[IC] [Mage: the Awakening 2E] The Supernal Suburbia

[Caladriu]

Moonstone
Peripheral Sight | Spells: Mental Shield (self, 1 week, +3 Clash); Choose the Thread (self, 1 turn)
Conditions: Divergent (suppressed), Guilty, Triumphant, Informed (Rumors) [-1 Strength]
Health: XXX//O | Willpower: 3/8 | Mana: 7/10 | Beats: 0/5 | Arcane Beats: 1/5

The path of Wisdom hurts. The Warlock winces as his Imago settles and two futures diverge in his mind's eye. Regrettably, he lacks the puissance to raise his Mage Armor so soon after a spell. At least Ophis' shield will spare him if-

"hrrrg!"

His eyes dilate to pinpricks. There are cold, ghostly claws passing through his chest cavity. He frantically tries to recall whether he saw a black dog this morning.

Recorded 1 beat for taking damage in rightmost health boxes.

Just in case, here's an Initiative roll for my familiar: 10. If it can interact with the materialized ghost, it will use Reveal Flaws to penalize its Clash rolls. If it can't, it just lurks.

"Reveal Flaws: Fear draws a target's hidden faults to the surface, writing words such as "weak" or "greedy" or "liar" on their skin in Mind Twilight. This Numen costs one Essence, is resisted by Resolve+Composure+Gnosis, and lasts until Fear uses another Numen or Influence. For each net success Fear achieves, the target suffers a -1 penalty on its next contested roll."

I think ephemerals resist with Power+Resistance.

[Haberdasher]

RAGNAR

Mage Sight: Peripheral
Active Spells: None
Conditions/Tilts: Inspired, Steadfast
Health: OOOOOOOO I WP: 3/4 I Mana: 10/10 I Wisdom: 7
Beats: 0/5 I Arcane Beats: 2/5
Experiences: 1 I Arcane Experiences: 1

Ragnar places a hand on Lynx's shoulder. He squeezes it- whether to comfort Lynx or himself or both of them, he's not sure- and starts weaving an Imago. "Come on, big guy. You healed me back in the fight. If you can heal, you have to be able to hurt. These things are death spirits, right? Life's got to do something to them."

Ragnar is going to cast his Exceptional Luck Praxis on Lynx to give him a boost to his damage output. One free Reach, spent on Instant Casting, another on Advanced Duration, two to let it affect Lynx's casting rolls. Three excess Reach, he'll use his knife to reduce the pool by -2 and spend a Mana to reduce it down to a chance dice. If using Dedicated Tools is mutually exclusive with the Path Tool Yantra for the casting roll, I'll make that three Mana. He'll contain if there is a success.

Chance dice = 0 successes.

Paradox begins to rebel against his casting- too ambitious, too grand for a novice- but he draws on the symbolism of his knife- the subtle blade, a tool to cut away veils and deception- and his own Mana to quell the Lie.

Now for the casting. Gnosis 1 + Fate 2 + Path Tool 1 = 4 dice -> 2 successes.

The Imago falls into place, and Ragnar senses the tides of Fate shift in Lynx's favor, and the Moirai smile upon the shaman. "You're a bear, right? Well time to be the most pissed-off bear you can be."

[rwknoll]

Ragnar
You swell with pride as you assert your will upon the world and bless Lynx with a boon of good fortune. It wasn't that long ago that you barely knew a thing about magic.

Your sense of certainty wanes as the spirits begin to approach you...

FYI, because Lynx already has his next action chosen, feel free to post your next action whenever you have time and it will happen in initiative order when your turn is up.

Ragnar and Lynx
The beetles hiss and move as swarms, flapping wings and flying around each of you. Two of them join together and surround Lynx, while the other forms a smaller cloud of insects around Ragnar.

The beetles cover your skin, buzz loudly in your ears, crawl over your hands and torsos. Where they find exposed flesh, they bite you, leaving stinging welts that instantly begin to swell. Your Peripheral Sight is slammed with a sense of unease and supernatural energy as they bite you. The noise and pain are maddening.

These spirits function using some of the rules of swarms (p. 151). Regular attacks only do 1 damage on a success, regardless of how many successes you score, while exceptional successes give 2. Certain types of attacks cause normal damage.

Using their "Poison Swarm" Numen I created, Lynx takes 2 bashing damage and Ragnar takes 1 bashing. You essentially have the Poisoned tilt in effect while they remain surrounding you, per swarm targeting you.

Initiative:
Lynx (18): Begin chanting in High Speech
Moonstone (17): Choose the Thread
Ghostly woman (16): Claw attack on Moonstone
Ragnar (15): Exceptional Luck
Death spirits (13): Poison Swarm
--> Ouroboros Ophis (12)
Fear Goetia (10): Reveal Flaws Numen
Phoenix (8)
Ghostly boy (5)

Thorbes and crapcarp are up.

[crapcarp]

Phoenix
Peripheral Sight | Armor: Prime | Active Spell(s): Kinetic Blow (self, Potency 4, 1 scene)
Health: OOOOOOO | WP: 1/5 | Mana: 9/10 | Wisdom: 7 (Understanding)
Conditions: Grieving [Guilty] | Tilts: None | -1 Dexterity (untill 11 AM)

I don't know the mama ghost's Defense, so I'm going to make the roll unpenalized and you can remove dice from there.

Strength 3 + Brawl 4 + 1 Striking Specialty + 3 WP = 11 dice → 1 success

What the fuck?! Welp, here's hoping the ghost's Defense ain't 7 or higher. If it hits, that's 5 bashing damage and the Stunned Tilt, unless focused kinetic forces are its Bane.

By the way, he does have Defensive Combat for both Brawl and Weaponry, making his Defense 6 (Dexterity 2 + Brawl 4). Although if it's past 11 o'clock, his Dexterity decrease would've recovered by now, making his Defense 7 since he has Wits 3.

As the ghost sticks its claws in Moonstone, it leaves its torso wide open, so I instinctively respond with a knee straight in the gut. I try to follow it up, but I forgot to account for the extra power my spell provides. It flies across the room, smacking into a wall before I can get another blow in. I wonder if ghosts suffer concussions...

[Thorbes]

Ouroboros Ophis
Mage Sight: Active (Matter/Death/Life) | Active Spells: Ghost Shield, Mental Shield, Control Ghost
Health: ./OOOOO | WP: 3/6 | Mana: 10/10 | Wisdom: 7 (Understanding)

Conditions: None | Tilts: None | Beats/Exp: 2/2 | Arc. Beats/Exp: 1/0

-"Kid, watch out!"- too late, the doctor can only watch as the inmaterial claws sink deep into Moonstone's chest, draining the color from his skin. He doesn't know what to do, temporarily froze in place, unable to act. Fortunately Phoenix doesn't hesitates as much as Ophis and jumps into the fray, sending the ghost mother away in a display of martial and magical prowess. That finally makes him snap out of it.-"Good... no, great work son"- he focuses his will on the currently recovering specter, remembering part of Dante's lessons. He should be able to bind her to him, temporarily holding control of her actions, hopefully long enough to find their anchors and free her and the child both.

-"We need to find what anchors them!"-he shouts, preparing his Imago.

Casting Control Ghost (similar to Command Spirit): 1 free Reach for Instant casting, 3 extra Reach for Advanced Duration (one Scene), Cast at Sensory Range and 1 spell over Spell Control Limit. Paradox: 3 dice 1 success Trying to contain: Wisdom 7=5 Successes, whoa Ophis gets 1 Resistant Bashing damage.

Spell: Gnosis 1 + Death 2 + Willpower 3= 6 dice. As is Whistood by Rank and at most it will be 2, my base Potency will cover it, I still need extra Potency for some effect. -4 penalty to up Potency to 4, hopefully allowing for two commands ("Cease Hostilities" and "Answer our questions") Final pool 4=3 successes! yassss!

Ouroboros pictures leaden snakes slithering out of his doctor's coat towards the wrists and ankles of the woman. Once there they coil around her, becomming manacles and chains that bind her back to the doctor. Once the imago takes hold, the ghost seems less inclined to attack, though her rage is still boiling under the surface of the filmsy control Stygia granted Ophis.

-"Stop! We are here to help, tell us what happened to you and your child!"

[rwknoll]

Ouroboros Ophis, Moonstone, and Phoenix
Ophis' spell tangles around the ghostly woman, and Phoenix's powerful blow slams her against the wall. She shakes her head and then shrieks as she practically trembles with outrage.

Meanwhile, Moonstone's Fear goetia hovers forward towards the ghost and reaches out with a claw. You all feel a palpable sense of power crackling in the air, but the ghost merely shrieks louder and resists the goetia's Numen.

Fear Goetia: Reveal Flaws: 7d10h8 3 successes

Ghost: Resist Numen: 6d10h8 4 successes. No effect of the Numen.

To those who can see in Twilight, the young ghostly boy runs towards his mother's form and wraps himself around her in a scared hug. On a mirror along the wall, the message appears written in fog and echoing his cry, "Leave her alone!"

The ghostly woman snarls at Ophis and cries, "It was the ring! It was a gift. I put it on and..." Her words give way to grief-stricken howls. She trembles and cries, "Leave our home!"


Lynx
With the spirits buzzing in your ears and tearing apart your skin, you desperately imagine an ephemeral shield wrapping around you and Ragnar. To your relief, the shield forms successfully, creating a layer of energy repelling the spirits' attacks. But in your desperation, you abandon caution and overextend your will, and Abyssal energy hijacks your spell to spill into the world.

There is a shudder in the room as a sphere of dark energy swirls around you. Incoherent whispers batter at your consciousness, threatening to drive you insane.

First, thanks to Ragnar's spell, you gain a boon that gives you 2 uses of the following effect for the rest of the scene: Gain 9-again on a roll of your choice (which can include spellcasting). Because you already rolled for this spell a while ago, I didn't make it use up one of your uses of the boon. Haberdasher, if you meant to give a different type of boon and I misunderstood you, let me know.

Second, I'll spend the Paradox successes to create the Horrid Whispers Abyssal environmental tilt. Anyone in this room (including the spirits) suffers -1 on all rolls, as unnerving otherworldly whispers batter your consciousness. In addition, any failures on any rolls in this room automatically become dramatic failures (without the option to take a Beat for voluntarily making it a dramatic failure). Due to your current wisdom, this tilt lasts for 1 day or until the room is cleansed supernaturally, whichever comes first.

Because the Paradox was due to a really lucky roll, rather than intentionally releasing a severe Paradox, you do not cause an act of hubris.

Your shield spell does not prevent physical attacks, but it does protect against the "poison" like effect they used to harm you last turn, so that will come into play on the spirits' turn.

Initiative:
Lynx (18): Casts Ephemeral Shield
--> Moonstone (17)
Ghostly woman (16): Stunned, no action
Ragnar (15)
Death spirits (13)
Ouroboros Ophis (12)
Fear Goetia (10)
Phoenix (8)
Ghostly boy (5)

Moonstone and Ragnar are up next.

[Caladriu]

Moonstone
Peripheral Sight | Spells: Mental Shield (self, 1 week, +3 Clash); Choose the Thread (self, 1 turn)
Conditions: Divergent (suppressed), Guilty, Triumphant, Informed (Rumors) [-1 Strength]
Health: XXX//O | Willpower: 3/8 | Mana: 7/10 | Beats: 1/5 | Arcane Beats: 1/5

Moonstone unsteadily crosses the room, rests his hand on the stunned ghost, reflects it in his mirror and commands: "Lead us to the ring."

Casting Mind 2 Psychic Domination. 1 reach for instant, 1 reach for scene duration. +1 reach for a complex command, +2 for exceeding spell control, and +2 paradox for spells this scene. 1 Mana to reduce 'dox. Paradox 4: 1 success. Contain with Wisdom 7: 6 successes!

Spellcasting: Gnosis 1, Mind 2, Path Tool 1, +Potency -2, Wound Penalty -2, Willpower +3. 3 dice: 2 successes.

Potency 3 vs. Rank. The ghost is compelled to lead us, or at least Ophis and Phoenix, to wherever this ring is.

Stamina roll to remain conscious at full bashing: fail.
Applying my reroll from Choose the Thread: 1 success.

A fresh wave of pain hits his body, and his legs nearly give out. In one future, he slumps to the right and collapses onto the floor. In another, he slumps to the left and catches himself on the wall. He chooses the left path and thuds against the suburban beige wallpaper shoulder-first, struggling to keep his eyes focused.

[rwknoll]

Moonstone
You very nearly pass out from extreme pain. Only your ability to Rule over time allows you to narrowly escape the cold clutches of unconsciousnes. But your body is reeling in pain, eroding your current efforts to focus.

You technically only had 1 free reach on that spell (Mind 2 spell for your Mind 2 Arcanum), so you should have a Paradox pool of 5, not 4. However, no more successes were scored on my 1d10 Paradox roll. I also think that because Paradox is determined prior to the spell roll, any resistant damage from containing the Paradox is added prior to your spell roll, so you technically have a -3 wound penalty on your spell roll. Once again, in this situation it doesn't matter, but make sure to update your post header accordingly.

It is not clear to me from the core book whether you can issue multiple orders while the spell is active, or what happens if she successfully accomplishes your task, although I think the command ends as soon as she does what you commanded?

Moonstone, Ouroboros Ophis, and Phoenix
The woman clenches her jaw and abruptly turns, then briskly storms out of the room. The ghost of her child dashes after her in Twilight. She heads back quickly to the main foyer, then up the stairs leading to the second floor.

As you follow, you run into a wide-eyed Binder. He looks, quite literally, like someone who's just seen a ghost. He motions for you all to follow upstairs. "I think Ragnar and Lynx are in trouble."

I'm just going to say that the ghost is able to move this turn while compelled instead of being stunned. You each will need to spend your next turn to move and follow her upstairs. You still have time for 1 instant action this round if you choose to follow her.

Initiative
Lynx (18): Ephemeral Shield
Moonstone (17): Psychic Domination
Ghostly woman (16): Moves upstairs
--> Ragnar (15)
Death spirits (13)
Ouroboros Ophis (12)
Fear Goetia (10)
Phoenix (8)
Ghostly boy (5): Moves upstairs

Ragnar is up. Ophis and Phoenix are next, after NPCs.

[Haberdasher]

RAGNAR

Mage Sight: Peripheral
Active Spells: Exceptional Luck
Conditions/Tilts: Inspired, Steadfast
Health: BOOOOOOO I WP: 3/4 I Mana: 10/10 I Wisdom: 7
Beats: 0/5 I Arcane Beats: 2/5
Experiences: 1 I Arcane Experiences: 1

The bugs- no, the spirits- are crawling all over him, whirring and biting and he just can't take it. "We need to get out of here!" He grabs Lynx by the hand and begins to run, but as he does, he begins to weave an Imago- not one of Fate or Time, but of Space, attempting to fold space by a few feet so that the distance down the stairs is not so great. But the spell is outside his domain- like a Cartesian Plane compared to a vector- and he draws on his Mana to fuel himself. And then releases a little more as he feels Paradox creep up.

Ragnar is casting Ground-Eater (Space 1) on himself and Lynx. He gets one free Reach, which he spends on Instant Casting, and he'll spend another one to get Advanced Duration. He'll spend two Mana, one because the spell is a Common Arcana for him, and the other to reduce the Paradox Pool to a chance dice.

Chance dice -> Nothing.

Casting Roll: Gnosis 1 + Space 1 + Path Tool 1 + Willpower 3 - Subjects 2 = 3 dice -> 1 success.

[rwknoll]

Ragnar
Mana springs up from the well inside your soul, fueling your Supernal magic and allowing you to call on another Arcanum not aligned with your Path. You shakily form the Imago, and you take a breath to steady yourself and push the spell into existence with your will--


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̪̻͠ ̹̟́ͨ͐ͭ͌̃ͫ ̢̖̲̟̖̺͉̦ͦͫͯ̓ͣ̆̈ ̭͕̅ ͚̳̝̣̘̂͋̀ ̶̫̣̖̍ͦ̑͑̌H̟͇̙̮̻̺̿ͮͧͤͩ͗͝e̬͔̬c͎͓̹̞͕̯̺̏̒́̔̅o̫̲̠̰̗mͣ̈́ͧ ̪͚̻ẹ̵̗̠̞̟̉̒ͧ̒̒͒ͧs͚̞͖̦̀ͅͅͅt̪͌ͤ́͂̍͟ḫ̸̱̰͖̻ͯͨ̃ͬ̄e̟ͤ͛ ̖Ḏ̦̰̿̈́͞E͙̗̝͇͍̤͉̕S̟̤̗̃͛̈́T͚́̾̒̔͑̒̔Ṙ̭͇̰͉̼͚O̗̒ͣ̈́̾̂Y͒ ̼̍̾̃̈́̿Eͦ̓ͧ̃̽̎ͯR̫̫ͥ͛̌ͯ̕c̡̫̓̇o̻̫͎̙̖͙̯̊m̅ͣ͊͏̙̯̩e͚͆ͥ̃͞ ̻̭s̜̬̜̬
͎̣̩͎ͨ ͠ ̠͚̱̮̯͇͆̽̃̒̿ͩ̚ ̝ ͈̏ͥ͗̾͠ ̨̣͓̪̞̗̀̀͛͐ͥ̎ ̠̞͑͊̿͋̓̚͝ ̟͈̮͛ͫͩ̽͊ͩ̓ ̧̔̔ͤ̄ ͕̘̮͓̪̮̈̀̊̽͘ ͖̲̟̝̜̉͆̍͊́ ̨͉͉̺̤̻̱ ̞̐͌̉ ͬ̌̀҉̲ ̀ͪͣ͒̋҉̻̜̠̖ ̠̘̯̖̤̝ ̴̬̜̣̩̰̫͒ ̖͚͙̲̮̱͚̂̐͠ ̰̝̺͓͗ ͚͓̼͚̓͘ ͧͮ̈́̓͏͎̖͙͙ ͚͆͠ ̶̠̝ͫ͂̆̿̊ ̛̂͋͛̑ͨ ͮ̾̔͒̎̽̒͠ ̪ͣ ̙̰̜̖̺̀͋͂̂̾ ͛̔͗ͧͧ̚ ̞͖̼̯̗̹̝ ̷͓̫̺̥̪̜H̘͙̓͂̏̓i̓ͥ҉ŝ̸̬̱̼̰̝͈̙̽̊͆̿ͩ̔g͎̮̭̖͈̗a̮̼͎͆̓̀ͣ̿ z̗̣̹̤̞̓̃ͮͭͅe̮͚͔̪̩̫̮̍̑w̶̏ͧi̵̟̻̣̫̼̇l͆̒̌b̖͖̩͍͚̟ͧ̏ͣͩu̚ ̮̠̻̞̮͈͆͛̅̽͐r͓̤̥̰̭̺ͅn̲̘͍͐̔ͬy͈ͮ͠ọ̧̣͎͇͇̱ͧu̵̩̳͇̠̹͋̈́a̧ l͈̑̅̏̿̀l͈̪̫ͅ
̧̥̘͚̖͈̗̾͆ͤ͛ ͨ̇҉͓̻̞̮ ̾̽̊͗̓͑̒͘ ̦̓̄ͨ̐ ̸̫̘̀͐̋͒ͫͨ ͙͉̗̣͈͇̐ ̗̟͉̘̄ͬ̿ͅ ̦̤̭͚̤͂̓ ̙͔͇͙͋̕ ͎̻̱̪̬̏̒̊ͬͧ̌ ̇͑̆̂́ ̘̼̔ͨ̅̽̂͢ ̽͏̠͓̻̭̫̞̝ ́ ̡̟̀̀ͣ̌b̥ͅu̧̬͚̞̬̺̓͑̂̏͂̊r̫̤͚̰̥̿̄͛͋̄͛ͮn̎̓ĩ̡̯͖̰̣͕ͧͬ͆͗ ͍̠n͉̪̦͉ͯ̔̑̄̂͊͝e͓͂̈ͧͮͨt̆̐̌҉͈͈̘̲̙̞͎e͋ͭ̍̈r̸̖͓͓̣̹̗͐ͭ̊n ̵̽î͉̭̱̖̠̈͑̔̿t̡̬͖̯̗̂ͅỹ̘̺̋̋͌̎͐͌b̈̆҉̻u͎̖͔̮̍̇̐̓̈́̈́ͅr̐ ͋ͧn͎͑͛͋ͤ͊ͥ̈́n̢̗̬̭̫̹̠͍̔̑̐ͧṉ͈ͥ͗ͣ̏͛̓ǹ̘


Your mind fills with ceaseless, maddening, frantic whispers. It's white noise, if white noise could drive you insane and personify nightmares. Your spell falters, crashes in on itself, and rebounds.

Your feet are moving. You're exerting yourself physically. You feel like you're sprinting as fast as your legs can carry you. But the door is not getting any closer. It's disturbingly similar to the sensation you had when Moonstone cursed you earlier.

Your spell failure becomes a dramatic failure. You gain the following Condition:

Trapped. Due to a flawed application of the Space Arcanum, you find that you simply can’t move despite all of your efforts to do so. It’s like being lost, but without actually moving. Your effective Speed is 0. You still retain your Defense.

Resolution: This Condition is resolved when you successfully cast a Space spell, or spend an instant action to roll Wits + Athletics and succeed on the roll.

Beat: N/A.

Ragnar and Lynx
One of the death spirits hisses at Lynx and tries to press against him with its poisonous bite, but his ephemeral shield keeps the creature from harming him. The others sense the energy and choose to simply bite without their Numen, trying to overwhelm the fledgling mages. But now that you're expecting their attacks, you are able to keep ahead of them. The creatures hiss in anger and confusion, and accidentally they run into each other and attack their own kind; it almost seems like the spirits are suffering from the Abyssal presence in this room, too.

Death Spirit: Clash of Wills: 1d10h8 0 successes first roll; Clash of Wills: 1d10h8 0 successes second roll
Lynx: Clash of Wills: 3d10h8 0 successes first roll; Clash of Wills: 3d10h8 2 second rolls

One spirit attempts to hit Lynx, other will attack Ragnar. Both are chance die due to your Defenses.

Attack Lynx: Attack (Chance die): 1d10h10 0 successes
Attack Ragnar: Attack (Chance die): 1d10h10 0 successes

Initiative
Lynx (18): Ephemeral Shield
Moonstone (17): Psychic Domination
Ghostly woman (16): Moves upstairs
Ragnar (15): Dramatic failure on Ground-Eater
Death spirits (13): Attack Ragnar and Lynx
--> Ouroboros Ophis (12)
Fear Goetia (10)
Phoenix (8)
Ghostly boy (5): Moves upstairs

Ouroboros Ophis, the Fear Goetia (if he has anything to do), and Phoenix are up next, in that order.

[Thorbes]

Ouroboros Ophis
Mage Sight: Active (Matter/Death/Life) | Active Spells: Ghost Shield, Mental Shield, Control Ghost
Health: ././OOOO | WP: 4/6 | Mana: 9/10 | Wisdom: 7 (Understanding)

Conditions: None | Tilts: None | Beats/Exp: 2/2 | Arc. Beats/Exp: 1/0

Ophis helps Moonstone up the stairs- "You are barely conscious, your body has been suffering a lot of trauma between the ghost attack and the backslash"- saids, feeling the coperish tang of his own blood from his own containment- "Let me try something, we can not help our colleagues if you are down"- he concentrates in the battered body of the young kid, calling upon the Primal Wild trough the connection with his own Stygian watchtower. Like to Charon on the riverside, he pays the toll of calling upon unfamiliar powers with his Mana, the misteries of Life and renewal at his disposal. He pictures his namesake, the Ouroboros, constantly eating itself, dying and being reborn and projects that image on Moonstone's bruised flesh.

Casting Knit. 1 Free Reach for Instant Casting, 1 Reach to heal Lethal, 1 Reach for one spell over the limit: Paradox= 2 for the extra Reach +1 for the previous Paradox in the Scene= 3 dice 1 Success Trying to contain (Wisdom 7) = 3 Successes Another Resistant Bashing for the Doc.

Spell roll= Gnosis 1+ Life 3 + Shadow Name 3= 7 dice. Base Potency 3 = Exceptional Success!!! I get a Willpower back and if possible I would want to up the Potency to 4. Could I heal him completely this way? The initial Potency of 3 was intended to heal his 3 Lethal, but can this additional Potency for the Exceptional Success heal the remaining 2 Bashing? I am not clear if you can mix and match Bashing and Lethal healing in the same spell.

The sensation of channelling the purest expresion of life is exillarating, the doctor feels his faltering resolve reasured despite the pangs of pain of keeping the Abyss away.

[crapcarp]

Phoenix
Peripheral Sight | Armor: Prime | Active Spell(s): Kinetic Blow (self, Potency 4, 1 scene)
Health: OOOOOOO | WP: 0/5 | Mana: 9/10 | Wisdom: 7 (Understanding)
Conditions: Grieving [Guilty] | Tilts: None | -1 Dexterity (untill 11 AM)

I move back into a defensive stance as Moonstone and Ophis do their thing. So this family was given a cursed ring and did all this, huh? That begs the questions: who gave them the ring, and why? No time for that, the ghosts rush outta the room, so I give chase on instinct.

Swarms of locusts, greeeat. Wait, is that Ragnar and Lynx?!

Casting a Ruling Forces spell that pushes the subject in a single arc or direction. This is not the same as Telekinesis, as it only does one particular direction and nothing else, so I think that's reasonable for Ruling. The spell is Withstood by Size (and always Withstood, even for willing subjects), with Potency as the Primary Factor. Every level of Potency pushing the subject 1 yard in the direction.

Unseen Push (Forces 2, CT)
Reach: 1 Free - 3 used for instant casting, 1 past Spell Control, 1 for Advanced Scale
Paradox: Overreach 2 - 2 DT = Chance die → 0 successes
Yantras: Dedicated Tool for -2 Paradox
Factors: PSF Potency 2, Scale for Area
Spellcasting: Gnosis 1 + Forces 2 + 3 WP = 6 dice → 1 success

So he generates a 'gust' that, while it does hit Ragnar and Lynx (being Aimed and taking up the whole room), it's Potency is 2 so they can easily Withstand it. The 'insects', being Size 0, can't and so they're blown 2 yards away.

I thrust out my hands to call down a tiny fraction of the Æther's might, blowing the insects off them in a gust of sorts. "Someone call an exterminator?" I quip.

[rwknoll]

Phoenix, Binder, Ouroboros, and Moonstone
You quickly follow up the stairs after the ghost of the mother and her son. The woman turns the corner and points into the bedroom, where a loud caucophany of angrily buzzing spirits and insane whispers echo in the crowded space.

Phoenix sends a small burst of telekinetic energy that knocks the spirits over, revealing Lynx and Ragnar, the latter of whom looks to be...running in place?


Ragnar and Lynx
A sudden gust of wind, or what feels like, slams the spirits away. You see the rest of your cabal arrive, standing beside the ghostly woman. For those who can see him, the boy also stands there in Twilight.


Everyone
The boy ghost turns to his mother and places a hand on her. Those with vision into Twilight can see his hand briefly glow as he transfers some of his own energy into her, healing her corpus. All of you feel a chill travel down your spine as he uses a Numen. "You're hurt", he whispers worriedly to her. "Are you okay?"

Initiative
--> Lynx (18)
Moonstone (17)
Ghostly woman (16)
Ragnar (15)
Death spirits (13)
Ouroboros Ophis (12)
Fear Goetia (10)
Phoenix (8)
Ghostly boy (5)

Lynx is up, Moonstone is on deck. Don't forget that you are all under the effects of the Abyssal environmental tilt while in this room.

[Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon]

LYNX
Active Sight: None (Unavailable, no Willpower)
Active Spells: Body Control (Potency 3, Duration, 1 Week)
Willpower: 0/5 Mana: 7/10
Conditions/Tilts: Distracted, Poisoned(?)
Health: BBOOOOOO
Beats: 2 - Arcane Beats: 1
Experiences: 1 - Arcane Experiences: 1

Get off!

Lynx flails as the spirits crawl all over him, threatening to disrupt his spell - but it is something else that consumes his magic, something dangerous, and dark. No sooner than his spell takes place do the whispers strike, and his thoughts go elsewhere.

Get out! No, shut up! No, just...

He looks to the door. His cabal is accompanied by a ghostly woman, almost a welcoming sight - and then Phoenix weaves a spell, there is a gust of wind, and suddenly he is free from the nibbles and bites - though in his head still echoes those grotesque whispers.

"Ragnar, we need to get out of... here..." He blinks at the lad running in place. "What." Then he reaches for Ragnar to grab him and drag him away from the cacophony...

Roll for freeing Ragnar from his Paradox Tilt: Wits (3) + Athletics (2) - Horrid Whispers (-1) → 0 successes.

Well, that's a dramatic failure.

...yet he reaches nothing.

Fuck.

[Caladriu]

Moonstone
Peripheral Sight | Spells: Mental Shield (self, 1 week, +3 Clash), Psychic Domination (ghost, 1 scene, "Lead us to the ring")
Conditions: Divergent (suppressed), Guilty, Triumphant, Informed (Rumors), Euphoric, Horrid Whispers [-1 Strength]
Health: ///OOO | Willpower: 2/8 | Mana: 6/10 | Beats: 1/5 | Arcane Beats: 1/5

The serpent eats its own tail, and Moonstone's chest wounds close themselves. Shame his nice argyle sweater is still torn. He takes a deep breath and laughs euphorically, but he's still aching. "Wonderful, Doctor, absolutely wonderful. Thank you!"

If it's okay, I'll apply the just-invented Euphoric Condition from Ophis' x-success: I can resolve it to ignore wound penalties on one action, or it resolves itself when I heal all damage.

All sorts of other distractions, though. Ragnar vexed by some Spatial curse, a horde of spectral vermin blown back by Phoenix, and nagging ethereal whispers that aren't coming from his own mind for a change. He limbers up and stays mobile to avoid the swarm until they get what they came for: the ring.

Spending 1 Mana to activate Space Armor. Spending this turn on a full Dodge action. Defense 7+Space 2, 18 dice to dodge, -2 dice to my pool for each additional opponent attacking in a turn. ST can roll Dodge for me if that's easier.