Chapter Two, part 2 - Full Text (Patreon)

New Forms

Here we present five new Forms: Allayed, Ambivalent, Dedicated, Summoner, and Transitional.

Allayed

The Remade can take steps to mitigate one of her Scars, or it doesn’t trouble her in some circumstances. Perhaps she wears a locket that suppresses her violent temperament (Murderous Urge) but gives her terrible migraines (Glitch), or maybe she can use meditation to control her fear (Phobia) but it leaves her emotionless (Frozen Heart), or possibly her crippling chronic fatigue (Genetic Disorder) can be managed with a drug that thins her blood (Hemophilia).

Choose one Scar to mitigate (the primary Scar) and another Scar to mitigate it with (the secondary Scar). The secondary Scar cannot duplicate any Scar the Deviant already has unless it also has the Repeatable keyword.

By default:

•            The Magnitude of the secondary Scar is 1 higher than the Magnitude of the primary Scar (including Standard Deviations, in both cases). The primary Scar can’t be one of Magnitude 5.

•            Both the primary and secondary Scars must have the same activation method (Controlled, Involuntary, or Persistent).

•            Switching from primary Scar to secondary Scar requires a commonly available item or substance and a ritual of a few minutes. This swap lasts until the end of the next chapter, during which time the Deviant doesn’t suffer from the primary Scar at all.

The Broken may spend starting Merit dots (or partially offset the Form’s cost, if the cost is negative) on the below effects:

Additional Scars (1 dot each): Choose an additional primary Scar and its mitigating secondary Scar. This pair adheres to the defaults above, but the Deviant may purchase other effects to enhance it. There can be no overlap between primary Scars, secondary Scars, or other Scars the Remade possesses, unless these also have the Repeatable keyword. This effect can be purchased multiple times, and each time it allows the Broken to mitigate one additional Scar.

Equipment (–2 to 1 dot): The object or substance required to swap to the secondary Scar is unusual. Choose one of the below effects:

•            Unique (–2 dots): The object is unique, such as an ancient artifact. If it is lost or destroyed, the Deviant suffers a medium Instability but can replace the object at the beginning of the next story.

•            Priceless (–1 dots): The object is exceptionally rare, such as a custom air-conditioned suit. If it is lost or destroyed, the Deviant suffers a medium Instability but can replace the object at the beginning of the next chapter.

•            Needless (1 dot): The swap doesn’t require an item or substance.

Gradual (1 dot): The allaying effect doesn’t wear off all at once. Instead, the primary Scar returns over the course of several hours after the Remade’s last treatment or exposure. If the Broken has not performed the ritual and/or had contact with the item/substance during the current chapter, the primary Scar manifests again at Magnitude 1 after 4-6 hours. This increases every few hours until it reaches full strength by no later than the end of the current chapter or 24 hours since the last ritual/contact. Note that the secondary Scar remains in full effect throughout the time that the primary Scar begins to return.

Reversible (1 to 3 dots): The Broken can reverse the mitigation before it expires normally. This requires one of the following:

•            A hard-to-source item or substance but no ritual, but it still takes the Deviant’s action (1 dot).

•            A commonly available item or substance and a ritual of a few minutes (1 dot).

•            A ritual lasting at least an hour but no item or substance (1 dot).

•            A commonly available item or substance but no ritual, but it still uses the Broken’s action (2 dots).

•            A ritual of a few minutes but no item or substance (2 dots).

•            No ritual, item, or substance is required, but it still takes the Remade’s action (3 dots).

Ritual (–1 to 1 dot): The ritual to swap to the secondary Scar requires at least an hour (–1 dot), or else no ritual is required but the swap requires an action (1 dot).

Temporary (–1 dot): Any swap to the secondary Scar only lasts until the end of the next scene instead of the end of the next chapter. If paired with Gradual, the mitigation deteriorates at a rate of one Magnitude every few minutes (every turn, in action scenes).

Trade-off (–1 to 4 dots): The balance between primary and secondary Scars is unusual. Choose one:

•            Last Resort (–1 dot): The secondary Scar’s Magnitude is 2 higher than the primary Scar’s Magnitude. The primary Scar can’t be one of Magnitude 4 or 5.

•            Equal Exchange (1 dot): The secondary Scar’s Magnitude is equal to the primary Scar’s Magnitude, and both can be of Magnitude 5.

•            Lessened (2 dots): The secondary Scar’s Magnitude is 1 lower than the primary Scar’s Magnitude. The primary Scar can’t be one of Magnitude 1.

•            Minimal (4 dots): The secondary Scar’s Magnitude is 2 lower than the primary Scar’s Magnitude. The primary Scar can’t be one of Magnitude 1 or 2.

Ambivalent

The subject’s state of mind at the moment of Divergence has a measurable effect on the result. Born and Volunteers are slightly more prone to subtle Variations, for example, while Elect and Unwilling are more prone to overt Variations. Sometimes a Deviant goes into their transformation in an emotionally conflicted state. Oftentimes conspiracies classify them as Accidents for the sake of simplicity, but Ambivalents often rankle at this. They are not “none of the above.” By some quirk of timing and mixed emotions about the Divergence, they claim multiple Origins as their own.

The attending nurse promised the subject whom the conspiracy abducted that the injection he was about to receive would cure his chronic illness — just to calm him down long enough for the anesthetic to kick in — and for a moment he became both Epimorph and Exomorph, for example. Or perhaps the subject sought out the Divergence, but some quirk of his lineage made him the perfect subject — marking him as both Autourgic and Genotypal.

In such cases, usually one Origin or the other clearly dominates, although it isn’t always obvious which, and this Form is unnecessary. However, in rare cases the Remade shows attributes of both Origins. Even rarer are those whose conflicted Origins result in something not typical of either Origin — or any other Origin, for that matter.

By default, this Form has no mechanical effects. However, the Broken may spend starting Merit dots (or partially offset the Form’s cost, if the cost is negative) on the below effects:

Adopted (0 to 6 dots): The Deviant counts as belonging to an Origin other than his own for the purpose of Merits with special benefits due to Origin (0 dots), or this Origin is in addition to his own (2 dots), or he counts as belonging to every Origin for this purpose (6 dots).

Disconnected (–1 to –2 dots): The Remade does not begin play with a Touchstone due to his Origin (–1 dot) or lacks one of his Touchstone slots (–2 dots).

Flawed (–2 to –10 dots): The Broken’s player chooses a Persistent Scar when selecting this Form. This Scar manifests with a Magnitude equal to half the number of Merit dots offset by this effect (–2 dots for Magnitude 1, –4 dots for Magnitude 2, –6 dots for Magnitude 3, –8 dots for Magnitude 4, and –10 dots for Magnitude 5). This Scar generates Beats normally but cannot be used to entangle Variations. This effect can be purchased multiple times.

Inferior (–2 to –12 dots): The Deviant’s starting Magnitude of Variations is reduced by 1 for every two Merit dots this effect offsets. This cannot eliminate the Broken’s one Scar-free Magnitude of Variations, nor can the amount of starting Magnitude it eliminates exceed the starting Magnitude based on the threat level. If the threat level is mutation (2 starting Magnitude + 1 Scar-free Magnitude based on Origin), for example, the maximum offset value this effect can provide is –4 dots, as that eliminates all the Deviant’s starting Magnitude (2) of Variations. This effect can only be purchased during character creation.

Lesser (–2 or –4 dots): The Scar-free Magnitude of Variation provided by your Origin is not Scar-free (–2 dots), or you have no additional Magnitude due to your Origin (–4 dots).

Oddity (2 dots): The Scar-free Variation and/or Touchstone type due to your Origin need not match your Origin.

Scar-Free (2 to 10 dots): More of the Deviant’s starting Magnitude of Variations are Scar-free. This costs 2 starting Merit dots per additional 1 Scar-free Magnitude. This effect cannot add more than 5 additional Scar-free Magnitude of Variations and may have a lower ceiling, since they still count against the Remade’s starting Magnitude of Variations. If multiple Scar-free Magnitude is applied to the same Variation (whether from this Form or from a combination of this Form and the Broken’s Origin), at the beginning of each story the Deviant suffers one additional minor Instability per Variation with multiple Scar-free Magnitude applied to it.

Unstable (–1 to –4 dots): At the beginning of each story, the Remade suffers one additional minor (–1 dot), medium (–2 dots), or major Instability (–4 dots).

Dedicated

Not all Divergences occur in a single moment where the soul cracks and unleashes its full fury. Some begin as hairline fractures, leaking comparatively minute traces of power — like blood trickling out under as-yet-unbroken skin, forming a particularly painful and unsightly bruise. Dedicated are no longer Baselines, but nor are they wholly Deviants.

Conspiracies disagree on why these subjects are traditionally called “Dedicated”. Many suggest it is simply a synonym for “Devoted”, meaning those Remade who offer service to the organization. Others claim it carries religious connotations, as when a child is ceremonially dedicated to the service of their church, or a cathedral is dedicated to a particular saint. Some claim the term predates the Web of Pain, hearkening back to a time when most Remade sought Divergence by undertaking pilgrimages to sacred shrines or by engaging in radical forms of mysticism.

Whatever the term’s origin, Dedicated result when a Baseline is subjected to occult pressures with the potential to trigger full Divergence but does not do so (nor suffers a gruesome demise). Some Progenitors impose such a “half-Divergence” on a test subject intentionally. They may wish to avoid pushing things too far in an effort to reduce the likelihood that the procedure will kill the subject. Or they hope to explore the liminal space between Baseline and Remade, whether out of scientific curiosity or because they hope to produce Deviants without the Scars and other unfortunate baggage.

Certain mystical sects can help their students achieve this state through ritual practices, sacred quests, or even martial arts. These often do not recognize the connection between their Dedicated and the Broken. They may not even consider themselves a part of the Web of Pain. In rare cases, individuals stumble upon these occult practices through their research or reinvent something like them almost accidentally. Becoming Dedicated by this means is a lot like learning how to whistle, snap your fingers, or wiggle your ears: learning from someone who has already mastered the skill is a lot easier than discovering it on your own, and even then, not everyone can learn such skills even with instruction.

Dedicated can also represent failed Remade, those who did not Diverge. These often bear signs of the trauma they suffered and may or may not have any Variations or Adaptations to show for it.

By default, Dedicated differ from other Remade in several important ways:

•            They have Integrity and can suffer breaking points, although most don’t suffer breaking points for using their own Variations or for witnessing the Variations of other members of their cohort.

•            They retain their Virtue, Vice, and all three Aspirations (one long-term slot and two short-term slots).

•            They lack Touchstones but do not suffer Instability for failing to further a Touchstone each chapter, do not suffer Instability at the beginning of each story, and do not become Ferals due to the lack of Touchstones.

•            They cannot purchase Acclimation with Merit dots.

They resemble other Broken in a few important ways:

•            They have Origins, Clades, Variations, and Scars, and begin play with the full complement of Adaptations and Variation Magnitude, including the 1 Scar-free Magnitude of a Variation based on their Origin. They also have an effective Acclimation of 0.

•            They can suffer Instability from most sources, including dramatic failures on Scar Finesse rolls and as specified by individual Scars, Variations, and Adaptations.

The Dedicated state is usually a temporary one. The Remade loses this Form and all its benefits and costs (although the Sanctity of Merits applies) and becomes a true Deviant when one of the following happens:

•            The Deviant increases her Acclimation rating, purchases a new Variation, or permanently increases the Magnitude of one of her Variations.

•            The Deviant suffers a major Instability (including upgraded Instability due to minor or medium Instability wrapping around into major Instability) or takes on an additional Scar to heal or downgrade her existing Instability.

•            The Deviant suffers a breaking point when her Integrity is already 1.

•            An occult power attempts to manipulate, destroy, or remove her soul.

The Broken may spend starting Merit dots (or partially offset the Form’s cost, if the cost is negative) on the below effects:

Anchor (–2 or –4 dots): The Dedicated no longer has a Virtue (–2 dots), Vice (–2 dots), or both (–4 dots).

Aspirations (–2 or –4 dots): The Dedicated has fewer Aspiration slots. Choose one:

•            The Dedicated has a long-term Aspiration slot and one short-term Aspiration slot (–2 dots).

•            The Dedicated has two short-term Aspiration slots and no long-term Aspiration slot (–2 dots).

•            The Dedicated has one short-term Aspiration slot and no long-term Aspiration slot (–4 dots).

Flawed (–2 to –10 dots): The Broken’s player chooses a Persistent Scar when selecting this Form. This Scar manifests with a Magnitude equal to half the number of Merit dots offset by this effect (–2 dots for Magnitude 1, –4 dots for Magnitude 2, –6 dots for Magnitude 3, –8 dots for Magnitude 4, and –10 dots for Magnitude 5). This Scar generates Beats normally but cannot be used to entangle Variations. This effect can be purchased multiple times, and each time it imposes an additional Persistent Scar.

Inferior (–1 to –16 dots): The Deviant’s starting Magnitude of Variations is reduced by 1 per Merit dot this effect offsets. The amount of starting Magnitude it eliminates cannot exceed the starting Magnitude based on the threat level. If the threat level is mutation (2 starting Magnitude + 1 Scar-free Magnitude based on Origin), for example, the maximum offset value this effect can provide is –3 dots, as that eliminates all the Deviant’s starting Magnitude of Variations. This effect can only be purchased during character creation.

Integrity (2 dots): The Dedicated no longer has an Integrity rating and cannot suffer breaking points.

Limited (1 or 4 dots): The Deviant does not lose this Form if she increases her Acclimation, suffers a major Instability, or suffers a dramatic failure on an Integrity roll. However, she cannot permanently increase the Magnitude of her existing Variations or purchase new Variations with Experiences, nor do her Variations become more powerful if she gains the End Stage Condition. If the Dedicated Form is selected during character creation and its net Merit dot value is negative, the Deviant begins play with additional Merit dots equal to half the negative rating of this Form, but this cannot add more than 10 starting Merit dots. This is an explicit exception to the general rule that the net cost of a Form cannot be less than 0 Merit dots. The Limited effect costs 1 Merit dot during character creation but purchasing or removing it during play costs 4 Experiences and can only be done once — either adding or removing the effect after character creation.

Touchstones (1 to 5 dots): The Dedicated has one Touchstone slot per starting Merit dot spent on this effect and may assign Conviction and/or Loyalty Touchstones to them. She can recover Willpower and heal Instability by furthering Touchstones but also suffers Instability if she doesn’t pursue any Touchstones during a chapter. Unless she has at least 3 Merit dots of this effect, she does not become a Feral if she has no non-Wavering Touchstones, although she continues to suffer a minor Instability for each chapter in which she does not further any Touchstones and becomes Feral if she lacks even Wavering Touchstones at the end of a chapter.

Unscarred (2 to 10 dots): More of the Dedicated’s starting Variation dots are Scar-free — one per 2 starting Merit dots spent on this effect. The total Scar-free Magnitude of Variations cannot exceed the Dedicated’s starting Variation Magnitude. The Dedicated suffers one additional minor Instability at the beginning of each story for each Magnitude 3 or 4 Scar-free Variation they have, and one medium Instability for each Magnitude 5 Scar-free Variation they have, even if part of the Scar-free Magnitude of the Variation comes from their Origin.

Integrity and Breaking Points

Deviant provides a short summary of the Integrity and breaking point systems (p. 187). A complete rules set is available in Chronicles of Darkness. For troupes using Dedicated but who lack access to that book, here is a slightly expanded version of the rules in Deviant:

Characters begin play with Integrity 7.

Three broad types of events trigger breaking points:

Trauma: The character witnesses something terrifying, traumatic, or that rattles her understanding of the world.

Unnatural: The character is the victim of a supernatural attack (be it physical, mental, or social) or witnesses overt supernatural powers (including her own the first time it happens).

Violation: The character performs an action that either violates her personal moral code or is considered unacceptable in society.

The Storyteller may apply bonuses and penalties to the breaking point roll based on the severity of the situation and mitigating circumstances. Protecting a loved one or acting in accordance with one’s Virtue affords a +1 or +2 bonus to the roll. Indulging a Vice or suffering or perpetrating a small personal violation may impose a –1 or –2 penalty to the roll, while the most extreme crimes (the ritual torture and murder of an innocent, for example) can result in penalties of up to –5.

Summoner

The power of the Divergence exists apart from the Deviant or can be split off from him. This homunculus might be an ever-present, hulking guardian, an animal-shaped manifestation of pure energy he summons when he needs it, or any number of other things. It might obey his every command or twist his wishes to serve its own goals.

Systems: By default, a Summoner’s homunculus has the following traits:

•            Scar-Fueled: Choose a Magnitude 3 Scar to associate with the homunculus (the Homunculus Scar). Bringing the homunculus into existence during a scene follows the rules for activating a Toggled Variation of the appropriate type (including the homunculus disappearing at the end of the scene) and attracts conspiracy attention as though it were an Overt Variation of the same Magnitude as the Homunculus Scar. Whether the Homunculus Scar is Controlled, Involuntary, or Persistent, the Broken carries the cost. Tribulation forces him to spend Willpower to summon the homunculus, for example, and Conspicuous Appearance makes the Remade noteworthy, not the homunculus. In a similar vein, Involuntary Stimulus causes the homunculus to summon itself whenever the Scar’s conditions are met. The Homunculus Scar cannot entangle Variations.

•            Assigned Variations: The homunculus possesses one or more of the Deviant’s Variations, each of which is entangled with its own Scar. The Remade cannot use those Variations, as they belong to the homunculus. The Broken’s Attributes determine Scar Power/Finesse/Resistance, and they use his Acclimation. The homunculus does not enjoy any of the benefits of a Variation that has not been assigned to it, so a Deviant with the Enhanced Speed Variation doesn’t grant the Variation’s benefits to all his homunculi, nor does Superhuman Strength make them stronger. If a Homunculus Scar has Standard Deviations that limit or change how entangled Variations work (such as Target Restriction), these apply to all the homunculus’s uses of Variations. Whenever the Remade purchases a new Variation, he may assign it to a new or existing homunculus instead of to himself. Adaptations can be used to reset the homunculus’s limited-use Variations, but they cannot otherwise affect the homunculus. There is no limit to the number or Magnitude of Variations a homunculus may have other than those that govern how many the Deviant himself may have.

•            Multiple Homunculi: The Deviant can also define multiple homunculi, but each Variation can only be assigned to one homunculus at a time unless the Remade purchases the Variation multiple times to assign to different homunculi (permitted even if the Variation cannot normally be purchased multiple times). Once a Variation is assigned to a given homunculus, however, it cannot be reassigned to a different homunculus without a narrative explanation and Storyteller approval. Only one homunculus can be active at any given time.

•            Distinctive: Each homunculus has a distinctive appearance. Although not all are humanoid (animals, machines, and stranger things are quite common), those that resemble humans have the same face, body shape, and attire each time the Summoner calls them forth.

•            Range: When summoned, the homunculus appears at a place the Deviant can perceive within 40 yards/meters.

•            Actions: The Deviant and homunculus each have their own separate actions, with both acting on the Deviant’s initiative (unless modified by a Variation). For mundane tasks, the homunculus has six dice for actions in two areas of expertise of the Broken’s choice and two dice for other actions — both of which can still benefit from Variations like Omnicompetence (treating half the appropriate dice pool as coming from its Skill) and Superhuman Attribute (adding a flat bonus equal to the Magnitude of Superhuman Attribute). Once chosen, these areas of expertise cannot change. Homunculi lack armor, weapons, or equipment when summoned. Their Defense is 3.

•             Construct: By default, a homunculus is not a living thing and doesn’t have biological frailties. It doesn’t need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep and is immune to disease, poison, fatigue, and old age. If it has the Durable effect, it doesn’t lose consciousness or bleed out, instead winking out if its Health track is filled with aggravated damage (although wound penalties still apply). When designing a homunculus, the Deviant’s player may choose for it to be vulnerable to some or all of these, and the Remade takes a Beat whenever one of these frailties creates a complication for him or his cohort.

•            Other Traits: Homunculi do not have Willpower, although the Remade can spend Willpower on their behalf. A homunculus disappears if it suffers any damage, although the Broken can re-summon it. A homunculus can be of Size 5 or less, as decided when the transformed purchases this Form; small (Size 4 or less) homunculi have the same advantages and disadvantages as Remade with the Miniaturization Variation, but it usually doesn’t affect Health (but see Durable below) and microscopic homunculi are not permitted. Derived traits like Speed and Initiative are based on the Broken’s unmodified Attributes except where the homunculus has a Variation that modifies these.

•            Limited Independence: A homunculus has a limited understanding of the world around it. It will obey the Deviant’s one-sentence/step commands (which he can issue as a reflexive action on his turn) immediately and without question, but it doesn’t act of its own volition.

•            Undying: If the homunculus is destroyed, it reforms and can be summoned again at the beginning of the next chapter, but the Broken suffers a medium Instability. If the homunculus has the Ever-Present effect, it automatically summons itself to the Summoner’s presence at the beginning of the next chapter (the next scene, if it also has Easy Reformation).

A Summoner can spend some of his starting Merit dots to change most of the above rules. With the Storyteller’s permission, the Summoner may spend Experiences to improve the Form during play. These Merit dots can be used as follows:

Adaptable (2 dots): Homunculi can benefit from the Deviant’s Adaptations, although the Broken must pay any associated costs.

Capable (2 to 15 dots): A homunculus possesses 1 additional Magnitude of Variations per two Merit dots, although they must be entangled with Scars as normal. For three Merit dots per Magnitude of Variations, this is instead Scar-free Magnitude of Variations. The Magnitude of these Variations cannot be increased later and can’t exceed 5 Magnitude total, but they don’t count against the Broken’s starting Magnitude of Variations. This extra Variation Magnitude is in addition to the Magnitude of any Variations the Summoner has invested in the homunculi.

Durable (2 dots): The homunculus calculates Health based on its Size and Stamina (which is equal to the un-enhanced Stamina of the Deviant), plus any due to the Variations assigned to it (such as Superhuman Stamina).

Easy Reformation (2 dots): If destroyed, the Broken can summon the homunculus again at the beginning of the next scene instead of the next chapter.

Ever-Present (2 to 4 dots): The Deviant may summon a homunculus as a reflexive action on his turn but may not summon more than one homunculus per turn. At 4 dots, the Homunculus Scar must be Persistent, and this effect is exclusive with Limited Use, but the homunculus is always present (and counts as an Overt Scar of a Magnitude equal to that of the Homunculus Scar).

Far-Ranging (2 dots): The Deviant can summon the homunculus to any place she can perceive within 400 yards/meters.

Guarded (–2 to 7 dots): The homunculus’s Defense is 1 (–2 dots) or 2 (–1 dots), or it is increased by the starting Merit dot cost of this effect (Defense 4 at a cost of 1 dot, for example, and Defense 10 at a cost of 7 dots).

Huge (2 to 10 dots): The homunculus’s Size exceeds 5 and it enjoys the benefits bestowed by the Gigantic Variation. This does not normally increase its Health (but see Durable above). The Merit cost is based on the maximum Size: 2 dots at Size 6-8, 4 dots at Size 9-10, 6 dots at Size 11-15, 8 dots at Size 16-20, and 10 dots at Size 20-25. Summoning the homunculus grants a bonus to the conspiracy’s next surveillance roll equal to half the Merit cost of this effect. This effect is compatible with the Gigantic Variation, potentially resulting in a homunculus as large as Size 40.

Idle (–4 to 4 dots): At –2 dots, the homunculus takes no action (whether independently or in furtherance of an order) unless the Remade is within summoning range of it (typically 40 yards/meters). At –4 dots, it takes no action except when he is in physical contact with it. If the homunculus has the Willful effect at –4 or –6 dots, Idle instead costs 2 dots for the base effect and 4 dots if the homunculus can only act when the Broken is in physical contact with it.

Independence (2 to 10 dots): The homunculus can understand complex commands as well as an ordinary person is able to. It has greater expertise or a wider breadth of knowledge than other homunculi:

•            Breadth (2 to 4 dots): It has two additional areas of expertise (for a total of four) and rolls three dice for other actions instead of two. At 4 dots, it instead has a total of six areas of expertise and rolls four dice for other actions.

•            Depth (2 to 4 dots): It has eight dice in its areas of expertise instead of six. At 4 dots, this is 10 dice.

•            Specialized (2 dots): Exchange some of the homunculus’s areas of expertise for Specialties and/or Merits at the rate of five Specialties/Merit dots per area of expertise.

Limited Use (–2 to –4 dots): The Deviant can only summon each homunculus once per chapter (–2 dots). At –4 dots, this is instead once per story.

Life Link (–2 to 4 dots): At –2 dots, the Summoner suffers any damage dealt to the homunculus and vice versa. Unless the homunculus has Durable, any damage inflicted on the Summoner causes it to vanish. At 0 dots, each partner suffers half the damage inflicted upon the other (rounded up), dividing incoming damage between themselves and ignoring any armor. Increase the cost by 2 dots if the Summoner may choose for the homunculus to suffer damage inflicted on him by one source as a reflexive action, sparing himself the injury. Increase the cost by 2 dots if the Summoner may choose to suffer the damage inflicted on the homunculus by one source as a reflexive action, sparing it from harm.

Modified Scar (–4 to 4 dots): The Homunculus Scar’s Magnitude is instead 5 (–4 dots), 4 (–2 dots), 2 (2 dots), or 1 (4 dots).

Multiplicity (4 to 10 dots): The Deviant can have multiple homunculi active, although he must still summon each one separately. Regardless of how many homunculi are currently active, they may only take one action per turn between them, although they can move normally. The maximum number of active homunculi cannot exceed two (4 dots), three (6 dots), four (8 dots), or five (10 dots).

Painful Bond (–2 dots): If the homunculus is destroyed, the Remade suffers a major Instability instead of a medium Instability. This is exclusive with Painless Bond.

Painless Bond (2 dots): If the homunculus is destroyed, the Remade suffers a minor Instability instead of a medium Instability. This is exclusive with Painful Bond.

Plain (2 dots): Summoning the homunculus does not count as activating an Overt Variation. However, the homunculus may still attract additional conspiracy attention if it uses Overt Variations once summoned.

Scarred (–1 to –6 dots): The homunculus has one or more of its own flaws. Choose a Persistent Scar (including Standard Deviations) and reduce the Merit dot cost of this Form by half the Magnitude of the Scar (rounded up). This Scar must be relevant to the homunculus in question and a potential burden for the Summoner. A homunculus that lacks Health cannot suffer a Scar that reduces how much Health it has, for example, and one with Conspicuous Appearance applies many of the related Conditions to the Summoner whenever he brings it forth. A homunculus’s Scars from this effect generate Beats whenever they create complications for the Summoner or his cohort but cannot be used to entangle Variations. A homunculus with multiple Scars uses the lowest-Magnitude Scar to calculate the base Merit dot cost and then further reduces the cost by one Merit dot per additional Scar (to a minimum cost of –6 dots).

Shared Power (2 to 4 dots): The Deviant has access to the homunculus’s Variations except when it is active or only when it is active (chosen when this Form is purchased). At 4 dots, he retains access regardless of whether the homunculus is active.

Weak Summoner (–2 to –6 dots): For as long as one of his homunculi is active, the Summoner is treated as a 3-dot Retainer with three areas of expertise of his choice based on Skills in which he has at least 2 dots. Once chosen, these areas of expertise cannot change except at the end of a chapter. At –4 dots, he instead counts as a 2-dot Retainer, and at –6 dots he counts as a 1-dot Retainer. This doesn’t affect the Summoner’s Scar Finesse, Scar Power, or Scar Resistance.

Willful (–2 to –6 dots): The homunculus has a will of its own, complete with its own Aspiration(s), Virtue, and/or Vice. It can and will refuse the Deviant’s orders if they conflict with those goals unless he successfully strikes a bargain with it. At –4 dots, the Summoner must instead obey the commands of the homunculus when it is present, although he can twist its intent if he dares. At –6 dots, not only does the homunculus command the Summoner, its motives are so alien and terrible that its orders will almost always create problems for him.

Differentiated Homunculi

The optional effects of the Summoner Form assume that all the homunculi follow the same rules, even though they have different abilities. This is meant to keep an already complex Form from becoming too complicated. For troupes willing to accept more bookkeeping, though, a Storyteller may allow a Summoner to have each homunculus follow a different set of rules. One might be tiny and clever, while another is enormous but none-too-bright, for example.

To represent this, determine a net Merit dot cost for the Form and pay that cost once. Then, build each homunculus using a budget equal to that cost. For example, a net 4-dot Form could allow one homunculus to be Capable (4 dots), while another is Durable (2 dots), Independent (4 dots), and Willful (–2 dots).

In order to have multiple homunculi active at the same time, each homunculus must have the Multiplicity effect at the appropriate rating.

Transitional

Sometimes a Deviant’s Clade isn’t entirely clear. It’s not just that it produces an unexpected result — such as an Infused born from a process intended to produce a Cyborg, or a Psychic emerging from most other methodologies. Such cases don’t require this Form. Rather, this Form serves when the Remade shows attributes of both Clades or exhibits Variations or Adaptations not typical of either Clade. As with fossils that show a distant connection between two diverse species, the scientists of the Web of Pain often describe these Broken as Transitionals.

By default, this Form has no mechanical effects. It can be used to reflect a Deviant whose apparent Clade based on the manner in which his Variations work is at odds with the one he uses to determine Adaptations and Clade Variations. However, if it has an impact beyond that, the Broken may spend starting Merit dots (or partially offset the Form’s cost, if the cost is negative) on the below effects:

Admixture (2 to 10 dots): Choose one:

•            The Transitional has the Clade Variations of one Clade and the Adaptations of another Clade (2 dots).

•            The Transitional has two Clades for the purpose of Clade Variations but only one Clade for the purpose of Clade Adaptations (6 dots).

•            The Transitional has two Clades for the purpose of Clade Adaptations (but still only has three Adaptations) but only one Clade for the purpose of Clade Variations (6 dots).

•            The Transitional has two Clades for the purpose of Clade Adaptations and Clade Variations, although she is still limited to three Adaptations (10 dots).

Cousin (0 to 4 dots): The Deviant counts as belonging to a Clade other than her own for the purpose of Merits with special benefits due to Clade (0 dots), or counts as belonging to this Clade in addition to her own (2 dots), or she counts as belonging to every Clade for this purpose (4 dots).

Maladapted (–8 to 2 dots): The Transitional has fewer Adaptations. She has two Adaptations at –2 dots, one at –4 dots, and none at –6 dots. If she later purchases new Adaptations via the Adaptable Merit, she counts as belonging to every Clade (+4 dots), two Clades (+2 dots), one Clade (+0 dots), or no Clade (–2 dots).

Unstable (–1 to –4 dots): At the beginning of each story, the Remade suffers one additional minor (–1 dot), medium (–2 dots), or major Instability (–4 dots).

Merits

Although not as head-turning as a new Variation, Merits can mean the difference between whether a Deviant is the one digging the shallow grave or resting eternally in it. Here we present many new Merits appropriate to Deviants, some of which are also available to Baselines who have a lot of exposure to the Remade.

Acclimation

Many new, Deviant-only Merits have one or more dots of Acclimation as a prerequisite. These reflect learned techniques and capabilities that the character has developed through practice or training. They require not just raw power or natural finesse but a fundamental understanding of the Deviant’s new condition — reflected in her Acclimation rating.

Origins and Clades

Deviants of some Clades and Origins find certain Merits easier to learn, or derive greater than usual benefit from them. These play to experiences often common to a given Origin or reflect general trends in the way Variations among members of a Clade manifest. These Merits are Mental, Social, or Deviant-Only as appropriate, but they also include text indicating special effects enjoyed by members of certain Origins or Clades. Broken with the Ambivalent or Transitional Form (p. XX & XX) who qualify for multiple special Merit benefits due to Origin or Clade may choose to benefit from either, but they don’t enjoy both benefits.

Variation

Some Merits are linked to a specific Variation, enhancing it and no others. A small number of Merits have a specific Variation as a prerequisite. Most also have an Acclimation prerequisite, reflecting as they do a combination of the Broken’s self-knowledge of their Remade condition and practical experience in using the Variation in unexpected ways.

Their scarcity in this supplement is intentional, since each is only potentially usable by perhaps one or two percent of all Deviant characters, and useful and appropriate to an even smaller subset of them. They are meant as examples of these kinds of Merits.

New Merits

New Mental Merits

The following new Mental Merit is appropriate to Deviants but available to Baselines.

Transformed Lore (••)

The character is familiar with the multitudinous fruits of Divergence.

You add two dice to rolls to identify a Deviant’s Variations and Scars (Deviant, p. 238).

The character’s player may describe a Variation, Scar, or Touchstone possessed by a Storyteller character (including any Deviations or details). This must be a Remade you have met or know by reputation, and the Variation/Scar must not contradict what is known about the character. The subject of the description has this Variation, Scar, or Touchstone, although the Storyteller may modify some details at her discretion. The player may call upon this effect once per story, with each additional use of it within the same story costing an Experience.

This Merit cannot be emulated by Computer-Aided Processing.

Autourgic: Having trained to face enemy Broken, the Elect develop a deeper understanding of their capabilities and vulnerabilities. You instead add three dice to rolls to identify a Deviant’s Variations and Scars.

Genotypals: Having grown up surrounded by fellow Deviants, the Born finds it easy to master a catalog of their abilities. This Merit’s rating is instead •.

New Social Merits

The following are new Social Merits appropriate to Deviants but available to Baselines.

Organizational Awareness (••)

The character understands the ways in which parts of a conspiracy interact with one another and the patterns they fall into.

You add two dice to rolls to recognize, identify, and research the qualities of Nodes (such as their types and associated Linchpins and Icons).

The character’s player may describe a Node (including its type), a Linchpin, or an Icon connected to a conspiracy — or a connection between two Nodes already known to her. This must be a conspiracy the Deviant has encountered or knows by reputation and must not contradict what is already known about the conspiracy’s structure. The description is largely accurate, although the Storyteller may modify some details at her discretion. The Remade’s player may call upon this effect once per story, with each additional use of it within the same story costing an Experience.

Autourgic: Elect often earn the trust of the conspiracies for which they initially work and so enjoy an easy understanding of the rhythms of such organizations. The Merit’s rating is instead •.

Exomorph: Having fought conspiracies for so long, the Unwilling has carefully honed her ability to hunt them in their lairs and exploit their vulnerabilities. You instead add three dice rolls to recognize, identify, and research the qualities of Nodes.

Regulating Influence (•, •••, or •••••)

Prerequisites: Presence •••

You possess unique personal qualities that inspire Remade to befriend you and can even bring Ferals back from the brink.

At one dot, when you are a Deviant’s Loyalty Touchstone, their Loyalty counts as 1 higher when you are involved.

In addition, once per chapter, when you deepen your relationship with a Feral, you may permit them to treat you as a Loyalty Touchstone, which is initially Wavering but can be affirmed as normal. This does not grant the Feral the ability to establish other Touchstones, nor can they choose to switch you from a Loyalty to a Conviction Touchstone.

Befriend (+2 dots): Once per chapter, when you risk danger or suffer harm on the behalf of a Feral or a Deviant with at least one open Touchstone slot, you may force them to accept you as a Loyalty Touchstone, which is initially Wavering and counts against their limit of declaring one new Touchstone per chapter. If you meet this condition and are already a Wavering Loyalty Touchstone, you affirm yourself as a Loyalty Touchstone on the Broken’s behalf.

Domesticate (+2 dots): Once per chapter, when you risk danger or suffer harm on behalf of a Feral for whom you are already a Loyalty Touchstone, you may restore their ability to declare and affirm Touchstones. They are no longer a Feral and can switch you to Conviction as circumstances dictate.

Shadow Fingerprinting (••)

The character has learned to identify the subtle machinations of hidden organizations and conspiracies.

You add two dice to rolls to recognize when events are directed by a conspiracy, and their immediate purpose. This includes conspiracy actions and Projects.

The character’s player may describe a conspiracy action or Project that would benefit a conspiracy. This must be an enemy conspiracy the character has encountered or knows by reputation and must not contradict what is already known about the conspiracy’s Principles, Virtue, or Vice. The conspiracy takes the action or initiates the described Project, although the Storyteller may modify some details at her discretion. The character’s player may call upon this effect once per story, with each additional use of it within the same story costing an Experience.

Epimorph: Having been on the receiving end of a conspiracy’s subtler projects, the Volunteer is uniquely aware of their methods. You instead add three dice to rolls to recognize and determine the purpose of conspiracy actions and Projects.

Exomorph: The Unwilling has been on the run from the conspiracies for so long that he sees their handiwork everywhere it appears. The Merit’s rating is instead (•).

Telltale Signs (••)

The character has learned to identify Remade by observing their behavior in social situations. After spending at least an hour surveilling or interacting with a person the character suspects is a Deviant, the character’s player may make a Wits + Occult + Acclimation roll contested by the subject’s Composure + Acclimation. If successful, the character identifies subtle cues that reveal that the person is a Deviant (or that they definitely are not). On a failure, the character can’t tell one way or another.

Genotypal: Immersed in Divergence culture as they are, Born have an especially keen familiarity with the behaviors of their fellow Broken. You add one die to rolls to identify a fellow Deviant.

Pathological: In some cases, an Accident may go months or even years without meeting another like herself. Once she does, however, she finds it easy to recognize the patterns in others that she herself has fallen into. This Merit’s rating is instead •.

New Deviant-Only Merits

The below Merits are only available to Deviants and are not considered Mental, Physical, Social, or Fighting Merits.

Adaptable (•••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •+

The Broken exhibits more inherent traits than usual. Choose an additional Adaptation. The Deviant gains access to that Adaptation. However, if it isn’t one associated with his Clade (or a Universal one like Stubborn Resolve), using it inflicts a point of minor Instability each time he uses it, in addition to its normal cost. This Merit can be purchased a number of times no greater than the Broken’s Acclimation, and each time it bestows access to an additional Adaptation. No Adaptation may be purchased more than once.

Coactive: This Merit’s rating is ••, instead.

Mutant: The Remade doesn’t suffer additional Instability for using a non-Mutant, non-Universal Adaptation. However, resetting one of those Adaptations (such as with Forced Growth) inflicts a minor Instability.

Advanced Stabilizer (•• or ••••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •, Stabilizer

The transformed’s Stabilizer Merit is more effective. It reduces total increased Magnitude of Scars due to medium Instability by an amount equal to half Acclimation (rounded up).

At four dots, it also reduces the number of additional Scars imposed by major Instability by one.

Invasive: This Merit’s rating is instead • or •••, but the effect at each tier remains the same. Additionally, the treatment cannot be lost or taken away from the Broken, as it is an inherent quality of his Divergence.

Mutant: As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, this Merit instead reduces the Magnitude of Scars due to medium Instability by an amount equal to Acclimation (instead of half) at three dots and reduces the number of additional Scars imposed by major Instability by an amount equal to half Acclimation (rounded down) at five dots.

Beloved Community (•••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •

The Deviant has learned to expand her love to encompass an organization or small community and the people in it. It can be as small as the congregation of a tiny church or the employees at a single branch office, but it can also encompass the residents of a city neighborhood or a small town or the employees of a large company (including a conspiracy).

You can and must assign the community as one of your character’s Touchstones. It counts as a Loyalty Touchstone and cannot be reversed into a Conviction Touchstone, made Wavering, or severed except through the surrender of this Merit (Sanctity of Merits applies normally). A member of the community can be selected as a Conviction Touchstone, in which case they are not considered a member of the community for the purposes of this Merit.

Furthering your relationship with any member of the community counts as furthering your relationship with a Loyalty Touchstone. Risking danger or suffering for any member of the community likewise replenishes all Willpower up to once per chapter.

Drawback: The Remade takes any harm against a member of her community personally. She treats every member of her community as a Loyalty Touchstone for the purpose of triggering Faltering rolls and suffering automatic Instability. This Merit cannot cause more than one point of Instability per scene, however, regardless of the number of community members who are hurt or killed; only the worst type of Instability suffered in a scene (minor, medium, or major) stays with the Broken.

Branching Fracture (••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •

The crack in the Deviant’s soul branches like a fork of lightning, and the Broken has learned to draw the power of the Divergence through this secondary path. Choose a Scar your character possesses when you purchase this Merit and choose an Attribute category (Mental, Physical, or Social). The Scar instead counts as one of that type for the purpose of calculating Scar Power, Scar Finesse, and Scar Resistance for the Scar and its entangled Variations. This Merit can be purchased multiple times, and each time it affects a different Scar.

Cephalist: As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, the Scar instead counts as both its original Attribute category and the new one, and the Remade calculates Scar Power, Scar Finesse, and Scar Resistance based on the higher Attribute in each category. For example, a Cephalist with a Physical Scar (Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2) made Mental (Intelligence 3, Manipulation 2, Resolve 1) would have Scar Power 3, Scar Finesse 3, and Scar Resistance 2.

Mutant: The Merit’s rating is instead •.

Eased Scar (•• or ••••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation ••+

As the Deviant further adapts to his Divergence, one of his Scars lessens in severity without reducing the potency of an entangled Variation.

Effect: Choose a Scar with a Magnitude no greater than your Acclimation when you purchase this Merit. Permanently reduce that Scar’s Magnitude by 1 — either the base effect or its Deviations — to a minimum of Magnitude 1. You gain 1 Scar-free Magnitude to one Variation entangled with this Scar.

For example, if a Deviant has Concentration ••• entangled with Holographic Projection ••• and purchases this Merit, it reduces the Magnitude of Concentration to •• but allows him to continue entangling it with Holographic Projection •••. If the Scar is entangled with multiple Variations, however, the Remade must decide which of them benefits from the Scar-free Magnitude of the Variation and may need to entangle the other Variations with different Scars in keeping with Fused and Shifting Scars (Deviant, p. 111).

If the Scar’s Magnitude increases (such as due to Instability), the Broken loses the benefits of this Merit until the Magnitude of the Scar returns to normal or he relinquishes this Merit (Sanctity of Merits applies). If relinquishing this Merit, the Deviant’s player may immediately repurchase a version of it with a higher Acclimation prerequisite, assuming the Remade meets that prerequisite.

At four dots, instead reduce the Scar’s Magnitude by 2 and gain 2 Scar-free Magnitude to an entangled Variation.

This Merit can be purchased any number of times, but each time it must apply to a different Scar.

Cephalist: As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, this Merit instead grants Scar-free Magnitude to all its entangled Variations.

Chimeric: This Merit’s rating is instead •, •••, or •••••. Each tier reduces the Magnitude of the Scar by 1 (to a minimum of 1) and grants 1 Scar-free Magnitude to a Variation entangled with the Scar.

Equilibrium (•, •••, or •••••)

Prerequisites: Acclimation ••

When faced with destabilizing pressures, the Deviant can unleash more of her soul’s power without the cracks becoming permanent.

At one dot, whenever the Magnitude of one of the character’s Scars increases due to medium or major Instability gained during the current scene, the Remade may also increase the Magnitude of its entangled Variation(s) until the end of the scene without permanently increasing the Scar’s Magnitude. If the Scar’s Magnitude decreases, such as if the Broken heals the Instability that caused the increase, the Variation’s Magnitude also decreases; the entanglement of Variation and Scar must always be a legal one and must adhere to the limits on Clade Variations.

Nuclear (+2 dots): Whenever the Deviant develops a new Scar due to suffering major Instability during the current scene, she may also gain a Variation of equal or lower Magnitude until the end of the scene and without making the new Scar permanent. The entanglement of Variation and Scar must be a legal one and must adhere to the limits on Clade Variations.

Radioactive (+2 dots): The increased Magnitude of the Variation (or new Variation, if paired with Nuclear) instead lasts until the end of the chapter unless the Scar’s Magnitude decreases before then.

Exclusion (•)

Prerequisites: Acclimation •, Variation with Aura

Choose a Variation with the Aura effect when purchasing this Variation. The Broken can exempt a number of potential targets no greater than her Acclimation times Scar Power from the effects of her Aura, or she may choose to affect a 90-degree arc instead of a radius. In the latter case, she can change the orientation of the arc once on each of her turns as a reflexive action.

Coactive: This Merit instead affects two Variations each time it is purchased.

Invasive: The Cyborg may instead exclude any number of potential targets.

False Cope (• to •••)

Prerequisites: Acclimation no higher than 0

The Deviant is unusually aware of the loss of some aspects of her humanity. Her desperate efforts to cling to the remnants of who she was only add to her frustration and sense of alienation, constantly drawing her attention to the emptiness where once she had the capacity for passion and emotional intensity.

Choose one:

•            Trauma: Whenever the character witnesses something terrifying, traumatic, or that rattles her understanding of the world, she gains the Emptiness Condition (p. XX). If this occurs due to one of her Variations or Scars, she also takes a Beat.

•            Unnatural: Whenever the character is the victim of a supernatural attack (be it physical, mental, or social), she gains the Emptiness Condition (p. XX). If she is instead its perpetrator upon a Baseline who is not a Conviction Touchstone or conspiracy agent, she gains the Emptiness Condition and also takes a Beat.

•            Vice: This is exclusive with the Blood on My Hands Merit (Deviant, p. 96). The character has a Vice, although it does not provide its normal effect. Whenever she indulges this Vice, she gains the Emptiness Condition (p. XX). If she risks herself or suffers in pursuit of this indulgence, she also takes a Beat.

•            Virtue: This is exclusive with the Bleeding Heart Merit (Deviant, p. 96). The character has a Virtue, although it does not provide its normal effect. Whenever she risks herself or suffers in pursuit of this Virtue, she takes a Beat and gains the Emptiness Condition (p. XX).

•            Violation: Whenever the character performs an action that either violates her personal moral code or is considered unacceptable in society, she gains the Emptiness Condition (p. XX). If she risks herself or suffers in the process of performing this action, she also takes a Beat.

The Broken cannot benefit from any of the effects above if she currently has the Emptiness Condition.

If the Deviant increases her Acclimation, she loses this Merit, although the Sanctity of Merits applies.

At two dots, choose two additional options above (for a total of three). At three dots, all five options serve as reminders of what the Deviant has lost.

Far-Reaching (• or ••)

Choose a Directed Variation or a Variation with one or more Directed effects when purchasing this Merit. The Remade’s reach with the Variation increases by a factor of 10 — typically from 10/20/40 meters/yards to 100/200/400 meters/yards. If the Variation has an Aura, its range increases by a factor of four — usually from 10 meters/yards to 40 meters/yards. This Merit can be purchased any number of times, but each time it affects a different Variation.

At two dots, the Variation can reach any target not completely hidden by cover, regardless of distance. If an Aura, its radius increases by a factor of 10 (usually to 100 meters/yards).

Learned Magnitude (•• or ••••)

Prerequisites: Acclimation ••+

Through a combination of self-discipline and intense practice, the Deviant has enhanced the potency of one of her Variations without the commensurate slide into Instability that usually accompanies such an increase in power.

When you purchase this Merit, choose a Variation with a Magnitude no greater than your Acclimation minus 1 (Magnitude • at Acclimation ••, •• at Acclimation •••, ••• at Acclimation ••••, or •••• at Acclimation •••••). You add 1 Scar-free Magnitude to that Variation. This Merit can be purchased multiple times, and each time it affects a different Variation.

The Magnitude of the Variation this Merit affects can’t be permanently increased (such as due to Instability) except by surrendering this Merit (Sanctity of Merits applies). If surrendering this Merit, the Deviant’s player may immediately repurchase a version of it with a higher Acclimation prerequisite, assuming the Remade meets that prerequisite.

At four dots, you instead add 2 Scar-free Magnitude to the Variation, to a maximum of Magnitude •••••. The Acclimation prerequisite for this is one higher than for the two-dot version, meaning that raising a Variation’s Magnitude from • to ••• requires Acclimation •••, for example, while increasing one from ••• to ••••• requires Acclimation •••••.

Low Profile (••)

Through painful experience, the Remade has mastered techniques for avoiding conspiracy attention.

You impose a one-die penalty to conspiracy surveillance rolls and conspiracy actions against your cohort. Multiple cohort members with this Merit do not cumulatively increase the penalty to surveillance rolls (only the highest penalty applies) but do increase the penalty to conspiracy actions.

Epimorph: Volunteers often come to the attention of a conspiracy by chance and find it especially easy to retreat back into that relative obscurity even after their ordeal. This Merit’s rating is instead •.

Pathological: Conspiracies regard Accidents as rare and valuable opportunities to press a Deviant into service without needing to worry about stepping on the toes of a rival conspiracy with an existing claim, and these Remade must work especially hard to avoid that attention. You instead impose a two-die penalty to conspiracy surveillance rolls and conspiracy actions.

Mastered Technique (•)

Prerequisite: Appropriate Variation

Choose a Technique (p. XX) for which the Broken has an appropriate Variation. They are considered to have mastered it and enjoy the Mastered benefits listed for the Technique whenever they call upon it.

Reflexive Variation (••)

Choose a Controlled or Involuntary Variation or a Persistent Toggled Variation. That Variation gains the Reflexive keyword. Directed Variations and effects still require an action to target. This Merit can be purchased any number of times, but each time it affects a different Variation.

Cephalist: This Merit instead affects two Variations each time it is purchased.

Chimeric: As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, whenever the Broken rolls initiative she may activate any one Variation as a Reflexive action, even if she hasn’t purchased this Merit for it. Multiple purchases of this Merit and optional effect allow the Hybrid to activate additional Variations reflexively.

Remote Targeting (•••)

Prerequisites: Acclimation ••, Far-Reaching

Choose a Directed Variation enhanced by the Far-Reaching Merit. The Deviant can affect targets with this Variation that she cannot perceive directly but is able to remotely — such as through a live security feed, webcam, or news broadcast.

This capability also applies if the Remade is under the effect of Variations that permit remote viewing, including Astral Travel, Body Snatcher, and Clairvoyance. She could, for example, use Body Snatcher to get close enough to an enemy to use Telepathy on them.

The camera or other artificial sensor must be within 10 yards (100 yards with Far-Reaching ••) of the target, and the Scar Finesse roll suffers a –4 penalty. Further, if the Scar Finesse roll achieves no successes (before the target contests it), the Deviant cannot attempt to affect that target remotely with the Variation again during the current chapter.

This Merit can be purchased any number of times, but each time it affects a different Variation.

Sacred Code (•••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •

The Deviant has pledged himself to a code of honor or other abstract set of behavioral rules.

You can and must assign a sacred code as one of your character’s Touchstones. It counts as a Loyalty Touchstone but cannot be severed except through the surrender of this Merit (Sanctity of Merits applies).

Choose one or more precepts, which are rules that govern your behavior — whether they are requirements (actions you must take) or prohibitions (actions you must not take). These must delineate behaviors that can be objectively violated or upheld.

Once per chapter, you may either add a new precept to your code to heal a minor Instability or permanently abandon one of the precepts of your sacred code at the cost of a medium Instability. If you abandon your only remaining precept, you must surrender this Merit.

Once per scene, when you risk danger or suffer to uphold one of your precepts, you heal a medium or minor Instability. If you are a Renegade, you also replenish all Willpower the first time you do this in a chapter. If you are a Devoted, you regain one Willpower the first time you do this in a scene.

Drawback: Once per scene, if you violate one of your precepts, you suffer a medium Instability, and your sacred code is considered Wavering until you risk danger or suffer to uphold one of your precepts. The first time each chapter that you violate one of your precepts when your sacred code is already Wavering, you suffer a major Instability.

Self-Limiter (••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •

Choose a Controlled Variation with the Tiered keyword when you purchase this Merit. The Deviant may choose to activate the Variation at a lower Magnitude than her rating. If she does so, the Scar behaves as though its Magnitude (including Standard Deviations) was equal to this lower Variation Magnitude. For example, a Remade with Telekinesis 5 entangled with Unstable Variation 5 may choose to activate a Magnitude 3 version of Telekinesis, in which case she counts as having Unstable Variation 3 for the purpose of that activation. However, any calculation involving the Variation’s Magnitude also uses this lower Variation Magnitude. For example, if activating Telekinesis 5 as a Magnitude 3 Variation, it can only affect objects with a maximum Size of Scar Power × 3, instead of Scar Power × 5. If the entangled Scar’s minimum Magnitude is higher than the rating at which the Deviant activated the Variation, it counts as being of the minimum allowable Magnitude (Magnitude 3 for Fluctuating Variation, for example).

Coactive: Calculations involving the Variation’s Magnitude use its full Magnitude, instead of the lowered Magnitude. For example, if activating Telekinesis 5 as a Magnitude 3 Variation, it can still affect objects with a maximum Size of Scar Power × 5 (instead of being limited to Scar Power × 3).

Invasive: This Merit’s rating is instead •.

Tactical Delay (• to •••••; Style)

Prerequisites: Acclimation ••, Directed Variation

Choose a Directed Variation (or a Variation with a Directed effect) when purchasing this Merit. The Deviant may choose to delay the onset of this Variation’s Directed effect when she successfully targets it.

The Remade must declare her use of this Merit when she directs the Variation, and it levies a –2 penalty to the Scar Finesse roll to direct it. It cannot delay Aura effects or Variations she only has access to temporarily (such as through the Unpredictable Adaptation or Emulate Variation). Further, she must determine the effect it will have when the delay ends. For example, if using Electrokinesis on a laptop, she must decide up-front whether she wishes to short it out or cause it to boot up and display a particular file. Delayed Variation effects do not count against the maximum number of targets that can be affected by the Variation at a time, but the maximum number of targets under a delayed effect cannot exceed Acclimation.

This Merit can be purchased multiple times, and each time it affects a different Directed Variation.

Delay (•): The Deviant ensures that the target does not suffer (or benefit) from the Variation until the scene ends or until she is no longer a part of it — her choice. However, she must choose either that it takes effect immediately once this is the case or at a random moment before the end of the current chapter. She may spend a point of Willpower at any time before the Variation takes effect to ensure that it does not take place until a random moment in the next chapter, potentially delaying the effect for multiple chapters; this may affect one, some, or all targets currently under a delay.

Countdown (••): The Deviant may instead stipulate an exact time when the Variation takes effect, or she may trigger its effects on the target at any time as a reflexive action (even if she is nowhere near the target when this happens).

If/Then (•••): The Remade may instead stipulate a situation or event that will trigger the Variation’s effect. This must be something she could observe with her own senses (including those currently enhanced with Specialized Sense or similar Variations) if she were in the target’s vicinity or that is within the victim’s awareness — whether it is something his senses can observe or a prescribed pattern of conscious thought. A target could intentionally trigger an effect by silently thinking a passphrase, for example, or might unintentionally trigger it by sparing more than a passing thought on solving some mystery that has been bothering him.

Nested Contingencies (••••): The Deviant can stipulate multiple circumstances under which the Variation will take effect. This can incorporate multiple Merit levels (“either at noon tomorrow or when she gets into a car,” for example) or multiple of the same level (such as “either when she gets into a car or lights a cigarette”), but the total additional number of circumstances cannot exceed Scar Power.

As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, the maximum number of targets under the Variation’s delayed effect instead cannot exceed Acclimation times Scar Power.

Victim Profile (•••)

Prerequisite: Acclimation •

The Deviant has learned to expand their rage to encompass anyone who meets their criteria.

You can and must assign a victim profile as one of your character’s Touchstones. It counts as a Conviction Touchstone and cannot be made Wavering or severed except through the surrender of this Merit (Sanctity of Merits applies normally).

Choose at least three criteria that together make up your victim profile. These can be physical (age range, hair color, etc.), social (employment by an organization, membership in a club or cult, etc.), or historical (graduation from a school, past involvement in an event, etc.). Those who meet all the criteria are considered to match your victim profile.

Someone who matches your victim profile can be selected as a Loyalty Touchstone, in which case they are not considered to match your victim profile for the purposes of this Merit. If you have the Beloved Community Merit and this Merit and someone would fall within the purview of both Merits, you may choose which Merit applies to them.

Once per scene, when you harm, frighten, or seriously inconvenience someone who matches your victim profile, it counts as making progress towards a Conviction Touchstone.

Once per chapter, when you kill someone who matches your victim profile, you downgrade a major Instability to medium or heal a medium or minor Instability.

Once per story, you may change the criteria of your victim profile.

This Merit warrants additional discussion of safety tools before including it in a chronicle, as it can lead to some very dark places depending on the chosen criteria. Troupes should disallow it if it seems likely to create problems at the table.

Drawback: Whenever you aid someone who matches your victim profile, you suffer Instability. This is a minor Instability if the aid you offer costs you nothing and a medium Instability if you take a risk or suffer to aid them. This isn’t triggered by merely failing to harm such a person, nor by speaking to them politely or giving them something in exchange for something of equal or greater value, but even small acts of altruism tear you up inside.

Variation-Specific Merits

Through chance or practice, Deviants sometimes possess special affinity for a single Variation. Many use cases are covered by Techniques (p. XX), but some warrant a separate Merit covering the advantage they grant. As well, some Remade learn to blend the capabilities of two Variations into a new set of effects. In a few cases, they may even demand additional Variations, a Form, or a Scar — or else grant additional optional effects for Broken who have them. The ones below are meant as examples of these kinds of Merits, which are much more numerous than the available space in this supplement allows. The Deviant only enjoys the benefits of a Variation-specific Merit when all its prerequisite Variations are active.

Lash and Fighting Merits

Lash is a highly customizable Variation that covers most types of attacks. Each Lash is a weapon, and for the purpose of Fighting Merits it can usually be treated as one. Which Merits work with which Lashes, though? Here is a good rule of thumb:

For most Lashes, the combat ability that serves as the Merit’s prerequisite (Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry) is also the combat ability a Lash must use in order to benefit from the Fighting Merit. A Firearms Lash, for example, can benefit from most Fighting Merits that have a Firearms prerequisite. Athletics is a special case, since it is a prerequisite for many Fighting Merits that aren’t related to thrown weapons; Athletics Lashes also benefit from Fighting Merits with the Firearms prerequisite and replace Firearms with Athletics for them.

A Lash is considered a light weapon if its damage bonus is less than 3 and as a heavy weapon if its damage bonus is 3 or more.

Combat Telepath (• to •••)

Prerequisite: Telepathy •+

The Remade uses her telepathic abilities to distract, penetrate mental defenses, or stun her enemies.

To benefit from this Merit, the Deviant must first establish contact with the target using Telepathy. Each effect counts as a Directed effect, requiring a successful Scar Finesse roll against the target.

Each level provides an additional effect:

Brain Babble (•): Requires Telepathy (Project) •. The Broken floods the target’s mind with distracting babble, imposing the Distracted Condition (outside of action scenes) or a –1 penalty to all actions (in action scenes) until the telepathic connection ends.

Trojan Meme (••): Requires Telepathy (Recontact) •••. Once the Remade makes successful telepathic contact with a victim, she has virtually free rein to afflict him with other effects. The next Directed effect the Broken (or a member of her cohort) uses this scene that targets the victim is uncontested if it would use the same Resistance Attribute to contest as the Broken’s Telepathy. For example, if her Telepathy is normally contested by Supernatural Tolerance + Composure, it would lower the victim’s defenses against the next Directed effect that would be contested by Supernatural Tolerance + Composure. The Deviant must still succeed on the Scar Finesse roll to affect an unwilling or unknowing target, but the victim is denied the roll to contest the incoming effect.

Trauma Wave (•••): Requires Telepathy (Forceful) ••••. The Remade floods the target’s mind with images and sensations dredged up from the Deviant’s own worst memories. The victim suffers the Insensate Tilt (in action scenes). In other scenes, the target instead experiences an intense, minutes-long hallucination that prevents meaningful action and might (at the Storyteller’s discretion) lead him into dangerous situations. Baselines may also suffer a breaking point based on the content of the memories.

Drone Master (•• to •••••)

Prerequisites: Body Snatcher •••, Shadow Selves •

The Deviant may choose to retain control over his body when using Body Snatcher. However, any victims of his Body Snatcher are considered drones.

The Magnitude of Body Snatcher governs the degree of control the Deviant wields over the drone. At Magnitude 3, his control lasts a single turn after which he must reestablish it, and if an action he demands causes the victim to suffer lethal damage or a breaking point, he cannot affect that target again during the current scene. At Magnitude 4, he can seize control until the end of the scene, although the victim is freed if she suffers lethal damage or experiences a breaking point, after which she is immune to the Broken’s possession attempts until the end of the scene. At Magnitude 5, the Broken has total control of the victim until the end of the scene, although he suffers a medium Instability if the victim dies.

The Magnitude of Shadow Selves determines the precision with which he can direct the drone. At Magnitude 1, he can manage to guide their steps in a shuffling gait. At Magnitude 2, he can direct them to take non-violent actions that require little manual dexterity, such as fetching and carrying objects. At Magnitude 3, he can command them to engage in combat or perform other physical tasks as though they were three-dot Retainers.

At three dots, the Deviant may attempt to affect multiple targets with Body Snatcher — to a maximum equal to the Scar Power of Shadow Selves. The Remade makes a single Scar Finesse roll with Body Snatcher that each intended target may contest with Supernatural Tolerance + Resistance normally. All targets are considered drones.

Optional Prerequisite: Alternate Persona Scar

As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, the Broken may break the control of his alternate persona until the end of the scene by banishing it to a convenient vessel within range. He must successfully activate Body Snatcher and Shadow Selves, although he may usually do so despite not being in the driver’s seat of his body. He has no control over what the alternate persona does with the body it has been shunted into. If the persona would lose control by forcing the victim to suffer a breaking point or an injury, it vacates the borrowed body but cannot take control over the Remade until the end of the scene.

Drawback: When the alternate persona takes control, it may send the Remade into a nearby victim in the same way. The Deviant can attempt to reestablish control (vacating the borrowed body) but cannot do so until the end of the scene if the victim is injured or suffers a breaking point while in the Broken’s care.

Optional Prerequisite: Prism Deviation of Shadow Selves and Amalgam Form

As an optional effect costing one additional Merit dot, the Broken may send pieces of himself into his drone(s). The Deviant’s drone(s) can perform teamwork actions with him as though they were Retainers with a Merit dot rating equal to the Broken’s Magnitude in Shadow Selves (excluding Deviations) and an area of expertise in whatever task the Remade is attempting.

Shadow-Binder (•, •••, or •••••)

Prerequisite: Otherworldly Connection ••+

The Deviant can command entities of the same origin as his Otherworldly Connection.

Each level provides an additional effect:

Command (•): Requires Otherworldly Connection ••. The Remade speaks a single-sentence command and attempts to force the being to obey it. This is a Directed effect. If successful, the target obeys the command until given another, until the Broken releases it, or until the end of the scene. However, the entity can twist the spirit of the command as long as it obeys its letter.

Sanctuary (•••): Requires Otherworldly Connection ••••. The Deviant creates a zone that is proof against a class of otherworldly beings. The Remade must spend several minutes ritually preparing an area no more than 10 yards/meters in radius before activating Otherworldly Connection. Entities whose origin matches the Broken’s Otherworldly Connection are driven out of the area, and no such beings can enter it until the end of the scene or until the Deviant leaves its protection. As long as there are no major changes to the layout of the area, the Remade can reuse the sanctuary, recharging it by activating Otherworldly Connection again. However, he cannot have more such sanctuaries at a time than his Scar Power; sanctifying a new area in excess of this limit causes another of his choice to lose its potency.

Bind (•••••): Requires Otherworldly Connection •••••. The Deviant performs a ritual summoning lasting at least several minutes before activating Otherworldly Connection. If he successfully forces an entity to take physical form using Otherworldly Connection, it cannot take any directly harmful action against him, his Loyalty Touchstones, or members of his cohort until the end of the scene unless one of them takes a directly harmful action against it first.