The Art


No, I can't see tomorrow when I close my eyes.
There is no tomorrow, my gift is of no use.

Sacrifice - Front 242

 

Who is worthy to open the book, or to loose the seals thereof?

Revelation 4:2

Fatalism's Failing:

The signature Arcanos of the Oracles - known as Fatalism - has been acting a little wonky for some time, now. Maybe the Circle wasn't aware of it, just yet, as they've been outside the informational loop. And maybe they should have been included in that loop, as some of them are Oracles, but weren't told for whatever reason.

However, as the End Times come closer, the changes will be harder to ignore: the future will become easier to read, but harder to shape. Some events will be fixed, as if set in stone, while others will still be malleable, but yet be as heavy as mountains.

And off in the approaching distance, not too terribly far away, comes a solid wall of darkness: the utter, horrifying limit to what can be foretold. Those who try to look too closely at it come away maddened, or scarred...

The changes presented below have been made according to the following ideas:

1) As The End comes near, certain events that have been planned or plotted for untold ages (or by extremely powerful entities) are highly likely to come about, barring a miracle or total disaster. As a result of their surety, it is easier to predict those events, though the predictions themselves may still be couched in metaphor and ambiguous.

Conversely...

2) ...due to the sheer power and/or precedent behind those things, it becomes harder to manipulate events to change or alter the outcomes. It is as if what has been predicted has been writ down in Stygian Steel, and none can alter what must be.

What Are You, A Sadist?

These changes to Fatalism have been made for a number of reasons. The first, and most obvious, is to reinforce the sense of dire mystery that an End Times Chronicle provides. It's not as much fun if the players can get forewarnings about what's to come, or try and skirt around the terror of the Void. Storytellers are always free and clear to say that "this doesn't work" or "you can't see anything," but some players might be rightfully ticked off if such tactics are employed on what seems to be a haphazard basis. This at least gives you a rationale for yanking hard-earned powers away, other than ST's Prerogative.

Another reason is to add a sense of final urgency to the Chronicle. The big guns are coming out, the big monsters are on the move and terrible things are in the offing. Up against such ancient and horrible powers, it's all the characters can do to avoid Destruction Harrowings, much less have a direct hand in what's to come next.

And the last reason is to emphasize something that, with any luck, your players already know all too well: power isn't everything. No matter how many dots the Circle's members might have between them in Fatalism, or any other Arcanos, there are some things that they cannot do much of anything about, and some situations they can't hocus-pocus their way out of.

If there is a means to avoid destruction, or stave off the end, then it will have to come about from other strengths - not the least of which are the character's cunning, and their players' roleplaying. It is from such things that truly memorable victories originate.

Note that members of the Legion of Fate are - quite oddly - not affected by these changes to Fatalism. There is a change to the working of Eldritch Awareness, as befits their relationship with the Ladies of Fate, but other than that the Arcanos works for them as it always has. This state of "grace" exists for all those whom Fate has clearly marked for its own, regardless as to whether they left the Legion, came over after the fall of Stygia, or joined another group - including the Oracles.


The Main Arts:

Kismet: There is a dull, black finality about what is seen, as though a person's worth in the grand scheme of things is about to come to a head, and then go no further. The difficulty pertaining to anything to do with such matters is 5, as opposed to 6.

* Fatal Vision: As described earlier, The Mark begins to appear on the living, and trying to determine what it could mean can only prove extremely harmful to the Oracle's spiritual health. Other than that, there is no change to this Art.

** Foreshadow: As the hour grows closer, the ability to distinguish between nearby threats and those far away become hopelessly entwined. Both imminent and far off dangers are prophesied with a successful roll: one turn per success for those nearby, and one day, week or month per success for those some distance away. The Difficulty is now 5, and each successful use garners the Shadow a point of Angst.

In addition, at one point in the Chronicle, without having to roll for it, any Oracle with Foreshadow will see a terrible harbinger of what may be coming, as described in The Vision. Remember that this will give the Shadow a chance to gain Angst. Trying to explore that vision further runs the risk of further Angst, as detailed here.

*** Interpretation: As previously said, there is a limit to what can be seen, now. Trying to see past that certain point gets one nowhere, and trying to force one's way past the darkness runs the risk of a stronger Shadow.

The first time the wraith tries to Interpret the darkness, allow the player to roll at a standard difficulty, but say that all her character sees is blackness. For each attempt to re-roll, increase the difficulty by one: successful rolls still show nothing but blackness, failed rolls give the Oracle a point of Angst for each 1 rolled, and a botched roll gives a point of Permanent Angst.

For those rolls that would not end in darkness, there is still no difficulty change to this roll. However, add half of the number of successes gained to the roll's final score, rounding up, after subtracting anything removed by 1's. This is in keeping with the fact that some things are now much easier to see than before. However, do not add these successes to a roll that would be made against the Darkness.

**** Guesswork: With time running down, and only so many moves available, it becomes somewhat easier to look ahead to the awful moment of battle. The Difficulty is now 7.

***** Luck: No changes, though Storytellers may wish to give a one-time reduction of Difficulty when it's rolled, as this may be the last Story. (This might also be as good of an excuse as any to take the player aside and whisper the vision in her ear, too...)

However, Storytellers may limit the use of this Art by saying that there will be certain rolls that cannot have their 1's negated. It's recommended the denial be saved for critical moments having to do with The End.

 

Alternate Arts:

Scrying (Guildbook: Oracles): Trying to see past the darkness runs the previously-described risk. As for what happens before the darkness strikes, that's up to the Storyteller, though the more vague the results, the better.

* Distant Visions (Guildbook: Oracles): No changes, though trying to use this Art while the Darkness is approaching could be tempting madness.

* Sensing the Strands (Wraith: the Great War): No changes.

** A Quick Read (Guildbook: Oracles): If The Mark is upon the brow of a living Fetter examined with this Art, then the Sign is all that the Oracle will see, no matter how well the player rolls.

** Malocchio (Guildbook: Oracles): No changes, but any bad karma that a Storyteller might want to give the Oracle as punishment for using this Art too readily should be called into account soon...

*** Pulling Strings (Guildbook: Oracles): This is now Difficulty 7. However, after a certain point all questions that the Oracle's player might ask can be answered with enigmatic silence.

*** Fate's Hand Apparent (Book of Legions): Depending on the nature of the Chronicle, and what the Storyteller might care to have happen, the nature of Fate's chosen might undergo some interesting permutations. Other than that, there are no changes.

*** Eldritch Awareness (Book of Legions): Those few members of the Legion of Fate have found it increasingly difficult to get an "answer" from the Ladies of Fate as to their desires since the 6th Great Maelstrom. Conversely, on those increasingly fewer times that the Ladies desire to make their wishes known, there has been little question. The Difficulty for asking has gone up to 8, while the Difficulty for having a flash of insight has gone down to 4.

**** Tangles (Guildbook: Oracles): It's much more difficult to arrange things to happen to the target, as destiny is solidifying all around. The Difficulty is now 9, and an extra point of Angst is accrued.

**** Fated Course (Sea of Shadows) No change, though it's highly unlikely anyone would be deep enough in the Tempest to use this Art at this time.

***** Ensnare (Guildbook: Oracles): No changes.

Before the World's Ruin