POWERS THAT BE

 

Presence: This is the magical energy of the character that can leak out into the world, intentionally or not. It tends to cause impressive effects reflective of the character's nature and power(s). It is especially active in times of stress or excitement. To determine a character's Presence add their Fervor and Boldness scores.

 

Facade: This is the character's link with the first world and with the Mists. It is what conceals them from detection and allows them to control their Presence (see above). It is determined by adding a character's Focus and Willpower. If their Facade is higher than their Presence they can automatically control it in all but the most extreme circumstances. Additionally an empowered uses the Facade to hide their true nature to those who can see past the Mists by shifting their awareness. If they choose not too, or if their Presence is much higher, they will visibly show hints of their power and nature. For empowered that don't know their nature the Mists conceals it from others as well as themselves, so only their power is visible. Only very rarely can someone know the nature of an Empowered that does not know themselves. They rarely reveal this information, due to either tradition or fear of repercussions from the Agents of the Mists. Even when a character's Facade is stronger than their Presence they may need to conceal their nature and power if they become stressed. Additionally the character would have to remember to actively try to conceal it if they use their power. In the Empowered community this word is also used to describe their human/ mortal identity along with terms like guise or mask.

 

Power Surge: When the total Fervor roll is higher than the total Focus roll it results in a detrimental result. If it is close the intended effect might happen plus a negative side affect. If the more of a gap between the two rolls the more detrimental, the exact details are up to the Narrator. If the total Fervor roll is double or more than the total Focus roll the result is almost always damaging to the character. If it is somehow more than four times different the character is destroyed by their own power.

 

Disbelief: When one or more uninitiated person stands witnesses to the obvious use of a power there is a chance their disbelief will cause the power not to work or drain essentia. To overcome disbelief the character rolls their Presence (Fervor plus Boldness). The goal score to ignore disbelief is a base of 10 plus 2 for each person after the first. So a group of ten people would be 28, whereas a group of 50 people would be 108. If under half the goal score is rolled the power not only fails to work, but also drains essentia equal to the number of witnesses. If the character rolls over half the goal score the cost of using the power is more difficult, adding the number of witnesses to the essentia cost. Though in this case they can also choose to have the power not do anything and pay no essentia. If the character rolls over the goal score they pay the essentia cost as normal. Even when the uninitiated see something sooner or later the magic of the Veil and it's agents will cover it up, with the possible exception of the rare non-empowered that is resistant to the veil. However the Veil seems not to like such things and it's agents tend to take interest in those that blatantly use their powers in the presence of the uninitiated.

 

Enhancements: Many powers have the effect of enhancing stats, resistances, awarenesses or skills. Depending on the relative power Stat, as determined by the Narrator. For example: Focus to Reason or Adroitness or many skills, Fervor to Strength or Boldness, Fortress to Endurance  or Fortitude or most Resists.  If part of the primary element of a power the math is roughly a bonus of double the relevant Power Score for a Stat or Wealth, triple for Resists, five to ten times for a skill. Secondary or less connected grant less of a bonus. All of this is determined by the Narrator, in part it should be in balance with the other potential uses of the power. Archtypes, Reincarnates, and Fictives should generally receive more leeway as they are usually more limited, whereas a Aspect, Reincarnate or Hidden might be somewhat more less benifit from this since they often have many other uses for their power. The Narrator should also take the group into account, since if there is no Archtypes, Reincarnates, Fictives, or such it does not effect game balance to be a little more generous to other power types. 

 

Damage from a Power: The basic rule of thumb for damaging effects of an attack are to handle most as a regular attack with Focus usually replacing Adroitness. The damage multiplier is usually 1/10th of the Fervor score, which may or may not be rounded to the nearest half. To do so consistently may require buying an attack form as a Trick. The Narrator may allow for the damage multiplier to be rolled for on the fly use of a power, also 1/10th. Though that has the risk of collateral damage if the Fervor roll is higher than the Focus, and doing more harm than good if the attack misses its intended target. Without a Trick or risking a Surge the character can sort of pull their punch by using passive Fervor which makes the damage multiplier 1/20th.