Disclaimer: Really no canon here. Really. Seriously.
Datclaimer: Don't kill me.
This variant can work with the rules for Wizardry, or by itself.
Be aware that it magnifies the ease of use of supernatural powers immensely, and
don't say I didn't warn you.
Briefly and simply, all temporary uses of essence (boosting rolls, singing Songs,
activating Attunements, etc.) now use Mana instead.
A character's Mana pool is equal to his/her Essence pool, but when it empties, you
can refill it by spending an action and one Essence. Typically the action is a
quick prayer, centering meditation, or "lucky" ritual.
Example: Joe Angelic (9 forces) starts the day with 9 Essence and 9 Mana.
He gets into an altercation with a demon and spends 4 mana to boost Dodge rolls,
and then 3 more on a Song of Thunder. Now he has 9 Essence and 2 Mana.
Peeling out in a "borrowed" car, he feels the need to boost a Driving roll,
spending his last 2 Mana to do so. Screeching round a corner, he rubs his thumb
over the silver medal on his chest, and mutters a brief but heartfelt prayer.
Now he has 8 Essence and 8 Mana. Grimly summoning his power, he prepares to
Smite the foe.
Completing a Rite gives you 1 Essence _and_ refills your Mana Pool.
Note also that _long-term_ / permanent effects still use Essence. So, it isn't
any easier to enchant something, etc. Also, anything that the GM feels the need
to tone down (some Sorcery rituals, etc.) can also be so limited.
Notes on Mastery and Grand Mastery.
This replaces the Mastery rules from the CPG.
A character with a rating of 6 in a skill relating to his realm or to his word
may buy Mastery in the skill for twice the cost of one level of the skill in
question.
A character with Mastery of a skill may buy Grand Mastery for 3 times the cost of
one level of the skill in question.
A character with Mastery of a skill may shift the CD in that skill by his Realm
Forces, automaticly negate that many points of skill penalties, and, if the above
bonus or Essence/Mana expenditure boosts his overall chances to par or better,
will never fail a skill roll. For purposes of opposed tests, his basic skill roll
is 12 plus his Realm Forces.
A character with Grand Mastery of a skill will never fail a skill roll except
by adverse Intervention, and may shift the CD by her _total_ Forces. For purposes
of opposed tests, her basic skill roll is 14 plus her total Forces.
Notes on Essence Banks.
Essence Banks are celestial, ethereal or corporeal artifacts of personal or
general worth, which may be used to hold spare essence. They do _not_ regenerate
Essence, nor may they be drawn upon directly to power an effect.
Essence Banks are a category of Resource. Their nominal worth is 1 cp per
10 Essence. They may be held in the Character's Celestial abode, if any, or
else in Corporeal form on Earth, either choice haveing pluses and minuses.
The Essence may be confiscated or stolen, if the objects holding it are.
To use an Essence bank, the character must either hold or meditate upon the object
when he or she would normally regain Essence (this may include Rites, etc.). This
will either draw extra Essence from the Bank to refill the Character to maximum,
or, if the character was _at_ maximum beforehand, will place the Essence gained into
the Bank.
In emergencies, a Bank may be physically destroyed to refill the character by it's
full value, any extra being wasted.
A Bank shound _not_ be kept generally in the character's personal possession, as
voluntary Essence use while in contact with the Bank will cause it to liberate
_all_ of its Essence uselessly.
Note that the Bank of Hell is a special case of this concept.
Also note that Superiors will probably want to know what you're doing with
all that Essence if the amount grows above 10 time your Forces, or so ....
Notes on Vessels, Roles and Avatars.
A Vessel may be made in a smaller or larger than human form. For every halving
of mass (about) subtract 1 from the innate Power of the vessel's attacks, but
add one to dodge. For every quartering of mass, reduce the effective level of
the vessel by one for the purposes of Body hits. Reverse these factors for
vessels of _increased_ mass.
A Vessel may have "built-in" versions of Numinous Corpi. These cost equal to
their level, which will usually be 1 to 3 for "natural" vessels. A Vessel may
also have "built in" disadvantages, which provide a cost reduction.
The cost of a Vessel may not be reduced below 1 cp.
A character with a "broken" Vessel that was destroyed in corporeal combat
(who has come out of Trauma) may "repair" it by spending 1 Essence per body hit.
A character with access to the appropriate Song of Healing may "repair" her
Vessels for 1 Mana per body hit, instead.
"Restarting" a "repaired" vessel costs as many Essence as the Vessel cost in cp.
A Role is not a mass of background data. It is a "mental viewpoint"; the Ethereal
equivalent of a Vessel for non-Ethereals. Every human has a free Role-1 as "me"
to use in his or her own Dreamscape.
A Role includes a skill "Act like the Role" at a level equal to the Role.
This may imply several cascade skills, but note that these will be reduced by
one or more points depending on how important to the Role they are, and that
they only apply while acting in the Role. So a Role of Policeman-6 might
include Drive Like a Cop-5 and Cop Paperwork -4, but probably only has
Shoot Like a Cop-2.
Most Humans have Roles for their jobs, but not all.
A person without a "Job-Role", or who is not "in" such a Role at the time will
not "register" as a member of the Job in question. A person without a
"Person-Role" will not make much of a "personal" impression. A person without
_any_ Role will "register" as either disturbingly blank or even more disturbingly
_alien_, depending.
Note that Roles are real components of the Symphony, and may be bought
even by Seraphim of Litheroy (as long as they actually _live_ them,
you understand.)
A Role serves the purpose of a Vessel for computing Mind hits, and may be "broken"
in Ethereal Combat with the same effects as losing a Vessel in Corporeal
Combat. A "broken" Role may be Repaired in the same way as a Vessel, see above.
An Avatar is the _Celestial_ equivalent of a Vessel. It is only available to
non-Celestials, who will play Hell getting one. A non-Celestial with an Avatar
may assume "Celestial" form and journey to the Celestial Plane under the same
conditions as an Angel without a Heart. Getting by the Guards may be tricky.
A "broken" Avatar may be "repaired" like a Role or a Vessel.
A Human who loses a Role to Ethereal Combat, or an Avatar to Celestial
Combat will return to his or her body in a Trauma-like coma, possibly
to his or her detriment. An Ethereal who loses an Avatar reacts like it
had lost a Vessel instead.
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EDG <[email protected]>
In Nomine Collection Curator