IrresistibleMirageProposition

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Irresistible Mirage Proposition</b>

<b>Cost: 5 motes, 1 willpower\\
Duration: Instant\\
Type: Simple\\
Caste: Lost Shore\\
Min Essence: 1\\
Prereqs: None

A fae using this complex charm can see past the webs of chaotic possibility that form a person’s mind, catching a glimpse of his true soul like a distant shore and learning how to exploit his desires and weaknesses. In almost all cases this charm is activated outside of combat, while its effects are wielded during combat. As such it is a two-part power:

1. During any type of social interaction, the fae activates this charm and rolls Essence + Bureaucracy or Essence + Socialize, vs. a difficulty of her opponent’s roll of Willpower + Temperance. If the fae succeeds by rolling Bureaucracy, she learns something which the opponent desperately desires (like Know the Soul's Price, but perhaps not as explicit). If the fae succeeds by rolling Socialize, the fae learns of a flaw, a glaring hypocrisy, an emotional weakness or the like. The knowledge a fae gleans using this charm is rather vague in its details but incisive in terms of the intensity of the opponent's feelings, and can potentially be used as a fulcrum to bend them.
2. Once this charm is successfully used, the fae can at any later time (and at no essence cost) make her opponent an offer that he MUST consider, even if it means stopping combat for a round. If the fae succeeds by rolling Socialize, she can similarly freeze her opponent by incisively pointing out a flaw or a hypocrisy in his actions, or with a similar social action. This costs no motes to do, but it requires the full action of the fae. The effect is almost always to stop combat for a round with the opponent by freezing him by wielding the knowledge gained from this charm. In a way, once this charm is activated, the fae gets a free "stop combat" action in reserve.

For example, Allad the Solar is a religious fanatic. He is standing over the crippled body of Qingu. Allad has beaten Qingu on initiative and is about to deliver the final blow. Luckily for Qingu, he used this charm on Allad in a prior meeting with a Socialize roll. As Allad lifts his blades, Qingu softly says “I see murder in your eyes. And it is revealed to me that when the Sun murdered the Primordials, the Dead World was created. Are you so fanatical that you would follow his footsteps even to his follies and murder your defeated opponents?” Since Qingu successfully looked into Allad’s soul beforehand, this statement is truly incisive and Allad MUST stay his blade for his initiative. Neither of them can act for the round. This gives Qingu a chance to quickly try and disarm a surprised Allad the next round, making a stalemate out of a defeat.

Note that using this does not necessarily deprive its victim of combat actions. If he is fighting other opponents and a fae says something incisive, the victim will stay his blade against the fae using this charm but may freely attack and defend against his other enemies. One way to look at this charm is as a gateway for a Storyteller to dramatically pause the action where it otherwise would be impossible, or not to the fae's advantage.


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