I like the proposal a lot, especially resonant charms.
My first thought for how to handle potentially dying is: When the character is at Resonance 10 or higher and they gain a point of Resonance, they also suffer from an unsoakable level of aggravated damage which cannot be prevented in any way. This damage cannot be healed until the Abyssal's Resonance is 10 or lower.
Slight Hearts Sympathy
Cost: 2m; Mins: Perception 3, Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Resonant
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Exanimate (Sense) Understanding
Creation's animals hide their tracks and nests from greater predators, failing to understand that no amount of camouflage may hide one from a predator that tore herself from the jaws of death. This Charm grants the Abyssal an immmediate understanding of the location of all animals within (Perception*10) yards of her, for the remainder of the scene. This Charm doesn't work on animals with higher Essence scores than the Abyssal herself, possesses.
Resonant Effect: You may also let loose a blood-curdling scream, causing all targets within range of the Charm on activation, to be struck with a Compulsion effect that either forces them to obey the Abyssal's orders or run wild for the remainder of the scene. This effect costs one point of Willpower to resist.
I agree with
@Giygas about the resonant effect, though I think both effects seem rather weak for the Essence level of the charm. Maybe add in information about the type and nature of the animals that the Abyssal senses for the regular effect?
For the resonant effect, the animals controlled should be obviously possessed by unnatural power. Their muscles bulge until blood vessels burst, they eyes take on an unearthly glow, and their cries resound with the echos of the whispers of the Labyrinth. I think that allowing them to grant Essence points of mutations to Perception animals would make the later much more useful and threatening. I'd also remove the willpower ignoring the effect, unless the animal is owned by someone present.
For the skirting the line of breaking setting rules charms I mentioned earlier, here they are. I'm still not sure of the balance, though I did make a couple of modifications after checking other Solar and Infernal charms, but I hope they would give someone inspiration for other ideas.
The Pain Gets Worse
Cost: 6m Min Medicine 3, Essence 2 Type: Simple (5/-1)
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One Scene
Requires: One Medicine Excellency
The Abyssal touches a target and channels deathly Essence into their body. It infuses their senses and faculties, reinforcing them and preventing them from falling unconscious even when any normal being would no longer wish to feel. They will experience everything vividly, without any loss of sensation that would otherwise apply.
The character must succeed at an Intelligence+Medicine v MDV roll to use this charm on a target, even herself. If the target is willing, their MDV is considered 3 lower than normal.
This charm prevents the target from falling unconscious from Bashing damage when she has her incapacitated HL filled.
At Essence 3, it may be repurchased and expand its effects to include Lethal and Aggravated damage. Though anyone so grievously injured by such damage that their Incapacitated HL is filled, would suffer an additional -2 wound penalty.
Being affected by this charm takes its toll on the sanity of anyone and causes them to lose one temporary willpower when they're under its effects. Someone with a limit track also gains a point of limit.
Clarity Through Suffering
Cost: 6m, 1wp Min Medicine 5, Essence 3 Type: Simple(5/-1)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Requires: The Pain Gets Worse
There is peace in the Void, an eternal silence as the sounds of the world are torn to pieces. Those who fall into its grasp experience true nothingness in the final moments before they too perish. For the first and last time in their lives, they may think without any distractions, even as their body is slowly devoured.
The character must succeed at an Intelligence+Medicine v MDV roll to use this charm on a target, even herself. If the target is willing, their MDV is considered 3 lower than normal.
The Abyssal draws forth this peace and clarity to the mind of her target. While this charm remains active, they turn any wound penalties or pain based external penalties on mental actions into bonuses. This charm adds one die to the mental action per point of penalty that they would have taken. These bonus dice count as dice added by charms and are capped by either the target's native dice cap or the Abyssal's Essence, whichever is higher.
However, while their mind is free to think and remember, their body cried out in worse agony than before. The target suffers an additional -2 external penalty to all non-mental actions.
At Essence 4, this charm's duration becomes Indefinite. However, any target becomes a Creature of Darkness after they've spent a day under its effects.
Deathless Fugue
Cost: 3m/HL Min Medicine 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Shaping
Duration: One Scene
Requires: One Medicine Excellency
Those in the Abyssal's presence may only perish when the Deathknight allows it. When a being would be struck down, the Abyssal reaches out with necrotic tendrils to preserve their body and soul despite grievous injury. The shackles of the Void bind the souls to the body, much as a ghost is bound to its fetters.
When a being with Essence * 5 yards of the Abyssal would die from damage, she may commit three motes per health level to extend their dying health track and keep the target alive, if only barely.
At the end of the scene, these extra health levels expire and all damage that they contained will be applied to the target. The target then immediately dies if they have not been healed. Though few beings can naturally heal when in such a state, those that do gain no benefit. The target's natural healing is also halted for the duration of this charm, requiring some form of supernatural effect to revive them.
At Essence 4 this charm may be purchased a second time to extend its duration to Indefinite. However, for every hour that it remains active, the target will receive an unsoakable level of aggravated damage. This forces the Abyssal to commit additional motes if she wishes to keep the target alive.
Bound by the Void
Cost: 20m, 2wp, 3 res Min Medicine 5, Essence 5 Type: Simple (6/-3 Long Ticks)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Requires: Clarity Through Suffering, Deathless Fugue, Ivory Whirlwind Restoration
A true Master of Death has control over the souls of a being, even as the corpse cools. The Abyssal performs a ritual over the recently deceased, binding the souls to their old flesh once more. Through her might and will, the deceased will once more walk the nights of Creation. But none may rise again without being scarred in the process.
This charm must be used within three days of when the target died. Any later and there are no souls remaining to bind to the corpse. Also, no matter how quickly this charm is used, any Exaltation that the target possessed is irrevocably lost and no other can ever be gained the soul fusion produced by this charm is not a valid target for Exaltation.
The target becomes both a Creature of Darkness and a Creature of Death on their resurrection. They will also acquire 3 plus the number of days they've been dead points of negative mutations, mental or physical. These mutations may not be healed or recovered from by any means, for they are scars of the soul that keep the new being together.
If the target was a spirit, they also lose a point of Permanent Essence which may never be recovered, leaving their new Essence cap as 9. Any spirit reduced to Essence 0 by such effects is slain as if by Ghost Eating Technique.
If this charm is used on a target a second time, they receive additional penalties that stack with the first
This charm cannot be used on any target slain through Ghost Eating Technique or similar effects.
