Lydia's charmset so you guys can have some idea of what she can do long term. Critique and discussion is welcome
With thanks to
@Artemis1992 who helped make it using rules for Exigents
Excellence of the Tireless Psychopomp (•)
The Exingent can draw on their divine Essence to fullfill its eternal duties with skill and power beyond any mortal.
System: The first time the character purchases this Charm, it may be applied to any of her Divine Attributes. At any time, the player may reflexively spend 1 Essence to add (Current Willpower) dice to all rolls using a relevant Attribute for (Essence rating + 1) turns in combat, or minutes outside of combat. This Charm can be repurchased to unlock additional Attributes, but Essence must be spent to add dice to each Attribute separately
Speaker to Crow and Hound (•)
The Exigent has a natural connection to certain animals, particularly those associated with Death. This includes Hounds, Corvidae and some cats.
System: The Exigent can always be understood by the animals and they are usually inclined to fullfill her requests within the limits of their own comprehension, though unpleasant tasks my require a Manipulation+Animal Ken roll to convince the animal.
By spending 1 Essence the Exigent can build an obviously supernatural connection to a single present animal, allowing her to share its memories and thoughts and to give it much more complex instructions for one scene.
Authority of the Psychopomp (•)
The Exigent is clad in the mantle of Authority over the dead, they respect and fear her instincivly.
System: Whenever the Exigent deals with a restless dead (both ghosts and physical dead such as Black Court Vampires), she permanently reduces the difficulty of all social actions (including the activation roll of powers to suborn the will of such creatures) by two.
Oxen Body (•)
The vitality of ancient heroes is echoed in the Exigent.
System: Add 1 Bruised (-0) and 1 Crippled (-5) Health level to your Healthtrack.
Flawless Hunter's Eye (•)
While Exigents Anima allows her to see the immaterial clearly, there are still times when unveiling her full power would be unwise, so she merely sharpens her own eyes.
System: Spend 1 Essence, for the rest of the Scene all Perception rolls are taken at -2 Difficulty and she only needs 1 Success on an Awareness roll to notice the exact location of an immaterial presence, allowing her to use her Anima-power on it.
Righteous Lion Defense (•)
The Exigent feels the call of duty and family in her Essence and will not be swayed from her path.
System: Any attempt to cause or force the Exigent to betray, undermine, or abandon her Intimacies automatically fails
Silent as Death (•)
The Exigent stirs the air to smother all noises she makes.
System: Spend 1 Essence or 1 Willpower. For the rest of the scene, the character's actions make no noise at all unless she wishes them to.
Command the Dead (•)
Exerting the combined pressure of Essence and will, the Exigent may order the bodies of the fallen to stand and do her bidding.
System: The player spends 1 Essence and rolls Charisma + Leadership. If attempting to usurp control of a zombie or similar mindless corpse-servant from another necromancer, the difficulty is the controlling character's Willpower. If attempting to exhort a corpse to stand up and serve her, the difficulty is 6. A zombie created or commandeered with this Charm will obey the Exigent's commands to the best of its very limited abilities. Zombies animated by Command the Dead lose their animation after one cycle of the moon unless stationed within a Dragon Nest, whose power may sustain them indefinitely.
Ghost-Warding Glyph (•)
The Exigent may mark any living person's forehead with a glyph scribed in blood. So long as it remains undisturbed, they are protected from the magic of the dead.
System: Spend 1 Essence. Until the mark is deliberately washed or scrubbed away, all Arcanoi and Disciplines directed against the protected individual raise their difficulty by the Exigent's Essence rating; if there's no roll involved, then they increase their cost in Blood, Pathos, Angst, or Chi by +1. The Exigent can't grant the Ghost-Waring Glyph's mark to herself
Hunter's Bolt (••)
The Exigent concentrates her Essence into killing projectile of some kind: perhaps a blast of pale flames, perhaps otherworldly lightning, perhaps a ghostly arrow. System:
Roll Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 5) to aim the attack. The bolt has a damage rating of 5 (lethal) and a range of 40; reflexively spending 1 Essence makes its damage aggravated for the next (Essence rating) turns
Spirit-Maiming Essence Attack (••)
The Exigent imbues her strike with Essence which negates the coherence of the otherworldly.
System: Reflexively spend 1 Essence when launching an attack. The attack inflicts aggravated damage to spirits, ghosts, and other beings not clothed in flesh. Additionally, should it strike any supernatural being, they lose (Exigent's Essence rating) points of whatever mystical substance fuels their powers – blood points, Gnosis, Quintessence, Glamour, Pathos, Essence, and the like.
Arms of Iron (••):
The Ankou is a master of Iron and his Exigent may cover her arms and hands in the metal
System: Spend 1 Essence to activate the Charm for the rest of the Scene. The Exigent's Brawl attacks deal STR+1 Lethal damage and she can block lethal attacks without needing to stunt. The difficulty of Blocking is reduced by 1. Unless she also has the higher-level Charm Tools of Iron this is still more of a magical cover than conceptually pure Iron, it does not deal aggravated damage to Ghosts or Fey.
Ominous Portent Exercise (••)
The Exigent instinctively knows when death draws near, making her impossible to take unaware so long as she hasn't totally exhausted both body and spirit.
System: The Exigent may reflexively spend 1 Essence automatically notice an ambush or other such unexpected attack, allowing her to defend against it as normal.
Traces of Death Unveiled (••)
The Exigent may, with but a moment's touch, feel the chains that bind one of the living to the restless dead.
System: To activate this Charm, the Exigent must touch a living being and spend 1 Essence, then roll Perception + (Awareness, Investigation, or Occult). Her successes determine how much information she learns.
• 1 success: The Exigent learns whether or not the individual has any connection to the restless dead of any sort.
• 2 successes: The Exigent learns the nature of the connection: If the individual is the subject of a ghost's Passion or acts as its Fetter, if they are under the thrall of a vampire, or if their nature places one foot in the afterlife (as in the case of a revenant, dhampir, or dhampyr).
• 3 successes: The Exigent learns the depth of the bond: whether the mortal is the subject of a minor or major Passion or Fetter; whether she belongs heart and soul to a vampire through the Blood Bond or longterm psychic conditioning, or is merely being affected by transitory enchantments of the blood; or the precise nature of a half-dead being's lineage.
• 4 successes+: The Exigent learns the identity of the ghost or vampire the individual is tied to, including the creature's name and appearanc
Rest-Granting Strike (••)
(Refluffed and weaker Soul-Eating Strike) The Exigent can send a creature to permanent rest.
System: When the Exigent slays any being, the player can opt to roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 6). Doing so prevents spirits (below Incarna-level) and ghosts from ever returning or reforming, prevents any ensouled being from becoming a wraith. The Exigent gains 3 Essence on the spot if the annihilated being was in any sense immortal, such as a spirit, ghost or vampire. Furthermore, the Exingent can reflexively spend 1 Essence to gain the ability to strike and damage intangible beings for the rest of the scene, so long as she can perceive them
Open the Way (••)
The Exigent has an affinity for the opening of otherworldly paths.
System: Spend 1 Essence and roll Wits+Occult (Difficulty local Gaunlet-rating) to open a Way. This can stay open for the rest of the Scene and be passed by entities from both sides.
Thoughts of Oak Defence (••)
The Exigent solidifies her desire and duty, pushing away any externally-imposed thoughts or feelings.
System: Reflexively spend 1 Essence to utterly reject all thought and emotion-altering magic from a specific character or source for the rest of the scene.
Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation (••)
The Exigent draws the solidity of stone up into her flesh. She must be in contact with stone or soil to use this Charm. Traditionally this is accomplished by standing upon the bare Earth or a stone floor, but the Exigent carry a small rock in their pocket, or wear a precious stone on a ring in order to use this Charm at any time.
System: Reflexively spend 1 Essence to activate this Charm. The Exigent rolls (Stamina x 2) dice to soak damage for the rest of the scene
Invitation of Peaceful Respite (•••)
As death is sleep's brother the Exalted can bring either to the subjects of this Charm.
System: Spend 1 Essence to attempt to send a person capable of sleeping into a restful slumber for a full 8 hours, the sleep can only be interrupted through physical contact. A person sleeping the full time restores 2 points of Willpower if they would normally regain 1, or ignore the Nightmare flaw for that night.
A resisting target must make a Willpower Roll with a difficulty of the Exalt's (Manipulation + Empathy) and gain more successes than the Exalt's permanent Essence. People who might expect mental attacks (usually supernatural beings activly fighting the Exalted) can resist at -2 difficulty.
Exquisite Etiquette Style (•••)
Drawing on old instincts , the Exigent gains a nearly universal sense of etiquette and social currents. She rarely commits faux pas or social gaffes when dealing with unfamiliar cultures or social situations.
System: The Exigent lowers the difficulty of all Etiquette and Streetwise rolls by –1, and cannot botch with either Ability. Should she fail at any Etiquette or Streetwise roll against Fey, she may reflexively spend 1 Essence to attempt to re-roll it once
Quarry Revelation Technique (•••)
The Exigent can read the shape her quarry leaves in the world; it is as though the land, the plants, the air itself conspire to lead her to her prey.
System: Once the character finds some evidence of a trail to follow, her player may spend 1 Essence to perfectly track the target for the next 24 hours. No roll is needed.
Chariot of the Earth (•••)
With a gesture of her hand the Exigent raises the earth to carry her on to her target.
System: Spend 1 Essence to conjure a wave of earth that can carry the Exalted and (Essence +1) passengers at up to 60mph. The earthwave leaves no traces and is in no way limited by its own size, allowing it to be ridden through narrow corridors.
When the Exigent wishes she can use the earthwave as a weapon, striking with Dexterity + Athletics at a target and dealing 5+Essence Dice of Bashing Damage on hit.
Tools of Iron (•••)
Iron is the bane of Fey and Ghosts alike and as the hunter of the Dead the Ankou's Daughter is its master.
System: Spend 1 Essence to create a weapon or ammunition of iron for the rest of the scene. This can't be a firearm, but it can be bullets for one. Aside from that any classical melee weapon and ammunition for any ranged weapon is an option.
The weapon deals aggravated damage to Fey and Ghosts.
Stay the Cold Hand (•••)
It is given to the Exigent to take lifes, but also to preserve those whose time has not yet come. At her touch the spectre of death retreats for a while.
System: Whenever the Exigent attempts an Intelligence+Medicine roll to give first to a still-living she may enhance the results to the following:
- 0 Successes: As long as the Exalted doesn't botch the first aid suffices to keep the target from dying before the next sunrise or nightfall, often enough time to let other medics do their work
- 2 Successes: At this point the Exalted ensures that no infection can set in and that the process of healing will be relativly quick and clean within the limits of mortal healing, even lacking further medical care
- 4+ Successes: The target will heal with the speed of an Exalted and suffer no long-term damage of any kind from the wound
This Charm can only be used for first aid, it neither accelerates the healing of one who has already been treated nor does it improve the healing of any wounds recieved after its use.
Relentless Hunter's Trance (••••)
With a moment's intense concentration, the Exigent may become as enduring as the Earth itself.
System: Spend 1 Essence and roll Willpower (difficulty 6). For each success, the Exigent and her mount (if she is riding) may enjoy one of the following benefits for the rest of the scene:
• She no longer experiences penalties for fatigue and exhaustion, and indeed needs neither rest nor sleep.
• She no longer experiences penalties for starvation or dehydration, and indeed has no need to eat or drink.
• She no longer needs to breathe.
• Her Wound-Penalties are lowered by 1
As long as she is activly pursuing a target she may activate the Charm without cost until she catches up or gives up the chase.
Call the Hunt (••••)
With a sharp whistle or a hornblow the Exigent draws on the legend of the Wild Hunt to conjure its hounds to her side.
System: Spend 2 Essence to summon (Essence/2 rounded up) Hunting Hounds to serve the Exigent until the dawn of the next day. Mechanically these resemble Inugami (God and Monsters p119), though in appearance they are closer to large white Irish Wolfhounds in good health.
Companions of the Hunter (••••)
The Exigent may lay her blessing on an Animal she associated with, permanently empowering it as a part of her hunting party.
System: Choose a friendly Animal that falls either under Speaker to Crows and Hounds or that is a horse and spend 5 Essence while spending at least 2 hours paining its fur or feathers with magical symbols in woad.
The Animal gains 30 XP that it can freely spend on attributes and skills (including on greater Intelligence) and (5+Essence) points it can spend on Special Advantages (From Gods and Monsters).
A creature can only benefit from this effect once and the Exigent can only have (Essence*2) Animals blessed like this at the same time.
Restless Deathbringer Onslaught (••••)
The Exigent's attacks strike, one after another, like a smith's hammer shaping white-hot steel.
System: Reflexively spend at least 1 Essence. At the end of the turn, after all characters have taken their actions, the character may make two additional attacks at her full dice pool per point of Essence spent. She can make no more extra attacks than the lowest of her Brawl, or Athletics Abilities (to a minimum of 1).
Hunter's Final Throw (••••)
As master of the hunt the Exigent is capable of making a single perfect throw of the spear to bring down long-escaping prey.
System: The Exigent may spend 1 Essence to enhance a throwing attack if she does nothing else in that turn. You may spend 1 Willpower to use this Charm while taking more action that one attack in the turn. The maximum range of the throw is doubled and the attack always hits. Still roll the dice for the attack to add successes to the damage as usual, but do not subtract any successes on an attempt to dodge, block or parry the attack unless they are enhanced by Charms. This does not supercede perfect defences.
Shatter the Horns (•••••)
The blast of the hunting horns is terrible beyond description, not just to the hunted.
System: Spend 2 Essence to produce the sound of countless hunting horns, of the baying of hounds and the neighing of horses. This Charm can only be targeted at a restless dead. Roll Charisma + Intimidate (dif 10-Essence), the target can resist with a Willpower roll (Diff 7). If the Exigent wins the opposed roll the Dead is paralysed by fear and can roll willpower once per round until it beats the Exigent's initial roll.
Every mortal in (Essence x20 yards) is stuck by Delirium as if he had seen a Werecreature.
Warding of Divine Ancestry (•••••)
The Exalted solidifies her Essence to resist hostile magic and the powers of chaos.
System: Whenever the character is the subject of any hostile supernatural power that seeks to transform, infect, taint, transport, or control her body or spirit, the difficulty to do so is raised by 1. If affected anyway, she may spend 2 Essence and roll Stamina + Occult against difficulty 8. Success shatters the magic, protecting the Exigent completely. Since this expenditure isn't reflexive, the Exigent may spend a few moments fluctuating in mid-transformation or teleportation, as her Essence battles with the magic seeking to suborn her
Cold Vengance Counterstrike (••••)
Accepting the forces turned against her, the Exalt may send them back against her attacker.
System: Reflexively spend 1 Essence when attacked. After the attack finishes resolving, the Exalt may make a Dexterity + Brawl counterattack against her attacker, so long as they're within striking distance. This attack adds a number of automatic successes equal to the levels of damage the Exalt suffered from the attack made against her (if any)
Acceptance of Inevitability Defense (•••••)
Faced with the inevitability of harm, the Exigent learns to trade calamity for lesser suffering, turning translucent and untouchable in exchange for stepping closer to her death.
System: Reflexively spend 1 Essence when struck by an attack which inflicts damage. That damage is negated, and the Exigent instead suffers one automatic level of aggravated damage. This Charm may only be used once per scene.
Ramparts of Obedient Earth (•••••)
With but a gesture and a surge of Essence, the Exigent may cause trenches to appear in the Earth, walls of stone to burst from the ground, or even to force open gaps in stone surfaces.
System: Spend 2 Essence. For the rest of the scene, the Exigent may roll Dexterity + Crafts to manipulate gross quantities of Earth anywhere within 200 yards, forming trenches, pits, walls, or other structures (difficulty 6 to 8, depending on how large or intricate a manifestation she's trying to create).