Post by Phsycodelic on May 20, 2017 0:56:15 GMT
Ephemera
Mystic Sorcerers
Mystic Sorcerers
The nature of the spirits contacted depends upon the rituals the medium knows. One group of rites allows contact with natural spirits, while others breach the barrier between the living world and the Shadowlands. Note that even the medium herself might not realize which spirits she deals with; at least two dots of Spirit Lore or Enigmas are required to know the difference. Amateur mediums frequently get themselves in trouble this way, opening themselves to Bane corrupters or Gaffling pranksters. The early steps of this Path are dangerous but unavoidable.
Mediums open themselves up as spirit channels. Those spirits, however, have minds of their own. If they have some reason to mislead, possess, or abuse the magician, they may try. In Wraith terms, a medium offers herself up as a temporary Consort for the Puppetry Arcanos so long as both are in contact. A spirit with the Possession Charm lowers its difficulty by 2 if attempting to take over a medium. In story terms, this means the ghost or spirit can act through the medium with little hindrance.
Thankfully, these magicians have some defensive Rituals to help them out if the spirits are unruly. Wise mediums are versed in the practices of Warding and Forbiddence. Each of these counts as a level one Ritual and has the following system effects:
• Warding protects an area from ghostly intrusion. By using some precautionary charm (an intricate chant, a prayer, painted sigils, iron nails, sprinkled salt, smudging with incense), spending a point of Willpower, and rolling same vs. difficulty 7, the medium can block wraiths from entering an area for one week per success.
• Forbiddance immediately drives a wraith from an area. By rolling successfully (magician's Willpower vs. difficulty 7), the medium can push a ghost from her immediate area. A willful wraith can oppose this Ritual by spending one of its own Willpower per success, but must otherwise flee until the medium has left.
Nature spirits are more direct, if more problematic, to deal with. With the Banishment and Seal Rituals (level two), the medium may attempt to Forbid, Ward, or with Dolor (level three), actually harm a natural spirit. The last inflicts the medium's Willpower as damage against a spirit's own Power with a successful Wits + Enigmas roll. She totals up her Willpower and successes and takes a figurative chunk out of the spirit with them. A strong spirit will be unimpressed, but a weaker one may be wounded or even destroyed if the medium is good enough. Despite these Rituals, throwing one's weight around isn't a safe proposition, as the spirits often fight back. Mediums tend to have high Willpower scores.
Persuasion is often more effective than force. To establish contact, the medium rolls her Charisma + Enigmas while calling out to the spirits in the area. A number of helpers can help lower the initial difficulty, as can a Fetter or Haunt if the medium hopes to reach a ghost. Locating her quarry usually requires an extended roll. Once some communication begins, the magician states her case, hoping to win over the spirit to whatever purpose she might have. The details of this interaction play out like any normal conversation, but ought to be a hell of a lot weirder. The uncanny nature of this Path should be obvious.
Unlike other Paths, the difficulty of reaching across the barrier goes down with each level, while your ability increases. A medium with one dot in Ephemera works against difficulty 9 and can't actually communicate with anything other than human ghosts (and then only if they wish to be spoken to). This goes down by one step per dot, to a final difficulty of 5, but can't go lower than 3. As a medium's skill grows, she can speak with natural spirits, see into the Penumbra (but not pass through), and seek out specific entities.
A number of Traits are especially appropriate to medium characters. Enigmas and Spirit Lore are essentially required (although the latter can't be bought during creation - it must be learned the hard way). Occult, Subterfuge, Awareness, Cosmology, and Intimidation are very helpful. The Merit/Flaw Spirit Magnet is common, as are the Haunted, Guardian Angel, and Spirit Mentor permutations. Characters with the Shapeshifter Kinfolk or Medium Merits reduce all Ephemera difficulties by 1. spirits, it should be known, make good allies - and terrible enemies. Behave.
Roll: Charisma + Enigmas.
Cost: None (except for rituals).
Modifiers: -2 difficulty for channeling if the spirit has possession, -2 difficulty if a fetter or similarly bonded object is used as a focus.
Duration: One scene unless ritual says otherwise.
Price Of Failure: Unknown.
[ 1 - 5 ] Ephemera Levels 1 - 5 ( XXX - Page X )
Level | Ability |
1 | You can feel the spirits moving and even get their attention with a successful roll. What they do is up to them. This is a dangerous but necessary phase in a medium's Path. |
2 | You can make distinctions between the spirits you summon and can call specific ones if you know how. If things get out of hand, you can try to dismiss what you've called. |
3 | When you speak, something always comes. With luck, you can address it, befriend it, or dismiss it. If you want to personally address a particular spirit, you can try at this level. |
4 | You can pierce the veil between worlds and actually see and hear those ephemera around you. Most spirits respect you for your insight and ability. Some will even come when you don't call. |
5 | The spirits of nature and the dead know your name and often come when you call. You can hurt those who displease you and dismiss those who offend you. |
[ 1 - 5 ] Ephemera Rituals ( XXX - Page X )
[ 1 ] Call Ghost ( XXX - Page X )
[ 1 ] Forbiddence ( XXX - Page X )
[ 1 ] Open To The Unknown ( XXX - Page X )
Free ritual.
[ 1 ] Ward ( XXX - Page X )
[ 2 ] Banishment ( XXX - Page X )
[ 2 ] Call Naturae ( XXX - Page X )
[ 2 ] Seal ( XXX - Page X )
[ 2 ] See Ghost ( XXX - Page X )
[ 2 ] See Naturae ( XXX - Page X )
[ 3 ] Dolor ( XXX - Page X )
[ 3 ] Gossip ( XXX - Page X )
Allows the medium to "spread the word" around her chosen contacts.
[ 4 ] Command ( XXX - Page X )
Medium can order a minor nature spirit to do one task and expect to be obeyed.
[ 4 ] Deny The Veil ( XXX - Page X )
Allows medium to see into the Penumbra; actually two separate Rituals, as one grants a view of the Shadowlands and the other a look into the nature spirit world.
[ 4 ] Grasp ( XXX - Page X )
Medium becomes a Fetter for a chosen wraith for seven days.
[ 5 ] Distant Call ( XXX - Page X )
Medium can attempt to speak briefly to one who has passed on to some afterlife or punishment. This works within Storyteller's discretion.