Powers
Powers are typically paths of five levels. These should be tailored to the individual, and should avoid replication of "canon" abilities (Obtenebration, say) or of Powers possessed by other players except in the most generic circumstances. A major point of the Games is to develop characters that are utterly unique from all others.
A character who receives a Power as a Gift will begin with one level. Most Powers cost Current Rating x 6 to advance.
Acute Senses and similar abilities do not provide a Difficulty reduction for most Powers.
Powers are considered supernatural but not magical.
In certain circumstances it may be possible for a character to teach a Power to another character.
A number of relatively generic Powers are available as examples.
Will-Shaper Powers
If all levels of a Power which is not defined as falling into another category only have a Willpower cost, you're a Will Shaper. To be a Will Shaper you must maintain a Willpower of 5 or higher. If your Willpower falls below 5, you lose the ability to use your Powers until it is restored to 5. This only applies to Will-Shaper Powers, and does not affect other types of Powers possessed by a Will-Shaper.
Pools
Pools are supplementary power sources used for a wide range of effects, such as activating Powers, or daily sustenance. A few have passive effects. Some even carry primarily negative effects.
Willpower is the most common Pool; every character has it. Generally, other Pools are awarded as Gifts. Some Pools (most often Metabolic Pools) may be awarded alongside a relevant Power in some cases.
Autonomy or Sentience is a system we use to measure the control of a Symbiote, Parasite, Possessing Spirit or similar.
The Entity becomes steadily more self-aware. It is quite possible that it may eventually subvert the host. Events that threaten the life of both Entity & Host will hasten this process, as will mental degeneration of the host.
System: You now have a new trait, rated 1-10. You start with a Permanent rating of 1. For every 10 temporary points you gain, you immediately trade them for a Permanent Point of Sentience. Temporary points are gained in the following manner:
-Whenever you gain a derangement
-Whenever you are reduced to incapacitated (Lethal)
-Whenever you completely expend your temporary Willpower or related Pool
-Whenever you go 24 hours without food/regaining pool in some cases
If you ever have more Permanent Sentience than Permanent Willpower, you lose control of your character. It is not generally possible to remove Sentience, barring certain Powers that specifically do so.
Chi - A User's Guide
Yang Chi: You have a number of Yang points equal to your Courage. Yang is active, volatile energy, and powers effects that require intense performance and bursts of activity. Anytime you spend Yang Chi, you take unsoakable Bashing damage equal to the number of points spent.
Yin Chi: You have a number of Yin points equal to your Self-Control. Yin represents passive energy, and powers effects that require focus and stillness. Anytime you spend Yin Chi, you take unsoakable Bashing damage equal to the number of points spent.
Tao: Tao represents your ability to draw on the ambient Chi that permeates the world. You have temporary Tao points equal to your Permanent Tao rating. Tao points may be spent in place of Yin or Yang points. Spending Tao does not inflict Bashing damage. You may choose to substitute your Tao rating for any activation roll of a Chi power.
Regaining Chi: You regain 1 Yin, Yang, and Tao per full night of rest. By meditating for an hour and rolling Manipulation + Meditation (Difficulty: 7), you may regain a number of Yin, Yang, or Tao equal to your successes scored.
Anyone who has a Chi-wielding Power is capable of spending Yin or Yang Chi. Tao must be awarded as a Gift. When awarding Tao, the Character receives 1 Permanent point, and may raise Tao to a maximum of 10 points at an XP cost of Current Rating x2.
Glamour - A user’s guide
To raise permanent Glamour, you must spend experience equal to your current rating x2. Temporary Glamour is restored in a variety of ways, with each individual having their own methods (for Morgan, the Geasa Background is most likely). Glamour is the raw stuff of dreams, magic, & faerie. It defies easy quantification, & those who can perceive it will no doubt see numerous variations.
The basic qualities of Glamour are:
Countermagic: For every point of Permanent Glamour, you may roll 1 die (Difficulty: 6), to resist any magical effect. Each success on this roll subtracts -1 success from the magical effect. This roll is automatic, & takes effect whether you are aware of the magic or not. You may suppress this effect if desired.
Faerie Magic: Most Faerie Magic is powered by Glamour, as listed in the individual power description.
Cold Iron: If in contact with Cold Iron, all Glamour dependent rolls are raised in Difficulty by +2. If actually bound with Cold Iron, all Glamour abilities & magics are totally suppressed.
High Glamour: Glamour ratings above 5 cause certain side effects in mortals, such as:
6- Personality Shift: You must select two Natures, a “Seelie” & “Unseelie” personality archetype. You may pick them, as well as decide the terms under which your shift occurs.
7-Blood of Ages: Your blood & flesh is twice as potent to vampires & flesh eaters. However, any creature feeding on you will suffer severe side effects from the Glamour coursing within you.
8-Changeling Eyes: Your eye color mutates to suit your mood. Under extreme circumstances, your eyes may even change shape or glow.
9-Faerie Eternity: Your aging is divided by your Permanent glamour from this point forward. Cold Iron deals Aggravated, Unsoakable damage to you.
10-The Mists: Mortals witnessing your Faerie Magic may forget the experience entirely. Viewers must roll Wits + Occult (Diff: 8) or forget the details of what they witnessed at the end of the Scene. Other beings with Glamour are immune to the Mists.
Gnosis: A User's Guide
Gnosis is supernatural energy tapped from nature & the Spirit World (Astral Plane). It is a highly ephemeral force but in those few attuned to it, can produce miraculous effects.
Gnosis has a Permanent Rating ranging from 1-10. For each point in Permanent Gnosis, you have a potential number of temporary Gnosis points. Gnosis is most commonly regained by Meditation, usually in a forest glen or other place close to the Spirit World. The Difficulty to regain Gnosis points through Meditation is equal to the Local Gauntlet. You may regain 1 point of Temporary Gnosis per success scored on a Manipulation + Meditation roll, up to your Permanent rating.
Gnosis Usage:
-You may be required to roll your Gnosis rating or spend Gnosis to activate Powers. This will be described in the individual Power.
-You may use Gnosis to attune & activate Fetishes (items with bound spirits inside). Roll Gnosis at a Difficulty of the Fetish's Gnosis to activate it.
-You may communicate with spirits in the area provided the gauntlet is lower than your permanent Gnosis rating.
Gnosis is only available as a Gift. It is awarded at 1 Permanent Dot, & is Current Rating x2 to raise.
Ahh, sweet nectar of the gods … Chi, Prana, Kundalini, or electrolytes are all known names of Mana. Sorcerers instinctively use Mana to fuel their spells, drawing small bits from the world around them to power their spells. Those Gifted with the Mana pool are now able to store this energy in themselves as a reservoir to work with.
Mana is represented as a pool Gifted at 10 points. Most sorcerers will only be able to hold a maximum of 10 points at any given time, whereas those with the Mage Template will be able to hold 20. Points typically don't automatically regenerate during a Game, but it is assumed that the Sorcerer will restore their pool between Games, and will start a Game with a full pool; those with the Mage Template will start with 10 +1d10.
A Sorcerer may use up to three (3) Mana points per spell/ritual cast to do any combination of these effects:- (a) lower the difficulty of any spell cast (to no lower than 3)
(b) buy additional successes
(c) reduce the threshold needed to complete the spell/ritual by one
Example: Lydian is getting ready to blow something up with a Hellfire 5 spell. He chooses to use 3 Mana to add two automatic successes to his pool, and to lower the difficulty of the spell by one. He could have also used those same points to lower the difficulty by 3, or to have 3 additional successes to his total.
Recovery of Mana is very personal and specific to each Sorcerer. A Sorcerer will start every Game with a full pool of Mana. As Mana points are spent during the Game, each Sorcerer should have a detailed description of a ritual they can use to recover Mana. Most of these rituals are quite lengthy (minimum of 10 minutes in duration) and may be difficult to do "on the fly." After the ritual is completed, the Sorcerer will recover an amount of Mana equal to the number of successes on a Perception + Meditation (Difficulty 7) roll.
There are Sorcery Paths and Rituals which can speed up the recovery of Mana.
"Metabolic" pools is a catch-all reference to any pool of points that is derived from a unique biological process. Blood Pools are technically Metabolic, as are numerous other unique ones ("Flower Power", "Infection", "Nourishment","Sin" & similar).
They essentially follow 2 patterns.
- A 1-10 non-permanent rating that is filled as you perform the functions of the unique metabolism in question (Eating, Hibernating, etc).
- An ascending 1-10 pool that accumulates points but is weaker as you spend them (Example: You gain 1 point per day, some effects cost points, but the overall effects are diminished as you burn points).
No one has a Metabolic pool unless awarded as a Gift. When you are awarded one (typically as part of a Template or Power) you will be told what the points may be spent for & how they are regained.
Common Side Effects: The strain of metabolic consumption often has serious side effects. Common ones include:
*Altered Diet (Must subsist on some unusual substance, must eat twice as much as before, etc.)
*Hibernation: When you sleep, you enter a state of hibernation, becoming almost impossible to awaken.
*Physical Strain: You suffer Bashing damage under certain conditions from physical strain on the body.
Example: Blood Pool
A temporary pool rated 1-10, which enables you to store the blood you require for sustenance. There is no permanent score, and the temporary rating will fluctuate wildly with usage and replenishment. Roll 1d10 at the beginning of each Game to determine starting Blood Pool. It can be filled by draining blood.
Points are spent to fuel supernatural abilities as indicated in individual Power descriptions; this will vary according to Template and Gifts. Typically, one point will sustain your hunger for one day, averting the need to feed on fresh blood daily. It has no other use (unless awarded).
Passion. Intensity. Ecstasy. These represent the nature of the emotional energy represented by Pathos. Characters with Pathos are effectively emotional vampires, experiencing transcendental moments of sheer passion that allow them to overcome the limitations of less enlightened individuals.
Pathos Points
Pathos is represented by a temporary pool rated 1-10. There is no permanent Pathos score, & the temporary rating is expected to fluctuate wildly. Pathos points are spent to fuel supernatural abilities as indicated in individual Power descriptions. It has no other use (unless rewarded).
Passions
Pathos is fueled by Passions. Passions are effectively Backgrounds reserved for Characters who use Pathos as a Power Source. As Backgrounds, they cost 7 x.p. for level "1" & Current rating x3 to raise. Passions dictate the actions that give the Character Pathos. A Passion describes a specific action that causes peak emotion for the Character. It should be written describing the Act required, then the core emotion behind it, like so:
Destroy Monsters (Hate): 5
Protect Children (Love): 3
Anytime you actually perform the listed act, you may roll your rating in the Passion (Difficulty: 6), with each success gaining a point of Pathos. Anytime you witness someone experience one of the Core emotions behind one of your Passions, you may roll it's rating (Difficulty: 8), with each success scoring a pathos point.
Example
You Destroy a Vampire, & roll 5 Passion dice at a difficulty of 6. You get 2 successes, thus gain 2 Pathos (up to a max of 10). Later you see a mother tuck in her child for the night & roll 3 Passion (Love) dice at a difficulty of 8, gaining 1 success (and thus one Pathos).
Penalties
A side effect of constantly experiencing such extremes of mystical emotion is a tendency to be a "Pathos Junkie" always craving the rush of gaining Pathos energy. Characters with Pathos suffer the following side effects:
At 7+ Points, the Character is on top of the world, happy & talkative. No penalties.
At 3-6 points, the Character is a bit edgy, and will actively seek out there Passions if not immediately dangerous to do so. Self-Control rolls are at +1 Difficulty.
At 0-2 points, the Character is actively terse & grim. They are moody, irritable, & will deliberately try to manipulate others into experiencing there Core Emotions. Self-Control rolls are at +2 Difficulty.
Awarding Pathos
When the Pathos pool is awarded as a Gift, the Character receives the 1-10 temporary pool & 5 points in Passions of there choice. New Passions may be awarded or purchased as desired.
Psion is a 1-10 rating that determines the overall power & potential of a character with Psychic Abilities. Psion costs Current rating x2 to raise, & is awarded as a Gift at 1 point.
Temporary Psion points are regained through rest (1 point per 8 hours sleep) or through Meditation (Manipulation + Meditation (Difficulty: 7) each success regains 1 temporary point after one hour of meditation).
Uses of Psion
- You may roll your Permanent Psion score in place of the normal activation roll for any Psychic Power.
- You may spend temporary Psion points to pay the activation cost of Psychic Powers in place of Willpower points.
The province of Berserker Warriors, Werewolves, & Mad-Dog Killers, Rage is the mark of lunatic fury & the unstoppable (& uncontrollable) power it brings.
It is a Permanent 1-10 Rating, awarded at 1 level. It costs C. R. x2 to raise. You may never spend more Temporary points than half your Permanent rating per turn.
Rage has the following effects:
*Rage based Powers may require you to roll your Permanent rating or spend Rage points.
*Rage may be spent to gain extra actions, 1 per point spent at the beginning of the round.
*A rage point may be spent to ignore a "Stun" result.
*If reduced below incapacitated, you may spend a w.p. & roll Rage (Diff: 8) to instantly recover a number of health Levels equal to your successes (including Aggravated, but not lost limbs). You suffer a permanent debilitating Battle Scar when you employ this ability, & automatically enter Frenzy. Regardless, this may only be attempted once per Scene.
Rage points are regained whenever something occurs that would infuriate you. Whenever this occurs, you may Roll Rage (Diff: 6) & regain a number of Rage points equal to the successes rolled. If you ever get 3+ successes on a Rage roll, you automatically enter Frenzy targeting the source of your anger.
Rage has the following side effects:
*Frenzy: As mentioned, anytime you gain 3+ successes on a Rage roll, you enter a homicidal, berserk frenzy aiming to kill the target of your anger, & ANYONE who gets in your way. While in this state, you may only use Talents, lacking the focus for Skills & Knowledges.
*Degeneration: If you ever fall to "0" Enlightenment, you lose your character to a permanent Frenzy.
*Inner Beast: For every point your Rage rises above your Enlightenment score, you lose -1 die to all social rolls, as people sense the bloodthirsty mani lurking just beneath.
Taint measures the extent of your spiritual corruption. It is rated as a 1-10 pool that begins with 1 Permanent point & no temporary. When 10 Temporary points are gained, you "trade" the 10 points for another Permanent point. In the event you reach 10 Permanent points, further levels have an acidic effect on the Trait the Taint is paired with, typically Enlightenment. This is almost always fatal.
The effects of Taint are as follows.
*Corruption: The more Taint you have, the more tainted you are to abilities that detect such. You are "Tainted" for the purposes of True Faith at 1 point. You are "Damned" if your rating should ever rise above 5.
*Taint determines the effect of many Infernal/Wyrm/Oblivion Powers.
*If your permanent Taint should rise higher than your permanent Enlightenment, you suffer unsoakable, Lethal damage equal to the difference. This damage cannot be healed while your Taint is ascendant, & accumulates each day the condition remains.
Temporary Taint is gained:
-Whenever you gain a Derangement
-Whenever you succumb to Frenzy
-Whenever you Botch the activation of a Power
-As noted in your Power/Template description
*Note: The Blackheart template has a different method of processing Taint (or Angst, as it is sometimes called). See that Template for differences.
True Faith
Not all followers of a religion are considered to possess True Faith, for only the most devout can bring to bear the strength of belief necessary to carry that faith into the outer world. True Faith is a deep abiding connection that often pays little heed to mortal institutions. One need not belong to an organized religion to wield Faith.
True Faith has a potential rating of 10. You must have a Morality of 8+ to wield the powers of Faith. If you fall below this score, your abilities are rendered defunct until you restore your Path rating.
True Faith costs Current Rating x2 to raise. Temporary True Faith is restored through acts of pious devotion to one’s religious calling, with points being awarded by the GM. There are a number of Powers available only to the wielders of True Faith.
True Faith has the following effects:
- You may spend a point of temporary True Faith in any way that a Willpower Point may be used
- True Faith may be rolled as Passive Countermagic (Difficulty: 6) against any hostile magic that targets the wielder. This Countermagic will not stack with other Passive sources.
- True Faith may also be used to ward off the Damned,. To do this, the wielder presents his holy symbol & commands the Damned to retreat. Make a True Faith roll (Difficulty: Target's Willpower score). If the wielder scores at least 1 success, the Damned must stop. If 3 or more successes are scored, the Damned must flee. This effect may be utilized against a number of targets equal to the wielders True Faith score per attempt. Against the Tainted, they may resist this effect by spending a number of WP points equal to your successes.
Holy Symbols
Normally, any application of True Faith Numina requires the presentation of a holy symbol (crucifix, Star of David, sprig of mistletoe) appropriate to the priest's religion. After reaching Beatific Faith (6+), such crutches are no longer required.
Holy Ground
An area that is determined Holy Ground has a Faith rating from 1 (weak but continual devotion) to 5 (The center of a powerful faith). While standing in holy ground, the wielder may add this rating to his own for all True Faith rolls.
Damned
The term "Damned" will hereafter refer to any creature fully subject to the effects of True Faith. Individual GM's will decide if there own creations count into the following, which are ALWAYS considered Damned (The "Humanity" law for Vampires no longer applies).
The Damned include: Demons, Banes, Vampires, Wraiths, Specters, Fiends, Risen, Kuei-Jin, Cursed Zombies
Tainted
The term "Tainted" applies to any being that has been touched by the Damned in some way, but is not Damned themselves.
The list of Tainted includes: Fomori, Vampiric Ghouls, Possessed, Infernalists, Nephandi, Dhampyr, Some Zombies
Templates
The rarest Gifts of all, Templates redefine the base nature of the character. For example, the character may achieve the Vampire Template and become a Vampire. They cannot typically be achieved in a single Gift, and will usually be assigned a "rating" of Gifts and Quests that must be dedicated before they can be attained (3-10 being average). Once attained, the Template applies in full.
Several relatively generic Templates are available as examples.
