Unlikely Flowerings The first humans emerged from the Garden into a world of savagery and grime. Beasts and birds and fish hunted, and killed, and ate, and the ones most often eaten were the ones who harmed no others at all. The sky poured water and stony ice and jagged lightning down upon them and the thunder shouted its rage. The first humans built themselves a shelter from sticks and leaves; and a fire from stones and wood; and they learned to kill what they wished to kill and protect what they wished to protect; and as Eve brought forth a child in suffering and pain, she said: “Truly, this is an age of miracles.” —fromCarryout, by Emily Chen Nobilis: A Game of Sovereign Powers Unlikely Flowerings BYJenna Katerin Moran (akaR. Sean Borgstrom) With Design and Development Contributions by:Neil Laughlin, Chrysoula Tzavelas, and James Wallis Release and Distribution Assistance by:Brad Elliott and Hsin Chen of Eos Press All contents are copyright the original author. All rights reserved. Distributed by Eos Press with permission. All the characters and Dedication events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. Copies of materials are intended solely for your personal, noncommercial use, and only n honor of the birth of if you preserve any associated copyrights, trademarks, or other no- tices. You may not distribute copies to others for a charge or other I consideration without prior written consent of the owner of the ma- Robin Michael Alexander Maginn terials except for review purposes only. The Eos logo is trademark and copyright © 2008 by Eos Entertainment, LLC. and the birth of Eliza Caroline Ann Wallis and in the hopes of greater joy for all those who play Nobilis. Unlikely Flowerings (release 1, version 1.1) Contents Exclusive Attributes...............................................................................................................................................................9 Alchemy...............................................................................................................................................................................10 Alchemy Scores............................................................................................................................................................11 Level 0: Student.....................................................................................................................................................11 Level 1: Practitioner..............................................................................................................................................11 Level 2: Alchemist................................................................................................................................................12 Level 3: Master Alchemist....................................................................................................................................13 Level 4: Grandmaster Alchemist...........................................................................................................................14 Level 5: Worldbreaker...........................................................................................................................................15 Alchemy Rules..............................................................................................................................................................16 Floral Influences....................................................................................................................................................16 Precision Work and Imprudent Alchemy..............................................................................................................17 Crafting and the Circumstances of the Game........................................................................................................20 Dynamic Alchemy.................................................................................................................................................22 Alchemy Miracles.........................................................................................................................................................23 Level 0: Alchemical Analysis................................................................................................................................23 Level 1: Alchemical Trivia....................................................................................................................................23 Level 2: Essential Alchemy...................................................................................................................................24 Level 3: Improbable Alchemy...............................................................................................................................26 Level 4: Alchemical Mastery................................................................................................................................26 Level 5: Alchemical Wonders...............................................................................................................................27 High Summoning.................................................................................................................................................................29 High Summoning Scores..............................................................................................................................................30 Level 0: Severed Sage...........................................................................................................................................30 Level 1: Companion to Monsters..........................................................................................................................31 Level 2: Lady of the Beyond.................................................................................................................................31 Level 3: Peer of the Most Distant Realm..............................................................................................................32 Level 4: Sovereign Beyond...................................................................................................................................33 Level 5: Empress Beyond......................................................................................................................................33 High Summoning Rules................................................................................................................................................34 Learning High Summoning in Dynamic Nobilis...................................................................................................36 Pacts.......................................................................................................................................................................37 Creatures of the Beyond........................................................................................................................................38 Build Points...........................................................................................................................................................40 Coercion................................................................................................................................................................41 Adharmic Subversion............................................................................................................................................42 Dynamic Coercion.................................................................................................................................................43 High Summoning Miracles...........................................................................................................................................51 Level 0: Animal.....................................................................................................................................................51 Level 1: Monster....................................................................................................................................................51 Level 2: Horror......................................................................................................................................................52 Level 3: External Inheritor....................................................................................................................................53 Level 4: Noble.......................................................................................................................................................53 Level 5: Unearthly Noble......................................................................................................................................54 Nobilis: A Game of Sovereign Powers Imperfect Command.....................................................................................................................................................55 Imperfect Knowledge...................................................................................................................................................56 Student of Summoning.................................................................................................................................................57 Patronage.............................................................................................................................................................................59