Telgar/Resonance

Telgar's Resonance

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Resonance is handled rather poorly in the Abyssals book. The table they give doesn't make a lot of sense and some of the ways they hand it out just don't jive well with my views on Abyssals. I admit that my views are not strictly those of canon, that's why these are HouseRules.

I find it far more dramatic and cinematic if the Deathlords fear their servants because the Deathknights serve the Malfeans directly and the Deathlords are only powerful intermediaries of the Malfeans. The Abyssal Exalted serve the Deathlords because the Malfeans told them to, but at any given time, their service can be revoked or transfered to suit the plans of the Malfeans. Therefor I reduce the role of the Deathlords in the lives of their Deathknights and increase that of the Malfeans. Much of what a Deathlord does and provides is now done and provided by a Malfean instead. Using the rules for Resonance below also involves changing the Liege background to represent favor of a Malfean, not a Deathlord.

Resonance Points

The same 1-10 track of Resonance is used as in canon. There are no permanent points of Resonance. Reaching 10 Resonance induces a Limit Break-like state in which the Abyssal fails all Virtue rolls for an entire day while the Malfean's voices howl in his mind. Conversely the Storyteller may ask Abyssals to create a Dissonance (like a Solar Break condition) that the Abyssal enters whenever his Resonance hits 10. Also, entering a state of Dissonance inflicts one health level of aggravated damage on the Abyssal. This damage can not be soaked by any means except Perfect Charms and using Malfean-given magic to avoid their rage is an excellent way to call down their wrath.

Gaining Resonance

The Malfeans are the only beings capable of inflicting Resonance points on an Abyssal. Deathlords can petition for Resonance to be inflicted, but they are not always successful. All methods in the Abyssal book of gaining Resonance are applicable, expect that of defying the Deathlord. As stated above, only Malfeans can inflict Resonance points. Resonance is also gained whenever a Whispers roll is botched. One point is inflicted for every 1 rolled on the botch.

Buying Black Miracles

There is another way to gain Resonance: buying Black Miracles. The page on page 149 of Abyssals lists effects resulting from "bleeding" 1 to 10 points of Resonance. These effects don't make much sense really...how could anyone bleed 10 points with the canon rules?

Instead of bleeding to gain Black Miracles, a Deathknight can make a Whispers roll, getting one Miracle Point per success rolled. Abyssals can only make one such roll per session, but they can store their Miracle Points for any amount of time. No more then 10 Miracle Points can be stored at any given time. As a simple action, the Deathknight can decide to expend any number of his Miracle Points to create a Black Miracle of that level. When the Miracle is produced, the Abyssal gains a number of Resonance points equal to its level as the dark power of the Malfeans courses through him directly. The Malfeans are loathe to touch Creation directly and are angered by even necessary brushes with the world that mocks them with half-death.

Losing Resonance

Abyssals can remove Resonance points by Castigation, Communion and the Trappings of Death. They can also attempt to Bargain their Resonance away. Bargaining involves sinking deep into a Whisper trance and offering a part of the Abyssal's soul to the Void in return for peace. With a successful Whispers roll, the Abyssal can give up a single dot of any trait to remove 2 Resonance points. The lost dot is gone forever, though it can be purchased back with experiance normally.