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Miracles

While evocations represent the everyday tools in the arsenal of the Fallen, miracles allow the demons to achieve effects that lie outside of the narrowly defined effects of these tools. However, this freedom has a price. In this later and fallen age, working literal miracles requires a large amount of Faith (see section The Cost of Wonder below).

Types of Miracles

There are seven different types of miracles the Fallen can accomplish, depending on their level of understanding of each body of Lore.

Rank 1

  • Knowledge: Miracles of Knowledge allow the Fallen to sense, study, and perhaps speak with those things governed by a Lore. The Fallen might learn about the health of a target (with Lore of Awakening) or about the local geology (with Lore of the Earth).

Rank 2

  • Domination: Miracles of Domination allow the Fallen to command and direct the things governed by the Lore. Water might be made to flow uphill (with Lore of the Storms), a pack of wild dogs might be commanded to hunt somewhere else (with Lore of the Beast).
  • Protection: Miracles that make an aspect of creation more resistant, or shape it into a defensive shield around themselves or others, are Miracles of Protection. The Fallen might sustain a flame without any fuel (with Lore of Flame), or form a protective suit of armor from stone (with Lore of the Earth).

Rank 3

  • Exaltation: At this level the Fallen is able to improve a facet of creation that falls within the purview of the Lore. Miracles that purify the air (with the Lore of the Winds) or heal a sick animal (with Lore of the Beast) are examples of Miracles of Exaltation.
  • Alteration: This type of miracle encompasses effects that change the properties of objects, without changing their core essence. Examples of Miracles of Alteration include freezing water (with Lore of Storms) or turning deadly gamma radiation into harmless sunlight (with Lore of Light).

Rank 4

  • Patterning: While Miracles of Alteration allow the Fallen to change the properties of an object or being, Miracles of Patterning allow them to transform them into something else entirely. Miracles of Patterning can turn a man into a tree (with Lore of the Flesh and Lore of the Wild), or turn pebbles into diamonds (with Lore of the Earth).

Rank 5

  • Creation: The most powerful of all miracles, Miracles of Creation allow the Fallen to create something entirely new ex nihilo. A Miracle of Creation could make someone fall deeply in love with a stranger (with Lore of Longing) or give them a completely new fate (with Lore of Patterns).

Torment

The Lores are divine tools meant to improve and enrich creation, to increase knowledge and seek wisdom. But the War taught the Fallen that they can also be used to the opposite. Such a subverted miracle is called a Blasphemy. There are four types of Blasphemies:

  • Subverted Miracles of Knowledge are Blasphemies of Occultation. There are two subtypes: On one hand, a Blasphemy of Occultation can hide something or someone under the purview of the respective lore. For example, it could make the heat and the light of a fire undetectable (with the Lore of Flame). Alternatively such a Blasphemy might hide something or something from phenomena under the lore’s purview, like e.g. making someone invisible to ghosts (with the Lore of the Spirit). A Fallen working a Blasphemy of Occultation gains one point of temporary Torment.
  • Subverted Miracles of Exaltation become Blasphemies of Degradation. Such a Blasphemy takes something under the purview of the lore, and turns it into a worse version of itself. Such a Blasphemy might reduce the protection offered by armor (with Lore of the Forge), or weaken the Shroud (with Lore of the Realms). Direct attacks through a Blasphemy of Degradation inflict bashing damage. A demon working a Blasphemy of Degradation gains three points of temporary Torment.
  • Subverted Miracles of Patterning become Blasphemies of Unraveling. Such a Blasphemy significantly impairs or damages the phenomena under the lore’s purview. The demon might give someone a heart attack (with the Lore of Awakening) or turn true love into a fleeting infatuation (with Lore of Longing). Direct attacks using Blasphemies of Unraveling cause lethal damage. A demon working a Blasphemy of Unraveling gains four points of temporary Torment.
  • Finally, a subverted Miracle of Creation is a Blasphemy of Obliteration. Just like a Miracle of Creation makes something from nothing, such a Blasphemy turns something into nothing. A ray of light might be snuffed out (with Lore of Light), and even souls might be unraveled (with Lore of the Spirit). Direct attacks using Blasphemies of Obliteration cause aggravated damage. A demon working a Blasphemy of Obliteration gains five points of temporary Torment.

Note that this only affects the direct effects of a miracle, and only relative to its primary purpose. A fire created next to a person will burn them, because that is the nature of fire. The Lore of Death will create death and end lives, because such is its purpose. Neither of these things will in itself incur Torment.

The Lores

Since it is not always immediately obvious which facet of creation is governed by which Lore, here a list of all Lores and what falls under their purview. Naturally some Lores have a certain amount of overlap. For example both the Lore of Humanity and the Lore of Radiance can be used to make someone obey an order, and both the Lore of Awakening and the Lore of Flesh are able to heal. So sometimes there are multiple plausible ways to achieve a given result. The Storyteller has the final say under which Lore(s) a given effect falls.

Common Lores

  • Lore of the Fundament: This lore governs the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, on which the work of all houses is based. It controls the fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak interactions), kinetic energy, but also the Gauntlet separating earth from its neighboring realms.
    Keywords: Gravity, Electromagnetism. Movement, The Gauntlet
  • Lore of Humanity: The Lore of Humanity came into being as a result of the first interactions between the rebels and the first humans. Humanity owes its sapience to the demons, and they can rescind their gifts if they so choose. As such human thought and memory fall under the purview of this lore, along with language, the primary way in which humans represent their thoughts.
    Keywords: Language, Thought, Memory

Namaru Lores

  • Lore of the Celestials: With this lore, the first house was given control over Faith itself, the source of power for all celestials. It allows them to locate, enhance, redirect, but also inhibit the invocations, miracles, and rituals of other angels and demons. In modern times the Namaru have learned that they are also able to influence the supernatural powers of other beings, albeit with greater difficulty.
    Keywords: Faith, Lores, Angels, Demons
  • Lore of Flame: While fire always had a great depth of symbolic meaning, the purview of this lore is easy to state in prosaic terms: The Lore of Flames governs fire, heat, and thermal energy more generally. In theory this includes control of the sun, but in their current state no demon has the power to meaningfully affect even the smallest star.
    Keywords: Fire, Heat, Thermal Energy
  • Lore of Radiance: Before the War, the authority of the first house came from God, as they were the messengers of the divine word. Later the rebels codified the secrets of leadership into the Lore of Radiance, which governs both the concepts of authority and sovereignty, and the power to inspire and motivate.
    Keywords: Courage, Sovereignty, Supremacy

Asharu Lores

  • Lore of Awakening: Once upon a time one of the Dagan was present at the birth of every single living being, in order to impart the Breath of Life. These days are over, but their lore is still able to impart life where none was before, as well as strengthen, protect, and heal existing life.
    Keywords: Blessings, Healing, Vigor, Life
  • Lore of the Firmament: The Anshar were the angels tasked with establishing the net of connections that exist between all things. The connection between predator and prey, lock and key, mother and child. Their lore allows them to manipulate, extend, and change these connections. This includes symbolic connections and sympathies.
    Keywords: Sympathy, Scrying, Connections
  • Lore of the Winds: Breathing requires air, so without it there can be no breath of life. So to discharge their duty the second house was given stewardship of the earth’s atmosphere, and gases more generally.
    Keywords: Air, Gases

Annunaki Lores

  • Lore of the Earth: It was the duty of the third house to create the body of the earth itself, from its burning core to the top of the highest mountain. This lore allows control of this creation, letting the user command both the ground beneath their feet and the minerals that comprise the earth’s body.
    Keywords: The Earth, Solid Matter
  • Lore of Paths: The Antu were tasked with ensuring that objects and creatures would be able to move through creation. The lore they developed for this purpose gives them control of the trajectories of objects, as well as the spatial relationship between points in space, allowing them to set up paths that connect places and creatures - or separate them.
    Keywords: Paths, Distance, Separation
  • Lore of the Forge: This lore was born in the moment Adam received the first tool from the hands of Nemere the Iron Crafter. It allows for the creation of relics, and more generally it governs the spheres of tools, machines, and processed materials.
    Keywords: Crafting, Machines, Processed Materials

Neberu Lores

  • Lore of Patterns: Creation is a complex system of interlocking mechanisms, and the third house was tasked with ensuring that it would keep on running. The Lore of Patterns was the key to discharging this duty, as it allows the user to manipulate the strands of fate, letting them see both past and future and even influence time itself.
    Keywords: Prophecy, Fate, Time
  • Lore of Portals: Their duties required the members of the third house to travel quickly to all corners of creation. This lore was an answer to that need, allowing them to create gates that connected faraway places. However, the angels of portals expanded this framework, developing concepts like warding and conjuration, thresholds, and locks.
    Keywords: Doors, Thresholds, Warding, Conjuration
  • Lore of Light: While most natural sources of light fall under the Lore of Flame or the Lore of Fundament, the Lore of Light gives control of the light itself. It allows the creation and manipulation of all types of electromagnetic radiation, from radio signals to gamma radiation. By bending light to their will the user is also capable of creating sophisticated mirages and illusions.
    Keywords: Radiation, Light, Illusions

Lammasu Lores

  • Lore of Longing: The fifth house is the house of muses, their purpose was to inspire humanity to reach its full potential. In order to entice humans into thinking ever-deeper thought they were given control of emotions and desires, to grant sensations never felt before.
    Keywords: Emotions, Desire, Sensations
  • Lore of Storms: Like the Lore of Flame, or Air, and of Earth, the Lore of Storms is one of the elemental lores. It allows control of water and liquid substances more generally, but it also gives dominion over naturally-occurring water, from oceans to rivers to clouds and rain.
    Keywords: Weather, Water, Liquids
  • Lore of Transfiguration: The universe is not a static place. Things are always changing. People age, the larva will turn into a butterfly in time. This concept isn’t limited to the physical realm, either. Society changes. Languages change. The Lore of Transfiguration governs all of these aspects, allowing the user to both control the rate of natural change, and to create entirely new change.
    Keywords: Metamorphosis, Change

Rabisu Lores

  • Lore of the Beast: The Zaltu were the angels tasked with designing all the animals and bacteria inhabiting the world. Their lore lets the user create new species, modify existing ones. It also grants control of the behavior of all living animals, and the properties of the materials they leave behind when they die.
    Keywords: Animals, Bacteria
  • Lore of the Wild: What the Zaltu were to the animal kingdom, the Ninurtu were to the kingdoms of plants and fungi. Subsequently the Lore of the Wild works analogous to the Lore of the Beast.
    Keywords: Plants, Funghi, Wood
  • Lore of the Flesh: The task of the Aruru was to create the fundamental principles all life is based on, like the basic structure of a cell, or the laws of biochemistry. They were also the ones called upon to design the human body. New the lore that they developed allows them to revise their creations at will, among other things allowing them to reshape humans.
    Keywords: Human Bodies, Evolution, Biochemistry

Halaku Lores

  • Lore of Death: Everything that lives has to die eventually. The Lore of Death exists to govern the physical aspects of the cessation of life, the breakdown of biological processes, and the eventual decay of the body.
    Keywords: Death, Decay, Absence, Endings
  • Lore of the Spirit: The Lore of the Spirit represents the flipside of the coin of the Lore of Death. While the Lore of Death controls the physical aspects of death, the Lore of the Spirit deals with the spiritual remains of living beings, controlling and regulating spirits and ghosts.
    Keywords: Spirits, Ghosts, Souls
  • Lore of the Realms: Project Haven was the greatest project of the Alabaster Legion. An entire hidden realm that should shelter the souls of the dead. To control this new realm the Halaku developed the Lore of the Realms, which also allows you to manipulate the Shroud, the barrier that separates the uppermost layer of the Underworld from the world of the living.
    Keywords: The Shroud, The Underworld

Using Multiple Lores

Sometimes a character might want to bring forth an effect that lies in the purview of more than one Lore. For example, if you want to turn a rock into air then the starting material falls under the purview of the Lore of the Earth, while the result falls under the purview of the Lore of the Winds. To work such a miracle the demon would need to know all relevant bodies of Lore to a sufficient degree. So to turn a rock into air the demon would have to possess four ranks of both Lore of the Earth and Lore of the Winds, since this is a Miracle of Patterning.

Working a miracle that makes use of multiple bodies of Lore increases the cost of the miracle by one point of Faith for every Lore beyond the first.

Working a Miracle

The dice pool to work a miracle is equal to the caster’s permanent Faith rating, although a demon may ravage his thralls for bonus dice (see page 251 of the DTF core book). The base difficulty is equal to four plus the rank of Lore necessary to create this particular miracle. So the base difficulty for a Miracle of Knowledge is five, for a Miracle of Creation it is nine. This base difficulty is modified based on the specifics of the miracle.

Only a single success is usually necessary to successfully work a miracle. However, should the difficulty of the roll be increased beyond ten, then every additional increase in difficulty instead increases the target number of successes. Willpower cannot be used, but Faith may be expended to buy one automatic success per point spent this way.

Example: Working a miracle of Creation (base difficulty 9) that affects four subjects (+2 to difficulty, see below) would require two successes at difficulty 10 if no other modifiers apply.

Duration

Some miracles have instantaneous duration. A rock shaped into a statue will remain a statue, information gained from a Miracle of Knowledge will remain known to the user. But other effects will only persist for a certain amount of time before subsiding. Altered weather conditions will return to their natural state, a stone that had its weight increased hundredfold will return to being easy to lift.

As a rule of thumb, if the state created by the miracle can exist in nature then it is probably an instantaneous effect, but as always the ST has the final say. Effects that give permanent mechanical advantages to player characters have to be paid with XP as usual (see the house rules regarding the Lore of Flesh).

On certain occasions the player can choose whether he wants to work an instantaneous effect, or one with a duration. For example, a block of ice created as an instantaneous effect will thaw if exposed to heat. Ice created with a duration will stay frozen until the duration expires, regardless of the environment.

The duration of a non-instantaneous miracle is chosen at casting time, and it impacts the difficulty of the casting roll according to the following table:

Duration Difficulty
1 Turn +0 (Base)
2 Turns +1
3 Turns +2
5 Turns +3
10 Turns +4

Should the Fallen wish to create an effect with a longer duration, he can spend a point of Faith to create a miracle with prolonged duration. In this case the duration is determined with the following table:

Prolonged Duration Difficulty
One scene +0 (Base)
One day +1
One week +2
One month (30 days) +3
One year +4
Indefinite +5 (also costs an additional point of Faith)

Range

There are two basic ranges at which a miracle can affect a target. Working a miracle that only affects the caster, or people and objects the caster touches, does not impact the difficulty. Extending the range to objects and people within the line of sight of the caster increases the difficulty by one.

In this context, “line of sight” means that light needs to be able to travel between the target and the caster without being impeded. So a person the caster can see through a telescope counts as within line of sight. A person the caster sees on TV does not, even if it’s a live transmission.

The only way to target a person the caster cannot see with a miracle is by using a sympathetic connection, which requires adding the Lore of the Firmament to the miracle, with the usual caveats (see section Using Multiple Lores above). If the caster knows the target’s true name or has access to a sample of their body tissue (hair or nail clippings are sufficient) then the difficulty is the same as for line of sight. If the caster has access to a close personal possession or knows the target’s celestial name, then the difficulty is raised by one. If the caster merely knows the target’s mortal name then the difficulty is increased by two.

Magnitude

The magnitude of a miracle determines how powerful it is. This factor mainly matters to miracles that create a numerical or otherwise graded effect. Miracles that add or remove merits or flaws need to have a magnitude equal to the point value of the merit or flaw. Miracles that heal or directly inflict damage can heal or inflict up to one level of lethal or aggravated damage (Note: directly inflicting aggravated damage usually requires a Blasphemy of Obliteration). Also compare the section Miracles that modify Dice Rolls further down. The final decision which magnitude is necessary for a given effect lies with the ST.

At base difficulty a miracle has a magnitude of one. Each level of magnitude beyond the first increases the difficulty of the miracle by one.

Scale

At its base difficulty, a miracle can affect one person, an object with a volume of one cubic yard, or an area of twenty square feet. Extending it beyond these limits increases the difficulty. Should more than one category of scale pertain to a miracle, then only apply the highest modifier.

Number of Subjects Volume Area Difficulty
1 1 cu yrd 20 sq feet +0 (Base)
2 2 cu yrd 40 sq feet +1
4 4 cu yrd 100 sq feet +2
8 10 cu yrd 200 sq feet +3
16 20 cu yrd 400 sq feet +4

Similar to the case of duration, the Fallen can choose to spend an additional point of Faith in order to create a miracle with extended scale. In this case the scale is determined by this table instead:

Number of Subjects Volume Area Difficulty
5 20 cu yrd 600 sq feet +0 (Base)
10 50 cu yrd 1000 sq feet +1
20 100 cu yrd 20000 sq feet +2
40 200 cu yrd 1 acre +3
80 400 cu yrd 10 acres +4
160 800 cu yrd 1 sq mile +5

This scale can be extended downward. Every doubling of number of subjects, volume, or area increases the difficulty by one.

Casting Time

The base time to perform a ritual to work a miracle is ten minutes. Unlike Evocations, which are well-established and well-understood procedures for changing the universe, creating a miracle requires the Fallen to build the effect from scratch, which takes a lot more time. Subsequently, the more time the caster takes to make the calculations and check that everything is correct, the easier the act of working the miracle becomes. On the other hand, rushing a miracle makes it much harder to do.

Casting Time Difficulty
1 Turn +3
10 minutes +0 (base)
30 minutes -1
1 hour -2
3 hours -3

Mitigating Factors

Besides taking more time, there are also a number of other measures the Fallen can use to make working a miracle easier and more manageable. Please note the general rule that rolls can’t have a difficulty lower than their base difficulty minus three, and no roll can have a difficulty lower than three.

Factor Difficulty
The Location is resonant to at least one of the Lores employed (a workshop for Lore of the Forge, a mountain peak for the Lore of Winds, etc.) -2
The Miracle is worked inside a bastion. -1
The ritual includes materials and/or symbols that resonate with at least one of the Lores involved (see Demon Player’s Guide, page 68ff). -1
The Fallen works at least ten minutes to create a sigil appropriate to the miracle. -1
The Fallen sings an invocation in a human language -1 (+0 if casting time is one round)
The Fallen sings an invocation in the First Tongue -2 (-1 if casting time is one round)
The Fallen spends Faith in excess of the minimum amount necessary. -1 per point of Faith spent this way.

The Cost of Wonder

Changing the world comes with a price tag. In the beginning, when Faith seemed unlimited and God was footing the bill, the elohim were able to make sweeping changes to the new universe. But these days are long gone. In the modern age the Fallen find themselves much diminished, and have to fight for every iota of Faith from the apathetic masses of humanity. So the cost of creating miracles is now felt much more keenly.

Since miracles of Knowledge don’t change the state of the universe, they have a base cost of zero (However, in order to cast a miracle the Fallen always needs to hold at least one point of temporary Faith). All other types of miracles always require the expenditure of at least one point of Faith.

Miracle Base Cost
Miracle of Knowledge 0
Miracle involving the caster’s primary Lore 1
Other Miracles 2

To this base cost add all other costs incurred through use of prolonged duration or advanced scale, use of multiple lores, extra points of Faith spent to lower the difficulty, etc. This price has to be paid before the casting roll is made. If the player fails to achieve the necessary number of successes, the Faith is lost.

Example 1

A Nusku wishes to give his two thralls immunity to fire for the next day. This is a Miracle of Protection of the Lore of the Flame. The base difficulty for a Miracle of Protection is six, to which the player adds +1 to affect two targets, and +1 for a duration of one day. Since this is a prolonged duration, it raises the cost of the miracle by one. Since the Lore of Flames is the primary Lore of a Nusku, the cost of the miracle is two points of Faith, and casting it requires a Faith roll against difficulty eight. The Nusku has the option to reduce this difficulty further by adding more steps to the ritual, or paying additional points of Faith.

Example 2

An Antu wants to create an enormous block of granite from nothing. Since this is an act of creation it requires a Miracle of Creation, and since it creates stone it requires the Lore of the Earth. The base difficulty of a Miracle of Creation is 9, and the base cost is 2, since the Lore of the Earth is not the caster’s primary Lore. Let’s assume that the volume of the block that is supposed to be created is 10.000 cubic yards. That means the miracle requires extended scale, increasing the cost by one point of Faith. Creating a volume of 10.000 cubic yards increases the difficulty by +9, for a total difficulty of 18.

Difficulties over ten mean that the caster instead needs additional successes, so a difficulty of 18 means that the caster has to achieve nine successes at difficulty ten to succeed at the check, which is unlikely. So the caster can attempt to mitigate the difficulty. Since the intended location of the stone is unlikely to be inside a bastion or a workshop the Antu can’t get bonuses from the location, but he can extend the casting time to three hours, use a sigil and an appropriate chant as well as symbolism. Through all of these measures he can reduce the difficulty by -7, for a new difficulty of 11. Better, but still unlikely. So he decides to invest two additional points of Faith to decrease the difficulty further. That means the difficulty of the evocation roll becomes nine again, but the total cost goes up to five points of Faith (base cost of two, plus one for extended scale, plus two to reduce the difficulty). Now the miracle has a chance of succeeding. If the Antu has even more Faith to invest he could reduce the difficulty further, to a minimum of six (base difficulty minus three). At that point the miracle would cost eight points of Faith.

Further Considerations

Concurrent Effects

A demon can support a number of ongoing miracles equal to his permanent Faith score. An ongoing miracle is an effect with a duration aspect that is not permanent. Instantaneous effects don't count against this limit, and neither do effects that have been made permanent by expending additional Faith. Ongoing rituals (see section Rituals in these house rules) do count against this limit, as do delayed miracles and rituals (see below).

Should a demon who has reached his limit of concurrent effects wish to cast another miracle or ritual with a finite duration, then he needs to end one of his ongoing effects prematurely. The demon can decide which effect he wishes to end.

Pre- and Postcognition

While most Miracles of Knowledge provide information about the present, they can also see the present and future under certain conditions. In general every Lore is able to provide information about the past of things within the purview of said Lore. And the Lore of Patterns is able to follow the strands of fate into the past and future. Such miracles might require a heightened magnitude at the discretion of the ST, particularly if the miracle attempts to look particularly deep into the depths of time. A particular condition of Miracles of Knowledge providing post- or precognition is that the casting roll always has to be made in secret by the ST. If the roll botches then the beneficiary of the miracle will receive false and harmful information. Messing with time is a dangerous game.

Delaying a Miracle

The effects of miracles can be powerful, but they are usually not quick. To mitigate this weakness the Fallen have figured out how to include triggers into them. A delayed miracle is cast as normal, with all parameters including the target determined at casting time. The intended target also has to be in range at casting time. Modifying a miracle to include a trigger requires the caster to expend one point of Willpower in addition to the normal costs. The trigger can either be a specific time, or a specific set of conditions.

Please note that triggers can only be conditions that can be determined with normal human senses. So “the miracle should trigger when someone walks over this patch of ground” is acceptable, “the miracle should trigger when someone hostile to me walks over this patch of ground” isn’t, since the trigger can’t determine a person’s mental state.

If you want to define a trigger that is not within line of sight of the miracle’s target, the miracle needs to include the Lore of the Firmament. A delayed miracle counts as an ongoing effect for the purpose of determining the number of concurrent effects the demon is maintaining.

Miracles that modify Dice Rolls

When a miracle has the effect of directly modifying a type of dice pool, then the following guidelines shall apply:

  • If the effect is to increase the size of the pools in question, then the miracle creates pool of bonus dice equal to twice the miracle's magnitude. Whenever the benefactor of the miracle has to make a roll matching the affected type he might declare that he is using dice from the bonus pool before rolling. He then may add as many dice to the roll as he wishes, up to the number of dice remaining in the pool. However, the bonus dice pool does not replenish. Once all dice from the bonus pool have been used up the miracle ends. Any dice remaining in the bonus pool at the end of the miracle's duration expire.
    Example: Beispieliel the Lammasu enacts a miracle of the Lore of the Storms that makes the water currents support him when he swims. The miracle has magnitude three, so he receives a pool of six bonus dice. The next time Beispieliel's player has to make a swimming check he can add six dice to it. Or he can decide to add two dice now save four dice for future checks. Or any other possible distribution of the six dice.
  • If the effect is designed to decrese the size of the pool instead then the procedure is similar in priciple. The miracle will create a pool of “negative” dice equal to twice its magnitude, which will be subtracted from the target's pools. However, in this case the use of the pool is not controlled by the target. Instead the caster needs to declare a rule for the use of the dice. This rule can be as easy or complex as the caster wishes, and can include any circumstances that could serve as a trigger for a delayed miracle. So “The next three times the target makes the roll in question he will receive -2 dice” would be an acceptable rule, but also things like “all rolls while the full moon is in the sky” or “rolls while the target is in mortal peril.”
    Example: Now Beispieliel is trying to sabotage the love life of his rivals. He uses the Lore of Longing to make it so that whenever his rival tries to flirt, the target of his affection will start to feel a bout of disgust towards him. Beispieliel's player once again chooses magnitude 3, and he decides that the next two seduction rolls of Beispieliel's rival will be made with -3 dice each.
  • If the goal of the miracle is to modify the difficulty of a type of roll instead of the number of dice then the situation is simpler. In this case the change in the difficulty is equal to the magnitude of the miracles, but it is impossible for these miracle to have a duration that is longer than one scene. However, the caster is of course free to use the rules for hanging miracles to have the effect trigger at a later time.

These rules also apply to miracles that aim to alter attributes, unless the target chooses to pay for the increased attributes with XP.

Please note that these rules only apply if the dice pool or the difficulty of a roll is directly affected. For example, if Beispieliel used a Miracle of Knowledge of the Lore of the Storms to give himself detailed knowledge of the ocean currents in an area then that will make future checks to handle a boat in that area easier, but because that advantage is not based on an ongoing effect it is not subject to the limitations above.

The Gauntlet and the Shroud

Working miracles that interact with the Gauntlet or the Shroud require the Lore of the Fundament or the Lore of the Realms, respectively. Commanding these barriers to open enough for one person to slip through is a Miracle of Domination, while creating a longer-lasting doorway is a Miracle of Creation that also requires the use of the Lore of Portals (in practice it will almost always be easier to simply employ the Evocations of the Lore of the Realms to pass through the Shroud, but it is included here for the sake of completeness).

However, since the barriers separating the Earth Realm from the Umbra and the Underworld aren’t of uniform thickness, the calculation for the difficulty of passing through them is slightly different than normal. Instead of adding a flat four to the rank of the miracle, instead add the local Gauntlet or Shroud rating. So passing through the Gauntlet in a place with a Gauntlet rating of five would require a Faith roll against difficulty seven (five plus two for a Miracle of Domination).

Aura Reading

The ability to see the emotional aura of a being can be granted through a Miracle of Knowledge of the Lore of Longing. The miracle allows the beneficiary to perceive the auras of those around themselves until the duration of the effect elapses, but making sense of the often confusing swirl of colors is another matter entirely.

Reading the aura of a person requires studying the person’s aura for at least a few seconds. The player makes a Perception + Empathy roll, with the number of successes determining the amount of detail revealed. For the aura color chart please consult the relevant rule books (e.g. V20 Core book, page 136).

Prior Knowledge

The act of creation requires a deep and intimate knowledge of the subject. To a large part this knowledge is implied in the bodies of lore themselves. A Rabisu might not necessarily know the names human scientists have given to the various proteins, or be able to explain the mechanisms of the human metabolism in terms that would make sense to a biologist, but he knows these things nonetheless. However, when it comes to human inventions and other things that didn’t exist yet in the days before the Shattering, this knowledge comes to its limits.

This means that in order to affect things like complex machinery or chemical compounds of human design, the Storyteller might require a roll of Intelligence plus the appropriate ability (Crafts, Technology, Medicine, Science, etc.) for the demon to remember the necessary information. The difficulty depends on the complexity of the subject in question.

Disbelief

As the Demon: The Fallen core book describes on page 253, the presence of disbelieving mortals can make it harder for a demon to use their power. This increase in difficulty also applies to the working of miracles, with the same rules as for the use of evocations.

setting/demon_miracles.txt · Last modified: 2025/Sep/25 15:54 by zechstein