Misfortune is delight to the envious, provided it’s someone else suffering from failure. Once per scene, the Possessed may choose a character other than herself: this target is cursed for the duration of the scene, suffering a dramatic failure on any roll that would normally be simply a failure.
The saying goes, “Two dogs with one bone seldom reach agreement.” Hieronymous Bosch portrayed the sin of Envy in his work as two dogs, perhaps owing the depiction to that old saying. Envy, as linked to canines, gives the character a curious leg-up with the animals: on any Animal Ken rolls made in regard to dogs, the character gains a bonus equal to dots possessed in the Envy Vice.
In addition, the character gains a free Specialty regarding one specific breed of dog (i.e., “German shepherd”).
Lies are the cornerstone of the envious. They must lie to bring themselves up to everyone else’s level, convincing others of their worth, or confirming their enemies’ worthlessness. On any Subterfuge rolls, the character receives an exceptional success on 3 successes, not 5.
(I can do better.) Envy is, in many ways, about one-upmanship. Proof of one’s own worth is made by establishing dominance over and ability above all others. This Vestment helps the character achieve that assertion: if another character within his line of sight attempts to perform a task using a Skill the character himself possesses, that character’s dice pool may not exceed the dice pool of the Possessed character utilizing this Vestment.
I want what you have. It’s perhaps the most primal expression of covetousness. With this, the character may add his dots in Envy to Larceny rolls for the remainder of the scene, provided the Larceny Skill is used to thieve or abscond with someone else’s property. (It will work on picking locks provided the end goal is to steal something.)
At one point or another everyone has wished they looked like someone else. No matter how attractive or self-confident a person appears, there’s a little voice inside her head that whispers she could be even more attractive if only she looked like her favorite actor/model/musician. Demons are more than happy to help their host indulge in this fantasy.
By activating this Vestment the Possessed takes on the identity of any person of whom she has at least seen a picture. The demon reshapes the crude clay of the host and then goes a step further, influencing the actions of the Possessed so she not only looks like her idol, but also walks, talks and acts appropriately for the part. The final product is so convincing it can fool even friends and relatives.
Before joining with a demon, many of the Possessed desired to be important and powerful. They shunned the mundane, the everyday, longing to be something more than what they were. After the demon creeps into their soul, no Possessed ever feels mundane again. Even so, they sometimes find it serves their purposes to appear as one of the sheep.
Activating this Vestment requires the Possessed to touch his target, though it works only on the unwary and can never be used in combat. With a handshake or a seemingly random touch on the shoulder, the demon reaches through the Possessed and channels the taint of corruption into the target. Although the target feels no differently, people with the ability to sense the demonic will incorrectly identify the hapless character as one of the Possessed. By shedding excess Infernal energies in this manner, the actual Possessed is undetectable as demon-touched for the duration.
This Vestment isn’t so much about causing misfortune as it is about ensuring a level of reduced fortune. Those characters near the Possessed character no longer gain the 10-Again rule on rolls, and, in addition, any 1’s that come up subtract from successes gained. This happens to those characters within a number of yards equal to the sum of all the Possessed character’s Vice dots. The character may exclude up to three individuals who will not suffer the effects of The Quiet Curse.
Social Merits are one way to gauge one’s success—how much money do you have? How many friends? Are you famous? Use of this Vestments helps… lessen the impact of some Social Merits on those around the Possessed character.
For the remainder of the scene, those within a hundred yards of the character suffer a loss to appropriate Social Merits (Allies, Contacts, Fame, Mentor, Resources, Retainer, Status) equal to the character’s primary Vice dots. Say the Possessed has a primary Vice of Envy and has 2 dots in it. A nearby character with Resources •••• now has access to only Resources •• for the remainder of the scene, or until he leaves the radius of effect. He tries to call his bank, and a bank error lists his funds incorrectly. Or he tries to purchase a big-ticket item and he finds he cannot. Alternately, a character with Status •• in, say, the Catholic Church suddenly has no Status for the scene—he’s done something to rub his superiors the wrong way, he can’t affect decisions, he can’t gain access to any benefits of belonging to the Church. It’s temporary, of course: leaving the radius of effect or waiting until the scene is done ensures the Merits return to normal.
Everyone has heard the phrase, “If looks could kill…” but it isn’t just an idle threat for the Possessed. By summoning up every petty hatred, every jealous thought and imagined hurt the Possessed creates a searing ball of rage in her soul. The eyes of the Possessed turn a brilliant green, devoid of pupils and bulging with the intensity of emotion. The demon feeds upon the rage, transforming the energy into shimmering waves of emerald pain.
Anyone standing within five yards of the Possessed suffers 1 point of bashing damage each turn and must succeed on a Strength + Athletics roll or be knocked down (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 168).
The character’s hands develop a number of strange little mouths. They manifest differently for different characters: one’s flesh opens into toothy suckers, another develops fibrous nematodes, whereas a third Possessed finds his palms the home of actual human mouths.
Using hands in combat (Brawl) now does lethal damage. In addition, each successful attack steals 1 of the opponent’s Attribute dots (chosen by the Possessed character’s player) for the remainder of the Vestment’s activation. The character can steal only a number of Attribute dots equal to the dots possessed in her primary Vice. At the end of this Vestment’s duration, the Attribute dots leave the character and return to the opponent.
Making the extraordinary seem easy is a talent owned by a very small percentage of individuals. An artist that can paint a masterpiece in the span of a week, superstar athletes and even that IT guy everyone calls because he can always fix the problem with no apparent effort are all examples of this rare breed. Super-competency comes with a price, however. More “average” individuals are torn between admiration and jealousy for the talented elite and jealousy wins more often than not. So the average tear down the superstars by pointing out the slightest flaws, real or imagined, in their near-perfect performance. Demons of Envy don’t like being upstaged, especially by mortals, so they tweak the probability of events to punish overachievers.
While active, this Vestment affects anyone within five yards of the Possessed. Any character within the aura of Envy who rolls an exceptional success or causes more than 3 points of damage with an attack must re-roll their last action. The results of the second roll stand, even if they are actually better than the first. Characters with actions that trigger the Vestment feel a blow of ringing force that snaps their heads back, but causes no actual damage.
From the viewpoint of the Christian mythos, the torment of hell is caused by the absence of God. The damned souls that populate hell aren’t tortured by the demons, fire and ice of Dante, but by the knowledge God has turned His face from them. When a Possessed enters into a partnership with a demon, he feels some of this loss. The spiritual bulk of a demon doesn’t fill the soul, it weighs it down. Even if he won’t admit it to himself, the Possessed feels a constant nagging Envy of those who have found solace and power in the light. Demons can channel that Envy into a weapon when facing off against agents of the light.
Any character with Morality 8 or higher within three yards of the Possessed or who attempts to move within three yards has her Speed reduced to one. Holy or blessed weapons lose their potency and begin to flake away, losing 1 point of Structure each turn. This aura of denial manifests as a thin, ground-hugging fog that dims ambient light.
The Possessed are far from the only creatures in the World of Darkness with access to unnatural abilities. Mages, changelings, vampires and more all have magics or inherent powers of their own, some of which seem far more powerful than the dark gifts granted to the Possessed by demons. Even more galling to the Possessed (and through them the possessing demon) is that, with the possible exception of vampires, most of these unusual entities don’t seem to have paid nearly as high a price for their capabilities. So they reach deeper into the quagmire that is their soul, beseeching the demon within to stretch forth its hand to quell the supernatural.
When this Vestment is activated, any ongoing effect within ten yards of the Possessed that could be qualified as “magic” (spells, Gifts, other Vestments, Contracts and so on) is disrupted. Assuming the duration of a disrupted effect hasn’t ended before the Vestment expires, the magic returns and functions normally once Sour Grapes has ceased. Use of this Vestment doesn’t stop new castings of the same magics; it just suppresses current ongoing effects. It also has little effect upon supernatural powers that could be considered innate to a creature’s nature. Thus, an undead vampire doesn’t fall over dead because the magic sustaining its frame is banished, and a werewolf can still shift forms. However, the vampire may find his hypnotic thrall over a minion disrupted, and the werewolf would lose the effects of a Gift heightening his strength.
Good health sustains both body and soul, and nearly every religion in the world stresses the importance of maintaining the body as temple. Society mirrors this conviction, heaping adoration and admiration upon people who strive to maintain a fit physique. Most Possessed seek the easy road to good health, just as they take the quick and easy path in other aspects of their lives. They shoot covetous glances at strong, healthy bodies and, in a pinch, attempt to steal that vitality.
Each time the Possessed inflicts physical damage with her bare hands or a melee weapon she can choose to steal an amount of Stamina from her target equal to the amount of damage rolled. Witnesses to this kind of attack see an ephemeral taloned claw overlaying the hand or weapon of the Possessed that reaches into the victim and yanks out energy. The Possessed adds the Stamina to her own as temporary dots (ignoring the normal human maximum), but victims may not be reduced below one dot of Stamina. Recalculate any traits (such as Health) for both the Possessed and her target after a successful attack. Stolen Stamina is returned when the Vestment ends.
The character’s intemperance bleeds outward, manifesting in an aura that ends up differently for each Possessed: one may give off the rank smell of spoiled meat, another might have wretched halitosis, another may be bathed in a cloud of flies or a stink of sweat. Any locked in combat with the character suffer –1 to Defense and –1 to Initiative due to this pervading aura.
The Possessed doesn’t truly have a hump (necessarily; he may), but it certainly seems as if he’s capable of storing untoward amounts of food and water in the host body. The character doesn’t suffer as swiftly from the effects of starvation or thirst: the character may go an additional number of days without food or drink equal to dots possessed in his primary Virtue.
For the gluttonous, it’s all about excess, pushing one’s self to swell beyond normal limits. The Possessed with this Vestment may regain Willpower beyond what his pool (or Infernal Will pool) can support, but any points gained in such a way must be spent in the next three turns or cause damage (1 point of bashing damage per point unspent).
The character’s body swells and shifts: it may become pleasingly round or instead offer several odd lumps of fatty (lipoma) tissue. Either way, the result is the same: the Possessed gains +1 to her Health score. (Plus, as a non-mechanical side benefit, the character can simply consume more food than most others.)
In Hell, it’s said that the truly gluttonous will be forced day in and day out to vomit up reptiles and amphibians: snakes, toads, lizards and the like. As a cruel (but perhaps beneficial) foretelling of one’s potential fate, the character may once per scene take a single point of bashing damage to regurgitate one reptilian or amphibious creature. The creature must be Size 1 or less (i.e., able to fit out the throat and mouth). The animal is alive upon regurgitation.
The fiercely voracious are known to eat anything, and this Vestment makes that all the more true. The Possessed may consume poisons and toxins up to a Toxicity of 5 without feeling any ill effects. For poisons with more potent Toxicity, simply subtract 5 from the Toxicity level to determine its new rating.
Meals prepared by the character during this scene using normal ingredients possess one unusual characteristic, chosen at the time of preparation: the meal can incur the effects of any one drug at a moderate dose, or it can instead act as a poison with a Toxicity of 5 or less. Note that cooking in this instance must be governed by the Crafts Skill, not Survival.
The character’s tongue is like a starving worm—it wriggles about of its own free will and seeks to feed. If the Possessed kisses another person on the mouth, the character can steal 2 points of the target’s Willpower and convert it to either 1 point of Willpower, or heal 1 point of damage (lethal or bashing)—but not both.
Demons of Gluttony want to taste everything. Flesh, bone, steel, concrete; you name it, they want a bite. The fragile bone chompers of humans just aren’t up to the task of chewing through anything harder than peanut brittle, so the demon replaces them.
For the duration of this Vestment, the teeth of the Possessed are transformed into metallic, gray ridges that can chew through anything the host can get his hands on. Each turn the Possessed worries at an object, he can gnaw through 5 points of Structure. Further, no matter on what the host is chewing he suffers no damage.
The character exudes a faint oily sheen from his pores for the scene. This oil— which glistens in the right light, but looks mostly like sweat—is slick to those who attempt to grab the character.
Any grapple attempts on the character suffer a penalty equal to dots possessed in the Gluttony Vice. In addition, the character can add those dots as bonus dice on rolls attempting to escape from a grapple or other imprisonment (sliding out of handcuffs, for instance).
Even after chewing, some objects are just too big to fit down a mortal’s esophagus and some “foods” are actually more fun for the demon in one piece. The Infernal entity takes just as much pleasure from the slow digestion of a living, kicking animal as it does from the taste. Swallowing inanimate objects whole is also a convenient way of disposing of potentially incriminating evidence or hiding stolen goods.
A Possessed with this Vestment can digest anything he swallows, without suffering harm, as a passive effect. This includes poisons, toxic waste and other dangerous substances. While the Vestment is active, the host can swallow objects (or creatures) up to Size 3 as an instant action. The Possessed can intentionally not digest one Size 3 or smaller object (or creature) he swallows, though this can be somewhat painful.
The character’s teeth do not appear much different: perhaps a bit more pointed, certainly more white. But the effect is notable: the character may make a lethal bite attack (+1). This necessitates first achieving a grapple, however. Some Possessed, so consumed with their gluttonous ways, use this Vestment to actually take out chunks of an enemy’s flesh to swallow. Some eat the flesh of others to reportedly gain their power; others do so only because they are hungry, and the meat of “long pig” satisfies the needs of gut and bowel.
The name Beelzebub is spoken with fear and awe by lesser demons, when they dare speak the name at all. Demons of Gluttony mimic the merest hint of Beelzebub’s power by manifesting swarms of fat, glistening flies. On the first turn this Vestment is active, the swarm of flies pours forth from the mouth and nose of the Possessed, filling the air with a horrid buzzing. On the following turn, once the swarm has formed up, it can divide itself and attack anyone within five yards of the Possessed. The Size of the swarm is equal to the total number of dots in Vices the character possesses. When attacking multiple enemies, divide the total Size of the swarm by enemies present (round up) to determine the Size of the swarm attacking each individual. When the Vestment ends, the flies flow back into the body of the host, healing her for half the total amount of damage (by type) caused by the swarm’s attacks.
In some parts of the world, tribes that performed cannibalism believed that by eating the flesh of an enemy they gained that enemy’s strength. More peaceful forms of ritualistic cannibalism were performed when a family member died. The corpse was cooked and devoured by the family so the wisdom and knowledge of the deceased would be passed on. Gluttonous Possessed have been known to engage in cannibalism and, as described earlier, some even prefer their long pork alive and kicking. The possessing demon tastes the essence of the devoured flesh and sucks memories from the marrow of the bones.
While this Vestment is active, any flesh or blood consumed from a sentient being (alive or dead) is digested for knowledge. The Possessed gains full use of any one Skill known to the donor, including any pertinent Specialties. Although the Possessed can only “borrow” use of one Skill at a time from any one person, snacking upon the meat of multiple characters grants the Possessed access to multiple Skills. So if, for example, the Possessed tasted the blood of three different characters he would gain access to one Skill from each. Characters who are victims of this diabolical feasting still retain access to the Skills.
Perhaps because gluttons are used to always taking more than their share, opponents find bodies possessed by Gluttony demons can absorb more damage than seems possible. Absorbed damage is broken down and processed just like anything else the Possessed “eats,” though in this case pain becomes a delicacy for demonic consumption.
Each time the Possessed takes damage, he may convert the incoming damage on a one-to-one basis to Infernal Willpower. The character can hold up to 3 temporary Infernal Willpower points over his maximum before the demon is sated and can absorb no more. If, in subsequent turns, the Infernal Willpower pool is reduced below its maximum (including temporary Willpower), the Possessed can convert additional damage until the demon is “sated” again. In quieter moments, some Possessed have wondered whether this Vestment is the origin of the phrase, “glutton for punishment.”
Not every Possessed glutton is a fat, slobbering mass. The possessing demon takes a portion of everything the host eats for itself; usually the tastiest morsels. One side effect of this demonic sampling is that the host never actually eats as much as he appears to. The other side effects are less pleasant. What remains in the stomach of the Possessed after the demon has taken the choicest portions is a nasty, swirling mass of hard-to-digest remnants, bile and digestive juices. If the Possessed is attacked, the demon heats this noxious soup with Infernal fire until it boils over, spewing out of the host in a spray of acidic vomit.
Each turn this Vestment remains active, the Possessed can hurl on anyone within three yards as an instant action. Directing the vomit is a ranged attack that requires a Wits + Stamina + Gluttony roll. Each success inflicts 1 point of lethal damage to the primary target and 1 point of bashing damage to anyone within a one-yard “splash” radius. Alternately, this Vestment can be used to recover items that were ingested, but not digested, with the Swallow Vestment.
Gluttony is all about personal enjoyment regardless of the cost to the self or others. A true glutton can derive as much pleasure from a banquet of misery inflicted upon others as he does from a ten-course meal. The key to the thing is quantity. Subjecting an individual to torment just isn’t as satisfying as the dismay of a crowd.
While active, anyone within the Possessed’s aura gains no pleasure from his favorite activity. Food tastes foul and squirms like maggots, clothes feel dirty and caked on to the skin, expensive toys are greasy to the touch and appear ill-used. These are all subtle sensations that register mainly in the subconscious rather than the conscious mind. The feeling is distracting at best and insidious to the mentally unstable. Anyone within five yards of the Possessed suffers a –2 penalty to all rolls from distraction and characters with a derangement suffer internal disquiet that forces them to roll to avoid triggering their flaw. Characters need make only one roll to avoid triggering their derangements no matter how many turns they remain in the area of effect.
Size amongst the gluttonous can be a measure of power; with this Vestment, the Possessed may add the dots held in the Gluttony Vice to her Size (which also adds to her Health score) for the duration of this Infernal ability. The skin stretches, the bones thicken. The character is oddly buoyant, though, losing no Speed in the process.
It’s perhaps true that money cannot buy happiness, but it can damned sure buy a lot of other things. Once per game session, a character with this Vestment may trade in a single dot of Resources for one of the following effects: refill the Willpower (not Infernal Will) pool; heal all bashing damage; heal 3 points of lethal damage; +1 to Defense for the remainder of the chapter.
The stories suggest those with the Vice of Greed will one day be cast into Hell and seared in boiling oil for the remainder of their castigation. The demon within offers some protection with this Vestment, a bit of… insurance. If the character takes damage from fire, assume the fire’s Size and Intensity are one less (can be reduced to zero) for purposes of determining damage done.
To the greedy, ownership is everything. It’s appropriate, in a way, that the demon possesses the human, and the human longs to possess things—a chain of ownership that trickles down.
With this Vestment, that ownership becomes easier on the Possessed character. When purchasing items, the character “lucks” into good deals or can haggle her way to a bargain with minimal effort (no roll). When deciding to purchase something, assume the Resources Cost is equal to one less than is stated (to a minimum of a 1-dot Cost).
The pursuit of more—more money, more women, more anything—with enough ruthless intensity is a kind of blindness. Only the goal of the quest registers in the consciousness of the pursuer; other people and events are vague outlines in the darkness beyond. The demon turns this kind of blindness to true darkness, greedily absorbing more and more of the light until only darkness is left. Light is sucked in bright streamers directly into the body of the Possessed. Indoors the process is relatively quick. Each turn the quality of light within ten yards of the Possessed is reduced by a quarter. Outdoors the process takes longer but is more dramatic. Storm clouds roll in, shadows lengthen and the sun seems to turn away from the Possessed. Each turn the quality of light is reduced by a tenth in the immediate vicinity (five yards). During daylight hours, outdoor light can be reduced only to about half its normal quality. At night, however, total inky blackness surrounds anyone in the affected area. The possessing demon can tune the senses of the host and up to three accomplices to filter the darkness, granting them sight, of a sort.
Pinch every penny ’til it bleeds. Never pay more than your share. Charity is for the weak. Misers truly believe in milking everything they own to the last drop. Misers are the source for stories about old men with hordes of cash under their beds who live alone in squalor, wearing the same set of threadbare clothes day after day until they die. A Possessed miser is just as stingy with the dark powers at his disposal, meting them out grudgingly, even to save his own life.
When this Vestment is activated the host gains a +1 bonus to all attack rolls for each unspent dot of Infernal Willpower.
Wealth is often seen as a status symbol—he who owns the nicest car, the finesttailored suit, the biggest house so often ends up at the top of the totem pole. With this Vestment, that becomes all the more true: a character can literally bring his substantial wealth to bear against others in social situations.
The character may add his Resources dots to any rolls involving Intimidation or Persuasion.
Simple success isn’t enough for the greedy. They push and fight for more, more, more. Likewise, simply drawing blood doesn’t satisfy their avarice. Everything counts in large amounts. The demon inside a greedy Possessed encourages its host by multiplying his successes. While this Vestment is active, any roll made by the Possessed that ends in failure or results in a single success can be bolstered. The character may roll up to 5 additional dice and add any successes to his initial roll. If the secondary roll turns up more 1’s than successes the action results in a dramatic failure. By pushing for more, the demon has hindered more than it has helped.
One of the basic tenets of Greed is that everyone has a price. The price might be higher for some people than others, but when you find that breaking point, people will do anything if the price is right. Questions about morality, about what is right and what is easy, all vanish when the price is met. Once you’ve taken a man’s measure, once you’ve paid his price, he becomes a slave to your will.
While this Vestment is active, everyone within five yards of the host hears a whispering in their minds. The buzzing voice of the demon speaks to the subconscious, bargaining and cajoling, offering up their heart’s desires. The voice can be blocked out with a Resolve + Composure roll at a –3 penalty. If the roll fails, that individual becomes a slave to the Possessed. He will follow any command, even sacrifice his own life to protect him. When the duration ends, those people who fell under the sway of the Possessed will have no memories of their actions, only a lingering feeling that they’ve been cheated of their rightful due.
More, more, more. Never enough, says Mammon, that greedy, needy beast. Not only does the character gain a number of dice to Physical attacks (Brawl, Weaponry) equal to dots possessed in Greed, but any lethal damage incurred to an opponent is transmuted to Willpower for the Possessed. (It first fills Infernal Will, then spills over into refilling lost Willpower.)
The story of King Midas is a morality play, a cautionary tale about the effects of Greed. Offered a single wish by Dionysus, Midas chooses for his touch to transmute base objects into gold. Only after he turns his daughter to a golden statue does Midas realize he has been cursed rather than blessed. While this Vestment is active, the Possessed gains Midas’ blessing. (The greedy don’t recognize the curse.) Anything the Possessed touches begins to turn to gold. The transmutation takes a number of turns equal to the Size of the object touched. If the touch is turned against living targets, the Possessed must first succeed in establishing a grapple hold with a Strength + Brawl roll. Each turn the grapple is maintained the target takes 1 point of aggravated damage as flesh and bone turn to gold. Objects (or people) turned to gold revert to their normal composition when the Vestment’s duration ends. This reversion doesn’t “undo” damage caused to live targets.
Bargaining with demons is a losing proposition for most mortals. Even the lowest ranking demons have had millennia of practice at deception. For the Possessed, making a bargain with a demon is less a contest of wills and guile than it is a business deal. The possessing demon speaks directly through the host, setting terms, offering compromises and keeping a weather eye for treacherous loopholes.
Activating this Vestment requires the expenditure of 2 Infernal Will, but the effect remains active for a scene. The Possessed gains a bonus to the Negotiations roll (see p. 75) equal to his total dots of Vice.
Wealth is often seen as a status symbol—he who owns the nicest car, the finesttailored suit, the biggest house so often ends up at the top of the totem pole.
With this Vestment, that becomes all the more true: a character can literally bring his substantial wealth to bear against others in social situations. The character may add his Resources dots to any rolls involving Intimidation or Persuasion.
Possession is nine points of the law. If you take something and no one catches you, it’s yours. Even people who have more than they need engage in shoplifting, steal cash from charity donations and perform other acts of petty theft. Acting in this manner is one of the purest expressions of Greed. Demons are more powerful than small-time thieves and so raise their standards a bit. Instead of stealing loose change or DVDs they manifest Greed to protect their host body by stealing the bullets from a gun or the temper from edged weapons.
While this Vestment is active, the first character in each turn who attempts to attack the Possessed with a firearm or melee weapon finds his attacks stymied. Guns run out of ammo, knives lose tensile strength and snap, and clubs shatter when they strike. Holy objects or weapons with other unusual qualities don’t break, but the damage of their strike is reduced to zero.
So it was that an incubus (Latin for “nightmare”) would sneak into one’s room at night and cruelly invade one’s sleep by sitting on the subject’s chest, stealing breath, even instigating nocturnal sexual activity. In this case, a Possessed with this Vestment needs to do no such thing, but can by her very presence sap the restfulness of those around her. Any who slumber within a hundred yards of her will not gain a Willpower point upon waking. They suffer nightmares, and in them she is a prominent fixture.
It helps to know one’s victim inside and out. Simply by touching a victim, the Possessed may without rolling know the exact dots that subject possesses in one Social Skill. The Possessed chooses which Skill to examine, and may examine one victim this way only once—she cannot go back and attempt to know another Skill later. (Note that the character doesn’t actually understand dot ratings; that’s really for the player. The character comes to understand, “My victim is profoundly savvy when it comes to socializing,” or, “My victim has zero understanding of other people’s feelings.”)
It is a sickening thing, the succubus, a demon driven by Lust, yes, but often for a very damning purpose: to have a child. By stealing the semen of sleeping men, the succubus could impregnate herself with a child born of true sin. Here, the Possessed with this Vestment gains +3 Social rolls when dealing with children. They find the character very… parental. A dark irony, indeed.
Your character exudes a potent, heady scent—pleasurable to those around her. The perfume is a scent unique to the character: perhaps a whiff of salacious musk, a scent of luscious lavender or an odor of delicious vanilla (or other pleasing foods).
The character gains +1 to Social rolls, and +3 specifically to Seduction rolls.
The character exudes a sweet, fragrant milk from one of her orifices: usually the mouth, though other more… unusual exits are possible. This milk is a drug that, when consumed, simulates the effects of a potent hallucinogen. In addition, it’s addictive (see the Addiction Flaw, p. 218, World of Darkness Rulebook).
During the state of sexual arousal the body becomes flushed with blood, bringing warmth to the skin and increasing tactile sensation. Demons can create an artificial sense of arousal even in the most dangerous of circumstances, increasing blood flow throughout the body. Increased sensitivity and blood flow are most unwelcome for characters who have been injured in a fight. They feel pain more acutely and they weaken as their wounds seep blood. When this Vestment is activated it affects any wounded character within five yards of the Possessed. If a character has suffered even a single point of lethal damage, his wounds begin to bleed. Blood loss causes 1 point of bashing damage each turn and cannot be stemmed by any form of mundane first-aid. Wounded characters are also more acutely aware of their injuries; any wound penalties are increased by 1 die penalty.
The words that come off the character’s tongue drip with honey—the voice has a hypnotic tone, a gratifying lyricism that borders on music. The character may add the sum of all her Vice dots to any rolls utilizing the following Social Skills: Persuasion, Socialize and Subterfuge.
In Hell, it’s said that the genuinely lustful will be made to walk through a tunnel of fire with flames that scour the sin clean from the vile fool’s soul. The demon has little interest, however, in ridding the character of sin, and so it offers this Vestment: the character is immune to damage from fire. Fire can still be distracting (it is awfully hot), and the character suffers a penalty equal to the intensity of the flame if she’s immersed in the fire. But she takes no damage at all. Combustible items still catch fire, including hair.
While this Vestment is active, the character may touch any number of sleeping individuals—for the remainder of the scene, next to nothing will wake the slumbering victims. The only thing that will awaken them is if they take damage equal to lethal or aggravated—bashing damage does not rouse them.
The voluptuous bat-winged succubus is the traditional Western mythological image of the lustful demon. Coming to men in their beds at night, the succubus would seduce its victims with honeyed words and sensual embraces. The demon would appear night after night, using the lure of pleasure to slowly drain the mortal of his living energies, literally screwing him to death. The demons that take refuge inside the blackened souls of the Possessed resemble these mythological creatures not at all, but it amuses the demons to play their expected role.
While this Vestment is active, the Possessed can drain 1 point of Willpower each turn he participates in a passionate exchange with another character. What constitutes a passionate exchange is left for the Storyteller to determine, but it must include physical contact of some kind. Characters who are drained of Willpower as the result of this Vestment fall unconscious and remain that way until they regain a point of Willpower. (Sleeping usually does the trick.)
The sensation of fingernails lightly scraping across bare skin can be sensual and arousing in the right circumstances. Too much scraping and scratching, however, quickly irritates the skin and turns an act of sensuality into an act of cruelty. Demons push their hosts to take the act of cruelty one step further, elongating fingernails to razor-sharp claws. With claws extended, even the gentlest touch of the Possessed draws blood, bringing a bloody contrast to erotic actions.
When this Vestment is activated the Possessed gains a +2 bonus to Strength + Brawl rolls and causes lethal damage with unarmed attacks.
The Possessed has a set of wings, like any succubus who must alight upon her victim’s windowsill or mantel at night. Each character has a unique set of wings, usually equally beautiful and horrid: leathery bat wings possessing an eerie grace, or a set of butterfly’s wings whose patterns shift and dip like hallucinations. The character gains +3 to Seduction rolls, and can also take flight with a Dexterity + Athletics roll. During flight, she may travel at triple her normal Speed.
Not every easy conquest is one worth having. The games of seduction and demurral, of thrust and parry that act as a prelude to sex can be nearly as exciting as the act itself. Some people play the game just for the thrill, with no intention of following through. They get their pleasure from the mounting agitation of the men and women they tease.
While this Vestment is active, the host exudes a musk of pure Lust that is distracting, enticing and ultimately frustrating. Always just slightly out of reach, the Possessed can dodge as a reflexive action, her Defense is never penalized by multiple attackers and she can apply her full Defense against ranged attacks. Other than dodging and moving, the character can perform no other actions for the duration of the Vestment.
Beauty begs to be protected, to be cherished and loved. The idea of allowing harm to come to beauty causes an almost physical pain in anyone with an ounce of poetry in his soul. Even when beauty is cruel, it is to be admired. Demons of Lust find the ideal of unstained beauty a useful tool, while mocking it as romantic twaddle.
While this Vestment is active, each point of damage taken by the host acts as a negative modifier to subsequent attacks that target the Possessed (to a maximum of –5). The possessing demon manifests, through the host, as a being of ultimate beauty. Witnessing that beauty marred by blood and the crude weapons of attackers pains onlookers so much they can barely stand to add to the defilement.
For a small number of individuals, ecstasy and agony are intertwined. Only through the scourging of a whip, the slicing of flesh or the cruel kiss of the paddle can they experience pleasure. Demons, especially, delight in this form of Lust. The darkest desires of humans are nothing compared to the morbid fantasies or the capacity to find joy in pain of the meanest demon. Corrupted as they are, lustful Possessed share some of the demonic relish found in ecstatic agony.
When this Vestment is activated the host gains a pool of bonus dice equal to the amount of damage he’s taken. The type of damage doesn’t matter. A Possessed with 3 points of bashing damage on his Health track creates the same 3-dice pool as a Possessed with 3 points of lethal damage. The pool of bonus dice can be used to increase any roll made by the Possessed. Each time a die is removed from the pool it’s replaced only if the Possessed takes more damage and only recent, still painful wounds—i.e., those inflicted in the same scene—contribute to the pool.
Studies show that pain and pleasure produce nearly identical brain patterns. The emotions are two sides of the same coin and, for some people, a little pain mixed with pleasure actually increases their gratification.
While this Vestment is active, the possessing demon muddles the signals sent to the brain that separate pain and pleasure. Any damage inflicted by the Possessed brings with it sharp spasms of ecstasy. It’s easy for a victim of sensation to lose his composure and give in to pleasure, opening himself to further attacks. Each time a character is wounded by the Possessed he must succeed at a Resolve + Composure roll or forfeit his Defense for the following turn.
At the time this Vestment is purchased, the character must choose one Skill sphere: Mental, Physical or Social. The character’s Pride is as such that, when the Possessed succeeds on a roll utilizing a Skill from that sphere, the character gains a point of Willpower (2 points on an exceptional success). However, if the character fails a roll using a Skill from that sphere, she loses a point of Willpower (2 points on a dramatic failure). Her Pride rewards her, but can also damn her.
Those buoyed by their own self-importance might best be summed up with the phrase: “I’m good at everything.” This Vestment helps to make that statement a bit truer. When this Vestment is chosen, the character must select a Skill that goes along with it. This Skill is forever bound to the Vestment, unless the character subs out this Vestment for the same Vestment (though with a different Skill paired with it) using the optional rule noted above (p. 129). Every morning upon waking, the Possessed character may choose a new Specialty for that Skill. That Specialty lasts until the following morning, at which point she must select a new Specialty. (She may not keep one Specialty for more than 24 hours.)
At the time this Vestment is purchased, the character must pick one Skill (combat Skills excluded: no Brawl, Firearms or Weaponry). Any time that character uses this Skill to pursue her primary Vice or to perform an action specifically in line with the demon’s wishes, that action becomes a rote action (see p. 134, World of Darkness Rulebook).
Pride, as Bidermann says, is the deadliest of all sins—and the blood of the Possessed is shot through with strains of very real arrogance. The character’s blood is poisonous, with a Toxicity equal to twice his dots in Pride. Even a drop contains the maximum dose of venom.
One aspect of Pride is to ignore taunts and accusations made by people you consider as your lessers, even if these verbal sallies have some basis in truth. By holding yourself above the approval or disapproval of anyone other than your peers, you express, without speaking, your contempt for the average man. Demons take that contempt and wrap it around their host, encasing them in a hardened shell that protects the Possessed from physical harm.
When this Vestment is activated, the skin of the Possessed is transformed from pliant flesh into a veiny white marble-like substance. The new skin of the Possessed reduces the total amount of any damage taken (regardless of source) by 2 (minimum of 1 point of damage taken) and the host body doesn’t suffer wound penalties.
You can often spot them at a distance. It’s something in the way they move, their mannerisms or the way they carry themselves that gives it away. An almost palpable aura of arrogance surrounds people who truly think they are better than everyone else. That air of arrogance makes others hesitant about approaching someone they feel will treat them with cool indifference. It isn’t fear that causes people to hesitate, it’s discomfort, almost shame, with the actions of the arrogant. Demons can magnify that feeling of hesitation, making it nearly tangible.
When this Vestment is activated, anyone who wishes to attack the Possessed must roll Resolve + Composure minus the Pride of the Possessed. If the roll is failed, the character may not attack and loses her action for the turn. If the roll succeeds, the character may attack normally but suffers a –1 penalty from that brief second of hesitation.
One’s vanity and arrogance can be a powerful shield against the realities of this world; utter delusion about one’s preeminence can, in a way, protect a person against all the slings and arrows. For a Possessed character with this Vestment, this is powerfully true: her dots possessed in the Pride Vice are added as Armor against both bashing and lethal damage for the remainder of the scene. This does not stack with other forms of mundane armor, however.
Man and demon are plainly above beasts on the celestial chain of being, and this Vestment helps to prove it. The Possessed may speak to any one animal in that animal’s tongue for the remainder of the scene. In addition, the Possessed may command that animal to do his will (necessitating success on a Manipulation + Animal Ken + Pride roll), even if the command demands the animal put itself in harm’s way.
The character’s voice has a potent, echoing quality, a resounding roll of thunder ill-concealed behind the words. Whenever the character makes a Social roll using his spoken voice (Expression, Persuasion, Socialize, Subterfuge), she can add half of her Intimidation dots (round up) to that roll, as well. In addition, any Intimidation roll gains the 9-Again quality.
By dint of their Infernal partnership and their magnified sins, most Possessed believe they have the right to command common demons. These Possessed reason that they do more to champion the cause of Vice than any mere whisperer and, amused by this arrogance, the fiend inside them backs their host with demonic authority.
While this Vestment is active, demons of Infernal Rank 2 or less are forced to comply with any command issued by the Possessed. Even lesser demons don’t appreciate a mortal lording power over them, however, and smart Possessed keep that in mind when issuing their “requests.”
Many of the Possessed enter into their Infernal pact in exchange for immortality and not always from a fear of death. Some feel they are simply too important to die, that they have a destiny stretching before them of which they won’t be cheated by simple mortality. So, in their hubris, they invite a demon into their soul and, behold!, they step outside the flow of time. In this, as in all their dealings with humans, the demons cheat and lie. Though it’s true the host body no longer ages, death comes in many shapes and forms. Most Possessed come to a bloody end, either a victim of Burnout or of violence. Demons maintain the illusion of immortality even up to the point of death, propping up their host body with demonic fortitude.
While this Vestment is active, no matter how much damage the Possessed has taken, she will not die. The Possessed will remain conscious and fully aware of the damage to her body. As soon as the duration ends, unless the Possessed manages to heal excess wounds, she collapses in a bloody heap of torn flesh.
Taking care with one’s appearance is a healthy form of Pride that seldom hurts anyone, unless it’s taken too far. People who become obsessed with their appearance run the risk of becoming vain or of developing mental disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder. Those unfortunate individuals who have suffered some sort of accident, either of birth or chance, that scars or twists their features can hardly be blamed for wishing they just looked like everyone else. These tiny cracks formed by Pride in the armor of the soul provide a doorway for demonic possession. Demons will gladly trade the power to mend wounds, scars and blemishes for an earthly host.
Unlike other Vestments, Gloating Flesh requires no Willpower expenditure to activate. Instead, the Possessed spends Willpower to heal wounds. One point of Willpower can heal either 2 points of lethal damage or 4 points of bashing damage. Wounds healed leave no scars and the newly repaired skin takes on the rosy bloom of health. The drawback of using this Vestment is that, after using Infernal power to heal flesh even once, the very skin of the Possessed becomes corrupted. For as long as the Possessed retains access to Gloating Flesh, any wounds caused by holy or blessed weapons do aggravated damage
Upon escaping their island prison on wings fashioned of wax and feathers, Daedalus, Icarus’ father, warns him not to fly too high or the sun will melt his wings. Initially, Icarus heeds his father’s warning, but eventually the sensation of freedom afforded him by flight goes to his head and Icarus flies higher and higher, reveling in power unknown to mortal men. Only when his wings begin to sag and droop does Icarus realize his folly. The wings fail and Icarus plummets into the sea, to his death. Pride goeth before a fall, indeed. Where Icarus failed, the Possessed may succeed.
Upon activating this Vestment, the host body sprouts wings large enough to bear him aloft. The appearance of the wings varies from host to host; some wings appear angelic, some are bat-like and scaled, and some look like a strange hybrid of technology and flesh. For the duration of the Vestment, the Possessed can fly at five times his normal Speed.
The character manifests his Pride in all its diabolical glory (and the player should have a hand in designing exactly what this means, visually: Eyes of fire? Lashing tongue? Diadem of bone?).
The character gains a lethal Brawl attack (+2), can add his Pride dots to any Social roll involving Intimidation or Persuasion, and anyone who attacks the character suffers a halved (round up) Defense score.
It is said Lucifer was the wisest and most powerful of all the heavenly host. God granted him the honor of shining the first light of day over the Earth, driving back the hidden dangers of the night, earning him the title of Lightbringer. In time, Lucifer grew proud and sought to overthrow God and supplant Him on His throne. Defeated by the archangel Michael, Lucifer was cast from heaven, his light bursting to create the flames of the Inferno. Whether myth or truth, demons revere the idea of Lucifer, the first rebel, and shine a ruddy light into the darkness in honor of the fallen prince.
When this Vestment is activated the Possessed begins to shine with a pale red light. The light glows brightly enough to illuminate a twenty-yard radius, yet is difficult to detect outside that distance. The luminescence cuts through any attempt at disguise (even disguises created through preternatural means) and reveals hidden objects or characters. The Possessed is assumed to succeed at any Perception test (including contested rolls) and automatically succeed at penetrating disguises or obscurations of any kind.
Those bound to beds or wheelchairs suffer from bedsores: hard-to-heal eruptions of the flesh. This Vestment doesn’t really cause bedsores in a victim, but it does cause wounds incurred by the Possessed to… linger in much the same way sores do. Any lethal damage done to an opponent by the character takes twice as long to heal than normal.
The ideal situation for the slothful is one in which someone else does their work for them, isn’t it? That box is too heavy—wouldn’t it be great if someone else would move it? That Excel spreadsheet won’t write itself, but damned if it won’t severely cut into a person’s rest and relaxation… Maybe some other fool would like the job?
A Possessed character with this Vestment has a bit of an edge in that department, gaining +2 to any Social rolls geared toward convincing others to do something the character doesn’t want to do herself. One character might use Persuasion (“Pretty please? Best friends forever”) while another might use Intimidation (“I’ll break your little finger if you don’t deliver this package”).
Mental effort is so much easier. It requires little. It’s an internal world, free of the frictions of daily life. Each morning when the character awakens, the player chooses a bonus from +1 to +5; this bonus applies for the next 24 hours toward all Mental rolls. Unfortunately, during this time the bonus becomes a penalty against all Physical rolls— so, if the character chooses +1 to Mental, he suffers –1 to all Physical rolls during this time (whereas +3 becomes –3, and +5 becomes –5).
The world around the Possessed seems… sapped of its strength. Colors are muted. Everything seems covered in a filmy haze. Those within sight of the character have a harder time resisting derangements: they suffer a penalty to their Resolve + Composure rolls equal to the dots the character possesses in her primary Vice.
Get it done, and get it done fast. All the better to go do something else, something… easy.
With this Vestment, the time ascribed to any extended Academics or Investigation rolls is cut in half (so if a roll would normally equal ten minutes of time, that same roll equals only five for a character with this ability).
The slothful desire reward without effort, and this Vestment is that very thing. Any experience point costs are reduced slightly for the character—each cost is one less than normal. (If the final cost for purchasing a new Skill dot is 15, it’s now only 14; a new Specialty costs 2 instead of 3 experience points.)
For the duration of this Vestment, a character can attempt a touch attack against an opponent (Dexterity + Brawl); success on this touch attack removes 1 Willpower point from the victim. If the victim is reduced to 0 Willpower during this scene, the victim gains a mild derangement (permanent, unless solved through therapy or psychiatric medication).
An open wound is an invitation to infection. Generally, moderate first-aid care can significantly reduce the chances of infection to an acceptable level. Demons of Sloth magnify the potential for disease caused from attacks by their host due to inaction on the part of the victim. While this Vestment is active, each time the Possessed inflicts even a single point of lethal damage (from any source) on a foe, that damage runs the risk of becoming infected. The potential victim must succeed at a Resolve + Stamina roll penalized by the Sloth of the Possessed. If the roll is failed, the victim becomes feverish and prone to exhaustion. For the remainder of the scene the diseased character must succeed at a Resolve + Stamina roll each turn before engaging in any physical activities. If the roll is failed the character may do nothing that turn that would require exertion, though she may defend herself as normal if attacked.
Sloth is sometimes born of sadness: misery holds one in place, and in the throes of depression little can be done. The character gives off a potent aura of sadness, sorrow and interminable grief. This aura persists in a radius equal to 5 times the character’s dots in Sloth, and those caught within the area of effect suffer from the severe derangement of Depression. The derangement’s effects end if a subject leaves that radius, however.
The enemy swings a camping hatchet and misses… severing his own thumb in the process. A victim tries to flee, but her ankle wrenches into a hard twist and she topples. Any caught within five yards of the character suffer the following effect: all failed Physical rolls are now to be treated as dramatic failures instead.
Wouldn’t it be better if everybody just… slowed down a little bit? With this Vestment, a Sloth-driven character can demand such a thing by dint of the demon within. The character emanates a sluggish aura in a radius of yards equal to 5 times her Morality score. If a character’s Morality is 5, then the radius of effect would be equal to 25 yards. Those caught in this aura feel as if the air is thick and humid and as if walking or running is a slog through swampy or soft ground. Everybody within that radius suffers a penalty to their Speed scores equal to twice the character’s dots in Sloth—the character herself is exempt from this effect.
As a side effect of their general indifference to cleanliness, slothful Possessed tend to attract flies and other insects. Buzzing swarms of flies alight upon discarded fast food containers, roaches feast upon unwashed plates, and little streams of ants trundle back and forth carrying the remnants of unfinished meals. If moved to defend its host from danger, the possessing demon can stir the insects into a living shield.
While this Vestment is active, the demon causes the skin of the Possessed to secrete a tacky, sickly-sweet residue from his pores. Insects are attracted to the scent and surround the host in swarms that make him more difficult to attack, granting the Possessed a +3 Defense bonus.
Sloth can be likened to patience. Like ivy climbing up a wall, the slothful slowly but surely make progress toward their goals, even if that progress isn’t apparent at first glance. Inch by inch, step by step they progress, finding ways and means not apparent to people who advance with unseemly haste.
While this Vestment is active, the Possessed can move at half his normal Speed up vertical surfaces or across horizontal surfaces (even upside down) without fear of slipping. The Possessed can also become a nearly boneless mass, able to slip any bonds or squeeze through narrow (minimum of Size 1) openings.
Have you ever been sitting down or lying in bed, comfy and relaxed, and see something across the room you need? How often have you wished you could just summon that item directly to you without having to get up? Most people will eventually get off their asses and go grab whatever it is they happen to require. They might grumble about it, but they’ll do it all the same. Slothful Possessed have perfected laziness to a near art form, calling upon their demon to perform tasks without the effort of actually moving.
While this Vestment is active, the Possessed gains the power of telekinesis. The character can lift objects of up to Size 5 that weigh 200 lbs or less. Skill rolls to manipulate objects with telekinesis replace Physical Attributes with corresponding Mental Attributes (Intelligence for Strength, Wits for Dexterity, Resolve for Stamina). Firing a gun, therefore, would become a Wits + Firearms roll. Unarmed physical attacks made with telekinesis ignore Defense, but not Armor and deal bashing damage. A faint smell of brimstone fills the air for the duration of the Vestment.
Apathy is, perhaps, best defined as just not giving a damn. To be apathetic is to realize you should be doing something, maybe even something vitally important, while at the same time not really caring enough to summon up the resolve. Everyone is apathetic about something at some point in their lives and a possessing demon can latch on to that feeling to aid its host.
While this Vestment is active, everyone within, or who moves within, ten yards of the host is subtly encouraged to be apathetic. Characters may roll Resolve + Composure –2 to overcome the compulsion and behave normally. Those who fail the roll are unable to spend Willpower. Any character so affected who tries to throw off the compulsion can reattempt the resistance roll each turn at a cumulative –1 penalty.
One of the easiest ways to pick out slothful Possessed is by the reek they give off. Not every host with this Vice is a disgusting pig who hasn’t bathed for weeks or months, but enough of them are to make it a valid stereotype. Their hair lies flat against their heads, oily and matted, their clothes have the delicate scent of sour milk and their skin is covered by rashes and blemishes. The body odor that accompanies them everywhere they go is enough to cause most people to avoid coming closer to the Possessed than they can help and makes the odds of them finding a job or having a social life next to nil. It requires only a tiny nudge from the possessing demon to turn up the stench to truly nauseating levels.
While this Vestment is active, the Possessed sheds a foul odor that makes throats gag and eyes water. Anyone within three yards of the Possessed suffers a –3 penalty to all actions, so repellant is the smell. Additionally, the first turn the Vestment is active, each character within the Miasma must succeed at a Resolve + Stamina roll to avoid vomiting or inability to act.
To succeed through inaction is the ultimate dream of slothful Possessed. No faltering half-measures, no guilty procrastination, simply victory through stagnation.
While this Vestment is active, the image of the possessing demon manifests over that of the host, a squat toad-like being in place of the frail human body that has to scramble to survive. As long as the Possessed doesn’t move, not even to scratch his nose, he is completely invulnerable to damage and can’t be affected by any sort of mental compulsion. If the host moves or is somehow forced to move, the Vestment immediately ends.
Sloth is sometimes represented by the goat: a lazy, stubborn creature that is often quite immovable. The character grows a pair of powerful ram’s horns, barbed unnaturally with thorns that drip black ichor. The character may make attacks using these horns. The horns have a damage bonus of 3(L).
A mule or horse will work a bit harder when whipped or kicked, but only for so long. The Possessed character’s abilities are a bit like that: once per day the character may impress his urgent and angry will upon a single Attribute + Skill roll. That roll gains a bonus equal to dots possessed in Wrath and gains the 9-Again quality. However, for the remainder of the day any rolls thereafter utilizing either the Attribute or the Skill suffer a damning effect: failures are now automatically considered dramatic failures during this time. The mule kicks back, so to speak.
A Hindu text notes, “Angry words are the slayer of men.” The Possessed with this Vestment may make a ranged attack against a single individual (range equal to target’s hearing radius) using Presence + Intimidation. The attack comprises harsh words, bitter invective and brutal threats. It hits like a fist or a kick; successes gained manifest as bashing damage.
Vengeance isn’t a dish best served cold; for many, it’s a dish best served fucking fast. A man cuts you off in traffic; well, better to beat his head in with a brick while he’s right here, right now. Those with this Vestment get a bit of a jump on the act of vindication: the Possessed character can add the dots possessed in the Vice of Wrath to his Initiative score.
Sometimes something doesn’t work. The car sputters. The DVD player clicks and whirrs. The computer keeps giving that wretched blue screen. Anger wells up—the urge to punish an inanimate object may be foolish, but it’s prevalent nevertheless.
With this Vestment, a character can do that very thing and make it work: he gains a bonus to Crafts rolls equal to dots possessed in the Wrath Vice.
A murderer lovingly strokes his favorite knife. A Marine Corps sniper names his rifle. A neighborhood vigilante marks his kills with hatch marks carved into the wood of his beloved Louisville slugger. The vengeful never wish to be without their favored weapon, and with this Vestment that’s certainly true. At the time of purchasing this Vestment, the character ties it to a specific weapon—not any .38 snubnose, but her favored snubnose (or axe, or crowbar, or whatever).
When activating this Vestment, the item appears in front of the character, begging only to be picked up and used. At the end of the scene, the weapon literally dissolves into its cumulative parts and cannot be used again… that is, not until the character manifests this Vestment once more. The weapon always returns, eager to be brought to bear against her many enemies.
It seems as if some people are just born angry. They spend their entire lives looking for a fight and when they find one it only intensifies their rage. Their anger is the only thing that gives their lives meaning and so they indulge it as much as possible. Wrathful Possessed learn to tap into the fury of the demon within and use it to bolster their fortitude.
When this Vestment is activated, the Possessed gains an amount of temporary Health equal to her Wrath. Any damage suffered by the Possessed is first subtracted from this temporary Health before carrying over to her normal track. At the end of the Vestment’s duration, all damage absorbed by temporary Health vanishes and no long affects the host.
Translation: anger is a brief madness. The character gives off an unnerving aura that affects those within a radius equal to twice the character’s primary Vice score in yards.
Those in this aura suffer the effects of one mild derangement chosen by the Possessed. They cannot resist the derangement with anything but a point of Willpower spent; the effects last for one scene, as long as the aura itself.
No matter what the Bible might say, the strong are meant to rule. Strength comes in many forms. In a prison block physical strength determines who makes the rules, in the corporate world strength of will or personality creates leaders, and even among computer geeks, nerds and hackers the strongest minds dominate. Wrath can magnify strength, focusing mind and body upon the task at hand. Infernal Wrath tightens that focus to a needle point. This Vestment requires no expenditure to activate; instead, each point of Infernal Will spent increases one Attribute by 2 dots (this may exceed normal maximums) for the duration of the Vestment. Characters may apply this Vestment to only one Attribute at a time, and repeated uses of the Vestment do not stack.
Certainly some given over to this sin want to see the eyes of their enemies as they spoon-feed them their guts. Others just want the satisfying crunch of lead pipe against skull parts.
With this Vestment, if the character successfully enacts a surprise against an opponent this scene, she can apply the Killing Blow rules against that target instead of having the target lose Defense.
The motto for the wrathful might simply be: “Do until others as they have already done unto you.” That not-so-golden rule applies with this Vestment: any damage (bashing or lethal) done to the Possessed during this scene is mirrored upon the attacker. If an attacker thrusts a knife through the character’s belly, the attacker’s own belly starts to bleed. That attacker takes the same type and amount of damage caused.
There’s no such thing as a fair fight. When tempers flare and strong words give way to violence, only a fool stops to consider whether she’s being fair to her foes. The wrathful Possessed doesn’t expect a fair fight, but the demon inside her isn’t eager to be forced out of its host, so it incites enemies to mindless violence rather than reasoned attacks. While this Vestment is active, any characters who target the Possessed with violent intent find their minds filled with a red haze of fury. Overwhelmed with the compulsion to beat their foe bloody, they drop their weapons and charge the Possessed to battle in frenzied hand-to-hand combat. Characters can attempt to resist this compulsion with a Resolve + Composure roll at a –3 penalty. If the roll fails, the characters must drop any weapons they are currently holding and move at top speed to engage the Possessed in unarmed combat. During their frenzy, characters afflicted by the rage must make an All-Out Attack each turn (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157). The eyes of those affected by Blood Frenzy turn black and anyone staring into the inky pools sees his own reflection turn bruised and bloody.
The blood of the wrathful runs hot: anger isn’t cold or precise—it’s fiery, searing, and can be deadly. Those who manifest this Vestment find their skin growing blisters, turning red and dark like scorched meat. This doesn’t hurt the Possessed character, though, and is in fact indicative of the roiling blood just beneath the surface. Those who make a successful close-quarters attack against the character (even bashing) are splashed with burning hot blood. This causes the opponent to suffer a number of lethal points of damage equal to half (round up) of what he caused to begin with. So, if the opponent causes 7 points of damage, he’s splashed with burning blood and takes 4 points of lethal damage (half of 7, rounded up).
Rage burns hot. It manifests as a glint of anger in the eyes, a rough edge to the voice and the drumbeat of blood pounding in the ears. Given fuel to burn, rage can overflow the body in acts of violence or sharp words spoken that can never be rescinded. Wrathful Possessed revel in their rage and in the rage of the beast dwelling in their souls. The demonic rage of a host spills over into the tools they use to communicate their anger, heating them with a hellish glow.
While this Vestment is active, any weapon (or the knuckles of the host, if unarmed) wielded by the Possessed turns red-hot and smoking. In the case of firearms, bullets erupt into flame as they leave the barrel, leaving trails of smoldering sparks in their wake. Successful attacks deal an automatic 2 points of lethal damage in addition to roll results. The clothing and equipment of opponents that take more than 5 points of damage in any turn begin to smolder and burn. Characters can beat out the blossoming flames with a successful Wits + Dexterity roll. If the roll is failed, the flames are considered torch-sized for purposes of damage (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 180).
Perhaps it’s because the anger within demons of Wrath burns so brightly that they seem to have the greatest affinity with fire. Of course, every demon has the theoretical ability to summon up hellfire, but demons of Wrath do so with the greatest ease and verve. Upon taking refuge in a human soul, demons of Wrath slowly extend their influence over the host body, tempering it with rage until the Possessed can withstand the heat of brimstone flames. With preparation of the host complete, the possessing demon calls out to the Inferno’s flames and draws them to the material realm.
While this Vestment is active, the Possessed may summon and command hellfire. The flames can be shaped according to the desires of the Possessed, taking the form of a wall of fire, a wave of rolling flames or handfuls of blazing death. The total volume of hellfire summoned at any one time may not exceed two cubic yards. Directing the hellfire is an instant action requiring no roll. Throwing handfuls of flame is resolved with a Dexterity + Athletics check. Hellfire burns hotter and fiercer than regular fire, increasing damage by +2, and hellfire may not be extinguished by any means until the duration of the Vestment is up. See the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 180, for rules dealing with fire.
Stoked with hatred and fueled by cruelty, Wrath takes on a life of its own, becoming implacable. Rage begins to feed upon itself, creating an unstoppable force that sneers at injury, slowed only by death.
While this Vestment is active, the skin of the Possessed is covered in scales the gray-white color of smoldering ashes. Upon activating the Vestment, the Possessed chooses one type of damage (bashing, lethal or aggravated) and becomes immune to that type of damage for the scene. Additionally, the host never suffers from wound penalties. Holy or blessed weapons ignore the damage restriction and inflict wounds normally. Rollover damage is exempt as well; if a character is immune to lethal damage but takes enough bashing damage that lethal damage begins to roll over, he would take that lethal damage normally. Being immune to blades doesn’t prevent one from being beaten to death.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This is the commandment of Wrath. If a man injures you, the only possible response is to answer in kind. Only a coward allows his enemy to draw blood without suffering retribution. Revenge is not a dish best served cold; it’s best served hot and steaming from the fires of rage. Wrathful Possessed believe all of this and the demons inside them expect no less, arming their hosts for retaliation.
While this Vestment is active, any time the Possessed suffers even a single point of damage he may make a retaliatory attack as a reflexive action, ignoring the standard turn sequence. The retaliatory attack is carried out with whatever weapon is at hand and obeys all standard rules. The reflexive action does not allow the Possessed a free move; he can strike at only those characters within range of his weapons. Retaliatory attacks do not exhaust the standard action of the Possessed; he may move and act normally during his turn.