Social Maneuvering roll allows one
Intimate A leader or jailer figure 2 extended action to deal more than one Psyche
in the psychodrama. damage, but other than that, only one Psyche
damage gets dealt per extended action. Abilities
Close A figure in the 3
psychodrama that that automatically open Doors, however, do not
represents a glimmer of automatically deal Psyche damage. You can’t apply
hope or respite, or the Hard Leverage and get someone to realize their
brother’s death wasn’t their fault by shoving a gun
in their face.
Like Social Maneuvering, the roll required for
Piercing Through can be anything, so long as it’s a
way of convincing the target to see the truth of your
words and let go of their fear. The roll is resisted by
an appropriate Attribute of the Prisoner (NOT the
Nightscape), which is usually Intelligence -- the
smarter they are, the better they are at talking
themselves into misery and rationalizing new
information. Each attempt to Pierce Through that
uses the same idea and method as a previous one
carries a cumulative -1 die penalty.
A Nightscape’s Psyche will usually involve multiple
forms of psychological defense and beliefs. The
Storyteller should come up with a set of different
ideas or beliefs that the Prisoner has that keep them
imprisoned, and then prevent Piercing Through
attempts from dealing more Psyche damage if
they’re only hitting one of the psychological
defenses and leaving the others untouched. Don’t
map out exactly what each Psyche damage box
means, though: remember to leave wiggle room to
allow the Nightscape to be completed from
different angles or approaches.
Filling the Nightscape’s Psyche damage track means
you have convinced the Prisoner to let go of that
which imprisons them there. If it’s not filled, then
the Prisoner still has that deep-down belief that this
is what needs to happen, and from them the
Nightscape is still urged to carry out its
psychodrama.
When a Nightscape has its Psyche damage track
filled but not its other ones, the Nightscape can be
Abandoned. The Prisoner is convinced to leave, they
let go of what convinced them they were bound
here… except they don’t fully understand what it
was they were letting go of and you didn’t take it
apart, so the Nightscape is still there both literally
and metaphorically. An Abandoned Nightscape lays
hidden and inactive, without sending out
Nightmares or consuming Essence, because it has
no compulsion to enact its psychodrama. But if
someone in a similar emotional state wanders near,
or the original Prisoner succumbs to fear again, the
Nightscape grabs them up as a fresh Prisoner and
returns to life.
Creating Nightscapes
In a gameplay context, a Nightscape is basically a
dungeon like a medieval high-fantasy party might
run into. It’s a separated environment that is
(usually) enclosed and has to be navigated, it
contains several challenges to overcome one of
which is the fact it’s full of monsters, and
overcoming it is something that the protagonists
need to accomplish because nobody else is able to
do it for them. Unlike most dungeons, the Corpus,
Psyche, and Enigma damage tracks mean that all
three main styles of gameplay are required to beat
them and they remain relevant through the entire
adventure -- combat starting doesn’t mean social
interactions and information gathering have
stopped. In addition to using the results of
interactions and gathered information to help in
combat, you can and should use the results of
combat to help interactions and information
gathering.
You don’t need a map of a Nightscape like you do a
dungeon -- it might help you to envision a bunch of
connected nodes as “rooms” but there’s very
seldom a tile-by-tile map. Think of the rooms more
like distinct already-running scenes you can stumble
upon and interact with, or locations based on a
conceptual theme -- every location is About
Something, with no concern for logistics or storage
area.
Since the Nightscape is about a person (or,
sometimes a group of people), the most important
thing to create it is an understanding of that person,
what their personality is, and what they’re going
through. A Nightscape is an extension of a character,
and to try to resolve it is to interact with that
character over an extended time in a very weird
way. So a bit of a map might help keep things
straight, but the most important thing is to know
the character you made -- the players will ask
questions or run into things you didn’t have answers
for ahead of time, but knowing the character you
made allows you to come up with the new things on
the fly. In fact, you shouldn’t really map out
everything about a Nightscape, and should always
have some space left to call an audible and add
things. There’s always more to a Nightscape than
strictly required to resolve it, you needn’t track
down every single clue and engage every idea and
execute every monster to fill up its Enigma, Psyche,
and Corpus.
There are options presented for creating a
Nightscape, different answers to different questions
about how and why the Nightscape exists and what
it does. These options will alter the Nightscape’s
damage tracks but mostly serve to help you get a
handle on how the whole thing works and flows. If
you’re confident, you can just chuck any part of it
and make your own.
Nightscape Attributes
Nightscapes have an overall Potency that
determines how powerful they are, what kind of
scale they operate at, and how hard they are to
destroy. They have the abbreviated capabilities of
Simplified Horrors, and Dread Powers they can
deploy within themselves. When the Nightscape
uses Dread Powers, acts directly by manipulating its
own environment, when Extras take actions, and
when it needs to contest a roll the player makes, the
Nightscape will use the dice pool for what it’s Best
At, Worst At, or its miscellaneous dice pool
depending on how it takes that action.
Choose between two and four things for the
Nightscape to be best at, which are often expressed
in what kind of emotional narrative the Nightscape
is trying to enforce as part of its psychodrama or
what kinds of things the Prisoner values or is good
at. A Nightscape might be Best At “betrayal,”
“avarice,” or “atomic destruction” as part of its
psychodrama, but maybe also “detecting trickery,”
“dredging up bad memories,” or “cheap shots to
vulnerable spots.”
Pick a similar number of things for the Nightscape to
be Worst At, its weaknesses and oversights -- either
types of actions that it can’t physically take very
well, or actions that require someone to think or
accept something that the Nightscape can’t abide.
Maybe it’s bad at “direct confrontation” or
“predicting how people act,” or maybe it’s bad at
“doing things where its own security cameras can’t
see” or “reacting in a split-second.” Whatever the
case, remember you don’t get to contest against the
Worst At dice pool unless you create a situation
where the Nightscape has to act or react in a way
that it’s bad at. The Nightscape will try and do
everything in a way that allows it to use its best dice
pool.
Its Dread Powers cost Essence and can’t be
intelligently deployed, only according to the
emotional logic of the psychodrama, but they’re
potentially available everywhere and used to
enforce the narrative of the psychodrama. As long
as the Nightscape exists, you cannot get rid of them,
even if you might be able to stake off some small
area where you keep its power away. (Sleeping in a
Nightscape is not something you ever want to do,
but unfortunately might have to do, especially given
how tiring it is to be Transformed. Always take
precautions before taking a catnap.)

Potency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Best At 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 16 19 22

Other Pools 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12

Worst At 0 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 8

Essence 25/1 35/2 50/3 70/4 100/5 150/8 200/12 250/16 300/25 500/50

Dread 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 8
Powers

Durability 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 12 15 20

Nightmares 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 8

Potency: The rating of the overall power of the Nightscape. This has a correlation to how severe the fear is and
the emotional intensity its Prisoner feels it, but it’s not a perfect correlation, and there’s variation based on
factors nobody has figured out.

Best At: The dice pool the Nightscape uses on actions or reactions that play into its strength.

Other Pools: This is the basic dice pool for actions that are neither the Nightscape’s strength nor weakness.
Worst At: The dice pool the Nightscape uses for rolls that play into its weaknesses.

Durability: A Nightscape starts with 2 boxes of Corpus, Psyche, and Enigma damage capacity, modified by the
various options for Nightscape construction. Then it has this many extra boxes of damage capacity for the
Storyteller to split up as they wish between the three damage tracks.

Dread Powers: The dots worth of Dread Powers that the Nightscape itself has. It doesn’t need to have any
Nightmare or specific thing present to use these Dread Powers as long as it fits the psychodrama to use them.

Essence: The number before the slash is the total Essence capacity the Nightscape has. This Essence is
distributed among its various Nightmares to allow them to manifest and gather more Essence by spreading fear.
The number after the slash is how much Essence the Nightscape consumes per day to sustain itself. There’s no
limit on how much Essence a Nightscape can spend per turn other than how many actions it can take.

Nightmares: This is the total number of different types of Nightmare the Nightscape is able to manifest, not
counting the Caricature, any Extras, and any Jailer. A more powerful Nightscape has more different sorts of
monsters.

success, add a new Tension Condition to the

Nightscape Awareness Nightscape.

Since a Nightscape is a physical manifestation of a

self-defeating psychological narrative and not a Tension Conditions
stronghold for forces to amass, it doesn’t make a
particular effort to keep people out or keep them in
line; it’s kind of like how you can walk around the Push The World Away
Borg ship as long as you’re not a threat to whatever
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
they’re doing. Nightscapes have their own Tension
Conditions; by using magical powers or greatly
The Nightscape is now aware that people are trying
interfering with the psychodrama, you ornery up
to mess with it, and is acting to keep them out and
the Nightscape and it lashes out, strikes back, tries
self-reinforce its own twisted worldview. Travelling
to fit you back into the worldview it embodies.
between scenes is now obstructed by some kind of
context-appropriate challenge (locks, obstacles,
At the end of an encounter with or in a Nightscape,
gatekeepers, that kind of thing) that have to be
roll one die for every damage inflicted on the
overcome with an appropriate Skill roll, contested
Nightscape. Add dice equal to the highest number
by the Nightscape’s Best At pool or resisted by its All
of stacks of Emotionally Flared any character had in
Other pool.
the encounter, or add dice equal to the full
Supernatural Tolerance of a non-Princess
supernatural trying to mess with the Nightscape. Close Your Ears
Subtract 1 for each existing Tension Condition. On a
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape

Aware that someone is trying to change its opinion,
the Nightscape commits to ignorance and the
Prisoner stuffs his fingers in his ears. Increase the
Distance of everyone and everything in the
Nightscape by one step for the purposes of the
Social Maneuvering to damage Psyche. If the
original distance was “None,” you can still use
abilities to reduce it back to “None.”
Lie To Yourself
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
Sometimes, there is no deeper horror than being
truly seen. As the nakama learns about the Prisoner,
the Nightscape reacts with fear and revulsion to
push the truth away. Clues obtained from the
Nightscape are Tainted (CofD p. 80) on a simple
failure.
Grit Your Teeth
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
The Prisoner knows that pain is coming, because
pain is the only thing in the world, and the
Nightscape battens down for the assault. Double the
required successes to deal damage directly to the
Nightscape’s Corpus; this doesn’t change the Corpus
loss for spawning Nightmares.
Lash Out
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
Anyone who attempts to change the Prisoner’s
mind is just trying to trick them into harming
themselves and they have to be stopped. Once this
Condition is active, Nightmares will start actively
hunting down intruders in the Nightscape instead of
only embodying their roles in the psychodrama.
When a Nightmare attacks, the psychodrama
doesn’t “notice” how it disrupts the narrative, nor
will it “notice” the direct attempts to stop it -- you’ll
have to be playing into the psychodrama and
fighting at the same time.
Everyone Is Out To Get You
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
No, actually, anyone who attempts to change the
Prisoner’s mind is trying to destroy their mind itself.
Once this Condition is active, the Nightscape can
now directly and actively interfere with its intruders
by deploying its Dread Powers and using its active
dice pools at any time, not just when appropriate to
the psychodrama, though the cost of each Dread
Power increases by 1 each time it’s used in a given
scene. In combat, give it a number of actions per
turn equal to one third of its Potency, rounded up,
only one of which can be used to activate a Dread
Power. Its Initiative is always +0.
The World Is Falling Apart
Condition - Environmental - Nightscape
Choose another mundane Environmental Tilt
appropriate to the Nightscape -- now the entire
Nightscape is permanently subject to it.

1: The Prisoner
Prisoner in Body
The most disruptive fate for the Prisoner but also
the one Princesses are most often relieved by, a
Prisoner in Body just completely vanishes into their
Nightscape with no replacement. While the
disruption to their lives is most severe, there’s
hardly any mystery about who the Prisoner is,
allowing a Princess to (hopefully) resolve the
Nightscape quickly.
What is happening in the Prisoner’s life with their
sudden absence? Does anyone miss them or rely on
them? Are they a Prisoner in Body because they
believe it would be better if they were missing, or
they are most terrified of what would happen if
they were absent?
Add 1 Corpus.
Prisoner in Mind
The Prisoner is fully transported to the Nightscape,
but their minds create a Caricature to fulfill their
duties and responsibilities. Since you can’t use
magical detection, the Caricature’s tell is its
behavior, acting as a severely stereotyped version of
its former self, which means investigating the
Nightscape is going to involve delving into the
psychological state of its potential Prisoners.
How is the Prisoner on stereotyped autopilot
different from the Prisoner’s normal mental state?
The fear of the Nightscape gradually consumed
more and more of their thoughts before it fully
manifested -- how and why was it rising in severity?
Is it so complex it takes your whole mind to grasp it,
or so brutal and simple you can’t think of anything
else?
Add 1 Enigma.
Prisoner in Spirit
A Prisoner in Spirit is someone who is actually
outside the Nightscape for most of the time, only
being literally imprisoned when certain criteria are
met (usually, but not always, when they are asleep).
The Nightscape still exists when they aren’t in it,
and they’re mentally transported inside while their
bodies are insensate or in a fugue. While outside
the Nightscape, they have a normal ability to think
but are still haunted or depressed or some other
emotional condition.
Why does the pull of the Nightscape ebb and flow?
Is this something they’ve dealt with for so long
before it exploded into a fully blown Nightscape
they have learned how to partially function with it?
Is it contingent on their mood, or contingent on how
convinced they are of one specific fact they aren’t
fully certain of?
Add 1 Psyche.
Prisoner Fleeing
A Prisoner Fleeing is the hardest Prisoner to pin
down, because they’re not entirely imprisoned.
Their Nightscape is forming and reforming,
manifesting phenomena in reality AROUND them
without actually enclosing them. The psychodrama
pops into and out of reality and the Nightmares
manifest irregularly, tormenting the Prisoner and
everyone else around them. The good news is, no
effort is required to get into the Nightscape since it
comes to you. The bad news is, everyone affected
will seem to be equally haunted.
The Prisoner hasn’t fully accepted that the
Nightscape is where they belong, or they’re SO
deeply in denial about their fear that even their
subconscious doesn’t notice it some of the time.
Why? It’s something so powerful it creates a
Nightscape, but the Prisoner is not only able to tell
themselves they don’t belong here, they can
actually deep-down believe it some of the time. Will
they have to detach from the source of fear entirely,
or face their deep connection to it?

Add 1 Corpus and Enigma. Subtract 1 Psyche.

Group Prison
Sometimes, a shared fear held between a group of
close people causes a Nightscape to form around all
of them. Each individual might be a different kind of
Prisoner. It’s the easiest to figure out that the group
is subject to a Nightscape, but they are unlikely to
share that information with outsiders anyway.

So what was so terrible it hit everyone? A single

awful event or a looming dread that wore down an
entire community? How are the different people
connected, and who isn’t tied into it?

Add 1 Corpus, Psyche, and Enigma.

2: The Origin
Fear of the Unknown
The Prisoner doesn’t know what specific thing they
are afraid of -- only that there’s so much that could
happen that’s terrible. What they have gained, they
could lose, and lose so much more.
Something must have changed to consume the
Prisoner with this fear. Have they just become
aware of a new type of danger to live in fear of, or
have they just attained something (an honor, a
position, a new child) and now fixate on the dangers
to it?
Either they have just attained something and now
fixate on the new dangers to it, or became aware of
a new type of danger to live in fear of. This
Nightscape doesn’t have a coherent theme to its
threat, just to what is threatened. A new parent
consumed by anxiety over the possibility of failing
or losing a child might make one of these.
Fear of the Inevitable
It hasn’t happened yet, but it is inevitable. Some
ruinous event lies in the future that can’t be averted
(at least, not in the Prisoner’s mind) and the fear of
its coming has consumed them. Sometimes the dark
fate really can be averted (fear of being betrayed by
a loved one for someone who is convinced that
everybody betray them) and sometimes it can’t
(fear of inevitable death).
Fear from the Past
Something terrible already happened to the
Prisoner, and it broke them. The fear they felt, the
helplessness, now defines their life. It doesn’t
matter if the time has passed, because they’ve
never escaped it.
Fear of a Nemesis
The Prisoner’s fears center around a single figure,
who might be real, or might be imaginary. Either
way, the horrors of the Nightscape are inflicted by
that person, and represent what they HAVE done or
what they CAN do or both. Someone who holds the
Prisoner’s life, or who has already destroyed it.
Someone the Prisoner fears because they are
powerless to stop. This figure will often, but not
always, be a Jailer; if they’re not, their presence is
still felt all throughout the Nightscape and the act of
resolving the Nightscape must somehow involve
overcoming what they represent.
Is it someone the Prisoner knows, or someone they
imagine -- hell, is the Prisoner’s idea of this person
controlling their fate even accurate? Why do they
think they’re so powerless to face this person?
What can they do to save themselves?
Fear from Guilt
Technically a Fear from the Past but common
enough to deserve its own category, the Prisoner
was not only broken by a horrible event, but by guilt
and shame that comes with it. It could be survivor’s
guilt, that they lived when others didn’t and they
don’t think they deserve it. It could be something
they think they should have done, or something
they blame themselves for. Sometimes they blame
themselves for something that truly isn’t their fault,
and sometimes it absolutely is their fault --
someone wracked with terror and guilt that their
family was killed but they survived may create a
Nightscape, but so too might the person who killed
the family.
How responsible were they? What do they have to
acknowledge and learn? If they are responsible,
what are the consequences they should face?
Add one Enigma.
3: The Psychodrama

were in the Prisoner’s role. If these Regrets are

Torment of Invariability something the Prisoner actually did wrong, the
solution seems obvious -- either play out what
The Nightscape will play out the psychodrama of
should have happened in that past event, or coach
how the Prisoner sees the world functioning, again
the Prisoner to do so. But it’s a lot trickier than it
and again. Whatever dynamic they expect the world
may appear because the Prisoner’s mind may be
to be, you’ll see it again and again in various
very resistant to the idea of anything about the
permutations. Not as rigidly defined as a single
Prisoner changing.
incident (unless it’s Locked in a Loop), one might see
what appears to be a fully realized world full of
Depending on how strong the Prisoner’s mental
various types of people, but every single interaction
image of themselves, simply presenting the idea
they have is betrayal. The Prisoner will bounce
that they could have done things differently might
helplessly between incidents, each new event
not be enough. You can’t make what “should have
reinforcing the idea that this is the only way events
happened” based on knowledge the Prisoner didn’t
can happen.
have or decisions they couldn’t make. You can’t
resolve an event in the Torment of Regrets by saying
If this is how they see the world, they have a very
they suddenly should have turned their personality
good -- or at least, very mentally reinforced --
around and changed their ways in an instant, but
reason to think that way, so simply saying “It
found a path where who they were at that time
doesn’t always have to happen like this!” will do
would have been able to change something slightly.
little. Why do they think that everything will
Go too far outside what would be plausible, and the
invariably play out this way, and what do they see in
Nightscape will respond with hostility, and now you
the world that reinforces it? What can you say that
have to fight a Nightmare while also trying to
does acknowledge those perceptions and their
maintain the new narrative in the psychodrama.
validity and why there is a reason to see the world
that way, but opens up a crack in that enclosed
If they had it all to do over again, what should they
worldview that lets the Light of Hope shine in?
have done? What could they have done, with what
they knew and felt back then? Would it have
Add one Psyche and one Corpus.
changed anything? Knowing they truly don’t have
the ability to change the past, what can they learn
Torment of Regrets for the future?

Keyed into the Prisoner’s specific past, the

Nightscape is filled with the same vignettes from Torment of Persecution
that person’s life. Sometimes the Prisoner or their
The world in the Nightscape makes no attempt to
Caricature will be there for all of them and any
seem like the real world to anyone but the Prisoner,
outsiders observe, sometimes the Nightscape will
and the fears it represents are so perfectly keyed to
immediately address anyone who enters as if they
that Prisoner they can’t grasp that it’s unusual.
Unlike the Torment of Invariability, this is not so Torment of Madness
much the Nightscape’s world playing out a scenario
again and again as it is tearing the scenario off the The Torment of Madness is held together by the
wall and bludgeoning you with it. Things will just thinnest narrative thread. Whatever the originating
happen with the barest hint of justification as long fear is serves as a starting point, but from there,
as they have that bare narrative thread uniting things go off on their own with little regard for how
them. The Prisoner might place themselves in a they reinforce the structure of the psychodrama.
literal prison where they are beaten constantly for a The Prisoner might be in control of some parts and
litany of invented crimes, or in a post-apocalyptic not of others, and unaware of most of it. It’s a
hellscape where the one thing they fear losing most Nightscape of free association, usually but not
has been stricken from the world or the one thing always found when the source of fear can manifest
they can’t tolerate has consumed it. Whatever it is, in myriad ways.
Nightmares probably just slap the shit out of the
Prisoner all the time for reasons that make sense
only to him. You’ll need to both build a way out of
this world of persecution from within its narrative,
and help them see how this narrative makes no
sense to begin with, how this fear that dominates
their mind isn’t the only factor in existence.

Torment of Control
The fear can be beaten, conquered, controlled. Just
a bit more has to be done, another sacrifice has to
be made, to take mastery of something that is just
out of reach… the Prisoner subject to the Torment
of Control thinks they are in charge of the situation,
on the cusp of beating the fear, at the cost of
everything else. If they devote their lives, if they
sacrifice everything, they’ll be able to cure this
malady, prevent this event, travel back in time… Of
course, it’s impossible. The solution seems to dance
out of their grasp whenever they reach, and any
outsider can see the “solution” is nonsense. The
Prisoner might be knowingly complicit -- if there’s
Nightmares that are being sent willingly by the
Prisoner to harvest Essence, it’s probably the
Torment of Control and they think the Essence will
buy them a solution -- or have created a
psychodrama where they personally sacrifice
everything to buy some silver of false hope.
4: The Lock Locked by a Puzzle
The entirety of the Nightscape is oriented around a
Not every Nightscape has a Lock. A Lock is a single
puzzle or mystery, something that doesn’t just need
overriding factor that serves as a linchpin to the
an answer, you need to unravel it just to find out
whole ordeal. If it has a Lock, then no matter what,
what the question is. Nightmares and Extras may
you can’t resolve the Nightscape without dealing
repeat cryptic phrases and riddles that appear to
with that Lock.
have no relevance, certain patterns may appear and
reappear, fragments of objects might be hidden all
Locked by a Jailer over and need to be reassembled. There is a central
question, explicit or implicit, the Nightscape is built
The Nightscape has a Jailer figure, a
around. The central question is only revealed once
super-Nightmare that rarely if ever leaves the
the Enigma damage is entirely filled; the Nightscape
Nightscape and carries out its torments with the
can only be resolved once it’s exposed and an
most efficiency and zeal. It cannot be bargained
answer is given.
with, it cannot be reasoned with, it does not feel
pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely will not
Add 3 Enigma and subtract 1 Corpus and Psyche.
stop -- ever -- unless the Nightscape’s Corpus is
completely filled. Until that point, damaging it can
temporarily disable it, but it always comes back. Locked in a Loop
Once the Nightscape’s Corpus is filled, THEN the
The Nightscape is oriented around a single
Jailer can be killed, and only after that can the
repeating event or scene, or variations on it; the
Nightscape be resolved.
majority of the vignettes if not all of them are
clearly derived from the same thing. When a
Add 3 Corpus and subtract 1 Psyche and Enigma.
Nightscape is locked in this way, it’s generally going
to be pretty easy to tell what the Origin is: a Fear
Locked from Inside from the Past or Fear from Guilt will have the same
exact events play out again and again, a Fear of the
It isn’t just that the Prisoner doesn’t know they can
Inevitable will have scenes that start in different
leave, or doesn’t believe it’s possible -- given every
ways but always end the same way, and a Fear of
opportunity, they refuse. Once the Nightscape’s
the Unknown will have scenes that start in the same
Psyche is fully depleted, all the doors should have
way but end in different ways. Most of the time,
opened, but instead they seal tighter than before.
anyway. Many of these scenes will put visitors in the
There is something that the Prisoner knows or
role of the Prisoner and face them with the scenario
believes will happen to them once they leave, and
the Prisoner can’t handle or can’t get over. You can’t
they cannot handle that, and they will not leave
resolve the Nightscape without completing that
unless they are specifically talked through that
scene the “right” way, in a way that the Prisoner can
event and accept it. Then, the Nightscape can be
accept as what they should do or should have done.
resolved.
This will always involve dealing two types of damage
(between Corpus, Psyche, and Enigma) in the course
Add 3 Psyche and subtract 1 Corpus and Enigma.
of the scene.
Important to note: completing the scene the “right”
way is not one fixed answer -- the Prisoner doesn’t
know the right answer, they don’t think there is one,
so by definition something that sways them will be a
surprise. More important to note: the “right”
answer has to come from their perspective and thus
be something believable for them to do or to have
done. In the Nightscape of an addict who did
something terrible for drugs, you’re not going to get
anywhere by declaring “Right now, I swear off drugs
forever!” to play the scene out the right way.
There’s no chance they would or could have done
that. You have to take their role and do something
they realistically could have done at that point, for
reasons that would have made sense to them at
that time.

Add 1 each of two different damage types,

corresponding to the two damage types you have to
inflict to do the scene “right.” Subtract 1 from the
third type.

Unlocked
Not every Nightscape has a central linchpin to serve
as a Lock; the plurality of them are Unlocked. You
can complete its challenges in any order and it
doesn’t matter if you’ve failed to do one specific
thing so long as you’ve accumulated enough
damage in each of the three tracks. Resolve the
Nightscape with any symbolically appropriate action
as soon as you’ve filled up its damage tracks.

Don’t modify any of the Nightscape’s damage tracks.

Optional Rules: Unpredictable Nightscapes
As written, Nightscapes are unambiguous: you know
the damage tracks and you know how much you’ve
done and you know when you’re able to seal the
deal and resolve the Nightscape. Obviously, this is
the cleanest and best from a pure gameplay
perspective; not knowing what you’re required to
do and not knowing if you’re done yet can be
frustrating as hell. If a nakama finishes the job
improperly, it’s because they knowingly made the
choice to.
But it also loses a bit of the themes of Princess and
sources of fear and tension: the idea that you might
not be good enough and might let down others and
fundamentally don’t know if you have what it takes
or if anyone in the world has what it takes. There’s
no gnawing uncertainty. The character in the
opening fiction talked about resolving the cop’s
Nightscape and doesn’t know if she did it right, or if
she failed due to her own personal flaws, or even
what it was she did wrong. You can’t capture that
when you know how much damage everything
takes.
If you don’t want to capture that feeling because it
conflicts with the gameplay needs, you go right
ahead. Actually playing well trumps anything else
about an RPG. But if your group wants to introduce
that gnawing uncertainty into the fundamental
composition of Nightscapes, you can add these
rules:
- Add 0-2 boxes to each damage track. Don’t
tell the players how much. Players don’t
know the maximum damage capacity of a
Nightscape, just what damage they’ve dealt.
- Corpus, Enigma, and Psyche damage tracks
now have different types of damage instead
of only one. Any damage done that
originates from outside a Nightscape only
deal bashing damage. Damage from inside
the Nightscape is lethal. Damage in excess
of the Nightscape’s maximum capacity rolls
over into the next highest damage type.
- Nightscapes can only be resolved by taking
an intentional action to resolve them. This is
an instant action for an Inner Light roll
where teamwork is possible. Add 1 die for
each aggravated damage the Nightscape
has suffered. Subtract 1 die for each bashing
damage the Nightscape has suffered.
Willpower and Wisps can’t be spent on
increasing this roll. After determining the
dice pool, the Storyteller secretly rolls.
- If the total successes are equal to or greater
than the number of remaining unfilled
damage boxes, the Nightscape is resolved.
- If the roll fails, or succeeds but is short by 3
or more successes, the Nightscape stays
open and it’s a Belief Compromise.
- If the roll succeeds but not well enough to
cover all the damage boxes, the Nightscape
appears to be resolved but the deal wasn’t
fully sealed.
Incomplete or imperfect resolution of a Nightscape
doesn’t result in immediate ruin, but lingering
effects. Maybe some Nightmares get away and go
Rogue. Maybe the Nightscape still exists and is
Abandoned. Maybe the Prisoner is deeply shaken by
the experience. Maybe any one of these is cause for
a Compromise for failure. Maybe there was nothing
you could have done. Maybe it was all your fault.
Nightmares
Nightmares are human fears made manifest. The
Nightscape is a prison for its creator, the Light bent
into creation of horrors and suffering, internal
conflicts and experiences made external in the form
of these Nightmares. Nightmares are like the ghosts
of someone who still lives, spirits borne of events in
their own internal worlds -- and can be mistaken for
either. A Nightmare doesn’t think, even though it
can converse and appear to reason, because it’s an
incomplete copy of someone’s mind. It has certain
contexts it ‘knows’ how to interpret, but no actual
true world view. Almost anyone who has dealt with
a Nightscape has encountered a situation where
they have had to engage in persuasion and
negotiation with some Nightmares while fighting off
others trying to kill them -- or sometimes, it’s the
same Nightmares doing both.
Like Darkspawn, Nightmares do what they do
because it is the only thing they can do. Unlike
Darkspawn, they don’t enjoy it. They may be
controlled by a sinister power, they can appear cruel
and cartoonishly malicious, there’s often not even a
hint that they are playing out a self-inflicted
repeating terror, but there’s no choice involved.
Nightmares are ephemeral beings, as described in
Chronicles of Darkness p.122, with some
modifications. They have Power, Finesse, and
Resistance Attributes instead of the nine normal
Attributes, they have Essence instead of Willpower,
they have no Skills, they have Corpus instead of
Health, and they require using Manifestation
Conditions.
New Manifestations
Where spirits and ghosts need to go through great
deals of effort to become corporeal, Nightmares,
more attuned to the Darkness that underlies all of
reality and touching the Dark World where there’s a
bunch of Darkness-mass just lying around, become
corporeal effortlessly. Insubstantial and
non-corporeal states that other entities use as
intermediate steps to Materialization are harder and
take additional effort for Nightmares. To reflect this,
Nightmares use a slightly different set of
Manifestations.
Where spirits have Resonant, ghosts have Anchors,
and angels have Infrastructure as the prerequisite
for manifestations, Nightmares use the Menace
condition. Menace is a state where the Nightmare
has an opportunity to gain substantial Essence from
acting out its Dread.
Instead of creating the Open condition, the
Nightmare creates the Coalesce condition: it
assumes a physical, material form, constructing its
body ex nihilo, as if it had used Materialize.
Coalescing costs Essence equal to twice the
Nightmare’s Potency, and lasts for one scene. Once
it is coalesced, a Nightmare can then use Possess to
enter a person or object, or Tether to key its power
to a single individual, or Insubstantial to split back
up into a Twilight state where they are capable of
acting on an area without a physical mass.
Exorcism, abjuration, and other methods cannot
remove the Coalesce condition -- you can’t
un-spend their Essence -- but can remove Menace,
Possess, Tether, Insubstantial, and any other
condition contingent on or enabling Coalesce.
Instead of kicking the Nightmare out into Twilight
state, doing this kicks the Nightmare out into
Coalesced state, where it can be physically attacked.
A Nightmare forced back into Coalesced state loses
all its bonus Armor and prevents it from using other
Manifestations for the remainder of the scene.
The fact that you may remove the Menace condition
to weaken the Nightmare means that evacuating or
calming civilians is a means of combating a
Nightmare.
Feeding Nightmares
Nightmares are created by Nightscapes, as
described in that section. They are sent out of the
Nightscape in a Twilight state where they are only
capable of moving and detecting the appropriate
Menace condition. When they detect an
opportunity to gather enough Essence, they strike,
attempt to gather as much as possible, and return it
to the Nightscape like a bee laden with nectar.
Any time a Nightmare would gain Willpower, it
instead gains that much Essence. Nightmares do not
have a Vice or Virtue, they do not have a Drive, but
they do have a Dread. There is no limit to the
number of Essence points they can regain for
inflicting their Dread in a scene, and when they use
it to cause an Integrity loss, they regain Essence
equal to their Finesse. No research is required to
discover a Nightmare’s Dread unless it specifies
otherwise. It’s usually pretty easy to guess.
Nightmares who have the ability to directly inflict
emotional states with an Influence or Dread Power
do not gain Essence from that emotional state, but
they can use that direct power to inflict genuine fear
in others and gain Essence from the secondary
effects.
A Nightmare that is destroyed has to be re-formed
by the Nightscape, where it comes back with fully
restored durability and 20% of its maximum
Essence. A Nightmare that is active when its
Nightscape is destroyed, however, becomes
independent. It permanently Coalesces and begins
to suffer Essence Bleed, which it cannot prevent but
can counteract by gaining Essence by enacting its
Dread.
Nightmares from the same Nightscape do not
regard each other as enemies unless the particulars
of their specific psychodrama compel them to. A
Nightmare can in theory feed on the Essence of
another Nightmare, but it only happens when two
different Nightscapes are close enough for their
Nightmares to meet, and doing so makes a hybrid
Nightmare that tries to return Essence to both
Nightscapes.
The activities of Nightmares don't directly create
Resonance in the spirit world, though secondary
effects can -- the Essence attuned to fear and pain
that it harvests doesn’t have a chance to impact the
spirit world, it doesn’t have time to land. It is
extremely rare for spirits to have the necessary
Numina to detect and feed on Nightmares, because
when a Spirit manages to find and devour a
Nightmare with Potency lower than its Rank, it will
turn into that Nightmare with additional powers
lent from the spirit’s former nature.
Fighting Nightmares
Other types of ephemeral entities may be
negotiated with and given favors to appease them.
While this is also possible with Nightmares, it is
always an intermediate step: you can’t coexist with
a Nightmare and the end goal of your interaction
with a Nightmare is always to get rid of it. Luckily,
they have no sense of self-preservation, since they
don’t have a self, and have no reluctance to engage
in negotiations that will destroy them.

Nightmares have a Corpus like any ephemeral entity.
Bashing damage has no effect on it except to
accumulate into lethal damage, filling it with lethal
damage destroys it to be reformed by the
Nightscape, and filling it with aggravated damage
will not only cause the Nightscape to spend Corpus
on reforming it, the reformed Nightmare has no
Essence and the Nightscape has to refill it from its
own reserve at twice the cost. The Storyteller may
optionally declare that when a Nightmare is killed
by lethal damage, it takes about one turn for it to
die, in which it can’t act but still has its defenses and
you can attempt to pile on aggravated damage with
a big “finisher.”
Some Nightmares may also have a Psyche damage
track like the Nightscape that spawned them. Some
Nightmares may even have a Psyche damage track
and no Corpus, but if they do, they cannot physically
harm any living thing.
Nightmares are not researched individually the way
ghosts, spirits, and angels are; it’s part of
researching the Nightscape and Clues can be spent
to uncover its Ban, Bane, or other relevant traits.
Creating Nightmares
Nightmares are like the halfway point between an
ephemeral entity and a Horror, so there are some
differences. First, Nightmares have Potency instead
of a Rank. A Nightmare’s Potency depends on how
vivid the experience of its fear was and the amount
of Essence it’s accumulated. Unlike with Rank, It
doesn’t become more self-aware as its Potency
rises, just more powerful -- Nightmares aren’t
self-aware, they’re fragments of someone else’s
mentality. Situations that call specifically for Rank
will use the Nightmare’s Potency instead, but
requirements treat its Rank as half its Potency.
Nightmares all have Potency, and they all have the
Pure Darkness Dread Power, but they don’t use their
own Potency for it. Determine their bonuses from
Pure Darkness according to the Nightscape’s
Potency instead. Their own Potency represents the
level of relevant threat they provide within that
Nightscape.
Nightmares have one dot of Influence per Potency,
but the maximum number of dots they can put into
a single Influence is listed on the chart, as are their
maximum total Attribute Dots, maximum value of
any one Attribute, and the number of their Dread
Powers, and their bonus Armor while Coalesced.
(but since you can take Numina as Dread Powers,
they effectively have access to both). Anything that
costs or generates Willpower for the Nightmare
instead costs or generates Essence.
A Nightmare’s Bane and/or Ban is always tied to the
fear and the prisoner that created it. Example
Nightmares will list the type of Bane or Ban the
Nightmare may possess, but the specifics of what it
is are particular to the prisoner it came from.
Sample Nightmares
Just like Darkspawn, Nightmares develop
independently, but can often do so in identifiable
patterns. The particulars vary based on the
individual in question, but all Nightmares of the
same type from the same Nightscape are essentially
identical. Nightmares have appearances that are
stylized like art but don’t feel out of place when
observed; the art style matches their emotional
tenor and so it seems to fit in with the world.
Alhambran records identify thousands of types of
Nightmare, and convention names every type of
Nightmare with a past tense verb: “What fear made
this creature? Being Forgotten.”
Potency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Trait Limit 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 15 20

Attribute 6 8 11 14 17 20 25 30 35 40
Dots

Essence 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 75 100

Dread 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 15
Powers

Influence 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5
 Choke on the Ashes
Incinerated
<crackling of fire, bursting of knots of wood>
Background: Fire is the source of human civilization
and one of its oldest and most primal enemies. Fire
is a dangerous force that wants to break out of our
control and go rampaging, destroying everything it
can touch. It consumes forests, books, cities, and
lives. Those who have suffered personal loss in a
fire, or have been transfixed by a terrifying inferno,
can be haunted by the Incinerated.
Description: The Incinerated looks like exactly what
it sounds like. Someone or something that has been
incinerated. A human form will be covered in black
soot, its body hunched and twisted by the heat
contracting its ligaments, any flesh obviously
scorched to third and fourth degree burns. An
Incinerated taking the form of an artificial object
looks like a burnt-out skeleton filled with molten
metal and plastic, containing still-smoldering
embers. Flames still dance over their forms, even
though there’s nothing left to consume, and all of
them smell like sizzling bacon fat, even if they don’t
look like a living thing.
Storytelling: There is not a lot of depth to an
Incinerated. It is a Fire Monster with both words
capitalized. It isn’t directly aggressive at first: it
won’t just jump in somewhere and start blasting.
Instead, it will approach or just appear and wait for
a reaction, which it usually gets. The horror and
revulsion at their appearance feeds it and
empowers it to move in closer and start using its
Numina to light fires around it. The more panic this
causes, the more flames it can send out, until the
whole area is an inferno.
Dread: Being burned.
Potency: 3
Attributes: Power 6, Finesse 2, Resistance 3
Essence: 15
Initiative: +5
Defense: 2
Speed: 13
Size: 5
Corpus: 7
Armor: 1 / 2
Influences: Fire ••
Numina: Firestarter, Blast
Dread Powers: Fire Elemental, Toxic (smoke)
Ban: An Incinerated’s ban will have something to
do with a specific safety measure taken against
fire; it cannot harm anyone taking it.
Bane: An Incinerated’s Bane will be some material
or method for extinguishing fire. This is most
commonly water, but some fires will only get
worse when doused with water.
 My Whole World
Spoiled
I want the world / I want the whole world! I want to
lock it / all up in my pocket / it’s my bar of chocolate
/ give it to me now!
Background: Not all fear is fear of death and ruin.
Fear of responsibility and fear of failure drag us
down as well. And not all fear is “glamorous,” for
lack of a better word, and enduring it doesn’t always
make others look and go “oh, what a brave soul for
going through that,” but it is a thing to endure
nonetheless.
New and expecting parents often are consumed
with fear, fear for their child, fear of their child. The
fear that they’ll let down this tiny person utterly
dependent on them -- and the fear their normal
lives are over, all their fun has ended, and now
they’re just boring parents.
And those fears, leaking from a Nightscape, make
the Spoiled.
Description: Spoiled resembles a child between
maybe five and ten years of age, with their features
and proportions exaggerated. Eyes are huge and
well with tears, and lips are always ready to quiver.
When it gets what it wants it’s a sweet thing, almost
infuriatingly saccharine. When denied its demands,
it becomes a cyclone of terror, its childish emotions
exploding out figuratively and literally.
Storytelling: Once it materializes, a Spoiled latches
on to a person, using something much like the
Fetter Manifestation, except they can freely move
and use their Numina and Influences on others. It
applies the Urged Condition to its victim to have
them regard it as either their own child, or a child
they have a responsibility for; it relies on Innocuous
to allow others close to the victim to passively
accept the idea they belong.
The Spoiled then makes a series of childish demands
of its victim, starting at something annoying but
expected, and escalating from there to become
more and more unreasonable.
Dread: Harming a child physically or emotionally.
Potency: 3
Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 5, Resistance 2
Essence: 15
Initiative: +7
Defense: 4
Speed: 7
Size: 4
Corpus: 6
Psyche: 3
Armor: 1 / 2
Influences: Responsibility •
Numina: Drain, Innocuous, Mortal Mask,
Telekinesis
Dread Powers: Hypnotic Gaze (whining)
Ban: As long as a Spoiled’s demands are being
met, it will not initiate hostile action.
Bane: Every Spoiled has something it actually
wants that its demands sort of circle around but
don’t directly address. This thing causes
aggravated damage and it willingly accepts that
damage, it’s not hostile action.
 Rotting From Within

Infected
I can see inside you / the sickness is rising /don’t try numbers. The only thing they can try to do is grab
to deny what you feel someone and infect them -- one might expect them
to pin you and try to bite you,and be surprised
Background: Disease is an omnipresent threat, when they cough in your face or smear you with
terrorizing humanity since before civilization open sores.
existed. It gets inside you and too often there’s
nothing you can do about it, it weakens and saps
Dread: Infectious disease.
you, and worst of all it spreads when others come Potency: 2
close to give acts of kindness or comfort. Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 1, Resistance 3
Essence: 10
Just as this fear is metaphorically played out in Initiative: +2
zombie fiction, the Infected is the fear physically Defense: 1
Speed: 7
manifest. Weakened by its own sickness, it would be
Size: 5
pathetic and harmless if not for the fact that it Corpus: 5
spreads its disease. Influences: Sickness ••
Dread Powers: Toxic ••
Description: Infected resemble very, very sick Ban: Infected are weakened by their own
humans. Skin marked by rashes or lesions or just infection, which is already reflected in their lower
sloughing off of them, faces twisted with boils and Advantages.
Bane: Administering appropriate medication
sores, hair falling out in clumps, walking with
instantly kills an Infected.
uneven lurching steps borne of lost coordination
and muscle aches.

Storytelling: Infected are plague zombies, and like

zombies, they appear and are threatening in
 The Memories Broken

Forgotten

The memories broken / the truth goes unspoken / noting or remembering here. Then they slip away
I’ve even forgotten my name… before they even see the consequences, knowing
they will get the trickle of Essence from their
Background: There are two times a person dies: activities later.
when their body is permanently still, and when no
living person still remembers them. Hopefully, they
Dread: Forgetting important things.
happen in that order. Potency: 1
Attributes: Power 2, Finesse 3, Resistance 1
The fear that they won’t is what spawns the Essence: 5
Forgotten. Initiative: +5
Defense: 2
Speed: 10
Description: Forgotten are hard to pin down.
Size: 5
They’re humanoid, of course, but their faces are… Corpus: 6
uh… well, they’re tall, or maybe they’re short? Psyche: 2
Their clothes were… they had some kind of clothes Armor: 0 / 1
on, but I can’t quite recall. They blend into crowds, Numina: Innocuous
even when they’re alone. They seem to be in your Dread Powers: Whisper of Madness, Bad
peripheral vision even when you stare right at them. Daydreams
Ban: Forgotten must comply with a request to
They seem beneath notice.
write down or record some specific type of thing
(what you just said, what that license plate was,
Storytelling: Forgotten are physically weak, but sketch my face, etc).
they avoid direct conflict. They are excellent at Bane: A certain type of photograph or recording
lurking, slipping into or out of crowds, picking out of the Forgotten can be interacted with or
victims and isolating them by fiddling with memory damaged as if it was the Forgotten itself.
and perception around them. It can’t feed from any
forgetfulness it directly causes, but it feeds from the
reactions of others; it uses Whisper of Madness to
inflict Perception rolls that say there’s nothing worth
 Vehicular Mindslaughter
Wrecked
Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse /
Assail him, impale him, with monster-truck force…
Background: It’s easy to forget that so much of our
lives are dependent on casual use of multi-ton
hunks of metal traveling at such speed that they will
absolutely obliterate anyone they smash into. Some
people don’t forget that, and they are the ones who
may be haunted by the Wrecked.
Wrecked is a Nightmare only spawned by the
modern world, first appearing in the forms of trains
but now mostly showing up as automobiles or
motorcycles.
Description: A Wrecked in its natural material state
looks like a very large humanoid somehow merged
with a vehicle, whether that is in the form of a
horrible accident victim with shards of metal frame
embedded in their flesh or a humanoid with
Formula 1 wheels on her shoulders and hips, or
anything else on that spectrum.
Storytelling: The Wrecked is a bizarre mixture of
very subtle and totally unsubtle. Once it manifests,
it generally possesses a vehicle as soon as it can,
and proceeds to sow chaos around it -- it’s obvious
that something is happening, but not that a
supernatural force is involved. Its brakes fail and
steering jerks to endanger pedestrians, it uses Incite
Mayhem to provoke road rage, its Influences can
create pile-ups, Ruinous Strike appears to open
potholes… Even a Wrecked possessing a train or
boat will lurch irregularly, seem to shake itself apart,
and attack passengers with its internal components
to give the impression that they are about to crash
and die.
Dread: Being harmed by a vehicle collision.
Potency: 5
Attributes: Power 7, Finesse 6, Resistance 5
Essence: 25
Initiative: +11
Defense: 6
Speed: 20
Size: 6
Corpus: 11
Armor: 2 / 3
Influences: Traffic •••, Metal ••
Numina: Left-Handed Spanner, Speed,
Manifestation: Possess (Vehicle)
Dread Powers: Ruinous Strike, Incite Mayhem ••
Ban: The Wrecked has a formal or informal rule of
travel that it must obey.
Bane: Removing a specific vehicle component
that causes the vehicle to be nonfunctional ejects
it from the vehicle it is possessing and removes its
Defense for the scene.
Cataphractoi
A Cataphract is one of the most dangerous
manifestations of the All-Consuming Darkness.
While a Darkspawn is darkness coalesced around a
sliver of humanity’s Light, a Cataphract has
everything a human has, as well as the manifest will
and power of the Darkness. A human is made of
many parts both physical and metaphysical, and a
Cataphract is when all of that is intact but the actual
human soul, the core of the identity -- replaced by a
lump of seething Darkness.
Until it all corrodes away from the prolonged lack of
a human soul and exposure to pure Darkness, a
Cataphract is able to do anything a human can: it is
able to have aspirations, imagination, a vision of the
future that it can seek to set out. But the core drive
at the heart of all of this is the will of the Darkness:
the urge to spread fear. Some Cataphracts are aware
of their nature, the fact they are not the person
whose memories and bodies they stole, and
gleefully spread fear because it is all they want to
do. Some are unaware of their nature, believe
themselves to be the same people as before, and do
nothing but spread fear anyway because their
conscious mind comes up with any rationalization
possible to justify why spreading fear is the best
thing to do.
The conditions for a Cataphract to arise are specific
and not fully understood, but they happen too
often. The soul has to be removed or destroyed
“cleanly,” or without much that links it to the rest of
the metaphysical support structure like a Soul
Stone. If a human loses their Soul Stone and gets
the Soulless Condition, fully drains away, and their
shambling body somehow acquires another Soul
Stone afterwards, they’re basically an unlocked car
with the keys in the ignition and ready for the
Darkness to steal it. Defilers who knowingly or
unknowingly erode their own souls away by taking
too much of the Darkness’s power leave a similarly
hollow spiritual shell that the Darkness can occupy.
Those who are driven to suicide by fear can leave a
body that rises as a Cataphract, and sometimes they
leave an unquiet ghost who can see it happen.
Some even take it on willingly, if not with full
knowledge. They don’t even realize the human that
made that deal died instantly and now they’re a
shadow wearing a human’s skin, operating on stolen
memories.
Cataphractoi are falling apart, slowly or quickly.
Everything that allows them to act human or think
like a human does is being eroded by their Darkness
and eventually, everything is going to collapse like a
sand castle struck by a wave, they will fall over, and
minor Darkspawn will eat their way out of their
recently vacated corpse. They have no identity aside
from the salvaged and stolen memories they have
of their host’s body, because they were just swirling
pools of pure and formless Darkness. The only way
to extend their existence is by defeating and
devouring Princesses, and even then it doesn’t buy
much time, it’s as grotesquely inefficient as burning
a house for warmth. Those who know what they are
resolve to spend their limited time as best they can:
by inspiring as much terror and spreading the taint
of the Darkness as much as possible.
These stolen memories and personality are all they
have to interpret the world through, and they are
twisted into mockeries of themselves by the evil of
the Darkness. A painful, pathetic, insulting mockery
of who this person used to be and what they used
to care about; emptily going through the motions of
what was once someone’s source of meaning and
hope. An army of tiny model soldiers, once a source
of pride, are not painted in blood because it’s
shocking and gruesome, but because the monster
keeps forgetting how paint works and lets it dry out.
The “lovely home” that the monster imprisons her
ex in is saturated with mildew and rot of the Dark
World, and she spends hours upon hours uselessly
trying to scrub out stains that can never be undone.
Despite all this, it means that they can… well, not
function, per se, in society, but they can emulate
their host body’s former life as if that person was
having a bad day, or at least walk down the street
without mauling people to death. They possess
higher level thought and planning, which means
that more than one Princess has dubbed them “the
Generals of the Darkness.” And that is something
that must not be forgotten; they may be the hollow
shells of what were once men and women, but now
they are only creatures of the Darkness.
Cataphractoi possess a Drive and a Dread based on
the human soul that used to occupy their form as
twisted through the interpretation of the Darkness.
As with other creatures of Darkness, their Dread
represents the fear they inflict and not the fear they
recoil from. Every Cataphract has at least one
Fractured Condition (p.XXX) to represent the
disintegrating support structure of their identity.
When it rises to Potency 2, 3, 5, and 7, it gains
another Fractured Condition. (The condition
Fractured: Avoidant changes to cost a Willpower in
order to avoid inflicting its Dread rather than
recoiling from it.) These Conditions can never be
resolved.
Cataphractoi are built as Horrors; they all possess
the Command Darkspawn Dread Power for free.
The Enthroned
A Princess is a leader, if not formally than as a figure
to look up to. A Princess bears a burden of
responsibility to the world to save it, to the people
around her to inspire them, and to herself to carry
out her ideals. It’s hard. She has magical powers,
but they are here to carry out this purpose, and
they’re never quite enough. Holding onto her Belief
is one of the most difficult and important things she
can do.
Because if she throws it away and still wants to be a
magical girl, she will become a monster. A true
source of Light that willingly embraces the Darkness
is one of the most dangerous and terrifying beings
to exist. They reject their nobility to gain authority.
They reject their responsibility to gain power.
A Princess who loses all her Belief loses all her faith
in herself and her Inner Light. With absolutely
nothing to act for, they see no purpose in acting at
all. If they don’t kill themselves deliberately, they kill
themselves passively with utter neglect. But there
are a few who want to keep going even without
anything to go for. Some who shatter their Belief
and resent ever having it in the first place. Who
think they were set up to fail, whose despair is
overrun by spite and bitterness.
The All-Consuming Darkness always offers an
ultimatum, an implicit deal: “Spread me to others,
and I will stop hurting you for a moment.” It’s not
offered in words, it’s not explicit, it’s just a thing we
all know to be true and know to be possible because
we know what it is to experience and act on fear.
But for a Princess who spites her own Belief, an
exemplar of humanity’s Light who has come to hate
and resent it, they say the Darkness speaks. They
say it offers them power personally. But that’s only a
rumor, of course, because everyone who accepts
this offer becomes one of the Enthroned.
An Enthroned is a Princess who fully controls a
permanent Nightscape around herself. Born from
her own fears and her own pain, she is not both its
prisoner and ruler -- she is just its ruler. It is her
domain, it is her principality to rule. All its
Nightmares personally serve her every whim and
carry out her will as her foot soldiers. Forever
denied from the real world, her Nightscape follows
her in the Dark World, ready to snatch anyone who
comes too close to the barrier and make them her
toy to play with, torment, and break. Having
abandoned the idea of using her power to achieve
something, she now just hurts other people and
tells herself that’s what power always has been.
Seared from within by her own Light, she doesn't
even recognize the pain is unusual, and all she cares
about is that others suffer worse than her.
Enthroned are constructed like Nightscapes, but
instead of all of their behavior being compulsive,
they are fully aware of their actions and purposeful
in sending out Nightmares, who obey their orders as
best they can but are still working within their own
warped fragments of worldview. Any Charms the
Princess had before she lost all Belief are converted
to Dread Powers if possible, and she can manifest
them anywhere within the Nightscape that any of
her Nightmares can perceive. When endangered,
she can move the Nightscape to another location to
escape; this makes a contested roll that anyone
inside must overcome to stay within it, whether it’s
by running to keep pace with the Nightscape or
determining where and how it is shifting. One
member of a group can take the rest along, but if all
members are ejected they are now stranded in the
Dark World and have to first get back to the real
world through the recently-vacated hole, then find
and enter the Nightscape again from the real world.
And though they cannot enter the real world, they
are always able to manifest the Caricature of their
former selves, serving as the glowing light dangling
from an anglerfish’s head, drawing unsuspecting
prey toward the horrific mouth just on the edge of
the darkness. It can emulate everything a Princess
can do, though its behavior is exaggerated and
caricatured and negative emotions overwhelm it
sometimes, and it cannot assume mundane form.
They love nothing more than capturing, tormenting,
and slaughtering Princesses, whose existence and
continued Belief is an insult that sears at them like
hot metal in their minds.
They are the biggest threat to the concept of the
Kingdom Come and the biggest reason Princesses
are wary of it. If they originated as Princesses who
knew what the Internet is, then they know what the
Internet is. In 2015, a group of Princesses all across
France who met each other over the Internet came
together to work as one united force, only to be
slaughtered at their first meeting because one of
them was an Enthroned catfishing them; at least
one social media group for Princesses fell idle
because an Enthroned member was using the
information shared to capture and murder its users
one by one. These events were so shocking, tragic,
and impactful, even the Gale-Blind Queens know
about them, even if they don’t quite understand the
details. With absolutely no way to tell a real Princess
from an Enthroned online, staying off the Internet is
not seen so much as a compromise of your Belief in
your ability as just not being suicidal.
The Enthroned cannot be killed, though they can be
warded off by hurting them enough to drive them
away multiple times. They cannot be sealed or
controlled. None of the easier, messier ways of
getting rid of a Nightscape will permanently solve it.
Most of them eventually unravel themselves after
torturing enough people loses its interest, but that’s
a lot of people to torture over a lot of time, and a
lot of destruction to wreak. The Nightscape of an
Enthroned has to be resolved, and that’s not easy. It
has twice as much capacity for Corpus, Psyche, and
Enigma damage, for starters, and will probably take
multiple assaults even without accounting for the
fact it can try to retreat if it’s taking too much
damage. Its Corpus, Psyche, and Enigma are all
depleted normally, up to the last box; you must
meet a special criteria to finish each track off.
You must locate and destroy the Princess’s former
Phylactery -- it’s always close but hidden and not
necessarily in the Nightscape -- to finish off its
Corpus. You must know the specific event that
caused her last Belief loss to finish off its Enigma.
And to finish off its Psyche, you can’t just convince
her to let go of her pain. The Enthroned must accept
death is a better alternative to what she is doing.
Alhambra, the most skilled in the world at fostering
suicide, records only three instances of actually fully
resolving an Enthroned. Ever.
Enthroned are thankfully rare -- Alhambra estimates
the number active on Earth is in the low double
digits -- but they are devastating, and taking one
down may be the focus of a whole campaign.
Defilers
There are humans who willingly use and spread the
taint of the Darkness to gain power for themselves.
Since the taint of the Darkness is fear, these people
are too numerous to classify -- anyone who gets an
advantage over others by doing or threatening
fearful things to them is using the Darkness.
Princesses themselves will do it without thinking
sometimes, because it’s such a natural and assumed
part of living in this world, it has become a part of
the human condition. Almost none of them think of
it as any kind of magic, it’s simple cause and effect,
dog eat dog, the way the world works.
And then there are Defilers.
Though “I can get what I want by bullying people
into cowering from me” and “I can get what I want
by harvesting life energy from normal people to
channel into a crystal that creates what I desire” lie
on the same continuum, one of those is pretty
obviously abnormal. When you cross that line, when
you have discovered something that obviously
violates physics as you understand them and keep
doing it, you cross the line between “being an
asshole” and “being an evil warlock.” You may not
know that this is a manifestation of a thing called
“The All-Consuming Darkness” but you know
something is up and you’re going ahead anyway.
A Defiler is anyone who uses the Dark World for
their own personal ends. Alhambrans insist this is
very different from what they do, which is why they
insist on a name as severe as “Defilers.” Alhambra
harnesses Nightmares to harvest energy from them
to keep the Last City lit, and at least Alhambra tries
to put it to good use and minimize collateral
damage. A Defiler doesn’t care. The Dark World is
not the source of fear in our reality, but it is still a
gigantic stockpile of highly concentrated
physics-warping essence of fear, and if you see that
and say “I can use this!” there is probably
something very wrong with you.
Defilers can be occultists who sought power, or
people who stumbled across an opportunity when
their actions happened to stir up enough Darkness
around them to congeal into something noticeable.
The former often come from, or create, Mystery
Cults around their discoveries as a source of
disposable minions and capable lieutenants. Many
are described in an occult tome called
Unaussprechlichen Kulten, or “Nameless Cults,”
reflecting how none of these groups know enough
to realize they all come from a common source so
how the hell was the author of the guide supposed
to know that. To them, it’s not a specific “thing”
they tap into other than the hidden deeper nature
of the universe. And to everyone but Princesses, this
is just completely accurate.
Those who didn’t intentionally seek the occult are
far less structured and predictable, because as far as
most of them are concerned, they have discovered a
latent power that they possess and don’t fit it into
an idiom of rituals and rules. Occultists act like
wizards who do magic, but these people act like
they have their own supernatural powers. A lot of
them think they’re energy vampires, though they
have nothing to do with actual vampires.
Defilers are built as normal people who possess
Dread Powers as Merits. All of them possess either
Siphon Energy or Command Darkspawn, usually
both, and if they don’t have the Dark Gate power
they have a reliable Gate to get to.
Quick creation guide
1. Concept
2. Aspirations
3. vice/virtue/integrity
4. Asttubpudes 5/4/3
5. 15 skill dots
6. Merits and Dreadpowers 5
7. Add exp bases on skill level(5 exp for
Higher end thugs, 10 exp for local
Leaders, 15 exp for right hand men and
20 exp for The BIG BOSS)
 The Weak Should Fear The Strong
Violent Enforcer
“If you ain’t afraid of me, kid, you ain’t too smart.”
Background: The typical Violent Enforcer is
motivated by fears of others - some having been
bullied by larger kids in school, others simply
paranoid of the idea someone is insulting them
behind their back, some having more hateful
thoughts born from various bigotries, which in turn
boil down to either fear of “the other”, or fear of
ostracization for even sympathizing with “the
other”. The first step on the path to becoming a
Defiler is embracing the ability to inflict fear to
protect yourself from it, crushing “the other” to
show they won’t be vulnerable. Making their lives
through intimidation, a Violent Enforcer is an
example of someone who “naturally” came to the
power of a Defiler, discovering a supernatural
affinity for terrorizing others.
Description: Violent Enforcers are strong for the
average human, and usually dress in “tough guy”
style options: either hoodies to appear more
“street”, or tight T-shirts or wifebeaters to flaunt
muscular, sometimes tattooed arms. They often
find employ as “soldiers” or “enforcers” for
organized criminals and wear the distinct outfits and
colors of that organization, though often without
much regard for proper display, as they bristle at
actually being given orders. Their bodies show their
history of violence before and after they became
Defilers: scars, broken noses, cauliflower ears
Storytelling: Violent Enforcers can serve as a teaser
for the true powers of the Darkness, where ordinary
human cruelty is stepping its toes into supernatural
Darkness. When they command Darkspawn and
harvest energy, they don’t do it in the idiom of a
dark sorcerer;, they act like they’re shouting orders
to a running crew of goons and relishing someone’s
defeat. The Dark World is a secure hideout to them,
not a sinister realm, and they don’t think too much
about the implications.
What they want, they take from others. If they don’t
threaten it out of someone, they beat it out of
them. They’re simple and direct; if they’re involved
in a larger plan, it’s usually because they’re being
manipulated by a Nameless Cult in the guise of a
crime syndicate.
Vice: Wrathful
Virtue: Endurant
Aspirations: Crush those who oppose me under
my boot.
Str 4 Dex 1 Sta 3
Int 1 Wit 3 Res 2
Pre 3 Man 1 Com 3
Skills: intimidation 3, Brawl 3, Streetwise 2,
weaponry 2, Subterfuge 2, Athletics 3
Merits: Streetfighter style 4, Seizing the edge Feel
no pain, Dark Gate, Command Darkspawn,
Dement
Willpower: 5
Ingerty: 2
Size: 5
Initiative: 4 [-1 with knife]
Defense: 4 [7 from street fighting]
Speed: 10
Health: 8
Weapons/Attacks
Fists [+0B, melee, 7 dice] Knife [+1L, melee, 6
dice]
 Trade The Soul For Power

Secretive Warlock

“The truth of the world is Darkness… The power of purely offensive Dread Power if they have any at all,
this world is fear… and I will become its master!” and often multiple ways of draining Willpower. The
nakama will need to figure out who is behind a
Background: A Secretive Warlock is typical of those warlock’s activity and reveal their identity, at which
Defilers who knowingly sought out power with full point the warlock will probably discard any pretense
knowledge how evil it was. From an occult grimoire, of being normal and just start chewing the scenery.
rising through a Mystery Cult, piecing together
fragmented accounts of dark events in history, they
Stat Block
were determined and desperate to accumulate their Vice:
power, to trade their souls away for the ability to Virtue:
hurt others. Aspirations:
Str Dex Sta
Staying hidden, for them, is staying alive. At first it Int Wit Res
Pre Man Com
was a habit borne of weakness; now, they tell
Skills:
themselves it isn’t, but their fellow man will destroy Merits:
them if they find out the extent of their depravity. Willpower:
They have always feared what others will do to Ingerty:
them, and now they know the punishment they get Size: 5
will be deserved. Initiative:
Defense:
Speed:
Description: Secretive Warlocks do not want to
Health:
stand out too much, staying hidden is staying Weapons/Attacks
powerful. Yet they usually can’t stand to appear ??? [+0B, melee, ? dice]
weak or unremarkable, either. They appear to be Dread Powers:???
wealthy and exemplary, living lives others should
envy, but not anything too implausible. At first, they
only use their powers to take what they can
plausibly justify. Then, they start finding ways to
justify whatever they can take.

Storytelling: Secretive Warlocks are always near the

action, even if they try not to be the focus of
attention. They work through minions and spells to
get what they want, they usually only have one
The Dark World
Never, ever go here.
The Dark World is the desiccated husk of the
Fearless Kingdoms, and the ultimate fate of a world
where the All-Consuming Darkness has utterly
triumphed. Cold, dark, silent, and empty, it hangs
off of our world like a withered vestigial organ, its
only possible purpose to become infected. There is
no joy or life here, not even for the Darkness itself.
Left to its own devices, nothing happens here.
Without sparks of Light from our world, nothing
could happen. If we could keep those sources of
Light out, the Dark World would be completely
inert, and we’d never have to worry about it.
If we could.
Nightscapes push into the Dark World like bubbles,
and sometimes that bubble breaks, and leaves a
hole. With the Light flowing in, the Dark World stirs.
It senses something to feed on. It senses something
it can hurt.
The Dark World looks like our own in most places,
like a reflection of its location’s counterpart in the
real world. This isn’t because the Fearless Kingdoms
looked like our world right down to the locations of
buildings -- it’s because the Dark World is so
withered of meaning and substance it doesn’t
remember what it was, and when stirred, it copies
the part of our world it’s next to. And when it does
so, the copy comes out wrong. Aged by hundreds of
years of neglect, its architecture twisted and hostile,
familiar enough to trick you into thinking you know
where you are. The monsters here don’t exist until
the Light streams in, and they are awakened into
existence by something to feed on. The Darkness
itself animates and reaches outward when it senses
something on which to feed, something on which to
inflict suffering.
Dark Gates link our world and the Dark World,
distinct portals with fixed entry points on either
side. They aren’t naturally occurring, any Dark Gate
was made either by an Alhambran (who redirects
the entry point from the Dark World to Alhambra),
or a living being who intentionally uses the Darkness
and needs a reliable entry point. Humans don’t
stumble into Dark Gates on accident, and the Dark
World doesn’t make these Dark Gates. They are
controllable, but incredibly hard to seal.
The membrane of reality separating the Dark World
from our own gets scraped and wounded from
Nightscapes swelling in and retracting. Or from
terrible things inflicted in an area rather than on an
individual. Or from some kind of general spatial
wear and tear we don’t understand. Or from
nothing at all. Fortunately, that’s rare.
Unfortunately, it’s not rare enough.
The uncontrolled area where the Dark World
overlaps our own is called a Bleed. It doesn’t have
well-defined boundaries, there’s not a line to cross
where on this side you’re in our world and on the
other side you’re in the Dark World. More like, your
location is more or less supplanted by the Dark
World trying to scoop you up. In a Bleed, the Dark
World grows toward the open Light of the world like
a twisted inversion of a flower following the sun.
The world doesn’t rip open and spill out monsters;
the boundary is thin and permeable. The space
around a Bleed is uncomfortable, it gives off a
distinct aura of being “wrong.” It’s like there’s a
constant humming or buzzing noise just barely
outside the range your hearing can register. The air
is humid and dry at the same time and light doesn’t
reflect in quite the right way. It’s like your voice
doesn’t echo because the sound carries somewhere
else. There are bad things here in a Bleed, and you
can almost feel them telling you the awful things
they want to do with you, and the promise that if
you’re close enough they will skip you over. It has a
horrible fascination to anyone tainted by the
Darkness, who can feel the resonance of fear. And
sadly, that’s all of us.
Stepping through a Dark Gate or wandering through
a Bleed gets you all the way to the Dark World.
There is absolutely no natural illumination here, not
even a single star in the sky, yet it doesn’t swallow
up any light you bring. Even a cheap keychain
flashlight casts a beam that seems to extend forever,
and it serves as a beacon for hungry possibilities
that want to consume it. Darkspawn “rest” here, so
devoid of energy they don’t exist, until the Light
nearby gives them definition.
Time spent in the Dark World is bad. More time
spent there is worse, and time spent by more
people is even worse. Since all human beings hold
the Light of Hope, presence in the Dark World by
any human being will stir and create Darkspawn in
the area. The only way to stop this is an Alhambran
Lantern, properly fueled, which will completely
prevent everyone in its radius from activating
Darkspawn.
You should never go there. Yet, Princesses are going
to have to go there anyway. Most commonly,
innocents are often snatched up or wander in, and
may yet survive for some time, alone, terrified. A
Princess may have to enter to save them. A deeply
entrenched Nightscape can only be entered from
the Dark World. Terrible opponents take refuge in
the Dark World and may need to be pursued.
Any place that seems too stable, like it isn’t
constructed to mess with the Princesses exploring
it, is a place that’s already been activated by
someone else’s frequent presence. Alhambra is
there somewhere, though it doesn’t seem
accessible from any other place. The Queen of
Storms’s eternal front line will show wreckage and
corpses to any who approach. Defilerss and those
who openly embrace the Darkness have little to fear
here -- not nothing, but little -- and make refuge in
the Dark World for safety and power. The Enthroned
live here, fallen Princesses who embrace the
Darkness of fear, surrounded by perpetual and
utterly subservient Nightmares to rule and torment
others with.
And worst of all, deepest of all, are the Three Dark
Queens. Contempt, Self-Loathing, and Despair are
all somewhere in the Dark World, carrying out
designs we can’t even imagine. Why do people
follow them -- what could the Queen of
Self-Loathing offer someone except self-loathing?
What do they want? Are they cruel or compulsive in
their actions?
Multiple other realms connect to our reality, like a
prism radiating different colors of light. Depending
on who you ask, there’s the spirit world, the
Underworld, Arcadia, the Supernal… The Dark
World isn’t quite the same. It isn’t radiated out from
ours, it doesn’t express or support something. While
crossing from one of those other realms to each
other is sometimes possible, it’s apparently
impossible to go directly from the Dark World to any
other supernatural realm or vice versa. There’s no
linkage, no overlap outside of our reality. If there is
a God-Machine in our universe, there’s either none
in the Dark World or it’s been turned off for
millenia. There’s no Infrastructure, no Angels -- the
God-Machine seems to be completely unable to
process or perceive the existence of the Dark World,
as if it was another computer not on the same
network.
Those few who know enough to put this
information together theorize the Dark World might
have its own version of the Supernal, Arcadia, the
spirit world, and so on hanging off of it. If that’s
true? Never, ever, ever go to those places.
New Dread Powers
Whisper of Madness
The Horror is capable of inserting messages directly
into its victim’s thoughts. They come with no
compulsion to act on them -- they can seem like
intrusive thoughts or even auditory hallucinations --
but if they are canny enough to make the messages
similar enough to the victim’s normal internal
narrative, they seem like sudden realizations or
observations.
The Horror can attempt to insert a single sentence
into the victim’s inner monologue at no cost. It may
spend a Willpower to fabricate a Perception roll for
the victim (contested appropriately), who
experiences it as if they had made that roll and seen
the result the Horror decided to show. This allows
for Social Maneuvering rolls over time without the
target being aware they are being Maneuvered on.
Ruinous Strike
When this Horror attacks, it is as if the world attacks
with it -- the environment explodes with hostility.
By spending a Willpower when attacking, the Horror
can choose to inflict a plausible environmental Tilt
(kill the lights, rip open a cooling unit, cause a
blizzard of debris, explode a water main), perform
an attack from a source of environmental damage
(such as fire or electricity), or completely rearrange
terrain and cover in the immediate area.
Coercive Illusion
This Horror cannot create flawless illusions that fool
every sense -- they create something flawed and
then cow their victims into being unable to see the
flaws.
This Dread Power is used in two stages. By spending
a Willpower, the Horror may apply Coercive Illusion
to any existing object. Then, they must succeed at
intimidating the victim in order for them to see the
object as a specific and similar thing they would be
afraid of seeing in this context. By setting up a
situation where the thing they need would be
fearful in context, they can fabricate all sorts of
images.
Fell Collector
The Horror collects its victims quite literally --
converting them into dolls, certificates, snow
globes, poker chips, or something else they can
amass and play with at their leisure.
Like Soul Collector, this power requires the Horror to
meet a condition to collect its victim; Unlike Soul
Collector, this condition can be something that
happens much more quickly, like “the victim must
accept they have lost at a game against me” or “the
victim must reveal their signature, telltale mark of
fear.” By spending three Willpower and overcoming
the victim’s Resolve + Potency, the Horror imprisons
them within and converts them into a helpless
object of Size 0-1 over the course of one turn,
applying the [OBJECTIFIED] Condition.
Depending on the form of the collectible, the victim
may be able to act and move after being converted
-- a doll might be able to sneak out and hide in the
vents, even a snow globe can be rolled like a
hamster ball -- but don’t expect the Horror to just
leave you around to do whatever you like. If the
object is completely unable to act, then destroying
it will usually free the person inside. The Fell
Collector will have some other condition that frees
people from the collectibles, and the Dread Power
also ends when the Horror is killed or beaten
unconscious.
Command Darkspawn
With a growl, an occult incantation, a high-pitched
shriek, or an extended finger and a shout of “FUCK
HIM UP!” the Horror is able to direct Darkspawn to
do their bidding. Any Horror with this power
appears to Darkspawn as if they possess no Light
whatsoever and are not a valid target for predation,
though their actions may cause the creature to
conclude they are a threat even if they possess no
Light.
This Horror can attempt to issue a command to all
of one specific type of a Darkspawn in the area. If
the command is for something the Darkspawn
generally wanted to do anyway, it takes no roll and
requires no Willpower -- that Calamitous wanted to
destroy something and is more than happy to
destroy the specific place you picked out for it. If the
command requires restraint or patience outside the
Darkspawn’s normal behavior, the Horror must
spend a Willpower and match or exceed the
Darkspawn’s Potency on an appropriate activation
roll.
Command Darkspawn only works on “lesser” of
Pure Darkness. All Darkspawn are subject to it, but
Cataphracts, Enthroned, and Defilers aren’t. Other
creatures made with the Horror rules may or may
not be considered “lesser” creatures of the
All-Consuming Darkness at the Storyteller’s
discretion, even if they don’t have the Pure
Darkness Dread Power.
Siphon Energy (•-••)
This Horror is able to directly drain the life and Light
from its victims, empowering itself by sucking
Willpower.
At one dot, the Horror can drain one Willpower per
turn from humans it is physically touching, and add
it to their own. At two dots, the Horror can grant
this power to its subordinates and siphon energy
from them.
Bad Daydreams
Some claim that Horrors are so foul that the weak
human mind erases them from memory rather than
deal with their existence. Whether or not that’s
true, some Horrors just cheat to do this anyway.
At the end of a scene in which characters
encountered the Horror, the Horror may spend 3
Willpower to attempt to erase itself from the
episodic memory (memory of events that happened
to you) of everyone who saw it, contesting against
their Resolve + Potency. This activation can have a
bonus or penalty between +3 and -3 depending on
how noticeable and major the events were. If the
Horror succeeds, the victims do not directly
remember the Horror and rationalize other
explanations for what happened, though they retain
all emotional associations with the memories
hidden from them.
Dancing Shade (•-••)
This Horror’s mastery over darkness and shadow is
so great that its actual, literal shadow serves it. The
one-dot version of this Power allows the Horror to
spend a Willpower and take its action on its turn
with its Shadow: the Shadow moves along walls and
surfaces and is able to interact with other objects by
their shadows, even if the real physical objects are
nowhere near each other; this bypasses Defense
and most other ways of keeping something away
because it’s very hard to dodge in two dimensions
when one of them is “up”.
The two-dot version of this Power allows the Horror
to separate its shadow to act completely on its own
by spending 3 Willpower. The shadow is a Simplified
Horror with 5 dice in whatever shadow-specific task
it is charged with, Worst At interacting with things
that can’t be done by interacting with shadows,
Potency equal to its creator, 3 Defense, and 5
Health. It is damaged only by magic and direct
illumination, which is treated as if it dealt fire
damage.
Shadow Step
Some Horrors aren’t just the monsters of darkness,
but are such embodiments of it that they can bend
into and out of it at will. The Horror may, as part of
its movement, spend one Willpower to walk
through or fall into a shadow as if it was a hole, and
emerge from another shadow within 20 yards.
Desiccate
When sapping willpower isn’t enough, some
Horrors suck away their victims’ vitality in a much
more direct way. Depending on the Horror, victims
may feel slow and dull, may age or get younger, may
become translucent or thicker -- but in some way
some attribute is stolen from them and there’s only
one way to get it back.
A Horror with this Dread Power has one or two
Attributes it can drain. The Horror may spend 1
Willpower while touching a victim to contest against
the victim’s Stamina + Potency. On a success, it
drains one Attribute dot from the victim and stores
it. It may spend one Willpower to add all of its
stored Attribute dots to its own Attributes in any
combination or configuration it wishes -- if it drains
Composure, it can assign those dots to Strength or
Dexterity if it wishes.
Stealing Attribute dots can also steal something else
from the victim, like their voice, vision, or
appearance. In this case, only one dot can be stolen
from each victim. The Horror can only hold a
number of stolen Attribute dots equal to its Health.
When it takes damage of any kind, each box filled
frees up one stolen Attribute dot to return to its
owner.
Poisonous Gift
The Darkness doesn’t like to be patient, but it does
like to spread. Sometimes it’s worth the wait. This
Dread Power does nothing on its own and is used in
tandem with other Dread Powers that require the
user to touch the victim or be in their proximity. The
Horror can spend a Willpower to invest their Dread
Power into an object (paying all costs for it as
normal). If someone gets a full night’s sleep near
the object, they are subject to the Dread Power as if
they had been touched for long enough to apply the
power once.
Black Hole
The Horror creates something that draws in all
attacks, attention, matter, air. By spending 2
Willpower, the Horror conjures an object that
re-orients gravity toward it in the immediate area.
Everyone nearby (save the Horror or targets it
designates) as well as unsecured objects, will “fall”
toward the Black Hole unless they can hold on to
something heavy or anchored. Anything in the Black
Hole takes lethal damage equal to its activation
successes every turn. The Black Hole lasts as long as
the Horror concentrates on maintaining it, and it
vanishes if the Horror takes any action other than
moving or takes a point of lethal damage.
Incite Mayhem (•-••)
Some fear is gnawing, prolonged, and wears down
the soul. And some of it says “HOLY SHIT THAT DUDE
IS ABOUT TO KILL YOU!” Incite Mayhem inflames
the latter -- by spending 1 Willpower, the Horror
may inflict the Mayhem tilt on an individual it can
sense, causing them to have to succeed on a
Resolve + Composure roll penalized by the Horror’s
successes or regard everyone around them as an
immediate threat and take an action to attack them.
Once someone has succeeded on this roll, they
don’t need to roll again until the Dread Power is
used again, or something significantly surprises or
startles them.
At two dots, the Horror can spend 3 Willpower to
inflict Mayhem on everyone in the area.
Sinister Calling
Aspiration is the essence of the Light, the ability to
hope and dream of a brighter future and carry it
out. Aspirations are core to any character in the
Chronicles of Darkness. Of course the Darkness
wants to twist them.
A Horror may spend a Willpower to engage in an
extended, contested roll against its victim’s Integrity.
The target number of this roll is the current amount
of Willpower points the victim has, not their
Willpower dots. If successful, the victim gains the
Sinister Calling Condition, which twists one of their
Aspirations into one of the Horror’s design based on
it. If the Horror doesn’t know any of its victim’s
Aspirations, it’s useless.
Feel No Pain
Humanity lives in fear of going through pain. If you
embrace the Darkness’s gifts, then that fear can be
lifted, as long as you spread it to others.
This Horror can spend a Willpower to turn off its
sense of pain and gain the Feel No Pain Tilt, granting
it immunity to wound penalties and automatically
succeeding any rolls to remain conscious. All
sources of bashing damage, other than lethal or
aggravated damage that was downgraded, is
reduced to a single point. Actions involving physical
might gain +3 bonus dice but automatically incur
one point of Bashing damage as the Horror goes
over the limits of its body.
Dark Gate
The Dark World hangs off of our own, festering,
waiting for a shaft of Light to stir up its awareness.
To most of humanity, it’s a horrible threat. To
Defilers and Darkspawn, it is home.
This Horror can turn a Bleed into a Dark Gate with
an extended action requiring five successes at an
interval of 3 hours. They can open or close a Dark
Gate by spending a Willpower, and while in the Dark
World, they regain 1 extra Willpower for indulging
their Vice with in the past 24 hours, or for resting
Harvest of Screams
The Horror embodies the ever-growing Darkness,
sowing it all around and sucking in a rich harvest it
gathers.
Once per scene, the Horror can spend 1 Willpower
to perform a terrifying display, attempting to
intimidate everyone who can perceive it, contesting
their Resolve + Potency. Success inflicts the Beaten
Down tilt on them, even if it would not normally
apply. The Horror regains one Willpower whenever
someone fails a roll to resist the fear it inspires
(even if that fear was not prompted by the specific
use of this Power.)
Energy Crystal
The soul-sapping power of Darkness can result in an
embarrassment of riches for those who use people’s
drained energy for dark ends. This Dread Power
allows the Horror to store Willpower, no matter its
source, into an energy matrix to be drawn out later.
The Horror gains an object of Size 1-5 to serve as its
energy storage. While touching the object, it may
transfer Willpower to or from it; the object has a
capacity for Willpower equal to 3 times its Size. The
Horror can store Willpower it gained normally by
touching it, and if it has the ability to gain Willpower
from others, Willpower in excess of what it can gain
is automatically transferred to the storage. (A Horror
with Fractured: Insecure can drain Willpower from
others into the storage, and can use Willpower
directly from it while touching it, but can’t withdraw
Willpower to use later.)
Catastrophize
The Horror can spend a Willpower on a victim,
contesting against their Composure + Potency. If
successful, they inflict the Guilty condition on them,
regarding some act that some people might not like
but they wouldn’t normally have cause to feel Guilty
over, convincing them it’s actually evidence they’re
a horrible person. No communication is required to
use this power, but communication might be
required to find out something they did to hook
them for.
Nightscape Conqueror
This Horror can link its essence to someone who is
imprisoned by fear, and draw power from it. If the
Horror doesn’t already have Pure Darkness, it can
gain the Pure Darkness Dread Power by attuning
itself to a Subverted Nightscape: it gets the Pure
Darkness bonus based on its own Potency or the
Potency of the Nightscape, whichever is worse.
roll. It always has to spend at least two Willpower
per turn until either the scene ends or it is reduced
to only one or less Willpower left.
Fortress of Terror
Most commonly used by Defilers, this Horror can
directly strengthen the hold of the All-Consuming
Darkness on an area, and the grasp of fear on those
who live in it.
Doing so is an extended action with an interval of 1
day. The Horror has to shore up the borders of its
desired “fortress” with black magic and icons of fear
with each roll; once it has accumulated 7 successes,
the area suffers an additional stack of the
All-Consuming Darkness Tilt (p. XXX). This can be
magically dispelled, but all 7 successes need to be
negated or dealt with to clear the whole area;
smaller subsections require proportionately less.
Thus a smaller Fortress of Terror is harder to make a
foothold in, because its owner will be more likely to
see you and stop you.

If the Horror already has Pure Darkness, the

Nightscape doesn’t need to be Subverted, and they
always use the better of their own Potency and the
Nightscape’s Potency to determine their bonuses.

Nightmare Trigger
This Horror has a powered-up super form,
accessible only when it invests significant energy. It
spends 1 Willpower to activate Nightmare Trigger
for the rest of the scene; while active, the Horror
can spend multiple Willpower to add dice to a single
Manifestations
Manifestation: Coalesce
Condition - Nightmare - Manifestation
This Nightmare has assumed a physical form, matter
congealing out of the Darkness that underlies our
reality. It can move, act, be attacked, and employ all
of its Dread Powers and Numina; it may attempt to
Possess, Tether, or go Insubstantial from here.
Cause: The Nightmare spent Essence equal to twice
its Potency in an area with the appropriate Menace
condition.
Ending: The Coalesce Condition only ends when the
scene ends, or when the Nightmare suffers enough
damage to discorporate it. If the Menace condition
that it relied on is removed, Coalesce does not end,
but the Nightmare suffers the Undermined
Nightmare Tilt.
Manifestation: Menace
Condition - Nightmare - Manifestation
This area is ripe with the potential for a Nightmare
to harvest Essence by enacting its Dread. An
appropriate Nightmare may Coalesce here.
Cause: A group of people who are vulnerable to the
fear the Nightmare embodies, or one person who is
currently very worried about that fear, neither of
which believe there is much they can do to protect
themselves from it.
Ending: Evacuating endangered civilians, moving the
Nightmare to a location without them, or calming
them down and convincing them there is a way to
protect themselves from the source of fear will
remove the Menace Condition. If the Nightmare is
Coalesced, removing Menace inflicts the
Undermined Nightmare Tilt.
Manifestation: Insubstantial
Condition - Nightmare - Manifestation
This Nightmare is in a Twilight state, becoming
intangible while retaining the ability to use Numina
and Dread Powers. All rules for creatures in Twilight
now apply.
Cause: The Nightmare had the Insubstantial
Manifestation, which listed a prerequisite, and
activated this Manifestation while Coalesced and
while the prerequisite was present or true.
Ending: Undoing the prerequisite ends this
Condition, reverts the Nightmare to Coalesced, and
gives it the Undermined Nightmare Tilt.
Manifestation: Tether
Condition - Nightmare - Manifestation
This Nightmare is keyed to a specific individual,
using it as an anchoring point, somewhat similar to
Fetter; effects that require Fetter may also use
Tether. It Tethers itself to an individual person, but
may move away from that person and use Dread
Powers on anything. As long as its Tether is still
more concerned about the Nightmare than anything
else, the Nightmare can remain Tethered
indefinitely and send Essence back to the
Nightscape remotely.
Cause: The Nightmare had the Tether
Manifestation, which listed a prerequisite, and
activated this Manifestation on someone who
matched the prerequisite.
Ending: Undoing the prerequisite ends this
Condition, reverts the Nightmare to Coalesced, and
gives it the Undermined Nightmare Tilt.

Manifestation: Rogue Nightmare

Condition - Nightmare - Manifestation

This Nightmare belongs to a Nightscape that has

been destroyed without resolving it. It is
permanently Coalesced and suffers Essence Bleed. It
cannot return to its native Nightscape to reform.

Condition: Rogue Nightmare is caused when a

Nightscape is destroyed or its prisoner killed.

Ending: This Condition only ends with the

destruction of the Nightmare.

Manifestation: Undermined Nightmare

Tilt - Nightmare - Manifestation

This Nightmare has been returned to a disrupted

physical form. It is Coalesced, it cannot activate
other Manifestations, and it loses all bonuses from
the Pure Darkness Dread Power.

Cause: Forcing a Nightmare out of a more advanced

condition based on Coalesce, or ending the Menace
Condition a Nightmare used to Coalesce, will inflict
Undermined Nightmare.
PLACEHOLDER FOR OTHER FICTION

THIS IS ANOTHER FICTION THAT ISN’T WRITTEN

IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE VERY DARK AND INVOLVE FAILING

AND DYING
AND IT’S ALSO TWO PAGES LONG
 Dancing In Twilight
Chapter 7: Dark Magical Girls
Nearly everything in Princess represents or
embodies a fear. The Dark Magical Girl archetype,
the role the Twilight Princesses play, is no different.
While other monsters represent fears of death and
harm and betrayal and decay and helplessness, the
Dark Magical Girl experiences and embodies her
worst fear of all:
Being alone.
Magical girls as an archetype, and Princesses in this
setting, are heroic and noble souls. They are
genuinely virtuous people who are trying to help
others and save the world; they have strongly held
values and a vividly expressed personal identity that
is validated when they triumph over opposition. But
some, the Twilights, aren’t so lucky as the Radiant.
Their Queens didn’t get to sit out of the Long Night
and avoid all the horrors and decay of the world.
They don’t have perfect and untouched ideals, and
they cannot count on the Power of Friendship and
the Power of Love to carry them through the day.
Their love is twisted up and imprisoned in their own
dark emotions, their own trauma, their own
loneliness. The Princesses of Tears spend most of
their lives in the real world, surrounded by people
they know they are betraying by harvesting the
hope from their world, unwilling to get close or
extend a hand of friendship lest they be inevitably
hurt. The Princesses of Storms continually try to
alienate themselves from their own compassion and
virtue, convinced they’re weaknesses, convinced
anyone around them with any emotional complexity
is a liability. Even the most narcissistic and
attention-seeking among the Princesses of Mirrors
believes they are fundamentally and hopelessly
alone as the only person who can save the world,
something nobody else can ever understand.
The Dark Magical Girl, more than almost any other
type of antagonist, is a sympathetic figure. They
absolutely and desperately need your help. Any
conflict with a magical girl character is a conflict
over what genre of story this is, and the Dark
Magical Girl believes this is going to be a bleak
subversion of the magical girl genre tropes. And
while most conflicts with supernatural “monstrous”
antagonists are existential, meaning that you cannot
coexist and one of you has to go, any conflict with a
magical girl character provides different and unique
challenges and opportunities.
A magical girl antagonist is one that you
fundamentally do not want to kill and who does not
truly want to kill you. Instead of harming each other,
the primary goal you have in each encounter is
stopping each other. You will encounter them
multiple times in a context you can speak to them at
length, before or after you fight. Your goal is to
convince the magical girl to stop pursuing an
objective or change her worldview, both by
speaking to her and by validating your worldview by
triumphing over her efforts to stop you.
Nobody thinks of themselves as the villain (well, you
know, vampires do) and it is important to note none
of the Twilight Queens thinks they are a Twilight
Queen. They all think the Radiant are and should be
their allies, and as the Radiant try to prove their
own worldviews correct, so too do the Twilights
focus on showing the Radiant the way. Princesses of
Tears believe that the Radiant will see the
hopelessness of saving the world soon enough and
that they should provide this revelation as soon as
possible while hurting them as little as they can.
Princesses of Storms believe the Radiant need a
little push to see the nature of the total war against
the Darkness and how nothing less than total
commitment will stop it, and then they will be
valuable allies. Every Princess of Mirrors believes
she is the True Heir and the proper role of every
other Noble is to aid her and give her what she
wants. Their end of the conflict is just as much
about proving their identity as yours.
Rather than totally reversing her ways after one
conclusive defeat, it’s more likely a Twilight will
become a bit more sympathetic. Moderate herself a
bit. The Radiant are not right about the world, but
maybe they’re a little bit more right than the
Twilight gave them credit for. Redeeming them is
very possible, but it’s probably not going to be a
one-and-done affair.
The nature of Twilights, their willingness to
cooperate when the situation is dire, and their slow
path to redemption, provide an excellent gameplay
opportunity as well: if you have a troupe, and one
member can’t regularly make the scheduled game
times but wants to play anyway, they can play a
Twilight. When they can show up, the Twilight
Princess agrees that the nakama’s goal is important
enough to deal with. When they can’t, the Twilight
thinks this isn’t worth her time or is busy doing
other things.

In magical girl media the Dark Magical Girl is nearly

always redeemed by the protagonists. They think
they have to do things the way they do, they think
sinister means are necessary and there is no other
choice, and the magical girl nearly always shows
them another way. Fate Testarossa, the alpha and
omega of the Dark Magical Girl archetype, becomes
Nanoha Takamachi’s closest friend and ally for the
next ten years of the Nanoha franchise. Twilight
Princesses are not built with that exact end goal in
mind -- you probably want to encounter a variety of
characters but the nakama can’t exactly accumulate
allies that easily -- but all of them are designed to be
perfectly suitable for player characters and
cooperation with a Radiant Nakama. It’s common
for Twilights to put aside their differences with the
Radiant and come together to fight a threat they all
agree must be stopped, which then puts their values
and the Radiant’s closer together to express the
conflict between them.
Alhambra
Alhambra is the Last City, the only remaining part of
the Fearless Kingdoms. It is perpetually gloomy,
sunless, and always raining; it is lit by lanterns
burning stolen hope. Depression is so thick in the
atmosphere you can almost drink it. It is the
stronghold of the Queen of Tears and her followers,
who some consider to be the Radiant’s most
important enemies; the Radiant oppose their goals
and operations at every turn. Its gates link to
locations all over the world where Ravens operate
to steal hope and support Nightmares and
undermine everything the Radiant believe in.
And it is open to all of the Radiant at all times. It is a
sanctuary and neutral ground for all, where even
the Queen’s enemies can taste an echo of the
generosity that once defined her life. If any Princess
needs something in Alhambra, Alhambra will offer it
as best it can without compromising its own
operations.
None of the Twilight Queens believe themselves to
be the enemies of the Radiant; they believe the
Radiant just need some time and more information
to see that the right choice is to join their cause. The
Queen of Tears feels the weight of the sorrow and
hopelessness on her heart, and knows it is
inevitable that the five Radiant Queens will see the
truth before too long and join her. Maybe they will
even bring some sliver of joy to Alhambra, though
the Queen knows better than to invest her heart
into feeling hope like that. The Radiant opposing her
goals is just a temporary condition. The Queen of
Tears will use Alhambra and the comforts it offers to
ensure that the Radiant don’t cause too much
damage to its operations before they wise up and
join.
But moreso than preserving her operations, the
Queen offers up Alhambra so the Radiant won’t get
killed. They’re committed to doing suicidally stupid
things out of a misguided sense of hope, but each
death is still a tragedy. The knowledge that if the
Ravens had convinced them to join, they would still
be alive, adds one or two more ounces to the
weight on her heart.
The City
Alhambra sits in the Dark World, somewhere, but
absolutely nothing lies on the other side of its
borders and gates. It is a city unto itself. Nearly
every square foot of it is built upon with
cobblestone roads, marble courtyards,
Roman-concrete canals, and structures of brick,
granite, wrought iron. Despite the city’s age, and the
inability to expand its borders, the streets and
public buildings all give the sense of being too large,
too empty. The people walk the streets with gloomy
eyes, pulling their coats tighter, lost in the dungeons
of their own thoughts.
No sun or stars hang above Alhambra, but if they
did, you’d rarely be able to see them through the
omnipresent clouds. When it isn’t raining in
Alhambra, it’s about to rain. The rain is clean and
drinkable, though ever so slightly salty, like human
tears; all of the architecture features gutters and
drains to redirect the constant flow of rain to the
canals that run alongside major thoroughfares.
The most important physical feature of Alhambra is
the lamps. On posts and sconces, the sight of
gas-burning lamps is omnipresent, casting greenish
or bluish illumination as they burn stolen hope.
Mundane sources of illumination seem weak and
miniscule by comparison. Here, the lanterns are all
that matter. They’re designed to be operable by a
toddler and starting at age 7, many Alhambrans
serve in the Lamplighter Corps, wearing
midnight-blue sashes and dutifully refilling lamps
one by one.
The presence of the lanterns is what keeps the
All-Consuming Darkness out; it’s why Alhambra is
the only physical place that doesn’t have any of the
“All-Consuming Darkness” Tension Condition
(p.XXX).
It isn’t the literal illumination of the lanterns that
keeps the Darkness out (it’s not like you’re not
protected if you’re standing behind something), it’s
the hope they burn to create that light. If you go to
sleep in a bedroom with the lights off, it’s not like
Darkspawn will manifest in your bedroom to attack.
Alhambrans still won’t sleep with the lights off,
though.
The palace of the Queen of Tears is a tower that
looms above the city, at least the parts close enough
not to be blocked by clouds. Its stained-glass
windows used to depict moments of Calat’s glorious
history, but they’ve been corroded, broken and
rebuilt so many times they are just abstract
groupings of colors. The walls once held vibrant
murals by the city’s great artists, now almost
entirely washed away by rain. The tip of the tower is
the only thing that extends above the cloud cover,
and only the Queen of Tears herself is allowed at the
highest level. She thinks about jumping. She doesn’t
know if it’s courage or cowardice stopping her.
The People
Everyone living in Alhambra is depressed.
They know it, and they don’t love it -- they are
depressed, after all -- but they accept it. The
Queen’s heart echoes to all of them and carries
them with it, but this isn’t some kind of magical
compulsion any more than a buzzkill or a
melancholy story is magical. They are depressed,
they say, because it’s an accurate assessment of the
world. Depression is a welcome thing to numb how
awful their emotions would feel without them, and
lets them see the world without deluding
themselves about their own capabilities.
The Radiant are the first real “guests” the city has
had in its denizens’ lifetimes, after Storms and
Mirrors were written off long ago. Everyone else
who came to the City intended to stay or already
followed the Queen of Tears. If one has a scheduled
meeting with an Alhambra-dweller, they appear
perfectly clean, crisp, dapper, and presentable.
Meet them a few days later, and they will be
wearing the same clothes, their hair messier and
unwashed, gunk accumulating under their
fingernails. They don’t take care of themselves
unless someone prods them into it, and for the
most part, there isn’t much point in showering and
changing clothes every day even with modern
amenities making that possible. They sleep too
much or too little, and dark rings lie under every
weary eye.
And yet there is a certain dignity to them and their
sorrow. Their lives are worth living, they think, and if
they decide they aren’t, suicide is considered a
fundamental right of all living things and someone
who exercises it will be seen off in a bittersweet
parting ceremony. If their highs are not as high, they
are realistic. Alhambrans generally don’t grin, but
that weary little half-smile they give, the one or two
chuckles of laughter that escape their mouths when
something is too funny to deny, they mean more
than anything outside the City, where joy is all
falsehood and delusion and denial. Their feelings
are like their flowers: slimmer than on the outside,
frailer, with less light and no Sun to reach toward,
but still alive, and with the normally vivid colors
faded into beautiful and understated pastels.
An Alhambran feels sorrow over the state of the
world, the knowledge that it is so vast and Alhambra
is comparatively so small when everything good has
to fit there, the knowledge that Calat and all the
Fearless Kingdoms can never come back. They don’t
generally feel sorrow or regret over their light
sources. The lamps are precious to them, and to be
concerned over the fact they burn hope from the
outside world is like being concerned that a
sunflower is sucking up too much light and
weakening the Sun. The outside world is one of
utter and rightful despair. Dreams are crushed,
friends betrayed. Hope is shattered and scattered
every day. Better that at least some of it be
collected and put to use keeping the Last City alive.
Anything that matters is kept here.
The Princesses who keep the lights burning are
known as Ravens -- at least half of all Princesses
born in Alhambra take the name “Raven” for their
alternate identity -- and are treated with a great
measure of respect and deference. While it isn’t
illegal to offend or speak ill of them, it is considered
incredibly rude and to be disrespectful of the Queen
herself. Ravens are expected to be given first choice
of what the City offers, in terms of amenities or
luxuries. Commoners are not required to kneel in
their presence, but a respectful bow or salute is
considered polite.
The Dead
Ghosts are commonplace in Alhambra, and while
the Radiant at first figure this must be due to the
great unsettling sorrow of the place trapping its
residents in anguish, it’s not. Ghosts exist in
Alhambra for the same purpose they did in the
Fearless Kingdoms, to finish a life’s business and
goals that were cut short by death; Alhambran
ghosts are the souls of normal people who need a
bit of extra time to finish things. They still act like
normal people, though over time they grow more
distant and silent until they fade utterly. They don’t
need Anchors and are not particularly tied to
trauma. All of Alhambra has the Necropolis
condition (p. XXX), preventing Essence bleed and
allowing free use of the Materialize Manifestation.
Ghosts remain to oversee families, or carry out their
tasks that were important in life, though usually
with a focus on preparing the living to step into
their role. The ghost of a family head won’t rule
forever, only until she thinks her successor is ready.
Most Alhambrans who need to be taught a skill
crucial to the City’s function are taught by the ghost
of whoever had the job previously; ghosts train their
replacements. Ghosts are not only here to fulfill
crucial functions, though: they want to say goodbye,
they want to see their loved ones, they want to hear
and tell their stories. They weren’t done with the
world, not because a great task was left unfinished,
but because they simply had more living to do.
Sometimes, the ghosts talk to each other, and no
living person can hear a word. Sometimes they
meet up with each other in an empty building and
just stand there in eerie silence. Sometimes it feels
like an Alhambran will spot two or three ghosts in
the course of a day. Sometimes it seems like an
Alhambran will only spot two or three living humans
in a day, everyone else she sees a ghost.
The Library
Alhambra does have a haunting beauty to it that is
hard to deny. Nowhere is this expressed more
strongly than in its art and stories. Though the Great
Library of Alhambra is known by the Radiant for the
records the Ravens have made of discoveries during
their missions, the Library’s purpose was to store
and catalog fiction, not reference material. The
Calat National Archive was in another city, and was
lost with the Cataclysm. The information they have
about the Fearless Kingdoms has to be inferred
based on what its authors said about the stories set
there.

Yet Alhambrans would never, ever say the Library
was useless outside of its archives. The art and
novels of the Last City are their proof that it must be
preserved at all costs, that it truly is the last good
thing in the world. The most enthusiastic people of
anyone in Alhambra are its librarians, and the
libraries across the City have the greatest
proportion of ghosts because some librarians simply
never want to leave. Without the need to eat or
sleep, they can spend years at a time simply
reading.
The operational archives are held in the Great
Library alone; libraries across the city hold fictional
works, distributed from the central library as space
was needed to fill with records. Anyone requesting
any information from a library needs the aid of a
librarian: whether you want a Raven diary, a story
that contains relevant information to your current
problem, or just a cracking good yarn, the
organization scheme of Alhambran libraries is
absolutely incomprehensible to anyone other than
the librarians themselves. Books are scattered all
over and stacked on every surface and crammed
into every gap, and while they don’t immediately
know where every book is, they’re the only ones
who can search in any reasonable amount of time.
Ask for a story and they will find one for you, in a
pre-Cataclysm language that is not exactly like one
you speak but close enough. Somehow, despite the
fact that the Library was filled in a time of happiness
and generosity, any story you find in there will be
tragic and melancholy and moving.
Information about the history of the Ravens’
operations is collected in a few reference books but
is mostly found in the personal diaries and journals
of the Ravens themselves, almost all of which are
available for anyone to check out, even outsiders
(though a new Raven’s diary is not made available
until she has passed from living memory, unless she
gives explicit permission otherwise). These diaries
contain their observations, their histories, their
thoughts, and their feelings; learning what they
faced is inseparable from learning how they
experienced it. Many Ravens themselves choose a
few of these diaries to reference often, as if their
long-dead authors were mentoring them; oddly,
those who are reincarnated almost never seek out
the diaries of their former lives.
The Bleak Harvest
Alhambra is lit by hope stolen from our world --
Alhambrans never refer to it as the “real world” the
way we do, but usually “the lost place.” The process
of stealing that hope is referred to as the “Bleak
Harvest,” the ongoing mission of nearly all Ravens in
our world. Breaking Points caused by sorrow and
despair initiated by a Raven’s actions lend a brief
burst of power, while captive Nightscapes provide a
slow but steady trickle of lost hope. Their familiarity
with the Dark World allows them to use Darkspawn
as temporary tools, and their basic intelligence and
sense of ethics stops them from keeping any around
too long or too close.
The greatest asset Alhambra has is coordination and
logistics: their Queen is not Gale-Blind and her
subordinates can freely communicate about their
plans. They can insert their agents almost anywhere
around the world, keep track of their interests, and
know when an area is too dangerous or ripe for
exploitation. From this description, many Radiant
think that they will find a buzzing command center
of operations experts; this is not the case. The Bleak
Harvest is a more personally-run sort of thing, and
Ravens have a great degree of freedom in carrying it
out. Ravens have a supervisor to whom they report,
and with whom they usually have a complicated
relationship entangled in mutual guilt; these
supervisors talk to each other to coordinate
information when necessary but try to keep contact
between their Ravens and other coordinators to a
minimum. It can get too emotionally complex
otherwise.
Ravens usually work alone; a nakama of them is rare
and emotionally exhausting for all of its members.
They have alliances and occasional Sworn
subordinates recruited in our world, but are kept at
arm’s distance. Now more Ravens than ever come
from our world, and loyal agents of the City have to
be sent out to protect who and what they love, at
least until they can be taken to Alhambra itself
where the flickering lights will preserve what
matters to them. It is not the City itself that first
draws Princesses to the Queen of Tears, but the idea
that it can hold on to something while everything
else falls away.
A series of Dark Gates around the city link to points
around the globe, allowing Ravens to return to
home from wherever they are stationed. Princesses
of Tears have Raven Keys that open these doors
from either end. These Keys do not work for anyone
other than the individual Princess they are gifted to,
they cannot bring more than one individual at a
time, and though you can make multiple trips you
always arrive in a fully manned way station ready to
monitor any guests. The only other way to enter
Alhambra would be to find it in the Dark World.
Given the Queen of Storms has been killing her way
across the Dark World for our entire history and has
never run into it, that’s not likely.
The Courtesy of Our Lady
The Radiant are invited to visit Alhambra at any
time, and if their shikigami don’t know of the offer
they are informed by hand-written letters left by a
Raven where they are likely to find them. A neutral
location is given for the Radiant to request entry if
they aren’t personally accompanied by a Princess of
Tears when they want to visit, since generally their
opponents are hard to find. Most Radiant Princesses
have at least visited once.
Alhambra is neutral ground. It is known and
tragically expected that the Radiant are trying to
stop the Bleak Harvest because they haven’t yet
grasped the scope of the world’s Darkness, and in
the lost place, it is expected they will clash with the
agents of the City. Inside the City, none of that
matters, and opposition to the Harvest won’t be
held against you so long as you don’t try to stop
them from within the city itself (which will lead
them to expel you, and then kill you if possible once
outside).
Visitors to Alhambra are of course monitored
closely, followed at all times by an Alhambran who
assists their requests and doesn’t bother to pretend
they aren’t keeping an eye on them. But as long as a
visiting Radiant doesn’t try anything hostile, she will
be treated as a well-respected foreign dignitary, and
offered the same kinds of comforts and deference
that a Raven expects.
Accepting the courtesy of Alhambra is only a Belief
Compromise if it materially helps the Bleak Harvest.
The Queens themselves, when it is explained to
them, will allow but not encourage Princesses to get
involved: like the Queen of Tears, they hope their
counterpart can be brought around to their way of
thinking and the best way of doing that is exposure.
Alhambra will provide lodgings (and thus a place to
hide), access to the Ravens’ diaries, medical care,
neutral and secure meeting places with third
parties, even assistance from a Raven with a matter
that threatens both the aims of the Radiant and the
Bleak Harvest (Accepting this help isn’t a
Compromise). The most important function, to
Alhambra, is their ability to pass messages from one
Radiant nakama to another. All of the aid they
provide must be approved to ensure their
generosity won’t be used against them, and this is
most important when transmitting information.
Alhambra is aware of the concept of the Kingdom
Come and wants to stop it. Not due to their own
security -- Alhambra will survive -- but because it is
obvious to them that trying to unite all Radiant
Princesses will result in them all being slaughtered.
It is their responsibility to keep that from happening
the way an adult needs to keep a toddler from
touching a hot stove. They encourage
communication to go through them so it can be
monitored, delayed, and obviously so compromised
it can’t be used for true coordination of operations;
they want it to be slightly frustrating to use their
services but not enough so to drive too much effort
to make a new network. Their agents and loyalists in
the real world support this by ruining attempts for
the Radiant to network together.

There are at least two Enthroned who know how to

use the Internet, and they would have killed a lot
more Princesses if Alhambra wasn’t flooding social
media with useless junk from children’s fantasies.
Nobody is exactly sure how many Princesses were
catfished and murdered when they tried to find
each other, but the War for Hope would be in a
much better position if they hadn’t. Alhambra needs
to keep the Radiant constrained for their own good.
 Loved and Lost

The Queen Of Tears

The Ever-Flowing One, The Lady of Alhambra, The Last Queen, She Who Survived
Followers: Ravens, Handmaidens, Esquires, Crybabies (derogatory)
Final Kingdom: The Last Bastion of Alhambra

I’m sorry. But it has to be this way.

The Queen of Tears leads Princesses whose love is bound up in sorrow. The burden of their knowledge, their
responsibility, and the horrible crushing weight of the world all press them down. They’ve all lost something
dear, whether a person, a place, a thing, or even an idea. They can’t have it back, and now they see the only
thing that matters is holding on to what is left. They must protect who and what they love no matter the cost,
from a horrible world that will devour them all. They serve Alhambra, the last bastion, the last remaining vestige
of the Fearless Kingdoms, the last place the Darkness couldn’t devour. In its enclosed space, they hope they can
fit everything that needs to be protected, but it’s just so small compared to the sprawling, All-Consuming
Darkness.

And then the Darkness came.

Tales of the Kingdom
The Queen of Cups overflowed. With water, with
wine, with emotion. Her generosity was known
throughout all the Fearless Kingdoms, that her land
of Calat was a place where all would be welcomed
and visitors showered in gifts. Her summer palace,
Alhambra, was a city unto itself, and welcomed all
travelers. Its walls held so much art that even broom
closets became galleries and every flat surface
became a library shelf, all of it sponsored by her
generous patronage. All one had to do was ask, and
she would provide, and give a healthy amount of
wine along with it. She believed that everyone’s task
in life was to decide who they were, and the best
ways to do that were to inspire with art and provide
enough wealth to do whatever you fancied. Her
kindness and cheer were legendary.
Calat was ripped apart by the Darkness. What was
freely given was then taken. Fear of loss, fear of
theft, fear of starvation, led the people to grab all
they could grab and hoard it with panicked, jealous
expressions. The Queen of Cups gave and gave,
because that was all she knew to do, because that
was all she wanted to do. And her generosity was
consumed by the Darkness like a match dropped
into a well. She knew betrayal again and again, as
every kindness was turned back to hurt her. The
world was falling apart, ripping itself to pieces, and
the only thing her gifts were doing was hurrying it
along.
The capital of Calat had fallen before anyone knew
what was happening. There was no hope of
reclaiming it. So she pulled back. The gates of
Alhambra closed. They turned away travelers, no
matter how desperate, for she remembered what
those desperate travelers in the past had done with
her kindness. She turned in on herself and so did
her palace. The outside world was lost. She had to
protect what Alhambra had. Alhambra rejected the
world so thoroughly it removed itself from the
Earth, leaving behind a world of blood and strife and
terror. When the Darkness consumed the world,
Alhambra was the final bastion it could not reach.
And everything else was gone and everyone else
was dead.
The Queen’s emotions had always spilled out into
her followers, everyone swept up in the Echo of her
overflowing feelings. Now, they did not feel much of
anything. Fear did not crush them but joy did not
uplift them. Everything was muted and numb and
swirled together into a constant unnamable
sadness. Out of reach of the Darkness’s strongest
forces, they had to survive with their own dwindling
Light.
Her scholars and scryers looked day and night for
evidence something else had survived the
Cataclysm, and as they did, day and night lost
meaning. The sun vanished, blanketed in an eternal
layer of grey clouds, leaving a city in eternal twilight.
As the Queen wept at each report of a land lost to
Darkness, the skies wept too, an endless rain of
tears.
As their lights grew weaker and weaker, the scryers
finally found something. An entirely new world, but
one corrupted down to its soul by the Darkness. A
world of suffering and terror and misery. A world
the Queen could never bear to consign anyone to. A
people who would only react to generosity with
hatred and betrayal.
Alhambra had to be protected, so it wouldn’t
become like this. With a weary voice, heavy heart,
sunken and sleepless eyes, the Queen bid her
Princesses to go to this world. Whatever flickering
Light was there, it couldn’t be enough to save that
lost place -- but it could be enough to keep
Alhambra alive a bit longer. Alhambra would survive
on stolen hope.
She’d been weeping for a long time, but it was at
this moment she was no longer the Queen of Cups
and became the Queen of Tears. Her composure
shattered and never returned. The slightest
provocation will turn her steady weeping into a
full-blown storm of wailing and ugly crying. She is
consumed with anxiety, her days consist almost
entirely of monitoring the city’s defenses, of
coordinating and promoting her Princesses, and
being too debilitated by crying to do either of those
things.
She hasn’t read a book in millenia. She never feels
anything anymore.
Just Hold On
There’s no way to beat back the Darkness -- it’s too
powerful, it controls everything, and you’re only
going to hurt yourself by trying. All you can do is
hold on to what you have and preserve it at all
costs. Alhambra and its people, even in its state of
muffled sorrow, is the most beautiful and good
place left in existence, and the only thing worth
protecting, the only thing that CAN be protected.
Everything else can be sacrificed. There is not
enough to go around and generosity is only
punished. The Princesses of Tears do not enjoy
sacrificing others, or carrying out their duty to steal
hope from the world to feed Alhambra’s lanterns.
They simply know it is their duty and responsibility.
It is their calling as Nobility to do the best they can,
and they believe this is the best they can do.
Backgrounds
Alhambra is not a populous city, even when you
take into account its lingering ghosts. While many of
its Princess-agents are native to the Last City, a
surprising number aren’t -- Alhambra recruits
people who share its ideals and are willing to help,
and will even take in the families and loved ones of
those converts. Without this, Alhambra would
eventually die out; the constant gloom and aura of
depression don’t really make starting a family a
tempting idea for most.
When the loved ones of a newly recruited Princess
come to Alhambra, though, they don’t bring many.
Princesses of Tears come from all walks of life and
all backgrounds. The thing that unites them is their
sorrow and loneliness. They aren’t already familiar
with the power of friendship as something that
drives their lives. They’ve been hurt when they
opened their hearts, so they keep others at a
distance to keep themselves safe. They’ve lost
something, or someone, someone they trusted or
something they valued or even just “innocence,”
and it’s made them realize how little they can do
and how important it is to save what they have.
Alhambra is a place where what little they can count
on is safe, it’s a place that understands them. They
are still lonely, but at least in Alhambra, they are
lonely together.
Character Creation
Princesses of Tears do not favor any particular
Attributes; they usually are focused on what is most
appropriate to their Calling, and high Resolve and
Composure are valued in order to do what needs to
be done. Instead, they gain 4 extra Merits to
represent the training and background and
influence that Alhambra provides them. Princesses
created as followers of Tears do not gain the
Shikigami Merit, they instead get Raven Key,
allowing them to escape to the City's safety.
Alhambra is a fully functional city, morose as it is,
and it has anything to justify almost any Skill -- they
even have computers now, though they were slow
to adopt and they look like they’re from the 70s.
Princesses of Tears often have a wide variety of
Skills representing different interests they tried to
get invested in and then abandoned as they found
no joy in them. It’s easier to talk about what they
don’t have: Survival and Animal Ken are extremely
rare. Princesses of Tears prefer to stay in urban
areas.
Princesses of Tears usually have Merits that are
inwardly focused. Common Sense, Eidetic Memory,
Encyclopedic Knowledge, and Patient are
appropriate for someone who thinks over what she
might say to others far more than she speaks. Due
to the wide variety of peoples who immigrate to
Alhambra, almost all native Alhambrans are
Multilingual. Alhambra’s backing and steadily built
influences grant many Social Merits, but never close
ones. They have Contacts and distant Allies, not
Retainers and Status outside Alhambra itself. They
prefer Anonymity to Fame, and their outsider
natures favor Alternate Identities.
Heraldry
Most striking right away is that Ravens never use
white in their Heraldry. They use dingy greys where
anyone else would use white, and extremely dark
primary colors. They don’t use the color black,
though without close inspection it’s nearly
impossible to tell the difference, and at a certain
point the fact that it isn’t technically a “true black”
no longer matters.
Their Heraldry also gives a sense of age and with it a
sense of dignity. Even a newly recruited Princess of
Tears seems to have an outfit that has been worn by
many over many generations; they often seem
frayed or even have holes in a way that suggests
age. They sometimes wear medals and distinctions • Storms: She could kill and kill for a hundred
from Alhambra, but they never shine or grab thousand lifetimes and never make a dent in the
attention. Darkness.

A Princess of Tears’ Echo is depressing but also
comforting. Things are as bad as you fear them to
be, but they are stable, and they can’t get any
worse; negative emotions are muted and muffled
just as positive ones.
Signet: Lacrima
Lacrima, the path of shadow and sorrow, is gifted to
all followers of the Queen of Tears. Using it often
involves a Belief compromise or requires low Belief;
it allows them to exert influence over Nightmares
and harvest energy for Alhambra, gives them solace
and safety in the shadows, and allows them to
function with low Belief
Stereotypes
• Currents: We’ve been here since the beginning.
We never found a way to make any of this better,
and you won’t either.
• Mirrors: Delusional. There is no True Heir. There is
no savior. There never will be.
• Hunters: The greatest and most powerful people
to live can’t make a dent in this. You think that
means you have to, and it only gets you hurt.
• Mortals: I’m sorry. I’ll just make it as clean as I can.
You won’t even notice anything different from how
your world usually feels.
Inspirations
Homura Akemi (Madoka), Madame Gao (Marvel),
Fate Testarossa (Nanoha), Night Mare Moon
(Friendship is Magic), and the core “Dark Magical
Girl” or “Honorable Opponent Tragically On The
Wrong Side” archetypes

• Flowers: Soon you’ll notice that you have no real

influence over your precious “harmony” and it’s an
excuse to stay powerless. Stay in the cities, where
there’s a chance to belong.

• Jewels: In that lost world you won’t make

anything worth believing in, not any more.
Alhambra and our Queen is all that’s left.

• Spades: You’re running from the horrible truth.

When it catches up to you like it did to us, we’ll still
be here.

• Swords: You’re just going to get hurt when you

open your heart like that.
Lacrima
Lacrima is the Signet of the Queen of Tears, the magical teachings and techniques of Alhambra. Like the City
itself, it harnesses sorrow and shadow to keep itself going. Its blessings often require Belief loss, or are only in
effect at low Belief levels, but they help Ravens to hold on to those last few scraps of belief even harder in the
face of this grim, bleak world.

This Signet is unlike others in that it is taught formally by a structured education system; Alhambran agents are
trained in their techniques before being sent upon the Bleak Harvest, though the depth of their learning is up to
them. The Queen of Tears herself is still involved in the training -- but to be in her presence for so long, talk to
her for such extended periods, might very well destroy anyone training to be her servant. Some might be
crushed just by the proximity to the burden of sorrow the Queen bears. Some might feel so deeply for her they
never, ever wish to leave her presence. It’s better for everyone if nobody becomes too close to her.

Lacrima is also by far the most developed and well-understood Signet. It’s had the longest time for people to
practice it, and the most people talking to each other about how they use it and how they can improve it. In
addition to the choice of benefit, each dot of Lacrima also comes with another bonus benefit that allows the
Raven to serve the Bleak Harvest and often refill her own resources.

Lacrima • : Senior Lamplighter

At this tier, the Raven is capable of creating Alhambran Lanterns if they have the right materials.

Hopeless: Any time someone in your presence and

sensory range makes a roll, you may spend any
number of Wisps to subtract that many dice. You
can’t lower a dice pool to be lower than your
current Belief. This effect does not appear tied to
you even if someone can observe the magic as it
happens.
Necessity: When you spend a Willpower on a
mundane task that normally provokes a Belief
compromise at your current Belief (other than
breaking an Oath), you get +3 dice, an Exceptional
success on 3 or more successes, and an extra Wisp.

Lacrima •• : Agent of the City

At this tier, the Raven feeds a burst of energy to Alhambra whenever her actions directly or indirectly cause a
Breaking Point roll due to sorrow, hopelessness, or despair. Whether or not the roll succeeds, a burst of stolen
hope is sent to keep the lanterns lit, and the small portion she captures for herself completely refills her Wisps.
Dark Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to your
Lacrima dots to become Shadow-Attuned. Go Gentle: When you cast a Charm that would be
Shadow-Attuned Charms act through or on somehow capable of dealing damage, you may
darkness, silence, sorrow, and non-hostile choose to prevent all damage it would directly or
Darkspawn. indirectly cause. If you do, you do not Invoke it and
it does not appear magical so long as it is
Examples include an Illusion that creates only accomplishing something that could plausibly
silhouettes (so can’t look like a real object observed happen without it.
directly), an Anthem that instills sadness (but can’t
provoke other emotions that might be useful), or a
Step that shrouds your actions in inky darkness (but
does not function while in direct sunlight).

Lacrima ••• : Trusted Harvester

At this tier, the Raven is able to feed a trickle of energy from a harnessed Nightscape to Alhambra. When in a
subverted Nightscape, she may set the Nightscape’s maximum Essence to half of its normal capacity. The
Nightmares within keep trying to fill it up to its normal capacity, and any excess bleeds out and turns into Wisps
sent off to keep the lanterns lit; if she is present when excess Essence is bled off, she can add it to her own Wisps
instead.

Moonless Night: There’s no hope on the horizon;
only more of the same. When you would gain a
Belief from Putting It All On The Line, you may gain a
whole Experience instead.
Hearts Closed Shut: You know how to channel
sorrow into action. Whenever a non-hostile(?)
target gains a Condition as part of failing a Breaking
Point, you may spend a Willpower point to guide
their aching heart: for as long as they have the
Condition, all social maneuvers against them have
Average impression, except yours, which have
Perfect impression instead, and any further Breaking
Points the target would suffer are delayed until the
Condition is resolved. The Raven doesn’t have to
cause the initial Breaking Point herself, but it’s often
the simplest option.

Lacrima •••• : Her Majesty’s Hand

At this tier, the Raven harnesses an astonishing burst of energy when her actions directly or indirectly cause a
Breaking Point due to sorrow, despair, or hopelessness and that roll fails. The energy is sent to keep the lanterns
lit, but the small portion she is able to capture for herself refills her current Wisps to double their maximum
capacity; she can’t regain any more Wisps until she spends enough to get her below her usual maximum.

Shadow Infusion: You gain the “Shadow” Infusion “This Charm is infused with the power of Lacrima,
Upgrade for all of your Charms: granting it an ability related to darkness, shadow,
silence, sorrow, or Darkspawn.”
Examples: An Anthem that silences all other
communication in the area. A Step that allows you
to walk into one shadow and emerge from another.
A Conjure that is attuned to all types of Darkspawn
you’ve met or a Plea that can motivate Darkspawn.
A Buster or Kiai attack that leaves targets blinded by
clinging darkness. A dark Restoration that ‘heals’
away false hope and leaves sorrow.
Depressive Realism: As long as your Belief is 3 or
less, you are completely immune to any and all
mind-affecting magical effects. Don’t even roll a
Clash of Wills. (Illusions that create an image
everyone can see can work, illusions that work by
manipulating your senses in particular don’t.)

Lacrima•••••: Memory of the Last City

At this tier, the Raven has utterly devoted herself to the Last City and the Last Queen. When her Belief is 3 or
less, and she is Putting It All On The Line, her total Inner Light is doubled.

Raven Trigger: Once per chapter, roll a Belief

Compromise at the Pragmatist Tier to activate this
Charm; if you only have 1 Belief, do not roll the
Compromise. For the rest of the scene, birds of
shadow and regret swarm around you out to a
distance equal to your Inner Light in meters. While
there, they apply the Swarm, Low Light, and
Distracted Tilts to foes, and shield allies from
damage. You can reflexively disperse into your
swarm and reform anywhere in it for 1 Wisp.

Option 2: Your ult. A once-per-scene ability with big,

flashy consequences.
 Caustic Hatred

The Queen Of Storms

The Seraphic General, The Lady of Cleansing, The Dragon-Slayer, The Tireless One
Followers: Seraphim, Furies, The Sworn Guard, Crazies (derogatory)
Former Kingdom: The Wreckage of Gonel

This world is corrupt. It needs to be cleansed.

The Queen of Storms leads Princesses whose love is overwhelmed and drowned out by hatred. The horrible
vitriol living inside them corrodes everything else away and acid-etches violence and ruthlessness onto their
souls in perfect clean clarity. They hate the Darkness, those who wield it, and those who empower it, so much
they can barely think about who they want to protect from the Darkness any more. They are not lost to blind
rage, no, everything is clear for them. There’s no solace or safety in this world. There is just the Darkness, the
things that kill it, and the things that could help it if not destroyed first.

resolve any dispute that she may be biased in, she

Tales of the Kingdom would always recuse herself and call upon one of
her most trusted aides for full and impartial
“Justice, like lightning, should ever appear / To few
judgment. Her lands flourished under her guidance,
men’s ruin but to all men’s fear.” If fear had existed
all disputes resolved fairly, with not even the barest
back in the Fearless Kingdoms, the people of Gonel
whiff of corruption to be found.
would have agreed with the sentiment. Justice
certainly was a matter of concern for anyone who
And then the Darkness came.
would harm or exploit another, and would appear as
a bolt from the sky to shatter wrongdoing. Injustice
All of a sudden, all around her, those who cared
was never tolerated. Everyone was to be given equal
most for impartiality only cared about themselves,
and fair treatment.
exploiting others for fear those others would exploit
them first. Her rule of law drowned in corruption
The Queen of Gavels was one of the most distant
and mistrust. Her soldiers would not fight for the
and stern of the Queens, ruling from a great tower
common good. Why fight and die for people you’ve
surrounded by perpetual thunderstorm that never
never met? It's not like they could do anything to
struck without her command. She was not close
keep the soldiers safe, right?
because she was a judge, impartial, free of bias --
she loved her people and knew that to serve them
So the Queen of Gavels took up her own arms. If the
as a whole she had to be careful not to become too
soldiers would not fight for the people, then she
close and serve any one individual. She was the
would better serve as a warrior than a judge.
model of composure and self-control. Asked to
Abandoning her gavel for a gargantuan thundering
war hammer, she descended from her tower of
judgment to lead personally.
Where she found the spawn of Darkness, she
slaughtered them. When her soldiers fell behind
because they needed food or rest, she abandoned
them. When her tacticians suggested she pull back
to a defensive position, she ignored them. The
Darkness was here. It had to be destroyed, and
nobody else was willing to commit like she was.
With each kill, things got clearer, and she was better
able to see what was important. When her soldiers
betrayed her to save their own lives, she executed
them. When a civilian was wracked by fear, in
danger of creating another Nightmare to spawn
more creatures of Darkness, she euthanized them.
When her people begged for her wisdom, her
restraint, for any leadership, she gave them a
choice: join her endless assault, or leave her be.
With each kill, she hated the Darkness more. With
each kill, the love and desire to protect the people
she was saving faded away and that hatred for what
hurt them became clearer. Her body was splashed
with black blood tinged with red, and after a while,
red blood tinged with black. She never washed, and
yet, she became clean and bright, purified.
She had an affinity for metal in her old life. The
element of structure and building and order and
improvement. And it corroded away. Acid became
her element, dissolving away impurity, eroding
everything around her. Everything inside her.
She never stopped. Ever. Her Kingdom died around
her, and it drove her to keep killing. The world fell to
ruin and it drove her to keep killing. The Darkness
consumed the entire world, desiccating it into the
Dark World, and that did not drive her to keep
killing. Because by that time, killing and hatred were
just who she was.
Those who are taken into the Dark World from ours
rarely survive. But a small community was lucky
enough to be taken to a place that lay in the way of
the Queen’s endless sweeping path of destruction.
She barely acknowledged them -- she had not
spoken to another human being in centuries -- but
gave them an offer: join her or be left to die here.
They joined. They aided. When they found a way
back to our world, they spread her word, and gained
more followers for the only cause that mattered:
hating and killing the Darkness.
They asked for her name, so they could go forth and
bear it. She didn’t remember. She didn’t care. They
named her for the thunderous blows of her
blood-caked war hammer: the Queen of Storms. It
evoked no spark of recognition in her.
Fight Unto Ruin and the World’s Ending
Destroy. Destroy the Darkness. Destroy Nightmares.
Destroy Nightscapes and their prisoners. Destroy
Cataphractii. Destroy those who follow Darkness.
Destroy those who benefit from the Darkness.
Destroy those who will fall to the Darkness. Destroy
anywhere they may hide. Destroy anything that
might give them solace. Destroy anyone who gets in
the way of that.
Even if it’s part of yourself. Dissolve it all away in
frigid burning acid until the cleanliness and purity of
hatred is all that remains.
Nothing is too much for fighting the Darkness. No
sacrifice is too great. Princesses of Storms are
expected, even encouraged, to injure themselves
and sacrifice their own health and security to attack
the Darkness. They say when enough have sacrificed
themselves to the cause, their souls will join their
Queen and her crusade will be powerful enough to
take back the Dark World, but that isn’t really their
most immediate concern. They do this because it
must be done. The Darkness must be destroyed no
matter what the outcome.
These are the pure ideals of the Queen of Storms
herself, and the Queen barely speaks, she never
stops advancing and fighting against the Darkspawn
that awaken at her approach, her eyes are glassy
and sunken as her lips twist in anger. There is
nothing left to her other than those ideals and that
hatred. Her followers often struggle with embracing
them -- they still have things they care about, things
they want to protect more than they want to
destroy, lines they don’t want to cross. They are still
human… but they see this humanity as a weakness
they should overcome. They feel guilt for loving
their families and for taking time off to live their
lives, and the deeper they are into the Queen of
Storms’ ideas, the more intense that guilt hits them.
Backgrounds
Anyone hurt by the Darkness, anyone who fumes at
injustice, anyone who hates evil, and anyone who
yearns for clarity of purpose can become a Princess
of Storms. Whatever they came from, it isn’t as
important as what they do now.
Princesses of Storms actively recruit others to be
servants and soldiers in the name of the cause,
forming groups of Sworn followers known as
“Stormwracked.” These hidden cells of vigilantes
and killers pledge loyalty to a Queen they have likely
never met and her quest to annihilate evil and
impurity. Beacons and those ripe for Blossoming are
often drawn to these cells by their compassion for
the victims, which is drawn out as hatred for the
victimizers.
Character Creation
Princesses of Storms favor the Physical Attributes of
Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina. Princesses of
Storms gain a free Transformed dot in one of these
attributes. All Princesses of Storms, regardless of
Calling, must be willing to fight and to endure pain.
Presence and Manipulation are good for
demagoguery, and Resolve is high but Composure is
often low.
Princesses of Storms are focused in their skill sets,
with little time to spend on trivialities or hobbies.
Anything directly and obviously useful is good, and
anything else is a waste of time. All Princesses of
Storms will have at least a couple dots in Brawl,
Firearms, or Weaponry, and other Physical skills are
common. Many Social skills are useful to gain allies
or escape consequences for your actions, but things
like Academics, Politics, Socialize, or Empathy are
neglected as pointless.
Princesses of Storms also favor Physical Merits that
allow them to depend on themselves, to fight
tirelessly, and to endure suffering inflicted by others
or themselves. Social Merits do not come from
kindness or pleasantries, they come from zeal and
conviction. Princesses of Storms don’t usually have
many Mental Merits beyond things like Danger
Sense, Fast Reflexes, or Tolerance for Biology. It’s
not that they’re stupid. It’s that they don’t like to
spend much time in their own heads. It’s not a
pleasant place to be.
Heraldry
The colors of the Seraphic General’s army are
steel-grey, acid-green, and brilliant white, all so vivid
and pure and bright they almost leave afterimages
in the eye. This is despite the fact that the Regalia of
a Princess of Storms always looks damaged in some
way: ripped by blades, shredded by fangs, dented by
impact, or burned away by acid. All of them are
armored in some way, but they do not fear pain and
don’t sacrifice offense for defense, so it’s usually
light armor that is easy to move in. They bear
medals and symbols of rank and station, but if they
should fall off or be destroyed, the Princess seldom • Hunters: If there’s any weakness with you, it’s only
goes to any effort to return them and they that you think and act too small. You must declare
disappear from her Regalia. Total War upon the Darkness, if you want to inflict
any pain that is meaningful to it.
The Echo of a Princess of Storms is simple and clear.
It is the moment you become so angry that all the • Mortals: If you’re not going to help me, then you
anger vanishes to be replaced by purpose. The better get out of my way.
moment where you realize the beautiful and
ruthless path to the goal and that nothing else
Inspirations
matters.
The Punisher, Hit Girl (Kick-Ass), the Doom Slayer
(DOOM), Satsuki Kiryuin (Kill la Kill), the “Blood
Signet: Tempesta
Knight” or “Dark Action Girl” archetypes in general
Tempesta, the path of acid and hatred, is gifted to
all followers of the Queen of Storms. Its Charms
usually involve self-inflicted damage; it grants
abilities of acid, indiscriminate destruction, hatred,
and the ability to fight despite injury.

Stereotypes
• Currents: If you knew the actual truth you’d spend
a lot less time thinking about it.

• Flowers: You shouldn’t be comfortable. Don’t just

sit there -- do something!

• Jewels: If you rely on others, if you aren’t willing

to get in there and get cut up for your cause, then
you are just afraid.

• Spades: Oh, play a prank on the monster, that’s

just going to work wonderfully, isn’t it?

• Swords: You’re close. You’re so close. You just

need one more push.

• Tears: You think there’s nothing you can do to save

the world from the Darkness? Then make it suffer
for what it’s done.

• Mirrors: You’re not special. You’re useless.

Tempesta
Tempesta is the Signet of the Queen of Storms, the Signet of pure destruction. She’s forgotten whatever element
she was once attuned to, if she ever had one. Fire provides light and heat and warmth and civilization. Lightning
powers our technology and grants insight. Even blood is what sustains our lives. Acid corrodes, and unmakes,
and dissolves, and destroys. It purifies -- when everything else is melted away, only the pure core remains.
Nothing else could ever match her. She’s never put any thought into the symbolism of her Signet, of course. It’s
just what’s right. Tempesta asks you to destroy yourself and empowers you to destroy what is around you, to
purify through annihilation.

Nobody teaches Tempesta. Like everything else that comes from the Queen of Storms, this knowledge comes
from one thing: her ceaseless violence. When transported in dreams, her Princesses see the swift, expert, brutal
carnage she wreaks against the Darkness. To learn its higher tiers, they travel bodily to her side and participate in
it themselves. The violence of the Queen of Storms is beautiful to behold, even other Princesses admit as such.
For the Princesses of Storms, the display of violence sticks with them, echoes in their mind’s eye, where they
watch it again and again and see one move flow into the other, one kill chain into another, and see in it a
mathematical pattern of such purity and beauty it should be drawn across the universe.

Tempesta • : Ired

Push Past Pain: When making a mundane roll
involving a Physical Attribute (Strength, Dexterity, or
Stamina), you may spend any number of Wisps to
add twice that many dice.
Caustic Grudge: When you spend a Willpower on a
mundane task to pursue a grudge or to destroy
something by non-combat means (even if it’s
something non-physical like “a relationship”), you
get +3 dice, an Exceptional success on 3 or more
successes, and an extra Wisp.

Tempesta •• : Scornful

Destruction Magic: Choose a number of Charms up Acid-Attuned Charms act through or on acid,
to your Legno dots to become Acid-Attuned. corrosion, destruction, or hatred.
Examples include a Conjure that rips objects
through caustic holes you erode in your
surroundings (but damages the things you
summon), a Ward that always tries to annihilate
what triggers it (even if it’s something you don’t
need to destroy), or an Anthem that stokes hatred
(but can’t be used to calm people down when you
really need that option).
Tempesta ••• : Caustic
Unstoppable Juggernaut: You are always immune to
wound penalties and automatically succeed at any
attempt to remain conscious when your rightmost
Health box is filled with Bashing damage.
You may spend a Willpower to enhance this ability
for one scene. If you do, all damage penalties are
reversed to bonuses, and when you take overflow
damage that upgrades from Bashing to Lethal or
Lethal to Aggravated, you only take one point of
damage maximum (after applying Defiance).
Seething Revenge: You may fully embrace an
attempt to harm you in order to empower your
revenge against it. When someone makes a
Tempesta •••• : Hateful
Something:
Corrosive Infusion: You gain the “Corrosive”
Infusion Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Tempesta,
granting it an ability related to acid, corrosion,
annihilation, violence, or hatred.”
Proof by Might: If they can’t face you, they’ve got
no hope of facing the darkness. When you defeat an
opponent in combat, then let them go, give them
the Leveraged condition. You may wound or scar
them, but you can’t attempt to imprison or control
them.
successful attack or hostile action against you,
spend a Wisp. If it was an attack, then you can’t
apply Defiance to it; if it was another hostile action,
it becomes an automatic Exceptional Success.
The next time you take a similar action against the
same person, you automatically gain successes
equal to the original successes of the roll made
against you (ie, you don’t automatically get 5 on a
non-attack roll), and if it was a non-attack action
you automatically get an Exceptional Success.
Your grudge may last up to one day per Inner Light
you have.
Examples: Buster and Kiai attacks that leave
absolutely nothing behind of those they kill.
Restoration and Pleas that eat away at people
inside. Anthems that stir listeners to immediate
violence. A Force locus that corrodes whatever it
grasps.
 Tempesta •••••: Murderous
Annihilation Trigger: Spend one Willpower and take
one Resistant Lethal damage to activate this ability
for the rest of the scene. While active, you can
spend a Wisp on your turn to manifest an aura of
pure destruction and corrosion, your hatred spilling
out of the boundaries of your soul.
Your aura extends out to a radius of 1 meter per
Inner Light around you, and affects everything
except yourself, the things you’re carrying or
attending to, and the ground directly under your
feet. Everything else in the radius takes one point of
aggravated damage each turn the aura is active. This
constant corrosion affects everything that enters the
radius as well, which will mean bullets and other
small projectiles will disintegrate before they can
even touch you; don’t bother even rolling for them.
You cannot choose to spare allies this damage. If
they’re in the aura, they take the damage.
Undying Hatred: You can’t die. You’re not done yet.
There is more violence you must visit upon the
Darkness. Your soul claws its way back to the world
and your weak flesh is flayed away and dissolved as
it deserves and you return in a corrosive burst of
undying hate.
When you die, this Signet triggers (you can’t choose
to hold off on it so someone with Desperate
Restoration can revive you), and you return to life.
All of your damage is cleared, even if it’s Resistant.
All of your Willpower and Wisps are recovered. All
physical and supernatural Conditions on you are
cleared. You assume your transformed state if you
weren’t in it already. You automatically Flare as
many times as you can (and since you do it after you
fill your Wisps the new capacity you get isn’t filled
by default). Your original body gets back up and
repairs itself with a sickening burst of caustic energy,
or your old body dissolves into an acrid slurry and
you emerge (with all of your possessions and
Regalia) from an explosion of pure murderous
intent.
You also gain a Persistent Mental Condition due to
your harrowing kiss with Death and burst of
self-hatred at your own weakness. You lose one
Willpower dot, one Belief, one maximum Belief, and
this Signet You can regain the Signet, Willpower
dot, and Belief like normal, but the highest Belief
you can ever reach is permanently reduced.
If you intentionally activated this Signet by killing
yourself, then you don’t lose the Signet or the
maximum Belief and the Mental Condition you gain
isn’t Persistent, though it will be long-lasting.
 Entrapped Aspiration

The Queen Of Mirrors

The True Royalty, The Child Queen, The Seeker of Heirs, The Crown’s Custodian
Followers’ Epithets: The Heir, Brats (derogatory)
Prison: The Crystal Tower of Heril

I’m the only one who matters here! Don’t you know who I am?

The Queen of Mirrors leads many Princesses, each of which is her only follower. She seeks the True Heir, a
prophesied perfect savior who will not just save the world but do so effortlessly. Each Princess she meets is
obviously The One, the best candidate there has ever been, enough to make her forget she ever believed in any
of the others. Each Princess of Mirrors believes themselves to be the only one and that all others are pretenders,
but there is something that unites them. Princesses of Mirrors have a reputation for self-aggrandizing vanity, but
that isn’t their defining trait, it’s merely the one that broadcasts itself the most. The Queen of Mirrors leads
those whose love is twisted and warped by denial.

And, like her namesake, she shattered.

Tales of the Kingdom
She wept at the news of the wars and of the
Heril was a beautiful place. A land of mirror and
suffering the Darkness inflicted. The Darkness’s taint
crystal where light bounced and danced and shone
grabbed hold of her without resistance and she
at all hours. A place where everyone deserved to be
didn’t even understand what it was. She was
adored. A place where everyone was truly happy to
wracked with fear whenever someone asked for her
be themselves because everyone was someone to
guidance, because how could she possibly lead
be happy with.
them? She had no idea what she was doing! She
could never have been prepared for this! This had to
And the Queen of Mirrors was so named because
be a mistake. She couldn’t have been the heir to the
she reflected everyone’s light back at them. It was
throne, the true heir, or she would know how to fix
hard not to be at your best around her. She was the
this.
fairest in the land and yet never made anyone feel
ugly by comparison. She was young, somewhat
As glass shattered all throughout Heril, as people
naive, but possessed of boundless energy and
looked into the mirrors and were disgusted and
enthusiasm -- she was freshly reincarnated into
terrified by what they saw, the Queen’s armies and
youth and still inexperienced but full of boundless
agents did not try to restore order or protect the
potential.
people. They just searched. Far and wide, across
Heril and then the whole world, they would rush
And then the Darkness came.
past all the suffering and tragedy, with the sole
focus of finding the True Heir, the chosen one who
would be able to fix it all for them. Her agents
seldom returned and when they did it was only with
bad news.
She recused herself more and more into her
chambers atop her crystal tower to hide from the
responsibility, the tragedy, to wish and wish for the
True Heir to come and be the person she was
supposed to be. And one day, her advisors climbed
the tower to wake her, and she was gone. Her
bedroom was gone. The top of the spire had been
torn off and vanished. None of her searching armies
could find her. When the Darkness consumed the
world, its grasping hands couldn’t find her. She was
in a room of mirrors where no light would escape to
reveal her position.
And from there, in her mirrors, she scried and
scried. Her conviction in the perfect savior never
wavered. Clearly there was some mistake. The
reincarnation of the True Heir was held up or
delayed or hadn’t been born yet. But if she keeps
searching she’ll find them eventually. She’s certain
that at any moment she will find the True Heir
staring back at her from the very next mirror she
peers through.
Everything’s About Me
The Queen of Mirrors does not exemplify her
philosophy; she does not want to lead, and seeks
someone to replace her and take the throne they
deserve. She knows this person, the True Heir, is out
there. She’s the most special person, the most
powerful person, the most important person in the
whole world. She (or he) is the only one who can set
everything right. All she has to do is make it big,
come into her power, and it will be as easy as
snapping her fingers.
She’s the only one who matters. There’s no need for
her to worry or agonize over the best course or
what she thinks is right, because everything she
wants will by definition be the best thing. Anyone
who stands in the way of her getting anything she
wants is clearly on the side of evil. Anyone who
hurts her feelings is trying to destroy her power and
must be destroyed first.
She deserves everything she wants. She deserves
adoring followers who hang on her every word. She
deserves all the power she can get her hands on.
She deserves comfort and luxury. Once she makes it
big, baby, then she’s going to fix everything, and
there’s no price too heavy for other people to pay to
get that.
And the True Heir will know it. Do you feel
underappreciated? Do you feel special? Do you find
yourself unable to imagine something bad
happening or having already happened? Do you
refuse to acknowledge pain and struggle because
you know you shouldn’t have any?
That must mean you are the True Heir!
Backgrounds
Princesses of Mirrors don’t usually start out selfish.
It comes later, as a consequence of what they
believe. Princesses of Mirrors come in two types:
the ones who are in denial about the bad things
that could happen to them, and the ones who are in
denial about the bad things that did happen to
them. The Queen of Mirrors constantly searches for
her True Heir, and these are the people who she
sees the most resonance and familiarity with.
The former group tend to be young and
inexperienced -- most Princesses' idea of a Princess
of Mirrors is a child, or an adult that never stopped
acting like a child, who loves to shout her own
praises and tell everyone how great she is. Being a
Princess is scary, taking on all that responsibility,
having so much rely on you. So is coming of age,
without any knowledge of magic or Darkness
whatsoever. Hearing that you’re so perfect everyone
should worship you is a very tempting, very
flattering message, and embracing it clears all that
anxiety away. You don’t have to worry about
anything but feeling good about yourself, and it’s
the job of everyone around you to make sure you
do.
The latter group are older and more experienced,
sometimes late-Blossoms and sometimes former
followers of other Queens. They’ve seen loss and
felt pain and they hated it. They search for a way to
think that it doesn’t count, that it's never going to
happen again, that everyone in the world matters
less than it never happening again. The Queen of
Mirrors and the story of the True Heir lets that
happen. All of their efforts to deny that pain aren’t a
maladaptive coping strategy, they’re the most
heroic possible thing to do. It’s the job of the whole
world to make sure it never happens again, and it’s
the obligation of everyone she meets to keep her
happy.
Were you too weak to save your family? That means
the only thing you ever have to care about is getting
more power and then the world will be right. Did a
friend crumble under the assault of the Darkness
against his heart? Pfft, that proves he never really
was your friend, it’s not like that counts, you’re so
glorious and perfect you can get a hundred friends
in a moment and all you have to care about is being
adored like you deserve?
Did you fail? Did you lose? The True Heir never fails
and never loses, and you’re the True Heir, so it
clearly doesn’t count. You don’t have to learn from
your mistakes because you don’t make any;
anything bad is someone else’s fault and all you
have to do is punish them for it.
Character Creation
The Queen of Mirrors teaches that what you’re
good at is the most important thing and what you’re
bad at is inconsequential. Princesses of Mirrors gain
a second Transformed dot in whatever Attribute
they gained from their Calling.
Princesses of Mirrors are natural prodigies a lot of
the time -- their sense of specialness is not totally
unwarranted -- so they can easily pick up new skills
and aptitudes in their natural talents and rarely
have only a single dot in a Skill. But they tend to
burn out and lose interest when the going gets
tough, so rarely do they have 4 or 5 dots in more
than one Skill, either.
A Princess of Mirrors favors Merits that make things
come easily. An Investigative Prodigy just finds clues
without effort, but having a Library means a lot of
work looking stuff up instead of going with your gut.
They also tend to have Social Merits that focus on
people who adore them, and don’t expect any help
in return -- you can’t just demand the True Heir’s
time!
Striking Looks is almost a prerequisite; even if you
weren’t all that attractive before you became a
Princess of Mirrors, confidence and beauty will
seem to radiate out of you once you accept your
perfect destiny of being perfect.
Heraldry
For all their talk about being perfect already, a
Princess of Mirrors’ Heraldry doesn’t really reflect
her true self. It reflects what she wishes other
people saw her as, which she tells herself is what
her true self is. She could appear powerful,
beautiful, wise, pure, or whatever it is she thinks her
perfect attribute should be, whatever she thinks
people should revere her for.
Whatever idea it’s trying to convey, it does so way
too much; one could be encrusted in pretty jewelry
or encrusted in badass threatening spikes but
usually the vibe coming off it is akin to wearing a hat
on top of your hat.
The Echo of a Princess of Mirrors makes her seem
more special and confident, and promotes a bit of
passivity in others as they can just let the True Heir
handle it while they cheer her on.
Signet: Specchio
Specchio, the path of reflection and madness, is
gifted to all of the only lone followers of the Queen
of Mirrors. Its Charms offer powers of scrying,
duplication, and enhancement of the self to the
exclusion of others.
Stereotypes
• Currents: The only thing I need to learn is how to
get more of what I know I want. Then everything
will all be right.
• Flowers: Resilience, adaptability, harmony? Why
should I care about any of that when I decide what
the natural order should be?
• Jewels: Why bother building a community or an
institution people can rely on? They should be
serving you! Okay, they should be serving me,
because I’m the True Heir, but you know what I
mean.
• Spades: Why be subtle when everyone should
know how powerful you are? What are you trying to
hide from?
• Swords: Love conquers all? Power conquers all.
My power. All I have to love is myself, and you’re
just trying to make me weak.
• Tears: No, YOU can’t save Alhambra, because
you’re weak. I could. If I wanted to. I don’t have to
worry at all about being like you.
• Storms: Wrong, wrong, wrong. Victory doesn’t
require self-sacrifice. Let other people do that.
• Mirrors: You’re pathetic. Disgusting. You tell
yourself the story of the True Heir to avoid
confronting how powerless and scared you are.
• Hunters: If you help me on my quest, I’ll
remember you when I save the world. If you get in
my way, I’ll forget you the moment I’m done
disposing of you.
• Mortals: All you have to do is love me, adore me,
give me everything I want, and everything will be
perfect.
Inspirations
Sailor Galaxia (Sailor Moon), The Great And
Powerful Trixie(Friendship is Magic), Judge Claude
Frollo (Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame), Vergil
(Devil May Cry), the “evil cheerleader” or
“malignant narcissist” archetypes.
Specchio
Specchio, the Signet of the Queen of Mirrors, is the Signet of reflection and distortion, images and fractures, of
vanity and denial. Much like everything else about the Queen of Mirrors, she won’t acknowledge hers is the
Signet of denial and distortion. She doesn’t even realize it, and many of her Princesses don’t either. To them it is
the Signet of glory, exaltation, and the self. The one True Signet for the True Heir, unique only to themselves and
superior to all others. The only magic capable of adequately reflecting their glory and the only magic capable of
helping them bear the crushing weight of being the world’s only savior.

The Queen of Mirrors doesn’t teach you her Signet. She talks with you through the mirror, in reality and in
dreams, and says it’s YOU teaching HER, that she is only bringing out what you already have and were destined
to have all along. All the other Queens would be envious of how effectively she’s able to bring out someone’s
potential, if not for the fact that the Queen of Mirrors genuinely does not believe she knows her own Signet and
genuinely believes that the True Heir already knew all of it and only needs to be reminded.

Specchio • : The True Heir

Special Interests: When making a mundane roll in Hero’s Journey: Once per chapter, when you spend
which one of your Skill Specialties is relevant, you a Willpower on a mundane task in direct pursuit of
may spend any number of Wisps to add twice that one of your Oaths, you get +3 dice, an Exceptional
many dice. success on 3 or more successes, and an extra Wisp.

Specchio •• : The True Heir

Mirror Magic: Choose a number of Charms up to
your Specchio dots to become Mirror-Attuned.
Mirror-Attuned Charms act through or on reflective
surfaces, light, or your own vanity.
Examples include an Illusion that refracts and
redirects light around you (but can’t make images of
things that you don’t have near you), a Plea that
exalts your own deeds and prowess (but can’t really
motivate people to do things that don’t directly
appear to involve you), or a Detect that works
through asking a magic mirror (but the voice of the
guy inside doesn’t always know exactly what you
mean).
The Only One That Matters: When you cast a
non-Signet Charm that would affect one or more
people who aren’t you, you may choose to have it
affect yourself, and only yourself. If you do, add your
dots in Specchio in automatic successes or double
its successes, whichever is lower. You may not use
that Charm to affect anyone else for a day.
 Specchio ••• : The True Heir
All Up To Me: When you gain a Luminous Beat from
upholding an active Oath, you also gain a Willpower,
a Wisp, and a Buster Overcharge. This Willpower
gain is not blocked by Fractured conditions - this is
who you are, and who you’re meant to be.
The Main Character: Even while not transformed,
when someone else in sensory range chooses a
person for something, and you were a valid choice,
you may spend a Wisp -- if you do, they actually
Specchio •••• : The True Heir
Echo Flare: The True Heir will not just save the
world, but do so effortlessly. Anyone who cannot do
so isn’t the True Heir. Once per scene, you may
reflexively spend two Willpower and gain a
Fractured Condition of your choice to fully replenish
your Wisps.
Mirror Infusion: You gain the “Mirror” Infusion
Upgrade for all of your Charms:
“This Charm is infused with the power of Specchio,
granting it an ability related to reflection,
duplication, or light manipulation.”
Specchio •••••: The True Heir
Doppel Trigger: You’re the only person who can
save the world - it simply needs more of you. As an
instant action, you may spend a Wisp to create a
chose you instead, whether by their own caprice or
by a random selection arriving on you. This only
works if you would have been a credible choice
anyway; you can get a monster to attack you instead
of someone else, you can be picked as a volunteer,
but you can’t make someone overlook far more
qualified candidates for a position. You can’t win the
lottery with this (each ball is a separate result and
none are associated with you), but you can win a
raffle with one ticket.
Examples: A Ward, Force, Restoration, or Kiai that
copies an opponent’s action and repeats it back at
them. An Anthem, Plea, Buster, or Illusion that has
twice as many (non-overlapping) targets or affected
areas. A Step that lets you split into two and then
later on declare which one of you was the “real”
one (like Tricky Illusion). A Detect that gives you
complete visual awareness of everything in your
radius as light is bent toward you.
copy of yourself out of crackling energy for one turn
in combat, or one roll outside of combat; this is not
an illusion, this is a doppelganger made of pure
power. If you spend Wisps on subsequent the existence of those things in her own mind, and
turns/rolls, the Doppelganger is maintained; you this is how she has taught herself to see the world.
don’t resummon it and it doesn’t take an action.
The first time you cast this Charm in a scene, gain a
Fractured condition of your choice. The
Doppelganger has all of your abilities except for
ones that would be able to create more
Doppelgangers, and uses your resources for its
abilities, but has its own Health.

You do not fully control the Doppelganger -- though

it has your personality, it is under a permanent
Dissociated Condition (p. XXX), and so isn’t always
thinking clearly and precisely about how to best aid
you and will force the events around it to fit a
comforting mental narrative. It won’t believe itself
to be the “real you” and refuse to assist you,
though, so you don’t have to worry about that.

A Mirror, Brightly: You are now so attuned to the

Queen of Mirrors that she can use her scrying
powers to look into your future. Once per chapter, If
you have a mirror to talk to her through and about
five minutes to talk, you can spend a Willpower and
roll your Belief: the successes of that roll are how
many days she can see into your future. Like Detect
Future, the future she sees is one where this roll
failed and she was unable to see anything. Unlike
Detect Future, you don’t have to know what specific
things you are looking for or asking about, nor in
what area; the Queen of Mirrors will skim over the
whole time, pick up on one event she thinks is most
relevant to you and that you most want to know
about, and give you the details about it as best she
can.

Also unlike Detect Future, this information is heavily

biased. She delivers and omits information like she
never wants to offend you, insult you, or ever imply
you might be inadequate in some way. She’s not
afraid of you, though, and you can’t tell her to cut
the bullshit -- she’s afraid of even acknowledging
Main Story Part 5

As they progressed deeper, the Nightscape tried less and less to look normal, before abandoning the facade
altogether. Any passing respect for sensible building design or the laws of physics was gradually abandoned as
dark and dingy maintenance corridors gave way to an Escher-esque labyrinth made of steam tunnels and hospital
hallways and waiting rooms and insurance offices and empty rooms at the VFW. Janet tried to focus on what it all
told her: whoever was at the heart of this Nightscape was lost and disoriented and felt like there was some path
out that they needed but couldn’t find. If she focused on that, she didn’t have to focus on what it meant to her, how
–except for the VFW hall– it reminded her of her grandfather’s last few weeks. He was eighty years old, and
couldn’t recognize any of his family members anymore, and had been suffering in a body and mind in mutiny
against themselves for years, and if it was ever anyone’s time to go it had been his. She wasn’t even that close to
him. She didn’t see him die. She was completely over it in a week.

So why wasn’t she over it?

It didn’t help that she had less combat to focus on than her two companions. The pestilence monsters were the
primary threat, but they were slow and clumsy, and Amethyst’s strategy worked perfectly. Corner ambush, trap,
open their defense, knock them into the trap, charge a shot, obliterate them, repeat. All she did in that situation
was summon a trap -- the same trap, coated in more and more pus each time -- and watch them work. If there
was a pack of them, she broke it up by summoning obstacles to trip over, hunks of metal she’d planned to use as
shields when she stuffed them into the locker. Spread them out enough to take them one at a time, reset the trap
by the time the next one came. The things were slow and unwieldy and after a while stopped being scary and just
seemed… sad.

The only other thing was the doctors. Or surgeons, maybe, Janet didn’t know if they were supposed to be referred
to differently or if that was just a thing on “Scrubs” reruns. Their whole faces covered in those paper masks, they
never attacked, but they never helped. All they did was close doors, and slowly shake their heads as if to say
“sorry, but it didn’t work.”

The Queen of Swords said she was a “Grace.” She was supposed to open up her heart to others, she was
supposed to use her words. She just wanted to yell at the doctors, and that would hardly help. Real doctors have
people yell at them all the time, they’re used to it, and Nightmare-doctors probably just exist for the purpose of
being yelled at and for the yelling to not solve anything.

“I think we’re close to the core,” Amethyst said. Rose looked relieved. She was getting really twitchy, clearly the
one using the most power of all of them, and she was running ragged. “The corridors are getting more narrow,
shorter. We’re on a spiral path, and that has to lead to the center.”

“And the guy, or the girl, is going to be there, right?” Rose asked. “Whoever got so sick and made all this… had all
this shit happen to them.”

“No,” Janet said. “Not sick. Someone else is sick. The guy at the center couldn’t help them.”

Amethyst nodded. “I think you’re going to be on point, Grace of Swords.” They always used their fake names, and
she didn’t have one, so he needed to default to her designation.

“And do what?” Janet asked. “Yell at them? Tell them to suck it up?”

“Play it by ear, I don’t know,” Rose said with a fidget. “Let’s just see what’s going on first, okay, before we decide
anything?”
It didn’t take long to see what was going on. The door to the last room looked like something you’d see on a jail
cell. Dreams of a prison mean you are trapped, or so the Queen of Swords had said. And into the prison they
went; a hospital room that was tiny enough to make you feel claustrophobic and vast enough to let your voice
echo in the emptiness, unanswered. Against the far wall, a hospital bed. Inside it, one of those pestilent creatures
-- no, two of them, three? They seemed to seethe and multiply in her peripheral vision. At the right hand side, a
man who hadn’t showered in weeks, hadn’t changed clothes in days, sitting, exhausted. Hands folded together in
either prayer or just nervousness.

And on the left, another woman. Not much older than Janet or her colleagues. Looking at one of them, Amethyst
or Rose, kind of made it feel like the rest of the world was black and white and they were in color. But this woman
made the entire world feel like black and grey, a drenched and dim grey, a grey nobody ever willingly bought and
nobody could ever bleach out. Her outfit -- her Regalia, if Janet was going to use the right words -- looked like a
nurse attending a funeral. A scythe was leaning on the wall behind her, but Janet had no doubt she’d call it to her
hand in an instant.

A long, awkward pause, the only noise from that creature slowly stirring in the sheets.

“...You’re a Princess of Tears, aren’t you,” Amethyst said. “My Queen told me about you. You’re why this
Nightscape has gone undiscovered for so long. You were protecting it.”

The woman sighed. “...I’ve also been the one ensuring that as few creatures escape as possible, not that I
suppose it matters to you.” She averted her gaze. “I’m Raven. Just another Raven. I’m going to ask you to leave,
and I suppose you’re not going to.”

“You suppose correctly,” Janet said, and her gaze was locked on the man in the chair. He was the prisoner here.
He was the one whose heart had broken under the weight of all that fear. She remembered she thought the whole
thing was stupid, back when they first told her about it. She envisioned something a lot more cartoonish. She
wished it was something a lot more cartoonish, to be honest.

“Are they…” the man in the chair said, the faintest ribbon of hope in his voice, “Are they here to help? The
specialists?”

“No,” Raven said. “They’re here to end this. They don’t care about him, or you, at all.”

His shoulders slumped, his tiny hope crushed. “Oh.”

“It’s just like I told you,” she continued. “Nobody else understands. Nobody else can hold on like you.” She nodded
toward him, not that he was watching -- his head was fully down again. “You know you have to be here. You’re
doing a good thing, staying by him. This is the only way to honor him.”

“So you’re keeping him depressed,” Amethyst said. “What is this, then? His son died, and you keep him hung up
on it? So you can steal from his light, right?”

“Alhambra needs him,” Raven said. “He is doing a good thing. If you saw the City you’d understand. Keeping the
lights lit… He’s making a sacrifice. We all have to.”

Then she picked up her scythe. Behind them, the cell door slammed shut, then snaking chains wrapped around it
and sprung out a hundred locks. Around them, melting out of the walls, the pestilent and the doctors appeared.
The doctors were holding scalpels, syringes, bonesaws.
Doooooo, doo doot-doot-doot doo dooooooooooo.

“...I can’t let you leave,” Raven nearly whispered. “You’ll come back with reinforcements. You’re making a sacrifice
too. Amethyst Knight, Black Rose and… I never caught your name. I’ll write them down, if you want. A memorial.
It’s the least I can do.”

Amethyst and Rose pushed Janet behind them, forming as much of a protective perimeter as they could with only
two people. Weapons ready, but not yet striking, not yet opening up their defense.

“I think you’re going to be on point,” Amethyst whispered to her again.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do?” Janet hissed back. “Argue with them?”

Don’t wanna hear about it… Every single one’s got a story to tell...

“Royal Guard!” Amethyst shouted, and stamped one of his metal boots. A bubble formed around them, between
them and the monsters. Then, despite just shouting, he went right back to the whisper: “I don’t know, but I know
we can’t take all these guys!”

The man in the chair looked regretful, tormented, at the assault those creatures were making. Was he in control of
them? If he was, did he know it?

“Look away,” Raven said. “I know it’s hard. But I have to do this. We have to do this.”

Everyone knows about it… From the queen of England to the hounds of Hell…

Raven kept going, trying to assuage the man. “You have so little of him left… we need to do anything we possibly
can to hold onto it. If they get out--”

“Oh, shut the FUCK up!” Janet shouted. Everyone froze. Her allies. Raven. The monsters. The words had left her
mouth before she realized she decided to say them, and it took her that moment to realize how much she wanted
to. “You can’t be listening to this, dude! Oh, hold on to what you have, oh, any sacrifice is necessary, it’s just a
bunch of bullshit! All she’s doing is trying to convince herself what she’s doing is right, and she’s making you just
as miserable as her doing it!”

“You have no idea,” Raven said, “how much Alhambra--”

“Oh, blah blah blah, Alhambra, nobody gives a shit,” Janet snapped. “This guy isn’t in Alhambra, is he? He’s in a
shitty nightmare hospital room surrounded by shitty monsters and all he’s been doing for weeks is sitting here
crying. When’s the last time you even ate?”

“I, uh… I don’t remember…” he stammered.

Raven looked like she was slightly offended. “I know you must be new, but people like him don’t need to--”

“Jesus Christ, go out and eat something!” She let her arms drop in exasperation. “No wonder you feel like shit
when you’re starving. She hasn’t even let you go down to the cafeteria to get some of that shitty, burned mac and
cheese, did she?”

“If I’m not here--” they both said in unison.

“So WHAT? Are you going to leap into action and save him if he gets worse? No, that’s the doctor’s job! Do you
think he won’t know you love him if you’re not there every second? News flash! You’ve stuck with him so far!
You’ve gone through all this medical horseshit and you’ve talked to all your insurance people and you’ve done
everything you can to help him! HE FUCKING KNOWS! HE’S HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE AT ALL! No, you
know what, fuck this.”

She walked straight through the barrier, batting the monsters away like they were a confused crowd aimlessly
milling about and she was the only one who knew what to do. Because that’s exactly what they were. Raven took
a step back, pulled her scythe from the wall, and her gaze flickered between Janet and the suffering man.

“Hey. Hey.” Janet snapped her fingers in the bed-bound monster’s face, because it couldn’t be jostled and she
didn’t want to touch it. “Hey, guy. Monster pretending to be a guy. Do you know he loves you?”

The monster just made a weird, spittle-choked hiss. The kind of noise only appropriate for shambling and feasting,
but nothing else.

“That…” the suffering man said, realization dawning. “That isn’t my son, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” Amethyst said. He kept the barrier up, just in case the monsters decided to get ornery. But it didn’t
take his full attention. “Nothing here is real. It’s just… it’s all stuff your mind made up to hurt yourself.”

Raven readied her scythe for a battle, but she took another step back, another, as she re-worked the calculus of
how she anticipated a fight would go.

“My son is dead, isn’t he?” the tormented man asked. Then he answered himself. “My son is dead. He got AIDS,
and they said it wasn’t a death sentence any more, but it was for him. And it was… he was… it took so long… all
these infections… and each one we could try and stop… I just, I thought, I wanted…”

“You were with him the whole time. And you did everything you could,” Janet said. “Fuck, it hurt you so much that
your soul made this whole nightmare dreamscape to torment you because of how bad you felt. And that whole
time you were with him, that whole time you were helping him… Do you remember what he said?”

The tormented man choked back something. Maybe a laugh. Maybe a tear. Maybe both. “We talked about his
fantasy card game. I never paid attention before. I let him teach me how to play, and he, and he told me about all
the decks they had, the crazy, that one August, Worm August, they printed the card wrong but they didn’t officially
change it so for one month it could, it made the energy free…”

“...I’ve seen plague guys and I’ve seen callous doctors. I haven’t seen one card monster in here. Because that’s
not something that hurt you, is it?” She put a finger under his chin and lifted his gaze to look at her. “That whole
time you were with him. Did he ever ask you for this? Did he ever tell you to stay miserable after he died?”

This time it definitely was a laugh. “No… No, I guess he didn’t, did he?”

If Raven was going to attack, now would be the time -- but she was gone. Fled while the fleeing was good. The
monsters were melting away. The hold of the Nightscape was broken, and the man could break away from it. The
job here was done, and they could leave.

So she pulled up another chair, and her friends brought over that little table they put your hospital meals on. “That
game he liked so much. Do you think you could teach me?”
“I, oh… Of course I could. I might not get it right, but…” He pulled out a deck of fantasy cards from the end table.
It wasn’t there before. Solace like that wasn’t something a Nightscape would provide. “He said this one was really
good to learn the game with. You, uh, you take that there, and you shuffle it, Miss… Miss?”

“You know what?” Janet said. “Call me Scarlet.”

 Lost in Fantasy
Chapter 8: The Dreamlands
The Dreamlands are the ultimate expression of our
aspirations and thus the Light of Hope. The
Dreamlands are a dead-end that captures our drive
to succeed and make a better world and fizzles it
out uselessly. The Dreamlands are a vast and
endless realm with a limitless bounty. The
Dreamlands are a tiny and desolate prison. The
Dreamlands are the truth of the human spirit. The
Dreamlands are a lie the human spirit tells itself. The
Dreamlands are adventure. The Dreamlands are
distraction.
The Dreamlands are nothing. The Dreamlands are
everything.
On a more tangible or at least immediate level, the
Dreamlands are a collective realm created by
humanity’s ability to aspire and envision a better
future -- a Big Dream, the result of our ability to
Dream Big. They say each of us contains a world
unto ourselves, and we do, we can envision and
imagine and dream of anything. And all of those
worlds link up together. Our concepts of the world
and how it works and the stories we tell about it
emerge in our dreams, then flow outwards and pool
together and combine and build into the collective
of the Dreamlands. It’s the world as thought-of,
without any constraints of physics and material
reality.
And just like your own dreams, when you’re there,
everything is real and everything makes sense. It’s
immediate and tangible. It’s there. And then you
leave, and none of it was. You go “wait, how did I
think that was real?” All you take out of it is
memories and experience.
Confounding the issue is that there are multiple
ways of interpreting the Dreamlands, all of which
are mutually incompatible, all of which seem to
work within themselves. The noosphere, the
Primordial Dream, the Temenos, the very edge of
the Hedge -- all of these models work differently
and yet all of them work to describe and predict
what happens. Like quantum mechanics and general
relativity, each creature’s understanding is a
complete and useful and accurate model of the
world that just can’t possibly be true at the same
time as the others. Two different beings will see the
same thing, experience the same phenomena, even
agree both of them are subject to a wind force that
messes with their perceptions! But one of them
sees knowledge as existing outside of us and
something that is lessened by fitting into the human
mind, the other sees knowledge as something that
does not exist without being perceived and
interpreted by a human being, so everything’s
flowing in opposite directions for them! It’s a
dream. Things just make sense, even when they
make no sense.
This doesn’t make learning things from and about
the Dreamlands impossible. You can learn deeply
and discover new knowledge and broaden our
understanding… but it does make it really hard to
coordinate. So, despite the Dreamlands being
ground that other beings have tread for thousands
of years, the Hopeful still have to explore and
explain the Dreamlands for themselves.
Non-Euclidean Geography
The Dreamlands, by its nature, is hard to pin down.
Because it’s made up of thoughts, it’s inconsistent.
The same thing can be an entirely different thing
based on what the dream “knows” its significance to
be. It changes when you’re not looking because it
forgets what it was and has to make something up
when you look back again. It corresponds to a map
of the real world, except that it doesn’t. The
strength of the dream-logic mutability is the
strength of the Gales, and they blow harder in some
places than in others.
When you pop out in the Dreamlands, you will
almost always emerge in a dream-reflection of your
city or wherever it is you entered. Go into a
Crawlspace in Philadelphia, and you might wind up
in the idealized City of Brotherly Love, or the
birthplace of the American Revolution full of
Founding Fathers with tricorne hats, or a
post-apocalyptic hellscape of feral half-man,
half-eagle monstrosities throwing batteries at
everyone who dares enter, but it is clearly A Version
Of Philly, it maps to the physical location of
Philadelphia PA in general terms. But it’s dreamlike,
working on dream logic, moving around when
you’re not paying attention, shaped by the
ever-blowing Gales. Three rights might not make a
left. Things are way bigger or way smaller than they
should be. Places spontaneously turn into high
schools when the social dynamics seem a bit too
much like high school. Navigation is difficult, to say
the least.
Lucid Domains
Go out of the city, into the suburbs, but stay off the
I-95 and the major thoroughfares that link the city
to other cities, and you start running into borders
that don’t show up on a map of the real world. But
even though where you are isn’t anchored to a part
of the real world, the Gales are actually weaker
here. Because you’re entering one of the Lucid
Domains, the more “real” parts of the Dreamlands:
locations that don’t exist only as reflections of our
thoughts on something, but as independent and
self-consistent entities in their own right. They have
a history that happened no matter the opinion of
what people think their history is, they have a
geography that is still non-Euclidean but is a lot
EASIER to wrap your head around and more
welcoming to travelers. They are About a concept,
their existence has a symbolic and metaphorical
weight, which is represented by each Lucid Domain
having a Drive it carries out. But they can be about
all sorts of other things, too, with their own people
and their own stories.
Nobody’s sure how they came into being. Are they
natural or manmade? Did they get infused with so
much thought and importance they took on a life of
their own, or were they something that was actually
forgotten about for long enough that it was able to
make its own consistent identity without being
overwhelmed by a bunch of incoming perceptions?
Are they expanding or shrinking? Who knows. They
don’t even know how many there are, but
Princesses know a few they keep running into.
There’s Makai, the Demon Realm, a Lucid Domain of
endless gloomy night and giant mushrooms,
populated by the Lucid of every kind of creature
that calls itself a demon (even the Unchained, which
should be literally impossible, and they refuse to
explain). Its Drive is to spread evil, and armies
marching under the orders of Great Demon Kings
spread ruin and with them the taint of the Darkness
-- but there’s also figures of forbidden love, rebels
against rebellion, and cackling masterminds whose
concept of “evil” has nothing to do with harm and
everything to do with bats and scenery-devouring
camp, which is why the Embassy to Night is here.
There’s Sekkaisei, a land of Adventure Beyond, a
fantasy kitchen sink realm of reborn heroes and
dragons to slay. Its drive is to create the next
adventure, to be what you find in the Undiscovered
Country after passing from the world. A great deal
of souls awaiting reincarnation appear here to
embark on great journeys and quests to echo their
lives. In fact, way too many reincarnated souls are
here; Sekkaisei is not infinite, and the Domain is
absolutely lousy with would-be heroes and not
enough opportunities for heroic deeds. They could
be a great ally to the Radiant… if, of course, you
make sure the people with the same ideas about
heroism as you are the ones who end up winning
the day, because they spend a lot more time
competing with each other than with dragons and
monsters.
Alkahest is a constant danger to everyone, a Drive
of pure conquest. It once cared about some specific
idea and the militant propagation of it, but its
leadership died, and its people cared more about
the part where they all fervently believed in
something more than the specifics of the belief.
Now at the center of the militant kingdom sits a
completely unguarded throne. The only things
stopping you from sitting on it forever are the rising
pain it inflicts on its occupants, and the possibility
someone else might forcibly remove you. And
whoever sits on that throne, Alkahest will conquer
in the name of their ideology -- no matter what it is,
no matter who it hurts, no matter how incoherent it
is with the ideology they were conquering for ten
minutes ago.
Much more calm and relaxing are the holes and
burrows of Molemountain, populated entirely by a
civilization of various sapient animals (not ALL of
them burrow underground but most do). They are
simple and gentle people, and the Drive here is
comfort and hospitality. Their farms are tiring but
honest work, with which they make various hearty
and simple stews to offer travellers by the warmth
of a roaring hearth. Peaceful and friendly, they have
no grand dreams of changing the world, just of
being simple and decent -- which is why their
neighbors are constantly messing with them.
And, of course, the most significant Lucid Realms in
this era are the Radiant Kingdoms. They’ve been
heavily explained earlier. To understand how they
interact with the world, we will need to go back to
Philly.
The Astral Pools
So remember how you popped out in Philadelphia
and it could have been one of any number of
perceptions of the city? Those weren’t the only
options. It might look like a Renaissance village, a
Greek agora, a Sengoku-era castle, a dark neon
cyberpunk slum where it’s always raining, a
retro-futuristic City of Tomorrow as envisioned in
the 1958 World’s Fair, an idyllic countryside with a
couple of cottages, or a magical-realism version of
the city where there’s, like, cave troll traffic cops
giving out tickets to people who park their griffons
on the wrong side of the road. Philadelphia doesn’t
have any particular reputation for being a hub of
magical realism, and yet, there it is. Because it’s all
of them at the same time! All the conceptions of the
city, all the versions, are entangled together, like a
quantum version of Tokyo and Yokohama or Reno
and Sparks.
Keep going “deeper” into the city and you’ll cross
into places that don’t represent the location, but
concepts important to the people there. Deeper
inside the City of Brotherly Love, there’s a place
that’s how people see Love. In that birthplace of the
American Revolution you can find alleyways to
America-As-Ideal, Democracy, Big Government, and
Powdered Wigs. All of them go to Metropolis, the
instantiated form of City-Ness Itself. These lead to
other places in the Dreamlands whose concepts
border each other, a map of free-association. They
are made up of everything people see and feel and
think and hope and experience about it, all collected
downstream of their own thoughts to swirl together
into a tangible realm. Unlike a Nightscape created
by one person’s individual experience of
overwhelming fear, the Dreamlands are everyone’s
experiences of everything.
When you came into the Dreamlands, you were on
the surface of the Astral Pools. Walk to the “shore”
and find a Lucid Domain enclosing it like it was a
lake. Go deeper, and there’s an infinite Astral depth
to plumb that contains everything that people can
think of. And when we look at the Astral Pools, our
minds see reflections. We have our own thoughts
and ideas, we loose them to flow out into the
Dreamlands, and they swirl together. We take a
glance at where all of those dreams and concepts
are pooling and remember the image we saw
reflected in it.
The Astral reflections of negative concepts and
negative interpretations are always going to be
there. They do exist, and trying to ignore them isn’t
healthy. We need to understand the world as it is
now in order to see a better world come about. But
when the Darkness runs rampant in the Astral Pools,
then what our minds see reflected back at us is a
source of fear. The taint of the Darkness finds more
purchase, easier. No, it doesn’t push as hard as a
personal real-life experience, and opening a
metaphorical window onto an Astral reflection
overcome by Darkness won’t overwhelm an
otherwise normal person into fear and despair. But
it definitely contributes, and definitely adds up.
Places whose Astral reflections are overrun by the
Darkness are much more likely to form Nightscapes,
and the Nightscapes there are more powerful. It’s
the same with other abstract concepts; some Astral
reflection of an idea or experience that’s claimed by
the forces of Darkness will make sources of fear
related to that thing create and empower
Nightscapes more easily. But the Darkness is not
infinite as the Dreamlands, and the Darkness does
not belong. The Darkness didn’t make this place. We
did. The Darkness is a petty, short-sighted, venal,
cruel, disgusting little bastard and with the Light of
Hope you can rip it out and blast it to ashes.
The Dream Front in the War for Hope
Lucid Domains are incredibly important to the
Dreamlands, and not JUST because people live there
(but that’s important too, at least somewhat -- it’s
complicated). One person can have an effect in the
Astral Pools. But even for a vividly defined Princess
whose actions validate her ideals, there’s only so
much you can do to update how we see a thing
when everyone else is still pitching in their visions
and they outnumber you. Try and destroy the cast
of a TV show to get it cancelled, turn around and
see a hundred thousand copies of them for every
dynamic, every viewer’s headcanon. (Not even
Imperial Archmastery can stop shipfic.)
But since the Lucid Domains are the places unto
themselves, the places where these Astral Pools
reside, they have a lot more “say” in what happens.
When they take action on something in the Astral
Pools, it’s not like someone from outside is trying to
shift the nature of the concept, it’s like our own
group consciousness is mulling it over and
re-assessing it. And while some borders are bigger,
some easier or harder to find, every Lucid Domain
has Astral Pools in it and all of the Astral Pools lead
into the same place.
Aztallan and Alkahest are both Lucid Domains, but
Alkahest has been in the rest of the Dreamlands for
a lot longer than Aztallan. The former has way more
of a presence, the borders it shares with other Lucid
Domains are longer and easier to find and the Astral
Pools within it more easily dredge up their next
victims. But Aztallan does have a border with the
Dreamlands. It has a border because people need
its help.
Aztallan is but one place, but it is a fundamentally
good place occupied by fundamentally good people
who fight for deep and meaningful ideals but never
spread them by force. Those realms where Alkahest
marches would love to have a savior come to their
aid, and let them retain who they are. So Aztallan
borders them. All of them. And on horses or
halftracks or hovercycles they ride to the aid of
those who need saving -- of those who have or who
need something to believe in, those who have
hopes and ideals to preserve in the face of a
self-perpetuating conquest for its own sake.
So, too, do Andarta’s borders flood with those in
need of shelter and meaning. The boats of Danaan
carry those who search for answers. Wen-Mung’s
forests reach into every biome ruled by disharmony
and danger. The Four Winds blow upon everywhere
that longs for freedom and joy. And between all of
them, diplomats, warriors, merchants, healers,
builders, artists, leaders, followers, help. They are
swept up in the Gales, follow only dream logic, and
yet know that when there is suffering they must act.
The dream-reflections and Figments and the Lucid
Radiant Princesses outnumber those in the real
world by a factor of hundreds, thousands. Though
the “dream front in the War for Hope” is not
inconsequential, it’s undeniable that their actions
here have less direct impact than in the real world.
it’s not something that the Queens have chosen to
dedicate the vast majority of their forces to. It is
simply what happens when those in need are near.
If they were able to ignore the need in the
Dreamlands because it was less important, they
wouldn’t be the Radiant Queens.
The Four Heavenly Kings
There’s a special sort of Lucid Domain that warrants
special mention: those of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Knowledge of the Dreamlands’s history is spotty and
inconsistent by its very nature. Knowledge of the
Radiant’s history is full of holes due to the
Cataclysm and the Long Night. So very little is
known about the Four Heavenly Kings. What we do
know, or are pretty sure of, is this:
The Four Heavenly Kings were Radiant Nobles who
were placed in the Trap after the Cataclysm
happened, but they broke free -- they broke free a
long, long time ago. They were apparently a
tightly-knit nakama when the Cataclysm happened,
while the Radiant Queens only knew of each other
and had not yet formed friendships. We know they
were a lot more hands-on and direct, and in
addition to leading Noble followers, they incarnated
themselves in the real world as heroes. We know
there was one more Twilight King who opposed
them, and we know that they beat said Twilight King
so soundly he had no choice but to become their
friend. We know they went out on some kind of
quest to save the world, and nobody ever saw them
again.
We don’t know what that quest was, and whether it
succeeded or failed. We don’t know how they got
out of the Trap, much less how they had physical
bodies in the real world. We don’t know their
names or their official epithets (Alhambran
literature has stories about them from before the
Cataclysm, but those stories don’t agree on what
their names were). We don’t know if there were
four of them beforehand and the Twilight was the
fifth, or they only became four once the Twilight
joined up. We don’t know much about the ideals
they embodied, other than that they had a healthy
respect for strength and liked to fight each other to
grow stronger. We don’t know why their Kingdoms
didn’t survive -- they were leaders, they were Noble,
they had Noble followers, wouldn’t they have made
something that would endure past their own lives
and be continued by those who came after? Did
they fail at that? Did they have Kingdoms that did
endure for a while but eventually fell after hundreds
or maybe like a thousand years? Did they take all of
their Noble followers with them on their quest? Is
Alkahest the remains of one of their Kingdoms, and
without them has all of the zeal and none of the
convictions? That would be a real bummer, but it’s
obviously a possibility.
And most distressingly, we don’t know why they
didn’t liberate the Radiant Queens. Was it
impossible? Maybe the thought of opening the Trap
for the Queens never occurred to them because
that just wasn’t how they thought. Or they were
going to open the Trap later and never got the
chance. Maybe they didn’t know of the Queens and
were in a separate Trap. Or the objective of their
final quest was to open said Trap and they failed. Or
they actually succeeded at the cost of their lives,
and the only reason the Trap was able to fall in 1969
was that they had enabled it. Hell, maybe they DID
open the Trap and then something else happened to
put the Queens back in it. Then would THEY be in
their own Trap somewhere else in the Dreamlands?
Could someone find it?
What did they know? What did they teach? What
magics and relics did they impart? Could others
follow in their footsteps? Who were they as people?
If there are any answers to these questions, they are
found deep in the Dreamlands.
Inside the Dreamlands
Denizens
Different types of being exist in the Dreamlands,
with different types of existence.
Travellers are those people who are here in the
Dreamlands temporarily. They have a full block of
Attributes, Skills, and everything a character has.
They can go back to the real world and have a body
there (whether it’s there asleep waiting for them, or
they bodily travel into the Dreamlands, they’re able
to pass into the real world). They have a soul with
memories and identity; they are subject to the
Gales, but can recall the real world to steel
themselves against its force. Princesses, Mages,
Changelings, a couple of Beasts, willing mortal
psychonauts, and incidental mortal psychonauts will
fall into this category. They have the same stat
blocks as they do in the real world, and only
ephemeral Travellers will have ephemeral stat
blocks.
Lucid are those who are people, but don’t have
bodies. They also have a full block of Attributes,
Skills, and other character traits. (Even Physical
Attributes, they have a self-conception of.) They
have souls and memories and identity, but they
don't exist outside the Dreamlands. At least not in
this incarnation, as all dead souls awaiting
reincarnation are Lucid and living in the
Dreamlands, whether they were ensnared by the
Trap or reborn by some other means or they just
wandered in. A Traveller whose body dies or
becomes unusable while they’re out will also
become Lucid and lose memory of their life in the
real world. The Queens are all Lucid, so are many of
their followers, and so are most of the unique
characters to interact with in the Dreamlands.
Obviously, the Lucid are most often found in Lucid
Domains.
The Lucid are all subject to the Gales for their entire
lives and thus Gale-Blind, which means that even if
they are aware the world they occupy isn’t real,
they can’t tell apart information they got from the
real world and information they got from the dream
narrative. Dream-logic makes perfect sense to them
unless it‘s pointed out or they take great effort to
deliberately work through. The Queens, for
example, have many more Lucid followers than they
have real ones, who are also embarking on missions
and quests into places that look like our modern
real world, which they believe to be our modern
real world -- the Queens cannot keep track of which
ones are real and which are Lucid dreams, which is
why they can only respond to information you have
personally provided them.
There are other sources of Lucid besides human
souls from the real world awaiting reincarnation.
Nobody’s exactly sure what they are, though.
Figments who become more complex ideas or have
sustained interactions with the Lucid miiiiiiiight
become Lucid themselves? Two Lucid can have a
child but it won’t be guaranteed to be Lucid either
and if it isn’t its own existence will follow
dream-logic, so who knows. They can be
reincarnated as people, even if they weren’t 100%
human before. In the Dreamlands, Lucid have full
stat blocks as physical beings, and have a Drive and
Dread instead of Virtue and Vice. When killed, they
lose a dot of Willpower and reform in an
appropriate location within a day or two,
permanently affected by the event.
Figments are the bulk of the occupants of the
Dreamlands, a slim majority in the Lucid Domains
and almost the entirety of the Astral Pools. They’re
a type of ephemeral being that represents thoughts
with nobody to think them. They’re not self-aware,
not people, and only have short-term memory. They
play out as what the collective idea of someone or
something should be in a given situation, cosmic
extras and NPCs. They have a consistent existence, if
you have some way of tagging or tracking one you
can see it move around and re-instantiate, but it
won’t remember anything and will frequently
“reset” according to dream-logic. Like all ephemeral
beings in the Dreamlands, they’re not actually
ephemeral and are always fully physically incarnate.
New Figments are constantly being made as people
have new ideas, and old Figments fade away after
some time. Despite being purely physical in the
Dreamlands, they have the abbreviated stat blocks
of Ephemerals, with Power, Finesse, and Resistance
attributes and no Skills; none of them are higher
than rank 2. They have a Drive, but no Dread,
Virtue, Vice, or Aspirations. When dealt fatal
damage to their Corpus by a Traveler or a Lucid,
they disintegrate entirely instead of retreating to
reform. Another Figment will come along and fall
into their role, one a bit more adapted to the thing
you just did.
Then there’s the Wardens.
The Wardens
How have we gone so long without talking about
the Wardens, who some think might be the rulers of
the Dreamlands? Because that’s how they work.
They don’t make their presence known, even when
standing in front of you.
The Wardens were so named when it was
discovered they existed and kept up the Trap, before
we found out about their other activities. Though
they were enlisted by the Dark Queens to keep up
the Trap that kept the Radiant imprisoned, they are
(as far as we can tell) the only major foe of the
Radiant to have no actual connection to or power
from the Darkness. They don’t spread fear and
aren’t empowered by it. They don’t seem overtly
evil. They seem extremely particular.
A Warden might be Lucid, might be some kind of
super-Figment, or a Traveller of some other kind of
very strange being, or a secret, unknown fourth
thing. They look kind of like children’s drawings:
major parts that someone would notice are there,
recognizable as depictions of those parts, but with
little to no understanding of how they fit together. A
person has a face, and hair, and arms, and shoes --
so a Warden might be a giant head with two arms
sticking out where its ears should be, propelled by
giant clopping shoes with no feet in them, an
eternally blank expression on its asymmetrical face.
Not that the Lucid notice. The Radiant only first saw
the existence of the Wardens on July 20th, 1969,
assumed they were just there to keep them in this
Trap, and fought them off and escaped. Only later
did they realize, as they took in the scope of the
Dreamlands, that the Wardens were everywhere.
They were granted the ability to see only the
Wardens who were in the Trap with them at the
time. Otherwise, Lucid who don’t know Wardens
exist are incapable of perceiving them in any way,
and those who DO know they exist have to
deliberately and with great difficulty try to detect
their presence. Gale-Blindness is Warden-Blindness.
Wardens were following and watching the Radiant
Kingdoms for thousands of years, unseen and
unheard, and just walking up and fiddling with
things. Though sometimes they decided to take an
active and visible role, where they looked just as
odd but the Lucid weren’t able to NOTICE it until
someone pointed it out to them -- after all, that
thing had a face, and hair, and arms, and shoes, it
had all the parts of a person, so it looked like a
person, right?
Wardens don’t watch from afar, they get right up in
things and mess with them. They seem to be driven
to make the dream-stories that play out here
happen in the “right” way, and they will take roles,
do things as subtle as moving around objects to
change who notices what to things as overt as
chucking people out of windows, to make sure the
narrative plays out “correctly”. All of them seem to
agree that the proper dream story has Princesses
trapped in the Dreamlands. Then they have other
ideas, unique to themselves, all of which they are
very particular about, which may or may not have
anything to do with storytelling as we understand it.
One Warden might think all love stories need to end
in tragedy and loss, and under its influence,
everyone’s tales and dreams of love turn dark. But
another Warden might think all stories need to be
about fishing, and everyone around it will be
plunked into boats and given six-packs. Another
might think that no proper story has anything
colored purple, and all purple objects must be
removed. Even in the rare case one is willing to talk,
they will not give a straight answer about why they
think things have to be this way.
With the opening of the Radiant Kingdoms and the
knowledge of Wardens spreading, some other Lucid
know they exist -- even if they can’t perceive them
directly, they can figure it out from the indirect
consequences. To drive the Warden off, though,
they will need help. Though Princesses have the
most dangers to face from Wardens, they're the
best to fight them as well: not only can they bring all
their powers to bear at full force in the Dreamlands,
they're the only ones who won't cause a Warden to
go into undetectable hiding once it's threatened,
only to pop back out the moment the threat leaves.
Even though they are physical in the Dreamlands,
Wardens possess the stat blocks of Ephemeral
creatures, with Power, Finesse, and Resistance
attributes and no Skills. They possess Essence,
Numina, and Influences as if they were Spirits of the
same rank. All of them have the Dream Warden
Numen, which makes them nearly imperceptible to
the Gale-Blind, and allows them to attempt to
recapture Princesses. They have a Drive (about what
they think a story should contain), a Dread (about
what they think a story should never have), and an
Aspiration (about the types of stories they want
told), and one more Aspiration they all share: “Trap
Princesses in the Dreamlands.” When dealt fatal
damage to their Corpus, they discorporate and
return later, with higher Rank Wardens taking longer
-- but every single Lucid and Traveller who saw,
participated in, or was nearby the death of the
Warden becomes completely and permanently
immune to every single one of the Warden’s
Numina and Influences.
Reaching the Dreamlands
Entering the Dreamlands is easy! When you fall
asleep, you will enter your own dream-space, and
hang around in there. All it takes is a simple Resolve
+ Composure roll as long as you know what the
Dreamlands are, and you’ll be certain to emerge
into them that night. Even if you don’t, the average
person makes it out into the Dreamlands as a
Traveller about ten, fifteen percent of the time.
Once there, you’ll go deeper into the Astral Pools or
occasionally a Lucid Domain, and happen upon any
kind of adventure one might find in a dream.
Gale-Blind as anyone else, about the only things you
will be able to remember will be things that you
wake up immediately after and make a special effort
to recall. If your Queen needs to reach you without
you seeking her, she’ll bump into you when you’re
having a normal dream, and even if you don’t
remember all the details clearly you will remember
the general thrust of your meeting because it’s of
great emotional significance. Other than events like
that, normally reaching the Dreamlands isn’t that
different from having a normal dream.
Reaching the Dreamlands, Staying Aware,
And Bringing Others
Now THAT? That’s going to be difficult.
The Dreamlands want you to enter on its terms. And
its terms are “gale-blind”. It’s all our narratives and
stories, stories we tell each other and stories we tell
ourselves and stories we tell ourselves ABOUT
ourselves and someone there who is not a part of
the story is something disrupting the flow. Even
without an active effort to suppress you, there’s the
Gales around you, pushing against your resistance,
until you get blown into a place where you DO sync
up with the flow.
First, to get there, you have to essentially BE asleep
without FALLING asleep. And to do that, you have to
make it through a Crawlspace. A Crawlspace is the
personal dream-space of one individual, and while
it’s quite roomy when you’re dreaming in it, it’s so
named because when you try to use it as direct
passage to the Dreamlands, it’s incredibly tight and
cramped. Of course it is -- you are basically trying to
fit yourself, inside of yourself.
You need a doorway to your Crawlspace (sometimes
called a cellar door, a vent, a dream hole, something
like that), found in the real world. You take your own
dream-space with you, so the doorway in the real
world isn’t something that only links to one
Crawlspace, it’s kind of where your own Crawlspace
latches on or slots in. Doorways are found in liminal
spaces, areas that are for transition from one place
to another, and are often forgotten or obsolete
means of passage out of them. A bricked up wall
that used to be a doorway, a painted-over access
panel, a dumbwaiter that was removed in the 70s, a
hole behind a bathroom mirror that leads to a
forgotten and unused apartment with no doors. Just
as Destiny can give a nakama the opportunity to
meet each other but not ensure they all know each
other and are allies, Destiny usually manages to get
one doorway close to where one member of a
nakama can access it, but can’t make it obvious or
easy. Maybe there’s a door in your bedroom closet
that used to lead down into a root cellar. Maybe
there’s a door in the closet of someone in the
apartment directly across the street from yours,
where you have to be buzzed in and open three
locks.
Once you have the doorway, though, making it
through the Crawlspace is an entirely physical
undertaking. You, and anyone you bring with you,
will have to make it past a handful of obstacles like
narrow ledges, locked doors, gaps that must be
crossed, flooded sections that have to be swum
through -- obstacles that kind of make sense to be
physically present, though if you draw a map they
can’t fit in the real world, because they’re the
overlay of your mind and reality going “hey wait this
isn’t a place you should be crossing.” The same
Crawlspace from the same door will always have the
same obstacles, so subsequent journeys can be
much easier; it’s not trying to keep you out THAT
hard, and you’re on the edges where there’s no real
space for symbolic challenges to manifest and
overcome. It’s quite possible for people to stumble
onto the Dreamlands by accident, with no
supernatural background whatsoever.
On Arrival
Once you make it through the Crawlspace, the
passage you’re in will rapidly change into something
otherworldly, and you’ll emerge in the Dreamlands
along with anyone who came with you. There’s no
way to climb back out once you’re in; when you
leave, you’ll wake up in the real world somewhere
near your original entry point. Each subsequent
time you come back to the Dreamlands via that
combination of doorway and Crawlspace, you come
out in the same spot.
You don’t have a special kind of dream form upon
arrival in the Dreamlands; you use your own body,
your own self-conception, even all the stuff you
brought with you when you physically walked in.
Princesses are permanently in their Transformed
state and suffer no exhaustion penalty for being so,
but other than that, they just use their normal
character sheet and normal rules of interaction.
Your Strength is what you know your idealized
potential Strength to be. Your Health is what you
know your ideal body to have. Et cetera. When you
enter the Dreamlands, your Willpower, Wisps, and
Health tracks are what you have in the real world,
they get damaged and used up like normal, but the
resources you spend or gain in the Dreamlands will
come back and/or disappear once you return to the
real world. You don’t need to sleep in the
Dreamlands, but you do need to eat and drink.
Lethal and aggravated damage you take in the
Dreamlands becomes phantom bashing damage on
your real body; like damage inflicted by illusions, it
doesn’t spill over to lethal damage and will be
replaced, not upgraded, by subsequent real
damage. Get killed in the Dreamlands, and you will
wake up feeling like you have had the absolute living
shit beaten out of you but be physically unharmed.
The Gales
The Gales are the force of the Dreamlands’ logic
that draw you in and make you subject to the
Dreamlands’s rules. Like the wind, the Gales can
blow constantly and there’s really nothing you can
do to stop them, only react to them. Like the wind,
they shape the landscape over time. And like the
wind, they can change rapidly.
The Gales are both the power and the fluidity of the
narrative of our dreams, the stories we tell
ourselves to understand and create our aspirations.
The Gales are why dream-logic makes sense. The
Gales are what blow things around outside your
perception to keep everything changing. The Gales
whisper in your ear, but what they whisper isn’t
“give up” or “throw away your life for fantasy.” It’s
“this all makes perfect sense,” “don’t notice those
details,” and “you vividly remember the President
being a dog.”
Because the risk of being caught up in the Gales is
not being caught up in someone else’s story. It’s
being too caught up in your own story to notice it
isn’t a part of anyone else’s any more. It’s listening
to the story you tell yourself, about yourself, to the
exclusion of reality. Your Drive is the thing you’re
About, and the Gales can’t blow that down -- they
blow down everything else that ties you to the real
world and makes you a fully realized person.
Galemarks
A character is subject to the Gales once per scene in
the Dreamlands, or when another effect specifies it
makes them subject to the Gales (notably the
Gale-Wracker Numina, p. XXX). When a character is
subject to the Gales, they roll Belief. If the number
of successes they get is more than their current
Galemark stacks, they gain a stack of Galemark (p.
XXX). If it isn’t, then they add +1 to subsequent rolls
until they get another stack.
Like Shadows from Chronic Sensitivity, the first
Galemark is basically free -- it doesn’t give you
hardly any penalty, it’s well within your ability to
tolerate. You’re a little disoriented, you have -1 to
recall specific information from the real world and
will get a -1 to recall specific information from here
when you return to the real world, but you’re fine.
Mostly. Every stack of Galemark after the first gives
you another -1 penalty to recalling information
between worlds, and also a -1 penalty to every
single action you take if it’s not in line with fully
embodying (regaining all Willpower for) your Drive.
This is only for things you proactively do, not passive
things like perception, or defensive rolls.
On waking up, you lose one stack of Galemark. If
you still have 2 or more, dream-logic is infringing on
your thoughts and messing with you, and you keep
losing track of details of reality. Each subsequent
day you have a full night’s sleep, you don’t dream at
all, don’t recover a Willpower, and clear one more
stack of Galemark. Galemarks are also Mental
Conditions, so they can be healed by Soothing
Restoration, but you can still only heal them in the
real world.
Getting Involved
Why Princesses want to visit the Dreamlands
The Dream Front in the War for Hope is
undoubtedly less important than the real world; it’s
not unimportant, especially to the Queens and their
Kingdoms who live there, but it’s certainly not as
pressing of an issue to Princesses who live in the
real world. So why get involved?
Some Princesses don’t, to be honest. There’s a
reason a lot of Princesses regard the Dreamlands as
a distraction from the real world, plus they have
enough on their plates without making it so they
still have to be on the clock while they sleep. Others
only go out into the Dreamlands when things are
quiet at home and there are no pressing fires in
need of putting out; they’re helping the
Dreamlanders just because they need help, and
putting lower priority on it because the help they
give is much less likely to “stick.” It’s definitely not a
required part of your mission, it’s not like you’re
tied to the Dreamlands the way a werewolf is tied to
the spirit world or a Changeling is to the Hedge. But
there are a few good reasons to go into the
Dreamlands even beyond the sense of doing
good-if-transient deeds:
- Strategic advantage. The forces of Darkness
in the Astral Pools for a location create and
empower Nightscapes in places and with
concepts associated with them. So keeping
your city’s Astral Pools clean, and major
concepts that are often associated with fear
and misery, is a way to stop the Darkness
from gaining a major foothold and undoing
your work. On the flip side, an
already-existing Nightscape might be too
powerful and entrenched to handle straight
away, and you’d have to clear up associated
Dreamlands areas to weaken the
Nightscape’s defenses and potency enough
for an assault, or even to get it into the
range where your own Sensitivity is able to
detect it. As hard as it is to get people to
change their perceptions in the Astral Pools,
it’s far from impossible, especially if you’re
focused.
- Alliances. Not only will working with or
through a Lucid Land to fight off the
Darkness be much more effective, the
endless Dream Front in the War for Hope
always needs more help. Securing the
efforts of Lucid residents of the Dreamlands
can take a lot of pressure off of the Queens
themselves, at least temporarily, which
might allow them to pursue some other
goal, even offer some kind of aid that would
normally be impossible to them.
- Information. There are parts of the
Dreamlands that are Lucid and existed
before this world was made, even outside
the Radiant Kingdoms, maybe even souls
that weren’t laid in the Trap but have still
awaited reincarnation since then. Above
and beyond the Four Heavenly Kings,
knowledge of truly ancient foes and
phenomena, things not even recorded in
Alhambra’s diaries, might only be able to be
dug up from the Dreamlands.
- Rescue. People can get lost in the
Dreamlands. They still appear sometimes in
the Dreamlands without trying, as part of
their normal dreams. They may encounter a
native malefactor there, or a clever sort of
Defiler who uses the Dreamlands to act at
little personal risk, and end up needing
rescue. Certain forms of fell magics that
appear to instantly kill someone or destroy
their soul will actually kick the soul out to
the Dreamlands to await reincarnation, and
if you’re quick about it, you may be able to
rescue them and return them to their
bodies.
Okay, but why would I want to play in the
Dreamlands?
What is the point of detailing all this fantasy realm
with its own rules while reminding you it’s optional
and not as important as the real world? Out of
character, why include the Dreamlands in a
Chronicle?
Magical-girl stories will often involve another
magical realm that the characters can travel to and
from, where their actions and their consequences
are magnified. You can make a bigger dichotomy
between the character’s real life and magical life
when the latter doesn’t even take place on Earth.
And the needs of many types of magical girl story
are sometimes at odds with a consistent modern
setting: as part of your personal path and how it
serves as a magnified dramatic metaphor for your
progress in life, you might need to do things and
achieve things that are fundamentally going to
change the nature of the setting to not be like our
modern world any more. Think of how a character
like Reed Richards ends up looking like a chump: he
is a super scientist, his actions create scientific
breakthroughs that should let us master our
environment and improve our lives, but the story
can’t let him do that because then the Marvel
Universe would no longer resemble our own, so
every victory he has just kind of piddles out and gets
ignored.
Online. Or you could just want a change of pace and
go full heroic fantasy roleplay for a bit. Embracing
cringe because it’s actually cool is already a major
part of the game, so why worry about if you’re
doing the Dreamlands in the proper symbolically
significant way?

So while it’s perfectly possible and encouraged to

have characters’ actions change the world the game
occupies, you might personally not want to yet. The
Dreamlands lets you have your cake and eat it too
by making those things world-affecting things
happen in a significant sense without actually
changing the world.

If you want the characters to be respected leaders

of a community who look up to and rely on them,
but you aren’t yet ready for their basic environment
to stop resembling the city you know, then they
could become the leaders and trusted protectors of
its Dreamlands reflection. If you want them to have
to mobilize in total war against a great threat that
overwhelms the need for secrecy, but don’t want to
answer questions like “why aren’t other powerful
supernatural entities or national governments
noticing and responding to this?” and don’t want to
cut yourself off from having stories later where
maintaining secrecy is still important, then the
threat is oncoming in the Dreamlands and has to be
defeated there first if it gets defeated at all. If
players like the way that Nightscapes let them
interact with things in a way that’s simultaneously
real and metaphorical, but they would like some
encounters that aren’t quite so grim and
fear-focused, then the Dreamlands can let you have
that too.

Of course, you can also just bring in the Dreamlands

to emulate an “isekai” anime about modern people
transported to a fantasy world, like Magic Knight
Rayearth. Konosuba, RE:Zero, or even Sword Art
Numina requires the healer to at least partially fight off or
defeat the efforts of that specific Warden.

Dream Warden Gale-Wracker

Wardens only. Dreamlands residents only.

All attempts by the Lucid to detect the presence or
significance of this entity are at a -5 penalty, and
they can’t passively observe anything about it: they
have to deliberately be seeking out information
about a Warden. Figments automatically and
tirelessly carry out the Warden’s orders. This part of
the ability costs no Essence to maintain.
This entity can also attempt to bind Princesses in
the Dreamlands, sealing away their knowledge of
the real world and their real lives and replacing it
with a dream. If it attempts to do this through
physical contact, it rolls Power + Finesse vs
Composure + Inner Light (if it’s possible for it to do
this to things with other Supernatural Tolerance
stats, nobody’s recognized it). If it attempts to do
this through indirect actions by manipulating
Figments into messing with the target, then the
target rolls Composure + Inner Light with a -1
penalty for each roll they made since they last
failed.
The entity has +1 on all rolls to interact with
Travellers in the Dreamlands for each stack of
Galemark the Traveller has; this part of the ability
costs no Essence.
By spending 1 Essence, the entity can infuse an
interaction with the narrative power of the Gales to
sweep people up in it. As long as the entity is
interacting with its targets in a way that has some
kind of narrative (which is any kind of continuous
action), multiple people in the interaction are
subject to the Gales. Targets will become aware that
someone is using the Gales on them if this roll is
frequently invoked, but that won’t directly stop it
from working, though escaping or beating up the
entity usually will.

Success for the Warden or failure for the target

locks one Galemark the target already had. It can’t
create any Galemarks, but Gale-Wracker can and it
almost always has that Numina too. The Galemark
becomes a Persistent Condition that does not grant
Beats and can’t be healed normally, and represents
memories being confused between real life and the
Dreamlands, with more important memories being
mixed up with higher Galemarks. At 5 locked
Galemarks, the target has forgotten almost
everything of their real life and replaced it with a
Lucid existence, and their real-world body slips into
a coma. Killing the Warden unlocks and cures all
these Galemarks, and using magic to heal them
 Royal Privileges
Chapter 9: Extras
Light-Touched
There are others in whom the Light is strong, but for
one reason or another aren’t quite strong enough to
Blossom. A lot of them are Onceborn, never
reincarnated from anyone, and simply haven’t had
enough time to really develop the power of their
soul enough to fully surge up as a Noble. Beacons
are those who are just bright enough to illuminate
those close to them and get a little bit of power,
while Sworn have actually trained under a Princess
to learn how to focus the Light of Hope from within
themselves. Collectively, they’re sometimes referred
to as “Light-Touched,” even though this is kind of
inaccurate because every human being is touched
by the Light from inside them -- maybe
“Light-touching” would be more accurate, as they
can touch others, but it’s also a lot clunkier.
There’s no real way to ensure someone Blossoms as
a Princess themselves -- well, if there is, nobody has
written it down -- but the best predictor of being a
Onceborn Princess is being a Beacon. Probably.
Maybe we just know about more of them because
Princesses tend to focus more on them.
Beacons and Sworn usually don’t have to pay XP to
become a Beacon, any more than a vampire’s ghoul
pays XP to become a ghoul: it’s something they have
because it’s appropriate for the story. But a dot cost
for the Merit is listed because, with the Storyteller’s
permission, you might want to play a Beacon or
Sworn in a game of “regular mortals” and treat it
the same way as any other Supernatural Merit. Or
you could go the other way around and model a
Beacon by giving them a 3-dot Supernatural Merit
instead of a specific Charm and Upgrade.
Beacon (•••)
Requires: No supernatural template, Integrity 6+.
A Beacon is someone in whom the Light of Hope
shines a bit brighter, who can give out a bit of its
power -- and who can see a bit more of its dangers.
A Beacon has an Echo, though a minor one, that
casts out their feelings onto the people around
them and uplifts them. They, as well as people who
know them, get +1 to Breaking Point rolls caused by
fear (This doesn’t affect Belief Compromises).
A Beacon also has one Charm with one Upgrade (of
their choice), that they only know how to use for
one application. The Detect Charm, for example, can
allow you to ask multiple different types of question
with the same Upgrades, but a Beacon’s Detect will
only ask one sort of question; a Beacon’s Anthem
works for one kind of song, Restoration on one kind
of injury, and etc. Beacons have a pool of Wisps
equal to their Composure to spend to cast this
Charm, which replenish when they spend Willpower
just like a Princess.
Being a Beacon is often natural; most Beacons
manifest these powers at around the second year of
middle school without really knowing why or where
they came from. The power is just a minor thing
they can do, like being able to wiggle your ears or
fold your tongue. A Princess, Shikigami, or other
being who is strong in the Light of Hope can also
bring someone up to the level of a Beacon by
learning with them and drawing out their inner
Light, and usually do this to prepare someone for
becoming Sworn.
Being a Beacon comes with a risk, though. Any sort
of creature that feeds off of human energy or
essence -- whether it’s Darkspawn reaping
Willpower, Changelings harvesting Glamour, or
vampires sucking out your juices -- gets one more
point of whatever resource they get when they feed
from a Beacon, once per feeding. Beacons often find
themselves targets of opportunity for life-sucking
monsters, but not enough so to actually capture or
kill. Usually, anyway.
Sworn (••••)
Requires: Beacon, fealty to a Princess, Princess
either has you as a True Friend or follows the Queen
of Storms or Mirrors.
A Sworn is someone who has pledged to a Princess
the way a Princess pledges to a Queen, someone
who is developing the power of the Light within
themselves, who is inspired enough by a Princess’s
heroism to become better themselves and join her
cause.
Some Princesses and their Sworn (often Jewels and
Swords) see this as knighting a champion to aid
them, but that’s not the only expression of it. Being
a Sworn isn’t necessarily about being a knight. It’s
not even about aiding the Princess, though it almost
always comes with that. It’s about a bond of trust
and friendship between two people so deep that
one’s soul uplifts and illuminates the other.
A Sworn’s magic ability is upgraded from when they
were a Beacon. Now, instead of only one specific
application of their Charm, they have a Custom
Elemental Affinity for their Charm and can only cast
it with this Affinity. They also get one more Upgrade
upon becoming Sworn, which has to be the default
Upgrade for the Queen their Princess follows if they
don’t already have that. Their Wisp capacity is
increased to be equal to their Integrity. Sworn can
learn more Upgrades for their Charm from their
Princess by spending 2 XP for each, or learn
Upgrades their Princess doesn’t know for 3 XP each.
A Sworn’s Charm doesn’t have to match one their
Princess knows, but it will be harder to develop this
way.
Sworn also get one free dot of Regalia and the
ability to purchase more, but they don’t have a Dual
Identity to use to summon and dismiss it; they have
to lug it around. At least they can resummon it if
they lose it, but it takes about a day. All their Regalia
is automatically Practical without spending any
points on that.
Sworn have learned to focus the Light inside them,
and while this is a good thing overall, it does mean
that they no longer are shedding enough Light all
over to grant +1 to Breaking Point rolls around
them. They also no longer grant an extra point of
resource to any monster feeding from them and do
not show up as magical to magic-detecting senses
unless they are actively casting their Charm. They
don’t have a Dual Identity but their identity
protection is folded into the Princess’s Dual Identity
-- they get the same benefits that protect a
Princess’s Dual Identity, aimed at not having them
reveal her identity. Lying about knowing her identity
is never a sin or Breaking Point and any single roll to
see through the attempt automatically fails. Magic
cannot derive useful information from them about
whether they know a Princess’s identity, not even
from reading their minds. Old-fashioned deduction
and gathering sufficient evidence can piece it
together from context that they know a Princess,
but can’t force them to reveal who it is.
Sworn have an Inner Light of 0 and can’t Flare
because they don’t have Belief, but they do HAVE an
Inner Light rating for anything that cares about
having an Inner Light rating or Supernatural
Tolerance rating.
Stormwracked (•••)
Requires: Sworn to a Princess of Storms.
The followers of the Queen of Storms are the best
at raising and motivating Sworn to their cause, and
while Sworn are mostly rare among the followers of
other Queens, the Stormwracked actually
outnumber the Princesses they faithfully serve.
Stormwracked gain the Self-Scourging Merit as if
they were a Princess and one dot of the Tempesta
Signet (their choice). They are able to donate Wisps
to their Princess out of their own reserves by
touching her.
They no longer gain Wisps from spending Willpower
normally, relying only on Self-Scourging and Caustic
Grudge to replenish their stores. Stormwracked only
replenish their power through destruction, and
usually of themselves.
Shikigami
Shikigami are the helpful familiar spirits sent from
the Dreamlands to aid the Radiant in their quest,
and almost every Radiant nakama will have one. A
Shikigami is a separate entity that helps the entire
group as a common resource, it has its own
modified character sheet and traits, and its own
unique capabilities. The Shikigami Merit is the
special Loyalty Merit for all Radiant Princesses, and
unlike other shared group Merits like Changeling’s
Hollow or Werewolf’s Totem, they do not scale
directly with the amount of dots the group as a
whole has invested into them: the Shikigami Merit is
a binary “do you have access to a Shikigami or do
you not have access to a Shikigami” matter (More
characters with the Shikigami Merit will make the
Shikigami stronger indirectly by giving it more
resources or skills to call on). Members of a nakama
who do not have the Shikigami Merit for some
reason (such as if they are Twilights in a tenuous
alliance, or they come with their own history where
their own Shikigami died) don’t get the benefits of
and can’t donate power to the Shikigami no matter
how much they interact; they need to buy the Merit
to represent a bond of trust between them.
A Shikigami is a facilitator and sidekick, not a main
character who directly solves problems. Shikigami
don’t have a lot of direct magical power on their
own, but they have support abilities, can channel
and be empowered by their Princesses, are very
inconspicuous, and can make Princess’s lives much,
much, much easier. A Shikigami will be the one who
monitors the local area for developing trouble spots
and leads on the forces of Darkness, coordinates the
group together when needed, opens the most
convenient passages to the Dreamlands, gets
communication from the Queens, maintains secret
identities, does chores, bothers the group about
holding up to their ideals, provides a mentor figure
to look up to, tries to be taken very seriously, and
usually isn’t.
To be frank, one of the most useful aspects of a
Shikigami is that they have absolutely nothing to do
all day and looooots of time on their hands.
Playing Shikigami
Shikigami are communally-run Storyteller characters
who make the lives of the players and the
Storyteller easier. The Storyteller is the arbiter of
what the shikigami can do, but the group is who
determines the shikigami’s personality. The
Storyteller gets across the basics of what the
shikigami can present to the group, and then players
can all offer suggestions at any point in the scene
for what the shikigami does and how, playing up
their Drive and Dread, or merely adding to a scene
and reinforcing the Shikigami’s personality and
nature.
For the Storyteller, the Shikigami is an easy conduit
of exposition: they make the group aware of
potential leads on evil activity or relevant lore from
the Fearless Kingdoms that spurs the group to
action. Shikigami also cover things that realistically
need to be covered but you don’t want to spend a
whole lot of time depicting because they’d become
repetitive, like maintaining a Princess’s secret
identity.
For the players, a Shikigami is like a communal
familiar that they can channel spells and skills
through to accomplish things outside of their own
presence. Shikigami aren’t supposed to overshadow
player characters, so the players will lend their own
Skills and Charms and other abilities to the
Shikigami; but the Shikigami can use them in a
context that the player character couldn’t or doesn’t
want to. Any task that would require someone to
stay out of the action, for example, can be done by
the Shikigami with the players' skills and nobody has
to sit out.
To have the Shikigami use a Skill or Charm, a player
must channel it: the player letting the Shikigami use
their own ability pays an additional Wisp to lend
that power long enough for one roll. This could
represent training and guidance the player
character gave the Shikigami in the past that is
being called on now, or a direct psychic link through
which the character beseeches the Shikigami to Do
Your Best.
Origin
Shikigami are physical beings that used to be
ephemeral beings. Despite their physical bodies,
they still have Power, Finesse, and Resistance
Attributes, just to abbreviate their capabilities. They
have Wisps instead of Essence, they don’t rely on
Manifestation Conditions, can’t be exorcised or
abjured, and shine the Light of Hope. Shikigami are
volunteers sent from the Dreamlands by the Queens
to locate, advise, and guide Princesses in their
missions. Shikigami would love it if this was a simple
matter of being chosen for a great honor by their
Queen, having the title ritually bestowed on them,
and heading out to the real world where they will
select an appropriate form to best provide guidance
but hide as an innocuous object or animal.
It’s not, though.
The entire process is hacked-together, jury-rigged.
None of the magical “systems” of the world are set
up to facilitate this. To even get to the real world
with a portion of their memories and identity intact,
the Queens basically have to kill them in a special
way that reincarnates them directly into a ghost
native to the real world and skips the part where
they were alive; they can hold on to bits and pieces
of their Dreamlands identity the same way a ghost
can hold on to bits and pieces of its former life.
Then they appear as an ephemeral entity, on a
strange and distorted “frequency” of Twilight that
allows them to see and interact with ghosts and
spirits as if through a fuzzy, lossy connection.
A Shikigami takes a physical vessel by using a variant
of the Claim manifestation that allows complete and
perfect melding with an inanimate object or
nonhuman animal of Size 3 or less. But due to the
lossy and hacked-together nature of the Shikigami’s
ephemeral form, a Shikigami doesn’t have free reign
over selecting its form -- only certain ones will work,
according to a set of criteria that barely makes any
sense to Shikigami themselves, much less anyone
else. The process also requires them to enlist the
help of nearby minor ghosts and spirits, who they
have to bribe with Wisps, which are comparable to
the artificial aspartame sweetener version of
Essence. However it’s accomplished, these ghosts
and spirits retain a small link to the Shikigami as the
Wisps swirl in their ephemeral Corpus, allowing the
Shikigami to contact them later… for as much as it’s
worth to have ephemeral acquaintances. These
ephemerals are known as “minor Shikigami,” but are
much less helpful or devoted than the regular kind.
The process of Claiming a vessel results in a
Shikigami as described in these rules, not the usual
process of Claiming as described in the CofD
rulebook. The resulting entity isn’t considered to be
under the Claim Manifestation Condition, it just IS
the resulting Shikigami. If it dies, it has to seek out a
new vessel, and do it quickly; the nakama will need
to help.
Claiming causes the Shikigami to take on some traits
of the object or animal it uses as a vessel, tying it up
with the object’s Resonance or merging its nature
with the animal. Even merging entirely with an
animal is not a significant shift in identity, because a
human persona just has a lot more TO it, but a
stuffed animal shikigami might become
uncomfortably huggy, and a dog shikigami might
form elaborate strategies to assault and destroy the through. The validation of the Shikigami’s Drive and
dreaded vacuum cleaner. worldview isn’t when they triumph themselves, it’s
when the group triumphs under their guidance.
Their group-driven Dread is usually something they
Making a Shikigami want the nakama to avoid: a pitfall that too many
have fallen into, an error they know they made
The shikigami is created communally by the entire
themselves, a fate they can’t stand the thought of,
troupe. It’s a support character both in a mechanical
or the thing that just bothers them the most.
and storytelling sense, usually played by the
Storyteller but able to be “controlled” by any player
A Shikigami’s group-driven Drive or Dread works the
in order to directly help the group or contribute to a
best and provides the most benefit when there’s a
scene. The shikigami interacts with individual
minor conflict or misalignment between them and
characters of the nakama, as well as with the
the nature of the nakama. Whatever their Drive is, it
nakama’s character as a whole. You want a
should be something that is in line with the
character who syncs with the group, but not
nakama’s values but does not come completely
perfectly -- a minor conflict that informs but doesn’t
naturally or easily. It’s an ideal they have to live up
interfere with the working relationship is a great
to, and take effort to do so. Their Dread should be
way to let your characters express who they are by
something the group falls into more easily. An
their reactions to it. It can also be another knob to
uptight Shikigami who wants everyone to be diligent
adjust to control how comedic the game is, where a
needs at least a few Princesses who want to take it
funny shikigami in a serious Chronicle serves as
easy. A Shikigami who prizes unity above all needs
comic relief and a serious Shikigami in a more
to be around a nakama who frequently fight with
comedic Chronicle serves to ground the antics and
each other.
remind everyone what they truly fight for.

When the Shikigami’s Drive or Dread conflicts with

Drive or Dread what a member of the nakama wants to do, that
member has a choice. If she goes along with the
Like a Princess character, a Shikigami has a Drive and
Shikigami’s desires, she restores one Willpower
a Dread, and like a Princess character, you need to
from the relief and reassurance of going along with
determine what these are first. Before you even
a mentor figure; if the course of action succeeds,
know what form the Shikigami takes, because the
the Shikigami regains all of its Willpower. If she goes
Shikigami’s form is going to either support that or
against the Shikigami’s advice, at significant risk, and
contrast with it.
is correct to do so, she restores all her Willpower.
She doesn’t just get the Willpower from defying the
A Shikigami’s Drive and Dread are not quite the
Shikigami, it has to turn out that she made the right
same as a Princess’s though; they are support
call and it turned out better than what the Shikigami
characters both in game terms and in the game
would have asked for. And she doesn’t get the
world, and they know it. It’s what they signed on for.
Willpower if the Shikigami is obviously wrong right
One of them will be devoted to how they interact
out the gate, that’s not a milestone of personal
with the nakame, and primarily expressed in how
development and there was no personal risk
the nakama acts and not themselves. A Shikigami’s
involved in going against it.
group-driven Drive is what principle or idea or value
they want the nakama to embody and triumph
 - Choose a Drive or Dread for the group’s
Shikigami. It should conflict with the
group’s overall approach, but only in a
minor way. The other will be picked in a
minute.
Form
Now that you know what the shikigami is about, you
need to know what it looks like, and how that form
plays into their Drive and Dread. It could facilitate
their role, or it could hinder it, but you should have
it interact with their personality and Drive and
Dread in some way.
Shikigami can incarnate as an object or non-human
animal of up to Size 3, though an object needs to
have some kind of articulation that the shikigami
can use to manipulate his environment. Toys with a
general humanoid or at least quadrupedal shape
like stuffed animals, dolls, and action figures are the
most common. A Shikigami incarnated into an
inanimate object is kiiiiiiiiind of like a living thing,
but only kind of -- if it occupies an object that looks
like a living thing, it will have a psychological need to
fulfill the physical needs of that thing, like eating,
getting water, or napping in sunbeams.
So what IS it? What it looks like will inform what it’s
able to do and where it’s able to hide, but it’s more
than that. Whatever the shikigami incarnates into,
it’s going to take on SOME traits associated with it.
It’s going to be the group’s mascot, a symbol of your
association. There are variously “silly” or “serious”
forms a shikigami can take -- a stuffed bear is sillier
than a cat, which is sillier than a computer system.
You can adapt anything on that scale to any tone of
game you’re seeking, but you have to be aware of
how you’re doing it, whether you’re playing the type
straight or playing it for contrast. For a more serious
Chronicle, a computer is a detached and
professional Mission Control network system, while
the stuffed bear’s struggle against the limitations of
his form symbolize the desperate nature of the
nakama’s struggle to fight the Darkness with such
limited help. In a comedic Chronicle, the stuffed
bear gets into wacky antics, while the computer
tries to be a detached and professional Mission
Control and is constantly exasperated at the dumb
bullshit his nakama keeps getting into.
In the last step, you chose either the Shikigami’s
Drive or Dread to be aimed at how they interact
with the group. The other is more like a personality
trait or quirk all their own: something they’re About
that’s particular to their personality and how it
interacts with their new form. This Drive or Dread
works just like the version Princesses have in terms
of how it restores Willpower to the Shikigami.
A Shikigami’s personal Drive or Dread could be a
funny distraction, a source of bias or blind spots, or
a tragic reminder of what they sacrificed to be able
to help the nakama.
A Shikigami of a rabbit may have a Dread of larger
predators, because the animal vessel has a fear of
predators and the Shikigami spirit was shaken by the
fact he had no other options for a vessel than to
possess and reanimate a freshly-eviscerated rabbit.
A Shikigami made of a child’s toy with a Drive to get
sweets might prepare a reward of chocolate and
candy for the nakama after a job well done… and
then restore all Willpower by gorging himself on all
the treats before the nakama even gets there, being
found groaning in a pile of candy wrappers, and
proclaiming “I regret nothing.”
- Choose what physical form the Shikigami
has for its vessel: an inanimate object or
animal of Size 3 or less.
- Choose the remaining Dread or Drive to be
a way in which their new vessel affects
their behavior or personality.
Attributes
Shikigami have Power, Finesse, and Resistance
Attributes like ephemeral beings, even though they
are physically embodied. These Attributes reflect
how skilled they are in different approaches to
problems, and are added to their special Shikigami
Benefits or the nakama’s loaned Skills to determine
their dice pools.
- Put one dot in each of Power, Finesse, and
Resistance Attributes. Then assign 5 more
dots among those three Attributes.
Skills
Shikigami don’t have any Skills unless they
somehow buy an ability that says otherwise; they
will usually employ Skills lent from their nakama.
However, Shikigami never suffer untrained penalties
for Skill rolls, they may purchase Skill Specialties
without any dots in the associated skill, and they all
have the Interdisciplinary Specialty Merit applied to
all of them -- when channeling someone else’s Skill
or their own Benefits, they will be able to apply
their own Specialties.
- Don’t assign Skills to the Shikigami, but
pick three Skill Specialties. Each can be
applied to any Skill roll where it would be
relevant, regardless of particular Skill.
Shikigami Benefits
While Shikigami don’t have the thing that in the
Chronicles of Darkness rule system is called “Skills,”
they do have actual skills in that they are better at
some things than others. These are Shikigami
Benefits, and are less of an objective measure of
their own knowledge and more of an assessment of
what kind of things they can accomplish for the
group. They usually don’t need to be rolled, they
just add a benefit available to the nakama.
- Assign 7 dots among the five Advantages:
Coordination, Lore, Observation, Secrecy,
and Sneakiness.
Merits
Shikigami can purchase some Merits, but only ones
that make sense for a Shikigami to have. Maybe it
can maintain a false identity to have Allies or
Contacts over the phone and Internet, or it can
create a system of pulleys and place wooden blocks
on the pedals to make use of Stunt Driving. But
Giant or Small Frame won’t work, and Fighting
Styles are extremely unlikely to be helpful given
how weak they are. Shikigami can also buy the
Partner Shikigami Merit:
Partner Shikigami (•••)
The Shikigami also has a partner, either another
sent by the Queens or a “trainee” who was once a
ghost or spirit but wants to become a Shikigami. The
partner doesn’t have a separate set of benefits, but
now the group can have shikigami in two places at
once doing two different things.
- Assign 5 dots to Merits, picking only ones
that make sense for a shikigami to be able
to have.
Advantages
Now, you derive the various Advantages typical to a
character, like their Speed and Health. Shikigami are
weaker than most beings, and their Advantages
reflect this.
Shikigami don’t have much damage capacity,
because they’re small, and they’re kind of holding
their own bodies together. At least a Shikigami can’t A Shikigami’s own Luminous Experience can be
bleed out, because even if it’s in a living animal spent on advancing its abilities according to the
vessel the blood isn’t actually necessary for it to live table below. The group has to agree to any
in the short-term. It can hurt like absolute Bejesus expenditure of Experiences.
but a combination of being able to heal its own
vessel and the ability to just function in a nonliving
vessel means blood loss takes a long while to
Inner Light 5 XP / dot
actually become a problem.
Attribute 4 XP / dot
Shikigami have a Belief, Inner Light, Wisp reserve,
Skill Specialty 1 XP
and the ability to use Defiance like a Princess. They
don’t have a Calling or Queen, Oaths, or Dual Benefit 2 XP / dot
Identity (though they can always look like a
completely mundane version of whatever their Merit 1 XP / dot
vessel is so that’s at least something).

- A Shikigami’s Health is its Resistance +2,

regardless of its Size.
- A Shikigami’s Willpower is its Resistance +
Lore.
- A Shikigami’s Defense is its Finesse +
Sneakiness.
- A Shikigami’s Initiative is its Finesse +
Observation.
- A Shikigami’s Speed is its Power +
Coordination + Secrecy.
- A Shikigami’s Belief is 8.

Advancing Shikigami
Shikigami grow and develop in their capabilities just
like Princesses do. They only receive Luminous
Beats, not normal Beats. They can earn them
through their own actions, but it’s rare; most of the
time they accumulate a Luminous Beat when the
nakama as a whole gains a number of Luminous
Beats equal to the number of members it has.
Shikigami also get a Luminous Beat when one single
event (like the end of a session) grants every
member of the nakama a normal Beat.
Shikigami Benefits
Shikigami Benefits can be used in place of Skills in a
pinch. When one of the Benefits applies and nobody
spends a Wisp to channel their own Skill, roll the
Shikigami’s Attribute + Benefit. If they’re directly
carrying out a task related to that Advantage, it
doesn’t cost a Wisp; if not, they can use one of their
own Wisps to add it to their dice pool. Normal use
of these Benefits doesn’t take a dice roll at all; if
your Shikigami has Secrecy •, they don’t have to roll
to deceive whoever they are calling to spin a phony
story, they just do it.
Shikigami Benefits are all associated with specific
Charms and increasing them allows the Shikigami to
channel those Charms from their Princesses more
efficiently. At one dot, the Shikigami can cast the
base Charm with no Upgrades, and then gets one
additional Upgrade for each dot after that. They can
only use Charms and Upgrades that are channeled
through them by their nakama. The other functions
of the Shikigami Benefits work no matter what
Charms people have to channel.
Lore
Associated Charm: Restoration
Shikigami have access to a source of information
that no Princess could know, no matter how
well-read they are about the real world: the lore of
the Dreamlands and the Fearless Kingdoms, which
they are able to get from the source far more easily
than others. Lore is the Shikigami’s ability to gather,
coordinate, and recall that information for the
nakama’s use.
(-): The Shikigami knows the basics about the
Fearless Kingdoms and the Queens, the kind of stuff
that’s covered in this book’s “setting” chapter.
•: The Shikigami talks to the Queens enough to
regularly ferry messages and progress reports about
the nakama. Once per chapter per dot, a member of
the nakama can benefit from their Queen Mentor
without being able to take the time to go to the
Dreamlands and speak in depth, thanks to an
appropriate message and response that take about
an hour to relay.
••: The Shikigami is now well-traveled enough that
it’s able to provide enough information to count as a
2-dot Library for any and all Skills on the subjects of
the Fearless Kingdoms, the Dreamlands,
Nightscapes, and Darkspawn, allowing research that
would otherwise be impossible. Each roll using the
Library takes about four hours as the Shikigami goes
back and forth between the Princess asking
questions and the information sources it can look
up or ask about.
•••: The Shikigami is proactive and well-traveled
enough that it can provide the previous two
benefits without taking extra time. Even if it can’t
put the research information together to draw a
conclusion on its own, it has good enough recall of
facts that it doesn’t have to go back and check
sources, and it’s got enough foresight into what
problems might come up that it’s got a missive from
a Queen that’s suited for this particular situation.
Coordination
Associated Charm: Conjure
Shikigami can serve as organizers, logistics officers,
and even secretaries to their nakama, and their
Coordination measures how well they keep things
running smoothly. As Princesses need to live their
normal lives in addition to their magical ones, they
may be split up all over the place when danger
arrives, or they may not be easily able to reach each
other, and they will always find situations where
they need to talk to each other quickly without
warning.
(-): The Shikigami has a cell phone and everyone’s
cell phone numbers.
•: The Shikigami has a method of asynchronous
communication for the group that cannot be traced,
decrypted, or decoded, like the world’s most secure
group chat. No matter the circumstance, the
nakama can know things other members of the
nakama found out in previous scenes (though not
scenes that happen simultaneously), and know
when another nakama member needs something
that relates to whatever they’re presently dealing
with.
••: The Shikigami maintains a method of real-time
always-on group communication, like those cool
miniature headset microphones. You don’t need to
specifically “take a call” to use this, you can just
freely talk as if any member of the nakama was in
the room. Nobody can hear it when members talk
to you, and the communication is uncrackable and
untraceable by electronic or supernatural means,
but they can just, you know, listen to hear you
talking.
•••: The Shikigami maintains a method of real-time
always-on covert group communication, such as a
telepathic network, or a Codec that transmits sound
by reading subtle movements in your throat
muscles when you speak inaudibly and plays it to
others by vibrating the little bones in your ear.
Observation
Associated Charm: Detect
Since shikigami have oodles of free time on their
hands, they often engage in scouting and
reconnaissance operations in the area the nakama
operates, and can alert them of trouble brewing --
this also frees up the nakama to live their normal
lives rather than devote their blocks of free time to
scouting the area when they’d be much worse at it.
Observation is their ability to gather information
from the world by observation.
(-): The Shikigami has all day to stay inside and
watch TV, browse the Internet, read newspapers,
and other ways someone staying at home can get
information.
It will be generally aware enough of sources of
Darkness and potential Blossomings that it can
provide the information to start an adventure based
on locating these things, but not any more detail
than that.
•: The shikigami can get outside, and has all day to
watch a specific area you designate, so long as
there’s a way to remain hidden and inconspicuous.
They’ll see anyone going in and out, what activities
go on, anything an observer would notice when that
observer has all day and is inconspicuous.
••: The shikigami can now follow individuals around
even if they’re moving, or can locate and then
observe areas based on criteria: “Try to find any
new, suspicious flower stands that pop up” and the
like.
•••: Now the Shikigami has access to some “minor
Shikigami” acquaintances to carry out the abilities
of the previous two Tiers in multiple places at once.
Don’t give the minor Shikigami orders that are too
complicated or require too much discretion. They
don’t “get” a lot of things.
Sneakiness
Associated Charm: Force
Acting on or in the real world is always difficult for a
shikigami, because their powers are always weak
and aimed at support, but because they are aimed
at support they are still invaluable. The Sneakiness
Advantage covers both the ability to escape notice
and the ability to manipulate the environment,
because to a shikigami, they’ll always be linked..
(-): The Shikigami can mess up your room, and
probably will, but that’s about it.
•: The Shikigami can swipe unattended items and
fiddle with unattended objects, so long as you can
bring them nearby and there’s ample time to get in
and out without being observed.
••: The Shikigami can sneak into places on its own
accord, without you bringing them close by, but it
still can’t work with the risk of being caught: despite
being a small inconspicuous object or animal, it’s as
difficult to hide its actions as a full-sized human.
•••: The Shikigami can now work WITH the risk of
being caught, working with stealth when someone
is in the room with them, able to fully employ the
stealth benefits of being small and inconspicuous.
Secrecy
Associated Charm: Illusion
One of, perhaps THE, most valuable functions of a
Shikigami is keeping the secret identities of the
nakama secret. Though Dual Identity protects
against direct and immediate investigation, a lot of
sudden absences from her normal responsibilities --
especially if she’s in school -- will quickly tip others
off that Something is Up with the Princess. Secrecy
is the Shikigami’s ability to cover that up. Though
they shouldn’t directly interact with people in
person, Shikigami can use phones, (even if they
might have to tape a pen to their stuffed-animal
arms to be able to hit the number pad), they can
post on social media, they can forge notes and
verify cover stories.
(-): The Shikigami can do its best to forge
handwriting and make a few calls with a few fake
voices to come up with a plausible cover story for
why characters will be absent, if it has a day or so of
warning.
•: With minor illusions, quick thinking, and some
clever use of props, the Shikigami can now fabricate
a reason why characters will be absent with only a
few minutes' warning.
••: With slightly less minor illusions, decoys, skillful
puppetry, or an easily swappable mannequin vessel,
the Shikigami can also appear to be one of the
characters and play them in their normal life. (They
don’t have to choose ahead of time what member
they can appear as, they just can only be one
member at a time.) The Shikigami can’t perfectly
emulate the character, they can’t do very difficult
tasks and friends will report the character was
acting kind of weird, but it’s nothing TOO suspicious.
•••: Enlisting the help of its ephemeral
acquaintances, the Shikigami can emulate multiple
group members at once. Group members emulated
by these minor Shikigami are, uh… they’re going to
be acting pretty strangely, but nothing you can’t
explain away with heat stroke or food poisoning.
Embassies
Some Princesses think that saving the world is a task
with a much wider scope than just humanity and
the real world we live in. Those who do, join an
Embassy: a third, optional type of group for a
Princess to join that helps to define her character.
An Embassy is kind of a misleading name: while
there is an actual organization out in the
Dreamlands that you will seek out and learn from,
you’re not going to have formal diplomatic ties and
an office and immunity to parking tickets. You
become an “ambassador” to some part or aspect of
the world, taking responsibility for it, bringing the
Light of Hope to it, and adapting your magical
nature to interact with it. You and your friends can
now carry the Light to new dark places that need it
most.
Not every Princess joins an Embassy; they come
with drawbacks as well as advantages and some
people simply don’t see any of these things as being
part of their identity. A Princess must have a base
Inner Light of 2 or higher to join any Embassy, and
each Embassy will list its own particular
requirements: a certain amount of Attributes, Skills,
or Merits, and some other deed or experience that
your character has gone through that helps you
understand what this aspect of the world is.
Joining an Embassy gives several benefits, a new
weakness or obligation, and an Oath.
An Embassy always provides access. This is an ability
that not only allows the Princess herself, but
everyone with her, to travel in or interact with the
purview of her Embassy.
An Embassy gives a signature upgrade for a Charm
it’s associated with. It’s primarily, but not
exclusively, useful for interacting with the Embassy’s
purview. It won’t give you the base Charm if you
don’t have it, but unlocks as soon as you buy that
Charm.
An Embassy also gives a unique power to the
Princess, which is themed or flavored after the
purview of the Embassy but also useful in other
situations.
Joining an Embassy also confers a weakness, a Ban,
Bane, or new vulnerability that comes associated
with the Embassy’s purview.
Finally, and most importantly, joining an Embassy
involves taking an Oath. Just like the Three Oaths of
your Calling, you will devise an Oath that ties into
the Embassy’s purview and how you think it should
be in the best of all possible worlds, and you will
gain a Luminous Beat for upholding it and suffer a
Compromise for breaking it. This Oath is active at all
tiers of Belief, but the actions that break or uphold it
are wider or narrower as appropriate to the tier.
Something that provokes a Compromise of your
Embassy Oath at 8 Belief probably isn’t severe
enough to provoke a Compromise at 3 Belief.
Embassies are ways to customize and express your
character, but also to allow the group to have more
different types of stories. If you join the Embassy to
Death, not only do you have the power to interact
with ghosts, the whole group does -- allowing you to
take on tasks involving ghosts. Embassies are also a
good way to justify a crossover Chronicle or putting
a Princess in another type of Chronicle.
 What Can The Harvest Hope For

Embassy to Death
All things must end, even us. Death awaits us all, its
arms welcoming us into its embrace. Death takes us
in and tells us “it’s all right now, you can rest.”
After all, our life is the story we tell about ourselves.
And what is a story without an ending? Not much,
that’s what. Death is when we look back on the
story we told and see it was good -- or decide to be
reincarnated and take another shot at it. Death is
when our actions speak for us the loudest, as we
see how we’ve affected everyone we’ve ever
touched and left behind.
Death will always be sad. It’s sad when anything
ends. But it can be bittersweet, and it should be. We
should not be tied down by unfinished business and
regret, and we should not be so afraid of death
coming that we can’t live our lives. The
Ambassadors to Death make sure of that.
Purview: Ghosts and the process of dying.
Signature Charm: Kiai
Requirements: Resolve 3 and the Patient Merit. You
must have been present at the peaceful death of
another human being.
Upgrade: Ghostly Strike
Your scything Kiai attack now strikes across planes,
to protect against the malevolent dead, or beat
some sense into the
less-malevolent-but-still-unreasonable dead.
Your Strike now hits ephemeral entities in the
Twilight state and its damage does not downgrade
for not incorporating a Bane. You may choose if this
is in addition to or instead of striking the material
world; if you strike only in Twilight, you might be
able to slice through certain connections like the
Fetter Manifestation Condition, at the Storyteller’s
discretion.
Power: ???
Weakness: ???
Sample Oaths: “I want to make sure that people’s
final wishes are honored.” “I want to ensure that
people don’t die afraid.” “I want the dead to be
remembered.”

Access: For one Wisp, an Ambassador to Death can

ever so slightly lift the veil in an area around her,
causing all nearby ghosts in a Twilight state to
become visible and audible to living humans.

For one Willpower, she may conjure a ball of ghostly

blue ectoplasm and give it to a ghost; the ghost may
use it as a temporary Anchor and may use the
Materialize Manifestation through it for free,
ignoring any other cost or requirements.
 Trick-Or-Treat At Dracula’s Castle
Embassy to Night
Ambassadors to Night are often the most
light-hearted and kind Princesses that other
supernatural beasts will see; Graces most easily fit
their requirements and Princesses of Spades and
Jewels most often feel called to it. Their uplifting
demeanor is not a contrast to the seriousness of
their task, but a direct address of it: the Embassy to
Night is called upon to disarm and redeem fear
itself.
Fear is a fact of the world now, and we can never be
rid of it. But there are ways to make fear fun. Horror
movies are fun! Haunted houses are fun! The
Embassy to Night seeks to make “terrifying” into
“thrilling” or “spoopy.”
Beings of the night that strike fear into our hearts
can have a right to exist but don’t have to be dicks
about it. After all, sexy vampires can be fun too!
They may think there’s no way to happily, peacefully
coexist, but they’re wrong. Show them.
Purview: Intelligent supernatural creatures who
must harm others in some way to live, most often
vampires.
Signature Charm: Plea
Requirements: Persuasion 3 and Intimidation 2. You
must have met another type of intelligent
supernatural creature and parted on friendly terms.
Access: An Ambassador to Night can convert her
Wisps into an equal quantity of another
supernatural resource like Vitae, Pyros, or Aether
(not Essence or Mana, though), which they may
then give to another creature.
An Ambassador to Night can spend 1 Willpower to
attempt to counter a non-Princess supernatural
ability used in her presence by forcing it into a Clash
of Wills against her Inner Light + Belief. She can only
do this if she knows specifically what the ability is
and how the creature gained or uses it, such as
what vampiric Discipline it is.
Upgrade: Reminiscent Plea
Your Plea can now stir the hearts of those who
thought they’d forgotten humanity long ago. Your
speech is effective against an audience who has a
replacement stat for Integrity (other than Belief
itself), which is most often a vampire’s Humanity.
Subtract the audience’s Supernatural Tolerance from
the roll.
The favor you ask for may be “and please raise your
Integrity replacement stat by an amount equal to
my successes for a number of days equal to my
Inner Light.”
Raising the audience’s Integrity-equivalent also
undoes the effects of inuring themselves to sins and
evil acts that they no longer roll Breaking Points for.
Any failure on a Breaking Point roll brought on by
their own evil actions during the duration
automatically becomes a Dramatic Failure, and
when the effect wears off, if they lost
Integrity-equivalent during the effect, it will go
down to a lower number than it started with.
Power: ???
Weakness: Becoming an Ambassador to Night does
not weaken your connection to the Light of Hope,
but the light of the Sun becomes a problem. While
in direct sunlight, you must spend a Willpower to
use any aspect of your Transformation other than
Dual Identity, including Charms, Defiance, or
Transformation-specific Merits.

Sample Oaths: “I want to give people a scare that

ends up making them happy or excited.” “I want to
show monsters that we can still be friends.” “I want
to ensure nobody thinks they have to turn their
back on their own humanity.”
 Mermaid Melody
Embassy to Oceans
The ocean. It’s deep, dark, full of danger. There are
places so deep, light from the Sun has never
reached them. And if you managed to live in one of
those places, there would still be realms so much
deeper they would be nearly impossible to imagine.
It is the home of horrible creatures yet unseen, and
the fish that allowed civilization to flourish. It lifts
vessels for trade and also swallows them whole.
Great leviathans who slumber in the deep may have
existed long before humanity, long before the
All-Consuming Darkness, and may yet outlive us.
Why should that make you afraid? It should make
you excited! The depths are a place of wonder and
discovery and new things and old lost treasures. If
there is life there that’s unlike humanity, great, we
will probably find each other very interesting! If
great wrecked ships lie at the bottom of the seabed,
we have a chance to make sure whatever task their
crew was on is finished. A creature we’ve never
seen before could teach us so much!
The Earth is over 70% water, why only focus on
land? The Embassy to Oceans says that’s silly talk!
Purview: Large bodies of water and the things that
live inside them. Mermaids, if mermaids in fact
exist.
Signature Charm: Step
Requirements: Stamina 3 and Athletics 2. You must
have personally gathered something from the
ground, while swimming, for no other reason than
you thought it was neat -- if you did it to get into the
Embassy it doesn’t count.
Access: For one Wisp, an Ambassador to Oceans can
make herself and any number of associates she
kisses able to comfortably breathe and see through
water (even salt water) for one scene.
For one Willpower, the Ambassador can also grant
the ability to survive at any level of pressure to
these associates, and they can shapeshift their legs
to mermaid tails and back.
Upgrade: Fathom Step
You don’t move through water as easily as air -- it’s
easier. During Step, when you interact with water or
water-based liquid, you selectively interact with it as
if it had whatever density and hardness you feel like.
You can run on the water’s surface or sprint through
it when it’s waist deep. You can swim through it as if
you were flying through the sky without wind
resistance, allowing you to swim at twice your
regular Movement, or negate the damage from
falling ten miles by landing in a puddle. You can do a
wall-jump off of the spray out of a lawn sprinkler, or
walk through a storm without getting wet.
Power: ???
Weakness: ???
 The Arsenal Of Friendship
Appendix I: Regalia
When a Princess transforms, she doesn’t just
assume the form of her perfected self: the tools and
implements of her mission and Calling come to her
hand. “Regalia” is the general term for all of the
objects and implements that come with
transformation -- your outfit, accessories, what have
you -- but dots in the Regalia Merit are what you
use to build “Regalia Equipment” with mechanical
benefits.
Each piece of Regalia Equipment is rated at 1-5 dots,
and are all custom-built by the player according to
the charts and guidelines below by buying up all the
different values and adding penalties to get more
points. Each dot of Regalia gives the player 3 points
to spend on modifications, and the value of any of
those modifications can’t exceed the Regalia’s dots
+1. So you can’t take a one-dot Regalia for armor,
dump the Defense penalty to -10, and then have 4
points of general armor.
Princesses can summon any and all Regalia as part
of her Transformation, and while Transformed can
summon or dismiss any of her Regalia as an instant
action. The “Practical” and “Charmed” Tags on
Regalia Equipment can allow her to do the same
while in their mundane identity. All Regalia gains
Durability equal to the Princess’s Inner Light. If
Regalia is destroyed, unwillingly or intentionally, the
Princess can re-create it with about an hour’s worth
of work while Transformed; no roll is necessary.
PIeces of Regalia have the strongest possible
connection to their owner’s perfected self, but in all
but one case (which is her Phylactery), a Princess
can just use an instant action to recall the Regalia to
her hand or dismiss it from reality, and it vanishes
when she ends her Transformation. So there’s little
chance of that connection being used against her.
Any use of a supernatural power directly against
Regalia, such as to damage or disable it, triggers a
Clash of Wills, and the Regalia gains a bonus for a
magic effect lasting a year or more.
Regalia is highly customizable because it, like
everything about a Princess, is an expression of her
personality and how she sees the world. Not only
will you apply a bunch of equipment modifications
to your Regalia Equipment, you can decide what
form they take. As long as it gets across the idea of
what the Regalia Equipment does, the stat block of
your Regalia Equipment can represent any physical
object you want. The same stat block for a weapon
could represent a spiked oni club, a rocket
sledgehammer, or a street sign apparently ripped
out of the ground, so long as it looks like it could
have the devastating power and cumbersome
weight. Function is not impeded by form, so long as
it gets across the idea -- you can’t use this to make
your Regalia inconspicuous and not appear to do
anything, and it’s clear this is a Thing that Does
Something.
Armor Regalia
Armor Regalia is what you wear to protect your
body and enhance your ability to survive attack. All
Armor Regalia starts off with 1 Strength
Requirement and 0 in every other attribute. It can
penalize your Defense and Speed, or add to it by
sacrificing other attributes in the name of being
graceful and adept.
could simply become thicker and more
combat-focused. Light armor might look more
formal or more chic, becoming a wedding outfit, a
daring bespoke designer piece, maybe something
with flowing ribbons or veils. Heavy power armor
looks like an OmniMech or the T-60 from Fallout,
light power armor looks like an EVA unit or an
articulated jet-boost frame.
Whatever the form your armor takes, adding more
frills is always an option.

Modification Cost
General Armor: The amount of damage the armor
General Armor -3 stops. After applying ballistic armor, prevent this
Ballistic Armor -1 much damage from the attack, starting with the
most severe.
Add Defense -2
Ballistic Armor: The amount of damage the armor
Add Speed -1
specifically stops from supersonic or high-speed
Add Tag -1 to-3 ranged attacks. If an attack normally would deny
your Defense, even if you had an ability that let you
Strength Requirement +1/dot keep your Defense anyway, Ballistic Armor applies
Lower Coverage +1 to +3 to it. For each point of ballistic armor, downgrade
one point of lethal damage to one point of bashing
Lower Defense +1 damage, before applying general armor.

Lower Speed +1 per 2

Appearance: Anything that looks like it can defend
you, that you wear, can serve as Regalia Armor. No
matter what form it takes, it’ll be obvious that it’s
defending you, too.
Heavy armor is what focuses on armor values to
prevent damage, while light armor focuses on
adding Defense and Speed and not much direct
protection. Heavy Armor at low dot ratings might be
accessories like armored bracers and boots, then
become light plate and ceremonial armor, or it
Weapons and abilities that negate Defense, most
commonly guns, will go against Ballistic Armor.
Abilities that lower Defense, like the Kiai Charm,
won’t, even if they lower Defense to 0.
Add / Lower Defense: The bonus or penalty applied
to your Defense while using the armor. Heavy armor
can sacrifice this for more protection, slowing you
down and applying a penalty, but light armor can
grant a bonus. If you can’t move, you can’t apply
Defense.
Add / Lower Speed: The bonus or penalty applied
to your Movement while using the armor. Like
above, Heavy Armor will penalize it for the sake of
adding armor, and Light Armor will enhance it.

Strength Requirement: The amount of Strength

required to move in the armor. For each dot of
Strength you’re below the requirement, you take a
-1 to all physical actions and your Speed. Heavier
armor is harder to move in but protects more.

Lower Coverage: All Regalia armor covers the entire

body by default. More specifically, as long as there’s
a bit of Regalia on some part of your body, the
armor covers that entire body part. Bracelets,
gloves, or wristguards are sufficient to armor the
arms, and a tiara or hair barrette covers like a full
helmet. High-heeled shoes are leg armor if they’re
flashy enough. If you want to free up additional
points, you can reduce the area the armor covers;
generally you’ll want to do this if you’re focused on
boosting Speed and Defense, which don’t care
about what part of the body they’re on. You can
remove coverage from the head, arms, legs, and
torso for 1 point each, but you have to leave at least
one part covered or else you aren’t wearing any
armor.

Add Tag: Add a special property to the armor, like

being enclosed against environmental hazards,
being fireproof, being insulated or cooling,
absorbing fall damage, that kind of thing.
Weapon Regalia
should only do this on weapons that already have
Accurate.

Weapon Regalia can be anything that lands hits. As
serious as chain-and-sickle or as whimsical as a set
of yo-yos, as practical as a revolver or as fantastic as
a magic wand. Weapons start with 1 Damage, 1
Strength Requirement, and 0 in everything else.
Ranged weapons also start with a range of “Short”,
and by default they use Athletics to attack and allow
the defender to apply Defense.
Modification Cost
Increase Range: For ranged weapons only. Improve
the maximum range the weapon operates at.
“Close” is from around arm’s reach up to 5 meters;
this is a range that ranged weapons have penalties
at. “Short” (the starting value) is out of arm’s reach
but up to 30m, Med up to 100, Long up to 300, and
Extreme is beyond that. Distant firing is still subject
to the normal range penalties, but if you fire a
weapon outside its maximum distance the attack
roll is reduced to a chance die.

Add Damage -3 Strength Requirement: The amount of Strength

Expand Arsenal -3 required to effectively wield the weapon. For each
dot you’re lower than the requirement, all attacks
Add Accuracy -2 with that weapon get a -1 penalty.

Add Initiative -1
Expand Arsenal: Turn one Regalia into two, allowing
Increase Range (Ranged Only) -1 you to bring different weapons for different
purposes. For each time you took Expand Arsenal,
Add Tags -1 to -3 you get another Regalia Weapon at the same dot
Increase Strength Requirement +1/dot value that also has Expand Arsenal but has all of its
other points allocated independently. Use this to
Lower Initiative +1 per 2 dual-wield, get a melee and ranged weapon, a
sword and shield, a power weapon and a precision
Add Drawbacks +1 to +2
weapon, or any other weapon combo. If you have
Expand Arsenal twice, then you get three weapons,
Damage: The automatic damage dealt by attacks all of which have Expand Arsenal twice, and etc.
with this weapon when the attack roll succeeds. All
weapons deal Lethal damage by default, but Add Tags / Drawbacks: Beneficial or detrimental
knowing the Kiai Charm allows you to deal bashing extra properties of the weapon, listed below.
damage if you choose. Anything that allows you to add your weapon’s
bonus to something, or double your weapon’s
Add / Lower Initiative: The bonus or penalty to your bonus, will allow you to add the lower of your
Initiative while wielding this weapon. Initiative can Strength or Dexterity instead if the weapon’s bonus
be lowered by up to twice the number of dots the is lower than that. Everything is 1 point unless
equipment represents, instead of just the dot value. otherwise specified.

Add Accuracy: Get +1 to attack rolls with this 9-Again, 8-Again: Attack rolls with this weapon gain
weapon for every Accuracy added. Since the 9-Again or 8-Again. You need to have 9-Again to buy
Accurate tag only costs 1 point and this costs 2, you 8-Again as a modification.
Two-Handed: This weapon must be used in two
hands. If you try to use it with one hand, all your
attacks are -1. This is a drawback, so it grants 1
modification.
Piercing X: Subtract X points from the target’s
relevant Armor. Ballistic Armor is reduced first if it
applies. Each point of Piercing costs 1.
Knockdown: Double the weapon’s bonus for
purposes of causing the Knockdown Tilt.
Stun: Halve the victim’s Size when aiming for the
head with intent to stun.
Grapple: Add the weapon’s bonus to your dice pool
when grappling. Melee only.
Reach: You get +1 Defense against enemies with
melee weapons of lower Size than yours, and you
can initiate attacks from farther away than a normal
weapon of this Size. This weapon can’t be used in a
Grapple unless it also has the Grapple quality. Melee
only.
Finesse: This weapon uses your Dexterity instead of
your Strength to attack, even if you don’t have the
associated Fighting Finesse Merit. If you do have
that Merit, it gains Piercing +2. Melee only.
Shield: If you don’t use this weapon to attack, you
may subtract its Size rating from all attacks against
you as a concealment modifier (but you can’t also
apply your Defense against ranged attacks if you
have an ability that lets you do that). This
modification costs 1 point for each Size of the
weapon. Melee only.
Cover: The Shield now provides Cover. Obviously,
you need the Shield property for this to work.
Guard: Gain +1 Defense while using this weapon.
Charge: You don’t have to sacrifice your Defense to
make a charge attack with this weapon (CofD, p. 92)
Accurate: Get +1 to attack rolls with this weapon.
Inaccurate: Get -1 to attack rolls with this weapon.
This is a drawback, so it grants 1 modification. Can’t
be taken with Accurate.
Bleed: Dealing damage in excess of the target’s
Stamina in a single attack causes the Bleed tilt.
Brawl: This weapon uses Brawl, not Weaponry, to
attack. This modification costs 0 points, but can’t be
applied to any weapon higher than Size 2. Melee
only.
Quick Draw: Readying or unreadying this weapon is
a reflexive action even if you don’t have the
applicable Quick Draw Merit. If you do, increase the
initiative modifier on the weapon by +4.
Disarm: You can make a called shot to part of an
opponent’s body holding a weapon, and the penalty
from that called shot is reduced by 1. If you hit, the
opponent must succeed on a reflexive Strength +
Stamina roll penalized by your Dexterity, or drop the
weapon. Melee only.
Cumbersome: This weapon is designed around firing
at its maximum range. When you fire it at a range
band closer than its maximum, you get a -1 for each
range band difference between it and the maximum
and don’t benefit from Accurate or accuracy
bonuses. This is a drawback, so it grants 2
modifications. Ranged only.
Firearm: This weapon’s projectile is fast enough that
it uses the Firearms skill instead of Athletics, the
target is not normally entitled to Defense, and firing
the weapon becomes loud as hell. This costs 3
modifications to add. Ranged only.
Silent: Despite being a firearm, shooting this
weapon is just as quiet as a bow or knife. Requires
Firearm.

Buster: This weapon also serves as Regalia for the

Buster Charm. When you cast Buster, you apply its
damage and traits to the roll (other than Burst and
Autofire).

Burst: This weapon is capable of medium bursts and

covering fire (CofD, p.90). Since ranged Regalia do
not have a Capacity, using these attacks just costs an
extra Wisp. Ranged only.

Autofire: This weapon is capable of long bursts of

fire (CofD, p.90). Since ranged Regalia do not have a
capacity, using a long burst costs an extra Wisp, and
once you’ve used it, you can’t use another long or
short burst until you spend a round reloading
and/or recharging your weapon. Requires Burst.

Practical: This Regalia can be summoned to you

while you’re not Transformed, and used as a piece
of mundane equipment.

Charmed: Not only can this Regalia be used like

mundane equipment, you can cast an associated
Charm (i. e., Kiai or Buster) through it while you’re
not Transformed. Your Dual Identity won’t protect
you from being associated with this magic, so be
careful! Requires Practical.
Charm Regalia
Anything that helps you use a Skill can be a piece of
Regalia, which is pretty much… anything! Each
Charm listed some potential examples of what
might serve as Regalia for it, and that’s by no means
the limit. Regalia can be expanded to cover a wide
variety of stuff, but you do have to justify why the
same piece of Regalia can be used for all those
applications; you can’t just say “this Band-Aid also
adds to my Larceny because shut up,” but you might
say “these gloves make my hands impossibly steady
so I can perform delicate surgery or delicate
lockpicking with equal proficiency.”
Each piece of Charm Regalia is a piece of equipment
that is keyed to one Skill and one Charm. When you
cast a Charm that uses that Skill, or a Charm that
could have used that Skill with one of the Upgrades
you applied but you picked another skill to roll
(maybe because one of the other upgrades required
a certain Skill to apply), apply its dice bonus. Charm
Regalia starts with a dice bonus of +1 and no other
traits. Without Emulate Equipment, the Regalia
can’t be used for mundane rolls. Since Step isn’t
rolled, Step Regalia gets 2 additional points for free;
get at least one “Emulate Equipment.”
Modification Cost
+1 equipment bonus -2
Additional Charm -2, only once
Additional Skill -2, only once
Emulate Equipment -1
Practical -1
Charmed -1, requires Practical
Buster -1
Additional Charm: Choose another Charm to cover;
the Regalia Equipment lends its equipment bonus to
that Charm as well, as long as you’re using a Skill the
Regalia covers.
Additional Skill: Choose another Skill to cover; the
Regalia Equipment can also apply its bonus if you
cast the Charm with that Skill. This is not very useful
when you only use it for the Charm casting, but
becomes more useful with other modifications.
Emulate Equipment: This Regalia now has the
mundane functionality of a piece of other
equipment, such as the ones listed in the CofD core,
other supplements, or something the Storyteller
agrees is about that powerful. In general, this will
allow you to apply the bonus to rolls that are about
as narrowly or widely defined as a single Specialty,
might let you do something that can only be
accomplished with Equipment (like how you need
hacking software to hack things), and can give a
miscellaneous bonus (like how tape recorders can
hear things when you aren’t there, or duct tape can
slap an extra Durability onto something, or a
smartphone can play gacha games).
Practical: This Regalia can be used for its mundane
effect when you’re not Transformed.
Charmed: This Regalia can be used to cast the
associated Charm even while you’re not
Transformed. Your Dual Identity won’t protect you
against being associated with the magic, so be
careful. You’re still casting the Charm yourself, so
you can’t give this to someone else to give them the
capability to cast the Charm. Requires Practical.
Buster: This Regalia also can be used to cast the
Buster Charm; this won’t count against the limit of 1
“Additional Charm” and when you cast Buster with
it you add a damage rating of 1.
Example Regalia Creation
Miley knows what she’s about: she wants thick
armor and a big sword. She started with 3 dots in
Regalia and spent 1 more of her Merit dots on it at
creation, so to make it easy she’ll just assign 2 dots
to each piece of gear. She will have 6 points of
modifications to build each piece of Regalia
Equipment with.
Armor: 6 points of modifications buys 2 points of
general armor. Right off the bat, that sounds good.
But then she realizes that with her Strength of 4,
she can accommodate heavier gear. She can’t
increase the Strength requirement to 4, because the
maximum any number can go is 1 more than the
dots in Regalia, so her 2-dot Regalia can only have a
maximum Strength requirement of 3. She ups the
required Strength to 3, giving herself 2 more points
to work with -- she puts those into Ballistic Armor,
so now she has extra protection against guns. She
has 2/2 armor that applies no penalty to Defense or
Speed, which is pretty sweet.
The group has already decided on a basic “look”
that their Regalia will accent or accessorize, so she
decides it’s going to look like a light breastplate with
a badass duster jacket, like if Joan of Arc was an Old
West cowgirl, over the basic outfit.
Melee: 6 points of modifications is 2 lethal damage,
so if she stops there, she can have a weapon that’s
3L and nothing else. But she knows that as a
Kiai-using Champion, this weapon is going to do a
lot for her, so she wants it to be cool and versatile
and enable her to do distinct things. So, right off the
bat, she ups the Strength requirement to 3, that
gives her 2 more points to play with. Her third
affinity is Step, so she knows she wants to benefit
from being mobile, and looks over the list of
weapon tags. Ooh, if she has Reach, she can benefit
from superior maneuverability, and add to her
Defense in melee. And if she has Charge, she can
benefit from superior speed and still keep that high
Defense!
Forget a sword, what if she has a lance or a spear?
“Reach” and “Charge” each cost 1, so the increased
Strength requirement pays for those. What else
goes good with a lance that makes charge attacks?
Knockdown seems all right, she can blaze into
someone at full tilt and knock them over. She can
take the 2-Handed tag to pay for that. If she wants
to do charge attacks really well, what if the lance is
built to do that. So what if it’s a rocket lance that
has a jet booster to propel her forward? That would
be sick! She figures that would give her an Initiative
bonus, because it makes her faster. She could take
more negative tags to pay for some bonus Initiative,
but she doesn’t really want to. Instead, she lowers
the damage of the weapon to 2L, freeing up 3
points to work with. She puts 2 of them into an
Initiative bonus and the last one into Piercing, so
against armored targets, she has the same
effectiveness as 3L.
She ends up with a rocket lance that does 2L
damage, grants her a +2 bonus to Initiative, and has
the 2-Handed, Reach, Charge, Knockdown, and
Piercing 1 tags.
Johnny knows he isn’t going to be as
combat-focused as Miley. His Troubadour is going to
stay back while Miley rushes headlong into danger,
so his armor isn’t as high a priority, and he doesn’t
want a dedicated weapon: he wants a Charm tool
that also helps his Buster when he’s ready to apply a
finisher. With his 3 starting Regalia dots, he puts one
into armor and two into a Charm Regalia.
Armor: Johnny does not plan to take hits in melee. If
Johnny takes hits in melee, something has gone
horrifically wrong. Since his plan for melee is to not
stay there, he figures he can rely more on Defiance
to stop damage when things get wild. With his 1 dot
Regalia Armor, he has 3 points to use, and he can
increase the Strength Requirement to 2, which is
good, because 2 is all the Strength he has. A point of
General Armor would take almost everything he
has, so he’s going to skip it. Instead, he’s going to
get 2 points of Ballistic Armor and spend the other 2
points to add 1 to his Defense. He’s not as tanky as
Miley, but that’s also not his job.
When deciding what it looks like, he pauses for a
moment before realizing there’s only one thing that
can both protect him and pay respect to the
Godfather of Soul: Johnny has a red sequin cape
over his basic outfit that provides 0/2 armor and +1
Defense, exactly like James Brown did. That was the
exact stat line, you can look it up.
someone. He has a golden microphone on a
microphone stand that applies a +2 equipment
bonus. The bonus applies to the Anthem Charm or
the Plea Charm when they use the Expression skill,
his own mundane uses of the Expression skill for
singing, and the Buster Charm, which it adds a
weapon bonus of 1L to. It can also record sounds it
picks up, whether his voice or from the
environment, to play back later -- that will let him
employ Artistic Plea and Recorded Anthem no
matter what circumstance he’s in.

Charm: Johnny knows he’s going to need a

microphone. He’s got Anthem and Plea, and both of
those involve verbal communication. His mic is an
Anthem Charm Regalia, keyed to Expression,
because Expression is what you have to use for
Anthem. So with 2 dots of Regalia allocated to his
microphone, he has 6 points to assign. Another
point of Equipment Bonus is always nice, so he
spends 2 on that, to increase the bonus to +2. If he
wants to use the mic for Plea, then he needs to
spend 2 points to buy Another Charm. He’ll need
the Artistic Plea Upgrade to use Expression for Plea,
but he already knew that and took it -- his
performance is his art. He wants this to also serve as
his Buster Regalia, leveling his opponents with a
musical burst of power, so that’s one more point.
With the last point he needs to add Emulate
Equipment so it can apply to some mundane skill.
He decides that it will have the properties of a
recording booth microphone, so it can apply its
equipment bonus to singing, and also record sounds
to play later.

A handheld microphone, or a stand mic? Hmm, a

mic on a stand lets him pick up the stand and swing
it and emphasize with it like he’s dancing with
 Lingering Shadows
Appendix II: Tilts and Conditions

do so -- she gains a -2 penalty to all Mental and

Emotionally Invested Social rolls.

Condition - Emotional - Light - Princess - Stacking

Beat: Your character’s obsession with this one
source of danger or failure leads her to some other
You have flared your Belief to strengthen your Inner
kind of danger or failure.
Light, investing part of your self-image in your ability
to triumph. Note a goal when you gain this
Resolution: Gain a dot of Belief, lose another dot of
Condition; if you already have any stacks of this
Belief, or score an Exceptional Success on a
Condition, the goal must be more specific and
Compromise roll.
difficult than the ones you already have.

Resolution: Succeed in the goal you set when you Doubting

got this Condition. Gain a Luminous Beat instead of
Condition - Emotional - Princess
a normal one.
What if you’re not good enough? You failed. Maybe
Failure: Fail to achieve the goal you set when you
failing is all you can do. Your character, after a
got this Condition. Lose this Condition, do not gain a
Compromise or a close brush with it, is doubting her
Beat, and lose a Belief dot.
own abilities and worth so much it weakens her
magic.
Hypervigilant
Resolution: Lock out access to a single relevant
Condition - Emotional - Princess - Persistent
Charm for one scene; you’re so inside your own
head that your magic sputters and fizzles, and you
No. Not again. Never again. You failed someone, or
have to use other means.
failed yourself, in such a traumatic way that you’ve
become obsessed with never letting it happen
again. If your character hasn’t taken action in the Pacify
current scene to prevent this failure from happening
Tilt - Magical - Emotional - Light
again -- even if there’s no way she could realistically

You have a penalty to any hostile action equal to the
successes of the Charm that caused this Tilt, and
any failure on hostile action automatically becomes
a Dramatic Failure.
Cause: Someone used the Calming Upgrade to the
Plea Charm on you.
Ending: Once someone under the Pacify Tilt takes a
hostile action, the Tilt expires from everyone.
Challenged
Tilt - Magical - Light - Stacking
Your next action that requires a die roll is -2 for each
stack of this Tilt, unless that action is a direct attack
against someone who inflicted this Tilt on you. This
won’t affect rolls to contest abilities used on you,
and if you’re under a Challenged effect from
multiple people, you can attack either one of them
without penalty.
Cause: Someone used the Duel Challenge Upgrade
to the Kiai Charm on you.
Ending: Once you take an action that requires a die
roll, whether it was an attack or not, all stacks of
this Tilt expire.
Shadows
Condition - Emotional - Darkness - Princess -
Stacking
Your Sensitivity to the Darkness wears on you and
weakens your spirit. If you only have one stack of
this Condition, you suffer only minor symptoms that
are mostly psychosomatic. For each stack of this
Condition after the first, your effective Inner Light is
reduced by 1, to a minimum of 1.
Cause: A nearby font of Pure Darkness or repeated
acts of great Darkness have gone on for too long
without making any headway against them.
Ending: At the end of any scene in which you make
significant progress against the source of Darkness,
remove a stack. If you defeat the source of
Darkness, remove all stacks.
Dead Inside
Condition - Emotional - Princess - Persistent
You have lost all Belief, and thus all conviction. Not
just conviction in your virtue or conviction in your
cause -- conviction that there’s any point in
continuing to draw breath. Listless and enervated,
with no joy or respite from anything, your soul
disintegrates like wet newspaper.
You cannot access any of the aspects of the Princess
template, not even your Drive and Dread. You
cannot regain or spend Willpower or Wisps for any
reason. You lose a Willpower dot every day you
have this Condition.
Cause: You lost all your Belief.
Ending: There are two ways this ends. One, your
friends succeed on a Social Maneuvering task to
remind you of what keeps you going and one of
them spends an Experience, which recovers one
Belief; every time thereafter you embody your Drive
you recover a Willpower dot you lost to this
Condition.
The second is, you lose your last Willpower dot, and
die. If you don’t die by your own hand, your body
just gives up. The Darkness gives you one final offer:
accept it and become Enthroned.
Galemark
Condition - Mental - Dreamlands - Stacking
The Gales of the Dreamlands howl in your ears, and
you are succumbing to its dream-logic. If you have
one stack, you’re fine. For every stack after the first,
you have a -1 penalty to recall specific information
from outside/inside the Dreamlands while
inside/outside the Dreamlands.
Cause: You were subject to the Gales, rolled Belief,
and gained more successes than your current stacks
of Galemark.
Ending: Lose 1 stack of Galemark when you wake up
from the Dreamlands trip where you gained one or
more stacks of Galemark. Lose 1 stack of Galemark
for each night you choose to go without dreaming
and forfeit the Willpower you would normally gain.
Gale-Lock
Condition - Mental - Dreamlands - Stacking -
Persistent
The effect of the Gales has been reinforced on your
spirit, and instead of distracting you from recalling
memories of the real world, they are being
replaced. For each stack of Gale-Lock, some of your
memories have been altered and replaced with
memories of a life in the Dreamlands. The more
stacks, the more important the memories. At five
stacks, your body is comatose and you remember
nothing of the real world.
As you become more swept up in the dream
narrative, focusing on specifics becomes harder. For
each stack of Gale-Lock, you get -1 to all rolls you
choose to make that could be in line with
embodying your Drive, but aren’t.
You can’t have more stacks of Gale-Lock than
Galemark. You can’t lose Galemark stacks if they’d
take you below your Gale-Locks.
Cause: You had existing Galemarks that were locked
by someone with the Dream Warden Numen.
Ending: When the Warden responsible dies, all
stacks of Gale-Lock are removed and you become
completely and permanently immune to every
single one of that Warden’s powers once it reforms.
Your friends and allies can attempt to remove
Gale-Lock stacks by fighting against the efforts of
the Warden, presenting evidence of strong and
important memories that are foundational to your
identity, and succeeding on social rolls to convince
you of their relevance.
Gale-Blind
Condition - Mental - Dreamlands - Persistent
You may be aware that you’re not in the real world,
but that doesn’t change the fact that the
inexplicable knowledge and unnoticed changes of
the dream world are your natural and expected
environment. You automatically fail any attempt to
discern what things you know are relayed from the
real world and what are facts from the dream world.
You cannot perceive Wardens unless you are aware
of their existence and succeed at an active
perception attempt with a -5 penalty. You don’t
notice dream-logic as unusual unless it is pointed
out to you.
Cause: You are a Lucid native resident of the
Dreamlands, or you are a normal resident of the
real world who has naturally entered the
Dreamlands as part of their normal sleep schedule.
Ending: If you are a person from the real world
who’s asleep, Gale-Blind ends when you wake up or
someone makes a concerted effort to snap you out
of it. If you are a Lucid native of the Dreamlands,
this Condition is a fundamental part of your
existence and can’t be ended.
Fractured: Avoidant
Condition - Emotional - Fractured
Your fears constantly appear in the corners of your
vision, because they’re spilling out from inside your
head.
You must now pay a Willpower to act in spite of
your Dread in situations where the source of fear is
so minor you would gain a Willpower from avoiding
it but otherwise would endure no cost.
Fractured: Compulsive
Condition - Emotional - Fractured
Your Drive is more of a burden, something you
compulsively carry out as if you’ll forget who you
are if you ever shut up about your One Thing for
two fucking seconds.
You must now pay one Willpower to avoid acting in
accordance with your Drive in a situation where
doing so would gain you one Willpower.
Fractured: Insecure
Condition - Emotional - Fractured
Ordinary sources of solace and calm mean nothing
to you. Only that Perfected Self, that ideal that has
become a weight around your neck, keeps you
going.
You cannot regain Willpower by any means other
than your Drive and Dread: not by sleeping,
surrendering, Conditions, powers, bonus Vices or
Virtues, or any other situation that replenishes
Willpower.
Fractured: Obsessive
Condition - Emotional - Fractured
You know that what you want matters more than
anything -- than anyone -- and that’s why you’re
more important than everyone. That’s what makes
it all justified.
You gain a new Dread of “Failing at any current
Aspirations or Urges.” You do not gain Willpower
from avoiding or conquering it, but it still counts for
purposes of costing you Willpower to act against
and effects that penalize you by keying into Dread.
Fractured: Unmoored
Condition - Emotional - Fractured
There is no source of respite in your identity,
nothing makes it secure for even a moment. You’re
bailing out the doubt with a teacup, now.
You cannot regain all of your Willpower by
embodying your Drive or conquering your Dread.
You may gain multiple single Willpower for them in
the course of a single scene, instead of only once
each.
Mayhem
Tilt - Magical - Emotional - Darkness
There’s enemies all over! Hit them before they hit
you!
If you haven’t succeeded on a Resolve + Composure
roll penalized by the effect’s successes, you regard
everyone in your vicinity as an immediate threat
and must use your turn to attack one of them. Being
restrained or calmed down allows you to reroll, and
having something new and startling introduced
forces you to reroll.
Feel No Pain
Tilt - Magical - Physical - Darkness
It’s exactly what it says.
You are immune to wound penalties and
automatically succeed at attempts to remain
conscious. Any source of bashing damage, other
than downgraded aggravated or lethal damage, is
reduced to a single point. You have +3 on all rolls
involving physical might, but take a point of Bashing
damage with each one.
Stirring Performance
Tilt - Magical - Emotional - Light
Your feelings are surging in one direction or another.
This Tilt came with a specific emotion. You have +2
on all dice pools for actions that align with that
emotion.
Cause: You are the audience for the Anthem Charm.
Ending: The effect is suspended once a number of
turns elapse from the turn Anthem was cast,
depending on the choices made when it was cast. It
starts up again if the caster spends another turn
performing. At the end of the scene, it vanishes.
Special Helpers
Tilt - Magical - Physical - Light
You are assisted by your environment and the things
in it, moving in concert with your surroundings.
In your immediate environment, you have the effect
of Staff •••. The Staff only acts in this immediate
environment, but doesn’t need to take any time to
get there or get out, doesn’t need to take up space,
and works in quick and perfect coordination.
Cause: You used the Special Helpers Signet Charm
(Legno •••).
Ending: This Tilt ends at the end of the scene.
Necropolis
Condition - Magical - Environmental - Persistent
The dead can remain here without anguish or
torture; dead souls exist as ghosts just to have a bit
of extra time to wrap up what they were doing in
life.
Ghosts in a Necropolis do not suffer from Essence
Bleed, can use the Materialize Numen freely, and
the entire Necropolis is considered to be an Anchor.
Cause: The Last City of Alhambra is a Necropolis. If
there are others, they’re made by a different type of
magic.
All-Consuming Darkness
Condition - Environmental - Tension - Stacking -
Persistent
The taint of the Darkness threatens this place. The
Light of Hope pushes it back, but the Darkness is
always pushing that little bubble of illumination
inward as hard as it can.
All Horrors with Pure Darkness here increase their
Potency by 1, and the use of Pure Darkness by those
who don’t have the Dread Power itself get +1 die,
for each stack of All-Consuming Darkness in the the direct use of Dread Powers like Fortress of
area. Terror (p.XXX) can all add stacks.

Causes / Removal: The strength of the Darkness,

both in terms of its current forces and the grip it has
on the people who live there, determines the stacks
of All-Consuming Darkness. Defeating Darkspawn,
Nightscapes, and Defilers in the area can lower it; so
can uplifting and inspiring people there to resist fear
and let in hope. Increasing the grip of fear on an
area, opening Bleeds, allowing major physical
manifestations of Darkness to exist unchallenged, or