Temperance

XV. Temperance

“Love is patient, love is kind, love is all kinds of bullshit.”

The members of the Temperance Arcana want to make one thing clear: they’re not sissies.

They’re sick of being told they’re patient, they’re kind, they’re charitable. Yes, they are all these things. But they’re not necessarily nice. Most Temperance Cards are actually quite headstrong. They want things done well, they want things done now, and they make no secret of how they want things to work properly.

The truth is that while the traditional aspect of the Temperance Arcana is harmony, the complete aspect of it is Cooperation. The Cards of Temperance are geared toward making two disparate things function as a working whole. They are the cards of fusion, guiding humankind to their ultimate destinies.

Persona-users are dealt under the hand of Temperance when they’ve been locked in transitional states. The truth is Temperance Arcana users were something else before they were…human.

When a Promethean, changeling, werewolf or vampire finds a way to become permanently human (whatever the means) they will die like all humans do. Unfortunately for them, this doesn’t mean that their existence is over.

By virtue of spite, perversity or what-not, every single Temperance Card was once a supernatural being. The problem is they can’t remember what kind of being they were. All they know is that they have the ability to facilitate dialogue between Persona-users and the supernatural.

They often find themselves cleaning up after the messes of Magicians and Hierophants. It’s in these instances that they find themselves vaguely remembering what they used to be. Some would rather forget and enjoy their hard won humanity, while others want to know why they were freed from one condition of supernatural slavery for another. They want to know what they were, to see if it was better than this. Because of their backgrounds, they end up being the ambassadors for all Arcana, more so than Magicians who poke their nose into other people’s business.

And it’s their Dealer who knows what they were. Kirby Dent used to be a vampire, or so he claims. A night owl, he wonders how he freed himself from the endless night that was his vampiric existence. Instead he finds himself alive, seeing the sun after what feels like forever and he revels in the fact that though now human, he has powers that rival his vampiric devotions.

He remembers what he was by virtue of attaining Dealership of his Arcana, though he’s been instructed by his Arcana that he is not to reveal how. It’s temperate to hide a resource that people would otherwise compete for. What he does however is use the information he has on every one of his Cards as rewards. Do as he says---know who or what you are. It’s a deal that very few Temperance-users can resist.

The Power of Temperance

Kirby has troubled finding Servitors---supernatural beings are few and far between---so he accepts whoever he can. He keeps an eye out for former vampires in particular. He was a vampire himself, so he tends to look warily as those who were Damned.

Temperance 1: Stake Claim
Roll: Strength + Presence + Manipulation.
This power prevents non-Persona supernatural beings from attacking the target.

Exceptional Failure: The power fails to function, and cannot be used for another day.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: An aura surrounds the target. Any supernatural entity who is not a Persona-user has to roll a Willpower check to even approach the target. Even if the roll succeeds, the aura reflects energy that is distasteful to the entity such that it gives him a -1 penalty to die rolls after checking his Willpower.

Exceptional Success: The distasteful energy is so strong that it takes on aspects of the entity’s weakness---sunlight for vampires, silver for werewolves, cold iron for faerie, etc. The beings are affected accordingly.

Temperance 2: Calm Mind
Roll: Presence + Manipulation + Numina. 1 Numina.
This ability temporarily frees its target from fear and other mental compulsions.

Exceptional Failure: The power backfires, and the Temperance-user is struck by his own fears. He suffers a -1 penalty to rolls until he succeeds a Willpower roll to put himself together.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The target is relieved from mental compulsions while in the presence of the Temperance-user. He cannot be mentally compelled or attacked but such effects hit him as soon as the Temperance-user departs. This ability can be used to quell Promethean Torment and Disquiet, vampiric rotshrek, et al.

Exceptional Success: The calm is so well established that it remains after the Temperance-user leaves. Newly launched psychic attacks still work, however.

Temperance 3: Gestalt
Roll: Presence + Numina. 2 Numina per person affected
Temperance-users use this ability to speed a group’s ability to get things done.

Exceptional Failure: The power fails to function and cannot work for another week.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Persona-user chooses one Skill that he would like a group to share with each other. When he brings the group into a Gestalt, all their scores in that Skill are added to each other and averaged, rounded up. The power lasts for 10 minutes per Temperance Arcana Rank.

Exceptional Success: The power lasts for 30 minutes per Temperance Arcana rank.

Temperance 4: Social Adhesive
Roll: Presence + Socialize + Numina. 2 Numina per person affected.
This ability otherwise functions as Gestalt, with the Persona-user given 2 Skills to share instead of just 1.

Temperance 5: Eden
Roll: None. 3 Numina, 1 Willpower.
This ability creates a safe zone for all invited to enter. No supernatural powers may work in the target area. In addition, no compulsions (as Calm Mind) are allowed inside either. All beings who enter an Eden are freed from the conditions of their kind (vampires do not need to feed, Prometheans do not spread Disquiet, etc.) Any violence done in an Eden immediately ejects the culprit and he cannot re-enter without spending 2 Willpower to get in. An Eden lasts for 24 hours.