In-Character (IC) Info:
Onyx Path Publishing
Chronicles of Darkness
Chronicles of Darkness
Venue: Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Ed
Post by: Jerad Sayler
New General Merits
These Merits are available to any character who meets the prerequisites. They are written with human characters in mind, but most should work fine in the other Chronicles of Darkness game lines. They may require some consideration for your particular chronicle’s direction, and some traits might not convert perfectly. For example, some Merits that reference Integrity might convert reasonably to use the Humanity trait from Vampire: The Requiem, but others might not since they don’t work the same way. You may have to adapt or rethink some of the details to fit the game you’re playing. This shouldn’t necessarily be grounds for disallowing such a Merit, but do what is best for your chronicle on a case-for-case basis.
Social: Air of Menace (••)
Prerequisites: Intimidation ••
Effect: Your character has survived dozens of fights, and each one has taken its toll. He carries scars, features that have healed crookedly, and an attitude that unsettles others. The character gains +2 dice to rolls that use fear and menace to force compliance, such as with Intimidation rolls. Opponents less menacing than the character also think twice before provoking him. Opponents with Intimidation dots fewer than the character’s must spend a point of Willpower to initiate combat against him.
Drawback: Though many people try to overcome their prejudices, appearance still drives many human opinions. In social maneuvers, the character’s first impression is downgraded one step for people who do not know him, and even for those who do, he must overcome an additional Door.
Physical: Body as Weapon (••)
Prerequisites: Stamina •••, Brawl ••
Drawback: Though many people try to overcome their prejudices, appearance still drives many human opinions. In social maneuvers, the character’s first impression is downgraded one step for people who do not know him, and even for those who do, he must overcome an additional Door.
Physical: Body as Weapon (••)
Prerequisites: Stamina •••, Brawl ••
Effect: Your character has honed her body to be a hardened weapon. She has trained long, punishing hours to inure herself to the pain of the cracked knuckles, broken hands, and crushed toes that come with hitting others with her body. She can hit harder and more often without flinching. Your character’s unarmed strikes still cause bashing damage normally, but they add one point of bashing damage on a successful hit.
Social: Cohesive Unit (• to •••)
Prerequisites: Presence •••+
Effect: Your character is a natural leader who brings out the best from those he works with. At one dot, team members add +2 dice to teamwork actions dedicated to helping the team (see Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook, p. 72).
At two dots the team gains access to a pool of dice equal to the character’s Presence each scene, which they can draw upon for actions where they work towards their established purpose.
At three dots, all team members can reroll a failed result once per scene.
In each case, the benefits last until depleted, or until the team reaches or deviates from its agreed goal or disbands. The character with this Merit can’t access any of the benefits he encourages in others.
Drawback: The character’s natural aura of command can cause confusion in groups where the character is not the recognized leader. If a group benefiting from the character’s Cohesive Unit Merit receives orders from someone they are expected to follow, and those orders don’t conform with the
actions the group is already taking, they suffer a –1 penalty for a number of turns equal to the character’s Presence while they work through the conflicting tasks.
Drawback: The character’s natural aura of command can cause confusion in groups where the character is not the recognized leader. If a group benefiting from the character’s Cohesive Unit Merit receives orders from someone they are expected to follow, and those orders don’t conform with the
actions the group is already taking, they suffer a –1 penalty for a number of turns equal to the character’s Presence while they work through the conflicting tasks.
Mental: Defender (• to •••)Prerequisites: None
Effect: Your character is filled with a burning fury when her friends or family are threatened. For each dot of this Merit, the character gains a Willpower point to spend on actions related to defending or protecting these loved ones. This also applies to actions taken preemptively to prevent clear threats to her charges, and to acts of retribution against an offender if her loved ones are hurt. These bonus Willpower points do not count towards the character’s normal Willpower dots, and replenish each chapter.
Drawback: The danger of loving so deeply is the pain of loss that comes from failing. If someone the character loves is killed or otherwise permanently taken from her, she cannot regain Willpower unless she strives towards inflicting retribution on the guilty party. If she is prevented in doing so, she grieves and loses a point of Willpower per day until she reaches zero. At this point, she may begin the healing process and recover Willpower as normal again. Your character loses this Merit at that point.
Social: Empath (••)
Prerequisites: Empathy ••
Social: Empath (••)
Prerequisites: Empathy ••
Effect: Your character has seen pain, and can identify it instantly. With a single Wits + Empathy roll, you can identify any mental Conditions from which a character suffers, and his Integrity. A character trying to hide this can contest with Manipulation + Subterfuge, but may roll no more dice than his Integrity or other relevant trait. If he does not have Integrity, you get an idea of his general, abstract state and internal conflicts. For example, a vampire has Humanity instead of Integrity. Your character might know that the vampire struggles with a terrible addiction, and feels inhuman, but wishes to maintain attachment to what made him feel like a person. Any character so discerned is always down one Door in any social maneuvering with your character.
After a successful roll, with meaningful, relevant interaction, your character can give the 8-again quality to a subject’s breaking point rolls for the chapter. If a character takes your character as a Support Network (see below), that character may never roll fewer dice for a breaking point than your character has Empathy dots.
Mental: Object Fetishism (• to •••••)Effect: Your character places immense trust and confidence in an object, often assuming it has mystical or otherworldly significance. He believes he’s tied inexorably to the object. Choose a Skill Specialty when taking this Merit; that Specialty must be tied to your character’s relationship to the object.
Each chapter, your character gains an additional number of Willpower points equal to the Merit’s dots. If your character uses Willpower on a roll using that Specialty, any failure is considered a dramatic failure. However, exceptional successes occur on three successes instead of five. Your character cannot regain or use Willpower when separated from the object.
Note: If the fetish object is destroyed or truly lost, it constitutes a breaking point, the dice pool of which suffers this Merit’s dots as a penalty.
Note: If the fetish object is destroyed or truly lost, it constitutes a breaking point, the dice pool of which suffers this Merit’s dots as a penalty.
Social: Peacemaker (•• or •••)
Prerequisites: Wits •••+ and Empathy •••+
Effect: Your character is keenly attuned to indications of imminent violence, and knows techniques to soothe hot tempers and calm emotions. At two dots, the character may act first in a violent scene to attempt to deescalate the behavior. He spends a point of Willpower and forces his opponent into a social maneuver. The opponent’s base number of Doors is equal to the higher of her Resolve or Composure for this maneuver.
The character rolls each turn as if he had a perfect first impression. If the character fails a roll, his opponent may attack him next turn unless he spends another point of Willpower to continue the social maneuver, but his opponent adds two Doors to her remaining total. If the character dramatically fails, his opponent may attack him immediately without the chance to reinitiate the social maneuver.
If the character removes his opponent’s final Door, her will to fight is exhausted — Storyteller characters will seek a nonviolent resolution to the scene. Players’ characters may either take a Beat and seek a nonviolent alternative, or gain the Reluctant Aggressor Condition.
When facing groups of attackers, this Merit allows the character to single out the leader of the group, or an individual the others look to for guidance. While the social maneuver continues, the other attackers wait to see the outcome. If the leader gains the Reluctant Aggressor Condition, so too do all her allies. The social maneuver automatically fails if the character’s allies initiate any violent actions while the character attempts to avoid violence.
At three dots, the character’s soothing voice and actions are almost supernatural in effect. He may use this Merit against opponents suffering supernaturally inspired anger, including vampires in frenzy or werewolves in Death Rage. These opponents have an additional number of Doors equal to their Supernatural Tolerance traits — talking down an enraged werewolf is very difficult, but the character can do it.
Drawback: The character’s first instinct is to reduce violence, not join it. He suffers –1 to his dice pools for attacking opponents until he suffers damage, which overcomes his deeply-held reluctance to injure others.
Physical: Punch Drunk (••)
Prerequisite: Willpower ••••••+
Effect: Your character’s resolve is unwavering, even when suffering wounds, broken limbs, and lost blood. She can fight on past the point that her body demands she quit. When she suffers bashing or lethal damage that would remove her last Health box, you may spend a point of Willpower to keep the last box, and instead upgrade damage in her other Health boxes. This Merit has no effect on aggravated damage.
Mental: Scarred (•)
Prerequisite: Integrity ••••• or lower
Effect: You may take this Merit when failing a breaking point, if you have the Experience. Otherwise, with Storyteller discretion, you may take it “on loan,” and spend the next earned Experience on it.
When your character fails the breaking point and loses Integrity, write down this Merit along with whatever event caused the breaking point. Your character no longer suffers breaking points from that influence or action. This Merit is tied to a specific Condition you and your Storyteller choose at the time you take this Merit; that Condition becomes Persistent. The normal resolution terms become a source of Beats. Removing the Scarred Merit becomes the only method for resolving that Condition.
Note: While you have this Merit, you cannot increase your character’s Integrity. You may shed it through the Sanctity of Merits rule if you wish to increase Integrity.
Social: Support Network (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: Allies, Mentor, Retainer, True Friend, or another similar Merit.
Effect: Your character has friends, family, teammates, or any other person or people who provide emotional support in the face of terrifying circumstances. This Merit must be tied to another Social Merit such as Allies, Mentor, Retainer, or True Friend, but can be tied to any Merit representing a person or group that the Storyteller deems fitting. Alternatively, any character with the Empath Merit (see above) can be the anchor point for this Merit.
Once per chapter, you may prolong an Integrity breaking point by spending a point of Willpower. During the same chapter, your character must have a meaningful interaction with her Support Network, or the breaking point dramatically fails. If she interacts with her Support Network, add
her dots in this Merit to the roll to resist the breaking point, and the roll achieves exceptional success on three successes instead of five.
Physical: Survivalist (•)
Prerequisites: Survival •••, Iron Stamina •••
Effect: Your character has been trained to fight even through the most dangerous environmental extremes. When inflicted with the Extreme Cold Tilt or Extreme Heat Tilt (Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook, p. 282) she doesn’t begin taking the normal –1 to her rolls until a number of hours equal to her Stamina.
Physical: Trigger Discipline (•)
Prerequisites: Wits ••, Firearms ••
Effect: Your character is a disciplined shooter, able to maximize her shots and conserve ammo appropriately. Choose a type of firearm when you choose this Merit: Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Thrown, Heavy Weapons. Increase the weapon’s effective capacity in your hands by one level. For weapons already at high capacity, this allows an additional long burst. You may choose this Merit multiple times, each time selecting a different category of firearms.
Physical: Loaded for Bear (• or ••)
Prerequisites: Athletics •, Survival•
Effect: When you go into a situation expecting trouble, you come prepared. Extra ammo, pipe bombs in cargo pockets, a bandolier of grenades, whatever it takes. With one dot of this Merit, you gain an extra free “reload” of a weapon, including single shot weapons, during a scene. Taking two dots in this Merit allows two free “reloads” after running out of ammo, whether by rolling a dramatic failure
or following burst fire.
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