The Fourth Mithna: Mithna Temos

Last month, I released a poll for "the Fourth Mithna."  A "Mithna" is a Ranathim noble house and, in keeping with the themes of Lithian culture insisting on being as alien as possible, they must necessarily have and use weird names for everything.  When I released the Mithanna it was as part of the aristocratic lens, and I left a poll on what sort of nobles people wanted to see, and "Ranathim Nobility" topped the charts.  I was reluctant (I feel like the Ranathim get too much attention already, but they are one of the more popular races of the setting), but I released the Mithanna to positive reception.  However, in keeping with "not overdoing the Ranathim" I kept the specific Mithna to a minimum.  Each is just a few paragraphs long, as opposed to the pages that the human noble houses get. And I thought "three is enough."  

But last month, I was looking for things to poll and when I asked the community, a lot of people reacted very positively to the idea of a Mithna poll. It made sense: they were easy to make, and I typically release "three of my own, one for you."  So why not do the same for the Mithanna? 

What came out is Mithna Temos, which is interesting in that it more closely reflects my initial conception of the Mithanna before some readers complained about a lack of context.  Even the name "Temos" came from my initial set of three Mithna. This is not a house grounded to a world, but one that wanders. and lurks behind the scenes, manipulating other Mithna for their benefit.  So, here it is: the poll results for the Fourth Mithna.

(And if you're curious what the Mithanna even are, or what the Ranathim are, click the links.  If you're completely lost, check out the primer).

Backer Poll: The Fourth Mithanna

 Yes, even more polls.  You guys seem to like them (though if you need a break let me know) and with the Natives of Kronos (the Menhiri) poll finished and their templates and racial information making good progress, I thought it was a good time to clear the way for another poll I've had on the back of my mind: the Fourth Mithna.

I never really expected the Ranathim aristocracy to be such a hit.  I created three because that seemed like "enough."  But given the positive reaction I got, and the fact that people seem interested in creating their own, I created this poll to offer suggestions and insights into how might go about making your own.

This poll is, like most other polls, open to Companions ($5+) on both Subscribestar and Patreon.  As usual, I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for supporting Psi-Wars.

• The Subscriber Link
• The Patreon Link

Wiki Showcase: Aristocratic Lens - The Shinjurai Royal Family

All this week, I've been showcasing the aristocratic background lenses that came in second.  Today, I can show you what came in first: the Shinjurai Royal Family. You can check them out here.

I was pleasantly surprised to see them top the list, though doubtless Mina Shinjurai (who appeared in Tinker Titan Rebel Spy) and the artwork for the Shinjurai Princess helped feed interest.  To me, most of the other aristocrats are fairly obvious outgrowths of what we already know about the setting: we know there is nobility and maradonian aristocracy, and we know there are imperials, and we know there are Ranathim (who presumably have their own aristocracy), but I don't talk too much about the Shinjurai except to discuss them in passing in Neo-Rationalism, so it was interesting to have a chance to explore this fairly unique element of the setting.

One feedback I got early from the Disciples was "Why so much detail?"  The argument wasn't that it was "too much" (when I came back with even more detail, nobody shot it down), rather, why have the Shinjurai at all?  They're just the royalty of a single planet, on par with the Pelian nobility or some Asrathi lord.  Why go into so much detail?

Well, there's a few reasons.  First, as I discussed in my setting design manifesto, settings should be fractal, and doing at least three of every fractal thing creates a real sense of choice.  And so, humanity has been split into three: the Maradonian branch, who act as "space fantasy" and act as the de facto rulers of the setting, the Westerly branch, who act as the "space Westerns" with their cowboys and their "Native Americans," their asteroid miners and their ancient tribal practices.  Together, we can see "high society" and "barbaric hinterlands."  The Shinjurai represent the "Third way," the "space as science fiction" element of the setting.  The Westerly are too fragmented to offer a single, cohesive aristocracy; if they "ruled the Galaxy," they would do it as a thousand little domains.  The Shinjurai, by contrast, represent a real alternative to the Maradonian way for galaxy-spanning dominion, as they ruled the Galaxy once before Alexus Rex, and the modern Valorian Empire, who at least gives lip service to their philosophies.

The Shinjurai royal family represent one linchpin for this sense of unity.  They are a single thing that all Shinjurai across the Galaxy can point to and say "We believe in that," similar to how Australians, Canadians, and all other members of the British Commonwealth can point to the British Royal Family.  They're a symbol of unity among a disunited people, and a symbol of hope that, perhaps, in the future, they could rise to their former place.

This gives them, to me at least, an interesting tension.  They are, in the eyes of many, the people who should be the most powerful people in the Galaxy, but they are some of the least powerful of all the aristocrats shown thus far.  They don't have secret occult oaths, or the legacy of a millennia of psychic engineering.  They have only tradition and knowledge.  They use their soft power to achieve their ends, while being held hostage by the Maradonian nobility and their own people.  They represent a repudiation of Maradonian aristocracy that, themselves, attend the courts and senates of the Maradonian Alliance.  They are chained kings, or bound princesses, if you will.

I also think it's important to have a "dark horse" in your setting.  A setting should have obvious high-points. In Psi-Wars, that's the Empire vs the Alliance, Templars vs Tyrants.  You know about princesses and space knights and commandos and fighter aces, and that's fine.  A setting should have these.  But there should also be something that rewards the player that digs a little deeper, something that's not actually part of the primary struggle of the setting, but still very interesting.  In Star Wars, this might be the Mandalorians or the Nightsisters; in Warhammer 40k, that might be the Tau. In Psi-Wars, this is exemplified by the Shinjurai, who bring an entirely different vibe with them, but one that still fits in the larger themes of the setting.  So, if you want to play as something a little different in Psi-Wars, the Shinjurai offer an interesting option for it.

Wiki Showcase: Aristocratic Lens - The Mithanna

I asked my patrons to vote on which aristocratic lenses they wanted to see, and four options tied for second.  This is the third (and last that I'll discuss here; the fourth was the Last Alexian, which is a Patreon special, available in the Lost book of Houses).

I was honestly a little surprised to see Ranathim Aristocracy do as well as it did.  I'm glad it did, though, because it gives us a chance to look at some truly alien nobility.  Most of our aristocrats are either human, or only superficially different from human nobility (you could, for example, build an Asrathi noble as a generic aristocrat, but there's nothing in that post that would encourage you to make him different from, say, a Pelian noble).  This gave me a chance to explore a really different sort of aristocracy, to set up some unusual and alien traditions.

One concern I had going into the design of the Mithanna was mounting complexity.  I didn't mind adding more and more houses to Maradonian nobility, because they're a central focus of the game and I expect players will want to see a lot of detail about them.  The Ranathim pose a different problem, as they're explicitly "foreign."  They're the "Red Men of Mars" that John Carter goes and learns about, with their Jeds and Jeddaks and Tharks, or the Klingons with their overly nuanced sense of honor and their unique language. They're meant to feel foreign and exotic, which both means they need a lot of detail, and that people don't care about their detail until they really care about their detail.

So I wanted to make something something that felt weird but didn't actually use any new mechanics.  If you're familiar with the Divine Masks, you're already familiar with Oath Magic (ie, just buying a learned prayer as a straight up trait and slapping an oath modifier on it), so I chose that mechanic as my core focus.  I chose a single oath (the Mithna Edict) as the focus of the characters, the one thing they turn on, then added a handful of ways to customize your characters (a few new oaths, some psychic abilities, a few common traits, etc). 

I felt three houses were enough, though I've heard murmurings of wanting a fourth or making their own, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. With the Maradonian nobility, I could easily see games centered entirely on them.  The Maradonian aristocracy are one of the participants of the central conflict of the setting, and they're a familiar sort of nobility, which allows players to easily understand them.  They could well want to play one and find that the four houses offered aren't enough, hence the Lost Book of Houses.  With the Ranathim Aristocracy, I don't see that nearly as much of a concern.  I see most players experiencing the Umbral Rim as outsiders, and those that want to run a strictly Umbral Rim/Ranathim game are, first, likely to be rare and, second, served already by the great variety of the region.  They can play as a member of one of the three Mithna, or they can play as a Slaver-lord, or they can play as a Gaunt priestess, or they can play as a Trader Merchant-King, or they can play as a Keleni prophet, etc and so on. The region is already rich with variety, so the Mithanna only really need enough variety to lightly outline how they might vary from one another, and then they can be tossed into the wild mish-mash of ideas brewing in the Umbral Rim.

What emerged from my design was, as someone pointed out, very Fae-like.  This wasn't actually intentional (I drew more inspiration from Vampires, especially Vampire: the Masquerade. If you squint, you can even see the Gangrel behind Mithna Galantim), but I can see it.  Like with most things I put into the Umbral Rim, the idea is to create a disorienting set of rules that nobody properly explains to the player, making him feel like an outsider, so that he staggers into insulting one of these and ends up dueling them in some crazy, pulp space opera dueling chamber with a gyrating floor and spike traps, while a Ranathim princess struggles with her feelings for this strangely compelling Earth man and the fact that her Edict forbids her from loving him (unless he does these equally weird, arbitrary things that the princess sighs and rolls her eyes when explaining it to him, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world).  I also had to explain how the aristocrats of a broken empire could still keep their power, given the constant churn of disorder and anarchy in the Umbral Rim.  I think it worked out well.

The dueling, blood-feuds, and the explicit bonds to worlds (such as Galantim ruling an estate on Hekatomb) is based on feedback from the Disciples.  They thought the Mithanna needed more context.

Wiki Showcase: Aristocratic Lens - Maradonian Noble

Ahh, here it is, the one you've likely been waiting for.  Since I started working on the Alliance, I think the Maradonian nobility are second only to Communion itself for interest from the community, thus they likely need no introduction, but here we go anyway: the lingering remnants of a psychic aristocracy, bred to save the Galaxy from some great apocalypse coming in the future, are the main force standing up against the Emperor.  They present themselves as heroic defenders of democracy, while quietly seeking to secure their own power over the galaxy.  The Emperor's empire was founded on removing their aristocracy from the Galaxy and bringing equality with him (though, perhaps, he has not succeeded at that as well as his propagandists say).

I created the Maradonian aristocracy for a few reasons, but primarily I wanted real opposition to the Empire.  Star Wars presents the rebellion as a plucky group of rag-tag farmers and adventurers who just happen to have their own fleet. This is based on a very optimistic and romantic notion of what a "rebellion" looks like.  To be sure, the American revolution saw the Americans with their own fleet, and the American civil war likewise saw the Confederation sport their own fleet, but in both cases, these were fully fledged states waging war on one another, rather than a band of guerrillas.  You need shipyards and workers to maintain a fleet, you need training grounds to train your pilots, you need to perform exercises to get your fleet to work well with one another.  George Lucas based a lot of his vision of the rebellion on a romantic view of the Viet Cong, but they didn't need to fight naval battles on the scale of what we saw on WW2 and, even if they did, they had the backing of a state (North Korea, which itself had the backing of China).

So, if you want to have large, sweeping naval battles in space, you need a state.  If Psi-Wars is WW2, and the Empire is Germany, then the Alliance is Britain.  Other good inspirations would be Napoleon vs the monarchies of Europe, or the aristocratic arm of the Roman civil war that led to the rise of Augustus Caesar.

I also created them because we need space princesses.  Space opera is based heavily on the "fiction of the day," and the fiction of the day that inspired works like Star Wars were fantasy works and, especially, the Ruritanian Romance, stories that involve swashbuckling adventures in small, valley kingdoms with very 19th century aristocrats. One needn't look that hard at Star Wars, with its princesses and heroic space knights rushing to rescue them from a grasping, napoleonic Empire.  We like stories about prim princesses who need a good scolding, or who heroically rebel against their gilded cage, or princes who seek to earn their father's favor and who must bear the crushing responsibilities of the state and the needs of the people at a tender, youthful age.  And, of course, everyone must know how to duel.

To make such an aristocracy work, we need to embed them in the setting and create a mythology around them. In large part, aristocracy is built on mythology, the story that some people are better than others, and that they're the better people.  They trace ancient, prestigious lineages, and they explain that their bloodline gives them greater right to rule. In Psi-Wars, we manifest this with their eugenic bloodlines and their ancestor veneration.  This gives them a reason to be picky about whom they marry, or to look down their noses at one another ("Bloodline purity 0? Seriously? Were your parents even trying to retain their dignity, or did they just give up when they decided to have you?"). Their heritage as space knights gives them a reason to retain their martial lineage, but the lack lack of warfare has turned it into something ceremonial, a game that focused duelists seek to win, rather than a way of war.

Thus, if you're thinking of Psi-Wars Aristocracy, chances are, you're thinking of one of them.  So, check them out here.  If you find my varieties of aristocracy confusing, just ignore the rest and focus on these, because they're the ones people seem to know best. Currently, I have four houses, four lineages.  You can make your own, and I have four more available in the Lost Book of Houses if you're a patron.

Wiki Showcase: the Aristocratic Background Lens - The Imperial Heir

When my Patrons voted for the Aristocratic Lens to be the focus of the month, I asked them what optional lenses they'd like to see focused on, and we had a four way tie for second.  The Imperial Heir was the second of those tied for second.

So, what's it like to play the second most important person in the Galaxy?  You can't play as the Emperor of course (right? I mean, that would be silly), but why not one of his children? 

Star Wars never really talked about imperial succession, because it was interested in having a tightly constrained narrative that it could wrap up with a bow: find the Emperor, kill the Emperor, the galaxy is saved.  Hooray!  But we have the luxury of exploring these possibilities.  We can have an imperial prince or princess and a convoluted race for succession if the Emperor ever actually dies, including which person gets backed to be the next in power.

Like the Corporate Heir from yesterday, the Imperial Heir is not powerful in their own right, but because of who they're deeply connected with.  Just as we can look to real-world corporate heirs, we can look to the children of real-world dictators and see what they might be like: spoiled, with nobody in their empire willing to say no to them, though sometimes, they come to see the plight of their people and may act as a sort of hero figure (or be set up as one by their father's very clever propaganda arm).

Of course, playing such a character isn't cheap (60 points! For the basics!) but that's to be expected. The ability to throw a tantrum, and then get your own dreadnought for your birthday, is a pretty powerful one. And the GM needs to be careful if allowing this, as the campaign can quickly become about the Imperial Heir, which isn't necessarily a problem, but it's not the sort of character you just chuck into a campaign without working out some of the details first.  But if you want to play that sort of campaign, you have the tools to do so here.

Wiki Showcase: Aristocratic Background Lens - Corporate Heirs

When my patrons voted for aristocracy, I held a poll for what sort of aristocratic lenses they'd like to see, and we had a four way tie for second.  One of the tied-for-second choices was: Corporate Heirs.

So far, we've only seen aristocracy-as-aristocracy, but really, the background is about being one of the well-heeled of the Galaxy, someone with money and social influence who gets to attend the nicest parties in the nicest outfits and gets to worry about their manners. So far we've based that in blood and lineage and psychic power, fitting for Psi-Wars as inspired by Star Wars, which itself was emulating fantasy, swashbuckling and Ruritanian romance.

But Psi-Wars talks a lot about corporations (as does the later installments of Star Wars, it must be noted).  I talk about them because they're a good way to introduce disruption to aristocracy, as you begin to shift from "old money" to "new money," and capitalism regularly creates (or at least underlines) social upheaval in its cycles of creative destruction.  And Psi-Wars begins to gain something of a cyberpunk edge to it, a sense of more modernity when compared to Star Wars.  GURPS thrusts this upon us, in part, thanks to how it handles tech levels, but it's something I've personally wanted to explore, because it differentiates the setting from Star Wars, and because a cyber-samurai dueling a psychic space knight is a wonderful image.

Certainly, groups like the Hyperium Mining Guild and ARC draw inspiration from corporations like Dune's CHOAM; less modern corporation than medieval guild or aristocratic collective for sharing profits, but companies like Syntech could fit in the glass towers of Neo-Tokyo.  These companies give us different technological profiles (which we've been exploring recently), but they could also give us story seeds ("Syntech has hired you to smuggle this cargo to the Umbral Rim, no questions asked."), and we can explore the people behind them.  Thus: the Corporate Heirs.

A "Corporate Heir" in this context is anyone with sufficient connections to a company to enjoy the wealth and power of that connection without actually working there: the son of the business owner, or the wife, or the mistress.  They have money and people want to impress them which translates, effectively, to status.  They are, however, still in a world dominated by the "old blood" aristocracy.  They may have money and influence, but they tend to lack class, breeding, honor and "fighting spirit." They're a merchant class, not a warrior class.  This gives them the ability to innovate and think outside the box while the aristocracy tends to be stuck in its old ways, but it also tends to give you self-centered party animals who run away from trouble rather than, like those irritatingly brave Knights of House Kain, towards the trouble.

I like them as a pallete cleanser for the aristocracy.  You can sprinkle them at your parties to remind people that the age of the aristocrat in Psi-Wars is beginning to pass away.  You can play as one, and instead of having your aristocratic father talk about what a disappointment you are to the family, you can have your corporate father talk about what a disappointment you are to the company, but instead of proving him wrong by mastering a force sword style, you'll do it by creating an amazing new invention.

Patreon Special: the Lost Book of Houses

I had originally intended to release this with the release of the Maradonian Noble background lens, but it's the end of the month, and I wanted to give it to my Patrons early, so some of it might be "out of order" and you may have to wait a few days to understand the logic of the included background lenses.

The Lost Book of Houses introduces the details for four new houses, two of which are completely new. This work is available to all $3+ "fellow traveler" patrons.  Thank you, guys, so much for supporting this project.

• House Harrow: The Bastard House rules the Rogue Stars with an iron fist, hated by their people, and seem to represent the worst of the Maradonian Nobility. Nonetheless, their tyranny has given them the wealth necessary to bankroll the Alliance’s efforts, and they have an intriguing bloodline that whispers enough of the possibilities of a restoration of the Alexian bloodline that more prestigious nobles are willing to hold their noses and bed members of this mongrel house.
• House Korenno: The great houses of Maradon rest their power upon the service and loyalty of lesser houses, who provide the bulk of their knights and handmaidens.  House Korenno, “the Grooms of Sabine” or “the Speakers of the Dead,” represents one such minor house in the service of House Sabine.  They fight in the Alliance’s wars, and attend the grand balls of the nobility, but rarely get the recognition of the great powers of the Alliance.  The people, however, love them and their retrocognitive talent for dispensing justice.
• House Tan-Shai: The Merchant House ruled the Arkhaian Spiral, and the Akashic Order attempted to prevent the Alexian Emperors from elevating them to the level of Maradonian aristocracy. They have a strange, alien air to them, and a manufactured quality to their beauty, and they seem to hide a dread secret on their forbidden world of Shaddai. When the Emperor rose, the House split in twain: the Shaddai branch betrayed the Alliance and sided with the Emperor, seating on of their own next to him as Galactic Empress; the Arkhanus branch joined the Alliance, but many regard their motives as suspect, and were it not for their control of the Hyperium Mining Guild, they might not be allowed a seat on the Alliance Senate at all.
• House Alexus: The culmination of the Akashic Dream and the rulers of the Eternal Empire, the Alexian Dynasty, died in the during the death throes of the Mad Emperor Lucian Alexus. Or did they? The Alexian bloodline lives on in the “Duchal” bloodlines of House Sabine, House Grimshaw and the Orphean lineage. And, perhaps, some last heir still lingers out there, secreted away beyond the edges of the Galaxy, or locked away in some Imperial prison.

Background Lens Revisited: Aristocracy

Maradonian Lady,
Art by Kriz Villacis
Owned by Daniel Dover

For September, my Patrons voted to revisit the Aristocratic Background Lens.  This turned out to be fairly labor intensive (I had hoped to do one background and one template in the month; I was unable to do a template).  This makes sense, though, because aristocrats tend to be deeply tied to the setting, and they've also been one of the more popular elements of Psi-Wars.

For most people following Psi-Wars, "aristocrat" is likely synonymous with "Maradonian Noble." After all, they're the core of the Alliance, which is one of the core factions of the setting.  But what I want to do with the aristocrats is break them out in to several possible options, to offer some additional nuance. This will give you some insight into the politics of the galaxy, as well as some ideas for how you could make some new, unique lineages of nobles.  I've already posted the setting elements of two of these: the Ranathim Mithanna and the Shinjurai royal family, but the point of today's post is to give you the tools for any aristocrat: Asrathi high-born, Westerly tribal royalty, Pelian nobility, or Lithian potentates and warlords.  The Galaxy is huge, so all the worked examples should be seen as drops in the bucket compared to the possible variety found within the Galaxy at large.

You can check out the Generic Aristocrat background lens on the wiki.  Over the course of the week, I'll try to release the other, more specific lenses to the wiki as well.

Shinjurai Royalty

Shinjurai Princess
Art by Kriz Villacis,
Design by Desiree Theunissen
Copyright Daniel Dover

Last week I revealed the Mithanna, the Ranathim aristocracy, which was the second most voted for group of aristocrats that my readers wanted to see given a special treatment.  The first most voted for was the Shinjurai Royal Family.

This took me awhile to write, and I won't be giving every example of aristocracy in the Psi-Wars galaxy such an indepth treatise.  The intent behind the Maradonian nobles, the Shinjurai royal family, and the Ranathim Peerage is to give worked examples to you, dear reader, from which to draw inspiration for your own nobility, as well as giving you multiple flavors of nobility to play with in your games of high politics and dreadful social scandal.

The Shinjurai nicely contrast with the Ranathim or the Maradonian aristocracy because they're not psychic or empowered to be above everyone else through the authority of their bloodline.  Rather, like modern monarchies, their power tends to be one of symbolic legitimacy, as they blur the line between celebrity and governance.  They also represent a major element of the setting that doesn't see much discussion: the more technologically savvy branch of humanity, the Shinjurai and their Neo-Rationalism.

The Mithanna, the Ranathim Peerage

Ranathim Female
Drawn by Kriz Villacis, owned by Daniel Dover

This continues the discussion of the Lithian Aristocracy of the Umbral Rim, this time with an explicit focus on the ancient remnant aristocracy from the ancient, bygone Ranathim Tyranny, and their oath-bound nobles who linger on, thanks to their unique bond with Dark Communion.  This also presents new character options, similar to the Maradonian Nobility, but much cut down on detail and complexity, with a unique set of disadvantages that will ensure their gameplay is never particularly boring.

For additional context, see the Ranathim race here, and the worlds of the Umbral Rim here.

For all Fellow Travelers ($3+ patrons), the Rare Psionic Powers preview has been updated to include a rough draft of Animal Telepathy.

The Lithian Aristocracy

Slaver;
Drawn by Kriz Villacis, owned by Daniel Dover

The winner for the "Template of the Month" turned out to be the Aristocratic background lens, which came as no real surprise.  I had hoped to also get a template done, but that looks to not be in the cards, as working out aristocratic elements took up a lot of time. I did a later snap poll for which aristocracies people wanted to see worked out, and the Shinjurai royalty won, but "Ranathim Aristocrats" did better than I expected.

Everything even touching the Umbral Rim needs special attention to emphasize how foreign and unique it is, while still retaining a measure of cohesiveness.  In many ways, the Umbral Rim is the "dark mirror" of the Glorian Rim, so just as the Maradonian Houses have a great deal of detail, so too do the nobles of the Umbral Rim need some additional detail and cultural context, especially when it comes to their titles, given the shared "Lithian" language between the inhabitants of that part of the galaxy.

This is the first part of a two part series.  Today, we look at the state of "aristocracy" withing the Umbral Rim today, dominated as it is by warlords, potentates, slavers and criminal cartels.  This mostly looks at titles and how they tend to get used.  Tomorrow, we'll dive into explicit Ranathim aristocrats who have lineages that date back to the Ranathim Tyranny and how they have maintained their power over the intervening centuries since their empire fell.

Patreon Post: House Tan-Shai, the Fifth House

Patrons of the Companion ($5+) and higher tier sometimes get to vote on some critical aspect of the Psi-Wars setting.  Nearly two years ago, they had the chance to vote on the "Fifth house." The results were... unusual to say the least: a degenerate house elevated by the Mad Emperor, who opposed the Akashic Order, had anti-psionic powers, and followed a Broken Communion cult and sided with the Emperor; they were clearly the anti-Maradonian house!

Well, it's taken me a lot of time, but House Tan-Shai, lords of the Arkhaian Spiral, are finally here.  Fellow Travellers ($3+ patrons) now have access to a preview of the house.  Enjoy!  As always, thank you to all of my patrons, and if you're not a patron, you can always become one by hitting that button in the sidebar!

Psi-Wars Atlas III - The Glorian Rim

Before I dive into the post proper, a note on the navigational traits of galactic arms:

 

Default Navigation Modifier: +0

30,0000 parsecs (100,000 lightyears); curved. It takes about 5 months to go from the point where the galactic arm meets the galactic core, to the very end of it with a rating 1 drive. Crossing the galaxy from the tip of one arm to the tip of another arm typically takes 1 year with a rating 1 drive.

The Glorian Rim

Default Navigation Modifier: +0

The Glorain Rim gave birth to the galaxy’s current rulers: humanity. Its worlds nurtured their rise and today, houses the last remnants of the Galactic Federation: the Alliance. Thus, its occupants are primarily human. The Glorian Rim’s ancient traditions date back to the dawn of human space travel, and the most prestigious of aristocratic houses trace their roots to its worlds. It houses one of the few major powers in the Galaxy that can pose a reasonable threats to the Empire in the form of its alliance of psychic aristocracy and free worlds, which means it faces the constant threat of invasion from the Valorian Empire.

The Glorian Constellations include:

• The Maelstrom: the swirling hyperspatial storm churned by a pulsar that guards the entrance of the Arm
• The Ancestral Spur: The homeworlds of humanity
• The Golden Belt: The most fertile worlds of the Glorian Rim
• The Rogue Stars: Scattered stars on the edge of the rim; a hive of scum and villany.

A Note on Labyrinthine Worlds

Some worlds in the Glorian and Sylvan Rim are “labyrinthine,” which means their cores died millennia ago and some ancient race riddled the world with endless tunnels and passageways. Persephone is the most famous of labyrinthine worlds; the symbolic caverns of the Akashic Mysteries imitate the labyrinthine passages beneath Persephone, where the first oracles of the Akashic Mysteries first encountered the Devils of Persephone and mastered the art of peering through deep time. However, other such labyrinthine worlds exist, scattered throughout space and, some say, are fundamentally connected to one another somehow. Those who navigate the labyrinths can, according to this legend, travel from one labyrinthine world to another without ever leaving the labyrinth. Navigating a labyrinth is perilous; beyond the danger of becoming lost in its endless passages, traps protect secret chambers and monstrous creatures (like the devils of Persephone) roam their depths.

Other Labyrnthine worlds include:

• Perspehone (Glorian Rim)
  
• Caliban (Glorian Rim)
  
• Exile (Glorian Rim)
  
• Nehud (Sylvan Spiral)
  
• Jotan (Sylvan Spiral)
  
• Verdant (Sylvan Spiral)
  
• Tho-Tan (Pheonix Super-Cluster)
  

House Kain Ancestor Veneration

Kusari Kain

Era: War of the Four Houses

True Destiny: The Faithful Hound

The Akashic Order struggled to integrate House Kain, and would have rather Alexus never elevated them in the first place, but when Kusari Kain slew Shio Daijin, the Akashic Order knew they had a legend they could work with.

The Akashic Order presents Kusari Kain as the exemplary member of House Kain. He subordinates himself to the will of the Order and the other nobility. He sees his place as a knight, rather than a lord. He hunts the enemies of the Akashic Order and the Alliance with ruthless, machinelike efficiency. He knows his place, as the weapon of the Alliance.

Those who have the Destiny (Faithful Hound) can expect to hunt down the enemies of the Alliance, slay them, and to never die while in direct service to the Alliance, no matter how grievously wounded.

Legacy

Kusari Kain worked tirelessly to hunt down the enemies of the old Eternal Empire, and that drive to preserve the power of the nobility with devoted, violent service, remains in his descendants to this day.

Descendents who follow Kusari Kain must take the Obsession (Slay the enemies of the Alliance) [-10].

Milestones

The descendant is spiritually troubled. In his wandering, he meets a wise master, who assists him in overcoming his spiritual trouble. The descendant swears undying loyalty to the wise master.

A great enemy threatens the boon companion or wise master of the descendant while the descendant is away. The descendant must abandon his current quest, allies and friends to rescue his boon companion or wise master. He returns to find much of the Boon Companion or wise master’s property destroyed, but is able to rescue them.

The descendant realizes that to succeed at his quest, he will need a legendary artifact. However, none presents itself, but his wise master directs him to several places where he can collect fragments of an artifact and then he returns with them, and reforges them into a new legendary artifact, which becomes his signature item.

The wise master, having been betrayed by a traitor, sees how that treachery threatens the stability of his domain and the stability of the galaxy. He commands the descendant to hunt down and kill the traitor. The descendant agrees, and arrives at wrongfully acquired stronghold of the traitor to find a small army arrayed against them. He kill them all, and then executes the traitor.

The wise master unrighteously commands the descendant to hunt down and kill a good man. The good man, when confronted, refuses to fight back and instead offers an explanation for his actions and reveals the unrighteousness of the wise master’s request. The descendant chooses to follow his master’s command and slays the good man.

Associated Miracles

Kainian Grit

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3.

The Descendant pursues his prey with ruthless efficiency. He gains Tough Guy 3 for one hour or until it has assisted him at least once, which ever takes longer. This talent is cumulative with any existing talent, and may exceed +4.

Statistics: Tough Guy 3 (Divine, Path -15%) [13], Rule Exception (This talent may exceed +4) [1]

Divine Hunter

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points.

This miracle grants the descendant perfect knowledge of the direction of his target. It only works with targets the character has attuned to (by meditating with something that belonged to them), and the character can only have a single target at a time.

Statistics: Super Memorization 1 (15) (Divine Path -15%, single form of Detect only -80%) [15]; Detect (Single living target only; Cosmic, no die roll required +100%; long range 2 +100%, No Analysis -10%)

Unstoppable (Enhanced)

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 7.

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points.

For the next 3d seconds, the descendant gains High Pain Threshold, DR 20 (hardened x3), takes no visible damage and is unkillable until he reaches -10xHP, unless he is wounded with an attack that originates from Communion. Furthermore, in addition to his High Pain Threshold, he gains +3 to resist unconsciousness. Finally, when the power wears off, the character must check for death based on his current state, but even if the roll fails, even if he’s automatically dead (-5xHP), the character merely falls unconscious and is not dead unless someone deals a death blow.

Statistics: New variant of Blessed derived from Blessed Be (Pyramid #3-78) [14] with grants the following advantages DR 20 (Hardened 5 +150%, Force Field +20%) [54], High Pain Threshold [15], No Visible Damage [1], Hard to Subdue +3 [6] and Unkillable 1 (Achilles Heel, Divine Attacks, -10%) [45]

Lothar Kain

Era: The Rise of Alexus

Dark Destiny: Bloodthirsty Warlord

The Akashic Order never liked Lothar Kain. They saw Alexus Rex as making a deal with a devil when he allowed him into the ranks of Maradonian Nobility. As such, the Akashic Order goes out of its way to present the memory of Lothar Kain in as sinister a light as it can. It portrays Lothar Kain as a ruthless conqueror and bandit who left destruction and suffering in his wake. They then emphasize to the members of House Kain that if they follow Lothar’s path, they will likely suffer a similar fate.

Unfortunately for the Akashic Order, many members of House Kain fail to see the drawback of this.

Those with the Destiny (Bloodthirsty Warlord) can expect to achieve great success on the field of battle, to crush their enemies, to drive them before the descendant and to hear the lamentations of their women. They can also expect their victories to be bloody and terrifying.

Legacy

Lothar Kain had a complicated relationship with the Maradonian aristocracy. He both despised their weakness, but craved the chance to prove himself better than them. This ideal still pulses deep within the veins of most members of House Kain.

Descendents who follow Lothar Kain must have Obsession (Be recognized as the greatest of nobles) [-10].

Milestones

The descendant faces an impossible battle. He can choose to surrender, make a great sacrifice to buy his allies some time, or he can engage in massive slaughter of innocence to achieve victory. He chooses to engage in slaughter, wins, gains access to a reward, and is honored by the moral authority.

The descendant wins a great military victory. His newly acquired spoils contain a corrupted legendary artifact. The descendant cannot unlock that power alone, however. He must seek a boon companion to sacrifice to the legendary artifact, which will give him mastery over it. He doe so, corrupting or slaying the boon companion and, in so doing, gains great power with no real consequences to himself.

The descendant faces a worthy rival, who represents the moral authority, in battle. The two fight to a standstill. Rather than finish the battle, the rival offers to allow the descendant to join forces with him and to be honored by the moral authority, in exchange for great power and prestige. The descendant agrees.

Many virtuous suitors vie for the attention of a beautiful, virtuous youth. The descendant uses underhanded tactics to tempt and seduce the beautiful, virtuous youth. He succeeds, but she is corrupted by his love. Nonetheless, she proves to be a powerful and capable Boon Companion. As a result, at least one of the suitors becomes a rival.

The moral authority requests that the descendant undertake a quest to recover a legendary artifact on their behalf, and promises riches and prestige when he succeeds. He journeys far from home, acquires the artifact and returns. He finds that the moral authority has betrayed him in the meantime and has taken his home from him. When confronted, the moral authority confesses that they thought he would betray them and agree to return his home in return for the legendary artifact. The descendant may either trade the legendary artifact for the return of his home, or he may wage war upon them, defeat them, and keep the legendary artifact for himself. Either way, the moral authority will portray him as a villain.

Associated Miracles

Dark Warlord

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Dark Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3.

The descendant excels at the pursuits of war. He gains Born Warleader 3 for one hour or until it has assisted him at least once, which ever takes longer. This talent is cumulative with any existing talent, and may exceed +4.

Statistics: Born Warleader 3 (Divine, Path -15%) [13], Rule Exception (This talent may exceed +4) [1]

Dark Prowess

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 8

Learned Prayer Cost: 9 points

As Power of the Abyss (Enhanced) (Pyramid #3-36, page 11) but with the additional Path modifier and without DR 1. This reflects the Lothar Kain’s enormous physical potential.

Statistics: Blessed 6 (Heroic Feats; Divine, Path -25%) [45]

Dark Glory

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 8

Learned Prayer Cost: 8 points

As Dark Glory (Pyramid #3-36, page 11) but with the additional Path modifier and a -2 to fright checks..

Statistics: Terror 2 (Divine, Path -25%) [38]

Kira Kain

Era: War of the Four Houses

Free Destiny: Romantic Adventurer

Kira served a Grimshaw master during the war of the Four Houses, and when he died, she set out to avenge him. On her long quest, she had wild adventures across the galaxy, uncovering treasures, defeating vile enemies, and she once ruled a planet as a living goddess for a very brief and ill-fated escapade. The whole time, she found herself just a few steps behind the increasingly intriguing and romantic assassin. Eventually, when she caught up with him, he successfully convinced her that it wasn’t her fight, and asked her to join him.

The Akashic Order used to hold Kira up as an example of what happens when a Kain abandons his duty, but this tended to have the opposite effect on members of house Kain, so they’ve just quietly discouraged her veneration, and the leader of house Kain largely agree, as stories of how great life if once you leave the service of the Alliance is counterproductive to Kainian goals.

Those who have Destiny (Romantic Adventurer) can expect to never have a boring life, to gain success at wildly improbable ventures, and to see fate conspire to keep them moving on to their next adventure.

Legacy

Kira had an obsessive goal, but abandoned it. Her legacy is less of a goal, and more of a mind-set.

Those who follow the path of Kira Kain must have Impulsiveness [-10].

Milestones

The descendant serves a master in a time of war. The enemies of the master hire an assassin to slay the master. The descendant tries to protect her master, but fails. She swears an oath of revenge. In so doing, she is able to escape any lingering duties or bonds she might have had.

While far from home, the descendant encounters a magnificent vice. The moral authority had warned her not to partake, but they are far away, so she does. While under the influence of the vice, she encounters a sworn enemy, but because of her vice, she is unable to defeat him and he escapes. She suffers no additional consequences, and gains some great insight thanks to the encounter.

While far from home, the descendant finds a map to a lost treasure, one her rival also seeks. Both pursue the treasure and arrive to acquire it at the same moment. The descendant wins the battle, but must choose between acquiring the treasure or defeating the rival. She chooses acquiring the treasure.

While far from home, the descendant discovers a beautiful youth who is destined to rule a local Moral Authority and is in great peril. The descendant rescues the beautiful youth, who instantly falls in love with her. The beautiful youth requests her assistance in restoring the moral authority, and she agrees, succeeds, and is acclaimed a hero. The beautiful youth offers to let her rule beside the beautiful youth, but seeing that she would become too tied down in the complicated politics of the world, she refuses.

While far from home, The descendant tracks down an enemy she has sworn to defeat after a very long and rewarding journey. She defeats him, but he explains that he was never her enemy, and offers to let her join him. She chooses to let him live, but refuses to join him.

Associated Miracles

Dark Courage

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Dark Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points.

The descendant fears nothing, except possibly for unspeakable cosmic horrors. She is immune to all fright checks. This miracle lasts for an hour or until it has helped her at least once, whichever takes longer.

Statistics: Unfazeable (Divine Path -15%) [13]

The Tao of Hyperspace

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 7.

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points.

As Traveler's Blessing (Divine Favor page 10).

Free Movement

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Dark Communion 5

Learned Prayer Cost: 4 points.

After making a successful Meditation roll, the descendant suffers no DX penalties for unstable terrain of any sort. This lasts for the remainder of combat, or an hour, whichever is shorter.

Statistics: Terrain Adaption (Divine Path -15%, Active +300%) [20]

House Elegans Ancestor Veneration

Esau Elegans

Era: Rise of Alexus

True Destiny: Left-Handed Fool

The founder of House Elegans troubled the Akashic Order and they’ve struggled with his inclusion into their Mystery Play. The childhood friend and sometimes rival of Alexus Rex, the Akashic Order wanted to cast Alexus as the hero, and that meant a modification to the legend of Esau. In the Mystery Play, he is usually portrayed as the one who disagrees with Alexus or with Sissi, or who tries some inappropriate tactic, and then proves to be wrong.

House Elegans holds to a slightly different legend. They see their founder as a “contrary warrior,” a man who made points by going against the grain, who challenged the status quo to help prove it, and was willing to try new things and, if they proved to work, to use them.

Those who have the Destiny (Left-Handed Fool) are destined to successfully challenge the status quo, to be the first to spot a flaw in a plan or a tactic, or to defeat their opponents while using unconventional tactics.

Legacy

The true legacy of Esau Elegans is something of a mystery. Very little in the way of records on his goals or ambitions survive to this day, and his descendants argue that it was Esau’s way to have no particular way. He took what came before him, and flowed like water around obstacles. Others note that Esau primarily served as a foil and strawman for Alexus Rex and thus, ultimately, was an empty character for the Mystery play.

Descendents who follow Esau may choose to have no obsession, in which case the Miracles of Esau Elegans automatically fail when they come into conflict with any other miracles, or they may choose to have Obsession (Challenge Orthodoxy) or Trickster.

Milestones

The Descendant faces a rival in battle. The Descendant holds his own, then is clearly defeated but not yet harmed. At the mercy of the rival, the Descendant laughs. The rival, impressed, spares the Descendant and becomes a Boon Companion.

The Descendant and the rival meet two beautiful youths, one who is finer in appearance than the other. The rival wins the affection of the finer beautiful youth, while the Descendant wins the affection of the less fine beautiful youth. The latter proves more virtuous and capable, and becomes a Boon Companion.

The Descendant and his peers face a threat, and have two choices before them. The Descendant sees which choice is superior, and takes up the inferior choice. He is soundly defeated by the threat, but suffers no consequences as a result of his choice. The peers see that his approach was flawed, and choose the right approach.

The peers of the Descendant feel their faith in the moral authority wavering. The Descendant denounces and humiliates the moral authority. One of the Descendant’s peers rises angrily in response and defends the moral authority and the rest of the Descendant’s peers rally around the moral authority. The Descendant suffers no consequences for his challenge.

In a time of crisis, the Descendant uncovers lore or a relic deemed corrupt by the moral authority. The Descendant takes it up, uses it to defeat the crisis, and suffers no ill consequence. The Descendant’s peers question the validity of the moral authority.

Associated Miracles

Dark Charisma

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Dark Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 2 points.

See Servant of the God of Lies (Pyramid #3-36, page 10)

Interesting Times

Reaction Required: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Dark Communion 6

Learned Prayer Cost: 5 points

Things can always get crazier around the Descendant, and he seems to thrive on the chaos he generates. After making this prayer, something absurd, hilarious or exciting shortly happens. The rule of thumb for this miracle is that it can only make things more interesting or more fun, and that the Descendant may profit from it.

Statistics: Serendipity (Wishing +100%, Divine, Path -25%, Aspect “Only wishes that directly result in greater hilarity, excitement or chaos”) [24]

See Truth

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 8,

Learned Prayer Cost: 9 points

While under the effects of this miracle, the Descendant cannot be tricked, either by mental illusion, a contest of Acting skill, or his own failing senses. He can fail to notice things, or miss them, or not know/understand what something is (“I don't know.”), but he won't believe that something is something that it is not. He automatically wins any such contests. As a general or specific prayer, this miracle lasts for one hour, or until it has protected the Descendant once, whichever is longer.

Statistics: Immune to Deception (Cosmic, includes misperception +50%, Divine: Path -15%) [41]

Jax Elegans

Era: The Fall of Alexus

Dark Destiny: Heretic

Jax Elegans betrayed the Akashic Order and slew the last Alexian Empire, earning him the undying enmity of the Akashic Order. On the other hand, Jax Elegans revealed flaws in the Akashic Order, and defeated a mad tyrant who terrorized the galaxy and slew his own kin. The Akashic Order uses whatever thin justification it can to undermine the memory of Jax Elegans, even using contradictory arguments (“Yes, Lucian Alexus was mad, yes, the Federation that came after was good, but Jax Elegans is still a monster!”).

The Akashic Order fears Jax Elegans because he represents the fate of the Elegans who refuse to play along with their agenda as Esau Elegans did. Jax challenged the orthodoxy, but refused to back down or be a laughing stock, and it literally ended the Eternal Empire. So the Akashic Order denounces the memory of Jax Elegans, but members of House Elegans see him differently, as an unsung hero. They just know enough not to voice their respect when an Akashic priest wanders past.

Characters with the Destiny (Heretic) can expect to uncover a new or lost philosophy or tradition, they can expect to rapidly attain a powerful position within that movement, they can expect to use its secrets to great success, and they can expect to achieve great successes in undermining the Akashic Order.

Legacy

Jax Elegans converted to True Communion because he believed that it held a more complete understanding of the threats that faced the Galaxy. He believed that all of humanity, and that all alien races, were necessary to defeat the Coming Storm, and he believed that True Communion was the best tool to do this. That the Akashic Order would fall to make way for this new order was an unfortunate, but necessary, side-effect.

Descendents who follow Jax Elegans must have either Obsesssion (Restore True Communion) [-10] or Obsession (Otherthrow the Orthodoxy) [-10].

Milestones

The descendant, having been granted power and prestige by the moral authority, encounters a poor and weak man who follows a heresy that undermines the moral authority. They debate the merits of their philosophies, but the poor and weak man proves to have the superior philosophy to the princely descendant. The descendant meditates beneath a great tree on the merits of the poor man’s arguments, and converts.

The descendant brings his new heresy to his peers, and points out the flaws in the moral authority. Most of his peers reject him and the moral authority demands that he recant or lose his power and prestige. The descendant refuses and is exiled. One of his peers, convinced, joins him as a Boon Companion.

The descendant witnesses oppression of the weak in the name of the moral authority. The weak call out to the descendant for liberation from this oppression. The descendant fights against the oppressors and emerges victorious. The weak hail the descendant as a hero, but his peers believe he has committed a grave crime and condemn him.

The corruption of the moral authority grows so great that it begins to devour the peers of the descendant. They either refuse to acknowledge the corruption or fear to challenge it. The peers secretly call upon the descendant to slay the moral authority. He accepts and succeeds, destroying the old order and allowing his peer to create a new order. The peers of the descendant thereafter condemn him as a criminal.

An assassin in the service of the moral authority comes to slay the descendant. The descendant refuses to fight, but speaks instead. The assassin cannot bring himself to kill the descendant, and instead converts and becomes his Boon Companion.

Associated Miracles

Words of Truth

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Communion 5

Learned Prayer Cost: 4 points

See Sermonize, Divine Favor 9

Guide My Hand

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 8

Learned Prayer Cost: 8 points

As Guide My Hand (Pyramid #3-36, page 12) but with the additional Path modifier. Remember, Weapon Masters have exceptional defaults!

Statistics: Weapon Master (All; Divine, Path -15%) [39]

Moment of Truth

Minimum Reaction: Very Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 3, Communion 11.

Learned Prayer Cost: 17 points.

This miracle may be prayed for before making any non-prayer success, damage or reaction roll. The player may dictate the results as fate aligns perfectly behind him. As a learned prayer, this may be used once every hour.

Statistics: Super Luck (Divine Path -15%) [85]

Tia Elegans

Era: War of the Four Houses

Free Destiny: Beloved Mother

House Elegans took no sides during the War of Four Houses. Perceived by the other houses as having colluded with the Knights of Communion and assisting in the fall of the Eternal Empire, they struggled for a time to survive, only to rise meteorically during the era of the Federation. Tia Elegans, the Marchessa during the War of the Four Houses did much to preserve her family and ensure that their legacy carried on.

The Akashic Order doesn’t dislike the legacy of Tia Elegans per se, but they fear her example could encourage other Elegans to focus on house and family over the Golden Path, where their focus should be. The modern Elegans, faced with a new crisis, feel differently, and turn to her lessons as a way to endure.

Those who have Destiny(Beloved Mother) can expect romance, to protect members of her house from threats, to overcome obstacles with virtue and hardwork, to successfully heal and lift others up, and to bring fame and prestige to her entire house.

Legacy

Tia did whatever it took to keep her House alive during a time of crisis. Her single-minded focus likely saved the House during this dark time!

Those who follow the path of Tia Elegans must have Obsession (“House Elegans must rise!”) [-10].

Milestones

The descendant encounters a wicked suitor, who would tempt her away from her path of virtue. She refuses him. Her virtue, patience and hard-work convinces him of the error of his ways and he becomes the righteous suitor, and her boon companion.

An enemy threatens the safety of the descendant’s family and her property while her allies and boon companions are away. She gathers together her family and places them somewhere safe and faces the enemy alone. She cannot save her property, but she saves her family and drives the enemy off.

A member of the descendant’s family has been wounded and is dying or is presumed dead. All of the descendant’s peers give up hope of saving the family member. The descendant sets out to find a cure, or to find the family member. She succeeds and “brings back the dead.”

The descendant undertakes what she believes to be a simple, unrewarding task out of a sense of duty and virtue. In fact, her task turns out to be of the utmost importance! The descendant’s peers recognize both her virtue and her accomplishment and she, and her family, gain prestige and power as a result.

The descendant has a (literal or metaphorical) child. The child will face tragedy and suffering, but as long as the descendant remains faithful to the child, it will survive and eventually gain glory and prestige that eclipses even that of the descendant.

Associated Miracles

Healer

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3.

The Descendant excels at healing others. She gains Healer 3 for one hour or until it has assisted her at least once, which ever takes longer. This talent is cumulative with any existing talent, and may exceed +4.

Statistics: Healer 3 (Divine, Path -15%) [13], Rule Exception (This talent may exceed +4) [1]

Lay on Hands

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 8

Learned Prayer Cost: 8 points

See Lay On Hands from Divine Favor page 11.

Aura of Vigor

Reaction Required: Very Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 3, Communion 11

Learned Prayer Cost: 17 points.

After making a successful Meditation roll, the descendant and any allies within 2 yards gain +3 to HT. The descendant may apply a -5 to his Meditation roll to expand the effect out to 4 yards away. On a failed meditation roll, the descendant can spend a point of fatigue (or psionic energy reserves) and try again on the next turn. This lasts for the remainder of combat, or an hour, whichever is shorter.

Statistics: Aura of Vigor 3 (see Pyramid #3-19 page 10)

House Grimshaw Ancestor Veneration

Tae Grimshaw

Era: The Eternal Empire

Destiny: Aristocratic Inquisitor

Tae Grimshaw first gained the notice of Tanaquil Alexus when she uncovered a conspiracy against the Elegant Empress and suffered at their hands. Tanaquil gave Tae the power she needed to root out the conspiracy and ruthlessly defeat them, which she successfully did. The Akashic Order holds Tae up as finest example of a Grimshaw, who keeps the rest of the Maradonian houses pure and true to their purpose on the Golden Path. They began to emphasize Tae over Janus Daijin after Shio Daijin betrayed the Maradonian Houses by attempting to seize power.

Those who have the Destiny (Aristocratic Inquistitor) are destined to find conspiracies and destroy them, to destroy tools of forbidden power, to drive back the ideological enemies of the Akashic Order, and to increase the purity of the Akashic Order.

Legacy

Tae Grimshaw worked with Tanaquil Alexus to uncover conspiracies against the Alexian Empire, and her Grimshaw descendants carry on this tradition. Modern descendants of Tae Grimshaw feel driven to uncover real or imagined conspiracies against the Alliance, or against the power of the Maradonian Houses.

Descendents who follow Tae Grimshaw must have Obsesssion (Uncover conspiracies against the Alliance) [-10].

Milestones

The Descendant uncovers evidence of a conspiracy against the moral authority. She attempts to reveal the evidence to the moral authority, the conspiracy attacks her, scars her and takes the evidence. However, the moral authority recognizes her efforts and appoints her to a position of power.

The Descendant faces and defeats a powerful member of the conspiracy and retrieves a corrupted legendary artifact. With the blessing of the moral authority, she purifies the legendary artifact and takes it for her own.

The Descendant uncovers evidence that a boon companion is a member of the conspiracy. The boon companion offers to allow her to join, and offers her either great power or his love. She refuses, reveals the boon companion’s treachery to the moral authority, and condemns the boon companion herself.

The Descendant faces and defeats the conspiracy’s master in battle and destroys the conspiracy. For her deeds, she receives honor and high position from the moral authority.

Fragments of the conspiracy remain even after its death. When the descendant is exultant in her victory, an assassin attempt so kill the descendant. The descendant successfully slays the assassin, finally ending the threat of the conspiracy for once and all, but then dies (literally or symbolically) of her wounds.

Associated Miracles

Truth Seeker

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3.

The Descendant excels at uncovering conspiracies. She gains Truth Seeker 3 for one hour or until it has assisted her at least once, which ever takes longer. This talent is cumulative with any existing talent, and may exceed +4.

Statistics: Truth Seeker 3 (Divine, Path -15%) [13], Rule Exception (This talent may exceed +4) [1]

Clarity

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 7.

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points.

Communion blesses you with momentarily perfect insight into the world around you, pulling back the fog of ignorance and fear. For the next 3d6 seconds, gain Unfazeable, Enhanced Time Sense and +1d6 IQ (including Will and Perception). This explicitly improves your psionic skills and extra effort rolls.

Statistics: New variant of Blessed derived from Blessed Be (Pyramid #3-78) [26]

Sense Sin

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 9

Learned Prayer Cost: 10 points

As See Evil from Divine Favor page 12, except it detects that which the Descendant's moral authority deems inappropriate, and not just what they've done, but what they're capable of doing (That is, you'll detect not just whether someone has committed murder, but also that they have bloodlust, and so that it's in their nature to commit murder).

Statistics: Sense Sin (Divine: Path -15%, Cosmic, no die roll required +100%, Vision based, reversed -20%) [50]

Shio Daijin

Era: War of the Four Houses

Destiny: Usurper

Shio Daijin kicked off the War of the Four Houses when he attempted to seize the Alexian throne for himself. As such, the Akashic Order holds Shio Daijin up as an example of what happens to those whose ambition drives them to derail the Golden Path and to usurp their position. The shaming of the name of Shio shamed the name of Daijin and lifted up the name of Grimshaw.

Today, the legacy of Shio Daijin has grown more complex. Some Daijin argue that with the death of the Alexian line, perhaps Shio could have done what was necessary to restore the Golden Path and rebuild the Empire. Alternately, they see what he was doing as attempting to restore order, rather than seizing power.

Characters with the Destiny (Usurper) can expect to gain numerous allies, to gain access to conspiracies, and to receive opportunities to attain a great position of power via unlawful means.

Legacy

According to tradition, Shio Daijin wanted to be Emperor, and this naturally drove him to commit the acts that he did. Naturally, all descendants of Shio Daijin feel the same and push to gain greater and greater power and have endless ambition. A more recent, apologist view sees Shio Daijin as merely attempting to restore order to a chaotic galaxy and nothing more.

Descendents who follow Shio must have either Obsesssion (Rule the Galaxy) [-10] or Obsession (Restore the Eternal Empire) [-10].

Milestones

Over the course of an adventure, the Descendant uncovers a threat to the moral authority. He returns and warns his peers of the threat. His peers, suspicious of his motives, disregard his warning and accuse him of attempting to manipulate him, all except for one, who become a boon companion.

As the Descendant prepares to meet the threat, jealous peers attack (literally or metaphorically) the allies of the Descendant, unintentionally assisting the threat. The Descendant must choose. He either allows the tragedy to unfold, in which case he will lose his boon companion and many innocents will die, but he will regain the respect of his peers, or he makes a pre-emptive strike, in which case he commits an atrocity and is vilified by his peers, but protects his allies and his boon companion.

The Descendant learns that without the help of his peers, he can never avert the threat. Because his peers will not voluntarily work with him, his only recourse is to seize power over them and force them to assist him. If he attempts to do so, he succeeds.

While at his most powerful, the Descendant meets a beautiful youth. The youth offers herself as a bride to the Descendant. If he accepts her, she will give him an heir that will outlast his regime, but she will also betray him, as she seeks marriage only for power.

As the threat reaches its climax, the peers of the Descendant move against him. The Descendant must choose: either he allows them to defeat and kill him, in which case his legacy will continue and the threat will be defeated, or he faces them and defeats them and retains power, in which case the threat fully manifests. It will not harm the Descendant or his allies, but it will destroy the peers of the Descendant and ruin their moral order.

Associated Miracles

Daijin Statesman

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Dark Communion 6

Learned Prayer Cost: 5.

The Descendant excels at statecraft. He gains Intuitive Statesman 3 for one hour or until it has assisted himi at least once, which ever takes longer. This talent is cumulative with any existing talent, and may exceed +4.

Statistics: Intuitive Statesman 3 (Divine, Path -25%) [23], Rule Exception (This talent may exceed +4) [1]

Restore Order

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 7

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points

Once per session, the Descendant may restore proper order merely by wishing it so. After completion of this prayer, a coincidence happens (that the player himself may choose) that sets the world back on its proper course, and reduces tension.

Statistics: Serendipity (Divine, Path -15%, Wishing +100%, Aspect: Return the world to its proper state -20%) [26]

Aura of Focus

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 9.

Learned Prayer Cost: 11 points.

After making a successful meditation roll, Communion empowers the Descendant with +3 willpower, as well as all allies he wishes to empower who are nearby (generally up to 2 yards away, though the mystic may apply a -5 to his Meditation roll to expand it out to 4 yards away). On a failed meditation roll, the Descendant can spend a point of fatigue (or psionic energy reserves) and try again on the next turn. This lasts for the remainder of combat, or an hour, whichever is shorter.

Statistics: Aura of Focus 3 (see Pyramid #3-19 page 8)

Janus Daijin

Era: Rise of Alexus

Destiny: Strange Sage

The Akashic Order has a strange relationship with Janus Daijin. He predates the strong bond between the Akashic Order and the Alexian Dynasty, and his unusual behavior and unorthodox beliefs challenge the Akashic Order, but at the same time, he had an undeniable influence on the first Alexian Emperor, features strongly in their legends and has the respect of both the Daijin and the Grimshaw, from whom they descend. So the Akashic Order carefully portrays him in terms of an eccentric sage, and advisor to Alexus who tread previously untrodden roads. Fortunately, with the fall of the Daijin, the Akashic Order can afford to push Janus into the background and emphasize other members of the line, such as Tae Grimshaw.

Those who have Destiny(Strange Sage) can count on having interesting lives, will encounter strange technology, lore and relics, and can expect to be called upon desperate rulers in need of their unconventional wisdom.

Legacy

The memory of Janus has faded over time, for he was already old, very old, when Alexus was on his rise, and the House Daijin may well be the oldest of Maradonian houses. Those who follow the Path of Janus find that they’re not particularly driven to do anything at all, except what they wish. Thus, no two such descendants are alike. However, the strange ways of Janus does creep into their lives, creating strange evens, drawing weirdness to them, and even twisting them to make them something other than human.

Instead of gaining an obsession, those who invoke the miracles of Janus instead suffer Corruption. Neutral miracles inflict 1d Corruption, Good reactions inflict 2d Corruption, Very Good reactions inflict 3d Corruption, and Excellent or better inflict 4d Corruption.

Milestones

A great evil threatens the Descendant’s home. None of his peer has the courage to face the threat, and so the Descendant volunteers. He departs his home on a quest that will successfully avert the danger, but he finds that he can never return. If he does return, he finds that his home rejects him.

Upon defeating a great evil, the Descendant uncovers a corrupt artifact or corrupt lore, which empowers the great evil and will allow it to rise again unless contained. The Descendant finds he cannot destroy it, so instead contains it. While so contained, the corrupt artifact both empowers and slowly corrupts the Descendant.

The Descendant meets a beautiful youth (virtuously pure and/or physically desirable) and falls in love. However, the Descendant discovers that to be with the beautiful youth, he must either corrupt the youth or use his corrupt power against the youth. The Descendant chooses to remain alone instead.

Because of his wisdom and power, the moral authority offers him a place of power and asks for his advice. The advice the descendant gives is considered abhorrent by the moral authority. If the moral authority ignores this advice, it will fall.

Death looms for the descendant, and the corrupt artifact offers him the power to escape death and gain a form of immortality. To forestall some future evil, the Descendant accepts and returns at a future date. However, he discovers the price of immortality is unredeemable corruption.

Associated Miracles

Unspeakable Knowledge

Reaction Required: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Broken Communion 6

Learned Prayer Cost: 5 points

Corruption: 3

Upon completion of this prayer, the Descendant opens his mind to the universe. The GM can thereafter give him whatever knowledge he seeks, but the knowledge that the character gains is in such a format that the Descendant cannot express this knowledge to any character who lacks the Broken Communion advantage.

Statistics: Oracle (Inspired +100%, Broken Communion Path -25%, Nuisance, unable to communicate truths found -10%) [25]

Daijin Nova

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Broken Communion 4 or Archetype

Learned Prayer Cost: 1

The unbridled power of Janus Daijin flows into the character. The character gains 25 energy points that must be immediately spent on a single use of psionic power. Even when the character buys this as a Learned Prayer, they must still spend 1 impulse buy point to activate it. Alternatively, characters with Communion my purchase it as Psychic Nova instead.

This power inflicts no Corruption!

Statistics: Optional Rule (Points for Energy)[1]

The Lore of Janus

Reaction Required: Very Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 3, Broken Communion 10 or Archetype

Learned Prayer Cost: 4 points

Corruption: 1

Janus had collected a wide array of subtle, small tricks that allowed him to surprise his opponents or to gain access to insights others lacked. As a miracle, or a learned prayer with Broken Communion, this allows Janus to have a single use of any psionic power worth up to 15 points, rolling with a skill equal to his IQ. As a learned prayer (with the Archetype advantage), the Descendant can use this power once per day to gain any psionic power worth 5 points of less, rolling with a skill equal to IQ. What is a “single use” is up to the GM, but should generally constitute no more than an hour of an active power.

Statistics: Wild Talent (Aspect, Psionic only -20%, Divine, path -15%) [13], as alternative ability, and Unusual Background (May use Archetype as basis for Psychic Wildcard Power) [1], as a static trait.

House Sabine Ancestor Veneration

Sissi Sabine

Era: Rise of Alexus

Destiny: the Faithful Princess

The Akashic Order holds Sissi Sabine up as the ultimate example that all Sabine’s should follow as their “True Path.” She sacrificed her needs, love and happiness to see to the furthering of the Akashic Order’s goals. Characters with the Faithful Princess destiny are destined to empower the Akashic Order, to be rescued when in danger, to have people fall in love with her, to have their sacrifices make a meaningful impact on the world.

Legacy

Sissi Sabine’s driving passion, more than even her own well-being, was to support the Akashic Order, but she also mothered the Alexian line. To Sissi, the Alexian line was the Golden Path. She did whatever she could to improve the situation of her children, and considered that first and the needs of the Golden Path second.

Descendents who follow Sissi Sabine must have Obsesssion (Restore Alexian Line) [-10].

Milestones

The Descendent, bound by duty, gains access to a unique conspiracy that would allow her to escape her duty, empower herself, and gain the services of a wicked Boon Companion. She refuses the temptation, unravels the conspiracy, betrays the Boon Companion and faithfully returns to her duty.

The Descendent, bound by duty, will meet the man she is destined to marry, and will not feel about him as he does about her. Nonetheless, she will accept her fate and marry. In so doing, she gains a Boon Companion.

The Descendent faces a grave enemy that threatens to overpower her. She has the insight necessary to escape, but allows herself to be captured instead, knowing that her suffering at his hands will motivate her allies to come together in a great show of force and defeat the threat, which will result in greater power in her chosen faction in the long run.

The Descendant, when faced with heretical diversion from the Golden Path, speaks out against the heretic. This shames a Boon Companion, but also reminds those around her of the need to remain true and converts at least one doubter to the side of the Akashic Order.

The Descendant will have a child with great power and destiny, but tragedy will befall that child, and the Descendant will witness it. Nonetheless, the Descendant is duty-bound to have said child, and to do nothing to avert the destined tragedy.

Associated Miracles

Esper Focus

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points.

According to legend, Sissi Sabine was the most powerful Esper born to the Sabine line. Those who carefully emulate her gain a fraction of her insight. This miracle grants +3 to ESP. These bonuses last for one hour, or long enough to make use of a bonus roll, which ever is longer.

Statistics: ESP Talent 3 (Divine -10%) [14] + Rules Exclusion: May Exceed the +4 Talent Cap [1].

Pure Beauty

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype.

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points

According to legend, Sissi was the most beautiful of all the Maradonian aristocracy. For a moment, her ancestor can share in some of that transcendent beauty.

Statistics: Appearance (Trascendent, Glamour Will-5%, Divine, Path -25%) [14];

Prayer of Hope

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 7

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points

After finishing the petition roll in which the character expresses (silently or verbally) her wish for what should happen, she may make a roll against IQ-based Meditation. This roll cannot fail. She applies her margin of success (with a minimum of +1) as a bonus to a roll that someone else makes, provided his actions closely resemble that which she prayed for. This may not apply to combat rolls.

Statistics: Visualization (Divine: Path -15%, Blessing +0%, Reduced Time, 1d6 seconds +80%, Cosmic, No Die Roll Required +100%) [27]

Jaina Sabine

Era: The Eternal Empire

Destiny: the Manipulative Witch

The Akashic Order portrays Jaina Sabine as a wicked woman who manipulated those around her for her personal gain. Jaina sought forbidden and wicked powers so that she could avenge herself against minor insults, and twist the hearts of beautiful men so that they loved her, and then abandoned those suitors for the deeply inappropriate Lothar Kain. They hold her up, and her exile from House Sabine, as an example of what befalls those who betray the Akashic Order in pursuit of forbidden power.

Legacy

Jaina Sabine pursued mystical enlightenment and forbidden power. She tamed the Hammer of Caliban and learned the secrets of the Devils of Persephone despite the wishes of the Akashic Order. Those who follow Jaina Sabine tend to be driven by the same hunger to increase their knowledge and power, no matter the cost to their social standing or the wishes of the Akashic Order.

Descendents who follow Jaina Sabine should have Obsession (Attain Mystical Power) [-10].

Milestones

Many men pursue the Descendant, but one is unsuited for her, due to a lack of virtue and position. The descendant chooses the “wicked” suitor over the “righteous” suitor. Her choice proves correct when the “wicked” suitor proves to be a true, boon companion, nonetheless she suffers the scorn of her peers.

The Descendant stands on the threshold of a haunted place that contains a forbidden power. The peers of the Descendant warn her of the danger of both. The Descendant chooses to enter the haunted place and gains mastery over both it and the forbidden power, but only by allowing it to corrupt her in the eyes of her peers.

The Descendant suffers insult or injury from one of her peers. She chooses to take revenge, and uses a forbidden power to do so. She successfully takes revenge, but her duplicity is revealed by the allies of her enemy; they successfully slander her as an unjust monster, and paint the target of her revenge as an innocent victim. Her peers believe the slander.

A threat faces the family and peers of the Descendant. She offers to assist with her forbidden power, but her peers reject her offer, fearing that they will be tainted by her power. Because of their stubbornness, they suffer defeat, and the Descendant is unable to assist. She loses at least on loved one from her old life.

The peers of the Descendant reveal her crimes. They condemn her, except for the beloved peer, who still sees “good” in her. Her peers seek to exile or kill her. The Descendant has new allies, those associated with her forbidden power or her wicked suitor, who rescue her. In so doing, a beloved peer is wounded, or sees something that convinces him that she is truly guilty. She loses her beloved peer.

Associated Miracles

Dark Beauty

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Dark Communion 4 or Archetype

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points

Jaina Sabine had the power to twist men’s heart with her great beauty. Her descendants can invoke the same transcendent beauty.

Statistics: Appearance (Trascendent, Glamour Will-5%, Divine, Path -25%) [14];

Curse

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 7

Learned Prayer Cost: 6 points

Upon completion of this miracle, during which the Descendant visualizes/describes the failure of the target, the Descendant rolls IQ-based Meditation. Success applies a penalty to the target's actions as long as they more-or-less resemble the moment he described.

Statistics: Visualize (Divine, Path -25%, Curse +100%, Reduced Time 1d6 seconds +80% [26]

Untameable Spirit

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Dark Communion 7

Learned Prayer Cost: 7 points

Jaina could not be controlled, tamed or manipulated. For details on how this works, see Self-Mastery from Powers: the Weird, page 34. As a general or specific miracle, it lasts for one hour, or until it has protected the Descendant at least once, whichever takes longer.

Statistics: Immunity to External Influences (Divine, path -25%) [34]. applies her margin of success (with a minimum of +1) as a bonus to a roll that someone else makes, provided his actions closely resemble that which she prayed for. This may not apply to combat rolls.

Valria Sabine

Era: War of the Four Houses

Destiny: the Rebel Queen

The Akashic Order struggles with the legacy of Valria Sabine. She refused to be the wilting flower, the puppet for the Order, and she refused to work to restore the Alexian legacy. Instead, she fought for what she believed in, rescued herself, and defied the original order to bring about a principled stand for greater equality for everyone. Nonetheless, as the founder of the Federation, she attracts many admirers, especially in her own house.

The Rebel Queen Destiny means the character is destined to see the injustice the people must endure, to face danger that she can rescue herself from, and to receive the acclaim of the people and a position of power where she can right those injustices (though whether she actually does...)

Legacy

Restore the Federation or End Injustice In the Galaxy

Nothing moved Valria Sabine quite like the suffering of those around her. She willingly sacrificed her own aristocratic privilege to tend to the weak or weary, and respected and admired those of lesser station than herself. She envisioned a Galaxy where all were equal and where the War of the Four Houses had ended.

Descendents who follow Valbria Sabine should have either Obsession (Restore the Federation) [-10] or Obsession (End Injustice in the Galaxy) [-10].

Milestones

The Descendant, when faced with injustice caused by the very social system that empowers her, refuses to turn a blind eye. She rescues the victim of injustice, who becomes a Boon Companion, and faces the scorn of her peers.

When faced with impossible odds, the Descendant gathers up what a rag-tag band of victims and offers them words of encouragement. They together cannot hope to defeat the overwhelming opponent, but she nonetheless instructs them on how to defend themselves and they face down the enemy. They secure enough time to allow reinforcements to arrive, and achieve a major military victory, but at the cost of many lives (not the Descendant’s though).

The Descendant faces a grave foe who threatens her chosen faction, and is captured by them. Rather than allow members of her faction to face the grave enemy, she defies her captors, defeats them, and emerges victorious, carrying some vital advantage she can use to strengthen her faction.

The Descendant sees an opportunity to denounce the very social system that empowers her and she rises up to do so. Her speech shakes the foundations of that social order, and brings allies to her side. She must abdicate a great portion of her power, but in so doing, she creates a new social order on the ashes of the old social order.

The forces of the old order seek to destroy the new order forged by the Descendant, in a last ditch effort. The Descendant has sufficient power to overcome them, but doing so will cost her her life, or that of her boon companion. The new order must be born of blood.

Associated Miracles

Purity

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, either Communion 4 or Archetype

Learned Prayer Cost: 3 points

Valria Sabine always stood by her principles, and the descendant can have similarly unshakeable resolve. The descendant may give in to temptation, but only of her own accord: Any attempts to use any influence skill to force her to do something automatically fail.

Statistics: Indomitable (Divine: Path -15%) [13]

Words of Truth

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prayer Prerequisite: Blood Purity 1, Communion 5

Learned Prayer Cost: 4 points

See Sermonize, Divine Favor 9

Aura of Courage

Minimum Reaction: Good

Learned Prerequisite: Blood Purity 2, Communion 9

Learned Prayer Cost: 11 points.

After making a successful Meditation roll, Communion imbues the Descendant and all nearby (within 2 yards) of complete immunity to fear. The Descendant may apply a -5 to his Meditation roll to expand the effect out to 4 yards away. On a failed meditation roll, the mystic can spend a point of fatigue (or psionic energy reserves) and try again on the next turn. This lasts for the remainder of combat, or an hour, whichever is shorter.

Statistics: Aura of Courage 7 (see Pyramid #3-19 page 6)