Lore of the Firmament

Asharu Lores

Description:

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● REMOTE VIEWING

This evocation allows a Scourge to sec through the eyes of one of her thralls. This form of viewing is strictly passive; the demon is merely a spectator along for the ride.

System: Roll Perception + Empathy. The Scourge may see through her thrall's eyes for a number of turns equal to the successes rolled. There is no range limitation for this evocation.

Torment: When a monstrous demon uses this evocation, it causes blood vessels to burst in the mortal's eyes. When the demon breaks contact, the mortal must make a Stamina roll with a difficulty equal to the Scourge's Torment.

If the roll fails, the thrall is blinded for a number of days equal to the total number of turns the evocation was in effect. If the roll botches, the thrall is blinded permanently.

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●● SCRY

The Scourge must know one of the names of her intended subject or be able to hold one of the subject's possessions: car keys, an article of clothing. The demon can observe the subject and her surroundings, no matter how far away.

System: Roll Perception + Empathy. The difficulty depends on the level of connection to the subject: Using a mortal's name or a physical possession is difficulty 8. A demon's Celestial Name is difficulty 7. A True Name is difficulty 6. The amount of detail gained depends on the number of successes rolled. One success provides only a visual image of the immediate area around the subject. Two successes expand the visual sphere out from the subject to a distance in yards equal to the Scourge's Faith score. Three successes adds audio; the demon can hear the subject's voice, but no one else. Four or more successes allow the Scourge to hear everything that occurs around the subject. This evocation lasts a number of turns equal to your character's permanent Faith score, or the connection can be broken voluntarily at any point.

Torment: The weight of a monstrous demon's attention causes a severe headache in the subject, as well as feelings of mounting paranoia and aggression. The Storyteller must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) for the subject in each turn that she is observed. If a roll fails, the subject suffers a level of bashing damage and reacts with increasing anger and aggression toward the people around her, increasing the difficulty of all Social rolls by two for the duration of the scene. If the roll botches, the subject gains a temporary derangement as well.

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●●● MOUTH OF THE DAMNED

This evocation allows the Scourge to speak and act through the body of one of her thralls. This is more like a form of remote control than outright possession, though. The demon remains firmly ensconced in her host body and simply directs her will through the bond between herself and her thrall, and he may do so at any distance.

System: Roll Manipulation + Leadership. The number of successes determines how many of the thrall's dice you can roll for any given action during a turn. This dice pool cannot be greater than the maximum number of dice the thrall would normally get for an action. When your demon speaks through her thrall, voice, expressions and mannerisms are the Scourge's. The effects of this evocation last for a number of turns equal to your character's permanent Faith score.

Torment: Monstrous demons have few scruples about a thrall's faculties; an unfortunate mortal risks permanent brain damage when controlled. Each turn the demon performs an action with the mortal's body, the Storyteller makes a Stamina roll for the thrall. If the roll fails, the mortal loses one point from the relevant Attribute permanently. If the demon uses the thrall only to speak, the Storyteller makes a Willpower roll instead. If the roll fails, the thrall loses one point of Intelligence.

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●●●● TOUCH FROM AFAR

Scourges can use this evocation to direct their powers at a target outside their line of sight, as long as they know one of the target's names or possess an article of great personal attachment to the target, such as a treasured possession or a lock of hair.

System: Spend one Faith point and roll Manipulation + Awareness. Your demon can affect targets as far away as 10 miles times the character's current Faith pool. Then follow the system for performing whatever evocation your character uses, but the difficulty of the roll is determined by the amount of information she has on her target. If she only has the target's mundane name or a personal possession, the difficulty is 9. If the target is a demon and she has his Celestial Name, the difficulty is 8; if she has the target's True Name, the difficulty is 7. If the demon targets one of her own thralls, the difficulty is reduced to 6. Area-effect evocations are centered on the individual targeted.

Torment: The searing focus of a monstrous demon's attention fills a subject with visions of horror and madness. When a high-Torment demon uses this evocation, the Willpower roll is made for the target with a difficulty equal to the demon's Torment. If the roll fails, the target gains a temporary derangement. If the roll botches, the derangement is permanent. These effects are in addition to the results of whatever evocation the Scourge directs at the target.

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●●●●● MANY PLACES AT ONCE

This evocation is similar to Mouth of the Damned, except that the Scourge is capable of speaking and acting through multiple thralls at the same time.

System: The demon can affect a number of thralls equal to her Wits score, though if she affects fewer targets than her total Wits, she can also control her own body at the same time. Otherwise, the demon's body falls into a deep coma until the evocation expires. Spend one Faith point and roll Manipulation + Leadership. Successes achieved form a dice pool to roll for each of the thralls under the character's control. In addition, the character may perform an evocation through one of the thralls under her control each turn, using her own dice pool. Multiple thralls can be controlled over a number of turns equal to your character's permanent Faith score.

Torment: Each turn the demon performs an action with a thrall's body, the Storyteller makes a Stamina roll for the mortal If the roll fails, the subject loses one point from the relevant Attribute permanently. If the demon uses the thrall only to speak, the Storyteller makes a Willpower roll instead. If the roll fails, the thrall loses one point of Intelligence. Additionally, if a monstrous demon performs an evocation through the body of one of her thralls, the thrall gets a Stamina roll with a difficulty equal to the demon's Torment. If it fails, she suffers one level of lethal damage.

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ANSHAR, THE VISAGE OF THE FIRMAMENT

These Angels of the Firmament reveal themselves as lithe, ethereal figures with pale skin and large gray eyes. When they speak, their voice echoes faintly, as if from a great distance, and they alternate between bouts of quiet distraction and periods of intense, disquieting scrutiny.

The Visage of the Firmament confers the following special capabilities:

• Enhanced Senses: The character's five senses are heightened to superhuman levels, lowering the difficulty of Perception rolls by two.

• Wings: A pair of owl's wings extends from the character's shoulders. At full extension, each wing is a third again as long as the character is tall. The character can glide up to three times her running speed per turn.

• Enhanced Intuition: The character's uncanny insight lowers the difficulty of all Intuition rolls by two.

• Enhanced Dodge: The difficulty of all Dodge rolls decreases by two.

Torment: Monstrous Anshar seem to retreat even further from the physical realm, shrouded in a disturbing mantle of shadow and mist. Their skin turns an almost translucent gray, and their bodies become bony and emaciated, the skin stretched taught over their faces until they resemble leering skulls.

The Visage of the Firmament confers the following high-Torment capabilities:

• Cloak of Shadows: The demon is shrouded in a pall of darkness, making her features difficult to see in the best light and rendering her near-invisible at night. The difficulty of all Stealth rolls decreases by two whenever the demon stands in shadow or moves in darkness. If the character is attacked, the rules for Blind Fighting apply to the attacker.

• Multiple Eyes: The demon gains four to six extra eyes, sprouting from her head and/or neck. These extra organs give the demon 360-degree vision and lower the difficulty of all Perception rolls by two.

• Improved Initiative: The character adds two to her initiative.

• Claws: The character manifests claws that inflict Strength +2 aggravated damage.

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