Homebrew Demon Merits

[lladas]

If anyone is wondering, yes, I'm still trying to figure out how the Lucifer Mode Supernatural Style would work.

What are some of the roadblocks you are hitting in creating the style?

[Vent0]

Idea: something, somthing, Merit to give Exploited Gadgets (or any obviously Weird ones) Cover? Add more details when time allows (and my memory improves).

[Deionscribe]

Idea: something, somthing, Merit to give Exploited Gadgets (or any obviously Weird ones) Cover? Add more details when time allows (and my memory improves).

Hmm. I can see that being rated at least three dots.

[Vent0]

Hmm. I can see that being rated at least three dots.

I think it was: Sacrifice 1 Cover Exp to infuse a Gadget with a Cover during Installation. When in Cover, it looks just like it's un-Installed form, and even doesn't trigger Aetheric Resonance. When its Aether supply changes, it is used for its Installed effect, or otherwise has Compromise provoked (to catch edge cases), it takes its true "weird" form for X duration (contingent up Aether changed, or Compromise penalty).

[GibberingEloquence]

What are some of the roadblocks you are hitting in creating the style?

The idea is to optimize your Demonic Form, with each maneuver having a higher Primum prerequisite. The first maneuver would be available at Primum 1, and each one after that requires 2 more dots of Primum. In other words, the fifth maneuver would require Primum 9. Some maneuvers would have additional benefits that are activated when Going Loud. Of note is that only your natural Primum counts: you can't buy all maneuvers at Primum 3, Go Loud and then have access to all maneuvers via your temporary Primum 10.

I don't know how much I can put into a single maneuver, or what the order should be. Some ideas for maneuvers, in no specific order:

1) Regaining [Primum x 2] Aether instead of [Primum] when assuming full Demonic Form. Decrease the penalty to Compromise for assuming full Demonic Form by one. Should you be using the Context Matters Exploit, the bonus to Compromise is increased from +3 to +4.

2) When you run out of Aether and have to roll your Primum to get more, you acquire 1 Aether automatically, plus 2 Aether for every Success. An Exceptional Success on the Primum roll also restores 1 Willpower point. The Aetheric Bleed Condition sets in when you run out of Aether for the fourth time in a scene, rather than the third.

3) The Aether cost of all Demonic Form advantages is halved round down. You may spend Aether to add Successes at a 1:1 ratio to rolls involving non-combat Demonic Form advantages. You still follow the Aether Per Turn limit of your Primum.

4) Same as the one above, but for Demonic Form Advantages like Armored Plates, Aegis Protocol, Claws & Fangs, Blade Hand and Eliminator Cannon. This includes Subsumed and Tattoo Gadgets that work like weapons and armor. The spent Aether increases the Damage Bonus on a 1:1 ratio for this turn, or increases your total General AND Ballistic Armor on the same ratio for the turn. Neither the Damage Bonus nor General/Ballistic Armor can go higher than [your Attribute/Skill maximum + 1]. When Going Loud, the ration becomes 1:2.

5) You may declare additional targets for Demonic Form advantages by spending X Aether + 1 willpower point. Each Aether point adds one target, or [Primum] targets if you are Going Loud. This applies to melee combat, as long as your opponents are within a radius of approximately [Primum x 5] yards.

6) When assuming full Demonic Form, you may spend 5 Aether + 1 willpower point to raise an Attribute to 10 dots. You may do this to a number of Attributes equal to [your rating in this Merit - 1], disregarding normal limits on Aether/Willpower expenditure and raising derived traits. When Going Loud, you can raise that amount of Attributes to 10 dots for free.

7) Gain 9 Again on Contested rolls when in full Demonic Form, which can be raised to 8 Again with 1 Aether on a 1:1 ratio. When Going Loud, all Contested rolls gain 8 Again for free. This stacks with Merits like Indomitable.

I'm gonna stop here, this is godlike enough.

[Vent0]

Great Machine! These are pretty vicious. What about some potential drawbacks to balance things? Conditions and such to truly make one weigh the costs of tapping such power?

Addendum: what about breaking it into a normal and Advanced set of Styles? Each numbering, say, 4?

[GibberingEloquence]

Great Machine! These are pretty vicious. What about some potential drawbacks to balance things? Conditions and such to truly make one weigh the costs of tapping such power?

Addendum: what about breaking it into a normal and Advanced set of Styles? Each numbering, say, 4?

I think a Condition would be the way to go. I don't think Demonic Rage or Demonic Disconnect really fit. A Condition that penalizes all dice pools for activating Gadgets, Embeds and Exploits sounds better. This Condition could have a grave version that locks Exploits and turns Failures when using Embeds into Dramatic Failures automatically (you still get a Beat).

I don't think there is enough in my draft for an Advanced version. In fact, I think it needs to be streamlined. The first thing that comes to mind is cutting out multiple attacks per turn. With the exception of the fifth maneuver of Relentless Assault, such an advantage is absent from 2ED. And flashy combat after Going Loud sounds more fitting for the climax of a story.

So, instead of spending Aether to increase Damage Bonus and Armor, this Style would have a maneuver that decreases your effective Primum for the purposes of Aetheric Resonance and rolls for Glitches. This would be a lot more useful for a spy than a Strength + Weaponry dice pool of 15 with a +10L plasma sword that draws in Angels, Cryptids and more as if it was water in the desert. Decreasing your effective Primum with this maneuver could be done for free a few times per chapter. After that, you would have to spend willpower points.

Spending Aether to add Successes to Demonic Form advantages on a 1:1 ratio could be the fourth maneuver. Combined with the option of lowering Aetheric Resonance and the first two ideas of my previous post, you'd have a Demon who can pull off a lot more tricks with less risk of being detected. You cannot apply this for advantages like Blade Hand, Claws And Fangs or Eliminator Cannon. However, with ST permission, this can be applied to advantages like Mantle Of Fire and Voice Of The Angel.

If you really want your Demon to cause a lot of damage in melee, you should invest into Blade Hand + Heavy Weapons, Claws And Fangs + Light Weapons, Gaping Maw + Relentless Assault or something like that.

[Vent0]

I don't think there is enough in my draft for an Advanced version. In fact, I think it needs to be streamlined. The first thing that comes to mind is cutting out multiple attacks per turn. With the exception of the fifth maneuver of Relentless Assault, such an advantage is absent from 2ED. And flashy combat after Going Loud sounds more fitting for the climax of a story.

Aww, man. I was hoping for some terrifying abilities here. I think the combat focused ones (and the GL ones) have their place. What about: Giving the Rote quality to Embeds and Exploits you had before Going Loud, Letting the Demon spend Aether to downgrade current damage (A -> L, L -> B, B healed), Slapping penalties on opposing actions or negating special abilities (similar to Monkeywrencher)?

[Vent0]

Cover Gadgets •••
Prerequisites: Demon or Gadgeteer
Effect: You have figured out how to redirect some of your Cover generating Infrastructure to wrap Gadgets in a veil of normalcy. When Installing an Exploit into an item, or crafting a Form Gadget or Lambda, you can tie its original form into a kind of Cover. To all appearances, it is a normal item of its shape, even failing to register to the senses of Aetheric Resonance. However, when the Gadget's Aether supply changes (such as by infusing it with Aether, or when Aether is periodically spent/lost to maintain the Gadget's stability), when it is used for its Installed effect, or when anything else would trigger a Compromise roll targets or affects the Gadget, its Cover is disrupted and it displays its true altered state (and triggers Aetheric Resonance). Its Cover will eventually reassemble automatically at the end of the Scene.
Drawback: Each such Gadget constructed with Cover requires 3 Cover Experiences as an additional cost of its creation.
Note: If a Pact is used to supply the Cover Experiences, and the Pact document is destroyed, the Gadget immediately looses its Cover and takes damage as if it were a Demon. When in Cover, such Gadgets are as undetectable as anything out of the ordinary as Unchained in Cover are - which can be a problem if you loose track of which car is your Covered Gadget.

---

Thoughts, people?

I probably need to remove the first sentence if Gadgeteers are allowed to use it...

[Vent0]

Idea: Ability to create "unstable" Gadgets - halfway between a One-Shot and a full Gadget, these would either have "charges" (such as an Aether Pool that only decreases), or rolls to determine if it stops working or explodes after use. Maybe make it easier to build Lambdas (with short shelf lives) or Form Gadgets (that don't require you to rip out your own Form Abilities).

[Satchel]

Idea: Ability to create "unstable" Gadgets - halfway between a One-Shot and a full Gadget, these would either have "charges" (such as an Aether Pool that only decreases), or rolls to determine if it stops working or explodes after use. Maybe make it easier to build Lambdas (with short shelf lives) or Form Gadgets (that don't require you to rip out your own Form Abilities).

Overclocking. You're describing overclocking.

[Vent0]

Overclocking. You're describing overclocking.

Don't think Overclocking works quite that way. Doesn't let you make Form Gadgets without removing the ability, for one.

[Vent0]

Other high-end Demon ideas:

Merger of Monkeywrencher and Show of Power (possibly with Reality Enforcement) that let's Demons penalize other supernatural powers.

That ^ + Metaphysical Cover + Deep Cover (or Going Native? or Decoy?): Apply one of your Covers offensively to a Supernatural, making them merely human. Sure it practically burns that Cover, but you can shut down someone else entirely.

[Vent0]

Inspired by GibberingEloquence thoughts on Lucifer Mode. This too is designed around improving Going Loud.

Phoenix Pattern • to ••••, Style
Prerequisites: Demon [Add other Pre-reqs? Primum?]
Effect: You have fine tuned and optimized the dangerous technique of Going Loud, figuring out how to wring even more power out of the process.
Immolation (•): When Going Loud, the Demon deals their Cover in Lethal Damage to everything in Primum yards, as they shred their Cover in a conflagration of Aether. The Demon can choose to exclude targets from this eruption.
Surging Fire (••): When Going Loud, the Demon can spend Aether as if it were Willpower to add dice to rolls, or bolster their Resistance (though they can only do this once per roll). This stacks with any Willpower spent on the same roll or Resistance.
Glorious Rise (•••): When Going Loud, all Embeds and Exploits the Demon possessed beforehand are rolled as Rote actions.
From the Ashes (••••): When Going Loud, a Demon can harvest some of the fading cosmic power to reconstruct a Cover. The Scene after the one where they went Loud, the Demon can create a new Patchwork Cover at a rating equal to their spent Cover - 1, or their Primum, whichever is less.
Note: [Each additional Dot requires one higher Primum to acquire, Primum X+1 for the second dot, Primum X+2 for the third, and Primum X+3 for the fourth.]
[Comments: The first dot is like a Saboteur's Self-Destruct for everyone, but in addition to Going Loud instead of replacing it. Not tied to it, but it fits thematically. I capped the second dot because Demons can spend 15 Aether when Loud, and 48 (16*3) to dice pools or -32 (16*2) to Resistance roll is crazy, even if it would blow your Aether stores. Third dot is for Demon's that invest in Incarnation Embeds and Exploits get a benefit when Going Loud, instead of having their prior choice made redundant. Fourth dot is the reason for the whole thing, mitigating part of Going Loud's cost, while favoring higher Primum Demons (who get less benefit from the Primum = 10). Primum = Cover dots is pretty big, though, so maybe reducing it to giving Cover Experiences? That would mean a Demon at Primum 9+ can create a Cover 3 Patch-Job afterwards.]

[Deionscribe]

Vent0

I am liking the ideas behind Phoenix Pattern. It's very interesting.That said, allow me to give a few suggestions...

* Prerequisites: Demon, Primum 3 or 5
* From the Ashes (••••): When Going Loud, a Demon can harvest some of the fading cosmic power to reconstruct a Cover. The Scene after the one where they went Loud, the Demon can create a new Cover at a rating equal to a number of Aether points spent to use this benefit.