The Lore and The Tradition

Fey magic is derived from ancient stories, legends, myths, and folklore. From these stories come the Lore and the Tradition. Both are derived from belief in the ancient stories or in the Lore and Tradition themselves, but each works slightly differently. The Tradition is a set of rules that work tautologically - they work because they work. And they always work the same. The Lore is more individual. It works because the individual thinks it will work. It evolves, changes, and grows.

Fey Hearts

Emotion is a fluid thing, especially in the fey. Being known in part for their capriciousness, they are considered mercurial at best, temperamental at worst. Fey emotional magic is almost always from the Lore because of this.

The Cost

Like all fey magic, there are many ways to learn to wield it. There are three common paths:

• A deal with a powerful fey magic-user. This is the commonest source of all fey magic, and emotion magic is no different. The cost varies by who the deal is made with. Often part of this is giving up some physical strength.
• The hard route - learning it via study and practice, finding old scraps of Lore that reveal the charms and spells that allow its use. This comes at the cost of physical strength, usually. As discussed during character creation, this is how Farrah gained it. Presumably this was tied in part to her emotional labor during her days as a sex worker.
• Inherent powers - some fey have the magic from the kind of fey being they are.

Emotional Stun and Wound

Like physical attacks, emotional attacks can cause the target to be stunned or wounded.

Emotional stun takes the form of intense spikes of emotion that cause the target to be unable to act. At higher levels of stun, it becomes Overwhelm, emotion so intense the target is conscious but so filled with emotion action is impossible.

Emotional wounds harm the target's ability to control their response to emotion. Instead of Overwhelm, they experience Dysregulation. This is when they act on the emotion whether they want to or not. Higher levels of emotional wounding cause Burnout, where the target loses the ability to feel the emotion at all.

When both of these combine, they create Trauma (lasting emotional damage) and Emotional Paralysis (where even the slightest emotion is overwhelming).

Farrah has been wielding her magic as torture and manipulation up until this point, focusing entirely on Emotional Wounding. Her magic expands now to include Emotional Stun.

These will be substats of PRS. Her wound will be better than her stun, because she has been using it for so long.

Emotional Attack

Like all attacks, the target now has the ability to dodge her emotional magic instead of just resist it. This means Farrah rolls PRS vs. AWA first. The better she succeeds, the harder the target is hit. She will gain bonuses to her emotional stun/wound rolls based on this. She will be good at this.

The better her attack roll, the more control she will have over what the effect of the charm is. On a normal hit, the target will just experience the emotion she is casting broadly. On a special hit, the target feels the emotion as intended. On an exceptional hit, the target feels the emotion as specified by the caster. On a critical hit, the target feels the emotion exactly as the caster dictates.

Backlash

On a special failure of the emotional attack roll, the charm may hit the caster instead of the target. They roll their own stun/wound against themselves at a rate of one hit-level below their failure (i.e., they roll as if it was a normal hit on a special miss, special on exceptional, exceptional on critical). The effects are the same as if they hit the target with the same stun/wound.

Charm Type

The method she uses for each charm determines certain ways it may be used:

• Alliteration: use of an alliterative tongue-twister. The more alliteration in the phrase, the stronger the attack. For a single-round attack, the cap is 20 syllables. For every ten words (regardless of syllable link), the charm gains +1. However, if the tongue gets twisted, the charm fails and the user risks backlash.
• Assonance: use of an assonant phrase. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds instead of consants (see alliteration). These can come in the middle of words instead of the start. The more reptitions of the exact same vowel sounds, the stronger it gets, starting at the fifth reptition (+1 per five after the first five). One may speak 20 syllables per round.
• Chant: a chant is a repeating, iterative, rhythmic phrase. A chanted charm must be repeated thrice to work. As such, it takes three rounds to cast. So long as the chant is continued, its effects are continued. If the chant fails, the chant can continue and be tried again without facing backlash until the chanting ends. If the successes make up for the failures, no backlash will occur.
• Declamation: a performaed oral statement, phrase, or line. Often from existing plays or other performed pieces, a declamation charm may gain power if it is performed better (if the caster has a skill or substat in performance, acting, or theatre).
• Dissonance: a dissonant charm is one that uses (vocal) musical notes that are dissonant to cast. The caster sings words of a charm in a dissonant manner to emphasize the emotional impact of the spell. For this, the caster may roll singing instead of PRS. This kind of charm is best for emotions radically different from those the target is currently feeling.
• Mocking: a mocking charm requires knowledge of the target (unlike a taunt), using personal details to inflict the emotion. This requires an emotional read roll before using if the target is unknown to the caster. Many casters find using mockery to cast a charm that evokes non-intuitive emotions is jarring to the target in a way that often heightens wound, while using the charm for intuitive emotions (embarrassment, anger, etc.) heightens the stun.
• Oration: using a full speech or monologue to cast a charm takes a lot of time - it must be at least five minutes long - but causes success and failure rates to go up by one level in each direction. For every five minutes the speech lasts, the success/failure rate goes up/down a level. A tie is always a tie no matter how long the speech is. So a 15 minute speech means a normal success is a critical success and a normal failure is a critical failure. Acting, oratory, or performance may be rolled for this.
• Palindrome: speaking a palindromatic phrase (not just a single word) for a charm increases the chances of backlash on a failure, but extends the length of time the spell works on the target on a success, as they get caught in the loop.
• Poem: performing a full poem for a charm takes time. The poem need not be long, but it must take at least five rounds to recite. The longer, the more effective the attack - for every minute of length, the attack score goes up by +1. A ten minute poem is +9. Performance, poetry, recitation, or oratory may be rolled for this.
• Rhyme: a simple rhyming couplet or short rhyming poem, no more than a few lines, one of the simplest charms. While some may be tempted to expand this, anything more than two rhymes becomes a full poem (see above) and must go longer to be an effective charm. Performanc,e poetry, recitation, or oratory may be rolled for this.
• Soliloquy: the caster addresses not the target, but the universe, causing indiscriminate emotional damage all around to anyone who hears it. Perfomance, oratory, or acting may be rolled for this.
• Song: a singing charm need only be a few seconds of musical performance. Singing may be rolled for this. One of the most basic charms.
• Taunt: a taunt is a generalized form of mockery, one not requiring knowledge of the target. It is weaker than mockery but works the same otherwise.
• Word: a single word that casts a charm is the most basic form of emotional charm. There is no way to alter its power or use a different skill, substat, or ability to cast it. It is also the fastest form of charm.
• Whisper: a whispered charm requires the caster be close to the target, but the closeness allows for very intentional targeting. It also puts the caster more at risk, but the benefit is that there's no way to miss (unless the target is hard of hearing or deaf).

Once she uses a charm, the emotion and the method are locked in, but until she does so, as a magic of Lore, it is malleable.

Inventing Charms

If there is no extant charm for a specific emotion, one may attempt to write such a charm. If the player writes the charm out (i.e., the specific rhyme, song, oration, etc.), the difficulty goes down by 3. To invent the charm, the character rolls a relevant skill or ability (usually their emotion magic score, but poetry, musical composition, etc. may be used as well). For Farrah, torture may be used. The difficulty may vary by emotion or style, but generally, it will be 16 to create a charm. The more extreme or specific the emotion is, the harder it is (i.e., sadness (common) is easier than despair (more intense or extreme) which is easier than suicidality (more specific)).

Personality and Social Connections

Doing damage to emotion may affect a character's personality or social connections. On exceptional or critical wound-level attacks, one's personality may be permanently altered. On exceptional or critical stun-level attacks, one's relationships may be altered:

• Personality: depending on the emotion used in the attack, that emotion will be more present in the personality than before. For example, a charm of curiosity will make the person permanently more curious, leading them to ask more questions. To put it another way, their curiosity will be dysregulated and they will be less able to resist acting on it. On an exceptional wound, this is curable, on a critical, it is almost incurable.
• Relationships: depending on the emotion used in the attack, any relationship based on that emotion may be altered. For example, stun caused by a charm of love will make the person feel love so intensely that they become less able to act in the presence of those they love, affecting the relationship. Any Relationship Motivations listed based on love will need to be updated to indicate an intensification of the emotion. On an exceptional stun, this is curable, on a critical, it is almost incurable.

Specific Emotions

Certain emotional attacks may cause specific mechanical effects:

Emotion	Description	Mechanical
Admiration	Target admires who or what the wielder wants	The subject of their admiration cannot be attacked or harmed unless the target rolls against the subject's PRS
Anticipation	Target anticipates what the wielder wants	Target cannot act until that which they anticipate occurs unless they act to make what they anticipate happen
Anxiety	Target is anxious about something the wielder specifies	Target become anxious and cannot act without a PRS roll against a diff based on the caster's success rate
Arousal	Target feels emotional arousal for something the wielder specifies	Target becomes aware of something that draws their attention and snaps them out of any distraction or reverie - target is awakened or sexually aroused
Boredom	Target feels boredom	Target decides to do something else on a special success or better
Confusion	Target is confused and unsure	Target must roll AWA and take the low die against a diff based on success rate of the charm or their intended action targets the wrong thing or rolls at -6
Curiosity	Target feels curious about something the wielder wants	Target must roll WIL to not seek what they are curious about, either asking questions or actively investigating
Desire	Target desires something the wielder specifies	Target's desire must be sought out unless they roll WIL vs a diff based on caster's success rate
Disgust	Target is disgusted by something the wielder specifies	Target seeks to avoid, evade, or leave the presence of that which disgusts them; on special+ stun, they must roll STR vs. a diff based on caster's success rate or vomit
Doubt	Target doubts something the wielder specifies	Target's doubt gives them low die on any skill or ability
Frustration	Target is frustrated by something the wielder specifies	Target focuses entirely on what is frustrating them, getting increasingly angry, and taking low die and penalties that increase with every failure
Guilt	Target feels guilt over something they have done or thought	Target attempts to confess or seek atonement if they fail a WIL roll vs diff based on caster's success rate
Haunting	Target is haunted by a thought, memory, or feeling	Target must roll AWA every round against diff basd on caster's success rate; failure means they focus on that which haunts them instead of present circumstances
Hope	Target feels hope for something the wielder specifies	Target will attempt to do things they normally might not try, hoping they can do it
Horror	Target feels horror over something they have witnessed	Target is unable to act for one round then flees
Humor	Target laughs uncontrollably	Target laughs so hard they cannot act on successful wound or stun; their AWA suffers penalties the higher the success rate
Inspiration	Target is inspired to do something the wielder specifies	Target is inspired to do something, usually something artistic, and will gain bonuses +3 to doing it
Loneliness	Target feels intense loneliness	Target feels isolated from those they normally view as allies and must roll WIL to help them
Panic	Target panics	Target rolls AWA and takes low die to do anything but the worst possible thing
Perfectionism	Target seeks to do something perfectly	Target cannot act unless they are 7+ above it in score
Regret	Target feels regret over something the wielder specifies	Target's regret either makes them stop what they are doing if it is the subject of the regret or attempt to rectify it
Relief	Target feels a wave of relief over something the wielder specifies	Target's relief will dispel emotional effects or stop them from acting on what they are now relieved of
Self-loathing	Target hates themself	Target will engage in reckless behavior or self-harming behavior depending on success rate; they take low die on any innate power, learned skill or ability, or base score depending on the intention of caster
Shame	Target feels shame over something the wielder specifies	Target seeks to hide the source of their shame unless they succeed a PRS roll vs. a diff based on the caster's success rate
Shyness	Target feels intense shyness	Target will not speak to anyone unless they succeed a PRS roll with low die against a diff based on caster's success rate
Suffering	Target experiences emotional pain and suffering	Emotional pain increases both emotional stun and wound on any other emotional attacks thereafter
Surprise	Target is surprised by something the wielder specifies	Target cannot react, parry, or block and loses next action on success of wound or stun
Terror	Target is terrified something is about to occur	Target's escape movement doubles, must roll WIL to not flee

Damage Charts

If rolling stun/wound for emotional damage, these are the effects on the target. Some notes on terminology:

• Burnout: in this case, this refers to the loss of the ability to feel an emotion. An emotional wound so deep it leaves lasting trauma.
• Dysregulation: the inability to control one's reaction ot feeling an emotion.
• Emotional paralysis: being burnt out and overwhelmed at the same time - unable to feel, so any feeling is overwhelming, thus becoming unable to act in any way. Near emotional death. Emotional damage so bad it affects the mind and soul.
• Unrecoverable husk: all emotions gone, all desire to act or interact gone, having no emotional life and no ability to recover it. Emotional death.
• Overwhelm: feeling so intensely one cannot act. Emotional unconsciousness, effectively.
• Spike: a brief intensification of emotion that can cause distraction or temporarily inability to act.

Roll	Effect	PRS Penalties
Tied stun	Superficial spike
Tied wound	Unnoticeable dysregulation
Normal stun	Sharp spike (LNA)
Normal wound	Minor dysregulation	-1
Special stun	Distracting spike (Stun)
Special wound	Moderate dysregulation	-3
Exceptional stun	Overwhelmed
Exceptional wound	Major dysregulation	-6
Critical stun	Massive overwhelm
Critical wound	Permanent dysregulation	-9
EH/ES	Massive overwhelm
EH/EW	Burnout	-9
EH/CS	Massive overwhelm
EH/CW	Burnout	-12
ES/EW	Emotional paralysis	-6
EH/ES/EW	Emotional paralysis	-9
EH/CS/EW	Emotional paralysis	-9
EH/ES/CW	Emotional paralysis	-12
EH/CS/CW	Emotional paralysis	-12
CH/ES	Permanent overwhelm
CH/EW	Permanent burnout	-12
CH/CS	Permanent overwhelm
CH/CW	Permanent burnout	-15
CS/CW	Emotional paralysis	-12
CH/ES/EW	Emotional paralysis	-9
CH/CS/EW	Emotional paralysis	-9
CH/ES/CW	Emotional paralysis	-12
CH/CS/CW	Unrecoverable husk	-15