Numina

Numina

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AlchemyAlchemy

Animal PsychicsAnimal Psychics

Psychic Numina Hunter's Hunted Pg 134-5

Some people manifest psychic phenomena, and for a while, the intelligence community funded research into psychic abilities, hoping that they might be useful in intelligence gathering. The last such project, the NSA’s Project: WINTERGREEN, was shuttered in the whirlwind of changes following Arthur Clifford’s departure. Individual agents working for the NSA, SAD, and other intelligence agencies sometimes display psychic phenomena — indeed, thanks to aggressive recruiting strategies, psychic powers are more common among agents than in the general population. Agents can purchase the following Numina along with any others presented in this book (with Storyteller permission). Animal Psi Rather than telepathy or direct control, Animal Psi is the ability to communicate with animals, reading their emotional state and intent, and asking them to do things. The animal doesn’t have to agree, but the psychic has a much better chance of getting an animal to follow her instructions than almost anyone else. At each level, the psychic can both better understand what an animal is thinking, and can issue short commands to the animal. Talking to animals is a surprisingly useful talent for an intelligence agent. In cities, a talented psychic can send a pigeon or seagull to track a target, use rats to get into locked apartments, and talk to foxes and raccoons to discover what happened before the psychic arrived. Most psychics with this numen keep a number of tame, trained animals — from cats and dogs to rats and parrots — who are used to their abilities. This power only works when the user can clearly see and hear the animal she is communicating with. Animal Hierarchies Animal Psi works best on higher mammals — creatures believed to possess nearly human-level intelligence, such as chimpanzees and dolphins — and trained lower mammals, such as dogs, cats, rats, and horses. To affect other animals the psychic must take a penalty to his Animal Psi dots per the table below — with Animal Psi ••, he can read the current emotions of a higher mammal, but only read the basic intent of a wild lower mammal.

Penalty Animal Type 0 Higher mammals, trained lower mammals-1-2 Wild lower mammals, trained birds (reduce penalty to 0 at Animal Psi •••) Wild birds, trained reptiles-3-4 Wild reptiles Any other animal System Roll: Perception + Animal Ken (difficulty 7) Modifiers: Per type of animal, as described above Cost: None Duration: Can communicate for one minute per success. Animal Psi Levels • Read Basic Intent/Communication: The user can read an animal’s basic intent, such as knowing whether it will attack or flee, and can both talk to the animal and understand what the animal “says” in return. •• Read Current Emotions/Simple Command: The psychic can read an animal’s current emotional state, such as knowing whether an animal is attacking out of anger or hatred or hunger. The psychic may also give a simple command that the animal is compelled to follow, which can be no more than six words long. ••• Read Wants and Needs/Complex Command: The psychic can read an animal’s wants and needs without needing to ask, knowing that an animal wants him to follow or to stay away. The psychic can also give a complex command, usually in the form of two simple commands strung together (“Follow that man, and then come back to me.”) The animal will continue to follow the commands for the duration of the power. •••• Anticipate Instincts/Borrow Memories: The psychic can anticipate an animal’s complex instincts, knowing how it will react in response to events that haven’t yet occurred. He may also borrow the animal’s memories, finding out what the animal has seen, heard, or smelled over the past six hours. ••••• Mental Communion: The psychic can send his senses along with the animal, nudging the animal to go where he wants it to, and perceiving with all of its senses — a dog’s sense of smell, or a hunting bird’s eyesight. When using this power, the psychic is entirely unaware of his surroundings.

Anti-PsychicAnti-Psychic

Anti-Psi Some people’s psychic potential only manifests itself as a cloud of mental static. Though this talent has no effect on most people, it prevents other psychics from using their talents. Psychics with this talent can damp it down by concentrating, but cannot turn it off completely. It doesn’t have any effect on the mental Disciplines of the Kindred, or the spiritual Gifts of the Garou. A psychic with Anti-Psi cannot possess any other Psychic Numina. Anti-Psi is a rare talent, for the only way to discover it is by being around other psychics. Project: WINTERGREEN discovered twelve people with this power before it was shut down. It inducted four of them into the NSA, and discovered that the SAD already employed two more. System Roll: None Modifiers: N/A Cost: None Duration: Anti-psi is permanently active. Users can damp their power down to the one-dot level, but add +2 to the difficulty of all Mental actions due to their intense concentration. Anti-Psi Levels • The cloud extends out to a five-yard/five-meter radius around the user. Anyone in the cloud subtracts one die from all Psychic Phenomena dice pools. •• The cloud extends out to a ten-yard/ten-meter radius around the user. Anyone in the cloud subtracts two dice from all Psychic Phenomena dice pools. ••• The cloud extends out to a fifteen-yard/fifteenmeter radius around the user. Anyone in the cloud subtracts four dice from all Psychic Phenomena dice pools. •••• The cloud extends out to a twenty-yard/twentymeter radius around the user. Anyone in the cloud subtracts six dice from all Psychic Phenomena dice pools. ••••• The cloud extends out to a twenty-five yard/ twenty-five meter radius around the user. Anyone in the cloud subtracts eight dice from all Psychic Phenomena dice pools.

<tab name="Astral Projection"> Astral Projection

Levels • The Psychic has a rudimentary awareness of the astral plane, though she cannot yet travel to it. She can shift her senses toward the astral realm, where she can see astral travelers and communicate with them. She must first concentrate for a turn to allow her mind to adjust to the competing images, after which the Psychic sees the astral realm overlaid upon the normal physical world. •• With the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 8) by her player, the Psychic can leave her body for brief periods of time and travel to the astral realm. Each success on the activation roll allows one minute of astral travel. If the Psychic wishes to push herself, her player may spend a Willpower point to extend the character’s time by an additional minute. When this time has elapsed, the Psychic snaps back to her physical body, unless something strange and dire has happened. ••• With the expenditure of a Willpower point by her player, the Psychic can manifest her astral form in the material world. In this manner, a Psychic can manifest on the other side of the world from where her physical body resides, using the great speed of astral travel to visit faraway locales in the form of thought. An astral traveler appears as a blurry and translucent ghost version of her usual physical appearance. A manifest astral traveler cannot touch or affect the material world, but she can be seen by non-Psychics and may speak in soft whispers. •••• At this level of prowess, the Psychic may travel deep into the astral plane for lengthy periods of time. With the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 8) by her player, the Psychic can visit the astral realm for one hour per success. If the Psychic wishes to push herself, her player may spend a Wil

True Faith

True Faith Hunter's Hunted 2 Pg 83 - 85.

Systems for True Faith

Unlike the other Numina Paths, True Faith only has a single Path. True Faith grants the believers special benefits: • Each level of True Faith grants an extra point of Willpower. • Each point of True Faith acts as a die of divine protection to resist the effects of Numina, vampire Disciplines, or other supernatural powers. When a character would be affected by a Kindred Discipline or other power, her player may spend a point of Willpower and roll the character’s True Faith rating as a dice pool against a difficulty of 7. Successes earned on this roll subtract successes from the activation roll of the power in question. This protection affects only powers that would directly affect the character, and only if a dice roll is required to determine their degree of success. It offers no protection against passive or indirect uses of powers such as Aura Perception or Fortitude. The True Faith Numina, like any other, has a rating of 1 to 5. Exactly what protection is afforded to the individual depends on this rating, as described below. At their discretion, Storytellers may wish to amend or alter these benefits to reflect the intervention of higher powers as it illustrates the themes of their own chronicles. True Faith Levels • Any character with True Faith may attempt to repel vampires, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures by brandishing a holy symbol or uttering prayers. The player of the Faithful spends a Willpower point and rolls her character’s True Faith rating against a difficulty equal to the creature’s permanent Willpower. The successes garnered indicate the number of turns that the creature must flee from the character while she invokes the protection of prayer or the holy symbol. If the activation roll yields no successes, a supernatural creature need not step back, but may not advance. A botch indicates that it may advance unhindered. If the religious symbol is placed against a vampire’s body, each success causes a level of aggravated damage, burning into the creature’s flesh. •• The Faithful may sense the presence of a vampire. She need not consciously try to detect the vampire’s presence, but she must be in peaceful, quiet surroundings, perhaps alone in thought, praying, reading a religious book, meditating, etc. The Faithful will not sense the vampire if she is preoccupied (e.g., arguing) or in a crowded, noisy place (jostled by a mob, in the midst of a party, etc.). This ability doesn’t light up the vampire like a beacon; the Storyteller reveals the presence of the vampire only when the Faithful’s attention would indicate such. Note that the character doesn’t know exactly what she senses through her faith. All she knows is that something sinister is nearby. [10:05 PM] ••• The Faithful is immune to Chimerstry, Dementation, Dominate, Obfuscate, and other supernatural effects that confound the mind. •••• The Faithful may not be turned into a ghoul. She is unaffected by Presence and other supernatural effects that manipulate emotions. ••••• The mere presence of the Faithful may fill a vampire or other supernatural creature with self-loathing, disgust, terror, or even physical pain. The player of any vampire who hears the Faithful pray or preach, or who is touched by the Faithful, must make a successful Rötschreck roll (difficulty 9) to resist having the Kindred flee immediately and for the duration of the scene. A vampire who is unable to flee is reduced to a gibbering wreck, flailing on the floor, screaming, sobbing, or begging for mercy. Miracles of True Faith A miracle is an instance of direct divine intervention. The Faithful often pray to the divine as a form of worship and meditation. On rare and inspiring occasions, the divine answers a prayer in the form of a miracle. Such miracles should be rare, never more than one in a story, and always dramatic. The Storyteller should examine the motivation of the character invoking the miracle. The divine likely doesn’t care if the Faithful wants to drive a luxury car, win the lottery, or even survive an encounter with a random vampire. Every religion has martyrs, and death is sometimes in the divine plan. Prayers that are selfless and seek to help or inspire others have the best chance of being answered. No hard-and-fast system for invoking miracles exists — it’s simply a dramatic reminder that Faithful individuals bear a divine duty and can occasionally serve as conduits for their greater power’s will in the world. Miracles are impossible to define mechanically, as they should be specifically tailored to the situation. Some examples include: • Helping a barren woman be able to bear a child • Curing a terrible and painful disease, such as cancer • Helping someone trapped under a collapsed building • Finding yourself at the side of a friend in desperate need [10:05 PM] Theurgy: Hunter's Hunted 2 Pg 125-6

Via Geniorum 

Via Geniorum is one of the Ways that is most distrusted by Theurgy’s critics; Theurgists who practice this Via deal with the realm of spirits and the demonic. They argue that all creatures are ultimately under the call of heaven, including spirits and demons. These Theurgists believe that there is an entire spectrum of Spirits who allied neither with Heaven nor Hell, yet can be commanded by the power of Heaven. This Way grants the practitioner power over non-human spiritual entities (demons, elementals, etc.). Knowledge of a spirit’s true name grants one power over it. A true name is not the title that the spirit commonly goes by, but a more complex, primal invocation. The world warps and flutters when true names are spoken. They are jealously guarded secrets, requiring extended research rolls, Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 9), and a good occult library to decipher. Every success grants a “syllable” of the name. The simplest of spirits might have a single syllable true name, but more powerful demons will have many more (up to the discretion of the Storyteller). A Theurgist may try and trick a spirit into divulging its true name. True name syllables are often a form of currency amongst spirits and occultists, who tend to hoard them. System Roll: Varies (see below) Modifiers: -2 difficulty if the Theurgist knows the spirit’s true name Cost: 1 Willpower Duration: Varies (see below) Via Geniorum Levels • Ritual of Revelation: The Theurgist does not peer into the spirit world so much as command nearby supernal beings to reveal themselves. On a successful Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 8), the Theurgist can see all spirits in the immediate area (including those possessing physical bodies). •• Ritual of Protection: On a successful Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7), the Theurgist may draw protective sigils into handheld objects or in a small circle around her. Extended ritual rolls can make larger circles or more completely protected locations, with 10 successes being enough to protect a small house. Spirits cannot harass or enter a person or location, thus protected, without succeeding in a Willpower roll (difficulty 9). Protection lasts for one month or until the sigil is disturbed (a carved sigil is much harder to disrupt than one drawn in chalk). •••  Ritual of Dismissal: The Theurgist can send a spirit back to its native realm. This via requires a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 9). The number of success needed, in an extended ritual, vary widely based on the power of the spirit (and left to the Storyteller’s judgment). •••• Ritual of Summoning: The Theurgist can now summon spirit entities. This via requires a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 9). The number of success needed, in an extended ritual, vary widely based on the power of the spirit (and left to the Storyteller’s judgment). A summoned spirit must remain in the Theurgist’s presence for a scene or until it has answered three questions (it cannot be made to reveal its true name in this manner). Further interaction relies on Social rolls, sacrifices, or other powers. A botched roll summons an enraged spirit who likely attacks the unlucky Theurgist. ••••• Ritual of Binding: The Theurgist can now force a spirit into servitude. This via requires a Manipulation + Occult roll (Difficulty 9). The number of success needed, in an extended ritual, vary widely based on the power of the spirit (and left to the Storyteller’s judgment). A bound spirit may be asked to do a specific action (“Attack that vampire!”) or an ongoing action (“Watch over me.”) lasting until the next sunrise or sunset.

Via Necromantiae

The Via Necromantiae is Theurgy designed to contact or banish the dead. This Via resembles in parts those of the Via Geniorum, but it is, nonetheless, distinct. System Roll: Varies (see below) Modifiers: -1 difficulty if Theurgist has an object important to the ghost in life Cost: 1 Willpower Duration: Varies (see below) Via Necromantiae Levels • Ritual of Wakening: The Theurgist may command a recently deceased cadaver to awaken. On a successful Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 7), the corpse will sit up and answer the Theurgist’s questions, to the best of its ability, for one minute per success. Every twenty-four hours the cadaver has been dead adds one to the difficulty. A cadaver more than three days dead cannot be wakened. •• Ritual of Warding: Theurgists may protect an area from ghostly intrusion. With a successful Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7), the Theurgist may block ghosts from entering a room-sized area. Each success indicates one week of successful warding. ••• Ritual of Communication: Theurgists may contact the dead by making a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 10). That difficulty drops, cumulatively, if any of the following criteria are met: Theurgist possesses an object important to the ghost in life (-1), a person important to the ghost is present (-1), the ritual is conducted in the ghost’s former home (-1), the ritual is conducted in a place where the veil between the Underworld and the world of the living is thin (-2). Maintaining contact with the dead is difficult. Each success rolled allows the Theurgist one minute of communication. The time period can be doubled for another point of Willpower. •••• Ritual of Expulsion: Theurgists may expel a haunting ghost. This requires a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty of the ghost’s Willpower + 3, maximum of 9); this is a sustained roll, requiring a number of successes equal to twice the ghost’s Willpower. Simply initiating the banishing costs 1 Willpower, but no more Willpower is required for the remainder of the struggle. ••••• Ritual of Vivification: The Theurgist can now urge a cadaver to rise. This via requires a Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8). Every success animates the corpse for one week, and that time can be doubled for another point of Willpower. Animated cadavers will not have much in the way of personality or intelligence, but can follow simple directions.

The Path of Alchemy Pg 142 - 143

System Roll: Intelligence + Occult (Difficulty 8) Modifiers: +1 if using a well-stocked laboratory, +1 if the stars are right Costs: Varies Duration: Varies Path of Alchemy Levels • The Alchemist can create minor elixirs and powders, including simple poisons, tranquilizers, anesthetics, stimulants, and lesser healing concoctions. A healing elixir reduces the die pool penalty due to injuries by 1 (minimum 0), and halves the healing time for bashing and lethal damage currently taken. The Arcanum’s spies have others uses for these creations: liquids that erase short-term memory, powders that counteract the intoxicating effects of alcohol, elixirs that aids in restful sleep with no memories of dreams, etc. (Many Templars offer their resources and services in exchange for a peaceful night’s rest.) As always, whether an alchemical effect can be attempted is up to the Storyteller. One-dot effects cost no Willpower to create. •• The Alchemist better understands how reagents interplay, crafting stronger effects that harmonize with the body and mind. This includes powders that grant symbolic visions in dreams (possibly of the future or of some unknown aspect of what’s at hand), liquids that allow one to go an entire week with only one hour of sleep a night, and elixirs that can alter physical elements (such as skin, hair, or eye color) for a few hours. A two-dot healing elixir works as the one-dot version, but also heals two bashing or lethal levels immediately. Along with this, the Alchemist can devise an elixir that can enhance a user’s natural abilities for a given situation. She chooses the Ability and Specialization when creating the effect, such as Empathy and Insight (for reading the emotions) or Subterfuge and Charm (for personal magnetism). The user gains that Specialty; if he already has that Specialty, he instead gets +2 dice when that Specialty comes into play (in addition to 10s counting as two successes). This lasts for a number of hours equal to the number of successes on the activation roll. Two-dot effects cost no Willpower to create. ••• The Alchemist’s abilities with concoctions are proficient enough to grant superhuman abilities. Different formulae can grant the drinker a specific Psychic Numina for the remainder of the scene. Such formulae are usually baroque or call for bizarre components; one alchemist uses the remains of a burnt Cuban cigar, ash and all, mixed with the filament of an old light bulb that died in Canada as the base for a Pyrokinesis elixir. The Alchemist can only create effects that are of fewer dots than her dots in Alchemy, and the drinker must pay any Willpower costs associated with the effect.

The Alchemist can also imbue metals with strange properties, removing impurities and bringing out elements of the platonic ideal. Among other uses, the alchemy can cause small weapons (daggers or a handful of bullets) to do aggravated damage against supernatural creatures. Metals can be imbued with some two-dot Alchemy effects as well. Three-dot effects cost 1 Willpower to create. At this rank, the Alchemist can create a normal onedot concoction far easier, only needing a small travel kit (along with the appropriate materials). This lowers the time needed to gather materials to one day, at most two for effects that require rare ingredients. These effects cost no Willpower to create. •••• The Alchemist has mastered all lesser forms of Alchemy. More powerful versions of lesser formulae can be created, as well as concoctions that temporarily increase an Ability or Attribute by one or two dots. Formulae that grant one dot last until the end of the scene; those that grant two dots (either in the same Ability or Attribute or to separate ones) last for one turn. Such formulae are esoteric, as the Alchemist delves into substances that represent platonic ideals and emotional purity as much as physical purity. More than a few Arcanists have gone to fetch strange things for such formulae, such as urine from those who are nearly blackout drunk as a component for a powder that grants the user a dot of Manipulation for the rest of the scene. Four-dot effects cost 1 Willpower to create. Two-dot effects can be extended to a full scene at a cost of 2 Willpower. At this rank, the Alchemist can also create a normal two-dot concoction with a travel kit. This lowers the time needed to gather materials to one day, at most two for effects that require rare ingredients. (And for one-dot effects, lowers the time needed to gather material to a day at most.) These effects cost no Willpower to create. ••••• Along with more dramatic versions of lower formulae, the master of Alchemy can create transcendent effects that grant vast abilities on par with the supernatural creatures Arcanists observe and catalog. Nearly all such formulae require some piece of a creature as a catalyst. These typically last for one turn per success, and cannot exceed the second level of the Discipline or other power in question. Elixirs of vampiric Disciplines require at least five blood points of vampiric vitae. The Alchemist can create a regenerative powder which, when in the blood stream (usually by applying it to a messy wound) stitches the user together. He regenerates one level of damage every other turn until the end of the session. Five-dot effects cost 1 Willpower to create, along with their egregious material components. At this rank, the Alchemist can also create a normal three-dot concoction with a travel kit. Any three-dot metallic effects last longer, as though she rolled an additional success. Duration of Concoctions The duration of the potency of an elixir or powder depends on the level of successes earned during the activation roll. After this time, the concoction becomes inert, and (depending on what was used to create it) dangerous to drink. If the concoction is left out to open air for more half an hour or more, it becomes inert. • One Day •• One Week ••• One Month •••• Three Months ••••• Six Months Duration of Metals The duration of the potency of an alchemical effect on a metal depends on the level of successes earned during the activation roll. Note that if the metal is severely altered or destroyed, the effect ends. Metals fade back to their impure states quicker than sealed concoctions. • Two Hours •• One Day ••• Three Days •••• One Week ••••• Six Months