College of Worms

The fae of the College of Worms believe that fate needs to be scrutinized. The threads of destiny aren’t easy to find ― the number “13” on a passing cab, the image of a crow formed in the steam that darkens a mirror, an oddly-shaped paper cut on one’s ring finger ― but they’re there for those who care to sort the chaff from the wheat. If the seemingly inscrutable threads of fate can be parsed and understood, then perhaps the College of Worms can help predict when terrible things might happen to the freehold. If these changelings can predict the coming of the Others, and when they might come to abduct mortals from this world ― or when the Others might return to hunt those who have escaped them ― then such a service is of profound interest. The diviners of the College are not necessarily glad to provide such a service, as doing so often engenders a risk to their Clarity. But they feel it needs to be done, and accept that they are the only ones truly willing to commit to the task.

Mien

Most diviners tend toward scholarly appearances, maybe choosing a houndstooth suit jacket and tie, or a simple buttoned-down shirt with khaki pants. Others take their supposedly sacred roles as diviners more seriously (especially if they’re “official” diviners for one or several Courts), wearing elaborate robes or other ceremonial garb to indicate their station. While the College in general has never formalized any raiment for its augurs, the order in a given freehold may have. The College in Miami may don plain white robes, as white as the Florida sun. The College of London may instead wear black robes with red braiding and elaborate stitching and needlework meant to indicate one’s training or exploits.

A diviner’s mien changes in a number of ways. The most obvious and disconcerting change is the suggestion of worms crawling beneath the skin ― the flesh rises and moves as never-seen worms squirm and burrow. (Some say that as Wyrd increases to abnormally high levels, the worms do sometimes pop out of the skin ― and then crawl away to the nearest crevice or cubbyhole.) The other change is the pair of eyeglasses that appear perched upon a diviner’s nose. The eyeglasses may be in any shape, composed of any metal ― round and silver, gold and square ― but the common theme is that the lenses themselves are always cracked (though the diviner’s sight remains excellent). As Wyrd grows, the cracks deepen and multiply

The Diviner’s Instrument ●●● (Privilege)

Every diviner within the College of Worms is expected to possess a divining tool suited only to her. She chooses the nature of the tool: a pouch of runes, a cup of pigeon bones, a hand-drawn Tarot deck, a scrying mirror made from an old compact. Upon joining the order, the pledge to become a diviner connects this instrument to the strands of fate, enough to grant the token a small and relatively safe measure of power (anything greater would wreak havoc upon the poor changeling who carried it). The token’s power is passive. The changeling uses the tool, and upon activation receives no insights at the time of use. The insight comes later. When about to make a roll, the player determines that the insight is finally revealed to the character and helps grant her feelings (be they instincts or an odd deja vu sensation), which translate to bonuses on that roll. The character can take a number of dice equal to the character’s Wyrd score and add them to that roll. However, this must be done within a number of hours equal to the changeling’s Clarity score. If she goes beyond that time limit, she cannot access the hidden insight provided by her divining tools. The Diviner’s Instrument is a fickle thing, much as fate itself, and can only be used once per game session.

Action: Instant

Drawback: All Perception rolls made during the time the “insight” is active (i.e., during a number of hours equal to the changeling’s Clarity) suffer a –1 die penalty. The only exception to this is if the changeling chooses to make a Perception roll the recipient of the token’s Wyrd bonus (at which point no penalty is given, and the full bonus is received). The reason for the Perception penalty is that, when considering fate, the changeling looks for fate’s fickle fingerprints often in the wrong place. She becomes easily distracted. When she’s supposed to see a blue truck driving past, she may instead be looking skyward, examining the contrails left by an airliner.

Catch: If the changeling chooses to eschew the Glamour expenditure or Wyrd roll, or if a character uses the token who does not possess either, then the Diviner’s Instrument confers a significant penalty in addition to its bonus. After the player chooses which roll gains the bonus his character gained by using the token, the Storyteller chooses another roll made later in the day to receive a penalty equal to the character’s Wyrd score (maximum –5 dice). As noted, fate can be quite fickle, especially when it is not paid its proper due.

Joining

Any who wish to join the College of Worms must first apprentice with a current member of the order. Apprenticeship has no fixed time limit associated with it ― it can be a month, a year, or 10 years. Most apprenticeships last around a year, but what really matters is that the tutor feels that her apprentice is ready to give his oath to the College, and “readiness” is one’s willingness and ability to see the largely undetectable threads of fate emerging in day-to-day life. The tutor tests her apprentice over and over again ― did he see what the lottery numbers were for the past seven nights and can he rattle them off? Did he hear the malapropisms in the president’s speech last night and what they really said, and didn’t he hear those same misspoken words used in that child’s rhyme heard as they passed the playground? Important, too, are the conclusions an apprentice draws from such sightings. Does the sighting invoke the coming of the True Fae? Did fate inadvertently discuss the apprentice’s murderous fetch? Did the pattern of flies on the north wall foretell the breaking of a significant pledge by the current Court in power? The tests given aren’t fixed, and are instead made up in the morning. Two years, 10 years, a lifetime ― the pledge remains (or the tutor becomes susceptible to the apprentice’s changeling powers from the breaking of a promise). In most cases, if the apprentice is woefully unprepared, then it’s up to the student to quit. The tutor won’t break his pledge (though she may attempt to force her student to quit, thus ending the pledge). When the tutor deems that a student’s apprenticeship comes to an end, that’s it. At that moment she is brought before the rest of the College, and they finalize her oath to the order.