THE NOVICE LIGHTBEARER'S COMPANION II

THE NOVICE LIGHTBEARER'S COMPANION
adapted from reliable sources by
DOUCELINE DE RABUTIN,
aka
SASHA MARGRAVIATI

CHAPTER THE SECOND
CORONATIONS
or
YOU HAVE STILL GOT TIME TO BACK

Step One: The Story Seed
A story seed can either be the Storyteller’s pitch or created collaboratively by the group; but either way
it’s a good idea to have a quick outline of what kind of game you’re playing before creating characters. The story seed doesn’t have to be complex or well defined. It just needs to be enough for players to
design their character’s background and their character’s abilities appropriately.
Some story seeds result in narrower mechanical choices. A character who wishes to turn around a
failing school can be built in many different ways. However with a story seed about fighting Darkspawn
characters will probably want Celestial Dance, Barrier Jacket and either Kensai or Levinbolt; and that’s
three of the starting five dots. When this happens the Storyteller should consider giving additional dots
to the players so they can add some uniqueness to their characters.

Step Two: Character Concept
The second step is to try and distil your character down into a single concept. You want something that
you can easily hold in your head, this concept will serve as the anchoring centre to your character. When
you start adding details later it should be quick and straight forward to ask yourself “does this detail
strengthen my character concept?”
A good character concept focuses on who your character is. Is your character’s self-identity defined
by her mundane side, her supernatural side, or a balance of both. Because Princesses invest so much of
themselves in their work it is often hard to separate who a Princess is from what she does, but try to
cut out the specifics and drill down to the core of your concept. Consider a “young politician” instead
of the “student president.”
Characters often change during character creation as ideas bounce around, and once play starts
circumstances can change fast. It’s good to have a little flexibility in your core concept.

Step Three: Fleshing it Out
Are you playing a Prince or a Princess? Does your character fight evil in a frilly sailor fuku or spandex
and a cape?
Now that you have your core character concept you can add everything else: Appearance, personality,
background, family, friendships and perhaps romances. In short, it’s time to write your character as a
character rather than a collection of attributes and a list of magical powers.
Some players can write for pages while others will prefer a few paragraphs. There’s no right or wrong
answer, except that it never hurts to discuss things with your group and try and make sure everyone’s
style fits together nicely.

Step Four: Virtues, Vice, Aspirations, and Dreams
A Princess is a magical being, but she’s still human. She has human wants and human needs. To
complete your character assign two, yes two, Virtues and a Vice. It is recommended that Princesses
do not take the Hopeful Virtue. Nearly every Radiant Princess demonstrates that Virtue every day of
their lives, players should use Virtues as an opportunity to make their characters stand out from the
stereotypical Noble and avoid taking a trait which would be redundant on top of Belief.
You should also think about what your character wishes to accomplish, which means it’s time to
choose her Aspirations and her Dreams. A Princess has a total of five Aspirations and Dreams, two of
which must be Dreams and the remaining three can be either.
As a guideline, you should try to have at least one Aspiration or Dream that reflects upon your
character’s self image, and you should have at least one Aspiration or Dream that ties you directly into
the story seed.
Using the examples above, a player in the game about turning around a demoralised school could
consider a Dream such as “Help Harriet realise she’s better than her mother says ”. In one sentence you
have chosen an ambition which fits the story’s core themes, connected your character to two NPCs, one
of whom is an antagonist for your character, and you’ve identified social combat as a skill to start with
or explicitly start without and develop in play.
The example of a quest into the jungle might be too specific to easily create unique Aspirations; and
there’s nothing wrong with that.

Step Five: Add Attributes
Now is the time to define your character mechanically, starting with the most fundamental aspects. First
choose which of the three categories (Mental, Physical, and Social) is your character’s primary, secondary
and tertiary focus. Then place five dots (in addition to your starting dot in every Attribute) into your
primary category, split between the three Attributes as you wish. Place four dots into your secondary
focus and three into your tertiary focus.
When choosing your attributes ask yourself which will be most helpful for your character’s calling in
life, and then decide if she’s good at them of if she relies on her magic. Starting as a competent and
successful Noble or starting with lots of room to grow are both valid choices.

Step Six: Add Skills
Skills are chosen like Attributes. Divide Mental, Physical, and Social Skills into your primary, secondary
and tertiary focus. You get eleven primary dots, seven secondary dots, and four tertiary dots to spend.
Unlike Attributes the first dot in a skill is not free.
As with Attributes it’s worth thinking about whether you wish to start off competent or if you wish
for your character to begin the game dependant on her magic.

Step Seven: Add Skill Specialities
Skills are extremely broad categories, which means your choice of skills is an imperfect reflection of your
character. Does three dots in Expression make her a singer or a poet? Specialities let you correct this.
Each speciality is a one or two word description chosen by you that can demonstrate what fields your
character specialises in. Pick three specialities for your character.
There are many simple Charms available to starting character’s that can enhance a Princess’
specialities. It might be worth examining them before selecting your specialities.

Step Eight: Add a Calling and a Transformed Attribute Dot
The first step in creating a Princess is to choose her Calling. A Calling is the fundamental way the
individual Princess brings hope to the world, her Calling determines which Oaths are part of her Belief,
what Duties she performs to regain Wisps, which Attributes are increased when she Transforms and
to which three of the ten Charm families she has affinity, allowing her to purchase Charms from these
families at the reduced cost.
• Champion: Defenders of the weak and helpless. (Strength or Resolve)
• Grace: Elegant and noble, the voices and diplomats of the Reborn. (Presence or Composure)
• Mender: Those who take wounded flesh and wounded hearts and make them whole. (Intelligence
or Stamina)
• Seeker: Hunters of truth, banishers of lies, revealers of the hidden. (Intelligence or Wits)
• Troubadour: Artists and exemplars who inspire greatness in others. (Presence or Dexterity)
Yours truly chose to become a Troubadour when her Blossoming occurred. But you can choose any other calling.

Step Nine: Add a Queen
Once the five Radiant Queens governed their Kingdoms in the name of the light, now they are dead but
their minds and souls live on in the Dreamlands. From beyond the veil of sleep the Queens mentor the
Radiant, a Princess can accept a position in a Queen’s court, a bond of both personal loyalty but also
mystical affinity that enhances a Princess’ magic.
There are five Radiant queens that a player can follow, while it is rare some Princesses choose not
to join any Court. "In addition there are three Twilight Queens who are not usually available to player
characters," the canonical rulebook says, but you and me are so special that we have the RIGHT to choose the banner of one Twilight Queen in particular. Don't we???

Choosing a Queen
It is rare for a Princess to ever agree with her Queen on every single point, and
it is almost universal for a Princess to have some affinity for the teachings of
several Queens. This can make it hard for Princesses (and players) to know which
Court is right for them. Should a naturalist join the court of Diamonds with her
fellow women of science, or the court of Clubs with her fellow nature lovers? In
all likelihood such a Princess will show her shared ideals by acquiring both the
Acqua and Legno Invocations, but the player still has to decide which Queen goes
on the top of the character sheet. The answer is which Queen shares her approach
to making a brighter tomorrow.
The Twilight Queens also have an approach.
If you believe that being a Princess makes you the most important and special
person in the world, and a utopia is just going to happen because you’re
around then consider the Queen of Mirrors.
So if your sense of entitlement and of your own right is not that developed, forget you ever came across this companion and discard it as easily as yours truly disposes of Jehovah's Witnesses propaganda. You have been warned.

Step Ten: Add Invocations
All Princesses draw magic from their Beliefs and hopes, but when a Princess becomes a Queen her beliefs
and philosophies echo across the souls of humanity. Any Princess can feel that echo within her own soul
and she can draw on it to enhance her own magic. Each Princess starts with three dots in Invocations,
one of which must be placed into her Queen’s favoured Invocation. Courtless Princesses have a free
choice of Invocations, but they may not place all three of their dots in the same Invocation.

Step Eleven: Add Charms and Transformed Skills
In her perfected self every Princess has exceptional skill and knows Charms, special talents and magical
spells that she knows how to use. A Princess starts with three Dots in Transformed Skills and five dots
in Charms, at least 2 dots must be for Charms in the 3 families the character’s Calling has affinity for;
the others may come from any family. To take a 2-dot Charm, you must also take a different 1-dot
Charm of the same family. You may take upgrades for any Charm you know; each upgrade costs 1 of
your starting Charm dots. If you take an invoked Charm or upgrade, you must have the prerequisite
dots in the Invocation.
Should the player wish she may also trade at most one Charm dot for 1 transformed Attribute dot,
or 3 transformed Skill dots.

Step Twelve: Add Inner Light
A Princess’ magic shines out of her soul to illuminate the world. The raw power of her hopes and feelings
is represented by her Inner Light. A Starting Princess has one dot in Inner Light, but she may spend
five Merit dots to increase it to two, or ten Merit dots to increase it to three.

Step Thirteen: Add Wisps
Wisps are the fuel for a Princess, a measure of both raw magic and emotional energy. A Princess begins
with half her starting Wisp pool, as measured by Inner Light, plus the higher of her Circle and Mandate.

Step Fourteen: Add Belief
Belief is the Integrity trait for Princesses. It measures not just how moral she is in word and deed, but
also her confidence that those morals and principles can survive in the World of Darkness. A Princess
begins with Belief seven.
During character creation ask yourself the following five questions. These questions will help define
a Princess’ moral code. These questions are not intended to identify specific compromises, though you
will probably discover some, rather they are to help you create a moral framework that can be used to
identify new Compromises and which can be modified as dots of Belief are lost or gained.
• What does your character believe is wrong with the world? As a rule Princesses are trying to
improve the world, so it stands to reason that the Hopeful see the world as needing to be fixed.
Why is the world in such a bad state? Is it all down to public ignorance and apathy or is it because
mankind lost touch with nature? No matter how justified the means, any Princess who uses or
encourages what she believes to be the world’s flaws is betraying her principles.
• What is your character’s perfect world? Ghandi apocryphally said “ be the change you want to
see in the world”. What is your character’s ideal world? Is it a vegan nature utopia or something
more along the lines of an technological post-scarcity utopia? How would a person from such a
society act? What unusual and idealistic cultural values or codes of chivalry does your Princess
follow and how does her ideal utopia give context to her actions?
Who influenced your character’s philosophy? Did your character learn her idealism from her
parents? Her wise and outrageous grandmother? A teacher? Think a little about their relationship
and your mentor’s personality, how do they influence your character’s relationship to her ideals? If
your character grew up without guidance it is perfectly acceptable to use someone from a past life.
• What is the best argument against her Beliefs your character has ever heard? Ultimately utopia is
subjective. A life of peace and tranquillity would bore some people to tears. Every Princess is going
to find people who disagree with her vision, from practical problems to ideological conflicts. Of all
the people who disagreed with her, who left your character speechless with a perfect argument or
irrefutable fact and how did this affect your character?
• What does your character care about more than her Belief? Princesses are still people, and people’s
moral codes are rarely proven in formal logic then rigorously applied to every situation. Would your
character do anything to save her boyfriend, or perhaps herself. Most people have an instinctive
wish to survive. The goal here isn’t to create a hypocrite but to give depth to a character beyond
pure perfection.
Once you have the framework of your character’s belief system take a moment to think of a few specific
codes she lives by. These should not be isolated rules, but flow logically from her belief system. As a
rule of thumb you should have at least one rule for each dot of Belief above the forth, in addition to your
Calling Oaths and obvious morals such as not committing murder.
This is only a guideline, it is expected that as you play and learn more about your character you will
discover more about her Beliefs and that her Beliefs will change over time as your character is exposed
to new ideas, faces moral tests, loses dots of Belief, and gains them back (so there’s no point in “filling
up” your beliefs with easy rules).
Beliefs can change any time it makes sense for the character but if you’re likely to compromise a
Belief in the near future you have to wait until after the compromise roll (or roll right now if you prefer)
and work the results into the reasons your character changed her views.
Step Fifteen: Add Merits
As a supernatural being a Princess is given three merit dots to spend at character creation, for a total
of ten merit dots. Her magic makes it easier to acquire resources and skills, while her shining heart wins
friends and allies.

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Burdens of the Crown
There are several persistent conditions that are appropriate to take at character
creation. Players may wish to consider: Adult Supervision, Body Dysmorphia,
Embarrassing Phylactery, Heartfelt Vow, Name of the Moon, Slow Transformation,
Two Hearts One Soul or Unstable Transformation.

Traits
Becoming a Princess does not just grant you magical abilities, it is a fundamental change to your state
of being. Many Princesses use the phrase “Magical Girl ” to emphasise this point. A Princess is not a
girl who uses magic, she is magical. Magic is as much a part of her as blood or emotions is a part of any
human. As a Princess learns in wisdom and experience she learns to use her nature to its fullest extent,
but also must face its unique drawbacks.

New Advantage: Inner Light
When a Princess’ power first blossoms, it is barely the tiniest of sparks deep within a princess’ soul.
However, as time passes and the ancient spirit within her awakens, her power begins to shine like a
roaring fire, strong enough to support great magics and bright enough to become an invisible presence
in the material world.
As Inner Light increases, it not only gives a character more magical ammunition to throw around,
but also represents her magic bleeding into her mental and physical self. Characters with high Inner
Light can have physical prowess beyond the limits of mere humanity. Finally, high Inner Light makes a
character more vulnerable to Sensitivity.
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New Disadvantage: Sensitivity
A Princess is, by her very nature, emotionally sensitive. Feelings strong enough to destroy Darkspawn or
outrun cars flow through her, and when those feelings turn against her the consequences are debilitating
at best, and in the wrong circumstances they can be outright deadly. All magic comes with a price, and
this is a Princess’. She will pay it all her life, neither age nor experience will free her: Her emotions only
get stronger as her Inner Light grows and any attempt to develop emotional armour is futile. Her own
magic breaks such walls open to let her emotions get out and affect the world.
But the Nobility don’t spend their entire life one bad breakup away from spontaneous combustion.
A Princess’ positive emotions also blaze with an intensity beyond mortal men, allowing her to shoulder
grief that would crush a grown man. Her eternal hope and optimism, her Belief that no matter how bad
things look now they will get better is her bulwark against doubt and heartbreak, the foundation of her
emotional and magical stability.
Whenever the Princess faces a painful emotional shock she rolls her base Sensitivity dicepool as
defined by Inner Light. Deliberate acts of cruelty are especially shocking to an empath and add an extra
dice. This increases to two dice if she is intimate with the villain or victim, three dice if she performed
the action herself. The Storyteller may add up to three additional dice if the act is especially heinous.

Sensitivity and Compromises
The events that trigger Sensitivity and provoke Compromises are often one and the
same. A Princess who Believes in both the power of romance and in healing the
sick could face both Sensitivity and a Compromise when her boyfriend says he’s
leaving her because she neglects him by spending too much time at the hospital.
However that same Princess would only face a Compromise if she came to that
realisation herself, talked it over with her boyfriend and they mutually agreed
to end their relationship in a way that let her gradually process the emotions.
A Princess may not be able to build emotional armour against the shock of a
breakup, but an experienced Princess can see it coming and deal with the emotions
gradually.
Meanwhile an entirely different Princess who didn’t Believe the power of love
was integral to building a brighter future would only face Sensitivity but not
Compromise after a sudden breakup.
If the same event triggers both a Compromise and a Sensitivity roll, roll for
Compromise first.

New Disadvantage: Shadows
Shadows are the painful product of Sensitivity. They the if onlys, should have dones, and could have
beens, that haunt her mind and force their way to the front of her thoughts at inappropriate moments;
and for a women whose emotions are magic they can be as debilitating as any illness.
Dots in Shadows impair a Princess’ access to her powers in two ways. First, they are subtracted
from her Transformation roll, which becomes Belief + Inner Light - Shadows. Shadows also impair a
Princess’ ability to recover Wisps: all the dice pools she rolls for that purpose subtract 1 die for each
dot in Shadows she possesses.
When a Princess gains a Shadows she also takes the Fresh Shadows condition, it is fresh in her mind
and hasn’t yet sunk in roots. If she finds closure before the end of the scene she may remove the dot
again. After the scene ends, the dot “sticks” and can’t be lost so easily. If a Princess with Shadows
fulfills her Virtue, she may remove 1 dot of Shadows in addition to regaining Willpower. If a Princess
rolls an Exceptional Success on any roll to regain Wisps, she may also remove a dot of Shadows. Finally,
a Princess may spend Beats to remove a dot of Shadows; the cost equals her current Shadows rating.

New Advantage: Wisps
A “Wisp” is a mote of virtue and determination, an itty-bitty ember of the Human Spirit, that Princesses
use to fuel many of their abilities. The maximum amount of Wisps you can store, as well as the number
you can spend in one turn, is determined by your Inner Light.
Spending Wisps
• Charm Activation: While Transformed, a Princess may spend Wisps to activate most Charms; the
cost of which is particular to each charm.
• Practical Magic: Whether or not she is Transformed, a Princess may spend Wisps to add bonus
dice to mundane rolls based on certain Attributes, as determined by the Queen she follows.
• Holy Shield: While Transformed, a Princess may spend a Wisp to protect herself from damage
from a single attack. Aggravated damage becomes lethal damage, Lethal damage becomes Bashing
damage, and all but the first point of Bashing damage is negated. The attack could be turned
aside from a vital spot at the last second, grazing her instead of striking home, or could be visibly
stopped by a shower of sparks and light.
• Quickened Transformation: A Princess may spend a Wisp to transform reflexively without rolling.
If the Princess’ pool of Wisps ever falls to (10 - Belief) she gains the Condition Running on Fumes.
Regaining Wisps
• Call of Duty: A Princess normally regains Wisps by going out and making the world a better
place in a way that fits with her Calling. At the end of every scene where the Princess successfully
performs a task appropriate to her Calling the Storyteller may call for a roll with the same dicepool
as the task (if there is more than one, use your best judgement) penalised by Shadows and grant one
Wisp per success. If the Princess upholds her duty in a way that honours her Queen’s philosophy
she gains one additional Wisp from the task, provided she scored at least one success.
• Inner Strength: When the chips are down and the situation is dire, a Princess can call upon her own
inner reserves of determination and draw out power she didn’t know she had. As an instant action,
she spends a Willpower point and rolls Belief; if the roll succeeds she regains Inner Light Wisps
plus one Wisp per success. An Exceptional Success grants her next roll the Rote Action modifier.
This ability can only be used when the Princess is in immediate danger, such as in combat, and
is not meant to be an everyday means of regaining power – a good rule of thumb is, if it doesn’t
matter that this action is Instant and thus takes up a character’s action for the turn, it’s probably
not dangerous enough to work. If the Princess makes a speech asserting herself and her Beliefs she
gains 9again to the roll, with the Royal Tongue she may do this as part of the same instant action.
• Circle of Light: Princesses with mundane families and friends often find that spending time with
them, sharing their troubles or happiness, refreshes them for the supernatural fight. The Circle
Merit represents these relationships; see that Merit for a full explanation.
• Voluntary Work: During downtime a player can say that her character spends her time fulfilling
her Calling duties, in-between school, family, or other commitments. The Mandate Merit represents
a reliable way to perform duties without the sort of complications that typically require a scene
(and use the Call of Duty rules). See that Merit for details.
An Exceptional Success on any roll to regain Wisps removes a dot of Shadows.

Modified Advantage: Dreams (Aspirations)
All people aspire to great things, it’s in our nature. For the Nobility it’s not in their nature, it is their
nature. Her Belief in making a better world is what gives her strength, it’s what powers her magic,
and it can consume her every waking moment. This desire to make a better world is represented by a
Princess’ Dreams.
Dreams are a form of Aspirations unique to the Hopeful. In it’s simplest for a Dream is an Aspiration,
where the primary purpose is to help somebody else, in a manner fitting the Princess’ Calling. For a
Seeker getting an A+ on the science test is an Aspiration, helping your friend get an A+ is a Dream. Winning a noble prize is an Aspiration, creating a cure for cancer (if it is motivated by saving lives) is
a Mender’s Dream.
A Princess has a total of five Aspirations and Dreams, two of which must be Dreams and the remaining
three can be either. Her Dreams provides all the same functions as an Aspiration, and provides one
additional bonus. Whenever an Aspiration would provide a Beat a Dream will provide one Beat and one
Luminous Beat.

New Advantage: Luminous Experience
A Princess works harder than most people, she has to if she hopes to improve the world. As a direct
result she also learns faster, this advantage is represented by Luminous Experience.
Luminous Experience is earned in one of two ways. Firstly a Princess’ Dreams provide Luminous
Beats in addition to regular Beats, a Princess grows the fastest when she focuses on others. The second
way is through Voluntary Work, when a Princess rolls an Exceptional Success to regain Wisps through
volunteering she gains one Luminous Beat.
In any situation where you can only gain a finite number of Beats, track Luminous and regular Beats
separately.
Five Luminous Beats form a Luminous Experience which may be spent on Inner Light, Belief or
removing Shadows at the usual rate. Luminous Experience may also be spent upon social merits which
represent the friendship and gratitude of the people the Princess helped earning that Luminous
Experience.
When calculating exp costs one Luminous Experience is equivalent to one regular Experience.
Luminous and regular Experience may be combined for an expensive purchase.

Modified Advantage: Belief (Integrity)
Being a Princess is not something that just happens at random, a fortunate circumstance that gives you
neat-o magic powers to do whatever you want with. You are here on Earth with a purpose: to make the
world a better place and bring the Light of Hope to everyone suffering. The existence of the Kingdom
proves to you that it can be done, and a Princess’s conviction is one of her greatest assets. It is a source
of strength, it keeps her going when times are bad, and it’s what fuels her magic. If her Beliefs begin to
slip, as doubt creeps into her mind over her cause or ability, the Inner Light within her is beset by the
darkness of the world.
Belief tracks the strength of a Princess’s convictions, her belief in herself and her cause. Characters
with high Belief are confident, assured, able to draw on their power more readily due to the strength
of their certainty. They inspire confidence in everyone around them. Characters with low Belief are
wracked with doubt and despair, losing their confidence that the world can be saved and that they have
the ability to do it, thinking larger and larger compromises must be necessary if there is any hope to
win at all. At first, this is only a minor loss, and characters may believe it healthy to learn of their own
limitations and view the world more realistically. As Belief continues to drop, though, all hope begins
to abandon the character, her powers seem further away, across a widening gulf of gnawing doubt, and
she may begin to project an aura of uncertainty and depression on those around her.
Belief represents a core of inner strength and hope that allows a Princess to carry on going even while she is collapsing under trauma, duty and the burden of Sensitivity. Starting characters begin with a Belief of 7, representing idealism and confidence without being totally blinded by rose-coloured glasses.
As a Princess loses Belief, she begins to think along the lines of “Our ideals alone are not enough.
We’ve got to compromise on some things if we want got get the big prize. We need to set our sights
lower. What we’re doing is wrong, but it has to be done because our determination and ideals aren’t
enough anymore.” She thinks “I can do this... but I have to hurt the people I’m trying to help.” She
degenerates further, and now tells herself “I can do this... but I have to kill some people.”

Compromises
When a Princess looses faith in her ideals and her ability to improve the world she begins to consider
strategies that she previously dismissed as unethical and unacceptable. She Compromises her principles
and shakes her Belief.
As Belief measures a Princess’s hope that things can get better tomorrow a failure today will not
shake her Belief. It is only when she Compromises on her moral principles that the light of hope fades
within her soul. Broadly speaking Compromises fall into one of four categories:
• The Princess violates her own principles or moral code.
• The Princess abandons a cause that matters to her or irreversibly fails to achieve its goals. These
causes include but are not limited to her Dreams.
• A friend, companion, or loved one of the Princess is harmed because of her actions, or the Princess
fails to save a loved one from a preventable harm.
• The Princess uses certain Lacrima charms (but we are of course not going to discuss it at all here).

Mean Girls
A Princess’ magic flows from her Belief. Destroying her confidence can be an
effective way to remove her powers and a devastating precursor to a physical
attack. The rules for Social Manoeuvering can be applied for this purpose.
The aggressor sets the goal of ”inflict a Belief Compromise”. Calculate the Doors
as normal, assume that this always counts as opposing a virtue, and when the last
Door is opened make a Compromise roll. The Princess can’t offer an alternative,
from a game perspective there is no alternative equal to a Belief Compromise.
Vices and leverage can work as normal. Tempting a Princess with tickets to her
favourite band gives means she’ll be spending an evening with her tormentor, who
can use that time to chip away at the Princess’ self confidence.
Targeting a PC usually requires cooperation from a player. If someone is
intentionally trying to ruin a Princess’ self-esteem that’s a very good justification
for the player to say her character’s impression just reached hostile. Remember
though, there’s Beats for Going With the Flow, and quite often for Compromises.

Neither Practical Magic or Charms can be used to help or hinder a Compromise roll. The following is
a list of Compromises common to all Princesses with their modifiers (when the Compromise relates to
crimes against another person, read it as any sentient being that is not fundamentally evil. All creatures
of the Darkness excepted Darkened are fundamentally evil):
• The Princess fought for a cause until the very end but failed: +3
• The Princess abandoned a cause because she realised (justifiably) that it wasn’t such a good idea:
+2
• One of the Princess’ loved one chose to die in a heroic sacrifice: +2
• Betraying the third oath of one’s calling: +1
• The Princess abandoned a cause because a more urgent cause turned up: +1
• Betraying the third oath of one’s calling: +1
• Abandoning Family and friends: -1
• Betraying the second oath of one’s calling: -1
• One of the Princess’ loved ones died of preventable natural causes, including problems that are
only fixable with magic: -1
• Inflicting significant hardship on another (bullying, getting expelled from school): -1
• The Princess abandoned a cause for personal reasons (blackmail, exhaustion, exam revision): -2
• Permitting the theft of light from the world: -2
• Betraying the first oath of one’s calling: -3
• One of the Princess’ loved one was killed by something she failed to deal with (a Darkspawn that
got away, a plague she was trying to cure, she died in battle alongside the Princess): -3
• Unplanned killing (manslaughter):-3
• Killing in self defence or within the rules and customs of war (either the Geneva Conventions or
an equally moral but different set of rules): -3
• One of the Princess’ loved one was killed because of her connection to the Princess: -4
• The Princess abandoned a cause for personal gain (e.g. she was bribed by the oil companies): -4
• Dealing with a supernatural force anathema to humanity and the Light (the Dark, etc) to trade
information or anything that does not involve direct aid: -4
• Betraying family or friends: -4
• Premeditated murder: -5
• Torture: -5
• Preventing a Blossoming: -5
• Serial murder: Automatic Chance Die.
• Utter perversion: Automatic Chance Die.
• Aiding a supernatural force anathema to humanity and the Light: Automatic Chance Die.
In addition, the following facts can modify a Compromise roll but they cannot cause one directly.
• The Princess has Belief 8-10: +2
• The Princess has 4-5 dots in Circle: +2
• The Princess Compromised her Beliefs to protect a friend or loved one: +2
• The Princess acted in accordance with her Virtue: +1
• The Princess has Belief 6-7: +1
• The Princess has 2-3 dots in Circle: +1
• The Princess follows the Queen of Mirrors: +1
• The Princess has a Condition caused by Specchio’s Drawback: +1
• The Princess acted in accordance with her Vice: -1
• The Princess has Belief 3-4: -1
• The Princess has no dots in Circle: -1
• Compromising her principles allowed the Princess to achieved her goals: -2
• The Princess has Belief 1-2: -2
(So you are warned if you still haven't got cold feet and backed, there's one more chance to skip following these footsteps and becoming an Heir)

Uneasy Lies the Head
Any individual Compromise can only cause a Princess to loose
Belief once. The lost dot of Belief represents a principle, ideal or moral value that
the Princess has given up on. After a Princess abandons her vow of honesty it is
no longer a Compromise of her principles to lie, unless she re-swears her vow after
some long soul searching. A champion who abandons a code of chivalry after her
enemies start taking advantage of it might abandon not just specific rules like never
attacking without announcing yourself but even ideals such as courtly love that, to
her, are inseparable from her conduct on the battlefield.
However some crimes are just too heinous for a Princess to adapt to that easily.
Any act which carries a -3 modifier is always a Compromise for a Princess with a
Belief of five or above. At a -4 modifier the limit drops to Belief four and above.
A -5 modifier drops the limit to Belief 3. Any act so heinous to force an automatic
Chance Die will always be a Belief Compromise no matter what. This also applies
to a Princess’ unique Compromises, should they have a modifier severe enough.

Bad Example
A Princess is also held responsible for the deeds of her followers. If another person, acting under her
direction or with good reason to think she wishes it, fails a degeneration check, the Princess implicitly
Compromise her Belief. Unless the Princess explicitly ordered the act this is more forgiving than
Compromises that she intended: Half any negative modifiers or double any positive modifiers on the
follower’s roll, that is the modifier for the Princess’ own roll.
It is possible for one Princess to ask a follower to do something that would not Compromise the
Princess’ own Beliefs but still requires the follower to make a degeneration roll. A Princess who sees
nothing wrong with using her magic to bring criminals to justice may convince a fellow Princess working
for the police to break her commitment to due process and share some evidence. A Princess may lead a
team of armed mortals against a nest of Darkspawn, this is not a Compromise for the Princess but facing
such monsters is a Breaking point for the Mortals. When this occurs it still is a breaking point for the
Princess. The only exception is when performing an unambiguously moral act is a breaking point. If a
Princess convinces a werewolf not to kill an innocent who knows his secret, that’s might be a breaking
point against the shapeshifter’s obscure laws but the Princess does not risk her Belief.
Effects of Belief
As Belief rises, the Hopeful’s inherent magic glows more brightly and grows more potent. Belief is part
of a Princess’ dice pool when she competes in a Clash of Wills. High Belief also enhances a Princess’s
practical magic, increases the odds that she’ll inspire people with a positive Echo and decreases the likely
hood that she’ll spread a negative echo.
As Belief falls, the lash of Sensitivity becomes ever more threatening. A Princess with strong Beliefs
could shoulder unthinkable emotional burdens without trouble for she is supported by an iron certainty
that things will get better but as her Belief cracks and Compromises the threat of her own emotions
turning upon her grows ever stronger.

The Enlightened at Belief Zero
When she Blossoms the Princess feels a strength of optimism never known to those who have not touched
the light. Nothing seems impossible. With hard work, dedication and conviction every problem can be
solved. No one needs to suffer any more. Only the most sheltered Princess can keep such attitudes for
long, belief and optimism must give way to reality. She will learn that the real problems can’t be solved
in an afternoon, that scars take more than a impassioned speech to heal and she will learn that she
herself is limited. She does not have the time or energy to fix every single problem.
Most Princesses remain here for most of their life. They have compromised their impossible idealism
in the name of practicality, yet retain a strength of conviction few can match. Some fall much further.
If darkness is the absence of light, the absence of a Princess’ Light is very Dark indeed.
When a Princess hits Belief 0, the anchorstone of her self is shattered. As her sense of hope, drained
by so many Compromises, finally runs out her Inner Light starts to go out. She decreases her Inner Light
to 0 dots, nothing more than a few fading embers. Her Phylactery shatters, suddenly age-rotted, and
she forcefully de-Transforms, back to her normal identity. Without a Phylactery, she cannot Transform.
Barred from the Dreamlands the Queens can offer no comfort. Even the Twilight Queens are disgusted
by a Noble who falls this far, for Mirrors sees her as a failed True Queen to be forgotten.
Many would say that this is enough of a curse; that, stripped of rank and privilege, she is left to
wander the Earth. It may be. But that is not what happens. She is not merely a fallen Princess but
a fallen human, little more than a shuffling husk that drifts through life; something barely recognisable
as something which once championed the cause of the Light. Stripped of all drive she may just lie still
until she starves, unable to see the point of eating. If she is pushed she will go about her life, she is too
empty inside to say no, to say I hurt too much to do this. She is a hollow shell of a woman. Lacking
the strength to fight for what she believes in, always folding at the least pressure, unable to even cry for
help.
When a Princess becomes Belief 0, the final act that broke her Beliefs inflicts the Willful Amnesia
Condition: She forgets what destroyed her Belief and far more than that; she forgets the people who
were hurt by it, she forgets her own complicity or failure to prevent the act, she even forgets what it
means to be a Princess. For as long as her Belief remains zero, she cannot remember or access any of
her powers from the Princess template. There are further effects than just a Huanting. Devoid of Belief
the fallen Princess’ Inner Light begins to sputter and dim, the Princess suffers from the Fading Light
Condition and the Suggestible Condition, both remain until she regains a dot of Belief.
It is in this state, this borrowed time that any salvation must come, because if she can raise her
Belief back up to 1 before she loses all her dots of Willpower, she can cut free of the Shadows blotting
out her soul, she will die peacefully in her sleep the next night. But no Princess can reignite her Belief
alone, between Willful Amnesia and her own lack of drive the Princess is prevented from confronting
the problem. Her friends must force her to remember. This is not without risks, remembering is painful
for a fallen Princess. At the end of every Scene where she faces her issue, if she still has Belief 0, roll
Resolve + Composure. On a failure she loses another dot of Willpower. Bonuses may be given to the roll
if her friends made a good attempt to patch her together, and penalties may be applied if her enemies
are forcing her to face such painful memories for their own nefarious purposes.
If her friends wish to help her they must do so before she loses her last dot of Willpower, for when her
Willpower reaches zero she will simply lie down and stop moving. Nothing but the most powerful magics
can save a once-Princess from this state. Trapped within, her soul struggles in one last attempt to break
free. Roll Resolve + Composure – Shadows. On a Successful roll the soul manages to escape, although
will likely be suffering extreme amnesia of any past lives, for it is the least sliver. It will take hard work,
and probably several lives to fully recover. On a Failure the soul is trapped, helpless, replacing Fading as a failed True Queen to be forgotten.
Many would say that this is enough of a curse; that, stripped of rank and privilege, she is left to
wander the Earth. It may be. But that is not what happens. She is not merely a fallen Princess but
a fallen human, little more than a shuffling husk that drifts through life; something barely recognisable
as something which once championed the cause of the Light. Stripped of all drive she may just lie still
until she starves, unable to see the point of eating. If she is pushed she will go about her life, she is too
empty inside to say no, to say I hurt too much to do this. She is a hollow shell of a woman. Lacking
the strength to fight for what she believes in, always folding at the least pressure, unable to even cry for
help.
When a Princess becomes Belief 0, the final act that broke her Beliefs inflicts the Willful Amnesia
Condition: She forgets what destroyed her Belief and far more than that; she forgets the people who
were hurt by it, she forgets her own complicity or failure to prevent the act, she even forgets what it
means to be a Princess. For as long as her Belief remains zero, she cannot remember or access any of
her powers from the Princess template. There are further effects than just a Huanting. Devoid of Belief
the fallen Princess’ Inner Light begins to sputter and dim, the Princess suffers from the Fading Light
Condition and the Suggestible Condition, both remain until she regains a dot of Belief.
It is in this state, this borrowed time that any salvation must come, because if she can raise her
Belief back up to 1 before she loses all her dots of Willpower, she can cut free of the Shadows blotting
out her soul, she will die peacefully in her sleep the next night. But no Princess can reignite her Belief
alone, between Willful Amnesia and her own lack of drive the Princess is prevented from confronting
the problem. Her friends must force her to remember. This is not without risks, remembering is painful
for a fallen Princess. At the end of every Scene where she faces her issue, if she still has Belief 0, roll
Resolve + Composure. On a failure she loses another dot of Willpower. Bonuses may be given to the roll
if her friends made a good attempt to patch her together, and penalties may be applied if her enemies
are forcing her to face such painful memories for their own nefarious purposes.
If her friends wish to help her they must do so before she loses her last dot of Willpower, for when her
Willpower reaches zero she will simply lie down and stop moving. Nothing but the most powerful magics
can save a once-Princess from this state. Trapped within, her soul struggles in one last attempt to break
free. Roll Resolve + Composure – Shadows. On a Successful roll the soul manages to escape, although
will likely be suffering extreme amnesia of any past lives, for it is the least sliver. It will take hard work,
and probably several lives to fully recover. On a Failure the soul is trapped, helpless, replacing Fading as a failed True Queen to be forgotten.
Many would say that this is enough of a curse; that, stripped of rank and privilege, she is left to
wander the Earth. It may be. But that is not what happens. She is not merely a fallen Princess but
a fallen human, little more than a shuffling husk that drifts through life; something barely recognisable
as something which once championed the cause of the Light. Stripped of all drive she may just lie still
until she starves, unable to see the point of eating. If she is pushed she will go about her life, she is too
empty inside to say no, to say I hurt too much to do this. She is a hollow shell of a woman. Lacking
the strength to fight for what she believes in, always folding at the least pressure, unable to even cry for
help.
When a Princess becomes Belief 0, the final act that broke her Beliefs inflicts the Willful Amnesia
Condition: She forgets what destroyed her Belief and far more than that; she forgets the people who
were hurt by it, she forgets her own complicity or failure to prevent the act, she even forgets what it
means to be a Princess. For as long as her Belief remains zero, she cannot remember or access any of
her powers from the Princess template. There are further effects than just a Huanting. Devoid of Belief
the fallen Princess’ Inner Light begins to sputter and dim, the Princess suffers from the Fading Light
Condition and the Suggestible Condition, both remain until she regains a dot of Belief.
It is in this state, this borrowed time that any salvation must come, because if she can raise her
Belief back up to 1 before she loses all her dots of Willpower, she can cut free of the Shadows blotting
out her soul, she will die peacefully in her sleep the next night. But no Princess can reignite her Belief
alone, between Willful Amnesia and her own lack of drive the Princess is prevented from confronting
the problem. Her friends must force her to remember. This is not without risks, remembering is painful
for a fallen Princess. At the end of every Scene where she faces her issue, if she still has Belief 0, roll
Resolve + Composure. On a failure she loses another dot of Willpower. Bonuses may be given to the roll
if her friends made a good attempt to patch her together, and penalties may be applied if her enemies
are forcing her to face such painful memories for their own nefarious purposes.
If her friends wish to help her they must do so before she loses her last dot of Willpower, for when her
Willpower reaches zero she will simply lie down and stop moving. Nothing but the most powerful magics
can save a once-Princess from this state. Trapped within, her soul struggles in one last attempt to break
free. Roll Resolve + Composure – Shadows. On a Successful roll the soul manages to escape, although
will likely be suffering extreme amnesia of any past lives, for it is the least sliver. It will take hard work,
and probably several lives to fully recover. On a Failure the soul is trapped, helpless, replacing FadingLight with the Tainted Shell Condition. She becomes the prize in a great battle between Light and Dark:
The last fading remains of her Inner Light, so close to the Darkness, cannot help but attract he attentions
of the Darkness itself. In turn its attempt to gain such a prize draws the attention of Princesses due to
watchful scouts or prophetic dreams.
The desires of the Dark tie into the final, and most terrible option available to a fallen Princess:
Acceptance. At any moment where someone has forcefully reminded her of what she is the Belief 0
Enlightened may choose, as an Instant action, to Transform despite her lack of a Phylactery. The
Princess turns towards the Dark to fill the empty void where she once held her Light. She focuses on
everything that hurt her, everything that went wrong in her life and focuses on the grief and bitterness
they invoke, for in her deranged state even that is better than nothingness. The mad will of a Princess in
this state is a terrible thing to behold. She laughs with pure grief, she cries tears of crystal clear despair.
Her feelings echo around her, calling pure Taint up from the Dark World and shaping it into twisted
reflections of her own life. She even calls the Taint into her own body, fuelling her final Transformation
into a being drawn from the depths of her own nightmares.
There are many reasons to do this; a desperate need to escape a helpless body, a need for power for
something that they cannot do in a mortal state, a desire to get back at the world, a refusal to accept
that they are losing their mind, the belief that they deserve no better in their self-disgust, the fact that
their “friends” have tied them up and look like they’re trying to shoot them in the head...
And a Transformation in this manner should not be possible. In a sense, it is impossible, for no
Princess could do it, never take this Last Transformation, and don the mantle of the Dethroned. But
those who do so are no longer among the Enlightened, they are no longer even human. They shed their
mortal forms, as Darkness rushes into the void within them which the Light once filled, and are both
twisted and empowered by this blasphemous process. They wear blackened crowns on monstrous heads;
they are the Dethroned.
(Thus, to avoid this unpleasant fate... NIL DESPERANDUM!!!)

New Trait: Transformed Abilities and Skills
Next to each Attribute and Skill on a Princess’s character sheet, in addition to the five blank dots
normally present, there are another set of dots in parentheses. These dots represent additional skill or
attribute dots the Princess has while Transformed. While Transformed, your Transformed Attributes and
Skills are automatically added to your normal Attributes and Skills; this can change Advantages such as
Speed, Willpower, Initiative and Health, so record these values for both your mundane and Transformed
forms. If you take damage in Health boxes derived from transformed Stamina, you may spend Wisps to
heal that damage when you return to mundane form as per the rules for Holy Shield - if you don’t do so,
the damage wraps around, as per usual for temporary Health. Willpower points derived from transformed
Resolve and Composure can be spent only while you are transformed; however, if you have spent them,
you can regain them at any time. If you have spent both mundane and transformed Willpower, you
regain the mundane Willpower first. If you sacrifice a Willpower dot, you lose a transformed Willpower
dot first.
Your total Transformed ability may not exceed the maximum rating for Transformed abilities as
determined by your Inner Light, and you cannot have more dots in Transformed abilities than you have
Belief + Inner Light; Transformed Skills only count as one third of a dot when counting against this
limit.

Society and Skills
As a general rule a Princess who practices in her mundane body will earn mundane
attributes and skills while training in her Transformed identity, in the Dreamlands
or by remembering abilities from past lives will create Transformed attributes and
skills. Though many Princesses seeking mundane skills prefer to train twice, it
takes the same amount of time but splitting the task in two is nice.
In terms of gameplay this doesn’t have much impact. If you can only justify
earning a Transformed dot you can usually fit one experience point’s worth of
training into the next downtime.
It’s only when the Princess is constrained by external factors that she might be
unable to transfer skills from her transformed identity to her mundane identity. In
many parts of the world even getting access to a gun is difficult for a grown adult
let alone a young girl whose parents would certainly show concern if she suddenly
developed an interest in learning to shoot with no explanation. In such cases the
players will have to dedicate screentime and magic to overcoming these problems.