Sun

XX. The Sun

“I illuminate all. I am the blaze of the soul, the source of all life, that death dare not approach!”

Among the Arcana, it is the Sun that glows brightest and burns fiercest. It is the glory of the Arcana, symbolizing the apex of realized human potential. From its most significant Cards come some of humanity’s most dazzling achievements. Unfortunately, the Arcana knows it.

The Sun Arcana considers itself to be the keeper of human virtue, though its detractors note that it seems the Sun has forgotten to include modesty to the list of virtues. Perhaps this is because they are unusual bearers of genius.

It’s because of this genius that the Sun considers death to be the ultimate insult of all. They, the great lights of humanity, were snuffed out before their prime. In a way, they are what the Chariot Arcana seeks to be, pinnacles of human success. Death topples these successes, and thus they seek to allay it when they can.

It has thus become the duty of the Sun Arcana to become the guardians of human achievement. They seek to destroy any threat that, should it be realized, may lessen the collective spirit of humanity.

This may sound noble, but most Sun Cards are supercilious about their innate superiority as a result. Because they’ve been the best, they consider themselves the best adjudicators of humankind. There is little truth to this corollary.

The current Dealer is an arrogant, though pragmatic professor named Keith Sa. Chinese by birth, he’s a true polymath, having skills of exceptional caliber in various arts and sciences. He has multiple Nobel Prizes, a Pulitzer, and an Olympic medal to his name.

All of these were for naught when a rare, wasting disease---or so he thought---ate away at his life, day by day. The disease was degenerative; his intelligence seeped out of him as he fought against it. When death came, the small part of him that remembered his brilliance sparked---and flared into the burning glory of his Arcana.

Today Sa is the exceptional exception, a Dealer blazing with more power than even the magnificence of his Cards. He strives to chase death away from the most gifted members of mankind, even as others try to hasten it for their own ends. It is his greatest frustration that even he has failed to save them all.

The Powers of the Sun

Sa prefers Cards with the same brilliance he shares. Dullards are not welcome. There are times he seriously questions those his Arcana would chose (not as brilliant as he, he thinks), but knowing that to question the Arcana is folly, he keeps his disagreeable opinions to himself.

Sun 1: Dazzling Brightness
Roll: Presence + Numen. 1 Numina.
The Sun-user unsheathes his brilliances in a powerful flash of blinding light.

Exceptional Failure: The power fails to function, and the Sun-user cannot use the ability for the rest of the day.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: A jarring flash (brighter than a photoflash) radiates from the Persona-user in a radius equal to his Numen rating x 5 meters. Beings that look at the Persona-user are blinded for a number of turns equal to the Persona-user’s Numen.

Exceptional Success: The flash is so jarring that the duration of blindness is doubled.

Sun 2: Solar Battery
Roll: Presence + Numen. (See below)
This ability allows the Persona-user to absorb Numina from the sun itself.

Exceptional Failure: The power fails, and cannot be used for another month.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Persona-user recharges Numina at an accelerated rate. Instead of regaining one Numina per day, the Persona-user regenerates Numina equal to the number of successes in his roll. He may use this power only once per week.

Exceptional Success: The power is so well controlled that he can use the power as much as he wants for a week.

Sun 3: Sun Bolt
Roll: Presence + Dexterity. 2 Numina per bolt, +1 per intensity of bolt.
This ability makes Sun-users the bane of vampires everywhere.

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

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Sun-user fires pulses (“bolts”) of pure solar energy at his targets. Should they hit, the target suffers 1 bashing damage and is affected by Dazzling Brightness. The Sun-user can intensify the heat of his bolts by adding 1 Numina to the cost of his attack (3 total cost of Numina for 1 lethal damage, 3 Numina for 1 aggravated.) A Sun-user can fire as many bolts as his Sun Arcana rank per round. He must still pay the costs for each bolt, however.

Vampires who are hit by sun bolts are affected by sunlight as per the rules, and have to roll for Rotshrek.

Exceptional Success: The bolts’ damage are raised by one level free of charge. If the Sun-user was already firing aggravated bolts, the bolts Stun the target as well.

Sun 4: Breaking through the Fog/Early Dawn
Roll: Presence + Resolve + Numen vs. Resolve + Numen. 3 Numina.
A Sun-user uses this power to penetrate the Fog and end the Dark Hour early in a target area.

Exceptional Failure: The Sun-user instead finds himself in the Dark Hour or the Fog for a longer duration.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: The Sun-user is able to force an area back to normalcy if it’s currently shrouded in the Mist or experiencing the Dark Hour. The length of the Hour/Fog is shortened by a number of relative hours equal to his Sun ranking.

Exceptional Success: The Dark Hour/Fog’s duration is shortened by doubled the Sun-user’s ranking in relative hours.

Sun 5: Aurora Victoria
Roll: Presence + Resolve + Numen. 4 Numina, +1 per additional target affected.
Sun-users use this ability to ensure victory against the toughest of foes.

Exceptional Failure: The Sun-user’s opponents benefit from the effects.

Failure: The power fails to function.

Success: For the next number of turns equal to half the Sun-user’s Arcana rank (rounded up), 3 successes are counted as exceptional successes rather than 5.

Exceptional Success: As Success.