Numina Purchasable
After Character Creation
Aggressive
Meme
The character speaks to a person, and an idea takes root in the
person's mind. Maybe the idea is a religious experience, or a
scientific idea or a political idea. It can be anything from "the
nun who lives in the boathouse has been abusing children, and the
police aren't doing anything about it, so we'd better take it into
our own hands" to "Muslims are terrorists" to "we're
the people, and if we join together, we could have the power to
topple this corrupt government" to something as frivolous as
"cereal bars are really good to eat and you need to buy one."
Whatever the idea is, it takes hold in the person's mind. The
person's mind is changed. And then, when the person tells someone
else, the idea takes hold in that person's mind. And so on. The idea
spreads, until hundreds, perhaps thousands of people know. The player
spends seven points of Essence and rolls Manipulation + Expression +
Chi, which the subject contests with Willpower. If the roll succeeds,
the idea takes hold over the person, and he feels the need to tell
others. The idea spreads.
Animal Control
The ghost is able to exert its will over an animal, controlling it
completely. Spend one Essence and roll Charisma + Animal Ken,
subtracting the animal's Wits from the dice pool. Success means the
character is able to command the animal to perform any task the
Purified desires, to the limit of the animal's physical abilities.
The character can control the animal for the duration of the scene if
desired. A character may only control one animal at a time.
Awe
The character's presence paralyzes those who view it with holy (or
unholy) terror. Spend three points of Essence and roll Manipulation +
Expression + Chi. All those who can see the character contest the
roll with Willpower + Supernatural Rating (Blood Potency, Etc...).
Anyone who gains fewer successes than the character is unable to move
or speak for one turn, either from awe (as, unwilling, they prostrate
themselves before the angelic figure) or all-consuming fear (as their
legs turn to jelly, their throats dry up and their backs turn to
ice).
Babel
The character can make it impossible for its target to speak
coherently. Spend one Essence and roll Manipulation + Expression +
Chi - the target's Wits. Every success prevents the victim from
speaking intelligibly for a minute. Try as she might, she simply
spouts random syllables.
Banshee Wail
The ghost creates an earsplitting scream that deafens anyone
nearby. Spend one point of Essence and roll Stamina + Intimidation +
Chi. Anyone within 20 yards of the ghost must succeed on a Willpower
roll. If the target rolls more successes, they are immune to the
power for 24 hours. Characters that are effected by the wail also
suffer a -3 penalty to any Perception checks that rely on hearing for
the remainder of the scene.
Blight
The character can destroy a year's crop of food within a radius of
a mile. Spend two Essence and roll Wits + Meditation + Chi. On a
success, the crop fails, afflicted with a sudden, crippling blight
that kills the plants overnight, leaving not a single grain or piece
of fruit edible.
Clasp
This Numen allows the spirit to lock a target in a crushing
embrace. The Numen functions like any brawling attack. The character
may roll Wits + Athletics + Chi when grappling. (This takes the place
of any Strength + Brawl rolls). If the character spends one point of
Essence, the spirit's grappling attacks inflict lethal instead of
bashing damage for the rest of the scene.
Consume the Physical
When the ghost consumes food, roll Stamina + Wits + Chi. Each
success translates to one point of regained Essence. The ghost may
only perform this once per day.
Destroy the Mind
This Numen assaults a person's mind with a cavalcade of
nightmarish imagery, breaking down his sanity in the process. Such
images are often personal and culled from a victim's own memory,
although the user sometimes applies images from its own history or
"memory" to decide such visions. Use of Dement is a
contested action, with opposing rolls being made reflexively. Spend
one Essence and roll Manipulation + Expression + Chi versus the
victim's Intelligence + Supernatural Tolerance (Gnosis, Blood
Potency, etc.). If the character rolls the most successes, the victim
becomes unable to concentrate on any action due to being so shaken.
The victim receives a dice penalty to all rolls, except resistance
rolls, for 24 hours. The dice penalty is equal to the difference
between the victim's resistance roll and the character's activation
roll. If the target of the Numen rolls the more or an equal number of
successes, the power has no effect on him, and is immune for 24
hours.
Desiccation
Desiccation allows a character to withdraw some or all of the
fluid most closely associated with it from its opponent's body. The
range is five yards per point of Chi. Roll Manipulation + Athletics +
Chi; the number of successes determines the number of points of
damage the target takes from loss of fluid. The damage is bashing.
Due to a lack of real biology, vampires and the Created may contest
the spirit's roll with Stamina + Supernatural Tolerance (Blood
Potency, etc.); however, if the spirit wins the contest, the
supernatural loses a point of Vitae or Pyros in addition to taking
bashing damage.
Elemental Immunity
The character spends 1 essence to activate the power, and
announces the type of element the character wishes to resist. When a
victim is targeted by one of these attacks, add the character's Chi
to its Resistance. The character's Chi is also automatically
subtracted from environmental exposure as well. For example, a
character with a Chi of 5 could sleep in a burning chemical plant
with no ill effects.
Emotional Aura
This Numen broadcasts a general pulse of emotion over a wide area
rather than focusing on one target. The character spends one Essence
to activate the aura of emotion, which then lasts for a scene. Anyone
within five yards of the spirit, or who later comes within five yards
of the spirit, must make a Willpower + Supernatural Tolerance (Blood
Potency, Gnosis, etc.) roll contested by the spirit's Charisma +
Manipulation + Chi. If the spirit wins, the subject suffers a -2 dice
penalty to dice pools for the duration of the scene or until the
spirit stops using this Numen, powerfully distracted by the broadcast
emotion. If the subject wins, she is immune to this Numen for the
next 24 hours.
End Disease
The character can use this Numen to remove all disease from a
living being. Spend one point of Essence and roll Wits + Medicine +
Chi. If the roll is successful, the character heals any disease the
subject may have, no matter how trivial or serious, treatable or
incurable. If the disease is of supernatural origin, such as the
result of a supernatural being's machinations, the character must
spend three Essence to cure the disease.
Ensnare
The spirit possesses an entangling attack, be it mystic webbing,
gobbets of intestine, wire mesh, or glue-like spittle. To hit its
target, the spirit makes a Dexterity + Athletics + Chi, the character
may attempt to Dodge the attack. Subjects struck by the attack are
automatically grappled. Each turn the victim may roll Strength +
Athletics - the spirit's Chi to escape; otherwise she is immobilized.
After a number of turns equal to the spirit's Chi then dissipates.
This attack costs one point of Essence.
Fearstruck
This Numen allows a character to cause an opponent to become
paralyzed by fear. The Purified spends a point of Essence and then
rolls Charisma + Intimidation + Chi; the targeted opponent contests
the roll with Willpower + Supernatural Tolerance (Blood Potency,
Gnosis, etc.). Success renders the victim unable to move or speak (or
even scream) for one turn.
Festering Touch
The character must make physical contact with the item it wishes
to affect with Festering Touch, spend two Essence and roll
Manipulation + Stamina + Chi. Success causes metal to rust, clothes
to become threadbare and wood to rot. If successes equal or exceed an
item's structure, that item is destroyed or otherwise rendered
unusable. In contact with skin, the target takes half the successes
rounded down in lethal damage.
Firestarter
The character can create a number of small fires. The spirit
spends one Essence and rolls Wits + Meditation + Chi. Each success
causes a small fire to break out within the character's Chi in yards,
the number of fires is limited to the Chi of the character. This
Numen is dependent upon having fuel to feed the flames -- the spirit
cannot cause nonflammable material to burn. The size and intensity of
the fires generated is equal to the flames of a torch -- though the
fires may grow or decrease in size and intensity naturally once
started.
Freeze
The character can rob the heat from a radius equal to its Wits in
yards. The Purified spends one Essence and rolls Manipulation +
Meditation + Chi; this is contested by a reflexive Stamina +
Supernatural Tolerance (Blood Potency, Gnosis, etc.) roll. If the
character scores more successes than its victims, they take that
number as levels of bashing damage. Armor and insulating clothes can
provide some protection for a limited period of time. Armor
automatically blocks damage equal to its rating for a number of
rounds equal to its rating.
Gauntlet Control
The spirit spends a point of Essence and rolls Manipulation +
Meditation as an instant action, with each success enabling the
spirit to raise or lower the local Gauntlet strength by one, to a
maximum of five or a minimum of zero. Note that a Gauntlet reduced to
zero automatically creates a Verge. In the event that a spirit's use
of this Numen is contested (by another spirit with the same power,
for example, or by a mage capable of influencing the Gauntlet), the
party scoring fewer successes subtracts them from those of the party
with more successes, and the Gauntlet strength adjusts by that many
points in the winner's desired direction, to the maximum amount
allowed by the power used by the winner.
Hallucinations
This Numen allows a character to create an illusion. The Purified
spends a point of Essence and pictures the illusion the character
wants to create in its mind. This may be a sight, sound, or even a
person meant to interact with the target. The spirit makes a
contested Manipulation + Expression + Chi versus the subject's
Willpower + Supernatural Resistance (Blood Potency, Gnosis, etc.)
roll. For each success the character rolls in excess of the target,
the illusion affects one of the subject's senses. The illusion is
utterly compelling, but if the vision does something notably unusual
the Storyteller may allow the target a Perception + Awareness vs. the
net successes rolled to realize that his senses are lying to him.
Heal The Land
The character remove the blight on a land. Spend three points of
Essence, and roll Manipulation + Meditation + Chi. If the roll is
successful, the character removes the blight created by nature or
magic. If created by magic, the character must roll more successes
than the caster who created the blight.
Ill Wind
By spending 3 Essence and rolling Stamina + Manipulation + Chi,
character breathes out a noxious fume which causes all within its
area of effect double over wracked with pain (unless they resist with
a reflexive Stamina + Supernatural Resistance (Blood Potency, Gnosis,
etc.)), taking bashing damage equal to the amount of successes rolled
in the form of retching and vomiting.
Imitation
A character with this Numen can take on the semblance of a human
the character has met. Spend one point of Essence and roll
Manipulation + Subterfuge + Chi. Those who know the imitated person
might see through the deception. Players of such characters make
contested Wits + Empathy + Supernatural Resistance (Blood Potency,
Gnosis, etc.) rolls. The number of successes is compared to the roll
for this Numen. If the character wins, the deception holds. If not,
the viewer realizes that something is wrong with his acquaintance.
Immolate
The character's hands (or claws, or mouth, or tentacles or wings)
can, in an instant, be wreathed in cold Transforming Fire, which
sears flesh and boils blood. Spend three points of Essence. All of
the Purified's Brawl attacks cause aggravated damage for the rest of
the scene.
Implant Delusion
The character can make someone believe something that isn't true,
or implant a false memory in a subject. Spend two Essence and roll
Manipulation + Subterfuge + Chi, contested by the subject's
Perception + Empathy + Supernatural Resistance (Blood Potency,
Gnosis, etc.). If the roll is successful, the subject believes
whatever the character has just told him to believe. If this belief
is something that can easily be proven false (for instance, "lead
turns to gold when anointed with this oil"), demonstration of
the delusion's untruth ends the Numen's effects.
Manipulate Element
The creature can move, morph, and shape the a single element in
its area. The element should have a fairly narrow definition (soil,
concrete, steel, stone, plastic, glass, wood, etc.) The character can
roughly shape a surface area of about 100 square feet or a volume of
roughly 40 cubic feet. The Manipulate Earth Numen, for example, is
ideal for creating a quick foxhole, a crude wall, or small escape
tunnel. The Numen cannot be used as a direct attack (use Blast).
Elements unable to hold their shape (air, water) should not be
chosen. The effects are permanent, though they are not magically held
in shape. Using the example above, a tunnel may naturally collapse
soon after it is formed. This Numen costs one point of Essence. The
character chooses one element this power effects each time the power
is taken. The power may be taken multiple times, each one effecting a
different element.
Parthenogenesis
The character has the power to conceive a child with a human woman
without any sexual contact ever having taken place. Spend a point of
Essence, and roll Stamina + Manipulation + Chi. If the roll succeeds,
the woman enters into normal pregnancy. The woman can be of any age,
and does not have to be physically able to bear a child --- she can
be too young or too old to bear a child, or be without the necessary
generative organs (because of disease, for example). If the pregnancy
is carried to term, the child who is born probably has some high
expectations upon her. Perhaps the child grows up to have
supernatural powers, but she doesn't need to. The weight of
expectations can be enough to make the child of such a miraculous
pregnancy remarkable in many ways.
Pillar Of Salt
The Purified can end a mortal's life at a stroke, transforming his
flesh with a word into nothing but salt and dust. Spend five Essence
and roll Manipulation + Meditation + Chi, contested by the subject's
Stamina + Wits + Supernatural Resistance (Blood Potency, Gnosis,
etc.). On a success, the victim becomes a rough pillar of rock salt.
A supernatural being remains this way for a number of hours equal to
the character's Chi. A mortal remains this way indefinitely, although
there may be supernatural means of returning him to life. The
character can only use this Numen on a mortal if the mortal ignores a
warning. A Purified doesn't have to say what the consequences of the
warning are, but must inform the victim of something he must not do
-- don't look back, don't open the red door, don't speak while in
this room, don't touch the altar. Here, for once, ignorance is an
excuse. If the person who broke the rules didn't know that there was
an instruction, the character cannot use this Numen.
Pray For Rain
Rain comes, cool and refreshing, brought by the character. Spend
three points of Essence and roll Wits + Manipulation + Chi. If the
roll is successful, it begins to rain in an area of about a half-mile
radius around the character, no matter how improbable that might be.
The rain is at a comfortable temperature for humans, no matter how
hot or cold the surrounding area.
Rapture
With this Numen, the character can tap into the pleasure centers
of a willing creature's mind and soul, granting the creature's
ecstatic visions, immense pleasure and a sense of communion with the
otherworld. For one turn, the victim is completely incapacitated --
perhaps babbling in the Spirit Tongue, dancing, or even growling. For
a number of hours after this effect (8 - Stamina), the victim feels
charged and sure of her devotion to the spirit's cause, receiving +2
dice on any roll when acting in accord with her ravisher's desires.
All other dice pools are at -2. Unfortunately, such intimate contact
with an alien mind can cause damage to the target's psyche. If the
target fails a Wits + Supernatural Tolerance (Blood Potency, Gnosis)
roll, she gains a temporary derangement for a number of days equal to
the character's Chi, or until she is no longer under the effect of
this Numen, whichever is longer. The derangements that result are
almost always ones that further bind the victim to spirit's desires
(fixations, compulsions, and so on.) Furthermore, victims begin to
build up a tolerance to the Numen, dropping the duration of the
effect (halving the time for each rapture experienced in the same
month). Each exposure to this Numen lowers the resistance to any of
the character's other powers, a cumulative -1, maximum -5; these
penalties fade at a rate of one per day. This Numen costs two points
of Essence and may only be used if the character is touching the
target.
Rising Of The Light
The character can create light that is equivalent in every way to
sunlight rise over an area the size of a city block. Spend 10 Essence
and roll Charisma + Wits + Chi. On a success, the area is bathed in
daylight. Creatures adversely affected by sunlight suffer effects as
if the sun really had risen. This lasts for a scene.
Sleep Eater
This insidious Numen allows a character to rob hours of sleep of
its victims. Spend one point of Essence and roll Manipulation + Wits
+ Chi - the target's Stamina + Supernatural Tolerance (Blood Potency,
Gnosis, etc.). Each success represents an hour's worth of sleep lost.
These can only be recovered through normal sleep. After the characte
eats six hours of the target's sleep, the target begins suffering the
effects of fatigue as if he had not slept in 24 hours. Each six
successes beyond this means the target loses another day's sleep, and
he suffers a cumulative -1 die penalty to all dice pools and must
make Stamina + Wits rolls or fall asleep. A person may only lose a
number of days worth of sleep equal to the lowest of his Stamina or
Wits before passing out.
Summon Swarm
Wastes of Civilization is accompanied by a swarm of rats, mice,
cockroaches, lice and other pests and vermin (in both the physical
and spiritual realm). These creatures swarm around their master,
granting +3 to the dodge or parry of the target. If the character is
not defending, the threshold to hit the character is increased by 3.
While the swarm doesn't attack outright, once per turn the swarm may
target an individual in an attempt to hamper her efforts. Roll four
dice, and successes translate to minuses to any action performed by
the target for that turn. Attacking the swarm directly may cause it
to dissipate for a turn (thus removing the defense bonus or hampering
penalty) but will do no damage or remove them from the fight.
Swarm Form
This Numen allows a character to break up its body into thousands
of tiny parts -- it might appear as a mass of whirling razor blades,
a flock of starlings, school of piranha, or a swarm of beetles. Treat
the character's strength as 1 for feats of Strength. The character's
speed is halved, but it may gain flight or be able to squeeze through
small openings in this form. The character becomes immune to most
melee and missile attacks, such as baseball bats and Uzis. Only
weapons such as torches, flamethrowers, or area effect attacks cause
the creature damage in this form. The character damages other
creatures by enveloping them. A creature caught within the swarm at
the beginning of its turn takes damage automatically. Damage is
determined by the intensity of the swarm. The swarm begins with a
radius in yards equal to the size of the character and does one
bashing damage. Each time the radius halves (a standard action), the
damage increases by one. Full-body armor provides half protection,
less than full body affords no protection as the small creatures find
their mark. This Numen costs two points of Essence and lasts for a
scene. Swarm creatures can choose to do lethal damage, by sacrificing
their constituent parts. All creatures caught within a swarm suffer
-2 to all checks.
Teiresian Metamorphosis
A character with this Numen can change the gender of a living
being (including a mage, but not a Promethean, vampire or werewolf).
Spend 10 Essence and roll Wits + Medicine + Chi. If the mortal wishes
to resist, his player can roll Stamina + Charisma. If the character
succeeds, the mortal changes sex, becoming as if he or she had been
born belonging to the other gender. A character could use this Numen
to "heal" a transsexual, supplying those generative organs
and making the changes that surgery could not fully perform. A
character can also use this Numen to join two humans together in one
hermaphrodite being, a true rebis, wholly male and wholly female. In
this case, roll once. Either individual or both get the option of
contesting the character's roll. If either gets more successes than
the Purified, the Numen fails to work. The character might be the
granting of a dearly held wish, a punishment or some strange means of
altering history.