The reign of Absolon did more for astronomy than any other science. As his royal astronomers divined the existence of eight stars that moved unlike any other, he tasked them to find the meaning of these. One was assigned to each star and they consulted with their findings until they came up with a radical idea.
This idea: these were not stars at all. They were the servants of the Sun Lord, marching in his heavenly court, each tasked to oversee part of his kingdom. Even more radical, they believed that Near was a servant like these, spinning in an endless celestial dance. The royal geomancer was enlisted as one of these eight, and they formed a society dedicated to the heavenly reign of the Sun and the terrestrial reign of Absolon, one and the same. When Absolon took too much power and brought the foreign sorcerer Hanish to his side, the Nine struck with all their might to end his reign. They were hung for their treachery and fed to pigs.
Three hundred years later, their knowledge lives on in the Secret Society of the Celestial Nine. The Nine are dedicated to the restoration of a Sun King over Maldor and will stop at nothing to achieve that. The leader of the Society of the Nine is always called NEAR. He fills the ancient spot of the royal geomancer, which was also the royal doctor, as the life of the Emperor was considered to be tied to the life of the world. His role is to chair the Nine in their Orbit, as they call the eternal plan of the world. Below him are the eight other Celestials. The name and roles of the Nine are as follows:
Each of these roles is filled by one person at a time. This person is taught secret lores and given potent weapons to fulfill his role. In the case that a member of the Nine passes, two of the Nine are tasked to find a replacement and initiate him. This person can come from any strata of society. This person is almost always a man, and almost always from Maldor.
The Nine believe that the new Emperor, the new Sun King, has not been found. In each generation, there is one man fit to fill this role in their theology. Their goal is to seek him and guide him to rise to power. The cult has never succeeded in this goal, perhaps because they all have different ideas about who the true king is. They all believe the following things about the Sun King:
Their secondary goal derives from the above: no man unworthy shall lead Maldor. The Nine have toppled rulers that have come close to uniting Maldor before and will do so again.
The Nine Celestials usually have access to immense power. At least one of them at any time is very wealthy, and at least one of them is a highranking member of Maldorite society. In addition, their physical weapons and armor, crafted over the years, are very powerful. They are not sworn to secrecy in their role, but are assumed to exercise discretion. Revealing part of their secrets to one person is one thing; revealing the cult to a crowd is another.
The sign of the Nine is a telescope. Each of them carries one. As the secret of optics is lost to all but perhaps some craftsmen of Inselburg, this is a rare and valuable gift and denotes that the person with one is one of the Nine or has taken it from one of them.
The Nine Celestials hold various rare, esoteric knowledges they use in their theology and practical work. Not all is known to each of them, for rarely they trust each other completely; rather, it may be assumed that each of the Nine has 1-3 pieces of nice crunchy crunch that is not common knowledge in the world (and especially Maldor) and that may or may not overlap with that of others.
When a new member is initiated into the Nine, the two initiators share their secret knowledge with the new member they are sponsoring. This proves their trust in the new comrade and provides him with the means to do the work of the Nine.
Each of the Nine have one or more powerful items that help them fill their roles. The origin of these items is mostly shrouded in mystery, but at least some are of recent origin, potentially replacing lost artifacts, while others are definitely from the antiquity, from several bounties of the Empire. All are of supreme quality and possess fabulous powers. The intent is that once the Sun King is crowned, the Artifacts will be relinquished into his regalia.
When using the artifacts in play, determine their quality as equipment normally, adding or removing equipment ratings and imbuements as appropriate. An artifact may come into play already broken, too. The Story Guide should also remember that these are legendary artifacts; it’s no crime to reveal new powers lost to time. I would allow a player to check HISTORY (R) to renew the quality of an artifact, for example, potentially determining new powers.
| Gyroscope of Gwangju |
|---|
| The gyroscope is a metal orb surrounded by interlocking rings that spin at high speed when used. During the day it gives a bonus die to any use of Three-Corner Day foci. At night this changes to an ability to activate equipment ratings for penalty dice. If sent spinning and commanded to find a person, place or thing, the gyroscope moves towards the right direction for about five minutes before winding down; this costs 2 Reason. It also provides the SECRET OF WALOZI. The gyroscope is very complex, and can be safely used only with DIVINATION (R). |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 for DESTRUCTION (V) at night. |
| +1 using Night foci at night. |
| +1 for finding people |
| Imbuements: Split (R) Specialty (Day foci in daytime) Weapon Mastery Star Captain Brotherhood (R) Walozi (R), Expert (Divination) (R) |
| Cost: 4 REASON per scene, minus deduction. |
| Staff of Abramov |
| The staff is made of hard and heavy wood that appears to be hardened in fire. It cannot be broken by any known means. Furthermore, the wielder may spend 1 VIGOR to make the staff leave a distinctive burn-mark on anything it strikes. |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 to beat a person to submission. |
| +2 to damage flammable objects. |
| +1 to aid travel |
| Imbuements: Unbreakable (V) Mark (V) |
| Cost: 2 VIGOR per scene. |
| Shield of Pholus |
| The large metal shield is polished to a mirror finish, with nine star jewels embossed around its edge. Its equipment ratings may be activated to provide either free Pool or penalty dice to an opponent. It also floats on any liquid and can carry a man’s weight on its surface, going wherever the traveler wills. Furthermore, the shield reflects light perfectly and may be turned around to focus it into dark areas or to blind targets. |
| Known ratings: |
| +3 to focus light on a spot |
| +2 to defend in melee |
| +2 to defend against missile fire |
| Imbuements: Weapon Mastery (I) Tool Mastery (I) Floating (R) |
| Cost: 2 INSTINCT and 1 REASON per scene. |
| Scimitar of Sijjin |
| The wicked weapon seems to reflect purple when light hits its blade. The scimitar cannot hurt a person with no remorse, but it can sever spirits and provides the SECRET OF COUNSEL, usable with a martial Ability by cutting away harmful things. Anyone holding the scimitar and confessing their greatest secret can fly until the sun sets again. |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 for fighting spirits |
| +2 for chirurgy |
| +1 for fighting |
| Imbuements: Spirit Weapon (I) Counsel (V) Sijjin Flight (I) |
| Cost: 2 INSTINCT and 1 VIGOR per scene. |
| Mask of Enchiridon |
| The plain mask is made of white gold and covers the wearer’s upper face. The wearer can change his form in four ways: Turn his face into that of an unimportant person for 1 INSTINCT for one scene. Turn his face into that of an important person for 1 REASON for one scene. Take the shape of a viewer’s most desired person for 1 INSTINCT and 2 REASON, lasting until next sunset. Take the shape of a viewer’s least desired person for 2 INSTINCT and 1 REASON, lasting until next sunrise. Additionally, the wearer can end an extended conflict inconclusively by dropping any of these illusions. |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 for staying anonymous |
| +1 for duplicity |
| Imbuements: Various identity spells, (I) (R) Knockback (I) |
| Cost: 2 INSTINCT and 1 REASON per scene. |
| Ring of Far |
| The black ring looks like a trinket. The wearer can cast a space akin to a large room into darkness for 2 VIGOR, and into silence for 2 INSTINCT. He also gains a bonus die for hiding in shadows and can teleport between shadows in sight range for 1 VIGOR. |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 for enduring cold |
| +1 for acting in darkness |
| +1 for endurance |
| +1 for stealth |
| Imbuements: Darkness Spell (V) Silence Spell (I) Shadow Teleport (V) Specialty (hiding in shadows) (I) |
| Cost: 2 INSTINCT and 2 VIGOR per scene. |
| Helm of Masako |
| The reddish metal helmet is lined with wolf fur on the inside and bear skin on the outside. It provides a bonus die when commanding others, and allows one to use the SECRET OF EVALUATE and the Three-Corner ENHANCEMENT: BURST OF POWER. The final power is the ability to turn into a Twilight Beast, a ravening wolf-bear monster. The beast’s Reason is reduced to 1 level, with the excess split between the other Pools. The Twilight Beast’s best Ability is flipped with BESTIALITY (V) and the second-best with ENDURE (V), and he gains the SECRET OF NATURAL WEAPONS for his claws and form. Becoming the Twilight Beast costs 3 INSTINCT and 3 VIGOR, and it lasts until the same payment is made again or the bearer of the helm dies. |
| Known ratings: The ratings of the helm are not known. |
| Imbuements: Specialty (command) (R), Evaluate (R) Enhancement: Burst of Power (I) Twilight Beast Spell (I) |
| Cost: 2 INSTINCT and 2 REASON per scene. |
| Mace of Kiev |
| The black steel mace is too large to use for all but the strongest of men, but Kiev manages it with ease. The focus of the equipment ratings may be changed by swearing an oath against a new target; a given rating cannot be changed again before the oath has been fulfilled. Anybody wielding the mace is targeted first in combat, unless the opposition succeeds in a RESIST (R) check. |
| Known ratings: |
| +3 against a specific person |
| +2 against a specific group of people |
| +1 in combat |
| +1 when used by Kiev |
| +1 for intimidating others |
| Imbuements: Expert (Hard Work) (V), Oath (R) Shattering (V), Mighty Presence (V) |
| Cost: 3V and 1R per scene, minus deduction. |
| Coat of Near |
| The brown-and-green coat is made of thousands almost indiscernibly small links, forming a mail coat unlike any other. Its equipment ratings can be activated to reduce incoming Harm. It provides a bonus die to hiding in a natural setting. The wearer can use the SECRET OF ANIMAL SPEECH. Lastly, the wearer can feel the pulse of the land he calls his own while his feet touch the ground; his mood is affected by how the land is doing, but if anybody dies touching his land, he knows when and where it happens. (Use GEOMANCY (R) if Ability checks are needed.) |
| Known ratings: |
| +2 against attempts to kill the wearer |
| +1 for knowing about the land |
| Imbuements: Armor Mastery (I) Specialty (hiding in nature) (I) Animal Speech (I), Fisher King (R) |
| Cost: 3 INSTINCT and 1 REASON per scene. |
The Nine Celestials make a great slot-in solution for a campaign in Maldor in that they’re very simple to bring in: one or more of the group just need to get involved with a player character. This can happen when a character stumbles upon one of their artifacts they are trying to regain, or when they want to initiate a player character into the Nine, or simply when a familiar secondary character is revealed to be a member.
A player character can also be a member of the Nine himself, no problem. The big issue for them in that case is genuineness: do they really believe in the Sun King theology, or are they just in it because the conspiracy can help them wield power themselves? If the latter, how do they react to co-conspirators who genuinely believe, not only in the Sun King, but in him? If the former, what about co-conspirators who obviously have other interests?
Also, let’s say that Gwangju has witnessed a player character do something that makes him think that we have a Sun King here. Do you really think that the next thing to happen isn’t a series of murders, as either the prospective Sun King and his supporters, his opponents or ingenuine conspirators, or everybody for that matter, get killed? They have done it before, and they will do it again.
The important lesson to take away from the Nine (and the reason for why I included them, aside from my wanting to stress-test my new equipment rules) is how Story Guides prepare for playing TSoY. They do not prepare plots; they prepare material. The Nine Celestials are essentially an adventure module, it just replaces a plot with possibilities. A good SOLAR SYSTEM scenario gives some mechanical possibilities and suggests how to introduce them, but leaves the part the players play quite open: player characters might decide that the Celestial Nine are assholes, that they are the only hope for Maldor, or anything in between. This then becomes story, and the Story Guide need do nothing but keep introducing more members of the conspiracy (each and every one of them exceptional individuals, I’m sure; think of the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) while cackling at the players trying to figure out how to build a complete picture out of disparate individuals.