Fleeting Summer Contract (Summer)

These Contracts are derived from the pacts the Court founders made with their respective seasons. Each Court has two associated Contracts, the Fleeting Season Contract (associated with emotions) and the Eternal Season Contract (associated with more physical aspects of that season).

Court Contracts also have prerequisites that a character have the right Court's Mantle at a rating equal to one less than the rating of the clause. When a clause has a required Mantle rating, characters from other Courts may substitute the appropriate Court Goodwill rating at two dots higher. Anyone may learn a Court Contract's one-dot clauses -- they are teasers, and they occasionally draw new members to a Court.

If a character's Mantle or Court Goodwill ratings change (most likely because the character has changed Courts), the character will find it harder to use his Contracts due to something similar to a no-compete clause. If a character's Mantle or Court Goodwill rating ever falls below the amount required for a particular clause, he must pay the difference in extra Glamour points every time he uses it. This extra cost cannot be circumvented in any way, even if the character is somehow able to use a catch or otherwise reduce the cost of the clause. In addition, the clause can no longer generate an exceptional success result even if the player rolls exceptionally well, the extra successes are still counted but the result is treated as equivalent to a regular success and receives no additional benefits.

Repeated use of a clause without meeting the Mantle or Court Goodwill prerequisites nettles the appropriate Court. If a character uses a clause that he is no longer "entitled to" within the sight of a member of the appropriate Court, the Court becomes wroth with him. He can no longer gain any bonus Social dice from appropriate Merits when dealing with members of that Court, until he has somehow regained their favor (usually by accomplishing some difficult task for the Court's benefit).

The Contracts of Fleeting Summer give a changeling the ability to influence the wrath of those around him.


[ 1 ] Baleful Sense ( Changeling: The Lost -- Page 153 )

The character senses the greatest source of wrath nearby.

Prerequisite: None

Cost: 1 Glamour

Dice Pool: Wits + Wyrd

Action: Instant

Catch: The character is angry when he invokes this clause.

Dramatic Failure: The character becomes enraged, and the clause pinpoints only him.

Failure: The character cannot locate wrath in his vicinity.

Success: The character becomes aware of the greatest concentration of wrath (in any form) within a mile radius. He knows the direction and approximate distance, and approximately how many people are involved.

Exceptional Success: The character also learns the cause of the anger and approximately how many people are intimately involved.


[ 2 ] Goblin's Malignance ( Changeling: The Lost -- Page 153 )

The character redirects the subject's wrath onto a new target, most likely himself.

Prerequisite: Mantle (Summer) 1 or Court Goodwill (Summer) 3

Cost: 1 Glamour

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Summer) vs. Composure + Wyrd

Action: Contested

Catch: The current victim of the subject's wrath owes the character a favor, or the subject has red hair.

Dramatic Failure: The subject's anger redoubles, ensuring that she will focus on her victim for the rest of the scene. No attempt to change her focus works for that length of time.

Failure: The character fails to redirect the subject's wrath.

Success: The character redirects the subject's wrath onto a target of the character's choice. The target must be present, and the subject must be aware of the target. As an exception, the character may always make himself the target of the subject's wrath, which explicitly makes the subject aware of the character.

Exceptional Success: Subjects of this clause rationalize the change of focus and anger to themselves after the fact. ("He was on her side," "I knew he was talking trash about me," etc.)

Suggested Modifiers: The subject redirects anger onto the character (+3); The subject has no reason to be angry at new target (-1); The subject likes or is loyal to new target (-2); The subject redirects anger off the character (-3).


[ 3 ] Friendless Tongue ( Changeling: The Lost -- Page 154 )

The character incites a person to uncontrollable wrath through innocent-seeming conversation.

Prerequisite: Mantle (Summer) 2 or Court Goodwill (Summer) 4

Cost: 2 Glamour

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Subterfuge + Mantle (Summer) vs. Composure + Wyrd

Action: Extended (successes required equal to the subject's Willpower; each roll represents one minute of conversation with the subject); resistance is reflexive.

Catch: The clause's subject wears a ring on the left hand.

Dramatic Failure: The attempt fails. The subject realizes what the changeling is trying to do and reacts naturally.

Failure: The character garners no successes.

Success: The character gains successes. If his total number of successes equals or exceeds the subject's Willpower, the subject becomes intensely incensed at whomever is the focus of his attention. This will often be the changeling, but in a group, the character's comments may rouse anger at someone else principal in the discussion, or the subject's attention could be on an old flame at the bar even while she listens to the character talk.

Exceptional Success: The character is at +2 dice bonus when using other Fleeting Summer clauses on the subject for the rest of the scene, and +1 die bonus when using Friendless Tongue on the subject for the rest of the month.

Suggested Modifiers: The subject is easily roused to anger (+1); The subject has "issues" with her current focus (+1); The subject is extremely unlikely to become angry at her current focus under normal circumstances (-1).


[ 4 ] Sundown Eyes ( Changeling: The Lost -- Page 154 )

The character drains wrath from those near him, calming even the most furious combatants.

Prerequisite: Mantle (Summer) 3 or Court Goodwill (Summer) 5

Cost: 3 Glamour

Dice Pool: Presence + Socialize + Mantle (Summer) - subjects' highest Composure

Action: Instant

Catch: The character is suffering wound penalties and has taken at least two points of lethal damage.

Dramatic Failure: The attempt to calm the situation backfires. Each of the character's opponents gain a +1 die bonus to attack the character on their next actions.

Failure: The attempt fails.

Success: The character drains the wrath from the people nearby. Combat ceases and does not begin again for at least a number of turns equal to the character's Wyrd. Add one die to attempts to make peace (or prevent a return to open combat) per success on the roll. The character may not use this Contract again for the rest of the scene.

Exceptional Success: Combat ends. Even if the people involved cannot resolve their differences, they refuse to use violent means of interacting with one another for the rest of the scene. The character may not use this Contract again for the rest of the scene.

Suggested Modifiers: A significant fraction of combatants fight reluctantly (+1); Four people are targeted (-1); Eight people are targeted (-2); Twelve people are targeted (-3); Twenty people are targeted (-4).


[ 5 ] The Flames Of Summer ( Changeling: The Lost -- Page 155 )

The character drives his anger into the realm of rage, making it impossible to disturb and lending extra strength to his wrath.

Prerequisite: Mantle (Summer) 4

Cost: 2 Glamour + 1 Willpower

Dice Pool: Stamina + Animal Ken + Mantle (Summer)

Action: Instant

Catch: The sun is within five minutes of its zenith, and the character has called out a formal challenge to an opponent.

Dramatic Failure: The attempt to inflame the character's anger fails, and the character may not try again for a full week.

Failure: The attempt fails.

Success: The attempt succeeds. The character becomes implacable in his anger, incapable of being swayed by reason or calmed down for the rest of the scene. He attacks the targets of his wrath without hesitation or mercy and may not take rational or thoughtful actions. He adds a +2 dice bonus to all Physical rolls for the duration. The character also ignores all wound penalties for the duration and need not roll Stamina to remain conscious when his last wound box is marked with bashing damage.

Exceptional Success: The bonus to Physical rolls rises to +4.

Suggested Modifiers: The character is expected to fight (+1); The character is up against losing odds (+1); The character's opponent is (perceived as) inferior (-1).