Mantle (Merit)

Mantle represents a mystical connection with the elements and emotions that a particular Court embodies. The higher a changeling’s Mantle rating, the more they have come to embody that Court’s ideal — even if they are a hermit who doesn’t involve themself in local politics, a character with a high Mantle is still given at least grudging respect by their peers because of their obvious commitment to the values their Court cherishes. From a descriptive perspective, as a character’s Mantle rises, their fae mien reflects this ascendance, displaying both literal and figurative signs of the season. A character with Mantle (Autumn) • might be followed by a slight brisk breeze, for example, while one with Mantle (Autumn) ••• might have illusory leaves kicked up as they walk and at last at Mantle (Autumn) •••••, the character might be illuminated by late afternoon light and surrounded by a reflective hush similar to that found in a library. Specific examples of how a Court’s particular Mantle increases can be found in the “Courts” section in Chapter One. These trappings are not visible to mortals and have no real game effect, but should be used to enhance a character’s description and convey a sense of how rooted in their Court they have become.

As a sign of kinship, Mantle adds to dice pools for social interaction with members of the Court in question. Each dot adds a +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of that particular Court. This Merit does not add to dice pools predicated on supernatural powers. Characters with no Court cannot purchase Mantle. Mantle also serves as a prerequisite for learning certain Court-related Contracts.

A character may learn clauses from the relevant Contract path of their Court, which generally require a certain amount of Mantle to learn, though they must still meet any other prerequisites as well. Should their Mantle fall or they adopt the Mantle of a new Court, they might no longer meet the prerequisites for some of their old Contracts; in that case, they must spend additional Glamour to activate those Contracts. (See “Changing Seasons,” p. 94, and the note on Contract prerequisites, p. 174).

Each Court has certain mechanical and descriptive benefits for all its members developing a Mantle rating, as outlined in the Court descriptions in Chapter One. In addition to those benefits, each Court has a benefit reserved for its leader, an advantage most commonly referred to its “crown.” A crown can only manifest in a freehold where there are at least a handful of members of a particular Court and they are able to choose a common leader, and generally manifests only during the appropriate physical season. Occasionally, a crown will manifest during the off-season if a Court is especially prominent or powerful in the area, as the Hedge reflects the Court’s potency, or a changeling who is elected leader of the freehold might manifest their crown out of season if they are sufficiently popular. Note that the leader of a Court is not always the member with a highest Mantle rating. Ultimately, the Storyteller is the final arbiter of when and how a crown appears, but as a rule, only one crown may manifest in a given freehold at a time.

Blessing of the Green (Spring)
A character who wears the crown of Spring may spend a Willpower point to bestow the Blessing of the Green, allowing them to add their Mantle rating as bonus successes to a single roll related to gathering Glamour. The changeling may use this ability up to a maximum number of times per session equal to their Mantle dots. A particular character may only benefit from one use of this ability per session, however. The Spring fae may cast this blessing on themself, or they may choose to bestow it on another with a touch, in which case the blessing must be used before the next sunrise or it is lost.

Challenge of the Black Spear (Summer)
This benefit applies in one-on-one situations such as duels. By spending a Glamour point, the character with the crown of Summer receives a bonus to their Initiative rating equal to their Mantle dots for the duration of the duel, and is not considered surprised by ambushes or other unexpected trickery, though if the duel shifts to mass combat this Initiative bonus drops to a simple +1. The changeling may use this ability multiple times per session, up to a maximum number equal to their Mantle rating. However, this ability may only be used once against a particular foe per combat.

Harvest of Whispers (Autumn)
Once per session, the Autumn leader may take a minute to reflect on what they have learned so far that session (and consult the Storyteller as to whether or not a particular bit of information qualifies for this ability), and then perform the Harvest of Whispers. For each valuable secret, important truth, revelatory fact or other significant piece of information they have uncovered this session, up to a maximum number equal to their Mantle rating, the character receives two Glamour points that are placed in a special pool apart from their regular Glamour points. These harvested Glamour points can be spent only to power Contracts, activate tokens, facilitate dream travel or cross into the Hedge. These points cannot be used for any other purposes, including seeming abilities, and cannot in any way be traded or given away; anything left in this pool fades to nothingness at the end of the session. This ability may allow the character to effectively exceed the limit of Glamour points they can possess as dictated by their Wyrd, but the number of Glamour points they can spend per turn is still limited normally. Furthermore, as long as a character exceeds their normal limit of Glamour, they are considered especially noticeable by beings that can detect Glamour or magical energy, so unless they wish to attract undue attention, it is also best to ready a concealing Contract or two to help dim this radiance.

It is important to note that only new information learned that session can be used for the Harvest of Whispers even if a character learned something just last session, it’s old news and doesn’t qualify. Those who don the crown of the Autumn Court are expected to always be seeking out new and interesting information, not rest on the body of knowledge they’ve already accumulated. The Storyteller is the final arbiter of whether a piece of information is new, valuable or important enough to qualify for this ability.

Feast of Ashes (Winter)
Once per session, a changeling wearing the crown of the Winter Court may devote themself to the Feast of Ashes, converting one point of Glamour to one point of Willpower, up to a maximum number of points equal to the character’s Mantle rating. They may even exceed their normal limit of Willpower points in this fashion, though any excess points are lost at the end of the session. In addition, for the remainder of the scene in which this ability is activated, the changeling’s Willpower rating is effectively increased by a number equal to their Mantle rating, making it extremely hard for others to undermine their confidence in their ability to survive.

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