Saberes V: Saber del resplandor

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Voice of Heaven (1 Dot)

This evocation allows a demon to speak with a voice like thunder or with clear, perfect tones of a crystal bell. The clarity and power of the demon's words command instant attention, forcing even the most frenzied mind to pause and consider what the ancient spirit has to say.

System: Roll Manipulation + Leadership. A Devil may use this evocation to affect everyone up to a distance of 10 yards times her Faith (difficulty 8), or focus on a single individual (difficulty 6). The player may issue a single command to the target, who may then attempt to resist the command with a Willpower roll. If the victim scores fewer successes than the Devil, he must obey the demon's command. When the Devil speaks, her voice can be heard clearly regardless of the level of ambient noise. She could speak into a raging typhoon and still sound as though she were speaking directly into the recipient's ear. This evocation has no effect on other demons or thralls with protection from mind-control effects.

Torment: Monstrous demons use this evocation to mouth a furious stream of blasphemy and hatred that is so charged with power that it strike the minds of mortals and thralls like a physical blow. Each success inflicts one level of bashing damage to targets, though they can attempt to resist this damage by making a Willpower roll with a difficulty equal to the demon's Torment. Demons can be affected by this form of evocation and can resist its effects using Willpower as well. If any damage is suffered, they must also make a Courage roll to avoid gaining a temporary point of Torment.

Exalt (2 Dots)

The power of the demon's commanding voice is enough to instill hope in the weakest of hearts, spurring mortals to put aside their fears and steal triumph from the jaws of defeat.

System: Roll Manipulation + Leadership. Each success is a bonus die that the target may add to a single dice pool for that turn. The demon may affect a number of mortals (including thralls) up to her Faith rating. Each individual benefits from the full amount of bonus dice. Demons cannot be affected by this evocation.

Torment: The sneering tone of a monstrous Devil has the opposite effect on mortals. Each success is subtracted from the mortals' dice pools for actions taken in a single turn. If a target's dice pool is reduced to zero or below, the mortal may not act in that turn.

Aura of legend (3 Dots)

This evocation awakens atavistic memories buried deep in the human subconscious, renewing the ancient bonds of fealty that once bound humanity and the fallen in the face of heaven's tyranny. The ties run so deep that when they arise, it can sometimes drive all other thoughts from a mortal's mind, leaving only the urge to fulfill the ancient duty once more.

System: Roll manipulation + Leadership. The Devil can affect a number of mortals equal to her Faith, as long as they are within line of sight and able to hear the demon's voice. If the number of successes rolled exceeds a target's Wits, she is immediately filled with a sense of devotion and loyalty toward the demon. She instinctively defends the demon from attackers, and follows reasonable orders without question. If your successes are less than the target's Wits, that target's player can resist the power's effects with a successful Willpower roll (difficulty 8). Thralls of other demons targeted with this evocation use their demonic masters' Willpower to resist its effects. Thralls with mind-control resistance can automatically resist the evocation's effects by spending one Willpower point. Mortals remain loyal to the demon for the duration of the scene. A person can be a target of this power only once per scene.

Torment: Monstrous demons do not inspire loyalty. They fill their victims with urges of hate and violence. Mortals affected in this way succumb to a murderous frenzy, attacking the nearest living beings within reach.

The Mark of the Celestials (4 Dots)

During the War of Wrath, both angels and demons found ways to signify their friends and enemies, subtly altering their auras to make subjects easier to find or as marks of anger and shame so that anyone who encountered subjects would know their crimes and treat them accordingly.

System: Spend one Faith point and roll Manipulation + Expression. The Devil must know her target's name (in the case of a demon, the Celestial or True Name is necessary), and be able to touch him. She must then pronounce the nature of her mark so that the subject can hear is (e.g. "Let every man give him shelter no matter where he travels"). The number of successes achieved determines the potency and the effectiveness of the mark. One success allows the mark to last for a single day. Two successes give it a life span of a week. Three allow it to last for a month. Four or more successes cause it to remain for a year. Whenever another person encounters the marked individual, the total number of successes is compared to the person's Wits. If the successes exceed the newcomer's Wits, the person behaves as directed toward the subject without hesitation. If the successes are less than the person's Wits, she may make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) to resist the imperative. Demons with at least one Faith point and thralls with immunity to mind-control are able to make their own judgments on a subject.

Torment: Monstrous demons can create only marks that promise violence and misfortune for the bearer, and a Willpower roll is made for mortals who try to resist the mark's command (difficulty equals the Devil's Torment).

Revelation (5 Dots)

Although mortals and demons alike use artifice to conceal their true natures, this evocation allows a Devil to strip away a mortal's layers of deception and reveal them for who they really are. It's a moment of truth that many do not have the heart to endure.

System: Spend one Faith point and roll Perception + Intuition in a resisted roll against the target's Willpower. If you win the roll, your character sees the individual for who he really is --- his nature, attitudes and beliefs. If questioned, the individual cannot lie or be indirectly deceitful; his answers are direct and straightforward, sparing no detail. By the same token, the individual himself must face the harsh, unyielding truth about his strengths, weaknesses, virtues and faults. At the end of the scene, the target must make a second Willpower roll (difficulty 7). If successful, the target gains a permanent point of Willpower, having faced the worst aspects of her identity and accepted them. If the roll fails, the target loses one permanent Willpower. If the target botches the roll, the individual loses three permanent Willpower and acquires a temporary derangement.

This power has no effect on other demons, but it does affect thralls.

Torment: Monstrous Devils are not interested in revealing a mortal's personal virtue. They wish to only crush egos to render victims more malleable, or to stoke the fires of dark impulses. When a high-Torment demon performs this evocation, the effect exaggerates a subject's worst qualities, giving them greater emphasis than the rest of the individual's personality. If the mortal fails her initial Willpower roll to resist the evocation, the character's impulses override her identity for the duration of the scene.

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Qingu, The Visage of Radiance

The apocalyptic form of the masters of Radiance is an incandescent figure wreathed in a corona of jewel-like color. Their physical features have more in common with the smooth perfection of marble than with human skin. Their voices are pure as crystal, and they cut through the pretty din of the mortal world like a razor.

The Visage of Radiance confers the following abilities.

• Wings: A pair of eagle's wings extends from the character's shoulders. At full extension, each wing is a third again as long as the character is tall. The character can glide up to three times her running speed per turn.
• Inhuman Allure: The character's voice and features are refined to inhuman perfection, adding the following bonus traits: +2 Charisma, +1 Manipulation, +1 Appearance.
• Radiant Aura: The character's body is wreathed in a corona of shifting, multicolored hues that distract and confuse her foes. The difficulties of all ranged attacks directed at the character increase by one.
• Sense the Hidden: The character is supernaturally adept at sensing mortals or demons who attempt to hide from her. The difficulties of all Perception rolls to detect hidden individuals within the character's line of sight decreases by two.

Torment: As the angel gives in to her demonic nature, the colors of her aura become muted, flaring up in angry reds and blues when she grows angry. Her features retain their alabaster perfection, but where they once inspired wonder, they now radiate an air of cold menace and cruelty.

The Visage of Radiance confers the following high-Torment abilities.

• Voice of the Damned: The demon's voice seethes with inhuman hate and malice. The difficulties of all Intimidation rolls decrease by two.
• Casts No Reflection: The demon's image does not appear in a mirror. Nor can it be captured in a photograph or by a video camera.
• Corrosive Spit: The demon's spit sears like acid. A bite inflicts an additional health level of aggravated damage, or the character can spit at a target up to 10 feet away with a successful Dexterity roll. The spittle inflicts one die of aggravated damage, plus any extra successes rolled. Targets such as mortals that do not deal in aggravated damage suffer lethal damage instead.
• Horns: A pair of curved ram or bull's horns protrude from the character's forehead. If attacked in close combat, the character may make a free counterattack at his foe. Roll Dexterity + Brawl. If successful, the character inflicts aggravated damage equal to Strength -1.