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Elder Charm Examples

The following are sample powers that can be learned by Exalts as they increase their Essence ratings past 5. Because these Charms all require the character to be Essence 6+, they do not have Essence or Ability prerequisites. Instead, they simply have Charm prerequisites.

Solar Charms

As Solars age in power, their Charms expand drastically in scope and capability, delivering them with elder Charms such as the following:

Golden Years Eternal

Prerequisites: Ultimate Mastery of Resistance
Cost: None, <b>Duration: Permanent, Type: Permanent
Keywords: Permanent

A few Solars were so terrified of death that they devoted their increasing mastery of Essence into staving it off, counting every year thus gained as a beautiful blessing. Upon learning this Charm, the character's base lifespan increases to 2000 years, and the interval between rolls increases to fifty years. However, this increasing lifespan has its own cost. Once they reach the age of 2000, any Solar with this Charm develops a point of permanent Limit. They gain another point for every two hundred years that pass beyond that, as their minds slowing crack under the strain of their incredible age. This Charm cannot allow Solars to live past 3000 years.

Lunar Knacks

Most elder Lunars learn at least one Elder Knack - these are typically refinements of existing Knacks, pushing them across the line into terrifyingly powerful terrain.

Passing The Years</b>

<b>Prerequisite: Flickering Star Infusion, Honing The Stolen Form

Every form is a fragment of the Lunar's true self, and a true master of form can force even Time to obey that directive. The character commits one mote when activating this Knack. As long as that mote remains committed, the form she is currently wearing ages rather than her true forms. This prevents all aging-based effects, giving the Lunar a true age and an effective age. Use of this Knack is costly, however, as it fragments a Lunar's grasp of her true self. After 2000 years of true life, the Lunar gains a dot of permanent Limit. She gains another dot for every two hundred years that pass after that. This Knack cannot allow Lunars to live longer than 3000 years, regardless of how many forms they let die of old age.

Mirror Servant Understanding

Prerequisite: Insidious Lunar Transformation

Once possessed by the ancient Lunar known as the Thousand-Faced Devil, this Knack has not been reproduced since, and many elders consider the possibility that the Devil's newer incarnation might rediscover this terrible technique with grave concern (others fear that the Devil has no newer incarnation, and simply feigned his death through the use of this Knack). To use this Knack, the Lunar must feed at least one health level worth of blood to her target, who must be a mortal human with no ability to use Essence - Essence-use interferes with the process. The Lunar then spends twenty motes and two Willpower. The target becomes a perfect copy of the Lunar in every way, with all Traits, goals, and personality that the original possesses, with three exceptions. First, her Essence rating is two dots lower than the Lunar's, and any of her Attributes or Abilities too high for her new Essence rating are reduced to it. Secondly, she does not possess any Elder Charms or Knacks. Finally, she is completely subservient to the original.

The original Lunar loses a dot of Permanent Essence for the duration of this effect, and cannot activate Mirror Servant Understanding for as long as the effect lasts. The effect lasts until the Lunar dies, the mirrored servant dies, or the Lunar spends one Willpower to call her fragment of Essence home - in the latter case, the subject is dropped to Incapacitated from aggravated damage, and retains an Intimacy to the Lunar which can be acted against or weakened normally, but is otherwise left alive.

Resplendent Anima Transformation

Prerequisite: Constant Quicksilver Rearrangement

One of the demonstrated capabilites of the elder Lunar Lilith, the Resplendent Anima Transformation allows her to quickly change her shape in any situation. When the character's anima rises to the point where the Lunar would be locked into a true shape, and she is not already in a true shape, she may reflexively pay 3 motes to remain in her current shape. In addition, she may pay an additional 3 motes in order to shapeshift into any shape (or use any shapeshifting Knack) while she should be form-locked.

Lunar Charms

Sidereal Elder Signs

The Elder Signs of the Sidereals are powerful but focused astrological effects, allowing Sidereals to manipualte fate in vast ways with increased power, but also without drawing the same ire of the Pattern Spiders. Over the course of centuries, Sidereals learn how to manage their alterations such that they make a minimal amount of distortion to the fabric of the Loom, and these techniques are the result.

An Elder Sign costs eight experience to develop. It may be used to affect any Ascending or Descending Destiny for a College in which the character possesses five or more dots, at the cost of one Willpower. Characters are not required to use Elder Signs, and can enhance a given destiny with only one of the Signs that they know. Signs count towards the maximum number of high-Essence techniques that a character can know.

When designing an Elder Sign, the Sidereal's player gains seven enhancement points, which may be spent on a wide variety of blessings, as follows:

• Providence (Two Points): The Destiny has a second effect woven into it. The character chooses a single Providence, which may be connected to any Ascending or Descending Destiny that she possesses at four dots or greater. This Providence applies along with whichever Providence the character chooses for her destiny. This counts as only a single destiny for the purposes of how many a being can have on them at a time. This power may only be purchased once.
• Trigger (One or Two Points): This power allows the character to lay triggers on her Destinies without garnering additional Paradox. For one point, the character chooses a simple or intelligent trigger when purchasing the Elder Sign, and must use it whenever the Sign is triggered. For two, she may use any trigger she wishes.
• Scope (One Point): The character causes the destiny to naturally affect larger groups. This power adds one automatic effect point to the Scope of the destiny if the effect roll gains at least one success. It also increases the number of effect points required to gain additional Paradox or censure by 1. (For example, a single purchase of this power would cause censure to only be an issue at 5 effect points, instead of 4, and would provide an additional Paradox die at 6 effect points instead of 5). This power may be purchased up to five times.
• Scope (Essence Flow) (Two Points): The character learns the hidden art of accounting for Essence-wielders. She treats all Essence-users as having one less dot of Essence for the purpose of Scope. This does allow her to weave Essence 2 characters seemlessly into her destiny. This power may only be purchased once.
• Duration (One Point): The character gives a naturally expanded life to the destiny. This power functions as the Scope power, but applies to the effect's Duration. It may be purchased up to five times.
• Frequency (One Point): The character creates a destiny with profound activity to it. This power functions as the Scope power, but applies to the effect's Frequency. It may be only be purchased once.
• Range (One or Two Points): The power is quick to strike, resting eagerly on the Sidereal's fingers. For one point, the Sidereal may automatically affect the target with this destiny as long as they are within (Essence x5) yards. For two points, the effect becomes line of sight.
• Natural (Two Points): The Sidereal can work great magic with a thought. She may craft petitions to the Pattern Spiders with her thoughts, reducing the time required from fifteen minutes to that of a miscellaneous action without increasing its difficulty. She may compose plans in a single Miscellaneous action; a second roll requires one minute, a third requires one hour, and after that it defaults to the times listed in the Sidereals manual. She may also compute horoscopes in a miscellaneous action without tools or charts.
• Limit (Provides Two Points): The Sidereal's ability to work astrology is at the maximum level, despite the dangers that this poses. Whenever the character activates her Elder Sign, she gains a single point of Limit. This power may be purchased only once - if the character is immune to Limit entirely, due to not suffering from the Great Curse for some reason, she may still purchase this power with no side effects.

In addition, these signs are difficult to disrupt. Any attempt to undo an Elder Sign takes a -2 external penalty. Perfect effects that undo astrology require their user to succeed on a Difficulty 2 Essence roll, or else fail.

Example: Chejop Kejak has developed the 'Destiny of Nations Mudra'. This powerful effect can be applied to any Ascending or Descending destinies that are part of the Guardians, allowing him to inspire knowledge or superstition, understanding or mindless acceptance. Kejak has purchased the Providence [Ascending Peacock, Artless Rabbit] and Scope (Essence Flow) powers, as well as four iterations of Scope and one iteration of Frequency, and finally the trait Limit - when he uses his sign, anyone affected applies a -1 target number to attempts to ally and come together with each other in defense of whatever wisdom or foolery Chejop is encouraging, he can affect Essence 2 people as easily as Essence 1 (and affect more powerful beings with more ease than a typical destiny could), and he gains four automatic effect points in Scope, not suffering censure until he reaches 8 Effect Points or extra Paradox until he reaches 9 Effect Points, plus one point in Frequency, allowing such effects to trigger daily without penalty. On the other hand, he gains a point of Limit whenever he uses his Sign. This makes it trivially easy for him to encourage or discourage cults and certain types of behaviour in regions containing hundreds of thousands of people, which he uses to great effect to encourage the Immaculate Order and to turn against the Cult of the Illuminated.

Sidereal Secret Techniques

Terrestrial Charms

Well-Tended Garden Of The Soul

Prerequisites: Unchanged from Dreams of the First Age
Cost: None, <b>Duration: Permanent, Type: Permanent
Keywords: Permanent

Through careful discipline and retention of purity, a Dragon-Blood can extend their lifespan dramatically compared to their shorter-lived brethern. This is still a very rare Charm, however. The Dragon-Blood's base lifespan increases to 300 years, and she ages only one year for every six that pass. Furthermore, and much more impressively, she makes her roll to resist aging every (Breeding x10) years instead of every decade. Characters with a Breeding of 0 may not take this Charm. The effects of this Charm increase the character's elemental nature, however. After 300 years, the Dragon-Blood gains a point of permanent limit. Should she reach the age of 1000, she gains a second point. This Charm may not increase a Dragon-Blood's age past 1200 years.

Abyssal Charms