Shimmer
By Scott Hollenbeck (dhollenb@concentric.net) for Daemon
Author's Notes
A while back, I was playing Vampire with my friends. I went through two characters that became god-like but were slain through incidents of misfortune. I got bored with Vampires (Can you blame me? Imagine my disheartenment with losing not one but two characters I grew attatched to.) So I read the rules about Daemons, and decided to play one of those. Then I decided that it would be real neat to be an Incubus (male Succubus), but there was a problem: they were basically wraith-like buggers that couldn't do much at all. What to do, what to do? I talked it over with my GM and found a way around this problem. We came to terms on a boon. We called it "Shimmer," as I thought it would be more appropriate to stick to traditional stories of Succubi; you know, stealing the life of others and all that? Anywho, here it is in all it's darkness. Enjoy!
Level (1) Dream Walk
Allows the player to appear to others in dreams, make suggestions, cause nightmares, and other such acts of mischief.Cost: 1 vim per turn in use.
System: The player rolls Manipulation + Shimmer against a sleeping target. The player needs more successes than failures to activate this power.
Level (2) Appear to the Mortal Eye
Level (3) Dark Contract
Allows the character to make offerings for a mortal's soul. Offerings cannot be extreme, (e.g. the Daemon can't grant supernatural items such as immortality, etc. but material things and minor miracles such as curing an ailment can be accomplished) Cost: 1/2 vim.System: The player rolls manipulation and perception, difficulty target's humanity + 4.
Note: Any Succubus skilled in Shimmer requires souls to physically manifest.
Level (4) Manifest
Allows the character to physically manifest(i.e. become corporeal).Cost: 5 vim per use (can be activated or deactivated at will) Note: The number of souls possessed by the Succubus equals the number of hours the Daemon can remain in flesh at a time. Fragments of souls (1 part of 10) equal tenths of hours. Therefore, 1 soul and 5/10ths of another equal 1 hour and 30 minutes of corporeal time.
Level (5) Charm
Beyond level (5): Master levels
These are the high-end powers of Shimmer, the more impressive ones.
Level (6) Mind Bend
Allows the player to create illusions (i.e. Chimerstry level 2.)Cost: 1 vim + 1 Willpower.
System: Just like Chimerstry.
Level (7) Possess
Allows the character to possess a target for a duration of time. The character has the target's stats while this power is active.Cost: 5 vim + 1/2 Willpower.
System: The player rolls manipulation and subterfuge, difficulty equals character's (Perception + Awareness) + 2. If the target fails this roll, the target can make a saving roll by rolling Willpower, difficulty equal to the player's Willpower. If target is successful, the Daemon is resisted, but the target is stunned for 2 rounds.
Level (8) Grant of Extreme Power
The character can now offer more tantalizing gifts, virtually anything the subject asks for. The Daemon can now get souls in a single shot.Cost: 1/2 vim.
System: The player rolls manipulation and perception, difficulty target's humanity + 4.
Note: A soul owned is a soul owned. The target does not have to be dead for the Succubus to access the soul. To become physical for example, a bought soul equals another hour.
Level (9) Soul Suck
The Daemon no longer needs to offer anything for souls, but can simply take them at will. Congratulations to the character: Now she is a real force of darkness!Cost: 4/10 of an owned soul. Therefore, for every two and-a-half souls stolen, one is released.
Level (10) Warp Reality