No Moon Caste

The No Moon Caste are one of the castes of Lunar Exalted, the sorcerers, priests and philosophers of the Stewards.

Overview[]

The Children of Luna say that, at the new moon, Luna conceals herself in darkness so that she might explore the secrets of the world without distraction. The forces of the Wyld have ebbed to their weakest, and the Silver Lady can afford to engage in subtle thoughts and powerful magic. As the tides of chaos lie at their lowest level, Luna may examine what they have left upon Creation’s shores. The Children of the Hidden Moon are deep thinkers and mighty sorcerers. They hold the Silver Pact together through their ability to fix the Casteless with intricate moonsilver tattoos.

The Usurpation was perhaps least surprising to the No Moons. Members of the Crossroads Society, in particular, were among the first to notice the growing madness of the Lawgivers. The threat of Solar insanity alarmed the Society. Lunars who practiced the Salinan school of sorcery were at once familiar with the Solar sorcerers and conveniently located in stretches of wilderness far from the outbreak of the war. Although such foresight did not predict the sequestered plotting of the Sidereals, it certainly left the No Moons with the best opportunity to escape the opening salvoes of the Dragon-Blooded. The survival of these living treasuries of magical knowledge proved crucial to the Silver Pact and its efforts to hold back the Wyld.

Members of the No Moon Caste are loremasters, occultists and sorcerers. Even if a No Moon does not practice sorcery, other Lunars recognize that she has the innate potential to do so. No Moon elders are not the only Lunar Exalted able to inscribe the moonsilver tattoos that fix the caste of a Moonchild, but they learn this Charm with special ease. As Stewards of Creation, the No Moons preserve the lore of millennia and drink in its wisdom as surely as the Heart’s Blood of a ritual hunt. They are naturally suited to perceiving threats on the horizon and defeating them with tactical brilliance and subtle insight. They are also the foremost priests of Luna.

Trials[]

A Lunar of the No Moon Caste excels at her trials through quick thinking or mystical insight. The Lunar demonstrates the ability to sense threats in time to react to them with maximum forethought. She easily masters useful lore and outsmarts dangerous foes rather than tackling them head-on or trying to trick them. Ideally, she also displays an interest in thaumaturgy, sorcery or other learned arts. The tremendous importance of moonsilver tattoos and their power to fix castes ensures that promising young Lunars are pushed toward the No Moon Caste.

Powers and Abilities[]

Spirit Shapes[]

No Moons favor animals with mystical significance, especially creatures held sacred to Luna. Black or white cats, bears, owls, serpents, skilled animals such as beavers or large spiders and deep-sea creatures are most common.

Anima Banner[]

The anima of a No Moon is a dreamlike veil of dark blue and purple light, with a silver tint along the edges. Greater Essence expenditures darken the shadowy veil while the silver edge grows brighter. Once the No Moons’ banners become iconic, the banners display abstract or realistic images of their spirit shapes.

Anima Effects[]

A No Moon Lunar may attune her Essence to that of the new moon. She must spend at least one mote of Essence, and may spend up to twice her permanent Essence in motes. In doing so, she gains a shadowy penumbra that causes attackers who cannot see through darkness to suffer a -1 external penalty. This aura amplifies the occult power of the Lunar for the remainder of the scene, allowing her to reduce the cost of all Charms that explicitly require an Occult roll by one per mote of Essence used to power her anima, though the cost of a Charm cannot be reduced by more than half. This aura also allows her to reduce the Essence cost of all spells cast for the rest of the scene by one per mote of Essence initially invested in her anima, but the cost of a spell cannot be reduced by more than half.

Whenever the Lunar has 11 or more motes of Peripheral Essence active, this anima effect activates automatically at full strength (or increases if originally activated at a lower power) without cost. The No Moon is just as obvious as any other flaring Lunar, but the light springs from the silver edge of her anima and the shadow within remains. She is treated as having spent twice her permanent Essence for purposes of Charm and spell cost reduction and retains the protection of the penumbra.

Background Information[]

The symbols for Full Moon and No Moon castes were reversed in 2nd Edition: Full Moon was originally an empty circle, but was changed to a full one, and vice versa for No Moon.