Emperor

VI. The Emperor

“Power Incarnate is nothing compared to Power Controlled.”

The Emperor Arcana is a sexist Arcana, and it makes no apologies for it. It is the Arcana of the power masculine, of Andros, Jupiter Domini, the unfettered male. It is also the symbol of all secular and temporal authority. What it wants, it gets, and what it wants is lordship and dominion. There are no female Persona-users dealt under the hand of the Emperor.

Most Persona-users regard Emperors with more than a touch of asperity. A part of this comes from the arrogance Emperors naturally exude. They are the rulers of the Arcana, they say, tactlessly ignoring that each Arcana is supreme in its own bailiwick. Persona-users know better though. They know that something had to bring the Emperor down, for to be a Persona-user means to be intimate with death.

That is, they think they know better. Servitors of the Emperor Arcana are the ultimate survivalists. None of them ever felt the cold hand of death on their collective brow. They have been awfully close to it, but they cheated death by dint of their will to live and sheer determination to survive. Let the other Persona-users awaken because they had no choice but to submit. For the Emperor, power was deservedly seized.

Not all Emperors are haughty industrialists, though many would like to be. Some Emperors have no worldly goods to their name whatsoever. Their only strength comes from within. Many schoolyard bullies who nearly met untimely ends have grown to be social outcasts. Other leaders have been similarly displaced by a loss of a social mandate.

Ultimately, that is the crux of the Emperor’s quandary; in order for him to be an Emperor, he must rule. Unfortunately, vassalage is a thing of the past and the pickings are slim. The Emperor must carve out a place for himself and defend it from all invaders. He must somehow establish that he is better than others (a difficult task when Chariots come to play) or personally more qualified, a pinnacle of male achievement (which makes him butt heads with Strength Cards.)

Emperors will never admit it, but all their lust for power comes from a place of fear. The reason why they were able to awaken was because they were terrified out of their mortal stupor. Other Persona-users accepted their mortality and drew strength from it; Emperors run away from death, fighting to avoid the fate that leaves them with nothing, or at least, something out of their own control. They know collecting power is the only way to delay the inevitable.

It is for this reason that the Emperor Arcana has no known Dealer. Emperors are temperamentally unsuited to accept leadership other than their own anyway. Still, the Persona-users dealt under the hand of the Emperor have three Lord-Marshals--- Zagreus, Minos, and Rhodos---who have declared it anathema for any Emperor to undermine his brother Emperor without their express approval. Without this policing body the population of Emperor-users would surely be smaller; prideful men after all do prefer eliminating their competition.

This is not to say that there is no camaraderie between Emperors. There is. That is, it can only exist if one’s influence does nothing to leech from another’s. Additionally, for all that they awoke in fear, they are not cowards. If they MUST face death, they will. Many a noble hero was a king, after all. They just don’t see the point in dying to truly live.


The Powers of the Emperor

Zagreus, Minos and Rhodos are mysteries in their own right. They offer the mantle of Emperor to humans with potential just before they die. It is up to them to use the power to defeat the immediate threat to their mortality. Some succeed. Others fail. The three Lord-Marshals do nothing to prevent Emperors from doing as they please, save from the prohibition to undermine other Emperors. Because of this, Emperors are left to their own devices to train themselves in their native powers.

Emperor 1: Majesty of Man
Roll: Presence + Numina. 1, 3 or 4 Numina. (See below.)
Emperors use this ability to open doors that are closed to others.

Exceptional Failure: The power backfires; he cannot use this power for the rest of the day.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Emperor surrounds himself with an aura of smoldering masculine authority. Should he spend 1 Numen, he temporarily enjoys the effects of the Barfly Merit. Should he spend 2 extra Numina, he enjoys Striking Looks at its 2-dot value. Spending an extra 3 Numina lets him enjoy Striking Looks at its 4-dot value. The power lasts for a turn.

Exceptional Success: His aura of authority is exceptionally powerful; the power lasts for the duration of the scene.
Emperor 2: Clarion Words
Roll: Presence + Expression + Numina vs. Wits + Numina. Contested. No cost.
This ability gives the Emperor to remain memorable to the listener; people cannot tear themselves from his sterling voice.

Exceptional Failure: The power fails; the Emperor is memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. The character suffers a -2 penalty to his Presence rolls when dealing with anyone in the audience for a duration equal to his Emperor Arcana rank.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Emperor becomes the center of attention. As long as he speaks, his audience is captivated. He cannot do anything other than speak and move slowly. Should he attack, he breaks the spell but gains first strike. Those not affected by the Emperor’s words can act normally against the Emperor and/or gain +2 bonus dice to actions attempted on the mesmerized crowd. The ability lasts as a number of turns equal to the character’s Emperor Arcana rank.

Exceptional Success: The words are stirring and linger in the air; the duration is increased by 2 turns.

Emperor 3: Le Droit de Seigneur
Roll: Presence + Expression + Numina vs. Resolve + Numina.
This ability allows the Emperor to compel others to bend to his will.

Exceptional Failure: The power backfires, and cannot be used for the rest of the day.

Failure: The power fails.

Success: The Emperor can give a number of commands equal to his collected successes. Each command must be direct, simple and comprehensible to the target. The target is allowed to resist one more time with +2 bonus dice if the command is something that is morally reprehensible to him. Commands can also be programmed, such as “Don’t lock the door tonight” or “Shake the hand of the blonde man next door.” The commands must be carried out in a number of days equal to the Persona-user’s Emperor Arcana rank.

Exceptional Success: As Success.

Emperor 4: Bacchanalia
Roll: Presence + Strength + Numina vs. Composure + Numina. Contested. 2 Numina.
With this ability Emperors are able to unleash the inhibitions locked in people’s hearts.

Exceptional Failure: The power backfires; the Emperor finds himself acting as if he were suffering the effects of the power.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: For every success he accumulates, the Emperor can drive a crowd to madness for as many turns as the character’s Emperor Arcana rank. The crowd will rut, fellate, vandalize and act like a wild mob. Emperors tend to use this power when amidst rivals in highly public settings so as to humiliate and discredit them. Those suffering from the effects of Bacchanalia must roll Willpower rolls every time they attempt to do something other than give into their inhibitions.

Exceptional Success: As Success.

Emperor 5: Lordly Mien
Roll: None. Passive.
Emperors with this ability benefit from the 9-Again rule to rolls that involve Expression and Intimidation.