Keys and Support Healer?

[RedShirtMook]

I had a couple of questions regarding keys.
When a key is made, is it an actual key or one made out of plasm? Is it left to the player how a sin-eater uses them (ie biting a key to use it)?
How does someone make a homebrew key? I've had trouble understanding how to do so. I believe sin-eaters normally heal with plasm, but would it be possible to create a healer-type sin-eater that can act as a healer? Or would it be redundant to do so? Maybe someone who could transfer/siphon plasm? Would that be potentially game-breaking?
I understand that a keystone is made when a sin-eater is created, but does it also manifest with plasm as a key would? Does it cost plasm to do so, or is it a free action?


I apologize in advance; I bought the corebook many years ago, but I never had anyone to play with for an actual game.

[ArcaneArts]

Keys aren't ...physical, so much as they are metaphysical channels/attractors/resonances-actually, of that lot, resonance is the most accurate. You can tune up the resonance so it acts on the world, drawing in plasm and strengthening haunts and opening doors, but you're never gonna handle a Key. In fact, it's mostly because called a Key only because it's easiest to visualize it as opening the many doors that exist when dealing with death and the dead.

The Nine Keys in the core book are all all...keyed to one of the nine attributes and are fairly comprehensive. Homebrew Keys are possible, but the main purpose of doing would so would be to restrict the resonances the original nine...well, key to. Which isn't a bad thing, mind, just helpful to know when to comes to determining purpose.



The one exception is T̸̢̹͔͖͖̩̤̥̽̇̈́͑͆̑̎̒́h̶̨̛͔̺͇͙̩̼̰͖͆͛̊̿̅̍̚̚͜͠ă̴͖̫̭̂͛̑ ̠t̷͉͈͎̓̽͂̋͂̿́̏͛͊̈́͘͘͝͝ ̸̨̤̭̖̭͚͚̟̥̦͍̀̃̍̉̂̊̈́̅́Ǒ̸̝̿n̴̪̎͐̈͋̀̕͜͝e̶͙̻̞̰͉̳̱̬͘ ̶̡̡̱̳̮̰̥̦̮̠͝K̸̛̺̤͈͓̰̎͑̏̈́̎́̀͘ȅ̶̢̛̲̠͉̱̪͒̓̐̏͋͂͗̕̕̚y̵ ̡͇͋̾̀̽̅̔̈́̋̒̃͌̓ͅ from Contagion Chronicle, which keys to that setting's unique features and is there to exacerbate the risk and reward of power vs


infection. Homebrewer's might start there.

Healing wounds a little weird for the metaphysic of a character focused on being a ghost running around in their own body and otherwise being channel of deathly power, but things like halting wounds, disease, fatigue, deprivation, and entropy could serve as a decent basis for Ceremonies, and maybe a very occult Haunt. Keys don't do things by themselves, at least not in the way healing someone would imply, so much as them empower Haunts (and shape manifestations in First Edition).

Keystone Mementos are matter of First Edition Geist, they are real, physical items that can be shifted into twilight. The language of the section implies calling it is a free action. Geist Second Edition does not feature this aspect of characters.

The final thing I feel I should note, because I say your other thread and have to wonder about, is that Geist the Sin Eaters is part of the Chronicles of Darkness while Changeling the Dreaming is part of the World of Darkness, which are two different properties, and thus might not inherently play nice with each other. Just saying on the off chance you didn't know that already.

[Cleverest of Things]

Keys aren't ...physical, so much as they are metaphysical channels/attractors/resonances-actually, of that lot, resonance is the most accurate. You can tune up the resonance so it acts on the world, drawing in plasm and strengthening haunts and opening doors, but you're never gonna handle a Key. In fact, it's mostly because called a Key only because it's easiest to visualize it as opening the many doors that exist when dealing with death and the dead.

The Nine Keys in the core book are all all...keyed to one of the nine attributes and are fairly comprehensive. Homebrew Keys are possible, but the main purpose of doing would so would be to restrict the resonances the original nine...well, key to. Which isn't a bad thing, mind, just helpful to know when to comes to determining purpose.



The one exception is T̸̢̹͔͖͖̩̤̥̽̇̈́͑͆̑̎̒́h̶̨̛͔̺͇͙̩̼̰͖͆͛̊̿̅̍̚̚͜͠ă̴͖̫̭̂͛̑ ̠t̷͉͈͎̓̽͂̋͂̿́̏͛͊̈́͘͘͝͝ ̸̨̤̭̖̭͚͚̟̥̦͍̀̃̍̉̂̊̈́̅́Ǒ̸̝̿n̴̪̎͐̈͋̀̕͜͝e̶͙̻̞̰͉̳̱̬͘ ̶̡̡̱̳̮̰̥̦̮̠͝K̸̛̺̤͈͓̰̎͑̏̈́̎́̀͘ȅ̶̢̛̲̠͉̱̪͒̓̐̏͋͂͗̕̕̚y̵ ̡͇͋̾̀̽̅̔̈́̋̒̃͌̓ͅ from Contagion Chronicle, which keys to that setting's unique features and is there to exacerbate the risk and reward of power vs


infection. Homebrewer's might start there.

Healing wounds a little weird for the metaphysic of a character focused on being a ghost running around in their own body and otherwise being channel of deathly power, but things like halting wounds, disease, fatigue, deprivation, and entropy could serve as a decent basis for Ceremonies, and maybe a very occult Haunt. Keys don't do things by themselves, at least not in the way healing someone would imply, so much as them empower Haunts (and shape manifestations in First Edition).

Keystone Mementos are matter of First Edition Geist, they are real, physical items that can be shifted into twilight. The language of the section implies calling it is a free action. Geist Second Edition does not feature this aspect of characters.

The final thing I feel I should note, because I say your other thread and have to wonder about, is that Geist the Sin Eaters is part of the Chronicles of Darkness while Changeling the Dreaming is part of the World of Darkness, which are two different properties, and thus might not inherently play nice with each other. Just saying on the off chance you didn't know that already.

Ahhh, the odd magpie relationship between Geist and Changeling. In 1e, Geist stole Realms from the Dreaming in the form of Keys. Then, in 2e, the Gentry got their revenge by stealing Keystone Mementos and reshaping them into the manifest Regalia "graces". What a world.

It does sound like the OP is working with 1e, since Keys function much differently now. Iirc, besides self healing, the only healing that the Bound can do is through the Tomb or the Well haunts. The former is temporary I believe, and the latter requires you to find a River of the Underworld that can heal.

In 2e, I'd imagine healing would be in the department of Ceremonies. With how open minded and mixed 2e's Hedge magic has been (Judging from Werewolf rites, Ceremonies, the weird abilities of Mummy cults), I'd say that there has to be a ceremony to heal people. Or at the very least transfer the damage from one thing to another. It's easy enough to see a Sineater taking someone's injuries upon themself (whether he can downgrade or heal them through plasm or not is likely related to the level of the ceremony). Even if death is the opposite of life in terms of logic, Mage points out they are two sides of the same coin.

[espritdecalmar]

Your question about healing inspired me to come up with a potentially appropriate and thematic Haunt. This is a first draft, but I'm liking the direction this idea's taken that I'll probably wind up developing it further.

The Vigil

There are tales of the dead who stand watch over the living in their most dire hour. Some see this as proof of hungry ghosts waiting to sup on one last scrap of warmth, while others interpret the stories as evidence of kindly spirits who lead mortals out of danger and keep even worse monsters at bay. The Bound, by their condition, are forced to acknowledge the fragility and precarity of human life; some, in response, develop the ability to share their Plasm-derived resilience through the liminal aura. This isn’t true healing, but rather an effort to stave off death for just a little while longer.

Subjects of this Haunt suffering from damage related to a particular Key count as resonant for its benefits. For example: A target who’s been mauled by a bear is resonant with the Beast Key.

At character creation, a Kindly Bound may swap one of their affinity Haunts for this one.

Cost: 1+ Plasm

Action: Instant

Subject: One living subject the Bound touches

Dice Pool: Synergy + Vigil

Roll Results

Success: The Sin-Eater downgrades damage on the target equal to Plasm spent, per the specifics of this Haunt. The subject gains the Triage Condition.

Exceptional: When the Haunt ends without resolving, the Sin-Eater regains half the Plasm spent on the Vigil.

Failure: The Haunt fails to activate.

Dramatic: The subject’s body actively rejects the Bound’s Plasm. The Sin-Eater cannot use this Haunt again on the subject until the end of the next chapter.

1: The Sin-Eater can downgrade another character’s lethal damage to bashing as per Plasmic Healing. Mark each box of damage downgraded this way. The target gains the Triage Condition, which fades without resolving once each marked box is fully healed. If the Condition resolves before this, all boxes still marked revert back to their original damage type. A marked box cannot be healed a second time; Plasm can only do so much for a body. This ability can be used on ghosts as well.

2: Any character with the Triage Condition benefits from the Sin-Eater’s Hard To Kill trait. In addition, the Bound can heal Tilts caused by bashing damage.

3: The Bound can heal Tilts caused by lethal damage. He may also, in lieu of spending Plasm, take on the target’s wounds as his own, either suffering any Tilt healed, or taking damage one step down from what is healed. Damage and Tilts accrued in this way cannot be further negated with the Plasmic Healing trait; they must heal on their own. If the Sin-Eater spends no Plasm on the Haunt whatsoever, the target does not gain the Triage Condition.

4: The Bound can now downgrade aggravated damage to lethal damage, as well as heal Tilts caused by aggravated damage. Characters with the Triage Condition now also can see unmanifested ghosts in Twilight.

5: +5 Plasm: The Sin-Eater can prevent a soul from passing on. Using this Haunt on someone who has died within the scene keeps them alive and in a comatose state until all damage is healed (mark all health boxes for the Triage Condition); this has no effect if the target died in a manner resonant with the Bound’s own death or by their geist’s Bane. If not enacted within Synergy turns, another will die in the target’s stead. Mortal characters subject to this power suffer a Breaking Point when they wake. This enhancement can be included as part of the general effect of the Haunt, immediately activating if the target’s health track fills up with aggravated damage so long as they still have the Triage Condition.

Condition: Triage

Your wounds have been covered in Plasm, keeping you from bleeding out and giving your body additional time to heal. Mark every health box that has been affected by the Vigil Haunt; remove a mark whenever a given box has fully healed. If any Tilts have been negated by the Haunt, note a phantom box of the same damage type; these heal after all regular boxes. If this Condition resolves, any boxes still marked revert back to the damage type originally suffered.

Resolution:

• You are confronted with your healer’s geist’s Ban or Bane.
• This Condition fades without resolution when all marked boxes are fully healed.

[Vent0]

Your question about healing inspired me to come up with a potentially appropriate and thematic Haunt. This is a first draft, but I'm liking the direction this idea's taken that I'll probably wind up developing it further.

The Vigil

There are tales of the dead who stand watch over the living in their most dire hour. Some see this as proof of hungry ghosts waiting to sup on one last scrap of warmth, while others interpret the stories as evidence of kindly spirits who lead mortals out of danger and keep even worse monsters at bay. The Bound, by their condition, are forced to acknowledge the fragility and precarity of human life; some, in response, develop the ability to share their Plasm-derived resilience through the liminal aura. This isn’t true healing, but rather an effort to stave off death for just a little while longer.

Subjects of this Haunt suffering from damage related to a particular Key count as resonant for its benefits. For example: A target who’s been mauled by a bear is resonant with the Beast Key.

...

Condition: Triage

Your wounds have been covered in Plasm, keeping you from bleeding out and giving your body additional time to heal. Mark every health box that has been affected by the Vigil Haunt; remove a mark whenever a given box has fully healed. If any Tilts have been negated by the Haunt, note a phantom box of the same damage type; these heal after all regular boxes. If this Condition resolves, any boxes still marked revert back to the damage type originally suffered.

Resolution:

• You are confronted with your healer’s geist’s Ban or Bane.
• This Condition fades without resolution when all marked boxes are fully healed.

You might want to make the Triage Condition (just Vigil for naming to match the others?) use Charges like many of the other Haunts. Typically, the 3rd dot doubles Charges from Plasm spent, though this might get odd with being more efficient than Plasmic healing - not sure if a Bug or a Feature.

Other than that, this is good - just needs some names.

1. Assume the Vigil?
2. Candle-lit? (Add a 1 Plasm cost?)
3. Mortal Reprieve? (Double charges from Plasm spent?)
4. ? (Add a 2 Plasm cost to ignore wound penalties?)
5. Deny the Reaper (Can keep a ghost from Discorporation or getting dragged below as well?)