The Oath of Duty and Love

"If you ever recite those words with someone you love, they will grant you great strength. It's a promise; the oath differs with each Troll. The oath is a symbol. It is the crux of my belief. It's almost like knowing my True Name. Those who know the oath possess a piece of my soul."
-Sir Jenner Rain-Water, Troll knight of the Great Plains, on the Oath of Duty and Love

Simply put, this oath is a promise between a Seelie Troll and another Kithain. It allows for truly amazing feats to occur, and it lets the true of heart overcome tremendous odds. This is extremely powerful, and if it is misused it can destroy those who hear it.

The oath can only be passed on from one Troll Grump to another Troll of a younger Seeming. In other words, Grumps cannot learn this power (it must have been learned in her youth). After being told of the meaning and power oaths have for Trolls, the young Seelie troll ponders her outlook on life, then assigns a phrase to symbolize the crux of her being. The oath is then empowered as it is recited aloud for the first time between the Troll and her teacher.

The oath can be anything, so long as it has meaning to the oath-maker (encourage users to be creative). This oath will work only if the speakers have honest, pure concern and love for each other. If these emotions are at all clouded by darker feelings like lust or greed, the oath will not work.

System

The base difficulty for the oath casting is the user's Banality. The oath will only work if the other participant genuinely cares for and needs the Troll caster. These strong emotions allow the participant to channel Glamour to the oath-speaker.

The caster rolls Empathy + Glamour and must score at least three successes (more successes neither help nor hinder). The other participant then rolls Glamour + Empathy. The number of successes is the amount of Glamour that the participant may channel (this number is still limited by the participant’s Glamour pool). The Troll recipient may accept as much glamour as is given, even if the amount exceeds his maximum Glamour pool (it may even go above ten). This Glamour is empowered and dynamic. It can be used to raise or lower any Trait or to heal a number of Health levels (even Aggravated damage), on a one-to-one point basis.

More than one Kithain may hear the oath and donate Glamour. This allows the recipient troll to gain vast amounts of Glamour which can be used to make her truly mighty for one scene, after which the effects (except for healed damage) fade and the Troll returns to normal.

Each Kithain who hears the oath beyond the Troll who taught it raises the Difficulty to cast it by +1. This Difficulty will never go down (even if the Troll loses some Banality), and it goes up whenever the Troll gains Banality. Once the Difficulty reaches 10, the oath is difficult to use. Should the Difficulty ever exceed 10, its powers are lost permanently.

Seelie Trolls are the only Kith who know this power, as it is a direct result of their relationship with honor and the purer emotions surrounding it. Trolls may only receive power through this oath. Should the bond between user and donator ever be broken, the Troll's permanent Banality increases (Storyteller's judgment when deciding how much; after all, if you have enough promises broken, you'll eventually stop believing in them altogether).

(Alternate System: wing it! If a Troll says the oath, and his buddy really cares, give them a break. This power should never be used for its dice bonuses alone. It is meant to be a light in the darkest hour and should be used because two characters share a genuine bond.)

Here is the Oath of Duty and Love in Spanish.


Original text copyright © 1997, 1998 by Alan Corona. Reprinted here with permission.

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