Latest revision as of 01:15, 6 April 2010

Charm Relay

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The third theme is Dealing With Demons and/or Undead in Non-Violent Manners. (i.e. Solar Charms that are a little more imaginative with foul creatures than laying aggravated smackdown upon them)
These are SolarCharms.

Malevolent Jailer's Benificence (Nikink)

 Cost: 4 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Reflexive
 Minimum Occult: 3
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: None

At the close of the Primordial War, the Solars had slain many Primordials and imprisoned the rest. These actions are forever imprinted upon every demon's very essence, from the lowliest Erymanthoi to the greatest Yozi. The Solar who knows this Charm is able to evoke the memories and feelings of those ancient Solars and the binding oaths made with the Yozis and their spawn. Upon activation, every demon that can see (or otherwise sense) the Solar is subject to feelings of fear, loathing, submission and love for their ancient conquerors. Mechanically, the Solar gains their Permanent Essence in automatic successes on every roll when dealing with a demon. This explicitly includes Bureaucracy, Presence and Socialise rolls though the ST may judge other skill rolls to be eligible for this bonus. This Charm ceases immediately if the Solar attacks a demon, and does not affect demons whose Permanent Essence is greater than the Essence of the user. Note, this Charm also does not prevent demons from attacking, although the bonus provided may help to talk them out of such aggressive actions!

Upon Your Name (LiOfOrchid)

 Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Occult: 4
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: Malevolent Jailer's Benificence

When the Primordials were overthrown, they swore oaths upon their own names to abandon Creation. The combination of these oaths and the prison of Malfeas keep the Yozis at bay; but their souls and the children of their souls often slip past the Endless Desert by sorcery and other means. Though they are not bound by the same oaths as the Yozis, lesser demons are still restrained to some degree. This Charm reinforces the strength of the Yozi's oaths upon their children. This Charm targets a single demon in Creation, who must be verbally chastized for violating their master's oath. The user rolls Charisma + Occult. Each success imposes a one die penalty to all the demon's dice pools for a number of turns equal to the demon's Essence.

Enforcing the Edict (Telgar)

 Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Occult: 5
 Minimum Presence: 3
 Minimum Essence: 3
 Prerequisite Charms: Upon Your Name

As demons are all, at some level, the souls of their Primordial masters, they are all bound by the Oaths that the Primordials swore upon their names. Only by a loophole can the lesser Demons escape into Creation. Any Solar Exalt with enough power of personality and Essence can force a Demon to hold to the spirit, not the word, of those Oaths. By using this Charm and succeeding in a Charisma + Occult roll, difficulty of (5 - the Demon's Essence, minimum of 1) the Solar can force a demon to return to Malfeas for 10 years per dot of the user's Permanent Essence. This time can be doubled by spending a permanent dot of willpower. To use this Charm on Demons of the Second Circle, the user must have Essence 5. To use this Charm on Demons of the Third Circle, the user must have Essence 8.

Assertion of Unholy Authority (Quendalon)

 Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Occult: 5
 Minimum Presence: 3
 Minimum Essence: 3
 Prerequisite Charms: Upon Your Name

Every demon recognizes certain others of its kind as its natural superiors. With this Charm, the character speaks in the voice of a greater demon in order to compel a lesser demon to do her bidding. When this Charm is activated, the demon to be targeted must roll its (Circle x Willpower) against a difficulty of the character’s Charisma + Essence. If the demon fails, it must serve the character faithfully for the rest of the scene, as if it were serving its designated master in the demonic hierarchy. Even if the demon succeeds, it loses a point of temporary Willpower, but this Charm has no effect and may not be used against the same demon by the same character for the rest of the scene.

Note that the compulsion exercised by this Charm is that of the demon’s appropriate superior in Malfeas. The demon would respond erratically to, or rebel against, the character if that would be its normal response to the same commands from its demon master. In addition, the Assertion of Unholy Authority cannot override a sorcerer’s mastery of a summoned demon. However, if the character successfully employs this Charm against a demon, the demon may not directly harm the character for the duration of the scene, no matter what other influences may be at work.

Devil-Pacifying Melody (Ikselam)

 Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Supplemental
 Minimum Occult: 5
 Minimum Performance: 5
 Minimum Essence: 4
 Prerequisite Charms: Malevolent Jailer's Beneficence, Heart-Compelling Method

It is said that in Malfeas, the demons' music is the only thing devoid of anger and spite. A Solar with this Charm knows the truth of this claim; filling her performance with the alien inflections of the Yozi's home, she creates a sound which brings feelings of peace to all who hear it, but especially to the tormented souls of the Yozis.

The character makes a Charisma + Performance roll, adding her Essence score as automatic successes. This roll must represent a musical performance, be it singing or playing an instrument. The performance need not last longer than a few minutes, but its effects linger for a full scene. The performance has different effects, depending on the nature of the listeners.

Demons whose permanent Essence is less than the number of successes scored on the roll become entranced by the beautiful sounds. Fetich demons double their Essence for purposes of resisting this Charm. For the remainder of the scene, they will not attack or take any other offensive action; even ravening beasts such as Blood Apes will become docile. An attack launched against a demon in this state automatically gains the benefits of surprise, but also immediately breaks the reverie. After the first attack, the demon can react as normal, and cannot be affected by the song again until the end of the scene; rage at being jolted from its peaceful state will cause it to become even fiercer than usual. Likewise, if a demon witnesses someone provoking one of its kin who is under the Charm's effects, it will immediately snap out of its trance, most likely rushing to attack the person who spoiled its moment of happiness.

Ghosts who hear the song, and whose Essence is less than half the successes rolled (round down), must spend a permanent Willpower point or succumb to Lethe. Spending a Willpower makes them immune to the Charm's effects for the entire scene. Deathlords, and certain other ghosts who have wholly pledged their souls to the Malfeans, are immune to this power. Hungry ghosts who hear the song, and do not enter Lethe, become docile just as demons.

If used along with a demon-summoning spell, the Devil-Pacifying Melody prevents the summoned demon from resisting the sorcerer's binding (if the demon would be affected by the Charm). It cannot actually be used by the summoner, though; using the Charm would break her concentration. In order to avoid the contest of wills, the Charm must be used by another character, who is assisting the sorcerer.

If using the rules presented in Savant And Sorcerer, successful use of this Charm on a demon reduces its Limit by one point; if the trance is interrupted, though, the demon gains a point of Limit instead.

Comments

Ok, I've started it off... knowing that I am not great with charms, I expect this rough draft to be shredded, so comment away folks! B-) Nikink

Looks good, but I might make it require Presence or Socialize at 2 as well. It's a pretty badass effect. But really, I think Solars need scenelong social adders..I should make some...good idea, Nikink. - Telgar

I don't know if I made Upon Your Name too strong. I like the idea of some Solar talking down to a demon like a naughty child, "What are you doing here? Didn't I say you should never come back to Creation? Bad demon! Bad!" and the demon getting all cringy and weak. I also like the idea of it being more effective against higher-Essence demons, as they are closer to the Yozis and thus, the force of the Yozis' oaths restrain them more than lesser demons. -LiOfOrchid

It looks cool. Personally though, I'd have had it impose dice pool penalties rather than drain Essence, and maybe have those penalties last for less than a whole scene (given the Charm's moderate requirements). And the roll would be better if based on Charisma or Manipulation rather than Essence, to account for the verbal chastizement component of the Charm. - Quendalon

I kind of like that idea better, so I went with it. BTW, if you're around right now, get on AIM and message me. -LiOfOrchid