The Demented One
2009-07-16, 05:38 PM
First Hegra Excellency
The Typhoon of Nightmares is manic, passionate, and constantly changing. She is capable of mercy, but it is inhuman and often has unforseen consequences. She is driven by emotion and rejects reason for intuition, capable of acting with great spontaneity to adapt to new situations. She may speaks in riddles and cryptic prohecies that often seem mad or senseless, but her words bear hidden insight. When angered, Hegra acts instantly and revels in violence, as if she were playing a game.
Characters may apply this Charm to actions that are both savage and beautiful, especially those that further their passions. Sensuous pleasures fall under Hegra's purview, and actions to seek out pleasure or tempt others can always be enhanced. Any attempt at debasing society, whether by spreading perversity or eroding cultural values is favored by Hegra, but she also will forge ties of unity when it suits her whim. This Charm can never enhance any action that requires the Infernal to put a goal above her own happiness or pleasure, and cannot enhance actions made in pursuit of a goal the Infernal does not truly care about.
Hegra Mythos Exultant
The Typhoon of Nightmares seethes with infinite passion. A successful stunt can restore a number of Virtue channels equal to the rating of the stunt in place of the normal reward.
Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 3m
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Poison, Touch
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Alone among the Yozis is Hegra loved by the demons of Hell, for her thunders drive away Adorjan and her rains inspire wondrous dreams. Each droplet of intoxicating memory is peer to all the mortal drugs Creation has to offer, a sensation more exquisite and sublime than any dull hallucinations of mundane chemistry. This Charm allows Infernals to create a potent drug from dreams and emotions, spreading it to a victim with a touch. Touching the victim may require a (Dexterity + Martial Arts) attack to hit if he is not willing or restrained. The victim must succeed on a (Stamina + Integrity) roll with a difficulty of (Essence). If they fail, their minds are numbed by hallucinogenic visions, giving them a -1 penalty on all dice pools and static values, plus an additional -1 for every success they failed to meet the roll's difficulty by, for the duration of the scene. This drug is considered a poison, and can be cured by any Charm that can cure poison, but it does not follow the standard poison rules because it is derived from manifest emotion, rather than any physical toxin.
A second purchase of this Charm allows the Infernal to manifest this drug as a contact poison on her own weapons, allowing her to spread it with any attack made with a weapon (including ranged and thrown attacks). A third purchase at Essence 5 makes the drug irresistably toxic. Characters hit by the attack do not receive a (Stamina + Integrity) roll to resist; they automatically succumb unless they have an Essence equal to or greater than the Infernal's, taking a penalty of (Essence + 1).
Passion-Fixing Alchemy
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Hegra's typhoon-body is physical form drawn from emotional energy, a gateway by which abstract passions and sensations can be reified into material forms. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, allowing the Infernal to produce drugs with it, rather than merely spreading them to other characters. To do so, the character must invoke the Charm as a dramatic action, as they formulate the drug within their body and then extrude it in a consumable form, excreting it through vomiting, suppurating wounds, bleeding, or similar measures. The Infernal chooses the precise form the drug takes on: he can create powders, liquids, even alcohols or herbs. Regardless of the form chosen, each invocation of the Charm always yields a single dose. A character who ingests the drug is affected by it just as if the Infernal had spread it to him by touch with Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. While the act of producing the drug is Obvious Charm use, the drug itself does not seem anything other than mundane.
Certain forms of drug may lend themselves well to tainting water supplies or food. Tainting water typically requires 5 doses of drug per person who drinks from that water source, and its effects last for a week: everyone who drinks water from that source is affected as if they had ingested it. Tainting food requires the Infernal feed the drug to livestock or other animals slaughtered for food, a single dose for each person the resulting meal could sustain. While the animal is affected normally by the drug, traces of it linger on in its muscle and fat, causing each person who eats a portion of it to be affected by the drug.
At Essence 3, the Infernal can produce multiple doses of drug with only a single use of Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. To do so, he must spend a single point of Willpower, as well as one mote for each additional dose created, to a maximum of (Essence x 5).
Aromatic Suspiration of Bliss
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+Xm, 1wp)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Passion-Fixing Alchemy (x2)
After the rains of the Typhoon of Nightmares, a thick mist of memories clings to the streets of Malfeas, a gossamer fog through which none can walk unchanged. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. By spending an additional 12 motes and a point of Willpower, the Infernal may release the drug as a psychotropic mist, forcing all characters within (Essence x 5) yards of her to roll against succumbing to the drug. She may exclude characters from being affected by the drug at a cost of one mote for each character protected. The mist fades away swiftly, lingering only long enough to expose the Infernal's enemies to the drug.
Sublime Transmutation Alembic
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+5m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Passion-Fixing Alchemy (x2)
The alchemists of Malfeas brew potent tonics from Hegra's raining, distilling the liquid dreams into tinctures and elixers of wondrous power. This Charm enhances Passion-Fixing Alchemy. Whenever the Infernal uses it to create drugs, they may spend an additional 5 motes to grant the drug the properties of an alchemical formula. The Infernal must know the formula he imbues the drug with, and it must be a formula meant to be consumed harmlessly–poisons and similar substances are not valid choices.
Toxic Hysteria Synthesis
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Hegra subsists entirely on emotion, the whole of her being coalescing around her hysteric passions. When her clouds fill the sky, she plunges the demons of Malfeas into the depths of emotions both potent and strange, as her form cannot contain the passion that pulses within her heart. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, causing the drug created to have powerful emotion-altering effects. Any character who succumbs to the drug is filled by an emotion chosen by the Infernal. She can inspire joy, hope, sorrow, anger, uncertainty, or any other emotion within the mortal range. The emotion effect alters the character's behavior, but has no other mechanical effects. It lasts only for as long as the drug's effects do, and the character may spend a point of Willpower to negate it entirely. However, this Charm has another, more insidious effect: every scene in which a character succumbs to the drug counts as a scene spent building an Intimacy towards the Infernal. The character does not realize this, and cannot perceive the growing Intimacy until it develops fully into an Intimacy of trust and dependence towards the Infernal. Heroic characters and the Exalted may recognize the Intimacy-developing effect by spending 2 points of Willpower, although this does nothing to resist the establishment of the Intimacy. Infernals who ingest their own drugs develop an Intimacy of self-satisfaction, gaining great pleasure simply from being who they are.
A second purchase at Essence 4 causes anyone who succumbs to the drug to immediately develop an Intimacy to the Infernal, rather than gradually building one. A third purchase at Essence 5 enhances the potency of the drugs. Whenever the Infernal invokes Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, he may spend an additional 10 motes and a point of Willpower. If he does, the emotions stirred by the drug are overwhelming, driving their victim to catatonia. Anyone who succumbs to the drug is rendered comatose, shifting to Inactive status for their next (Essence) actions, caught up in histrionic hallucinations. However, they may take a single action by spending a point of Willpower. In addition, if they are attacked while inactive, they may spend a point of Willpower to negate their paralysis entirely.
Consumptive Desire Formula
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion, Sickness
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Toxic Hysteria Synthesis
To revel in the rains of Hegra is beyond all other experience, a hallucinatory paradise where Creation and Malfeas intermingle. Having danced beneath the Typhoon of Nightmares and known the glories of her half-dreams, who would not willingly return? This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Whenever the Infernal invokes the Charm, he may choose to make the drug highly addictive. Any character who succumbs to the drug's effects develops a dependancy on it. Whenever they have an opportunity to experience the drug again, they must successful make a Temperance roll with difficulty 1. While the character, if he fails his roll, will willingly allow the Infernal to contaminate him with the drug by force, he need not roll if the Infernal attempts to deliver the drug with an attack, allowing him to defend normally against the attack. The addiction can be cured by any Medicine Charm capable of curing disease.
A second purchase at Essence 5 increases the difficulty of the Temperance roll to half the Infernal's Essence. In addition, addicted characters can no longer defend against drug-laced attacks without making a successful Temperance roll; should they fail, they will willingly step into the blow for a chance at bliss, reducing both their DVs to 0. They may use reflexive Charms to defend against the attack if they are Exalted, but they must spend a point of Willpower to do so.
Virgin-Eating Seraglio Arts
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Consumptive Desire Formula
Hegra's dream-rains are tinged with erotic fantasies, realizations of impossible passions and desires. More than any other Yozi does she understand the desires born of mortal flesh, and this understanding sparks passionate fury in her heart. When she was whole, a true Primordial, Hegra was capable of experiencing the bliss of the Games of Divinity, beauty and meaning higher than any other joy. But in her mutilated and diminished form, the only pleasure she knows is that of others. This Charm allows an Infernal to addict other characters to the drug produced by Abundant Euphoria Apothecary through intimate contact. Any character who copulates with the Infernal must succeed on a (Stamina + Integrity) roll, as if resisting the effects of Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, or develop an addiction to the drug, as with Consumptive Desire Formula. The roll is made at the end of the sexual encounter, so any fatigue penalties from sex (or other circumstantial penalties arranged by the Infernal) apply to it.
A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 5 makes addiction contagious. Any character who is addicted to the drug produced by Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, whether by Consumptive Desire Formula or Virgin-Eating Seraglio Arts, can spread addiction to their sexual partners. Any character who engages in sex with an addict must roll to resist addiction as if they were in intimate contact with the Infernal herself.
Heart-Poisoning Miasma Psychogenesis
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Servitude
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Consumptive Desire Formula
To say that Hegra is kind or merciful is to misunderstand the fundamental nature of the Yozi. Hegra is alien, inhuman, and entirely insane. Her madness is merely more benign than that of her comrades, a psychotic obsession with helping those she sees as her children–whether they see it that way or not. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Any character who succumbs to the drug it creates loses a point of temporary Willpower. Characters with an Essence less than the Infernal's own instead loses permanent Willpower. A character reduced to 0 permanent Willpower suffers a complete mental breakdown. He acquires a derangement of the Infernal's choice at any strength, and his Motivation becomes to consume more of the drug. All his Virtues are reduced to 1, unless the Infernal possesses the Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania Charm. If she does, she may raise any Virtues that she has learned it for to 5, and replace it with its ecstatic variant.
Soul-Crucible Diabolism
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+1wp)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Desecration, Shaping, Training
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Poisoning Miasma Psychogenesis
Hegra rains down her mercy on demon and mortal alike, for she remembers when both were as children in her care. To demons, she gives respite from suffering; to mortals, she gives bodies beyond their wildest imaginings. Her psychadelic rain melts away mere forms of men to reveal the true shape of his mind beneath. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Whenever the Infernal invokes it, they may spend an additional point of Willpower to imbue the drug with mutagenic power. Any character who succumbs to the drug's effect develops a Pox of the Infernal's choice. The Infernal may also choose to include a Debility mutation, to balance out the cost of the positive mutation. If that character is not already a creature of darkness, they gain that Pox first. Non-Extra characters may spend a point of Willpower to resist gaining the mutation, although characters who have become addicts through Consumptive Desire Formula must fail a Temperance roll in order to do so.
At Essence 4, the Infernal may bestow Afflictions and Debilities with this Charm, and at Essence 5, he may bestow Blights, Deformities, and Abominations. A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 6 raises the transformative power of this Charm to a dark apotheosis. Any character who acquires a dots of mutations from this Charm that exceed his (Willpower + Essence) secretes a cocoon of psychotropic crystals around himself, and gradually metamorphoses into a First Circle Demon over the course of five days. The character becomes whatever breed of demon best expresses his personality and nature, and retains all mutations imposed by this Charm. The Exalted cannot be transformed in this way, and Heroic Mortals may forestall the transformation by spending a point of Willpower each day–but should they ever fail to do so, the transformation begins, and cannot be reversed.
Frenzied Tempest Shintai
Mins: Essence 6
Cost: 60m, 3wp, 1ahl
Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Blasphemy, Obvious, Sorcerous, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary (x3), Aromatic Suspiration of Bliss, Soul-Crucible Diabolism (x2)
Hegra remembers the days before she was overthrown and mutilated, when she was guardian and playmate to all the children-races of the Primordials. She enfolded Creation in her stormy embrace, raining down pure happiness and simple joy. Those days are long since past, and whatever affection she may retain for her children is warped and twisted by her mania. When she returns once more, she will be known to all Creation as the Typhoon of Nightmares, and madness will follow in her wake. But until she can escape the bonds of her oaths, she is content to empower the Infernal Exalted to serve as harbingers of what is yet to come. The Infernal's corporeal body dissipates and reforms into a massive storm cloud miles above Creation, taking on immaterial form. While in this storm-shape, the Infernal Exalted can take no actions–but she does not need to. She rains down torrent of mind-shattering gossamer. Each character caught in the rain, which spreads across an area of (Essence) miles, is affected as by the Abundant Euphoria Apothecary Charm, and all Charms that enhance it. Every five minutes of exposure to the rain is treated as a single dose of the drug. The character may cease the Charm at any time (and given its Blasphemy effect, may soon have reason to). A bolt of prismatic lightning descends from the storm cloud to strike the earth, depositing the Infernal in a storm-blasted crater as the storm rapidly dissipates.
Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
Mins: Essence 1
Cost: 3m
Type: Simple (Speed 3 in long ticks)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
When Hegra speaks, none can ignore her thundering words. Though her rhymes and prophecies are often little more than babble and madness, the sheer puissance of her voice compels all to listen and pay heed. Invoking this Charm, the Infernal rolls (Charisma + Performance), adding a number of bonus successes equal to her Essence. If the successes rolled exceed a character's MDV, that character is compelled by unnatural mental influence to pay attention to the Infernal's words. The character need not speak to use this Charm, or even be seen by those they intend to sway with it–they can compel all to look and listen to them by sheer force of presence alone. While they will not stop what they are doing, they cannot leave or ignore the Infernal until she has spoken. Characters engaged in combat are unaffected, too caught up in strife to be swayed by the Infernal's words, and any non-Extra may spend a point of Willpower to ignore the compulsion. The characters are only compelled to listen until the Infernal takes her next action, after which time the compulsion ends.
A second purchase at Essence 3 increases the duration of this Charm to (Essence) actions, and lends puissance to the Infernal's words. Any character compelled by this Charm treats any social attack the Infernal makes as unnatural mental influence. A third purchase at Essence 5 allows the Infernal to increase the duration of this Charm to one scene by spending a point of Willpower. In addition, Extras and Heroic Mortals swayed by this Charm cannot spend Willpower to resist the compulsion, and must spend two points of Willpower, rather than one, to resist social attacks the Infernal makes.
Conflict-Quelling Beauty
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+5m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien (x2)
When the clouds of Hegra's typhoon-body obscure the sky and rain down dreams, there is no conflict. The demons of Hell, whatever internecine strife may rile their hearts, revel in the chance to be free of the Silent Wind, dancing beneath Hegra's mercy. This Charm enhances Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien, allowing the Infernal to use it in combat by spending 5 additional motes. Doing so is a Simple action with Speed 5 in short ticks. All characters swayed by Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien will cease fighting for long enough to listen to the Infernal speak–but any hostile activity taken by any character in the scene, including those unswayed by Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien and the Infernal herself, will negate the compulsion for all characters.
Irresistible Paramour Poise
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Conflict-Quelling Beauty
Mortals who stir in erotic dreams know the touch of Hegra, for she at times is want to extend her consciousness into mortal slumber, seducing men and women in the guise of their lovers or their desired. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence to create an illusion. The Infernal rolls (Charisma + Presence), adding successes equal to her Essence, against a character's MDV. If they succeed, they may make themself the object of any of the character's Intimacies, as long as the Intimacy is to a person. The affected character still remembers the former object of the Intimacy, fully recalling whatever relationship they may have had in terms of factual events, but they associate the emotional context with the Infernal, as if they had been in such a relationship all along. This Charm does not grant the Infernal any knowledge of the victim's Intimacies; if she does not know any, she may simply affect a random Intimacy. A character may spend a point of Willpower to ignore this illusion for a scene, restoring the Intimacy to its original object. Once they have spent (Essence) points of Willpower, the illusion is permanently shattered, returning the Intimacy to normal.
A second purchase at Essence 3 allows the Infernal to rewrite his victim's memories with this Charm. If her attack beats the victim's MDV, not only does the Intimacy shift to the Infernal–the target completely forgets the original object of the Intimacy, with the Infernal taking their place in his memories. The victim regains his memories whenever he spends Willpower to ignore the illusion, but he can no longer overcome the illusion permanently by spending (Essence) Willpower. Instead, the illusion only permanently ends if he completely erodes the Intimacy to the Infernal, at which point his memories are restored to normal and he can begin re-establishing an Intimacy to the original object.
Ecstatic Man-and-Demon Revelry
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Compulsion, Emotion, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
When Malfeas dances across the streets of his brazen city-self, Hegra joins him in the sky, her thunderbolts and storm fronts tracing out an frenzied, whirling dance. Beneath her lucid rain, the Demon King can forget, for the most infinitesimal of moments, his suffering. This Charm is a dramatic action to dance, a (Charisma + Performance) attack. The Infernal receives a number of bonus successes on the roll equal to the Magnitude of any group that dances along with her. Any character who witnesses the dance and has an MDV lower than the Infernal's successes is compelled to join in the dance, though they may spend a point of Willpower to resist. The Infernal may dance for as long as she pleases, her fellow dancers following her with preternatural choreography. At the end of the dance, all characters involved develop an Intimacy to their fellow dancers as a collective group (this Intimacy specifically excludes the Infernal). They are united by feelings of brotherhood and good will and are liable to forget past misdeeds, drawing them closer together as a community. While an Infernal could use this Charm to spread happiness and unity throughout Creation if she so wished, most simply use it to inure the local populace they wish to corrupt to their demonic or addicted minions.
A second purchase at Essence 4 strengthens the pull of the dance even further. At the conclusion of the dance, all characters involved coalesce to form a single mass social group, with Loyalty equal to the Infernal's highest Virtue and any Policy she chooses to set. Even mortals and demons can be reconciled into a single social group with this Charm, although a Policy that drastically alienates one group or another may result in the group rapidly disintegrating.
Mesmerizing Rainbow Spark
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 5m
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
The ominous roar of Hegra's thunders is a potent omen, but its revelations can never truly be understood until it is too late. By the time the rainbows she leaves in the wake of her wrath light the sky, the devastation has already been wrought. This Charm supplements a social attack, allowing the Infernal to mesmerize a character with it. If the Infernal's attack roll exceeds her target's MDV, the attack does not take immediate effect–and indeed, the target does not even remember the Infernal speaking to him. Instead, the Infernal's command is embedded in the character's subconscious mind, an unnatural mental influence that creates a compulsion. The Infernal may set a time limit of up to (Essence) days, after which the command will take effect, or may instead choose a trigger for the command, which can range from "when I snap my fingers" to "when the prince finishes his second glass of wine beneath the light of the full moon." If the trigger is not met within (Essence) days, the command fades. When the command takes effect, the character acts on it immediately, believing it to be his own idea, although he may spend a point of Willpower to resist. The character may reflexively spend four Willpower to remember the command and know its trigger, although doing so does not count as resisting it. Any charm that can negate ongoing compulsions, such as Transcendent Hero's Meditation, will purge the character's mind of the implanted command and make them aware of it.
At Essence 4, the Infernal may spend 5 additional motes and a point of Willpower when invoking this Charm, allowing them to create a compulsion as a sorcerous effect. Rather than only being triggered once and taking effect, the command can be triggered repeatedly, taking full effect each time. The Infernal may either set a frequency for the command to recur, up to a maximum of once per day, or may set a trigger which sets off the command every time it occurs, though no more than once per scene. If the character spends Willpower to resist the command (Essence) times, the compulsion is purged from his mind, and it can be dispelled by countermagic, although its minimum Essence is treated as being 4, rather than 2, when used in this way.
Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Allure
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
Hegra takes on the shape of a mortal child when it pleases her, a malnourished child bedecked in rags. But for all the squalor and filth that clings to her, her eyes blaze with the light of countless dreams, giving her a mad beauty that transcends mere carnal attraction or mortal beauty. An Infernal with this Charm never takes penalties on rolls in social combat due to lacking the appropriate attire or regalia. In addition, any penalties she may take from her relative Appearance score cannot exceed -2, rather than -3.
At Essence 3, penalties based on Appearance score cannot exceed -1. At Essence 4, the Infernal takes no penalty at all if her Appearance is lower than her opponents. A second purchase at Essence 6 allows the Infernal to use her Essence in place of her Appearance to determine if her opponent takes any penalties. In addition, the penalty she imposes is not limited to -3; there is no limit whatsoever on it.
Baffling Irrelevance Koan
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 3m
Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Mien
Hegra's words are as thunderheads; brilliant, powerful, and cast across dozens of different directions. Even her fellow Yozis only rarely make argument with her, for she disregards all logic and authority, making tangential rebuttals or absurd concessions to any opposition. Her fellow Titans are forced either to yield to the Typhoon of Nightmares, or (more often) to simply disregard her altogether. This Charm allows the Infernal to perfectly parry a social attack, countering with a rejoinder whose inanity or irrelevance makes clear the absurdity of the argument it counters. The character making the attack takes a -1 penalty on any subsequent social attacks that impose the same influence for the rest of that scene. The penalty is non-cumulative. This Charm suffers from the Flaw of the Typhoon of Nightmares: It cannot be used to parry attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue whose rating exceeds the Infernal's Essence. At Essence 5 or higher, the Infernal may use this Charm to block attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue of 5 or higher, but only if they spend an additional 5 motes to do so.
Joyous Murder Grin
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Mien
For all that she is called merciful, Hegra is not without wrath. While her rains may be a balm to the demons of Hell, her thunderbolts still shatter towers and incinerate unlucky hellspawn. But even in fits of rage, the Typhoon of Nightmares is almost childishly carefree and whimsical, happily recounting the murders she has committed. Whenever an Infernal with this Charm kills a character, any character who had an Intimacy to the victim that witnesses the act loses a point of Willpower (or all of their remaining temporary Willpower, if they are a mortal) and immediately develops an Intimacy of hatred towards the Infernal. They will pursue her to the best of their power, doing whatever it takes to claim revenge. However, whenever the Infernal attacks them, whether in normal combat or social, their DV or MDV is halved, as their rage makes them heedless and irrational. Only by eroding their Intimacy of hatred can the character be free of this penalty.
A second purchase at Essence 3 allows the Infernal to reflexively spend a point of Willpower whenever they kill a character. If they do, then all characters with an Intimacy towards the victim dream of the murder the next time they sleep, succumbing to the hateful Intimacy created by this Charm.
Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Shattered Soul Masquerade
Hegra would be mad were it not for her ecstasy, the insane and warped Virtues that keep her sane. She expresses all virtue to so extreme a degree that they no longer resemble the original concepts, becoming debased and inverted. This Charm may enhance any Virtue rated at 5. The Infernal may channel that Virtue without spending Willpower; they need only spend a channel. The Infernal may roll any Virtue enhanced by this Charm in place of Conviction to regain Willpower, and gains an automatic success on all rolls to do so. In addition, the Infernal's manic depravity warps their understanding of that Virtue, shaping it into an ecstatic Virtue such as Hegra expresses.
Compassion: Compassion warped by ecstasy is much like normal Compassion, save that the Infernal cares only for the physical and hedonistic pleasures of others. She does not care if another is wounded, or sick, or sad, but her Compassion drives her to give sumptuous feasts, rare wines, mind-numbing drugs, and sexual pleasure to all who desire it. The Infernal's empathy is just as genuine as any Solar Exalted's, but instead of helping the downtrodden, they would rather see them so numbed by drugs or whores that they cannot comprehend their own suffering. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Compassion to help any other character attain physical pleasure, and must fail a Compassion roll to deny such pleasures to any who desire it.
Conviction: Hegra knows not what she truly wants, but she will destroy utterly anything that imposes limits on her. In the same way, ecstatic Conviction does not drive the Infernal to struggle against adversity, but compels them to destroy or dismantle anything that limits their autonomy or freedom. She wishes to have absolute freedom in all things, without any external force imposing law or limit on her. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Conviction to remove any obstacle, be it a wall, an argument, or an enemy, that impedes her ability to do as she pleases, and she must fail a Conviction roll to accept any restriction of her action.
Temperance: Hegra is incapable of comprehending the nature of mortal Temperance, as her very physical form is the ultimate sensual indulgence. Ecstatic Temperance is a gross inversion of mortal asceticism, the capacity to resist anything that would distract from sensual pleasure. Rather than abstaining from indulgence or excess, the Infernal abstains from self-sacrifice or spiritualism, doing whatever they must to assure their own satisfaction. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Temperance to empower any action that furthers her own physical well-being and pleasure, and she must fail a Temperance roll to successfully abstain from any indulgence.
Valor: Hegra cannot conceive of consequences for her actions, unable to believe that there might be any being capable of imposing punishment of her. Ecstatic Valor is not greatly different than normal Valor in its overall effect, but what it represents is quite different. Rather than courage and resolve in the face of danger, ecstatic Valor is the inability to foresee any harm or consequence one's actions might bring. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Valor whenever she takes any action that might have potentially dangerous or significant consequences, and must fail a Valor roll in order to stop any course of action due to its potential consequences.
The Infernal may purchase this Charm once for each dot of Integrity she has, each time enhancing a different Virtue rated at 5. An Infernal with Integrity 5 and Essence 5 may purchase this Charm a fifth time. Doing so allows her to spend two Virtue channels in place of a point of Willpower at any time, so long as it suits the nature of the Virtue (or Virtues). In any situation that would normally require the Infernal to spend Willpower–invoking a Charm with a Willpower cost, activating a Combo, resisting mental influence–she may instead spend the Virtue channels
Delirious Rapture of (Virtue)
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania
Hegra embodies the extremes of all four Virtues, embodying the passion and chaos that any of them can provoke or serve. Upon taking this Charm, the Infernal chooses one of her Virtues, which she must already known Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania for. She gains three Virtue specialties for it. Virtue specialties function in much the same way as Ability specialties–each one applies only to a specific situation, and no Virtue can ever benefit from more than three specialties, although they may be the same. The Infernal adds the extra dice from Virtue specialties to specific uses of the Virtue–both when he channels in, and when he must roll it to suppress it. Virtue specialties grant extra channels of their Virtue, but they can only be used in the specialty’s circumstance. Virtue specialties do not count towards Willpower. A Virtue specialty’s scope should be either a specific circumstance to which the Virtue may apply. An Infernal might gain a Compassion specialty in “Demons,” a Conviction specialty in “Withstanding Torture,” a Temperance specialty in "Resisting Pleas for Mercy," or a Valor specialty in "Massacring Dragonblooded." An Infernal may take this Charm up to four times, applying it to a different Virtue each time.
Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 1m
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Hegra's wrath comes without cause or provocation, unlimbering bolts of cataclysmic lightning that strike with preternatural acuity. The death and destruction wrought by these storms is matched only by their splendor, for the shimmering luminance of the Typhoon of Nightmares casts a rainbow-hue over the Demon City when she waxes wroth. This Charm supplements a thrown or ranged attack, negating any penalties the Infernal would take from making a called shot. Gusts of wind rise up to guide the thrown knife or loosed arrow, allowing the Infernal to achieve feats of superhuman prowess. In addition, the Infernal may reflexively spend a mote after the attack has been made to recall the weapon to her hand. The Infernal may also use this Charm to make thrown attacks with weapons she is not currently holding, by spending an additional mote. Wind sweeps up a loose weapon so long as no one holds it, and flings it at whomever the Infernal pleases.
A second purchase at Essence 4 removes the cost of this Charm. The Infernal may supplement an attack with it without spending any motes, although doing so still counts as Charm activation. A third and final purchase at Essence 6 allows this Charm to be used without counting as Charm activation.
Thousand Needles Tempest
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Hegra knows nothing of planning or conception. In the same instant that her anger is first roused, she instantly lashes out, wreaking lightning-swift devastation. Whenever the Infernal makes a flurry of ranged or thrown attacks, she reduces all multiple action penalties by (Essence).
A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 4 allows the Infernal to apply a single invocation of the Effortless Wind-Borne Burst Charm, as well as any Charms that enhance it, to every ranged or thrown attack made as part of a flurry by spending a point of Willpower.
Whirlwind-Strewn Debris
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+1m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Hegra's storms winds scatter shards of glinting brass and leaden debris as she rages, leaving no stone unmoved. Borne by the deadly force of the Typhoon of Nightmares, anything can be a weapon, bursting through walls and pulverizing hapless demons. This Charm enhances Effortless Wind-Borne Burst. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement a thrown or ranged attack made with an improvised weapon, they may spend an additional mote. The improvised weapon's Accuracy bonus becomes +0, and its base damage becomes (Essence)B, unless its original base damage is higher. Improvised weapons with sharp edges or jagged points, such as broken glass or butcher knives, instead deal lethal damage.
At Essence 3, the Infernal may spend an additional mote when invoking this Charm to increase the Accuracy bonus of an improvised attack to +(Essence). At Essence 4, she may spend an additional mote to increase the base damage to (Essence x 2).
Breath of the Hurricane
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+2m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Knockback
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Whirlwind-Strewn Debris
No force can stand against the blast of the hurricane, not when the Typhoon of Nightmares deigns to unleash the full measure of her puissance. This Charm enhances Effortless-Wind Borne Burst. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement an attack, they may spend 2 additional motes. The attack automatically threatens knockback, the distance being increased by (Essence) yards, even if the base would normally be zero.
Unseen Mist Assassination
Mins: Essence 4
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Breath of the Hurricane, Thousand Needles Tempest
How can you fight the storm? Whatever fool would stand against Hegra will find himself scoured away, flesh and bone. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement an attack, they may spend 10 additional motes and a point of Willpower. Their weapon deliquesces into a cloud of whirling steel, scything down their foe. The attack cannot be parried, though it can still be dodged, and it completely ignores soak and hardness from armor. The attack deals aggravated damage to any living creature or spirit (but not to the undead or automata).
Standing in the Storm’s Eye
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: Xm
Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Cloud-Borne Burst
The Typhoon of Nightmares's storms rain down poisoned gossamer, twisted from the dreams of slumbering mortals. Within the smoggy cloudbanks of her body, this nightmare-essence twists and warps into false worlds, half-imagined fantasies and delusions of Hegra that emanate into reality. Within the reverie of her stolen dreams, she is invincible, omnipotent, and triumphant over Creation, and these delusions afford her tremendous power. Invoking this Charm, the Infernal emanates countless filaments of poison gossamer, threads of dream that touch and momentarily twist reality around her, allowing her to perfectly dodge any attack, even those that are normally unblockable. The attack is either negated by some half-dreamed obstacle the Infernal summons, or falls on a being whose fleeting existence is called up from gossamer, rather than its intended mark. This Charm suffers from the Flaw of the Typhoon of Nightmares: It cannot be used to parry attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue whose rating exceeds the Infernal's Essence. At Essence 5 or higher, the Infernal may use this Charm to block attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue of 5 or higher, but only if they spend an additional 5 motes to do so.
Spindrift Dervish Deflection
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+2m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Standing in the Storm’s Eye
Loose a thousand arrows at the heart of Hegra, and you will only find yourself impaled by a thousand points. This Charm enhances Standing in the Storm's Eye. Whenever the Infernal uses it to defend against a thrown or ranged attack, they may reflexively spend 2 motes to redirect the missed attack at another target up to (Essence x 5) yards away. The character who made the original attack rerolls that attack and applies it against a new target of the Infernal's choice. All Charms and effects that applied to the original attack apply to the rerolled attack, though the attacking character does not need to pay their costs a second time.
If the Infernal has the Ripping Out the Mountain's Roots Charm, they may use this Charm to redirect any melee attack made against them if they successfully disarm the opponent. The attack is still rerolled as if it were a melee attack, even though it is now made at range.
Ripping Out the Mountain’s Roots
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+3m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Standing in the Storm’s Eye
The swirling vortex at Hegra's heart is irresistible, ripping mountains forth from the earth and oceans forth from their depths when she is roused to anger. This Charm enhances Standing in the Storm's Eye. Whenever the Infernal uses it to defend against a melee attack, they may reflexively spend 3 motes to make a disarm attempt against the attacking character.
The Typhoon of Nightmares is manic, passionate, and constantly changing. She is capable of mercy, but it is inhuman and often has unforseen consequences. She is driven by emotion and rejects reason for intuition, capable of acting with great spontaneity to adapt to new situations. She may speaks in riddles and cryptic prohecies that often seem mad or senseless, but her words bear hidden insight. When angered, Hegra acts instantly and revels in violence, as if she were playing a game.
Characters may apply this Charm to actions that are both savage and beautiful, especially those that further their passions. Sensuous pleasures fall under Hegra's purview, and actions to seek out pleasure or tempt others can always be enhanced. Any attempt at debasing society, whether by spreading perversity or eroding cultural values is favored by Hegra, but she also will forge ties of unity when it suits her whim. This Charm can never enhance any action that requires the Infernal to put a goal above her own happiness or pleasure, and cannot enhance actions made in pursuit of a goal the Infernal does not truly care about.
Hegra Mythos Exultant
The Typhoon of Nightmares seethes with infinite passion. A successful stunt can restore a number of Virtue channels equal to the rating of the stunt in place of the normal reward.
Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 3m
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Poison, Touch
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Alone among the Yozis is Hegra loved by the demons of Hell, for her thunders drive away Adorjan and her rains inspire wondrous dreams. Each droplet of intoxicating memory is peer to all the mortal drugs Creation has to offer, a sensation more exquisite and sublime than any dull hallucinations of mundane chemistry. This Charm allows Infernals to create a potent drug from dreams and emotions, spreading it to a victim with a touch. Touching the victim may require a (Dexterity + Martial Arts) attack to hit if he is not willing or restrained. The victim must succeed on a (Stamina + Integrity) roll with a difficulty of (Essence). If they fail, their minds are numbed by hallucinogenic visions, giving them a -1 penalty on all dice pools and static values, plus an additional -1 for every success they failed to meet the roll's difficulty by, for the duration of the scene. This drug is considered a poison, and can be cured by any Charm that can cure poison, but it does not follow the standard poison rules because it is derived from manifest emotion, rather than any physical toxin.
A second purchase of this Charm allows the Infernal to manifest this drug as a contact poison on her own weapons, allowing her to spread it with any attack made with a weapon (including ranged and thrown attacks). A third purchase at Essence 5 makes the drug irresistably toxic. Characters hit by the attack do not receive a (Stamina + Integrity) roll to resist; they automatically succumb unless they have an Essence equal to or greater than the Infernal's, taking a penalty of (Essence + 1).
Passion-Fixing Alchemy
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Hegra's typhoon-body is physical form drawn from emotional energy, a gateway by which abstract passions and sensations can be reified into material forms. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, allowing the Infernal to produce drugs with it, rather than merely spreading them to other characters. To do so, the character must invoke the Charm as a dramatic action, as they formulate the drug within their body and then extrude it in a consumable form, excreting it through vomiting, suppurating wounds, bleeding, or similar measures. The Infernal chooses the precise form the drug takes on: he can create powders, liquids, even alcohols or herbs. Regardless of the form chosen, each invocation of the Charm always yields a single dose. A character who ingests the drug is affected by it just as if the Infernal had spread it to him by touch with Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. While the act of producing the drug is Obvious Charm use, the drug itself does not seem anything other than mundane.
Certain forms of drug may lend themselves well to tainting water supplies or food. Tainting water typically requires 5 doses of drug per person who drinks from that water source, and its effects last for a week: everyone who drinks water from that source is affected as if they had ingested it. Tainting food requires the Infernal feed the drug to livestock or other animals slaughtered for food, a single dose for each person the resulting meal could sustain. While the animal is affected normally by the drug, traces of it linger on in its muscle and fat, causing each person who eats a portion of it to be affected by the drug.
At Essence 3, the Infernal can produce multiple doses of drug with only a single use of Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. To do so, he must spend a single point of Willpower, as well as one mote for each additional dose created, to a maximum of (Essence x 5).
Aromatic Suspiration of Bliss
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+Xm, 1wp)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Passion-Fixing Alchemy (x2)
After the rains of the Typhoon of Nightmares, a thick mist of memories clings to the streets of Malfeas, a gossamer fog through which none can walk unchanged. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. By spending an additional 12 motes and a point of Willpower, the Infernal may release the drug as a psychotropic mist, forcing all characters within (Essence x 5) yards of her to roll against succumbing to the drug. She may exclude characters from being affected by the drug at a cost of one mote for each character protected. The mist fades away swiftly, lingering only long enough to expose the Infernal's enemies to the drug.
Sublime Transmutation Alembic
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+5m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Passion-Fixing Alchemy (x2)
The alchemists of Malfeas brew potent tonics from Hegra's raining, distilling the liquid dreams into tinctures and elixers of wondrous power. This Charm enhances Passion-Fixing Alchemy. Whenever the Infernal uses it to create drugs, they may spend an additional 5 motes to grant the drug the properties of an alchemical formula. The Infernal must know the formula he imbues the drug with, and it must be a formula meant to be consumed harmlessly–poisons and similar substances are not valid choices.
Toxic Hysteria Synthesis
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary
Hegra subsists entirely on emotion, the whole of her being coalescing around her hysteric passions. When her clouds fill the sky, she plunges the demons of Malfeas into the depths of emotions both potent and strange, as her form cannot contain the passion that pulses within her heart. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, causing the drug created to have powerful emotion-altering effects. Any character who succumbs to the drug is filled by an emotion chosen by the Infernal. She can inspire joy, hope, sorrow, anger, uncertainty, or any other emotion within the mortal range. The emotion effect alters the character's behavior, but has no other mechanical effects. It lasts only for as long as the drug's effects do, and the character may spend a point of Willpower to negate it entirely. However, this Charm has another, more insidious effect: every scene in which a character succumbs to the drug counts as a scene spent building an Intimacy towards the Infernal. The character does not realize this, and cannot perceive the growing Intimacy until it develops fully into an Intimacy of trust and dependence towards the Infernal. Heroic characters and the Exalted may recognize the Intimacy-developing effect by spending 2 points of Willpower, although this does nothing to resist the establishment of the Intimacy. Infernals who ingest their own drugs develop an Intimacy of self-satisfaction, gaining great pleasure simply from being who they are.
A second purchase at Essence 4 causes anyone who succumbs to the drug to immediately develop an Intimacy to the Infernal, rather than gradually building one. A third purchase at Essence 5 enhances the potency of the drugs. Whenever the Infernal invokes Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, he may spend an additional 10 motes and a point of Willpower. If he does, the emotions stirred by the drug are overwhelming, driving their victim to catatonia. Anyone who succumbs to the drug is rendered comatose, shifting to Inactive status for their next (Essence) actions, caught up in histrionic hallucinations. However, they may take a single action by spending a point of Willpower. In addition, if they are attacked while inactive, they may spend a point of Willpower to negate their paralysis entirely.
Consumptive Desire Formula
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion, Sickness
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Toxic Hysteria Synthesis
To revel in the rains of Hegra is beyond all other experience, a hallucinatory paradise where Creation and Malfeas intermingle. Having danced beneath the Typhoon of Nightmares and known the glories of her half-dreams, who would not willingly return? This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Whenever the Infernal invokes the Charm, he may choose to make the drug highly addictive. Any character who succumbs to the drug's effects develops a dependancy on it. Whenever they have an opportunity to experience the drug again, they must successful make a Temperance roll with difficulty 1. While the character, if he fails his roll, will willingly allow the Infernal to contaminate him with the drug by force, he need not roll if the Infernal attempts to deliver the drug with an attack, allowing him to defend normally against the attack. The addiction can be cured by any Medicine Charm capable of curing disease.
A second purchase at Essence 5 increases the difficulty of the Temperance roll to half the Infernal's Essence. In addition, addicted characters can no longer defend against drug-laced attacks without making a successful Temperance roll; should they fail, they will willingly step into the blow for a chance at bliss, reducing both their DVs to 0. They may use reflexive Charms to defend against the attack if they are Exalted, but they must spend a point of Willpower to do so.
Virgin-Eating Seraglio Arts
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Consumptive Desire Formula
Hegra's dream-rains are tinged with erotic fantasies, realizations of impossible passions and desires. More than any other Yozi does she understand the desires born of mortal flesh, and this understanding sparks passionate fury in her heart. When she was whole, a true Primordial, Hegra was capable of experiencing the bliss of the Games of Divinity, beauty and meaning higher than any other joy. But in her mutilated and diminished form, the only pleasure she knows is that of others. This Charm allows an Infernal to addict other characters to the drug produced by Abundant Euphoria Apothecary through intimate contact. Any character who copulates with the Infernal must succeed on a (Stamina + Integrity) roll, as if resisting the effects of Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, or develop an addiction to the drug, as with Consumptive Desire Formula. The roll is made at the end of the sexual encounter, so any fatigue penalties from sex (or other circumstantial penalties arranged by the Infernal) apply to it.
A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 5 makes addiction contagious. Any character who is addicted to the drug produced by Abundant Euphoria Apothecary, whether by Consumptive Desire Formula or Virgin-Eating Seraglio Arts, can spread addiction to their sexual partners. Any character who engages in sex with an addict must roll to resist addiction as if they were in intimate contact with the Infernal herself.
Heart-Poisoning Miasma Psychogenesis
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Servitude
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Consumptive Desire Formula
To say that Hegra is kind or merciful is to misunderstand the fundamental nature of the Yozi. Hegra is alien, inhuman, and entirely insane. Her madness is merely more benign than that of her comrades, a psychotic obsession with helping those she sees as her children–whether they see it that way or not. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Any character who succumbs to the drug it creates loses a point of temporary Willpower. Characters with an Essence less than the Infernal's own instead loses permanent Willpower. A character reduced to 0 permanent Willpower suffers a complete mental breakdown. He acquires a derangement of the Infernal's choice at any strength, and his Motivation becomes to consume more of the drug. All his Virtues are reduced to 1, unless the Infernal possesses the Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania Charm. If she does, she may raise any Virtues that she has learned it for to 5, and replace it with its ecstatic variant.
Soul-Crucible Diabolism
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+1wp)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Desecration, Shaping, Training
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Poisoning Miasma Psychogenesis
Hegra rains down her mercy on demon and mortal alike, for she remembers when both were as children in her care. To demons, she gives respite from suffering; to mortals, she gives bodies beyond their wildest imaginings. Her psychadelic rain melts away mere forms of men to reveal the true shape of his mind beneath. This Charm enhances Abundant Euphoria Apothecary. Whenever the Infernal invokes it, they may spend an additional point of Willpower to imbue the drug with mutagenic power. Any character who succumbs to the drug's effect develops a Pox of the Infernal's choice. The Infernal may also choose to include a Debility mutation, to balance out the cost of the positive mutation. If that character is not already a creature of darkness, they gain that Pox first. Non-Extra characters may spend a point of Willpower to resist gaining the mutation, although characters who have become addicts through Consumptive Desire Formula must fail a Temperance roll in order to do so.
At Essence 4, the Infernal may bestow Afflictions and Debilities with this Charm, and at Essence 5, he may bestow Blights, Deformities, and Abominations. A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 6 raises the transformative power of this Charm to a dark apotheosis. Any character who acquires a dots of mutations from this Charm that exceed his (Willpower + Essence) secretes a cocoon of psychotropic crystals around himself, and gradually metamorphoses into a First Circle Demon over the course of five days. The character becomes whatever breed of demon best expresses his personality and nature, and retains all mutations imposed by this Charm. The Exalted cannot be transformed in this way, and Heroic Mortals may forestall the transformation by spending a point of Willpower each day–but should they ever fail to do so, the transformation begins, and cannot be reversed.
Frenzied Tempest Shintai
Mins: Essence 6
Cost: 60m, 3wp, 1ahl
Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Blasphemy, Obvious, Sorcerous, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Abundant Euphoria Apothecary (x3), Aromatic Suspiration of Bliss, Soul-Crucible Diabolism (x2)
Hegra remembers the days before she was overthrown and mutilated, when she was guardian and playmate to all the children-races of the Primordials. She enfolded Creation in her stormy embrace, raining down pure happiness and simple joy. Those days are long since past, and whatever affection she may retain for her children is warped and twisted by her mania. When she returns once more, she will be known to all Creation as the Typhoon of Nightmares, and madness will follow in her wake. But until she can escape the bonds of her oaths, she is content to empower the Infernal Exalted to serve as harbingers of what is yet to come. The Infernal's corporeal body dissipates and reforms into a massive storm cloud miles above Creation, taking on immaterial form. While in this storm-shape, the Infernal Exalted can take no actions–but she does not need to. She rains down torrent of mind-shattering gossamer. Each character caught in the rain, which spreads across an area of (Essence) miles, is affected as by the Abundant Euphoria Apothecary Charm, and all Charms that enhance it. Every five minutes of exposure to the rain is treated as a single dose of the drug. The character may cease the Charm at any time (and given its Blasphemy effect, may soon have reason to). A bolt of prismatic lightning descends from the storm cloud to strike the earth, depositing the Infernal in a storm-blasted crater as the storm rapidly dissipates.
Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
Mins: Essence 1
Cost: 3m
Type: Simple (Speed 3 in long ticks)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
When Hegra speaks, none can ignore her thundering words. Though her rhymes and prophecies are often little more than babble and madness, the sheer puissance of her voice compels all to listen and pay heed. Invoking this Charm, the Infernal rolls (Charisma + Performance), adding a number of bonus successes equal to her Essence. If the successes rolled exceed a character's MDV, that character is compelled by unnatural mental influence to pay attention to the Infernal's words. The character need not speak to use this Charm, or even be seen by those they intend to sway with it–they can compel all to look and listen to them by sheer force of presence alone. While they will not stop what they are doing, they cannot leave or ignore the Infernal until she has spoken. Characters engaged in combat are unaffected, too caught up in strife to be swayed by the Infernal's words, and any non-Extra may spend a point of Willpower to ignore the compulsion. The characters are only compelled to listen until the Infernal takes her next action, after which time the compulsion ends.
A second purchase at Essence 3 increases the duration of this Charm to (Essence) actions, and lends puissance to the Infernal's words. Any character compelled by this Charm treats any social attack the Infernal makes as unnatural mental influence. A third purchase at Essence 5 allows the Infernal to increase the duration of this Charm to one scene by spending a point of Willpower. In addition, Extras and Heroic Mortals swayed by this Charm cannot spend Willpower to resist the compulsion, and must spend two points of Willpower, rather than one, to resist social attacks the Infernal makes.
Conflict-Quelling Beauty
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+5m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien (x2)
When the clouds of Hegra's typhoon-body obscure the sky and rain down dreams, there is no conflict. The demons of Hell, whatever internecine strife may rile their hearts, revel in the chance to be free of the Silent Wind, dancing beneath Hegra's mercy. This Charm enhances Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien, allowing the Infernal to use it in combat by spending 5 additional motes. Doing so is a Simple action with Speed 5 in short ticks. All characters swayed by Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien will cease fighting for long enough to listen to the Infernal speak–but any hostile activity taken by any character in the scene, including those unswayed by Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien and the Infernal herself, will negate the compulsion for all characters.
Irresistible Paramour Poise
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Conflict-Quelling Beauty
Mortals who stir in erotic dreams know the touch of Hegra, for she at times is want to extend her consciousness into mortal slumber, seducing men and women in the guise of their lovers or their desired. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence to create an illusion. The Infernal rolls (Charisma + Presence), adding successes equal to her Essence, against a character's MDV. If they succeed, they may make themself the object of any of the character's Intimacies, as long as the Intimacy is to a person. The affected character still remembers the former object of the Intimacy, fully recalling whatever relationship they may have had in terms of factual events, but they associate the emotional context with the Infernal, as if they had been in such a relationship all along. This Charm does not grant the Infernal any knowledge of the victim's Intimacies; if she does not know any, she may simply affect a random Intimacy. A character may spend a point of Willpower to ignore this illusion for a scene, restoring the Intimacy to its original object. Once they have spent (Essence) points of Willpower, the illusion is permanently shattered, returning the Intimacy to normal.
A second purchase at Essence 3 allows the Infernal to rewrite his victim's memories with this Charm. If her attack beats the victim's MDV, not only does the Intimacy shift to the Infernal–the target completely forgets the original object of the Intimacy, with the Infernal taking their place in his memories. The victim regains his memories whenever he spends Willpower to ignore the illusion, but he can no longer overcome the illusion permanently by spending (Essence) Willpower. Instead, the illusion only permanently ends if he completely erodes the Intimacy to the Infernal, at which point his memories are restored to normal and he can begin re-establishing an Intimacy to the original object.
Ecstatic Man-and-Demon Revelry
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Compulsion, Emotion, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
When Malfeas dances across the streets of his brazen city-self, Hegra joins him in the sky, her thunderbolts and storm fronts tracing out an frenzied, whirling dance. Beneath her lucid rain, the Demon King can forget, for the most infinitesimal of moments, his suffering. This Charm is a dramatic action to dance, a (Charisma + Performance) attack. The Infernal receives a number of bonus successes on the roll equal to the Magnitude of any group that dances along with her. Any character who witnesses the dance and has an MDV lower than the Infernal's successes is compelled to join in the dance, though they may spend a point of Willpower to resist. The Infernal may dance for as long as she pleases, her fellow dancers following her with preternatural choreography. At the end of the dance, all characters involved develop an Intimacy to their fellow dancers as a collective group (this Intimacy specifically excludes the Infernal). They are united by feelings of brotherhood and good will and are liable to forget past misdeeds, drawing them closer together as a community. While an Infernal could use this Charm to spread happiness and unity throughout Creation if she so wished, most simply use it to inure the local populace they wish to corrupt to their demonic or addicted minions.
A second purchase at Essence 4 strengthens the pull of the dance even further. At the conclusion of the dance, all characters involved coalesce to form a single mass social group, with Loyalty equal to the Infernal's highest Virtue and any Policy she chooses to set. Even mortals and demons can be reconciled into a single social group with this Charm, although a Policy that drastically alienates one group or another may result in the group rapidly disintegrating.
Mesmerizing Rainbow Spark
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 5m
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
The ominous roar of Hegra's thunders is a potent omen, but its revelations can never truly be understood until it is too late. By the time the rainbows she leaves in the wake of her wrath light the sky, the devastation has already been wrought. This Charm supplements a social attack, allowing the Infernal to mesmerize a character with it. If the Infernal's attack roll exceeds her target's MDV, the attack does not take immediate effect–and indeed, the target does not even remember the Infernal speaking to him. Instead, the Infernal's command is embedded in the character's subconscious mind, an unnatural mental influence that creates a compulsion. The Infernal may set a time limit of up to (Essence) days, after which the command will take effect, or may instead choose a trigger for the command, which can range from "when I snap my fingers" to "when the prince finishes his second glass of wine beneath the light of the full moon." If the trigger is not met within (Essence) days, the command fades. When the command takes effect, the character acts on it immediately, believing it to be his own idea, although he may spend a point of Willpower to resist. The character may reflexively spend four Willpower to remember the command and know its trigger, although doing so does not count as resisting it. Any charm that can negate ongoing compulsions, such as Transcendent Hero's Meditation, will purge the character's mind of the implanted command and make them aware of it.
At Essence 4, the Infernal may spend 5 additional motes and a point of Willpower when invoking this Charm, allowing them to create a compulsion as a sorcerous effect. Rather than only being triggered once and taking effect, the command can be triggered repeatedly, taking full effect each time. The Infernal may either set a frequency for the command to recur, up to a maximum of once per day, or may set a trigger which sets off the command every time it occurs, though no more than once per scene. If the character spends Willpower to resist the command (Essence) times, the compulsion is purged from his mind, and it can be dispelled by countermagic, although its minimum Essence is treated as being 4, rather than 2, when used in this way.
Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Allure
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ominous Storm-Cloud Mien
Hegra takes on the shape of a mortal child when it pleases her, a malnourished child bedecked in rags. But for all the squalor and filth that clings to her, her eyes blaze with the light of countless dreams, giving her a mad beauty that transcends mere carnal attraction or mortal beauty. An Infernal with this Charm never takes penalties on rolls in social combat due to lacking the appropriate attire or regalia. In addition, any penalties she may take from her relative Appearance score cannot exceed -2, rather than -3.
At Essence 3, penalties based on Appearance score cannot exceed -1. At Essence 4, the Infernal takes no penalty at all if her Appearance is lower than her opponents. A second purchase at Essence 6 allows the Infernal to use her Essence in place of her Appearance to determine if her opponent takes any penalties. In addition, the penalty she imposes is not limited to -3; there is no limit whatsoever on it.
Baffling Irrelevance Koan
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 3m
Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Mien
Hegra's words are as thunderheads; brilliant, powerful, and cast across dozens of different directions. Even her fellow Yozis only rarely make argument with her, for she disregards all logic and authority, making tangential rebuttals or absurd concessions to any opposition. Her fellow Titans are forced either to yield to the Typhoon of Nightmares, or (more often) to simply disregard her altogether. This Charm allows the Infernal to perfectly parry a social attack, countering with a rejoinder whose inanity or irrelevance makes clear the absurdity of the argument it counters. The character making the attack takes a -1 penalty on any subsequent social attacks that impose the same influence for the rest of that scene. The penalty is non-cumulative. This Charm suffers from the Flaw of the Typhoon of Nightmares: It cannot be used to parry attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue whose rating exceeds the Infernal's Essence. At Essence 5 or higher, the Infernal may use this Charm to block attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue of 5 or higher, but only if they spend an additional 5 motes to do so.
Joyous Murder Grin
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Mad-Eyed Ragamuffin Mien
For all that she is called merciful, Hegra is not without wrath. While her rains may be a balm to the demons of Hell, her thunderbolts still shatter towers and incinerate unlucky hellspawn. But even in fits of rage, the Typhoon of Nightmares is almost childishly carefree and whimsical, happily recounting the murders she has committed. Whenever an Infernal with this Charm kills a character, any character who had an Intimacy to the victim that witnesses the act loses a point of Willpower (or all of their remaining temporary Willpower, if they are a mortal) and immediately develops an Intimacy of hatred towards the Infernal. They will pursue her to the best of their power, doing whatever it takes to claim revenge. However, whenever the Infernal attacks them, whether in normal combat or social, their DV or MDV is halved, as their rage makes them heedless and irrational. Only by eroding their Intimacy of hatred can the character be free of this penalty.
A second purchase at Essence 3 allows the Infernal to reflexively spend a point of Willpower whenever they kill a character. If they do, then all characters with an Intimacy towards the victim dream of the murder the next time they sleep, succumbing to the hateful Intimacy created by this Charm.
Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Shattered Soul Masquerade
Hegra would be mad were it not for her ecstasy, the insane and warped Virtues that keep her sane. She expresses all virtue to so extreme a degree that they no longer resemble the original concepts, becoming debased and inverted. This Charm may enhance any Virtue rated at 5. The Infernal may channel that Virtue without spending Willpower; they need only spend a channel. The Infernal may roll any Virtue enhanced by this Charm in place of Conviction to regain Willpower, and gains an automatic success on all rolls to do so. In addition, the Infernal's manic depravity warps their understanding of that Virtue, shaping it into an ecstatic Virtue such as Hegra expresses.
Compassion: Compassion warped by ecstasy is much like normal Compassion, save that the Infernal cares only for the physical and hedonistic pleasures of others. She does not care if another is wounded, or sick, or sad, but her Compassion drives her to give sumptuous feasts, rare wines, mind-numbing drugs, and sexual pleasure to all who desire it. The Infernal's empathy is just as genuine as any Solar Exalted's, but instead of helping the downtrodden, they would rather see them so numbed by drugs or whores that they cannot comprehend their own suffering. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Compassion to help any other character attain physical pleasure, and must fail a Compassion roll to deny such pleasures to any who desire it.
Conviction: Hegra knows not what she truly wants, but she will destroy utterly anything that imposes limits on her. In the same way, ecstatic Conviction does not drive the Infernal to struggle against adversity, but compels them to destroy or dismantle anything that limits their autonomy or freedom. She wishes to have absolute freedom in all things, without any external force imposing law or limit on her. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Conviction to remove any obstacle, be it a wall, an argument, or an enemy, that impedes her ability to do as she pleases, and she must fail a Conviction roll to accept any restriction of her action.
Temperance: Hegra is incapable of comprehending the nature of mortal Temperance, as her very physical form is the ultimate sensual indulgence. Ecstatic Temperance is a gross inversion of mortal asceticism, the capacity to resist anything that would distract from sensual pleasure. Rather than abstaining from indulgence or excess, the Infernal abstains from self-sacrifice or spiritualism, doing whatever they must to assure their own satisfaction. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Temperance to empower any action that furthers her own physical well-being and pleasure, and she must fail a Temperance roll to successfully abstain from any indulgence.
Valor: Hegra cannot conceive of consequences for her actions, unable to believe that there might be any being capable of imposing punishment of her. Ecstatic Valor is not greatly different than normal Valor in its overall effect, but what it represents is quite different. Rather than courage and resolve in the face of danger, ecstatic Valor is the inability to foresee any harm or consequence one's actions might bring. The Infernal may channel her ecstatic Valor whenever she takes any action that might have potentially dangerous or significant consequences, and must fail a Valor roll in order to stop any course of action due to its potential consequences.
The Infernal may purchase this Charm once for each dot of Integrity she has, each time enhancing a different Virtue rated at 5. An Infernal with Integrity 5 and Essence 5 may purchase this Charm a fifth time. Doing so allows her to spend two Virtue channels in place of a point of Willpower at any time, so long as it suits the nature of the Virtue (or Virtues). In any situation that would normally require the Infernal to spend Willpower–invoking a Charm with a Willpower cost, activating a Combo, resisting mental influence–she may instead spend the Virtue channels
Delirious Rapture of (Virtue)
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania
Hegra embodies the extremes of all four Virtues, embodying the passion and chaos that any of them can provoke or serve. Upon taking this Charm, the Infernal chooses one of her Virtues, which she must already known Unconstrained (Virtue) Mania for. She gains three Virtue specialties for it. Virtue specialties function in much the same way as Ability specialties–each one applies only to a specific situation, and no Virtue can ever benefit from more than three specialties, although they may be the same. The Infernal adds the extra dice from Virtue specialties to specific uses of the Virtue–both when he channels in, and when he must roll it to suppress it. Virtue specialties grant extra channels of their Virtue, but they can only be used in the specialty’s circumstance. Virtue specialties do not count towards Willpower. A Virtue specialty’s scope should be either a specific circumstance to which the Virtue may apply. An Infernal might gain a Compassion specialty in “Demons,” a Conviction specialty in “Withstanding Torture,” a Temperance specialty in "Resisting Pleas for Mercy," or a Valor specialty in "Massacring Dragonblooded." An Infernal may take this Charm up to four times, applying it to a different Virtue each time.
Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 1m
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Hegra's wrath comes without cause or provocation, unlimbering bolts of cataclysmic lightning that strike with preternatural acuity. The death and destruction wrought by these storms is matched only by their splendor, for the shimmering luminance of the Typhoon of Nightmares casts a rainbow-hue over the Demon City when she waxes wroth. This Charm supplements a thrown or ranged attack, negating any penalties the Infernal would take from making a called shot. Gusts of wind rise up to guide the thrown knife or loosed arrow, allowing the Infernal to achieve feats of superhuman prowess. In addition, the Infernal may reflexively spend a mote after the attack has been made to recall the weapon to her hand. The Infernal may also use this Charm to make thrown attacks with weapons she is not currently holding, by spending an additional mote. Wind sweeps up a loose weapon so long as no one holds it, and flings it at whomever the Infernal pleases.
A second purchase at Essence 4 removes the cost of this Charm. The Infernal may supplement an attack with it without spending any motes, although doing so still counts as Charm activation. A third and final purchase at Essence 6 allows this Charm to be used without counting as Charm activation.
Thousand Needles Tempest
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: –
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Hegra knows nothing of planning or conception. In the same instant that her anger is first roused, she instantly lashes out, wreaking lightning-swift devastation. Whenever the Infernal makes a flurry of ranged or thrown attacks, she reduces all multiple action penalties by (Essence).
A second purchase of this Charm at Essence 4 allows the Infernal to apply a single invocation of the Effortless Wind-Borne Burst Charm, as well as any Charms that enhance it, to every ranged or thrown attack made as part of a flurry by spending a point of Willpower.
Whirlwind-Strewn Debris
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+1m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Wind-Borne Burst
Hegra's storms winds scatter shards of glinting brass and leaden debris as she rages, leaving no stone unmoved. Borne by the deadly force of the Typhoon of Nightmares, anything can be a weapon, bursting through walls and pulverizing hapless demons. This Charm enhances Effortless Wind-Borne Burst. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement a thrown or ranged attack made with an improvised weapon, they may spend an additional mote. The improvised weapon's Accuracy bonus becomes +0, and its base damage becomes (Essence)B, unless its original base damage is higher. Improvised weapons with sharp edges or jagged points, such as broken glass or butcher knives, instead deal lethal damage.
At Essence 3, the Infernal may spend an additional mote when invoking this Charm to increase the Accuracy bonus of an improvised attack to +(Essence). At Essence 4, she may spend an additional mote to increase the base damage to (Essence x 2).
Breath of the Hurricane
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+2m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Knockback
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Whirlwind-Strewn Debris
No force can stand against the blast of the hurricane, not when the Typhoon of Nightmares deigns to unleash the full measure of her puissance. This Charm enhances Effortless-Wind Borne Burst. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement an attack, they may spend 2 additional motes. The attack automatically threatens knockback, the distance being increased by (Essence) yards, even if the base would normally be zero.
Unseen Mist Assassination
Mins: Essence 4
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Breath of the Hurricane, Thousand Needles Tempest
How can you fight the storm? Whatever fool would stand against Hegra will find himself scoured away, flesh and bone. Whenever the Infernal invokes it to supplement an attack, they may spend 10 additional motes and a point of Willpower. Their weapon deliquesces into a cloud of whirling steel, scything down their foe. The attack cannot be parried, though it can still be dodged, and it completely ignores soak and hardness from armor. The attack deals aggravated damage to any living creature or spirit (but not to the undead or automata).
Standing in the Storm’s Eye
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: Xm
Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Effortless Cloud-Borne Burst
The Typhoon of Nightmares's storms rain down poisoned gossamer, twisted from the dreams of slumbering mortals. Within the smoggy cloudbanks of her body, this nightmare-essence twists and warps into false worlds, half-imagined fantasies and delusions of Hegra that emanate into reality. Within the reverie of her stolen dreams, she is invincible, omnipotent, and triumphant over Creation, and these delusions afford her tremendous power. Invoking this Charm, the Infernal emanates countless filaments of poison gossamer, threads of dream that touch and momentarily twist reality around her, allowing her to perfectly dodge any attack, even those that are normally unblockable. The attack is either negated by some half-dreamed obstacle the Infernal summons, or falls on a being whose fleeting existence is called up from gossamer, rather than its intended mark. This Charm suffers from the Flaw of the Typhoon of Nightmares: It cannot be used to parry attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue whose rating exceeds the Infernal's Essence. At Essence 5 or higher, the Infernal may use this Charm to block attacks enhanced by channeling a Virtue of 5 or higher, but only if they spend an additional 5 motes to do so.
Spindrift Dervish Deflection
Mins: Essence 2
Cost: – (+2m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Standing in the Storm’s Eye
Loose a thousand arrows at the heart of Hegra, and you will only find yourself impaled by a thousand points. This Charm enhances Standing in the Storm's Eye. Whenever the Infernal uses it to defend against a thrown or ranged attack, they may reflexively spend 2 motes to redirect the missed attack at another target up to (Essence x 5) yards away. The character who made the original attack rerolls that attack and applies it against a new target of the Infernal's choice. All Charms and effects that applied to the original attack apply to the rerolled attack, though the attacking character does not need to pay their costs a second time.
If the Infernal has the Ripping Out the Mountain's Roots Charm, they may use this Charm to redirect any melee attack made against them if they successfully disarm the opponent. The attack is still rerolled as if it were a melee attack, even though it is now made at range.
Ripping Out the Mountain’s Roots
Mins: Essence 3
Cost: – (+3m)
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Standing in the Storm’s Eye
The swirling vortex at Hegra's heart is irresistible, ripping mountains forth from the earth and oceans forth from their depths when she is roused to anger. This Charm enhances Standing in the Storm's Eye. Whenever the Infernal uses it to defend against a melee attack, they may reflexively spend 3 motes to make a disarm attempt against the attacking character.