Sanguine Sands
Numina
Numina comprise a variety of mystical powers that don’t fall into the realm of Gifts, True Magick, cantrips, Disciplines or Arcanoi. While perhaps not as varied as these other powers, Numina can be quite potent and effective. Some mortals possess these Numina “naturally”; they’re born with the skills. Others learn them in secret through years of training. Three
types of Numina are known to exist: Hedge Magic, Psychic Phenomena and True Faith. Players purchase Numina with freebie points during character creation; they may later boost these abilities with experience points or possibly diversify their talents with new Numina (and Storyteller approval). Rarely does a mortal possess more than one type of Numina. For example, psychic whiz Jane may have Animal Psi and Psychometry (both Psychic Phenomena), but only under the most extraordinary circumstances would she also have any paths of Hedge Magic. Numina are costly to learn; furthermore, they operate under very different (and often oppositional) paradigms. Learning too much puts a strain on the character’s sanity. The chart above lists the costs for players using freebie points or experience points to raise Psychic Phenomena and Hedge Magic abilities. True Faith increases only through rewards given by the Storyteller for good roleplaying.
Numina Costs
Spending Freebie Points Cost
First Numina (first Hedge Magic Path, Psychic Phenomenon, True Faith)..........7 for first dot
Additional levels in same Psychic Phenomenon......................7 per dot
Second Numina or second Psychic Phenomenon...................14 for first dot
Third Psychic Phenomenon.......................................................................14 for first dot
Additional Hedge Magic Paths or levels........................................7 per dot
Additional Hedge Magic Rituals (one free with each new dot).........3 each
Additional levels of True Faith.............................................................7 per dot
Spending Experience Points Cost
Raising Hedge Magic Path............................................................................current level x 7
New Paths..................................................................................................................7 for first dot
New Rituals (one free when Path purchased).......................................................corresponding Path
level x3
Raising Psychic Phenomenon...................................................................current level x 7
New Phenomenon...............................................................................................14 for first dot
True Faith cannot be raised with experience
Hedge Magic Paths
Hedge Magic consists of different facets of mystical ability, such as Healing, Summoning, Brewing and Cursing. Each Path has five levels of ability, along with specialized rituals. Granted, the casting and preparation is time-consuming, but Hedge Magic is pretty powerful. For the last word on Hedge Magic, see World of Darkness: Sorcerer; Ascension’s Right Hand is also pretty good, and The Book of Madness contains a particularly powerful and nasty Path called Dark Sorcery. Spirit Chasing (below) is a new Path especially for Kinfolk practicing Hedge Magic.
Psychic Phenomena
Psychic Phenomena involve powers of the mind. Knowing more than one Psychic Phenomenon is almost as rare as having access to more than one type of Numina. As with Hedge
Magic, each Phenomenon has five levels; the higher the level, the greater the ability. Project Twilight, The Hunters Hunted and Ascension’s Right Hand all contain information on Psychic Phenomena. Empathic Healing and Soulstealing are new Psychic Phenomena for Kinfolk (see below).
Animal Psychics
Astral Projection
Biocontrol
Channeling
Clairvoyance
Cyberkinesis
Cyberpathy
Ectoplasic Generation
Mind Shield
Necromantic Psychic Ability
Psychic Hypnosis
Psychic Healing
Psychic Invisibility
Psychic Vampirism
Telekinesis/Psychokinesis
Psychometry
Pyrokinesis
Soul Stealing
Supernatural Mimic
Telepathy
True Faith
True Faith reflects a character’s deep spiritual belief. The Numina’s rating ranges from 1-10, with each level granting greater powers derived from that belief. True Faith is especially damaging to the undead, but it can also affect werewolves...or create miracles. The Inquisition, Vampire: The Masquerade, The Vampire Players Guide, Vampire: The Dark Ages and The Hunters Hunted all contain details on True Faith.
• A character with Faith may attempt to ward off vampires by brandishing a holy symbol or uttering prayers. (This is the Hollywood cliche of the vampire being held back by a crucifix.) The person rolls Faith against a difficulty equal to the vampire's Willpower. The number of successes indicates the number of steps back the vampire is forced to take. If no successes are scored, the vampire need not step back, but may not advance. A botch indicates that the vampire may advance unhindered. Further, if the cross, Bible or other symbol is placed against the vampire's body, each success causes an aggravated health level of damage, burning into the flesh.
•• A person with a Faith of 2 or more may resist vampiric Dominate by spending Willpower (one point typically protects for a few turns).
••• A person with a Faith of 3 more may sense the presence of a vampire. She need not consciously try to sense a vampire's presence, but must be in peaceful, quiet surroundings — perhaps alone in thought, praying, reading Torah, meditating on the Bible, etc. The person will not sense the vampire's presence if she is preoccupied (ie. arguing) or in a crowded, noisy place (jostled by a mob, in the midst of a racous banquet, etc). This ability need not be infallible; the Storyteller should let the person sense the vampire only when it is dramatically convenient. Note that the person cannot know exactly what she senses thruogh her Faith; all that she will know inherently from sheer Faith is that something unclean or evil is nearby.
•••• The mortal may not be turned into a ghoul and is unaffetced by any mind-altering Disciplines like Presence and Obfuscate.
••••• The person is so pure, so holy, that she can fill a vampire with self-loathing, disgust, terror, even physical pain. Any vampire hearing the person pray, preach or recite psalms, or being touched by the person, may be forced to flee immediately by any available means. A vampire who is unable to flee is reduced to a gibbering wreck, flailing on the floor and screaming, sobbing or begging forgiveness. To avoid fleeing, the vampire must either expend one Willpower point per turn or must make a Stamina roll each turn (Difficulty of 5+ her own intelligence). That's right — the higher the vampire's Intelligence, the higher the difficulty.