Pattern Trump Art JofJ Trump Tricks Logrus
Power Words Sorcery Power and Fatigue Conjuration Inscription
Abyss Items/Artefacts   Chi Powers Shape Shifting

Shadowlands

Trump Artistry


Powers and Partial Powers

Prerequisites:

History

Contents

Trump Sketches (15 points)

     Trump sketches can be drawn in pencil, marker, charcoal, etc. They are relatively 'quick and dirty' Trumps which are good for a limited number of uses and do not possess the innate indestructibility of real Trumps. They can be made in 30 minutes to two hours, though Dworkin is rumoured to be able to create one in less than 30 seconds! Trump sketches are good for a limited number of uses depending on the creator's Psyche. After this usage is complete the sketch will be unempowered and no longer viable for either communication or transport. If the Trump Sketch is to reach across Shadow, then the creator must have either the ability or the potential to influence shadow (Blood of Chaos or Amber, Broken Pattern, etc.). Otherwise, the Sketch works only within the Shadow it was created in. This ability also conveys on the possessor the ability to sense Trump energy use nearby (as the trump trick of the same name).

     Creation time is 120 minutes, minus 30 seconds per point Psyche:General minus 5 minutes per skill point above 15 (minimum time 30 seconds).

     Note that, unless you've got Pattern Imprint, Logrus Imprint or another power allowing you to search for something in Shadow, you cannot reach through it. Also, a Pattern-based Trump cannot reach someone in a Shadow blocked to Pattern, and, conversely, a Logrus-based Trump cannot reach someone in a Shadow blocked to Logrus.

Novice Trump (10 points)

     See Create Trump (below) -- double to triple any and all creation times... Trump sketches from memory are more than likely impossible. This ability also conveys on the possessor the ability to use Trump Defence (see the trump trick of the same name).

Create Trump (15 points)

     This involves creating a card representing some particular person, place, thing or object. When the user concentrates on the card there will be a psychic bond between the user and the subject of the card. Creating a Trump takes from 2 hours to 3 days of concentrated work depending upon the character's Psyche, Endurance, and relative level of experience with making Trumps. As time passes, the character will find that creating such paintings takes less and less time. Suhuy, for example, could probably render a fully functional Trump in 30-60 minutes of work.

     The medium used also determines some of the time so painting in oils, while better for highest quality Trumps, takes much longer to dry and become functional whereas Acrylics are relatively quick drying albeit not as conducive for that 'ultra- realistic' look which is the hallmark of quality Trumps.

     Working from memory, without a live model, will DOUBLE or TRIPLE the amount of time to create a card. Trumps made from descriptions, without the Trump Artist ever having observed the subject, have a HIGH probability of linking to a Shadow, instead of the actual subject.

     When the Trump Artist first sits down to create a Trump, he/she must clear his/her mind, then think upon the subject of the Trump they wish to create, and finally bring up the Power of Trump. Once in the empowered state, they then begin drawing the lines upon the medium they are using, rendering a life-like representation of the subject, and embedding the Power of Trump into the image. Trumps cannot be drawn if there are things to distract the Artist, they must have total concentration during the entire process, and any interruptions during the Trump creation stage will require them to start over.

     This ability also conveys on the possessor the ability to sense the identity of a Trump Caller (as the trump trick of the same name), as well as recognize trump artistry styles that he or she has encountered before.

     Creation time is 60 hours, minus 15 minutes per point Psyche:General minus 90 minutes per skill point above 15 (minimum time 30 minutes).

Trump sculptures (05 points)

     This ability allows you to create sculptures of a target that works just like a trump, save that, so long as you can touch them and "feel" them, you don't need to see them in order to initiate a trump contact. As a side effect, and unlike the cards, which evoke a person by her appearance and her public behaviour, the sculptures lets you feel something different, closer to the true self of the target.

Trump Sculptures Divination (05 points)

     With this, you can use your sculptures in Trump Divination, disposing them and asking them questions. This has its advantages, even if the answers are often cryptic.

Replicate Trump (05 points, Create Trump +15)

     This ability allows the artist to produce a copy of an existing trump in one quarter of the time it would take to create a new trump of the subject from scratch.

The process of replicating a trump is similar to creating an new one, except that the blank medium is placed over an existing trump. The artist then clears their mind, enters an empowered state, and then concentrates on the trump to be replicated. In this state using only a brush or stylus in a similar manner to taking a brass rubbing they can duplicate the existing trump.

Note. The duplicate of the trump bears the trump and artistic signature of the duplicator not that of the creator of the original trump.

Rack Replicate Trump (10 points, Replicate Trump +10)

     This ability is an extension of the Replicate Trump ability and allows the artist to produce multiple copies (number dependant upon psyche:perception, psyche:willpower, and rack replication skill) at a time. Whilst this process takes 50% longer than normal replication the advantage is that multiple copies are produced.

Self Replicating Trump (10 points, Replicate Trump +20)

     This is the ultimate ability in creating trumps. Once the Self Replicating Trump has been created, the creator or the possessor if they have Initiate of the True Trump ability, can concentrate on the trump, reach "inside" the trump and draw an exact duplicate of the trump out of it, in one twentieth of the time it would take to create the equivalent new trump.

Creation of the trump in the first place takes four times longer than for a normal trump.

Trump Magic (05 points)

     This very useful power lets you incorporate Trump Energies into your spells with the "Invoke Power" Advanced Spell Components ability. Note that such spells require special racks, costing twice the normal cost (see the entry for Advanced Spell Components).

Create Trump Rack (05 points)

     This allows the character to create a trump that holds a spell. To activate it, you must make a "trump call" to your spell. The spell must be maintained on the trump to keep it active, and the Trump must represent the effects of the Spell. A single trump or trump sketch can hold only one spell at a time. A spell held on a trump sketch will dissipate when used or when the sketch dissipates, leaving the card a blank. One held on a true Trump will be cast normally, but the image on the card will not vanish, and thus can be reused to hold a similar spell. An added benefit is that these racks can hold Trump-based Spells. In game terms if you want to buy a Trump Rack, the base cost is 2 points for a normal rack, 4 points for a rack and cast trump, multiplied by the quantity modifiers. Example: 10 rack trumps would cost 2 * 2 = 4 points.

Improved Trump Rack (05 points)

     The ability to make a permanent Trump spell: the spell depicted on the trump will not dissipate after casting, nor will it deteriorate over time. Note that you need to make a trump contact with your spell in order to cast it. Of course, you can combine this with Instant activation, for example. Such an item costs, should you buy it, 4 points, 8 if it is a hack and rack spells trump, times the quantity multiplier.

Trump Deception (05 points)

     A Trump can be altered or designed so that it looks like something that has nothing to do with where it actually links. An example would be a trump of 'Castle Amber' that actually took the user to Brand's Dungeon of Painful Innuendoes. Alternately, one can make a trump that reacts like a 'real' trump, but is actually connected to nothing. ("Eric can't be dead... see? His trump still gets cold.").

Discern Unknown Psyche Signature (05 points)

     The ability to create trumps of places or persons that the character has not met or seen by learning of that person's psyche and taints from someone else who had met the other person or gone to the place in question.

Blindman's Trump (05 points)

     The ability to use a card's psyche signature to attune to it, this allows you to activate a card that you're touching without seeing it.

Create Recorder Trump (05 points)

     The ability to create a trump that is initially blank but records if possible a precise location. There are two possibilities for such a trump: When activated, it records a place, becoming a trump of that place, or it is a "mutable" trump, which represents always the last place from which the possessor trumped from. Such a trump takes twice as long to create than a normal trump.

Quick Transport (05 points)

     A Trump can be altered or designed so that as soon as contact is made, transportation is automatic. Note the combination of Quick Transport and Quick Activation makes a great Trump Trap.

Trump Backward (05 points)

     The ability to send someone (possibly yourself) back through to where they recently Trumped out. This may require a psyche check or a psyche conflict if your "victim" knows what you're doing and is unwilling or trying to impede you.

Quick Activation/Quick Sketch (03 points)

     A Trump can be specially designed to take only moments to activate. When it is touched and concentrated on like a normal Trump, it activates almost immediately, popping on without warning. This power also allows the artist to make a very quick, but impermanent 'normal' trump, as a sketch.

Instant Activation (02 points)

     A Trump can be created to activate instantly, by sight or touch alone. When someone looks and concentrates, or touches the active face, the Trump instantly activates.

Trump Memory (05 points)

     In creating a card, either a new one, or redrawing an old one, you memorize the image, so it is permanently imprinted upon your mind. That means you can attempt to contact an image without an actual card being present. This is a great effort on both the Psyche and Endurance (worth 30 minutes of exertion) of the Trump Artist, but if persistent it can be accomplished. Note that this is only possible with person trumps not those of places or objects.

Remote Trump Utilization (05 points)

     The ability to activate a trump from only sight without physical contact: If the character can see a trump, he can use it.

Initiate of the True Image (05 points)

     The initiate has achieved the level of knowledge and insight to understand the True Power of Trump. As a result, the Trump Artist may make a thorough appraisal of the Psychic imprint of anyone whose card he possesses, including any Powers that have imprinted themselves on the subject's Psyche. The Trump Artist can also screen those who pass through his Trump Gates by using Trump energy to scan the subject.

Dual Trump Image (05 points)

     Allows you to create a trump that holds two or more images, any of which may be contacted separately with extra effort. The main use, however, is that such trumps allows simultaneous multiples contacts.

Connection Transit (05 points)

     The ability to go through to a character's trump as though it were a location trump and travel to where the character is located without being pulled through his trump.

True Trump Attachment (05 points)

     The ability to see through a shapeshifter's efforts (not including those utilizing the Total Psyche Emulation) to hide their own psychic signature, and to create a trump that connects to the intended target instead of whom the shapeshifter was imitating. The character does not however know what the appearance of the target will be until the trump is used and the shapeshifter is contacted or affected instead.

Trump Psyche Holding (10 points)

     This power lets you use a person's trump to store their psyche/soul into it, should the body be destroyed or possessed. Of course, you can still expel yourself the soul, using some spells, and then imprison it in a trump...

Trump Connection Tunneling (05 points)

     The ability to ignore a Trump or psychic barrier and access a trump on the other side so that the character can contact someone or teleport himself to the location behind the psychic barrier.

Create Trump Artifacts (05 points)

     This lets you create artefacts, such as Ghostwheel, that have Trump Qualities and Powers, and in some way harness the power of Trump.... Basic point here is that these artefacts will work about anywhere Trumps does, and can channel and hold more energy than an equivalent Shadow-powered item. In Game terms, this allows you to create artefacts with Trump abilities up to the 8 points level (i.e. they can have any Power or Quality up to the 4 points level, and Trump Powers up to the 8 points level). Contrary to other Create (power type) Artefacts, This ability can be used anywhere Trumps works, which gives you more flexibility. Another thing is that such items, becomes part of their creator. Thus, they must be paid for with points.

     Possible uses for this include a transport item, which would be easier to carry than a deck of place cards, and one very nasty idea a player came up with - a Trump gun. Basically this trumps a person, giving them the option to block the call, and then if it's accepted, fires through the link at them. This could also allow an item to trump in power from an established source, giving a Sorcerer a better connection to his power source (for purposes of Supplying Magical Energy external to the wizard), or supplying Trump energies to Trump-based Spells (created with Trump Sorcery). Another possibility is a high-tech item that would work in places where its power source (but not the basic physics) didn't function.

Oniric Trump Artistry (05 points)

     You can enter in someone's dreams by his or her trump. With a second trump, you can even impose the trump image of a person in another else's dreams, so they'll share the same dream.

Shape Dreams (05 points)

     You can shape someone's dreams, bending them to your will.

Advanced Trump Summoning (Trump Magic + 10 points)

     In order to use these powers, you must have first mastered some Sorcery powers, such as the "Advanced sorcery components" and "True Conjuration" abilities. It allows you to summon trumps or to create cards themselves able to conjure things, as per the Creatures and Artifacts rules (three hours per point).

Trumps of Desire (10 points)

     This allows you to draw Trumps of places, items and people that you have never encountered, but have conceived. It links the Trump to a Shadow resembling the Trump's images; since Shadow is infinite, any drawing can be made into a Trump. Time is typically six hours per point for a Shadow and twice the normal time for a person. This is not dependant on Pattern, Logrus or any method of Shadow travel.

Trump-based Healing (05 points)

     By calling on the Image of the subject, the Trump Artist may use Trump Energies to restore a damaged subject to wholeness. This ability may be limited by the level of familiarity between the Artist and subject, the Artist's ability, and the level of reality the subject exists at. Relative to other exalted disciplines, trump-based healing is relatively inexpensive point-wise, but is extremely draining on the healer in both body and mind.

Visual Trump (05 points)

     The trump artist can now make a trump call to someone in line of sight, but without needing a trump, or trump out to any place in line of sight. Otherwise, this works just as a regular trump call, with the exception that each use counts as 10 minutes of exertion.

Mental Trump (05 points)

     By mentally drawing a trump, you can establish a trump link without a trump (to a person or a place). This power acts just like a normal trump link (mental link and teleportation), but the link is somewhat harder to create. And, of course, just like a normal trump, you need to know the place, item or people you wish to trump to, unless some other abilities (like Trumps of desire) allows you to do otherwise. Note also that, once used, the link will be severed, and that this doesn't count as the drawing of an actual trump for Trump Memory purposes. Time is usually twice what it would take to draw an actual Trump Sketch of the place, and counts as heavy exertion.

Living Trump (10 points)

     At this level of development, one's understanding of the Ideal Image is so complete; s/he is infused with its power. As a result, foci are no longer necessary to use Trump. Inter-shadow travel, communication and other Trump applications can all be accomplished by tapping into the Image of the desired effect contained within the Artist's mind: Focus on the Image of a place to travel there, focus on the Image of a person to communicate, travel to, or summon them. The only limit to this power is that you must be able to draw a trump of the person or place you want to contact (i.e. you can't go to a place you've never seen, or contact someone you don't know), and your endurance, as each use counts as ten minutes of exertion.

Summon Forth Virtual Universal Trump Deck (Trump of Desire + 10 points)

     The ability to access the universal trump deck of all physical locations and travel there at will: This allows you to travel to places you've never seen. At this level, you're no longer dependant on Pattern, Logrus or anything else to reach through Shadow.

Trump Field Control (05 points)

     The ability to deactivate or activate all trumps in the local shadow environment. Very tiring (Endurance cost times 15). The area you can affect is function of the character's psyche (Two times your Brute Psyche meters radius).

The Truest Image (??? points)

     Many possibilities exist at these exalted levels of mastery of the True Image, the costs of which must be left to the GM. Here are some possibilities:

              .Trump-based Necromancy: Usually, when a subject dies, the Trump Image becomes useless because the subject has moved from a state far away from its Ideal Image, in effect taking on a new Ideal Image. A truly powerful Artist can use the old Image to track down the new Ideal Image, and communicate with the subject, or even (if s/he's feeling insane) try to restore it.

              .Trump-based Cloning: By accessing the Ideal Image of the subject of a Trump, the TA could theoretically bring into being a copy, effectively cloning the subject, instead of using the Trump as a conduit for opening Psychic contact. This should be very difficult and very, very dangerous. It would probably go one level beyond Absurd. Using this ability to duplicate simple objects may be more acceptable/possible.

Trumping Shadows: Instead of using the Trump to contact the subject, the TA could attempt to use the Ideal Image to connect to other Ideal Images of that subject. This is suspiciously similar to Trump Cloning, but does not involve an act of creation, merely location -- the duplicate is a Shadow, and therefore an (even more) imperfect copy.

Pattern Trump Art JofJ Trump Tricks Logrus
Power Words Sorcery Power and Fatigue Conjuration Inscription
Abyss Items/Artefacts   Chi Powers Shape Shifting