Chuubo's Miraculous Arcs

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Miraculous Arcs

Chuubo's offers 24 different Miraculous Arcs, each with assorted powers, abilities, and (rarely) drawbacks. Specifically, for each of the eight Arc colors, there are three options:

. . . one Arc for those whose path is in harmony with the world. These Arcs are suited to the slow intrigues of immortals: they tend to focus on Imperial miracles and wish-level powers, usually with less immediate and forceful applications. They grant the Immortality power, which prevents almost all harm.

. . . one Arc for those who have to figure out their own way of fitting into the world. These characters are neither defining nor defying the world, just trying to find a place in it. They grant the Frantic power, which grants MP for getting into trouble.

. . . one Arc for those whose path imposes their own law upon the world. These paths are often unhealthy but more importantly they are strange — being on them causes one to deviate inevitably from the normative way of being. They grant the Sickly power, which bestows Issue points via corruption or trauma.

The eight Arc colors, and the Miraculous Arcs for each one, are . . .

Bindings (Blue): You're connected to sealed, bound powers or wicked, dangerous things.

Gatekeeper (Immortality): You stand between humanity and harmful, malevolent, and/or alien "others." As befitting such a guardian, you can hunt them, trap them, and draw upon their power as potent magical tools and weapons. [58-79]
Gatecrasher (Frantic): You've become part of an art (like magic), sport (like backyard wrestling), or similar thing with its own hidden world — usually as an underdog or maverick. You'll learn secret techniques, plot devices, and more. [80-104]
Wounded Angel (Sickly): You tried to be good and perfect and awesome, but it failed. Now there's a blasphemy within you, a terrifying and dark Fate. When you wound yourself, you can bind the pain into any miraculous power you can imagine. [104-121]

Knight (Orange): There's a role or story which defines your life and empowers you.

Allegory (Immortality): You're the embodiment of a literary archetype, concept, or ideal — a character straight out of a fairy tale. You can insert yourself into others' stories, accomplish legendary feats, and change the world around you to match your theme. [124-149]
Become Somebody (Frantic): There's something you were born to be (a teacher, a knight, a god, etc.) and you're working to get better at it. You can see and act through the filter of that role, drawing upon its power to interact with the world. [149-167]
Star Quality (Sickly): You have a larger-than-life story, mythos, or theme that defines you. You can see (and adjust!) how others fit into this scheme and can impose it on the world around you, forcing reality to play by your rules. [167-186]

Otherworldly (Green): Some external spiritual force or place is part of you, merging with you.

Child of the Ash (Immortality): You are the keystone of a powerful reality, the embodiment of some mood and element. You can invoke this alien world subtly to spread that mood/feeling, or overtly to become a gigantic "kaiju"! [187-210]
Spiritual (Frantic): You have a deep connection to some element, like "the harvest season" or "the peacefulness of the heart." You can see it, speak to it, empower it, and command it as if it were a living thing or a spirit collective. [210-225]
Called Away (Sickly): You often find yourself drawn out of reality and into a magical realm. You have power there and can bring its "treasures" into the real world to use in amazing ways, but it is corrupted by your dark reflection. [225-254]

Storyteller (Red): The boundary between your life and fiction is a thin one; you live a story.

Creature of the Light (Immortality): You are infected by a shard of something higher and holier than the mortal world. You appear from the shadows dramatically to fascinate others, drawing them into your rituals, tales, and world. [256-279]
Creature of Fable (Frantic): You are a hunter, a stalker, though you may be capricious rather than bloodthirsty. You literally carry bits of story with you and can play with others' perceptions, emotions, and even miraculous powers. [279-299]
Creature of Delirium (Sickly): You can extract something from the world (like a person's sadness or a place's peace) and use it for your own ends. Holding it gives you control over the former owner and empowers unique miraculous abilities. [299-322]

Aspect (Gold): You need to overcome doubts and distractions to train or develop new powers.

Chosen One (Immortality): You are a legendary psychic, wuxia sifu, magical girl, or similar master of some supernatural art. You can channel miraculous power into your magical skills for incredibly potent and versatile effects. [324-342]
The Ace (Frantic): You are awesomeness personified, amazing at anything you've trained at and even decent at skills you haven't. At higher levels, you even defy physics sometimes. But you have a tragic flaw and (usually) serious responsibility. [342-354]
Reality Syndrome (Sickly): You have some special power, like a cheat code for life. Maybe your wishes come true, or you can steal the identity and powers of others, or you can travel in time. It starts off weak, but grows as you do. [354-378]

Shepherd (Purple): You care for certain people, places, or things; your mutual bonds matter.

A Keeper of Gardens (Immortality): You have learned to claim and maintain magical places as your own. You can mold your gardens and summon creatures: guides, guardians, and (with experience) perfect solutions to problems. [381-396]
Sentimental (Frantic): You treasure a set of friends, places, things, and/or creations so deeply that you can awaken great powers within them, watch over them from a distance, and merge their strengths with yours in emergencies. [396-409]
Impresario (Sickly): Through sheer force of will, you have made yourself into whatever you are today. Others follow you and bend to your will, and you are able to dictate what people should do, should not do, and should become. [409-431]

Emptiness (Silver): Something about you is hollow and cursed; you're connected to the bleak Outside.

Indomitable (Immortality): You are cursed, but in a way that gives you awesome powers and barely inconveniences you. You are a creature of the night, strong and powerful yet stealthy, whose curse can infect (and potentially even heal) others. [433-454]
Troubled (Frantic): You're a clever schemer, perhaps a dabbler in dark arts, who plots from the shadows. You excel at ferreting out secrets, finding ways to fix problems (or make them worse!), and fooling people. It's all part of your plan! [454-473]
Accursed (Sickly): You've lost your connection to the world, alienated from existence. You have a sanctuary where this isn't true, though; it empowers you, letting you "unmake" things, people, concepts, problems, and so on. [473-489]

Mystic (Black): After the miracle comes, you will step outside yourself and walk with the gods.

Primordial (Immortality): You are connected to some fundamental concept, and on the path to transform into a divine and inhuman embodiment of that concept. The emotional bonds you form with those around you change your body in useful ways. [491-515]
Prophet (Frantic): You are empowered by a Principle, some abstract and holy ideal which works through you and trusts you to further its goals. In play, your Principle may be anything from a silent force to an annoyingly verbal personification. [515-548]
Awakening (Sickly): You know the truth, that this world is a false one, and can enlighten others (to influence or assimilate them). This knowledge grants you the ability to disengage from this world and to create "blessings" for others to acquire. [548-578]

Arc Notes

The arcs above are from the Book of Golden Hours rough draft, shared via Jenna's Patreon on Feb 27, 2021. The numbers [in brackets] after each description are page references to that draft.

New Arcs were first available on Jenna's Tumblr, though some had different names. Gatecrasher was Specialist, Star Quality was Knave of Hearts, Creature of Delirium was Alchemist, Chosen One was Magical Hero, Impresario was Self-Made, Troubled was Renegade, and Awakening was Visionary. (Prophet replaced Of a Certain Place, but is a different Arc, not a rename.)

If you don't have access to the Book of Golden Hours, this index links to the (beta) Tumblr versions of each Arc.

Almost all Miraculous Arcs from the core book have also been updated, including the reassignment of Reality Syndrome from Orange (Knight) to Gold (Aspect).

Power Types and Keywords

This quick reference can help when reading the "metadata" for each Arc power. A keyword in [brackets] means that only applies in certain circumstances or for certain uses of the power.

Note that if a power doesn't explicitly state its level, it's equal to that of the Miraculous Arc from whence it came.

Accessory: Instead of a power, you get an external person, place, or thing — which may have its own inherent power(s). It requires one of your Perk Slots to keep, and you may take Wounds to protect the Accessory.

Affliction: This is an external truth that the universe itself invokes on your behalf and/or to your detriment. It is under the HG's control. Mundane intentions cannot oppose it, and it has an auctoritas (see below) equal to its level.

Auctoritas: A metaphysical "shield." Any miracle, imperial miracle, or chthonic action trying to get past it must add Strike equal to the auctoritas level. Strike can be added with MP (Strike = MP spent) and/or by invoking an appropriate Bond (Strike = Bond level).

Automatic: The power invokes itself, either always or in certain circumstances. When it does, it isn't an action and need not be sustained.

Bleak: This power draws upon the emptiness of the Outside. They tend to be very powerful, but can be resisted using special rules (see p. 476-481 of CMWGE).

Bond: This is an important fact about you or your life. You may invoke it when taking a mundane action to overcome a conflict or Obstacle, or when taking a miraculous action to add Strike (see Auctoritas, above).

Chthonic Action: A power which either works on the game-mechanics level (e.g., temporarily changing character traits) or does something Unreal (see below). Is an action but need not be sustained. In general, its activation cannot be opposed by miracles, but any ongoing effects it creates can be (they're considered mundane).

Imperial Miracle: A subtle power which creates a temporary change to the setting. Usually states that an outcome will happen without specifying how, so the HG figures out how to work it into the world. Rarely opposes other actions; instead, it'll just work around them. Is an action but need not be sustained.

Imprisoning: Locks the subject up or casts them far away. But no matter how escape-proof you try to make the situation, they'll always make it back to Town a while later (generally between books).

Issue-Granting: Gives the subject the option to take a specific point of Issue. If they do, they may choose to not lower that Issue the next time they would.

Major [Miracle]: An especially epic miraculous action (see below). It gets +3 levels when opposing other miracles, and it has permission to exceed the usual limits on the scope of miracles.

Miraculous Action: A straightforward power which transcends the "intention" rules completely and causes something to just happen. Only another miracle can oppose it (higher level wins). Is an action and must be sustained if ongoing.

Recharge Token: A "one shot" reward you can earn via a 15 XP side quest (CMWGE, p. 112). Normally used to instantly refill your MP, but some Miraculous Arcs have alternative uses for them.

Ritual Power: The power requires a certain set of circumstances to use; e.g., you must ceremonially chant in the subject's presence or you must be standing at the machine in your basement. Optionally, you may take the Ritual XP Action when using the power.

Skill: Instead of a power, you're granted a Skill, usually a Magical Skill or Superior Skill. This may be treated as a Perk and require a Perk Slot be dedicated to it; if not, it's a permanent improvement. Read the description to know.

Unreal: The effects happen as a "break from reality," and will not inflict long-term changes to the setting. If an Unreal effect blows up a building, the people will survive (sooty and bruised) and folks will have rebuilt it within the next few chapters.

Wish: An imperial miracle (see above) freed from the needs to be subtle and work within the setting. It can cause drastic changes to the world, though anyone may break free from the wish for a whopping two Deadly Wounds.

XP Action: Using this power counts as one of your XP Actions. This means it can be done twice per scene at most, and after using it you're expected to "fade from the spotlight" for a bit. You do get the XP, and the HG may add a bonus XP if someone waits a while and then reacts to it later.

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