Merits (Chronicles of Darkness)

[Vent0]

You know, are you sure you can't apply Investigation to people? Just frame the mystery as, say, "What does John really think about all this?", and you've essentially gotten the entirety of the above merit (other than the increased Impression, but "intimate knowledge of someone" makes it easy to justify an improved Impression).

Maybe? I'd see Investigation regarding a person normally limited to details about that person, but I could see the rules as is justifying this kind of Investigation. In that case, the merit mainly serves as spelled out alternative uses for those Clues/Elements.

Since I've just been Lord Bitchy McWhinytrunks, Duke of Complainsford, I might as well offer up a merit or two:

Iron Stamina, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Iron Stamina •••, Stamina •••, Resolve •••
Effects: Add your dots in Iron Stamina, Advanced to your Stamina for the purposes of Tilts (such as Arm Wrack) and Extreme Environments.

Strength Performance, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Strength Performance •••
Effects: You may lift 20 x (2 + Strength Performance, Advanced) pounds per dot of Strength without penalty, and penalties accrue for every 20 x (2 + Strength Performance, Advanced) pounds you carry past your limit. In addition, add your dots in Strength Performance, Advanced as a bonus to any Strength + Stamina roll you make that has the Rote quality.

Parkour, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Parkour •••, Athletics •••
Effects: Add your dots in Parkour, Advanced to your dots in Parkour and dots of Athletics when determining the benefits of Parkour's techniques. This does not give you access to new techniques, and does not add a bonus to any Athletics rolls you make as a result of Parkour. In addition, Parkour can now mitigate the damage from a terminal velocity fall, and using Expert Traceur does not prevent you from applying your Defense against attacks.

Basically, Parkour, Advanced gets added to:
• Your Parkour Rating when ignoring environmental penalties.
• The threshold of damage that can be reduced with a Dexterity + Athletics roll made when falling.
• Your Athletics for the purposes of how far you can climb as an Instant action.

We are always honored by your august presence.

What about Epic versions of Iron Stamina and Parkour?

[amechra]

Thoughts on the idea or mechanics of this?

Social Profiler (••••) ^_ByVent0
Prerequisites: Wits 3+, Empathy 3+, Investigation 3+
Effect: You are trained in researching your subjects and uncovering their quirks and desires. You can conduct Investigations against people, with Clues leading to insights about their personality and goals. Successful Investigation allows you to increase your Impression by one step when conducting Social Maneuvering, and Elements can be spent upon rolls to open Doors. At the Storyteller's option, Elements can be spent to Force a Door (such as through exploiting phobias or insecurities), inflict certain Conditions (such as Guilty, Shaken, Leveraged, Swooning, etc.) through exploiting the person's psychological holes, or grant yourself a relevant Condition (such as Informed) regarding the subject.

You know, are you sure you can't apply Investigation to people? Just frame the mystery as, say, "What does John really think about all this?", and you've essentially gotten the entirety of the above merit (other than the increased Impression, but "intimate knowledge of someone" makes it easy to justify an improved Impression).

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Since I've just been Lord Bitchy McWhinytrunks, Duke of Complainsford, I might as well offer up a merit or two:

Iron Stamina, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Iron Stamina •••, Stamina •••, Resolve •••
Effects: Add your dots in Iron Stamina, Advanced to your Stamina for the purposes of Tilts (such as Arm Wrack) and Extreme Environments.

Strength Performance, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Strength Performance •••
Effects: You may lift 20 x (2 + Strength Performance, Advanced) pounds per dot of Strength without penalty, and penalties accrue for every 20 x (2 + Strength Performance, Advanced) pounds you carry past your limit. In addition, add your dots in Strength Performance, Advanced as a bonus to any Strength + Stamina roll you make that has the Rote quality.

Parkour, Advanced (• - •••••) by Amechra
Prerequisites: Parkour •••, Athletics •••
Effects: Add your dots in Parkour, Advanced to your dots in Parkour and dots of Athletics when determining the benefits of Parkour's techniques. This does not give you access to new techniques, and does not add a bonus to any Athletics rolls you make as a result of Parkour. In addition, Parkour can now mitigate the damage from a terminal velocity fall, and using Expert Traceur does not prevent you from applying your Defense against attacks.

Basically, Parkour, Advanced gets added to:
• Your Parkour Rating when ignoring environmental penalties.
• The threshold of damage that can be reduced with a Dexterity + Athletics roll made when falling.
• Your Athletics for the purposes of how far you can climb as an Instant action.

[Vent0]

Thoughts on the idea or mechanics of this?

Social Profiler (••••) ^_ByVent0
Prerequisites: Wits 3+, Empathy 3+, Investigation 3+
Effect: You are trained in researching your subjects and uncovering their quirks and desires. You can conduct Investigations against people, with Clues leading to insights about their personality and goals. Successful Investigation allows you to increase your Impression by one step when conducting Social Maneuvering, and Elements can be spent upon rolls to open Doors. At the Storyteller's option, Elements can be spent to Force a Door (such as through exploiting phobias or insecurities), inflict certain Conditions (such as Guilty, Shaken, Leveraged, Swooning, etc.) through exploiting the person's psychological holes, or grant yourself a relevant Condition (such as Informed) regarding the subject.

[Vent0]

Another aging/youth related Merit. This is questionably compatible with Longevity, Ageless, and Eternal Youth. To some degree, the former obviate the need for it. I'm just adding this in as extra options, because more options are useful. Use whichever feels appropriate.

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Extra Years (Supernatural, •) ^_ByVent0
Effect: Your effective age is dialed back 10 years (to a minimum desired age as chosen by the character). Thus a person who is 40 years old is effectively as they were in their 30s.
Notes: This merit can be chosen multiple times, stacking with each instance. The years are merely suppressed - if something removes this merit by any means, the suppressed time returns in moments.

Example: Melvin the Unwise, age 56, has made a deal with the Demon, Exampiel, for extra time, acquiring 7 instances of this merit. Melvin regresses to his ideal age of 21, until his 92nd birthday, where upon he begins aging again as normal. If something breaks the Pact outright, Melvin would quickly age up to his actual 92 years in moments, withering with age before observers' eyes. Hopefully his affairs are in order, or he kept himself fit to stay alive long enough to seek alternative means of life extension.

[Comments: You could also have the above merit as a Condition with ticks representing the credited decades. Determine the Resolution as relevant to the source of the borrowed time. It likely doesn't have a Beat line, since it is primarily beneficial.]

[Deionscribe]

House Rule of a Merit from the Hurt Locker Drafts.

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Animal Possession (•••)
Prerequisites: Animal Ken •••
Effect: Your character is able to take over the senses of an animal they have the Bonded Condition with. This ability supplants the animal's mind so your character's can take over. Spend a point of Willpower and roll Resolve + Animal Ken. If successful, your character is in control of her animal's body for a scene and has their full range of senses at her disposal.

Drawback: Her own body goes into a coma-like state, leaving her unaware of what it feels or perceives while she is away. Furthermore, if the animal sustains damage at any point, make a reflexive Resolve + Animal Ken roll with a penalty equal to the amount of damage taken. Failure means the character suffers from the Soul Shocked Condition and is immediately ejected from the animal's mind.

[Vent0]

This one is of limited, conditional value to certain Chronicles. Still, it might be of some use.

Inured to the Strange (•) _^ByVent0
Prerequisite: Having an Integrity score, prior exposure to the class of phenomenon in question
Effect: Through long exposure so some form of supernatural phenomenon, you've become almost used to it, incorporating it and things related to it into your worldview. Pick a category of supernatural phenomenon, such as what could be detected with Unseen Senses. Henceforth, encountering only those instances of the supernatural no longer provoke Breaking Points.
Notes: Depending on how you handle Integrity and Breaking Points, this might serve no purpose. Also note that this only prevents the general "witnessing the supernatural risks Breaking Points" feature of Integrity - it does nothing to prevent the explicit Breaking Points caused by Lunacy or Dissonance, though it might help against merely uncovering evidence of Werewolves or Mages.

Or Version 2?

Inured to the Strange (• to •••••) _^ByVent0
Prerequisite: Having an Integrity score, prior exposure to the class of phenomenon in question
Effect: Through long exposure so some form of supernatural phenomenon, you've become almost used to it, incorporating it and things related to it into your worldview. For each dot in this merit, you become immune to suffering Breaking Points from encountering some category of supernatural phenomena (such as what could be detected by Unseen Senses).
Notes: Depending on how you handle Integrity and Breaking Points, this might serve no purpose. Also note that this only prevents the general "witnessing the supernatural risks Breaking Points" feature of Integrity - it does nothing to prevent the explicit Breaking Points caused by Lunacy or Dissonance, though it might help against merely uncovering evidence of Werewolves or Mages.

Which can lead to...

Inured to the Strange (Advanced, • to •••••) _^ByVent0
Prerequisite: Inured to the Strange •••••
Effect: You've seen some shit in your time. Your vast experience and exposure to the weird means you no longer suffer Breaking Points from encountering any supernatural phenomena, simply writing it off as yet one more oddity in a world full of them. In addition, you add your dots in this merit to resist even specifically triggered Breaking Points and mortal-only effects from supernatural powers, such as Lunacy, Dissonance, Sybaris, and the like.
Note: This still doesn't protect against other Breaking Points deriving from supernatural effects, such as focused psychic trauma, or compelled actions. It merely protects against the effects of simply observing the supernatural.

[Vent0]

Supernatural Potency (Supernatural, •• to •••••) ^_ByVent0
Effect: You have an inherent tie to powers beyond mortal ken. When you invoke such powers, you command them with the same faculty as their "natural" wielders. Each instance of this merit is tied to a particular Supernatural Tolerance trait the bearer does not possess. When using abilities that factor that trait, you are treated as having an equivalent value equal to the dots in this merit.
Note: This simulates higher Blood Potency, Azoth, Primum, etc. for activated or passive abilities you otherwise possess - it is not actually said Supernatural Tolerance trait. It doesn't confer the ability to store Essence, Plasm, Glamour, etc., contribute to resistance rolls, or anything else the traits would otherwise enable. It solely serves to expand dice pools, or affect calculations that are dependent upon the trait it is tied to.
[Comments: This is, as listed, for expanding the "virtual" power of those who use the abilities of main game-lines. It's Supernatural, so is only available to Mortals/non-members of the power in question, and the text excludes its use even in those edge cases (such as the Coil of Zirnitra) where it might otherwise come into play. I assume Power Stat of 1, if a character doesn't possess it (otherwise the math can look odd), but if you aren't, add a 1 dot version of this merit too.

Note that if you want, you might combine this, with an exception regarding the "no other effect" clause, and Pacts (such as with the Judges, Fate, or Amut) to let mortals use Utterances of various tiers.]

[Vent0]

The [Water] on Telekinesis bit is basically Psychokinesis (Water). But everything else does sound interesting. It kind of reminds me of the optional condition tags that were covered in Second Sight for Psychic Powers. You might want to elaborate more on this system as a rule hack, but I can see this providing benefits in the form of dice bonuses or an Experience discount.

So, what I was thinking of is these "tags" being able to be associated to Supernatural Merits when you acquire them.They'd be rated 1-4, I think, with the rating essentially refunding you Beats per XP spent on the Supernatural Merit (capping at 4 so the Merits are never free; might offer a flat Beat rebate instead of scaling). The idea is to allow you "more" supernatural mojo at the cost of crippling it or making it dependent upon conditions. An unadjusted Merit is superior in usage, but costs more (well, what it cost now, really). You can use these (especially the Conditionals) to establish entire "chains" of effects, dependent upon an initial requirement (like can only use various telepathy powers against someone under a Drugged Condition).

I was also debating having there be a [Ritual] tag, so various Supernatural Merits could be converted into Thaumaturge rituals. Probably make it take longer to "activate", but let you hold a "charge" for the ones that have more immediate usage (like Telekinesis and Psychokinesis - conduct the ritual and you can use it once (or X times) later in the day, but you run out).

[Vent0]

Do we really need another "gribbly fate" based merit? Especially such a powerful one?

I mean, let's assume that the ST and I agreed that my Fated End was drowning. I now effectively add my dots in Fated End to my Defense always forever, in a way that applies against surprise and firearms.

That's... quite a bit better than both of the pre-existing merits that deal with "I has destiny". And both of those also give you neat, messed up incentives - Cursed makes you want to get in trouble (because hey, extra source of Beats), while Destiny removes the risk involved on spending Willpower to move towards your Doom (since you get it back if you fail the roll).

In other words, Fated End is both really strong (I'd say too strong for something that can be taken by mortals), and really boring.

Carrying on:

• From Fated End (Advanced), what does "reroll their successes" mean? If I rolled a 10 and my reroll was an 8, would I reroll that die once or twice? Do I take the lower number of successes?

• Fated End (Epic) is one of those merits I see no-one ever taking - because either the ST brings your doom into the picture once in a while (in which case you die), or they don't (in which case you laugh off any other threat they throw at you).

• Blind Fighter is a decent merit - it fills a niche, and doesn't play silly buggers with the math.

• Longevity, Ageless, and Eternal Youth could really do with a less "numbers" approach. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers in a way that is illegal in most states in the union, but...

• Most games aren't generational. The fact that you're 197 and not 27 is background information. Sure, you get a wider justification for your Specialities and the stuff you know... but again, that's what a backstory is for.
• CoD doesn't have ageing rules, properly speaking. So Eternal Youth literally gives you nothing but the license to describe yourself as being younger. Striking Looks (Baby Face) • would do the exact same thing for one XP less, and would give you a +1 bonus in a bunch of situations.
• 6 xp to have eternal life? Really? Way too expensive.

Really, these three merits could be turned into a couple of Persistent Conditions without losing anything.

Response was eaten. In Brief:

Fated End fills the niche of mechanically supporting "X will kill you, so only X can kill you".

Longevity, Ageless, and Eternal Youth all fill niches, and are packaged in such a way that Demons can grant them via Pacts (thus fulfilling the classic "demonic pact for immortality" trope). As all character choices, they need to be justified. So despite "only costing 6 XP for eternal life", not everyone can pick it up anyways.

[amechra]

Do we really need another "gribbly fate" based merit? Especially such a powerful one?

I mean, let's assume that the ST and I agreed that my Fated End was drowning. I now effectively add my dots in Fated End to my Defense always forever, in a way that applies against surprise and firearms.

That's... quite a bit better than both of the pre-existing merits that deal with "I has destiny". And both of those also give you neat, messed up incentives - Cursed makes you want to get in trouble (because hey, extra source of Beats), while Destiny removes the risk involved on spending Willpower to move towards your Doom (since you get it back if you fail the roll).

In other words, Fated End is both really strong (I'd say too strong for something that can be taken by mortals), and really boring.

Carrying on:

• From Fated End (Advanced), what does "reroll their successes" mean? If I rolled a 10 and my reroll was an 8, would I reroll that die once or twice? Do I take the lower number of successes?

• Fated End (Epic) is one of those merits I see no-one ever taking - because either the ST brings your doom into the picture once in a while (in which case you die), or they don't (in which case you laugh off any other threat they throw at you).

• Blind Fighter is a decent merit - it fills a niche, and doesn't play silly buggers with the math.

• Longevity, Ageless, and Eternal Youth could really do with a less "numbers" approach. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers in a way that is illegal in most states in the union, but...

• Most games aren't generational. The fact that you're 197 and not 27 is background information. Sure, you get a wider justification for your Specialities and the stuff you know... but again, that's what a backstory is for.
• CoD doesn't have ageing rules, properly speaking. So Eternal Youth literally gives you nothing but the license to describe yourself as being younger. Striking Looks (Baby Face) • would do the exact same thing for one XP less, and would give you a +1 bonus in a bunch of situations.
• 6 xp to have eternal life? Really? Way too expensive.

Really, these three merits could be turned into a couple of Persistent Conditions without losing anything.

[Vent0]

The [Water] on Telekinesis bit is basically Psychokinesis (Water).

It would seem that way, except Telekinesis and Psychokinesis have different systems covering their mechanics. Telekinesis is rated 1-5 and creates a virtual actor with an effective Strength score equal to the merit. Psychokinesis is rated 3 or 5 and can expand/contract a phenomena, move it at speed, shape it into forms, attack with it as a 1 or 2 Lethal weapon, other stuff*, or create it (at 5 dots). Only real overlap is the moving the thing itself.

Now, an ideal Hydromancer would have both, for the full range of abilities.

[Deionscribe]

Any thoughts on implementing Conditional requirements to Supernatural Merits? Kinda like an anti-Merit or Flaw, you tag these onto existing Merits, and it modifies them to require fulfilling the condition to work normally? Like [Water] for Telekinesis, making it only work on water, or [Blinded] for Clairvoyance, making you need to be under the Blind Tilt for it to work, or [Telepathy] for Clairvoyance, meaning you can only use Clairvoyance on a target of your Telepathy.

The [Water] on Telekinesis bit is basically Psychokinesis (Water). But everything else does sound interesting. It kind of reminds me of the optional condition tags that were covered in Second Sight for Psychic Powers. You might want to elaborate more on this system as a rule hack, but I can see this providing benefits in the form of dice bonuses or an Experience discount.

[Vent0]

Any thoughts on implementing Conditional requirements to Supernatural Merits? Kinda like an anti-Merit or Flaw, you tag these onto existing Merits, and it modifies them to require fulfilling the condition to work normally? Like [Water] for Telekinesis, making it only work on water, or [Blinded] for Clairvoyance, making you need to be under the Blind Tilt for it to work, or [Telepathy] for Clairvoyance, meaning you can only use Clairvoyance on a target of your Telepathy.

[Vent0]

Fated End (• to •••••) ^_ByVent0
Prerequisites: Not Immortal (such as Arisen, Deathless, Eternals, or Purified, but Vampires, Demons, and Blood Bathers are allowed)
Effect: You are meant to die in a particular manner, and Fate is resistant to being denied. Anything that would interfere with your destined end (such as other forms of death or doom) suffers a dice penalty equal to the dots in this Merit. Conversely, anything that advances you toward your foretold end gains a dice bonus equal to the dots in this Merit.
Note: Work with the Storyteller to come up with an appropriate end for the character. It should be specific enough to stand out of the ordinary, but not so unique that other circumstances can't benefit from the dice bonus.

[Comments: This is like Cursed, but doesn't replicate or require it in that the character need not be aware of their fate. It is meant to be a starting point for various "prophesied death" effects, but not be so ironclad as to utterly prevent such deaths (that's what the follow-up merits are for).

Upon reflection, though, it doesn't need to be restricted solely towards the character's death - any major event might be subject to the Fate, if this were expanded. Once fulfilled, the Merit would disappear, though the character would get the XP refunded as per Sanctity of Merits.

EDIT 2016-06-14: The Storyteller is encouraged to bend circumstance to make the doom more immanent if the Character ends up abusing the merit for its "protective" bonuses. Fate doesn't like being toyed with, after all.]

Fated End (Advanced, •••) ^_ByVent0
Prerequisites: Fated End •••••
Effect: Fate holds such interest in your chosen doom that it wards away any other interference. Lethal damage from anything other than your doom does not wrap around to Aggravated, and efforts to prevent your grim destiny from occurring (such as relocating you to a temporal splinter, or turning you to stone) suffer their successes having to be rerolled (once per die - so if someone rolls a 10, reroll it once first before considering 10-again or its like). However, the source of your fate always inflicts Aggravated damage, and you have any successes rerolled (once) when attempting to resist it.
Note: Damage that is already Aggravated (such as via some supernatural powers) is not prevented from being inflicted.

Fated End (Epic, •••) ^_ByVent0
Prerequisites: Fated End (Advanced) •••
Effect: Your destiny is such that reality itself ensures only it will come to pass. Only the means of your end has the ability to kill you - your last Health box cannot be filled with Aggravated damage, and anything that would prevent your doom from advancing (such as being sent to another realm where it cannot occur, or erased from existence) automatically fails. On the other hand, you have little defense against your doom - rolls to avoid it are downgraded (Exceptional Success becomes Success, Success becomes Failure, Failure becomes Dramatic Failure), you have no Defense against it, and any such attacks gain the Rote and 8-again quality (in addition to inflicting Aggravated damage, as per Fated End, Advanced).
Note: Certain god-like beings (Rank 6+ Ephemerals, Arch-masters and equivalents, etc.), truly potent items of power (Relics or Artifacts of 6+ dots, etc.), or epic powers (Rituals of 6+ dots, Occult Matrices, etc.) can bypass this Merit and inflict true death upon the character, if appropriate.

[Deionscribe]

The main post of this thread will be where I'll be listing down any Merits that are homebrewed, or converted from any 1E homebrew I have encountered online. Credit goes to those that fall in the latter category.