Leverage

Theurges aren’t completely without recourse when their Outsiders refuse to do what they want them to do: they have leverage—something the Outsider needs or wants to avoid—with which to compel them to comply. Leverage is dangerous, though it doesn’t necessarily turn an Outsider against a Mortal. Outsiders exist in a world of deals and forced compliance, and this sort of push from their summoners is generally expected—so long as it doesn’t get out of hand.

To apply leverage, the theurge must have something that allows them to exert their will upon the Outsider in question. Leverage allows the theurge to change the situation to their favor in several circumstances:

• If the Outsider has refused a counteroffer for a temporary deal, leverage can force them to accept it.
• If circumstances cause an Outsider to be temporarily unavailable (apart from being Pacted to another theurge), leverage can force it to be available.
• If the Outsider is pacted to another theurge and someone wants it to break the pact, leverage is the only way to do so. Note that they must first perform The Pythonic Liturgy to use leverage in this way.
• Leverage can be used to reestablish an Agreement with an Outsider that has rebuked a theurge.
• Leverage can force an Outsider to become unavailable to a rival theurge until the sun has set and risen again.
• Leverage can coerce anything else that seems reasonable to the Fateweaver.

Types of Leverage

What follows are some ways that a theurge may seek leverage. Other types of leverage not covered here can be adjudicated by the Fateweaver based upon the circumstances of the Tapestry. The Difficulty Rating of any rolls depends upon the level of the Outsider to be influenced: (Standard +/–0%) for imps, (Challenging –10%) for villeins, and (Hard –20%) for lords. Use the following examples to determine how they should be resolved.

True Name

Invoking an Outsider’s True Name is one of the most obvious ways of seeking leverage, but also the most dangerous. Outsiders are loath to have their True Name used in this way—it makes them vulnerable, and they generally interpret any use of it by a Mortal to be frivolous. If this happens often, they start to consider how that Mortal could be eliminated to remove this knowledge from the world.

When a theurge uses a True Name for leverage, make an Odweft test for them to properly pronounce and invoke the name—and if the test succeeds, the leverage does as well. After a theurge employs a True Name this way, always increase the Spite for that Outsider by 1 unless the roll to apply leverage was a Critical Success.

Using the True Name in this way is not the same as using the True Name while casting the Pythonic Liturgy. The two are separate applications of this knowledge, though a theurge might use the name to make the Liturgy more likely to succeed and then use the name again when negotiating afterward.

Obeisance

If a theurge has an idea of something a particular Outsider might want, generally because of the sort of reckonings it demands, they can offer a reckoning as a gift or sacrifice in hopes of getting what they want. For this leverage attempt to succeed, make a Bargain or Charm test for the theurge. The Fateweaver should further modify this test based upon how appropriate they feel the obeisance or gift is for this Outsider. If the outcome of this test is a Critical Success, lower the Spite for that Outsider by 1.

Regardless of whether it succeeds, make a Spite roll for that agreement. If it succeeds, increase the Spite by 1. If it fails, lower the Spite by 1. Note that this can reduce Spite by 2 if the leverage test is a Critical Success and the Spite roll fails.

Festival

A theurge who is aware of the possibility of a Festival can offer it as a form of leverage. Used this way, the Festival is solely for the purpose of leverage and does not wipe away any of the debt owed to an Outsider, but it always lowers the Spite of the relationship, if successful.

For the leverage attempt to succeed, make a Bargain or Charm test for the theurge. The Fateweaver should further modify this test by +10 for each hour of Festival offered.

If this test is a Success, lower the Spite by 1D6; if it’s a Critical Success, lower Spite to 1. Offering a Festival never increases Spite. The Festival occurs regardless of the result of the test.

Advocacy

If a theurge has time and a place where negotiations can occur, and one of the other members of their flock is willing to be an advocate, that person may speak for the theurge. The advocate focuses upon the details of the legal agreement that the theurge and the Outsider make and seeks loopholes or interpretations that are beneficial to the theurge. To succeed, make a Bargain, Education, or Guile test for the advocate. If the roll succeeds, so does the attempt. If this test is a Critical Success, lower the Spite of that Outsider by 1.