For Want of a Nail

For Want of a Nail (••, Aria •)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Wits + Empathy - target’s Resolve
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: lasting

As the Noble watches a person near her, the moments when his life took strange turns become apparent to her. The Charm’s target must be a person close enough for the Noble to speak to.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble takes the Misled Condition. The Storyteller describes an event involving the target that never happened, and the Noble believes the event took place. Further uses of the Charm on the target won’t clear up the Condition - the Noble must discover her mistake by other methods. She may not use the Charm on this target for the rest of the scene.
 * Failure: The Noble learns nothing of her target. She may not use the Charm on this target for the rest of the scene.
 * Success: The Noble gains flashes of insight into the drastic changes her target has undergone. The Storyteller must answer one question about the following subjects truthfully for each activation success:
 * The time and place of an event that turned the target’s life to a course he did not expect
 * One detail of what happened during that event
 * The name or description of one person who was involved in that event
 * The Noble may ask questions about more than one event or person in a single activation. She may use the Charm on this target again, but later activations during the scene take a cumulative -1 penalty.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble gains considerable insight into events that changed the target.

Upgrade: Personal (Aria ••)
The Aria Invocation favors those who can handle surprises, good or bad, with a smile. The Noble may look for insight into the target’s character and abilities, so far as these resonate with the Aria Invocation or the credo of the Queen of Spades, or of magics distorting his character. Add the following to the list of subjects the Noble may ask about.
 * The target’s Wits, Dexterity or Manipulation
 * A Skill or specialty that helps the target live in the shadows, or by his wits: Computer, Investigation, Larceny, Stealth, Streetwise or Subterfuge, or one appropriate specialty of any Skill
 * A Merit that helps the target live by his wits, such as Danger Sense or Unseen Sense
 * Whether the target is currently affected by mind-altering supernatural powers