Page 134 - World of Darkness

any extra Willpower points. If they were never spent, he Resolve +2 is subtracted from the dice pool of the oppo-
no longer has access to them. nent.
Example: A monster’s thrall tries to hit Jefferson, who
Resistance hopes to get by to save a child. Jefferson stops at nothing to

Willpower can also be used to reflect your character’s get to the kid, so his player spends a Willpower point to
efforts to resist influences and dangers imposed upon him. better resist the effects of the thrall’s attack. Jefferson’s
Your character might be determined to resist a poison that Defense increases from 2 to 4 for the attack, diminishing the
depletes his Strength, or to avoid harm through sheer force minion’s dice pool.
of determination. In another turn, Jefferson negotiates for the release of
In these cases, you can spend a point of Willpower in the child from the bloodsucking monster. The creature of the
a reflexive action to gain a bonus to Resistance efforts. In night seeks to cripple Jefferson with a magical power that
combat, a point of Willpower spent adds two points to saps Strength. Jefferson fights back with all his might, and his
your character’s Defense to resist harm against a single player spends a point of Willpower to resist the power.
attack. You simply announce that you’re spending Will- Jefferson’s Stamina is normally 3 but it increases to 5 in this
power to resist when the attack is staged. (Your character instance, and that number is subtracted from the dice pool
could even dodge in a turn — see p. 121 — and you could rolled for the creature’s trick.
spend a Willpower point to gain a further two points of Remember that only one Willpower point can be
protection against a single attack.) Remember that Defense spent per turn, total, no matter how it’s used. You cannot,
(and therefore Willpower) does not usually apply against for example, spend one point to gain three extra dice on a
attacks from firearms or bows. roll and another point to increase your character’s Re-
Otherwise, Willpower can be spent to bolster one your solve in the same turn. Those points must be spent in
character’s “Resistance” Attributes — Composure, Resolve separate turns.
or Stamina — against a single roll when he is threatened. Wound penalties (see p.171) do not apply to your
Say, your character is exposed to a supernatural power character’s Defense or other Resistance traits when those
that diminishes his cognitive capacity. The power steals traits are subtracted from opponents’ dice pools.
one Intelligence point per success achieved, and your Storytellers are encouraged to read “Rule of Thumb:
character’s Resolve is subtracted from the dice pool rolled. Resistance,” p. 202, to better understand when Resistance
Spending a point of Willpower increases your character’s traits such as Stamina, Resolve, Composure and Defense
Resolve by two to resist the power. That is, your character’s
are subtracted from attackers’ dice pools in play.

133
SYSTEMS- SUCCESSIVE ATTEMPTS-HEROIC EFFORT