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Powers of the All-Consuming Void: The Traits of the Nihilic Exalted

Nihilic Exalts are both like and unlike their Abyssal brethern. Their intrinsic traits are much more in evidence in their natures, both for good and for ill.

Traits Common With Abyssals

As Exalts of the Neverborn, the Nihilic Exalted share the following traits with the Abyssal Exalted:

• Eternal Life: The Nihilic Exalted have the same immortality of death shared by the Abyssal Exalted. (MoEP: Abyssals, Page 94)
• Eternal Death: Nihilic Exalted suffer the same ultimate fates as Abyssal Exalted. (MoEP: Abyssals, Page 94)
• Damned: Like Abyssals, Nihilic Exalted are creatures of unholy power. (MoEP: Abyssals, Page 95)
• Rejected By Creation: Also like Abyssals, the Void within the souls of the Nihilic Exalted is repelled by the Essence of life. (MoEP: Abyssals, Page 95)
• Recovering Essence: Nihilics respire Essence in the Underworld and Creation as per Abyssals, with one exception - Nihilic Exalted cannot feed from blood. They have alternate means of gaining Essence. (MoEP: Abyssals, Pages 95-96.)
• Backgrounds: Nihilic Exalted use the Abyssal Background list, and add one new Background of their own: Grasping Heart. Grasping Heart is described below, under the Stealing Souls section.
• Dark Fate: Nihilic Exalts do not have Virtue Flaws. Instead, they gain Resonance exactly as do Abyssals. (MoEP: Abyssals, Pages 112-115)
• Monstrances: Nihilic Exalted have their own Monstrances of Celestial Portions, which function for them as the Abyssal ones do for Abyssals and Solars.

The Darkness Within: Shards of Oblivion and the Black Tell

Unlike Lunars, Nihilic Exalts are not inherently shapeshifters. The parts of their Exaltations that were most fluid have been corrupted, filled with the all-consuming destructiveness of the Void. Upon Exaltation, the Void howls within a Nihilic Exalt. Every day, they must fail at an Essence roll or take one unsoakable, unrolled level of aggravated damage. This damage cannot be healed until the character is properly tattooed (see Dead Patterns, below). Once tattooed, this problem is suppressed.

However, it is not gone. Effectively, a Nihilic's Spirit Shape is the Void itself, and they can, more or less, call upon it. By spending a single mote of Essence, a Nihilic Exalt may change her shape into that of the Void. Doing so is something that a Nihil can do only once, however, as it utterly obliterates her, body, mind, and soul. Her possessions will clatter to the ground, but she herself will be gone forever, consumed by an Oblivion of her own making. No force can return her to life or call upon her ghost, for she is completely consigned to Oblivion. Even the Neverborn cannot save her, for she travels a route they do not lie across.

For obvious reasons, this power is not one that Nihils generally choose to use. It is, however, completely reflexive, and cannot be blocked by any means short of ensuring that the Nihil never gains the mote required to trigger it.

Less suicidal Nihils must develop means of channeling and properly using the Void within. These powers are commonly known as Desecrations. Unlike Charms, they rely on an inherent part of the Nihil's nature, and are effectively a Nihilic Exalt's equivalent of the Knacks that Lunars can draw upon. Desecrations allow a Nihil to shape necrotic Essence, warping and twisting her own body, or to draw upon the power of souls she has consumed (see Soul Devourers, below). They are purchased as Charms.

The influence of the Void within the Nihil has an effect, however. All Nihils sport a Tell, just as Lunars do. However, their Tells are invariably a sign of corruption or darkness; a shadow that is deep and dark even when the shadows around it are pale, eyes as black as death, decaying skin or bleeding fingernails. The Black Tell acts as natural mental influence despite its magical nature, and applies (12 - the Nihil's Essence) as successes against the MDVs of targets. There are means to hide it, but it is usually in effect, and becomes increasing pronounced as a Nihil grows in power. A character who is specifically looking for signs of corruption in the Nihil gains a +2 to their MDV, as does one who knows the Nihil's tell already (on the chance that the Nihil is otherwise disguised). These two bonuses stack.

Dead Patterns: The Soulsteel Tattoos

In order to control Oblivion's taint, the Deathlords worked horrifying soulsteel tattoos in a mockery of the moonsilver that graces the Lunars' skins. These tattoos are a dull grey, and the patterns that they form sometimes seem to swirl or twist as people watch. They can be hidden by a Nihil who knows the art, but otherwise can only be concealed by heavy clothing.

Soulsteel tattoos are not as versatile or powerful as their moonsilver equivalents. Instead, they draw energy from death, guarding the Nihil from the wrath of the dead. Any attack composed entirely of necrotic Essence cannot harm a Nihil unless they choose to be harmed (save for being thrown into the Void itself), and necrotic Charms that boost damage provide only half their usual benefit. In addition, any necrotically-powered effects that would force a Crippling, Poison or Disease effect on a Nihil fail to do so. These effects are permanent, but can be momentarily surpressed by a Nihil if they wish to taste the power of the Void.

Soul Devourers: The Dark Heart of the Nihils

The Nihil's final inherent power is their most feared and terrible. When a Nihil kills a human being, she may spend fifteen minutes ritually butchering and drawing apart the corpse - or, if she wishes, she may do this before her target has died, provided said target is immobilized or dying. During this time, she pulls her victim's higher soul to the surface of its body, and at the conclusion, she draws it into herself. Observers see terrified wisps flowing from the wounds of the victim, into the mouth of the Nihil.

A Nihil may hold a number of captured souls. Nihils must purchase the Grasping Heart background in order to contain souls. The number of souls she may contain is equal to the number of forms a Lunar with an equivalent level of Heart's Blood may purchase. The sole difference is that Nihils may never have a Grasping Heart rating higher than their Essence scores. Those who reach Grasping Heart 5 have a limit of (40 + Essence x5) souls that they can hold at once.

The benefits of soul devouring are manyfold, but most of them require Desecrations in order to be effective. The most basic advantage for a Creation-bound Nihil is that souls are composed of Essence. Over the course of an hour, a Nihil may break down the soul of a mortal into motes of Essence. The souls of nonheroic mortals provide 4 motes, as such people have souls that are tired and weak. The souls of heroic mortals provide 8 motes, and the soul of an Exalt or other Essence-user provides (8 + Essence x2) motes. Motes are gained at the end of the hour, and only one soul can be consumed at a time.

In addition, a Nihil can develop Affinity from devoured souls, a concept which many of their Charms take advantage of. A Nihil is considered to have Affinity with any human who shares the bulk of their Motivation with that of a soul the Nihil has devoured. (For example, someone with the Motivation "Protect my home" would share Affinity with any other Motivation based around protecting homelands or specific locations.) It is ultimately up to the Storyteller whether a given Motivation is close enough to count. Nihils instinctively know the Motivations of souls that they devour.

Ordinary Nihils can only devour human souls in this manner, but can take them either from living victims or by consuming ghosts. However, Desecrations exist that expand the range of souls that a Nihil can steal.