Page 76 - Chronicles of Darkness

and be tempered by it. The character takes a Beat
and regains a point of Willpower.
Meditation

A character can improve her chances of resisting
a breaking point by meditating. Meditation is an
extended action with a pool of Composure + Wits,
target successes of 4, and an interval of 30 minutes.
After successfully meditating, the character gets a
+1 bonus to her next breaking point roll. Once this
bonus is used or the character sleeps, it disappears,
and must be regained by meditating again.
Soothing music or relaxation tapes can provide a
+1 to +2 equipment bonus. A dedicated meditation
room, perhaps in the character’s Safe Place, provides
+3. Loud noises, an uncomfortable environment, or
lack of sleep inflict a -1 penalty each. Lack of food
inflicts a -1 to -3 penalty.

Conditions

Conditions represent ways in which the story has
affected a character, and what he can do to move past
those events. Players don’t buy Conditions. Instead,
events in the game apply them and they remain until
certain resolution criteria are met. A character can only
have one instance of a particular Condition unless
each applies to a distinctly different circumstance — for
example, he may be Informed about both the occult
symbol he stayed up all night to research and the inner
workings of the corporation he infiltrated. He’d resolve
each independently.
Characters can gain Conditions as a result of
many events or circumstances. A player can choose
to bring a relevant Condition into play whenever he
rolls an exceptional success. Breaking points (see p.
73) can also cause Conditions as the character deals
with the ravages of a harsh and terrifying world.
Spirit Numina, vampiric Disciplines, and other
supernatural powers can inflict Conditions on their
unfortunate victims. Finally, the Storyteller can bring
a Condition into play whenever it would heighten
the drama of the story, or when it would make sense
as the result of a character’s actions.
A list of sample Conditions can be found on
p. 288. The listed resolutions for each Condition
are the most common ways to end its effects; other
actions may also resolve it if they would reasonably
cause the Condition’s effects to end. Players should
work with the Storyteller to determine Condition
resolution. When a character resolves a Condition,
the player takes a Beat. However, if a Condition has
a natural time limit and then fades away, he doesn’t
take a Beat — just waiting the Condition out isn’t
enough to resolve it.

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Conditions