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Disclaimer
The Storyteller System, Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, Wraith: the Oblivion, Changeling: the Dreaming, and A World of Darkness are all trademarks of White Wolf Game Studios and the use of these trademarks is without their permission. The mention of or reference to any companies or products including White Wolf Game Studios and their respected products is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned.
Prelude
Barry liked playing chess against the old men in the park. They enjoyed the way that he could beat them in only 3 or 4 moves. But one day Barry was beaten by a man wearing an old battered trenchcoat and sunglasses. The man departed and only said one thing,
" The Winter is coming".
With that cryptic comment he left the park
Following the man Barry was led down many different streets and back-alleys until finally the man stopped and turned round, and looking Barry straight in the eye he said
"The Winter is coming and there isn?t anything you can do about it harbinger, we?ll see to that"
With that the man took off his trenchcoat and seemed to change, into a large nightmare of man and wolf. With un-natural speed the beast attacked, even with martial arts classes the beast was faster than him and it knocked him against the wall of a nearby building, nearly killing him. As if from nowhere an old man turned into the ally and scared the thing off. Running to Barry?s side the old man helped him up and into a nearby car. Not resisting Barry go in and the old man started to talk to him.
"So, lad you followed that mangy dog and what were you going to do to him when you found him hey? You?ve just seen your first nightmare and it won?t be the last by any means. It looks like I?ve got to show you your powers and explain how to use them doesn?t it. Any questions will wait until I?ve finished lad, now lets go get a drink?"
History
"Wake up, the first step to understanding who you really are and what powers you possess, is knowing where they came from.
"Well the story goes like this.. During the close of the Mythic age, an age of magik and monsters, the lady of Dreams chose some humans to possess the powers of the faries, so that when the world forgot, some mortals wouldn?t. She called these humans the Harbingers of Spring. As she created the rest of the world, the great bird, the Phoenix, told here of the winter, the time of no magik or mystery only science and rationality, so she gave her humans one last gift, the gift of the harbinger. This affected each harbinger differently, but it gave them the power to confuse reality and open the mythic age again. This was known as the Spring of the world. We have lived with the other beings of Lady Chimera, the Changlings or the Fae, the Werewolves and the Magi. At the moment we are at the end of the Autumn in the cycle so the winter is coming but you and the others like you will be more needed to bring back the spring.
" The powers we possess are the same as the Changlings and we use the same power source, Glamour. Not the stuff you associate with fame but the pure power of dreams. But whilst the Changlings take glamour from people, we take it directly from the dreaming, so we have more power, but we suffer the folly of this, the power of the winter, the insane dreams of the world gone mad, are our bane. You can use the power to stop others harming you, but it will harm your sanity. Also as we use such a potent power source, it gives a ?buzz? of power and disorients us for a short time. But that is nothing to the thing we can accomplish when we set our minds to it.
" Because we come to bring back the spring, those who would want the winter will try to stop us. These people and things, are very powerful but we have powerful allies as well. But first down to business..
History
The history of the Harbingers is mostly true, but slightly muddled in the order. During the Mythic age the Phoenix, the greatest harbinger of all time, approached the lady of dreams and told her of the seasons of the world and told here to keep her power and protect the age of myths. As in most cases she didn?t believe him but for his sake called the mythic age, the spring of the world. She also bedded many mortal humans and the offspring became known as the Guardians of the Spring. When the humans developed reason, the spring ended and the Summer began, whilst the logic being low, it was now diffusing her illusions and ending her age of myths. The Guardians became known as the Harbingers of spring, during the summer they found many different creatures that wished the winter to be upon them but they knew that they had ages to wait. But now in the autumn, they realise their time is up and they have to create the spring to keep the cycle going.
Character Creation
Choose Nature and Demeanour (Or legacies of using the Changeling book, which is recommended), 2 Birthrights, 1 Frailty and an Affinity (An affinity is an Art you are very good at using ? 1 Difficulty to all rolls involving that art).
Attributes 7/5/3
Abilities 15/11/7
Backgrounds 7
Arts 6
Realms 12
Glamour 2
Nightmare 2
Willpower 5
Freebie Points 15
Backgrounds that may be taken, Most are like in the Changeling book
Arcane (From Mage the Ascension)
Chimera
Contacts
Greymayre
Mentor
Resources
Retinue
Treasure
Chimera Companion (From the Changeling Player guide)
| Freebie and Experience Point chart | ||
| Freebie Points | Experience Points | |
| Attributes | 5 | Current Rating x 4 |
| Abilities | 2 | Current Rating x 2 |
| New Ability | 3 | |
| Backgrounds | 1 | N/A |
| Arts | 5 | Current Rating x 4 |
| New Art | 7 | |
| Realms | 3 | Current Rating x 3 |
| New Realm | 5 | |
| Willpower | 2 | Current rating |
| Glamour | 3 | Current Rating x 2 |
Incase you don?t know, Birthrights are the mystic abilities that the entire Changeling?s Kith have. In this, it is a side effect of the Glamour in the Body of the Harbinger. Below is a list of Birthrights and the brief description of each one. The Harbingers may take 2 additional Birthrights and they automatically have one, which is Glamour use. The effect of this is the Cantrips they may cast.
NB The asterisk after a name means the birthright costs a point of Glamour.
The Percent symbol indicates an occasional power and the plus symbol means willpower cost
Craftwork ? If unobserved you may work 3 times faster than a mortal. You cannot botch a Crafts Roll
Social Dynamics ? A Perception + Empathy (or Subterfuge) roll allows you to figure out the social dynamics of the group. The difficulty depends on the size of the group.
Spirit Pathways ? You will always get to the right place at the right time, wherever you want to visit
Chimera Creation ? You are able to create unliving Chimera. You must know how to build the desired object and roll Intelligence + Crafts roll. This is extended roll and needs anything from diff 5 and 5 successes (Doors, pool cues, and business cards) to Diff 9 and 10 successes required (machine guns, siege engines). Created items may not utilise electricity, radiation or active chemical reactions.
Fix-it-all ? You can fix nearly any mechanical device by making a successful Intelligence + Crafts roll. Difficulty is variable due to familiarity. You may never botch Crafts or Security Rolls. This will often take many turns.
Confidant - You may roll Manipulation + Subterfuge (Or Empathy) to get a subject you are conversing to confide in you. Difficulty is the Victims willpower. Each success gets one truthful answer. You can never Botch Empathy or Subterfuge rolls.
Dark Appetite ? You may eat anything you can get your mouth around. To eat and digest any thing the couldn?t normally costs a Glamour Point.
Bully Browbeat ? You can intimidate anything. Any roll involving Intimidation, the difficulty is reduced by 1 if not more.
Physical Prowess - You can add 1 dot to your Stamina. You cannot botch a Stamina roll.
Awe & Beauty ? You are unnaturally attractive. You add 2 points of Appearance and stand out in a crowd (unless you possess a high arcane rating).
Noble Baring - Any power that would make you look foolish immediately fails and you cannot botch an Etiquette roll.
Titan?s Power ? You are large and Strong. You can add 1 dot of strength. You may never botch an athletics or Alertness roll.
Door in the Rock ? You understand rock differently to others. On a Successful Stamina + Athletics roll (Difficulty 7) allows you to pass through stone. With 3 Successes you may pilot a vehicle through the stone. Others in the Vehicle will pass with you and be unharmed.
Call of the Swimmer ? You can always find a netful of fish whenever you go fishing. This requires a Manipulation + Animal Ken Roll (Diff 6). Each Success summons 1 netful of fish native to the region.
Battle Prowess ? You may not botch a Brawl or Intimidation Roll.
Voice of Beauty ? You have a beautiful singing voice. As such you gain 1 extra dice to roll in anything involving a performance.
Stir the Waters ? You are able to control water to a degree. To create a phenomenon, roll Manipulation + Occult (diff 7). 3 Successes required to do what you want. A botch will do the exact opposite of what you wanted to happen.
Clever Hands ? You are good at making little things. All Crafts difficulties are reduced by 1 and you cannot botch any roll involving making adornments for someone.
Earth Blend ? You can, when in a natural setting and standing completely still, change the colour of yourself and everything you are wearing to the colour of the background. When in an Urban setting 2 glamour points are required for the same effect.
Physical Enhancement ? You are quite strong and dextrous. You start with 2 points already in Strength and Dexterity.
Animal Illusion* ? You can project the illusion that you have changed into an animal. It is always an animal you know about but the illusion is a little flawed, this may be size, markings, etc?
Summon the Herd ? This power allows you to summon 1 type of animal that you know to be near (Under ½ day?s travel). Then they may ask 1 favour of the animals which, can?t be too far from their normal nature.
Prayer of Plenty ? This allows you to convince the plant to grow and the rain to fall where they are need. You need to make a Wits + Occult roll (diff 7). Depending upon the amount of successes they may convince more rain to fall or plants to grow.
Serenity ? You can project an air of serenity on a roll of Charisma + Empathy (Difficulty 7). Everyone within 15 feet must make an willpower roll (diff 8) to stay or get angry.
Congeniality ? You are so nice that you can?t botch any roll?s involving social attributes.
Song of Beckoning ? You can sing a potent hypnotic song which brings anyone hearing the song to you. It requires a Charisma + Performance Roll (Diff targets willpower).
Song of Dismissal ? you can remove any and all memories you yourself from the people who hear it. The roll is Charisma + Performance (diff targets willpower).
Suppress Buzz - This is the ability to suppress the buzz of power until a time when the buzz may be enjoyed. But when it is allowed to flourish, it will be more powerful than before.
Retractable Claws ? You can grow a set of retractable claws which do Str + 2 Damage.
The Frailties of the Harbingers is the effect of the Winter on their powers, they already have one that is the Buzz of power (explained Below) and they must choose another.
Call of the Needy ? You can?t stand to see anyone in legitimate need. If you see someone in this state, then a willpower roll is required not to help them.
Recklessness ? You cannot refuse a challenge, gamble or quest if there seems to be a way to accept and come out alive.
Flaws ? You strive for perfection in everything you do. Anything you create will have a trivial but irreparable flaw.
Lies ? You can?t tell the whole truth about anything. It must always be a lie. You must make a willpower roll (diff 8) to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
Bad Attitude ? You have a very bad attitude. This increases the difficulty of any social roll by 2 or more in any situation not involving Intimidation.
Whisper ? For whatever reason you may never speak in any louder voice than a whisper.
Hothead ? Whenever your bravery or prowess is brought into question, you must battle the person who insulted you. Until this happens all actions must be directed to combat with this person.
Face in the Water ? You are very vulnerable to flattery and have a +1 difficulty when resisting Manipulation based skills.
Terror ? When surprised or startled, you extrude a powerful pheromone which causes frightened terror in all non-Harbingers.
Plowshares ? You are so committed to peace at any cost, you must make a willpower roll (difficulty 8) when they wish to resort to violence.
Hyper Buzz ? The buzz of power affects you worse than many others. It doubles the effects immediately to what happens.
Unretractable Claws ? You have natural weaponry, but you cannot conceal it. They do the same damage but can?t be hidden.
Difficult Power ? The trauma of the Nitemare wasn?t bad enough and your powers suffer because of it. All Cantrips are at +1 Difficulty.
Chimera Dislike ? Chimera Actively dislike you and try to make your life difficult.
Random Chimera Creation ? Thoughts of yours occasionally creates chimera, and if they can they manifest in (normally) inanimate objects.
Cantrips ? The power of Dreams
As they have the same powers as Changelings they cast their powers in a similar way. The must still use both an Art and Realm, but they don?t need to cast a bunk to get the power to succeed. The difficulty is the Local Banality and they don?t need to worry about onlookers. If there is any mortal onlookers then a Glamour vs. Banality roll is made. Each Banality success gives the Harbinger 1 Nitemare dice to be used in the way described in the Changeling Players Guide. The Arts they may take are:
Chicanery,
Legerdemain,
Primal *,
Soothsay,
Wayfare,
Pyretics,
Naming*,
Spirit Link,
Harbinging *
Harbinging is their own art and any arts marked with an asterisk must be taken with the inital 6 dots in Arts.
Harbinging is the power to bring the spring to areas that need it. The only Realm that may be used with this Art is Scene. All effects last for 1 Scene.
Roll Perception
* Imbune Glamour
When this power is invoked, the area that the Harbinger is in becomes slightly more magical.
System: By spending 2 Glamour points, any difficulties with gift, sphere, Cantrip, discipline is reduced by 2
** Reduce Banality
When this power is used, The area becomes less Banal and the wall between the spirit and physical worlds is weakened
System: By spending 2 Glamour points and making the roll, the Gauntlet is reduced by (successes divided by 2) in addition to the effects above.
*** Step sideways
This power allows the Harbinger to ?walk between worlds? in the same way as a Werewolf
System: Roll Glamour (Difficulty local Banality). Each success indicates how fast the side step is completed.
This allows the Harbinger to create a hole in the Gauntlet, in an area. This is called a freehold by Changlings, Caern by Bete and a Node by Mages?.
System: Spend 4 Glamour points and roll against local Banality. The amount of successes that are scored equals the level of the place created. This effect is permanent
***** Shatter Gauntlet
This allows a Harbinger to shape an area to his liking on Earth and fill it with Glamour quickly. This power makes the area as if it was in the Mythic Age
System: Spend 4 Glamour points and roll against local Banality. If 3
Successes are scored, them the gauntlet is shattered and the umbra (Spirit
world) and physical reality become 1. This allows any that wish to go to
the umbra they can. Even normal mortals can if they wish.
The cost of using the Cantrip.
After each Cantrip is cast, the Harbinger feels the Buzz. This is an effect that many feel and is euphoric for the Harbinger. Unfortunately whilst the buzz is in effect there is a +2 difficulty to all rolls due to the sense clouding effect. Depending upon the amount of successes scored depends on the length of the buzz. When calculating the amount of time consult the chart below.
No. Of Successes Effect
Botch
1 Turn Paralysis
Failure
Nothing
1 Success
1 Second Buzz
2 Successes
3 Second Buzz (1 combat turn)
3 Successes
1 Minute Buzz (1 Turn)
4 Successes
5 Minute Buzz (2 Turns)
5 Successes
10 Minute Buzz (3 Turns)
With the Buzz suppression Birthright the effect comes when the stress level is lower, but it is double the normal length of time it should be.
With the Buzz suseptable Frailty the effect is immediate and double the normal length of time it should be.
Glamour and its uses.
Glamour is the power of the Dreaming. With it they may power their Cantrips and some birthrights.
Regaining Glamour
Unlike Changlings, Harbingers just meditate to regain glamour. They roll Stamina + Meditation (Difficulty 7) and each success indicates 1 hour?s meditation. For each hour they meditate make a roll of Willpower (difficulty local Banality) to regain successes Glamour.
Nitemare
This is the power of the crushing winter of the world gone mad. This is used to repel Magikal effects toward them. This is done at Nitemare (Difficulty Effect Level). Each success is a counter success towards the power but gives the Harbinger 1 night of nightmares.
The only enemies of the Harbingers are : The technocracy
Pentex / The Wyrm
Nephandi
The Inquisition
Some world domination wanting creatures
Quote
"The Spring will return, I swear it."
