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Accord's Command

Expression: Accord's Command

AX.GHW.08.06.03

The covenant gives the practitioner standing. Standing can be used.

Accord's Command is the expression that makes Sacred Fire genuinely different from a generic Force tradition with a different color. The covenant is not just a power source; it is a relationship with an entity that has standing in the hidden world's supernatural hierarchy. Accord's Command draws on that standing directly: compelling supernatural entities, stripping concealment from things that have no right to it under the Illuminated's authority, and in extreme cases calling on the covenant's backing for effects that go beyond what the practitioner's own bloodline can sustain.

This expression is only as strong as the covenant behind it. A practitioner who has repeatedly violated the terms of their covenant will find Accord's Command increasingly unreliable — the GM should reflect this through narrative friction and occasional application failure, not mechanical system changes.

Accord's Command — Applications

Command Departure (Primary Action, Threshold 2)

The practitioner invokes the covenant's authority to order a supernatural entity within Near range to depart the current space. The entity must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 3 or immediately move to depart — not compelled to go far, but compelled to leave this specific location. Shadow entities, undead, or entities specifically designated as things the covenant opposes have their Save Threshold increased to 4.

This is not binding departure; it is a command with authority behind it. An entity that saves against it knows who issued the command and what backing they have. Strong entities that succeed may choose to engage rather than leave.

Scaling: Excess successes increase the Save Threshold by 1 each (maximum 5), extend the range to Far (1 excess), or apply the command to multiple entities of the same type (2 excess per additional entity).

Compel Revelation (Primary Action, Threshold 3, contested)

The practitioner invokes the covenant's authority to compel a supernatural entity to reveal its true nature — stripping concealment, shapeshifted forms, and glamours. This is contested: the practitioner rolls Governing Attribute + Sacred Fire vs the entity's Wit + active concealment Tradition (if any). On a net success, the entity's true form and nature are revealed to everyone in the scene for the remainder of the scene; it cannot reestablish concealment until it leaves and returns.

Entities with Illuminated nature are immune to this application — the covenant does not have authority over its own kind.

Scaling: Net successes beyond 1 compel additional information: the entity must answer one direct question about its nature or purpose per 2 net excess successes.

Backlash:

  • Minor: The authority inverts. The practitioner's own Mark becomes dramatically visible — every supernatural entity in Near range perceives the covenant clearly and may have opinions about it. No mechanical damage, but the Veil is effectively broken for this scene in this practitioner's vicinity.
  • Moderate: The Illuminated's active expectation surfaces. The practitioner becomes immediately aware of one specific thing the covenant requires them to do in the current situation — not compelled, but aware that the Illuminated is watching and assessing whether they will. The GM establishes what the requirement is.
  • Severe: The authority attracts a challenge. One entity with significant supernatural standing and opposition to the covenant's Illuminated source is immediately drawn to the location. It arrives at the start of the next scene with specific interest in the practitioner and what they were doing. The GM determines the entity and its agenda — it is not friendly and it is not easily dismissed.