Revision as of 08:08, 5 April 2010

Primordial Powers

These are rules for exalted who have somehow stolen some of the powers of the primordials (as happened in my campaign). They could also work for INfernal Exalted if you wanted them to be VERY scary.

As you might have noticed, these rules are basically a stripped down version of Nobilis, allowing characters to use powers so great that dice no longer need to be involved - essentially miracles allow players to become narrators for short periods.

The Rules

Defining Power For A Character

Prioritise Body, Mind & Soul Choose one noun/concept symbolising something important to the character or something representative of the character’s essential self. This is their primary domain for mind miracles.

Body Miracles

• Body Potence varies (4/3/1)
• Body Miracle Points (BMPs) start at 5
• Character gains various number of –0 health levels (4/3/1)
• Costs 1 BMP to activate body miracles for a scene and grant “The Sight”
• Using miracles above a character’s potence costs BMPs as follows
  • Normal difficulty (Body Potence +1): 1 BMP
  • Hard Difficulty (Body Potence +2): 2 BMPs
  • Deep Difficulty (Body Potence +4): 4 BMP

Mind Miracles

• Character has two domains
  • Their personal domain: potence varies (4/3/1)
  • Shadow: potence 2
• Mind Miracle Points (MMPs) start at 5
• Costs 1 MMP to activate body miracles for a scene and grant “The Sight”
• Using miracles above a character’s potence costs BMPs as follows
  • Normal difficulty (Body Potence +1): 1 BMP
  • Hard Difficulty (Body Potence +2): 2 BMPs
  • Deep Difficulty (Body Potence +4): 4 BMP

Spirit Miracles

• Spirit Potence varies (4/3/1)
• Provides Auctoritas (spiritual shielding) (4/3/1)
• Character gains permanent essence
• Costs 1 SMP to reduce cost of all charms by spirit potence for a scene

Using Miracles

• Wound penalties effect the use of miracles (subtracting from the character’s mind and body potences)
• Only one miracle can be sustained at any time. Other miracles (or those that were previously sustained) begin to fade as creation asserts itself (as Fae magic).
• Miracles have no chance of failure unless opposed by another miracle or they meet an area of auctoritas.
• When two miracles oppose each other, the one with the highest level wins. Equal miracles cancel each other out.
• Beings with Auctoritas are resistant to miracles unless penetration is added to the miracle. Penetration must match auctoritas for the miracle to take effect. Using miracles lower than a character’s potence creates free penetration equal to the difference. EG. A level 1 miracle used by a character with potence 4 has penetration 3 for free. Additionally any being with auctoritas cannot be caused aggravated damage by miracles.
• Exalted were made resistant against miracles by the gods in preparation for the war with the primordials. They have a natural auctoritas of 1 (terrestrials), 3 (celestials) or 4 (solars). Mind Miracles can be used at distance by spending extra MPs. Up to 100 miles costs +1 1MP. Range is unlimited for +2 MPs.
• When attacked at distance, the target immediately gets a visual picture of their attacker and knows their location and identity. Also, they can immediately send an attack back without paying any extra cost for distance.
• Previously cast miracles can be undone by using a miracle of equal level. If the miracle is being sustained it requires penetration equal to the caster’s auctoritas.
• Characters can work together to use miracles, All domains must play a central role on the effect and all characters must use a domain of equal level. The resulting miracle level is equal to [ level used + number of characters beyond the first]

Regaining Miracle Points

• Miracle points can only be regained within a manse or demesne and require 8 hours of uninterrupted rest.
• When regaining miracle points, player rolls character’s highest virtue (limited to the level of the manse/demesne) and covert successes to miracle points as they choose. Botches destroy the manse/demesne and cause the hearthstone to explode violently.

Lesser and Major Miracles

• Lesser divinations can only answer vague questions about a character’s domain.
• Lesser miracles can preserve, create, destroy or change up to 10 mtons of material, a square mile of territory or one typical instance of the character’s domain.
• Lesser miracles, as a general rule, have apower level within that found in the natural world (tensile strength of body armour, longevity of a tortoise, emotional control of an experienced Buddhist monk).
• Lesser Miracles should only create objects with a relatively small and unremarkable nature.
• Major miracles can effect more metaphysical/metaphorical aspects of a domain

Body Miracle Index

Level	Description - Examples
0	Peak Performance (Anyone “on a good day”) - Climb a wall, change clothes as fast as humanly possible
1	High-level Human(trained professional “on a good day”) - Run through forest in perfect silence, catch arrows, sense anything hidden nearby
2	Peak Human Capability - exactly measure distances by eye, remember anything ever known
3	Improbable Feats - Break rocks with punch
4	Very Improbably Feats - Lift an elephant, run on heads of a crowd
5	Impossible for humans (possible for some things in the natural world) - Run at 50 mph, hit as hard as a charging elephant
6	Universally Improbable - Run at 700 mph
7	Impossible For Anyone (Local) - Swallow an elephant, shout loud enough to kill
8	Impossible For Anyone (Non-Local) - Swallow a lake, lift a mountain, jump between continents
9	Fabled - Anything physically conceivable

Mind Miracle Index

Level	Description - Examples for shadow domain
0	Passive domain miracles - Shadows warn character if the concept of shadow or existence of shadows on a global level is in danger
1	Ghost Miracles - Create shadow beings temporarily, create shadowy illusions or shadowy effects
2	Lesser Divinations - Know when a shadow will hit a certain spot, identify someone from their shadow
3	Lesser Preservations - Stop shadow being destroyed by light sources, stop a shadow changing shape as light sources move, tie a shadow to a certain spot
4	Lesser Creations - Sink an area into shadow, create shadow beings permanently, create things from shadow-stuff as a sustained miracle, make a single shadow solid
5	Lesser Destructions - Destroy all shadows or darkness nearby, make the local night less dark, destroy anything of shadow stuff

Major Divinations - Look through any shadow, know where anyone is by locating their shadow, find anything hidden in shadows

6	Lesser Changes - Change the colour or shape of a target’s shadow, cause a shadow to act as you wish, move a shadow to another person or object, give a shadow sentience and have it report back on what it has seen

Major Preservations - Make it remain dark despite the sun rising, cause two shadows which are touching to become joined

7	Major Creations - Cast darkness over creation, step from one shadow to another anywhere in creation, learn a skill from someone by briefly shadowing their use of it
8	Major Destructions - Banish shadows throughout creation until the power says otherwise, stop someone being overshadowed by their peers, stop anyone shadowing you, make someone forget a skill they learnt by shadowing a teacher
9	Major Changes - Turn shadows into rainbows, turn every being’s shadow into an image of the character, Make shadows create noise/speak or be sentient throughout creation

Damage Limits For Miracles

Miracle Level	Humans	GodsVoidstate/PrimordialPowers/Demons/Fae	       ExaltedVoidstate/PrimordialPowers/Celestines/ Primordials
0	3B	3B	3B
1	6B or 3L	6B or 1L	        6B or 1L
2	12B or 6L	12B or 2L	        12B or 2L
3	24B or 12L	18B or 4L or 1A	        18B or 4L
4	48B or 24L 	24B or 12L or 3A	24B or 12L
5	96B or 48L	36B or 18L or 4A	36B or 24L
6	kill	        48B or 24L or 6A        48B or 24L
7	kill	        60B or 36L or 9A        60B or 36L
8+	kill	        72B or 48L or 12A       72B or 48L

NB. While miracles are “perfect” (ie. They always succeed), some types of defence are also “perfect”. For example soak still applies and some solar charms allow perfect dodges or perfect parries. These effects cannot be bypassed by miracles.

Comments