Merits

Merits and Flaws are optional traits that a storyteller may choose to include, or prohibit, in her chronical. Properly used, the Merits and Flaws help players create and indivdualize their character. These Traits can provide player characters with added depth and personality, but Storytellers should be careful to ensure that any Traits chosen will not adversely influence the course of the chronicle or give one character an unfair advantage over the rest.

Merits and Flaws are divided into four categories: physical, mental, social and supernatural.

# General Merits

These merits can be taken, regardless of the Splat involved. These are taken from across the different Splat books and you can find the reference in each merit. Some merits and flaws have been handled via House Rules in an attempt to keep ot consistent across the Splats. These can be found in House Ruled Merits and Flaws.

## General Physical Merits

### Feral Appearance (1 pt. Merit)

Whether you’re more rugged than average or have a lean, hungry look to your features, werewolves like what they see. It isn’t a matter of physical beauty as human society judges it; there’s just something about you that stirs werewolves’ animal natures. You get an extra die on all rolls involving Appearance when dealing with Garou.

### Acute Senses (1 or 3 pt. Physical Merit)

Your physical senses are unusually sharp, capturing nuances that few people ever notice. In game terms, your character reduces the difficulty of her Perception-based rolls by -2. At the 1-point level, a single sense (vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell) is more acute than usual; at the 3-point level, all five physical senses are equally sharp.

### Alcohol /Drug Tolerance (1 to 2 pt. Merit)

You can drink folks under the table or otherwise party till everybody else drops. System-wise, this Merit lets you make a Stamina roll (difficulty 7) to shake off the effects of intoxication – a useful talent for hard-pounding Ecstatics and tough-as-leather Black Suits! In its one-point form, this Merit functions only for “natural” drugs (booze, pot, cocaine, etc.), not for lab-synthesized concoctions (LSD, meth, krokodil, etc.). For two points, however, the Merit can neutralize the psychoactive effects of any drug unless that drug has been created as the vector for a Sphere-based magickal Effect.

### Ambidextrous (1 pt. Merit)

The hemispheres of your brain are so attuned that you can use both hands with equal dexterity. In game terms, you do not suffer a higher difficulty if you use two weapons or perform some task with your off-hand. The normal rules for performing multiple actions still apply, but coordination between the left and right sides of your body is no problem at all.

### Bruiser (1pt. Merit)

Your appearance is sufficiently thug-like to inspire fear (or at least disquiet) in those who see you. While you’re not necessarily ugly, you do radiate a quiet menace, to the point where people cross the street to avoid passing near you. All Intimidation rolls against those who have not demonstrated their physical superiority to you are at -1 difficulty.

### Cast-Iron Stomach (1 pt. Merit)

You can eat more or less anything without gagging. Squirming bugs, synthetic goop, a freshly-gutted carcass with the innards still hanging out… hey, it’s all food, so chow down! Anything you can physically devour and digest is yours for the eating. This Merit does not in any way protect you from the effects of said substances (rotted meat can still poison you), but you can keep down a meal that would make the average person puke from its mere proximity… an especially useful gift if you have the supernatural Flaw: Bizarre Hunger (see below).

### Catlike Balance (1 pt. Merit)

Your sense of balance has been honed – either through practice, magick, or other means – to uncanny acuity. System-wise, you reduce the difficulty by -2 when your character performs some physical act (rolling with a fall, walking a tightrope, etc.) that requires her to keep her feet.

### Friendly Face (1pt. Merit)

You have a face that reminds everyone of someone, to the point where strangers are inclined to be wellinclined toward you because of it. The effect doesn’t fade even if you explain the “mistake,” leaving you at -1 difficulty on all appropriate Social-based rolls (yes for Seduction, no for Intimidation, for example) when a stranger is involved. This Merit only functions on a first meeting

### Hyperflexible (1 pt. Merit)

You are what’s commonly but erroneously known as “double-jointed” (as per the old Merit of that name). In reality, your joints are exceedingly flexible, perhaps due to intense training, magickal augmentation, or the medical condition known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS – see above, as well as the Impediment Flaw, below). Whatever the reason, you can stretch and flex in ways most people cannot.

In game terms, this Merit allows you a -2 reduction in difficulty for rolls that involve physical flexibility – escape attempts, contortions, etc. Your character can also perform uncanny acts of hyperflexibility, as seen in Cirque Du Soleil, butoh dance, and extreme yoga postures.

### Legerdemain (1pt. Merit)

You’re extremely good at sleight of hand and other physical tricks. Difficulties when using Subterfuge for physical trickery, shell games, card tricks, and so forth, are decreased by two.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Light Sleeper (1 pt. Merit)

Four hours of sleep a night works just fine for you. And unlike most folks, you can wake up out of an apparently dead slumber more or less ready for action. You can, of course, enjoy longer periods of sleep too. But when deadlines, intruders, and end-of-the-world emergencies shake you out of bed, you get by with cat-naps and the occasional light snooze.

### Noble Blood (1 pt. Merit)

Although the modern world resists the old traditions of lineage as a mark of quality, your features link you to a powerful family; you’re a Kennedy, a Windsor, a Saud, a Rothschild – someone whose pedigree is obvious in your physical form and presence.

In story terms, this Merit grants you the obvious physical features of a well-known “royal” family: the Kennedy smile, the Windsor ears, and so forth. The family in question doesn’t have to belong to a formal aristocracy, either; you might be a Kardashian, a Murdoch, or a Clinton, and may the gods have mercy on your soul. On the flipside, your distinct features might not be especially attractive (royal families are notoriously inbred), and will mark you out for enemies of the clan in question.

In social situations, this Merit might be worth a -2 reduction for the difficulty of social rolls that involve people who care about things like aristocracy, but would also increase your difficulty by +2 if you’re dealing with folks who hate that noble family’s guts! In all cases, this Merit reflects an actual genetic connection, not simply a cosmetic resemblance… which could provide all kinds of complications when magick and its secret histories are involved.

### Thousand Meter Killer (1pt. Merit)

You have proven yourself worthy to join the Thousand Meter Club through your remarkable skill with the sniper rifle. The difficulty of all rolls associated with sniping is reduced by -1. You also double the normal range when using a sniper rifle as a weapon.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Wheelman (1pt. Merit)

You have a natural affinity for driving motorized wheeled vehicles. The difficulties of all rolls requiring risky or especially difficult driving maneuvers are reduced by two.

### Call of the Sea (2pt. Merit)

There is something about the sea that makes you feel at home. You are in tune with the tides and rhythm of the ocean. When on a boat in the ocean or on a river, you may add a die to all your dice pools.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Crack Shot (2pt. Merit)

Whether pointing a gun, arrow, or dart, you hit your target with great accuracy. You receive no increased difficulty when targeting any specific location and reduce the difficulty of rolls not involving specific targeting by one.

### Dexterous Toes (2pt. Merit)

Anything you can do with hands (firing a gun, drawing, playing a musical instrument, etc.) can be done just as well using your feet. Polite society tends to frown on such behavior, but sluagh and pooka laugh at such prissiness.

### Enchanting Feature (2 pt. Merit)

Blessed with magnificent eyes, sleek hair, mighty biceps, preternatural grace, ripped abs, a dazzling smile, or some other standout physical feature, you can enchant people with the raw perfection of that feature. The feature in question doesn’t need to be visually obvious, either; maybe you smell good, possess a seductive voice, move with animalistic allure, or enjoy some likewise wondrous physical asset. (Please be tasteful here, folks.)

This Merit takes the place of related Physical Merits such as Enchanting Gaze, Soothing Voice, Graceful, and other potentially similar attributes. Story-wise, this Enchanting Feature becomes a standout part of your character’s description. System-wise, you reduce the difficulty by -2 when your character deploys the feature in question as part of some social feat

((Caveat for Mages: If your mage employs his Enchanting Feature Merit as part of his magickal focus (see the Instruments entries for Eye Contact, Dance and Movement, Ordeals and Exertions, Sex and Sensuality, Social Domination, and Voice and Vocalizations in Mage 20, Chapter Ten), then you could count this Merit as a personalized unique /specialized instrument (as detailed in Mage 20, pp. 503 and 588). On the plus side, this allows you to reduce certain casting difficulties by -2 when the feature in question is specifically employed in the casting of an Effect. On the not-so-good side, this might get your mage’s eyes gouged out, his face marred, his vocal cords cut, or… well, you get the picture… if a particularly ruthless enemy considers that feature to be “the focus of his power.”))

### Physically Impressive (2 pt. Merit)

You are one imposing sumbitch, not so much large as apparently dangerous no matter what mood you might be in at the time. This could be as obvious as scarring or an intimidating build, or as intangible as the proverbial “air of menace.” System-wise, the Merit adds two dice to all Social-Trait rolls that involve intimidating someone; story-wise, people find you unnerving – and quite possibly attractive in a dangerous way – even when you’re not trying to be impressive.

### Poison Resistance (2 pt. Merit)

Toxins may sicken you, but probably won’t kill you. Although magickal poisons may be the exception to this rule, your body shakes off the worst effects of natural and synthesized poisons.

When attacked by such substances, add two dice to your character’s Stamina roll when resisting their effects; a successful roll reduces the intensity of powerful toxins, and eliminates the deadlier effects of lesser ones altogether. Sure, she might feel a little woozy and could get seriously ill, but even if you fail that roll your character probably won’t die.

Although it works against toxic bacteria, this Merit does not protect against diseases spread from viruses, genetic conditions, and so forth. And because intoxicants are toxins too, this Merit helps you survive overdoses of booze or drugs – see Alcohol /Drug Tolerance, above.

### Poker Face (2 pt. Merit)

Nothing rattles you. Nothing. The emergence of a titanic elder thing from the depths of space might warrant a concerned twitch of your mouth, but that’s really about it. Oh, this doesn’t mean you don’t feel anything – that’s the Mental Flaw: Icy. Your deadpan expression, blank eyes, and flat tone of voice, however, reveal nothing about your thoughts or intentions… which, for folks on the receiving end of you, can be quite disconcerting; reduce the difficulty of intimidation, subterfuge, and resistance-to-intimidation rolls by -2, while adding +2 to the difficulties of anyone who tries to rattle your cage or get under your skin, including attempts to read, seduce, torture, or otherwise get past that poker face.

### Without a Trace (2pt. Merit)

When in the wilderness, the earth fills in your footprints. You leave no noticeable traces, not even a scent. Normal attempts at tracking automatically fail. Supernatural attempts are done with a +2 difficulty.

**Source:** V20 The Black Hand: Guide to the TalMaRahe

### Daredevil (3 pt. Merit)

You laugh at danger. Even when daring the Fates with near-suicidal impulsiveness, you possess an innate knack for not getting yourself perished. Add three dice to non-combat and non-magickal rolls that involve some physical act of incomprehensible stupidity (leaping from roof to roof, diving into a waterfall, jumping a motorcycle onto the back of a moving train, etc.) that would turn the average mortal into hash.

### Hypersensitivity (3 pt. Merit)

Extraordinarily open to physical sensations, you possess a depth of sensitivity most folks cannot conceive of having. A mere sip of wine can reveal its vintage to you; a whiff of smoke betrays the quality (or lack thereof) and origins of its burnt tobacco; a faint touch can conjure up orgasmic ecstasies.

Story-wise, you can easily “fall into” an enjoyable sensation, relishing it to a degree far beyond typical human sensitivity. System-wise, you reduce the difficulty by -2 if you’re trying to use a Perception + Alertness roll to identify details about a sensation. On the flipside, however, painful sensations and overstimulation can trigger paralyzing agonies and intense panic. Whenever you experience a painful sensation without your consent (that is, being flogged against your will, subjected to loud music that you didn’t wish to hear, or injured by something you didn’t want to be hurt by), you must make a Willpower roll to avoid being “dragged under” and stunned by the pain for a turn or two. That roll’s difficulty depends upon the intensity of the pain – from difficulty 4 for a minor annoyance, to difficulty 10 for screaming agony. As any Cultist can tell you, ecstasy is indeed a two-way street.

Although this Merit goes well with Acute Senses, it cannot be taken by a character who’s also Insensate to Pain.

((Caveat for Mages: Assuming that you employ instruments like Bodywork, Drugs, Energy, Eye Contact, Food and Drink, or Sex and Sensuality (and you probably use most or all of them), you can get more “bang for your buck” from such sensations, which allows you to employ those instruments faster, and perhaps (Storyteller’s option) gives you a -2 reduction to the difficulty of associated Ability rolls. The normal modifier limits still apply.))

### Increased Pain Threshol d ( 3pt. Merit )

You feel pain as much as others; it just doesn’t affect you to the same degree. Legends are rife with tales of heroes who fight on, even while mortally wounded, only collapsing into death once the battle is won. The dice penalty for each of your Health Levels is reduced by one level. For example, a troll who is Hurt reacts as if Bruised, and is only incapable of action when killed.

### Long-Distance Runner (3 pt. Merit)

Through practice and/or innate skill, you have developed your ability to run very fast for a very long time. You can run at double your normal running speed for one hour per dot you possess in Stamina. This Merit is very popular with Silent Striders. You must have at least four dots in Stamina to purchase this Merit.

### Nightsight (3 pt. Merit)

Unlike most people, you can see in near-total darkness. Only the complete absence of visible light will negate this ability. In even the dimmest light, your visual abilities remain essentially unimpaired.

This Merit does not increase your character’s visual capacity – for that gift, see Acute Senses, above; it does, however, mean that low light does not impose any sort of penalty on her visual perception rolls. Other visual impediments, like smoke or fog, block her sight as usual, and magickally-imposed darkness (for instance, the sort caused by deflecting light with the Forces Sphere) negates this Merit if and when it involves the dispersal of light itself.

### Insensate to Pain (5 pt. Merit)

Nothing hurts until it kills you. Okay, it probably does hurt, but not enough to slow you down. Wound penalties do not affect your character at all; until she dies, she usually functions with her full dice pools intact. This Merit does not in any way change the way in which she takes damage – for that Merit, see below – but it radically changes the way said damage affects her ability to get things done.

There is, of course, a downside to all this: Pain tells us that we’re not functioning properly and should probably stop while we’re ahead. And so, you’ll also do stuff like burn yourself by accident, try to walk on broken legs, and notice cuts only when the blood is seeping through your shirt. Although pain won’t slow you down, shattered bones and organs will. Injuries that inflict significant physical impairment (crushed legs, broken skull, gouged-out eyes, etc.) supersede your usual immunity to dice-pool penalties due to wounds, and you might inflict further lethal injury upon yourself (Storyteller’s option) if you keep going after your body tries to tell you to stop.

### Too Tough to Die (5 pt. Merit)

**Note: This may only be taken by those that cannot normally soak Lethal damage (kinfolk, Changelings, Mages).**

You’re badass enough to shrug off injuries. They still harm you, but they don’t stop you. Game-wise, this Merit allows your character to soak lethal damage – NOT aggravated damage. Story-wise, those gunshots, knife wounds, broken bones, and so forth still tear your character up – he’s not bouncing shotgun rounds off his chest. By soaking the associated health levels, however, your character can push on through wounds that would cripple or kill most folks.

Lethal injuries require the usual amount of time to heal. Soaking is not healing.

## General Mental Merits

### Coldly Logical (1pt. Merit)

While some might refer to you as a “cold fish,” you have a knack for separating factual reporting from emotional or hysterical coloration. You may or may not be emotional yourself, but you can see clearly when others are clouding the facts with their feelings (-1 difficulty on all related rolls).

### Common Sense (1pt. Merit)

If such sense were truly common, there wouldn’t be a Merit to represent it. Still, you have a gift for thinking one step ahead and assessing the potential consequences of your choices. Essentially, this Merit gives you a Get Out of Doing Something Stupid Free card; whenever you announce an action that wouldn’t be especially bright (for example, throwing a Time-Sphere spell at Old Man Wrinkle), the Storyteller may ask, “Are you sure you wanna do that?” Thus warned, you’re free to ignore the advice of your smarter angels. Still, you do get a momentary insight into potential dumbassery, which is more than most people get. Use it wisely.

### Computer Aptitude (1pt. Merit)

A true child of the twenty-first century, you’re especially adept with computerized infotech. Reduce all difficulties involving computer-based rolls by -2, up to the usual modifier limit. This last caveat is especially important when dealing with computer-based magickal Effects, whose difficulties cannot be reduced by this Merit beyond the usual magick-roll modifier of -3, or below the minimum difficulty for magick-casting rolls. Even so, this Merit provides an edge for mages whose Arts include the guiding technology of our age.

### Concentration (1pt. Merit)

You have the ability to focus your mind and shut out any distractions or annoyances. Characters with this Merit are unaffected by any penalties stemming from distracting circumstances (e.g., loud noises, strobe lights, or hanging upside down).

### Introspection (1pt. Merit)

You have keen insight into the ulterior motives of all your actions. Through this daily exercise, you also have incredible insight into the underlying motives of others’ actions. Add two dice to your Perception dice pool when you must take an action against someone with the same Nature or Demeanor as you.

### Language (1 pt. Merit)

Beyond your native language, you understand another form of communication. Each 1-pt. Language Merit reflects a single language, typically in its written form as well as the spoken one.

Mages – especially Hermetic wizards, Syndicate diplomats, and Technocratic field ops – tend to know a number of languages, both common (French, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish) and obscure (Old Kingdom Hieroglyphics, High Akkadian, Jovitos). If you possess five Language Merits or more, then you’ve begun to understand the principles of language itself and can try to unravel languages you don’t already know (Intelligence + Enigmas, difficulty 7 or higher).

### Lightning Calculator (1pt. Merit)

You are a savant when it comes to mental arithmetic, making you a natural when working with computers or betting at the racetracks. The difficulties of all relevant rolls are decreased by two.

### Specific Interests (1pt. Merit)

You are specialized in an obscure or arcane field or niche interest and on this subject specifically you are an encyclopedia. Choose one rare area of knowledge. In this field, reduce the difficulty for all mental rolls by two. Example fields include the study of a dead language, a culturally-specific hobby, expertise in mythical demon names, and in-depth biographical knowledge of one celebrity.

### Time Sense (1 pt. Merit)

You have an innate sense of time and are able to estimate the passage of time accurately without using a watch or other mechanical device, even after long periods of unconsciousness. This allows you to know (among other things) what phase the moon is in.

### Wolf-sense (1 pt. Merit)

This Merit is a blend of folk wisdom, practical sense, and animal instinct. If you have Wolf-sense and make a successful Wits roll, the Storyteller can opt to give you advice on whether you’re about to do something foolish in the eyes of wolf or Garou culture. It doesn’t mean she’ll tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, but at least you’ll have some warning.

### Code of Honor (2 pt. Merit)

Guided by a strong sense of ethics, you follow a particular standard of conduct. This might be a military honor-code, a religious creed, the law of a given fellowship to which you belong, or possibly your personal moral center. Regardless of its origins, this code guides your decisions, informs your activities, and sometimes forces you to make hard choices that less-ethical people never face.

Thanks to that code, your character gains two additional dice to all Willpower rolls when he acts in accordance with his code of honor, or when he resists some temptation or compulsion that might get him to betray that code. Obviously, you and your Storyteller should work out the specific tenets of this code during the character-creation process. If you do not honor that code, then you’ll probably lose the Merit… and suffer disgrace, as well, among other parties who know and respect your vows.

### Eidetic Memory (2 pt. Merit)

Gifted with the proverbial photographic memory, you clearly recall details about something you read, view, or otherwise experience. A serious boon for ritual magicians, field ops, and tech-minded magi, this Merit lets your character remember stuff even if you, the player, do not.

Under most circumstances, your character easily recalls the memories in question. Really detailed memories, or ones gathered under stressful conditions, might require a Perception + Alertness roll before the character can remember essential elements of the moment she’s trying to recall.

Memory, of course, is subjective, and so while this Merit allows you remember things as you perceive them, those memories will still be based upon your perspective – internal as well as external – which is not the same as having access to some objective god-view of that experience! Especially in a game about subjective reality, that’s an important distinction – one that also keeps this Merit from becoming a potential game-breaker.

### Gall (2 pt. Merit)

Audacity, guts, pluck — whatever it’s called, you’ve got it. You aren’t afraid to stand up to anyone, from hoodlums to tribal leaders. This isn’t brash, foolhardy behavior, and you’re not necessarily rude or impolite. You simply don’t get the shakes when the Silver Fang Ahroun comes over to speak to you. Many werewolves and Kin respect you for your honesty and forthrightness. Add an extra die to any Social roll involving a display of backbone.

### Grand Library (2, 4, 6, or 7 pt. Merit)

Throughout the years, you’ve managed to amass an exquisite collection of books, both common and rare. Choose 3 Knowledge dots for every 2 points taken in this Merit, or 10 Knowledge dots for 7 points. While working in your library, the difficulty rating for any rolls involving those Knowledges is reduced by 2.

**Source:** V20 The Black Hand: Guide to the TalMaRahe

### Inner Strength (2 pt. Merit)

Faced with adversity, you prevail. System-wise, this Merit reduces the difficulty of Willpower rolls by -2 when you struggle against apparently overwhelming odds.

### Seldom Sleeps (2 pt. Merit)

Whether due to a strong constitution, a frenetic nature, or even a hint of ancestral magic in your blood, you require significantly less sleep than the average person. While rest is still required after exertion, sleep is seldom necessary. One hour a night is fine, and even an hour every three days won’t make you more than a little blearyeyed. You are not immune to sleep-causing supernatural effects, and you must still rest (no combat and no efforts requiring rolls) after using taxing rituals or Gifts. You are not always perky, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed, but you suffer no penalties or ill effects from remaining awake for extended periods.

### Cold Read (3pt. Merit)

Whenever you meet someone for the first time, you may spend a number of points of Willpower equal to your Perception. For each point spent, you may ask the Storyteller one question about the character. The Storyteller must either answer truthfully or let you take the Willpower point back to you to avoid answering the question.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Hyperfocus (3 pt. Merit)

Given time and a lack of distractions, you can focus your mind to an uncanny extent. For every hour spent focusing without distractions on a mundane task (not on a magick-casting roll), you may add one die to your dice pool for each roll made during an extended action. This bonus has a limit of three dice, total. So if, for example, Nix has Hyperfocus and spends two hours on a task, zir player adds two extra dice to Nix’s dice pool; three hours’ focus provide three dice, but four hours of focus keeps those three dice. All two or three dice, however, get used every time Nix’s player makes a roll to complete that extended action.

As noted above, this Merit does not assist magickal casting rolls. Due to the time required to focus – and the lack of distractions involved – Hyperfocus doesn’t help in combat situations either, although a strategy-minded character could hyperfocus on planning for a battle, but not on fighting it once the combat began. On a similar note, a mage could use Hyperfocus to aid in the mundane elements of a ritual.

Extreme hyperfocus is often (though not exclusively) associated with people on the autistic spectrum, although some authorities claim that perseveration (see the Flaw: Mental Lock) is more a more accurate way of looking at that intense form of focus. With or without autism, this Merit comes in handy for Hermetics, technomancers, shamans, and other mages whose practices depend upon extreme dedication to certain tasks.

### Master Craftsman ( 3pt. Merit )

When designing, building, or repairing something, the difficulty of your rolls is reduced by two. Additionally, you require three fewer successes on any extended rolls required when working on large or complex projects.

### Precocious (3pt. Merit)

You learn quickly. The time for you to pick up a particular Ability (or Abilities, at Storyteller discretion) is cut in half, as is the experience cost.

### Recognize Garou (3 pt. Merit)

Over the years, you’ve become adept at picking out the werewolves in a crowd. It’s not mystical awareness; you’ve simply learned what physical and personality traits tend to mark Gaia’s warriors once they’ve undergone the Change. All Perception attempts to figure out if someone is a werewolf are made at –2 difficulty.

### Berserker (4 pt. Merit)

Folks don’t like you when you’re angry. In combat, you become a veritable monster, destroying everything and everyone in sight. In certain ways, this is a blessing, in others, a curse – for although your dedication to slaughter has undeniable benefits, it’s also a distinct liability… especially if you belong to a group that prizes discipline rather than brutality.

As both a Merit and a Flaw, this Trait has the same effects: under intense stress (combat, injury, disgrace, the death or crippling of a comrade, and so forth), the red haze kicks in. A failed Willpower roll (difficulty 8) leads to a berserk rampage. Your character gains three temporary Bruised health levels, ignores wound penalties, and adds two dice to her Strength and one die to her Stamina until every enemy within easy reach or sight is dead or incapacitated.

That’s the good part; the bad part is that everyone becomes your enemy. Allies, enemies, and bystanders alike all look like targets until the blood-trance fades. Magick and strategic thinking become impossible, and your character uses every weapon in her hands for maximum carnage. Unless someone knocks her unconscious, incapacitates or kills her, or simply leaves her alone for several minutes (during which time she destroys everything within reach), she remains stuck in kill mode.

Is this a Merit or a Flaw? That depends. If your character belongs to a group that prizes bloodlust and has the luxury of mass murder in the modern world (that is, she’s a shock-troop “cleaner” or an elite warrior for a wetwork organization), then it’s a Merit; if she belongs to a group that demands subtlety, control, and restraint, then it’s a definite Flaw. Either way, your character is the loosest of cannons – aimed in a convenient direction and then left alone to burn out or explode.

### Gut Instincts (4pt. Merit )

You’ve got a direct line into the more primal of your instincts, and benefit from the ability to act without thinking first. You may not always know why you do what you do, but once the dust clears, you realize the correct move was made. This Merit nullifies the effects of surprise and permits you to act normally, though you may only defend. In cases where you’re not surprised, you may preempt your opponent’s action.

### Judge’s Wisdom (4 pt. Merit)

Through firm self-discipline, you have mastered your emotions to Vulcan perfection. No passion-based assault can rattle your judgment, and the base attacks of heart-twisting fiends have little hold on you. Rules-wise, you remain immune to Mind- or Lifebased Effects that influence emotions, and can shrug off the vampiric Discipline of Presence unless that bloodsucker has at least six dots in that Discipline. Emotion-based powers from werecreatures, faeries, and other such creatures cannot affect you, although you can still be possessed, mind-controlled, enchanted, and otherwise bent or broken so long as the assault is not based on wrangling an emotional response from your perfect serene command.

### Long-Term Planning (4pt. Merit)

You never leave anything to chance; every action is a carefully considered stratagem. Once per session you may declare an action you are about to take is actually “all part of your plan” and reduce its difficulty by two points. The Storyteller may veto the use of this ability on particular rolls. The player and Storyteller should keep a note of each of these occasions and decide how they are linking together into a grand scheme.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Self-Confident (5 pt. Merit)

Mages/Garou/Fae are confident; you’re even more so. When spending Willpower to gain an automatic success, you don’t even need to lose that point of Willpower unless:

1) The Willpower-gained success is the only success you get for that action; or…

2) the difficulty for that action is 5 or less. This Merit kicks in only in challenging circumstances, and tasks with a difficulty of 5 or lower are just too easy to demand help from your character’s self-confidence.

### Untamable (5 pt. Merit)

You are a wild soul who has never bent to the leash. You are immune to vampiric Domination (but not emotional manipulations via Presence) and these Gifts will not work on you: Roll Over, Obedience, and Mastery.

## General Social Merits

### Calming Presence (1pt. Merit)

Common among the pooka is the ability to calm any animal or child with a quiet word or even a look. Something in your aura conveys safety and security to the animal or child. Guard dogs and wild animals never attack you, and babies in your presence calm and gaze up at you in fascination and wonder.

### Family Support (1 to 3 pt. Merit)

Your family knows about your Awakened/Chrysalised/Changed life – and for the most part, they approve of it. You might belong to an ancestral “fam trad” (a family tradition of magical /occult pursuits), a supportive New Ager-type of clan, an appropriately religious family (that is, relatives who follow the same creed as you do), a wealthy dynasty that backs your current life-choices, and so on. This family could be your proverbial “family of origin” (your blood relations), an adopted “family of choice” (people who are not your genetic kin but who function as your family now), or both. Either way, your family stands behind you. This Merit doesn’t extend to major economic help unless you also purchase the appropriate Backgrounds too (Resources, Retainers, and so on). Still, it’s good to have someplace to call home, and someone to be there when you need them.

The more influential your family, and the more supportive of you they are, the more this Merit costs:

* (1 point) You’ve got a “typical” family for your culture, and their support is mostly emotional although you can get a few bucks, a favor, and a place to crash when you need it.
* (2 points) Your family has status, wealth, and influence. While they expect you to stand on your own for the most part, you can still get help if and when you need some.
* (3 points) A scion of wealth, power, and privilege, you can call upon favors and influence when need be. Your clan pulls strings on your behalf even when you don’t ask for help, and people defer to you because of your heritage.

As anyone who’s been born into a wealthy yet dysfunctional clan can attest, you can have both Family Support and Family Issues (as the Flaw described on the page Flaws). Your rich dad could be an abusive prick, your loving uncle might be creepily possessive, and Mom’s support comes with more strings than a puppeteer’s convention. Both Traits could also represent a character whose family of origin is a mess, but whose family of choice supports her.

((Caveat for Mages: For the purposes of coincidental magick, a family reflected in this Merit does not count as Sleeper witnesses when their beloved mage casts Effects. That benefit doesn’t usually extend to your companions, however, unless they employ the same sort of focus as you do, use magick that fits into your family’s world-view, or purchase this Merit to reflect being “adopted” into your family as a childhood friend, a spouse, or an otherwise beloved part of the clan.))

### Favor (1 to 3 pt. Merit)

Also known as a Boon, this Merit means that somebody owes you, big-time. You scratched their back, and will eventually call in some scratching of your own in due time. Maybe you aided a Master-level mage… or helped a vampire prince… or did a solid for a wealthy Sleeper, a spirit, a faerie, or a ranking member of the Changing Breeds. Regardless of their identity, this party is more powerful than you are, and can get things done on your behalf that you could not get done yourself.

The value of this Merit depends upon the value of that favor. Minor acts of benevolence cost one point, significant boons are worth two, and a life-debt is worth three. You may purchase several Favors, either from a single party or from several different folks who owe you. A Storyteller may grant this Merit in place of experience points if your character has helped a supporting character and requested, earned or demanded a Favor in return. Once that favor has been performed, however, the Merit is spent. Long-lasting assistance would be counted as a Background like Mentor or Patron.

### Good Listener (1pt. Merit)

Pooka excel at the ability to get others to open up to them; however, you are a master confidant. A word here, a gesture there, you crack people open like oysters and harvest their secrets like pearls. Your ability to listen makes others tell you their feelings, concerns, and hidden dreams. They don’t know why they’re telling you, but they usually feel better afterwards. All rolls related to obtaining information from others are at a –2 difficulty.

### Harmless (1pt. Merit)

Everyone in the city knows you, and knows that you’re no threat to their plans. While that sort of estimation may seem insulting, it’s also what’s kept you from being killed. No one considers you worth their time to deal with, and that low opinion keeps you safe. If you start acting in a way that demonstrates that you are no longer harmless, others’ reactions to you will likely change as a result.

### I Know You (1pt. Merit)

You have one of those faces, or a way of acting, that makes others just assume you are someone they already know. Perhaps you resemble someone from their childhood, or their favorite television show. When introducing yourself at social gatherings, you always succeed in grabbing someone’s attention. You cannot be immediately dismissed without at least a few curious questions first.

### Loyalty (1 pt. Merit)

You’re especially devoted to a certain cause, group, creed or person. When someone tries to turn you against the object of your loyalty, you receive a two-die bonus to your dice pool when resisting that attempt with your Willpower. If the assault uses your Willpower Trait as the difficulty for the attack, then your attacker adds +2 to her difficulty while striving to undermine your loyalty.

Naturally, you must define the source and reasons for your devotion when you select this Merit. Such loyalty will influence many of your roleplaying choices too – your friends, enemies, priorities, magickal focus, and other things besides. For extra fun (ha ha), you can complement this Merit with the Flaw: Conflicting Loyalties, described on the page Flaws.

### Natural Leader (1pt. Merit)

You’re gifted with a certain magnetism to which others naturally defer. Difficulties of all attempts to rally people with your words are reduced by two. You must have a Charisma rating of 2 or greater to purchase this Merit.

### Pitiable (1 pt. Merit)

Oh, you poor thing! People want to help you, and you’re willing to let them do so. Although this Merit lowers the difficulty of your social rolls by -2 when you’re trying to get someone to take care of you, it adds +2 to the difficulty of rolls that attempt to intimidate people or otherwise impress folks into taking you seriously.

### Prestigious Mentor (1 pt. Merit)

Your Mentor (as in the Background Trait of that name) has a reputation that benefits you as well. When you’re making social rolls to invoke your influential teacher, reduce the difficulty by -2. Of course, some folks will be somewhat less than impressed; for rolls that involve rivals or enemies of your mentor, add +2 to the difficulty unless that mentor scares the shit out of them… in which case, you had damned well better be able to live up to the fear his name invokes!

### Regal Bearing (1 pt. Merit)

Aristocratic charisma is your birthright. Although you might not actually hail from a noble family, your presence radiates dignity. Posture, features, tone of voice, aura of dominion – you’re got them all. People defer to you as a reflex; subtract -2 from the difficulty of your Social-Trait rolls whenever you’re trying to make an impression, and while certain folks will want to take you down a few pegs on general principle, most people are inclined to respect you even if they don’t necessarily like you.

### Unobtrusive (1 pt. Merit)

You can pass without notice in most social situations. This is less about the uncanny Background: Arcane (although it can complement that Background) than it is a matter of simply seeming unremarkable. Unless you make a fuss of some kind, folks just don’t remember you. You’re… um, that dude… or that girl… or, well, damn, I don’t even remember exactly what sort of person you are, actually. And in some lines of work or walks of life, this is a very useful talent to have.

Although it does not in any way render you invisible or untraceable, this Merit lets you blend in and slip from memory. Folks need to make a Perception roll (difficulty 6) in order to recall your features or name. On the flipside, you add +2 to the difficulty of any social rolls you need to make, because folks just don’t notice you under most circumstances. For obvious reasons, you can’t take any socially distinctive Merits, Flaws or Backgrounds – such Traits would make you memorable – or have especially distinctive features or clothing. Granted, “distinctive” depends upon who and where you are; the proverbial gray flannel suit, for example, stands out at places like Burning Man! Under most circumstances, though, you blend in wherever you go.

### Your Best Advocate (1pt. Merit)

You are especially convincing when telling tall tales about your exploits. You receive a –2 to your difficulty on Social rolls related to recounting your deeds, whether true or not.

### Confidence (2 pt. Merit)

You exude an aura of unshakable authority. Nothing seems to rattle you. Folks defer to you by default, and you expect nothing less. Even when you’re making things up off the top of your head, or lying your ass off about your true feelings or intentions, your self-confidence inspires an unusual degree of trust. Cool is your middle name, and the few people who try to get one over on you have a very hard time doing so.

When dice start falling, subtract -2 from the difficulty of all social rolls based upon impressing other characters with your capabilities. Other players, however – the Storyteller included – add +2 to the difficulty of social rolls for characters who try to shake your confidence or shatter your calm.

### Entrepreneur (2pt. Merit)

Making money comes naturally to you, and you know what it takes to succeed. All rolls involving acquiring money through business dealings have their difficulty reduced by 2.

**Source:** V20 The Black Hand: Guide to the TalMaRahe

### Good Old Boy (or Girl) (2 pt. Merit)

You’re an intrinsically nice person, and you genuinely care about your fellows. Werewolves and other Kin (both human and wolf) tend to like you and confide in you. Even lupus Garou may approach you in a friendly manner; something about you just seems trustworthy and inviting. Take an extra die on all Social rolls involving interaction with Garou or Kinfolk.

### Nature’s Child (2pt. Merit)

You are one with nature and beasts. You receive a –2 to your difficulty on rolls when dealing with nonsapient animals in their natural environment, whether training them, tracking them, or simply petting them.

((Caveat for Changelings: Changelings should take care relying on this Merit when dealing with chimera, however; some of them are much more intelligent than they appear.))

### Notable Heritage (2 pt. Merit)

Your direct family line is particularly renowned, either in Garou society or in the human world. You must choose (with your Storyteller’s approval) which world your heritage relates to, and detail your family line accordingly. You are at –1 difficulty to all Social rolls when working in the appropriate society (with Garou and Kinfolk who are aware of werewolf society, or when dealing with humans who are aware of your heritage). You are expected to live up to your lineage’s reputation. If you fail to do so, you may find the Merit dwindling over time as stories of your own failings begin to outweigh the high regard your family receives. This Merit may not be taken by Bone Gnawers.

### Peacemaker (2-pt. Merit)

You have a reputation for having a good head on your shoulders and the honor to keep your word no matter what. As a result, your allies and sectmates ask you to mediate their disputes, even with other sects. This Merit allows your character to use her reputation as leverage to keep the peace during tense situations. Reduce the difficulty of all social rolls to keep the peace or to mediate honestly between factions (even other sects) by 2.

**Source:** V20 Anarchs Unbound

### Perfect Liar (2 pt. Merit)

Oh gods, you’re good at lying! Falsehoods slide from your tongue like water off a vine leaf, and even the folks who know you well tend to be taken in when you start talking. You also lack the usual “tells” that betray a liar: your vital signs remain stable, your eyes don’t twitch, and your voice never falters. Unless someone is outright reading your mind (as in, using Mind-Sphere magick or some other paranormal power), you still often appear to be telling the truth; even then, the mind-reader might assume that you at least believe you’re telling the truth!

Story-wise, people usually believe what you say when you’re lying about small, casual things that are not immediately, obviously false. With regards to the dice, reduce the difficulty by -2 when you’re trying to lie about something important. Again, this Merit will not alter auras or change the thoughts in your head, although those folks who can’t actively monitor your soul will be inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. (Suckers…)

### Prestige (2 pt. Merit)

Also known as Reputation, this Merit reveals you as an honored personage within your Tradition, Convention, Craft, or another sort of sect (this includes Changeling Courts, Garou tribes/Septs, etc.). Among your peers, you add three extra dice to all social rolls used to influence folks within that group. Story-wise, allies of your group will tend to like you, and rivals or enemies will tend to… not.

When you first select this Merit, decide upon the source of this prestige. Perhaps you earned it through deeds before the chronicle began, or won the Merit in place of experience points. It might represent an honored lineage to which you belong, or reflect a glorious mentor whose rep rubs off on you. Either way, folks expect great things of you, and usually defer to you so long as you live up to the reputation you currently enjoy.

### Sanctity (2 pt. Merit)

Although you might not actually be innocent, you project an impression of purity. People trust you even if you’re not trustworthy, and they’re inclined to think of you as some sort of paragon. Naturally, this can be an almighty pain in the ass too. When you get in trouble, though (and you will), the authorities will almost certainly go easy on you, friends will aid you, and even strangers may come to your defense because you couldn’t possibly be guilty of what you’re accused of doing!

### Subculture Insider (2 pt. Merit)

You’re innately familiar with a social environment that most folks never visit, much less understand. They know you there, and so even when you haven’t met a given person (human or otherwise) in that environment, they consider you to be an insider. Thanks to your familiarity, you can navigate certain elements of the physical environment there too – the security apparatuses, the “secret handshakes,” the hidden corners that an insider would know about and an outsider would never think to look for, and other obstacles that a subculture puts into place to make certain that only the “right” people can get around. When moving through your subculture of choice, subtract -2 from the difficulties of rolls that grant social or physical access to that subculture’s established turf.

The subculture in question can be any kind of exclusive social environment that also includes the physical surroundings employed by that particular group: country clubs, drug cartels, the international mercenary network, the global espionage underworld, high-level finance executives, the fetish community, homeless transient communities, clannish rural communities, hip-hop networks, the jet set, rave festival culture, fantasy fans, the touring road-dog musical community, world financial leaders, “gypsy” Travelers, and so on. Although it can include mages and other Night-Folk, the community must be essentially “mortal” in terms of the majority of insiders. You can buy this Merit several times to reflect membership in several different communities. That insider status, however, takes time to acquire and a lot of attention to maintain. If you neglect your community, you’ll soon find those familiar doors slammed in your face.

### Supporter (2 pt. Merit)

You inspire all around you to greater efforts. Whether by speaking, writing, or leading by example, you give anyone who works with you reason to go on and hope of success. You have a –2 difficulty on Social rolls, and you give any group effort +1 to its total dice pool.

### Aura of Command (3pt. Merit)

Whether you are good at barking orders or simply have a commanding tone, people tend to do what you tell them to do. You are not so much a natural leader as a born commander. When using the Leadership skill to get others to obey you, the difficulty is reduced by two.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Fake It (3pt. Merit)

You talk a convincing game. Sometimes you are even convincing enough to be right. Maybe you claim you can “make that jump,” “ace that test,” or “hit that target.” You may be criminally lucky or possess hidden talents. When you successfully lie about your proficiency in a task with a Subterfuge + Manipulation roll and then attempt to prove your claims, the difficulty of the roll to carry out your ambition is reduced by two.

### Friend of the Underground (3pt. Merit)

While you’re not a Nosferatu or Bone Gnawer, you know your way around the sewers, tunnels, ducts, subway tubes, and other subterranean passages of your hometown. The local Nosferatu or Bone Gnawers (and any other creatures dwelling down in the muck) may not actually like you, but they’re not inclined to kill you on sight when they see you in their territory. You are at -1 difficulty on any rolls involving the subterranean world (sneaking from place to place underground, finding routes into sub-basements, and so on). Bone Gnawers cannot purchase this Merit.

### Mole (3pt. Merit)

You have an informer buried in one of your Sect/Tribes/Courts enemy organizations who funnels you all sorts of information as to what her peers are up to. What you do with the information is up to you, but abusing the knowledge might be a good way to get your informer killed. The other side has spies too….

### Local Hero (3 pt. Merit)

**((This Merit may only be given by STs through RP))**

You’ve done great things for your community, and people love you for it. You might have cleaned out the resident drug dealers, defied slumlords, established a halfway house or a center of worship – whatever it was that you did for the Masses, you get free food, “friends of the house” discounts, places to crash (possibly with happy bedmates!), and other offerings of thanks from the people you have helped.

Also known as Folk Hero, this Merit reflects your popularity among the local Mortals. You reduce the difficulty of your social rolls by -2 when you’re dealing with the people of your community, and receive constant aid and respect from those people whenever you need them. The catch, of course, is that you must live up to your heroic reputation; turn your back on these grateful souls, or take their goodwill for granted, and you’ll be “yesterday’s hero” in no time.

### Ties (3 pt. Merit)

You’ve got friends in high places, low places, or places in between. Maybe you know folks within the local police force, the gang scene, or an organized-crime cartel. Each type of Tie – a Merit that must be purchased separately for 3 points per group – reflects a culture in which your character has connections, goodwill, and a small amount of influence. These people are not your friends or servants (there are several Background Traits for that sort of relationship), but they might do the occasional favor for you.

In story terms, the Ties Merit grants your character certain connections. Game-wise, those connections lower the difficulty rolls in certain situations, depending upon what you’re trying to do:

* Fulfill a subtle request (pulling a license number, score some goodies, get an invite to some exclusive function, etc.): -2 difficulty
* Request a significant favor (plant a news story, spread a rumor, tamper with evidence, etc.): -1 difficulty

Your character must have some story-based reasons for those ties – membership in the group, family legacy, favors owed to him, and so forth – and will need to maintain them. Actions that could hurt his relationship with the group might destroy this Merit too. The Storyteller can deny certain types of Ties to player characters and has the final say about whether or not the connections will do what the character requests.

As mentioned above, different Ties must be purchased separately; each one costs 3 points. Potential Ties include: Local Police, Local Underworld, National Police, Organized Crime Cartel, Local Media Outlet, National Media Outlet, Black Market, Drug Trade, Hollywood, Interpol, Club Scene, Paparazzi, Local Journalism, Evangelical Community, Terrorism Underground, Counterterrorism Network, International Journalism, Corporations, and so forth.

### Master of Red Tape (4 pt. Merit)

A savant of bureaucracy, you slash your way through official obstructionism. When red tape unspools across your path, you know who to talk to, which forms to fill out, and where the loopholes are. A few calls to the right people, and official obstacles disappear as if by magic(k). After all, it’s not what you ask for but who you ask, and how.

When faced with the near-inevitable morass of bureaucracy, subtract -2 from all difficulties that involve dealing with the system. To use this Merit, you need to decide what you want to accomplish and how you want to go about doing that. Your character makes the requisite calls to the requisite people, and the dice determine the rest.

### True Love (4 pt. Merit)

In spite of epic tragedies around you, you’ve found True Love – the kind that folks make movies, songs, and ballads about. Whenever things look bleak, Love can pull you through. This capital-L Love is not defined by gender, culture, anatomy, or even species… though that last one might make things difficult for your star-crossed relationship. For extra drama, it could be a forbidden romance: a cyborg, for example, in love with a Cultist, or a straight-laced Chorister whose soulmate teeters on the brink of being Fallen (see also the Flaw: Sleeping with the Enemy found ont he page Flaws).

System-wise, this Merit – which exists in a crux between the Social and Supernatural realms – gives you one automatic success on all Willpower rolls, which can be negated only by a botch. (Magick-casting rolls do not apply, although the success does apply if someone’s trying to influence your character with Mind magick.) Your True Love will move heaven and earth to help you, and other folks might do a Princess Bride if and when they discover that you’ve got True Love on your side. Note, of course, that said Princess Bride-ism usually involves people making the Path of True Love even more difficult for you, too. Such hardships are the reason so many tales revolve around True Love. You shall, by all the gods, have a very dramatic life…

### Trusty Companion (4pt. Merit)

You have a reputation as trustworthy, stalwart, and unfaltering in your dedication to your companions. Your very presence in a motley or circle bolsters the Willpower of companions, allowing them each one additional temporary Willpower point per chapter. You will always be relied upon to risk your life for them, as only a trusted companion might. Should you ever complain about your lot, the Willpower bonus you provide disappears until you once again risk physical or reputational peril for your friends.

## General Supernatural Merits

### Burning Aura (1 pt. Merit)

To those who can sense it, your aura burns with amazing brilliance and clarity. Even folks who can’t actually perceive this bright corona of energy realize that you’re “different.” Entities that can read your aura react accordingly; some will treat you with uncommon respect, while others will view you as a nice meal. The nature of your aura cannot be hidden easily (+2 to the difficulty of any attempt to do so), and while this is a dreadful disadvantage for, say, a Nephandus, people who prize forthright integrity may reduce their difficulties by -2 when they’re trying to make an impression that’s in accord with that vivid aura and affecting characters who can sense it.

### Green Thumb (1 pt. Merit)

Plants flourish from your touch. Although they don’t bloom and grow on contact (a wildly paranormal effect which was part of this Merit’s original form), they do attain a healthy boost when you work with them. Reduce the difficulty of all non-Arete rolls by -2, and reduce the difficulty of Arete rolls by -1, when you work with plants, trees, and other forms of vegetation –algae, mold, fungus, seaweed, and the like. Story-wise, your aura pulsates with green vitality, plant matter grows fast and robust in your presence.

### Bardic Gift (2 pt. Merit)

Blessed with uncanny inspiration, you create profoundly evocative artwork. Truth echoes through your words, blazes from your canvas, resonates in song, speaks silently in dance. Although artistic skill is, of course, important, this gift runs deeper than mere technique. Art is your passion, your spirit, your Truth. And that Truth manifests itself in whatever arts you pursue, up to and including the Magickal Arts.

When making a roll with the Art Talent (this can also include Performance or Crafting rolls for non-mages), reduce the difficulty by -2. Even when the attempt itself falls short of your expectations (that is, when you fail a roll), your creations feature an unmistakable gleam of brilliance and a preternatural expression of Truth. Although you’re not required (as a player) to employ artwork as part of your magickal focus, chances are good that your approach to magick does feature elements of painting, dance, music, and other manifestations of artistic expression.

### Medium (2 pt. Merit)

You possess an unnerving affinity for the Restless Dead… or perhaps it’s that they possess an unnerving affinity for you. Although you cannot actually see ghosts unless you have at least one dot in the Spirit Sphere, those ghosts can talk to you, and you can talk to them. A successful Perception + Awareness roll allows you to sense their presence even if you can’t see or hear them nearby, and your aura shines faintly like a spirit-beacon in the Shadowlands. As a result, the dead tend to favor you (unless they’re trying to kill you), and can become quite chatty if they have something to say. Given how deeply mages prize information, such chattiness can be rather helpful and occasionally life-changing.

Because “chatty” can quickly become “obnoxious,” this Merit is a double-sided blade. You reduce the difficulty of your social rolls by -2 when dealing with ghosts, and may perceive things that the living normally cannot understand. The things you perceive, though, aren’t always pleasant, and – seeing as how ghosts tend to stick around because they have unfinished business to attend to – the dead can get downright annoying with their requests.

### Cloak of the Seasons (3 pt. Merit)

Adverse weather does not bother you. Regardless of your clothing or lack thereof, you’re essentially immune to the effects of exposure to harsh climates. You still need to eat, drink, and breathe – this Merit won’t save you from starvation or suffocation – and climate-based obstacles (fog, high winds, snowdrifts, ice, etc.) hinder you as badly as they’ll hinder anybody else. Aside from outright attacks by the elements, however, you remain untouched by extremes of temperature and climate. You might not always be comfortable, but you’ll survive.

### Danger Sense (3 pt. Merit)

A heightened state of awareness allows you to sense impending harm. This gift could originate from primal perceptiveness, intense conditioning, spirit voices that warn you of danger, nanotech sensors, or other methods of refined cognizance. Whatever the source of this Merit might be, your Storyteller must make a secret Perception + Alertness roll for you when some otherwise hidden threat is heading toward your character.

The difficulty for this roll depends upon the immediacy of the danger; a distant, abstract sort of danger (like a plot to kill you) is far harder to sense than an onrushing disaster (like a sniper’s bullet), and would thus have a higher difficulty (say, difficulty 10 for the plot, difficulty 6 for the bullet). A simple success would tell you that something’s wrong, while a large number of successes could pinpoint the nature and location of the threat.

Your Storyteller, of course, is under no obligation to give you objective details about that threat. She could be as vague as “A chill tightens across your scalp,” with perhaps a hint of the direction and nature of the danger’s source (“A sudden metallic clicking sound echoes in from behind your right side. What do you do?”).

### Hands of Daedalus (3 pt. Merit)

You’ve got an innate gift for crafting machines and technology. Such devices seem to come to life in your hands, fitting easily into place and functioning with incredible precision once you’ve worked with ‘em. Although this gift does not extend to the ins and outs of software technology, you can work on computer hardware (assuming that you know what you’re doing) as naturally as you can tune a ’58 Ford.

From a systems standpoint, any rolls you make to craft, repair, invent, or otherwise modify mechanical technologies are at -2 difficulty when you’ve got the opportunity to put those Hands of Daedalus to work

((Caveat for Mages: Tech-based magickal instruments (see the Mage 20 entries for Armor, Devices and Machines, and other hardware-based technologies) and practices function, in your hands, as Personalized Instruments once you’ve had a chance to get familiar with them… and to have them get familiar with you.))

### Mark of Favor (3 pt. Merit)

A godlike entity has claimed you as its own, and has stamped your features with evidence of that claim. You might have the bushy red hair and sly eyes of Reynard the Fox, the hearty temper and brawny build of Thor, the compassionate fury of the Christ in your eyes, or Legba’s lame leg and penchant for corncob pipes and tobacco. Folks who understand the lore of your associated god-form recognize this Mark of Favor, and even those who don’t know who you’re marked by realize that there’s something special about you.

This Trait provides a recognizable connection to a renowned god-form. Whether or not this actually is a sign of divine favor, of course, depends upon your Storyteller’s preferred theological metaphysics. As far as your character is concerned, it totally is. Note that such favor isn’t always a happy thing; mythology is full of people who shared dysfunctional relationships with divine parents and patrons!

When dealing with people who recognize the Mark and respect the deity that bestowed it, you subtract -2 from the difficulty of related social rolls. Opponents of your divine patron consider you an enemy, and although intimidation-style rolls still receive the -2 reduction in difficulty, rolls that attempt to get on the good side of such people add +2 to the difficulty instead.

A Mark of Favor may, at the Storyteller’s discretion, bestow other miraculous talents, too. Strange things happen, and those things remain beyond the Marked character’s control. Someone chosen by the Virgin Mary could possess a minor healing touch, while the chosen of Thor has a literally shocking touch when he gets mad. Again, these powers exist completely at the Storyteller’s whim, and suit the flavor of the story, not the desires of the player. Essentially, they’re miracles granted by your god, both given and taken in mysterious ways.

### Oracular Ability (3 pt. Merit)

Everything, to you, has a richer significance than it might otherwise appear. The flight of birds, the fall of cards, the patterns of sand after a wave, a spatter of sacrificial blood… in your eyes, they’re all clues to the Universal Mystery. You’re good at deciphering such clues, and so while many enigmas remain unanswered, you often spot insights that other people – even mages – fail to see.

In game terms, you can make a Perception + Awareness (Primal Urge for Garou and Kinfolk, Kenning for Changelings) roll (difficulty 7) whenever the Storyteller feels you’re in a position to perceive a hidden message in apparently random phenomena. If you do spot what appears to be a message, you can make a second roll of Intelligence + Esoterica (or Occult, or Gremayre whichever is higher) to see if you can interpret the message you think you see. The difficulty of this interpretation roll depends on how random the phenomena is; a deck of cards, for instance, is less random (difficulty 6 or 7) than a scatter of crow feathers (difficulty 8 or 9), and so is better suited for divination purposes. This doesn’t mean you can’t read that scatter of feathers, only that doing so is more challenging than interpreting a deck of cards!

A successful interpretation roll wins a vague yet potentially valuable answer from the Storyteller – couched, of course, in symbolic metaphors and wide-open meanings. Such answers are not at all reliable, naturally, but they stand a decent chance of being accurate enough to help you read patterns in apparently random chance.

### Unbondable (4 pt. Merit)

Your soul remains free from the vampiric blood bond, and resistant to other forms of metaphysical fealty. Although you may still be compelled into service through Sphere magick, or impressed by dominating powers like vampiric Presence or changeling Chicanery, your Willpower is considered to be two dots higher with regards to resisting such domination.

A rare and potent Merit, this gift may cost double its usual cost in a chronicle that’s filled with vampires, especially if the mages in that chronicle make a habit of guzzling vampire blood…

### Guardian Angel (6 pt. Merit)

A powerful entity is watching over you, providing advice, assistance, and occasional protection when things get ugly. Such aid is beyond your control (perhaps even beyond your comprehension) and while this “angel” has certainly supported your best interests thus far, there could be a terrible pricetag attached to all this help. You think your angel is of the better sort, but seriously – have you read the lore about angels? Sweetness and light are not among their more noted characteristics.

From a Merit perspective, this Trait provides occasional help from the Storyteller. The nature of said help is entirely up to the Storyteller, although it should be beneficial in at least the short term. The help in question should also suit the nature of the mage and her paradigm, although that suitability might turn out to be rather ironic – an actual angel, for example, watching over an Infernalist mage, or a nature spirit protecting an avowed Technocrat. The helpful party may be waiting for the mage to “see the light,” honoring an ancient vow to the mage’s ancestors, leading the protected party toward a new and unexpected Path, or perhaps setting him up for a final revelation that could be more terrible than the things the angel has been driving away.

From a Storyteller standpoint, we recommend playing up the mysterious and potentially frightening nature of this guardian “angel.” Legendary angels tend to be notoriously bloody in their work, and can scare the living hell of mortals even when their intentions are technically righteous. As a Storyteller, determine who is helping the mage out, and why; that information, of course, can be for you to know and your players to wonder about. Whenever the angel manifests, play up the implacable weirdness of such entities, couching their appearances in eerie symbolism and elemental phenomena (winds, fires, earthquakes, and so forth) whenever they appear.

Conversely, the angel could be an apparently mundane person or animal who just happens to unleash hell on the mage’s behalf. Animal spirits represent the more sedate end of the guardian angel spectrum; stranger beings could include protoplasmic globs, shimmering energies, horrific beasts, and unnamable things that serve powers best undreamed of. Even if the angel is exactly that – a messenger from the Biblical God – such messengers can be pretty frightening. Check out Ezekiel 1-10, Genesis 3, Revelations 4, and other awe-inspiring manifestations. If the Powers That Be behind this guardian angel are more along the lines of Pagan gods or cosmic horrors, this unearthly Merit could unleash some rather scary things…

### Nine Lives (6 pt. Merit)

Oh, you lucky bastard! Somehow, you manage to cheat the Reaper with hair-raising regularity. If a die roll would result in your character’s death, the person who made that roll must roll again. If the second roll allows your character to live, then you and /or your Storyteller mark off one of your nine “lives” and your character survives the thing that would otherwise have killed her. If that roll fails, then one “life” gets marked off anyway and another roll is made. The rolls continue until either the character survives or the lives get used up. As the name suggests, however, this Merit lasts only nine times, tops. And if the final die roll still results in your character’s death… well, your luck was bound to run out sooner or later anyway.

# Changeling Merits

These merits may only be taken by Changelings.

## Changeling Physical Merits

### Granite Skin (2pt. Merit)

A Trait held most commonly by trolls and redcaps, Granite Skin is quite literally an epidermal layer of thin, hard stone. You’re a great deal tougher than you might be normally, but have the undesirable effect of leaving small flakes of stone behind every time you bend or flex. You possess the equivalent of chainmail armor at all times. Granite Skin does not cause a Dexterity penalty, but does impose a +1 difficulty to all rolls involving moving quietly.

### Murderous Mien (2pt. Merit)

Something about your mien screams danger. Previous infamies mark your appearance like open wounds. With a look or gesture, you can terrify another changeling into obedience. Any rolls you make to threaten or coerce changelings and faetouched humans have their difficulties reduced by three. Other beings find you unsettling, imposing a +1 difficulty to attempts at charming.

### Prehensile Tongue/Tail (2 or 4pt. Merit)

An additional prehensile limb is a useful, yet potentially disgusting, feature to possess.

At two points, your tongue acts as a two-foot (60cm) long limb, capable of grasping and wielding objects. While not the best of weapons, it can be used for a poke in the eye or revolting slap. When the tongue is extended, speech is incomprehensible.

In order to use a prehensile tongue successfully, you must roll Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 7). A success allows full control of the extra limb for the scene. A failure indicates the specific attempt fails; a botch leaves the protruding tongue hanging disgustingly limp down your front.

At four points, you possess a tail like a monkey’s. This tail is two feet long (60cm), and can perform simple manual tasks such as pushing buttons and lifting objects with a Strength equal to half the changeling’s rating (rounded up). A prehensile tail can wield a weapon with a Melee rating equal to half the changeling’s rating (rounded up).

You may use a prehensile tail with the same dexterous capability as any of your other limbs.

### Surreal Beauty (2pt. Merit)

You possess a beauty far beyond that of normal mortals, unsettling in its perfection. People stand in awe of your ideal, yet alien, form while an inexplicable nausea subconsciously rises to the fore. Reduce the difficulty by three on any roll in which you try and acquire a changeling or faetouched individual’s attention, or win them over with your looks. Other beings find your beauty unnatural, imposing a +1 difficulty on attempts at winning such a person’s trust.

### Eidetic Taste (4pt. Merit)

Possessed most commonly by redcaps, Eidetic Taste allows you to remember the taste of everything you’ve ever eaten, and be able to identify it instantly if you taste it again. Furthermore, you’re granted the ability to sense where the nearest supply of that taste might be. If you’ve ever had a bite of someone, it serves as an excellent way to track that meal. Creative changelings have found other uses for this power, including tracking down poisons.

### Blessing of Atlas (5pt. Merit)

Remarkable among trolls and seen as a true miracle among other kiths, the Blessing of Atlas permanently raises your Strength by one, and raises the potential maximum Strength rating by one. You’re only slightly larger than your fellows, but defined as if carved of marble. Should it become known by others you possess this Merit, you’ll be expected to act the hero or be feared as a budding warlord.

## Changeling Mental Merits

### Higher Purpose (1pt. Merit)

All changelings have some vision of their path, but you’ve a special commitment to it. You don’t concern yourself with petty matters, because your higher purpose is everything. Though you sometimes behave in ways contrary to the needs of survival, your purpose grants you great personal strength. The difficulty of any roll that has something to do with this higher purpose is reduced by two. Decide what your higher purpose is, and make sure you discuss it with the Storyteller.

### Loyal Heart (2pt. Merit)

While all fae are conscious of the bonds of oaths, for you it’s almost of a religious nature. Whenever you’re overwhelmed, the thought of your duties is enough to give you the strength to persevere. In game terms, you reduce the difficulty of rolls pertaining to the fulfillment of your oaths by three. Similarly, the power of your sense of duty may be sufficient to allow temporary immunity to other supernatural effects (Storyteller’s discretion). No Willpower may be spent on actions having to do with the breaking of oaths. This is not cumulative with the effects of the Merit True Love (see above), though it can be combined for purposes of roleplaying.

## Changeling Social Merits

### Benevolent Patron (1pt. Merit)

You intrigue a changeling ranked more highly than yourself. So long as the reason for this intrigue remains — whether it be looks, a field of expertise, or the way you composed yourself in the freehold — you hold the other changeling’s attention and he has a vested interest in keeping you around. This Merit should be played like a 1-dot Mentor with a specific interest. However, unlike a Mentor, Benevolent Patron does not imply a permanent relationship.

### Protégé (1pt. Merit)

An important changeling once mentored you, and spoke glowingly of you to acquaintances. Others may be inclined to look favorably on you by dint of the recommendation; you are at –2 difficulty on Social rolls with all those who’ve heard good things about you.

### Scholar of Others (2pt. Merit)

You have taken the time to learn about and specialize in one particular group outside your kith or Court. You are aware of at least some of the group’s customs, strategies, and long-term goals, and can put that knowledge to good use. This Merit is worth a –2 difficulty for all non-combat rolls pertaining specifically to the subject of your specialization. On the other hand, you are at a +1 difficulty when it comes to dealing with other groups, simply because you are so thoroughly focused on your field. This Merit can be taken multiple times for multiple groups.

### Voice of a Songbird (2pt. Merit)

The satyrs say your voice could charm apples from the trees. You have perfect pitch and can sing a cappella without missing a single note or going off key. Even when only speaking, your voice has a seductive quality that attracts people to you. Whenever you make a roll that involves inspirational speaking or singing, you are at a –2 difficulty.

### Sage (2pt. Merit)

Other changelings come to you for counsel. Maybe they believe in your wisdom, age, or experience. Perhaps they think you are touched, or capable of seeing the bigger picture. The trust others place in you means, in most cases, you are approached first in matters requiring discussion, and may either use this advantage to provide wise counsel, or to influence others to consider your own agenda.

### Soul of the Muse (4pt. Merit)

You are an inspiration to creators of all types. Whether you are artistically gifted or not, other artists find it far easier to create masterworks when you are around. If you are in the presence of any creator — whether you are acting as a model, providing counsel, or singing a song — that creator reduces the difficulty to create his work by three. This creative stimulation applies to works of wonder and destruction alike, as you inspire all.

## Changeling Supernatural Merits

### Faerie Eternity (1pt. Merit)

After you went through your Chrysalis, you had a birthday, and then another, and then another. Strangely, however — you didn’t seem to be growing or getting older. You’re touched with a vestige of the immortality that was the birthright of all fae. As long as your fae seeming is active, you will age at one-tenth that of a normal human or changeling and remain a childling. Should your fae seeming be permanently destroyed, or should you retreat into Banality, you begin to age normally.

### Poetic Heart (2pt. Merit)

You have a truly inspired soul within you, your Glamour repelling the ravages of Banality. You may make a Willpower roll (difficulty equal to your permanent Banality) to avoid gaining a point of temporary Banality once per story

### Animalistic Favor (3-5pt. Merit)

Your mien possesses a minor animalistic feature from the below table. Where you have a feature allowing you a special attack, you use your standard dice pool.

### Iron Resistance (4pt. Merit)

Cold iron has no physical effect on you, though constant exposure to the metal still causes you to suffer Banality. This is a double-edged sword, as you may not realize when you’re sitting on a cold iron bench or leaning against a fence made of the foul metal. A Perception + Kenning roll (difficulty 7) is required to avoid exposing yourself to the dangerous element.

### Art Affinity (5pt. Merit)

You’re able to utilize one of the Arts with a greater degree of ease than other changelings. In a previous incarnation, you were extremely proficient in one of the Arts — so much so you can draw a portion of that knowledge into this lifetime. Select an Art; the difficulty to use this particular Art is always reduced by two. This Merit may only be purchased once.

### Living Legend (5pt. Merit)

You are the living, breathing incarnation of a great hero or heroine; this does not have to be an actual, historical figure, but can be a character from mythology or even a figure from more contemporary fiction. Note that you are an incarnation, not a reincarnation. You are the embodiment of an individual legend. Your fae mien matches your heritage perfectly. Any Kithain with even the slightest knowledge of the original tale will recognize you immediately, and you are likely to attract a great deal of attention from the cultures that give birth to the legend. When people recognize you, the difficulty of your social rolls reduces by two. You gain access to one of your ancestor’s Attribute or Ability ratings once per chapter. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this Merit may also allow you to have knowledge of, if not access to, certain chimera or Treasures related to your legend. Your appearance and your memories may make it hard to get along unnoticed in ordinary society. It can also be very hard to live up to what is expected of you.

### Regeneration (7pt. Merit)

Your faerie nature is hardy, and as a result, you heal much faster than other Kithain. For every turn spent resting, you recover one Health Level of chimerical damage. Physical damage regenerates at a rate of one Health Level per hour. While in a freehold, your wounds heal at twice this speed. This Merit does not heal wounds inflicted by cold iron.

# Kinfolk Merits

## Supernatural Kinfolk Merits

### Fetish (5-7 pt. Merit)

You own a fetish. You may have inherited this item, received it as a gift, or found it on your own. You and your Storyteller should work together on constructing the item and establishing how it came into your possession. Five points equals a Level One fetish, six points a Level Two fetish, and seven points a Level Three fetish. If you do not have the Gnosis Merit, you may not be able to attune the Fetish to yourself or use it.

### Gnosis (5-7 pt. Merit)

More than any other blessing, the possession of Gnosis among Kin is a special mark of Gaia’s favor. It’s extremely rare for mortals to be so gifted. Having Gnosis grants many privileges, such as the ability to learn a broader range of Gifts, use fetishes, and — if Embraced by a vampire — the chance to die with dignity and honor, rather than suffer unlife. Kinfolk lucky enough to possess Gnosis recover it in the same manner as Garou. Five points spent on the Merit grants one point of Gnosis; six points, two points of Gnosis; and seven points, three points of Gnosis.

# Mage Specific Merits

## Mage Mental Merits

### Scientific Mystic /Techgnosi (3 pt. Merit)

cientific Mystic /Techgnosi (3 pt. Merit) Certain unorthodox technomancers understand that “mysticism” is just another form of science whose principles may be understood by a properly Enlightened mind. Although you pursue a technological practice and employ tech-based instruments, you can employ instruments that are traditionally considered to be “magic” once you’ve had an opportunity to study them and fit those tools into your scientific paradigm.

The Scientific Mystic Merit lets a dedicated technomancer – that is, a member of the Society of Ether, the Virtual Adepts, a tech-based “orphan,” or perhaps even a rogue Technocrat like the Disparates of Navalon – study metaphysical principles from mystic-paradigm mages for no extra point-cost if that technomancer has the focus practice Weird Science. That technomancer can also choose traditionally “mystic” tools as up to half of her required instruments, and can discard those instruments as a mystic instead of as a technomancer. Essentially, this means that your approach to Enlightened science is flexible enough to embrace bizarre approaches to your metaphysical pursuits. Other scientists might consider such things impossible, but you realize that “possibility” is what you make of it.

On the other side of that metaphysical coin, the Techgnosi Merit allows a dedicated mystic to do the exact same things, but with technological instruments and no extra cost involved in studying magick from technomancer peers, regardless of your practices. Yes, your soul belongs to the Mysteries, but you’ve recognized that technology has a place in those Mysteries as well.

## Mage Social Merits

### Hideaway /Safehouse (2, 4 or 6 pt. Merit)

When you need time to yourself, there’s a place you can go to that no one knows about except you. It’s small, yeah, and remote enough that your friends and enemies can’t find you there. Chances are, it’s a secret apartment or condo, a distant cottage, a mobile home, or a literal cave or grove or camping spot where you go to escape the stress of your usual life. It could even be a pocket Realm, accessible only to you and whomever you choose to share it with, should you be foolish enough to trust anyone else with this secret hideaway. Unless you give its location away, however, or wind up getting tracked to it by a dedicated stalker, this little getaway is your personal escape hatch. Use it wisely, and be careful when you come and go!

Unlike the Merit: Property (see below), or the Backgrounds: Chantry, Node, and Sanctum, this discrete hidey-hole isn’t expansive, elaborate, or innately magickal. That said, it’s hidden from most forms of casual detection. You could combine this Merit with Property, Node or Sanctum, although those Traits would need to be purchased in addition to your Hideaway, and their existence must remain secret from other characters. Chantries are social by default, and so cannot also become a Hideaway. This place is stocked up with whatever you would need for a roughly two-week stay, and may, of course, be stocked up for longer periods if you bring in additional supplies. Although you might be traced to your hideaway with magick or other tracking methods, your little retreat is not linked to you by any searchable official channels: bills, lease, mail, Internet services, etc.

Once per story – if events occur which could lead other people to your hideaway, if you do something that could reveal its location, or if someone dedicates time and effort trying to track you down – the Storyteller may roll two dice against difficulty 6. (Yes, this roll is done in secret, so you won’t know the results.) If that roll gets at least one success, then your secret remains hidden; one failure means that someone has gotten a clue but not your exact whereabouts; four successive failures reveal the location of your hideaway, and a botch on that roll exposes its location immediately. So long as you continue to cover your tracks, however, this place remains yours and yours alone.

For four points, this Merit could also be purchased under the name Safehouse. In this case, it’s a secured getaway that features better facilities and protections than a typical Hideaway. Its store of supplies can provide for a dozen or so people for roughly two months, and the Merit includes a small dedicated staff (in game terms, two dots in Retainers or four dots in Backup) to maintain that site. Unlike a Hideaway, this area can withstand a minor-league assault, and features up to three offices /work areas, reinforced walls, bulletproof glass, and a vault-like panic room. This safehouse also includes a shielded communications array (-2 to attempts to hack or trace that system), and a simple but effective alarm and security camera system (again, -2 to subversion attempts). The downside is that the Merit is not your property; it belongs to your superiors, and can be taken away from you if you fall out with the folks who foot the bill for it. Generally, a Technocrat in good standing with her superiors can get a Safehouse Merit (or, for especially good service, be awarded with one), but other mages could obtain a similar facility as well.

For six points, your refuge can be both a Safehouse and a Hideaway; in this case, the property belongs entirely to you. Enjoy your Batcave, Mr. Wayne!

## Mage Supernatural Merits

### Faerie Affinity (2 pt. Merit)

Fae beings like you. Drawn by an ineffable appeal, they seek you out and share secrets with you that few mortals even comprehend. System-wise, you lower the difficulty of your social rolls by -2 when you’re dealing with changelings and related entities; in return, changelings reduce their difficulty by -2 when they attempt – through whatever method – to obtain Glamour from you, or to enchant you so as to bring you into their ephemeral realm. Story-wise, the Fae tend to favor you over other mortals, even when your temperaments would seem to be at odds with one another. A gruff Nocker, for example, normally has no use for frivolity… but in your case, you silly Cultist, he’ll make this one exception!

Technomancers, being considered “banal” in the eyes of the Fae, may not purchase this Merit. Even if they don’t belong to the Technocratic Union, the presence of such mages is metaphysical poison to the Dreaming Ones.

### Unaging (2 pt. Merit)

The years seem to pass you by. Time moves on, but you remain essentially the same physical age as you were when this Merit stopped your aging process. Maybe you discovered the Fountain of Youth, upgraded yourself to perpetual stability, assumed an odd relationship with the time stream, or entered an uncanny bargain that preserved your current age. And so, although you continue to accumulate the scars, experience, and perspective of age, your body maintains a consistent state of chronological development. Note that this is not the same thing as immortality – injuries and sickness can kill you just as surely as they’ll kill any other person. Age-based decrepitude, however, is not something you’ll have to worry about.

### Celestial Affinity (3 pt. Merit)

You get along especially well with a certain type of spirit entity. Depending upon your practice, you might relate well with nature spirits, High Umbral Courtiers, Digital Web entities, the Restless Dead, the Loa, angelic or demonic beings, and so forth.

When you’re dealing with entities within a single selected category, you reduce the difficulty of your summoning and negotiation rolls by -2. This bonus does not apply to attempts to bind or ward against such beings, as it’s based upon goodwill, not force. It does, however, apply to the Arete rolls when casting the summoning Effect (within the normal modifier limits, as usual), because the entities in question are more inclined to show up when you call upon them.

For three additional points per category, you may add another category of spirits, assuming that your practice favors an affinity for such spirits. (A BCD Void Engineer “ghost-buster,” for example, could not purchase an Affinity for ghosts, though a necromancer could certainly do so.) If you abuse this goodwill, as one might imagine, this bonus, and the Merit, both go away – and might wind up being replaced by a Flaw like Immortal Enemy (p. 93) if your mage behaves in an especially foolish manner.

### Cyclic Magick (3 pt. Merit /Flaw)

The strength or weakness of your Arts is tied to some periodic cycle – the phases of the moon, night or day, your menstrual periods, the rise and fall of the stock market, and so forth. At the peak of your cycle, your magick flows most easily; at its nadir, you find it challenging to work with your magick at all.

System-wise, this Trait is both a Merit and a Flaw, granting bonuses at one point in the cycle and penalties on its opposite point. At the highest point, you reduce your casting difficulties by -3 for one hour, while at the lowest point you increase them by +3 for one hour. On either end of that cycle, you subtract or add -1 /+1 to your casting difficulties for each hour on both sides – the surge and the ebb – of that cycle: -2 or + 2 for the two hours on each side of the peak or nadir, -1 or +1 on the two hours on the side of those two hours, and no modifiers during the rest of the time in between. If, for example, Victoria Ashley-Croft bani Flambeau has a peak at midnight and a low at noon, her player would receive a peak modifier of -3 difficulty at midnight, -2 difficulty at 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM, a -1 difficulty at 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM, and no modifiers otherwise, aside from the reverse modifiers (+3 at noon, +2 at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, and +1 at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM) at the opposite end of that cycle.

Naturally, you’ll need to decide just what this cycle is when you select this Trait, and then determine what the highest and lowest points of that cycle would be. This Merit must also be tied into your focus – intrinsically connected to the beliefs you hold and the practices you follow. Your choice of instruments is often tied to such cycles too; cycle-bound instruments include celestial alignments, crossroads and crossing-days, formulae and mathematics, group rites, money and wealth, music (peaks and lulls in a song, movements in a symphony, etc.), numbers and numerology, and offerings and sacrifices (“when the stars are right”). A stockbroker will be watching the peaks and ebbs on Wall Street, while a witch pays attention to the cycles of the moon or her blood. By observing your cycles, you’ll have a good idea about the best and worst times to use your Arts. And by observing you, your allies and enemies may be able to figure those things out too.

### Manifest Avatar (3 pt. Merit)

For most mages, the Avatar remains a mysterious figure, goading them from the sidelines and appearing primarily within a Seeking or during other moments of intense stress. For you, however, the Avatar is a vibrant presence in your life, as real to you as anyone else. Essentially a character in its own right, this manifested Avatar interacts with you on an almost daily basis. In certain situations, it might interact with other people, as manifestly real as any other person in your world.

The Manifest Avatar Merit embodies the Avatar as a full character under the Storyteller’s control. On its own, this Merit reflects that Avatar as a person who only the associated mage can see, hear, and interact with on a physical level; in conjunction with the Background: Allies, however, the Avatar becomes a character that everyone can see, hear, and feel. In both cases, the Avatar may come and go as it pleases, bound only by the physical laws with which it chooses to be bound. The physical Avatar’s shell can be injured or killed, but that in itself does not kill the Avatar – merely its body. For obvious reasons, that solid Avatar should have a guise that won’t be too vulgar or bizarre for the Consensus to endure – a cloaked, whispering figure, perhaps, but not a screeching, tentacled monstrosity. The manifested Avatar’s Traits depend upon the value of the Allies Background, as well as the physical form of that incarnation. An equine or lupine Avatar, for instance, will have different Traits than an Avatar that manifests as a crow, shadow, mirror, or child.

Your Avatar does not hang a sign around her neck that proclaims Avatar. In the first edition Cult of Ecstasy Tradition Book, for example, Cassie deals with a manifested Avatar named Aria who never reveals herself to be anything other than a wild child who looks disturbingly like an alternate-reality version of Cassie and knows things no one else should know about Cassie’s past, present, future, and inner self. (For details, see that book, pp. 5-45.) Unless either the mage or the Avatar announces its true identity, other characters don’t usually think that your manifested Avatar is anything other than what it appears to be. Mages or Night-Folk who can see auras or souls might catch on, but most other folks remain clueless.

An Avatar manifesting only for the mage can affect the material world only when no other characters or devices can see that entity, although it might appear to others as an online presence, a ghostly figure, as odd sounds, or through other phenomena. An Allies-based Avatar remains as solid as it wants to be, lacking the powers of a human mage but possessed (literally) of the power to fade in and blink out as it desires. Again, the Manifested Avatar is a Storyteller character, with agendas and behavioral quirks that confound both the mage and his player. Although that Avatar has its mage’s best interests at heart, it might play the role of a rival, lover, best friend, or nemesis… quite possibly all of them at once.

### Natural Channel (3 pt. Merit)

You’ve got an innate affinity with the Otherworlds. Sliding through from the mortal realm to the Three Worlds is easier for you than it is for other Awakened folk. System-wise, you subtract -2 from the difficulty of your rolls to penetrate the Gauntlet. Story-wise, crossing over feels, to you, like a primal sort of homecoming, as if you exist between worlds on an elemental level.

### Natural Shapeshifter (3 pt. Merit)

Guided by an innate affinity for metamorphosis, you can change your shape more easily than most mages do. Such changes still demand the usual Life Sphere Ranks and Effects, but your difficulty for such rolls is reduced by -2 (the usual limits apply), and you don’t need to worry about losing yourself in the new form, as described in How Do You DO That?, p. 20. Such talents don’t necessarily link you to the Night-Folk, although this Merit fits in well with Fae Blood or Shapechanger Kin (and the Mental Flaw: Feral Mind, as well). The gift does not, however, affect your ability to change other people’s shapes in any way. Such talent works for you alone.

### Parlor Trick (3 pt. Merit)

You’ve honed a special trick – a simple, specific, non-combat application of your Arts – which you can perform without making a casting roll. Such tricks include things like conjuring a business card, stirring a pot without touching the spoon (or the pot), igniting your cigarette without lighters or a match, producing a small amount of light without mechanical contrivance, changing your hair color with a shake of your head, and so on. To a Sleeper, these tricks look like something a normal person could do with a mysterious bit of skill. You, of course, realize that the skill in question is not quite what they think it is.

Three important rules govern this Merit:

* It cannot be a feat with direct damage-producing combat applications (though a “light your cigarette” trick could also work with a stream of flowing gasoline). No popping claws or conjuring firearms!
* It must be a quick, simple action that a Sleeper witness could explain away as practiced sleight of hand.
* • These tricks are limited to things you could do with Sphere Ranks 1 to 3, apply to only one specific trick (conjuring a rose, say, not conjuring anything that’s roughly rose-sized), and you must have the Spheres necessary to perform the feat in the first place. This Merit does not allow you to cast Effects above your normal abilities!

Each trick costs three points, and must suit your character’s metaphysical focus. You can take this Merit up to three times, total. Obviously vulgar feats (making yourself disappear in broad daylight) are prohibited, although a clever use of circumstances (the old Batman disappearance trick) could be included in your bag of tricks.

This Merit is intended to give your character and chronicle a little extra flair. It should not be allowed as an end-around to skirt the rules, or as a secret weapon that he can use without consequences like Paradox. Under unfamiliar and /or hostile circumstances, like stirring someone else’s pot in someone else’s kitchen, this Parlor Trick might not work at all.

### Spirit Magnet (3 to 7 pt. Merit or Flaw)

Ephemeral entities flock to your presence. The essence of who you are – benign or malignant – draws spirits to you, and they, in turn, affect the essence of who you are. For the most part, these entities cluster around you in the Penumbra, invisible to mortal perceptions; whenever you cross the Gauntlet, though (either with your perceptions or with your body), they’re waiting for you there. Spirits that can manifest physical forms may come across the Gauntlet to visit you, and those that cannot take on physical bodies still energize the spiritual atmosphere in your vicinity. Whether or not this is a good thing for you depends upon whether you select this Trait as a Merit or a Flaw:

* The Merit form of Spirit Magnet draws generally benevolent spirits – Naturae, Lunes, totem and animal entities of the gentler variety, and so on. These spirits protect you from malignant entities, warn you of impending danger, offer advice, help you out when you visit the Otherworlds, and generally make your life easier. Folks who can sense those spirits (mediums, shamans, medicine-folk, werecreatures, etc.) tend to favor you; after all, if the better sorts of spirits like you, then you must be someone worth knowing.
* The Flaw version represents the presence of malevolent spirits – Banes, demons, and other nasty Umbral beasts. Summoned by curses or spiritual corruption, these entities seek to tempt you, poison you, feed off your vitality, and otherwise turn your life into a self-contained Hell On Wheels. Spirit-sensitive folk will avoid you unless they’re into that sort of thing, and werewolves will consider you to be “of the Wyrm” (whatever the hell that means), if only because of the company you keep. Although you might not consider yourself a bad person at heart, your spiritual companions say otherwise!

The value of this Merit of Flaw is, as always, based on how helpful or troublesome the spirits can be, how powerful they are, and how many of them you have to deal with when they appear.

* (3 points) Minor entities occasionally offer aid or hindrance.
* (4 points) Minor entities show up frequently, or in small numbers.
* (5 points) Minor entities surround you often, whether you want them to or not, and more potent ones have taken interest in your existence.
* (6 points) You have the interest of one or two entities of significance, and plenty of minor ones pay great attention to you.
* (7 points) You’re never alone, even when you probably wish you could be.

This spiritual companionship could be directly opposed to your true nature. A really awful person might attract benevolent entities who want to save her, while a veritable St. Anthony could be plagued with demons intent on fucking up his soul. Even so, such constant presence does have an effect on your overall health. Mind, body, and spirit are interwoven whether we want to recognize that or not, and a mortal who attracts Otherworldly entities has got something unusual going on under the skin.

### Spirit Mentor (3 pt. Merit)

A ghost, Loa, or other ephemeral entity has taken a special interest in you. As an expression of favor, this entity teaches you things few mortals ever have the opportunity to learn. Although those lessons do not include Sphere-based magick, you could learn insights that help you to expand your knowledge and better understand the nature of Reality. More often, though, this entity tells you secrets, offers you enigmas, and helps you work through situations that would leave most mortals scratching their heads or crying in corners.

Your Spirit Mentor could also teach you new Abilities, or help you improve the ones you have, if such teaching seems appropriate to the spirit in question. A data-entity might be able to teach you about computers, while an incarnation of Zhengyi Zhenren’s tiger could teach you tiger-form kung fu. Such teaching tends to take place in the Otherworlds, or in dreams, rather than in the material realm, although a spirit who can Materialize (as the Charm of that name) could certainly teach a person in her own home realm.

As with other character-related Traits, your mentor is a Storyteller character with its own agendas, personality, and so on. This Merit could be combined with the Backgrounds: Ally, Familiar, Mentor, or Totem to represent a spirit who plays several roles in your life. Depending on how active your ephemeral friend is in your everyday life, other folks might know about this mentor, consider it to be “part of the family,” or think you’re utterly out of your mind… and if that spirit clashes with the company you keep (like a Loa hanging with a Technocrat, or a demon with a Chorister), your friend might get you into hot water on the human side of your life!

### Stormwarden/ Quantum Voyager (3 or 5 pt. Merit)

Despite the fury of the Avatar Storm, some people remain immune. With this Merit (known as Quantum Voyager for Technocratic characters), you possess that precious rare immunity – the ability to reach through and travel beyond the Gauntlet without suffering the effects of the Storm.

For 3 points, your character can pass without harm through the Gauntlet. For 5 points, she can take everyone and everything she touches and desires to protect. Correspondence-based touching protects a warded character as well as a physical touch, but a person that the mage does not want to protect will suffer the usual Avatar Storm effects even if he happens to be touching her at the time.

Obviously, this Merit doesn’t apply if the Avatar Storm never happened in your chronicle. This protection does not in any way protect against Disembodiment or other potential hazards of the Otherworlds. Under the Mage Revised metaplot, Stormwardens are incredibly rare – almost legendary – and fiercely hoarded by the Awakened groups.

### Deathwalker (4 pt. Merit)

The Underworld welcomes you. While most Umbral travelers are more or less barred from the Shadowlands and Low Umbra unless they possess special magicks (or have died), you can step sideways into the Dead Lands with a simple application of Spirit 3. When you do so, your aura assumes the pale tone of death, and you become essentially indistinguishable from a ghost unless some knowledgeable entity makes a successful Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 7) to see you for what you really are. If the Avatar Storm is still raging in your chronicle, you can pass into the Low Umbra without suffering the Storm’s effects.

This sort of “gift” often leaves macabre traces on the mortals it favors. Hence, this Merit is well-suited for the Flaws: Echoes, Uncanny, and Primal Marks. Thanks to their innate ties to the Dead Lands, Deathwalkers, as a rule, view the Otherworlds through the Vidare Mortem, suffer from Morbidity Quiets, and tend to have a rather fatalistic view of life.

### Twin Souls (4 pt. Merit)

To you, the term soulmate is literally true. Your Avatar has a twin that has been embodied within another mortal body. That other person (typically a human being, but potentially an animal) shares your Nature and Essence, and possibly your Demeanor as well. Even so, your “twin” can be a very different person – different gender, different ethnicity, different culture, and again possibly even a “higher” animal like a wolf, bear, hawk, bison, and so forth. That person might live on the other side of the world, and may not even know that you exist. If soul-twins meet in person, though, both feel an unmistakable connection to one another. This connection, however, might not necessarily translate to goodwill. Blood-siblings often clash, and soulmates can clash as well.

If that twin is also a mage (many twin Avatars are not yet Awakened), then both mages have the same Avatar rating. You can both share Quintessence and cast spells together if you happen to be physically touching (or, in the Umbra, ephemerally touching). In this case, the character with the highest Arete rating and Sphere Ranks is the one whose Traits get used to cast those Effects. Both mages, when they’re within arm’s reach, also get an amount of bonus Quintessence points that’s equal to their Avatar rating; if Ryan Summers and his twin Sylvia Jane have three dots in Avatar, they each get an additional three points of Quintessence when they’re close enough to touch one another. Shared souls, however, also share equally in any Paradox gathered by their magicks, with each twin separately getting the full amount of Paradox. If Ryan and Sylvia cast an Effect that earns 10 points of Paradox, then both Ryan and Sylvia get 10 Paradox points each.

Whether or not your twin is a mage, you can use magick to keep track of them once you’ve met your twin. A single dot of Correspondence will let you know where your soulmate is, a single dot in Life will let you know their current state of health, and a single dot in Mind allows you to share thoughts with one another. A twin’s death, however, is a shattering event; if your twin dies, you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) or else suffer the psychic shock of Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. Until that twin’s Avatar reincarnates (which might not happen in your own lifetime), and is met in person once again, you cannot use the shared powers you had once enjoyed.

As with other character-based Traits, your twin is not a walking Merit but a character in their own right. Both twins could be roleplayed by different players in the same group, and probably should not be played by the same player. The quest to find a soulmate, a bitter dispute between soulmates, two soulmates on opposing factions of the Ascension War – such stories could provide the foundation for pivotal events and themes in your chronicle. This Merit goes well with the Background: Allies, the Merit: True Love, and the Flaws: Enemy, Sleeping with the Enemy, and Ward. Because of the already-Awakened natures of the Night-Folk, however, a soul-twin cannot be a vampire, werecreature, changeling, or other paranormal entity

### Umbral Affinity (4 pt, Merit)

Something in your background grants you an innate affinity for the Otherworlds. Perhaps you have some distant relation to shapeshifter blood, or a Pagan heritage that links you to the oldest of Old Ways. Whatever the source might be, you can travel further and longer in the Otherworlds than most mortal humans can manage.

Game-wise, your character suffers no ill effects from first- and second-degree Acclimation, and all other stages affect her at one stage less than usual. Beyond that, the character does not need to worry about Disembodiment until six full moon-cycles (roughly six months) have passed. In general, the character feels at home in most strange Umbral Realms, and she might be recognized as a natural traveler who has an innate right to be there.

### Ghoul (5 pt. Merit)

The blood of vampiric Kindred has made you something more than human. Willingly or otherwise, you have supped on a vampire’s blood, and although you’re probably not bloodbound to her service any longer (unless you are), that creature’s unnatural vitality has become your own. Trouble is, you need more vitae to sustain your uncanny abilities… and, as many mages have discovered, such blood is exceedingly addictive.

A ghouled character ages very slowly, gets one automatic success on any Strength-based roll, and inflicts one extra die of damage with all hand-to-hand, non-magickal attacks. If your chronicle employs Vampire: The Masquerade rules, your character also has a blood pool, one dot in Potence, and the potential to buy and employ Fortitude, Potence, and an ability from the initiating vampire’s clan.

That’s the good part; the bad parts involve the constant craving for more vitae, the loss of those supernatural bonuses after roughly a month without vampire blood, several dots in Resonance (or the Echoes Flaw, detailed on the Flaws page) that reflect the corrupt nature of the undead, and the obvious drawbacks of hanging around with vampires just so you can drink their blood.

### Clear Sighted (5 pt. Merit)

Even without employing your Arts, you have a preternatural gift for seeing things as they are, not as they appear to be. Illusions, disguises, cloaking spells, and other forms of trickery rarely deceive your eyes.

In game terms, you can make a Perception + Awareness roll to see through metaphysical deception powers: vampiric Disciplines, faerie cantrips, werecreature Gifts, Sphere-based illusions, and other powers that are based on deceiving a witnesses’ perceptions. This roll works only against powers that deceive the target’s perceptions, not against any other form of Gift, Discipline, cantrip, and so forth. (Vampiric Obfuscate, for example, but not Presence or Dominate.)

The difficulty for that roll is generally 5 + the highest Sphere Rank or other level involved in that power; a Forces 2 /Prime 2 illusion, then, would be difficulty 7, while a vampire’s Mask of a Thousand Faces (Obfuscate 3) would be difficulty 8. If a character could normally get a roll to see through the illusion, then your character subtracts -3 from her difficulty when trying to do so.

Your clear sight also reduces your difficulty by -3 when you try to see through a disguise, a cloaking spell or device, or other attempts to conceal the truth from an onlooker. It does not, however, allow you to see through darkness, notice stealthing or invisible characters, or otherwise perceive something that you would not be able to see without this Merit; combining this Merit with the physical Merit: Acute Senses, however, could make you a formidably perceptive character.

### “Immortal” (5 or 7 pt. Merit)

Thanks to some uncanny gift, you age slowly (if at all) and are extremely hard to kill. This gift comes not from Sphere magick but from a metaphysical legacy or curse that transcends the fleeting nature of the flesh. You’re not truly immortal, as death will probably claim you eventually; by normal standards, though, you exist outside of the usual range of human mortality.

This Merit features two levels:

* (5 points) You age very slowly – perhaps one year for every passing decade – and eventually recover (at the usual speed) from any injuries and illnesses that do not immediately kill you outright. A wasting disease or infection, for instance, won’t kill you (though you might wish it would), but a bullet in the heart would do so.
* (7 points) In addition to the slow-aging process, you’re also immune to death itself unless you meet your special doom (as described below) or have your body completely obliterated. Shooting won’t kill you, poison won’t kill you, starvation won’t kill you, but being incinerated or dissolved in acid would end your life for good. Otherwise, your wounds heal at the usual rate, eventually bringing you back from the dead… which, if you’ve been buried, embalmed, entombed, or otherwise trapped could be a very bad thing for you!

Regardless of the level of this Merit, you must have at least one special doom: an event that will kill your ass dead for good. This doom could involve decapitation, burning of your body, immersion in salt water, removal of the eternal revivification unit installed within your heart, and so forth. This doom must be determined before the chronicle begins, and if it ever befalls you… well, life was fun while it lasted, right?

This Merit goes well with Traits like the Background: Legend, the Supernatural Merits: Mark of Favor, Nephilim, Spark of Life, and Twin Souls, or the Supernatural Flaws: Phylactery and Primal Marks. It cannot be taken in addition to the Merit: Nine Lives (also on this page) and, for obvious reasons, this Merit might not be available to player characters within your chronicle at all.

### Inner Knight (5 pt. Merit)

In your heart of hearts, you’re a hero. While your companions work toward their own selfish ends, you embody a higher purpose. This purpose guides you in uncanny ways that feel, at times, as if you’re being moved by a force greater than yourself – a noble force, naturally, but one that transcends even your personal Enlightenment. In dreams, you see yourself as a Warrior of Reason, a Champion of Truth. A paladin. A genius. A knight of everything that is worth defending.

Intended more for Technocratic operatives and skeptical technomancers than for mages who accept reincarnation as a metaphysical truth, this Merit grants you special gifts when it seems like all hope has been lost. These gifts allow you to…

* •Access Traits you don’t possess, as per the Background: Dream (at a rating of 5) but without entering a trance;
* add five temporary points to your Willpower Trait, to use during that “hope is lost” crisis;
* …and perhaps recall things from a previous life that the character could not possibly have known – a language she does not know, an escape route in a place he’s never visited, a person they’ve never met before, and so forth.

These boosts last only through the current scene, but include a burst of vitalizing energy and a sense of your inner hero coming through to save the day again.

This isn’t the sort of thing you talk about, of course, especially not if you’re an agent of the Technocratic Union. The benefits, though, cannot be denied, even if their source is clearly… well, improbable, at best. And while this Merit was originally created for the sourcebook Guide to the Technocracy, any mage with a sense of higher purpose can take it. Just remember that the biggest difference between a knight and a murderer is the side of his sword you happen to be on at the time.

### Legendary Attributes (5 pt. Merit)

Gifted with the strength of Shango or the beauty of Lucifer, you may exceed the human capacity for one Attribute Trait. That Trait is not automatically higher than usual (you still need to spend points to raise the favored Attribute), but you may purchase up to six dots in a given Attribute for your character, exceeding the usual limit of five dots.

Beyond that higher maximum, you also get one heroic capability that’s linked to that Attribute. The Shango-strength mage might always inflict at least one health level of damage with hand-to-hand blows, while the Luciferian seducer could score an automatic success whenever he tries to charm someone who ought to know better. These bonuses are always subject to Storyteller approval, however, and they don’t kick in until you reach six dots in the given Trait. Not even Lucifer, after all, possessed his full charm when he was just a little devil…

### Shattered Avatar (5 pt. Merit)

Your Avatar has been broken into pieces by some past-life trauma. As a result, the part within you is incomplete… but that situation can be rectified. If and when you locate the missing pieces of your Avatar, you could make that inner spirit stronger. In gamespeak, this Merit allows you to increase your Avatar Background after character creation – a thing that cannot, ordinarily, be done.

As with Twin Souls, above, this Merit provides plenty of dramatic story hooks. The missing pieces of your Avatar might be incarnated in other people; trapped in spiritual prisons (Paradox Realms, demonic hells, soulsnares, enchanted gems, and so forth); embedded in a tree in a garden that’s warded by five dragons, and so on. The quest for your soul-fragments can be an epic part of your chronicle, with puzzles, twists, reversals, betrayals, and battles for which your soul is literally the prize. This sort of thing might be hard to reconcile with your beliefs if, for example, you happen to be a Technocrat. Still, until you unite the missing bits of your Avatar, there’ll be an essential part of you that feels incomplete.

The Storyteller should determine exactly what it was that shattered your Avatar, and what you need to do in order to reunite the various bits into one spirit again. Whether or not she shares that information with you is up to her – it might be something you’ll discover over the course of the game. With each piece restored, you add one dot to your Avatar Background rating, unless that Avatar was embodied in another mage; in that case, his Avatar rating gets added to your own if you manage to kill him… and if he kills you first, then your Avatar gets added to his own. (There can, apparently, be only one.)

No matter how many pieces are involved, however, the Avatar Background maxes out at 5 dots. Although this Merit allows you to raise your Trait’s rating, it does not allow you to raise it above that level.

### Spark of Life (5 pt. Merit)

Blessed with great vitality, you heal injuries with heroic speed and ease. Your own injuries from lethal damage heal as if they were bashing damage, and aggravated damage heals as if it were one level higher than it is. (Wounded-level damage, for instance, would heal at the Injured-level rate.) Bashing damage, regardless of its extent, heals within an hour.

If you’re trying to heal someone else, you subtract -2 from the difficulty of the roll, even if that roll involves casting a Life Sphere healing Effect. (The usual +3 maximum modifier and minimum difficulty of 3 still apply). As long as you remain in physical touch with the injured party, that character uses your healing rate as her own. Your touch also soothes minor pains – muscle spasms, headaches, and so forth – within a minute or two.

Beyond its healing powers, this rush of life-energy simply feels good, too. Your aura shines with bright vitality, and your Resonance reflects your strong connection to the primal life-force. On the inevitable downside, vampires find your blood delicious – twice as potent as normal human vitae (worth double the usual blood points, for players of Vampire: The Masquerade) – and unspeakably refreshing.

### Sphere Natural (6 pt. Merit)

For a single element of magick – the Sphere of your choice – you enjoy an innate proficiency. The powers of that Sphere come to you more easily than usual, and you advance faster in that field of knowledge than you do in other Spheres. System-wise, you pay 70% of the usual experience cost, rounded up, when advancing in that Sphere. Naturally, such advancement costs even less when you’re raising your Affinity Sphere.

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The Mage 20 version of this Merit costs more than the version presented in previous editions because the cost of improving Spheres with experience has gone down, and so the benefits involved in this Merit have gone up. You may select this Merit only once, for a single Sphere, and that Sphere should have some intrinsic connection to your mage’s concept, backstory, and magickal focus. This is, after all, an Art that comes naturally to you, and so that predisposition should come through in many different aspects of your character’s personality.

### Avatar Companion (7 pt. Merit)

From lifetime to lifetime, you share a bit of your Avatar with a companion who follows you through incarnations, recalling more about their details than you do. Although he’s not as powerful as you are, and lacks the metaphysical prowess of the Merits: Twin Soul or Shattered Avatar (above), this companion knows a great deal about your reincarnated self… quite a bit more about it than then you do. This loyal (if not always agreeable) character literally follows you for life, typically ending his life when you do; in the meantime, he provides insights, advice, information about previous lifetimes, and whatever other forms of aid he can possibly offer. Like the Merit: Guardian Angel, the Avatar Companion is essentially a walking boost from your Storyteller, subject to her whims but acting in your best interests… for the most part, anyway.

Unless it’s purchased in addition to the Background: Allies, your companion isn’t anything special; he could be a person or animal, but not a vampire, a werebeast, or some other Night-Folk entity. Your Avatar Companion could also be a Ward, the focus of True Love, or perhaps an embodiment of a Manifest Avatar. Treat him badly enough, and he might become an Enemy. (See all appropriate entries for details.) As with all other character-based Traits, this companion has his own personality, desires, and so on. He may be loyal, but he’s not suicidal, and isn’t likely to be thrilled if the mage decides to abuse his loyalty!

### Nephilim /Laham (7 pt. Merit)

Long ago, it has been said, immortals walked the earth, siring offspring whose descendants still live among us now. The Hebrew Bible refers to them as nephilim, an ambiguous word that seems to be related to root words for “fallen,” “prisoners,” and “overseers.” Later transliterations refer to them as giants, monsters, watchers, and the fallen (or violent) ones. Were they gods? Angels? Demons? Not even the Awakened know for sure; you, however, have a bit of High Umbral essence within you, and this nephilim inheritance – known sometimes by the demon-blooded name of laham – marks you as something more than merely human (Awakened or otherwise).

A living crossroads between the Astral Realm and the mortal world, you exist in a heightened state of spiritual essence. Your aura burns with unearthly intensity, and your presence frightens many Otherworldly denizens. Your connection to High Umbral entities might involve a distant relationship to primordial sires, or the far more recent activities of mortals and spirits who shared a distinctly carnal relationship. (“Mom, seriously – I need to know the truth about Dad”) Are you part-demon? Descended from an angel? Sired by an entity whose nature transcends mortal concepts like “good” and “evil”? You probably don’t even know, although events in your chronicle might reveal the truth whether you want to learn it or not.

System-wise, this Merit confers the following drawbacks and benefits:

* As noted above, your aura blazes with inhuman clarity and brilliance.
* Your temperament favors your Umbral ancestor, and you tend to act accordingly
* You must take at least three points’ worth of Physical Flaws to reflect the unstable nature of your physical form and the surging metaphysical energies it contains. These Flaws do not count toward your total Flaw points, nor do you get points for taking those Flaws.
* Those energies give you a Quintessence rating of 7, and those points automatically refresh up to that seven-point maximum each time you go to sleep, regardless of your Avatar rating.
* You get three points’ worth of the Flaw: Echoes. Again, those phenomena reflect the temperament of your Umbral ancestor
* You subtract -1 from the difficulties of your casting rolls when you cast Effects using the Mind Sphere, the Spirit Sphere, or both in relation to the High Umbra. If, for example, the demon-blooded laham mage Jenatrix wanted to read someone’s mind, her casting difficulty would be normal; if she wanted to project her astral self into the High Umbra, however, she’d reduce the difficulty by -1.
* You can travel physically into the High Umbra by using a Mind 4 /Spirit 3 Effect.
* When attempting to intimidate, command, or bargain with High Umbral entities, you add two dice to whichever dice pool you happen to be using in that attempt. Despite your advantage, however, using your uncanny heritage as leverage will not exactly endear you to the entities in question. In such negotiations, it’s generally more constructive to use a carrot than a stick
* On a related note, you suffer a penalty of +2 to the difficulty of your rolls to resist, soak or counter rituals cast by Hermetic High Ritual wizards or Awakened clerics from the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian denominations. These folks have spent millennia studying your kind, and be ye angel or be ye demon, they know how to deal with you more effectively than most mages do. (By rituals, we’re referring to extended-roll ceremonial magicks, not off-the-cuff spells. Your chances are as good as anybody else’s if a wizard tosses a lightning bolt at you; if he draws up a summoning circle, though, you’re kinda screwed.)
* At the Storyteller’s option, you may also receive up to seven points in the Advantages described in Mage 20, p. 658 (and expanded further in the Mage 20 sourcebook Gods, Monsters & Familiar Strangers). Demon-blooded laham characters may, instead, take up to seven points in the demonic Investments described in the Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade sourcebook Infernalism: The Path of Screams or the Mage 20 supplement The Book of the Fallen. In either case, these additional and optional benefits get balanced out with a five-point Derangement Flaw of the Storyteller’s choice (see Mage 20, pp. 648-650).

Although the player might not know what sort of entity her character is descended from, the Storyteller ought to determine the character’s heritage, and then plant clues (dreams, visions, weird greetings from characters who seem to know more about the mage than she knows about herself…) throughout the story. He ought to feed roleplaying notes to the player, too: This Realm seems familiar even though you don’t recall having been here before, You can almost taste the evil in that girl’s soul, Man, you just wanna rip that dude’s throat out and you’re not sure why… The player, of course, can draw her own conclusions – conclusions that might not necessarily be accurate at all.

This Merit goes well with Merits like Legendary Attributes, Nine Lives, and Too Tough to Die, Flaws like Immortal Enemy, Primal Marks, or Cast No Shadow or Reflection, and Backgrounds like Cult, Demesne, and Past Life. As with the Merit: “Immortal,” (above) this Trait could be too powerful for player characters to take. Supporting characters, however, could be nephilim-descended, which would make for potent friends and memorable enemies.

# Werewolf Specific Merits

## Werewolf Physical Merits

### Mixed-morph (1 pt. or 5 pt. Merit)

You find the art of partial transformation relatively easy, and make the required Dexterity + Primal Urge roll at difficulty 6 rather than difficulty 9 (p. 286). The five-point version of this Merit eliminates the need for a Willpower point; you can achieve partial transformation almost at will.

### Wolf Sight (1 pt. Merit)

In all your forms, you see colors and intensities of light as a wolf does. Your color vision is slightly less distinct than that of humans, though you embrace the full spectrum of colors. Your night vision, however, far surpasses human nocturnal vision. You also notice movement more readily. You gain an extra die to all visually-based Perception rolls that involve movement or take place at night.

### Bad Taste (2 pt. Merit)

You are gamey to the palate and revolting to the taste buds; plainly put, you taste nasty. Anyone who bites you (vampires, Garou, fomori, Wyrm monsters) is immediately nauseated. The biter must spend a Willpower point or retch uncontrollably for a scene. There is a drawback, however: lupus Garou and wolves are unlikely to lick or groom you, and even affectionate nibbles are affected by your foul flavor.

### Fair Glabro (2 pt. Merit)

You have a Glabro form that can pass for human, though it’s still larger than normal people. You have no penalties to Social Attributes in Glabro form.

### Lack of Scent (2 pt. Merit)

You either have no scent at all or only a very faint odor. Any humans, animals, or Garou who attempt to track you by scent have a +2 difficulty to do so. You may find it difficult to deal with lupus Garou or wolves, as they tend to mistrust your lack of a “natural” scent.

### Natural Weapons (3 or 4 pt. Merit)

You are greatly in tune with your wolf physique. Your balance and physical acuity in Lupus form are greater than in Homid form. Subtract one from the difficulty of any attack roll with an innate natural weapon (e.g., claw, bite, kick, etc.) when in Lupus form. However, add one to the difficulty of any such attacks made while in Homid form. There is no change to your attack rolls in other forms. This Merit costs 3 points for lupus or metis characters, and 4 points for homid Garou.

### Metamorph (7 pt. Merit)

Shapechanging for you is as easy as breathing. You do not need to roll to change forms, nor is it necessary to spend a Rage point for an instantaneous shift. You make your changes as if you scored five successes on your roll to shift forms. If you lose consciousness from wounds or for some other reason, you may roll Wits + Primal Urge (difficulty 8) to choose which form you assume rather than reverting to breed form.

## Werewolf Mental Merits

### Berserker (2 pt. Merit)

You have uncanny control over your inner anger, and can use your Rage as most Garou cannot. You can enter a berserk frenzy at will, ignoring your wound penalties. You still suffer the consequences of any actions committed in the throes of frenzy. When circumstances might cause you to frenzy, you must make a standard roll to see if you do so or not.

## Werewolf Social Merits

### Camp Goodwill (1 pt. Merit)

**This Merit cannot be purchased, and must be given as an ST reward during play.**

You have earned the attention and favor of a particular Garou tribal camp (see pg. 491). Perhaps you’ve done them a favor, or maybe they’re trying to recruit you. Regardless, all Social rolls when interacting with that camp are made at –1 difficulty. You may not be a member of this camp when you first take this Merit, although you can become recruited into the camp during play at the Storyteller’s discretion. You may take this Merit multiple times for different camps, and may take it for tribal camps other than your own tribe, each with the Storyteller’s approval.

## Werewolf Supernatural Merits

### Ancestor Ally (1 pt. Merit)

One of your ancestor spirits is particularly close to you. You have –2 to your difficulty to contact this ancestor via your Ancestors Background. Flesh out your special ancestor with a name, personality characteristics, significant abilities or powers, details about her life, and her reputation among Garou. To purchase this Merit, you must have Ancestors as a Background.

### Moon-Bound (1 pt. Merit)

You are more in tune with your auspice than most Garou. When Luna waxes in your auspice, you receive one extra die to each of your rolls. Correspondingly, when Luna wanes in your auspice, you receive one less die to every roll.

### Spirit Magnet (1 pt. Merit)

You naturally attract the attention of the spirits whenever you cross the Gauntlet into the Umbra. Most of the time, the Umbral inhabitants are simply curious, gathering around you to see who you are and what you’re doing in their “neck of the woods.” Occasionally you attract more than you bargained for — Banes are also likely to come calling. None of the spirits who collect in your vicinity are under your command unless you use a Gift that allows you to command them or influence them in some way.

### Natural Channel (3 pt. Merit)

You find crossing the Gauntlet easier than many of your fellow Garou. The difficulty for stepping sideways is one less for you.