Strength

IV. Strength

“Little bird flies high
Little bird conquers the sky
Little bird am I.”

While Chariots surge forward in the name of their principles, Persona-users of the Strength Arcana are rooted in theirs. Perhaps it shouldn’t so surprising that the other name of the Arcana is Fortitude. Indeed, Fortitude is the most common Virtue chosen by those dealt under the hand of Strength. It is the Arcana of reliability, consistency and enduring self-belief.

The awakening to Strength begins when the death of the Persona-user is caused by forces beyond the Persona-user’s control. He essentially dies at his weakest moment. The desire to prove that he is not---that he deserved better than this, that he was more than what felled him---is what keeps him in the world of the living.

This isn’t to say that the Strengths are a self-entitled crowd, but the trait is common enough to form a stereotype. Most Strengths are fond of training and self-improvement because they know they have it in them to be better. Though it’s never admitted, many Strengths acknowledge to themselves that they train so that they would never be unprepared for the situation that got them killed in the first place.

Most Strengths died by natural causes; floods, earthquakes and other disasters often show human beings just how weak and powerless they are and these conditions are ripe for the awakening of the Strength Persona-user. Social factors, however, are not without their contribution to the members of this Arcana: the victims of lynch mobs, muggings, kidnappings and other crimes have also swelled Strength’s ranks. Strength cards, it must be understood, died because they were on the losing end of a conflict. They were victims---and this does not settle well with their souls.

Just as with every Arcana, Strengths can be of any ilk. The feminist suffragist and the marathon runner can be called to the Arcana just as much as the gang member who died in a turf war. Who determines who is called back is still anybody’s guess—and the Dealer isn’t talking.

The Dealer of the Strength Arcana is a middle-aged woman named Helen Spalding. To all appearances she is the successful corporate lawyer and is just about as magical as a doorknob. She prefers it that way. Helen awoke to her Persona seventeen years ago after she suffered a miscarriage that took the life of her baby and almost took hers as well.

Her worst enemy was herself, and Helen took it hard. As far as she’s concerned she’s living in the body of an untamed killer and this body must be tamed. She’s subjected it to every training regimen and honed it such that it answers only her will and no one else’s. She expects her Servitors to do likewise with their own bodies.

The Powers of Strength

Though she’ll never admit it, Helen looks at her Servitors as the children she could have had. She has a soft spot for all of them, even the twisted ones who serve the Arcana in ways she couldn’t conceive of. She does play favorites however (like any parent---a parent who says he doesn’t have a favorite child is lying) and those who are worthy of her special attention tend to be the finer specimens of their sex. She likes them ripped and ready to serve.

Strength 1: Inner Strength
Roll: None. Reflexive. 1 Numen (see below.)
Strengths use this ability to summon reserves of power in times of great need. With this ability, a Strength user can raise any Attribute by 1 for every Numen that he spends on that Attribute. The boost lasts for one turn.

Strength 2: Restore Vitality
Roll: None. Reflexive. 1, 2 or 3 Numina
Strengths often find themselves at the forefront of physical combat because of this ability. This power allows them to heal themselves through the expenditure of Numen. 1 Numen heals 1 rank of bashing damage, 2 Numina heal 1 rank of lethal damage while 3 Numina heal 1 rank of aggravated damage.

Strength 3: Resist Mental Assault.
Roll. None. Passive.
With this ability the Persona-user adds his Strength Arcana rank to any rolls meant to resist attacks on his psyche.

Strength 4: Herculean Advancement
Roll: None. Passive.
The Persona-user has developed his own personal Strength so well that he benefits from the 9-Again rule on rolls that include Strength.

Strength 5: Raise the Sky
Roll: 3 Numina. Reflexive.
For the duration of the scene the Persona-user’s Strength is raised by 50%, rounded up. (1-2, 2-3, 3-5, 4-6, 5-8).