Tithe
Tithe represents the amount a Blackbird owes to the Outsiders they have access to as a whole; a character does not have a separate Tithe score for each Outsider. Using Vitiations and Outsider Techniques usually increases a character’s Tithe, whereas performing Reckonings (tasks suggested by specific Outsiders either at their impetus or at the theurge’s request) lowers the Tithe and may improve the relationship with the Outsider for whom they perform the Reckonings. If a character’s Tithe score becomes 10 or greater, it negatively affects their ability to perform magic, as well as their relationship with all of their Outsiders.
At any point, a theurge can offer to perform a Reckoning by choosing a specific Outsider and suggesting how much Tithe they would like to reduce. The Outsider then tells the character what they would like them to do. If the theurge doesn’t perform the task before the sun sets and rises again, their relationship with that Outsider may deteriorate (see Spite below).
At times, because an Outsider sees an opportunity to get something they want or to further their goal, they offer a theurge an unrequested Reckoning. Generally, Reckonings instigated by an Outsider lower the character’s Tithe more for doing less and should be acted upon, if possible. Performing a Reckoning for a particular Outsider might improve that relationship, too, so it’s worth doing things for Outsiders who become unruly or whom the theurge suspects are unhappy with their summoner.
| Station | Rapport | Communion | Pact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imp | +2 Tithe per Vitiation | +1 Tithe per Vitiation | +1 Tithe at sunset |
| Villein | +4 Tithe per Vitiation | +2 Tithe per Vitiation | +2 Tithe at sunset |
| Lord | +6 Tithe per Vitiation | +3 Tithe per Vitiation | +3 Tithe at sunset |
Spite
Rated from 1 (extreme fondness) to 9 (extremely fraught).
If the Outsider might balk at something or be offended, roll 1D10:
- If equal or lesser than Spite, the Outside will refuse, circumvent, or reinterpret what the theurge wants.
- If higher than Spite, they concede.
When the rules specifically call for a Spite roll, if the die comes up ‘10’, increase Spite by 1.
Rebuke
If Spite is 9 and a circumstance or test calls for it to increase, the Outside will perform an act of extreme disobedience at the earliest and most appropriate opportunity. They may subvert the power of a Vitiation to the theurge’s harm, summon lesser Outsiders to attack the theurge, or simply express their outrage and disappointment verbally. The pact is broken and must be reestablished by performing The Pythonic Liturgy and apply some sort of Leverage.
Reckonings
A Blackbird Proposes a Reckoning: If a Blackbird has been eyeing their Tithe and wants to pay it down, they can ask to do so by choosing one of their Outsiders and picking a specific amount of Tithe to pay off. Take this value then roll 1D10 and add that result to the total, then check the chart below.
An Outsider Offers a Reckoning: At the Fateweaver’s discretion, a particular Outsider offers a reckoning of its own accord. This is generally a better deal for theurges, if accepted. An Outsider usually goes for a larger amount of Tithe or all of the Tithe available when they make such an offer. In this case, no die roll is added to the value of the Tithe reduction when the chart is referred to.
| Result | Reckoning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Whisper a certain word to a certain person of authority or to a certain beggar. Empty an inkpot. Giggle at inappropriate times during the next hour. At night, leave open, unlocked, or unsecured a door or window chosen by the Outsider. |
| 2 | Cause someone specified by the Outsider minor pain without warning. Free a domestic animal. Your face becomes a rictus grin for 1 hour. Strike someone without provocation. |
| 3 | Until the sun sets and rises again, you are distracted by a disembodied voice that comments on what you are currently doing. Leave a profane symbol or perform a petty act of vandalism in a public place. Randomly mock strangers until the sun sets and rises again. Destroy a scarecrow. |
| 4 | Leave a weapon in a place where it is likely to be used for violence. Damage or destroy a useful tool. Destroy a sign, waypost, or marking that guides people. Lure a wild predator into a confrontation with people. |
| 5 | Speak only in rhyme until the sun sets and rises again. Until the sun sets and rises again, all people look exactly the same to you. Destroy or burn a book. You have random hallucinations until the sun sets and rises again. Deface a tombstone or grave marker so that none may know who is buried there. Destroy an important writ, contract, order, or official document. |
| 6 | Assist a cult in some small way: deliver a package, or bring them a knife or weapon, for example. Until the sun sets and rises again, wild crows follow you, feeding on grain and damaging property; you may not hinder them. Giggle and laugh continuously until the sun sets and rises again. Break a door or lock. Until the sun sets and rises again, the sound of your voice enrages strangers. |
| 7 | Until the sun sets and rises again, you are unable to read or write, and your voice is replaced with the sounds of an animal. Forget a Skill until the sun sets and rises again. Damage a dam, dike, wall, or fortification. Burn a field of crops. Until the sun sets and rises again, any strangers looking you in the eyes are enraged by your presence. |
| 8 | Until the sun sets and rises again, hear things that should not be; suffer 1D10+1 Peril every minute you do not plug your ears. Persuade someone that violence is the only solution. Lie to someone in such a way that it causes them ill fortune. Your face becomes horrifying to look at until the sun sets and rises again; make Resolve tests for who sees it. Free all the animals on a farm. |
| 9 | A face appears on the back of your head until the sun sets and rises again; it can see and talk, and it knows things about you. Completely forget 1 hour of your life. Until the sun sets and rises again, you are unable to use tools, including weapons. Until the sun sets and rises again, all smells and tastes are random and foul. |
| 10 | Give yourself or someone else a permanent scar. Destroy a document important to the Sigilists. A box is given to you to safeguard, but you may not open it or look inside. Choose a tame animal; it becomes feral and violent. Destroy a boat or wagon. Until the sun sets and rises again, you see things that should not be; suffer 1D10+1 Peril every minute you are not blindfolded or are otherwise forced to look at the world. |
| 11 | Until the sun sets and rises again, small creatures intermittently emerge from your mouth to go and perform nefarious deeds. Write a book of forbidden lore as dictated by the Outsider and then leave the book where the Outsider tells you to; writing this book takes 1 full day. |
| 12 | You may not enter civilized areas, towns, or human dwellings until the sun sets and rises again; suffer 1D10+1 Peril every minute you are forced into these areas, as you froth at the mouth. Completely forget 1 day of your life. A chattel imp appears and follows you until the sun sets and rises again, causing mischief and damaging property; you may not hinder it. Burn down the dwelling of a guard or a member of the town or city watch. |
| 13 | One of your hands detaches and leaves on a mission for the Outsider or a cult; you might get your hand back, but you increase that possibility if you assist it on its mission. Kill a domestic animal with your bare hands and teeth. Destroy an important writ, contract, order, or official document. Ruin the reputation of a scholar. |
| 14 | Until the sun sets and rises again, strangers do not believe anything you tell them. Burn down the dwelling of a mayor, burgermeister, or the leader of a town, city, or village. Damage a fortification or important defensive feature of a keep or castle. |
| 15 | Free a criminal from prison. Frame someone for a crime they did not commit. You suffer extreme hallucinations until the sun sets and rises again. |
| 16 | Start a fire near a civilized area. Destroy a library. Destroy a unique historical artifact. Destroy or burn down a Sigilist church or building. You are given a container with an eidolon, and you must put it where it will be opened by someone important. |
| 17 | Exchange two babies so that they grow up in the wrong homes. Abduct a child to be raised by animals in the wilderness. Get someone to agree to give you their firstborn; the child is taken by Outsiders to be raised within the Od. |
| 18 | Forget 1 week of your life. Assist a cult in a large way: help it commit a crime, or keep lookout while it steals something, for example. Replace a false blade used by a troupe of actors with a real one. For 1 week, some aspect of your perception of the world is changed: colors are wrong, smells make no sense, nearby sounds seem distant, and so forth. |
| 19 | Until the sun sets and rises again, you may not close your eyes for a prolonged period of time or be in darkness. You suffer 2D10+2 Peril for every 10 minutes you peer into the darkness and see horrors there you ought not see. One of your fingers or toes must be removed by your own hand, or it simply disappears. |
| 20 | Kill a scholar, scribe, or sage. Forget 1 month of your life. |
| 21 | Kill a Sigilist or someone who openly seeks to harm or repress theurges. Draw a large and complicated arcane symbol somewhere near human habitation. A doorway to the Od opens there. |
| 22+ | One part of your body permanently becomes disturbingly strange or unearthly. Assist a cult in a massive endeavor: help it kill someone important or kidnap a child of royalty, for example. |
Goals by Court
- The Court of Ignorance: The Court of Ignorance seeks to destroy accumulated human knowledge and ultimately make humanity dependent on this court for access to truth.
- The Court of Joy: The Court of Joy would prefer nothing more than to have all of humanity reduced to gibbering chaos and madness.
- The Court of Peace: The Court of Peace seeks to encourage acts of violence: the bigger the better, but finesse, virtuosity, and sophistication are also important.
- The Court of Silence: The Court of Silence seeks to return humans to their true bestial nature.
- The Court of Truth: The Court of Truth seeks to undermine the fabric of trust between people through fundamental disagreement.
- The Nameless Court: The Nameless Ones have incomprehensible goals—at least as far as Mortals are concerned.
Festival
The theurge gives themself over to an Outsider for a number of hours equal to the value of Tithe they owe. An Outsider guides and controls everything the theurge does during this time, possessing their body, and with full and Tithe-free access to all its own Vitiations. The theurge returns to consciousness later, with no idea of what transpired.
Once the Festival is complete:
- All Tithe that the theurge has accrued is wiped clean.
- Spite for that Outsider is lowered by 1D6.
- The theurge suffers 1D10+1 Peril for every 3 hours of Festival.
A Festival may not occur again until a full waxing and waning of the moon Gambler.