by: FaerieBadBoy
Struck with the Senses and Deception, the Contracts of Illusion work together to bring forth amazing sensory experiences that exist not at all, but delight nonetheless. Forged Ages ago by House Ereshu, these Contracts have since become Affinity for all Lost.
Members of House Ereshu gain +1 to the invocation of all levels of Contracts of Illusion.
This clause enables the character to conjure forth a minor illusion that affects one of the senses. This might be a flicker of movement or a detailed poster on a wall, a sound or a smell or even a distinctive touch, feel or taste.
Cost: 1 Glamour + 1 Willpower (optional)
Dice Pool: Subterfuge + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character is reproducing something he or she has experienced within the last 24 hours. This catch will not alleviate the willpower cost.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The illusion the character calls forth betrays her in some manner. A poster identifies her, a sound speaks with her voice, a smell leads to her or manifests as a signature perfume or cologne.
Failure: The illusion fails to materialize.
Success: The character conjures forth a minor illusion affecting any one of the senses. If visual, the effect must be static, and other senses are limited to the effect of fading into the distance or growing nearer. The character cannot call forth something he or she has not seen or experienced to some degree (she could, however, extrapolate the feeling of a candle flame into a bonfire). Ultimately, the upper limit on size and detail of composition is left to the Storyteller to arbitrate, but conjuring a wall, for example, is not out of the question. The illusion may be made to last for a full scene with the expenditure of a point of willpower. Otherwise the illusion lasts only so long as the character concentrates on it (spending on instant action per turn) to a maximum of one turn per point of the character’s Wyrd, or until another character sees through it somehow.
Exceptional Success: The illusion is exceptionally clear or sharp, seemingly real in every detail. Attempts to see through it suffer a -1 penalty.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 ~ The character is recreating something he can see or hear at the moment of casting.
+1 ~ The character has a photo or sketch to work from.
To cast Illusion, one must know illusion when one sees it. This Clause provides the ability to see through magical or supernatural illusions cast by others (without the need to first interact with the illusion in some way).
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wits + Wyrd
Action: Reflexive
Catch: The character has been blinded by an unexpected (and unplanned) flash of light of some kind.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character’s sight betrays her. Illusions are thought real and reality is thought to be an illusion. Very unfortunate when convinced that a real wall is fake. Perception rolls suffer a -2 penalty for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: All remains precisely as it appears, which in the case of illusion is often entirely unhelpful.
Success: This clause adds +1 bonus die to perception rolls per success on the activation until the end of the scene. If the successes rolled are in excess of the successes rolled to enact the Illusion power in question, the changeling is able to sense where reality ends and illusion begins. The illusion remains until dispelled, but for the character it appears nearly-translucent and dream-like.
Exceptional Success: No further success beyond the benefit of 5+ successes.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 ~ Clarity 8 or Higher.
-1 ~ Changeling enacting the clause is drunk or high.
-1 ~ For every two points of Clarity below 7. Cumulative.
The character may conjure forth static phantasms that appeal to all of the senses.
Cost: 2 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character has voluntarily gone without sight for one full waking hour within the past 24.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The illusion manifests out of control fo its creator, and maliciously acts to deceive or betray him.
Failure: The world appears to remain as is.
Success: The character crates a static illusion that appeals to all of the senses. The dweomer has no solid presence, but can be cast over real objects, giving a real solidity to the phantom sensations. A granite floor can be made to feel like silken sheets (but the body will still ache in the morning). The illusion lasts for one scene.
Exceptional Success: The illusion is incredible in its detail and very convincing. Those who fail to detect the illusion re so taken in that they gain a +1 bonus to all attempts to convince others of the illusion’s veracity.
Suggested Modifiers
+1 ~ The character has a photo or sketch to work from.
Perhaps even more powerful than illusions that fool the senses are the illusions we maintain to fool or protect ourselves. With the power of this clause, the character is able to tap into those hidden, mental illusions, stripping it away to see the Truth beneath.
Cost: 3 Glamour (+1 Willpower for a Supernatural target)
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Wyrd
Action: Extended and Contested (the target number in terms of successes is the subject’s willpower, each roll takes one turn of intense scrutiny), resistance is reflexive.
Catch: The character uses this clause on an ally, without his or her knowledge.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The magic backfires and the character unintentionally reveals a key piece of information about herself to those nearby.
Failure: No information is gleaned, one way or the other.
Success: The character can discern the core of the subject with a single glance. With but a look, the target’s Virtue, Vice, Willpower and any Flaws are revealed to the character. Further, the character is able to automatically recognize any lies told to her by the subject for the remainder of the scene.
Exceptional Success: The character gains bonus dice equal to her Wyrd on all Social rolls involving the subject for the remainder of the scene.
Suggested Modifiers
+1 or +3 ~ The character possesses the Trained Observer merit at either one or three dots.
+2 ~ Clarity 8 or Higher.
-1 ~ Changeling enacting the clause is drunk or high.
-1 ~ For every two points of Clarity below 7. Cumulative.
The character can now call forth illusions which move, can program a script and leave them to run and manipulate the phantasm in various convincing ways.
Cost: 3 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Subterfuge + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character creates the illusion as a special effects engine for a performance.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The illusion rebels, and actions to deceive or betray the character. The Storyteller is encouraged to pull out all the stops in terms of fiendish creativity. Perhaps a subconscious memory or nightmare hijacks the illusion to manifest in the waking world.
Failure: Nothing happens.
Success: The character conjures forth an illusion that appeals to all (or any number of) the senses. It moves as the character directs, can be made to follow a preset script and can incorporate any number of elements, within reasonable limits (although those limits are quite broad). Once the power is released, the character cannot make any further changes to it without re-invoking the clause, but he is free to manipulate it at will so long as he spends on Instant action per turn concentrating on the illusion. The apparition lasts for one scene.
Exceptional Success: The character may enact the clause and select a general trigger. The illusion will hold in abeyance until the trigger occurs in the immediate vicinity. It will then play out as the character formulated it.
Suggested Modifiers
+1 ~ The character spends five minutes mentally constructing the illusion (cumulative up to +5)
+1 ~ The character has a photo, script or sketch to work from.
-1 ~ The character conjures forth the illusion without time to formulate it clearly (taking only one turn to manifest the illusion).
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