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Society-Forging Charms

Moon and Ocean Fellowship

Cost: 2 gossamer (Special)

Duration: One Century

Type: Special

Min. Staff: 4

Min. Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Eight-Corner Ring Binding

The favorite method for telling stories of intrigue, the Moon and Ocean Fellowship binds a group of up to nine raksha into a star. Each names his desired relationship with each of the others, as with Oath Gossamer, and spends 2 gossamer. For each relationship, he chooses an Attribute, an Ability, and a Specialty. Rolls involving all these three are affected as by Imposition of Law when acting in the service of that relationship.

If any raksha brings a relationship to a permanent end, his Staff Grace shatters, each of the other binding creatures receiving a piece. Raksha bound by this Charm are able to revise their relationships at any time, but they must not be in the same freehold's waypoint network as the relationship's target, and they may change a particular relationship only once per story.

Among the noble raksha, it is considered uncouth for a Moon and Ocean Fellowship to be a perfectly harmonious society. It is more interesting and more polite for it to be one fraught with conflict and treachery.

Twelve-Constellation Pendant Correspondence

Cost: 2 gossamer per pair of participants

Duration: One Century

Type: Special

Min. Staff: 3

Min. Essence: 3

Prereq Charms: Oath Gossamer

The basic unit of dramatic continuity, this Charm binds up to twelve noble raksha into a symmetrical arrangement. Each names the dramatic role he will play in their stories, in the form of his noble Caste, and his foil, who serves the same Graces but in the opposite arrangement. No two pairs of nobles may serve the same pair of Graces, so the maximum number of raksha that can participate in the Correspondence is twelve.

A noble and his foil are linked in a special manner: if a noble suffers shaping damage while he has 0 Willpower, he and his foil exchange Castes in a Transformation. Transformations under the auspices of this Charm are generally accompanied by an involuntary paroxysm of shaping on the part of both raksha involved, with a display of the Caste's symbols. Each raksha receives 1 gossamer when he suffers a Transformation caused by this Charm.

At the end of each story, each participant receives bonus gossamer equal to his Essence if he acted within his Caste roles.

Inaccessible Heaven Palace

Cost: 4 gossamer

Duration: One Century

Type: Special

Min. Staff: 5

Min. Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Moon and Ocean Fellowship

This Charm binds a group of up to seven raksha into a plow, forming the foundation for a shared vision of glory. As with Oath Gossamer, each raksha defines no more than relationship with each other. This creates a waypoint space in the society's minds' eye, as per Soul-Carving Artifice, with one waypoint per reciprocal pair of relationships defined; the relationships set the waypoint's theme. Raksha may choose to leave some relationships undefined if they choose. In this space, the linked individuals may meet and contend in shaping combat, or they may parlay and confer as it please them.

All the linked raksha are instantly aware of activities within the palace, and may automatically join them, at the price of the distraction this brings. Events in the dream palace are real, but contained; gossamer generated in the palace is retained there, as are any new possessions made there, but ravishment, incumbrance, and vexation have their full effect.

If any raksha brings a relationship to a permanent end, his Staff Grace shatters, each of the other binding creatures receiving a piece. Raksha bound by this Charm are able to revise their relationships at any time, but they must not be in the same freehold's waypoint network as the relationship's target, and they may change a particular relationship only once per story.

Mutation Charms

Viscera Universe Exploration

Cost: 4 gossamer

Duration: Instant

Type: Simple

Min. Sword: 4

Min. Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Glorious Hero Form

The raksha inverts his Essence, turning his attention to his internal makeup. He enters his Viscera Universe, the waypoint space that forms the foundation for the daydream areas formed by Soul-Carving Artifice. It is constructed from his vital organs! Here, there is a sea of blood or bile; there, a mountain range of ribs! Tooth sharks and vertebra crabs lend the place a sense of fauna. Here, he may contend with his unshaped self. By simply invoking this Charm, the raksha may perform maintenance on the sanctum of his body, redefining the mode of his Glorious Hero Form mutation(s)to increase different Attributes. By defeating his unshaped mind in a shaping combat, he may achieve several accomplishments, which replace the normal effects of shaping victories:

• Ravishing the unshaped self allows the raksha to untangle one of his ravishments.
• Incumbering the unshaped self allows the raksha to lift away one of his burdens.
• Vexing the unshaped self allows the raksha to steal back some of his freedom of form, tearing away his mutations. He may dissolve a number of mutation points' worth of shape equal to the unshaped's Sword Trait.

The Storyteller and the player should work together to create an unshaped persona that reflects the raksha's inner nature, unburdened by form and name, but also presents him with a significant challenge to defeat.

Charms

Fiercely Individualistic Spirit

Cost: 1 gossamer

Duration: One Story

Type: Reflexive

Min. Cup: 2

Min. Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Heaven Rains Wisdom

The raksha shapes himself into a first cause; all those that encounter him are struck by his radiant volition, unblemished by external influences. While this Charm is in effect, the raksha has no access to the Acquaintances, Allies, Command, Contacts, Followers, or Influence Backgrounds. Reduce his Retinue and Style to zero; he may distribute as many dots as the normal rating of these Backgrounds among his Virtues, and apply his permanent Essence as a bonus to Willpower rolls. When the Charm ends, all these Backgrounds are restored to their original ratings.

Comments

I like Moon and Ocean Fellowship a lot. Inaccessible Heaven Palace...I'm not so sure. Why would a raksha want such a crucial part of her story to have such a small audience? --MF

Audience isn't everything. The Palace gives you access to a lot of stuff: a magical conference chamber, a place to recoup your energies, an area where you can use your shaping abilities to change yourself, and so on, all while in Creation. It is practically overpowering for diplomats, who gain the ability to relay messages at reflexive speed. It's not about stories; it's about life. - willows

Personally, I don't think a raksha would see a difference between "stories" and "life." --MF

Whatever. The whole point is that the Charm has functionality beyond mere showmanship. Which seems to have...I dunno...whooshed over your head. - willows

First, there's no need to be insulting. Second, I think we have very, very different understandings of what the Fair Folk are all about.
It seems to me that to a raksha, "showmanship" is never "mere." The stories you live out are the only thing that gives your existence meaning. Without them, you're just a glimmer in the void, now here, now gone. --MF

There certainly isn't. I apologize for indulging in my vices. Anyway, I am operating from the assumption that the mechanics are precisely correct in their description of raksha interaction, partly because the raksha defined themselves in that manner. This means that, by implication of the shaping rules, the size of your audience is completely immaterial; it is only the fact that one exists that is important. - willows

An interesting point. I'll have to think about that. --MF

The speed of the wiki in creating new and interesting charms for a fatsplat amazes me. I currently havn't even managed to -comprehend- the charm set, let alone decide on what needs extending where. Good job... I think.
-- Darloth

Thanks! - w

Viscera Universe Exploration - what happens if the raksha loses the shaping contest with his unshaped self? Is it exactly the same as if he had lost a shaping contest outside his body? Better? Worse? - curious Moxiane

I'm not clear on what happens if you lose a contest with an unshaped at all, so I didn't write up any rules for that. But, I assume that the comsequences are the same as for losing any other quest against the unshaped. - w

They are indeed the same- the book alludes to an Unshaped chasing a raksha challenger across the Wyld, slamming them with all sorts of incumbrances and taking all of their toys. Sort of like hitting a bee's nest - it's fine if you can hit it hard enough to get away in time. Do you mind if I include Viscera Universe Exploration in a Way charm tree? It strikes me as the sort of journey a Way-user would take, and I'd like to get some Quest charms done ~ BerserkSeraph

Not at all! Go right ahead. As I mentioned to Brandon like two paragraphs down the page, I think that a less Swordy version of the Charm would have different visual effects, but you are more than welcome to use it in whatever form you like. - w

Heh; Viscera Universes! I like the idea of questing inside yourself for an Unshaped, but I'm not sure that I'd describe it as thus. I figure "Viscera Universe" should be one potential type of Unshaped Persona for your character, with tooth sharks and incisor knights as potential "personas" for your unshaped. However, I figure a different Fair Folks inner self could manifest in a different way. So I'd probably make this a little more general, while perhaps using the Viscera Universe as an example. - CrownedSun

I do not disagree! I would derive different "inner world exploration" Charms from different mutations, however. This is the Glorious Hero Form exploration, the sanctum of the body. - w

I'm unclear on why Twelve-Constellation Pendant Correspondence is a group Charm, since it's composed of mutually exclusive pairs. It seems it would make more sense if it used Oath Gossamer as a direct prerequisite and defined a relationship between only two raksha. As it is, if four nobles use the Charm the effects are exactly the same as if it was used once for each pair, since the pairs don't interact with other pairs for gossamer replenishment. - WaiyaddoNoDan

To make it cheaper for a group to purchase and use. - w