Thursday, May 15, 2014

Demon: Lore of Portals

Open / Close
Irrespective of locking mechanisms, you can open or close any mechanism touched.  If the object is already unlocked, or has no lock, you may open it at a range of 10 x Faith yards.  This could be used to open a window, fuel flap, elevator doors or even a handbag.  At the very least, this can make an excellent distraction.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Wits + Larceny + Portals.
High Torment: All doors and windows with Faith in yards x 5 are sealed against entry for a scene.  They cannot be forced and, if previously open or unbarred, are sealed with grey-blue mist.  This ward doesn't prevent teleportation or movement into other Realms nor does it prevent someone hacking apart a wall and passing through that so long as the hole is made after the power is cast.

Co-Locate
You may reach through space from your position to anywhere you can see which is within Faith x 10 feet to take an unattended object, press a button, key in a code, fire a gun or perform any other non-melee violent action within turns equal to successes.  Attempts to use violence will dispel the power as the lore use is too fragile to maintain the kind of speed required.  Since your arm is literally moving through a miniature portal to another place, this is quite a visible effect as part of your arm seems to vanish and appear elsewhere.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Wits + Science + Portals.
High Torment: You may reflexively use a power through the Co-Locate ability as though you were within range of them.  This can be used to deliver touch attacks, melee attacks or otherwise mess with a mobile object (i.e. catch a ball thrown through the air).

Teleport
You may either teleport yourself anywhere within 100 miles x Faith OR you may turn an existing structure (i.e. window / door) into a portal through which individuals equal to Faith may travel through (including yourself) so long as the portal opens into an existing structure on the other side.  You must physically touch the structure on this side to do so.  The lore use will fail if the power would deposit someone in a clearly lethal environment (i.e. flooded or airless room).
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Portals (versus Resolve + Faith).
High Torment: Your secretive and manipulative bent empowers your lore.  Therefore you can cast the power at any existing structure (i.e. window or door) within 10 yards x Faith which will teleport a specified number of people (maximum is equal to Faith) to any other specified location.  Fallen (and those with an innate magical awareness) may reflexively make such an awareness roll before stepping through to see if they notice the trick.  This trap lasts for a scene after casting.  The lore use will still fail if the power would deposit someone in a clearly lethal environment (i.e. flooded or airless room).

Disarm
You may cast a shield upon yourself which ensures that the next attack made against you will be negated OR your may cause your shield to reflexively disarm someone of their melee weapon (also negating damage) by having the weapon enter a separate space, clattering on the ground anywhere you choose within Faith x yards.  This pre-set power lasts for 24 hours and will activate for turns equal to Faith.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Athletics + Portals (versus Strength + Brawl if attempting to disarm).
High Torment: Your warped and corrupt nature causes the twisted space to constrict upon the arm or weapon (if wielded within melee range) or re-directs the bullet back into their path.  You may apply all successes as bashing damage against your attacked.

Multi-Positional
You phase out of reality for turns equal to Faith + successes and while you are still subject to gravity you are otherwise unharmable, untouchable, but can't touch others.  You (and any carried equipment) may pass through walls or floors by concentrating (worth an instant action).  You can be seen and heard as normal though you may appear translucent or with an echoing tone.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Portals (versus Defense).
High Torment: You may phase your arm or small weapon through someone and then resolidify it to harm another without taking any damage to yourself.  This deals lethal damage equal to successes.  The equipment bonus from your weapon does not affect the damage.  You otherwise remain out of phase and therefore cannot be harmed during this turn.

5 comments:

  1. Switching on my devious brain for a minute, some uses for these occur to me...

    Unfastening handcuffs is presumably an intended option, but do zips count as mechanisms? Because I would absolutely be pulling Benny Hill stuff with Open/Close. See also: bras.
    ...okay, when I wrote that I was thinking of diversions and gaining advantage in a fight, but on reflection it probably doesn't read that way.

    Co-Locate - grenade pins are like pressing a button, right? I am ashamed to say that once again, making people's trousers fall down is high on my list of ideas. You could also use this to open windows from the inside, or grab coins coming out of a one-armed bandit. Does it work the other way, with placing objects? Because that would be great for planting evidence, slipping people Mickey Finns, or even dropping a pill right into someone's open mouth. Does the hand actually move, and become visible elsewhere, or is it more action-at-a-distance?

    Teleport - it's probably bad to make a door that ports people into the Titanic, right? But honestly, porting them into a celebrity's penthouse will probably get them put away for long enough.

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    1. Open / Close won't untie anything, just move simple mechanisms like tumblers, so zipties wouldn't work nor would zips. You could probably do a bra, though it's not a heaps big distraction in a fight since it just loosens it to have the back of it undone.

      Okay, I've clarified Co-Locate a bit. You could pull a pin out of a stationary grenade, but one on a person or otherwise mobile would need to be High-Torment. You could open a window with it, but Open / Close would be better for that. Stealing coins? Go for it. Planting objects? Yup, that'd work. You could slip a Mickey Finn in someone's drink, though I imagine your hand disappearing and appearing over their drink would be a problem. Your hand is moving into their space, it's not Paths which could warp the movement of your hand but not the vision of it. I'll clear that up in the lore.

      You'd need to have been into the Titanic to port people there. I'll add in that old stand-by that you can't teleport people into Deathly Locations.

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    2. Nice to have the clarification. It's sometimes a bit tricky to be sure of what was intended and what's just abuse of RAW. I suppose the other generally useful thing about this lore is, in a crowded place there's various ways you could cause a commotion and create a diversion for yourself - accusations are going to start flying.

      Although I *am* sad about the trousers.

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    3. Lore of Forge may be more up your alley then. ;)

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