SiderealLore/Charlequin
So! It has always bugged me a little that there was no explicit system for divination included in the Sidereals book. Based on everything I'd seen of them before, I really kinda figured there'd be an interesting system for how one's Sidereal PCs could prognosticate, but Sid astrology turned out to be something entirely different. Not one to give up easily, however, I have decided to take matters into my own hands...!
Poking through the old material from the Storyteller's guide reminded me of the description of how groups of three Sidereals, each of a different caste, could get together and divine the future. RSB drew upon this idea when writing the Sidereal Charms -- there are two Lore Charms (Of Truths Best Unspoken and Of Things Desired and Feared) which represent about the only oracular abilities Sidereals possess, which both follow this pattern. And it seems to work quite well. Thusly, I figured I'd expand the mechanic.
Of Things Unknown to the World
Cost: 10 motes Duration: Three hours Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 3 Minimum Essence: 2
Though the web of fate is intricate and strange beyond the understanding of mortals, it is said that in some patterns emerge within it, for those who know where to look. When exactly three strands of fate come together in a single place, they form a luminous triskele, a junction at which the course of fate becomes unusually clear. The Fivescore Fellowship has made careful use of this fact throughout history -- several Sidereals have spent a great deal of time attempting to ensure that there are exactly three viable candidates for the Scarlet Throne, in the hopes that when they each begin their bid for the throne in earnest, the contest's outcome will become crystal clear.
Almost all Sidereals are instructed in the use of this Charm to draw upon this mystic resonance. Using this Charm, three Sidereals of three distinct Castes may come together to create such a juncture in the web of fate, and gaze through it into the events of tomorrow. Each of the three must invoke this Charm and conduct a ritual divination over the course of three hours, typically involving an elaborate astrological consultation. At the end of this time, each Chosen rolls their Lore rating in dice; pool the successes together. The number of successes determines how detailed the information is; 1 success provides only the vaguest hint of the answer, while 5 successes provides an elaborate and detailed breakdown. This roll has a base difficulty equal to the Essence rating of the highest Essence being centrally involved in the situation being prophesied.
A given Sidereal may only use this Charm once per season as part of any specific combination of Castes. Chosen of Journeys may always use their Temperance with this Charm; Chosen of Serenity, their Compassion; Chosen of Battle, their Valor; and Chosen of Endings, their Conviction. Chosen of Secrets receive one automatic success on any rolls made for this Charm.
The information granted by the use of this Charm is dependent upon the specific selection of Castes who participate in its use:
Journeys, Serenity, Battles -- Determine who a certain course of action will bring a specific individual into conflict with.
Journeys, Serenity, Secrets -- Determine what approach will lead to a preferrable path through a specific course of events.
Journeys, Serenity, Endings -- Discover which path is most likely to result in a certain conclusion to a series of events.
Journeys, Battles, Secrets -- Determine what event will prove to be most important in the course of a specific conflict.
Journeys, Battles, Endings -- Discover a course of action that will bring a specific conflict to an end. The Sidereals do not discover what conclusion this will result in, only that it will successfully resolve the conflict.
Journeys, Secrets, Endings -- Determine when a specific process or ongoing event is most likely to come to an end.,
Serenity, Battles, Secrets -- Discover how a secret being actively hidden from the Sidereals by a foe can be revealed. This can include a person, and can refer to being revealed to the world as well as to the Sidereals.
Serenity, Battles, Endings -- Determine the likelyhood of success in a specific conflict.
Serenity, Secrets, Endings -- Discover what the most likely result of a course of action is. This does not make clear how likely this result is, nor what will come after -- it covers only the soonest "conclusion."
Battles, Secrets, Endings -- Determine what person, object, or concept is most fundamental to the resolution of a specific conflict. The Sidereals do not discover what the importance of this person or thing is, only that those involved in the conflict can alter the nature of the resolution through action upon it.
