Xeno Merits

These are Merits specifically for xenos and abductees.

## Abductee (\* - \*\*\*\*\*)

**Prerequisite:** Not supernatural.

You have been altered by a xeno, and are able to use Tech. As long as you are touching an appropriate Memory, you may spend a number of instant actions equal to a Tech's rating to attempt to activate it, rolling your Abductee rating.

**Drawback:** You cannot have a higher rating in this Merit than your Integrity. If your Integrity drops below your Abductee rating, the higher dots become inaccessible.

## Extra Life (\*\*\*\*\*)

**Prerequisites:** Safe Place, must be gained as a result of in-story events or a template.

You have used Tech to clone yourself, or you interact with the world through a remote-operated interface. In the event that you die, you instead lose this Merit (as an exception to the normal Sanctity of Merits rule, you are not refunded the experiences spent on it because being disposable is the entire point of the Merit) and are restored to full Health in your Safe Place.

You may have multiple iterations of this Merit, but for purposes of cost each one's rating is considered one higher for each iteration you already possess.

## Status (Plan) (\*-\*\*\*\*\*)

The Plans are part ideology, and part social group. While most of the time, no formal hierarchy is recognized, a xeno who furthers a Plan will generally be known to others of the same Plan.

Unlike most forms of supernatural Status, a xeno (or an abductee, or even a mortal) can have Status in multiple Plans, with the obvious exception of Plan NULL. Generally, as long as she knows which end of the ray gun points away from her, NINE doesn't care if one of its members is also in STAR. However, a xeno cannot have more than one Plan Boon at a time; Plan Boons are mutually-incompatible Tech, and a xeno who wishes to switch Boons must spend a chapter without a Plan Boon as her system adjusts.

## Tolerant Environment (\*\*\*)

**Prerequisite:** Xeno.

With significant effort, you have found or created a social niche where your oddities are accepted or even expected: a position of authority where crushing those who challenge you (and incidentally fulfilling your need for dominance) is practically required, a person in on your secrets who allows you to vent to him, or a cult whose doctrines match your urges. Choose a type of social environment, such as a Hobbyist Clique, a Mystery Cult, or your office. As long as you are in that environment, you suffer no social penalty from Alienation and your Instincts are expected behavior.

You may have multiple iterations of this Merit, as long as they do not overlap.

## Transgenic (\*-\*\*\*\*\*)

**Prerequisite:** Xeno, must be chosen at character creation.

Your body contains genes that encode for alien traits. Choose a Tech, with a dot rating equal to your dots in Transgenic. You have that Tech integrated into your body as though with the Green Species Boon. You do not need to install the Tech or spend Understanding to use it, and dramatic failures do nothing beyond simple failures.

Instead of choosing a Tech, you may instead choose a single mundane item with a Resources value equal to your dots in Transgenic. In addition, if your chronicle uses other New World of Darkness games, you may borrow powers from them instead of selecting Tech. Each power must be as narrowly defined as a Tech; a xeno may learn a Discipline or a Rote, but not an Arcanum.

You may have multiple iterations of this Merit.

**Drawback:** It's difficult to separate the beneficial effects of a gene from its harmful effects, and "harmful effects" can be quite devastating in an alien environment. For each dot of Transgenic possessed, you suffer from a single harmful Condition, which can never be resolved unless the Merit is lost.

## Workshop (\*-\*\*\*\*\*)

**Prerequisites:** Xeno, Safe Place.

You have built a place that is particularly attuned to creating Tech, whether because it has facilities specifically designed for crafting it or because some natural aspect of it allows for you to cut corners without the normal drawbacks. As long as you build it in your Workshop, the Resources value of the components you need to build your Tech is reduced by your Workshop rating. Tech that has its Resources value reduced to zero is not treated as a purchase; any Tech reduced that far can be built with found items or salvaged components.