Charm:Appear

The Appear Charms change your appearance, and produce other illusions. Seekers and Troubadours have affinity for them.

=One-Dot Charms=

Life of the Party (•)

 * Favor (Socialize)
 * Action: Permanent

When the Noble transforms, innate courtesy and friendliness support her in every social situation.

Upgrade: Carousing (Aria ••)
The Noble is welcomed in any bar or drinking party while transformed. Actions to detect her as an intruder take her Aria as a penalty; this stacks with the Barfly Merit [CofD 50]. Also, the Noble can get drunk, or high on drugs, and never show it - she keeps her poise and self-control. She may apply Aria to her roll to resist a drug’s effects [CofD 96]. (The Charm does not help the Princess resist a toxin that does damage.) During a social maneuver, if the Noble and her target are at a social function where people are expected to drink (or take other recreational drugs) she can spend 1 Wisp to improve her impression by one step.

Upgrade: Gossiping (Terra ••)
When asking for information from her connections, the Noble nearly always finds what she seeks. She may apply Terra whenever she gathers information from her Contacts [CofD 50], no matter what Skill her dice pool uses. If she spends 1 Wisp after seeing the result, she may reroll her dice pool, though she must accept the second result. (Using this ability on a Contact who knows only the Princess’ mundane identity is best done over the telephone ...)

Light the Way (•)

 * Action: Permanent

A portion of the Noble’s Regalia can, at any time, emit a soft light that banishes the thickest natural darkness. The light source can take several forms - a ring or bracelet, a jewel on her brow, an actual small flashlight, and a saintly halo have all been seen; whatever its form, it illuminates the Noble’s path and leaves her hands free. She can bring the light up or douse it reflexively, and set it to shine at any intensity short of full sunlight.

The Noble can also focus the light to a bright, narrow beam into someone’s eyes to inflict temporary blindness. This is a normal attack using Dexterity + Athletics, and the target’s Defense applies. On a normal success the target is Blinded [CofD 281] in one eye; on an exceptional success he is Blinded in both eyes. Either way, the Tilt lasts for one turn.

Upgrade: Dazzling (Fuoco •)
The Noble can reflexively make her light burn at a constant eye-watering intensity, blinding anyone nearby who looks at her, by spending a Wisp. Anyone who can see her must succeed on a Stamina + Composure roll, penalized by the Noble’s Fuoco, or be Blinded in one eye until he looks away from her, or she dims her light again, whichever comes first.

Twenty Faces (•)

 * Regalia
 * Action: Permanent

Sometimes, the full glory of the light must be veiled, so that a Princess may walk unnoticed. The Noble can reshape her Regalia into an outfit that helps her fit in; with a transformation action, she is dressed in appropriate “civilian” clothes for the area. The reshaped outfit acts as a basic disguise [CofD 277] and gives the Regalia bonus to all disguise rolls. However, any use of Charms or summoning other pieces of Regalia resets the outfit to the Noble’s usual appearance.

Upgrade: Beautiful
The Noble can choose to stand out from the crowd rather than blending in. She may reshape her Regalia into high fashion [CofD 277] suitable for her current venue, or one she’s about to attend; the Regalia and Quality bonuses also apply to any roll helped by fashionable clothes.

If she stays within the general theme of her normal Regalia (colors, decoration, motifs etc.) and is recognizable as herself, the Noble may use Charms and other Regalia without resetting her clothes, but doesn’t get the benefit of being in disguise.

Upgrade: Durable
The Noble’s clothing does not reset if she uses Charms or summons other Regalia. Instead, it flickers, revealing her true appearance for a moment; observers will notice this if they succeed on a reflexive Wits + Composure roll, penalized by her Quality bonus (if any.) The Charm won’t help the Noble explain how the person she appears to be has magical powers, or where she got the object in her hands.

Upgrade: Masked
The Noble can change her features dramatically. By spending 1 Wisp, she may alter all aspects of her appearance - ethnicity, height, build, even sex - within the limits of her Size trait. (A Princess with the Giant Merit will always be a very tall man or woman, no matter how this Charm is used; a child Princess cannot look like a full-grown adult, and an adult cannot pass herself off as a child.)

All mundane attempts to identify the Noble fail automatically, and supernatural powers that pierce disguises start a Clash of Wills. Applying Masked does not give her extra protection from being mundanely detected as an outsider or impersonator, but the Regalia and Quality bonuses still apply.

Unseen Traveler (•)

 * Favor (Stealth)
 * Action: Permanent

A Princess usually wants to be seen, to be noticed, to be the one that holds the lantern of Light that is the beacon to guide others. But sometimes, being seen is exactly what you don’t need, as the Darkness flees from the Light it becomes harder to determine its plan and intent.

Upgrade: Elusive (Aria ••)
The Princess is especially difficult to follow, or shake off. When she shadows someone, or is being shadowed, while on foot [CofD 72] her opponent in the contest takes a penalty equal to her Aria, and she may spend a Wisp to achieve an exceptional success on 3 successes.

Upgrade: Quiet (Lacrima ••)
The Princess’ movements are almost silent. When she attempts a surprise attack, her target’s roll to avoid surprise [CofD 88] takes a penalty equal to her Lacrima, and all attempts to locate her by listening take the same penalty. Moreover, she may spend a Wisp to give herself the Silenced Tilt for a number of turns equal to her Lacrima.

Zephyr's Track ( •, Aria •)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Dexterity + Stealth
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble floats through the world like a breeze, leaving no trace of her passing except by her own will.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes clumsy, prone to slip and make noise when she wants to hide. She takes a -2 penalty on all Stealth dice pools until the scene ends.
 * Failure: The Noble leaves traces of herself behind her as usual.
 * Success: Until the Charm ends, gentle puffs of air clean away any traces the Noble leaves in the wake of her movements. Footprints and fingerprints are brushed away; hairs and skin cells float behind her without settling; drops of sweat or blood evaporate. Any attempt to follow her trail or deduce her actions from physical evidence fails.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble can choose to leave false evidence behind her that suggests a person quite unlike herself passed where she has gone.

Upgrade: Multiple

 * Modified by Commonalty

The breezes can clear away traces of many people at once. The Noble uses the Charm on the members of an organization she can see, using the Commonalty modifier. If she succeeds, all traces of their passing are erased.

Upgrade: Scryproof (Aria ••)

 * Cost: +1 Wisp

Even magic is blown awry when used to perceive the Noble. Any attempt to discover what she does during the Charm's duration with a supernatural power provokes a Clash of Wills. This applies to scrying from afar, prophetic visions, and divinations of the past.

Sweet Fragrance (•, Legno •)

 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Composure + Socialize vs. Composure + Supernatural Tolerance
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble releases a subtle scent into the air around her, that relaxes those who breathe it and inclines them to be friendly. She affects a circular area with a radius up to (Inner Light + Legno) yards, centered on herself.


 * Dramatic Failure: The scent the Noble releases is mildly offensive. She takes a -1 penalty on all Social rolls for the rest of the scene, or until she cleans herself with soap.
 * Failure: The Noble releases no scent.
 * Success: Anyone within (Inner Light + Legno) yards of the Noble who gets fewer successes on their dice pool than her activation successes gains the Trusting Tilt.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble gains a +2 bonus on Social rolls against anyone with the Trusting Tilt.

Upgrade: Lasting

 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble releases the scent continuously for the duration; anyone who comes within her Inner Light in yards until the Charm ends must roll Composure + Supernatural Tolerance, gaining the Trusting Tilt if they get fewer than the activation successes.

Upgrade: Subtle (Legno ••)
The Noble permeates an object with her fragrance by touching it; the next person who touches or smells it afterward must contest the Charm. The scent fades after someone has breathed it, or when the Charm ends, whichever comes first. If the Noble applied Lasting, the scented object affects everyone who touches or smells it until the Charm ends.

Mantle of Authority (•, Terra •)

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

The Noble claims her authority from the Light to keep her person inviolate and her movements unrestricted. She must show her phylactery to her target to establish her credentials. The Charm fails if the Noble or her target is engaged in combat.


 * Dramatic Failure: The target sees the Noble as a fraud or a lunatic, and will react accordingly.
 * Failure: The target sees nothing significant about the Noble’s phylactery.
 * Success: For the rest of the scene, the target assumes the Noble has diplomatic privileges. He will not try to search her or detain her, no matter what she’s been doing, though if she lacks permission to be where she is, he may escort her out. The target also will not initiate combat with the Noble unless ordered to do so by his superiors, though he will respond if she attacks.
 * Exceptional Success: The Charm’s effect persists for a full day before it ends.

Upgrade: Collective

 * Modified by Commonality
 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble may use the Charm on members of an organization that can see or hear her, using the Commonalty modifier. The member with the highest Composure resists for the group.

Face of Lover's Alarm (•, Specchio ••)

 * Action: Reflexive
 * Dice pool: Wits + Empathy
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 attack

One would not threaten a loved one, would they? And as the Queen of Mirrors teaches, the True Heir will be beloved by all. This Charm is activated in response to an attack; the Noble must be able to apply her Defense against that attack.


 * Dramatic Failure: The attacker sees through the imposture and is outraged. His attack gets a +2 bonus.
 * Failure: The imposture has no effect on the attacker.
 * Success: The Noble’s appearance blurs to resemble one beloved by the attacker. The Noble’s Defense against the attack increases by her Specchio, as the attacker reflexively pulls his blow.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble unconsciously impersonates the beloved’s mannerisms for the rest of the scene; she reminds the attacker so strongly of his beloved that he finds it hard to injure her. He takes one level of the Lover’s Alarm Tilt: any attack he makes on the Noble has a -1 penalty to its dice pool. Levels of the Tilt can accumulate up to the Noble’s Specchio.

The Charm relies on the empathy and the goodness of the target. Against a target with no Integrity or equivalent trait, such as a Darkspawn or an animal, the Charm fails to activate.

Upgrade: Universal

 * Cost: +1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 turn

The Noble appears to everyone in the form of their first love. She may activate the Charm with this upgrade once per turn to protect herself from all her foes. For that turn, any attack on the Noble is penalized by her Specchio, even if her Defense doesn’t apply against it. If she achieves an exceptional success, anyone who attacks her gains a level of the Lover’s Alarm Tilt. The Noble cannot use the Charm on a single attack before it expires.

Upgrade: Inviolate (Specchio •••)

 * Cost: +1 Willpower

The shock of his beloved appearing in the middle of a fight is so great that the attacker’s blow hits the wrong person. The Noble may choose any other person within range of the attack to become its new target in her place, except the attacker himself. If no such person exists the upgrade has no effect.

If the Noble applied Universal, she must spend 1 Willpower to redirect each attack.

=Two-dot Charms=

Phantom (••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Wits + Expression - image’s Size
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble forms a Wisp into an illusory object. The illusion affects only sight, and material objects pass through it without stopping. The Size of the image can’t exceed the Noble’s, but within that limit she can show any image she is capable of imagining.


 * Dramatic Failure: The Charm fails with a burst of light and a loud crack, alerting anyone nearby who could see or hear to the Noble’s presence.
 * Failure: No image appears.
 * Success: The Noble creates the image she desires, somewhere within her sensory range. The image remains until the Charm ends. By concentrating on it, the Noble may move and alter the image with mundane actions, using Wits + Expression as the dice pool. The Storyteller may require a different Skill for some actions (e.g. Subterfuge when an image is meant to deceive.)
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble manipulates her illusion deftly. Her mundane actions to control it gain a +2 bonus.

Upgrade: Dancing
The Noble may create an image that moves without her conscious attention. When her concentration lapses, the image continues to act on the instructions she last gave it.

Upgrade: Glowing

 * Requires Light the Way

The Noble can make her illusions give off light, just as her Regalia does with Light the Way. As long as she is concentrating on an image, she may vary the light coming from it reflexively, independently of her personal light. If she has upgraded Light the Way, she may apply all that Charm’s upgrades to the image’s light as if it were her own.

Upgrade: Consecrated
The Noble may sustain a Lasting illusion with the blessing of a Consecrated area. Doing so keeps the illusion intact until the Consecrated Condition ends, but limits its movements to the area covered by the Condition.

Upgrade: Singing
The Noble may create an illusory sound, or add sound to an illusory image. A sound without an image seems to come from a point the Princess can see, which she can move while concentrating.

Upgrade: Solid
The image becomes substantial. As long as it lasts it has a degree of solidity, as well as a firmness and texture appropriate to what it depicts. However, just because it projects an image of solidity does not mean it is solid; the image shatters if force is applied to it (by kicking an illusionary wall, for example) or with it (an illusionary wrench won't tighten or loosen a bolt).

Upgrade: Thinking (Acqua ••)

 * Requires Dancing

When the Noble releases her concentration, in addition to providing the illusion with further instructions she may grant it a measure of adaptability. For each dot of Acqua she may instruct the image to react to one condition, altering its behavior in response. For conditions that require senses to recognize, the illusion has a Perception dice pool equal to the Noble’s.

Upgrade: Multiplied (Aria ••)

 * Requires Dancing

The Noble may create multiple distinct images with a single Charm activation. She can make one additional image for each dot of her Aria. The Noble can try to control more than one image at once, but takes a -2 penalty to her dice pool for each image beyond the first. If she applies Singing, each image may have its own sound and images can be replaced with sounds.

Upgrade: Scented (Legno •)
The Noble may create an illusory scent, or add scent to an illusory image or sound. If the image is Solid, she can give it a taste as well. A scent without an image seems to come from a point the Princess can see, which she can move while concentrating.

Upgrade: Painted (Terra •)
The Noble may create an illusory surface which covers and disguises an existing object. Applying this upgrade adds 1 to the image’s maximum Size; however, the image’s shape must be fairly close to that of the object it disguises. The Noble may disguise part of an object if she wishes, or the whole exceeds her Size limit. The image is bound to the object and moves with it, though the Noble can still change it while concentrating on it.

Speaking Eyes (••, Acqua •)

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

The movements of the Noble’s body are saturated by meaning. She uses the Charm on a single character who can see her.


 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble destroys her natural ability to communicate. All her Expression rolls take a -2 penalty for the rest of the scene.
 * Failure: The Noble’s gestures convey no special meaning.
 * Success: The Noble can convey the most complicated thoughts to her target with a turn of the head, a twist of the hand, or a facial expression, as quickly as with normal speech; the target will understand her intent even if he shares no languages with her, as long as they can see her. Nobody else looking at her will understand her meaning; indeed, unless onlookers examine her carefully (succeeding on an Intelligence + Investigation roll) they won’t realize that she is “saying” anything at all. The Charm does not help the Noble understand the target.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble may combine her gestures with her speech. Her Expression rolls to communicate with the target gain a +2 bonus until the Charm ends.

Upgrade: Collective (Acqua ••)

 * Modified by Commonality

The Princess can convey her thoughts to members of an organization that can see her, using the Commonalty modifier. Those not in the organization will not understand her gestures.

Masquerade (••, Aria •)

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

Instead of changing herself, the Noble changes how another perceives her.


 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes totally transparent to her intended target; for the rest of the scene, in contested Subterfuge rolls with him she always gets a dramatic failure.
 * Failure: The Noble’s disguise must stand the target’s inspection unaided.
 * Success: The target cannot see through any disguise that the Noble assumes or role that she enacts; in all contests of Subterfuge for this purpose between them during the current scene, the target automatically gets a dramatic failure. The Noble cannot use Masquerade to impersonate a specific person the target knows or has met - she is limited to a generic role. Masquerade ends if the Noble uses any other Charm.
 * Exceptional Success: The target is blinded to flaws in the Noble’s disguise for a full day.

Upgrade: Familiar

 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble can try to impersonate someone her target knows. The target does not automatically fail this contest, but the Noble takes no penalty from the target’s familiarity with the person she imitates, and she adds her successes on the activation roll as a bonus to her side of the contest.

Upgrade: Social (Aria ••)

 * Modified by Commonality

Cost: +1 Wisp The Noble may use Masquerade on members of an organization, applying the Commonalty modifier. Each member contests the roll independently.

Upgrade: Veiled
The Noble may use other Charms without ending Masquerade, and the target will not notice their manifestations - he perceives the direct effects of the Charms, but will not trace them back to her.

Flash of Brilliance (••, Specchio •)

 * Action: Reflexive
 * Dice pool: Presence + Subterfuge
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 action

To an Heir, mundane history and trivia often seem so… trivial. Shouldn’t an Heir’s magic be proof enough of their genius? This Charm enhances any action with the goal of convincing others that the Noble is well-informed about some topic.


 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s action is an automatic dramatic failure. Whatever she says, the audience perceives only foolish ignorance of the topic.
 * Failure: The action is neither helped nor hindered.
 * Success: The Noble passes herself off as an expert. If her roll for the action fails, treat it as having one success; if it succeeds, treat it as an exceptional success. Listeners will remember hearing only the things the Noble said that were appropriate to the topic, but will believe the full speech conveyed an accuracy and understanding appropriate to the result of the roll. The Charm affects only what the audience hears; dictation, recordings, and so on capture only the actual speech, although listeners will not realize it until the Noble is done speaking.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble’s apparent mastery of the topic prevents anyone from challenging her claims. If her action succeeds, listeners must spend 1 Willpower to dispute anything she says on the topic for the rest of the scene.

=Three-dot Charms=

Goccia Astrale (•••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Intelligence + Crafts
 * Cost: 2+ Wisps
 * Duration: variable

"I can’t be in two places at once!" is an all-too-common complaint from just about anyone; the Hopeful especially find it necessary to be two people at once, when mundane obligations interfere with fighting a supernatural incursion. With this Charm a Princess can partly resolve such dilemmas, by making a facsimile of her mundane self that moves and speaks, and can pass as herself if not examined too closely.

The Noble applies the Charm to a mass of material that she can shape barehanded, or else a quantity of fluid, of roughly Size 2 (Applying some Invocations allows unusual choices of material - see the table for examples). Infusing this material with Wisps, she transforms it into an Astral Droplet: an exact physical copy of herself just before her last transformation, wearing identical clothing. The Droplet has the same mundane Attributes and Skills as its creator, and access to all her memories as of the time of its creation. However, it lacks energy and imagination; it does not get 10-again on any dice pool, or any other quality that allows rerolling dice, cannot spend Willpower, and has neither Virtue nor Vice. The Droplet is also fragile - a single point of damage of any type is enough to dissolve it into the stuff it was made of and glimmers of light. Finally, the Droplet has none of the Noble’s Light-derived powers, even Practical Magic.

The Droplet’s basic duration is 30 minutes for each activation success. The Noble may choose to extend the duration by spending more Wisps than the minimum of 2 - each extra Wisp doubles the time before the Droplet disintegrates, cumulatively. She cannot, however, spend more Wisps for this purpose than half her Inner Light, rounded up. She may choose the total number of Wisps spent after the activation roll, though she must spend at least 2. She may end the Charm prematurely by touching the Droplet and concentrating for a turn. A Noble cannot create a second Droplet before the first Droplet dissolves - the Charm just fails if she tries.

By default the Droplet is an automaton which follows any instruction given to it which does not pose a threat of physical harm, and otherwise stays wherever it is put; it takes no action on its own. If the Noble applies an Invocation to the Charm, the Droplet formed has some initiative and the rudiments of a personality; in the absence of clear instructions it follows the tenets of the applied Invocation, to the extent allowed by the knowledge and abilities the Noble possesses.

Upgrade: Integrated
It’s often useful to know what your double has been doing during your absence. If the Noble dissolves her Droplet prematurely by touching it and concentrating, she can recall to memory a description of the actions the Droplet took and the events it saw and heard. A roll to recall any detail of the account is at -2 in addition to any other penalties.

Upgrade: Lifelike (Specchio •••)
The Lightbringers are able to put reflections of their minds and wills into the Droplets they make ... though "shards" or "fragments" may be a better choice of words. When the Noble applies Lifelike, the Droplet gains a nearly-human initiative and will; it has the Belief dots, Virtue and Vice of its creator, gets 10-again on its dice pools, can benefit from other qualities that permit rerolls, and may spend and regain Willpower (though it begins with none.) The first time the Noble creates this Droplet, its personality exactly matches her own (including any derangements) and aside from the physical reflection they can’t be told apart.

Drawback: By creating a Lifelike Droplet a Noble actually divides her mind in two. The Droplet’s personality does not vanish when its body dissolves; it continues within the mind of its creator, in a state rather like sleep, until she makes another Lifelike Droplet. At that moment it wakes and inhabits the new-made body. As a creation of Specchio the Droplet believes in its excellence and right to rule, but it can only exist as a mortal shadow of its creator. This soon becomes irksome, if not intolerable.

Each time the Noble applies Lifelike, she must make a breaking point roll (with Specchio’s drawback in force, if she used the Invocation) with a penalty of -2 if she currently has a Condition from an earlier compromise, and -0 otherwise. Instead of the normal results, if she fails, the Droplet’s desire for independence comes to the fore, and it will do what it can to avoid dissolving and reintegrating with its creator. It can lengthen the Charm’s duration by spending its own Willpower; it may spend 1 point each day for this, which adds 24 hours of continued embodiment. (The Droplet cannot do this if the Resolve + Composure check succeeds.) Just what the Droplet does is up to the Storyteller, but it should not try anything that involves a breaking point.

If the Noble applies Integrated and Lifelike, all her memories since the Droplet’s first creation become available to it on the same terms as its are available to her after she dissolves it. Other than that, neither personality can remember what the other has done.

Goosedown Lullaby (Appear •••)

 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Presence + Expression vs. Composure + Supernatural Tolerance
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble sings softly and soothingly, lulling those who hear her into drowsiness and sleep.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble sings only herself to sleep. She takes the Lullaby Tilt.
 * Failure: The song is pleasant but lulls nobody.
 * Success: Anyone who is within the Noble’s Inner Light in yards while she sings, and can hear her song, must reflexively contest the Charm; those who lose the contest take the Lullaby Tilt. The Noble may continue singing (using her action) in the turns after activating the Charm to lull new arrivals, but each character affected contests the Charm only once. Once she stops singing, no one else will be affected.
 * Exceptional Success: Anyone who becomes Insensate thanks to the Charm cannot be awakened for the Noble’s Presence in hours.

Upgrade: Parakeet’s Echo

 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The song continues to resound after the Noble stops singing it. For the rest of the scene, whatever she does, anyone who approaches her reflexively contests the Charm, and takes the Lullaby Tilt if they lose the contest.

Upgrade: Feather-brained
The Noble sings an earworm of a song, that those who hear it can’t stop thinking about. If she applies this upgrade, those who lose the contested roll take the Earworm Tilt, instead of Lullaby.

Upgrade: Quoth the Raven (Lacrima •••)
The Noble’s song saps the wills of those who listen. Characters who took the Lullaby or Earworm Tilts from the Charm replace it with Beaten Down [CofD 87] instead of Insensate.

Upgrade: Tarring Tune (Tempesta •••)
The Noble makes a noise that drills into a hearer’s skull. For each turn she spends concentrating, everyone within the Charm’s area of effect save herself takes one level of the Phantom Damage Tilt, and characters who lose the contested roll are Deafened [CofD 281] in both ears for Tempesta turns. If she applies Parakeet’s Echo, the Noble can create the painful noise as an instant action for the rest of the scene.

Hallowed Hearth (•••)

 * Action: Extended, 1 minute of quiet contemplation and recollection/roll, threshold = Sanctuary
 * Dice pool: Composure + Empathy
 * Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
 * Duration: 1 day

A Noble’s home is their castle, even if it isn’t formally a palace. Drawing upon the sanctity of her own memories, she wraps the senses of intruders in confusion, serving to protect and serve this place.

When the Noble reaches the threshold, any action to enter the target Sanctuary by force, or to observe events in it from outside, requires an exceptional success. At a story level, intruders get the feeling that this is a boring, mundane place. People who try to break in or spy in from the outside will likely get bored quickly, and give up because there is nothing of value here, because they can’t find what they’re looking for or even (especially if they suffer a dramatic failure) become convinced that they must have got the wrong address and occupants.

Upgrade: Misfortunate
To those who wish ill, a place of good memories can only drive them further into self-inflicted misery. All characters who enter the Sanctuary without permission from the Noble gain the Nervous Condition, resolving when they leave the Sanctuary.

Upgrade: Consecrated
When the Noble stands in Consecrated ground, she may intertwine the Charm with that Condition. Doing so extends its duration - the Charm ends when the Consecrated Condition does. The Sanctuary affected is the entire Consecrated area, so the Noble must get enough successes to affect all of that area.

Road Crew (•••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Dexterity + Expression - desired equipment bonus
 * Cost: 3 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 session

Sometimes a Princess needs help to impress a crowd. The Noble creates a small crew of assistants to help her pull off a truly amazing performance. When activating the Charm the Noble chooses a mundane task related to performing or creating art that her crew can help her with, and sets the bonus she wants the crew to give her. She can have only one crew active at a time.


 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble creates several humanoid figures but has no control over them. They immediately run riot, and while not malicious they can be very very annoying and are certainly inappropriate to the Noble’s wishes. Think clowns not shock artists. They have a dice pool for making mischief equal to the Noble’s on the chosen task.
 * Failure: The crew doesn’t appear.
 * Success: The Noble creates several assistants. The crew acts as equipment for the chosen task, giving the specified equipment bonus to the Noble, or to anyone else she tells them to help. However, they carry the Volatile Condition [CofD 102] - at least one will dissolve if their principal fails an action they helped with.
 * Exceptional Success: The crew doesn’t flake out when their principal blunders. They don’t carry the Volatile Condition.

Assistants are solid but only when it relates to their assigned task; an actor would be able to interact with props, and wear costumes, but would not be able to fetch a cup of coffee. A cunning Princess might still be able to use them for other roles, she might ask her troupe to dance around waving their arms in front of her enemies face while she hides, or attack foes who don’t realize the backup dancers cannot hurt them. (Assume a 1 die pool on any social actions, mental and physical tasks fail automatically). If an assistant takes a single point of damage, even bashing, he vanishes into a puff of smoke or glitter.

Words on Water Writ (Appear •••, Acqua ••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Resolve + Expression
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 day or 1 week

By meditating over an object she touches, the Noble inscribes a portion of her memories into it. She may choose to record either one scene or one hour, and must succeed on an Intelligence + Composure roll to recall the scene correctly.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble immediately forgets the memories she tried to record, taking the Amnesia Condition. [CofD 288]
 * Failure: No memories are inscribed.
 * Success: For a full day, anyone who touches the target object remembers what the Noble experienced during the time she recorded from her point of view. The memory is perfect while the person keeps contact, but will fade normally when he releases it. Traces of the memory remain even after the Charm ends, but require the Psychometry Merit [CofD 58-59] or similar supernatural powers to recover. A second use of the Charm on the same object overwrites the previous memory or its traces.
 * Exceptional Success: The recorded memory remains clear for a full week.

Upgrade: Distant

 * Modified by Sympathy

The Noble may send her memories to objects she cherishes from afar, applying the Sympathy modifier.

A Host of Furious Fancies (Appear •••, Aria ••)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Wits + Subterfuge - target’s Composure
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 turn

The Princess conjures a host of illusionary attackers on any target she can see clearly. Their attacks can do no damage, but the target may waste their attention defending against non-existent foes.
 * Dramatic Failure: The swirling of the host leaves the Princess dizzy and confused. She immediately takes the Stunned Tilt [CofD 286].
 * Failure: No attackers appear.
 * Success: The target is thoroughly distracted by the host’s attacks. He halves his Defense for the rest of the turn.
 * Exceptional Success: The target’s attention is drawn wholly to the illusionary attackers. He takes the Stunned Tilt, losing an action to flailing about at random.

Only a Flesh Wound (Appear •••, Fuoco ••)

 * Action: Instant and resisted
 * Dice pool: Presence + Medicine - marked Health boxes
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 or 2 scenes

The Noble sends her fire into her target’s blood, giving strength to overcome his wounds.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble inflicts a burning sensation. Her target takes levels of the Phantom Damage Tilt equal to her Fuoco.
 * Failure: The target is not affected.
 * Success: The target ceases to perceive any pain from wounds; he gains the Numbed Tilt.
 * Exceptional Success: The target’s Numbed Tilt lasts until the end of the next scene.

Upgrade: Invincible (Fuoco •••)

 * Cost: +1 Willpower

The Charm conceals not only the pain of the target’s wounds, but any visible sign that he has been wounded. Until the Numbed Tilt fades, he appears to be totally uninjured to mundane examination, and magical diagnosis triggers a Clash of Wills. Further, if all his Health boxes fill with lethal damage, the target does not start bleeding out until the Tilt ends; the illusion serves to bind his wounds. However, the target will not notice any injury he suffers short of aggravated damage.

Know My Pain (•••, Tempesta ••)

 * Action: Full turn and resisted
 * Dice pool: Resolve + Intimidation - target’s Composure
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 scene

There are those who would tell you that pain is bad, and to be avoided at all costs. They are weak. Pain is a tool, just like any other. It is not only useful, but even necessary, to use it against those who would try to stop you.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble gives pain only to herself. For the rest of the scene she suffers a -1 penalty to all her actions.
 * Failure: The target ignores the Noble’s pain.
 * Success: The target takes levels of the Phantom Damage Tilt, equal to the number of boxes with damage of any type on the Noble’s Health track or his unmarked Health boxes, whichever is less.
 * Exceptional Success: Phantom damage from the Charm seems lethal; the target is incapacitated automatically if the last box of his Health track is filled with phantom damage.

Upgrade: Intimate
A part of the injury the Noble suffers from her target returns to him. Whenever a target of the Charm damages the Princess further, she may spend a Wisp reflexively to inflict 1 damage on that target, of the same type as what he inflicted. Unlike the initial damage, this is fully real, and remains after the Charm ends.

Upgrade: Shared (Tempesta •••)

 * Modified by Commonality
 * Cost: +1 Wisp

The Noble may use Know My Pain on members of an organization, applying the Commonalty modifier; every member takes phantom damage. The member with the highest Composure resists for the whole group.

Upgrade: Veiled
Any evidence of damage the Noble has taken is concealed. She appears to be totally uninjured to mundane examination, and magical diagnosis triggers a Clash of Wills. This does not affect her actual state of health - she still suffers wound penalties if she takes enough damage. Moreover, if she loses a body part, the Charm doesn’t appear to restore it; it only makes the loss seem like an old, fully healed wound.

Drawn From Within The Mirror (•••, Specchio ••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Wits + Larceny
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene or 1 day

The Noble reaches into a mirror and pulls an object’s reflection out of it, making it a solid and useful tool. The mirror must have a Size equal to or more than the object reflected in it.
 * Dramatic Failure: The reflection shatters as it’s drawn out, and the original item takes a point of damage, bypassing its Durability.
 * Failure: The reflection stays inside the mirror.
 * Success: The Noble draws out the reflection of an item with a Size up to her Specchio. This reflection works just like the original (guns fire, phones make calls) except that it’s a mirror image of the original; text is reversed and the grip may be uncomfortable. The reflected item has none of the supernatural properties of the original. The reflected item vanishes at the end of the scene. Neither the original item nor its reflection appear in mirrors while the Charm lasts.
 * Exceptional Success: The reflected item does not vanish for one full day.

Suggested modifiers: Surface of water, reflection is weak and inconstant (-2), Tin foil (-1), Modern mirror (0), Reflection is especially clear, mirror is highly valued (Resources 3+) or of great sentimental value to someone (+2)

=Four-dot Charms=

Strike False (••••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Wits + Intimidation
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble goes through the motions of attacks, creating the appearance of danger without inflicting actual harm.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble’s attacks are real, but she is convinced they are not, and does not realize otherwise until the Charm ends.
 * Failure: The Noble’s attacks remain unchanged.
 * Success: For the rest of the scene, whenever the Noble deals damage with her magic (through either Charms or Regalia weapons) she instead inflicts the Phantom Damage Tilt, adding levels equal to the damage she would otherwise have done.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble may choose whether to inflict normal or phantom damage for each attack.

The Noble may end the Charm early as a reflexive action, which removes all the Tilts it created.

Upgrade: Suggestive

 * Cost: +2 Wisps

The Princess counterfeits her magic so well that a mere suggestion of an attack creates wracking pain. Until the Charm ends she can produce an illusion of any Charm she knows whose sole effect is dealing damage, or an attack with a Regalia weapon, without paying the cost for that Charm or attack. The illusion resolves as if it were the real effect, and inflicts the Phantom Damage Tilt if successful.

Cloaks of Mist (••••, Acqua •••)

 * Requires Dim
 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Manipulation + Stealth vs. Wits + Composure
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble summons a dew that falls on targets whose total Size does not exceed 5 times her successes. For the duration, the targets fade from the notice and memory of all save the Princess and each other; each benefits from the effects of Dim.

Upgrade: Traceless
The targets are concealed from recording devices as well.

Upgrade: Veiled
The targets may activate Charms (or other obviously supernatural powers) without automatically attracting the attention of observers.

Imaginary Friend •••• (Aria •••)

 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Manipulation + Subterfuge vs. Wits + Supernatural Tolerance
 * Cost: 2 Wisps
 * Duration: 1 scene

The Noble creates the illusion of a man or woman, especially crafted for a single person.
 * Dramatic Failure: The target becomes deeply suspicious of the Noble; for the rest of the scene all her Social rolls aimed at him take a -2 penalty.
 * Failure: The Noble fails to create the illusion.
 * Success: The Noble chooses a role for the illusion; the target perceives a person who behaves appropriately for that role in the present situation, according to the target’s beliefs. However, if she doesn’t beat the target’s successes, he realizes that this person is an illusion within moments. If she does get more successes, the target will treat the imaginary person as fully real, and respond to it as to a person of the role the Noble chose. No one else - including the Noble - will see or hear the illusion; she has no control over its behavior.
 * Exceptional Success: If the Noble remains within earshot of the target, she learns what he believes the illusion said and did from his reactions, without possibility of error.

Reverse Ideology (Appear ••••, Specchio •••)

 * Action: Instant
 * Dice pool: Manipulation + Larceny
 * Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
 * Duration: 1 scene

A mirror turns left to right, up to down, depending on how you hold it; a Noble of Mirrors can do the same, disorienting everyone nearby while keeping a clear head for herself.
 * Dramatic Failure: Woo, trippy - the Noble sees the world spinning and flipping around her at flickering speed. She takes the Insensate Tilt.
 * Failure: People near the Noble may feel dizzy for a moment.
 * Success: Everyone in the scene perceives the world as flipping into and out of its mirror image. The Noble imposes the Reflected Tilt on the area; all characters involved in the current scene, except the Noble herself, are affected by it.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble may protect a number of characters up to her Inner Light from the Reflected Tilt.

=Five-Dot Charms=

Closed Space (Appear •••••)

 * Action: Instant and contested
 * Dice pool: Composure + Stealth vs. Wits + Supernatural Tolerance
 * Cost: 2 Wisps, 1 Willpower
 * Duration: 1 scene

Many foes of the Hopeful care nothing for collateral damage and will use powers that wound or kill bystanders to bring a Noble down. Thus it’s often necessary to separate a fight from those not involved in it - indeed, to remove it from mundane reality. This Charm may be used only in combat.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble becomes unable to perceive anyone else involved in the fight. However, she is still apparent to them. She takes the Blinded Tilt [CofD 281] in both eyes for the rest of the scene; though she isn't actually blind, for the purpose of fighting she might as well be.
 * Failure: Characters involved in the fight feel a moment’s dizziness.
 * Success: Every character who has declared an intent in the fight and loses the contested roll vanishes into a parallel world that contains no people or animals but themselves, but does have accurate copies of all structures, objects not in someone's personal possession, and vehicles not being driven. Their own possessions and vehicles they’re driving go with them. Characters return to the mundane world when the fight ends, or when they withdraw from it, or fill their Health track with lethal damage; objects and vehicles return when the character who brought them does. Everything that returns appears in a safe location, as close as possible to where they were. Objects from the parallel world can’t be taken to the mundane world - they vanish if anyone tries.
 * The Charm’s parallel world comes into existence when the Charm is activated and vanishes when it ends; it’s simply a copy of the mundane world near the Noble. (Some Nobles who were fighting at high speeds claim that the parallel world starts to look different from reality if you go far enough, but as they were occupied at the time their accounts aren’t reliable.) However, it does interpenetrate the mundane world. The affected characters register as supernatural (of their own type, or transformed Nobles if mundane) to beings that can detect such who are in the mundane place that corresponds to their own location. Furthermore, a being who can scrutinize magic (as with the Charm Reflected Light) will, if he uses that ability on an affected character and wins a Clash of Wills, pop into the parallel world as if he’d been included in the Charm. Other than this, no character in the parallel world can influence anything in the mundane world, and from the mundane world, only supernatural powers specifically aimed into the parallel world can affect anything in it.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble can choose a number of characters in the fight other than herself, up to her Inner Light, who will not vanish into the parallel world. She can use this to divide her foes, or to send an ally on a side mission while keeping an opponent busy.

Garden of Bright Images (•••••)

 * Requires Phantom
 * Action: Extended, 1 minute/roll, threshold = Sanctuary + duration in hours
 * Dice pool: Intelligence + Expression
 * Cost: (Sanctuary rating) Wisps
 * Duration: 1 or more hours

The Noble decorates her surroundings with a beautiful glamour. She chooses an area to affect and a time for the glamour to last when she starts working on the Charm.
 * Dramatic Failure: The Noble deceives only herself; she sees the area transformed according to her intentions, but everyone else sees it as it really is.
 * Failure: The Noble loses control of her magic; she must accept a Condition to continue making the illusion.
 * Success: When the Noble reaches the threshold, the appearance of every nonliving thing in the targeted area is transformed to match a theme the Noble chooses. (For instance, “formal ballroom”, “open bazaar”, “African jungle” and “undersea grotto” are all valid themes.) Permanent fixtures are always changed; she can choose whether to change people’s possessions, but cannot affect some possessions and not others. As long as the Charm lasts, the changed objects look, sound, feel and even smell like what they appear to be; observers may make Perception rolls to spot something wrong with the illusion, but they take a penalty equal to the Noble’s successes.
 * Exceptional Success: The Noble may reduce the threshold or interval, or make the illusion impenetrable to all mundane senses.

Upgrade: Palatine

 * Duration: indefinite

The Noble may take advantage of a Consecrated Condition. When she does so, the illusion covers all the Consecrated ground and lasts until the Condition expires or she dismisses the Charm; treat the duration as 0 when calculating the threshold.