DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

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Avatar: The Godhead ~*~ Avatar ~ Character Sheet

Discussion: Every God across all the pantheons has at least one Divine Attribute associated with him or her, and it is those Divine Attributes that the Gods’ descendants develop most easily. Scions of Baldur or Aphrodite naturally inherit their divine parents’ symmetry and clean lines, which manifests as ALLURE. Children of Athena, Ptah or Quetzalcoátl are all naturally inclined to mind-expanding epiphanies that blossom into GENIUS. The most versatile Gods—such as Odin, Amaterasu or Atum-Re—pass on natural aptitudes for several Divine Attributes.

Divine Attributes derive from an Avatar's Provinces, however, rather than solely from the legacy of his divine parent. Therefore, every Avatar character can develop any Divine Attribute. Those associated with the divine parent come more easily to the child, but none are denied him. It wouldn’t be out of the question for Avatars descended of Loki or Legba to turn to MIGHT to get themselves out of trouble should their clever schemes go south on them. And woe be unto the titan-spawn who doesn’t account for just that possibility.

THE COSTS

Divine Attributes are cheapest at character creation. They’re available from the 10-dot pool from which the player chooses his character’s divine powers. (Powers dots come from this pool as well, though, so keep that in mind when choosing Divine Attributes.) The player can put dots in any Divine Attribute, with just a few simple limits.

The first limit is that no character may have more dots of an Divine Attribute than she has dots in the same mundane Attribute. Second, a character must have at least one more dot of Divinity than she has in her highest- rated Divine Attribute. If she has Divine Strength 3, she must have at least four dots of Divinity. If she has only Divinity 3, the most dots she can have in any Divine Attribute is two. Finally, no Avatar can have more than three dots in any single Divine Attribute at character creation. Avatars grow into greater power—some quite quickly—but it’s simply not possible for an Avatar to awaken to her true heritage with more raw power than that. Whether this limitation is a physical governor imposed by human physiology or a psychological safeguard implanted by the Gods, no Avatar knows.

Once the player has allocated dots among her character’s Divine Attributes, she has one last chance to add a handful more by spending bonus points. Divine Attributes cost five bonus points apiece unless they are associated with the character’s divine parent. Those so associated cost only four points. Once game play has begun, a character may develop any Divine Attribute she feels would help her defend the World from the titanic spawn. Doing so is just a matter of hard work and faithful practice in game, as well as spending the requisite experience points out of game. Increasing an Divine Attribute a character already has costs five times the number of dots the character has in that Divine Attribute. (The cost is only four times that number if the Divine Attribute in question is associated with the Avatar’s divine parent.) Buying the first dot in a new Divine Attribute costs 10 experience points (or eight for one associated with a divine parent).

THE EFFECTS

Having Divine Attributes provides automatic successes on rolls of the related mundane Attribute. The more dots of an Divine Attribute a character has, the more automatic successes the player has available. The only exception applies to rolls that call for Abilities a character does not have. In order to perform an emergency tracheotomy, for example, the roll is (Dexterity + Medicine). If the character performing the procedure has FINESSE but has no dots of Medicine, he cannot apply his FINESSE automatic successes to the attempt. He has to rely on his mundane Dexterity alone.

At the heroic level (i.e., the levels of Avatars with four or fewer dots of Divinity), the number of automatic successes per Divine Attribute dot is as follows:

Divine Attribute Dots Automatic Successes
1 1
2 2
3 4

Beyond this basic setup, some Divine Attributes provide other benefits or have other specific effects on the game mechanics detailed in Chapters Six and Seven. Those effects are detailed in the write-ups of the Divine Attributes in question.

DIVINE FLAIRS

Divine Attributes are mighty enhancements, but the straight-up mechanical effects the dots provide are not their only benefits. Each Divine Attribute also grants a Avatar certain exceptional feats known as Flairs. Each dot you put into an Divine Attribute entitles your character to one new free Flair of your choice. (In game, these Flairs develop naturally as the character’s capabilities increase. The character himself does not choose them.) You may also purchase additional Flairs at character creation (for three bonus points per Flair) or with experience points (for five experience points per Flair). You may purchase Flairs for only those Divine Attributes that your character actually has.





DIVINE ATTRIBUTE LIST
MIGHT -- The Dominion of supernatural strength.
FINESSE -- A Dominion devoted to supernatural dexterity.
ENDURANCE -- Supernatural stamina is represented through this Dominion.
ALLURE -- This Dominion of supernatural charisma grants charm enough expect the forgiveness of your worst enemy or the love anyone to whom you speak.
SUPREMACY -- A Dominion of supernatural manipulation allows an Avatar to turn people into hand puppets.
REVELATION -- The Dominion of Revelation governs all aspects of appearance. Its wielders can be supernaturally beautiful, monstrously ugly or just plain average.
APPREHENSION -- Far more than just a Dominion of preternatural senses, this divine attribute allows an Avatar to see the unseen, perceive omens, flashes of the future or see into other realms.
GENIUS -- Beyond mortal intelligence, genius allows Avatars superior computational skill, exceptional creativity in diverse endeavors to such a degree that they can advance human civilization.
CORUSCATION -- The Dominion of supernatural wits, those Avatars who have invested in this divine attribute can think at the speed of light, reacting to perceived threats far faster than their brethren.

Errata

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