FrivYeti/MortalEssence
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Enlightened Mortals
Most mortals in Creation have no inherent access to Essence. Their souls are small things when compared to those of other beings, and they cannot manipulate the fabric of creation in the ways required of those who would wield magical might. However, through a variety of means, some mortals reach above their station. They learn to work the magic of the world, in a variety of small ways. These people are essence channelers - thaumaturges, god-bloods, martial artists and priests. Their magic holds the fabric of the Second Age together, where greater powers cannot be bothered to tread.
Mortals can awaken their Essence in a variety of ways. The most common involve direct blessings from gods or Exalts, which grant immediate use of the Awakened Essence merit (which usually have an alternate cost instead of putting the mortal into experience debt). Other methods include powerful geomancy and spending many years aligning oneself with Creation's flows in order to unlock Essence.
Once unlocked, mortals increase their Essence at a cost of (Current Rating x15) experience and a training time of (Current Rating x Months). Mortals who complete a Motivation successfully may raise Essence without training as usual. Mortals may not raise their Essence scores past 3 by any means; supernatural beings who do so generally use powers that transform characters so that they are no longer mortals.
Essence Pools and Anima Banners
Mortals, like Exalts, have Personal and Peripheral Essence pools. A mortal's Essence pools are drawn from their connection to the world, their strength of purpose, and their reserves of will. A mortal's Personal Essence pool is equal to her (Essence x2) + Highest Virtue. Her Peripheral Essence is equal to her (Essence x4) + Willpower. Mortals with Awakened Essence must spend one point of Willpower to access their Peripheral Essence pools for a scene. This Willpower remains committed for the duration of the scene.
Mortals recover Essence very slowly by nature. Mortals recover 1 mote of Essence per hour of rest, and may not attune to manses or artifacts.
Mortals' anima banners are wispy, pale auras, with a vague white hue that is barely visible. A mortal who spends 1-4 motes of peripheral Essence is surrounded by a wispy flicker for the scene; noticing it requires success on a Perception + Awareness roll at standard difficulty. Spending 5-9 motes strengthens the glow to be visible even to those who are not paying attention; such a glow applies a +1 difficulty to all Stealth rolls. Finally, on any tick in which a mortal spends enough Essence to reach the 10+ range, her anima briefly burns brightly, rendering mundane stealth impossible at that moment and being visible for several hundred feet.
Mortal Excellencies and Available Charms
Mortals who unlock their Essences have access to three paths to power. The first path are Terrestrial Martial Arts; mortals can learn these potent abilities, provided that they have a Martial Arts score of 3 or better. Each Charm on a Martial Arts tree costs 15 experience, regardless of whether or not the character favours Martial Arts. The second path is sorcery; a few mortals learn Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. This requires the character to have Occult 4 and Essence 3, and costs 15 experience to initiate, plus 15 experience per spell. Characters may not learn spells that summon and compel demons or elementals; they do not have the Mandate of Heaven required to do so.
Mortals also have access to Excellencies. They may purchase these Charms at a cost of 12 experience each, but only for Abilities that the mortal favours. Mortals have only two Excellencies, as follows:
Mortal (Ability) Excellency</b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes per die, Mins: (Ability) 3, Essence 1, Type: Reflexive (Steps 1 or 2) Keywords: None Duration: Instant Prerequisites: None
Even mortals can increase the power of their skills. The mortal purchases bonus dice on any roll for this Ability in which she stunts. No more dice may be purchased than the number of dice on the stunt (before reduction due to the character being mortal). Every two motes spent purchases one die.
Mortal (Ability) Supremacy</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes, Mins: (Ability) 5, Essence 3, Type: Reflexive (Steps 3 or 4) Keywords: None Duration: Instant Prerequisites: Mortal (Ability) Excellency
Creation favours the bold. When the character stunts on a roll, she may activate this Charm after her Ability roll is completed in order to reroll. The second roll must be applied; the character may not apply the better of the two rolls.
Exalts may also purchase these Charms at the cost of their own Excellencies, but they almost never bother; they are simply weaker than even a Dragon-Blood's equivalent.
Mortal Essence Merits
Awakened Essence</b>
<b>Cost: 5 pts (15 XP)
The character opens her Essence chakras. She may use all of the rules above, and purchase mortal Excellencies, Sorcery, and Martial Arts (provided she meets the requirements).
Essence Flow Recovery</b>
<b>Prerequisites: Awakened Essence, Essence 2 Cost: 3 pts (9 XP)
The character learns to master her Essence flows more effectively. She now recovers 1 mote per hour of light activity, and 2 motes per hour of rest.
Essence Mastery</b>
<b>Prerequisites: Essence Flow Recovery, Essence 3 Cost: 4 pts (12 XP)
The character finishes her journey, fully unlocking her Essence. She does not need to spend Willpower to activate her peripheral Essence pool. In addition, she now recovers 2 motes per hour of light activity and 4 motes per hour of rest.
Essence Attunement</b>
<b>Prerequisites: Awakened Essence Cost: 4 pts (12 XP)
The character learns to attune to artifacts and Manses as though she were an Exalt, in part. She may not attune to artifacts with a rating higher than (her Essence +1), and she must spend double motes to harmonize with all five Magical Material types - which she can only do with artifacts of a rating equal to her Essence or lower. She may also wear a Hearthstone to recover (its rating) in motes every hour, or may recover (Manse Level x2) motes per hour resting in the Manse. The character may only use one Hearthstone at a time; she may attune to others, but must spend a Willpower and a miscellaneous action to change which Hearthstone she is gaining the benefits of.
