Name:

Cara Yisil

A High-Concept:

Oathsworn Devourer of Mantles

Trouble Aspect:

Foreign Magic in the Blood

Description:

House Yisil exists outside the The Kingdom of Kumlar, both geographically and politically, but its Oathsworn have been hired vassals of the Veiled Hand for generations.  They are a powerful House, wealthy in material resources, favors owed, and of course magic.  Despite their power, the secret which rules each of the House's Oathsworn would doom them all were it to escape.  For most of the magic of House Yisil is not their own, but rather the devoured Mantles of power of their enemies and debtors, a price paid in blood and in soul.  Cara's debt to the House is almost insurmountable, given the terrifying strength of the Mantle they consumed when they became Oathbound, and they must master it before it masters them.

Favorite Character:

Oh man, that's like picking your favorite child.  Are you familiar with Invisible Sun?  I have a Goetic (a Summoner), who used to Turn Tales into Reality with the power of their voice alone.  That was, until they woke up in a puddle of their own blood, their throat, jaw, and tongue torn away.  All of the members of the secret society that held reality together with the strength of the stories met similar fates, though only a few survived the experience.  All their power, all their wards, worth less nothing.  The only thing that enabled my character to survive was joining the Xan Weir, a cult who believes the Creator is disgusted with their very existence, and their only recourse is to hide their face behind a mask.  My Goetic does not share the cult's beleifs, but they have found many within who heretically hold not a single thought about the Creator's disgust in their head, and instead only see the power of the mask.  When the mask can be anyone?  That is the real power.  Indeed, that is the power that keeps the Dilettante safe, as they have become.

Heavy into intrigue, secret societies, social networking between various factions and powers, exchanging favors and boons, that sort of thing.

Okay, so let's talk about what I had in mind for Cara here.

What I was seeing for her background was a dynamic of a noble house who operates outside of the traditional power structures, both geographically and politically.

• The House exists outside of Kumlar, but work within it.
• It is a House of Mages, but they aren't College trained.
• They have wealth and privilege within Kumlari society, but exist apart from it.
• Therefor they have power, but don't exist within the typical power hierarchies.

Themes:  Foreignness, fear of unwanted outsiders, economic tensions in an unequal society.

More importantly, the House has not achieved that power through conventional means.  Rather than being a house of College trained Envokers, they had a set of debt and patronage with members of the house and dependents, people who tithe some of their magic to the House in a contract of protection.

This leads to the Central Theme> of the character.  Their power is not their own, their Mantle is not their own.  It is either something that was loaned, or something that was taken by force.  The Lesser Mantle of House Yasil grants its Oathsworn the power to absorb other's magic either through a blood offering (usually willing and temporary), while the Greater Mantle of House Yasil allows another's Mantle to be claimed entirely through blood sacrifice (generally unwilling, as it's rather fatal).



So, what does this do?

First and foremost it creates a Social Mage, one who has to spend a great deal of time investing in their dependents, making the relationship worthwhile for said contacts to keep making Blood Offerings to the House.  Perfect for a game centered on espionage. Potentially, the Oathsworn could stockpile a tremendous amount of power in the form of free Invokes, but they could also completely run out of Evocation magic.  Magic becomes a powerful resource in this regard.  Something to be hoarded and spent sparingly.

Thoughts?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:50, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

Wow, there's a lot to unwrap in there.

I do have some as-yet unpublished ideas about the cultures involve, but they are broad brush-strokes.  And this concept actually dovetails in interesting ways.

Kumlar is a kingdom. But the monarchy is mostly hands-off, beyond a certain amount of tithe.  So, regional and provincial duchies and other holdings are much more involved in the day-to-day laws.  But "the Kings Law" tends to involve some very broad strokes.  Key among them are:

• Human Sacrifice is outlawed
• Slavery is outlawed

I"m sure there's more, but that's kind of the level I'm thinking on...  And this is all so very important because Kharse practices both slavery and human sacrifice.  I'm also guessing sort of supposing that slavery & human sacrifice may be an outgrowth of the conflict that originally set the three kingdoms to war generations ago.

Also, the idea of human sacrifice technically goe against the Edict of Pantheistic Unity, which basically comes down to "so long as it harms none, do what you will"...

Of course, there are all sorts of "what if" arguments... what if the sacrifice is voluntary?  Does this mean that a father cannot donate blood to his child if it means he might die?  What about war-time?  People get killed in war all the time.  So, yeah, there's lots of room to move.  Much of the proclamation and the monarchy's imposition of the Kings Law is necessarily a PR move.  They might well turn a blind eye to Yisil's house practices if it's kept discrete.  They certainly can't do anything if they're not actualyl aware of it.


What I was seeing for her background was a dynamic of a noble house who operates outside of the traditional power structures, both geographically and politically.

So, as a foreigner, we'd need t make a distinction as to whether she's in a diplomatic role (which would give her some legal protection, so long as she's discrete) or not (which, well, wouldn't).

The House exists outside of Kumlar, but work within it.
SO, like, they have trade-agreements and the like?  Perhaps some sort of political agreement.  The Tarenti Riders of the Norhtern Plain (nominally part of Kumlar, but very lightly populated) have a political agreeemnt of alliance and mutual defense.

Given the potential for human sacrifice involved in the magic, would it make sense for Cara to be from Kharse?   Kharsians are not vilified.  Those farthest from teh borders and fartherst from the Scar (former Khadid) may be a little more fearful and provincially racist, but that's a distance thing.  There is currently NOT a state of unusual tension with Kharse.  That, of course, will probably change over the course of the game.

It is a House of Mages, but they aren't College trained.
Easy enough.  The primary concern of the College of Mages is the safe control of evocation-powers.  If a evocateur is able to prove that tehy are not an undue risk to those around them... it's no big deal.

The other concern of the College is the policing of magic use.  Which involved investigating magical crimes and the pursuit and removal of "unsafe" ritual tomes.   Since ritual magic is common, there is nothing to prevent the formulation of great rituals to curse an entire land or an entire people...  These kinds of rituals will naturally take a lot of time and resources.  And the College has convinced the monarchy that it is in it's best interest to remvoe such written works from the general populace.

They have wealth and privilege within Kumlari society, but exist apart from it.
Sorry.  I'm having trouble parsing this.  They have wealth & privilege but exist apart from their wealth and privilege?  Or they have wealth and privilege, but exist apart from Kumlaren society?    Each read will have very different associations.


Therefor they have power, but don't exist within the typical power hierarchies.
What does this power look like?




Rather than being a house of College trained Envokers, they had a set of debt and patronage with members of the house and dependents, people who tithe some of their magic to the House in a contract of protection.

An interesting set-up.   If you're not interested in pursuing a Kharsian background, then perhaps a smaller holding in some region of former Khadid.   Exposure to the... things from the Scar would certainly be justificvation for people wanting such protection.  Not to mention bandits, and political incursions from both Kharse and Kumlar.


Possible Mechanics

The First Boon:  Someone makes a donation of blood, enough to leave them woozy for a day or two. 
Fair enough so far.  This practice could easily by a foundation for many Kumlaren's distrust of Kharse, if you were to choose to go Kharsian.    Is there anything that prevents Cara or any other in the house from just kidnapping people and forcibly ex-sanguinating them to harvest their powers against their will?

If not, I imagine that the "taste" of the magic would be different if the blood was given voluntarily versus against one's will.  I actually kinda like that.  I would allow for another distinction between House Yisil and others... if they do the act only voluntarily, there is a sort of "fine line" they observe, and it sets them apart from how some others might act.


The Oathsworn
Like the title.  What is nature the oath they've sworn?  I think I missed that in the process.


Potentially, the Oathsworn could stockpile a tremendous amount of power in the form of free Invokes, but they could also completely run out of Evocation magic.  Magic becomes a powerful resource in this regard.  Something to be hoarded and spent sparingly.

That seems to play along nicely with how I see magic...  It should allow a great many things, but all magic should have a cost involved, and evocation even more directly.

There's a lot oof new stuff in my responses too... so I'm going to copy some of it to the world threads...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:24, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

House Yisil

Alright, let's get into it!

I do believe that the House itself would have official diplomatic status within the Kingdom, but its individual Oathsworn do not.  This would give you the Storyteller the freedom to, most of the time, have Cara not have any specific protections.  But, you'd be able to have the Queen tag an aspect of DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY onto her whenever you had a fancy party or diplomatic function that you needed her to be at in an official capacity.

Before we get into if they are Kharsian or not I think we should define the Boons more.

The First Boon

In theory, yes.  You could just abduct someone, keep them chained up in your basement, and bleed them on a regular basis.  I imagine there are houses that do just that.  Hell, House Yisil may do just that.  One of the central Aspects of the House itself will be THE HOUSE ALWAYS COMES FIRST.

But what happens when a House gets a reputation for doing that?  Who the hell would want to work with them?  Hell, keeping Envokers contained, people who by definition are capable of spontaneous magic?  Not just one, but multiple Envokers?  That's a recipe for disaster of the highest order.  A powerful House liek Yasil might be able to keep one or two Envokers with particularly valuable Disciplines locked away in the basement somewhere, but enough to keep the magic of the House topped up all the time?  Especially if there are multiple Houses, that just isn't feasible.  So instead they establish this complicated system of debts, dependents, and patronage.  Envokers who the House provides services to, material resources, protection, possibly even shelter.  They might not all be entirely cooperative, there may be a small amount of coercion involved, but in general these contributions of blood and power need to be voluntary and even beneficial for the people making them.  An aspect like DEBT OWED TO THE HOUSE captures it nicely.  It's voluntary, but it's something owed.

Which means, wherever House Yisil is located?  It needs to be a very, very dangerous place to live.

Is that Kharsia?

The Oathsworn

The oath is sworn to the house, ping THE HOUSE ALWAYS COMES FIRST here.  The House is taking people who do not have Evocation magic, and through House techniques empowering them.  Empowering them with this vast network of power, wealth, influence, and most importantly magic.  The Oathsworn owe everything to the House, and they are expected to behave as such.

Ping DEBT OWED TO THE HOUSE.

So, back to the House...

House Yisil

They have wealth and privilege, but exist apart from Kumlaren society.  Removed from its laws and customs.  Everyone would know that they have massive stockpiles of magic that they are able to draw upon, but no one really knows how.  They are foreigners, outsiders, and the fact that they are rich outsiders means that the common folk probably don't like them much.  Add to that their magic is unregulated?  They aren't college trained and monitored, who knows what they get up to?  The common folk probably have all sorts of rumors about where their magic comes from, so the system of Patronage probably has to be a secret.  If the average Kumlari knew that the House was getting their magic and wealth from blood?  The rumors alone would instantly get out of control.

"Those outsiders, they bleed our babies dry for their magic!"

So the system of blood patronage needs to be a secret.

It means that Cara is going to have to build an extensive network of friends, blackmail victims, debtors, and other people that she has either potent alliances with or extensive leverage over in order to fuel her magic.  If she can build that?  She'll be incredibly powerful.  If she can't?  She's in trouble.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:07, Sat 21 Mar 2020.

Did my Mantle.

Really like it.  Really, really like it.

Saw it.  Considering it.

Trying to find angles to break it or figure out how it could be abused.

Not seeing a whole lot other than one you've already acknowledged... the potential to stockpile massive amounts of potential power...  And I think it's nicely balanced out by the social contracts you've associated with it.

So, let's give it a shot.

We might revisit it later if some sort of issue comes up, btu so far, I'm pretty good with it.  It's not overwhelming, and it can work within the scope of our setting.  So awesome stuff.

Woo!

I'll get cranking on my character sheet.

Dependent Expertise, Duelist Wizard, Enchanted Item, and Safehouse are all lifted directly from Dresden Accelerated, so I figured I was safe there.

I'm going to take Enchanted Item as my freebie, and then with your permission use one Refresh to take.

Shapeshifter: (Requires: Transform discipline) When you transform into another creature, you may choose a skill. All actions taken with that skill, while you remain in that form, now gain a +2.

Linking it to the shapeshifting of The Final Boon rather than to the Transform discipline, to represent her absorbing some of the skills of the Mantles she devours.  That Stunt is lifted directly from High Fantasy Magic under Fate Core.

CARA YISIL
MANTLE
Oathsworn of House Yisil

ASPECTS
High-Concept:  Devourer of Mantles.
Trouble:  Foreign Magic in the Blood.
Personal:  Another debtor, another debt to be paid.
Personal 2:  I know a guy, but you're not going to like the price.
Induction:Archmage Artov of the Veiled Hand has a rival he needs investigated discreetly.

SKILLS

UNIQUE CONDITIONS

Burned Out (Fleeting): [ ] Mark this condition to gain +2 to all magical actions for the rest of the scene. Afterward, chose the First Boon Aspect that was utilized the most during this scene.  Remove that Aspect from your sheet, and unmark this Condition.  If there is a tie, the GM picks which Aspect Boon is lost.

Dependents (sticky): [ ][ ][ ] This condition uses three boxes to represent the House of Yisil's significant social capital, which translates to a limited supply of House Dependents who can and will offer aid, up to and including the First Boon. Mark a box when you draw on your Dependents for this mantle’s stunts. Recover this condition by waiting (one box per session) or by spending a scene to meet with your Dependents and offering to provide them assistance. The House Dependants (via the GM) will inform the Oathsworn of a problem necessitating correction.

Disfavored (sticky): [ ] Violating the House's trust marks this condition. While Disfavored the Oathsworn may no longer use any of the abilities associated with their Mantle.  Recover Disfavored when the Oathsworn has made restitution with their House, per the GM.

CORE STUNTS

The First Boon:  An Evoker other than the Oathsworn makes a donation of blood, gaining the Exhausted Aspect.  The Oathsworn marks down an Aspect that includes a Mantle Stress track, one of the donator's Disciplines, and a free Invoke.  The Oathsworn now has the ability to perform any of the four basic actions with spectacular magical effects as Evocations using the marked Discipline. Their actions may have scale at the GM’s discretion.  When the Stress Track is exhausted the Aspect and its associated Discipline are lost, as is the free Invoke if it hasn't already been spent.  This stunt may be used repeatedly, gaining a new Aspect, Stress Track, Discipline, and free Invoke each time.  However, it cannot be used on the same donator unless they have recovered from the Exhausted aspect. If used on the same donator, then the Oathsworn may either refresh the Stress Track on an existing Aspect and Discipline while gaining another free Invoke (even if the previous Invoke was unspent), or gain a new Aspect tied to a different Discipline of the donator with its own Stress Track and free Invoke.

If desired, the Oathsworn who has an active Aspect may push themselves to increase the spell’s effect as follows:

• Mark a stress box for +2 on any one magical action.
• Mark a stress box to replicate any action they might be able to perform by marking a Mana stress box.
• Mark Burned Out for +2 to all magical actions for the rest of the scene.

The Final Boon: Requires the death of the victim.  The Oathsworn of House Yasil commits a point of Refresh, absorbing one of the Mantles of their victim into their own.  This imparts one of the Core Stunts of the Mantle upon the Oathsworn, as if it were their own.  The Refresh does not return until the Mantle is released, and if it is said Mantle is gone forever.  Additionally, the Oathsworn can assume the previous holder's physical form (+2 to Deceive attempts to impersonate them), and has access to some of their surface memories (can spend Fate points to know key information that only the victim would have known).

ADDITIONAL STUNTS

Enchanted Item: The House always possesses a number of useful items—potions or other magical gadgets. Once per session, the Oathsworn may describe one of these items and create an ad hoc stunt effect related to its function, which they may use for the rest of the scene. Work with the GM to determine the specifics according to the rules. If the effect desired is powerful, the GM may charge a fate point for its use, at their discretion.  The Oathsworn may lend this item to another character, allowing them to use this stunt in their stead. This stunt may be taken more than once; each time grants an additional use per session.

Intimidating Reputation Attacking you has consequences.  One should consider carefully before committing.  For those aware of Cara's reputation, until she makes a physical attack in a scene, characters must overcome a Will:3 obstacle to make their own physical attack.

• Those who fail cannot attack (fail) or miss on their first attack (succeed at cost)
• This may be dependent on what's been written so far and when the dice roller is invoked.
• Those who tie may attack, but with a minor cost (take a fleeting aspect reflecting the trepidation of attacking)
• Those who succeed, succeed
• Those who succeed with style get a boost out of it (fleeting aspect in their favor)

Unapproachable: It’s difficult to try to manipulate someone when you’re constantly reminded of how scary they are. You may use Provoke instead of Will to provide defend against create advantage actions made with Deceive, Empathy, or Rapport. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.16.1)

STRESS
Refresh 1/1,
Mental Stress (Will)       [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Physical Stress (Physique) [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Mana (Lore)                [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:31, Thu 26 Mar 2020.

ASPECTS

High-Concept:  Reluctant Devourer of Mantles.

Cara's Mantle sets her up perfectly to be an assassin.  She can murder and impersonate low level guards and functionaries, use it to get close to high level Mages and politicians, and take them out.  She serves the House in the ways that she is trained, but she yearns to not be dependent upon the blood of others for her power.  She believes it is possible to learn to consume the Mantles of those long dead, from bones and graves, from Necromancy, and wants to dedicate herself to developing these techniques.  Yet her House keeps making demands of her, and she has no choice but to obey.

Trouble:  Foreign Magic in the Blood.

Cara is a foreigner in a strange land, and she is not used to the magic of this place.  It tastes different, it acts different, and it erupts in surprising ways.  Tag this to have her absorbed magic behave unexpectedly, or have her fail to understand some cultural trope of Kumlari society.

Personal:  Another debtor, another debt to be paid.

Her life and power are dependent upon debts, boons, and favors owed to her and the House.  She is constantly maneuvering for position, making sure that her Dependents remain so.  This involves helping some, keeping others in line, blackmailing one over here, loaning a great sum of money to that one there, acquiring a position at the College of Mages for another.  It also involves her own oaths and debts to the House.

Personal 2:  I know a guy, but you're not going to like the price.

Representing both her extensive network of contacts, and the somewhat bizarre costs associated with doing business with House Yisil.  Tag this to add esoteric costs to literally anything she does, the stranger the better.

Induction:Archmage Artov of the Veiled Hand has a rival he needs investigated discreetly.

She's got some considerable clout with House Yisil, and she's cashing in on that favor now to have another member of the Veiled hand, the Necromancer Derris, investigated.  She thinks he might be involved in some underhanded business, and wants it made public if true.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Thu 26 Mar 2020.

The big question for me is, is Cara Kharsia?

Getting into this today...

I like Cara as a Khunian (sorry, apparently "Karse" is too obvious a tie to Mercedes Lackey's nation of the same name... so I've switched it now to Khune.  Which, oddly, it was in the beginning.  Not sure why or how I switched it. )

As the culture and magical systems, etc. of Khune haven't been defined, adding this into the mix is easy and helps to define that nation.  Of course, it puts a little bit more on your shoulders to define the nation (mostly through RP, of course) and the nature of it's society.   If you're cool with that, then awesome!  if not,  I'm okay with the house being international, so to speak...  The borders between the two nations is not closed, after all... unless you're a Khunic slave.

One breaking-point I do have a concern about with the mantle...
The Final Doom
The Final Boon: Requires the death of the victim.  The Oathsworn of House Yasil commits a point of Refresh, absorbing one of the Mantles of their victim into their own.  This imparts one of the Core Stunts of the Mantle upon the Oathsworn, as if it were their own.  The Refresh does not return until the Mantle is released, and if it is said Mantle is gone forever.

Additionally, the Oathsworn can assume the previous holder's physical form (+2 to Deceive attempts to impersonate them), and has access to some of their surface memories (can spend Fate points to know key information that only the victim would have known).


There's a lot involved in that.

I dislike the idea of them collecting multiple mantles.  It's already a big thing to be able to absorb one mantle and therby:

• Gain one core stunt from the victim
• Deceive+2 for taking on victim's form
• Gain surface memories of victim

Since you've specifically mentioned Refresh (vs fate point), how do you see this playing out at the end of a "game session" (so, for our purposes, at the end of a major plot point)?    In unmodified Fate Core, you reset to the predefined-number of Refresh at the end of the game session if you've less fate points in your pool than that predefined number.  If you're over, then you keep where you're at.

Does devouring a mantle keep that refresh across game-sessions?   If o, then it's sort of like a variable Stunt.  Is that right?

Does devouring a new mantle release the old one?  I prefer that she not be able to take on multiple mantles at a time.   The one-for-one approach reminds me a lot of Corum (Michael Moorcock's "Chronicles of Corum").

I realize that this is after I said things were cool, so I'm hoping this isn't ruffling too many feathers.

I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.  Khune it is, I'll get world building today.

Yep, you are 100% correct that I said Refresh and not Fate Point intentionally.  The idea was that as long as the Refresh is committed, she doesn't get it back, even at the end of the session. If it was just Fate, she could build up endless Mantles.

No feathers ruffled!  I'm going to argue my case for being able to absorb more than one due to attaching it to Refresh, but I won't be choked up if you disagree.  At most right now she would be able to absorb 2 Mantles, so one if she really likes it and another for basically being a doppleganger.  Ehhh, even 2 is pretty powerful though.  Because it's not like she's just getting the core stunt, she's also getting the shape changing and the surface memories.

Okay, you win, I'm convinced.

Two requests.

• Can I change it fromRefresh to Fate Point, but then include that adopting one Mantle automatically kicks out the other?
• Then, can I include.  "A particularily desired Mantle Stunt may be made permanent by committing a point of Refresh.  This Mantle Stunt may be traded to another Oathsworn, freeing up the Refresh Point."

Regardless of which we decide, I'm tweaking her a little in reaction if that's alright.  I exchanged her Shapechange Stunt for one from the book Crown of Menace.  I like the idea that it's her reputation more than her being a scary motherfucker that keeps people away.

"Everyone knows the Spellbound Houses of Khune are not to be trifled with."

Crown of Menace You are too terrifying to be attacked. Until you make a physical attack in a scene, characters with a Will lower than Good (+3) simply cannot attack you. Those with sufficient Will to attack still flinch on their first attack, though, automatically missing. (Fate System Toolkit, p.98)

Is Alchemy a thing?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Wed 25 Mar 2020.

Khune:

The dry steppes of Khune are harsh and unforgiving, the soil alkaline and unsuitable for most agriculture beyond the herding of goats.  The Great Lake Lis is in fact an inland sea, and while its waters do support life, they are useless for the irrigation of crops.  With the scare resources the land provides, the Khundari should be a people made up almost entirely of fishers and herders, scraping out whatever meager existence they could in an unforgiving land. Yet the Khundari are so much more than that, so much greater.  They are a poroud people, possessed of a massive citadel of learning and trade.  Indeed, the many tiered capital of Liscora rises high above the plains, its thousands of hungry mouths fed on far more than fermented goat's milk and spiced fish.  For it is magic that is the heartbeat of the Empire, and the foundation of that magic is the Great Houses.

Situational Aspect:  A harsh land, a harsh people.

Magic is a very strange thing among the Khundari.  Like all peoples, any who wish to learn can master the basics of Ritual Magic.  Evocation is more rare, but only just, for most woman born to Khundari blood is capable of at least a single Discipline.  This means that the Khundari possess among them more Evocators than any other race of people.  Yet while they possess it in great abundance, individually their magic is fundamentally weak.  All but the very strongest Khundari Fire Dancer is barely able to summon more than a finger of flame, while their Stone Mothers serve better as architects and engineers than they do wielders of battle magic.  With their magic being hereditary and maternal, Clan is everything to the Khundari.  While the men of Khune are free to marry into whatever family and profession they choose, the women's path is determined by the Clan that she is born into.  Still, magic is undeniably power, and thus Khune is a matriarchal society.  Those within a Clan have the safety and protection of their name.  Those without have nothing, and barely exist within the law at all.  For many Khundari, it is better by far to sell oneself into slavery than to be Clanless.  Only the gangs offer sanctuary to those outside of the Merchant Clans, and that could hardly be called sanctuary at all.  Better to offer service to one of the Clans, or if possessed of Evocation, to join one of the Great Houses as a Dependent.

Situational Aspect:  Magic of the mothers.

The Clan Matriarchs alone would not be sufficient to establish the mighty Empire, for while they are plentiful, their magic is not strong enough to reshape the land around them.  Instead, the Matriarchs are the foundations of the Great Houses, who serve to condense the magic of the Khundari people and focus it to a razor's edge.  It is the Great Houses who bring the rains which irrigate the lands, who modify the soil with their alchemy so that crops may be raised to feed Liscora's masses.  Through their Oathsworn, they gather the blood and power of their Dependents, concentrating it and refining it into the potent power that the Empire is built on.  The Houses are extremely competitive, a result of Khune's unique political structure, though they do not let such rivalries and intrigues carry over to murder and assassination.  Such would incur a Blood Debt, with power lost on both sides, and only serve to weaken both Houses in the face of the others.  Instead they seek to increase their networks of Debtors, strengthening the power of their Houses with every increasing arsenals of stored magic.  Through this, the Oathsworn are capable of feats of Evocation only dreamed of by the Clan Matriarchs, and are the source of endless fearful rumors among many at the College of Mages.  Indeed, the rumors swirling around the red and black jacketed Oathsworn are vast and terrible.  While no Collegiate Mage would likely breath a word of it to an Oathsworn's face, muttered whispers of "Soul Eaters" follow them wherever they go.

Situational Aspect:  Blood debt and bloody debtors.
Situational Aspect:  Fear the Devourers of Souls.

In name, Dragon Emperor Eric Markov, known among his people as the Radiant Dragon, is the undisputed ruler of Khune.  In truth, it could be argued that he serves at the Great House's whim.  The fact that he has continued to serve as Emperor through the reign of supremacy of three separate Houses in the last three decades speaks to his power and political acumen.  The Dragon Emperor is Oathsworn to no House, but possesses the Boon Magic that is the foundation of each.  He is a potent force in his own right, having Bound some of the most powerful Mantles in the Empire to his personal Mantle or those of his War Mages through Blood Sacrifice.  He is rightfully feared on the battlefield for his skill as a leader, and operates as a sort of check on the Great House's power even as they operate as a check on his.

Situational Aspect:  The balance of power.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:45, Thu 26 Mar 2020.

Can I change it fromRefresh to Fate Point, but then include that adopting one Mantle automatically kicks out the other? 
That works well.

"A particularily desired Mantle Stunt may be made permanent by committing a point of Refresh.  This Mantle Stunt may be traded to another Oathsworn, freeing up the Refresh Point."
Given how often this should come up in play, I'm okay with that.   It's a pretty big thing, but then his trading it out would be a pretty big thing.


Crown of Menace You are too terrifying to be attacked. Until you make a physical attack in a scene, characters with a Will lower than Good (+3) simply cannot attack you. Those with sufficient Will to attack still flinch on their first attack, though, automatically missing. (Fate System Toolkit, p.98)


Thanks for the reference!  I think this is a good starting point, but I have a few misgivings about it as it is written.   A lot of the blessings in the Six Viziers systems aren't terribly well balanced.  I dislike the semantics of it saying "characters with a Will lower than Good (+3) simply cannot attack you."  They don't even get a chance to try to roll to Overcome?  That absoluteness of it irks me.  And, even still, once you've made the first move, then they are guaranteed to flinch and miss on their first attack?   That's just too heavy-handed for me.

If the fear of attack in this case is the fear of Car's reputation and the reputation of her house, then someone who doesn't know who she is shouldn't be so constrained, right?

Now, if we take this and massage it, I think we can make it functional without totally nerfing it.

Intimidating Reputation Attacking you has consequences.  One should consider carefully before committing.  For those aware of Cara's reputation, until she makes a physical attack in a scene, characters must overcome a Will:3 obstacle to make their own physical attack.

• Those who fail cannot attack (fail) or miss on their first attack (succeed at cost)
  This may be dependent on what's been written so far and when the dice roller is invoked.
• Those who tie may attack, but with a minor cost (take a fleeting aspect reflecting the trepidation of attacking)
• Those who succeed, succeed
• Those who succeed with style get a boost out of it (fleeting aspect in their favor)

How does that strike you?

Love it, totally understand it being too powerful RaW.  My background is Dresden Files, not pure Fate, so I don't know what is historically unbalanced.

I think I'm good to go then?

CARA YISIL
MANTLE
Oathsworn of House Yisil

ASPECTS
High-Concept:  Devourer of Mantles.

Cara's Mantle sets her up perfectly to be an assassin.  She can murder and impersonate low level guards and functionaries, use it to get close to high level Mages and politicians, and take them out.  She serves the House in the ways that she is trained, but she yearns to not be dependent upon the blood of others for her power.  She believes it is possible to learn to consume the Mantles of those long dead, from bones and graves, from Necromancy, and wants to dedicate herself to developing these techniques.  Yet her House keeps making demands of her, and she has no choice but to obey.

Trouble:  Foreign Magic in the Blood.

Cara is a foreigner in a strange land, and she is not used to the magic of this place.  It tastes different, it acts different, and it erupts in surprising ways.  Tag this to have her absorbed magic behave unexpectedly, or have her fail to understand some cultural trope of Kumlari society.

Personal:  Another debtor, another debt to be paid.

Her life and power are dependent upon debts, boons, and favors owed to her and the House.  She is constantly maneuvering for position, making sure that her Dependents remain so.  This involves helping some, keeping others in line, blackmailing one over here, loaning a great sum of money to that one there, acquiring a position at the College of Mages for another.  It also involves her own oaths and debts to the House.

Personal 2:  I know a guy, but you're not going to like the price.

Representing both her extensive network of contacts, and the somewhat bizarre costs associated with doing business with House Yisil.  Tag this to add esoteric costs to literally anything she does, the stranger the better.

Induction:Archmage Artov of the Veiled Hand has a rival he needs investigated discreetly.

She's got some considerable clout with House Yisil, and she's cashing in on that favor now to have another member of the Veiled hand, the Necromancer Derris, investigated.  She thinks he might be involved in some underhanded business, and wants it made public if true.

SKILLS

UNIQUE CONDITIONS

Burned Out (Fleeting): [ ] Mark this condition to gain +2 to all magical actions for the rest of the scene. Afterward, chose the First Boon Aspect that was utilized the most during this scene.  Remove that Aspect from your sheet, and unmark this Condition.  If there is a tie, the GM picks which Aspect Boon is lost.

Dependents (sticky): [ ][ ][ ] This condition uses three boxes to represent the House of Yisil's significant social capital, which translates to a limited supply of House Dependents who can and will offer aid, up to and including the First Boon. Mark a box when you draw on your Dependents for this mantle’s stunts. Recover this condition by waiting (one box per session) or by spending a scene to meet with your Dependents and offering to provide them assistance. The House Dependants (via the GM) will inform the Oathsworn of a problem necessitating correction.

Disfavored (sticky): [ ] Violating the House's trust marks this condition. While Disfavored the Oathsworn may no longer use any of the abilities associated with their Mantle.  Recover Disfavored when the Oathsworn has made restitution with their House, per the GM.

CORE STUNTS

The First Boon:  An Evoker other than the Oathsworn makes a donation of blood, gaining the Exhausted Aspect.  The Oathsworn marks down an Aspect that includes a Mantle Stress track, one of the donator's Disciplines, and a free Invoke.  The Oathsworn now has the ability to perform any of the four basic actions with spectacular magical effects as Evocations using the marked Discipline. Their actions may have scale at the GM’s discretion.  When the Stress Track is exhausted the Aspect and its associated Discipline are lost, as is the free Invoke if it hasn't already been spent.  This stunt may be used repeatedly, gaining a new Aspect, Stress Track, Discipline, and free Invoke each time.  However, it cannot be used on the same donator unless they have recovered from the Exhausted aspect. If used on the same donator, then the Oathsworn may either refresh the Stress Track on an existing Aspect and Discipline while gaining another free Invoke (even if the previous Invoke was unspent), or gain a new Aspect tied to a different Discipline of the donator with its own Stress Track and free Invoke.

If desired, the Oathsworn who has an active Aspect may push themselves to increase the spell’s effect as follows:

• Mark a stress box for +2 on any one magical action.
• Mark a stress box to replicate any action they might be able to perform by marking a Mana stress box.
• Mark Burned Out for +2 to all magical actions for the rest of the scene.

The Final Boon: Requires the death of the victim.  The Oathsworn of House Yasil commits a point of Refresh, absorbing one of the Mantles of their victim into their own.  This imparts one of the Core Stunts of the Mantle upon the Oathsworn, as if it were their own.  The Refresh does not return until the Mantle is released, and if it is said Mantle is gone forever.  Additionally, the Oathsworn can assume the previous holder's physical form (+2 to Deceive attempts to impersonate them), and has access to some of their surface memories (can spend Fate points to know key information that only the victim would have known).

ADDITIONAL STUNTS

Enchanted Item: The House always possesses a number of useful items—potions or other magical gadgets. Once per session, the Oathsworn may describe one of these items and create an ad hoc stunt effect related to its function, which they may use for the rest of the scene. Work with the GM to determine the specifics according to the rules. If the effect desired is powerful, the GM may charge a fate point for its use, at their discretion.  The Oathsworn may lend this item to another character, allowing them to use this stunt in their stead. This stunt may be taken more than once; each time grants an additional use per session.

Intimidating Reputation Attacking you has consequences.  One should consider carefully before committing.  For those aware of Cara's reputation, until she makes a physical attack in a scene, characters must overcome a Will:3 obstacle to make their own physical attack.

• Those who fail cannot attack (fail) or miss on their first attack (succeed at cost)
• This may be dependent on what's been written so far and when the dice roller is invoked.
• Those who tie may attack, but with a minor cost (take a fleeting aspect reflecting the trepidation of attacking)
• Those who succeed, succeed
• Those who succeed with style get a boost out of it (fleeting aspect in their favor)

Unapproachable: It’s difficult to try to manipulate someone when you’re constantly reminded of how scary they are. You may use Provoke instead of Will to provide defend against create advantage actions made with Deceive, Empathy, or Rapport. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.16.1)

STRESS
Refresh 1/1,
Mental Stress (Will)       [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Physical Stress (Physique) [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
Mana (Lore)                [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Thu 26 Mar 2020.

Will look it over in a bit.  Also gotta look through the stuff you did up on Khune.  Thanks for that, by the way!

Oh, this is just everything we've already discussed condensed in one spot, minus the Khune stuff.

Oh yes!  Alchemy and Herbalism are things.  Entirely separate and distinct from ritual magic, because these involve the innate properties of material items, flora, fauna, err... geology?

So, making a medicinal poultice out of yarrow root and mengava seed is totally doable.  No magic or Lore needed (though Scholarship would probably help.    You would integrate these as ritual components (or containers)  for supercharged results.

But, let's see... turning iron into gold... through a strictly alchemical process?  Probably still not achieved.  Through a magical ritual?  I don't see why not.

Naturally, the cost of the required components would nearly preclude doing it... it'd be cheaper just to buy the gold.  I mean there's got to be some reason why not everybody's doing it.  Other than because the College of Mages removed all those particualr manuscripts.  Yeah, there's a common meme.  Conspiracy theories everywhere.

Final little bit of adjusting for me, tweaking some names, but I need some help settling between Shoot and Blades.

Shoot I understand, I have a Lesser Boon from an Evoker who gives me Fire Magic?  I shoot a bolt of flame with Shoot, got it.

Let's say I have Blades though?  I use Fire Magic with the Attack move to create a knife of fire and stab with it?  Or maybe I Create an Advantage by saying "I cast the spell of Flametongue on my long knife, causing purple flames to lick the blade as I bare it at the bandits."

Because I gotta say, if I can use magic to create advantages on weapons that is way cooler than just shooting bolts of energy at people.

Because I gotta say, if I can use magic to create advantages on weapons that is way cooler than just shooting bolts of energy at people.

Casting "Flametongue" on a blade?  sure.  Or on armor, on arrow/bolts...  If it's a noun, Evocation can be used to apply those fundamental elemental forces at amazing speeds.  Ritual Magics can do the same things, mind you, just not at evocation speed.

Something like "Flame Tongue"  I'd say that that would grant additional shifts of damage if the hit connects.

A couple more questions...

Induction:Archmage Artov of the Veiled Hand has a rival he needs investigated discreetly.

She's got some considerable clout with House Yisil, and she's cashing in on that favor now to have another member of the Veiled hand, the Necromancer Derris, investigated.  She thinks he might be involved in some underhanded business, and wants it made public if true.


This sounds like a fantastic set-up for a story or a personal motivation during the first story.   Do you feel this needs to be an Aspect, that it' a fundamental part of who Cara is?   It feels a little off for me from that perspective.

However, I was also going to ask why Cara is even in Kumlar to begin with.  I love the "fish out of water" sense and the alienness of her, and I hope the story shows that she's actually all too human despite all that.

But, really... why is she here and how did she possibly come to Queen Jia's attention?

Blades it is, for sure then.

Totally happy to drop that one as an Aspect, I thought Induction was supposed to be a hook so that's why I did it like that.

Considering that I've bumped Provoke from 2 to 4 since I wrote those Aspects, and added 2 Stunts that are tied to Provoke, I need to do something about how Provoke shapes her.

A Coat of Red and Black:  Far out past the plains of Aren, and even to the foothills of the Mondat Mountains, whispered tales tell of creatures of profane magic and unholy nightmare.  Utterly inhuman, merciless, and fanatically devoted to their God Emperor, in the stories they drink the blood of their victims and devour their souls.  None of the versions are the same, except for one fact.  In each nightmare, the beast in question always wears a high collared coat of red and black.  Most of it is absolute hogwash, of course, but the Great Houses of Khune are happy to maintain and even perpetuate the more nefarious mysteries and rumors that surround their red and black bedecked Oathsworn.  It makes travel in more rural areas more difficult, to be sure, but it is a simple enough matter to take the coat off when blending in is what is required.  In truth, most Oathsworn's duties primarily take to the major cities, where such foul stories do far more good than harm.

House Yisil

House Yisil is not one of the most dominant Great Houses of Khune, that spot currently being occupied by an uneasy triumvirate comprising House Praven, House Isilider, and House Mortren.  Under the broad vision of its current leader, Matriarch Veora Yisil, the House's power and prestige among the turbulent political tides of Khune are waxing.  While most of the Great Houses kept their Oathsworn within the Empire, or committed assets to plundering fallen Khadid of ancient magic, the Matriarch of Yisil has sent her Oathsworn far into Kumlar and even the Plains of Aren.  They have taken root, cultivating strange magic among foreign Dependents, and carrying her House from among the lowest of the mighty to something approaching the strongest.  Other Great Houses have begun to take notice of this, and are starting to send their Oathsworn outside of Khune and Khadid as well, though as of yet they do not possess the extended networks of favors and contacts controlled by House Yisil.

Situational Aspect:  Jealous eyes always notice waxing power.

Nowhere is this more true than within the Capital of Kumlar, where House Yisil has spent years building their networks of informants, contacts, and Dependents.  The House's greatest triumph has been to insert an agent within the Queen's Court.  The Queen is well aware that her new "diplomat" is an Oathsworn of one of the Great Houses of Khune, as the Matriarch of Yisil attempted no subterfuge in this regard when she was offered.  While she might not know exactly what that entails, she does know that Cara would serve best as an asset of the Veiled Hand, but also that her loyalties will always lie first with her House.

Situational Aspect:  Diplomatic status uncertain at best.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Fri 27 Mar 2020.

Khune:

Culture:

The Khundari are a clannish people, untrusting of outsiders to the point of being directly unfriendly.  This has more to do with the stories of how Khundari culture is accepted and received out in the wider world than it does any internal biases.  Merchants traveling abroad have learned that they need to disguise the true nature of their slave's labors, or else face judgement and castigation.  Clansbond sailing the coasts in their purple hulled schooners with the triangular sails of midnight blue keep the tales of their religious holidays and seasonal rituals to themselves, for the Kumlar and even the Khadid before them do not take kindly to stories of the glorious sacrifice and absolute necessity of the Final Boon.  The greenlanders of Kumlar are viewed as naive and spoiled, passing judgement from within the luxury of their fertile fields and verdant freshwater lakes.  For the survivors of Khadid, the Khundari experience a mixture of vindication mixed with guilt.  Those escaping the Scar understand now the harsh realities of existence that necessitate the Khundari way of life, the Lesser and Final Boons that serve to refine and condense the relatively weak magic within the blood of Khune into the incredibly potent force that it is.

Situational Aspect:  Blue sails, muttered words.

Internally, Khundari culture is rich and varied. They are a cast based society, with clear delineations between cast, yet upward mobility is possible under certain circumstances.  The lowliest Clanless can rise to be Oathsworn to one of the great houses, should they prove capable and competent enough.  At the bottom of society are the Clanless, who exist almost outside of the law.  One step up from them are the Clanbound, those who have sold themselves into slavery in order to gain no small measure of legal and familial protection within Khune. Those who feel they have been unfairly treated may seek restitution in the Temple of Justice, and find Magistrates who will not just hear, but believe them should they have evidence of their mistreatment.  Killing of a slave is forbidden, and even striking one is only permitted if such a thing is considered justified.  There is no honor in beating one weaker than you, no purpose to the survival of all in crippling the hands that sow the fields and the arms that work the bellows.  They mark their status with the color orange, wearing bright orange hoods of silk to signify that they are protected by the oaths they have pledged to one of the Clans.  Typically, they will compliment this with an orange headband with the sigil of the Clan they serve at the forehead.

Situational Aspect:  Hard times call for a hard people.

In coats of grey and silver over banded mail, the soldiers, scouts, caravan guards, and warriors make up the next class on the social rung.  Although Khune is a very martial society, it is not soldiers who put fish and goatsmeat in the bellies of its citizens.  Khune does not survive by conquering the grain stores of those within the greenlands.  Thus, while soldiering is an honorable profession, it is one for those who do not possess the magic to ascend to the rank of merchant within the Clans.  Any Khundari soldier worth his salt is an accomplished sailor, favoring short bow and long knives above sword and shield.

Situational Aspect:  Silver coats and thundering hooves.

Midnight blue is reserved for the Merchant Clans, and is worn proudly by the craftsfolk, merchants, and weavers of magic within each Clan.  Women are typically born into their Clan, what magic they possess ensuring them a profession of skilled labor for the rest of their lives.  Each Clan possesses a Keeper of Tales, a revered position who serves as the Loremaster for all the Clan's secrets and techniques, both arcane and mundane.  This Keeper serves at the Matriarch's right hand, advising her and shaping the choices the clan makes.  At the height of the social structure is the Great Houses, delineated by the red that is their right.  The Great Houses condense and refine the magic of the Clans through their Dependants, conducting the great rituals that keeps Khundari society functioning.  Their agents wear coats of black and red, and while feared far and wide outside of Khune are respected within it.

Situational Aspect:  A coat of red and black.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Sun 29 Mar 2020.

I found this is the Fate Core System Toolkit.

Not to Be Trifled With. When you make it clear how dangerous you are, roll Provoke against your target’s Will. If you succeed, that target will not attack you or willingly come near you unless you take action against him first. If you succeed with style, neither will anyone with a lower Will than your target. (Fate System Toolkit, p.35)

Do you think that one is better for gameplay or worse than the one you homebrewed?

Intimidating Reputation: Attacking you has consequences.  One should
consider carefully before committing.  For those aware of Cara's reputation,
until she makes a physical attack in a scene, characters must overcome a
Will:3 obstacle to make their own physical attack.

• Those who fail cannot attack (fail) or miss on their first attack (succeed at cost)
• This may be dependent on what's been written so far and when the dice roller is invoked.
• Those who tie may attack, but with a minor cost (take a fleeting aspect
• reflecting the trepidation of attacking)
• Those who succeed with style get a boost out of it (fleeting aspect in their favor)

As we get closer to actual game start, I want to highlight that Cara's personal motivations at this point are going to be, in order of importance.

• Finding potent magic items.
• Investigating rumors of Necromancy.
• Building her contacts and Dependents.

I love the idea you have for magic items, and want to play into that, and it goes with her theme of hoarding and stockpiling magic.

I had an idea I really liked.

I'm going to do a paragraph or two of background and description for each of Cara's three dots of Dependants.  I'm also going to randomly pick their Disciplines by rolling, which I'll use as a placeholder here.

1. Air - Control, and animate air
   
2. Death - Control necrotic energy and animate the dead
   
3. Earth - Control and animate stone and dirt
   
4. Energy - Control arcane energy, and animate objects
   
5. Fire - Control, create, and animate fire
   
6. Illusion - Control what is seen
   
7. Life - Control life force and begin healing process
   
8. Mind - Read minds and place thoughts in them
   
9. Nature - Control, create, and animate plants
   
10. Sight - Discern truth from deception and look in on a target
    
11. Teleport - Teleport yourself and/or others
    
12. Transform - Change the shape of yourself, others, or objects
    
13. Water - Control, create, and animate water and ice

Huarta Patil - Khandari Merchant
23:51, Today: Cara rolled 9 using 1d13.  3rd time's the charm.
Nature Magic.

Arcanist Ellis Yassur - College Trained Oracle
23:53, Today: Cara rolled 10 using 1d13.  Dependent 2.
Sight Magic

Tril "Trilee" Patters - Urchin Wild Talent Sorceress
23:54, Today: Cara rolled 1 using 1d13.  Dependent 3.
Air Magic

Khune:

Religion:

The steppes of Khune are harsh land, home to even harsher gods, alien and largely uncaring of the people beneath them.  The Khundari pantheon is a triumvirate of primordial powers in a constant state of war with one another.  The conflict is infinite, with none of the three elemental forces tolerating another to gain any advantage over the third, leaving the three ancient forces of destruction and creation locked in a permanent stalemate.  The Khundari worship not to draw the eyes of their gods, but to keep themselves shrouded from them, wrapping themselves in protective layers of worship which hide them from notice.  To call out any one god's name in joyful worship would be sure to draw the wrath of the other two, better to muddle a prayer to all three and escape any of their notice.

Izkazar:  The Mother of Storms

Izkazar was old when the world was young, an ancient maelstrom of enormous size and power off the Southern coast of Khune.  All of Liscora could fit within her whirlpool, every soul dragged down into the dark and the depths.  She sends storms to crush those who draw her notice, diverting the rains away from the arid steppes and back out to sea.  The feathers of birds blind her, and no Khundari sailor worth their salt would dare leave port without a talisman of gull feathers tucked under their shirt.

Eranei:  The Salt that Taints the Ground

When the soil of Khune poisons the fields until every plant chokes and dies, that is the touch of Eranel.  The Salt that Taints the Ground is the least likely to notice the feet that walk above him, yet his influence is the most often felt within Khune.  He is deaf to song, and thus the Clansbound of the Grain Mothers are often possessed of the most remarkable voices.

Idrin:  The Warper of Flesh

The steppes of Khune are full not of the thundering hoofbeats of horses, but the roar of monsters.  The Warper of Flesh has worked its will on the native flora and fauna for thousands of years, twisting the beasts of Khune into truly terrifying predators.  Smoke and ash overwhelm its senses, and even the smallest Khundari village has one whose responsibility it is to ensure that a single flame always remains lit.

From time to time, one or more of these ancient entities spits out a Fracture, a splitting of a portion of their primordial essence that breaks free and gains inhuman sentience and some measure of independence.  These creations are wild and chaotic things, powerful almost beyond measure, forces of destruction that if left alone to grow could lay waste to vast swathes of Khune.  More akin to natural disasters than sentient gods, the Great House's true purpose is to find and kill these Fractures before they have a chance to mature.  The Mantles of power absorbed in the act of killing form the foundations of the powers of the Great Houses, and unbeknownst to the wider world are the source of much of the tales of widespread destruction that are the Great House's domain.  Their blood powers the structural magic of the Great Houses, and powers their greatest works of alchemy.  Their bones form the base ingredients of their most powerful artifacts, wands and amulets of almost incomprehensible spell weavings. Even the smallest Great House possess some remnant of a Fracture, woven deep into the Mantles of its elders.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Sun 08 Nov 2020.

Between the two, I'm going to favor "not to be trifled with," as it lets me roll a contested action.

Added an important last paragraph to the Religion post.

Wielding foreign magic, with whispered tales of blood rituals and human sacrifice, the Oathsworn of the Great Houses of Khune are feared the world over.  Rumors abound of how House Yisil managed to place an agent within the Queen's inner circle, particularly one who makes no effort to conceal the dreaded red and black.

Re: "A vocal religious sect has established itself in Kumlar's capital, and issued a challenge to the Edict of Pantheistic Unity."

What do you think of: So I see a way I might have built towards this.  If this new sect were refugees from Khadid who worship the Khundari Triumvirate, essentially making them an apocalyptic cult in the guise of a normal religious sect.  That would get Cara's attention real damn quick, as anyone bringing the attention of the Triumvirate of Khundari gods to Druvir is a problem of potentially apocalyptic proportions.  No self respecting Khundari would be stupid enough to worship the Triumvirate, but Khadid was close enough that the names of their gods might have bled over.

Re: "A vocal religious sect has established itself in Kumlar's capital, and issued a challenge to the Edict of Pantheistic Unity."


Seems fair.  But let's table it for now...

Hm.   I think I'm going to add a new thread for "Ideas to Explore"...  Because we need a repository of things that are cool, but that we're not dealing with right now...

While setting up the tracking thread, I re-read through some of the Oath-Sworn mantle...

When Cara "accepts a donation" she acquires an Aspect, a stress-track associated with that Aspect, and "a discipline" associated with the donator.

How large is the stress-track typically?  Is there anything that makes it larger or smaller?

What is a discipline in this context?
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 18:45, Wed 22 Apr 2020.

I have a couple of things that concern me about this mantle at the moment...  It might be that you just need to repreat what we'd discussed earlier or find another way to mollify me, because I'm not understanding properly...  Either way, my re-read left me with questions...

The Lesser Boon confer an additional Aspect with an additional stress-track representing the "borrowed" power.  It is my understanding that this mantle is being used instead of the Evocation mantle, right?  So it's not in addition to it.  How does this affect her Mana-Pool?

This stunt may be used repeatedly, gaining a new Aspect, Stress
Track, Discipline, and free Invoke each time.
If she's got a dozen people offering up donations, is she really taking on a dozen new Aspects and a dozen times a mana-pool?  Yes, I'm taking it to possibly-absurd lengths.   But this is my concern.  What are the limitations on this?



So... Walk me through a sample of the lesser boon in play.  With the mechanics that you envision.  I need to understand this better.

Walk me through a sample of the Final boon in play, too.  Exampels will really help me wrap my head around it properly.

If she's got a dozen people offering up donations, is she really taking on a dozen new Aspects and a dozen times a mana-pool?

In theory?  Yes.  In practice?  Getting to that point is virtually impossible.  Let's say that through a complicated scene, she gains Blackmail material on the Countess of Viruallane (made up Countess).  That would be what...

Indebted [X] [_] [_] [_] [_]

Another scene happens, and she does a substantial favor for the Countess, racking up...

Indebted [X] [X] [_] [_] [_]

Okay.  So two scenes later, Cara wants to cash in on that Stress Track.  She casually lets slip that if the Countess lets her drain her blood in a profane ritual, she can pay down some of that debt.  She rolls well enough on her Provoke attempt, or maybe spends a Fate Point, and the Countess agrees.  Cara performs the Lesser Boon, and clears the stress track.  I roll for it randomly, and let's say Cara gets access to the Fire Discipline, the Aspect Child of Fire with a free Invoke, and a Mana Stress Track equal to her Lore (+4).

So now our debt looks like.

Indebted [_] [_] [_] [_] [_]

Countess of Viruallane isn't a Dependent, her magic is not a renewable resource to Cara.  Once that debt is cleared, it's cleared, and I can't imagine the good Countess will be keen on letting an Oathsworn suck her dry anytime in the near future.  Maybe if she's desperate enough she'll take on more Debt, and Cara will be able to tap her again, but that's a pretty narrative heavy resource right there.

Greater Boon next, but what are your thoughts?

I'm  real sorry, but I'm gonna put this mantle through the wringer now.  I've got a lot of questions, because I need to be sure I understand it.  I think I do, but I need your confirmation on a lot of things.

I'm sorry this is so long...

I'm still not clear on whether this instead of or in addition to the base mana-pool.  I think it's instead of the default mana-pool of the Evoker.



Disfavored (sticky): [ ]
Violating the House's trust marks this condition. While Disfavored the Oathsworn may no longer use any of the abilities associated with their Mantle. 
How does this work?  I can see her losing the dependents, but she can still feed, can't she?  Or is that also a gift granted by the house?


The First Boon:
An Evoker other than the Oathsworn makes a donation of blood, gaining the Exhausted Aspect. 
Okay.  So, only Evokers can donate.


The Oathsworn marks down an Aspect that includes a Mantle Stress track, one of the donator's Disciplines, and a free Invoke. 

1. The Oathsworn takes on a new Aspect with a free invoke.
   Okay.
   
   
2. "...that includes a mantle stress track"
   What is a Mantle stress track?    I understand what a Physical Stress Track is and a Mental Stress Track.  Different Mantles will carry different Unique Conditions...  But if she can only get donated to by an Evoker, then what additional stress track is she taking on?  Is this a Unique Condition that the benefactor possesses?  Is this a reference to the Mana-Pool?
   
   
3. ...[that includes] one of the donator's Disciplines
   I like the use of disciplines in The Dresden Files game, but I don't like it here.   All the elemental forces are open to evokers.  If one wants to specialize, it can be done with a stunt.

Their actions may have scale at the GM’s discretion. 
Let's remove rrferences to Scale as well.   We might reintroduce it later, but not now, please.

When the Stress Track is exhausted the Aspect and its associated Discipline is lost, as is the free Invoke if it hasn't already been spent.
When the Stress Track is depleted the Aspect is lost.   Okay.


This stunt may be used repeatedly, gaining a new Aspect, Stress Track, Discipline, and free Invoke each time.
You say that it is possible in practice to bulk up on donations, but that it is virtually impossible to get very far with it...  Why is this so?  What is the limiting factor?  'Cause I'm not seeing it.   That Cara and House Yisil chooses to do this via donations rather than force is interesting, but I still don't understand why.  There must be a reason they've evolved this practice.  What prevents them from bulking up on donations?  I think the limitation should be built into the mantle.


However, it cannot be used on the same donator unless they have recovered from the Exhausted aspect.
Why not?  Would it kill the benefactor?  That sounds like a definite risk, but not a hard limit that makes it impossible.   Or is there some other reason why they absolutely cannot. even if they wanted to?


If used on the same donator, then the Oathsworn may either refresh the Stress Track on an existing Aspect and Discipline while gaining another free Invoke (even if the previous Invoke was unspent)or gain a new Aspect tied to a different Discipline of the donator with its own Stress Track and free Invoke. 
Does this mean that the Oathsworn can double-up from the same benefactor?


The Final Boon:
The Oathsworn of House Yasil commits a point of Refresh, absorbing one of the Mantles of their victim into their own.
Is this strictly narrative or mechanical?

I suspect it's narrative only. If Cara absorbs an Evoker's mantle, does that not now make her an Evoker??  Taking on the mantle gets the unique conditions and core stunts of that mantle... If she's only absorbing a portion of the mantle, then calling it "absorbing a mantle" is a misnomer...  Let's find another term for it.

What happens if she absorbs the mantle of a city guard?  One who's got legal power to investigate and perform legal search and seizures?  I dont' see cara absorbing that core stunt.   I suspect her absorption relates specifically to magical powers.   And, apparently, some portion of their identity/memory.



The Refresh does not return until the Mantle is released, and if it is said Mantle is gone forever. 
And the mantle is released when the Stress Track is exhausted, correct?



Additionally, the Oathsworn can assume the previous holder's physical form (+2 to Deceive attempts to impersonate them), and has access to some of their surface memories (can spend Fate points to know key information that only the victim would have known).

I feel that this is unnecessary.  It's kind of padding the mantle and it's something that's inherent possible by the blood running through her veins being that of her benefactor.   She has a key sympathetic element within her (her benefactor's blood) which would facilitate both the appearance (shape-shifting) and memories (divination) via magic.    I don't think a whole new mechanics is necessary.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:14, Thu 23 Apr 2020.

So, let's go back to your example...

Countess of Viruallane has offered up her blood.  Cara has fed.  She now, apparently, takes on a Child of Fire with a free Invoke, and a Mana Stress Track equal to her Lore (+4).

Who's Lore?  Cara's or the Countess of Viruallane?

What determines the length of the mana/mantle-pool?  Your example seems to suggest that it would be the Oathsworn's Lore, rather than, say, the benefactor's mana-pool.   Does this mean that Cara could feed from someone with a two-shift mana-pool and gain more proficiency and power than the Benefactor had to offer?  Where would that extra power come from?

I think it should be limited to the lower of the Oathsworn's (Lore + 2) or the benefactor's mana-pool.  Since Cara has a maxed out Lore, it'll mean limiting it to the benefactor's mana-pool, in play.

If the countess had a Mana-pool (2 + Lore(+1) = Mana-Pool(+3)), I would prefer to see that Cara had a mana-pool of +3, not +6 (2 + Cara's Lore(+4)).

Is the Mana Stress Track mentioned in this example the same as the Mantle Stress Track referenced in the Oathsworn Mantle description?  Then we need to fix on a specific, consistent name for it...  This is a big part of my confusion.

Now, fine, she's got her five Aspects and Child of Fire, which gives her (for sake of our discussion) a 3-shift mana-pool.

Child of Fire (1 free invoke)

Mana (Countess) [1][2][3]

Then she decides to go feed on Nathan...

I don't really see her taking on any other Aspect but the magical gateway Aspects.  Do you?   So, it'd have to be Grandfather's Blue Cloak Mother's Sigiled Fist. Even then... it's not going to confer on her the obligations of the City Guard.   It will, however, give her a free invoke and a Borrowed mana/mantle-pool of 4-shifts.

There's another question... who decides which Aspect she's going to get?  There will be NPCs in play that you don't know the Aspects for.  We may have to go with "fuzzy Aspects"... soemthing in the ballpark if you don't happen to know.

So, she absorb's nathan's power...  Is this another mana-pool?  So, she now has two Mana-pools? The Countess at +3 and Nathans at +4.  Is that correct?

Child of Fire (1 free invoke)
Grandfather's Blue Cloak Mother's Sigiled Fist (1 free invoke)

Mana (Countess) [1][2][3]
Mana (Nathan)   [1][2][3][4]

And these mana/mantle-pools do not recover short of physically feeding again.  is that right?

If Cara does not use this borrowed power, how long does it stay with her?  If she's physically taking blood to represent the transferance of power, and the power disappears once the borrowed mana/mantle-pool is depleted...   Will the power wane on it's own if not refreshed/replaced?  I'm not really talking about hours or days here...  More like weeks/months without being called upon...  Maybe session/scenario length.  I feel that it should wane slowly, as the foreign blood gets absorbed into her system....
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:15, Thu 23 Apr 2020.

Again, sorry it's so long.

Man, I joined this game because I love creating magic systems.  I've butted into most other people's Mantle threads, because I LOVE creating magic systems.  I made the most convoluted Mantle I could think of, because I LOVE building magic system.

No apologies necessary, ever, for wanting to discuss and develop the magic system.

I think it should be limited to the lower of the Oathsworn's (Lore + 2) or the benefactor's mana-pool. 

That makes so much sense I'm mad I didn't think of it first.

Is the Mana Stress Track mentioned in this example the same as the Mantle Stress Track referenced in the Oathsworn Mantle description?

The only Mana Stress track Cara gets are ones that she takes from the Lesser Boon.  She isn't a font of magic, she has to take it from others, and it doesn't renew itself like other people's do.  Maybe we should call it Boon Mana?

---

who decides which Aspect she's going to get?

You are totally welcome to if you want.  I'd be more than happy to have to adapt to unplanned Aspects, that kind of goes with her theme of being filled with foreign magic.

If you don't want to have to be making up new Aspects on the regular, I'm happy to do them.  In my head, the Lesser Boon only works on Evokers, and the Aspect isn't stealing one of their Aspects.  It's based on whatever Discipline she steals from them.  This was more when I thought that each Evoker would be limited to one or two Disciplines like the RaW for Fate Fantasy High Magic.  With each Evoker have access to all Disciplines, it makes less sense.

I wanted Cara to have some pretty severe limits in place due to her ability to absorb multiple Boon Mana Stress Tracks at once.

---

To that point, when she hit up Arcanist Ellis Yassur in the IC thread, I should have.

• Marked a dot of Dependent.
• Asked you what his Lore is.
• Added a corresponding Boon Mana Stress Track linked to the Sight Discipline
• Given myself (or asked you to give me) an Aspect related to scrying magic, like Blazing Third Eye or Touched by Unwanted Visions

---

So, she absorb's nathan's power...  Is this another mana-pool?  So, she now has two Mana-pools? The Countess at +3 and Nathans at +4.  Is that correct?

Correct, that was my hope.

And these mana/mantle-pools do not recover short of physically feeding again.  is that right?

Exactly.

If Cara does not use this borrowed power, how long does it stay with her?

Tough question, as in theory if you never spent it, you could build up obscene reserves of power.

Maybe one Boon Mana Stress is inflicted a a session?

No apologies necessary, ever, for wanting to discuss and develop the magic system.
That is a huge relief, because I so value the enthusiasm you bring to the table.  I like what you've been doing.   When considering developing settings to be published in some form or another (well, it's in the back of my head... I might open that discussion with you guys down the road), the mechanics are always the part I feel less confident about... so having someone who grooves on that side?  Fuck yeah!

You've answered a lot of my questions, and I am lot more comfortable so far.  We're getting there.

The only Mana Stress track Cara gets are ones that she takes from the Lesser Boon.  She isn't a font of magic, she has to take it from others, and it doesn't renew itself like other people's do.  Maybe we should call it Boon Mana?
That is huge!  Okay then.



You are totally welcome to if you want.  I'd be more than happy to have to adapt to unplanned Aspects, that kind of goes with her theme of being filled with foreign magic.
That sounds like a discussion for each specific time.


In my head, the Lesser Boon only works on Evokers, and the Aspect isn't stealing one of their Aspects.
Ah, so it's not theft... it's... a mimicing?  Cara taking on an Aspect representing the "borrowed" magic doesn't prevent the benefactor from using their powers. It's impact on the benefactor is the exhausted condition.


In theory if you never spent [the borrowed mana/power], you could build up obscene reserves of power. 
This is the seed of my issue.  Not that she can amass an obscene amount of power--because that's her fundamental concept. Rather, it's that she can amass an obscene amount of power too quickly.   I feel the need to push back on a character who can go out one night and feed on every evoker in the city and become a godlike paragon overflowing with mana in one night<I>.  I don't see what prevent that here.

I expect all of our characters go through Significant and Major Milestones to up their skills and refresh (although, we're probably going to be a lot more fluid on Aspects than in a tabletop game).  But the key is that you <i>do get more refresh down the road.  And that's got to be the key to Cara's potential to become a frightening Goddess of mana-consumption...

I'm just not sure how to get there from here, yet.

Hm.  We did discuss the Refresh element, earlier...  Hold on, let me go look.  No, that was regarding the Final Boon, which may be a discussion for a later time   I haven't nitpicked through that yet.   I'm still focused on the Lesser Boon.



Correct, that was my hope.
Ah, So,with the removal of "disciplines" we need to find some way to differentiate the types of magic ties to each borrowed aspect.    Okay, I see...

I've a few suggestions.

Let's stop calling them "borrowed aspects" and call them conditions instead.    Invoking an Aspect costs a fate point, and evokers don't typically pay that to cast magic, unless they want to enhance the effect.  These magical conditions are the gateways to her manifested power.

For a regular evoker, mana is an optional element to increase the power of a magical effect.  How would you feel if the Oathsworn needed to peg off a shift of mana to use the power at all not just to add a boost to the power?

It would mean that if she has "Mike's Power" at +2, she's got two uses on that condition, before she loses it.  So, she can do three normal spells, or one normal spell with one-shift spent to boost it, but it burns out if she spends both shifts...

I'm not married to the idea, mind you.  But if this was in place, I think that would be an immense cost and we could drop the idea of the long-term depletion entirely.  It would also mean that she probably needs to feed more often than I was initially expecting.


Maybe one Boon Mana Stress is inflicted a a session?
I think that's fair, however this would be utterly voided if you buy into the suggestion above.  I don't want to over-penalize her.

I had also forgotten that Burned Out burns out one of the borrowed aspects.  I'm still good with that.  Technically, if you buy into the one-mana-slot per magical-effect suggestion, it would mean you can apply Burned Out, then use one shift of Mike's Power to make a magical effect, and the other shift of Mike's power to enhance the effect, effectively giving you a +4 to that one effect...  so you would get to double-up on the bonus for losing that Condition...  That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.  'Cause, really, how often are you going to do that?


Of course, this is Aroen, and Cara does not lose the power to do rituals...  We are just talking evocation here.

You are totally welcome to if you want.  I'd be more than happy to have to adapt to unplanned Aspects, that kind of goes with her theme of being filled with foreign magic.

That sounds like a discussion for each specific time.

Awesome.

• What is Arcanist Ellis Yassur's Lore rating?
• Do you want to pick the Boon Condition (figure let's keep it simple with the naming conventions) or shall I?

For a regular evoker, mana is an optional element to increase the power of a magical effect.  How would you feel if the Oathsworn needed to peg off a shift of mana to use the power at all not just to add a boost to the power?

That's actually super on theme for what I had envisioned for the character, and I really like it.

As is, she could cast and cast without losing it as long as she never pushed the power level by spending Mana.  This though?  It creates a really clear limitation.  Using the magic at all drains her battery.

Ah, So,with the removal of "disciplines" we need to find some way to differentiate the types of magic ties to each borrowed aspect.

If we've already established narratively that an NPC favors a certain type of Evocation, we can use that.  Otherwise, I can just roll 1d13 like I did for my Dependents and let the dice decide.

Also gives you the ability to introduce really alien magics, like bone weaving Osteomancy, Entropomancers wielding chaos and curse magic, Spirit Mages from Aren, etc, etc.

But if this was in place, I think that would be an immense cost and we could drop the idea of the long-term depletion entirely.

Appreciated, let's drop this.

"Boon Condition"  That sounds good.  It should help me from getting confused!

• What is Arcanist Ellis Yassur's Lore rating?
• Do you want to pick the Boon Condition (figure let's keep it simple with the naming conventions) or shall I?

I went to the dice-roller:
Control rolled 2 using 1d4.  Arcanist Ellis Yassur's Lore Rating.   
So, he's got a mana-pool of 2 + Lore(+2).
Therefore it's a 4-shift mana-pool for Cara.

And yeah, I figure everybody's going to have their favorite specializations...  If you'd care to make one up for Yassur, feel free.

When putting it on the tracking sheet, please also reference the benefactor's name so it's easier for me to keep track.  I mean, if I haven't already done it and you remember.

So, if an Oathsworn feeds twice (after exhausted is recovered from but she hasn't depleted the boon condition, I'm kind of assuming it just refreshes the mana-pool.   Thoughts on the whole "taking another boon condition"?  it was part of the conversation earlier.  Just want to see how you think ti fits now.

If we've already established narratively that an NPC favors a certain type of Evocation, we can use that.  Otherwise, I can just roll 1d13 like I did for my Dependents and let the dice decide.

I'm easy either way.  If  we're dealing with a character I have plans for, I may opt in.  But, otherwise... I'm quite happy to let you have narrative freedom.

Okay, over all, I think we've nerfed this enough to still allow her the potential to go on a short-term power-kick, but at the same time, limit it enough that doing so could have some potentially dramatic narrative repercussions.

As a side note, because we're starting the story with Cara having been in Druvir for some time, you're welcome to make up another boon condition that's in existence right now...

When putting it on the tracking sheet, please also reference the benefactor's name so it's easier for me to keep track.  I mean, if I haven't already done it and you remember.

Done

So, if an Oathsworn feeds twice (after exhausted is recovered from but she hasn't depleted the boon condition, I'm kind of assuming it just refreshes the mana-pool.   Thoughts on the whole "taking another boon condition"?  it was part of the conversation earlier.  Just want to see how you think ti fits now.

This is a tough one for me.  When I thought each Envoker would just have 1-3 Disciplines, it was easy to say "they have as many potential Boon Conditions as they have Disciplines, one linked to each."  That isn't the case anymore.  So, I think the Boon Aspect wouldn't change.  She'd just get another free Invoke, and refresh the Boon Mana and the ability to hoard them if she hadn't spent the last one.

Let's try it out that way and see ow it goes.

So, here's my issues with this list.

Evocation is, in this setting, narrowly defined as "manipulation of elemental forces with an instantaneous effect limited by line-of-sight."

I suspect that I didn't comment on it before because there was so much other stuff to comment on.  the mantle, the character.  This wasn't a high priority.

So, to my mind:
Elemental Forces:
Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Gravity, Lightning, Magnetism

Note that I'm not including Dresden Files "Spirit" in there.

But the following...  they don't fit for raw force manipulation with a line-of-sight instantaneous effect, for me:  Death, Illusion, Life, Mind, Nature, Sight, Teleport, Transform

I'm also really not enthused by the concept of "Death Energy" (Especially if "Energy" is part of the list of acceptable forms.  Isn't "Death Energy" part of that?

There is still nothing to prevent Cara from casting ritual magics.  But I really don't want rituals at evocation speeds here.

Awww, that makes me sad.

But I totally understand, and I'm having more than enough fun with this character, the world we've built, and you as a DM to not be too choked up over it.  Seriously, this has been so much fun.

I'll need you to retroactively pick what sort of magic Arcanist Yassur gave me, I've already spent his free invoke, so we don't need to worry about that.

Thank-you for your understanding.  I know it's a disappointment.


I still don't see a problem with divination being a specialty focus of Yassur.  Narratively, it can still boost rituals.  An the divination as a create-an-advantage action is still super cool and valuable...


Thank-you for the compliment.  I love your writing style too...
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:33, Fri 10 July 2020.

Works for me!  I'll have an IC post tomorrow morning.

Placeholder until I get an actual bio for each of them.

Arcanist Ellis Yassur
College Trained Oracle
Lore 2 - Boon Mana Pool 4
Description:  Dark skinned for a native of Druvir, Arcanist Ellis Yassur is a thin man in his early 40s.  He has a sharp widow's peak of black hair, narrow spectacles, and favors an ornate wooden cane because he thinks it makes him look important.
Bio: A 1st Degree Clerk, Arcanist Yassur is a College Trained Oracle who uses his talents to engage in prospecting endeavors for the Royal Bank of Druvish and Harrell.
Aspects:
An arcane eye for the right price.
College trained.
Thinks inside the box.

Grain Mother Huarta Patil
Khandari Merchant
Lore 3 - Boon Mana Pool 5
Description: Short but broad, Huarta has the dark skin and golden eyes of most of the Khundari.  Easily in her late 40s, she wears her just graying hair in long braids that go well past her waist, and is rarely seen without the scythe that is her Clan's calling.
Bio: One of the Lesser Matriarchs of the Clan of Patil, Huarta is a minor talent in the Evocation of Water Magic.  She is a shrewd merchant, and takes advantage of the Khundari's fearsome reputation to extract better prices from the foolish Softlanders.
Aspects:
Storm Caller
A stern gaze speaks volumes
Well travel and well spoken

Tril "Trilee" Patters
Urchin Wild Talent Sorceress
Lore 0 - Boon Mana Pool 2
Description: Small and scrawny, Trill looks like a strong breeze might blow her away.  She says she's 17, and the wear and tear of the streets certainly makes her look like it, but she's only 15.
Bio: Tril lost her parents young to a plague, so young she doesn't remember them.  She also doesn't remember a time when she couldn't summon the wind. Her natural talents allowed her to avoid the worst of the streets, but she's still seen more than her fair share.  She is the only Kumlaran to seek Cara out, offering blood in exchange for reputation and protection.
Aspects:
Sharp eyes, sharp ears, quick fingers.
The wind is my friend.
Smart cookie.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Wed 14 Oct 2020.

Don't need a huge bio... just a couple of broad-strokes and maybe an Aspect or two.

Bam.

So Grain Mother Huarta Patil having led multiple trade caravans to the Pennryn lands would make sense.

Works for me.

I'll create her as a shared NPC.  Meaning, you'll own her.  That still allows me to use her as I see fit, too.

So while we are waiting for our two new players, I'd like to do some enchanting within the Aboard the Hundari Kornmara thread, as Cara absolutely would have done the prep work.

Which leads to the question, we should set limits on how many items Cara can enchant at once.

Maybe no more than her Lore score?

Okay, I've gone and done my exercise for today, so I'm settling and getting cozy with rpol now.

I'm okay with a fuzzy limit of the number of enchanted items that can be carried.  But I think the number of actual activations of said enchanted items should be limited to the Loer rating.

If you do a ritual to enchant a new item, it doesn't impact anything....  only the triggering.

As a rough rule of thumb, I'll also say that the Lore rating applies for each "chapter".  To my mind, this really means "until you've had a narrative justification to reset it."   Hm.   So, maybe that should simply be a enchantment stress-track, to better keep track.

If you wanted to push beyond the limit, you can trade off physical/mental consequences to do so... (not stress, because that gets wiped at the end of the scene anyway)...

Or is that getting too complicated?

So this is me trying to address an issue I have with Fate and Fate+ in general, and maybe there is already an answer I just don't know about.

In our first scene, we had some moments alone, and Cara used that time to Create and Advantage on her bracers and knives.

What's to stop her from just spending a few days creating an advantage on every single piece of clothing she wears, and going into the fight with 50+ advantages and invokes to draw on?

Mechanically?  nothing.

Narratively, my patience.

It's a world where magic is bloody everywhere.  It follows that people do this all over the place all the time ad nauseum.

With the lore-limit as I'm proposing it here, she may have 50+ enchantments on all her stuff.  But I'm still only allowing the character to trigger up to four enchantments in a chapter (or sleep, as appropriate).

Really, I'd prefer not to define more than five to eight such enchantments, max.  Even that just feels like ta lot of preparation to slog through.  Particularly because the narrative preparation or mechanical preparation when listed out on RPO)L puts me in a positino where I feel I should find a way to make use of it.

Cara created the Mindfire poison on her blades.  She had an opportunity to use it, and she did.   But if you're setting up a half dozen other enchantments, you'll need to accept that many of them may simply not come into play.  Because the mroe enchantments you prepare, the less I feel obligated to create a narrative situation for them.

Another possible way to approach it is to allow everyone an enchantment stress-track and just let folks narrate why they have such an applicable enchantment available to them via a flashback wherein they prepared for just such an eventuality.  Mind you, it has to be credible... you couldn't possibly have known that a acid-trip-inducing snail was going to be in that stew that Rickard just made...    I mean, he didn't even know...

Perfect.

Thank you!

This message was deleted by the player at 08:30, Tue 19 Jan 2021.