DariusSolluman/MeritsAndFlaws
New Physical Merits
Unassuming\\ (2, 4 or 6 Points, +1 Point for Celestial Exalted, -1 Point for Ghost-Blooded or Sidereal Half-Castes)
Some people just have a knack for fading into the background of people's minds. It's not that they are unseen- rather, they are simply unnoticied. They tend to be ignored, and people can easily forget that they were there. While this does have certain advantages, it can prove to be a hinderance in social circumstances. For the 2 point version, the character adds one die to all Stealth rolls and subtract 1 from all Presence, Performance and Socialize rolls; for 4 points this increases to 2 dice, and 6 points, to 3 dice.
The Celestial Exalted, as a rule, were not meant to fade into the background- even when they are stealthy, they do so in a way that makes them stand out in the foreground of someone who knows /how/ to look. As such, Unassumings costs them 1 point more than normal. The Sidereal Exalted, owing to the damage they did to the Mask, are also incapable of having this Merit- if they have it prior to Exaltation, it is entirely replaced by their own Arcane aegis. Ghost-Blooded and Star-Blessed, on the other hand, both frequently have this Merit to a greater or lesser degree, and may purchase it for 1 point less.
This Merit is directly inspired by Kragar, from the Vlad Taltos series by Seven Brust. Whom people have tried to sit on for not noticing him, and who quit being a general because people ignored his orders during battles. :)
New Supernatural Merits
Ascendent Destiny\\ (Variable Point Cost)
At some point in time, your character was the target of an Ascendent Astrological blessing. They may not even be aware of the nature of their blessing, or what the source of their unusual good luck is.\\ The cost of this Merit is equal to the Character's Essence, remaining Duration, and it's Power. Each Success these things would normally require from a Sidereal Astrological Effect requires 2 pts.\\ A character who raises their Essence above the limit of this Merit automatically looses the benefits of the Merit, without other recompensation. The Maximum Essence cap can also be set higher than the character's starting Essence to limit this.\\ A Sidereal may purchase Ascendent Destiny for -2 pts (to a minimum of 1). For every PC in the Circle with the same Ascendent Destiny, reduce the cost by -1 pts (to a minimum of 1/2 the original cost).
Ancient of Days\\ (4-pt Physical Merit,\\ God-Blooded of any type)\\ Prerequisites: Longevity
A character with Ancient of Days ages far more slowly than even others of their heritage, although lack any immortality of their parents. The 3 point version works as Longevity, save it grants 50 year alotments of life instead of five years.
Unaging\\ (7-pt Physical Merit,\\ God-Blooded, Demon-Blooded, Fae-Blooded and Abyssal Half-Caste only)\\ Prerequisites: Longevity
A character with Unaging is unmoved by the passage of years and centuries. Although they are still suspectible to the pains of flesh and spirit, the are released from the certainty of death. They will live on until killed- time will never be their doom, nor will age ever sap their strength.
Well of Strength\\ (4, 8, 12 Point Supernatural Merit)
The character has a deeper wellspring of motes than most would expect. For 4 points, count their Permanent Essence as one higher for calculating their Peripheral Essence pool. For 8 points, count it as two higher. For 12 points, count it as three higher.
New Supernatural Flaws
Descending Destiny\\ (Variable Point Flaw)
At some point in time, your character was the target of a Descending Astrological blessing. They may not even be aware of the nature of their curse, or what the source of their unusual bad luck is.
The points gained from a Descendent Destiny are equal to the number of success the Astrological Effect's Duration and Power would require. A character cannot outgrow Descedent Destiny effects by raising their Permanent Essence.
A Sidereal may purchase a Descending Destiny, but they gain 2 fewer points from such (to a minimum of 1). For every PC in the Circle with the same Descending Destiny, increase the points gained by +1 (to a maximum of 2x the original cost).
ST's note: Be wary of players taken a Descending Destiny that doesn't actually matter to their concept! It's not hard to have a 15 pt flaw where everyone suffers a +1 to the TN of all Sail rolls for the next thousand years... in a game set in the Burning Wastes. Avoid and veto this non-sense.
Tainted Power\\ (2, 4, or 8 Points Flaw, Celestial Exalted Only)
The Great Curse has bitten unusally deeply into your Exaltation, and the Malfaen's laugh as you spend exercise your usurped authority. Spending some part of your Essencee echoes through your soul, and adds a bit of weight and pain. By using Charms or Sorcery, your character risks adding to their Limit.
The Sidereals and Abyssals are both special cases. For the Abyssals, the Malfaen's anger is not wholly satisfied by their servant turning from the sun. Perhaps their Exaltation is the one that slew them personally; perhaps it's not for any understandable reason. They add to their Resonance, in the same way as others add to their Limit. Likewise, the Sidereal's curse is a subtle thing; instead, Tainted Power is a sign that the Pattern Spiders have grown weary of this Sidereal's meddling in Fate, their own Essence use breaking the Destiny they have woven too often. They add to their Paradox instead of their Limit.
Add a new pool of motes, called Tainted. For 2 points, one third of a character's Periphereal Pool is Tainted. For 4 points, two thirds. And for 8 points, their entire Peripheral Pool is Tainted. A character gains a point of Limit for every 3 points of Tainted Essence they spend, in addition to gaining glow as when spending Peripheral.
If Tainted Essence is commited to an Artifact, the Limit gained is Permanent until the motes are released. If those with Tainted Essence committ 30 or more motes, they enter a state of Permanent Limit Break. Ususally such character should be turned into Storyteller Character's at this point.
A combination of Well of Strength and Tainted Power is for those characters with a what is functionally a dark side pool- a great power they dare not casually draw on. I'm speccifically thinking of Sasuke and Naruto from Naruto here. DS
Comments
Unaging seems to be restricted from half-castes (except half-Abyssals) because it makes little sense to give the by-blow an ability closed to its parent. But why can't the half-fae take Unaging? - Raindoll
An excellent question without an excellent answer! Fae-blooded now capable of being Unaging. DS
Longevity doesn't stave off aging for all that long, does it? I'd put an "Ancient of Days" merit in between Longevity and Unaging (or replacing Unaging entirely), giving several hundred years of life, and making it open to the Half-Caste. - Quendalon
How much does Ancient of Days cost: 3 motes or 4 motes? The description and listed cost are at odds. (I removed the "only" from "God-Blooded of any type only," forgive my presumption.) - Raindoll
