Clarity is the struggle to maintain this delicate balance. High Clarity represents just that: a keen perception and ability to distinguish between the two worlds. Low Clarity changelings struggle to separate the fantastic from the mundane. Her dreams bleed into reality, and elements from the fae world peek through more and more. She sees faces, hears the voices of strange Hedge beasts, or objects from Faerie transposed on the mortal world. As Clarity slips further, these figments and mistaken perceptions become more dangerous. Changelings of low Clarity find it difficult or eventually impossible to function properly in either world. Clarity replaces the Integrity trait used by human ch aracters (see p. XX). Mortal characters who undergo a Durance replace Integrity with Clarity. Changelings escape the Hedge with seven dots of Clarity. While Clarity and Integrity do share characteristics, Clarity functions on a different level. Humans worry about maintaining a grip on just one world, but changelings must maintain a delicate balance between a world of concrete and one where dreams flow like rivers. As such, Clarity is less a measure of personal fortitude and more a measure of how clear the changeling's perceptions remain. Clarity operates on a range from 0 to 10. A changeling at Clarity 0 is every bit as alien as the True Fae that rule Arcadia. Those with Clarity 10 are some of the most perceptive beings in the World of Darkness, capable of seeing the very lines between thought and reality. Players should work with Storytellers to define appropriate breaking p oint triggers for their characters. A character begins play with two breaking point triggers. At the third, fifth, and every additional dot of Wyrd, she gains one additional breaking point trigger. Additionally, Seeming provides one trigger she shares with all others of her Seeming. Below, we provide advice for crafting appropriate triggers, but the Lost are anything but “standard,” and players and Storytellers should work together to craft and adapt strong, story-appropriate triggers. A changeling who commits faces a trigger suffers a breaking point and must roll to maintain her perceptions. Roll Wits + Composure, with modifiers dependent on the circumstances. If she still has Touchstones, she can roll additional dice, but she cannot spend Willpower normally on this roll for additional dice. However, she may spend Willpower to postpone the breaking point for one turn in a tense scene, or until the end of a scene with no immediate danger. Whenever your character faces a breaking point, take a Beat.
Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Your character not only loses Clarity, but gains a temporarily warped perspective. She takes the Delusional Condition, but it becomes Persistent until she gains Clarity. Your character cannot act, and loses access to her Defense, until the end of the scene. After the first turn, she may spend Willpower to take an action for a single turn, and this Willpower does not a dd to her dice pool. However, Embracing the Wyrd ends this effect (and causes another breaking point at the end of the scene). Failure: A little more of your clarity of mind slips away. Your character cannot act this turn, and loses access to his Defense. The line between the real world and the fantastic blur. In addition to losing a dot of Clarity, your character gains the Warped Condition. Success: Your character retains her hold on stability despite the strings of detachment tugging at her mind. She does not lose Clarity. She gains the Acuity Condition. Extraordinary Success: Your character sees through the fogs that cloud her vision. She has a brief moment of revelation that grants her the Acuity Condition, and one other such as the Inspired Condition or similar Condition representing a newfound focus.
Acuity (New Condition)
