Conduits

Conduits, or Metas, are mortals who have had their Conduit Gene activated through stress, or another external stimulus. This Gene is actually a small piece of the soul given physical form and unnatural presence, and most importantly, it presses the body to change, becoming altered and charged by esoteric energies. Conduits gain the ability to wield seemingly-magical effects by acting as a Conduit for these energies, hence the name they've been given.

Scientists first claimed to have isolated the Conduit Gene in 1957, though due to the distrust in science (The 1950's were right in the middle of the Reawakening, after all) it was discounted until other sources found it in 1988. Until then, Conduits were simply written off as a sort of ignorant magic-user that just channeled energy and prayed it worked, or as vampires or werewolves or other sorts of entities. A Conduit Test was made in 2003 under the Gore Administration in the US, and it's become incredibly accurate and accessible in most parts of the world. Now Conduits are part of life.

There are broadly thought to be 8 types of Conduit, though two are debated. Channelers and InHumans are the most common, followed by Minders, with Changers (Or Hulks) being the rarest of the "normal" Conduits. After them are the Mutants are Chimera, so incredibly rare that few talk about them. Xenosians', more often called "Onex," status among the other Metas is hotly debated, but they are as common as Channelers and InHumans, and Symbiotics are similarly debated, but are almost as rare as Chimera.

Channelers have an obvious connection to a specific type of energy, such as fire or electricity, which is often visibly apparent and hard to control. InHumans are also quite obvious, as their Powers are derived from direct changes to their body, such as having wings and claws. Minders are Metas with an awakened mind, and are often mistaken for true Psychics, due to the mental and subtle nature of their Powers. Hulks have similarity with InHumans, as their powers also typically come from their body, however Hulks must assume a "Super Form" to use theirs. They have a natural form which reads as a typical mortal to all but some of the most advanced tests. Even the Gore-Wesley Test can't identify them every time.

Onex are people influenced by aliens. For some reason, Xenos will often wake up the Conduit Genes of nearby people, and often in a way which reflects the Xeno's powers. Likewise, Xeno-Homid hybrids will almost always produce a Conduit whose Gene reflects their parent's abilities, even when those Xenos don't typically possess something like the Conduit Gene in the first place. Fantastical Homids also have this effect, though to a lesser extent for no obvious reasons. The debate arises because this sort of awakening also changes the Conduit Gene in strange ways, often rendering them unrecognizable.

Symbiotics are people who have an entity bonded to them, with this connection modulating the host's Gene, and usually awakening it fully in the process. Even after the symbiote is removed, the gene often produces a "symbiote-alike" controlled by the host's brain, but in very similar form. The debate around them is obvious, though few exist, and so the debate is largely quiet.

Lastly, there are two strange cases. So-called Mutants and Chimera. Chimera are Conduits who have seemingly awakened their Gene multiple times, which is an exceedingly rare and strange event. Chimera have multiple "Power Sets" which behave by separate rules, and often have laundry lists of strange and arcane rules and processes they follow. Most Chimera were very weak prior to re-awakening, though not all, and the going theory is that Chimera's Genes were still mostly asleep, so to speak, and so could be prompted more than once. Mutants however are simply strange. A Mutant's gene is messy, for lack of a better term. Their powers may be mostly mental, but their body was still warped by the process. They might need to enter a super-form, but they need to rely on thermal energy for Charge. They're strange and inconsistent, and called Mutants, and they make up the eighth category of Conduit.

## Mechanics

* V5 Conduit Mechanics
* FATE Character Creation

Build your character as a Mortal.

You have a Potential of 1. You then choose a Power Theme, and determine all relevant details of your awakening. Then, you spend 12 Experience on Powers and improving those Powers.

First, build your Conduit as a human mortal.

You gain one Aspect reflecting the type of Conduit you are, and three points of Stunts connected to this Aspect.