♦ The Court of Pentacles – The Secure
”We are the house that endures. We are the hoard that will not be spent.”
Names of the Court:
- The Gilded Pact
- The Court of the Adamant Vault
- The Order of the Stone Coin
The Court’s Emotion:
- Security – Stability, wealth, endurance, and control.
Nicknames for Members:
- Formal: Wardens
- Informal: Keepers
- Derogatory: Misers (Because nothing is ever freely given)
What They Value:
The Court of Pentacles believes in fortification, control, and endurance. They hoard strength, power, and resources, ensuring that the Freehold never falls, never starves, never lacks for what it needs. They do not gamble, they do not rush—they build, and what they build lasts. They secure their future, even if it means sacrificing the now.
What the Court is Like When They Rule the Freehold:
- No Gentry may enter the Freehold unless invited—they are barred by fate itself.
- The Freehold is wealthy, fortified, and stable—resources are stockpiled, defenses are reinforced. When regaining Health, Willpower, and Glamour, regain one additional.
- The cost of betrayal is high, and debts must always be repaid.
- Trade, contracts, and bargains flourish—but everything has a price.
What the Court is Like When They Are Not Ruling:
- They act as bankers, dealmakers, and power brokers, ensuring that nothing is given freely.
- They manage the Freehold’s long-term stability, ensuring there is always a safety net.
- They prepare for the worst, even when no one else sees it coming.
Why People Want to Join Them:
- If you want control over your fate, Pentacles will show you how to wield it.
- If you value wealth, influence, and security, they protect their own.
- If you believe that strength comes from stability, you will find a foundation here.
Why People Love Them:
- They never let the Freehold starve or fall into chaos.
- They think ahead, planning for dangers before they arrive.
- They ensure that no one is left vulnerable, no one is left in debt without a way to pay it back.
Why People Hate Them:
- They never give without expecting something in return.
- They can be cold, calculating, and slow to act, always weighing the cost.
- They control too much, ensuring that everyone is in their debt sooner or later.
What Their Mantle Looks Like:
- The scent of freshly turned earth, aged stone, and old coin.
- A weight in the air, like being watched by something vast and patient.
- Their skin sometimes has the texture of stone, bark, or polished metal.
- When angered, the ground around them trembles, and their footsteps sound heavier than they should.
What Kind of Courtiers Are in the Court:
- Bankers and merchants, ensuring the Freehold prospers.
- Dealmakers and powerbrokers, controlling who owes what to whom.
- Survivors and pragmatists, who hoard resources and plan for the long game.
- Architects and builders, ensuring that what is built will never crumble.
The Onyx Coin
The Onyx Coin is a heavy, palm-sized disc of polished black stone, its surface so smooth and dark it seems to drink in the light around it. Faint veins of deep violet and silver ripple through the stone, barely visible unless turned at just the right angle. The edges are worn but unchipped, as if time itself has failed to erode its presence. One side bears an engraving of an ancient tree, its roots twisting into the shape of grasping hands, while the other is stamped with a featureless, hollowed-out mask—a symbol of secrets kept and identities lost. When held, it carries an unnatural weight, not just of stone, but of something deeper, something buried.
Effects
The Onyx Coin grants its wielder the ability to bend fate in their favor—or curse another’s fortune. When any dice pool is rolled by anyone within sight, including the wielder themselves, they may spend 1 Glamour and 1 Willpower reflexively to force the roll to be rolled twice, allowing them to choose which result to keep.
Catch
The wielder may choose not to spend the Glamour and Willpower, but bad fortune will come for them instead. The next time they make a roll, they must roll twice and take the worse of the two results.
Drawback
If used twice in one scene, the coin vanishes, slipping from the wielder’s grasp and appearing in the possession of another member of the Freehold at random. The new holder cannot pass it off to another until they have used its power at least once. The Onyx Coin chooses its bearers—and it does not stay in one hand for long.