Beware
making deals with the fae.
Much of
human understanding with the fae — including changelings, Huntsmen, the True
Fae, and everything in between — comes down to that platitude. And yet, note
the phrasing. “Beware making deals” is cautionary, not proscriptive. It isn’t
that people can’t bargain with the creatures from the Hedge, it’s just
dangerous and usually unwise.
Pledges,
though, are an integral part of life for changelings, for a simple reason: They
are attuned to the Wyrd, and the Wyrd takes statement of intent very seriously.
How many times a day does a person say “I promise” or “I swear” or “so help
me,” but with no real belief behind those words The Wyrd refuses to accept
casual use of such phrases, and the fae are empowered to make such statements
binding.
Changelings
also make promises to one another, swearing oaths of loyalty, love, enmity, or simply
friendship. Such oaths are made using the same power that gives the Wyrd the
ability to seal statements of intent, but with very different purpose. An oath
between changelings is taken with free will and full consent. To do otherwise
is grave insult.
Finally, the
fae can make promises of service, favors, or magic to others. The benefit to
doing so is concealment — a changeling performing services to others ingratiates
herself to the Wyrd, thus hiding effectively from Huntsmen (this is true in
reverse, though; a Huntsman who stoops to performing a service to a third party
might be demeaning himself, but he’s also a much more effective hunter because
he’s harder to spot).
Sealing
The simplest
form of a pledge, a sealing requires that a fae being see or hear someone make
a statement of intent. The intent doesn’t have to be sincere, and the fae have
been taking advantage of promises made in haste or exaggeration since human
beings first started using language. A man who says to his son, “I swear, next
time you come home late, I’m kicking you out” probably doesn’t mean it — but to
the Wyrd, that doesn’t matter. A fae being can seal that promise, and the unfortunate
father will be forced to either make good on his word or suffer the
consequences.
Any fae
creature can seal a promise. Changelings generally do it to give themselves
leverage with human antagonists or cement a bargaining position. Huntsmen do it
for similar reasons, though their end goal might be to steal the hapless
subject away for the Gentry.
Creatures of
the Wyrd (including changelings) are, for the most part, immune to the effects
of sealing. That is, other fae creatures can attempt to seal their words, but
since the fae know what to look for and can detect the slight fluctuations in
the Wyrd needed to seal a statement, they can undo the sealing as quickly as
it’s done. A changeling can allow her statement to be sealed; this is usually done
in order to demonstrate that a changeling has every intention of keeping her
word on a minor matter. A serious declaration of intent or honesty merits an oath
(see below), but a promise of something comparatively mundane (“I promise, I won’t
leave until we dance”) or a promise made if time is a factor (“Yes, truce, I’m
not going to hurt you, now get in here”) can simply be sealed.
Most Courts
don’t place any stigma on attempting to seal a statement, even if the other
party undoes it immediately. To changelings, attempt to seal a statement isn’t
so much an attempt to bind the other party with magic as a tacit statement that
the sealing party is paying attention and expects the other changeling to keep
her word. Likewise, undoing the seal isn’t necessarily a blatant declaration
that the character will break her word, just that she doesn’t wish to be held
to it magically.
Benefits
Sealing has
very little benefit to the person making the statement. For the most part, the
subject is simply locked into his words, forced to follow through on what he
has promised or suffer the consequences. If the character follows through on
what he has promised, without complaint or attempt to wriggle out, he comes
through the experience wiser and fulfilled. Sealing provides no material or
magical benefit, however.
For the
character doing the sealing, the benefit is mainly in being able to hold
something over the subject’s head. The sealer can release the effect at any
time, unbinding the promise, freeing the subject from his words.
Consequences
A sealing is
simple, quick magic, and breaking it has an immediate, annoying effect.
Sometimes the oathbreaker feels tired or develops a sudden headache. Sometimes
he experiences a brief run of bad luck. Extreme effects might include nosebleeds
or subtle supernatural effects; the character’s reflection is reversed for an
hour, for instance, or cream curdles in his presence.
The sealer
can, however, increase the severity of the consequences by investing a bit more
magic into the process. By doing so, the subject might be forced to suffer
minor injuries or endure the sealer’s magic with no hope of resistance.
Systems
To seal a
statement, the changeling needs to hear a subject make a statement of intent.
This includes any phrase that expresses a pledge, promise, or plan to undertake
a course of action. The statement doesn’t have to be something that the subject
could actually complete, however. The changeling cannot seal a statement unless
she is present when the subject makes it. If the changeling were to see a
person type or write a statement, she could seal it. She cannot, however, scroll
through a social media feed and seal every statement of intent she sees, nor
can she seal a statement if she only sees or hears a recording.
To seal a statement,
the player simply spends a point of Glamour. If the subject is another changeling,
she can undo the sealing by countering with a point of Glamour of her own. Both
parties are aware of what happened. If a player’s changeling allows her words
to be sealed, she takes a Beat.
The player
can decide upon a penalty for breaking the seal when the seal is made, or when
it is broken. As stated under Consequences, the penalty is fairly minor.
The
player can choose from:
• Loss of
one point of Willpower
• One point
of bashing damage
• A -1
penalty to all rolls for one scene
• A -2
penalty on a specific Skill for one scene
• A -3
penalty for one specific roll
• A minor
supernatural effect (character’s reflection faces the wrong way, character
causes milk to spoil, cats scratch or bite the character, etc.) for one scene
When
creating a seal, the changeling can also strengthen it. Doing so requires that
the player spend a point of Willpower as well as a point of Glamour. If the character
does this, the player can levy a more stringent penalty for breaking the seal,
including:
• Loss of
ability to regain Willpower for one day
• Suffering
one point of lethal damage
• Suffering
three points of bashing damage
• Loss of
ability to spend Willpower for one scene
• A -2 penalty
on all rolls for one scene
• A -3 to
all rolls with a specific Skill for one scene
• A -5 to
one specific roll
• Use of one
of the changelings Contracts on the target, activated when the seal is broken
(player rolls for the Contract and notes the successes; effect is applied
when/if the subject breaks the seal)
A seal is
broken when the subject either attempts to fulfill the promise and fails or
becomes incapable of doing so. For example, someone saying “I’m going to kick
his ass” would fail to fulfill this promise if he picks a fight with the other
party and loses, or if the other party were to die before the fight happens. If
the subject had said, “I’m going to kick his ass if he doesn’t leave my sister
alone,” the subject is under no compunction to start the fight if the other
party does, in fact, stay away from the sister. If, however, the other party
dates the sister and the subject makes no attempt to fight the suitor, the seal
is broken and the consequences apply.
Sealing a
Huntsman
A changeling can attempt to seal the statement of a Huntsman, but
doing so requires the player to spend a point of Glamour and roll Presence +
Wyrd vs. the Huntsman’s Resolve + Wyrd.
Dramatic Failure: The Huntsman sees and notes the
changeling, and can follow her. She gains the Paranoid Condition.
Failure: The changeling fails to seal the
Huntsman’s words.
Success: The changeling seals the Huntsman’s
statement. Huntsmen, being closer to the Wyrd than changelings or humans, are
bound more strongly by their words. The changeling can levy a heavier
consequence, just as if she had strengthened the seal (see above). The
changeling takes the Paranoid
Condition.
Exceptional Success: As above, and the changeling does
not take the Paranoid Condition.
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