Difference between revisions of "Prime Houserules"

Latest revision as of 11:11, 12 March 2018

Quintessence vs. Health Levels in Human Characters

A Mage (and a human, for that matter) normally has 7 health levels and 10 points of quintessence in their life pattern (aside from any extra carried as the quintessence stat). Here’s how damage works with that.

• 1-7 dots of quintessence removed from the person: one-to-one aggravated damage, including Incapacitated at the 7th.

• 8-9 dots of quintessence removed from the person: the person dies, by mundane standards. However, very quick action taken by a mage to replace these one or two quintessence can pseudo-heal the character. They remain incapacitated (effectively comatose) for one week per dot beyond 7 inflicted, at which point they are merely Incapacitated (as standard on the sheet), and may be healed by whatever means, mundane or magical, would normally be available. This is generally traumatic and vulgar as fuck.

• 10 dots of quintessence removed from the person: the person dies, and cannot be saved without magic that revives the recently dead.

How the Hell Do I Get Quintessence, Prime 0-3

All methods of gaining quintessence have drawbacks, side-effects, or requirements that make them tricky. Even "I get it from a node" requires having a node, defending it, and potentially maintaining it. That said, here is a list of ways to get some quintessence when you need it.

• Prime 0 (Avatar-bound):
  • Nodes, junctures, tass
  • Friends
• Prime 1:
  • Heart’s Blood. One-for-one quintessence to aggravated damage, with three points past incapacitated available. At Prime 1, this can only be used for channeling this personal quintessence directly into an effect that is being cast. Note that this may only be healed with time. #rekt
• Prime 2:
  • Burnt Offerings, without Matter 2. Ritually destroy an object as part of a sacrifice for a single point of quintessence. If it doesn’t represent an actual sacrifice, it doesn’t count; per the book, “In either case, the act of giving up that object is an essential part of the spell. No sacrifice, no Quintessence.”
  • Burnt Offerings, with Matter 2: Ritually destroy an object as part of a sacrifice, for one quintessence per success on your Arete roll. See requirements above. Wiz discretion is the law; items may be ruled to have little quintessence on offer.
  • Heart’s Blood, expanded: As Heart’s Blood at Prime 1, but the quintessence can be fed into the carried quint stat/avatar. This may be advantageous because you don’t have to inflict aggravated damage on yourself in, say, combat - but sure hope you heal the damage in time.
• Prime 3:

  • Channel quintessence from a large fire. Quintessence harvested is per the damage chart - one point per success on Arete roll for one or two successes, two per success for 3+ successes. Again, the amount of quintessence available from a fire is subject to wiz discretion; this also gets incredibly vulgar very fast.
  • With Spirit 2: Drain essence from spirit
  • Various kinds of ‘get it from a living creature’:
    • Energy vampirism (unwilling target, unsubtle - subtle takes Prime 5) - per damage chart
    • Energy vampirism/Bond of Blood (willing target) - per damage chart
    • Lambs to the slaughter - ritual killing of person or creature, full quint pool of target
    • “Chi-Vampire Strike” - same as Energy vampirism, but in the context of a fight
    • Note that all of these methods -do damage-, they simply do not do damage that is physically obvious. This is a clarification from the book.

Crafting Wonders

• See Charms & Gadgets
• Permanent Wonders coming at some point