Page 165 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

APPENDIX: DREAD POWERS & RULES UPDATE

ster’s flaw, an extended research ac-
ADVANCED ANATHEMA tion should suffice in most cases.
Willpower
When creating important monsters using
standard creation points, you may wish to give
your monsters further Experience to reflect By default, monsters may only
greater degrees of power, age, and potency. spend a single Willpower point per
Use the following guidelines to determine how turn. This means that any Dread
much you should give a more fearsome creature. Power requiring multiple Willpow-
Dread Powers cost two Experiences per dot er for activation requires multiple
in this model. Advanced monsters should also turns of preparation. However, with
receive free dots in Potency to reflect their the Potency trait (see below), some
power. monsters can bring terrible powers
Description Potency Experiences to fore in a moment’s notice.
Around the Block 1 5 Potency
Rising Threat 2 10
The Potency trait reflects a par-
Seasoned Beast 3 15
ticular intensity in a monster’s su-
Elder Cretin 4 25 pernatural existence. All monsters
Urban Legend 5 50 have a Potency trait, and they re-
ceive the first dot for free. Potency is
Demigod 6 100
unlike most traits, in that it’s rated
between one and ten dots.
Note: The Potency trait replac-
Integrity: Some monsters have alternate forms of Integrity. es the Potency Merit from p. 157 of Night Stalkers.
Particularly with more murderous creatures, Integrity would Advantages of Potency
leave them as ineffective, quivering messes very quickly. So
when designing your monster, consider the types of behavior While every monster type expresses Potency differently,
that would be considered unnatural for the monster to take. these same basic mechanics cover them.
Those types of behaviors should become breaking points. Willpower Capacity: Monsters have Willpower dots equal
Common Dread Powers: It’s worth noting a short list of to their Resolve and Composure. However, they can store addi-
common Dread Powers for your supernatural creatures, and tional Willpower equal to their Potency trait. Unlike most char-
their page numbers. This way you can customize and flavor acters, monsters can have more than ten points of Willpower
your individual specimens without flipping through the entire available. However, they still can only have ten dots of Will-
list of Dread Powers. power. For example, a character with Resolve 4, Composure 4,
Defining Dread Powers: Some monsters will have inher- and Potency 8 can access 16 points of Willpower, even though
ent Dread Powers, by virtue of their very natures. Every instance she only has the limited 10 dots of Willpower.
of that monster possesses the power. For example, werewolves Willpower Expenditure: Normally, characters may only
cease to be werewolves without shape-changing Dread Powers. spend a single point of Willpower per turn, for whatever rea-
In these cases, list what defining Dread Powers your monster son. So, a monster that spent Willpower to add to her Defense
possesses, and how many dots your average example has. cannot use a Dread Power requiring Willpower in the same
Other Features: Is your monster immune to mental intru- turn. However, monsters with more Potency can spend more
sion? Can it not fall unconscious from damage? Does it suffer Willpower. A monster may spend one point of Willpower in
no harm from falling? Note these sorts of traits that are unique a turn per dot of Potency. This does not allow the monster to
to your monster type. spend multiple Willpower points to bolster a single dice pool; it
Define Potency: Every monster has a Potency trait. However, could allow the monster to spend Willpower to bolster a pool,
every monster expresses Potency differently, even though they use increase her Defense, and fuel a Dread Power, for example.
the same basic mechanics. Define what Potency means for your Supernatural Capability: If a monster has six or more dots of
monster; determine what differentiates the weak from the strong. Potency, her Attributes and Skills can rise to that level. So, a mon-
Flaws: Most monsters have flaws, bans, or other inherent ster with seven dots of Potency could theoretically have Strength
limitations. These flaws tend to be stronger, the more powerful 7. At your discretion, monsters might have Dread Powers at more
the monster. Any time a character takes advantage of a mon- than five dots; see Advanced Dread Powers in the below section.
ster’s inherent flaws, the monster’s Potency trait adds to the Supernatural Tolerance: Monsters are more resistant to
effort. For example, when attacking a werewolf with a silver the supernatural, by nature of their inherent affinities. Add the
weapon, add its Potency trait to dice pools. monster’s Potency dots to any contested roll to resist a super-
If your monster has a particular flaw, it should be some- natural power. At Storyteller discretion, this may include rolls
thing that could see play. If the cell wishes to uncover the mon- to resist Endowments.

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