July 06, 2003

Trump Artistry (30 pts)

Largely the same as the DRPG rules. Trump artists may have their Trump Deck as a Personal Item, which they will be able to find again if lost, as per Creatures and Artefacts (q.v.). This costs no additional points.

Trump can be bought partially in three stages, with each stage being the pre-requisite for the next.

Trump Sketches (10 points)
(Novice level - requires a ranked Psyche)
Allows the artist to create very basic Trumps. Trumps sketches are usually only good for two or three uses if used for communication only, and only one use if used for transportation. After this they literally burn up. If unused they tend to lose their power after a couple of days. They are harder to use than more permanent Trumps and are limited in range. At this level, it takes several hours (an absolute beginner might take a day or longer) to produce a sketch. The artist can also identify incoming Trump calls by sensing the activity in the caller's Trump. This requires them to (a) possess, and (b) be able to touch the Trump in question.

Temporary Trumps (10 Points)
(Initiate level - requires Trump Sketches)
Allows the artist to create more permanent Trumps which can be used by other people. Temporary Trumps fade to uselessness after a couple of weeks if unused, and last about a week if used solely for communication. If used for transportation on a regular basis, they burn up after a couple of days. At this level, it takes several hours to create a temporary Trump, but less than half an hour to produce a Trump sketch. The artist is not only able to identify incoming Trump calls as above, but can also sense (again by touch) Trump energies in other constructs (physical or non-physical) and in people.

Full Trumps (10 points)
(Adept level - requires Temporary Trumps)
Allows the artist to create fully-fledged, permanent Trumps which can be used repeatedly by other people without running out. At this level full Trumps take several hours to create, temporary Trumps take about an hour, and Trump sketches can be knocked off in about five minutes. The artist no longer has to touch an object or person in order to detect Trump energies in them, although they do have to be standing very close to them, and they still need to finger through their Trump deck to identify incoming callers. They can also detect the aftereffects of Trump usage (e.g., they can tell if someone has recently Trumped in or out of a room), although bear in mind that the residues of Trump activity tend to fade quickly.

Using Trumps
The higher your Psyche, the faster you can complete a working Trump. Trumps have an effective range, also based on the user's Psyche. The higher your Psyche, the easier it is to Trump long "distances". Also, in order to force a Trump contact on someone, you need a fairly significant Psyche advantage over them. Forcing difficult contacts is quite tiring (as is creating a Trump in the first place), so Endurance is also a factor. The first level of contact over a Trump link is mind-to-mind - you can see and converse with each other, but not touch. Physical contact requires a bit more effort, especially if one of the parties resists such a move.

Posted by hduyker at July 6, 2003 11:28 PM