Occultism (Action Powers Form)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Occultism draws power from the Void and from a refusal to accept consensual reality.

Alternate Names: Paranormal Investigation, Yog-Sothism.

Associations

Skill : Know

Attribute : Mind

Sense : Insane realizations

Mood : Insane

Creatures: Strange

Blast: Enervation

Occultism Cantrips

Basic Action

You can see past the illusion of the world and see the horrible reality beyond. This allows you to sense the presence of Strange creatures within a hundred meters or so. You are strangely attracted to such creatures, and they will often tolerate your presence better than they would tolerate an ordinary creature of your kind. Withing Reflexes meters you can sense the powers of Strange and if such a creature has been in the area . How far back varies from a day to years with a week being average; more powerful creatures leave a stronger presence but other creatures trafficking the area dilute the trail.

Charm Occultism

Aberrant Charm

Basic Action

You are supernaturally enchanting to certain creatures. You master whatever form of communication they use, even if you are normally unable to communicate with them at all.

Enchanting someone requires an opposed Charm roll. On an Outcome equal to the target's Mind, the target falls for your enchantment. On a lesser success you gain an advantage. A failed check interrupts the process, forcing you to look for a new opportunity at a later time.

Once someone has been enchanted, they will willingly follow and help you out. They seek to avoid conflict with their old allies, but if push comes to shove you cannot guarantee how they will react; they will try to avoid seeing you harmed, but they might make you a captive to save you later or even to have you at their mercy, or they might decide to throw in their lot with you and abandon their former allies. Someone who you have enchanted expects trust and help from you, but the enchantment breaks automatically only in the most blatant cases of maltreatment. If you are callous and disregard their interests they can make opposed Charm rolls against you to see through the enchantment. The same applies if a friend points out they have been charmed, but in this case it is an opposed roll against the friend's Charm skill and takes a Limit Break to do.

Enchantment normally wears off in about a weeks time, but can be maintained through continuous use of the power; it will last indefinitely if reapplied once per day. Even after the power ends you leave your targets with fond memories of you unless you mistreated them. Someone who realizes they have been enchanted and used can become vindictive or even downright hostile, but this is not the normal result.

This power only works on Aberrations.

Aberrant Mind

Inherent or Stance

Attempts to use divination and mind-reading powers against you can lead to dire consequences. When a creature uses such a power to learn information about you or your mind, you can make an opposed Charm check against them. On a success, they fail to gain any useful information and are Confused until the end of the round (for the first round if this starts detailed time).

This can either be a stance or inherent power. If it is inherent, your mind is alien and your behavior is obviously odd unless you somehow disguise yourself as sane.

Insanity

Basic Action, Limit Break, or Finisher

You can cloud creature's minds and drive them insane.

Make an opposed Charm roll against your target; one target when done as a basic action, all enemies in a diameter equal to your Mind when done as a Limit Break. An affected creature is insane for the rest of the scene. On an Outcome matching the target's Mind, they are insane for the rest of the session. When done as a Finisher it is a Curse, and lasts until the curse is broken. If a condition would negate the effect of such a curse, the insanity reasserts itself in the next scene.

An insane target suffers one of the following effects. Roll 1d6 to see which effect. If this does not fit the personality of the target, re-roll. The second result is final. Where a power has variable effects, you determine the specifics, such as who a fixated target fixates on or what a delusional target thinks is lost.

1. Befuddlement — as Illusion of Normality
2. Delusion — as Steal the Stars
3. Fixation — as Magnetic Attraction
4. Hallucinations — as Confusion
5. Multiple Personalities — as Cricket Voice
6. Psychopathy — as Overcome Morality

Create Occultism

Tulpa

Limit Break

You can create a spirit companion. This is a separate creature, a Principle Henchman Extra with 2/3 of your points. Unlike companions linked to other power origins, a Tulpa is not necessarily friendly. It begins with a profile and personality created by you, but has the potential for growth and can develop its own interests. You remain connected to the Tulpa you create; the two of you count as touching at all times for the purpose of power use, and you and the Tulpa are aware of each others actions, tough this awareness can be clouded and delayed up to a week by an uncooperative partner. Up to this point the power is Inherent. Creating or re-absorbing a Tulpa is a Limit Break. If the Tulpa is unwilling, you must succeed on a Create check against the Tulpa's Dodge or Impress in order to absorb it. You can only ever absorb a Tulpa you yourself created, and you can only make one attempt to absorb a Tulpa each session. When you carry an absorbed tulpa, you can still communicate with it and it is aware of your actions. If you carry one or more absorbed a Tulpas, the next Tulpa you create can be one a re-creation of one of those, otherwise you can create a new Tulpa each time. You can take this power several times to be able to have multiple Tulpas active at the same time. If you die, any currently existing Tulpa (not absorbed tulpas) continue to exist, this knowledge can turn a distrustful or abused Tulpa into a murderer.

Impress Occultism

Summon Aberration

Basic Action

You can seize a creature whose True Name you know through time and space and bring it into your presence. The creature must be in another dimension or juncture, and not currently summoned, imprisoned or otherwise occupied. You can summon one Henchman or a number of Minions of the same type equal to your Mind. It takes an Impress roll against the creature's Dodge or Impress to summon. The creature immediately makes an initiative check to see when it will next act, but this cannot be earlier than the shot in which it is summoned. In future rounds, the creature has its own initiative score. You can also use this power again on a creature (or group of unnamed creatures) you have summoned along with an Impress roll against the creature's Dodge or Impress, in order to extend your control over it until the end of the following round. During combat, you must succeed at this action each round or the creature will break free, but you can try repeatedly in each round. Out of combat, you only need to roll every scene, but any failed roll means you lose control of the creature. While a creature is under your control, you can order it to return to its home plane at any time. A creature that breaks free of control can choose to return on its own. Summoned creatures can also be Dispelled. You can also use this power to take control of a summoned creature did not summon yourself whose True Name you know. This requires an Impress roll against the creature's Dodge or Impress or against its summoner's Impress if he is present.

A creature cannot be ordered to perform deeds alien to its nature; an air elemental cannot be summoned into solid earth or water, an Epitome cannot act against its spiritual inclination, and so on. Summoned creatures can perceive your aura as you summon them. Their initial attitude depends on your reputation among this kind of creature and whether you have an allegiance or pact with them. In case of extreme misalignment, you may not even be able to summon them at all.

When you lose control of a summoned creature it usually returns home shortly; the creature knows anyone who knows its true name can seize control of it as noted above. But the creature might choose to remain on your plane indefinitely to act out its inclination. In order to acquire lengthy services you must bargain with the creature, or use a Power Experiment or other means to acquire its services. If you bargain a creature into a formal pact, it is considered controlled for as long as the conditions of the pact are met and cannot break the contract or return to its home until the pact expires.

This power works on any type of creature. When used on an Aberration, the creature need not be in another plane or juncture to be summoned.

Maneuver Occultism

Aberate

Limit Break

You assume the form of another creature decided when you gain the power. You must have created a variant form for yourself using your normal points and limits. If you do not have such a creature description ready, you cannot use this power. This creature cannot have higher value in any particular skill than you do. You can add powers of the same form the creature has and keep schticks and powers you already have, but you cannot otherwise add powers or schticks. This power cannot be used to imitate a specific individual; you remain yourself in mannerisms and detail while changing race, species, and creature type.

You remain in this form for a scene or until you fall asleep or unconscious or will yourself back to your normal form (a Basic Action). You can learn this power several times to learn to transform into several different creatures. You can assume the form of any Aberration with this the power.

Melee Occultism

Strike of the Warp

Inherent

You can use your body to do melee attacks that do Body +4 Enervation damage soaked by Body.

Soul of the Warp

Inherent

You can use your body to do melee attacks that do Mind +2 Enervation damage soaked by Body, or more if you are using an Implement to improve damage.

Warp Touch

Stance (Damage Boost)

You can imbue a Melee or Shoot attack with an additional type of damage. The damage of the attack increases by +2. Against a target that has different soak values against the two types of damage, use the lesser soak value but decrease the damage by 2.

Warp Touch does Enervation damage soaked by Body instead of Toughness.

Recon Occultism

Space Between Space

Basic Action

You create an area where the normal and the paranormal overlap, making living and/or supernatural presences that are normally hard to perceive obvious. The area is either a sphere with a radius equal to your Recon centered on you, or a sphere with a diameter equal to your Mind that you can create at a distance, normal range penalties apply. Within this area, creatures and power effects stand out clearly, and can be seen through smoke, fog or darkness (even supernatural darkness), but not through solid objects. Invisibility does not work in the area. The trails Strange creatures leave in the area can be discerned through study. This is a meta-power that affects other powers. In some campaign worlds there is a strong Origin Divide among different origins. Check with your GM regarding your campaign. Origins that are opposed cannot cannot be modified by meta-powers; it is as if powers from the opposing origin was actually a schtick rather than a power.

Shoot Occultism

Disrupting Shockwave

Limit Break

You can blast all enemies in a globe with a diameter equal to your Mind; you must be somewhere in this area. Your control of this attack is so precise that you can avoid any friends in the area. Damage is Mind +2, or more if you are using an Implement to improve damage. Make a separate attack roll against each target. Disrupting Shockwave does Enervation damage soaked by Body, trying to teleport a part of each target.

Disruption Bolt

Inherent

You can make a Ranged Attack - either the basic stunt or using some other stunt, schtick, or power. Damage is Mind +2, or more if you are using an Implement to improve damage. Disruption Bolt does Enervation damage soaked by Body, trying to teleport a part of the target.