Charm:Bless

The Bless Charm enhances people, pushing their abilities to a peak and bringing their actions to perfection. Champions and Graces have affinity for it.

Several Bless Charms add dots to Attributes. Unless otherwise noted, dots from these Charms don't contribute to Charm activation rolls, or any roll to activate a supernatural power.

=One-dot Charms=

Small Providence (•)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Manipulation + Streetwise
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 day

The Noble (or one she helps) finds, and obtains, that one thing she was looking for, at a surprisingly low price. No single person may be the target of Small Providence more often than once a session.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s finances are thrown into disorder. For the next week, the Availability of any equipment or services she wants counts as one dot higher.
 * Failure: The target gains nothing from the Charm.
 * Success: The target of the Charm gains one instance of the Bargain Condition. The Condition ends without resolving when the Charm expires.
 * Exceptional Success: The target of the Charm gains two instances of the Bargain Condition. Both will end when the Charm expires.

We Rely on You (•)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Presence + Empathy - target's Resolve
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: indefinite

A few words of encouragement can inspire anyone to scale the heights. No single person may be the target of We Rely on You more often than once a scene.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble loses her confidence. She gains the Shaken Condition [CofD 290].
 * Failure: The target is unmoved by the Noble's exhortation.
 * Success: The Noble gives the target a mission and the confidence to accomplish it. He gains the Blessed Condition, with 1 banked die for each activation success.
 * Exceptional Success: The target becomes very capable when carrying out his appointed task.

Upgrade: [Queen]'s Commission (Invocation •)
This is actually a set of upgrades, one for each Queen. If the mission the Noble gives her target is in accord with the Invocation tied to the upgrade, the Blessed Condition has two banked dice, not one, for each activation success. Any mission for which the Invocation would apply at no cost qualifies, and others may with Storyteller approval - except for Mirrors' Commission. For that upgrade, the assigned mission must glorify the Noble, not her target.

Sea-Foam's Touch (•, Acqua •)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Wits + Academics
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: indefinite

Truth is an ocean, from which the Noble draws a few drops.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s memory for facts becomes confused. She takes the Stumbling Condition, applied to a Mental Skill and lasting for the rest of the scene.
 * Failure: The Noble draws up nothing but irrelevant trivia.
 * Success: The target immediately gains the Insightful Condition on a topic of the Noble’s choice.
 * Exceptional Success: The target learns a broad survey of knowledge. His Insightful Condition applies to two topics of the Noble’s choice. The Condition still applies to just one roll, but the roll can be relevant to either topic.

Stop, Children, What’s That Sound (•, Aria •)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Wits + Composure - target’s Resolve
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene
 * There’s something happening here; what it is ain’t exactly clear ...

By speaking a single word, the Noble sends another person into a state of extraordinary alertness.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s voice becomes impossibly loud, to her ears alone. She takes the Deafened Tilt [CofD 281] in one ear for the rest of the scene.
 * Failure: The target pays no attention to the Noble.
 * Success: The target becomes alert and watchful. He takes the Alert Tilt: all his Perception rolls, including rolls to avoid surprise, take a +2 bonus. The Tilt wears off when the Charm ends.
 * Exceptional Success: The target gains a +3 bonus from the Alert Tilt.

Upgrade: Everybody Look

 * Modified by Commonality
 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble may use the Charm on all members of an organization that can see or hear her, using the Commonalty modifier. The member with the highest Resolve resists for the group. If the activation succeeds all the affected characters take the Alert Tilt.

Steady Resolve (•, Legno •)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Resolve + Persuasion
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

With a reassuring word, the Noble hardens another’s resolve in the face of magical manipulations. The Charm may not be used on anyone currently affected by it.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble loses her confidence. She gains the Shaken Condition [CofD 290].
 * Failure: The target is unmoved by the Noble’s exhortation.
 * Success: The target takes the Indomitable Tilt: whenever the target contests a supernatural power that affects his thoughts or emotions with Resolve, he adds 2 dice to his roll. When the target resists such supernatural power with Resolve, the user of that power subtracts 2 dice from his roll. The Tilt wears off when the Charm ends.
 * Exceptional Success: The bonus and penalty from the Tilt each rise to 3 dice.

Upgrade: Calm
The Noble’s reassurance also helps her ally remain calm. The target applies the Tilt’s bonus when contesting with Composure, and the Tilt’s penalty when resisting with Composure, against supernatural powers that affect thoughts or emotions.

Bejeweled Visage (•, Terra •)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Manipulation + Empathy
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

An odor of trust enfolds the one the Noble blesses, smoothing his path in society.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes convinced that everyone she meets disapproves of her. She gains the Nervous Condition, lasting until she fails in or abandons a social maneuver.
 * Failure: The target gains no help from the Charm.
 * Success: If the target begins a social maneuver before the Charm expires, the impression [CofD 81] for that maneuver moves one step upward.
 * Exceptional Success: The target is unusually adept in the first steps of the social dance. In a social maneuver influenced by the Charm, his first roll to open a Door has a +2 bonus.

Touch of Grief (•, Lacrima •)

 * Action: Reactive and resisted
 * Dice pool: Wits + Intimidation - target’s Resolve
 * Cost: 1 Wisp, Sensitivity check
 * Duration: 1 action

The Noble’s gaze brushes another with cold despair. The Charm is activated at the moment its target takes an action.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble is struck by remorse, and gains the Guilty Condition [CofD 289].
 * Failure: The target is not affected.
 * Success: The target’s action is cursed. The Noble either inflicts a -2 penalty to his dice pool, or strips the 10-again quality from it.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble strips 10-again from the target’s action and inflicts a -2 penalty.

Count No Cost (Tempesta •)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Presence + Persuasion - target’s Composure
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble gives her target the gift of total focus on a goal.
 * Dramatic Failure: The target strains his muscles and nerves without accomplishing anything. He takes 1 point of bashing damage.
 * Failure: The target is neither helped nor harmed by the Charm.
 * Success: The target gains the Obsession Condition [CofD 290] with respect to a goal of his choice. The Condition is resolved only when the Charm ends.
 * Exceptional Success: The target may keep the Condition as long as he wishes, but cannot shed the obsession before the Charm expires.

I'm the Best! (•, Specchio •)

 * Action: Reflexive and resisted
 * Dice pool: Presence + Wits - target’s Composure
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 action

Others might say that they are the masters of their fields. But, simply, the Enlightened of the Queen of Mirrors know this to be false. They can’t be better. This Charm can be used to enhance any contested action against an opponent who has a higher dice pool than they do.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s roll in the contest is an automatic dramatic failure.
 * Failure: The Noble has to win the contest normally.
 * Success: Each success removes one dice from the target’s pool, and adds one dice to the Noble’s pool. The number of dice transferred is capped by the Specchio rating of the Noble; such glorious victory comes from one’s own strength, after all. This may not reduce the target’s pool to less than zero.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble makes her victory look easy. She gains an exceptional success in the contest with 3 successes instead of 5.

Upgrade: Truly

 * Stackable 3 times

On actions where this Charm is used, once the dice transfer has been applied, the Noble may then add +1 to their own pool, as if it were coming from a specialty in “Defeating (opponent’s name)”.

Upgrade: Triumphantly (Specchio ••••)
The limitation that the target must have a higher initial dice pool than the Noble is now waived. In addition, if the foe is reduced to a dice pool of zero, the Noble may reflexively spend a Willpower point to force him into a dramatic failure.

=Two-dot Charms=

Better Together (••)

 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Presence + Socialize vs. target’s Composure + Supernatural Tolerance
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene or 1 day

The Noble turns common knowledge and training into a bond among the people near her. The Noble may use this Charm on a person she can touch, when the target is in the company of at least four other people, and he and the others all have at least 2 dots in the same Skill. The target may choose not to oppose the Charm. The Noble may not use the Charm on anyone already under its effects.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes flustered and distracted when the target can see her. She takes the Nervous Condition, which resolves when she has left the target’s presence for at least one scene.
 * Failure: No bond forms between the target and the other people present.
 * Success: For the rest of the scene, the target has the benefits of the Hobbyist Clique Merit [CofD 51], related to the Skill he shares with the others who are present. The benefit is limited to one Skill at a time; if more than one clique can be formed around the target for different Skills, the Princess chooses a Skill as she activates the Charm. The target needs the help of at least four clique members to get the benefit; the Charm does not end if the clique disperses, but it has no effect unless five members including the target are working together.
 * Exceptional Success: The Charm grants its benefits to the target until the next sunrise.

Intuitive Flash (••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Intelligence + Academics
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble grants knowledge and ability to someone within sight. For each success, the target gains one temporary specialty in a Skill of the Noble’s choice. If the Charm is used on anyone currently benefiting by it, the activation with the most successes takes precedence.

Upgrade: Expert
The Noble may grant a deep understanding of a subject. She may use an activation success to give her target, temporarily, the Area of Expertise Merit [CofD 44] for a specialty - which can be one he knew already, or one granted by the Charm.

Upgrade: Serendipitous
The Noble may give her target the ability to apply his new knowledge in unusual ways. She may use an activation success to give her target, temporarily, the Interdisciplinary Specialty Merit [CofD 45], if he has the prerequisites. The required specialty can be one the target had already, or one granted by the Charm.

Touch of Fortune (••)

 * Action: Reactive
 * Dice pool: Wits + Occult
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble grants a blessing of good fortune to a person she can see.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble loses her confidence. She gains the Shaken Condition [CofD 290].
 * Failure: The target gains no help from the Charm.
 * Success: The target gains the Fortunate Tilt, blessing a number of rolls up to the activation successes. A Noble may cast Touch of Fortune at the same moment another person acts to bless that action.
 * Exceptional Success: The target gains the Fortunate Tilt for many rolls.

Upgrade: Strong

 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble grants a stronger blessing: the target gains the Greatly Fortunate Tilt.

Upgrade: Well-timed
The target’s good fortune comes when most needed. Before the target makes a roll, he declares whether the Tilt will affect it. The number of rolls affected does not change.

Upgrade: Perfected

 * Requires Strong
 * Cost: +3 Wisps

The blessed actions become deceptively easy; the target gains the Perfected Tilt. Strong and Perfected cannot both be applied to the same activation.

=Three-dot Charms=

Light's Aegis (•••)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Strength + Medicine - target’s Stamina
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble extends a portion of her mantle over another person that she can touch, granting him the power to ward off injuries. The Charm may not be used on anyone currently affected by it.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble mishandles her power and injures herself. She takes 1 resistant lethal damage.
 * Failure: The target is unprotected by the Charm.
 * Success: The target has limited access to the Noble’s Holy Shield. He takes the Aegis Tilt: each activation success allows him to downgrade the damage from one source just before he suffers from it as a reflexive action. The Tilt stacks with the innate Holy Shield if used on a Noble; both may be used against an attack.
 * Exceptional Success: The target gains a strong protection from injury.

Upgrade: Saving

 * Cost: +2 Wisps

The Noble's protection lets her target survive against impossible odds. If the target takes enough lethal or aggravated damage to fill his Health track while under the Aegis Tilt, he does not bleed out or die; instead, after a minute, the damage in his last Health box downgrades to bashing damage, and he wakes. Recovering from injuries in this fashion ends the Aegis.

Mastermind (Bless •••, Acqua ••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Wits + Composure - plan’s equipment bonus
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: until plan resolves

With her impressive analytic abilities, the Noble prepares a near-infallible plan for herself and her friends. Using this Charm requires at least an hour of studying the problem which the plan is meant to solve, and the Noble must take part in the planned endeavor.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s plan is disastrous. At a critical moment, one of the people following it suffers an automatic dramatic failure, ruining the plan and putting the group in peril.
 * Failure: The Noble prepares a plan that confers no magical benefit, and also carries the Fragile or Volatile Condition. [CofD 102]
 * Success: The Noble creates a plan, as if she had succeeded in the Build Equipment action. [CofD 101-102] In addition to the normal benefits of a plan, the characters following it may treat a failed roll made with its help as if they had rolled one success. This can be done once during the plan for each dot of the Noble’s Acqua.
 * Exceptional Success: The plan is almost foolproof. Add 1 to the number of failed rolls that can be converted into successes.

Fists of Jade (•••, Terra ••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Presence + Occult
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble wraps a friend's hands in a holy aura that cuts the flesh of servants of Darkness.
 * Dramatic Failure: The target acquires the inflexibility of jade. All his Dexterity-based dice pools take a -1 penalty until the scene ends.
 * Failure: For a moment, the target feels spiritually cleansed.
 * Success: The target acquires the mystical purity of jade. His flesh has the same effects on creatures of Darkness that jade does until the Charm ends.
 * Exceptional Success: The Charm guides the target's hands. He also gains a +1 bonus when attacking a creature of Darkness.

Upgrade: Armed
The target's holy aura spreads to his weapons. A weapon in his hands acts on Dark creatures as if made of jade. The aura comes from the target, not the weapon, so it fades from a weapon when he releases it; however, it lasts long enough for a thrown object or a bullet to hit its target.

Upgrade: Multiple

 * Modified by Commonality
 * Cost: +1 Willpower

The Noble may give a jade aura to all the members of an organization in her presence, using the Commonalty modifier.

Charms of Enhancement (Bless •••, Invocation •••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: varies by Charm
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 scene

With the aid of one of the Radiant Queens, the Noble raises a person to heights of ability normally beyond them. Each Queen teaches a different version of this Charm, with her favored Invocation as a prerequisite; these version must be learned as separate Charms. Each Charm of Enhancement affects its target in a parallel way:
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble blights the trait she meant to boost. The target takes the Blighted Condition, taking 1 dot from the Attribute the Noble chose.
 * Failure: The target is not enhanced.
 * Success: The target gains the Enhanced Condition: the Noble adds the activation successes, up to her dots in the prerequisite Invocation, to one of the target’s Attributes. Any traits derived from that Attribute are recalculated. Each Charm can enhance the Noble’s choice among three of the Attributes.
 * Exceptional Success: In addition to the normal effect, the target adds a +1 bonus to dice pools based on the enhanced Attribute.

No Charm of Enhancement can be used on a target currently affected by that Charm. Each Charm uses a different dice pool, and is limited to a different set of Attributes.
 * Drawn by the Moon (Acqua): Roll Intelligence + Science; the Enhanced Condition raises one Mental Attribute.
 * Wind-Borne Grace (Aria): Roll Presence + Expression; the Enhanced Condition raises one Finesse Attribute.
 * Stoke the Furnace (Fuoco): Roll Strength + Persuasion; the Enhanced Condition raises one Power Attribute.
 * Forest Sanctuary (Legno): Roll Stamina + Survival; the Enhanced Condition raises one Resistance Attribute.
 * Crown Jewels (Terra): Roll Manipulation + Persuasion; the Enhanced Condition raises one Social Attribute.

Upgrade: Grand
The Noble may add dots to all three of the Attributes that the Charm can enhance in a single activation. She distributes her successes across the Attributes; she still cannot add more than her dots in the prerequisite Invocation to any one Attribute.

Tendril of Nothing (•••, Lacrima •••)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Presence + Intimidation - target’s Composure
 * Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower, Sensitivity check at +2
 * Duration: 1 scene

The void can seep into every mind. Give in, it says. Do not resist. Give up, and let your sorrows drown you.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble lets the void only into her own mind. She takes the Broken Condition [CofD 288]; if not resolved before then, the Condition expires at the next full moon.
 * Failure: The target is not affected by the Charm.
 * Success: The stillness of the void settles into the heart and mind of a foe. The target takes the Blighted Condition: he loses 1 dot from one of his Resistance Attributes for each success. The Charm cannot reduce any Attribute to less than 1, but it may reduce two or all three of Stamina, Resolve and Composure with 1 use. If the last box on the target’s Health track fills with aggravated damage, the Charm ends just before he dies. When the Charm does end, the target’s Attributes return to their normal values. The Charm may not be used on anyone currently affected by it.
 * Exceptional Success: The void terrifies the foe, showing him the foolishness of standing up to the Noble. In addition to the other effects, he takes the Beaten Down Tilt [CofD 87].

Avenger's Might (•••, Tempesta •••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Resolve + Brawl
 * Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 resistant lethal damage
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble binds fury into someone's flesh.
 * Dramatic Failure: The target’s nerve fails when he faces battle. If violence starts during the scene, he takes the Beaten Down Tilt [CofD 87].
 * Failure: The target fights normally.
 * Success: Until the Charm ends, whenever the target takes a violent action, he reaches an exceptional success on three successes instead of five. Inflicting an injury obviously counts, but violence also includes destroying items, and most uses of the Intimidation Skill.
 * Exceptional Success: In addition to the other effects, the target gains a +1 bonus on all his violent acts.

Upgrade: Cooperative

 * Modified by Commonalty

The Noble may bind rage into all the members of an organization she can see, applying the Commonalty modifier.

=Four-dot Charms=

Blessings Be Upon This House (••••)

 * Action: Extended, 30 minutes/roll, threshold = Sanctuary + number of Blessings
 * Dice pool: Presence + Crafts
 * Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
 * Duration: Inner Light days

The Noble appeals to the Light to bless the place she stands in and the people who enter it, and dedicates time and sweat to make it both beautiful and inspiring. The Charm is invoked on an area where the Noble is working. If it succeeds, the area becomes a Blessed place for the duration of the Charm. The Noble must set both the boundaries of the area (and hence its Sanctuary rating) and the Blessings she wants it to grant before she starts working on the Charm.

Without upgrades, the Blessings open to the Noble are limited to Skills and Specialties she knows herself (and for Skills, only up to her dots in them), her own Virtue, and Calm. Each of the Radiant Queens has her own preferred variation of the Charm, learned as an upgrade tied to the Queen’s Invocation.

If the Noble invokes the Charm on a Consecrated area, it automatically becomes tied to the Condition, and will last until the Condition ends. The Noble must apply the Charm to the whole of a Consecrated area to link it with the Condition in this way. The Charm cannot be used on any part of an area already under its effects. It also cannot be used on any area with active Taint, and will end instantly if anywhere under its effects becomes Tainted.

Upgrade: Study (Acqua •••)
The Noble prepares the area for use as a place of learning or study. She catalogs shelves of books, sets up laboratory equipment, or connects computers into a network. By applying Acqua to the Charm, she may create a Blessing that enhances a Mental Attribute, a Mental Skill beyond her own knowledge, or a two-Attribute roll in which one of the Attributes is Mental. She may also protect people from mental deterioration by creating the Integrity Blessing.

Upgrade: Carnival (Aria •••)
The Noble makes the area welcoming for the clever, deft and cunning. She puts up tents for a carnival, or sews costumes and decorations for a haunted house. By applying Aria to the Charm, she may create a Blessing that enhances Wits, Dexterity or Manipulation, a two-Attribute roll based on one of those Attributes, or the Skills Computer, Crafts, Investigation, Larceny, Stealth, Streetwise or Subterfuge (beyond her own knowledge.) She may also protect people from the assaults of real magic by creating the Resistance Blessing.

Upgrade: Arena (Fuoco •••)
The Noble prepares the area for competitions between the worthy and displays of excellence. By applying Fuoco to the Charm, she may create a Blessing that enhances Intelligence, Strength or Presence, a two-Attribute roll based on one of those Attributes, or the Skills Athletics, Brawl, Drive, Firearms, Weaponry, Expression or Persuasion (beyond her own knowledge.) She may also grant people greater determination by creating the Willpower Blessing.

Upgrade: Grove (Legno •••)
The Noble cultivates the area into a tranquil garden. She takes the appropriate supplies (ie, plants, seeds, soil, water, etc.) and makes a grove that instills peace, confidence, and competence. (Most Nobles who take this upgrade follow the lead of Bonnie Getsuei and make serene Japanese-style gardens, with cherry blossoms constantly floating through the air, but that isn’t required.) By applying Legno to the Charm, she may create a Blessing that enhances Resolve, Stamina or Composure, a two-Attribute roll based on one of those Attributes, or the Skills Crafts, Medicine, Survival, Animal Ken, Empathy or Socialize (beyond her own knowledge.) She may also speed recovery from all wounds by creating the Health Blessing.

Upgrade: Ballroom (Terra •••)
The Noble prepares the area for a formal social occasion. She prepares the courses for a banquet, or sets up decorations and musical instruments for a dance. By applying Terra to the Charm, she may create a Blessing that enhances a Social Attribute, a Social Skill beyond her own knowledge, or a two-Attribute roll in which one of the Attributes is Social. She may also discourage people from breaking the peace of the occasion by creating the Defense Blessing.

=Five-dot Charms=

Peaceable Kingdom (•••••, Legno ••••)

 * Avatar (Clubs)
 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Intelligence + Animal Ken
 * Cost: 3 Wisps, 1 Willpower
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Queen of Clubs’ avatar is guardian and teacher of the beasts. The Noble undergoes a second transformation on activating the Charm, assuming traits that suggest a large and powerful animal - typically a lion, though bear-like and eagle-like miens are known, and there are rumors of one Hopeful who evokes a dragon. The change always suggests a king or queen of beasts, and the peril and majesty of the natural world; any mortal seeing the Noble is somewhat shaken, and she gains +1 on all Intimidation rolls against them until the Charm ends.

However, the main effect of the Charm is on beasts who see it. Any natural animal that can perceive the Noble when she activates the Charm has its Intelligence raised by 1 dot, becoming sapient. Further, the animals affected gain instant fluency in her native language, and the Charm grants them the ability to speak it comprehensibly if they have any ability to vocalize at all. The Noble may use Social Skills on the animals as she would with mortals, and gains a bonus on such rolls equal to her activation successes. When the Charm ends, the animals return to their former non-sapient state. If the Noble uses the Charm twice on the same animal, it remembers everything that happened during the first use.

Sheltered by Her Hand (•••••, Lacrima ••••)

 * Avatar (Tears)
 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Resolve + Empathy, modified by Commonalty
 * Cost: 1 Wisp, 1 Willpower, Sensitivity check at +3
 * Duration: 1 scene

To preserve her city and her subjects is the first principle of the Queen of Tears, and those who incarnate her are able to guard their allies from all harm. A Noble uses this Charm to protect members of an organization she belongs to or has influence over - the subjects of Social Merits such as Status and Allies are eligible, and in a pinch the Connected Condition [CofD 288] will do.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble fails utterly to protect her allies, and is crushed. She suffers the effects of the Broken Condition [CofD 288] for the rest of the scene.
 * Failure: The Noble cannot protect her allies. The Charm fails.
 * Success: The Noble undergoes a second transformation that drains all the color from her body and Regalia. All members of the target group who can see this transformation feel a breath of cold pass over them, penetrating through all clothing for a moment. Until the Charm ends, the transformation expands and substantially modifies the Noble’s Holy Shield. The Shield activates automatically whenever anyone affected by the Charm suffers an injury, spending as many Wisps as necessary to prevent as much damage as possible; while the Charm is active the Shield is not limited by the Noble’s maximum Wisps per turn. She must pay the cost of the Shield in full when it activates. However, the Noble may draw Wisps for her Shield out of her surroundings, draining hope from the land to preserve her people. For each Wisp the Noble drains from her surroundings to power her Shield, the Storyteller rolls 1 die; the area gains 1 point of Taint, focused where the Noble stands, for each success on this roll.
 * While the transformation lasts the Noble is in enough danger to use Inner Strength, and trade her Willpower for Wisps. The Charm ends if the Noble runs out of Wisps and neither draws Wisps from her surroundings nor uses Inner Strength.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble touches the determination that has sustained the Queen of Tears in her mission. She gains +2 on Inner Strength rolls until the Charm ends.

Drawback: The Queen of Tears perpetually mourns for the lost Kingdom, and the sacrifices that must be made to sustain its remnant; her avatar bears the burden of her grief, and may be crushed by it. At the end of each turn in which the Noble’s Holy Shield activated, the Princess must roll Resolve + Composure to resist the Queen’s grief.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Queen’s grief overbears the Noble; the Charm ends immediately, and the Noble collapses. She takes the Immobilized Tilt [CofD 284] until the scene ends.
 * Failure: The Noble’s will falters. Future rolls to resist the Queen’s grief take a -1 cumulative penalty.
 * Success: The Noble withstands the Queen’s grief. Future rolls to resist it don’t change.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble recovers lost ground; reduce the penalty on future rolls to resist by 1,

to a minimum of -0.