This section deals with Blessings.
I do not have all the Blessings. A few of the Houses are short. Any suggestions are welcome.
The Blessings listed below are given to those who are Devoted to a suaven. You may choose any of the Blessings for which you qualify, but you may not have more Blessings than you have Devotion.
Each of the suaven listed above is associated with a specific House. Falvren Dyr with the Wolf, Talia with the Fox, Ashalem Avendi with the Falcon. You may choose Devotions from the appropriate House, listed below.
For example, Shara’s Devotion for Talia is rank 3. Talia’s House is the Fox. Therefore, I can choose up to 3 Blessings from the House of the Fox.
Remember: a ven cannot have more Blessings than his own Devotion.
All Blessings require at least one style point. Some require more, but no Blessing is free.
A Blessing may only be used once per adventure. Once you’ve used it, you don’t get to use it again until next time.
Finally, some Blessings are instantaneous while others have lasting affects. All Blessings with lasting affects expire at dawn the next day.
All Blooded of the Bear involved must spend one style point if they want the benefit of this Blessing. When making a competitive Strength roll (working together), the losers do not lose half their wagers, rounded up.
The total number of Blooded of the Bear who may participate in this Blessing is equal to the Devotion of the Bear performing the Blessing.
While most ven use the sorcerous ritual of a similar name, this particular Blessing acts in a very different way.
Marking the door with your own blood, you gain a number of bonus dice in any risks equal to your Devotion divided by two (round up) as long as you remain in your own home. This Blessing lasts until dawn the next day.
Spend five style points after you have rolled dice in a Wisdom risk. Cancel your opponent’s wagers in this Wisdom risk. Success and failure of the risk is unaffected, but only you can keep your wagers.
The ven must draw a circle on the ground with her own blood to invoke this Blessing. Drawing a circle takes one action. The circle must be drawn on a solid surface. It cannot be drawn on gravel or sand or any surface that will not make a full circle with the ven’s blood. If the circle loses its integrity, the magic of the circle is broken. The ven must also know the true name of the person inside the circle. All three names.
Once the circle is drawn, nothing may enter it. Nothing. No arrows, no fire, no swords, nothing. Nothing may damage the circle but the person inside and the Hero who drew it. The circle lasts until dawn the next day.
A Blessing originally given to Renay’s most famous devotee, Analyn Burghe, this is the most secret recipe in all Shanri. And yes, the recipe calls for blood.
A single Hearthbread cookie feeds up to two ven for a day. (Break the cookie in half.) It may not be split further. A full cookie cures poison and any other deleterious effects from venoms and toxins.
Hearthbread cookies require a Season to prepare. Yes, that’s a Season action. You get six cookies, all of which go stale by the end of the Season.
When a ven writes sacred words on a door with her own blood, no one may secretly enter. Anyone trying to enter the house without the owner’s permission after the ward has been drawn will alert the ven who drew the ward. As soon as any stranger of the house enters, the ven knows someone has violated the home and knows the intruder’s true name. All three names. Once the ward is broken, it must be re-drawn.
Spend a style point. You may spend two wagers in a row in one Strength-based contested risk.
Boiling a pot of soup with a personal item hanging over the hearth. This Blessing allows any Blooded of the Bear to find another. A boiling pot of soup and a personal item are all that’s required. The Blessing must be performed at sunrise, for that’s when lost children may be found.
If performed properly, a single spoonful of the soup gives the ven the general distance and direction of a missing family member. The subject cannot be a friend. A family member.
The Burghe once said, “You cannot be fooled without your own consent.” Spend a style point and you can cancel the effects of a surprise (you roll no dice). But only for you, no one else.
Spend five style points after you have rolled dice in a Strength risk. Cancel your opponent’s wagers in this Strength risk. Success and failure of the risk is unaffected, but only you can keep your wagers.
While the other Houses bicker and argue amongst themselves, no House is more united than the Elk. Bound by a tie stronger than sorcery, they are united across the waters, across the mountains, across the forests, across time.
With this Blessing, an Elk can spend a style point to make any other Blooded of the Elk a Contact. This grants the same benefits as a normal Contact, including Season action benefits.
If used during an adventure, the Blessing lasts until sunrise. If used during Season actions, the Blessing only lasts until the end of the Season.
The story goes like this. Jaymen Steele was outmaneuvered by some Fox whose name has been forgotten. Revenge. The Fox tried the same trick twice. He never tried it a third time.
If you lose a risk against another ven and that ven used an aspect to gain dice, you can spend a style point and know either the tag or compel of that aspect.
Cunning is the virtue of seeing the plan within the plan within the plan. And the Elk are the masters of that game. In ven literature, their ability to predict their opponent’s moves sometimes borders on the supernatural.
When it comes time to make wagers in any contested risk, spend a style point. You may look at your opponent’s wagers before you make your own. Your opponent may not change his wagers after you’ve looked at them. You do not have to show your own wagers. You also cannot reveal your opponent’s wagers to other ven.
His voice drops. His hand, so hot. So strong. His eyes…
The Elk Promise is a well-known element of ven literature. A bond between two ven that cannot be broken without serious consequence. It is unique among the Elk, always described as “the Promise.” A small ritual binding the Elk to his word.
Spend a style point after you’ve made a promise to another ven.
The key to winning the Great Game is always knowing your opponent’s moves before he knows them himself.
Spend a style point. You may spend two wagers in a row in a contested Cunning risk.
The Elk are most famous for being the power behind the throne. Their influence is subtle, only revealed when a trap has been sprung.
Spend a style point and give another ven an aspect.
When invoking this Blessing, the ven drops blood on the tongue of any animal. For the rest of the day (until the following dawn), he may communicate with that animal. The ven must convince the animal to drink some of her blood. Any creature that cannot drink blood cannot be the target of this ritual.
An old Blessing trusted only with the most esteemed Falcons. The Devoted goes forth into the world seeking a tree that has been struck by lightning. He retrieves a limb from that tree—a limb that has not touched the ground. Blood mingles with the wood producing a bow that hums in his hands and sings in his ears. The bow may cause Injury to spectres and the user can also use Maneuvers (see Violence) with the bow.
This blessing requires a cloak and a style point. The ven may disguise himself in a general way: a soldier, guard, innkeeper, etc. The blessing causes any to look upon the blessed as if he naturally belonged to the scene. That is, if he is disguised as a guard in a castle, the other guards would look at him as if he was supposed to be where he was, doing what he was supposed to be doing. The Cloak Deceiveous only lasts until the disguised ven takes off the cloak or tells a lie. Once he tells a lie, the disguise is over.
Spend five style points. You may replace Courage with any other Virtue for the next risk.
Spend a style point. When using a bow, you may fire a number of arrows in one risk equal to half your Courage, rounded up. All targets gain the same Injury.
Spend a style point. Your ven finds a charm in his pocket that others view as worth one night’s stay in a good inn. Stories usually have the charm appearing as an acorn, an apple, or something of equal value. The charm can be used to purchase other things as well; the night’s stay is just a relative value. At midnight, the charm disappears. This Blessing may be used once per day.
Spend a style point. You may cancel a tag against any of your Injuries as long as the Injury’s rank is lower than your Courage.
The ven says one sentence, beginning or ending with the phrase “Trust me.” When he invokes this Blessing, anyone listening to the sentence will believe it to be sincere. Please note the difference between “sincere” and “true.” This Blessing cannot be used to convince someone the sky is orange, but it can be used to convince someone of the ven’s integrity. This Blessing also cannot be used to convince someone out of something they know to be true. For example, if a guard sees the ven picking a pocket, the ven cannot convince the guard he did not see what he thought he saw, but he can convince the guard that the other fellow is a “rotten, scabby, foul thief who deserved it.”
When activated, this Blessing causes the subject to become confused and bewildered with an overwhelming tide of emotions. The subject gains an aspect “Befuddled.” The effects last until the next sunrise.
BEFUDDLED
Tag: Your opponent gains dice in any contested risk requiring your concentration or attention to details. The number of dice equals the Beauty of the Fox who kissed you.
Compel: You seem confused, not able to communicate coherently, distracted by something… something… something beautiful.
The legendary Black Kiss is first seen in The Great and Tragic Life of Shara Yvarai. I’ve found other references to it, used under different circumstances. I’m using that work as the “definitive source” on the Kiss.
The ven’s lips must be bloody (either by her own blood or another’s) and she must know the true name of the target. Personal, secret, family. She whispers his name, looking at him. The target ven must be in sight. She does not need to touch him to deliver the kiss, but… see the description below.
When she gives the Kiss, roll Beauty + Devotion (and any appropriate aspects) whispering the target’s name. Target Number 10. He receives an Injury 1, plus wagers. If she actually kisses him, use the same procedure but add her Beauty to the Injury rank.
When activated, the priestess can make the target feel the pangs of any emotion she deems fit – except love. It can be anger, jealousy, nervousness, or even heart-break, but none can cause a heart to feel untrue love… not even Talia herself.
This Kiss creates an aspect that may be both tagged and compelled. “Jealousy,” “heart-break,” “envy,” “greed,” or any other appropriate emotion. The effects of this Kiss last until the next sunrise.
Spend a style point. Cancel all wagers in a Prowess risk made against you. Success and failure of the risk is unaffected, but both the victor and the defeated have no wagers.
More than any of the other Blooded, the Fox are trained from birth to love Art. Opera, painting, sculpture, theater. Art. And because of this, the Fox can look upon Art and see deep into the artist’s mind…
Spend a style point when you become Inspired (see Art). You know one tag or compel from the artist’s aspects.
My love. Sleep sweet. And dream only of me.
This Kiss sets the recipient to sleep until the next dawn. Nothing will wake him except a touch from the ven who originally kissed him.
The Blooded of the Fox are taught a secret language. A silent language. A language of subtlety and treachery. A language of promises that every heart understands.
You may communicate silently to others with subtle body gestures and lilted accents in your voice. The person you are speaking to does not need to know the Invisible Tongue to understand your meaning.
Characters in the operas and pillow books also call it “the Most Secret Gift.” We know very little about it. We know it is dangerous. Those who have survived it call it “the Subtle Weapon.” A sacrilegious honor. Like all weapons, it can be turned against its wielder if she is not careful. It is never seen in the literature, but it is mentioned many, many times. And we only know one thing for certain.
It has something to do with sex.
Intoxicating, debilitating and addictive, ven return to the temples of Talia again and again. Men and women. Seeking it. Wanting it. Blinded until they can have it again.
Spend a style point in the trembling moment. Your lover can no longer spend style points unless you give him permission to do so. But he may now spend style points to add dice to any roll. One for one. He may not spend more style points than you have Beauty.
This Blessing lasts one Season.
For the Serpent, knowledge is not just a tool, but a weapon. As sharp and deadly as any sword.
Spend a style point if you lose a Wisdom risk. You may either spend your wager first or make your opponent spend his, regardless of what the other fool wants.
Moments of pure insight. Moments painful and powerful. Immobilized, in touch with eternity.
Spend a style point after you’ve spent a wager. You may use two Wisdom wagers in a row.
According to the literature, the ven are easily fooled and tricked. Of course, most of this is narrative convenience—miscommunication is the key to both comedy and tragedy—but we also have to take in consideration those overwhelming ven emotions, blinding any reason or logic. When a ven demonstrates emotionless logic, he shows himself as exceptional. Poisoned by the Serpent, his heart has turned black, cold and hard.
When another ven answers a question, spend a style point and invoke this Blessing. You can sense the truth or falsehood of the ven’s statement. You cannot see through illusions or glamours, but you do know when someone is trying to lie to you.
Spend five style points after you have rolled dice in a Beauty risk. Cancel your opponent’s wagers in this Beauty risk. Success and failure of the risk is unaffected, but only you can keep your wagers.
Ignorance is bliss. Wisdom is terror.
Tales of the aura of dread surrounding the Serpent fill ven pillowbooks. Why is the Serpent so feared? Because they know secrets. Every secret. Your secret.
Spend a style point when making an intimidation-based risk. Under normal circumstances, this would be a Beauty risk. After all, you are trying to inspire emotion in another ven. But in this circumstance, for the purposes of creating that overwhelming sense of foreboding, you may use Wisdom instead.
This Blessing requires one style point and one full action to invoke as the ven observes his target. On his next action, the ven knows exactly where the weakness of an object or person lies. Even the weakness of an argument. Using this knowledge, he gains a number of free wagers equal to his Wisdom on his next risk against that ven.
He can also reveal this weakness to another (watching a fight and shouting out the weakness to one opponent, for example), but the person he is communicating to does not have his complete understanding. Another ven can only gain half the devotee’s Wisdom.
The ven can contemplate upon a person he knows or has knowledge of (the target cannot be a complete stranger). When the moment is over, the monk knows that person’s motives exactly and what he plans on doing next. The ven may be in another town; distance is not an issue. Because the devotee knows the target, he can deduce from his knowledge of that person what his plans may be.
A devotee must have at least three other Blessings before he receives this one. When invoked, the ven declares one fact to be true… and he is right. Whether that truth is that a certain breed of orks cannot walk in sunlight without turning to stone or that the Duke of Belshavay is really a sorcerer, the monk reveals this truth and it is fact.
Wolves know their skill with the Sword will carry the day. They also know that sometimes, you must sacrifice a little to gain much.
Spend a style point and pick one opponent during initiative. Before you attack, you may deduct dice from your own pool to force your opponent to deduct dice from his pool, one for one.
The Blooded of the Wolf are trained from birth to sense the fear in their opponents. In their sweat, in their slightest movements, in their eyes.
During the strike bid, spend a style point. You may look at one opponent’s strike bid before you bid dice yourself.
The name of this Blessing comes from an old Wolf proverb: “The hand is the weapon, not the sword.”
Spend a style point. You may call the Parry Maneuver while unarmed.
Ven literature is full of swordsmen, moving effortlessly, always where you never expect them, as if they could turn themselves invisible at the exact moment of the final strike.
If you have any weapon in your hand (including an improvised one), you can spend a style point and cancel three effect from any attack against you.
True masters of the Sword, the ven can use either hand, unlimited by such petty weaknesses. The ven call those who can use either hand with equal deadliness “Sun and Moon Swordsmen.”
Your ven has gained enough skill with a weapon that he may employ one in each hand. Spend a style point. Your ven gains two free wagers for any Prowess risk.
It is said the wolf carries two weapons. His teeth and claws. In fact, the wolf carries three weapons. The third is his mind.
During Prowess risks, you may spend two wagers in a row.
