A Compendium of Contracts

[espritdecalmar]

Espritdecalmar, these Contracts are pretty well written and thematically appropriate, so well done! Uh, what would you make if the Contract affected Time?

Thank you, that's very kind.

I suppose that depends on how exactly you want to affect time. Let's see. . . already existing Contracts with time-related effects allow a changeling to alter the flow of time on an object (Changeling Hours), gain a vision of a subject's past or future (Portents and Visions), witness past events in a reflective surface (Reflections of the Past), rewind time up to 10 seconds (Unravel the Tapestry), speed up or slow down passage through the Hedge (Flickering Hours), send a target into the future (Leaping Toward Nightfall), cause a target to grow into maturity (Blessing of Spring), and receive an omen of a future event (Twilight's Harbinger). So, what's missing? The first thing that jumps out at me is a "What if?" power, something that lets a changeling explore a possible future based on some variable. It'd probably be of the Mirror Regalia, as it pertains to gaining information, and also because Mirror seems to have the most time-related powers. I think it might look something like this:

Walk the Thread (Royal Mirror)

The future is uncertain, but a canny Lost understands that it tends to follow certain paths. Drawing on the multiple-choice ontology of Arcadia, the changeling ruminates on the potential consequences of his actions.

Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Academics + Wyrd
Action: Instant

Success: The changeling chooses a single action that he could feasibly take in the scene (purchase a lottery ticket, swear an oath with the Duchess of Crystalline Nausea, etc). From the moment of the Contract's activation, events play out as if the action had occurred. If the action would require a dice roll, assume the changeling scored the bare minimum number of successes required for the event to come to pass. After a number of hours equal the successes rolled on this Contract, the changeling is brought back to the present moment. When the Contract expires, any changes to the user's person (damage gained or healed, Conditions suffered or resolved, Glamour or Willpower spent, etc) are reversed, though Clarity damage and Beats are preserved.

Exceptional Success: The changeling gains additional insight into the future. The next roll he makes related to the possible future he glimpsed gains a bonus equal to half his Wyrd (rounded up).

Failure: Nothing happens.

Dramatic Failure: The changeling experiences a horrible, traumatic vision, suffering a Clarity attack with his Wyrd as the dice pool.

Darkling: The Mountebank gains the Informed Condition related to the possible future glimpsed.

Fairest: If the Unicorn prevents some bad fate from befalling someone that she witnessed during the Contract, she regains a point of Willpower.

Loophole: As part of the activation, the changeling consults some sort of oracle device (Tarot cards, I Ching, etc).

[Master Aquatosic]

If you're not actually rewinding time, I think that this could even be Common. Though perhaps for 30 minutes per success, or even 5. Otherwise, love it

[Satchel]

Some notable samples from the Grey City Freehold:

Contracts of the Long Shadow (Wind Court)

Conspirator’s Confidence (Common)
The changeling draws close to a person, veiling her words from passersby with the murmurs of suspicion.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Effects: For the duration of the Contract, the changeling and anyone she speaks to at less than a shout cannot be clearly overheard by mundane means. Magical methods of eavesdropping still function, though they prompt a roll of the character’s Composure + Supernatural Tolerance with a penalty equal to the changeling’s Mantle rating to avoid gaining the Spooked Condition.
Loophole: The changeling is speaking to someone she knows has Leveraged, Guilty, Embarrassing Secret, or a similar Condition.

Whispers on the Wind (Common)
The changeling’s words and senses ride the currents of rumor and hearsay, allowing him to speak with his peers from anywhere.
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Effects: The changeling addresses another character, who need not be within earshot, by name or title. The background noise of the world carries the resulting conversation; the affected character can hear and be heard by the changeling for the duration of the Contract, regardless of distance.
Multiple concurrent uses of this Contract to connect three or more characters (for instance, a Marketeer contacting a Minister while the latter is in remote discussion with a Magistrate) results in all participants being able to hear and be heard by all other participants using or subject to the Contract’s effect. Whenever this sort of overlap occurs, a brief but unmistakable sense of dread lets them know that they can hear and be heard by more than just their intended audience.
Mortal characters subject to this Contract gain the Spooked Condition at the end of the scene, unless they succeed at a Composure roll. Every additional use of this Contract on a character in the same scene imposes a cumulative -1 penalty to the roll.
Loophole: The changeling is speaking with somebody who shared a piece of gossip with him within the last week.

Dark Alley Dynasty (Royal)
The changeling shakes scraps of hearsay and superstition free from his mind, and his patron gives them new life among the Thorns in acknowledgement of their bond.
This Contract can only be used in the Hedge, and its dice roll gains the 8-Again quality in the Thorns.
Cost: 3 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Presence + Occult + Mantle - trod rating
Action: Instant
Duration: One lunar month.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The changeling reduces his maximum Clarity by 1 and sheds a fleeting memory, which vanishes into the Thorns to bedevil him with its absence. He gains the Amnesia Condition. When the hobgoblin is destroyed, it leaves behind an Icon belonging to the character, which must be recovered before he can resolve the Condition.
Failure: The Contract fails. Used in the Thorns, failure acts as dramatic failure.
Success: The changeling bleeds his secondhand knowledge into the Hedge, creating a hobgoblin organization with an equipment bonus up to the amount of severe Clarity damage he has marked (to a maximum of his Mantle rating). He chooses the form and focus of these hobgoblins when he invokes the Contract, and may take any or all of them as an equivalent number of dots in the Allies, Contacts, Retainer, or Staff Merits by spending the necessary Experiences. Otherwise, they collapse into dust and thorns after a month passes or something kills them.
Exceptional Success: The changeling may instead heal a point of Clarity damage and reduce his maximum Clarity by 1 to create a hobgoblin Mentor with a rating up to his Mantle dots. He chooses the form and focus of this Mentor when he invokes the Contract, and may make it permanent by spending the necessary Experiences. Otherwise, it collapses into smoke and feathers after a month passes or something kills it. The Mentor leaves behind an Icon belonging to the character when it dies or ceases to be.
Loophole: The changeling suffered a breaking point that aligned with his Needle within the same story.

Embellish the Shadow (Royal)
The changeling filters his finest talents through the mystifying pall of the Long Shadow, becoming an incarnate urban legend.
Cost: 3 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Duration: Until the changeling’s Mask is restored.
Effects: The changeling asks the air and the shade if they have heard of a monster that lives in his heart, spinning his tale into a mask that makes him stranger. To use this Contract, the changeling must not have a human Mask, whether because he has scoured it away or because he is in the Hedge or acting through a Dream Form. For the duration of this Contract, the changeling is subject to the following effects:

• His mien warps to accentuate his strengths, allowing him to treat three or more successes on any roll that benefits from one of his Skill Specialties as an exceptional success.
• His presence takes on dreamlike qualities, and he may use his Mantle rating in place of his Empathy or Stealth ratings if it is higher than either, or gain a temporary universal Specialty in that Skill if it is lower.
• His shadow twists subtly, applying his Mantle rating as a penalty to any rolls to recognize him or connect him with his actions under the effects of this Contract; on a dramatic failure, such rolls inflict the Spooked Condition.
• An impenetrable cloud engulfs his heart; he gains no benefit from his Touchstones while under the effects of this Contract, and can only heal Clarity damage by resolving Clarity Conditions.

Loophole: The changeling has a Persistent Condition he acquired through Goblin Debt.

Contracts of the Bright Face (Fire Court)

Housebreaker’s Hoard (Common)
The changeling wanders back alleys and pries loose bricks and boards from hidden caches, invoking the complicated Bargain sworn between the Bright Face and its Embers.
This Contract’s instant action takes at least one minute to complete.
Cost: 2 Glamour, 1 Willpower (optional)
Dice Pool: Wits + Larceny + Mantle - desired Safe Place rating
Action: Instant
Duration: One scene or until the sun next crosses the horizon
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The changeling gains the Lost Condition.
Failure: The Contract fails.
Success: The changeling distributes her successes on the roll to invoke this Contract as bonus dice provided by pieces of physical or mystical equipment the character finds, to a maximum equipment bonus of half the character’s Mantle rating (rounded up) per piece of equipment. Any such item she finds has the Fragile Condition.
By spending a point of Willpower, the changeling may instead find a Safe Place with a rating less than or equal to her Mantle dots, which she may treat as her own.
Exceptional Success: One piece of found equipment does not have the Fragile Condition, or the Safe Place lasts until the sun next crosses the horizon.
Loophole: The changeling is attempting to produce equipment or shelter for another character.

Nimble Rogue’s Stride (Common)
The Bright Face is adept at getting things where they need to go, and its Court of exalted burglars shares in its swiftness.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Effects: The changeling multiplies his Speed by his Mantle dots + 1 and adds his Mantle rating to any Athletics rolls he makes during the scene. He may comfortably carry anything up to Size 5 regardless of his actual Strength.
This Contract ends immediately if the changeling crosses a building or property’s main threshold.
Loophole: The changeling is transporting an unconscious person.

Hand of Glory (Royal)
The desperate energy of the Bright Face holds a potency all its own, and its Courtiers can parlay that forceful power into a form of provisional sovereignty that grants them clear minds and steady aim born of a higher purpose.
Cost: 3 Glamour, special
Dice Pool: None
Action: Instant
Duration: One lunar month
Effects: The changeling tears a piece of herself loose, forging a false Crown to expedite her movement through the world. She chooses a Tilt or Condition from Arm Wrack, Blinded (one eye), and Mute, and suffers this effect for the duration of the Contract. In doing this, she exchanges the use of a hand, an eye, or her tongue for a trinket of Glamour that works similar to the Crown of a Court.
Like a Crown, this trinket can be subsumed into the changeling’s mien or lent to another changeling, and the changeling similarly knows its bearer and exact location. She may recall a trinket she has lent to another character at dawn, and she may turn it into an oath-forged token with the usual complications.
While a character bears the trinket and is not hiding it within his mien, he is not subject to the effects of the Tilt or Condition taken to create it, and he may take a point of lethal damage to add the changeling’s Mantle rating to the Finesse Attribute appropriate to the type of trinket he bears (Dexterity, Wits, or Manipulation, respectively) for a scene. Any fae creature who sees the trinket in use adds the changeling’s Mantle rating to their attempts to track or find its current bearer for the next lunar month, as long as it still exists.
The changeling may end the Contract whenever the trinket is in her possession by spending a point of Willpower, and she may likewise extend the lifetime of a trinket by spending a point of Willpower at the end of the lunar month. She may only maintain one of each type of trinket at a time, to a limit of half her Mantle rating (rounded up) in total trinkets. Hiding, transferring, or unmaking a trinket immediately ends its effects on the bearer.
Loophole: The changeling has the Hunted Condition.

Recall the Runaway Flame (Royal)
Freehold legend tells that the Bright Face fell to earth one day, and cut a deal to share its fugitive nature. Its Agents partake of its elusive qualities, vanishing from amid the chaos that so often follows their efforts at infiltration.
Cost: 2 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Stamina + Occult + Mantle
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The changeling loses track of herself momentarily, suffering a Clarity attack with a dice pool equal to her Mantle rating.
Failure: The Contract fails.
Success: The changeling vanishes from her current location in a burst of iridescent flame. If she is inside a building or within the boundaries of an acknowledged property, she appears outside of whatever threshold she crossed to enter it, taking anything up to Size 5 that she wishes to bring with her. Unwilling targets may contest this with a Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance roll to stay behind when the changeling vanishes.
If the changeling is not in the Hedge and is outside the boundaries of a property or other domain, she may instead appear within the Hedge, standing on the last trod she traveled along at the entrance or exit she last used.
Exceptional Success: The changeling is invigorated by the shock of movement, healing her Mantle rating in points of bashing or lethal damage and removing all penalties from fatigue as though she had just had a full night’s rest.
Loophole: The changeling is within arm’s reach of an open flame at least the size of a bonfire.

[Master Aquatosic]

I want to make a contract but need some inspiration. Who wants to give me a general sort of effect or theme + contract Level so I can give some mechanics to it?

[Draconis]

A contract that allows you to fly.

[Master Aquatosic]

A contract that allows you to fly.

Hmm, we have Chrysalis for turning into a flying creature with opposable thumbs like a dragon or harpy. And I'm currently debating whether Talon and Wing can give you a flying speed of 10. But something that makes you just fly at your normal speed needs some other sort of balance. I could either give a high glamour cost, a duration less than a scene or create something similar in effect but more tricky.

Would a contract that made you immune to gravity for a scene be a suitable substitute in your mind? That wouldn't mean that you float up, just that when you jump or push off of something, you just keep going until you hit something else. That way, you can fly in one direction by pushing off of a wall, but you would need to find another surface to push off of to change direction.

EDIT: another idea. Corebook says ghosts and spirits that can't fly can still walk and run in any direction and stand in midair while in Twilight. That includes walking up stairs that don't exist in either state or running perpendicular to the ground. How about a Contract that does that?

[Satchel]

Corebook says ghosts and spirits that can't fly can still walk and run in any direction and stand in midair while in Twilight. That includes walking up stairs that don't exist in either state or running perpendicular to the ground.

"Stand in midair" is not part of ephemeral beings' default interaction with gravity.

[Master Aquatosic]

"Stand in midair" is not part of ephemeral beings' default interaction with gravity.

I feel like it is, but won't argue further until I can check the corebook again. Is any bit of my statement right about ephemerals?

[Extant Reality]

Walk the Thread is surprisingly very simple in execution, although I surmise that it requires a bit of communication between the player and the ST. Player-to-player communication is key when using such a powerful Contract. "Hey Bob, is dat Gob gonna snitch on us in the future." "Maybe...."

[Satchel]

I feel like it is, but won't argue further until I can check the corebook again. Is any bit of my statement right about ephemerals?

The relevant part of the text you're referring to is this bit (emphasis added for clarity):

If no ghostly structures get in the way, ephemeral beings in Twilight can move at walking pace in any direction. Gravity has no sway, though Twilight beings can only truly “fly” if it’s appropriate for their form — most hug the material terrain. A ghost could walk up the side of a tower block, for example, but couldn’t then float through mid-air to the next tower.

It's a substantial reach to interpret that to mean "ephemeral beings can interact with empty space in Twilight like supernaturally potent mimes/Looney Tunes characters," and one of the things that the text does allow for is already within the capabilities granted by a published Common Contract of the Steed.

[Master Aquatosic]

The relevant part of the text you're referring to is this bit (emphasis added for clarity):



It's a substantial reach to interpret that to mean "ephemeral beings can interact with empty space in Twilight like supernaturally potent mimes/Looney Tunes characters," and one of the things that the text does allow for is already within the capabilities granted by a published Common Contract of the Steed.

I would ask that you tone down the snark a tad, but thank you for showing me this. I only remembered the "gravity has no sway" part and forgot the rest, probably because it was a cool image. I guess I'll go with my personal anti-gravity idea

[espritdecalmar]

Reviving this to add my ideas for additional Seeming Boons for the nifty Contract Thorns & Brambles:

Beast: When attacking with Field of Thorns, instead of inflicting damage, the Courser may choose to inflict a grapple move on the opponent.

Elemental: The character may create the brambles out of her element, thus subjecting them to her Seeming Blessing.

Fairest: The Unicorn may designate a number of allies up to her dots in Empathy immune to the effects of this Contract. Inside the Hedge, this requires one point of Glamour per protected subject.

Wizened: By spending a point of Glamour as an instant action, the Domovoi can change this Contract's active effect.