Purified the Changed - Updated

8/13/2019 Purified the Changed - Updated

1/46

The PurifiedThere once lived a man who claimed to have discovered the secret of immortality. A Daoist priest decided to seek him out in order to be

his disciple. When he reached the immortals abode, he discovered that the man was dead. The priest was greatly disappointed and leftimmediately in great despair.

Now why was the priest disappointed

Was it because the man had departed from this life !ut to become immortal, one must first die."- Traditional Chinese folktale, translated by Raymond Van Over

Prolonging life beyond that of normal mortal is difficult and risky. It is also alays e!tremely uncertain. "eing shot or

run over by a truck still leaves most ould-be immortals e!ceedingly and #ermanently dead. In most cases, the ability to

live for $%% years doesn&t mean that the immortal isn&t vulnerable to sufficiently bad natural disasters or any of the events

that anyone ho lives sufficiently long is eventually likely to encounter. 'ome ho seek to #rolong their lives look beyond

methods of sim#ly kee#ing their bodies young and attem#t to find some ay to transform themselves into something that is

truly deathless. ( number of ould-be immortals consider vam#irism to be such a state, but vam#ires remain e!ce#tionally

vulnerable to both fire and sunlight.( fe mortals learn some of the mysteries of the 'hado Realm and the s#irits that inhabit it. '#irits are naturally

ageless immortal beings that can also survive the destruction of their e#hemeral bodies so long as they retain at least a small

amount of the magical energy knon as )ssence. *ystics and scholars of immortality regularly study s#irits, ho#ing to

unlock the secrets of their immortality. Occasionally, a mystic either finds or rediscovers the secret of giving mortalssomething akin to the immortality of s#irits. Those that attem#t and survive this risky #rocedure become beings knon as

the #urified.

T he History and Mechanics of Purification"ecoming one of the #urified is a com#le! #rocess and alays includes one crucial ste# + death. If the #erson has

#re#ared herself correctly, the #oer of the ritual transforms her mind and her body. Once she is dead, her mind successfully

makes its ay back to her body. hen her mind re-enters her body, she becomes one of the #urified. In this state, her mind

has been transmuted into a more rarified and enduring state, as ell as being forever tied to the mysterious 'hado Realm.

)ven more im#ortantly, her body has become ageless and can be easily re-animated by her mind if it is ever killed again.

o records e!ist of the first instance of someone attaining this state, but it as almost certainly a fortunate accident. The

sim#lest, if most unreliable method of Purification is almost certainly the ay this #rocess occurred the first time. The

individual must first s#end many months, or years #racticing meditation and various other forms of mystical #ractice, hich

often include various sorts of Thaumaturgy see 'econd 'ight/. Once the #erson is skilled in these techni0ues, they ste# into

the 'hado Realm on a locus. This can be accom#lished through the use of some e!ternal means like a #oerful relic, the

aid of a s#irit or mage or sim#ly by finding a verge that allos an ordinary mortal to #hysically alk across the 1auntletbeteen the mortal orld and the various e#hemeral realms.

The final #art of this #rocess re0uires the individual to die e!ceedingly siftly hile #hysically in the 'hado Realm. If

everything goes #erfectly, the #erson&s body rea##ears, 0uite dead, in the mortal orld and a fe days later, the #erson&s

mind returns to her body, transformed by its e!#erience. Then the individual returns to life and no has an immortal body.

2nfortunately, in addition to this method almost alays re0uiring the individual to commit suicide, it is also e!ceedingly


2/46

risky. If the #erson has not #re#ared sufficiently, if they are not directly on the locus, or if in dying they accidentally return

to the mortal orld, this ritual is actually nothing more than a com#le! method of committing suicide. It is very rarely

attem#ted and succeeds far less often.To other methods of #urification e!ist that are both far

more commonly used. They are knon as the inner #ath and the

outer #ath. To use the inner #ath, the character must meditate and

s#iritually #re#are himself for many months or years. Then, at

least one assistant must begin s#ecial ritual #re#arations as the

character is either dying or #re#aring to kill himself. (fter thecharacter&s death, the assistant must continue these rituals,

#ainting symbols on the #erson&s cor#se, dressing it in s#ecialgarment and #lacing the cor#se in a locus. Once these

#re#arations are com#lete, the assistant #erforming these rituals

must meditate, #ray or chant until the sun ne!t sets or rises.

The outer #ath re0uires no meditation or s#iritual disci#lines,

but the character must formulate and then make a s#ecial eli!ir,

using various ingredients, including several deadly to!ins as ell

as his on blood. 3evising the correct formula re0uires months

or years of ork, and actually creating the eli!ir is almost as

difficult. The ould-be immortal must do both himself, although

he can be assisted by others. Then, he must drink the eli!ir. This

method allos for no misste#s in the formulation and no trialsruns. The eli!ir is a deadly #oison as ell as a catalyst to

immortality.

The eli!ir is a to!icity 4 to!in that affects the imbiber ithin

$ minutes of drinking it, delivering the listed damage once a

minute until the target is dead. The eli!ir #oisons any ho drink

it, but if it is #ro#erly made and is consumed by the #erson ho

formulated and made it, then it also transforms the character&smind and soul as ell as tem#orarily transforming the

character&s body into a locus. If the character is using the outer

#ath, he need not have his body moved to a locus. If #rom#t

medical intervention saves the character&s life, the eli!ir has no

su#ernatural effect u#on the character5 it must kill the imbiber to

make him immortal.Regardless of the method used, the result is the same. These

#re#arations and rituals transform the character&s mind from anordinary human mind into something that is connected to the

'hado Realm and that has some degree of kinshi# ith the

entities that inhabit it. This transformation also changes the

character&s body, so that it no hovers beteen life and death.

2ntil the character&s mind returns, her body does not rot, but it

also does not re0uire food or ater. If e!amined by a doctor, this body a##ears to have an e!ce#tionally faint and slo

heartbeat and to be in an e!ce#tionally dee# coma.

Once the transformation of the character&s mind is com#lete, it is in the 'hado Realm and must make its ay back to

the character&s body. The character&s mind often ends u# far from the locus here his body is located and must 6ourney for

many days. (fter their first death, the minds of the #urified take at least three days to return to their body and maysometimes take several eeks, or on very rare occasions months or years to find their body again. The character&s mind

cannot see into the mortal orld, but it can identify the locus here its body is located. The instant the mind enters this

locus, it can easily enter his body and the character seems to miraculously return to life.

Once the character manages to return to his body, her body immediately comes back to life and during this #rocess

returns to the #eak of health and fitness. In addition to instantly healing all in6uries or illnesses, the character&s body also

no has a #hysiological age in its early 7%s. 8rom that #oint on, the body of the #urified heals more ra#idly than normal and

com#letely ceases to age. The #urified can also send his mind out of his body and must do so to gather )ssence, hich he

needs to #oer his various abilities.If the character&s body is ever killed, his mind is again thron out of his body and sent into the 'hado Realm. "y

entering any locus, his mind can no automatically rea##ear in Tilight at the site of his body and use )ssence to re#air it

and return it to life. o matter ho badly the body of one of the #urified has been damaged, the character can re#air and


3/46

reanimate it ith a sufficient e!#enditure of )ssence. The bodies of the #urified are truly immortal. ot only don&t they age,

their bodies also cannot be #ermanently killed.

9oever, the minds of the #urified are considerably less resistant. hen #ro6ected outside of their bodies, the minds ofthe #urified can be killed. The character&s mind reforms in time, but is e!ce#tionally vulnerable during this lengthy #rocess.

(lso, if the character&s mind is ever drained of all )ssence and then destroyed, the #urified is forever dead. "oth the bodies

and the minds of the #urified are no more resilient than those of an ordinary mortal. 9oever, hile they can be destroyed,

#urified can recover from almost any attack u#on either, rendering them among the most resilient inhabitants of the orld

of 3arkness.

T he History & Society of the Purifiedo one knos the origins of the first #urified, but most of these immortals sus#ect that early shamans ho had been

orking closely ith s#irits and the 'hado Realm first discovered their #articular form of immortality. 'ince verges and

other eak-#oints in the 1auntlet used to be somehat more common, most #urified believe these early shamans and

mystics could easily move beteen the mortal orld and the 'hado Realm, both by #ro6ecting their minds into the'hado Realm, and #hysically entering it through verges. Their e!#lorations of the 'hado Realm and dealings ith

#oerful s#irits alloed a fe of these early magicians to learn the secrets of #urification. 9oever, no one knos anything

beyond legends and rumors about these first immortals.

The oldest knon #urified are only slightly more than 7,%%% years old. ( fe #urified claim to be older, but none are

able to #rove their claims and so most #urified ho encounter individuals claiming to have lived for :,%%% or more years

assume they are either liars or delusional. (lthough they are almost im#ossible to destroy in the mortal orld, almost all

#urified regularly travel out of their bodies and into the 'hado Realm. 9ere, they are far more vulnerable. )ventually eventhe most careful or #aranoid #urified is likely to encounter a #oerful s#irit or some other enemy ho is both able to and

interested in destroying them. (lso, henever they travel in this and other e#hemeral realms, like Tilight or the

2nderorld, their enemies can ca#ture and im#rison the minds of #urified and #revent them from returning to their bodies.Rumors abound of #urified ho have been im#risoned in this fashion for centuries or even millennia. 'ome #urified and

mystics ho kno of them believe ancient tales of d6inn or similar beings ho are ke#t in bottles may refer to mortal

magicians im#risoning the minds of #urified and forcing them to #erform various services to obtain their freedom, or

#erha#s sim#ly to avoid destruction.

The oldest ritten records of the #urification ritual come from to sources; )gy#t and China. *agicians from both

cultures discovered this #rocess some time during the "ron-=4/. (lthough most ould-be Taoist (lchemists can #erform no magic at all, and the vast ma6ority of the rest only learn the

secrets of mortal thaumaturgy, a fe either discover the secrets of #urification on their on or manage to unlock these

secrets from hints found in the e!ce#tionally esoteric manuals ritten by older Chinese #urified.

9oever, )gy#t and China are only the first of many #laces here clever or des#erate magicians and mystics discovered

this #rocess. 9ints and rumors of the #urification #rocess can be found all across the orld, from the hermetic #a#yri of

9ellenistic 1reece, to various forbidden yoga manuals from India and fe of the most obscure (rabic magical te!ts. Today,ne #urified come from all across the orld and the older #urified ho have survived to the modern day are an e0ually

diverse lot.

This ritual sometimes fails even if all #re#arations are #erfect and almost alays fails if any of the #re#arations are done

incorrectly. "ecause #erforming this ritual involves dying, the fact of these failures means that many occultists regard the

#urification ritual as utterly fraudulent. (lso, because it transformed the magician&s mind and alloed them to #otentially

avoid death forever, almost all religions considered this ritual to be blas#hemous and utterly forbidden. (s a result, the vast

ma6ority of the #urified learned of this ritual through obscure hints in forbidden te!ts or from a mentor.

Mentors)very century, a handful of daring mortals discover the #urification ritual through their on researches. Others locate

old books or bribe ancient s#irits into revealing the secrets of #urification. 9oever, most #urified obtain immortality

because they are taught the secrets of doing so by an older #urified or occasionally by a s#irit ho offered the secret of this

ritual to them. This tutelage is e!ceedingly useful because the mentor can both e!#lain the details of the ritual and, if the

mentor has a #hysical body, he can also either #erform the necessary #re#arations once the character has died or hel# createthe eli!ir. *ost ho succeed in returning their minds to their bodies and actually becoming one of the #urified learn this

ritual from an older #urified or a s#irit.

The bond beteen a #urified and a mentor ho is also one of the #urified can be #oerful, es#ecially since both


4/46

individuals usually live for many centuries or #otentially even longer. Purified are e!tremely selective about ho they share

their knoledge of immortality ith. *ost #urified only ever hel# one or to mortals attem#t to become immortal. In #art,

this is because all but the most ine!#erienced #urified kno that they are hel#ing to create another immortal ith homthey may have to interact for many centuries to come. (lso, a significant #ercentage of those ho attem#t to become one of

the #urified fail. )ven ith the hel# of a mentor ho has already attained this state, almost one in si! mortals ho attem#t to

become #urified die in the attem#t. (ny #urified ho attem#ts to hel# someone else become immortal knos there is a good

chance she is sim#ly hel#ing this #erson to commit suicide.

Other #urified have far stranger mentors. 'ome #oerful s#irits understand the secrets of #urification and share them

ith mortals. Occasionally, a mortal mystic or magician bests a #oerful s#irit in some contest, saves the s#irit fromdestruction or otherise cause the s#irit to oe them a large debt that the s#irit re#ays by offering the gift of immortality.

*ore often, a s#irit offers knoledge of this ritual to a mortal occultist ho has found a ay to contact them.hile actual friendshi#s beteen mortals and s#irits are e!ceedingly rare, s#irits can learn to res#ect and value mortal

magicians5 sometimes, a s#irit and a mortal form an alliance that is mutually beneficial and lasts years or even decades. In

such cases, s#irits sometimes offer their mortal ally a chance for immortality in order to kee# them around. In addition, most

s#irits understand that offering this to a mortal ill cause them to feel dee#ly indebted to the s#irit. The s#irit not only gets

to kee# a valuable ally, but this ally is no both dee#ly indebted to the s#irit and unavoidably involved in the com#le!

#olitics of the 'hado Realm.

Other s#irits seek #ans instead of allies and contact mortals ho are either elderly or seriously ill. The s#irit offers this

mortal knoledge of the #urification ritual in return for searing allegiance to the s#irit. 2sually, these mortals have no

knoledge of the su#ernatural. 'ome believe they are being given a gift by a divine being, but most are convinced they are

making a contract ith some demonic #oer, here they are trading their soul and their service for eternal life. Often, this

later inter#retation #roves to be disturbingly accurate.In a very fe cases, s#irits share the details of the #urification ritual ith mortals for no knon reason. 'ometimes, a

s#irit sim#ly ishes a #articular mortal to become immortal. *ost #urified sus#ect that s#irits occasionally offer

unsus#ecting mortals this knoledge as #art of some long range and highly esoteric #lan.

T he Society of the PurifiedPurified are among the oldest beings in the orld of 3arkness. The eldest often become e!ce#tionally strange and have

increasingly little in common ith mortals. *any younger #urified believe that s#ending too much time in the 'hado

Realm eventually changes older #urified into something closer in mind and outlook to a s#irit #ossessing a human body than

anything that remotely resembles even an immortal human. ( fe of the younger #urified even believe that many older

#urified are no longer human, and that someho their minds have been altered or #erha#s sim#ly devoured and re#laced by#oerful s#irits.

Regardless of the truth about their e!istence, the #urified have no large-scale organi


5/46

'ince visitors from the mortal orld to the 'hado Realm are rare, the odds of any human they see being another #urified is

relatively high. 9oever, the risks of contact are also far greater. ot only can s#irits ca#ture or slay the mind of one of the

#urified, but almost all #urified ho s#end large amounts of time in the 'hado Realm have close ties ith several s#iritsand some ork directly for e!ceedingly #oerful s#irits.

hen one #urified encounters another of her kind in the 'hado Realm, she risks meeting someone ho is allied ith

the mortal enemies of her allies. *ost #urified ho encounter one another in the 'hado Realm com#letely refuse to

discuss their business in this realm or ho they are orking for or ith. The vast ma6ority of #urified understand the

reasons for not #roviding this information and regard anyone ho asks such 0uestions as dangerously rude.

This lack of discussion of activities in the 'hado Realm also e!tends to occasions hen #urified meet in the mortalorld. To #urified ho have knon one another for many decades may have absolutely no idea of hat s#irits the other

has alliances ith or hat the other does in the 'hado Realm. 3iscussions of activities in the mortal orld are generallyconsidered safe, but only #urified ho are e!ceedingly close friends or allies 6ourney to the 'hado Realm together or

discuss their activities there. hile a number of #urified have e#hemeral sanctums or fortresses in the 'hado Realm, being

invited to the sanctum of another #urified is a far more intimate invitation than being invited into their home in the mortal

orld, and either giving or acce#ting such an invitation is a mark of great trust.

Relations With Other Supernatural Creatures?ike most other immortals and near immortals in the orld of 3arkness, the #urified eventually run into a ide variety

of other su#ernatural beings. Over time, it&s almost inevitable that #urified and other long-lived beings ho live in the same

city encounter one another. 9oever, they often have little in common.

GhostsThe one factor all #urified more than a fe decades old

have in common is that they have buried many mortal friends,

lovers and relatives. ( fe of these many dead remain as

ghosts, a #rocess made more likely because any ghost ho as

close to the #urified in life has a fetter that remains in the

mortal orld. 'ome #urified find ghosts to be both sad anddisturbing, and so they avoid them. They take care to ard their

dellings against intrusions by former friends and loved ones

and avoid visiting the underorld.

Others re6oice at having the chance to continue to s#end

time ith their de#arted loved ones. *any #urified elcome

beloved ghosts ho come to visit and take #leasure in the factthat they can touch them by visiting Tilight. ( fe #urified

become obsessed ith one or more ghosts, learning to visit the

underorld and s#ending more time ith these ghosts than

ith the living. 'ome ghosts elcome these attentions, othersare 6ealous of the #urified and their immortality and this envy

can easily turn to hatred.

a!pires*ost vam#ires have no interest in and no ability to interact

ith s#irits or the 'hado Realm. (lso, the blood of the #urified contains no nourishment to vam#ires and they cannot beturned into vam#ires or ghouls. ithout any ability to easily control, transform, or slay them, most vam#ires leave the

#urified alone.

9oever, the #urified can be useful s#ies and occasionally #ossess information about other su#ernatural beings, so a feolder vam#ires have contacts ith one of the #urified. (lso, because they have little to do ith vam#iric #oer-struggles,

occasionally an older vam#ire ho is deliberately #lanning to enter tor#or asks one of the #urified to atch over her

#ossessions and financial interests.

Were"olvesRelations beteen ereolves and the #urified are often com#le! and occasionally violent. "oth ty#es of beings

regularly go back and forth beteen the mortal orld and the 'hado Realm and so encountering one another is inevitable.

The nature of these interactions de#ends largely u#on hat the #urified is doing. 'ome #urified ally themselves ith s#irits.

Those ho have totems may get along ell ith ereolves, es#ecially if a #articular #ack shares a similar or related


6/46

totem. On a fe rare occasions, one of the #urified has allied itself ith a #ack of ereolves and even shared the same

totem.

*ore often, the #urified act as the servants for various #oerful s#irits. The relationshi# beteen these s#irits and theereolves is crucial to ho the #urified get along ith ereolves. 'uch relationshi#s can be anything from the #urified

acting as a mysterious messenger for one of the ?unes to the agent of a s#irit lord that regards ereolves as its greatest foe

and is intent on controlling or subtly infiltrating the mortal orld.

*any ereolves distrust all #urified and all are at least somehat sus#icious of immortal beings that o#erate almost as

freely as ereolves in both the mortal orld and the 'hado Realm. 9oever, there are also #urified ho are allied to

one or more #acks of ereolves. ( fe #urified ere once olf-blooded and learned about the 'hado Realm throughtheir ereolf kin.

Mages8e mages kno about the #urified, and most #urified are more than ha##y to kee# it that ay. *ost #urified kno of

mortal magic see 'econd 'ight, ##. @A-B7B/, but understand little of the mysteries of (akened magic or the su#ernal

realms. To the #urified, mages are #oerful and mysterious individuals ith a strange mythology and #oers ell beyond

those of the #urified. The fact that even a moderately skilled mage can tra# one of the #urified out of his body or #lace his

mind in a cage is more than sufficient reason for the #urified to avoid these beings.*ost #urified also kno little of the (byss or its inhabitants. The fact that some mages occasionally interact, illingly

or not, ith the terrible deni


7/46

Steps T"o through $our# Select%ttriutes' S(ills and S(ill Specialties

Purified receive the same basic s#read of (ttributes, 'kills and

'kill '#ecialties as every other mortal orld of 3arkness character.

"ecause of their occult studies, all #urified must take at least one dot

in the Occult 'kill. Dour character may have also studied and #re#aredfor her transformation in other ays, but to accom#lish it at all, she

had to have some knoledge of the occult.

)eco!ing *!!ortalThese rules are designed to create a character ho has already

become one of the #urified and ho has s#ent some time in this state,

but is not either e!ceedingly old or e!ce#tionally e!#erienced at

balancing his mundane and su#ernatural e!#eriences. 'uch charactersare assumed to be somehat active individuals ho are no more than

B%% years old. (lternately, the character could be someone ho is u#

to 7%% years old ho has either led an es#ecially reclusive life or ho

has s#ent much of her time going about her daily life. In the latter

case, it&s orth considering hat has caused the character to take u# amore active and adventurous lifestyle. If the #layer and 'toryteller

ish to create a character that has either 6ust become one of the

#urified or ho is older and more e!#erienced than this, see thesidebar on the folloing #age..

Step $ive' Si+ and Seven# %dd Purified Te!plate' Deter!ine%dvantages and Select Merits

'te# 8ive re#resents the character becoming one of the #urified. The character dies and is reborn as something more than

mortal. In the course of her mind learning to find its ay back to her body and in the subse0uent e!#eriences the characterhas had, the character gains si! additional dots in 'kills, including one additional dot in Occult. The character is free to use

the other five skill dots as desired. In addition, the character gains four dots in #urified #oers knon as 'iddhi, one dot of

hich must be s#ent on the s#irit #ro6ection 'iddhi see #. B%@/. The other three dots can be from any #urified #oer, or

they can each be used to #urchase one of the umina available to the #urified see #urchasing s#irit umina, #. BB%/.

'te# 'i!, determining (dvantages, #roceeds as normal. 3es#ite their no #artially inhuman nature and their

immortality, nothing in this ste# is any different from #urified than for ordinary mortals. If desired, 'torytellers may allo

#layers ith #urified characters to trade dots of *orality for e!#erience #oints during character generation. This trade-in

reflects some heinous #ast behavior the #urified engaged in and learned from, but hich also scarred her dee#ly. If this

o#tion is used, #layers may sacrifice one dot of *orality for five e!#erience #oints, dro##ing their *orality as lo as five

for a ma!imum of B% e!tra e!#erience #oints/.In 'te# 'even, in addition to the normal 4 dots in *erits, #urified characters select : additional dots in *erits for a total

of B% dots of *erits. These additional dots reflect both the character&s greater age and the ider e!tent of her e!#eriences in

both the mortal orld and various e#hemeral realms like Tilight and the 'hado Realm.

If desired, the #layer can decide hich *erits the character gained before or after she became one of the #urified.

"ecause of the transformative effect of dying and becoming one of the #urified, they can also gain *erits that are normally

innate u#on becoming #urified. (lso, #urified have access to additional *erits not normally available to mortals see#urified *erits, #. BB%/. (ll Purified *erits automatically include the #rere0uisite; #urified tem#late.


8/46

*nnate %ilities of the Purified(ll #urified gain certain innate abilities. The most obvious and im#ortant is #hysical immortality. hen a #urified

returns to life, her body is alays in the #eak of health. 9er body is in all ays identical in both health and a##earance tothe body of someone in her early 7%s and does not age. (lso, unless s#ecially treated before the #erson&s death, all scars,

tattoos, #iercings and other markings vanish ithout a trace, as the nely #urified individual&s body is rendered #erfect and

eternal. Purified ho ish to kee# a tattoo or a scar must s#end a #oint of ill#oer and dra a s#ecial sigil u#on this

mark, either u#on getting the tattoo or in6ury or hen becoming #urified in the first #lace. If the character doesn&t s#end the

ill#oer, the scar, tattoo or other mark vanishes u#on becoming #urified or ithin a fe days of getting it.

HealingThe character&s body also actively attem#ts to return itself to its initial #ristine state. Purified are immune to all diseases,

gain a E7 bonus to resist all #oisons, and heal significantly more ra#idly than normal humans. They heal at a rate of one


9/46

#oint "ashing damage every five minutes. They heal ?ethal damage at a rate of one #oint every four hours and (ggravated

damage heals at a rate of one #oint every B7 hours. Purified cannot take any *erit that s#eeds their healing, including #uick

$ealerWorld of Darkness, #. BB:/.

Other %ilitiesPurified also gain innate abilities relating to their ne e!istence beteen the mortal orld and the 'hado orld. (ll

#urified can automatically see and hear any s#irits, ghosts or other beings in Tilight. ot only can #urified see ghosts and

s#irits in Tilight as easily as they can see ordinary #eo#le, they cannot choose not to see such beings. (lso, because of thedual nature of their e!istence, any being in Tilight ho sees one of the #urified automatically knos that the character cansee and hear them. This ability often becomes an e!ce#tionally mi!ed blessing. '#irits, and even more commonly, ghosts

occasionally a##roach #urified and ask, threaten or beg for aid.

In addition to being able to see beings in Tilight, #urified also automatically kno the inhuman language of s#irits.

They can understand and s#eak to all s#irits as easily as they can understand and s#eak to someone fluent in their native

tongue. The only limitation on this ability is that #urified ho s#eak to s#irits hile occu#ying their #hysical bodies must

s#eak aloud, if only in a his#er. This s#eech sounds like com#licated gibberish to mortals ho overhear it, at best it sounds

like the incoherent ravings of a lunatic. Purified ho ish to avoid attracting attention soon learn to either only s#eak to

s#irits hen no one else is around or to do so only in a his#er.Purified also #ossess a version of the 2nseen 'ense merit that allos them to sense the #resence of any #henomena

related to s#irits or the 'hado Realm, as ell as the active use of all unseen forces. They can sense the use of all

su#ernatural #oers, but not the #resence of a vam#ire or ereolf. ( successful its E Com#osure roll also allos a

#urified character to sense the #resence of any nearby loci or verges and hat emotional resonances they have.

,e" %dvantage# Chihen they undergo the right of #urification, these beings change their minds and their souls to be more like those of the

inhabitants of the 'hado Realm, including the ability to mani#ulate )ssence. (s they gain in #oer and e!#erience, the

#urified gain even greater #oer over )ssence. (s #art of the #urified tem#late, all #urified receive one dot of an ability

knon as Chi, hich re#resents their connection to and #oer over )ssence. Characters can ac0uire additional dots either

by s#ending e!#erience #oints or initial *erit dots see above/. Once #lay begins, additional dots of Chi can only be#urchased ith e!#erience #oints.

-ffects of ChiChi is rated from B to $ dots. (s a measure of the s#iritual #oer of the #urified, it has the folloing game effects.

F Chi is added to all rolls to resist all su#ernatural #oers. Chi is a form of su#ernatural advantage.

F Chi determines ho much )ssence see belo/ the #urified canhold onto at one time and ho ra#idly the character can s#end it. 'ee

the%ffects of &hichart.

F Chi is a measure of the character&s #oer and status in the 'hado

Realm. '#irits treat characters ith higher Chi as if they ere higher

level s#irits. '#irits ith a rank loer than the #urified&s honorary level

treat the character ith deference and res#ect as long as they are not

actively hostile to her. 'ee the )ffects of Chi chart.

-ssence"ecause the #urified have their minds and souls transformed into something more like a s#irit, they also gain the ability

to use )ssence 6ust like a s#irit can. 2sing )ssence allos the character to;

F (ctivate any 'iddhi that re0uires )ssence.F (ctivate any '#irit umina that the character knos.F '#end one #oint of )ssence to see from the mortal orld into the 'hado Realm or from the 'hado Realm into the

mortal orld for one 'cene.

F '#end one #oint of )ssence to instantly heal one #oint of bashing or lethal damage. This )ssence also instantly sto#s

ounds from bleeding and the character&s condition from deteriorating.

F '#end three #oints of )ssence to instantly heal any aggravated ound.

F '#end one #oint of )ssence to heal any single ound, of any sort, in the character&s e#hemeral body.

F 1ive )ssence to a s#irit or ghost to secure its coo#eration or to #ay for some service.

F '#ending an amount of )ssence e0ual to the character&s 'i


10/46

F '#ending five #oints of )ssence allos the character to reanimate her dead body.

Regaining -ssence?ike s#irits, the #urified cannot create )ssence, but must obtain it, either by e!tracting it from loci or obtaining it from a

s#irit or another of the #urified, either as a gift, or by stealing it from them. Purified can absorb )ssence by going to a loci.

9oever, they cannot do so in the mortal orld. To obtain )ssence, the character must leave her body and enter Tilight or

the 'hado Realm. The character then rolls Presence E its and adds additional dice e0ual to the number of dots of the

locus. The number of successes rolled e0uals the number of #oints of )ssence gained.The amount of )ssence that one of the #urified can absorb at one time de#ends u#on their Chi. Purified ho haveadditional dots of Chi can absorb additional )ssence. (lso, ithin 7> hours, one of the #urified can absorb no more than : !

Rating #oints of )ssence from a single locus.

Purified may also attem#t to steal )ssence from s#irits, ghosts or even each other by making a contested roll of Presence

E Resolve E Chi against the target&s Presence E Resolve or Poer E Resistance E Chi. The inner of the contest steals a

number of )ssence from the loser e0ual to the successes scored by the victor. Purified must touch a target to attem#t to steal

)ssence from it. 'tealing all of the )ssence from a s#irit causes it to become dormant and unres#onsive. 'tealing all the

)ssence from one of the #urified makes him e!ce#tionally vulnerable. Purified can only steal )ssence or have )ssence

stolen from them hen they are #ro6ecting outside of their body.

Cheating Death and Returning to .ifeIn addition to healing more ra#idly than mortals, the #urified are also ageless and to a large degree immortal. Their

bodies do not age, and if their body is killed, their mind is automatically sent into the 'hado Realm. 9ere, it can collect)ssence and then use this )ssence to gradually heal its body. 'o long as the mind of a #urified still e!ists, its body literally

cannot die. )ven if his body is reduced to ash, ith sufficient 0uantities of )ssence, the #urified can cause the charred

fragments to reform and come back to life.Restoring a body; "y s#ending an amount of )ssence e0ual to her si


11/46

Once she has s#ent five #oints of )ssence, the character is alive again and the character&s mind instantly returns to herbody. 9oever, the character&s body returns to life badly in6ured. It has one 9ealth #oint and the rest of his 9ealth bo!es are

aggravated. 8ortunately, it is also stable and the #urified can either heal on his on ithin a fe days or use further )ssence

or conventional medical treatment to further s#eed his recovery.

ulnerale Spiritshen the mind of one of the #urified is se#arate from its body, it is relatively vulnerable. If the character&s e#hemeral

body is killed, one of to things occurs. If the #urified still #ossesses at least one #oint of )ssence, his mind dis#erses, but

eventually reforms. 3e#ending u#on a variety of factors, including both the ferocity of the attack, and various seemingly

random features of the 'hado Realm, Tilight or the 2nderorld, the time needed for the mind of one of the #urified to

reform can be anything from several eeks to several centuries.

Purified hose minds are destroyed in the 'hado Realm usually reincor#orate ithin a fe eeks or months, hile

those hose minds are destroyed in Tilight or the 2nderorld reincor#orate sometime beteen a fe eeks and a fe

centuries. In all cases, their mind initially reforms as a small mote of aareness and must begin gathering )ssence. Once ithas gained an amount of )ssence e0ual to its ill#oer, the mindfully reforms and can then reform its body and reinhabit it. hen the

mind of one of the #urified is destroyed, even tem#orarily, its body

seems to actually die and begins to decay unless s#ecially #reserved.

(s a result, most #urified hose minds have been destroyed must

also rebuild their body from #iles of corru#tion.

$inal Death and the PurifiedIf the mind of a #urified is destroyed hen it #ossesses no

)ssence at all, or if an attacker can drain their e#hemeral body of

both cor#us and )ssence, then the #urified actually dies and can

never return to life. If this ha##ens, its body decays normally. o

one knos hat ha##ens to the soul of one of the #urified after itdies. 9oever, no dead #urified has ever left behind a ghost, and

there is no evidence that the soul of the #urified ends u# in the2nderorld. )ven #oerful mages cannot summon the ghost of a

dead #urified.

Purified SiddhiPurified can learn various #oers. "ecause of their connection

ith the 'hado Realm, they can learn some '#irit umina. In


12/46

addition, they also #ossess their on uni0ue #oers, knon as 'iddhi. (ll 'iddhi come in grou#s of three that must be

learned in order. To learn a three-dot 'iddhi, #urified must first learn the one and to-dot 'iddhi in the same grou#. Purified

begin #lay knoing four dots of #oers, hich can be either 'iddhi or umina. In all cases, one of these #oers must bethe #ro6ection 'iddhi s#irit #ro6ection see #. B%@/.

*ost 'iddhi cost one or more #oints of )ssence to activate. If the 'iddhi re0uires more #oints of )ssence than the

character can s#end in one turn, then the 'iddhi re0uires multi#le turns to activate. The roll to #erform the 'iddhi is only

made and the effects of the 'iddhi only manifest during the turn hen the last #oint of )ssence needed to activate the 'iddhi

is s#ent.

Mystical Connection Talehen #urified use their connection to the 'hado Realm to by#ass the normal limitations of distance, the most

im#ortant feature of the location or #erson they are trying to observe or affect is ho familiar the #urified is ith it. The

actual distance beteen the target and the character is irrelevant. The only factor that matters is the ty#e of mystical

connection the character has ith the target. It&s far easier for one of the #urified ho is using such a #oer to s#y on or

affect ob6ects in a location ith hich he is intimately familiar than to do the same ith some location that the character has

only had briefly described to him.

Peo#le, ob6ects or #laces that are less familiar to the character lack a sufficient mystical connection for the character tobe able to use this #oer to see, or visit them. The character cannot s#y on a room that she has only heard a descri#tion of or

affect a #erson that she briefly #assed on a dark street.

T he GauntletThe 1auntlet is the mystical barrier that lies beteen the mortal orld and the su#ernatural realms of the 'hado Realm

and the 2nderorld. The strength of the 1auntlet varies from one #lace to another. It is often very thin in lonely houses that

are believed to be haunted and very thick on ell-traveled and ell-lit city streets. ( very fe e!otic locations have no

1auntlet at all. These #laces are called verges, and most are tem#orary. They might a##ear at a certain time of the year, for

only an hour, and then disa##ear until the day comes around again ne!t year. It is im#ortant to remember that Tilight lies

on the same side of the 1auntlet as the mortal orld.

Gauntlet StrengthThe 'trength of the 1auntlet varies from #lace to #lace and increases the difficulty of #assing through it or using

abilities that make use of the nature of the various su#ernatural realms. The dice rating associated ith every strength rating

is a##lied to all rolls to mentally or #hysically cross the 1auntlet or to see or otherise sense across the 1auntlet.

G The 1auntlet is none!istent5 any being, including mortals can #ass in and out of the 'hado Realm freely, and

sometimes inadvertently.

(ny material thing that crosses the 1auntlet is transformed

instantly to e#hemera, the s#iritual counter#art of matter. 'te##ing

back over the 1auntlet to the #hysical orld restores material

things to matter. Of course, if a traveler as never #hysical to begin

ith as in the case of a s#irit/, it must remain e#hemeral in

Tilight. The only ay to avoid this is by using a su#ernatural#oer that allos it to materiali


13/46

-+perience Point CostsPurified use the normal costs for #urchasing ne traits ith e!#erience #oints. In addition, #urified can #urchase Chi,

additional 'iddhi and umina ith e!#erience #oints.

Co!!and'#irits and minds are closely related, and some #urified learn to enhance the #oer of their minds to influence s#irits

and eventually mortals. "ecause of their ties to the 'hado Realm, #urified find influencing and controlling s#irits to beconsiderably easier than influencing living beings.

*nfluence Spirit /F0The #urified learns to influence the emotions of s#irits.Cost; none

Dice Pool; *ani#ulation E )m#athy E ChiAction; Instant

The character can cause a single s#irit to feel any desired emotion. This emotion isn&t overhelming, but a s#irit that

becomes afraid is more likely to either flee if threatened, 6ust as an angry s#irit is more likely to attack anyone ho annoys

it. If desired, #urified can use this ability in con6unction ith attem#ts to influence the s#irit&s behavior. (t the #layer&s

discretion, each success on this roll can add one additional die to any 'ocial roll he makes hen dealing ith the target.

(lternatively, if this #oer is used to enhance the effect of e!isting circumstances, the character can subtract a number of

dice e0ual to the successes rolled from any roll the s#irit makes to avoid fleeing in terror or otherise giving into anyemotion that the character is enhancing, if that emotion is a reasonable res#onse to current circumstances. This abilitycannot be used to influence ereolves, other #urified or any other being that is not a s#irit. The character must also be able

to clearly see the target to affect it. The emotions #roduced by this ability fade like any normal emotion.

*nfluence )easts and Mortals /FF0The character learns to influence the emotions of both mortals and normal animals. This ability can also be used to affect

su#ernatural creatures ith ties to the mortal orld, like ereolves, vam#ires or other #urified. This ability can also be

used to influence ghosts, because they ere once mortals.Cost; B )ssenceDice Pool; *ani#ulation E 'ociali


14/46

the roll hile issuing the command, ith each success alloing the character to cause the target to #erform a single action.

Causing a s#irit or ghost to flee or to attack a single obvious target only re0uires a single command. 9oever, telling a s#irit

to travel to a distant location, steal a s#ecific ob6ect and return ith it ould re0uire three se#arate commands and thus threesuccesses. 9o likely the entity is to agree to the order influences ho difficult the roll is5 asking a ghost to harm a friend or

relative it cared for in life might cause as much as a H: #enalty to the roll, hile asking a s#irit associated ith fire to burn

don a house might give the character a bonus of as much as E: to the roll. This control lasts for one scene, unless the

character rolls an e!ce#tional success. If that occurs, the control lasts for one full day. This ability cannot be used to

influence ereolves, other #urified or any other being that is not a ghost or s#irit.

Piercing the DistanceThe character learns to use his connection to the 'hado Realm to short-circuit distance, first ith his #erce#tions and

then ith her movement. 2sing any of these three 'iddhi re0uires an e!tended roll here the target number is five times the

number of dots of the 'iddhi being used. This #oer is also limited by ho familiar the character is ith the target. 'eeing

or even alking to a ell-knon location is relatively easy, hile s#ying on a room the character has only seen once is farmore difficult. (ll three of these 'iddhi use the mystical connection table see #. B%7/ to determine the difficulty of

observing or otherise interacting ith a distant #erson or location. The #layer should also a##ly the dice modifiers for

1auntlet 'trength based u#on the strength of the 1auntlet at the target location. 8or e!am#le, all attem#ts to observe or

travel to a location ith a 1auntlet 'trength of > suffer a H7 dice modifier. This modifier a##lies to attem#ting to observe or

visit locations on either side of the 1auntlet.

In all cases, the character must concentrate to use this #oer. (ny time the character e!#eriences a significant distraction

or attem#ts to #erform any activity that is at all demanding hile using this #oer demands another roll, ith thea##ro#riate modifiers for distraction. 8ailing this roll instantly ends the use of this #oer, and e!#eriencing a dramatic

failure on this roll results in some sort of serious #roblem like tem#orary blindness that lasts for a scene.

Distant ision /F0The character can see and hear events ha##ening around the target of this #oer as if she ere #hysically #resent in this

location.

Cost; B )ssenceDice Pool; its E Investigation E ChiAction; )!tended target number $/

To use this #oer, the character must remain stationary and focus on the desired target. *any #urified use ob6ects like

crystal balls or mirrors to hel# focus their concentration. 'uch tools are not necessary, but can #rovide u# to a E7 bonus on

the roll. hile concentrating, the character may make rolls every minute. Once the character succeeds in this e!tended roll,

he can see and hear the target. 9oever, he must maintain his concentration to continue to use this #oer. The character canrite or s#eak normally and can res#ond to 0uestions, but cannot e!amine the orld around him or take any #hysical action

that is not both sim#le and very slo. This #oer can also be used in any realm. If the #urified is in the mortal orld, he canuse it to look at a familiar location in the mortal orld or a s#irit in the 'hado Realm, 6ust as one of the #urified #ro6ecting

in the 'hado Realm can use it to see a #erson or #lace in the mortal orld

-thereal Presence /FF02sing this ability is almost identical to using distant vision, e!ce#t that in addition to being able to sim#ly observe and

hear the target location, the character can also create an illusory image of himself at this location. This image looks and

sounds identical to the character and moves 6ust like the character does. 9oever, it is nothing more than a com#letely

intangible image. (lso, hile it seems to move like the character, its feet don&t actually touch the floor and it often floats a

fe inches in the air.

Cost; B )ssence3ice Pool; Presence E )!#ression E Chi

(ction; )!tended target number B%/To use this 'iddhi, the character must go into a dee# trance and make a roll every B% minutes. hile in this trace, he

cannot sense his #resent surroundings, but can see, hear and even smell the location his image is in, e!actly like he as

there in #erson. The character can also s#eak normally and can talk to #eo#le and s#irits in the location 6ust as if he ere

#hysically #resent. 9oever, the character a##ears in the target location as an intangible image that cannot touch anything.

(lso, nothing in this location, including s#irits, ghosts or magicians, can affect this image in any fashion. The character can

move the image at her normal '#eed and in doing so can move through alls and other barriers as if they did not e!ist. (s a

result, the character can e!#lore regions that he has never seen before by moving through a all an e!amining them.

9oever, henever the character enters a region he as #reviously unfamiliar ith, he must make another roll, ith no


15/46

modifications for lack of familiarity. 8ailing this roll instantly ends the current use of this 'iddhi.

Once the character has #ro6ected his image successfully, he can make another roll to alter the a##earance of this image.

9e can do anything from change ho his image is dressed to attem#ting to look like someone else. *aking this changere0uires another Presence E )!#ression E Chi roll. (ttem#ting to disguise the a##earance of his image as someone else also

re0uires a its E 'ubterfuge roll to determine ho accurately the character can alter his image. ( failure on the first roll

means that the character cannot alter the a##earance of his image and must ait B% minutes before attem#ting to change his

a##earance again, a failure on the second roll means the disguise is less accurate than desired. (s ith the 'iddhi distant

vision, #urified can also use this 'iddhi to #ro6ect her image into realms other than the one she is currently in.

Wal(ing the Hidden Shortcut /FFF0The character has no learned to alk from one location to another by ste##ing halfay into the 'hado Realm. This

ty#e of travel carries the character through the boundary beteen the mortal orld and the 'hado Realm and greatly

reduces distances. 9oever, it is not #articularly e!act.Cost; : )ssence E: additional )ssence and E7 ill#oer if also moving a vehicle/

Dice Pool; *ani#ulation E (thletics E ChiAction; )!tended target number B$/

To use this ability, the character may make one roll every hour. 8or the first hour minutes, the character must alk

around the mortal orld. 9e seems to be andering aimlessly, but he is actually seeking an entrance into the strange border-

realm through hich he travels. 8or all subse0uent rolls, the character is in this nebulous in-beteen realm, here he cannot

be seen or affected by residents of either the mortal orld or any su#ernatural realm.

The character can take others along on his 6ourney, but they must all maintain #hysical contact ith him. )ach additional#erson the character brings along costs another #oint of )ssence. If desired, the character can even take an entire vehicle

along ith him. To do this, the character must s#end an additional three #oints of )ssence and to #oints of ill#oer.(lso, the si


16/46

hen they use this #oer, #urified become mobile s#irits ho must make an effort to return to their body. Purified ho use

any #ro6ection #oer can be tra##ed in the realm they are visiting. If they are denied access to a locus, the #urified cannot

return to his body. 'ome #urified have been ca#tured and tra##ed in an e#hemeral realm for decades or centuries.hen #ro6ecting into any realm, #urified automatically bring along e#hemeral versions of their clothes and the contents

of their #ockets ith them. Characters ho ish to take along e#hemeral versions of large back#acks, large-caliber rifles or

other large ob6ects can s#end one additional mote of )ssence to do so. The largest ob6ect a character can take along in this

fashion is 'i


17/46

Dice Pool; its E Occult E ChiAction; )!tended target number of $/

Purified ho attem#t to enter or leave the 2nderorld must make an e!tended meditation roll ith a target number of $.The character can make one roll every B% minutes to enter the underorld and one roll every turn to leave it. If the character

is interru#ted in the #rocess of making these rolls, he must start again from the beginning. "ecause of the difficulty involved

in leaving the underorld, most #urified consider it an es#ecially dangerous #lace to visit. The character can also move

beteen the 2nderorld and either Tilight or the 'hado Realm, but doing so also re0uires the same e!tended roll, ith

one roll being #ossible every turn.

ShiftingThe character can use her affinity to the 'hado orld to move her body close to, and eventually into, Tilight. Instead

of sim#ly being able to send her mind into Tilight, she can also eventually learn to move her body there.

Tread .ightly /F0(s the first ste# on learning to interact #hysically ith the Tilight realm, the character learns to transfer a #ortion of her

eight there.Cost; none

Dice Pool; 3e!terity E (thletics E ChiAction; Instant

The character greatly reduces her eight for the ne!t full scene. (lthough this reduction in eight does not allo the

character to fly or even 6um# further than normal, but she takes only bashing damage from falling, regardless of the

distance. In addition, she can alk or run over any surface, including ater, tissue #a#er or thin #anes of glass. 'he can also

alk across mud, dry sand or any other surface ithout leaving tracks or getting her feet even dam#. 'he can also climb u#

surfaces too fragile to su##ort her normal eight. 9oever, she cannot run any faster or climb any better than usual.

)reaching )arriers /FF0The character learns to shift his body into Tilight for a brief instant. This allos the #urified to alk through alls and

similar barriers.Cost; B )ssence

Dice Pool; its E ?arceny E ChiAction; Instant

"riefly ste##ing into Tilight allos the character to alk through any barrier that is no thicker than one yard. 9e can

ste# through a closed door, alk through a all, or even 6um# from one floor don to another. hen alking through abarrier, the character makes no noise and does not disturb the barrier at all. Instead, he vanishes for an instant and rea##ears

6ust on the other side of the barrier. The character cannot use this #oer to #ass through a barrier thicker than one yard.

(ttem#ts to do so automatically fail, leaving the character bum#ing his nose against the barrier.

T"ilight Shift /FFF0The character learns to shift her body fully into Tilight. "y doing so, she becomes com#letely invisible and intangible,

and can #hysically interact ith all ghosts and s#irits in Tilight. 'he can also use this #oer to gain access to the interior

of almost any building by alking into it in Tilight and then shifting back to the mortal orld inside.

Cost; 7 )ssence E B ill#oerDice Pool; Presence E (thletics E Chi

Action; Instant

The character remains in Tilight for one scene, unless she decides to leave it earlier. )ntering and leaving Tilight both

take one action. ?eaving Tilight re0uires no roll and no e!#enditure of )ssence.

Spiritual DefenseThe character learns to defend himself and others against attack by s#irits, ghosts and other e#hemeral beings. 2nlike

ardings, these 'iddhi involve immediate actions #urified can #erform to drive aay e#hemeral attackers rather than

creating a lasting #rotection.

-+orcis! /F0The character can drive out a s#irit or ghost inhabiting a #erson or ob6ect sim#ly by touching the #ossessed individual.


18/46


19/46

s#irits of electricity. (lternately, the character can sim#ly call u#on the nearest s#irit of the desired #oer level. hen

calling a s#ecific s#irit, this ability is limited by the fact that the s#irit cannot travel farther than the ma!imum distance it is

alloed to travel from its (nchor.Cost; B )ssence

Dice Pool; Presence E Persuasion E Chi vs. ResistanceAction; Instant and contested5 target rolls resistance refle!ively

The character can either ask for the s#irit to a##ear, or he may make a contested roll and attem#t to force it to a##ear. In

the second case, the s#irit a##ears, but it is not under the character&s control. In either case, the character must either use the

binding the rebellious s#irit 'iddhi to attem#t to control it, or bargain ith the s#irit for its services. *ost s#irits are illingto a##ear if called, sim#ly because most are interested in ho might call them and seek to either gain some #ayment or

reak vengeance u#on anyone ho threatens them.

Su!!on the Wandering Shade /FF0Purified can use this #oer to summon ghosts either from Tilight or the 2nderorld. The character can summon a

s#ecific ghost or she can either ask for the nearest ghost to a##ear or the nearest ghost of a general ty#e, like children ormurder victims.

Cost; 7 )ssenceDice Pool; *ani#ulation E 'ociali


20/46

Ward % gainst Supernatural )eings /F0This ard is designed to #revent s#irits, ghosts, and similar beings from other realms from affecting the arded area and

anyone or anything inside it. There are to forms to this ard, and the character can only use one of these at a time on any

single location. ?ocations cannot be simultaneously #rotected by both ty#es of ards.

Cost; 7 )ssence EB ill#oer to create a lasting ard/Dice Pool; Presence E (cademics E Chi

Action; )!tended target number $/

The first ty#e of ard raises or loers the 1auntlet for the arded area by the character&s ChiK: round u#/. The onlylimitation on this ard is that it cannot raise the local 1auntlet higher than $ or loer than B. This ard can only be created

as a tem#orary ard.

The second ty#e of ard #revents s#irits, ghosts, and similar beings from outside the mortal orld from entering the

area. (ny such being attem#ting to enter or to use the Reaching umina to gain access to the arded region must achieve a

number of successes on a Poer roll in e!cess of a refle!ive Presence E (cademics E Chi roll made by the character. )ven

if they are in Tilight, s#irits, ghosts and similar beings that fail to achieve the necessary number of successes cannot enter

the arded area and must ait for one full day before trying again to do so.

Ward % gainst Magic /FF0This ard #rotects the s#ace and #eo#le inside it from all forms of magic and other su#ernatural #oers, including

ereolf 1ifts, vam#ire 3isci#lines, s#irit umina and all similar #oers.Cost; 7 )ssence EB ill#oer to create a lasting ard/

Dice Pool; its E Occult E ChiAction; )!tended target number B%/

The character #rotects an area from su#ernatural effects used by anyone other than the character and u# to a to do


21/46

Purified MeritsThe folloing *erits are available to all #urified. In addition, #urified can also #urchase the fetish see ereolf; The

8orsaken, ##. 7%>-7%=/, imbued items and library see *age; The (akening, ##. A>-A$/, or relic see orld of 3arkness;

Reli0uary/ *erits, as ell as the totem *erit ereolf; The 8orsaken, ##. BA@-B=>/.

Purified can also #ossess the (llies, Contacts, and *entor ith s#irits. 9oever, the #urified must #urchase the (llies

and Contacts *erits for s#ecific ty#es of s#irits, such as city-s#irits of a #articular city, s#irits of artificial devices, nature-

s#irits and other broad but distinct categories. Purified can also #ossess the 'tatus *erit for being the servant or favorite of a

#oerful s#irit, but this *erit has no direct effect u#on their interactions ith mortals.

%lternate *dentity /F, FF orFFFF0#ffect; (s beings that live for centuries and can die and later return to life, #urified regularly re0uire ne legal identities.

(ll #urified are assumed to have a single legal identity and need #ay no *erit dots for this #rivilege. 9oever, if the

#urified has lived in a single legal identity for more than to decades, your character has almost certainly begun to have touse various minor forms of disguise to change his a##earance so that it better matches his legal age.

9aving a second identity allos #urified to have an identity that

matches his a##arent age and it also allos him to easily vanish if anylegal 0uestions arise surrounding his activities. In addition, if your

character&s body dies in such a ay that others notice his death, he can

use this alternate identity if there is no ay for him to e!#lain his

#erceived death. 9oever, modern background checks, #a#er trails

and bureaucratic scrutiny make ac0uiring a ne identity far more

difficult than it as in the #ast. 8e characters have the skills to create

a ne identity for themselves. The vast ma6ority must look for hel#,

either from older and more e!#erienced #urified or from some mortalor su#ernatural source ho is skilled in the various com#le! and

highly illegal methods of ac0uiring such documents.The number of dots s#ent on this *erit determines ho convincing

and in-de#th the documentation surrounding this ne life actually is.

(lternate Identity L/ re#resents an identity that #asses casual

ins#ection, but not much else M a character can go sho##ing and get

around in most daily situations, but any kind of trained scrutiny such

as from a #olice officer or bureaucrat immediately identifies thisidentity as a fake. (lternate Identity LL/ creates an identity that ill

#ass most forms of relatively cursory #rofessional ins#ection, butcannot stand u# to a sustained investigation. ( #olice officer that #ulls

your character over ill not automatically #ick u# anything unusual if


22/46

she runs the character&s license #lates or calls u# his name in a database.

9oever, if your character is arrested and the #olice begin a formal investigation his identity ill 0uickly unravel.

(lternate Identity LLLL/ re#resents an identity that is essentially as real as any identity can be M it takes a truly dedicated,com#etent and time-consuming search by trained #rofessionals to uncover any hint that the #urified isn&t e!actly ho he

claims to be, at least as far as his documentation is concerned.

This *erit may be #urchased multi#le times at multi#le ratings, each time re#resenting a different identity. (lso, an

identity may also be u#graded later ith the a##ro#riate in-game e!#lanation and e!#erience e!#enditure. In the case of

certain *erits such as Resources or 'tatus, it might also be orth noting to hich identity these *erits are tied, since a

character may not easily be able to access or maintain them if that identity is com#romised.Drawback; (lthough one-dot (lternate Identities re0uire no maintenance, both of the more thorough versions do. If

someone checks on a legal identity, they ill immediately become sus#icious if the #erson has no legal address or maga


23/46

mages ho kno the secret of their creation.

$a!iliar /FFF0#ffect; Dour character has a magical bond ith an immaterial and invisible s#irit from the 'hado Realm that aids him

and hich normally dells in Tilight These familiars can tem#orarily manifest like ghosts see *anifestations,J #. 7B% in

the World of Darkness Rulebook/, but their e#hemeral bodies are otherise invisible and intangible to the #hysical orld.

( familiar must manifest or use umina to affect anything in the #hysical orld + e!ce#t for its bonded #urified, hom it

can touch at ill, 6ust as the #urified can alays see the familiar. (lthough familiars normally e!ist in the Tilight Realm,they can accom#any their masters into the 'hado Realm, or travel there themselves if their umina allo it.8amiliar Traits

( familiar is considered to be the loest rank of s#irit a s0uireJ or lesser gafflingJ, ith a limit of $ on all traits, and a

ma!imum )ssence of B%. The 'toryteller designs the s#irit&s traits. )ach familiar begins #lay ith at least one dot in each

(ttribute, ith e!tra dots as listed belo. 8or rules concerning s#irits traits, including additional '#irit umen, see #. 7B%-

7B7 in the World of Darkness Rulebook, as ell as ##. :B4-:77 in Mage: The Awakening, ##. 74:-7A7 in Werewolf:

The Forsaken, or ##. B:%-B>= in !ook of S"irits.Fa$iliar Traits

Attributes; :K:K7 allocate dots in any order among Poer, 8inesse and Resistance/Will"ower; )0ual to Poer E Resistance

#ssence; B% B% ma!/%nitiati&e; )0ual to 8inesse E ResistanceDefense; )0ual to highest of Poer and 8inesseS"eed; )0ual to Poer E 8inesse E s#ecies factorJ same as its earthly counter#art/

Si'e; $ or less same as its earthly counter#art/Cor"us; )0ual to Resistance E 'i


24/46

mortal society. Dour character is also #rotected from all su#ernatural effects designed to s#y u#on or learn anything about

her. hen any magician or su#ernatural being attem#ts to use their #oer to learn anything about your character, subtract a

number of dice e0ual to your character&s dots in this *erit.Occulted #urified mostly live on the fringes of mundane reality and the edges of mortal society. *ortals have trouble

kee#ing track of their identities and activities. Records concerning them tend to get lost, and the authorities are challenged

to investigate their activities. 'ince most mortals find it hard to gather information about the character, they on&t gather

many details about him. This *erit also makes it harder for su#ernatural beings to research information about the character

through mundane sources. henever someone makes a roll to gather information about your character, your Occultation

dots are subtracted from the researcher&s dice #ool. This *erit is es#ecially hel#ful for #urified ho are several centuriesold and ish to conceal this fact.

Drawback; If your character ever becomes ell knon to the #ublic such as getting caught on camera and being shonon television night after night/, he loses his Occultation until the #ublic at large forgets him hich could take many years,

de#ending on ho famous or notorious your character became/. ?ikeise, if he maintains a #ublic #ersona at all among

mortals, even to the degree of having several #rominent or ell-knon friends, he cannot maintain his Occultation. The

character must constantly cultivate this *erit, orking to remain aay from the attention of mortal society. It does not

affect his standing among any su#ernatural beings he knos.

Ritual Crypt /F0#ffect; Dour character has a ritually #re#ared location here her body can be made to rea##ear if it dies. )ven if the

character&s cor#se is largely intact, she must s#end five #oints of )ssence to cause her body to vanish from its current

location and a##ear ithin the ritual cry#t.

(t minimum, this cry#t consists of a bed, slab or other surface large enough to hold your character&s body inside a room

ith doors and indos that close. This location could be anything from a dee#ly buried stone cry#t to an ordinary

bedroom. Regardless of the cry#t&s a##earance or location, the slab, or bed here your character&s body rea##ears and all of

the alls and doors of this room are marked ith s#ecial sigils. If any of these markings are disturbed, the ritual cry#t doesnot function and the character&s body remains here it as.

Dour character can only cause her cor#se to rea##ear there5 she cannot cause her still-living body to magically a##ear at

this location. (lso, even if the character&s cor#se is fully intact, it costs five #oints of )ssence to move her body o the ritual

cry#t, because doing so involves destroying the body at its #resent location and then restoring her body to the cry#t. (ll

#urified automatically kno ho to create a ritual cry#t5 #ossessing this *erit only means that your character has taken the

time and effort to create one.Drawback; If any of the sigils on the cry#t are erased or damaged, the cry#t does not function and the character cannot

cause her cor#se to rea##ear there. 3estroying a character&s ritual cry#t is 0uite easy for anyone ho can gain access to it.

3oing so is a standard #art of any attack u#on one of the #urified. Purified usually attem#t to kee# their ritual cry#t secret

from everyone and rarely visit it to avoid someone atching them finding it. Of course, this means that it may not beavailable hen they need it. Creating a ne ritual cry#t re0uires one day of s#ecial #re#arations and the e!#enditure of

another to )!#erience Points, to #urchase this *erit again.

Shado" Sanctu! /FtoFFFF0#ffect; Dour character has a stronghold in the 'hado Realm here he can retreat from foes and regain his strength. The

e!act nature of this sanctum is u# to you, it could be a ell-fortified building, a dee# cavern, or something far stranger like a

living hollo tree the si


25/46

#ssence; B$ B$ ma!/%nitiati&e; )0ual to 8inesse E Resistance

Defense; )0ual to highest of Poer and 8inesseS"eed; %, this s#irit is immobile and can never move under its on #oer.

Si'e; 7% :$ for a larger 'hado 'anctum/Cor"us; )0ual to Resistance E 'i


26/46

years or centuries of their e!istence. To ensure their #rotection during this vulnerable time and to access to ade0uate

su##lies of )ssence, a number of #urified have sorn allegiance to various #oerful s#irits, becoming their agents in the

mortal orld."ecause they are relatively vulnerable in the 'hado Realm, there is also no shortage of #urified ho have had their

minds tem#orarily destroyed. hile they can even recover from this sort of terrible attack if they are not simultaneously

de#rived of all )ssence, the #rocess of recovery is slo and difficult and during the early stages of their recovery they are

e!ce#tionally eak and fragile beings ho are easy #rey for all but the eakest s#irits. *ost #urified ho face this situation

either rely u#on e!isting alliances they have made ith #oerful s#irits or are forced to make deals ith such s#irits. Often

these deals come ith a rather high cost that the #urified must later #ay. Occasionally, #urified hose minds ere notmerely slain but devoured or otherise destroyed in a #articularly terrible or thorough fashion take years or even decades to

reform5 during the first stages of this recovery they may even tem#orarily forget that they are anything other than a native ofthe 'hado Realm ho is attem#ting to recover its #revious #oer.

.osing Connection to Hu!anityOlder #urified tell stories of others of their kind ho either gave u# their human bodies and became fulltime residents of

the 'hado Realm, or ho gre to have far more in common ith s#irits than ith mortals. hile some still alk around

in human bodies, their attitudes are little different from those of s#irits #ossessing mortal bodies. "ecoming overly attachedto the 'hado Realm is es#ecially easy for #urified ho have suffered the destruction of their minds and had to reform from

tiny motes of )ssence. In addition to often taking several years and #otentially even several decades or centuries to recover

and return to their body, during this time, their #hysical body died and as likely buried. hen the #urified returns to the

mortal orld, she must face the fact that all of her human com#anions no think she is dead, and if her recovery took

sufficiently long, many decades may have #assed and most or all of the mortals she once kne are either dead or 0uite

elderly. This ty#e of disconnection from the mortal orld often sends #urified back into the 'hado Realm, here the

beings they kno are also immortal.

Possile Roles of the Purified)veryone ho becomes one of the #urified not only anted to live forever, they also orked hard to attain this goal,

risking death to do so. 9oever, this is a goal that all #urified have already attained. 2#on returning to their body for thefirst time, #urified can look forard to centuries and #ossibly even millennia of delling in an ageless body that ill never

get sick and hich can come back to life after being killed. (t this #oint, the 0uestion of hat the character ill do ith

their long and #otentially endless life becomes increasingly im#ortant. hile some lose themselves in the #ursuit of

hedonism or de#ravity and others live aimlessly from one day to the ne!t, many attem#t to find some sort of #ur#ose for

their continued e!istence. Over time, some #urified find that #urely self-serving reasons for e!istence begin to #all. (lso,

being able to see both the sco#e of human history and the interactions beteen the inhab-itants of the 'hado Realm andthe mortal orld give many #urified a reason for e!istence. "oth hen #laying one of the #urified as a character and using

them as an PC in a chronicle, one of the most im#ortant factors to consider about them is hat drives them no that they

are immortal.

(nother im#ortant fact to consider about any of the #urified ho have been immortal for more than a fe decades is thatthey have had to change their identity one or more times, becoming someone else to continue to fit into mortal society. They

may also have suddenly lost everything. One stray bullet or even a #erfectly ordinary car accident can end the character&s

life at any time. hile such events do no lasting harm to one of the #urified, if the character&s death is noticed by others, she

must choose another identity. One of the most im#ortant truths that most older #urified learn is that they must alays be

#re#ared to start over.

Purified can also use death as an esca#e. If one of the #urified is sus#ected of some crime, the investigation ceases if the

sus#ect dies. 'ome #articularly daring #urified have become e!#erts at suicide, often dying several times a decade and

occasionally dying more than once a year. 9oever, death eliminates the character&s mortal #oer base, and unless the

character also #lans ell ahead, it also eliminates most of her ealth. If they die in too obvious a fashion and ithouthaving #re#ared for this eventuality, #urified can go from #ositions of ealth and #oer to #overty and obscurity overnight.

3e#rived of their identity and all money and #ro#erty associated ith it, the least fortunate are left ith nothing but the

clothes on their back + clothes that they may have been buried in. (lmost every one of the #urified ho is older than a

century or to has endured at least one #eriod of des#erate #overty.

Careful #urified, hich generally means all #urified ho have been immortal for more than a fe decades, learn to kee#

caches of money and useful items in #laces to hich they have easy access, but here others ill not find or disturb it. (

number of #urified create their ritual cry#t in a remote location like an isolated cabin, here they also kee# alternate identitydocuments as ell as cash and valuables.

9oever, continued survival or even continued ealth and comfort are insufficient for many #urified. *ost of those

hose desire to cling to life as sufficiently strong that they ere illing to forsake a #ortion of their humanity and risk


27/46

visiting the inhuman and deadly 'hado Realm, are interested in more than sim#ly attaining material comforts. *any

#urified end u# falling into one of four roles.

Spiritual % gents in the Mortal WorldThe 'hado Realm is an intensely hierarchical environment, ith the most #oerful s#irits controlling many of the

eaker ones. It is e!ce#tionally easy for one of the #urified to become a #art of this hierarchy. (lmost all #urified are

#oerful enough to avoid becoming the thralls of the eaker s#irits. 9oever, the more #oerful s#irits are little different

from gods and these gods en6oy having servants in the mortal orld. *ore im#ortantly for the #urified, these gods are alsoilling to reard such servants in all manner of useful ays. Clever and ambitious #urified often end u# as the agents ofs#irits of Rank $ or higher.

'#irits this #oerful can grant their agents almost any benefit that one of the #urified could imagine, but only do so if

they consider their servant to have earned the desired reard. In addition to giving their servants access to truly vast levels

of ealth, these s#irits can bend do


28/46

s#irits attem#ting to take over or negatively influence mortals, hile also kee#ing atch over mortals ho are dabbling ith

or andering unknoingly into contact ith the 'hado Realm or its inhabitants. "ecause they can see into Tilight as

easily as they can look across the street, #urified can easily notice any intrusions from the 'hado Realm and ith theirvarious abilities, they can defeat or drive off all but the most #oerful s#irits. (s a result, they are ell suited to #rotect

mortals from s#irits. (lmost all #urified also regularly visit the 'hado Realm and many ould-be #rotectors make

alliances ith various minor s#irits ho can re#ort any unusual events in the 'hado Realm. (s a result, these #rotectors

are also in a #osition to learn about mortals ho stumble into the 'hado Realm or are abducted there.

Po"erro(ersCom#ared to vam#ires, ereolves or mages #urified characters don&t have large amounts of ra #oer. 9oever, they

are e!ceedingly difficult to destroy and they can both s#y u#on the mortal orld ith great ease by entering Tilight and

make all manner of alliances ith s#irits by visiting the 'hado Realm. Over time, some #urified make many contacts ith

both mortals and su#ernatural beings and in doing so learn many secrets and much esoteric information. They often become

individuals that other su#ernatural beings seek out if they re0uire information or a ay to contact someone ho can #erform

various s#eciali


29/46

Re"riting ChiThe first as#ect I&m going to tackle is changing the Chi limit from $ to the usual B%. ith this, I aim to increase the ma!

#oer of a normal Purified. The folloing table is no the ne Chi table.

Chi *a! (ttributeK'kill *a! )ssenceK*a! )ssence #er Turn )ffective '#irit Rank

B $ @KB 7

7 $ =K7 7

: $ B7K: :

> $ B$K> :

$ $ 7%K$ >

@ @ 7$K@ >

4 4 :%K4 $

A A >%KA $

= = $%KB% @

B% B% B%%KB$ @

Analysis; ith this chart, the #urified have as much room to gro as other ma6or tem#lates. They can take their attribute

ma!imums u# #ast $, and continue to get increasing amounts of )ssence. hile the *a! )ssence #er turn feels rather lo

considering ho much )ssence a #urified can obtain and hold, the other as#ects feel satisfactory.

% Touch of Spirithat is the key feature of every s#irit besides its rank Influences.

9o can a #urified be considered #art s#iritJ if they don&t even have that )ven the demons of %nferno have

Influences. 'u#ernal gods and all other beings #oered by )ssence e!ce#t ghosts and ereolves are considered to haveInfluences.

(nd hat do these Influences do for these beings They grant #oer and )ssence.

hat other differences are there 9o about the s#irit attributes of #oer, finesse, and resistance 9o about the list of

available umina

*nfluences# T he )asis of the Spirit'o all #urified gain to Influences right from the start. They gain one dot each of their Virtue and Vice.

Obviously this is a ma6or game changer for the #urified, as they gain both a #oer source and an e!tra bit of #oer. (nd

in fact they can regain )ssence in the same ay as s#irits no;

F They gain one #oint #er day by being in #ro!imity to their influences.

F Once #er day, the #urified may try to dra )ssence from an a##ro#riate source in the #hysical orld by rolling his

Presence E its, as affected by the local 1auntlet modifier. The #urified can sense such a source automatically u# to one

mile aay./ The number of successes indicates the number of #oints of )ssence gained. (t a locus of a##ro#riate resonance,

the #urified may add additional dice e0ual to the strength of the locus. 8or e!am#le, if a mirror is also a to-dot locus ith#ride resonance, a #urified ith a vice of Pride could add to dice to the roll to dra )ssence.

'o there&s the as#ect about regaining )ssence, but no you may be asking 9o can I use my InfluencesJ or Can I

increase the number of Influence dots I haveJ(nd the ansers are I&ll get to that ne!tJ and yes, but there&s a catchJ.

Dou use your Influences in the same ay a s#irit does so. The dice #ool is alays Poer E 8inesse see belo/ and the

)ssence cost is the same as usual. hen you attem#t to use your Influences to mani#ulate the thoughts and emotions of a

sentient being, mortal, ereolf, vam#ire or the like/, the roll is contested. Roll Resolve or Com#osure hichever is

higher/ E 'u#ernatural Tolerance to resist.


30/46

Changes made through

Influence are usually tem#orary.

( s#irit ith sufficient Influencecan increase the duration of the

effect to a level based on the

difference beteen the Influence

score necessary for the effect and

the s#irit&s total Influence dots.

The level of the effect and thelevel of #otential duration are

added together to determine theInfluence re0uired. 8or instance,

a #urified ith an Influence of

?ust FFF could use a 'trengthen

effect lasting for one hour #er

success at the cost of to

)ssence/, a *ani#ulate effect

lasting for B% minutes #er

success or a Control effect that

lasts only one minute #er

success. The #urified need not

use the Influence #oer to itsutmost ability. The #urified ith

an Influence of ?ust FFF could

use the 'trengthen effect ith a

loer duration, such as one

minute #er success.

In addition, #urified can no

be sub6ect to the effects ofresonance. hile they can take

)ssence of any resonance, the

#urified gains a bonus e0ual to the

dots a locus #ossesses hen

draing )ssence from the locus if

the locus is resonant ith theirinfluences in some ay.

'o ith the ho to useJ guidetaken care of, the ne!t thing to talk

about is ho to increase a

#urified&s Influences. 2nlike a s#irit that can gro in Influence over time, the #urified are still unnatural. (s a result, the

only ay to gain another dot in an influence is to #hysically eat i.e. drain/ the last essence from a s#irit. (t hich #oint the

#urified then gains one dot of the s#irit&s most #oerful Influence.

(nd hat&s more; the #urified isn&t bound to stay ithin his Virtue and Vice. 'he could easily take an Influence of ood

or Cars.

Though such a change doesn&t leave the #urified the same. The a##earance of her mind begins to change to match her

ne Influences, so a #urified ith a steel Influence ould likely have a metallic skin hen outside of his body. ( #urified&s

Influence dots are also limited by his Rank, hich is limited by his Chi... though there is an e!ce#tion to be describedbelo.

There&s also the matter of the elusive Void elemental. If a #urified ere

to eat one, they undergo the same effects as any other s#irit, becoming a

void elemental themselves.

Po"er' $inesse' Resistance# Gaining a Spirit&s Po"erI #refer to see the mind as a s#irit hen it comes to the #urified. (nd also

as something that needs a bit more incentive to venture outside of the body.

Plus, I&d otherise have to come u# ith entirely ne dice rolls for every

umina I add later.

'o I&m going to be la


31/46

Poer, 8inesse, and Resistance P8R/ ill be limited to the highest of those categories.

'o a #urified ho uses "last has a dice #ool of PoerE8inesse Chi ill no sim#ly be a 'u#ernatural (dvantage, and

not be added to umina/. 9is Intelligence, 'trength, and Presence are >K:K: and its, 3e!terity, and *ani#ulation are 7K:K7,he&d have an effective Poer and 8inesse of > and :, for a total of 4 dice.

hen outside his body, the #urified adds all the attributes together and sto#s if he hits the (ttribute ca# for his rank/.

,u!ina# T he Po"ers

(lright. ho as #issed that Purified only got a handful of umina I definitely as. 'o here&s the ne deal.Dou can no learn any umina. That&s it. 2se the rules #rovided. I&ll be sharing the list belo.Dou&re damn elcome.

F Abduct )R*; ith this umen, a s#irit can literally drag a human being across the 1auntlet and into the 'hado. The

s#irit must first either dell on the material side of the 1auntlet using *ateriali


32/46

continue s#eaking through the medium, a further Poer E 8inesse roll must be made each turn. The medium continues to

suffer an additional #oint of bashing damage at the end of each turn of communication. If the medium is rendered

unconscious, no further contact is #ossible.F Clas"; This umen allos the s#irit to lock a target in a crushing embrace. The umen functions like any braling

attack. If in the #hysical orld, the s#irit must be *ateriali


33/46

o##onent&s body. ater-s#irits can drain their victims of the ater in their bodies5 blood-s#irits can do the same ith blood.

The range is five yards #er #oint of #oer. Roll Poer E 8inesse5 the number of successes determines the number of #oints

of damage the target takes from loss of fluid. The damage is bashing. 3ue to a lack of real biology, vam#ires and theCreated may contest the s#irit&s roll ith 'tamina E 'u#ernatural Tolerance5 hoever, if the s#irit ins the contest, the

su#ernatural loses a #oint of Vitae or Pyros in addition to taking bashing damage.

F Discor"oration; This umen allos a s#irit to discor#orate voluntarily, surrendering its Cor#us to the 'hado Realm

and alloing itself to reform elsehere as normal. 3iscor#oration is alays #ainful, but des#erate s#irits choose this route

rather than face a greater s#iri

Date post:	04-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	john-r-layton
View:	226 times
Download:	0 times

Purified the Changed - Updated

Documents