Halo

Let the Light be your guide, and your shot will fly true.

About

Public Knowledge

The school of the Halos is a brand new arrival to the Kingdom. Their founder, Amber Glory, only formally announced the school before the Crown a decade ago, and few have actually seen the Halos in action.

As the first Path to claim an ephemeral element, the Halos are subject to a great deal of scholarly and public curiosity. Unfortunately for the curious, however, the Halos are simply not that numerous yet.

Many fear that the school will be short-lived, however. Amber Glory declared not only her Path but her mission: the liberation of LostHome from the Skyshadow Eagles!

This ambitious goal has undermined support for the school. Normally, a Crown-approved school receives a flood of applicants. In this case, however, many feel that an assault on Losthome – even with the power of Light – is tantamount to suicide.

Despite these challenges, Amber Glory continues to put out the call to all those who would become beacons of hope.

Application

Any would-be Halos must make pilgrimage to the Sunpeak, a remote peak far to the northeast of the capital, and climb the ten thousand steps to the school at its summit. This hike passes through a permanent barrier of clouds, and students often encounter troubling visions as they climb. Those who turn back tell of ghosts from their past misdeeds, whispers from their ancestors, and strange spirits that challenged their integrity.

Those that reach the summit must present themselves to Amber Glory. She accepts students according to her whim, and she often refuses students she feels would thrive on another Path.

Path History

The Path was founded in living memory! You can meet its founder and ask her yourself!

Being such a young Path, many mysteries remain. Only a small handful of Halo masters exist, and their powers are largely unknown to the world at large. When a Halo pops their wings before a crowd, many gawk at a miracle!

Powers

• Primary element: Light
• Secondary: Air
• Bane: Earth

Incarnate Light

Unique among all the Paths of Seln, you can draw upon the raw power of Light.

Gain an additional element: Light! This element works very differently from the concrete elements of Seln.

You gain a number of Ki as you advance your cultivation, as usual. However, these Ki are:

• C2: 1d4, 1d6
• C3: 1d4, 1d6, 1d8
• C4: 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10

As an ephemeral element, Light cannot be used to Attack or otherwise affect the world under normal circumstances. You do not need to track a Light Defense.

Instead, you bind your Light into unique Chakra to gain benefits.

You have four Light Chakra, each with unique benefits:

• Halo: Your unique blessing of Light, this empowers your spiritual nature
• Core: The center of your being, this offers balanced blessings
• Hands: Your skill and dexterity grant blessings of precision and distance
• Legs: Your cunning and caution grant blessings of stealth

You must always have a Ki dedicated to your Halo; however, you may choose its strength

• At start of play, either 1d4 or 1d6 goes in your Halo

Once you make your selection, it is permanent for the year; you may freely rearrange your selection under two circumstances:

• When you advance to a new Circle and gain additional Ki, you may freely rearrange
• During equilibrium

At the beginning of each Scene, you roll all accumulated Light Ki separately

• Each Result is known as your Motes of Light
  • For example, Halo: 1d6 -> 5 means you have 5 Motes of Light in your Halo
• This will be your budget for that Chakra this Scene

Additionally, at C3:

• When you roll your Light Ki, reroll any 1’s until you get a non-1 Result

Halo

Any time you use a Path effect, your Halo flares. Traditionally, your Halo is a ring or crown hovering around your head; however, you may freely choose the exact nature of your Halo so long as it is obviously spiritual in nature.

Your Halo is ephemeral and cannot be interacted with by mortal men. Attempts to touch the Halo pass straight through.

Suppression

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: Suppress your Halo for this Scene; it is hidden and invisible to all except the most ancient spirits and shades

Shared Sight

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: For this Scene, you may touch an ally in your current zone to grant them Spiritsight
  • One ally at a time
  • While other cultivators experience spirit sight as a controlled experience, Halos experience both worlds in concurrent direct immersion. The first time another character experiences the Halo sight is deeply disorienting as two worlds smash into one in their brain. No Penalty is assessed since the shock is brief, but it remains a deeply jarring experience.

Miracle

• Cost: 3 Motes of Light
• Effect: Add +C to an ally’s Challenge in the same Scene
  • Additional 1 Mote of Light: You may aid the ally literally anywhere, even in other Realms

Be (Not) Afraid

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: When you Intimidate, you may spend the cost to upgrade the damage of Intimidate to C
  • That target and that target alone beholds you as a terrible half-spirit
  • Max once per foe per Scene

Core

Elusiveness

• Cost: X Motes of Light
• Effect: Add +X to one elemental defense
  • You may spend Motes of Light after the Result is revealed
  • If the effect is a Failure, it passes through you as though you were insubstantial

Birthright

• Cost: 5 Motes of Light
• Manifest wings of pure, brilliant Light for the rest of the current Scene
• You gain the ability to effortlessly fly
  • Boost Air while active
  • You may still carry your full weight as usual
• Your wings are spiritual matter and cannot be damaged or bound; nor do they interact with mundane matter
  • Particularly cherished or beloved items sometimes resound at the passing of these wings

Shifting weave

• Cost: 3 Motes of Light
• Effect: In reaction to taking damage, shift partially into the spirit realm
  • You gain Armor C until the start of your next turn; this Armor applies to the current effect as well

Beneficience

• Cost: 3 Motes of Light
• Effect: Spend your Action and lay your hands upon an ally in the same zone
  • That ally gains 1d4 + C Aura

Hands

Ephemeral touch

• Cost: 2 Motes of Light
• Effect: For one turn, you may reach through most forms of non-living matter with one hand of your choice
  • For example, you might reach through a door to unfasten a lock from the other side
  • This effect persists only up to your armpit

Merciful Soul

• Cost: 2 Motes of Light
• Effect: On a successful Attack that would reduce a foe to zero health (summed across all elements), spend the motes of light to Restrain the foe
  • Roll all of your Light Ki and add your Insight to determine the Restraint value

Spirit sigil

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: Spend your Action and the mote cost to press a sigil of your choosing into any material object
  • This sigil is visible to Spiritsight and bears your Ki imprint
  • The sigil lasts until next Equilibrium
  • Any character with Spirittouch that lays hand upon the sigil receives a message of your choosing
  • This message is a broadcast; anyone who interacts hears the same message
  • Any effect that would suppress your Ki renders this ability ineffective

New Beginnings

• Cost: 3+X Motes of Light
• Effect: Spend your Actrion and the mote cost to press your hand into an object
  • The hands of time rewind up to C rounds for that object, undoing any damage done and potentially restoring it to full functionality
  • Cost +1 for cultivated items; +1 for large or complex items; +2 for structures and vehicles

Legs

Breathless

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: You immediately gain Invisibility.
  • Challenge Air to generate your Stealth Defense
  • This effect ends instantly if you Move out of your current zone
• Additionally, at C3:
  • You may spent 2 additional Motes of Light grant this effect to C allies in the same zone; if one moves, the effect ends only for that ally

Stillness of Dawn

• Cost: X Motes of Light
• Effect: Shift partially into the spirit realm, gaining Invisibility for the next X rounds
  • At C2, any foes with spirit sight perceive you normally
  • At C3, you remain Invisible even to spiritsight
  • At C4, you remain Invisible against all effects, even the Grace of Air’s perception!

Dawnspeed

• Cost: 2 Motes of Light
• Effect: Add +1 Speed this Scene

Reversal

• Cost: 5 motes of Light
• Effect: At any point of your turn, spend the mote cost to instantly teleport to a previous position that you occupied in the last C rounds
  • The position must be valid for you to safely occupy in its present state
  • There does not have to be a viable route in between the two points

Trick Tracks

• Cost: 1 Mote of Light
• Effect: Your footprints and other signs of passage appear in the spirit realm, only visible with Spiritsight
  • Foes without Spiritsight take a C penalty to detect and track you

The Archers of the Heights

You may spend Motes of Light from any of your Light Chakra to empower your ranged weaponry.

• Each use of a trick shot below costs 1 Mote of Light; some also require a Charge

The preferred weapon for most Halo students is the bow. However, you may use these effects with the following weapon Types:

• Bows
• Silks
• Chakram
• Daggers

You may equip the weapon Types above in any element except Earth, ignoring the usual Type restrictions on elements.

Guided Shot

• On a ranged Attack, spend 1 Mote of Light and 1 Air charge
• Then trace a path within your Range between you and the target, making whatever banks or turns are necessary
• The projectile will bank and turn at impossible angles to find a path to your target
• You still must be able to perceive your target to attack them
• The path must have enough room for the projectile to pass through

Clever shot

• You may Challenge within the Range of your equipment
• For example, you might use an arrow to attempt to pick a lock; a dagger to flush out a hidden opponent; or even a pebble to start an avalanche
• The Challenge uses the same element and attributes as normal

Freeing shot

• You may use Challenge Air on behalf of your allies to break a grapple or restraint, even from range

Additionally, at C3:

Creative Ammunition

• You may use almost anything as ammunition for your ranged weapons
• For example, a twig in place of an arrow; a bit of bone instead of a sling stone
• Since this system does not actively track ammunition, this ability is meant for capture or prison scenarios where your options are constrained
  • Or for the amusement of using a shovel as an arrow when someone mouths off!

Subtle shot

• You may fire invisible arrows
• The projectiles become visible on collision with other objects or water
• When you do so, you may not use another Archers of the Heaven effect
• Foes suffer a Penalty equal to your Balance to track the arrow to its source

Ephemeral shot

• On a ranged Attack, spend 1 Mote of Light + 1 Air charge
• Your projectile phases through all non-metal materials in search of its target
• The attack gains Pierce C+2
• You may combine this with Guided Shot

Additionally, at C4:

Infinite shot

• Your Range with the bow becomes as far as you can perceive
• Particularly long shots may require multiple rounds to arrive; for simplicity, assume travel time of 500m per round
• Your keen (borderline precognitive) senses automatically adjust for the travel time; you take no Penalty for distance

Heart-rending shot

• When you miss on a ranged Attack, you may spend one Air Charge to mark that target
• Then note the largest Ki in your Result
• Next time you Attack that target, add the largest Ki as a bonus, ignoring normal bonus dice limits
• If you miss again, add the largest two Ki of your new Result
  • Continue this process, adding one extra Ki each time, until you hit
• You may only have one marked target at a time
• The effect expires at Equilibrium each year

Harmonies of Light

You may only generate Harmonies of Light. Each time you would gain a Harmony, it must be of Light + another element; replace the Dark Harmonies a normal cultivator with Light instead. Thus, you will gain 6 Light Harmonies and no Dark Harmonies.

• Any effect that would give you a temporary Dark Harmony fails and has no effect

You may now place a 4th Harmony of Light in a single chosen element

• This 4th Harmony grants +1 Attribute

However, the more drastic change is in your form and spirit. By binding such a great amount of Light into a single element, you transfigure your spirit

• You gain an anima banner that flares each time you Challenge in your bound element, wreathing you in Light and elemental power
• When using this element, your Ki reads as purely spirit

Assumption of this 4th Harmony may render marked changes in your body. Examples:

• You might discover that translucent wings remain visible at all times after assumption of LightAir 4
• You might transform into a hybrid of spirit animal and folk at assumption of LightEarth 4
• You might unveil powerful swirls of elemental energy that wreathe you like clothing at assumption of LightFire 4

Child of the Heavens

Many new Halo nod along as Amber Glory christens them ‘Children of the Heavens’. It may be years before they realize this is no mere title

You are of dual nature: folk and spirit.

• You count as both folk and spirit; any effect which can trigger against one may effect you

As a hybrid of heaven and earth you have both permanent strengths and responsibilities.

Keepers of the Gates

As a child of both heaven and earth, you are uniquely positioned with regards to the many secret Gates scattered across Seln.

Spirit Gates

You instantly recognize Spirit Gates

• You detect any Spirit Gate in your current zone with no Challenge required
• You automatically Challenge Air to discern Spirit Gates in your current Scene

You may freely open Spirit Gates, ignoring the normal requirement costs to do so.

• Spend Td4 Actions in the same Scene to open the gate
  • Small gates such as a single person can walk through: T = 1
  • Large gates that could fit a group or wagon: T = 2
  • Massive gates that can fit a convoy or towering Titan spirit: T = 3
• The act of opening a Gate is extremely obvious; even non-cultivators can feel the dramatic shift of energies that presage its opening
  • All characters in the same Scene are immediately aware of the gate’s activity
  • The Ruler of the Spirit Realm becomes instantly aware of the Gate’s activity and your true identity

You may delay the opening of a Spirit Gate

• You must spend your entire turn before the Gate to restrain it
• Each turn, take 1 damage; this damage has infinite pierce and may not be absorbed by any other character
  • Every 5 rounds after the first, add +1 damage to this
  • You may use healing effects to restore Aura; eventually, however, the stacking damage will outpace your endurance
• When you take a Wound, the Gate bursts open

You may also close Spirit Gates

• To close a Gate, you must Challenge the Air of the strongest spirit in the Scene
• You may Challenge every round
• On a success, mark one Success towards closing the Gate
  • Flourishes count for 2
• When your Successes exceed the Circle of the Spirit, you close the Gate

Additionally, at Circle 3:

Shade Gates

You may freely open Shade Gates, ignoring the normal ritual and requirement costs to do so. This uses the same rules as Spirit gates, just for Shades

Additionally, at Circle 4:

Fae Gates

You may freely open Fae Gates, ignoring the normal ritual and requirement costs to do so. This uses the same rules as Spirit gates, just for Fae

Heavenly gates

You become aware of a new kind of Gate, one hidden to all but the most august of cultivators. Heaven’s Gates grant passage to the realm of gods…

• Such gates are invisible to mortal eyes; typically only the most powerful of cultivators can sense their presence
• Each gate is in a remote locale such as the top of a mountain or the bottom of a lake
• Each gate has a powerful spirit guardian that demands a toll for passage
  • These guardians are quite strict, though not without compassion, and consider it their duty to educate and guide you as a “young spirit”

Heavenly Powers

Spirit-kin Nature

Spiritsight: You have native Spiritsight. While other cultivators experience Spiritsight through careful Arts, you experience the material and spiritual Realms in full at the same time.

• You experience both Realms as seamlessly interwoven
• You can discern which Realm a person or object belongs to with consideration. However, you will naturally tend to react to both worlds in tandem
  • Other cultivators may Challenge your Water to notice your odd behavior

Selnsight: Uniquely among cultivators, you also have Selnsight. When in a Spirit Realm, you still perceive Seln

• This is the reverse of Spiritsight; you peer into Seln instead

Spirittouch: You have native Spirittouch; you may always interact with spiritual matter (and it with you)

You may never suppress either of the above effects. Spirit and flesh have permanently merged.

Still the Clock

• Upon joining the Path, you cease aging
  • If in your youth, you remain that way
  • Older cultivators age backwards, year for year, until once more reaching the flower of youth
  • Your exact target age is left to your discretion, usually between 16 and 25
• It is unclear if this power is the benefit of the rejuvinating Light swirling through your spirit or a design of the heavens that their messengers should serve with vigor
• As the Path is still new, few have lived long enough to test the true limits of this immortality
  • However, certain older Halos have received one final order from the Heavens and vanished, departing Seln by no Art known to the Kingdom

Additionally, at Circle 3:

Soulsight

You recognize familiar glimmers in the flow of life, becoming aware of the great cycle of reincarnation as you witness familiar souls reborn. This ability typically takes many years to fully bloom, mostly because it requires meeting someone old enough to pass on and then encountering their reincarnation down the line. However, your ability to perceive souls is always present, even before you have the chance to confirm suspicions.

Responsibilities

Spiritual Reputation

You are considered a part of the spirit world and its heavenly order - whether you like it or not!

• Spirits large and small consider you kin
• Since many spirits live for literal millenia, you are likely to be considered quite “new” or “young” by comparison
• These spirits expect your conduct to be exemplary of Harmony and the heavens

Here are examples of poor behavior that will impact this reputation:

• Engaging in dishonest behavior except when that dishonesty is in direct protection of the weak and needy
• Instigating senseless violence
• Stealing for fun or material gain
• Ignoring those in need to pursue your own ambitions
• Whether or not your attempts succeed is irrelevant
• Whether or not you are witnessed or caught is irrelevant; heaven sees all

In general, you are expected to be kind, helpful, and an exemplar of Harmony. When you feel you have extenuating circumstances, make sure to discuss these with the storyteller.

Heavenly Orders

As a member of the heavens, you are expected to help maintain the balance of nature and ordering of the world

• You receive orders, usually in the form of handwritten letters, with directions on a mission to undertake
• Requests vary wildly, controlled by the mercurial and opaque politics of the heavens
  • One request might seek to cure a sick child
  • The next to fix a broken ward
  • The third to deliver a seemingly meaningless item across the entire land
• Requests sometimes foretell future events with uncanny accuracy

The ungrateful heavens expect these orders to be completed. There is no direct negative impact to ignoring orders. No direct impact…

The Heavenly order

Despite being part of heaven’s order, you know only a little more of its nature than the normal folk

• All Spirits and Shades have a place in the order. The exact measure of this ordering is unknown, but it is a combination of political positioning, power, and moral behavior
• One’s position in the order may vary by deed and alliance, but personal prowess is just as highly valued as in Seln
• The greatest heavenly spirits are refered to as gods, but their history and extent remains a mystery

The heavens are generally dedicated to harmony, balance, and the smooth operation of the universe, but various factions have very different visions of these goals

• Some focus heavily on the natural order, such as the flow of life and death; wards and the elements
• Some seek to aid and care, providing help to the living
• Some are strict and ascetic, demanding herculian labors and penance to better harden one’s spirit

Amber Glory’s exact relationship to this order is her secret

• However, the most common Heavenly Orders relate to charity and compassion; encouraging the cycle of life and death; and protecting the natural order
• She will sometimes counsel Halos to ignore orders they disagree with, even though this will cause a loss of face
• “I am afraid you cannot please everyone, my child. This is true in both heaven and earth.”

The animal spirits of Seln recognize you as a heavenly cousin. However, most animal spirits recognize your authority only as much as you can enforce it.

• Some pity you as an errand boy for the unseen gods
• Some scoff at you as a tamed pup for distant masters
• Some see heaven’s order as necessary in its own way and seek to aid your quests

Shades are also part of this order

• Shade Realm Rulers often treat you as an emissary or dignitary, including all the benefits and baggage of such a position
• Shades that yearn for rest will often request your help in passing
• Despite your position and senses, you have no more knowledge on whether a Shade is a person’s true spirit or only a memory of it than any other

This order comes with many obligations and little explanation. Its tough to be the child in the room (and everybody under 5000 years old is a child to the heavens!)

Arts

Circle 2

The Centrality of Breath

• Boon
• Requires: None
• Effect:
  • You may spend your Action to choose a target within line of sight (at the time of your Action)
  • Then gain a Boost to your next Attack against that target within the next C rounds
  • You may only hold one such bonus at a time

Overwatch

• Chakra (Air)
• Requires: The Centrality of Breath
• Effect:
  • Spend your entire turn (Move and Action) to assume a watch
  • Then mark a single zone within your line of sight
  • You may automatically make a Ranged Attack against any foe that enters that zone
• Foes automatically Challenge your Air to sense this danger
• Result:
  • Disaster: They are unaware of the effect; you gain a Boost on your Attack
  • Failure: They are unaware of the effect
  • Success: They are aware of the effect; they may choose to refrain from entering the zone to avoid the Attack
  • Flourish: You may not attempt an Attack on this target

Silence of the Limbs

• Boon
• Requires: The Centrality of Breath
• Effect: Your ranged effects are utterly, even creepily, silent. Fired and thrown ammunition makes no sound in transit or upon impact
  • Foes take a Penalty C to attempts to discern the origin of the shot

Circle 3

Weight control

• Chakra (Air)
• Requires: The Centrality of Breath
• Effect:
  • While equipped, your weight is effectively zero
  • You do not trigger floor-based Traps
  • You may stand on almost any surface. Examples: a single leaf, a blade of grass, a thin layer of ice

Psychopomp

The newborn Path experiments with its abilities, and some among the Host find to their surprise that the Shades too recognize the “emissaries of Heaven”

• Chakra (Fire)
• Requires: None
• Effect:
  • While equipped, you act as a psychopomp of the dead
  • You gain Shadesight and Shadetouch
  • All sentient Shades recognize your position and expect you to help them guide memories and other Shades to their passing

Circle 4

Inner Vision

• Boon
• Requires: Psychopomp
• Effect:
  • You no longer require your eyes to see
  • You perceive Ki through solid objects, liquids, and clouds when the Ki source is within Balance meters
  • Metals block this effect
  • As Shades have no Ki, they are invisible to this effect

Cultivation