PANDEMONIUM

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Pandemonium is the ability to tap into chaos itself, releasing the strange and eldritch upon the living world. Some call this Arcanos the Wylding, an appropriate name considering that it releases forces rather than controls them. Other wraiths tend to avoid masters of Pandemonium, as the distorting effects of the Wylding can be detrimental to one’s sanity. The Fog obscures most of the more flagrant effects of this Arcanos. Sudden mists, blood seeping under doors, swarms of spiders and clocks running out of control tend to send most people into a state of panic or disbelief. Even video recording of some of these effects will be questioned; videotapes are becoming easier to modify…

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According to Haunter lore, the guild’s forebears once quested deep in the Labyrinth, following legends of a weapon that could sunder the Shroud. Instead, they found a force called the Wyld, a font of primal chaos, and made a pact with it. In exchange for a portion of its power, they would bind themselves to the Wyld’s own purpose of continuous dynamism. That power became Pandemonium and the pact still drives the Haunters’ larger agenda of anti establishment disruption.

The tale’s veracity is questionable but it’s true that certain Haunters have unlikely allies across the Shroud, particularly some factions of werewolves and fae. The idea of formal alliance or large-scale conspiracy is laughable, but on an individual basis, a wraith with ties to either party is more likely than not to be a Haunter. It’s an occasional source of common cause and an advantage few other groups of dead can predict or counter. On the downside, this also brings Haunters into more frequent conflict with mortal ghost hunters.

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The normal restrictions on Pandemonium apply to most arts when it comes to interacting with other Awakened. Blood created with Foul Humour will be nasty and undrinkable by even the most desperate Kindred.

Insect hordes created can be irritating and annoying, but not lethal — gnats yes, killer bees no.

Flesh that is created is foul and inedible, and so forth.

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SHROUD THICKNESS RATING

RATING                       AREA                                           

    1                             Cearn                                                

    2                             Node/Graveyard                               

    3                             Deep Wilderness                                 

    4                             Rural Countryside                               

    5                             No mans land                                     

    6                             Most Urban Areas                             

    7                             Downtown alley

    8                             Downtown interior locations

    9                             Downtown Mainstreet.          

    10                           Technocratic Lab* 

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PANDEMONIUM COMMON

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◉ WEIRDNESS (COMMON)

The wraith inflicts a small, strange effect on a single living target. This art’s subject may shiver from sudden chills, see a flicker of motion where none should be, or feel the tickling feet of spiders nesting in his esophagus.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION:

SPEND 1 PATHOS

ROLL:    WITS + PANDEMONIUM RANK  Vs COMPOSURE + RESOLVE (+ Shroud Rating)

SUCCESS:

For 1 turn per success the target suffers +1 difficulty per Pandemonium ranking of wraith on all feats.

This can’t affect the same target more than once per scene.

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◉◉ BEFUDDLEMENT (COMMON)
The wraith momentarily confuses a target, disorienting him and making him forget where he is and what he’s doing. This art is equally effective on living and wraithy targets.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION

SPEND 1 PATHOS

ROLL:    WITS + PANDEMONIUM RANK  Vs COMPOSURE + RESOLVE (+ Shroud Rating)
SUCCESS
For one turn per success, the target must succeed with an Intelligence + Wits  roll (difficulty 16+) to act or to maintain any supernatural power requiring concentration. Multiple applications of Befuddlement add to the effect’s duration.

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◉◉◉ STRANGE ETHER (COMMON)
The wraith can meddle with a small area’s environmental conditions, altering temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, and lighting conditions. While only the strongest Haunters can cause direct harm with Strange Ether, it’s easy to arrange “accidents” through localized meteorological anomalies. Strange Ether can alter the environment on either side of the Shroud, but meddling with the Tempest is an act of desperation or insanity even for Haunters.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION

SPEND: 1 PATHOS + 1 HEALTH

ROLL:     INTELLIGENCE + PANDEMONIUM  RANK
DIFFICULTY: 7+  SHROUD RATING (12+ anywhere in underworld) 

SUCCESS

Her successes determine the most intense weather she can invoke, as shown below.

All Strange Ether effects last for 20 turns per dot of Pandemonium  in a radius up to the wraith’s composure + resolve  x 10 meters.
1 success Fog or slight temperature change (up to 10ºF/5ºC).
2 successes Mild breeze and light precipitation.
3 successes Ambient light change, in a range from “overcast winter morning” to “midnight under a stormy sky with a new moon.”
4 successes Strong wind and heavy precipitation.
5+ successes As 4 successes, but each additional success causes 1 bashing damage to those in the AOE.
Haunters can’t engage in Strange Ether duels to cancel out each other’s applications of this art; multiple uses only worsen conditions until they’re out of anyone’s control. In the Tempest, any failed application of Strange Ether also generates an immediate localized Maelstrom (one bell, unless the situation demands something stronger).

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◉◉◉◉ FOUL HUMOR (COMMON)

Forcing her Corpus through the Shroud, the wraith creates a Fortean eruption of anything from vermin to gore. She can generate frog rains, locust plagues, wasp swarms, rat eruptions, spider explosions… the list goes on. Alternately, she can summon raw meat, fresh or clotted blood, slime molds, buckets of phlegm, acidic or caustic mucus, or other noxious substances.

SYSTEM:
NORMAL  ACTION: The player describes her desired effect

SPEND:    1 PATHOS + 1 HEALTH

GAIN:      1 ANGST (+1 more if effect causes damage)

ROLL:        INTELLIGENCE + PANDEMONIUM RANK spends 1
DIFFICULTY: 7 + SHROUD RATING (12 + in the underworld)

The manifestation has a maximum radius of the wraith’s Pandemonium rating x 5 meters and lasts for three turns per success.

If the effect is damaging, the vermim or goo inflicts one point  of lethal damage to all in AOE per two successes.

This Art -must- summon -foul- things. While a unicorn would have the same effect, it does not suit the art. 
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◉◉◉◉◉ TEMPUS FUGIT (COMMON)
The wraith can distort time’s passage, slowing or hastening the actions of everyone in her immediate area. She can’t, however, reverse or repeat time.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION:

Player declares whether she’s speeding or slowing time and any exemptions in area of effect (1 char per dot of wits, including self, can be exempt.)

SPEND : 4 PATHOS and 1 HEALTH. (4 Health if you want Slowed time Two)

ROLL:  WITS + PANDEMONIUM 

DIFFICULTY:  

7+ SHROUD RATING (To Target Skinlands) 

12 + In Shadowlands or Underworld or Tempest

12 + In Labyrinth but botch on a 1-4 but gain no Angst there / Add +2 successes on a Natural 20+ 

AOE: 10 meter radius

SUCCESS:

The effect lasts 1 turn per success. 

Characters slowed down may not perform actions that allow them to "Strike" multiple opponents with one melee/brawl attack.

Characters sped up MAY strike twice as many opponents with a single melee/brawl attack

((Rolling their attack at a difficulty of 10+ and selecting the targets, who then roll their Dodge/brace/parry block against a difficulty of 10+ Net successes of attacker = damage caused))

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A wraith can use Tempus Fugit once per scene.

Characters with Time 3 or Chronos Rank 5 are unaffected by this if they spend 1 full action -adjusting- no roll is necessary, the expenditure of a turn is sufficient protection. (Affecting others with such protection would require rolling the appropriate protection however)

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PANDEMONIUM INITIATE

RESTRICTED TO

◉ HAUNTERS ◉ SPOOKS  ◉ MNEMOI ◉

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◉ TASTE CHAOS (INITIATE )
The wraith’s affinity for chaos enables her to detect its touch on others. This art’s capacity to reveal the influence not only of Pandemonium but also of Oblivion has implications that few Haunters want examined too closely…

SYSTEM:

QUICK ACTION: The wraith gazes quizzically at a target within line of sight

ROLL:  WITS + PANDEMONIUM RANK

DIFFICULTY 7+ SHROUD RATING (12+ in the underworld) 

SUCCESS:

One success reveals if the target has been affected by Pandemonium, Spectre powers, or another manifestation of Oblivion within the past day.

Each additional success reveals traces going back an additional week.

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◉◉ POSTMORTEM SCRIPT (INITIATE )
A Haunter versed in this art can communicate across the Shroud via written words and symbols. Concentrating on her message and infusing her Corpus with chaos, she forces part of her substance through cracks in the walls between worlds, marking any solid surface. Pandemonium’s unpredictability makes each manifestation different: One message may appear in moss, another oozes from the writing surface in clotted blood, while
glowing gnats hover to spell out a third. This also renders exact dictation impossible. With practice, the wraith can convey her intent with acceptable accuracy, though a slip in concentration can reveal her subconscious worries and desires or even allow her Shadow to dictate the message.

SYSTEM:

QUICK ACTION: 

ROLL:  INTELLIGENCE + PANDEMONIUM RANK

DIFFICULTY 7+ SHROUD RATING (12+ in the underworld) 

SUCCESS:

She can write for one turn per success, with each turn allowing her to write one phrase or short sentence. All writing disappears at the end of the scene.

NOTE: The writing is always definitely supernatural, writing on steamed mirrors or in freshly fallen snow can be achieved with Outrage TAP TAP, this art is somewhat pointless if you want to simply write out a message. If you are intending to scare the life out of someone with the written word, this is the way to go about it.

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◉◉◉ ESCHER'S STAIR  (INITIATE )
This art momentarily violates Euclidean geometry, connecting two doorways or other portals to one another via the Labyrinth. This art can link a door to a window, a sewer pipe to a piece of playground equipment, or the head of the eponymous staircase to its foot. Such a link goes both ways. Anyone passing through it suffers a moment of unsettling disorientation as they transit the Labyrinth en route to their destination. Multiple
applications of Escher’s Stair can create infinite loops — or intricate mazes of twisty little passages, all alike.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION

SPEND: 2 PATHOS AND 1 HEALTH

ROLL: WITS + PANDEMONIUM RANK

GAIN: 4 ANGST IF injury of 2 or more lethal damage is caused to characters passing through Escher's stair.
DIFFICULTY: 7 + SHROUD RATING

SUCCESS:

For one turn per success, she can link two similar planes within her line of sight so any object crossing one plane emerges from the other. Each plane must have a clearly defined border: a window frame, a doorway, the head or foot of a staircase or ladder, a tunnel mouth, a jet engine’s intake, and so on. The two planes don’t have to have identical dimensions or similar shapes, but must be roughly equal in area.
At Pandemonium ◉◉◉◉, the player may spend 1 health to expend this art’s duration to one minute per success. (roughly 20 turns per success)

At Pandemonium ◉◉◉◉◉, she may spend 2 health  to stretch it to one hour per success. (roughly 1200 turns per success)
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◉◉◉◉ GROTESQUE APPARITION (INITIATE )
Instead of sliming or infesting an area with her cast-off Corpus, an adept Haunter can mold her cross-Shroud manifestation into an approximation of her mortal shape. This art spawns a short-lived, life-sized humanoid form that vaguely resembles the Haunter. It’s incapable of self-expression more refined than inchoate gibbering, but it’s distressingly robust and disgusting.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION

SPEND: 2 PATHOS and 3 HEALTH

GAIN:  1 ANGST

ROLL:    INTELLIGENCE + PANDEMONIUM RANK

DIFFICULTY: 7 + SHROUD RATING
SUCCESS:

The manifestation lasts for one turn per success. When the wraith creates the apparition, she sets its general behavior (including whether it attacks and, if so, whom), but she can’t subsequently control it — once unleashed, it’s self-directing.

• The apparition has attributes equal to the wraith’s own,  except Charisma , which is 0.

• It inherits her skill dots (if any) in Athletics, Brawl, Intimidation, Melee, and Stealth.

• It has Health levels equal to the wraiths  Pandemonium rank.+ Stamina 

When creating the apparition, the player can spend extra health to enhance its physical form. 1 point of health buys one dot of Strength, one dot of Stamina, or 2 Health levels. (Max attribute is 10)

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◉◉◉◉◉ TESSERACT BOMB (INITIATE )
If a Haunter wills it with this art, her wrath is inescapable. Folding an entire structure in on itself, the wraith blocks all egress and ingress. Within this nightmare geometry, dead ends, infinite loops, and gravitational reversals upend the laws of physics. There are no records of Tesseract Bomb’s effects in the Tempest or the Labyrinth, most likely because no one has survived to report the results — but it’s notable that a Haunter’s Shadow will do anything to prevent such experiments.

SYSTEM:

NORMAL ACTION:

The wraith must be within the building, cavern, or other enclosed space she wants to Tesseract Bomb.

SPEND : 3 PATHOS and 3 HEALTH. 

ROLL:  WITS + PANDEMONIUM 

GAIN:  1 ANGST if Augmenting with Dark Ether and 1 ANGST if augmenting with Escher's Stair 

DIFFICULTY:  

7 + SHROUD RATING (To Target Skinlands) 

12 + In Shadowlands or Underworld or Tempest

12 + In Labyrinth but botch on a 1-4 but gain no Angst there / Add +2 successes on a Natural 20+

SUCCESS:

The number of successes rolled determine the maximum size of structure she can affect. If the target space is larger than the roll allows, she affects only a portion of it:
1 success Single room
2 successes One-bedroom apartment; small shop
3 successes One-story house
4 successes Two- or three-story house; strip mall
5 successes Mansion; parking garage; shopping mall

For the rest of the scene, no one on the outside can enter the affected structure. Entrances are stuck, locked, or impossible to find. Attempts at forced entry fail unless the attacker both succeeds at the appropriate task and defeats the Haunter in a resisted Composure + Resolve roll.

(Roll Composure + Resolve vs Composure + Resolve) 

Inside the structure, exits simply aren’t there. Blank walls and dead-end hallways replace windows and outside doors, and exterior walls have armor equal to the Haunter’s Wits in addition to their usual properties.

 

In addition, if the Haunter knows Dark Ether or Escher’s Stair, she can use each power without paying Pathos or Corpus while the Tesseract Bomb is in effect,

(Note: Demon or Thrall Evocations of Lore Of The Paths :Find Path can navigate  this.) 

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