Inheritor

1. #1Inheritor

   Keys: Dragon, dragon, Inheritor

   Inheritors are the descendants of the True Dragon, possessing powerful abilities and a greed and gluttony to match. They tend to live over 200 years, and the kind of upbringing they get usually lead to them being a bit mstronger, smarter, or more charismatic than most.

   Inheritors take no damage from fire or heat, and this usually (though not always) extends to items on their person that they “own,” such as clothes and small carried items. Inheritors still need to breathe, and so can still suffocate if fire consumes all the breathable oxygen in an area. This ability does not render the Inheritor immune to ludicrous extremes of heat, like touching lava or molten steel, but it may keep them from immediate death or maiming.

   All Inheritors may channel the Quintessence of their heritage to emit very real, physical fire. Though this is traditionally done through the mouth, flames can be produced from anywhere on the Inheritor’s body. At base, the damage caused by the fire is average, but pumping more Vehemence increases it. The flames can be emmitted as an attack, like a flamethrower or wrapped around the Inheritor's fists and hands, or explode out of the dragon and set the environment on fire.

   When an Inheritor spots another, there is a moment of instant mutual recognition as their draconic blood calls to others of its kind. If an Inheritor is able to perceive another Inheritor, the two become mutually aware of the other’s true nature.

2. #2True Dragon

   Keys: True Dragons, True Dragon

   The True Dragons are the ancestors of the Inheritors, gods of scales and fire that walked among humanity once upon a time. While extinct since the end of the Ice Age, they reproduced with humans, and thus created the Inheritors

3. #3Dynasty

   Keys: Dynasties, Dynast, Dynasts, Dynasty

   A Dynasty is just that, a dynasty of Inheritors, a family. Most Dynasties are not traced back to the dawn of Mankind or something, but are a few centuries old at most, and many are the result of a few member of another Dynasty deciding to do their own thing. Dynasties are powerful organisations, as the kind of ressources one Inheritor can gather over time can be staggering, let alone what several generations could, but using those ressources to often will usually lead to an Inheritor being asked to contribute to the Dynasty's causes and struggles to compensate.

4. #4Dynast

   Keys: Dynast, Dynasts

   A Dynast is an Inheritor that is part of a Dynasty

5. #5Sparkborn

   Keys: sparkborns, sparkborn, Sparkborn, Sparkborns

   A Sparkborn is an Inheritor that is not a member of a Dynasty. While lacking the connections and ressources of a Dynasty, Sparkborns are far freer in their actions, and tend to be more conected to the common folks.

6. #6Lineage

   Keys: Lineages

   An Inheritor is born into one of the five Lineages. Though many sub-branches and unique mutations have evolved or been developed over the ages, these five bloodlines remain the best way to classify an Inheritor. Each Lineage emerged from specific regions of the world, but, in the modern day an Inheritor in any nation may be from any of the five Lineages. The names given to each Lineage are the most commonly used ones by Inheritors in the Western world, but with the extreme area covered by each Lineage even before the advent of easy global travel they can be known by many different names.

7. #7Drake

   Keys: , Lindworm, Vibria, Drake, Wyvern, Vishap, Dragon

   Arrogant and self-assured tyrants or confident paragons. Drakes originate from the dragons of Western Europe, and are strongly associated with the alchemical element of fire in traditional Inheritor iconography. Legends about the dragons of this region often emphasize their greed, quick tempers, arrogance, and capacity for pure destruction, but many tales also speak of their wisdom and nobility. Drakes have a strong connection with collection, seeking always to expand their Hoard with the finest examples of whatever it is they value. This can be precious metals and gemstones, leatherbound grimoires of occult knowledge, or beautiful members of the aristocracy. Drakes have impeccable tastes and only accept the best.

   In the modern day, Drakes can be found commonly in the upper crust of any society they inhabit, lording over petty kingdoms of socialites and tycoons. Large families of Dynastic Drakes fill out the upper class, while Sparkborn Drakes spread a reputation for ruthless acquisition and cunning leadership without the trappings and head starts provided by wealth and connections.

   Drakes are inclined to fill their Hoards with whatever catches their eye. When they encounter a given valuable object that would match a Theme of their Hoard for the first time in a few hours, they either attempt to suppress their instincts through raw Discipline, or else attempt to acquire the object of their greed. If the Drake can't quite keep their instincts in check through their Discipline, the Inheritor's mood sours at the denial of their own passion for acquiring that which makes their soul sing, and it’s difficult to stay on task and keep a creative spirit high when all they want to do is sulk- or maybe steal something else. An Untamed Drake will always feel that way if they choose to resist the urge.

   The Draconic Form of a Wyvern tends towards thick, powerfully built limbs, unyielding muscle, and iron scales. They are commonly winged, but rarely able to fly. Their colorations are loud, frequently clashing with their environment. Their large eyes glow with an unnatural radiance, often a focus for the Inheritor’s brutal will. The favored Facets for Drakes are Iridescent Eyes, Diamond Scales, and Hearthflame.

8. #8Lóng

   Keys: , Bakunawa, Ryujin, Ajdaha, Lóng, Naga

   Patient and paternalistic manipulators. Originating in Southern and Eastern Asia, the Lóng take a gentler approach towards leadership than many of their more aggressive cousins. Theirs is the path of persuasion, manipulation, and guidance to aid mortals in bettering themselves or obeying. That does not mean that the Lóng are helpless or weak. They will defend their Hoards as savagely as any Inheritor, perhaps even more so, as the Lóng tend to form social Hoards composed of those people they find valuable or interesting.

   In the pre-collapse kingdoms, it’s said, the Kings of the Sea were members of oligarchies or democratic representative councils rather than absolute monarchies, or else were advisors and viziers. In the modern day, these Inheritors can often be found in positions of influence with little official authority. They run political campaigns, work as community organizers, advise mafia dons, or act as assistants to CEOs.

   A Lóng cannot lie directly. Any attempts to utter a flat-out untruth requires Discipline as their nature rebels against the lie. This can ruin attempts to lie if the Inheritor is not skilled at suppressing their instinctive disgust. Should they fail to keep their instincts in check, the filth of the Inheritor's lie lingers in their mouth like a foul taste they can never quite spit out. Even the memory of the falsehood sends guilt through your being until they push themselves through the disgust of comes clean with the lie. an Untamed Lóng will always feel this distaste if they try to lie anyway. This weakness does not extend to all deception, only direct untruths. A Lóng may deceive without difficulty, so long as they do not actually knowingly lie.

   A Lóng is almost always a sinuous, serpentine creature. More broadly built Sea Kings are an oddity and tend to be explained away by Inheritor genealogists as a product of interbreeding with other Lineages somewhere in their ancestry. Many make their homes in or near oceans, lakes, and rivers, and so are adapted to live in the water full-time. The favored Facets for Lóng are Serpentine, Aquatic, and Venomous Fangs.

9. #9Quetzalcoatl

   Keys: Tohil, Kukulkan, Quetzalcoatl, Q'uq'umatz

   The Quetzalcoatl–which translates to “serpent of precious feathers” in the original Nahua–were masters of the Americas and undisputed lords of the skies and winds. Feathered Ones are resplendent perfectionists, directing their energies into creative pursuits and just as often doing so without a hair out of place. In the ancient legends, they designed massive projects and public works that uplifted the societies they ruled over. They were exceedingly rare in the rest of the world before the “discovery” of the Americas, only present in a few isolated bloodlines left over from migratory Feathered Ones and the odd curious traveler. In the modern day, they can be found all across the globe.

   These Inheritors are mostly drawn to engineering or the arts, producing beautiful pieces that are just as functional as they are appealing. Such lofty thinkers often find it difficult to relate to others and the Quetzalcoatl of the ancient kingdoms, according to Inheritor lore, were well-meaning but aloof and quick to take offense. Today they tend to be described as harsh, distant, or perhaps even anti-social, but undoubtedly brilliant in their fields.

   The Quetzalcoatl are unused to being spoken back to or having their dignity assaulted. Any time the Quetzalcoatl is treated rudely or otherwise humiliated by another, the Inheritor must either lash out in response or rely on their Discipline to avoid taking it personally. Should they fail, they will start struggling to persuade, comfort, empathize or otherwise interact in non-forceful ways as the irritation makes having to exercise empathy a trying task, until they can salvage their pride. An Untamed Quetzalcoatl will always feel that way if they choose to resist the urge.

   A Feathered Serpent, appropriately enough, almost always has plumage. Among Quetzalcoatl Dynasties, it’s seen as an ill omen for a child to Kindle and reveal a form without feathers. A less-universal but still common trait is a thin, serpentine body. Those Quetzalcoatl who manifest wings are rare, but rarer still are those who cannot fly. Their favored Facets are Wings, Serpentine, and The Conqueror’s Roar.

10. #10Hydra

    Keys: Grootslang, Ejderha, Ajdaha, Hydra, Evren, Typhon, Vere Celen

    Resilient and stubborn occultists, defiant for the sake of defiance. Hydra families, at least in the Western tradition, took their name from the many-headed beast who would grow two more heads when one was severed. Tough, eternally curious, and headstrong, these Inheritors originated in the Mediterranean with their namesake legend and ruled over vast swathes of Africa, Anatolia, Southern Europe, and the Aegean. It’s claimed that their ancestors were the warlords and generals of the ancient kingdoms along with being scholars and occultists, skilled in the application of strange magics. Accordingly, Hydra tend to build Hoards of unusual or enchanted objects.

    Modern Hydra often find themselves in various disparate circles, ranging from academia to military. Like all Inheritors, they tend to find their ways into positions of leadership and authority wherever they end up, with a streak of fierce individualism and personal ambition. Dynasties of Hydra may boast vast libraries of esoteric texts that exist nowhere else on Earth, right down the hall from an armory that would make career mercenaries drool.

    Hydra are chronic snoops and eavesdroppers, and tend to stick their nose into the business of everyone and everything around them if they feel something is being hidden from them. When a chance to uncover buried secrets or pry at hidden knowledge related to a Hoard Theme becomes apparent to a Hydra, they must investigate it or rely their Discipline to keep themselves in check. Should they fail, the Inheritor will start struggling with conversing with others or any task that requires teamwork, as they’re constantly distracted and with their mind fixed on the irritating mystery, rather than who they’re talking to, until they can resume investigating it or solve another mystery. An Untamed Hydra will always feel that way if they choose to resist the urge.

    Hydra are hard to kill, large, and they are strong. They casually bat aside smaller Inheritors and shrug off bullets and sword blades. A Hydra very rarely has wings, but their claws are graceful and articulated, as dexterous as human fingers. While no modern Inheritor has managed to manifest multiple heads, the Hydra are famed for being damn near impossible to hurt and able to rapidly heal any harm that does reach them. They can often be aquatic, or else lair in dry, warm caves. Their favored Facets are Diamond Scales, Mighty Thews, and Hydra’s Recovery.

11. #11Sárkány

    Keys: Gorynych, Balaur, Sárkány, Vishap, Kulshedra

    The most social Inheritors and most prone to deal with human beings on equal footing. Arising from areas now associated with Slavic or steppe cultures like Eastern Europe, Anatolia, Mongolia, and Russia, the Sárkány were one of the first Lineages to embrace the spirit of the Enlightenment in the west. In human myth these dragons are advisers, sources of compassion or great wisdom. They guide and counsel heroes, providing potent mystical artifacts or critical knowledge that provokes some earth-shattering revelation. They are symbols of harmony between the material and the spiritual, and deal with the ephemeral and subtle concerns of their domains as well as the practical and obvious. Many feel a kinship with the land and sky, and Sárkány arguing, dueling, or showing off for each other above the clouds was taken as the source of all thunder in ancient tales.

    In the dragons’ legends of the ancient kingdoms, the Sárkány were missionaries and philosopher-kings. They led great social efforts to increase the welfare of the beings they ruled while also bringing more scattered groups of primal humans into the fold. In the modern day, Sárkány can be anything from social workers to bodyguards to fervently progressive politicians, but you’ll rarely find one who doesn’t have a desire to aid the average person.

    The Sárkány have a hard time ignoring human suffering, and tend to want to get involved in everything from petty problems and heartaches to grand quests. When around a human being who obviously needs their help, even if it’s just a shoulder to cry on, the Sárkány must do something to aid them or rely on their Discipline to resist the impulse. Should they fail, They'll feel torn up inside about having ignored the plight of someone who needed them, probably alternating between feeling guilty or muddling along in a listless self-doubting haze until they can manage to help someone in a fully selfless manner. An Untamed Sárkány will always feel that way if they choose to resist the urge.

    The Sárkány follow much of the same physical lines as their western brethren the Drake, quadrupeds with wings on their backs. However, they tend to be more slender, their scales smaller and set tightly together. These scales come in an array of colors, more varied than any other Lineage, with some even changing hue across the Inheritor’s body. Their favored Facets are Diamond Scales, The Mind’s Tongue, and Quicksilver.

12. #12Quintessence

    Keys: Quintessence

    The fire of dragons rages through the veins of every Inheritor, their soul burning with glory and radiance. An Inheritor’s Quintessence is the measure of the strength of that inferno, the power of the Inheritor.

13. #13Discipline

    Keys: Discipline, Controlled, Humanistic, Untamed

    Discipline is a measure of the Inheritor’s ability to balance between their natural draconic instincts and their socialized human drives and mores. The blood of the dragons carries with it strong impulses to hoard, lead, and conquer, and the disciplined Inheritor must learn how to respect these instincts while still maintaining a hold on their human nature.

    Most Inheritors strive to maintain balance between their instincts and humanity. They remain more-or-less stable and in control of themselves, but without the incredible power of surrendering to their instincts. This is not necessarily an objective good. Inheritors argue constantly which extreme of Discipline is the correct way to live. In the end, it comes down to personal choices and what environment the Inheritor finds themselves in.

    An Inheritor with high discipline is considered Humanistic. When this is the case, the Inheritor’s draconic instincts slumber in the back of their mind, relegated to an occasional twitch. On occasion they will be awakened to roar in fury, testing the dedication of the Inheritor who wishes to suppress them. Without Quintessence driving them on, many Inheritors become lethargic and lose some of the ambition that characterizes their species. The Inheritor gains an unearthly calm and regal bearing, aiding in social matters. However, they do not gain the Vehemence discount from their Gifts. At extremely high Discipline, the Inheritor no longer gains Vehemence from their Entitlement or Noblesse, as their draconic instincts have been nearly silenced. Furthermore, the intense effort required to wrestle half of their being into submission means that they cannot really rest properly.

    An Inheritor with average discipline is considered Controlled. When this is the case, the Inheritor embraces both sides of their personality, keeping them balanced. They are occasionally driven by avaricious urges or draconic compulsions, and occasionally tamp them down to function as a normal, if ambitious, human. At this level, the Inheritor enjoys no special benefits, but also suffers no penalties.

    An Inheritor with low discipline is considered Untamed. When this is the case, the Inheritor has discarded much of their humanity, reveling in the power and dominant perspective of their draconic nature. They take what they want, when they want it, and assert their dominion over their “lessers.” All Estate powers in this state cost less Vehemence to use. Additionally, the Inheritor has almost completely surrendered to their instincts, causing Lineage Hungers to become almost irresistible. At esxtremely low Discipline, the Inheritor can no longer use social skills besides intimidating or artistic expression with mortals. The teeming mass of humanity exists only to give them fear or awe, as is their due.

14. #14Vehemence

    Keys: Vehemence

    The measure of a dragon’s supernatural energies and ability to exert their will on the world, Vehemence measures the raging heat of the Quintessence within an Inheritor’s soul. The capacity for Vehemence increases alongside Quintessence. Vehemence can be regained by spending a good night’s sleep in the Inheritor’s Hoard or by certain supernatural powers. Inheritors regain points of Vehemence equal to their Hoard’s rating per night’s sleep spent among their Hoard, and while doing so can spend Vehemence to heal damage.

    Vehemence can also be recovered by adding treasures to their Hoard, proportionnally to the worth of the addition.

    Vehemence is more than fuel for draconic magics, it is the measure of an Inheritor’s passion and will to effect change, the substance of their soul. Inheritors gain more Vehemence naturally as they age and grow stronger, their souls burning brighter and higher, not lower, with the weight of their experience and titanic wills.

    But sooner or later, every fire runs out of fuel. Inheritors who die of old age don’t suffer from a broken-down body failing them. Rather, their passions fade and slip away. A tired old dragon finds it harder and harder to produce that same intensity and desire, needing to sleep for longer on their Hoard to summon up the same energy. Eventually, they can no longer produce Vehemence at all and pass away, usually in their sleep.

15. #15Paradigm

    Keys: Paradigm, Ambition

    While an Inheritor’s desire to accumulate more to put into the Hoard is always in the back of their mind, raw greed is not the only motivating desire feeding the flames of Quintessence. The short-term hunger for acquisition often is set at odds with grander, loftier ambitions., This ambition is called a Paradigm, an archetype the Inheritor seeks to embody.

16. #16Hoard

    Keys: Hoard

    A Hoard is a measure of how much accumulated treasure an Inheritor has collected. Each Inheritor decides for themselves what valuable things to include in their Hoard, and so the physical appearance of these grand repositories varies. A Drake who values material wealth may build the classic vault filled with gold and gems while a social Lóng may choose to collect intriguing mortals in the tenement they live in. The very vault containing the Hoard may be part of it to some Inheritors with a taste for architecture.

    An Inheritor may divide their treasures into multiple Hoards but few choose to, as each one provides a means of metaphysical attack against them. For any sort of supernatural effect that requires perception of the target or any other mystical connection, the Inheritor’s Hoard functions as though it is the Inheritor. Curses or other magics can be used on an Inheritor’s Hoard to affect them no matter where they are in the world.

    Monetary value is unimportant to the value of a Hoard. Towering stacks of ancient and modern books and antique nicknacks may be a stronger Hoard than a vault of gold bullion. However, dragons have little time for worthless things, no matter how momentarily intriguing they are. Each item in a Hoard is a treasure worth having and defending. If everyone could get as much of it as they wanted, then why would a dragon stockpile it?

    As the Quintessence rises, an Inheritor may choose to add a Theme to their Hoard. Themes are loose categories that describe the kinds of things the Inheritor collects. Every Hoard starts with one Theme, and an Inheritor may always choose to not add a new Theme if they’re happy with the breadth of subjects in their Hoard.

    While Hoards are not solely limited to the obvious and direct physical objects, social or esoteric merits can strain at the intended nature of the Hoard. In that case, then the best practice is to either declare a person or persons related to the Merit to be the focal point of its contribution to the Hoard, or to invent some symbolic object the Inheritor has collected.

    In order to count as a Hoard, rather than just a pile of stuff, an Inheritor has to decide on one centralized location to store their riches and imbue it with metaphysical significance. This may be as small as a closet or as large as an entire neighborhood, but it may not move once it has been established except to expand as the hoard grows. To “raise anchor” on a Hoard’s location, the Inheritor must spend Vehemence equal to the Hoard’s rating and then immediately move her collection to its new home. The compulsion for immediacy is psychological, not mystical. An Inheritor without their Hoard safely stored and accounted for will begin to experience symptoms similar to panic attacks, worrying over the horrible fates that could befall their treasures.

    Sleeping in their Hoard is an especially restful and restorative experience for Inheritors, replenishing Vehemence.

    While some Hoards are easy to qualify “sleeping in” (piles of gold coins and bills being a particularly easy example), others aren’t. Generally speaking, sharing a building or communal space with their Hoard is sufficient. The Inheritor with a Hoard of Talented Humans does not, for example, need to literally share their bed with the members of their collection. They may sleep in the same home or building, so long as the members of their Hoard also call the location home. This makes Hoards of thinking beings a perilous proposition. If a human wishes to leave the Hoard, not only will the Inheritor keeping it suffer trauma (and possibly Discipline Breaking Points) at the loss, they may resort to extreme measures to regain or prevent the departure of their special humans.

    Adding an item to the Hoard is simple. The Inheritor brings the new acquisition to the Hoard and places it where it belongs. For human members of a Hoard, this could be formalized in handing over the keys to an apartment or signing over the deed for a home, or some kind of “welcome to the group” ritual like a pub crawl.

    Of course, it doesn't need to be mention, but stealing from an Inheritor's Hoard is a very bad idea, and outright destroying something in it is a surefire way to die a painful death.

17. #17Centerpiece

    Keys: Centerpiece

    Every collection has true standouts; crown jewels that are proudly displayed so that every other piece accentuates them and draws the eye to their glory. In the Hoards of the dragons, these Centerpieces are not solely for display. Dragon occultists and sages bicker about the exact reason endlessly, but possessing a Centerpiece in their Hoard fills an Inheritor with potency and often grants them access to abilities they couldn’t have used otherwise.

    A Centerpiece provides a Gift from an Estate that is symbolically appropriate to its nature. This Gift may come from outside of the Estates an Inheritor knows and can be used by them as if they did know the Estate for as long as they possess the Centerpiece. They can even learn to use that gift, in which case the Centerpiece helps further reduce the cost in Vehemence.

18. #18Form

    Keys: Form, Human Form, Draconic Form

    An Inheritor’s form at rest is human, more or less. Fire burns in their veins, but they look like any other person. But buried just beneath the surface is another face, one as “true” as their human one. To an Inheritor, changing from a human into a dragon is a simple act of will.

    Young Inheritors will grow to feel the presence of this second self during the course of their Kindling. Most experience their first change in times of relaxation, meditation, or sleep. When the mind is allowed to drift and unfocus, the body drifts with it. When a young Inheritor’s thoughts drift for long enough they settle on their Hoards, the Quintessence burning within their soul, the ambition and avarice searing in their veins, or instincts and memories more appropriate for flesh coated in scales. The body follows the mind, and the dragon emerges to replace the man. What follows may be less peaceful; Inheritors unprepared or ignorant of their nature–such as Sparkborn–can have what should be a moment of calm transition be the thing that upturns or ruins their lives, transforming before mortal family or startled peers and strangers.

    The exact process of the change is distinct for each Inheritor, and varies among Lineages. A proud and bombastic Drake might be consumed in heatless flame for a split second, emerging from the inferno with their skin abandoned for scales. A more physical and grounded Hydra could exhibit a more visceral change, their body visibly twisting and rapidly changing into their Draconic Form.

    After this first disorienting transformation the Inheritor is typically able to slip into the required mindset with ease, given some time to practice. By the time most are fully grown, changing shapes is as instinctual as breathing.

    An Inheritor can transform into their draconic form or from their draconic form back to their human shape in a few seconds, or almost instantly for a bit of Vehemence. Clothes and other small items transform seamlessly with the Inheritor, but if they have some kind of special equipment sized for their draconic form the same rule does not apply in the other direction, though such oversized gear would likely swamp the smaller human form of the Inheritor rather than be destroyed.

    Individual Facets may be manifested without taking the full Draconic Form for an hour or so by spending some Vehemence and taking a few seconds. Holding your physical form in balance like this is difficult to do for long- the Inheritor’s soul naturally wants to finish the transformation into the dragon.

    A Draconic Form has certain baseline changes that are universal to all Inheritors : their size increases in proportion to their Quintessence; the Inheritor’s sensory abilities sharpen, particularly eyesight and smell, meaning they can identify a given person by smell alone if they’ve met them before, and may track by scent; and most draconic form is quadrupedal but, like a bear, is able to clumsily stand on its hind legs if necessary. The forelimbs and hindlegs of the dragon all possess an opposable thumb and about as much dexterity as a human hand, though tipped with claws that complicate delicate tasks. Of course, some draconic form may lack limbs at all, or could lack forelimbs, using large wings for balance on the ground.

19. #19Facet

    Keys: Facet

    A Facet is a feature or group of features of the Draconic Form that can be accessed by the Inheritor.

20. #20Wings

    Keys: Soaring, Wings

    While many Inheritors possess wings in their draconic form, some are vestigial or nonfunctional. Your wings, however, work just fine and you can fly through the air. A higher Quintessence means a higher flight speed. Inheritors may possess this power without having literal wings, instead flying without any visible means of support such as by slithering sinuously through the air.

21. #21Diamond Scales

    Keys: Diamond Scales

    The scales are particularly impervious and lustrous, acting as effective armor and attracting attention, both good and bad.

22. #22Natural Weaponry

    Keys: Natural Weaponry

    The Inheritor possess a vicious natural weapon. This could be claws, horns, rending jaws, or a spiked tail.

23. #23Iridescent Eyes

    Keys: Iridescent Eyes

    They eyes glow with a startling luminescence and a burning clarity, often taking on inhumanly bright coloration even in mortal form. The Inheritor never suffer from vision due to darkness, blindingly bright lights, or smoke. They can more easily pierce any supernatural means of concealment and can see fine details of distant objects with the keenness of a hawk. With a moment of focus, if something is within sight range, the Inheritor can discern any details of it as though they were standing beside it. They could, for example, read a book open on a table several stories below you or pick out the facial features of someone on the street several blocks away.

24. #24Aquatic

    Keys: Aquatic

    The dragon is able to exist indefinitely underwater without worry of drowning, and experiences no negative effects from water pressure. Their speed is never hampered by water and they can effectively swim without any trouble except in extreme circumstances, such as a storm-tossed ocean or being caught in a vicious undertow.

25. #25Serpentine

    Keys: Serpentine

    The Inherito's body is sinuous and lithe, able to easily slip from the grip of another or crush their enemy with brutal coils. When transformed, all of the attempt to control a grapple are far easier. They can deal more damage than normal in a grapple, or restrain the target right away. They also find it easier to escape most kinds of restraint outside the context of a grapple.

26. #26Hydra’s Recovery

    Keys: Hydra’s Recovery

    The Inheritor heal quickly while in your Draconic Form. Some believe the legend of the Lernean Hydra was inspired by an Inheritor possessed of this ability but modern Inheritors, for some reason, aren’t eager to test if they can recover from decapitation. Any injury short of death can be healed given time and power. They may spend Vehemence to heal themself without needing to sleep in your Hoard. The dragon gains a small healing factor, and does not have to fear bleeding out unless someone is actively draining their blood. Special medical attention is not needed to begin recovery from otherwise maiming injuries, and they will always eventually be healed, even to the point of regrowing lost limbs.

27. #27The Mind’s Tongue

    Keys: The Mind’s Tongue

    While Inheritors are still capable of speaking in human languages while transformed, some develop a gift for speaking directly into the mind of others. When perceiving a thinking being through any of their senses they can communicate directly with their mind, regardless of if they share a language or not. This communication is done through pure thought and has no need for the structure of language. If so wished, the other party can speak back along this connection. If the other party doesn’t want to receive your thoughts, they can attempt to break the connection. Animals and other inhuman creatures have strange mental patterns and may require a roll to decipher.

28. #28Hearthflame

    Keys: Hearthflame

    The fire that burns so brightly within the heart of the dragon protects them from adverse conditions. Some fires burns hotter than most, however, capable of warming those near it. While in Draconic Form the Inheritor may extend their immunity to extreme environments to those who are near them. As long as they stay in close proximity, a few meters away at most, and are smaller than or equal to the Inheritor, said Inheritor may protect anyone they choose. Further, they are now completely immune to hostile environmental, even at their most extreme.

29. #29Venomous Fangs

    Keys: Venomous Fangs

    The Inheritor's bite is venomous, and their Draconic Form possesses natural venom glands. When they bite someone in their Draconic Form the victim is afflicted by a poison, on top of any other damage they take. They can also spit venom like it was fire, except instead of dealing damage directly, the target is poisoned.

30. #30The Conqueror’s Roar

    Keys: The Conqueror’s Roar

    When a dragon speaks, the world trembles. The Inheritor can produce sounds of such volume and mystical weight that the minds of most beings are reduced to gibbering terror. They may spend a bit of Vehemence and roar or speak to stun anyone who can hear you for several seconds, usually up to a minute. Afterward, the victims are very much shaken by the experience for a small while.

31. #31Mighty Thews

    Keys: Mighty Thews

    While an Inheritor’s strength normally scales with their size, some are especially strong. Their form is thick with muscle, and they can easily manhandle anything smaller than you.

32. #32Quicksilver

    Keys: Quicksilver

    Some Inheritors are far faster than they have any right to be, simple as that. Running of flying, human athletes can't hope to compete.

33. #33Unfouled Blood

    Keys: Unfouled Blood

    Some Inheritors' body are purified by fire and cannot be infected easily. They can handle all poisons and drugs more easily. In the case of weaker toxins, the poison is consumed by the fire in the heart and has no effect. They do not suffer the effects of mundane diseases and cannot act as a carrier for them, they can breathe smoke and other airborne contaminants as if they were air and any supernatural powers that would warp or befoul their body against their will will be struggling quite a bit.

34. #34Gargantuan

    Keys: Gargantuan

    Some Inheritors are a massive specimen of dragonkind, a towering creature that easily dwarfs even the largest of humans. This increase in size gives all normal benefits. Manifesting this Facet as a partial transformation while in a human shape causes the Inheritors worn items to increase in size alongside them.

35. #35The Quest

    Keys: Dragonslayer, The Quest, Quest, Dragonslayers

    Becoming a mighty creature of flame and scale is not without its risks. Humans exposed to the Draconic Form sometimes develop an unhealthy obsession with the Inheritor, becoming stalkers, awed cultists, or–worst of all–Dragonslayers.

    Dragonslaying is not just a profession. A Dragonslayer is supernaturally empowered in a way that defies the understanding of learned mystics and Inheritor anthropologists alike. What the Inheritor community knows of Dragonslayers is limited. What they suspect, theorize, and argue has filled libraries.

    The verifiable facts are thus: Dragonslayers are not just mortals. They are possessed of supernatural abilities that have no other source than their status as a Dragonslayer. Dragonslayers arise most commonly from mortals seeing the Draconic Form of Inheritors. Most mortals do not become Dragonslayers no matter how often they are exposed. Those who become Dragonslayers seem almost strategically chosen to be those capable and willing to do the job. Every Dragonslayer willing to talk has spoken of eerily-similar dreams and visions.

    And Dragonslayers become stronger the more Inheritors they slay.

    The intelligence that guides the creation of new Dragonslayers is commonly known among Dynastic scholars as “The Quest.” The history of the term is more legend than verified record. It is believed that it became prominent after a series of knights and nobility who became Dragonslayers in an unprecedented surge referred to their visions as such.

    This “Quest” causes the chosen mortal to experience intense nightmares and waking visions of Inheritors and True Dragons as monstrous tyrants and brutal oppressors. They see empires fed on a glut of bloody sacrifice, slaves worked to death to make obscene idols, unholy rituals degrading the human spirit, and every other kind of depredation imaginable.

    Inheritors decry these visions as falsehoods. What else could they do?

    Given the intellectus apparent in these visions being granted to some and not others, Inheritors have a glut of theories. Some say The Quest is a global-scale curse levied in a time before history, a magic spell so subtle and massive that it becomes impossible to distinguish from the mundane state of the world. Others claim that it is a malignancy present in the human soul itself, a cancer of the spirit. Just like every cell can degrade and become cancerous in the right conditions, every human being could become a Dragonslayer if the fault in their being is hammered enough times.

    A very few wonder if perhaps the legends of the True Dragons are… true, but distorted. Perhaps the great progenitors from an era before memory were not the gentle and heroic saviors their descendants claim. Maybe The Quest is accurate. Maybe its visions are true. Just maybe, even if there never was such a thing as True Dragons, the Inheritors brought this all on themselves.

    They speak their theories very softly.

    If a mortal suffers a breaking point from seeing an Inheritor in their Draconic Form, there is a small chance, wich becomes greater as the Inheritor's Quintessence rises, that the mortal recieves the Questing Call Exceptionnally unliky dragons will see the mortal into a Dragonslayer right away. This can be a bit of an issue, for obvious reasons

    Humanistic Inheritors can exert their willpower to lower the chances of having to deal with the Questing Call, if they know there’s a reason to bother focusing their will to hide from The Quest. For extremely Humanistic Inheritors, this can remove the issue entirely as the weak embers of the Quintessence are easily hidden from the attentions of the Quest. Untamed Inheritors will have a higher chance of having mortals recieve the Questing Call, and extremely Untamed Inheritors have it much worse, as the Quest’s attention is never far from such a blatantly draconic creature.

36. #36Estates

    Keys: Gift, Estate, Manifestation, Estates

    Inheritors. It’s in the name: they inherit. Being born from the blood of ancient kings and gods has its downsides, but also its perks. The fire raging through the soul can be harnessed, tamed, and bent to frightening purposes. Estates are the mystical abilities natural to the dragons, expressions of will and flame as instinctive as walking or breathing.

    Each Estate describes a broad purview of ability. An Inheritor with access to an Estate can improvise many supernatural abilities, called Manifestations.

    While Manifestations are useful, they’re also wasteful, burning through Vehemence at a rapid clip. Inheritors who rely on their Estates often develop Gifts: an individual Manifestation that an Inheritor has practiced so often that it becomes second nature and much easier to perform.

37. #37Reverence

    Keys: Reverence

    By focusing their Quintessence and stoking it with Vehemence, an Inheritor can flare an aura of power and regal majesty about their person. Reverence is a blunt tool used to resolve social conflicts and overcome barriers in the same way a spiked flail solves the problem of door-to-door salesmen, but it is not mind control. An Inheritor can only use it to persuade through overwhelming force of personality, and there are some things even the most powerful presence cannot accomplish in a single conversation.

    With casual use of Reverence, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Always seem presentable, personable, and confident, covering for any minor uncertainty or social stumbles; Make their presence felt by a room when they enter without saying or doing anything in particular.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Reverence can : Project an aura of magnetism so powerful that it counters any social issues (such as not knowing the local cultural customs or being smeared in blood) or even help out; make people become entranced by their aura of power; becoming inherently distracting.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Reverence can : Bully their way through social situations using raw charisma and force of personality; Immediately strike terror or speechless awe into their heart; Enable them to use social skills on massive crowds without audio equipment or other aid.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Reverence can : Stride through a warzone untargeted as no one thinks of harming their radiance; Give oration so powerful that they change the culture of a city or region overnight; Cause their dread presence to inspire such unthinking terror that people around them drop dead from fear.

38. #38Inexorable

    Keys: Inexorable

    The shortest path between any two points is a straight line, and the soul of a dragon accepts no deviation. The Inexorable Estate is the gift of stubbornness so extreme that the world itself bends to allow the Inheritor passage down this straight path without fearing the slings and arrows of opposition. Inexorable most commonly manifests in ways that are invisible to the eye until an attempt is made to oppose them. The Inheritor seems perfectly normal until they walk through a wall, or until bullets flatten against their skin.

    With casual use of Inexorable, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Win improbable contests of strength; ignore tiredness, illness or alcohol; laugh off a weak punch or cosmetic injury without hurt.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Inexorable can : become much tougher than normal; Lessen issues due to harsh terrain, weather, or any other impediment to movement; Reflexively become more resistant in matters involving mystical attempts to affect the Inheritor’s emotions, thoughts, or freedom of movement; become much better at destroying things; ignore pain and injuries; temporarily increase the resolve, composure, or stamina oof themselves.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Inexorable can : plow through the environment around you in a straight line when chasing something; Annihilate a physical obstacle in theirpath, such as a vault door, oncoming car, or wall; destroy a magical ward or other obstruction; Walking on water, shrugging off hurricane winds or the heat of an active volcano, and other acts of impossible movement; Instantly escaping a grapple or other physical restraint; Provoking a Clash of Wills against mystical restraint

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Inexorable can : Become unstoppable for a scene: the Inheritor takes no damage, cannot be grappled, does not need to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, or fulfill any other physical requirement of life, automatically succeeds at destroying or overcoming physical obstacles in their path, automatically ignore or shrug off all magic attempting to stop their advance, and may casually ignore the laws of physics such as gravity, density, friction, and other such trivialities as long as they remain moving towards an objective; Plant your feet firmly and becoming completely immovable–anyone who attempts to bypass the Inheritor finds their path frustrated; Part the seas, ordering a mountain to break apart, or otherwise forcing vast amounts of impassable terrain to move aside before you.

39. #39Glamour

    Keys: Glamour

    Inheritors have always understood the value of beautiful things, and nothing can be as beautiful as a lie. Lies can be as perfect as one desires, untethered from the messy details of reality and truth. Glamour is the Estate of weaving illusions and lies.

    Glamour illusions do not exist in physical reality and are solely changes to the mind of the observer. Glamour may engage with all five senses but requires the attention and focus of the Inheritor to account for all the nuances of an object interacting with its environment. Without the attention of the Inheritor who created it a Glamour will still function but will become easier to detect as errors and oversights add up. A Glamour may be a “general” illusion, affecting anyone who could possibly perceive it, or a targeted effect that is only perceived by select subjects.

    This focus is difficult to maintain. The Inheritor must hold a mental image of what the area around them would look like with the addition of their Glamour while accounting for anything that should affect the illusion. You may talk and move as normal while maintaining this focus but nothing much more complex

    With casual use of Glamour, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Change any small and relatively static detail of the scene around them , such as hair color or the writing on a sign.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Glamour can : Cause any one person they can perceive to look like a different person, or otherwise changing details of their appearance; Create figmentary objects from nothing, generally limited to something person-sized or smaller ; Mask the presence of someone in the scene; Cause someone to perceive sensory input that isn’t present, such as heat and cold or the effects of illness–this illusion is so convincing that it can cause psychosomatic responses, but not true damage; Communicating with someone by creating a Glamour only they can perceive.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Glamour can : Erase a person’s presence from the mind of observers so thoroughly that they are effectively invisible, not needing to worry about avoiding attention unless they interact noticeably with others or the environment–and even then they remain unseen; Create full-dive “living” illusions that completely replace a person’s perceptions; Create permanent minor illusions that don’t require sustained focus and are harder to pierce –the Inheritor may choose to fully “animate” these illusions again at will; Create illusions so perfect they can fool mystical senses.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Glamour can : Fill a room or whole building with permanent “auto-pilot” illusions to create a completely malleable illusory environment they control the appearance of at will and on the fly; Create a truly living single illusion that can sustain itself indefinitely and make decisions about its own details so long as it has an observer; Place someone under an illusion so potent and unbreakable that their sense of reality is forever skewed by the experience, leaving them either catatonic within the illusion’s false narrative or paranoid and deranged at their inability to trust reality; Extending your illusions to cover an entire city for an hour.

40. #40Elementalism

    Keys: Elementalism

    While every Inheritor can unleash their Quintessence in a blast of flame, those who study Elementalism learn to manipulate their internal fire with more finesse and careful control. Certain elements resonate strongly with the crucible of the Quintessence: metal (particularly iron), smoke, lightning, and of course fire itself.

    With casual use of Elementalism, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Light or extinguishing candles without physical effort; Cause electric lights to flicker or devices to turn themselves on or off; Move plumes of smoke or forming shapes in them; Perfectly clean a piece of metal of all rust or forcing out any non-metallic impurities.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Elementalism can : Wreck every powered device in a room by causing massive short-circuits; Cause a fire to explode out of control and grow in heat or size (or both) according to the Vehemence spent; Cause lightning to strike from a cloud-heavy sky, or electricity to arc from live wiring through the air; Reshape metal as though it was liquid in the Inheritor’s hands; Blind or choke a foe with smoke; create “dumb” servants from the elements that can only obey simple commands;

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Elementalism can : Annihilate a fire, the electricity within a battery or storm, metal implements, so on; Create a fire from nothing that burns without smoke or a need for fuel; Throw a bolt of lightning from one’s hand or causing an entire building or block to suffer an immediate blackout; Breath out a heavy cloud of smoke; Render yourself unable to be touched by metal at all, flatly negating any attacks using metallic weapons; Transform into a sentient cloud of smoke or fire.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Elementalism can : Destroy the power grid of a city by overloading it; Create a building-sized pyre of unnatural flame that cannot be extinguished; Make a metal object indestructible, likely able to survive the death of the Earth itself; Create massive ash and smoke storms capable of inducing an artificial night, devastating life beneath them; Create sentient and sapient life from the elements directly.

41. #41Rubedo

    Keys: Rubedo

    Some spark of the original dragons lingers in the blood of the Inheritor, manifesting in a malleability of form. With this Estate they may change their bodies in radical ways, impersonating someone else, partially shapeshifting into their Draconic Form, turning into animals, and even stranger alterations. Partial transformations performed with Rubedo may still risk the notice of The Quest, but apply a -1 penalty to the Quintessence roll.

    Many Inheritors use Rubedo to change their bodies permanently–this transformation is comprehensive, applies to their Draconic Form (if relevant), and cannot be “reversed.” While the Inheritor could change again to their old appearance, their new form is not reliant on their Estates to be maintained and becomes the new “default” for their body.

    With casual use of Reverence, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Change your hair color, eye color, voice, or other minor features of your body that would not make you unrecognizable as yourself; Manifest some aspect of their Draconic Form without gaining the mechanical benefit of a Facet, such as changing their skin into scales.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Reverence can : Transform themself to look like another person ; Shapeshift into an animal roughly their size or smaller, gaining any relevant natural abilities of the animal; Make unnatural changes to your body, such as replacing their hair with a mane of feathers that grants a very striking looks (for better or worse); Granting a boost proportional to Vehemence spent to any of their physical attributes.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Reverence can : Change their body permanently in any way that leaves themwith more-or-less the same mass and shape; Temporarily change their Facets–this cannot grant more Facets, only change the ones they have; Shapeshift into a swarm of small creatures; Increase or decrease their size proportionally to the Vehemence spent; perform radical alterations to their physiology.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Reverence can : Temporarily multiply their size in their Draconic Form proportionally to their Quintessence; Shapeshift into unearthly forms, such as a spirit or other ephemeral being of roughly similar power; Permanently change their Draconic Form, reassigning all Facets; Shapeshift into a sentient, moving inferno of smokeless flame by allowing their Quintessence to consume their physical form.

42. #42Pellam

    Keys: Pellam

    “The Queen and her land are one.” With this Estate, the Inheritor can bring truth to those words, linking themselves with a given area. This comes at a price: the Inheritor may reap many benefits from the land, but they can suffer if their kingdom does. While under the effects of a Pellam Manifestation, the subject stands out to local spirits as a font of Essence matching the character of the area. Use of the Estate can expose an Inheritor to unpleasant beings, but may also bring them into partnership with allies in their domain.

    Several example Manifestations use the term “domain” or “local area” in their descriptions. Both refer to a rough, narrative delineation of a place that can be meaningfully separated from other places. This could be a neighborhood within a city, a given block within that neighborhood, or even a single building. If you feel a Pellam Manifestation is reaching for a large domain, it’s appropriate to add Vehemence surcharges.

    Finally, Pellam operates especially well in the Inheritor’s own home, especially when used near their Hoard. Any relevant spirits in the Hoard are always friendly to the Inheritor unless they have specifically harmed that given spirit.

    As a general guideline : Pellam frequently involves local spirits in the story. Trying to hash out the details of every genius loci in full mechanical writeups will slow your game to a crawl. Instead, focus on a simple concept for the most relevant local spirit and a few dots of Influence when and if it comes up. If the spirit becomes a recurring character, it may warrant further mechanical elaboration.

    With casual use of Pellam, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : cause small bits of happenstance and good fortune that seem eerie but not alarming: an apple falls from a tree at the precise right moment to land in their open hand, a door swings open on its own to respectfully welcome them, the wind stills as they talk to avoid interrupting their words; Make themself able to see spirits in Twilight; Speak casually to animals, plants, or inanimate objects.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Pellam can : Mark someone, causing the world to aid or inhibit them; Cause local animals, plants, and other unintelligent life to attend them and carry out simple commands such as attacking someone, defending someone, or fetching something; Learn secrets and ask questions about the area by listening to the wind gossip, interrogating bricks in the wall, and other interactions; invite local spirits to manifest or act.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Pellam can : Curse a single contiguous place–such as a business or park or residential building–so that the local area rejects it, causing supernatural misfortune to befall the locale and anyone in it; Direct the literal land, sea, and sky itself to reject or bless a subject; Project their senses anywhere within the same city or geographical region, so long as they know the local name for the place they seek to perceive; Entering and exiting the world of spirits–within that world they have an Honorary Rank similar to the strength of their Quintessence, which will inform how spirits react to them ; Fill an entire building with their awareness, allowing them to perceive every place within the building and allowing use of their Estates as though present at any point

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Pellam can : Spread their awareness to all places within a city at once for an hour, becoming truly one with the land itself. They may use their Estates as though physically present anywhere within the same rough geographic region and can cause the physical world nearby to act on their behalf; Expel someone from their domain forever, causing them agonizing pain when they exist in the same area as the Inheritor.

43. #43Volition

    Keys: Volition

    An Inheritor is inclined by sheer nature to be forceful and domineering. For those whose minds are especially sharp and direct, the Estate of Volition allows for the mind to reach out and touch the world directly without the need for the paltry middleman of the body.

    Volition allows an Inheritor to do two things: directly communicate with the minds of other thinking beings they know personally or can perceive, and telekinetically apply physical force to the world.

    With casual use of Volition, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Cause small objects near themto float harmlessly; Speak into the mind of someone who they can see and who consents (consciously or unconsciously) to the contact; Perform simple tasks like opening and closing doors.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Volition can : Use thrown or wielded objects, or simple raw telekinetic force, as a weapon for about an hour; Gain the ability to perform any action they could undertake with their body over any distance, so long as they can perceive the target, for about an hour; Overload the mind of an enemy with psychic force and so much mental “noise” that it inflicts negative mental conditions; Connect with the mind of anyone who they know on more than a passing basis, allowing them to converse at the speed of thought and to share each other’s senses; Pluck information from the surface thoughts of someone you can perceive, letting you ask a number of questions about things they might know and be thinking about.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Volition can : Lift a living being off the ground in a vice grip, rendering them unable to move or resist; Rifle through a target’s mind to pull out memories and thoughts at their whim in an invasive and painful process; Throw large objects as weapons; Telekinetically do several simple tasks at once with no loss in focus or attention.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Volition can : Flatten a large area with a massive wave of telekinetic force; Completely extinguish a mind, destroying it so thoroughly that no ghost can be formed when the body that housed it dies; Splinter off part of their being to create a disembodied, self-aware consciousness that can act on the world using Volition.

44. #44Thresholds

    Keys: Thresholds

    The dragon is a creature of boundaries and borders. The Hoard, one of the most fundamental manifestations of this idea, is central to every Inheritor’s life. A proper Hoard is separated from the world outside, a boundary defined and defended by fire and blood. Human myth recognizes this, placing dragons as guardians of thresholds both literal and metaphorical.

    With this Estate an Inheritor may establish and strengthen thresholds, defy distance and conventional understandings of space, and place borders and barriers to prevent passage in and out of a place. For the purposes of this Estate, a threshold is any clearly defined boundary, symbolic or literal, between two distinct places. The border needs to be one that a person could recognize as such. A doorway between rooms in a building would be a threshold, as would a window. The couch in the living room of that building is not a threshold between two patches of floor, despite physically dividing them.

    The one exception to this rule is reflections. For reasons that remain hotly contested, undistorted reflective surfaces fulfill the requirement for Threshold uses. On the other side of reflections exists a strange and seemingly empty world of endlessly folded fractals, complete with paths and windows back into reality through other reflective surfaces. Inheritors consider traveling through mirrors for very long to be a risky practice–a few have walked into a mirror and simply never come back out again.

    No one is sure why.

    With casual use of Thresholds, without spending Vehemence an Inheritor can : Walk through unlocked doors without opening them; Cause a mirrored surface to reflect light at an impossible angle, or distort the image it reflects; Pull small possessions out of pockets and places they have no business being in; Always know where the entrances and exits to a room are.

    With a small bit a Vehemence, An Inheritor with Thresholds can : Produce any piece of equipment they can justify owning out of a pocket or reflection; Bring any piece from your Hoard to their hands instantly; “Skip” over a liminal space to circumvent locked doors, closed windows, and the like; Cause a door to open to another liminal space somewhere nearby; Ward a place against intrusion, providing a penalty to any attempts to break in.

    With a notable expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Thresholds can : Cause a threshold to lead to any other threshold they are familiar with, such as the doorway to their home or an office downtown; Make it impossible to mundanely cross a threshold or boundary line for an hour unless a trial is passed, such as answering a riddle, performing a leap of faith over some terrifying chasm, or something equally esoteric–supernatural intrusions might break through the ward; Leap into a reflective surface to travel through the strange realm on the other side, allowing you to arrive at nearly any destination remotely nearby within a Scene.

    With a tremendous expense of Vehemence, an Inheritor with Thresholds can : Permanently sever a place from reality by annihilating the connections its thresholds have with any other place, with mystical efforts to enter or exit requiring quite a bit of effort; Create a nightmarish and impossible labyrinth by jumbling the connections between all of the thresholds of a place permanently.

45. #45Thaumaturgy

    Keys: Workings, Working, Thaumaturgy

    While other Estates are instinctual, an expression of the Quintessence’s natural functions, Thaumaturgy is partially artificial and partially intuitive as it requires the Inheritor to twist the energy in their burning soul to new purposes. Each Thaumaturge will develop their own style, often informed by the human culture and occultism around them, but there must be some kind of external representation of their magic placed upon the world: runes, circles, burning incense, etc.

    All Thaumaturgy Manifestations, except for the most basic Manifestations, take a few seconds to prepare and a few more seconds to activate. Preparation can take many forms: drawing mystical shapes in the air, chalking a circle on the ground, consulting an eldritch tome full of occult formulae to recite, and other strange practices.

    Thaumaturgy operates in two ways: First, as a means to enhance other Estates and use them in ways that could not function otherwise. Second, to enact Workings, powers that can imitate other Estates or more esoteric magics.

    Workings are the only form of Manifestations that require an activation roll, as they rely on training, expertise, and mystical knowledge to enact. Modifying other Estates with Thaumaturgy requires a Working roll, with a penalty equal to the Tier of the Manifestation. This always increases the final cost of the Manifestation by 1 Vehemence and requires preparation and magical implements as normal.

    An Estate can only be altered with Thaumaturgy in a way that is thematically resonant with a Working the Inheritor knows. Using an altered Estate Manifestation with a Thaumaturgy Working requires the same kind of roll as any other use of the Working.

    Altering an Estate works in a few ways: Making an Estate’s power external and capable of operating at a distance (even over vast distances, if the Inheritor can mystically direct the power to their intended target somehow). As an example: An Inheritor uses Rubedo and Thaumaturgy to forcibly shapeshift someone else, rather than themselves. Making a Manifestation last longer than it otherwise should be able to without increasing in power. However, this binds the function of the Manifestation to something physical that matches one or more Hoard Themes and the Working of the Thaumaturge–-a talisman, a circle of runes, a living holder of the spell, and so on. This means that the Manifestation has a new weak point: breaking or symbolically ruining the imbued focus will destroy the Manifestation as well. Allowing more abstract interpretations of an Estate’s purview. For example, an Inheritor could use Thaumaturgy with Elementalism to give themselves a bonus to public speaking as they fill themselves with the essence of flame and deliver a fiery, passionate speech (which would normally be the purview of Reverence).

    Learning Thaumaturgy

    Estates are natural and instinctive uses of power and Vehemence; an Inheritor will learn new Estates and Gifts naturally through the course of their life. Thaumaturgy, by contrast, is a discipline and academic or spiritual pursuit.

    An Inheritor almost certainly has a teacher or other unusual means of gaining the mystical knowledge they need to force their Vehemence into unnatural configurations. Mortal sorcerers, other Inheritors, esoteric artifacts, even sacred groves or other magical places can suffice as “teachers” to inspire new Workings.

    To learn Thaumaturgy Workings an Inheritor must have at least one thematically appropriate and mystically potent part of the Inheritor's Hoard or have access to mystical power and teaching through their Dynasty or have a teacher who can instruct them.

    Workings are lenses through which to view power, enacted through Thaumaturgy, that an Inheritor has learned or developed. Each one represents a viewpoint on the Inheritor’s own soul and a way of twisting their power through study and praxis.

    Workings are built as a simple statement: “Through X, I Can Y.”

    X is the methodology of the Inheritor’s magic, such as drawing circles to channel power through, wielding ritually prepared implements and wands, calling upon demons, or whatever other style the Inheritor wishes so long as it is mystical and obvious to an observer. This is commonly shared across multiple Workings, but doesn’t have to be.

    Y is the broad effect of the Working, the thing the Inheritor can now do thanks to their drawing of magic circles or communion with the tectonic forces of the world. This should generally be narrower than an Estate. For example: “Create fear, adoration, and awe in the hearts of men” is essentially the Estate of Reverence and is too broad for a Working. “Strike fear into the hearts of mortals” is much more appropriate. Avoid nonspecific labels. “Necromancy” is a much broader and vaguer term than, “Raise the corpses of the dead from their graves.” The Storyteller and group should be consulted when designing a Working to see if it fits the tone of the game.

    Theoretically, Workings could do most anything. Inheritors have used Vehemence to power magic from every culture in the world. Each Working is learned individually, so recreating the full breadth of a single Estate would be horrifically expensive.

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