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Essence

Essence is a mysterious and powerful force, used by the Gifted to accomplish incredible feats of power. It is believed that every soul is made of Essence, and that is what connects the feelings and emotions of people to the world around them. Essence is affected equally by emotion and by reason, and mastery of it usually means mastering the entirety of one’s psyche.

Sources of Essence

Most metaphysical or supernatural abilities require the expenditure of Essence, either from the user’s own aura or from the environment. Essence can be collected as follows:

The Self

The quickest and most readily available source of Essence is the user themself. All living beings have an Essence Pool, and Gifted tend to have particularly large Pools. Certain Gifted may gather Essence from their aura without relying on complex rituals or ceremonies. In game terms, a character with levels in Essence Channeling may gather one point of Essence for each level in the Quality, each turn.

Humans naturally regenerate one point of Essence per Willpower Level per day. Humans with the Essence Channeling Quality instead regenerate 1 point per Essence Channeling per hour.

Ambient Essence - Rituals

The slowest yet most accessible source of Essence, even non-Gifted characters may tap into the Essence that surrounds them using a long ritual.

A ritual usually takes at least 10 minutes, and involves a great deal of preparation and patience. At the end of the ritual, attempt a Task using Intelligence and Occultism. Each Success Level grants 2 Essence to be used.
Additional Essence may be gathered by lengthening the ritual: every hour the ritual lasts gives a +1 bonus to the Task, to a maximum bonus of +6. Beyond that, add 1 +2 bonus for every 24 hours the ritual lasts, to a maximum additional bonus of +14 (for a total maximum of +20 if the ritual takes a whole week to perform).

Times of Power

Like the ebb and flow of tides in the oceans, Essence is connected to the motions of the moon and sun, causing magic to be more powerful during certain times of the day or year. During these Times of Power, extra Essence is available for Gifted to tap into.

Each Sorcerer may use this Essence once during the period, and once exhausted they may not use it until the next such time. Additionally, the extra Essence is cumulative, so a ritual performed at midnight on the winter solstice grants 25 extra Essence.

Midnight & Midday

Midnight is commonly known as “the Witching Hour”, though its opposite at midday is also a source of magical power. During these hours (the benefits are available within 30 minutes of noon or midnight) 5 extra Essence is available.

Full Moon

Beyond lycanthropes, the full moon grants magical power to all Gifted. During any night when the full moon is in the sky, 5 extra Essence is available (or 10 at midnight).

Solstices & Equinoxes

The power granted by these solar dates caused many ancient civilisations to revere them throughout history. During the Winter or Summer solstices, or the Vernal or Autumnal equinoxes, an extra 25 Essence is available.

Holidays & Festivals

While religious festivals don’t always have supernatural roots, the mere fact of the massive celebrations release vast amounts of Essence. On days of religious significance, an extra 20 Essence is available.
Note that this is only available near a large population who celebrate the event, so Hanukkah won’t be a Time of Power in Mexico, and Thanksgiving won’t be a Time of Power in Japan.

Symbols & Objects

Many symbols and objects carry metaphysical power, and aid in channeling Essence.

Magic Circle

A magic circle is usually drawn or engraved on the floor, and consists of many runes and icons. Drawing a circle requires an Intelligence and Occultism Task,  with each Success Level granting 2 Essence, up to a maximum of 10 Essence.
This Essence can only be used on protective magic (at the Director’s discretion), either to keep things out of the surrounded area, or to keep things within it.

If the circle is broken, any Invocation anchored to it is immediately dispelled.

Crystals

The clean and orderly structure of natural crystals built over many years allow them to build tiny reservoirs of Essence within them.
A Sorcerer or Shaman with Essence Channeling may, as part of the Focus Task, drain the Essence of a single small crystal, releasing 2 points of Essence, and pulverizing the crystal to dust.

Salt

Table salt is made of tiny crystals, and so holds a minute amount of Essence. Though not powerful enough to be drained as crystals are, salt’s powdery nature causes it to interfere with incorporeal beings and spirits. Tossing a handful of salt at such a being deals 2 damage to it.

Additionally, if salt is to draw a magic circle, it provides an additional 5 Essence. However, note that salt-based circles are far easier to disrupt than drawn ones.

Using Essence Defensively

When under attack by a magical or supernatural effect, a character with Essence Channeling may instinctively channel Essence to aid in their defence: if the attack normally allows a roll to resist it, they may spend Essence up to their levels in Essence Channeling. Every point spent in this way grants them a +1 bonus to the defence roll.

Additionally, unless stated otherwise, an Essence power may always be used to defend against itself. For example, a character who knows the Soulfire Invocation may roll Willpower and Soulfire to defend against an incoming Soulfire blast. This is instead of the normal defence test.