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Spirits use Temperance to defend themselves, as well as to steal Essence from others.
Note: The Temperance Charms in the corebook either suck dick, or duplicate the effects of other Charms, and so have been removes. They are not a part of Sustainers of the Realm.
Sanctions are an expression of the spiritual force of Temperance; they allow the spirit to generate certain Charm-like effects without expending his use of the Charm-per-turn. A spirit has only a single pool of Sanctions; a Sanction may be spent to use the ability of any Charm that consumes Sanctions, regardless of the Charm that generated that Sanction.
This Charm infuses the spirit with the force of one of his Dominions. He exhibits some quality associated with that Dominion, and while the Charm is in effect, it is impossible for the spirit to fail to exhibit that quality. For example, a spirit with the Mountain Dominion may use this Charm to remain perfectly still.
While the spirit cannot behave in a way that fails to exhibit whatever quality he has assumed, this does not provide any especial mechanical benefit - a Swordsman may attack and never miss, but if his attack has no successes, then it will not cause the target any ill effects.
The spirit must touch a mortal in order to activate this Charm. To touch a mortal who is attempting to avoid it, the spirit needs to roll a single success with an unarmed attack pool. Unarmed parries do nothing to prevent this touch; other defences function normally. After the spirit touches the target, roll its Wits + Temperance. For each success, the spirit devours 1 mote of Essence. This Charm always involves some other method of sustenance as well. The spirit might feed on the dreams and nightmares of the mortal — or on her breath; this secondary feeding reflects the spirit's Dominions. Whatever the spirit feeds on does not harm the mortal, although it might have mild (and temporary) effects. Generally, the mortal will have a clear sense that something has been taken from him, and he may suffer -1 dice on related tasks for a scene; this penalty does not accumulate with repeated feeding. Even if the spirit does not regain the Essence it spent, it still feels satiated from the other part of its meal.
The spirit must touch a mortal in order to activate this Charm. Roll the spirit’s Strength + Temperance. At least two successes are required. Not only does this Charm steal 2 motes of Essence per success, but it also devours something that leaves the mortal impaired in some way — hearing, sight, etc. — although it leaves the body apparently unharmed. The impairment reflects the spirits Spheres, and imposes the same -1 penalty as this Charm's predecessor. Only supernatural healing of some sort restores the loss; it never heals normally. Even if the spirit does not replenish the Essence it spent, it feels satiated.
The small god summons up the forces of the elements or similar powers to protect it from harm. The spirit gains armor equal to Temperance + Essence. This armor can be used to soak any form of bashing or lethal damage, including damage caused by environmental conditions such as excessive heat or cold.
When a spirit uses this Charm, he gains as many Sanctions as his Temperance.
While this Charm is in effect, the spirit may spend one Sanction to convert one action that he cannot split to an action that he can split. Apply this effect before augmenting the action with any other Charms, excepting the Charm (if any) that created the action in question. While the spirit retains any Sanctions, he cannot deactivate this Charm.
Example: The warrior-priest elemental Tenharim uses Striking Serpent Speed to gain several extra actions. He expends one Sanction to make the final action created by this Charm splittable, and uses that action as an abortive dodge. He attacks with the remainder.
This Charm allows the spirit to temporarily distract the target, causing his attention to focus on something other than the spirit. Roll the spirit’s Manipulation + Conviction with a difficulty equal to the target’s Essence. Simple success distracts the target for a turn — long enough for the spirit to run away or dematerialize. Three or more extra successes distract the target from anything it was thinking about the spirit, such as suspicions, accusations, anger, etc. Five or more extra successes means the target does not remember the spirit until something or someone reminds him of what e was thinking. This Charm requires extra successes to distract a target who is feeling negative emotions toward the A successful Intelligence + Temperance check allows the spirit to open up a portal large enough for it to step through. The portal lasts for one turn; during that time, anyone else may step through it as long as they can fit through the opening. With one success, the portal takes the travelers to a random (though not immediately harmful) location. With two successes, the spirit may loosely direct the exit point (“Southern deserts, please”) or go directly to its home. Five or more successes allow the spirit to direct the portal wherever it pleases. Extra successes beyond the successes required for pinpointing the portal’s exit point allow the spirit to triple the radius of the portal.
A successful Dexterity + Temperance check allows the spirit to transport itself wherever it chooses. For each success, it may transport one passenger (willing or unwilling) as well, though it costs one additional Willpower point if there are passengers involved. All passengers must be within the line of sight of the spirit. The spirit must have been to the destination before.
With this Charm, a spirit may banish any targets within line of site to a random habitable location up to one mile distant (i.e., a human would not be banished to an underwater location or dumped in a lava flow). Roll the spirit’s Perception + Temperance. Each success allows one target to be banished in this manner. The more successes, the farther away the target is likely to be sent. This Charm must be used within the bounds of the spirit’s home territory.
With this Charm, a spirit may transport any targets within line of site to a location of the spirit’s choosing, as long as it isn’t immediately deadly to the target (the target could be transported into a cage or into the cave of a dangerous beast but not into a lava flow or to the bottom of the ocean unless the target could survive those places). Roll the spirit’s Dexterity + Temperance. Each success allows one target to be captured in this manner.
The spirit has consensual sex with a mortal in order to activate the Charm, so no Brawl or Martial Arts rolls are required. Amidst the merriment, roll the spirit’s Manipulation + Temperance. For each success, the spirit devours 1 mote of Essence. What is more, the victim later develops an unquenchable craving for another rendezvous with the spirit. If the victim returns freely, the process is repeated (and any lost Wits suffered from the process below are regained). If the victim does not return within one week, roll his Wits + Conviction –1 die for each time the spirit successfully used the Charm against the victim. If the roll yields fewer successes that the spirit’s Willpower, the victim loses a point of Wits temporarily. If he does not return to the spirit that day, repeat the process the next day, continuing every day until the victim either returns of his own volition, succeeds in breaking the Charm or reaches 0 Wits (in which case the victim loses all control and will do anything within his power to return to the spirit). If the victim’s Wits + Conviction roll succeeds against the spirit’s Willpower, the Charm is cancelled, and all temporary Wits losses are regained. This Charm has no effect on beings with an Essence higher than the spirit’s.
This Charm allows the spirit to camouflage itself within whatever environment it happens to be in. A spirit standing against a rock takes on the coloration of that rock, and its edges might soften a bit, making its outline difficult to make out against the background. Roll the spirit’s Wits + Temperance. Successes on this roll are added to any successes on the spirit’s Dexterity + Stealth roll if it is attempting to actively hide. The result is the number of successes observers’ players must roll on their Wits + Temperance checks (four net successes are required if the spirit is still, three if it moves slowly, two if it moves normally, and one if it moves quickly).
With a successful Wits + Temperance check, a spirit may escape whatever situation it is in and return to its own home — what exactly constitutes the spirit’s home is a matter for Storyteller discretion. The more tense and hurried the situation, the more successes the spirit requires. One success is all that’s needed in a relaxed, quiet setting. Five successes take the spirit home even in the middle of a combat.
A successful Intelligence + Temperance check allows the spirit to open up a portal large enough for it to step through. The portal lasts for one turn; during that time,anyone else may step through it as long as they can fit through the opening. With one success, the portal takes the travelers to a random (though not immediately harmful) location. With two successes, the spirit may loosely direct the exit point (“Southern deserts, please”) or go directly to its home. Five or more successes allow the spirit to direct the portal wherever it pleases. Extra successes beyond the successes required for pinpointing the portal’s exit point allow the spirit to triple the radius of the portal.
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