Bureaucracy Charms

Notation:

Keywords:

Essence 1

Frugal Merchant Method

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 1, Essence 1
Cost 1m; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Target One object at close range

You know if the target is in poor, average, or excellent condition, even if you don’t know what it is or what it does.

Insightful Buyer Technique

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 3, Essence 1, Frugal Merchant Method
Cost 3m; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Target One object at close range

Choose a market that you know about. This can be as specific as one physical location, or as broad as a region. You know the average selling price of the target in the chosen market right now.

Consumer-Evaluating Glance

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 3, Essence 1, Frugal Merchant Method
Cost 3m; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant

As Read Intentions, except as noted, and you don’t get the normal “choose one” effect. Make a ([Perception or Wits] + Bureaucracy) roll at a difficulty of the target’s Guile. If you succeed, choose one:

All-Seeing Master Procurer1

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 4, Essence 1, Consumer-Evaluating Glance
Cost 5m; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene

Other characters who observe or interact with you are treated as though they had a Minor Tie considering you to be a master merchant in every field and region of commerce.

You can use Insightful Buyer Technique for 1m with an Action of Reflexive and a Target of any object another character wants to sell to you or purchase from you, even if it’s not physically present.

Illimitable Master Fence

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 1, All-Seeing Master Procurer
Cost 1m; Action Dramatic (one day); Duration Instant

You spend the Action in a specific market, taking the part of a normal customer, merchant, or trader. You learn the Bureaucracy specialties of everyone who regularly buys or sells there. If you don’t already know of a given character, you learn their Bureaucracy specialties but not their name or appearance.

Deft Official’s Way

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 1, Essence 1
Cost 5m; Supplements Read Intentions action that aids a bureaucratic result2

Examples of valid actions to supplement include Read Intentions actions to aid in obtaining a license, gaining a passport or securing an audience.

The supplemented action gets a bonus of (Bureaucracy) on the roll.

Each use of this Charm in a scene after the first has a Cost of 0m.

Measuring Glance

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 2, Essence 1, Deft Official’s Way
Cost 5m; Action Simple; Duration Instant

As Read Intentions, except that it doesn’t have the normal “choose one” benefit. Choose an organization, and make a ([Social or Mental Attribute] + Bureaucracy) roll with +(Essence)s at a difficulty of the target’s Guile. You automatically succeed if the target doesn’t resist with magic or the target has lower temporary Willpower than your temporary Willpower. If you succeed, you learn the target’s strongest or most relevant Intimacy relating to the chosen organization.

Enigmatic Bureau Understanding1

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 4, Essence 1, Measuring Glance
Permanent

For each organization that you control, whenever a member of that organization with an Intimacy that you know of towards it is targeted by non-Psyche social influence that attempts to weaken that Intimacy, you learn that the attempt was made (but not whether it was successful or who attempted it).

If the character isn’t on active duty for that organization at the time (such as being on a personal vacation or retired), your learning of the attempt is delayed until the next time the character acts as part of the organization.

Speed the Wheels

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 1, Deft Official’s Way
Cost 8m; Action Simple; Duration One task

Choose a task being performed by an organization. You reduce the duration of that task by (Essence) degrees, from centuries, to seasons, to months, to weeks, to days, to minutes, to immediately complete as part of the Action. Any task that would take less than a day is finished immediately as part of the Action.

Bureau-Rectifying Method1

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 1, Speed the Wheels
Cost 10m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration One investigation

Choose an organization. You get (Bureaucracy)s on Investigation and Socialize rolls that would aid an investigation into the chosen organization. You treat members of that organization as having a Major Tie towards you as a subject of confidential trust, or as having a Minor Tie if they have at least Willpower 5 and would suffer personal harm from revealing the truth.

Enlightened Discourse Method

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 3, Essence 1, Deft Official’s Way, Frugal Merchant Method
Cost 4m; Action Reflexive; Duration One scene

Add (Bureaucracy ÷ 2, rounded up) to rolls for social influence that relates to business, commerce, or organizations.

Essence 2

Irresistible Salesman Spirit

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Consumer-Evaluating Glance, Insightful Buyer Technique
Cost 6m, 1wp; Supplements Bargain

On the supplemented Bargain’s roll, double each 7. If it succeeds, you get 1wp.

Ungoverned Market Awareness

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Illimitable Master Fence
Permanent

Each time a character you can sense uses Bureaucracy or Larceny for the purposes of commerce, you learn they are doing so and which Ability they are using (but not other information about them).

Bureau-Reforming Kata

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Bureau-Rectifying Method, Enigmatic Bureau Understanding
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Target An organization you control

For each harmful magical effect you are of aware of affecting the target organization, that effect is removed and the organization becomes immune to further uses of it for one season.

Indolent Official Charm

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Deft Official’s Way
Cost 5m; Action Simple; Duration Indefinite
Keywords Stackable (Essence)

Choose a task being performed by an organization you know about, or that could be performed by an organization you know about. You increase the duration of that task by (Essence) degrees, from minutes, to days, to weeks, to months, to seasons, to years. If you choose a task that could be performed, the effects of this Charm apply if it begins (or has already begun), but you don’t learn that it’s actually happening.

Semantic Argument Technique

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Enlightened Discourse Method
Cost 1m; Supplements social influence attempt
Requirement You are aware of a Defining Principle of the attempt’s target’s that supports the supplemented social influence attempt, or you are aware of the rules of an organization the attempt’s target usually follows.

The roll for the supplemented social influence attempt gets +(Bureaucracy ÷ 2, rounded up).

Essence 3

Pattern-Exploiting Commerce Spirit13

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Ungoverned Market Awareness
Cost 5m; Action Simple; Duration Indefinite
Keywords Mute

Choose a Resources minimum and optionally a type of task applicable to Bureaucracy, such as exchanging currencies or gaining enough Resources to sustain an organization. If you know Seasoned Criminal Method, you may instead or additionally choose a Larceny difficulty minimum.

Characters who meet the following criteria learn how to reach your location and learn that you can help them (but not any other information about you):

Empowered Barter Stance

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Irresistible Salesman Spirit
Cost —; Action Reflexive2 (1/day); Duration Instant
Trigger You succeed at a Bargain.

You get 1wp.

Soul-Snaring Pitch

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Irresistible Salesman Spirit
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Keywords Mute, Psyche

As Bargain, except that the influence roll is (Manipulation + Bureaucracy) with +(Essence)s, and the apparent value of your offer to the target is multiplied by the number of extra successes. If your Essence is equal to or higher than the target’s permanent Willpower, you automatically succeed. If you succeed, the target may spend (Essence) wp to resist, treating the result as if you had failed. If they do, they are immune to this Charm for one week.

Woe-Capturing Web

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Bureau-Reforming Kata
Cost —; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Trigger An organization you control is targeted by harmful magic.

You learn that the attempt to affect your organization is happening (but not other information about it).

If you successfully guess the attempt’s source, your guess is confirmed and you may use either or both of the following:

Omen-Spawning Beast

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Woe-Capturing Web
Permanent

Whenever you trap motes using Woe-Capturing Web, the involved organization produces hard evidence showing the identity of the attempt’s source.

Foul Air of Argument Technique

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Indolent Official Charm
Cost 13m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Indefinite
Target A project being carried out by an organization you haven’t affected with this Charm yet this season

Roll ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Bureaucracy) at a difficulty of ([Bureaucracy, Investigation, Larceny or War, whichever is applicable to the project] of the project’s leader). For each extra success, that leader will suffer (your Essence) botches while working on the project.

Eclectic Verbiage of Law

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Semantic Argument Technique
Cost —; Action Reflexive (1/season); Duration Instant

As a full Bureaucracy Excellency, except as noted.

Reset: Take part in a challenging project that succeeds.

Infinitely-Efficient Register

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 3, Omen-Spawning Beast
Cost —; Action Dramatic (1/story)2; Duration Instant
Target An organization you control
Requirement The target has succeeded on a challenging project within the last season.

Choose a challenging project that the target organization could potentially complete. As part of the Dramatic action, you retroactively reveal that the target organization has already begun and completed the chosen project, and you or the target organization immediately benefit from it.

Use of this Charm doesn’t fulfill Requirements about completing challenging projects.

Essence 4

Creation of Adamant Specie

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 4, Pattern-Exploiting Commerce Spirit
Cost 5m; Action Simple (1/day); Duration Indefinite
Keywords Mute, Non-Committed Stackable (Esseence), Touch4
Target One coin made of a natural metal

You transform the target coin into a talisman (Exalted, p. 580) made of pure adamant, with its previous design replaced with Unconquered Sun’s symbol on face and your chosen symbol on other. It has the following abilities:

At any time, you may summon the coin back to yourself as a Reflexive Action. Over the next six hours, the coin finds itself back to you through various transactions and coincidental events.

To intentionally end the Duration, you must pay 1m. When the Duration ends, the coin transforms from adamant into lead.

Spectacle-Inciting Order

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 4, Infinitely-Efficient Register
Cost 8m; Action Simple (1/season); Duration Instant
Requirement You are publicly known in a specific location as being a Bureaucracy specialist, and you control an organization in that location.

When you use this Charm, an exotic package publicly arrives for you from a magical sender, such as a spirit, a Fair Folk court, or a group of ancestor ghosts. The package is obviously magical, exotic, and apparently valuable to all characters who see the public delivery. No one but you can open the package. Roll (Intelligence + Bureaucracy) with no other modifiers or Charms against difficulty 2. The number of threshold successes is the Resources value of the package’s contents, which are otherwise random.

Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 4, Foul Air of Argument Technique
Cost 10m, 1wp; Action Dramatic (one scene); Duration Indefinite
Keywords Stackable (Essence)
Target An organization you control

Choose a given specific action, such as ‘stealing from the organization’ or ‘stealing from clients’. You spend the Action instructing and lecturing members of the target organization about this action. Members of the organization are treated as though they have a Defining Principle against performing this action in regards to the organization, and may treat any social influence to make them behave otherwise as unacceptable influence.

Subject-Hailing Ideology

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 4, Eclectic Verbiage of Law
Cost 5m; Supplements social influence attempt that relates a target’s current or former organizational role; Duration Instant
Requirement The social influence attempt could be supported by an Intimacy that the target once held, or that the target once held at a stronger intensity, and you’re aware of that previous Intimacy.

For the social influence attempt, you treat the target as though they had the given Intimacy.

Essence 5

Order-Conferring Action

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 5, Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe
Cost 10m, 1wp; Action Dramatic; Duration One week

As part of the Action, you personally or impersonally give advice to members on organization. Roll (Charisma + Bureaucracy) against difficulty 5. If you succeed, the organization’s controllers gain a pool of (Essence) order points and an order bonus of (extra successes)nd. They may spend an order point to gain the order bonus on a Bureaucracy, Investigation, Larceny, Lore, Medicine or War roll. Unspent order points and the order bonus are lost when the Duration ends. If a Solar is one of the organization’s controllers, areas the organization controls are resistant to Wyld incursions, Shadowland incursions, and the spread of disease.

Honor-Instilling Mantra

Prerequisites Bureaucracy 5, Essence 2, Enigmatic Bureau Understanding
Cost 6m; Action Dramatic (one hour); Duration Permanent
Keywords Eternal, Mute, Non-Committed
Target An organization you control

You spend the Action creating or editing codified rules for the target organization. Choose one or more of your Intimacies that apply to those rules in some way. A copy of the chosen Intimacies becomes associated with the organization’s rules. Members of the organization who learn the rules also learn of those Intimacies, and may at any point choose to use those Intimacies as if they had them.

You may replace the associated Intimacies with another activation of this Charm.

  1. This Charm’s text includes an attempt to codify the mechanically unclear text of the original text. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. This Charm has a different action in the source text, but has been changed here to better reflect how it’s used in play. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. The listed range is guesswork, as the original text is unclear. ↩

  4. This Charm was missing the Touch keyword in the original text. ↩