In Nowhere Land, reality bends. Potentials are supernatural powers—gifts from domains, blessings crystallized, or abilities awakened through exposure to Willpower. They're not spells or magic in the traditional sense. They're possibilities made real.
Potentials Overview
Potentials are extraordinary abilities that transcend mortal limits. Unlike skills (learned expertise) or career Boons (natural talents), Potentials warp reality, defy physics, or channel domain essence.
What Potentials Do
- Bend Reality: Teleport, phase through walls, manipulate elements, commune with domain entities
- Enhance Abilities: Superhuman strength, perfect memory, predictive insights
- Access Domain Powers: Channel a domain's Willpower to create effects aligned with its nature
- Cost Reverie: All Potentials require spending Reverie—your connection to dreams and possibilities
Acquiring Potentials
Potentials aren't learned like skills. They're awakened through exposure to domains, pacts, trauma, or enlightenment.
Through Blessing Accumulation
When you accumulate 3 Blessings from a single domain (or achieve a Paradigm Shift at 5 Blessings), you may awaken a Potential tied to that domain's Willpower.
Example: After gaining 3 Blessings in The Verdant Tangle (jungle domain), you awaken Verdant Step—the ability to teleport between plants.
Through Pacts with Entities
Genii, domain spirits, or The Count may grant Potentials in exchange for service, debt, or sacrifice. These Potentials come with strings attached.
Example: A Genie grants you Firestorm in exchange for a year of service. If you betray the pact, the Potential turns Tainted.
Through Trauma or Enlightenment
Surviving near-death, witnessing paradoxes, or achieving spiritual breakthroughs can awaken latent Potentials. Test Anima (TN 20) during such moments. On success, awaken a Universal Potential.
Example: You watch a domain die, collapsing into The Null. Test Anima TN 20—success! You awaken Null Walk, able to enter The Null safely.
Through Study or Ritual
Characters with Arcane Resonance +7 or higher can attempt to learn Potentials through research, meditation, or ritual. Requires 1 month of study + test Arcane Resonance (TN 20). On success, awaken a Universal Potential of Trickster's choice.
Using Potentials
Activating a Potential requires spending Reverie and, often, making a check.
Activation Rules
Action: Using a Potential takes 1 action (unless specified otherwise)
Cost: Spend Reverie as listed (typically 1-3)
Check: Some Potentials require a test (usually Arcane Resonance or a relevant skill). TN depends on the effect's power.
Failure: If check fails, Reverie is still spent—but the effect doesn't occur (or misfires at Trickster's discretion).
Limits: You can use each Potential once per scene unless specified. Some are once per session or once per arc.
Domain Potentials
Domain Potentials are tied to specific domains. They reflect that domain's Willpower, ecosystem, and nature. You can only use them while inside that domain or within 1 mile of its portals.
Verdant Step
Domain: The Verdant Tangle (Jungle) | Cost: 1 Reverie
You teleport from one plant (tree, bush, vine) to another within 60 ft. Both must be Large-sized or bigger.
Check: Test Arcane Resonance (TN 8). Success: instant teleport. Failure: appear 10 ft off-target (random direction).
Limit: Once per scene
Firestorm
Domain: The Ashen Wastes (Desert/Fire) | Cost: 2 Reverie
Summon a whirlwind of flame in a 20 ft radius. All creatures inside take 3 Wounds (no roll—automatic damage). You are immune.
Check: Test Arcane Resonance (TN 12). Success: full effect. Failure: 1 Wound instead, and you take 1 Wound from backlash.
Limit: Once per session
Frozen Time
Domain: The Frozen Expanse (Tundra/Ice) | Cost: 3 Reverie
Freeze one creature in place for 1 minute. They cannot move, act, or perceive time passing. You can move them (they're solid ice).
Check: Contested Arcane Resonance vs target's Anima. Win: they're frozen. Lose: they resist, and you waste 1 Reverie (refund 2).
Limit: Once per session
Shadow Walk
Domain: The Umbral Depths (Shadow/Darkness) | Cost: 1 Reverie
Step into shadows and become incorporeal for 1 minute. You can pass through solid objects (except light sources) and are invisible in darkness. You cannot attack or be attacked.
Check: Test Arcane Resonance (TN 8). Success: full duration. Failure: 1 round only.
Limit: Once per scene
Domain Communion
Domain: Any (Universal Domain Potential) | Cost: 2 Reverie
Speak directly to the domain's Willpower. Ask one yes/no question or request guidance. The domain answers truthfully—but not necessarily helpfully.
Check: Test Domain Weaving (TN = domain's Willpower × 4). Success: clear answer. Failure: cryptic or misleading answer.
Limit: Once per domain per session
Blessing Surge
Domain: Any | Cost: 2 Reverie
Amplify one of your Blessings by +2 levels for one scene. If you have "Verdant Growth" at +2, it becomes +4 temporarily.
Check: No check required—automatic success.
Limit: Once per scene
Universal Potentials
Universal Potentials work anywhere—real world, Nowhere Land, inside any domain. They're rarer and often tied to personal enlightenment or The Count's gifts.
Traveler's Leap
Cost: 1 Reverie
Teleport up to 30 ft to a location you can see. Works anywhere, anytime.
Check: Test Arcane Resonance (TN 8). Success: perfect teleport. Failure: off-target by 10 ft (random direction, possibly into walls—take 1 Wound).
Limit: Twice per scene
Null Walk
Cost: 2 Reverie
Enter The Null intentionally and navigate it safely for 1 hour. You can traverse between domains using The Null as a shortcut (bypassing portals).
Check: Test Anima (TN 12). Success: safe navigation. Failure: 1 Fracture from exposure.
Limit: Once per session
Resonance Sight
Cost: 1 Reverie
For 10 minutes, you see the "threads" of reality: Blessings, Curses, exaltations, portals, and domain boundaries glow with colored auras. You can identify them on sight.
Check: No check—automatic success.
Limit: Twice per session
Mind Palace
Cost: 1 Reverie
Perfectly recall any memory you've experienced or information you've learned. Alternatively, share a memory with another person by touching them (they see/feel/hear it as you did).
Check: No check for recall. Sharing requires consent (or contested Anima if forced).
Limit: Unlimited (but costs Reverie each use)
Thread Severance
Cost: 3 Reverie
Sever a supernatural connection: break attunement to an exaltation, end a Blessing or Curse (yours or an ally's), or close a portal for 24 hours.
Check: Test Arcane Resonance (TN = effect's power level × 4). Success: severed. Failure: partial effect (reduce level by 1) or backlash (1 Fracture).
Limit: Once per session
Paradox Anchor
Cost: 2 Reverie
Stabilize reality in a 30 ft radius for 1 hour. Domain shifts, reality tears, and involuntary teleportation are suppressed. Portals cannot form in this area.
Check: No check—automatic success. However, high-Willpower domains (4-5) may resist (contested Arcane Resonance vs domain's Willpower × 4).
Limit: Once per session
Tainted Potentials
Tainted Potentials are corrupted powers—gifts from malevolent entities, results of overuse, or abilities gained through terrible sacrifices. They are more powerful but come with severe drawbacks.
How Potentials Become Tainted
- Overuse: Using the same Potential 3+ times in a session without rest
- Pact Betrayal: Breaking a pact with the entity that granted it
- Corruption: Accumulating 5+ Fractures while possessing a Potential
- Cursed Awakening: Gaining a Potential through dark ritual, sacrifice, or consuming forbidden knowledge
Bloodfire (Tainted)
Cost: 1 Wound + 1 Reverie
Ignite your blood. Your attacks deal +2 Wounds (fire damage) for 1 minute. You glow with crimson flame—impossible to hide, enemies prioritize you.
Check: No check—automatic. But at end of duration, test Forma (TN 12) or take 2 Wounds internal burn damage.
Taint: Each use scars your skin with permanent burns. At 10 uses, you are unrecognizable—Disposition -2 with strangers.
Limit: Unlimited (dangerous!)
Soul Rend (Tainted)
Cost: 1 Fracture + 2 Reverie
Touch a creature and tear its soul. Deal 5 Wounds (ignores armor). It must test Anima (TN 16) or gain 2 Fractures. You gain 1 Fracture automatically.
Check: Contested Arcane Resonance vs target's Anima. Win: full effect. Lose: you take 3 Wounds instead.
Taint: Your eyes turn black (no whites). NPCs with Insight can sense you've used soul magic—Disposition -3. You hear whispers of your victims.
Limit: Once per session (thank the gods)
Flesh Weaving (Tainted)
Cost: 1 Fracture + 1 Reverie
Reshape your flesh or another's. Heal 1d6 Wounds, change appearance, or grow claws (+1 damage).
Check: Test Forma (TN 14). Success: it works. Failure: flesh mutates uncontrollably (gain a permanent monstrous trait).
Taint: Your flesh becomes unstable. Sometimes it ripples on its own. -1 die on social tests.
Limit: Unlimited
Corruption & Overuse
Using Potentials too frequently or recklessly can lead to corruption—your body and mind warping from channeling too much Willpower.
Corruption Rules
Whenever you use a Potential 3+ times in a session, test Anima (TN 12 + number of uses beyond 2). Failure: gain 1 Fracture.
Example: You used *Traveler's Leap* 5 times today. Test Anima TN 15 (12 + 3). Failure: 1 Fracture due to reality warping your mind.
At **5 Fractures**, test Anima (TN 16) or one of your Potentials becomes **Tainted** (The Trickster chooses which).
At **10 Fractures**, you are **Lost**—consumed by Nowhere Land, becoming an NPC or monster (character retired).
Potentiels Légendaires
Les Potentiels Légendaires sont des pouvoirs définissant la campagne—artefacts du Comte, dons de Génies mourants ou capacités éveillées au climax des arcs. Ils sont utilisables une fois par arc ou par campagne et remodèlent la réalité.
Réécriture de Réalité
Coût : Toute la Rêverie + 1 Fracture permanente
Réécrivez un événement survenu dans la session actuelle. Annulez une mort, inversez un choix, changez le résultat d'un jet. La chronologie change—tout le monde se souvient des deux versions.
Jet : Pas de jet—automatique. Mais Le Comte le remarque. Gagnez -2 dette au Grand Livre.
Limite : Une fois par campagne
Naissance de Domaine
Coût : 5 Rêverie + 1 mois de rituel
Créez un nouveau domaine à partir de rien. Définissez sa Volonté (max 3), son écosystème, 3-5 exaltations et Bénédictions/Malédictions. C'est le vôtre—vous êtes son premier Génie.
Jet : Test Résonance Arcanique + Tissage de Domaine (NC 20). Succès : le domaine se stabilise. Échec : domaine instable (s'effondrant, hostile ou Corrompu).
Limite : Une fois par arc (si jamais)
Ascension
Coût : Sacrifiez votre mortalité
Devenez un Génie—immortel, lié à un domaine, maniant sa pleine Volonté. Vous gagnez tous les Potentiels de Domaine de ce domaine. Mais vous ne pouvez jamais partir. Vous faites partie de Nowhere Land pour toujours.
Jet : Résonance Arcanique contestée vs Volonté du domaine × 4. Victoire : vous ascensionnez. Défaite : consumé par le domaine (mort).
Limite : Retraite du personnage (fin de campagne)
- Skills - Arcane Resonance and Domain Weaving for using Potentials
- Character Creation - Reverie, Fractures, and starting Potentials
- Domains & Portals - How domain Willpower interacts with Potentials
- The Count's Ledger - Gaining Potentials through pacts
- Advanced Mechanics - Designing custom Potentials