Gemma Durwald

Lady Gemma Durwald

Lady of House Durwald

Age: 54 • Virtue: Prudence • Vice: Pettiness Goals: x

Abilities

Agility: 2 Animal Handling: 2 Athletics: 2 Awareness: 5 (Empathy +2B) Cunning: 5 (Decipher +1B, Memory +1B) Deception: 3 (Bluff +1B) Endurance: 3 Fighting: 2 Healing: 2 Languages: 2 Knowledge: 4 Marksmanship: 1 Persuasion: 4 (Bargain +1B, Charm +1B) Status: 4 (Breeding +1B, Reputation +1B, Stewardship +4B) Stealth: 2 Survival: 2 Thievery: 2 Warfare: 2 Will: 4 (Dedication +3B)

Intrigue

Intrigue Defense: 14 • Composure: 12

Combat

Combat Defense: 9 • Health: 7 Armor Type: – • Armor Rating: – • Armor Penalty: – Weapons: x

Sorcery

Sorcery Points: 4 • Sorcery Defense: 18 Arts & Works: Divination: Casting, Reading, Vision Malediction: Castigate, Ruination Warding: Sorcerer's Bane

Qualities

Destiny Points: 1

Benefits

Averting Adept, Eidetic Memory, Gifted Spellcaster, Head for Numbers, Head of House, Natural Sorcerer (Divination: Casting), Sorcerous Initiation (Warding: Protection), Sorcerous Initiation (Divination: Reading), Sorcerous Initiation: (Malediction: Castigate), Sorcerous Works (Malediction: Ruination, Divination: Vision)

Drawbacks

Childhood Ailment, Familiar x2 (Initiation + Works), Flaw (Survival), Nemesis, Oathbound, Witchmark

Rumors & Tendencies

There are a variety of local rumors about Lady Gemma:

• X
• X
• X

Art of Divination

• Initiation: Add your Knowledge ranks to all Awareness test totals, as you are adept as interpreting tiny signs and omens even when not using divinatory magics directly.
• Divination Style: xxx
• Ritual Timing: Alignment and Invocation stages can be done faster or slower.
  • Gain +3 Difficulty for every 25% reduction in time.
  • Gain -3 Difficulty for every 50% increase in time.

Casting

• A Working that reveals the future of a target. It is both a Spell (The Glimpse Ahead) and a Ritual (The Unfolding Path).
• Resonance: Must either have something that belongs to target of spell, or have target present for casting.
• Self-Targeted: Using either of these effects for oneself adds a +6 to the Difficulty.

The Glimpse Ahead (Spell)

Price: 1 Spent • Test: Awareness, Difficulty 6-15 (secret, based on upcoming events in character's life)

• Every casting grants information - the more degrees of success, the more accurate.
• Success may grant simply information (which can be leveraged into a floating +1B to use in the future), or it may result in the gaining of a "phantom" Destiny which can be spent concerning the target.

The Unfolding Path (Ritual)

Price: 1 Spent

• Alignment: Knowledge (Dif 6), 10 minutes.
  • Each degree of success grants +1B for subsequent tests in ritual.
  • Failure inflicts -1D to subsequent tests in ritual, or -2D on a critical failure.
• Invocation: Awareness (Dif 9+), 30 minutes.
  • Success determines how far ahead insights are gained: one year (9), five years (12), 10 years (15), 25 years (18), lifetime (21).
  • Failure results in gaining the Flaw (Awareness) Drawback for a week, as confusing images haunt the sorcerer's waking and sleeping moments.
• Unleashing: Will (Dif 6+).
  • Success grants extensive information (which can be leveraged into a floating +1D to use in the future), or it may result in the gaining of a "phantom" Destiny which can be burnt concerning the target.

Reading

• A Working that reads who a target is and what brought them to this point. It is both a Spell (Flash of Insight) and a Ritual (Reading the Spirit).

Flash of Insight (Spell)

Price: None • Test: Awareness, Difficulty (target's Sorcery Defense)

• Casting is extremely subtle; only other diviners have a chance to notice, requiring an Awareness (Dif 9) test to detect the casting.
• Success grants knowledge of target's current Disposition and Technique they will use in this exchange. Gain +1D on all Deception and Persuasion tests for the duration of the intrigue.
• Critical Failure results in teh target being aware of the attempt to discern their secrets, causing them to become suspicious, worsening Disposition by one step.

Reading the Spirit (Ritual)

Price: 1 Spent

• Alignment: Awareness (Dif 9), 10 minutes.
  • Each degree of success grants +1B for subsequent tests in ritual.
  • Failure inflicts -1D to subsequent tests in ritual, or -2D on a critical failure.
• Invocation: Knowledge (Dif 12), 1 hour.
  • Degrees of Success are added to Unleashing result.
  • Failure ruins the casting, ending the spell. Caster also gains Flaw (Awareness) Drawback until they get a full night's sleep.
• Unleashing: Will (Dif 9).
  • Each degree of success accumulated grants one Insight and Insight die.
• Insight: Insights include:
  • A Background Event, or other detail about their past.
  • A Quality unknown to the diviner, either a Benefit or Drawback (chosen by sorcerer)
  • A Goal
  • What Motivation drives the subject
  • Virtues the character holds in high regard
  • Vices the character indulges in
  • A relationship to a character known to the sorcerer, particularly if that relationship is of interest to the sorcerer.
• Insight Dice: Spend an Insight Die against a target, gaining a benefit for the sorcerer when interacting with that target. The sorcerer may also transfer this benefit to another that they tell the results of the divination to. Benefits include:
  • Gain a +1D to Deception and Persuasion tests against the target for one Intrigue.
  • Improve the subject's Disposition to you by two steps during an Intrigue.
  • Gain +1D on a number of attack rolls equal to the sorcerer's Awareness.
  • Negate the spending (but not burning) of a point of the subject's Destiny.
  • Gain the benefits of having spent Destiny applied to the subject.
  • Gain the benefits of having spent Destiny against actions taken by the subject.

Vision

• A Ritual that plumbs past and future, seeking the destiny of organizations, cities, nations, and so forth. It does not seek out the fate of individuals, though it may tell the role individuals have played in a group or area in the past.

Price: 1 Spent or Burnt, plus Ritual Ingredients (gold expenditure)

• Alignment: Knowledge (Dif 12), 1 hour.
  • Each degree of success grants +1B for subsequent tests in ritual.
  • Failure inflicts -1D to subsequent tests in ritual, or -2D on a critical failure.
• Invocation: Awareness (Dif 9), 5 hours.
  • Success result determines how far into the past or future can be seen: Present only (9), 1 year past or 3 months future (12), 10 years past or 1 year future (15), 25 years past or 3 years future (18), 50 years past or 10 years future (21), 100 years past or 30 years future (24), 250 years past or 60 years future (27), 500 years past or 100 years future (30).
• Unleashing: Will (Dif 12).
  • Each degree of success grants one question the player of the diviner may ask the Narrator.
  • If Price was Spent, answers are full of symbolism and riddle-like narratives for the future, or in flashes of important moments for visions of the past.
  • If Price was Burnt, answers are direct and clear.
    • Moreover, diviner gains a number of Prophetic Destiny Points equal to Unleashing degrees of success +1.
    • These Destiny Points can be spent or burnt taking actions that rely on that information, or helping to bring it about or preventing it. They can even be used to power sorcerous work for those goals.
    • If the diviner shares the results of this vision with another, that character may invest a Destiny Point in acquiring the Prophetic Alignment Quality immediately.

Art of Malediction

• Initiation: You may substitute Will for Status in Intrigue Defense and for determining your place in the initiative order of an intrigue.
• Ritual Timing: Alignment and Invocation stages can be done faster or slower.
  • Gain +3 Difficulty for every 25% reduction in time.
  • Gain -3 Difficulty for every 50% increase in time.

Castigate

• A Working to inflict pain or harm on a target. It is both a Spell (Wrack) and a Ritual (Doom).

Wrack (Spell)

Price: 1 Spent • Test: Will, Difficulty (target's Sorcery Defense)

• Casting is no more than a gesture and sharp word from the sorcerer. Target must be in Close Range, and takes a Greater Action Spellcasting test.
• Success inflicts damage equal to Will times degree of success. This damage is not reduced by armor, but can be reduced by taking Injuries and Wounds.
  • May sacrifice one degree of success to leave the target unable to take a Greater Action on their next turn.
  • Once the Price is Spent, the sorcerer can continue to attack the target during that encounter without spending additional Destiny or Sorcery Points.

Doom (Ritual)

• A Working that inflicts slow, agonizing pain and harm to a target, even dooming them to death.

Price: 1 Spent, plus possession of a bit of the target's body (blood, hair, etc)

• Alignment: Knowledge (Dif 9), 1 hour.
  • Success links the poppet to the target in question.
  • Each additional degree of success grants +1B for Virulence tests if the infliction of the Doom is successful.
  • Failure causes the ritual to fail, and it must be started over.
  • It is possible to perform just this part of the ritual to create a connected poppet, and set the poppet aside for later use.
• Invocation: Will (Dif 12), 6 hours.
  • When the invocation begins, those around the target who can notice magic may feel a distinct sense of danger with an Awareness (Empathy) test (Difficulty 6). With 3+ degrees of success, they get a brief impression of the sorcerer working the Doom.
  • Degrees of Success add +1 per degree to the Doom's Toxicity.
  • Failure ruins the casting, and inflicts a Wound on the sorcerer.
• Unleashing: Will (open Difficulty).
  • Success inflicts a mystical poison with a Virulence equal to the sorcerer's Will, Toxicity equal to 1 + degrees of Invocation success, a Frequency of 1/Hour, and a Diagnosis Difficulty equal to the result of the Unleashing test.
  • The Doom imposes a -1D to all abilities, and an additional -1D per extra degree. If penalty dice equal the victim's Endurance rank, they perish.
  • A Doom can only be stopped by interrupting the ritual, killing the sorcerer, or forcing them to withdraw the Doom before it has run its course, or by placing a Blessing on the victim with a Difficulty equal to the Unleashing test +3.
  • Wards apply normal benefits against a sorcerer working a Doom, and increase the victim's passive Endurance by the ward rating to resist it.

Ruination

• A Working that causes the destruction of time's passage. It is both a Spell (Destruction) and a Ritual (Disaster).

Destruction (Spell)

Price: 1 Spent • Test: Will, Difficulty (object's weight on Strength table, +3 if made of stone or soft metals, +6 if made of hard metal)

• Target must be within Close Range; take a Greater Action Spellcasting test.
• If object is worn or carried by a living creature, use their Sorcery Defense if it is greater than the Difficulty.
• Success destroys item, causing it to immediately collapse into dust and ruined scraps.

Disaster (Ritual)

• A Working that inflicts ruin upon the Holdings of a House.

Price: 1 Spent, plus occult link to the target.

• Alignment: Knowledge (Dif 9), 1 hour.
  • Success creates four cursing talismans.
  • These must be placed in the four cardinal directions around the target Holding. The next stage of the ritual cannot be performed until they are in place.
• Invocation: Will (Dif 12), 3 hours.
  • Degrees of Success add +1 degree per degree to Unleashing test.
  • Failure spoils the Ritual and renders its components useless.
• Unleashing: Will (Dif 12).
  • Success inflicts a -1D per degree of success on the Status of the head or steward for tests of house fortunes for that season.
  • Degrees may be sacrificed to extend the Disaster for an additional month per degree.
  • Failure ruins the Ritual, rendering its components useless, and inflicts a Wound on the sorcerer.
  • The Ritual of Disaster can be ended prior to its expiration by killing the sorcerer or forcing them to withdraw the curse, or by finding all four talismans and destroying them using a Consecration ritual with a Difficulty equal to the Unleashing result, +3 per additional degree gained from Invocation. Failing this inflicts a Wound on the sorcerer attempting to end the curse.

Art of Warding

• Initiation: When performing a folk-ward, each degree of success grants 10 minutes of protection rather than just one. You can also work a folk-ward on someone else's behalf at a Difficulty 12.
• Ritual Timing: Alignment and Invocation stages can be done faster or slower.
  • Gain +3 Difficulty for every 25% reduction in time.
  • Gain -3 Difficulty for every 50% increase in time.

Sorcerer's Bane

• A Working that lays a curse on another sorcerer, inhibiting their ability to work magic.

Price: 1 Spent • Test: Knowledge, Difficulty (6+)

• Creates a Ward that affects any target of the cursed sorcerer's magic, even if that target is willing.
• Difficulty Result: Chosen before casting. Apprentice Ward (Dif 6), Basic Ward (Dif 12), Standard Ward (Dif 18), Adept Ward (Dif 24)
• Success: Each degree of success on this test grants one week of duration.
• Failure: No result. On a critical failure, the cursing sorcerer falls under the effects of the curse themself for 24 hours instead.

Future Qualities?:Adept Negotiator, Attractive, Authority, Cautious Diplomat, Charismatic (Bargain), Compelling, Dutiful, Courteous, Gifted Ritualist

Dowsing

• A Spell used to find a specific substance, item type, or animal. These are always specific, rather than broad: "gold" rather than "metals," "swords" rather than "weapons," and "ravens" rather than "birds".
• Each type of target is a different Spell. It takes 2 weeks to learn a different version of this Spell (you are always assumed to have access, thanks to Natural Sorcerer).

Price: 1 Spent • Test: Awareness (6+)

• Difficulty is based on distance of target: within 50 ft (6), within 100 ft (9), within 500 ft (12), within 1000 ft (15), within 2000 ft (18), within 1 mile (21)
• Success determines how quickly the diviner can follow signs to the target, and how large of an area across it pinpoints.
  • One Degree: Half yard per turn, area 10 yards across.
  • Two Degrees: 1 yard per turn, area 5 yards across.
  • Three Degrees: 2 yards per turn, area 10 feet across.
  • Four Degrees: 3 yards per turn, exact location pinpointed.
  • Failure: Search for 10 minutes, finding no signs.
• May recast the spell without re-spending Price, but each subsequent casting is at a cumulative -1D. Repaying the Price re-sets this penalty to 0.