Pierian Spring

Pierian Spring (••, Acqua •)

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

As the Noble contemplates a person near her, she learns how much he has drunk from the wells of knowledge. 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 gives a false rating for one or more of the target’s Skills, and the Noble believes the target has the stated ratings. 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 her target’s education and mental training. The Storyteller must answer one question about the following subjects truthfully for each activation success:
 * One of the target’s Mental Skills or specialties
 * A Merit representing knowledge (e.g. Encyclopedic Knowledge) or access to knowledge (e.g. Contacts, Library)
 * The name or description of one person who taught the target something of importance to him (e.g. the advisor for his doctoral thesis)
 * The name or description of one person whom the target educated, significantly forming their mind and character

The Noble may ask questions about more than one 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 her target’s mental training.

Upgrade: Personal (Acqua ••)
The Acqua Invocation favors any exercise of the intellect. The Noble may look for insight into the target’s character and abilities, so far as these resonate with the Acqua Invocation or the credo of the Queen of Diamonds, or flaws which impair his reason. Add the following to the list of subjects the Noble may ask about.
 * The target’s Intelligence, Wits or Resolve
 * Any Mental Merit the target has
 * A Condition on the target that can impair the use of Mental Skills