HARLEQUIN COURTIER

"I don't just read the room. I read the card. Then I rewrite the room."

— The Painted Moth, Harlequin Courtier of the Seventh Ring

A Harlequin Courtier doesn't flip cards — they perform them. Every draw is a beat in the scene, and they know exactly what it means before it lands.

Every time you flip a card (for attacks, skills, or abilities), you gain two simultaneous bonuses based on the Suit and Color of the flipped card:

By Suit:

♠ Spades – The target loses 1 Defense until the start of their next turn.

♣ Clubs – Deal +1 damage to your current attack or ability.

♥ Hearts – One ally within 10ft gains +1 to their next flip.

♦ Diamonds – Gain 1 temporary Void Energy (expires at the end of the current round).

By Color:

Red Card (♥ Hearts or ♦ Diamonds) – Gain +1 to Persuasion and Leadership until the end of your turn.

Black Card (♠ Spades or ♣ Clubs) – Gain +1 Defense until the start of your next turn.

Both the Suit bonus and the Color bonus apply simultaneously on every flip.

"These aren't playing cards. They're scripts. And tonight, I've already read the ending."

— The Painted Moth, before the Gala Massacre at Station Veil

The Court Deck is not drawn from — it is performed. Each card is a prepared gesture, a moment of stagecraft, a trick the universe hasn't learned to block yet.

The Harlequin Courtier maintains a personal Court Deck of 15 unique named cards.

At the end of a long rest, shuffle the Court Deck and draw a hand of 2 cards.

During play, you may play one Court Card per round as a free action to activate its effect.

Court Cards are not flip results — they are prepared performances, theatrical stunts, and fate-bending tricks. They do not interact with the standard flip mechanic unless a card specifically states otherwise.

Cards played are placed in a discard pile. Certain abilities allow you to retrieve cards from the discard pile.

See The Court Deck for the full list of card effects.

"I'm not threatening you. I'm giving you a preview."

— The Painted Moth, mid-monologue, Station Veil

The Harlequin Courtier understands that fear and wonder share a face. A sufficiently dramatic performance is indistinguishable from a genuine threat — and often more effective.

You may substitute Performance for Intimidation or Persuasion whenever you act out your intent dramatically and in character.

Gain +2 to all Performance checks.

The GM determines whether your performance qualifies as sufficiently dramatic for a given substitution.

"Think of it as stage management. Every card has a role. I just remind it what that role is."

— The Painted Moth, annotating the 3 of Clubs with something that looks a lot like blood

The main flip deck is not neutral. Not anymore. The Harlequin Courtier moves through it like a playwright with a red pen — marking scenes, planting moments, scripting outcomes that the audience will not see coming until the card is already on the table.

During a long or short rest, annotate up to 1 card in the main flip deck by name (e.g., "the 3 of Clubs").

When that exact card is flipped, or played from the shared hand, its Stage Direction triggers automatically before any other effects resolve.

Choose one of the following Stage Directions per annotated card:

Upstaged — Add +2 to this flip result.

Plot Twist — Immediately draw 1 Court Card.

Curtain Call — This flip deals bonus damage equal to your Willpower Modifier on a hit.

Misdirect — Apply Distracted to the flipper's target until the end of their next turn.

Annotations persist between rests and may be rewritten during a rest.

You may annotate 1 card at this level. This maximum increases as you level.

"I've performed this scene before. You haven't. That's the whole problem."

— The Painted Moth, right before the lights went out

Every Harlequin Courtier understands that the most effective fear isn't what you put in front of someone — it's the implication that something far worse has already been planned. The performance isn't a threat. It's a preview.

"No, no, no. That's not how this scene plays out."

— The Painted Moth, physically rearranging a skirmish like furniture

There are directors who trust their cast. The Harlequin Courtier trusts nobody, and has developed a specific reflex for the exact moment an actor decides to improvise.

"Two cards. I said two. That's barely a scene change."

— The Painted Moth, before renegotiating the terms of fate directly

A longer hand means more material. A better show. The Harlequin Courtier has long recognised that luck — like theatre — rewards those who prepare obsessively and then pretend it came naturally.

At the end of a long rest, draw 3 Court Cards instead of 2.

Your Annotate maximum increases to 2 cards.

"That was your cue. Do try to keep up."

— The Painted Moth, from just offstage

There is a figure crouching in the wings at every great performance — script in hand, mouthing the lines a half-second early, ready for the moment an actor hesitates. The Harlequin Courtier performs this service simultaneously with managing a battlefield. Neither suffers for the multitasking.

Whenever you play a Court Card, choose one ally within 20ft.

That ally may immediately use their Quick Action to Move up to their full movement speed, before the Court Card's effect resolves.

If that ally has already spent their Quick Action this round, this ability has no effect.

"There are three of me right now. Good luck."

— The Painted Moth, which is exactly the kind of thing all three of them would say

The understudies don't get paid. They don't complain. They look precisely like the real thing and take the hit without a word of protest. The Harlequin Courtier considers this arrangement entirely equitable and does not think about it further.

"The first act establishes character. The last act establishes consequences."

— The Painted Moth, mid-pivot

The Harlequin Courtier does not specialise in subtlety. They specialise in timing. A well-placed flourish that catches three people in the same sweep is not recklessness — it is choreography, and it was always in the script.

"You don't get to do that. We haven't rehearsed it."

— The Painted Moth, calmly rewriting someone else's turn

The Harlequin Courtier does not cancel an enemy's ability. They merely inform it that a more appropriate moment has been scheduled — and that moment is in the past, and has already been missed, and there will not be another one.

"Good cards. Excellent cards. Let me just... improve the third act."

— The Painted Moth, by candlelight with a very fine pen

Even a masterpiece benefits from editorial attention. The Harlequin Courtier treats their Court Deck not as a fixed instrument but as a living script — always one late session away from being something measurably, demonstrably better.

During a long rest, choose one Court Card in your Court Deck and apply one Enhancement:

Encore Edition — This card may be played twice per rest before entering the discard pile.

Amplified — All damage or healing this card generates increases by +3.

Wide Cast — The card's range or area doubles (e.g., 15ft → 30ft, single target → 2 targets).

Extended — Any conditions or duration effects this card applies last 1 additional round.

You may have a maximum of Willpower Modifier ÷ 2 (rounded up) Enhanced cards at any time.

An Enhancement can be removed and replaced during a long rest.

"Every run teaches you something. Every run after that teaches you the same thing, faster."

— The Painted Moth, somewhere between opening night and the thousandth performance

The stage is a refinement engine. Those who survive it long enough stop playing characters and become them. The distinction stops being visible from the outside, and then from the inside, and eventually stops being a distinction at all.

Increase any one Statistic by +1

You may not exceed the stat cap of 6

This increase reflects physical, mental, or cybernetic growth—interpret freely during character development

"That's what they're there for. Let's give them something worth standing for."

— The Painted Moth, gesturing broadly at every ally in range

A great director knows when to step back. The Harlequin Courtier calls this the ensemble moment — a brief window where everyone on their side of the curtain is suddenly, inexplicably, operating at a level they will struggle to explain in the debrief.

"I planted that card in the deck six months ago. Tonight was always scene three."

— The Painted Moth, in a letter found in the target's pocket

There are performers who improvise. The Harlequin Courtier planned this conversation before you arrived, has been steering it toward a predetermined conclusion since the second act, and would like you to know that the ending was never in question.

Your Annotate maximum increases to 3 cards.

Annotations may now trigger when the annotated card is flipped by any creature, not just you. Choose per annotation whether it is personal (you only) or public (any flipper).

Annotations now also trigger if the annotated card is played from the shared hand.

Unlock two new Stage Directions for Annotate:

Compelled — Before any other effects resolve, the flipper must move up to 10ft in a direction you choose.

The Callback — When this card is flipped by anyone, you may immediately play one Court Card from your discard pile as a Free Action.

"Four cards. This is what respect looks like."

— The Painted Moth, addressing the universe directly and waiting for it to apologise

Preparation is not luck. The Harlequin Courtier draws four because they have spent enough time performing to know that the fifth act always runs long, and three cards is never quite enough for what the fifth act requires.

At the end of a long rest, draw 4 Court Cards instead of 3.

Once per rest, after playing a Court Card, you may immediately play a second Court Card as a bonus play. This does not count as your Court Card for the round.

"I was him for three weeks. His wife didn't notice. His enemies didn't notice. He eventually noticed. Briefly."

— The Painted Moth, with a very specific kind of smile

There are impressionists. There are spies. The Harlequin Courtier is something more unsettling than either — a performer who stops imitating someone and starts replacing them at the exact level where social reality is actually constructed.

You may perfectly assume the appearance and voice of any creature you have observed for at least 1 minute.

Gain +5 to all Deception checks when impersonating. The impersonation requires no flip unless a target has specific, concrete evidence to doubt you.

You may sustain an impersonation indefinitely outside of combat.

Using any Harlequin Courtier ability in combat breaks the impersonation immediately.

"Tell them to drop the weapon. Now tell them to pick it back up. Point it at their friend."

— The Painted Moth, demonstrating the full range of the technique

There is no crueler stage direction than "and now you betray everyone who trusted you." The Harlequin Courtier does not find this cruel. They find it structurally elegant. The distinction reflects well on neither of them, and they have made peace with this.

"You don't have a line in this part. Please hold."

— The Painted Moth, filing someone's turn under 'later'

The Harlequin Courtier does not enjoy being interrupted. They have, over the course of a long and eventful career, developed a highly refined method of ensuring that the feeling is mutual.

"The deck was perfect. I made it better. I will continue to make it better. This is non-negotiable."

— The Painted Moth, adding a 16th card at 3am by candlelight

Every great show has a moment that wasn't in the original script — the piece that arrived in rehearsal, was honed by complete accident, and became the part everyone remembers. The Harlequin Courtier writes these moments in advance and calls it inspiration.

During a long rest, compose one new card and add it to your Court Deck (now 16 cards total). Choose one of the following Acts:

The Recast — Choose one creature within 30ft. Until the start of your next turn, all enemies treat them as an ally and all allies treat them as an enemy.

The Empty Chair — Remove one creature from the encounter until the start of their next turn. They cannot act, move, be targeted, or take damage during this time.

Double Bill — Immediately take one additional Action. This cannot be used to play another Court Card.

The House Lights — All Stealth, Invisible, and Concealment conditions in the encounter end immediately. For 1 round, no creature may gain these conditions.

The new card is treated as a standard Court Card and enters the shuffle normally.

Your Annotate maximum increases to 4 cards.

Unlock two new Stage Directions for Annotate:

Grand Entrance — When this card is flipped by any creature, you may immediately move up to your full movement speed as a Free Action.

Scene Stealer — When this card is flipped, the next flip made by an enemy within 20ft is made with Disadvantage.

"Is it real? Wrong question. Does it act like it's real? That's the only question anyone should be asking."

— The Painted Moth, conjuring a second exit

Reality, the Harlequin Courtier has found, is largely a consensus position. Consensus positions are, by definition, negotiable — provided you have the right audience and enough confidence to present the alternative without blinking.

"Every card I played was the right card. That's the trick. You just never saw the wrong ones."

— The Painted Moth, who has definitely burned a few wrong cards

A seasoned Harlequin Courtier no longer plays individual cards — they conduct them. Each flip is a note in a longer piece. The Court Deck becomes an instrument, and the instrument has been building toward a crescendo that was always going to end exactly here.

Whenever you play a Court Card that deals damage, it deals bonus damage equal to your Willpower Modifier.

Whenever you play a Court Card that inflicts a status condition (Stunned, Panicked, Weakened, Distracted, or Temporal Lag), immediately draw 1 Court Card from your deck if any remain.

"One enhancement is a revision. Two is a statement of intent."

— The Painted Moth, on cards, and also on everything else

The good script was always already in there. The second round of editing simply removes everything that wasn't it. The Harlequin Courtier has been doing this long enough to know exactly where to cut, and to do it without sentiment.

Your Enhanced Court Cards (from The Revised Edition) may now hold two Enhancements simultaneously, with both effects active.

Unlock a new Enhancement option:

Signature Piece — Once per rest, this card may be played without being consumed. It returns to your hand instead of entering the discard pile.

"They're not fighting each other. They're performing a scene I wrote in 1994."

— The Painted Moth, declining to intervene personally

There are those who lead from the front. The Painted Moth has found that the front is extremely loud and quite full of sharp objects, and has developed a strong professional preference for leading from a comfortable distance with considerably more leverage.

"Five cards. I would like five cards. Thank you. I will now win the combat."

— The Painted Moth, with great and terrible calm

There are theatres with no empty seats. The Harlequin Courtier has been preparing for exactly this eventuality since the very beginning. The seats are full. The show is starting. Every card in hand was always going to be here.

At the end of a long rest, draw 5 Court Cards instead of 4.

You may now play 2 Court Cards per round: one on your turn as a Free Action (as normal), and one at any other point during the round — including on another creature's turn — as a Quick Action.

Your Annotate maximum increases to 5 cards.

"I didn't steal the initiative. I was always going first. You simply hadn't been informed."

— The Painted Moth, already three moves ahead

Time is not a river. It is a script. The Harlequin Courtier has been annotating their copy for years and has arrived at this encounter knowing — with quiet, absolute certainty — exactly which scene comes next.

"I've always known how this ends. I simply had the courtesy to let you find out in real time."

— The Painted Moth, approximately two seconds before the curtain falls

The Harlequin Courtier does not improvise their finales. They build toward them — seeding conditions, exploiting vulnerabilities, staging every exchange to arrive here: the killing blow, dressed as a curtain call, landing exactly on beat.

"I peaked years ago. I have continued to peak every single day since. The curve is apparently not plateauing."

— The Painted Moth, with complete sincerity

The stage gives back everything it takes, and then compounds the interest. The Harlequin Courtier has been collecting since the curtain first rose. This is the return on a very long investment.

Increase two different Statistics by +1

No individual stat may exceed the cap of 6

"They said I couldn't fill the house. Look at them run."

— The Painted Moth, surveying a very crowded, very panicked room

When the Harlequin Courtier performs at their absolute peak, the performance stops being optional. The audience stops being passive. After years of building toward this, there are no more spectators — only participants who have not yet realised it.

All damage you deal ignores resistance and damage reduction.

Whenever you kill or incapacitate a creature in a manner the GM adjudicates as dramatically theatrical — with a Court Card, after forcing them to act against themselves, as the target of a redirected attack, or during The Director — the following occurs:

All enemies within 30ft must flip against your Mental Defence (tn14 + Willpower Modifier) or gain Panicked until the end of their next turn.

All allies within 30ft gain +1 to all flips until the end of the encounter. This bonus stacks with each theatrical kill, to a maximum of +3.

"Scene. Everyone reset. I said everyone."

— The Painted Moth, at the exact moment the world decided to listen

This is what it was always building toward. Not the performance. The machinery behind it. The Harlequin Courtier does not fight anymore. They produce. And the difference, it turns out, is total.

Once per combat, declare "The Scene Begins." This effect lasts for 3 rounds and cannot be interrupted or dispelled.

While active:

At the start of each round, designate one creature within 40ft. They must flip against your Mental Defence (tn16 + Willpower Modifier). On a lower result, they act exactly as you specify on their turn — any action, movement, or ability within their capability. Each time the same creature is targeted by this ability reduce the target Mental Defence target number by 2.

All Annotate effects trigger twice instead of once when activated.

After the effect expires, you cannot play Court Cards for 1 round — the curtain must close before it can open again.