Lore of the Earth

Annunaki Lores

Description: The Lore of the Earth allows the Divine to shape earth in many different ways, including metal, concrete and glass, but excluding artifical or living materials. It is similar to the Lore of the Forge in this respect, but much less subtle.

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● EARTH MELD

This evocation allows the demon to bond her physical body with the earth beneath her feet. As long as the evocation is in effect, she cannot be moved or picked up or knocked down unless she wishes it.

System: Roll Strength + Survival. If successful, the Malefactor is bound to the earth and cannot be moved from that spot unless she wishes.

Torment: Monstrous demons can sink into the soil and move beneath the earth in any direction they wish. The number of successes rolled determines how many yards the demon can cover in linear travel. Each turn of movement requires a Strength + Athletics roll. If the roll fails, the demon is forced back to the surface.

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●● ROIL THE EARTH

This evocation allows a Malefactor to cause the earth to give up its buried secrets. By concentrating on a particular kind of object (e.g., gold, iron, corpses), the demon causes the earth around her to roil and churn, forcing the objects of her desire to the surface.

System: Your character determines what she seeks within the earth, and you make a Strength + Survival roll. The number of successes rolled determines the radius in yards — including depth — from your character that is affected by the evocation. If the object or material is within that area, it is forced to the surface.

Torment: Monstrous demons can use this lore to create a kind of vortex that sucks objects below the surface. Demons or humans affected by the evocation may attempt to dodge its effects if they have an available action that turn. The target is buried a number of feet equal to the total number of successes that you roll. Digging out of the tomb of dirt requires an extended Strength + Athletics roll ( difficulty 8 ), rolled per minute. Until the victim gains more successes than you rolled, she remains buried and suffers damage in the same manner as if she were drowning.

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●●● MOLD EARTH

This potent evocation allows the Malefactor to cause the earth to move and mold itself according to her whim, With a sweep of a hand, a wall of earth or stone can leap from the ground to shelter her, or a building's walls could flow like melted wax, creating a doorway that wasn't there before.

System: Roll Strength + Crafts. The difficulty is determined by the type of material affected (unpacked dirt is difficulty 5; granite, difficulty 6; processed materials like concrete is difficulty 7). The number of successes rolled determines how many square feet of the material the demon can manipulate. The affected material can be directed to assume any shape or form the demon desires within those parameters. The material affected must be within a number of yards equal to the character's Faith, and changes imposed are permanent.

Torment: Monstrous demons can affect the earth in the same fashion as less tormented demons, but the material manipulated is incredibly toxic. Living beings that make contact with this tainted earth suffer one level of lethal damage per turn of exposure.

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●●●● EARTH STORM

This evocation causes clods of earth and shards of stone or concrete to tear free of the ground and form a whirling storm of deadly projectiles surrounding the Malefactor, providing protection from attacks and supplying the demon with missiles to hurl at foes.

System: Spend one Faith point and roll Strength + Survival. The number of successes achieved forms a dice pool that is rolled as armor to soak damage from any attacks directed at the Malefactor. The storm itself is centered on the fallen, and it moves as she moves. If the Malefactor wishes, she can sacrifice a die from her pool during any given turn to hurl a fist-sized projectile of earth or stone at a target. As with any ranged attack, roll Dexterity + Athletics to hit the target, with bashing damage dice pool equal to the character's Faith score. The evocation's radius extends for a number of yards equal to the character's Faith score. Individuals caught within this radius are whipped by gusts of stinging grit, increasing the difficulty of any actions taken by one. The effects of this evocation last for the duration of the scene.

Torment: The barrage invoked by a monstrous demon is more akin to a sandstorm, flaying living beings alive and wearing inanimate objects away in moments. The high-Torment version of this evocation does not provide extra soak dice or ranged attacks, but inflicts lethal damage dice equal to the character's Torment to everything caught within the storm's radius, except the demon herself. Additionally, the swirling clouds of powdered dirt and stone serve to largely conceal the demon within, increasing the difficulty of ranged attacks directed at her by one.

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●●●●● EARTHQUAKE

By focusing the power of her will, the Malefactor can stir the pent-up energies deep below the earth's surface and create a brief but powerful tremor that can reverberate across an entire city.

System: Spend one Faith point and roll Strength + Survival, and then allocate successes rolled between the intensity and extent of the tremor. The intensity of the tremor is added to the difficulty of any person's actions within the area and is used as a dice pool to determine damage to standing structures, A small wooden building like a shack has one or possibly two structure points, while a brick home might have as many as three or four. The difficulty for the damage roll is 6. If a building sustains more damage than it has structure points, it collapses. The extent of the tremor determines its effective radius. One success causes the tremor to affect a number of square feet equal to the character's Faith score. Two successes affect a number of square yards. Three successes affect a number of square miles. Therefore, a demon can cause immense destruction on a small scale, significant destruction on a medium scale or minor damage across a large scale. A tremor persists for one turn for each intensity point assigned to it.

Torment: A high-Torment demon causes the earth to heave and spew toxic clouds that are thick with ash and that reek of brimstone. In addition to the previously detailed effects, the stinging air increases the difficulty of all Perception rolls made within the affected area by two, and victims suffer one level of bashing damage each turn they are exposed to the fumes. These effects continue for a number of turns equal to the earthquake's intensity.

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KISHAR, THE VISAGE OF THE EARTH

These angels manifest as towering figures with dark skin that ranges from a creamy brown to utter black, and their bodies appear as though hewn from stone, with muscle and bone etched in sharp relief on a frame devoid of soft flesh or fat. The Kishar are hairless, and the irises of their eyes have the clarity and color of gemstones: ruby, sapphire, emerald, garnet, topaz and diamond. The air about them smells of freshly turned earth, rich with the promise of life.

The Visage of the Earth confers the following special capabilities:

• Increased Size: The character's body grows to a third again its own height, adding the following bonus traits: +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Stamina.

• Immune to Bashing Damage: The character is immune to attacks that inflict bashing damage alone.

• Irresistible Force: The difficulty of any Feats of Strength performed by the character decrease by two.

• Night Vision: The character can see in total darkness as though it were daylight.

Torment: Monstrous Kishar are huge and misshapen, their stone-like skin covered in sharp-edged nodules and spikes, and fissured with deep cracks that ooze a black, oily ichor.

The Visage of the Earth confers the following high-Torment special capabilities:

• Extra Limbs: The demon grows a second set of arms. Extra arms allow a character to parry or block close-combat attacks without sacrificing her own attack, or make up to two additional attacks of her own per turn (which are considered multiple actions).

• Gaping Maw: The demon's metabolism is like a blast furnace, capable of consuming virtually any material without harm. Metal, stone or flesh is chewed up and digested with ease. The difficulty of bite attacks is lowered by two, and a bite inflicts Strength +4 aggravated damage.

• Spikes: The demon's body is covered in sharp, stony spikes, adding two dice of aggravated damage to the Kishar's unarmed attacks.

• Ichor: A foul black ichor covers the demon's body, making him difficult to grab or restrain. The difficulty of any grapple attempts directed at the demon increases by two.

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