Death

This purview is currently being playtested. We present it here in an unfinished state so that you can see what direction we have been going with the purview, or test it in your own games if you want to.

Death One

DEATH SENSES ●

Cost: None

Dice Pool: None

Type: Persistent

You can peer through the veil to see and hear the spirits around you, and they can now see and hear you in return. You may even capture their attention to speak with them for a few minutes, and gain +6 successes whenever you try to determine how something has died.

OFFERINGS ●

Cost: 1 Legend

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

You intuitively know the funeral rites of most cultures, especially those of your own pantheon. You may also activate this boon to burn offerings or make homage to the dead in such a way that these tokens are given over to them in the appropriate underworld. A Greek would be able to give a proper Scandinavian funeral for her deceased Aesir bandmate, for instance.

Death Two

CORPSE ORACLE ●●

Cost: 1 Legend

Dice Pool: Death + Command (vs MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

The Scion with this boon may command even the dead to give up their secrets. For every three threshold successes she may ask any dead or undead creature one question. It must answer truthfully to the best of its ability.

EUTHANASIA ●●

Cost: None

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

The Scion has learned how to administer merciful death with nothing more than a touch. She may spend a miscellaneous action to inflict 1 unsoakable lethal damage to any living creature she is touching. This damage causes absolutely no pain or wound penalties.

MORTAL COIL ●●

Cost: None

Dice Pool: None

Type: Persistent (Lesser Aura)

Those around the Scion can feel their own mortality creeping in, causing them to escape harm a little slower and suffer deeper wounds. Enemies close to the Scion suffers a -2 penalty to both Dodge DV and Soak DV.

Death Three

GHOSTLY FIGURE ●●●

Cost: None

Dice Pool: None

Type: Minor Buff

A Scion who takes upon the mantle of Death becomes aware of the secrets that the grave tends to hoard. Taking this boon awards the Scion a persistent +2 to Occult and Command rolls, and the Scion can physically interact with ghosts. You also gain an undeniably underworld based change to your true appearance, such as milky white eyes, translucent hair, or becoming incredibly thin. At Legend 9 this bonus increases to +4 successes.

BLEAK CENSUS ●●●

Cost: 1 Legend

Dice Pool: Death + Investigation (vs Conceal)

Type: Miscellaneous (Reveal)

By naming or describing any one person (the Scion must have a good idea of who exactly they're searching for) and spending the requisite cost, she instantly learns whether or not that person is among the dead. If the boon reveals that the individual is deceased, for every three successes gained on the activation roll, she may ask one question about their death or current disposition, or whereabouts among the dead. This boon cannot answer for the living, or about what the target did while they were alive.

CALL OF THE GRAVE ●●●

Cost: 1 Willpower per Scene

Dice Pool: Death + Command (vs MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

The Scion of Death is a nascent breach in the divide between the living and the dead and she may act as an anchor for ghosts. Ghosts possess both the Death Senses and Mortal Coil boons, and they may be asked to perform simple tasks such as spying or watching over a person or place for a night. If the Scion has a willing volunteer, or a recently dead body, the summoned ghost can take possession of the body for the time allotted, though this requires a point of Legend from the Scion. More Complex tasks can be asked of the ghost, but this would require an offering of spiced rum or the promise of future aid. For every three successes you gain on your activation roll, you may choose to summon another ghost or add one day to the time they remain to serve you. Note: Every day a ghost possesses a body, the Scion must spend the legend cost.

Death Four

POLTERGEIST BEACON ●●●●

Cost: 1 Willpower Per Haunting

Dice Pool: Death + Presence

Type: Miscellaneous

A Demigod with this boon can turn unwitting mortals into an anchor for the restless dead. Creation of an anchor varies from Scion to Scion. One could trigger the boon by handing their target “the black spot” while another Scion smears a drop of blood over something the target’s touched within the last 24 hours. The unlucky person is now irresistibly attractive beacon for poltergeists, angry ghosts, and mischievous spirits, who will plague him or her incessantly with pranks, noises, and possibly even mildly harmful attacks, all of which may inflict a -4 distraction penalty on the target without warning. The beacon remains in effect for a number of days equal to the Scion’s threshold successes, after which point it fades and the ghosts are free to move on as they wish.

THE WALKING DEAD ●●●●

Cost: 3 Legend + 1 Aggravated Damage Per Rank

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

The Scion with this boon can make a mockery of life itself, pulling the dead up from the ground to serve as puppets bidden to their master’s will. Every culture has a different ritual, and every Scion with this boon adds a personal flair, but there must always be the sacrifice of the Scion (or another’s) life force that serves at the catalyst for the reanimation process. Zombies raised with this boon have the stats of a Retainer equal to the cost spent. These undead are not everlasting, however, and only exist for three nights until the ichor animating them finally runs dry. A Zombie Retainer can never be of higher rank than the Legend of whoever crafted them.

SEANCE ●●●●

Cost: 1 Legend Per Person

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

With a touch of their hand, the Scion can allow others the ability to perceive across the veil of death. For each point of legend spent, the Scion may grant one target the benefits of Death Senses for a week.

Death Five

POSSESSION ●●●●●

Cost: 4 Legend + 1 Willpower per Person.

Dice Pool: Death + Occult (vs MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

It's one thing to anchor a ghost to a willing servant, or temporarily into a unconscious body - it is another thing entirely to bind together the living and the dead in such a manner that it is nearly impossible to tear them apart without damage. Possessions caused by this boon can be bestowed even on the unwilling, provided that the Scion has the time and patience to force the target to submission. Once possessed, mortals can never shake off the ghost, but Legendary Beings can begin the process of revoking the possession once a number of days equal to the Scion’s rank in Death have passed. Every day after that, the possessed legendary creature may use their favored MDV in an extended roll against a difficulty equal to the number of Death boons the Scion has. Once they’ve achieved this, the possession is broken and the Legendary Being’s mind is their own again.

EXORCISM ●●●●●

Cost: 1 Willpower per use

Dice Pool: Death + Presence (vs. MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

The Scion with this boon may counteract the meddling of the dead, forcing them back whence they came. By touching a possessed person, he may force the possessing spirit out; likewise, he may banish a ghost back to the Underworld by touching its incorporeal flesh and overcoming its MDV resistance roll (a ghost thus banished to the Underworld may not leave it again in any way for a number of days equal to his threshold successes). He may also force one dead or undead creature away from him for every three successes he receives on his activation roll, forcing ghosts to become incorporeal and all dead creatures to give him a berth equal to ten times his total number of Death Boons in yards for a number of hours also equal to his total number of Death Boons.

HALLOWED GROUND ●●●●●

Cost: 8 Legend + 1 Willpower

Dice Pool: Death + Survival

Type: Miscellaneous

Throughout the history of the world, there have been places marked for the dead. Graveyards, mausoleums, battlefields where the price was too bloody on both sides. A Scion can designate such a place for herself, creating a weak point in the veil between the world. Death boons used in this area have their cost reduced by 2 legend, and the damage inflicted when using The Walking Dead is downgraded to lethal. Mortals have no MDV against Possession, while other Legendary creatures suffer a -2 to the resistance roll.

The other half of the coin is if a Scion chooses to revoke the hallowed nature of the land, stripping it of it’s ties to the Underworld. Any ghosts upon the ground are immediately forced back to the underworld if they’re not anchored, and all walking corpses that are not claimed immediately collapse. This alternative effect is contested by the MDV of the dead.

Death Six

COMMAND OF THE SOUL ●●●●● ●

Cost: 4 Legend or 10 Legend

Dice Pool: Death + Command (vs. MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

A Scion with this boon can now attempt to establish dominion over the restless dead even if others are currently the deceased’s master. This can be done through coaxing offerings or brutish conquering that leaves the corpse broken under the new will. Not only corpses and ghosts, but the possessed can potentially fall under the Scion’s sway - the ghost within them serving as the strings to the new puppetmaster.

You appear to be a figure of absolute authority over a number of dead equal to your successes on the activation roll, and they will follow your orders to the extent that any loyal person might: dead soldiers will fight for you, dead peasants will farm for you, and dead scholars will share their knowledge. This does not strip them of personality (if they have any), and some dead might give you more trouble than others. And no matter where in the realms a Scion is, if one of their creatures is taken with this boon, they immediately know who did it.

This boon costs 4 Legend if used against dead of the Hero Tier, and 10 Legend if used on dead of the Demigod or God Tier.

HELLHOUND ●●●●● ●

Cost: 8 Legend and 2 Willpower

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

Scions of Death do not only have ghosts under their domain, but fearsome creatures that savagely protect the demigod’s property. A Scion may turn a willing creature or person into her faithful watch beast. Beings targeted by this boon immediately gain a Legend rating of half of the Scion’s own (rounded up) and the Scion may chose to give the creature any single Purview or Epic Attribute at the maximum rating for the new Legend rating.

This watch beast can be trained to use up to three Knacks or Boons for the chosen Purview or Epic Attribute, but must have the Knack or Boon demonstrated to them by the Scion, or another present and willing teacher. Storytellers should work with the player to create thematically appropriate and interesting beasts, but the Scion may have no more than one such creature for every Rank of Death they possess.

Death Seven

MORTALITY ●●●●● ●●

Cost: 10 Legend

Dice Pool: Death + Medicine (vs DV)

Type: Miscellaneous

Close enough to godhood to taste it, the Scion understands the limitations and flaws of mortality intimately. With the right application of this knowledge, she can cripple anyone she touches. This power withers the body and weakens the mind, drawing those that it affects closer to their inevitable demise. Mortals immediately wither to the brink of death and become permanently bedridden. Legendary beings turn wrinkled and feeble even in the prime of their youth, and temporarily lose one permanent legend until the end of the scene. Any legend in excess of this temporary new legend cap is lost.

ON A PALE HORSE ●●●●● ●●

Cost: 15 Legend + Willpower

Dice Pool: Death + Occult

Type: Miscellaneous

Throughout history, the threat of widespread death and destruction has caused many a culture nightmares unended, and a demigod so close to godhood is able to see those nightmares into horrific reality. For every three successes on the activation roll, a Scion may strike down 5% of a targeted mortal population (about the size of Tokyo or New York City) immediately, with the deaths range from sudden but natural, to almost poltergeist complexity as you see fit.

THE GRIM REAPER ●●●●● ●●

Cost: 5 Legend

Dice Pool: None

Type: Miscellaneous

The nearing apotheosis of the Scion has bestowed upon them new mastery over death. With this boon comes additional perks to previous boons in the purview.

Offerings - The funeral rites may now grant minor boons if performed correctly. Everyone who participates in the funeral gains the benefit of an auspicious offering, which grants +4 successes on all rolls for a lunar month afterwards. Somebody may only benefit from one auspicious offering at a time.

Euthanasia - A God of Death is a fearsome deity for any mortal to face, and with good reason. For the rest of the scene, Euthanasia may be used reflexively against any living creature in the Hero Tier, and immediately kills them without resistance.

Bleak Census - You may now name entire groups or cities to answer your questions. If any dead person within that group of city knows the answer to your question (and you overcome their Conceal) must reveal the answer to you.

Walking Dead - The undead raised with this boon are now permanent and can be given up to four dots of intelligence if the Death God desires.

Death Eight

REVENANT ●●●●● ●●●

Cost: 4 Legend per use

Dice Pool: Death + Awareness

Type: Miscellaneous

The newly minted God of Death has such a mastery over her subjects that not only are they her eyes and ears, they can also be her hands and voice. A God with this boon may extend his influence through any of the undead that she has personally created, or through the eyes of any ghost within her personal Underworld. While the God is limited to the abilities of the undead in question, they may always use their own Death Boons without penalty. This power places a -4 dice distraction penalty upon the God themselves for each undead viewed through unless they have an ability to simultaneously keep track of multiple things at once. This boon lasts until the undead is destroyed, or the God ends the boon.

Death Nine

REALM OF THE DEAD ●●●●● ●●●●

Cost: 20 Legend and 4 Willpower per use

Dice Pool: Death + Command (vs MDV)

Type: Miscellaneous

There are fews gods associated with the purview of Death that do not lay claim to an Underworld, and Gods with this boon are capable of creating such a domain for themselves. Within a domain that stretches 10 miles for every (Death Boon) she possesses, the God is supreme and the dead must paid heed to whatever law she has commissioned. She may choose who enters, how they enter, and what the ghosts must accomplish to even enter at all. She will always know what is going on within her realm and is capable of viewing through all ghosts’ eyes within her domain so long as they’re known to her. Anyone dead person who attempts to enter her realm without using the designated method, or attempts to break a law within her realm, must have an MDV higher than the number of successes the Death God gets on her activation roll. This boon lasts until she activates it again.