Plentimon's Ladybug

Plentimons' Ladybug

At first glance, they appear small and beetle-like, black with white spots. Up close, the white spots become clusters of stars; the closer an observer looks, the more stars she sees. These ladybugs are the creatures of Plentimon, god of dice and gambling, and their venom influences probability for their “victims.” In the gambling dens of Nexus, bouncers check for bite marks on anyone whose dice appear to be too lucky. Plentimon’s ladybug leaves a distinctive mark, resembling the pips on a die.

Essence: 2; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 3 dice
Personal Motes: 15
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4x1/Incap
Actions: Fly: 3 dice; Hide: 5 dice (6 on someone’s
person); Senses: 5 dice
Resolve 2, Guile 2

Combat
Attack (Bite): 3 dice (Damage 1)
Combat Movement: 5 dice
Evasion 5 (see Tiny Creature), Parry 0
Soak/Hardness: 3/0

Special Abilities
Bitten by the Gambling Bug: The ladybug bites its victim, then hides in a fold of clothing. For the scene, the bitten character’s player lowers her target number by one on any non-reflexive actions whose outcomes the character leaves completely to chance, such as rolling dice, drawing cards from a deck, choosing a random path from among several options, etc. Big winning streaks are rarely subtle, and neither Plentimon nor his ladybugs offer protection from anyone who feels cheated.

Merits
Tiny Creature: Gain +2 Evasion against opponents larger than a housecat. Characters of that size subtract two successes from Awareness rolls to notice the ladybug.

Social Charms
Fortuitous Meeting (5m; Simple; Instant; Eclipse; Essence 2): While Plentimon’s ladybugs are most famous for changing the odds in table games, some people use them to influence chance encounters in their favor. How lucky, to bump into the satrap’s daughter at the market, or to arrive for an unscheduled appointment with the busy magistrate just as someone else canceled! Within five hours of the ladybug biting a character, the Storyteller must give her an opportunity to meet another character of the player’s choice, provided that character has a reasonable chance of appearing in the area.

Storyteller Tactics
Plentimon’s ladybugs don’t engage in combat, but they ambush “victims” to bite them, ignoring all armor. How they choose who to bite is a question only the god himself can answer.
Casino owners have an uncomfortable dilemma when it comes to these so-called pests. Gambling houses draw them, and while driving them off or killing them would be sensible to protect their coffers, surely it’s bad luck to destroy a creature sacred to the god of dice? Most owners opt instead for banning the bitten and punishing transgressors.