Moon Court
From Gothpoodle
Contract of Fleeting Night
Under the cover of night, the wicked feel free to cavort, the night predators hunt for blood, and the freakish & ugly make their rounds while the eyes of society are closed in sleep. The Contract of Night manipulates disgust, vice, and wicked things.
Dark Secrets •
The character gains knowledge of the subject's disgusting and sinful urges.
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wits + Wyrd – subject’s Composure
Action: Instant
Catch: The clause’s subject finds the character disgusting.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character receives an erroneous impression, believing the subject has a sinful impulse they do not.
Failure: The character senses nothing.
Success: The character acquires knowledge of the subject's Vice.
Exceptional Success: The character has a vision of the last time the subject's Vice was fulfilled.
| +1 | The character has a pledge with the subject. |
| -1 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 8. |
| -2 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 9. |
| -3 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 10. |
Dark Stranger ••
The character makes themselves repugnant in the eyes of all who see them, who are uncomfortable with their presence and tend to ignore her or do whatever they can to remove themselves from her presence.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) Template:1dots or Court Goodwill (Moon) •••
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Mantle (Moon)
Action: Instant
Catch: The character makes an obvious display of their Vice (show a breast for Lust, drinking from a bottle in a paper bag for Gluttony, etc).
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character suffers from a skewed version of the desired effect, gaining -2 to all Social rolls until the next sunrise from the disgust of those who interact with her.
Failure: The character fails to invoke the clause.
Success: For the rest of the scene, the character gets +2 to all Stealth, Persuasion, or Intimidation rolls involving getting people to ignore her, leave her alone, or do something quickly so she will leave.
Exceptional Success: The same as above, but the bonus is +4.
| +1 | The character smells strongly of garbage, excrement, urine, or booze. |
Dark Urges •••
The character represses the inhibitions and moral impulses of the subject under the cloak of night, making it easier for them to sin.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) •• or Court Goodwill (Moon) ••••
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Moon) – subject’s Resolve
Action: Instant
Catch: Both the character and the subject are in a darkness or shadows.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The clause turns on the character, who can't regain Willpower from their Virtue until the next sunrise.
Failure: The character fails to invoke the contract.
Success: The character represses the subject's moral drives, making it so that they can't regain Willpower from their Virtue for one day per success gained. Also, if they are forced to make a degeneration roll during pursuit of their Vice, they regain all Willpower from it rather than just one.
Exceptional Success: The effect lasts a full lunar month.
| -1 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 8. |
| -2 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 9. |
| -3 | The subject has Morality or Clarity 10. |
Taste of the Forbidden Fruit ••••
The character causes an individual to temporarily lose their inhibitions and sense of morality. The Court of Night likes using this clause to stir up trouble or potentially court new members.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) ••• or Court Goodwill (Moon) •••••
Cost: 2 Glamour; add 1 Willpower to affect a supernatural subject
Dice Pool: Presence + Seduction + Mantle (Moon) – subject’s Resolve
Action: Instant
Catch: The character holds a live venomous snake in his hands.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character suffers a severe derangement as if they had failed a degeneration roll. This derangement lasts for one scene.
Failure: The character fails to affect the subject.
Success: The subject loses their sense of restraint and moral judgment for a number of hours equal to the number of successes. The subject is not suddenly compelled to do evil. Rather, his perception is altered, rendering him unable to distinguish between right & wrong. This altered perception is very much like the morality-numbing effect the Hedge has on mortals. The subject is not bothered by activities that he would normally find lewd or disgusting. The character acts as he normally would, but without regard to the social or moral outcomes of his actions or the actions of others. While this clause is in effect, the subject does not make any degeneration checks regardless of his actions. However, the Storyteller should make note of any acts against Morality trait that the subject commits. When the clause ends, the subject is suddenly struck with the full weight of what he has done. The player or Storyteller makes the appropriate rolls, starting with the most serious sin (or breaking point, etc.) down to the progressively least serious. If the subject’s Morality trait rating drops to the point that a later-occurring sin would no longer be applicable, then no further checks are necessary.
Exceptional Success: The same as above, but the clause lasts for the next 12 hours or until the next sunrise, whichever comes first.
Howling at the Moon •••••
The character turns someone into a ravenous beast, driven to satiate their most basic desires.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) 4
Cost: 3 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Moon) vs. Composure + Wyrd
Action: Contested and Extended (subject’s Willpower in successes; one roll is made each turn); resistance is reflexive
Catch: The character howls like a wolf under a full moon for at least three minutes.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The clause backfires, affecting the character for one scene instead of the subject.
Failure: The character rolls fewer or equal successes than the subject. The character makes no headway.
Success: The character rolls more successes than the subject and makes headway. If the character reaches the required number of successes, the subject feels the immediate impulse to seek out & fulfill his Vice. He abandons other responsibilities and rational thinking to obey the urge. The character will disregard social sensibilities & manners in pursuit of his Vice, behaving like an animal. See the list of suggested modifiers below for guidelines on the effect’s duration.
Exceptional Success: The character rolls many more successes than the subject and makes great headway.
| +1 | The character knows the subject’s Vice. |
| +1 | Five minute duration |
| +0 | One scene’s duration |
| -1 | One-hour duration |
| -2 | One-day duration |
| -3 | Two-day duration |
Contract of Eternal Night
At dusk, the darkness of night crawls out of the holes & crevices. Shadows grow longer & more abundant. The night encroaches to swallow up the light, and the beasts of night are roused. The Contract of Dusk manipulates darkness, shadows, & nocturnal creatures.
Owl’s Keen Eyes •
The character gains the eyes of a nocturnal creature, able to see with little light even over long distances. This clause enables the character to use low-light vision, just as a nocturnal animal. The character’s visual range remains the same even in darkened conditions, such as dim light or moonlight. The character does not receive penalties for operating in poor lighting conditions or darkness. This clause lasts for one scene.
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Catch: The character tucks a feather plucked from the head of an owl behind each ear.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:
Failure:
Success:
Exceptional Success:
Fear the Dark ••
The character can command the darkness to hinder his enemies, as if they were walking through a nightmare.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) • or Court Goodwill (Moon) •••
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Intimidation + Mantle (Moon)
Action: Instant
Catch: A child screams in terror at the sight of the character.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The darkness turns against the character, applying a -4 Speed penalty for the scene.
Failure: The character fails to command the dark.
Success: For each success rolled, the subject of the clause suffers a -1 penalty to all rolls involving movement (running, jumping, climbing, etc.). The subject’s Speed is also decreased by -1 per success. The subject’s speed can be reduced no lower than 1. Shadows & darkness becomes substantial & viscous around the subject. The character feels as though he is moving underwater in darkness. This clause is only effective under moonlight or in total darkness. If the subject is standing in sunlight or within bright artificial light (street lamp, ceiling light, spotlight, etc.), the clause has no effect. The light must be a strong ambient light to dispel the effects of darkness. A candle is not bright enough, and a flashlight is too narrowly focused to be effective. This clause lasts for one scene.
Exceptional Success: The same as above, increased successes result in increased results.
Nocturnal Swarm •••
The character can summon a living cloud of darkness to descend upon his enemies, obscuring their senses and assaulting them like a plague of nocturnal insects.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) •• or Court Goodwill (Moon) ••••
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wits + Animal Ken + Mantle (Moon)
Action: Instant
Catch: The character consumes a live nocturnal insect harvested from the Hedge.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character absorbs the darkness. The character feels a thousand crawling critters underneath his skin for the rest of the scene, imposing a -2 penalty to all action rolls.
Failure: The character fails to invoke the contract.
Success: A cloud of darkness emerges around the character, filling the air like a swarm of insects. The cloud extends in a roughly circular fashion, a 1 yard radius plus an additional number of yards equal to the character’s Wyrd. The cloud blots out the ambient light, applying a -2 concealment penalty to all characters inside the cloud or characters outside directing attacks into the cloud. In addition, subjects also feel a creepy tingling sensation all over their body, as though they were covered in cockroaches or other creepy crawlers. There are no tangible bugs in the cloud, but the sensation is certainly there. Subjects within the cloud must make a successful Composure check reflexively each turn before taking actions. Otherwise, they are too distracted by the bugs to do anything else. This clause lasts a number of turns equal to the number of successes rolled.
Exceptional Success: The intensity of the cloud is strengthened, actually scraping & stinging the subject’s skin. A subject suffers 1 point of bashing damage per turn exposed to the cloud.
| -2 | In a sunlit area |
| -1 | In a well lit area |
Child of the Night ••••
The character becomes an embodiment of the night, transforming into a swarm of small bats. This ability is typically used to inspire fear or as a means of escape.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) ••• or Court Goodwill (Moon) •••••
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Composure + Occult + Mantle (Moon)
Action: Instant
Catch: The character swallows the blood of a bat.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The mishap occurs during the transformation. The character feels a sharp pain in his joints, and suffers two point of bashing damage.
Failure: The transformation does not take place.
Success: The character’s breaks apart, transforming into dozens of rat-size bats. Though in a fragmented form, the swarm of bats is considered a single entity with a shared Health score equal to the character’s Health. The swarm moves together with a collective consciousness and cannot break off in many different directions. The character can still be damaged normally by attacks to the swarm. In this form, the character flies at his Speed +5 and can change formation to move as needed. The character can also see normally in the dark, applying no penalties for operating in dim lighting or darkness. However, because of the limitations of the bats’ size, the character cannot manipulate physical objects or cause any damage.
Exceptional Success: The character can fly at his Speed +10 and applies a +2 defense bonus. This defense bonus does not apply attacks that could conceivably damage many of the bats at once, such as an explosion.
| -1 | Day time |
| +1 | Night time |
Boogeyman’s Sidestep •••••
The character uses the connections of the Wyrd to reach through the darkness, stepping through a shadow in one location then instantly reappearing from a shadow in another location.
Prerequisites: Mantle (Moon) ••••
Cost: 3 or 6 Glamour
Dice Pool: Wits + Stealth + Mantle (Moon)
Action: Instant or Reflexive
Catch: The character holds the eyes of a teddy bear, taken forcibly from a child.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The character finds himself transported into a scary & dangerous part of the Hedge. The character cannot use the contract again until a day has passed.
Failure: The character fails to invoke the contract.
Success: The character teleports from one location to another within a number of yards equal to the character’s Wyrd x 10. The shadows used must be large enough for the character to step into or fall through. The character cannot use his shadow. The character does not have to know where exactly he is going: only needing to decide on the approximate distance & direction he intends to go. Since the exact destination is somewhat random (at the Storyteller’s discretion), the character must accept the circumstances of where he appears.
Exceptional Success: The character appears at the most advantageous position in the direction chosen. The character must still appear from a shadow of sufficient size.
