SUMMARY
Those unfortunate enough to come into contact with an Echo become carriers of the Twisting. Often without even knowing it, they help to spread the influence of The Ruin.
While such things are rare, the Twisting can also spread in other ways, such as through Stigmata and the use of Arts. Although their effects are far less spectacular than that of an Echo, they are far more insidious.
In order to allow them to fight manifestations of The Ruin, agents of the MIR are immunized against the Twisting. During their baptisms, they are anointed with the blood of former agents, taking their place in the never ending struggle.
They also have access to the Arts, extraordinary powers which draw on the energy of The Ruin itself. These skills allow the wielder to modify reality. Yet the Arts are just as dangerous to the user as they are to their foes: their power is unstable, and their practitioners often fall prey to the curse of their people. Many an agent has had to be put to death by their comrades, lost to the power they sought to control…
All agents of the MIR have a deep connection to The Ruin, and as a last resort, should they find themselves in mortal peril, agents of the MIR can Shape Reality to change the world around them…
This unique ability greatly increases an agent's chances at survival, but comes at the cost of worsening their curse.
Sources of the TwistingEchoes: The main source of Twisting, Echoes spread The Ruin's dark energy to all who come into contact with them. Stigmata: A curse afflicting each nation of the Pact of MIR. To keep the curse from spreading, the organization created laws known as Anathema. Arts: Extraordinary skills which draw their power from The Ruin's energy, called Twisting. Shape Reality: A "raw" ability possessed by agents of the MIR, which allows them to alter certain elements of reality, at the cost of worsening their Stigmata. |
SCHOOLS OF THE ARTS
The Arts are derived from pre-Ruin rituals and technologies. Each nation has its own School of the Arts, powers reflecting their culture and values. Since The Ruin, the teaching and learning of Arts has been strictly controlled by the MIR. The schools in each state of the Pact are required to give some of their students over to the MIR to be trained as future agents.
The MIR classifies Schools of the Arts into 5 classes with distinct capabilities:
- The Guardians: Tasked with protecting the rest of the group, the Guardian class includes all those who use the Arts of the warrior.
- The Diplomats: As the faces of the MIR, the Diplomat class includes all those who use the Arts of manipulation and negotiation.
- The Mages: Erudites of the arcane, the Mage class includes all those who practice Arts based on pre-Ruin technologies and sciences.
- The Occultists: Wise sages, the Occultist class includes all those whose Arts are based on pre-Ruin traditions and mysticism.
- The Madlings: As Living Echoes, the Madlings are slave agents of the MIR. Their Arts represent the trauma of their people. Powerful but unstable, Madlings are under the responsibility of their group, who have sworn to destroy them should they lose control.
THE ARTS
The Arts used by the MIR are a legacy of The Ruin, a trace of the wonders and horrors of the past, an alteration of reality grafted to each nation's culture. They were once an omnipresent part of life, but today, their use is strictly controlled by the MIR.
Unstable Arts
The most powerful Arts use the energy of The Ruin to twist reality. Unlike the more stable Arts, these Arts do not fully merge with their user, hence they are deemed "Unstable". These Unstable Arts require certain conditions, called Interdicts, to be met in order to be channeled and stabilized in reality.
If these conditions are not met, the one attempting to use the Art suffers from a negative effect called a Repercussion.
Channeling an Unstable ArtUsing an Unstable Art without triggering its Repercussion requires the fulfillment of two conditions: · Its Interdict must not be broken. · The agent must roll a successful Skill test for that Art. If one of these two conditions is not met, then the stabilization fails, and the Art's Repercussion is applied, along with its effect. |
Stabilizing an Art
To successfully channel an Art, its user must first stabilize it in reality. To do this, they must roll at least the number of successes as the level of the Art. Each Art has a Skill test linked to its use, which is shown in that Art's description. If the character fails the test, then they did not manage to stabilize The Ruin's energy in the real world, and suffer the Repercussions for their attempt.
Example: Alexis, who is playing the Iluvetist warrior Bekan, is attempting to channel the level 2 (••) Unstable Art "Supremacy". As shown in the description of the Art, he rolls a Combat (Fear) test and obtains 3 successes. This is more than the Art's level: Bekan has succeeded in Stabilizing his Art in reality, and can now apply its effects.
Interdicts
Stabilizing an Art is not without risk, as the Twisting is fickle and can all too easily turn against its wielder. Interdicts, traditions linked to the use of Arts, were created to prevent such negative effects. The wielder can choose to ignore an Art's Interdict when using it, but in that case they will automatically suffer its Repercussion. Each Unstable Art has its own unique Interdict, which must be respected either before, during or after its use.
Repercussion
When the energy of an Unstable Art is not successfully stabilized in reality, or if its user breaks its Interdict, it triggers a Repercussion. Reality repels The Ruin's attempt to invade, often with disastrous consequences for the user. Each Unstable Art has its own Repercussion.
Example: Bekan, played by Alexis, chooses ignore the Interdict for "Supremacy", as he has already been wounded by one if his targets in this fight. As mentioned in the description of the Repercussion, Bekan's weapon instantly disintegrates. In addition to this negative effect, the Repercussion causes Bekan to suffer 2 points of Temporary Distortion, which is the level of the "Supremacy" Art (••).
Effects of an Art
When an agent uses an Unstable Art, its effect is always resolved, even if its Repercussion was triggered. If a character is the target of an Art, they can attempt to resist its effect, by making a Zeal (Dogma) test opposing the roll used to cast the Art.
A character can also attempt to determine if they are being targeted by an Art, by means of an Instinct (Secret) test in opposition to the roll used to cast it. If the caster triggers a Repercussion, the target doesn't need to roll a test; they will instantly know that they've been affected by an Art.
Distortion
A character who triggers an Art's Repercussion takes the full brunt of The Ruin's energy. For a brief moment, they are no longer in tune with reality, becoming part of the past. This state is called Distortion, a period during which the Twisting takes hold of the character. Although its effects dissipate over time, suffering from too much Distortion can be fatal.
Gaining DistortionThere are two ways for a character to gain Distortion points. · Triggering a Repercussion: The character takes as many Temporary Distortion points as the level of Art being used. · Breaking an Interdict: The character takes the number of Temporary or Permanent Distortion points as specified by the Interdict. |
Other types of Arts
Stable Arts
Mastering an Art modifies the user's perception of reality. Over time, the Art merges with its host to become part of their being, a process known as "Stabilizing". A Stable Art is always active, granting a permanent bonus to its user.
The user of a Stable Art does not need to take a test to use it. Rules modified by Stable Arts take precedence over general rules.
Rituals
These ceremonies or ancestral traditions are most often used to create objects containing traces of The Ruin in a more secure way. Rituals require certain prerequisites such special materials or a specific time of day, as well as the time required to perform them, represented by a prolonged test. Rituals that fail destroy any prerequisite materials used, but do not cause Repercussions.
UPGRADING ARTS
Over time, as they gain experience with them, an agent's Arts will become more powerful. Upgrading an Art changes it permanently.
Upgrade Level
Upgrades increase an Art's difficulty level by the number of points indicated in brackets.
If the Upgrade symbol is a diamond, then the difficulty level increases by 1 success, but the wielder also takes a Permanent Distortion point if they trigger the Repercussion.
Buying an Upgrade
At the end of a Scenario, each agent gains an Awakening point. An Upgrade costs the same number of Awakening points as its level.
If the Upgrade symbol is a diamond, it costs 4 Awakening points. If the Upgrade has a variable cost, it costs the maximum level written in brackets.
Improvements to the same Skill are cumulative, and each increases the Skill's Difficulty level.
Example: Margot's character Filia has accumulated 4 Awakening points, and wishes to improve her "Call of Unicity" Art. She could buy the Charisma upgrade (0 -•) for 1 Awakening point, but she has saved up to buy "Captivate the masses (◊)" which costs her 4 Awakening points.
STIGMATA
Every nation is afflicted with a curse called Stigmata, the mark of The Ruin. Some wear it with a kind of patriotic pride, whereas others go to great lengths to hide the shame of it. A nation's Stigmata carries the Twisting of The Ruin, and those who are not careful can fall prey to its effects.
The Ring of Twisting
Each agents possesses a Ring of Twisting, which represents The Ruin's influence.
- Each circle represents a point of Temporary Distortion
- Each diamond represents a point of Permanent Distortion
Temporary Distortion is always shown as a •, Permanent Distortion with a ◊.
Temporary Distortion
A temporary Twisting with pernicious effects. After suffering one or more points of Temporary Distortion, the player rolls 1D12 on their nation's Temporary Distortion table and applies the effect to their character.
The effects of Temporary Distortions vary according to their descriptions: some have an instant effect, while others last until the agent has performed a specific action.
- A character can only have one Temporary Distortion effect at a time.
- If a player suffers a new Temporary Distortion, they replace the effect of the previous one with the new one.
Permanent Distortion
A Twisting deeply rooted in reality, worsening the character's Stigmata. For each point of Permanent Distortion, the player must consult the Permanent Distortion table and apply the corresponding effect.
Whenever a character gains a point of Permanent Distortion, they lose all the Temporary Distortion accumulated on their Ring of Twisting, as well as all Temporary Distortion effects.
Example: Lauriane's character already has 6 points of Temporary Distortion after overusing her Arts. She then inadvertently breaks an Anathema, gaining an additional Temporary Distortion. As this causes her to reach her second Permanant Distortion ◊, she doesn't note down her 7th point of Temporary Distortion. Instead, she fills out the second Permanent Distortion ◊ and erases the 6 Temporary Distortions present on her Ring of Twisting.
Succumbing to madnessTemporary Distortion accumulate to make Permanent Distortion, and eventually drive a character mad.
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Anathema
The Anathema are laws created by the MIR to prevent the Stigmata of each nation from spreading. Breaking them awakens the bearer's Stigmata.
Breaking Anathemas can increase Temporary Distortion, but the most serious can give a point of Permanent Distortion. The consequences of breaking Anathemas are marked in brackets, with • representing Temporary Distortion and ◊ representing Permanent Distortion.
Example: For the Aniceans, reneging on or breaking an Oath can cause from • to •••• Temporary Distortion, whereas Fleeing from death (◊) causes a Permanent Distortion.
Repairing Distortion
Each nation has a number of rites and traditions which help to reduce the impact of Stigmata. This process is called Repairing Distortion. A character can perform one of these actions to remove points of Temporary Distortion.
Each nation has different actions for Repairing Distortion, and the number of points removed depends on the action performed.
Repairing Distortion also removes the effects of Temporary Distortion, if any are active.
Example: Loriane's Systerin agent is using a level 3 Unstable Art. She decides to obey its Interdict, but fails to stabilize it, triggering its Repercussion.
Loriane adds 3 Temporary Distortion to her character's sheet and rolls a D12 on the Temporary Distortion table to determine the effect. If Loriane gains 1 additional Temporary Distortion point, she will reach 4 points of Temporary Distortion, which will turn into a point of Permanent Distortion.
To avoid this fate, Loriane decides to perform a Repair Distortion action. Consulting the table for the Systerin nation, she chooses to perform the action "Bring a Systerin back to Unicity (• - requires an Intrigue)".
Once the Exarch confirms the action has been completed, Loriane will be able to remove 1 point of Temporary Distortion and end the Temporary Distortion effect if it is still active.
Consuming Verity
There is only one way to remove Permanent Distortion, which is by consuming Verity, a substance that only the Madlings of the MIR can create.
Consuming 1 dose of Verity removes 1 point of Permanent Distortion and all Temporary Distortion.
SHAPING REALITY
Wielding the Twisting damages an agents' connection to the real world. Stable Arts and Distortion bend their perception of reality, slowly pulling them away from the people they are duty bound to protect.
However, this issue comes with an advantage: if faced with mortal danger, an agent can choose to take a point of Temporary or Permanent Distortion to warp the world around them, Shaping Reality in their favor.
Only agents of the MIR, practitioners of the Arts and conscious Echoes can Shape Reality.
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However, Shaping Reality does not allow the agent to change the result of a test to channel an Unstable Art, or to skirt an Interdict by modifying the scene. |
Minor modifications
In exchange for taking a point of Temporary Distortion, an agent can:
- Succeed a test: The agent succeeds the test without having to roll it. The agent is considered to have obtained a number of successes equal to the test's Difficulty level.
- Modify the result of a die: This effect can be cumulative, costing one additional Temporary Distortion point per modified die.
- Modify a minor element of the scene: The player can make a minor alteration to the scene, agreed upon by the Exarch. Perhaps a door that was previously closed is now ajar, or a character in the scene is in a slightly different mood.
- Remove a Severity level from a Wound.
Major modifications
In exchange for taking a point of Permanent Distortion, an agent can:
- Modify a major element of the scene: The player can make a major change to the current scene, by changing something about the general decor, make an NPC appear, or request some kind of bonus skew things in their favor. These modifications must be plausible and accepted by the Exarch to be applied.
- Avoid death: The Exarch decides how the agents manages to survive a situation which should have cost them their life, and can still inflict Wounds to represent their brush with death. If the Exarch cannot find a plausible way for the agent to avoid death (such as when falling hundreds of feet), the character dies.
- Win a Confrontation and the associated Stakes.
- Heal a Wound and all of its Severity points.
Detecting modifications in Reality
An agent can spot an element of Reality which has been modified with a Difficult (4) Twisting (Secrets) test for a minor modification, and an Easy (2) Twisting (Secrets) test for a major modification.
They can take an equal amount of Distortion to dispel the modification of Reality.