Occult stuff

For those of you who run an occult-heavy game, or just want some added fun for pre-existing occult abilities, I thought I'd post some benefices I'd included in my campaign. Nothing new really, just some ideas. Note that most of these are two different benefices and must be bought separately. Use what ya like and toss the rest. Oh, and keep in mind the player should probably have a good reason for buying any of these, especially the Occult Resistances.

Benefices :

Grace of the Empyrean / Armored Psyche(3 pts):

The Theurgist / Psychic has a harder time gaining Hubris / Urge, and all rolls involving the gaining of Hubris / Urge are at -2 difficulty (since you're supposed to fail the roll).

Blinding Mirror / Force of Will (1-4 pts) :

The Occultist is more powerful than most others at his current level. For one or two points, the Occultist may add +1 or +2 respectively to her goal rolls when using the appropriate power. For 4 points the Occultist may add one Victory point to her results, though a successful roll must still be made. I made this one so that somebody could still be called a powerful psychic even with a Psi of only 3 or so.

Soul's Fire / Mind Flux (3 pts):

Once per Story, er, Drama (whatever) the Occultist may DOUBLE the victory points on an Occult powers roll. This can lead to some spectacular results with critical successes, so be careful - maybe it should cost more?

The Chosen Few (6 pts) :

The Occultist has no Stigma at all. Ok, 6 points is a bit hefty, but so is not having a Stigma.

Occult Resistance (1-10 pts) :

Non-occultists may purchase this Benefice. The character is more resistant to certain occult powers. One point makes it more difficult for Theurgic or Psychic powers to affect her by one (subtract one from the goal of the attacker). Two points would give the character one point of resistance to Theurgy AND Psi, or just 2 points of resistance to one field. So, for 6 points one can have 3 points of resistance to both fields, but not more than 3 per field. For 10 points the character is completely immune to Psi or Theurgy, and for 20 (buying it twice if it is allowed) the character is immune to Theurgy AND Psi. Note Antinomy may still work.....

Afflictions :

Taint of Pride / Watchful Shadow (3 pts):

The opposite of the above, the Theurgist / Psychic gains Hubris / Urge easier, adding +2 to the goal of any roll involving the gaining of Hubris / Urge.

Bumbling Theurgist / Psychic (1-5 pts) :

The Occultist isn't quite as adept at using their abilities as they should be. For 1 or 2 points the Occultist takes a -1 or -2 penalty to their goal roll when using their powers. For 5 points (this is called the Bumbling Idiot flaw) the Occultist subtracts one victory point from their result on any Occult roll, though a success must still be rolled, and the minimum successes is still zero.

Optional rule : An Occultist may only buy one benefice applying to their particular field, though afflictions are not limited.
Optional rule 2 : An Occultist may buy more than one benefice for their particular field, but one extra point must be spent per additional benefice.

So there they are folks. I suppose one could make similar benefices for Antinomy, just change some words and think of some names.

I never liked the rolls for most of the powers in Vampire - Charisma + Indimidate for Dread Gaze? Likewise, most of the Psi and Theurgy powers in Fading Suns have odd rolls, Extrovert shouldn't be a part of the Brother Battle ritual Soul's Vessel - Faith should take its place. Therefore, I usually allow my players to substitute Faith or Theurgy (for Theurgy) or Ego or Psi (for Psi) in place of the attribute, so that Laying on Hands becomes Faith or Theurgy + Remedy instead of Calm + Remedy. This way someone with 3 Perception and 9 Psi can still do most of the Sixth Sense powers, as they should be able to.

There are exceptions to the above ruling. Sixth Sense, in my opinion, CAN be based off of Perception, or at least most of the powers can. Wyrdsight and that sort of stuff should be based more from psi.

Part two of this is that I don't like most of the skills being involved in these rolls either - I think Focus, Stoic Mind and Stoic Body can take the place of most of these, allowing Psychics and Theurgists greater power without having to learn many outside skills. I suppose it has to do with my idea of Psi and Theurgy - meditation and prayer when using powers seems more important than being in shape (Vigor in Soma rolls) or how well one dodges (Dodge in Armor of the Pancreator).

I understand that the developers were trying to make it more difficult for occultists to master their powers, but learning all these outside skills is a bit silly in my opinion. Some people percieve special powers in Vampire, Werewolf, etc. to be powers that only ENHANCE one's natural abilities. I completely disagree and in Fading Suns, I have taken the liberty to change the rolls (the Empyrean doesn't care how well you dodge, it just puts the shield around you!). So, in short, Theurgy rolls are Faith / Theurgy + Focus (or sometimes one of the Stoics, etc...) and Psi is often Ego / Psi + Focus (or again, one of the Stoics or something more appropriate).

Lastly, on the subject of Urge, the books say that when one reaches Urge 9 their Doppleganger splits off and runs around, yet the originating Psychic remains at 9 Urge. Thus, if the Psychic were to lose a level of Urge (going down to 8) and then regain that level, yet another Doppleganger would be running around. I thought this was silly and have thus changed it.

When a character reaches Urge 9, their Doppleganger splits off and runs around doing evil nasty stuff, but the Psychic also loses ALL of their Urge. Keep in mind that the Doppleganger has a Psi of 9 and is probably out to kill the original, or at least cause some serious displeasure to them. The creation of the Doppleganger isn't particularly pleasant either, and the original may be stuck in a coma, caught in visions, or some other traumatic experience for days on end. This is a great way to get rid of Urge, but the cost is heavy. No preparation can be made for such a being - where it arrives, when, and what it does after it shows up are often unpredictable in the extreme. Furthermore, the Doppleganger doesn't have to simply try to physically kill the orignal - truly devious Dopplegangers will run around and ruin the character's reputation, kill friends and family, etc...

Ben's Notes on Theurgy

I think the Eskatonics aren't quite as "standardized" as we think, and there are probably a MULTITUDE of Theurgy rituals known by different types of Eskatonics - the ones in the book are probably the most common. Doesn't it say somewhere that Theurgy was sorta taboo before the Symbiots and Eskatonics butted-heads? One would have to assume then that either a) small cells within each sect were keeping Theurgy rituals around by passing them down to the next generation (lest they be lost) b) the Theurgy rituals are written down somewhere and that somewhere was safe until Theurgy became acceptable c) different factions within the Eskatonics know different rituals and shared their knowledge with the other sects as part of "the deal." I personally like c) and now that I think about it, I'll probably allow Eskatonics to buy certain rituals from other sects (thus making them more efficient in combat against Symbiots if they know BB rituals).

Furthermore, I have since ruled that Theurgy rites can be "revealed" through prayer. Oftentimes the player may or may not have a say in what rites they learn, and it's up to the gamemaster as to whether the character spends the required XP to learn them.

Finally, certain low-level rites are passed among the Sects without any problems. Medium (4-7) level rites are often more jealously-guarded, requiring a special quest or act on the part of the person who wants to learn, and the higher level rites are only taught / "revealed" to those who are truly worthy (or have enough political power...).

Here's some more rituals for ya :

Standard :

Radiant Circle (lvl 6, Faith + Focus, temporary, 2W, range 2 meters, LGP)

This ritual provides a small area-affect extension to whatever her next ritual is. For example, a Brother Battle might enhance her ability scores as well as those of her companions with Soul's Vessel, or an Avestite may wish to punish several individuals (*shudder*) at one time. The range is a one meter radius circle extending from the Theurgist, all within that circle gain the effects of the next ritual cast (Avestites would be immune to the effects of their own ritual of course, but those around them would still suffer).

Brother Battle :

Holy Weapon (lvl 3, Faith + Focus or Passion + relevant combat skill, special, 1W, one weapon, L)

The Theurgist dedicates one melee weapon (or possibly one bullet) to be used against a specific person/enemy. If successful, the Theurgist's VPs are added to the weapons "to hit" roll while damage is doubled. The weapon only gains these bonuses against the one foe it is dedicated against, and each weapon can only be dedicated against one foe at a time. The blessing lasts until the enemy is killed, surrenders, or seeks atonement. The casting of this rite might incur Hubris gain, depending on circumstances (declaring a vendetta is not a virtuous act).

Wind Racing (lvl 4, Faith + Focus, Stoic Body, or Vigor, temporary, 1W, GP)

The Theurgist gains another action per round, much like the Dervish power Whirling Dervish (also lvl 4). Third actions are only at -4. (The Theurgist may make a short prayer which goes something like "Oh lady of blessed acceleration don't fail me now!" - Blues Brothers)