Dream/ Hypercram (mage V20)

Mage Information

Dream/ Hypercram

Knowledge is everything to a mage. Being the conduits to cosmic consciousness that they can be, certain mages are able to access information that they have not personally studied or practiced. After taking a bit of time to meditate (or, in the case of Technocrats and other scientifically-minded willworkers, to Hypercram), such mages can temporarily tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience that’s out there, channeling Ability Traits they don’t normally possess.

In story terms, your character takes a short period of time to concentrate on a particular situation. The more elaborate the situation, the longer it takes to meditate upon it. The form of concentration depends on the mage’s focus, and can range from a BDSM session to a hard night at the library. A scholar could hit the books and lose himself in study for an upcoming exam; a Pagan seer might walk through the woods, reaching out to the spirits of that place. Spider Chase might spin fire while Zafira Angelita prays for the guidance of God.

In game terms, roll Perception + Dream (difficulty 6) to gain insights into the question at hand. As long as your character hasn’t been interrupted during his meditative practice, she can draw upon a certain amount of free-floating knowledge that deals with the situation. If the Perception + Dream roll succeeded, you get to substitute your Dream rating for another Ability that’s related to the subject of her concentration. If the character doesn’t normally have that Ability, she can still use it to address that situation for a single uninterrupted task, assuming that she meditated upon a related subject that day; if she does have that Ability, she can use the Dream rating instead of that Ability – one Trait does not add on to the other.

As an example, let’s say that Spider’s facing a major fight against an opponent who really knows what he’s doing. Her slight Brawl Skill isn’t gonna cut it, so she meditates while spinning fire. In her mind, Spider flies through complex katas at eye-blurring speed. Spider’s player rolls four successes on the Perception + Dream roll, and so, during that fight – and only for the duration of that fight – Spider finds herself with four dots’ worth of Martial Arts, an Ability she doesn’t normally possess. After the fight ends, Spider’s skill fades away; for the life of her, she can’t recall what she just did.

This Background isn’t reliable. You might get some Ability you didn’t expect, and you can’t hang on to what you know – it’s more of a feeling than a certainty. The Dream-granted Ability lasts for the duration of one necessary task – a fight, an exam, a board meeting, a race, and so forth – and can be used only to fulfill that task. Dream can be used only once per day, and although the player can state what she’d like to learn, the Storyteller makes the final decision about the Ability conferred by that Dream.

X -- You lack that special connection to the collective consciousness.

• -- You catch hazy bits of related information. One die for the task.

•• -- Helpful insights present themselves during a trance. Two dice for the task.

••• -- Your meditations produce serious results. Three dice for the task.

•••• -- From a trance, you can pull amazing bits of knowledge. Four dice for the task.

••••• -- You’ve got a direct line to the collective consciousness. Given time to focus, you can pick up phenomenal things. Five dice for the task.