Daimoinon
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In the blackest temples of prehistory, ancient priest-kings made sacrifice to their dark masters and as the sibyls spoke, their lives fleeing with their breath, the arts of Daimoinon were writ on parchment of skin and bound up in flesh. Wielded by the faithful, passed from sire to childe, the arts of Daimoinon are subtle, potent and wholly evil. This power retests with the Occult Ability.
| BASIC DAIMOINON | |
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Sense the Sin | |
Like calls to like, and the first lesson of the Baali is to hear with the ears of one's darkness. Invoking the power of their masters, the Demons may hear the call of the secret evils that hide in all souls: The doubts, the fears, the petty envies. To use Sense the Sin, the Baali must engage her target in a Mental Challenge, bidding Traits in accordance with the depth of knowledge sought. By risking a single Trait, the Demon may learn some small transgression or weakness: a lack of resolve (low Willpower); cowardice, callousness or poor control (low Virtues); or even some small personal failings (a Negative Trait). At two Mental Traits, the Demon may learn more intimate knowledge: a dangerous secret or undiscovered crime. With three traits, the Baali opens the door to her target's soul, exposing derangements or similar flaws, past diablerie (though not necessarily the identity of the victim) or other deeply hidden sin. Note: Just what exactly is learned is always the decision of the Storyteller and should be couched in subjective terms. For example: "Anabelle is always the first to run when words come to blows" rather than Anabelle has just one Courage Trait."
| Fear of the Void Below |
At this stage, the disciple has begun to wield the power of his masters. With the footholds of sin as his guide, he may invoke the horror of those beyond and inflict it on his target. Before invoking the Fear of the Void Below, the Demon must first perform Sense the Sin on his target, ferreting out what might cut a path to the victim's heart. For every Trait beyond the first successfully risked in Sense the Sin, the Baali gains one Trait to use to invoke the Fear of the Void Below. (This challenge may occur at any time, up to one night prior to the use of Fear of the Void Below. If the sun rises before Fear of the Void Below is used, the Baali must start again from the beginning.) When the target's secret is known, the Demon then engages her in a Social Challenge, and should roleplay the verbal assault on her target's hidden sin. By playing on the fear and shame of the secret, explaining the unavoidable consequences of the target's crimes, the inevitable retribution to be exacted, the Baali inspires abject terror in his victim. For a one-Trait risk on Sense the Sin, the target stands trembling before the Baali until she ceases her verbal assault. If two Traits were used for Sense the Sin, the target flees as though taken by Rotschreck. For three Traits, the target faints dead away and remains unconscious until disturbed. The target may avert Fear of the Void Below with a Courage Test.
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intermediate Daimoinon | |
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Conflagration | |
At this level of mastery, the Baali may actually call forth a portion of what lies Beyond, channeling some of the power of her masters as an eerie flame. For the brief time it burns in this world, the flame may take any number of forms from a barely visible shimmer in the air to a ripple of jet black fire. Conflagration's destructive power is never in dispute and often reminds its viewers of traditional tales of the infernal. With the expenditure of a Blood Trait, the Baali calls into being a bolt of black flame which can then be hurled at her enemies as a Physical Challenge. Typically, if the bolt strikes its target, it inflicts a single aggravated wound and gutters out immediately. The Baali may elect to maintain the flame by spending a Blood Trait each turn for as long as she wishes it to remain. The target must remain in sight and the Baali must maintain full concentration or the flame will vanish, but for every turn the Baali maintains the flame, the target suffers another aggravated wound. Kindred confronted with this mystical fire must make Courage tests to prevent Rotschreck just as if facing a normal flame of similar size. Targets may dodge as per any other ranged attack.
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Psychomachia |
After mastering the ability to draw power from beyond, the Baali now learns to shape that power into a living nightmare. Striking deep into his victim's psyche, the Demon may draw out her deepest fears and give them physical form. After performing Sense the Sin on her intended target, the Baali spends a Willpower Trait and forces the victim to make a Virtue Test against her weakest Virtue with a difficulty equal to the number of Traits the Baali successfully risked in Sense the Sin. If the target fails, an apparition from the darkest hours of her past (perhaps a childhood boogeyman or a lost lover) takes shape, visible and material to her alone. The victim must immediately make a Courage Test or fall into frenzy. Even if she succeeds in the Courage Test, the victim must then face terror given flesh. Most often, this nightmare construct will have Traits identical or slightly inferior to the victim herself. The final state of the entity is fully at the Storyteller's discretion and all damage suffered in the subsequent struggle should always be completely illusory. At worst, the victim may suffer unconsciousness or a brief torpor for dying at the hands of fear. For purposes of combat with the victim, the psychomachia should be treated as a normal, material being. If the Baali stops concentrating, the spectre vanishes.
advanced Daimoinon
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Condemnation | |
Since the first of the Baali crept into the wilderness and made an abominable pact with forces beyond this world, their childer have forced a litany of contracts and bargains with infernal powers longer than can be counted in the lives of even the Methuselahs. The Baali can call upon these ancient pacts to lay a curse on his enemies with all the power and hatred of the infernal legions. To invoke the curse, the Demon must first give voice to the deed, enunciating his Condemnation in detail before engaging in a Static Willpower challenge against a difficulty of the target's Willpower traits. If successful, the Baali must then sacrifice a number of permanent Mental Traits, reducing his permanent total by that number for the duration of the curse. For every Trait sacrificed, the Baali may reduce one of his victim's Attributes, Virtues or Willpower by a single Trait to a minimum of one. The Baali may end the curse whenever she chooses, although it is unlikely. Abuse of this ability may well result in the Baali herself feeling the curse as Those-Who-Wait do not take lightly to the frivolous use of their gifts.