Fate of Napoleon

Campaign Overview

The untold occult and supernatural sphere of the secret war against Napoleon, from the Directory to Waterloo.

Characters

Player	Character	Phys Stress	Mental Stress	FP	Consequences	Corruption	Sorcerous Spheres
Llayne	Lanz Lowborn	OOOOOO	OOOO	2/2	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	None
NightGoblyn	Sophia Petrillo	OOO	OOOOOO	2/2	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	Demonology, Ghosts & Spirits
Leliel	Malkin Coinfound	OOOO	OOOO	2/2	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	None
Timon	Waldgren	OOOO	OOO	3/3	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	None
Astronocky	Anto Scritti	OOOO	OOOOOO	2/2	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	Decay/Entropy, Memory, Secrets, Ghosts & Spirits
DannyK	Nick "Lucky Bastard" Buonastella	OOOO	OOO	3/3	OO-OOOO-OOOOOO	[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]	Luck, TBD, TBD

Helpful Resources

• In Character Thread
• Out of Character Thread
• Recruitment Thread
• Large scale map of Eversink
• The World of Swords of the Serpentine

Factions and Allegiances

The following are the twelve dominant factions and allegiances within Eversink, and their own allies and enemies. Starting characters declare their own membership of one as part of their High Concept, and usually take on that faction's own alliances and rivalries.

Ancient Nobility - the original aristocracy of Eversink, some dating back to the signing of the Golden Contract nearly a thousand years ago, frequently impoverished, always prideful. Allies: Church of Denari, Triskadane; Enemies: Mercanti.

Church of Denari - the church of the Mother Goddess of Eversink, including Marketpriests, Trade Missionaries, holy prophets and oracles, Church Militant agents and Inquisitors, and others devoted to the spiritual and material well-being of the city. Allies: Ancient Nobility, Mercanti; Enemies: Sorcerous Cabals.

City Watch - Eversink's nominal police force, home equally to upright and keen-eyed Sentinels, and corrupt and venal Watch Houses. Allies: Mercanti; Enemies: Mercenaries, Thieves' Guilds.

Commoners - the labouring poor, toiling masses, petty crafters and tradespeople; nominally the bedrock of Eversink, but despised and downtrodden by other factions. Allies: Thieves' Guilds; Enemies: Ancient Nobility, Mercanti.

Guild of Architects and Canal-Watchers - the secretive and select guild that keeps Eversink's buildings from sinking too quickly, its canals clean, and its passageways and cellars well mapped; rumoured to have a sorcerous heart where Corrupted senior members cast grave spells to keep the city intact. Allies: Triskadane; Enemies: Mercanti.

Mercanti - the upstart nouveau-riche winning ever-increasing power and wealth in Eversink, pushing to depose the Ancient Nobility from leadership in the city. Allies: Church of Denari; Enemies: Ancient Nobility.

Mercenaries - paid soldiery employed by nobles and merchants alike to guard their properties and defend their interests. Allies: Ancient Nobility, Mercanti; Enemies: City Watch.

Monstrosities - secretive and often semi-legendary communities of monstrous creatures and denizens of the city, barely tolerated by its human inhabitants. Allies: Outlanders, Sorcerous Cabals; Enemies: City Watch, Mercenaries.

Outlanders - barbarians, foreign merchants, emissaries, scholars, and other groups visiting, drawn to, or spying on Eversink. Allies: Monstrosities; Enemies: City Watch.

Sorcerous Cabals - small covens and cults of Sorcerers bound together by mutual interest and fear of persecution; frequently loyal to forces outside Eversink - or the entire mortal plane. Allies: Monstrosities; Enemies: Church of Denari, Triskadane.

Thieves’ Guilds - fragmented and feuding coteries and guilds of pickpockets, smugglers, robbers, beggars, blackmailers, assassins, pirates, and every other kind of villain. Allies: Outlanders; Enemies: City Watch.

Triskadane - the Secret Thirteen who rule Eversink from the shadows, selected by the Goddess Herself through granting of a coin - as well as the vast bureaucracy and governmental machinery responsible for executing their decrees. Allies: the Ancient Nobility, Church of Denari; Enemies: Outlanders, Sorcerous Cabals.

Magic

The five schools of magic are: Alchemy, Astrology, Sorcery, Theurgy, and Witchcraft. All essentially channel and direct the same magical forces through different means. Alchemy combines substances to release their magical potency. Astrology directs the powers of the stars and planets. Sorcery directs the power of human (and sometimes angelic or demonic) will. Theurgy employs divine miracles. Witchcraft channels the powers of the earth.

Powering Magic

Magic is powered by the Lore skill, and in many cases, consists of straight Lore-based attacks against physical or mental Stress - mediated according to the particular school. The caster rolls their Attack roll based on their Lore skill level plus any modifiers, and the target rolls their Defend roll - if any. (GM decides what skill is appropriate for Defend rolls, if any - default is Physique for physical Stress, and Will for mental Stress.) Ingenious magicians may be able to devise a spell form that gets around a particular defence.

For spell-casting where there is no specific target or harm intended, the action is an Overcome against a Difficulty set by the GM. Create Advantage can be used to boost chances of success. The GM will also balance the Difficulty against the power of the intended effect - greater power means greater Difficulty.

A caster can choose to pull their punch, and use less than their full rating of Lore, if they want to exert a more controllable, less destablizing, volume of magic. This should make the subsequent roll to resist mental Stress easier.

The detail comes in the different schools of magic which govern the description and nature of the magic.

Sorcerous Spheres

Aging Air Animal Blades Blood Chaos Curses Death Decay/Entropy Demonology

Disease Earth Fear Fire Flesh Ghosts & Spirits Ice Illusion Lightning Love

Luck Memory Music Necromancy Plants Possession Secrets Serpents Shadow Statuary

Swamp Transformation (Physical) Transmutation Transportation Trickery Water Worship

Unfortunately, using magic isn't a free ride. Many types of magic induce mental Stress - or worse.

Magical Stress

For many types of magic, when the caster casts the spell, they have to roll their Will against the final amount of Lore in the spell - including any from third parties, but excluding any Advantages and other non-Lore bonuses. If their Will roll falls below the amount of Lore, they take the difference as mental Stress. If they use up their mental Stress and start to take Consequences, they will suffer Consequences related to the type of magic they used.

If they are Taken Out by the mental Stress of using the magic, they have to rewrite one aspect to reflect this - with the Trouble aspect and the High Concept the second last and last to be rewritten. Each aspect has been corrupted or distorted in some obvious and disabling or repellent way. Once all five aspects have been rewritten, the character ceases to be playable.

Internalized and Externalized Corruption

When a character Corrupts an aspect, they can try to conceal the effect, or even project it onto another member of their bloodline. This is called internalizing Corruption. Externalizing it is blasting either their immediate allies and neighbours, or the immediate vicinity.

Every time a character Corrupts an aspect, they have to roll their Physique against a Difficulty equal to their current Lore. If they succeed, they contain the Corruption in their body, and some small unobtrusive physical change happens - a wart, a new patch of discoloured skin, etc. If they fail, the change is far more obvious - a plain offensive blemish.

With certain rites that may be learned in the course of play, Sorcerers can transfer Corruption to their bloodline, and remain scot free themselves. This is a capital offence if discovered.

When externalizing Corruption, a Sorcerer rolls an Attack equal in power to their current Lore against the mental Stress of everyone in the immediate vicinity - friends, allies, etc. Meanwhile, the vicinity is also Corrupted, with an intensity equal to the current Lore of the Sorcerer, and a highest level of 6.

1 - Denari’s Blessing is temporarily burned away, detectable by Spirit Sight or Corruption (or poor profit from business transactions). Nearby cows give sour milk, chickens lay stones instead of eggs, and babies cry non-stop. Lasts approximately one month, but can be restored sooner through multiple business transactions.

2 - Causes disquiet in anyone passing through, encouraging people to hurry on their way. Those who deliberately linger in the area take 1 point of mental Stress damage after several hours. This may drive weak-willed NPCs into emotional breakdowns or panic attacks. Lasts approximately one decade.

3 - Weakens building foundations, softening stone and eroding mortar. Causes fear or temporary obsession in anyone passing through the area, triggering immediate mental Stress of 2 (4 after dark). NPCs are filled with dread, and the area soon becomes known as haunted. The barrier between worlds is weakened; determined ghosts can pass through from the spirit realm. Lasts approximately one generation.

4 - Entering this area automatically causes 4 points of mental Stress, and the area reeks of sadness and terror. Those who live nearby may be driven to paranoia or sly murder. The area might be (but is not always) cloudy and lit from within, and spirits might be seen or felt within this area. This acts like a beacon, subtly drawing the evil and the unnatural to it. Lasts approximately a century.

5 - Entering this area, any characters take 6 points of mental Stress or have to resist possession by a ghost, demon, or other spirit drawn to the fell energies. The spirits of those who die nearby are trapped here. This is a sucking, writhing rip in reality that warps physical spaces around it. Unnatural creatures such as demons or something worse might come through, either in mortal or spiritual form. Animals nearby often twist and mutate. Never heals.

6+ - This sanity-blasting rift in reality pierces the world and can theoretically corrupt an entire nation if allowed to spread long enough. Effects are as Stage 5, but the affected area spreads. Never heals, and slowly spreads unless sealed from the other side.

Corruption Stunts

Once a character has had at least one of their aspects Corrupted, they can start to acquire Corruption stunts - one per Corrupted aspect, and related to that aspect. These come free rather than the usual stunt cost in Refresh, and are roughly twice as powerful as a similar normal stunt - but each use fills a segment of Corruption.

Astrology

Astrology directs the forces of the planets and the constellations. In classical astrology, there are six planets, plus the sun:

☉ The Sun – determines the basic personality, the star sign of the person.

☽ The Moon – covers moods, emotions, and feelings.

☿ Mercury – rules over communication, wit, and intellect

♀︎ Venus – governs fertility, beauty, romance, passion

♂︎ Mars – influences strength, aggression, war, sports

♃ Jupiter – presides over good luck, growth, wisdom

♄ Saturn – causes misfortune, evil, bad luck

Weapons and Armour

Unlike other varieties of Fate, this version gives weapons and armour a more active role in the mechanics. All weapons and armour are divided into three classes - 1, 2, 3 - based on how much physical Stress they deal out - or absorb - when a target suffers an Attack. This is in addition to the +/- from the character's own skill roll.

Weapon classes

Weapons are divided into the following broad classes:

• Light weapons (+1): Dagger, shortsword, cosh, brass knuckles, self bow, pistol, etc.

• Medium weapons (+2): Sword, mace, axe, longbow, crossbow, musket, rifle, etc.

• Heavy weapon (+3): Greatsword, maul, halberd, lance, pike, quarterstaff, arbalest, swivel gun, etc.

Weapon class and turn order

Weapon classes affect Fate Condensed's voluntary turn order in the following way - except in cases of surprise, where the ambusher always gets first shot/blow:

• Ranged weapons (and applicable magic spells) always go first.

• On first round, weapons go in order of their class: 3, 2, 1. This is to reflect the reach of heavier weapons and pole arms.

• On subsequent rounds, the order is: 2, 3, 1. This is to reflect how cumbersome heavy weapons are to wield at close quarters.

• Within each class, combatants Attack in order of their Athletics. Ties mean simultaneous Attacks.

Ranged weapons

Ranged weapons have their own rules, aside from just going first in turn order.

Thrown weapons - axes, knives, spears, rocks, etc. - use Athletics. Other ranged weapons use Shoot.

Ranged weapons can reach a number of Zones equal to their range. So, thrown weapons or pistols can reach one Zone outside their own, carbines can reach 2 Zones, muskets can reach 3 Zones, etc.

Reload times

Thrown weapons and strung bows require one turn to prepare a fresh shot before shooting at the start of the next exchange. For pistols and muskets, this becomes 4 turns. For rifles, it becomes 5 turns. For the Girardoni air rifle, whose air reservoir needed hand pumping for recharging, it becomes 10 turns.

Ranged weapon types

Weapon	Class	Damage	Range	Reload	Shots	Cost	Examples
Pocket pistol	Light	1	0	4	1	£2	None
Pistol	Light	1	1	4	1	£1	French .69 pistol
Carbine	Medium	2	2	4	1	£2 15s	Musketoon, Brown Bess cavalry carbine
Blunderbuss	Medium	3*	1	4	1	£1	Mail coach blunderbuss
Musket	Medium	2	3	4	1	£3 15s	Brown Bess, .69 Charleville musket
Rifle	Medium	2	4	5	1	£10	Baker Rifle
Air rifle	Medium	2	3	10	20	£30	Girardoni air rifle

• Blunderbusses and similar grapeshot types can hit two adjacent targets for the same damage with the same shot.