TENEBRAE
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Some heroes gain power through study of the arcane. Some become champions of the divine. Some simply train hard and hone their exceptional talents to become the best. And some gain power through less...virtuous means. Some speak to the dead, bending the cycle of life and death to their whims. Some rebel against the gods they once served, using the stolen powers of divinity against their former masters. Some bear the weight of a soul-deep curse that changes them from Mortal to monster. These wield the power of Tenebrae; the path of shadows.
If ever the nature of their power and the secret of its origin is revealed, these individuals are rejected by mainstream society, living and acting in the shadows they draw strength from. A life of solace and rejection and a soul tainted by darkness do not necessarily preclude such a person from becoming a hero, however. While it is true that those with the power of Tenebrae often walk a darker path, there is something to be said for the soul that rises above the haze of hatred and breaks self-centered cycles to choose the good. What is more exceptional - to brave the darkness and, through great effort, choose to act heroically, against one's own nature? Or to be born in the light and never leave its glow? |
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Animated Corpse
This Undead creature has no life or will of its own, acting solely by the command of the one who animated it. Unless stated otherwise, an Animated Corpse has all the stats it did in life, except it only has 1 HP (no matter how many HP it had in life). The one controlling it can use their Actions to command an Animated Corpse to take any Action it was capable of during life. An Animated Corpse returns to a lifeless state when it is reduced to 0 HP or when its controller takes a Full Rest or voluntarily stops animating it as a Free Action.
prime arcanum
APOSTASY
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You were once a faithful servant of the gods, but your light has fallen to shadow. Maybe you became corrupted by sin. Maybe the gods abandoned you at a crucial moment. Maybe the church betrayed you or your crusade sent you on a suicide mission, leaving you for dead. For whatever reason, you have turned your back on the gods, and seek now to bring justice to the divine, holding them accountable for their own sins.
Though you now walk a dark path, the divine gift of power remains alive within you, kindled now not by the blessing of the gods, but by your hatred, your rage, your burning desire for vengeance. Gain the following Key: Key of Apostasy Did I stand against the works of the Celestial gods and their followers? If you can answer "yes" to this Key when you take a Full Rest, you start the next day with 1d6 + (Tenebrae) Faith.
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You are able to sense the presence of others who wield the power of the gods (those with access to Divinity Arcanum). You can pinpoint such a creature's location within 20 meters of you, so long as you have line of sight to them. You can sense when something within your line of sight has been touched by the gods power or desecrated by cosmic evil.
Choose a total three Invocations from any number of Deities. You may spend your Faith to use these Invocations as well as any of the following Invocations:
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Necromancy
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There are those who wield power over death as a conqueror might, subjugating the dead as soldiers and thralls, muzzling and controlling death as one might leash a wild dog. Others who practice the necromantic arts do so as shepherds, guiding lost and tormented souls to their rest and protecting the natural ebb and flow of souls through the Wheel of Eternity. Whatever your path, you've acquired a macabre mastery over the forces of unlife.
Pick a total of three Spells from the Mysteries of Vitae and Animancy. You have (Tenebrae +1) Mana with which to cast Spells each day. You also learn one Necromantic Art of your choosing. Every third Level (Levels 3, 6, 9, 12, etc.) you learn a new Vitae or Animancy Spell and gain a new Necromantic Art. |
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NECROMANTIC ARTS
Blush of Life
You can make an Undead creature you control appear to be alive, covering its deathly appearance and masking its smell. This doesn't disguise it from supernatural detection, and an Awareness Feat with a Difficulty equal to your Rank in Tenebrae can allow someone to see through the illusion.
You can make an Undead creature you control appear to be alive, covering its deathly appearance and masking its smell. This doesn't disguise it from supernatural detection, and an Awareness Feat with a Difficulty equal to your Rank in Tenebrae can allow someone to see through the illusion.
Lingua Mortem
You can speak to a dead creature or the spirit of a deceased Mortal for up to (Tenebrae) minutes. You can do this once per corpse/spirit per day.
You can speak to a dead creature or the spirit of a deceased Mortal for up to (Tenebrae) minutes. You can do this once per corpse/spirit per day.
Osteomancy
You are able to create and shape bones into weapons, tools, and objects whose shape is only limited to your imagination. You cannot create objects larger than you could comfortably carry in two hands. This can take as long as a Free Action (in the case of a very small, very simple object like a dart) to an Extended Action (for something ornate or complex); the GM determines how long it takes to create an object based on how large, complex, and specific it is. You must have a bone in your possession to use Osteomancy.
You are able to create and shape bones into weapons, tools, and objects whose shape is only limited to your imagination. You cannot create objects larger than you could comfortably carry in two hands. This can take as long as a Free Action (in the case of a very small, very simple object like a dart) to an Extended Action (for something ornate or complex); the GM determines how long it takes to create an object based on how large, complex, and specific it is. You must have a bone in your possession to use Osteomancy.
Pax Mortis
Undead creatures will not attack you or your allies without being provoked or commanded to do so by an outside force. Though they are certainly aware of you, Undead creatures will simply behave as if you and your allies aren't there at all.
Undead creatures will not attack you or your allies without being provoked or commanded to do so by an outside force. Though they are certainly aware of you, Undead creatures will simply behave as if you and your allies aren't there at all.
Preservation
Touch a body to keep it fresh and intact for up to one week (at which point you may use this Necromantic Art again to stave off decay). Provided you have the majority of it present with you, a body that was mutilated or dismembered will be gradually restored to wholeness over this time.
Touch a body to keep it fresh and intact for up to one week (at which point you may use this Necromantic Art again to stave off decay). Provided you have the majority of it present with you, a body that was mutilated or dismembered will be gradually restored to wholeness over this time.
Read Blood
You are able to learn much about a creature from their blood. With at least a drop of blood, roll an Awareness + Tenebrae Feat and learn...
You are able to learn much about a creature from their blood. With at least a drop of blood, roll an Awareness + Tenebrae Feat and learn...
- 1 Bump: Whether the owner of the blood is currently alive or dead and the status of their health
- 2 Bumps: The name of the blood's owner
- 3 Bumps: The exact location of the blood's owner (at the time when you use Read Blood)
- 4 Bumps: Ask the GM any question about the blood's owner and learn the answer
Sense Dead
You can make an Awareness Feat as a Half Action to detect the presence and exact location of any Undead creatures within 20 meters, even if they are Hidden, Invisible, disguised, or behind obstacles that block your line of sight.
You can make an Awareness Feat as a Half Action to detect the presence and exact location of any Undead creatures within 20 meters, even if they are Hidden, Invisible, disguised, or behind obstacles that block your line of sight.
Stave Death
Once per day when a creature falls to 0 HP within your line of sight, you may instantly restore (Tenebrae)d6 HP to them. Whenever a creature becomes Wounded within your line of sight, they roll for Trauma twice and use the result of your choosing.
Once per day when a creature falls to 0 HP within your line of sight, you may instantly restore (Tenebrae)d6 HP to them. Whenever a creature becomes Wounded within your line of sight, they roll for Trauma twice and use the result of your choosing.
Vampirism
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The river of time washes over you as night after night, you hunt the Mortals you once counted as brethren, stalking them from the shadows to drink their blood. You are one of the Immortal Damned; a Vampiir. Whatever your age, whatever the cause for your cursed state, a small spark of goodness and humanity remains, buried deep within your withered heart. It is your choice to nourish and reclaim your Mortal spark or the stamp it out and give in to the night's embrace.
You are Accursed; anything that targets, effects, influences, or reacts to Accursed creatures does so with you as well. You do not partake of Mortal food or drink, but must consume the blood of living creatures; you cannot gain the benefits of a Full Rest without doing so at least once during the course of your waking hours. Failing to drink the blood of the living for (Tenebrae) days will cause you to enter a frenzied state where you kill indiscriminately and gorge yourself on the flesh and blood of any creature you kill. You lose control of your character during this time, only regaining your composure after 12 hours of carnage. |
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Up to (Tenebrae) times per day, when a creature within 5 meters of you is reduced to 0 HP, gain 1d6 Blood, the resource that fuels your Vampiiric powers. Your pool of Blood continues to accumulate throughout the day and resets to 0 when you take a Full Rest.
Your Vampiiric powers are the result of a Clan (also called a Lineage, a Sect, or a Bloodline) of other nightwalkers who came before you, into whose dark family you were adopted as a child of the night. Work with the GM to determine the name, history, and goals of your Clan. Then choose two Disciplines and two Curses associated with your Clan. Every third Level (Levels 3, 6, 9, 12, etc.) you may learn a new Discipline. If you do, you must also choose a new Curse to go with it.
DISCIPLINESEnhancement As a Free Action, spend up to (Tenebrae) Blood when you deal or receive damage to increase this instance of damage by 1d10 per Blood spent. Your incredible physicality doubles your base Carry score. Formata
Spend a point of Blood to transform into one of the following forms for as long as you hold Concentration. Your items and equipment become part of your body and, though you still benefit from anything you're equipped with, these items remain inaccessible while you are transformed. You retain all your knowledge and cunning, though you may not be able to use all your abilities depending on what form you take (GM discretion). Forms
Bat Swarm Become a swarm of bats. In this form, you may fly at half your normal Speed and may end your movements airborne. You take half damage from all sources except areas of effect. You can enter and end your movements in occupied spaces; the occupant of said space has Disadvantage on all rolls while you are sharing their space. Gender Swap You turn into an opposite sex version of yourself. While your appearance changes, your stats and abilities remain the same. You cannot become pregnant or impregnate others in this form but do become supernaturally alluring to those who would normally be attracted to your new sex, gaining Advantage on all Charisma-based Feats against such individuals. Grim Transform into a Large black dog with glowing red eyes. In this form, your Speed increases by 2, your Melee increases by (Tenebrae) and your Melee attacks deal Chaos damage instead of their normal damage type. Mist Become a swirling fog of inky-black shadows. You cannot deal or take damage in this form and may seep through any opening that air could get through. Mimicry Take the form of another Mortal you are able to see. You gain this person's voice but none of their knowledge, stats, abilities, or mannerisms. Stone Gargoyle You transform into a hideous gargoyle made from stone. Your Speed decreases by 1 but you gain 2 Physical Resistance and can knock prone any creature you hit with a Melee attack. Vermin Swarm You turn into a rancid swarm of rats, insects, or other vermin. In this form, you take half damage from all sources except areas of effect and deal Chaos damage instead of your normal damage type. You can enter and end your movements in occupied spaces; the occupant of said space gains 1 Chaos Vulnerability while you are sharing their space. You are able to sense when other shape-shifters are nearby. While you can't tell who, specifically, is a shape-shifter, you always know when there is someone within your line of sight who is using magic (or some other supernatural means) to disguise their true form. Katharsis As a Half Action, touch a creature an spend up to (Tenebrae) Blood to restore to them 1d10 HP per Blood spent. Just by looking at a living creature, you can instantly sense if they are physically sick, injured, or otherwise unwell and what, specifically, is ailing them. Kinesthesis As an Action, spend 1 Blood to switch places with a creature or unattended, unanchored object within 10 meters of you. You have a preternatural sense for your surroundings and can draw line of sight to any creature or object within 5 meters of you (even if you couldn't normally see it), so long as you know it is present somewhere within this range. Locrium You can spend a Blood point to take an Action or two Half Actions during your turn. You may do this a maximum of two times per turn. Your lightning speed and quick reflexes allow you to draw or stow weapons and use items as a Free Action once per round. Hemeostasis You can spend a point of Blood as an Action to fire a volley of 1d10 wicked crimson-red bolts at creatures within 20 meters. The bolts can home in on a single creature or be distributed between multiple targets within range as you see fit. Each bolt deals 1 point of Chaos damage. Up to (Tenebrae) times per day, when a creature within 20 meters of you is reduced to 0 HP, gain 1d8 Blood (this replaces the base version of how you receive Blood). Malediction Spend a Blood point when speaking with a creature who can understand you to do one of the following:
You are exceptionally gifted at reading people and can instantly know their Bias level towards you based on body language alone. Nocturnus Spend a point of Blood to become Invisible, Intangible, or both Invisible and Intangible for as long as you maintain Concentration. While under the effects of Nocturnus, you must Save to maintain Concentration any time you take damage. You are escpecially adept at hiding and moving unseen and may add your Rank in Tenebrae to any Feat made for the purpose of hiding or moving stealthily. Saldo Spend a Blood point to gain the Eyes of Night, granting you perfect clarity of vision while you maintain Concentration. You cannot be Blinded, can see through any level of darkness (natural or supernatural), and can see the heat signatures of living creatures, even through obstacles and objects up to 2 meters thick. Your senses are supernaturally sharp. Any time you roll a dice that shows "1" on an Awareness Feat, you can re-roll that dice (but must use the second roll, even if it shows "1"). Theurgy You are able to imitate magic you observe and can cast any Spell that has been cast within 20 meters of you since your last Full Rest (you can only cast Spells you've observed since your last Full Rest; whenever you take a Full Rest, you forget all the Spells you observed that day). You cast the Spell at the same Rank it was cast at, spending an amount of Blood points equal to the Mana cost of the Spell. The Mystery is not so mysterious to you. You are able to sense the presence and intentions of magic with all the acumen of a trained magician (see the ARCANE SENSING box in Ars Arcanum). Vitality Treat your Blood points as though they were Resolve. You are incredibly tough and immune to all mundane Diseases. |
CURSESAllergy You are allergic to some specific substance (determined by the GM) like garlic, wolfsbane, hawthorne or ash wood, etc. Whenever you come into physical contact with this substance, you must Save or lose 1 Resolve. Bard's Tongue Whatever you say has the unfortunate tendency of coming true. You have no control over this prophetic ability and tend to speak aloud your fears and anxieties. In game this often plays out, for example, as the GM having free reign to fill a room with kobolds when you say "I hope there aren't any kobolds in this room" or to booby-trap a previously safe chest when you say "make sure it isn't trapped". Compulsive Liar You often tell lies for no reason at all. These lies do not necessarily benefit you, nor are they meant to mislead others. There is really no purpose to them - they are simply lies for the sake of lying. Whenever you speak, you must Save to avoid interjecting some pointless (and easily disproven) lie into whatever you are saying. Compulsive Truth You have trouble keeping secrets. When asked a direct question you do not wish to answer truthfully, you must make a successful Save to keep from blurting out the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Divine Aversion You have an aversion to churches, religious symbols, and holy places related to the Celestial deities and their worship. You must Save to enter "holy ground" and Save when you are within 3 meters of a religious symbol or be forced to move as far away from it as you are able during your next or current turn (whichever is soonest). Frenzy Once per Scene when you are reduced to 50% or fewer HP, you entered a frenzied state where you cannot speak, reason, plan, or discriminate between friend and foe. You are like a wild beast, and all that matters is surviving and you must do everything in your power to attack the nearest creature during your turn each round. This persists until the Scene ends or you are brought above 50% HP. Glutton You are compelled to seek out and experience the myriad pleasures that the night has to offer. You are fixated on pleasing your appetites to the detriment of all else. Your relationships, your goals, and your purse all suffer for this obsession with pleasure. If you do not experience something pleasant, decadent, and maybe a little taboo before your Full Rest each day, you do not gain the benefits of a Full Rest. High Stakes If you are reduced to 0 HP and a wooden stake is driven through your heart, you are immediately and permanently killed. Invitation You cannot cross the threshold of any Mortal home without first being invited inside by its resident. You are free to enter public places, abandoned places, places of business and worship, but cannot enter a home unless invited in by a resident. Once you've been invited in, you may come and go freely until the next full moon. Nightmares Whenever you take a Full Rest, you must Save or be plagued by horrific nightmares. If you fail to Save, you only recover half your missing HP, Focus, Resolve dice, and other resources that replenish during a Full Rest. You will never experience these nightmares when taking a Full Rest in a coffin filled with dirt from your homeland. No Reflection, No Shadow You do not cast a shadow, nor does your reflection show in any mirrored surface, quickly and easily identifying you as something supernatural to common folk. Additionally, you project an aura of disquiet that causes strangers to treat you with one level of Bias lower than they normally would. Offensive to Animals Beasts and Lusus Naturae can sense that you are an unnatural, accursed creature and react to your presence with fear and aggression. They will bark, bite, run away, or attack simply at the sight of you. You can never benefit from any magic or ability that allows you to tame or befriend animals; the creatures of this world will always be hostile to you, barely tolerating your presence at best. Pyrophobia Fire has a strange power over you; not only do you have a fear and aversion to any fire larger than a candle, but you have a permanent +1 Fire Vulnerability that you'll never be able to shake. Solar Allergy You are weakened by sunlight. Whenever you are touched by the sun's light, your Resolve dice are reduced in size by one degree until you spend a Full Rest in darkness. Troubled Waters Any time you would knowingly cross over running water, you must Save or you simply cannot bring yourself to do so; it's like there is an invisible wall preventing you from completing the crossing. |
ARCANUM
Random Conditions
Roll 1d12. The creature is...
1: Deafened 2: Weakened 3: Slowed 4: Dazed 5: Immobilized 6: Staggered 7: Terrified 8: Confused 9: Silenced 10: Blinded 11: Stunned 12: Charmed |
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Random Conditions
Roll 1d12. The creature is...
1: Deafened 2: Weakened 3: Slowed 4: Dazed 5: Immobilized 6: Staggered 7: Terrified 8: Confused 9: Silenced 10: Blinded 11: Stunned 12: Charmed |
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Random Conditions
Roll 1d12. The creature is...
1: Deafened 2: Weakened 3: Slowed 4: Dazed 5: Immobilized 6: Staggered 7: Terrified 8: Confused 9: Silenced 10: Blinded 11: Stunned 12: Charmed |
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