Difference between revisions of "GoldenCat/AbyssalAnimas"

Latest revision as of 22:27, 1 March 2010

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This is my attempt at making the dark mirrors of PassengerPigeon's anima powers.

With thanks to Haren!

Abyssal Anima Powers

The inherent powers of the Abyssal Exalted take three forms. Each caste has a great power they can draw upon in times of need. Each caste has a unique capability inherent in their peerless Essence flows. And each caste has a special privilege granted them by the word of the Malfeans, to better harness the powers of the Underworld and bring them to bear upon the living.

Dusk

• Inherent Excellence: No Motion. Death to all the Chosen, the Ascending Darkness can counter even the greatest fighting arts ever devised -- they are able to perceive the Soul-Fire of building secret techniques and cause the raging Essence to wither and die with the martial gesture that ends all war. A Dusk Caste Abyssal may reflexively spend 1 Willpower when perceiving a Combo being used in their vicinity and engage in a contest of their Permanent Essence against that of the character enacting the Combo -- should the character win the contest it takes effect as it should, but should the Abyssal win the contest the secret technique is broken in a burst of Necrotic Essence, its fires snuffed with no motion. The character enacting the Combo loses his action and the point of willpower spent activating the Combo. No motes are spent and the character can re-enact the Combo at any time (immediately so in the case of Reflexive Combos.)
• Supreme Power: Master All Entropy. Instruments of destruction, the Children of Ash have mastered the forces of entropy -- all will end on their word, and no implement of war will end without their say-so. As long as he holds ownership of an implement of war it becomes immune to entropy: it is unbreakable, cannot be forcibly deatunned and will always wield its benefits as if the Exalt were of the appropriate Exalted type even if not made of Soulsteel. This does indeed mean that Grave Goods under the ownership of the Children of Ash can be taken into Creation and never wither -- the Neverborn have decreed that the Dusk Caste bring the war machine of the Underworld to the living lands.
• Dark Favor: Death's Pale Warlords. The Peacebringers are the leaders of the armies of the Underworld and are attuned to all the energies of death upon the battlefield. When a Dusk Caste Abyssal goes to war he is able to sense the location and movements of all undead soldiers at his command, as well as the destruction (or death, in the case of the rare living soldier) of any soldier fighting under his banne -- receiving a one-line report of the circumstances behind it as perceived by the fallen soldier.

Midnight

• Inherent Excellence: Fated in Dark Stars. Leaders of the Abyssal Exalted, those of the Resplendent Darkness are the personification of Malfean will. In this determination, the living see death, a clear vision of the fate written for them in the dark stars of the Underworld. A fate without a future. A Midnight Caste Abyssal may channel a Virtue to reduce an opponent's pool in any single action by twice the value of the channelled Virtue. The opponent must be able to perceive the Midnight for this power to take effect and while it does not enhance a dice action it follows all other rules and limitations of channeling a Virtue. This is an Entropic Effect -- it can lower the opponent's pool to 0 regardless of their Permanent Essence rating.
• Supreme Power: Invincible Armor of Faith. The Children of Silence have the strength to endure any opposition in the name of their cause. When suffering health levels of damage, a Midnight Caste Abyssal may spend 5 motes and roll his permanent Essence. Each success subtracts one health level from the damage he would take.
• Dark Favor: Blood-Blessed Priests of Oblivion. Each of the Echoes of Abyss is a full-fledged priest of the Mafeans, with the rights, powers and responsibilities pertaining thereunto. They intrinsically know all the rituals and sacraments of worship, as well as the name and general tale of each ghost they lay their eyes on. Their gods know of them and the inescapable knowledge their existence will fall in the Oblivion is for the Midnight Caste Abyssal to impart.

Daybreak

• Inherent Excellence: Stagnant Essence Flows. No one knows more about the essence of the Underworld than the Descending Darkness, and they have learned to replicate it in the world around them. The Descending Darkness may reflexively spend 1 willpower to bring shadow to the world of living. For a number of turns equal to the Abyssal's Essence rating, all those she can perceive that do not make use of necrotic essence(those able to respire Essence in the Underworld) pay a 1-mote surcharge on every charm activation.
• Supreme Power: Thought Becomes Action. Applied knowledge is the cornerstone of the Children of Bone; their peerless sagacity allows them to accomplish any design with a minimum of effort. Once a day, by spending 5 motes, a Daybreak Caste Abyssal may complete in one turn any non-opposed task that would normally take no longer than a day -- the information she needs is already within her mind, the tools she has at hand can easily be made ideal for the job, and the work necessary is performed in a few simple motions. This effect does not and cannot actually speed up the Daybreak's movement or actions; it merely allows them to see the best way to accomplish a certain goal. As an example, if this were used to deliver a message to a nearby town, in a few seconds, it would be there. It's up to the player to optionally describe some mechanism, such as catapult, flock of birds, or pneumatic tube, that did the job.
• Dark Favor: Inquisitor-Kings of the Underworld. The Shadows of the Abyss are tasked with the responsibility of gathering all knowledge in the underworld, no matter how forbidden, so as to make greater engines of extinction. In pursuit of this sacred duty, they may enjoin any creature of the Underworld to aid them by disgorging their hard-won information. Once a scene, a Daybreak Caste Abyssal may ask a question in their official capacity as a Daybreak of any creature of the Underworld; they must answer to the best of their ability. Deathlords are not exempt of this, but most Abyssals learn to respect their masters, as abusing this ability in the former Solars tends to shorten an Abyssal's lifespan considerably. Abyssal Exalted, however, are not geased for this power.

Day

• Inherent Excellence: Midnight at Noon Display. Most secretive of the Exalted, the Hidden Darkness have more control of their animas than any other and can mute them to exert their abilities without overt displays of power. When a Day Caste Abyssal Exalted spends Peripheral Essence, they may spend 2 more motes to enact the magic without creating an Anima Display.
• Supreme Power: Unbroken Twig Step. Spies without peer, the Daywalkers are able to extend their muted anima like a veil about themselves - Shadows are darker, sounds muffled and scent and footprints are both much lighter than normal. A Day Caste Abyssal Exalt may spend 5 motes to mute the senses of those attempting to perceive their presence or the evidence left behind by their actions by half the Exalt's Essence, rounded up.
• Dark Favor: Lords of Silence. Of all the Abyssal, the Children of Blood are the only ones expected to still walk the living world, to bring death where undead armies and powerful necromancy cannot. Thus, the Malfans forgive the transgressions of the tenants of death committed by Day Caste Abyssal Exalted -- when working under direct orders of the Deathlords or the Malfeans no action that follows those orders accumulate Resonance. It must follow the orders to the letter, however: the Exalt will not accumulate Resonance for sleeping with the wife of the man he was ordered to impersonate, but will do so if he is impersonating a merchant and decides to lay with a woman in his path.

Moonshadow

• Inherent Excellence: Ten-Thousand-Times-Masked Soul. The Hollow Darkness are most talented generalists, able to learn the magic of other beings to facilitate relations and trade. Provided he can find a willing tutor a Moonshadow Caste Abyssal can learn the Charms of other magical beings at a cost of 2 extra Experience to purchase. Those Charms also cost 2 extra motes to use.
• Supreme Power: Malfean Bound Contract. When the Child of Dust is party or witness to an oath, he may use his anima to sanctify it. The character must touch hands to seal the agreement or touch the hands of those who are party to it. His anima burns darkly, swirling with the words and runes which the Malfeans gave him the right to arbitrate such matters. Those who break such an oath (including the Exalted himself) suffer a terrible curse. The Moonshadow Caste Abyssal spends 5 motes of Essence and a point of Willpower to sanctify the oath. Those who break it will suffer terrible luck from their oathbreaking. A number of times equal to the Exalt's Essence at the time he witnesses or agrees to the oath, the oathbreaker will horribly botch a critical roll. When this happens is up to the Storyteller, but it is always at the worst possible moment. The Exalted need not be alive when the curse takes effect — he sanctifies the oath, but it is the will of the Void that enforces it.
• Dark Favor: Spinner of Intrigues. Weavers of oblivion's intrigues, the Winds of the Abyss know well when their careful webs of lies have been compromised. A Moonshadow Caste Abyssal always knows the location of any one assossiate, their condition, and, if they were given a duty by the Moonshadow, their status in accomplishing said goal. Effects that cloak one from supernatural perception will rob the Moonshadow of this knowledge.

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