From:"Wandering Knight" Subject:The Path of Corruption (A Villain only Sorcerous Heritage) Date:Sat, 26 Feb 2000 00:54:37 -0600 The Path of Corruption Throughout time, there have been men who wanted more power than that which they could gain on their own. There have been men willing to give themselves over to Legion to become instruments of that Power. They then become tools of Legion, intent on bringing about the Dark Lord's plans -- whatever they may be. A scarce few have been learned enough to discern the path of magic Legion makes available. These people become Its agents in Theah. Corruption (Anyone Dark-Hearted Enough – Read, Villain Only) Knacks: Conjuring, Controlling, Corrupting, Empowering, Spying Apprentice Degree: Supplicant Adept Degree: Daemon Master Degree: Succubus Apprentice Degree: Way of the Supplicant As one first studies the ways of corruption, he is granted lesser abilities of Legion's creations. A Supplicant is able to recognize those who have been marked by Legion as dark-hearted. By succeeding on a contested roll Wits versus Resolve, he may determine how corrupt another's heart is -- make a note of how many Raises he succeeded with (see below). This is the preferred method for selecting Brutes and Henchmen -- as well as Allies, for it allows you to know how well received your offers of Power might be. For each Raise the Villain succeeded with above, he gains +1 Unkept Die for all uses of the following Knacks versus the Target -- Acting, Etiquette, Haggling, Incitation, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Oratory, Seduction, and Sincerity. These bonuses reflect that the Villain knows what to say, and why. Adept Degree: Way of the Daemon As the level of corruption increases, a Pawn of Legion is blessed with more of the Dark Lord's power. A Daemon is granted the ability to Mark another person. This allows him to track his Agents. A Daemon prepares for the Ritual of Marking by cutting a pound of his own flesh off -- taking one Dramatic Wound. As the Daemon performs the ritual, the Agent must consume said flesh. At the completion of the ritual, the Daemon must succeed at a Wits roll versus TN of 20 -- note how many raises he made the roll by. This grants him a link to his Agent. He may see through the Agent's eyes, and potentially control the Agent's actions -- see Master Ability. Master Degree: Way of the Succubus When one of Legion's Agents has shown the willingness to devote himself fully to Corruption, he is granted power to control the actions of those who have shown darkness in their hearts. A Succubus gains two abilities. 1) She may control the actions of any person with a dark heart. By succeeding at a roll with TN 40, she may take full control of all actions of the targeted person. She is also able to use any Magical Knacks she may possess through the Agent's body. One example would be using Porte with the person's hand to pull a Blooded bomb into the hull of the Heroes' ship. The TN of 40 uses the following modifiers: -5 difficulty for every Raise the Ritual of Marking succeeded by. -5 difficulty if the Agent is praying to Legion. -10 difficulty if the Agent was Conjured by the Succubus (see below). -5 difficulty for every person the target has killed in cold blood (use this modifier only if trying to control a Hero's actions. Great way to punish nonheroic Heroes, eh?) +10 difficulty if victim is a Hero +10 difficulty if target is within 20 feet of person praying to Theus. +20 difficulty if target is within 20 feet of person with 'Faith'. +20 difficulty, and two Drama Dice (which add nothing to the roll) if target possesses 'Faith'. 2) The Succubus gains the ability to enter the Dark Dimension where Porte users travel. She has nothing to fear from opening her eyes -- she is what others must avoid seeing. She must blood objects in the same manner as a Porte user, but that blood may not be removed. She suffers a permanent Dramatic Wound for each Blooded object. In all other ways, treat this ability as the Adept Degree of Porte. Note that this does not grant the Apprentice Degree of Porte. The Knacks: Conjuring Wits This is the ability to summon forth creatures of Corruption. As skill improves, the user is able to draw forth more powerful beings. You may Conjure no more groups of creatures than you have Wits at any time – meaning you can’t build an Army of thousands of Ghouls. At all levels, the difficulty is based on how quickly the Summoned creature's arrival is desired. TN 10 The Creature(s) will arrive in one week. This is used to build a group of allies over time. TN 20 The Creature(s) will arrive in one day TN 30 The Creature(s) will arrive in one hour TN 40 The Creature(s) will arrive in one minute Apprentice: The Apprentice is able to draw minor beings of Corruption to his side. Treat these beings as Brutes. A good example at this level would be one Brute Squad of Ghouls. Adept: The Adept is able to summon more powerful beings of Corruption to his side. Treat these beings as Henchmen. A good example at this level would be one Siren. Master: The Master is able to draw forth the most powerful creatures of Corruption. Treat these beings as Villains. A good example at this level would be one Ruin Monster. Note: Summoning beings at any level does not grant Control. Conjuring will bring them to you, but what they do upon arrival is another matter. Controlling Resolve This is the ability to control Conjured (and other) creatures. This does not grant the ability to control the actions of humans -- that is covered under Succubus. The level of control does have its limits. The Controller is only able to give commands a simple creature might understand. Examples include: 1) Attack them – pointing at the heroes. 2) Guard this room. 3) Eat this pound of my flesh – we know what that allows. The User may control no more creatures than he has Resolve. For this limit, and the Apprentice Degree, assume a squad of Six Brutes as being one creature. Apprentice: The Apprentice Degree of Controlling grants the ability to control the actions of any creature that counts as a Brute. The Difficulty is threat rating times 5. There is a +10 difficulty to control creatures you didn't summon. Adept: The Adept is able to Control the actions of creatures that count as Henchmen. The difficulty is 10 plus (the Creature's Resolve times 5). There is a +10 difficulty to control creatures you didn't summon. Master: The Master is Control the actions of creatures that count as Villains. The difficulty is 10 plus (the Creature's Resolve times 10). There is a +10 difficulty to control creatures you didn't summon. Corrupting Wits Corruption is used to lure others onto the service of Legion. It allows the user to cause the target to see minor hallucinations and other minor effects to aid in turning them to the side of Legion. A common hallucination used, is that of the Victim gaining all the wealth and power she desires. From that point forth, the Target knows what the rewards for Loyalty are – he also knows the result of betraying said Loyalty. Apprentice: The Apprentice is able to draw those of Dark Heart into Legion's service. She may cause them to experience pleasure, and pain. At this level of ability, only those who are already Guilty in Theus' eyes may be corrupted. This means that only people Dark Hearted enough to commit evil deeds. This ability is normally used in conjunction with the Supplicant Ability. By succeeding at a contested roll of Wits versus Resolve, the Apprentice is able draw the target into her service. The basic game effect of this is in creating completely loyal followers. Any person who has been Corrupted by this ability gains one free raise for any action taken when defending the Corrupter. Adept: The Adept is able to turn those of Neutrality to Legion. This is useful for building a network of loyal informants. By succeeding at a contested Wits versus Resolve roll, the Adept creates a bond with the Target. This conveys two benefits. 1) No use of Sorte will spot the strand between the Villain and the informant unless the Fate Witch spends a Drama Die. 2) No amount of bribery, intimidation, or any other method will persuade the informant to betray his Master. He has been shown the rewards Legion offers, and desires them for himself. Any Character with Faith might be able to sense something is awry. Empowering Resolve This is the Gift of power from Legion. The varying levels of this Knack grant different abilities to the Corrupted one. The effects of Empowering may be passed to any person being controlled by the Corrupter. As the Corrupter uses these abilities, he begins showing minor visual transformations. After several applications of any ability (in a short period of time) the user begins to take on minor features of Legion’s Minions. See the description of each Degree of Ability to see what changes might occur. Apprentice: The Apprentice is blessed with the power of Charm. He rolls Resolve with a difficulty of 15. For every Raise he succeeds with, he gains a free Raise to any Social Interaction Roll. These Raises may each be used only once, but they may be added after the roll has been made. Example: The Villain succeeds with three raises. This gives him a pool of three Raises to be used when needed. Later, at a Gala, he decides to butter-up a merchant. After dice are rolled, he is 8 short of the Merchant's roll. He uses two of his three Raises, and wins the contested rolls. He still has one Raise to use later in the evening if need-be. If the Apprentice Degree is used more in one Act than the user has Brawn, the user’s physical features will subtly change. His eyes might take on a mystical quality. His features might elongate into a visage similar to some Unseelie Sidhe. This limit on uses is based on the number of times you make the initial roll, and not how often you use the Bonus Dice. If used more than twice the Character’s Brawn in one Act, these alterations will leave permanent side effects. Adept: The Adept is blessed with Prowess. Legion grants him the ability to survive assaults. Whenever the Adept enters battle, he may call forth the aide of Legion. He rolls Resolve with a difficulty of 15. For every Raise he succeeds with, he gains +5 to all wound checks he makes for a number of rounds equal to his Resolve. If the Adept Degree is used more in one Act than the user has Brawn, the user’s skin will begin altering. It will take on a dark red complexion, and begin hardening. If used more than twice the Character’s Brawn in one Act, these alterations will leave permanent side effects. Master: The Master gains the ability of Flight. She calls forth the power of Legion and rolls Resolve with a difficulty of 20. If successful, she sprouts a pair of Leathery Wings. She is then able to fly a number of Meters per round equal to Panache times 5. She also gains access to a new advanced knack under Athlete -- Flight. She gains level one in this Knack for free, so long as she already has Athlete. Flight is treated as a Defensive Knack, and follows the same rules as other DKs. If the Master Degree is used more in one Act than the user has Brawn, the user’s bone structure will begin to change. He will grow small horns, and his shoulders will become offset forward – to accommodate his wings. If used more than twice the Character’s Brawn in one Act, these alterations will leave permanent side effects. In any event, if the user uses any ability thrice his Brawn in on Act, the features will become drastic, and obvious. He will begin to take on permanent features of Legion’s Minions. It is rumored among the Corrupters that gaining all three features permanently, while ruining your usefulness in Theah, will promote you to the status of Minion, and Legion himself will pull you into Its Pit to serve Its every need personally. Spying Wits Followers of Legion are able to eavesdrop on others. Legion grants them the ability to see through other's eyes, and learn what plans are being wrought against him. He will often send Agents to capture a particular Noble’s Servant. He will then perform the Ritual called Seeking the Layers of Soul upon the Servant. Once the Ritual has been completed, he will tell the Victim four things. I now know everything you do --a partial truth. I may kill you with a mere thought – a lie. If you tell anyone of this Ritual, the Inquisition will kill you – true. If you do my bidding, I shall ensure your family is well provided for – a partial truth. Apprentice Degree: The Apprentice is able to see through the eyes of another person. She must become intimately familiar with the Target – body, mind, and soul. This familiarity comes through a ritual called ‘Seeking the Layers of Soul,’ in which the Victim is severely tortured. Small amounts of the Caster's blood are fed to the Victim throughout the ritual, and the Caster consumes some of the Victim's blood as well. By succeeding at a contested Wits versus Resolve roll, the Caster is able to imprint a small portion of his mind into the Victim. Whenever he desires, the Villain is able to concentrate for a moment (to shift focus) and see through the eyes of the Victim. The Villain must touch a flake of the Victim's dried blood to his tongue each day to maintain this link. Whenever anyone spends a Drama Die in the Victim's presence, he experiences a feeling of Deja Vu, as he is momentarily aware of every sight twice (at once.) This is very disconcerting to the Victim, and might give an unwitting Victim some clue as to what is happening. If a Fate Witch uses her Sorte, she will notice a thread leaving the Victim and going off in the direction of the Viewer. One unusual note: Neither the Villain, nor the Victim is able to see anyone with 'Faith'. There are only five ways to end this effect. 1) Kill the Villain 2) Kill the Victim 3) A Fate Witch may cut the Strand 4) The Villain failing to taste the Victim’s blood for one day 5) The Victim is Blessed by a representative from the Church with 'Faith', or possibly by a Sidhe. Adept Degree: The Adept is able to add Hearing, and Taste to the Sight gained at the Apprentice Degree. Also, She only has to taste the Victim's blood thrice a week. Master Degree: The Master may draw upon all of the Victim's senses. He may also choose to steal any of the Victim's senses instead of sharing them. To take away a Victim's sense, the Villain must defeat the Victim in a contested Resolve roll. Once taken, the Victim can't use the stolen sense until the Villain stops borrowing it. Please let me know what you think of this Heritage. I may just have to use it in my campaign. Imagine a Fate Witch who turns to "the Dark Side". I also like the image of a Master of Porte, who has been corrupted, and is now an Apprentice of Corruption. Thank You, The Wandering Knight Go with Grace, Go with the Blessings of the Prophets