Latest revision as of 04:31, 19 July 2019

House Rules: Merits

Changeling Merits

Arcadian Body

The merit writeup has been altered to read as follows. Changed sections are in italics.

Arcadian Body •••• (CG ONLY - must be bought with merit points)
Prerequisite: 3+ dots on the affected Attribute

Your character's body was significantly changed by her time in Arcadia. Some combination of the transformations inflicted upon her by her Keeper and your character's life in Arcadia altered one of her Attributes (Mental, Physical or Social) so that it can now be increased to an inhuman degree.

This single Attribute may always be raised one dot higher than your power stat would otherwise allow.

Changelings can only purchase this Merit once. The basic form of a changeling's body is set once the changeling comes back from Arcadia.

e.g. at Wyrd 5, you could raise a chosen attribute to 6. Once you hit Wyrd 6, you could then boost that same attribute to 7 dots.

Archive

Reminder: this merit does not exist. The GMC Library merit is what we are using for all things library-esque.

Bastion Amenities/Battlements/Size

See 'news bastions'. Also, Bastion requires an Oneiromancy specialty in 'Empathy'. Not Wits.

Beast Swarm

Beast Swarm Cost: •• Prerequisite: Wyrd 3, Fang and Talon 5 for the appropriate beast Effect: By purchasing this Merit, the Changeling using Cloak of the Bear's massive form. (Fang & Talon *****) can decide to become a swarm of small animals instead of a single larger creature, provided they have the appropriate animal form. The purchase of this Merit allows for only one type of animal: rat, raven, horsefly, or some other creature of Size 2 or smaller (so long as they are a swarming creature, a flock of birds, a swarm of rats). This Merit must be repurchased for each different type of animal. Staff has final say on which animals are appropriate. The swarm form exists in a radius or yards equal to the Changeling's own Size (usually Size 5). A swarm can generally inflict 1 die in bashing/lethal damage (depending on the critter, small insenscts and the like will be bashing, while things with larger teeth and talons will be lethal) to anyone within its radius per turn. A swarm can inflict even more damage by condensing. Every time the swarm condenses to cover one yard less of its full area, it inflicts one additional die of damage per turn (representing a larger concentration of rats biting, bees stinging, and so forth). Condensing is also representative of a visual horror: rats piling into a teetering tower of yellow teeth and tails flickering, or a column of spiders toppling toward a victim.

Armor is effective against a swarm only if it covers one's full body, but even then it provides only half its rating (save for things like Elements 2, Armored mien, Stonebones, Summer Mantle 3, and similar. Those cover all things and count as full Armor.). In addition, targets are distracted by the swarm, suffering -2 dice on rolls involving perception or requiring concentration while they are within the radius, even if they're not specifically attacked. While in swarm form the changeling adds +5 to their defense (applied after dodge is calculated), which applies against firearms as well (but not against AoE attacks like a lighter and hairspray). In addition, they take half damage from non AoE attacks. Once the swarm reaches full lethal the Changeling has no choice but to return to his original form, and roll to stay conscious. Drawback: Fragmenting the body is not a sane action. For eight hours after changing to a swarm form, the Changeling suffers from the Irrationality derangement and must make Resolve + Composure checks accordingly to resist giving into that lunacy. If the character already suffers from the mild version, he suffers the severe malady (Multiple Personality) instead. These derangements are found in the World of Darkness Rulebook, pp. 99-100.

Biological Oddity

This is a custom flavour merit invented by Matterhorn and Annapurna.

Biological Oddity • to •••
Prerequisite: Wyrd 3

There is something physically weird about you, above and beyond what is normal for someone of your Seeming/Kith/Wyrd level/other merits. Perhaps your Keeper’s changes went deeper than they did for others. These changes are minor, and based on flavor for your character. They must make sense. A character made of ice is not going to have an unusually HOT body temperature. A Metalskin is not going to be nourished by the sun because of chlorophyll beneath his metal shell. A pretty Minstrel who has never gone a day without nice soft foods to eat is not going to have diamond teeth and chew through rocks for snacks. Your dots in this merit reflect the mechanical bonuses/penalties your inhumanity provides. Specifics must be noted on your character sheet, as agreed by your ST.

Whatever this weirdness is, it affects both your mien AND your mask, so strengthening your mask will have no effect upon it.

This merit explicitly does not affect combat. Your teeth may be able to chew through steel, but they don’t add to the armor-piercing value of your bite attacks; metal just takes too long to gnaw through. You may be able to resist cold temperatures, but you are still vulnerable to being stabbed by icicles or being struck by liquid nitrogen grenades.

If your character uses a power which changes their physical appearance/body (Mirror clauses, etc.), they no longer suffer either the benefits or the penalties of this merit until the power’s effect wears off. On the one hand, this could be useful if you needed to go to the doctor without being accused of having a fever of 140°F. On the other hand, if you have to change your kith just to fit in, what kind of a life is it to constantly need to pretend to be something other than what you truly are..? The angst! The pathos! Powers which only create illusions have no effect on this merit.

In command parlance, the “type” of this merit is the oddity (for example ‘+xps merit/biological oddity:Feeds On Sunlight to 1’ or ‘+xps merit/biological oddity:Digests Rocks to 2’), and you must work with staff to write a +note which describes the specific situations where this merit will hinder/benefit you mechanically.

Example #1:

Your character is a Wyrd 3 Snowskin popsicle. You buy this merit at 1 dot to reflect a lower than normal body temperature, because you were changed more than others in Arcadia. You had thought about buying it at a higher dot level, but since you plan to take your character up in Wyrd over the coming years of play, you decide to wait until your Wyrd is a bit higher, and buy up the next two dots gradually over time, so this merit will help you to mechanically reflect the changes happening to your character. Working with staff, you decide on a list of minor, specific benefits. You decide that since he is so cold already, he is more resistant to natural extreme cold, so any rolls to resist the Extreme Cold tilt receive a +1 bonus. On the other hand, heat affects him more profoundly, so he takes an additional point of penalty in environments with extreme heat. At ST discretion, he may need to take a -1 earlier than any other characters even notice that it’s getting too toasty, since it bothers him sooner. Since he is colder than a normal human being, people looking at him through thermal imaging take a -1 in colder environments, but on the flip-side, because he IS so cold, he stands out more in hot environments, giving them a +1 bonus to perception rolls. Since the mask is different too, going to the hospital is problematic because the doctors think he is suffering from extreme hypothermia, what with a body temperature down in the low 70s Fahrenheit. When you buy up the next dot in the merit later this year, these bonuses/penalties will increase from 1 to 2, with corresponding changes in temperature.

Example #2:

Your character is a Wyrd 6 Flowering/Woodblood. You buy this merit at 3 dots, because your character is so inhuman. You decide that her specific body trait is chlorophyll in her skin and hair, which she can use to derive/metabolize nutrients from sunlight. On the bright side, this means she has a +3 in any situations where she would be rolling to resist starvation if she is in any form of light. On the dark side, because she is planty enough that part of her daily necessary “food” intake is solely derived from light, she suffers more than others would from prolonged darkness, wasting away more easily than someone without her particularly severe physical configuration, and suffers a -3 to any rolls made to resist starvation without light. Her “condition” is visible to others as greenish skin even in her mask, bewildering doctors and requiring a great deal of daily effort with cosmetics to blend in.

Example #3:

Your character is a Wyrd 4 Roteater. Similar to the above, you decide that he has an alternate means of deriving sustenance: that is, he can eat pretty much anything non-poisonous and it will nourish him. He can eat rocks. If he wants dessert at a diner, he can eat his silverware and plate. If he doesn’t eat metals and stones, he suffers, per the example of sunlight above. Think of it as an extreme mineral deficiency. However, his teeth are made of flipping diamond. No dental drill is going to be able to get through THAT enamel, and people on the street are going to think he has had some serious rhinestone bling glued in his mouth.

Deep Kenning

To allow for more variety and, frankly, fairness in dice pools given the ridiculous amounts of xp on this game, staff has created a merit to further enhance a Changeling's ability to sense other fae and their powers.

Note that this is very specifically faerie powers. This merit changes nothing about a Changeling's capacity to notice or resist, say, a Vampire using Dominate. Standard Kenning rules apply in all non-faerie situations.

Deep Kenning • to •••••
Prerequisite: Wyrd 5

Like a spider in its web, a Changeling with this merit has learned to be especially attuned to the vibration of fae powers in the Wyrd. He is as at least as close to being fae as human, now, and that sensitivity can be useful.

The separate levels allow enhanced Kenning and, higher, even the ability to better-resist effects which would manipulate his mind and emotions. Each dot level builds upon the one before.

See the House_Rules#Kenning page for details of rolling and success/failure.

At •, this merit makes Kenning a reflexive action. You do not automatically know that a power is being activated, but if you have reasonable suspicion that something is going on, you may roll as usual for Kenning on the same round as another action, instead of taking your entire action to ken something.

At ••, this merit grants a +1 to rolls intended to discern any active faerie powers/entities of a fae nature. This includes Changelings, Hobgoblins (incl. beasts and mounts), True Fae, Fetches and abilities thereof. This bonus stacks with applicable specialties.

At •••, this merit allows the character to detect two supernatural phenomena per success, instead of one.

At ••••, this merit grants a +2 to rolls intended to discern fae powers/entities. This replaces the bonus from ••.

At •••••, forewarned is forearmed. The character gains a +3 on rolls to resist any fae powers which would manipulate his mind or emotions. If the ability does not allow a contested roll, add a +2 bonus to the resistance stat instead. In addition, Kenning is now an automatic action. The character is deeply attuned to the Wyrd, and automatically gets a chance to detect any faerie beings/powers active in any space she enters, or which are used in her presence.

For example, when activating Fleeting Spring 2, a Spring rolls her Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Spring) - subject's Resolve. With Deep Kenning 5, the subject's Resolve would be +2 higher for purposes of that activation, as the subject was more aware of the ebb and flow of power in his surroundings.

Divergent Kith

This merit allows a character to have a primary kith from outside his or her Seeming. Examples: Darkling Flowering, Ogre Flamesiren, Wizened Nightsinger

(While staff does not intend to switch to CtL 2.0, staff will shamelessly pilfer interesting ideas from it when they choose to approve them.)

It may be purchased only in CG, as it affects your primary kith, not any subsequent kiths you might purchase for your character. This merit does not affect the Dual Kith merit, which operates off of your Seeming for pricing.

Dual Kith

Per HRs, Dual Kith is 2 dots if the kith is within your Seeming, 3 dots if it is outside of your Seeming.

You may purchase Dual Kith either with merit dots during the initial CG phase or via +xps and xp at any time, whether during or after CG.

You may only purchase this merit ONCE.

Enchanted Mortal

Mortal and Mortal+ characters may both take this merit.

Characters do not have to have gone to Arcadia to qualify as an Enchanted Mortal. They could have been born with eyes of two different colours, or born on a special day, etc.

Expert Shaper •••

Merit submitted by Whiskey

Prerequisite: Wyrd 7, Specialty in Occult.Hedge Shaping

The character has used Hedge shaping many times in many different ways, and has become adept at manipulating their environment. Gain 9-again on all Hedge shaping rolls.

Faerie Healing

In addition to the effects of the standard 2-dot merit from RoS p.90, staff has added the option to purchase a third dot.

Faerie Healing 3 allows a Changeling to prepare/transfer the effects of ANY goblin fruit to a mortal/animal, not just healing fruits.

The method of transfer must be identical to the single method chosen with the 2-dot merit. i.e. if you already heal people by cooking healing fruits into your patients' meals, you must still use "food preparation" as your method to transfer the power of, say, chu-chu-culm juice into a fruit smoothie.

Fae Mounts

Changes made to the merit:

The original merit had 1 2 3 and 5. It skipped 4. Staff has added 4.

A 3-dot Fae Mount gets 2 abilities, period.

See the House Rules/Fae Mounts page for clarifications/guidelines.

All Fae Mounts must be +noted on your character using the format on the page above.

Gewgaw

Each individual Gewgaw, a 0-dot Token, will be listed individually on your +sheet, and must have a staff-approved +note describing its effects. Send up a +req/fae to request them.

See the Tokens#Gewgaws page for guidelines and instructions.

Goblin Hoard

Custom merit proposed by Soleil.

Similar to Esoteric Armory (GMC p.231), your character is the go-to girl when one needs a flower pressed between mandrake toes until it dried, the salt from an Ogre's boogies after being infected with the mouth-rot flu, or simple 0-dot Hedgespun items to add a bit of flash to a hob's bedroom wall. You have acquired a collection of appalling and awesome, albeit minor, artifacts of Hedge life and the real world trinkets some hobs crave. Coca Cola addiction? A shiny copper 1969 penny? You've got them covered.

This applies specifically to trades and bartering with hobgoblins, more often than not at goblin markets.

When bartering, you may add your dots in this merit to your rolls to persuade the hob to your way of thinking. This could be as simple as sweetening a Persuasion deal with a little honey on the side, or as underhanded as knowing that particular hob is deathly afraid of wind-up toys and pulling one out of your bag for +1 to an Intimidation roll.

A one-dot Goblin Hoard can fit in a large bag, but a 4-5 dot Hoard will fill a house.

This location must be specified on a staff-approved +note.

At levels greater than 1, this merit requires access to the cache itself to gain the full benefit. Without returning to the cache, the max benefit is capped at +1, representing what a person might be carrying with them at that very moment.

ST fiat may raise the cap depending on whether your character is leading a hedge donkey or otherwise traveling through the Hedge with more of his or her belongings for bartering at the time.

Goblin Merchant

The Goblin Merchant merit must be approved and set by staff. To become a PC merchant, please see here.

Goodwill

Goodwill requires a vote of the Court in question, and the members of that court decide whether or not the merit will be given.

Hedge Beast Companion

You may take this merit more than once. If people start trying to spend all of their XP on 30 Hedge badgers, staff may cry and change their mind on limiting the number of beasts!

See the page linked in the name above for a shortcut list of how many points you get to spend on what, per dot level.

See the Hedge/Hedgebeasts page for some examples of animal stats. These are just a guideline so you have an idea of what an average example of <insert beast here> would have.

Bear in mind that your beast is with you because it is weak and/or needs the help/protection. Really powerful/ridiculously strong critters are not going to be HBCs.

When buying a companion, please include the following on the +note you set up with the creature's stats:

• Creature's Name
• Why is it with you? / Personality traits.
• Mask
• Mien
• Attributes
• Skills
• Merits
• Contracts
• Wyrd
• Size (use the page above for examples)
• Defense (Higher of Wits or Dex)
• Initiative (Dexterity + Composure)
• Speed (Strength + Dexterity + Species factor (use page above for examples))
• Willpower (Resolve + Composure)

Hollow Amenities

As a House Rule, beyond basic furnishings and such, Hollow Amenities 3 will get you the equivalent of a single 1-dot token, incapable of leaving the Hollow.

Hollow Amenities 4 will get you up to two token-equivalents.

Hollow Amenities 5 will get you up to five token-equivalents.

These could be a box which always keeps food at the perfect temperature, a chess game which plays itself with you, a talking mirror which reflects everyone else subtly uglier than you are, etc.

None of these token-equivalents give you tangible bonuses to skill rolls. They are the equivalent of magical house cleaning and entertainment. They do not require staff approval.

Hollow Doors

Per the book, Hollows come with one free door in the mortal world and one in the Hedge, and players may waive one of these doors at their discretion.

As a House Rule, staff is also allowing these freebie doors to be located both in the Hedge, or both in the mortal world.

The functionality of the Hollow Doors merit itself is unchanged; each dot grants you a single new door, located either in the mortal world or in the Hedge.

Hollow Garden

This half-price merit is designed to represent how much of your Hollow has been readied to support growing Hedgefruit. Hollow Gardens may not exceed the value of your Hollow Size merit x2, just as with Hollow Workshops. That is to say, for every dot in Size you have, you may buy 2 dots' worth of either Garden or Workshop.

Each dot in Hollow Garden increases the number of plants you may grow in your Hollow. Plants are rated with "plot" values, corresponding to how much space/energy/care they will take. You may not grow more plants than you have plots to support them. See Hollow Gardens for more details. This is handled via the coded +garden commands. See '+hh' in game for helpfiles.

When purchasing this merit, if you only want 1 dot's worth of plots, correct the xp value in your +xps spend.
      +xps merit/hollow garden:Fancy Hollow Name to 1 for 1

Only 30 plots are allowed per room.

Hollow Stable

This is a custom merit suggested by Jonah and written by staff.

Hollow Stable • to •••••

Prerequisites: Hollow Size •••, Hollow Wards •••, Animal Ken ••

This merit grants you 3 mounts per dot, assumed to be stabled in your Hollow.

At some point, your character secured the attention of a small herd of quadrupedal hedge beasts between the size of a deer and a horse. They do not speak, and they are always animals, never machines. Exact details of appearance are up to the player(s) involved, and intelligence varies. They seem to understand a small number of basic commands, but complex requests and conversations are beyond them. Some enjoy being touched, others don't, etc. Make your version of the merit unique!

The beasts are never predatory. They are herd animals, and stay with a character for the reliable food and safety the changeling provides. If mistreated, dots in this merit will be lost as the creatures seek kinder pastures.

The nervous creatures move as quickly as a horse, but share no other qualities with traditional fae mounts beyond willingness to carry a rider.

They do not magically manifest when called. They will not leave the Hedge. They have no magical powers. They will carry one person at a time. They will balk at carrying anyone who has not been introduced to them by the holder(s) of this merit. They will immediately flee from combat and will not return, and will be unavailable for one full day while they find their way back to your Hollow.

If you get into combat while mounted, roll Dexterity + Athletics to see if you manage to stay mounted, because the mount is going to high-tail it away whether or not you're on its back. Take 2B from the impact of hitting the ground/trees/thorns if you fail the roll.

Hollow Wards

Players have the option of using the trapping rules and other mechanics to illustrate exactly how they are warding their Hollows.

Similar to Amenities, dots in Hollow Wards may be applied toward appropriate 1-dot tokens for the purpose, which may never leave the Hollow. These tokens must have some effect which illustrates how your character is gaining the bonuses of the merit.

For example, a character with Hollow Wards 1 might reason that he derives his +1 to Initiative because he has a string of knotted beads by the entrance which ring bells all over the Hollow when a stranger tries to get in, giving him a teensy instant of forewarning.

As with Amenities, these gewgaws and token-equivalents cannot give you any tangible bonuses beyond explaining away the bonuses Hollow Wards already give you, and do not require staff approval.

Hollow Workshop

Hollow workshops do deviate from the book. Each type of workshop is a separate instance of the merit, and each dot in each instance gives +1 to that type of crafting. I.E., you can have Workshop 2 (Sewing) and Workshop 3 (Weaving), and you'll get +2 to Sewing and +3 to Weaving.

See 'news hollows'

Remember that Hollow Workshops, no matter how many of them you have, may not exceed the value of your Hollow Size merit x2, and just as with Hollow Gardens, so for each dot in size, you have 2 slots for one point of workshop or garden each.

Lethal Mien

Lethal mien has been upgraded on this game to a 2 or 4 dot merit. The 2 dot version is the same as the original, allowing unarmed attacks of a specific flavor (Claws, Teeth, Fiery Fists, Stone Knuckles, Sharp Horns, etc.) to deal lethal, or to add an additional +1 damage to an existing lethal generating unarmed attack. The Level 4 version upgrades this further to deal +1 damage (or an additional +1 damage as the case may be)

Outsider Fetish • to •••

Per the book, this merit may only be purchased by members of The Lord Sages of the Unknown Reaches.

Outsider Fetish • - You own a Talen. A Talen is a single-use item from • to ••••• dots, and allows you to use a single Facet or spiritual Influence. The Talen's dot rating is used instead of the Renown stat for determining effects.

Outsider Fetish •• - You own a 1-dot Fetish. Fetishes are relatively permanent.

Outsider Fetish ••• - You own a 2-dot Fetish.

If there is enough player demand, staff will consider opening talens/fetishes/relics as available magical items for players, pending PRPs to explain how they received them.

See the Fetishes page for mechanics/guidelines.

Mantle

This requires at least a sentence of justification to raise. Further, you can only raise it one level at a time, and there must be a month between raises. So to go from Mantle 2 to 4 will require a minimum of two months.

Ritual Doorway

Staff has chosen to remove the Hollow Doors 5 prerequisite on this merit.

To explain the rationale behind the decision, look at the merit itself.

Benefit: You can open a gate to the Hedge from anywhere in the world, and step through into your Hollow, instead of having to use an established Hollow Door.

However...

Limitations/Costs:

• Opening a Ritual Doorway costs 2 Glamour, not 1. It's twice as expensive as a regular Hedge gate.
• You can only have one per Hollow.
• ANY Changeling OR True Fae who knows your ritual can bypass every Ward you have and walk right in.
• Rituals require at least one unusual ingredient which is tough or inconvenient to find.
• Said ingredient is used up during the ritual, so to use it again, you have to find it again (or, in the case of things like drops of special oils, you will eventually run out of drops in the vial).
• Rituals, bare minimum, take 5-10 minutes to perform.
• You can't perform them while running/fleeing.
• You can't perform them while fighting.
• You have to have perfect concentration, and if anything interrupts you, you have to do it all again, and that extra Glamour you spent? Wasted. Gone.
• If you ever want to change the ritual used on your Hollow, you basically have to buy the merit all over again, and roll to make sure you don't screw it up.

So. No more prerequisite. ;)

Staff WILL require you and anyone who is sharing dots on your Hollow to send up a +request with the name of a +note you write on yourself, to be wizlocked, as a record of the ritual. If it is not sufficiently unusual, staff will gently suggest alternatives.

Seeming

Must be Fae-touched to take this merit.

Slave

Slaves use the same stats as Retainer.

Striking Mien

This merit is a complement and a twin to Striking Looks. Instead of your mask and mien being striking, there's just something about your mien alone that draws notice. Similar to the above, you gain either a +1 or a +2 to applicable Social rolls, and must include 'SM1' or 'SM2' in your &short-desc to let others know.

NOTE: having Striking Looks means that something about BOTH your Mask and your Mien is striking. Striking MIEN is specifically, solely, applicable to your Mien. You are unremarkable in the Mask, but something about your Mien is particularly memorable or eye-catching.

If you have both Striking Looks AND Striking Mien, you take the SL bonus for your Mask and the SM bonus for your Mien, since you could have them at different values.

Sublime

To make it a smidge easier to actually, you know, RP with people, but still keep it a costly proposition, staff is house ruling Sublime per the following:

While it still affects humans per the book, Changelings of Wyrd 7+ are no longer required to roll Resolve + Composure to attack/lie/intimidate. They take a penalty on such rolls instead, -2 for Wyrd 7 characters, -1 for Wyrd 8 characters.

A Sublime character with a strengthened Mask has the option to pour extra Glamour into his Mask to temporarily deaden the more transcendental effects of his inhumanity, at a rate of 1 Glamour per 5 minutes.

For example: Marvelous Marvin the Murdering Miner is Wyrd 9 with Sublime. He's a lonely dude at a bus stop, and he's really getting tired of all the awe and silence around him. He just wants to have a conversation with a mortal, for once. Maybe even an argument.

He types: +mask/strengthen

(This spends 1 of his Glamour and makes it so all players only see his Mask desc.)

He then types: +spend glamour for Totally not Sublime Nope Nope

(This gives him 5 minutes of appearing like a .. well, like a Wyrd 9 person who is undoubtedly unnatural and odd, through his Mask, but mortals can attack and lie and intimidate him now!)

Marvin is free to continue spending Glamour every 5 IC minutes to maintain the effect. He may not stop the effect early.

Token

Each individual Token will be listed separately on your +sheet and you must have a staff-approved +note on your character with its details. See the Tokens page for more details.

Token Maker •••

Prerequisite: Wyrd 3, Crafts 3

This merit allows your character to craft tokens. Hedgespun items and trifles, while technically tokens, do not require this merit. Creating them is different enough that it doesn't apply.

See the Token-Making wiki page for how we use this merit here!

Tokenmaster

The books are a hodge podge (of course, thank you White Wolf) of timings for the creation of tokens. One says a week, one says more likely a month, one says very probably multiple months.

For sanity's sake, the tokens created with this merit are going to be limited to 1-dot strength.

The +tokenmaster command will automatically enforce waits based on 10 - Wyrd for your character, and will not allow you to use the command at all unless you are both Wyrd 7 and have the Tokenmaster merit. It will roll 1 die for you, and it will only create a +request for you if that die is 8 or higher.

These tokens are created by staff. You have no say in what they are. This stance is predicated on making it fair for those with Token Maker, as realistically speaking, TokenMASTERS have a three-in-ten chance of rolling a success every 3 days or less, and Token Makers need, bare minimum, 25 successes to create a deliberately designed token, which can take RL weeks if they are unlucky and don't have certain merits.

Trifle

Trifles may be purchased via standard equipment requests, and are stored in your +inv list. Normal, unensorcelled/unenchanted human beings of any stripe must present a PRP log to staff to prove how their character has gained access to the item. If they are gaining access because a friend is giving it to them, please +myjob/cc your friend to your equip job and have them confirm that they are giving it away.

See Tokens#Trifles for more details. A full list of available trifles is located on the Arcade page, as they may be purchased via tix as well.

If you would like to suggest a new type of trifle, please send up a +req/fae to staff with your idea and a complete description of the object/what it does. If it matches theme and staff agrees, it will be added to the +equip/list type/trifle offerings.

Custom Trifles

Wyrdskill

This has been dropped to 3 dots. Additionally, the specialties are considered Interdisciplinary, per the Interdisciplinary Specialty merit. They must still be due to a PHYSICAL CHANGE your evolution in the Wyrd has caused in you. Staff must approve this.

Rationale: Per the book it is 5 dots (30xp) and at max(at Wyrd 10) gives you 15xp's worth of specialties in a specific skill, along with a hefty penalty of making all other skills/specialties in that category (Social/Mental/Physical) cost New Dots x 4 instead of 3. Given that very few people are actually going to hit Wyrd 10, you would effectively be spending 30xp to get perhaps 3xp or 6xp's worth of benefit out of it, then go on to completely negate that benefit, because after you had it, you would be draining more and more xp every time you tried to purchase any other skills in that category. Penalties are supposed to be penalties, but that was especially harsh for how little benefit you gained, overall.

Psychic Merits

These merits are a blend of Second Sight (SS) and GMC (GMC). Many psychic abilities formerly available were removed in GMC. Fate's Harvest staff thinks they are still shiny, so there will be a few House Rules to make things mesh. If a merit was created for Fate's Harvest by staff, it is marked with (HR) for House Rule.

All "Options" are available in SS merits. All "Drawbacks" are required in GMC merits.

If you have any of these merits, you are considered a Psychic.

If you have any of these merits, but also follow a Tradition (Hedge Witch, Shaman, Apostle, etc.) you are considered a Thaumaturge.

These merits can only be purchased through the automated +XPS system if your +sheet calls you a Psychic. Once you are a Thaumaturge, you will need to +xps/job them to staff.

Animal Empathy

This will not work on Hedge animals of any kind.

Animal Rapport

Dot value depends on Size of animal. See book.

This will not work on Hedge animals of any kind.

Aura Reading

Since the GMC writeup doesn't specifically say so, staff clarifies that the following SS functionality is retained: dematerialized ghosts/spirits/astral projectors show up as faint wispy blobs with this power, enough to show that something is there without showing what, necessarily, it is.

Staff is not going to insist upon a chart of aura colors, but if you prefer to have one, the following chart is based on http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Aura. Additions have been made.

As a general rule, the more strongly someone feels something, the more brightly that color appears.

Biokinesis

The GMC functionality has been retained (1 Willpower + 1 minute of concentration = shift Physical attribute dots around; only shift as many dots as you have dots in Biokinesis, and no attribute can go above 5 dots).

Of what was possible in SS, the following has been retained: Passive Bonus: +1 dice bonus per Biokinesis merit dot to rolls for entering a trance/beginning meditation

Roll extended Intelligence + Composure to acquire one temporary merit-equivalent, spending successes to 'buy' them.

The psychic must meet all prerequisites for the merit she attempts to give herself.

The psychic must have Biokinesis dots equal to success-cost + 1. (e.g. a 1-success merit requires Biokinesis ••)

Effects last 1 scene unless specified otherwise.

If one of the extended rolls is an Exceptional Success, the psychic may choose a second effect to spend successes on.

Each roll's duration represents minutes equal to the desired trait's success cost. Only one (or two with Exceptional) effect may be active at a time.

Biokinesis Merit List:

• Eidetic Memory (WoD p.108) - 2 successes
• Fast Reflexes (WoD p.110) - 1 or 2 successes
• Fleet of Foot (WoD p.112) - 1-3 successes
• Fresh Start (WoD p.112) - 1 success
• Improved Awareness (SS p.46) - 1-3 successes
• Improved Immune System (SS pp.46-7) - 4 successes - Duration varies depending on illness/drug severity. See book.
• Iron Stamina (WoD p.113) - 1-3 successes
• Iron Stomach (WoD p.113) - 2 successes
• Natural Immunity (WoD p.113) - 1 success - Lasts 1 day per Biokinesis dot or until Biokinesis is used again, whichever comes first.
• Pain Resistance (SS p.47) - 3 successes
• Quick Healer (WoD p.113) - 4 successes - Lasts 1 day per Biokinesis dot or until Biokinesis is used again, whichever comes first.
• Strong Back (WoD p.113) - 1 success
• Strong Lungs (WoD p.113) - 3 successes
• Toxin Resistance (WoD p.113) - 2 successes - Lasts 1 day per Biokinesis dot or until Biokinesis is used again, whichever comes first.

Channeling

When purchasing this merit, please type the three different options as:

+xps merit/channeling (cayce)

+xps merit/channeling (past-life)

+xps merit/channeling (spirit)

Clairvoyance •

This merit allows a psychic to add an alternate method of scrying to her repertoire. It may be purchased multiple times. Specify a new scrying method (crystal ball gazing, etc.) with each purchase.

Death Sight

Brought down to 3 dots instead of 4, to mesh with scaling of GMC Medium ability. Medium is not used in FH due to staff's preference for certain SS psychic merits which it would preclude.

Plant Empathy

This ability will work on non-sapient/non-sentient Hedge plants. Human slaves--ahem, ensorcelled--may thereby help tend a changeling's garden.

Psychic Empathy

Prerequisites are Aura Reading & Telepathy

Psychic Illusions

Prerequisites are Mind Control & Telepathy

Psychic Invisibility

Prerequisites are Mind Control & Telepathy

Psychokinesis

To keep psychokinesis in line with other psychic powers and compensate for higher GMC Defense ratings, rather than subtracting Resolve from attacks, use: half Defense (round down) for direct physical attacks (lashing out with fire), Stamina for attacks on the body (dropping someone's body temp).

Psychokinetic Immunity

Prerequisite: Psychokinesis ••• - Your character is either highly resistant to or completely immune to manifestations of his psychokinetic element. This merit is based loosely on Second Sight's Pyrokinetic Immunity merit.

•• - Roll Stamina + Resolve. If successful, you have the equivalent of armor against your element equal to your successes. Yes, if you want to elemental Russian roulette, you can roll again after each time you burn/zap/freeze yourself. Liquid nitrogen, not suggested. If a Doubting Thomas is present, this merit does not work at all.

•••• - You have complete immunity to your chosen element. You could stand on a volcano's edge or meditate on the South Pole stark naked if you really wanted to. However... If a Doubting Thomas is present, a successful Stamina + Resolve roll is required to maintain complete protection. If the roll fails, the merit instead provides 1 point of armor that protects only against that element's damage.

• NOTE: You may have this twice. Once for each of your psychokinetic manifestations.

Psychokinetic Shaping

Prerequisite: Psychokinesis ••• - Your character is more skilled than most at manipulating how an existing manifestation of his element behaves. The electricity in a fallen power line might arc out to strike a foe, a line of fire might streak across the earth to form a flaming wall, or a cup of water might be drawn up into a sculpted, tiny horse to 'spill' its way along a table's edge.

This merit acts in concert with standard Psychokinesis rolls.

Whenever your psychic chooses to spend successes on shaping his chosen element, gain a +3 bonus to your Intelligence + Crafts roll.

Telepathic Communication

Thought Projection is now unnecessary, as it is covered by Telepathy. Prerequisite is Telepathy •••••. In addition, activating the power does not require the expenditure of Willpower if the Telepathy merit has already been successfully activated for the scene. Roll Presence + Empathy, succeed, and you can trade thoughts for the scene at will, as long as the target is within sight.

Telepathic Rapport

As Thought Projection no longer exists and Mind Reading IS Telepathy, a rapport may now be made after successfully communicating a message to the target with Telepathy ••••• and spending the requisite Willpower dot. Note: dot, not point. New dots may be purchased for 8xp, as usual.

Telepathy

Staff is retaining some SS functionality. With ••• you cannot read Supernaturals' thoughts. With ••••• you may, subtracting their Resolve + Supernatural Advantage (if it's a player on FH, that'll be Wyrd!) from your regular Wits + Empathy roll.

Thaumaturgical Merits

Countermagic

Coutermagic has been updated as follows:

The ritual can be performed as indicated in the book (with a 1 minute length, and a scene-long duration), or as an extended version as follows:

Dice Pool: Resolve + Occult

Ritual Length: Ten minutes

Duration: One day

In addition to this, the following changes have been made:

• The 2-dot version's power applies to all supernatural powers used against the Thaumaturge, with an exception for Changeling (and Wyrd-fueled) powers. If the power is from the Wyrd, the Thaumaturge automatically rolls Wits + Occult (no willpower, no bonuses), and if this roll beats the activation roll of the power, they will detect the influx of foreign magic. It provides no indication of who used the power, what the power is, etc. Merely that it has been done.
• The 4-dot version's power (-2 to cast against the Thaumaturge) applies to all non-Wyrd powers.
• Both 2-dot and 4-dot powers apply, if using both versions of the power. This ritual only catches the first power used against the Thaumaturge (and thus, if you fail to detect a Wyrd-based power, it is not used up).

Dream Travel

The merit itself is the same, but when purchasing via +xps, to avoid conflicts with the Psychic Dream Travel merit, this merit is called 'shamanic dream travel' instead.

Familiar

Please see the Ephemerals page for details on building your familiar and creating the required +note.

Second Sight

Apostles of the Dark One Tradition does not have access to this merit. Staff believes this tradition should have See Spirits, instead of Second Sight (which allows seeing ghosts).

See Auras

Use tables listed under Psychic 'Aura Reading' above.

See Spirits

Apostles of the Dark One Tradition has access to this merit. Staff believes this tradition should have See Spirits, instead of Second Sight (which allows seeing ghosts).

The Last Spell

This is found in errata at http://www.conradhubbard.com/games/secondsightcut.html

Mild edits have been made to suit the text for this game's use. The HRed text is as follows:

The Last Spell (•) - Prerequisite: Psychic/Thaumaturge template or supernatural merits. Sorry Changelings. You don't have the luxury of forgetting what you are forever. If you're Wyrd 1 and desperately want this merit, we can talk.

Traditions: All

Effects: For supernaturally endowed beings the second sight is a mixed blessing, as the horrors of the World of Darkness are laid bare to them in a manner normal people manage to ignore. For some, insight into the dark secrets of the world is simply too much to bear. Terrified by the truth, or tired of facing it every day, they turn their backs on the revelation that there is more to reality than the unenlightened can explain, and seek to return their previous state of ignorance.

There are no traditions of magicians who actively teach this rite – it is for this reason that the Merit has intentionally not been listed as available to the various Thaumaturge paths. Nonetheless, there are always individuals whose eyes are opened to the supernatural and whose reaction is terror, or at least enormous discomfort. For some, merely abandoning the lifestyle is sufficient. Taoist alchemists might bury themselves in the gross materialism of mercantile drudgery, shamans may crush their sacred visions beneath drunken stupors and practitioners of Vodoun could forsake their spiritual lifestyle in favor of a prosaic cult of modern fundamentalism. For others, willful pretense is not enough – magic got them into this and it must remove them as well. They seek formal renouncement of magic like Shakespeare’s Prospero breaking his staff. Such unfortunates may record their rituals of escape in discarded journals or those following in their footsteps may be forced to collate this wisdom from scattered records.

To enact this ritual the caster must roll his Resolve + Composure and overcome his own Intelligence + Wits in a contested action. Each dot of Occult he possesses subtracts one die from his roll.

Thaumaturges: If he succeeds in his action, the caster loses all access to magical powers, the Thaumaturge template and supernatural merits. The loss is indefinite – unless the caster somehow regains his power it is gone forever.

Psychics: If your abilities are controlled, while you do not lose access to the Psychic template, you may no longer use them. Any use of a psychic power will constitute reversal of this merit. If your abilities are uncontrolled, you must continue to roll as usual under stressful situations. Enough accidental fire-setting will force you to admit the truth, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise.

Changelings: Same as the above, but unfortunately, the template is forever. You can never really go back to being mortal. If, at any time, you consciously harvest Glamour, use a Contract, or start to believe that the strange things you see are more than the effects of an addled mind in desperate need of therapy, this merit's effects WILL be reversed.

Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure vs. Intelligence + Wits (contested) Ritual Length: Long Duration: Indefinite Cost: 1 Willpower

Dramatic Failure: The thaumaturge loses control of his magical powers for at least one day’s time, but does not manage to excise them. The Storyteller should probably have the character exhibit various magical abilities the caster normally possesses in a manner that demonstrates such powers still exist but have passed temporarily out of the control of their user. While the thaumaturge can try again, he cannot do so until his control of magic returns.

Failure: The ritual fails to produce any effect.

Success: The character loses access to all magical traits indefinitely.

Exceptional Success: The thaumaturge removes her access to all magical traits and makes great strides towards truly returning to mundane life. The Storyteller should consider allowing the character to exchange some of her magical traits for Experience to be immediately spent upon suitable mundane traits.

Ritual Details: The caster symbolically destroys his connection to magic in a highly personal demonstration. Some thaumaturges may perform such simple gestures as breaking a sign of power, while others may elaborately bind their magic to a physical emblem and consign it to fire, thereby returning the magical energy to the rest of the world.

Drawback: Forgetting your magical lore doesn’t protect you from the supernatural or from past brushes with the extraordinary. Life as a mundane mortal may turn out peacefully or it may be disrupted by magical beings which still recognize the magician even if she does not recognize them.

Universal Merits

Allies and Contacts

For ease of code purposes, rather than having each dot be a separate set of Contacts, we are going to use multiple instances of the merit itself, similar to how Allies work. The dot value of your particular Contacts is still used to contest any opposing Allies, should someone attempt to, say, use their town hall allies to block your town hall contacts from getting a building permit.

E.g. You could have a Contacts (Plumbers) 3 and a Contacts (Technicians) 1.

Contacts may be taken for Hunters, Lost, Mages, Vampires and Werewolves if your character is a local who has been around enough to have actually established some sort of connection with these groups. In most cases, the PC will be somehow bound to secrecy; should you do something that puts your supernatural contacts at risk, please let staff know so that the NPCs can respond accordingly and story can happen. Further, chances are that your PC doesn't actually know any of the individuals directly, but rather works through a proxy; you know a guy who knows a guy or have a number you can text to get reliable intel. Remember, Contacts can provide information. They do not provide goods and services.

Supernatural Allies and Retainers will not be permitted. Mentors will be considered, per the HR noted below.

(Note: The Lord Sages of the Unknown Reaches may purchase Supernatural Allies as part of their Entitlement Benefit. This is an exception to the House Rule above).

Blocking Allies with Contacts

It's fundamentally the same. We haven't changed the mechanics beyond the fact that we are effectively allowing someone to have more Contacts in a given field, which can mean it is a little tougher to block them from finding something out with your Allies dots.

If Joe has Allies (City Government) and Sarah wants to use her Contacts to find out some dirt, Joe can try to ask his Allies to block Sarah's Contacts from doing so. Joe's Allies merit is 3 dots. Sarah has 2 dots in Contacts (Journalists) and 1 dot in Contacts (Local Police), and thanks to a PRP recently, she got herself 1 dot in Contacts (City Hall), too.

Joe's 3 is less than Sarah's 2+1+1, so assuming Sarah doesn't horribly offend her Contacts with a poor roll, Sarah successfully finds a Contact who can manage to get the info she needs.

To be very clear, multiple dots in Contacts are not at all necessary unless your character wants to be able to more effectively combat someone else's Allies trying to block their access to information. There is no "you only have 1 dot so you only get this information." If you have Contacts, you have Contacts.

Combat Archery

As part of our swap toward "projectile weapons all use Firearms" we have changed the prerequisite of the Combat Archery merit to Firearms 2 instead of Athletics 2.

Cultists

This merit is based off of the Cultists merit from Demon: the Descent.

Cultists ••, •••, ••••
Prerequisite: Mystery Cult Initiation 4

Effect: You lead a cult, and your followers are devoted. The cult believes in you and will do your bidding, but depth of the culstists' loyalty is determined by this merit's rank.

At two dots, your cultists are capable of providing support equal to Resources 3, Allies 3, or Staff 3 once per month. They will not undertake tasks that would cause a relatively normal person to experience a breaking point (storyteller's discretion). They will sell out the cult leader to a higher authority, either mundane (the FBI) or supernatural (anyone got some Vainglory on hand...?).

At three dots, the cult is willing to undertake tasks that are illegal or potentially a risk of a breaking point, but are not willing to harm, kidnap or kill other people. In addition to the benefits of a two-dot cult, the cult can provide assistance to the cult leader in the form of moving objects, vandalism, driving getaway vehicles, or medical supplies and expertise (nothing says a doctor can't be a cultist). Once per month, the cult leader can call on the cult for knowledge and physical assistance, gaining a +3 to any roll that the cult could conceivably assist with. The cult will not inform on the cult leader if questioned by most mundane authorities, but constant illegal activity with no plan for avoiding capture eventually breaks a cultist, which leads back to the leader (and likely causes some serious legal trouble).

At four dots, the cultists are not willing to commit suicide on the leader's behalf, but murder, assault or kidnapping are fine, in addition to the benefits of the previous levels of this Merit. The cult leader can send his cultists to do all sorts of unsavory things and the cult will not break in the face of questioning from any mundane source.

Defender

This merit is allowed. Hurt Locker, p.42.

Fast-Talking

Since we aren't using Conditions or Doors, the 4 and 5 dot need to be House Ruled.

The full original writeup is located on GMC p.167.

Summary of the merit:

Prerequisites: Manipulation •••, Subterfuge ••

Always be Closing (•) - The target of your Social interactions has a -1 to Resolve or Composure when resisting/contesting your roll.

Jargon (••) - Apply a relevant Specialty to any Social roll you make, even if the Specialty isn't tied to the skill you are using.

Devil's Advocacy (•••) - Reroll one failed Subterfuge roll per scene.

Salting (••••) - HR - Your character can position herself so a mark pursues a non-issue or something unimportant to her. Once per confrontation, when your character uses Persuasion, Subterfuge or Empathy to distract a target from pursuing something you'd rather she didn't ask, the target has a -2 dice penalty to resist/contest your roll.

The Nigerian Scam (•••••) - HR - Your character can take advantage of her mark's greed and zeal. When the mark does particularly well, it's because your character was there to set him up and to subsequently tear him down. If the target regains Willpower from his Vice while your character is present, you may immediately roll Manipulation + Subterfuge to gain 3 automatic successes on a single Social roll made against the mark during the next ten minutes.

House ruled text is in italics, replacing references to Doors.

Good Time Management

We are using the GMC version of this merit (rather than the version in Reliquary or Asylum), which does NOT specify that it must be used on mundane rolls only, and is half time, rather than quarter time. As such, this merit halves the time between rolls for all extended actions.

Ghost Ally

Please see Ephemerals for more information.

Hobbyist Clique

Send in a group +request to staff with all prospective members to briefly explain the clique. Staff will set the merit on all members.

Inconspicuous

This custom merit is used to represent the amount of effort your character puts into concealing a particular skill/talent/ability/characteristic, and must be represented through RP. As with Fame, you must select a particular character trait to which this merit applies. For example, Fame (Obscenely Wealthy) vs. Inconspicuous (Obscenely Wealthy), or (Swordsman) or (Contract Master) or (Goblin Friend) or...

Any rolls to find or identify your character as (your trait) suffer a -1 penalty per dot in this merit.

See the Inconspicuous page for full details.

See the XP Tiers page for more details of how this merit is used on Fate's Harvest. This merit is mutually exclusive with Fame of the same type. i.e. if you are Inconspicuous (Ninja), you cannot also have Fame (Ninja)

Indomitable

While GMC has a perfectly respectable variation of this merit, staff is not using it.

The rationale behind this decision is, more or less, that in staff's opinion, if you are strong-willed enough to resist one type of coercion, you are strong-willed enough to resist another. The GMC write-up is, specifically, for supernatural powers only, while the Night Stalkers write-up includes mundane factors.

It is staff's intention that Indomitable be the "catch-all" resistance merit, while Iron Will gives a specific additional bonus to mundane efforts, Psychic Resistance gives a specific additional bonus to Psychic efforts, and Deep Kenning provides a bonus to situations involving fae/Fae/Glamour/the Wyrd.

The HRed version of Indomitable is as follows:

Indomitable • to •••••

Prerequisites: Resolve •••, Composure •••

Effect: Whether due to resolve, strength of will, or sheer bloody-mindedness, some people just won't bend. The character with this merit is altogether less prone to suggestion of any sort, be it mundane or supernatural, and gains a reflexive bonus to resist outside forces imposing their will upon her. Be it by Intimidation, Persuasion, or supernatural abilities, the character may add a modifier equal to the dots in this merit on all Composure or Resolve rolls to resist or contest attempts to bend her will to someone else's wishes.

Influence

This custom merit is used to represent a character's influence and responsibilities within a family, court or freehold. Influence has its own page with a full write-up.

Inspiring

We are using the GMC writeup, with the following minor tweak. More or less, the effects of the Condition without the actual Condition, since we aren't using them.

Inspiring ••• (GMC p.167)

Prerequisite: Presence •••

Effect: Your character's passion inspires those around her to greatness. With a few words, she can redouble a group's confidence or move them to action. Make a Presence + Expression roll. A small clique of listeners levies a 1 penalty, a small crowd a 2, and a large crowd a 3.

Listeners receive the following benefit: their first roll to act on this inspiration is counted as an exceptional success at three successes instead of five, AND they regain a point of Willpower.

The character may not use this Merit on herself.

K-9

This style will not work with HBCs. It requires a mortal dog.

Reasoning behind the decision: a HBC has stats higher than any mortal dog's, it is a sapient person who happens to be an animal, and, most importantly, it has Contracts. Dogs don't have all of that.

Kin

This merit does exist. This is less a House Rule than a reminder that it is useless to anybody who doesn't intend to pursue interactions with werewolf NPCs. There are no player werewolves.

Language/Multilingual

Remember, any time you want to buy the Language merit for any of the languages you have under Multilingual, you get an automatic replacement. Send in a +request and staff will fix your +sheet for you.

Mentor

Players have the option of taking staff-run NPCs as Mentors. These Mentors may include family members, fellow courtiers, marketeers or even non-playable supernatural characters. Each request for a staff-run NPC mentor will be considered on a case-by-base basis, as the purpose of this option is to encourage deeper ties to the world and its stories, and requires a good bit of effort on staff's part to maintain. Such Mentors will also have a few additional restrictions and requirements:

• Players should never pose staff-run NPC Mentors on-screen. We run these characters, and they are not yours to control, even if you get the benefit of their expertise and tutelage.
• Players are expected to notify staff using +req/npc every time they make use of a Mentor merit tied to a staff-run NPC so that we're aware of how they're being utilized and may use this for story.

To request a staff-run NPC Mentor use +req/npc <Your Name>'s Mentor=Proposal. You do not need to buy a certain level of Mentor for this option to be available. Staff does not guarantee approval of all requests.

Mentors not tied to staff-run NPCs can take whatever shape suits your PC and are not restricted as above. This may include family members not on the roster as NPCs, but may not include supernaturals or hunters or any variety, except for Lost who can mentor fellow Lost.

Mounted Combat

Clarification: this fighting style WILL work with Fae Mounts, but will NOT work with HBCs.

See the K-9 note for another style which won't work with HBCs.

Rationale: the style is written on the assumption of a standard horse, who would act on your Initiative. HBCs are their own separate people and have their own separate Skills and stats. Fae Mounts are generally the same as horses; they're an extension of you and what you want, since you're riding/guiding/controlling them.

Mystery Cult Initiation

If you are joining an existing cult, please send in a +request and CC the cult leader. Staff will not add you to a cult without a comment on your +job from the cult leader consenting that you qualify as an Initiate.

If you are beginning a new cult, your +request must include the following information:

• Purpose - Why does your cult exist?
• Relic - An item which grounds members' faith.
• Doctrine - The rules and traditions which define your cult.

See the book for details and examples of the benefits each level of the cult's merit will provide.

Please include suggestions for your cult along those lines. Staff will help you refine them once they are written, but staff will not write them for you.

Professional Training

This merit is ridiculous, and the person who wrote it was a twink. ;)

That said, anyone of any template may purchase it. BUT YOUR PROFESSION MUST BE MUNDANE. This is not for fairy stuff, guys. Stop.

You can see a cheat sheet of the benefits in game by typing: +pt

• You may only purchase this merit ONCE.
• You may NOT gain a second Profession via a pledge, though you are welcome to add dots to your existing PT merit, or gain a brand new instance of the merit if you don't already have one.

Please note that the dice modifiers offered by professional training (9-again, rote) do not apply to supernatural powers. It is specifically a merit for mundane training in mundane skills.

When purchasing this merit, please clearly set your asset skills, contacts, etc., in a Professional Training +note on your character so staff can lock it for you and set the appropriate stats on your +sheet.

For example, let's say Melville the Magnificent Magician has bought Professional Training (Stage Magician) 5.

His +note might look something like the following:

+note me/professional training=

Professional Training (Stage Magician) 5

He has learned how to be good at twisting himself into improbable shapes, sleight of hand and expressing exactly what he wants people to take out of a performance.

Asset skills: Athletics, Larceny, Expression

Contacts: Stage Magicians, Theatre Owners

Specialties: Larceny.Stage Magic, Athletics.Contortion

Extra Dot: Larceny 5 > 6

The following professions and asset skills are suggested as examples of what players may acquire via this merit.
If your desired Profession is NOT on the table below/in 'stat/list profession' IG, please include a brief blurb about what, exactly, is included in your desired Profession in your +note.

Saying you have a Profession of "The StarKiller" is all well and good, but we soooorrrt of have to know what on earth (or beyond) that actually means. :P

Psychic Resistance

Since the book was written before Changelings became A Thing, assume that they are on the list with other supernatural beasties this won't work for.

Retainer

The Retainer merit works per the GMC rules update (p. 170). When taking this merit, choose a "field" or area of expertise for your retainer. When dice checks are needed, roll a number of dice equal to double the retainer's dot rating if it is in their field. For all other rolls, roll a number of dice equal to the dot rating. Examples of valid fields or area of expertise include: lawyer, librarian, body guard. If there is ever a question if an action is or is not in the retainer's field, the ST can decide.

Retainers (bought with this merit) are always mortal, and do not have any supernatural powers. They may be Enchanted, and this does not change the cost of the merit. (We have opted to not allow minor supernatural templates on Retainers so as to keep those powers unique to our mortal+ PCs.)

See 'news children' in game for details, but people represented by Retainer merits must be age 18+.

When buying a retainer, it should be formatted as: Retainer (Name - Field). The should just be a first name or identifier, which matches the +note. The field should be one word, best you can make it. Example: Retainer (Joe - Lawyer), Retainer (Sara - Bodyguard)

When buying a retainer, please include the following in a +note:

• Name:
• If they are enchanted.
• Field/Area of Expertise:
• Description (Personality, physical features, etc):
• Backstory to explain why this retainer is loyal to your character:

Sleight of Hand

The GMC writers had a brainfart here, as far as staff is concerned. As this merit is not supernatural in nature, there is no reason why other players should be mystically incapable of rolling perception to spot it.

Staff is house ruling the merit to read as follows:

Sleight of Hand (••)
Prerequisite: Larceny •••
Effect: Your character can pick locks and pockets without even thinking about it. She can take one Larceny-based instant action reflexively in a given turn. Additionally, unless someone is trying specifically to catch her in the act, all Wits + Composure rolls to notice her sleight of hand suffer a -2 penalty.

Staff

Seeing as the merit on GMC p.170 is very general, here are some notes about staff's stance on Staff.

• If you are a Changeling, or otherwise associated with the Changeling sphere, your Staff members may be Hobs.
• Yes, you may purchase this merit more than once if you want more than five types of minions.

Since your minion varieties are not going to show up on your +sheet, please write a +note listing them and the skills involved. Staff will lock it for you.

Striking Looks

If you purchase this merit, please include 'SL1' or 'SL2' in your &short-desc. Mechanically you are more noticeable and memorable.

Striking Voice

This merit is a complement and a twin to Striking Looks. Rather than your appearance, your voice is particularly memorable and easy to recognize. Similar to the above, you gain either a +1 or a +2 to applicable Social rolls, and must include 'SV1' or 'SV2' in your &short-desc to let others know.

Sympathetic

This merit uses both Conditions and Doors, neither of which we use.

Revised writeup:

Sympathetic (••)

Effect: Your character is very good at letting others get close. This gives him an edge in getting what he wants. At the beginning of a Social maneuvering attempt, you may choose to oblige a target's request/roll without resisting (Leveraged) or take a -2 on any rolls which would adversely affect the target, who gets a +2 to any Social rolls against you, because you loooooove them (Swooning) to gain a +2 dice bonus on any single roll made to convince them to do something what you want. Bonus lasts one scene.

Unseen Sense

As we are using the GMC merit (GMC p.175), but aren't officially using Conditions, staff is HRing the text to read as follows. Changes are in italics.

Unseen Sense (••)
Effect: Your character has a “sixth sense” for a type of supernatural creature, chosen when you buy the Merit. For example, you may choose Unseen Sense: Vampires, or Unseen Sense: Fairies. The sense manifests differently for everyone. A character's hair stands on end, she becomes physically ill, or perhaps she has a cold chill. Regardless, she knows that something isn’t right when she is in the immediate proximity of the appropriate supernatural being.

Once per month, you may pinpoint exactly where this feeling is coming from if you RP out your character's fear and fascination causing her to do something that hinders her/her group of friends or complicates things (she goes off alone to investigate a strange noise, stays up all night researching, runs away instead of holding her ground, etc.)