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The Road To Dawn Queens
While modern Princesses can only speculate at who the Twilight Queens once were, it is known that the Queens of Tears, Storms, and Mirrors were once Radiant Courts before the Fall. The Road to Dawn Supplement, written by a fan with guidelines from the authors, covers the ideas on what Tears, Storms and Mirrors were like if they had lived onwards in the Dreamlands without falling to Twilight. The Pre-Twilight Queens
Described in the Road of Dawn supplement, the Pre-Twilight Queens are the three Twilight Queens as they were before the Kingdom's fall, back when they were still Radiant.
- Alternate Self: Sort of; they represent the Twilight Queens' past selves, but the way they are designed in the supplement allows to play them as an alternate version of them who didn't go Twilight after the Kingdom's fall.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: Turns out the Twilight Queens have, in many ways, became the opposite of what they used to be:
- The Queen of Cups believed in having an open mind, helping others find their own way and generally being yourself, in contrast to the isolationist and authoritarian Queen of Tears. Furthermore, Alhambra was formerly a Port Town that welcomed all visitors and was a mashup of many different cultures. After the Fall it became a City Noir locked away in the Dark World, unreachable by mundane means and praising its own culture at the expense of all others. Furthermore, Fulmine held powers that aided in connecting to other supernaturals who for the most part aren't detrimental to reality as a whole. Compare to Lacrima, that manipulates the darkness and allows one to emulate the Darkened and use their powers for themselves.
- The Queen of Wands used to specialize in improving the world and making it a better place to live in through hard work, whereas the Queen of Storms takes the quick and easy solution of destroying everything touched by Darkness rather than putting in the time and effort to save Darkened and bystanders. This also extends to their invocations: Metallo is a support-oriented invocation focused on creating, repairing and improving things, while Tempesta is a combat-oriented invocation focused on decaying and destroying things.
- The Queen of Pentacles believed that good was subjective and that sometimes you choose the morally questionable option if it's truly necessary or the only option, while the Queen of Mirrors refuses any form of compromise and believes you should always chose the good option even when there isn't any. To add to the irony, her original invocation was Vuoto, the philosophy of which was that Necessary Evil is sometimes unavoidable and that other people's viewpoints on what is right matter, while her present one is Specchio, which holds that a purely good option exists even when it isn't possible and that the only viewpoint that matters is your own.
- Tarot Motifs: Like how the Radiant Courts use Playing Card Motifs, the Pre-Twilight Queens would've followed the same naming paradigm. Cups is the Tarot version of the Hearts Suit, Wands to Clubs, and Pentacles to Diamonds.
- Word of St. Paul: They were written by a fan, but the authors provided outlines of who the Twilight Queens used to be.
The Queen of Cups
"There is a long path that stretches ahead of us all. Want some help finding the way?"
AKA: the Endless Queen, the Unchained Madame, the Mentor of Ten Paths
Followers' Epithets: Wanderers, Monks, Masks, Hippies (derogatory)
Kingdom: Calat
The Queen of Cups is the Precursor to the Queen of Tears. She believed in the path of self-discovery that would end in the noble gaining self-enlightenment. Her Princesses are mentors, path takers, those who would try out a new way to live to find out about themselves. The Masks' chief philosophies are about keeping an open mind, that you are a person and not a label, and to teach others how to find their own Enlightenment. Their signature emotions are Introspection and Enlightenment. The Masks may use their Practical Magic to declare one set of attributes (that can be changed once per day) that she may add bonuses to. The Sworn of Cups get the same treatment, save that they can only apply this to their Skills. Their Invocation is Fulmine.
- Be Yourself: They emphasize this, being an individual and learning about yourself as a person without any attachment to labels, titles and things.
- Becoming the Mask: The Court has the nickname of "Masks", and they're known for trying new or different things in their self-discovery. If they find the mask to be a part of them, then it becomes another factor of who they are as a person.
- Defector from Decadence:
As a Post-Fall possibility for the Court, the Court of Cups is said to receive a large number of new recruits from reformed Twilight Princesses - Tears who got fed up with Alhambra's cruelty and sickly maintenance, Storms who finally managed to let go of their hate and find peace, and Mirrors that have either broken and/or developed a genuine sense of responsibility. However, Cups is generally noted to be a transitional Court that reformed Twilights join until they figure out which Court they really belong with. - The Drifter: Champions of Cups are described as frequently being this, heading from city to city and offering their wisdom and help to whoever is willing to listen.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: While not focused on transcending their state as Princesses, the Princesses of Cups believe that it's best if people discover themselves as individuals and decide who they want to be rather than letting anyone else decide that for them. Their Avatar Charm, The Trail We Blaze, allows the Princess to make a mortal into a Noble for a time, giving them a chance to be a Princess, use their powers, and see how their transformed state appears. This has been noted to make mortals want to do as Cups does, and more than a few have become Nobles at some point or another.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: A charm of the same name allows the Princess to swap the minds of two consenting individuals, granting them a mild psychic connection as well.
- Humanshifting: Fulmine has the power to make a Princess take on the traits of another Supernatural being.
- Mad Scientists: Princesses become able to use and help in the creation of Wonders and can power them with Wisps. However, they also suffer from Inspiration-fueled madness while they keep the transformation.
- Changelings: The user shrinks to the size of a two foot tall female that can fly and can see through the Mask.
- Sin-Eaters: The user can see ghosts and make artificial anchors. A higher version of this power allows them to become a temporary Ghost Princess in Twilight and even use Numina.
- Werewolves: A Princess can count as one of the Wolf-Blooded for werewolf Rites and Gifts. An upgrade to the power allows for taking up Tells, powers the Wolf-Blooded gained in Werewolf 2E. A higher version turns a Princess into a wolf with regeneration factor.
- Princesses: Not to themselves, but the Cups Avatar Charm allows for temporarily turning another mortal into a Noble.
- Lightning Can Do Anything: Played with. Fulmine uses the element of Lightning, which is connected to the human nervous system, emotions, connections between humans and the supernatural, and also the emotions of self-discovery and enlightenment. As a result, it has charms that wield lightning for both utility and as a weapon, mess with people's senses and perceptions, messing with the boundaries of Princess Charms and magic, dabble in other states of supernatural being and use their powers to an extent, help people discover themselves or aid them in psychological manners, as well as being able to charge or use electronics to an extent.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: Princesses tend to be pretty diverse anyways, but Cups has no actual dress code at all. A group of Masks can look completely different from each-other, with no unifying symbols or colors that would indicate their shared allegiance.
- Port Town: Alhambra was one before the Fall; a thriving hub of trade and communication open to all visitors and mixing together plenty of cultures while they're capable of keeping their identities. A fitting home for a Court built around exploring and embracing new ideas, and a stark contrast to what it became after the Fall.
- Shock and Awe: The Invocation of Fulmine grants powers of electricity. It's symbolically linked to the human nervous system, and thus emotions in general. As a result, Fulmine is especially good at metamagic and pushing the boundaries of what Noble magic can do.
The Queen of Wands
"You're doing so well at ousting the darkness. Here, let me help you."
AKA: the Ironclad General, the Golden Hearted Queen
Followers' Epithets: Laborers, Workwomen/Workmen, Ores (sometimes derogatory)
Kingdom: Gonel
The Queen of Wands is the precursor to the Queen of Storms. Her princesses are not all laborers, but they all do believe in the virtue of hard work. The Laborers' Philosophies teach that selflessness and hard work are virtues as well as an ideal of loyalty to comrades. Their signature emotions are Humility and Determination. The Laborers may use their practical magic to add more dice to their (or their group's) extended rolls, making a task much more easily accomplished. The Practical Magic of the Sworn of Wands allows them to add their Metallo to a Teamwork Roll. Their Invocation is Metallo.
- A Master Makes Their Own Tools: One of Metallo's charms uses this, allowing for making weapons and tools magically empowered against the Darkness. For added relevance, the charm is called Master of Arms.
- Animate Inanimate Object: The Princess's Apprentice Charm, Wand's Avatar Charm, allows for the Princess to control a number of mundane objects to get work done. The charm, as well as its condition "Unlimited House Works", are both Shout Outs to boot.
- The Determinator: One of their credos is to work hard and not give up until they succeed or their work is made impossible. This mindset continues in the Court of Storms, albeit in a twisted way.
- Extra-ore-dinary: The Invocation of Metallo gives power over metals.
- Go Through Me: Understandably, this is their stereotype towards the Court of Storms, who are infamous for committing arson and leaving tons of destruction in their wake."You'll have to go through me first if you want to torch that building."
- Humble Hero: Their ideal. The Wands have Humility as their signature emotion, after all.
- Super-Empowering: Wands Charms can grant this to mundane equipment, up to and including controlling them like the brooms in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
- True Companions: The Court of Wands believes in this the most, that loyalty to the Light and each other can work wonders and chase off the Darkness.
- Utility Magic: Their main schtick with Metallo is magic that can be used to make mundane tasks easier, be it making tools more effective, raising physical attributes or skills to make labor simple or outright letting the tools work independently.
- Work Hard, Play Hard: Troubadours of Wands tend to be as enthusiastic in their work as they are in their free time.
- Working-Class Hero: Their ideal. A Queen and her Court of Princesses might not be working class, but their ethos of teamwork, hard effort, humility, and getting their hands dirty leads to something a lot like the the trope.
- Worker Unit: A group of Wands can serve as this.
The Queen of Pentacles
"You can find the Light if you know where to look for it."
AKA: the Hierophant Queen, the Quicksilver Regent, the Gazer of the Beyond
Followers' Epithets: Priest, Priestess, Prophets, Judges
Kingdom: Crystal Heril
The Queen of Pentacles is the precursor to the Queen of Mirrors. Her Princesses try to look at things without bias so that they can make the clearest decisions for themselves. The Prophets' Philosophies teach to keep a clear mind, that, sometimes, the ends justify the means if there are no better options, and that good is subjective. Their signature emotion is Contemplation and Judgement. The Prophets may use their Practical Magic to turn an Aspiration, Dream, or Vocation into a Destiny and establish the manner in which it may be fulfilled. The Princess gains bonuses to her attempts at fulfilling the destiny in the way she declared, but takes penalties when she tries fulfilling it any other way. The Practical Magic of the Sworn of Pentacles allows them to add their Vuoto to rolls to help avert bad outcomes. Their invocation is Vuoto.
- A Wizard Did It: One of the Judges' philosophies covers the idea that Princesses are magical, and therefore can provide magical solutions. As such, Pentacles can be the Princesses who did it.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: The Fight Charm Pythia Prediction reduces the durability of cover by the attacking Princess's Vuoto dots.
- Because Destiny Says So: Invoked by their Practical Magic. They can turn a Dream, Vocation, or Aspiration they have into a Destiny. They can choose how they wish to fulfill this destiny and get bonuses to doing it the way they declared. Alas, if they try fulfilling it in any other way, they suffer the "bonus" as penalties instead.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Vuoto isn't the darkness that consumes the Light so much as it is the emptiness that lets it pass unimpeded.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: The charm The Mother's Shame invokes this, by forcing the target to imagine the princess as someone close/respected who would react poorly if they knew what the target was doing.
- Necessary Evil: To an extent, the belief that the end justifies the means is one of the Pentacles Philosophies. It's subverted, however, in the sense that because you're a Princess with the ability to see the future and use magic, you should be able to avoid situations where the solution is an evil one. Regardless, if there's no solution other than the one that contains some evil, then you should do what needs to be done.
- Omniscient Morality License: Downplayed. While the court do believe their prophetic powers give them a morality licence, they also believe that if you're a seer, you should be able to see a solution that doesn't involve acting like a dick to people. At least most of the time.
- The Power of the Void: The Invocation of Vuoto lets one use the clarity of the void.
- Seers: What their charms are most renowned for, and a trait carried on to Specchio.
- Space Master/Time Master: The "Void" element in Vuoto is the emptiness in which time can be perceived and space can be contorted, letting Prophets use both in their charms. Being the Post-Fall incarnation of Pentacles, Mirrors shares this association.
- Time Is Dangerous: Not inherently in Vuoto's base charms. However, in some of them, a Princess has the option of using Temporal Flux. This allows her to make whatever charm she was using last longer in duration, see further away from the present time forwards and backwards, or be able to freeze something for longer. However, the bigger the time frame, the larger a penalty the Princess takes on her roll for the Charm, which can lead to Failures and Dramatic Failures.
- Time Travel: Adjusting the Wheel, the Avatar Charm for Pentacles, plays with a limited form of this. Mechanically speaking, the Princess may do the scene as normal and personally see what occurs within the scene first hand before snapping back in time to when they originally used the charm, keeping their knowledge. Inversely, the Princess may go back one scene to change previous events. However, Temporal Mutability is also in play: The Princess cannot change the events she meddled with by secondary uses of this charm, though she can target separate events with this charm if she wishes.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: One of their Shape charms allows for making a space exactly like this.
The Castles At Dusk Queens
It can be considered a stroke of luck that, out of the eight surviving queens, the majority remain Radiant and benevolent, as, in the great catastrophe of the Fall, things could easily have been different. Much like the Road to Dawn supplement, the Castles at Dusk exists to present an alternate take on the main Queens. In this case, what would have happened should the current Radiant Queens have fallen and been corrupted instead. The Dusk Queens
The Dusk Queens are fallen versions of the Radiant Queens from the base game.
- Alternate Self: The Queens of Poppies, Petals, and Chords represent What If? scenarios of what would have happened if the Queens of Clubs, Hearts, and Spades survived the fall and were corrupted by what they had to do to survive the Long Night. Averted for the Queens of Diamonds and Swords, who died during the Night and disappeared during the Fall respectively.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: While some of them are merely more extreme versions of their Radiant selves' ideals, others have turned completely against what they used to represent.
- The Queen of Clubs is a Taoist and enviromentalist who believes in simple living and unity with nature. The Queen of Poppies is a hedonist who embraces all kinds of earthly pleasures and debauchery to distract from the horror that the world has become.
- The Queen of Diamonds believed in spreading knowledge and enlightenment to everyone. The Queen of Mists, one of her former followers, believes that knowledge is dangerous and has to be confined to those who can use it responsibly.
- Fallen Hero: All of them are, of course, corrupted versions of the base game's Radiant Queens, either turning away from their ideals or warping them nearly beyond recognition. The Queens of Mists, Stars, and the King of Scythes are former members of the old queens' courts who struck out on their own after their Queens were lost, though the trope remains the same.
- The Remnant: The Court of Stars and Court of Scythes were founded by Nobles from the defunct Court of Swords who in different ways try to carry on the old Queen's ideals and legacy.
- Sketchy Successor: The Courts of Stars and Scythes are both rather more morally questionable successors to the Court of Swords, with Stars following Swords' philosophy of embracing passion to Yandere-extremes, and Scythes becoming a group of arrogant vigilantes. The Queen of Mists is also this to the Queen of Diamonds, though no one knows.
The Queen of Poppies
"A life half-lived in joy is worth more than a life ending in despair and wasted fighting the inevitable."
AKA: The Faithless Queen, the Harlot Mother, the Matron of Vice
Followers' Epithets: Bystanders, Jesters, Dealers, Harlots (Derogatory)
Kingdom: The Garden of Earthly Delights (Formerly the Garden of Earthly Lights, Wen-Mung)
When the Fall came to Wen-Mung, the Queen and her court fled to a temple and consecrated garden known as the Garden of Earthly Lights, hoping that the sacred place would stave of the Darkness. It did not. Desperate for survival, the Queen found that the only hope to combat the Darkness was through the pursuit of what pleasure could be found in the world of darkness. Vices and indulgences bring joy, short-lived as it may be, and gives the strength needed to live another day in a doomed world. To this end, the Garden of Earthly Delights has become a pleasure palace, and the Queen encourages her nobles to act in whatever way brings them joy, as long as it does not directly empower the Darkness.
Their signature emotions are Ecstacy and Nihilism. A Jester's practical magic numbs them to the suffering of the world, allowing them to dampen their sensitivity. Their Invocation is Papavero.
- Addictive Magic: Papavero, uniquely among Invocations, are addictive to use. In mechanics terms, using Papavero and failing a check means getting the Deprived condition until they use it again for something pleasurable or satisfy their vice.
- Beneath Notice: The Queen's philosophy in a nutshell. In a world ruled by the Darkness, being a shining beacon of hope and light is a good way to get killed. Instead, the Queen believes that the highest priority is to survive while finding ways to foil the Darkness that won't draw too much attention, such as working with criminals and corrupt politicians to minimize the damage they cause.
- Drugs Are Good: If they make you happy and help you survive another day in a Crapsack World, go nuts.
- The Hedonist: The Queen believes that overtly fighting the Darkness is futile, and the best thing to do is to pursue pleasure and enjoyment in whatever ways you can. She is not completely defeatist, encouraging her Nobles to find ways to subtly combat the darkness through the pursuit of pleasure, but Bystanders mostly treat pleasure as their main goal.
- Information Broker: Seekers of Poppies, when they're not running the necesarry logistics for the Court to function, often operate as this, collecting information that enable the Court's activities to continue.
- Pimp Duds: The regalia of Bystanders who work in the Court's more criminal elements may appear dressed as pimps.
- Poisonous Person: The element of Papavero is poison, which reflects in it's applications in Fight Charms as well as spiritually venomous things like addictions, corruption and whatnot.
- The Syndicate: The Court of Poppies operates much like a criminal cartel, especially dealing with the drug trade. The Queen of Poppies has agreements and dealings with both organized crime and corrupt politician, and Nobles of the Court tend to serve roles one might find in a criminal organization.
The Queen of Mists
“We know.”
AKA: The False Queen, the Mistress of Smoke and Lenses, the Engineer of Minds
Followers' Epithets: Agents, Operatives, Smokes, Angels (Derogatory)
Kingdom: Tuatha De
When the Darkness swept across the world during the Fall, the Queen of Diamonds, ever the clever one, led her people into vaults across the world she had prepared for such a purpose. However, though her people survive, the Fall caused the Queen to slowly succumb to despair. To save his queen from her broken heart, the loyal owl Plato killed her, then took on her face and the title Queen of Mists. The Queen of Mists and her court believe that knowledge is valuable, but also dangerous. In the right hands, it can propell society forward, but there are many who would rather use it for wicked means. To prevent this, the Court of Mists carefully keeps track of what becomes known, stepping in and upholding the masquerade if necesarry.
Their signature emotions are Vigilance and Paranoia. An Angel's practical magic allows them to accept the compromises their position requires, ignoring any Belief Compromises that come as a result of doing their duties. Their Invocation is Foschia.
- Dead All Along: The Queen of Diamonds is dead, and the Queen of Mists is in truth her Familiar and spymaster Plato.
- Dead Person Impersonation: While the Agents believe that their Queen is the same Queen who went into the vaults during the Fall, she has in fact been dead for centuries, and her identity has been taken by the owl Plato.
- Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: While Agents tend to prefer more subtle ways to keep the truth from getting out, they are not above killing those who are in danger of uncovering the truths of the world.
- King in the Mountain: Plato still waits for the true Queen to return, though it's noted that the Queen of Diamonds is unlikely to be happy with what he has done to her Court if she does.
- The Men in Black: Agents of Tuatha De work to uphold The Masquerade, and it's noted that their regalia often incorporates formal wear.
- The Paranoiac: Agents who work for too long have a tendency to develop paranoia, which is a natural consequence of being a member of a court that is constantly trying to cover up, hoard and find out secrets and any potential leaks.
- Summon Bigger Fish: In the Stereotypes section, their response to Alhambra is to threaten to sic the Queen of Storms on them.
- Super Smoke: The element of Foschia is water vapor and mist, the gaseous form of water.
- Weirdness Censor: The Foschia invocation, requiring any mortal who sees it to succeed a check to realize that something magical has happened. The downside is that, should they succeed the check, the charm will fail and nothing happens, though the mortal will remain none the wiser.
The Queen of Petals
"Each of us is a flower. We will bloom beautifully before returning to the earth so more life can grow."
AKA: The Queen of Snapdragons, the Widowed Matron, the Empowering Maiden
Followers' Epithets: Flowers, Noble Officers, Warrant Nobles (Derogatory, Budded only), Spoils (Derogatory)
Kingdom: None (formerly Andarta)
The Kingdom of Andarta still exists, but devoid of its Queen. During the Fall, Andarta was destroyed and ensnared in the Dreamlands alongside the Radiant Kingdoms, leaving the Queen as its last survivor. Left in a world where Nobles blossomed rarely, if at all, the Queen of Petals wandered the world with her loyal shikigami, seeking those with a desire to do good and offering them an accord; In return for the Queen granting one wish of their choosing, the Queen turns them into Budded, weak Nobles who have not truly blossomed and who leak wisps over time. The Queen asks of them that they do everything in their power to fight the Darkness and protect the Light, regardless of how futile or hopeless the situation is. These Budded rarely live long, dying trying to accomplish their Queen's demands with their limited power long before they can truly blossom.
Their signature emotions are Obligation and Self-sacrifice. A Flower can use her practical magic to shield, heal, or stabilize others, but not themselves. Their invocation is Fiore, which can be used by anyone in genuine need, good faith, and who are close to the Flower, regardless of the Flower's consent.
- Anti-Hero: The Queen of Petals is genuinely well-meaning and wants to make the world better. However, her willingness to give children the bare minimum needed to fight, then lying to them about their chances, before throwing them into a hopeless war that is all but guaranteed to kill them tends to be a point of contention for the other courts.
- Expy: The Queen of Petals approaches young and vulnerable kids with a Contract, makes them Blossom if they accept, and points them at the Darkness, usually resulting in their deaths quickly. If the Kyubey-parallels weren't obvious, the introductory quote to her chapter is from a young Noble who was approached by the Queen after a car accident, and granted her wish to survive, just like Mami Tomoe. Flowers even have a special charm called Grief Seed which lets them turn a Dethroned into a small palm-sized object they can draw power from, just like the ones Puella Magi hunt Witches for.
- Child Soldiers: The Queen looks for highly emotional and passionate candidates to become Budded, which results in a majority of them being much younger than the average age of other courts. They rarely live long enough to grow up.
- Good Counterpart: In some ways, the Budded are this to the Queen of Storms' Stormwracked; Ordinary mortals who have been given powers similar to those of a Noble directly by a Queen. Unlike the furiously vengeful Stormwracked, Budded are genuinely good kids who want to do their best to help people and fight the good fight.
- Leonine Contract: The Queen tends to offer her contracts to those who have no choice to accept, often in situations where the only thing they can wish for is to survive, or the survival of someone close to them.
- The Lost Lenore: The Queen of Hearts' husband is "alive" and well in the Dreamlands, but has no idea what happened to his wife, and the Queen of Petals makes no attempt at telling him.
- Make Them Rot: Fiore's element, despite being said to bring things to their best point, is actually that of Decay. It does actively grow and make things get to their best, but it can also make things and people rot away as well
- Mentor Mascot: The Queen rarely appears to her Nobles and Budded outside of initially offering the contract. Instead, her shikigami stick around to show the newly minted Flower the ropes. Said shikigami also lie to make sure the life of a Noble seems more appealing than it truly is.
- Naïve Newcomer: Nearly all of the Petals' stereotypes on other courts paint them as well-meaning, but naïve and self-doubting. The stereotype on the Queen of Tears in particular expresses confusion as to why princesses would be spreading the darkness. None of this is helped by how the Queen and her shikigami lie to them about a lot of the truths of the world.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Not for the Flowers or the Queen, but for the Court of Spades; The Spades stereotype on the Court of Petals makes it clear that they find no amusement in the situation whatsoever.Spades on Petals: This Contract of yours… I’ve seen what it results in. If it’s a joke, I’m not laughing.
- Super-Empowering: It's implied that the Queen of Petals can empower anyone to become a Budded, regardless of wether they are reincarnated, onceborn, or mortals. Since Budded who survive long enough tend to Blossom into true Nobles, this also makes the Queen the only known entity who can force the creation of new Nobles, something the other Courts are very curious about.
- Sympathy for the Devil: The Petals stereotype on Vampires is from a Budded who saw the vampire they were hunting meet up with their girlfriend, and couldn't kill them because they still acted so human.
The Queen of Chords
“All will become one, and know the peace and love it brings.”
AKA: She Who Is One Yet Many, The Great Loom Who Holds The Tapestry, The Binder of Boundaries
Followers' Epithets: Harmonies, Strings, Brainiacs, Outcasts, Flash Mobs (Derogatory)
Kingdom: None (formerly the Confederacy of the Four Winds)
During the Fall, the Queen of Spades' laughter turned into sobs as she was left a broken, empty shell of herself. She would have succumbed to the Outer dark, had it not been for the love of her people. Countless voices called out to her, countless hands reaching out to give her comfort, and as they died, their souls were woven into a great tapestry filling the emptiness that had been left by the Queen's despair. The Queen of Chords became the loom upon which a Tapestry was woven, one that comforted her and diminished her pain. The Queen remains to this day, seeking ways to end the suffering inherent in existence, tearing down boundraries so that all may be woven into the Tapestry.
Their signature emotions are Comfort and Smothering. A Harmony's practical magic enables them to effortlessly slip into any group, as if she had always been there. Their Invocation is Corda.
- Cult: Harmonies want everyone to be woven into the tapestry, to throw of all of society's boundraries and just be happy as one big community within their Queen. Joining is voluntary, but highly encouraged.
- Death of Personality: The danger of joining a Tapestry is that the endless comfort and denial of all negative emotions slowly erodes away any individuality and personal identity, until all that remains is a thread of the Tapestry who wants to make everyone as comfortable and happy as themselves. Also worth noting is that the Queen of Spades is effectively dead, only the Great Loom Who Holds The Tapestry remains.
- Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: A bit more benign than normal, but a Tapestry offers all the comforts of the world while minimizing any pain or sorrow, "until almost nothing remains."
- Living Emotional Crutch: The Court more or less encourages its Nobles to see each other this way. The Court of Swords speifically calls them out for being more about dependency than love.
- Not So Similar: Their Stereotype on the Court of Storms state that their queens ascended in a very similar way, but are confused as to why the Queen of Storms could become so different from the Queen of Chords.
- Odd Friendship: The other courts have almost unilaterally negative views on the Chords, with the exception of Storms and Mirrors, who both seem to like them. Storms praises their coordination and ability in combating the Outer Dark (if a bit annoyed at how they favor hugs over fighting), and Mirrors see nothing wrong in a cult that constantly showers them in positive reinforcement.
- Propaganda Piece: Troubadors of the Tapestry, more so than other Courts, tend to create pieces dedicated to spreading the ideals of Chords, happiness above all other emotions and tearing down social boundraries.
- Psychic Powers: The Element of Corda is appropriately that of psychic phenomena, and many of it's charms include psychic powers like telepathy or whatnot.
- The Social Expert: Harmonies are even better than an average Noble at fitting in and making connections, making it easy for people to trust them and fall into their cult. Their practical magic is specifically primed to let a Harmony slip into any social group regardless of circumstance.
- Stepford Smiler: One of the Queen's philosophies is to suppress negative emotions in order to keep a smile and help people around them.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Court of Chords fundamentally want to make a community where everyone is happy. The complete denouncement of all negative emotions, the Hive Mind, and their tendency towards violent anarchism might be a tad bit too far, however.
The Queen of Stars
“The Darkness took everything from us; it's time to take it back.”
AKA: The Nebulous Queen, the Eternal Ember, the Queen of the Lost, the Bladed Queen
Followers' Epithets: Knights, Lost, Daggers, Templars (Derogatory), Yanderes (Derogatory)
Kingdom: Lunaria
When the Fall came to Aztallan, the Queen guarded the retreat as her people fled to safety. With her was her most loyal consort, but when the Darkenss overcame them, the Queen did not wish for her beloved to share her fate, pushing her to safety at the cost of she herself being lost to the Dark. While the kingdom mourned and moved on, founding new kingdoms in her honor, the loyal consort was not satisfied. Determined that her beloved Sovereign was still alive, the consort tore a piece of the Dreamlands into reality, shaping it into a vessel with which she would traverse the cosmos in search of her lost love. Over time, more Nobles joined her cause, following her ideals of reclaiming what you love, hold it close, and never let it go no matter what. Thus was born the Kingdom of Lunaria and the Queen of Stars.
Their signature emotions are Desire and Fear. A Lost's practical magic gives them a Rapture, a goal they pursue above all else, which they will can cross any boundrary of consent or distance to protect. Their Invocation is Stellae.
- Big Damn Heroes: Through their practical magic, Lost can arrive just in time to save someone or something tied to their Rapture at the cost of a single wisp.
- Control Freak: Lost Graces are described as wanting to control everything related to their Rapture, in the service of protecting them, of course. The examples of this kind of view ranges from controling who their friend gets to interract with, to controling their entire country.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even Mirrors find the Court of Stars a little bit too affectionate.
- Floating Continent: Lunaria is a piece of the Dreamlands that was ripped out into reality and now floats around the cosmos at the command of its Queen.
- The Lost Lenore: The Queen of Stars and her closest Nobles are all obsessed with finding the Queen of Swords, who (presumably) died in the Fall.
- The Man Behind the Man: Lost Menders tend to work by subtly pushing and "nurturing" people and situations in ways that are favorable for their Rapture, often involing pushing people they can control into positions of power.
- Teleportation with Drawbacks: The Stars' practical magic lets them arrive anywhere in the world regardless of distance, but only if something tied to their Rapture is in danger.
- Star Power: Their element is, naturally, Stars.
- Undying Loyalty: The Queen of Stars was the Queen of Swords' most loyal consort, and would not leave her side until she was forced to. Even now, thousands of years later, she is still devoted to finding her queen again. One might even say that she's a tad bit obsessed.
- Workaholic: The Queen of Stars is constantly working to find her beloved, spending all her time scouring over anything that might give the slightest clue that would lead to finding her. Catching her in one of her rare breaks is your only chance to talk to her without being drafted into being her assistant.
- Yandere: This is a derogatory nickname for Lost, and it's obvious why. Lost are dangerously obsessed with their Rapture, and if that Rapture is a person, then their goal will be to keep that person safe and close regardless of their feelings on the matter. Their practical magic even lets them ignore any Sympathy or Intimacy penalties as long as they are targetting the subject of their rapture.
The King of Scythes
“The scales of good and evil must be brought back into balance, and those who would bring evil must be reaped of all good they would take.”
AKA: The Blood Harvest King, the Thief of Evil, the Man in the Moon
Followers' Epithets: Farmers, Reapers, Vigilantes, Monsters (Derogatory)
Kingdom: New Aztallan
When the Queen of Swords fell, none mourned her greater than her Court. While some refused to accept her death and went on to spend the Long Night seeking her again, the would-be Court of Scythes became determined to enact justice for and in the name of their lost queen. The noble who would one day become the King of Scythes, once a consort of the lost Queen, led his followers to the lands lost to Darkness, determined to forge an even greater kingdom than the ones that had come before. Today, the King rules New Aztallan, a kingdom located on Earth's moon, dispatching his nobles to reap justice across the world. Reapers are sent to enact justice to those who escape the eyes of the law, to ensure everyone gets what's due, and to harvest emotions that could hamper humanity's growth.
Their signature emotions are Resentment and Vindictiveness. A Reaper's signature magic allows them to harvest emotions from others and use them to empower themselves. Their Invocation is Falce.
- '90s Anti-Hero: The court of Scythes are vigilantes who are more than willing to enact Pay Evil unto Evil whenever they feel like it and see themselves as entitled to enact their own brand of justice with next to no internal oversight. The only thing missing is large guns, which an individual noble can get if they want.
- Biblical Motifs: Reapers are noted to often have regalia based on religious iconography.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Very, very easy for them to fall into this. There's a reason one of their nicknames is Monsters.
- Emotion Eater: The Court of Scythes get their name from their ability to harvest the emotions of other nobles and humans and use it to empower themselves. They justify this in part by saying it is necessary, and in art by insisting that they are merely weeding out bad or excessive emotions that will stunt mankind's development, akin to a farmer cutting down part of his field to allow the rest room to grownote . Gameplay wise, this is also Falce's drawback, as it regularly devours specific emotions within a Noble to even use. The Practical Magic lets them substitute other peoples emotions for this cost.
- Hypocrite: They decry emotions as a weakness that only lead to people hurting others, and are annoyingly condescending towards the other Courts because of their signature emotions. As for the Court of Stars, one of the few Courts whose emotions are truly damaging? Maybe it's because of their shared origin, but Scythes are remarkably tolerant of them.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The Court of Scythes often view their actions as pushing karma in the right direction, ensuring that everyone gets what's coming for them, both good and bad.
- Love Is a Weakness: Ironically for a court descended from the Court of Swords, they believe this (as part of their larger belief that emotions are a weakness).
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: One of the King's titles is "The Blood Harvest King". "King of Scythes" isn't all that welcoming either, nor is the fact his followers are known as Reapers.
- The One Guy: The King is the only Dusk Monarch who is male.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Their philosophy of "Fight Fire With Fire" in a nutshell. Because they are dealing with the likes of the Darkness and all who invite it into the world, or even doing evil things independent of the Darkness and continuously getting away with it, they are completely incentivized to stoop down to the level of their foes if it means ensuring they die or get punished. A few of their charms also utilize this, with one making people get sick if they so much as harm another, get their emotions stolen, or even flat out killing the creator of a taint to purge it alongside their life!
- Vigilante Man: There's a reason one of the Court of Scythes' nicknames is "Vigilantes". One of Reapers' principle duties is to find those who escape the law in order to enact extrajudicial justice and make sure everyone gets their due. Worth noting is that these vigilantes aren't even under their own internal oversight, as the King of Scythes pretty much allows them free reign, only offering tutelage to those who go too far or get careless.
- Winds of Destiny, Change!: Their element is Karma, the aspect of righting wrongs and ensuring people get their just dues. As a result, many of their charms can alter fortunes and destiny.
Fan Splat Queens
This game has a fairly devoted fanbase, and there are those who have done a lot of work in making their own custom Invocations and related Queens (and Kings). Please limit additions to those that are on the main web page
.- Recursive Fanfiction: These are fan-made Queens based on a game that already was a fan-made supplement for Chronicles of Darkness.
The Queen of Melodies
AKA: The Bardic Queen, Mistress of Chords
Followers' Epithets: Bells (Female), Drums (Male), Keys
Kingdom: Deserts of Ototeien
The Queen of Melodies believes in friendship, that people can acccomplish together anything that'd be impossible alone. Their Practical Magic allows them to enhance teamwork rolls, making exceptional successes occur easier and increasing the leader's dicepool. Their Invocation is Capriccio.
- "Arabian Nights" Days: Ototeien takes heavy inspiration from this trope for its aesthetics, being described as an oasis-based kingdom in the middle of a desert. "Desert Wanderer" is a favourite theme among them for their heraldry.
- Dual Wielding: Their upgrade for the Kensai Charm allows them to duplicate their weapons for this. It also has the additional benefit of allowing them to share it with allies.
- Friendly Rivalry: A weird variant, in that the Queen of Melodies alone has one with the entire Court of Spades. Indeed, she wears many trinkets which are very valuable to her (each of them being a gift from a friend), and she has been known to easily catch all Knaves who tried to snatch these trinkets, taking them back before telling them politely to not take them. Princesses of Spades, being what they are, took this as a challenge, and made a game called “Runaway Rhythm” out of working together to steal her trinkets and see how far they can go before she catches them. To date, nobody has been able to go outside the city’s limits.
- Fusion Dance: Capriccio's avatar charm allows two nobles to temporarily fuse into a single noble with the best abilities of each. By default, the fused noble has a Duality Motif representing the people the noble was fused from. If the charm gets an exceptional success, the fused noble is effectively a new person.
- It Was a Gift: The Queen of Melodies is decked out with plenty of baubles on her person, all made for her by her own people. She remembers who gave them to her, how they made it, and how much it means to her right down to tiny details.
- Make Some Noise: Their Invocation, Capriccio, is associated with sound.
- The Power of Friendship: While all Princesses believe in friendship to some level, the Queen of Melodies is the one who makes it their hat. Their Charms put an heavy emphasis on teamwork and helping each other.
- You Are Not Alone: They place some emphasis on this, trying to make it so that people don't think they don't matter or aren't insignificant, and try to make them not feel that way either. Some of the Nobles also come from broken families or lives, who don't want others to feel or suffer the same way they have.
The Queen of Brass
AKA: The Brazen Queen, Venus of the Dream, The Ardent One, Our Lady Unburdened
Kingdom: Shores of Honnō
Followers’ Epithets: Candids, Ardents, Braves, Exhibitionists (Derogatory), Nudist Beach (Collective, Derogatory)
The Queen of Brass believes in self-expression, and letting go of your inhibitions to be honest with people and better help them. Princesses of Brass tend to be straightforward and honest, but also have a reputation of… wearing very little clothing, when they are wearing any at all. Their Practical Magic allows them to ignore any negative emotional or social conditions or tilts. Their emotion is Self-Expression. Their Invocation is Arrossire.
- Be Yourself: This trope is used Verbatim for the first part of Brass's third philosophy, "Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Taken", and essentially has the same message as the trope.
- Bathing Beauty: The Queen of Brass spends most of her free time (and work time) bathing in the ocean.
- Bizarro Elements: The element of Arrosire is transparent solids, including but not limited to sheer fabrics, glass, or prisms.
- Defeat by Modesty: They can No-Sell this, as their entire principles are about not letting yourself be embarrassed. Their Lost Fiber Charm also allows them to inflict it on others, though this is more a side effect than the real goal of this Charm.
- Distracted by the Sexy: In the Dream version, the upgrade for Celestial Grace allows them to essentially stun their opponents with their grace when dodging.
- Expy: They incorporate elements from Nudist Beach, whose name is referenced as one of their nicknames.
- I Am What I Am: The Court of Brass prides itself on being who they are, and expressing it without fear of what other people think of them.
- Naked People Are Funny: A lot of humor comes from their wearing very little clothes or going around naked - something that they rarely are bothered with due to their philosophy, but other Courts are prone to complain about.
- The Nudifier: Their Lost Fiber Charm allows them to rip their opponents’ clothes apart, exposing them. Aside from the obvious Defeat by Modesty factor, this has the advantage of destroying any armor their opponent might have.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Their entire philosophy embrace this trope, since they reject inhibition and shame. An optional Charm can actually be used to make them stronger by wearing less clothes.
- Stripperiffic: Brass's Regalia never have more fabric than is necessary to cover their whole body in a single layer of it. However, almost none of them actually use it all for covering their whole body, and quite a few don't even use all of it, period. Played with in that their suits usually are practical as far as they are concerned- since they focus on not letting modesty get in the way, they tend to strictly wear what is useful to them, and nothing else.
- Tamer and Chaster: Since the Court initially was intended as a joke, earlier drafts of the Court depicted them as openly nudist, with a rather explicit focus on it. Later versions toned down this aspect to have most of them just wear skimpy to light clothing, and put the focus more on their belief in honesty and that you should Be Yourself.
The Court of Humanity
AKA: The Work-In-Progress
Kingdom: None
Followers' Epithets The Vigilant, Points of Light, Mockeries (derogatory)
The Court of Humanity is an odd court that arose not because of a Queen or King, but because of the Light's intrinsic nature of rising from humanity itself and their desires to make the world a better place. They believe that people must always strive for improvement and that luxuries should be earned for services rendered, that humanity should band together to cast away supernatural taint, and to provide your services where you can work the best in. Their Practical Magic allows them to recreate broken pieces of Regalia at lower cost, as well as being able to hold practical charms at high Belief. Their emotions are Dynamism and Paranoia, and their Invocation is Umanita.
- Adaptational Heroism: While they're generally considered sketchy at best, their original concept was a Hunter Conspiracy called the Magisters, who worked by putting Nobles into comas and stealing their power. To give you an idea how messed up the process was, even morally dubious Conspiracies such as The Cheiron Group and Ashwood Abbey were creeped out by them.
- Assimilation Plot: What many stereotypes against them boil down to.
- Muggles Do It Better: Repeatedly state that humanity is a more powerful force than any mysticism.
- Pro-Human Transhuman: Most Nobles are on the side of humanity anyway, but the Court of Humanity is by far the most open about it.
- Wrong Context Magic: As noted above, they are unique among Noble Courts in that they came into existence without the need for a King or Queen, instead rising from Humanity's inner desire to do good.
The King of Crosses
"C'mon, you can be better. I have faith in you."
AKA: The Holy King, The New Monarch, The Sacred Father, Alex
Followers' Epithets: Paladins, Saints, Clergy, Fanatics (Derogatory)
Kingdom: New Eden
The King of Crosses believes that people deserve second chances to be better than what they are, accepting people with open arms and in restorative justice. Despite their name, they cover all kinds of religions and belief systems. Forged after the Long Night, the King of Crosses wanders the earth even as his Kingdom forms in the Dreamlands. Their Practical Magic makes it more rewarding to follow one's virtues, or that imbues a religious object with holy power that abates hostile forces to the holder. Their emotions are Faith and Empathy. Their Invocation is Santo.
- A God Is You: Played with and more limited. A Charm allows them to temporarily become an avatar of an aspect of a god or goddess (so long as they're conceived as divine), gaining specific powers based on that aspect.
- Church Militant: They can certainly play the part, especially Champions.
- Forgiveness: It's one of their philosophies for crying out loud.
- Good Shepherd: Possible for a Grace of Crosses.
- Gratuitous Latin: Many of the charms' names are Latin phrases.
- Healing Hands: The Santo upgrades to Restore Charms, or Santo Restore charms make it easier to heal people. It's even to the point they can pull people back from their form of Karma Meter hitting 0.
- Heel–Face Turn: They are the court of second chances, offering people ways to be better than what they are.
- Holy Burns Evil: Subverted on the "Evil" part, but Santo interacts greatly against supernatural powers and beings.
- Holy Hand Grenade: The Santo Invocation uses holiness as it's element.
- Interfaith Smoothie: Played with. Despite being named as "The Court of Crosses" and its element being Holy, it's actually non-denominational to any religion and accepts people who follow all kinds of faiths equally. From the Abrahmic Faiths like Christianity, Judaism and Islam, to eastern faiths like Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism, to even older and newer kinds of faiths like ancient Greek and Egyptian, Paganism, even Satanism and any others that can serve a good purpose.
- Modest Royalty: When he actually does any ruling (rather than leaving it to the elected council), he does so out of a fairly humble office in a small building, rather than from a palace. As well, while he does sometimes travel around his Kingdom in his Noble form, an imposing, armoured figure with a very formal manner of speech, he just as often travels in his non-transformed form, a young man in fairly normal clothing, who is quite informal and approachable, and likes to lend an ear to people who need advice. And unlike most of the other rulers, he actually travels to Earth a fair bit.
- Odd Name Out: The King of Crosses is also known as Alex, making him the only leader of a Court to actually have a name rather than a collection of titles. This is because the Court of Crosses was only formed recently, post-release, and he himself not only became a Noble only post-release, but was Onceborn, meaning he had no memory of any previous lives.
- Protective Charm: Santo works excellently with magic that protects people from supernatural influence, or from being harmed due to crimes they've committed.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Played with. One of their Charms, "Faith in False Weakness", allows them to bless an object or item against a specific supernatural splat and make it function like it's one of their weaknesses.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Their philosophy in a nutshell, and plenty of charms focus on this aspect.
The King of Constellations
"It's through working together that we can shine."
AKA: Lord of the Open Hand, Keeper of the Unknown Paths, Son of Starlight
Followers' Epithets: Probes, Quasars, Trailblazers, Busybodies (Derogatory)
Kingdom: Lamessier Valley
The King of Constellations believes it is through connecting with each other that we can shine, that by creating connections between many people, being able to understand and learn about what people fear or supernatural beings, and that people can always be brought back to the light that the world can be made better. The Court's Practical Magic aids attempts to get to know people. Their emotions are Courage and Patience. Their Invocation is Lustrae.
- The Alliance: Lamessier Valley is not only made up of residents of the Kingdom, but also people of other supernatural splats as well.
- The Heart: Part of their duties is attempting to be this for people.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Their third belief in a nutshell, the idea that even if people have different belief systems or ideals, that they shouldn't be thought of as evil or bad at first glance.
- Space Master: The element of Lustrae uses the element of Space.
- Star Power: Part of Lustrae's powers manipulate the energy of the stars.
- Summon Magic: The Celestial Summons Charm in a nutshell.
- Thinking Up Portals: Several of their charms create portals, such as Astral Chart, an Upgrade for Call For Aid/Nick of Time, and Astral Window.
The Queen of Dice
AKA: Ceasar of the Day, Eagle-Eyed Empress, Reagent of Risk
Followers’ Epithets: Gamblers, Opportunists, Daredevils, Fools (Derogatory)
Kingdom: Yggdrasil
Their emotions are flexibility and audacity. Their invocation is Fortuna.
The Queen of Laurels
AKA: The Hero Queen, The Gracious Victor, The Lady of Gold and Glory
Followers’ Epithets: Exemplars, Wreaths, Contenders, Gloryhounds (derogatory)
Kingdom: Mount Aurea
Their emotions are ambition and inspiration. Their invocation is Oro.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: The courts invocation oro explicitly prohibits the use of charms in competition whether it inhibits competitors or gives the user an unfair advantage.
- Glory Hound: One of the courts sobriquets due to the courts constant need for competition and for self improvement that only victory can bring.
- Serious Business: The Exemplars of Laurels take competitions seriously and are driven to do their absolute best to win.
