Umbral Domains Changeling Dark Ages Arts

Arts & Realms: Dark Ages Fae Style

This system was inspired by the system in Dark Ages: Fae game, and in particular the thread | here. However, the ostesnively converting Arts and Cantrips to a more DA: Fae style, this system is actually a new take on Glamour and Banality altogether. In fact, while it tones down the magnitude of DA: Fae magic to Changeling levels, the use and acquisition of Glamour and Banality is very much in the same vein as that for DA: Fae powers.

Also, this system requires only the Changeling: the Dreaming core book to use. Previous Dark Ages: Fae experience not actually necessary. For all systems not explicitly mentioned in the text below assume you are using the Changeling canon defaults.

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General Glamour & Banality Mechanics

Under these alternate rules the fundamental nature of Glamour and Banality have changed.

Glamour is not so much a “creative force” as implied in canon. Instead it’s a sort of "unformed", mysterious stuff like the Mists of DA: Fae. It tends to be found in places of uncertainty, spuspense, and mystery, or where the laws aren’t clearly laid down, or where dramatic changes are about to take place. Often it can be felt most palpably when one is alone and in unusual circumstances. Mortals in a high Glamour environment tend to feel inspired, excited, or ready to take action, but they are also more likely to be afraid or imagine things than they normally would.

In a similar way Banality isn’t an inherently awful limiting force. It is the substance of form and stability akin to the Weaving of DA:Fae. Enough Banality in an area tends to make mortals feel contented and secure. Banality is encountered in well traveled, well known places, in very structured social situations and anywhere else there is a large degree of order.

Gaining Glamour or Banality

Fae no longer gain Glamour directly from musing and Dreamers (though a room full of creative folks would count as a high Glamour area) nor do they automatically gain Banality in Banal environments without actively trying.

The mechanic Fae use to acquire temporary Glamour or Banality is similar to the Harvesting method used by the Nunnehi. However this method of Harvesting doesn’t involve drawing strength from "nature" per se, but instead a certain untapped potential quality in their surroundings. Rather than specifically natural surroundings, the Fae must be in a Glamour or Banality related area to gain temporary points of the appropriate sort (though such areas could certainly include natural environments).

The character must spend about an hour in such an environment attuning themselves to it and seeking out the bits and pieces of Glamour or Banality there. The character may take action or engage in conversation while there, in fact doing so may be necessary part of the Harvesting process for them, but they may not engague in any activity which is dramatically important or expends Glamour or Banality. At the end of this time the player makes a roll with their number of successes indicating the number of points gained in the sought after quality:

Banality gained from Harvesting = Roll Wits+Kenning (DC=permanent Glamour)

Glamour gained from Harvesting = Roll Wits+Kenning (DC=permanent Banality)

Note: This does mean that characters with less than 2 points of permanent Banality automatically gain the maximum amount of permanent Glamour.

Fae may also attempt to Raid an area to simply suck all the Glamour or Banality out of the region within a couple rounds. After a Fae Raids an area that region becomes "Normal", no longer charged with either Glamorous or Banal tensions. Those within a surrounding region (possibly even up to a quarter mile or more away) make a Kenning check (DC 6) to notice this effect

Even mortals nearby may notice that something they can’t quite place has changed in a Raided area. Generally mortals in an area that was formerly Glamorous feel frustrated with the impression they screwed up something important, or disappointed as if they’d missed out on interesting things and great times. Those in a Banal area that has been Raided suddenly succumb to paranoia or the uneasy feeling there’s some crucial deadline coming up that they’d forgotten.

Glamour gained from Raiding = Roll permanent Banality (DC=3)

Banality gained from Raiding = Roll permanent Glamour (DC=3)

Uses of Glamour and Banality

Glamour has it’s typical in-game uses for the most part. However, Glamour is not spent when going Wyrd or casting Wyrd effects. Any effects that have tangible effects in the mundane world draw upon Banality instead.

Going Wyrd

Going Wyrd now requires the following contest: Roll Banality Dice (DC6), Roll Glamour Dice (DC6). If Glamour successes exceed Banality Successes then the character's mein (and all it's benefits) manifest in the mortal realm.

Manifesting some Fae aspect in front of mortals does not incur Banality. Instead it attracts Nighmare Dice as the mortals attempt to disbelieve the effect. To determine the number of Nightmare Dice produced roll the Mortal’s Willpower (DC 6) and the Fae’s Permenant Banality (DC 6). Any successes the mortal gets in excess of the Fae count as nightmare dice.

Undoing

Changelings in the Autumn world who spend their last point of temporary Glamour are Undone. Those who lose their last point of temporary Banality can no longer perceive mundane reality (though their Seeming may still get damaged by mundane things). Other Fae characters may revive a Changeling in either such state by giving them Glamour or Banality infused substances to ingest.

Magic

The mechanical effects of most magical effects (ie. the rules given under each Cantrip listing in the book) remain relatively unchanged. However, some of the general systems are quite different.

The difficulty of casting a cantrip is determined as follows:

Wyrd cantrips have a difficulty that’s the highest of these numbers:

• Target’s Willpower (if Target is a mortal)
• Target’s permanent Glamour (if target spends a point of temporary Glamour)
• Caster’s permanent Glamour

Chimeral cantrips have a difficulty that’s the highest of these numbers:

• Target’s Willpower (if Target is a mortal)
• Target’s permanent Banality (if target spends a point of temporary Banality)
• Caster’s permanent Banality

Counterweaving employs Banality or Glamour depending on the type of effect being countered: Using Glamour counterweaves glamour based effects. Using Banality counterweaves Banality based effects.

Cantrips

A character gains a number of Cantrips equal to their permanent Banality rating in each Art which they have at least one rank in. However there are strict limits: Each Cantrip learned covers only one level of an Art combined with one level of a Realm. The specific Art and Realm level are chosen when the Cantrip is first acquired.

For example a character could take the Fugue Cantrip allowing it to apply to "Dire Enemies". However, if the character could not apply Fugue to "Familiar Faces" without learning the Cantrip again.

Using a Cantrip is called "casting". Other than these modifications individual Cantrips use the normal rules for casting presented in the Changeling core book.

Arts

Arts are both more flexible and a bit more difficult to use. A character with at least one dot in any Art can produce effects similar to any of the cantrips associated with that Art, as long as she has the appropriate Realms to do so.

Using an Art is called "wreaking" (past tense="wrought", person preforming="worker"). When wreaking an Art the character first rolls a contest of:

Permanent Glamour + Ranks taken in Art (DC=6) vs. Permanent Banality + Level of Art effect desired (DC=6)

Successes cancel out. If the Glamour pool has any successes these contribute extra dice to the wreaking. However, if the Banality pool has more successes these either contribute nightmare dice or indicate extra glamour which must be spent just to make the effect have any chance of succeeding (worker’s option).

If this step has been successfully completed then wreaking of the Art proceeds according to normal rules as presented in the associated Cantrip description.

--Peter K. 21:58, 23 June 2006 (PDT)