Dry Nile
When the son of Osiris killed Set, the snake god vowed that he would take his revenge by working to destroy everything that his brother had held dear in life. Like the god they from which they take inspiration, practitioners of this path swear to destroy everything that makes a society work. Some accept this task as the price of the power Set grants them. Others revel in it, as they seek their own revenge against an uncaring universe. The Path of the Dry Nile serves as their greatest weapon in this crusade.
Unless otherwise stated, each power requires the Setite to place a faience (blue-glazed earthenware) amulet in the personal effects or dwelling of a target individual. The magic lasts until the individual destroys or otherwise gets rid of the amulet. However, it may do permanent harm while active. A husband who leaves his wife under the influence of Love Dies, for example, won’t necessarily be able to win her forgiveness after he discards the amulet and comes to his senses.
1) Beauty Fades:
The Setite causes a work of art, such as a painting, sculpture, novel, film or live performance, to be perceived by its audience as repellent, ugly, badly executed and cruelly nihilistic. Using the power on a work of art that already displays one or more of these qualities is redundant.
System: The Setite rolls Wits + Manipulation (difficulty 3-9, at Storyteller’s discretion: a sitcom episode rates a 3; the Mona Lisa, a 9.) The Setite must be in the
presence of the work when he uses the power. If multiple copies of a work exist, only the one(s) in her presence is affected. For example, characters watching a television broadcast with her see it as repulsive, while viewers in other households perceive it to be nothing out of the ordinary. The effect lasts for the length of time required to experience the work, or for one scene, whichever is greater. This power doesn’t require the amulet described above.
2) Trust Withers:
The victim begins to suspect that aspecified, trusted ally or associate intends to betray him. The victim’s delusion escalates from mild unease to wild-eyed paranoia.
System: The Setite’s player rolls Wits + Manipulation against the target’s Willpower and spends a blood point. The full process takes nine weeks minus one week per success scored. The subject may resist on a successful Willpower roll if he suspects that something outside may be influencing him (Storytellers, use your best
judgment) by accumulating more successes than weeks have passed in the character’s decline.
3) Love Dies:
The Setite suppresses all feelings of love felt by the victim toward a specified secondary target. The first victim feels nothing but emptiness and confusion when he sees or thinks about the second. Love Dies counters romantic, platonic and familial love.
System: The Setite must be in the presence of her subject to initiate this power. The player rolls Wits + Manipulation against the target’s Willpower and spends two blood points. Thereafter, the subject’s emotional attachment - which must have been love in origin - withers over the course of the next few nights. This power does not affect blood bonds. Love Dies ends after a number of months equal to the Setite’s Willpower at the time it is used.
4) Hope Disolves:
The Setite’s victim subject can’t shake the absolute conviction that a specifiedgoal he meant to accomplish can under no circumstances be achieved. He rapidly grows disheartened and indolent.
System: The Setite must be in the presence of the subject at the time he invokes this power. The player rolls Wits + Manipulation against the target’s Willpower and spends three blood points. If the roll is successful, the subject sinks into a deep depression over the course of one day or night, and becomes distinctly morose. While in this state, a character may only have a number of dice equal to her Self-Control Virtue available for dice pools. If she wishes to use her full dice pool, she must spend a Willpower point to undertake that action. Although this power is unlikely to drive a character to suicidal depression, a character already predisposed toward that end may find the urge more compelling.
The duration of this power varies by the number of successes the Setite acquired. It may be cured through therapy, drugs, etc., before this time period, however, should the victim seek help.
One success: One night
Two successes: One week
Three successes: One month
Four successes: One year
Five successes: Permanent
5) Thrones Crumble:
The Setite selects an individual and causes him to reexamine his loyalty to an authority figure. No matter why the target followed his leader - admiration, ideological fervor, fear, greed or simple ambivalence - he now bitterly rejects his allegiance. Whether the victim actively works against the former object of his loyalty, or simply drops out of the picture, remains his choice.
System: The Setite must see his subject to initiate this power. The player rolls Wits + Manipulation (difficulty of the target’s Willpower) and spends three blood points. If the roll is successful, the character acquires an active antipathy for some leadership figure who affects his life - a manager, a vicar, a king, a president, his father - and reacts in order with his Nature against that figure. This will not always result in physical conflict; a Conformist may well “play along” grudgingly with the authority figure, but he might seek the company of others who oppose the leader, whereas a Roguemay make a grand show of rebellion against the leader.
