What piece of work is a man, how noble in reason,
How infinite in faculties,
In form and moving, how express and admirable
In action, how like an angel
In apprehension, how like a god!
- Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Starting Vitality
8
Starting Anima
2
Starting Skill Points
25
Type
Human
Senses
Vision
We live in the Age of Man. The world itself shifts, physically and metaphysically, under the collective weight of seven billion human souls. From art and culture to the sciences and technology to politics and economics, humanity is the driving force of the Earth—including within the waking world.
Humans compose over half the members of supernatural society. They can be found almost everywhere, on every continent, on every realm, and even in the depths of space. Of the organizations that compose the Veil Treaty, most are composed of humans, and represent the diverse interests and ideologies of humanity.
Humanity staddles the divide between the mundane and the magical. Physically, most humans are completely natural, without any ties to aether or any ability to shape anima. Metaphysically, though, humans resemble the supernatural races, with souls, free will, and the potential to change the world.
Because most humans have no innate ties to the occult, they can choose to forge their own path through the secret world. Throughout history, humans have found countless ways to harness supernatural powers. Of specific note are two groups, mages and mediums, which are covered later on in this section. But there are numerous types of supernal powers humans can tap in to, from mad science to psychic powers to the dark magics offered by demons and outsiders.
Prerequisite: Mundane Human
Benefit: Spirits do not like your presence. You might make them uncomfortable due to your incredible faith, or maybe you were marked by a mighty spirit in your youth, or maybe there's a particular curse running through your bloodline. Regardless, you gain +2 on all Intimidate attempts against all Supernal creatures (Elementals, Fey, Horrors, Jinn, Shades, Spirits, Reapers), and a +2 bonus to attempt to abjure them from a location or exorcize them from a human host.
However, you suffer a -2 penalty on all other Charisma checks to influence the attitudes of Supernal creatures.
Prerequisite: Willpower 5, Mundane human Origin
Benefit: Your faith or force of dedication becomes a tangible, wholesome force that heals the sick and mends injuries. By spending 1 point of anima, you can choose to emulate either Treat Disease or Treat Injury, using a Willpower check in place of a Medical Science check. Laying on Hands is a full-round action that requires concentration. Once a target benefits from your Laying on Hands, they become immune to its benefits for the remainder of the Chapter.
Prerequisite: Gnosis 5, Mundane Human origin
Benefit: You have the psychic ability to manipulate the forces of the universe. Pick one of the following Energy Types. You gain the ability to intensify, shape, and douse energies related to that particular energy type:
Acid psychokinetics are called phytokinetics, and manipulate plant matter
Cold psychokinetics are called cryokinetics, and manipulate frost and snow, even freezing water out of the air
Electric psychokinetics are called electrokinetics and can both control arcing electricity and power electronics
Fire psychokinetics are called pyrokinetics and can manipulate fire and flames
Radiant psychokinetics are called photokinetics and can manipulate light and illumination
Void psychokinetics are called entropokinetics and can manipulate energies of darkness and decay
You spend 1 point of anima to activate Psychokinetics and perform one of the following actions:
Manifest a Tiny-sized manifestation of your associated energy out of the Aether
Increase the size of your manifestation by 1 category
Move your manifestation up to your Move speed
Shape your manifestation into a more specific (though crude) form
Attack a target with the manifestation. You make a Ranged Spell Attack with your Gnosis skill. If you hit your target, you deal 1d6 damage, plus 1d6 for every size category it possesses over tiny.
Use your energy in a more creative form (for example using pyrokinesis to light a fire, or using electrokinesis to jumpstart a form). This should be agreed upon between you and the GM.
Each action you wish to take with psychokinesis takes 1 additional action, and 1 additional point of anima.
Whenever your character is fatigued or exhausted, your powers may manifest spontaneously. You may make a Shadow check against a DC 10, with a penalty equal to your expended anima. This manifestation tends to happen in wildly inconvenient moments, in ways that usually cause more trouble than they solve. Spontaneous manifestations do not cost additional anima.
Prerequisite: Spr 13, Human origin
Benefit: You gain a +2 insight bonus to Defences against spells and supernatural abilities. If you ever gain the ability to cast spells or use supernatural abilities, you lose the benefits of this feat, and you can replace it with the Spellguard feat even if you do not meet the prerequisites.
Prerequisite: Gnosis 3, Mundane human origin
Benefit: You have the psychic ability to manipulate the world with your mind. You can lift, push, or pull objects. Treat your Spirit score as your Strength for the purpose of a single Strength check.
You can use your Telekinesis to attack a foe. If you choose to do so, you make a Ranged Spell Attack using a Gnosis check to fling a single object at the target. This attack does 1d6+Spr bludgeoning damage.
You can also use telekinesis to grapple a foe. You can use a Gnosis check in place of an Unarmed Attacks check to grapple.
Each use of Telekinesis costs 1 point of anima.
Any time your character is wounded or suffers another trauma (physical or mental), the GM may call for you to make a Shadow check to prevent your powers from flaring out of control and potentially harming your allies. If you fail, you manifest your telekinesis in a quick, impressive display of power. This use of telekinesis does not cost anima.
Prerequisite: Gnosis 5, Mundane human origin
Benefit: You can hear surface thoughts of those around you. You can only hear thoughts from targets who are Close to you--targets who are further out are too muddled by distance and other thoughts to come across as anything more than white noise.
This power is always active at a low level, but you have learned to keep the thoughts of others down to a faint mumble in the back of your head. You can spend 1 point of anima to focus your telepathy on a single target, and get a clear image of their thoughts. Make a Gnosis check against their Willpower. If you succeed, you get a clear picture of the foremost thought on the target's mind.
As this power is constantly active at a low level, sometimes you hear things you probably shouldn't, such as the mad ramblings of an Old God cultist or the vile thoughts of a demon. Even a brush with such twisted mental images requires you to make a Resolve check to resist gaining the Frightened condition.
Prerequisite: Mundane human
Benefit: You have a sixth sense when it comes to the supernatural. Your body reacts in some manner to the presence of unseen forces, such as goose bumps racing along your arms or a developing a light headache. You can't quite see or hear anything, but you get the sense that something isn't right.
By making a Spirit check, you can get a sense of the emotional weight of an area around you, and you can detect Planar Bleeds when you come within Close range of one.