Speaker
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Description
The world is cold and dead. Laughter, crying, screams of pain and sorrow, all of them have fallen silent in the wake of disaster. Humanity gasps along, unable to do anything other than suffer in silence. Speakers resent this new quiet and slowly dying world and choose to speak against it. They tell tales, sing songs, retell facts. They are often unwanted, as some believe the old world best forgotten and that letting the last dregs of humanity pass is a mercy. They are called orators, archivists, nags. But no matter the judgement passed on them, a Speaker’s voice will be heard.
While a Speaker exists to spread the words of a dead and dying race, she is nothing without her Sisters and allies. And a voice without an audience is a voice that is left unheard.
Playing a Speaker
Speakers solely exist to bolster their team mates, but they have a couple of different ways of showing it.
A Speaker can choose to focus on damage and attacks, increasing the damage of her sisters with “Inspiring Shout”, copying stronger attacks with “Faithful Reprise”, or using her Sister’s attacks to punish enemies with “Unpleasant Truth”.
Or a Speaker can choose to focus more on utility, boosting movement with “Encouraging Cheer”, defending her sisters with “Comforting Lullaby”, or keeping her enemies from being effective with “Distracting Diatribe”.
No matter how a Speaker chooses to engage with her sisters, the Speaker will need to maintain distance for her voice to be properly heard. A Speaker who finds herself too close to her allies will be unable to properly provide them with support. And should her enemies close to close quarters, her voice will be quickly silenced.
New Terms
Prelude [X]: This maneuver takes place X count after the count it was announced. It may only be used if the current count is greater than X. If the Prelude is Cancelled, the Prelude does not Finish. You may have multiple Preludes active at a time, however, you cannot have the same Maneuver more than once at a time.
Support Move [X]: The amount moved is increased by [X]. The target must use the full movement amount.
Reinforcement Points
| Armament | Mutation | Enhancement |
| – | – | 2 |
Special Skill
| Silver Tongue | |||||
| Timing: | Auto | Cost: | 2 | Range: | Self |
| Effect | Once per round, when you use a maneuver with Prelude, you may increase or decrease the Prelude by 2. | ||||
| Quick of wit and sharp of tongue. You can uplift the downtrodden and put down the mighty. | |||||
Skills
| Distracting Diatribe | |||||
| Timing: | Rapid | Cost: | 1 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Target an enemy Prelude 3 – This Prelude is Cancelled if the Target leaves range During this Prelude, the target receives a -1 to Attack Checks. | ||||
| Their hands clasp dead ears, wishing they had rotted away as well. The incessant chatter never stops despite fervent wishes. | |||||
| Comforting Lullaby | |||||
| Timing: | Action | Cost: | 2 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Target another Sister Prelude 4 – The Prelude is Cancelled if the Target leaves range, you gain a madness point, or you break a part During this Prelude, you may spend 2 AP at timing Damage to Defend the targeted Sister 2. You may not use this if you are at 0 or less AP. When this Prelude Finishes, the targeted Sister may repair one damaged part You can only use this once per round | ||||
| They weep soft tears. Nostalgia, joy, hope. The hearts they had lost so long ago, beating strongly in their chests once more. | |||||
| Unpleasant Truth | |||||
| Timing: | Rapid | Cost: | 0 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Target an Enemy Prelude 2 – This Prelude is Cancelled if you use a maneuver with timing Action, or the target leaves the range During this Prelude, whenever the enemy is hit with an attack, you may spend 2 AP to apply Stagger to it. You may not use this if you are at 0 or less AP. | ||||
| The truths shake them to their rotten core. What was once alive is now dead, what hope had bloomed is now gone. Their place in this hell is eternal. | |||||
| Painful Revelation | |||||
| Timing: | Action | Cost: | 4 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Target an Area Prelude 4 – This Prelude is cancelled if you repair any parts or lose any madness points. When this Prelude finishes, each non-legion in the area breaks 2 parts. You can only use this once per round | ||||
| They rip and tear at their decomposing bodies, anything to escape the knowledge forced unto them. | |||||
| Faithful Reprise | |||||
| Timing: | Action | Cost: | 2 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Target a Sister Prelude 4 – This Prelude is Cancelled if the Sister leaves the range, you take damage, or the Sister takes damage. During this Prelude when the Sister uses a maneuver with timing Action, you may use a copy of it at timing Rapid. You choose targets, spend AP, and pay any extra costs as if you used the maneuver normally. | ||||
| Their motions precise and exact, their work unending. With the rise and fall of a blade, or click and boom of a gun, always another follows. | |||||
| Encouraging Cheer | |||||
| Timing: | Rapid | Cost: | 2 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Prelude 2 – This Prelude cannot be Cancelled During this Prelude, when a Sister in range moves, you may spend 1 AP to Support Move 1. You may not use this if you are at 0 or less AP. When this Prelude Finishes, you may Move 1. | ||||
| They used to run and play so joyously, and now they do once more. They spring forth and cheers ring out. | |||||
| Inspiring Shout | |||||
| Timing: | Rapid | Cost: | 1 | Range: | 1-2 |
| Effect | Prelude 1 – This Prelude is Cancelled if a Sister in range misses an attack During this Prelude, if another Sister in range hits with an attack, you may spend 1 AP to increase the damage of that attack by 2. You may not use this if you are at 0 or less AP. | ||||
| They grin exultant smiles and share warm words with their comrades. All they needed was a little inspiration. | |||||
Balance Tweaking
Different campaigns may require varied balance considerations due to varying play styles and game focuses among different groups. If you find that a Speaker character is either over- or under-performing in your games, here are some suggestions to adjust the balance accordingly.
Your Speaker is Over-Performing
- If your Speaker is helping too much with her Sister’s damage, consider reducing the damage of “Inspiring Shout” from 2 damage for 1 AP to 1 damage.
- “Encouraging Cheer” is a very powerful support skill that allows characters to either engage or dis-engage more effectively than they normally would. If this ends up enabling her Sisters too much, consider increasing the cost to trigger the effect by 1 AP.
- Silver Tongue can be very powerful, allowing a Speaker to maintain important preludes for longer, or shorten the time for important preludes to trigger. If this ends up being too useful, consider changing the effect to only modify the prelude amount by 1 instead of 2.
Your Speaker is Under-Performing
- “Painful Revelation” is a useful skill, but breaking 2 parts can sometimes be underwhelming, especially on healthier foes. If your Speaker is struggling to make an impact in combat, consider increasing this to 3 parts instead of 2.
- “Inspiring Shout” is meant to be a useful tool to combo with other Sisters’ skills. However, if her Sisters don’t have any such skills, it can be hard to make “Inspiring Shout” feel impactful. If this is the case, consider increasing the prelude from 1 to 2.
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