MAGIC

To work magic, the Gifted must use Invocations—ritual actions and words that help focus the Magician’s will and imagination to produce the desired effects. All living things have an Essence Pool. Some among the Gifted have the power to tap into Essence at will; they are known as Channelers. A character’s level in Essence Channeling determines how much Essence he can bring forth from his inner reserve in one Turn.

All Invocations require three steps:

First, the Essence needed to create the effect is called forth—the Summoning. The Summoning takes as many Turns as are necessary to accumulate the Essence needed in the Invocation. If the Magician can channel all the Essence he needs in one Turn, he may perform the Focus Task on that same Turn.

Second, the Essence is then woven into a matrix (provided by the Invocation) designed to produce the desired effect—the Focus. A Focus roll is necessary, a Willpower and Invocation level Task. Targets can resist some Invocations; treat these as Resisted Tasks.

The third step—the Dismissal—requires no Task if the Focus Task was successful and no malicious intent was present. Using Soulfire to destroy a demonic monster is not malicious; using it to win a bar fight is. Otherwise, a separate Willpower and Invocation level Task is required. Dismissal Tasks have a base penalty of -1 for every five Essence Points spent (rounded up). If the Dismissal is successful, there are no further repercussions. Otherwise, Random Essence Effects occur.

RANDOM EFFECTS TABLE

Random Essence Effects occur in the vicinity of the failing caster within 24 hours. The Chronicler can pick one of the entries on the chart below, or roll a D6 and apply the result.

USING ESSENCE DEFENSIVELY

Those with Essence Channeling may use Essence defensively with a Resisted Task. The attacker uses the result of his Focus, Seer Art or other supernatural ability Task. The defender uses D10 and his Willpower, and adds one for every point of Essence spent in the defensive maneuver. If the defender is reacting quickly, he is limited by the amount of Essence he can channel in one Turn. If the defender wins or ties, the metaphysical effect fizzles out before affecting him. Otherwise, the Invocation, Seer Power or other supernatural ability works normally. This defensive Task is used in addition to any normal Resisted Tasks or Tests that apply to the power.

THE CROWD EFFECT

One of the reasons the Gifted seldom operate openly is that, when confronted in great numbers, mundanes and their emotions can overcome or dim the powers of Magic through the unwitting focus of their Essence. This occurs only during very specific circumstances.

First, at least ten people must be present; only groups of mundanes can generate enough power to seriously hinder a Magician. Second, the crowd must be aware that the Gifted is trying to perform magic, unless he is trying to affect members of the crowd with the magical effect, in which case the resistance is automatic. In other words, a Gifted character casting an Invocation without drawing attention to himself would be spared unless he was targeting the crowd itself. The amount of Essence neutralized varies by the size of the crowd (see the table below for the specifics)

CROWD EFFECT TABLE

SOURCES OF ESSENCE

Places of Power: Although Essence flows everywhere, there are areas where its currents run deeper and stronger. These Places of Power naturally accumulate Essence Points, which can be more easily tapped than ambient Essence. Any Invocation performed in such places can tap this extra power. The extra power can also be tapped by supernatural beings, some of which use it to manifest in the area. Haunts, evil spirits and strange occurrences often plague Places of Power. All Places of Power have an “overflow” of Essence that can be tapped by anyone performing Invocations in the area. This overflow renews itself every 24 hours, and it works on a “first come, first served” basis—after somebody exhausts the overflow, no extra Essence is available for the rest of the day.

Time of Power: Some times of the day, dates of the year and special events have a special significance. Noon and midnight are the most commonly occurring Times of Power. Any Invocation or supernatural ability performed during these hours (the benefits last for the entire hour) gains an additional five Essence Points. The Full Moon, the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Vernal and
Autumnal Equinoxes, and the Four Days of Power (Imbolc- February 2nd, Beltane-April 30th, Lughnasadh-August 1st, and Samhain-October 31st) all grant an additional 20 Essence Points. Times of Power are cumulative.

For example, a ritual conducted during the Vernal Equinox at midnight garners a total of 25 extra Essence Points.

Items of Power: Many symbols also have a great deal of power.A drawn or carved circle attracts an additional 10 Essence Points, useable in defensive Invocations only, for those inside it. A Circle also grants five extra Essence to those standing outside
the Circle, which can be used for any Invocation. The Pentagram, or five-pointed star, contributes five Essence Points to any Invocation cast within it. A Pentagram inside a Circle contributes a total of seven Essence Points, or 15 Points to any defensive Invocation.

GROUP MAGIC

Sorcery is more effective when performed by a group. In the working of Magic, the most important numbers are 3, 5, 7, and 13. The numbers 9 and 11 have some power, but are less important. Gathering in these numbers allows the use of extra Essence Points. The extra Essence from each number is listed below.

GROUP ESSENCE TABLE

Usually the Magician most skilled at the Invocation(s) to be attempted becomes the Leader of the Circle. The basic steps in casting group Magic Invocations are the same as for normal Invocations—Summoning, Focus and Dismissal.

The only change is the contribution of the group to the process. Only characters with the Essence Channeling Quality can participate in a Circle.

During the Summoning, the members of the Circle all contribute Essence to the process. The participants can contribute as much Essence as they wish, limited only by how long the Circle’s Leader waits. Circle members who do not know the Invocation being attempted are less effective, however; because of their inability to visualize the specifics of the Invocation, every two Essence Points they contribute only count as one Essence Point. The process ends when the Leader has absorbed all available Essence, or when the Leader decides he has gathered enough power. The Leader takes the combined energy unto himself; this includes any “free” Essence generated because of the number of participants present. The Leader then makes a Focus Task as though casting the Invocation by himself. When a Dismissal Task is necessary, the Leader gains a +1 bonus per member of the Circle (including himself). These bonuses may only be used to offset the Dismissal penalties; they do not add to the Dismissal Task roll. This helps the Leader Dismiss the often-enormous energies gathered by the group’s efforts.

THE SIGHT

Since humankind gained self-awareness, some people have been blessed with senses and abilities beyond the physical. These powers have long been known as “the Sight” or “the Second Sight,” since many such abilities involve sensing or seeing things beyond the scope of the five senses. The Sight does not require rituals or Invocations, nor does it involve invoking outside forces to perform Tasks; the power is entirely internal.

SEER POWERS

Each Seer ability has two elements: Strength and Art. Strength represents the raw power the psychic has. Art represents the degree of expertise a psychic has in using his abilities.

SEERS AND ESSENCE

Characters with Essence Channeling can temporarily raise the Strength of any of their Seer Powers by spending Essence Points. Every two Essence Points spent raise the Strength of a power by one during its next use. Only the amount of Essence the character can channel for one Turn can be used to increase a Seer Power, however.

HOLY SYMBOLS

From ancient legends to modern Hollywood movies, the power of holy symbols is part and parcel of many stories about the supernatural. A character using a holy symbol (be it a Cross, an Ankh, or any similar object) to protect himself must pass a Simple Willpower Test. Each Success Level allows the character to focus one Essence Point through the holy symbol. Supernatural beings confronting the charged holy symbol must make a Difficult Willpower Test at a -1 penalty per Essence Point focused through the symbol, or feel pain and fear when faced with it. The creatures hesitate to come near the wielder, let alone attack him. Even if the monster does not flee the power of the symbol, all its actions suffer a -4 penalty.