TEXT: DRESDEN FILES
  ACCELERATED
  
  Lead Author:  
  Pamela Alexander
  Contributing Authors:  
  Morgan Ellis, 
  Ed Turner, 
  Leonard Balsera, and 
  Richard Bellingham
  Lead Designer:  
  Leonard Balsera
  Contributing 
  Designers: 
  Clark Valentine and 
  Brian Engard
  Editor:  
  Amanda Valentine
  Proofreader:  
  Joshua Yearsley
  Indexer:  
  Rita Tatum
  Cover Artist:  
  Medusa Dollmaker
  Interior Artists:  
  Medusa Dollmaker, 
  Tyler Walpole, and 
  XX
  Layout & 
  Graphic Design:  
  Fred Hicks
  Art Director:  
  Fred Hicks
  Creative Director:  
  Leonard Balsera
  Story Consultant:  
  Priscilla Spencer
  Design Consultant:  
  Ryan Macklin
  Business 
  Development:  
  Chris Hanrahan
  Marketing:  
  Carrie Harris
  Project Managers:  
  Sean Nittner and 
  Stephen Bajza
  Line Developer:  
  Sophie Lagacé
  Product Developer:  
  Fred Hicks
  Big thanks to our playtesters: Aaron Bryant, Agustín Miranda, Alden Strock, 
  Alex Abley, Alex Pasqua, Amanda Dove, Amanda Rasmussen, Amazing 
  Rando (Randy Oest), Amol Vaidya, Andrea Gaulke, Andrew Apold, 
  Andrew Dove, Andrew Resnick, Anna Darksbane, Antoine PEMPIE, April 
  Brown, Arsh Darksbane, Arthur Bangs, Ashley Jackson, Avram Grumer, 
  Benjamin, Bob Cook, Brent Sturdevant, Brian "Nursewratchet" Stewart, 
  Brian 'Psychochild' Green, Bruce ES Warner, Bry Hitchcock, Bryce Carlson, 
  C.K. Lee, Caitlin Price, Cassie Gegax, Charles Ballantyne, Charles Wulff, 
  Cheyenne Wall-Grimes, CHIV DAVID, Chris Campbell, Chris Asmadi, 
  Colin Fitzpatrick, Colin Matter, Colin Speirs, Comptcheboy, Craig Bunce, 
  Craig Mason, Dana Bayer, Daniel Harkavy, Daniel Song, David Chiv, David 
  Quick, David Vane II, Davyd Atwood, Devon Apple, Dom "by the tentacles" 
  Toghill, Echo Cian, Elena, Ellen Buchsbaum, Emily Redelmeier, Enrique 
  Esturillo, Enrique Esturillo Cano, Eric Granger, Eric Granget, Ethan 
  Harkavy, fatesf.blogspot.com, Ferrer "Volsung" J.O., Franck, Gaylord Tang, 
  Geordie Andrews, Glen Gilmore, Gregg Hlavacek, H. M. 'Dain' Lybarger, 
  Harold Reavley, Heather Beauregard, Irene Strauss, Isabelle Parsley, Isidora 
  Shaw, Jacob Possin, James Brown, James Buckingham, James Traino, Jason 
  France, Jason Hilberdink, Jeanette M. Frost, Jeff Lunter, Jennifer Colbert, 
  Jeremey Arnold, Jeremy Evans, Jody Harkavy, Joe Harney, Jonathan Hobbs, 
  Jonathan Kelley, Jonathan Mendoza, Jonathan Miles, Jonathan Siregar, Joshua 
  Aslan Smith, Joshua Kronengold, Julien Harroch, Julien Pouard, K8 Evans, 
  Kalysto, Kasimir Hazlewood, Katy Owens, Kimberley Lam, kotnpodcast, 
  Kristal, Kristin Strickland, Kyle Ferguson, Lasdesin, Lindsey McCullough, 
  Lisa Padol, Lowell Francis, Magma Gamers, Maleia Tye, Manfred Gabriel, 
  Manuel "ManuFS" Sambs, Marcus Morrisey, Margaret Acker, Marion 
  Nette, Marionnette, Markus Wagner, Matt "Jericho" Strickland, Matt booth, 
  Matthew Broome, Matthew Homentosky, Matthew Karafa, Matthew Walsh, 
  Maude, Meghan McKinney, Mike Taylor, Mischa Krilov, Morgan Ellis, Nancy 
  K. McKeown, Nancy McKeown, Natalie Faulkner, Nicholas Pilon, Nicole, 
  Noah Sutton-Smolin, notabrobro, Paul Kießhauer, Pete Petrusha, rabi, Rachel 
  Kronick, Raven, Raven Brown, Richard J Rogers, Rick Jones, Rob Cantermen, 
  Rothwick, Ryan Schoon, Sandra Pérez, Sarah-Louise Waterhouse, Sascha 
  Müller, Scott Acker, Scott Mac Donald, Selene O'Rourke, Shaun Ramsey, 
  Sherri Stewart, Sophia Brandt, Stephanie Bangs, Stephen Eade, Steven 
  Sims, Susie Barclay, Tamara Deeny, Tamsyn 'Destroyer of Worlds' Kennedy, 
  Tara Rogers, Terry West II, Theron Bretz, Thomas Deeny, Thomas Zimolo, 
  Tiffaney Ramsey, Tim Winchell, Timi Sgouros, Todd Cash, Tyrannodorkus, 
  Vince Gonzales, William Keller, Zannah, Zannah Holohan.
  And special thanks to: Jim Butcher, Jennifer Jackson, Saladin Ahmed.
  DRESDEN FILES ACCELERATED • EHP0032
  An Evil Hat Productions Publication 
  www.evilhat.com • feedback@evilhat.com  
  @EvilHatOfficial on Twitter  
  facebook.com/EvilHatProductions
  Copyright © 2016-2017 Evil Hat Productions, LLC 
  and Jim Butcher.  Based upon the Dresden Files 
  by Jim Butcher. All rights reserved.
  The system for Dresden Files Accelerated is based 
  on Fate Accelerated, Fate Core, and Fate by Clark 
  Valentine, Leonard Balsera, Ryan Macklin, Brian Engard, 
  Mike Olson, Fred Hicks, and Rob Donoghue. 
  First published in 2017 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. 
  10125 Colesville Rd #318, Silver Spring, MD 20901.
  Evil Hat Productions, as well as the Evil Hat and 
  Fate Core logos, are trademarks owned by Evil 
  Hat Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.
  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-61317-133-2
  Printed in the USA
  
  CONTENTS
  FOREWORD
  What’s All This, Then 
  6
  INVOICE
  A Letter to our Sponsor 
  8
  CHAPTER 1 
  THE POWERS THAT BE
  Factions and Notable People 
  9
  A Note on Thresholds 
  10
  Winter and Summer, or That’s 
  What Sidhe Said 
  10
  The Common Ground 
  11
  The Uncommon Ground 
  12
  The Ladies, Sarissa and Molly 
  12
  The Queens, Titania and Mab 
  16
  The Mothers 
  20
  The Knights, Fix and Harry 
  20
  Others of Note 
  26
  Wyldfae 
  27
  The White Council 
  30
  The Senior Council 
  30
  The Wardens 
  34
  The Vampire Courts 
  39
  The White Court 
  39
  The Red Court 
  43
  The Jade Court 
  43
  The Black Court 
  43
  The Church 
  46
  The Knights of the Cross 
  46
  Et Cetera 
  50
  Monoc Securities 
  50
  The Fomor 
  50
  The Denarians 
  50
  The Paranet 
  54
  The Svartalves 
  54
  Deities and Demigods 
  55
  Venatori Umbrorum 
  55
  CHAPTER 2 
  OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
  Locations 
  56
  The Mortal Realm 
  56
  Ley Lines 
  57
  Mortal Seats of Power 
  57
  The Nevernever 
  63
  Within Faerie 
  63
  Without Faerie 
  66
  Outside 
  68
  The Outer Gates 
  69
  CHAPTER 3 
  VELVET GLOVE, IRON FIST 
  How the World Works 
  70
  Introduction 
  70
  The Unseelie Accords 
  70
  Enforcement 
  71
  Signatories 
  71
  Weregilds 
  72
  Duels 
  73
  The Rules of Hospitality 
  74
  Let’s (Not) Make a Deal 
  75
  What’s in a Name? 
  75
  Zen and the Art of Survival 
  76
  Challenges to Authority 
  76
  The Seven Laws of Magic 
  78
  The First Law: Thou Shalt Not 
  Kill by Use of Magic 
  79
  The Second Law: Thou Shalt 
  Not Transform Others 
  79
  The Third Law: Thou Shalt Not 
  Invade the Mind of Another 
  79
  The Fourth Law: Thou Shalt 
  Not Enthrall Another 
  79
  The Fifth Law: Thou Shalt Not 
  Reach Beyond the Borders 
  of Life 
  79
  The Sixth Law: Thou Shalt Not 
  Swim Against the Currents 
  of Time 
  80
  The Seventh Law: Thou Shalt 
  Not Open the Outer Gates 
  80
  
  CHAPTER 4 
  IN THE BEGINNING
  Game Creation 
  81
  Getting Started 
  81
  Materials 
  82
  What You Do in the Game 
  82
  Creating the Campaign 
  84
  Gather and Discuss 
  84
  Identify Factions 
  85
  Identify Player Characters 
  86
  Detail Factions 
  87
  Determine the Inciting Incident 90
  Create the Player Characters 
  90
  CHAPTER 5 
  THE HEAVEN OF INVENTION
  Character Creation 
  91
  Choosing a Mantle 
  92
  Creating Aspects 
  92
  High Concept 
  92
  Trouble 
  93
  The Third Aspect 
  93
  Choosing Name and 
  Appearance 
  93
  Choosing Approaches 
  94
  Calculating Refresh  
  95
  Choosing a Stunt 
  95
  Recording Stress and 
  Conditions 
  96
  Optional Steps 
  96
  Finishing Touches 
  96
  CHAPTER 6 
  THE PLAY’S THE THING
  Basic Rules 
  97
  Taking Actions 
  97
  Describe the Action, 
  Determine the Opposition 
  97
  Rolling the Dice 
  99
  Decide on Your Approach 
  100
  Choose an Action 
  101
  Reading Your Result 
  103
  The Four Actions and the Four 
  Outcomes 
  104
  CHAPTER 7 
  ASPECTS, THE FULCRUM OF FATE
  Aspects 
  106
  Aspect Categories 
  106
  Character Aspects  
  106
  Faction Aspects 
  107
  Situation Aspects  
  107
  Condition Aspects 
  107
  Using Aspects 
  108
  Invoking Aspects 
  108
  Boosts 
  109
  Compelling Aspects 
  110
  Declaring Details with Aspects 111
  Creating Good Aspects 
  112
  CHAPTER 8 
  WITH GREAT POWER
  Stunts, Conditions, & Mantles 
  113
  Stunts 
  114
  Provide a Situational Bonus 
  114
  Create a Rules Exception 
  115
  Create a Custom Action 
  115
  Use a Condition 
  115
  Conditions  
  116
  Mantles 
  119
  Pure Mortals 
  120
  Spellcasters 
  136
  Scions and Emissaries 
  143
  True Fae 
  157
  Vampires 
  164
  CHAPTER 9 
  SO MOTE IT BE
  Ritual Magic 
  168
  Ritual Magic 
  169
  Before You Proceed 
  169
  What Is a Ritual Spell? 
  170
  The Chief Prerequisite: Belief 
  171
  How Do I Perform a Ritual Spell? 171
  How Long Does My Ritual 
  Spell Last? 
  174
  Miscellaneous Concerns 
  175
  Examples of Rituals in 
  Gameplay 
  176
  
  CHAPTER 10 
  WRATH, RUIN, AND THE RED DAWN
  Contests, Challenges, & Conflicts  
  181
  Scale 
  182
  Aspects and Scale 
  183
  Challenges 
  184
  Contests 
  185
  Conflicts 
  186
  Set the Scene 
  186
  Determine Sides and Objectives 186
  Determine Turn Order 
  187
  And…Action! 
  187
  Damage, Stress, and Conditions 187
  Stress 
  188
  Conceding 
  190
  Special Situations 
  190
  Investigations 
  191
  Player Hypotheses 
  192
  Paying the Price 
  192
  Types of Investigations 
  193
  CHAPTER 11 
  THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES
  Advancement & Customization 
  195
  Character Advancement 
  195
  Milestones 
  196
  Advancing the World 
  198
  At a Minor Milestone… 
  198
  At a Significant Milestone… 
  198
  At a Major Milestone… 
  199
  Creating Mantles 
  200
  Conceptualizing Your Mantle 
  201
  Stunts and Conditions 
  202
  Reskinning Other Mantles 
  204
  CHAPTER 12 
  A KIND AND PATIENT MASTER
  GM Responsibilities and Advice 
  206
  Building the Campaign 
  206
  Creating a Scenario 
  207
  Overseeing a Game Session 208
  Setting Opposition 
  209
  Choosing Costs 
  210
  Creating Non-Player 
  Characters 
  212
  Minor NPCs 
  212
  Supporting NPCs 
  213
  Major NPCs 
  214
  Monstrous Adversaries 
  215
  Making an Adversary 
  215
  Monstrous Examples 
  218
  CHAPTER 13 
  WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARISH
  Example Campaign 
  226
  Factions 
  226
  The Fomor 
  227
  The Underbelly 
  228
  Louis Sauvageot’s Pack 
  229
  The Devoted (Les Dévoués) 
  230
  The Routers  
  230
  Points of Conflict 
  231
  Controlling the Barrier 
  231
  Necromantic Surges 
  232
  The LaLaurie Mansion 
  233
  Characters 
  234
  Astrid Colombe 
  234
  Marie St. Pierre 
  236
  Sean McAvoy 
  238
  Genevieve Ba 
  240
  Gabriel Beaumont 
  242
  INDEX & PLAY AIDS
  Index 
  244
  
  6
  FOREWORD
  Before we jump into the actual text of Dresden Files Accelerated 
  (DFA for short), a few things need to be said.
  First, thank you, Jim Butcher. Without you, we have no world to play 
  around in.
  Second, thanks to all 10,103 backers of the Fate Core Kickstarter in 2014. 
  You are the ones who made this stretch goal possible.
  Third, this book references The Dresden Files through Skin Game and 
  thus contains more spoilers than a street racing convention…although reading 
  the novels is not a requisite for playing and enjoying the game. Collectively, 
  we the creative team hope that you have read the novels with as voracious 
  and insatiable an appetite as we have and that we won’t spoil anything for you. 
  Dresden Files Accelerated is an alternative, stand-alone version of 
  2010’s three-volume Dresden Files RPG. It is based on the newest, most 
  streamlined edition of the Fate system, Fate Accelerated Edition. Fate 
  Accelerated was designed as an accessible experience for people newer to 
  roleplaying games without sacrificing fidelity to the setting. You don’t need 
  any of the books from the earlier Dresden Files RPG, but you may find 
  the setting and adventure information in Our World (Volume 2) and The 
  Paranet Papers (Volume 3) useful when putting together your own take 
  on the Dresden Files universe. You don’t need a copy of Fate Accelerated 
  either, though if you want to get a peek at the engine running under the hood 
  of this particular Blue Beetle, you may want to pick it up.
  We traditionally present our games as in-universe artifacts. As such, DFA 
  is “written” by The Archive, a.k.a. Ivy, with a little kibitzing from her erstwhile 
  bodyguard, Jared Kincaid, as a clever means of fulfilling an obligation to an 
  unnamed client. Remembering this point of view may help you read between 
  the lines, including identifying the character on the receiving end of Ivy’s work.
  We hope you enjoy Dresden Files Accelerated and let us know how 
  we can continue improving your experience roleplaying in the colorful, punny, 
  and downright scary world of Jim Butcher’s wizard PI.
  Pamela Alexander
  Lead Author, on behalf of the DFA Team
  (Look, Mom, I finally did it.)
  
  7
   [WHAT’S ALL THIS, THEN]
  In this Book
  Chapter 1: The Powers that Be (page 9) Information on the 
  setting, magical concepts, factions and major NPCs
  Chapter 2: Oh, The Places You’ll Go (page 56) Interesting locales 
  in the mortal and supernatural realms
  Chapter 3: Velvet Glove, Iron Fist (page 70) Advice on dealing 
  with supernaturals, the Unseelie Accords, the Laws of Magic, and so on
  Chapter 4: In the Beginning (page 81) Creating your game 
  Chapter 5: The Heaven of Invention (page 91) Creating your 
  characters
  Chapter 6: The Play’s the Thing (page 97) Basic rules, approaches, 
  actions, and outcomes
  Chapter 7: Aspects, The Fulcrum of Fate (page 106) Creating 
  and using aspects
  Chapter 8: With Great Power (page 113) Information on mantles, 
  conditions, and stunts
  Chapter 9: So Mote It Be (page 168) Ritual Magic
  Chapter 10: Wrath, Ruin, and the Red Dawn (page 181) Scale 
  rules, contests, challenges, and conflicts 
  Chapter 11: The Journey of a Thousand Miles (page 195) 
  Advancing and customizing your characters
  Chapter 12: A Kind and Patient Master (page 206) Advice for 
  the GM
  Chapter 13: We’ll Always Have Parish (page 226) A sample cam-
  paign set in New Orleans
  
  8
  INVOICE
  In accordance with our agreement, find enclosed 
  three copies of the documentation requested and 
  contracted through our intermediaries. I caution 
  your organization to guard well these copies and 
  the sensitive subjects within, as the documentation 
  is enchanted against reproduction or modification.
  The information is segmented and presented in 
  ways that should clearly delineate the power and 
  political hierarchies per request. Our agreement 
  left to my discretion the format in which I provide 
  documentation; this imagination-enacted crisis 
  training exercise is easily digestible and a proven 
  methodology for comparative metaphysical and 
  paranormal research. Its form and functionality 
  are sound. I welcome any questions you may have 
  in this regard.
  Please also find enclosed the sum of the pay-
  ment remitted to me as part of my standard fee. 
  In this single instance, payment is neither desired 
  nor requisite. Instead, this oeuvre is given as an 
  emblem of gratitude for the benevolence you 
  once afforded me, and I offer it with approbation. 
  Furthermore, you have selected a unique role in 
  our world before truly appreciating that role’s 
  implications, and such ignorance is deadly. 
  In closing, I shall certify the veracity of this doc-
  ument’s contents as of 1/1/2000, at 00:00:00. Any 
  future inaccuracies may be credited to the winds 
  of change.
  Upon delivery, our contractual obligation is 
  fulfilled. I remain yours respectfully, Ivy
  Your first original work and 
  it’s annotated in gel pens. 
  Not true. I also used colored pencils & crayons.
  It clashes with the legalese. 
  If you had gotten me that 3D printer, 
  I could have added pop-ups. 
  You’re not even listening, are you?
  May want to dumb 
  it down a little, 
  midget. Not everyone 
  has a vocabulary 
  of 500,000 words.
  1,036,013, actually, 
  in English alone. 
  Since we’re marking 
  the hell out of this 
  copy, I’m guessing this 
  one isn’t enchanted.
  QED.
  He’s going to loathe 
  this roleplaying 
  game format that 
  you cooked up.
  Then perhaps he should 
  have given the contract 
  more scrutiny.
  ... Technically, 
  “oeuvre” is French but 
  English subsumed it 
  several decades ago.
  “Subsumed.”
  Very well, I will 
  endeavor to squelch my 
  sesquipedalian nature.
  What you said.
  Reminder: replace 
  with actual date and 
  time on delivery.
  You’re not delivering 
  this yourself. 
  Of course not. It’s a 
  reminder for you. 
  
  9
  CHAPTER 1 
  THE POWERS 
  THAT BE
  FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE
  First and most importantly, you must understand the breadth of the world 
  you have joined. No matter how knowledgeable you become about the super-
  natural world, more awaits than a mortal can learn and comprehend in a 
  lifetime. With that in mind and to best equip you for survival, I provide here 
  an outline of the major powers. Scattered herein, you will find strange-looking 
  profiles for important personages in the supernatural world. These match the 
  format I am using for characters in the imagination-enacted crisis training 
  exercise that begins on page 81.
  I encourage you to continue researching on your own. As Sir Francis Bacon 
  wrote, “Ipsa scientia potestas est,” or “Knowledge itself is power.” Ignore this 
  maxim at your own peril.
  Fairytales, Myths, and Legends
  Immortals, particularly the Fae, expend a great deal of effort ensuring 
  that mankind remembers them, holding to the belief that their power 
  and influence wax and wane as knowledge of them waxes and wanes. 
  Tread carefully around any of the stories of immortals and use their 
  Names sparingly. As Sir Terry Pratchett wrote, “Do you not know that 
  a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
  
  10
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  A NOTE ON THRESHOLDS
  Thresholds are the first and most important line of defense against any 
  threat, physical or metaphysical. Supernatural folk cannot cross a well-es-
  tablished threshold without an invitation. I do not doubt that you are fully 
  aware of the need to ward your thresholds and that you have done so already. 
  Remember, however, that thresholds are strongest in a long-inhabited family 
  home and non-existent in businesses, something of an issue for you. 
  No one should rely on supernatural thresholds as their sole defense, as they 
  have no effect on average mortals, although I am aware of the conventional 
  methods bolstering your perimeter defenses. 
  Wizards lose a degree of power based on the threshold strength, from some 
  to most of their abilities, while mortal hosts (e.g., Knights of the Blackened 
  Denarius, White Court vampires) may cross but their supernatural presences 
  may not. As many such hosts are kept young by these entities, stepping 
  uninvited across a threshold is a risky, likely fatal, endeavor.
  Regarding your own thresholds, bolster them as best you can, including 
  wards. The ectomancer Mortimer Lindquist, for example, mixed ghost dust 
  with paint to add a layer of protection against spirits. 
  WINTER AND SUMMER, OR 
  THAT’S WHAT SIDHE SAID
  Nearest to the mortal world are the Fae: 
  Summer, Winter, Wyld. You know of Summer 
  and Winter, certainly, but the Wyldfae vastly 
  outnumber both Summer and Winter. I will 
  discuss the Wyldfae later in this section, and, 
  as you have already seen, you are much more 
  likely to encounter the Seelie and Unseelie. 
  They enjoy meddling in the affairs of men. 
  They find it a relaxing diversion from the 
  normal routine of their long-lived existence.
  Iron and the Fae
  Keeping some form of iron—the bane of Faeriekind—about you 
  at all times is an excellent survival tactic. You will often hear the term 
  cold iron, but any form of iron will protect you against Faeriekind. The 
  profusion of iron throughout our world helps limit the degree of Fae 
  involvement here. 
  You went from quoting Sir 
  Francis Bacon to THAT? 
  “The goodness of the true 
  pun is in the direct ratio 
  of its intolerability.” 
  — Edgar Allen Poe
  So…Poe-try?
  
  11
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE COMMON GROUND
  By the unschooled, the yin and yang are considered two sides of a coin, 
  opposites, competing forces in nature. Many philosophers, however, would 
  note that the two are complementary, not competing, and in each exists a little 
  of the other. Summer and Winter are like 
  the yin and yang, moving in concert, each 
  mirroring the other’s steps and actions.
  What the Sidhe Courts share most of 
  all is structure: each has three Queens, 
  each has a Knight consort who does 
  the Queens’ bidding, each has strength 
  that grows half the year and diminishes 
  half the year. Each has a court of nobles, 
  Sidhe lords and ladies, and a host of 
  creatures beholden to the Court. They are, essentially, what you expect from 
  reading fairytales.
  The Queens and Knights are vessels for mantles of power that grant them 
  their roles and authorities. No power comes without a price, and the mantles 
  are no exception. 
  A note about recognizing the Queens: they grow to resemble their pre-
  decessors and each other over time. The Queens are also adept at changing 
  their appearance, to some degree, at will. Knowing any of them on sight, at 
  least in the mortal realm, can be difficult. So be careful if you encounter a 
  woman with impossible grace, unearthly beauty, and cat-like eyes; she may 
  be Sidhe and possibly even a Queen.
  What else is shared:
   
  kThey cannot lie, which is not the same as obscuring or wholly omitting 
  the truth.
   
  kThey love games of all kinds, and Winter prefers those that are violent 
  and cruel.
   
  kThey are highly skilled at creating bargains that look fair or beneficial 
  and are anything but. Avoid testing your wit against theirs.
   
  kTheir food is not to be trusted. Accept none of it.
   
  kThe tenets of courtesy are exceedingly important to them, particularly 
  those pertaining to hospitality. Never forget this fact.
  Would’ve gone with Fred 
  Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
  Or Apolo Anton Ohno 
  and Julianne Hough?
  Ugh. No more reality 
  shows, Ivy. I mean it.
  Anybody want a peanut?
  
  12
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE UNCOMMON GROUND
  What I am about to share is known by few on this plane. If you find value 
  for your investment, it may well be here.
  In the millennia of human existence, the collective purpose of human-
  kind—if any—has not been revealed. Winter and Summer, however, do 
  not merely exist. They have reasons that are both ancient and essential to 
  the mortal realm. 
  As I stated before, the unschooled consider Winter and Summer exact 
  opposites, which is true in some respects and misleading in others. Winter 
  is far larger than Summer, far larger than even those who have seen Winter 
  in Faerie may surmise. The reason may be found in Winter’s reason for being, 
  which is this: they stand guard at the Outer Gates, and have done so for time 
  immemorial. Winter, most specifically the Winter Queen, is charged with 
  keeping the Outsiders from encroaching on the Nevernever and, by extension, 
  on the mortal realm.
  We do not speak of Outside and those that dwell in that reality; knowledge 
  of it is dangerous. I have included sparse details elsewhere (pages 68 and 
  80), but even a scrap of understanding of Outside may inspire chaos and 
  death. The White Council of Wizards (page 30) has a law specifically 
  forbidding contact with what is beyond the Gates. I may tell you this much: 
  a war is waged, constantly, at the Outer Gates between the soldiers of Faerie 
  and the Outsiders. Those from Outside are always battling to gain entrance 
  into this world, and Winter’s duty is to prevent such a thing from happening.
  The end times—Armageddon, Ragnarok, the Apocalypse—would follow.
  Because they are thusly tasked, Winter has the colder, more violent nature 
  and great superiority in numbers. While the Outsiders press their assault 
  on the Gates, the Unseelie have a way to unleash that proclivity for violence. 
  But should ambition inspire them to turn their eyes toward the mortal realm, 
  those on Earth would suffer greatly. Summer’s purpose is to stand between 
  Winter and mortals.
  This knowledge may help you comprehend the natures of both Summer 
  and Winter and those who lead them. 
  THE LADIES, SARISSA AND MOLLY
  The youngest of the Queens—sometimes called the Queens Who Will 
  Be—Lady Summer and Lady Winter have one distinct duty: to learn the 
  roles of the Queens Who Are. In her treatise on diplomacy and the Courts 
  of the Sidhe, Wizard Mai alluded to the Ladies acting as the Queens’ enforc-
  ers: “Thrice I have myself witnessed Lady Aurora bringing to Titania Seelie 
  nobility whose actions brought into question the honor of Summer. They 
  did not appear likely to repeat that error.”
  
  13
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  The Ladies have the least of the mantles, which is not unlike saying that the 
  Fat Man design was the least powerful of modern nuclear weapons. They are 
  capable of extraordinary deeds of magic and all that entails, both creation and 
  destruction. The mantles of both Summer and Winter Ladies have recently 
  passed to new vessels, and so the two are arguably at the nadir of their powers, 
  although both were better prepared for their roles than their predecessors. 
  The current Winter Lady is the first mortal and first wizard to bear such 
  a mantle, and that fact is a point of continued discussion among the Fae. A 
  Seelie noblewoman in Sarissa’s court, Lady Sarene, noted in passing, “Accursed 
  shall be the Unseelie; verily, the Queen of Air and Darkness hath a wretched 
  choice made in tainting the vaunted ranks of Winter’s High Sidhe with one 
  of purely mortal blood. Such a portent, such a harbinger foul, perches ’pon 
  the shoulder of Mab.” 
  Sarissa
  Daughter to Mab, Sarissa was never intended to be the Summer Lady. 
  Her sister Maeve, however, deliberately robbed Winter of Sarissa’s presence 
  by murdering Lily, the previous Summer Lady, and sending the mantle to 
  Sarissa as its most likely host. Up to that point, Sarissa had lived years as a 
  changeling—half-mortal, half-Sidhe—never choosing between the worlds. 
  Like Lily, the choice was taken from her. No longer can she act as her mother’s 
  confidante, friend, and guide to humanity, and no doubt Mab will feel this 
  loss for a very long time.
  How the new Summer Lady fares now is unknown outside of those closest 
  to the Summer Queen, as Titania is keeping her well guarded, perhaps from 
  Sarissa’s mother, perhaps from Sarissa herself.
  Molly
  As earlier stated, unprecedented circumstances surround Molly Carpenter’s 
  possession of the Winter Lady’s mantle. Molly was a 
  mortal wizard apprentice and the daughter of 
  a Knight of the Cross, but after the events at 
  Chichen Itza, her apprenticeship was assumed 
  by the Leanansidhe (page 26), who began 
  grooming Molly for a role in the Winter Court.
  Having been unwittingly prepared as a ves-
  sel by the Leanansidhe, Molly became Winter 
  Lady after Karrin Murphy killed Maeve on 
  Demonreach. As Maeve’s successor, her work 
  has focused on cleaning the mess left behind 
  by the previous Lady.
  What? HOW?!
  A Sig P238.
  You know what I mean.
  Yes. 
  Motherfuckingbullshit!
  Language.
  Won’t they wonder why?
  They don’t NEED to 
  know, and this entire 
  treatise is predicated on 
  NEED TO KNOW.
  
  14
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  SARISSA, THE SUMMER LADY
  MANTLES
  Sarissa bears the mantle of the Summer Lady, which is a variation on the 
  True Fae mantle (p.157). As new as she is, her scale is Otherworldly, 
  though as she adapts to the mantle, her power is sure to grow.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: MisMatched suMMer Lady
  Trouble: Forced to Bear this MantLe
  Other Aspects:MaB’s cLosest daughter; survived a LiFetiMe in Winter; 
  i don’t trust anyone
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Focus, Guile 
  Fair (+2): Haste, Intellect 
  Average (+1): Flair, Force
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  Faerie Lady (special): [x] This condition is always checked. Sarissa 
  has authority over the Summer Court; if she commands it, Summer 
  will obey. However, her authority does not countermand that of the 
  Summer Queen, she is forbidden from interfering in Court politics, 
  and she cannot kill anyone who is not a member of the Courts.
  SUMMER LADY STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  The Lady’s Seelie Magic: Sarissa may cast evocations (p.140) that 
  fit the nature of Summer: growth, abundance, vigor, fire. 
  Seelie Rituals: When performing ritual magic that thematically fits 
  within Summer, Sarissa gets +2 to her preparation roll and can use 
  members of her Court to fulfill one cost. Rituals performed for or 
  on player characters may still have a cost in the form of a drawback 
  or specific casting requirement that the PCs must acquire.
  True Fae: Once per scene, Sarissa may temporarily access any of the 
  general or Summer stunts from the True Fae mantle. This stunt 
  remains in effect as long as Sarissa wishes it or until the end of 
  the scene.
  
  15
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  MOLLY CARPENTER, THE WINTER LADY
  MANTLES
  Though Molly was until recently a Magical Practitioner (p.138), she 
  now bears the mantle of the Winter Lady, using stunts and conditions 
  from the True Fae mantle (p.157). Though new to the position, her 
  scale is already Otherworldly, and her familiarity with magic allows her 
  evocations to reach Legendary scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: unWitting Winter Lady
  Trouble: Keeping the carpenters saFe and ignorant
  Other Aspects:dresden’s ForMer apprentice; survived 
  the Leansidhe’s training; FeeLs 
  responsiBLe For everything
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Focus
  Good (+3): Flair
  Fair (+2): Guile, Intellect
  Average (+1): Force, Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  Faerie Lady (special): [x] This condition is always checked. Molly has 
  authority over the Winter Court; if she commands it, Winter will obey. 
  Her authority does not, however, countermand that of the Winter 
  Queen, she is forbidden from interfering in Court politics, and she 
  cannot kill anyone who is not a member of the Courts.
  WINTER LADY STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  Greater Glamour (requires Glamour): p.158.
  The Lady’s Unseelie Magic: Molly may cast evocations (p.140) that 
  fit the nature of Winter: death, slumber, ice. 
  Unseelie Rituals: When performing ritual magic that thematically 
  fits within Winter, Molly gets +2 to her preparation roll and can use 
  members of her Court to fulfill one cost. Rituals performed for or on 
  player characters may still have a cost in the form of a drawback or 
  specific casting requirement that the PCs must acquire.
  True Fae: Once per scene, Molly may temporarily access any of the 
  general or Winter stunts from the True Fae mantle. This stunt remains 
  in effect as long as Molly wishes it or until the end of the scene.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Empath: Molly is adept at reading the emotions of those around her; 
  unless someone is actively attempting to disguise their emotional 
  state, she knows precisely how they feel. Furthermore, she gets +2 
  when using Guile to create an advantage by leveraging her knowledge.
  Psychomancy: Molly gets +1 to all attempts to manipulate memories or 
  induce visions magically. 
  Do you mean to give out 
  blackmail information 
  against Molly Carpenter?
  Anyone who revealed Molly’s 
  secret to her parents would suffer 
  the wrath of Queen Mab, Wizard 
  Dresden, and quite possibly Uriel 
  himself. No one is that foolish.
  Except Nicodemus 
  Archleone, you mean. 
  
  16
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE QUEENS, TITANIA AND MAB
  Rulers of the Courts with the greatest direct authority over the Seelie and 
  Unseelie, the Queens Who Are possess mantles far more powerful than the 
  Ladies’ and therefore carry far graver, more far-reaching responsibilities. The 
  Queens guard mankind against terrible threats beyond your understanding, 
  and they guard mankind against each other. Light and dark, warm and cold, 
  life and death...each pair is a duality, and neither can exist alone.
  That fact does not stop them from trying to swing the balance to one side 
  or the other.
  The Queens are forces of nature, their passions can spawn hurricanes, 
  tornadoes, blizzards, and ice storms, and they are no one to cross. Ever. I 
  advise you to treat them and their duly appointed representatives with utmost 
  respect at all times, no matter how that concept may grate. 
  Titania
  Queen of Light and Life, Titania has overseen the Court of the Summer 
  Sidhe for millennia, finding her way into many of mankind’s tales of legend 
  and lore. For example, Elizabethan poet Robert Whitney wrote that Titania 
  visited William Shakespeare “upon each morn and in his ear gave pretty mots” 
  that became A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Like the Winter Queen, she uses 
  fables and fairytales as a means of remembrance and she, too, has duties 
  beyond the expected greening of the world after Winter’s chill.
  It is Titania who stands most vigilant between this world and that of Faerie. 
  The gravest mistake to make with Titania is assuming that she is merely 
  and entirely Light and Life to Mab’s Air and Darkness. Remember that light 
  can be harsh and life can be unkind; so too can its Queen. 
  Titania most often appears as a towering, slender Sidhe woman with 
  silver-white hair and summer-green eyes. She favors silk and linen gowns in 
  vibrant colors along with a woven crown of living, growing greenery. Should 
  she appear wearing a gown of intricately woven chain mail, you are advised 
  to find shelter a good distance away. 
  Why do the Queens have a different 
  set of capabilities than the Ladies?
  The Ladies and the Knights could be player 
  characters in the crisis training exercise I mention 
  on page 81. But the Queens… No, they’re best 
  used as non-player characters, tools to oppose the 
  goals of others. More like they do in reality.
  Snark does not become you.
  ALL words become me.
  
  17
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  TITANIA, THE SUMMER QUEEN 
  MANTLES
  Titania bears a unique mantle, that of the Summer Queen. Though 
  several of her conditions come directly from the mantle of the True 
  Fae (p.157), as a queen, Titania has more power and fewer limitations 
  than lesser Fae. Furthermore, if her stats here appear underwhelming, 
  bear in mind how greatly she benefits from scale (p.182): whether 
  magic, physical actions, or even social discourse, virtually everything 
  Titania does operates at Legendary scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the Queen oF Light and LiFe
  Other Aspects: Light does not Mean “nice”;  
  BuLWarK BetWeen huManity and the Forces oF Winter;  
  sLoWLy recovering FroM the death oF aurora
  APPROACHES
  Skilled (+2) at: Battling the forces of Winter, Understanding the 
  needs of mortals
  Bad (-2) at: Showing forgiveness
  Good at Opposing (+2): Flair, Guile, Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  Faerie Queen (special): [x] This condition is always checked. Titania is 
  the undisputed ruler of her court and the forces of Summer; if she 
  commands it, Summer will obey. However, she is unable to directly 
  intervene in mortal affairs that do not involve Faerie, and cannot 
  kill anyone who is not a member of the Courts.
  SUMMER QUEEN STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  Greater Glamour (requires Glamour): p.158.
  The Queen’s Seelie Magic: Titania may cast evocations (p.140) that 
  fit the nature of Summer: growth, abundance, vigor, fire. Her power 
  is overwhelming, and in most cases, she need never roll to achieve 
  what she wants: if the only opposition is Mundane or Supernatural 
  in scale, Titania automatically succeeds. When operating within 
  her territory in Faerie, she can also ignore Otherworldly opposition.
  Seelie Rituals: When performing ritual magic that thematically fits 
  within Summer, Titania automatically succeeds at her preparation 
  roll and can use members of her Court to fulfill any special costs. 
  Rituals performed for or on player characters may still have a cost 
  in the form of a drawback or specific casting requirement that the 
  PCs must acquire.
  True Fae: Once per scene, Titania may temporarily access any of the 
  general or Summer stunts from the True Fae mantle. This stunt 
  remains in effect as long as Titania wishes it or until the end of 
  the scene.
  
  18
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Mab
  Queen of Air and Darkness, Mab is one of Faerie’s most dangerous 
  creatures, a fact she ensured was broadcast far and wide through her close 
  relationships with the Brothers Grimm and other recorders of fairy stories. 
  Despite that reputation, she is no more likely to unleash her power on a 
  mortal than her Summer counterpart, but her reputation as a cruel, cold 
  mistress of Winter is well earned. Had her role in 
  Barbot de Villeneuve’s La Belle et la Bête remained 
  closer to the truth, her temper’s savagery would have 
  been more clearly illustrated.
  Her duties as Winter Queen often distract her and 
  exceed the expected bounds. However, of late she has 
  figured prominently in happenings between the Nevernever and mortal 
  realm. This level of distraction has occurred previously, though infrequently, 
  in the centuries of Mab’s rule and typically 
  precedes significant, albeit temporary, climate 
  shifts (e.g., 46.11% increase of surface winds in 
  September 1666; 26.8% increase of Arctic polar 
  ice in March-April 1912).
  Mab naturally resembles her sister Titania: pale, slender, with silvery white 
  hair and feline green eyes. She has been known to alter her appearance 
  drastically, such as turning both hair and eyes raven black in what has been 
  called her guise as judge.
  What really 
  happened was NASTY.
  De Villeneuve wanted 
  to spare children 
  those nightmares. 
  Creating a Titanic problem.
  I have a sinking feeling 
  that was a pun.
  
  19
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  MAB, THE WINTER QUEEN
  MANTLES
  Mab bears a unique mantle, that of the Winter Queen. Though sev-
  eral of her conditions come directly from the mantle of the True 
  Fae (p.157), as a queen, Mab has more power and fewer limitations 
  than lesser Fae. Furthermore, if her stats here appear underwhelming, 
  bear in mind how greatly she benefits from scale (p.182): whether 
  magic, physical actions, or even social discourse, virtually everything 
  Mab does operates at Legendary scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the Queen oF air and darKness
  Other Aspects: guardian oF the outer gates;  
  author oF the unseeLie accords; a heart oF ice
  APPROACHES
  Skilled (+2) at: Besting Outsiders, Crafting deals
  Bad (-2) at: Showing mercy
  Good at Opposing (+2): Focus, Force, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  Faerie Queen (special): [x] This condition is always checked. Mab is 
  the undisputed ruler of her court and the forces of Winter; if she 
  commands it, Winter will obey. However, she is unable to directly 
  intervene in mortal affairs that do not involve Faerie, and cannot 
  kill anyone who is not a member of the Courts.
  WINTER QUEEN STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  Greater Glamour (requires Glamour): p.158.
  The Queen’s Unseelie Magic: Titania may cast evocations (p.140) 
  that fit the nature of Winter: death, slumber, ice. Her power is 
  overwhelming, and in most cases, she need never roll to achieve 
  what she wants: if the only opposition is Mundane or Supernatural 
  in scale, Mab automatically succeeds. When operating within her 
  territory in Faerie, she can also ignore Otherworldly opposition.
  Unseelie Rituals: When performing ritual magic which thematically 
  fits within Winter, Mab automatically succeeds at her preparation 
  roll and can use members of her Court to fulfill any special costs. 
  Rituals performed for or on player characters may still have a cost 
  in the form of a drawback or specific casting requirement that the 
  PCs must acquire.
  True Fae: Once per scene, Mab may temporarily access any general 
  or Winter stunts from the True Fae mantle. This stunt remains in 
  effect as long as Mab wishes it or until the end of the scene.
  
  20
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE MOTHERS
  Known also as the Queens Who Were, the Mothers reside together in the 
  Nevernever and rarely leave their simple cottage. As such, they are the least 
  directly engaged in mortal affairs. Their mantles are, however, magnitudes of 
  power above those of even the Queens, and their lightest touch can have a pro-
  found effect on the worlds of the Fae and mankind alike. Witness, for example, 
  that Mother Winter was capable of weaving an unraveling enchantment 
  that would undo any magic. Any magic. Not even 
  the Merlin could create such a broad-reaching spell.
  The likelihood of encountering one of the Mothers 
  is microscopic, but should one approach you, speak 
  only when spoken to, and mind each word with care, 
  as one should when addressing an elder.
  THE KNIGHTS, FIX AND HARRY
  Always mortals, the Knights act as consorts to the Queens and, at times, 
  sire the Ladies. Fitting, then, that the new Winter Lady was the apprentice 
  of the Winter Knight.
  Each Knight is compelled to do the bidding 
  of his Court’s Queens: the Queen Who Was, 
  the Queen Who Is, and the Queen Who Will 
  Be. Fortunately the Queens have not often 
  countermanded or contradicted another’s 
  commands, but when such a thing happens, 
  the Mothers dictate the outcome. 
  It has been stated elsewhere that the Winter 
  Knight’s purpose is to kill mortals—something 
  the Queens themselves are forbidden to do—and the Summer Knight’s pur-
  pose is to stop him. Like everything concerning the Courts of the Sidhe, the 
  Knights’ duties are more than what they seem. 
  Though their mantles make them competent in 
  Fae magic, make no mistake: they are mortal and 
  chosen because they are mortal, so their interac-
  tions with humankind can differ from what the 
  Sidhe themselves are allowed to do.
  Fix
  The mantle of the Summer Knight was bestowed on changeling Fix when 
  he was both inexperienced and unprepared. However, in the years since the 
  late Summer Lady, Lily, made him her champion, Fix has grown formidable. 
  Physically he remains unimposing, a slight youth who takes after the Summer 
  Sidhe. But he has learned to wield Summer magic through his mantle, and 
  he is reputedly a competent swordsman. 
  Shouldn’t there be some 
  game-style informational 
  doodads about the 
  Mothers here?
  On the scale I established, 
  they bury the needle.
  Remember when 
  Maeve sent Slate to 
  Antarctica? Heard 
  it took him weeks to 
  stop smelling like dead 
  fish and penguin crap.
  The Ladies don’t spring 
  forth, fully formed, from 
  the Queens’ foreheads?
  That was Athena from Zeus. 
  That was a joke.
  They took it very 
  seriously at the time.
  I… Never mind. 
  
  21
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Lily’s death was a terrible blow to Fix, as her friend and her Knight, and 
  like Lady Sarissa, he has all but vanished from the mortal realm for now. 
  Mayhap they are learning to work 
  in tandem since once they saw each 
  other from different Courts.
  FIX
  MANTLES
  Although originally a changeling, Fix effectively made the decision 
  to be mortal when he became the Summer Knight; in game terms, 
  he discarded his previous mantle as a Changeling in favor of that of 
  a Knight of a Faerie Court (p.146). He is still relatively inexperi-
  enced, as Knights go, but when serving his Court his magic can reach 
  Otherworldly scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the suMMer Knight
  Trouble: grieving For LiLy
  Other Aspects:exuding Quiet conFidence; i coMMand suMMer’s Fire; 
  FoLLoWing the MantLe’s instincts
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Guile
  Good (+3): Focus, Haste
  Fair (+2): Force, Intellect
  Average (+1): Flair
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Summer Power (fleeting): [][][][][] p.146.
  Impaled by Cold Iron (sticky): [] p.144.
  Disfavored (sticky): [] p.146.
  KNIGHT OF A FAERIE COURT STUNTS
  Faster, Stronger, Tougher: p.146.
  Seelie Magic: p.146.
  Superior Recovery: p.146.
  The Perfect Foil: p.146.
  Superior Speed: This stunt comes from the mantle of the True Fae 
  (p.159), and requires Fix to check a box of Summer Power when 
  used.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Make It Go: When Fix uses Guile to create an advantage that rep-
  resents ad hoc repairs or enhancements to cars or other machines, 
  the resulting aspect gains an additional free invoke.
  Summer’s Sword: When Fix uses Faster, Stronger, Tougher to enhance 
  an attack using his sword, he gets +2 instead of +1.
   I calculate a 0.827% chance 
  of his reappearance today, with 
  odds improving exponentially 
  over the next two years, with 
  minor seasonal variations.
  Right, so…“for now.” 
  
  22
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Harry
  Wizard Dresden is the Winter Knight, a role he chose for reasons that 
  were both personal and convoluted and are actually none of your business.
  What you need to know about Harry Dresden you know already: he is a 
  White Council wizard and warden, a private investigator, a lover of animals 
  and Burger King, the Winter Knight, and someone I have chosen to call friend. 
  
  23
  CREATING HARRY - SHOW MY WORK
  If I can recreate the most extreme 
  of Harry’s changes within the rules, I 
  can ensure that the system can handle 
  nearly any character concept.
  So, by the CHANGES casefile, Harry is a 
  Magical Practitioner with almost a dozen 
  major milestones under his belt and an 
  extensive collection of stunts representing 
  his magical prowess and tools. 
  At which point he attempts to 
  retire his character. 
  Ultimately, he instead changes his 
  mantle, retaining his unique stunts with 
  sufficient refresh to re-purchase some 
  essentials of a Magical Practitioner, such as 
  the Third Eye. However, many stunts are 
  lost in the transition. In real-world terms, 
  his skills atrophied while he was dead, his 
  equipment was lost. 
  Since then, he has focused his milestones 
  on regaining some of his former power by 
  re-purchasing conditions and stunts of the 
  Magical Practitioner, rather than fully em-
  bracing the potential of the Winter Knight—
  both within the game and in real life. 
  His recovery will take time; for example, 
  he has not yet reached enough 
  major milestones to re-obtain the 
  BURNED OUT condition, resulting 
  in reduced magical potency when-
  ever he operates outside the aegis 
  of his new mantle. In real-world 
  terms, he is still becoming ac-
  quainted with the Knight mantle.
  Well, have me retire his 
  character on his behalf
  Huh. The system 
  actually works.
  Of course it works. Did 
  you doubt me at all?
  Uh…no? No seems to 
  be the right answer.
  
  24
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  HARRY DRESDEN
  MANTLES
  Knight Dresden bears the mantle of a Knight of a Faerie Court (p.146), 
  although he has also taken conditions and stunts from his prior mantle as 
  a Magical Practitioner (p.138). As a Knight, not to mention a particularly 
  powerful wizard of the White Council, he operates at Otherworldly scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: reLuctant 
  Winter Knight
  Trouble: teMpted By poWer
  Other Aspects: never threaten 
  My FaMiLy; coLd hands, 
  WarM heart, Wise ass; 
  Wearer oF Many hats
  APPROACHES
  Superb (+5): Force
  Good (+3): Flair, Haste
  Fair (+2): Focus, Guile
  Average (+1): Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Combat Wizard: [1][1] p.141.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Winter Power (fleeting): [][][][][] p.146.
  Impaled by Cold Iron (sticky): [] p.144.
  Disfavored (sticky): [] p.146.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  KNIGHT OF THE WINTER COURT STUNTS
  Faster, Stronger, Tougher: p.146.
  Unseelie Magic: p.146. Note that, as Harry is also able to use Evocation, 
  he does not need to mark Winter Power to cast spells with an Unseelie 
  theme. He may still mark boxes of Winter Power to get +1 for each box 
  marked when casting spells which fit the domain of Winter.
  Wizard, PI, Warden, Winter 
  Knight, ‘Za Lord, supernatural 
  prison-keeper… funny that he 
  wears so many figurative hats.
  And none literal.
  Always expect him to get 
  a Stetson to go with that 
  leather duster of his.
  
  25
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  Enchanted Item: Harry uses a staff engraved with 77 spells to store 
  kinetic energy. Once per session, Harry may use his staff to facilitate 
  a stunt based around the sudden application of kinetic force (for 
  instance, an additional +2 to attack by Forcefully blasting a chunk 
  of ice at an opponent, or pushing a target into an adjacent zone 
  as a result of a successful attack).
  Wanderer of the Ways: p.141.
  Evocation Specialist: p.141. Unsurprisingly, Harry’s 
  specialty is using fire as a Forceful attack. 
  Combat Wizard: p.141.
  Duelist Wizard: p.141.
  White Council Membership: p.140.
  Warden: p.140.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Listening: Harry gets +2 when using Focus 
  to create advantages by carefully listening 
  to his surroundings.
  Warden of Demonreach: Harry has access to 
  the intellectus of the island Demonreach, 
  giving him perfect knowledge of the location. While physi-
  cally on the island, Harry automatically succeeds on all attempts to 
  overcome obstacles or create advantages based on knowing the 
  location of items or entities on the island.
  Za-Lord: Harry has the allegiance of a swarm of Wee Folk, led by 
  Major-General Toot-toot, who will give him assistance for the price 
  of a large pizza. Once per scenario, Harry may immediately obtain 
  secret or guarded information without requiring a roll, or instantly 
  create an advantage (such as sWarM oF pixies) with three free 
  invokes to represent their efforts.
  Soulfire: Harry has been gifted with the ability to infuse his magic 
  with the very fires of Creation, albeit by sacrificing part of his own 
  soul. Once per scenario for free, Harry may use Godlike scale for a 
  single evocation infused with holy power. He may use soulfire addi-
  tional times during a scenario by marking his Doomed condition 
  and taking the aspect souLBurned. He cannot use soulfire again 
  until Doomed has recovered.
  PARKOUR!: Harry has mastered the French art of free-running. He 
  gets +2 when using Haste to overcome obstacles by jumping or 
  climbing.
  You know this will 
  come back to bite 
  him in the arse.
  Sooner rather 
  than later, too.
  I hear he yells the word 
  whenever he performs 
  a parkour move.
  Hence the use of CAPITALS!
  
  26
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  OTHERS OF NOTE
  The Leanansidhe
  Of special note is the crea-
  ture of Winter called the 
  Leanansidhe, handmaiden 
  to the Winter Queen and, in 
  Winter, second only to Mab 
  herself as a wielder of magical 
  energies. Like all Sidhe, she is 
  of inhuman beauty, with feline 
  eyes as green as emeralds and 
  auburn tresses streaked white 
  by recent torments (to wit: her 
  entombment in Winter ice for 
  a long, indeterminate time). 
  As she has also mentored the 
  Winter Lady, a safe assump-
  tion is that the Leanansidhe 
  is someone who protects her 
  Court and whom her Court 
  protects. Her loyalty to 
  Winter is absolute, including 
  the Winter Knight. You would 
  do well to remember this fact.
  Changelings
  Special mention must be 
  made of the scions of a mortal 
  and a Fae. These beings live 
  in between worlds until they 
  choose between their mortal 
  and Fae heritages, and their 
  mere existence indicates the continued fascination that the Fae hold for 
  humankind. The current Summer Knight was a changeling until taking up 
  his mantle, as was his Lady, the late Lily. 
  Changelings appear normal and human until puberty, when their bodies 
  mature and the duality of their natures are evidenced. At that point, certain 
  advantages emerge: a jinn’s scion may have increased magical talent, a troll’s 
  scion greatly enhanced strength, and the offspring of a mortal and High 
  Sidhe will be uncommonly lovely.
  The choice need not be made immediately, as the current Summer Lady’s 
  history indicates, but living with one foot in either world cannot be simple.
  THE LEANANSIDHE
  MANTLES
  The Leanansidhe is a True Fae (p.157), 
  allied with Winter. Given her power and 
  stature, she operates at a Legendary 
  scale (p.182).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: MaB’s handMaiden
  Other Aspects: FanaticaLLy LoyaL; 
  crueLty is My version oF Kindness; 
  survivor oF trauMas that deFy 
  naMing; occasionaL Fairy godMother
  APPROACHES
  Skilled (+2) at: Magic, Double-speak
  Bad (-2) at: Empathy
  Good at Opposing (+2):  
  Force, Guile, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  TRUE FAE STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  Greater Glamour (requires Glamour): 
  p.158.
  Unseelie Magic: p.163.
  True Fae: Once per scene, the 
  Leanansidhe may temporarily access 
  any general or Winter stunts from the 
  True Fae mantle. This stunt remains 
  in effect as long as Lea wishes it or 
  until the end of the scene.
  
  27
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  WYLDFAE
  Those without allegiance to either Winter or Summer are called Wyldfae. 
  They outnumber the Sidhe many times over and comprise an equally broad 
  array of beings. Ogres, pixies, nymphs, fauns, goblins, hobgoblins...all are 
  typically Wyldfae, unless or until they choose otherwise. They have a de 
  facto monarch in the Erlking, leader of the Wild Hunt, but independence 
  is their hallmark. In a conflict between Winter and Summer, some will join 
  whichever side appeals to their natures—ogres to Winter, for example, and 
  pixies to Summer—but only if the Queens’ calls are strong enough.
  If Faerie is populated by whimsical creatures, the Wyldfae are the most 
  whimsical of all. The greatest constancy in their nature is their inconsistency. 
  Do not let their lack of affiliation lure you into the belief that they are less 
  dangerous. For example, 19th century cryptonaturalist Sir Nelson Spencer 
  described loch monsters thusly:
  Those who seek the famed creatures of the Highland lakes do so with foolish 
  abandon, for they know not the nightmares that live beneath the surfaces of 
  Lomond, Ness, Morar, Oich and other such bodies of water. While it is true 
  that the loch monsters prefer seclusion in the coldest depths of their lakes, such 
  a thing cannot be regarded as constant. Ferries, dinghies and the like have 
  crossed the lochs countless times in safety before the great beasts below commit 
  the vessels and their passengers to the deep, without so much as a warning. I 
  myself witnessed the drowning of an English fisherman on holiday at Loch 
  Maree when Loch-na-Bèiste took exception to his presence. 
  Even the unwisely undertaken lakeside outings can invite disaster, for the 
  loch monsters are not water-bound: in 1844, two young lovers made the shores 
  of Loch Morar the site of their rendezvous and by nightfall had vanished 
  with naught but a single garter marking their passage.
  The inconstant nature of such beasts must thus be taken as need for great 
  vigilance and care, for most dangerous of all is the viper whose strikes are 
  not predestined.
  The loch monsters’ existence might have 
  been more widely known if Sir Nelson 
  hadn’t lived near Covent Garden.
  Destroyed in the 1856 fire?
  Yes, along with most belongings of 
  “The Great Wizard of the North.”
  I remember that guy. John 
  Henry Anderson, Houdini’s idol.
  One of his many, many roles.
  
  28
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  LORD HERNE THE HUNTER, 
  THE ERLKING 
  MANTLES
  Lord Herne bears the unique mantle of The Erlking, although many 
  stunts and conditions are shared by the True Fae (p.157). Every bit 
  the equal of the Queens in terms of raw power, the Erlking operates 
  at Legendary scale (p.182).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: Leader oF the WiLd hunt
  Other Aspects:Lord oF goBLins; “i do not induLge in courtesy”; Join 
  the hunt or die hunted
  APPROACHES
  Skilled at (+2): Tracking prey, Killing prey, Rousing speeches
  Bad at (-2): Good manners, Duels of words
  Good at opposing (+2): Flair; Force; Haste 
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] p.158.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] p.158.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] p.158.
  Leading the Hunt (sticky): [] Mark this condition when the Erlking 
  takes command of the Wild Hunt. While this condition is checked, 
  the Hunt is following the Erlking’s commands and acting as an 
  extension of him. In effect, he is the Hunt. The Hunt has Godlike 
  scale and an approach, Hunting at +5, which the Erlking may use 
  when taking any action involving the pursuit of prey. He may allow 
  others to join the Hunt, usually by transforming them into a hound 
  or horse; this effectively removes them from play until the Hunt 
  has ended. This condition is recovered at the end of the Hunt or if 
  command is passed via the You Are Found Worthy stunt.
  ERLKING STUNTS
  Glamour: p.158.
  Superior Recovery: p.159.
  Cloak of Shadows: p.159.
  True Fae: Once per scene, the Erlking may temporarily have access 
  to any of the stunts from the True Fae mantle. This stunt remains in 
  effect as long as the Erlking wishes it or until the end of the scene.
  The King’s Wyld Magic: The Erlking may cast evocations (p.140) 
  appropriate to the nature of the Wyldfae: primal, predatory, and 
  uncontrolled. His power is overwhelming, and in most cases, he need 
  never roll to achieve what he wants: if the only opposition is Mundane 
  or Supernatural in scale, the Erlking automatically succeeds. When 
  operating within Faerie, he can also ignore Otherworldly opposition.
  You Are Found Worthy: While leading the Hunt, the Erlking may pass 
  command to another, provided they have demonstrated a reason 
  that the hunt should obey them. The target immediately gains the 
  Leading the Hunt condition and the benefits thereof; however, if 
  the new leader of the hunt is not sufficiently violent, the Wild Hunt 
  can rebel, and command of the Hunt returns to the Erlking.
  
  29
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Lord Herne the Hunter, the Erlking
  Said to be the Queens’ peer, the Erlking may be considered overseer or 
  guardian more than monarch, though he does indeed have a throne and a 
  hall where he presides over a court of goblins. (Refer to Harry Dresden’s 
  Changes casefile for solid descriptive detail.) His features approximate 
  that of a goblin, with eyes red and capable of seeing in complete darkness—a 
  useful trait for the Wild Hunt’s leader. But unlike the stouter goblins, he 
  stands at fully 247.5 cm tall, a height further enhanced by his habitually 
  worn horned helm. 
  The Erlking’s greatest power is in leading the Wild Hunt, which I detail 
  more thoroughly below. The Hunt, when unleashed on mortal ground, is a 
  nightmarish power, and such a thing must be commanded by a potent will. 
  His will and his unequalled prowess as a hunter make the Erlking a lethal foe. 
  The Wild Hunt
  They say that ever since, on All Souls’ Night, the chapel bell is heard tolling 
  all alone, and the spirits of the dead, wrapt in the tatters of their shrouds, run 
  as in a fantastic chase through the bushes and brambles.
  — From a translation of the Spanish tale “El monte de las animas,” by 
  Gustavo Adolfo Becquer
  Since the Dark Ages, legends have existed of spectral riders, armed with 
  weapons of their age, taking to the countryside in pursuit of many sorts of 
  quarry. The French once held that this hunt was led by Satan himself, chas-
  ing the souls of the damned toward Hell, and the English similarly spoke of 
  King Arthur leading a chase of the unbaptized across Britain. In the Norse 
  version, Odin is riding Sleipnir in an eternal hunt of supernatural beings. As 
  with much to do with Faerie, the truth lies in cobbling together many tales. 
  The Hunt appears when the Erlking is summoned from the Nevernever. 
  Once here, he gathers the spirits of fallen hunters and begins the Hunt. Those 
  the Hunt encounters have two choices: perish or join, donning a mask of 
  horse or hound or rider to spend the night running quarry to ground.
  Only one being is documented as successfully eluding the Hunt.
  I remember a few others.
  DOCUMENTED.
  
  30
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE WHITE COUNCIL
  Mortals with magical talent are governed by the White Council, a group 
  founded a millennium ago by Merlin—the original Merlin, the wizard advi-
  sor to King Arthur—as a measure of control over the use of magic. While 
  attaining membership is simple, by successfully passing a test of magical ability, 
  only 12.0371% of those tested pass. The rest remain known as minor talents 
  watched sporadically for signs of black magic.
  Once inducted, traditionally in the Council headquarters, members are 
  free to live wherever and however they please so long as they obey the Seven 
  Laws of Magic (page 78) prescribed to protect mortals from wizards who 
  may be tempted to abuse their talents. During official Council functions, full 
  members are marked by formal black robes and stoles denoting specialty 
  or rank, with Wardens—the militant wizards—wearing grey cloaks atop 
  those robes. 
  Apprentice wizards wear unadorned brown robes.
  THE SENIOR COUNCIL
  The White Council’s leadership is called the Senior Council, comprising 
  the seven most competent and experienced White Council wizards. Of these 
  seven, the most formidable magically and politically becomes the Merlin. 
  Each Senior Council member has areas of specialty but competence in many 
  others. All are very, very dangerous.
  If you run afoul of a wizard, particularly one of the Senior Council, surprise 
  attacks are your greatest ally. A wizard is most vulnerable 
  when they cannot prepare for you or react to you. 
  Presently the Senior Council wizards are Gregori 
  Cristos, Martha Liberty, Listens to Wind, Ancient Mai, 
  Ebenezar McCoy, Rashid the Gatekeeper, and the Merlin, 
  Arthur Langtry. I will detail the last two, as their roles 
  are paramount to your understanding.
  And looks of abject terror.
  A high-powered 
  rifle shot works, 
  too. Usually.
  Too soon, Kincaid.
  What about McCoy?
  I am balancing the scales of knowledge. 
  That would overbalance one side.
  One day, you need to tell me what 
  went on between you two.
  Interesting. So HE never wrote it down either.
  I do not enjoy not knowing.
  I enjoy you not knowing.
  
  31
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  The Merlin
  The wizard presently possessing the rank of the Merlin is an Englishman, 
  Arthur Langtry, whose aesthetics appear to be the inspiration for Merlin in 
  T. H. White’s The Once and Future King: tall, slender, white-haired, 
  white-bearded, elegant, and commanding. His prowess in defensive magic is 
  unparalleled, as demonstrated during the recent war in the temporary wards 
  he helped erect to stop cold an attack by the Red Court of vampires. 
  Langtry is a consummate politician, as you would expect of someone his 
  age (approximately two centuries) and years in positions of authority in the 
  White Council, and he should be regarded as the most powerful mortal alive. 
  Any wizard capable of spontaneously connecting the minds of hundreds of 
  people and easily controlling mordite is someone to be feared.
  Tread very, very cautiously around the Merlin.
  For your edification, however, on average 
  Langtry leaves Council headquarters 3.38 
  times per year, minimizing any chance of 
  contact.
  The Gatekeeper
  The Outer Gates exist as a bulwark between the furthest reaches of the 
  Nevernever and creatures that seek to enter our reality from without, generally 
  called Outsiders. (Refer to the Seventh Law of Magic on page 80.) The 
  Gatekeeper’s role is to lend aid and vigilance against the Outsiders penetrating 
  those Gates and warn the White Council of any such threats when possible. 
  The wizard now filling this complex role is called Rashid, a man of Arabic 
  heritage and English education most easily recognized by his height, near 
  214 cm, and his preferred robes of midnight blue and indigo.
  Most arresting about the Gatekeeper is the scar passing over one eye socket 
  and the metallic orb that has replaced that missing eye. Even I do not know 
  precisely what that enchanted orb can do or show him.
  I stated that knowledge itself is power, and Wizard Rashid holds more 
  knowledge than any other wizard. His role as Gatekeeper was not by 
  happenstance. 
  You will not meet Wizard Rashid unless circumstances demand it (and he 
  so chooses) but he is the Senior Council member whose attention you are 
  most likely to attract. Like the Merlin, he is owed respect but is less troubled 
  by not receiving such overtly.
  Unimaginable horrors from outside reality, 
  inherently hostile to all life, just looking at 
  them risks insanity, corruption, or worse… 
  but fighting them is this guy’s DAY JOB.
  Fundamentally, yes.
  Whatever he is being paid is NOT enough.
  I hear that if he leaves 
  Edinburgh and sees his 
  shadow, we get six more 
  years of tight ass-ness.
  
  32
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  ARTHUR LANGTRY, THE MERLIN
  MANTLES
  The Merlin of the White Council, of course, is a Magical Practitioner 
  (p.138). Like other members of the Senior Council, his skill with magic 
  is such that he operates at Otherworldly scale (p.182). 
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the MerLin
  Other Aspects:Most poWerFuL Wizard on the White counciL;  
  painFuLLy pragMatic Leadership; caLM in a crisis
  APPROACHES
  Skilled at (+2): Magic, Supernatural Politics
  Bad at (-2): Trusting others, Contemporary culture
  Good at Opposing (+2): Force, Guile, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Combat Wizard: [1][1] p.141.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (fleeting): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (sticky): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  Senior Council Leader (special): [x] This condition is always checked, 
  unless the rest of the Senior Council strips Langtry of his position. 
  Langtry is head of the Senior Council and has the authority to issue 
  binding orders to all members of the White Council, including the 
  Wardens. He may use White Council resources as he sees fit (and does 
  not become Indebted from use of the White Council Membership stunt). 
  His decisions may be outvoted by other members of the Senior Council.
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  White Council Membership: p.140.
  Enchanted Item: p.141. Langtry has a tactical belt filled with potions 
  and other magical paraphernalia. As a result, rather than one use 
  per session as this stunt generally dictates, Langtry may use his belt 
  once per scene. 
  Loremaster: p.141.
  Combat Wizard: p.141.
  Ritual Specialist: p.141. Langtry specializes in creating wards and 
  barriers.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Merlin’s Strength: For Langtry, the Exhausted condition is fleeting, and 
  the Burned Out condition is sticky.
  To the Limit: When Langtry marks stress to enhance his evocations, he 
  may mark as many boxes as he wishes, gaining +1 for each box marked.
  Warding Wizard: When Langtry creates an advantage representing a 
  magical barrier, whether he uses evocation or thaumaturgy, he gets 
  two extra free invokes on the resulting aspect.
  Crisis Management: Once per scenario, during a conflict or contest, 
  Langtry may come up with a detailed plan (complete with diagrams) 
  which he psychically projects to everyone he wishes to inform within 
  the scene. This process takes a fraction of a second, regardless of 
  complexity, and gives every recipient a +2 to their next action, pro-
  vided it is in line with the Merlin’s plan.
  
  33
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  RASHID, THE GATEKEEPER
  MANTLES
  The Gatekeeper bears the mantle of a Magical Practitioner (p.138). As 
  one of the most powerful wizards on the White Council, his magic operates 
  at Otherworldly scale (p.182).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the gateKeeper
  Other Aspects:visions oF the Future; taLL, darK, and cryptic;  
  another day, another outsider
  APPROACHES
  Skilled at (+2): Navigating the Ways, Opposing Outsiders
  Bad at (-2): Giving a straight answer, White Council politics
  Good at Opposing (+2): Focus, Force, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Combat Wizard: [1][1] p.141.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  Senior Council Member (special): [x] This condition is always checked, 
  unless the rest of the Senior Council strips Rashid of his position. Rashid 
  has the authority to issue binding orders to all members of the White 
  Council, including the Wardens. He may use White Council resources 
  as he sees fit (and does not become Indebted from use of the White 
  Council Membership stunt). His decisions may be countermanded by 
  the Merlin or outvoted by the other members of the Senior Council.
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  White Council Membership: p.140.
  Loremaster: p.141.
  Combat Wizard: p.141.
  Wanderer of the Ways: p.141.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Steel Eye: The Gatekeeper may view the threads of time and discover likely 
  futures, although the Laws of Magic and the risk of paradox prevent 
  him from revealing the specifics of what he sees. As a result, once per 
  session he may choose to begin a scene with two free invokes of his 
  visions oF the Future aspect.
  Esoteric Preparations: Once per scenario, the Gatekeeper may reveal that 
  he is in possession of a useful, necessary item. This may be a ritual com-
  ponent, a unique relic, a powerful potion, or even information, as long as it 
  is vitally important and theoretically obtainable by the combined efforts 
  of the White Council and the Faerie Courts. This item may be used to 
  pay any cost for a ritual, or it may have powers of its own, allowing the 
  Gatekeeper’s player to make up a unique stunt or condition on the fly.
  Crystal Eye: The Gatekeeper is able to sense the presence of Outsiders, 
  even those which are hidden or lack physical form. This stunt also allows 
  him to identify people who have had recent contact with Outsiders 
  and gives him +2 on all attempts to track an Outsider that is evading 
  or hiding from him.
  Magical Finesse: Once per session, the Gatekeeper may take +4 on a 
  single evocation without marking any conditions.
  
  34
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE WARDENS
  The Council has a police force of sorts, a militant wing that upholds the 
  Laws of Magic and otherwise serves as bodyguards to the Senior Council. 
  The war with the Red Court demolished the Wardens’ ranks (a 78.952% 
  overall reduction) but they have since recovered. 
  Foremost among a Warden’s duties is rooting out sorcerers—people who 
  utilize black magic to suborn the will of others—and anyone guilty is sum-
  marily executed except under extenuating circumstances. In these cases, the 
  guilty party is placed under a probation called the Doom of Damocles; the 
  punishment for breaking this probation is death. The Senior Council can vote 
  to lift the Doom of Damocles once the accused has proven himself. Those 
  who receive death sentences are beheaded, traditionally by the Warden field 
  commander or the Wardens’ leader, currently Wizard Anastasia Luccio.
  The Wardens’ organization roughly approximates that of a police force, 
  with a captain (the aforementioned Wizard Luccio) overseeing regional 
  commanders stationed strategically about the globe. The United States, for 
  example, has four regional commanders, one of 
  whom is Wizard Dresden, who can supply you 
  with further details regarding the Wardens.
  Warden regalia is simple, a flowing grey cloak 
  that, owing to its enchantments, blood cannot 
  stain. A few experienced Wardens also carry 
  swords with the ability to disenchant an enemy’s 
  magic, but as noted below, such weapons are presently in short supply.
  I did not know that. 
  The guy is a sucker 
  for responsibility.
  Yes, he is.  
  Thank goodness.
  
  35
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Captain of the Wardens, Anastasia Luccio
  Contra malum agmini fuere obuii, quæ stabat, 
  Unum in multis, 
  Defendi pharus malitias, 
  Usque ad illa sola,
  Pedemque in capite ejus, 
  Et sacrificium ejus, et terribilis species.
  (Against a cavalcade of evil she stood,
  One against the many,
  A beacon’s defense against wickedness,
  Until she alone remained, 
  Fallen foes strewn at her feet,
  Sacrifices to her terrible beauty.)
  From “Nota quod in Kemmler Percute”  
  by Warden Giancarlo Lama, 1893
  Like the Senior Council, the Captain of the Wardens is a wizard with 
  decades of experience in the practical application of magic. Since the demise 
  of Warden Donald Morgan, Captain Luccio is unchallenged as the most 
  experienced combat wizard in the White Council. Her swordplay is equally 
  impressive, particularly when she wields the enchantment-shattering rapier 
  she fashioned for her use alone. Luccio created such blades for every Warden 
  until a necromancer named Corpsetaker forcibly exchanged bodies with 
  her. The transition has left Luccio incapable of creating the swords, perhaps 
  permanently.
  Beyond this significant restriction, she is distinctly younger physically—a 
  small, fit woman with dark brown curls and a dimpled countenance—and yet 
  retains the experience and reason of a much older wizard. This combination 
  ensures she will remain a threat to any who challenge the White Council 
  and her duties. Think of her as the fiercest protector of a wizard’s wellbeing.
  
  36
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  ANASTASIA LUCCIO
  MANTLES
  Captain Luccio’s mantle is that of a Magical Practitioner (p.138), although 
  her rank within the White Council affords her a unique condition.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: captain oF the Wardens
  Trouble: stiLL adapting to this neW Body
  Other Aspects: heaLthy paranoia; decades oF Leadership experience; a 
  resourceFuL, pragMatic coMMander
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Focus
  Good (+3): Guile, Intellect
  Fair (+2): Flair, Force, Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Combat Wizard: [1][1] p.141.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  Captain of the Wardens (special): [x] This condition is always checked, 
  unless the Senior Council revokes her title. Luccio has unquestioned 
  authority to enforce the Laws of Magic and may act unilaterally to do so 
  without consulting higher Council authorities. Her commands to other 
  Wardens are binding, and any who disobey her are subject to Council 
  discipline. She may also redistribute Warden resources at her discre-
  tion. In exchange, her actions are under constant scrutiny by the White 
  Council, and she may be held responsible for any misdeeds committed 
  by Wardens under her command.
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  White Council Membership: p.140.
  Warden: p.140.
  Silver Sword: p.141.
  Evocation Specialist: p.141. Captain 
  Luccio has taken this stunt twice and 
  excels when using Focus to either attack 
  or create an advantage with fire. 
  Combat Wizard: p.141.
  Duelist Wizard: p.141.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Sword Expertise: Though Captain Luccio is no longer able to forge the 
  silver swords of the Wardens, she remains extraordinarily skilled when 
  using her creations. Captain Luccio gets +2 when Forcefully attacking 
  or using counterspells with her blade.
  Conscription: Captain Luccio has the authority to draft any White Council 
  wizard into the Wardens. Characters so drafted temporarily gain the 
  Warden stunt until Luccio sees fit to remove it, or the end of the scenario. 
  Members of the White Council are not permitted to refuse conscription. 
  As per her Captain of the Wardens condition, she bears responsibility 
  for the actions of her conscripts.
  There can’t be that 
  many swords left out 
  there, 15 or 20, tops. 
  Thereabouts. What Captain 
  Luccio endured at the 
  Darkhallow is unique; 
  I will be interested to 
  see whether she recovers 
  her ability to forge 
  the Warden blades.
  
  37
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Carlos Ramirez
  Like all wars, the conflict between the White Council and the Red Court 
  caused countless young men and women to grow up quickly, most especially 
  those combat-savvy wizards who joined the Wardens during the war. Among 
  those Wardens, no one distinguished himself more thoroughly than Angeleno 
  Carlos Ramirez. After the events surrounding the Heirs of Kemmler in 
  Chicago, he was promoted to Regional Commander for the western United 
  States, the youngest Warden ever in so vaunted a position. On this promotion, 
  the late wizard Aleron LaFortier wrote to the rest of the Senior Council, 
  “While I acknowledge the necessity of enlisting young wizards, the elevation 
  of largely untested, temperamental wizards into the Wardens’ leadership 
  ranks is ill advised to the degree that Captain Luccio’s mental stability in 
  the aftermath of the Corpsetaker’s treachery must be called into question.”
  Warden situational reports and 
  two journals by White Court nobility 
  indicate that later events proved these 
  concerns unfounded. 
  Although presently recovering from 
  injuries sustained in Alaska, Warden 
  Ramirez is a formidable combat 
  wizard who employs water magic 
  and modern weaponry with equal 
  aplomb, and he has fought frequently 
  at the side of Wizard Dresden. As you 
  yourself have seen, the two pose a sub-
  stantial threat when faced in tandem, 
  which should be avoided.
  I saw Luccio in combat 
  after the body switch, 
  and this is bullshit. You 
  also cannot convince me 
  LaFortier was referring 
  to Ramirez alone.
  
  38
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  CARLOS RAMIREZ, GREY WARDEN 
  MANTLES
  Warden Ramirez bears the mantle of a Magical Practitioner (p.138). Owing 
  to his status as a regional commander, he also benefits from some of the 
  conditions and stunts from the Leader of the People mantle (p.126).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: handsoMe young hotshot Warden
  Trouble: arrogant disregard For authority
  Other Aspects: When Magic FaiLs, i’ve got My gun; unFaiLingLy LoyaL (iF 
  you’ve earned it); speciaList in BattLeFieLd Magic
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Flair
  Good (+3): Focus, Haste
  Fair (+2): Force, Intellect
  Average (+1): Guile
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  Combat Wizard: [1][1] p.141.
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [x] p.117. Beaten up Bad By the FoMor
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  Followers (sticky): [][][][][] p.126. In Warden Ramirez’s case, these 
  followers are Grey Wardens under his command. 
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  White Council Membership: p.140.
  Warden: p.140.
  Silver Sword: p.141.
  Evocation Specialist: p.141. Warden Ramirez’s specialized evocation is 
  to use water to defend with Haste.
  Enchanted Item: Warden Ramirez’s gauntlet is used to enhance his abilities 
  with water-based magic and, more specifically, use water’s associations 
  with entropy and cleansing to disintegrate things. Once per session, 
  Ramirez may use his gauntlet to facilitate a disintegration-themed 
  stunt (for instance, an additional +2 to defend by Hastily erecting a 
  disintegration field, or +1 to Forcefully attack with entropy blasts for 
  the duration of a scene).
  Combat Wizard: p.141.
  LEADER OF THE PEOPLE STUNTS
  Ready and Willing: p.127. At the GM’s discretion, NPCs created by this 
  stunt may be able to take advantage of scale.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Frag Grenades: Once per session, Warden Ramirez may attack using 
  Force up to three zones away by tossing a fragmentation grenade. This 
  attack targets everyone in a given zone, friend and foe alike, and deals 
  a minimum of 1 stress, even if the targets successfully defend against 
  the attack.
  
  39
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE VAMPIRE COURTS
  Vampires are parasites: they cannot survive without feeding off the life 
  force of another, be it blood, flesh, or the intangible essence that animates 
  a human body. In appearance, the Courts may vary (particularly the Black 
  Court), but all have a common purpose—to perpetuate and control their 
  food source. This fact should never be forgotten, no matter how attractive 
  their flesh masks or how pitiful their stories. 
  (I speak specifically here of the Raith family, 
  whom you have encountered on multiple occa-
  sions in Chicago alone.)
  Physically, all vampires possess superhuman 
  strength and speed. In this respect, the White 
  Court are the weakest, yet their ability to toler-
  ate daylight—which kills Red and Black Court 
  vampires—more than compensates for those 
  shortcomings. Even the youngest is dangerous, 
  and my best advice is to avoid them entirely and never, never allow a vampire 
  to touch you. 
  THE WHITE COURT
  As you have seen, you will most frequently encounter the White Court, 
  especially after the Red Court’s apocalyptic end at Chichen Itza. White 
  Court vampires achieve status by manipulation and engagement of cat’s paws, 
  including unwary mortals foolish or unlucky enough to involve themselves 
  in White Court affairs. 
  The Court’s influence is slowly waxing, not waning, owing largely to the 
  ambitions of the White King, Lord Raith, and his eldest, Lara. House Raith 
  sits atop the White Court in power, its hold solidified after the coup attempt 
  at Chateau Raith several years ago. The other two major White Court Houses, 
  Malvora and Skavis, were undermined by extensive losses in leadership during 
  the battle in the Raith Deeps.
  For all practical purposes, a White Court vampire is human, and the true 
  monster is what lies beneath the surface, a demon whose hunger they must 
  feed to survive. Each major house has a preferred “flavor” of life energy on 
  which they feed—lust for Raith, despair for Skavis, fear for Malvora—but 
  nothing prevents their appetites from straying. 
  Typically, these vampires feed discreetly, addicting their victims to the sen-
  sation of being fed upon and thus developing a stable supply of “bucks and 
  does,” as they term their prey. Still, fatal feedings regularly occur, especially 
  when a vampire has lost control to his demon. A White Court vampire’s first 
  feeding is also fatal. 
  I’d help those pitiful 
  vampires…by shuffling 
  them off the 
  mortal fucking coil.
  LANGUAGE.
  I’m your personal 
  Quentin Tarantino. 
  Profane but pithy.
  
  40
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Consider the substantial increase in missing 
  persons, particularly in areas the White Court 
  is known to frequent.
  Among the three noble houses, only Raith 
  poses a threat, the other two having been polit-
  ically gutted in the aforementioned attempted 
  coup. Until Skavis and Malvora repopulate, they 
  lack the strength and numbers to challenge the 
  White King. Most probably, they lack the intestinal fortitude for it as well. 
  Lara Raith
  Ostensibly second only to the White King in power, Lara Raith is a cold, 
  calculating creature highly skilled at manipulation. Were she a mortal, she 
  would be dangerous, but in tandem with her demon, she is lethal, a true 
  femme fatale. Her business acumen is extreme, her political acumen growing. 
  Anyone who willfully crosses metaphorical swords with her is someone who 
  is asking to be cut, most likely into ribbons.
  All of the Raith family are similarly colored: black hair 
  dark enough to suggest blue tones, pale eyes of grey or 
  blue that become silver or chrome when their demons 
  are active, and supernaturally beautiful and graceful. 
  Reports indicate that each of Lord Raith’s progeny—
  his several daughters and one son, Thomas—are well 
  trained in martial arts, particularly with bladed weap-
  ons. As the coup attempt proved, Court politics are a 
  deadly game.
  The immediate Raith family does not, however, rely solely on their prowess 
  with swords and knives. All have been known to carry firearms, and most have 
  been seen in the company of professional bodyguards culled from the ranks 
  of retired military personnel, typically those specializing in covert operations.
  Thomas Raith
  Noteworthy as the White King’s only surviving son, Thomas Raith is 
  enigmatic beneath the playboy façade. He too has become a Chicago mainstay, 
  and his greatest known threat is through his contacts: both his sister Lara 
  and Wizard Dresden have proven they will go to extreme lengths to protect 
  him, and vice versa. 
  Much about Thomas Raith is shrouded in secret. His reputation is that of 
  a playboy, a family man, and like his siblings he lives off the largess accrued 
  over the centuries by the Raith family, which the current Lord Raith has 
  captained for a very, very long time. With his contacts and wealth, he would 
  make a powerful ally and a challenging opponent.
  And I advise keeping all mortal female employees out of his path, most of 
  all those entrusted with secrets.
  By my calculations, 
  the chances of White 
  Court involvement 
  in a missing persons 
  report have doubled in 
  the last three decades.
  Off. The mortal.
  Fucking. Coil.
  Wouldn’t he rather 
  hear about the 
  White King?
  Lara is in charge 
  now. She overcame 
  Lord Raith’s control.
  How did she… No. No, 
  I don’t want to know.
  
  41
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  LARA RAITH
  MANTLES
  Lara Raith bears the mantle of a White Court Vampire (p.166), 
  in addition to several unique stunts. Furthermore, as the most 
  powerful succubus of the White Court, Raith operates at an 
  Otherworldly scale (p.182) when her vampiric heritage 
  comes into play.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: eFFective head oF house raith
  Trouble: can’t stand Being turned doWn
  Other Aspects: ”i aM a poLite, civiL, and eFFicient Monster”; 
  deadLiest succuBus in the White court; never BreaKs a 
  proMise
  APPROACHES
  Skilled (+2) at: Seduction, Manipulation, Swordplay
  Bad (-2) at: Resisting temptations, Avoiding attention
  Good at opposing (+2): Flair, Guile, Intellect 
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Vampire Heritage (unique): [] p.166.
  Burned by True Love (sticky): [] p.166.
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] p.166.
  WHITE COURT VAMPIRE STUNTS
  Family Favors: p.167.
  Emotional Aura: p.167.
  Emotional Vampire: p.167.
  Vampiric Recovery: p.165.
  Vampiric Physique: p.165.
  Vampiric Toughness: p.165.
  Incite Emotion: p.167.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Protector of House Raith: When acting to directly protect the 
  interests of House Raith, or to defend or avenge a member 
  of her family, Lara Raith operates at Legendary scale. 
  Family Money: Though she is still ultimately answerable to the 
  rest of the White Court, Lara can decide how family funds are 
  spent. By checking one box of Indebted, she is able to declare 
  ownership of anything one could purchase with a credit card 
  with no limit. By checking three boxes of Indebted, she can 
  declare ownership of something outrageously expensive 
  which would require complex negotiations to buy, like an 
  office building or an Apache attack helicopter. By check-
  ing all five boxes of Indebted, she can claim ownership of 
  something ludicrously unobtainable, such as an entire city, 
  as long as giving such a thing a price tag is at all reasonable.
  Power and Privilege: Lara can pull strings to clear up the debt 
  she accrues within the White Court; as long as she has suffi-
  cient time to make deals among her family, she clears a box 
  of Indebted automatically between sessions.
  
  42
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THOMAS RAITH
  MANTLES
  Thomas Raith bears the mantle of a White 
  Court Vampire (p.166).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: FriendLy neighBorhood 
  incuBus
  Trouble: Justine is My true Love
  Other Aspects: unWhoLesoMeLy good-
  LooKing; My deMon is WeLL Fed; BLacK 
  sheep oF the raith FaMiLy
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Flair
  Good (+3): Force, Guile
  Fair (+2): Focus, Haste
  Average (+1): Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Vampire Heritage (unique): [] p.166.
  Burned by True Love (sticky): [] p.166.
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] p.166.
  WHITE COURT VAMPIRE STUNTS
  Family Favors: p.167.
  Emotional Aura: p.167.
  Emotional Vampire: p.167.
  Vampiric Recovery: p.165.
  Vampiric Physique: p.165.
  Vampiric Toughness: p.165.
  Incite Emotion: p.167.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  It’s Only Family Money: Once per scenario, 
  Thomas may activate the emergency 
  credit card Lara Raith provides to close 
  family. For the next 24 hours (or the 
  remainder of the session) Thomas has 
  a new approach, Credit at +6, which he 
  may use whenever money is the most 
  direct means to achieve his goals.
  Just a Pretty Face, Right?: Thomas gets 
  +2 when using Guile to create an advan-
  tage by pretending to be ditzy, flaky, 
  laughably self-absorbed, or similarly 
  non-threatening. 
  A Lover and a Fighter: When using his 
  Vampiric Physique to enhance attacks 
  with his kukri or other bladed weapon, 
  Thomas gets +3 for each box checked.
  True Love is 
  poison to House 
  Raith. How does 
  that even work?
  I prefer not to explain. 
  I strongly, strongly 
  prefer not to explain.
  
  43
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE RED COURT
  Flabby, slick-skinned beasts beneath flesh masks, the Red Court was a 
  thorn to the entire White Council until Wizard Dresden obliterated the 
  Red King and his coterie at Chichen Itza through a bloodline curse. This 
  curse carried through to every one of the Red King’s descendants and those 
  they had infected. 
  You presently need to know no more than that.
  THE JADE COURT
  Do not so much as attempt to exert any influence in metropolitan areas 
  of China, most especially along the Yangtze, and in Taiwan. Take my advice 
  to heart here and leave it be. You consider yourself without attachments, but 
  they will find what is dear to you and destroy it in ways that would make 
  Hell itself recoil in despair.
  THE BLACK COURT
  Black Court vampires are physically the deadliest, capa-
  ble of incredible speed and strength, and can easily multiply 
  their numbers simply by killing. Fortuitously, the 
  Black Court’s numbers dwindled in the aftermath 
  of publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a White 
  Court-sponsored guide for killing these nightmares. 
  Jut as Stoker described, religious 
  symbols, holy water, and garlic are 
  deadly to a Black Court vampire, 
  and only the most powerful of 
  their number can endure exposure 
  to sunlight. They also cannot 
  cross thresholds.
  Unlike the White Court 
  and the disguised Red Court, 
  Black Court vampires appear purely 
  and simply as monsters, walking 
  corpses with various degrees of decay 
  based on time passed since death. One 
  assumes you know to avoid them. 
  
  44
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Mavra
  A sorceress and one of the eldest, most formidable of the Black Court, 
  Mavra has shown herself in mortal company and supernatural political circles 
  more often than most of her ilk. The implication is that Mavra has ambitions, 
  and these ambitions bear watching.
  MAVRA
  MANTLES
  Mavra bears the mantle of Black Court Sorceress; though the details 
  of the mantle are not found in this book, most of the conditions 
  and stunts can be found in the mantles of the Magical Practitioner 
  (p.138), the Red Court Vampire (p.164), and the Leader of the 
  People (p.126). Notably, as one of the most powerful vampires 
  of the Black Court, Mavra operates at Otherworldly scale.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept:  
  vaMpire sorceress oF the 
  BLacK court
  Other Aspects: truLy ancient; 
  the Word oF KeMMLer;  
  FLair For the draMatic
  APPROACHES
  Skilled (+2) at: Magic, Feeding, 
  Manipulation
  Bad (-2) at: Empathy, Cooperation
  Good at Opposing (+2): Force, 
  Haste, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] p.139.
  Followers (sticky): [][][][][] p.126. In Mavra’s case, these fol-
  lowers are made of weak, subordinate Black Court vampires and 
  Renfields—humans who have been psychically dominated beyond 
  hope of redemption. Thus, she has no Disfavored condition.
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] p.166.
  Black Court Weaknesses (sticky): [] Check this box when Mavra 
  comes into contact with one of the weaknesses of Black Court 
  vampires: religious symbols, holy water, garlic, or exposure to 
  sunlight. If this condition is already checked and she is exposed 
  again (or exposure continues for more than a few moments), 
  mark In Peril or Doomed instead; if she cannot mark a condition, 
  she is destroyed. Recover this condition if Mavra is able to spend 
  several hours in undisturbed rest.
  Undead (special): [X] This condition is always checked. Mavra is a 
  walking corpse and does not need to breathe, eat, drink, or oth-
  erwise satisfy needs of the human body (beyond her vampiric 
  hunger). However, her appearance is grotesque and obviously 
  inhuman, and she cannot cross a threshold uninvited.
  Leader of the 
  people? What?
  It is an apt description. 
  Her community is 
  unsavory, and she 
  leads it by virtue of 
  enthralling innocents, 
  but that does not make 
  her power any less real.
  
  45
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Ritual Specialist: p.141. Mavra has taken 
  this stunt twice and specializes in both 
  necromancy and mental domination.
  VAMPIRE STUNTS
  Vampiric Recovery: p.165.
  Vampiric Physique: p.165.
  Vampiric Toughness: p.165.
  Cloak of Shadows: p.159.
  Into the Mists: By marking a box of Hungry, 
  Mavra can convert her body into mist 
  and later re-form. She may use this to 
  exit a scene, ignoring any obstacles 
  in her way, or spontaneously arrive in 
  any location not protected by sunlight, 
  threshold, or other supernatural means 
  forbidding her entry.
  Enthrallment: Mavra excels at finding 
  mortals to bend to her will; when her 
  Followers condition recovers between 
  sessions, she clears all of its boxes. 
  Additionally, any mortal held captive by 
  her for a sufficient period of time (one 
  day, or one full session, whichever comes 
  first) is turned into a thrall, entirely obe-
  dient to Mavra’s commands.
  LEADER OF THE PEOPLE STUNTS
  Ready and Willing: p.127. Additionally, 
  Mavra’s followers may potentially have 
  Supernatural scale, if they represent 
  weaker vampires in Mavra’s scourge.
  Loyalty Unto Death: p.127. Notably, 
  Mavra does not have to worry about 
  becoming Disfavored by abusing 
  this stunt; her followers are utterly 
  dominated.
  It was Mavra who inveigled around Wizard 
  Dresden’s first form of defensive shield, burning 
  his hand to uselessness for more than two years; it 
  was she who threatened Karrin Murphy in order 
  to manipulate Wizard Dresden into giving her 
  The Word of Kemmler, a grimoire containing 
  invocations of powerful necromancy.
  Mavra has not been seen since the events involv-
  ing the Heirs of Kemmler in Chicago, but no 
  evidence exists to suggest she has been destroyed. 
  What? WHEN? 
  When you and Miss 
  Murphy were in Hawaii. 
  Oh, balls.
  So maybe you can stop 
  teasing Harry about it.
  You just want to 
  suck the joy out 
  of everything.
  The collective noun for 
  Black Court Vampires 
  is apt as hell.
  Another creature that 
  is collectively called a 
  scourge? Mosquitos.
  Bloodsuckers 
  all around.
  I prefer “a romp of 
  sea otters” myself.
  
  46
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE CHURCH
  Detailing the Catholic Church’s involvement in supernatural affairs would 
  require much more than a few columns of text. The Templars’ history alone 
  would equal a small library’s collection. Therefore, my purpose is to highlight 
  the salient areas you are most likely to encounter or need to know.
  THE KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS
  Anyone with even a basic education knows the major events that spanned 
  generations. And while the Ecumenical Councils concentrated on the 
  Crusades, the Inquisitions, and the witch trials, other crises demanded more 
  discrete solutions and more direct intervention. For this reason and the very 
  real need to combat wickedness and evil, the Church has their champions, the 
  Knights of the Cross, wielding the holy swords Amoracchius, Fidelacchius, 
  and Esperacchius.
  Even I have no way of knowing how many have carried one of these blades, 
  which have been forged and re-forged over the centuries, each containing a 
  nail from the Crucifixion. Ecclesiastic records are incomplete and remark 
  that some of the chosen wielded a holy sword for a day, even less. (Two such 
  incidents occurred at Chichen Itza alone.) What is known is the number of 
  swords—no more than three, often fewer—and their primary purpose, which 
  involves the Knights of the Blackened Denarius (page 50).
  At the time of this publication, two Knights of the Cross possess holy blades, 
  with the third sword, Amoracchius, awaiting its new bearer.
  Sanya Ivanovich
  Michael Carpenter, last wielder of Amoracchius, was the epitome of a 
  modern Knight: a devout Catholic, a superlative swordsman, a physically 
  imposing figure in a breastplate and a Crusader-style cloak of white with red 
  crosses. For several years, Carpenter was the senior of two Knights, but his 
  career ended on Demonreach when Polonius Lartessa shot him repeatedly.
  After Carpenter’s retirement, only one Knight remained, and Sanya is 
  unique in every respect. Most blatant is physically—he is Afro-Russian, a 
  racial group numbering fewer than .0001% of the Russian population—but 
  more noteworthy is his ideology. He has stated that, philosophically, he is 
  either atheistic or agnostic, with Trotskyism the pragmatic driver of his 
  commitment as a Knight. Different, too, is his contemporary approach to 
  wielding Esperacchius, as he tempers the traditional medievalism with mod-
  ern pragmatism. Like Warden Ramirez (page 37), Sanya has been known 
  to wear tactical body armor and carry firearms.
  His Kalashnikov assault rifle was the weapon Tessa used in her murder 
  attempt of Michael Carpenter.
  By now you have realized that Sanya’s uniqueness has no effect on his 
  success as a Knight, and if your cause is just, he will help. It is that simple.
  Tessa has a lot to answer for. A LOT.
  Yes. 
  
  47
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  SANYA IVANOVICH, 
  KNIGHT OF THE CROSS
  MANTLES
  As the wielder of Esperacchius, Sanya bears the mantle of a Knight 
  of the Cross (p.148), although the mantle’s conditions are renamed 
  to better suit his philosophy. Furthermore, Sanya is a Knight at the 
  apex of his power and, as a result, has Otherworldly scale (p.182) 
  when fulfilling this role.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: agnostic Knight oF the cross
  Trouble: ForMer host oF the denarian Magog
  Other Aspects: Big russian Bear; KevLar and KaLishniKov; 
  the sWord oF hope
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Force
  Good (+3): Haste, Intellect
  Fair (+2): Flair, Focus, Guile
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (sticky): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  On a Mission from God Powerful But 
  Unknowable Entity (sticky): [] p.148.
  Crisis of Something We Could Call “Faith” 
  (sticky): [] p.148.
  KNIGHT OF THE CROSS STUNTS
  The Sword of the Cross: p.148.
  Right Place, Right Time: p.148.
  Divine Defender: p.149.
  Sacrificial Blow: p.149.
  Barrier of Faith: p.149.
  Holy Aura: p.149.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Indefatigable: Sanya’s Doomed 
  condition is sticky rather than 
  lasting, allowing him to return 
  to fighting shape much more 
  quickly even after serious injury. 
  His Doomed condition still 
  requires treatment to recover.
  Covering Fire: When Sanya 
  Forcefully creates an advantage by 
  laying down fire with his Kalishnikov or 
  similar automatic firearm, he gains an extra 
  free invoke on the resulting aspect.
  
  48
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Waldo Butters
  Dr. Waldo Butters, Chicago medical examiner and renowned polka afi-
  cionado, is the newest Knight of the Cross and wields Fidelacchius, Like 
  Sanya, Dr. Butters is a departure from his predecessors—an unassuming, 
  bespectacled, and brilliant Jewish-American man in whose hands the sword 
  of Faith became a sword of Light.
  Dr. Butters has barely embarked on his jour-
  ney as a Knight of the Cross, and while his 
  worthiness is beyond question, his experience is 
  limited to what was gained at the side of Wizard 
  Dresden and Karrin Murphy during their adven-
  tures together. He will improve, given time and 
  tutelage from his friends. While he learns more 
  of his role, consider Sanya the better option for 
  military concerns, although either Knight (or both) may appear by providence 
  when a need arises.
  Apart from Alpha leader Will Borden, Dr. Butters is without equal for this 
  imagination-enacted crisis training, beginning on page 81. Consult him if 
  you have questions regarding the specifics of this exercise.
  Dr. Butters’ association with the Better 
  Future Society has shown his infinite resource-
  fulness and demonstrated creative application 
  of magic for a non-practitioner. He is a valu-
  able ally, more so now that he is a Knight, and 
  the amount of good he may effect in the world 
  implies that value will only increase.
  Harry says it’s 
  just like Luke’s.
  Wait…he has a 
  HOLY LIGHTSABER?
  Yes. Dr. Butters 
  was ecstatic. 
  Ya think?!
  I get that you don’t feel 
  the need to go on about 
  the BFS to its founder, 
  but what about Borden?
  Almost as well known 
  to my sponsor as Harry, 
  and he has the biceps 
  scar to prove it.
  
  49
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  WALDO BUTTERS, 
  KNIGHT OF THE CROSS
  MANTLES
  As the rightful wielder of Fidelaccius, Butters recently underwent 
  a major milestone (p.197) during which he changed his mantle 
  from Medic (p.128) to Knight of the Cross (p.148). Though still 
  nominally employed as a medical examiner, he is unable to benefit 
  from the position in the same manner as one able to dedicate the 
  entirety of their focus to medical practice. In game terms, to reflect 
  his inexperience as a Knight and his training as a medical examiner, 
  Butters has used the benefits of significant milestones to re-purchase 
  stunts from the Medic mantle rather than Knight of the Cross.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: neWLy Minted Knight
  Trouble: stiLL in training
  Other Aspects: unpopuLar MedicaL exaMiner; aptitude For MagicaL 
  theory; iMagination-enacted crisis training
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Focus, Intellect 
  Fair (+2): Flair, Guile
  Average (+1): Force, Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  On a Mission from God (sticky): [] p.148.
  Crisis of Faith (sticky): [] p.148.
  KNIGHT OF THE CROSS STUNTS
  The Sword of the Cross: p.148.
  Right Place, Right Time: p.148.
  Holy Aura: p.149.
  MEDIC STUNTS
  Medical Care: p.129.
  Forensic Pathology: p.129.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Bob: Butters has access to a spirit of intellect with encyclopedic 
  knowledge of most forms of magic. If he is able to consult with Bob 
  during the preparation for ritual magic (p.172), Butters reduces 
  the number of costs by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
  Polka Will Never Die!: Butters has proven himself to have unortho-
  dox reserves of determination, even when confronted by the most 
  terrifying monsters. Once per scenario, he may treat his In Peril 
  condition as fleeting instead of sticky when he uses it to absorb 
  stress that represents fear or other psychological assaults.
  One Knight who may not believe in God, one Knight 
  with a lightsaber… What’s next, Batman?
  Well, he IS the Knight.
  I’m telling you, Harry’s a bloody awful influence.
  
  50
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  ET CETERA
  Beyond the aforementioned factions, other, less prominent groups exist 
  and involve themselves in supernatural affairs. This section delineates the 
  larger of these political players, most of whom are signatories of the Unseelie 
  Accords and can therefore be expected to behave accordingly.
  MONOC SECURITIES
  Monoc Securities and its CEO, Donar Vadderung, are beyond reproach 
  where honor is concerned and a stalwart—if high-priced—ally. Of this you 
  are well aware. With their headquarters and operational base in Oslo, their 
  connections and resources are greatest in Norway and most of Scandinavia, 
  although they have proven themselves repeatedly in other trouble spots, 
  including Chicago. Of this you are also keenly aware. Services offered include 
  security consultation and private security, both mundane and supernatural. 
  My sole caution with regards to Monoc is to remain honest in all respects. 
  Should you run afoul of either Vadderung or the Einherjar, you may not live 
  long enough to apologize.
  THE FOMOR
  What you need know most about these amphibian creatures is that their 
  magic users do not suffer from the same limitation as do wizards of the 
  White Council and other such practitioners: running water does not hamper 
  their use of magic. They are dangerous and 
  presently active in coastal areas around the 
  globe, and your own actions have prevented 
  their outright intrusion in Chicago. While 
  their focus is on revenge for their outcast 
  existence, their actions have indicated the 
  certainty that they are absorbing much of 
  the power left by the Red Court’s downfall. 
  Remain vigilant of both these creatures 
  and their turtleneck-wearing servitors, as you may expect to see them again 
  and likely soon. You would also be well advised to seek defense against their 
  physical, acid-based assaults.
  THE DENARIANS
  A denarius was the Roman currency at the time of the Crucifixion, and 
  thirty of these pieces of silver were famously paid to Judas Iscariot for his 
  betrayal of Jesus Christ. When next the coins were seen, they had changed, 
  each transformed by the essence of a fallen angel. One side of every coin was 
  blackened and scarred with the Fallen’s sigil. 
  Not much said about 
  the Fomor and Monoc.
  Because of the roles they 
  are playing and what 
  other parties know.
  And don’t know.
  Precisely.
  
  51
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  How the Fallen came to curse the blackened denarii is not known. A 
  popular hypothesis centers on the artifacts of the Crucifixion, items of immea-
  surable holy energy. Their existence may have birthed something of a power 
  vacuum not unlike what was created when the Red Court was obliterated. 
  To level the ethereal field, the coins were created.
  Strange as the phrase may seem, the blackened coins seek human contact. 
  Once someone has touched a coin, even casually, the Fallen within has access 
  to the person’s mind, thoughts, and dreams. Once the host is seduced to use 
  the fallen angel’s power, their will is subsumed. It is these lost souls whom 
  the Knights of the Cross (page 46) tirelessly work to save.
  The Order of the Blackened Denarius comprises the coins’ holders, and 
  each member may be counted among the most dangerous mortals to be found. 
  Several even wield magic with the skill of a White Council wizard. As the 
  coins grant their possessors nigh immortality, these self-styled Denarians 
  have also had centuries of experience to hone their skills in treachery. 
  Fortunately, the Knights of the Blackened Denarii are not often united in 
  their efforts and even work in opposition on occasion. Their de facto leader 
  is also the eldest of their number, Nicodemus Archleone, and his lethality 
  and cunning have already been well exemplified. Count him among your 
  deadliest of foes, along with his wife Tessa, whose schemes are shorter in 
  vision and more wildly violent in execution.
  
  52
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  Nicodemus Archleone
  It is said that the ancient noose about Nicodemus’ neck was the same used 
  by Judas in his suicide, but whatever its origin, that rope keeps Nicodemus 
  alive, able to recover from all manner of harm. It is also said that Nicodemus 
  is in collusion with the Fallen within his coin, Anduriel, that theirs is a part-
  nership more than a symbiotic relationship.
  Whether true or simply braggadocio, Nicodemus has lived since Roman 
  times with his coin and the ancient noose constantly about his throat. I can-
  not tell you his intentions, only that they have been in motion for centuries. 
  Neither can I tell you his plans or location following the events in Hades’ 
  vault. Be wary of him and whatever is his state after that defeat and the 
  sacrifice of his daughter. We have most likely not heard the last of him or 
  his wife, although the blow he was dealt in Hades’ vault has significant sting.
  Well played.
  NICODEMUS ARCHELONE, 
  HOST OF ANDURIEL
  MANTLES
  Nicodemus is a Leader of the People (p.126), thanks to millennia 
  of building a cadre of loyal agents to act in his name. He has custom 
  conditions and stunts to reflect his relationship with the demon Anduriel 
  and other assorted mystical gifts. He operates at a Legendary scale 
  when leveraging supernatural power.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: the oLdest KnoWn 
  denarian
  Trouble: unending aMBition
  Other Aspects: scheMes Within scheMes; 
  chaos For chaos’ saKe; Mourning 
  his Losses
  APPROACHES
  Superb (+5): Focus, Intellect 
  Great (+4): Guile, Haste
  Good (+3): Flair, Force
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Followers (sticky): [][][][][] p.126.
  Disfavored (sticky): [x] p.126. This condition is marked following his 
  stunning defeat at the hands of Queen Mab and Wizard Dresden; time 
  will tell if he can reestablish his network and, if so, in what format.
  Physical Immunity (special): [x] p.217. The noose of Judas Iscariot 
  makes Nicodemus impervious to harm; he wears it like a tie around 
  his neck. Inspiring him to remove the noose will bypass this condition.
  And he’s 
  scary as fuck. 
  As crap. As hell. 
  Whatever. I 
  hate that guy.
  
  53
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  LEADER OF THE PEOPLE STUNTS
  Ready and Willing: p.127. In this case, Nicodemus can call for 
  demonic creatures, as well as his tongueless human “squires,” to 
  come to his aid. The former are at Otherworldly scale, while the 
  latter are common, if well-trained, mortals.
  Patronage: p.127. Nicodemus may use this stunt regardless of his 
  location; he possesses contacts across the Nevernever and the 
  mortal world.
  Specialist: p.127.
  Loyalty Unto Death: p.127.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Living Shadow: The demon Anduriel rides Nicodemus’ shadow, imbuing 
  it with unholy power. It acts separately during a conflict, effectively 
  allowing Nicodemus to take two different actions in any exchange, 
  or to take the same action twice. Its attack and create advantage 
  actions receive the benefit of scale.
  Endless Knowledge: His ancient age and Anduriel’s experiences 
  grant Nicodemus +2 to any action involving learning or discovering 
  information: he often realizes he already knows what a situation 
  requires him to know. Furthermore, Anduriel has the power to listen 
  or observe through the shadow of any living creature—once per 
  session, Nicodemus may declare that he simply knows a piece of 
  crucial information without having to roll.
  Demonic Physique: When doing anything reliant on physical strength, 
  toughness, or speed, Nicodemus gets the benefit of scale.
  Manipulator: Nicodemus has had centuries of experience discerning 
  people’s motives and needs. He gains +2 on any action to turn a 
  negotiation to his favor or trick someone into doing what he wishes.
  
  54
  [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  THE PARANET
  Several years ago Wizard Dresden created a paranormal network—now 
  known by the portmanteau Paranet—to facilitate communication amongst 
  those mortals at risk from the supernatural but beneath overt protection from 
  the White Council’s Wardens: low-level magical talents and those savvy to the 
  existence of all things mystical. Since its inception, the Paranet has created 
  pockets of these individuals across the United States and Europe, providing 
  an early warning system, particularly in the face of the Fomor incursion (page 
  50). The Paranet alerts its members when a credible threat exists, when a 
  member of the community goes missing, and when someone needs assistance. 
  While individually limited in what they may offer, the Paranetters collectively 
  offer strength, both mundane and supernatural, to each other. 
  As they lack sufficient mystical skills to interfere with electronics, the 
  Paranetters make ample use of the internet to issue warnings and track their 
  members. This highly secured network is managed by a technomancer named 
  Gary, who scours the internet for data that may provide clues to impending 
  danger. While…unconventional in his approach, Gary has assumed a role not 
  unlike that of a CIA analyst. He and the other 
  Paranet researchers are a font of information 
  in their respective cities, should one know how 
  to contact them.
  THE SVARTALVES
  Of the factions I have mentioned, the Svartalves are the most secretive, 
  most reclusive, and among the most valuable as allies. They are artisans 
  without peer, and they are among the few who can create technology that 
  withstands the brunt of a wizard’s Murphyonic field. The Brighter Future 
  Society is proof of their skills. 
  Their reclusiveness and outlandish costs make them difficult artisans to 
  employ, but as neither thing has proven to be a challenge for one with your 
  resources, consider engaging them whenever possible. 
  Never, ever cross them.
  Or conspiracy nut.
  The two are not 
  mutually exclusive.
  Did you know they crafted Gard’s 
  double-bitted axes and shield?
  They boasted about it for 
  months. In song.
  Svartalves SING?
  I was, fortunately, privy 
  only to the lyrics.
  
  55
   [FACTIONS AND NOTABLE PEOPLE]
  DEITIES AND DEMIGODS
  Ancient beings once worshipped and feared. Creatures of myth and leg-
  end. More gods and demigods exist than are in your philosophies. Some are 
  so long-lived that the world no longer knows their names, and others still 
  walk about, free, exuding unnatural authority and asserting influence over 
  the mortals they encounter. Too many exist to detail here or, in truth, in a 
  bookcase full of heavy tomes, so I will warn you to take one thing to heart: 
  these beings draw strength from worship of them, from mention of them, 
  from the emotions they evoke. A few are encased in a prison to prevent their 
  mischief from being again unleashed, but the rest are in this plane, in almost 
  every nation, like nuclear warheads waiting for the best place to detonate. 
  VENATORI UMBRORUM
  Their resources are widespread, their agents well connected, their dedication 
  profound. In the aftermath of Chichen Itza and virtual eradication of the 
  Fellowship of St. Giles, they are the best, most readily available sources of 
  intelligence on supernatural affairs. Even Monoc Securities has sought the 
  Venatori for information. Their reach is great, and the role they play is key. 
  Treat them well, for this world needs them.
  
  56
  CHAPTER 2 
  OH, THE PLACES 
  YOU’LL GO!
  LOCATIONS
  The world as we know it, the mortal realm, is 6,371 km in circumference 
  at its equator. We think of this distance as both large and small, depending 
  on whether one references Jules Verne or Walt Disney.
  Regardless, our world is tiny compared with the Nevernever, which in turn 
  is small compared to what lies Beyond. Ergo, the scale of what you should 
  understand of the supernatural realms is titanic. No mortal, not even the 
  Archive, knows the entirety of existence. Basic topology, however, is quint-
  essential to your ability to survive. As with the factions, I encourage you to 
  continue research—and never, ever venture outside this realm of existence 
  alone. Even the Ways (page 64) are treacherous for a single mortal to travel.
  THE MORTAL REALM
  Take what is known, assumed, about world 
  geography and dismiss it. The commonly 
  viewed modern world map is skewed toward 
  incorrectness, as proven by the Mercator pro-
  jection of which Rand McNally is so fond.
  This distortion is the remnants of deliberate 
  misinformation to disguise the actual locations 
  of ley lines and their associated strengths. Some 
  have gone so far as to suggest that persistent use 
  of the Mercator projection is malicious; in his 
  journal, Wizard Aleron LaFortier wrote not long before his death:
  The Council of Cartographers again dismissed my petition to end the White 
  Council sponsorship of the antiquated and insulting Mercator projection in 
  modern mapmaking. Protestations of the need for inaccuracy to confound 
  sorcery are merely a smokescreen to persist in disenfranchisement of so-called 
  Third World nations in White Council affairs.
  Your eyes and mind must remain open. Places, like people, are more than 
  what they seem.
  So an atlas is wrong?
  The Mercator projection 
  distorts actual territorial 
  sizes, while the Gall-
  Peters projection applies 
  sounder mathematical 
  theory to cartography.
  So an atlas is wrong.
  
  57
   [LOCATIONS]
  LEY LINES
  When discussing the mortal realm, I occasionally mention ley lines that 
  crisscross the planet, connecting places of mystical and metaphysical impor-
  tance. Think of these lines as magical conduits, each carrying a different type 
  of energy: some related to the five elements, some strongly positive, some 
  strongly malevolent. Intersections are called confluences; Chicago is a con-
  fluence, as are Edinburgh, Mexico City, Tokyo, Cairo, and New Delhi, among 
  others. These cities are therefore frequent hosts to strange occurrences and, 
  perhaps, imply logic behind an influential Chicago mortal managing to sign 
  the Unseelie Accords.
  Only experienced, foolhardy, or the most desperate of individuals tap into 
  ley lines to strengthen magic and, yes, Wizard Dresden has done so. Senior 
  Council member Listens to Wind has created finely detailed maps of the ley 
  lines in North America, and I believe the resources to obtain copies of those 
  maps are within your purview.
  Ley lines are not the only method for generating more powerful spells, but 
  they are the most reliable in strength and location. Others include meteo-
  rological events as well as ritual sites that have been energized by centuries 
  of use or magic of great power, both light and dark. Such sites are detailed 
  more thoroughly below.
  MORTAL SEATS OF POWER
  Chichen Itza’s fame—and the topmost section of its pyramid—exploded 
  when Wizard Dresden destroyed the Red Court. Since that event, the curi-
  ous and ambitious have traveled to Mexico to look at the source of so many 
  nightmares and found their intentions, be they sightseeing or sorcery, thor-
  oughly rebuffed. The deaths of thousands within the space of an hour leaves 
  something of a metaphysical stench.
  Dozens of other sites of power exist around the Earth, ones you no doubt 
  know and ones less familiar to the uninitiated. Here I focus on the less com-
  mon rather than waste precious space discussing the well-documented sites 
  such as Stonehenge, the Parthenon, or the Pyramids of Giza. I must, however, 
  state this warning: the Masjid al-Haram, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Temple 
  Mount, and the Temple of Heaven are thoroughly warded by centuries of 
  faith and worship and should not be approached with malice aforethought. 
  Ever.
  
  58
  [LOCATIONS]
  Tsodilo
  Location: Botswana
  Accessibility: Moderate
  Type of Magical Energy: Serpentine, ritual
  Factions You May Encounter: The San tribe (possibly magical or focused 
  practitioners), the Wyld Fae, the Fomor 
  In Botswana, Tsodilo—or “Mountains of the Gods”—hosted frequent 
  ritualistic worship seventy millennia ago and even now is considered a sacred 
  place to the San people. As such, it is one of the most 
  potent sites of ancient energy known to humankind. 
  Tsodilo’s caves and the paintings within were dedi-
  cated to the worship of the Python, and snake imagery 
  is rampant within the hills. The magical ambiance is 
  neither light nor dark, neither good nor evil, but it has 
  the possibility of being twisted toward either. And 
  any skilled wielder of serpentine magic, such as the 
  late Quintus Cassius, would be capable of drawing 
  power a magnitude greater still. 
  Tourism has brought visitors to Tsodilo, and their unenlightened pres-
  ence may dilute the power still palpable within those hills. Like all locations 
  frequented by tourists, one may approach as simply one of a crowd, but 
  actually using the site is more challenging and limited to night, when darker 
  influences are at play.
  Those places yet older and more powerful than Tsodilo are well hidden 
  from those who would awaken the dark gods to whom the sites were ded-
  icated. Their arousal would upset the delicate balance that so many have 
  fought and died to attain.
  Ruins of Meslam
  Location: Iraq
  Accessibility: Challenging
  Type of Magical Energy: Rituals involving war, pestilence, and death
  Factions You May Encounter: Necromancers, sorcerers, the Fomor, mortal 
  military units
  On the banks of the Upper Euphrates, 40.2 kilometers from Babylon, the 
  Sumerians constructed the city of Kutha and, within that city, the temple of 
  Meslam. Most of the city and temple are now rubble, but enough ambient 
  energy remains to make the area a source of considerable power. Senior 
  Council Wizard Rashid, the Gatekeeper, wrote of Meslam:
  Not 7,000 but 
  70,000 years ago? 
  Damn. Did aliens 
  build them?
  
  59
   [LOCATIONS]
  The temple retains palpable, formidable potential sleeping within the broken 
  stones. Centuries of worship devoted to Nergal, a Mesopotamian deity of 
  violence, plague, and inflicted death, have imprinted the god’s energies onto 
  the ruins of Meslam. An ambitious wizard able to commune with this energy 
  could harness its power to guard against that which is within Nergal’s aegis...
  or, unfortunately, to control those things for 
  selfish ends.
  Recent political strife has kept Kutha 
  out of reach—it lies in central Iraq, near 
  Babylon—but such things have never been 
  much of a hindrance to those experienced 
  enough to tap into Meslam’s well of power. 
  Borobudur
  Location: Indonesia
  Accessibility: Moderate
  Type of Magical Energy: Restorative, meditative
  Factions You May Encounter: Mortal monks, the White Council, Summer Fae
  Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, dating back to the 
  9th century CE, and one of Indonesia’s most frequently visited tourist des-
  tinations. Like other ancient sites of Christian, Judaic, and Islamic worship, 
  Borobudur focuses faith and collective belief into a powerful well of magical 
  energy, repelling negative or malicious energies as oilskin repels rain. 
  An Indonesian wizard named Yulia called it Tanah Pemulihan, or the Place 
  of Restoration, and its magic is most suited to mental and physical healing, 
  or the finding of clarity and purpose. It intersects the Ways in a particularly 
  pleasant part of Summer and is often used by Nevernever travelers. An 
  explorer who survived a bullet wound to his heart by stumbling onto the 
  grounds went so far as to suggest the temple is actually Shangri-La. (For 
  your edification, it is not.) 
  The temple is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, overseen by several 
  organizations who have contributed to its restoration over time. Occasionally, 
  business and government interests seek to expand Borobudur’s appeal to 
  tourists even further by bringing in commerce, but a coalition of local faithful 
  has so far prevented them from ruining the site’s purity.
  Some of these interests are backed by supernatural factions seeking control 
  of the site, and the aforementioned coalition is backed by someone I suspect 
  to be an agent of the Jade Court. If you go, go with a pure purpose, lest you 
  earn their wrath.
  Like what happened 
  at Chichen Itza.
  The convergence of ley 
  lines there worsened 
  the effects, but yes.
  
  60
  [LOCATIONS]
  Emphatic enough? He 
  REALLY shouldn’t 
  mess around with 
  Demonreach.
  It scared the hell out 
  of me, if that helps.
  Demonreach
  Location: Lake Michigan, near Chicago
  Accessibility: Good for approach, difficult to walk
  Type of Magical Energy: Dark
  Factions You May Encounter: Harry Dresden
  The uncharted island in southern Lake Michigan is all too familiar to us, 
  but you must know more about its magic, the genus loci and intellectus on 
  its shores. I suspect that, like me, you would find the notion of returning to 
  Demonreach repulsive, but should you decide to attempt, know two things.
  First, since Wizard Dresden claimed the island 
  as his sanctum, you cannot visit the island without 
  him and expect to survive the experience. Do not 
  even make the attempt. 
  Second, Demonreach is not a confluence of ley 
  lines but rather the source of them. The well of 
  power swelling from the island’s sunken caverns is enough to destroy 8.3% of 
  the North American continental plate. Comparatively insignificant, you say?
  That percentage represents 6.3 million square 
  kilometers, 485 thousand times larger than the 
  13 square kilometers leveled by the Hiroshima 
  bomb.
  No one, not even Wizard Dresden, dares tap the 
  well’s energy without risking a catastrophic failure 
  in the well’s containment system. Very recently, the 
  late Winter and Summer Ladies threatened the island’s survival. Be thankful 
  they failed. Demonreach’s purpose is to keep captive the evil energy within 
  the well, and the island’s well-being, on a physical and metaphysical level, is 
  essential to the safety of millions of people. Anyone who seeks to protect the 
  lives of innocents would do well to lend any aid necessary to helping protect 
  Demonreach, regardless of who currently lays claim to it.
  What the everloving 
  fuckpissinghellshit?!
  You used my markers 
  to self-edit. How sweet.
  
  61
   [LOCATIONS]
  Göbekli Tepe
  Location: Turkey
  Accessibility: Moderate to difficult
  Type of Magical Energy: Unbiased, ritual
  Factions You May Encounter: The local intellectus, the White Council, the 
  Fomor, sorcerers, any Fae
  As a human settlement several millennia older 
  than Stonehenge, this Neolithic series of stone 
  temples in southeastern Turkey is occupied by 
  the archaeological team presently uncovering 
  its tangible secrets: carved monoliths, bones of 
  sacrificial animals, flint tools. Per contra, the 
  intangible is readily apparent to those with the 
  skill to access that power, which has remained dormant for decades.
  One may assume that Göbekli Tepe’s dormancy stems primarily from its 
  location atop a mountain not far from the northern border of Syria. Current 
  conflicts in the area certainly discourage the idly curious from traveling to the 
  region, and archaeologists are typically in residence year-round, rendering 
  mystical investigations of the varied temples more difficult. 
  Most important is the genus loci dwelling there. This being is not nearly 
  as strong as the one on Demonreach and far less hostile, thanks largely to 
  the absence of the purely malevolent energy that is at Demonreach’s core. 
  Regardless, the spirit is protective of Göbekli Tepe’s sanctity—it must have 
  sensed something sympathetic in the Germans responsible for its modern 
  discovery—and may not accept easily anyone attempting to tap the temples’ 
  power.
  Stonehenge is famously home to supernatural occurrences and mystical 
  events both real and conceived, so deduce for yourself the possibilities for a 
  similar site that is far older and has been sleeping, as it were, for centuries. 
  When a mortal successfully lays claim to the mountain as a sanctum, the 
  balance of mystical powers in that part of the world will shift. 
  As opposed to...
  what? The Fae? 
  Vampires? Little green 
  men from Mars?
  The truth is out there.
  
  62
  [LOCATIONS]
  Black Rock Desert
  Location: Southwestern United States
  Accessibility: Excellent
  Type of Magical Energy: Flexible, open
  Factions You May Encounter: Nearly any
  Compared with the other sites mentioned above, this expanse of land 
  in Nevada is heavily visited, heavily traveled. Speed enthusiasts regularly 
  use the dried lakebed to attempt breaking land speed records; propulsion 
  enthusiasts use it to launch small rockets. And for one week a year, tens of 
  thousands attend a counterculture festival known as Burning Man, which 
  culminates in the igniting of a giant wooden statue built specifically for the 
  purpose of its destruction.
  Since growing exponentially in size, the festival has been a kaleidoscopic 
  melting pot of energy and power. Pushed by a surprisingly strong social 
  contract among the attendees—who cite a commitment to personal exper-
  imentation and self-expression, inclusion, and plurality; gifting as a default 
  mode of being; the avoidance of commodification; and throwing off the 
  strictures of the normal world—this energy is extremely malleable and open 
  for harnessing. In short, it is a space where people believe that anything is 
  possible and act on that belief, where mortal consciousness is most open.
  As may be expected, the peak of these forces occurs when Burning Man is 
  set afire, and the potency diminishes at a steady rate for 13 days thereafter. 
  At that point, the metaphysical strength remains constant until the following 
  summer’s festival. 
  Several signatories of the Accords have 
  representation at the festival each year, and 
  many use the festival to touch the mortal 
  world with Faerie and the Nevernever. If 
  you attend, be wary of the journeys you take.
  I’d wager some 
  participate just 
  for fun, too.
  As you would say, 
  that’s a sucker’s bet.
  
  63
   [LOCATIONS]
  THE NEVERNEVER
  WITHIN FAERIE
  Faerie is vast but is by no means the entirety of the Nevernever, nor is it 
  even the majority of the Nevernever. It is, however, what most closely borders 
  this world and it is the most familiar, both by intent and by proximity. The 
  Sidhe are fascinated by humanity, and, judging by the success of so many 
  fairytales, the reverse is also true, and the dominions of Winter and Summer 
  therefore greatly resemble Earth as we know it.
  But make no mistake, should you again venture there, it is not Earth. 
  Nowhere on the seven continents will you find rivers of lava that appear 
  and flow at the command of a faerie queen; nowhere here will you find cen-
  tipedes the size of railroad cars that act as guardians to a specified place. So 
  should you ever need to cross into the Nevernever, do so with caution and 
  heavily armed with cold iron, bane to all things of Faerie. Far more things 
  live there that would attack, torment, kill, and eat you than would bow and 
  exchange pleasantries.
  Last and most certainly not least, bear in mind that time flows differently 
  in Faerie than in this world. Sometimes the passage of time is faster, some-
  times slower, but almost always it is different...and the Queens of Faerie, all 
  of them, can affect that rate.
  
  64
  [LOCATIONS]
  The Ways
  If Faerie is analogous to our world in the Nevernever, the Ways are the 
  roads, bridges, tunnels, and thoroughfares. They are quite literally the ways 
  by which mortals travel through Summer, Winter, and the unaffiliated lands 
  of the Wyldfae. When a wizard opens a portal to the Nevernever, he or she 
  is accessing the Way that most closely abuts that point of the mortal realm. 
  At this juncture, two points must be emphasized.
  First, almost without exception, Faerie 
  and this world touch at sympathetic 
  points. For example, places of happiness, 
  such as a toyshop, connect with less 
  threatening points in Faerie. By extension 
  and more critically, places of violence and 
  discord connect with places even the har-
  diest of individuals will find disquieting.
  Second, the passage of time and alterations 
  in the Earth’s atmosphere shift these points of 
  connectivity. What may now open to a lush for-
  est in Summer may one day open instead to a 
  cavern of ice demons.
  The Valley of the Stone Table
  Countless tables both in our world and in Faerie are wrought from stone. 
  This particular table, however, is unique: upon it are carved runes and sigils 
  more ancient than the world of man, and its edges are deliberately punctuated 
  by grooves to channel blood spilled upon it. 
  Blood spilled upon the Stone Table is power given to the Faerie Court 
  holding sway, a concept I later address.
  Where precisely the Valley can be found varies, in accordance to the sea-
  son and the intent of the Faerie Queens. The 
  Leanansidhe once warned Wizard Dresden 
  never to go to the Stone Table, and her caution 
  was wise. Learn from his mistake.
   Mortals should 
  realize that 
  climate change 
  has VERY far-
  reaching effects.
  And he went 
  anyway.
  He IS Harry 
  Dresden, after all.
  Remember the crossing 
  from Rwanda? Unity 
  Square in Kigali opened 
  into a devouring ground 
  for flesh-eating horrors 
  with metal teeth.
  And metal claws. The Biloko.
  
  65
   [LOCATIONS]
  Arctis Tor
  In the midst of Winter’s territory lies Mab’s stronghold of Arctis Tor, a 
  fortress wrought of stone, wood, ice, and willpower. Before the assault on 
  the gates several years ago, the odds of an enemy assaulting Arctis Tor were 
  infinitesimally small: such a thing had not been attempted since the last Ice 
  Age. Yet the force that struck at Winter’s heart nearly 
  succeeded, destroying the portcullis and reaching the 
  courtyard proper before retreating.
  Artisans and Sidhe magic have again made safe 
  the walls and gates of Arctis Tor, and once more the 
  Unseelie cavort within the maze of halls and corridors that compose the 
  fortress.
  Such a place is nowhere to venture without invitation, and even formal invi-
  tations should be studied with the selfsame mistrust shown to all offers from 
  the Sidhe. Should you agree to a visit, be most respectful—and wary—of the 
  rooftop garden, where one may find a distinctive fountain, the Wellspring of 
  Winter’s power. If Arctis Tor is indeed Winter’s very core, then the Wellspring 
  is its heart. A strike at this fountain draws the whole of Winter to Arctis Tor, 
  so treat it kindly. The iced figures around it are some of the more fortunate 
  creatures who failed to do so.
  The Hall of the Erlking
  Lightless, loveless, violent, and vicious, the feasting hall of the Erlking 
  (page 29) exists within a citadel that monsters call home. This chamber 
  has hosted countless festivals for victories in hunting and in hurting prey of 
  all sorts, and both the goblins and their king celebrate savagery with more 
  of the same. A former White Council ambassador to the Wyldfae, Abe no 
  Kazuko, wrote of her time there, “The deeds by this Hall’s gentlest creatures 
  would bestow unending madness upon the cruelest torturers mortality has 
  ever spawned.” 
  Of note is the fact that the ambassador never left the Hall.
  Carved from a vast cavern and the rock beneath, the Hall approximates the 
  scale of a football pitch, with hundreds of stone tables and benches fitting on 
  the flat area spread before the Erlking’s throne and dais. The duel between 
  Wizard Dresden and the Red Court’s champions was not the first fought on 
  that expanse, and neither will it be the last.
  Still, like all signatories of the Accords, the Erlking and his fellow hunters 
  follow the rules of hospitality. A clever individual may finagle safety there, 
  if for a brief time.
  Take a swing at 
  Mab and miss, 
  you run like hell.
  
  66
  [LOCATIONS]
  WITHOUT FAERIE
  The rest of the Nevernever is to Faerie as Earth is to the solar system. 
  Strange and wonderful places exist, places that would inspire poets to weep 
  and fiends to envy. All that you can imagine and more exist in the Nevernever. 
  Outside of Faerie, you will find those places of myth and legend. Here are 
  the thrones of Zeus and Ra, the garden of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, the 
  golden city of Eldorado, and the paradise of Shangri-La. Here, too, are the 
  Underworld and Hawiyah, the lake of fire and Naraka. You may encounter 
  shtriga, cyclopses, Scylla, and sandwalkers, and even one crocotta can bifur-
  cate an adult human in a single bite.
  If the denizens of the Nevernever were not threat enough, the climate is 
  frequently hostile to mortals: air primarily composed of methane, lakes of 
  frozen acid, trees that weep poisonous sap, and geysers that spit molten lava 
  at their selected targets.
  I have due cause to recommend avoiding the Nevernever.
  The Fortunate Islands
  Valhalla, Mag Mell, Elysium...these places do indeed exist collectively in a 
  mystical archipelago called The Fortunate Islands, dubbed thus by Plutarch 
  in first century CE. I make specific mention of these islands, as they are a 
  place of entertainment and a source for incomparable warriors.
  On these islands, the heroes and heroines of legend find their way to idyllic 
  afterlives, rewarded by the gods and goddesses whom they worshipped. The 
  gods and goddesses themselves live elsewhere, in Asgard, Mount Olympus, 
  and the like—at least those who have chosen not to remain on Earth.
  On any given day, epic battles may be witnessed, epic heroes cheered, 
  although the number of Einherjar one would expect in Valhalla is typically 
  much reduced, as is the number of Valkyrie who would bring them. Still, no 
  matter where these heroes and heroines may be found, they are at the beck 
  and call of their deities, and on occasion they may even be seen warring again 
  in their names. These eternal warriors do not wish rest; for them, an afterlife 
  of sparring and struggle is indeed heaven.
  
  67
   [LOCATIONS]
  Demesnes
  For the most part, denizens of the Nevernever have claimed territory as 
  their own, with little shifting in the borders throughout the millennia despite 
  the efforts of Summer and Winter to expand their own lands and contract 
  the other’s. The areas claimed also change to fit the needs of their claimants 
  or, perhaps, the other way around.
  But sometimes the supernatural beings without land of their own have suf-
  ficient will to create their own environment, a comparatively small bubble of 
  reality within the Nevernever. This bubble is called a demesne, and thousands 
  of them are scattered across the supernatural world, burrowed in niches here 
  and there where the fabric of existence could stretch to accommodate them.
  One such place is a slice of turn-of-the-century Chicago that an old, tor-
  mented, demented spirit named Agatha Hagglethorn created on the edge 
  of the Nevernever that connects with modern-day Chicago. Despite events 
  allowing some peace for Agatha’s ghost, the demesne remains. Even in the 
  Nevernever, creation matters.
  Another demesne, also mirroring historical Chicago, has been built in the 
  guise of a CPD police station and the surrounding city blocks, including a 
  train station. Those who are responsible for this demesne ensure its security, 
  as it represents a Waypoint between the mortal realm and what follows a 
  mortal’s demise. I may add few details to what can be gleaned from Wizard 
  Dresden’s notes: a guardian angel protects the entrance, a late Black Cat 
  detective named Colin Murphy is its spiritual 
  overseer, and a second spirit, Ron Carmichael, 
  is one of his aides.
  I assume this Black Cat department 
  demesne is, like Agatha’s demesne, now a per-
  manent fixture in the Nevernever. Anything 
  that occurred around Wizard Dresden’s death 
  and return is clouded, even from me, and thus 
  we have only Harry’s recollections to use.
  Karrin’s father, Jack? 
  Yes. I’m afraid she 
  cannot know, either.
  I’m already keeping 
  at least two secrets 
  from her. Another one 
  won’t hurt, I suppose.
  
  68
  [LOCATIONS]
  OUTSIDE
  If the Nevernever is to Faerie what the solar system is to Earth, then 
  Outside is the rest of the universe. We do not know what lies Outside past 
  its borders to Faerie; as the White Council has stated in its Seventh Law of 
  Magic, reaching beyond the Outer Gates is forbidden and few records survive 
  when an Outsider has gained passage here. What we know is this:
   
  k Outside is not part of this reality. We cannot think of it in the same 
  terms as our existence, and neither can we think of Outsiders as we 
  would even the strangest creatures from the Nevernever.
   
  k What comes from Outside is lethal to this world. Mordite, for example, 
  comes from Beyond the Gates and is capable of snuffing out a life with 
  one touch.
   
  k Magic has no effect against Outsiders because, again, they are not part of 
  this reality...save magic employed by a very, very select few, the so-called 
  Starborn.
   
  k Nothing that has been seen of Outside has a tangible connection to our 
  world. No stars are visible, no sense shows in their creatures’ anatomy, 
  no emotions align with our own. 
  Enough exists here to keep your mind occupied. Do not think on Outside 
  and the beings that live there. As the Bard said, that way madness lies.
  Children of the Stars
  A “Starborn,” or child of the stars, is a mortal wizard whose magic 
  can affect Outsiders. Such a person is rare; no more than three have 
  lived concurrently.
  You may therefore wish to rethink your attitude regarding Wizard 
  Dresden, considering he is a unique 
  weapon to be wielded against these foes.
  LÓFASZ!
  I am aware of what 
  that word means, 
  you know.
  
  69
   [LOCATIONS]
  THE OUTER GATES
  As Outside is a threat to our world—supernatural and mortal alike—bat-
  tlements stand on the entirety of the border between the Nevernever and 
  Outside. Within the battlements is a single set of gates, the sole entry point 
  to the Nevernever from Outside.
  The Outer Gates are always under siege. Always. 
  In their efforts to gain entry to the Nevernever and, thus, to our reality, 
  Outsiders have employed all manner of physical, mental, and metaphysical 
  weapons. Composed of obsidian and ice, the Gates are heavily guarded at 
  all times both by warriors of Faerie—primarily Winter—and the strongest 
  defensive runic magic the Queens could devise and improve upon throughout 
  the ages. 
  A noted Sidhe scholar has called the Outer Gates “a place of insanity where 
  the Fae breed with mortality to give birth to an ocean of corpses.” 
  Since the Gates are the focal point of the struggle against Outsiders, and 
  Outsiders are forever laying siege to them, the nightmarish quality of that 
  redoubt and the importance of safeguarding it cannot be overstated. For this 
  reason, the White Council has tasked a member of the Senior Council as 
  mortal representative. The current Gatekeeper is Wizard Rashid; many others 
  have come before him, such as Alighiero di Bellincione, whose tales of the 
  Outer Gates purportedly inspired his son Dante’s La Divina Commedia. 
  From that you may infer that, to a medieval man, the Gates seemed to lead 
  to Hell itself.
  A modern man would likely reach the same conclusion. 
  
  70
  CHAPTER 3 
  VELVET GLOVE, 
  IRON FIST 
  HOW THE WORLD WORKS
  INTRODUCTION
  Some may look as we do, some may act as we do, but supernatural beings 
  are not like us. The extended life spans of immortals—or beings effectively 
  immortal—changes their perceptions and places them in a mental space that 
  may appear archaic by comparison to our own. Even the White Council of 
  Wizards, men and women who may live a few centuries beyond the average 
  mortal, accepts change slowly in comparison to the rest of humanity. Imagine, 
  then, how much more resistant are those that have seen millennia pass by?
  One result of such intransigence is adherence to customs and etiquette long 
  abandoned by mortals: the notion of how one treats a guest, the manner in 
  which disagreements are settled, the methods used to compensate one done 
  a grievous wrong. Such courtesies are ingrained in the supernatural and 
  detailed, by and large, in the Unseelie Accords, which the Winter Queen 
  herself drafted and endorsed.
  As you have witnessed for yourself, the Queen of Air and Darkness takes 
  unresolved violations to her Accords as a personal affront. This fact is the 
  best possible deterrent to infractions, along with the continuous knowledge 
  that supernatural entities at war are disastrous for more than just the nations 
  embroiled in the conflict. (For example, the Red Court’s war with the White 
  Council had far-reaching effects on humanity, Winter, and Summer.)
  THE UNSEELIE ACCORDS
  In 1994, factions from the Nevernever went to open battle with each 
  other in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Such things had happened 
  before, of course, but mankind had a new tool for sharing 
  information rapidly and globally: the internet. With the 
  advent of the Digital Age, Queen Mab recognized the need 
  for improved security and discretion and acted accord-
  ingly—and swiftly—to end the conflict in Milwaukee 
  and limit the potential for future outbreaks of violence. 
  The result of this action from the Queen of Air and 
  Darkness was the Unseelie Accords, signed by those same warring factions. 
  Mab’s influence and will are not to be underestimated.
  I remember that 
  incursion. I remember 
  being pissed it 
  was in Milwaukee 
  in midwinter.
  Circumstantial 
  necessity.
  
  71
   [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  ENFORCEMENT
  I have read comparisons of the Accords with historical documents of 
  jurisprudence such as the Code of Hammurabi, the Codex Justinianus, and 
  even the Geneva Conventions. Although superficially apt, these comparisons 
  fail on deeper analysis. Outside of despotism (both secular and religious), no 
  mortal legal systems are as ruthlessly enforced as the Accords. In supernatural 
  circles—as once it was in feudal times here—leaders of signatory nations are 
  responsible for the actions of those owing them allegiance. Should a violation 
  of the Accords go unresolved, Queen Mab’s response and wrath are directed 
  toward the lord or lady, not the vassal. Very few individuals want to be on 
  the receiving end of that.
  Like all other agreements involving the Fae, the Unseelie Accords are 
  handled literally, in black and white. Grey areas may as well not exist at all. 
  In other words, do not consider the spirit in which promises are made but 
  rather the actual letter of the law or bargain. The supernatural will use false 
  assumptions against you at every turn; I suggest emphatically that you do 
  the same. 
  SIGNATORIES
  The Accords are signed collectively by 
  most of the supernatural nations. The Fae 
  Courts signed separately, of course, likewise 
  the vampire courts. The White Council of 
  Wizards signed, as did the Denarians.
  Individuals have also signed the Accords, 
  including Donar Vadderung, Drakul, the 
  Archive (in the person of my grandmother), and 
  Louis Sauvageot (page 229). Because the Accords 
  are skewed in favor of nations rather than individuals, 
  those without a vast population to support their 
  participation do so for various reasons and with more 
  than average daring. 
  As a footnote, I will remark that the Knights of the Cross are not Signatories 
  for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the late Knight, Shiro 
  Yoshimo, responded to Mab’s request thusly: You 
  already know the value of our word, and we will 
  answer to only one Authority. The Queen of Air 
  and Darkness did not disagree.
  Without context, 
  your client is likely 
  to assume you’re 
  referring to Vlad.
  Let him assume.
  But she made sure 
  Titania signed. I bet 
  that went over well.
  Like a lead balloon.
  You quoting Keith 
  Moon is…unnerving.
  For all the good that 
  did. Don’t pretend you’ve 
  forgotten the Shedd attack.
  It isn’t germane to this situation.
  The goddamned Germans 
  got nothing to do with this.
  Excellent movie reference.
  Much obliged, nice lady.
  
  72
  [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  WEREGILDS
  Much of the Accords resembles medieval jurisprudence, hardly a coinci-
  dence considering the heavy Sidhe influence on the Merovingians and Salic 
  law. The concept of weregild—placing value on persons or property for the 
  sake of meting out justice— was once deeply rooted in many mortal legal 
  systems. If he killed another man, a peasant would pay a weregild to the 
  man’s family as punishment. Someone found guilty of stealing and reselling 
  sheep would likewise pay a weregild to the sheep’s rightful owner. In time, 
  incarceration and capital punishment became the norm in most societies, 
  but weregilds remain a critical part of the supernatural community’s sense 
  of justice and, thus, of the Accords. The reason should be self-evident: most 
  Signatories are effectively immortal, nullifying the usefulness of incarceration 
  or execution. Weregilds are a practical means of mollifying a victim or his 
  family, at least to the extent possible.
  Determining the worth of a life may appear cold and calculating. In actuality, 
  a weregild is essentially the same as damages awarded by a mortal civil court, 
  applied to civil and criminal cases alike. The sum is seven times the cost of 
  replacing the deceased; for most supernatural retainers, such a cost has typ-
  ically been established via history and/or forethought for those retainers in 
  riskier positions. Donar Vadderung, for example, has recorded an estimated 
  weregild for Sigrun Gard based on the loss of other highly placed consultants 
  and other Choosers.
  I bet that weregild has more zeroes 
  than a WWII air museum.
  
  73
   [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  DUELS
  Weregilds are payments for admitted wrongs. For ongoing disputes, there 
  is the duel. 
  To mortals, a duel is almost a thing of legend, a gentleman’s method to settle 
  matters of honor or avoid conflicts in which loved ones and/or innocents 
  may perish. The famous Hamilton-Burr duel exemplifies the first, although 
  the popular, romanticized version is found in The Three Musketeers. 
  An example of the latter is Mark Antony challenging Octavian to protect 
  Cleopatra, their children, and the city of Alexandria after the Battle of Actium. 
  (On the verge of capturing Alexandria, Octavian refused, but it was the 
  gesture that counted.)
  The Unseelie Accords have well-delineated rules regarding a duel, but in 
  summary:
   
  kA challenged party does not have to accept a challenge. Once a challenge 
  is accepted, failure to follow the prescribed protocol is tantamount to 
  forfeiture, the penalty for which is death.
   
  k Formally issued challenges require a mutually accepted neutral party 
  as arbiter. Knights of the Sword and the Archive are frequent and 
  preferred arbiters. 
   
  kThe arbiter oversees all niceties of the duel, including allowable weapons, 
  e.g., energy (magic), force of will, and skill at arms (typically sword).
   
  k Each party must name an individual to serve as second. The arbiter 
  makes all arrangements via the seconds.
   
  kThe challenged party selects weapons, but the challenger can decline the 
  first choice, requiring a second selection by the challenged.
   
  kThe challenger selects the duel’s place and time.
   
  kThe duel continues until one side is unable to continue (i.e., dead).
   
  kThe arbiter settles any improprieties during the duel (with extreme 
  prejudice when dictated).
   
  kAt the duel’s conclusion, the dispute named in the challenge is consid-
  ered settled under the Accords. 
  Challenges can be and have been issued in less 
  formal circumstances, such as on a battlefield for the 
  sake of preventing conflict or preempting further loss 
  of life. These duels forego arbitration and, thus, the 
  neutrality that ensures a duel’s propriety. Therefore, 
  duels lacking formality may use the code prescribed 
  in the Accords but do not officially settle any disputes.
  Treachery often follows the close of such duels; 
  they are to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
  Dresden’s been 
  screwed over at least 
  twice when he tried 
  challenging someone on 
  the spot. Hell, he got 
  screwed over trying 
  to play by the rules, 
  too. I hate duels.
  
  74
  [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  THE RULES OF HOSPITALITY
  Similar to those for duels and weregilds, the edicts regarding the responsi-
  bilities of hosts and guests are ancient and there were once comparable rules 
  of conduct in mortal behavior as part of the notion of a civilized culture. With 
  supernatural beings, the rules of hospitality are still enacted but with far, far 
  greater impact. Welcoming someone as a guest translates to a promise that 
  the guest will not be harmed by the host or his retinue for the visit’s duration. 
  The guest, in turn, promises to behave accordingly and not offer harm to his 
  host. Breaking the proprieties of guest or host is a significant slight that the 
  slighted party will be certain to correct.
  Wars have begun because of such offenses.
  The compact between a host and guest is another variety of supernatural 
  bargain, and as such the spirit of the agreement is not taken into consideration. 
  Doing harm to a guest or host without violating the laws of hospitality is a 
  popular game in the Nevernever. For example, Mab’s garden in Arctis Tor 
  contains an array of guests who failed to specify a duration for their stay; 
  the Queen encasing them in ice merely prolongs the visit indefinitely. Take 
  this lesson to heart.
  Another matter to note: breaking the rules of hospitality removes all 
  restraints on the other party. I do not think you likely to do such a thing, but 
  hosting or being the guest of supernatural creatures is nothing to undertake 
  lightly, especially with antipathetic beings. 
  Neutral Ground
  A handful of locations throughout the mortal world have been des-
  ignated as territory where Signatories of the Accords shall behave as if 
  they are guests of the owner and offer no violence to any other parties 
  within. In truth, a Signatory inside the walls or boundaries of Accorded 
  Neutral Territory is acting as a guest of Mab herself, and disturbing 
  the peace there is the same as offering insult to the Queen of Air and 
  Darkness. 
  One may safely assume that the peace is very infrequently disturbed 
  within Accorded Neutral Territory.
  Such a place—McAnally’s Pub—exists in Chicago. Members of the 
  local supernatural community frequent the pub because it is well known 
  as Accorded Neutral Territory and therefore a haven from beings from 
  the Nevernever that might otherwise offer harm. McAnally’s (or Mac’s, 
  as it is more commonly called) is the best, easiest place at which to hold 
  meetings where an added degree of security is required.
  The safety involved in Accorded Neutral Territories extends only to 
  Signatories; mortal hirelings and mercenaries are popular vehicles for 
  bringing violence without breaking the Accords. Paddy’s Pub in Bali 
  was Accorded Neutral Territory. Sic caveat hospes.
  Just ask the Red 
  Court...oh, wait....
  
  75
   [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  LET’S (NOT) MAKE A DEAL
  The notion of a “word of honor” was distinctly human, partly because 
  mortal oath-breakers faced only the loss of honor as a consequence. As you 
  well know, the value of honor, and thus one’s word of honor, has diminished 
  in the mortal world. Oaths are easily made, easily broken, to the degree where 
  we often assume any promise is false, empty. 
  The same cannot be said for supernatural entities and mortal wielders 
  of magic. For them, a promise bound by one’s word carries more gravitas 
  because breaking one’s word has consequences in the supernatural world. 
  Substantial consequences. As a result, most denizens of the Nevernever do 
  not give their word on promises they do not intend to keep. The same can 
  be said for wizards that swear by their power, for breaking such an oath 
  diminishes a wizard’s use of magic. 
  But recall how the Accords are enforced to the letter, not the spirit, of the 
  law. A supernatural being giving his word intends to uphold his promise 
  exactly as given, no more, no less. The Sidhe are particularly adept at wording 
  their promises in ways that favor them and trick the other party into making 
  false assumptions and inferences. Always keep this fact in mind when dealing 
  with the Fae courts. Your very life may depend upon it.
  WHAT’S IN A NAME?
  Names are important. We are given them at birth, taught quickly that they 
  are part of our identity, and as we grow we repeat and repeat a name until 
  it is integrally, immutably, part of us. As proof, simply watch the reaction of 
  someone who merely thinks their name has been spoken nearby. The reaction 
  is instinctive, reflexive, attention given to some conscious or subconscious 
  level. Consider, therefore, how much more powerful is calling an entity’s 
  Name—the entire name, spoken precisely as the named would speak it—and 
  infusing it with energy, with will. A being able to hear that call cannot ignore it.
  Names are the means by which supernatural entities are summoned, from 
  the smallest dewdrop fairy to the Queens of Summer and Winter themselves. 
  Knowing a creature’s true Name gives you power over them. Should you learn 
  the Name of a supernatural being, guard it well. Not only is that power you 
  should not share but also the more people that know the Name, the less 
  powerful such knowledge becomes. Otherwise, beings such as Zeus would 
  be summoned daily in many and sundry college classrooms.
  This is not the place to outline the process for summoning a being using 
  his true Name. If you are curious as to the process, I advise you to take 
  considerable caution. Knowing a being’s Name gives you power over that 
  being, yes, but that power is not absolute and most supernatural beings are 
  offended by mortal summonings.
  
  76
  [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  ZEN AND THE ART 
  OF SURVIVAL
  This section may appear rudimentary to a savvy professional. Bear with 
  me; as you have doubtlessly observed, interactions with supernatural entities 
  are not analogous to interactions with mortals, and assumptions are lethal 
  or worse.
  Pride, honor, and reputation are more important to the denizens of the 
  Nevernever than to even the most prideful of men and women. Ambition has 
  an entirely new complexion with those who live centuries and millennia, as 
  proven by the level of planning exhibited by Nicodemus Archleone, Queen 
  Mab, and Mother Summer, to name but a few. To them, the shortsighted 
  designs of mankind may by comparison appear unsophisticated, even crude, 
  demanding even further cunning with your machinations if you want to 
  succeed.
  I digress. 
  My point is that no matter the level of diplomacy exhibited, no matter 
  the care taken to avoid misunderstandings and stepping on toes, conflicts 
  will rise. Herein are suggestions about handling said conflicts with the best 
  opportunity to survive.
  CHALLENGES TO AUTHORITY
  Territoriality has existed since the universe contained two beings and one 
  possession between them. No matter how valueless a piece of property seems, 
  someone will eventually desire that property because possession inspires 
  cupidity. As Wizard Dresden often noted, he was protective and possessive 
  of his small, dark basement flat because it was his small, dark basement flat. 
  Expect, therefore, challenges to your authority, because it is through such 
  challenges that territory is lost and gained. The Red Court achieved dom-
  inance in Central and South America by proving others too weak to hold 
  sway in those areas and then taking control.
  How you respond to challenges to your authority depends on the frame-
  work and degree of each challenge. I cannot overstate the importance of 
  measured responses. Few challenges will be in open defiance of the Accords, 
  and as such, any response must not inspire a complaint 
  through the Accords. For example, the Red Court was 
  well within its rights to begin a war against the White 
  Council after Wizard Dresden murdered Bianca St. 
  Claire because, no matter how odious the circumstances, 
  the injuries done to him and Susan Rodriguez were not 
  a clear violation. In the spirit of the Accords, Dresden, 
  Carpenter, and even Thomas Raith should have known 
  better than to be manipulated into such a poor position.
  Heartless, but then so 
  are Accords and the 
  one who wrote them.
  Exactly. You oughtn’t 
  enter this level of politics 
  without being prepared.
  And better late 
  than never?
  Indubitably.
  
  77
   [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  However the challenge or insult is offered, a Signatory’s first and best line 
  of defense is the Accords. I have enclosed guidelines below based on history 
  and observation, applicable to most situations.
   
  k Mind the Bianca Axiom. Some disputes are intended to elicit reactions 
  that will legitimize further actions. Be as certain as possible that your 
  responses leave no opening for anything of the kind.
   
  k Have neutral witnesses or none. The sort of 
  neutral party that arbitrates duels is also useful 
  to oversee other disputes. Barring such support, 
  consider leaving no unfriendly witness behind. 
  Under the Accords, the only witnesses that matter 
  are the ones yet breathing.
   
  k Offer quid pro quo on the surface only. Measured responses are essential, 
  but those that are exceptionally clever will earn approval from other 
  Signatories, particularly the Sidhe. 
   
  k Expect treachery and respond to such with a higher level of perfidy.
  A time may come, however, when you are challenged by an individual or 
  faction of much greater strength, one in a higher weight class, as it were. I 
  will expound later on the notion of classifying entities based on strength, but 
  presently accept without doubt that more powerful, stubborn, clever, and 
  vicious beings exist. You need to know how to approach disagreements with 
  them in ways that will level the playing field. Wizard Dresden is a past master 
  at surviving encounters with creatures that should have flattened him within 
  seconds because he seems to live by these hard and fast beliefs:
   
  k Everyone has a weakness to be exploited.
   
  k Do not underestimate or overestimate your 
  enemy based on physical size.
   
  kA clever person may turn any disadvantage 
  into an advantage. 
  Think before you react. Assess your situation and 
  your enemy to identify weaknesses. Exploit them. 
  Turn your own implied disadvantages into strengths. 
  And do not be afraid of strategic withdrawals.
  Simple 
  pragmatism. 
  Ugly but simple.
  The Archive 
  concurs.
  I swear the guy 
  learned his survival 
  techniques watching 
  STAR WARS. 
  “Judge me by my 
  size, do you?”
  I myself embrace the 
  wisdom of that line.
  
  78
  [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  THE SEVEN LAWS OF MAGIC
  The White Council of Wizards keeps to a minimum its restrictions on 
  those gifted with magical abilities to avoid potential entanglements with 
  mortal law and mortal affairs. As with any human being, wizards are obli-
  gated to obey rules and regulations insofar as such things may be imposed 
  on individuals who employ the forces of magic. The Laws of Magic exist to 
  protect the rest of humanity from wizards abusing their abilities overmuch 
  and subverting the free will of mortals. 
  Although few in number, transgres-
  sions of these laws—owing to their 
  severity—are most often punishable by 
  death by beheading, even if the trans-
  gressor is ignorant of the White Council 
  before the trial. To the Council, breaking 
  one of the Seven Laws is indisputable evi-
  dence of black magic and sorcery, a path 
  the Council considers prone to addiction 
  and typically irreversible. Commutation 
  of the death sentence, therefore, is con-
  tingent on the presumed likelihood that the guilty will not transgress again. 
  As the Council’s military arm, the Wardens (page 34) are entrusted with 
  enforcement of the laws and authorized to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
  Experience and skepticism lead the White Council to believe such a thing is 
  rare indeed. Fewer than one percent of accused sorcerers have been permitted 
  to seek a reprieve via sponsorship from a White Council wizard willing to risk 
  execution as well. Under this sponsorship, termed the Doom of Damocles, the 
  sponsoring wizard vows to prevent another incident and teach the accused 
  proper use of magic. Should another transgression transpire, the Doom falls, 
  and both sponsor and accused are promptly executed.
  The majority of magic users are desperate to avoid even the slimmest 
  appearance of black magic. But as with all laws, the Seven Laws of Magic are 
  broken far more frequently than the guilty are apprehended. Transgressors 
  are becoming bolder, too. Be wary.
  Maybe you should mention 
  the Laws also protect 
  mortals from the empty night.
  No. As a problem solver, he 
  will take it as a challenge 
  and gaze into that abyss, 
  with all the subsequent and 
  expected consequences.
  He likes challenges? 
  Color me shocked.
  
  79
   [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  THE FIRST LAW: THOU SHALT 
  NOT KILL BY USE OF MAGIC
  This law is the most straightforward: using magic to kill another mortal is 
  prohibited. Killing by other means is considered the jurisdiction of mortal 
  authorities, and using magic to slay supernatural beings is not only permitted 
  but often encouraged, particularly with the Wardens.
  THE SECOND LAW: THOU SHALT 
  NOT TRANSFORM OTHERS
  T. H. White’s Merlin took great joy in changing his student Arthur into 
  various and sundry animals, but the truth is that forcible shapeshifting warps 
  the mind of its victim. Even voluntary submission to therianthropy brings 
  dangerous alterations to one’s thought process, such as with the hexenwulf 
  FBI agents in Wizard Dresden’s Fool Moon casefile.
  THE THIRD LAW: THOU SHALT NOT 
  INVADE THE MIND OF ANOTHER
  Telepathic magic is a difficult discipline to master, although mental com-
  munications within the White Council is not uncommon. What this law 
  strictly forbids is the willful assault on the mind of another. The necromancer 
  known as Corpsetaker is particularly skilled in this arena.
  THE FOURTH LAW: THOU SHALT 
  NOT ENTHRALL ANOTHER
  The Seven Laws of Magic are intended to protect and preserve the free will 
  of humanity, at least from the powers of a wizard. Enthrallment—enslaving 
  another—is the clearest definition of free will’s subversion. The sorcerer 
  Justin DuMorne broke several of the Seven Laws, including the fourth, when 
  he enthralled his adoptive daughter and turned her against another wizard.
  THE FIFTH LAW: THOU SHALT NOT 
  REACH BEYOND THE BORDERS OF LIFE
  Necromancy in all its flavors is forbidden and the most plainly black of 
  magic. Only the most profound perversion of magic can bring corpses to life 
  or otherwise exert control over death itself, and the most powerful of necro-
  mancers have provided the White Council 
  and the world in general with its gravest 
  threats in the form of Heinrich Kimmler 
  and his associates. Read the Dead Beat 
  casefile for more information.
  Even Dresden would 
  groan at that.
  I think he would dig it.
  STOP ALREADY.
  
  80
  [HOW THE WORLD WORKS]
  THE SIXTH LAW: THOU SHALT NOT SWIM 
  AGAINST THE CURRENTS OF TIME
  A mortal’s lifespan is too abbreviated to permit comprehension of the 
  manner in which time flows, even for a wizard. Meddling with that flow has 
  disastrous consequences. Do not attempt it. Do not consider attempting it.
  The outcome is never worth the cost.
  THE SEVENTH LAW: THOU SHALT 
  NOT OPEN THE OUTER GATES
  You have only a smattering of understanding of the Outer Gates (page 
  69) and yet you may have already gleaned that what subsists beyond them 
  is literally Outside all that we know in this reality. The creatures of Outside 
  threaten all of existence. Yet the very nature of Outsiders tempts dangerously 
  daring wizards to attempt to employ them as nigh-unstoppable weapons here. 
  The aforementioned Justin DuMorne summoned one such Outsider, He Who 
  Walks Behind, to use against Wizard Dresden, and only vast cunning and 
  luck allowed Dresden to escape. Outsiders were also 
  present when the Winter Lady, Maeve, effected her 
  mad plan to strike against her mother, Queen Mab.
  We have seen more Outsiders of late than in any 
  other time in human history, which is as dire a har-
  binger as one may consider.
  That’s the story of 
  that guy’s life.
  Yes. That and his 
  powerful and oft-
  unknown allies whom, 
  no, I shall not name 
  here or elsewhere.
  
  81
  CHAPTER 4 
  IN THE 
  BEGINNING
  GAME CREATION
  The information in the preceding chapters is but one step in surviving the 
  world of the supernatural. Achieving a broader understanding requires you 
  to step outside of yourself, to know your enemy as well as yourself, to explore 
  and prepare for contingencies, and to understand what it means to leverage 
  your advantages at all times.
  I recommend you make use of the many tools available to help you gain 
  that broader understanding.
  As a measure of what you have commissioned, I provide you one such 
  tool herein, an imagination exercise for exploring the probability space of 
  dangerous scenarios in complete safety. The format and structure of this 
  exercise are rooted in similar documents distributed by Will Borden and 
  other associates of Wizard Dresden, their work ambitious but ultimately 
  vulnerable to the biases of Harry’s singular perspective. I have chosen to 
  iterate upon their work as a matter of personal taste. Consider this treatise 
  an “accelerated edition” of their work, focused on balancing the constraints 
  of your schedule against the benefits of play. 
  GETTING STARTED
  Assemble a group of four to six people to play this game. Choose one of 
  your number to be the gamemaster, or GM. The rest of you are players. 
  Begin with “Creating the Campaign” (page 84) and then advance to 
  Chapter 5: The Heaven of Invention (page 91) for creating characters, 
  i.e., the avatars used to participate in this exercise. 
  At some point, familiarize yourselves with the rules as presented in 
  Chapters 6-12, though Chapter 6: The Play’s the Thing (page 97) con-
  tains most of what you need to get started. Chapter 12: A Kind and Patient 
  Master (page 206) gives additional advice on being the GM.
  
  82
  [GAME CREATION]
  MATERIALS
  You also need:
   
  k Fate Dice™. This game employs a special kind of dice: six-
  sided, with two sides blank 0, two sides marked with +, 
  and two sides marked with -. Four of them are requisite 
  at minimum; four per participant is better.
   
  k Character sheets, one for each player. A sample is 
  provided at the end of this book.
   
  k Pencils. Pens do not erase easily, and erasure is 
  necessary.
   
  k Index cards. Sticky notes or similar slips of paper 
  also suffice.
   
  k 30-40 tokens for fate points (described on page 95), such 
  as poker chips, beads, pennies, or anything similar and inedible. 
  Alternative Dice?
  While the aforementioned Fate Dice™ are avail-
  able at most hobby game stores, you may also use 
  normal dice—simply read any 5 or 6 as +, 1 or 2 
  as -, and 3 or 4 as 0.
  WHAT YOU DO IN THE GAME
  William Faulkner said of writing fiction, “It begins with a character, usually, 
  and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot 
  along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to 
  put down what he says and does.” This game flows in the same vein: you do 
  not simply tell each other “a story.” That story is an emergent phenomenon 
  resulting from the action and reactions of the player characters as they interact 
  with each other and the dynamic world in which they live.
  Each player takes on the role of a single sapient being in the game’s abstrac-
  tion of the universe and controls the character’s speech and action. Regardless 
  of whether it is real or fictional, this sapient being is referred to as a player 
  character, or PC.
  The GM is responsible for organizing the group, establishing the game’s 
  initial state, and then guiding unfolding events so that the resulting experience 
  is engaging for all. The purpose of running a scenario with this document is 
  educational, but heed Neil Gaiman’s words: “[Stories] teach us the rules of 
  living in the world. But they also have to come in an attractive enough pack-
  age that we take pleasure from them and we want to help them propagate.”
  
  83
   [GAME CREATION]
  The GM also portrays every being in the game’s universe that is not a player 
  character. Collectively, these are called non-player characters, or NPCs. Finally, 
  while the group will often decide collectively how particular situations may 
  be resolved, the GM is the final arbiter of the rules of the game. 
  Every group member is therefore imperative in the game’s creation and 
  enjoyment. To ensure that you are doing your part, when you make a decision 
  for your character (or for an NPC, if you’re the GM), consider two things:
  First, reflect on your character’s personality and circumstances. Deliberate 
  carefully on what they would do. If you can find an action that makes perfect 
  sense for them in the given situation, have them do it even if the outcome 
  may be less than ideal. If you are playing a character that sometimes makes 
  unwise decisions, purposefully allow one on occasion.
  Second, determine the impact of your character’s decision on everyone’s 
  experience of the game. A choice that is more satis-
  fying, more interesting, more exciting, more funny 
  is statistically optimal, particularly if said option 
  gives another player’s character the opportunity to 
  enjoy the spotlight. You will create a more effective 
  scenario—both as a learning tool and as entertain-
  ment—by not fearing the dramatic results of your 
  character’s mistakes, thus enhancing the experience 
  for all, not just you.
  Shouldn’t this 
  be “funnier”?
  Multisyllabic 
  adjectives may use 
  “more” and “most.” 
  More importantly, I 
  prefer the poetry of the 
  repetition. So there.
  
  84
  [GAME CREATION]
  CREATING THE CAMPAIGN
  Your game should span several sessions, collectively designated as a cam-
  paign, a term borrowing from military jargon and more apt than the millions 
  of gaming hobbyists will ever appreciate. When time is limited, you may 
  instead make use of a single session, known as a one-shot or a convention 
  scenario. 
  Below is a process by which you may plan your hypothetical examinations.
  GATHER AND DISCUSS
  First, you must meet with trusted friends or, more aptly for you, lieutenants. 
  The self-fulfilling nature of human decision-making would obviate any useful 
  results collected alone. Openly discuss the challenges that you or your organi-
  zation must face: what keeps you awake at night, the nightmare scenarios that 
  threaten to destroy all that you’re building. Speak openly of any weaknesses; 
  if ignorant of them, your group’s members may lack the insight to be useful.
  Enumerate what requires examination, such as supernatural and mortal 
  organizations or individuals, groups of mindless but dangerous creatures, 
  types of conflict that are a concern to the examiner, and any combinations 
  thereof. Detail also whatever you wish to keep secret or avoid. Consider the 
  following example:
  A cell of Paranetters—Clark, Amanda, Thad, Pamela, Priscilla, and Mary—
  decide to play out a hypothetical scenario as a campaign, with Amanda as 
  the GM. In discussions about the elements their exercise should contain, 
  they arrive at the following list of desirable campaign elements:
   
  k Ghosts and hauntings
   
  kThe criminal underworld
   
  k Supernatural ties to history
  The “Do not include” list includes:
   
  kThe Faerie Courts as a major power
   
  kThe Vampire Courts as a major power
  Additionally, they decide to set their exercise in the city of New Orleans, 
  Louisiana, with which none of them has a great deal of familiarity, so the 
  minutiae of actual city details will not distract them. 
  A Sense of Place and Time
  Some groups will be as (or more) invested in where and when your 
  campaign occurs as in the dynamics between factions. Players seeking 
  to leverage their knowledge of a particular locale for the good of the 
  campaign or who are willing to research the same should be consulted 
  frequently to add authenticity and texture to the setting. Do not allow, 
  however, yourselves to become distracted by engaging in a virtual trav-
  elogue—ensure that any such details are directly relevant to your game 
  by determining that either the characters or factions have some sort of 
  relationship with those details.
  Saying here and now that your 
  audience won’t find this amusing.
  As my generation is fond of saying, 
  “And that is my problem how?”
  
  85
   [GAME CREATION]
  IDENTIFY FACTIONS
  The list of desirable elements should immediately suggest one or more fac-
  tions to include in your planning. A faction is a person or entity—a “character,” 
  as it were—or group of characters who share similar goals and work together 
  to achieve them. Examples could include the Winter Court of Faerie and 
  the Chicago Police Department. But a faction can also be a smaller group, 
  possibly within a larger one. A particular Black Court coven, a warlock and 
  his cult of followers, or a single murderous loup-garou also qualify as factions. 
  In this step, identify and enumerate factions that exist in your hypothetical 
  setting. For now, keep your discussions to a high level, using broad strokes. 
  Details will follow.
  Let us return to our example scenario.
  The group discusses factions suggested by their list of desired elements. 
  After a few minutes of negotiation, they arrive at this list:
   
  kThe local Fomor cell
   
  k A powerful criminal gang
   
  k A ragtag group of vigilantes
   
  k A cult of personality centered around a charismatic monster
   
  k An Illuminati-like secret society, unaffiliated with any major powers
  
  86
  [GAME CREATION]
  IDENTIFY PLAYER CHARACTERS
  With factions identified, the players shall take turns discussing the char-
  acters they will personify for the exercise. As with the initial list of factions, 
  restrict character descriptions to a high level. Details, once again, will come 
  later.
  Whichever player has the strongest notion of the sort of character they 
  intend to portray should begin the discussion. This first player describes that 
  character, giving them a general role, motivation, and problem or problems 
  they frequently face. The character should be proactive, not passive, who 
  could not ignore the actions of the listed factions even if they wanted to. In 
  fact, the character might be a member of one (or more) of the factions. The 
  character should also have a name.
  Next, the second player does the same thing but adds a step—they define 
  a tie that binds them to the first character. This bond must be something 
  that demands the characters are involved in each other’s lives for better or 
  worse. The two players should work together to ensure both agree with this 
  tie, because it does nobody any good if the bond between them and another 
  character violates their sense of what they’re trying to accomplish and explore 
  in the scenario.
  Repeat this procedure until every player has a character to portray. The 
  last step is the first player defining a tie between their character and the 
  last character named. This creates a chain of relationship around the table, 
  drawing everyone into the machinations to be played out.
  You may wish to fully elaborate on your player characters at this point, in 
  which case players should move on to Chapter 5: The Heaven of Invention 
  on page 91. The GM, however, has more work to do.
  The players create these characters:
   
  k Clark: Sean McAvoy, a White Council “bureaumancer,” specializing 
  in the most mundane aspects of the wizarding world. 
   
  k Priscilla: Marie St. Pierre, a Naga changeling and herpetologist
   
  k Pamela: Astrid Colombe, werewolf vigilante
   
  k Thad: Gabriel Beaumont, former Knight of the Cross, having held 
  the title for only a few days
   
  k Mary: Genevieve Ba, repentant White Court vampire and trauma 
  surgeon
  Bloody hell, who wants to pretend to be a “bureaumancer”?
  A great joy exists in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
  John Keats?
  No. Ivy the Archive.
  
  87
   [GAME CREATION]
  DETAIL FACTIONS
  Next, using ideas established by the group thus 
  far, the gamemaster fully details each of the factions 
  enumerated in a previous step. This fleshes out each 
  faction, making it easier for the GM to decide on 
  their actions and reactions extemporaneously in 
  the course of the session. Add the following detail 
  to each faction:
   
  k Goal: What does this faction want? Be as specific as you can but limit 
  it to one—if you have more than one goal, you might actually have two 
  factions whose members overlap.
   
  k Secret Goal: (optional) Is there another goal this faction has that the 
  players did not propose? Is the goal known to the players only a smoke 
  screen?
   
  k Obstacle: What’s standing in the way? Another faction’s goal may figure 
  prominently here.
   
  k Resources: What people, place, and things can this faction bring to bear 
  to help it achieve its goal?
   
  k Weakness: What chinks exist in the faction’s armor?
   
  k Aspects: If you wish, give the faction an aspect or two. You can also add 
  aspects during play, any time you wish, as long as it doesn’t contradict 
  any facts you’ve established in play.
   
  k Next Steps: What is the next thing this faction plans to do?
  The GM chooses whether to do this on her own, without the players, or 
  to engage in open discussion in the same manner as the prior steps herein. 
  This is not a strict dichotomy; she may do some discussion and then reserve 
  some space for secrets as she wishes. Working alone allows the GM to develop 
  secrets and surprises to reveal later in play. Possibilities include creating fac-
  tions that the players don’t know, discreetly changing the details of known 
  factions, and introducing information to which the player characters aren’t 
  privy. Be certain these changes do not contradict character concepts.
  Resources that take the form of NPCs will eventually require formal 
  representation—commonly referred to as stat blocks—much like a PC, and 
  are categorized as minor, supporting, or main NPCs. For more on creating 
  NPCs, see page 212. Other resources should be called out as aspects, as 
  should weaknesses. For more on creating aspects, see page 106.
  As with the PCs, be certain you establish ties and relationships between the 
  factions that will force them to encounter each other. If you have the option 
  of tying a faction to a new or existing faction, opt for the latter unless the 
  current web you have woven is already hopelessly tangled.
  Did you draft 
  this from my notes 
  on reconnoitering 
  an enemy?
  I would plead the 
  Fifth but we aren’t 
  subject to or protected 
  by American laws.
  
  88
  [GAME CREATION]
  Secret Goals
  Some factions may possess a secret goal that is parallel to the known goal 
  or even represents the actual faction intent. The players and their characters 
  could discover said secrets in the course of play, either through investigation 
  or as the narrative makes them clear. The GM should devise these alone—let 
  player input be in the form of the list of things they want and do not want 
  to see. For each secret goal, define an obstacle preventing the faction from 
  accomplishing the goal. You may also list secret 
  resources, weaknesses, and next steps.
  If a player character is a member of a faction, 
  the GM should consider collaborating with that 
  player to devise any secrets.
  After much deliberation and ideation, the group arrives at the following 
  faction profiles. Anything listed as secret is known only to Amanda, the 
  GM. The group decides that the vigilante faction comprises only PCs and 
  thus does not require a profile. Rather than creating all the aspects now, 
  Amanda marks probable aspect inspirations with (aspect) so she can later 
  write aspects tailored to the factions in play. (For more on writing good 
  aspects, see Chapter 7: Aspects, the Fulcrum of Fate on page 106.)
  The Local Fomor Cell
   
  k Goal: Recruit or conscript supernatural talent and gain control of 
  all supernaturally significant sites in NOLA.
   
  k Obstacle: Most people either hate or are suspicious of them.
   
  k Resources: Their leader, Pwason-Mal (main NPC); a half dozen 
  powerful lieutenants (supporting NPCs); powerful servitors, AKA 
  Turtlenecks (minor NPCs); the willingness and ability to do vast 
  workings of ritual magic in support of their aims.
   
  k Weaknesses: Hubris (aspect), tendency to ignore/overlook non-su-
  pernatural intervention (aspect).
   
  k Next Steps: Gain control of the Way in the LaLaurie Mansion.
  Louis Sauvageot and His Pack
   
  k Goal: Protect Louis’ dominion as a freeholding lord under the 
  Unseelie Accords at any cost.
   
  k Obstacle: The Fomor, possibly Les Dévoués, and the continual 
  appearance of challengers to his authority.
   
  k Secret Goal: To extend his dominion to mortal criminal enterprises 
  as well
   
  k Secret Obstacle: Jeanne-Marie Roberres forced him into a 
  partnership
   
  k Resources: Louis himself, a powerful rougarou (main NPC); his pack, 
  including a few shapeshifters of various stripes (supporting NPCs); 
  control over Le Jazz Cub, Accorded Neutral Ground and meeting 
  place for much of the city’s elite; partnership with Jeanne-Marie 
  Roberres; various political, social, and criminal connections (aspect).
   
  k Weaknesses: Inability to keep cruel and sadistic impulses in check 
  (aspect).
   
  k Next Steps: Push the Fomor into open conflict or into violating 
  the Accords.
   
  k Secret Next Steps: Set Roberres up to fail in a big way.
  Or consider keeping 
  them ignorant. 
  Looking at you, 
  White Council.
  Indubitably.
  
  89
   [GAME CREATION]
  Jeanne-Marie Roberres’ Gang
   
  k Goal: To expand her criminal network into one with global reach.
   
  k Obstacles: Law enforcement and other criminal syndicates.
   
  k Secret Goal: To take over Sauvageot’s holdings and force him into 
  subservience.
   
  k Secret Obstacle: She’s trapped in a so-far equal partnership with 
  him.
   
  k Resources: Jeanne-Marie herself (main NPC); vast sums of wealth 
  (aspect); high society connections and influence (aspect); a distrib-
  uted network of muscled goons and con artists (minor NPCs with 
  the occasional supporting NPC for a named lieutenant); partnership 
  with Louis Sauvageot.
   
  k Secret Resources: Budding partnership with Pwason-Mal of the 
  Fomor (aspect).
   
  k Weaknesses: No supernatural resources of her own; very public 
  identity as a member of high society (aspect).
   
  k Next Steps: Consolidate influence in the French Quarter.
   
  k Secret Next Steps: Sabotage and subvert Sauvageot’s operations 
  to weaken his position.
  Les Dévoués
  As GM, Amanda chooses to invent all faction infor-
  mation herself, as she wants to have a wild card to 
  play whenever she needs one.
   
  k Secret Goal: To preserve and protect the 
  dream of “their” New Orleans.
   
  k Secret Obstacle: They occasionally must alter 
  living memory, and re-weave the fabric of the 
  world, to achieve that goal.
   
  k Secret Resources: Vast sanctums replete 
  with arcane knowledge (aspect); one masked 
  wizard of serious power, identity otherwise 
  unknown (main NPC); the potential for any NPC 
  in the campaign to also be one of their members; contacts in every 
  walk of life within the city (aspect; minor NPCs).
   
  k Secret Weaknesses: Very limited manpower for direct action 
  (aspect); no qualms about breaking the Laws of Magic (aspect).
   
  k Next Steps: Attempt to assassinate Pwason-Mal by any means 
  necessary.
   
  So the players are 
  like the trapeze 
  artists and acrobats 
  in a circus and the 
  GM is the ringmaster 
  who keeps everything 
  moving along.
  Exactly!
  
  90
  [GAME CREATION]
  DETERMINE THE INCITING INCIDENT
  Your campaign’s first scenario should commence with an inciting incident. 
  From among your factions’ next steps, select one that both gathers the PCs 
  together and coerces them into a confrontation involving that faction. The 
  game, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, is afoot. 
  Generally inciting incidents fall into one of four categories: 
   
  kA faction takes action on its next steps in a way the PCs cannot ignore.
   
  kA faction makes a critical mistake related to one of its weaknesses in a 
  way that involves the PCs.
   
  kA faction enters into conflict with a rival in a way that demands PC 
  intervention.
   
  kAn event of interest draws several factions into the mix, with conflicting 
  agendas.
  To begin the campaign with the proverbial bang, Amanda decides that 
  Gabriel Beaumont, while on a sojourn to calm the wayward spirits at the 
  LaLaurie Mansion, witnesses a standoff in the mansion’s courtyard between 
  two groups—Sauvageot’s pack members and sorcerers of the Fomor—that 
  will clearly escalate into full-scale violence. He cannot face either group 
  alone, let alone both, though he might be able to do something with the 
  assistance of his companions…
  CREATE THE PLAYER CHARACTERS
  If you have not already, move to the next chapter and finish detailing the 
  player characters. Once PCs, factions, and an inciting incident are completed, 
  you are ready to begin play.
  Play this Campaign to Start, if You’d Like
  Chapter 13: We’ll Always Have Parish on page 226 contains more 
  details on the example campaign provided here, as well as requisite infor-
  mation for the proposed player characters. Feel free to use this material 
  as you see fit, especially if you need a quick introduction to the game.
  
  91
  CHAPTER 5 
  THE HEAVEN 
  OF INVENTION
  CHARACTER CREATION
  In this game, each player portrays a character with their own nature, needs, 
  desires, problems, strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities. But as T. S. 
  Eliot said, “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination 
  is taxed to its utmost—and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom, 
  the work is likely to sprawl.” Thus, rather than allowing players the freedom 
  to write their characters however they desire, I have provided a framework 
  of constraints within which to create each character.
  Before commencing with your character’s creation, you and the other 
  players will have discussed the game’s initial parameters (as described in the 
  previous chapter, page 84) and thus garnered a good idea of the spatial, tem-
  poral, and narrative context to consider during the character creation process. 
  Your group has determined the game’s setting is New Orleans, where they 
  will play a loose coalition of supernatural vigilantes battling corruption 
  from both mortalkind and otherkind. Because of this altruistic premise, 
  characters with self-aggrandizing motives would find themselves out of 
  place, as would characters in league with any of the darker powers in our 
  world, such as the Fomor or Denarians.
  Summary of Character Creation
  The steps involved in character creation may be executed in any order, 
  but I recommend the following sequence:
   
  k Choose a mantle.
   
  k Create two aspects—high concept and trouble.
   
  k Create a third aspect.
   
  k Give your character a name and describe them.
   
  k Choose your character’s approaches.
   
  k Set your character’s refresh to 3.
   
  k Choose a stunt.
   
  k Record your character’s stress and conditions.
   
  k If desired, write up to two more aspects and add up to two more 
  stunts if you want. The stunts cost one refresh each.
   
  k Complete any additional information required about your 
  character.
  Shakespeare. Nice.
  
  92
  [CHARACTER CREATION]
  CHOOSING A MANTLE
  The mantle you select for your character encompasses their character type, 
  general role in the game, and place in the supernatural or mortal world. Each 
  mantle comes with a package of stunts (page 114) and conditions (page 
  116) that help the character fulfill their role.
  No restrictions exist on choosing mantles. Everyone may choose the same 
  mantle if the scenario to be explored focuses on a single type of character 
  (e.g., all police officers or White Court vampires) or each character can have 
  a different mantle so the group has a wide variety of concerns and agendas.
  For mantle descriptions, see Chapter 8: With Great Power on page 119. 
  Clark wants to play a White Council wizard 
  but with a twist: his character’s specialty is 
  bureaucracy rather than combat. He chooses 
  the Magical Practitioner as his mantle.
  CREATING ASPECTS
  These two character aspects define the dramatic core of your charac-
  ter. Aspects and their effects in the game are fully described in Chapter 7: 
  Aspects, the Fulcrum of Fate on page 106, but in brief a character aspect 
  is a word, phrase, or sentence that highlights something fundamental to your 
  character’s portrayal.
  HIGH CONCEPT
  In cinema, a high-concept film is based on a single, easily comprehensible 
  idea. Similarly, your character’s high concept is one phrase or sentence that 
  communicates their distilled essence. When formulating it, consider how 
  your character’s high concept may both help you and complicate matters for 
  you. The best high concept aspects do both.
  A high concept need not directly relate to the character’s mantle. Mantles 
  cover story elements for each character type, but it is the high concept that 
  distinguishes a character all others sharing that mantle. Sanya Ivanovich 
  and Michael Carpenter are both Knights of the Cross but could never be 
  confused for each other: one is the Agnostic Bearer of Esperacchius 
  and the other is The Fist of God. Analogously, if your group has more 
  than one character with the same mantle, they must have high concepts that 
  make them stand out from each other. Hot-Headed Maverick and Aging 
  Veteran would, for example, be a classic pairing for cops.
  Examples: cynicaL BLogger, unWiLLing prophet, JudgMentaL Warden oF 
  the White counciL
  It’s only a twist if 
  you see Dresden 
  as the norm. 
  As our client most 
  likely does.
  
  93
   [CHARACTER CREATION]
  TROUBLE
  Your character’s trouble is a phrase or sentence describing a source of inter-
  nal or external conflict: a personal weakness, recurring enemy, or important 
  obligation, anything that complicates their existence. Closely relating your 
  character’s trouble to their high concept—such as a Thieving Scoundrel 
  with a Heart of Gold—can be gratifying, yes, but unrelated high concepts 
  and troubles can add richness. Perhaps your Thieving Scoundrel has a 
  Demanding Family Member instead.
  Examples: the truth is out there, everyone shoots the Messenger, you 
  can’t MaKe an oMeLette...
  THE THIRD ASPECT
  Is your character the smartest person in their hometown? Do they possess 
  a mighty artifact known throughout history? Are they taciturn or verbose? 
  Are they egregiously wealthy or privileged? Pick something important or 
  interesting about your character and describe it in a single phrase or sentence 
  as a third character aspect.
  If you have difficulty coming up with a third aspect, try fleshing out your 
  character’s background to discover an appropriate detail that may become 
  an aspect. You may also ask the group what about your character intrigues 
  them or prompts specific questions in their minds, or use your character’s 
  third aspect to establish a prior connection with one or more of the other 
  characters in the group.
  Examples: sKiLLed hacKer, aFFinity For cats, the coLd never Bothered 
  Me anyWay
  CHOOSING NAME 
  AND APPEARANCE
  Now that your character has three aspects and 
  a mantle, you know enough to name and describe 
  them in general: how they look, how they move, 
  what mannerisms they have, what they typically 
  carry around with them, and so on.
  
  94
  [CHARACTER CREATION]
  CHOOSING APPROACHES
  Approaches are descriptions of how your character accomplishes tasks. 
  Every character has the same six approaches:
  Flair
  Focus
  Force
  Guile
  Haste
  Intellect
  We use a ladder of adjectives and numbers (shown 
  here) to rate a character’s approaches, the result of a 
  roll, the opposition against an action, etc.
  Each of your character’s approaches is rated on 
  this ladder. Choose one approach at Good (+3), 
  two at Fair (+2), two at Average (+1), and one at 
  Mediocre (+0). You can improve these later, so you 
  will not be locked into your choices forever. 
  For more about what each approach means and how 
  to use them to accomplish actions, see Chapter 6: 
  The Play’s the Thing on page 97.
  Approaches Build (Your) Character
  Your character’s approaches speak to who they are and how they solve 
  problems. For example:
  Brute: Force +3, Focus & Flair +2, Guile & Haste +1, Intellect +0
  All-Star: Haste +3, Force & Flair +2, Intellect & Focus +1, Guile +0
  Trickster: Intellect +3, Guile & Flair +2, Force & Haste +1, Focus +0
  Guardian: Focus +3, Force & Intellect +2, Guile & Haste +1, Flair +0
  Thief: Guile +3, Focus & Haste +2, Intellect & Flair +1, Force +0
  Swashbuckler: Flair +3, Haste & Intellect +2, Force & Guile +1, 
  Focus +0
  THE LADDER
   +8 Legendary
   +7 Epic
   +6 Fantastic
   +5 Superb
   +4 Great
   +3 Good
   +2 Fair
   +1 Average
   +0 Mediocre
   –1 Poor
   –2 Terrible
  So to use familiar people from 
  Dresden’s casefiles, Hendricks is a 
  Brute, Carpenter is a Guardian, Valmont 
  is a Thief, Ramirez is a Swashbuckler…
  Miss Gard is more a Guardian now. 
  And as for the Brute, well…
  I’m on the Brute Squad?
  You ARE the Brute Squad.
  
  95
   [CHARACTER CREATION]
  CALCULATING REFRESH 
  Your refresh determines your minimum number of fate points received at 
  the start of each game session. Spend these points to gain advantages, such 
  as leveraging aspects (see Chapter 7: Aspects, the Fulcrum of Fate on page 
  106) or activating certain stunts. Everyone begins with three refresh but 
  may spend refresh to purchase stunts in a later step. Your character’s refresh 
  can never be allowed to go below one.
  You begin every session with the fate points from the previous session’s 
  conclusion or a number equal to your character’s refresh (if higher). 
  Clark’s character, Sean McAvoy, has one refresh. If he starts a game session 
  with no fate points remaining from the previous session, he instead begins 
  with one fate point. If he ends the last session with more than one fate 
  point, however, he keeps those for the start of the next session.
  As the game progresses, your character gains additional points of refresh as 
  a result of character development. For details, see Chapter 11: The Journey 
  of a Thousand Miles on page 195.
  CHOOSING A STUNT
  A stunt is a special trait that reflects one of your character’s specialties, a 
  benefit of their mantle, or another factor that regularly gives them an advan-
  tage. A stunt generally provides a +2 bonus to a certain approach when used 
  with a particular action under specific circumstances. For the full rules on 
  creating and using stunts, see Chapter 8: With Great Power on page 114.
  Your character automatically receives all core stunts associated with their 
  mantle. In addition, you may choose one additional stunt from what is avail-
  able to their mantle or one you’ve created yourself per the rules in Chapter 8. 
  With the Magical Practitioner mantle, Sean McAvoy has the Evocation, 
  Thaumaturgy, and Soulgaze stunts automatically. His player, Clark, decides 
  to take White Council Membership as his additional stunt.
  
  96
  [CHARACTER CREATION]
  RECORDING STRESS 
  AND CONDITIONS
  Every character has six stress boxes (page 188) to mark the specific 
  amount of physical and mental duress they can endure before suffering lasting 
  injury or mental trauma. 
  They also receive a number of conditions (page 116) represent injuries, 
  mental trauma, and persistent effects from their mantle or other sources. Two 
  conditions (In Peril and Doomed) are ascribed by default to each character. 
  You also receive all unique conditions associated with your character’s mantle. 
  (For details, see the individual mantle descriptions in Chapter 8.) 
  On your character sheet, place a box (or boxes, per the description) beside 
  each condition, which you can check when the condition is in effect; allow 
  a little space to write any notes about the circumstances in which they took 
  the condition.
  For details on stress and conditions, see Chapter 10: Wrath, Ruin, and 
  the Red Dawn on page 187. 
  Clark writes down that Sean McAvoy has six boxes of stress and the In Peril 
  and Doomed conditions. Sean’s Magical Practitioner mantle also gives him 
  the unique conditions Exhausted, Burned Out, and The Third Eye, so he 
  writes those down too.
  OPTIONAL STEPS
  At this stage, you can define one or two more aspects that further define 
  your character and/or buy up to two additional stunts. Stunts may be cre-
  ated from scratch if you so desire, but you may also select from the stunts 
  available to each mantle. Each of these additional stunts reduces your refresh 
  by one point.
  If you decline to define additional aspects or buy additional stunts, you will 
  have an opportunity to do so during character development as described in 
  Chapter 11: The Journey of a Thousand Miles on page 195.
  While finishing his character, Clark decides to leave the two remaining 
  aspects blank so he can define them later. He wants to clarify Sean’s capa-
  bilities as a researcher, so he opts to take two stunts: Arcane Investigator 
  and Loremaster. This costs him two more refresh, leaving him with one.
  FINISHING TOUCHES
  Some mantles have conditions and stunts that require you to invent addi-
  tional details about your character. If you have not yet done so, provide those 
  details now.
  And now you are ready to begin. So as Freddie Mercury sang, “On with 
  the show.”
  
  97
  CHAPTER 6 
  THE PLAY’S 
  THE THING
  BASIC RULES
  This game allows you to portray proactive, competent individuals taking 
  direct action to deal with their problems and the problems of their compan-
  ions. This chapter specifies the core probabilistic and narrative engine used 
  to deal with such actions. 
  TAKING ACTIONS
  All of your character’s efforts within the game are exercises in chaos and risk. 
  After salient preparations are made, you act in the hope that your experience, 
  ability, and forethought will combine to result in a successful outcome. Yet, 
  the only consistency is the void in your comprehension, the omnipresent 
  uncertainty. Indeed, how does your character summon the courage to try 
  anything at all?
  This simulation relies partly on a probabilistic model to resolve the out-
  comes of your characters’ actions. This model alone, however, is not enough. 
  Albert Einstein once said, “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, 
  they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” 
  Where such complexity would be too cumbersome to model herein, you 
  must rely on the vagaries of human judgment, for better and for worse.
  DESCRIBE THE ACTION, 
  DETERMINE THE OPPOSITION
  To take an action, your character requires a specific objective and the means 
  available to make it happen. The first step of taking an action is therefore to 
  describe your character’s intentions and plans to accomplish them.
  Marie St. Pierre is standing at the base of a dark tower in the Nevernever; 
  her objective is to get to its top. Her 
  player, Priscilla, describes “just flap-
  ping her wings and flying” to the top, 
  but as Marie has no wings or any 
  other means of flying, that descrip-
  tion is invalid. Priscilla must engineer 
  a legitimate method for Marie to attain 
  the top of the tower.
  Dark tower? 
  Is she being 
  followed by 
  Roland and the 
  Man in Black?
  
  98
  [BASIC RULES]
  Occasionally the means at your character’s disposal allow an objective’s 
  effortless attainment. Perhaps an applicable stunt or aspect simplifies the 
  action, or perhaps it is simply that nothing exists in their way. At other 
  times your character may possess the means to gain that objective but must 
  overcome opposition—time constraints, the interference of other characters, 
  prevailing circumstances, et cetera—that makes the action a risk rather than 
  a foregone conclusion. If failure would result in an interesting twist to the 
  game’s ongoing events, or if something unpredictable may happen, the action 
  is resolved via dice (page 99).
  For information on deciding oppositions to actions, see page 209 in 
  Chapter 12: A Kind and Patient Master.
  Genevieve Ba intends to find her way through a complex series of tunnels 
  in time to save Astrid Colombe from a fate worse than death. Her player, 
  Mary, describes using a stick of chalk to mark the walls so she avoids dou-
  bling back on herself as she navigates. Without time pressure she wouldn’t 
  have to roll dice to successfully wend her way to Astrid, but that urgency 
  combined with the tunnels’ convoluted layout provide opposition and risk. 
  It is thus time to consult the dice.
  Taking Actions: Executive Summary
  To resolve an action taken by your character:
  1. Describe your character’s objective, and how they plan to accom-
  plish it.
  2. If what your character is attempting is possible, determine 
  whether any opposition to the action exists owing to time con-
  straints, circumstances, or interference from other characters. 
  3. Without opposition resolved or no opposition, your character 
  succeeds and you move on. 
  4. With opposition, decide which approach most suits your descrip-
  tion of the action as allowed by the circumstances: Flair, Focus, 
  Force, Guile, Haste, or Intellect.
  5. Determine which of the four actions best fits your character’s 
  objective in performing the action: create an advantage, overcome, 
  attack, or defend.
  6. Roll the dice and add the result to your character’s rating in that 
  approach. To improve your roll, apply any stunt or teamwork 
  bonuses or invoke helpful aspects.
  7. Resolve the outcome: succeed, succeed with style, tie, or fail.
  
  99
   [BASIC RULES]
  ROLLING THE DICE
  To add unpredictability to an action’s outcome, you roll four Fate Dice™. 
  You always roll four dice.
  Fate Dice™ are six-sided polyhedra. Each die can result in -, 0, or + 
  and you add them together for a total between -4 and +4. For example:
  -+0+ = +1 
  +-00 = 0
  +++- = +2 
  -000 = -1
  23.4625% of the time the total will be 0, meaning that your character is 
  performing as expected and that luck has had no effect either way.
  39.4903% of the time the total will be +1 or -1, meaning that your character 
  is slightly over or underperforming in the circumstances, or has been affected 
  by an average amount of luck.
  24.7014% of the time the total will be +2 or -2, meaning that your char-
  acter is performing noticeably well or badly, or has been affected by a fair 
  amount of luck. 
  9.8843% of the time the total will be +3 or -3, reflecting that your char-
  acter has performed extremely well or badly, or has been affected by a good 
  amount of luck. 
  2.4615% of the time the total will be +4 or -4, meaning that your character 
  has performed extraordinarily well or catastrophically badly, or has been 
  incredibly lucky or unlucky.
  
  100
  [BASIC RULES]
  DECIDE ON YOUR APPROACH
  As given on page 94, six approaches define how you can accomplish an 
  action:
   
  k Flair: An action that draws attention to you, replete with style and 
  panache. Examples: Delivering an inspiring speech to your army, embar-
  rassing your opponent in a duel, producing a magical fireworks display.
   
  k Focus: Time-consuming action in which close attention is paid to detail 
  so the task is properly executed on the first attempt. Examples: Lining 
  up a long-range sniper rifle shot, attentively standing watch, disarming a 
  bank’s alarm system.
   
  k Force: A display of brute strength rather than subtlety. Examples: 
  Wrestling a troll, staring down a werewolf, casting a powerful magic spell.
   
  k Guile: An effort focusing on misdirection, stealth, or deceit. Examples: 
  Talking your way out of getting arrested, picking a pocket, feinting in a 
  sword fight.
   
  k Haste: A dexterous movement with alacrity. Examples: Dodging a shot, 
  landing the first punch, disarming a bomb as it ticks 3...2...1. 
   
  k Intellect: Quick thinking, the solving of complex problems, or account-
  ing for numerous variables at once. Examples: Code breaking, outwitting 
  a fae courtier, counting cards in a poker game. 
  Your character has each approach rated from Mediocre (+0) to Good (+3). 
  Decide which approach best suits your description of 
  the action, and then add your character’s rating in that 
  approach to your dice roll to discover how well they do.
  Your description of the action and the approach cho-
  sen must be consistent with each other and with the 
  story constraints, i.e., you cannot describe an action 
  that makes no sense given your capabilities. Thus just as 
  you cannot fly to a tower’s peak sans wings, you cannot 
  sneak undetected through a dark room using Force; 
  Guile is instead mandated. 
  Some actions, however, can utilize different approaches. For example, the 
  obvious choice to try lifting a car off of a trapped innocent is Force, but 
  Haste and Focus are also appropriate candidates. Advocating for a particular 
  approach is worthwhile for the story and your character so long as you may 
  justify its application. Bear in mind that your chosen approach may cause 
  the GM to raise or lower the action’s opposition as appropriate or require 
  some sort of bargain to use that approach (page 209).
  Circumstances and available resources constrain how your character can 
  achieve their objectives, so sometimes they must use an approach that does 
  not play to their strengths. The GM is always the final arbiter of whether an 
  approach is appropriate. 
  Not to toot my 
  own horn but I’m 
  better than “good” 
  in most of those.
  You are, but you 
  are neither common 
  nor mortal.
  Did you just 
  compliment me?
  
  101
   [BASIC RULES]
  STUCK? SWITCH ’EM UP!
  One method of ensuring the use of a particular approach is to change the 
  circumstances (usually by overcoming an obstacle or creating an advantage) 
  that then justifies that approach in a subsequent action. 
  Sean McAvoy wants to clear rubble from a collapsed building to rescue 
  people trapped inside, and Amanda suggests that it’ll be necessary to 
  use Force. Since his Force approach is paltry, Clark, Sean’s player, asks if 
  he can create an advantage with earth magic and make a patch of low 
  gravity where the rubble is, so he can clear it with Haste instead. Amanda 
  agrees. Clark succeeds at his roll, and thus is able to switch approaches 
  on the overcome action to get the rubble out of the way.
  CHOOSE AN ACTION
  Any action in the game can be resolved using one of four basic action 
  systems: create an advantage, overcome, attack, or defend. Select the one 
  most appropriate to your character’s current objective.
  Create an Advantage
  Objective: Affect a fact or situation—or leverage a current fact 
  or situation—to give you or an ally a future benefit.
  Creating an advantage includes anything accomplished to 
  benefit from or to alter your current circumstances. Knocking the weapon 
  out of your opponent’s hand, spending several hours researching, tripping 
  the thug trying to rob you—these all count as creating an advantage.
  If your action directly or indirectly affects them, another PC or NPC can 
  use the defend action to attempt to stop you. 
  The result of creating an advantage is often a situation aspect (page 107), 
  and/or more chances to take advantage of an aspect, which I call invokes 
  (page 108). 
  Overcome
  Objective: Directly achieve a goal or remove or surmount an 
  obstacle between you and a goal.
  Use this action whenever seeking to achieve a goal against 
  opposition or trying to bypass/remove an obstacle preventing a goal’s realiza-
  tion. Taking action to eliminate or amend an inconvenient situation aspect is 
  usually an overcome action. (See Chapter 7: Aspects, the Fulcrum of Fate, 
  page 107, for more information.)
  Nearby characters wishing to interfere with your action may provide oppo-
  sition to your roll.
  C
  O
  
  102
  [BASIC RULES]
  Attack
  Objective: Harm someone mentally or physically. 
  Whether executing a rondello with a broadsword, per-
  forming a morote seoi nage in unarmed combat, or hurling a 
  blistering insult, you are trying to visit harm on your target, ultimately with 
  sufficient severity to remove them from the scene. This action may result in 
  killing them, knocking them unconscious, or causing them to flee in terror. 
  The targeted individual always has the opportunity to use defend in response.
  Defend
  Objective: Prevent harm to you or an ally physically or men-
  tally or prevent the create an advantage action against you.
  Unlike the other three actions, defend is almost always 
  performed on someone else’s turn as a reaction to their attempt to hurt you 
  or create an advantage against you. 
  If everyone agrees it is reasonable, you can defend against an effect not 
  targeting you in specific. If you do so and fail, you become the target for any 
  bad results.
  A
  D
  
  103
   [BASIC RULES]
  READING YOUR RESULT
  Add your roll and your approach, then calculate the difference between 
  your result and the opposition—which could be a static number generated by 
  the GM, or the result of a roll made on behalf of a character actively resisting 
  your action. Each point of difference is a shift for whoever had the higher 
  result, generating one of the following four outcomes:
  RESULT
  OUTCOME
  Opposition 
  has shifts
  Failure • You don’t achieve your objective, or you do, but 
  at a major cost.
  No shifts
  Tie • You partially achieve your objective, achieve it at a 
  minor cost, or the situation changes.
  1-2 shifts
  Success • You achieve your objective.
  3+ shifts
  Success with Style • You achieve your objective and get 
  an additional bonus.
  In addition to determining which outcome applies, the number of shifts 
  rolled by you or your opposition often has another effect, most notably 
  during a conflict. 
  Sean is trying to use evocation to set a charging demon on fire, which is an 
  attack with Force. His player’s dice roll results in -++0 for a total of +1. 
  Adding Sean’s approach, which is Average (+1), yields a total of Fair (+2). 
  The demon tries to juke sideways at the last moment to avoid the blast, a 
  defend action with Haste. He rolls --00 for a result of -2, which with 
  his Average (+1) Haste approach creates a Poor (-1) result. The outcome 
  is therefore 3 shifts, meaning Sean succeeds with style.
  For more information, see “The Four Actions and the Four Outcomes” on 
  page 104. 
  Stunts, Invokes, and Teamwork
  If applicable to the current action, one of your character’s stunts may grant 
  a bonus to your roll. Invoking a relevant aspect also rewards you with a +2 
  bonus or a reroll. For details on aspects and invokes, see page 108. For 
  stunts, see page 114.
  THE POWER OF TEAMWORK
  If they so choose, allies may relinquish their own action to support your 
  action by describing how this assistance is proffered. Each ally thusly assisting 
  adds +1 to your roll. As in real life, only one or two people may lend a hand 
  without getting in each other’s way; the GM shall determine the maximum 
  individuals who may assist on a given action. Allies may only lend their aid 
  with an approach above +0. Your allies may also support you by creating an 
  advantage (page 104) and giving you the free invoke, but the outcome is 
  less certain.
  
  104
  [BASIC RULES]
  THE FOUR ACTIONS AND 
  THE FOUR OUTCOMES
  The four outcomes apply slightly differently to each of the four basic actions 
  as follows:
  Create an Advantage
  You may elect to create an aspect or use an existing aspect 
  to your advantage, with the results as below. 
  Succeed: You create/use the aspect with a free invoke.
  Succeed with Style: You create/use the aspect with two free invokes. 
  Tie: Rather than creating/using the aspect, you get a boost (page 109), a 
  free-floating invoke you must use before your next turn.
  Fail: For a new aspect, you may choose not to create it or create the aspect 
  but grant an opponent a free invoke on it. (The latter choice may require 
  reworking the aspect’s name to be most sensible.) Moreover, invoking the 
  aspect costs you a fate point. For existing aspects, if previously cognizant of 
  the aspect, you receive no additional benefit from it. If your character was 
  not aware of the aspect, they may now discover it but an opponent gets a 
  free invoke.
  Overcome
  Succeed: You accomplish your objective, achieve your goal, 
  bypass an obstacle, or remove an obstacle entirely.
  Succeed with Style: You succeed and gain a boost (page 109).
  Tie: You attain your goal but at a minor cost, such as the GM introducing a 
  complication or presenting a tough choice (e.g., you can rescue one friend but 
  not the other). See “Succeed at a Cost” on page 189 of Fate Core System 
  for more ideas.
  Fail: You have a tough choice to make. You can simply fail—the door is still 
  locked, the thug as yet stands between you and the exit—or you can succeed 
  at a serious cost as dictated by the GM, such as dropping a valuable possession 
  or sustaining grievous harm.
  C
  O
  
  105
   [BASIC RULES]
  Attack
  Succeed: Your attack inflicts damage to your target equal 
  to your shifts. See Chapter 10: Wrath, Ruin, and the Red 
  Dawn on page 187 for an explanation.
  Succeed with Style: Your attack inflicts damage to your target equal to your 
  shifts with the option to sacrifice one shift and gain a boost  (page 109) on 
  your next turn.
  Tie: Your attack does no damage, but you gain a boost.
  Fail: Your attack misses wholly. 
  Defend
  Tie or Succeed: You are mostly unaffected by your enemy.
  Succeed with Style: You successfully defend yourself and gain 
  a boost (page 109).
  Fail: Your opponent either inflicts harm on you or creates an advantage 
  against you.
  A
  D
  
  106
  CHAPTER 7 
  ASPECTS, 
  THE FULCRUM 
  OF FATE
  ASPECTS
  We apply the term aspect to denote what is remarkable about a person, 
  place, thing, situation, or group. Virtually all things may have aspects:
   
  kA room is given the Blazing Inferno 
  aspect after Harry Dresden uses his Fuego 
  spell imprudently.
   
  kThomas Raith inflicts the Intense Lust 
  aspect on a target before feeding from them.
   
  kA comfortable family home is protected by 
  the Strong Threshold aspect.
   
  k The Archive is compelled to have the 
  Neutrality aspect.
   
  k Chicago has an aspect of The Windy City.
  Aspects represent truths, not necessarily facts. Chicago’s average wind speed 
  is 10.3 miles per hour, approximating that of most major American cities, yet 
  the moniker has remained for decades and thus become an important aspect 
  in how Chicago is perceived.
  ASPECT CATEGORIES
  Aspects are infinite in variation, but can be divided into the below categories. 
  All function nearly identically but differ in duration.
  CHARACTER ASPECTS 
  As implied, these aspects are attached to a PC or NPC, such as your 
  character’s high concept and trouble (page 92). They underscore person-
  ality traits, significant past events, relationships, important items or titles, 
  problems faced, goals, reputations, and obligations. Character aspects rarely 
  change, save as a result of significant life events or milestones in character 
  development (page 195).
  Examples: on the run FroM the order oF the BLacKened denarius; 
  pedantic trivia JunKy; to serve and protect; poLKa WiLL never die; not 
  to Be trusted
  So pretty much every 
  room Dresden visits.
  No, but 67.8045% 
  of those in which he 
  evokes fire magic, 
  per his casefiles.
  Check your math. 
  That seems low.
  
  107
   [ASPECTS]
  FACTION ASPECTS
  Establishing the nuances of your campaign generates a number of factions 
  with aspects describing significant assets and weaknesses. A faction member 
  may use the faction’s aspects in the appropriate circumstances. Faction aspects 
  change in accordance with the advancement and development rules on page 
  198, as the faction’s involvement in the campaign changes.
  SITUATION ASPECTS 
  Situation aspects apply to the current scene, such as: the scene location’s 
  features and various contents; a character’s physical or emotional circum-
  stances within the scene; the outcome of a successful create an advantage 
  action. These aspects vanish at the scene’s close or when they no longer apply 
  logically. A Blazing Inferno aspect is removed, for example, after the fire 
  is extinguished.
  Examples: seedy goth nightcLuB; heaving Mosh pit; Bass-induced 
  euphoria; BeLLigerent Bouncer; secret coWard; in a choKehoLd; 
  autoMatic sprinKLer systeM; cascades oF Water
  The GM will not name every potentially relevant feature as a situation 
  aspect when framing a scene. If you want to obtain benefit from something 
  everyone agrees is in the scene but is not a listed aspect, use a create an 
  advantage to make an aspect with free invokes or, if the group agrees, simply 
  write it down in the scene’s situation aspects with no free invokes.
  Eliminating a Situation Aspect
  You can attempt an overcome action to eliminate a situation aspect, pro-
  vided, of course, you can rationalize it. Headbutting the person who has you 
  In a Chokehold to break their grip is overcoming a situational aspect, as 
  is pulling a fire alarm to empty the Heaving Mosh Pit. Opposition may 
  always occur via PC or NPC, such as the GM determining a guard stands 
  between you and that fire alarm.
  CONDITION ASPECTS
  When marking a condition (page 116), you often gain an aspect as one 
  effect of that condition. A condition aspect persists until you have recovered 
  the condition, and the individual responsible for the condition receives a free 
  invoke on its aspect. 
  
  108
  [ASPECTS]
  USING ASPECTS
  Three methods allow use of aspects to your advantage: invoke aspects, 
  compel aspects, and use aspects to declare details. You may employ any 
  aspect known to you as a player if, as ever, your use of that aspect is defensible.
  INVOKING ASPECTS
  Invoking an aspect makes that aspect critical to the current action’s reso-
  lution, whether by aiding you or complicating matters for your opponents. 
  Invoking an aspect costs a fate point unless you have a free invoke on it 
  resulting from the create an advantage action (page 104).
  Invoking Aspects Unknown to Your Character
  Using an aspect requires logical explanation only, including aspects 
  of which your character is ignorant. If combating a villain in the dark, 
  you can spend a fate point to invoke their Night Blindness aspect 
  even if your character is unaware of it.
  Invoking an aspect attached to or controlled by another character to their 
  detriment is a hostile invoke. A fate point spent on this invoke is awarded 
  to that character’s player at the end of the current scene.
  Invoking an aspect should also be supported within the story. Examples 
  of substantiation of an invoke include:
   
  k To infuriate the bouncer until he punches 
  me, I will make “bawk, bawk” noises and 
  flap my elbows like a chicken. He’s a 
  Secret Coward, so that should really 
  push his buttons.
   
  kWhen I arrive at the Seedy Goth 
  Nightclub with torn clothes and blood 
  all over my face, I can easily blend into the 
  crowd because I look like a regular patron. 
   
  k My target has the Bass-Induced 
  Euphoria aspect, so getting close to him to dance—and steal his VIP 
  card—should be simple.
   
  kAs the sorcerer tries to zap me with lightning, I invoke Cascades of 
  Water from nearby sprinklers to ground out his magic.
  One of Louis Sauvageot’s men (played by the GM) has Astrid Colombe in 
  a choKehoLd from a previous create an advantage action. The goon wants 
  to punch Astrid in the stomach, and the chokehold makes that a lot easier. 
  Amanda invokes the aspect to help the goon really drive that punch home. 
  Since she’s already used the free invoke, Amanda must hand a fate point 
  to Pamela at the end of the scene.
  Straight out of the 
  Harry Dresden 
  playbook.
  And you must admit 
  such methodology 
  is effective.
  Hell yes. I never know 
  whether to laugh 
  or punch the guy.
  
  109
   [ASPECTS]
  Short term, like 
  how Dresden’s 
  adrenaline 
  helped him 
  escape Mavra’s 
  scourge after his 
  hand was half-
  melted off. 
  Just so. Adrenaline 
  is fleeting.
  The Benefits of Invoking
  By invoking an aspect you can:
   
  kAdd a +2 bonus to a roll.
   
  kAdd +2 to the opposition on an opponent’s roll. Remember that such 
  an invoke is hostile (page 108) if the aspect is attached to or controlled 
  by a player character and the invoke is to their detriment.
   
  k Reroll the dice. This option is only statistically better than the +2 
  bonus if the roll is -3 or -4.
  Should I Reroll?
  The probability of a reroll giving a better result than the +2 bonus is 
  as follows for each original roll:
  -4: 81.48%
  -3: 61.73%
  -2: 38.27%
  -1: 19.22%
  0: 6.87%
  1: 1.23%
  Note that:
   
  k If justifiable, you may invoke any number of aspects on a single roll, each 
  adding +2 to the result or providing the opportunity to reroll the dice. 
   
  kYou may only spend one fate point to invoke a given aspect.
   
  kYou may spend as many free invokes on an aspect as you like on a single 
  roll, allowing you to get a +4 or higher bonus depending on how many 
  free invokes you have. You can also combine an invoke from a fate point 
  and one or more free invokes.
  Genevieve Ba has a higher ground advantage in a fight, with two free 
  invokes on it. Her player wants to make sure her next attack really hits home, 
  so she invokes both of those to get +4 on her roll. In addition, she describes 
  her attack as a flailing, all-out blitz, which allows her to spend a fate point 
  and invoke Genevieve’s vaMpiric heaLer aspect for an additional +2.
  If she’d had no free invokes, she could have spent a fate point to invoke 
  higher ground, but then she would have been limited to a +2 benefit. In 
  either case, she can spend an additional fate point to invoke a second 
  aspect.
  BOOSTS
  A boost is a free-floating benefit garnered by taking certain 
  actions. They represent the advantage of momentum in a 
  situation and do not require justification via aspects. Each 
  boost adds +2 to a roll but does not allow rerolls. You may 
  spend boosts in conjunction with fate points and free invokes. 
  The problem with boosts is their short-term existence: 
  after earning it, you must use a boost by the end of your 
  next turn, or it disappears.
  
  110
  [ASPECTS]
  COMPELLING ASPECTS
  Typically, capricious fate (as personified by the four Fate Dice™) determines 
  when something complicates your character’s life. When an aspect in play 
  strongly suggests a complication or dramatic turn in the current situation, 
  however, the dice may be ignored to allow the aspect to compel what hap-
  pens next. Compelled aspects are the primary vehicle by which you earn fate 
  points during play.
  Although anyone may propose a compel, the GM is most frequently respon-
  sible and may modify any suggested compelled aspect to suit her purposes. 
  Players may also pay a fate point to compel another PC or NPC.
  Negotiating and Rejecting Compels
  However it is proposed, the players and GM discuss and negotiate the 
  compel’s details to everyone’s satisfaction. GMs are of course the arbiter 
  and final decision-maker in this process, and if the affected player(s) reject a 
  compel as inappropriate or unfair, a GM must either negotiate one they are 
  willing to accept, or drop it completely without cost. The party affected by 
  an accepted compel receives a fate point for their trouble.
  Players may sometimes accept a compel’s legitimacy as appropriate to 
  the aspect and the circumstances but do not wish to deal with the resulting 
  complication. In such a case, affected players can pay a fate point to reject the 
  compel and must then explain why the complication does not occur before 
  proceeding with the game.
  Regardless, the complication occurs once a compel is accepted and cannot 
  be mitigated. Players must face the new story developments arising from 
  the complication. 
  Types of Compels
  EVENT COMPELS
  An event compel features a complication or moment of drama that happens 
  to your character because of an aspect. For example:
   
  kAs your character is a police officer sworn To Serve and Protect, 
  the shifty informant recognizes you and runs the moment you appear.
   
  kYou are On the Run From the Order of the Blackened 
  Denarius and the highway patrol officer who pulled you over happens 
  to be in the Order’s employ.
   
  k Because Polka Will Never Die, you enjoy listening to Yankovic at 
  full volume, which the necromancer searching for you may use to track 
  you down.
  
  111
   [ASPECTS]
  DECISION COMPELS
  A decision compel features a complication or moment of drama that occurs 
  because your character is acting on an aspect. A decision compel is valid only 
  when something goes wrong because of the chosen action. For example:
   
  kAs your character is a police officer sworn To Serve and Protect, 
  when a drug deal occurs in your line of sight you try to arrest the dealer. 
  This action misfires when the dealer puts a knife to his teenage buyer’s 
  throat as leverage to avoid arrest.
   
  kYou’re On the Run From the Order of the Blackened Denarius 
  and aware that a number of law enforcement officers are in the pocket 
  of the Order, so you try to run from the state patrol trying to pull you 
  over. This decision goes wrong when the state patrol pursues, resulting 
  in a dangerous high-speed chase.
   
  k Because Polka Will Never Die, you accept a gift of tickets to the 
  annual Battle of the Polka Bands. Your decision goes awry when you 
  discover you accepted this gift from a wyldfae, meaning that he now 
  has power over you.
  DECLARING DETAILS WITH ASPECTS
  As broad truths, aspects may be used to assert related facts, often for 
  free. Your police officer character with To Serve and Protect needn’t 
  spend anything to declare an action of making a legitimate arrest. To add 
  an advantageous detail to a scene, however, you must spend a fate point to 
  declare that detail as valid.
  In the case of our police officer character, let us say they have just witnessed 
  their surveillance target passing a briefcase to a squirrely sort of fellow in 
  a fedora. You could say to the GM, “Ahh, that guy. I arrested him once for 
  indecent exposure at the park, and I remember where he lives. I’m going to 
  pay him a visit.”
  The group has the right to veto or request revision to any declarations that 
  appear out of scope with the aspect or contradict established facts or facts of 
  which only the GM is aware. With the previous example, the GM may state, 
  “All right, you arrested him before, but knowing him as I do, I think it more 
  likely you would have collared him for minor assault.” You may then note,
  “Now that you mention it, yes, I seem to remember I arrested him for 
  beating up a pickpocket who lifted his wallet.”
  GMs have ultimate say on acceptability of any declaration.
  
  112
  [ASPECTS]
  CREATING GOOD ASPECTS
  To create optimal aspects (mainly relevant to character and situation 
  aspects), consider two things:
   
  k How the aspect might help you when invoked
   
  k How the aspect may harm you if compelled against you
  Being able to clearly imagine one or two examples of each scenario implies 
  that the aspect will garner sufficient use in play. For example, you may invoke 
  Loyalty to the Clan when acting in the clan’s best interests or to gain 
  their support or you may receive a fate point when your clan makes extreme 
  demands of you or requires personal sacrifice.
  The exception to this rule is your trouble aspect, which is inherently 
  intended to spawn problems—thereby making your character’s life more 
  interesting and earn you fate points—but other aspects should be dou-
  ble-edged and point clearly to a few situations wherein they could be invoked 
  or compelled.
  
  113
  CHAPTER 8 
  WITH GREAT 
  POWER
  STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES
  Similar to the people you encounter in your everyday life, your characters 
  possess methods to influence the game beyond approaches alone. Leveraging 
  available resources is key to success and excellence—both in this game and 
  in the world for which it stands as a metaphor. In this section I outline usage 
  of the following tools to amplify your effectiveness:
   
  kApplication of stunts
   
  k Minimizing effects of conditions
   
  k Maximizing mantles of power
  
  114
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  STUNTS
  A stunt reflects specialized training, supernatural gifts, exotic equipment, 
  access to special resources, or anything else granting a unique perk in a par-
  ticular situation. A selection of stunts is provided with each mantle (starting 
  on page 119), but you may also create your own as a facet of character 
  creation (page 95).
  A stunt’s benefits typically fall into one of four recognizable patterns: pro-
  vide a situational bonus, create a rules exception, create a custom action, or 
  use a condition. To create a custom stunt, select whichever pattern is most 
  appropriate to the stunt’s intent and discuss with the GM to eliminate hitches 
  in its execution. 
  PROVIDE A SITUATIONAL BONUS
  This type of stunt grants a +2 bonus or its equivalent (such as a free invoke) 
  when using a particular approach with a particular action in a particular 
  situation. 
  Consider the following examples:
  Smooth Talker: As a Smooth Talker, I have an extra free invoke on any 
  advantages I create with Guile when conversing with another character.
  Lover of Puzzles: As a Lover of Puzzles, I have +2 to overcome obstacles 
  with Intellect, such as puzzles, riddles, or similar conundrums.
  World-Class Duelist: As a World-Class Duelist, I have +2 to attack with 
  Flair when engaged in a one-on-one swordfight.
  Riot Shield: As a SWAT officer with a Riot Shield, I have +2 when I defend 
  with Focus by using my shield against gunfire.
  If the situation in which you’re using the stunt is particularly restrictive, 
  the GM has the option of allowing its use for more than one type of action. 
  Clark wants a stunt for Sean McAvoy that gives him +2 to overcome obsta-
  cles with Intellect when trying to prove his point to the higher ups in the 
  White Council. Amanda thinks that such a specific circumstance will rarely 
  occur, so she expands the bonus to cover any action where Sean deals 
  with persuading the Council.
  Limitations on Stunts
  A stunt should not be so frequently applicable that its use effectively 
  replaces an approach. In such a case, either further restrict the circum-
  stances in which the stunt applies or impose a cost (e.g., limited uses 
  per session, cost of a fate point).
  Core stunts (and certain others) of the various mantles play loose 
  with these restrictions to a degree and are more powerful than these 
  guidelines would suggest. Those stunts should be regarded as the only 
  such exceptions, thus guaranteeing the player with a given mantle is 
  allowed a unique contribution to the game. 
  
  115
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CREATE A RULES EXCEPTION
  This type of stunt allows you to break or modify rules when acting accord-
  ing to a specific set of restrictions or declare a truth within the game, typically 
  once per session (essentially resetting each time a player refreshes their fate 
  points).
  Consider the following examples:
  Well Connected: As I am Well Connected, once per session I can find a 
  helpful ally in just the right place at just the right time.
  Quick on the Draw: As I am Quick on the Draw, I can choose to go first in 
  one physical conflict per session.
  Run Circles Around a Leopard: As I may Run Circles Around a Leopard, 
  once per session I can show up anywhere I want to, provided it would 
  be possible to run there, no matter where I started.
  CREATE A CUSTOM ACTION
  This stunt guarantees specific use cases or outcomes for a particular appli-
  cation of one default game action. Custom actions are intended to represent 
  something routine or uniquely accessible to your character compared to others 
  or to allow use of a particular approach in an unconventional way.
  Consider the following examples:
  Known Among Gangsters: As I am Known Among Gangsters, I can attack 
  minor NPCs with Flair and apply the strength of my reputation to 
  influence them into backing down, even in the midst of a physical conflict.
  Political Connections: Because I possess Political Connections, I can take 
  an overcome action with Focus to have the local legislature pass a law 
  that works to my advantage. A failure results in a serious cost, whereas 
  a tie causes a minor cost or benefit mitigation. If I succeed with style, I 
  receive a boost when I first take advantage of the new law.
  USE A CONDITION
  This stunt synergizes with one of your conditions (page 116), allowing 
  additional benefits whenever you mark a particular condition. These stunts 
  typically resemble other stunts structurally but carry the additional require-
  ment of marking a condition to gain the effect. Because of the additional 
  restriction, these stunts are often more potent than others.
  See Evocation (page 140), Faster, Stronger, Tougher (page 146), and 
  Criminal Favors (page 123) for examples. 
  
  116
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CONDITIONS 
  A condition represents and initiates special rules following certain events 
  during the game. You mark the condition when the event transpires and 
  apply all rules in the condition’s description. Recovery from the condition is 
  requisite before you can mark it again.
  The types of conditions are as follows:
   
  k Fleeting: You recover from the condition during a prolonged respite 
  from the action, at the end of the scene, or at some other similarly 
  trivial point.
   
  k Sticky: Concrete action must be taken to recover the condition and a 
  dice roll is typically mandated. 
   
  k Lasting: Same as a sticky condition but time must pass (usually an entire 
  session), or you must also fulfill a secondary objective, to completely 
  recover. 
  
  117
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  For the most part, this game uses conditions to model two things: per-
  sistent harm to your character, and the innate features of having a particular 
  mantle. Each character receives three conditions by default: In Peril (sticky), 
  Doomed (lasting), and Indebted (sticky). Your character also has a num-
  ber of conditions associated with their mantle. See those entries for details, 
  starting on page 119. 
  In Peril (sticky): You may mark the In Peril condition whenever you are hit by 
  an attack. Negate up to four shifts of damage from the attack and then create 
  an aspect that describes how the attack causes damage not easily shaken off 
  (such as a Broken Leg or Shattered Reputation). Whoever inflicted 
  the condition is awarded a free invoke on that aspect. Recover from In Peril 
  when you act deliberately to resolve the peril: medical attention for an injury, 
  a bribe to erase the slight on your reputation. This typically entails overcoming 
  an obstacle against an opposition of Great (+4) or higher.
  Doomed (lasting): You may mark the Doomed condition whenever you 
  are hit by an attack. Negate up to six shifts of damage from the attack and 
  then create an aspect that describes how the attack has rendered you almost 
  helpless, such as Bleeding Out or Ready to Embrace the Dark Side. 
  Whoever inflicted the condition is awarded a free invoke on that aspect. 
  Recover from Doomed when you act deliberately to resolve the doom: emer-
  gency medical attention, the intervention of a White Council healer skilled 
  in mental magic, or something similar. This typically entails overcoming an 
  obstacle against an opposition of Great (+4) or higher. Clear out Doomed at 
  the end of the next session after you’ve started recovery. If Doomed is checked 
  and you are taken out (page 189), death is one of the possible outcomes.
  Indebted (sticky): This condition has five boxes. Mark one or more boxes 
  when you have accrued a debt to a powerful group, person, or entity. The 
  number of boxes you mark depends on the magnitude of the favor done for 
  you; the GM has final say. Recover boxes of Indebted by doing favors for the 
  lender in return, on their terms. Typically, a fairly safe but challenging task 
  recovers one box, a dangerous task recovers two boxes, and a task that puts 
  you in mortal danger or could otherwise permanently impact you recovers 
  all boxes. 
  You may carry debt with more than one lender, but must recover them 
  separately. Thus, if you have one box of debt to a demon and one to a local 
  sorcerer, when you do something for the demon worth two boxes of recovery, 
  it does not remove your debt to the sorcerer. If all boxes are full and you wish 
  to acquire more debt, you may default on one of your current debts—the GM 
  will tell you what happens, but you may clear out those boxes for further use.
  
  118
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Using Indebted in Play
  There is a saying: “The Dark Powers are always willing to help.” The 
  Indebted condition is intended to reflect the primary currency of the 
  supernatural world, favors and debts continually traded between beings 
  in endless cycles. Those who are skilled build these cycles into empires. 
  Those who are not languish in Faustian hells or remain slaves to their 
  greed for easy power. Some mortal organizations also follow these 
  patterns, making this condition appropriate for many of the mortal 
  mantles as well. 
  The cost in boxes for a favor should never be consistent, always nego-
  tiated between the parties. For mortals who seek supernatural boons, 
  such as access to power for a ritual (page 168), the price should always 
  be steep—four or five boxes for even the smallest things, unless the 
  mortal has unusual leverage. Mantles aligned with a particular faction 
  often have a stunt in their mantle reflecting their ability to acquire 
  certain favors at a discount.
  Some examples of what you might gain as a favor: 
   
  k NPC assistance with a particular task
   
  k Having a particular task taken care of for you
   
  k Special information or knowledge
   
  k“Borrowing” a stunt or condition from a supernatural mantle 
  for a limited time
   
  k One cost of a ritual
   
  k Some harm visited upon your enemies
  Defaulting on a debt is an extremely dangerous practice, and the 
  consequence for doing so should always be serious, putting the lender 
  on a path of revenge or altering the character’s reputation and access 
  to resources. In addition, oaths made with supernatural entities are 
  mystically binding, and breaking them usually renders you powerless 
  to resist any attempt at restitution, or allows the entity to claim what 
  you hold most dear as their own.
  
  119
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  MANTLES
  A mantle is an organized set of related stunts and conditions reflecting 
  how its possessor leverages their power in the world. At character creation, 
  each player gains access to their selected mantle’s conditions and core stunts. 
  Additional stunts are acquired by spending refresh granted at character cre-
  ation (page 96) or through advancement (page 196).
  Categories of mantles include: pure mortals with no supernatural gifts; sci-
  ons and emissaries, who are humans that have taken on supernatural power; 
  true fae from the Nevernever; and vampires, who subvert mortality with a 
  demonic, hungry force. While not the only ones in existence, these mantles 
  represent the vast majority of beings you are likely to encounter.
  
  120
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  PURE MORTALS
  Clued-In Mortal
  You are a human being, devoid of 
  magical prowess, but have learned that 
  the supernatural exists—perhaps via 
  unexplainable encounters, a lifelong 
  academic interest in the occult, or even 
  acquaintance with a denizen of the 
  Nevernever. You constantly face the 
  tension of balancing betwixt a common 
  life in the mortal world and involvement 
  in the supernatural. While perhaps lacking direct influence in supernatural 
  affairs, you can leverage this rare sagacity to your advantage. 
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Knowledge (sticky): [][][][][] This condition has five boxes to represent 
  the breadth of occult information to which you have access. Mark a box 
  of Knowledge when you leverage the information you have gathered on 
  the workings of the supernatural world, as indicated in the stunts. Recover 
  through research in your free time, restoring one box between sessions.
  In Too Deep (lasting): [] Your connections with the paranormal have put 
  your livelihood or a loved one at risk. Mark this condition to immediately 
  recover all boxes of Knowledge. While this condition is checked, you have 
  an additional aspect that represents a creature or faction directly threatening 
  something dear to you because of your knowledge. Furthermore, you lack the 
  wherewithal to research—which means Knowledge will not recover—until 
  you have recovered from this condition. Begin that recovery by confronting 
  or evading the threat in a manner determined by the GM; be prepared to 
  spend at least a session dealing with the problem. 
  CORE STUNTS
  Chasing Rumors: Mark boxes of Knowledge to aid rolls to overcome or 
  create an advantage when your research into supernatural threats is 
  relevant, +2 for each box marked.
  Preparations: Once per scene, when confronting a threat that you have 
  had an opportunity to investigate, you can mark Knowledge to reveal 
  that you have a useful item on hand. One box is sufficient for common 
  items (e.g., chalk, iron nails), three boxes for objects obtainable with 
  a mild effort (e.g., holy water, a wooden stake), and all five boxes for 
  especially esoteric items such as inherited silver or a saint’s relics. At the 
  GM’s discretion, you may mark In Too Deep instead, to help another 
  character pay one cost of a ritual spell (page 168).
  I assume his security 
  consultant has explained 
  just how many fae 
  creatures and Sidhe 
  wander around the world.
  Likely, but even so, the actual 
  commonality of supernatural 
  beings in the mortal realm 
  is rarely comprehended.
  We are legion.
  
  121
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Mentally Fortified: Long evenings staring at images of (or actual) grotesque 
  horrors have steadied your mind. You may mark a box of Knowledge 
  to absorb 2 stress from attacks that represent attempts to cause fear or 
  mental distress.
  Familiar Face: You know and are known within supernatural circles. Once 
  per session, upon meeting an NPC involved in the supernatural world, 
  you may mark a box of Knowledge to declare that you have met them 
  before and create an aspect with one free invoke to represent your prior 
  relationship. If you are In Too Deep, you may avoid marking Knowledge 
  by noting in the aspect that that the NPC believes you are trouble 
  incarnate and willfully avoids you.
  Rise to the Occasion: You are at your most determined when danger is 
  looming. Once per scene, while you are In Too Deep, you may take +2 
  on any defense action.
  Paranetter: You are an active participant in the Paranet (page 54), a 
  collection of low-level talents and clued-in mortals communicating over 
  the World Wide Web. Once per session, you may contact the Paranet 
  to request assistance. The GM determines what aid the Paranet is able 
  to provide, typically helpful information; extraordinary circumstances 
  may dictate in-person aid or even Warden intervention.
  
  122
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Criminal
  You live outside the law as hired muscle, a con artist, a thief, or any other 
  individual involved in illegal activities by choice.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Heat (sticky): [][][][][] Mark one of Heat’s five boxes when the attention of 
  law enforcement is attracted, as indicated by your stunts. At the beginning of 
  any scene in which you have Heat and are in a sufficiently public place, you 
  must make an overcome roll to avoid drawing further attention. The GM 
  opposes that roll with +1 for each box of Heat checked. On a fail with 1-2 
  boxes checked, you are detained for questioning; if 3-5 boxes are checked, 
  law enforcement immediately attempts to arrest you. Clear one box of Heat 
  between sessions; clear all if you are arrested. 
  I honestly look forward to what your 
  “target audience” says about THIS section.
  
  123
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Rep: People know your face and/or name and may even fear you, which can 
  be used advantageously. For every box of Heat you are willing to check, 
  take +2 to intimidate or coerce a non-criminal NPC into cooperating. 
  The NPC will not, however, remain quiet about the coercion.
  Criminal Favors: Acquisition of criminal assistance via marking Heat. One 
  box provides a minor NPC under GM control with +2 in a needed ille-
  gal skillset. Two boxes provide two minor NPCs or a significant piece 
  of illegal gear: a stolen car, guns, or drugs. Three boxes grant access to 
  a secure or restricted area but offer no additional benefits once there. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Lay Low: You are uncommonly gifted at evading the police. Once per 
  session, you may attempt to avoid law enforcement and reduce your 
  Heat—bribing officials, setting up patsies, or a high-octane car chase. 
  This is a contest against the GM, who opposes you with +1 for every box 
  of Heat you have checked. If you win, clear off a box of Heat for each 
  victory in the contest. If you lose, you’re immediately arrested.
  Inside Man: Once per session, you may declare that you established an ideal 
  contact in advance to help with a criminal plan. You may then spend one 
  Heat without checking a box unless you have zero Heat marked. For 
  example, spending two Heat on a boosted car using Favors would cost 
  only one Heat, but you cannot hire an NPC goon for free.
  Always Armed: Check one Heat to declare that you possess sufficient 
  weaponry to even the odds in a given conflict. If an opponent uses a 
  pistol against you, you too are armed with a pistol, even if you had not 
  before mentioned it. Checking an additional box of Heat grants that 
  weapon an advantage with a free invoke.
  The Usual Suspects: Once per session, you may declare that you have 
  previously worked with any criminal NPC that the GM introduces, 
  providing +2 when you use Flair to overcome any obstacles that require 
  you to persuade or charm the NPC. 
  Job Creator (requires two stunts): You engineer a criminal plot that others 
  will execute on your behalf. State your goal—burglary, extortion, mur-
  der—and check all five Heat. The Heat track must therefore be clear 
  before this stunt is attempted. Make an overcome roll using Intellect to 
  plan the job, and the GM rolls opposition of Good (+3) at minimum 
  but Superb (+5) or even higher if the target is exceedingly well-protected 
  (government, military, corporate). Success means that the plot is accom-
  plished with no additional cost. On a tie, you must get involved personally 
  to complete the job, likely requiring a conflict with law enforcement or 
  the target’s security. If you fail, the job is incomplete and you attract the 
  attention of its target. In all results, the five Heat boxes remain marked.
  
  124
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Law Enforcement
  This can be any law enforcement agent, whether a member of Chicago PD, 
  an FBI agent, or an agent of the Secret Service.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Police Powers (special): [x] This condition is always checked, unless you 
  are Suspended (see below). You are a member in good standing of a law 
  enforcement agency in the mortal world. You may therefore do the following 
  without fear of legal reprisal:
   
  kArrest anyone when you have probable cause to believe they have com-
  mitted a serious crime.
   
  k Detain anyone upon reasonable suspicion of their involvement in a 
  crime, and search them for weapons. 
   
  kAccess and search private property when authorized to do so by a search 
  warrant (obtained via the Backup stunt below).
   
  k Ignore legal ramifications to stop a crime in progress, up to and including 
  the use of deadly force when you or others are in mortal peril.
  Your freedom to act is not unlimited and is subject to frequent review. If you 
  exceed the boundaries of good conduct, you may be Warned or Suspended.
  Warned (fleeting): [] Check this condition when you egregiously flaunt your 
  position as a law enforcement agent, act insubordinately to your superiors, or 
  fail to report in regularly on your on-duty activities. Being Warned indicates 
  that your superiors are closely observing you but carries few real consequences 
  if no further transgressions are reported. You recover from being Warned 
  at the end of the session.
  Suspended (sticky): [] Check this condition when you are observed flagrantly 
  breaking the law in the pursuit of your duties, coming into open conflict with 
  your organization, or acting in a way that would have you Warned and that 
  condition is already marked. While Suspended is checked, you may not use 
  Police Powers and are subject to the same consequences as a civilian for your 
  actions. Moreover, if you are already Suspended and caught doing something 
  that would result in marking Suspended, you may be fired, especially if taken 
  out in a conflict related to your job status. (If you are discharged, take a new 
  mantle at the next available milestone.) Recover this condition when you have 
  made sufficient restitution to your superiors in a manner the GM prescribes, 
  or at the end of the scenario, whichever comes first.
  
  125
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Backup: While in good standing with your organi-
  zation, once per session you can request backup, 
  equipment, access, or protection (either political 
  or physical) from your organization. This aid takes 
  the form of a minor NPC to help in a scene, free 
  success at an overcome roll, or an advantage with 
  two invokes. At the GM’s discretion, you may use 
  this stunt an additional time per session and mark 
  Warned.
  Firearms Training: Pick one of your approaches. 
  When you attack with a firearm using that 
  approach, gain +1.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Hot Pursuit: When chasing a suspect or perpetra-
  tor, add +2 to Haste for all rolls in the contest 
  or conflict.
  Profiler: You know how to study and learn about 
  people. Once per session, you may ask the GM 
  to tell you an aspect of any character you interact 
  with in a scene without having to roll an action.
  Rank: A step above a beat cop or field agent: you 
  may be a sergeant, captain, or other ranking officer. 
  You can use Backup an additional time per session 
  or ignore one instance of the Warned condition. 
  You may not use both benefits in a single session.
  Detective: Piecing together clues is what you do. 
  Gain +2 when you use Focus to create an advan-
  tage from studying a crime scene or to overcome 
  an obstacle that requires you to study a crime scene.
  Tactical Training: You are a master strategist. When 
  you use Intellect to create an advantage related to 
  formulating a battle plan, gain an extra invoke 
  on the aspect. 
  Sniper Training: When you use Guile to create an 
  advantage to establish an ideal firing solution, 
  receive an extra invoke on the aspect.
  Backup Piece: Once per session, after you’ve been 
  disarmed, you can declare that you’re pulling 
  your backup piece: a small gun that you keep 
  hidden. Doing so grants you an advantage with 
  two free invokes as you turn the tide.
  You’re supposed to 
  choose one or two, but 
  Karrin has all those 
  stunts to some degree.
  Miss Murphy is not 
  the average cop.
  Miss Murphy is not 
  the average anything.
  
  126
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Leader of the People
  You are the representative of a community of people who are loyal to you. 
  You might be a priest, an activist, or a social worker, but you might also be 
  a cult leader.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Followers (sticky): [][][][][] This condition uses five boxes to represent 
  your significant social capital, which translates to a constant supply of local 
  individuals to help you. Mark a box when you draw on your community 
  resources for this mantle’s stunts. Recover this condition by waiting (one box 
  per session) or by spending a scene to meet with your followers and clear the 
  track. During the meeting, however, your followers (via the GM) will inform 
  you of a community problem necessitating your attention.
  Disfavored (sticky): [] Violating your followers’ trust causes this condition. 
  While Disfavored you may no longer use the Followers condition. Recover 
  Disfavored when you have made restitution with your followers or estab-
  lished a new support base, per the GM.
  
  127
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Ready and Willing: Check a box of Followers to bring a minor NPC into 
  the scene with either an aspect or a +2 bonus in something they’re skilled 
  at (see the NPC creation rules on page 212). Check multiple boxes 
  to grant them multiple aspects and multiple areas of competence, with 
  a maximum of +2 in any one area. Use your fate points to invoke their 
  aspects on your behalf. 
  Patronage: Check all five Followers boxes to declare that a campaign NPC 
  is a patron of your community or is somehow indebted to your com-
  munity. This NPC will grant one favor of significance, such as allowing 
  access to something otherwise inaccessible or the accomplishment of 
  an objective sans opposition. The GM is the final arbiter of whatever 
  aid you receive. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Specialist: Once per session, you may check an extra box of Followers 
  to give any NPC created with Ready and Willing a +4 in their area of 
  expertise (rather than the normal +2).
  Public Statement: Once per session, you may state that your community 
  has publicly denounced or supported a certain character, gaining an 
  advantage with two invokes related to the statement’s impact on the 
  person’s reputation.
  Ritualist: Check Disfavored to have your followers pay any associated 
  costs for a ritual spell of your choice. (Important: this stunt involves 
  a serious betrayal of your followers’ trust and requires extraordinary 
  penance to regain it.)
  Loyalty Unto Death: Once per session, if an NPC created with Ready 
  and Willing is with you, you may ignore marking In Peril or Doomed 
  at the cost of the NPC’s life. Multiple uses of this stunt in one session 
  will, like Ritualist, betray your followers’ trust and require restitution 
  for its restoration.
  Safehouse: Once per scenario, you may declare that your followers have 
  spirited you away to a secret location, away from any prying eyes (includ-
  ing the Journalist’s Media Frenzy stunt). This allows you to immediately 
  escape any pursuit or scrutiny without having to participate in a contest, 
  and you get at least one scene before anyone can try to search for you. 
  Some supernatural methods of detection may be immune to this at the 
  GM’s discretion.
  
  128
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Medic
  As a doctor, nurse, EMT, or medical examiner, you have access to life-saving 
  medical training and credentials.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Medical License (special): [x] This condition is always checked, unless your 
  license is not active (see below). You are licensed to practice medicine and 
  you have access to privileges afforded to medical professionals alone. These 
  privileges allow:
   
  kAccess to medical records and background for any patient designated 
  as being under your care.
   
  k Prescriptions and/or access to a wide variety of pharmaceutical 
  substances. 
   
  k Use of resources at any medical facility to diagnose and treat a patient 
  under your care.
  Under most circumstances, said privileges are everyday and thus require 
  no roll for success, although the GM may require an overcome action if your 
  character is stretching the boundaries of their authority. Examples include 
  trying to access medical records for a patient not under your care or using a 
  medical facility with which you are unaffiliated.
  As with Law Enforcement (page 124), a Medic’s conduct is subject to 
  consistent review, with temporary suspension or even revocation of licensure 
  a possibility. Should that occur, this condition is unchecked and the GM will 
  dictate what is required to restore licensure.
  
  129
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  First Aid: Spend a fate point to clear out all of a character’s stress boxes, 
  provided they choose not to take action for one exchange, even to defend. 
  You cannot use this ability on yourself.
  Medical Care: Given time and supplies, you can treat more serious inju-
  ries, allowing you to make recovery actions for others. Gain +2 to any 
  attempt to help another character recover from a physical injury condi-
  tion, provided you are located at a legitimate medical facility and have 
  sufficient time to treat the injured. If rushed or operating in less than 
  ideal conditions, you may still attempt Medical Care but without the 
  bonus. You may attempt this stunt only once per session for a given injury. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Field Triage: Provided you are able to reach them and work undisturbed, 
  you may attempt to revive anyone taken out in a conflict due to physical 
  injury. (If they conceded, you cannot use this stunt on them.) This stunt 
  is a contest with the GM, who rolls at Fair (+2); if you are the first to 
  three victories, your patient returns to the scene but without recovering 
  any conditions. 
  Psych Rotation: You can use First Aid and Medical Care on conditions 
  that result from psychological or emotional damage.
  Forensic Pathology: When spending a scene studying a corpse, you can 
  piece together the details of its death. Make an Intellect roll against an 
  opposition set by the GM (usually Fair +2). For every shift generated, 
  the GM reveals one fact about the death or the victim’s physiology if 
  the deceased is inhuman.
  Anatomical Knowledge: Knowledge of human physiology is applied to 
  harm rather than heal. Once per session, take an advantage with two free 
  invokes into a scene, reflecting your understanding of pressure points 
  and other vulnerabilities. This advantage may be used only against living 
  beings whose anatomy is familiar to you.
  Ambulance: You have access to an ambulance or other emergency medical 
  vehicle. You gain +2 to Haste to overcome any travel-related obsta-
  cle, provided you’re willing to use the sirens. (Be careful—doing this 
  frivolously or otherwise abusing this could get your Medical License 
  suspended.)
  
  130
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Monster Hunter
  Many mortals dedicate their lives to protecting others from supernatural 
  predations despite the disadvantages of their mortality. Some emerge from 
  survivalist, law enforcement, or military backgrounds, but anyone with suf-
  ficient motivation may take up this calling.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  In Pursuit (sticky): [] Check this condition when you name a specific supernat-
  ural creature as your target. While this condition is checked, you are obsessed 
  with your quarry and committed to seeking its destruction regardless of cost; 
  you also gain a new approach—The Hunt at Great (+4)—which can be used 
  with any action taken against that quarry. The GM, however, is granted two 
  free boosts to use against you in any scene not directly related to your pur-
  suit and may propose compels involving your obsession. Recover from this 
  condition when your target is dead or you abandon the hunt. If you choose 
  the latter, you may not pursue that particular quarry again. 
  Wounded (lasting): [4] Check this condition to absorb four shifts from any 
  attack. While this condition is checked, you have an additional aspect that 
  represents the nature of your injury. If you’re taken out while Wounded, 
  death is on the list of potential outcomes, as with the Doomed condition. 
  Begin recovery from this condition after you’ve received medical attention 
  in a quiet environment (in other words, not in the field), and someone has 
  succeeded at a recovery action vs. Great (+4) on your behalf. You recover 
  fully at the end of the next session.
  CORE STUNTS
  Countermeasures: Once per session, you may declare that you happen to 
  have a countermeasure on hand that nullifies the effect of scale (page 
  182) from a supernatural condition or stunt for the current scene. At 
  the GM’s discretion, this stunt can also nullify other effects of supernat-
  ural powers, such as avoiding a soulgaze or seeing through a Glamour.
  Hunters Network: You associate with a loose confederation of hunters who 
  trade rumors and update each other. Once per session when you are 
  In Pursuit, you may succeed automatically at an overcome roll to find 
  information about your quarry. If this information can be expressed as 
  an advantage, you get an aspect with two free invokes as well.
  
  131
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Nemesis: You are pursuing one well-known monster who alludes you. You 
  can always use In Pursuit against that individual in addition to your 
  marked quarry, without suffering the drawbacks of obsession. If you actu-
  ally manage to kill that creature, you lose this stunt and can pick a new 
  one. If you take Nemesis, strongly consider tying an aspect to this stunt.
  …And Its Brood: If your marked quarry has any servitors, offspring, or other 
  helpers, you may use The Hunt against them as well.
  The Prey Game: You have learned that a great way to get an advantage 
  against a monster is to pretend at vulnerability. You gain +2 to The 
  Hunt when you create an advantage to lure your marked quarry into a 
  false sense of security.
  Off the Grid: You have no permanent home or identity within the system. 
  As such, once per scenario, you can immediately recover from a sticky 
  condition, provided the condition results from trouble with the law or 
  society at large.
  Slayer: Once per session, you may declare that you have scale (page 182) 
  against a supernatural opponent during the scene but must choose 
  only one type of action to which your scale applies: attack, create an 
  advantage, or defend. 
  
  132
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  One-Percenter
  You are among the wealthiest people in your society, whether from success 
  in business, an inheritance, simple luck, or a combination of the three.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Wealthy (sticky): [][][][][] As represented by five condition boxes, you have 
  access to material wealth allowing the upper hand when navigating society. 
  Check a box when you use your wealth, as described by your stunts. Recover 
  one box of this condition at the beginning of every session. When your wealth 
  is the most direct means to achieve a goal, you may also use Wealthy as a 
  unique approach with a bonus of +1 for every unchecked box. Whenever 
  you use Wealthy as an approach, check one box regardless of the outcome.
  
  133
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Big Spender: If your financial strength can be usefully applied to a situation, 
  you may check boxes of Wealthy as free invokes. You may also check a 
  box of Wealthy to create an aspect, subject to GM approval: for example, 
  create a Greedy aspect for the doorman at an exclusive club, and then 
  use Wealthy to bribe them for entrance.
  Consumerism: Check one or more boxes of Wealthy to declare ownership 
  of something when its need arises. One box suffices for any commonly 
  available good. Three boxes permits ownership of a rare, restricted, spe-
  cialty, or luxury item. Checking all five boxes indicates possession of 
  something like land, a building, or a corporation.
  Taking Out Loans: You may mark a box of Indebted to clear a box of 
  Wealthy, one for one. If you want to control the person or people to 
  whom you owe the debt, you must seek out a lender yourself and secure 
  the agreement. Or, you may simply check the boxes and let the GM 
  decide. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Entourage: This stunt allows creation of a personal staff member as a 
  minor NPC with one aspect and +2 in one area of competence. At 
  any time, you may check a box of Wealthy to declare their convenient 
  arrival in a scene. To specify another staff member, simply take another 
  instance of the stunt. 
  Get Out of Jail Not Free Card: Check a box of Wealthy to declare that you 
  have in some way eluded law enforcement or government: avoiding arrest, 
  bailing yourself out of jail, et cetera. Checking three boxes of Wealthy 
  allows you to ignore or immediately recover an In Peril condition related 
  to legal obstacles. If you mark all five, you may ignore or immediately 
  recover a Doomed condition related to legal obstacles.
  Blue Blood: Take +2 to use Flair to overcome an obstacle when interacting 
  with members of high society.
  The Public Eye: Take an extra invoke when creating an advantage that 
  exploits your public persona.
  Best Care Money Can Buy: Mark a box of Wealthy to declare success at an 
  action to recover from a sticky condition or begin recovery on a lasting 
  condition. Of course, this stunt applies only when wealth provides access 
  to people able to act as needed on your behalf. 
  
  134
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Reporter
  You work as a journalist for a newspaper, magazine, tabloid, blog, TV 
  station, or other media organization.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Press Credentials (special): [x] This condition is always checked, unless you 
  are Off the Air. You have official credentials from your news organization that 
  identify you as a legitimate member of your profession. As a result, you almost 
  never have to explain why you’re at a particular place, and will almost always 
  be given the opportunity to explain your presence and convince people to let 
  you remain if you’re caught somewhere you aren’t normally authorized to be. 
  Your use of these credentials is subject to review by the news organization; 
  abusing them could take you Off the Air. 
  Off the Air (sticky): [] Mark this when you have damaged your relationship 
  with the news organization you work for. They pull your credentials—while 
  you are Off the Air, you may not take advantage of any stunts or conditions 
  associated with this mantle. Recover when you’ve made sufficient restitution 
  to your organization (the GM will tell you what’s required), or when you’ve 
  managed to convince a different organization to hire you. 
  
  135
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Journalist Favors: Mark two boxes of Indebted with your organization to 
  gain access to a place or person otherwise inaccessible or to obtain secret/
  guarded information without having to roll. If you choose to roll and 
  you fail, you may mark two boxes of Indebted to ignore that result and 
  succeed regardless. At the GM’s discretion, any information you acquire 
  is an advantage with two free invokes.
  Word on the Street: You are in constant communication with informants 
  on your beat. When you use Intellect to create an advantage based on 
  their reports, the aspect gains an extra invoke.
  Media Frenzy: Once per scenario, mark five Indebted boxes with your 
  organization to initiate a media storm from which no one in the spot-
  light can hide. For the rest of the scenario, when asked, the GM must 
  provide the location of people targeted by the media frenzy unless the 
  target disappears into the Nevernever. You also create an aspect for the 
  frenzy, which you can invoke once for free in any scene in which you 
  interact with people directly related to the frenzy. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Talk to the Suits: Mark Off the Air to declare an immediate escape from 
  legal or social consequences of your actions while investigating a story, 
  thanks to your organization’s intervention. Examples include obtaining 
  your release from jail or diverting a lawsuit for libel or slander.
  Yellow Rag: Your media organization investigates 
  the supernatural. Add +2 to your roll when you 
  use Intellect to overcome an obstacle related to 
  a discovery about the supernatural.
  Friends in High Places: You have one extremely use-
  ful contact: a member of Congress, a mob boss, 
  a celebrity, even a key figure in the supernatu-
  ral world. Once per session, you may become 
  Indebted to this contact for Journalistic Favors, 
  if what you seek falls within their area of influence. Defaulting on your 
  debt to this person permanently severs your relationship; if you do this, 
  you must choose another stunt to replace it next milestone. (Yes, you 
  may choose a different Friend.)
  Smile for the Camera: The camera loves you. Take +2 whenever you use 
  Flair to create an advantage based on charm and personality.
  Rumormonger: You are adept at planting rumors as well as ferreting them 
  out. Once per session, you may plant an aspect with two free invokes 
  on anyone you wish, representing something you want others to believe 
  about them. The aspect lasts the rest of the session. 
  This could apply to 
  Dresden’s former 
  lover, Susan Rodriguez.
  And Smile for the 
  Camera is applicable to 
  Larry Fowler. Mantles 
  are intended to be 
  multidimensional.
  
  136
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  SPELLCASTERS
  Focused Practitioner
  While lacking the raw power and the train-
  ing requisite for a full magical practitioner, 
  you have been gifted—whether by purpose or 
  providence—some small yet potent mystical 
  capability that permits considerable strength 
  across a more limited spectrum. The ecto-
  mancer Mortimer Lindquist is a fine example: 
  his abilities are limited to communing with 
  spirits, yet in that respect his capabilities are 
  profound. This mantle requires advance preparation because magical power 
  can manifest in countless ways; consult the GM and the rules for creating 
  stunts (page 114) and modifying mantles (page 200) for guidance. Focused 
  practitioners usually operate at Supernatural scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Exhausted (sticky): [] Check this condition to boost your magical power, as 
  described by the Magical Talent stunt. When you are Exhausted, the GM 
  has one boost to use against you in any scene in which your fatigue may be 
  used against you. Clearing Exhausted, of course, requires an active effort 
  to rest. The GM may allow this recovery to occur between any two scenes 
  involving a sufficient time jump.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] Check this condition to further boost your magical 
  power, as described by the Magical Talent stunt. If Burned Out, you cannot 
  use magic, period, until fully recovered. Begin recovery by eating, meditating, 
  or otherwise deliberately resting as per the Exhausted condition. Recover 
  fully at the end of the following session.
  One-trick ponies 
  are terrifying when 
  they can sic legions 
  of ghosts on you.
  Mr. Lindquist is one of 
  the most underestimated 
  practitioners alive.
  Like I said.
  
  137
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Magical Talent: You channel magic in a certain specific, limited way. Choose 
  a general theme for your talent, such as ectomancy (speaking with ghosts), 
  kinetomancy (dealing with motion), or precognition (seeing the future). 
  Choose three levels of manifestation for your talent:
  1. One default combination of approach and action that gains the 
  benefit of Supernatural scale (page 182), which you may do when-
  ever you please. 
  Example: Defend with Intellect because you can see moments into the 
  future.
  2. A themed stunt effect you may use when you mark Exhausted. This 
  effect may be an enhancement to your default ability or a unique 
  effect that lasts an entire scene. 
  Example: Mark Exhausted to automatically see the most emotionally 
  intense moment in someone’s possible future. If you act on that knowledge 
  in this or in a future scene, gain +2 to any relevant actions during that scene.
  3. A very powerful themed stunt effect you may use when you mark 
  Burned Out. This effect may be an enhancement to your default 
  ability or a unique effect that lasts an entire session. 
  Example: Mark Burned Out to reroll any one action during a scene and pick 
  the better outcome, due to your ability to see multiple possible outcomes 
  simultaneously. You may do this for the rest of the session.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Channeling Specialist: You are practiced in leveraging your talent in a 
  specific way. You may take this stunt to do one of two things: gain +2 on 
  the default action for your Talent or choose a new approach and action 
  combination for your Talent. You may take this stunt more than once, 
  but you cannot improve a particular magical action beyond +2.
  Self-Immolation: At your discretion, you may mark the In Peril condition 
  to use the effect for which you would normally mark Exhausted.
  In Case of Emergency, Break Self: You may mark the Doomed condition 
  to overcome the restrictions of being Burned Out for one scene.
  Ritualist: When preparing rituals which fit in the penumbra of your Talent, 
  add +2 to the preparation roll and reduce the number of costs by 1 (to 
  a minimum of 1).
  Paranetter: page 121.
  
  138
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Magical Practitioner
  You are a mortal who has studied and is capable of wielding magic, using 
  the energy of Creation itself. The White Council of Wizards (page 30) 
  is certainly known to you, regardless of whether you are an actual member. 
  See page 168 for additional information on ritual magic and its workings. 
  Magical Practitioners usually operate at Supernatural scale (page 182).
  
  139
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Exhausted (sticky): [] Check this condition to boost your magical power, as 
  described by the Evocation stunt. When you are Exhausted, the GM has 
  one boost to use against you in any scene in which your fatigue may be used 
  against you. Clearing Exhausted, of course, requires an active effort to rest. 
  The GM may allow this recovery to occur between any two scenes involving 
  a sufficient time jump.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] Check this condition to further boost your magical 
  power, as described by the Evocation stunt. If Burned Out, you cannot use 
  magic, period, until fully recovered. Begin recovery by eating, meditating, or 
  otherwise deliberately resting as per the Exhausted condition. Recover fully 
  at the end of the following session.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] Mark this condition when utilizing your magical 
  Sight to view the mystical, true world overlaid on the material world. While 
  the condition is marked checked, your memory is eidetic and the following 
  are true:
   
  kYou view everything as a metaphorical expression of its true nature. A 
  mugger on the prowl may appear as a starving jungle beast, or a fire-
  fighter may attain a seraphic semblance. 
   
  kThe Sight ignores supernatural disguises or glamours and grants no 
  guidance in interpretation of what is seen. 
   
  kYou may attempt interpretation by making an overcome roll with 
  Intellect against Fair (+2) or your target’s most appropriate approach, 
  whichever is higher. If you fail, mark a condition from the confusing, 
  horrific barrage of images searing into your mind or you are taken 
  out (page 189) of the scene. On a tie, choose between three options: 
  marking a condition, being taken out but receiving the clarity sought, or 
  remaining confounded but avoiding harm. A success provides elucida-
  tion, which the GM may elect to make an advantage with a free invoke. 
  Succeeding with style grants an extra invoke.
  Any supernatural being engaged in a contest or conflict against you has 
  the benefit of scale (page 182) as your mind copes with their continued 
  presence as viewed through the Sight. If they already had scale on you, they 
  get an additional level of it.
  To recover this condition, simply close your Third Eye. Your recall of every-
  thing witnessed is flawless, and any later attempts at interpretation must be 
  treated as if the Eye were again open.
  
  140
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Evocation: As a wizard, you can cast magical spells comprising the five 
  elements: fire, air, earth, water, and spirit. In game terms, you may per-
  form any of the four basic actions with spectacular magical effects such 
  as defending with a shield of ice or creating an advantage by shifting 
  earth beneath the opponent’s feet. Your actions may have scale (page 
  182) at the GM’s discretion. If desired, push yourself to increase the 
  spell’s effect as follows:
   
  k Check a stress box for +1 or two boxes for +2 on any one magical 
  action. You may check only two boxes at a time.
   
  k Mark Exhausted to add +4 to any single magical action or to attack 
  multiple targets magically without dividing your roll (page 190).
   
  k Mark Burned Out to gain +2 to all magical actions for the rest of 
  the scene or, if Exhausted is already checked, to attack multiple 
  targets with magic without having to divide your roll.
  These benefits are cumulative: if you mark two stress boxes and both 
  conditions, you could do a single magical action at +8, and then have 
  +2 to all magical actions for the rest of the scene.
  Thaumaturgy: You excel at ritual magic (page 168). Add +2 to the prepa-
  ration roll for any ritual.
  Soulgaze: When looking someone directly in the eye for more than a 
  few seconds, you peer into their soul and they likewise see into yours. 
  The exchange manifests itself as a cryptic vision. Make an Intellect roll, 
  opposed by their Intellect roll; the winner learns one concrete, useful 
  piece of information about the other individual, or two things if they 
  succeed with style. On a tie, each person learns something. These things 
  can be advantages with a free invoke at the GM’s discretion. 
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  White Council Membership: As a member wizard in good standing, once 
  per session, you may contact the White Council to request assistance. 
  The GM determines what aid, if any, is given and the cost thereof. If the 
  favor is great, the GM may impose the Indebted condition with multiple 
  boxes checked; you must recover from the condition before again using 
  the White Council Membership stunt.
  Warden (requires White Council Membership): You have the mandate and 
  authority to track down and mete out lethal justice to those who violate 
  the Laws of Magic (page 78). Take +2 to attacks against anyone 
  designated a sorcerer by said violation(s).
  
  141
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Silver Sword (requires Warden): You possess one of the silver swords of a 
  Warden, crafted especially for you and enchanted with a counterspell that 
  unravels mystical protections such as wards and defensive spells. To use 
  the counterspell, roll an applicable approach against an approach of the 
  practitioner who created that enchantment. The sword also provides +2 
  to active defense actions against evocation. (Note the term active; simply 
  holding the blade offers no such protection.)
  Evocation Specialist: You have employed an evocation so well that its 
  execution is practically reflexive. Select one element, one approach, and 
  one action (for example, a Force wind attack) and add +2 whenever 
  attempting that precise combination. The stunt may be taken multiple 
  times but not for the same combination.
  Enchanted Item: You always have in your possession a useful item, either a 
  potion or other magical gadget. Once per session, you can use this item 
  to create a stunt effect on yourself. Work with the GM to determine 
  the specifics, but typically this will not grant more than a +2 bonus to 
  a single roll, or a +1 bonus to specific rolls throughout a scene. A par-
  ticularly powerful item might also require you to spend a fate point to 
  activate it. You can give your item to someone else if you wish. You may 
  take this stunt multiple times; each time allows you to use this stunt an 
  additional time per session.
  Loremaster: As a scholar of arcane lore and magical theory, once per session 
  you may declare that you are able to read obscure text in a mysterious 
  language or determine the specific nature of a ritual upon seeing the 
  precise location whereupon it was cast.
  Combat Wizard: You are well versed in using magic in battle. Gain two 
  stress boxes explicitly for the purposes of enhancing evocations, thus 
  these stress boxes may not absorb attacks.
  Duelist Wizard: You specialize in fighting other wizards. Once per session, 
  when opposing another wizard, you may immediately inflict a 2-shift 
  hit on any defense when your action succeeds with style.
  Arcane Investigator: With GM permission, gain +2 to a simple overcome 
  roll when casting a thaumaturgic spell specifically for the discovery of 
  information.
  Wanderer of the Ways: Your advanced knowledge of the Nevernever’s Ways 
  enables rapid travel. Once per session, you may conveniently arrive in 
  a scene in a manner and time of your choosing without consideration 
  of time or distance.
  Ritual Specialist: Gain +1 to the preparation of one broad category of magic 
  (summoning, curses, necromancy, and so on). You may take this stunt 
  multiple times for different categories but may not take any category 
  more than once.
  
  142
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  
  143
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  SCIONS AND EMISSARIES
  Changeling
  You are a mortal with Fae heritage that is becoming manifest and guiding 
  you toward transformation into a Fae. Create your character according to a 
  mortal mantle of your choosing and then add the conditions and stunts below. 
  Fae stunts operate at Supernatural scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Called (sticky): [][][][][] Mark one of this condition’s five boxes to use a 
  Fae stunt for a whole scene. When all five are filled, you have three options:
   
  k Make the Choice to become fully Fae by executing another Fae stunt. 
  You must declare a court affiliation or become Wyldfae. Transition 
  your character to the appropriate mantle at the next minor milestone.
   
  k Deliberately shun your Fae stunts. Clear a box between sessions; clear 
  a second if an entire session passes without use of a Fae stunt.
   
  k Choose to become fully mortal to immediately clear the track. You may 
  no longer use your Fae stunts, and at the next minor milestone, you 
  revert fully to your mortal mantle.
  CORE STUNTS
  Add one Fae stunt of your choice to the list of core stunts for your mortal 
  mantle.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  You may choose from both the list for your mortal mantle and the Fae list 
  (page 158) for additional stunts.
  
  144
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Erlking’s Huntmaster
  Your role for the Wyldfae resembles that of the Winter and Summer 
  Knights for the Fae courts: assisting the Erlking with issues where super-
  natural obligations and restrictions prevent his personal attention. The 
  Huntmaster operates at Otherworldly scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Impaled by Cold Iron (sticky): [] If you check In Peril or Doomed to absorb 
  stress from a cold iron attack, your attacker can also declare that the cold 
  iron impales you, forcing a mark on this condition as well. While Impaled by 
  Cold Iron, you are prohibited from accessing the mantle’s stunts or conditions. 
  Recovery requires the implement’s removal by overcoming passive opposition 
  (Great (+4) at minimum) or active opposition, such as during combat. This 
  recovery does not affect any other conditions sustained during the attack.
  Wyld Power (fleeting): [][][][][] Mark one of the condition’s five boxes to 
  access your mantle’s power, as detailed in your stunts. Recover fully at the 
  conclusion of any scene in which you did not use the mantle. The mantle’s 
  power is also obtainable as a unique approach, Wyld, with a bonus equal to 
  the number of unchecked boxes usable toward any action. The Wyld approach, 
  however, has a catch: the GM will modify your description of your action 
  according to the character of the mantle. Wyld is primal, unpredictable, and 
  motivated to fulfill basic needs with no moral or ethical compunctions. If the 
  change is sufficiently complicating, the GM may treat the action as a compel 
  and award you a fate point.
  Disfavored (sticky): [] You must mark this condition when you have violated 
  an order of the Erlking or otherwise fallen out of his favor. Until your atone-
  ment, you are prohibited from accessing the mantle’s stunts and conditions. 
  If the mantle’s conditions are checked, you may recover from them, but not 
  use them. To atone, you must rectify the violation somehow, in the manner 
  that the GM prescribes.
  
  145
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Faster, Stronger, Tougher: Mark a box of Wyld Power to add +1 to any 
  physical action. The GM may elect to add scale (page 182).
  Crazy Ninja Powers: Mark a box of Wyld Power to gain +2 on any use 
  of the Guile approach while hunting or stalking someone whom you 
  can directly observe, or while preventing someone else from hunting or 
  stalking you. This bonus applies even in the face of supernatural resis-
  tance, and may have scale (page 182) at the GM’s discretion.
  Enforcer of the Accords: Queen Mab and the Erlking have appointed you 
  as an enforcer of the Unseelie Accords. If you witness or are informed 
  by the Erkling of a violation, you receive +2 on any action taken against 
  the violator until they are subdued, or brought to Mab for judgment, or 
  you are relieved of your mandate.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  With GM approval, you may also select stunts from the general Fae list. 
  Mark one box of Wyld Power to use any Fae stunt.
  Glamours: page 158.
  Hunter’s Guide: You advise those who pursue Outsiders, should any pass 
  beyond the Outer Gates. Any successful advantage you create against 
  an Outsider gains an extra free invocation.
  Wild Hunt Second-Stringer: Any failed attempt to summon the Wild Hunt 
  claims your immediate attention, including precisely from where the 
  attempt came. If you choose to chase the would-be summoner, gain +1 
  on all actions directly involved with that expedition until your quarry 
  is apprehended or the quest abandoned.
  Cloak of Shadows: page 159.
  Ghostbane (requires Cloak of Shadows): page 159.
  Slayer of…: You have one of three benefits against a specific type of creature: 
  +1 to attack, +1 to defend, or +1 to create advantages against them. This 
  stunt may be purchased repeatedly, either against different creature types 
  or with different actions against the same creature type, but never more 
  than once for the same action against the same creature type.
  
  146
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Knight of a Faerie Court
  You are a mortal agent of the Faerie Court (Summer or Winter) and 
  invested with the power to act in matters not specifically related to the Sidhe. 
  The Knights operate at Otherworldly scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Winter/Summer Power (fleeting): [][][][][] Check one of this condition’s five 
  boxes to use the well of power granted to you by your mantle, as described in 
  your stunts. Recover fully at the end of any scene in which Winter/Summer 
  Power is unused. This condition may also be utilized to create an approach 
  (Summer or Winter, respectively) with a bonus equal to the number of 
  unchecked boxes usable toward any action. The GM, however, will exacerbate 
  your self-described actions according to the character of the mantle: Winter 
  as cold, predatory, and domineering or Summer as passionate, emotional, 
  and carefree.
  If the impact of allowing the mantle to control your action is sufficiently 
  complicating, the GM may also treat it as a compel and award you a fate point.
  Impaled by Cold Iron (sticky): [] page 144.
  Disfavored (sticky): [] This condition is mandated if your character has dis-
  obeyed a direct command of your Queen, violated the Unseelie Accords, or 
  broken a law of your Court. Until your atonement, all stunts and conditions 
  associated with this mantle are inaccessible other than recovery actions if one 
  is marked. The GM will detail the requisite atonement, such as fulfilling your 
  Queen’s command or making right the violation of the Accords.
  CORE STUNTS
  Faster, Stronger, Tougher: Mark a box of Winter/Summer Power to 
  add +1 to any action in which brute strength or sheer speed is requisite. 
  Seelie/Unseelie Magic: As described for the Summer and Winter Court 
  Fae (pages 161 and 163), save that each magical action requires a box 
  of Winter/Summer Power to be checked. Each additional box marked 
  provides +1 to the same magic-based action.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  With GM permission, choose stunts such as Glamours from the True Fae 
  stunt lists (and 158). Their use costs one box of Winter/Summer Power.
  Superior Recovery: Once per session, mark a box of Winter/Summer 
  Power to treat a sticky condition as fleeting.
  The Perfect Foil: Gain +1 to all actions in direct conflict with an agent of 
  the opposing court.
  
  147
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  
  148
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Knight of the Cross
  You serve the God of Abraham and battle supernatural forces with the 
  strength of your faith and consecrated weaponry. The Knight usually operates 
  at Otherworldly scale (page 182) when battling evil.
  “My faith protects me. My Kevlar helps.”
  Knights and the Denarians
  Ostensibly created to protect innocents from evil, the Knights of the 
  Cross have a primary charge of rescuing those seduced into the Order of 
  the Blackened Denarius (page 50). Slaying a Denarian is therefore a 
  last resort, as a Knight seeks to separate the coin from the soul under its 
  sway. Such altruism may seem naïve and misplaced, until you consider 
  that Sanya Ivanovich, current Knight of the Cross, was himself liberated 
  from the shackles of one such coin, that of Magog.
  Hope, it is said, springs eternal.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  On a Mission from God (sticky): [] Check this condition when the Heavenly 
  Host calls you to service or the sudden need arises for you to combat evil. 
  While this condition is checked, you have an additional approach—Faithful 
  at Superb (+5)—which is usable for any action directly contributing to your 
  mission’s resolution. Actions using Faithful may have scale (page 182) at 
  GM discretion. Recover this condition at mission conclusion.
  Crisis of Faith (sticky): [] Check this condition if you significantly violate the 
  tenets of your faith or misuse the power granted you. While this condition 
  is marked, the Faithful approach and all stunts of this mantle are unavailable. 
  Recover this condition after performing appropriate penance, per the GM.
  CORE STUNTS
  The Sword of the Cross: You have been entrusted with an instrument of 
  God’s will: Amoracchius, Fidelacchius, or Esperacchius, one of three 
  Swords of the Cross. If On a Mission from God is marked, ignore any 
  disadvantages for scale (page 182) while wielding the sword, and your 
  attacks are considered supernatural in nature. Using the sword while 
  not on a mission elicits no benefits and immediately provokes a Crisis 
  of Faith. 
  Right Place, Right Time: Once per session, you may announce your presence 
  in the perfect place to help someone in need, ignoring usual limits of 
  time, distance, or plausibility. If the GM elects to grant you a boost and 
  subsequently take advantage of the situation, the stunt does not count 
  as the once-per-session application.
  
  149
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Divine Defender: Once per session you may elect to suffer the outcome of 
  any attack inflicted on any character in your immediate presence, pre-
  venting it from befalling them. This harm is taken at the same value as 
  the original recipient and you may not roll a separate defense.
  Sacrificial Blow: Mark the Doomed condition to inflict an immediate, 
  indefensible 6-shift hit on an opponent. You may use Sacrificial Blow 
  at any time during a conflict or in conjunction with an attack, adding 
  the six shifts to the value of the attack. Doomed must be fully recovered 
  before repeating this stunt.
  Barrier of Faith: Once per session, designate a zone as protected by a shield 
  of faith. Anyone wishing to inflict harm within that zone must first 
  overcome an obstacle versus your Force or Faithful approach to enter or 
  leave the zone. Ranged attacks from outside the zone are not prevented.
  The Voice of God: Once per session, you may permit the Heavenly Host 
  to speak through you to a specific target; the GM will inform you of 
  the nature of the message. This stunt grants a +4 bonus on any social 
  action against the stunt’s intended recipient.
  Holy Aura: Once per session, you may declare an immediate Faithful attack 
  against any demon-aligned being who touches you. This attack does not 
  count as your action for the turn. You must be On a Mission from God 
  to use Holy Aura.
  
  150
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Kringle’s Seneschal
  You are the seneschal to Kris Kringle, AKA Father Christmas, AKA Santa 
  Claus, AKA St. Nicholas. As Kringle’s agent in the mortal world, your pur-
  pose is to help foment, strengthen, and continue mortal belief in your patron. 
  The Seneschal operates at Otherworldly scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Impaled by Cold Iron (sticky): [] page 144.
  CORE STUNTS
  In Plain Sight: Your powers of disguise and concealment are unparalleled. 
  Once per session, you may declare that an NPC is you in disguise and 
  then reveal yourself at a dramatically appropriate time. If needed, the 
  NPC may be created specifically for this purpose. You therefore gain +2 
  on any attempt to conceal yourself in the scene.
  Naughty and Nice: The hearts, needs, and desires of others are open 
  books to you. Succeed in an overcome action against an opponent’s 
  best approach to learn their greatest desire and what in specific would 
  fulfill that desire. The GM may also grant an advantage with a free invoke.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Mythmaker: Gain +2 to any act committed in the name of strengthening 
  collective mortal belief in Santa Claus.
  Wonderful Toys: Once per session, spend a fate point to declare that you 
  have on hand precisely the tool needed for a specific situation. If the 
  GM wishes, the given tool becomes a scene aspect with two free invokes 
  attached.
  Sleigh Ride: Spend a fate point to borrow Santa’s sleigh. Up to six pas-
  sengers may accompany you on the sleigh, which can take you almost 
  instantaneously anywhere in the world or the Nevernever. The sled 
  offers no protection against whatever the conditions are wherever you 
  land and you cannot repeat the stunt until you have paid Kringle a favor 
  of his choosing.
  Glamours: page 158.
  Kringle’s Stunt Double: Any failed attempt to summon Kringle claims 
  your immediate attention, including precisely from where the attempt 
  came. If you choose to help the would-be summoner with their request, 
  gain +1 on all actions directly involved with that expedition until you 
  fulfill the request.
  
  151
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Red Court Infected
  Infected by a Red Court vampire’s feeding, you 
  now have certain of their powers and their hun-
  ger for blood. Killing will transform you fully 
  into a vampire. Create your character according 
  to the mortal mantle of your preference and 
  then add the below conditions and stunts, which 
  operate at Supernatural scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] Mark one of this condition’s five boxes to power 
  vampiric stunts. If you are taken out while Hungry, the consequences could 
  be dire: the GM may determine that you embark on a feeding frenzy, kill-
  ing nearby mortals. The good news, if any, is that the Hungry track clears 
  immediately.
  To otherwise clear Hungry, you must feed: establish an advantage on your 
  target (e.g., Grappled), and then realize a successful attack. The subsequent 
  feeding has two possible degrees of intensity:
   
  kYour victim takes a condition representing physical harm. Clear two 
  boxes for a sticky condition, four for a lasting one.
   
  kYour victim dies. Clear Hungry and, at the next minor milestone, you 
  become a full Red Court vampire.
  CORE STUNTS
  In addition to those from your mortal mantle, select one of the three 
  vampiric stunts (Physique, Toughness, Recovery) as detailed for Red Court 
  vampires on page 165.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Cloak of Shadows: page 159.
  Tattoos of St. Giles: Mystical designs inked on your skin transform from 
  black to red when you are Hungry. Use this stunt to eliminate two boxes 
  of Hungry between sessions, but only if sufficient time in meditation 
  and contemplation may be accomplished.
  You may also purchase stunts from your mortal mantle or any of the 
  aforementioned vampiric stunts (Physique, Toughness, Recovery) not 
  selected as a core stunt.
  With the Red Court gone 
  and the Fellowship of 
  St. Giles decimated, this 
  section is simple fiction 
  and no longer applicable 
  to reality, right?
  Right?
  Ivy?
  
  152
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Valkyrie
  You are a Chooser, one of the famed 
  Norse shield-maidens of Odin—now called 
  Donar Vadderung (among other things)—
  and employed by Monoc Securities. The 
  Valkyrie usually operates at Supernatural 
  scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Hurt (sticky): [4] Mark this condition to absorb four shifts of physical harm. 
  Recovery requires at least one scene of downtime at full rest, obtaining med-
  ical attention, binding wounds, et cetera.
  Injured (lasting): [6] Mark this condition to absorb six shifts of physical harm. 
  When Injured, as with the Doomed condition, death is a distinct possibility. 
  Another character capable of seeing to your injury must overcome an obstacle 
  of Great (+4) or higher, in quiet and ideal conditions, to help you begin recov-
  ery. You recover fully at the end of the next session after beginning recovery.
  You could reduce this 
  section to, “See Gard, 
  Sigrun for details.”
  Not quite. Even among 
  Valkyries, Miss Gard 
  is exceptional. 
  
  153
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Rune Magic: You utilize a set of powerful runes to wield ancient Norse 
  magic. Choose two different combinations of approach and action, then 
  name the effect associated with them. A defend action with Force might 
  be a “ward of power,” or an attack with Guile a “shadow strike.” Either 
  combination grants +2 with scale (page 182) determined by the GM.
  Chooser of the Slain: Once per session, you may designate as likely to die any 
  character embroiled in violent conflict. During that conflict, any attacks 
  against that character gain an additional level of scale (page 182). If that 
  character does perish, you may immediately petition Donar Vadderung to 
  evaluate them for work within Monoc Security. During any given scenario, 
  the GM may inform you of an especially strong candidate for Choosing; 
  it’s the player’s decision to use the stunt accordingly.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  More Runes: You are versed in a wider variety of rune magic. Choose a third 
  combination of approach and action, per the Rune Magic stunt. Although 
  this stunt may be taken repeatedly, the same combination of approach 
  and action may not be repeated.
  Einherjar Reinforcements: Once per session, you may call for one of the 
  einherjar to join you for one future scene. This NPC einherjaren is GM 
  controlled, with Fair (+2) Force, +0 in all other approaches, and six boxes 
  of stress. Alternatively you may direct a group of einherjar to accomplish 
  a task for you by stating their purpose and rolling dice for their success. 
  You may take +2 if the task allows them to use the Force approach but 
  may not invoke aspects on their behalf. 
  Perfect Memory: You possess supernaturally perfect recall of your experiences. 
  Once per session, with reasonable justification, you may automatically suc-
  ceed at any overcome action that involves knowing specific information. 
  The GM may require a fate point for more outlandish justifications.
  Monoc Securities Files: Once per session, you may request all background 
  information that Monoc Securities possesses on a character or faction 
  and the GM must provide useful intelligence. The effect comprises an 
  advantage with two free invokes applicable in any scene with the subject 
  of your inquiry.
  Raven-kin: You have large, black wings concealed or revealed by powerful 
  glamour under your control. These wings are capable of short-term flight, 
  such that you automatically succeed if facing an overcome action that may 
  be aerially circumvented.
  Baroness of Beer: Your profound scholarly knowledge of alcoholic beverages 
  permits a preternatural sense as to an individual’s preferred libation. Gain 
  +2 on any overcome action in social settings in which you may recommend 
  or select the potations.
  
  154
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Werecreature
  You are a mortal well versed in one magical 
  spell: transformation of yourself at will into one 
  specific animal form, such as wolf or bear. Create 
  your character according to a mortal mantle of 
  your choosing and then add the conditions and 
  stunts below, which operate at Supernatural scale 
  (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Physical Transformation (lasting): [] Mark this condition when changing into 
  your animal form. Clothing and belongings on your person do not change 
  with you. While this condition is checked, the following apply: 
   
  k Take the Form of the [Animal] aspect in addition to your other 
  aspects.
   
  k Swap the ratings of any two approaches with any other two approaches, 
  to reflect your animal form. For example, if you are a werefox and your 
  highest approaches in human form are Force and Intellect, you might 
  swap your ratings in Haste and Guile for those two while transformed.
   
  k Gain all the inherent abilities of that animal, which may confer auto-
  matic success on certain rolls. For example, if you’re a bird, you can fly, 
  which renders certain movement-related obstacles moot. However, you 
  also gain all their inherent limitations, such as not being able to speak 
  or lacking opposable thumbs.
   
  kYou also benefit from scale (page 182) when using your animal form to 
  exceed human capabilities: keen predatory senses, inordinate strength 
  or speed, overly large or small form that provides access to something 
  inaccessible to normal mortals. Any opposition you face, however, will 
  have a level of scale against you whenever you are at a significant disad-
  vantage compared to human beings. You and the GM should collectively 
  name a few examples as guidelines of when you would benefit from scale 
  and when you deal with scale in opposition.
  Recovery of this condition begins when you retake human form; full recov-
  ery requires concrete efforts to recharge from the experience, such as enjoying 
  a hearty meal or uninterrupted rest. The GM may allow this recovery to occur 
  between any two scenes involving a sufficient time jump.
  Last century I met 
  a wereplatypus 
  outside Perth. 
  Oddest damned 
  thing I have 
  ever seen.
  
  155
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Beast Whisperer: You inherently understand and may communicate with 
  any animal of the same type as your wereshape and thus may interact 
  with them as you would with humans. This comprehension 
  does not surmount the limitations of animal intelligence 
  or permit the exchange of concepts too complex for 
  the animal’s ken.
  The Human Touch: As long as the intended 
  recipient knows you’re a werecreature, you 
  may communicate simple, single-word 
  concepts (run, attack, guard, distract, et cet-
  era) that casual observation will not detect. 
  Roll Guile to avoid detection from focused 
  attention.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Beast Form Adept: Choose one of the two approaches 
  switched after transformation, and add +1 to it for 
  all actions. Take this stunt a second time to add 
  +1 to the other approach.
  Healing Transformation: Once per session, when 
  you resume human form after a transforma-
  tion, recover from In Peril or start to (but 
  not fully) recover Doomed, provided either 
  condition reflects physical injury. 
  Beast Caller: Once per session, garner the aid 
  of an animal or group of animals of your type. 
  Choose one of the following benefits: +4 to 
  any one action, a situation aspect with two 
  free invokes, or automatic success on an over-
  come roll. If circumstances are not consistent with 
  the capabilities of the animal in question, the 
  GM may require alteration to your declaration.
  Shifting Adept: When you transform into your ani-
  mal form, your clothes and anything else on your 
  person likewise transform and return undamaged 
  when you shift back. Anything stored in this way 
  is perfectly concealed and can be affected only from 
  within the Nevernever.
  Fleeting Transformation: Use of the transformative 
  magic is practically reflex to you. Mark the Physical 
  Transformation condition as sticky, requiring no time 
  or rest between activations.
  
  156
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  White Court Virgin
  You are the offspring of a White Court vampire but have not killed through 
  feeding and thus are not yet a vampire. Create your character according to 
  a mortal mantle of your choosing and then add the conditions and stunts 
  below, which operate at Supernatural scale (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] As per the Red Court Infected mantle’s condition, 
  page 151. 
  However, feeding is different for you—you feed on emotional energy as 
  per the Emotional Vampire stunt, in three degrees of intensity:
   
  k Take a tiny amount from many sources over time. (Example: As a phobo-
  phage, Genevieve keeps Hungry at bay by absorbing fear emitted by her 
  patients in the trauma ward.) With enough time between sessions, you 
  may automatically clear a box before the next session starts.
   
  kYour victim takes a condition representing emotional or psychological 
  harm. Clear 2 boxes for a sticky condition, 4 for a lasting one.
   
  kYour victim dies. Clear Hungry and, at the next minor milestone, you 
  become a full White Court vampire.
  Vampire Heritage (unique): [x] page 166. Unlike the normal version of this 
  stunt, you have no standing with your vampire family and cannot ask for 
  favors.
  CORE STUNTS
  In addition to those from your mortal mantle, you also select one of the 
  following:
   
  k Emotional Vampire: page 167.
   
  k One of the three vampiric stunts (Physique, Toughness, Recovery) as 
  detailed for Red Court vampires on page 165.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  You may also purchase stunts from your mortal mantle or any of the afore-
  mentioned vampiric stunts (Physique, Toughness, Recovery) not selected as 
  a core stunt.
  
  157
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  TRUE FAE
  You are a member of a group too varied to depict in specifics. To create 
  your character: 
   
  k Take the conditions and stunts common to all Fae (page 158).
   
  k Determine whether you are Wyldfae (page 27) or are affiliated with 
  the Summer (page 160) or Winter (page 162) Court. 
   
  k If Summer or Winter, take the conditions and stunts related to your 
  especial court.
   
  k Select at least one more stunt from your Court stunts or general Fae 
  list, to further delineate your Fae’s nature.
  True Fae usually operate at an Otherworldly scale (page 182).
  
  158
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  All Fae
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Truth-Bound (special): [x] You are incapable of outright lies. If you wish, you 
  may carefully omit information, speak your opinions, or utter something 
  you believe true that is later proven false. This condition is always checked. 
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] If you suffer a condition inflicted by an iron weapon, 
  mark this condition as well. You must recover this condition before healing 
  from any other physical injury. Begin recovery by recuperating in Faerie or 
  receiving medical care from a character versed in supernatural healing. If you 
  seek medical attention outside Faerie, the healer must overcome a Great (+4) 
  to succeed at the recovery action.
  Oathbreaker (sticky): [] Mark this condition when an agreement with some-
  one has been violated by either party. All actions taken by the aggrieved 
  party against the violating party gain +2 bonus and ignore magical defenses 
  or scale (page 182). Recover this condition when the violator fulfills the 
  letter of the bargain or the aggrieved party voluntarily releases the violator 
  from the agreement.
  CORE STUNTS
  Glamour: You may cast minor veils and seemings. With a moment of con-
  centration, you may draw a veil over something roughly person-sized, 
  hiding it from sight and other means of detection. Or you may cause a 
  person or object to appear differently than it normally does. An observer 
  may attempt to discern the illusion, but to do so, they must have some 
  legitimate suspicion that they might be seeing a glamour. Use Intellect 
  to resist any disbelief attempt.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Greater Glamour (requires Glamour): Gain +2 to all attempts to create 
  glamours. Once per session, spend a fate point to create a nameless 
  NPC as a glamour for a scene and dictate their actions. Others react to 
  the NPC as if real but it cannot inflict conditions or harm—if forced 
  into combat, the illusion dissolves immediately. Anyone who succeeds 
  with style on any roll against the illusion may get the chance to see past 
  it, at the GM’s discretion.
  Wings: You are capable of flight, rendering moot certain movement-related 
  obstacles. Take +2 to rolls in any situation in which wings are advanta-
  geous. Use a glamour, if you wish, to hide your wings in the mortal world.
  Natural Weapon: Your physiology includes claws, spikes, razor-sharp teeth, 
  or another feature for attacking or defending. Unarmed attacks are 
  worth +1 shift on a successful hit and may have scale (page 182) at 
  GM discretion. 
  
  159
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Unusual Size: Either much larger or much smaller than the average human, 
  you automatically gain scale (page 182) on actions in which your size 
  is advantageous. Opponents will, however, gain scale in situations in 
  which they may use your size against you.
  Superior Speed: Gain +2 to use Haste to defend or create an advantage.
  Superior Recovery: Once per session, you may treat a sticky condition 
  reflecting physical injury as if it were fleeting.
  Echoes of the Beast: You share an affinity with a particular genus of mortal 
  beast. Gain improved senses that provide +2 to attempts to detect other 
  creatures. Some manifestation of your animal nature (e.g., canine teeth, 
  a furry tail, hirsute body) may be visible on your physiology. Once per 
  session you can declare momentary aid from your affiliated brand of beast 
  and choose one of the following benefits: +4 to any one action, a situation 
  aspect with two free invokes, or automatic success on an overcome roll.
  Pathfinder: You can open portals between the mortal world and the wild 
  (unaffiliated) regions of Faerie. Once per session, you may declare your 
  convenient arrival in a scene via a portal.
  Skinchanger: Your natural form is that of a particular variety of mammal. 
  You may slip off your animal skin to assume human form—invariably 
  young and aesthetically pleasing—but if a mortal finds and takes pos-
  session of your skin, they hold power over you and prevent your return 
  to your natural form unless you reclaim your skin. 
  Defender of Prey: This stunt works the same as the Divine Defender stunt 
  (page 149).
  Brownie Housekeeper: You may declare any domicile in the mortal world 
  as being under your care and therefore discern any change therein with 
  a quick glance. Moreover, nothing may be hidden from you in that domi-
  cile. You also gain +2 on any Focus rolls when searching a location for 
  evidence or information about its inhabitants.
  Master Crafter: You have attained the pinnacle of a craft: woodworking, 
  weapon or armor smithing, stone masonry, et cetera. During each major 
  milestone, you may opt to craft a magical item for another character. The 
  player must pay the usual cost for a new stunt or condition. Consult 
  the GM to determine the creation’s magical stunt, bearing in mind the 
  usual restrictions.
  Cloak of Shadows: You can see perfectly in the dark and are immune to 
  any potential effect of normal or magical darkness. Additionally, once 
  per session, you may declare that you automatically succeed at hiding 
  from any non-magical attempt to spot you, provided you have a nearby 
  shadow to hide in.
  Ghostbane (requires Cloak of Shadows): You ignore the incorporeality of 
  insubstantial creature (e.g., ghosts, specters) and affect them as though 
  they were physical.
  162.57801 centimeters, by the way.
  
  160
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Summer Court
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Summer Courtier (special): [] As a subject of the Summer Queens, you 
  are savvy to the court’s important players and have heard the latest rumors. 
  You are expected to appear occasionally with the rest of Summer before the 
  Lady and/or Queen and will almost certainly become entangled in court 
  intrigues. Work with the GM to identify two additional Summer Fae, one 
  ally to support you and one rival to confound your efforts. 
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] As per normal (page 117), but with an addi-
  tional restriction: should you default on any debts, you immediately become 
  an Oathbreaker (page 158).
  
  161
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS 
  Summer Favors: Mark Indebted to call upon the Summer Court for favors. 
  One box grants automatic success to a task (provided it is without risk) 
  without having to roll or play out a scene. Two boxes pays for one cost 
  for a ritual spell (page 172) or provides NPCs or a magical resource to 
  assist with a dangerous task. If at least three boxes are unchecked, mark 
  the entire track for the Court to intervene on your behalf and resolve a 
  situation utterly unresolvable under your own power. This action requires 
  formally petitioning the Court and convincing it that the intervention 
  is in their best interest.
  A Check on Winter’s Power: Your role in the Summer Court pits you against 
  members of the Winter Court on a frequent basis. When entering a 
  conflict against Winter, choose +2 to attacks vs. Winter or +2 to defense 
  against their attacks and attempts to create an advantage.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Seelie Magic: You may cast evocations (page 140) that fit the nature of 
  Summer: growth, abundance, vigor, fire. All Seelie magic has a warm 
  ambiance, even if its connection to Summer is metaphorical. This magic 
  is ultimately sponsored by the Summer Queens, and using it in a manner 
  counter to their agenda may mark you as an enemy to Summer. You use 
  these as actions with your normal approaches, in any combination. The 
  GM may assign scale (page 182) to your action.
  Inspiration: Your exuded confidence inspires and comforts others. Once per 
  session, you may spend a fate point to do one of the following: remove 
  a sticky condition related to despair or self-doubt, begin recovery on a 
  similar lasting condition, or imbue someone with a three-invoke aspect 
  of tremendous self-confidence that lasts the entire session.
  Ars Gratia Artis: You create works of art that transcend the boundaries of 
  reality, imposing an intense emotional response on anyone experiencing 
  them. Once per session, you may declare that you have conveniently 
  placed one of your creations on display in a scene in which you are 
  present. This declaration grants you a free advantage with two invokes, 
  usable against anyone in the scene. Actions you take when you’ve invoked 
  this aspect may have scale (page 182) at the GM’s discretion.
  
  162
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  Winter Court
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Winter Courtier (special): [] As a subject of the Winter Queen, you are savvy 
  to the court’s important players and have heard the latest rumors. You are 
  expected to appear occasionally with the rest of Winter before the Lady and/
  or Queen and will almost certainly become entangled in court intrigues. Work 
  with the GM to identify two additional Winter Fae, one ally to support you 
  and one rival to confound your efforts. 
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] As per normal (page 117), but with an addi-
  tional restriction: should you default on any debts, you immediately become 
  an Oathbreaker (page 158).
  
  163
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS 
  Winter Favors: Mark Indebted to call upon the Winter Court for favors. 
  One box grants automatic success to a task (provided it is without risk) 
  without having to roll or play out a scene. Two boxes pays for one cost 
  for a ritual spell (page 172) or provides NPCs or a magical resource to 
  assist with a dangerous task. If at least three boxes are unchecked, mark 
  the entire track for the Court to intervene on your behalf and resolve a 
  situation utterly unresolvable under your own power. This action requires 
  formally petitioning the Court and convincing it that the intervention 
  is in their best interest.
  Mortals’ Darkest Defender: You have honed your skills at battling Outsiders, 
  perhaps at the Gates alongside Mab and the Gatekeeper or by hunting 
  Outsiders in mortal cities’ darkest alleys. When entering a conflict against 
  an Outsider, choose +2 to attacks vs. Outsiders or +2 to defense against 
  their attacks and attempts to create an advantage.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS 
  Unseelie Magic: You may cast evocations (page 140) that fit the nature 
  of Winter: death, slumber, ice. All Unseelie magic has a cold ambiance, 
  even if its connection to Winter is metaphorical. This magic is ultimately 
  sponsored by the Winter Queens, and using it in a manner counter to 
  their agenda may mark you as an enemy to Winter. You use these as 
  actions with your normal approaches, in any combination. The GM 
  may assign scale (page 182) to your action.
  Unseelie Immunity: You are unaffected by magic cast by creatures whom 
  you intimidate. You must create an advantage reflecting the intimidation 
  before you can take advantage of this immunity. Seelie/Summer Court 
  Magic can bypass this immunity as can other types of sponsored magic 
  (e.g., hellfire, soulfire) per GM discretion.
  Phobophage: The terror of your enemies energizes you. Once per session, 
  if creating an advantage based on a character’s fear of you, invoke that 
  aspect to recover from In Peril if the condition is related to physical 
  injury or exhaustion.
  Hunter’s Guide: page 145. 
  
  164
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  VAMPIRES
  Below are provisions for playing a character of the Red and White Courts 
  of vampires. You may also be interested in the Red Court Infected (page 
  151) and White Court Virgin (page 156) mantles.
  Red Court Vampires
  You are a vampire who feeds via ingestion of blood. See page 43 for more 
  details on the Red Court.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Sunburned (sticky): [] Mark this condition after spending a scene primarily 
  in direct sunlight. While you are Sunburned, other conditions reflecting 
  physical injury may not be recovered. Recover by spending an entire session 
  out of sunlight. If already Sunburned and a situation occurs wherein you 
  would otherwise mark the condition, check In Peril or Doomed instead. 
  If you cannot check any of those conditions, you are destroyed by sunlight. 
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] Mark one of this condition’s five boxes to power 
  vampiric stunts. If you are taken out while Hungry, the consequences could 
  be dire: the GM may determine that you embark on a feeding frenzy, killing 
  nearby mortals but clearing the Hungry track immediately.
  To otherwise clear Hungry, you must feed on someone’s blood: establish 
  an advantage on your target (e.g., Grappled), and then make a successful 
  attack. The subsequent feeding has two possible degrees of intensity:
   
  kYour victim takes a condition representing physical harm. Clear two 
  boxes for a sticky condition, four for a lasting one.
   
  kYour victim dies. Clear Hungry.
  Saliva Addict (sticky): [] Impose this condition on anyone you take out in a 
  conflict, provided they have at some point come in contact with your saliva. 
  A Saliva Addict must ingest Red Court saliva once per session, and failure to 
  do so renders them incapable of lengthy tasks (such as all contests, conflicts, 
  or rolls that the GM specifies require significant time) outside of actions that 
  directly contribute to obtaining the saliva. Recovering from this condition 
  requires three sessions of total withdrawal or supernatural intervention that 
  succeeds against Great (+4) opposition.
  
  165
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Flesh Mask: When not using other vampiric stunts, you appear as an 
  extremely attractive human being and gain +1 on all actions where 
  attractiveness is a bonus. Flesh Mask is unavailable if you are Sunburned 
  or have used your vampiric abilities in the same scene. The GM may also 
  allow certain magic to see past your mask as well.
  The Kiss: Your saliva is a powerful narcotic. Whenever you succeed with 
  style on a bite attack (see Hungry), you can declare that your opponent 
  is dosed with your saliva, and you gain +1 to all actions in subsequent 
  exchanges against the same target in the same scene.
  Vampiric Physique: When brute strength or sheer speed is requisite, call 
  upon your vampiric nature to gain a bonus of +2 per box of Hungry 
  checked. Furthermore, any physical actions taken may (per the GM) 
  include scale (page 182) regardless of whether Hungry is used..
  Vampiric Toughness: Mark one box of Hungry to soak two points of stress.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Vampiric Recovery: Outside of conflict, mark one box of Hungry to clear a 
  sticky condition, or two boxes to begin recovery from a lasting condition. 
  These conditions must represent physical injury.
  Cloak of Shadows: page 159.
  Pack Influence: You hold sway over other local Red Court vampires. Once 
  per session, you can declare that you have convinced your local pack to 
  lend you assistance: a minor NPC to help in a scene, a free success at 
  an overcome roll, or an advantage with two invokes. If the Red Court 
  is particularly powerful or organized in your game, you may treat this 
  stunt as the White Court do, using Family Favors (page 167) as a model.
  
  166
  [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  White Court Vampire
  You feed on life energy expressed in emotions with a taste for certain types 
  of sentiment. (See page 39 for more details on the White Court.) After 
  selecting your familial association, work with the GM to identify two addi-
  tional family members, one ally to support you and one rival to confound 
  your efforts. White Court vampires typically operate on a Supernatural scale 
  (page 182).
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Vampire Heritage (unique): [x] You are a member of a White Court family, and 
  thus this condition is always marked. Select one of the known hungers and 
  its associated house (lust for House Raith, fear for House Malvora, despair 
  for House Skavis) or create another House with GM permission.
  Burned by True Emotion (sticky): [] In any scene where you are directly 
  touched by someone displaying a pure, incorruptible, positive emotion, you 
  must accept this condition (which absorbs no shifts from an attack) in addi-
  tion to other conditions you take on. This display must go above and beyond 
  the norm to qualify—someone standing up to you isn’t displaying True 
  Courage, unless they’re doing so in the face of guaranteed doom. The emotion 
  that burns you is directly related to what you feed on—True Love for Raith, 
  True Courage for Malvora, and True Hope for Skavis.
  While you are Burned by True Emotion, you may not recover from any 
  other conditions reflecting physical injury. Recover from this condition after 
  an entire session has passed; if you suffer the burn in the middle of one ses-
  sion, in other words, you do not recover until the middle of the next session.
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] This works the same as the condition for Red 
  Court Vampires (page 166). But for you, feeding is different—you must 
  feed on someone’s emotional energy using your Emotional Vampire stunt, 
  in three degrees of intensity:
   
  k Take a tiny amount from many sources over time. (Example: As a phobo-
  phage, Genevieve keeps Hungry at bay by absorbing fear emitted by her 
  patients in the trauma ward.) With enough time between sessions, you 
  may automatically clear a box before the next session starts.
   
  kYour victim takes a condition representing emotional or psychological 
  harm. Clear 2 boxes for a sticky condition, 4 for a lasting one.
   
  kYour victim dies. Clear Hungry.
  
  167
   [STUNTS, CONDITIONS, & MANTLES]
  CORE STUNTS
  Family Favors: Mark Indebted to call upon your White Court affiliation 
  for favors. One box grants automatic success to a task (provided it is 
  without risk) without having to roll or play out a scene. Two boxes 
  pays for one cost for a ritual spell (page 172) or provides NPCs or a 
  magical resource to assist with a dangerous task. If at least three boxes 
  are unchecked, mark the entire track for the Court to intervene on your 
  behalf and resolve a situation utterly unresolvable under your own power. 
  This action requires formally petitioning the head of your family and 
  convincing them that the intervention is in their best interest.
  Emotional Aura: Your aura makes others perceive you as a paragon of the 
  emotion on which you feed: Raiths appear incredibly sexy, Malvoras as 
  threatening, and Skavises as unsettling. Gain +1 on any action that this 
  passive aura would aid, but you cannot feed through it.
  Emotional Vampire: Engender overpowering emotions in another character 
  via physical contact by succeeding at a create an advantage action against 
  the target’s most relevant approach. While in play, this advantage may 
  also be used as an attack that causes direct emotional trauma. Imposing 
  a condition on your target thusly allows you to feed. (See Hungry.) 
  Vampiric Toughness: page 165.
  Vampiric Recovery: page 165.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  Vampiric Physique: page 165. 
  Incite Emotion: You may use your Emotional Vampire stunt against anyone 
  visible to you. Contact is no longer mandated.
  
  168
  CHAPTER 9 
  SO MOTE IT BE
  RITUAL MAGIC
  At the most general of levels, magical energy behaves like a mystical form 
  of electricity. It adheres to certain laws, it is seldom static, and it moves along 
  paths of least resistance. Conduits known as ley lines carry this energy, and 
  items such as wizard’s staves are capable of holding a magical charge. 
  Beyond this mechanical level, however, the comparison fails. What influ-
  ences magic’s ebb and flow is more complex than rubber-encased wiring—it 
  is the ephemeral strands of living will. Passion and belief are its conductors, 
  apathy or ignorance its insulators. And, when harnessed, what this energy 
  can fashion may, with no hyperbole, be considered wondrous.
  Much of the magic you encounter is already distributed among the various 
  beings that populate the world you live in, and they direct that power as befits 
  their nature and with little variance. Vampires have their suite of common 
  abilities; emissaries of power work the wills of their patron in recognizable 
  ways. The various mantles in this game reflect common expressions of magical 
  ability, the ones you are most likely to see.
  However, even among the magically formidable, there comes a time when 
  one seeks to reach for more power. To move beyond what a mantle provides, 
  one must tap into the energy of the cosmos and direct it with sheer force of 
  will, shaping it toward a desired outcome. Doing so carries risks, but also the 
  promise of commensurate reward.
  For the purposes of the game, we shall call this process ritual magic and 
  herein provide rules and guidelines for engaging in ritual magic. Use them 
  at your character’s peril.
  
  169
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  RITUAL MAGIC
  White Council wizards are known to be the most proficient in ritual magic, 
  but any may make the attempt provided they have some access to supernatural 
  power, be it through a mantle of Supernatural or higher scale (page 182) or 
  through a temporary arrangement with a sponsor (page 175). 
  BEFORE YOU PROCEED
  To use ritual magic within gameplay, any or all of the following must 
  be true:
  Your character seeks access to power 
  normally beyond their grasp.
  The first requirement is self-explanatory: if your current abilities will 
  already allow you the effect you wish to achieve, you should use those abilities 
  rather than these rules.
  Normal game actions and outcomes 
  are insufficient to your goals.
  Even when you’re reaching for an effect outside the scope of your mantle’s 
  abilities, you can represent many ritual spells as an extension of the normal 
  rules. Many mantles imply broad permission to interpret a standard game 
  action as magical in nature, and the scale rules (page 182) offer the leeway to 
  enforce that interpretation by giving that action’s outcome a benefit compared 
  to a mundane action that might achieve the same goal. 
  If the sole functional distinction between your desired action and a mun-
  dane action is that your action achieves the same effect in a magical way, use 
  the normal rules and apply scale.
  When a practitioner wards a building, you may represent the ward with 
  a create an advantage action (or multiple actions, if the practitioner has 
  sufficient preparation time) and invoke the aspect whenever the ward’s 
  influence is relevant.
  The desired benefit is temporary 
  rather than permanent. 
  Creating permanent change in your character’s access to mystical power 
  should be represented by taking a condition or stunt—as per the normal 
  rules for advancement starting on page 195—rather than using this system.
  If you are convinced that the requirements herein apply, proceed.
  
  170
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  WHAT IS A RITUAL SPELL?
  In game context, a successful ritual spell is represented by temporary stunt 
  effects and/or conditions that model a given magical effect. Potential out-
  comes are near limitless—one may duplicate any ability possessed by any 
  mantle in this book, or invent new ones as one’s imagination dictates, accord-
  ing to the guidelines on page 114. In general, the desired outcomes tend to 
  coalesce around a few common themes:
   
  k Temporarily granting a supernatural boon
   
  k Defining the terms of a supernatural pact or bargain
   
  k Enchanting an item with a particular ability to solve a specific problem
   
  k Imbuing a location with a supernatural property
   
  k Inconveniencing or harming others from a distance
   
  k Gaining access to information otherwise impossible to learn
   
  k Summoning beings from the Nevernever
  In general, if the GM judges that the desired effect you describe is best 
  represented as one or more stunts or conditions, that action is a ritual spell.
  Preparing and performing ritual spells requires time and energy and must 
  never be undertaken lightly. 
  
  171
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  THE CHIEF PREREQUISITE: BELIEF
  You cannot cast any spell in which you doubt either your ability or your 
  purpose. Your values and convictions must also align with the spell’s nature 
  and intent, else it is nigh impossible to focus or concentrate enough for a suc-
  cessful outcome. Similarly, ritual magic is rarely an option for the untrained 
  or for mortals without access to a well of supernatural power. The common 
  mortal is raised from birth to be skeptical of magic’s existence, and it is chal-
  lenging to undo this conditioning.
  Even when one is familiar with and open to the mystical, potential and 
  potent barriers may be in place, depending on the ritual’s objective. In general, 
  magic never responds to someone acting against their nature. Compassionate 
  people are challenged to lay curses upon or magically harm another. Those 
  quick to anger find their magic alters course toward destructive ends. 
  Exceptions usually transpire as a result of extreme stress or a profound 
  grudge toward a particular individual or group.
  Within the game, the GM and player should therefore review the charac-
  ter’s aspects and current situation in light of the desired effect to determine 
  whether the character’s belief is strong enough to justify attempting the 
  ritual. Direct harm or serious inconvenience to a target should require that 
  the target or an affiliated group is named in one of the character’s aspects 
  as an object of ire; the ritual should be consistent with aspects representing 
  the character’s personal philosophies. If the ritual’s intent is summoning an 
  entity or its aid, the character should possess an aspect that is sympathetic 
  with the entity’s principles or suggests a direct relationship. 
  The GM may impose complications (page 173) if the character does not 
  have the requisite relationship or suggest that the player rethink the ritual 
  to conform more closely to the ethos of the player’s character.
  HOW DO I PERFORM A RITUAL SPELL?
  Ritual magic comprises four steps in game terms:
   
  k Step One: Name the effect. Summarize the desired outcome until you 
  and the GM are satisfied.
   
  k Step Two: Describe the effect. Build the stunts and conditions you 
  need to fully realize the ritual.
   
  k Step Three: Prepare the spell. Take an overcome action with an appro-
  priate approach to determine the accuracy of your preparations.
   
  k Step Four: Pay the cost. Do whatever is necessary to effect the ritual.
  Successful completion of these steps allows you use of the ritual’s effects 
  in play.
  
  172
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  Name the Effect
  You should be able to state specifically in one or two sentences the desired 
  outcome in game terms. GMs should guide players to this specificity and 
  note any issues, risks, or problems envisioned with the ritual and determine 
  whether that desired effect is achievable through the game’s normal actions 
  or could be better expressed as a milestone.
  Describe the Effect
  You build the rules for the effect by com-
  bining a number of the standard effects 
  from stunts and conditions, and combine 
  as many of them as you need until you have 
  described all the facets of your ritual’s effects 
  in game terms. 
  If your ritual imparts or requires a condition, you must determine if it is 
  fleeting, sticky, or lasting, as well as what circumstances trigger the condition 
  and how long the effects last. If your ritual provides stunt benefits, you should 
  make a note of how many normal stunts, or normal stunts’ worth of benefits, 
  you had to use to represent the spell. 
  Prepare the Spell
  Preparing a ritual spell is normally an application of the Focus approach, 
  although GMs may entertain suggestions as to the appropriateness of a 
  different approach. The PC may also be required to pay an additional cost, 
  regardless of the ritual’s outcome, to use the preferred approach.
  Either way, the PC makes an overcome action against opposition based on 
  the number of conditions and stunts attached to the ritual: 
   
  k+2 for every stunt or fleeting condition
   
  k+3 for every sticky condition
   
  k+4 for every lasting condition
  If the roll to overcome seems difficult, know that failing the roll does not 
  equate to failing to perform the ritual; it merely determines who chooses the 
  nature of costs required for the ritual in the next step. 
  Pay the Costs
  As Wizard Dresden noted in an early casefile, there is no such thing as a 
  free lunch. In this, the final step, we make this truth manifest.
  Costs are dependent on the number of requisite conditions or stunts for 
  the ritual: 
   
  k Each stunt or fleeting condition necessitates one cost
   
  k Each sticky condition requires two costs
   
  k Each lasting condition requires three costs
  I’m no wizard, but I’m 
  getting a little lost here.
  Ambitious goals require 
  a certain amount of 
  complexity. That said, 
  you’ll find several practical 
  examples later in this chapter.
  
  173
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  Players render payment by accepting narrative complications or by spending 
  their character’s resources. 
  Who chooses these costs is a direct outcome of your roll to prepare the 
  ritual. If you succeeded with style, you choose all of them. If you succeed, 
  you choose all but one. If you tie, you and the GM take turns choosing costs, 
  with the GM starting. If you fail, the GM chooses all costs.
  ACCEPT COMPLICATIONS
  You may accept costs in several categories of complication; each compli-
  cation pays one cost.
   
  k Time: Performing the ritual takes longer than expected and thus the 
  situation you face will worsen or someone will have the opportunity to 
  gain an advantage on you. You complete the ritual in time to be useful, 
  but perhaps just barely.
   
  k Components: A rare component or a common component with limited 
  availability must be acquired before proceeding with the ritual. Examples 
  include a stronger symbolic link to the target, more sophisticated ritual 
  trappings, or obscure lore that you do not currently possess.
   
  k Assistance: You require the aid of a certain NPC or faction outside 
  of your usual network of associates, such as an expert in a particular 
  kind of magic. You must convince them to assist you and may risk their 
  demand for a boon in exchange. 
   
  k Special Circumstance: The ritual must be completed in a specific place 
  or time or under a specific circumstance such as a full moon, a storm, 
  or a natural disaster, and you must somehow ensure your readiness for 
  when that circumstance comes to pass.
   
  k Attention: Performing the ritual attracts unwanted and unfortunate 
  notice. This party, whoever they may be, will immediately seek to inter-
  fere with or meddle in your affairs for their own gain.
   
  k Altered Effect or Drawback: You must revise the effect to include a crit-
  ical complication, weakness, or drawback or change the spell’s workings 
  to your detriment.
  Many complications require you to play entire scenes to make sure they 
  are fulfilled; this outcome is as intended. The more ambitious a practitioner’s 
  reach, the more consuming a given act of ritual magic, the more the ritual 
  consumes the caster’s life. An extremely potent ritual may become the subject 
  of an entire scenario or even a story arc.
  
  174
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  SPEND RESOURCES
  Mark any available sticky or lasting condition to pay one cost of a spell. 
  Choosing a lasting condition over a sticky condition gives no additional 
  benefit; such are the demands of the universe. You should also narrate, with 
  GM help if necessary, what happens to your character to make you check that 
  condition. You recover those conditions as per their normal rules.
  Mind Your Manners
  Choosing cost for ritual magic is akin to having the last word, such 
  as the GM enjoys with most rules-related situations. Please negotiate 
  any costs that detract from your enjoyment, and never bully one another. 
  It’s unsightly.
  HOW LONG DOES MY 
  RITUAL SPELL LAST?
  If the ritual’s effect is represented by a condition, recovering from the con-
  dition ends the spell. If the result is stunt effects, you have until the end of 
  the scenario to declare in which scene you are using your ritual; you benefit 
  from those stunts for the duration of that scene or until your next point of 
  significant downtime. GMs should be flexible in ruling on duration; if one 
  scene leads directly into another, the spell’s effects may be allowed to continue.
  
  175
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  MISCELLANEOUS CONCERNS
  A number of vagaries might arise with ritual magic; the most common 
  are outlined here.
  Helpers
  Other characters may aid the caster of a ritual in two ways: providing a 
  teamwork bonus of +1 to the preparation roll or volunteering to absorb 
  one or more costs. A single character may not provide both types of aid, but 
  multiple helpers can split the duties as they deem fit.
  Groups as Targets
  Targeting more than one person or location with a ritual spell is extremely 
  complicated. The symbolic link required for such a spell must be equally 
  resonant and significant to all members of the group. The most famous 
  example of this common link is a bloodline curse, which requires a sacrifice 
  of one individual to target all of their descendants or progenitors. Unequal 
  investment in the common bond causes similarly uneven effects.
  For game purposes, the GM should therefore mandate the Component and 
  Assistance complications as a prerequisite for any such ritual at minimum 
  and should remain strict and unyielding when outlining the difficulty of 
  fulfilling the ritual’s varied costs.
  Complication Scenes and Pacing
  If your ritual has multiple complications requiring multiple scenes to play 
  out, you may inadvertently end up generating ennui for the other players, 
  particularly if their characters are not involved in the ritual or its aftermath. 
  The GM should consider running scenes in between and around the ritual 
  so everyone has something to do. That said, convincing other PCs to help 
  bear ritual costs is a good way to involve the entire group.
  Mystical Cheating
  As indicated by human nature, people are always looking for a means to 
  circumvent or overcome the limitations outlined here. The supernatural world 
  has plenty of powers and entities whose abilities verge on the godlike, and 
  who are generous with their power for the desperate, the gullible, or both.
  At the GM’s discretion, a PC may agree to enter into an agreement with a 
  supernatural entity who will handle cost on the caster’s behalf, often referred 
  to as a sponsor. Such a bargain results in acquiring debt, with two boxes of 
  Indebted marked per cost paid. Once the caster has worked off their debt, 
  clear the condition. 
  Such a bargain may also allow a character with a Mortal mantle to perform 
  a ritual. Powers tend to demand much of such mortals, as Faust well knows—
  such a bargain gives the mortal character an Indebted with all boxes checked.
  
  176
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  EXAMPLES OF RITUALS IN GAMEPLAY
  A Tracking Spell
  Sean McAvoy wants to help NOLA PD find a murder suspect who nar-
  rowly escaped during a scuffle with the police, leaving behind a scrap of cloth 
  supposedly belonging to the suspect. As time is of the essence, Sean wants a 
  spell that will lead him directly and unerringly to the suspect. 
  Sean’s player, Clark, informs the GM, Amanda, that he wants to cast a 
  tracking spell as quickly as possible so the suspect doesn’t have a chance to 
  go too deeply into hiding. Amanda considers the situation and the spell’s 
  outcome. As the ritual’s sole benefit is getting Sean to the next scene, there’s 
  no need to drag out the process. She asks Clark to describe the ritual, pick 
  an approach, and make an overcome roll against Great (+4) opposition 
  because the symbolic link is of questionable quality and Sean is acting under 
  the pressure of time.
  Clark reiterates that Sean is using Focus and narrates an off-the-cuff spell: 
  his character draws a circle in chalk, wraps the cloth around his pentacle 
  necklace and fixes it with twine, and uses that combination as a dowsing 
  pendant that will point in his target’s direction.
  The outcome of his role is Great (+4), enough for a tie. Amanda offers 
  Clark success at a minor cost, to which he agrees. Amanda, grinning, states, 
  “Okay. Sean, you zero in on the owner of the shirt, and you find him catching 
  a breather in a junkyard approximately one hour’s walk from where you cast 
  the spell. Problem is, you also find his six rough-looking friends, and they 
  do not look happy to see you. What do you do?”
  And thus a new scene starts.
  
  177
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  A Warding
  Until reinforcements arrive in the form of the Knights of the Cross, Gabriel 
  Beaumont needs to protect Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church from a demonic 
  attack that he suspects is coming at sundown. People are taking shelter within 
  the church and he has promised to keep them safe.
  Amanda decides that Gabriel Beaumont, as an individual capable of True 
  Faith, is calling on divine protection that would manifest itself magically. As 
  he is familiar with the rites of his faith, justifying his belief in the spell is trivial.
  Gabriel’s player, Thad, describes his vision of the ritual’s execution: deliver-
  ing a bold, inspiring sermon to the people under his aegis and leading them 
  in a group prayer. When asked about effect, he says, “Honestly, I just want a 
  pile of invokes for defense against the demons and an aspect that I can invoke 
  to avoid having issues with Scale.”
  Amanda notes, “That sounds like you’re just creating an advantage. Because 
  it’s magical in nature, we’ll assume that if you or your parishioners invoke 
  it, whatever’s attacking won’t get the benefit of Scale,” which is permissible 
  according to the rules on page 183. “You have time to prepare, so let’s say you 
  need a Focus roll to consecrate the space and a Force roll to convince people 
  with your sermon. Whatever invokes you get will pile collectively onto the 
  same situation aspect. Also, because the church is already strong in the faith, 
  you’ll be making your rolls against opposition of +0.”
  Thad rolls for Gabriel and succeeds with style on both actions. He writes 
  Holy Ward on an index card and notes the aspect has four free invokes 
  for that scene.
  
  178
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  An Escape Potion
  Sean McAvoy anticipates a violent encounter with some Black Court vam-
  pires and he wishes to create a potion in case he needs to flee in haste. Belief 
  is not an issue here; his desire for self-preservation seems justification enough.
  Amanda and Clark together review the steps for the ritual as outlined 
  above and then discuss the potion’s effects. Clark wants two benefits: a +4 
  on any Haste rolls when trying to flee or escape a dangerous situation and a 
  component that allows the drinker to pass through physical objects as long 
  as the potion is taking effect.
  The first benefit is two stunts’ worth of effect. Amanda judges the second 
  benefit becomes the following sticky condition:
  Insubstantial (sticky): [] Mark this condition when you drink the potion. 
  While this condition is in effect, you and anything on your person will pass 
  through any solid objects other than the ground itself but you may also not 
  interact with solid objects. Recover from this condition at the beginning 
  of the next scene where not actively drawing on the magic or if someone 
  succeeds at a counterspell attack. Take the higher of your defend action 
  or Great (+4) to resist the counterspell.
  Sean must now prepare the potion using his Focus approach. The opposi-
  tion for the preparation roll is Epic (+7), because it uses two stunt bonuses 
  and a sticky condition. Clark rolls a Superb (+5), not quite high enough to 
  succeed, and invokes his White Council Bureaumancer aspect to tie. 
  The ritual has four costs, again because of the two stunt bonuses and a 
  sticky condition. With a tie, Amanda chooses two costs, Clark the other two; 
  as GM, Amanda goes first.
  Amanda picks the time cost, informing Clark that the effort to locate all 
  potion ingredients means that the vampires have time to gather reinforce-
  ments, which he will discover in the scene in which he confront them. She 
  makes a note to herself for that scene.
  Clark decides to check the Exhausted condition and secretly hopes to 
  recover it before the confrontation.
  Amanda chooses drawback next and modifies the Insubstantial condi-
  tion so that the potion’s drinkers cannot pass through a magical barrier or 
  a threshold. Sean will have to ensure his escape route involves no private 
  residences or sacred buildings.
  As the fourth and final cost, Clark chooses component and suggests that a 
  necessary ingredient is the recorded sound of a jet engine taking off, which he 
  must personally hear. Sean must break into an airfield and record the sound 
  from the tarmac; Amanda thinks that notion is amusing enough to make 
  it into its own scene. With some help from Genevieve Ba, Sean manages to 
  succeed. With all costs paid, he now has his potion.
  
  179
   [RITUAL MAGIC]
  A Curse
  Eilwen, a particularly malicious Winter Fae (played by Jo), wants to haunt 
  an NPC wizard who wronged her, forcing her target into a fit of paranoia. 
  She decides to create the illusion of a stalker to haunt the wizard and she 
  wants to confound any efforts to catch it.
  Amanda asks Jo if this effect is short term or ongoing one, and Jo makes it 
  very clear that she wants this illusion to haunt the wizard indefinitely.
  Amanda decides to handle this during character advancement (page 195) 
  and offers the opportunity for Eilwen to create a condition for her target in 
  place of the point of refresh she would otherwise receive with the next major 
  milestone. Jo agrees and together they create the following effect:
  Illusionary Stalker (lasting): [x] Mark this condition immediately. At least 
  once per scene, you are cursed to see someone watching you, just on the 
  periphery of your vision. No amount of security precautions or attempts 
  at evasion rid you of this person. Unless the GM notes an exception, you 
  have the situation aspect of Distracted with two free invokes available 
  to anyone. To begin recovery, someone must use magic or a supernatural 
  influence to allow you to see through the glamour, which takes an over-
  come roll of Great (+4) at minimum. Full recovery requires the curse to be 
  purged through ritual magic or restitution made to the one who cursed you.
  Amanda makes the notes on the targeted NPC and imagines at least a 
  few sessions of entertaining play that will result before the NPC figures out 
  what has happened.
  
  180
  [RITUAL MAGIC]
  An Attack of Night Terrors
  Outside of game mechanics, you must know that performing magic of this 
  nature breaks the Laws of Magic and earns you the attention and ire of the 
  White Council’s Wardens. 
  Nevertheless, this example provides you with an idea of what the offending 
  wizard pays for their choices.
  A sorcerer wishes to enter the mind of a potential threat to inspire crippling 
  nightmares as a warning to stop pursuing her. The effect she seeks is direct 
  and terrible: the ability to attack, at will and from a distance, her target’s 
  mind. This effect requires a stunt allowing the attack from a distance, but 
  the sorcerer wants to be certain serious damage is dealt with the attempt and 
  thus also wants +12 on the roll, or six stunts of benefit. She rolls against +14 
  to prepare (for seven stunts of benefit in total), and fails. The GM chooses 
  all seven of the costs, which are:
   
  k Four conditions: The GM tells her to mark Exhausted, Burned Out, In 
  Peril, and Doomed. Preparing for this spell has forced the sorcerer to 
  confront the very nightmares she seeks to inflict, draining her physically, 
  mentally, and spiritually.
   
  k Component: The required symbolic link is a ragged teddy bear that 
  the target has slept with since they were a child. Acquiring it requires 
  breaking into the target’s apartment, which is no easy task after the four 
  conditions are marked.
   
  k Attention: The White Council is alerted by the gathering of dark ener-
  gies and dispatches a Warden to apprehend and execute the sorcerer.
  Assuming she can somehow manage the symbolic link’s theft and at least 
  delay the Wardens, the sorcerer will be awarded with her ritual. During a 
  scene of her choosing, she will be able to attack her hapless, helpless target 
  using Force as her approach with a +12 bonus. The target will benefit from 
  their home’s threshold (page 10), but without further supernatural defense, 
  their only hope is to survive the first attack and concede, most likely marking 
  either In Peril or Doomed and thus incurring severe psychic scarring. If 
  they are particularly unfortunate, the ritual spell could permanently destroy 
  their mind.
  For the GM: To Stop a Ritual
  Foiling an NPC wizard in pursuit of a powerful ritual spell is a good 
  premise for a game scenario, with the PCs trying to thwart attempts 
  to fulfill the required costs. Imagine how you would adjudicate the 
  costs for such a spell if the wizard were a PC and then devise some 
  means of alerting your PCs of the attempt, possibly after catastrophe 
  has already struck. 
  
  181
  CHAPTER 10 
  WRATH, RUIN, AND 
  THE RED DAWN
  CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, 
  & CONFLICTS 
  In a novel, even a significant action can be described in a sentence or two 
  so the author maintains pace or can focus the narrative elsewhere. In game 
  mechanics, the equivalent is resolving a situation with a single overcome action. 
  At other times, however, your group will want to immerse themselves in 
  the details of resolving a more convoluted situation. This game has three 
  structures to facilitate resolution of complicated scenarios: challenges (page 
  184), contests (page 185), and conflicts (page 186). In addition, I include 
  guidance on investigations (page 191), because the search for knowledge is 
  a frequent occurrence in the subject matter covered by the game.
  
  182
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  SCALE
  To accurately assess the opposition, know that scale matters. Many, if not 
  most, supernatural beings operate on a level beyond a mortal’s best capabil-
  ities. This simple truth of the universe extends into the supernatural world 
  as well. As such, I have included sound methodology to estimate scale even 
  with heretofore unknown entities.
  Often you need not worry about the impact of scale within the game’s 
  context. The mantles represented herein (page 119) are designed to give 
  advantage to the appropriate party in the appropriate context. You may, how-
  ever, occasionally deem those default strictures insufficient to express the 
  inherent might of supernatural influence, and thus I have outlined overall 
  scale approximation.
  This game includes five potential levels of scale: Mundane, Supernatural, 
  Otherwordly, Legendary, and Godlike. 
   
  k Mundane represents all things absent of supernatural influence, the com-
  mon homo sapiens without magical power or sponsorship. Although 
  an uncommon individual, Father Anthony Forthill would be a member 
  of this level, as would Batman’s faithful butler, Alfred.
   
  k Supernatural comprises the majority of mantles described within this 
  treatise, i.e., any phenomena beyond mortal ken, such as magic or magi-
  cal creatures. Inexperienced Knights of the Cross or of the Faerie Courts 
  may operate on this level. Wizards, vampires, changelings, and scions 
  are de facto representatives of this level.
   
  k Otherworldly dictates the most powerful of those supernatural forces 
  in our mortal realm. Senior Council wizards, Lord Raith of the White 
  Court of vampires, legendary creatures such as the naagloshii, and Sidhe 
  nobility. At the GM’s discretion, this level may include experienced 
  Knights of the Cross and other emissaries of power. 
   
  k Legendary includes direct influence of major, named powers from the 
  Nevernever, including Queens Mab and Titania, the Ladies of the Faerie 
  Courts, and the dragon Ferrovax. Also ranking here are individuals who 
  represent the pinnacle of their supernatural collective, e.g., Nicodemus 
  Archelone.
   
  k Godlike involves direct influence of the universe’s mightiest forces: the 
  angelic Host, Hades, Odin and other named gods, the Mothers of the 
  Faerie Courts, and so on.
  
  183
   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  When applying scale to two opposing forces or individuals, compare each 
  side’s level and then apply one of the following benefits to whichever is scaled 
  higher:
   
  k+1 per scale level to their action before the roll
   
  k+2 per scale level to the result after the roll, if the roll succeeds
   
  k 1 free invocation per scale level on a successful advantage after the roll
  The Routers face an incredibly powerful foe—the Redcap, who operates at 
  a Legendary scale, while the Routers are Supernatural-scale characters. The 
  Redcap is therefore granted +2 to any actions against the Routers, or +4 
  to any result after the roll, or two extra free invocations on any advantage. 
  When trying to use his Good (+3) Force to slam Gabriel Beaumont into a 
  wall, the Redcap chooses not to take the +2 benefit up front. By beating 
  Gabriel’s defense by 1 and then applying the scale advantage of +4 to the 
  result, the Redcap succeeds with a 5-shift attack.
  Frequent and rigid application of scale rules may put mortal characters at 
  a distinct disadvantage. Compensate by generously affording those players 
  opportunities to subvert scale disadvantage in clever ways. Viable options 
  include researching a target for weaknesses, changing the venue to one where 
  scale doesn’t apply, or altering goals so that their opponent cannot leverage 
  their scale advantage.
  Wizard Dresden is an expert at finding 
  the Achilles’ heel of superior foes. 
  ASPECTS AND SCALE
  Active situation aspects sometimes represent a supernatural effect, such 
  as A Powerful Ward or The Telier Family Curse. In these cases, the 
  GM may determine that invoking the aspect grants the additional benefit 
  of its scale.
  Like using the sprinkler 
  system against an 
  army of hobs.
  
  184
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  CHALLENGES
  A challenge resembles a montage scene in a novel and comprises multiple 
  overcome and create an advantage actions. Each action deals with one task 
  or part of the situation, and the aggregate of the results determines the final 
  outcome. 
  To set up a challenge, determine what individual objectives compose the 
  situation and treat each as a separate action. Depending on the situation, one 
  character may roll for several actions or multiple characters may be able to 
  participate with each rolling a single action. GMs should describe each step 
  in the challenge as it unfolds, adding, modifying or deleting steps as neces-
  sary to maintain the desired level of emotional and intellectual engagement 
  in your players.
  Nightmarish creatures from the Nevernever are feeding on the fear exuded 
  by a horror movie convention’s attendees. The PCs want calm conven-
  tion-goers so the monsters are disempowered before becoming violent. 
  Steps in resolving this challenge could involve making the convention 
  center brighter and more inviting, personally soothing anyone on the edge 
  of panic, and staging slapstick “accidents” to lighten the mood.
  Take the results in aggregate to determine the challenge’s resolution and 
  use it as a guide to determine what occurs next. If they succeed at all stages of 
  the challenge, the PCs should triumph. If some steps of the challenge failed, 
  complications should then come to pass. If they failed at all steps, the PCs 
  should face some immediate crisis or fallout.
  Exchanges
  All components of a challenge are resolved simultaneously, while 
  contests and conflicts are sliced into exchanges. An exchange lasts 
  long enough to allow everyone involved in the scene a turn to act. In 
  character time, this duration can be anything from a few seconds to 
  several months, depending on the scene’s pace.
  
  185
   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  CONTESTS
  In a novel, a contest would be a chapter focused on competitive action. In 
  game terms, a contest is represented by two or more characters with opposing 
  objectives but who are not trying to inflict harm on each other, such as a car 
  chase, a courtroom trial, or a contract negotiation.
  At the beginning of the contest, the GM decides the number of victories 
  required to win the contest. The standard is three; reduce for a shorter, easier 
  contest or increase for a more dramatic, drawn-out one.
  In each contest exchange (see textbox on page 184), every participant takes 
  an overcome action to determine their current ranking. In most circumstances 
  the participants roll against each other, but at times players rolls against a 
  source of common opposition. For example, if fleeing a monster giving chase, 
  everyone rolls against the monster. The exchange winner with the highest 
  roll or the most shifts receives one victory (two victories if succeeding with 
  style) and describes how they take the lead. 
  You are participating in a high-stakes poker tournament with three NPCs 
  to win the cash needed to purchase a cursed jewel. On the first contest 
  exchange you roll Superb (+5), while your opponents roll Fair (+2), Good 
  (+3), and Average (+1). With two shifts over your nearest opponent, you 
  are awarded a victory.
  In the event of a tie, no victory is awarded and something unexpected 
  that affects all participants comes to pass. Perhaps the terrain or environ-
  ment shifts, the contest’s parameters change, or an unanticipated variable is 
  revealed. Your GM creates a new situation aspect and puts it into play to 
  represent this new kink.
  Each participant may also attempt a create an advantage action during 
  every exchange, but at a risk. Failing to create an advantage means that the 
  participant has forfeited their overcome roll and is thus incapable of scoring 
  a victory in the exchange. 
  To add to the drama and potential repercussions of a contest, any tangible 
  dangers in the scene—a fire, earthquake, swarm of biting insects, or another 
  environmental hazard—can roll to attack one or more of the contestants in 
  each exchange. (See page 105 for how to resolve an attack.)
  
  186
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  CONFLICTS
  Following the metaphor of a novel, a conflict would encompass one or 
  more chapters of violent struggle. Use a conflict when multiple characters 
  have opposing objectives and seek to inflict physical or mental violence to 
  achieve their goals. 
  SET THE SCENE
  When violence erupts, a GM should pause the action to set the scene. 
  Establish what exactly is occurring, where everyone is located, and what the 
  environment is like. Write down a few situation aspects pertinent to the scene 
  (players may also suggest aspects) and divide the area into zones.
  Zones and Movement
  Zones are loosely defined areas to indicate locations of characters and other 
  important elements. Characters may interact with anything in their zone and 
  with anything in nearby zones if the interaction at a distance can be justified, 
  such as with a ranged weapon or magic. 
  Move one zone in each exchange for free; roll to move if something is in your 
  way or you wish to move multiple zones. In the case of the latter, succeed in an 
  overcome roll to make your desired movement. You must succeed or succeed 
  with style to move where you choose; a tie allows you to move one zone as 
  normal. If you fail, the GM creates a reason for your inability to move at all. 
  DETERMINE SIDES AND OBJECTIVES
  While violent by nature, conflicts are rarely no-holds-barred death matches. 
  GMs decide which characters in the scene are working together, at least at 
  the onset, and what each side is trying to achieve. For example:
   
  k Fix, the Summer Knight, is mano a mano with a trio of goblins trying to 
  kidnap his mortal friend to use as leverage. His objective is to kill them 
  or drive them away while protecting his friend; the goblins’ objective 
  is to defend themselves and escape with the mortal without killing Fix 
  and thus attracting the wrath of the Summer Queens. 
   
  k Two White Court vampires verbally eviscerate one other in front of 
  their peers, each trying to make the other appear weak in order to gain 
  support for their disparate master plans. While they are deliberately 
  hurting each other’s ego with their insults, causing lasting harm is of 
  secondary import to winning that vital support.
   
  kAfter one offers grave insult to the other, a pair of wizards engage in 
  a duel according to the dictates of the Unseelie Accords. In actuality, 
  they simply wish to kill each other. Each has allies who will attempt 
  subtle interference to secure their compatriot’s victory without breaking 
  Queen Mab’s laws.
  
  187
   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  DETERMINE TURN ORDER
  Whoever acted first to initiate the conflict should act first in its resolu-
  tion: the character who lashes out with the first punch, insult, or spell or 
  someone erroneously designated or deliberately framed as the instigator. If 
  desired, a character may also invoke an appropriate aspect like Expect the 
  Unexpected or Lightning Reflexes to take the first action if the group 
  agrees it makes sense.
  After you take your turn, determine who acts next. If you are last to act 
  in an exchange (see textbox on page 184), you choose who acts first in 
  the next exchange…and you are within your rights to pick yourself. If the 
  group concurs, you may also invoke an appropriate aspect to take your turn 
  whenever you wish.
  AND…ACTION!
  On your turn, take one of the four basic actions and fully resolve that action 
  to determine the outcome. You can also forfeit your action to help another 
  character on their action (see Teamwork on page 103) or to establish a full 
  defense and gain +2 on all defend actions in the exchange.
  The conflict ends when only one side has characters still in the fight. Those 
  remaining may be the last characters standing or their opponents may have 
  conceded their objective or extracted themselves from the incident. (See 
  Conceding on page 190.)
  DAMAGE, STRESS, AND CONDITIONS
  When an opponent successfully attacks you, take damage equal to your 
  opponent’s shifts. One of two things then occurs:
   
  kYou mark off enough stress and/or conditions to completely absorb the 
  hit and stay in the fight; or
   
  kYou are taken out of the action for a while (or, in the worst case scenario, 
  dead).
  Shifts?
  As a reminder, the number of shifts is the difference between your 
  opponent’s attack roll and your defend roll.
  
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  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  STRESS
  Stress represents your character suffering fatigue or annoyance, taking a 
  superficial wound, or otherwise feeling the strain of their exertions. Every 
  character begins with six stress boxes, each of which can absorb one shift of 
  a hit. Mark as many stress boxes at once as needed. Some stunts or mantles 
  provide extra stress boxes usable in certain circumstances.
  Recovering Stress
  Given a brief respite, a character can recover their composure and carry on. 
  All stress boxes clear automatically when your character enjoys a lull between 
  tense situations, traditionally at a scene’s conclusion.
  Conditions and Stress
  Certain conditions (page 116) allow you to absorb damage from an attack 
  at the cost of saddling your character with additional narrative consequences. 
  By default, every character has two such conditions: In Peril and Doomed. 
  Some mantles include additional conditions allowing your character to take 
  more damage, sometimes of a specific variety.
  Use your conditions in conjunction with stress to incur the damage from a 
  high-value attack. Once marked, that condition may not be used again until 
  you have recovered from it. 
  
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   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  Being Taken Out
  If you are unable or unwilling to take stress and mark conditions to deal 
  with the consequences of an attack, you are taken out. You may no longer 
  take any other actions in the current scene and will begin the next scene in a 
  situation dictated by the character who defeated you. The amount of leeway 
  allowed to your opponent to dictate your character’s fate depends on the 
  amount of damage your character suffered, as represented by the number of 
  stresses taken or conditions marked:
  HOW YOU WENT DOWN
  WHO CONTROLS YOUR FATE
  You were taken out unharmed 
  or with stress alone.
  Your opponent can only dictate that 
  you abandon whatever goal you were 
  pursuing and impose minor complica-
  tions for the next scene.
  You marked the In Peril condi-
  tion (page 117).
  Your opponent may render you uncon-
  scious, immobile, or otherwise helpless 
  in the next scene or declare that your 
  peril manifests tangibly and must be 
  dealt with immediately.
  You checked Doomed (page 
  117) and were taken out by 
  an attack that you could have 
  absorbed but chose not to 
  because of other stress boxes 
  or conditions already marked.
  You are at the near-complete mercy of 
  your opponent, who may narrate any 
  fate for your character with the excep-
  tion of death, catatonia, or something 
  else that would remove your character 
  from play.
  You checked Doomed (page 
  117) and could not have 
  absorbed the attack.
  You may be killed or otherwise perma-
  nently altered in a way that takes your 
  character completely out of play.
  NPCs do not receive the same level of consideration regarding conditions 
  and being taken out. GMs should treat their highest available level of condi-
  tion the same as Doomed in terms of what is permitted.
  If you have taken out an opponent, you are not obligated to take advantage 
  of the full authority allotted. In particular, GMs should not permanently 
  remove a character from play unless you have discussed in advance that this 
  outcome is appropriate to the conflict and its resolution.
  These permissions also extend from scene to scene. If you begin a conflict 
  with the Doomed condition already marked, tread carefully: you are inviting 
  greater degrees of risk and potential damage.
  
  190
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  CONCEDING
  In dire or seemingly hopeless circumstances, you may concede the conflict 
  on your character’s behalf but must proclaim intent do so before an opponent 
  rolls their dice. Concession differs from being taken out because you have 
  a voice in your fate rather than surrendering full control to your opponent. 
  Instead of being captured and bound with thorn manacles and your magical 
  accoutrements gone, perhaps you are merely left for dead under a pile of 
  collapsed rubble. 
  If you were the last character on your side of the conflict, your concession 
  means that your opponents achieve their objective; nobody is left to stand 
  in their way. If you concede while others remain on your side, your compa-
  triots can continue the fight but you can play no part in what transpires in 
  the conflict thereafter. 
  Regardless, you gain a fate point for choosing to concede. Additionally, if 
  you marked off either In Peril or Doomed to absorb hits during this conflict, 
  you receive another fate point for each. You do not get this benefit from any 
  other conditions unless specifically stated in its description.
  Concession is the right of a player or GM, not of a character, and is negoti-
  ated as such. If a player concedes, the group should collaborate on justification 
  for that concession. 
  SPECIAL SITUATIONS
  Attacking Multiple Targets
  To attack more than one target in a single action, your group must deem 
  the attack possible, with the GM having final say. The price of such an attack 
  is high: divide your total for the roll among the targets and assign at least a 
  +1 to each attack. If, therefore, you want to hit three opponents and you roll 
  a Superb (+5) on the attack, you may divide the outcome as two Fair (+2) 
  attacks and one Average (+1) attack. Certain conditions and stunts allow 
  you to ignore this limitation, and you may change your mind about splitting 
  the result after the roll.
  Other Goals in a Conflict
  At times, one character’s goal may differ from the scene’s main objective, 
  such as a character attempting to complete a ward in a firefight or creating 
  an escape route while everyone else fights. In situations such as these, the 
  recommendation is to permit the character to approach their goal as a contest 
  administered concurrently to the conflict. During each exchange they have 
  the option of scoring victories toward their goal rather than taking action in 
  the main conflict. Any other character may try to stop them with a defend 
  action if the interference is reasonable. The character defends against such 
  incoming attacks or attempts to create an advantage as normal. 
  
  191
   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  INVESTIGATIONS
  A common situation in any game scenario is a character needing infor-
  mation they do not possess. Efforts to obtain that information can almost 
  always be conducted using artifacts of the existing rules framework, sans 
  modification, with single overcome actions, contests, challenges, and conflicts 
  as your primary tools.
  For a GM, investigations can be a difficult task that sometimes demands 
  invention of details with little to no preparation or time to consider how 
  to maximize the investigation’s payoff for all players. As you yourself have 
  learned, thinking like your enemies quickly and on your proverbial feet is a 
  skill that is well worth the effort to grow. You learn by doing.
  
  192
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  PLAYER HYPOTHESES
  All participants in a game—players and the GM—should expect to share in 
  building this skill. At the beginning of an investigation, a GM should always 
  ask the players for two hypotheses: what information they expect to learn 
  and what obstacles they expect to encounter on the way to that information. 
  These concepts may not always be well developed ideas, but speculation 
  alone encourages players to engage in the correct sort of anticipatory exercise. 
  Additionally (and perhaps more importantly) if they judge these hypotheses 
  correct, the GM has less work for creating and executing the investigation.
  In other words, a GM should use others’ creativity to lighten their own 
  cognitive burden. Many heads make for light work.
  PAYING THE PRICE
  Whenever possible, interpret failure as a costly success in any investigation. 
  An inquiry stopped cold by a single bad roll is not useful or fun. Suggested 
  costs for such failures are listed here:
   
  k Make an enemy
   
  k Lose an ally
   
  k Waste time
   
  kAlert the wrong people of your efforts
   
  k Exhaust a resource
   
  kAccept a condition
  The factions list generated when you created your campaign (page 84) 
  is an excellent resource when deciding how a cost manifests in the narrative. 
  Any faction opposing the player characters can act as an immediate obstacle 
  should the “wrong people” be alerted; wasted time might permit a faction 
  to execute its plans as listed in their next steps entry. You may also reference 
  costs for ritual magic (page 172) to inspire ideas for costs.
  
  193
   [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  TYPES OF INVESTIGATIONS
  Investigations usually fall into one of three categories—simple, complex, 
  and extended—as defined by any obstacles faced. If the primary obstacle is 
  time, the investigation is simple. If the primary obstacle is access, the inves-
  tigation is likely complex. If the primary obstacle is people, the investigation 
  is extended.
  Simple Investigations
  If it will inevitably be successful with time, you are facing a simple investiga-
  tion. Resolve by simply giving the players the information without requiring 
  a roll unless the players have cause to hurry. If so, the GM should request an 
  overcome roll against a target number they deem appropriate, usually +2 to 
  +4. As above, interpret failure as success at cost: the character still obtains 
  the information but some complication arises—the effort takes longer than 
  anticipated, an opponent becomes aware of their snooping, and so on.
  Examples of simple investigations:
   
  kA police officer running a license plate
   
  kA private detective establishing the veracity of an assumed name
   
  kA character researching the owner of a parcel of real estate at the county 
  records office
  Genevieve Ba wants to research the medical history of a mysterious patient 
  that escaped the hospital while under treatment—without attracting the 
  attention of her superiors. Amanda assigns a low difficulty of Fair (+2), 
  but Genevieve’s roll with Guile is 0. Amanda informs her that she finds the 
  information but has attracted the attention of a co-worker, represented 
  by the situation aspect oFFice snoop.
  Complex Investigations
  When the issue is access—to a physical location, a restricted database, or 
  similar—obtaining the desired information often requires several distinct 
  steps or stages. Resolve these complex investigations using a challenge (page 
  184). Narratively, consider each stage of the challenge as a brief vignette 
  within a montage (a series of short, connected scenes that compresses action 
  over a period of time). Each stage must be successfully completed for the 
  character to obtain the information; as with simple investigations, interpret 
  failure as success at a cost.
  Examples include:
   
  k Tracking a suspect’s movements through a city and interviewing wit-
  nesses to determine each step along the way
   
  k Discovering the contents of the vault in a Sidhe Lord’s fortress by defeat-
  ing or avoiding each layer of security in turn
   
  k Locating a portal to the Nevernever hidden within the convoluted and 
  often crowded subway system
  
  194
  [CONTESTS, CHALLENGES, & CONFLICTS ]
  Wizard Sean McAvoy and Marie St. Pierre suspect that Buck O’Brian—a 
  ranch hand at A. S. Vega Ranch, a few miles outside Lafayette—has import-
  ant information for them. Vega Ranch is also the home of Victoria Montalvo, 
  a powerful Red Court vampire, so they must proceed with great care. They 
  ask Astrid Colombe for assistance. The players and GM decide that three 
  stages are necessary:
   
  k Astrid scouts the area in wolf form to identify the stables as O’Brian’s 
  location and then discern the best routes of approach—an overcome 
  action with Focus.
   
  k Sean creates a diversion using phonomancy and photomancy to 
  frighten a herd of cattle—an overcome action with Flair.
   
  k Marie sneaks into the horse stables and talks to Buck—an overcome 
  action with Guile.
  Extended Investigations
  Investigations best resolved in a scene or series of scenes containing a 
  contest, a conflict, or both are considered extended and are by far the most 
  detailed method of representing an investigation. Apply this technique when 
  the investigation’s execution is interesting and important or when a person 
  provides the main obstacle. Overall success or failure in this type of investi-
  gation is determined organically as the scene’s conflict or contest plays out, 
  and success at cost is much preferred to utter failure. 
  Examples include:
   
  k Who is blackmailing the mayor, and with what information?
   
  k Who bestowed the chaos curse that killed these people?
   
  k Why do people disappear from a certain crossroads on the edge of town 
  every Midsummer? 
  Sean, Marie, and Astrid are meeting with Victoria Montalvo at her ranch. 
  Astrid wants Montalvo to give her the identity of a murder victim found 
  on the ranch the previous day, while Montalvo wants to humiliate Wizard 
  McAvoy in front of her court. The scene is resolved as a contest: if Montalvo 
  wins, the PCs retreat in humiliation or risk open conflict to obtain their 
  information; if the PCs succeed, Montalvo reveals what she knows and, 
  depending on the cost of victory, will send them away as respected rivals 
  or with a grudge that she will nurse.
  
  195
  CHAPTER 11 
  THE JOURNEY 
  OF A THOUSAND 
  MILES
  ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION
  If you continue this exercise over several evenings, it will become necessary 
  to make changes to reflect the evolving nature of the campaign. The player 
  characters will grow and develop, but so too will the factions and characters 
  portrayed by the GM. Herein, you will find rules to help you manage these 
  changes over time.
  In addition, I provide guidance on modifying mantles to suit your needs, 
  or to create new ones whole cloth, in order to match the ambition and variety 
  of your imaginations. 
  CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT
  Joseph Campbell wrote, “If you can see your path laid out in front of you 
  step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every 
  step you take. That’s why it’s your path.”
  Your character, too, has their own path to tread. They will learn, improve, 
  suffer setbacks and disappointments, be scorched in the crucible of life and, 
  if fortunate, emerge wiser for the experience. 
  Drama requires dynamism and change; stasis works for situation comedies 
  and penny dreadful novels alone. Allow your character to enjoy the full range 
  of human—and inhuman—experience and change themselves as much as 
  they change the world around them.
  In this game, we support dynamic characters via character development, 
  which allows you to change your character’s aspects, add or change their stunts, 
  and alter their approach ratings. Your character undergoes development upon 
  reaching a milestone.
  
  196
  [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  MILESTONES
  When humanity was young, storytelling was an oral tradition in which each 
  evening’s tale was a piece of longer fiction. Multiple short stories, each with 
  an exciting start, climax, and conclusion, fit collectively into a more complex 
  story cycle, and multiple story cycles featuring the same characters became 
  sagas, epics, and legends.
  Modern storytelling follows a similar pattern in television programs, movies, 
  and periodic fiction such as comic books. Stories unfold in short segments 
  that combine into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Similarly, 
  you may play many game sessions with the same characters (often called a 
  campaign) and the narrative builds on itself. But at the end of a play session or 
  the conclusion to a long thread of events, some degree of closure occurs with 
  an opportunity for characters to reflect, grow, and change. In game context, 
  these opportunities are called milestones, and they offer different benefits 
  depending on how much of the story your group has completed.
  Minor Milestones
  A minor milestone usually occurs at the end of a gaming session or when a 
  story segment is resolved and it is intended for general character modifications 
  based on the plot’s dictates. In a minor milestone, you can choose to do one 
  (and only one) of the following:
   
  k Switch the ratings of any two approaches.
   
  k Rename one aspect other than your high concept.
   
  k Exchange one stunt for a different stunt.
   
  k If your refresh is greater than one, spend one refresh to choose a new 
  stunt from those available to your mantle, or to create a stunt.
   
  k If marked, in recovery, and checked for two sessions, clear Doomed.
  Note that taking no action during a minor milestone is permissible and 
  occasionally sensible.
  Significant Milestones
  The natural occurrence for a significant milestone is at the conclusion of 
  a scenario or a noteworthy plot event or, at the least, at the end of every two 
  or three sessions. While minor milestones focus on change to what your 
  character already knows, significant milestones denote improvement in your 
  character’s capabilities. Something new may therefore be learned.
  In a significant milestone, choose one of the minor milestone benefits and 
  one of the following: 
   
  kAdd +1 to one approach, not to exceed Superb (+5). 
   
  k If your refresh is greater than one, spend one refresh to choose a new 
  stunt from a different mantle. If the stunt is coupled with a condition, 
  you must acquire that condition before you may take the stunt. 
  
  197
   [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  Major Milestones
  Major milestones indicate that the landscape of the game’s world has seen 
  remarkable, wide-reaching change: a story arc ends, the primary villain has 
  suffered ultimate defeat, the Ark of the Covenant has been opened to the 
  detriment of Nazi thieves. Here your characters mark their success by gaining 
  power that enables them to confront still-greater challenges.
  Achieving a major milestone confers the benefits of a significant milestone 
  and a minor milestone. In addition, you may do any or all of the following:
   
  k Take an additional point of refresh, which, if you so desire, may be spent 
  immediately on a new a stunt.
   
  k Rename your character’s high concept.
   
  k Spend a refresh to add a condition to your mantle.
   
  k If events warrant it and the GM approves, change your mantle. Doing 
  so means, in essence, starting from scratch. You may keep any stunts 
  not specific to a mantle, but nothing else remains. 
   
  k Retire your character from the game. Such a thing should not be viewed 
  negatively or sorrowfully: at times a character reaches the end of their 
  tale or the game has exhausted all of their drama and surprise. Discuss 
  the potential retirement with the entire group and then create a char-
  acter for the next session of play. (GMs should note that characters 
  created mid-campaign may need “free milestones” to place them near 
  the capabilities of the other characters and thus provide a chance to 
  share the limelight.)
  
  198
  [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  ADVANCING THE WORLD
  During the course of a campaign, more than just the player characters 
  should mature and change. The world’s factions, particularly those whose 
  machinations directly affected the PCs, should also develop complexities 
  and nuances that reflect the consequences and outcomes of any interactions. 
  While players review recent events to determine possible character changes 
  during milestones, the GM should also review factions for similar event-
  driven modifications. Options are more fluid because the factions primarily 
  exist as a tool for creating satisfying narration, but they should be checked 
  at each milestone regardless. 
  AT A MINOR MILESTONE…
  The GM should consider the following:
   
  k Has any faction made any progress toward one of its goals, or success-
  fully taken its next steps? If so, decide what that faction’s new next steps 
  should be and revise accordingly.
   
  k Has any faction gained or expended resources this session? If so, make 
  a note of the change.
   
  k Has any faction experienced the removal of an obstacle, the advent of 
  a new obstacle, or the revelation of a new weakness this session? If so, 
  make note of the change.
  AT A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE…
  In addition to the minor milestone questions, the GM should also evaluate 
  whether any faction has gone a whole scenario without concentrated opposi-
  tion from the PCs or another faction. If so, do one or more of the following: 
   
  kAssume they succeeded at their current next steps—including appro-
  priate repercussions on the plot—and invent new next steps for them. 
  If you want to create sudden upheaval, or the faction has been idle for 
  more than one scenario, assume they succeeded at a goal, and invent a 
  new goal and next steps for them. 
   
  kAssume they overcame a weakness in a lasting way, and remove it.
   
  kAdd a new resource to their roster. 
  Also, the GM should give any NPC with which the PCs have had memo-
  rable interaction the benefit of improvement: raise one of their approaches by 
  one, add something to the list of what they’re skilled at, add a new approach 
  they are skilled at opposing, give them a new stunt, upgrade a minor NPC 
  to a supporting NPC, alter their aspects, etc. These updates do not need to 
  be made as regularly as advancement for PCs, and no more than two of these 
  changes should be made to an NPC at a time.
  
  199
   [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  AT A MAJOR MILESTONE…
  The GM should consider the following questions:
   
  k Has any faction suffered enough setbacks or fulfilled enough goals 
  that it would make sense to remove them from the game as an object 
  of interest? If so, discuss it with the players, especially if any of them 
  have characters associated with the faction. If everyone agrees that the 
  faction has been played out, remove it from the list.
   
  k Have any new factions arisen in response to the events of play, or is 
  the group interested in seeing how a new faction will interact with the 
  current situation? If so, create the new faction as per the guidelines in 
  Chapter 4: In the Beginning (page 81).
  Give a memorable NPC a major increase in power, especially if the PCs 
  haven’t seen them in a while. Increase several approaches, add a number of 
  stunts or condition/stunt pairs, or even switch them to a new mantle. 
  
  200
  [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  CREATING MANTLES
  The list of mantles of power detailed in Chapter 8: With Great Power 
  (page 119) is not exhaustive, to say the least, and players may conceive of 
  a character whose nature does not fit neatly into one of those categories. As 
  such, a GM may be compelled to build a mantle from scratch. I offer two 
  overarching guidelines to GMs confronting this challenge.
  The first is abandonment of any intent to achieve balance between mantles. 
  Recall that a mantle expresses the truth of existence of a distinctive type of 
  entity in the universe and their influence on the world. Expression of that 
  concept requires however many stunts and conditions needed for accuracy. 
  However, GMs should beware of creating a mantle whose nature denies 
  other players the meaningful participation by extreme, even overwhelming, 
  strengths.
  The second is to avoid reinvention of the wheel. Although collectively a 
  mantle may ill suit a player’s purpose, preexisting stunts and conditions may 
  be harvested to apply to the new mantle. 
  
  201
   [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  CONCEPTUALIZING YOUR MANTLE
  As with character creation, the first step in fashioning a new mantle is 
  conceiving the mantle’s essence as concisely and specifically as possible. This 
  section may assist in attaining clarification.
  Power and Purpose 
  At its simplest, a mantle expresses unique access to power or influence 
  unavailable to others. With mortal mantles, this power or influence most often 
  occurs in societal areas providing the greatest opportunity for contact with 
  the supernatural world. For supernatural mantles, power typically embodies 
  mystical abilities centered around a particular theme or agenda.
  Manifestation of Power 
  Envision how a character with this new mantle would display their idiosyn-
  cratic influence or mystical capabilities in such a manner that other characters 
  would recognize the mantle’s distinction. Any possible scenario or method 
  of expression should be noted, as they will provide the foundation for the 
  mantle’s stunts. 
  Source of Power
  Per Antoine Lavoisier’s Law of the Conservation of Mass, nothing is truly 
  created nor destroyed, and therefore any power in the universe must have a 
  source, be it one’s willpower, the sponsorship of a patron, the authority of a 
  government, or popular and uniform approval. The well from which a mantle 
  draws its power will sharply delineate the manner in which a mantle’s bearer 
  exhibits its authority. 
  Furthermore, many mantles interact not merely with a personal well 
  of influence but also with a faction in this world or the Nevernever. This 
  association may be abstract, such as a position in a given law enforcement 
  organization, or so specific that it defines the mantle, such as service to the 
  Winter Queen. 
   The Mantle’s Demands 
  The one commonality in all mantles is that their divergent capabilities are 
  not infinite, nor are they gratis. Abilities granted at the behest of a sponsor 
  tend to require cooperation with the sponsor’s agenda. Unleashed power robs 
  the mantle’s bearer of choice in how to channel it and control the outcome. 
  Any given requirement related to payment for a mantle’s power should be 
  noted. 
  
  202
  [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  STUNTS AND CONDITIONS
  The mechanical expression of this new mantle comprises stunts and con-
  ditions. As stated previously, no rigid formula exists to establish the number 
  of requisite conditions or stunts; the only certain answer is that the mantle 
  needs what is sufficient to fulfill the demands of its concept.
  To determine whether a particular element needs expression as a stunt or 
  a condition, judge the purpose of that element as a descriptor of the mantle’s 
  substance or its capabilities. Stunts describe the capabilities—what someone 
  empowered with the mantle may do with it; conditions describe the sub-
  stance—a representation of what is and what may be. In instances when the 
  difference between those ideals is blurred, consider creating a condition and 
  a stunt with synergy in their pairing, such as with Wyld Power (page 144) 
  and the stunts that require you to mark boxes of Wyld Power to use them. 
  Lastly, also included as conditions are any vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and 
  obligations to higher powers. 
  Creating Core Stunts
  As with any other stunts, core stunts are created following the guidelines 
  on page 114. The core stunts should cover all actions of which anyone with 
  the mantle is capable. Any abilities that the mantle needs to fulfill its concept 
  should be part of the core. Accuracy takes priority over balance here—some 
  mantles require more core stunts—but reasonability and enjoyment of all 
  must be taken into account.
  As an example, a White Court vampire’s core stunts require that the vam-
  pire be capable of eliciting specific emotions in others and then feeding on 
  them, leveraging their influence in their White Court family, and utilizing 
  the demon within to enhance their physique. 
  Creating Additional Stunts
  Stunts beyond the core should reflect logical and specialized extensions 
  of the mantle’s power:
   
  kAdding a new function to an existing stunt
   
  k Removing a restriction on a core stunt
   
  kAdding another method of using the mantle’s power source
   
  k Specializing in a particular facet of the mantle’s concept
   
  k Deepening the mantle’s connection to their faction, if appropriate
  Additional stunts must not fundamentally alter the mantle’s nature, purpose, 
  or power source.
  
  203
   [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  Creating Conditions
  A condition consists of the following parts:
   
  k Trigger: Under what circumstances to mark the condition
   
  k Effect: What especial rules occur when the condition is marked
   
  k Recovery Event: How the marked condition is cleared, if ever
   
  k Type: How difficult it is to recover: 
  Fleeting: The condition vanishes without effort, typically within a 
  scene.
  Sticky: Some measure of effort or time, the overcoming of an obstacle 
  or the fulfillment of other narrative criteria is needed.
  Lasting: Recovery transpires in two phases—recovery begins as with 
  a sticky condition but also requires the passage of time, normally 
  another session. 
  Let’s review an example.
  Ferroburned (sticky): [] If you suffer a condition inflicted by an iron 
  weapon, mark this condition as well. You must recover this condition 
  before healing from any other physical injury. Begin recovery by recu-
  perating in Faerie or receiving medical care from a character versed in 
  supernatural healing. If you seek medical attention outside Faerie, the 
  healer must overcome a Great (+4) to succeed at the recovery action.
  In this condition:
   
  kThe trigger is any successful attack via an iron weapon, forcing a con-
  dition to be marked.
   
  kThe effect is an inability to recover from any other physical injury-based 
  condition before first recovering from this one.
   
  kThe recovery event is recuperating in Faerie or seeking medical attention 
  from a qualified source.
   
  kThe type is sticky because effort is required to recover, but then recovery 
  is instant.
  
  204
  [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  RESKINNING OTHER MANTLES
  The quickest and simplest method to create a mantle is wholesale retooling 
  of an existing mantle to suit a character’s needs. Stunt effects tend to come 
  from the same family of mechanics—a bonus in a particular situation, an 
  unusual narrative benefit, or an occasional exception to a game rule. It is 
  likely that an existing mantle already approximates what is sought. Likewise, 
  certain conditions are true for a variety of mantles or entail a mechanical 
  consequence that other mantles might experience.
  Common Patterns
  When exploring options to reskin a mantle’s conditions or stunts, those 
  listed here should earn especial notice as mutable.
  Police Powers; Physical Transformation; The Third Eye (pages 124, 154, 
  and 139): Conditions of this ilk are the equivalent of “flipping a switch” 
  within the fiction: when active, the condition makes a certain thing or set 
  of things true, and creates a set of narrative expectations or special rules 
  in effect until the condition is cleared. Any mantle conferring a special 
  status may resemble conditions. Always include some means by which 
  the condition may be cleared or the mantle deactivated. 
  Wounded; Injured (pages 130 and 152): Conditions that “double up” 
  on In Peril and Doomed allow for mantles that have a core function 
  of absorbing damage without making light of injury. The two provided 
  examples present the differences in damage effects between a mortal 
  and a supernatural mantle.
  Heat; Wealthy; Summer/Winter Power (pages 122, 132, and 146): 
  The most straightforward method of throttling influence or power is 
  to create a condition with a number of boxes (usually five), followed 
  by stunts empowered by marking one or more of those boxes. By thus 
  restricting the use of the mantle’s power and demanding recovery before 
  more is exhibited, an ebb and flow is established to the power’s exhibition 
  and the attention it attracts.
  On a Mission from God; In Pursuit (pages 148 and 130): These con-
  ditions are apt for any mantle with a set amount of power granted for 
  a particular purpose and manifested as an approach. In exchange for 
  the mantle’s flexibility, the context in which it is appropriate to use the 
  approach should be limited. Assorted conditions (see Wealthy, page 
  132) pair a unique approach with a set of boxes, offering a trade-off 
  wherein the approach’s highest levels are attained only by eschewing use 
  of the approach as a stunt. This latter application is good for mantles 
  with reliable power that can be overextended. 
  
  205
   [ADVANCEMENT & CUSTOMIZATION]
  Faster, Stronger, Tougher; Vampiric Physique/Recovery/Toughness (pages 
  146 and 165): A simple method of dealing with a well of condi-
  tion-granted power is to use stunts that provide bonuses to action (never 
  more than +2) purchased by checking one or two boxes of the mantle’s 
  power. When the boxes are no more and the power diminishes, interest-
  ing fiction begins. These stunts demonstrate that supernatural actions 
  are often just normal actions that enjoy the benefit of scale (page 182). 
  Family Favors; Backup; Ready and Willing; Einherjar Reinforcements 
  (pages 167, 125, 127, and 153): Stunts that represent ties to 
  outside assistance are exemplified herein; this sort of power is very useful 
  for moving the plot along. 
  Job Creator (page 123): This stunt is adaptable for mantles with power 
  best explained as a custom version of a basic action. 
  Ferroburned; Truth-Bound; Impaled by Cold Iron (pages 158, 158, and 
  144): These are adaptable examples of expression of weaknesses and 
  vulnerabilities through conditions. 
  
  206
  CHAPTER 12 
  A KIND AND 
  PATIENT MASTER
  GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE
  At its core, this game is an exercise in building a shared fictional experience 
  that, like literature, may both entertain and enlighten. Each player focuses 
  on portraying their own character as events unfold, on breathing life into a 
  portion of the narrative. The GM is responsible for the rest of the structure: 
  presenting conflicts, controlling NPCs, and assisting everyone to apply the 
  prescribed rules to game situations.
  Earlier sections have hinted at the responsibilities of the GM. Broadly 
  speaking, these responsibilities include: building the campaign, crafting game 
  scenarios, overseeing the game’s individual sessions, and creating the NPCs 
  and other opposition.
  BUILDING THE CAMPAIGN
  A campaign represents a successive group of sessions played by the same 
  individuals and with the same characters, events building on each other from 
  session to session. The group’s first task, therefore, is to collectively plan how 
  the campaign will work. The GM aids conversational momentum by offering 
  suggestions, presenting concepts, and helping focus and refine players’ ideas. 
  The conversation around campaign creation should include what characters 
  types are to be played; the setting (a city, country, or Nevernever principality) 
  in which play will occur; potential antagonists to be confronted; tone and 
  focus (serious or lighthearted; social, investigative, action-oriented, et cetera); 
  and expected campaign duration.
  The players will portray a gang of thieves and confidence tricksters oper-
  ating out of Las Vegas, each some variety of magical practitioner. The 
  campaign will focus on a series of elaborate cons against wealthy and 
  powerful mortals but reveal a sinister force angling to seize control of 
  the city for its nefarious ends, and the group is the only obstacle in that 
  faction’s path.
  For more information on this process, see Chapter 4: In the Beginning, 
  on page 81.
  
  207
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  CREATING A SCENARIO
  Scenarios last for two to four sessions of play and consist of a sequence 
  of events that resolve one or more related issues but remain part of broader 
  and ongoing events.
  The typical opening of a scenario is the presentation of an inciting incident 
  to the players, with subsequent scenes revolving around how their characters 
  confront it: researching information, gathering intelligence, striking directly at 
  the heart of conflict, and the like. If this is the first scenario of the campaign, 
  that inciting incident has been solidified as part of creating the campaign in 
  Chapter 4 (page 84). For subsequent scenarios, “Advancing the World” on 
  page 198 may be referenced, but otherwise follow the same guidelines. In 
  some cases, the previous session’s events will suggest a new inciting incident.
  Once the scenario has been initiated, play continues until the resolution 
  of all problems generated by the inciting incident. Factions act as their goals 
  demand, so each faction’s next steps must be updated as the narrative proceeds. 
  The GM should rely on their own best judgment and logic to discern the 
  plot’s progress. This, indeed, is how one learns to think like a 
  Winter Court Faerie or a Denarian. 
  The best scenarios have no a single “correct” ending. The 
  characters may achieve resolution in such a way that its reper-
  cussions are ruinous. They may also succeed beyond their 
  wildest dreams, circumvent the obstacle entirely, or somehow 
  minimize any effect on their lives. Nothing is certain 
  until the scenario is played out.
  Multiple scenarios may play out simultaneously during 
  a campaign as dynamic interactions resolve some prob-
  lems while introducing others. The organic, emergent 
  nature of this storytelling form is one of its chief features; 
  err on the side of too little formality around plot structure rather than too 
  much.
  Step One: be a 
  selfish wanker.
  Which?
  Yes.
  “The best laid 
  schemes o’ mice 
  an’ men gang aft 
  a-gley,” eh?
  
  208
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  OVERSEEING A 
  GAME SESSION
  Once players have an issue requiring a solution, the GM may engage them 
  in a scene. Often the method of doing so, especially for the first session of a 
  new scenario, is immersing them directly and immediately into action. After 
  learning their goals and areas of concern, the characters will begin directing 
  the session by deciding on a succession of actions to be taken. The role of the 
  GM is to perform the following tasks as characters go about their business:
   
  k Run scenes. A session comprises individual scenes that individually 
  contain enough action to resolve one objective. Decide each scene’s 
  beginning, who and what is present, the initial setting of place and action, 
  and the point at which events have played out and the scene is concluded.
   
  k Adjudicate the rules. Make any final adjudication in any questions 
  regarding rules and their application.
   
  k Set opposition. Decide how much opposition to place in the way of a 
  character trying to accomplish an action, and whether that opposition 
  is passive (a static rating on the ladder) or active (a character or other 
  active threat that you roll dice for). 
   
  k Choose costs. If the players succeed at a cost, determine the nature of 
  that cost.
   
  k Play the NPCs. Create (if necessary) and control all characters not played 
  by the players, particularly all antagonists (page 212).
   
  k Keep things moving. When players are indecisive, nudge them in a new 
  direction. Do not allow indecision or a lack of information to inspire 
  inaction; change narrative course or introduce new problems to alter 
  the landscape.
   
  k Ensure each player has an opportunity to shine. Challenge players rather 
  than trying to deal them defeat, and engineer means by which everyone 
  in turn shares and enjoys a moment in the sun.
  When the Cat Has the GM’s Tongue
   
  k Tell the PCs whatever makes the most sense in the moment.
   
  k Provide information that in the moment seems nonsensical and may, 
  later, seem less opaque.
   
  k Introduce an immediate problem facing the PCs.
   
  k Foreshadow an obstacle the characters must deal with later.
   
  k Remind players of what the game rules require from characters in 
  the current situation.
   
  k When you are done speaking, ask the characters what they would 
  like to do and use their responses to guide the next thing you say.
  
  209
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  SETTING OPPOSITION
  A character’s actions are frequently opposed by other characters’ actions 
  in what is called active opposition, and its magnitude is determined by the 
  opposing character’s roll.
  When no active opposition exists, the GM decides the level of passive 
  opposition a character faces when trying to complete a task. Passive oppo-
  sition is a static number on the ladder that the character is trying to beat in 
  order to succeed at an action. Low opposition is best when providing the 
  characters the opportunity to succeed with style and thus flaunt their com-
  petence. Moderate opposition provides tension without overwhelming the 
  characters. At this level of opposition the characters must usually expend 
  resources to succeed with style. High opposition is best when emphasizing 
  the uniqueness or desperation of circumstances so the characters must pull 
  out all the stops. Here characters must typically expend resources merely to 
  succeed at all.
  When in doubt, follow these guidelines:
   
  k If a task is straightforward but a failure could reveal interesting compli-
  cations, use Mediocre (+0) opposition—or tell the player they succeed 
  without a roll.
   
  k If at least one reason exists for complicating the task—and an appropri-
  ate aspect is always a valid reason—use Fair (+2) opposition.
   
  k If the task is extremely difficult or two aspects in play reasonably make 
  a simple task more difficult, use Great (+4) opposition.
  Opposition has no upper limit in game context, so the above guidelines may 
  be applied ad infinitum. Any opposition greater than +4 above the character’s 
  approach is impossible to beat without invocation of aspects or use of stunts.
  Approach-Related Opposition
  The player’s choice of approach may influence how opposition is set—pick-
  ing an intricate lock may be simpler for a character acting with Focus rather 
  than with Haste. Opposition may be raised or lowered by one or two steps 
  based on whether the player chooses a fitting or a problematic approach for 
  their action. This technique helps reward players for choosing the most fitting 
  rather than their strongest approach.
  
  210
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  CHOOSING COSTS
  When a player fails or ties an action, the GM may offer to give them what 
  their character wants…but at a price. In such a case, they are unable able to 
  achieve their goal without consequence.
  Although GMs approve all costs applied to these consequences, the costs 
  must pass muster with the affected player and the rest of the group. Players 
  are entitled to negotiate the cost. Should agreement on cost not be reached, 
  the action simply fails and the group must deal with the consequences of 
  that failure.
  Minor Costs
  A minor cost should complicate the character’s life and usually occurs 
  when the roll’s result is a tie. This cost focuses on using failure as a means to 
  complicate the situation rather than simply negating whatever the character 
  wanted. Some suggestions:
   
  k Foreshadow imminent peril. “The lock opens with a soft click, but the 
  same cannot be said for the vault door. If they didn’t know you were 
  here before, they do now.”
   
  k Introduce a new wrinkle. “A friend of a friend can help you translate 
  the Aramaic spell. You know her, actually—but the last time you saw 
  her was years ago, when she caught you with her wife.”
   
  k Present the player with a tough choice. “You manage to brace the col-
  lapsing ceiling long enough for two of the others to get through safely…
  but not the rest. Who’s it going to be?”
   
  k Place an aspect on the character or the scene. “You somehow managed 
  to land on your feet but with a Twisted Ankle as a souvenir.”
   
  k Give an NPC a boost or an advantage. “Hendricks surprises you a bit 
  by agreeing to put down his weapon, but he does it with a knowing 
  smirk that makes you uneasy. Clearly, Hendricks Knows Something 
  You Don’t…”
   
  k Check one of the character’s stress boxes. But this is only effective if 
  the character is likely to absorb more hits in the same scene; otherwise 
  select a different cost.
  
  211
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Serious Costs
  A serious cost does more than complicate the character’s life or promise 
  something worse to come; it takes a serious—possibly irrevocable—and 
  immediate toll, usually after a failure. One method of making a cost serious 
  is pushing a minor cost to the next level. Rather than suspicion that a guard 
  heard the vault door open, a few guards burst into the room with weapons 
  drawn. Instead of a collapsed ceiling merely separating characters from their 
  allies, one or more of those allies is buried under debris. And after disarming 
  himself, Hendricks surprises the players a minute or two later when he draws 
  his backup weapon to take an undefended shot. 
  Other options include:
   
  k Reinforcing the opposition by clearing an NPC’s stress boxes, improving 
  one of their approaches by one step for the scene, or providing a new 
  aspect with a free invoke.
   
  k Introducing new opposition or a new obstacle, such as additional ene-
  mies or a situation aspect that worsens the situation. 
   
  k Delaying success.
   
  k Making the character mark a condition that follows logically from the 
  circumstances—In Peril if it’s available, Doomed if not; alternatively 
  marking an appropriate mantle condition like Exhausted or Wounded. 
  More suggestions for costs in may be found in the sections on ritual magic 
  (page 172) and investigation (page 192).
  Negotiating the Use of Approaches with Costs
  If a player insists on using a particular approach in a less than ideal situation 
  but their creativity is to be encouraged, the option exists of imposing a minor 
  cost up front to allow them to do it:
   
  kActions with Flair could draw unwanted attention or leave evidence 
  behind.
   
  kActions with Focus take a long time because of the need to concentrate 
  or may render the character vulnerable to surprise.
   
  kActions with Force leave the landscape messy or items broken or may 
  cause collateral damage.
   
  kActions with Guile may fool the wrong people.
   
  kActions with Haste may miss an important clue or detail, or inspire a 
  rush into an unfortunate situation.
   
  kActions with Intellect may take a long time or create misunderstanding.
  
  212
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  CREATING NON-PLAYER 
  CHARACTERS
  Three kinds of NPCs exist in game mechanics: minor, supporting, and 
  major. Guidelines for creating them are contained below.
  MINOR NPCS
  These characters may act as an obstacle or problem for the players but have 
  no significance beyond the scene in which they are encountered. They may 
  not even have names.
  Examples: The gang of bikers at the bar; the VIP’s security; the bartender. 
  To make a minor NPC:
  List two or three actions they are skilled at. Their rolls for these actions 
  should include a +2 bonus. 
  Example: The bikers are skilled at Intimidating Folk and Riding Motorcycles 
  so either is attempted at Fair (+2).
  List two or three activities they do poorly. Their rolls for these actions 
  are at -2. 
  Example: The bikers are horrible at Staying Out of Trouble and Seeming 
  Harmless and thus are Terrible (-2) when rolling on those actions.
  If rolling for something at which they are neither skilled nor bad at, they 
  roll at Mediocre (+0).
  Create one or two simple aspects. 
  Examples: BiKer gang, connections With the drug trade.
  Provide six boxes of stress but no default conditions. They are taken out 
  (page 189) when they can no longer take enough stress to absorb a hit.
  Optional: Mobs of minor NPCs are also 
  created in this manner. In fact, the sole 
  difference between a mob and a nor-
  mal minor NPC is that a mob can 
  roll to attack all the PCs on their 
  turn, and a mob gets an inherent 
  +1 teamwork bonus on any roll. 
  Once it has marked all stress 
  boxes, a mob is out of play. 
  
  213
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  SUPPORTING NPCS
  Supporting NPCs usually have names, may play a prominent role in the 
  game, and are typically subordinate to a more significant NPC or play a 
  recurring but relatively minor role.
  Examples: A sleazy public defender who begrudgingly helps the group 
  whenever they are arrested. The waitress at the diner where the group 
  gathers often go for coffee. A campaign in which the Archive is a PC, a 
  supporting character may be my driver and bodyguard, Kincaid.
  I’m a SUPPORTING character? Ouch.
  And here I thought you would like being underestimated.
  To make a supporting NPC, do the following:
  List of two or three actions they are skilled at. Their rolls for these actions 
  should include a +2 bonus. 
  Example: The sleazy public defender is skilled at Defending Clients and 
  Bending the Rules and so attempts these actions at Fair (+2).
  List two or three activities they do poorly. Their rolls for these actions 
  are at -2. 
  Example: The public defender is bad at Refusing Bribes and Giving a Damn 
  About Anyone and thus is Terrible (-2) when rolling on those actions.
  Determine two approaches they are skilled at opposing, giving them an 
  additional +2 when opposing those approaches. 
  Example: The public defender is skilled at opposing Guile and Intellect. 
  When a wily prosecutor moves to have bail refused for a PC and makes 
  an argument with Intellect, the public defender gets to oppose the argu-
  ment at Great (+4): +2 for Defending Clients and another +2 because he’s 
  defending against the Intellect approach.
  If rolling for something not mentioned, they roll +0.
  Create two or three simple aspects. 
  Example: The public defender is a sLeazy puBLic deFender with gaMBLing 
  deBts and a proBLeM With authority Figures.
  Optionally, award them a stunt. 
  Example: The public defender has a stunt called Greasing the Wheels that 
  provides +2 to create advantages with Guile to use in legal proceedings, 
  representing bribes and other favors.
  Give the NPC six boxes of stress and the In Peril condition.
  
  214
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  MAJOR NPCS
  Major NPCs are the game’s main antagonists, the players’ most important 
  allies and any significant neutral parties. These characters should be created 
  the same as player characters (page 91). The GM may choose to eschew 
  traditional approaches and use the same rubric provided for supporting 
  NPCs if she wishes. If so, main NPCs should be skilled at opposing three 
  different approaches, rather than two.
  NPCs and Mantles
  Only supernatural minor NPCs have mantles and even then only 
  the core stunts and unique conditions. Supporting NPCs may bear any 
  mantle, but, again, only the core stunts and unique conditions. Major 
  NPCs of course receive full benefit of mantles, much like actual player 
  characters.
  If a mantle specifies use of a particular approach but the given NPC 
  cannot have approaches, the GM makes a judgment call as to whether 
  the roll fits within the scope of what the NPC is skilled at.
  
  215
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  MONSTROUS ADVERSARIES
  As Hamlet reminds us, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
  than are dreamt of in our philosophy.” Much discussion of the supernatural 
  has focused on the various factions operating in the mortal world, but this 
  limitation paints an incomplete picture. The beings thus far mentioned are, 
  fundamentally, people. People who possess incredible power or with desires 
  and worldviews alien to mortals, but still, inherently, they are familiar.
  Multitudes of other entities exist, including many about which little to 
  nothing is known by the common individual. Demons, Fae creatures, rogue 
  constructs, beings of unknown origin…cataloguing them for you would be, 
  in the end, meaningless because of the volume of variety.
  While game statistics for certain well known or dangerous creatures are 
  provided here, a GM—and you personally—should develop skill at estimat-
  ing approaches and stunts for monstrous beings. Doing so assists in assessing 
  a supernatural foe heretofore unknown.
  MAKING AN ADVERSARY
  Mechanically, even the most dangerous of monsters are not substantially 
  different from any other entity: they have aspects, approaches that reflect 
  how they interact with the world, and a mantle describing their power and 
  how it is expressed in the world.
  Aspects
  Any creature should have a high concept. If other factors make a creature 
  particularly remarkable, add a second or third aspect as appropriate.
  
  216
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Approaches
  The method for handling a monster’s approaches naturally varies based 
  on the creature’s relative power level and how extensively characters will be 
  interacting with it. Minor or more incidental threats may be constructed like 
  supporting NPCs on page 213. More fully realized entities are more likely 
  to be constructed using approaches. That being said, it is worth noting that 
  the normal suite of approaches is not necessarily comprehensible for all crea-
  tures. The normal suite presumes a measure of baseline ability, even with the 
  approaches that a person does not favor. A spirit bound to destroy without 
  pause or reason, however, is not merely incompetent at Focus or Intellect but 
  rather fundamentally incapable of acting in those ways. 
  When creating a monstrous adversary with approaches, its apex approach 
  should be set at an appropriate level, generally Good (+3) or Great (+4). Its 
  remaining approaches may be assigned to any of the lower steps, no more 
  than two at any given step. More intelligent and competent creatures are likely 
  to possess approaches clustered closely below their apex skill; more bestial 
  monsters will have additional approaches several steps down, reflecting their 
  difficulty in acting outside of their most basic natures. 
  An approach entirely out of character for a monster is simply excluded. The 
  creature always acts using an approach actually possessed or simply fails an 
  action using that excluded approach.
  As with NPCs, the “skilled at/bad at” dichotomy is useful when rounding 
  out its abilities (page 213).
  Monstrous Mantles
  A monstrous adversary needs a mantle of its own. When detailing the 
  creation of new mantles (page 200), I suggested abandoning attempts to 
  balance one mantle against another. Go a step further when creating mon-
  strous mantles: actively eschew the concept of balance. Some beings simply 
  outclass others, taking out a mortal near effortlessly; artificially correcting for 
  that power imbalance is dangerous and disingenuous. If anything, overcorrect 
  by making an entity more powerful than you may consider appropriate. After 
  all, most of these creatures are seldom encountered, and it can and should 
  dominate the action when it makes an appearance. 
  Secondly, simplify. Players will not use these mantles and therefore they 
  need not be fully realized; these are mini-mantles requiring a few unique 
  conditions, one or two core stunts, and no additional stunts for creatures 
  that are rarely encountered. Keeping these mini-mantles basic is also true 
  to life: if an advantage exists over those things that go bump in the night, it 
  is their predictability. 
  
  217
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Conditions
  The guidelines on page 203 for creating conditions are likewise applicable 
  here. Keep in mind that some varieties of conditions are likely to appear 
  on a monster but are not necessarily appropriate for a player character or 
  NPC’s mantle.
  Bloodlust: Conditions like this represent a creature’s instincts and set 
  guidelines for how a creature will behave. Those conditions are generally 
  always checked and usually restrict the creature—most entities struggle to 
  act against their instincts, even if doing so would be a wiser course of action.
  Bound by the Beat, Obedience: These conditions represent demands from 
  without and are designed to dwindle away. These may represent reserves 
  of power on which a creature draws by obeying its master (similar to the 
  Summer/Winter Power condition), but there is room to play with what 
  happens when all boxes are checked: the creature may become docile or 
  those conditions may have prevented the creature from giving in to its 
  dangerous instincts.
  Ectoplasmic Wounds, Ferroscarred, Dead: Some creatures are most fright-
  ening because dealing them harm is challenging. These abilities should be 
  expressed as conditions: absorbing mass amounts of damage so it is easily 
  recovered and fleeting, absorbing damage of a type usually much more 
  deadly, or absorbing an arbitrary amount of damage for a fairly minor cost.
  Physical Immunity: Some creatures are actually impossible to damage 
  physically. With these monsters, an exemption almost always exists, such 
  as a particular weapon that bypasses immunity, or a way to uncheck the 
  condition that gives them immunity.
  Dwindling Numbers: This condition and ones similar to it represent packs 
  or swarms, creatures threatening as a group but that grow less threatening 
  as members of the group are taken out. Pair the condition with a stunt that 
  provides a bonus based on how many unchecked boxes remain.
  While creating unique conditions, keep in mind how players will interact 
  with the creature being designed. In other words, there is no need to bother 
  creating conditions that will not actually impact the players. For example, 
  fetches (page 222) likely have some ability to draw on Mab’s goodwill to 
  get their way when dealing with others in Faerie and could take a condition 
  analogous to Indebted to reflect ability, but why bother? The ability is irrel-
  evant to the interaction players will have with them and therefore needlessly 
  complicates the mantle. 
  Similarly, do not overcomplicate the conditions themselves, especially 
  recovery events. If the precise procedure to recover a sticky or lasting condi-
  tion is of no import—if the players will neither witness nor prevent—then 
  the method of recovery truly does not matter. 
  
  Stunts
  The general guidelines for creating stunts on page 202 still apply, but the 
  stunts in the mantles of some creatures may be especially powerful. Again, 
  there is no balance in the supernatural world, and some entities are simply 
  able to wield power more effectively than others. As with conditions, focus 
  on stunts that the players are likely to interact with; a hellhound may well get 
  a bonus to long-distance running, but that doesn’t matter to players who are 
  not going to get into a footrace with them. Most of the time, interaction with 
  monstrous adversaries will take the form of a direct confrontation. One or two 
  stunts will be enough to flesh out the mantle sufficiently for such purposes. 
  MONSTROUS EXAMPLES
  Undead T-Rex
  Some years ago, the wizard Harry Dresden used necromancy to revive 
  Sue, the skeletal T-rex kept in the Field Museum, by taking advantage of a 
  legal grey area in the Laws of Magic. (As the Laws focus on the protection 
  of humanity, nobody foresaw the need to prevent wrapping the skeleton of 
  long-extinct megafauna in ectoplasmic flesh and racing down the streets of 
  Chicago with that megafauna as a “sweet ride.”) 
  Sue (or any other undead dinosaur) is massive, incredibly dangerous, and 
  nearly unstoppable, owing both to her scale and her status as an undead 
  entity; even if opponents could land an attack, she shrugs off most damage. 
  Her central weakness is one shared with other forms of undead: if you disrupt 
  the drumbeat that enthralls them and replicates their heartbeat, they will 
  escape the control of their summoner.
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  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  
  219
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  SUE
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: Massive undead t-rex
  Other Aspects: she BeLongs in a MuseuM
  APPROACHES
  Great (+4): Force
  Fair (+2): Flair, Focus 
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  Ectoplasmic Wounds (fleeting): [4][4][4][4][4] Mark a box of 
  Ectoplasmic Wounds to absorb up to 4 shifts of damage.
  Immense (special): [x] This condition is always checked. Sue 
  is simply gigantic. Enough so that she can crush cars and 
  burst through masonry without needing a roll. Her size 
  grants her scale in virtually all interactions. 
  Bound by the Beat (sticky): [][][][][] Mark Bound by the 
  Beat when the drumbeat which powers Sue is disrupted—
  for instance, if the drummer is attacked. If Sue goes a full 
  scene without having a box checked, the drummer is able 
  to reassert control: recover all boxes. 
  While there are unchecked boxes for this condition, Sue 
  must act as her summoner wishes. If every box is checked, 
  Sue escapes from her summoner’s control and will take no 
  action except basic self-defense until the end of the scene, 
  at which point her ectoplasmic flesh will dissipate and her 
  skeleton will crash to the ground, inanimate.
  Momentum (fleeting): [][][] This condition has three boxes. 
  Sue is so large and ungainly that getting moving is a chal-
  lenge…but once moving she is nearly unstoppable. Check 
  this condition when Sue moves one or more zones during 
  an exchange. Recover all boxes if she does not leave her 
  zone during an exchange. 
  During her turn in an exchange, rather than having one 
  zone of free movement, Sue can freely move a number of 
  zones equal to her checked Momentum boxes. 
  STUNTS
  Barrel Down: When attacking with Force, Sue may choose 
  to add +1 for every checked Momentum box, then recover 
  all Momentum boxes.
  
  220
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Hellhounds
  Despite the name, these large canine-like creatures are not demonic but 
  rather Fae in origin. Some (perhaps all) hellhounds are Sidhe or mortals 
  who have been transformed into beasts; the precise number of such trans-
  formations is unknown. Regardless, hellhounds approximate the appearance 
  of a large mastiff, dark as shadows, with flat, black eyes. The Leanansidhe 
  has some measure of ownership and control over a number of hellhounds; 
  similar hounds may be found participating in the Wild Hunt.
  Though individually nothing to be trifled with, hellhounds are most pow-
  erful and dangerous as pack hunters. To that end, this write-up statistically 
  portrays a group of entities acting in concert, and much of their mantle’s 
  power stems from their status as a group. 
  THE LEANSIDHE’S HELLHOUNDS
  High concept: pacK oF Large Fae hounds
  Other Aspects: used to Be peopLe
  APPROACHES
  Good at (+2): Tracking Prey, Biting, Running
  Bad at (-2): Staying Focused, Acting Independently
  Good at Opposing (+2): Focus, Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  Dwindling Numbers (sticky): [2][2][2][2][2] The hellhounds 
  are not solitary creatures; they prefer to remain in 
  packs. As long as this condition has unchecked 
  boxes, this “creature” represents a group of hell-
  hounds acting in concert. As a group, the pack has 
  scale when dealing with lone targets. The hellhound 
  may check a box to absorb up to 2 shifts in damage, 
  representing individual hounds being taken out or 
  driven away. This condition is recovered between 
  sessions as hounds return to the Leanansidhe or 
  she bolsters the numbers of those lost.
  Obedience(sticky): [][][][][] If able to communicate 
  with her hellhounds, the Leanansidhe may give 
  them orders. They then check boxes of Obedience 
  according to their stunts to aid themselves in obey-
  ing these orders. Recover this condition when the 
  hounds are able to spend time resting in the com-
  pany of the Leanansidhe.
  STUNTS
  Group Tactics: Hellhounds are most effective in large 
  packs. For every unchecked box of Dwindling 
  Numbers, add +1 to any Tracking Prey roll.
  A Need to Please: If taking an action that directly 
  aids obedience of the Leanansidhe’s orders, the 
  hellhounds may check a box of Obedience in lieu 
  of spending a fate point to invoke aspects.
  
  221
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  The Faust
  The Faust is a mortal who has entered 
  into a bargain with a supernatural entity for 
  power, and that bargain works on a simple 
  principle—the mortal does as the sponsor 
  wishes, and gets to leverage the spon-
  sor’s strength in return.
  UNIQUE CONDITIONS
  Marked (special): This is always 
  checked, unless your tie with your 
  sponsor is severed. You are supernaturally marked 
  as having an ongoing pact with your sponsor, 
  and any supernatural being can perceive that 
  this is so. A soulgaze or other divination is 
  required to discern who your sponsor is.
  CORE STUNTS
  Mojo on Loan: Mark a box of Indebted 
  to leverage Supernatural scale for 
  any action that fits a particu-
  lar theme, for the duration of 
  a scene. If the sponsor is a 
  demon, the theme might be 
  “fire,” allowing the Faust to 
  manifest magical fire in 
  various ways. If the sponsor is a phobophage, the 
  theme might be “terror,” allowing the Faust a scale 
  benefit when they leverage the fear of others.
  At the GM’s discretion, mark additional boxes of Indebted to increase 
  the scale benefit by one level. The Faust is limited to operating at one 
  level of scale below the sponsor.
  Ritual Access: Mark a box of Indebted to perform rituals in keeping with 
  the sponsor’s goals. At the GM’s discretion, mark more boxes to pay 
  costs for that ritual.
  ADDITIONAL STUNTS
  None; potentially any effect from any other mantle could be duplicated 
  as part of the sponsorship, as long as it makes sense that the sponsor could 
  provide it. Any stunts associated with this mantle require one box of Indebted 
  to use per scene.
  
  222
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Fetch
  A fetch is a creature native to Faerie and traditionally aligned with the 
  Winter Court. While their natural form is easily recognizable—humanoid 
  shadows with white eyes—fetches are shapeshifters, so a physical description 
  is not especially useful. Fetches are phobophagic: they feed on the fear of 
  mortal victims and augment this ability by assuming a form intended to elicit 
  their target’s greatest fear. Even without this ability, a fetch may be a pow-
  erful adversary, demonstrating strength and resilience common to creatures 
  of Faerie coupled with a powerful magic resistance and the ability to easily 
  step between the Nevernever and the mortal realm via mirrored surfaces.
  FETCH
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: phoBophagic Fae shapeshiFter
  Other Aspects: senses your Fear
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Flair
  Fair (+2): Force, Guile
  Average (+1): Focus, Speed
  Mediocre (+0): Intellect
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Ferroscarred (lasting): [6] If attacked by an iron weapon, the fetch 
  must mark this condition, and doing so absorbs up to six shifts of 
  damage from the attack. While Ferroscarred, the fetch may not 
  recover from any other conditions reflecting physical injury, and 
  must recover this condition before any other healing may occur. 
  The fetch begins recovery by spending downtime in Faerie.
  Terrifying Form (lasting): [] Check this box when the fetch alters its 
  shape in order to terrify its prey. The specific nature of this form 
  can vary according to the fetch’s needs and the phobias of its 
  specific intended target. 
  When a person encounters a fetch in its transformed state, they 
  must roll to keep their calm, opposed by the fetch’s Flair. If they 
  fail, they gain the fleeting condition Afraid.
  While transformed, the fetch benefits from scale against anyone 
  who is Afraid. Additionally, magic performed by someone who is 
  Afraid cannot affect the fetch. 
  The fetch begins recovery when it returns to its natural form. This 
  condition recovers fully after the fetch has spent downtime in Faerie.
  STUNTS 
  Powerful Phobophage: If creating an advantage reflecting that some-
  one is afraid of it, the fetch may invoke that aspect to recover from 
  its In Peril condition, presuming that the peril is related to physical 
  injury or exhaustion. Additionally, if its target is Afraid, the fetch may 
  invoke the aspect to recover from either In Peril or Ferroscarred.
  Mirror Walker: The fetch may spend a fate point to arrive in any scene, 
  at any time, provided the setting contains a mirrored surface from 
  which it may emerge.
  
  223
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Loup-Garou
  You are personally all too familiar with this version of the creatures generally 
  called werewolves. As you are aware and your companions must appreciate, 
  do not under any circumstances confuse a loup-garou for the comparatively 
  docile lycanthropes or hexenwulf; loup-garoux are more dangerous by an 
  order of magnitude. Termed a rougarou in NOLA (page 226), a loup-garou 
  is a mortal whose bloodline has been cursed to carry a wolf-like demon that 
  completely transforms and takes control of the mortal body at the full moon. 
  Unlike the werecreature (page 154), this mantle’s power does not come 
  from a physical transformation. The loup-garou is a completely separate 
  entity from its human host and should be considered as such; under no 
  circumstances should you attempt to deal with the creature as if it could 
  understand or recognize you. All the loup-garou knows is slaughter and 
  rampage until the transformation ends at sunrise. 
  LOUP-GAROU
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: raMpaging WoLF-LiKe deMon
  Other Aspects: FearsoMe teeth and Mighty cLaWs
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Force
  Average (+1): Focus, Guile
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  Physical Immunity (special): [x] This condition starts checked. The 
  loup-garou does not take damage and cannot be taken out for 
  any reason save with penetrating attacks forged in inherited silver, 
  which deal damage as normal.
  Bloodlust (special): [x] This condition is always checked. The loup-ga-
  rou is driven to kill, cannot resist those instincts, and actively hunts 
  human targets for slaughter. If mortals are near, it may prioritize 
  which one to pursue but it must go on the attack. 
  Frenzied (sticky): [] Mark this condition if the loup-garou is attacked; 
  this condition absorbs any damage from the attack if it bypasses 
  the creature’s Physical Immunity. The demon is then enraged, 
  more powerful but less controllable, and gains a new approach, 
  Rage, at Great (+4). It cannot, however, sensibly prioritize targets, 
  attacks the nearest target of which it is aware, and does nothing 
  beyond attack or pursue until that target is dead or the loup-garou 
  is unable to continue its pursuit, at which point it moves on to its 
  next victim. Recover this condition when no one remains for the 
  loup-garou to target.
  STUNTS
  Out of Nowhere: Once per session, the loup-garou may burst through 
  a window or wall into any scene that occurs during a full moon. 
  Frenzied is automatically checked.
  
  224
  [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  Ghouls and Uber-Ghouls
  In some circles the ghoul is a relatively common sight. They are often 
  employed by vampires, necromancers, and whoever else is willing to provide 
  a ghoul’s raison d’etre: pounds and pounds of raw human meat for the ghoul 
  to consume. Physically they are roughly humanoid, albeit with ape-like 
  proportions and a face reminiscent of a hyena. They are strong, resilient, 
  and, unnervingly, capable of disguising themselves temporarily to look like 
  a human.
  Rarer, more dangerous creatures exist that are related to the common 
  ghoul—call them True ghouls or uber-ghouls—who lack the ability to pass 
  as a human and display an uncanny toughness. They can be represented 
  using the stats for a standard ghoul by replacing Human Disguise with the 
  following:
  Dead (sticky): [] Check this box to absorb any amount of physical damage. 
  The ghoul is dead, but unless utterly annihilated, its body will continue 
  moving. Recovery occurs automatically after a short amount of time 
  undisturbed. This time may vary at GM discretion; a ghoul shot to death 
  may need only a few minutes to recover, while one torn to pieces may 
  need the remainder of the scene. Recovering from this condition auto-
  matically results in every Need for Meat box being checked.
  
  225
   [GM RESPONSIBILITIES AND ADVICE]
  GHOUL
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: deadLy huManoid carnivore
  Other Aspects: More hungry than you couLd KnoW
  APPROACHES
  Good (+2) at: Brawling, Feats of Strength
  Bad (-2) at: Being Patient, Thinking Clearly
  Good at Opposing (+2): Focus, Force 
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Sanctoburned (lasting): [] If the ghoul takes damage from a 
  sanctified weapon or comes into contact with a holy object, 
  check this box. The ghoul is unable to recover conditions that 
  represent physical injury.
  Human Disguise (sticky): [] A ghoul is able to look passably 
  human with some effort. Check this box when the ghoul 
  takes on a human guise; while in this form, the ghoul can 
  move through mortal society while attracting little attention. 
  Anyone with cause to look closely at the ghoul may be able 
  to recognize that something is “off.” This condition is recov-
  ered when the ghoul returns to their standard form, which is 
  automatic if the ghoul begins to feed. 
  Need for Meat (sticky): [][][][][] Ghouls are constantly hun-
  gry and require lots of flesh, preferably human, to sate their 
  hunger. This condition is marked as the ghoul exerts itself, as 
  described in its stunts. If every box has been checked, the 
  ghoul can no longer contain its hunger: the only actions it 
  may take are eating or seeking out additional food. The ghoul 
  recovers this condition by eating vast quantities of raw meat: 
  approximately ten pounds of animal flesh or five pounds of 
  human flesh recover one box. 
  STUNTS
  Ghoulish Resilience: The ghoul may check off a box of Need for 
  Meat to recover its In Peril condition, even in combat, provided 
  that the condition represents a physical injury.
  Driving Hunger: The ghoul may check off one or more boxes 
  of Need for Meat during any activity representing physical 
  strength or endurance. It gains +2 to the roll for every box 
  checked.
  
  226
  CHAPTER 13 
  WE’LL ALWAYS 
  HAVE PARISH
  EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN
  The Crescent City. The Big Easy. NOLA. 
  The nicknames for New Orleans are many 
  and they are fondly spoken. The city is unique 
  and beloved by its denizens, mortal and oth-
  erwise, and the supernatural reside there in 
  greater numbers than expected for most met-
  ropolitan areas. Ghosts are plentiful, of course, but so are ghouls, vampires, 
  demons, demigods, werecreatures, and, most recently, the Fomor. But they 
  are not the only threat within the Orleans parish.
  Neither are they the gravest.
  FACTIONS
  A rougarou named Louis Sauvageot (page 229) has chosen the city as his 
  center of operations, and you, more than most, are cognizant of the trouble 
  that follows such a creature. His Pack is loyal, their mien territorial, and they 
  have no intention of sharing command of their city with the Fomor. The two 
  groups are directly at odds with each other, with confrontations increasing in 
  frequency and decreasing in discretion. The Pack would say they are at war.
  Further complicating matters is the recent disap-
  pearance of the White Council Warden dispatched to 
  that segment of the United States. The Fomor incur-
  sions have challenged Council resources, and other 
  factions are exploiting their absence in an increasingly 
  brazen manner. A well-entrenched, secretive sect called 
  simply Les Dévoués (page 230), or The Devoted, has 
  established an uneasy alliance with Sauvageot and his 
  companions; they do not intend to suffer the Fomor 
  and do not care for the underworld encroaching on their illegal practices.
  For these reasons, New Orleans native Astrid Colombe (playable charac-
  ter, page 234), has taken to patrolling the streets late in the evening in the 
  form of a great golden wolf. She has a handful of allies—the Routers (page 
  230)—to stand at her side, though the odds against them remain long.
  Remind me to talk 
  to Dresden about 
  his bad influence.
  Expect a frosty reception.
  fucking felch-drunk 
  assgobbling horseshit!!!
  Huh. Strange that 
  a “loup-garou”—a 
  French term—is 
  called a “rougarou” 
  in New Orleans.
  The nomenclature 
  differs, yet the savagery 
  remains the same.
  
  227
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  THE FOMOR
  See faction profile on page 88.
  In New Orleans, as in other major coastal cit-
  ies, the Fomor strike from the water and show 
  a keen interest in those of supernatural talent. 
  Paranet reports place them uncertainly at forty—
  their numbers are nigh impossible to know with 
  certainty—but their leader is known locally as 
  Pwason-Mal and is a sorcerer of no small skill. He 
  is the White Council’s favored suspect in the disap-
  pearance of their Warden. 
  With so much of the Nevernever openly hostile 
  toward the Fomor, Pwason-Mal has sought alliances 
  with other factions within NOLA, and not merely 
  the inhuman collectives. When clued in to the super-
  natural, organized crime offers much to the Fomor: 
  their methods dovetail and their goals do not clash. 
  Jeanne-Marie Roberres, the would-be czarina of 
  NOLA’s underbelly (page 228), is not only aware 
  of a preternatural presence but also willfully engaged 
  in related happenings. She is key to Pwason-Mal’s 
  plans for the city, a fact of which she is keenly aware.
  The crown jewel of Fomor ambition in the city 
  is sovereignty over the LaLaurie Mansion (page 
  233) and its access to the Ways. Fomor assaults on 
  the landmark have exacerbated its existent spiritual 
  turbulence, further thinning the barrier between 
  worlds, and Roberres has plans to use it to her fiscal 
  and authoritative advantage. As mortal finances and 
  power struggles are of little interest to the Fomor, 
  Pwason-Mal is content to make use of her network 
  to advance the Fomor in the parish, at least for the 
  time being. Her future as a Fomor ally, and thus 
  her life expectancy, is contingent on her usefulness 
  beyond immediate gains.
  The same may be said of Pwason-Mal where 
  Roberres herself is concerned.
  In addition to the LaLaurie Mansion and alli-
  ances within the city, the Fomor are as ever seeking 
  those of magical abilities, with White Council wiz-
  ard Sean McAvoy (page 238) their highest-value 
  target. As one who lacks skill in combat magic, he 
  represents a low-risk asset to the Fomor cause. 
  
  228
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  THE UNDERBELLY
  Things forbidden have a secret charm. 
  – Tacitus
  See faction profile on page 89.
  New Orleans’ history with organized crime is similar in length and violence 
  to that of New York City and arguably more notorious: the long-standing 
  “Godfather” of its Mafia, Carlo Marcello, was identified as the most likely 
  conspirator behind President Kennedy’s assassination 
  and held sway over the Louisiana criminal world until his 
  death in 1993. In the two decades following, crime lords 
  have risen and fallen regularly, without a single leader for 
  any noteworthy timeframe. 
  Jeanne-Marie Roberres has no intention of falling from 
  her perch. Indeed, her sights are trained upon greater gains 
  and bigger game on a global scale. Because she has never known failure and 
  because she is driven by rage, her aspirations have no limit. 
  Born in the Lower Ninth Ward, Roberres is a career criminal who began 
  her illicit activities as a teenaged courier for drug dealers and graduated into 
  grifting and petty theft. Her skill at avoiding arrest inspired others to follow, 
  until she had gathered about her the makings of a criminal organization. In 
  her early employ were neighborhood enforcers—so-called “strong-arms”—and 
  con artists who preyed on the tourism trade. She expanded into traditional 
  businesses as her financial influence grew, until she became a prominent figure 
  in New Orleans society, peopled by the very individuals she has swindled.
  That achievement of societal acclaim was of import to Jeanne-Marie, 
  whose mother and grandparents died in squalor and ill repute in the chaos 
  after the Storm. Her family name has regained much of the respect of its 
  Reconstruction-era heyday, but she seeks more for herself, for her convalescent 
  father, and for the poor who have suffered in the Big Easy. She seeks vengeance.
  Since setting on this course, Jeanne-Marie has made ample use of her 
  wits, beauty, and ill-gotten wealth to gain dominion in the Treme, Faubourg 
  Marigny/Bywater, and Holy Cross neighborhoods. Her present objective 
  is the French Quarter, hence the partnership in Le Jazz Cub with Louis 
  Sauvageot. Although she herself remains above reproach, she is known to 
  employ ruthless techniques to retain control. Very rarely have the poor of 
  New Orleans been numbered among her victims; all others seem fair game.
  The Fomor recognize Jeanne-Marie’s expanding influence and have 
  approached her to partner with them with promises of safety for her districts. 
  Make no mistake: if they do strike a bargain, the White Council will lose 
  control of the southern United States and innocents will perish. In her own 
  way, Jeanne-Marie Roberres is as deadly as her partner, Sauvageot.
  You know the 
  truth behind 
  that conspiracy.
  Yes, but the rumor 
  perpetuates. That I 
  can acknowledge.
  
  229
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  LOUIS SAUVAGEOT’S PACK
  See faction profile on page 88.
  With his haute couture wardrobe and Parisian accent, Sauvageot has 
  achieved fame in New Orleans as much by raw appeal as by entrepreneurial 
  prowess. He strikes a distinctively tall, broad figure, well dressed and well 
  spoken, and he is often referenced by both women and men as the Big Easy 
  On the Eyes. His ebony hair is typically worn in a “man bun” that is presently 
  the rage across the United States, and he sports dark stubble tidied into a 
  beard. Since arriving in the city, he has purchased or become part owner in 
  several enterprises, the most famous of which is Le Jazz Cub, a private music 
  club designed to resemble an old speakeasy and catering to the elite of both 
  mortal and supernatural society.
  His polished exterior belies his malicious intent.
  Sauvageot is a rougarou, courtesy of a 19th century curse on his bloodline 
  by Queen Titania herself. The curse is not the sole inheritance from his 
  sociopathic great-grandfather, as he is also predisposed to cruelty and mental 
  oppression for the sake of amusement and personal gain. He uses a gallant 
  Gallic façade as a margay does its vocal mimicry, using charm and physical 
  appeal to lure his victims into a sense of trust and lassitude until the trap 
  springs. In his 37 years, he has applied his dual natures to accumulate wealth 
  and a sizeable body count, the latter of which requires his relocation every 
  four or five years.
  New Orleans has never lacked for monstrous thugs, 
  either human or inhuman, and Sauvageot was challenged 
  immediately upon his arrival by a Dogman—literally, one 
  of the famous canine cryptids of the region—who had 
  been running a protection racket in the aftermath of 
  Hurricane Katrina. Their territorial conflict lasted only until the full moon.
  Sauvageot’s Pack—all female—is no less ruthless than their leader, counting 
  among them two hexenwulf as front-of-house employees, a lycanthrope in club 
  security, and one bona-fide shapeshifter, Irish-born Quinn Marks, who acts as 
  club manager. She is smart and incalculably loyal in the wake of Sauvageot’s 
  assistance in securing her transformation.
  Owing to her nature, the lycanthrope Pence 
  is of the most immediate concern. Sauvageot 
  uses Pence to carry out death sentences outside 
  of full moons, and she does so expeditiously, 
  using methods that make identification of her 
  victims a long, painstaking process. That she uses no weapons should help 
  express her level of depravity.
  I knew that 
  hairy bastard. 
  Kochma. He was 
  a nightmare. Be 
  glad he’s dead.
  That’s a lot of 
  devotion for learning 
  to be a werewolf.
  Not that transformation. 
  She was born Mark Quinn.
  
  230
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  THE DEVOTED (LES DÉVOUÉS)
  See faction profile on page 89.
  Secret organizations have a long and complicated history that predates 
  the Illuminati and Freemasons. In New Orleans, masks and anonymity are 
  cornerstones of Mardi Gras celebrations. It is no surprise that the city has an 
  especial secret organization, but it may be a shock how very few outside of 
  its membership rolls know of its existence and that fewer still know its goals. 
  Les Dévoués is clued in to the supernatural world. At least one of them 
  has walked the Ways. A letter between members from 1875 mentions the 
  Archive, and written communications dwindled from that moment onward. 
  Inferences may be drawn that Les Dévoués was founded in that era and their 
  secrecy maintained by heavy reliance on verbal communications in deliberate, 
  even paranoid avoidance of the Archive despite the mantle’s specific require-
  ment of neutrality. 
  Correspondence via Louis Sauvageot affords awareness that Les Dévoués 
  profess strident opposition to the Fomor. Their rolls likely include at least 
  one White Council wizard capable of opening a passage to the Nevernever, 
  so one may presume their support against the invaders is not insignificant. 
  THE ROUTERS 
  The aforementioned factions do not stand unopposed in NOLA, else the 
  city would be lost or embroiled in a supernatural conflagration that would 
  maim or destroy thousands of innocent mortal lives. New Orleans’ population 
  and throngs of tourists are helpful in keeping their antagonists at bay, and a 
  loose alliance has formed around shapeshifter Astrid Colombe (page 234). 
  Astrid has lived in the Orleans parish since her birth and projects a fearsome 
  protectiveness for her home. Once circumstances granted her extraordinary 
  strength and prowess as a wolf, she took to prowling the streets as its sworn 
  guardian.
  Like-minded individuals have joined her in a loose alliance called the 
  Routers, a double play on words courtesy of member Dr. Genevieve Ba 
  (playable character, page 240). Presently the Routers comprise werewolf 
  Astrid, White Court vampire Dr. Ba, changeling Marie St. Pierre (playable 
  character, page 236), White Council wizard Sean McAvoy (playable charac-
  ter, page 238), and former Knight of the Cross Gabriel Beaumont (playable 
  character, page 242). Each is in their own right a capable protector; they 
  have yet to establish a cohesiveness that maximizes their effectiveness while 
  working as a team. 
  Odds against them are long, as evidenced by the affair at the LaLaurie 
  Mansion.
  16.82 to 1.
  Never tell me the odds! Yes, I’ve seen the Star Wars trilogy.
  Pew-pew!
  
  231
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  POINTS OF CONFLICT
  Discord is the fuel that drives storytelling. Below are bones of contention 
  between the aforementioned factions.
  CONTROLLING 
  THE BARRIER
  The French Quarter sleeps 
  little, most particularly during 
  festivals. Normally the press of 
  humanity complicates conflict, 
  but Mardi Gras parades afford 
  excellent diversions. This year, the 
  Krewe of Bacchus parade drew 
  attention toward the downtown 
  as the famed LaLaurie Mansion 
  hosted a pitched battle for control 
  over the entrance to the Way within 
  the building’s kitchen pantry. The entrance appeals for a plethora of reasons 
  (thirteen, to be precise), foremost among them being thinness of the barrier 
  between the worlds and the connection point between that pantry and the 
  Nevernever. When you recall that this world and the Nevernever connect at 
  sympathetic points and appreciate the horrors that the mansion hosted (page 
  233), you may conclude that the Way opens somewhere dark, dangerous, 
  and desirable to the Fomor.
  While not especially appreciative of the power that control of that Way 
  could afford them, Sauvageot’s Pack does comprehend its allure to the Fomor 
  and therefore instigated a battle in the LaLaurie Mansion’s courtyard to 
  prevent the Fomor from claiming it. Fatalities were limited to a pair of the 
  Fomor’s henchmen—the so-called “Turtlenecks”—and one of Sauvageot’s 
  Pack, although the conflict ceased with no resolution because the Routers 
  intervened.
  Though inexperienced and inexpert, three Routers managed to disrupt 
  hostilities and hold both sides at bay until the mortal authorities arrived. 
  The Fomor left their dead, the Pack withdrew with theirs, and the vigilantes 
  scored a major victory in the delaying action. But make no mistake: the Fomor 
  have not forgotten about the mansion and its importance.
  
  232
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  NECROMANTIC SURGES
  Related but not restricted to the LaLaurie Mansion is the upheaval of spir-
  its in the southern section of New Orleans, from Tulane University’s campus 
  throughout the French Quarter. Already sufficiently agitated to stretch the 
  veil to its limits, the tormented slaves’ ghosts are joined by equally restive 
  shades of other victims of violence both manmade and natural.
  Particularly potent poltergeists exist in throngs throughout the city: soldiers 
  slain in the bloody 1815 Battle of New Orleans, African-American Civil War 
  veterans slaughtered in the 1866 New Orleans Massacre, the victims of the 
  Upstairs Lounge Fire of 1973, and the innocent who perished in hurricanes 
  in 1893 and 2005.
  Who or what is responsible for the metaphysical disturbances is yet to 
  be disclosed. The White Council hypothesized that a necromancer is will-
  fully rousing the spectral presence, but proof of such has not yet come to 
  light. Before vanishing, the White Council’s Warden reported encountering 
  Pwason-Mal of the Fomor and a masked sorcerer exchanging evocation spells; 
  the latter’s had the taint of necromancy.
  The unnamed, unknown magic user of Les Dévoués may well be preparing a 
  necromantic spell to use against the Fomor. Equally probable is that Pwason-
  Mal intends to use such magic as a decisive blow against the mortal population 
  of New Orleans. Either way, the city’s innocent are bound to suffer gravely.
  
  233
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  THE LALAURIE MANSION
  In its heyday, the 10,000 square foot 19th Century mansion was among 
  the tallest structures in New Orleans, handsomely kept by LaLaurie’s wife, 
  Creole socialite Madame Dauphine LaLaurie. Her name was famous before 
  a fire destroyed the mansion and infamous in the years after.
  In 1834, a fire that began in the mansion’s kitchen spread to the rooms 
  nearby, and when the fire brigade arrived to douse the flames, they discovered 
  the cook chained by her ankle to the stove and a secured, secluded chamber 
  of horrors in the slave quarters upstairs. Imprisoned in this chamber were 
  slaves in desperate conditions from torture, starvation, and neglect inflicted 
  upon them by Madame LaLaurie herself. Her polished demeanor and refined 
  beauty had concealed from public eyes a calculating, heartless fiend.
  The townsfolk of New Orleans did not tolerate the notion of such wanton 
  sadism and the LaLaurie family fled the quickly forming mob, and ostensibly 
  escaped to Paris. Stories vary as to where Madame LaLaurie died and was 
  buried, but her shade is shackled to and haunts the halls of her former home. 
  Hers, however, is not the ghost that should make the living fear for their sanity. 
  So vivid were the metaphysical scars that Madame left on the mansion that 
  the slaves whom she tortured, maimed, and killed are yet chained spiritually 
  to that residence. Collectively, the dozen or so ghosts of her victims hound 
  her nightly, inflicting asomatous revenge in the afterlife for what they endured. 
  Gabriel Beaumont (page 242), a man without magical skills but with ample 
  faith, has intervened to prevent the bestirred ghosts from harming mortals 
  by happenstance, but the task is daunting.
  
  234
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  CHARACTERS
  Within this section are details on characters already created for your use, 
  should you wish to forego the exercise of conceiving such yourself.
  ASTRID COLOMBE
  High Concept: NOLA’s Den Mother 
  Her parents claimed she wanted to be a jazz singer from infancy, as she 
  listened in utero to her parents performing as street musicians outside Lafitte’s 
  Blacksmith Shop. For her birthdays, she begged to visit Preservation Hall, 
  even in those years when both parents were regular performers there. Music 
  remained Astrid’s great love throughout her formative years and young adult-
  hood. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a degree in 
  music and proceeded to perform as a jazz vocalist in small French Quarter 
  venues while working as a musical therapist at the Children’s Hospital.
  Her day job eventually won her heart, but her avocation garnered the 
  attention of Louis Sauvageot, who sought to employ her at his club for sun-
  dry purposes, not all savory. Said attention 
  was noted and thwarted by another of the 
  supernatural community: Tera West, stay-
  ing with friends in the area.
  Taking the younger woman under her 
  wing and ostensibly her protection, West 
  advised Astrid in the strongest possible lan-
  guage to flee New Orleans and its looming 
  threat to her. Astrid refused but instead accepted tutelage in self-preservation 
  via shapeshifting. Sauvageot and evidence of his handiwork may have firmed 
  her resolve to remain and fight; equally if not more likely were police reports 
  of increased crime against women in her neighborhood. 
  Astrid’s spirit is a protective and nigh-fearless one.
  Regardless of the inspiration, West’s appearance in Astrid’s life altered it 
  irrevocably. Like the Chicago Alphas, she learned how to transform herself 
  into lupine form. And also like the Chicago Alphas, she determined that 
  vigilantism was preferable to watching others suffer. Rumors of increasingly 
  keener detail have circulated of a huge, shaggy 
  dog with golden fur chasing off would-be rap-
  ists, muggers, and thieves; a few of the quirkier 
  residents of the French Quarter have even begun 
  leaving out kibble and treats for the assumed stray.
  Her first outing was a year ago, and she has 
  allied herself with others pitted against the city’s 
  predators. Her work at the Children’s Hospital 
  continues unabated with no one the wiser. Yet.
  Harley MacFinn’s 
  fiancée, right? The wolf 
  shapeshifter who taught 
  Harry’s Alpha friends.
  Yes. Loup-garou—
  rougarou—are of 
  especial interest to her.
  And were ignored by 
  most because the 
  masses are asses.
  Even in New Orleans, 
  where such oddities 
  are both more common 
  and accepted.
  
  235
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  ASTRID COLOMBE
  MANTLES
  As the French Quarter’s vigilante 
  defender, Astrid bears the mantle of a 
  Monster Hunter (p.130). In addition, 
  she has taken on the supplementary 
  mantle of a Werecreature (p.154).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: noLa’s den Mother
  Trouble: Bad BLood With sauvegeot
  Other Aspects: day JoB at the 
  chiLdren’s hospitaL; giFted Jazz 
  vocaList; tutored By tera West
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Flair
  Fair (+2): Focus, Force
  Average (+1): Guile, Intellect
  Mediocre (+0): Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  In Pursuit (sticky): [] p.130.
  Wounded (lasting): [4] p.130.
  Physical Transformation (sticky): [] 
  p.154. Astrid takes the aspect ForM 
  oF the WoLF when transformed. She 
  swaps the rating of Flair with Haste 
  and swaps Focus with Guile.
  MONSTER HUNTER STUNTS
  Countermeasures: p.130.
  Hunters Network: p.130.
  WERECREATURE STUNTS
  Beast Whisperer: p.155.
  The Human Touch: p.155.
  Healing Transformation: p.155.
  Fleeting Transformation: p.155.
  REFRESH: 2
  
  236
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  MARIE ST. PIERRE
  High Concept: Naga Changeling
  Natives of New Orleans hear many a strange thing growing up, talk of 
  voodoo and human sacrifice and the existence of the paranormal within 
  their city. As with other mortals in this world, most dismiss the notion of 
  preternatural creatures and events as farce and fantasy passed down from 
  generation to generation to inspire terror in the gullible. 
  From childhood, Marie knew the truth of most of these legends. Such 
  things happen when one is the daughter of a voodoo priestess and a Naga. 
  Had she any doubts, puberty and the onset of dis-
  tinctly serpentine qualities would have erased any 
  misgivings.
  Naga blood was only part of her supernatural 
  inheritance. You may have heard that magical gifts 
  are most commonly (but not always) bequeathed through maternal genet-
  ics, and Marie developed a modest talent that allowed her to control her 
  appearance. In essence, she has a similar control over her form as the Alphas 
  possesses over theirs. Fortuitously, the form she takes is not that of a Naga 
  but of a boa constrictor, a common pet amongst voodoo practitioners in 
  New Orleans.
  Regardless of her adeptness at shapeshifting and the chosen profession of 
  her late mother (also named Marie), Miss St. Pierre has not embraced voodoo. 
  Her occupation is both less exotic and more in keeping with her secondary 
  form: she is employed as a herpetologist at the Audubon Zoo.
  Paradoxically, she is also a practicing vegetarian.
  Like all changelings, Marie must choose which side to follow, but for now, 
  she reaches for a mundane existence and avoidance of that duality. For the last 
  31 weeks (as of this writing) she has been romantically involved with Sean 
  McAvoy, who is also assisting her in refining her skills and accompanying 
  her with the Routers.
  Because what 
  else would a 
  voodoo priestess 
  want in her bed?
  
  237
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  MARIE ST. PIERRE
  MANTLES
  Marie is a Changeling (p.143) with 
  a mortal mantle of Clued-In Mortal 
  (p.120) because of her frequent 
  dealings with supernatural situations.
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: naga changeLing
  Trouble: the st. pierre Legacy
  Other Aspects: aniMaL Lover;  
  WeLL-versed in LocaL Lore; 
  Mcavoy’s rescuer
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Intellect
  Fair (+2): Focus, Haste
  Average (+1): Flair, Force
  Mediocre (+0): Guile
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Called (sticky): [][][][][] p.143.
  Knowledge (sticky): [][][][][] p.120.
  In Too Deep (lasting): [] p.120.
  CLUED-IN MORTAL STUNTS
  Chasing Rumors: p.120.
  Preparations: p.120.
  CHANGELING STUNTS
  Echoes of the Beast: p.159. Marie’s 
  affinity is, of course, with snakes.
  Cloak of Shadows: p.159.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Boa Form: Once per session, Marie 
  may mark a box of Called to trans-
  form herself into a boa until the end 
  of the scene. Doing so gives her the 
  temporary aspect ForM oF the Boa. 
  Although unique, this stunt is still 
  tied to Marie’s Fae heritage; should 
  she Choose mortal life, she loses this 
  stunt as well. 
  REFRESH: 2
  
  238
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  SEAN MCAVOY
  High Concept: Retired Bureaumancer
  The supernatural excitement of the last decade may imply that a wizard’s 
  life is replete with action, but for most of the White Council, the reverse 
  is actually truth. As with the rest of humanity, most wizards simply have 
  neither the skills nor the inclination to do battle. They have jobs not terribly 
  unlike those of average mortals, with routine and no danger beyond the risk 
  of laboratory mishaps.
  Despite his broad build, Sean McAvoy (formerly of British Columbia) 
  is one such wizard. His magical aptitude lies in potions and more delicate 
  magic, such as enchantments. Furthermore, his mortal skills focus on orga-
  nization; McAvoy has a mind for creating sense of chaos, no doubt inspiring 
  his mentorship within the White Council as Samuel Peabody’s apprentice 
  for three weeks shy of five years. 
  Once Peabody was revealed as a traitor within the White Council and sub-
  sequently killed by Warden Donald Morgan, examination and investigation 
  cleared McAvoy of suspicion and disclosed evidence that, as with so many 
  other young wizards, he had been suborned by his master. Senior Council 
  member Listens to Wind testified that few had been as deeply indoctrinated 
  as McAvoy, an unwilling pawn in Peabody’s treachery. 
  In his journals, McAvoy documented his distrust of the White Council 
  and, once the Red Court fell at Chichen Itza, resigned from his post, vowing 
  to start anew. 
  He is now in his final year at Tulane, studying accounting and economics, 
  and is dating herpetologist and Naga changeling Marie St. Pierre (page 236).
  
  239
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  SEAN MCAVOY
  MANTLES
  Unsurprisingly, as a wizard of the White 
  Council, Sean McAvoy has the mantle of 
  a Magical Practitioner (p.138).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: retired BureauMancer
  Trouble: ForMer apprentice oF a White 
  counciL traitor
  Other Aspects: i MaKe nuMBers dance; 
  a deLicate touch With Magic; neat, 
  tidy, and spotLess
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Intellect
  Fair (+2): Focus, Guile
  Average (+1): Force, Haste
  Mediocre (+0): Flair
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Exhausted (sticky): [] p.139.
  Burned Out (lasting): [] p.139.
  The Third Eye (sticky): [] p.139.
  MAGICAL PRACTITIONER STUNTS
  Evocation: p.140.
  Thaumaturgy: p.140.
  Soulgaze: p.140.
  White Council Membership: Though he 
  no longer works in Edinburgh, Sean 
  remains a member of the Council, 
  with the rights and responsibilities 
  that implies.
  Loremaster: p.141.
  Ritual Specialist: p.141. Sean’s spe-
  cialty is brewing potions, for which 
  he has many recipes in a carefully-or-
  ganized card catalogue.
  REFRESH: 1
  
  240
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  GENEVIEVE BA
  High Concept: Vampiric Healer
  Few White Court vampires exist outside the major houses of Raith, 
  Malvora, and Skavis, as the houses afford protection against the court’s per-
  vasive political machinations. Genevieve Ba is one of those vampires.
  Her hunger identifies her as House Malvora—she feeds on fear—yet she 
  has nothing to do with that house or, indeed, any particular part of the court, 
  not for many years, not since what she calls her “moment of enlightenment.” 
  Genevieve was born in Senegal to an unwed Alaouite princess who had fled 
  Morocco in fear of her family’s anger and of the vampire who had seduced 
  her. Within weeks of Genevieve’s birth, however, her mother perished under 
  “mysterious circumstances.” Public opinion was that Moroccan radicals had 
  exacted punishment for the royal family, but in actuality the baby’s father 
  came for his child and her mother refused to 
  reveal where to find her.
  Whether by fortune or providence, Genevieve 
  was adopted by a Senegalese physician and her 
  husband, raised in Saint-Louis, and fundamen-
  tally ignorant of her hunger until college. Again, 
  whether by fortune or providence, she won a 
  scholarship to Columbia University and came 
  to the United States. Six weeks after her arrival in New York, the Twin 
  Towers fell.
  For weeks, Genevieve was in the epicenter of fear, and her newly awakened 
  demon both terrified and thrilled her with her recently discovered but mis-
  understood hunger. Had the events surrounding September 11 not brought 
  an influx of predators, she may well have lost 
  her sanity.
  One such predator, a Malvoran vampire, 
  explained her heritage and offered an introduc-
  tion to House Skavis and, perhaps, her father. 
  She declined vehemently. Rather than accept 
  this newfound curse, Genevieve promised her-
  self to learn to live within the confines of her hunger without causing harm 
  to another being. As she had long wished, she followed her adoptive mother’s 
  footsteps to medical school, struggling to avoid letting her hunger take control.
  She found ways to keep the demon at bay by feeding it tidbits of terror: 
  watching horror movies in theaters, lingering near thrill rides at amusement 
  parks. It was not until she began clinical work as a medical student, however, 
  that she realized her chosen career afforded her the opportunity to help 
  people while helping herself control her demon. 
  Oh, that’s kind of clever. Bit twisted, but clever.
  I know Harry’s cozy 
  with a few White 
  Court vampires 
  but they’re just 
  as fucked up as 
  the others. 
  Harry has his reasons.
  I saw a lot of 
  Skavis and Malvora 
  in both Washington 
  and New York at 
  the end of 2001. 
  Sick. It was SICK.
  
  241
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  Now a trauma surgeon at Tulane Medical Center, Genevieve has an ample 
  supply of the fear she needs to subdue her hunger without compromising her 
  integrity. She is keenly aware, however, of the knife’s edge of her existence, 
  and another catastrophe will empower her demon beyond her control. As a 
  doctor, as someone who fights her vampiric nature, Genevieve fears that day, 
  knowing its inevitability.
  GENEVIEVE BA
  MANTLES
  Despite the urgings of her demon, 
  Genevieve has not killed anyone 
  during a feeding, so she remains a 
  White Court Virgin (p.156). In addi-
  tion, she also bears the mantle of the 
  Medic (p.128).
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: vaMpiric heaLer
  Trouble: at My core, i aM a Monster
  Other Aspects: ivy League education; 
  raised By a doctor; on aLert For 
  the next catastrophe
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Focus
  Fair (+2): Haste, Intellect
  Average (+1): Flair, Guile
  Mediocre (+0): Force
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Hungry (sticky): [][][][][] p.156.
  Vampire Heritage (special): [x] p.156.
  Medical License (special): [] p.128.
  WHITE COURT VIRGIN STUNTS
  Emotional Vampire: p.167.
  Vampiric Physique: p.165.
  MEDIC STUNTS
  First Aid: p.129.
  Medical Care: p.129.
  Psych Rotation: p.129.
  A focus on psychology is an 
  unusual choice for a surgeon.
  But very apropos for a phobophage.
  
  242
  [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  GABRIEL BEAUMONT
  High Concept: Retired Knight of the Cross 
  Your comprehension of the Knights of the Cross may be limited to those 
  you have encountered, primarily Michael Carpenter and Sanya Ivanovich 
  (page 46), those who have taken up a holy sword and wielded it for many 
  years. Wizard Dresden has voiced his misapprehension that bearing one of 
  the swords constituted a commitment unto death. Historically, 61.24018% of 
  Knights have borne one of the three blades for one or two days only. Some of 
  these short-lived episodes unquestionably culminated in the Knight’s demise, 
  particularly as wielding a sword does not immediately grant one skill with it. 
  Conversely, many have—like Karrin Murphy—carried a Sword of the Cross 
  for a single event, with a single purpose.
  Gabriel Beaumont is one such individual.
  Hailing from the Iberia Parish in southern Louisiana’s Bayou Teche, Gabriel 
  is a gentle, plain-spoken older man with a penchant for fishing, boat repair, 
  and philosophical discourse. His attitudes are not those of any one thinker 
  or faith, instead collecting tendrils of many beliefs to create his own. No 
  records exist of him attending school after grade 8, yet he is renowned within 
  his community for his wisdom and compassion, and tales of faith healing 
  have followed him in his 61 years of existence. His nickname is “Codor,” an 
  Anglicized version of coeur d’or or “heart of gold.”
  His episode as a Knight of the Cross predates Mr. Carpenter’s possession 
  of Amoracchius by a mere 40 days, when he discov-
  ered two Denarians (page 50) on their way to New 
  Orleans. Purportedly their stop in Bayou Teche was 
  for recruitment, as they had an unclaimed coin in their 
  possession, yet Gabriel somehow inspired a quick 
  departure and hounded them to Orleans Parish.
  Once in New Orleans, Gabriel encountered Knight of the Cross Shiro 
  Yoshimo, who offered the Louisiana man Amoracchius. Together they met the 
  Denarians—Akariel and Tarsiel—and defeated them in a pitched battle near 
  St. Louis Cathedral, foiling their plot to steal relics temporarily housed within 
  the basilica, including a sliver of the True Cross. All coins were recovered. 
  Gabriel never drew Amoracchius from its sheath.
  After the battle, Gabriel returned Amoracchius to Shiro, remarking that 
  his was another calling and someone more suitable was awaiting the sword. 
  Whether prophetic or not, Shiro’s path next carried him to Chicago, and 
  Gabriel remained in the Big Easy, working at the cathedral as groundskeeper 
  and handyman.
  That pattern has remained, with Gabriel taking odd jobs around the city 
  whilst doling out advice to any who ask, including a tour guide unnerved 
  by the LaLaurie Mansion (page 233). He elected to intervene with the 
  BALLSY.
  So this guy chased 
  off two Denarians. 
  Unarmed. And 
  kept chasing them. 
  Ballsy. I like him.
  
  243
   [EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN]
  unsettled spirits there, encountered Astrid, Genevieve, and Sean McAvoy, 
  and aided them in combat against the Fomor and Sauvageot’s Pack, with 
  faith and reason as his sole armaments.
  He is something of a force to be reckoned with.
  GABRIEL BEAUMONT 
  MANTLES
  Due to his deep roots in Louisiana and long 
  history of forging relationships with those 
  around him, Gabriel Beaumont is a natural 
  Leader of the People (p.126). Though he 
  does not retain the mantle of a Knight of 
  the Cross, he has a unique stunt that reflects 
  a lingering benefit of his time bearing the 
  sword. 
  ASPECTS
  High Concept: retired Knight oF the cross
  Trouble: these tired oLd Bones
  Other Aspects: Love For aLL Living things; 
  WorKed aLL over this city; can stare 
  doWn a denarian
  APPROACHES
  Good (+3): Focus
  Fair (+2): Force, Guile
  Average (+1): Flair, Intellect
  Mediocre (+0): Haste
  STRESS & CONDITIONS
  Stress: [1][1][1][1][1][1]
  In Peril (sticky): [4] p.117.
  Doomed (lasting): [6] p.117.
  Indebted (sticky): [][][][][] p.117.
  Followers (sticky): [][][][][] In Gabriel’s 
  case, these followers specifically represent 
  people he has aided in the past, primarily 
  parishioners at the St. Louis Cathedral. 
  Disfavored (sticky): [] p.126.
  LEADER OF THE PEOPLE STUNTS
  Ready and Willing: p.127.
  Patronage: p.127.
  Specialist: p.127.
  Safehouse: p.127.
  UNIQUE STUNTS
  Miraculous Chance: Once per session, Gabriel 
  may declare that a physical attack which 
  he failed to defend against somehow 
  misses him anyway, and deals no stress. 
  Whether this is due to divine intervention 
  or simple good fortune is up for discussion.
  REFRESH: 1
  
  244
  [INDEX]
  INDEX
  Final pagecount will depend on how many 
  pages are needed for the index (pending)
  
  245
   [INDEX]
  
  246
  [INDEX]
  
  247
   [INDEX]
  
  248
  [INDEX]
  
  249
   [INDEX]
  
  250
  [INDEX]
  
  251
   [INDEX]
  
  252
  [INDEX]
  
  253
   [INDEX]
  At the least, we do an ad for DFCO here
  
  254
  [QUICK REFERENCE]
  DICE RESULTS
  Result  
  = 
  Dice Roll + Approach Bonus 
   
   
  + Bonuses from Stunts 
   
   
  + Bonuses from Invoked Aspects
  OUTCOMES
  Versus Opponent’s Result or Target Number:
  • 
  Fail: Your Result is lower
  • Tie: Your Result is equal
  • 
  Success: Your Result is higher by 1 or 2 
  • 
  Success with Style: Your result is higher by 3 or more
  SETTING TARGET NUMBERS
  • Easy Task: Mediocre (+0)—or success without a roll.
  • Moderately Difficult: Fair (+2).
  • Extremely Difficult: Great (+4). 
  • Impossibly Difficult: Go as high as you think makes sense. The PC will need to drop 
  some fate points and get lots of help to succeed, but that’s fine.
  QUICK REFERENCE
  THE LADDER
   +8 Legendary
   +7 Epic
   +6 Fantastic
   +5 Superb
   +4 Great
   +3 Good
   +2 Fair
   +1 Average
   +0 Mediocre
   –1 Poor
   –2 Terrible
  ACTIONS (P.104)
  C
   
  Create an advantage:
  • Fail: For a new aspect, don’t create the 
  aspect, or do but your opponent (not 
  you) gets a free invocation. If the aspect 
  already exists and you know about it, no 
  benefit. If you were not aware of it, you 
  may discover it but the opponent gets a 
  free invoke.
  • Tie: Get a boost if creating new aspect, 
  or treat as success if looking for existing.
  • Succeed: Create or discover the aspect, 
  and get a free invocation on it.
  • Succeed with Style: Create or discover 
  the aspect, get two free invocations on it.
  A
   
  Attack:
  • Fail: No effect.
  • Tie: Attack doesn’t harm the target, but 
  you gain a boost.
  • Succeed: Attack hits and causes damage.
  • Succeed with Style: Attack hits and causes 
  damage. May reduce damage by one to 
  generate a boost.
  D
   
  Defend:
  • Fail: You suffer the consequences of your 
  opponent’s success.
  • Tie: Look at your opponent’s action to 
  see what happens.
  • Succeed: Your opponent doesn’t get what 
  they want.
  • Succeed with Style: Your opponent doesn’t 
  get what they want, and you get a boost.
  O
   
  Overcome:
  • Fail: Fail, or succeed at a serious cost.
  • Tie: Succeed at minor cost.
  • Succeed: You accomplish your goal.
  • Succeed with Style: You accomplish your 
  goal and generate a boost.
  TEAMWORK (P.103)
  • One or two allies can help you perform 
  your action.
  • When an ally helps you, they give up 
  their action for the exchange and describe 
  how they help. 
  • You get a +1 for each ally that helps in 
  this way.
  • Alternatively, allies may use actions to 
  create advantages and give you the free 
  invokes.
  RITUAL MAGIC (P.168)
  • Determine your spell’s effect in terms of 
  stunts and conditions to determine prep 
  difficulty and costs
  • Do a preparation action to determine 
  who chooses how you must pay the costs
  • Fail: The GM chooses.
  • Tie: You split it; GM goes first.
  • Succeed: GM chooses one, you choose 
  the rest.
  • Succeed With Style: You choose 
  them all. 
  • Pay the costs as prescribed, either by mark-
  ing conditions or accepting complications.
  
  255
   [QUICK REFERENCE]
  ASPECTS (P.106)
  • Invoke: Spend a fate point to get a +2 or a 
  reroll for yourself, or to increase difficulty 
  for a foe by 2.
  • Compel: Receive a fate point when an 
  aspect complicates your life.
  • Establish facts: Aspects are true. Use them 
  to affirm details about you and the world.
  TURN ORDER (P.187) 
  • Whoever initiated the conflict acts first, 
  and then chooses who gets to act next.
  • Everyone else acts when they are chosen, 
  and then chooses someone else until 
  everyone has taken a turn.
  • Whoever goes last chooses who goes first 
  (including themselves) next exchange.
  • All of the GM’s NPCs act when it’s the 
  GMs turn.
  • If there is ever a question about who should 
  go first, compare Haste approaches. If 
  there’s a tie, roll for it.
  DEALING WITH HARM (P.188)
  • Severity of hit (in shifts) =  
  Attack Roll – Defense Roll
  • Stress Boxes: Check one stress box for 
  each shift. If you reduce the hit to zero 
  shifts, you stay in the fight.
  • Conditions: If you can’t or don’t want to 
  use more stress, mark In Peril to absorb 
  4 stress from an attack, or mark Doomed 
  to absorb 6. 
  • Recovering: Clear out all stress boxes at 
  the end of the scene. Clear out In Peril 
  by taking a recovery action. Clear out 
  Doomed by taking a recovery action and 
  waiting a session.
  • Taken Out: If you can’t reduce a hit to zero 
  stress, you’re taken out. Your opponent 
  decides what happens to you, and what 
  they can say depends on what conditions 
  you have marked.
  • Conceding: You may give in before the 
  opponent rolls their dice. Doing so gives 
  you fate points (p.190), and lets you 
  control how you exit the scene.
  CONDITIONS
  Always take note of:
  • What circumstances cause you to mark 
  a condition
  • What happens when the condition is 
  marked
  • How you recover from that condition, if 
  it’s not always marked
  APPROACHES (P.94)
  • Flair: Draw attention to yourself with 
  style and panache. 
  • Focus: Time-consuming action with close 
  attention to detail. 
  • Force: Display brute strength. 
  • Guile: Misdirect, sneak, deceive. 
  • Haste: Move quickly & dextrously.
  • Intellect: Quick thinking, solving com-
  plex problems, accounting for multiple 
  factors at once. 
  TYPES OF ASPECTS
  Character Aspects
  • Written when you create your character.
  • May be changed when you reach a mile-
  stone (p.196).
  Situation Aspects
  • Established at the beginning of a scene.
  • May be created by using the create an 
  advantage action.
  • May be eliminated by using the overcome 
  action.
  • Vanish when the situation ends.
  • Some conditions create situation aspects 
  for your character, like In Peril and 
  Doomed, which anyone can invoke.
  Boosts (p.109)
  • May be invoked once (for free), then 
  they vanish.
  • May be eliminated by an opponent using 
  an overcome action.
  • Unused boosts vanish at the end of the 
  scene.
  SCALE (P.182)
  • Five levels:
  • Godlike: The direct influence of the 
  universe’s mightiest forces.
  • Legendary: The direct influence of 
  major, named powers of the Nevernever.
  • Otherworldly: The most powerful 
  supernatural forces in the mortal realm.
  • Supernatural: The majority of super-
  natural phenomena, mantles, etc.
  • Mundane: All things absent of super-
  natural influence.
  • GM determines when scale applies; usually 
  it’s when you’re using supernatural abilities.
  • For each level of scale you have, you can 
  have one of these benefits:
  • Take +1 on a roll for an action
  • Take an additional two shifts of effect 
  after the roll, if you succeed
  • Add an extra free invoke to an advan-
  tage you create
  
   +8 Legendary
   +7 Epic
   +6 Fantastic
   +5 Superb
   +4 Great
   +3 Good
   +2 Fair
   +1 Average
   +0 Mediocre
   –1 Poor
   –2 Terrible
  Godlike
  Legendary
  Otherworldly
  Supernatural
  Mundane
  DFAE Character Sheet © Evil Hat Productions, LLC. May be printed and photocopied for personal use.
  DRESDEN FILES
  ACCELERATED
  CHARACTER NAME
  APPROACHES
  STUNTS
  STRESS 
  MANTLES
  ASPECTS
  High Concept
  Trouble
  Other Aspects
  Other Types of Stress
  LADDER
  SCALE (p.182)
  REFRESH
  Flair
  Focus
  Force
  Guile
  Haste
  Intellect
  CONDITIONS
  [1][1][1]
  [1][1][1]
  [4]In Peril (p.117) 
  [6]Doomed (p.117) 
  [][][][][]Indebted (p.117) 
  [][][][][] 
   
  [][][][][] 
  [][][][][] 
  [1][1][1]
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/FATE (fudge) [multi]/Dresden Files Accelerated.pdf