Page 174 - Hunter - The Vigil

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roll contested by the hunter’s Manipulation + Subterfuge + divine justice, knows that the hunter’s cause is virtuous and
Elixir. Supernatural abilities that gauge a character’s strength that all may be forgiven. By meditating on the soothing in-
or weakness likewise register the hunter as nearly dead if the cense of the Breath of Ma’at, an Ascending One may find a

Ascending One wins a contested, reflexive Manipulation + kind of peace in the rightness of his cause.
Subterfuge + Elixir roll against the dice pool of the power. As with many of the Elixirs employed by the Ascending
The hunter does suffer a -1 to all dice pools — those Ones, some hard-liners reject the Dynastic interpretation of
tremors are real enough — but she may spend a Willpower this Elixir. They call it the Mercy of Allah, and replace the
point as a reflexive action to instantly purge the effect of the silent meditation with Salah prayers, claiming it is Allah the

Elixir and negate the penalty. Unless the character purges the Most Merciful who grants forgiveness.
effect early, the Crocodile Tears wear off in one scene. Action: Extended; each roll represents one hour of fast-
Exceptional Success: The character does not suffer the ing and meditation or prayer.
-1 penalty to her dice pools; the illusion of deathly illness is Roll Results
perfect without actually impairing the character. Dramatic Failure: The hunter automatically gains a
The successful use of Crocodile Tears does not compel mild derangement, or upgrades an existing mild derangement
an enemy to act in any particular manner, but many monsters to a severe one. The hunter’s player and the Storyteller should
(and even many ordinary humans) prefer to take on a much work together to choose an appropriate derangement.
weaker opponent if they can. Crocodile Tears are a useful aid Failure: No progress is made toward alleviating the bur-
to setting up an ambush, not a guaranteed lure. den of sin on the character’s soul. Should the character fail
to achieve the required number of successes within the maxi-
Eye of Ra (•) mum number of rolls, he is affected as though he had con-

The sun-god Ra sees all that transpires beneath his fiery sumed three alcoholic beverages in excess of his Stamina.
gaze. By anointing themselves with sacred oils, the Ascending Success: The Ascending One proceeds toward letting go
Ones gain a measure of this divine perception for themselves. of his sin.
While they cannot truly gain insight into everything under Exceptional Success: In addition to extraordinary prog-
the sun, they can enhance their own perceptive abilities and ress being made toward regaining perspective, the Ascending
sharpen their senses toward what is hidden. One gains a +1 bonus on his next roll to avoid degeneration.
Eye of Ra is sandalwood oil infused with sacred herbs and This Elixir may only be employed within 24 hours of the
plants thought to aid in the sharpening of the senses. It also con- Ascending One losing a point of Morality, and the character
tains kohl, the cosmetic traditionally used by the Egyptians to may only benefit from this Elixir once per story. The character

darken their eyelids, which contains several toxic compounds. must acquire a number of successes equal to (10 - the Morality
Traditionally, the oil is applied by dabbing it around the eye in the level of his most recent sin). These successes must be accu-
shape of the sacred symbol of the eye of Ra (also called the eye of mulated in a number of rolls equal to less than the character’s
Horus). Ascending Ones who embrace Islam over the faith of the Morality, or the Elixir fails to take effect.
pharaohs refer to the oil as “Eye of Jibril,” and simply anoint them- Should the Ascending One acquire the requisite suc-
selves on the eyelids without drawing the eye of Ra. cesses, he may re-roll the degeneration roll that caused him
Action: Instant. to lose his Morality. If he succeeds, he gains the lost Morality
Roll Results point back as though it had never been lost. This Elixir has no
Dramatic Failure: The Ascending One is afflicted with a effect if the character has raised his Morality through another

Toxicity 4 bashing poison. This poison may be resisted with a con- means, such as experience points. Derangements gained from
tested Stamina + Resolve roll subtracting the poison’s Toxicity. the now-lost point also diminish.
Failure: The hunter is affected as though she had con- Example: Hassan, an Ascending One, burned down an
sumed a mild (-1) dose of heroin. apartment building to kill a vampire that nested there. Un-
Success: The character gains a bonus to Perception rolls fortunately, an elderly man was trapped on the upper floor
(either general Wits + Composure or Wits + a specific Skill) and burned to death in the ensuing blaze. The Storyteller rules

equal to her Elixir rating. The bonus lasts for one scene. that this was an impassioned crime, similar to manslaughter, a
Exceptional Success: In addition to the Perception bo- Morality 4 sin. Hassan’s player rolls three dice but gets no suc-
nus, if the Ascending One passes within two yards of a super- cesses, dropping his Morality from 6 to 5. He likewise fails his

natural creature, she may roll a reflexive Wits + Occult roll check to avoid gaining a derangement, and gains a mild phobia
(not including the bonus from the Eye of Ra) contested by the of fire. Later that night, he prepares the Breath of Ma’at to help
monster’s Resolve + Composure to recognize it as unnatural. him realize that the woman was an unfortunate but unavoid-
She does not gain any insight into what sort of creature it able casualty of a righteous war. Hassan’s Stamina is 2 and he
might be, only that it is not human. has 3 dots in Elixir, for a total dice pool of five; since his most
recent sin was a Morality 4 sin, he must accumulate six suc-
Breath of Ma’at (••)
cesses (10 minus 4) in five or fewer rolls. His first roll comes
Hunters must, in the course of their duties, undertake ac-
up 4, 8, 2, 6, 9 for two successes. His second roll is a lucky
tions that righteous men would consider sinful. These acts
one, netting him three more successes. His third and fourth
weigh heavily upon the soul; even the Ascending Ones can
rolls net no successes, but he slides in under the wire with one
be overwhelmed by sin. But Ma’at, the goddess of truth and
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